Chapter 35: Chasing Cooler

Vegeta now stood in the midst, surrounded by eight of Cooler's finest warriors. They were of different species and sizes, but all wore the same armour. A large, dark skinned alien with large curved horns protruding from his head stepped forward, his palm facing Vegeta, ready to fire.

"Surrender Vegeta! Or die!" He said as energy started to crackle in front of his palm. But Vegeta simply stared at the elite with a smirk etched on his face. The elite grunted. "Why you! Have it your way then!" He screamed as he was about to fire the blast, but Vegeta moved so quickly that the elite never saw him.

He cried out in pain as Vegeta was now behind him. He high-kicked the elite into one of the space station's metal walls with great speed. The elite bounced back off the wall after denting it and remained on the ground, motionless.

The next elite, a tall man of Burter's species rushed in now. But Vegeta met him with a wall of energy that disintegrated him on impact. Now, there were only six elites left and they seemed more reluctant to attack… "What is it boys? Impressed?" Vegeta taunted as he waved the next elite in with a small gesture of his hand.

One of them, a red alien with a thick fur went for the taunt and approached Vegeta with a flying kick. Vegeta laughed as he grabbed the outstretched leg, swivelled around his axle once and threw the elite into one of his comrades. Both of them went down as their heads clashed with a sickening crunch. Vegeta laughed as a blast from his hands finished both of them off, the subsequent explosion rocked the space station briefly.

"Down to four… Who's next?" Vegeta said as he let his aura spark up. The surge of power was too much for his opponents scouters to handle and they exploded over their eyes at almost the same time. "What the?!" One of the elites exclaimed as he rubbed his scorched eye in pain.

Vegeta started laughing as the four of them were now stumbling back. "Those scouters of yours only measure up to 100,000 don't they?" He joked. "100,000? Shut it! There's no way you've gotten that strong!" One of the elites replied as he leapt for Vegeta in a desperate attempt to hurt him, but the Sayain extended his arm with great speed and grabbed the incoming elite around his neck, halting his advance. He then applied some pressure and crushed his opponents windpipe before throwing him to the metal ground with a thud.

That had been quite enough for the remaining elites and they turned and ran. But Vegeta roared in laughter as he fired thin beams from three of his fingers. The beams pierced right through the armours of the fleeing elites and they collapsed on top of each other as the beam penetrated right through them. Vegeta chuckled as he made his way to the blast door. He was going to enjoy this little visit he was going to pay Cooler…

Meanwhile…

A feast had been set up by Bulma at the Briefs residence in West City in honour of Goku's return from space with his brother Raditz. Goku had been happy to see his wife again, as well as his old friends Bulma, Master Roshi and the others. Barzo and Raditz had been quite uncomfortable with the guests, who they barely knew and who were evidently quite different from them.

But, the weather was particularly fine and the food was good, so everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Then suddenly, a remark was made that caught Raditz' attention. "Yeah! I sure miss Krillin and Yamcha as well Bulma… But only two weeks until we can wish Yamcha back!" Oolong said as he stuffed his face with a piece of steak.

"Wish him back?" Raditz said, a puzzled look on his face. "Yeah! With the Dragon Balls, dummy." Oolong said. The long haired Sayain seemed to be as thick as his brother…

"Forgive him Oolong! He probably doesn't know about them yet, do you?" Bulma said as she flirtatiously put her hand down on the broad shoulder of the Sayain. Raditz blushed as he shrugged her hand off. "No… As a matter of fact, I have no idea what kind of magic could resurrect the dead…" He said as he downed a cup of soup in a single gulp.

"Well, here on Earth, there are magical balls known as Dragonballs that grant the one that finds them one wish, anything they want. We are planning to wish back Yamcha, alas for Krillin, he was wished back once before..." Bulma continued as Raditz cried in surprise. "That would mean Nappa could also return? Nonsense, this is impossible woman!"

Bulma smirked. "Well… You'll see in a week or two!" She said as she served Goku another plate of food that was consumed within seconds. Raditz growled as he pulled Goku towards him by his collar. "Why haven't you told me about this, brother?" He said with his deep voice. Goku grinned as he chewed frantically. "There was no need up till now, was there?" The Sayain from earth exclaimed.

Raditz let out a sigh as he released his grip. If these magical balls could provide any wish, then why hadn't they wished for Vegeta's immortality? That would have made matters a lot easier. But, in the end, it hadn't really mattered, so Raditz let the topic slip from his mind.

"I have quite the nice surprise for you lot!" Bulma said, addressing the warriors at the table. Raditz, Tien, Gohan, Goku and Barzo all turned to look. "Do you see that building over there?" She asked as she pointed at a new, dome shaped building behind the Briefs residence. Goku nodded. "It looks flashy! Is it a training room?" Goku asked and Bulma looked at him in surprise. "Yeah… How did you know?"

