Krillin, Gohan, and Dende shake with cold fear as an avalanche of terror approaches them. The unmistakable malice fills their mouths and noses with its acidic flavor.
Krillin slaps his thigh. The shock frees his mind for a moment. He calls to Dende.
"You need to wish everyone but Freeza and his army to Earth right now."
Dende's head swivels on a shaky neck to look at him. He nods and looks up to the mighty dragon.
A cold storm blows over them. The terrible aura hits them like hail and freezing rain. Their trembling heads twist to find the towering tyrant Freeza on a ledge overlooking their efforts. His colossal new form finally matches the unbridled power they sensed every second since his arrival.
Freeza grins and floats down to them.
"Thank you for preparing my wish for me," he says. His deep voice carries a fraction of his overwhelming ki. It pounds their eardrums. "If you all remain this cooperative, I've got several positions open in my empire you can fill."
Krillin leaps from the group towards Freeza. A wobbly Kienzan spins above his hand. He throws it out of intense panic without even calling the attack's name.
The buzzing disc whirs at Freeza. He holds up a single finger to catch the edge of the saucer. It whirs against the pad of skin but cannot cut the finger at all. Sparks fly as its speed shaves off its spinning edge.
The indomitable finger presses the disc to cut a line to the middle. A corkscrewing gap forms as the saucer spins around the slicing finger. The core deteriorates, and the technique shatters.
A warmth pulses in the tip of Freeza's finger. He examines it and finds a single drop of blood welling from a small cut. He raises an eyebrow before rubbing his thumb back and forth over the tiny mark. The droplet dries beneath the friction.
A paralyzing frown pins Krillin in place. Freeza appears before him in an instant. A swift kick smashes Krillin's jaw against the roof of his mouth. Blood drowns his tongue as he launches to the next island over.
Gohan and Dende are too stunned to even call Krillin's name. Freeza turns to the Dragon.
"You'll never get your wish," says Dende. "You have to speak our native tongue, and we would all rather die than help you."
Freeza spares Dende a look from the corner of his eyes. It cripples Dende's lungs with the malice it bestows. Freeza smiles.
"I happen to be a connoisseur for dead languages. And Captain Ginyu studied yours enough to teach me how to make my wish."
He levitates with a light breeze gusting over the children. He floats up until he hovers above the dragon. His mouth opens and words only Dende can recognize command from his lips.
The dragon's voice booms back a response. Its red eyes flash with a magical pulse.
Dende cries out in anguish.
"What's wrong?" says Gohan. "What did he wish for?"
"Immortality. And the dragon gave it to him. There's no way to stop him now."
Freeza chuckles. It becomes a boisterous laughter.
"Finally," he says. "I'll be able to rule my empire for all eternity. I'll push its borders to the edges of the universe and hold it all in my control."
Goku and Nail burst onto the scene.
"Gohan!"
"Dende!"
They shout the names as they search frantically with their eyes. Their racing hearts settle when the two are revealed to be alive. Goku senses Krillin's heartbeat not far away.
"You boys should have listened to me when I said to use your last moments wisely," says Freeza floating over to them. "But this is perfect. I have a task for you. You see, Vegeta died believing he had stopped my plans. I need you to be dears and tell him how wrong he was when you get to Hell. Now that I'm immortal, I won't be able to do it myself."
A distant voice gets Freeza's attention. He turns to see Dende calling to the Dragon.
"I thought the thing only grants a single wish," says Freeza.
He points a finger at Dende. Nail screams. A purple beam fires from the finger.
Gohan shields his eyes as Dende explodes before him. The concussive force knocks him to his back. The innocent life force of his friend blows out like a candle.
"Cheeky little brat," says Freeza. "I hope whoever you wished back to life was worth it. Doesn't matter though. No one can do anything to me now. If more wishes remain, what could I possibly ask for that I don't already have? Hmm."
Golden flames illuminate Freeza's body. He whirls to see Nail surrounded in an aura of rising fire. Empty, white eyes and a rage filled face focus on him.
"Was that your friend—"
A right hook clobbers Freeza's face as Nail bursts forth. He unleashes a relentless string of strikes. A memory of Dende asking him questions about being Namek's champion while he meditates brings tears to his ferocious eyes. His power swells on pain and sadness.
Another memory joins it. In it, Slug lifts a child Nail up onto one of his shoulders after finishing a training session which Nail watched and imitated the entire time.
Another swell in power as a twin spirit joins in with a sympathizing sense of losing a loved one.
The savage onslaught surpasses what Goku believes Nail to be capable of. The strength is tremendous. His own feels small by comparison.
But Freeza never takes another hit. He blocks each strike as they smack against the wall of his defenses. The disheartening scene destroys any hope Goku has of winning.
