Lord Vegeta

Vegeta flew off into the horizon, blasting Goku in the face with debris kicked up by his not-so-subtle exit. Goku watched in silence until the prince's golden aura had completely vanished from sight. He let out a deep sigh, relaxing his shoulders and catching himself before he collapsed. Goku could scarcely hold his eyes open; the gentle air of Namek brushed against his wounded face, reminding him of the stinging cuts and bruises Vegeta had inflicted.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm still alive," Goku said to himself. "I guess we're starting to rub off on him after all."

Finally free from stress, Goku collapsed effortlessly onto the ground into a much-deserved rest. He could just barely sense the energy of Gohan and the others leaving the planet's atmosphere as he dozed off. His last thought was one of pure, simple relief.

As the prince zipped across the sky of Namek in a bright golden stream, he looked down at his hand, clutched in a fist around something. He hadn't quite contemplated why, but before taking off he had retrieved Freiza's severed head. The bloodied trophy had miraculously survived the blast produced in the battle between the Saiyans. Part of him wanted to keep it as a trophy, but he knew the real reason was so he could prove his claims of superiority. Frieza's troops might not be enthusiastic about swearing their loyalty to a Saiyan, but they wouldn't dare oppose his claim if he had proof of the Frost Lord's demise.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel conflicted about letting Kakarott live. His heart still burned with rage at the thought of what the Saiyan from Earth had done, yet he had justified his small act of mercy. He would still kill Kakarott in a year's time, after all; he just didn't want his revenge to be cheapened by anything. He wanted his victory to be decisive, not near-accidental...at least, that's what he told himself. The truth was that he had been amazed and intrigued by Kakarott's ability to oppose his Super Saiyan power; he was invigorated by the challenge. For now, though, he wouldn't admit that to himself.

The events of the day were so fresh in his mind that he wasn't entirely sure what his first course of action would be. He had certain objectives, he knew, but he hadn't decided on a time table. For one thing, Cooler was definitely going to get what was coming to him. The two shared a brief history; Cooler had berated his brother for even keeping Vegeta alive in the first place, claiming Frieza was too soft. In the end Cooler's taunts had proved true: Vegeta fulfilled the legend and became a Super Saiyan.

"Yes, haha. The invincible power of the Super Saiyan will soon be feared across the entire universe!" Vegeta laughed. "I'm certain I can deal with that weakling Cooler. Oh, he'll never even have a chance. Besides, I can't have him trying to lay claim to my new empire. Bahahahahaha!"

Vegeta spotted his space pod right where he had left it. He briefly chuckled, glancing around in search of the pile of ashes belonging to Cui. "I know I blew that fool up somewhere around here, heh." The prince took once last glance at the landscape of Namek, briefly reflecting, before he entered his ship.

"Hmmmph. I never could have guessed how things would turn out, but I have to admit…I couldn't have planned it better myself." Even his death at the hands of Frieza had been a blessing in disguise; he had been revived even stronger than before. Best of all, he had gotten his revenge. But he had also learned an important lesson: Vegeta would never again assume victory until he saw the corpse of his enemy. His arrogance was a valuable ally in battle, but he had seen firsthand that getting carried away could cost him dearly.

The coordinates for Frieza planet 79, the base he had stopped at before coming to Namek, were already programmed in. "Seems like a good enough place to start." Vegeta blasted off in his spherical space pod, lamenting how cramped it was. "I'll have to make sure I upgrade my ship to something a little more...luxurious...when I arrive."

Goku awoke the next morning feeling much better. He still ached, but what he really needed was some food. Unfortunately, the Namekians only drank water, so he knew he was on his own.

"Looks like it's time to go fishing!" Goku exclaimed. "Although...Chi-Chi usually does all the cooking. I'm not really sure about any of that stuff. Guess I'll just blast it with some energy and hope for the best, hehe." He grinned in his characteristic goofy smile even though no one was around.

