Chapter 5
He began seeing images in his sleep. His dreams turned to that of the source of the mountainous power. The winged Saiyan, covered in horrid faces and gold aura, had tortured to death the two mightiest men in the galaxy. Just looking at the being that had done this hurt him.
This Saiyan…He thought. It-it’s too…it’s too…powerful…
After King Cold had been taken to hell, Goku willed the stone cut outs around him to reappear. The stone images of Gohan, his other human friends, Piccolo, the other Namekians and Vegeta floated around him. While his friends didn’t even number a dozen, the Namekians slaughtered by Freeza and Vegeta were more than a hundred in number. After the crevice Cold had been dragged into closed, Goku held out his right arm to draw forth the qi that had been produced from the massacre of this city.
Upon his will, Goku began drawing energy produced from the dead citizens of the capital city. They took the form of small, purple stars that levitated toward him. The qi from the denizens of Marzipan was contaminated not only with evil but fear. In the few moments before they were wiped out, each of them were overwhelmed with misery upon feeling the Saiyan’s immense wrath. The knowing that there was nothing to do to stave off such deaths meant they felt terror, which translated to suffering.
The small, purple sparkles of qi that flowed from around him touched the stone silhouettes of Goku’s friends and the dead Namekians, igniting them with a strange light. Their faces could be seen on the surface of rock cutouts, flashing for an instant before disappearing. Goku felt relief to find Gohan and Krillin’s cut outs had their faces flicker on the shapes of rock before disappearing. He grunted in displeasure at this development.
You will need more suffering than that. The Trampled Innocence said. If you wish to resurrect your friends. You are heading in the right direction, you have gained some suffering needed for your friends' revival. Now…
Goku sensed them directing his attention further beyond the city. He looked over the destroyed remains of Marzipan before feeling many qi signatures similar to King Cold and Freeza. They were nowhere near as powerful but certainly contained a certain kind of malice in each of them.
This is not the planet the frost demons originate from. The many souls said to the Saiyan. Freeza’s lineage killed the original inhabitants before taking it for themselves. Now…in order to complete your Suffering Redirection Revival-
“I must purge them from this life,” Goku replied.
Yes! They cried. You must rid this world of its invading population!
Goku stretched out the fingers of his right hand to fully open his right palm. It glowed with golden qi before igniting into golden fire. Within the golden fire were the horrified expressions of innocents before they were killed by the frost demons. The flame reached far above Goku’s head before dissipating as he smiled.
“With pleasure,” he said.
With a single flap of his wings, he jettisoned into the air. At a speed beyond anything Goku had experienced before, he soared through the sky. His wings carried him as he scanned the land below.
With supernatural sight, the same way he was able to navigate his way from Namek, he observed the movements of those below him. The Trampled Innocence’s access to all the souls in the universe made clear everything happening below, as if it was occurring within inches of Goku. And by what he could see, the inhabitants of the planet were clearly frightened by what happened in the capital.
The frost demons were looking on at the rising smoke and dust arising from Marzipan. As others stared in terror, paralyzed by fear and confusion, others raced away from the destruction. Some did so in the flying, silver ships that crowded the roads of the pristine cities while others did so without such aid. Goku glared down at such things.
Bold enough to kill a planet’s people and steal it. He thought. But cowardly enough to run in terror when another does the same to you.
Goku stopped in midair, his anger reaching a boiling point. He found the frost demons staring up at Goku once he hovered in place above. The portion of the Trampled Innocence that was formed by Planet Cold’s original race were feeding him images of their destruction. He could see it as clear as if it happened that day.
The day the frost demons showed up caught them by surprise. They were a race of orange-skinned people with teal hair. The women’s hair was longer than the man’s while the males of their race grew four horns from their scalps. The alien race was known as the Monim and were known for their farming capabilities. The soil was rich in nutrients thanks to their agricultural techniques.
The frost demons, wanting a lush planet for themselves, took it by force. They showed up one day, led by a frost demon with an orange and purple color scheme. This man, named Chilled, killed every Monim they could find before taking the race’s expertly tilled land for themselves.
Goku’s anger only grew as he saw the army of frost demons led by Chilled incinerate the orange skinned aliens with beams of purple qi. They laughed as the Monim fled for their lives in terror, proving in vain as the frost demons turned to ash.
Why should we die unavenged? The Monim within him said. Why should our people have been annihilated while these monsters continue to breed on our land? The land we tilled? Why should we live in peace while murderers and the ancestors of murderers subsist off our labor?
Goku willed the souls of the Monim into his hands and held them together.
“Say no more,” he replied.
