~*****~

"You seem to delight in seeing other people suffer," Goku growled. "And you treat life like a disposable commodity. You destroy homes... You take the lives of innocent, peace-loving people... You even take the lives of children. And all of this, for your own amusement or personal gain. Well... Now it's your turn!"

"Oh... Is it really? And I suppose the great Super Saiyan is going to arrive and magically defeat what has never been defeated? It's legend... Fantasy." Frieza sneered.

"Who cares? Look, I don't care about the stupid legend! See? It's me who's going to stop you!" Goku exclaimed. "Mara, get back."

I nod quickly and scramble towards Gohan, Krillen, and Piccolo. "Come on," I hiss to them. "We'd only be a distraction at this point." Gohan hesitated on moving. "Gohan, your father will be okay!"

Gohan scrunched up a little. "I'm leaving you, Dad! Don't you dare lose!" Gohan shouted. The two of us rocketed off after Krillen and Piccolo.

"Look out!" Piccolo barked and saved Gohan and I from an enormous blast.

"Th-Thanks--" I stammer as we get further away. "It's a war zone over there..." The ground began to shake below us. "Oh, man-- It's like the planet is falling apart!"

"Dad..." Gohan muttered. He made a move to return to his father.

"Gohan, no!" I snap at him, my hand grasping onto his arm. "You've got to have some faith in your father! If you show up right now, he'll be vulnerable. He wouldn't survive if he lost you."

Gohan nodded after a moment of thought. "Come on, dad...." Gohan murmured.

~*****~

"Oh, man! This is just terrible!" Krillen exclaimed. "I'm afraid Goku may have overestimated himself!"

"Not a chance!" Gohan barked. "My dad's gonna tear that guy to shreds, just watch!"

"But..." I mutter. "Something... Something doesn't feel right."

The planet shook below us, and a large boulder began lifting from the planet. "Oh, man! It's as big as an island!" Krillen stammered.

"No way! How can he do that?!" Gohan asked. "That thing's gigantic!"

Frieza sent it hurtling towards Goku. Any other man would've perished, but Goku just grabbed it, slid for a bit until it came to a stop against a giant rock formation. The boulder split in two, and Goku was unharmed. Frieza attacked him again, and sent the man hurtling towards the planet, causing a large scale explosion to break the surface. We all hit the ground, covering our heads to protect ourselves from the debris. We ended up being buried in sand.

I groaned audible as I pulled myself from the sand and began hacking out the grit that had began burning at my nose and throat. "Oh, no--" Krillen stammered as he gazed at the large crater.

"Wow, what power! And he's still just warming up!" Piccolo exclaimed. "Frieza could destroy this whole planet in an instant if he wanted to, no problem! He wasn't serious when he was fighting Goku, he was just playing!"

"P-Piccolo, if what you're saying is true," I stammered. "We're in serious trouble..."

"M-My dad's gone... Isn't he, Piccolo?" Gohan asked nervously.

"No, Gohan," I reassure him. "Frieza may be holding back, but is Goku. Look--" I point at the figure emerging from the dust.

Gohan and Krillen began laughing in relief. "Right on!" Krillen exclaimed. "How did he do it! It's crazy!"

"He outran the explosion somehow! That's fast!" Piccolo added. "It's hard to imagine."

"How can they do all that stuff?" Gohan gasped. "It's... just not normal."

"They're monsters..." Piccolo grumbled. "One good... One evil..."

"S-So this is it?" I whimper. "The calm before the storm?"

"Yeah, you got that right." Piccolo answered.

The ground began shaking again, causing me to fall to my knees in response.

"Whoa!" Gohan exclaimed. "Check out that splash!"

"Yeah, that was a pretty big chunk!" Krillen added.

"Look... Just look at 'em..." Piccolo mentioned. "It's hard to believe, but the outcome of this fight will influence the future of the entire universe."

"And we're the only ones who get to watch it..." Krillen hummed in awe.

"Hopefully, we'll get a chance to do more than that." Piccolo stated.

"Y-You can do whatever you want!" I exclaim quickly. "I want to get back to Earth! I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime!"

Frieza and Goku flew off. "They they go!" Gohan exclaimed.

"What? They're landing already?" I ask.

"They're choosing a battle sight." Piccolo explained. "Frieza must fight better when he's in the air. Goku's call. This is it..."

"Go, Dad..." Gohan hummed.