After a quick swim, in which a very unlucky fish found itself being chased by a very crazy man, Goku finally ate dinner. When he was satisfied, having picked the charred skeleton of the fish clean, Goku decided to seek out the Namekians.

"I wonder what they used that last wish for. It must have been some kind of powerful barrier in order to protect Namek from my battle with Vegeta." He sensed out the energy of some of the nearest Nameks. "I'm sure they'll know something," he said as he took off towards the closest village.

Goku landed in the center of the village, instantly attracting the attention of about ten Namekians. They immediately recognized that he was far different from the warriors who had come before and slaughtered them all. He looked friendly, and they sensed that his energy was pure.

"Um, hello. My name is Goku, and I was just wondering if anyone here knew where I could find a boy named Dende." One of the darker, more elderly Namekians greeted him. "Welcome to our village, Goku. I am elder Moori." Goku continued to draw a crowd.

"Did he just say Dende?" a small voice inquired from behind Moori's leg. "I've been looking for him everywhere, but I can't find him!" The child who spoke was Cargo, the young boy who had not escaped from Dodoria when Dende had. "Is Dende all right?"

Goku smiled, nodding. "Don't worry, he's fine. In fact, Dende is a hero. He helped save all of us from Frieza."

"Really?" the boy exclaimed. "Yep," Goku replied. "He used his healing power to save just about every one of my friends from being killed. Even me, haha!" The Nameks began to talk among themselves, wondering whether Frieza was truly gone. Elder Moori silenced them all by raising his hand.

"It's true that I can't sense Frieza's dark power anymore. Are you sure he has been defeated?"

"Yes, sir," Goku nodded. "I saw him die myself."

"But how is it that we have all been restored to life at one time?" the elder asked.

"Well, it's complicated," Goku said. "Dende helped my son and friends to use Namek's dragonballs to restore the life of our Namekian, Piccolo. When that happened, the guardian of Earth returned to life and we used our dragonballs to revive you and everyone else killed because of Frieza."

Goku didn't really feel like staying and explaining every detail to them, but they did deserve to know what had happened. Luckily, he had satisfied their interest for the moment. Elder Moori spoke again. "Goku, I thank you for providing us with this information and for all your help against Frieza. However, those of my village and I have not seen Dende. We were just about to travel to visit our Grand Elder to seek his wisdom on the events that have happened. Perhaps you could ask him?"

"Of course!" Goku exclaimed. "Dende probably went straight back to Guru's." Goku blasted off, shooting a dust-cloud through the gathering of Namekians. "Thanks for the help, Elder Moori!" he said over his shoulder.

Guru, the Grand Elder of Namek, had been restored to life along with the rest of his race. The moment he was back, he had been contacted by King Kai concerning the final wish to Porunga. Guru's life was vital to them being able to make a wish to the Namekian dragon, and King Kai had to know how much time they had to work with. Despite having been recently revived, the Elder knew that he didn't have very long left to live. Fortunately, Dende had arrived a few hours afterwards to care for him. Still, it was important that he see the rest of the Nameks before he passed in order to select a new leader for his people. To accomplish this task, he had given Dende the duty of assembling all the Nameks in one place. He sensed that several villages were already on their way, but now he also sensed another power approaching.

"Ah, I'm glad I'll finally get to meet the great hero Goku," Guru thought. "His son is such a nice boy, and I've heard so many wonderful things about him."

As Goku approached the tall plateau on which Guru lived, he sensed a telepathic connection forming. A deeply kind voice spoke to his mind. "Welcome to my home, Goku. I believe I may have some of the answers you seek." The Saiyan landed outside the round white building and entered through a small hatch on the side. "Hello, can I come in?" he asked. An enormous shadowy figure was seated before him.

"Enter," said Guru, who proceeded to cough a few times. Goku gaped at the size of him. He had to be twenty feet tall and as heavy as a small dinosaur. The Ox-King, Goku's father-in-law, would look tiny next to this Namek. Guru didn't speak again. "I don't have much strength remaining, so please allow me to communicate with you telepathically," spoke the Elder.

