He found Goku a short while later, his ki standing out in a desolate landscape. For some odd reason, it seemed to be slowly growing. The saiyan was curled up against himself, still sobbing, on the ground. Though Piccolo felt sorry for him, he concentrated on his goal. Piccolo bent down to Goku, who continued sobbing. Piccolo laid one hand on his shoulder.
"Goku, it's me, Piccolo. We need your help, Goku, but perhaps you could use mine first."
Nodding tearfully, Goku uncurled and looked at him sorrowfully.
"Everything's falling apart, Piccolo," he said softly, voice harsh from crying. "I just don't understand."
Piccolo put his hand on Goku's shoulder gently, conscious that he had to be careful because he was walking a fine line. Right now, he would help Goku most by just being a friend and giving him a shoulder to cry on. Goku took up his silent offer and sobbed some more. Piccolo had never seen such depth of emotion that was on Goku's face and in his eyes. It seemed to wash out from him, as if it had been pent up so long.
"Why does everyone leave me?" Goku asked. This time he really meant the question.
"Because you're a saiyan. Even because you exist. Maybe because the other saiyans kill a lot of the Ea-"
"No! People don't want to hate!" A last stand of his old self.
"Maybe, Goku, maybe. But I have seen many things, Goku. You know that the Kami of Earth knows much. I know far more then he does, perhaps even truth. I have seen hate, war and strife for no purpose. Only a constant conflagration of evil, in a useless attempt to destroy things that are evil. They don't understand that evil is what people become, not what they are."
"What do you mean?"
"Consider why we fight Frieza. Do we do it because he is a Changling? Do we do it because he was born on planet Ice? No. We do it because of what he has become, a money-grabbing planet monger. He wants to destroy everything that we know and love, all the people that we know and love. How many people is that for you, Goku?"
"Everyone," Goku whispered. "I still believe in them. What if there is a capacity for change? What then, Piccolo? What if Frieza could turn good and help us?"
"What does your heart tell you, Goku? What does your mind tell you? Consider both. If you use only your heart, you will always see the chance in everyone, even the most hideous being ever. If you listen to your mind alone, you will become a cold calculator who kills without thought. Become neither. Will Frieza honestly become good and change his ways? No, not ever. He was born kind, but that changes soon, doesn't it? He is now beyond your reach Goku, it is time to fight him.
"But listen to your heart sometimes as well. Consider the person's will in the matter. Did they want to do what they did? Remember that, it matters more than you can imagine. You must remember that. The person's will matters. Does Frieza want to rule the galaxy as a dictator? Does he want to become the Legendary One and kill everyone? By all means, yes to both questions. But for others.... Take this example: Would it make sense for someone to hate you because Captain Ginyu used your body to attack others? Not at all. Remember, Goku, I can personally promise that it will matter. "
Piccolo was about to go on, but by Goku's look, he saw that he didn't need to. Goku's eyes were closed, his forehead knotted up, tears fell from his eyes slowly. Without opening his eyes, he began to speak, saying the words he had tried not to acknowledge in his mind for years.
"I- I think I understand now. They never really liked me, I've only been fooling myself. Everything, it was all a lie I've been living in myself. Now I've come into the truth of the matter, and I understand."
"And-?" Piccolo asked.
"And I will save them anyway. I will fight that which has become evil all my life, at any personal cost to myself, for people who won't care anyway. Because while I understand, they do not, and maybe, just maybe, they'll understand by my sacrifice. There's a flood of evil, even greater than any one single enemy, and I have to try and stop it."
"Right," Piccolo smiled softly, watching Goku's closed eyes wrench up as he tossed away the last remnants of the lie he had been living, "Remember Goku, don't count them out yet. Your wife, your son. They may yet learn to see you for who you have become, not who you are. I wouldn't put money on it, but no one can see everything. You have a second chance now. Are you ready to start a new life?"
