Goku sighed in relief. It was over, finally over. After a hard battle with the tyrant Frieza, he had finally come out in victory. Exhausted, he sat on the ground,

Behind him, water surged into the crater where the spirit bomb had crashed into the ground, killing Frieza as it neutralised his life force.

So...tired. Goku thought, as he collapsed on the ground. He had used up all of his remaining energy into the attack, bolstering the Spirit Bomb with his own pure heart.

Gohan lay on the ground, nearly passed out. Next to him sat Krillin and Piccolo, all of whom were exhausted as had put up a lot of effort energy into buying time for Goku to charge up the spirit bomb, and without their help, Goku wasn't sure they all would've survived to see Earth again.

I need to work on the spirit bomb, he thought. It takes too long to charge up. I wonder if I could fix that...

"Ha ha ha! Goku, you did it! You killed Frieza!" Krillin laughed, breaking the silence.

"I couldn't do it without all of you, especially you Piccolo," Goku replied with an exhausted sigh.

"Now finally Lord Guru and the other Namekians can rest in peace," Piccolo said gravely, still not moving from his meditation.

"Yes they can," Gohan said, "and we can go home."

"Looks like Frieza just got a bad case of freezer burn!" Goku said, grinning foolishly.

They all laughed at that.

Piccolo's eyes widened as he felt the energy of something stirring in the crater that was behind Goku. It was faint, but he could swear that it felt... evil.

Then, he saw a light blue and purple form standing on top of a rock pinnacle near the edge of the crater. He saw the figure raise an arm and point in their general direction...

There was no time to explain, he had to act...

"GOKU GET DOWN! THIS ISN'T OVER YET!" He yelled, shoving Goku aside.

There was a flash of blue light, and when it faded, Piccolo crumpled to the ground unconscious, with a small hole in the side of his chest, still smoking. He only had a split second to react, and he had used it to save Goku's life.

PICCOLO! Gohan thought as his master collapsed on the ground, Not Piccolo, not again! Not after I just got him back... no no no!

He ran forward and checked his sensei's pulse. After a moment of concentration, he felt it. The pulse was soft but strong.

Good, he's still alive!

There was a slight wavering in the air above Goku, and suddenly Frieza was standing on a pile of rock in front of them. Apart from the stump where his tail was, and a few minor burns on his body, he barely seem hurt at all. There was a burning fire in his red eyes, that bespoke an anger beyond anything Goku had seen before.

"Bravo. You almost did me in with that last trick. I had to bring out a good portion of my energy just to survive that giant energy ball you threw at me." Frieza said, almost conversationally. "Naturally, I am very, angry now."

They all stood there dumbfounded.

"But no, the energy ball is not why I am angry now," Frieza continued, " In fact, I actually found the near death experience quite refreshing, wouldn't you? It gives me a little bit of perspective."

There was no response.

"No, what really angers me, is the fact that you think that you can all just sit here and laugh about my apparent death. Do you think I should let you get away with that, you filthy peasants?" The tyrant said, his voice taking on a menacing tone. "Do you think that you can simply just walk away after humiliating me, and get away with it? Well, I have news for you. I am obviously not dead, and I am NOT finished with you runts!"

Goku, tired as he was, stepped in front of Frieza. He glanced briefly at Piccolo, then at his son Gohan, who's eyes were wide with fright.

"Krillin, Gohan, grab Piccolo, find Bulma and get back to the ship," He said, turning to eye the deranged Tyrant, "Neither of you have enough strength to fight back, so you'd just be putting your own skins at risk for no reason."

Krillin moved to Gohan's side to help him lift Piccolo, but before anyone could do anything more than take a single step, a few small beams of purple energy shot from Frieza's eyes and bound everyone where they stood.

"I won't let you all get away so easily..." He said, almost purring.

"Dad! I... Can't Move!" Gohan cried, as he struggled to break free of his bonds.

"Let Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo go,"Goku said, grimacing as he fought to break free of the bonds Frieza placed on them. "They pose no threat to you."

"Don't patronize me, you filthy monkey," Frieza spat, "I won't let you, or any of your friends leave this planet ALIVE! That is the price you all will pay for cutting off my tail and humiliating me!"

He pointed his finger at Krillin, and fired a small ball of purple energy into Krillin, which surprisingly didn't harm Goku's friend. He raised his hand, and with a shriek of fear and surprise, Krillin was yanked high into the air by an unseen force.

"GOKU HELP!" Krillin screamed, flailing his arms around wildly.

