The Light to my Darkness

Chapter 24: Reminiscence

"So you are the ones, hm?" Frieza smirked. "It truly surprises me that the most elite fighting squadron in the entire Universe met their end at the hands of two shrimps and a burnt out Saiyan!"

Vegeta released a chuckle.

"Oh, you find that funny do you?" Frieza asked, feigning amusement, as his insides boiled with rage and a thick vein protruded from his purple forehead, instantly betraying his ire.

"If only you could see Ginyu right now, I'm sure you'd feel the same way." Replied the Saiyan, hardly able to keep himself from chortling.

"Enough!" Yelled Frieza, letting out an angry snarl as he stared malevolently at his former underling. "I always knew that you would inevitably turn on me someday Vegeta, but I never knew when!" His expression became even more loathsome, as he shrieked in fury. "YOU STOLE MY ONE AND ONLY CHANCE AT IMMORTALITY! I HATE YOU!"

Krillin jumped to one side and Gohan to the other, so the Prince was left facing the icy villain by himself, hands fastened in undaunted resolve. The pair from Earth knew they couldn't handle Frieza head on and so opted it best to catch him by surprise, if their Saiyan ally happened to be in a tight spot!

"Like I care if you hate me!" Vegeta proclaimed. "I quit! I'm free now! Every single scum you've pitted up against me is dead and gone and now it's your turn to join them in hell!"

"That's right, let it all out!" Frieza snickered forebodingly. "Live boldly for whatever miserable few moments you have left!"

Vegeta grit his teeth. This was it! The moment of truth had finally arrived! Frieza moved his arms by his side, roaring, as he was engulfed by an awesome cobalt aura.

The surrounding terrain began quaking, as clogs of dirt levitated into the air. The tyrant's power continued to escalate and his Saiyan adversary braced himself for the worst. Vegeta formulated a plan. He would buy as much time as he could for Kakarot's recovery, by feigning ignorance with regards to Frieza's true power! With what he had in store, he knew that together, the two of them may well be able to destroy the lizard! No matter how strong Frieza was, there's no way he could make it out in one piece, if they played their cards right! Time was crucial though! Each and every second mattered!

XXXX

Bulma felt the entire ship tremble and a jar of some unknown chemical fell to the floor and shattered, eliciting a screech from the frenzied female, who immediately took cover cover behind the healing chamber.

'Dammit Goku, hurry up!'

What the hell was going on! Had the wishes been made successfully?! Were they currently engaging Frieza?! Most likely. That had to be it! It was the only explanation for those eerie tremors! Bloody hell! How did things go so awry?! She took a deep breath, deciding that the ship was the safest place for her, just as Vegeta had said, especially since Goku was here. That's right! Her darling little Goku wouldn't let anything happen to her! With that mental piece of reassurance, she took a deep breath to try and still her trembling body.

Outside of the ship, Dende enclosed himself within a large dent on a nearby mountain that had formed as a result of the preceding battle between Captain Ginyu and the fighters from Earth.

XXXX

The lizard charged straight towards Vegeta throwing a hard right hook, but the latter managed to grab his wrist just before the attack landed. Frieza was astounded, but didn't let it show as he launched his left hand towards his opponent. Vegeta caught the other blow too and held it firmly in place. Their respective powers continued to spiral as they locked horns. The ground cracked as tremors shook the island and a crater formed underneath the two juggernauts, getting deeper and deeper as both opponents were drawn into a stalemate.

"WHAT?!" Frieza was stunned as his scouter started beeping dangerously, the power display rapidly rising higher and higher. The very last reading he got was 250 000, before the device imploded in his face. Holy fuck! Vegeta wasn't bluffing! He was insanely powerful! But how in Cold's name did that happen?! It couldn't have been more than three hours since Zarbon had crushed him in battle and yet at this very moment, his power was many times greater than that of his late right hand man! It was surreal!

After a while, the pair withdrew from one another and stood on opposite ends of the crater. Frieza was completely flabbergasted and Vegeta too was surprised by the huge upsurge in his abilities! Such incredible power! If he could become this strong this fast, maybe becoming a Super Saiyan was still plausible. Apparently, it could only be summoned if the need existed. But what in the devil did that even mean?! Couldn't that cursed dragon have just have given a straight answer, or at least one that wasn't so starkly vague and ambiguous?!

"You seem agitated, my dear Prince." Frieza smirked.

"I'm fine!" Vegeta loured, taking on a battle stance, intent on buying as many minutes or even seconds as possible. Once Kakarot recovered, he could execute his backup plan perfectly, but not an instant before. He smirked inwardly at the fact that Frieza had underestimated him twice and paid the price for it and yet here he was again, digging his own grave by not finishing him off as hastily as possible. All the better!

