It's impossible…it's fucking impossible!
Cooler couldn't take his eyes off of the metallic figure standing before him. His younger brother stood there, flames dancing around his body while reflecting eerily against his shining frame. The two stood immobile, their eyes focusing solely on the other for what felt like an eternity.
And finally, Frieza took one step forward.
As if on reflex, Cooler threw his hands up and unleashed a massive wave of energy. The tidal wave careened right through Frieza, taking out what was left of the compound's tower and searing the ground for miles beyond it.
Once the light from Cooler's attack died out, the prince stood in place looking into the flaming debris left behind by the energy. He found himself breathing deeply and was acutely reminded of just how unprepared he was for a fight against Frieza.
"That can't be him. I saw him die. I watched it with my own eyes," Cooler said to himself, trying to will away the panic that was beginning to set in. "That's not Frieza. That's not –"
Cooler's words died in his throat as he suddenly caught a glimpse of the metallic figure standing behind him. Cautiously, he turned to look over his shoulder, leaving him and Frieza to lock eyes once again. This time, as they watched each other, recognition seemed to set in on Frieza's face before a devilish smile stretched across his lips.
Before Cooler could even think of moving, Frieza slammed a brutal punch into his back. The blow sent a shudder over the prince's body and while he involuntarily curled in on the fist planted in his back, Frieza spun and hammered an elbow strike to the side of Cooler's head that sent him spearing into the outpost's main building.
The prince was sent into the main outpost building, crashing through several walls before coming to a halt in the mess hall.
Pushing himself off the floor, Cooler sighed at the pain radiating through his body, but he fought it off as Frieza suddenly floated through the hole Cooler had created. In spite of the sheets of fire hanging around them and the dead bodies littering the floor, the brothers only had eyes for one another.
Cooler sneered at the mocking smile still on Frieza's face. In an instant, he charged forward. This time, however, he paused on a dime right in front of Frieza. The metallic tyrant moved to take a swing, but was left wide open as Cooler telekinetically sent a table careening through. The table carried Frieza over to a nearby wall, flattening him against the structure. It didn't stay there long before being punched back across the hall by the tyrant.
As soon as the table was out of the way, Cooler was in its place, hammering a fist into Frieza's face that sent the metal menace flying back through the compound. Frieza was blown out on the other side of the compound, his feet slamming into the dirt to stop his flight. The second he stood upright, Cooler was in his face, hammering punch after punch across the metallic figure.
After nearly a dozen rapid shots, Cooler sent Frieza into the air with a quick uppercut, chased after with a snap kick, and then wrapped his legs around the tyrant's neck before performing a quick spin that sent Frieza spearing headfirst into the ground. Planted in place with just its upper body open to the upper world, Cooler rushed in and slammed a kick that sent Frieza ripping through the dirt and back into the burning building.
The second Frieza was out of sight, Cooler crumbled down to one knee, his vision fading ever so slightly. "Come on," he gasped while using one hand to keep from collapsing. "Just a little longer."
His body seemed to get the message, easing up on the waves of pain hitting him at the moment. Able to will himself onward, Cooler forced himself back upright, just as Frieza was levitating out of the air and resting back on the grass across from him.
Before another fight could erupt, Cooler asked, "What is the meaning of this, Frieza?"
Silence was his brother's response, opting to merely stare Cooler down.
Cooler scoffed. "Come now, don't tell me you're suddenly at a loss for words."
Silence persisted, goading frustration from Cooler.
"Say something!" Cooler snapped.
This time, Frieza offered another cheeky grin, only adding fuel to Cooler's growing anger.
After a moment, Cooler shrugged, feigning disinterest. "Fine," he griped. "Whatever your plan is, Frieza, you've lost once. You've lost twice. And you will lose again for a third time. When this is over, I'll make sure you don't get a fourth chance."
Cooler focused his gaze on Frieza, watching for that so expected reaction. Yet again, Frieza looked completely unmoved by his words. The silence was unnerving, Cooler was beginning to realize. He found his brother's unwavering gaze incredibly intimidating.
Did Frieza know that Cooler's power was tapped?
Did Frieza know that he had the upper hand?
What did he know?
"SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!" Cooler snarled.
The prince's voice boomed over the area. Cooler only then realized how quiet their scene was. It was like no one else in the world existed except for him and Frieza.
Frieza finally spoke and the words shook Cooler to his core. "You will die."
Stupefied, Cooler paused for a moment to digest the words. Before he could make a move, Frieza was already in front of him. The metallic tyrant slammed a brutal fist into Cooler's stomach and then a headbutt right into prince's nose that sent Cooler sliding across the dirt. When Cooler came to a stop, he attempted to nurse his bleeding nose, but in the blink of an eye, Frieza standing over him.
