Hey guys, what's up? Jess here, and back at it again with another new story! ...I hate having new ideas when I'm already buried under a pile of them.. X'D

But anyways, here's a new story for you guys! See the end of the chapter for note! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, it belongs to Akira Toriyama! I only wrote this story! Enjoy!~

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger

Gohan hummed lightly to himself, absently running his fingers over the scratches upon the wood of his pencil, trying to will away the headache caused by problem number fifteen on his homework sheet. Seriously, why did people need to do this kind of math? Gohan usually didn't try to question it, though. He knew that it always made his mother proud of him, he saw it every time she offered him a smile of rapture, and he would never admit it, but he secretly wanted to do just what his mother dreamed of him doing and become a great scholar. He hadn't inherited his father's love for fighting, which he knew his mother was grateful, and preferred to sit on the sidelines. But he'd still fight if he absolutely had to.

With a great sigh, Gohan decided to give his brain a quick break from all these stress-inducing math problems, sitting back in his chair and thinking about all the chaos that had spawned nearly two years ago. Okay, more accurately, it had all started three years ago when his uncle—it still made Gohan shiver to this day to think that he was even related to someone like him—Raditz had arrived on Earth and kidnapped him, only for him to be kidnapped by Piccolo for nearly a year. Then the whole mess with Nappa and Vegeta happened, which inevitably lead to his, Krillin and Bulma's journey to Namek to hopefully bring back the friends that they had lost during that horrid battle on Earth.

It still blew Gohan's mind away that Piccolo was an alien like his father was, and that his race was responsible for creating the Dragon Balls that granted the wishes—wishes that had helped them throughout the years and were pretty much the only reason that they were all still alive today. He remembered feeling a tad bit nervous a year ago when the Namekians had finally found a new planet to call home and were going to use Porunga's final wish to take them there; he had silently been afraid that Piccolo would decide to leave Earth to be with his own race, but was filled with joyful relief the moment he learned that Piccolo would be staying on the planet where he had been born.

"Sometimes people just prefer to be with others instead of their own kind," Piccolo had told him not long after the Namekians had said their final goodbyes and vanished to New Namek, fixing his gaze away from Gohan with that usual stoic expression.

And to be honest, Gohan couldn't agree with him more.

Besides his father, Gohan was silently glad that he was pretty much the last being in the universe to carry Saiyan blood in his veins, or at least he hoped so. His mother always commented on how she just knew that Goku had traded brains for a heart of gold; and after meeting Saiyans like Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa, Gohan suddenly found himself extremely grateful for the accident that his father had as a baby. He just couldn't imagine his father being so bloodthirsty and sadistic.

All three of them were gone now, though, a thought that allow Gohan and several other members of the Z-Fighters to sleep a little easier at night. Raditz had been the first to fall, dying from Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, which succeeded in killing Goku as well. Nappa was next, taken out by Vegeta, his own comrade, when the latter deemed him to be useless in battle from that point forward.

And finally, Vegeta had been the last to go. Strangely enough, Gohan did not feel the piercing hatred mixed with joyous relief when he thought about the Prince of all Saiyans. Rather, he was surprised to find himself feeling a bit of anguish grip him, though it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Gohan had been there when Vegeta had gasped out his last words to Goku, desperately trying to tell him about the history of their race's fall as he coughed about mouthfuls of crimson liquid, and asking the pure-hearted Saiyan to finish off Freeza once and for all, right before said emperor had ended his life once and for all.

Gohan knew that Vegeta wasn't coming back any time soon, as when the wish was made on Earth's Dragon Balls, it was only to revive all the Namekians that had been slaughtered by Freeza and his men—they didn't want to take any chances with any enemies that were killed by the same people. Vegeta was not a Namekian, so he remained in the afterlife, and unfortunately, because he was no long one of Freeza's men, the Namekians that Vegeta had killed remained dead as well.

Vegeta hadn't been as heartless as Gohan originally thought he was. The Saiyan had actually shed tears in front of both him and his father, trusting the fate of Freeza in the hands of the latter. There were days where Gohan couldn't help but wonder how Vegeta would have turned out if he had survived their expedition to Namek, but other times he told himself that maybe Vegeta's passing had been for the better. He certainly hoped that fate knew what kind of cards it was dealing, and silently hoped that Vegeta's soul could finally rest in peace after years of serving under someone like Freeza.

A small knock at his door quickly snapped Gohan out of his thoughts, startling him slightly. "Gohan sweetie, I've got a snack for you," his mother's warm voice greeted him from the other side of the door. Chi-Chi opened the door a moment later, carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies in one hand and a glass of cold milk in the other, a gentle smile ever present upon her face.

Gohan smiled back as his mother approached his desk and set the treat and drink down in the one area that wasn't covered with papers. "Thanks, mom," he said. Chi-Chi, still smiling at her son, reached with one hand and gently ruffled his hair before pressing a small kiss against the top of his head. "Hey, I thought you didn't want to mess up my hair," he laughed teasingly, still grinning at his mother. "I thought you didn't want me to look like a delinquent."

Chi-Chi giggled at her son's comment, still gently ruffling the dark locks. "You'll still look like one, no matter how much you brush your hair," she told him, an undeniable fondness in her voice, then it was followed by a small sign. "I swear, you must have gotten that from your father. He couldn't get his hair to stay straight if his life depended on it." She paused for a moment, then said in a soft voice, "I'm so proud of you, Gohan. You're going to be an amazing scholar one day, I just know it."

