Wow, yet another thank you A/N! These are becoming a regular occurrence huh? Anyways, thanks for getting the Earthling Chronicles over 600 reviews! I'm really happy that so many people are liking the story enough to leave a review behind every time they read the chapter and for those of you that aren't reviewing but are just reading, I'd like to thank you all as well. While I would love to hear feedback from you guys, I still appreciate the fact that you are loyally following and reading the story so thanks for reading guys! Also be sure to check out the bottom of the chapter for a special announcement! Alrighty, on to the chapter!
Chapter 34
Edited by: Ness Frost
Goku let out a grunt of pain as the bony-white fist of his opponent was planted into his cheek, causing him to fly through the sky as his body was propelled backwards by the force of the blow. Splaying his arms outward, the wild-haired warrior managed to halt his forced flight, but Frieza was already back on top of him ready to take advantage of the man's vulnerable position. The Frost Demon let out a roar of triumph as he brought down both fists like a hammer to smite the Saiyan from Earth. To the tyrant's shock, though, his attack simply passed through an afterimage before he was sent flying by a roundhouse kick to the temple.
"You almost had me there," commented Goku, slightly panting from the toll the battle had taken on him so far. Even though his outward appearance showed fatigue, on the inside the man was feeling more alive than ever before. Frieza was turning out to be everything he had hoped for in an opponent and more.
"So you find this amusing do you?" questioned Frieza after recovering from the kick to the head, slightly winded himself from his duel with Goku. "I must admit, this has been a nice little work-out, and I am surprised that I've never heard of you before now. Surely I could not have let a fighter with such power escape my notice. I would have eliminated you by now if that were the case."
"It has been fun, Frieza," agreed Goku as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "But I think that it's time to get to the real fight now. It seems that you've had enough of this warm-up as well."
"Oh, so you have some more tricks to show me do you?" asked Frieza, feigning interest. "Well don't keep me in suspense, let's see what you can do, or are you all bark and no bite?"
With a small smile, Goku brought his hands to his hips with his palms forming a cupped shape. "Alright Frieza, but just remember that you asked for this! Kame…"
The Arcosian arched one of his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly as he stared curiously at the man before him. Crossing his arms, the fiend smirked slightly as he saw Goku's body begin to tremble as energy poured into his cupped hands as continued his chant.
"Hame…" A blue orb of energy began to form inside of Goku's hands as he prepared to fire his signature attack.
"How cute, you chant some nonsensical words in preparation to fire your attack," mocked the alien overlord as he observed the pure-hearted warrior's actions. "I believe Vegeta does something similar with one of his techniques. I find it all rather pointless, as it blatantly reveals that you're going to attack me. But fire away by all means, and see if it will work, though I can already tell you that it won't."
Goku allowed his foe the time to finish his mini-speech before finally completing the chant to fire the Kamehameha Wave. "HA!" he shouted as his arms were thrust forward and a gigantic blue beam of ki was sent rocketing towards the motionless form of Frieza, threatening to consume the Frost Demon. The tyrant simply smiled and waited until the final second before calmly flying upward and avoiding the beam in its entirety.
"You see, you can't possibly think that a technique will be effective when you go around shouting it every time you use…"
"Kamehameha!" Startled, Frieza had just enough time to turn his head upwards to see the orange-clad form of Goku firing another Kamehameha Wave at him. Before the alien could even react to this sudden assault, he felt his body slammed into by the wave and was driven into the ground below. Upon impact with the ground, the Kamehameha exploded in a brilliant flash of blue light that began to devour all of the surrounding land around Frieza's crash-site. Goku watched as his attack carved out a mammoth-sized crater and completely obliterated anything that was unfortunate enough to come into contact with his beam.
As the blue hue of the attack finally began to die down, Goku dropped into his stance and prepared for another round with the tyrant. Even though he was sure that his attack would do some damage to Frieza, he knew that wouldn't be enough to defeat the maniacal dictator. It didn't take long for his opponent to emerge from the mushroom cloud of smoke that had arisen over the crater and the pure-hearted warrior could tell that the Arcosian was not in a good mood.
The effects of the Kamehameha were clearly apparent. The alien's once pure white skin was charred black with soot from the explosions and Goku's sharp eyes were able to detect burns along with small cuts littering the entirety of Frieza's body. None of that could compare to the look of pure disgust and hatred that the Frost Demon now wore on his face, though.
"You'll pay for that you insolent little worm," snarled Frieza as he clenched his fists and his body trembled in anger.
"We'll see," replied Goku, an unusually stoic expression on his face. "I wouldn't count on it though; I would never allow myself to be beaten by someone like you. It would put too many innocent people in danger and that's something that I won't allow."
"You really think you can actually prevent that!" yelled the Arcosian before suddenly phasing in front of the wild-haired fighter and delivering a powerful right hook to Goku's cheek. A grunt of pain escaped from the man's lips as he went crashing through a nearby rock pillar and was buried underneath a large pile of rubble.
Goku didn't stay down long, though, as he used his aura to push back the mound of rock above him before springing back into the sky. His opponent was waiting for him, though, and the Saiyan from Earth was forced to tailspin out of the way of several large ki blasts that were rocketing towards him. Purple explosions rocked the ground below as the blasts missed their intended target and erupted on the surface of Planet Namek instead, devastating the once lush terrain.
