Chapter 21: Diversion

AN: Alright, people. Bring the reviews as you tell me what you think of the plot twists and overall story development featured in the new chapter!

Piccolo cracked his neck and knuckles as he taunted Frieza by giving him a confident grin. "Let's get it over with then, you freak." Piccolo mocked. Frieza let out an evil laugh. "You crack me up, Namek! You won't last long, I assure you!" The frost demon said.

"I'll do my very best to prove you wrong!" Piccolo shouted. He knew it was probably going to end for him today… But it reassured him to know that he was sacrificing himself for a greater good. Frieza hissed in anger. Piccolo grunted as he dashed in. He threw a roundhouse kick with all of his might, but the tyrant simply disappeared out of the attack's way.

Piccolo growled in shock when Frieza reappeared, this time hovering a few feet above him. The Namek didn't hesitate as he immediately threw his demon wave at the frost demon. But his wave of energy missed it's intended target as Frieza disappeared again. Piccolo turned around to see that his fear was not for nothing. The tyrant grinned as Piccolo turned towards him.

Frieza's fist hit home on his cross block and hurtled the Namek backwards. The Namek could well make out the spot where Frieza had hit him on his forearm. The frost demon was insanely strong… He grunted as he stepped back. "Don't you run!" Frieza exclaimed as he fired a blast at Piccolo, who was still backing up.

The searing purple energy missed by Piccolo by a hair as the Namek shot up into the sky to avoid it. Frieza's energy then collided with a structure made of ice and exploded, the smoke hiding Piccolo from Frieza's sight momentarily. The frost demon growled as he looked around and over the battlefield…

Piccolo then suddenly appeared behind Frieza and the Namek chopped his hand into the frost demon's neck. Frieza shouted in shock as the punch pummelled him forward a bit. How could this weakling lay his hands on the mighty Frieza? Frieza turned around to find two of Piccolo's blasts fired at him from a short distance away.

Frieza grunted as the blasts exploded, harmlessly to him. But the smoke had again hid that blasted Namek from his sight… "Show yourself!" Frieza growled in anger, his energy making the plateau they were on tremble heavily. A kick then caught Frieza on his chin as Piccolo dashed out of the smoke. But Frieza was barely knocked back by Piccolo's attack, even it was a direct hit. Frieza had allowed himself to get hit just so he could lure the foolish Namek out. And he had him where he wanted him now…

Frieza laughed as he grabbed Piccolo by his skull and lifted him up off the ground. Piccolo growled in pain. The tyrant's iron grip rendered his resistance useless. Frieza laughed as he threw Piccolo down on the ground, the Namek skidding on as he fell down. Frieza laughed as he walked slowly towards his opponent. Piccolo frowned as he looked up at the approaching demon.

"I've had it with you… Time you die!" Frieza announced as his aura flared up in intense purple light. Piccolo growled as the tyrant threw up his index finger, ready to fire his death beam. But Piccolo wasn't go to leave so quietly… Not if he had anything to say about it, anyways. He flipped over backwards and onto his feet with perfect timing, the death beam missing him by mere inches before it shot harmlessly into the ice below the two warriors.

Frieza hissed in anger. Did he again underestimate the strength of his opponent? He made a pledge to himself not to let this puny Namek surprise him again. The frost demon silently dashed forward. Piccolo growled as there was no way he could dodge Frieza's attack.

The tyrant's fist hammered into the Namek's gut. Piccolo grunted in pain and flicks of purple blood flew from his mouth as he doubled over Frieza's fist. Frieza followed his attack up relentlessly, throwing a spinning-back kick into Piccolo's face.

Piccolo was lifted of his feet by the kick and thrown down onto his back. He winced in pain shortly before regaining his composure. A stain had been left by the pure energy and power of Frieza's attack. "You sure a are a die-hard!" Frieza shouted impatiently.

Piccolo grinned as he jumped back up. "That's right, Frieza. Anything you throw at me won't be able to hurt me at all." He said, strengthening his bluff with a confident smirk. The tyrant growled. There had to be something behind that confidence, if he had managed to last this long. Vegeta had managed to surprise him, somewhat. He wasn't planning on letting it happen again.