"Yes." Goku lifted his head and opened his eyes. His eyes had changed, they were slanted and narrowed, they gleamed with a light of understanding. Piccolo compared them to Kami's eyes, to Gohan's eyes, and liked what he saw. This was a final proof. Goku had gained the eyes of understanding, his eyes were a mirror image of Piccolo's. Goku was with him, now.
"Now let's take on Frieza."
Vegita felt another crushing blow to the head and finally fell. Friexa laughed at him, then powered up to 75% of his full power. Vegita couldn't even scratch him, and now he knew that a single blow from the changling would kill him. Suddenly he noticed two new powers land on the battlefield. Piccolo was back, and Kakkarrot with him! Vegita fell unconscious, wish they'd let him die like a warrior, not try to come and save the day.
Having been told about Frieza on the way there, Goku leaped into action immediately. Using a swift zanzoken to get behind Frieza, Goku grabbed him in a neck lock. Frieza wavered, began to grow transparent, then- Frieza whirled around, blowing Goku off. But the saiyan only fell back a short ways before getting up again, glowing slightly with what energy he had taken from Frieza.
"You idiot!" Frieza roared. "You've drained me back down to a third of my total power!"
Running forward, Frieza took another swipe at Goku. Goku leaped to the side and slammed Frieza down into the ground. The changling got back up again and they started launching flurries of blows at close quarters. Piccolo smiled and moved back to the main group, which was recovering.
"Will you stay?" Tien was asking Krillin.
"Sure. As long as Goku seems likely to win, I'll stay. After the battle, I want a good share of the spoils."
"Or better yet," Gohan added, "Goku might be almost dead, so then we can finish the job."
Piccolo shook his head at their talk, wishing he could be unbelieving. There'd been far too much of that for him to be at all surprised. He had said he wouldn't place money on them. Now he knew there was almost no hope. But then he shook himself. There were plenty of times when he had thought there was no hope but Goku had whipped some out of the situation. Humans and saiyans changed their emotions more then Nameks, maybe there was still a chance. He waited and watched the fight.
Frieza breathed heavily, watching Goku warily.
"Good job," he called out, not meaning a word of it. "You've kept me fighting a full ten minutes without losing. Too bad you will soon. I'll make your death slow for causing me so much pain."
Goku didn't reply, just gazed at him. Frieza found himself unnerved by that gaze, which was slanted and very unnatural looking for a human or a saiyan. And he was strong, with a power level of maybe six million. But Frieza knew he was stronger. Roaring, he launched all the energy he had been saving for just this occasion and powered back up to 50% of his full power. His muscle size increased slightly.
They engaged in more close-quarters combat, but Goku was now outclassed by four million and got blown to the ground. Frieza followed up, received a kick to the gut but sent Goku sailing again with a swipe.
"Well I guess that's the end of that." Frieza's mind had already forgotten the saiyan as he moved on the weaklings. He shouldn't have. A second later he was rammed from behind, a full two feet into the ground, as Goku came rushing back.
"Why do you try to fight?" Frieza asked. "You stand no chance!"
"Kio-ken times three!" the saiyan yelled out. Frieza gaped as his power level suddenly just tripled. He had heard of this technique before, but it was said to have many disadvantages. The third level was only supposed to increase someone of his power by 50%, not triple it! And he should have been almost exhausted by the effort, but he showed no signs of strain. Frieza sensed his ki and realized it was as if Goku had never even used the technique, other than the huge power increase. Goku must have perfected it somehow. Nervously, Frieza remembered something else about Kio-ken, didn't it also multiply speed?
Leaping into action, Goku delivered three damaging blows before Frieza could even block one. Frieza launched a beam at him, but Goku effortlessly dodged it. Frieza started launching his energy orbs in rapid machine gun style, but Goku easily dodged all of them. Frieza stopped, realizing that Goku hoped to run him out of energy.
