Chapter 25 Part 2

During all this commotion, Dende had managed to back himself up against the rock face, his entire body shaking violently. Bulma and Kuririn’s (and
especially Vegita’s) sudden appearance had shocked and terrified him. But what had him so worked up now was the strange things they were
saying. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but both Kuririn and Bulma were hesitating, so he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like it.
He also had a feeling that it involved him.

Bulma noticed the distraught look on his face, and she smiled softly at him. He deserved an explanation. “Fine, Kuririn,” she said, trying not to
sound too upset. “I’ll do it then. Please go tell Dende what’s going on, will you? He’ll need to be ready in case I accidentally overdo it and Vegita
fades out too fast.”

Although she hadn’t really meant to, she made Kuririn feel guilty after that. He knew she’d never killed anyone before, and it would be that much
harder for her because of it. He felt like the biggest louse in the world.

Bulma saw the indecision in his face, and she knew that although he definitely didn’t want to have to do this, he would if she asked him to again.
Fortunately for him, though, she wasn’t that kind of person. She just frowned and ordered him to get a move on and fill Dende in on the details. He
did as she asked.

Bulma drew in a long, slow breath and studied Vegita. She didn’t like this. Even if it WAS Vegita, she didn’t like it. But it had to be done, so she
readied herself for the inevitable.

“Are you ready?” She asked Vegita emotionlessly.

“Are you?” He replied, watching her without too much concern. He seemed pretty sure of himself.

Bulma closed her eyes in concentration. She had to get into the right frame of mind for this. For that, she had to make herself hate him enough to
kill him. And strangely enough, that wasn’t as easy as it sounded. But she focused her thoughts on all the things he’d done to her – and even more
importantly – to her friends. He’d been responsible for the deaths of Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Chouzu, and Yamucha. Yamucha! Just thinking about the
awful way he had to die made her furious. But that wasn’t all Vegita had done. Oh no! On top of all that, he always seemed to be there whenever
she had gotten herself in major trouble. And not only was he there, but he was always quick to point her mistakes out to her, and rub them in her
face. First there was Dodoria. Then there was that time he traded her for their dragonballs. And then there was that whole disaster with Jees. And
even recently, when she’d nearly been killed by Freeza, there he was to criticize her right after she’d been healed by Dende. He always seemed to
enjoy rubbing her mistakes in her face! Always! She hated him for it!

Bulma had managed to work herself into a nice little rage by now, which was precisely what she wanted. She immediately channeled her anger as a
manifestation of her power, and she used it to charge up her ki. She opened her eyes and focused on Vegita’s middle.

“Ready!” She snarled, drawing her right fist back as she powered up.

“Strike!” Vegita cried, letting his arms fly out away from his body and tensing up. He was ready.

Bulma concentrated all the ki power she could at the end of her arm. She knew this beam would have to be fairly dense and powerful to penetrate
Vegita’s armor and skin, so she was working fiercely to achieve sufficient ki concentration at the end of her arm. Finally, she was sure that she had
gathered enough ki power to level a small city, and she prepared to blast him.

Freeza and Piccolo had by now moved their struggle until they were directly overhead, but only Kuririn and Dende had taken notice of this. They
were both too scared to speak, though, so Bulma and Vegita would have to remain oblivious.

Bulma yelled ferociously with the effort, and she shot her deadly blast at Vegita’s middle. It crunched almost effortlessly through his armor, and
Bulma could see right away that she’d been successful. Vegita’s eyes opened terribly wide, and his teeth and fists clenched as her blast pierced his
skin and seared its way completely through his stomach. The remnants of her blast that hadn’t been slowed sufficiently enough by Vegita’s body
cracked open the back of his armor and shot completely through the other side of him.

Vegita looked shakily down at the gaping hole in his middle. He smiled faintly, and looked approvingly back up at her. “You did it,” he said, a bit of
blood beginning to trickle down the corner of his mouth. Then his eyes rolled back a little, and he fell to the ground.

