Main Landing sight of the Arcrosian fleet..

Frieza and cold hovered several dozen feet in the air, just a few yards over the apex of their ships. Frieza had his arms crossed, fingers drumming impatiently against his ivory skin. Cold meanwhile, wore a dissatisfied expression but his bodily demeanor was calm and collected, hands laced together behind his back.

The Arcrosian patriarch had reverted to his suppressed state while his youngest son remained in his true form, clearly still feeling the sting of having been blazingly insulted by the resistance since arriving on the planet two days ago. Never in all his life had he faced such transgressions and let justice go undone for so long. Alas, he could not simply erase this wretched planet and its people from the cosmos like he had so many others.. His prize was too important.

"Where the hell are they!?" Frieza lamented for what must have been the hundredth time. By 'they' He was of course referring to the Namekians and their dragonballs. So far every single report he'd received was more or less the same. Each time his soldiers would raid a Namekian village and each time the entire village would be deserted.

"There's over one hundred villages on this planet according to the few insects we were able to torture…" Frieza continued. "So why have they all been empty!? There's no way those blasted saiyans have somehow made it to every single village already!"

Beside the ranting emperor, his massive father sighed and his broad shoulders fell slightly. "Frieza.." His father said tentatively. ".. Do please try and calm down." Cold requested.

Frieza turned to his father with an incredulous look. "Calm down? Calm down? Do you understand how important this mission is father? These mystical orbs do not exist anywhere else in the entire universe. I must have them!" He said with clenched fists raised in front of him in fury.

"Why?" His father asked simply.

Frieza looked taken aback for a minute. "W-why? Because they are a means to an end! I can rule for all of eternity!" He yelled while rolling his eyes, as if it should have been obvious. In response Cold unfolded his arms and rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'I have spoiled you and held your hand for too long my son.'

"You have more potential than any other creature in all of existence, Frieza. You live at the height of technological capabilities. If you truly wished to rule forever, you could. You simply need to make an effort, my son." Cold said, trying his best not to let his irritation show through.

Frieza looked either angry or constipated and for a moment it seemed as if he were about to throw a tantrum. However he was distracted when he noticed massive swarms of soldiers beginning to return to base. "What in the hell?" He asked, clearly puzzled, his anger forgotten. As one of his elite groups came within ear shot he ordered them over.

Once they got close enough to make out the features of the Arcrosian they immediately realized they'd somehow slighted their emperor.. and that was typically a deadly mistake. "What is the meaning of this?" Frieza demanded. You dare defy lord Frieza's orders!? Why are you returning without the objects I demanded you bring me?"

The lead soldier was some type of green humanoid lizard. The man was visibly sweating and shaking. "Forgive us sire! Y-your father ordered our retreat!" He pleaded. Frieza turned to his father with equal parts confusion and accusation.

"Father? What is he talking about?" He asked, clearly not believing the man. However he certainly didn't expect for his father to nod in affirmation.

Waving the frightened warriors away, Cold floated closer to his son with a placating look on his face. "Frieza. Daddy loves you. But you have to be able to recognize when the situation calls for a little bit of a.. Firm hand."

Frieza looked confused but that confusion quickly turned to sheer disbelief and no small amount of aggrievance. King Cold turned his body slightly and without warning fired off an energy blast.

The orb of violet energy whistled like a bomb falling, as it soared through the air, exploding somewhere far off in the distance. There were screams of terror from the men as they certainly hadn't expected a blast of that magnitude and plus not all of them had made it back yet.

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"Father no, the dragon balls!" But it was too late. Cold had already struck.

The Arcrosian king turned to his son with a dismissive look. "Frieza, honestly dear, use your head. This planet has only gone dark once in the nearly three days we've been here. It has three suns. It's obvious that those Namekians.." He said with disgust. ".. Used the dragon balls the moment we arrived. What they used them for I have no idea but that may explain why the saiyans have become so powerful and could heal like that.. Now is the time we must strike. Fast and hard." He said decisively.

"You!.. You cannot simply expect me to just abandon-!" Frieza began, but was cut off by his father. "Your brother has found another planet containing these 'dragon balls'..."

At this Frieza's eyes widened to the size of saucers but his father continued on before he could respond. "... And once we've wiped out every last one of these fools who dared stand against our family.. We will attack their homeworld and take their wish granting orbs. Truly Frieza.. It seems as if Cooler has displayed more competence during this little crusade that you insisted upon. I do hope you'll take things more seriously from now on." He said with naked disdain.

He turned his body sideways and raised his arm once more. He gathered a crackling purple energy in his palm and began lazily firing blasts of plasma off into the horizon. Each one shook the planet with the force of a thermonuclear explosion.