Gohan's cheeks flushed red from that comment, a bit of joy fluttering within him at his mother's pride for him. Once she was done, Chi-Chi picked herself up and left Gohan to continue studying, heading for the kitchen to start making dinner for the two of them and her father. The half-Saiyan picked up one of the cookies and bit into it, savoring the warm sweetness that practically exploded in his mouth, before downing it with a swig of the frosty milk. Once he was satisfied with a few more cookies, Gohan drew his attention back to his books and papers. Or at least tried to.

"I swear, you must have gotten that from your father."

His mother's comment had quickly reminded him that his father had yet to come home. Gohan had been there when Porunga had bluntly informed the Z-Fighters that Son Goku was, in fact, still alive but would come home in his own time. He was eternally grateful that his father was still alive, but Gohan was a bit curious how he had managed to survive the destruction of Namek, and really wanted to know when Goku was going to come back to Earth.

Didn't he want to come home?

OoOoOoO

Bulma hummed to herself, a merry little song that she had heard on the radio the other day, as she finished preparing another grilled steak kabob, making sure to perfectly place the meat, peppers and onions in the same way that she had done for the other one that she had already made. Normally her boyfriend Yamcha would be doing this, but he was training nearby, and the blue-haired scientist had taken it upon herself to prepare a nice treat for him as reward for all his hard work.

It had been over a year since Yamcha had been resurrected by the Namekian Dragon Balls, and since he came back to life, her lover had been training nonstop.

"I don't want history to repeat itself the next time a major threat hits the Earth," he had told her not too long ago. "I'll need to become stronger so I won't die again, so I can protect you and the Earth and all of our friends."

His words still brought a smile to her beautiful face. Not every girl could say that their boyfriend was one of the strongest human beings on Earth. Though having that title simply didn't cut it when the Saiyans came to destroy the planet, so Yamcha knew that he'd have to keep getting stronger to secure victory from the next battle, whenever that might be. And besides…she secretly hoped that this treat would help make up for their fight last week.

Bulma felt a small twinge of regret as the unwanted memory resurfaced in her mind. It had happened when they had gone out to the city for one of their dates, and at the end of the night, Bulma had to finally come to terms with her jealousy and hypocrisy. She had ended up yelling at Yamcha when he was talking with the girl who ran the register at the last store they had visited, her jealousy twisting it into thinking that he was flirting with her. They had both gone back to Capsule Corp., neither of the happy with each other, and that's when Yamcha said the words that had struck deeper than anything else.

"Just a quick question: why is that you can flirt with any guy that you come across, yet I can't even look at another girl without 'cheating' on you?!"

Bulma remembered opening her mouth to retaliate, but anything that she had wanted to say had immediately died on her lips as she came to realization that he was right. Yamcha had been especially surprised that she was left speechless, and quickly tried to apologize for saying that, but Bulma had stopped him, holding up a hand to prevent the apology and, for the first time, admitted defeat.

She still felt like a filthy hypocrite from all of that. She knew that she was really immature and a bit confused when it came to romance and relationships, but that was no excuse for all the accusations that she had thrown at Yamcha in the past. He had never done the same to her, and it took her until last week to finally realize that. After that fight, Bulma had reflect on the actions that she now regretted, and decided to let go of her stubbornness just this once to work on getting rid of this problem. It would be beneficial for both her and Yamcha.

And she had been right. The day after their fight, once they had managed to cool down and talk things through, Yamcha and Bulma's relationship had gone much smoother than it had in a long time. The next time they went out together, which was just a couple of days ago, Bulma hadn't freaked out when Yamcha had talked to a girl who was working at the restaurant they went to. She had simply breathed in and out, suppressing any jealous feelings that might have come to her, knowing that he was just asking about drinks and that night's specials and was definitely not cheating on her in any way, shape or form. After a while, it had started to become much easier to let go of her envy, and she knew that it would just come naturally to her before she even knew it.

And speaking of Yamcha…

"Hey babe, what'cha making? Smells awesome!"

A smile blossomed on the scientist's lips, and she turned to see Yamcha standing behind her. He was shirtless and only had a pair of track pants and his training shoes on, covered in head to toe in sweat and his hair a complete mess after hours of training, a small towel draped around his shoulder and a nearly empty water bottle in one hand. But he was grinning at her nonetheless.

"Grilled steak kabobs," Bulma told him, leaning forward to kiss him softly on the lips, the only part of him that she was sure wasn't drenched in saline liquids, then placed one hand on her hip and pointed to Capsule Corp.'s main building with the other, a smirk ever present on her face. "But go shower first. There's no way I'll be able to stomach anything when all I can smell is the result of your training!"

Yamcha laughed lightly with a small yet fond roll of his eyes. "Alright, alright, I'm on it," he said, turning and walking in the direction that she had pointed, and Bulma knew that he'd return in a few minutes, clean and in fresh clothing.

He had been using the new gravity room that had been added to the building recently, she just knew it. Right before Yamcha's resurrection, while they were all still waiting for the Namekian Dragon Balls to be usable again, her father had mentioned that they had mentioned that the ship that Goku had taken to Namek had a gravity setting to help him train, and Gohan had mentioned how much stronger his father was when he arrived on said planet. Then after Yamcha was brought back to life, when he told her about his drive to become stronger than before, it had sparked something within her and she had started construction for a new gravity room right here at Capsule Corp.