Bulma sank to her knees, having suddenly been overcome by an intense wave of nausea. She couldn’t believe she had just done that. She actually
shot straight through Vegita’s middle. For a moment she didn’t care why she had done it. She just wished she could take it back. It was an awful,
sickening feeling to know that she had just dealt a death blow to Vegita.

“Dende,” she croaked, still struggling with her own emotions. “Please heal him quickly! I wounded him far too badly for him to last long.”

“Um, Bulma?” Kuririn said nervously, eyeing the two fighters still grappling in the air above them. “There’s a slight hitch in the plan. Dende says he
can’t heal Vegita. He can’t bring himself to heal the man who was responsible for the deaths of so many of his people.”

“What?!” Bulma gasped, looking up sharply. “No! But I’ve already hit him! He won’t survive this, Dende!”

“I’m sorry,” Dende said, shaking his head and looking down at the ground. “I can’t in good conscience do such a thing.”

“But he’ll die!” Bulma wailed, her voice becoming shrill and frantic. “Dende, please! You know I wouldn’t ask you for something like this if it wasn’t
absolutely necessary! We need Vegita’s boost in strength to save Piccolo!” She got to her feet then, and just as she did so, Piccolo’s nearly-lifeless
body fell next to her with a thump. She yelped in surprise and jumped back, looking up as she did so. Freeza was up there, and he was looking
down at them with a great deal of surprise.

Suddenly a distressed yell came from the other side of the hill. “Piccolo!” Gohan yelled, sailing over to their side and darting to his friend’s side. “No!
Piccolo, are you all right?”

Momentarily forgetting Vegita, Bulma glared up at Freeza. He was smirking now and he dropped down before them.

“What have we here?” He asked with a sneer. “Did I miss yet another get-together? Oh dear, and here I am improperly attired too! What shall I do
about this? I know! I’ll just slip into something more becoming!”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” Bulma asked crossly. “I’m getting tired of all your nonsense, Freeza!”

Freeza flashed her a grin. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this. “I was simply apologizing for the unpleasantness of this form,” he said politely.
“It is rather unbecoming, don’t you agree? Fortunately, though, I can remedy this situation! For as you shall see in a few moments, I have yet
another transformation to undergo before I am at full power. And I can assure you, it’s much easier to look at than this one is. Since you are
obviously a woman of taste, I am assuming that you would like to see my other form. Am I right?”

The sudden paling of Bulma’s face seemed to have the desired effect, because his grin widened. Bulma stepped back a bit and shook her head in
disbelief. “You’re kidding!” She exclaimed, horrified. “It can’t be true!”

“So you would enjoy that, wouldn’t you?” He laughed at her. He watched her gleefully as she began to shake out of fear and anger together. But
receiving no verbal response from her, he just continued. “Well, far be it from me to disappoint a lady!” He chuckled, bowing gracefully. “Just watch
this, and be the first beings alive to witness my transformation into my final – and ultimate – form!”

“No!” Bulma said in a barely audible voice. She balled her hands into fists and snarled at Freeza. “No!” She repeated, much louder this time. “You
can’t! I won’t let you!” Screaming in desperation and fury, she flew at him with all her might, fists raised and ki flaring. When she reached him, she
swung forcefully at his head, but found herself swinging through empty air. He rematerialized a good hundred yards away in a flat, rocky place that
was well within view. He laughed tauntingly at her, telling her to have patience; he’d give her a run for her money in his new form! Bulma screamed
in her rage, and tried to lunge at him, but Kuririn and Gohan darted in and held her back.

“Let me go!” She cried, struggling against them. “Don’t you see that we won’t have a snowball’s chance in hell if we let him transform again? We’ve
got to stop him before it’s too late!”

“What are we gonna do, huh?” Kuririn asked angrily, helping Gohan drag her back toward the others. “You think we stand a chance against him
now? Do you honestly think that there’s anything we can do to stop him from doing whatever the hell he wants? Well, I don’t! Now, dammit, Bulma,
calm down! We have to take care of Piccolo first! He’s going to die if we don’t, and you’re going to die if we let you go fight Freeza without any
help!”

They finally managed to get her to calm down, and as she stood watching Freeza helplessly, they got Dende to begin healing Piccolo. It was then
that she remembered Vegita.