"Hmph." The lizard readied his own stance. He wanted to test Vegeta's powers and see how great his ex-subordinate had truly become. The monkey Prince had no clue that his power was far, far higher than he let on, but he'd allow him to get his hopes up, only so he could grind them into the dirt, when the time was ripe!

Gohan and Krillin gulped, looking on nervously, as the two mortal enemies abruptly vanished and began battling midair, exchanging crunching blows with one-another.

"Err- Can you tell who's winning, Gohan?" Krillin asked nervously.

"I don't know." Replied the boy. "I can just barely follow their movements- a little. From what I can tell, it seems pretty even-"

"God, I never thought I'd be rooting for Vegeta." The bald man shook his head wryly.

"Let's cheer him on Krillin!" Gohan exclaimed, before turning his head up towards the sky and vehemently booming. "Come on Vegeta! You can do it! You're the greatest!"

The Prince frowned, as he heard the boy. That moment of distraction was all it took for Frieza to land an elbow to his jaw. Vegeta was sent rolling backwards midair, but was eventually able to regain his footing. He glared daggers at the demi-Saiyan.

"QUIT DISTRACTING ME, YOU LITTLE WEASEL!" He snarled lividly and Gohan cringed. The young half-Saiyan couldn't possibly have been more mortified. His face turned beet red and Krillin tried consoling him, telling him that Vegeta was just a heartless jerk and unworthy of his support to begin with, but it did little to assuage the hurt Gohan felt at being rebuffed so crudely.

"Excuse me!" Frieza frowned, drawing Vegeta's attention back to him.

"Do forgive." Smirked the Prince. "You know how pesky kids can be."

"I'm glad we agree on something." Replied the lizard, chuckling. "Shall we proceed?"

"By all means." With speed that surprised the lizard, Vegeta appeared right in front of him and landed a low punch to his enemy's midsection, causing him to keel over as spit flew out of his mouth. The Prince followed up with an elbow atop his foe's head, sending him plummeting straight to the ground. He then turned to Gohan and Krillin, "Out of the way!" He yelled, as he began firing Ki blasts without warning. The duo scarcely managed to avoid being caught in the explosion. Vegeta ensured not to overexert himself as he had before. He needed to conserve as much power as possible to buy time for Kakarot! Dammit! If nothing else, he'd probably just succeeded in pissing Frieza off! He should've known better.

Frieza, completely overcome with rage, shot straight up towards Vegeta like a rocket, landing his head underneath the Saiyan's chin, before following up with a hard right to the jaw, propelling Vegeta many yards away. Before he could land another hit, however, Vegeta recovered and appeared behind him, punching him so hard in the small of the back that he put a dent on his armor.

"Filthy Saiyan!" Frieza snarled and whirled around, firing a powerful Ki blast at the Prince. While Vegeta was deflecting the attack, the lizard appeared behind him and grabbed him in a full-nelson, midair. The Saiyan kept kicking and struggling, but to no avail.

"Let go!" He demanded.

"Something wrong, dear Prince?" Frieza's mood brightened, knowing he had his insubordinate underling right where he wanted him.

"Oh no! Krillin, we have to help him!" Gohan exclaimed frantically, as he observed the situation. He was about to intervene when Krillin grabbed his wrist.

"No, Gohan!" He shook his head. "We can't charge him head on, remember?! We need to catch him by surprise. Let's move in behind him." He then smirked. "I think it's time we avenge Nail and what better way then by using his very best technique!"

Gohan lips quirked up, as Krillin's words registered! The Wonder Blast (A/N: Refer to Chapter 12)! The boy nodded and the duo took to the air behind Frieza, shutting their eyes and concentrating, as they held their hands out in the appropriate position. Together they began to gather large amounts of energy from the three Namekian suns. Since Frieza's scouter had imploded, he was completely oblivious to their presence.

"You know Vegeta, I am beginning to wonder where exactly you've hidden your whore."

The Saiyan bristled in rage, pouring every last ounce of effort he had into maintaining his cool. He could not let this break his concentration!

"I'm sure she must be absolutely striking to have won your favor." The lizard remarked. "Oh, how I'm going to enjoy breaking her down, bit by bit, right in front of your very eyes." Vegeta's furious growl did nothing but fill the tyrant with glee, as he decided to cross the limits. "You know I always did take a liking to your mother."

Vegeta's heart froze and his motions coming to a sudden halt. His mother?! Why the fuck did that bastard bring her up?

"Did you know, I ordered the King to hand her over to me?" Frieza was grinning, as he felt the Saiyan's body shake with unparalleled lividity and execration. He went on. "He bluntly refused of course, so I gave him an ultimatum: either he deliver her or I take her by force and so that same night, he poisoned his darling Queen and she never again saw the light of day."

Vegeta's chest tightened, as a surge of pain shot through him, having no connection at all with the hold Frieza had on him. No! It couldn't be! His mother died of natural causes! Father had always told him so! Why would he lie for?! Did he really murder her, to protect her from that bastard, Frieza?!

