Cold's face met the ground and viciously tore across the surface with Cooler holding his head there as they flew. The mad prince carried them for miles before lifting his father up and slamming an energy ball right into his face, igniting the zone in a violent explosion.
Out of the mushroom cloud that formed, Cold was sent tumbling across the air. Through the king's wild flight, he summoned the power to stop, only to be greeted with a punch from Cooler. The king flew back, but stopped once more. He turned to find Cooler, but the prince was gone. His head whipped left, then right, but he realized Cooler was zipping in and out of sight much quicker than he could follow. Before he knew what was coming, Cooler reappeared and slapped Cold across the sky again. As quick as the king flew, Cooler appeared and smashed him in another direction. The prince went on to slap his father around, sending the king bouncing around the air like a ping pong ball until Cold finally could force himself out of the chaos.
The king flew out of the battle zone to put distance between him and Cooler, only to turn around and be frozen in place at the sight of the Supernova Cooler had in his hands. "Cooler-," he began, but the words died out when Cooler launched the attack.
Despite its massive size, the bomb crossed the distance over to Cold in less than a second. With no other option, the king met the attack head on and was immediately knocked out of the sky. Hands slammed against the fiery ball, Cold did his best to push the energy back, but it was pressing down on him like a freight train, carrying him right down into the ocean. As the Supernova disappeared below the water's surface, Cooler sent a beam of energy after it. A grand flash of light spewed from the deep water before an explosion followed that sent water rushing into the sky.
As the water fell back down like rain, Cooler looked down into the sea. He sat there in the air, motionless, for several second before he zipped out of sight. The seawater was suddenly blown away, carving a hole clean through to the bottom of the sea where Cooler had pinned Cold to the seafloor with a punch to the king's torso. Cold coughed up blood from the impact and struggled to move, but Cooler's aura flared and the two were suddenly carried below the floor right as the ocean began closing around them.
"What are you doing?" Nosa asked warily as he watched the flash of orange energy light up the horizon.
The Yardratian floated high in the sky and focused on the scene in the distance. Although Cold and Cooler were far out of sight, the way that their energy bathed over the planet, Nosa felt like he was right there with them as he watched.
A panicked yell suddenly drew Nosa's eyes to the ground. He turned to see two soldiers attempting to attend to one bleeding man while a chunk of flaming rubble was falling from a nearby building. In an instant, Nosa rushed down and carried the trio out from under the falling rubble. While the flaming chunks crashed onto the ground, Nosa and the soldiers appeared in a safe zone. Though the men had a moment of confusion, they quickly turned to give Nosa their thanks before grabbing the wounded soldier and rushing off.
Nosa nodded in kind to their appreciation and watched them leave. He paused to make note of the destruction around them. King Cold had done a number on the place before Cooler carted them away. Every living creature in the compound ought to praise Cooler for his quick thinking, sparing them from Cold's wrath. Then again, Cooler was also to blame for igniting his father's fury.
The Yardratian sighed. Had he known what Cooler was planning, he might've tried to stop it.
"Hey! Who are you?"
Nosa turned at the sound of the voice and his eyes landed on one of the outpost's commanders. Before the Yadratian could open his mouth, the commander pointed two fingers at him, both glowing with purple energy on the tips.
"This location is the private property of the Planetary Trade Organization. Identify yourself immediately!" the commander demanded.
By that point other soldiers had taken note of the scene and drew closer, turning their blasters on the Yadratian as they all awaited his response.
Nosa sighed. "Look, I am friend of Coo…hmm…Lord Cooler's," he said.
The commander looked Nosa over curiously. "You don't sport the seal of Cooler Command on your attire, nor do you wear anything resembling PTO soldier garb."
Beginning to grow annoyed, Nosa began seeking out potential teleporting sources. He could see that this wasn't going anywhere good. However, before he could make the decision to get out of sight, another soldier's frantic call drew everyone's attention. The soldier barreled through a group of firefighters before rushing right up to the commander.
"Sir, there's trouble in the command center! An unidentified flying object is coming directly for the planet and by the look of the scanner, it is huge!" the soldier reported.
