Dragon Ball Z: Gohan's Hidden Depths Of Power - Chapter 3.
Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback. As for Gohan, he will mostly be observing the fight like he did in the original, learning from Piccolo and his father. He will definitely be making an entrance into the fight for a while, though, but for the most part it's the same. I will try to keep the iconic lines to a minimum. :P
Frieza's second form is much more powerful than it was in the original as I am completely removing his third form. Goku is slightly weaker than him in this form with the Kaioken, but is stronger when he pushes it. As for power levels, like my other story, Super Saiyan will follow traditional multipliers but power levels won't play a huge part. Frieza will still be at the power level of 120,000,000 in his Final Form 100% power.
The main pairing is going to be Gh/18. I have really wanted to do a story with that pairing and this seems to be a good one for it. Hope it's not disliked, though.
Several years earlier... North City.
Sitting alone at a small table in a bar, accompanied by only a glass of Whiskey, was a balding, aged man with long white hair down the back; a bushy and large, white moustache and blue eyes. He was wearing a brown vest, held together by three buttons; a white, long-sleeved undershirt with thin bands around his arms just below his shoulders; he had black pants with a brown belt and a pair of black shoes.
The man liked this bar for the simple fact that it was rarely visited besides the odd traveller - Which gave him plenty of time to think - That in itself was changing as more people began visiting the bar. He was once a regular to the bar during the time when he was a military scientist, an expert in Cybernetics and Robotics, but that changed after the fall of his army and the death of his son, now he very rarely visits the place himself, all he has now is his creations. In fact, his favourite drink was now simply a method of fitting in and not looking out of place.
Devoting most of his time to being within his lab in the mountains, this was to be one of the very few times he would visit the place anymore, he still had his reasons for visiting the place, though - Gossip. Normally he wouldn't be able to stand such small talk from laymen, but he was desperate, for any sort of information. He had chastised himself from the insignificant, momentary pleasures of life by becoming somewhat of a Cyborg already, the machines drowning out any unnecessary emotion, and having been already so devoted this made him the perfect scientist - His intelligence enhanced - His focus was solely with two things; World domination and the death of his archenemy, Goku. He would not be tempted into losing that focus.
Across from him at another table, a couple of men - Perhaps in their forties - Were drinking beer and seemed rather intoxicated, slurring their words as they chatted away "Hey, Mitch, 'ya hear about the latest kidnapping?" Said one of the men, capturing the attention of him.
"Yeah. Seems more frequent lately. Who d'ya think it is doin' it?"
"Beats me. Scary shit, though, it seems no one is safe from whoever it is - Men and Women - Sick bastard."
Little did they know, the man that was responsible was right across from them, listening to every word - Not that he even cared for what they thought of him right now, they were going to be beneath his heel soon enough anyway. With the creation of his Ultimate Being there would be no-one to stand in his way - Perhaps even in the deep reaches of space - Of what he felt was his birth-right.
But therein lies his problem, he needed certain key components for his Ultimate Creation. His Ultimate Creation required growth and with growth came age. If this was to be his Ultimate Creation, he could not stand it having Mortality, so he devised a plan where he could bypass this using Evolutionary Stages - The final stage being completely devoid of cell degeneracy as with the component beings themselves. The people he had kidnapped all proved to be worthless as components, if only for the use of less-efficient, energy-absorbing models of his Cyborg creations. Whilst truly Immortal, they would not have the required cellular structure to withstand certain mechanical implants in order to assimilate this into his Ultimate Creation. Also, if they broke down upon absorption, the Evolution would fail and all would be for naught. They also had to give the Final Form unrivalled power, the energy-absorption models won't cut it.
Not only that, Cyborgs tend to be insubordinate because they can retain memories and emotions from their past lives unlike his Android creations. But this is the only way to create the ultimate Bio-Android.
It has to be... Perfect... He would settle for no less.
