A/N: Hey guys, here I am back with the newest chapter to Heritage. Sorry that it took so long to publish an update for you guys, but I'm in a little bit of a slump write now. Also, I am more focused on Ascent as it is my main story. I love writing these stories and they bring me so much joy because I can unleash my imagination. I do hope you all send in the reviews because they help me keep the inspiration I need to send out these chapters. So without further ado, I give you Chapter 3 of Heritage, formerly known as Frenzied Hearts.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of the franchise. I am merely a fan who writes this for the fun of it.

Summary: The saiyans are a warrior race that thrives on war and bloodshed. Even the most pure of these warriors are unable to ignore the roots of their heritage as it overcomes them in a great time of need. Once the dark tendencies appear, they are hard to ignore; causing trouble for all those involved. When one change is made, everything you know takes a drastic turn. Lies and deceptions will be made; making it hard to put faith in those you once trusted wholeheartedly.

Chapter 3

Dark Nature

One minute, he was celebrating with his father, mentor, and friend about the apparent defeat of the cruel Arcosian warrior known as Frieza. The next, he was screaming for his life as he tried to go against some unknown force surely caused by the thought dead lizard before having his life taken away in cold blood. Finally, he opened his eyes to a totally new scene. He had been in an extremely long line of fluffy white clouds that were the dead souls of beings from other planets across the massive expanse of the universe. For all he knew, these clouds could have been the Namekians that were mercilessly killed by Frieza and his soldiers or possibly Vegeta.

After waiting an amazingly short amount of time, he came to a large desk in which an even bigger ogre sat behind with a book in front of him. He introduced himself as King Yemma and from what the boy could tell, the ogre seemed a bit saddened by his untimely death; almost pitied him really. However, because he was his father's son and performed heroic deeds far before his time, he was going to allow him to receive training before being wished back.

However, before his sentence could be granted, the young boy had disappeared from sight and returned him to his place of death, which is where he stood now. The boy gaped in wonder at the new state of his previous location. It appeared that he had not been revived, but sentenced straight to hell. Everything on Namek was breaking apart. Fires erupted from the ground; spewing molten lava into the air from the bubbling core in the center of the planet.

It made him wonder: what happened during his brief period of death? However, as he thought back to the incident, it made him tremble in fear. He was so frightened at how his life had come to an end so swiftly and mercilessly. At that moment in his life, it made him wish that he had not chosen to trek to the peaceful little world, but he could not let his mentor down. He had caused Piccolo to die in the first place, because he was too frightened to attack the large brute of a saiyan. By coming to Namek and using the Dragon Balls here was his way of paying him back for his act of kindness. Although he was able to accomplish his goal, he died in the process and that was something he never wanted to experience ever again.

What notified the five year old boy that he was indeed alive were the two power levels battling off in the distance. One he could definitely recognize as the evil Frieza and the other, after a few moments of concentration, was his father's! His dad's power level had skyrocketed in the short amount of time he had been gone from the living realm, but it felt extremely off; dark in a way. He did not know how to explain the energy he was sensing from his beloved father, but it just did not feel right at all. It scared him even further that something strange had overcome his father, but at least he was now stronger than the cruel alien. That counted for something, right? He would simply have to ask him once this was all over.

Sounds of the two individuals clashing grabbed the boy's attention and he looked to the distance to see his father and Frieza battling it out. From what he could tell, his father had a slightly new appearance. The energy surrounding his body was that of a bright orange along with hair of the same color that stood up in a flame similar to Vegeta's style. Had his father become the Super Saiyan that the other full-blooded mentioned? If so, then why did the power seem so…wrong? Either way, he was proud of his father for attaining the power only those of legend have been able to achieve.

"Dad, you really did it," he said with pride. "I hope you can end this so we can go home. Huh?"

His curiosity was piqued when he saw his father stop in his tracks and apparently look in his direction before rushing after Frieza in the opposite direction towards the might Porunga. He could not blame his father for not coming over to greet him because he had to prevent the alien from obtaining his wish and finish the job of defeating him. Their happy reunion would come at a later time when he was not busy.

