The Vicious Gods Wrath
Chapter 19: War Fronts Part 3
Satan City Outskirts
Sentient life is one of diversity. Of varying shapes, sizes, cultures, scientific advancements, histories and so forth. Yet despite these often stark differences, every sentient has and will at some point in their lives face what feels to them an insurmountable obstacle or as humans would say, trying to push a boulder up a hill. Not for the first time in a battle nor in one against this particular foe, Gohan feels exactly that way.
Ever since it started something has felt off about his enemy. Most would think it was due to Freeza's clear and vast increase in power and part of it truly is. Though Gohan cannot say he's too surprised by it. The tyrant was the most powerful, non-God being in many millions of years Majin Buu laid sealed away, slumbering as the rest of the galaxy continued on without him. He gathers that somewhat similar to himself, Freeza must have vast reserves of fighting potential waiting to burst out though never did. Someone as strong as Freeza probably never needed to train a day in his life.
No, something else frightens him as he exchanges strikes with the planet selling monster before him. The half-Saiyan puts his all in each and every punch, kick and ki attack, not holding back at all. Some of them are blocked, others land yet Freeza's attitude remains exactly the same. He's fought enough beings to know when someone's holding back just based on the movements of their body alone and not a single muscle shows off Freeza putting any effort into all this, nor does any show real signs of pain or strain under his attacks.
And then there's his smirk. His wicked, an ever present smirk never leaving his face even when a hit manages to land, even when he seemingly retreats for fear of attack. A subtle but unmistakable confident smirk that the tyrant cannot help but himself to hide. Regardless, he keeps on fighting, knowing that if his enemies power is truly higher than his own, running away will do no good.
Managing to land a punch to his opponent's face, he forces Freeza back a few steps and spins around, using the momentum elbows the tyrant in the head before pushing him away with a palm strike combined with a kiai to his stomach. Without a peep, the overlord is sent spinning across the street and lands casually on the ground, still smirking as if nothing happened to him.
As sudden, quick kick to his back courtesy of Gotenks nearly sends him tumbling to the ground, though again not a sound comes out of him. Not a grunt or growl or anything, just him still smirking and casually avoiding Gotenks' energy ball coming at him from behind.
"Not bad Freezer!" Gotenks shouts with his usual cockiness, clearly not paying as much attention to Freeza's demeanor as Gohan is. "Let's see you dodge this!" Flinging it at the tyrant, he waits for it to close the distance, subtly placing his index and middle fingers together before shooting them up. The ball changes direction, darting all around Freeza as per movements of Gotenks' hands. "Spirit Ball!"
The ball races towards its target like a guided missile as Gotenk's cackles all the while, thinking himself both clever and victorious with this course of action. Freeza, in response merely raises his head up and with an Invisible Eye Blast so fast neither Gotenks nor Gohan can see, destroys the orb. Instantly, he appears before the fused teen, grabbing him by the top of his head. A volley of swift and powerful smacks collide against Gotenks' cheeks, leaving most of his face red and his lips cut and dripping with blood.
Gohan puts an end to it, taking hold of Freeza in Full Nelson and promptly taking off into the air with the tyrant still in his grip. The two of them reach the upper atmospheres of the planet, shattering the sound barrier within seconds of their take off.
Yet despite this, Freeza's body still remains completely calm, he shows no fear nor resistance. A fact which only makes Gohan fly even faster, hoping that this move will, at last, have some effect on his opponent. Noticing that the air is growing thin, the half-Saiyan quickly changes course and back towards the Earth. Using Freeza as a meat shield, he lets the tyrant take the brunt of the re-entry fire to maximize the damage as much as he can. Regardless, Freeza's attitude remains the same.
Not wanting to render Satan City proper into a smoldering crater, Gohan instead aims them to one of the many wastelands near the city, calculating it should be just far enough away to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. A wide ball of fire surrounds the two though with Freeza taking the vast majority of it. Increasing his flight speed as much as he can, the scholar unleashes a mighty yell alongside his flaring aura and smashes the tyrant straight through the ground, burrowing them both over 50 feet into it.
