Soundtrack: "New Divide" by Linkin Park

"Gohan? Gohan."

He groaned, bringing an arm up to shield his eyes. The light shining into his face was near-blinding, and he couldn't make any sense of what he was seeing.

"Gohan." The voice, though it had not taken on any harshness, was much sterner than before. "Gohan, look at me. Open your eyes."

In spite of his weariness, in spite of his exhaustion and the overpowering need to rest, there was something in that voice that compelled him to obey. Gohan forced his eyes open.

The light, though still bright, was slightly more bearable, and now that he had had a moment to adjust, he could finally make out the silhouette of the speaker. There, framed from behind by the brilliant haze, was a head of spiky black hair.

"F-father?"

The other man smiled, though his expression immediately turned solemn again. "I know that you're tired, son. But you need to get up now. There are people out there who are counting on you."

He tried to lift himself up onto his elbows, but immediately fell back again with a groan. "Why is it always me?"

A sigh. "I don't know." His father moved forward, and in a few steps was kneeling down beside him. "I don't know why it is that so often, you're the only one who's strong enough. But right now, you are, and that gives you a duty to those you can help." He reached out a hand.

Gohan grasped it, and was pulled to his feet in one smooth motion. For a moment, the two of them only stood there. Then, his father clapped him on the shoulder.

"Go." He was smiling again. "Go, and be the hero I know that you are."

Gohan smiled back at his father one last time. He turned away…

…and disorientation hit him immediately as the white light faded to gray, and he found himself, without having moved at all, in a position he hadn't been in an instant ago. His father was gone. The haze of white light was gone. Instead, he was lying on his side on the ground in the lowest pit of Otherworld, his face pressing into the dirt. Dust and dried blood coated skin and clothing alike, and when he sat up, a good half of his face came away caked with grit. Using what was left of his shirtfront, he wiped the grime away as best he could.

The spectators were laughing again.

Ignoring them, Gohan got to his feet, still too dazed to immediately orient himself. So he took his only option and went back to the beginning. He had been battling with Frieza, he remembered that much. Come to think of it, he had barely managed to hold out until the end of the round, at which point he had lost consciousness. They must have left him where he had fallen.

Grimacing at the thought, Gohan continued to take stock of himself. His wounds had healed again; that at least was one thing in his favor. He also felt stronger than before, which indicated that the Demon Queen had returned another portion of his rightful power while he was still unconscious. That influx of energy might even have been the catalyst that had caused his dream.

It could also only mean that the next round was about to begin.

"Are you quite ready to get started?" The voice, cold as ice, was coming from somewhere to his right. "Or would you like a bit more time to admire the scenery?" Gohan turned.

Frieza was in his final form. He stood only a few paces from Gohan, glaring, his arms crossed and his tail wrapped around his feet. In spite of his cutting words, he made no move to attack, and Gohan realized that the round could not begin until both of them were ready.

"No," he said, turning to face Frieza in full. "Let's end this. Once and for all."

The moment the words had left his mouth, the landscape changed again. The already-dull sky darkened to pitch-black, seeming almost to boil with a wrathful turbulence. Flashes of lightning danced across the roiling clouds. Beneath their feet, the ground shuddered. Cracks appeared in the earth, raw wounds from which molten rock began to seep. Fire spewed into the sky.

This was how Namek had looked in its last moments.

For a moment, neither moved. They faced off against each other, flashes of lightning reflected from Frieza's skin.

Then, the ground beneath them rumbled, forcibly enough to throw most of the spectators off of their feet. A large crack opened up in the ground between them, spewing fire and a rain of molten-hot rocks.

They both leaped into the air at once.

Lightning flashed around them as they met in midair, forearms clashing. It lasted for only a split second, however, before the light flickered out again, plunging them into darkness, the only light the eerie red glow from the fires. Both tried to strike at once, and both anticipated the move, catching each other's fists even as the punches were thrown. For a moment they struggled, pushing against each other in midair, but then Gohan was forced to leap back as Frieza's tail lashed out at him.