The captain cautiously took his eyes off of Nosa and addressed the soldier. "Have you tried communicating with it?" The soldier nodded. "Then engage the ballistic missiles. Shoot it out of the sky if it dares to enter our airspace."
"Captain, the counterattack center caught damage in King Cold's onslaught. Not to mention that this thing is colossal. I don't even think our missiles could completely take it down."
"You need to take this serious, Captain," Nosa spoke up.
The captain scoffed. "Shut your mouth, intruder. Someone handcuff this thing and put him away in a holding cell."
One of the soldiers gingerly made their way towards Nosa. However, the Yadratian flared his aura. In a grand display, the warrior's energy ripped in the ground, blowing down all of the soldiers surrounding him, including the captain. While the other men gingerly pushed themselves up, the captain was immediately back in his feet and prepared for battle.
However, Nosa merely stood in place with his arms folded. "Listen to me, we can waste our time on some useless battle or we can plan for the invasion that is on its way toward this planet."
"Invasion?" the Captain asked.
"That unidentified spacecraft? I know who's on there. And seeing as to how our leaders our indisposed…" Nosa turned his head out toward the horizon where Cooler and Cold's battle raged on. "…we need all hands on deck for what coming our way."
The captain looked hesitant, but he nodded toward Nosa. "Fine. Come with me." The captain turned following the other soldier back toward the command center with Nosa right behind them. The Yadratian turned his attention to the sky, mournfully watching the air and recalling his last run in with the Tuffles.
I'll be ready for you this time, Raichi.
Cold took two brutal punches and was sent flying back for several yards before he forced himself to stop. He held out both hands, yelling, "Cooler, listen to me!"
The prince had been in mid-charge to continue his assault, but he actually stopped, looming in the air like a specter as his pupiless eyes studied Cold.
The king breathed a sigh of relief. "You're obviously upset with me, but what can you really get out of this?" he said. "Beating on someone you're clearly stronger than. That's not your style, Cooler. So, how about we actually get something out this? What can I give you, my son? You want more control of the PTO? I can do that. You want to be king? I can do that as well. You've damn well earned the spot. Just tell me what you want, Cooler, and I'll give it to you."
Cooler floated their silently for a long moment before his bone mask slowly receded. "I want you to die," replied the prince and then he closed the bone mask back over his mouth.
Cold was left there speechless, practically stunned in place. The king swallowed a lump in his throat and opened his mouth to speak, only to be silenced when he noticed a glimmer of energy shoot from Cooler's eyes. The king darted back just in time, avoiding a direct hit from the following explosion, but still getting knocked out of the sky. Before he could hit the ground, he stopped himself and narrowly dodged an arc of energy that sliced clear through the island behind him.
The king turned back to look upon the devastation with shock written all over his face. He couldn't awe the sight for long before another arc was sent his way. Another was launched on top of that, and another after that one. Before long, Cold was rushing all over the landscape, narrowly dodging every fissure slash Cooler sent down for him.
Cold suffered through Cooler's onslaught for several seconds before he was lunging to the side to evade his son, who materialized next to him. Cold took one look at the energy wrapped around Cooler's hands. Slash after slash was sent the king's way and he desperately dodged each one, catching a nick here or there, until Cooler was spearing a hand right at Cold's face. In the last second, Cold flared with aura in an explosive wave to force Cooler back.
In the blink of an eye, the king launched into the sky and summoned two beach-ball sized orbs in the palms of his hands. "You sniveling brat! You won't me to die? It'll take more than you to kill me!" he yelled.
Not another word offered, the king slammed the two orbs together in front of him and send the massive wave of energy down to the planet's surface, unconcerned for its potential to destroy the planet. He watched the colossal wave descend over Cooler and completely wash his son away. The sight brought a manic smile to his face, but then he noticed that the energy seemed to hit a wall just before striking the surface.
Cold lifted a brow in a confusion, but before he could ponder the thought, he watched in horror as a figure tore its way through his energy wave. Mouth agape in shock, he could only follow the scene until Cooler lifted out of the energy like some kind of demon. Before the king could do put up a defense, a brutal punch smashed against his face, sending him across the sky and bringing his energy wave to an end.
