Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

By Feraligreater328

A/N: Okay, so...should go without saying for anyone who is really a fan of the series. But, for those of you unaware, Frieza is a violent son of a bitch. So, these next few chapters might be a bit more brutal compared to my normal faire. So, just a small viewer discretion warning. Frieza gets a bit graphic in this one. Happy Easter everybody~

Also...HOLY SHIT! WE'VE REACHED 100,000 VIEWS! THANK YOU ALL SO VERY VERY MUCH! T_T

Chapter 32: Fighting Power One Million

Outside of Frieza's Ship...

Frieza stepped forward from the crater with a massive smile on his face. With each heavy step that he took, Krillin slid down his massive horn a little bit more. He continued to march forward until he was right on top of the four of them, and then Frieza glared down at his Saiyan foes. Instantly, Bardock and Vegeta took a fighting stance. Raditz flinched back a bit, be he soon squared up at well. All three Saiyans remained quiet and focused, waiting for Frieza to make his move. Gohan, however, was less concerned with fighting and more concerned with his friend. "Hey! Put Krillin down, you bastard!"

Frieza seemed confused as to just what Gohan was talking about. But this confusion was quickly dispelled by Krillin gagging and crying out in pain. Krillin coughed and blood poured from his mouth. Frieza looked up and held out his cupped hand, catching some of Krillin's blood in it. "Oh...I see..."

Frieza drank the blood and then gave a wicked smile. "Forgive me. I forgot he was up there."

And then, with a single jerk of his neck, Frieza bucked Krillin from atop his head and watched as the gored human splatted against the ground. Krillin laid there, twitching as a pool of blood formed under him. Gohan immediately didn't care about Frieza, he just wanted to go and check on his friend. "Mr. Krillin!"

As Gohan began to run, Frieza chuckled. And then, the monster raised his hand into the air. Bardock's pupils shrank and he immediately sprang into action. "Shit!"

The older Saiyan leapt forward and grabbed Gohan by the wrist. And this, in spite of the struggling boy's protests, Bardock flew off as fast as he could. Vegeta was also pretty well aware of what was about to happen, so he turned tail and chased off in the same direction Bardock did. Raditz would have followed suit, but then he caught sight of Krillin and his conscience got the better of him. "D-dammit!"

Raditz dived towards the injured Krillin...and then Frieza allowed his power to unfurl. The explosion went off like a nuclear bomb. One second, everything was peaceful. And then the next second, all Hell had broken loose. The dome of Frieza's power went shredding across the landscape, instantly closing the distance between himself and Bardock and Vegeta. The two Saiyans, along with their unwilling child tagalong, were literally racing for their lives. The energy dome briefly smashed into the bottom of Vegeta's boot and the Saiyan Prince yelped in pain.

Luckily, before the blast wave could engulf them, all three of the fleeing warriors dove into the Namekian sea and swam down as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, the blast continued to expand, ultimately stopping its pathway of destruction just as it reached Frieza's ship.

Within Frieza's Ship...

The ship rocked as Frieza's attack got ever closer to it. A blinding, pink light shone through every window and the force of the attack busted several of them out. The remaining Namekians were panicking in terror at the feeling of this power. Bulma and Chi-Chi tried to calm them all down, but they could only manage this much calm because neither of them could sense power levels very well.

Meanwhile, Gine was huddled in the corner with her head between her knees. She had to try and remain calm for the sake of everyone else, but the Saiyan Mother's face was bright green. She swallowed the sickening lump in her throat and squeezed her eyes shut, praying that this might be the limit of Frieza's power.

Back outside...

Bardock and Vegeta both hauled themselves out of the sea and onto the land of a nearby island. Neither of them said anything as they got to shore, but both of them silently knew that they had just barely avoided dying right then and there. Bardock pulled Gohan out of the water and slung the boy onto land. Gohan stood up and coughed up a mouthful of water, and then he ran over to the shore to see if Krillin had managed to evade the attack.

Gohan reached the shore and he went blue in the face. "It... it's...it's gone. It's all gone!"

Bardock and Vegeta both joined Gohan to stare in shock. Not only was the massive patch of land they were fighting on totally gone, but apparently all of the land beneath the water had gone with it. Torrential currents rushed into the now massive hole under the water and created a gigantic whirlpool. Vegeta darted his gaze to and fro. "Dammit! Where the Hell did Frieza go?!"

