Risk
Chapter 7
Chi-chi and the others flew away; knowing that they were in harm's way and would be killed if they stayed upon the battlefield. Before they landed on a cliff side to watch the battle, Goku lunged at Frieza. It was almost though an invisible signal went off that signaled the beginning of the all-out battle. Forearm met forearm before Goku dodged the punch Frieza threw with a free hand and Goku attempted to return it in vain. Each one of them attempted to use chi, fist or feet against one another in this before Goku was backed into a wall with a blast that burned his hands slightly before he could throw the chi away.
"Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Goku whined before regaining his composure. Chi-chi felt his discomfort and wished that he had dodged the blast rather than take it.
"You're stronger than I thought. I'm a bit surprised. I didn't think anyone else in this universe surpassed Captain Ginyu," Frieza smirked in absolute bliss. "Pity you can't beat me."
"Maybe…" Goku grinned in anticipation.
"Oh ho ho… you'll know." Frieza boasted before sending a kiai at Goku, causing the cliff that he stood on to cave in with only a look. Goku managed to jump above Frieza before he sent a look that threw the tyrant into water below before he managed to get out of Goku's kiai. Before Goku could react, Frieza appeared behind him and kicked the Earth-raised Saiya-jin into the water.
'Owww!' Goku thought to himself underwater; struggling to keep his breath while getting up.
"Get up," Frieza commanded. "I know you can't be beaten by something like that."
'He's so fast too… what should I do now…?' Goku questioned with his arms crossed underwater. 'I don't think he can find his opponent's position by feeling for their chi, like I can… he's gotta follow with his eyes… Alright! I'll use that!'
"Goku hasn't come out yet," Krillin grew worried.
'He's alright though… I know he is…' Chi-chi chanted mentally to herself.
Almost though she was reassuring herself, she noticed Frieza dodge a blast to avoid being hit by it. A second one took him by surprise before Goku screamed angrily and kicked Frieza in the face from behind. Even though it was a cheap shot, it did nothing to Frieza in the slightest.
'You have to be kidding…' Chi-chi sweat dropped at the idea that Frieza wasn't fazed in the slightest.
Despite the toying around, Chi-chi screamed in absolute horror when she thought Goku was a goner after Frieza had trapped him in a ball of chi and bounced the warrior around like a ragged doll trapped within the sphere. However, the Earth-raised Saiya-jin emerged from the smoke unscathed. After that scare, Chi-chi felt relieved when all the damage that Goku suffered was his clothes being torn in various places from the explosion.
As the battle progressed however, the two warriors had some sort of combat where Frieza did not use his fists until after Goku bit his tail. After that, Frieza punched the warrior in the face; taking him totally off-guard. Yet, Goku didn't seem to mind it much.
…
"…but I'm getting bored of this battle," Frieza seemingly spoke with utter calmness. "I want to settle it soon. Let me ask you first, just in case… would you care to work for me? It would be a waste to destroy such power. You'll be a much better flunky than Captain Ginyu."
"You've got to be kidding," Goku snorted. "Do you really think I'd take an offer like that?"
"No, frankly, I didn't. Saiya-jins are stubborn to the point of stupidity." Frieza darkly spoke. "Now you only have one way out of this: death."
"You think so? I might have other ideas," Goku admitted. Frieza only laughed at these words that seemed so empty. He knew many that had vowed to kill him and yet, not one had been successful.
'I hope they continue soon,' Chi-chi thought silently to herself while listening to her husband and the creature talk. It was scary enough that the creature seemed to be giving nothing but empty threats thus far; however, before she could even think her husband would be safe, she felt Frieza's power rise horribly high.
'H-he's…not bluffing…!' Goku thought before he was elbowed in the nose. From there, it became a one-sided battle where nothing was working against Frieza; not even the ten-fold Kaio-ken seemed to be having any serious effect on Goku's speed and strength. After a great thrashing, Goku landed upon a cliff to regain his breath before Frieza cleaved a narrow chi blast through the crust of the planet. Water fell through the scarred ground while rocks fell carelessly into the unnatural abyss.
"I told you. I could destroy this entire planet with ease." Frieza boasted. "It's what I did to the Planet Vegeta, you know."
"I can't win…" Goku muttered in shock and horror. He was angry at himself; angry that he was failing his friends and his family. Before he knew it, he was being thrown around before he fell into the water where he couldn't get a breath of air. He couldn't find any gaps to catch his breath and it wasn't long before Frieza forced the Earth-raised Saiya-jin under.
"NO!" Chi-chi cried and wanted to go to her husband's rescue; however, Piccolo had to restrain the female from doing anything.
"You can't save him!" Piccolo yelled. "It's over." Chi-chi fell limp and began to cry miserably. Her husband, the one she gave her heart to, was being drowned by this alien.
The struggles ceased and Goku had succumbed to the lack of oxygen in his lungs.
'Am…am I dead?' Goku thought while watching the scenery below him pass by before he spotted the body of his friends and family laying there dead. He wanted to deny this was happening or was going to happen; however, he felt nothing but nothing but dread, guilt and hopelessness within himself. 'NO! Gohan! Piccolo! Krillin! Chi-chi!'
'Would you like to save them?' a voice asked him. What he saw next was Earth laying in a wasteland-like environment with cities burning to the ground.
'Y-yes! I need to or everything I know and love will disappear!' Goku pleaded to this voice. He didn't care what would happen to him at that moment and wanted nothing more than to stop this nightmare from becoming a reality.
'Then wake up before it's too late…' the voice warned and the planet he had known and lived on since his failed mission exploded into a fiery ball of flames.
It was almost though the very explosion playing within those dark recesses of his mind snapped Goku out of it. Instantly, the power began to magnify throughout his body and he summoned enough to defy the one keeping him under water. Chi-chi, who had been crying, stopped when she saw Frieza knocked away almost as though he had been burned by something. Everyone else watched in pure shock when they realized that Goku had escaped Frieza's deadly grip and was panting heavily; drawing in the air his lungs ached for during his under water struggle. Seconds later, he yelled angrily in triumph; almost mocking Frieza for trying such a pathetic way of destroying the warrior.
"Goku!" Chi-chi shouted happily. She was thankful he was alright after that incident and hoped that he would continue to fight against Frieza with everything he had.
Frieza was flabbergasted while Goku spoke in an irritated and dark toned voice, "For the future of Gohan, Chi-chi and Earth… I will do everything I can to protect them!" The power of the twenty-fold Kaio-ken gathered around him while he continued, "You maybe a million times stronger than me, but mark my words Frieza, you're going down!"
His chi roared around him as it continued to build up before he reached his max. Lunging at Frieza, he attempted to punch him.
"Ka… me…" After missing Frieza, he cupped his hands and continued. "…ha… me… HA!" After the last syllable was uttered, he unleashed his Kamehameha straight at Frieza in an attempt to take him down. Almost though Frieza was frightened by this strange and bizarre power Goku suddenly obtained, he struggled against the blast by adding a blast of his own to trigger an explosion rocked the very planet to the core.
Everyone on the cliff was forced to shield their eyes despite the destructive power unleashed until the debris and hurricane-force winds around them ceased to fly at them. When they were able to see again, they saw Goku was still floating there weakened from the last attack. Not far above him stood Frieza, alive and well with a slightly burnt hand in front of him that he had managed to use to hold off the attack.
"Damn it to hell…!" Goku cursed angrily. His tail, which had been wrapped around his waist ever since his arrival, had finally come loose and flickered in irritation at the alien warlord.
From that moment on, all hell was about to break loose.
To Be Continued…