While Cold soared, mind a jumble of pain, he was left wide open as Cooler appeared and proceeded to hammer his body around with strike after strike. Unable to do anything, Cold took the punishment and could only watch as Cooler lifted his hands overhead and slammed a thunderous double axe handle onto the king's face, sending him spearing into another random island.
The king listened as the debris from his impact settled around him. It took him a few moments to regain the strength to move. Even when strength came to him, it was followed by wave after wave of pain. He struggled to push the pain aside and force himself off of the ground. By the time he was standing, Cooler had landed and was walking towards him.
Under the scrutinizing gaze of his son, Cold summoned the will to stand erect, unwilling to give Cooler the satisfaction of watching him at his weakest.
Cooler stopped walking and once again, father and son found themselves staring each other down. The air around them stilled as they focused on one another, taking in every bruise and wound they'd left on the other. Cold knew that he suffered much more in this battle than Cooler had. He could feel the dried blood and layers of dirt staining his body. As proud as the king was, he wasn't a fool. He knew when he was beaten.
"Don't just stand there, Cooler, go ahead and take your prize. I'm standing right here," Cold said.
Cooler didn't drop his stoicism.
Cold sneered. "Do it then, boy! Do you think I'm going to plead for my life? You should know better than that, Cooler."
Still, Cooler didn't move.
Growing frustrated, Cold opened his mouth to lash out with insults, but stopped himself. He noticed something odd – Cooler was breathing pretty heavily. The prince seemed to notice Cold's observation and tried to stifle it, but the attempt only made it worst. "Is something wrong, my son?" Cold asked as a smile crept onto his face. "Not feeling well?"
"Be quiet!" Cooler demanded and quickly lifted a ball of energy.
Cold tensed up at the motion, but just as he prepared to take the impact, Cooler's energy died out and the prince staggered back, coughing. "The doctor had told me about your illness, but here I'd thought it had been cured. I guess not," Cold spoke and began stalking toward Cooler.
"Get back," Cooler snapped in between coughing fits, stumbling backward to keep away from Cold.
The sight turned Cold's smirk wicked. "Don't worry, my boy. Your father will take care of you," he said. Cold sent a flash of energy into the ground, igniting the area of a minor explosion and kicking up a haze of smoke and dirt.
In the toxic cloud, Cooler's coughing grew much worst. He moved to try and rush out of the scene, but before he could do so, Cold was right in front of him. The king hammered two punches into Cooler's face, making the prince stumble back. Cold brought him forward again, though, by slapping his tail around Cooler's throat. Holding Cooler in the miasma, the king proceeded to slam strike after strike into Cooler's torso. The prince coughed and gagged through the onslaught before he flared his energy and blew the haze away.
Cooler managed to slam a kick into Cold's face, releasing the hold around his neck. While his father reeled back, Cooler knocked him out of sight with a brutal punch. With Cold out of his face, Cooler struggled to catch his breath, doubling over for a moment to calm himself. He was hardly given a few seconds of relief before another bomb of energy struck, wrapping him in another cloud of dirt.
Cooler rushed out of the haze, tearing into the sky with his energy wrapped around him. He looked down to where he once was, sensing his father's presence. With a sneer, Cooler gathered energy in his hand and readied to unleash it, only to for it to die out once more thanks to another coughing fit.
Having heard his son, Cold tore out of the haze and charged after Cooler.
Cooler had just enough time to calm himself to meet his father in battle. The two met in a clash of fists that turned to a storm of punches, raining strike after strike across the other's body. Cooler managed to land an especially hard uppercut, and while Cold reeled back, he lunged with a fist aimed right at the king's chest. In an expert motion, Cold sidestepped Cooler's punch, grabbed the arm to yank the prince off balance, and glided around to Cooler's back to wrap his arms around Cooler's neck for a headlock.
Cooler tried to struggle, but Cold was immediately applying pressure on his neck.
"You should've taken your win while you had it, boy!" Cold gloated, applying just a bit more pressure.
