"And there, and there, and there, and there," said the Zaltian as his eyes scanned the grounds around Frieza's spaceship.
"Neiz, what are you doing?" question Salza as he stepped away from Cooler and Dore, who were observing the tattered grounds around Frieza's spaceship.
"I'm just checking out the remains of Appule. Look, here's a piece of his head," said Neiz as he picked up a purple chunk of what used to be Appule's skull.
Salza had to cover his mouth and impose as much self-control that he could muster to refrain from puking at the sight of the body part. Unfortunately, he couldn't retain his composure when Neiz applied a small amount of pressure and blood began dripping from the remains.
While Salza ran off to vomit, Cooler said, "Neiz, put that down! We came here for a mission not to goof off."
Neiz immediately dropped the bloody body part and saluted Cooler with a bloodied glove before running over to stand next to his commander. Coming to a stop, he said, "Lord Cooler, you have to admit that it does look a little forlorn and pitiful around here. You don't think that Lord Frieza could've done all of this, do you? He does have a tendency go on a rampage when he's angry."
Cooler looked around for a moment before responding, "No; this isn't my brother's handiwork. He either plants a death beam through a vital organ or completely disintegrates an incompetent soldier. This is a little too gruesome for him. Besides, I don't believe that he would do that." Cooler gestured to the large hole in the side of Frieza's spaceship as he said the last part.
"It must've been Vegeta then," said Dore, slamming his fist into his glove out of his assuredness.
"I suppose that is a possibility. Surely he wouldn't have been fool enough to do this while Frieza was in the vicinity, though," replied Cooler. He took a few steps forward as he surveyed the land. He could see a large indention in the ground nearby, as if someone had been slammed into it by some manner. And atop Frieza's ship, there was another indention. There was at least a minor battle out here at some point; that much Cooler was sure of. "I don't know what has happened here, but it is clear that Frieza isn't in the immediate area. He would've stepped out to greet us by now if he were." He turned back to his crew and said, "Locate him with your scouters."
Cooler would've liked to do this himself, but the ki sensing ability that he had acquired wasn't practiced enough. At the moment, his sensing ability was similar to the scanners. Whenever a power spiked he could instantly pick up on it, but he had to concentrate to find a flat power source. Still, it was better than relying on the scouter like Frieza. For this ability, he appreciated his Seeker Brigade immensely.
Neiz and Dore instantly tapped their scouters to locate the nearest and highest power levels. Their scouters scanned for a few seconds before they exploded, drawing a sneer of minor pain from the wearers.
"I guess you've found Frieza," said Cooler in a stale tone as he watched them carefully.
"Um…well…uhh…" the two warriors muttered as they thought of how to phrase what they needed to say. They had definitely locked onto a high power level, but there had been three of them. One that neared a million and two that was high above their scouters' reading ability.
"Out with it!" barked Cooler, causing the two soldier to stand erect and tremble slightly.
"There were two of them, Sir!" proclaimed Neiz and Dore, simultaneously.
"Two? There were two power levels that made your scouters short out?"
"Yes, Lord Cooler!" sounded the two again.
Two power levels above one million? Surely the scouters were wrong. There couldn't be anyone else on this planet with that kind of power, thought Cooler. Not evenCaptain Ginyu is that strong. Wait, Ginyu!
"Where is the Ginyu Force?" questioned Cooler as his he jerked his head left to right and back again in search of the Ginyu Force, as if by some means, the galactic squad would be standing behind him.
Before Neiz and Dore could come up with a reply, Salza's voice called out to them. "Sir, I zhink you might want to see zhis," he said from the other side of the ship, where he had been puking.
Cooler, Neiz, and Dore walked over and were shocked at what they saw. Salza was on his hands and knees, bending over the green lake, but this wasn't the surprising thing. Several meters to Salza's right was Captain Ginyu, but he was hopping around on all fours and he was croaking!
"Is that Captain Ginyu?!" proclaimed Neiz, who was standing just behind Dore and Cooler.
The sound of Neiz's shrill voice caught the abnormal-acting Ginyu's attention. The croaking captain began hopping towards the three, specifically in the direction of Dore. The tall, muscular, green fighter began stepping back as the creature neared him, eliciting a laugh from Cooler.
"Don't tell me that the big bad Dore is frightened?" mocked Cooler.
"N-no; I'm not scared. I just don't want this thing touching me," he defended, continuing to step away from the hopping Captain Ginyu.
