37DRAGON BALL Z
No More Fear
Disclaimer:
-The author does not own any part of the Dragon Ball series, including but not limited to the characters of the story.
-This story is entirely fictional, based from purely fictional premise, none of the characters, actions characters partake in, many contraptions found here-in did not happen/do not actually exist.
-No money was made from the creation or distribution of this fic.
-No animals or people were hurt in the making of this fic.
-The author does not encourage nor endorse others to partake in actions as described within the story.
Warnings:
This story is rated T for the following reasons:
-Depictions of graphic violence
-Mild language
-Mood swings and guilt trips
-Character deaths
If these themes offend you, please do not continue to read this story.
Misc:
Request Fic!
Welcome to the story as requested by Guardian of Nesh! For being the 400th review to ZAT: The Immortal Saiyan I promised a one shot request fic of the plot of his choosing, and here it is!
During the fight against Frieza, Piccolo is attacked and thought to be dead after Frieza survives the Spirit Bomb attack. Unable to hold in his emotions any longer, Gohan erupts from the pain he feels from the loss of all the nameks and ascends to a power he had never before imagined.
Guardian of Nesh, you asked for it! Comments, feel free to send to: revu at revstuff dot com
Thanks! And on to the story!
No More Fear
"NOW!" Goku threw down his outstretched arms bringing down the great ball of spirit energy he'd collected in the sky. The galactic tyrant failed to notice the massive ball of power until it absorbed the very attack Frieza was holding above his head.
"NO! It… That's not possible!" The ball pushed Frieza down to the ground, "I can't control it! It's too powerful!" The energy gathered from all across the solar system made the spirit bomb the size of a small moon as it descended upon Frieza and pulled him into itself before unleashing its energy upon him and exploding with a shockwave powerful enough to quake the entire planet.
The light settled revealing a giant hole in the side of the planet that the oceans were quickly filling in. Spotting Goku and Piccolo in the distance Gohan and Krillin floated to them as quickly as their depleted energy allowed them to.
"Daddy! Mister Piccolo!" Gohan shouted happily as he landed and ran to each of them quickly, embracing them tight.
"Gohan," Goku smiled drowsily as he was nearly tackled over. He hadn't the energy to hardly stand after that final attack.
"Goku! That thing was huge! How'd you make such a giant spirit bomb?!" Krillin excitedly asked his friend.
Goku laughed weakly, "I had to summon up the strength from the entire solar system. With that and everything I had left it was still just barely enough to do the job."
The four of them laughed jovially over the defeat of the universes most despicable tyrant, "It's a shame there was nothing we could do to save Guru and his people… may all the nameks rest in peace…" Piccolo lowered his head out of respect to his people.
Gohan looked over at Piccolo; sensing the sadness wash over him, Gohan moved over and gently hugged his alien friend. Gohan's head sank as the thought of his other namekian friends like Dende filled his thoughts, "Let's go back to earth, alright Piccolo?"
Piccolo smiled to Gohan and nodded, "It's a four day trip, we should get going."
Krillin and Piccolo helped Goku to his feet and supported him as they all turned to begin their trek to Goku's ship.
The green oceans of Planet Namek splashed against the coast as the currents began to even out from the planet's impact with the spirit bomb. The setting was almost surreal. The four heroes walked from the battle grounds almost silently. The feeling began to set that something was not right in the world.
Almost together Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin all turned around. A large wave splashed against the nearby coast throwing a stream of mist into the air. The mist settled and a bloody hand protruded from the receding waters.
"FRIEZA!" Goku shouted in disbelief as the hateful look on the galactic emperor's face became clear.
"You die!" Frieza gathered a huge amount of energy into his hand and blasted it at the crippled saiyan. Goku stared at the approaching beam; time slowed as the attack, powerful enough to end his life, barreled towards him. In his mind he knew that in his current state there was nothing he could do to stop his fast coming doom.
"GOKU!" With the saiyan's arm still in Piccolo's grasp, the namek pushed and flung Goku out of the way. In this maneuver however, Piccolo placed himself before Frieza's death beam.
Gohan's ears stopped up as his eyes widened as he watched what was now inevitable, "PICCOLO NO!" Somehow Gohan's scream seemed so far away, as if only the slow remnants of the echo reached Piccolo's ears. Piccolo had to chuckle to himself, Gohan was one thing, but never had the thought ever crossed his mind that he'd be sacrificing himself for the man he once considered his mortal enemy.
The blast reached its target and tore through Piccolo's chest. Purple blood flew from the exit wound in Piccolo's back as the energy wave tore Piccolo from the spot he stood and dragged him for several meters across the hard rocky ground. As his body slid to a stop, a heave coursed through him sending another spurt of blood out of his mouth.
Gohan couldn't take his eyes off the sight. He couldn't bring himself to run to Piccolo's side either. He was confused and torn, angry and scared, "Piccolo…" tears began to run down his face.
"No… NO! Piccolo!" Goku pounded the ground with his fist as he shook with dread. "Darn it Piccolo, didn't you get that you're too important to do something like that?!"
Krillin could only tremble, "Oh man… he took out Piccolo like nothing… now how will wish everyone back?!"
"Was that the last of the nameks?" Frieza asked tauntingly with a new self pleased grin on his face, "It's a shame I suppose, but I do so hate leaving a job only half done."
A wave of anger washed over Gohan from Frieza's words. He spun around and stared at Frieza angrily.