“Oh God!” She exclaimed. “Vegita! I can’t believe I forgot!” She ran over to his side and looked down at him. He hadn’t moved since he fell. Bulma
gulped. She bent over and gently turned him over onto his back. He was still breathing, but he didn’t look like he had much time left. “Oh man,
Vegita, please don’t die!” She whispered. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know Dende wouldn’t heal you! This is all my fault!” She felt like crying. She’d never
killed anyone before, and even though Vegita had done a lot of bad things, he really hadn’t provoked her attack, so she had killed him unjustly. She
didn’t want to have to live with this. She didn’t want him to die! She had to try again. If only Dende would listen to her! Perhaps he might still be
persuaded to undo the harm she’d caused.

She trotted over to the others, who were all crowded around Piccolo, with Dende already halfway through the healing process. Bulma was pretty
glad that Freeza hadn’t totally killed Piccolo. They really needed him. But unfortunately, they really needed Vegita too, and unless she could get
Dende to help him, they could count him out.

Finally, Dende finished healing Piccolo, who sat up and smiled at him kindly. “Hello, Dende,” he said, giving Dende quite a start. It wasn’t Piccolo’s
voice that had said it. Rather, it was Nail’s voice that had come from Piccolo’s lips!

“Nail!?” Dende gasped, stepping back. “Wha-?!”

“It’s okay,” Piccolo – or Nail’s voice in Piccolo – said kindly. “I’m here, but not the same. Piccolo and I fused so that he could be made strong
enough to fight Freeza. We are now, essentially, one and the same person.” “So that was why Piccolo was so strong all of the sudden?” Kuririn
asked.

“Yes,” Dende said. “When two Nameks join their bodies and minds as one, the result is a stronger, faster, smarter Namek warrior.”

“Well, now that Piccolo… er… Nail… whatever,” Bulma floundered. “Now that they’re healed, I have to ask you again to please heal Vegita, Dende.
It’s unfair for us to let him die, since he was unwilling to fight me back when I wounded him. He allowed me to hurt him because he knew we would
revive him. I’m begging you, Dende. Don’t let him die!”

Dende looked like he was about to refuse again, but Piccolo put his hand on the young Namek’s shoulder. “Heal him, Dende,” he said, this time with
his normal voice. “Try to put your feelings for him aside. We need his help.”

Dende sighed and nodded. It appeared that he respected Piccolo enough to do what he asked, much to everyone’s relief. He walked over to the
barely living Vegita and grudgingly began to heal him. Bulma breathed a sigh of relief and sank to the ground wearily. That was just too close for her
comfort. Thank goodness Piccolo had done that!

“Hey Piccolo,” she said, not bothering to lift her head as he got to his feet and watched Freeza off in the distance. “I think we need to bring Goku
here. I was hoping that once Dende was done healing Vegita I could take him back to Freeza’s compound so that he could finish healing Goku.”

“I think that’s a very good idea,” Piccolo said grimly. “We really do need his help here, especially now that Freeza’s transforming yet again.”

“Will you do this for us, Dende?” Bulma pleaded, looking up at him hopefully. “I know that it must seem like we’re just using you here, but it’s really
important that we make sure Goku’s here to help us.”

Dende just smiled briefly at her. He was too deep in his concentration to answer her yet. Finally, he finished healing Vegita, and as the Saiyan
warrior got to his feet, Bulma could sense the drastic improvement in his strength and power. But for a moment, she didn’t worry at all about it. She
was just so relieved that he was actually going to live. She stood up again and looked gratefully down at Dende.

“Thank you, Dende,” she said happily.

Dende just remained where he was, his fists clenched tightly at his sides and his teeth bared angrily. He had healed Vegita, but that didn’t mean
that any of his feelings for the Saiyan had changed. Vegita looked down at him with a fierce scowl. Suddenly and without warning, he drew back
his arm and swiftly backhanded Dende in the face. It was a fairly light blow – for Vegita, that is – but it was more than enough than was required
to knock the small boy roughly to the ground.

“Vegita!” Bulma shrieked, appalled at what he’d done. “Why the hell…?!”

