So sorry for the long wait! I got really busy doing stuff with horses and other things, plus I had some writer's block (you all know about my problem writing action scenes).
So please, enjoy, and let me know what you think!
"This is not fair. I did not sign up for this!" Krillin whined quietly.
"Oh my god, shut up," Vegeta snarled, "or I swear to god, I will send you into an oblivion. Do you understand?"
"What difference does that make? You, Frieza... I'll go to the same place regardless!"
"Krillin, I won't let you die," Gohan said innocently, yet quite sternly.
"Thanks for the reassurance, kid, but don't make promises you can't keep," Krillin said.
"But I can keep it!" Gohan replied fervently.
Piccolo's hand drifted from the boy's shoulder to his head, gently rustling his hair. The boy looked up and Piccolo's ever-growing headache intensified as once again, his eyes flashed blue in a promise of hidden strength.
In front of them, Frieza cleared his throat in his new form; this one more intimidating than the last. His shoulders stuck out like Saiyan armor, his head bulbous and oblong. His ki had risen dramatically, and Piccolo wondered briefly if he would be able to hold his own for long against him. His removed his hand from Gohan's head and stepped forward. Gohan grabbed his gi in a moment of fear and desperation, not wanting his mentor to go. Without glancing at him, Piccolo brushed the boy's hand away, stepping up to his fate. Vegeta moved to stand closer to the other two warriors, out of the way of the two behemoths preparing to fight.
"Is he stupid? He's going to die," he sneered.
Gohan gave a little growl and kicked the Saiyan in the back of the leg, hard enough to cause him to stumble forward a few steps. Krillin slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his ill-timed giggles. Vegeta whirled around, and ugly grimace of pure hatred on his face, his eyes directed at the boy.
"Do you want to die again, brat? So soon after you've been brought back?" he snarled, his hands balled into fists.
"Mr. Piccolo is not going to die," Gohan snapped, throwing his shoulders back, standing firm as the older Saiyan stalked towards him.
"You guys, now is not the time for this!" Krillin exclaimed, breaking the tension. "They're up there fighting, and I bet you two haven't even noticed!" he shouted, pointing to the sky where Piccolo was trying to match Frieza blow for blow.
He was not succeeding.
In his new form, Frieza's ki outmatched Piccolo's, and by no small margin. The three warriors on the ground were now enraptured with the two battling, all barely breathing.
Gohan's ki was gradually rising with each blow Piccolo took and could not return.
"Don't even think about it, Gohan," Krillin warned. "You going up there is only going to make the situation worse."
"I can help!" Gohan said indignantly.
"Frieza will take you out in seconds, runt," Vegeta mused. "But go ahead, try it."
Gohan tried to simmer down with Krillin's logic, but as Piccolo began to take more and more hits and blast, he felt the rage inside him beginning to grow.
Above, Piccolo felt himself wearing out. He desperately tried to put up a defense, but it wasn't doing much good. Below, he could feel Gohan's ki steadily rise.
Don't come up here, don't come up here...
A sharp shot to his shoulder jarred him into reality. Frieza began to cackle maniacally as he shot off several more identical shots, and Piccolo found he could not block them. He hovered helplessly, twitching and undergoing spasms of pain as each blast tore into him.
He was vaguely aware of a child-like scream and then a rather large influx of ki. And then, the horrible pain abruptly ended and he felt himself falling several feet before a bright light startled him into catching himself. He opened his eyes to see young Gohan above him, unleashing a monstrous Masenko. Frieza tried to hold the blast, wrapping his arms and legs around it, desperately trying not to be pushed into the ground. He was already halfway to the earth, and steadily going down further as Gohan sent more and more energy into the blast. His eyes shown blue through the gold of the blast, his hair standing on end, golden it seemed as the blast.
Tsuki, is this what you had foreseen?
Frieza made contact with the ground, and the blast began pushing him into it, the earth cracking and buckling under the pressure.
Piccolo's awe quickly turned to horror as Frieza finally managed to get a hold of himself and sent the blast straight back at the kid. The boy was frozen in fear, black eyes wide, unmoving as he watched his own blast come barreling toward him.
"Gohan! MOVE!" Piccolo shouted in panic.
But the boy was frozen in fear.
Piccolo began to sprint for his student.
Hehadto save him.
"Kid, I won't let anything happen to you..."
Piccolo phased in front of the boy, outstretching his arms...
And was promptly forcefully shoved out of the way...
Not again.
He forbid the boy from dying for him again.
In an act of desperation, he sent his own Masenko at the rebounding blast, thankfully sending the offending blast careening into space. He let out a large breath he had been unaware he was holding. The boy, too, was breathing heavily, spent from his large attack. Piccolo rose to him and ushered him down to Vegeta and Krillin.
"I swear to the heavens, Namek, if that was what was supposed to save us, I'm killing you before Frieza can," Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms over his chest angrily.
Piccolo didn't say anything, for his thoughts had followed a similar path. Before them, Frieza stood and brushed himself off. He was lightly singed, is alabaster and purple skin tinged darker than before. He was sweating, and Piccolo was pleased to see that, at least, the monster had had difficulty fighting for his life. Krillin gave Gohan half a senzu bean, and his ki rushed back to normal.
"It appears I underestimated the little brat," Frieza said, slightly miffed. "A mistake I don't intend to make again. Congratulations gentlemen. It seems as though you'll be able to see my final form. You should feel honored. I don't remember the last time I've had to use it."
And as he began to transform again, Vegeta whirled on Krillin. "Now! You have to do it now!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms out to his sides, baring his torso to the shorter man.
"Do what?" Gohan asked.
"He wants me to almost kill him. He says if I do, and he's healed, his ki will nearly double or something like that. But I can't," Krillin responded, shaking his head.