"Sure," Goku replied. "You seem to know a lot. Do you know why I'm here?"

"I believe I do. You were wondering if the planet was going to be all right. I can assure you that, now more than ever, Namek is very safe. It was actually your friend, the Namekian from Earth, who came up with the idea. He wished for the planet to be shielded somehow from being destroyed by battles. As I sensed your battle earlier against Vegeta I became quite grateful we made this decision, or else we would all once again be dead."

"Brilliant," Goku thought. "Leave it to Piccolo to come up with the really great strategies."

Guru smiled. "You were also curious as to the location of Dende. Don't worry, I can pass along any message you might have for him."

"Oh, I see," Goku replied. "Well, I really just wanted to ask him when the dragonballs would be ready to grant three more wishes. We actually came here to revive some more of our friends, one in particular who can't be brought back to life by our dragon on Earth."

"You mean the one King Kai spoke of," the Grand Elder replied. "Yes, I plan to leave instructions with Namek's new guardian to have the one named Chiaotzu revived and sent to Earth when the dragon is summoned again. I am sure he is thankful for your thought, Goku. Don't worry. Everything will soon be set right."

"Not quite everything," Goku thought to himself. He still had to find a way to stop Vegeta from destroying the Earth in a year.

"Forgive me for intruding on your thoughts, Goku, but perhaps I can be of assistance." The voice of Guru inside his head was a little surprising. He had forgotten that his thoughts weren't private while they were communicating telepathically. It startled him for a moment, but he responded quickly. "What do you mean?"

"If you come closer, I can try to unlock your hidden potential. It's something that I did for your son Gohan and for your friend Krillin." The massive Namekian smiled gently. "It will only take a moment of your time."

Goku stepped closer, but he looked slightly puzzled. "When I was a boy, I drank the Ultra Divine Water - Master Korin on Earth said that would unlock my potential. Do I have more potential?"

Guru chuckled to himself. "I don't know who this Korin is, but I suspect that my magical skills are a good deal more advanced. In any case, that's not our concern. Clearly, your potential is now far beyond what it was then - you are already one of the most powerful beings in the universe. My understanding is that your potential at any point in your life will depend on many things, most importantly the strength that you yourself aspire to. I cannot increase your power beyond what you believe yourself to be capable of."

"That makes sense, I guess!" exclaimed Goku. He stepped forward until he was only a few feet from Guru. "Show me my hidden power!"

Guru placed one large hand on Goku's head, his enormous jowls tightening in concentration. After several moments had passed, he spoke into Goku's mind again. "I sense great power within you, Goku. I have never felt strength of this magnitude before."

"Are you talking about becoming a Super Saiyan?" asked Goku. Guru shook his head. "Whether you will follow in the footsteps of Prince Vegeta, I cannot say. But that is not the power I am sensing now - you have the potential to one day challenge enemies like Frieza without needing any special techniques to increase your strength."

Goku was amazed at what Guru said, but also worried. "You said 'one day' - does that mean you can't unlock my potential now?"

"I am afraid not, brave earthling. I can unlock a fraction of your potential - perhaps even double your current strength - but it is not within my power to raise your strength beyond that. I do not think you will be able to become much stronger unless you become a Super Saiyan like Prince Vegeta. If you can do that, then your potential in this form will no longer be so limited."

Goku considered this for a moment. "Huh. Well, whatever you say. But if you can make me just a little stronger, then I will be able to surpass Vegeta with kaioken!"

Guru shook his head again. "Every race and every technique has limitations. Your technique is not only used by the Kais; the greatest warriors of Namek used it long ago. Of course, that was before so many of us died from the changing climate. I recognized your use of it in your struggle with Vegeta."

"Oh wow! These old Namekians, were they as strong as me?" Goku wondered.

"No Goku, I do not believe they were. They too found their potential with kaioken could only go so far. Suffice to say that kaioken is a technique with limitations. The rules can be bent, but they cannot be broken," Guru said.

