A/N:

Oh my. So close to the end. insanity.

Thanks everyone for helping me break over 800 reviews :) happyhappyhappy

Special thanks to those who reviewed chapter 19:

Cloud Envy Shikamaru, withloveagain, Many Voices In My Head (I'm pretty sure I don't know how to write a chapter without a cliffhanger...), joys, yourheartspeaksthetruth, BlueHairedSaiyan, Greendragonsheart, menga88, PerfectLover, Solitaire9, dyingdreamsv2, KayuraK (Haha!we'll see...), betty69blue (one of them will be before the other. who'll ascend first though, i'm not telling), Death101-Fox Version, SaytheSamurai (thanks :D), BlackDiamond07 (Sorry! I only thank the reviewers from the last chapter! otherwise it'd take me a while...and I promise it won't take 8 more chapters!), dbz-trunks-zbd, ZombieChick422, v-mangrl, elleelle, Girness, ScoobyDoobyDee, Trixie-chan, sorrellkaren (thanks so much for your wonderful reviews on all of my stories! they were all super nice! And I have considered a post-Majin buu fic...but I'm not sure if I could completely focus it on B/V. I'll brainstorm!), bimbosarahsurfchick (Radditz is sweet...I guess. Also, Vegeta doesn't know he's dead. he just knows that Raditz believes in him to defeat Frieza. I hope that got across...glad you had a fun time on your trip!), jdboss1, HawResf, omgOver9000, wishiwerebulmasobad, vegetas would be grl, and Katie Loom.

Thanks everyone!

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I still wasn't Akira Toriyama.

In a World of Darkness

It was hard to convince Piccolo that he didn't need to be carried anymore, but somehow Gohan managed. As much as he wanted to fly back towards his father and Uncle Vegeta, he knew that wouldn't be the best option. He wanted to live and he wanted his Uncle Raditz to live too, but there was no way that he could leave Namek with his father and his other friends still on it.

Frieza would hunt them down slowly, separating them and then meticulously killing them off, one by one. Sure, the half-Saiyan boy didn't know the emperor very well, but he knew he was ruthless. He knew that Frieza had no qualms about killing, and that the creature was currently determined to wipe out the Saiyan race and anyone connected to it.

"The ship isn't too much further." Piccolo wasn't flying too fast. Too much speed would yield a detectable ki, something they couldn't risk. Raditz's body was also a bulky thing to fly with.

Gohan took a glance at his dead uncle. Of course, he knew the Earth had its own set of wish granting orbs; the little boy used to wear one of them on his hat! He had become unstable at his uncle's death, rational thought obliterated from the need of wanting to fight. Gohan coughed, "Will Shenron be able to wish Raditz back?"

The Namekian gave a noncommittal shrug. "Perhaps. Shenron revives a person usually where there body is located."

"We could just do it here though...with our last wish, can't we?"

Piccolo seemed silent then, though Gohan didn't understand why. It wasn't such a preposterous, but the Namekian seemed reluctant to give any sort of response. Gohan decided to ask a different question instead, "So Uncle Raditz will live on Earth with us?"

Piccolo didn't answer this one right away. He slowed down even more and started to descend, the pointed Namekian spaceship showing clearly on the ground below. "I am not sure if a Saiyan would be comfortable with a life on Earth."

"But my dad's fine, Mr. Piccolo."

"That old turtle man said your dad experienced head trauma when he was a boy." Piccolo rolled his eyes. "It's a miracle I didn't figure that out before."

Gohan shrugged and let his tail loose through the air. "It's okay though. Uncle Raditz and Uncle Vegeta will like Earth, I know they will." But he didn't. They were both so volatile and so used to fighting. It'd be a big adjustment for sure, but it would be much better than the life they knew as Frieza's slaves. "I can't wait to see my mom again."

"You'll see her."

"Though she'll probably just make me study..." He couldn't help but smile a bit at that sentence. It was weird how easily priorities could change. He never thought there'd be a day when he'd miss his mom's constant nagging.

Gohan glanced at the spaceship currently in front of him. Though impressive, it still looked slightly primitive compared to Frieza's spaceships. It was white and purple and had an almost shell appearance. The spaceship, strangely, looked similar in architectural style to the Namekian villages he had seen.

Piccolo grunted. "What a waste."

"Huh?" That took the half-Saiyan aback. As far as technological advancement was concerned, the spaceship was a great step for Earthlings. Of course, Gohan didn't recommend actually exploring space too thoroughly. After his little adventure with the Saiyans, he doubted some kind of grand tour of space would turn out too well. "What do you mean, Mr. Piccolo?"

