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A Tale of Two Tails

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A Tale of Two Tails is a Dragon Ball Z fanfic created by LOLOLO 99/metabroly that is being published in AO3 and   Fanfiction net The story is a dragon z ball alternative universe, in which Goku and Chi Chi had twins instead of just Gohan, with the older twin, Son Gozaru, having a major impact in the storyline, and on the cast as a whole. 

The story is being divided by arcs, the saiyan saga was completed in july 18, 2025, and the Namek Saga is currently ongoing.


A Tale of Two Tails contains examples of:

  • Abusive Parents
    • The Saiyan race was full of them.
    • While he has long since cleaned up his act, the Ox King used to be one to Chi Chi.
    • Frieza adopted Vegeta shortly after the destruction of Planet Vegeta, and he has been nothing but an abusive jerks towards him.
    • By his own admission, Bardock treated his youngest son, Kakarot, like trash.
  • Action Dad:
    • Goku is the proud father of two kids and is also the world's martial arts champion and the strongest fighter on earth.
    • While Bardock wasn't a good father, he was still one of the strongest saiyans around, surpassing even King Vegeta.
  • Action Mom: Once she realizes that Krillin and the others are not going to rescue Gohan, Chi Chi takes matters upon herself, leaving Gozaru behind to look for Gohan on her own, defeating Baba's warriors and even Tao Pai Pai while traveling across the world.
  • Adaptational Badass: A few.
    • Raditz doesn't has the tail weakness from his canon self, being able to shrug off having his tail grabbed and mocking Goku for thinking it would work on him.
    • Downplayed with Chi Chi, who is still a capable martial artist, being able to defeat Tao Pai Pai. She even knows how to use the solar flare.
    • Krillin and the other human Z fighters put a much better fight against the saiyans this time around. Even managing to take down Nappa before Goku even arrives.
    • Subverted with Goku, who isn't any stronger than his canon self, having the same power level of 9000 during his fight against Vegeta. Played straight during the Namek saga, in which his power level during his fight against Frieza is of 5,000,000. Managing to push Frieza into using 100% of his power before even becoming super saiyan.
    • Bardock was able to briefly become a super saiyan during his last stand against Frieza, overpowering his first form and leaving Frieza traumatized.
  • Adaptational Early Appearance
    • Or early mention in Frieza’s case, he is mentioned as early as Raditz initial exposition about the Saiyan race and is constantly mentioned through the Saiyan saga.
    • Kikono and Berryblue from Dragon Ball Super Broly, appear in the Namek Saga as part of the invasion force in Namek.
  • Adaptational Intelligence:
    • Goku is a more strategic fighter this time around. With him even coming up with an strategy in which he uses the multi form technique to quickly charge the spirit bomb on his own and using the Kaio Ken to rip Vegeta's tail right away, allowing him to defeat Vegeta in a one on one fight. He later does something similar against Frieza.
    • Frieza is shown to be more proactive than in canon, immediately sending Cui to capture Vegeta before he can recover from his injuries and sending the Armored Squadron to earth in order to gather intel about the dragon balls and capture Goku before he can recover.
    • The Frieza Force as a whole is much more organized than they were in canon. They have a much more organized campaign in Namek, using a systematic scorched ground campaign to flush the Namekians out of hiding, they interrogate Namekians rather than just killing them, and have Kikono work to decipher the Namekian language. 
  • Adaptational Personality Change
    • Goku is forced to mature as a father due to having two kids rather than just Gohan, especially when Gozaru can be very reckless. He becomes more protective, responsible, strict and affectionate than his canon counterpart. 
    • Chi Chi is also more flexible and proactive, being more open to training if only to give the kids an outlet for their energy. The fact that her kids are not going to get drafted into the fight against the saiyans also helps.
    • The presence of an older brother allows Gohan to become more playful and confident than his canon self. 
