Snake Way was a pain to traverse. Of course, on his way up it originally, Goku hadn't really had the same urgency that he had now. He was screaming through the air at vastly hypersonic speeds, pushing himself to the absolute limit. He had to get to King Yemma so he could get back to Earth, and soon...


Yamcha...dead.

Chiaotzu...dead.

Tienshinhan...dead.

Piccolo...dead.

Daddy...dead.

Krillin... probably dead.

Everyone was dead...dead...dead...

Gohan's mind broke for a span of exactly 75.3 seconds upon seeing Piccolo's ruined, broken form collapse, bereft of the vital energy needed to sustain life. The one person who had taken care of him for an entire year...trained him, taught him, and cared for him, however roughly...was gone. He just snapped, and his conscious mind checked out while his rage and Saiyan brain checked in.

Nappa broke like a straw, never knowing that he had been hit by a child until his legs no longer worked. Gohan, frothing at the mouth, yanked on the enormous man's leg. With a sickening crunch, it released its grip on the massive Saiyan's hip and the rabid child tore into the prone Saiyan with the fury of a demon from the deepest pits of hell. Nappa screamed pitifully, begging for mercy from the very child that he had been tormenting and taunting moments before. The scouter on Vegeta's face popped the second that the tiny child began shrieking.

Vegeta deemed it necessary at that moment to step in, before his underling became a complete carcass. The amount of violence that the child was exhibiting was shocking, to say the least, and though Vegeta was not by any means a soft man, he was not a fan of extreme gory dissection of an enemy when a simple ki blast would do. Phasing in front of the screaming child, he backhanded him to the side and aimed a ki blast at Nappa's eviscerated stump.

He was completely unprepared for the extreme force that impacted his jawbone. The force of the kick shattered two teeth and popped his eardrum, and the momentum drove him into the ground. He sputtered and leaped back out of the earth, spitting the nearly powdered remains of his back molars to the side as he blocked a wild kick from the young Saiyan child. Gohan had blood across his face and coating his hands like gloves, giving him a devilish, demonic look. He scratched, spat, bit, punched, kicked, flailed, and shrieked that unholy scream all while pummeling Vegeta's defenses with a power level that far exceeded 12,000.


Son Goku arrived at the Check-in station, drenched in sweat and out of breath. Dropping out of the air, he ran into the massive building and was shocked to see Tienshinhan and Piccolo there. "What happened?!" he shouted. Piccolo turned to face him and Goku saw the regret and pain in his usually stern, uncaring eyes...

"Where is...where is Gohan? Is...is he...?"


The tiny child was wearing at his defenses. Less than a minute had passed since the pint-sized warrior had started this strange tantrum and he had already broken one of Vegeta's fingers, bruised his shins to Hell and back, chopped his windpipe more than once, and inflicted various other small injuries. The toddler was still foaming at the mouth and shrieking at that unholy pitch, and Vegeta swore he saw the child's aura flash yellow for split seconds. He dropkicked the child through a mountain again and stopped for a second to assess the damage.

His pinkie was dislocated and his shoulder was sticking, so he popped the first back into socket and yanked on the other to loosen it up. That was all he could do before the demonically possessed Gohan began tearing at him again. 'This is ridiculous! I, the Prince of Saiyan's, having trouble with a mere child?!' he thought incredulously. The problem with fighting Gohan was that he was so fucking TINY and as a result was hard to hit. Finally, Vegeta got a good hit in on him with an elbow and the half-breed dropped to the ground, stunned momentarily. Vegeta didn't wait for the child to recover, and jammed his foot into the kid's back, causing him to cry out in pain.

"There we go. Finally got you down from that fit you were throwing, hmm?" Gohan's eyes began to clear and his power level suddenly dropped immensely. Vegeta laughed evilly. "And there goes all your power too! Now, not only are you weak and helpless again, you're sane enough to watch me kill you! How delightful!" Gohan's eyes welled up and he started crying. Vegeta's outstretched hand wrapped itself in energy...


"I tried, Goku. I tried to save Gohan but I was just too weak...And that Saiyan bastard is probably laying into Gohan right now..." Piccolo turned away and headed deeper into the Check-in station, to meditate as he did to clear his mind.

A strangled exclamation from Tienshinhan stopped everyone in their tracks...


Krillin heard the explosion and the derisive laughter of the insane Saiyan as he finished off the only child of Son Goku. He crawled out of his crater and tried desperately to get away and go get some Senzu and maybe catch the Saiyan off-guard. He had to avenge Gohan and everyone else...Pain, deep and raw, tore into his heart, and the ache of losing so many people dragged at his very being.


Son Gohan, only son of Son Goku, ceased breathing at 3:23pm. It was a Friday.

His birthday was three days from then. Chi-Chi was baking a cake, humming to herself as she imagined having both her son and husband back.


