"Fighting in the quarter finals...well that's hardly dramatic at all." Frieza said, examining the charts of the upcoming fights in the darkened waiting area. "I only agreed to do this tournament because I had hoped we could get the final fight, Goku. A pity."

"Well, a fight in the quarter finals can still be cool." Goku said, flashing one of his signature grins. "And the fights coming after ours will be pretty good. Pan fighting Goten, Vegeta fighting Piccolo, and then Trunks will take on Tin's daughter Bento. I mean, they'll be pretty fun to watch, right?"

Frieza gave a dismissive shrug "Hmph, I suppose so." he turned his attention toward Gohan's daughter Pan, across the large room. She was short, only five years old by now, wearing an orange gi like her grandfather. Her own father was crouched in front of her, adjusting his glasses while giving her words of encouragement.

"And most importantly...try not to hurt your uncle Goten. Too badly." he said, before smiling at his daughter and tussling her hair.

Pan smiled the most adorable smile, so adorable that you wouldn't think her strong enough to blow up the moon with a stray energy blast "Okay daddy."

"And remember, win or lose we'll be incredibly proud of you." Videl added, crouching down and giving Pan a quick peck on the forehead. "M'kay?" Pan nodded again, continuing to smile sweetly at her mother.

Not too far away, Glace and Goten stood against one wall, chatting. Both had grown well, standing a little shorter than Goku. Goten had a shaggy mop of black hair atop his head, a conscious decision by him the last time he got a haircut, because he had grown to dislike looking like a miniature version of his father. Still, he had no problem wearing an orange gi of his own.

Glace had inherited much of her mothers beauty, though her skin was noticeably paler, and the small bio gem on her forehead had grown a bit. Her hair was styled in a long orange ponytail that draped over her right shoulder. As she was not taking part in the tournament itself, she was dressed casually in a red shirt and black track pants.

"So, why are you even back here?" Goten asked. A smirk crossed the demi-Saiyan's face, and he pointed a finger at the half-Heran "What, scared of the competition?"

"Pfft, hardly. I train just as hard as you do, if not more. I just train because I know we'll have to be the protectors of the galaxy one of these days." Glace explained with a low roll of her eyes. Then, she grinned suddenly "As to why I'm back here...you're about to get your ass kicked by a five year old. Why would I miss out on that?"

"Sheesh...you can be really mean sometimes." Goten murmured, folding his arms over his chest.

Glace innocently spun some orange hair around her index finger, a simple smile on her face. "Well that's what happens when your folks are former villains. Gives you a bit of extra evil in the womb."

Piccolo removed his weighted turban, the multiple tons of metal weighing heavily in his fingers before he set it down on the ground. He then reached up and lifted his weighted cape up, an even greater pressing into his hands before he set the cape down too. And then, just as he did this, Vegeta approached him from behind.

"Well Namekian, I'm surprised you actually decided to enter this tournament. You have to know you don't have a snowball's chance of winning." the prince mocked, his hands resting on his hips and just above the waistband of his blue shorts.

Piccolo turned, his expression unphased by Vegeta's insults. You just sort of got used to them over time. "I'm not in here to win. I just need to keep my skills sharp, and with no villains around, this is the best I'm going to get."

Vegeta snickered in response and kept smirking at the green-skinned alien "Hmph. A noble effort I suppose. But if I were you, I'd throw in the towel before our bout. See, I've got a new trick up my sleeve. Here, I'll give you a hint..." Vegeta raised his right arm up, and then he lifted three of his fingers and held them up for Piccolo to see "It involves the number three."

And with that, Vegeta turned and left, confidently striding through the large room like a lion among kittens. Piccolo was mildly stunned, before letting out a small huff and smiling "Took him long enough..."

Trunks watched his father stroll away from Piccolo and let out a small exhale. His father had been bragging about his new form since the day he unlocked it, bragging that he'd finally outdo Kakarot and take his spot as number one. It hadn't happened in the past, and the purple-haired half-Saiyan doubted Super Saiyan 3 would change anything...

He turned his focus back toward Bento, the human girl adjusting the red MMA gloves on her wrists "So, are you excited?" Trunks asked before adjusting the hem on his black Capsule Corp tank top "I mean these are supposed to be the big leagues."

