The Light to my Darkness

Chapter 25: Second transformation

As Piccolo was flying, the sky suddenly returned to it's usual seafoam green hue. He let out a huff of frustration! Just what on Earth was going on?! Had they made the third wish and if so, what exactly was it? He needed to know! Vegeta no longer appeared to be a threat, as he'd initially presumed. He surmised that the nasty Saiyan must have formed a desperate pact with the Earthlings, in a bid to try and defeat Frieza. Funny, here he was, assuming that those two brutes had been working alongside one-another. No doubt, an interesting turn of events.

A few minutes passed when the Namekian from Earth sensed a dying energy nearby and stopped midair. He zoomed towards the fading Ki and stood over its owner, only to see a bruised and broken replica of himself.

XXXX

As the dust settled, Frieza remained rooted to the spot, unscathed. He snickered and immediately flew upwards, facing his adversaries, all of whom were transfixed in absolute horror! They'd hit him full force and he didn't appear to have a mark on him!

"My, my, I'm impressed." Frieza smirked condescendingly, his voice a sickly, low-pitch version of the syrupy ring that struck terror into the hearts of incalculable souls. "You actually managed to give me a slight tickle hahaha!" He turned in Vegeta's direction. "I underestimated you greatly my dear Prince." He stated, expression unchanged. "I would never have imagined that of all people, you, would possess the strength necessary to force my transformation. I was still in my first form, when I single-handedly defeated your dear father."

"What?!" Vegeta asked, stunned. He snapped his teeth at the monster. "What are you saying?!"

"So you never knew, did you?" He grinned wickedly. "He and his royal guard, along with the most powerful Saiyan elite boarded my ship, right before I destroyed Planet Vegeta."

"Y-Y-You w-w-w-what?" Krillin was aghast as he took in that dreadful news. So it was Frieza who destroyed the Saiyans, not some meteor! Holy crap! Just what on Earth were they up against?!

"Why would he do that?!" Vegeta demanded. "Tell me now!"

"Is it really so hard to figure out?" Frieza let out a sigh and shook his head, before smiling evilly at the Prince. "At the time you were detained inside the ship. Your father made a valiant effort to try and extricate you, but it didn't end quite well for him and his band of monkeys."

Vegeta's heart reeled, as he was struck by another wave of anguish. For all those years he'd execrated his father, believing the old man had heartlessly abandoned him to an abject life of misery with a madman, just to protect his own cowardly hide. But none of it was true! He truly had cared about him and died trying to protect him! For all those years Frieza had hidden the truth from him! The Prince's lip curled up in a rancorous snarl that made Gohan and Krillin shudder. With a resounding roar of rage, he brought both hands together and unleashed a super-powerful Ki blast inundated with raw fury, directly at the tyrant. His two allies covered their eyes with their forearms, as they were enveloped by a thick, cloudy haze of grey.

Once the smoke cleared, however, Frieza was only minimally injured and infuriated beyond words. He instantly shot straight towards Vegeta and punched him in the mid-section, before hammering his fist on top of the Saiyan's head, causing him to nosedive right into the dirt below.

"Oh no." Krillin was completely blue in the face, expression etching with dread as he trembled in apprehension. Frieza instantly turned his attention towards the bald man and at a speed no one's eyes could follow, he impaled his horn right through the unsuspecting human's midsection. Krillin chocked and gurgled on his own blood, as Gohan looked on in complete horror.

"KRILLIN!" The boy yelled.

Vegeta shot back up into the air, ready to attack Frieza, when he was suddenly overcome with shock and alarm, as he witnessed his ally being skewered through one end and out the other.

"Shit!" The Prince's eyes widened.

The ruthless tyrant flung his victim into the sea, but his demi-Saiyan companion expeditiously rushed towards him, ignoring Vegeta's vehement protests that it was already too late. Frieza quickly reappeared in front of the boy, blocking his path.

"You should worry about yourself runt." The lizard said menacingly, an odious smirk magnifying the intense evil exuding from him.

"Move." Gohan was undeterred, his tone low and beset with deathly promise, his dark eyes flashing red, with bloody murder.

Frieza chuckled.