"You're not going to be able to dodge me forever!" shouted Frieza before drawing back both of his hands and forming a large sphere of purple energy in between his palms. With a roar, the fiend thrust his arms forward and fired the now giant sphere of energy in the direction of Goku causing the pure-hearted warrior's eyes to widen. The orb of crackling violet ki was extremely powerful and surprisingly fast for an attack so large. Goku barely managed to phase out of the way in time to avoid the globe of energy that detonated upon impact with the ground.
A blinding light suddenly overtook Goku and he had to cover his eyes with his arm to shield them from the brilliant explosion of purple rays emitting from the explosion of Frieza's attack. Torrents of wind pushed the wild-haired fighter back as a deafening roar obscured any other sound from Goku's hearing. It was like he was trapped in a purple cage of light and deprived of all of his senses as the former Turtle School student struggled to withstand the power of the maelstrom he found himself caught in.
As the wind finally began to subside some and Goku's hair stopped whipping around his face, the man was stunned into silence by the scene of destruction displayed before him. Every piece of land beneath him had been completely destroyed, not leaving a scrap of rock below. Where the peninsula the two titans had been fighting on had once been, only a bottomless pit that was now being filled with cascading water from the surrounding sea remained.
It wasn't just the terrain below that had been affected by the blast; even the sky above seemed to have been disoriented from the massive explosion. The usually clear green sky was now marred by dark clouds that lingered in the atmosphere even after the rest of the smoke had cleared up. Even more ominously, Goku couldn't help but feel that this was only the beginning of the tyrant's power.
"Awe-inspiring isn't it?" Whipping his head around, Goku was shocked to find Frieza hovering behind him wearing a devilish smirk on his face. "I surprise even myself sometimes with my handiwork. So, are you finally realizing that you don't stand a chance against me?" Frieza's smile slowly turned to a frown, though, as he realized that Goku also wore a smile on his face.
"Nope, I'm just so excited to see what else you're capable of! This is turning out to be one of my most challenging fights yet!"
Cocking an eyebrow along with his frown, Frieza attempted to wrap his mind around this confounding opponent he found himself up against. This idiotic man was simply dumbfounding to the sadistic overlord and only one question was on his mind. So as he usually did, Frieza let his thoughts be known.
"How do you function?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Yajirobe, what are you doing here?" asked a stunned Chi-Chi in disbelief. Out of all the people she would expect to swoop in and save her, the obese samurai was at the bottom of the list.
"Ugh, it wasn't my choice believe me," said Yajirobe before pointing down at the burning city below. "Korin noticed what was going on down here and sent me to get you immediately. He said something about strange activity up on the Lookout but that's about all I can remember."
"WHAT!?" screamed the brunette as her eyes widened in horror. "How is that even possible? I thought no one except us Z Fighters even knew that the Lookout exists, much less its location!"
"Beats me," said the fat samurai with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now if you wouldn't mind, let's get going. All of this excitement isn't really my style."
"Of course," said Chi-Chi. "If this trouble on the Lookout is in any way responsible for what's going on, then it needs to be stopped as soon as possible."
Without another word, the two remaining defenders of Earth ignited their auras and rocketed through the smoke filled night sky. Since she didn't have to strain herself much to keep up with Yajirobe, the female warrior's gaze and mind were left to wander over the scene of complete desolation that lay beneath her.
From her vantage point high in the sky, Chi-Chi was able to survey the entirety of the metropolis and to her dismay it seemed as if the entire city was in the same state as the Capsule Corps headquarters: shambles. Smoke obscured the majority of the buildings from sight, but even the heavy smog couldn't prevent the woman's keen eyes from seeing the flames that seemed to be lighting the entire city. Even from her altitude, the fighter's sharpened hearing was able to catch the wailing of sirens and the blaring of broken alarms as complete and utter pandemonium consumed the streets of West City.
Streams of tears began to leak from the brunette's eyes as her fist clenched and she gnashed her teeth together. All of this chaos and destruction was her fault. She hadn't been vigilant enough, she hadn't taken her duty as Defender of Earth seriously and now innocent people were paying the price. It wasn't enough to just train and wait for a threat to come and start wreaking havoc, she should have been actively searching for any villains and preventing them from causing any damage at all. If only she had been more prepared, if only she hadn't been so lackadaisical, if only she had been stronger, wiser, then none of the people that were now suffering would have been put in danger.
"What's the matter?" Startled, Chi-Chi jerked her head up to find that her chubby companion was looking at her with a puzzled expression. Quickly blinking back the faucet of water works that were threatening to explode from her eyes, the woman brought her hand up to wipe her tears before answering the samurai's question.
"Oh it's nothing, Yajirobe. You don't have to worry about me, I appreciate your concern but it's not necessary I'll be…"
"It's obviously SOMETHING!" shouted Yajirobe, completely taking the brunette aback by his sudden outburst. "Look, if we're going to win this battle, then you're going to have to be at the top of your game! There's no one else but you to save the planet this time around!"
