A/N: So sorry! I hate real life! I hate studying! (Been doing that far too much in the last few months) But now, I've got about three months to refill my batteries before I (hopefully) go to university and also hopefully enough time to write. Three months can become very long, when you're bored. However, now that I passed the exams of my apprenticeship with an overall result of 88 percent, I wanted to get this chapter out and here it is – not that long, but also not too short, I believe. I didn't want to put the whole battle into one chapter and I also didn't want to let you wait any longer. Here it is now… Oh, by the way, thanks for your reviews and I have one question at you: Why do you all think that the Dragonballs fulfill wishes? They could have a complete different magic than in the Manga…

Well, now I want you to read this chapter and please, tell me what you think of it!

Chapter 38: The final Battle – Part I

"Or at least one of them," Goku mumbled smirking, as he clenched his fists and felt the raw power flowing through it. Was this how Gohan had felt? Had he also felt this powerful, this superior, that nothing and no one could do him any harm? Had he also felt this confidence? It was amazing. This power was ever present, all-consuming and it was burning in him like fire. Designed to, once unleashed, cause complete and utter destruction. Nothing mattered anymore, except for the annihilation of the being in front of him. He felt no fear, no pain, no guilt. Right now, the Saiyajin in him had taken the upper hand and for once, Goku didn't mind at all. "Seeing as my son seems to have reached this level before me. How does this feel, Frieza, that two Saiyajins, of which one is even half Human, have the ability to defeat you?"

"Nonsense," Frieza spat. "If this legend really is true, then only one legendary warrior exists, not two. But even if, no warrior, especially no Saiyajin, will ever be able to defeat me. Not the almighty Prince and not some would-be Saiyajin who just found out about this heritage."

"I may be raised as a Human, but I still have the blood of a Saiyajin flowing in my veins." Goku wasn't worried. He felt strong, stronger than ever before and somehow, he just knew that, once this fight was over, Frieza would be history. "I'm curious, Frieza. Tell me, why did you wipe out almost the entire race, if not for fear of the Legendary?"

A low growl escaped Frieza's throat, but he didn't answer. Instead he said, "I'm tired of talking. You start to bore me. Let's get this fight over with so that I can address some more important tasks."

"As you wish."

One more smirk and Goku was gone, moving too fast for a normal person to see. While he was rushing at Frieza, he pulled his fist back and let it loose just merely feet in front of him. It didn't surprise him, no, it was rather satisfactory that Frieza managed to dodge the clenched fist. The fight would have become too boring otherwise, since Goku wasn't using his full strength yet. Jumping up, he avoided Frieza's leg that had lashed out at him and, somersaulting over his enemy, he immediately crouched to the ground when he landed and tried to sweep his opponent off his feet, without success. Goku whirled around on his feet, once again facing his enemy.

For a heartbeat both stood still, contemplating the next move, but then they were on each other again, dodging and blocking the ever coming blows. If someone were watching them, all he would be able to see was a blur of movements. Different colors mingling with each other – the pale, almost white color of Frieza's skin and the dark blue of Goku's shirt and the black of his pants almost becoming one.

They broke apart again, both warriors not appearing to be notably exhausted. Both had still been holding back and they knew it. They had only tested the other's strength and had been satisfied with the outcome. This fight would surely become rather interesting, for both sides and both opponents were confident that, in the end, they would emerge as winner from this battle.

But still, when Frieza looked at him, he couldn't help but feel a bit alarmed at the sudden power this monkey was emanating. He had dodged or blocked every single one of his attacks without breaking a sweat and this was simply impossible. He was fuming, completely enraged. "If even one of my blows hit you, you'd be…"

"Well, hit me," Goku interrupted him calmly. A smirk tugged at his lips, as he gazed at his opponent with mocking eyes. The smirk grew even wider, when he saw Frieza wince in surprise at this seemingly insane invitation.

"Fool," Frieza cursed. "You'll regret this!" He pulled his fist back and, putting a lot of strength into it, lunged at the Saiyajin, hitting him square in the jaw. Son Goku's head flew back and Frieza, already rejoicing in the fact that his enemy had mostly signed his death warrant with this recklessness, took a step backwards.