Cooler snarled as he attempted to rip his father's arms from around his neck, but he could already tell the urge to breathe was making his movements panicked. Taking a moment to calm himself, Cooler dropped his arms to the side and allowed Cold to take control. He could hear the wicked laugh his father emitted, but that joy was brought to an abrupt end when Cooler's aura flared. Taking a page out of his father's book, Cooler emitted an explosive wave around him. Although Cold didn't get blown away, the rush of energy loosened his grip and Cooler took full advantage.
The prince slammed an elbow back into Cold's abdomen and then threw his head back to headbutt the king. Cold stumbled back, but Cooler reached up and secured a firm hold on his arm. In a flash, Cooler zipped higher into the sky and began rushing around in circles at a dizzying rate. Cold had attempted to fight off Cooler's hold at first, but had succumbed to the movement mid-flight, giving Cooler the opening he needed. The prince darted out of the sky like a rocket and began spinning around like a corkscrew. Right as the two were just above the island, Cooler spun one last time to send his father rushing to the surface where he crashed with a mighty explosion, ripping the battlefield asunder from the impact.
After the debris settled, Cooler dropped down next to the crater where Cold lied, unmoving. He held his composure for as long as he could, making absolutely sure that his father was down for the count, before he sunk to his knees as he wheezed a terrible gasp. He took in deep breaths and trying to ease the burning sensation in his lungs. He thought he was beyond these issues – he had come so far in his training and could even tolerate space travel, but he clearly wasn't out of the woods yet.
"Fuck this damned sickness," he griped, only for his body to go rigid at the blur of movement next to him.
Before Cooler could do anything to stop it, Cold snatched him up into a mighty bear hug. Taking advantage of Cooler's position, the king kept Cooler's knees against the ground and his arms pinned at his side. With Cold's hands snapped together in front of him, Cooler's upper body was locked down in a painful vice grip. Not only could he could not move his arms, he couldn't expand his chest to breathe.
"We're done here, Cooler," King Cold snarled into Cooler's ear.
Cooler growled in frustration and tried to summon his power, but found that exceedingly more difficult after his last attack. He was running on fumes and his need for air wasn't making things any better.
"Give up," demanded Cold.
Cooler tried to make move with his legs to maybe throw them off balance. He struggled to find a good position, but Cold could sense what he was doing and forced more pressure downward to limit Cooler's movement.
"Give up, Cooler."
The edges of his sight were beginning to grow fuzzy. Cooler writhed around desperately to break the grip. That only made Cold apply more pressure. Cooler could hear the bones in his body protesting the pressure.
"Give up, Cooler!"
Just as Cooler was beginning to lose consciousness, he tapped his father's arm in a sign of defeat. Cold immediately released his grip, leaving Cooler to collapse onto the ground to gasp for air. In a flash, Cooler's fifth form disappeared as he lied there, unmoving. Cold, meanwhile, stumbled back and fell to a knee himself, keeping a careful eye on his son.
"It's time we let bygones be bygones, Cooler. I'm done with this damned fight," he demanded.
Having stabilized his breathing somewhat, Cooler pushed himself up. He tossed an angry glare back at his father before pushing himself up. As Cooler moved to stand, and so did Cold.
"Fine," Cooler snapped.
Cold gave his son a skeptical stare before agreeing. "Good," he said, and then broke with a proud smile. "You really gave me a run for my money. After we rescue Frieza, you'll have to teach us how you learned to transform like that. In fact, you may need to show me sooner than later. If you had this power when you went to Earth and those monkeys still managed to get the upper hand, then it's no wonder…"
Cooler listened to his father speak and an evil smile crept onto his face. Before he knew it, he broke out into a laugh. When Cold asked what was so funny, Cooler could hardly contain himself. "Even after all of that - ALL OF THIS!" Cooler swept his hand over the destroyed battlefield. "-you still can't take your mind off the golden child."
Cold gave Cooler a chilling glare. "Frieza is my son, just like you, and I-,"
"Not just like me!" Cooler snapped. "Frieza is the prodigy! Frieza is the legacy! And I'm just…I'm just…"
"…the bastard," Cold finished, cruelly.
That chilling smile came back to Cooler's face. "Yes...that," he replied and suddenly broke with another fit of laughter, doubling over to try and console himself.