"Why the glum look midget? Don't you agree that he belongs with the rest of his familial fried gizzards? After all, he seemed so disheartened when that other scaly runt reached well done first," Frieza laughed hysterically finding his own disgustingly morbid humor delightful.
Gohan squeezed his eyes shut. His whole body began to shake. Ever since they arrived on Namek there had been nothing but killing happening. He had to watch Frieza's men slaughter innocent namekian families; the old and young alike. He and Krillin had saved Dende from meeting that fate, only for Frieza to kill him later.
The memory still haunted Gohan's mind clearly. The moment after Frieza's final transformation completed he uttered but a single word, "Bang." Everything happened so fast, there was no chance to defend against it. The attack came, but seemed misguided, missing all of the warriors standing in Frieza's way only attack the frailest among them. When Gohan turned around, it was to the sight of the charred black body of his little namekian friend.
He had been helpless to do anything to help Dende, and just as Dende met his end, he had felt helpless to do anything to save Piccolo. Now Piccolo lied there, bleeding to death… And Frieza just stood there, laughing and mocking them all.
"You coward!" The laughter echoing across the open land ceased as Gohan's shout slowly caused Frieza to silence.
"What…?" came the annoyed response from the evil monster.
"You heard me… You're a coward!" Krillin looked nervously at Gohan and was about to say something to shut the boy up when Gohan continued, "All you know how to do is want and take from those smaller and weaker than you!" The air trembled in strong vibrations as the sky itself seemed to be darkening, "You don't know sacrifice or effort… and you certainly don't know love and caring…" Strange lightning strikes began jolting from the darkened sky and violently struck the nearby ground and ocean.
"Gohan… get away from him!" Goku tried to stand.
The look in Gohan's eyes only hardened, "I was afraid of you before Frieza… But for what you've done… I can't be scared anymore…"
"A touching speech you little brat, but your words do little more than bore me! So congratulations, you've earned the next spot on my farewell list!" Frieza held up a hand and quickly gathered another wild energy beam into his finger. With hardly any warning he blasted it at the small boy.
"GOHAN!" Goku pushed himself to his feet, nearly stumbling as he saw the energy wave approaching his son now.
"I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS TO ANYONE ELSE!" Gohan held out a hand and caught the beam Frieza fired.
"What?!" Frieza eyes widened as he saw the child holding off one of his attacks. The radical lightning strikes became even more potent and the boy actually took a step forward pushing Frieza's beam back.
"No way…" Krillin watched in disbelief as the light of Gohan's aura intensified into a solid white that overtook his body. Krillin had to shield his eyes as if he were guarding from one of Tien's Solar Flares.
"No, this is your end boy!" Frieza put both his hands into the blast and greatly intensified the beam. The impulse of energy travelled down the beam and struck Gohan's body. Immediately the attack exploded, sending mounds of dirt, smoke, and water into the air.
Frieza took in deep breaths as he chuckled to himself. Both of his hands were still extended in his attack pose.
Goku had been knocked back from the explosion. He gripped the ground beneath him and trembled, but a strange sensation kept him staring into the smoke.
The debris in the air began to clear when a spark burst into flame and became life. Goku and Krillin's senses were suddenly overwhelmed by an enormous power. A new aura built upon itself and immediately disbursed the settling particles.
In the epicenter of Frieza's attack stood the boy it was directed at. In that moment somehow Gohan had changed. His power was beyond anything it had been before, but even his appearance had taken on a radical transformation. His muscles were more pronounced, but it was his moptop that had somehow shed itself of his mother's styling gel and spiked upward in fundamentally impossible angles and become gold. His eyes, free of pupils, had become a deep emerald green, and his aura also gave off the same brilliant golden glow as his hair.
"What is this?!" Frieza took a step back in shock at the boy's change.
Goku could only stare after being caught completely off guard by the turn of events.
"Go…han…" after only turning his head slightly Gohan completely vanished from the spot he stood, appearing immediately at Piccolo's side.
"You're alive, Piccolo!" Gohan put a hand on Piccolo's wrist feeling out the weak life force.
"You can't… worry… Stop him Gohan… Do it now!" Gohan closed his eyes and nodded before standing. He stepped menacingly forward and stared Frieza down.
Gohan turned his head slightly to look at his dad and Krillin, "Take Piccolo and get out of here…"
Krillin jumped forward, "What? Gohan we can't just…"
Krillin stopped when he noticed Gohan's fist clench shut and shake. It was obvious the boy was dealing with much pent up anger, "No time to question Krillin, JUST DO IT!"
With a gulp of nervousness, Krillin complied. He had never been on the receiving side of one of Gohan's angry glares before, and it really freaked him out; especially now that he looked completely different.
Goku stood up and assumed as commanding of a pose as he could, "Gohan no, we're not leaving you alone here!"
Without even looking at his father Gohan spoke, "Dad, you've done everything you could. You don't have the strength help anymore. Now if you want Frieza stopped then you'll listen to me and go…"
The look on Goku's face read hurt. Gohan knew his words would sting which was why he refused to look at his father while or after he said what he did. Whatever had come over him was being fueled by his anger and he needed to focus and direct all of it solely at his target.
"Alright son…" Goku quietly reached over to Piccolo, and with Krillin's help the two of them lifted the namek off the ground and began to float away. A small smile came across Goku's lips as he and Krillin floated off, "You can do it son… My boy… the super saiyan!"
"The fools think they can escape me do they?" Frieza opened his palm and pointed his hand at the leaving trio.