And then, answering Vegeta's question immediately, Frieza's massive tail burst through the ground and shot right at the Prince. Bardock reacted quick, booting Gohan away from the fight and then joining Vegeta in dodging the various strikes that the tail took at them.

The rapidly moving tendril shred through the soil like a drill, winding around and zooming towards its two targets. The end of the tail grazed Vegeta's cheek and left a small gash going across the Prince's cheek. Vegeta and Bardock both continued to leap away and dodge until, finally, the length of the tail reached its limit and Frieza came popping out of the ground. The tail retracted and joined Frieza high up in the air.

Vegeta and Bardock both landed, out of breath. Vegeta used his thumb to wipe away the blood from his cut. Meanwhile, Frieza survey over the damage he had caused. Between tearing up the Namekian landscape beneath him and blowing away the majority of the previous island, Frieza couldn't help but enjoy a small chuckle. "My my...perhaps Father is right. Maybe, just maybe, I need to learn to exercise a bit of control. I just have...so much trouble controlling my unyielding levels of power in this form..."

Frieza landed on the ground in front of Bardock and Vegeta. "Forgive me for showing off, monkeys."

Bardock and Vegeta glared up at their much stronger foe. The odds weren't great. Bardock shot his glance aside to feel for their back-up and, to his dismay, Piccolo was still at least four minutes away. Four minutes was enough time for Frieza to kill them all one-hundred times over in this state.

Vegeta, meanwhile, gave no regard to Piccolo. Instead, the Prince chose to boast in order to inflate his steadily waning sense of confidence and control. Vegeta let loose a laugh, a slow rumbling laugh. Frieza, not aware of the joke, began to laugh as well.

Soon, Bardock was left standing there as both the asshole and Frieza laughed their heads off.

But, eventually, the mirth faded and Frieza's belly laugh became a low chuckle. "Oh Vegeta...do be kind enough to at least let me in on the joke~"

Vegeta stopped laughing as well and smirked at Frieza. "I was just laughing at how stupid you must feel. You allowed members of the very race you chose to execute to live on! You must feel such a fool right now!"

Frieza sighed, but he earnestly nodded. "I will admit to that. The overall ignorance of today's proceedings has, indeed, left my face feeling a bit eggy. But my problems shall soon be lying dead on the ground...so does it really matter Vegeta?"

Vegeta continued to boast. "Oh yes! Someone will be left lying dead alright! And it will be you, Frieza! Today is the day that you pay for the injustices you have committed against the Saiyan race! Myself and Bardock are both here to make sure of that!"

Bardock flinched at Vegeta suddenly speaking of him as an equal. It seemed out of character to the older Saiyan, but he wasn't going to complain that Vegeta was becoming more of a team player. Frieza, meanwhile, was a strange combination of amused and bemused. He glared at Vegeta. "Oh really? You two are going to kill me?"

Vegeta gripped his fist. "Of course, we are! Because we are something you fear, Frieza!"

Frieza cocked his head. "And that would be?"

Vegeta sneered. "We are stronger than any generation of Saiyan before us! We are the golden standard of our race! We are your worst nightmare! We! Are! SUPER SAIYANS!"

Bardock and Frieza both stared, incredulous. Bardock mumbled to Vegeta. "H-hey...I get what you're trying to do here...but is this really the best time in the world to start shouting about bedtime stories...?"

Frieza was silent for a moment, but then he began to laugh again. This laugh was deeper, darker, and much more twisted than any before. Vegeta and Bardock both glared at Frieza. Bardock remained silent, but Vegeta was quick to anger. "What in the Hell are you laughing at?!"

Frieza wiped a tear from his eye. "Just a really funny memory. What is the old saying, Vegeta? Like Father, Like Son?"

Vegeta's pupils shrank as Frieza continued to laugh. "Wh-what?"

Frieza smiled a wicked smile at Vegeta. "Would you believe me if I said that those were King Vegeta's deluded last words too?"

Vegeta flinched, his jaw dropping, and Frieza charged at an almost incomprehensible speed. Before Vegeta could react, Frieza had already gripped the Prince by the face with the bottom of his foot. He lifted his leg and the struggling Prince into the air, and then Frieza stomped down at hard as he could. Vegeta instantly went limp and Frieza smirked. With a roar, the Emperor lifted Vegeta from the ground and stomped him again and again and again.