  • Adaptational Relationship Overhaul
    • Subverted for Piccolo and Gohan, even though Gohan is no longer under Piccolo’s custody, the two still end up developing a teacher-student bond like in the original due to Gohan seeing the good in Piccolo.
    • Instead of being Cooler’s henchmen, the Armored Squadron works for Frieza. Frieza even mentions that they abandoned Cooler in favor of Frieza.
    • Bardock and Gine were a couple and Happily Married in canon. Here, while they still had children, they weren't a formal couple due to Bardock not wanting to be considered 'sentimental' by other saiyans.
    • In canon, Frieza saw the saiyans as a potential threat and wiped them out of fear of the super Saiyan legend. Here, Frieza is unafraid of the Saiyan race, seeing them as little more than pests that make his job harder and wipes them due to their poor financial performance.
    • In canon, Frieza was completely indifferent towards Bardock, remembering him as a minor tidbit when he destroyed Planet Vegeta. Here, Frieza already had a strong dislike for Bardock despite never meeting him due to Bardock's mission always resulting in the devaluation of the planets he intended to sell, to the point where he sent a special squad to wipe out Bardock's and his squad in Planet Kanassa. Bardock is also the only person Frieza has ever feared due to Bardock nearly killing him during their brief confrontation..
    • In canon, Frieza’s relationship with Goku and Gohan was initially impersonal, with Frieza treating them as mere obstacles for his goals. Here, due to Frieza’s more personal relationship with Bardock, his enmity towards them is much more personal before he even mets them. Frieza is adamant on ruining their lives because of their relationship with Bardock..
  • Adaptational Jerkass
    • Minor case with Kami, he is still a benevolent figure, but he is forced to take measures to prevent the group from intervening on Gohan’s training under Piccolo. Forbidding Baba from helping Chi Chi and making Krillin and the others choose between training under him or trying to save Gohan.
    • Minor case with Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu, they're still heroic but they make a conscious, if begrudging decision to leave Gohan to his luck after Piccolo kidnaps him, assuming he will be fine.
    • In canon, Bardock, despite being a ruthless warrior, was also capable of compassion and had a family with Gine. Here, he refused to tie the knot with Gine and by his own admission, treated Kakarot like trash.
    • Goku is more merciless this time, being adamant on keeping his family safe. He notably uses lethal force against the armored squadron and Frieza.
  • Adapted Out
    • Yajirobe, Puar and Oolong are completely absent.
    • Vegeta and Gohan never become great apes during the Saiyan saga due to them having their tails removed before they got a chance to transform.
    • Frieza’s 2nd and 3rd form are absent since he is already on his final form from the beginning.
  • Affably Evil: Frieza per usual. He is usually very polite, even when torturing Vegeta or mocking Bardock's last stand.
  • Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Goku is quite prone to give one to his boys, though he is just as prone to give them hugs.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Goku gives Gozaru the nickname ‘champ’ after learning of what his eldest son did to help during the Saiyan conflict, one that Gozaru eagerly embraces.
  • A God Am I: Frieza has developed a huge his complex due to his unrivaled power.
  • Aliens Speaking English: Subverted, the Namekians only speak their native language, forcing the Frieza Force to have to decipher it in order to actually get any information, while Bulma had to build a translator in her communicators to properly communicate.
  • Almighty Janitor
    • Vegeta was this on Frieza’s army. Despite being one of the strongest soldiers in the army, he never got any respect from Frieza or the others.
    • Bardock was always considered a low class soldier, even though by the time of his dead, he was even stronger than King Vegeta.
  • Alternate Universe: In this timeline, Chi Chi ended up having twins instead of just Gohan. The addition of a new family member ends up having major repercussions in the long run.
  • All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Armored Squadron are quick to declare earth to be under the control of Frieza shortly after arriving, even killing King Furry in front of the whole world.