Cooler teleported out sight just as Frieza launched a punch downward, leaving the attack to spear into the dirt. While the metallic menace took a moment to find Cooler, the prince took advantage and rushed in from the side with a boot aimed to send Frieza across the sky. However, at the last moment, Frieza moved aside, dodging the attack and leaving Cooler wide open for another downward punch that sent Cooler barreling into the ground.
Frieza paused to stand above the newly formed hole. As he relished in the attack, Cooler suddenly exploded back upward. Wrapped his aura, Cooler rushed up with an uppercut that sent Frieza launching into the air. While the metallic menace flew, Cooler continued his attack, zipping through the air and then rushing Frieza again with a brutal punch that sent the monster flying off in another direction. Still wrapped in his aura, Cooler rushed for Frieza again. This time, the menace paused in the air and met Cooler's attack head on. Instead of being knocked elsewhere, Cooler's attack only managed to whip Frieza's head to the side.
Slowly, Frieza turned his head back to face Cooler, openly baiting another strike. Cooler, with a snarl, accepted the challenge, smashing his fist across Frieza's face, this time unable to make Frieza's head budge. Cooler had a moment of alarm before frustration took over and he began desperately hammering punch after punch into Frieza's face, unable to do any damage.
Frieza brought the useless assault to an end by snatching up Cooler's fist and then slamming a knee into the prince's abdomen. Cooler sputtered upon the impact and was left wide open for a second and then third knee to the gut. Frieza went for a fourth, but Cooler summoned the strength to block it. Quickly, Cooler locked eyes with Frieza and fired his eye beams right into Frieza's face. That attack loosened Frieza's grip on Cooler's fist and the prince capitalized by slamming an energy bomb right into Frieza, sending the menace flying out of the sky and crashing explosively below.
In the momentary cease fire, Cooler consoled his wounds and wheezed desperately. As hard as he was trying to fight, he was running on steam. Frieza had made his goal pretty clear, and if Cooler didn't begin to plan an exit strategy, Frieza was going to get exactly what he wanted.
On cue, the metallic menace stepped out of the fire haze below. His body was just as pristine as it was when their fight had begun. Cooler quickly realized that going on the offense wasn't going to get him anywhere.
Frieza tore from the ground like a bullet, closing the distance between them in an instant. Cooler didn't have time to defend himself from the punch that rocked his chin, but when Frieza whipped a kick at his side, Cooler moved with the leg and snatched it up. In a fluid motion, he spun and threw Frieza backward.
As quick as the monster flew away, he was rushing back at Cooler. The prince could hardly put up a defense. Cooler was rocked by two hard body blows and sent across the air with an invisible wave of energy. Summoning his energy, he managed to bring himself to a stop, but the second that he looked back over to Frieza, he found his brother just overhead with a beach-ball sized orb ready to crash right on top of him.
Reflexively, Cooler formed his energy barrier at the last second, allowing it to take the brunt of the blast, but the ensuing explosion was enough to destroy the barrier and send Cooler to the ground in a smoldering heap. He paused to get his bearings, feeling extraordinarily tired. The soft sound of footsteps brought his attention to Frieza, who hovered over him.
"…well, shit…"Cooler groaned as Frieza formed another bomb and pointed it downward.
Thankfully, just as the menace released the attack, Nosa materialized in between them. The Yardratian slammed his own energy into Frieza's, leaving the area to come alive in massive explosion, sending everyone in a different direction.
A gentle breeze washed over the rocky wasteland and carried a sole pebble down the side of a large mound of rubble. As soon as the pebble settled at the bottom of the mound, the mass of rocks were suddenly blown away by a rush of invisible energy. In place of the rock mound stood King Cold.
The king's red eyes carefully scanned the dark terrain around him as he made note of the falling of night. Once he made sure that the coast was clear, King Cold released a deep sigh. A bright purple light wrapped around his body as he morphed back down into his second form.
"I suppose if he were going to kill me, I'd already be dead," he said.
Cold paused to look over his body. The transformation had cleared up some of the visible scars on his skin, but many of bloody wounds he had suffered from his battle with Cooler were still very much visible. The sight both angered and saddened him. They reminded him of a loss that he'd rather not think of.
What came next, he wondered.
His kingdom was under assault. His grasp on the PTO was now unstable. And worst of all, his son, his baby boy, his one true heir was gone.
Standing out in the wasteland of a foreign planet, beaten, broken, and alone, the despair that washed over Cold in that moment was enough to bring the proud king to a knee. He allowed himself a moment to grieve the loss of his son before he forced himself to stand once again. After a moment to still his emotions, a resolve washed over the king.
I wanted to leave you a legacy unlike anything ever seen before, but it would seem that the universe had other plans for you, my son. Well, I too have plans. For this dear universe, I see a future of fire and brimstone. If you couldn't have this realm, then no one will. And as for your brother…
Cold slowly lifted into the air. His eyes found the dim light of fire in the distant horizon and he flew off. "…he will rue the day that he crossed you, Frieza. That I can promise."