Faster than Frieza could see, a fist appeared in his direct line of sight and smashed into his face. Frieza's body skipped over the ocean like a skillfully thrown stone before crashing into a tall fjord. Frieza pushed himself free of the rocky wall and floated forward with a dazed look. The side of his face was red and swollen. He focused his vision back to the spot he had been standing and saw only the boy with golden hair with his fist still outstretched. A small grin formed on the boy's face as he disappeared from sight again.
Frieza's eyes widened as he attempted to keep up with Gohan's movements. Before Frieza could even begin to look for the boy he was fiercely punched in the stomach and doubled over the knuckles practically embedded in his body.
Spasms of pain wracked Frieza's muscles as he climbed up and tried to look up at the boy attacking him. "How… How did this happen?" Frieza grunted.
"I was afraid of you before Frieza. But you showed me the real you… A you that I wasn't afraid of anymore. And without fear, that left only anger…" Gohan's free fist tightened, "And you really shouldn't make me angry…" Swinging his other hand forward, Gohan punched Frieza across the face again and sent him tumbling to the ground.
"You're angry? Oh you have no idea the anger I'm going through right… now!" Frieza pointed a finger at Gohan and fired a multitude of small fast death rays. Gohan easily dodged into super speed out of the way of each one. "He can he dodge at this range?!" Frieza doubled his efforts and fired the death rays at twice the speed yet still failed to connect even once.
Gohan appeared in front of Frieza's face, grabbing the cold king's hand, gripping it painfully tight to stop Frieza from continuing the attack, "Your anger is brought out by your own selfish frustrations. You don't care… You don't care about anything other than yourself! You want to kill me right now just so you can go back to doing whatever you want. You're a spoiled selfish brat Frieza, nothing more than a baby who found out that he's stronger than most. But now it's over, and like all bullies you too now have to answer for what you've done!" Frieza tried attacking Gohan with his free hand but Gohan spun out of the way and elbowed Frieza in the jaw in the same motion.
Frieza flew back and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth off, "It's happened… hasn't it? You're… You're a super saiyan!"
The legend Vegeta had spoken so fondly of passed through Gohan's mind, "Maybe I am… but even if I'm not there's only one thing that's important right now…"
"MA…" Frieza braced himself as he saw the boy bringing his hands up to his forehead, "SEN…" Energy gathered in Gohan's hands lighting the area for miles around in hues of yellow and purple, "KO… HA!" Though ready for the attack, Frieza was unprepared for the speed at which it moved. It left him no opportunity to dodge and he was forced to challenge the beam. Frieza grunted as he caught the beam and was swept down to the ground. Frieza pushed with all his might trying to shove the attack back at Gohan, "Not this time Frieza!" Gohan whipped at his own attack and caused it to erupt in Frieza's hands.
The blast shook the planet as the explosion was large enough to be clearly seen from space. Goku and Krillin turned to look into the light as the wind caught up with them, "that's incredible!" Krillin shouted in disbelief.
Goku looked down before turning, "We've got to keep moving Krillin…"
Frieza's body was scratched and bruised after withstanding that last attack. He couldn't believe that somehow he was being overpowered, and by a child no less. Gohan floated down to Frieza's level, his arms were crossed and he stared the monster down with the same dangerous glint in his eye.
"You really think you're so great don't you?" Frieza spat.
"Doesn't matter… The only thing that does is that this is the end for you…" Gohan outstretched his arms ready for the next bout.
"You still have much to learn you little pipsqueak! You've proven yourself to be ridiculously quick I'll give you that, and your strength is at least as high as mine is now… however there's something I told your father that you might be interested in as well…" Frieza's speech was cut off by an elbow materializing in his stomach.
"I'm not…" Gohan brought his fist up, backhanding Frieza in the face before spinning around and kicking him away.
Frieza caught himself and tried counter attacking with several more energy balls, "You brat! I'm trying to make a point here!"
Frieza's eyes widened as the sound of escaping super speed echoed directly behind him, "Don't confuse me with someone who cares about whatever you have to say!" An energy ball exploded into Frieza's back sending him sliding across the rocky ground. Frieza tried to push himself up and off of the stinging surface, but Gohan jumped onto his back making sure to stomp on Frieza's head as he rode him like a skate board.
As the sliding motion came to a halt, Gohan flipped off of Frieza. Without the boy holding him down, Frieza burst high into the sky. Gohan appeared in front of him ready to challenge him immediately. Frieza's eyes were wide and bloodshot. A feeling of humiliation he'd never before experienced overcame all of his reasoning.
"You won't win! You can't win! You're just a stupid baby monkey! You can't beat me!" Frieza held his hands above his head and began channeling a huge amount of energy.
Gohan watched unblinking as the energy gathered. His own aura began to slowly flare as he raised his energy to compensate for whatever Frieza was about to throw at him.
"One way or another you're going to burn!" The energy ball over Frieza's head solidified, "Now say goodbye to this miserable planet!" Immediately Frieza threw the ball straight down.
Caught off guard by the unbelievable move, Gohan wasn't ready to intercept the planet killing attack. The large energy ball tore through the oceans impacting the planets crust and continued to dig.
The explosion was unlike anything Gohan had ever seen before. Light swelled from within the planet as the sky darkened and everything shifted. The winds became torrential and everything was overtaken by light.
"Oh man, is this the end?!" Krillin shouted in concern as the light approached.
"Gohan…" Goku held on tight as the shockwave overtook the ship they had retreated to.
On Earth, Kami fell to one knee clutching his staff for support, "Kami, are you alright?" Mister Popo asked very concerned.