Yamcha had been surprised and elated when his girlfriend had revealed it to him, unable to completely express his gratitude for her doing this just for him. And she knew that he had used to pretty much every day for training, making him stronger and stronger every time he went in there. Though he still always found time for her, making sure to balance his training with his lover, and Bulma felt excessively grateful for that as well. She knew that she was lucky to have a boyfriend who cared about her as much as Yamcha did.

Barely five minutes later, Yamcha returned outside and headed towards Bulma. Once he got close enough, Bulma could smell that new soap that she had bought for him, the stink of sweat now gone from his body, his hair now lying down in his new bowl cut style, and in a fresh pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. Smiling with satisfaction, Bulma removed her apron and grabbed the plate of kabobs, placing both items on the table, just making sure to put the apron a little closer to where she would be sitting. Oolong and Puar both joined them outside moments later as Yamcha grabbed a couple of sodas from the cooler next to the grill for them, pressing a sweet and passionate kiss against the blue-haired genius' lips as he handed her the can of sweet, cold liquid.

The two of them really enjoyed moments like this. No drama, no threats to Earth, nothing to ruin their time together; just them relaxing, talking, laughing, and making the most out of every moment that they were given.

OoOoOoO

Gohan wasn't sure when he had dozed off, but the next thing he knew, he had jolted awake at his desk, nearly knocking over his milk and cookies in his panic. He could feel a monstrous chi rapidly approaching the Earth, and there was just something all too familiar about that chi, one that Gohan had hoped he would never, ever feel again.

No…it couldn't be…

The shrill sound of the phone ringing, startled Gohan slightly, though he quickly composed himself and jumped out of his chair, rushing to the phone and picking it up after its second ring.

"H-Hello?" he answered, his voice shaking as a feeling of terror began to well up in his system.

"Gohan, thank goodness!" Krillin's voice sounded on the other end, sounding both relieved and anxious at the same time. "Gohan…do you feel that monstrous chi?"

"Y-Yeah," Gohan stuttered out, easily feeling that chi draw closer to Earth with each passing moment. "And…it's not a good one, is it?" Gohan wasn't sure why he asked that for moment, knowing that Krillin already knew that just as well as he did.

"Hardly…and it's getting closer," the former monk's voice was on the verge of becoming shaky, Gohan could tell. "You know who it is, don't you? We've felt it before…"

Gohan mutely nodded, momentarily forgetting that Krillin couldn't see him. But he didn't care about that right now, only able to focus on the approaching chi. This couldn't be real…this had to be some kind of nightmare, a sick joke that his imagination was playing on him. But no matter how hard he pinched himself he wouldn't wake up.

It wasn't a dream. This was reality.

Freeza was back.

OoOoOoO

King Kai had made sure to keep a firm watcher over Earth ever since the Saiyan invasion two years ago. Goku had been the first Saiyan that he had ever taught, and his desire to protect the people he cared deeply for had fascinated the Shinjin, as it was something that had had never really seen before in a Saiyan. His earthling and Namekian companions had fascinated him at a similar degree. Each of them had the potential to become strong enough to destroy planets without any effort one day, and King Kai was silently grateful that they didn't intend to use those strengths and powers for evil acts.

It had been quite peaceful on Earth for the past two years, and King Kai had been quite pleased when he learned that Freeza met his end just as Namek had met its own. But now, as Bubbles hopped around close by, King Kai tensed as he felt a chi that he never thought that he'd ever feel again, and it was approaching Earth at a horrifying rate.

"Impossible…" King Kai breathed out, feeling sweat start to drip down his brow. "…It can't be…Freeza…"

OoOoOoO

Yamcha suddenly choked on the mouthful of meat and vegetable that he had just swallowed. The action startled Bulma, Oolong and Puar, and the blue-haired girl was quick to act when Yamcha started hacking rather roughly, rushing up behind him to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him. Thankfully it only took a few tries before the ex-bandit finally coughed up the food that had gotten lodged in his windpipe, panting heavily once it was out.

"Lord Yamcha, are you okay?" Puar asked, concern etched in his features and thick in his voice, as he floated over to make sure that his master was alright.

"Y-Yeah…been better, though," Yamcha panted out, his eyes wide and sweat starting to drip from his brow as he looked up into the sky. "That chi…" he whispered out, though Bulma heard it loud and clear.

"W-What?" she asked, not understanding what was going on. She knew that her boyfriend and the other Z-Fighters had the ability to sense the chi of others, but it was an ability that she lacked. But if Yamcha's reaction to this sudden chi was an indication, then Bulma knew that it wasn't good.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo was startled out of his mediation suddenly, standing up quickly and whipping his head around to look in the direction of the chi that was coming towards the Earth.

He had felt that chi before, back on Namek, and even fought it briefly. But when he came back to Earth, he was certain that he would never feel it again, and yet here it was, getting closer to Earth by the second.

"H-How could this be?" Piccolo whispered out, his eyes narrowing slightly before speeding off.

OoOoOoO

The icy wind had hit Tien's face when he felt it. He immediately halting, putting a pause on the hike that he and Chiaotzu were doing, making the latter stop behind him, though Tien knew that he could feel it as well.