Vegeta was screaming in pain and agony, but Frieza's foot muffled his cries. The Prince could do nothing at his body was jammed further and further into the ground with each successive stomp. Bardock was quick to react. He jumped at Frieza and considered a Riot Javelin. But, the older Saiyan knew that that move most likely would not be very effective. So, instead, Bardock coated his body in energy and used another move from his arsenal. "Tyrant Lancer!"

Bardock shot forward like a missile, slamming shoulder first into Frieza's arm. The Emperor didn't move, but Bardock didn't care. He pulled his arm back for a punch and aimed it square at Frieza's face. But, before it could connect, the Tyrant caught hold of it. Frieza turned to Bardock and smirked, and then he squeezed the Saiyan's hand hard enough that all of the bones in it broke.

As he heard each and every individual snap and splinter, Bardock screamed in pain. But this pain was nothing compared to what would come next. Frieza gave one final stomp to Vegeta and then turned all of his attention to Bardock. He held the older Saiyan to where he was hanging by his broken hand, and then Frieza delivered a heavy chop right to Bardock's side.

Bardock retched as he felt his ribs all break and then stab into his precious innards. But the torment wasn't over there. Frieza tossed Bardock's captivity from one hand to the other, and then he chopped into Bardock's other side. The pain from this, feeling his ribs dig into him from both sides, nearly caused Bardock to black out. But he managed to hold on to consciousness by a thread.

Frieza saw this and decided to continue the torture. He heaved Bardock into the air and then began to whip the Saiyan around like a bull-rope. He twirled Bardock around for a few second before releasing him. Bardock free flew for just a second before Frieza smashed him in the face with his elbow. Bardock was left free-spinning in the air and Frieza finished his punishment session with a crack of the tail.

Bardock went flying like a torpedo and smashed into the ground. The older Saiyan's body parted the soil like a biblical sea, leaving two massive fens of dirt as he skidded along before eventually coming to a stop.

Frieza smiled as Bardock laid there and then turned his attention back to Vegeta. He lifted the Prince's limp body from the ground with his foot and allowed it to hang there for a moment. And then, he let it go and slammed his fist into Vegeta's stomach with all of the strength he could muster.

The air left Vegeta's body like a pressurized bullet and then Prince went flying back. He crashed into Bardock with a harsh crack and both of them went bouncing away like pool balls. They both crashed back down and groaned in a miserable way that displayed some as of yet measured form of agony.

Shakily, the two of them sat up and glared at Frieza. The Emperor met these glares with a satisfied smirk, and then he launched a massive ki blast at the two of them. Bardock and Vegeta were both fading, but they each summoned a ki blast of their own to fire back. The two blasts went soaring towards Frieza's and briefly clashed with it...but they were both quickly swallowed by the more massive attack. Bardock and Vegeta stared in horror. This looked like it was going to be it. The two of them braced for impact, but then a new savior descended from the sky above.

With an almighty, primal shout, Gohan stomped his foot down onto Frieza's blast and used all of the energy he could to quash it. The boy stood there, heaving in and out angry breaths as Frieza stared at him. The Emperor was mildly impressed. Perhaps that wasn't the most powerful attack he could have launched, but this monkey child was still showing quite a bit of backbone. "Who fathered you, child? Was it Bardock? Raditz? Vegeta? The...other one?

Frieza tapped his chin. "What was that bald one's name...?"

Gohan ignored Frieza's questions and snarled at him. "Y-you might have killed Mr. Krillin, but I won't let you kill my Grandpa Bardock!"

Frieza chuckled. "Oh, Grandpa Bardock eh? Well, that's one down. Possibly two, maybe? I mean, you mentioned Bardock, but where is the love for Vegeta?"

Gohan ignored this once again and roared at the top of his lungs. He shot at Frieza like a missile made of pure rage. Frieza smirked and took a wide-open stance. "Heh! Come then, brat!"

Vegeta watched as Gohan charged at Frieza, silently hoping that the brat could buy him just a few second to recover. Bardock, meanwhile, did not want his Grandson to rush so readily into death like that. "Gohan! Stand dow-"

As he shouted, Bardock doubled over in pain. The older Saiyan shuddered. He wanted to stop Gohan, but he couldn't at the moment. Bardock tried to get his tremors under control at Gohan sped forward to attack!