As if a meteor struck the planet, a vast portion of the area firstly crumbles into itself before a fiery ball bursts out in all directions from the impact zone, burning everything caught inside of it to ash. Gotenks stares at the spectacle in awe, shielding his eyes though still amazed none the less at the inventiveness of his half-brothers move. After letting the inferno subside, he heads over to the impact zone, pushing away the nauseating smoke away with kiai's, eventually causing it all to dissipate.
"Man, who knew Gohan had it in im," Gotenks whistles, scanning the area with an approving gleam in his eye. Another explosion nearby gets his attention, one caused by Gohan bursting from the ground, though his clothes are torn up and smudged with dirt and some blood, he otherwise looks fine. That is until Gotenks gets a closer look at him and notices some severe burn marks around his elbows. "Are you okay?"
Gohan nods through a vicious fit of coughing, trying desperately to catch his breath. With Gotenks' help, he gets back on his feet and notices the scorched land all-around him with Satan City remaining mostly intact in the distance. Except the suburbs, of course.
"It's a miracle I didn't destroy the rest of it with that stunt."
"Indeed."
With a more resigned disappointment than genuine surprise or shock, Gohan turns around towards the impact crater and sure enough, hovering above it, casually wiping the marks of dirt from his white body, is Freeza, smirking still at them.
"If you did that to anyone, you would've killed them for certain. Unfortunately for you," A steely edge enters Freeza's voice. "I'm not just anyone."
Letting go of Gotenk's arm, Gohan re-enters his fighting pose, his temporary daze, and coughing fit faltering under a renewed shot of adrenaline coursing through his body. "Okay, that's it!" Whatever offense he considers mounting dies with Gotenks' proclamation. "I'm gonna take this lizard freak out. Right. Now!"
With a massive burst of energy cracking the ground beneath him, Gotenks rushes up into the air and forms a sphere of ki with his outstretched hands the size of his entire body. The orb pulsates with barely contained, perpetually accumulating power and electricity
"Behold! My Super Die Die Missile attack!"
A rain storm of yellow, piercing ki blasts erupt from the ball, all of them hurtling towards Freeza and erupting in an avalanche of earth shattering explosions upon crashing against the ground. Freeza makes no attempt to defend himself or to dodge, merely, he stands there and is quickly engulfed by the smoke clouds forming all around him.
Taking the opportunity given to him by Gotenks' assault, Gohan decides to join the fray. Placing both his hands just above his forehead, he charges an attack of his own, engulfing both of his hands in electric, yellow energy. Yet he doesn't fire the Masenko immediately, instead, he places his hand on the side of his torso, forming another round of blue energy inside of the Masenko. The two intertwine, growing in power with each passing second while its wielder waits for Gotenks' assault to simmer down.
Once the pause hits in, Gohan fires his Masenko Kamehameha into the smoke cloud and silently prays that his worst fears are all for naught and that this battle wasn't lost before it had even begun. A small glimmer of hope promptly dashed when instead of leaving the planet, his attack collides with something inside the smoke, causing a white flash of light to erupt from it and send both himself and Gotenks hurtling across the air.
The half-Saiyan's both gather their bearings just in time to feel a strong gust of wind erupt from the epicenter of the explosion, a kiai meant to remove any obstructions. There, floating just above the ground, crossed armed and smirking still, is Freeza, eyeing them like a predator finally ready to sink his teeth into their flesh.
"H-he's... not hurt... At all..." Gotenks stammers, taking a few steps back as even he realizes the direness of the situation.
"Very impressive," He gives them a lazy, mocking clap. "But I must inquire, are you both quite finished yet? I've spent quite a bit of time preparing for this and I'd like to exert myself even a smidge before the true battle can begin."
Gohan keeps his distress to himself, as much as he can, but he knows now how much of a fool he's been, keeping Gotenks here and in danger when he should've sent him away from this hopeless fight. "Leave,"
"Huh?" Gotenks' snaps at Gohan's voice like a trained dog. "What'd you say?!"
"I said leave!" He repeats the command with a shout this time. "Your fusions going to wear off soon and then you'll both be even more vulnerable. Use what time you've got left to get out of here and find the others! I'll try to hold him off as long as I can."