"And it's not just one…there's another one with it…" Tien muttered under his breath, momentarily ignoring the frigid temperatures around them. He didn't know who those chis belonged to, but something within his gut told him that it wasn't anything pleasant, and that second chi felt even stronger than the first one…

OoOoOoO

This new half-metal body still felt a bit odd to Freeza, but he merely shrugged it off, knowing that he'd get used to it sooner or later. Besides, he had better things to worry about right now. Worry…no, that wasn't the right word to use…he didn't have to worry about anything right now, a smirk finding its way on to his face.

"That's Earth, daddy," Freeza told his father, glaring at the miserable green and blue planet that came closer and closer into view by the minute. "It seems we got here faster than the Super Saiyan who did this to me," the Icejin spat out the words 'Super Saiyan' like they were some kind of venom in his mouth, his mind wandering back to what one of their men had said when they had scanned the Earth barely an hour ago.

"Lord Freeza, our scan has confirmed that there is absolutely no trace of that Super Saiyan or any Saiyan energy on Earth. However, we have detected a few abnormally high energy levels, each of them close together."

It was those damned Earthlings that he had dealt with back on Namek, Freeza just knew it. He remembering seeing how close they were—Son Goku's transformation into Super Saiyan at the bald midget's death was proof enough for that. A small beep and another crew member's call of "King Cold, Prince Freeza, take a look at this!" drew the Icejin's attention away from the oncoming Earth. Freeza walked over to the radar where the underling had called him, and his eyes widened slightly in pleasant surprise at the power level that was detected. That same smirk from before stitched itself on to Freeza's face once more.

"Such a small planet," King Cold's voice easily drowned out the humming of the ship and shrill beeps of the radars, not drawing his gaze away from the steadily-growing speck as he spoke to his son. "You know you could destroy it with a single shot."

Freeza chuckled darkly. "Oh but that wouldn't be satisfying…I want to show him the new and improved Freeza," the Icejin paused for a moment, turning his attention back to the radar system. "I can see you on our radar. You're also heading toward Earth…then I'll make you see who's the strongest in the universe."

OoOoOoO

Gohan bit his lip, trying to prevent himself for cursing out loud in panic as he hastily tried to put on the jumpsuit and armor. For once, he was glad that he had kept it ever since the journey to Namek. He had a feeling that he was going to need it now. He could feel it…no, not it, them.

"Wha—Gohan, where are you going?!" Chi-Chi's shout reached the half-Saiyan's ears just as he was soaring away from the Son household at top speed. He didn't have time to answer, as she was already out of sight and earshot in barely a second. Sorry mom, Gohan silently apologized, but there was no time to dwell on this.

How did this happen?! Gohan mentally shouted at himself. Did his father really not finish off Freeza before Namek blew up? And even if he didn't, just how the hell did Freeza manage to survive out in space for this long before coming to Earth?

"Dad…this is the worst thing that could ever happen…where are you?" Gohan muttered to himself, wishing more than ever at Goku would just suddenly show up right now, as he sped off even quicker, determined to reach where it felt like Freeza was going to land.

A small spike in chi headed the same direction easily caught Gohan's attention, and he immediately recognized it as Krillin's chi. He altered his direction slightly to where the former monk's chi was located, and barely a minute late, sure enough there was Krillin, flying through the air in the same direction.

Once Gohan got close enough, the short martial artist finally noticed the presence of his old friend's son, and turned his head slightly as he continued flying, trying to give the young boy a miniscule grin. "Hey," he greeted Gohan, somehow able to keep his voice from shaking. He couldn't help it; Freeza had been the one who had ended his life for a second time, after all, and now they were going to confront the same guy again.

"K-Krillin, did you notice?" Gohan asked hastily. "Th-There's another huge chi, just like Freeza's…!"

"Well, duh…how do you think I'm gonna miss a chi like that?" Krillin asked almost rhetorically, sometimes being sarcastic calmed him down a little bit…nope, still wasn't working at all.

Gohan allowed a half-sigh, half-groan to escape his lips. "What's going on?!"

Krillin was silent for a moment, then whispered to himself, unable to look at Gohan, "I'd kinda like to know that myself…" Goku, where are you?!

OoOoOoO

"Prince Freeza, King Cold…We are now landing on Earth," one of the crew member's voices sounded over the intercom as the giant ship finally began its descent into the planet's atmosphere.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha looked around for a minute after landing down. This entire place was a barren wasteland, nothing but red dirt and rock formations, and any plants there were here were dark, dried up, and/or completely void of any green life whatsoever. "Probably gonna come down right around here…" he muttered to himself, feeling a tad bit nervous about this oncoming chi, mentally reminding himself to not get cocky or something bad might happen. What happened during the battle with the Saiyans was more than enough to teach him that.

The sound of a whirring engine, and an almost drowned out shout of, "Hey!" quickly drew Yamcha's attention to behind him, and he turned around to see an oncoming small Capsule Corp. plane approaching, and he instantly recognized the driver of it.

"Bulma! Ugh, that idiot…" Yamcha groaned out, making sure to keep the last part quiet, as his girlfriend landed the vehicle and jumped out, Puar getting out as well and floating over to where his master was as Bulma walked towards the same direction. "What are you guys doing here?!" Yamcha asked, trying not to shout, but it more or less came out like that.