However, Goku didn't fall over as the Beast had believed. Instead he raised his head again, smirk still in place, only that now there was a tiny trickle of blood at the corner of his lips. "You took over a whole island and can't even defeat one of its inhabitants?"

"W-who are you?" Frieza stuttered. He didn't even bother to hide his fears anymore. No one had ever before survived a hit like this and he had already put a lot of force behind that blow. This monkey still seemed almost unfazed.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Goku asked, his voice filled with superiority. "I'm here to destroy you. It seems that, when lose my calm and get extremely angry, this ancient power in me will be unleashed." His muscled bulged with raw power, as he yelled, "I am Son Goku! The Legendary!"

Clenching his fists almost hard enough to draw blood, Frieza swore under his breath. If the warrior in front of him really was the Legendary, no matter how much he didn't want to believe this old wives' tale, then he had brought this upon himself. By killing this woman, Frieza had set free the one being that might be his end. His worst nightmare had come true, fulfilled by such a worm, a Saiyajin!

"It's over, Frieza," Son Goku informed him coolly, before he again got into a fighting stance.

Shaking his head, Frieza replied, just as composedly as his opponent, "Oh no, it isn't. Not yet."

Throwing the Saiyajin one more calculating smirk, the Icejin turned tail and ran into the palace. Cursing, Goku spat on the ground and followed him. Frieza was planning something and whatever it was, Goku knew that he had to stop him.

"Oh boy, for someone as small as him, he sure is heavy," Krillin joked, but winced immediately, when he noticed how mistimed his try to lighten the mood was. No one pointed out that he was indeed still smaller than Vegeta, instead Yamcha only threw him a look that clearly showed his anger and helplessness at this situation and the others ignored him. Sighing, he readjusted Vegeta's lifeless body on his shoulder and continued the walk to the clearing in silence.

Krillin could of course understand his friends – he also felt grief for Bulma, knowing fully that they had failed in their mission to save her and retrieve the Dragonball. Her death was senseless. If they had only stepped in earlier, her death could have been prevented. But would that have been better for her? he wondered silently. He was sure that Yamcha didn't want to believe this, but every one with two functioning eyes could have seen the affection she had felt for Vegeta. She had loved him, with all of her heart, unlike she had loved anyone before and, if he wasn't wrong, Vegeta had felt the same for her. Or at least, he had begun to feel the same.

"Oh god, Bulma!" This cry tore him out of his musings and he looked up, seeing ChiChi running up to them. The black haired woman's eyes were already shining with tears, gazing worriedly at the large gash at Bulma's throat and the blood drenched dress, as she asked, "Is she…?"

"She's dead," Yamcha spat, torn between his grief and the anger he was feeling – both at himself, for his helplessness and at the Beast who had done this to her. "Frieza killed her."

"No," she gasped, vehemently shaking her head. ChiChi just wanted to say that this must be a mistake, when she spotted the limp body slung over Krillin's shoulder. "Is he also… dead?" she asked fearfully, as she took a step backwards, just in case the pirate suddenly jumped up to attack them.

Krillin only nodded his head. "Goku asked us to bury him properly. He said that he had fought for our side in the end." He stepped further in the clearing and put the body down next to where Yamcha had just made Bulma comfortable. Ignoring the scathing glare his friend was shooting him, Krillin only got up again and mumbled, "We don't have much time, but you should know what has happened."

"Tell us," Bardock urged him quietly, not once taking his eyes of the dead Prince. Somehow, he had hoped to meet him one more time in person, just like he had the chance to meet his own son. Vegeta had been their hope to free them from Frieza, but instead the Beast had killed him, just like the rest of his race. "Tell us how the Prince and his mate found their deaths."

Ignoring the stunned looks on the others' faces, when they had heard the word mate in connection with Vegeta and Bulma, and also trying to get over his initial shock about how Bardock could have known of the feelings between them, he quickly gave an account of what had happened, when he and the others had arrived at the battlefield. Krillin's eyes were fixated on some spot behind them, as he didn't dare to look into their eyes, when he reported of their failure, but his gaze strayed to the pale boy who was still lying on the ground, apparently fast asleep now, when he got to the point of Goku's transformation.