  • Apocalyptic Underground Refuge: The Namekians tried to build bunkers in order to survive the great catastrophe that felt on Namek, though most of them were unfinished. The group decides to hide in one in order to evade the Frieza Force. 
  • Ascended Extra:
    • In canon, the Ox King and Korin were largely irrelevant characters. Here, they are much more active, with both of them being more involved with the group.
    • Appule is a minor case of this. In canon, he was just one of the many soldiers Frieza had. Here, he is the Frieza’s Force communication officer, relaying info and intel to the army.
  • Assassin Outclassin': Frieza send a special squad to torture and kill Bardock and his squad, only for Bardock to defeat said squad and learn the truth about Frieza’s intentions to the Saiyan race.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Saiyans were firms believers of this, with the Saiyan royalty being the strongest fighters of their race. And it’s due to this principle that Vegeta loses his title of Prince to Goku after he loses their fight, with Goku becoming the new prince of all saiyans.
  • The Atoner:
    • Krillin takes his duty to protect the twins in Namek extremely seriously. Wanting to make up for his failures to the Son family during the Saipan conflict and regain Goku's trust.
    • Bardock wanted to be this for Gine, Raditz and Kakarot. Unfortunately, he failed to defeat Frieza and never got to make up for his failures.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: The Big Gete Star was this. While on paper, it had unprecedented manufacturing abilities, it is also mentioned it required far too much energy to actually be practical. Frieza even notes that using Cooler as a living battery didn't solved the problem either, so he scrapped the whole thing.
  • Ax-Crazy
    • Neiz and Doore are shown to be this. Neiz in particular, is always looking for an excuse to blow something up.
    • Despite being able to hide it under a polite facade, Frieza is actually a very unhinged and sadistic person.
  • Baby's First Words: ‘Dada’ for Gozaru and ‘Mama’ for Gohan.
  • Babysitter's Nightmare: Gozaru proves to be this for Krillin and Bulma, not only does he starts a mutiny with Gohan in less than a few hours, but even after he settles down, they’re constantly getting pranked by him. Even Gohan, who is normally well behaved, can be this when he plays along with his brother’s antics.
  • Badass Family: The Son family is this, Goku is the strongest fighter on earth, Gohan is prodigy that can survive in the wilderness on his own for 6 months, Gozaru is strong enough to complete Roshi and Korin's training in a few months, while Chi Chi is still a top martial artists capable of defeating the world's greatest assassin and destroy robots with her bare hands.
  • Badass in Distress: Vegeta gets captured by Cui at Frieza’s orders before he gets to recover from his fight on earth.
  • Berserk Button: If there is one thing Goku won’t tolerate is for someone to threaten his kids.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Goku is one of the goofiest and kindest guys you could ever meet, as long as you don’t hurt his kids.
  • Big Bad
    • Vegeta serves as a the main antagonist of the Saiyan Saga.
    • Frieza is this for the Namek Saga.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Gozaru is very protective of his younger twin, Gohan.
  • Big Damn Reunion
    • Gozaru and Gohan have this in Kame House after months of separation.
    • Chi Chi has one with her sons shortly afterwards.
    • Goku is given a heroes welcome after his victory over Vegeta, especially by his wife and sons.
  • Big Fancy House: Frieza lives in a huge palace filled with luxuries, even his personal quarters on his ship are also extremely luxurious.
  • Brains Versus Brawn: Goku’s fight with Vegeta quickly turns into this. Goku acknowledges he doesn’t have the raw power to defeat Vegeta, forcing him to think outside the box and outthink the Saiyan in order to win.
  • Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Chi Chi is determined to do this and give her sons the opportunities she never had.
  • The Bully:
    • Goku considers Vegeta and the rest of the Saiyan race to be this rather than warriors, as they are known for killing anyone regardless if they can fight back or not.
    • Frieza and his entire army are shown to be this. They're quick to lose their composure once they deal with someone who can fight back.
  • Cain and Abel: Frieza and Cooler were this, with Frieza eventually disposing of Cooler.