"Are you crazy!? You just body slammed that guy from space and it didn't do squat! We tried to wipe him out and it didn't do jack! If you fight him alone he's going to murder you!"
"Which is still better than all three of us!" His barks back. "Besides, we've got two sets of Dragon Balls. So even if he does kill me I'll be back in no time."
For an instant, Gohan notices Freeza's smirk widen, the appearance of a sudden, morbidly amused gleam in his eyes sends another chill down his spine.
"Gohan..." Gotenks speaks up, sounding every bit the scared teenage boy that he is for once. "Are you totally, 100%, absolutely, positively-"
"Stop wasting time and GO!" He swings his hand in the boy's direction, unleashing a large gust of wind and pushing him back. Gotenks, finally understanding the message promptly turns around and flies away from the site to West City. They second they're off in the opposite direction, Gohan charges forward at his enemy only for him to vanish out of sight. That's when he hears a thunderous noise behind him.
He spins around and spots Freeza hovering in front of Gotenks, driving his arm into the teen's stomach with a crippling punch. Even from this distance, he can hear his half-brother's pained, bloody coughs and sense his rapidly dropping power. When Freeza pulls back, Gotenks' body reverts, firstly from his Super Saiyan 3 form to his regular state then finally into the unconscious pair of Goten and Trunks.
Knowing that if he can't send the boy's away, he'll have to get Freeza away from them instead. Roaring like a wild beast, Gohan's aura explodes into a shroud of brilliant, white energy of crackling electricity, a grand display of power swatted aside like a fly by Freeza's impossibly fast and powerful punch to the side of his face. For an instant when Freeza's knuckles make contact to his cheek, Gohan momentarily loses all sense of self along with his consciousness. Yet somewhere, in the deepest, almost primal recess' of his mind, something forces him to snap back.
Instead of staying down, Gohan awkwardly succeeds in staying on his feet and responds with a futile punch of his own. Despite the blowing hitting him square in the face, Freeza doesn't punch, if anything, the blow only makes things worse for the half-Saiyan. As though he were an ordinary man punching a brick wall, Gohan clings to his aching hand, feeling the pain of several broken fingers reverberate pulsingly through his whole body.
"This has been very entertaining, but I cannot afford to waste any more time on your fruitless efforts," Freeza vanishes once more and for a moment, Gohan wonders where he his: that's when the real pain begins for him. A barrage of punches, kicks and clawing assault his entire body with such speeds and force Gohan cannot see, hear or even sense him. Helplessly, he stands there as the tyrant mercilessly attacks him everywhere he can. Such is the speed and ferocity of them, Gohan's very pain receptors take several moments to catch up.
The tyrant quickly re-appears in front of him, still smirking and patiently waiting for the full effect of his massacre to register. Every fiber of Gohan's being can best be described as numb as he waits along with his tormentor, caught in some bizarre void where everything is frozen and all his commands to his body go un-responded. That's when the wave of pain finally comes crashing on every fiber of his being, and immediately, he wishes he's dead.
Every muscle feels like it's been shredded by a savage animal, every bone cracks so loudly it makes him want to vomit and the lack of any sound in his ears makes him dread if the tyrant didn't just render him deaf for the rest of his life. His body isn't the only thing to fall behind Freeza's speed, even the ground itself takes a short while to begin cracking. First at a slow pace which gradually speeds up until suddenly exploding apart under the sheer force behind every one of Freeza's steps.
With the overwhelming flood of pain rendering him little more than a corpse, Gohan can't even muster the strength to gasp or even let out a single audible sound. Instead, he takes one last look at the smirking Freeza and finally falls, welcoming the sweet embrace of the darkness and the end of his pain. He only wishes he could've gotten the boys away from here, a final slight from the madman standing before him.
"Hm, I may have gone somewhat overboard," Freeza admits with some worry as he kneels next to the slumbering Gohan, he places his hand on the young mans back and notices a faint heartbeat, one dangerously close to giving out. Freeza silently curses this display of power and himself for unleashing it, from his fights against Shisami and the brothers, he should've been more careful, knowing how fragile mortals are to a God. As much as he would relish in killing the son of Goku, Freeza knows he needs him alive.
