Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters. If I did I'd be a whole lot richer.

Chapter 38

Cold rushed at Kakarot with a feint to the left. Kakarot fazed out of sight before the blow could land but when he reappeared, King Cold was ready for him driving a fist into the Super Saiyan's face. Kakarot went flying back but quickly recovered. He flipped around and threw himself back at his opponent. King Cold stood his ground as Kakarot charged back at the tyrant of the universe. When the Saiyan reached him Cold grinned maliciously as he swung leg around to strike Kakarot in the breadbasket. The attack passed only through Kakarot's afterimage as the Saiyan fazed out of sight and appeared behind Cold and drove both fists down hard into the back of his head. Cold plummeted toward the ground but before he could hit, Kakarot was waiting beneath him with an energy blast already formed. Kakarot let the blast fly at the changeling, stopping the falling warrior in his tracks.

King Cold looked up from where the energy blast was sending him flying higher. How had that Saiyan moved so fast? As the changeling struggled to free himself from Kakarot's attack, the Super Saiyan appeared once again behind him, throwing another energy blast at the changelings back. Cold had no chance to dodge and the two blasts met with him in the middle. The resulting explosion rocked the surrounding landscape and caused all the Z-fighters watching to shield themselves from the sheer power.

A few minutes later when the dust and smoke from the explosion settled, King Cold floated in the air bruised, burned and bleeding. He held one hand across his chest favoring a cracked rib or two. He looked around expecting another attack at any second but Kakarot just floated in front of him waiting for him to make the next move. "You dirty monkey," King Cold spat the words. "I don't know why my son let a single one of you live."

"Aw," Kakarot taunted, "you poor thing. You don't like it when someone is actually stronger than you."

King Cold laughed. "You ignorant fool. You think you're actually stronger than me. Well once you see my true power you'll think differently."

Kakarot stared at him with a malicious grin. "Go ahead and show me then."

King Cold clenched his fists at his side and grunted. A crimson aura surrounded him as his muscles bulged and his power grew. A few seconds later he was finished powering up. His muscles were now more bulky but he otherwise looked much the same. "Now Saiyan," King Cold said, "shall we finish this?" Before Kakarot could respond, the changeling closed the distance between them hoping to draw the first blood with a left hook.

Kakarot was amazed by how fast the tyrant had closed in for the attack and barely managed to get up an arm to block before King Cold's fist took off his head. The tyrant never gave him a chance to counter-attack as the kicks and punches kept coming. Cold's fist finally broke Kakarot's guard and found its way into the Saiyan's chest. The blow sent Kakarot flying back from the changeling but King Cold wrapped his tail around Kakarot's ankle and pulled the Super Saiyan back into his attack range, head-butting Kakarot in the face causing blood to run down the Saiyan's nose and mouth. Cold capitalized on the dazed Saiyan's lack of a guard and sent a devastating left hook in at Kakarot's temple.

Kakarot raised his fingers to his forehead and teleported away from Cold's attack bare milliseconds before the blow would have landed. He appeared below and behind King Cold in time to see the tyrant trying to look around to find him. The Saiyan took the few moments of break to catch his breath. Cold was strong that was for sure. It would take everything he had to finish this fight. The Super Saiyan fazed back in front of the changeling, catching Cold by surprise, and drove a fist into his stomach. Cold doubled over and spat some blood. Kakarot used the moment of distraction to cup his hands at his side and gather some energy. "KA…ME…HA…ME…" King Cold recovered and swung a fist at Kakarot's head but the Super Saiyan teleported away from the attack and appeared behind King Cold. "HA," Kakarot shouted shooting his attack into King Cold's back sending the changeling flying away on the end of the Kamehameha wave.

The Kamehameha wave didn't keep King Cold down for long. The changeling charged back at Kakarot, fury burning in his eyes. He closed the distance in an instant, catching the Super Saiyan by surprise, and shot a hand out and grabbed Kakarot around the neck in a death-grip. Kakarot struggled to breathe as King Cold squeezed his windpipe. Kakarot slammed a fist against King Cold's arm trying to free himself but the tyrant held the grip with fierce determination. "You can't run away now Saiyan," he said with an evil gleam in his eye. Cold shot forward and slammed Kakarot into a cliff-face, driving the Super Saiyan ever deeper into the rocky Earth. "Now you'll die," Cold said as he squeezed Kakarot's throat tighter.

"I won't lose," Kakarot shouted as he managed to kick out and hit Cold's already broken ribs. The blow caused the changeling to loosen his grip enough for Kakarot to escape the death-grip. Kakarot focused on the weak-spot he'd discovered and drove a hard hook into King Cold's ribs. As Cold howled in pain from the attack, Kakarot phased out of sight and appeared behind King Cold and wrapped and arm around the tyrant's throat in a head lock. Kakarot shot forward driving King Cold into the mountain repaying the tyrant in kind. The Super Saiyan gathered an energy blast in his other hand and let it fly at point blank range into King Cold's face. A split second later Kakarot teleported away from the mountain as it crumbled in the explosion.

The mountain rocked as boulders flew in all directions and an enraged King Cold rose from the rubble. As the tyrant looked around for his enemy, Kakarot teleported behind him and drove a fist into the changeling's kidney. King Cold screamed in pain but was not allowed a chance to recover as Kakarot drove a foot into his already broken ribs. The cracked ribs snapped and punctured King Cold's lung. The tyrant wheezed trying to catch his breath with only one good lung. Kakarot shot forward and slammed a right uppercut into Cold's solar plexus causing what was left of the tyrant's breath to leave his lungs. The Super Saiyan didn't let up for a second. Kakarot reached up and grabbed King Cold's head and brought it down on his knee, bloodying the changeling's face. "Destructo Disk," the Super Saiyan shouted as he sent a disc of energy at the struggling tyrant. The disc cut through Cold's chest separating his head and upper body from the rest of his body. Kakarot cupped his hands at his side before Cold's body could fall to the ground. "Kamehameha," he shouted sending the rest of his remaining energy in one attack. The Kamehameha wave hit King Cold and tore through his dying body eliminating any chance that the tyrant might survive to fight another day.