  • Cerebus Retcon: Several of Kami’s choices, such as his expelling of the darkness inside of him, the creation of the dragon ball, and his decision to train Goku to kill Piccolo Jr are deconstructed, with Mr Popo pointing out they were largely token gestures and ways for him to avoid responsibility for his mistakes.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Bulma deciding to analyze Raditz scouter for a year ended paying off, since it allowed her to not only reverse engineer the Frieza Force scouters, but also jam the scouter's ability to detect energy, allowing her and the gang to avoid detection in Namek. Giving the group a fighting chance against the Frieza Force.
  • Child Prodigy: Gohan is noted to be this, having a great power hidden inside him. Gozaru, while not having the same raw hidden power, is a natural when it comes to learning techniques.
  • Child Soldiers
    • This was the norm among the Saiyan race, children were expected to go to the frontlines since early age.
    • Subverted with Gohan, despite originally being intended to become one to aid the group against Vegeta and Nappa, avoids becoming one due to Gozaru’s intervention and confrontation at the lookout leads to Gohan getting removed from Piccolo’s care and isn’t taken to the battle.
  • Children Raise You: Having two kids forced Goku to mature and grow up, learning how to be more strict and responsible.
  • Combat Pragmatism: Goku is willing to use out of the box tactics to win. Especially during his battle with Frieza, in which he tries to kill Frieza before he can use his full power.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Frieza is one of these. His motivation for wiping out the Saiyan race was due to them being a bad investment that constantly forced him to do renegotiate contracts with potential buyers rather than a fear of the super Saiyan legend.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture:
    • The Frieza Force exploit the Namekians Super-Hearing by using special sound frequencies that cause intense pain to them.
    • Frieza inflicts this towards Gozaru and Gohan once he captures them, using special sound devices to cause intense pain and discomfort with the push of a button.
  • Computer Virus: Thanks to her efforts in studying Raditz scouter for a year, Bulma creates one to sabotage the Frieza’s Force network, with Krillin getting to upload it during his heist.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle
    • Pilaf and his crew don't even last one minute against Chi Chi.
    • Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Chiaotzu and Yamcha take down the Saibaman in seconds.
    • Gozaru and Gohan vs the Frieza Force soldiers.
    • Krillin mops the floor with Cui.
    • Nail makes short work of Zarbon, Dodoria and the Frieza Force army.
    • Great Ape Gozaru and Gohan make short work of the Ginyu Force, Nail and Vegeta. 
    • Frieza cannot even scratch Goku when he goes super Saiyan.
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Or Mommy in this case, Chi Chi had to leave Gozaru with her dad so she could look for Gohan on her own.
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Kaio Ken is this, it greatly increases the power of the user but it also has the drawback of greatly injuring the user if overused. Though it's downplayed as Goku gets more used to it, allowing him to use it with minor drawbacks.
  • Dark and Troubled Past:
    • Most of the adults come from a poor and/or abusive background with the exception of Bulma. Goku and Chi Chi want to make sure their kids never have one of these. 
    • Vegeta had one even by Saiyan standards, being adopted by Frieza and enduring years of abuse under the tyrant.
  • Death by Adaptation:
    • Korin and the Ox King, who were one of the few characters to survive all the way into the Buu Saga, are killed by Neiz during the Namek saga.
    • Berryblue and Kikono are still alive during the super era, here, they accidentally get killed by Frieza when he unleashes his power in a rage.
    • Cooler died decades before the events of Namek saga at Frieza's hands.
    • Frieza originally survived the events of Namek, but here, Goku kills him after a prolonged beatdown.
  • Dead Guy Junior: Gohan and Gozaru are named after their great grandpa and great grand uncle respectively.
  • Declaration of Protection: Gozaru gives one to Gohan the night before the Kame House reunion.