"That on top with those bratty teens with those weird "powers" they use. Some of the locals say one of them took a bullet and it did no damage." Mitch spoke.
"You mean tricks. Don't tell me you believe that crap. You'd think they'd have better things to do than stirring up trouble with the locals. They're brother and sister right? Where are their damned parents?"
"Fuck knows. The police won't do shit either. This city is going to the dumps." Mitch claimed.
Their prattling went on but now it became distant, the ex-Military Scientist was stuck within his own thoughts. Two teens with mysterious powers, this would perhaps be the break he was looking for. He took the last swig of his drink and left the bar to formulate a plan - If they proved to be how this man said they'd be, this would be the last time he'd ever need to come back here - He was glad for that.
North City... Freeway.
"Lapis, where are we going?" Came the droll voice of a girl the age of 14. She had blonde hair that she kept at shoulder length with the left side tucked behind her ear, and icy blue eyes. She was wearing a simple red, short-sleeved shirt, black jeans and brown shoes. The clothes certainly weren't her first option considering she loved fasion, but there wasn't much for her to wear at this point in time. Her brother had opted that they just go steal some more clothes but she had been against it, they'd already caused enough trouble as is. She still loved her brother, he was just dealing with the absence of their parents in his own way, he liked thinking of life as one big game. They had refused to be taken in by foster parents, deciding to do their own thing.
"Absolutely nowhere." Her younger, twin brother told her. He had black shoulder-length hair and the same icy blue eyes as his sister. He was wearing a blue, short-sleeved shirt with brown shorts that came down to his shins and black shoes. He was currently driving a Ute that he had 'borrowed' from a farmer, his sister in the passenger seat. And if you were thinking that he wouldn't even have a license yet, you were right he didn't, he was self-taught, starting nearly a year ago, after their mother passed away from chronic illness, driving had become one of his favourite hobbies.
"You're such a child..." His sister replied, to which he chuckled "...But seriously, Lapis, we need to park somewhere to sleep, it's getting dark."
"Fine, Lazuli... I guess I'm getting tired myself." Lapis agreed reluctantly before parking up under some foliage along one of the roads leading off the freeway. It had become a common occurrence for them to sleep in their vehicle as of late, having no place to call home. Lapis removed a couple of blankets from behind the seat and chucked one at his sister, hitting her in the face.
Too tired for a remark, she just scowled at her brother before pulling the lever under the seat, having it swing back so she could lie down and covered herself in the blanket, facing the door.
"Someone's grumpy..." Lapis said, chuckling.
"And someone's very annoying." She replied.
"I wonder who that could be..." He said in sarcasm.
"Just go to sleep." He decided not to tease her anymore and made his own "bed" to sleep. He understood why she was more grumpy than usual, this was the same day their father had up and left them two years ago for their "protection" he remembered him saying, "bullshit" was what he called it. Out of the two of them, his sister was the one that suffered the most from his disappearance - Daddy's little girl, he'd mused - Lapis hated his father for leaving and making her feel that way and also because it led to their mother falling ill and over time just gave up on living. All they needed was each-other anyway, only a handful of people in this world had the kind of powers that they possessed, they were safe from anyone that would try to harm them.
"Wow, Piccolo's much stronger since the last time I saw him!" Krillin exclaimed. Gohan was inclined to agree. Goku couldn't believe how powerful Piccolo had become to smack Frieza about like that, but now that he was closer he could sense something... Different about him.
Piccolo knew this was going to be a hard battle, even with his most recent power increase. But he had worked hard in his training on the Kai's planet, utilizing the increased gravity to it's fullest extent to where he couldn't even felt it, the planet he was on right now made him feel like feather-weight in comparison.
'I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about Piccolo that seems familiar...' Dende contemplated within his thoughts until it hit him 'It's Nail!'
Moments later, purple energy began shooting upwards from the crater that had been formed by Frieza's collision with the ground until his form presented itself, as if no damage had been taken, but to Frieza the attack had actually hurt quite a bit 'Strange... This Namekian seems much stronger than the others...'