Goku moved his hands, held only inches apart, to the right side of his waist. The golden qi in his hands ignited with a strange visual effect, the Monim’s cries of agony and terror resounding so loud he was sure those below could hear. As their screams were the only thing that Goku could hear, the silhouettes of countless Monim floated around him. The frost demons from below looked up as the ball of golden light surged between his hands.
“Kame-” he cried.
The ball of golden light grew in size, causing his hands to move wider apart.
“Hame-” he shouted.
The ball of light doubled in size.
“Ha!” Goku shouted.
But rather than a single beam of light as usual, the beam of qi split into separate blasts. The numerous blasts of qi, each filled with the souls of the Monim as evidenced by their enraged expressions, struck the planet on different sides. Though Goku deliberately did not destroy the planet, the force with which it struck was strong enough to shake the planet. His Kamehameha was meant to disperse the qi of the dead Monim rather than explode Planet Cold.
Some of the blasts didn’t land much further from where Goku hovered over. Other portions of the blast reached back around the planet to strike the other side. The Kamehameha, scattered into hundreds of different beams, impacted Planet Cold on multiple locations.
With the Trampled Innocence giving the Saiyan supernatural sight, he found the scattered Kamehameha exploding the various oceans on the planet, wiping out several cities and even incinerating some forests. But that was not what he had fired his attack for. Goku had fired it to release the souls the attack was composed of.
And that was when the true terror began. With his supernatural vision, Goku could see the vaguely humanoid life forms crawling from the craters made by the attack. But their qi signatures were nothing like he’d ever sensed. And once they fully emerged from the depressions within said craters, they were nothing like Goku had seen either.
They were composed of what looked like pale green mist. Their bodies were not solid in the least bit, flowing like gaseous wind. The souls of the Monim arriving onto their old homeworld did not even truly resemble their original, man-like shape. Their appearance more closely resembled demons than men.
The shapes of green mist bore hideous faces that resembled tigers with rows of sharp fangs. Some of the shapes had multiple mouths, their many jaws layered beneath one another. Spikes covered their backs while sword-like appendages grew from their arms. Some of the souls even resembled bats as they had grown odd ears and leathery wings. Some of the creatures of pale green fog even had multiple eyes covering their bodies.
And there were millions of them. Literally millions swarming the planet. As Goku sensed their qi, he began to find the reason for their odd appearance.
These are beings made entirely of qi. He realized. They have no physical component at all. And because of them having no bodies to contain their qi…it manifests in their new forms resembling their true emotions. The Monim’s souls, weighed down with hatred, have morphed into something unlike their original appearance.
Goku watched as the souls ran amok the planet’s surface gliding towards the inhabitants at a speed he’d never seen before. No matter how far away they were from civilization at first, they quickly found the planet’s inhabitants to attack. The souls soared across the other side of the planet in mere seconds. Their lack of bodily presence not only seemed to allow the Monim to travel at a breakneck pace but extraordinary physical capabilities.
Upon reaching the frost demons, the result could only be described as wholesale slaughter. With claws like that of tigers, the Monim slashed the frost demons to shreds, the sliced halves of their bodies wetting the ground in blood. Many jumped onto the individuals of Freeza’s race, biting their heads off. Any time the souls of the Monim ate something, it was instantly digested.
The remains of the slaughtered frost demons caught fire. The mere touch of the Monim superheated their flesh before green flames erupted across their white and purple skin. The cities constructed by the frost demons were catching on fire as well, as even the metal touched by the Monim erupted in green fire.
The frost demons attempted to fight back, but it was futile. Any time they struck the figures made of green mist, their fists or feet passed through them. Any beams of qi the attacked race would fire had no effect, phasing through the Monim as if it had passed through water. Any attack the Monim used against the frost demons was effective but any attack used on them was impotent. Goku soon figured out why.
The Monim are not attacking the frost demons’ body but their qi. He realized. Since they are attacking the very life force of the frost demons, there is no bodily defense against it. But the frost demons cannot kill something that doesn't have a body, meaning it's futile to put up any defense. You can’t kill something that’s already dead.
Goku waited patiently for the Monim to have their revenge. He smiled with glee as the frost demons were massacred before his eyes, tens of thousands falling every second. It was not more than a few minutes before every frost demon lay dead, their blood painted their streets red and the green fire lighting their cities on fire. Once the frost demons had all been killed, the flow of violet qi ceased flowing from it.
As they had their revenge, Goku began drawing more qi tainted with suffering from below. With a wave of his hand, sparkles of green energy flowed from the planet’s surface into the stone cut outs that floated around him. Now, unlike after killing King Cold, they began to truly come to life.