"Has Piccolo met his fate at the hands of that monster?" Kami's breath was labored but he managed to push himself once again to his feet. He closed his eyes and sensed far off to his home world of Namek. His senses were clouded by the amount of energy which had struck the planet. In a moment however the clouds faded revealing the planet still there, "No… Piccolo is still alive…"
"That's wonderful news Kami!" Popo smiled in relief.
"There is no time for celebration yet my friend… The situation becomes more dire by the second. But there may be something we can do to help…" Kami walked over to the ledge of the lookout and gazed upon the earth.
Mister Popo was unsure of what anyone on Earth could possibly do to help others so far away, "What can we do from here Kami?"
Kami waved his hand through the air, focusing his senses on the earth below, "With my return to the living world, so too are the Dragon Balls once again restored. They are ready and waiting to grant a wish…" Kami returned to Mister Popo and took his hand into his own, passing on a faint glow of energy, "You can sense their presence Mister Popo, go now and find the Dragon Balls! I will contact our guardian Kai so we may develop the best plan of action to take toward resolving this crisis."
"Yes Kami, right away!" Mister Popo threw a ball of yarn over the edge of the lookout which immediately unraveled into a flying carpet. He hopped on and flew away hurriedly in search of the seven mystical Dragon Balls of Earth.
Planet Namek appeared to be stabilizing after being struck by Frieza's planet killing attack. Frieza panted out of breath and clutched his fist angrily, "That little brat… he's actually weakened me enough that I couldn't gather my energy in time…"
Gohan also held his arms tight at his side. His little body seemed to be almost shaking from his tight posture, "After all this you still haven't learned!" his eyes and jaw clamped shut as he tried to contain his emotions until he could think straight, "You were willing to just kill everyone and everything left! All this life really means nothing to you, doesn't it?!"
Frieza chuckled to himself, "Don't try sounding so poetic, you're really not that good at it. What you fail to understand is the grandness of the universe. One less planet of green lizards and whatever other primordial nonsense would never even be noticed by the rest of the galaxy!"
"You monster Frieza!" Gohan burst through the air ready to strike Frieza again. As he approached, Frieza extended his arms outward and flared his ki creating a barrier to slow Gohan's approach. Gohan continued to push through the resistance all the while gathering energy to his hand with which to blast Frieza with.
"Just a little more…" Frieza kept pushing at the boy while powering up. His eyes grew redder from the strain, "Almost… I've almost reached my full power!"
Gohan sensed Frieza's power level rising. It practically doubled from what it had been before. Gohan jumped back and waited for the forces surrounding Frieza's body to subside. "So… you weren't fighting me at your best, is that what you were trying to say? It doesn't matter because I still won't lose…"
Frieza's muscles bulged out larger becoming huge under his sinewy skin. "Don't you understand boy? The end is at hand! Either I kill you, or this planet explodes and you die! The core is completely destroyed; it probably has less than five minutes to go before everything here is reduced to nothing but dust!"
Gohan's eyes widened realizing that wasn't much time, "Then that means you're just going to have to be taken down that much faster!"
"Great imagination kid!" Frieza burst through the air using the speed from his full power and landed a square punch to Gohan's jaw. Gohan hit the ground hard but flipped back onto his feet before the momentum subsided.
Golden ki flared against purple ki as Gohan and Frieza swarmed over each other and collided creating a swirling vortex of contesting energies.
King Kai hummed in frustration to himself as he watched the battle take place from his tiny planet in the other world. "Who'd have thought that the salvation of the universe would fall on the hands of such a young boy? I don't like this… Frieza is now at full power and Namek could explode any minute! If they don't get off the planet soon then all hope is lost…"
As King Kai was becoming lost in his gloomy thoughts, a telepathic message reached him, "Hello, King Kai, are you there? This is Kami on Earth."
"Yes Kami, I can hear you, what is it?" King Kai answered impatiently.
Kami then relayed, "Forgive me sir, I understand the tension that you must be going through right now, however I'm communicating with you to extend our assistance in this matter."
A mildly aggravated sigh escaped King Kai's lips, "Forgive me for sounding so cynical Kami, but right now I really don't think there's much you can do…"
"King Kai sir, I sent my aid Mister Popo down to the surface moments ago and he's already collected six of the seven Dragon Balls. In a matter of moments he will have all seven in his possession and then the wish will be at your disposal." King Kai took in an astonished breath at the turn of events.
With a slight snicker King Kai responded, "That's great news Kami! Then we have to be quick about this, time is of the essence. We need a wish that will blow Frieza right off his feet!"
Kami gazed downward, his expression disheartened, "Unfortunately it would be impossible to simply wish the likes of Frieza out of existence, my powers and those of the dragon are not that great."
"That's not a problem, as long as a little theory I have works out we should be alright…" King Kai paced on his small planet, "it's a bit of a gamble though…"
With a nod of approval, Kami asked, "What is it you have in mind King Kai sir?"
The tone of King Kai's mental voice became dreadfully serious, "How many people can your dragon restore to life with a single wish Kami?"
Kami's eyes widened as he thought about the question, "I'm honestly not sure… no wish has ever been made before to push the dragon's limits in that regard…"
"I see…" King Kai thought about it for only a moment longer, "Alright Kami, listen, the wish you must have the dragon grant is to restore all those killed by Frieza and his men back to life!"
Kami thought about what was being asked of him, "I see… the dragon will go back and restore the lives lost within the last year… and if we're dealing with those killed by Frieza and his minions…"
"Yes Kami… we're talking billions…" King Kai confirmed.
