In the med bay, Kakarot was stirring on the examination table. Raditz had been watching him the whole night with growing concern. He had been growling and clawing at the air in his sleep as if he was a wild animal. He shouldn't be like this so long! It's a miracle that he even managed to find his way back home.
The doctor had said his brain waves were slightly more erratic but otherwise normal for a saiyan child but Raditz wasn't completely sure about that. Combined with the fact that he already possessed a power level of five hundred, something that non-elite saiyans didn't have at this age, Raditz wondered just how strong his brother would be by the time he's an adult. Maybe he could be a super saiyan by the time he's my age?
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw his brother sitting up. Raditz approached him carefully, "Brother…can you understand me?"
Kakarot stared at him intensely; Raditz thought he was going to attack him again but when he looked closer he saw that his eyes were different. They weren't wide open and frantic looking, they seemed more calm than before. "…Yeah…I understand you…"
Raditz silently thanked whoever was listening that his brother wasn't feral. "Do you know who you are?"
The boy looked down, "….Kakarot…my name is Kakarot, son of Bardock."
"Do you know what you are?"
"I'm a saiyan of Planet Vegeta."
"Good, at least you're not brain damaged. I could only imagine what you'd be like if you were." Raditz shuddered at the thought of his brother forgetting his heritage and adopting the culture of his enemies.
Kakarot suddenly jumped off the table and began walking towards the door. Raditz was startled, "Hey where are you going?"
"I want to find someone to fight."
"Get back here Kakarot, today is not the day to be wandering around. Lord Cooler is inspecting the city and he is not to be trifled with."
Kakarot started grinning almost maniacally, "He sounds strong. I wanna fight him!"
He sprinted through the doors without even glancing back. Raditz cursed to himself and ran after him before he got himself killed. "Maybe it would have been better if he had hit his head…" he muttered to himself.
Bardock was watching the sky again; recently he's found it somewhat comforting to look out at the stars. I wonder if you can see me now Tora?
He heard footsteps behind him; it was Turles. "Cooler should be arriving shortly."
Bardock nodded, "I know, I can feel his presence from here. He's on a whole different level from any of us…including Frieza."
The look on Turles' face told Bardock that he already knew that. "About ten years ago, that rumor went around that Frieza had multiple transformations and that his power increases each time, do you remember hearing about that?"
"Yeah, it was said that his power doubles each time."
Turles barked out a harsh laugh, "That was true for the first two but his final transformation went beyond that. What they didn't tell you is that rumor started because Frieza issued a 'friendly' challenge to Cooler to see who was stronger. They powered up to maximum and the space station scanners clocked out at fifty million before they exploded; and their powers were still rising."
A chill ran through Bardock's entire body, as if he was dunked in a freezing ocean. Fifty million and above?! How can we even compete with such powers? Is there truly no limit to their strength? Was my victory over Frieza just a fluke?
A thousand thoughts ran through his head but Bardock managed to get a hold of himself. "Looks like we have some more training to do then."
Turles seemed impressed, "That's the spirit Bardock…our father would be proud."
"Our…father?"
Were he and Turles really related? It wasn't too farfetched actually; most saiyans didn't have families and males usually spread their genes as much as they could. Most were actually surprised that Bardock had taken a permanent mate but she was different in his eyes. After she died giving birth to Kakarot however, Bardock had no more interest in having more children. He tried not to dwell on that too much anymore however.
Bardock turned to face Turles completely, "Tsurin was your father?"
"Yes. He was a quiet man and a stubborn one."
That was Tsurin alright. He always looked like he was brooding and you couldn't tell him anything he didn't want to hear. Bardock had limited memories of him; he was always on a mission. He was killed when Bardock was an early teenager but by then, he had such little connection to him that he didn't really care.
"I wonder why he never introduced us." Bardock wondered.
Turles shrugged, "Most fathers introduce siblings regardless of who the mother was; it was to start building up their battle bonds. Granted it didn't always work that way; in fact, I believe Tsurin killed his own brother after a dispute. That may have been a factor."
This time Bardock shrugged, "Maybe, we'll probably never know, you were lucky to get a sentence out of him."
A tingling sensation pulsed in the back of Bardock's head. "Cooler is in the atmosphere…and Vegeta and the others are near as well."
As if on cue, Vegeta dropped down from the sky along with Zorn and Nappa. Vegeta was wearing his royal uniform, instead of red and black like his father's, Vegeta's colors were blue and gold. Nappa wore dark blue armor with a gold trim and Zorn wore his traditional saiyan elite armor. Grim expressions were planted on all of their faces as the Planet Trade ship burst through the clouds. The sight gave Bardock and Zorn a big case of déjà vu.
As it began to land, Vegeta turned to Bardock, "Listen, do not transform, even if provoked. If he sees that you can transform, he'll put two and two together and kill us all."
Turles put his hand on Bardock's shoulder, "Listen to him, Cooler's end will come in time."
Bardock nodded but he couldn't shake this feeling he had about this visit. It's as if there was an ominous pressure exerting itself on Bardock but he didn't know what was causing it. Was it Cooler or the events that will follow his visit to his planet?
The sound of the entrance ramp hitting the ground made Bardock direct his attention back to the ship. About a dozen troops filed out of the ship; the single shoulder protector and slimmer armor indicated they were indeed Cooler's men. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the squad, walked in front of the rest and spoke, "Which one of you saiyans are in charge?"
Vegeta stepped forward and spoke in his most regal voice, "I King Vegeta the Third, rule this planet. What is the nature of this visit?"