"Stop your damned laughing, Cooler. Put your feelings aside, for once, and realize that we need to save your brother!"
"That's just it. We don't," Cooler said between laughs. Cold watched him puzzlingly and Cooler turned to his father with a manic smile. "Because there's nothing to save." Cold's confusion slowly gave way to shock, and as the realization was overcoming the king, Cooler added, "Frieza is dead and I watched him die!"
"You miserable…wretched…dog!" Cold screamed, slinging out fist after fist at Cooler, who was dodging, deflecting, or meeting them head on.
"Come on, father, you can do better than that!" Cooler screamed back, launching fists back at Cold.
The two met punch for punch, both slamming each other in the jaw before being knocked apart. Their feet tore into the dirt as they slid, but they reclaimed their fighting stances quickly enough. Cold rushed back at Cooler while the prince knelt down and slammed his hands into the dirt. The area around them cracked and creviced at the impact, but Cold moved on undeterred. Just before the king could strike, Cooler's eyes flashed and he threw his hands into the air, using his telekinesis to take the battlefield airborne.
Having lost his son in the chaos, Cold stood atop his mini island and looked around at the dozen or so floating rocks around him.
"Come and fight me!" roared King Cold.
On cue, Cooler dotted over a nearby rock formation, landing a kick against Cold that sent him spearing into a neighboring rock. "As you command, my king," Cooler spat.
Cold tore back through the devastated rock formation and carried a large chunk with him. Snarling like a monster, he threw the boulder at Cooler, who easily dodged by leaping higher into the collection of floating rocks. Cold gave chase, darting around the battlefield in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
"I knew I couldn't trust you. I knew I couldn't trust a bastard with anything!" Cold yelled, darting around a rock and catching Cooler off guard. The king rocked Cooler with three body shots before snatching him up by the throat and pulling the prince right into his face. "Oh, wait. You don't like that word, do you?" he sneered and applied pressure on Cooler's throat.
"Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. BASTARD!" Cold screamed, gripping Cooler's throat with all his might.
Cooler struggled desperately against the hold before he fired a pair of eye beams into Cold's face. That distraction was all Cooler needed to land a throat punch and a dropkick that booted Cold into a nearby floating rock.
Cooler launched himself across the battlefield. "I've heard worst," he cheered before throwing one of the rocks at his planted father.
The rock struck threw the mini island Cold was planted in and carried him into another where it struck with enough force to disintegrate both boulders. Cold lingered in the debris of the impact but before he could move out of the field another rock careened through to carry him back to the surface. The impact was destructive, but quickly followed by rock after rock, Cooler sending the whole battlefield back down on top of Cold.
By the time the last boulder dropped, Cooler had returned to the ground on the outside of the chaos where he breathed heavily. He looked down at himself, realizing that he wasn't struggling as much with his breathing while in his fourth form.
The wrecked terrain in front of him suddenly came alight in a purple glow before being disintegrated with a mighty wave of energy. In its place, Cold hovered in the air, turning his head every which way to locate Cooler. When father and son finally locked eyes, Cooler told himself, I'm not done yet.
Cold speared out of the sky, suddenly, tackling Cooler across the battlefield. The two rushed into a forest, ripping down dozens of trees as they tore through the terrain. In a matter of moments, they rushed out of the forest and into a rocky wasteland. Cold was charging Cooler's back right at a massive rock formation, but the prince managed to flip the two over before slamming his feet into Cold and launching the king at the rock instead.
Cooler did a quick flip and landed upright on the ground. He turned to watch his father spin through his flight and slam feet first into the rock formation. The king wasted no time launching back off of the rock, blowing the mound away as he rocketed back towards Cooler. The prince leapt back in just enough time to avoid the thunderous fist that slammed into the Earth, but his reprieve didn't last. Cold lunged at him once more, slinging out a flurry of mighty punches and Cooler did his best to dodge around the onslaught before taking a brutal shot to the face.
Cold swung around with another punch, but Cooler leapt backward to evade, nursing his face as he did so. The king pressed the assault and lunged once more. As he charged, he sent a minor beam into the dirt, sparking a haze of dirt right around Cooler. The prince tried to dart into the air to get out of the cloud, only to have his leg snatched up mid-air.