"Hm...I guess so." Bento replied simply, her amber hair meaning that she was in a more dower and serious mood than normal. "My dad was excited to see me enter this tournament, but I doubt I'll win or anything. I think he should've entered, not me..."

"Well...you never know. I mean, hell, you might just come out on top in all this. Raw power doesn't guarantee a win, you also need skill and tactics to be a winner." Trunks said in an attempt to cheer up the triclops.

Bento gave a small shrug "We'll see. I certainly don't pln on just rolling over and giving up though. I'm gonna fight tooth and nail and get as far as I can." She chuckled and then managed to smile at her future opponent "Good luck."

The wealthy half-Saiyan smiled in response and then shook Bento's hand "Yeah. You too." Trunks said, grinning at the triclops.

The noise of drumbeats drifted along the air, entering into the vast hall and echoing off the spotless white walls. The ceremonial drums played before every match, to raise the excitement in both the spectators and the fighters. And then, above both the cheers of the crowd and the beating of the drums, came the very distinct voice of the tournament's famous blonde announcer.

"Alright people! Are! You! Ready?!" The roar of the crowd was his answer, their noise almost doubling. "Haha! That's what I like to hear! The World Martial Arts Tournament is nothing without the support of loyal fans like you! Here we go, the first fight of the quarter finals, between the former grand champion, and the newcomer Frieza!"

The former lord of the galaxy brushed some dust off the purple plates of his armoured vest, and then cast his gaze out of the large doorway "Well, they're certainly fans of theatrics over here." Frieza remarked simply. "And if that's the case, why don't we put on a show for the people?"

Goku started walking out onto the pathway with Frieza, the former enemies slowly walking up wile the cheers of the spectators roared all around them "What do you mean?" the kind-hearted Saiyan asked.

"Simple." Frieza began, letting his foot rest on the first step onto the clean white arena "We transform a few times, and give these plebs a battle they'll be able to tell their grandchildren about."

Goku let out a small hoot of laughter, evidently pleased with the idea "Now that sounds like fun. Sure thing! You better not hold back on me though."

"And miss a chance to prove my superiority to you again? Perish the thought." Frieza said, only half-joking. There was some small part of him that would always find joy in defeating a Super Saiyan...

"Ha, it's not gonna happen like that this time. My training with Saike, Goten and Pan has been keeping me even sharper than normal." Goku boasted "I plan on making it to the finals this time, and I'll have to go through you to get there."

The drumbeats kept filling the air, growing faster and more intense while Goku and Frieza entered their stances at opposite ends of the large square arena, the beating noise drowning out even the crowd that surrounded them. And then, rather abruptly, the drums stopped, as did the noise of the crowd as they fell into a hush. "Fighters, are you ready?!" the blonde announcer asked in his normal upbeat tone. "Begin!"

The gong sounded, Goku's body flashed golden as he transformed into his first Super Saiyan form, and then he promptly pushed himself forward just fast enough for the human eye to follow. His fist shot out, but was promptly blocked by one of Frieza's upraised forearms. He smirked wickedly and then drve his knee into Goku's torso, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him open long enough for the Arcosian to backhand him across the arena.

Goku bounced off the tiles once, before flipping up and landing firmly on his feet again. Not letting up, Frieza raced toward his foe and threw another punch, only for Goku to sidestep the attack. His own fist drove up and then promptly clocked Frieza in the jaw with a firm uppercut that knocked him straight upward into the sky. Goku dashed up and then flipped in the air before driving both of his boots into the Arcosian's back hard enough to smash him into the centre of the arena and smash up several tiles.

"Whoa! Did you see that people?!" The announcer yelled, sweat beading on his brow "Only a few seconds in and we're seeing a truly spectacular battle! These two must be setting world records!" 'I really hope they don't destroy the entire arena, we've only just started the tournament...'

Frieza ignored the roaring cheer of the crowd and forced himself to stand. He glared up at the grinning Super Saiyan, and then his eyes almost bulged out in shock and rage when Goku stuck his tongue out in a teasing fashion.

Still not a fan of being mocked, Frieza promptly leapt off the shattered tiles and flung his whole body at Goku, his shoulder promptly being buried into the Saiyan's sternum. Goku gagged from the pain, but it wasn't able to linger long before Frieza hammered him with a trio of strong strikes to the face. He went to swing his tail into Goku's ribs, but this time the Saiyan was able to intercept and caught the long white limb with only an inch to spare.

