Space, somewhere between Earth and Namek.
Inside the capsule spaceship, Goku was upside-down, doing one-finger handstand push-ups under 100× gravity, sweat pooling on the ceiling.
The communicator crackled to life.
"Goku! Can you hear me? It's Bulma!"
He flipped right-side up, grinning ear-to-ear.
"Hey guys! How's Namek? Pretty, right?"
Krillin's panicked voice cut in. "Forget pretty! Frieza's here! Vegeta's here! They're killing everyone!"
Goku's eyes sparkled.
"Frieza?! The real Frieza?! And Vegeta got stronger? That's awesome!"
King Kai's voice suddenly boomed in his head, loud enough to rattle the ship.
"KAKAROT, YOU IDIOT! This isn't a tournament! Frieza will wipe you out in half a second if you show up half-cocked! Promise me if it looks bad, you turn that ship around and come home!"
Goku scratched his cheek. "Ehh… sure, sure, King Kai. But I've still got six days! I'll be waaay stronger by then!"
The call ended.
Goku cracked his knuckles, grin widening until it threatened to split his face.
"100× gravity? Too easy. Let's see how 150 feels!"
He slammed the multiplier button.
The ship groaned. Metal screamed.
Training intensity: officially insane.
He had no idea that by the time he landed, "stronger" would no longer be enough.
Namek several hours later.
Inside a damp cave on a tiny island.
Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan sat huddled around the glowing Dragon Radar like it was the last light in the universe.
Four blips already clustered in the same spot.
Frieza had four balls.
"Six days until Goku gets here," Bulma whispered, hugging her knees. "If we can grab even one and bury it on the other side of the planet…"
Krillin nodded slowly. "Worth the risk. Without all seven, Frieza can't wish for immortality."
Gohan looked up, trying to sound brave. "I'll go. I'm the quietest."
Krillin ruffled his hair. "We'll both go. You're strong, kid."
A pause.
Then
The world ended.
Not literally. But every instinct in their bodies screamed that death itself had just looked in their direction.
An aura, cold, bottomless, and malicious beyond words, swept across the planet like a tidal wave of pure terror.
Gohan whimpered. Krillin slapped a hand over the boy's mouth, yanking him deeper into the shadows.
Bulma's teeth chattered so hard she had to clamp both hands over her own mouth to stay silent.
Frieza's ki.
Close.
Getting closer.
Three smaller, but still monstrous signatures trailed behind it Dodoria, Zarbon, and a swarm of elite soldiers.
They streaked overhead, a flock of white-armored demons blotting out the sun.
The pressure alone crushed the grass flat outside the cave.
Gohan's eyes filled with tears he refused to let fall.
Krillin's entire body shook.
Bulma stopped breathing for a full thirty seconds.
Then, mercifully, the nightmare passed.
The auras kept moving, hunting the next village.
Silence returned, broken only by three people trying not to cry.
Krillin was the first to speak, voice barely a whisper.
"…That's Frieza."
Bulma hugged her knees tighter.
"I want to go home."
Gohan stared at the cave floor, fists clenched so hard his nails drew blood.
"I'm… I'm not strong enough. Not yet."
Far away, high above the clouds, Vegeta opened one eye.
He felt it too that suffocating, familiar evil.
His lips peeled back in a feral grin.
"Good. Stay afraid, Frieza."
He closed his eye again.
"Because soon, it's going to be your turn."