'You dare!.. No one speaks to lord Frieza this way..' The emperor narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he turned away. On the surface he was calm and placid but within his mind… Dark thoughts churned.

With the resistance members…

Dende was panting and tired. Sweat pooled at the boy's feet. 'I have to keep going!.. but the pain..'

He could feel the Arcrosians tearing the planet apart. Sure the others felt it too.. but not as intimately as Dende, as he was now linked to all living things on Namek and even the planet itself. He knew they didn't have much longer before everything was destroyed. With each blast, an arc of pain shot through him.

That, coupled with the strenuous efforts of awakening so many powerful individuals at once, pushed the boy beyond a healthy point of exhaustion.

The others were sharing looks of grave concern. They weren't sure if the planet could take much more of this. Clearly Frieza, or at the very least one of his men, were tired of this game of cat and mouse. They had decided they would either draw the resistance out.. Or they would doom them all.

Dende was finished with the Earthlings but now he had the saiyans' power to unlock. Although they were fewer in number, they were much more powerful; Therefore, it would take a lot more energy and effort to draw out their inner potential.

Walking up to the small boy who was clearly long past his limit, Kakarot's blue haired wife bent down.

"Will this help?" Bulma questioned, holding up a small green bean. The panting Dende frowned in confusion. "W-what.. is it?" He huffed.

"It'll give you all of your energy and stamina back. You can take this one, and one more when you're done and we'll still have a few left for the final battle, ok?" She smiled reassuringly.

Dende thought about arguing but he was too exhausted and frankly just wanted the pain to go away. He nodded with enthusiasm and appreciation. "Yes..Please.."

As soon as the boy consumed the bean it made it's mythical effects known. A look of shock crossed the boy's features as all signs of wear and tear disappeared from his body. He stood up straight and took in a deep breath as a semi-transparent green Aura exploded around him. "Oh my gosh! Thank you! With this I can definitely finish the job!" He concluded.

"Are you sure you're ok? Don't push yourself too hard, we're in this together. There's no reason for you to play hero and get hurt in the process. That's what the guys are for." Bulma reminded the child with a joking laugh.

Dende looked up at her and smiled. "I know but.. that's exactly why!.. it's not just my people anymore. It's the entire universe now. We all have to push past our limits. Together." The boy insisted.

For a moment a look of shock crossed Bulma's features. 'It's easy to forget how wise and mature he has become.. this poor boy is so young..' But then she smiled as encouragingly as she could. "Right!" She turned to the Vegeta, Nappa, Turles and Raditz before flashing them a thumbs up. "You heard the man, boy's! Let's hurry up so we can go save this planet!" She ordered.

"Right!" The warriors concurred in unison. Vegeta was the first to step forward. "There's one more thing everyone should know that likely only Nappa and myself are privy to.. Frieza and his family can survive in space. So if we don't get to them before this planet goes full nova.. well you do the math." He warned ominously.

The others shared a collective gasp and a look of worry. What could they do against an enemy that could just leave them all stranded in the vacuum of space if they somehow actually managed to turn the tables?

"Keep those fucking dragon balls on stand by." Turles called from the back of the group jarring everyone from their depressing thoughts. The others chuckled half heartedly and the saiyans lined up before Dende. "All right, little green." Raditz spoke. "It's up to you. Make us as strong as Kakarot!" He laughed, earning a glare from Vegeta and a laugh from everyone else.

As they began the ritual, Bulma made her way over to her husband. It was true that he had become the strongest.. But only she truly knew what it had cost him. No one else had noticed as he had slid towards the outer edge of the group, clutching his chest as he attempted to catch his breath. "Kakarot are you..?" She questioned hesitantly.

He jumped in surprise and attempted to recover his posture. "Oh hey I uh!.." His mind scrambled to come up with some excuse but that all melted away as his wife gave him a sad, knowing look.

His eyes widened before he relaxed his posture and sighed. He let his shoulders slump. "I'm dying, Bulma. Sure I knew my life would be shortened due to my little stunt against Frieza but.. It's something else. Something inside me.. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on.." He admitted.

His wife went pale. Before she could help herself she threw her arms around him and buried her head into his chiseled chest. His strong arms wrapped her up in a comforting embrace. "As long as you need to.. My love.."

End of chapter 53

*Cooler's voice* "No children were harmed in the making of this arc."

*Gohan begins struggling and making a loud ruckus in the background*

*Cooler's voice* "Excuse me.."

Clack clack clack

*Thump!*

"oof!"

Clack clack clack

*Cooler's voice* "Ahem.. One child was harmed in the making of this arc…"