  • Defiant to the End:
    • Bardock went down swinging when he opposed Frieza, never stopping to glare at him even when he was getting incinerated by Frieza's supernova.
    • Likewise, the Ox King defied Neiz to the very end.
    • While they didn't die, Gozaru and Gohan end up becoming this during their captivity to Frieza, managing to regain their defiant spirit in the end.
  • Demoted to Extra:
    • Since Vegeta gets captured by Frieza right away, he spends a good chunk of the Namek saga under captivity and even after being freed, he is absent from the battle against Frieza due to being knocked out by great ape Gozaru.
    • Likewise, Piccolo never sets a foot in Namek, meaning he doesn't even get to meet Frieza.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation
    • Minor case with Goku, who dies after accidentally getting hit by the special beam cannon due to him pushing his sons out of the way, instead of doing a conscious sacrifice to take down Raditz.
    • Instead of dying at the hands of the Saibaman, Yamcha dies after a Heroic Sacrifice in which he pushes Piccolo out of the way of one of Nappa’s attacks to save him and ends up getting caught in the blast.
    • Piccolo and Nappa die from Tien’s Neo tri beam, with Piccolo holding Nappa down to ensure the Saiyan doesn’t dodge the blast.
    • Cui gets sliced in half by Krillin rather than getting blown up by Vegeta.
    • Rather than getting killed by Vegeta, Zarbon and Dodoria meet their ends at the hands of Nail.
    • The Armored Squadron die at the hands of Goku instead of Piccolo.
    • Rather than getting killed by Vegeta, Recoome and Guldo get killed by great ape Gohan and Gozaru respectively. Ginyu, Jeice and Burter get executed by Frieza after they fail to capture the twins.
    • Rather than dying at the hands of Goku, Cooler died after Frieza converted into a battery and drained of his energy for years.
    • Frieza gets killed by Goku in Namek.
  • The Dreaded:
    • Frieza is this to everyone. Even Nappa, a saiyan veteran, is terrified of him.
    • Goku becomes one to Frieza once Frieza realizes he is Bardock's son.
  • Easily Forgiven
    • Gohan is quick to forgive Piccolo for kidnapping him and abandoning on the wild for months, wanting to become friends with him instead.
    • Subverted with Gozaru and Chi Chi. Neither of them forgets what Piccolo did to them and aren’t anywhere near as forgiving as Gohan.
    • Also subverted with Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu. While they eventually decide to help Gohan, it is also noted that not only did it took them 6 months for them to do so, but that they had to be called out by a four year old for them to do so.
  • The End Justifies the Means: How Kami justifies his decision to leave Gohan under Piccolo’s care, insisting that they’ll need his power for the upcoming battle.
  • Enemy Mine: Vegeta agrees to join forces with Krillin and the rest of the group in order to stand a better chance against Frieza. Though he makes it clear that it’s only temporary.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Frieza cannot understand how Gozaru and Gohan can keep supporting the other during their captivity, having assumed they would turn on each other to secure their survival.
  • Evil Is Petty: Frieza is an extremely petty person. He adopts Vegeta just so he can abuse and ridicule him out of spite for Vegeta defying a direct order and he even wipes out the Saiyan race simply because they were making him lose money and forced him to renegotiate contracts. He takes it even farther as he goes through a great length to torture the Son family to get back at Bardock.
  • Eye Beam: Gozaru develops the ability to a variation of this, though he needs to work on his aim with it. 
  • Fake Special Attack: Roshi pretends to have one in order to distract Neiz and Doore long enough for Goku to grab a sense and recover.
  • Fate Worse than Death:
    • Combined with Make an Example of Them. Frieza intends to have Vegeta lobotomized and put on display in a zoo once the campaign in Namek is over, even considering to eventually grant him immortality to ensure Vegeta is never able to be escape his punishment.
    • Cooler died after being turned to a Living Battery by Frieza, only dying after years of torture.