Launching a Crusher Ball, his second strongest attack, Frieza gaped as Goku batted it directly back at him. The blast had diffused a little, but it burst all over him, knocking him head over heels backward. Realizing it was time for his ultimate attack, Frieza moved backward and began charging a fully powered Death Ball. The purple orb sped toward Goku, and the saiyan didn't seem to move. He looked at it intensely, and the Death Ball began to slow on its course. Frantically trying to push it onward, Frieza was hit directly when Goku mentally hurled the ball toward him.
Frieza righted himself and prepared to launch another attack. This was something that was frowned upon by everyone he had talked to- the kienzan. It was a disk of energy so intense that it could sear through almost anything, even other warriors. Many viewed this as cheating in a battle. Frieza didn't care, anything to win.
Goku dodged, but Frieza just laughed. His kienzan were homing; they circled around and tracked Goku through the sky. Avoiding them again, Goku ran from them, but Frieza knew that he couldn't stay away from them forever, and then he would die on their cruel edges. But Goku had no intention of trying to dodge them forever. Trying to dodge back behind the changeling, Goku attempted to get the kienzan to strike Frieza instead. Frieza merely laughed.
"Do you really think I'd let my own disk hit me?"
Barely avoiding the next dive, Goku gritted his teeth and sped away again. Then, in an instant, he seemed to vanish, his ki blinking out. The Kienzan seemed to be confused, but then Goku was there again, dodging behind Frieza. Again the changeling kept it from hitting him, but Goku instantly projected his ki out to the other side. Before Frieza could stop it, the Kienzan whipped around and tore through him.
Frieza gaped as he saw himself in two pieces. He angrily loosed all of his energy, powering up to 75% of his full power. No matter how much Goku had done to him, he'd destroy him now. The raw energy of his power blasted over the ground, reducing the battle-scared ground to smaller dust.
"You are determined," Frieza smirked at him as his body parts melded back together seamlessly again. "But I will show you the wall that no amount of determination can scale! I am the strongest warrior in the universe. I cannot be defeated by anything or anyone! I am the Legendary One, and if I'm not, I'll make myself the Legendary One by my own hand! Nothing can stop me!"
Piccolo watched as Goku started to lose against Frieza, with the changling at 75% of his full power. But Piccolo knew that Goku still one card left up his sleeve. And it wouldn't happen until he is out of cards, so he had to wait for him to use that last one.
He saw Goku finally admit that he just wasn't strong enough to defeat Frieza in his eyes. Goku moved back and began charging up. Frieza laughed at him.
"Do you really think that ordinary charging up will give you the strength you need to defeat me? Very well, try your best. I'll be waiting!"
Frieza was a bigger fool than Piccolo had first assumed. Goku was charging up a Spirit Bomb, and it was looking quite large inside him. But he needed energy from people, or it would never get strong enough to kill Frieza. Piccolo had to try as Goku's changed eyes looked pleadingly at the others in their group.
"Please, any of you," Goku gasped. "Grant me your energy! I need it!"
One by one, everyone shook their heads; Piccolo cursed their stupidity. How could they be so blind? Goku was their only hope in defeating Frieza, the only one even in the same league as the galactic conqueror. Frieza's first act after killing him would be to finish them off. Piccolo knew that he was toeing a very dangerous line, one misstep, and not only was the battle lost, but also the entire universe, because Frieza wasn't the worst that Darkness had in store for them...
"Hang on Goku," he called. "I'll try and get the Nameks to help!"
Piccolo began sending out a broad range telepathy to all Nameks on the planet. He needed to gather an incredible amount of ki in a very short time, and he was desperate. Frieza had still done nothing, but he was beginning to look bored. He might attack if something didn't happen soon.
Frieza must be stopped! Everyone, please grant Goku your energy so he can create a Spirit Bomb to destroy this menace!
Replies came flooding back almost instantly in the thousands, stunning Piccolo's mind.
