Freeza Arc: "Gohan Takes the Stage"

The brave young half-Saiyan walked up towards Freeza. He was sweating physically and his knees were shaking mentally. He was about to experience the toughest fight in his life thus far, as it seems.

"Ready when you are, sir."

The nervous Gohan finally let out a sentence. Freeza signaled Gohan to come at him.

Gohan charged straight towards Freeza and immediately disappeared. He reappeared unexpectedly in the same spot and kicked Freeza flying into the air. He then fired a few Ki shots at Freeza, who eventually landed on the ground on his feet.

"You're not bad for a Saiyan," said Freeza. "But I've only been using 10% of my full power. I suppose I can up it to 15%."

The two continued fighting, this time with Freeza having the upper hand.

Gohan, fortunately sustaining little damage, revealed, "I have some tricks too. Let me show you one."

Gohan started powering up, and after only a few seconds, he transformed into a Super Saiyan, achieved by the training prior.

"It's called a Super Saiyan. Ever heard of it?"

Freeza looked and replied, "I have, actually. I was sure it was just a myth. Let's see just how much better you are."

They continued their fight once more, being more equal this time.

Gohan noticed this and asked, "How are you so much better than before? I have a power boost now, but you never went up from 15%."

Freeza chuckled. "I'm simply using more skill now," he said. "I tend to do this in fights that actually give me a challenge. Not that you are much of one."

Gohan chose to follow this by upping his skill as best he could. He started moving fast enough to appear as teleportation, all around Freeza. He finally stopped above him and launched a very powerful Kamehameha straight down at Freeza.

"What do you think of that?"

Freeza dusted himself off and replied, "Impressive. But those speed techniques won't save you for long. I'll track your movements soon."

Goku noticed something and made a mental note.

"It seems like Freeza can't sense ki," he said to his group. "If he can't see you, then you're invisible to him."

Vegeta watched silently with folded arms. Goku could tell he was pondering all of this.

Pan watched anxiously. "I'm both very excited and scared to get up there. But still, I hope Gohan pulls it off."

"I'm not so sure," Goku said in a very serious tone. "Freeza's not even using a quarter of his power, and Gohan's almost at his limit. At this point, he's gonna need a miracle to win."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe Freeza will suddenly drop his power and go off-guard, giving Gohan an opportunity to defeat him?"

Goku didn't say anything. He just kept watching.

Freeza started using the full potential of his current power fraction and gained the upper hand on Gohan once more.

"Are you getting worn out? Should I lower my power for you, or just end this right now?" Freeza said mockingly. He proceeded to bring out a very thin beam of energy called Finger Beam, and started shooting Gohan's legs with it.

"Have you had enough? How long can you stand the pain?" Freeza said with a louder tone of voice.

Gohan struggled to keep his feet planted in the ground. "I can't... let up..." he said weakly.

Freeza started shooting him again, this time aimed at his torso. Finally Gohan fell.

Freeza again mocked Gohan, saying, "Too bad. So sad. You can't even stand up now. Looks like I win."

Pan carried Gohan back to the Z-Fighter group.

"Pan..." he said, again weakly. "You know what the stakes here are, don't you? Freeza could destroy Earth if he wanted to, and he probably wouldn't even have to use half of his power."

"Don't worry, Gohan," Pan replied. "I'll do my best, and if I fall, we still have my dad and your dad. You know how strong they are."

"Sure thing," said Gohan.

With that, Pan stepped up to face Freeza. Will the Z-Fighters really have to resort to their last hope, or will Pan finish the job? The battle for Earth resumes next time in Dragon Ball Universe #9!