Piccolo dropped into his stance. A drop of sweat trickled down his brow. From what Piccolo had seen so far, the frost demon possessed powers he could only dream of. Frieza possessed a ruthless fighting style, but it was purely based upon his immense power. Piccolo gathered himself to be more of an intelligent fighter. Piccolo was no fool. He knew there was no victory in this for him. But he was going to do his very best to buy Goku and Vegeta the time they needed to repair their bodies. He smirked in the prospect of the fight he had ahead. This was his chance to play a role of meaning in this battle. It was his two minutes of fame and he longed to enjoy every last second of it.

"You're lying!" The tyrant hissed, shaking his fist as an expression of his anger. Piccolo chuckled. "So mighty… Yet so childish." The Namek mocked. Frieza scowled before shooting forward towards Piccolo without warning. Frieza bashed his huge, oddly shaped head into Piccolo's chin. Piccolo winced in pain as he was knocked back by the blow.

Frieza laughed. "I knew it was just a bluff. If you're so powerful? Then why don't you attack me, you fool?" The frost demon exclaimed, his aura flaring up as an expression of his might. Piccolo grunted as he wiped some blood from his lips. If it weren't for pure willpower, that nonchalant attack from Frieza would have knocked him out. But he gritted his teeth. He was going to last as long as he could. "As I said before… You can't hurt me, Frieza." Piccolo said.

He then demonstratively cracked his neck again, indicating to his opponent that he wasn't quite done for yet. Piccolo then almost managed to surprise Frieza as he launched a flying kick for his foe's face. But the frost demon turned away from Piccolo's boot and turned his back to Piccolo. Piccolo let out a confused growl… What was the tyrant planning now?

Then suddenly, Frieza's muscular tail wrapped around Piccolo's right arm. Piccolo screamed in pain after Frieza pulled down with all of the strength of his so cherished tail. Piccolo's arm snapped off right at the shoulder joint. The Namek dropped to his knees, clutching the large gaping wound that now resided where his right arm used to be.

Frieza grinned at his own cruelty. He turned around, dropping the Namek's arm onto the ground with a thud as he relaxed his tail. Frieza then stepped forward and kicked the kneeling Namek on his chin. Piccolo fell onto his back as the blow blurred his senses. He was ready to accept his death from one of Frieza's energy beams, but the beam never came.

Piccolo opened his eyes in confusion. The frost demon grinned evilly at him. "I won't give you the pleasure of a quick death, you lying fool. You'll die slowly and painfully here or live the rest of your life carrying a terrible disfigurement, that's what you get for defying me!" Frieza shouted. He chuckled in his own cunning and cruelty. Piccolo could barely believe it. It was obvious Frieza had no idea about his regenerating ability…

Frieza laughed as he flew off into the distance with great speed, leaving the Namek with the severed arm behind to die. Piccolo smirked. The tyrant had underestimated him. He grunted as he concentrated. He then shouted as a new, perfectly fine arm shot out of the wound. He grinned. He could sense Frieza as well as Vegeta… Frieza's lack of the ability to sense the power and presence of others was truly turning out to be a handicap.

The Namek grunted as he got back onto his feet. He had taken quite the beating, but his injuries weren't fatal, even though the frost demon had thought them to be. Piccolo grinned as he flew off in another direction that Frieza had flew off to, letting his energy sensing ability lead his way.

In Hell,

Nappa growled as he felt the approach of power he knew well. It seemed Appule had fallen against Frieza… The bald Sayain cracked a smirk when Appule arrived at the spot where Nappa, Dodoria and King Vegeta had set up camp. Appule landed in front of him, a puzzled look on his face.

"What is this place?" The oddly shaped alien demanded. Nappa answered Appule's question with a wide smirk, before sinisterly saying: "Welcome to hell, my friend."

The afterlife,

Yamcha looked in confusion as cloud-like souls hovered past him in perfect rows of three souls wide. He looked down and sighed in relief when he found out he still had his body. Without really knowing what to do, he raised himself into the air and flew over the row of waiting souls.

The row led straight into a peculiarly large office, which was mostly empty, aside from an enormous desk table, with a giant of a man sitting behind it. The man had fire-red skin and wore a deep purple business suit. A purple hat with horns curving out of them sat on top of his long, black hair that grew into a precisely cut beard. The man behind the desk was the mighty King Yemma, he who decided if a soul was cursed into hell or blessed into heaven.

