There they were. An entire army of Meta-Cooler's watching Tanip and her barely conscious uncle. Tanip felt her heartbeat rise, her pulse almost tripling in fear from the sight. One of these bastards was dangerous enough, stronger than an untrained Super Saiyan, but an entire army of them?
This was every bit as hopeless as Tanip's own timeline, how the hell were they to win?
She was suddenly snapped from her thought when one of the metal Arcosians shot forth, his foot striking her in the jaw and sending her hurtling away. She had lost her grip on her uncle, but as she flew backward she could clearly see that same Meta-Cooler punching him in the face with enough force to knock him out fully.
Tanip flipped and rolled through the air, before managing to land on her feet, skidding to a halt in the snow. She pushed herself back off the ground again and shot toward her downed uncle "Keep away from him!" Tanip snapped, reaching for her blade again.
In a flash one of the other Cooler's had vanished and reappeared in front of her, his tail lashing her in the cheek and sending her spiraling away into the white winds. Another of the machines appeared behind her through Instant Transmission, catching her by the scruff of her shirt and then flinging her down to the ground. Tanip's body smashed into one large chunk of ice, blowing it into a cloud of blue mist on impact, her body bouncing up into the air again before she caught herself.
Tanip could feel the shifting in the cold air, the whistling noise of another opponent coming straight at her from behind. She waited until the robot was just close enough, and then she quickly spun around and fired off a crackling pink energy wave, her Sunday Blaster. The surprise of the attack caught the robot off-guard and the spear-shaped head of the ave was just strong enough to punch a hole through his abdomen.
Cooler staggered back, clearly shocked Tanip still had the means to harm him. The half-Saiyan took her chance and drove forth, holding a ball of white ki above her head. She smashed it down onto the machine's face, the massive ensuing explosion blowing away the top half of the Meta-Cooler's body.
She didn't have long to celebrate her victory. Another two Meta-Cooler's suddenly appeared before her and punched her clean through the air with a mighty simultaneous blow. The two zoomed up into the sky after her, navigating the white winds until the were able to start smashing Tanip back and forth like a violent game of tennis.
A spew of blood and spittle burst from Tanip's mouth from one powerful punch to the face. She tumbled back, her golden hair flickering back to lavender for a brief moment. Tanip managed to snap back out of her daze just in time to duck under another punch and then she drove a powerful punch into a second Meta-Cooler's abdomen with enough force to knock him several dozen mentres away.
She reached for the hilt of her katana, but another two of the metal Arcosians suddenly appeared at her sides. They quickly rained punches down on her, superhumanly powerful blows that came in so quick that she had no chance to block or even make the attempt to dodge.
One metal fist collided with the back of her head and Tanip was sent hurtling straight down to the ground. She skidded into the snow, her body carving a trench in the ice, and when she came to a halt she slowly forced herself onto her feet, huffing for breath.
How was this possible? Her uncle never spoke of these beings at all in her own timeline, yet here they were. Kicking the absolute shit out of the group. They had to be able to survive this. But the question was, how?
Tanip's golden aura tripled, her blood boiling with barely contained rage. "I'm gonna wreck you bastards!" she spat. She shot forward as fast as she could, a streak of golden light heading straight toward the metallic horde standing in the snow fields.
Her knee caught one Meta-Cooler in the jaw, knocking him into his allies and sending them tumbling into a heap. Tanip weaved around to avoid one kick from the side, and she swung her fist back to send another of the machines hurtling away. By now the other Cooler's had gotten to their feet and were advancing on her.
One Cooler dove forth and struck Tanip in the jaw, the power of the blow sending her flying backward only to be caught in a full-nelson by one Meta- Cooler behind her. Tanip kicked her feet up, knocking away another of the machines that advanced on her restrained form, but a third of the machines lurched forward and punched Tanip in the gut with enough force to make her gag in pain.
