Brian's breathing had become ragged enough that he could hear it over the wind.
His body was exhausted, his regeneration had slowed to a crawl, and the remaining energy inside him felt like a shallow pool after a drought. Yet the tiny pulse of ki he'd planted inside Frieza continued to resonate, giving him something he'd never possessed before: a direct sense of how Frieza's power moved through his body.
It wasn't a weakness in the traditional sense.
Frieza wasn't suddenly vulnerable.
Brian had simply found a rhythm.
Every time Frieza prepared to accelerate, his energy compressed for the briefest instant. Every time he redirected one of the floating spheres, that compression changed slightly. Whenever he prepared a Death Beam, the flow became even more concentrated around his arm.
Brian couldn't overpower Frieza.
But he could interrupt that rhythm.
And he only needed to do it once.
Frieza seemed to realize what Brian had discovered.
"You've been studying my energy."
Brian wiped blood from his mouth.
"Trying to."
"You believe that gives you an advantage?"
"No."
Brian lowered his stance.
"It gives me a chance."
Frieza's eyes narrowed.
Then every remaining sphere moved.
They descended simultaneously.
Brian immediately accelerated toward the ground.
The first sphere screamed past his shoulder. The second detonated behind him, throwing him forward instead of stopping him. Brian used the blast, twisting through the pressure wave and landing on a broken slab of seabed.
Another sphere descended.
Brian struck the stone.
The slab tilted.
The projectile missed by several meters.
Before Brian could recover, Frieza appeared above him.
A fist descended.
Brian crossed both arms.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the rock beneath him.
Brian fell through the collapsing slab.
Frieza followed, his hand already glowing.
Brian saw the energy gathering around Frieza's fingertips.
There.
The rhythm changed.
Brian twisted in midair.
The Death Beam passed through the space where his heart had been a fraction of a second earlier.
He kicked off a falling piece of rock and shot upward.
Frieza turned.
Brian was already inside his guard.
Their eyes met.
Brian drove his forehead into Frieza's face.
CRACK!
Frieza recoiled.
Brian grabbed his wrist.
For an instant, Frieza's energy surged.
Brian felt the rhythm.
He waited.
Then he released a tiny pulse through the connection.
Frieza's aura flickered.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But it was enough.
Brian's knee slammed into Frieza's abdomen.
Frieza doubled over.
Brian followed with an elbow across his jaw, then released him rather than attempting another combination.
Frieza recovered in midair.
Blood ran from his mouth.
His expression was murderous.
Brian was breathing heavily.
Neither attacked.
Then Frieza laughed.
It was quiet at first.
"You really are persistent."
Brian gave a tired grin.
"Been told that."
Frieza raised his hand.
The remaining spheres gathered behind him.
Brian's expression changed.
There were only a few now.
Five.
Six.
Maybe seven.
Frieza pulled them together.
The spheres merged into one enormous mass of energy.
Brian's eyes widened.
Frieza was preparing everything he had left.
"Then let us finish this."
The energy expanded.
Brian's body screamed at him to transform.
For one desperate moment, he considered it.
Ikari could give him the strength.
Max Power could give him the output.
But Brian knew what would happen.
His body was already running on fumes.
If he transformed now, he might get one tremendous burst of power.
And then nothing.
No strength.
No regeneration.
No second chance.
Brian slowly lowered his fists.
Frieza smiled.
"Have you finally accepted defeat?"
Brian shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the enormous sphere.
"I'm accepting something else."
Frieza's smile faded.
Brian inhaled.
Deeply.
Slowly.
He gathered every remaining fragment of energy inside his body.
Not into a transformation.
Not into an attack.
Into one point.
His right fist.
The aura around him became incredibly small.
Almost invisible.
Frieza stared.
"You cannot possibly stop that."
Brian looked directly at him.
"I don't need to."
Frieza launched the attack.
The sphere consumed the sky.
Brian waited.
The enormous attack came toward him at impossible speed.
He could feel the pressure crushing the air around his body.
His knees bent.
His muscles screamed.
The sphere was almost upon him.
Brian moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
He flew directly into the attack.
King Kai screamed.
"BRIAN!"
Goku stood beside him, eyes wide.
"He's going inside it!"
Brian disappeared into the red light.
For several seconds, nothing could be seen.
Frieza watched with absolute certainty.
There was no way Brian could have survived.
Then—
a tiny point of light appeared inside the sphere.
Frieza's eyes widened.
The light grew.
Brian emerged from the energy.
His clothes were nearly destroyed.
His body was covered in burns.
Blood ran down his arms and legs.
His breathing was barely audible.
But he was still moving.
Frieza stared.
"Impossible."
Brian's right hand was glowing.
Every remaining ounce of energy had been concentrated there.
He had allowed the attack to consume his surroundings while using the energy pulse inside Frieza to guide him through the attack's unstable core.
It hadn't been strength that carried him through.
It had been timing.
Brian raised his fist.
"I told you."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I only needed one chance."
He flew.
Frieza reacted immediately.
His own body surged forward.
The two collided in the center of the sky.
Frieza's fist struck Brian's cheek.
Brian's fist struck Frieza's chest.
For one instant, they remained frozen against each other.
Then Brian felt it.
The rhythm.