The two began fighting again, and my eyes darted around wildly, trying to keep up with the fighting, but there was no way I'd be able to. "He- He's faster than Goku!" I exclaim. Goku ended up grabbing Frieza by his tail and swinging him around. I slapped at my face irritably. "Frieza can destroy boulders with that tail of his. Why is Goku grabbing it?"

"Well... Goku's always been odd..." Krillen mentioned.

Goku latched his teeth around Frieza's tail as he used it to restrain him. "Krillen, he bit him--" I groan. "The fate of the universe, and we're on the side of the giant child..." I stammer. "It's supposed to be a serious fight."

Krillen chuckled. "I guess when you realize this could be your last fight, there's no hurry to start." Krillen stated softly.

"No kidding," Piccolo stated. "We've all experienced that feeling before. It's not easy, but Goku seems to have a knack for handling this type of situation."

"Do you think Goku can pull this one off?" I ask meekly. "He's-- He's done it before..."

"It's... hard to tell." Piccolo answered honestly. "At this point, both of their powers have gone beyond our imagination!"

"That is true..." Krillen hummed softly.

"Look out!" Piccolo barked and grasped at my arm. I collapsed into his front as a familiar scooter crashed into a boulder. Bulma leapt into the air and landed in a strange pose.

"M-My scooter--" I stammer. "Bulma, what the hell!" I exclaim. "Wait..." I hum in confusion. "You're so not... Bulma..."

"I still got it!" Ginyu's voice echoed out.

"She's still got what?" Gohan asked.

"Uh, hey, Bulma," Krillen hummed curiously. "What's going on? Now, I know you're mad at us for leaving you by yourself, but it's really not safe for you to be here."

I just stared at her. "Hey, what's that?" Ginyu asked in an effeminate voice.

"That's... Where Frieza and Goku are fighting..." Krillen explained skeptically as I nervously took a step away from Bulma's body.

"Really?! Wow! There they are!" Ginyu exclaimed.

"Hey, Bulma! No, wait!" Krillen exclaimed.

"Oh, my! This is fantastic!" Ginyu kept exclaiming.

"You seriously can't be falling for this, can you?" I ask Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillen. Piccolo just shrugged. I let out a soft squeak as something slimy touches my ankle. I gaze down at the little frog patting at my leg frantically. "What the--" I kneel down to it and lift it up. He's croaking wildly and gesturing frantically to Bulma's body. "I knew it!" I exclaim as I stand up. "That's not Bulma, guys! It's Ginyu!"

"B-But he's a frog." Krillen reminded me.

"Yeah, and Bulma's a genius. I think that Ginyu found her, and she probably though he was a cool frog that could understand her, so she made a device for him to speak." I explain as I hold up Bulma the Frog. "She's a genius, all right-- a really dumb one."

Frog Bulma croaked unhappily as she dangled from my hands. "It's payback time!" Ginyu bellowed. He ran forward and began slapping at Krillen's head. After a few moments, he leapt back, panting roughly. "Th-There's no way I'm going to beat 'em with this body!" He went silent for a moment. "No I got it! I pick you!" Ginyu exclaimed while staring at Piccolo. "Change... Now!" I casually tossed the frog into the line of fire, and the change was reversed. I stared down at the frog irritably.

"Are you okay, Piccolo?" Gohan asked.

"What... What just happened, Gohan?" Piccolo asked.

"My hands..." Bulma sighed. "And both of my feet... And my body!" She quickly pinched her cheek. "Ouch! I'm not a frog!" She began cheering happily.

"Will you get out of here!" I exclaim to the little frog, to which he started panicking and hopping away as fast as he could.

"It's not safe here, especially for a girl." I hear Krillen mention.

I duck as another explosion rings out, sending Bulma flying. Goku is getting beat really bad. "Goku's having trouble out there..." I mention breathlessly. "You guys might need to jump in and help-- Where'd Bulma go?!" I shout as I gaze around.

"I think she got blown away by the explosion." Gohan mentioned.

I groaned pathetically. "She's going to kill me..." I whine.

~*****~

I planet splits in two after a large scale attack. "What did he do?!" Gohan gasps.

"He-- He split the planet in half... But what I don't understand is... How come Goku isn't even fighting back against him? Something isn't right here, and we've gotta find out what." Krillen stated.

"Goku just realized the truth," Piccolo answers. "Regardless of how powerful Goku thinks that he is, Frieza is a hundred times stronger and Goku can't defeat him!"