"To see you waste all of your potential over books. Your father won't be around to protect you or the Earth forever. You need more training." The Namekian snuffed a bit and walked forward. The green man stepped up further towards the ship. "Piccolo."

Gohan's eyes bugged out as the entrance to the ship slowly opened to reveal the interior. "How...how..." He shook his head, horribly confused. "How did you even know about this ship?"

"I watched everything from King Kai's planet, and this ship used to be Kami's." Piccolo retreated into another room where he dropped Radit'z body. He wiped the remainder of blood on his gi before turning back to Gohan. "We're connected, you know."

Gohan shook his head. "No, I don't. Kami is God, right?"

Piccolo made a disgusted noise at that statement. He walked through the dark ship, switching on lights and letting the boy follow him behind. "He's a guardian for Earth and creator of the Earth dragon balls, nothing more."

"Well, that's pretty impressive by itself." Gohan shrank back a bit hearing Piccolo's angry grumble. "...Why don't you like him? Was he mean to you?"

Piccolo shook his head, "We're actually the same person."

"Oh." Gohan didn't exactly understand that. His father used to tell him some stories from his childhood, but some of the details went beyond the full-blooded Saiyan himself. "Oh! Like you and Nail?"

"Almost. What Nail and the older Piccolo did was a different kind of fusion than the one between my father and Kami. We were once the same Namekian and managed to split. I do not think I can do that with Nail."

This was getting even more complicated than the Saiyan originally thought. "Wait, he was the same Namekian as your father? Then doesn't that technically make him your..."

"No." Piccolo was obviously getting frustrated. He briefly reminded Gohan of Vegeta for a second...if Vegeta were infinitely more patient. "Namekians reproduce much differently than humans or Saiyans."

Gohan nodded. "Oh alright. It still amazes me that humans and Saiyans are so genetically similar that they can actually produce living, functioning offspring."

He saw the slight surprise on Piccolo's face. "You're smart, Gohan."

"Th-thank you, Mr. Piccolo." The boy's smile widened.

"Seeing that I no longer have any plans to take over the world, I think my schedule will be pretty free when we get back to Earth."

He knew what the Namekian was saying, and Gohan jumped at the chance. "You're welcome to come to Mt. Paozu, Mr. Piccolo. I'm sure my dad would like a sparring partner like you. And maybe you could train me more, if you think I have such potential."

Piccolo crossed his arms and looked at the small boy. He didn't seem like much at all, but the boy had heart and courage if pushed in the right direction. "I think I'd like that."

What? How could a third class idiot cause that amount of damage?

He would have been angry at Goku if the man hadn't just saved his life. Vegeta wiped the remainder of blood staining the bottom portion of his nose and looked to the taller Saiyan. There was something different about his ki; his energy seemed almost tainted with emotion. "Kakarot, level your head. You'll never survive like this."

Goku didn't respond or even look over to the Saiyan prince. His incited gaze never left the fallen form of Frieza. "Don't bother getting up. You'll just be knocked down again."

A low rumble of laughter came from the fallen white and purple lizard. Frieza crawled back up to his feet, looking no worse than he did seconds ago. "My, my, my. The other idiot is back. At least now I won't have to chase you down before I kill you."

"I won't let that happen." Goku fell back into a fighting stance. "You're a murderer. Someone needs to bring you to justice."

"Whatever. I'm tired of you filthy monkeys getting in my way." Frieza grinned before punching Goku straight in the jaw. The Saiyan's head twisted to the left, the blow causing him to stumble back in pain. Freiza didn't let up. He sent another punch into Goku's stomach and then a swift kick into the Saiyan's knees. The black haired man kept backpedaling until Frieza grabbed him by the collar. "I know who you are. Stupid Saiyan monkeys thinking they can get the best of me. Me! I am the strongest being in the entire universe. And no pride or self-righteous duty can stop me. Fool."

Vegeta scrambled forward as Goku's body was tossed through the air, colliding with the Saiyan prince's. "Idiot." Vegeta maneuvered Goku's body back to a standing position. He snarled at the younger Saiyan and then turned back to the monster. "You don't stand a chance against him, Kakarot!"

"Huh...then neither do you."

The Saiyan prince hid his urge to knock Goku back to the ground. "Don't fucking talk to me that way! I will..."