But then, to everyone's surprise, not only did Gohan's first attack land, but it seemed to hurt. The Saiyan boy delivered a massive headbutt to Frieza's stomach and visibly winded the Tyrant. And then, he began to unload all of his negative feelings right into Frieza's core. Punch after punch after punch collided into Frieza's mid-section and seemed to keep the Emperor stunned. Soon, Gohan graduated from punches to uppercuts, slamming a hefty one right into Frieza's jaw and sending the monster flying high into the sky.

Vegeta couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. Perhaps the power of Saiyan/Human hybrids was even greater than he and Nappa originally speculated?! Bardock, meanwhile, simply couldn't believe what he was seeing in general. He knew that something was up. And, slowly, the older Saiyan struggled to his feet.

Gohan backflipped into the air, racing to get ahead of Frieza as they both ascended up. As soon as he outpaced the Tyrant, Gohan waited for him and then delivered a massive axe kick to the back of the head once he got close enough. Frieza fell back to the ground like a stone, smashing hard into the land below. And then, Gohan began to charge energy blasts. He tossed them, rapid fire, at the supine Frieza's body. Each individual blast smashed into Frieza's back and drove the Emperor farther and farther into the ground.

Gohan was hitting his stride. He was doing it! He was actually fighting back against Frieza! Gohan prepared his final attack. He raised his hands into the air and glared down at Frieza's unmoving form. And then, he shouted. "DAI MASENKO!"

The massive blast shot down and smashed onto the already smoking form of Frieza. It drilled into the ground below, rupturing soil and making sure that Frieza was completely enveloped. Once the blast drilled down far enough, it erupted into a massive explosion, sending a column of pure energy up into the atmosphere and dispersing the clouds above-head.

Gohan was breathing heavy as he descended back to the ground below. A column of black smoke was rising into the sky from the crater where Frieza was. Gohan was no fool, he knew that he didn't kill Frieza. But he was certain that he had at least wounded him.

The 5-year old walked up to the crater to peak in an inspect what he had done. He could see nothing through the dense, black smoke. That made it all the more surprising when a hand came shooting through the ebony smog and seized the unsuspecting Gohan by the hair.

To the boy's horror, Frieza emerged from the smoke looking no worse for wear. His outer shell was a bit dirty, but Frieza seemed totally uninjured by Gohan's Unrelenting Barrage. He lifted Gohan high, until they were face-to-face, and then he sneered at the boy. "I will say, that was quite impressive for a child. You would make a fine soldier in my army, monkey boy!"

Gohan snarled. "I would never join you!"

Frieza smiled. "Not yet you wouldn't. You need... conditioning first~!"

And then, beginning with a massive punch that knocked out one of the boy's teeth, Frieza began to beat the defenseless Gohan utterly senseless. The half Saiyan child tried to block, but that meant nothing as Frieza landed punch after punch onto Gohan's face and chest and stomach.

Gohan tried to keep up the bravery act at first, but soon the pain began to be too much and he began to scream in fear and pain. Frieza relished this. He began to hit harder and harder, feeling the boy melting in his hand as he did. Frieza continued to use Gohan as a makeshift speed bag until he personally felt that the boy had been tenderized enough. And then, he tossed Gohan aside like trash.

Frieza whipped around and tossed Gohan like a sports ball right at Vegeta. The Prince, perhaps taking just a bit of pity, caught Gohan mid-flight. He dropped the boy to the ground as gently as he could, and then he prepared for another Frieza assault. Frieza raised his hand into the air and summoned a blast. "You have potential boy! If you survive this, then you may consider yourself indoctrinated into the Frieza Force!"

Frieza prepared to fire. But then, he noticed something was off. "What a moment...where is Bardock?"

This question was answered by a massive, emphatic ki blast smashing right into Frieza's unguarded back. The Tyrant snarled at this sudden attack. That one actually stung just a little bit! But, before he could react to this, Bardock ran up behind Frieza. He wrapped his arms around the Tyrant's torso and then heaved with all of his might. Bardock fell to his back, but he managed to German Suplex Frieza away at the same time.

Bardock leapt to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pain on his insides, and summoned a Riot Javelin. And then, he spun on his toes and whipped the attack right into Frieza's face. The bastard gripped his face with a growl and Bardock prepared for a fight.

As Frieza stood up, regaining himself, Bardock turned to Vegeta and give a quick, but clear hand motion. Bardock's voice was silent, but his message was loud and clear. "TAKE GOHAN AND GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!"