Gohan stares at Dende's smoldering, mutilated corpse. He remembers how not long ago they played tag and hide and go seek with the other Namekian children. Now gone, a sadness fills him. A sadness and pain that reminds him of losing Piccolo. A sadness and pain he never wanted to feel again.
And who was responsible for this pain? Freeza. Who was going to pay for it? Freeza.
A spark ignites in his belly. It lights primed tinder and bursts into flames. The fire spreads quickly through his system. His thoughts fade as the raging wildfire consumes him.
Gohan jolts to his feet as an aura bursts around him. Something brushes his arm with soft hairs. His regrown tail dances in the gusts of his aura, but he pays it no attention.
"Wait Gohan," says Goku as he senses his son's energy rise.
Gohan blasts off towards Freeza. His brilliant aura leaves a huge trail in the wake of his flight path.
"Hm?" says Freeza, holding up a blocking arm.
Gohan smashes into it. His fists pound on the muscles, forcing Freeza back. Nail joins the other side to hammer away. Freeza shrinks into a defensive curl to protect his head and abdomen.
The blows rain down while sustained by anger and loss. They pummel and punish every exposed part of his body. Shifting to cover them only opens other areas to be struck.
Freeza lashes his tail at Gohan to slap him away. Gohan rolls above it to position himself over Freeza's head. Nail grabs Freeza's tail before it can retract. He yanks it while throwing himself into a spin. Freeza growls as he swings around a central pivot point.
Gohan puts one palm on the back of the other hand. Nail throws Freeza downward. Gohan unleashes his blast.
"Masenko!"
A torrent of energy bigger than he has ever released fires forth. It eclipses Freeza's large frame. The brilliant yellow energy smashes his enemy towards the ground. A resistance slows the descent.
Freeza expels his energy to take hold of the beam flattened on his skin and splaying his arms and legs aside. He slides his limbs inward so his hands and knees can push on the plasma surface. It folds and conforms like a sheet as he repositions himself.
His arms stretch to hold the beam away from him as his legs swing below him while holding the whole thing aloft. He readies himself to reverse the attack back on Gohan.
Nail appears beside him outside the radius of the Masenko. His hands form a triangular shape and glow with white lightning.
"Raigekikosappo!"
Three bolts of lighting spiraling around each other strike Freeza in the soft side above his hip.
Freeza buckles from the hit. Gohan's blast reasserts itself and carries Freeza to the earth in a flood of energy. It collides with a nearby island. A massive explosion sets off, engulfing the landscape. The yellow dome rises like a morning sun.
Gohan holds his hands above his head. An unwieldy red ki spasms between them. It pushes his palms apart as it tries to escape. His hands work the edges of it trying to force it into a manageable shape.
The blinding rage fueling the attack interferes with his focus and control. The energy threatens to expel in a random direction to escape its confines.
An old lesson from Piccolo comes to mind.
Better to learn how to control it than letting it control you. Otherwise it might target someone you care about.
Gohan inhales as the words of Piccolo echo in the background of his screaming mind.
His rage tempers, and the enormous energy slows its erratic spasms. His hands compress it into a sphere. He hurls it at the shrinking yellow dome.
The red sphere stains the yellow upon impact. It sinks to the center and causes a chain reaction. The yellow turns to a violent orange and expands once more. The earth trembles as the energy explodes again.
It blisters outward until the unstable structure blows apart. The energy rolls across the land. It eventually fades from the rapid dispersal. Gohan heaves for air as his physical and emotional stamina drains away leaving him empty.
The emptiness fills immediately with dread as the huge presence of Freeza's power remains intact within the black cloud of settling debris from vaporized earth and water.
Despite Gohan and Nail giving everything they had, their efforts made no discernible impact on the terrifying mass of ki that is Freeza. His power is an ocean, and each of their attacks are just buckets trying to remove water from it.
The black smoke clears away. Freeza stands unscathed by the assault upon the scorched earth at the bottom of the sea. Water rushes to fill the area it was forced from. He frowns at his assailants while rising above the surging currents.
Goku tries to shout a warning as he senses a spike in ki. A piercing laser streaks at Nail. Goku stares as the lightning fast attack zips along.
Nail leans to the right as he initiates a dodge. The laser rips through his left arm below the shoulder. The limb tears free. He grabs the bleeding stubs and cries in agony.
Goku shifts his eyes back to Freeza, but he is already gone. His eyes shoot to Gohan.
Freeza chokes him with a hand too big for his throat. Freeza grimaces at the Saiyan tail twitching behind the child. Gohan scratches at Freeza's forearm as he suffocates.
"The reports mentioned a Saiyan child with unnatural battle power for his age," says Freeza. "You Saiyans truly are a virus. Always mutating into a more destructive form."
He tightens his grip. Gohan gags.
Red flames bloom from Goku as he unleashes his Kaioken. His power doubles instantly without fear of overloading his body. But he knows it won't be enough.