Help Goku? A saiyan? Never in life! We'd sooner die! He may be worse then Frieza! We should-
Piccolo shut them out firmly. Gritting his teeth, he realized it wouldn't work. He also realized how naive even he had been. All this time he had assumed the horrible dark energy had only spread to humans. He had thought Nameks would be free from it's influences. In this way, he was as much of a fool as everyone else. There'd be no help from them.
With nowhere else to turn, Piccolo raised his own hands to the sky, forcing as much ki into Goku's Spirit Bomb as he could. He noticed Vegita standing there, conscious again. He was looking amused. This only enraged Piccolo into further levels of giving.
Goku realized that this was all the energy he was going to get, and that the Nameks weren't going to help. He launched it. The gigantic orb sped toward Frieza and could hardly help but hit him dead on, blasting him backward in an explosion. When the dust cleared, Freiza was there, barely alive and coughing and hacking. Suddenly the coughing and hacking turned to laughter as his energy flowed around him again.
"Feel my full power!" Frieza roared, sending energy bursting everywhere. Piccolo saw that his power level had reached an impossible 25 million! He was muscular to being overbuilt. After the Spirit Bomb, Piccolo knew that Goku was out of cards, but would this be their destroyer or their savior?
Goku saw everyone refuse to give energy to his Spirit Bomb and saw himself fail as Frieza reached 100% of his full power. His muscles bulged even larger, yet he still moved with incredible speed and agility. Even though Goku knew he was finished, he still had to try. Rushing forward, he kicked and attacked viciously. Frieza foolishly stood there and took the blows, but even his full power couldn't just take Goku's rage. The changeling was blasted back.
Angrily getting up, Frieza began to treat Goku like a rag doll. Goku fought back, but only succeeded in injuring the galaxy's strongest warrior. He fell backward into the dirt and couldn't get up.
"You are all fools," Frieza proclaimed, laughing evilly. "There is no way you could defeat me. And all your other efforts will fail as well!"
But he was talking to a two-man audience. Everyone had left; seeing that Goku was losing, everyone had found Bulma and the ship, now the ship was gone. Only Goku remained, fallen in the dust, and Piccolo, clenching his fists tight with anger at their cowardice. None of them cared in the slightest for Goku.
Frieza flew up into the air and threw a Kienzan straight downward, but it wasn't aimed at either of them. He blasted it from behind with more power, sending it flying deep into the ground. Concentrated for a few minutes, he waited till it was long gone then turned back to them.
"The planet core will explode, destroying itself in just one minute. Then you'll all die. Goodbye!"
Goku summoned energy from somewhere to get up slightly.
"Piccolo, get out of here! My ship is on the hill! Save yourself, it's too late for me!"
Dashing off, Piccolo ran to the hill. Seconds later, the ship rose out toward the night sky. He felt a strange calm steal over him. If this was how it had to be, so be it. Down below, Frieza laughed evilly as he spotted the ship. Unnoticed below, there was something sparking in Goku's eyes.
"Such a noble act. Not that it matters at all." Raising one hand, the changling launched a beam at the fleeing ship, one that would eradicate it entirely.
"Noooo!" Goku screamed, to the background of Frieza laughing at his helplessness.
Suddenly energy flashed around everything, golden power flowing out everywhere, power blasting ground from its place and trees from their roots. It all spiraled violently around Goku, making his figure vanish in a brilliant white light. The power was felt across the universe.
Above, now away from Namek, Piccolo saw the golden light intensify. He smiled, as he had made one minor alteration to the outcome of things. One small battle in a long war, but his part was almost done for now. He had won all his battles but one, and that one was almost there. Then he could rest, knowing he had done the best he could. It was almost time to rest.
Vegita saw the incredible power and was amazed. Kakkarrot had beaten him again! All the power he had gained, even after recovering from the beating Frieza had given him, and it didn't even matter! Rushing off, he began to train wildly in the upper level of the ship.
The saiyans on Planet Vegita gawked, staring at the amount of power they felt in this one warrior. Bardock reeled, no amount of visions able to prepare him for this.