Alarm written all over his face, Cooler was drawn back into the smog where three thunderous strikes rung out before he was launched across the battlefield like a rocket, slamming through a rock formation before he settled in the dirt. He took a second to catch his breath before rushing up from the ground, narrowly avoiding the punch that struck.
Before Cold could recover from the dodged punch, Cooler was over him with two roundhouse kicks and an uppercut to the chin. Cold staggered back, but fired back with a jab to Cooler's torso, then jaw. Cooler answered with an elbow strike to the nose. Cold with a kick to the face. Cooler with an uppercut to the stomach. Strike after strike rung out, each one booming across the area with more power than the last. They stopped trying to dodge the other. It was about power and who would fall first.
"Getting tired, old man," Cooler mocked, landing a punishing uppercut.
Cold fired back with a knee to Cooler's abdomen. "Never," he snapped.
The king swung down with another fist while Cooler fired up with his own, leaving them both to crash with their fists buried into the other's face. Yet, they resisted the need to stagger back. They merely focused their eyes on the other, trying to extend their reach to push the other back.
"Fuck off," Cold snapped, pulling back just enough to send an orb of energy right in Cooler's face.
The prince had just enough time to throw up his own energy, where the two met in a violent explosion, wrapping the royals in the mayhem that ensued. Out of the smog of smoke left behind, Cooler lied out on the ground, breathing heavily as he stared to the sky above. He struggled to find the strength to move. He hadn't been pushed to the brink of his power like this ever before.
Just then, he sensed his father's incoming, but it was too late. Before Cooler could move, Cold was standing above him with a foot slammed right onto his chest, pinning him to the ground. "This is over!" the king barked.
Cooler tried to force himself up, but Cold slammed his foot down harder, pushing the prince a bit deeper into the dirt and completely restricted his ability to breathe. Faced with the fury of his father above him, Cooler found the urge to breathe much stronger than ever before.
"Damn you, Cooler. Damn you to hell and back!" Cold sneered. "After everything I've given you, this is how you thank me. Betrayal. Lies! You killed, Frieza!" Cold's voice cracked as he yelled, his rage beginning to give way to something else.
Cooler watched the sight, caught between his need to breathe and his desire to feel remorse. He clawed at his father's foot, but that just made Cold apply more pressure. "…please," Cooler managed to wheeze out.
Cold sneered. "You have a lot of nerve," he spat and then pointed one, glowing finger down at Cooler's face. "I'll show you the same mercy I'm sure you showed your brother."
Cooler looked into the deadly light in front of him, his life flashing before his eyes. Just as his vision was beginning to grow dark, Cooler threw his head back and released a pained scream.
Cold fired the death beam and in a nanosecond, the two disappeared from sight. In the air, the beam shot across the ground, erupting in a minor explosion. Coming back into view, Cold looked around in shock of what had just happened, turning in just enough time to see Cooler charge him. Wrapped in a chaotic flare of his aura, Cooler slammed a brutal fist into Cold's face, snapping the king's head to the side. While Cold stumbled, Cooler pressed on with three more, body contorting shots. Cooler's battle cry grew even more as he hammered a vicious uppercut into Cold's face that sent the king darting high into the sky. Cooler instantly took chase. His aura blazing behind him, for the briefest of moments, Cooler jumped back into his fifth form. Catching up to his father, the two locked eyes for an instant before Cooler spun in the air and slammed a thunderous double axe handle onto his face that sent the king bulleting clear through a rock formation.
As the destroyed rock settled, Cooler dropped from the sky, his fifth form falling off like smoke. The second Cooler's feet touched the ground, he crumbled to his knees and stared lifelessly at the mound his father was buried in. He held his breath as he watched the mound and after several seconds, Cooler released a deep sigh and slumped over onto the ground and closed his eyes.
Cooler jolted back to life, opening his eyes with a start. He looked around himself in confusion. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but he could see that nightfall was already upon him. He looked back to the mound of rubble in front of him and could see that it hadn't been disturbed. A quick scan with his mind told him that his father was still in there, and still unconscious.