Suddenly, he felt his body pulled away from the site of destruction to the beautiful scene of an open land that looked a lot like his home. He examined his surroundings again to see the Namekians, Krillin, Bulma, and even Vegeta all in one area. He brought his gaze to the blue skies donned with white clouds and the incandescent yellow sun, causing a happy grin to appear on his lips as he immediately realized that they had all been transported to Earth, but his father was missing.

"Gohan! You're back!" Krillin yelled in happiness. He looked over to the former monk just as he was pulled into a bear hug before he had the chance to respond. All he could do was laugh nervously at his friend's behavior. The bald male released him from his grasp a few moments later and placed a hand on the boy's head. "It's good to see you back among the living. How are you feeling little buddy?"

The boy conjured up a fake smile on his lips as to not worry the bald warrior, "I'm alright. I just don't want to go through that again. I wanna know what happened while I was gone though. Dad looks so different now."

"Oh, so you had a chance to see him huh?" Krillin questioned, receiving a nod as an answer. The bald warrior shook his head as he recalled what happened only a while ago. "Man, it was just crazy. Goku went ballistic when Frieza killed you. He transformed into a Super Saiyan I guess and he just got so much power from that." His gaze hardened at what he had felt along with the great transformation. "But, I could tell he just wasn't the same. It seemed like he became…I don't know how to put it. He told me to leave before doing something he would regret. Honestly, I think it was hard for him to hold onto his mind in a sense. He was just…just so angry when that happened. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that it would be nothing to worry about, but that's just not like Goku…at all."

"R-Really?" Gohan questioned in disbelief. He had no idea that his father could actually experience that type of emotion. Not only that, he would never harm those so close to him. He could bring it all down to the fact that Frieza had sparked something in his father.

"Its true kid," Piccolo said as he joined the conversation. "I may have been unconscious the whole time, but I could feel your dad's energy. He was struggling to maintain himself accordingly, but that's what happens when you go into unmarked territory. I'm not sure how it's going to be like once he returns, but I can assure you, that he will not be the same."

Namek

Back on the dying Namek, Goku stood over his fallen enemy. Even when the Arcosian admitted to holding back his true power, he proved to me of no match to his newfound transformation. He held supremacy over the alien tyrant and now he held his life in the palm of his hands. It had been increasingly fun causing the tyrant agonizing pain and simply toying with him, but once the timer ticked on the planet's destruction, everything had to be put to an end once and for all.

He batted Frieza around like a toy, taunting him about his so called "ultimate power." He relished in the sight of his pain and anguish. Seeing the Arcosian's blood spill by his hands sent tingles through his body; quenching his thirst.

Throughout the process, the voices of his former self pleaded for him to show mercy to the cruel alien, but they were shoved aside the moment his eyes landed on his only son. He had been revived thanks to the plan conjured up by his planet's guardian and King Kai, but it further increased his anger. Yes, he was thrilled to see his son back amongst the living, but the blaring fact that he was killed in the first place by the monstrous overlord remained and it was his duty to show him the same fate he dealt to countless others.

So now, as he watched the Arcosian sit in a pool of his own blood upon the Namekian dirt, he felt little to no remorse for the beaten down alien. He deserved everything that came to him. For once he could get a taste of what it meant to be in absolute hell and all he had to do now was pull the plug with one final blast. The warrior that he was before this transformation was foolish and merciful but that part of him was long gone at this point. He would not give this evil foe another chance to redeem for his cruel actions because he knew he would not change and turn around to kill him the first chance he obtained.

"Please...help me…I beg of you," Frieza pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't…don't let me die like this. Have mercy on me."

Goku sneered at the Arcosian's request; angered that the creature had the audacity to even pose such pleads. "Did you give mercy to the ones who asked you for it? How many was it? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? What gives you the right to ask that to a saiyan of all things?"

Frieza did not respond, yet he grew silent and frozen in place but the saiyan could hear his wheezed breathe underneath the howling winds. As another wave of darkness overcame the Earth-raised saiyan, he growled inwardly as he stretched his arm towards the dying alien. A sickening grin appeared on his lips as a sizzling ball of ki formed in his palm; its sights set on the Arcosian. Killing Frieza would be very fun to him.