Kakarot floated down to the ground dropping his Super Saiyan transformation. It was over. Frieza and King Cold were both dead now.

"Daddy," Bardock shouted running to engulf his father in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you're back."

"I'm glad I'm back too," Kakarot said. "Now let's go home."

-Dbz-

Kakarot and Bulma sat out on the balcony staring at the stars after their reunion. "So you used this teleporting technique to get home in time to beat Frieza and King Cold," Bulma said.

"Yeah," Kakarot said. "I was on my way back when I sensed their energies but there was no way to catch up to them. Luckily the Instant Transmission worked over such a long distance."

"I'm glad you're home," Bulma said snuggling into her husband's arms.

"I'm glad to be back too darling," Kakarot replied. A few seconds later, Kakarot's head turned to the side as he felt an unfamiliar energy down in the courtyard below.

"What is it?" Bulma asked picking up on her husband's look of determination.

"I sense someone down there," Kakarot said.

"Is it trouble?" Bulma asked.

"I don't know," Kakarot said. "They aren't that strong but I need to go investigate."

"Okay dear be careful," Bulma said.

Kakarot flew out of the window and down into the courtyard. He saw a shadowy figure rustling in the bushes and was behind it in an instant. The figure turned in surprise and gasped when she saw him. "It's you," she said.

"You know me?" Kakarot asked.

"Yes," the girl said. "Well I know of you."

"Who are you?" Kakarot asked.

"Can we go inside first?" the girl asked. "I wouldn't mind talking to Bulma too."

-Dbz-

A few minutes later Kakarot and the girl both sat in a lounge inside of Capsule Corp. The girl was tall and slender with dark black hair. She wore a short pair of jean shorts and a Capsule Corp jacket over a white t-shirt. "So who's the visitor," Bulma asked as she walked into the room with three drinks.

"We were just about to discuss that," Kakarot said.

"My name is Celia," the girl said. "Now this may sound weird but I am from the future."

"That's a Saiyan name," Kakarot said.

Celia was caught off guard. She had expected Bulma and Kakarot to react to her being from the future more strongly. "Yes," she said. "I am a Saiyan or at least part Saiyan. I have come to warn you about the future threat."

Kakarot tensed at the mention of a threat. "What threat is this?" Kakarot asked.

"In three years," Celia started, "five androids will appear and attack the earth. They are incredibly strong and manage to take out most of the Z-Fighters with almost no effort and continue to terrorize the Earth to this day."

"What about me," Kakarot asked, "was I not strong enough to help?"

"You were our strongest warrior," Celia said, "but even with you, Raditz, and my father being Super Saiyans; it wasn't enough to defeat them. You all died in the first days of the battle."

"That's horrible," Kakarot said. "So the androids were that strong."

"Yes," Celia said. "They were incredibly strong. After they killed you, they went on a rampage, destroying people and cities at will. Bardock tried to stop them but he was no match for them, even after he was also a Super Saiyan. They didn't kill him right away. They decided to use him as a play toy and fight him for entertainment. But after fighting for several years, he too fell. That was when Trunks turned into a Super Saiyan and went to avenge his older brother."

"Trunks?" Bulma asked.

"Oh sorry," Celia said. "Trunks is the second son that you and Kakarot have. He'll be born soon. That's why I didn't want to come sooner. I didn't want to interrupt your reunion. That is when Trunks is conceived."

"So," Bulma asked, "what happened to Trunks?"

"I don't know," Celia said. "When Bardock fell," he charged off to make the androids pay. I tried to stop him but I wasn't strong enough since my mother never let me train with Bardock and Trunks since she worried about my safety."

"So you took the time machine and came back to try and warn us so this future never happens?" Bulma asked making sure she had everything right.

"Yes," Celia said. "You had a time machine you built while tinkering before the androids came so I convinced you to let me use it to try and change our fate."

"So who's you're parents," Kakarot asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I figured you would eventually ask," Celia said. "As you already noticed I'm part Saiyan. And as you'll soon find out Chi Chi and Yamcha just had a bad break-up a few days ago. Well anyway, soon she'll be over here to cry on the shoulder of a friend and bitch about men in general. I don't know how but at that point her and my father meet and I'll be conceived."

"Your father's Vegeta isn't he?" Kakarot said.

"Yes," Celia said. "They will eventually find each other. I just ask that you don't do anything to interfere with their getting together."

"Don't worry we won't do anything that would endanger you being born." Bulma said.

"So we don't tell Vegeta about any of this until Chi Chi and he get together," Kakarot agreed.

"My father trained constantly anyway," Celia said. "I don't think there would be much else he would do differently if he knew or not. My mom always said he nearly killed himself training trying to catch up with you. I just want you to train extra hard to give him something more to reach for."

"So we'll start training tomorrow," Kakarot said.

"Sounds good," Celia said. "I only ask one more thing. I want to come back and train with you to help fight the androids. I will return after a year of your time to train. That way I won't interfere with my birth."

"Ok we'll see you then," Kakarot said.

Power levels

Bardock:
3.5 million
Vegeta:
3.5 million

Raditz:
4.25 million
Kakarot:
275 million (Super Saiyan)

Nappa:
3 million

Krillin:
4 million
Yamcha:
250,000

Tien:
2 million

Piccolo:
35 million
King Cold:
250 million (fourth form)
300 million (fourth form full power)
Celia:
50,000