Yamcha frowned. Where in the hell had he ended up? Yemma let out a cry of surprise when Yamcha flew into his sight. "What have we here? According to the halo hovering above your head, I would say that you're dead." Yemma said to himself. Yamcha uncomfortably scratched the back of his head. "What is this place? And who are you?" Yamcha demanded.

Yemma growled. This new soul surely didn't have good manners. But if he was here in his physical form, that would mean the soul was either a powerful hero, or powerful villain. Yemma grunted. He had sent lots of bad guys down into hell lately, the last one had been one of those planet trade organizations fools, called Appule. And he wasn't exactly in the mood to fight another one of those weaklings…

"My name is King Yemma, you unmannered fool! It isn't wise to speak in such a manner to a man who can condemn you to hell for all eternity…" Yemma said, chuckling. Yamcha showed a puzzled look on his face. He then suddenly remembered… His final stand, his death at the hand of Frieza…

An awkward silence fell as Yamcha didn't really know where to begin. He cherished his luck when Kami suddenly appeared next to him. Yemma raised his eyebrows. "You know of this smart ass here?" The King demanded as he spotted the Namek. Kami nodded briefly. "Yes, King Yemma. He is here in his physical form because the great King Kai requested him to be." The guardian of the Earth explained. Yemma nodded as he took in the news.

"Well, I guess he's pretty strong then, if you say so. Get him to the start of Snake Way yourself though, Kami. As always, I have plenty of work to be done!" King Yemma commanded and Kami nodded dragging Yamcha with him as he left the office.

Yamcha was still confused. He was pretty sure he was dead, but no one was giving him any explanations to what was happening. He decided he would demand them, then. "Kami? What in the hell is going on here?" The confused Yamcha asked as he followed Kami, who was pacing forward with quick strides. "You have died in the world you used to know, Yamcha. But don't worry. You're body is as strong as the good inside your soul, which is why you were allowed to keep it." Kami explained. Yamcha growled. He had been right, he had been dead all along.

"But your story doesn't end here, Yamcha." Kami said as he stopped when he reached what seemed to be the large head of a snake, which seemed to be the starting point of an endless road stretching out into yellow clouds off into the distance. Yamcha looked down at the road before him. It sure seemed like it lasted for a while. Luckily, Yamcha had the power of super-speed and flight to aid him in his journey. "You must travel to the other end of Snake Way. The powerful martial arts master King Kai is there, waiting for your arrival!" Kami explained.

Yamcha smirked. He finally felt like his moment of glory was here… He was anxious to meet this King Kai and learn his techniques… He nodded at Kami with the smirk still on his face before jumping up and flying away, following the path of the long snakeway ahead of him as his means of navigation.

Frieza's homeplanet,

Frieza arrived and landed at his abandoned and partly destroyed palace. Vegeta would pay for this… The tyrant entered his palace through the destroyed main entrance gate and shot aside some of the rubble in his way with small bursts of his intense energy. There had to be someone still alive in this place…

He smirked when he saw the image of Palo, laying unconscious under one of the wall's of Frieza's palace. Frieza reached down and grabbed the wall before lifting it off Palo with no effort at all and slinging it away like it was a Frisbee. The wall crashed into a pile of rubble, making the pile collapse with a loud rumbling sound.

Palo woke up from his sleep in shock when Frieza lifted him up by his collar and shook him shortly, but violently. Frieza's henchman gasped in fear as he caught sight of the monster that was holding him up. The tall alien tried to free himself, but Frieza only tightened his grip.

"Palo, you fool. It's me." Frieza explained. The look of pure terror that was on Palo's face was slowly fading as the tyrant's words got to him eventually. He looked up with a puzzled look on his face. He then dropped down to his knee. "My lord…" He said, confirming that he believed his master's words. Frieza smirked. "Out of all of my guards, you were the one to be lucky enough to survive…" The frost demon gathered as he showed an evil smirk.

"Get me a scouter, now." Frieza commanded and Palo obeyed immediately, to frightened to question his master's command. Frieza grinned as his servant returned, holding a scouter he had plucked of a dead body in his right hand. Frieza took the scouter off Palo and placed it in front of his right eye. He grinned, now their power sensing ability was no longer such an unfair advantage… "Palo, contact my father about this situation. He will surely want to know about that blasted Vegeta's betrayal." Frieza commanded and Palo nodded before speeding off.

