Spirit - Another Dragon Ball Fanfiction

Chapter 17: Ace In The Hole

The battle was going well until Frieza got serious. He and Yamcha were fairly even until the galactic tyrant began to use 50% of his true power. Yamcha began to take attacks left and right, and no matter how hard he fought back, Frieza effortlessly avoided his attacks and continued the assault. Eventually, Frieza slammed Yamcha down into the ocean, then held him underwater with one foot. Yamcha could feel his oxygen supply draining rapidly. Suddenly, the voice he had heard in his healing tank returned, this time with a vision.

"Frieza! Show yourself! We're not scared of you anymore!" Yamcha watched as a small pod with Frieza in his first form inside rose out of a large spaceship, which in turn was flying over a large, red planet. When Yamcha saw who had called Frieza out, he sucked in his breath so fast that he thought his lungs might burst. The Saiyan looked almost exactly like Goku, but with a scar on his face and a red bandanna around his head. He was wearing green Saiyan battle armor, only it was greatly damaged. He was also injured in several places. But despite his wounds, the Saiyan grinned. "Heh heh... that's it. Face the music." He looked around at all the Frieza Force soldiers in front of the ship, then focused on Frieza again. "Don't be afraid of him, men! I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than serve as his puppet, or his slave!" 

The Saiyan grinned, and a blue energy ball began to charge in one of his hands. "You've lived long enough, Frieza! We're done working as your attack dogs! Do you hear me? We're free!" The blue energy attack became larger, and the Saiyan grinned. Frieza held up one finger, and a tiny, glowing orange orb appeared above it. The Saiyan continued: "This... will change everything. My fate, Planet Vegeta's fate, Kakarot's fate, and yours too! This is for all the people we killed in your name! Here..." The Saiyan reeled back his arm, then hurled the energy blast towards Frieza. "HAVE IT!" Frieza began to laugh maniacally, and the orange orb over his finger became massive. He pointed at Planet Vegeta, and the orb moved towards it, easily nullifying the Saiyan's blast. The Saiyan stared at the orb in shock. "W-what? No way!" 

The orb crept closer, and the Saiyan screamed as it engulfed him. As he fell towards his planet along with the orb, he continued to scream as his upper armor crumbled away. The orb reached Planet Vegeta, and the red planet exploded. As the Saiyan fell down to the center of the massive fireball, he uttered four words: "My... son... lives... on..." Then, he gave a final yell as he fell into an endless, fiery abyss.

Yamcha's eyes shot open faster than light, and he looked around. He was no longer underwater on Namek, but in a strange blue void. He looked around, and was about to speak out when a voice rang out: "Not a pleasant sight, huh? For the record, I accidentally came into your mind instead of Kakarot's, but I guess I'll just have to make do, so listen up: Frieza betrayed us after years of making us do his dirty work." Yamcha whirled around to see the Saiyan from his vision. The Saiyan turned to face him. "That's right. Me and the other Saiyans, we worked our tails off for Frieza. And he payed us back..." the Saiyan clenched one fist, "...in our own blood." Yamcha blinked, confused. "W-why are you showing me this? I'm not even a Saiyan!" The Saiyan grinned. "Heh. I know. Like I said, I only came into your mind by accident. Whether or not you have the power to destroy Frieza, I can't say. But you sure as heck aren't gonna die from drowning, are you?! Where's your pride, huh?! C'mon! Break free and show Frieza why betrayal never ends well for anyone!" Yamcha's expression became determined, and he nodded. "I will." The Saiyan's grin widened a little. "That's what I like to hear. Do it. Not just for the Saiyans, but for every race that that freak mercilessly slaughtered. All the civilizations. All the planets. All of them! The Saiyans! The Kanassans! Everybody! Show me what an Earthling can do!" Yamcha nodded, more determined than ever to tear Frieza apart. He just had one question: "Who are you?" The Saiyan raised an eyebrow. "I'm Bardock. Just a low-class warrior. Oh, and Kakarot's dad." "What?!" Yamcha shouted. The vision suddenly began to fade, and Bardock held up a fist. "Now, go kick Frieza's sorry hide all the way to Hell." Yamcha tried to answer, but before he could, Bardock vanished along with the blue void. 