Without another word, he unleashed his unrelenting blast onto his prey, disintegrating into nothing and sending him to Other World. The last thing he heard from the Arcosian was a yell of horror in the loudest voice imaginable. When it was all clear, the saiyan smirked in triumph as he had finally ended Frieza's life. "No more. No one has to deal with your reign of terror no more."

Now, his next goal was to find a ship to get off the planet before exploding with him along with it. His bright orange aura surged around his body and he shot into the distance at great speeds; racing against time.

From the view of space, a sudden large explosion of light beamed into the darkness, signifying the destruction of Planet Namek. Hazel eyes bore through the window of the small pod and a small twinkle shined in them. His enemy perished died along with the unfortunate planet; never to be seen again. He barely managed to escape; finding a pod that must have belonged to the Ginyu Force before it went crashing into the molten core of the planet. He simply punched in a button and allowed it to head off to its preprogrammed destination. Wherever he landed, he would rest and find a way to return home.

Earth

As the group continued to talk amongst themselves, the saiyan prince remained off to the side, musing over the recent events in his life. To say he was frustrated would be classified as an understatement. He was angry that Kakarot—a third class clown—managed to transform into the legendary Super Saiyan after living on a backwater planet for majority of his life before he could achieve it himself. HE was the Prince of the Saiyans! It was his birthright alone to attain the transformation and slay the life of Frieza by his hands. He was struggling to maintain hold over his raging emotions.

On top of everything, he had been informed by the blue haired human woman that the planet exploded, taking the lives of both Frieza and the third class fool. The sounds of gasps and shouts of grief rung in his eyes and more so once she relayed one final fact: if he were to be revived by the Namekian Dragon Balls, he would only return the place where he died. Since Namek was gone, he would only die again in the vacuum of space the moment he returned.

Normally, he would have been ecstatic to hear the news of his sworn rival's death, but not this time. He never had the chance to withdraw the information of reaching the Super Saiyan form or ultimately have his rematch with Kakarot. While he had been hiding his emotions physically by boasting that he was now the strongest in the universe and even hitting around the Earth-raised saiyan's spawn before his mentor butted in, he found himself standing back off to the side, musing over his options and eavesdropping on their conversations.

"So what are we going to do?" Gohan questioned to Bulma. His eyes displayed unrelenting sadness. He had already lost his father once when he battled against Raditz, he could not lose him again. "There has to be something we can think of."

Vegeta growled to himself as he grew tiresome of their Earthling drivel, "If you want Kakarot back so much then listen to me! There is a check-in station in Other World that leads to the Spirit Realm Wish him back to the Check-In station first then you wish him to life. And don't bother asking how I know that information. I died as well so I witnessed the entire process myself. So if you follow those instructions exactly, it should take two wishes to return Kakarot back to life."

"Of course! That makes so much sense!" Bulma stated in excitement, causing Vegeta to cringe at the volume. She smiled happily at the saiyan prince then back to the group once more. "All we have to do now is to wait for the Dragon Balls to become active again and we wish him back."

"Hold everything!" King Kai's voice yelled.

"King Kai, what is it?" Bulma questioned in confusion. What more did he have to tell them now? He had already informed them that Goku had died along with planet Namek.

"Turns out…Goku's not dead," he stated in a relieved tone. "In fact, he's very much alive. He barely managed to escape Namek, but he found a pod and now he's headed off to who knows where."

The eyes of Krillin, Bulma, and Gohan lit up at the new revelation; elated that he had not perished after all. Piccolo merely gave a nod of his head. He knew the saiyan would not fall that easily after he had only been revived recently. Vegeta, on the other hand, allowed a small smirk to appear on his lips. It appeared that he would be able to achieve his goal after all. Now all he had to do was wait for his return. It was no sense in traveling all across the galaxy searching for him when he was only going to return to the place he was raised in the end.

"That's great!" Gohan exclaimed in happiness. "Then maybe we can wish him back home."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," he responded. "Your father knows too well that you will try to wish him back, but he does not want to return just yet."

Krillin blinked in confusion at the kai's message; actually somewhat angered that his friend did not want to come home. "Why would he say that? Shouldn't he want to get here as soon as possible?"