"But, it's my fault that all these people are in danger now," muttered Chi-Chi, with her chin seemingly glued to her chest now. "I should have been able to prevent all of this from happening."
"Yeah right, like you could have seen this coming," spat the samurai. "No one saw this coming, not even Korin and he's been around for hundreds of years! It's not like you can see the future or something, so why would anyone expect you to stop something from happening when there was no way you could! What would be your fault was if you beat yourself up so much about something that was out of your control and were beaten by the bad guys because of it. This is where all of your training and preparation comes in, to stop the baddie before he can cause even more damage! You can't do that while pouting so you better get your head screwed on right because if you don't Korin will force me to fight them!"
Chi-Chi was completely taken aback by the long-haired man's sudden outburst. Even more surprising was that everything that he was shouting at her was making sense to her. Of course she still felt somewhat guilty about allowing all of these innocent people to be caught up in all of this, but he was right that there was no reason to let that fact stop her from stopping this crisis. If anything, she should be channeling her anger to fuel her power to defeat whoever was behind this.
"You're right," admitted the female warrior as she let her gaze return to staring at the wasteland below her. "Worrying about past events that can't be changed won't help solve anything. It's time to focus on the present and how to stop this from getting worse. Thanks Yajirobe, that was really helpful."
"Eh, don't mention it," said the samurai as he turned his head away from his companion. "The only reason I said something was because if you weren't going to be ready to fight, then Korin would have made me do something and I'm not really the hero type so to speak."
"Of course," responded Chi-Chi with a small smile. It was pretty apparent that the brusque man didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he had been trying to comfort her, so the brunette decided to let it slide. "I see you've finally mastered the ability of flight, when did you manage that?"
"After that stupid Saiyan kicked me down that giant hole and I had to climb back up," answered Yajirobe with a snort. "I remembered how you guys had tried to force me to learn it back when we were training with Kami so I just followed through with the advice they gave me and now I can fly. It really wasn't all that hard and now I don't have to spend money on my hovercar anymore. All of that extra money can go into my food budget!
A small sigh escaped from the brunette's lips as her hand moved to cover her face. Why was it that nearly every man that she knew was completely obsessed with eating? It must be because she was blessed with such exquisite culinary skills that she was constantly surrounded by men wanting to eat her delicious meals. That was the primary reason that she was so good at cooking now, the hundred hours of experience or more that she had gained simply trying to feed her husband's enormous appetite.
Another sigh came from the brunette as her flight had taken her so far across the world that the night was now behind her and she was entering into daybreak. Chi-Chi couldn't help feel some small sadness at the absence of her beloved Goku as the thought of him crossed her mind. While the man could be infuriating at times with his naiveté, she still loved him deeply it was always painful when they were apart. So far, she had mostly been able to keep her mind off of him and their son by constantly training, doing anything but allowing herself time to think about how both her husband and child were in a perilous battle for their lives at the moment.
Chi-Chi's mouth slowly twitched into a snarl as she thought about the fact that her family was trapped on an alien planet and there was nothing to be done to help them. No matter how much she wished that there was some way for her to help, there simply was not a thing that she could do to assist them. That fact alone was more painful than any blow she had received in a fight or any insult ever hurled at her. Helplessness was the one feeling that the fiery woman absolutely hated, and yet it was the feeling that seemed to consume her the most these days.
However, now was the time where she wouldn't be helpless. She wouldn't have to stand back and simply wait to see how the battle went down any longer. This time, it was going to be her on the frontlines battling for the sake of Earth. It was in her hands to protect everyone from this unknown threat, and Chi-Chi was grateful for the opportunity to finally be able to step up to the plate and take control of her own fate.
"Finally, I thought we would never get here," whined Yajirobe, causing the black-haired woman to lift her head up to look towards the horizon. In the middle of a dense forest, stood a lone tower of white stone that rose up through the clouds and seemed to extend endlessly into the heavens. Chi-Chi had almost forgotten how magnificent a sight Korin's Tower truly was, though the majestic image was tainted by the fact that the tower also signaled that it was almost time for her battle to begin. Now, it was finally time to put all of her training to the test and see if she was up to the challenge of being Earth's protector.
The unlikely duo quickly made their way up to the top of the palace, rocketing through the thick cloud layer at near supersonic speeds. After only a few seconds, the domed top of the tower came into view and Chi-Chi could see Yajirobe beginning to slow down as he prepared to land inside. The female fighter didn't follow suit, however, so while the overweight samurai was landing inside of Korin's Tower;, Chi-Chi continued to fly straight up past the top of the tower and through yet another barrier of clouds.
There was no reason to stop at Korin's Tower, at least not in Chi-Chi's mind. Korin hadn't actually sent Yajirobe to bring her to him; he had called her to investigate what was going on at Kami's Lookout. That's why she had come, to stop whatever evil force had forced its way on to the Lookout and was now causing all of the suffering that the citizens of Earth were undergoing now. Stopping to see Korin would simply be a waste of time, time that could be used fighting this threat. So she decided to skip the formalities and go straight to the objective: Kami's Lookout.