"Forgive my inquiry, but what do you intend to gain from this wish sir?" Kami couldn't help but ask.
"You see…" King Kai tried to paraphrase the plan, "If the dragon brings back all those killed by Frieza within the last year first it will create a massive revolution across the galaxy and free many planets from Frieza's tyrannical grasp. More importantly though, it will restore the nameks to life. This should include Guru who died as a result of the loss of his people by Frieza's hands. Once he's alive again then the dragon balls on namek will be restored and lie ready to grant a final wish. The last wish will be to move everyone but Frieza off of Namek which will then explode and wipe him from the universe once and for all!"
"Brilliant…" Kami moved over to the edge of the lookout, "Mister Popo, we have the wish we need granted ready."
Far below on a rocky mountain expanse of the earth, Mister Popo stood ready with all seven balls glowing brightly, "The dragon balls are all here Kami!"
"Do it Mister Popo!" The balls gave off a brilliant light as the sky darkened and Shen-Ron emerged from the balls growing in size and towering over Mister Popo like a god.
The dragon's eyes were alit in bright red, "You have awakened me… Speak your wish now!"
Frieza's wide foot landed in Gohan's stomach, crushing him against the ground. With his hands on Frieza's ankle Gohan swung the cold tyrant's body into the ground next to him and shot up while gathering more energy in his hands.
Once Frieza was on his feet he immediately fired a barrage of blasts skyward toward the half breed boy. Gohan released his stored energy ripping through the oncoming blasts and barreled the energy toward Frieza. In a flash of super speed, Frieza dodged out of the way of the attack which exploded on contact with the ground.
Frieza appeared at Gohan's side gathering a disk of energy above his head and throwing it toward the boy intent on chopping off his head. Gohan leaned back out of the way at the same time he fired another beam at Frieza. With a side step Frieza managed to dodge the oncoming blast and returned to manipulating his energy disk to come back and make another pass at Gohan.
With his focus on Gohan, Frieza barely noticed the energy ball the boy had thrown was turning in the air and coming back at him, "What?!" Frieza jumped quickly but the ball turned sharp following his movements.
A sharp whir caught Frieza's attention as Gohan appeared back to back with him, Frieza's energy cutter still pursuing him as well. Gohan's arms wrapped around Frieza's as he turned them in mid air putting Frieza's body in the path of both oncoming attacks. Frieza's eyes widened as the energy from both waves reflected from them. Without much other choice, Frieza kicked at Gohan knocking him away while freeing himself from the trajectory of the projectiles as well as they collided with each other and exploded.
The dragon of earth strained, tearing at the fabric between this world and the next as it restored countless souls to life across the entire galaxy.
"Is it working Kami?" King Kai asked impatiently.
"Forgive me sir, but this wish… it's beyond anything we've ever asked of the dragon before… it's still trying…" Kami grit his teeth feeling the strain from the dragon himself.
The dragon emitted a low growl as it continued to work.
Green limbs on namek began to stir as the people left dead on the ground began to rise, "What… what happened?"
"We're alive?"
"How?"
"Did someone wish us back?"
"The planet is shaking, about to explode!"
"Why were we wished back? So we could die again?!"
Small green fingers also twitched as life found their way back to them. Dende pushed himself from the ground and stared all around him, "I'm… alive…"
In a temple atop a natural pillar of stone, the eldest namek released a pleasant sigh as life filled his lungs again, "My children… they have returned…"
Seven large boulder like stones began to glow bright giving off an energy that shattered the island they were left upon. The orange translucency returned to the dragon balls of Namek and Porunga rose from the depths of the sea, towering over the land in wait for the final wish.
"Yes! It worked!" King Kai shouted happily, "Now to get someone to ask the final wish…"
Guru overlooked the bleak outdoors. The sky was black, volcanoes were erupting, lightning was striking everywhere, "The planet will not last long, we must act…"
"Guru, this is King Kai, There isn't much time so we have to hurry. I need you to have a wish granted for me!" King Kai implored.
Guru nodded to himself as he replied, "Yes King Kai, there is little time indeed, what wish is it you ask of us?"
"Planet Namek hasn't much time left," King Kai spoke quickly, "I need you to get someone to the dragon and wish for everyone on Namek besides Frieza to be transported to Earth."
Guru grinned, "We are fortunate to have the concern of the Kai for our people, I thank you. I will have the wish granted immediately."
Dende was still on his hands and knees staring across the ocean, "Porunga… If the dragon is back… then that means…"
"Yes Dende…" Guru replied mentally to the boy.
"Guru, you're alive!" Dende yelled happily jumping up to his feet.
"Indeed, but we have work to do, surely you see the dragon before you now. You must hurry to the dragon's side and wish everyone on Namek except for Frieza to be moved to Earth."
"WAIT!" A new voice entered the telepathic conversation.
An uncertain look crossed Dende's face, "Gohan is that you?"
Gohan flipped the air bringing his foot down over Frieza's head. Frieza rolled and whipped Gohan across the face with his tail. Gohan quickly caught Frieza's tail and swung him around and around before letting go and throwing him off with a volley of energy beams trailing behind him, "Dende, Guru, please listen. Don't send me back with everyone either. If I stay here and finish Frieza off then I can make sure he doesn't ever come back to hurt us again!"
"I can't do that Gohan!" Dende shook his head disfainfully.