He eventually found himself trapped at the edge of the lake. The croaking and hopping Ginyu landed directly in front of him, eliciting a subtle shriek from the warrior. Before Ginyu could go any further, Dore caught him under the chin with a small kick. Ginyu was knocked back a minor distance, but he landed back on all fours and immediately lunged at Dore. This made the warrior lug a blast at the creature, disintegrating him in one small explosion. Dore panted heavily from fear as the smoke from the explosion dissipated. He looked over at his comrades, who immediately started laughing at Dore's plight.
"Shut up!" he sounded, only making his team laugh more.
Their laughing came to a halt as Salza's scouter picked up a fast rising power level, the power eventually broke one million and detonated the scouter on Salza's face. In addition to this, they could see a large orb of energy forming in the distance. The energy blast was flung from the air as it hurtled to the surface of the planet, causing a gasp to escape everyone's lips. A blast of that magnitude would easily destroy the planet. To their shock and utter pleasure, the ball of energy was knocked back into the sky and continued out into space.
"What was zhat?!" questioned Salza.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it cracked one million," responded Neiz.
"I don't know what is going on, but it's time to find out," started Cooler. Pointing over in the general direction of the blast, Cooler said, "Neiz! Dore! Go investigate what that was. While you two are over there, I and Salza will look through Frieza's spaceship."
"Can we kill anything, Lord Cooler?" said Neiz, a wicked smile growing as he thought about getting to cause physical harm.
Cooler knew how Neiz was when it came to killing. The Zaltian was almost as entertained by killing as Frieza and himself. "Fine," Cooler sighed. "Kill anything that isn't Frieza or that doesn't look important. Now go!"
With a quick salute, the two soldiers flew off. While they flew away, Cooler and Salza lifted into the sky to enter Frieza's ship from the roof entrance. Before descending into the hole, Cooler cast one final glance in the direction of where Neiz and Dore were headed. Though he had to concentrate a fair amount, he could detect two high power levels, one that was relatively minor in comparison to him, but another that was extremely high. He was certain that the latter power level was Frieza. A smile came upon the face of the purple-skinned Arcosian as he thought; it'd be a real shame if you left those precious dragon balls unattended in this spaceship, Frieza. Well, a shame for you maybe.
He and Salza landed in a body-littered corridor. The sight was not something that deterred Cooler, though. He continued right down the hallway, hoping to the greatest of gods that Frieza was careless enough to leave the dragon balls out in the open. While the two were chatting hours ago, Frieza decided to be gracious enough to show one of the balls to Cooler. Frieza was always a show-off; this time his showmanship was going to get the best of him. As Cooler continued down the corridor his already implanted smile grew wider at the prospect of Frieza practically handing the dragon balls over. He rounded a long, curvy hallway before coming to a door. Thankfully, Frieza's ship was designed closely to Cooler's, so the older Arcosian had no problem finding the Captain's Quarters.
Cooler stood before the door for a moment, soaking in the prospect of finding the greatest of treasures beyond the barrier. He brought his palm to touch the face of the door, gliding over it smoothly as his continued smile grew wicked from his intentions. He brought his palm to the center of the door and emitted a small kiai that blew the blockade clear off of its frame.
Cooler stepped into the quarters smiling broadly, but upon scanning its interior, his smile faltered. There were no dragon balls in the room. The room contained nothing, but the ship's rudimentary design and a large hole in the dome-like window. Cooler's fists tightened by his side as he sounded a barely audible growl of frustration. Could he have been too late? Could Frieza have gotten immortality? If so, Cooler was sure that his life would get more difficult. He could already picture it: "Hail Frieza Forever" signs spread all throughout the headquarters and planet. Playing the role of the kind and loving brother was something that Cooler refused to continue doing for the rest of his life.
"I don't zhink zhat zhe dragon balls are here, sir," said Salza from just inside of the door frame.
"Of course they're not here! Don't you think that I can see that!" barked the enraged tyrant. This startled the Brench and forced him to step back into the door frame, fearing that Cooler may decide to take his frustration out on him.
Cooler saw the expression on his commanding soldier and quickly retrieved his control. While he had no problem killing an incompetent soldier, he had made a decision long ago that he wouldn't treat them as disposable as Frieza. He'd even go so far as to assist his squad when they encountered a powerful foe, something that he knew Frieza would never do for his Ginyu Force. In Cooler's mind, this established a greater loyalty than what Frieza had between his men.
Despite not wanting to rule as brutally as Frieza, Cooler wouldn't dare apologize for being harsh. After regaining his composure, he said, "Let's go. Maybe Frieza can enlighten me on the whereabouts of the dragon balls."
