"That's right, Cap'n! You gave em' the what for, all right!" Jeice called out, seeing that Ginyu had dealt with all four of the powerful opponents that he and the others had trouble with.
"Jeice. If you say another word or do anything at all that I didn't specifically tell you to do, you won't like the result." Ginyu immediately warned the Australian-sounding alien, ignoring the fact that Jeice had been complimenting him.
Following the order, his face pale, all Jeice could do from his vantage point in the sky was nod.
...
Vegeta pushed Recoome's dead body off of him with a grunt. He'd noticed the Namekian charging up energy in the hills behind the tank-ish man, but he hadn't thought that Piccolo would actually fire it. He'd gathered enough energy to kill multiple Recoomes in one shot, yet he still charged, after all.
But just as Vegeta had realized that he wasn't strong enough to defeat Recoome on his own, the Namekian had saved him.
Saved from death... again.
The thought made Vegeta forget all about the pain coming from his broken ribs. The part that made it even more humiliating was the fact that it'd been an incredibly cowardly attack that saved his life. He'd been saved by an attack that defied honor.
"How dare you interfere with my battle!" All the pent-up frustration came out in a roar as the Namek walked up to him, too exhausted to even fly.
"You mean death? I just saved your life, Vegeta." Piccolo argued, "Clearly, though, I shouldn't have."
"Being saved by a cowardly attack like that is a fate far worse than death for a Saiyan, insect man." Vegeta argued back, but just as Piccolo opened his mouth to retort, they both felt a massive spike in energy coming from the area where Gohan, Krillin, and Nappa were fighting Jeice and Burter.
"Nappa's using the False Moon, huh? Relying on his tail as a crutch, since he's too weak to win the fight without it? I suppose it's a far less cowardly option than shooting someone in the back from afar..." Vegeta observed, taking a shot at Piccolo at the same time.
The two of them 'watched' with their ki sense as Nappa managed to take Burter out before accidentally letting Jeice get away.
"He got away." Piccolo muttered, brow furrowed in annoyance. "At least that takes care of three of the five."
"You're joking, right? By letting that bastard run off to Captain Ginyu, Nappa just signed our death warrants. The idiot." Vegeta argued.
"That purple idiot can't be that much stronger than the rest of those monsters. In his ape form, Nappa should be more than strong enough to deal with him." Piccolo thought. Just then, Nappa's false moon's popping (courtesy of Shay) came into effect, forcing Nappa back into his base form. "Huh!?" Piccolo exclaimed, shocked.
Vegeta, having no faith in anything but himself at this point, just scoffed. "Figures. If you can count on Nappa for anything, it's failure. Aand any moment now, Jeice will speak to Ginyu and bring him over here, to find a bunch of weaklings barely capable of fighting a fly."
Piccolo looked at Vegeta, raising an eyebrow. "I see. You're just like I was."
Before Vegeta was able to ask Piccolo what he meant by that (in an angry, belittling manner) their bickering was interrupted by an object falling from the atmosphere, far away. Despite how far it was, Piccolo immediately realized who was in it. "Goku's here."
"Kakarot?" Vegeta scoffed, remembering the fighter who had barely been stronger than him back on Earth. "Another one coming here to die."
"If we're all going to die, then I'm going to stand with the others when I do. Why aren't you trying to run? Escape it, if Ginyu's so strong?" Piccolo asked Vegeta.
Vegeta shook his head. "There'd be no point. Not only am I injured, but Ginyu has a scouter and Frieza has the Dragon Balls. He's likely already made his wish. Even if I managed to hide like a worm and flee from that bastard, Frieza will destroy the planet the moment that Ginyu is off world. If I manage to get to my pod and escape in time, I'd have another black stain on my pride and an immortal Frieza on my tail. I'd be a dead worm. I refuse to die like that."
Piccolo nodded. "Maybe you're not so bad after all." He turned on his heels, about to fly off towards the others, when he decided to tell Vegeta something that he'd realized. "By the way. Frieza hasn't made his wish yet. In fact, there's a good chance that he won't be able to make it at all." He told Vegeta over his shoulder.
Vegeta immediately ran over, grabbed Piccolo by the arm, and spun him around to face him. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, an intense look on his face.
"The Dragon Balls aren't omnipotent. If they were, this planet likely wouldn't be such a wasteland." Piccolo told him, "When they're activated, the sky, all over the planet, turns black as night."
Vegeta relaxed a bit, "But then, why hasn't Frieza made the wish yet? Surely he's had the Dragon Balls for quite a while by now?" He wondered aloud.
In response, Piccolo shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the Grand Elder died. Maybe the Dragon Balls here only speak Namekian. Does it really matter, so long as that tyrant isn't immortal?" He asked.
"You're telling me, if an old Namek dies, the Dragon Balls become useless rocks?!" Vegeta shouted.
"You can't do anything without energy. In the Dragon Ball's case, that energy is directly tied to its creator's lifeforce." Piccolo told him, not seeing any need to cover it up.
'Ginyu's already on his way here... but I don't sense Frieza near his spaceship. Where is he?!' Vegeta wondered, immediately using his senses to locate the tyrant. Realizing quickly that Frieza, if unable to use the Dragon Balls, would instantly start looking for Namekians to torture, he searched along the paths leading to the two surviving Namekian areas. It wasn't long until he found Frieza, heading straight for the 'Grand Elder's' place. 'I might have time, if I hurry!'