"Believe me, he does, but there are some…things he has to handle before he can," the blue god responded grimly.

By the tone of voice he was using, Piccolo and Krillin immediately understood what he was talking about. That darkness that clung to Goku during his transformation was nothing pretty. It would not be safe for him to return so soon. If he did, disastrous consequences would unfold because he would not be able to control the new power he unlocked through hatred and anger alone. Gohan and his mother would simply have to be patient until his return.

"I understand," the young boy responded downheartedly. As much as he wanted to have his dad back home with him, he had to respect his decision. He knew his father was doing this for the safety of not only himself, but everyone around him. "Thanks King Kai."

Bulma merely shook her head in response. It was just like her friend to go off to places unknown without notifying anyone, but he had his reasons. She would simply have to get on his case whenever he decided to show up again. She turned her attention to the Nameks and an idea formulated in her mind. They needed a place to stay. Fortunately, her place could occupy them since it wasn't too many, "Hey! Until the Dragon Balls become active again, I want to invite you all to stay at my place." She turned her attention to Vegeta who was simply staring off into space, "And you can come too Vegeta. I'm a great cook and if your appetite is anything like Goku's you'll need one."

The saiyan stared at the woman, startled by her offer, but he didn't need an Earthling's pity. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to acknowledge her offer right now. He lacked a spaceship to escape this blasted mud-ball, so he would have to wait until one became available to him.

Bulma turned her attention back to the group of Namekians, waiting for their decision. The green aliens stared incredulously at the Earth female. They were not expecting her to offer up her own home to them, but they didn't want to impose on her. Moori spoke up for the group, "It is very kind of you to offer, but we do not want to be of any trouble to you."

She waved it off as nothing, "Really, it's no big deal at all. I have more than enough room to fit you guys in. What do you say?"

Moori continued to stare a bit shocked at the woman, but spoke anyway, "Well, if you insist…"

Bulma beamed bright at the response, "Great! Now, I just need to call my dad so he can come get us."

As the blue haired heiress proceeded to make the arrangements, Gohan stood off the side silently, wrapped in his own little world. He felt partly responsible for the state that his father was currently in now. If he had not died in the first place, his father would not have any reason to hold so much anger. However, it was not like he had asked to die. Being taken from this world in a swift and cruel manner was the worst thing he could have ever experienced in his life. He felt completely helpless to Frieza's power. He could not force his way out of his grasp and save himself from destruction. If he wanted to avoid such a grueling fate again, he had to get stronger; especially when the next battle came around in the near future.

Would the same thing have happened if someone else had died? He truly did not want that fate to fall on anyone, but it made the boy wonder, just what type of power did the saiyan's hold once they reached their peak potential? If he became a Super Saiyan himself, would he hold the same dark emotions surrounding him? Was that actually the key to becoming a Super Saiyan? Allowing feelings such as anger and hatred overcome him? What would the effects as well? Krillin said his dad had to restrain from possibly hurting him if he did not leave when he told him to. Also, what about Vegeta? If he became a Super Saiyan, he'd be ten times worse than he was now. He would probably decide to fulfill his goals of beating his dad and possibly destroy Earth.

These thoughts plagued the young boy's mind. As he mused over the information presented to him, it somewhat relieved him that his dad chose to remain at a distance from the time being. He wanted him to return the way that he always been: loving and downright happy. He just had to wait and see the result of his dad's disappearance.

"What's bugging you kid?" came Piccolo's voice, snapping the boy out of his musings.

"It's nothing…I'm fine," Gohan responded. He looked up at his mentor's hard gaze that only grew harder by the time he reached the end of his statement. The half-breed turned his attention to the ground, knowing full well that he could not fool the Namekian. "I'm just scared…and worried about my dad."

"I expected as much," the Namekian warrior responded. He knew what happened to his student bothered him greatly and only to come back to a scene such as that one increased his fear. He knew the boy would be haunted by this whole day for a while. He could not blame him in a sense. Sure he can simply tell him to get over it, but he had seen far too much for his age already. He'd have to keep a close watch on him and make sure the boy's mind is not too trouble by his experience. "Goku has his own way of dealing with things so don't worry yourself over that. He'll be back before you know it. This is something he has to handle for himself. Just be patient kid."