Goku smirked as he and the other warriors got off their seats and walked towards the new building. "Lucky guess!" The Sayain from Earth said truthfully. Bulma opened the heavy, reinforced door and revealed a room, shielded from the inside. There was a central console in the middle of the room and not much more.

Raditz fired a small blast into one of the walls and was surprised to see that it dissipated upon impact. "The walls have been constructed to be able to take energy impacts! It's as good as indestructible. And that console right there lets you set up the gravity, all the way up to 500G!" Bulma said with some deserved pride.

"Great! I'm anxious to see how strong Gohan has really gotten." Goku said as he glanced over to his son, who was standing next to his master, Tien. "He's real strong Goku. I have nothing left to teach him." Tien said as he bowed respectfully. Goku then dropped into his stance.

"Bulma… You might want to stand clear for a bit. Your room is about to get its first test." Tien said, sensing what was coming next as he pushed her back out of the door. He then shut the door behind him and heard Bulma's fists banging on the door in protest.

Gohan now entered his stance too as he opposed his father. He seemed to be nervous, he really didn't want to let his father down. Goku then shot forward without warning. Gohan was caught off guard by the speed his father was displaying and could only just avoid being hit by his father's jab by cartwheeling off to the left.

He landed back on his feet but Goku had already closed the distance and he was now right in front of him. Gohan roared as he fired off a blast at close proximity, using the smoke from the explosion to cover his retreat as he leapt backwards.

But Goku came shooting out of the cloud of smoke, unharmed. He then struck out with a quick kick that caught his son flush and pushed him back several feet. Gohan stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. The youngster had gotten used to being the strongest… But his father seemed to blow him away with ease… He could tell his father was still holding back a lot.

Gohan roared as he threw wild combinations of punches and kicks at his father, forcing him to block and pushing him back with every blow. Goku was about to counter when Gohan pointed his finger at him. Goku knew this stance, it was the stance of the Crane master school his son was now in…

"Dodonray!" Yelled Gohan as a beam of yellow energy shot from his extended finger. Goku jumped into the air at just the right time ,the beam missing him by only an inch before it hit the wall and dissipated. Goku then found to his surprise that Gohan was now rushing in, trying to capitalize on the moment he had in which Goku was forced to dodge.

But Goku was simply too fast and he blocked Gohan's incoming strike with ease as well, before roundhouse kicking his son in the ribs and knocking him down to the ground. The youngster grunted in pain as he pushed himself up. "That's enough for today! Wow, you've really improved!" Goku said as he grinningly relaxed out of his stance.

Gohan dropped right back into his, however. "I'm not done yet! You're gonna have to hit me harder than that to beat me, dad!" Goku smirked. It seemed Gohan's mentality had changed a great deal from the innocent kid he once was. Tien had been a good trainer for Gohan, that much was clear.

Goku then reluctantly got back into his stance. "You better try harder son! You barely scratched me just now!" The father taunted his son. Gohan's aura suddenly flared up a bright red and Goku could feel his power rising rapidly… His son was getting serious now.

"I'll show you my real power!" Gohan announced as the aura sparked up some more. He then planted his feet and dashed at his father as fast as he could. This time, Goku had no chance of getting out of the way and his sons head crashed into his gut, producing a sickening crunch.

Goku let out a cry of shock and pain as he was thrown onto his back. He was still on his back when his son appeared above him in a flash of red. Goku only just managed to roll out of the way of Gohan's drilling kick and jumped back up to his feet immediately.

Gohan was again rushing in at him, but Goku was prepared this time and blocked the attack with ease, before countering with a devastating uppercut that doubled Gohan over his fist. Gohan remained hanging on the fist, his eyes going blank as he lost consciousness. He then fell down onto his back with a thud.

Goku started scratching his head in embarrassment. "Whoops! I guess I overdid it!"

Back at Cooler's space station…

Vegeta paced through a long hallway that led to yet another blast door… The complex was huge and Vegeta had been forced to fight his way through countless waves of Cooler's so called "elite" guards. He destroyed the blast door with a burst of energy and entered into a room.

"I'm surprised you've gotten this far, Vegeta!" A blue skinned, handsome alien said as soon as he entered the large room. He flicked his hand through his thin blonde hair and he grinned. He was flanked by a hulking green soldier on his right and a brown reptilian creature on his left.

Vegeta hissed at the warriors in front of him. "Where's Cooler? I've had enough of you small fry!" The Prince said as he loaded up a blast in his right hand, the yellow energy crackling as it expanded in size.

The blue skinned soldier laughed loudly. "Oh, Vegeta! That blast won't be enough to kill us! Don't you know who we are?" He said. Vegeta growled as he unleashed the energy at the trio in front of him. The explosion thundered and filled the entire room with thick, black smoke. Surely, that blast had done the trick.