Frieza's power compressed.
His body prepared to counterattack.
Brian released the last pulse.
Frieza's energy stuttered.
Just once.
His eyes widened.
Brian's fist drove forward.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave tore across the clouds.
Frieza's body was launched backward.
He crashed through the atmosphere and struck the ocean below with such force that an enormous crater opened in the water.
Brian remained suspended in the air for a moment.
Then his aura disappeared.
His body began falling.
Goku watched in silence.
King Kai stared at the crystal ball.
"Did he...?"
The ocean below exploded.
Frieza didn't emerge.
Brian continued falling.
Goku vanished.
King Kai spun around.
"Goku?!"
Goku reappeared hundreds of meters above the ocean.
He caught Brian before he could hit the water.
Brian's eyes barely opened.
He looked at Goku.
"...You."
Goku smiled.
"Hey."
Brian stared at him for a second.
Then laughed weakly.
"About time."
Goku laughed too.
"You did pretty good."
Brian's eyes closed.
"Yeah..."
His head fell against Goku's shoulder.
"...I know."
Goku looked down toward the ocean.
His smile disappeared.
The water was still settling.
No Frieza.
No movement.
For several seconds, there was only the sound of waves.
Then a golden streak erupted from the ocean.
Goku's eyes widened.
Frieza shot into the sky.
His body was battered.
One arm hung loosely.
Blood covered his face.
But he was alive.
Brian opened one eye.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Frieza hovered several hundred meters away.
He looked toward Brian.
For the first time during the entire battle, there was no smugness in his expression.
Only fury.
"You..."
His voice shook.
Brian had defeated him.
Not completely.
Not permanently.
But he'd forced Frieza to the edge.
And Frieza knew it.
Goku stepped forward.
Brian immediately grabbed his wrist.
"Don't."
Goku looked down.
Brian's eyes were half closed.
"I said I'd kill him."
Goku frowned.
"Brian, you're barely conscious."
"Still counts."
Frieza suddenly raised one finger.
A small red sphere appeared.
Brian's eyes widened.
"Frieza..."
Frieza smiled.
"You have won nothing."
He fired the sphere.
Brian watched it travel.
But the attack wasn't aimed at him.
It passed over his shoulder.
Toward the distant sky.
Brian's expression changed.
Frieza had finally abandoned the fight.
The attack disappeared into the atmosphere.
Frieza turned away.
"You have survived."
His eyes glanced back.
"For now."
Then he accelerated into the distance.
Goku looked at Brian.
Brian stared after Frieza.
Neither spoke.
Eventually Brian sighed.
"That guy is annoying."
Goku laughed.
"Yeah."
Brian closed his eyes.
His body finally went limp.
Goku tightened his grip.
"We should get you somewhere safe."
Far above them, the remaining clouds slowly parted.
The ocean began settling.
The shattered islands and broken seabed remained as scars across Namek, silent evidence of the battle that had nearly torn the planet apart.
And somewhere in the distance, Frieza continued flying.
He hadn't been killed.
But he had been forced to retreat.
For Brian, that was enough.
For now.
---
King Kai remained beside the crystal ball long after the image faded.
He exhaled slowly.
"I can't believe that kid."
Goku smiled.
"He'll be okay."
King Kai stared at him.
"You sound very confident."
Goku scratched his cheek.
"Not really."
His smile became smaller.
"But Brian's tough."
King Kai shook his head.
"That isn't what worries me."
Goku looked over.
"What does?"
King Kai pointed at the crystal ball.
"The next time those two meet, Frieza will know exactly what Brian can do."
Goku's expression became serious.
"Yeah."
He looked toward the stars.
"And Brian will know what Frieza can do too."
Neither of them said anything else.
Because they both understood what that meant.
Their first battle had been a test.
The next one wouldn't be.
---
Brian eventually woke up.
He was lying on a soft bed inside Bulma's temporary medical area.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Then he groaned.
"Everything hurts."
Bulma's voice came from across the room.
"Good. That means you're alive."
Brian slowly turned his head.
Bulma stood beside a table covered with equipment, arms folded.
"You've been unconscious for hours."
Brian blinked.
"How bad?"
"Bad enough that I wouldn't recommend fighting anybody for a while."
Brian considered that.
"How long?"
Bulma sighed.
"That's what you took from that?"
Brian smiled.
She rolled her eyes.
"At least a few days."
Brian looked toward the window.
Namek was still damaged.
The ocean was still settling.
The battle was over.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he didn't have an opponent in front of him.
No Frieza.
No transformations.
No calculations.
Just silence.
Brian closed his eyes.
He could still remember every mistake he'd made.
Every attack he'd failed to anticipate.
Every moment Frieza had outplayed him.
And, more importantly, every moment he'd adapted.
He hadn't become stronger simply by powering up.
He had learned how to fight differently.
That realization mattered more than the victory.
Because next time—
he would start with that knowledge.
Brian smiled faintly.
"Guess I learned something."
Bulma raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Brian looked toward the ceiling.
"Frieza isn't unbeatable."
A pause.
"He's just really, really hard to beat."
And for the first time since arriving on Namek, Brian allowed himself to sleep without worrying about what would happen when he woke up.
The battle was over.
The consequences, however, were only beginning.