"You're going to pay for all the Nameks you killed." Piccolo threatened with his face still as stoic as ever.
"Is that right?" Frieza chuckled. He charged at Piccolo full-speed, throwing a kick towards the Namekian which was blocked by a forearm, the force of the collision created a shockwave that caused the planet to tremble. Consecutive shockwaves followed as the two vied for dominance over one another.
Vegeta couldn't stand it, here he was forced onto the side-lines having to watch a low-class Saiyan and a Namekian fight his battle, Frieza was his to destroy. Getting annoyed he began to run through his thoughts on how he could fight against Frieza until an idea struck him. 'The Namekians... They have healers. Which means Green Bean here must know how to heal people.' Vegeta concluded as he spotted the Namekian child hiding behind a rock
"Alright you runts, one of you has to try and kill me!" Vegeta ordered.
"W-What? Why would we do that?!" Krillin and Gohan looked at Vegeta in shock.
"Because a Saiyan gets stronger every time he recovers from near-death! Green Bean here can heal people, right?!" Vegeta questioned.
Gohan met up with Dende who was hiding behind a rock in fear "Dende, can you heal people?"
"Er, y-yes, why?" Dende responded.
"We're going to need you to heal Vegeta after we bring him to near death." Gohan explained.
"W-what?!" Dende exclaimed.
The ground continued to shake as the fight drew on.
Gohan came back, He and Krillin looked at each other before sweat dropping "Krillin, you do it."
"What?! Why me?! You do it!" Krillin protested.
"You're the adult(?)" Gohan said with a jovial smile.
Krillin scrunched his face up at Gohan.
"Would you two hurry up?!" Vegeta shouted at the midgets.
Krillin reluctantly gave a nod "Fine, I'll do it! Here goes!"
Krillin fired a small blue ball of energy at Vegeta which was caught before dissipating, Vegeta grabbed Krillin by the collar before shouting at him "You Humans are soft! You've got to do better than that! NOW!"
"Damn it!" Krillin cursed as he began powering up an even stronger attack, a light blue beam shot out from his hand at Vegeta, piercing straight through him this time.
Vegeta fell backwards onto the ground, chuckling "Now... I'll finally do it... I'll become... A Super Saiyan." Blood began leaking out of the hole now through his centre as he lay on the grass.
"Dende! Come over here! We need you to heal Vegeta!" Krillin yelled.
Dende stepped out from behind the rock he was hiding behind "I-I can't..." Vegeta looked absolutely livid.
"What...? Why not?" Gohan replied in confusion.
"H-He... That's an evil man..."
"Dende! You have to! He might be our shot at beating Frieza if he gets healed!" Krillin exclaimed.
"I..." Dende muttered.
Piccolo and Goku were currently trading punches with the Space Tyrant, with both of them fighting it seemed that they had the advantage in numbers. Frieza looked to be taking bruises and cuts as the fighting continued, giving his opponents hope that they could beat him. Frieza didn't seem to even care that this was a fight he could possibly lose.
Piccolo and Goku both fired one of their signature attacks towards Frieza, a Kamehameha and Masenka-Ha respectfully, getting a dead on hit causing dust to flick up from the ground beneath them covering the fighters. Frieza came speeding through the dust cloud catching the Saiyan/Namekian duo by surprise and grabbing by the head, one in each hand before driving them into a plateau.
"It seems you two are quite unique, I've never met a Saiyan and a Namek quite as powerful as you two..." Frieza said as he began chuckling, the dust settling revealing himself to be mostly unscathed "But..." Frieza floated himself to the ground, a dark, sickly aura surrounding his form "You have yet to witness my ultimate form! Just so you know, any chance you had of winning has gone right out the window!"
"Another transformation?!" Goku stared in wonder.
"His power is increasing!" Piccolo informed him.