"I said, MOVE!" The child exploded, taking the lizard by complete surprise as he ravaged him with a series of punches and kicks that sent him plunging face-down into the dirt. Gohan followed through with a barrage of Ki blasts, as Vegeta looked on in absolute awe.

'The kid's powers are astounding!'

XXXX

As Dende felt Krillin's Ki drop to an all-time low, he made a beeline for the island, only to find him underwater. He instantly pulled him out.

Just then Frieza got back up on his feet, a deceiving grin embedded on his diabolical features.

"It seems I severely underestimated you kid." The lizard remarked, looking upwards, his beady red eyes portending doom."You actually managed to hurt me just a little bit, but unfortunately for you, your efforts only succeeded in making me angry."

Gohan was sweating profusely. Those attacks had damn near drained all his energy reserves. The ground quaked violently as Frieza powered up even further.

"Shit, he can control his power level!" Vegeta growled in dismay.

The lizard launched himself upwards and began attacking the boy ruthlessly. A kick underneath the jaw from above, sent Gohan crashing into the ground. The Prince tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction by attacking from behind, however, it did not have the intended effect.

"Don't be in such a rush Vegeta, for you and I will have plenty of fun once I'm done with your little friend." The lizard snickered, descending towards Gohan's battered form.

'Dammit!' Vegeta clenched his fists tightly. 'That attack didn't even faze him! There's no way we can hold out long enough!'

Down below, Frieza was clobbering his young opponent and as he stood over his defeated form, he viciously began lashing the child's back with his tail, cutting through his armor with each sharp blow. The demi-Saiyan cried out in absolute pain, tears stinging his big eyes. Vegeta clutched his head, as each agonizing howl from the demi-Saiyan began to bring to the surface, horrendous memories of his torture sessions with Frieza! He wanted the boy to just shut up! He couldn't stand his wailing any longer!

"HAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" The Prince roared furiously, his aura flashing around him, as he made a dash towards his mortal enemy!

"I said wait your turn!" The Lizard fired a Ki blast towards Vegeta. The Saiyan brought his hands forward in an attempt to block the attack and was struggling to keep it from consuming him. What Frieza wasn't counting on, however, was the Kienzan disk that headed his way, during his moment of distraction. At the last possible moment, he managed to jump out of dodge, but unfortunately for him, the flaxen saucer had still been able to slice off the end of his tail.

Frieza hissed in pain and was flabbergasted, as he turned in the direction of the assailant, only to see the the bald Earthling warrior.

"WHAT?!" The stunned despot yelled out in disbelief. "HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE?!"

Vegeta, who'd finally managed to redirect Frieza's blast elsewhere, made his way back into the scene and he too, was nonplussed, as he saw Krillin taunting Frieza, not a mark on him.

"How dare you cut off my tail, you puny Earthling?!" The lizard snarled, suddenly in front of him.

'Only one thing I can do I guess!' Krillin thought, before shouting. "SOLAR FLARE!"

Frieza was instantly blinded by a powerful wave of light.

"Ugh! My eyes!"

"Hurry Vegeta, here's our chance!" He yelled towards the Prince. "Attack him now!"

The Saiyan, however, was too busy observing the Namekian brat that was tending to Kakarot's half-breed son. He took notice as the child began transferring some enigmatic light from his antennae onto Gohan and his eyes bulged, as the battered half-Saiyan promptly sat up with ease, his injuries gone. Then it hit him! That Namekian must have healed the bald fighter as well! It made perfect sense now!

"What're you waiting for?!" Krillin headed towards Vegeta, gritting his teeth at the opportunity that was being neglected.

"Why did you not tell me about that Namekian brat's ability to heal?!" The Prince growled.

"Hey, we didn't know about it!" Krillin replied defensively. "If we did, don't you think we would've had him heal Goku?!"

Gohan thanked Dende for healing him and told him get out of dodge, before making his way towards Vegeta and Krillin. Frieza had finally recovered and began glaring daggers at his opponents, till a look of pure shock engraved his visage as he gaped disbelievingly at the boy he'd just victimized.

'His power's risen greatly!' Vegeta smirked, as he perused Gohan. 'This is good!'