That's when Freeza remembers Namek, how the boy's father gave energy enough to live through his grievous injuries. Freeza grounds his teeth together in annoyance as he realizes what must be done if his plan is to remain on track. Still, it's hardly the first thing he'll procure from his hated enemies, and probably not the last either.
With a faint, purple glow surrounding his body, Freeza places a considerable amount of ki into the unconscious Gohan, a portion strong enough to keep him away from deaths embrace but weak enough for him to remain out cold.
"That should do." He looks back to the unconscious pair of Saiyan's nearby and telekinetically brings them closer. With their Super Saiyan forms now dissipated, Freeza gets a good look at them both and uses the full force of his recent self-control to not snap their little necks outright. Goten, who looks exactly like Goku, brings back unpleasant memories all on his own without Trunks next to him, reminding Freeza of his mutilation of a death.
The old him would've done such a foolish thing without thinking about the consequences. But these recent years have taught him the value of patience and planning and he will not jeopardize things now that he is so close to his goal. He places them next to the slumbering Gohan when his holo-computer begins to ring.
"Yes?"
"Lord Freeza!" The soldier salutes. "My team and I have recovered the Dragon Balls as per your orders. Shall we deliver them to you at once?"
The tyrant smiles and it's all the scout needs to know. "We shall not delay master." With a bow, he ends communication with his master. Taking this moment of peace, Freeza directs his holo-computer towards the devices warding off the battlefields and the planet they're on from the rest of the galaxy. Over the past few months, he's strategically placed suppression field generators around Satan City and West City, cutting them off from the outside world entirely, unable to sense the ki's of their allies across the planet. The one larger field surrounding the world is there to ensure neither Goku or Vegeta or any of their purported friends in the afterlife don't catch on to what's happening on Earth, not until Freeza allows them to in any event.
When the half-breeds began their ki assault on him, Freeza worried that the field faltered under the strain, and yet it holds still, keeping the city cut off in every way possible from their aliens in space or in West City. So far, so good.
Sure enough, the squadron sent to gather the Dragon Ball's upon the commencement of the fighting arrives, carrying the distinct orbs in each hand. The one from before, their assigned leader, steps forward and kneels at his master's feet, presenting him with the wish-granting orb.
Freeza takes one out of his soldier's hand and examines it closely. "Four Stars, seven in total." He musses, surprised by how tiny they are in comparison to the ones from planet Namek. Still, their effects are well and truly confirmed, Freeza along with Goku and his rabble are evidence enough of their potent abilities. Except these don't have a troublesome password in Namekian to hold him back, a fact Freeza is quite thankful for.
"You've done well commander, place the orbs over there and take these three back to the command vessel."
"Sir, yes sir!" Without another word, they do as they're told, placing the orbs a few feet away then carry off the unconscious half-breeds off world, to the command ship hovering just outside the dark side of the Earth's moon. With another button press, Freeza activates his holo-computer and calls the one in command of the vessel, Sorbet.
"Lord Freeza!" Sorbet bows his head. "You'll be pleased to know the invasion of West City progress' well, though we've suffered quite a few casualties, once the F-protocol activates, the Earthling's will not survive long."
"Even if they don't, it is of little consequence. I've sent the half-breeds to you, the instant the men land on the ship, put our three guests inside the healing tanks but ensure they receive a constant dose of drugs to keep them out cold. Saiyan's may be a formidable species when it comes to fighting, but for all their power, a good disease can bring them down easily enough. Even Goku nearly died of a heart one not long after my death."
"If that is what you wish sire." Sorbet nods in understanding. "Still, I'm surprised you would go through with this portion of the plan. Surely the neither Prince Vegeta nor Goku are a match for you."
"They're not, but if the battle does not go my way, I need a bargaining chip, and few things can make a parent falter to your demands the way their captive children will," Freeza's satisfaction falters as he considers a particularly bad scenario coming to pass, one the Dragon Ball's can hopefully allow him to avoid, at the very least, tip into his favor. "Just so long as he doesn't get involved, I won't have any trouble."