"STOP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" Goku screamed, as he struggled against the invisible bonds.

"Oh, but I do," Frieza said, as he slowly began to clench his fist.

"GOKU, PLEASE!" Krillin screamed in pain.

"Frieza, I am BEGGING you..." Goku pleaded. If he was free, he could distract Frieza long enough for the others to get away, but... he... couldn't... move.

"Pop goes the weasel," Frieza said, ignoring Goku's pleas.

"GOKUUUUUU-!"

The tyrant closed his fist.

Krillin exploded in a ball of purple tinted fire, as Gohan and Goku watched in utter horror.

"OH NO!" King Kai said. He was watching the whole thing telepathically from his planet, and despite his vast wisdom, he couldn't have foreseen were looking pretty bad for Goku.

"What happened King Kai?" Yamcha asked.

"The spirit bomb failed," King Kai said worriedly, "Frieza is still alive, and he has struck again. Piccolo is unconscious, and one other just died."

"Who was it?" Tien asked, a sense of loss in his voice.

"It was...Krillin." King Kai whispered.

Frieza was laughing.

Krillin's death seemed to happen in slow motion for Goku. He heartbeat slowly, and seemed as loud as thunder to him. A tear slid down his cheek, and his muscles tensed, as the realization of what just happened hit him like a hammer. Shock and fear gave way to sadness and anger, and the emotions slowly began to boil and churn like an angry storm.

My... best friend, He thought sluggishly, Dead...because... I have...failed. And I can't Wish him back again!

"I... won't let you... get away with this." He whispered, clenching his fist, so hard that a trickle of dark Saiyan blood dropped to the ground.

Frieza was laughing.

"Krillin... no. Not you too." Gohan whispered, tears coming to his wide eyes, and a sense of hopelessness filled his soul.

"What was that, little monkey? I didn't hear you," Frieza said to Gohan. "Don't worry, you won't be separated from him for long..."

Frieza raised his finger, and pointed it at Goku's son, deliberately charging up the Ki ball to increase the kid's terror.

Gohan began to tremble. Despite the rage he felt building up in him at his friend's death, what could he do? His strength was low, and he was helpless.

The ball of energy flew from Frieza's finger, and pierced him like it did Krillin. The tyrant raised his hand, lifting the struggling half-saiyan into the air.

"DADDY, HELP ME!" Gohan screamed, "HE'S GOING TO KILL ME, TOO!"

Goku gritted his teeth. The anger and sadness within him was now mixed with desperation. He had to break free.

"What's wrong, Goku? You plead for your friends life but not the life of your own son?" Frieza mocked, "What? No retort? How surprising."

"You... You, Monster!" Goku screamed, "You don't care about life, do you? All you care about is making your subjects suffer! I will see that you will go to HELL!"

"DADDY HELP!" Gohan screamed.

"Ahh, that's more like it." Frieza chuckled, as he began to slowly close his fist.

Gohan screamed in pain, as the Tyrant closed his fist ever so slowly.

NO! NOT MY SON! Goku thought. His emotions were like a hurricane right now.

"YOU...RUTHLESS...HEARTLESS... BASTARD OF A MONSTER! I...I... WON'T... LET YOU... GET AWAY WITH... THIS!" Goku said, grimacing as if in pain. His emotions were so powerful that he was actually trembling with rage.

"Oh, how nice. He actually does care, unlike most Saiyans," Frieza said sarcastically, as he watched the emotions play across Goku's face.

Almost unnoticed, the clouds began together and swirl, turning dark grey. The winds began to howl, and the sky darkened. Flashes of lightning streaked across the Namekian sky, and rain began to pelt the ground for what may have been the first time in centuries.

"I... WON'T... LET... YOU...GET... AWAY... WITH...THIS!" Goku said, louder this time.

There was a crash of lightning, and in the flickering of the light, Goku's eyes seem to glow a bright bluish-green, and his hair, a dusky golden color. The ground trembled, and small pebbles began to float beside where the Saiyan stood.

Gohan, released after Frieza's attention was drawn to his father, floated quietly to the ground, unnoticed by the tyrant.

Frieza's glowing red eyes were now fixed on Goku, a look of puzzlement on his face.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Goku screamed, for a third time.

The lighning flashed again, and his hair stood on end, and began to flicker back and forth between its usual black color, and the bright golden color Gohan thought he saw a little earlier.