Krillin and Gohan’s faces began flickering across the stone cut outs far more intensely. Piccolo’s image was even perfectly transposed over the rock silhouette. The other Namekians’ flat, rock cut outs began gaining depth, their stone bodies widening and gaining muscle. The stone soon turned to flesh and blood before Goku’s eyes, much to his relief.
They're coming back to life. Goku realized. They’re truly becoming real. And with them all alive, the dragon balls will exist again.
After enough stars of green qi flowed above, Krillin was the first to awaken. The stone cut out that composed his body morphed into the pale flesh of a human before he was dressed in the orange gi he typically wore as opposed to the Saiyan armor he wore on Namek. Goku was careful to restore Krillin to a state he remembered him as, as a student of Master Roshi. When he fully materialized, the short man opened his eyes with an expression of bright wonder.
“G-Goku?” he asked.
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He then jumped in fear of the Saiyan’s new appearance.
“Wh-What-?!” Krillin said. “What happened to you?!”
For the first time since his transformation, Goku gave a genuine smile. Tears filled his eyes as he was so happy to see his friend alive. In that moment he saw all the memories he shared with his best friend, all the dangers, the fun, the tournaments, even the early days they were rivals. Goku looked upon it with a sense of nostalgic mirth.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. It’s my fault.”
“Wh-What?!” Krillin asked. “B-But-?! I still don’t even know what’s going on! The last thing I remember, I…I…”
He then jumped in fear again.
“Where’s Freeza?!” he shouted.
“Gone,” Goku said. “He will never hurt anyone again.”
“B-But-!” Krillin said.
“Krillin,” Goku said. “I don’t think I’ll make it back to Earth. So I’ll tell you something before we part ways.”
At this, Krillin’s eyes watered with tears. Goku could feel his heart break, his qi filled with a deep sadness. It almost broke the Saiyan’s heart to sense but he pushed through the pain to say what he needed.
“Krillin,” he said. “You’re better than me. In every way.”
This broke his friend more than anything else.
“Wha-Wha-?” Krillin asked, sniveling. “No–No–”
“Yes,” he said. “You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. By far.”
“Bu-But-!” Krillin said. “I-I-I-I…am worthless! Especially compared to you! You…You-”
“Krillin,” Goku said. “Let’s be honest. The only reason I’m anything is because I’m a Saiyan. I was born with immense power and an ability to grow stronger after each beat down. I’m not special…I just was born with the right amount of brute force in my bones.”
He gave him a smile that only hurt Krillin more.
“I know you think you're useless,” Goku said. “And weak. But in reality…you’re not. It’s easy for someone with immense power to get their way. That’s how Freeza was. But with you…someone not as strong or as talented…you didn’t care.”
It was at this point that Krillin couldn’t look at Goku anymore. His eyes were shut all the way, tears running down his face. Everything he was telling Krillin was painful but Goku didn’t care. He had to tell his best friend the truth about himself. The truth that he didn’t want to hear. Because he didn’t want to know his best friend he idolized wasn’t as good as him.
“You, Krillin,” Goku said. “No matter how many times you had to face monsters stronger than you, even fights you knew you couldn’t win, you stuck it out no matter how hard it was.”
“Goku…” Krillin said. “Goku…please don’t leave me!”
“You did everything you could to protect the innocent and your loved ones,” he said. “No matter who it was or how hopeless the situation…you never gave up. And for that reason…you saved so many lives.”
Goku shook his head.
“You…” he said. “Krillin…you’re a testament to willpower and courage. You represent what a hero should be, more than me. Someone like me, born so strong, has no right to claim we’re anything like you…someone who manned their station even when the odds were against them.”
“But you fought when things looked dire!” Krillin shouted. “You did more to help than I ever could! I’m not as-”
“Krillin,” Goku said with a shake of his head. “Just…Just realize that you’re a treasure. The best friend anyone could ever have…because of that strong spirit you possessed. When you return to Earth…I want you to be remembered rather than me because of your virtue.”
“GOKU!” Krillin shouted. “Don’t-Don’t talk like that! I-”
“I’ve never known someone like you,” Goku said. “It was honestly the reason I became a Super Saiyan. The wrath born in me from that moment…the hatred welling up against a tyrant who used all his immense strength for violence and greed…while those born with less like you expended it on sacrifice for others.”
“Goku…” Krillin said in between cries. “You act like…like…”
“Like I’m not returning?” Goku said. “I…I honestly can’t say I will be. I…I have much to do. This duty I’ve been given…it’s beyond what a normal mortal could accomplish. So please…”
A single tear ran down Goku’s face.