"Shut up!" I hiss at him. "He'll-- He'll get him! He... He has to..." I stammer. They kept fighting. Goku has surges of power, but he's constantly losing it too.

"Goku's Kamehameha attack was awesome, but nothing happened!" Krillen exclaimed. "How is it possible that it had no effect on Frieza?"

"I guess my Dad is losing his power again..." Gohan suggested.

"Well, the I guess it's true. Frieza is invincible!" Krillen exclaimed.

"The fight is over for Goku..." Piccolo explains softly. "King Kai was right all along. Before this even started, he warned us to avoid Frieza at all cost."

Frieza started attacking Goku again. "I'm coming, Dad!" Gohan shouted.

"Gohan, no!" I snap and grasp his shoulders. "Don't interfere! I know-- I know it's hard.. I know it is, but I believe Goku can do this!" I shout.

"Are you insane?!" Piccolo barked at me. "Don't instill hope within him while the battle is lost!"

"You don't know Goku like I do!" I snap at him. "He takes beating... Yeah, he'll get hurt, a lot... But... But he's always come back from the brink! Always! Goku is the strongest man I know, and I know he'll beat Frieza for sure!"

"I've had enough of this!" Gohan exclaimed. "I'm going to help him!"

"No, wait!" Piccolo barked.

"I can't! My Dad's getting destroyed out there!"

"Be patient, Gohan," I coo. "He's not finished-- even if some of us believe it to be so." I shoot a glare at Piccolo.

"I-- I never said--"

"While you've been whining about how Goku's going to lose, he's been preparing a surprise for Frieza." I snap as I point towards Goku. He's got his hands in the air.

"That's the spirit bomb!" Krillen exclaimed.

"What? Spirit Bomb?" Piccolo asked in shock.

"The ultimate attack... Goku was personally trained by the master himself, King Kai," Krillen explained. "It actually draws energy from the planet and everything on it. From mountains and trees, animals, people... right down to the smallest micro-organisms. And when the force is strong enough, it's released in one massive ball of energy."

"Really..." Piccolo hummed. "Maybe Frieza won't have the last laugh after all..."

"But... Will the energy ball be strong enough to take out Frieza?" Gohan asked. "Because there are hardly any living things on this planet to draw energy from!"

"I can see that!" Krillen snapped. "But we have to trust in Goku's instincts, Gohan! It's our only defense against that monster, Frieza! It's all we have left..."

"Come on, Goku..." I plead. "Give it your best shot..."

"Wh-What was that?!" Piccolo shouted when energy began crackling against my skin.

"Look at that!" Gohan exclaimed.

We all cast our gazes upwards, and I began to gape. "That's-- That's the spirit bomb?!" I yelp. "And it's about to detonate! He-- he must've drawn power from other planets, too!"

"I've never seen anything like it!" Piccolo gasped.

"Mara, do you think it will keep growing?" Gohan asked.

"It all depends on Goku's concentration. The ball is about... fifty meters in diameter. The universe is a big place, there's no telling how big it'll get."

"Frieza doesn't seem to be capable of detecting the attack," Piccolo stated. "So tell me, what's taking Goku so long to use it?"

"Probably because Goku doesn't think it's big enough to defeat Frieza..." I hum softly. "But I'm worried what it'll do to the planet."

"Oh, please hurry, Dad," Gohan whimpered. "There isn't much time left!"

"Oh, no!" Krillen yelped as Frieza began attacking Goku again. "Frieza knows!"

"I don't think so!" Piccolo snaps.

"Even-- Even being attacked like that, Goku is still so focused!" I exclaim.

"Dad, please, come on," Gohan pleaded.

"Gohan, Krillen, Mara-- we have to surrender our powers!" Piccolo ordered. "Grab my hands!"

Krillen and I put our palms into Piccolo's left hand, and a strange sensation sapped me of my energy. "In-- Incredible!"

"C'mon!" Piccolo growled. "You have to concentrate!" He kept ordering. I started to slump against Krillen's side. Just as it feels like I'm going to pass out, Piccolo stopped. "That should do it. We don't want to give up all of our energy..." Piccolo explained. I leaned against the ground on my shaky hands. "Frieza knows about Goku's attack... You three! Stay put and don't move! I've got some unfinished business to take care of!" Piccolo took off, kicking Frieza away from Goku, and giving him the time to finish his Spirit Bomb.

"Piccolo?" Gohan hummed.

"What's he trying to do?" Krillen asks. "He can't win!"