After bursting through the final layer of clouds, the female fighter was finally so high in the atmosphere that not even clouds made residence here. The only thing that now remained hovering in the sky was the giant stone fortress where the Guardian of Earth lived. Without missing a beat, Chi-Chi blasted through the remaining stretch of blue to arrive at the edge of the Lookout in mere seconds.
As her feet touched down on the cool, marble floor of the floating palace, Chi-Chi couldn't help but let out an audible gasp of surprise. The usually beautiful Lookout had been completely demolished, with the well-kept garden's plants having been uprooted and scattered carelessly amongst the rest of the rubble of ruined marble and stone.
"Ah, it looks like the cavalry has finally arrived!" announced a shrill voice before erupting into a fit of laughter as Chi-Chi gaped in horror at the carnage before her.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
Uneasiness sat on Piccolo's mind as he attempted to meditate behind the singular tree that was planted on King Kai's tiny planet, and not for the normal reasons that usually interrupted his concentration. No, this time the matters weighing on the former Demon King's mind were much graver than the minor annoyances the human warriors presented him with. Indeed, Gohan's safety was a much more troublesome issue than any pestering that his peers had ever done to him.
Thanks to King Kai's telepathic powers, the group that had taken up residence alongside the ancient martial arts master had been able to follow every event that had transpired on Planet Namek in the past week. Before today, nothing really alarming had occurred that had really worried either Piccolo or the other fighters, though King Kai always remained apprehensive of Tien and Goku challenging the might of the Planet Trade Organization. In fact, before the battles that had arisen today, it had appeared as if their fellow Z Fighters would be able to effortlessly defeat this Frieza and his lackeys.
All of that had changed, though, when the three eyed human along with the arrogant Saiyan had been confronted by an elite-albeit moronic-group of Frieza's soldiers. The Saiyan had rightfully been put in his place in battle with one of these mercenaries and even though the triclops had managed to defeat the weaker members of the squad with relative ease, he had been no match for their leader. In the end, even the combined efforts of both Goku and Tien had been unable to defeat this powerful opponent and it was only thanks to the timely arrival of one of the Namekians that they had survived at all.
After that, Piccolo's interpretation of the events had become a little… befuddled. Not willing to show his actual concern for his former rivals, the Namekian had simply been using his powerful sense of hearing to eavesdrop on the conversations the others were having with King Kai about the events that were going on, all the while pretending to meditate on the other side of the planet. He couldn't be showing such weak attributes as emotions after all.
Regardless, the way that the group of humans and the Kai had described the next course of events was… bizarre to put it lightly. There had been talk of someone with the ability to switch bodies-Piccolo eventually deduced that this was the Captain of the mercenary squadron-and him at various points having control of both Goku and the Saiyan's bodies. In the end, that wild-haired buffoon had managed to finally defeat this adversary and his accomplice.
The big take-away that Piccolo found in this exchange, though, was that Gohan had been forced to step in and fight. A small smile had been pried onto the Namekian's usually callous face as he heard about his student's fearlessness in battle in order to help his father. It seemed the boy had heeded his teachings after all and with time, Piccolo was sure that the kid would someday surpass all of them in strength.
Now, it seemed that the idiot Son had flown off to challenge that galactic overlord that King Kai was so frightened of while Gohan and a small Namekian boy searched for the Dragon Balls in order to revive them all. Unfortunately, it seemed that they had hit some sort of snag since it had been nearly half an hour now since the kid had started his search and still he had come up empty.
"Oh no, he must have left the Dragon Radar with Bulma!" exclaimed the scar-faced one. "It could take him hours to find them now!"
"Calm down, I'm sure that he'll be able to find them soon," reassured the young, dark-skinned man. "There can't be too many places to hide them on that ship after all."
"You must not remember hunting down the Dragon Balls then, Upa," claimed the former bandit in rebuttal. "It took forever with the Dragon Radar! Just imagine how long it would take without it!"
"Well, they are all in one place, Yamcha," commented the high-pitched voice of the short, pale-faced one. "That should make it easier than when we had to travel across the entire Earth."
"Even so, that ship is absolutely gigantic! They could be anywhere in that place…"
With a growl, Piccolo attempted to shut out the man's pessimistic moaning. There was no reason to listen to their bickering any longer if they weren't going to give him any useful information about Gohan's status. As long as he was safe, the Namek couldn't care less how long it took the kid to find the Dragon Balls. Besides, he had complete confidence in the kid's abilities. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the boy would pull through for them here.
The kid was truly amazing. Already, at his extremely young age, he was one of the most powerful fighters in the universe along with being immensely intelligent-already he had surpassed his father in that department. It seemed that on Namek, he had also been able to surpass his innate fear of fighting, putting aside his own doubts so that he could assist the others in their quest to find the Dragon Balls.
It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling for the former Demon King, being reliant on someone else to help him. Never before had he ever asked or wanted someone's assistance in any endeavor. Even when he teamed up with Son and the three-eyed one, he had done so out of a need, knowing that if they were defeated, the planet he was born to conquer would be annihilated. Piccolo had always relied on his own strength, his own power, to accomplish his goals and if anyone even tried to help him, they would be sent running from his glare alone.