"D-Daddy?"

"Gohan...?"

"It...it can't be...not your son..." Tienshinhan whispered, his eyes welling with tears.

It was then that the Saiyan started screaming with rage and loss.


There was something wrong.

Vegeta felt it exactly 6 seconds after he had wrung the last sparks of life out of the half-breed brat. A shift in the fabric of the universe, a tear. Something happened that shouldn't have happened. Unexpected fear trickled down his back, like icy water, despite there being no visible threat.

Then it hit him. Roiling waves of ki knocked him down to the ground, far greater than anything he had ever felt before. Not even Frieza could produce this much power or slam the Saiyan to his feet this fast, certainly not with just the force of his ki alone. He felt the presence of a great power appear in the east, and felt it shoot through the sky towards him. His every instinct screamed at him to escape, and he did not ignore them. He jammed a button in his pod's remote and it soared through the sky towards him.

Not fast enough.

Vegeta never even saw the ki trail, nor the hand that backhanded him so far into the ground that he couldn't see the light above him. Pain flooded his entire life. His ribs were definitely shattered, and every ragged breath caused him enormous pain. He heard a sharp whirring in the air outside the hole...

Son Goku was back on Earth.


"W-where am I? Mister Piccolo?" The innocent boy looked up at the normally brusque Namekian with fear and confusion, tugging on his cape. The Crane School assassin walked away, tears welling in his eyes as he searched for Chiaotzu. The Namekian's eyes stung. "Gohan...this is the Otherworld. Your father was sent back to Earth by King Yemma, but...he was too late..."


Pain flooded Vegeta's entire being. He had long since ceased any form or attempt at resistance, being unable to do so mainly because every last one of his bones had been shattered, aside from his jawbone and pelvis. He wasn't even sure he would be able to resist were the pain less severe. Blearily, he tried to beg for mercy from the demonically possessed Kakarot, yellow flames wreathing the younger Saiyan like grim candlelight. His pride was forgotten in the face of every organ being blended and bones destroyed beyond any sort of repair.

"P-ple-ase...stop...I beg...of...y...ou..." he gurgled choking on his own blood. The enraged Saiyan, to his immense surprise, did stop, dropping the limp Vegeta to the ground. Relief filled the weary, broken prince. He could die in peace...

"You killed my son." It was a statement, not a question.


Krillin finally reached Korin tower, having recovered a modicum of power along the way. Certainly, he wasn't strong enough to go back and fight the Prince, but he could at least get to the tower's apex...

Power washed over him like a tsunami. Anger and hatred poured off that ki signature like waves on a shoreline. He felt Vegeta's comparatively insignificant power spike for an instant, then abruptly it began falling at a prodigious rate. Krillin gulped and began to lift off the ground, going as fast as he could to the top.

Korin was there, holding a bag of the Senzu in his cat's paw. No words were exchanged between the two, only fearful glances. Krillin ate a bean and then took off back towards the site of the battle...


"L-let me d-die..."

Despite being used as Frieza's playtoy time and time again, this amount of pain was far beyond what he had ever felt. Nothing worked. He could barely breathe, and that caused him incredible pain. It was far too much to even comprehend.

His fingers began to go cold and numb as internal bleeding sapped the blood from his veins. His legs, too, were also going cold.

"I have no intention of letting you live. You killed my son, and I can't bring him back, since you killed Piccolo too. You disgust me. Enjoy Hell, because you're going to be there for a long time." The yellow hair of the Earth-born Saiyan fluttered in the wind. Clouds flew past in a frenzy, driven by the planet-shattering power of the Saiyan who had revived the legend.

"B-before I die... K-kakarot...you m-must know s-some...thing..." Vegeta wavered as blackness threatened to overtake him. "F-Frieza...killed us all...he will...try to come here...and get me...kill him...I beg of you..."

The Super Saiyan turned. "I owe you no favors, and I have no attachment to the Saiyans. My name is Goku, and I am NOT in any way related to the likes of YOU!" He roared the last words, his anger making the ground tremble. His hand rose, and a ki blast formed in it. Lightning crackled around the glowing orb, and Vegeta closed his eyes, accepting the inevitable.

"GOKU!"

Vegeta's eyes cracked open.

"Krillin? I thought you were dead again!" Goku was shocked to see his oldest friend shooting towards him at breakneck speed.

"Goku, what are you doing?! What happened to you?!" the bald Earthling shouted.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? He killed Gohan! He killed my SON!"

"Goku, think about what you're about to do! You'll never forgive yourself when you're in your right mind later!" Krillin yelled.

A pause. The hum of the Super Saiyan's energy filled the air. Then the ki blast disappeared, the heat from it ceasing as well. "Fine. Do what you will."