Frieza pressed his scouter and several numbers appeared on the screen. "They all have powerlevels of five, eh? Seems like these fools are suppressing their energy…" The tyrant said in himself. He chuckled. He was going to pay a visit to each one of the powerlevels he could find on the planet. Vegeta could run, but he couldn't hide forever.

A decent distance away,

Krillin balled his fists as he felt a drop of sweat forming on his brow. Someone was coming… He relaxed a little when he realized the power that was approaching him was Piccolo's. The Namekian warrior arrived not much later, his body battered and bruised from his brutal combat with Frieza. "Hey, you alright?" Krillin asked as Piccolo trembled on his feet before falling into the short monk's shoulder. The Namek gave no response. He was out cold…

Krillin gently laid Piccolo down on his back. The Namek was in a pretty bad shape. Krillin soon picked Piccolo up from the ground and hurried him inside the small outpost. He hooked the Namekian up to the equipment. It sure seemed as if the former Demon had made through a big chance lately… Krillin smirked. Things had panned out a lot more differently than he ever could have anticipated when Piccolo's energy signal had alarmed him so much, a few months ago.

Krillin pressed the button and the chamber filled up with the healing fluid. He then ran back outside. It was up to him to keep watch as the others healed. He knew the responsibility he had and he took it very seriously. Even if it was just to help his friend Goku. Krillin thought of it as no more than obvious he would do his very best to repay the favour when he was able to. Krillin's strength had quickly fallen behind on Goku's and the others. But by keeping watch, the short monk warrior was still doing his part.

Meanwhile,

Frieza grunted in frustration. He had yet again followed the trail of one of his dying henchmen, who was located somewhere beneath the rubble of the destroyed outpost below him. The tyrant growled in anger as he fired an orb of purple energy into the already ruined structure. It exploded with thundering noise, throwing up a cloud of smoke.

The tyrant looked around shortly before chasing after the next reading his scouter came up with. Frieza was not one for hide and seek… He was looking forward to the end of this wild goose chase. He growled in frustration, there were still dozens of faint powerlevels on the planet. Frieza cursed in himself. Why had he never learnt this technique Vegeta and his little allies possessed? It would make this search easier, faster and therefore more enjoyable.

The tyrant grit his teeth as he prepared to continue his search. He had the feeling he had a long day of searching ahead of him…

Inside Frieza's palace,

Palo bowed as the holographic image of one of Frieza's species appeared from a projector. The projected alien showed great resemblance to Frieza's second form. The image was the in fact the image of King Cold, Frieza's cruel and almighty father. Frieza was without any doubt the most powerful warrior in the universe, that was, after his father.

"What is it?" King Cold demanded, his voice pitched higher than his looks would make you expect. "Vegeta's attacked the planet, sire!" Palo exclaimed. "Vegeta? That Sayain fool? I don't suppose he made it very far?" The king asked. Palo cleared his throat. "He's decimated our forces…" Palo brought out. King Cold hissed. "Where's Frieza?" He demanded.

"Frieza's after Vegeta himself, sire!" Palo exclaimed. The frost demon King growled in frustration. "What happened to the rest of the men?" Was the question asked by Frieza's mighty father. "As I said… Our forces have been decimated…" Palo said cautiously.

"I see… When you get the chance, tell Frieza that I'm coming over, to personally assess the situation." King Cold said, before the transmission ended with the image of King Cold disappearing. Palo let out a sigh of relief. Dealing with Frieza was one thing, but dealing with both Frieza and King Cold was starting to take it's toll on Palo. He cursed the day he joined the frost demon's ranks…

Back on Earth,

Dr. Gero grinned. He had finally done it. All the circuitry inside of himself had been established. He grinned as he lifted a heavy table up with one arm, as if it weighed nothing at all. Yes, his work to his body had made him all powerful… Now it was time to construct the new design he had planned… The scientist laughed loudly. No one and he meant no one, would be able to stand up against him now! Not even Goku.

A drop of sweat formed on Gero's head when he looked over to two pods with the number 17 and 18 on them. He reminded himself not to wake those inside up ever again.

They were far too dangerous to be allowed to act freely… Such a shame that those machines would go to waste…

END OF CHAPTER

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Powerlevels (The Sayains are healing from the wounds sustained in the battle with Frieza, so you'll find out about their Zenkai'ed powerlevels later on)