Trump Card
A few hundred miles away, Goku floated in the only remaining rejuvenation chamber aboard Frieza's ship. The warm liquid he was in felt like a bit like thick water, and it gave him a constant tingling sensation from head to toe. At first, the injuries had stung and he couldn't have moved if he had wanted. Now, in light of the relaxing dreamlike state provided by the healing tank, he didn't even feel like trying to move. He much preferred healing tanks to Earth medicine, particularly since no needles were involved. Fortunately, the relaxation provided by the chamber only helped to further his focus on the ongoing battle. But though his keen senses were keeping him aware of the battle just outside, the blow by blow details eluded him.
'Wow...this new power of Vegeta's is mind blowing. Pretty lucky for us though,' he thought. 'If he hadn't gotten so much stronger, there's a good chance Gohan and the others would be dead right now.' The Saiyan from Earth had been wondering for quite a while how much longer his rejuvenation would take. He was itching to get to the battlefield and see this fight for himself.
BEEEEEP! the timer on the healing tank buzzed loudly, as if his thoughts alone had triggered the end of the process.
"Alright, I'm healed!" Goku said excitedly as he placed his right hand on the glass of the tank, shattering it with a small release of energy. In a brilliant explosion of light, Goku shot right out of the hull of the ship, landing softly on the exterior of the vessel. A clean breeze of Namek blew gently against his wet skin, cooling him off more than drying him. He closed his eyes, breathing in his surroundings. The air was salty and warm, but had a certain life to it that was noticeably absent whenever Goku had been in technological or industrial cities.
'Wow, I feel incredible! I didn't think I could get much stronger than I was, but I guess I don't know my own limits. Still, I don't know if I have what it takes to go against Frieza or Vegeta. Both of them are off the charts.'
For Goku the moment was surreal, lasting perhaps longer than he should have allowed. "All right, guys. I don't know if I can be of any help or not, but I'm on my way!"
Back at the battlefield...
Krillin gulped, comprehending not just how outclassed he was, but also Gohan and Piccolo—and he dared think it: even Goku.
"Uh, guys," he stuttered. "That last attack...it looked like Frieza gave it his all, yet somehow Vegeta just flicked it into the air like a beach ball! It's scary how strong he's gotten..."
"It is incredible though," Piccolo grudgingly admitted. "Who'd have guessed that after all the trouble we went through fighting Frieza's other forms, Vegeta would somehow be the one to defeat him in the end?" The Namekian, who knew enough to have a healthy mistrust of Vegeta at all times, was quite pissed. "I actually thought I'd gained quite a bit of strength too, fusing with Nail in addition to my training in Otherworld."
"Hey, don't get too down on yourself," Krillin reassured him. "None of us knew that Frieza could transform and even if we had, you still can handle his first two forms no problem!"
"Tch," Piccolo grunted, as if he was disgusted with himself. "I only hope Vegeta can end this once and for all."
"He is on our side, right?" Gohan asked, somewhat afraid to know the answer. Piccolo happened to be wondering the exact same thing, hoping that Vegeta would be satisfied if he managed to defeat Frieza. It was conceivable that the prince might be in a good enough mood after defeating the frost demon that he would simply part ways with them. But was it really likely? Piccolo knew better than to assume anything.
Frieza stood, right arm extended, staring in shock up into the Namekian skyline. Vegeta had dealt him another great humiliation, effortlessly deflecting an attack that should've vaporized the monkey. The emperor's strongest energy wave had just been flicked aside, a feat he'd never dreamed possible. Vegeta laughter filled his ears now, burning away at his patience by the second.
Smoke rose from the frost demon's scorched fingertips as he panted briefly to recover energy. Above, the Saiyan was probably imagining some creatively gruesome way of finishing him off. And as much as that angered him, the frost demon was beginning to refocus himself—he knew he'd have to think quickly if he were to regain his edge and composure. Nothing he had so far tried was working. He hadn't even so much as scratched Vegeta's shiny golden new form...but he would.