Frieza now had a red tint to his body, his eyes looked bloodshot as his aura continued to grow larger, the ground quaked beneath his feet as his power grew to mind-boggling levels.
Vegeta began crawling over to Dende "Heal me... Now." Blood oozing down the side of his chin as he barely clung onto life.
Gohan and Krillin noticed the increase of power coming from Frieza, they weren't sure if Goku and Piccolo could handle Frieza now.
"Come on, Dende... Please... You have to put the past behind you and heal Vegeta." Gohan pleaded with the Namekian child.
"O-Okay..." He agreed hesitantly, walking towards the now barely conscious Saiyan Prince, the Namekian child hovered his hands over Vegeta, an orange glow radiated over his form. Gohan and Krillin gazed in wonder as hole through Vegeta's chest began to close up. Moments later the hole had sealed up completely as Vegeta began to look much more conscious than he was before. Being content in his healing of the Saiyan Prince, Dende withdrew his hands to his side and stepped back quickly from Vegeta, obviously not fast enough as a fist lodged within stomach, making the small Namekian lurch over holding his stomach. Gohan seeing this rushed quickly to check up on his Namekian friend.
"About damn time, Green Bean," Vegeta cursed, standing upright and clenching his fists in front of him as he felt the new power course through his being. Vegeta began to chuckle with a madness in his eyes, now being engrossed in himself and his new powers, which caused Krillin to begin shuddering 'Oh, I could get used to this... Now I will finally have my revenge!' Vegeta gloated as he sped off into the battle, appearing in front of Goku and Piccolo "Stand aside, weaklings!"
"What...? Vegeta?" Goku looked at Vegeta, stunned.
"What are you doing, Vegeta? You're no match for him. And now that he's transforming, you don't stand a chance." Piccolo criticized.
"That's where you're wrong, Namek. Let him transform! I will be the one to finish him off!" Vegeta boasted.
Frieza's skin had now begun to crack like glass as if it could shatter at any moment. The clouds in the sky were swirling around above him from the sheer power he presented. High winds began beating at the Z-Warriors as Frieza's body shattered to reveal a much smaller and sleeker form. His entire body was white except for rounded, purple, gem-like areas; one on top of his head that stretched from his forehead to the back; one on each shoulder like pauldrons; thin ones on each leg that covered the length of his shins and another embedded on his solar-plexus.
"Hah! He doesn't look so tough now if you ask me." Vegeta proclaimed.
"Don't be foolish Vegeta! He just doubled his power!" Piccolo retorted.
"He'll need to increase his power a hundred times before he's even a challenge for a Super Saiyan. Once I've finished off Frieza, I'll be coming for the clown, Kakarot." Vegeta threw back before descending onto the ground in front of Frieza.
"Ah, Vegeta... You've finally managed to stop shivering in fear behind a rock." Frieza quipped.
"You should be the one shivering in fear once you've realised just what I've become, Frieza." Vegeta smirked.
"Oh? And what might that be? Has the monkey evolved into an ape? Forgive me if I don't rectify that fear."
"Laugh while you can, Frieza, because the day has finally arrived that I, Prince Vegeta, have become the Legendary Super Saiyan!" Vegeta Declared.
Frieza feigned shock for a moment "Oh my, still holding on to that childhood fantasy are you?" Frieza chuckled.
Vegeta grinned "I'm going to wipe the smirk off your face, Frieza!" Vegeta proclaimed as he got into a powering up stance, the ground shaking beneath his feet, yellow bioelectricity began sparking off his body as his power level sky rocketed. Everyone stared in shock as his power level catapulted.
"What's going on? Where did Vegeta get all of this power?" Goku stared in wonder.
Krillin and Gohan flew over to where Piccolo and Goku were "Wow, I didn't think beating him up would give him this much of a boost!" Krillin said in shock.
"What do you mean?" Goku questioned, Piccolo also began listening in.
"Vegeta said that a Saiyan gets stronger every time they heal from a mortal wound. He got me to blast a hole through him and then we had Dende heal him, giving him his new power!" Krillin raised his voice over all the noise.