Even as he fell back, however, Gohan powered up, bringing his hands to his side. "Kame…"

Frieza, seeing what he was doing, also leaped back, lifting one arm into the air. A crackling sphere of red and black leaped into being at the end of his fingertip.

"Hame…" Gohan could feel the power beginning to gather in between his cupped hands. He only needed a little bit more…

Frieza threw the ball.

"HA!" A cascade of energy exploded from Gohan's cupped hands as he thrust them from his side to his front. His father's signature technique met Frieza's head-on.

There was a brilliant explosions of fireworks as black met blue, and the radiance of their attacks completely overshadowed the light from the fires around them. For a moment, the competing colors swirled in a vortex between them: black would threaten to overwhelm blue as red sparks crackled around the nexus of the beams, but then Gohan's lighter energy would overtake Frieza's, swirling around it until the black was nearly consumed. For a few minutes they simply struggled that way, each fighter pushing against the other's energy, but Gohan knew, and he knew that Frieza knew, that they couldn't go on like this forever. Sooner or later, something would have to give.

On the other end of their energy battle, he could see Frieza becoming impatient. His mouth twisted, and he poured more energy into his attack in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Gohan, seeing this, responded in kind in order to keep from being completely overwhelmed. The nexus of the beams shook violently, and ballooned outward in size. Frieza pushed again with a scowl, and once again, Gohan matched him. Again and again the ball grew, until it was very nearly brushing up against the combatants.

Another shudder went through the ball, accompanied by a particularly violent crackle of electricity. Gohan's eyes widened as he realized, just in time, what was happening: the more energy they poured into their beams, the more unstable the meeting point became, and they had finally reached the point where only the tiniest of nudges was required to send it over the edge.

Biting back a curse, Gohan cut the energy to his Kamehameha wave, and propelled himself backward as fast as he could go.

The ball exploded.

Suddenly, the illusory arena was bathed in the light of a thousand suns. Gohan managed to get an arm up just in time to shield his eyes, but was nevertheless still dazzled by the brilliant explosion. If the screams of pain coming from in front of him were anything to go by, Frieza had not been even that lucky. Pressing the advantage while he still had it, Gohan charged.

Using his ki-sense to guide him, he rammed into Frieza with both fists extended.

His blow connected—not with normal warm flesh, but with something cold and hard like exoskeletal armor. A grunt from Frieza indicated that his blow had at least had some effect, even if it hadn't produced a significant drop in his opponent's energy. A limb lashed out at him—he caught it blindly—and then they were exchanging a furious barrage of blows high in the air. Only some of them connected with Frieza's hard carapace; other times, Gohan's fist or foot would simply slice through empty air, leaving him open to attack in turn. Similarly, many times he heard the swish of displaced air as a limb passed over his head or directly in front of his face, but just as often he was pounded in the torso by Frieza's fist or foot or tail.

The stalemate was ended when something slammed into his jaw with the force of a sledgehammer, and Gohan was unable to stop himself from flying backward from the fray, holding his face. Remembering a split second later that he was still in a fight, he quickly lowered his hands, to find that his vision was finally beginning to return. There, hovering in front of him, was Frieza, gasping for breath, his white skin littered with dark bruises and a trickle of deep purple blood running from the corner of his mouth.

For a moment, they stared. Then, they closed with each other again.

Another time, another place.

Another dying Namek.

Krillin, screaming in pain and fear, was forcibly lifted into the air while the others looked on, helpless to interfere. Then, an explosion obscured him from sight.

The screaming stopped.

Piccolo fell next, a hole through his chest.

Then, Frieza turned his sights on Gohan. He was going to be next.

Then, his father… changed. A scream of rage tore from his throat, his power level shot higher than it had ever been before, and his hair stood gold for the first time.

He was a monster.