Now, however, Piccolo felt several new emotions as he observed his student's arduous quest to revive his master. Pride, pride in the fact that the kid had fully matured into a true warrior, not willing to allow anything to stand in the way of his goals. Thankfulness, thankfulness for the fact that for whatever reason, this kid considered him a… a friend and because of that he was risking his own life so that he could see his master again. Lastly, Piccolo now experienced the sensation of faith. There was no doubt in the Namekian's mind that Gohan would accomplish his mission, and revive all of his fallen friends, of which he was lucky enough to count himself amongst.
As if the universe had decided to reward the green-skinned warrior's faith at that exact moment, Piccolo's ears picked up the jubilant exclamations of the bald monk.
"Hey look guys! Gohan's found them! He's done it!"
The ecstatic cheers of the humans threatened to burst Piccolo's eardrums, and a small growl of annoyance pursed his lips as he cracked one eye open to glare at the group. However, even the stoic warrior couldn't completely contain his satisfaction with his student's achievement. After the snarl on his face receded, a small smile graced the former Demon's face.
"Uh-oh, it looks like we've hit a snag!" exclaimed the raspy voice of King Kai, causing Piccolo to open both his eyes and look over at the group of anxious warriors. "It seems that the Namekian Dragon Balls can only bring back one person per wish, which means that Tien's former plan of how to use the wishes is completely shot!"
"Oh no!" exclaimed the former bandit in dismay. "Hey wait a minute, King Kai. How come you didn't know this beforehand? Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent?"
Ignoring the bickering, Piccolo slowly stood up from his position beneath the tree before making his way to the group of huddled men. At first, none of them noticed his approach, but as the former Demon King made his way closer to them, each one fell into a hushed silence. No one spoke as the Namekian's bristling cloak brushed past them before the looming warrior was standing directly in front of the blue Kai.
"Let me speak to Gohan," he commanded after a few seconds of uneasy silence. "Immediately."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Violent tremors seemed to shake the very foundations of the planet as the sonic booms from the battle between two titanic powers continued to rage. Visible rings of transparent force could be seen racing through the air as the two warrior's' fists collided with one another in a fierce exchange of blows. Their fight had now moved to a murky, green basin of water and the duo left large waves in their wake as they battled at super-sonic speeds and their limbs appeared as mere blurs as each tried to connect a blow with the other.
Finally, the entanglement was separated as both Goku and Frieza finally managed to land a hit on the other. Both combatants' heads were snapped back as their opponent's fist buried itself deep into the other's jaw. Time seemed to slow down as both the Saiyan and Arcosian's gaze were forced away from each other, and yet it seemed as if they stared into each other's eyes for an eternity. The wild haired fighter could feel his skin crawl at the waves of hatred and animosity radiating from the Frost Demon's eyes, while the sadistic tyrant could feel himself growing sick to his stomach looking into the fiercely determined, yet overjoyed eyes of his opponent.
As time finally went back to its correct pacing, both fighters were sent flying back from the impact of the devastating right hooks they had received. Goku was sent rocketing through the lagoon, ten foot high waves trailing him because of the velocity of his flight. Finally, with a mighty shout, the orange-clad fighter managed to perform a backflip into the air and regain his balance. The man's chest heaved heavily as he attempted to catch his breath while Frieza managed to skid to a halt several hundred meters away, plumes of water cascading around him from the suddenness of his stop.
"You're beginning to get on my nerves," growled Frieza as he raised a hand to wipe away a trickle of purple blood from his mouth. "Fighting you is like getting a new jester. It's amusing for about five minutes before I grow weary of him and blast him into oblivion, and a similar fate awaits you my friend. Very soon, you will regret ever dreaming that you could hope to challenge my awe-inspiring power!"
"You talk an awful lot don't you?" remarked Goku as he placed one hand behind his head while looking down at the tyrant with a slightly puzzled expression. "It seems that all we do half the time is talk, why can't we just fight?"
A sneer formed across the lizard's powerful jaw and his eye began to twitch in anger as he snarled, "Why you… impudent, little punk! How dare you mock me!? You will pay for your insolence you maggot, you will rue the day that you ever crossed the mighty Lord Frieza!"
Thrusting his arms to the side, the Arcosian unleashed a tremendous bellow as an aura that was the color of blood shrouded his gigantic body. Goku's eyes widened as he sensed his enemy's energy beginning to rise while a devious smirk spread across the fiend's face.
"Watch closely, fool," Frieza snidely commented. "Since this will be the one of the last images you'll ever see."
Goku was stunned into silence as he watched the tyrant utter a grunt of pain as two large, white spikes suddenly protruded from the changeling's bent over back. Almost simultaneously, the purple armor-like bone that seemed to be Frieza's shoulder caps extended outward so that they were no longer covering the alien's shoulder, but extending over them after growing almost a foot in length. They now appeared similar to the shoulder guards that appeared on the Saiyan armor he had witnessed Vegeta and Nappa wearing back on Earth and Goku was shocked by this sudden transformation.
"So this is how you managed to increase your power so much last time," muttered the Saiyan from Earth aloud as he continued to stare at the blood-like aura that surrounded the demon as he continued his grotesque transformation. Even though Frieza had now straightened his back, Goku noticed that there was still an unnatural curve to his body that seemed to be another new feature to this "new form" of the alien overlord's.