"You have to Dende! If I don't finish him off then he might come back… If he did he could hurt and kill so many people still… I have to stop him here and now!" Gohan knocked an energy beam away from him and met Frieza's charge with a head butt leaving the two in a standoff, "Dende please! You have to let me do this!"
"Gohan…" Dende was almost in tears trying to decide what was best.
"Dende…" Guru spoke softly, "We must accept your friend's braveness and respect his wishes. Do as he asks."
"Yes sir…" Dende rushed to the Dragon's side.
"Thank you guys…" The battle resumed at its full intensity.
Frieza noticed Gohan's attention had been divided and kept trying to decipher what the brat was trying to do. Flurries of blurred punches and kicks flew from both combatants to the other. The two flipped and turned in the air trying to be the one to deliver the critical blow. As the scenery of the planet kept rotating in Frieza's perception he began to make out something that hadn't been there moments prior.
The two warriors arm locked and pushed against the force of the other with everything they had. Frieza managed to turn them enough to look over Gohan's shoulder. His eyes widened as he made out the giant glowing apparition, "THE DRAGON!"
Gohan smirked as he brought up his knee to Frieza's chin, causing him to bite down on his tongue. With another flip, Gohan's knee ended up pressed against the side of Frieza's head which he then brought down to the ground hard. A crater formed from the impact but before the dust settled Frieza's tale extended from the haze and latched onto Gohan's throat. Swinging to the side, Gohan was pinned against a sharp cliff side as Frieza's fist came forth and dove deeply into Gohan's stomach.
"Now stay out of my way you filthy animal!" Before Gohan could recover Frieza burst through the air at super speed toward the dragon. Gohan saw Frieza's action and removed himself from the embedded rock to give chase.
As Frieza appeared in the sky beside Porunga, Dende was already speaking to the dragon in Namek, "No, dragon you will grant me immortality so that I may rule the universe for all time!"
The dragon's eyes began to glow, "Your wish will be granted!"
Frieza watched impatiently as the dragon continued, "I will move all those on Namek to the planet called Earth except for Frieza and Gohan."
"WHAT?!" Frieza asked horried.
Gohan appeared in the sky and smiled down at Dende, "Thanks Dende!"
Dende smiled sadly at Gohan as energy began engulfing him.
"You green bastard!" Frieza pointed his finger at Dende firing another death beam at the boy. Before the beam hit, Dende completely dematerialized and vanished.
"How… I killed him… how did he come back?!" Frieza groaned angrily.
"FRIEZA!" Another power came shooting through the sky toward them. The light faded revealing the prince had returned.
"Ve… Vegeta…" Frieza looked incredibly flustered now.
Vegeta looked past Frieza and saw the boy posed against the monster and gasped, "So that's… That's the power of the super saiyan… After everything we went through you're the one who attains it?! That's…" Vegeta let out a frustrated grunt as he turned his focus back to Frieza.
"I know without a doubt that I killed you Vegeta…" The frustration in Frieza surmounted his reasoning, "Are you… some kind of ghost?"
"Far from it! I just couldn't wait to have another chance at blowing your fu…" Before Vegeta finished his body was engulfed by light and he vanished.
"What's happening?!" Frieza demanded.
"Your wish has been granted… now I bid thee farewell…" Porunga was engulfed by light as the giant dragon disappeared leaving only the seven floating balls in his place. Frieza watched as the balls spun in the sky and then soared off into the heavens themselves in pursuit of their creator.
"Nooo… No…" Frieza gripped his head before yelling his anger out to the gods. "How did this happen…?"
Gohan grinned before actually explaining, "There are more than one set of Dragon Balls in the universe. It was the Dragon Balls of Earth that were used to wish back everyone you killed. Once the Dragon Balls here on Namek were restored, they were used to wish everyone but away from here. So that means you're stuck here with me now."
Frieza's fingers dug into his palms drawing blood as his nails punctured his skin, "You're going to regret that stupid wish… I'm going to make sure die in the most horrible ways imaginable!" Frieza powered up and dashed toward Gohan who met the challenge head on.
Goku and the others looked around confused. Everything around them was so calm and beautiful. The sky was blue, running water flowed through nearby creeks. All in all it was beautiful day.
"What happened? Did we die and this is heaven?" Krillin asked as he looked around and noticed they were surrounded by all the nameks who were supposed to be dead too.
"No… I don't think so…" Goku looked around and saw Piccolo still lying barely alive on the ground. Dende was already over him using his powers to heal the warrior.
Once the energy faded, Piccolo's eyes shot open and he looked around, "Where are we?"
"We're on a planet called Earth sir," Dende replied.
"On Earth?!" Piccolo shot up to his feet looking from face to face, "Where's Gohan?!"
Dende's face shifted and his gaze downcast, "He's… not here…"
"What?!" Goku came running through the crowd over to Dende, "Do you know something? Where's my son?"
Dende looked to be on the verge of tears, "I didn't want to… but he made me change the wish…"
"What wish, please tell me!" Goku pleaded.
"You are the saiyan Goku?" An old voice asked.
Goku turned and saw the large old namek seated on the ground being attended to by many of the other nameks, "Yes I am…"
"You have the bravest boy I've known," Guru started.
"I know…" Goku stammered, "Please tell me what happened."
"A wish was made on namek to move all but Frieza to this world. Your son decided it best to alter this wish and remain behind as well to see to it that the threat was stopped for good and never returned to haunt anyone again in the future. On the planet Namek Gohan remains right now, still fighting the evil abomination."
Goku sank to his knees and punched at the ground, "Why would he do that?!"