"This chi that you mention…it might be Freeza, so I came to see him," Bulma told him, as if she were having a casual dinner conversation with him, both hand on her hips and a determined smirk upon her lips. "All that time on Namek and I never even saw him!"

Yamcha could feel a mixture of anger and worry quickly swell up within him. "You came to see him?!" he gritted out, still doing his best to suppress his urge to yell at her for doing something so stupid. "We don't even know if this is Freeza, and even if it is, do you know how dangerous he is?!" He remembered Gohan telling him that it took Goku everything that he had to even stand up to Freeza.

"So why shouldn't I come?" Bulma shot back, her confidence and smirk never wavering. "I bet he could just blow the whole planet up, it doesn't matter where I am! I may as well know what my doom looks like."

Yamcha opened his mouth to retaliate, but anything that he might have wanted to say a second ago just died on his lips. Maybe she had a point. And besides, once Bulma Brief made up her mind, there was no stopping her. A spike of oncoming chi caught Yamcha's attention, and he turned around in time to see Tien and Chiaotzu landing several feet away. The ex-bandit released a breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding, glad to see more allies showing up before that monstrous chi arrived.

Tien bowed his head silently in greeting as he and Chiaotzu shed the thick coats that they had been wearing while up in those frigid mountains. "We're in a serious mess…is this Freeza?" Tien asked once his coat was finally off, left forgotten on the ground next to him.

"Not sure, but it could be," Yamcha informed him, looking over in the direction of where that chi was approaching from.

"Suppress your power before you engage in small talk, they have scouters."

The deep voice made Yamcha, Tien and Bulma all jump, none of them were expecting it. All three of them turned to see the only Namekian of the Z-Fighters standing close by, his face as stoic as ever and not even glancing at the gathering humans.

"Piccolo?! Wh-When did you get here?" Tien asked, still surprised that they hadn't even noticed that he had arrived until he spoke up. Quickly remembering that Piccolo had fought against Freeza, Yamcha and Tien both focused to suppress their energy, making sure that Freeza—if this really was him—wouldn't find them with their scouters.

"Gohan, look! Everybody's here!" Krillin exclaimed as the two of them finally got close enough to where the chi was headed.

Said half-Saiyan looked down to see just who had all gathered in this spot. "Even Piccolo! So they all felt it!" he added on as they descended downwards. "Hey, you guys!" he called out as they landed, Bulma exclaiming joyfully once she saw Gohan, know how strong he was.

Yamcha, meanwhile, frowned slightly, knowing that one important member of this team was still missing. "Then Goku's still not back…" he said quietly, half to himself.

Piccolo suddenly flinched, catching most of them off guard again, before he shouted out, "They're here!"

A small whirring noise quickly hit their ears, and only grew louder and louder with each passing second. They all turned to where the sound was coming from, and sure enough, they could see something up in the sky, way off in the distance. It increased in size at the noise grew louder, and within seconds they could all easily make out a humungous, round spaceship that was black, white, brown, yellow and blue in color. The earth beneath them practically shook with terror as it passed over their heads, landing quite a distance away but still within sight.

Silence reigned over the Z-Fight for several moments before Gohan's shaky voice spoke up, "Th-There's no doubt about it…it's Freeza, he survived…"

"But who's that with him?" Krillin added odd, looking just as anxious as Gohan sounded.

"Listen, don't any of you fly over there!" Piccolo seemed to be the only one here that still had a calm head on his shoulders, though the others swore that they could hear borderline fear edging his tone. "We're going to walk over so they don't see us on their scouters!"

While Tien was stunned silent, Yamcha was quick to speak up. "W-Wait! Freeza's chi…he's that powerful?!"

"This is nothing…" Gohan quickly informed him. "He gets way stronger than this…!"

"You guys actually fought…with a monster like that…?" This time, Tien was the one to respond.

"You…have got to be kidding me…" Yamcha said, his throat now feeling dry. "What good will we do by getting closer?! They're…they're…behemoths! And there's two of them! It's hopeless!" There was just no other way to describe this situation. Yamcha really, really hated sounding borderline cowardly, but he felt like he was the only one who could see just how low their chances of winning truly were against not one but two chis as terrible as those. Sure, he was a lot stronger than he was two years ago, all of them probably were, but if what Gohan said was true and that this was nothing for Freeza, then just how the hell could they even hope to fight against this?!

"What then?" Piccolo's voice drew the scarred fighter's gaze back to the Namekian. "Should we just lie down and die? It's no more hopeless if we fight…it's not only hopeless for us. This is the end of the Earth."

Yamcha bit his lip as his eyes widen at that statement, sweat beginning to drip down his forehead again. You mean I finally came back to life, just to die all over again…? He asked silently, praying to whatever gods he knew that something would happen to stop Freeza's invasion. He paused and glanced over at Bulma and Puar, both looking almost as anxious as he felt, and that's when it hit him like a furious lightning bolt.

Both of them would die as well if Freeza decided to obliterate the Earth. The thought mixed pure fury with his fear, and his gaze hardened into a newfound determination. "Fine…I'll fight," Yamcha quietly said, though he knew that Piccolo heard it crystal clear. No way in hell was he letting something like that happen to his girlfriend and lifelong best friend!