After a few seconds of simply trembling as he allowed the new reservoir of power that he had tapped into to flow through his body, Frieza lifted his head to the sky and emitted a boisterous howl. As the vibrations of this shout continued to echo over the blue grasslands, Goku watched on with horror as his opponent's face actually began to elongate in both directions. Even the fearless warrior was forced to take a step back from the writhing form of Frieza as the butcher's skull stretched to nearly three feet in length. The black horns that had resided on the fiend's temples had now moved up along with the rest of the creature's skull, though they had now been encased in a coating of the white, bone-like substance that covered the rest of Frieza's body and another, smaller pair of horns now rested where the old pair once were. All in all, the pure-hearted warrior had never witnessed a more terrifying sight than the monster that was now hovering only a few hundred feet beneath him.
"So, what do you think of my newest form?" asked Frieza. The low, baritone of his earlier voice had vanished, now being replaced by a hissing, raspy one that reminded Goku of a snake. "Stunned into silence I see. Not surprising, after all… no one that's seen this form has ever lived to tell about it."
"His power… it's incredible," remarked Goku, breathlessly as he sensed the dark, evil ki that now seemed to be smothering him. "It's jumped up to a completely different level than my own!"
"Now fool," addressed the slithery voice of the Frost Demon as he crouched, preparing his newly formed body to pounce on his prey. "What do you say we go ahead and begin Round 2 of our little fight?"
Before Goku even had the chance to part his lips to reply, his mouth was forcibly opened because of a powerful kick to the gut from the changeling. Blood spewed forth from the fighter's gaping mouth as Frieza dug his gigantic foot deeper inside of the Saiyan's gut until gravity would no longer be denied and Goku was sent flying backwards. The wild haired warrior was sent crashing through one mountain, then another, until finally nose-diving into the ground while hundreds of tons of rubble cascaded around him.
After finally skidding to a halt, the orange clad fighter attempted to catch his breath from his opponent's last assault. Lifting his head slightly, Goku could see that the surrounding landscape was still trembling from the seismic waves created by the destruction of the two mountains and that his body had carved out a trench several feet wide while being too long to measure.
'Wow, he's gotten so fast!' thought Goku as his lungs worked overtime in attempt to bring oxygen to his muscles. 'I couldn't even follow that last attack!'
The Saiyan from Earth was pulled out of his self-reflection and forced into action as a loud shriek suddenly filled the air. As he cast his gaze upward, Goku's eyes widened in surprise as the descending form of a howling Frieza was fast approaching him! Forcing his body into gear, the wild haired man lifted himself up so that he was standing on his hands before launching himself into the sky. Thanks to his quick reflexes, the former Turtle school student managed to avoid the destructive pounce of his foe, who created a gigantic crater upon landing in the exact spot Goku had lain moments before.
"You didn't really think you could get away from me that easily did you?" hissed a cold, slithery voice from behind Goku, causing the man's eyes to widen in terror. Slowly turning his head, the fighter was able to catch a glance of the demonic looking creature before being slammed to the ground by a mighty, two-handed blow to the skull. With a short outcry of pain, the pure-hearted warrior was sent rocketing into the terrain below, creating a large mushroom cloud of debris upon impact.
His body surrounded by a nebula of dust particles, Son Goku struggled to force himself up at the bottom of the massive crater his fall had just created. Every muscle in the man's body screamed out in agony as he tried to force them into obedience, pouring every ounce of willpower he possessed just into the effort to stand. Finally, the pure-hearted warrior was able to stand upright as the dust finally settled around him, allowing for the surrounding landscape to be revealed to him once more. Though, it was somewhat difficult for him to see through the stream of red liquid that was now trickling down over his vision.
"It seems that you're simply too slow to effectively fight against me now, doesn't it?" After lifting his hand to wipe away the stream of blood that obscured his vision, Goku slowly moved his head slightly to look up at his mocker. Frieza, who was standing casually atop a lone pillar of rock that remained in the mammoth-sized hole, stood with a triumphant grin on his face and his arms crossed confidently across his chest. "While you were a surprisingly adept opponent, you're finished now that I've transformed. I commend you on pushing me this far, you're the first warrior in over a decade to force me into my third form, but now this is the end. Why don't you just die quietly with some dignity instead of forcing me to prolong your suffering?"
Even though he was panting heavily, unable to straighten his back or prevent his arms from hanging limply in front of him, Goku still managed enough strength to give back a defiant stare to the Arcosian overlord. "I'll… I'll never let you win," he declared, gasping desperately for air all the while. "I could never… live with myself... if I allowed you… to WIN!"
With a might battle cry, the pure hearted warrior launched himself towards his foe, cocking back his fist as he poured all of his remaining strength into this last assault. Goku knew that if he couldn't find some way to win, some way to defeat Frieza, that his son and Dende wouldn't have enough time to summon the Eternal Dragon and revive their friends. The sky hadn't darkened yet, meaning that the young duo had yet to retrieve all seven Dragon Balls, which also meant that they were counting on him to hold off Frieza just a bit longer.