Piccolo bowed his head held back a tremble, "I think we all know… he is your son after all…"
"It's not fair! He shouldn't have to do that… not at his age… not alone…" Goku gripped his hair and clenched his eyes shut as worry wracked over him.
"You two really know nothing…" Everyone stopped as Vegeta emerged from the shadows and approached the group. Goku watched him come closer expressing little emotion, while Piccolo had to suppress a growl, "You two have both been missing on several key changes in that boy's life."
Goku wasn't understanding, "What are you talking about Vegeta?"
"Since I ran into the boy again on Namek I noticed a change immediately from when we met and fought here on Earth. Gohan is no longer the sweet little boy you may have once known. He is part saiyan after all, and that side is becoming dominant. He has embraced challenge like a true saiyan warrior and has risen to surpass them all in a fervor unlike anything even I've ever seen before. In a matter of days his power climbed madly from equaling the pathetic human over there to, even though I hate to admit it, overshadowing even the lot of us. And with that kind of power comes the saiyan appetite, the thirst for combat. Gohan is becoming a true saiyan…" Vegeta couldn't help but snicker as he delivered his news.
Goku didn't get up but only watched as Vegeta's words sank in. Did he truly not know his own son? The more he thought about it the more he realized that his son had been growing up without him, both on Earth and in space.
"You're wrong about Gohan's motivation Vegeta…" Piccolo countered in Goku's place.
"Oh?" Vegeta found it amusing that the namek just had to counter him even if the words he spoke of Gohan were nothing short of honorable.
With a nod Piccolo explained, "It's not the thrill of battle that keeps him going; it's the need to protect. He has more compassion for life than any person I've ever known and is always willing to give everything of himself to protect that life. Be it person, plant, or animal, Gohan is just that way."
Vegeta crossed his arms, "And you saw him for what? A whole five seconds between the time you arrived to do battle and the time Frieza put you out of commission? Mark my words a change has come over that boy…" Vegeta turned and began to walk away, "A change I fully intend to capitalize on…"
Frieza's fist slammed against the side of Gohan's face when in the next instant both of Gohan's feet impacted the back of Frieza's head. The planet below was beginning to erupt into a giant fireball, completely destabilizing and unable to retain its form much longer. The two fighters in the sky continued to strike back and forth against each other.
Gohan pulled out a great deal of energy and blasted it at Frieza's approaching form. Frieza's entire body became engulfed by his own power as he met Gohan's attack and pushed through the beam. Overcoming Gohan's attack, Frieza ripped through and tackled Gohan down to the surface. With energy still collected in his hands he punched at Gohan's torso repeatedly sending ripple like shockwaves across the loose tectonic plates of the planet. The attacks shattered Gohan's armor but Frieza wouldn't relent until he drove Gohan through the crust of the planet itself. "I'm going to kill you! You're going to die! And then I'm going to find all your little friends and make sure and obliterate every last one of them!"
Gohan's eyes snapped open and his aura burst with enough ferocity to blow Frieza away from him. Frieza opened his eyes and saw Gohan's hands reach behind his head and shove his face fiercely into a swinging knee. Frieza's eyesight flashed white for a moment until his senses went hot as he was swept away by another energy beam.
Screaming in rage, Frieza burst his energy, kicking the wave off of him and dove to the surface of the planet. He completely submerged under the rocky ground. Gohan flew to try and follow his movements, but Frieza burst from the ground quickly from behind Gohan and ensnared the boy in his grasp. Making a sharp turn in the air he drove downward to the ground again and pushed Gohan in first to the bubbling stones.
The two emerged from the subterranean tunnel, Gohan still in Frieza's grasp. Frieza dropped Gohan slightly, taking in a full grasp of the boy's spiky golden hair. Making a second dive to the planet, Frieza dragged Gohan's face across the ground at full speed.
Frieza dragged Gohan onward until a large volcano came into sight. Lifting off the ground, Frieza pulled the boy to an altitude where he could easily throw the boy inside. Once Gohan left Frieza's grasp he sent three huge purple energy balls trailing after him. The three balls merged as they struck Gohan and the volcano causing the top to shatter and tons of molten planet to be spewed in every direction.
Out of breath, Frieza waited and watched as the debris cleared. After a moment of nothing, his shoulders began to tremble and then the hysterics returned, "Stupid monkey child! Did he actually believe he stood a chance at defeating me?! I am all powerful, I am mighty! He was nothing but an infant primate!"
Frieza's laughter came to a halt as arms clasped around his chest from behind, "WHAT?!"
With a heave Gohan launched the both of them into the air. They rocketed upward to the very extend of the planet's atmosphere where there was hardly any air. There they stopped and Gohan turned them around and began to descend through the planet's atmosphere. Gohan's golden aura flared brightly as he pushed with all his strength through harsh air friction. He held Frieza in front as the two became a fireball hurdling down toward the planet. With less than a kilometer before impact, Gohan released Frieza and kicked him hard in the back sending him into an uncontrolled fall. Frieza screamed as the ground approached and he struck with enough force that the shifting continents broke apart and the planet elongated.
On Earth, Goku and Piccolo stood silent gazing up at the sky. They let their senses float off into space where they tried to sense the happenings on the planet now so distant.
"Come on son… do it and come home to us!" Goku practically prayed.
"You can do it, we believe in you kid…" Piccolo thought supportively
Frieza crawled out of the hole he'd been buried in and cursed loudly. He saw Gohan still floating nearby and charged again. Without concentrating, Frieza threw hundreds of punches and kicks. Gohan easily ducked and side stepped each one. "You can't keep this up, I will defeat you!" Frieza yelled.
