Bringer of Death

Frieza Saga - Part 1: Deathbringer

Frieza Saga - Part 1: Deathbringer  

As Vegeta failed in trying to hold back his shock at Frieza's true might, he knew that his death was at hand. For years he had contained his feelings of fear, always clinging to the hope that one day he would be the one to destroy Frieza. Now he finally knew the truth. He was no Super Saiyan. Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, would die by the hands of the same tyrant who had destroyed everyone he once cared about. In spite of how far he had come, he, like those who came before him, would be eradicated like an insignificant minion by the heartless monster.  

It seemed like a lifetime ago, but Vegeta once again felt the loneliness of being a child without a father, a mother, or even a home. They had all been ripped away from him, and he had been proud enough - even as a child - to suck it up, never once showing any sign of weakness. The lies he had confidently boasted throughout his life, claiming he cared nothing for his home planet or his race, shattered in his mind and brought him to tears.  

"Stupid weakling," Vegeta angrily grumbled in self-loathing.  

He was choking up, furious at how unbecoming of a warrior this emotional display was. He longed for his father to see his progress as a warrior, to share in the triumphs and victories of his life. More than anything, he wanted to awaken from the dream of being enslaved to Frieza, as if waking from one long nightmare. Very soon it would all end. Would he awaken, or would he lie forever in dreamless sleep?  

"Vegeta, face it. Your fight with me is futile and useless."  

Frieza had emerged completely unscathed from Vegeta's last attack, as the dry dust of Namek dissipated to reveal the icy tyrant's cruel smirk. He had laughed at the very best Vegeta could possibly muster, the strength he spent his entire life training to achieve.  

"Just wake up, you're blind and delusional."  

Vegeta's weeping eyes had already confirmed that he was out of ideas, but Frieza was just starting to have his fun. Before he granted death, he wanted to break the lone prince, spirit and soul.  

"You keep going on about being a Super Saiyan...But it's just a myth, Vegeta! I've never seen one. Have you? Hahahahah...you're such a chump."  

Vegeta already knew it was over in his heart, even as he pondered his situation. "Why! Why! Why!" A small droplet of sadness and regret trickled down his cheek. "My entire life has been leading to this confrontation against Frieza, so how can I fail myself like this?" He crashed to his knees, looking at his open palms through the watery haze. "Is this all some cruel joke? The stories of the Legendary Super Saiyan, passed on to me by my father - all just teasing me, mocking me with power I can never have?"  

In a distant realm, King Kai watched the events unfolding. "Poor Vegeta," he spoke mostly for the benefit of the deceased fighters of Earth, still on his planet. "Even now, the prince has been brought to tears by the icy tyrant. His heart of stone is beginning to melt, but I fear it is much too late. All things come back around in time, and Vegeta's treachery is about to be paid back on him tenfold."  

"Oh, poor Vegeta." Frieza's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Have you finally realized the hopelessness of your situation? Finally recognized your imminent death?"  

The Prince just knelt there as resolve drained from his eyes, each hot tear bringing him one second closer to the inevitable.  

"You're just like your father; proud, arrogant, and destined to be forgotten. The name Saiyan will never be remembered!" Frieza stepped forward, crushing the rocky ground with his three pronged foot. "The memory of your race will be obliterated as easily as I will snuff out your life!"  

A wave of heat suddenly flooded Vegeta's ears and forehead, jolting him back to reality. His gloved hands, braced against the blue grass of Namek, each grasped a handful of the soft dirt and clenched tightly.  

"No, Frieza! You're wrong!" Saiyan wrath suddenly began to smolder inside him, pure and directed. He lifted his head, his eyes piercing through the heartless murderer in front of him. Vegeta felt himself slipping deeper into the rage, and he welcomed it. With fists shaking with tension, teeth clenched, and all his muscles rippling with pure unadulterated anger, he welcomed the power of death into him.  

"Ha ha ha, oh Vegeta. Must you spend the last few moments of your worthless existence blubbering on about that nonsensical fairy tale? Here all these years you were my favorite. You're so pathetic."  

Frieza stood several meters away, his arms crossed lazily against his chest. He always enjoyed sucking the last bit of hope out of someone before he ended them. To him it had become a bit of a craft, a game. How far could he make them fall?  

"I'll tell you what. Swear your loyalty to me right now, beg for my mercy. I am not without a heart, Vegeta." He chuckled inwardly. "Perhaps I will give you a swift and painless..."  

THUUUUM, the interrupting thunder shook the ground, as a storm of blinding lightning and howling wind erupted around Vegeta. His eyes had vanished, the pupils now white and deathly. As his energy rushed out, the air around him was suddenly warm and thick. At his feet, the increased intensity of his aura crushed rocks into fragments of nothingness. His head suddenly jerked uncontrollably upward and then back down, all the time his blank eyes fixed on Frieza.  

"Oh my, what's this?" laughed Frieza. "Got a little bit of your fight back, have you Vegeta?"  

Vegeta's head jerked again. This time, a flash of golden-yellow light rippled through his hair and vanished as his head dropped again. The sudden flash seemed to encapsulate that moment, freezing it in time. Nearby, the faces of Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan were captured in a transfixed state of fear and awe.  

"Wwhhawhat's happening to Vegeta?" the young and scared Gohan asked no one in particular.  

Vegeta's head jerked back again, this time for a second longer, the golden light in his body trying its hardest to violently escape.  

"Gghhhrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh...Freeiii...zzaaaaaa!" Vegeta growled in fury.  

"Ha ha ha. Fool...Nothing can save you from MEEEEE!" cried Frieza as he lunged, his right fist rushing towards Vegeta.  

"I...AM a Super Saiyan!"  

Vegeta screamed with all his might as the wrath within him exploded outward in a force of pure rage. Golden light consumed and bled from him as it ripped Frieza from his trajectory and hurled the icy tyrant away.  

A stunned Frieza attempted to regain his balance in midair as he shielded his eyes from the blinding energy emanating from Vegeta. The Saiyan's hair now stood sharply erect, no longer black but a shimmering gold. His eyes burned with the rage of a blue fire. His muscles had somehow bulged as well, and he appeared at least an inch taller.  

"What's this? Saiyans transform into apes." Frieza was stunned. "This is completely different from anything that I've ever seen before. Darn! What does this mean?"  

The Saiyan Prince, now fully aware of himself, of what he had finally become, spoke the first words Frieza had ever truly feared.  

"I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans! I am the legend, the Super Saiyan terror of your nightmares! I am death, brought to life!"