"What?" Gohan asked.

"He's trying to stall Frieza while Goku powers up the Spirit Bomb..." I mention. "But... As powerful as Frieza is, Piccolo's got a death wish."

"No, Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed as he tried to enter the battle again.

"Gohan, wait!" Krillen exclaimed. He shook his head at the boy. "Goku... Please, hurry..." The battle between Frieza and Piccolo was clearly one sided, and it gave Krillen and Gohan no choice but to send their own energy blasts towards him. And it alerted him to our whereabouts.

"Oh, great--" I stammer in a panic. Frieza lifted his finger, a sparking black ball of energy held high on his pointer finger. "That's not good! Goku!" I shout. "Get him!! Do it!" He finally launched the spirit bomb, right down onto Frieza. I leapt over and tackled the two boys onto the ground, shoving their heads down desperately in an attempt to save us from the explosion.

It didn't matter much. We were blown away anyway. My lungs burned desperately as I'm thrown into the water. I resurfaced with a shrill yelp and rose into the air while hacking out the water that had been inhaled.

"Guys!" I croak loudly, still hacking up my lungs. "Where are you?!"

"Mara! Over here!" I hear Krillen shout. I whirl around wildly until I see him and Gohan. I flew towards them. "You think that's the end of Frieza?" Krillen asks.

"I hope so..." I murmur.

"But, where's my daddy?" Gohan asks. "He was pretty close to the blast when it went off... So maybe he... Maybe he was too close!"

"Don't worry, Gohan. I've seen your dad take an ax to the head before, and his head won." I explain meekly.

"But... I can't feel this..." Gohan stammered. "His presence."

"That's because you're not concentrating hard enough on it, Gohan," Krillen stated. "And... Besides, he was with Piccolo. They're both all right."

"Look..." Gohan hummed. "What is that? Over there?"

Over on a ridge, I spot an unmistakable green arm pulling himself out of the water. "It's Piccolo!" I exclaim. He's lugging another body out of the water. "He's got Goku! He's alive! Let's go!" I shout as the two hug my sides. We all fly towards them, although we were shaking and weak, we managed to meet them with wide grins and teary eyes. "God, it sure is hard to fly after giving Piccolo most of our energy!"

"Piccolo! Dad!" Gohan chirps happily.

"Are you two okay?" I ask urgently. Gohan runs at his dad and embraces him in a sweet hug. Goku holds up his thumb with a tired smile.

"Hey, Piccolo," Gohan hummed. Piccolo hummed and ruffled Gohan's hair. "Aw, nothin'...." He murmured cutely before laughing.

I sigh out dramatically and collapse onto my knees. "After all this excitement, it's such a breath of fresh air to look at your adorable son, Goku..."

"That's my boy~" Goku laughed. "Hey, sorry to make you worry!" Goku mentioned to his son.

"Goku, your Spirit Bomb was just awesome!" Krillen exclaims. "It was so huge!"

"That's because it was filled with the energy of every living creature in the solar system!" Goku explained.

"Wow, you were right, Mara," Krillen commented.

"I gotta admit, I thought I'd never see you again!" Gohan mentioned.

"Surely you must have had more faith in your father than that?" Piccolo hummed.

"What was it you said earlier, Piccolo?" I retort playfully.

"Sh-Shut up!" Piccolo roared.

Krillen began laughing at us as I continued to tease Piccolo. "I guess now we can all get back down to Earth!" Krillen exclaimed. "For a while there, I didn't think we'd get back!"

"Who's suddenly not having faith, huh?" I retort as I jab at him in the side.

"It's-- It's not that I didn't have faith in Goku, it's just..." Krillen's face flushed. "I'm homesick."

I heave out another sigh. "You're telling me. I'm wearing spandex, I want to get back and put on some sweats before I get my nails and hair done up. Also, my bed has been calling my name! Do you know how much I spent on my super soft bed with massage controls?"

Goku laughed at me. He stopped after a moment and hummed. "Oh yeah-- Hey, Mara!" Goku chirped. "Why were you and Vegeta so close to the glass of my pod thingy?" He asks curiously.

"When we we're--" I stammer in confusion. Images begin flashing through my mind. My face flushes and I clam up. "SHUT UP! DON'T BRING UP SOMETHING LIKE THAT SO CASUALLY!"

"Wh-What?" Goku whimpered as I began hitting him. "Ow! Mara! Quit it, I'm still sore!" Goku complained.

The others laughed happily at us.