“That was for trying to let me die,” Vegita said mildly, ignoring her. He walked away from Dende and looked at Freeza off in the distance. “I heard
every word that was said. I may have been dying, but I wasn’t deaf!”

Bulma started. “You heard everything?” She asked, suddenly rather embarrassed.

Vegita paused and, turning around, looked at her suddenly with an odd expression. “Yes,” he replied, giving her a look that made her very
uncomfortable indeed. “Everything.”

Without realizing it, Bulma blushed in her embarrassment. Boy, that figured. It seemed that he always got to see her whenever she was making a
fool of herself. What a jerk.

Vegita smirked, and then turned back around to watch Freeza again. Bulma frowned, and then sent a look of apology at Dende. He just shrugged at
her and got up to dust himself off. He didn’t seem too surprised by what Vegita had done to him, although he had the beginnings of a fine bruise on
the side of his face where he’d been struck. Piccolo kind of growled at Vegita, but Vegita was ignoring them altogether.

“You know,” he said suddenly, not even looking back at them. “Freeza saw every bit of that. Now he knows how we keep recovering from our
wounds, and I have a feeling he isn’t going to allow it to go on.”

Bulma gasped in horror and stared at Freeza. Vegita was right. He was right in the middle of his transformation, but it was more than obvious that
he had witnessed everything. He was staring straight at them with those cold eyes of his, and the look of hatred on his face was enough to take
one’s breath away. Bulma looked down at Dende, and he looked back as they shared the same thought. It wasn’t too difficult to see which one
would get the privilege of being Freeza’s first victim now. Dende was going to be the first to go. He gulped and looked up at Piccolo, who was
staring at Freeza sternly.

“Bulma,” Piccolo said abruptly, startling her. “I think you and Dende should go get Goku now. It’ll be better if you can get as much of a head start
as possible.”

Bulma nodded, fully understanding that Goku wasn’t the only reason she was taking Dende to Freeza’s compound. It was probably best for him to
remain out of sight from now on, and now that this hill had been compromised – the only place to hide for miles – it was time to move him to a safer
place.

“Come on, Dende,” Bulma said, reaching for his hand, which he gave to her without hesitation. “It’s time to make our exit. You four be careful,
okay? I know there’s really no need to say this, but try not to get killed until I get back. Dende won’t be able to help you if you’ve crossed over
into the afterlife.”

Piccolo smirked. “You just bring Goku here,” he said. “We’ll take care of Freeza.”

“Don’t bother,” Vegita said casually. “There won’t be anything left of Freeza to worry about when you get back.”

Bulma glanced up at him and frowned slightly. That cocky attitude of his just might get him killed. Sighing and shaking her head, she looked back
down at Dende.

“Are you ready?” She asked him with a light smile.

“Yes,” he said, nodding quickly. “Let’s hurry.”

“You’ve got it,” she said, nodding back. She stood up and, with a brief but reassuring nod at Kuririn and Gohan, she stopped time. She picked up
Dende and, cradling him in her arms like a baby, took off with him for Freeza’s compound. She knew that once she got there they’d have to work
fast. There was just no telling what might happen in the short span of time it would take to revive Goku. Coming back would be no problem. She’d
simply teleport him there as soon as he was healed. That would be best.

She finally arrived with Dende at the compound, and she didn’t bother to allow time to flow normally again until they were in the recovery room.
Then she halted her teleport and set Dende down gently on his feet.

“Goku’s in this tank here,” Bulma said, rushing over to examine the controls on the outside. “If I can figure out how to open this thing, we’ll be in
business!”

“Okay, but please hurry!” Dende cried, fidgeting nervously. “Freeza’s finished with his transformation!”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Bulma said grimly. “I can feel it too.” Freeza was so powerful right now that the very feel of him so overwhelmed
her ki sense that it made her head hurt. “Oh hell!” She cursed angrily, giving up on the indecipherable control panel. “There’s no time for this! Stand
back, Dende!”