Krillin breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over to Vegeta, who was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. He shuddered as he looked at Vegeta's shattered body, then reluctantly pulled a Senzu bean from his bag and pushed it into the Saiyan's mouth. "Eat it," he instructed. "It'll heal at least some of your injuries...I've never seen it used on someone as hurt as you so I can't tell if it'll be able to fix everything. If you try anything else, I won't stop Goku this time."

Confused, Vegeta bit down on the bean. A savory flavor filled his mouth, and he painfully chewed some more, then swallowed. A sharp jolt shot throughout his body and the pain suddenly disappeared almost entirely, residual aches still twinging as his body tried to make sense of the sudden lack of pain. His arms and legs were no longer cold, and the fog of the pain was lifted, though the memory of the suffering was still there. He sat up abruptly, shocked to see that his injuries were entirely gone.

A thanks tried to work its way out of Vegeta's mouth, but his body was still attempting to make sense of the situation, and his tattered pride was trying to regain a foothold, so only a garbled sound came out. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for Goku, because even though you're evil, he'd hate himself later for killing you. So save your thanks for someone who cares," stated Krillin coldly.

Vegeta turned to the stoic Super Saiyan. He stared intently at the scene before him, memorizing it. "The legendary transformation of our race...it's real..." he murmured in shock.


If not for Mr. Popo, Goku might never have found out about the fact that Kami was from another planet. The gentle genie appeared at Capsule Corps as they were trying to come to grips with the prospect of not being able to see any of their friends and loved ones anymore.

"Excuse me," a kind, warm voice said. It cut through the arguing, sobs, and half-choked screams of Chi-Chi trying to physically dismember Vegeta, who was uncomfortably standing well away from the rest of the people in the main kitchen area. She was only being held back by a silent Goku, now powered down from the strange transformation he had obtained earlier. Everyone turned to see Mr. Popo standing in the doorway, trying to navigate his plump figure through the doorway with little success. "I believe I have some information that may be of use to you," he said warmly.

"Oh...Mr. Popo. It's good to see you again," said Goku. "What are you doing here, away from the Lookout?"

"Though Kami is gone, he can still help you. Just like you and Vegeta, he was not originally from this planet." Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement. "He came here on a ship from his home planet, Namek."

Hope began to fill Bulma's face. "So if we can find the ship, we can get to Namek, and they might have a set of Dragon Balls!" Everyone began to feel hope and relief seep into their souls like water trickling over rocks in a stream.

"Finding it will not be hard. Kami told me once that it was located in Yunzabit Heights," the genie offered helpfully. Bulma's face lit up with excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she practically squealed. Vegeta winced as the slightly irritating woman's voice assaulted his ears. "Vegeta," a cold voice stated. Kakarot's voice. The prince started, mild apprehension poking him in the spine. "Your pods, the ones that you and Nappa arrived in." Vegeta nodded, hearing the unspoken request. "You may use them for your purposes. Just don't blow yourselves up. Speaking of Nappa...?"

"He's alive. The Senzu couldn't regrow his leg, though. Sorry." The voice carried little in the way of actual sympathy towards the prince. "We still need to talk later about this Frieza you mentioned. Don't try anything, while I'm gone," Kakarot warned. Vegeta grunted. "You've obtained the legendary transformation of the Saiyan race...far be it for me to defy you. I have no wish to be beaten into a lump of mashed potatoes again. It galls me to say it but according to Saiyan customs, I must defer to you." The words left a bitter, stinging taste in the prince's mouth.

Kakarot eyed him, then stepped out the door, helping Mr. Popo unstick himself from the doorway as he did so. The Saiyan was followed by a mildly giddy Bulma. The trio stepped onto a floating carpet and vanished with a sharp *whoosh*.


The sharp beeping was beginning to annoy Nappa. The smells and sounds of the hospital around him also assaulted his senses, but he put up with it. He was thankful to be alive, and thanked whatever deity watched over whatever was left of the Saiyan race that he at least had his sanity intact.

Not that he was going to kowtow to this annoying doctor, who kept coming into the room and attempting to sedate the enormous Saiyan to have his tail removed with increasing numbers of nurses and security guards. At this point, the repeated attempts annoyed Nappa to the point that he flared his power a bit to scare them. The doctor was flung bodily into the curtain that was shut in place of a door, and became entangled in it. The rest of the staff hit walls and one cracked a window.

"What the hell was that?!" exclaimed one of the guards. Nappa gave a grunt and shifted in the (specially ordered) bed, scooting upwards to try to find some comfortable position. The stump of his missing leg reminded him of his humiliating defeat at the hands of a mere child. Somewhat distracted, the Saiyan missed the determined doctor crawling back towards the bed, wielding the needle like a fencing foil.

ting*

"What the hell?!" Nappa roared. He turned towards the doctor, trying to slap him away, but the drug had already been injected. A fuzzy feeling spread across the Saiyan's body. "God damnit! My tail is NOT a mutation! Leave it be, you idiots!" As if to prove his point, said tail began angrily lashing at the bedframe, cracking it slightly. Fortunately for Nappa, the doctor hadn't been able to completely depress the plunger, and due to his different physiology and massive size, the drug only made him somewhat woozy. "Stop that!" he shouted at the disgruntled doctor. "And get me some food!" The doctor picked himself up and shakily dusted off his clothes.