"We don't have time to argue with each other, Vegeta." Goku nudged his chin upward. Frieza was simply hovering the ground above them, arms crossed, white fingers tapping restlessly. But the younger Saiyan's eyes left Frieza's for a moment to look back to Vegeta. He heavily started panting. "We're about the same in strength."

"Then why are you huffing and puffing like an..." Vegeta stopped suddenly at Goku's slight smile. The moron was not such a moron. He needed a way to talk to Vegeta, and he actually took the risk of getting beaten up by Frieza in the slight chance the alien would wait for him to get up and fight again.

Frieza himself seemed to answer the prince's guess. "You Saiyans tire out too easily. Catch your breath quickly. I still have some more fun planned."

The area remained silent around them except for Goku's staggered breath. Vegeta quickly edged up to the other Saiyan. "Kakarot, Bulma is still around here. We need to get her out of here."

"I need to talk to you, Vegeta."

"What the fuck do you think we're doing right now? You managed to trick Frieza for a second, but soon he'll be bored and want to kill us."

Goku shrugged, "Then let's not let him."

What is wrong with him?

It was rare that Vegeta didn't understand a fighter. Even Frieza he could read. He knew the monster had an insane ego, that he thrived off taunting and belittling his enemy until he eventually got bored. Nappa was a brute with no brain, and Raditz had a surprising amount of strength but too many emotions to keep his head clear. But Kakarot? He didn't know what the Saiyan was thinking. He seemed moronic and weak at first glance, but Vegeta was slowly coming to realize that Goku had a set of tactics all of his own. And that they were brilliant.

"We need to work together, Vegeta. Together we can defeat him."

Vegeta snarled, "He tossed both of us aside like rag dolls. We need more than just 'teamwork', Kakarot. Don't be naïve." He paused for a second and then looked back at the horizon. "I need to get Bulma out of here."

"You love her, don't you?"

The words threw him again. Love. How was he supposed to know anything about love? Abandoned at 5, tortured for another 24 years. He knew nothing of that emotion, of any emotion that wasn't pride or pain. But his own words surprised him, "I don't have time to figure that out now."

"I was the same way, you know. Love to me meant food. Marriage meant food. Heck, I thought everything was food back..."

Imbecile. "Kakarot, Frieza will want us to engage him again. We can discuss your emotional inadequacies another time." Vegeta paused, "Actually, never bring up the issue again. I doubt I want to hear it no matter how much free time I have."

Goku grinned and stretched, straightening out his back. "I'll get Bulma and the others to the spaceship. I know where it is."

"Make them leave."

"Of course. My son's going to be with them." Goku cracked a fist and then sighed. "You sense it too, don't you?"

He did. Vegeta knew something was going to happen. Frieza wasn't killing enough people, which was never good. On purges, the overlord would make it his duty to see that every single living presence on the planet was eliminated. But there were Namekians still alive. There were too many Namekians alive. What's he planning?

Normally, Vegeta would figure Frieza was just planning to blow the whole planet to kingdom come. It wouldn't be the first time the alien had opted for that route of genocide. But then there were the dragon balls. Vegeta knew Frieza wanted them, but he couldn't make a wish if he destroyed the objects that could grant it.

"Kakarot, I will be able to hold my own against Frieza. You get her out."

The idiot was still smiling. He was planning something, but what, Vegeta had no idea. "At least let me help you hurt him a little first. I got one good shot in. Let me try to get another."

He really is a Saiyan.

Vegeta knew Goku had probably never fought someone as powerful as Frieza was, and that he was probably excited by the challenge. The third class continued, "What do you say, Vegeta?" He held out his hand, "Double team him?"

The prince ignored the hand gesture but gave a slight nod in affirmation. This would be interesting.

She couldn't sit down unless someone physically strapped her to a chair. Her mind veered from any type of coherent thought, overwhelmed with the knowledge that Vegeta could be dead any second. And it wasn't like she had the best moment ever with the Saiyan prince before he went to face his mortal enemy.

He just stared at her. Like a dead fish. Like she was speaking in a completely different language or was saying nothing at all. No response. No, 'I don't love you'. Or a 'thank you'. Or a 'stop being an idiot woman and go cook for me'. Nothing.

Vegeta had just looked at her, and although she knew why, Bulma still couldn't help but feel hurt. What were you expecting?

He knew the physical things just fine. She had no doubt about that. He wasn't afraid to accept that he liked her. He did like her. Vegeta wanted to be a part of her life, and the thought of that made her feel completely giddy.