The squad leader was about to speak but he was cut off by an extremely foreign sounding voice, "I was under 'ze impression 'zat Planet Vegeta was under ze control of King Vegeta ze Second."
Vegeta turned his attention to the gaping darkness of the ship's entrance. Emerging from it was a slim, blue skinned alien with blonde hair. His armor was green and his jumpsuit was purple.
This must be Cooler's Armored Squadron! Why are they here too?! All the alarms in Vegeta's head were going off simultaneously. Something definitely wasn't right here.
Nappa spoke up, "Who are you supposed to be?"
The blue alien bowed exaggeratedly, "I am Salza of Planet Cooler No. 98, and I am ze leader of Cooler's Armored Squadron."
Vegeta gave him a fake smile, "A pleasure to meet you, my father died of natural causes five years ago. To what do I owe this visit?"
"Hm zat's interesting, Lord Frieza went missing around this system five years ago, know anything about zat?"
Despite the raging storm inside Vegeta, he appeared calm outwardly. He couldn't betray himself now or all was lost. "That is indeed strange but he was never here."
"You'll have to forgive us if we think that's a load of crap."
Vegeta turned his head back to Cooler's ship where two more figures were walking down the ramp. One was very tall and lanky with skin that, depending on the lighting, could be considered dark orange or brown. With his long neck and beak-like mouth, he seemed like a bird or a lizard. The other was also tall but not as tall as the first. He had green skin and black hair that went down to his waist. The muscles that were covered by armor bulged freely as he moved. Salza turned his head and smirked, "I present to you my two comrades: Neiz and Doore."
Nappa spoke up, "Tell birdman and green bean over there to watch their mouths! That is no way to address King Vegeta!"
The one named Doore smirked, "That's cute! They think they're the ones in charge."
The mood suddenly changed in the air, it was now eerily quiet. Vegeta started grinding his teeth, "Commander Salza, I direct this to you since you have been respectful. I will not tolerate disrespect from your subordinates. You are my guest but I am still the king of this planet."
Salza bowed, "My apologies King Vegeta…but I take orders only from Cooler and he said to get answers."
Neiz finally spoke up with a shrill voice, "Yeah and we think you monkeys are hiding something!"
All the saiyans tensed up, this meeting was going south very quickly. Salza motioned for the foot soldiers to make their way into the city but the saiyans stepped in front of them. Nappa stepped in front of the group and smashed his fist into his hand, "I am the general of the saiyan army, my job is to protect this planet and my people at all cost."
Doore laughed loudly, "Please, you saiyans average a power level around three thousand. Only your previous king had a power level over ten thousand and that's chump change to the Armored Squadron!"
Electricity surged around Nappa's body as he began powering up, "Oh really? Three thousand you say? I guess I'm worth four saiyans then!"
A yellow aura permeated outwards from his body; it wasn't like most auras however. His aura didn't flare out like a wild flame; it stayed close to his body and crackled around like lighting brewing in a storm. Everyone's scouter began beeping as numbers appeared on the display.
"T-Twelve thousand, but that's not possible for a saiyan!" One of the foot soldiers began to panic.
Doore snorted, "So? There's one of him and twelve of you, get him!"
Four of them rushed Nappa who rushed back at them with a roar. He tackled the leading soldier and felt his spine snap from the force. Without missing a beat, he turned his head and fired a blast from his mouth that fried the other two. The only remaining soldier backed up towards the rest of his cowering squad. Nappa grinned, "Oh don't worry, I didn't forget about the rest of you guys."
He flicked his two fingers upwards and a fireball consumed the remaining soldiers from right under them.
"I applaud your efforts Nappa, but now diplomacy has gone completely out of the window." Turles started taking off his cloak, it may be all or nothing now but a voice made him freeze.
"My my, you can't find good hired help anymore can you?"
Out of the smoke walked a purple being with white plating on his upper body and blue 'gem stones' on his head and arms. That being was also the ruler of half of the galaxy; it was Cooler. The Armored Squadron saluted him and took their places behind him. Cooler's red eyes seemed to be piercing all of them, he pursed his lips together, "I believe you owe me a dozen foot soldiers."
His mouth stretched into a devious smirk, "Or better yet, I'll just have you lot instead."
Some of you may be upset that it took so long for that chapter. I had most of it done back in August but I lost my spark to finish it. I had a lot of stuff going on around that time and this semester has been hellish. Luckily is tapering off a bit. I know I always say that so I'll just say this: Please be patient with me, I will no longer promise dates for the chapters but I will get them up as soon as I can.
Power Levels:
Doore: 300,000
Neiz: 250,000
Salza: 500,000
Cooler: 50 Million+
Cooler's men: 2,000-3,000
Notice the armored squadron is a lot stronger than their "official" power levels. This is what I believe they should be at based on how they were in Cooler's Revenge.
If they were really 90-175k, then Piccolo could have beat them all with one hand tied behind his back. They seemed to put up a decent fight (when teaming up at least) against Goku and Piccolo so they had to be stronger than those numbers.
As for Bardock and Turles, originally I was going to have him be Goku/Kakarot's twin or something but I decided to make him Bardock's half brother because he seemed older than Goku. Plus it's good for Bardock to have a rival of sorts. Fun fact: Tsurin is based off the Japanese word for Christmas Tree (Tsuri)
This is where the plot really begins to pick up and you're going to start seeing their powers increasing to point where they can actually fight these villains but for now...patience my children.