While she was dazed the Cooler restraining her flung Tanip straight up into the sky. Another of the machines down below took aim at her body and then fired off a white beam of ki. The blast struck Tanip with a mighty explosive force, and it was that which finally knocked Tanip unconscious.
Gohan swung his Power Pole downward, the tip of the enchanted staff smashing into the skull of one downed monocular robot. The power of the staff blow caused the machine's skull to explode in a cloud of metal shards and circuitry, sending shrapnel hurtling away into the air. Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and then lifted his staff up "I think that's the last of them."
His father nodded, but for the time being he kept his Super Saiyan form active. He wiped his sweat from his brow and then gave a long exhale "Last of these cyclopes, but we're far from done. There are other cities on this planet, and we still haven't heard back from Raditz and Tanip. Their energies have grown very faint..." Kakarot remarked.
Inyon hopped up onto a mountain of scrapped robot parts, smirking at the two Saiyan males "Well let's get to kicking ass." she replied "Use that...Instant Transmission shit to get us over to where the others are."
A loud clanking noise suddenly caught the attention of the trio. When they turned around they were in for quite a sight, an entire army of Meta-Coolers "Oh there's no need to strain yourselves." The leader of the pack purred "We'll be more than happy to bring you to them...after we tenderize you a bit first..."
Four of the crowd rushed at Gohan, the lavender-haired youth leaping backward to avoid their charge. He entered the proper stance for using his staff and started stabbing and jabbing with the power pole, the extra reach batting the mechanised Arcosians away before they could get close enough to grab him.
Another trio of the machines surged toward Inyon, who proceeded to stand her ground. Not too bright, considering she could barely block the attacks from three incoming beings of such speed and strength. For every punch she deflected, another one broke her guard and smashed the ebony-skinned Saiyan in the face.
She jerked back to dodge one punch, and then she swung up a mighty uppercut that sent one of the Meta-Cooler's shooting into the sky on impact. Her boot lashed forward and smashed into the torso of another attacker to knock him away. Her free hand raised up with a crackling ball of chi in her palm, ready to smash it into the third Meta-Cooler.
Inyon's wrist was caught mid-swing and a metal fist was buried into her gut by her third attacker "Good effort. Not good enough." Cooler mocked. Inyon gave a pained grunt, but in her dazed state she could do nothing against her foe as he flung her body into one ruined shell of a building.
Kakarot had shot up into the air as soon as the first of the mechanical horde moved in. Three different machines took off after the spiky-haired Super Saiyan, cackling as they rapidly closed the distance. Kakarot supposed now was as good a time as any to try out that technique he had seen the human warriors use before.
He flew backward and kept his gaze focused in on the Meta-Coolers. Kakarot gave a grunt as he channelled his ki, he cupped his hands at his hips and let a pale blue ball of ki form between his palms. "Ka...Me..." The Coolers kept their advance going strong "Ha...Me..."
Kakarot suddenly moved so fast that he vanished from sight completely, only to reappear right beside one of the metal monsters. He shoved his hands and the blue ball of light forward, his foe raising his arms all too late to block the attack. Kakarot gave a resounding yell of "HA!" and fired off the blast of blue light, the beam utterly engulfing Cooler and releasing just enough power to strip the armour from his body and destroy all the circuitry and wires within, utterly vaporizing his first pursuer.
"Wow...that felt natural, almost." Kakarot remarked with a small chuckle. He shifted his body around and narrowly managed to block an incoming punch, only for the third Cooler to knock him through the air with a powerful tail whip. Kakarot's body crashed into one wall, and a split second later one of the other Meta-Coolers charged into his body and started smashing him through several ruined buildings.
The magical nature of the Power Pole made it an object the Big Gete Star had almost no understanding of. As a result the armour that coated the Meta-Cooler's had no special resistance to the staff, and every blow that Gohan struck with it managed for form a deep dent in their metallic plates.