"The mighty King Vegeta was never the same." The cruel tyrant sniggered. "Not long afterwards, I offered him the same ultimatum when it came to you and well, I guess you know how that story went."

Gohan and Krillin were hearing every word, as they continued to collect copious amounts of energy. The duo grit their teeth, unable to help it as a flood of sympathy streamed through them for their former enemy and the bitter feeling of revulsion they harbored towards Frieza further augmented, if it were even possible. The pair from Earth continued pouring more and more Ki into their joint attack.

Heart-rending memories that had long since been sealed away began to resurface within the tumultuous burrows of the Saiyan's turbulent mind.

The Queen sat on her knees, pulling her pint-sized cub into a maternal embrace, as she had every night before he went to bed, only now, he would wake up to see neither the myriad silken tresses of burnished black that gracefully flowed all the way down to her navel, nor the cosmic cassiterite of her boundless beaming eyes. He would never again feel the gentle touch of her soft, peachy skin or the soothing beat of her warm heart. He would never hear the melodic tune of her serene voice or smell the lingering fragrance of sacred lotus that effused from her everyday, whenever the bright, sangria sun of Planet Vegeta rose and he awoke to her blissful presence.

She pulled back and held her son by the shoulders, smiling warmly at him.

"You're too soft, mother!" The miniature Saiyan groused, pouting indignantly. "I'm four years old now! I don't need to be coddled by you!"

The ravishing woman laughed at the peculiar petulance of her beloved boy and brushed a slender hand through his feathery bangs.

"No matter how old you are, Vegeta, you're still my little Prince and nothing will ever change that."

"I'm not little!" The morose child gnashed his teeth. "One day I will grow up to be the most powerful Saiyan who ever lived! You'll see!"

"Yes you will, my son." The queen lovingly planted a protracted kiss on the boy's forehead, before placing a hand on his soft cheek. "And when that day comes, you'll bestow pride upon our race and redeem all the sins we've committed."

"Sins?" The Prince narrowed his eyes quizzically.

"Vegeta, what the Saiyans do is wrong." She explained, letting out a dejected sigh, her expression glum. "It took me a long time, but I see it now and maybe one day-" She paused and smiled at her son. "Maybe one day you'll see it too."

With strength he didn't know he had, Vegeta held back the torrent of tears that threatened to burst forth. Severe anguish flooded through him, replaced by a wave of guilt for much of the unnecessary evil he'd committed throughout a dreadful life wrought with unparalleled darkness, only to be squelched and followed by an intense rush of raw and uninhibited rage and vitriol towards the dastardly fiend who'd stolen his mother, the only person who had ever truly cared for him and would have died a hundred deaths, before handing him away. With a thunderous roar of fury, Vegeta broke through Frieza's hold and instantly whirled around, landing a swift palm straight on the bridge of his opponent's nose, disfiguring it. The tyrant let out a shriek of pain, as he staggered backwards midair. Vegeta brought both hands forward and fired an enormous Ki blast, fuelled by the smoldering ire coursing through his veins.

Just then, Gohan and Krillin had finished charging up the Wonder Blast and unleashed it directly at the enemy.

"WHAT?!" Frieza cried, too shocked to do a thing he was sandwiched between the furious forces of two intense powerhouses.

Vegeta took notice of what his two allies had done. Once the smoke cleared he capitalized by landing an inverted kick atop Frieza's head, followed by a series of flaming Ki blasts hurled at his plunging figure.

The tyrant was barely able to land on highly unsteady feet, his legs wobbling and body marred with searing burns and bloody lacerations. That was much too close for comfort. He was extremely lucky to be able to cling to life after having sustained such immensely powerful attacks.

"YOU MISERABLE FOOLS!" He yelled up at the trio. "YOU WILL ALL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS!" He'd grossly miscalculated the strength of his opponents! The Ginyu Force never stood a chance and neither did he, the most powerful being in the Universe, not as he was. Frieza placed his fists by his side and his power began skyrocketing. "AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!"

"We need to attack him now!" Vegeta yelled frantically at his two allies. "If he transforms we're history!"

Frieza smirked. So his pet monkey knew the truth about his transformation all along! Zarbon must have told him! He was purposely concealing such knowledge for some reason or other! Oh boy, now he was truly in for a surprise!

"Right, let's do it Krillin!" Gohan frowned as he began charging up a Masenko, putting a vast amount of energy into the attack, while Krillin flared a powerful Kamehameha wave and Vegeta poured his Ki into an intense Galick Gun attack!

By the time they'd launched their respective attacks, however, Frieza had already transformed. He'd shed his armor and grown about 8 feet tall. His horns curved up menacingly like the devil himself and to make matters worse, all the injuries he'd previously endured, had somehow vanished.