The dust settled.
Where a moment ago a small, elegant tyrant had floated, now stood a two-and-a-half-meter horned monster, shoulders broad enough to eclipse the sun, tail thick as a tree trunk.
Frieza rolled his neck once, vertebrae popping like gunfire.
"Ahhh… much better."
His voice had dropped two octaves, smooth and deep and utterly convinced of its own divinity.
"One million, Vegeta. Can your little monkey brain even comprehend that number?"
He spread his arms, letting the pressure roll off him in waves.
Mountains in the distance cracked just from the overflow.
Vegeta landed lightly on the shattered island, boots crunching on powdered stone.
He had to crane his neck to meet Frieza's eyes.
He stared for three full seconds.
Then he opened his mouth.
And laughed.
Not the sharp, princely bark from before.
This was full-throated, head-thrown-back, tears-in-the-eyes laughter.
The kind that made Frieza's new horns twitch.
"One million?" Vegeta wheezed, wiping his eye. "That's your big reveal? One measly million?"
Frieza's smirk faltered.
Vegeta stepped forward, still chuckling, until he was nose-to-chest with the towering second form.
He looked straight up, golden bangs falling back, teal eyes shining with pure, delighted contempt.
"I cleared two-and-a-half million before I even triggered the transformation, you overgrown gecko."
He patted Frieza's chest plate like it was a faulty vending machine.
"This?" Vegeta flicked the exoskeleton; the impact rang like a church bell and left a visible dent. "This is your final form's warm-up act?"
Frieza's eye twitched.
Vegeta leaned in, voice dropping to a stage whisper.
"I haven't even gone Super Saiyan yet."
He stepped back, cracked his neck, and smiled the most terrifying smile Frieza had ever seen on a living face.
"But keep transforming, Frieza. Please."
Golden sparks began dancing across Vegeta's skin, teasing, promising.
"I want you at your absolute best when I turn you into cosmic dust."
Frieza took one involuntary step back, tail curling.
For the first time in his life, the Emperor of the Universe felt small.
Vegeta's aura flared just base form, just a taste and the island beneath them sank ten meters into the sea from the pressure alone.
"One million," Vegeta repeated, tasting the words. "Cute."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Your move, lizard."
Far away, every warrior watching felt their blood freeze.
King Kai dropped to his knees.
Piccolo's smirk died.
Krillin whispered a single word.
"We're doomed."
Because they all understood at the exact same moment:
Frieza still had two transformations left.
And Vegeta hadn't even started.
~~~~~~
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