    • Frieza doesn't intend to kill Goku or the boys, he wants to fully own them and live in misery under him.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Gozaru and Gohan have this dynamic, with Gozaru being more mischievous while Gohan is more responsible, with the two balancing the other.
  • Forgettable Character: Raditz and Nappa were this to Frieza, who never bothered in learning their names.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Bulma per usual. She even manages to reverse engineer Raditz scouter and builds her own version, which can even prevent the Frieza Force scouters from detecting their energy.
  • Good Parents: Goku and Chi Chi are this to their sons, balancing love and encouragement with discipline.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: Frieza is this during the Saiyan Saga. As powerful as Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta are, it is clear that none of them can compare to Frieza, and that the fight against the saiyans is just the beginning of the conflict against Frieza himself.
  • Happily Married: Goku and Chi Chi are deeply in love with each other, and their marriage is very healthy.
  • Heist Episode: Chapter 10 of the Namek saga focuses on Krillin pulling one off as he sneaks into Frieza’s spaceship to steal the dragon balls. Also counts as Great Escape since Krillin, with the help of Vegeta, manage to release all the trapped Namekians.
  • Hellhole Prison: The Frieza Force builds a prison camp during their campaign on Namek, capturing Namekian elders and children to extract information about the dragon balls.
  • Hero Killer: Neiz kills Korin and the Ox King while they were trying to deliver a senzu to Goku.
  • Honor Before Reason: Gozaru initially refused to have his potential unlocked by Guru. Considering it cheap and against what his dad taught him. He eventually concedes because he prioritizes Gohan’s safety to be more important.
  • Identity Breakdown: Piccolo goes through one after interacting with Gohan and realizing that he has dedicated his whole  life trying to fulfill the goals of a man he never met.
  • I Just Want to Be Free: Vegeta’s motivation in the Saiyan saga is to use the dragon balls and use them to be finally free of Frieza by any means necessary.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Gozaru accidentally upsets Dende after pointing out Frieza and his men will eventually make the captured Namekians reveal all their secrets, causing Gohan to call him out.
  • It Can Think: Gozaru and Gohan are capable of limited rationale even as great apes, which is attributed to their human side.
  • It's Personal: Frieza went out of his way to have Bardock assassinated due to his contact role in forcing Frieza to renegotiate contracts. . His interest in capturing Goku and the twins also went from detached curiosity and interest, into a personal vendetta once he realizes that they're related to Bardock.
  • Kick the Dog: Frieza loves doing this towards his victims. He constantly humiliated a 5 year old Vegeta just to be petty, tries to condition Gozaru and Gohan to call him Papa, and takes great pleasure mocking Goku, even bringing up the death of grandpa Gohan to mock him.
  • Kid Hero
    • A Deconstructed Trope, while both Gohan and Gozaru could be this, the cast ultimately agrees that just because they can doesn’t mean they should. Furthermore, while Goku and Chi Chi are very proud of Gozaru for standing up for his little brother, they are quick to point out that he should have never had had to become one in order for Krillin and the others to take action and help Gohan.
  • Laser Blade: Salza's weapon of choice is this, which he generates with his ki. Goku later uses one during his battle against Frieza.
  • Like Father, Like Son
    • Both Gozaru and Gohan are noted to greatly resemble Goku in their own ways. Gozaru is as much of a Determinator as his dad, while Gohan inherited his All-Loving Hero nature. Gozaru also seems to have inherited Chi Chi’s Hair-Trigger Temper.
    • Goku, Gozaru and Gohan are also noted to have inherited Bardock’s defiant spirit by Frieza.
  • Love Confession: Goku and Chi Chi declare their love for the other shortly before Goku gets her permission to go to Yardrat.
  • Mental Health Recovery Arc: Goku must go to Yardrat to rediscover himself after his fight with Frieza.
  • Me's a Crowd: Goku uses the multi form technique to charge the spirit bomb faster during his fight against Vegeta, using clones to charge it much quicker. He later uses a similar strategy against Frieza.