OoOoOoO

As soon as the hatch down was open, Freeza stepped out and looks around, feeling the ground of this planet beneath his feet for the first time. "So this is Earth…huh, not bad," he observed as his father and several of their underlings joined him outside, lazily swaying his metallic tail.

"Three more hours until the Super Saiyan arrives," King Cold reminded his son, coming up to stand next to the shorter Icejin. "Are you really going to wait, Freeza?"

"Of course, daddy," Freeza replied in a mellow voice, though inwardly, he honestly felt quite annoyed. He had already told his father his plan for this miserable planet and that putrid Son Goku, and he hated being questioned, even by his own flesh and blood. "But I want him to suffer when he gets here, so I'll kill all the Earthlings. There seem to be quite a few of them out there, but three hours should be plenty." He threw his head back and laughed in a rather sadistic manner. "Won't he be unhappy!" That Saiyan was finally going to know what pure defeat tasted like. They always say that revenge was a dish best served cold, after all.

I don't care about the Earthlings, but we must stamp out the Super Saiyan, no matter what," King Cold bluntly reminded his son. This Son Goku person would becoming too big of a threat in the future if they allowed him to live.

Freeza nodded once, smirking as he remembered how much trouble he put that Saiyan and his comrades through just to stand up to him. "With the two of us together, it will be no trouble." He paused, then added quietly to himself, "I could probably do it myself since I've grown even more powerful."

The half-metal Icejin turned around and addressed the several men that had come with him. "Alright, everyone scatter and kill the Earthlings that you can find!"

"Yes sir!" All of them shouted in return. A playful smirk made its way to Freeza's face. This was just too easy; he might as well just blow up the Earth right now, but where was the fun in that?

A small thud sounded behind Freeza, making him turn around to see what the source was. A figure was standing several feet away from him, undoubtedly an Earthling. The figure was tall, even taller than Goku, but they were wearing a dark cloak with the hood on, completely covering up their body and hiding their face from Freeza.

The Icejin narrowed his eyes at the mysterious figure. "What do you want, Earthling?" he asked in a rather dry manner.

The figure didn't respond, instead still just standing there, unmoving and silent. Freeza tsked in mild annoyance. "Not talking, are we? Or are you just dumb?" he didn't give the figure a chance to respond, he turned to his closest subordinate. "Get rid of him," he ordered casually. "The others will dispose of the Earthlings."

"Yes, sir!" The underling, looking rather like a humanoid fish creature, stepped forward, pulling out his blaster weapon and aiming it at the figure, chuckling to himself as he read their power level on his scouter. "A battle strength of only five? Ha, what a hopeless idiot…"

He fired the weapon at the figure, but faster than any of them could blink, the figure stuck a hand out of his cloak and easily knocked the blast of energy away as if he were merely swatting a fly. The fish-man's eyes widened slightly at this, though before he could fire the weapon again, the figure was suddenly right in front of him and backhanded him swiftly, sending him rapidly flying and crashing into the ship. A sickening crack filled their air as soon as he made contact with the ship; he was dead long before his body hit the ground.

Several of Freeza's men stared in shock at both their deceased comrade and the mysterious Earthling that had killed him with almost no effort. The Icejin, however, remained unfazed, simply observing this Earthling with a new interest. All of his other men quickly charged towards the figure, probably to avenge their fallen teammate, but as soon as the moved, the figure reached inside his cloak with his right hand and, with the shrill sound of metal scraping against something, drew out a slightly curved blade from his hip.

The figure was a blur as he rushed forward, appearing behind the group of underlings within a single heartbeat. All of them suddenly stopped and stood eerily still for a few long moments, then all collapsed to the ground, and just like the first one, they were all dead before they even touched the dirt. The figure sheathed his sword, turning his attention back to the two Icejins, the only ones still breathing.

OoOoOoO

The Z-Fighters all suddenly tensed up, their eyes widening as they looked up in the direction of Freeza's ship. Bulma blinked in slightly surprise at this, looking off in the same direction with Puar, who was floating right next to her. "W-What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, hoping that something just as bad or even worse didn't show up out of nowhere.

"One h-huge chi suddenly appeared…and a whole lot of chis suddenly disappeared…" Krillin managed to say, still looking as shocked as the rest of them. "What's going on…?"

OoOoOoO

King Cold smirked at the figure. "Not bad…" he complimented.

"…For an Earthling," Freeza finished, wearing a similar facial expression to his father. Those underlings were nothing, just mere pawns in this plan. "What, do Earthlings suddenly think that they're strong enough to rebel against me? Ha! 'The half-strong die first'…and old lesson that you'll have to learn the hard way!"

The figure still remained silent, then suddenly spoke up in a hoarse whisper, "You'd better bring everything you've got at me." Freeza heard him loud and clear, though he didn't recognize the voice at all. "I'm not a pushover like Goku."

Freeza furrowed his brow at him at the mention of that Super Saiyan's name. "Son Goku…? So you're one of his friends, are you?" Oh this day just kept getting better and better. Fate was practically handing all the fun to him! "I promised that I'd made both the Earthlings and that Saiyan's friends suffer greatly, and you fit the bill perfectly. Of course, since you killed my men I'll have to do it myself now."

The figure didn't respond this time, but instead got into what Freeza could see was some kind of fighting stance. A blaze of red aura suddenly flared up around the figure, slightly startling both Icejins. "This is a Super Saiyan?" King Cold asked, unable to tear his gaze away from him.