For the first time in his life, Gohan was afraid of his daddy—and what was even worse, it seemed as if his daddy was afraid as well.

To the spectators on the ground, the limbs of the two combatants became a blur just as soon as they got within arm's reach of each other. Their exchange of physical blows was accompanied by a barrage of ki blasts that produced a series of explosions in the air between them. Neither was bothering to shield this time: they both wanted it to be over, and each was sacrificing his own wellbeing in favor of doing the maximum possible amount of damage to the other.

At this rate, the fight was not going to last much longer.

Once again, Frieza lashed out with his fist. Gohan dodged—only to run right into the waiting tail, which promptly wrapped around his neck.

He let out a strangled cry, instinctively raising his hands to grasp the tail, but it was no good: Frieza's grip held him fast.

Just as he had held onto Nappa…

Lightning crackled around them as he redoubled his efforts, thrashing from side to side, only to feel Frieza's tail tighten in return. He wasn't going to get out of this predicament by struggling alone.

This was not merely an attempt to cut off his air supply. Frieza was trying to snap his neck.

Gohan panicked. He flared his aura around him, but Frieza was anticipating the move and kept his grip with ease. The tail tightened further, hot pressure built in his face, and it became impossible to draw a breath. He couldn't even manage a scream. His ears were filled with a loud creaking, a sound that could only be several of his vertebrae getting ready to give.

Finally, Gohan's hands dropped to his sides as he could no longer muster up the strength to hold up his arms.

What would his father do?

I don't know why it is that so often, you're the only one who's strong enough. But right now, you are, and that gives you a duty to those you can help…

His father wouldn't give up…

Gohan's vision was darkening by the minute, but when another fountain of lava shot from the ground behind them, he still caught it in from the corner of his eye. Without thinking, without planning, he propelled himself backward.

Frieza let out a yelp as the lava made contact with his back, and his tail loosened just enough for Gohan to wrench himself free. With Frieza no longer holding him up, he immediately plummeted to the ground, his vision darkening as he fought to get his breath back. Above him, he could hear a barrage of curses. He smiled slightly, but had no leisure to enjoy his small victory, as a rain of Death Beams immediately showered down on him.

Forcing himself to turn, he blindly threw up a shield. Twisting his body further, he managed to right himself just before he hit the ground. Gohan slid backwards, both due to his own momentum and under the force from Frieza's constant barrage, and he felt rock breaking against the backs of his heels as he slid to a halt. By the time that he came to a standstill, intense heat on his back told him that he'd just missed sliding into a lava pit himself.

Panting, he looked up. Frieza was still hovering above him, stark white against the blackened sky, lightning illuminating his skin. He gave Gohan a predatory grin.

"Well, monkey, I must admit I'm surprised you made it this far. But this is the end for you…" his eyes narrowed, "…just as it was for Vegeta."

Gohan glared up at Frieza in turn, and his hand, shaking with anger, clenched into a fist. "Come down here," he challenged, his voice quiet in contrast to Frieza's yelling, "and I'll show you the spirit of the Saiyans."

Frieza raised his chin slightly with a haughty expression. Then, he did just as Gohan had suggested.

They met again in a clash of limbs, each lashing out with an unrestrained ferocity. They weren't bothering with ki attacks this time. For the most part, they weren't even bothering to block. The only thing in their minds was doing as much damage to each other as possible; everything else had been completely driven out. Gohan felt cold flesh give way under his fist, grunting slightly as Frieza's foot buried itself in his stomach in turn, but made no break in his own attacks.

Then, Frieza stepped back from him slightly, tilting his body backwards as he placed one hand on the ground. Gohan, taken off-guard, didn't figure out what he was doing until Frieza pivoted on his hand, swinging his entire body around…

The tail!

Frieza smirked as his tail swept out at Gohan's exposed ribs—but Gohan was ready this time, and Frieza's smug expression changed to one of shock as the appendage was caught and held fast. He struggled, jerking backward, but Gohan kept a firm grip and refused to let go.