Not to mention, that if Frieza wasn't beaten, then he would be allowed to continue his reign of terror across the galaxy. The Saiyan from Earth could only imagine how many innocent lives would be placed in danger if this fiend wasn't defeated now, and Goku knew he couldn't allow that. He had never been able to sit idly by while others suffered, and he wasn't about to start now. One way or another, Goku knew that Frieza had to be beaten, to protect the lives of all the victims that had suffered by the Frost Demon's hands. It was time for this monster to receive justice!
Goku's fist rocketed forward like a missile as he released another fierce shout of determination and began to rain down a ferocious flurry of blows upon the sadistic tyrant. The man's limbs became mere blurs as his onslaught poured forth like a typhoon, but unfortunately for him, his opponent was prepared for his attack. Seemingly effortlessly, the grotesque alien overlord was able to evade each of Goku's lightning fast strikes without even moving from the small platform he stood upon. Not even Frieza's confident smirk faltered in the slightest as he weathered the pure hearted warrior's offensive with lightning fast movements of his own.
Realizing that he would never be able to hit the gigantic devil as long as he maintained his footing, Goku quickly ducked and attempted to sweep Frieza's legs out from under him. The wild haired fighter's arm whistled through the air as it slashed out at the demon's limbs, but Frieza managed to anticipate the strike and leapt over Goku's outstretched appendage. Seeing an opening, the Saiyan from Earth quickly performed a front flip that propelled him high into the air above his adversary before extending out his right leg in preparation for a devastating drop kick. Goku let loose a fierce battle cry as he brought down his foot, but his eyes widened in horror as his foot passed straight through an afterimage before crashing down onto the rocky surface, shattering the pillar into a million pieces.
"I must admit, you almost had me there," taunted Frieza from several dozen meters above the wild haired fighter. "If only you weren't so slow, that blow could have actually done some serious damage." The fiend burst into a fit of laughter that Goku could only compare to the cackle of a hyena as the lizard like alien reveled in the man's failure.
"Don't count me out… just yet!" yelled Goku as he shot towards the maniacal tyrant before unleashing a volley of flying kicks aimed at the alien's head. While the ferocity of the orange clad man's attack was enough to cause Frieza to give ground, it still wasn't enough to overwhelm the fiend's defenses and land a hit. The two combatants appeared as mere blurs as Goku gave every last ounce of energy his body possessed into his barrage of attacks while the Frost Demon simply evaded every single strike.
After attempting to land a mighty roundhouse kick with enough power to decapitate his opponent, which was nonchalantly dodged by Frieza with a simple back step that allowed the kick to pass by harmlessly, Goku decided to switch up his attack by unleashing a barrage of punches on his enemy. No matter how hard he tried, or how much of his willpower he poured into every strike, the pure hearted warrior was unable to land a single hit on the sadistic lizard.
"Enough of this foolishness," hissed Frieza before casually snatching one of the wild haired warrior's fists mid-punch. Goku's eyes widened in surprise as he felt a sudden chill sweep over his whole body as the monstrous hand of the tyrant's encased his own, the being's fingertips having reached nearly halfway up Goku's forearm causing the fighter's hand to completely vanish from his sight. A feeling of dread began to overwhelm the Saiyan from Earth, and he held back a whimper as Frieza dug his metallic black nails into the man's skin, causing blood to ooze out from the puncture wounds.
"I've grown weary of toying with you," remarked the Arcosian as he stared callously into the face of his exhausted opponent. "Look at yourself, you barely have the strength to stand and yet you somehow believe that you can defeat me! Preposterous! It is foolhardy to believe that a worthless maggot like yourself could ever defeat me! Your ignorance actually reminds me of this idiotic Saiyan…"
Goku noticed the demon's eyes widen in surprise as he gave the wild haired fighter another looking over before bursting into another round of laughter. "Oh my, this is too rich!" Frieza exclaimed as he continued to laugh manically at the man he had dangling in his grasp. "So THAT'S how I recognize your face, my, my, fate has a twisted sense of humor I suppose."
"What are you talking about?" asked a puzzled Goku as he gnashed his teeth together in a futile attempt to hide the pain he was in.
"Haha, don't tell me you don't know!" shouted the Frost Demon. "A Saiyan warrior, who you just happen to be the spitting image of, also foolishly challenged me in the name of protecting his people from my wrath. He, like you, failed miserably in his attempt to stop me. With minimal effort, I was able to eradicate him and the rest of those pathetic monkeys in one fell swoop! Since you appear almost identical to that Saiyan scum, I can only assume that you must be one of his descendants, making you one of those filthy monkeys as well."
A malevolent smirk appeared across Frieza's elongated face as he saw his opponent's downcast face upon the news of his father's death. "So, how does it feel, knowing that you stand before the man that killed your father and obliterated your entire race into nothingness? Do you feel a sudden rage filling your entire being, swearing to yourself that you shall avenge your slain fellow primates? Or is that you feel a sense of overwhelming despair as you realize that if your sire and the rest of your pitiful race couldn't stand against me, than how could you ever hope to? Tell me monkey, how does it feel to know that you're about to join your father on the long list of failures who thought they could ever dream of beating me!?"