Freeza's reacts immediately to Goku rushing him. He raises a hand and catches a punch, stopping Goku cold.
"Haven't you realized your insignificance," says Freeza, choking Gohan harder.
Goku ignores him as only the thought of freeing Gohan concerns him.
"Kaioken times three!"
Goku's aura bursts larger than Freeza himself as his fist struggles in the opposing hand.
Freeza snarls as his icy grip burns hot. It trembles to restrain the erupting power. Goku rips his hand free.
"What is this?" says Freeza, unable to hide his shock.
Goku wastes no time shifting positions to reach for Gohan. Freeza lifts Gohan up and back and throws a punch. Goku bends sideways under the attack and kicks Freeza's exposed side at the same time.
A slight flinch allows Goku to grab Freeza's choking forearm. He wrests the fingers from Gohan's neck. The grip resists him and tightens further to defy him. Gohan's neck turns blue as the fingers sink into the muscle.
"Kaioken times four!"
The huge aura doubles its density, nearly obscuring Goku in its flaming wisps. His arms strain to pry Freeza's thumb from the fingers. They loosen just a little.
Gohan slips backward and out the stranglehold. Goku lets go of the fingers and they clamp into a fist that punches him in the gut.
Freeza drives the fist deep as he pushes Goku around and towards the ground. A purple aura flares around his body, and he propels himself headfirst at the ground with Goku on the end of his knuckles.
Goku struggles to get out from under the fist, but the speed applies too much pressure to escape. The power from the Kaioken hammers his body from within. The pain is excruciating as his flesh feels like it will split from his bones.
"Kaioken … times … five!"
Goku flies down ahead of Freeza to free himself from the attack. He circles out as a surprised Freeza watches him. Goku doubles back with both fists stretched out before him. He rams them into Freeza's gut as the villain tries to square up to him.
Goku pumps several punches into Freeza's stomach before ending with an uppercut that knocks Freeze away. The heat swelters his organs as nausea from their early stages of failure sets in.
Freeza's head straightens to glare at Goku as he sails away. He extends his arms and legs to slow himself. He blasts back at Goku.
"You filthy monkey!"
Goku senses the rage somehow bolster the already enormous ki as Freeza prepares to hit harder than before. But behind that anger, Goku feels the same drop in yuki from before when Freeza fought Vegeta.
Goku grimaces in pain as he lifts his arms heavy with ki. He throws them down to force even more ki into his body from its passive state.
"Kaioken times six!"
Goku swings a punch to match Freeza's. Their fists collide. A thundering shock wave blasts from the contact. A series of snapping pain needles Goku's arm as the muscle fibers stretch beyond their limit.
The two colossal powers exchange blows. Each one booms over the battlefield. The ocean below sloshes as if in a storm.
Goku dives upward over a punch. He drops straight down to stomp Freeza in the chest. His enemy shoots down to the water.
Freeza catches himself within a second. The water below him tsunamis in all directions as he rockets back up at Goku with a massive aura.
Goku clears his mind of the pain signals crying for him to stop and not go through with what he must do to survive.
"Kaioken times seven!"
Freeza halts his charge as Goku vanishes. He looks in all directions unable to find him. Never before has someone moved faster than he can keep up with. His bewilderment ends with Goku dropkicking the back of his head with both feet.
Freeza careens into an island. He crashes deep within the rock. The entire island breaks apart from the collision and sinks into the ocean.
Goku releases the Kaioken without waiting to see the results of his attack, unable to sustain it any longer. But the energy will not leave his body. The chain reaction of power keeps building inside him. His bones splinter as the energy escapes from them in hisses of steam. His blood runs through his veins like fire. His body will surely explode at this rate.
He tries to focus on deep breaths to control the power but cannot help imagining the air helping the fire grow. He refocuses his mind on the cold touch of Gohan when his son soothed his inflamed body.
Small pockets of ki open within him like cool clouds. They inhibit small portions of the out of control Kaioken. Eventually the process interferes with enough of the reaction to stop it entirely. His body now fills with pain instead of the threat of death. It feels trashed and useless. He stares with unsteady breath as Freeza emerges from the rubble.
Pushing aside a giant slab of rock, Freeza rises from the sinking island. He stretches his neck from side to side. He finds satisfaction in Goku's distraught face as he rolls his shoulders to shrug off some dust. His deep, sinister voice calls out full of pleasure.
"What's wrong monkey? I thought your kind loved fighting, but you haven't smiled once this entire time. You should be delighted. I'm ready for another round. And another. And another."
Freeza laughs.
I gave it everything I have, thinks Goku. I can't push the Kaioken any higher. Only one thing might stop him. And I don't have the time.
Freeza points his finger at Goku. "I'd offer you some last words, but you look so out of breath. I'd hate to trouble you."
A purple sparkle shines from the tip of his finger.