Finding a power greater than any he had seen before, King Kai turned toward whatever it was. To his shock he recognized the young saiyan who had crossed his path before. Never had the Kai imagined that he would come to possess this much power.
High above the Afterlife, Shin, the Enforcer, shuddered slightly. This manner of power had not been seen for thousands of years. But now that someone had done it, the floodgate was open; power would begin exploding everywhere. Old enemies would become strong, defeated evils would be granted new energy. A new age of power was dawning.
In the Afterlife, King Vegita just stared in stunned silence. A few aides attempted to get his attention, but he did nothing, merely babbling to himself, thousands of thoughts running through his head.
Bardock smiled, seeing yet another triumph. His mind began to think of how he could go and meet his son, and how they would rule the galaxy together...
Down on Namek again, Goku was standing now. His hair stood up on end, golden and flowing. A aura of golden flames surrounded him, dancing menacingly. His eyes had turned green. They blazed hotly, still slanted and still burning with the truth. Goku was, undeniably, a Super Saiyan. Frieza's beam had long since been swept aside like a toy in the outpouring of power.
Frieza snickered at him.
"It doesn't matter, this planet has only thirty seconds to live. You can't breath in space and I can! The Nameks will all die too. They're trying to escape, but they won't make it."
"Thirty seconds is all I need," Goku said calmly; only his eyes raged. Racing forward, he showed Frieza why he couldn't make a claim to be the Legendary One. A single blow sent Frieza head over heels. More attacks pummeled him, weakening him to barely standing. Only five seconds had passed. Frieza gritted his teeth and ran forward, aiming a punch for Goku's face. The Super Saiyan caught it easily. Frieza punched more and more, using up all his energy in a mad attack, determined to break Goku's defenses. Goku blocked them all easily. He launched one last punch, one that ended the changeling's life.
There were only ten seconds left; Goku zoomed down the crack in the earth the Kienzan had taken. He needed to give the Nameks enough time to get off. Shrugging off lava as he neared the center, Goku searched for his goal. With only a few seconds to go, Goku found the planet core and wrapped himself around it. It was searingly hot. Energy beat at him with incredible force. Despite the pain, he held the explosion in the core for as long as he could. Every second would only make it worse, and Frieza had placed a lot of his power into the explosion as well.
Finally he sensed that all the Nameks were off. When he could hold the core no longer, he let go. It blew up spectacularly, throwing only explosion into space. Not an atom of the planet was left. Goku's sacrifice had given all the Nameks time to get off, so none died in the blast except him.
Or so everyone who watched the blast thought. Vegita and the others turned away, Vegita training wildly some more toward his goal. The Nameks stopped watching and started flying for Earth. Only Piccolo watched out of the back port of the space ship as he headed back to Earth.
Had he failed? Was it over? If Frieza had died, that was one victory, but would he lose the war? Suddenly he saw one thing, right at the center of the planet's previously occupied space. Something that looked like a star, except it had limbs and it glowed golden. Piccolo whooped, glad no one else was in his ship, Goku was alive! He had succeeded! Piccolo realized he was somehow surviving even in space! Now all Piccolo had to do was die, and then hope that Goku could live because of it.
Everyone was still in shock from how Frieza had been destroyed. Almost none of them knew who had really done it, and Bardock smirked at their ignorance. It was just unfortunate that Kakkarrot had to die in the blast. Well, despite being a weak kid he'd lived like a warrior and died like one. Now it was time for the saiyans to control the galaxy.
Slowly, the three ships from Earth limped away from the planet. All had received significant damage during the final blast, so the trip home was a long and tiring one. Piccolo and Vegita both trained, for entirely different reasons. The humans got on each other's nerves, cramped in the tiny space. Behind all of them, Goku flew on, ragged breaths gasping from his lungs as he somehow adapted to breathing in space.
One way or another, all returned to Earth.