Ch. 136: Goku vs. Frieza

"Why did you kill him!? He was totally exhausted! He couldn't lift a finger, much less fight back!" As soon as Goku saw Vegeta's body slump to the ground, lifeless, he started yelling at Frieza. 

"He was trying to kill me. In fact, that monkey on the ground behind you has been a real pain lately. His life was forfeit the moment that he decided to become hostile to me." Frieza said matter-of-factly, dropping down from the bluff that he'd been standing on and approaching the lone Goku.

"He wasn't a threat to you, or anyone!" Goku argued, but Frieza didn't care. 

"You'll all die in the end anyways. Vegeta should be glad that his was at least quick. I suppose you're volunteering to be next, just like he did, then?" Frieza said dismissively. He'd been wounded. About half of his body was stained black by the few powerful attacks that had very nearly gotten through his defenses, and the tip of his tail had been cut off. Due to all of that, Frieza was angry, but he still hadn't lost his upper hand. His full power was four times stronger than what he'd displayed so far, and he'd practically steamrolled over even the strongest of the warriors facing him so far. Goku may have talked tough, but there was no chance of him being strong enough to be a true match against Frieza at even half strength, Frieza knew. 

With a wave of his hand, Goku created a grave for Vegeta. "We'll wish you back, I swear." He promised the body as he gently placed it into the hole, before reburying it in a flash. Frieza just watched him, not saying a thing. All of the other warriors who'd been fighting him had already left eyesight and would need to be hunted anyways, so he wasn't in any sort of rush.

"With the Dragon Balls on Earth, correct? I suppose my next destination has been set. I'll have to torture and kill whatever loved ones you have remaining, after all. Something to lift my spirits after this monumental waste of time, I suppose." Frieza interjected, causing Goku to give him a death glare. 

"You're welcome to try, Frieza... but I'll stop you first!" Goku declared, readying his battle stance, "Fight me, Frieza!" 

"I thought you'd never ask. Are you certain that you're done whining over that failure of a prince?" Frieza goaded, getting into his own fighting stance. 

"Vegeta was complicated, that's for sure, but he wasn't born evil. You made him that way, even though he never wanted it." Goku looked back at the grave he had just dug as he spoke, "I think I understood you, in your last moments. You just wanted to protect what you held close. Your family, and your pride..."

"You're too soft!" Attempting to take advantage of the moment where Goku was looking at Vegeta's grave rather than him, Frieza charged at the Saiyan, fist outstretched.

"And you're too cold!" Even though Goku wasn't actually looking at Frieza, he was still the same person who would eventually awaken Autonomous Ultra Instinct. The chances of his guard actually going all the way down in front of such a powerful, clearly rearing to fight, foe were none to nil. Easily brushing Frieza's fist aside, he unleashed a counterattack, which was also blocked. 

The two quickly picked up the pace, flashing across the landscape and the sky at a speed faster than the eye could see as they grappled with each other, exchanging powerful blows. For every kick from Frieza, there was a punch from Goku and vice-versa, but both combatants seemed to be pretty much even in terms of power, so the only thing that ended up originating from the clashes were dozens of shockwaves, which caused the ocean, which had grown fairly still after Vegeta's attack, to rage once again in protest. 

...

"I'm going to die here..." Krillin couldn't help but mutter to himself as he barely managed to trace Goku and Frieza's afterimages as they fought. Unfortunately for Krillin, he knew Goku better than anyone from all of the time that he'd spent with him. Goku always started off a fight at a snail's pace, and the battle would grow in ferocity from there. 

After cutting off Frieza's tail, the tyrant had immediately taken an (incredibly murderous) interest in Krillin, so he'd used a Solar Flare to disappear, and then immediately begun blending in with the landscape, masking his energy on impulse. As a result, literally everybody had managed to lose sight of the bald fighter.

Nobody knew where he was at all, but Krillin couldn't move an inch for fear of getting noticed. He cursed the orange Gi that he'd had Piccolo make for him before they had originally attempted to call the Namekian Dragon. Looking back, wearing green in the Namekian landscape was clearly a far better choice, camouflage-wise. Now, he was feeling the terrible, yet natural results of his decision to hide. It'd saved his life for now, but everybody else had already fled the battlefield, leaving Goku and Frieza to fight all-out directly in front of Krillin.

A single stray shockwave would have disastrous results for the human, but moving held the risk of being spotted, and Krillin knew that Frieza held a grudge with the best of them. The moment he was noticed, Frieza would almost certainly break away from Goku to kill him on the spot. 

...

Finally, the grappling between Frieza and Goku stopped. They had reached a stalemate. Frieza's right hand was extended toward Goku's eyes, clearly not meant to punch, but to poke. The only thing keeping the Saiyan's eyes intact was the fact that he'd caught it in his own right hand.

"Mmmhhhmmm?" Goku tried to mutter something, but he'd also caught Frieza's tail in his mouth, so his 'Seriously?' just ended up sounding like incomprehensible mumbles. Spitting the tail out and letting to of the tyrant's fist, the two broke apart, and he asked the question again. "Seriously?"

Frieza shrugged in response, "I'm trying to kill you." He didn't bother with excuses.

"Dirty tricks aren't going to win this for you, Frieza." Goku replied, raising his fists again.