Vegeta finished his power up with an almighty yell sending a shockwave through the area. Gohan was amazed at how powerful Vegeta became simply after being near death and being healed. He himself had felt much stronger after being healed with a Sensu Bean when his dad arrived after the fight with the Ginyu Force, he must've been close to death without medical treatment for his injuries.
"Well, you surprise me with your new powers, Vegeta." Frieza smirked.
"I'm just getting warmed up! There's plenty more where that came from!" Vegeta gloated.
"I feel sorry for you..." Frieza declared without an ounce of emotion, making Vegeta growl "Because now you have to back those words up. I always knew you'd turn against me, Vegeta, I just never knew when. Always holding on to such fairy tales as becoming a Super Saiyan."
"Shut your mouth! I am a Super Saiyan! No longer will I be at your mercy!" Vegeta shook his fist in rage and charged at Frieza, throwing a punch, only to miss his target as Frieza dodged to the right gaining distance "Stop running you coward!" Vegeta accused as he sped off to trail after the Space Tyrant, throwing punches and kicks that Frieza dodged with apparent ease. Frieza flew back from Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince in hot pursuit of his foe. Putting all of his energy into his hand, Vegeta struck out at Frieza's neck, only for Frieza to phase out, leaving the Saiyan Prince to scan the area for him. It took him some time to finally spot Frieza, the Space Tyrant casually standing on the ground with his arms folded, his tail having a slight wag to it. Vegeta became paralyzed, floating in the air in utter shock.
"This... Looks bad..." Goku warned "Vegeta's the strongest of us at the moment and yet he can't even lay a finger on him." Goku clenched his fists.
"W-What are we going to do dad?" Gohan asked his father for guidance.
"I don't know, son..."
Frieza began chuckling "Super Saiyan Vegeta... What utter nonsense." Frieza quipped.
'No... It can't be... If I'm not a Super Saiyan, then I'm pretty much... Dead.' Vegeta realized his folly. "No! You're wrong, Frieza!" Vegeta shouted, his aura bursting from his body as he steeled his resolve "I am a Super Saiyan!" Vegeta threw his arms forward and began firing yellow beams of energy from his hands at Frieza, the Space Tyrant dodging them as soon as it looked like they were about to hit him.
"Vegeta's losing it, Frieza's got to him." Goku concluded. Gohan made sure to be ready for anything, he'd make sure he won't repeat the same mistakes he did with his fight back on Earth, he'll be strong this time.
Vegeta continued his barrage on Frieza, not letting up for a moment, that is until the icy tyrant appeared in front of him catching him off guard with a smirk on his face. Frieza waggled his tail in front of Vegeta in order to try and taunt him "Damn you!" Vegeta cursed as he ascended into the sky "I'll show you power!" Vegeta brought his hands to the side of him "Galick Gun!" A large purple aura burst from Vegeta's body as he began to charge up his most powerful attack, draining a large portion of his energy into it.
"Ah the Galick Gun, how quaint." Frieza mused.
"That's way too much power!" Krillin fretted.
"FIRE!" Vegeta brought his hands forward, releasing a massive beam from them the colour of purple. The huge beam of energy felt as if it would engulf everything in sight as it sped straight for Frieza. Frieza grinned as he sped towards the blast itself before landing a kick to it and flicking back towards the Saiyan Prince "What...?!" Was all Vegeta got out before he had to dodge the blast, his attack being successfully deflected into space causing the ground to shake as it exploded harmlessly. Vegeta had spent most of his energy on that attack and now just floated there gripped with fear, he knew what was coming.
"I guess that was the cue for me to begin my attack, what do you say, Prince?" Frieza taunted as he began his ascent. Vegeta was racked with fear as he floated there helplessly, knowing exactly what was in store for him. The Prince of all Saiyans would meet his end on a backwater planet to the one who held him in chains his entire life.