Soon enough, King Cold reached the fiery remains of his compound. The sight sparked a flare of rage within him. He knew that he had unleashed his wrath onto the outpost earlier, but by no means should it have elicited this kind of sustained destruction. For Cold, he could only see one perpetrator: his graceful bastard, Cooler.
While floating over the destroyed compound, Cold looked around for any sign of Cooler. He was never one for wearing scouters, but he desperately wished that he had one in that moment. After a few seconds, he made note of a figure moving far out in the middle their training grounds. Without a second's waste, Cold darted out of the sky after the figure.
When Cold landed, he was first taken aback by the figure's metallic frame, however he was undeterred from seeking his answers. It wasn't until the figure turned to meet him eye to eye that Cold's resolve was shattered.
Nosa pushed himself up from the ground first. He groaned at the pain in his side before he looked to Cooler, who was struggling to get up. He moved over to the tyrant and helped him up.
"We need to get out of here," he said immediately. Cooler groaned from his obvious pain, but nodded his head. Nosa was happy that he wasn't trying to fight him on the issue. "I managed to secure a cruiser and move it to the other side of the planet. If we move fast and keep a low profile, we should be able to get there and get out of here before that monster catches us."
"That sounds good. I can…" Cooler trailed off and turned his head toward where Frieza was.
Nosa followed his gaze. He wasn't sure what caught Cooler's attention, but when his mind locked onto to that undeniable energy signal, he knew that things were about to get complicated. "Cooler, look-,"
Before Nosa could finish, Cooler teleported away.
"…dammit!" the Yardratian griped.
Cooler didn't know why he was going over there. He knew what he would find. Finally, his father would be reunited with his golden child – his one true heir. The thought of their reunion racked Cooler's mind with envy, but still he wanted to go over and see it with his own eyes.
What Cooler didn't expect was to be standing right in between King Cold and Frieza. What Cooler didn't expect was to see Frieza's finger pointed at Cold's body, mirroring a technique that Cooler had seen Frieza use time and time again. What Cooler didn't expect was to see the mournful look on his father's face as he stared helplessly at the son he'd been so desperate to save.
While Cooler knew exactly what was about to happen, he did not expect to see it with his own eyes.
Time drew to a tortuous crawl. Cooler's eyes raked back and forth between the despair written on Cold's face and the malicious glee scrawled onto Frieza's.
Unable to do anything, Cooler opened his mouth to say something – anything – but he couldn't find any words.
Instead, King Cold filled the silent void.
"My so-."
A deafening bang went off followed a rush of burning wind. Cooler's body was knocked out of the area, free-falling through the air, before slapping limply against the ground. The throbbing pain that had been washing over him suddenly felt very distant. Cooler pushed himself off of the ground and looked back toward the blast zone.
Before the haze of the explosion could give way, the sickening laugh of Frieza filled the air. That sound was like nails on a chalk board. Each stroke sent chilling tingles up Cooler's spine. He didn't need to see the blast zone to know what was no longer there. He could feel it. That deep, foreboding, intimidating power that he'd grown to both respect and fear was no longer there. That symbol of everything good and bad in his life was erased. Cooler's father was gone and a piece of himself went with him.
Nosa suddenly materialized at Cooler's side. He cautiously looked to Meta-Frieza. The monster was still reveling in his kill. It was now or never to get them out of there, he realized.
Reaching down, Nosa touched Cooler's shoulder. "C'mon Cooler. Let's go."
Cooler didn't respond.
"Cooler! We need to go now!" Nosa urged.
Cooler didn't respond immediately, but eventually, he grumbled out, "Go."
A part of Nosa wanted to believe that he misheard. He chanced another glance at Frieza, whose attention was now focused on them. He jostled Cooler's shoulder. "Now, Cooler!"
Nosa attempted to teleport them, but before he could, Cooler turned to him. With eyes filled with red and a grizzly dark tone to his voice, Cooler demanded, "GO!"
Nosa didn't get a chance to voice a response before Cooler's energy surged. The explosive wave carried the Yardratian away. He managed to catch himself mid-air and turn back to where Cooler once sat. Now, though, Cooler had launched back into his fifth form and charge Frieza.
Nosa could only watch on as the two engaged. Cooler might've summoned the will to transform, but the power wasn't there to support him. Every attack launched at the metallic monster was blocked effortlessly and every counter-attack sent Cooler to the ground.
"That idiot is going to kill himself," Nosa remarked.
Cooler yelled like a maniac as he charged back at Frieza. He rushed in with a fist aimed at the monster's head, but Frieza held up a forearm to block it easily, completely unfazed. Cooler moved to launch his other fist at the menace, only to take a punch to face before he could do so.