Gohan jabbed the end of the scarlet staff down, the tip punching into his closest attackers face and making it crumble inward. He flipped over another Cooler and gripped his staff firmly, before releasing a flurry of blows that repeatedly struck into the back of its chestplate, a web of deep dents and cracks warping it out of shape.
"Power Pole Extend!" He yelled, raising the staff up. It glowed red for a second and then it doubled in length. Gohan gave one mighty swing of his staff, the length of the pole allowing him to strike away all three of his foes and send them hurtling away.
Another Cooler suddenly appeared in front of Gohan through Instant Transmission, quickly launching a powerful kick at the demi-Saiyan. Gohan's staff retracted to its normal size, and he quickly angled it to block the strike, but the force of it still jerked his whole body backward. Cooler's attacks came in fast and furious, Gohan only just fast enough to block every one of the superhuman attacks.
Down on the ruined streets below, Inyon was still duking it out with several units from the Meta-Cooler army. She shoulder-charged one of the mechanised Arcosians and sent it hurting flat on its back, its body carving a deep trench on impact.
Inyon leapt up and then stomped her armoured boots onto Cooler's face, driving the creature deeper into the concrete and leaving him pinned beneath her weight. She reached down and grabbed his tail, before straining her muscles to their limit and tearing his tail clean off "Hehe. Pretty big stinger ya got here frostyballs."
She tightened her grip, before spinning around and throwing the disembodied tail like a spear. It sailed through the air and then struck another of the androids, piercing him through his face and sending him hurtling backward through the air "Bullseye!"
Another foe tackled her, smashing her clean through one small mountain of rubble that exploded into a cloud of dust on impact. Cooler pinned Inyon beneath him, and then he started to pummel her face with his ironclad fists, each blow shaking the surrounding streets. The sheer speed of the disorienting and damaging blows meant that Inyon couldn't get a chance to make a counter attack.
Another thunderous punch and she felt her teeth crack slightly. Then another fist struck her nose and broke it. Finally, she saw her foe raise his fist up and smash it down on her face, producing enough force to knock her out.
A powerful knee to the face sent Gohan hurtling backward until he collided with tall mound of concrete, making it explode into dust on impact. He stopped himself in the air, grunting in pain, only for another Cooler to teleport directly behind him before hitting him in the face with a roundhouse kick that sent Gohan hurtling to the ground.
Gohan smashed face first into the hard terrain, groaning in pain. He managed to force himself upright and quickly holstered his power pole on his back, before scanning his gaze around frantically. They were going to strike again, but the question was, where would they hit him from?
From behind, as it turned out. One Meta-Cooler materialized from the ether behind him, one hand outstretched "Time to end this little game, boy." he said. His hand crackled, and a massive bolt of white lighting burst from his hand and exploded against Gohan's body, the kick of the blast strong enough to send him hurtling away again.
Gohan's body crashed into one collapsed column of white stone, quickly becoming embedded in the material. A weak groan passed his lips, before his wounded and fatigued body slumped forward, his hair shifting from gold to lavender as he passed out.
Now, Kakarot was the last man standing. About five metal figures were racing toward him, but the lord of the parliament stood his ground firmly. He raised his arm, blocking the first incoming strike, before firing off an invisible kiai with his other hand to knock away the second Cooler charging at him.
Kakarot shoved himself backward as another Cooler managed to reach him, his arms becoming blurs of motion as he strained to continually block the incoming strikes, moving as fast as he could. A third Cooler zipped in suddenly and drove his knee into Kakarot's face, knocking him away from his foes.
The Super Saiyan managed to correct himself in the air, and he quickly flipped across the surface before hopping up onto one upraised mound of earth. Kakarot shot one hand forth, a burst of golden light flying from his palm and managing to catch two Meta-Cooler's in the powerful explosion, the blast sending them hurtling away.
