In the final battle with Black (or Zamasu, whichever) Goku has already given his all against his lookalike, but to no avail. Black (having or having not sustained damage from his battle with Goku) is still seemingly unstoppable and is now fighting Vegeta, who had stepped in for Goku. Vegeta has his pride on his mind, the driving force behind his power, but it is still not enough as the battle rages on. Goku fears for the worst, and realizing that neither he nor Vegeta can defeat Black, he presses “the Zeno button”. The King of all arrives in a flash. He is already aware of the situation and spares Goku any explaining for what has happened, and tells Goku that he can give Vegeta almost infinite power to put behind his attacks. It would be far more than enough to defeat Black. However, that kind of power is almost too much for even a skilled Saiyan god to handle, and so much of a responsibility to control that this sort of power is accessible to only the elite divine. Given the circumstances, a power of this magnitude could be given to him, but with a firm restriction. The power that would be given to Vegeta could only last for ONE minute. One, single minute. Goku wastes no time to ponder his options or any repurcussions the endowment could possibly have and urges Zeno to give Vegeta the near-infinite power. Zeno questions Goku, asking him if he is sure that it is the wish that he should grant. Goku confirms his wish and smiles, and tells Zeno of his confidence in Vegeta. Zeno grants Goku’s request and promptly uses his divine abilities to transfer the near-infinite power into Vegeta’s body, which has began to suffer heavier and heavier damage from Black by the second. Ensured that Vegeta’s new power will turn the tide, Goku gazes on along with Zeno… For several seconds. Goku clenches his teeth in apprehension, the outcome of the battle only seeming to get more bleak for Vegeta. Goku can’t take it anymore and yells at Zeno, thinking that his wish somehow didn’t work. Zeno shakes his head and explains to Goku that he did indeed grant Vegeta with enough power behind his attacks to vanquish black. The problem appears to be that Vegeta’s body is too damaged, worn out, and just not fast enough to carry out any attacks. Completely freaked out by this explanation, Goku turns to yell at Vegeta. He yells at him, telling him to attack, only to be barked back at,“What do you THINK I’m doing Kakarot!?” Goku realizes that Vegeta is just not swift enough, but is still sure that Vegeta can somehow utilize the power Zeno temporarily blessed him with. Goku yells back at Vegeta again, giving him the most brief explanation of his wish and that he DID have the power to win. Vegeta squints his eyes and turnsback to black, only to be met with several punches to his face. He hates the idea of being given power to win against Black, but for the sake of the planet, he is going to have to put his pride aside and try. Zeno chimes in, “He only has ten seconds left.” Goku is alarmed, and in a frenzy he yells towards Vegeta again, urging him to land an attack and save the planet. The effort is only background noise for Vegeta. The most he can do is block a few punches and take a few, block a couple, and take another few… A dull ringing in his ears signals that fatigue is starting to take its full toll. Before Goku can encourage Vegeta any longer, Zeno chimes in again. “Time’s up.” Utter shock is shown in Goku’s eyes. He looks back up at Vegeta, horrified at what could be, and hoping for a miracle. “Zeno… what’s going to happen?! What can we do?!” Zeno stands silent, eyeing the spectacle above with a poker face. Black is enjoying the utter beat-down he has put on the Prince, but something seems off. Black hesitates. The glare that Vegeta is giving him is unlike the disdainful looks he had recieved from him before. The proud Sayian has been beaten to a pulp yet again, and yet there is something in his eye, something so alive. After a moment of study, Black smirks, brushing off any inkling that the Prince of no one could have anything left. A snicker creeps from Black’s chest, and the more he looks at Vegeta and thinks of how pathetic he is, it grows into an unrestricted evil guffaw. After a few moments, he sighs, and gives Vegeta the opportunity to voice any last words. Vegeta only closes his eyes and lowers his head. Black grins. “Hmph.” He voices that he couldn’t blame Vegeta for shutting up and submitting. He goes on to say that he has seen enough of the pathetic nature of the Saiyans, and that the earthlings were just as bad. Stupid earthlings that foolishly resisted his conquest. Weak, fragile earthlings… that could be practically melted away in his hands and swept away by the wind and fire… Such worthless garbage. Vegeta’s jaw twiches. Black continues, mentioning how he couldn’t believe that a so-called warrior race would want to defend such useless beings. What sorry excuse for a Saiyan would put aside desires for conquest and power to protect such vermin? The only explanation is that they are vermin themselves…“ Black looks aside, far below on the ground at a battle-damaged and unconscious Blue-haired young man. "Especially THAT sorry excuse for a Saiyan. He’s barely a mild nuisance in the future, and his compassion for earthings is sickening.” Black turns back to Vegeta, and closes his eyes, snickering. “Fortunately for him, though, when he dies, he won’t be losing much. His friends and family will be waiting for him on the other side.” That strikes the final nerve in Vegeta. His eyes widen and a strange aura rushes over him in an instant, and before Black can move even a fraction of a millimeter, the color rose flashes before his eyes; and it isn’t blood. He gasps, feeling a wave of energy penetrate his body. His eyes dart to the source of the power, only to find a palm placed on his abdomen, and within that fraction of a second, before his eyes can even meet with his opponent’s… Above Goku and Zeno, an inferno of enormous proportion fills the sky. Goku watches in awe, “Did he just…” Zeno looks on casually, smiling. The smoke clears, and only Vegeta can be seen, his hair a rose pink and aura still gyrating around him. As quickly as he had ascended, the aura disperses in a flash along with the rose coloration of his hair. Vegeta collapses forward and falls towards the ground. He has sustained heavy damage, but he has managed to defeat the menace that was Black, who destroyed his family in Future Trunks’ timeline and threatened to destroy his present one. At last, justice has been served and both worlds can be be at peace once again.
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[This would be a dream come true and a beautiful bookend to Vegeta’s character development if the arc actually did end this way, but it’s not likely. A more “Toriyama-style” ending would be like, right when Vegeta’s ten seconds are about to run out, an explosion fills the battlefield, and IF Vegeta won that bout, we would be left with the mystery, “Did Vegeta use Zeno’s power to defeat Black, or did time run out and he use his OWN power to win?” Even though it wouldn’t be clear if Vegeta or Zeno was the real hero, that would actually be a cool ending.]