"But why can't I use it to surpass Vegeta, especially if you can make me twice as strong?" Goku asked.

"As you grow stronger, the kaioken will become harder and harder to maintain. I think you have already reached that limit. If you become twice as strong, the kaioken will become that much less useful. I may be wrong, but I do not think you will ever be able to surpass Vegeta with kaioken alone. However, I will still unlock whatever power I can."

Goku nodded. He recognized that he would also have to become a Super Saiyan if he was going to be able to defeat Vegeta and protect the earth. Guru concentrated again, and a swirl of white energy engulfed the Saiyan. His hair stood up, and he felt power building inside him. The swirl then disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Guru relaxed. Goku felt stronger than he had ever been in his life.

"This is amazing! I feel so much more powerful!" He didn't think he was twice as strong as he had been before, but he was nearly three times as strong as when he had first fought Frieza. "Thank you for doing what you could, Elder Guru."

"Indeed, thank you, Goku. My people will tell stories of the brave earthlings who saved us from Frieza for generations to come."

Goku nodded and took off out the window. At last it seemed like all the loose ends on Namek had been tied up, and he was particularly glad to no longer have to worry about anything besides training.

"So, it looks like I'm gonna have to become a Super Saiyan too. Well, I guess there's no time to waste," he said to himself as he flew in no particular direction. "Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how to get off of this planet now that I don't have a ship. Oh well, I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Ship approaching, Saiyan pod class!" reported the soldier. "Scanners reveal it to be...Vegeta."

"Ah, good," said the scientist Malaka. "Last I saw Vegeta, he was headed to Namek as well. Perhaps he can explain why we haven't been able to get in touch with anyone from Lord Frieza's ship." The green skinned alien had a dinosaur-like snout rather than a mouth and nose, and had a Mohawk of dark orange hair atop his head. "Just be certain to show the proper respect, men. As you all well know, Vegeta has never been one for controlling his temper."

The grey pod landed on the cushion with a thud as the landing pad safely negated its velocity. Standing on the platform were two soldiers, each at attention, and between them the scientist Malaka. They hoped the prince was in a good mood today.

The hatch of the pod lifted up and Vegeta quickly set his right boot out onto the ground. Smiling, he stepped all the way out and glared at the guards. He received little satisfaction from intimidating common soldiers, those whom he could crush with a single thought, but he did have his reputation to consider. Out of everyone in the empire, only Frieza himself had been more feared than Vegeta. He preferred that things stay that way.

"Greetings, Prince Vegeta. We are most pleased with your arrival." Malaka smiled, being much bolder than the others, and approached the prince. "I hope you plan on obtaining a new set of armor. That one appears to be both damaged and outdated."

Malaka stopped suddenly. As he had walked closer he had observed a round object held by Vegeta's left hand, but only now did he see what it really was. The Saiyan grinned at him, noticing the shocked expression on the alien's face. Malaka had begun to tremble and had taken a step backwards.

"What's the matter, Malaka? Oh, this?" Vegeta laughed and raised the severed head of Frieza, blood encrusted around where it had been ripped from the tyrant's body. "Yes, funny story. You see, Frieza met with a most unfortunate end out on Planet Namek. I'm afraid the myths about the Legendary Super Saiyan were true after all. Payback really is a bitch, don't you think?"

The two soldiers accompanying Malaka had noticed the head as well, each of them now trembling in fear of their life. The first finally composed himself enough to raise his arm, equipped with an energy blaster, and point it towards the Saiyan. "Sssstop right there," he demanded.

Vegeta recalled having a similar experience with the guards on Frieza's ship; they had all been too afraid to even attack him. "Oh, please. Spare me, I surrender," Vegeta mocked, recalling the voice of Krillin in his head. He chuckled at himself; seeing the bald Earthling in his head made him want to kill something. Before the soldier was able to speak another word, his entire body disintegrated. Vegeta never even raised a finger, obliterating the fool with only the energy he exerted by blinking his eyes.