Suddenly Kakarot was struck from the side by an explosive eye blast, knocking him flat on his back. The metal horde jumped him, six metal figures hammering the downed Saiyan from all angles. Their blows came in so fast that he had no hope of dodging or blocking, and it didn't take long for the brutal assault to knock the injured Saiyan unconscious.
Kakarot swam in and out of consciousness, a sense of weightlessness coming over his injured body. As if he were being suspended in some way. His whole body ached, but he expected that much. At least he was alive...and restrained, with some sort of metal wrapping around his hands and wrists.
It took some time for him to be able to open his eyes slightly. He wasn't in the frozen thundra's or the ruined cities of Arcos, he was in some sort of...vast metal chamber, gunmetal grey in colour and surrounded by blinking lights of multiple colours.
He could hear a mocking voice echoing throughout the airy chamber, but Kakarot couldn't focus enough to tell where it was coming from "Finally awake? Well it's about time. This is no longer nap time, my boy." Cooler. Great.
It wasa struggle, but eventually he raised his head up and noticed his allies were all restrained alongside him "Ngh...You didn't kill us all when you had the chance? Well I'm honestly shocked, normally villains never make stupid decisions like that..." Kakarot mumbled. He continued to scan his eyes around the vast structure, looking for the metal-skinned bastard. His eyes came to rest on one other figure in the chamber, veiled in shadow, and then they widened in shock at the deformed shape.
"Surprised? An Arcosian doesn't need much to survive on." Cooler remarked. Half of his face had been blown off completely, covered up by thick metal. His neck was in good condition, while the right half of his torso was gone entirely. He had lost his legs and his waist, and his left arm was just a mangled stump that stopped just above the elbow. Long columns of liquid metal grew from the floor and the ceiling, leaving Cooler's remains suspended in the air.
"Metal's a good look for you." Kakarot remarked. A crack of pain ran through his body, currents of electricity running through the metal suspending his body and making the Saiyan howl in agony.
"I'd hold my tongue if I were you." Cooler replied in a low, metallic hiss.
The current subsided and Kakarot slumped forward slightly in his restraints, panting for breath. "Ngh...Why...the hell did you spare us?" he asked through ragged breaths.
"The Big Gete Star needs its fuel, and five Super Saiyans will be enough to keep it going for quite some time. I didn't even need to capture any more of my people." Cooler replied. The restraints holding his allies all crackled to life, their screams echoing throughout the vast computer room as Cooler snapped them from their sleep.
The whole chamber was set aglow by the bursts of light running against the captured Saiyan's bodies. Kakarot felt a burn running through his whole body, a pain unlike any he had felt in some time. He had to think quickly or this machine would suck him dry!
Maybe if he transformed and poured out all the energy he had left, then he could possibly overload th-
A sudden quake rocked the entire Big Gete Star, catching even Cooler off-guard. He ceased shocking his prisoners and then scanned his remaining eye all about the vast chamber "What? Where did that come from?!"
The Valiance was the newest and most powerful frigate used by the Rao Mercenary Corps. A 500 metre long column of russet-coloured metal, with a large mass driver cannon on the front and six large thrusters on the opposite end of the ship. The surface of the Valiance was smooth, save for the various turrets dotted around the craft for spatial combat.
The ship lazily orbited Arcos' moon of Blizzah, its mass driver aimed at the massive shape of the Big Gete Star. That first shot was just a warning, a love tap to see what that starfish could endure.
Captain Novus was a tall Ikondan, dressed in a white and black suit of combat armour with Kakarot's Kami kanji marked on the breastplate. He was the commander of the Rao mercs, and while his crew were all loyal to him he was loyal to Kakarot above all else.
He adjusted himself in the captains chair, letting his eyes wander from his various officers, to the monitor that displayed the dent the mass driver had formed on the surface of the machine. One officer caught his attention, calling out "Captain, the surface of that creature is shifting. It's developing orb-" A barrage of lasers flew from the planetside and collided against the invisible barrier of the Valiance's energy shield, a small rumbling hitting the birdge of the craft. "O-orbital cannons, sir."