Yet, at the same time she was terrified. Bulma wasn't an easy person to be around, and she knew that. She was bossy and needy and easily agitated. Yamcha, when not staring at other girls, was the ideal boyfriend. He loved her, had the capacity to protect her from basically any non-alien being, and even started to rival her income with his up and coming baseball career.

Vegeta had nothing. Not that she was that shallow enough to care about jobs or his career path, but she wondered why she didn't care. Bulma could care less about what he'd do on Earth. She just wanted him to get there.

Is this unhealthy?

She didn't want to fall head over heels for someone so emotionally unavailable. What if she did want to get married one day? And have kids?

Thoughts of her mom came running back. How could she make the suggestion of her and Yamcha having kids? Psh, it was laughable. That woman wanted grandchildren more than anything, and as her only child, Bulma had the duty of fulfilling that dream. Okay, maybe it wasn't so much of a duty. She'd bet her children would be super cute.

Vegeta would probably have angry looking babies. Bulma giggled at the thought. She'd really want to see that some day.

"Goku's with them now." Krillin went by her side, the news immediately stopping Bulma's pacing. Her mood significantly brightened at that. There was no enemy Goku couldn't take on. They could do it. The two Saiyans could kill Frieza together.

"That's excellent." Her voice still sounded kind of depressed though. Hm. She didn't like that.

Krillin seemed to notice it as well. The shorter man gave an uneasy smile, "I bet he does too."

Her blue eyebrows arched up at the words. Bulma spun around, "What?"

"You know...I bet he loves you too."

For a second, she had forgotten the battle Yamcha was tracking in the distance. She grabbed Krillin by his orange, Kame gi and gave him a deathly glare. "What? You heard that?"

"...umm...you were speaking kind of loud."

She flushed and let go of the fighter before falling to the ground, embarrassed. "Great. Now everyone knows I'm an idiot."

"Idiot?"

"Oh come on Krillin. I bet you guys will be going on for years about how stupid Bulma was, always falling for the bad boys that don't know how to express how they feel." She saw Yamcha turn his head at this and quickly recovered. "No offense, Yamcha."

The bandit shrugged and turned his head back in the direction of the fight. Krillin laughed, "Well, I hope we have years to make fun of you over that."

Bulma's blue eyes became piercing. "Not funny."

"Come on, Bulma. I don't see what you're so concerned about. The guy has obviously fallen for you." This surprisingly came from Yamcha.

Bulma tangled a finger through her hair, "You really think so?"

"I think so." Krillin nodded, "I mean, he hasn't killed you when he seemed to really want to before. That's got to be a good sign."

She smacked the short fighter on the head. That was not comforting at all.

"Just the way he looks at you, Bulma. The way you look at each other. How much more do you want?" Yamcha added. "We haven't looked at each other like that in years."

There was no bitterness in his voice, just remembrance of an old memory. It seemed like their relationship had ended years ago, not days. And Bulma had the sad impression that maybe they were destined to end before they ever began. She sniffed. With that little wish she made all those years ago, they never stood a chance. "Thank you, Yamcha."

He shrugged and smiled in her direction. "No problem, Bulma."

"Plus, I think it's kind of cool." Krillin gave a much wider grin, but his comment confused her. He elaborated, "I mean, falling in love with an enemy...that's kind of..."

"Idiotic." Bulma muttered.

Krillin looked at her blankly, "I was going to say romantic."

"Oh please, Krillin."

"I'm being serious!"

"Well, when you fall in love with someone that once wanted to kill you and your friends and has the emotional capacity of a robot, let me know how romantic it is," Bulma huffed.

Krillin sighed and backed away from the blue heiress. "That's okay. You can keep Vegeta all to yourself."

"Hmph."

Yamcha suddenly turned back around, "Hey guys?"

She was not in a good mood. Bulma was ready to bite someone's head off, "What?"

But Yamcha's slightly worried expression stunned her back into silence. The bandit looked around furiously, "Where's Dende?"

Punches were thrown, half hitting the air and the other half actually making contact with Frieza's hard body. Goku was loving every second of it. Never had he fought anyone that seemed so unstoppable, and that spark in him wanted to become ablaze.

But one look in Vegeta's direction and the younger Saiyan knew he needed to suppress it. As much as he loved this battle, it wasn't truly his. Goku dodged the whip of Frieza's tail and then grabbed the appendage with both hands. In the split second Frieza turned to look back towards the Saiyan, Vegeta already had a punch arched towards the monster's cheek. The Saiyan prince was practically beaming with excited energy. He had finally caused Frieza to bleed.

"So you aren't invulnerable." Vegeta smirked and twisted his wrists, producing a cracking stretch noise. "That's good to know."