"So this is where you are. I thought I might find you causing a ruckus yet again, Nappa." Nappa immediately recognized the voice of the Saiyan prince. "Vegeta!" He scrambled, trying to prop himself up in a respectful position. "I'm sorry, Vegeta. I know your orders were not to harm the Earthlings but they won't stop trying to remove my tail-!" This statement was punctuated by the (very determined and brave) doctor trying his best to imitate a covert ops soldier and sneakily inject Nappa again. "Gah! Stop that!" the bulky Saiyan roared, picking the doctor up by his coat. The doctor remained unflappable, though, and began checking for a vein in the very arm that held him up.

Luckily for the doctor and Nappa, Dr. Briefs walked in at that very moment. "Dr. Toyama! I'm pretty sure he's asked you to stop trying to remove his tail a few times, so can you stop?" Despite being unable to recognize when his life was in danger, Dr. Toyama apparently was capable of sensing when his paycheck was in jeopardy, and hastily capped the sedative syringe. "Sorry, Dr. Briefs. I was just trying to do my job." The eccentric scientist waved a hand. "I admire your dedication, but the man has you by your coat. I think that's an indication you should probably stop trying to inject him. Mr. Nappa, right? Could you put him down?"

Nappa glared at this odd, mustachioed man, but complied when he felt Vegeta's eyes burning a hole in the back of his neck. "Now, if I know anything about Goku, he's always hungry, and you two are just like him, right?" Vegeta cocked his head, unsure of why the man was being so friendly. Dr. Briefs laughed. "I know exactly what's going through your head, my boy. Probably wondering why you aren't under lock and key, and why I'm so relaxed. I've been tinkering with things that can kill me for decades now, so it takes a lot to scare me." Vegeta grunted. "To answer your question, yes, we would like some food. The oaf over here," he said, jerking a thumb over his back at Nappa, "eats at least twice as much as he should, so keep that in mind." Dr. Briefs nodded amiably. "We'll get you some local food. In the meantime, come with me - we're having some issues with your pods."

Nodding, Vegeta followed the man, warily avoiding a rotund man with unkempt black hair who had a sword on his hip and half a sandwich sticking out of a mouth that was open comically wide.


Some notes: In my head, I feel, as npberryhill does, that the 50 multiplier is simply too...unwieldy for Super Saiyan, and problematic as well, especially when you get to the Cell Saga. In my story, I will be using the same model that npberryhill and davidstarlingm use for Super Saiyan scaling, which unfortunately for Frieza equals a lot of pain.

A further note: As this is a fanfic, and not an official continuation of Dragon Ball Z, I honestly have the right to create whatever story I feel must be written. That being said, I am not insane, and this story will not be taken completely out of the realm of reason and logic. I will simply supplement DBZ elements with bits of semi-scientific theory and systems of thinking. Here, in the first chapter, you see this at work, with Gohan sparking ever so slightly into Super Saiyan but being unable to keep it, and with Goku actually managing to transform. In my story, I reason that Super Saiyan is a genetically based transformation, where the body metabolizes vast amounts of stored energy to produce the outward energies you see. I further theorize that it can be achieved at any point, simply by triggering a strong enough emotional reaction. The stronger the trigger, the more probable the transformation. Age and previous battle experience play a major role, as someone with no battle power will be unable to achieve and/or sustain the transformation, which is why Gohan, with his limited power and battle experience, was unable to sustain the transformation's high metabolic requirements. Incidentally, this also explains the Saiyan appetite - they fuel their power. In addition, this has implications as to the purpose of the various transformations of the Saiyan race. It is entirely possible, under these circumstances, that each state is simply a more efficient metabolization of the energy available to Saiyans. These conditions would indicate that the Super Saiyan state is akin to humans exhibiting "hysterical strength," where people can lift cars off of their children or loved ones, and achieve other such superhuman feats.

So, to simplify, under the conditions I have set forth in my tale, base Saiyans squander metabolic energy at a ridiculous rate. As they get "stronger," they are actually simply using their metabolized energy more efficiently, similar to how professional athletes fatigue slower than regular people. The Super Saiyan state is a state of heightened metabolic efficiency, allowing the body to output more power, which manifests as the signature golden aura and hair. The same conditions apply to further transformations and Super Saiyan states (ASSJ, FPSSJ, etc).


Knowledge is power, not money. Money sure the hell helps though.