"Understood my Lord, I will leave with them immediately and keep our presence hidden from the enemy. I will not fail you."
"Nothing could convince me of the opposite," With an approving nod to his trusted right-hand-man, Freeza concludes communication with him, turning his full attention to the glowing Dragon Ball's at his feet. For what seems like an eternity, he stands there, taking it all in, almost believing this to all be a very complicated and cruel dream being played on him by the angels of Hell. He half expects to suddenly be back on Namek or his first arrival to Earth to suffer further humiliation. Yet to his delight, the moment is genuine and he will not squander it.
"Eternal Dragon!" Freeza declares just as instructed to him by Sorbet. "I summon thee to this mortal plane! Come forth and grant me my hearts desires!"
The skies around the whole world darken in a pitch blackness as a swirling and twisting pillar of light and energy bursts forth, revealing the form of a massive green-skinned, red-eyed being in the sky. "I am Shenron!" He declares in a loud, booming voice. "The Eternal Dragon, I shall grant you any three wishes you desire. Speak them, and I will make them a reality."
Freeza takes a step back upon seeing him, in awe of the creatures size and mystical power. Despite being a God himself, he knows this creature is capable of wondrously terrible things, he must deal with him cautiously and with respect if all is to go as planned.
"Great Shenron!" Freeza channels the same voice of respect he reserved for his long deceased father. "Long I have desired the gift of immortality! Please, grant it to me and I shall be forever thankful!" He even goes so far as to bow before the dragon, another rare courtesy reserved for Cold or Beerus.
"It will be done," his massive red eye's glow for a few moments then return to their natural state. Freeza expected a sweeping sensation to overcome him, yet, nothing has happened. "The gift of immortality is yours! What is thy second wish?"
"Please, hold on for a moment, could you?" He asks and the being gives him a non-committal grunt, taking a deep breath, Freeza focuses a ki into the points of his sharp, black fingernails and with them, cuts into the flesh of his other hand. Stomping back a sudden rush of suspicion and anger, he exhales and looks back to Shenron, showing him the bleeding palm. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Is that your second desire? An explanation of the first?"
Freeza eye's him with suspicion and says nothing, for he must weigh his options. Originally, he wanted immortality as an extra insurance against a particularly troublesome scenario, one where even his various machinations could come crashing down. He expected the wound to not happen, or at the very least to heal instantly. He briefly wonders whether or not to wish for indestructibility as well, but if he does without knowing whatever secret Shenron is keeping from him, it all may be for naught.
Besides, there is one thing he absolutely must do here, and he cannot waste the wishes.
"If there is nothing more you wish of me, I shall take my leave-"
"No, wait!" Freeza yells in a pleading tone, thankful that no one else is here to see or hear it. "My apologies, I lost myself in thought for a moment. Yes, my second wish is this: explain to my why it is that my purported immortality has failed to counteract the damage done to my hand?
"The power of the Dragon Ball's is mighty indeed, capable of great gifts and horrid curses, but there are beings of vast power, beings above the rest of us, commanding abilities to birth life and to permanently erase it into nothingness. You are such a being, Lord Freeza, any ordinary mortal or lesser God could send ten million strikes at you and all ten million would fail, but a being of comparable or superior strength can break my wish, or rather, it's magic. For what are the Dragon Ball's but magic? And what is lesser magic to the most powerful beings in the cosmos?"
This is not what I expected... A genuine sense of worry washes over Freeza, this is not what he expected but the threat of him is something he's accepted for a long time now as a potential risk. A risk immortality would have gone a long way in alleviating, he'll have to think of something else, and quickly.
"Great Shenron!" Freeza focuses his attention back to the wish granting being, with his raised index finger, he forms a black ball of ki with pulsating red lightning thrice the size of his own head. Just as the last time a God was in his presence, Freeza can see the mighty Shenron break out in sweat, no doubt fearing for his own life. But Freeza will not hurt him, he is too useful for his long term plans to do that. No, he will have him do something else. With a grim satisfaction washing away his worry like a great flood washes away anything standing in its wake, Freeza smiles at the wish-granting dragon before him.
"There is a certain planet I wish to rid myself of, could you teleport this orb of mine into its core?