"And as for you, Malaka, don't think I won't do the same to you if you don't follow my orders. I'm in charge from now on, understood?" Vegeta's eyes, noble as they were, did not look upon servants as he spoke. He stared ahead as he gave orders.

"Yes, my Lord, of course. What is it you wish of me?" The alien used his most humble tone when speaking, bowing his head in submission.

"First, contact the other bases to arrange a video conference so that I can give them my glorious announcement. Then, I want you to get to work building my new flagship, and don't make it another round piece of fruit like Frieza's old trash heap. Something that has a sense of both refinement and fear. I think I'm going to christen it...Bringer of Death.

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David and I are huge fans of TeamFourStar. We wanted to make some kind of shout-out to their version of Guru in this chapter, but I wrote the character too "nicely" for him to act like Super Kami Guru. However, we did briefly mention him tightening his "Jowls", which is the best I could do.

Also, I have to mention, BoD has to follow the treks of Vegeta through space now. That means the next few chapters will be sadly lacking in epic fighting material. I hope everyone will remain interested, as things lead up from here to the next big battle, which isn't too far away. Stay tuned!

I would like to take a few minutes now to answer some of the questions readers have asked in the review section and elsewhere.

Q. Didn't Piccolo know the Namekian language before fusing with Nail? I thought Kami (as Hero) and Piccolo spoke Namekian to each other at the Budokai in Dragon Ball.

A. You are correct! I changed this as soon as someone brought it to my attention last week, and I'd like to apologize to everyone for missing that detail. The main point was that having Nail in his being allowed him to know how to make the wish. While I forgot he already knew Namekian, he would not have known the protocol for making a wish apart from Nail. Once again, thanks for everyone who pointed this out and I'll try to keep errors like this from happening again.

Q. The only thing I disagree with is Kaioken not heightening Goku's senses.

A. The purpose for mentioning Goku's senses not being multiplied by Kaioken was show that the Kaioken has limits. This was of course expounded upon during part 13, but David had theorized that a person could sense and follow battles between fighters up to 10x that person's strength. From what I know, he had based this off of observations he made watching the show, but there was no firm grounding. It was just an idea. What happened was when writing that part he simply forgot to check the stated facts about Kaioken. I went back and changed it so that Kaioken would multiply senses as well, as that is stated consistently on webpages about Kaioken. Sorry for the error, but it has been fixed. Now it just simply implies that Vegeta was too fast for Goku to sense even with Kaioken.

Q. I still hope he falls for Bulma though, and just wipes the floor with Goku again.

A. Wait and see! We have some exciting things planned for BoD!

Q. How strong would Gohan be now thanks to his extra Zenkai?

A. Good question. A big part of that question is "how much of his power can Gohan control?" Angered Gohan was nearly as strong as Frieza's third form, but he was never shown using that power for more than a brief moment. In DBZ, the next time we see Gohan fight after the Frieza saga is against Garlic Jr, but there is no real way to measure how strong he was at that point either. Piccolo seemed to have surpassed him yet he was clearly still above Krillin, but besides that it's hard to place him. In BoD I don't imagine it will be of great consequence that Gohan received an extra Zenkai on Namek, although I feel safe saying his angered power would have rivaled Vegeta from canon (2.4 million).

Q. I wonder if they'll get to have their fight in one year or if Cold and Cooler will get in the way of it?

A. Hmm. Someone is certainly thinking ahead. I'm not going to give anything away. :)

Q. Not sure how much farther it will be until we see Goku transform into a super saiyan, but I am hoping that he gets a great catalyst for his transformation like Vegeta did.

A. In DBZ, Goku was off screen for quite a while after the Frieza saga. Well, partly that was due to the events of Garlic Jr. (bah, who even watched this?). But my point is that BoD will mostly follow Vegeta, rather than Goku, for the next few chapters.