“Take care of Gohan,” he said. “Just as you’ve been doing. I know that you can be Earth’s new protector and…his new guardian.”
“No,” he said. “This can’t be the end…it can’t be the end-”
“And hey,” Goku said.
He said it so gently that it abruptly stopped Krillin’s crying.
“I hope you get married like you said you wanted,” Goku said. “You deserve a good woman.”
This was too much for his friend.
“NO!” Krillin shouted. “GOKU! GOKU NO-!”
“Goodbye,” he said.
And with a wave of his hand he was sent flying away, headed back towards Earth. His body became nothing more than a stream of light, flashing through the cosmos. The golden qi that Krillin turned into before disappearing made Goku happy. He was glad that his friend’s life was renewed.
Goku looked around to find every one of the stone cut outs had taken on real flesh and blood. He found they greeted him with a similar expression of confusion. Everyone, without exception, was beyond shocked. Most couldn’t even speak, they were too terrified.
Of all those surrounding him, it was Gohan he turned to. The boy was dressed in his purple gi that resembled Piccolo’s. The half-Saiyan was shaking his head as he looked at his father before finally uttering something.
“D-Dad!” he said. “What-?! What are you?!”
“It’s just like Vegeta said,” he answered.
“What?!” Vegeta cried. “No! No! It-It can’t be!”
Vegeta backed away in midair, clearly scared of him.
“It’s–” he said. “Your qi! It’s–it’s massive! I’m…I’m so-!”
“Scared?” Goku asked. “Glad you didn’t become this?”
Vegeta shook in fear.
“I’m glad you’re all safe now,” he replied. “I did what I could to revive you…now…go make your own futures.”
“And what future is that?” Piccolo asked. “Do you have something in mind for us?”
“No,” Goku said. “Just protect the Earth from tyrants like Freeza. Be sure that you can do so without me.”
“I don’t know if we can do that, Goku!” Teinshinhan said. “I mean…you’ve always had our backs when facing the biggest threats but…but are you saying you’re leaving for sure?!”
He shrugged.
“I can’t say for sure,” Goku replied. “I’d like to return home but part of me…part of me feels like I have too much to do here to return.”
“You have to come back,” Yamcha said. “It just won’t feel the same without you. I mean…you changed my life. I met Bulma because of you…I became a martial artist after meeting you…we’ve been through so much together. I became a better person because we met.”
“I’m sorry, Yamcha,” Goku said. “But the way things are…I want you guys to stop relying upon me. All of you…you’re all so good in your own way. I don’t want to outshine you all anymore. I want, more than anything, for you to be as strong as I am. Even stronger if you can believe it.”
He then turned to his son.
“And Gohan…” he said.
Goku could see tears well up within his son’s eyes.
“Uh-huh?” he asked.
“Gohan, you have so much potential in you, it’s unimaginable,” Goku said. “You can do so much more than me. You’re far stronger than me when I was your age. And smart too.”
“Th-” he said, unable to form the words.
“Promise me…you’ll study hard like your mother wanted you to,” Goku said. “Don’t become someone who can’t count, like you’re dad. Stick to those books.”
Goku could see tears well up within his son’s eyes.
“Y-Yes…” he said. “Da-ad…I will.”
“Good,” he said.
With a wave of his hand, Gohan disappeared in a flash of light. As he disappeared in the form of a golden stream of qi, Goku wished to give him one last segment of wisdom. He reached out to Gohan with telepathy to give him his parting words.
He was sent flying back to Earth as a golden stream of qi, guided by the cosmic map given to him by the Trampled Innocence. Everyone around him stood in stunned silence as he vanished. Goku then turned to Piccolo.
“Thanks,” he said. “For taking care of him when I couldn’t.”
Piccolo shook his head.
“You-” he said. “You’re welcome. Honestly…I’m glad to have met him.”
“Before he left for Namek,” Goku said. “Gohan told me you died saving him back on Earth. He must have really changed you, considering you were pure of heart enough to be amongst the Trampled Innocence.”
“Well…” Piccolo said. “I don’t know if I’d call myself pure of heart. I-I-I was just too angry at Freeza for…for all he’d done. For killing Gohan. Once I sensed Gohan’s soul while…while on the other side…I knew I needed him dead. Though…I suppose Gohan wanted him dead as well, so…so my wrath didn’t matter.”
“Oh,” Goku said. “Gohan wasn’t a part of the Trampled Innocence. Krillin wasn’t either.”