He did as she ordered, and Bulma carefully punched through the view port, shattering the glass and causing the blue liquid to come pouring out of
the hole. She reached in and grabbed the inside rim of the viewport with both hands. Then, pulling with all her might, she slowly tore the door
away, allowing the rest of the liquid inside to pour out all over the floor – and herself. “Okay,” she said, tossing the door aside and reaching in to
detach the breathing apparatus from Goku’s face. “I’m going to lay him down on the floor here, okay, Dende?” She said, pulling him gently out of
the tank and hoisting him onto her shoulders.

“All right,” Dende replied, stepping back to give her some more space. She laid Goku gently at his feet, and Dende knelt down beside him and placed
his hands on Goku’s chest.

“This shouldn’t take long,” Dende said, as he began to concentrate.

“All right,” Bulma sighed. They were halfway there. She concentrated her senses on what was happening out on the battlefield. Everyone was still
out there – and pretty healthy, as far as she could tell – but only Vegita and Freeza’s ki signatures were flaring and active. Vegita and Freeza had
begun to fight. Bulma could tell right away that unless that whole “Super Saiyan” mumbo jumbo took effect soon, Vegita was in for a real beating.
Although his ki and battle power were now truly magnificent, he was still insanely inferior to Freeza in both respects. Bulma shifted her weight
around from one foot to the other in her nervousness. So far Freeza had only been toying with Vegita, but suddenly she felt a huge rush of ki as he
turned up the juice. He then proceeded to beat the living snot out of the hapless Saiyan prince, and Bulma could sense each distinct blow as well
as the toll it took on Vegita’s strength. It wouldn’t take very much more of this to put Vegita out of commission for good.

“All done!” Dende said suddenly, sitting back. Bulma spun around and saw – with no small degree of relief – that Goku was sitting up and lively as
ever.

“Hey, thanks!” Goku said, patting Dende on the head. “You put all the doctors back on Earth to shame, Dende!”

Dende giggled, and he grinned at Bulma. He liked Goku already.

Goku got up onto his feet and stretched a bit. “Man, I feel great!” He said happily.

“Um, Goku?” Bulma said apprehensively. She could feel Veigta’s signal dwindling. There was no time for this. They had to go now!

Goku must have known what she was thinking. “Right,” he said. He was all business now. “I already know what’s been going on, Bulma. I’ve been
keeping up with things with my ki sense. Believe it or not, I was awake for everything after you guys finished your wishes and Freeza appeared.”

“Um,” Bulma said nervously, “we never did get to finish our wishes, Goku. I guess you’d better read my thoughts so you’ll know what’s going on. But
hurry! We need to get out there quick, because Freeza’s killing Vegita!”

“Right!” Goku said, his expression hardening. He put his hand on her head, and Bulma felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of her neck. It felt
different when Goku read her mind. But he was done in much less time than it took Saichorou. “Okay, Bulma,” he said when he was done. “Take me
there now. You’re right. I can feel Vegita’s life slipping away.”

“Should I go too?” Dende asked calmly.

“No!” Goku said right away. “It’s much too dangerous for you! Freeza will kill you on sight if he sees you again! No, I think it’s best that we just
leave you here. If we need your help, I’ll send Bulma with whoever needs healing.”

“But what if Bulma’s the one who needs healing?” Dende asked worriedly.

Goku was at a loss for words. He scratched his head in consternation. Bulma almost giggled at him. Goku never was one for coming up with ideas.

“Ah well!” He said decisively and shrugging. “I’ll just see to it that she doesn’t have to fight!”

Bulma sighed. Oh yeah, that sounded easy enough! Leave it to Goku to think of a foolproof plan. “Don’t worry Dende,” she said reassuringly. “I’ll be
careful. We’ll be all right. You just wait. In no time at all we’ll all come back to tell you the good news!”

“Ready, Goku?” She said quickly. Vegita was nearly gone.

“Ready!” He said. “Let’s go, Bulma!”

She grabbed onto Goku’s right arm. “Rapid Teleport!” She cried. She took off with him through the ship and in no time – literally – they were outside
and she was flying him toward the battlefield. She was too deep in concentration and worry to realize that this time Vegita was the one who
needed rescuing.


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