"This is what had happened to Gohan?" Piccolo asked, when Krillin was finished. He couldn't believe that this small boy did in fact possess a power as big as the one he had felt in Son Goku only a few minutes earlier.

"Yes, it seems that there are now two legendary warriors."

Heads turned to the sleeping and recovering boy, marveling at how powerful this child truly was. "You really think that this transformation will be enough to defeat Frieza?" Tenshihan mused aloud.

"Believe me, I have seen what Gohan can do and I believe that Goku is even stronger than his son. Frieza won't know what's hitting him." Krillin allowed a small grin on his face, however, he immediately got serious again, when he remembered what Goku had told him before they left. "Goku wants us to leave this island."

"No!" ChiChi protested from where she was again kneeling next to her son. "I'm not leaving Goku behind!"

"We have to, ChiChi," Yamcha tried to reason with her. "Frieza already killed Bulma. If he somehow manages to kill Goku, he will come after us. We're not safe here. Frieza is a monster, you have seen him, you know this! He won't hesitate to kill us or worse…" Trailing off, he forcefully looked at the woman, hoping that she would get the hint. Frieza had already indicated once his interesting in the black haired woman and he was sure that the Beast would not kill her this time.

ChiChi couldn't suppress the tears that were now running down her cheeks. She felt so desperate. She wanted to help, she wanted to support her lover but didn't know how. She had already almost lost her son and had lost her best friend. She didn't want to lose the man she loved as well. Leaving him behind felt like treason, no matter how logical the explanations were.

"Hey, what's this?" Chao-Zu suddenly asked, pointing at a small pouch that was tied at Vegeta's belt.

Piccolo, who was standing closest to him, bent down and untied the pouch. With its opening showing to the palm of his hand, the Namek loosened the strings that were keeping it closed and let its content fall into his hand. "It's a Dragonball!" he muttered startled, as he stared at the small orange sphere in his palm. He quickly glanced at Dende, who was having a secretive smile on his face since this discovery. It almost appeared as if the boy knew something he and the others didn't, but Piccolo didn't have time to think about this, as Krillin was already speaking again.

"This means that Frieza doesn't have all of them," Krillin concluded, relief flooding through his body. This was one thing less to worry about. But this could also bring more problems. "We need to leave. Now more than ever. Frieza may not get his hand on this sphere, otherwise everything is lost." Some of his friends still looked unsure, if they should really leave, the defiant look on ChiChi's face showing him that Yamcha's words hadn't helped at all. Sighing, he decided that he would need to do what was necessary. I really hate this. "Son Goku named me the captain of the Kintoun. I know that she's dead, but you're still her crew, no matter what. Everyone who had been under Goku's command, and this includes everyone that has traveled with us so far, now has to answer to me. And I order you to leave this island."

His command was met with some uproar, especially from ChiChi, Tenshinhan and Chao-Zu, as they hadn't been present for the transformation and still doubted that Goku could be left alone in a fight as important as this one.

Krillin smiled sadly at them, as he repeated, "You have to act on my orders. All of you, except Bardock and Juuhachigou, as they don't have to answer to me, are going to leave Frieza's island. Now."

Bending down, Bardock lifted Gohan up in his arms and stepped up to Krillin, bearing an understanding and determined look on his face. "I'm coming with you. I trust that Kakarotto will defeat Frieza, if what you told us is true. Many dangers might await us on the road to the harbor. Besides," a small smirk lit up his gaunt facial features, "I know some shortcuts."

The small sailor reached up to clap on the larger Saiyajin's shoulders. "I thank you for your support, Bardock. Lead the way." Turning to his reluctant friends, he only said, "I know you don't like this, but Goku told us to leave. So we leave. If we interfere now, we'll only get in his way."