Vegeta wasn't exactly keen on running off, but he got the point. He needed time to recover and so did the boy, so a tactical retreat was probably the best option at the moment. Vegeta reached down and grabbed Gohan by the ankle, and then he started to fly away with the boy as fast as he could.

Bardock nodded and sighed in relief. He turned to face Frieza, but was quickly surprised by the Emperor's tail snaking around him. Bardock couldn't struggle or fight back as the length of Frieza's tail snapped tight around his body, pinning his arms to his sides. Frieza smirked at Bardock and then, to Bardock's dismay, turned his attention to the two fleeing rats up in the air. Frieza squatted down, and then he launched up into the air at top speed.

Hearing the sonic boom, Vegeta looked back down to the ground and was horrified to see nothing. But, before he could get back to paying attention to where he was flying, Vegeta collided with something solid. Slowly and fearfully, the Prince turned his attention to what he slammed into and was greeted with the sight of Frieza looming over him.

Frieza chuckled as Vegeta trembled in fear. "Dear Prince. If I ever taught you anything as you grew up, I would've hoped the phrase 'you can't outrun the inevitable' would have stuck..."

Before Vegeta even had time to speak, Frieza backhanded him across the face and sent him and Gohan both crashing back to the ground. The two of them smashed into a nearby mountain, impacting into the hardened rock and then lying there, motionless.

Satisfied with what he had done, Frieza landed back onto solid ground. Bardock struggled and jerked, but was unable to escape the grip of Frieza's tail. The Emperor took his time, slowly bring Bardock to eye level and enjoying the feeling of him squirming in his grip like some kind of miserable cockroach.

Once Frieza and Bardock were eye level, they exchanged yet another look of unyielding hate. And then Frieza began to tighten his grip. The pressure did not cause much more pain at first, but soon Bardock began to really feel it. The tail got tighter and tighter and soon more and more things began to rip and tear and snap. Bardock was in so much pain that he could barely make a noise, reacting with gargling agony as blood began to erupt from his throat and ooze from between the layers of Frieza's tail.

Frieza chuckled and, much in-character for his sadistic self, sparked up a polite, if extremely sinister conversation. "Tell me, Bardock...do you regret yet that my Supernova did not kill you permanently?"

Bardock gasped in pain as the grip tightened even more. Frieza smiled. "Don't you just wish you were in Hell right now?"

Bardock managed to lift his head, glaring at Frieza even though his pupils were going white. Bardock's temper exploded and he managed to shout at his torturer. "FUCK OFF AND DIE YOU SHRIMPY SHIT!"

Blood flew from Bardock's mouth and splattered against Frieza's cheek. The Emperor was a tad taken aback at first, but then he chuckled. "Ah yes...that's the Bardock spirit that I remember..."

Frieza wiped the blood splatter from his cheek with his thumb. "But...the aesthetic is off."

Frieza glared with disdain at Bardock's bare forehead. "Your rebellious nature...your 'Here! Have it!'...both were enhanced by that Bandana you always wore. That Bandana that was burnt away in one of our earlier clashes..."

Frieza wiped the blood on his thumb across Bardock's forehead, leaving a straight line of red from temple to temple. "Not to worry though...if I am anything, it's a problem solver."

Frieza used his left hand to grab Bardock by the hair, pulling the fringe from in front of Bardock's forehead and holding his head still. And then, he reared back his right fist and slammed it with all of his might into Bardock's exposed forehead. A light gasp was all that escaped Bardock's forehead before his eyes rolled back. Frieza stared, satisfied as blood began to cascade from the massive split he had just made in Bardock's skin. The ruby red claret oozed down from Bardock's hairline, staining his entire forehead red as he laid limp in Frieza's grip.

Frieza smirked. "Perfect. This is how I will always remember you, Bardock. With that same disdained look on your face...and that same blood-red stain across your brow. Now...now you have my permission to die~"

Frieza walloped Bardock across the face to wake him back up, and then he threw the older Saiyan into that air. Frieza looked up to see Bardock start to freefall, and then he stepped directly under him. Frieza closed his eyes and waited for the marvelous sensation of his horn going through Bardock's heart.

Up in the air, Bardock was barely aware that he was tumbling. As he fell down through the air, he looked down to see the sparkling, sharp points of Frieza's horns waiting for him below. He was just conscious enough to know that he had to dodge. He had to dodge or he was definitely going to die...

Bardock held his hand out, charging the last energy he could muster into a wave that would blow him out of the path of the horns. But, as he was about to fire, a surprise vision of the future assaulted his mind.