Silence hung over the duo as Frieza snickered to himself while he waited for his opponent to answer him. It was amusing to the sadistic tyrant to think how utterly crushed this Saiyan was upon hearing the fate of his father and home world. He could only imagine how devastated Vegeta would be if the Arcosian were to ever have the pleasure of taunting him with these facts. As a gust of wind blew over them, Frieza waited in anticipation for the wild haired man to lift his face so that he could see the anger and despair that his opponent now was feeling.
However, when Goku did finally lift his head to stare into the eyes of the monster, there was no despair or terror in the man's eyes. No, to Frieza's shock, the only emotion that could be seen on the Saiyan's face was the smallest trace of annoyance as he began to speak.
"Why does everyone assume that I should be so concerned with the Saiyans?" Goku questioned. "Everyone is always thinking that I care so much about the Saiyan race and their pride, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not even a Saiyan. That man you're talking about, he wasn't my real father, and Planet Vegeta isn't my home world. My father was Son Gohan, a human, and my home is the Planet Earth. It takes more than blood to make you kin; it takes being there and having a real bond with one another! That's what my family on Earth gives me, not some long dead Saiyan who sent his son off to destroy another world without a second thought! I'm actually more upset about the countless other innocent people, like the people here on Namek, that you've murdered for your own selfish gain than the Saiyans. I am Son Goku and am not a Saiyan, but an Earthling!"
"Is that so?" commented Frieza coolly before viciously pressing forward on his opponent's trapped hand, effortlessly snapping the man's wrist. As a scream of pain tore from the throat of Son Goku, the sadistic Arcosian released his vice grip on the man's hand before spinning around and smashing his massive tail into the warrior's torso. The sickening crack of the Goku's ribs breaking could be heard as the force of the blow sent the pure hearted fighter flying through the air.
Another cry of pain ripped from the man's lips as he found himself slammed into the side of a massive mountain, his body becoming lodged in the face of the rock. Upon impact, a man-sized crater nearly three feet deep into the rock was formed along with cracks and crevices being created almost instantaneously on the rest of the boulder. Miraculously, the mountain remained intact even though it looked like it had been shattered into hundreds of pieces from the force of Goku's fall.
The former Turtle school student didn't even possess the strength to move his head as the grotesque form of Frieza descended to become level with the defeated warrior. Along with his shattered wrist, Goku could feel that nearly all of his ribs had been broken from the blow from the lizard's tail, and it seemed as if one had punctured a lung. With every haggard breath he took, Goku was racked by an intense wave of agony from bone digging deeper and deeper into his organ.
"To be honest, I don't care what you call yourself," remarked Frieza as he looked on with apathy at the battered and broken fighter before him. "Saiyan or Earthling, it matters little in the end. All that matters is that like every other imbecile that dared to challenge my might, you're going to die a miserable death deserving of a wretch like yourself."
As the sadistic tyrant took a pause in his soliloquy, a tiny purple sphere of ki blinked to life at the tip of Frieza's raised index finger. Casting his eyes upward, Goku realized that this was the end. He no longer had the strength to dodge the attack and the energy stored inside of that tiny orb of ki had more than enough power to destroy him. The pure hearted warrior was only praying that he had bought enough time for Gohan and Dende to find the Dragon Balls.
"This is the end," declared the Frost Demon with a hiss. "Now you will pay for your insolence, in daring to believe that your power could challenge mine!"
With a shriek of rage, Frieza prepared to fire his death beam and finish off the Saiyan from Earth once and for all. However, just as he prepared to fire his attack, a gleam of bright, yellow light suddenly appeared in the fiend's peripheral vision. Turning his head to investigate the source of the light, Frieza couldn't stop his eyes from widening in horror as his entire body was suddenly overtaken by a huge wave of golden energy before the entire surrounding terrain and sky was consumed by the blast, bathing the entire landscape in a golden light.
Goku too was stunned by this sudden eruption of ki, so shocked in fact that he was willing bear the agony of lifting his head to see who the source of the explosion was. Standing only feet before him, was the silhouette of a tall man with a green sash strapped across his torso which was billowing chaotically from the gale force winds of the blast. As the golden light of the detonation of ki finally began to die out, Son Goku's savior finally turned his three-eyed gaze onto his friend.
"Hey there, Goku," said Tien casually, his voice totally devoid of any emotion. "Mind if I crash this little party of yours?"
Well there you have it, the 34th installment of the Earthling Chornicles! First off, sorry for taking so long with the update, but having a summer job for the first time in my life really ate up my free time! Good news is that I have completely finished writing the Namek Arc for the story and I will be able to update the story weekly, every Sunday for a good while now since I'm so ahead. So that's my compensation for keeping you guys waiting so long.
Anyways, I guess it's on to power levels, the only one that's different in this chapter is Frieza in his third form. And here it is!
3rd Form Frieza: 1,590,000
It was really a pleasure to get back to writing this story, and I really hope that you guys continue to show me support. You guys are the best readers I could ever ask for after all! If you have anything at all to say about this chapter, or the whole story in general, please leave your thoughts in a review! See you next week!