Suddenly, there was short rapport and Vegeta was on the ground, a large hole in his stomach armor.
"Well I sure as hell can," Piccolo said, his hand still outstretched from having shot the blast.
"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed, his hands over his mouth. "You...you've almost killed him!"
"That was the point, kid."
"Krillin! HELLO! GIVE HIM A BEAN!" Gohan gasped, slapping Krillin's hand. "He's going to die!"
"Oh, sorry! Still in shock here from Piccolo suddenly blasting half of Vegeta's stomach away!" Krillin muttered, kneeling down and slipping a senzu bean between the Saiyan's lips. He chewed and swallowed instinctively, lay still with his eyes closed for a few brief moments, before thrusting himself to his feet. His ki suddenly swelled and soared, maxing out to nearly double what it had been before.
"Nice going, Namek. You blasted away half my armor," he said, cracking his neck.
"Oh sorry, next time I'll aim for your head," Piccolo retorted.
"You guys, look at him..." Gohan whispered in awe, drawing the three adults out of their conversation.
Before them, Frieza stood in his final form, his transformation finally complete.
"Holy shit, look how puny he is!" Krillin gasped. "Piccolo, you could beat that no problem!"
Piccolo's hand smacked him hard upside the head with a resounding slap. "You're an idiot. When will you learn that appearance has nothing to do with strength. The kid should be a prime example."
Frieza cleared his throat, demanding attention. "I could not help but notice, Namekian, that you nearly killed Vegeta and then revived him. I am curious for the purpose. A sacrifice to appease me?" he asked, his voice a shade below a taunt.
"Don't answer him. He can't sense ki. Might as well keep it a secret," Vegeta said quietly.
"Awfully quiet now, aren't you all? Are you sensing your impending doom? Do you wish to get this over with now then? I owe the little brat first, I think." Piccolo unthinkingly thrust the boy behind him. "You can't save him this time, Namekian. He is a Saiyan. Once Vegeta is gone, he is next on my list. Then you, of course. The human even. Might as well leave no loose ends."
"And here I was hoping to get lucky," Krillin muttered.
"Well, will any of you fight for your lives, or shall I just line you up for quick execution?"
Vegeta answered for the entirety of the group, charging towards Frieza. The two met and clashed for a few moments before Vegeta came soaring backwards towards the group. Gohan bounded out from behind Piccolo before he could be snatched back, barreling towards the monster. Like Vegeta, they fought for but a few moments before he too was sent flying back. Piccolo caught him and attempted to hold him down, drawing him back as Vegeta surged into the fray again.
"Let go, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed, thrashing about in his hold.
"You calm down! Going into that again will only kill you," Piccolo answered, redoubling his efforts to hold him down.
"Mr. Piccolo! Vegeta...needs...my...help..." he ground out, struggling with each word.
"He can handle-" Vegeta went flying by them again... "-himself," Piccolo finished lamely. Gohan looked up at him with a stern face. "Fine. I will help him. But you have to stay here."
"But I can help!"
Again, Gohan's eyes flashed blue and Piccolo felt a short, sharp pain in his head again. He released the boy as he set him on the ground, and thrust him in Krillin's direction.
"You keep him here. If things start to go wrong, get back to the ship and get out of here. As in leave the planet."
"What? No way! I'm staying here!"
Piccolo ignored him. "Drag him away and lock him on the ship if you have to. Don't let him in to the fight," he ordered, flying into the fray with Vegeta.
"Oh yeah, like I'm going to be able to hold the kid back," Krillin grumbled.
The fight seemed to go in slow motion for Krillin and Gohan as they watched. Gohan could practically feel every blow that landed upon Piccolo, wincing each time as if it were his own flesh being beaten upon.
And, when Piccolo came flying backwards, body skimming the earth, it was Gohan who rushed forward to break his impact with the ground, catching the brunt of his weight against his chest.
"Mr. Piccolo! Mr. Piccolo, are you okay?" he asked urgently.
Piccolo sat up woozily. "I'm fine. We aren't...we aren't even making a dent on him. When we get him busy again, you two need to get out of here. Get to the ship and go home."
"No! I'm not leaving you! This is more my fight than yours! That's what the Lady said!" Gohan protested.
A legend will save you...
Then, Vegeta came flying in as well, and made hard impact with the ground, his head bouncing back up with the force of it.
Frieza cackled. "A pity. It appears as though this battle is over and lost. Come Vegeta, it is time to meet your unfortunate demise," he said, his thick tail wrapping around the Saiyan's neck and lifting him into the air, his feet dangling.
Then, in a final act of cruelty, Frieza held him out as far as his tail would allow and began to barrage his body with a flurry of punches, each breaking into the armor and causing Vegeta to choke and cough up blood. Gohan made a move to run to him, but Piccolo grasped his shoulder firmly and pulled him back against his legs.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Frieza stopped, and Vegeta's body hung limp, swaying gently, his breath raspy and labored.
"It's sad, really, how easily your race disappeared at my whim," Frieza said. "Your mother, well, she was first. Nothing against her, really. Simple politics sealed her fate. A few simple-minded warriors here and there that strayed too far from their boundaries. Your father, however, now that was probably my favorite death. He caught wind of everything, you know, wanted you back and all that. He started a whole alliance of your race against me. I destroyed them and your planet all in one fell swoop. And your father...I made him watch. And then I killed him. It was easy, like killing a fly. And now, young prince, you go out the same way."
Vegeta's eyes, which had been closed, opened suddenly, shifting color between blue and black steadily.
They met Gohan's pure blue eyes.
Piccolo was vaguely aware of Krillin calling his name before he succumbed to the pain in his head.
I apologize now for any typos. I really cranked this out and got it posted with only a brief skim.