  • Modest Royalty: Despite being the royal family of the fire kingdom, and later, becoming the royal family of the saiyan race due to Goku becoming the new prince after he defeats Vegeta., the Son family live a modest life in the mountains, and are very humble people.
  • Motive Misidentification: Vegeta assumes Frieza destroyed the saiyan race because he was afraid of their potential and of the legend of the super saiyan, but Frieza reveals it was actually a business expense because the saiyans were making him lose money.
  • The Mutiny: Played for Laughs, Gozaru starts one a few hours after the trip to Namek starts, with Gohan playing along, it ends the moment Krillin manages to get into contact with their parents, who easily convince the twins to settle down without even having to raise their voices.
  • My God, What Have I Done?
    • How Krillin and the others react when they see the state Gohan is in under’s Piccolo’s care.
    • Goku when he realizes he is the one who killed his grandpa all those years ago.
    • Piccolo grows to regret kidnapping Gohan and trying to draft him to the fight against the saiyans, even apologizing on his own away shortly before the saiyans arrive.
    • Goku has this reaction once he realizes he just spent hours beating Frieza to death.
  • The Needs of the Many: How Kami justifies his decision to leave Gohan with Piccolo despite the harsh condition he is living in, arguing that they'll need Gohan's power if they are to stand a chance against the saiyans.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Goku gives a brutal one to Frieza once he becomes a super Saiyan, beating up Frieza for hours.
  • Noodle Incident: While Frieza claims he stopped his suppression forms simply because he was tired of holding back, it’s implied that there is much more to the story than he what he is telling.
  • Offering a Hand: Goku gives Vegeta a chance to surrender and join forces and work together against Frieza, telling him that they don’t have to fight. Vegeta is incredulous by the offer and laughs in Goku’s face.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse
    • Vegeta makes it clear to Nappa that either he helps him collect the dragons balls or he is just a loose end that needs to be eliminated.
    • Vegeta also makes one to Goku before their fight.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Goku and Chi Chi have this reaction when they find out that Frieza is on Namek with their kids.
    • King Kai when he finds out the armored squadron is on earth.
    • Neiz, Doore and Salza react like this when Goku uses the Kaio Ken and his power skyrockets.
    • Frieza has this reaction when he realizes Goku is Bardock's son
  • One-Man Army: Bardock single handily took down dozens of Frieza's men during his last stand against Frieza.
  • Orcus on His Throne: Despite being by far the most powerful being in Namek, Frieza prefers to stay on his ship, enjoying a cup of wine instead of doing the dirty work himself. Given the cast a fighting chance.
  • Original Character: Son Gozaru, Gohan’s slightly older twin brother.
  • Out-of-Character Moment
    • Played for Laughs when Bulma and Krillin cannot believe that Goku is working with Chi Chi to properly organize the twins upcoming trip to Namek. With the two agreeing this a far cry from the Goku they knew.
    • Taken seriously after Goku ends up beating Frieza for hours, with Goku admitting to himself that he crossed a line.
  • Papa Wolf: Goku quickly becomes one, becoming very protective of his sons, something the armored squadron found out the hard way.
  • Parental Abandonment
    • Gohan initially thinks his ordeal under Piccolo was his dad’s idea, not knowing he is dead. Fortunately, he learns the truth when he is reunited with his family.
    • Chi Chi is forced to leave Gozaru behind in order to go look for Gohan, although Gozaru never holds it against her.
  • Polar Opposite Twins: Gozaru and Gohan are the opposite of each other, with Gozaru being wild, short tempered, playful and outgoing while Gohan is more tranquil, patient, well mannered and shy. Despite this, the two get along extremely well and balance each other out.
  • Psychic Powers: Frieza's power include telekinesis and telepathy.