The half-breed gave a small nod in agreement, "I know and I will. Now I just have to figure out how to break this to my mom."

"Good luck with that kid," the Namek responded shortly.

In another part of the north galaxy, a single battle cruiser, bearing striking resemblance to Frieza's, drifted through the abyss alone. Occupying the main room of the ship was a single alien that was the same race as Frieza, to be more specific, his elder brother Cooler. His piercing scarlet eyes stared disinterestedly at the screen before him as he lay back in his hover chair. Currently, he was waiting for a competent officer of his brother's army to have an answer to his questions.

He knew of his younger sibling's endeavor for the Dragon Balls located on the Namekian home world. However, Frieza had spent far too much time on the planet and his curiosity had risen to a new level. Knowing his brother quite well, he should have achieved his goal at this point and preparing to boast about it to him. Things had become far too quiet and he needed to investigate the situation.

"It is a pleasure to see you, Lord Cooler," a reptilian alien said as he approached the screen. "I suppose you're calling to check on the status of your brother I presume."

"That is correct," the Arcosian responded simply. By the tone of the scientist's voice, he could deduce that something had indeed gone wrong in his sibling's little excursion to Namek.

The alien known as Malaka released a small cough from his mouth as a way to break the slight uneasiness he felt about having to deliver the bad news. "As you know, Lord Frieza went to Namek to retrieve the Dragon Balls. However, things took a turn for the worst. We lost transmission as he was battling the saiyan from Earth and sent one of our teams out to investigate the situation. When they arrived, well, the planet was no more. There was not even a trace of your brother in the debris so it can be assumed that your brother has been…assassinated."

Cooler raised an eyebrow at the information given to him, "So, you are telling me a saiyan has murdered Frieza?"

The alien gave a slight nod of his head in response, "Yes, Lord Cooler. That is correct."

The Arcosian's features did not reflect any sadness or remorse for Frieza's untimely death. 'I expected something like this occur. Perhaps that lone saiyan that escaped all those years ago finally appeared to send my brother to his demise. Frieza has always been egotistical and underestimated his opponent's death. It only serves him right for failing to notice one's true potential. Perhaps, I should make a journey to this planet Earth and see the power of this saiyan for myself. He may even become a hindrance to my plans as well."

"May I ask if anything is troubling you Lord Cooler?" Malaka questioned, noticing the Arcosian's thoughtful expression and sudden quiet demeanor.

"Everything is quite alright," Cooler responded dismissively. "Continue in your general actions. I will have it handled in a matter of time."

Without a word, he ended the transmission. His piercing gaze fell to the window of his chambers into the dark abyss in which he traveled. He now had a new goal in mind: travel to Earth and battle the saiyan warrior who defeated his brother. He cared little of his brother's death and did not want revenge upon his the action. Again, he saw it coming eventually. He treated his men poorly so who knows what would have happened in the future.

"Lord Cooler," said a new voice, beyond the door.

The door slid open automatically, revealing his loyal general Salza. The blue alien approached his lord with a respectful bow, "Lord Cooler, we will be arriving at Zhathurion in approximately one day." When the tyrant did not respond, the Brench alien was compelled to reiterate his statement once more. However, after working under the tyrant for so long, he knew that whenever he was quiet, he was in deep thought about a topic. "Lord…Cooler? Is zomething zhe' matter?"

"I have found out a bit of interesting information," the elder Arcosian responded. "Once we have finished with our business, ensure that our next course is to Earth."

Salza merely looked at his boss in confusion at the odd request. Something must have caught his attention for him to have an abrupt change of route. However, he was one to question his motives and simply chose to ask of the details at a later moment.

A/N: And that's it for now. I hope you guys enjoyed this latest installment to Heritage. I know it's not that long of a chapter, but this is only the beginning phase and the chapter lengths will increase a bit in time. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far and I hope you all continue to do so. The reviews left for my stories give me the inspiration I need to keep sending out chapters. Anyway, please be sure to leave some feedback. If you have any constructive criticism, please be sure to put it in because it shall help me grow as a writer.

Until Next Time!

Mystic Milli