Goku arrived some time later and found Frieza hovering over the water, with one foot under it, holding something down. Goku noticed Vegeta and ran over, and the Saiyan prince began to speak to him. "Kakarot... listen well..." "V-Vegeta! Just hang on, OK? You need to rest!" Goku exclaimed. "N-no. Listen to me... My father... and yours... He killed them. Our whole planet. He blew it up. Ask him if you want. He'll tell you. He's..." Vegeta coughed. "He's proud of it." Goku grimaced. "Vegeta, please. Save your strength." Tears began to spill from Vegeta's eyes. "No! Just... listen to me." Goku noticed Vegeta's tears, and his eyes went wide. Vegeta began to speak again: "We worked so hard for him. We did everything he asked of us and more. He took me from my father when I was just a little boy. He made me do whatever he wanted and said he would kill my father if I didn't. I did everything he asked but he killed him anyway... along with everyone else. He was scared of us. Scared that a Super Saiyan would be born to rise up and overthrow him." Goku seemed to be on the verge of tearing up himself. "Please. No more." Vegeta clenched his teeth, struggling to finish. "Kakarot, please. Destroy Frieza. He made me what I am. Don't let him do it to... anyone else." He reached towards a stunned Goku. "Whatever it takes. Stop him. Please." Vegeta's hand fell to the ground, and he closed his eyes. 

"Vegeta..." Goku mused. "Goodbye, Vegeta. You're not as cold-hearted as you believed yourself to be. A heart of stone can't shed tears like you did. You must have been holding them back your whole life." He paused, then sighed. "I'm the only one left." He quickly dug a hole and picked up Vegeta's body. Once he buried the Saiyan prince, he stared at the spot. "I think I understand you now. You weren't grieving over your own death, or because our home planet was destroyed. You were grieving because he turned you into what he wanted you to be. You never had a chance to be anything else. Well, I still respect you. I know you made a lot of mistakes, but now I see that it wasn't all your fault. You had the fiery will of a Saiyan. Please share that with me now, 'cause I need it. Thank you for saving my son's life and buying enough time for me to recuperate. I'll do my best to carry out your wish." Then, he headed back towards the others.

"Where's Yamcha?" Goku asked. Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo all turned to face him, and Piccolo grimaced. "He tried to fight Frieza, and he was doing well until Frieza began to use 50% of his full power." "OK, but where is he?" Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan all pointed towards the water. 

"Yamcha's power is decreasing..." King Kai said in a worried tone. "Yamcha can win as long as he has the Kaio-ken!" Tien exclaimed. King Kai suddenly turned to Tien and Chiaotzu and spoke in a grim voice. "He has been using the Kaio-ken times 10 in short bursts to dodge Frieza's attacks." "W-what?!" Chiaotzu yelped. 

Goku clenched his teeth and was about to jump into the fight when suddenly the water under Frieza shot upwards, flinging him into the air. Frieza looked down in shock to see Yamcha, his orange top robes gone and his remaining clothes torn. He was dripping wet, and while he was looking a lot worse for wear, his eyes were set with fierce resolve.

"I'm not about to be drowned by some random space tyrant, you freak! And I don't care if you're a thousand times stronger than me, mark my words, I'm not giving up easy! For the sake of Earth, of Bulma, of my friends, and all the races you've slaughtered... I will take you down! For all the Saiyans you killed, and all the Namekians you slaughtered, I will take you down!" Yamcha's eyes sharpened. "Kaio-ken... TIMES TWENTY!" Suddenly, a crimson aura burst up around him, and he charged, hitting Frieza square in the jaw. "KA..." He appeared in Frieza's path and kicked him into the air, saying "ME..." He appeared above Frieza and slammed him forward. "HA..." Then, he cupped his hands in a Super Kamehameha stance at his side, flying towards Frieza as he did so. "ME..." Finally, he threw his hands forward. "HAAAAAAA!" For a moment, the Kaio-ken aura vanished. Then, as Yamcha threw his hands forward, it reappeared, and a massive blue energy wave careened towards Frieza, who was still flying through the sky.

Frieza's eyes widened, and he stopped himself right before the blast hit him. He attempted to hold the Kamehameha back with one hand, but Yamcha pushed himself more. "Kaio-ken... TIMES... THIRTY!" The Kamehameha grew even bigger, and this time, even with both hands, Frieza was overwhelmed. The blast engulfed him and took him along for a ride even farther through the sky, sending up an explosion so big that it could be seen from space. When the dust cleared, there was silence. Finally, Gohan spoke. "Did he... did he do it?" Yamcha was panting hard, wondering the same thing, when suddenly Frieza appeared above him and hit him towards the ground. Yamcha skidded to a halt. Frieza appeared in front of him and prepared to kill him, pointing a Death Beam at his face. Frieza grinned. "Well, I'll give you an 'A' for effort, ha ha ha!" He was about to shoot the beam when Goku kicked Frieza in the face as hard as he possibly could.