Gohan caught Frieza's incoming punch and gripped the monster's hand tight, "No… That's it Frieza, you're done."
"How dare you? You little punk, you're nothing! I could…" Gohan's fist swung forward driving into Frieza's gut with enough force to expand Frieza's back and ripple through the rest of his body. Once the ripple reached Frieza's mouth he coughed out a wave of blood. He slowly slipped from Gohan's fist and fell to the ground still clutching his stomach.
Frieza stared at Gohan, a mixture of anger but mostly fear now shown in his eyes, "It's over Frieza… you're not able to challenge me anymore.
"You… boy… no… I… will never be… defeated!" Frieza flung himself away from Gohan. With both his hands outstretched Frieza began channeling everything he had left into a massive attack. Gohan noticed Frieza's own life force was being used up to create a massive energy beam. "YOU WON'T BEAT ME! ONE WAY OR ANOTHER I WILL KILL YOU!"
Gohan shook his head as the massive energy gathered in Frieza's hands. "This is it then…"
Taking just a moment to relax and focus, Gohan lifted his hands to his forehead, "MA…" A bright sphere of golden energy began to form in his hands, "SEN…" Gohan knew that the next attack Frieza launched would be massive and grit his teeth as he pulled as much of his energy as he could into the attack, "KA…" Moving his hands from his forehead, Gohan brought them down to his side and combined his techniques, "ME…HA…" The energy in Gohan's hands began to pull at the matter from the planet below. Debris swirled around Gohan's hands as Frieza too was almost ready to unleash his final attack, "ME…"
"THIS IS THE END OF EVERYTHING!" Frieza opened up his attack and launched the culmination of his energy and spirit.
"HAAA!" Gohan countered with the shining force of his Masenkamehameha. The two beams met with enough force that the ground beneath the power struggled was wiped smooth.
Never before had Frieza ever been challenged this way. Without full comprehending what he was doing, Frieza expended his very essence into his beam. The energy amplified and began pushing Gohan's energy back toward him.
Gohan shut his eyes in concentration as he pushed hard back against the beam.
The energy was too much for King Kai to continue to monitor and his antennae shorted out and he fell over. Yamcha and Tien quickly helped the northern god back up, "Good grief! This is crazy, but I think this is it guys!"
The warriors on King Kai's planet all looked off and thought silently, "Come on Gohan, you can do it!"
Goku grit his teeth as his eyes were clenched shut in concentration, "That should be me there… Gohan… forgive me… Give it everything you've got!"
Piccolo also thought silently as he sensed off to the place so far away, "Gohan… I'm sorry we're not there beside you right now like we should be… but you have to do this Gohan! Don't back off, push on through!"
Gohan's eyes snapped open as Frieza's attack was pushing through his own. Images of everyone floated through his mind, his parents and friends at home, the friends he'd met only a few times, even those long gone like his saiyan ancestors and those friends he hadn't even met yet that he was destined to on adventures to come, "You're already beaten Frieza, but I will destroy you!" Gohan tapped further into the incredible super saiyan energy well. His muscle mass increased further and his strength multiplied.
Frieza's eyes widened as he saw the beam coming back down toward him. He had nothing left to give, no more to defend himself with as the attack cam and finally swept him away. The wave was so powerful that his body couldn't sustain itself any long while embraced in its energy and he disintegrated into particles of dust.
Gohan stared down at the spot Frieza had stood. There was nothing left now. The attack had been enough to throw the planet off its axis and Gohan could see the stars in the sky moving quickly signifying that the planet was spinning out of control.
"Oh no… this is it!" King Kai watched horrified as the next events took place.
"GOHAAAAN!" Goku shouted from Earth as the planet Namek could no longer sustain itself and completely exploded.
Three months later…
The sky darkened over West City as the Dragon Balls of Namek were brought together and made ready to grant three new wishes. With Dende giving the commands, Porunga rose from the balls and towered over the mighty city.
"Speak your three wishes…"
"Okay Dende…" Goku braced himself as he looked up at the Dragon, "Please wish for Gohan to be brought back to life."
In his native tongue, Dende relayed the wish to Porunga.
Porunga's eyes gave off a dull light before responding, "It cannot be granted, for the one named Gohan is alive."
"Gohan's alive!" Everyone shouted in relief.
"Well that makes things easy, let's wish him back to Earth!" Chichi demanded.
Dende nodded and once again made the wish to the dragon.
The Dragon's eyes began to glow brighter this time and it grunted in effort. Its eyes dulled and it looked down at everyone below in silence before speaking, "The one called Gohan says he's not ready to go back to school yet and will call you later…"
"HE SAID WHAT?!" Chichi shouted nearly stepping on everyone around her.
Deep in space, Gohan sat at the pilot seat of his dad's capsule ship. He stared at the console in dismay which read "Destination: Earth". He looked up as a sly smile crossed his features.
The ship veered off course and flew off at top speed toward unknown adventure.
The End
And thus concludes our little one shot. Hopefully the Gohan fans out there found it entertaining!
I also want to thank Guardian of Nesh again for being the 400th review to ZAT:Immortal. I'm sorry this story did take a few weeks to write, but I hope you found that it was worth the wait. I still have plenty of other projects I need to work on, including the arduous task of proofreading everything… /sigh.
Thanks a lot for the support everyone!
'Till next time!