Gohan tightened his grip. Then, he swung with all his might.

Frieza's face collided with the ground hard enough to shatter stones. He didn't even manage to get his hands underneath himself before Gohan swung again, viciously. Frieza's second collision was illuminated by a flash of lightning that threw his terrified expression and the flying shards of rock into an instant of sharp relief. Again, Gohan repeated the move, and again, and again, as the ground rumbled beneath them and lightning forked across the sky.

Finally, his arms began to tire, and he stopped. Frieza lay facedown on the ground in front of him, his limbs giving the occasional twitch, but otherwise unable to move. Gohan's grip on his tail was so firm that it was a conscious effort to unfurl his fingers, but he eventually managed to pry the stiffened digits from around his opponent's tail. Even after he let go, his hands were still curled into stiffened claws.

Unhurriedly, he stepped forward, kneeling down beside Frieza's prone body. "Say it."

The ground rumbled beneath him. Frieza turned his head slightly, just enough to fix him with a glare from a single, hate-filled eye. "Never."

"Say it." He spoke louder this time. Placing a hand on the back of Frieza's head, he pushed down viciously, grinding his opponent's face into the dirt.

"You... pathetic monkey." Frieza's voice was muffled; he tried to push himself up from the ground, but Gohan held him fast. "You really are... just like the rest of them, aren't you? Bloodthirsty animals—"

He never managed to finish his sentence, as in a sudden surge of anger, Gohan slammed his face back into the dirt with every ounce of his remaining strength. "Say it!" Another plume of magma shot from the ground mere inches from their position, and Frieza thrashed about frantically beneath him with panic strength, but Gohan did not relinquish his hold, instead continuing to push down viciously, all the while sporting a snarl that would have been better suited to Vegeta. He tasted copper. A trickle of warm blood ran from the corner of his mouth, tickling as it dripped down his chin. A shove forward, and Frieza's face was now only millimeters from being bathed in molten rock. "I swear to Kami, if you don't say it right now I'm going to send you to your second death, and good riddance!"

Frieza was flailing more wildly than ever as droplets of hot lava rained down around his face. He began to scream in pain as the heat from the dying planet began to burn into his face, though his cries were still muffled by dirt. The scent of burning flesh wafted into Gohan's nostrils. "I… mmph… surrender!"

His face was so deep into the dirt by this point that Gohan could barely hear him, but when the landscape around him changed, he recognized the forfeit for what it was. They were no longer on a broken and battered Namek, but in the stark gray landscape of Hell.

The anger, however, still throbbed in his veins every bit as hotly as the lava that only seconds ago had burnt against his face. Only semi-conscious of his position, still grinding Frieza's face into the dirt, he raised his free hand, his fist clenched for a strike—

—only to be thwarted in his efforts when a blue bubble of energy came in between him and his prey, pushing him away.

"That is quite enough." Ahriman was standing, and had one hand raised. "You have won this battle. Unless you wish to be disqualified, you will return to the sidelines until your next opponent is brought out."

Gohan was still breathing heavily, taking the air in deep gulps, but somehow, he managed to clench his shaking fist back to his side, and then from there, to remove his other hand from the back of Frieza's neck. Slowly, he stood. He gave Ahriman a hard look but did not argue, instead turning on his heel and striding over to his place by the foot of the Demon King's throne.

Piccolo, as always, was waiting. Wordlessly, he replaced Gohan's outfit, but Gohan could still the question in his mentor's eyes.

"Don't," he said forcefully. "I'm—"

Just what he was, however, Gohan couldn't say. "I just want to rest for awhile," he amended, letting out a breath. Though the concern did not leave his eyes, Piccolo accepted that with a nod, and they both returned to their meditation.

A/N: All right, two chapters within a week of each other! Fair warning, though: the next one is one of my problem chapters, and it's probably going to take somewhat longer. I am, however, hard at work on it, so hopefully it won't be too much longer.