Frieza groaned in frustration and pulled his tail out of Goku's hand. He then whacked it into Goku's stomach, making the Saiyan lose air for a second. Goku grabbed his abs but quickly recovered. He just managed to escape a ki blast attack from the white lizard. Man, this guy really is tough.

Vegeta was no pushover either. Neither of them were. But it was still taking all of their energy combined to just keep up with Frieza. If we keep going like this, we won't win. Goku bit back the pessimistic thought. He couldn't let that happen, but he didn't have many tricks up his sleeve.

He only had two, actually. And one he knew Vegeta would hate him for. Which left the other one, which would also probably make Vegeta hate him. Goku nudged his head to the side, cueing Vegeta to dodge left when ready. He cupped his hands together and barely charged the blue ki energizing in his hands. "Kamehameha!"

It was a weak blast, but it managed still to shoot the demon back into the ground. Vegeta had phased away from the energy before contact and now floated beside his fellow Saiyan. The prince wiped the sweat crowning his forehead and then shot a flurry of smaller ki blasts into the crater where Frieza's body fell.

Goku breathed deeply, this time not faking any of his lost energy. "Kami, this guy's no pushover, huh?"

"It's time for you to take them to your ship, Kakarot." Vegeta was stolid and incredibly out of breath.

That worried Goku a bit. "You sure you can distract him?"

"Don't take too long."

"Got it." Goku began to fly away from his current position while Vegeta circled around Frieza like a vulture. He would need to move slowly in order to not grab Frieza's attention. That would be...

Goku's dark eyes widened when he saw Frieza quickly remove himself from the dented hole in the ground. He looked back towards the two Saiyans, snarled, and glanced off into the green sky. What is he doing?

"This has been fun. I must admit. You two have offered me a better fight then I have ever dreamed of, but I can't forget my original mission. That would be foolish."

What? Goku looked over to Vegeta who was snarling in anger. "Fuck. The dragon balls."

The younger Saiyan became rigid as well. His friends had the dragon balls with him. But that didn't make sense. Frieza wouldn't know they had them. He had no radar that could detect them. Then what is he after?

Goku glanced to where Frieza's eyes were directed and he finally sensed a ki. Dende? What is he doing? "He's not after her." Goku tried to calm Vegeta down. "But you have to follow him!"

"What are you talking about, Kakarot?" Vegeta was slowly losing patience. "He must know that Bulma..."

"Be quiet, Vegeta." Goku's rare rough tone stunned the other Saiyan. "Follow him, and I'll get to the others."

The cold demon's voice carried over to even their altitude, "But how long do you think it'll take for my wish? An hour maybe? That sounds about right." Frieza levitated in the air, rocks and other debris following him up. "Yes. I'll say an hour. Give you worms some time to scramble. If you manage to make it, I'll be sure to pay you a visit on Earth."

Goku became panicked and turned to Vegeta, "What's he saying? Vegeta..."

The other Saiyan was shooting towards Frieza, dread and fear incredibly evident in his energy signal. The tyrant just laughed and held up a finger, where a sudden small, orange ball was produced in the air.

"Vegeta!" Goku flew off screaming and slammed his body into the other Saiyan, knocking both of them back to the ground in a rough collision.

The orange, fiery ball seeped into Namek's surface, and before Goku could even look back to see Frieza's maniacal face, he was already gone.

"You fucking moron! Why did you do that?" Vegeta lashed out at him and aimed a punch right into Goku's nose. "I can't fucking believe you!"

"I just saved your life, Vegeta!" Goku rubbed his nose in pain, happy to see it wasn't broken. "He missed anyway."

Vegeta growled and shook his head. "No he didn't. That blast was meant for Namek. It'll be about an hour before it reaches this planet's core."

Goku froze. "You're saying..."

"Yes, Kakarot." Vegeta bit his lip and tore his head away from where Bulma's ki was sensed. "I can't let him get to Earth. This has to end here."

"We have to get out of here now, Vegeta."

"Go ahead and be a coward!" Vegeta screamed and started to fly. "I am not running away. But get them off of this rock."

Before Goku could say another word, Vegeta was already on Frieza's trail. The younger Saiyan sighed and quickly flew to where he sensed Krillin's, Yamcha's, and Bulma's ki. He had to put his plan into motion a little faster than he originally intended.

A/N:

Where's Dende going and why? What's Goku's plan? Who'll turn SSJ first?

I know :) and soon you will too! Thanks for reading!