Goku tilted his head back, as he felt the invisible bond that was holding him break, but that wasn't all. He felt the emotions swirl inside his head, building to a peak. Something deep within his mind snap seemed to snap, and an ancient, hidden barrier, long forgotten and buried revealed itself. He reached for that barrier, letting his emotions fuel the action.

He pushed against the barrier, and it cracked. He pushed again, and felt something on the other side. A hidden reserve of Ki. It was enormous! Beyond thought, the last full-blooded Saiyan desperately reached through the crack in the barrier for it...

The barrier broke, and Power flooded him. Raw energy like he had never felt before rushed in him. He felt his hair stand on end, and his muscles bulge. Without knowing why, he screamed as the new energy flooded through his body. This power was unimaginable!

"RAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHH...!"

Frieza watched the transformation, his body trembling, and his eyes now wide.

"What has this Sayian become?" He muttered.

Gohan watched his dad with fascination. He could feel the raw energy radiating from his dad, and could hear the thrum of it. A flickering golden aura now surrounded his dad, and his now fiery yellow hair had assumed a flame-like pattern, standing on end as if drawn upward by a magnet.

Goku turned around and looked at his son, and Gohan gasped. His father's eyes were glowing a bluish-green color, and seemed to contain all the fury in the world.

"Gohan, take Piccolo, find Bulma and get back to the ship. Leave this planet. I will deal with Frieza."

"But... dad..." Gohan protested,"How will you-?"

"I AM YOUR FATHER, NOW DO AS I TELL YOU AND GET TO THE SHIP!" Goku yelled."If Piccolo dies, then our entire journey here would've been in vain."

"Y...y...yes, sir," Gohan said, a note of fear coming into his voice. He turned, and hoised the namekian over his shoulder, and then took off into the air.

Goku turned around and fixed Frieza an angry glare, who seemed a little bit dumbstruck, at what had just happened.

"Your time is up Frieza," Goku said, his eyes filled with flames. "You will not harm anyone ever again!"

The tyrant snapped out of it, and regained his composure, which only made Goku even more angry.

"Well, well well, looks like you have a little trick up your sleeve," Frieza said, chuckling coldly, "It doesn't matter, your son is still about to die!"

The Tyrant raised his hand for a third time, pointed his finger at Gohan, and let loose a Death Beam a single death beam.

Goku sprung into action. With little effort, he pushed his newfound strength behind him and, moving much faster than the beam of Ki, he flung himself in front of it, and smacked it out of the way. Then, he shimmered, and moving faster than anyone could see, appeared right in front of Frieza. The Saiyan grabbed the light blue alien's hand in a crushing grip.

"No," Goku said,"No more. I am done playing your little games. No one else will get hurt, except for you! No one else will die today, except for you!"

Frieza writhed in his grasp, actually wincing in pain. After a moment of futile struggling, he began to power up, an aura of purple energy surrounding him, bringing all remaining energy within him to bear. With a yell, Frieza broke free of Goku's grip, slammed a few punches to Goku's sides, then jumped back and let loose a large Ki wave.

The smoke cleared, and Goku just stood there, not a single scratch on him. Goku walked forward, a look of grim determination on his face.

The two began to fight, flickering and trading blows much faster than any normal eyes could see. Every once in awhile letting loose a few Ki Blasts in an attempt to singe each other.

Frieza lept into the air, hoping to gain the upperhand from the sky, but Goku followed him. Frieza shot him with a Death Beam, hitting him in the face, knocking Goku's head backwards.

Goku relaxed his muscles as he returned his head back to its normal position. He was unharmed by the beam.

"What are you?" Frieza asked, his eyes wide.

"Haven't you guessed yet Frieza?" Goku said, a slight smile on his face.

A moment of silence, as the Tyrant processed what he had just said.

"No... Thats not possible!" Frieza said, a suspicion dawning in his red eyes,"It is just... a legend!"

"A legend that has come true," Goku said.

Lightning flickered, outlining Goku's form against the cloudy sky.

"I am the hope of the universe!" Goku yelled, his voice seeming to ring from each corner of the planet, "I am the answer to all creatures who cry out in pain! I am the protector of the innocent, and the Light that shines in the Darkness for all to see when hope seems lost! I am the peacebringer! I am Truth! Ally to Good, Foe of Evil, and Nightmare to You! I AM GOKU, AND I AM A... SUPER SAIYAN!"

Goku finished his speech with a yell, his eyes burst into bluish-green fire, and the golden aura surrounding him intensifying. Across from him, Frieza was shaking in fear. Frieza's time had come.