With Frieza still caught by the tail, Goku swung him outward and snapped his body outward like a whip before promptly spinning and launching him back down toward the arena. This time however, rather than let his foe strike off the tiles, he intercepted Frieza with Instant Transmission and buried his fist into Frieza's kidney, stopping his momentum entirely and sending waves of pain cascading throughout Frieza's body.

Goku pushed his body back by a few inches while Frieza was still reeling from the pain, rapidly forming a blue ball of light in his palm. He launched the ki ball outward, but Frieza managed to gather his thoughts in time to spin and swat the orb or energy into the sky with a tail swipe "You're a very sneaky Super Saiyan..." he growled.

"Well I was trying out a few of your classic tactics." Goku said, smiling innocently. The ball of light exploded over a dosen metres in the sky above the arena, sending various shades of blue and purple across the cloudy sky. The crowd watched with a sense of awe, as if they had just seen the worlds greatest fireworks show.

The two warriors ignored the explosion overhead and drove at each other again, exchanging powerful punches and kicks, and for every strike that hit home another one was blocked or parried by their foe. Their fists collided in the air with enough force to create a mighty explosion, the gust caused by it almost blowing the crowd of spectators over.

And then,rather abruptly, the two flipped away from each other and landed on their original starting positions. "That was a pretty good warm up." Goku said, smiling.

"Not too bad I suppose." Frieza replied glumly. He rolled his head, cracking his neck and working out the kinks. "Are you ready for the real fight?"

"WHOA! Do you hear that people? These two super-warriors were only just warming up!" the announcer yelled while a sense of awe and dread filled him. They would most definitely lose the arena in the first round..."How much more intense can this battle possibly get?!"

The crowd continued roaring and cheering while Goku and Frieza lowered back down into their fighting stances again, enemies turned friends glaring at each other across the arena. They yelled in unison, their auras erupting outward and setting their halves of the arena gold and purple respectively. Another flash broke out from the arena, briefly blinding the gathered spectators.

When the white light began to die down, the audience was treated to the sight of a crackling Super Saiyan 2, and a looming Super Arcosian. Lightning cascaded over Goku's body, while Frieza's aura hung around his body in faint whisps. His clothing had shifted and warped to match his new larger frame, though his new spikes had punched holes in his armour wherever they had to.

"Look at that people! Goku and Frieza have undergone...transformations of some sort! This is truly remarkable!" The crowd cheered again, amazed as if they were taking part in some sort of real-life Shonen.

"You ready?" Goku asked, lowering himself down into a sprinting stance.

"Always." Frieza growled, fully prepared to launch himself forward.

With that they dashed straight towards each other, rushing like planets about to collide, the most unlikely of allies in the enture universe. They pulled their fists back in unison, ready to prove who was the best once and for all.

A/N: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it. The end.

I really don't know what I can even say, other than 'Thank you' to every reader, and every reviewer. Even the negative ones, because they're the ones around to stop me from getting a swelled head. You're all awesome people, and it's your continued input and interest that led to this story going so far.

Originally I had planned to end this story at the Cell saga, but, well when the story became so inexplicably popular I decided to continue it even further. It did lead to me creating some decisions I've come to regret, some story elements that were either pointless or not utilized enough, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

As for the story and how it became so popular...I dunno why. My writing isn't exactly spectacular (Particularly in this story), but I suppose the rather interesting concept of a Frieza redemption story is good for drawing in the viewers. I'm sure that in time there will be stories that explore the idea far better than I did...Hell, Roketto's story 'Savior of Demons' is already looking better than my tale, and it's only 3 chapters in!

Still, this marks the first fanfic I've ever written to completion, and the first fanfic of mine that's ever gotten 1000 reviews. So I can be proud of that, certainly.

I'm not finished writing, of course not, I still have many tales to tell. If you liked this story then I guarantee you'll like my other story 'Guardian' much better because, to me at least, the writing is better and the plot more creative. I'm also writing another story titled 'Reign' which is sort of an opposite to this fic. I won't be updating Reign as often, but hell, it'll be a fun little side project.

Again, from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you all. For all the time you put into reading this fic, for all the attention, for all the positie and negative criticism, I thank you all.

The best is yet to come.