Within Bardock's mental plane...

Bardock was panicking as this new vision of the future played out. He was well aware that these visions separated him from conscious control of his body and that, at this rate, he wouldn't be able to prevent himself from being impaled.

However, he couldn't help but notice how this vision seemed different from the others. We stared into the infinite black void and soon, he saw a familiar sight. That golden glow. Except...this time there was only two golden warriors rather than three. As Bardock stared, another figure lit up. It stood over the two golden warriors; a silver frame wreathed in a blood red rather than the more formidable pure silver he had seen before. The three figures glared at one another...until the silver figure turned its attention to Bardock with a wicked smile.

As Bardock pondered what this new, altered vision meant, blood suddenly exploded from the center of his chest. Bardock felt down and ran his hand over what felt to be a massive hole.

Bardock cursed. "Dammit! Stupid future sight! Are you really interrupting me to tell me something ten seconds into the future?! What the He-"

Back in reality...

Bardock was roused from his stupor by a sudden, blunt force blow to the stomach. He regained his wits and looked around, totally confused.

Below Bardock, Frieza didn't seem to care about his beaten and bruised new hat, he was more concerned with what was at his feet on the ground. A yellow energy disc was flying away from Frieza. It eventually collided into a mountain and dispersed after slicing the rock formation in two. Frieza stared down in rage and frustration as the sight of his precious, ebony horns lying on the ground, totally separated from his head. The Emperor began to turn, planning to gut whoever had just disfigured him in such an unsightly manner.

Before he could catch sight of the interloper, however, Frieza heard a familiar and thought to be dead voice. "FATHER! GET AWAY FROM FRIEZA NOW!"

A pink blast slammed into Frieza's torso. And, while the attack did only superficial damage, Frieza shuddered as a massive electro-shockwave went through his entire body. As the Tyrant stood there, jittering, Bardock turned his attention to the source of the blast and saw, to his relief, Raditz and Krillin both standing there.

Neither man had a scratch on them and they looked ready to fight once more. Bardock smiled a tired smile and glanced over to the energy ball in his hand. Shrugging, and not needing it to propel himself away anymore, Bardock instead slammed the energy ball right into Frieza's rage-contorted face.

Frieza went tumbling back, but did not fall. Bardock slammed into the ground with an agonized groan. Frieza immediately regained himself and glared down at Bardock. He raised his prehensile tail into the air to run the older Saiyan through. Frieza's rage was so intense that he did not see the second Destructo-Disc coming right at him. The disc sliced through Frieza's tail like butter and severed the majority of it. The appendage hit the ground and began to wriggle and writhe. Shocked, Frieza glanced back and saw nothing more than a stub wriggling back and forth.

Angrily turning to aim an attack at Krillin, Frieza was met by another surprise. Gohan was right there! The boy got into a crouching position midair and thrusted both of his legs right into Frieza's chest. This took Frieza off of his feet and, as the Tyrant fell, Vegeta came rushing in and dropped a massive energy bomb onto him.

Frieza smashed into the ground and Vegeta took advantage of the lull. He turned on a dime, reared back his entire leg, and then punted Bardock in the side. Bardock coughed up blood as his ribs dug even deeper into his innards. The older Saiyan went flying over a nearby ridge and landed with a hard thud, out of sight of Frieza.

Vegeta turned and smirked at the recovering Frieza. The Emperor glared at the smarmy Prince. And then at the child. And then at Raditz. And then at that human filth that had disfigured him. Frieza was terrifyingly enraged. Wordlessly he pumped up his power to maximum output and then charged.

But, the four warriors were prepared for this. They had a strategy planned out. Each of Frieza's remaining limbs had a combatant ready to counter it. The left arm threw a punch, Vegeta was there to block and return an attack. The right arm summoned a ki blast, Raditz fired a ki blast right back. The legs kicked or stomped or grabbed, Gohan and Krillin were there to give an appropriate counter.

Frieza wasn't losing, but his high advantage his was maintaining was gone. His horns were reduced to stubs and his murderous tail removed from play. The Emperor was furious that these maggots were fighting back so hard. This rage was only made worse by the pragmatic Vegeta. The Prince dropped to the ground, scooping up Frieza's severed horns. And then, while the Emperor was distracted by a team attack from Raditz and Krillin, Vegeta pounced. He stabbed both of the diamond hard, ebony spears into Frieza's neck and the Emperor howled in pain and rage.