Cooler stumbled back, but aimed to charge forward again. Frieza was quicker. Cooler took two more punches to the face before being rocked with an uppercut to the stomach that forced him to lean against his foe to keep from crumbling.
The prince could feel the smile on his brother's face.
Enraged, Cooler tried another attack, only for Frieza to release an energy blast that sent Cooler into the air. Mid-flight the prince knocked the blast aside and immediately caught a Death Beam in the shoulder. A second beam was aimed at his head, but Cooler moved aside, only getting one of his horns nicked in the process. He turned enraged eyes down on Frieza, but was forced across the air as a storm of beams rushed him.
Despite his best efforts, Cooler managed to get scratched by several, but only took two full beams through his tail and side. The prince fought through the pain and launched an energy bomb at the ground, igniting the area in a bright blast. However, as quick as he fired the blast, Frieza had already crossed the distance between them. As the bomb struck, Cooler took a brutal kick to the face that broke his face mask and sent him spearing into the ground below.
The tyrant lied on the ground unmoving for several seconds before Frieza appeared above him. The metallic monster loomed over him like a predator, watching Cooler squirm with delight. In the blink of an eye, Cooler rushed off the ground to attack. Frieza countered by rushing a knee into his gut and bringing Cooler back to a knee as he consoled the wound.
The sight brought another wave of glee over Frieza, making him break out with a round of raucous laughter.
Down on one knee before his brother, Cooler's rage spiraled. "Shut your fucking mouth!" Cooler screamed. His booming proclamation managed to stifle Frieza's laugh for a moment, but then the monster's humor returned, bubbling up into yet another rousing fit. Visibly shaking with anger, Cooler yelled, "Silence!" and released an energy wave that blew Frieza backward.
The minor attack managed to force the menace back several yards, feet carving in the dirt until the blast flickered out. Cooler looked upon the sight, watching how much his energy had faltered. With only anger fueling him, Cooler fired off another blast. This one too pushed Frieza back but died out just as quick as the other. Realizing just how outmatched he was, all Cooler could do was fire out blast after useless blast until the energy would hardly move a few feet before evaporating.
Through it all, Frieza stood there, watching with that unmistakable glee.
Cooler looked across at his brother and with a rage-filled yell, began to charge. He hardly moved three feet before taking a Death Beam to his right thigh. The shot instantly brought Cooler to one knee. He tried to support himself with his hands and other leg, but quickly two beams tore through his left leg and arm, bringing the prince to the dirt.
For a moment, Cooler lied there unmoving and his fifth form left him one final time.
Frieza watched closely, smile plastered on his face, before he began moving towards the downed prince. Before he could reach him, though, he came to stop and watched as Cooler began dragging his body through the dirt, using his right arm to claw himself toward Frieza.
"I hate you," Cooler demanded. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." With each rake of his hand through the dirt, Cooler said the words, growing faster and faster – his words becoming a jumbled mess – as his crawl picked up speed. By the time Cooler reached Frieza's feet, the prince's face was caked in blood, dirt, and stained with the tears running down his cheek. Yet still, Cooler managed to force himself to look up at Frieze and with a tearful cry, scream the words right into his face.
Frieza lowered down to Cooler's height, staring deep into his brother's eyes. In the face of Cooler's plight, the monster still had no words. Instead, that sickening smile still plastered on his face, Frieza pointed one glowing finger right in Cooler's face.
"You. Will. Die," Frieza said, just as his metallic face came alight with the reflection of a blazing green light.
Before the monster could react, Nosa's boot struck and sent the monster flying out into the distance.
Cooler watched the scene in awe before he became visibly annoyed. He managed to push himself up with his right arm and glaring daggers into Nosa's back, he exclaimed, "I told you to get ou-," his words were cut short when Nosa spun around and his vision went black.
In and out of consciousness, Cooler eyes fluttered open briefly. His body was racked with pain. His mind was a daze. Vaguely, he could feel a hand pressed on his back and a string of desperate words behind him.
"Come on. Come on."
"There has to be somewhere."
"Shit, he's coming. You're right there. Come on."
Cooler's eyelids fluttered open and closed, but he caught the glimmer of Frieza in the distance. Every time his eyes opened, the monster was closer and closer and closer. The last thing Cooler saw before closing his eyes one final time was Frieza's sick smile practically right in his face and then they were gone.
Did I update back to back with no month long gap? Yes. Yes I did. I should've had this posted much sooner and didn't want to sit on it any longer.
I hope this three part finale read well. I tried to make it as smooth as possible. I really wanted this to be extremely impactful, as it brings the story to its climax. There are still a few loose ends to tie up, but I estimate about 20 more chapters until the story finale. Thanks for coming on this journey with me. We're almost there.