A collective gasp followed everyone, save Vegeta, who looked a little disinterested in the conversation and was more so admiring Goku’s new power and appearance.
“B-B-But how?!” Piccolo shouted. “Gohan, Krillin…! Especially Gohan–he had to be pure of heart! Just had to!”
“Oh, they’re pure alright,” Goku said. “But they never sought revenge. Because they held no anger against Freeza, they were not a part of the Trampled Innocence. You not only have to be pure of heart to be amongst that collection of souls…but your heart…it must be filled with the desire for revenge.
A collective sigh fell across Piccolo and the rest of the humans. The Namekians Goku had never met began to understand the situation from this conversation. They began to understand it was not only Goku that resurrected them and avenged them, but that they were part of the Trampled Innocence before being resurrected.
“So Piccolo really is a good guy after all,” Teinshinhan said. “I guess I can understand after fighting off Freeza and the Saiyans but…”
He then turned and glared at Vegeta.
“What about him?” he asked.
“Yeah!” Yamcha cried. “What about that murderer?! He’s the reason we’re even here to begin with!”
Goku gave a soft smile toward Vegeta, the Saiyan prince too prideful to face them.
“Vegeta may have been a monster in his life,” Goku said. “But somewhere beneath that…I could feel some reluctance to do the things he did. He was forced to become the killer we know him as since Freeza held his father hostage. In a different situation…I feel Vegeta would have been a different person.”
Vegeta glared back at Goku, his expression downright murderous.
“Don’t think I’ve fallen for your wretched sentimentality, Kakarot,” he answered. “I regret telling you what I did on the brink of death.”
“I know,” he said. “You’re pride would never have allowed you to say it in any other time. But now…”
Goku held his hand forward.
“You have a chance to start over.”
And after saying that, Goku flung his hand forward and Vegeta became a whisk of golden light that sped towards Earth.
“Start fresh,” he said upon Vegeta disappearing. “Do better next time. I sensed you’ve already changed a little.”
He then turned to Piccolo, the Namekian stunned.
“You too,” Goku said. “You’ve become different as well. And with you back, so is Kami.”
As Piccolo turned into a beam of qi headed towards the Earth, Goku did so to Teinshinhan as well.
“You were the strongest on Earth before me,” the Saiyan said. “I hope you can gain that title again.”
With a whisk of his hand, Chiaotzu disappeared in the stream of gold as well.
“Do your best to help Tein become even stronger,” Goku said.
With a flinging of his hand, Yamcha turned into a stream of light headed toward the Earth.
“Take care of Bulma,” he said to him.
Goku then turned to the Namekians, all of them looking stunned at the spectacle.
“I’m glad you all did what you did,” Goku said. “After transforming, I saw your plight. Even to the point of death, you would not tell Freeza the password to the dragon balls. That…That takes a special kind of morality. I’m proud of you…and for taking care of my friends when they left Earth.”
With a whisk of his hand, the Namekians turned into streams of gold and were sent flying back to Namek. With the last of those he resurrected arriving on their home planet soon, Goku then turned back to the destruction occurring on the planet below. With his connection to the Trampled Innocence, Goku called out to all of the Monim.
Are you satisfied with your vengeance? Goku asked them.
Yes. The Monim collectively answered. We have reclaimed this planet for ourselves.
Goku nodded before flapping his wings and jettisoning off into space, hungry for his next planet to wipe clean of invaders.
Next stop…The Trampled Innocence collectively said. Planet Hera, once known as Agar. It is not far from here.
Good. Goku replied.
With his immense speed, he arrived at Hera. Goku overlooked the planet, finding it full of red oceans and teal trees. With his supernatural sight, he found the people below to sport orange hair and greenish-blue skin. Goku did not find nearly as much malice here as he did on Planet Cold. While he was still filled with a great rage, he was a bit confused. This planet did not have near the same amount of evil qi flowing from it as Planet Cold’s.
And what did this race do? Goku asked.
The Hera bought our planet once Freeza’s men killed us. A portion of the Trampled Innocence said. We were the Agarians, a race that lived within its seas before Freeza’s soldiers destroyed us. After Freeza’s men did the dirty work, the Hera bought it for the highest price and named it after their home world that had been destroyed.
The Super Saiyan narrowed his eyes, growing more furious as the Trampled Innocence fed him images of the Agarians being wiped out in droves. Goku then put his hands together as he gathered the souls of the Agarians into his next Kamehameha. He glared down as he could see the Hera below looking up in fear.
They shall bear the sins of their ancestors. He told the Trampled Innocence.
He then fired his attack, releasing the souls of the Agarians onto the Hera.