"What must I do to be rid of him?" murmured Frieza. "There must be a way!" Vegeta had become so powerful that even the Frost Demon, in all his vast knowledge of how to kill, was running out of ideas.
"Do I not have even one advantage over this so-called Super Saiyan? I WILL think of something!" The white-skinned emperor suddenly began to recollect, all those years ago, back to when he had wiped out the Saiyan race. His attack from space, just beyond the edge of the planet's atmosphere, had been quite the fireworks display—perhaps even his favorite memory of destroying a planet. He'd burned the whole barrel of monkeys, wiping out the source, and turned their homeworld into nothing but an asteroid graveyard—then it came to him. The purple lips of the demon curled to the right in his typical smirk.
"Well well, Vegeta, I must say you do impress me." Frieza levitated, as casually as possible, up towards the Super Saiyan. "It seems there was a bit more truth to those stories than I ever thought possible."
Vegeta was smiling as well, his hands resting casually at his sides. 'What are you playing at now? Scheming as always...or maybe you really do realize the hopelessness of your situation. Either way I will find you out...'
'Stupid arrogant monkey, he's actually buying it,' Frieza thought, concealing his glee. It was at times like this he was particularly proud of his cunning with words. He could manipulate any situation to his advantage.
"So, you're finally ready to admit the truth, Frieza? And here I was hoping I would get the pleasure of torturing you." Vegeta, for some reason, wanted to wait and see what Frieza was up to. Though in part he felt ready to end it, he was also getting a bit carried away in the ecstasy of his new power.
"Perhaps," the tyrant answered. "You may indeed be a Super Saiyan, Vegeta. For that, I give you credit."
"You willingly acknowledge my superiority, then?" Vegeta continued, laughing. "Hahaha, you're no fun. Well, at least you still haven't bowed to me. I suppose I can have some fun by forcing you to kneel. And be sure to extend me every courtesy, Frieza, down to the exact posture and detail you once demanded out of me. Bahahaha!"
The tyrant's facade of a smile barely held another second. Unable to contain his cunning or his hatred, Frieza's teeth grit together. Somehow, he quickly caught himself, biting his lip. If only he could keep from reacting to Vegeta's boasts for a few moments more he would have all the power he needed.
"It's really too bad I'll miss out on your kneeling to me," Vegeta frowned. "Since I can't stand the sight of your ugly face an instant longer!" His fingers tingling with excitement as he raised them above his head. "So now, for the 'coupe de grace', I've thought of the perfect way to annihilate you—something both symbolic and iconic. This is your end Frieza, are you ready to stare into the eyes of death itself?"
'Oh, Vegeta. You never learn,' the tyrant cackled inwardly.
Unknown to the prince, Frieza had been secretly charging an orb of black and pink energy behind his back.
"Fool, it's not always the strongest that wins the fight!" He lifted his hand high and instantly the energy ball quadrupled in size, continuing to grow by the millisecond.
"Now die, planet, DIE!" He hurled his Death Ball straight down, smiling at the brilliance of his plan.
"WHAT?!" cried Vegeta in shock. It was already too late to interrupt or deflect the attack. "NO! You wouldn't!"
"I just did!"
The spherical supernova ripped through the air, destroying even the tiniest bacteria in its path, as it dove down towards Namek. It scraped and dug into the surface of the planet, shooting dirt outwards in all sides at it cut its way into the ground.
"Twenty times Ka-me-ha-me-haaaaa!" came a voice from below as a beam of powerful blue energy collided with the Death Ball. Goku's attack pushed the sphere out of its trajectory and into a nearby cliff side where it detonated. The explosion blinded everyone, creating a dome of light on the planet's surface that could be seen from the other side of the galaxy. When it finally subsided, the planet was still intact; miraculously.
"It's my dad!" a young boy shouted.
"...Goku," Piccolo grinned.
"Alright!" Krillin added.
Stunned, Vegeta looked down and saw him there, healed at last. "Kakarott..."