"How is he still alive?!" Frieza yelled in absolute shock, "He should be on the verge of death." The tyrant then grit his teeth. "If these no-good, conniving scumbags wished for immortality, I swear by my ancestors I'll make them suffer for all of eternity!" He levitated upwards and his trio of foes took up their stances.

Just then, a new and improved Piccolo was nearing and Vegeta sensed the ginormous Ki coming their way.

"A huge power level's headed straight for us!"

Before anyone else had a chance to speak, the owner of that high power appeared on scene, standing as a shield between Frieza and the others. A bright ethereal, white light enshrouded him, but after it dimmed, the super-powerful Namek could easily be made out.

"Piccolo! You're back!" Gohan cheered in glee. "I can't believe it! You're really back!"

"Good to see you, Gohan." Piccolo offered the boy a fleeting smile, before frowning and facing the icy tyrant in front of him, whose expression was as grim as ever. "So this must be Frieza. I've never sensed a power quite so- evil."

"I know you!" Vegeta exclaimed in recognition. "You're the Namek that Nappa killed on Earth!" He then turned in Krillin's direction. "I can't believe you wasted a wish bringing him back! You're both fools!"

"Quiet!" Piccolo barked, not paying Vegeta a single glance. "After I destroy Frieza, you're next on my list, Saiyan!"

"Destroy Frieza, huh?" The Prince smirked, laughing in amusement at the new arrival's bravado. "Looks like someone's delusional." He then frowned. "But now that you're here, I guess you can be of some use." Now that he scrutinized him up close, he could tell the Namekian fighter's power had taken a huge leap, though he could not gauge his exact level of strength. Vegeta went on in a hushed voice. "We only have one shot at this and that's to buy time until Kakarot recovers. Once he does, the two of us can destroy Frieza together."

"Are you sure that'll work?" Krillin asked dubiously.

"I have a plan." Vegeta responded quietly. "But I need Kakarot's help, if I'm to execute it! It's our very best shot!"

"Listen and listen well!" Piccolo told his allies adamantly, his sharp gaze fixed upon the giant lizard. "Frieza's mine! I don't need any of your help! This is my battle period!"

"Are you sure, P-Piccolo?" Gohan asked worriedly. "He's v-very p-powerful."

"Trust me Gohan."

The demi-Saiyan hesitated for a few seconds, before frowning in understanding.

"Alright Piccolo, I believe in you!"

The Earth-born Namekian could hardly help it as a small smile graced his lips.

"Excuse me, Namek." Frieza said impatiently. "But you're interrupting a good battle." He then smirked maliciously. "Or should I say slaughter."

"Your battle's with me Frieza!" Piccolo snarled angrily. "The others are of no concern to you, got it?!"

'Something is different about this Namekian.' Frieza narrowed his eyes in close scrutiny of the warrior before him. 'He's far more imposing than the others. Even so, he'll meet the same fate as his brethren.'

"He looks just like Nail." Dende observed, from down below. "It must be the one they wished back: Piccolo."

The Namekian warrior rapidly descended to the ground.

"Take cover Dende, I don't want you caught in the crossfire."

"R-R-Right." The child stammered, before hurriedly speeding off to a safer location, whilst wondering how on Namek's three suns, Piccolo knew his name.

Frieza followed suit as he descended and stood atop a rock slab, smirking at the Namekian.

"H-H-He's n-nuts." Krillin said fretfully. "This is s-suicide!"

"Doesn't that fool realize how powerful Frieza is?!" Vegeta exclaimed angrily, letting out an exasperated huff. "Oh well, even if he does get himself killed, at least he'll have bought us all some more time."

"I don't know you guys." Gohan knit his eyebrows at his comrades. "Piccolo's not the type of person who'd jump into a battle he knew he couldn't win."

"Don't bullshit me, boy!" Vegeta growled. "He may have gotten stronger, but he stands no chance against Frieza!"

"We'll see." The demi-Saiyan frowned.

On the ground below, the tension was building.

"Namek scum." Frieza scorned.

Piccolo roared, lunging directly towards his opponent. He landed a hard right hook on the lizard's cheekbone, dazzling him with his swift speed and amazing power. Frieza was sent reeling, however, upon regaining his footing, he attacked back and the two formidable forces continued exchanging blows, while the trio above them looked on in sheer amazement.