"Noted. Keep me posted on the strength of our shield. Boost the mass driver's power by 6% and fire another shot." Novus ordered. He glanced to his Yardrat assistant "Send a telepathic message to Lord Kakarot. Valiance has arrived."
The telepathic message reached Kakarot just as another earth-quaking blow hit the Big gete Star, this time the shockwave was far more intense. "You're finished Cooler." Kakarot remarked, a grin crossing his bruised face. He gave a loud yell and strained his injured body against his restraints, a golden explosion of light bursting around his body as he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Several explosions burst off of the walls of circuitry that comprised the chamber, unprepared for the sudden surge of ki. Kakarot gave a quick yank of his arms and legs, proving jut strong enough to tear from his restraints. The split second after he was freed, he shot both of his hands outward and fired off two white beams of light that cut through the metal lengths restraining Tanip and Gohan.
The twins hit the metal floor with a low thud, disoriented and injured. They looked to their father, but he seemed solely focused on Cooler's remains "Free your uncle and Inyon. Get to wherever Cooler is storing the other Arcosians and get as many of them as possible, as far away from the Big Gete Star as possible." He ordered.
No point in arguing when their father used that tone. Tanip drew her blade and went to cut down Raditz and Inyon, while earth's guardian flared his golden aura up.
Another rumble ran throughout the nearby area, but this was not caused by the frigate attacking the Big Gete Star. Cooler's remains began to warp in their proportions, his organic parts growing larger and bulkier while the metal grew off the walls and formed around his body to create artificial limbs. His body kept growing and growing, until his form was almost gigantic in size.
"I will not be beaten again!" Cooler snarled, starting to charge toward Kakarot. the other Saiyans begrudingly set off to explore the metallic corridors, leaving Kakartot to face the giant cyborg on his own.
He leapt backward to avoid Cooler's fist, the metal knuckles smashing the floor and forming a deep dent in the floor plates. Wires split from his muscular limb and shot toward Kakarot, whipping and stabbing at him so fast that Kakarot could barely dodge the strikes. A few of the tendrils lashed at his exposed flesh, making Kakarot grunt in pain as the metal tore open some new cuts along his toned body.
Cooler gave another snarl and swung his clawed hand upward, but Kakarot pushed himself sideways just in time to avoid being speared on one elongated digit. While the momentum of the swing carried Cooler forward, Kakarot shot forward like a golden comet and drovve both of his fists into the organic portion of Cooler's torso.
The impact was just strong enough to lift him off the ground, and Kakrot zipped around to slam his feet into Cooler's temple. Cooler lurched sideways and smashed into one metal wall, a cloud of dust kicking up around his enlarged frame.
Between trying to organise a defense against an powerful spaceship, and dealing with the much closer threat of a pissed off Super Saiyan, Cooler certainly wasn't able to fight at his peak. He turned his head and gave an enraged yell, a beam of pale blue light bursting from his organic eye and forcing Kakarot into the wall on the opposite end of the chamber, an explosion engulfing his body on impact.
Kakarot's body tumbled from the smoke cloud and smashed into the metal floor on his hands and knees. "Urgh...Well...that was lovely..." he grumbled. Another wave of pain suddenly hit him, as if a pressure was being applied to his chest just above his heart "Rrgh! D-damn...w-why now of all times...?" This heart virus was really getting on his nerves...
While Kakarot was still doubled over in pain, Cooler saw now as his time to strike. He raised one giant fist up and started charging, but another sudden quake hit the Big Gete Star. This one made Cooler stumble and almost lose his footing, but the damage done to the giant starfish was so strong that it caused the ceiling above him to explode in a wave of fire and lighting that made Cooler howl in pain and stagger back as it hit his face.