He turned and slammed his elbow into Vegeta's stomach. But, after a quick shudder, the Prince smirked and flung a ki blast into Frieza's face. The Emperor stumbled back and glared at Vegeta, but then Krillin dropped in front of him and shouted. "SOLAR FLARE!"

Frieza roared in frustration and all four of his opponents flung a powerful ki blast at him. This still barely staggered the Titanic Tyrant, however. The four warriors regroup and stared at their opponent. In spite of all of their attacks, the only real damage they had done to Frieza was jamming those severed horns into his neck. The hadn't really hurt the Emperor, they had just royally pissed him off.

This frustrated Vegeta and Raditz. The two of them, as well as Gohan, had each benefitted from a zenkai boost (a major one for Raditz given how badly Frieza had crippled him) and yet they still weren't strong enough to do any sort of lasting damage to this bastard!

Frieza walked forward, his eyes glued on each of these pests. Originally, Vegeta and Bardock were his targets. But now, each of these interlopers had done something egregious enough to be placed on the "torture until death" list. Frieza reached up to his neck and ripped the horns from it like a pair of irritating thorns. He cast them aside and snarled at his foes. "You will pay in blood for this humiliation."

Not knowing what else to do, Vegeta raised his hands and shouted. "SHOOT HIM DEAD!"

All four of them proceeded to attempt just that. They each unloaded a veritable battery of ki attacks onto Frieza. The combined force of these attacks, however, merely slowed Frieza's movements. The Monstrous Emperor still marched forward, every step bringing the Saiyans and Krillin one step closer to an agonizing experience.

Tiring of this display, Frieza raised his foot into the air and stomped it down. The sheer force of his stomp caused the ground beneath it to shiver, and then crack, and then fissure widely. The four warriors had no choice but to leap back, but Frieza's hand shot forward like a bullet. To the terror of Krillin, Frieza seized Gohan by the throat.

The monk screamed in fear. "GOHAN!"

He tried to rush forward, by a hand shot in front of him to halt him. Krillin turned to look at Raditz and Raditz shot him a knowing look. Their part in this fight was over for the moment.

Frieza began to squeeze Gohan's windpipe, compressing it to the point that Gohan couldn't breathe. This would normally be the point where his prey would die, but Gohan began to resist to Frieza's surprise and annoyance. The boy reached up and wrapped his hands around Frieza's index finger and thumb. He began to pull and, to Frieza's consternation, he was actually managing to make the Tyrant's fingers budge.

Frieza chuckled in a sinister, hate-filled tone. "You really are quite strong. But, tell me boy...what exactly do you plan to do if you break my grip?!"

Gohan gasped, spitting venom right in Frieza's face. "I'm...going...to watch..."

Frieza cocked his head. "Watch what?!"

Gohan shouted. "I'm going to watch you get your ass kicked!"

Frieza flinched and chuckled. "And which one of these interlopers is going to-"

Frieza glanced past Gohan and was immediately stricken with confusion. For watching their ally get throttled, the other three seemed strangely calm. Raditz and that human both stood there and Vegeta, the bastard, was just leering out into the distance. "What in the Hell are you pests do-"

In a blinding flash of light, Frieza was cut off. A foot slammed into the Emperor's cheek and sent him reeling back. Frieza crashed back first into the ground and slid a good kilometer away. Furious, the Emperor stood up and wiped the side of his face that had been kicked, furious to see that he had a massive, busted lip. He snarled and glared over at this new intruder that had not only dared to strike him, but had taken away his prey.

Gohan, meanwhile, coughed and choked for a good minute. The boy rubbed his aching throat, but looked up to see and familiar and welcome sight. In spite of everything he had gone through in waiting, nothing could have wiped the smile off of Gohan's face in this moment. "Mr. Piccolo!"

Gently lowering the boy to the ground and helping him to stand, Piccolo smiled as well. He was happy that he had made it in time to save his little friend's life. "Glad to see you've become so strong, Gohan. You do my banner proud!"

Piccolo pressed his hand to the breastplate of Gohan's armor and placed a Demon School sigil right over the boy's heart. And then, the Namekian Warrior turned his attention to the looming Frieza. "We'll make you much stronger later."

Piccolo stepped forward, throwing out his arm and causing his cape to flourish. "But for now, the four of you need to step back! I'll be handling this from here!"

Proofreading: StevenBodner