Gingerly, Cooler pushed himself up. His body protested every motion, but he knew he couldn't stay out there like that. He needed to return to command and check on the soldiers that had been caught up in the start of their fight. His father would be fine, pissed when he eventually woke up, but fine nonetheless.
He began lifting into the air, only to have his attention drawn to something fluttering in the breeze. Before flying off, Cooler moved closer to the thing and soon realized that it was his father's cape partially pinned under some rocks. The prince moved the offensive rocks and lifted the regal symbol to make note of the several tears in the fabric.
Cooler cast one final glance back at the mound of rubble burying his father. "All of that just to end up right back where we started," he said sadly.
Grasping the cape, Cooler launched into the air and focused his eyes on the horizon. They quickly bulged at the bright light in the distance. A light like that told Cooler only one thing: fire.
Soon enough, Cooler reached the outpost and was greeted by plentiful destruction. Smoke filled the sky, buildings were on fire, and dozens of dead bodies lied across the ground. Cooler moved to get closer to scene, but as he did so, he was suddenly tackled out of the sky.
Tumbling wildly, the prince managed to stabilize himself before dodging to the side of an energy beam. Anger written all over his face, he zeroed in on his accosters.
"Robots?" he asked aloud, his anger fleeing in place of confusion.
The creatures seemed to communicate a message by the sounds of beeping noise before they suddenly charged him again. One rushed directly for Cooler while the other tried to circle around him. Though his body was far from perfect form, Cooler still had enough stamina to dodge around the first robot and slap it aside with a kick to its back. The other sent off two beams of energy, one of which nicked the side of Cooler's face.
With a snarl, Cooler fired his own beams, two eye lasers right through the robot's camera lens like eye. The bot emitted a howl of beeps as it tried to console its damaged face, only to explode. Cooler watched the scene with a smirk, only to be reminded of the other bot when it extended its arm to suddenly snatch at Cooler's leg. The prince allowed the robot to yank him out of the sky, following the bot's movements easily. Then, Cooler charged out of the sky, dragging the bots arm behind him. Before the robot could make a move, Cooler soared passed it with a hand wrapped in energy. He turned around to the bot in just enough time to watch it spilt in half and explode.
With that nuisance out of the way, Cooler took back to the air and flew deeper into the wreckage of the compound. He made note of a few soldiers being caught in battle with other robots. He considered rushing over to assist, but knew that there had to be a brain behind this assault and it certainly wasn't those drones. He dropped into a wrecked courtyard, looking around and trying to read his surroundings.
Where is Nosa? he thought, figuring the Yadratian would likely have answers.
Cooler was shocked and slightly concerned when he couldn't locate the warrior. In the midst of all that chaos, for Cooler to not be able to sense Nosa it meant one of two things: Nosa was hiding or he was unconscious…or…
No, he's fine, Cooler had to tell himself. Nosa was strong and capable. Cooler couldn't worry for his safety at the moment. He had to figure out what was going on.
On cue, a building next to him erupted with a mighty explosion. Out of the screen of fire and smoke, five soldiers' scorched bodies were sent raining over the courtyard. Cooler looked over them and knew there was nothing he could do to save them. Instead, he focused his eyes on the sight of the explosion, watching as a silhouetted figure slowly trudged out of the smoke and fire.
Cooler turned fully to meet the being, but his resolve to meet this foe crashed when Cooler's eyes locked on its glimmering metallic form. While the casing was very much alien, Cooler would know that figure anywhere. He could pick those mocking eyes out of a million. The only question that came to mind right then was…
"…how?" he awed, taking a step back as his father's cape dropped from his hand.
Frieza's eyes studied the cloth lying at Cooler's feet closely before slowly and purposefully raking up Cooler's body. For a long moment, Frieza's face was a somber mask, but when the two siblings finally met eye to eye, that expression broke as a mischievous smile crawled across his face.
Apologies for the delay. First there were internet issues and then other distractions.
Anyhow, I foreshadowed the arrival of Meta-Frieza back around chapter 13 or 14 and this introduction has been rewritten and revised maybe ten times between now and then. I am happy with this reveal and what I have planned for him though. Frieza is just the nightmare Cooler can never get away from.