He let all of them walk past him, as he wanted to take up the rear of their group. Yamcha was once again carrying Bulma in his arms and Piccolo had made it his responsible to carry the dead Prince. Juuhachigou was the last one who passed him and Krillin had to blush at the respectful look that she was giving him. Scratching his head to hide his embarrassment, the small sailor followed his friends through the woods.

This place is like a maze! Goku thought annoyed, as he was running through different hallways, more than once reaching a dead end. Frieza must have known that he would get lost in this palace, but the more time Goku spent straying, the more time Frieza gained to prepare a surprise attack. This wasn't how he had imagined this encounter – he would have never expected that Frieza was a coward, but then again, this wasn't cowardice. It was foul play. He knew that he couldn't win in a fair fight against the Legendary, so he needed to cheat.

Finally, after too long minutes, Goku arrived in a long hallway with large wooden double doors at the end. Paintings of older Icejins were hanging at the walls, causing Goku to sneer at them. He suspected that those paintings were only hanging there for one reason – to mock every Saiyajin that was walking through these halls.

Slowing down, when he reached the end of the hallway, he hesitated for the split of a second and took a deep breath, preparing for anything that might come. One of the doors flew inside after a powerful kick and Son Goku stepped into the large throne room, teal colored eyes blazing with anger at the mockery, as he spotted Frieza standing lazily next to a throne.

The Beast was holding a brightly burning torch in his left hand, smirking at him with a certain superiority of which Goku didn't know the reason, yet. As far as Goku could see, there was only one door in the room, and he was standing in front of it. Frieza was trapped, with no way out.

"I welcome you to my humble throne room, Kakarotto, son of Bardock. I hope this place is of your liking, because this will be your final resting place," he mocked and a harsh laugh escaped his throat. "Quite fitting, seeing as your King himself died here."

"What are you playing at?"

Frieza didn't answer, instead he gazed at the torch in his hand and putting his hand into the fire, he spoke calmly, "One of the Icejins' abilities is to be invulnerable to fire. But what about Saiyajins?"

He pulled his hand back and threw the torch onto the red carpet in front of the throne. The flames roared up, eating their way along the carpet to the door incredibly fast. Goku had to jump aside to not be burned and stared in shock at how the high flames were blocking the only exit. The fire spread further through the room, setting the throne aflame and the tapestry behind it. Much too soon the red drapes at the ceiling were burning, flames jumping over to the wooden beams, as were the curtains at the windows.

"How do you like this, monkey? All warm and cozy. In only a couple of minutes the whole palace will be on fire and then you're going to die." His face was filled with arrogance, as Frieza was completely sure that he now would be able to defeat this Saiyajin once and for all. Then he only had to take care of the boy and the old man and soon, soon there would be no more Saiyajins.

The fire spread quickly, having already left the throne room and was now working its way to other parts of the palace. Goku felt how it was getting incredibly warm in the room, but he ignored the heat and the smoke, as he only smirked at Frieza and spoke, "A couple of minutes? It's more than enough time to finish you off and leave."

"I'm sorry, but you'll see that finishing me off will be a lot harder than you think. Or do you truly believe that I'm already using my full strength."

"Stop stalling and fight! You won't trap me here!" Roaring, Goku rushed at his opponent, but was thrown back, when Frieza's tail hit him fully in the middle. Grunting, he got up and tore his smoldering shirt from his body.

Son Goku just wanted to start another attack, making sure that he wouldn't underestimate his enemy again, as he stopped dead in his tracks. Frieza's fists were clenched and he had a look of complete concentration on his face. The Icejin's muscles bulged, as he gathered his strength for this final fight and Goku waited. He wanted to fight him at his full strength, because he could then say that he had defeated the strongest being on Earth.

Little did any of them know, neither Goku, Frieza nor the fleeing crew of the Kintoun, that at the same time another warrior was on his way to the palace, not knowing what would await him there, when he arrived.

Another A/N: In case you wonder about Frieza's invulnerability to fire… In the Manga and Anime, he can survive in space, but this wouldn't have worked for this story, so I made the space to fire. Besides, a nice burning and slowly crumbling building is always good for some suspense, don't you think?