"This is nuts!" Krillin's mouth was agape. "He's as powerful as Frieza!"

"He may be even stronger!" Vegeta grit his teeth. How could this be?! It had barely been over a month since Nappa destroyed him! What the hell happened between now and then that had made that damned Namek so powerful?!

"Yeah, Piccolo!" Gohan cheered, "I knew you could do it!"

Frieza frowned at his foe wickedly before abruptly landing a blow to his cheekbone without a hint of warning. The tide suddenly turned in Frieza's favor as he began pounding the Namekian with a string of punches and kicks. A double axe-handle atop the head sent Piccolo plummeting into the soil. His left eye was closed up and Frieza swiftly made his way down, looming above his opponent.

"Forgive me, my Namekian friend, but I had severely underestimated you earlier and was not fighting at full power." The lizard smiled smugly.

"I knew it!" Vegeta clenched his teeth. "If my guess is right, not even this is Frieza's complete power!"

"We have to help him!" Gohan looked on concernedly. He could not allow him to perish again, not after they'd wished him back! Once was more than enough for his taste!

"Not yet!" Vegeta warned. "Wait until your father recovers!"

Gohan huffed, but nodded begrudgingly.

Krillin surveyed Vegeta for a moment or two, wondering what on Earth he had cooked up. Well, whatever it was, he really hoped it lived up to his expectations!

Piccolo spat and promptly took off his weighted cape and turban, cracking his neck joints, before smirking.

"I suppose that makes two of us."

"What?!" Frieza was dumfounded. "You're saying you haven't been going all out?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"Oh- Oh yeah!" Krillin smirked. "Piccolo was fighting with weighted clothes! Now, there's nothing holding him back!"

"Yeah, stick it to him, Piccolo!" Gohan threw a fist up in the air.

"This." Piccolo began forebodingly as he gathered an enormous heap of Ki into his right palm, before aiming it at a perturbed Frieza. "IS FOR ALL THE NAMEKS YOU SLAUGHTERED!"

He immediately fired. Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta looked on in amazement, believing that their Namekian ally had done the impossible, however, once the smoke cleared, the tyrant, though wounded badly, was still alive and fuming with rage.

"Im-Im-Impossible." The bald human stammered.

"Finish him off now!" Vegeta yelled towards the Namekian, who looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "Hurry up! Do it!"

"You've crossed me for the last time, Namek filth!" Frieza snarled in exasperation, garnering Piccolo's attention away from the Prince. "Now you'll die along with the rest of your ugly race!"

The Namekian snorted.

"Yeah right, you've barely enough power to stand, Frieza!" He stated in a calm and confident voice, his expression nonchalant. "I could finish you single-handedly now."

"It seems you have the wrong idea." Replied the lizard, smirking. "What you see now is but a fraction of my true power! You were not present when I transformed the first time. It seems Vegeta truly has chosen a fruitful bunch to align himself with, but no matter what you do, I've got too many aces up my sleeve for you to stand even an ounce of a chance!"

"Transform?" Piccolo asked apprehensively, as he sensed the tyrant's power already undergoing a swift rise and he was too shocked to do a thing about it.

"That's right." Responded Frieza. "Each time I transform, my power rises immensely and I still have two more forms remaining."

"No." Piccolo was aghast, his near inaudible voice laced with fear. "It- it can't be."

"FINISH HIM QUICKLY!" Vegeta roared to the top of his voice, but the Namekian stood transfixed, unable to make a move as he sensed the tyrant's Ki quickly surpass his.

"Too late!" Frieza yelled, placing his fists by his side, as his power took a sudden upsurge. He raised his arms up for a moment and the instant he brought them back down, spikes protruded out of his back, which was now slightly hunched. Not two moments later, the uppermost sections of the natural layer of armor covering his torso, jutted outwards into shoulder guards and finally his skull slowly began to elongate, several spikes projecting from the either side of his lengthy head. After letting out a slow exhale, he grinned wickedly at his stock-still opponent, who was trembling in complete horror.

'That fool, if only he'd listened to me!' Vegeta cursed mentally. 'Dammit, Kakarot, hurry up!'