"No…this is definitely not a Super Saiyan," Freeza responded, not expecting the sudden aura but also curious as to just what the hell this was.

OoOoOoO

"W-What is this chi?!" Krillin gasped out, sounding as shocked and confused as the rest of them felt, the new chi dramatically increasing in barely a second and easily dwarfing both Freeza's and that second chi!

"Is it dad?!" Gohan asked hopefully, but then frowned a moment later. "No, it doesn't feel like him…" he trailed off slightly in disappointment.

"But there's definitely something familiar about that chi…" Tien finished what Gohan, and pretty much everyone else, was thinking.

OoOoOoO

"Listen up, Earthling, you're the one who's going to die today!" Freeza shouted gleefully, raising up his right hand and charging up energy before firing a gigantic blast of energy directly at the figure. The energy exploded upon impact, a deafening boom shaking the air and sending a mushroom cloud of a blinding blaze into the atmosphere. The blast disappeared as soon as it arrived, and when the smoke cleared, there wasn't a single bit of evidence that the figure had even been standing there.

King Cold laughed joyously at his son's easy victory. "Nice work, lad! So much for Earth's pitiful rebellion!"

No sooner had those words left the taller Icejin's mouth then did a dim glow of blue light appear in the corner of their eyes. Both of them turned to see the figure, miraculously unscratched and still surrounded by the red aura, standing on top of one of the plateau's rock formations and charging a ball of energy within his hands, which he fired at the two of them barely a second after their eyes found him.

The ball of energy exploded at Freeza and Cold's feet, or at least would have if the two of them didn't ascend into the air at the last second. A flash of red caught Freeza's attention, and he looked up in time to see the figure right above him, his sword drawn, and before Freeza even had a chance to react, the figure was suddenly right in front of him, slicing his sword downward and cutting through his half-metal body like it was warm butter.

OoOoOoO

"Krillin, look!" Gohan shouted out of nowhere, pointing upwards into the sky.

"Wha—?" The bald martial artist started to ask, but cut himself off as soon as he and the other Z-Fighters saw just what had gotten Gohan all riled up. "Oh!" It looked like a speck in the distance to the normal human eye, but thanks to all their enhanced chi training, they saw so much more.

Freeza and a second, taller Icejin were hovering in the air, and a cloaked figure surrounded in the blazing red aura—the Kaioken technique, Krillin instantly recognized it—and a sword within his hands was right in front of Freeza. The figure sliced downwards at Freeza once, then rapidly sliced his sword several more times, easily cutting him into many, many pieces of flesh and metal. Then, faster than they could blink, the figure raised his free hand and blasted each piece of Freeza with a hugely powerful chi blast, singeing whatever was left of the Icejin and only stopping when tiny remained of the ashes were the only thing left.

As the figure sheathed his sword and began to descend, the second Icejin right behind him, the Z-Fighters could only stare at what had just occurred in barely a few seconds. "That was…Freeza…" Gohan managed to breathe out.

"He…he cut Freeza into bits…" Krillin said, unable to look away from what he had seen.

"What kind of eyes do you guys have? How can you even see that far away?" Bulma asked in mild annoyance, wishing that at least one of these powerhouses would just tell her what was happening already. "Goku showed up just in time, right? He got really strong and saved the Earth again?"

"…He's not Goku…" Yamcha quietly replied, making Bulma blink in shock.

"H-Huh?" she said, not sure how she was supposed to respond to that.

Gohan suddenly sped off in the direction of the Icejin and the cloaked figure, startling most of the Z-Fighters, though they followed in hot pursuit. Yamcha grabbed Bulma, his arms wrapping around her waist and her arms around his neck, and he flew them after the rest of the group.

OoOoOoO

The figure touched down a few mere heartbeats before King Cold did, the latter narrowing his eyes into a glare at the former. But a somewhat assumed tsk sounded from King Cold's lips and a grin appeared on his face. "That was marvelous, absolutely inspiring…slaughtering my son in an instant…" he started forward, slowing closing the gap between him and the figure. "Won't you become my child in his place? Ours is a clan open only to the very, very strong. Planets far more wonderful than Earth will be all yours."

Once again, King Cold was met with silence from the figure. "Not interested?" he asked, almost rhetorically. "Too bad, you'll never get a better deal. By the way, that's a nice sword you've got there. It sliced through Freeza's armored body too easily." He stopped walking, and held out one hand. "May I see it?"

The figure remained unmoving once more. King Cold's grin turned into a smirk. "What's the matter? Are you afraid to give it to me?" he asked, sounding close to taunting the figure. Still silent, the figure reached into his cloak again and drew his sword, completely pulling it out before tossing it to King Cold, who easily caught it by its handle. "Yes, it had a fine edge to it," he observed, bringing the blade to his face. "It was this that enabled you to defeat Freeza, don't you think?"

"What are you trying to say?" The figure's hoarse, quiet voice sounded for the second time, his tone almost unreadable.

King Cold chuckled darkly. "Only…that without this sword…you can never defeat me!" he shouted out the last part, charging at the figure and swinging the sword down at him. But something stopped the blade from hitting the Earthling as it were mere inches from his head, and it took King Cold a moment to realize that the figure's hand grabbing the blade was what had done it. The figure brought his free hand up to King Cold's chest, right where his heart was. "W-Wait—!" the Icejin began to protect, but it was too late, as the figure's hand was already alit with energy and easily blasted a beam through his body.