But then, suddenly, the blue skinned soldier appeared from the smoke and struck out for Vegeta's head. The Sayain Prince was forced to lean back out of the way of the punch and countered with a vicious elbow strike that launched his opponent back into the smoke.

He chuckled as he folded his arms in front of his chest and waited for the smoke to clear. All three of his opponents had survived the initial attack… "Okay! I'm impressed… Now who are you clowns exactly?" Vegeta demanded.

The blue skinned soldier once again stepped forward, an obvious mark from Vegeta's elbow strike still on his chin. "Our boss doesn't like to get his hands dirty… So he sent us. Allow me to introduce us: we're Cooler's Armored Squadron! I'm Salza, the big guy is Dore and he is Neiz!" He announced.

"Cooler's own little Ginyu Force, huh? Well, your master has mistaken himself! I will enjoy destroying you!" Vegeta said as he sparked up his aura and dropped into his stance.

Salza looked at Dore. "What are you waiting for? Get him!" He commanded and Dore dashed in with great speed. But Vegeta was far faster and twisted out of the brute's way. Dore overshot him and was now greeted with a roundhouse kick to his back that sent him into the nearest wall. He broke his nose upon the impact with a truly sickening crunch.

Deiz was now the one to dash in, but a well thrown knee of Vegeta hit home in his gut and knocked him down quickly. Vegeta grinned as he now slowly approached Salza, who now suddenly seemed a lot less confident about his chances. "Stop right there!" Salza warned as he extended his palm towards Vegeta.

Vegeta just laughed at the threat. "Or what were you going to do? Blow me up?" He taunted. Dore and Neiz had gotten up in the meantime and were sneaking up on the Sayain Prince, who seemed occupied with Salza now. The two warriors leapt for Vegeta's rear, but the Prince could feel their presences clearly and hammered both of his elbows backwards at the right time.

Dore and Neiz were caught on their noses and screamed in pain as they were knocked down once again. Vegeta smirked confidently. "You see? I don't even have to be looking… And I'm only using a fraction of my real power!" He said as he approached Salza once again.

Cooler's top henchman could no longer resist and he fired off a blast which hit Vegeta and covered him in smoke. But Salza let out a cry of shock as Vegeta appeared from the cloud, still walking slowly, seemingly unharmed.

The Sayain then suddenly zapped over to his opponent and threw a flush right hook. Salza let out a pained cry as the punch twisted his head to the side and drove him stumbling back. Salza tried to counter, but Vegeta quickly followed the punch up with a chopping left hand that struck him in his neck.

Salza growled in frustration as he was almost knocked down and he desperately fired of a blast, but Vegeta seemed to disappear well in time before the blast hit him. It then raged on towards Neiz and Dore, who had only just gotten up from Vegeta's devastating blow.

They screamed as the full powered blast exploded and hurtled him them through the room. Vegeta laughed out loud as Salza was cowardly retreating in front of him. "Time I finish you off!" Vegeta announced with a maniacal grin. Salza's eyes widened as he realized there was no way to dodge Vegeta's kill-strike.

His boot connected with the blue skinned warrior's neck, snapping it instantly and leaving it twisted in a most unnatural way. His dead body dropped onto the floor with a thud and Vegeta laughed loudly as he turned towards Dore and Neiz, who were staring at him, utterly terrified.

"Die already you fools!" Vegeta said as he threw a small blast there way. The explosion caused the rooms ceiling to collapse with thunderous noise and shook the entire space station heavily. Dore and Neiz were now no more…

Vegeta suddenly emerged from under the collapsed ceiling. He was covered in dust but completely unharmed. He shrugged the dust off and walked towards the heavy, reinforced gate-styled doors that formed the exit of the room, kicking them in with a swift display of his strength.

They dropped into the next room with a loud thud. The room was mostly empty, except for a large throne that was located on a podium near the back-wall. On the throne sat a figure that resembled Frieza a lot and Vegeta recognized him instantly. He laughed loudly.

"So! We finally meet face to face!" Vegeta said as he pointed at the Frost Demon. Cooler simply smiled back at him. "Well, well! So you've made it through all of my obstacles!" He then stood up from his throne and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Oh! How I will enjoy wiping that smile from your face, Cooler!" Vegeta said as his aura sparked up intensely, the intense purple light shining upon the room….

END OF CHAPTER:

Powerlevels:

Vegeta: 4,000,000 (base form)

Cooler: 15,000,000 (base form)

Salza: 150,000

Dore: 100,000

Neiz: 85,000

Raditz (Zenkaied on Cold's ship during space travel): 2,000,000

Gohan (full power): 100,000