  • Psycho Electro: Neiz has the ability to generate electricity and is also very unhinged.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: After 6 months, Gozaru ends up climbing all the way to the lookout on his own and calls out Kami, Krillin and the others for leaving Gohan to his luck in hopes he’ll be able to fight the saiyans, refusing to accept their excuses as he calls them cowards.
  • “The Reason You Suck” Speech
    • Mr Popo gives Kami a polite version of one as he tells Kami that he never understood humanity, with Kami being unable to refute the point. 
    • Gozaru gives one to Krillin and the others once he reaches the lookout.
    • Goku gives yet another one to Krillin once he returns from the afterlife and finds out about his best friend's inaction during the Saipan conflict.
  • Replaced with Replica: Guru creates a fake set of dragon balls in order to fool Frieza, with Krillin replacing the real dragon balls with the fake ones.
  • Sadistic Choice:
    • Frieza forces Goku to pick between becoming his slave and slaughtering the namekian race, or watch his sons die.
    • Frieza later gives another one to Gozaru and Gohan, intending to make them pick between turning on the other or starving, but to his dismay, the twins take a third option.
  • Salt the Earth: The Frieza Force runs a scorched ground campaign on Namek, systematically destroying the environment to flush the Namekians out of hiding.
  • Sentimental Homemade Toy: Goku makes a pair of monkey plushies for the twins' first birthday. It becomes a Tragic Keepsake after Goku’s death.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Frieza decides that Goku and his sons will inherit his vendetta against Bardock, since Bardock is long gone. With Frieza going the extra mile to torture the Son family.
  • So Proud of You: Goku tells this to every member of his family when he comes back from the afterlife.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: Krillin, Vegeta, Nail, Guru and Dende survive the events of Namek. So do multiple Namekians.
  • Surprise Multiple Birth: Goku is caught off by Chi Chi when she gives birth to twins.
  • Taking You with Me
    • Piccolo holds Nappa down so that Tien can finish the saiyan off with his neo tri beam, similarly, Tien dies as an effect of his technique.
    • Frieza tries to blow up Namek once Goku becomes a super Saiyan and overpowers him.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Piccolo struggles with this at first, but gets over it by the time the Saiyans arrive, developing a bond with Krillin and the others.
  • Training from Hell: Piccolo’s idea for training Gohan is one of these. Abandoning him in the wilderness for 6 months and expecting him to become his sparring partner for the remaining months. It’s also Deconstructed Trope, not only is it considered ineffective but the cast also calls it out as abusive, with Krillin and the others refusing to let Piccolo continue training Gohan under those conditions.
  • Troubled Abuser: Piccolo turns out to be this, his treatment of Gohan is downright abusive, but that's because he genuinely doesn't know how to train someone, let alone take care of a kid, because he never had anyone to guide him.
  • Villain Takes an Interest: Frieza shows interest in the Son family upon learning that Goku defeated Vegeta, showing an interest in capturing them so he can ‘recruit’ them into his army. It goes from interest to an obsession once Frieza discovers Goku, Gohan and Gozaru are related to Bardock.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Frieza is by far the strongest being in the universe, but he is also lacking in actual combat technique, having little to no strategy aside from overpowering his foes.
  • What Does She See in Him?: Non romantic example, neither Chi Chi nor Gozaru can understand why Gohan is so adamant on becoming Piccolo’s friend after what he did to the family, though they both reluctantly allow him to continue so long as it is supervised by someone.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gozaru deliver a massive one to Krillin, Kami and the others at the lookout for leaving Gohan to his luck under Piccolo. It ends up convincing Krillin and the others to disobey Kami and go rescue Gohan, even if that means confronting Piccolo.
  • Would Hurt a Child: The Frieza Force has no issues with hurting Namekian children to get what they want.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Cui kills an entire squad of soldiers after they failed to capture the twins.
  • You Killed My Father: Gozaru holds a deep grudge against Piccolo due to his role in his dad’s death and brother’s kidnapping, refusing to forgive him.

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