King Cold was sent flying backwards, crashing to a rock formation, his lifeless body falling to the group and spewing red liquids on to the dirt below it. The figure fired a second energy beam, completely obliterating the corpse into nothing like he had done with Freeza just a minute ago, and then once that was done with, he hopped up on to the closest rock formation and fired one final chi blast at the spaceship. The blast exploded upon impact, sending smoke and debris and whatever was left of the ship flying everywhere.

The figure breathe out, almost in annoyance. "Not even worth my time," he said to himself dryly as he sheathed his sword again, the red aura completely vanishing from his body. "I'm getting too old for this child's play." He turned around, looking directly at the Z-Fighters, who were all hovering in the air several yards away from where he was standing. Then he flew forward, headed straight for them; most of them tensed up, preparing for an attack, but the figure simply touched down once he was several feet away from them, still looking directly up at them.

The Z-Fighters all stared down at him for a moment, as if unsure if they should descend as well, but Gohan went down first, followed by Tien, the Piccolo, then Krillin, and the rest followed in suit, and soon all of them were back down on the ground.

"Hey there…" Gohan started out, a bit unsure how to address this mysterious figure, closing the gap between them by a few feet. But before he could say anything else, he heard Tien's voice speak out.

"Who are you? How did you manage to defeat Freeza so easily?" The triclops asked, his voice becoming borderline aggressive. Piccolo was close to asking the figure a question, but a soft dripping noise made him cut himself off. The dripping sound came again, and Piccolo finally realized that…the figure was crying, his tears streaming down his face and splashing on to the earth below him, and it seemed that the other Z-Fighters finally noticed it a few moments later.

"Gohan…" the figure suddenly said in a shaky voice, speaking rather hoarsely, almost whisper-like. "Krillin…Tien…Piccolo…Chiaotzu…" then he looked up and drew in a sharp, almost pained breath. "Puar…Bulma…!" when he looked up, the shadows of the hood that once completely hid his face started to retreat as sunlight hit the lower half of his face, allowing them to see the tears that fell from the scarred cheeks.

Piccolo tensed up. "There's no way…" he managed to say in shock, his eyes wide. Tien had a similar look upon his face.

"W-What?" Bulma asked in confusion, then she finally noticed the scars on the figure's cheeks, and gasped when she saw their shapes and placement. Before anyone else could say anything, the figure raised both hands to the hood and drew it backwards, exposing the long black hair with a few gray strands that was pulled back into a ponytail, the onyx-black eyes filled with tears, and the two scars—one over his right eye and the other on his left cheek—on the face that was all-too-familiar to all of them…

The Z-Fighters all stood slack-jawed and wide-eyed for several minutes, and then Krillin managed to choke out…

"Y-Yamcha?!"

The figure, undoubtedly an older version of the young ex-bandit standing next to them, stood in silence for a few moments as he raised a shaking hand to them, but then suddenly doubled over with a pained grunt, effortlessly catching the Z-Fighters off guard. The older Yamcha coughed and hacked violently a few times, holding his right side with one hand, and managed to pull himself up enough to turn away and heave dryly for a bit before the contents of his stomach exited his mouth, splattering on to the dirt below him.

A couple of the Z-Fighters had to turn away as the older Yamcha vomited, fighting back the urge to be sick as well, and once there was nothing left to throw up, the older Yamcha coughed roughly and stood up, shaking as he wiped his mouth clean with the back of his free hand, the other still painfully holding his side. "P-Please…" he said, his voice sounding faint, as he collapsed back on to his knees. "I-I need to…speak with…Goku…" he coughed violently again, his entire frame shaking. "He'll be here…in three…three hours…I need to speak w…with Goku…"

He didn't get the chance to say any more, as he suddenly fell forward, almost collapsing on to the dirt before Krillin and Gohan both rushed forward and grabbed him just as darkness took him over.

Bet you guys didn't see this one coming, did ya? XD

This is an alternate what-if retelling of the Android and Cell Sagas, based around the question: What if someone else went back in time instead of Trunks?

Yes, Vegeta stays dead after Freeza kills him on Namek, but don't worry, I have big plans for him later on in this story ^ ^

And I decided to make Bulma face her own issues with her jealousy and hypocrisy when it came to flirting with guys, which I believe is one of the biggest reasons why she and Yamcha broke up in the original timeline. I've always believed that Yamcha was the one who left Bulma, not the other way around. We've never seen HIM be fickle (keep in mind, I've only read the manga, I never watched the anime); I've also noticed how Bulma has constantly flirted with and glomped tons of guys, yet screams at Yamcha and accuses him of being a playboy if he so much as looks at another girl, so I have reason to believe that Bulma was the one who screwed up their relationship, not Yamcha.

But in this story, I decided to make them go over this issue and, as a result of it, they don't break up in this timeline. I'm a YamBul fan myself, so I'm enjoying this more and more by the minute XD

And when Freeza asks him "Are you dumb?" remember, dumb can also mean mute, so he was just asking him if he couldn't speak and wasn't talking about intelligence...then again, this is Freeza we're talking about, soo...yeha x3

And I apologize for all the excessive detail put into this story, but I can't help it; I feel the need to explain every little thing that I put down in my stories x3