Kakarot struggled up to his feet, knowing he had to end this now before his body gave out on him. He shoved his hands out, a vortex of gold and red light forming on his cupped palms. He dove forward and growled "Raging..." before he vanished from sight and suddenly reappeared right in front of Cooler's maimed face "BLAST!"
The Super Saiyan kept yelling as he released the wide wave of ki, ignoring the pain racking his body due to his injuries and the strain on his heart. The thunderous wave shook the massive structure even further, setting the whole area aglow as it tore through Cooler's skull and utterly destroyed the remains of his brain.
The blast slowly subsided into nothing. Kakarot's hair fell down and went from gold to black as he lost the majority of his ki. Cooler's headless body collapsed and hit the ground with a noisy crash. Without his brain to coordinate it, the Big Gete Star was just a lump of metal.
Tremors continued to rock the giant starfish as the Valiance's attacks took it's toll on the ship, more foery explosions bursting from the walls. Kakarot took a deep breath and focused on the energies of his children, vanishing into hyperspace through Instant Transmission once he locked onto them.
Kakarot reappeared in the same ruined city from before, a crowd of Arcosians surrounding him and his allies. There must have been...hundreds of Arcosians here! They searched about for their family members, looks of awe, relief and fear on their various faces. "How...how did you get so many of them so far so fast?" Kakarot asked.
Inyon took a seat on one large chunk of debris and grinned at Kakarot "I gave my ki to Raditz so he could use his Instant Transmission...then we had as many Arcosians as possible grab onto him and Gohan, and they teleported us to where Jeice and Burter were." she added, pointing to the two former Ginyu members.
Kakarot nodded, before reaching over to rub his chest just above his heart. The pain was subsiding at least. "Mhm. Good thinking." He sat back to watch the distant and gigantic form of the Big Gete Star rising up into the sky, explosions bursting up along the metal surface. The Valiance continued to blast it from the heavens, each shot blowing away another chunk of it. He'd have to send a team to destroy every chunk of it, on the off-chance that the Big Gete Star would learn how to function without an organic brain to dictate it.
"How...How many did you get out of there?" One female Arcosian asked, approaching Kakarot. the spiky-haired Saiyan grimaced, not tearing his gaze away from the smoking ruin of the Big Gete Star as it was gradually blown away into nothingness.
"As many as we could."
A/N: Well that was a bitch and a half to write. Next chapter the Android saga officially begins, but will the Z-Fighters have trained enough to change the future?
Part of me feels I should rename this story, since there are like five billion other stories titled 'Guardian' in the DBZ section.
Oh yeah, and we just passed 600 reviews! Yaaaaay! Thanks guys!
-Sole Warrior: Hey, nice fic. I was wondering what was up with the DBM2 project; you guys planning on starting it soon?
Honestly, I dunno what the deal is with that. I think we're waiting until the other authors pass the Buu saga, or something like that.
In terms of your story though, I dislike when you say "you guys know what's next" or "this saga will end next chapter" because it spoils so much.
It's really not much of a spoiler. The various DBZ movies and their plots aren't exactly obscure.
-Jack: Do you plan on using Android 18's real name here? If so I'd recommend Lillian. pretty name for a pretty woman
Hm, not bad. But I'm gonna do the Toriyama thing and try find some set of puns to use to name her and her brother.
-Herodan3: Awesome Chapter. By the way where would you put Gohan to his canon counterpart in power?
Hm...in and around Mirai Trunks' strength level, same with his sister.
-Guest: Sabrina Brandt, or just Brandt, is a fictional character from the Japanese graphic novel Silver Company created by manga artist Eiichiro Oda. Brandt is an operative of Silver Company, which is an agency run by dozens of aliens. Some of the races in the story were borrowed from Akira Toriyama's works.
Neeeeever heard of her, not really all that interested in using her.
Sardine Tyrant Valzy: Question: Are the Meta-Coolers in their 5th form?
Nah, they're supposed to resemble Cooler's fourth form.