Cooler stepped past Salza and re-entered the body-ridden hallway as he stepped back to the roof opening. However, Salza's next question made him stop dead in his tracks.
"What if Lord Frieza has already gotten his wish?" questioned the Brenchian commander.
Cooler remained facing away from Salza as his gaze fell to the bloodied floor. As much as Cooler didn't want to admit it, the prospect of Frieza getting his wish was definitely plausible. Going out there to face Frieza now was almost suicide if that was the case. If Frieza is immortal, then there is no way that Cooler can kill him and Frieza will tell their father of Cooler's treachery. Cooler refused to let his thoughts continue beyond the point where his father found out. There was no need in envisioning his death.
"As of right now, Salza, that is an idea that I choose not to entertain," responded Cooler. "I don't know what I will do if Frieza has been granted immortality. We will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
Salza paled slightly at the monotony of his leader's voice. It didn't have the assuredness that usually flowed through it. Cooler without confidence wasn't a thought that Salza wanted to dwell on. All he could reply is, "Yes, sir."
Just as the two began their trek to the roof entrance, the sound of running equipment caught their ears. Cooler was sure that he hadn't heard anything earlier, yet he was willing to admit that his head was so inflated on the idea of finding the dragon balls that he would've ignored Frieza's very presence on the ship.
The two aliens followed the sound of the humming to a room. Upon inspection of the room, they found that it held one solitary rejuvenation tank, a tank with someone inside. Salza stepped right up to the rejuvenation tank while Cooler checked the room for any hidden inhabitants.
The Brench placed one foot on the step of the tank while he rested his chin on his tightened fist, using his knee as a prop for his elbow. He looked directly into the tank, watching as the small current of the tank's waters made Goku's hair dance slightly. "Who are you, monsieur?" he asked. Goku looked directly at the cyan-skinned alien; a wicked smirk beginning to spread across the latter's face. "You wouldn't happen to be zi one zhat did all of zhis to Lord Frieza's spaceship, would you?"
After concluding that there was no one hiding, Cooler stepped back over to Salza. He took one long glance at the recovering being in the tank, unaware that he was a Saiyan; Goku equally stared into the Arcosian's cold eyes. A few seconds passed before the tyrant sneered at Goku and turned back to his general. "Let's go, Salza," he said as he began walking to the door.
Salza broke his intense observation of Goku at the words of his commander. Turning his head back, he said, "I understand zhat we're not exactly here for a friendly call with Lord Frieza, but what harm would it be to eliminate one of his antagonizers? It's clear zhat zhis guy isn't a part of Frieza's army; he isn't wearing any of zi armor." He turned back to Goku, resting his chin back on his fist, and continued to say, "He does look like a strong one, zhough. Maybe he was one of zhose zhings zhat Frieza told us attacked Dodoria earlier." The Brench lifted the hand that he wasn't using as a prop and placed it against the glass of the tank's window, a glimmer of light beginning to grow in the palm. A wicked smile grew upon the general's face as he said, "He'll just be one last pest to be worried with." The energy grew larger in Salza's palm, forming a small bubble against the window. The Brench and Saiyan maintained an intense stare down as they waited for the blast to be released. Goku knew that he'd have to act fast to avoid the blast at such a close range, he just hoped that he could act fast enough.
"Au revoir," the Brench said as the blast began to push against the glass, forming a small spider web of cracks on the frame.
"Salza!" Cooler announced from across the room. The blast immediately puttered out at the commanding tone of Cooler.
The leader of the Armored Squadron whipped his head back to see the disapproving glare of Cooler. The commanding Arcosain stepped over to Salza and said, "I know that you're itching for some entertainment, but killing this insignificant creature won't produce any worthwhile results. Besides, you're attack was much too weak to have killed him." Cooler glanced back into the tank as Goku locked eyes with him, yet again. "Being this close to him, I can sense his power level easily. He's definitely strong, much stronger than that minor blast that you were ready to release. No; to kill this one, you'll need to put in much more time and energy." Cooler finally broke his gaze with Goku and looked back to Salza, a whipped dog expression overcoming the Brench. "You'll need to conserve your energy for whatever is out there with Dore and Neiz. I don't know who it is exactly, but two are relatively strong. There is no need in wasting your energy trying to kill him." Cooler began walking back out of the room with Salza close on his heel. Before stepping out of the room, Cooler looked back at Goku and locked eyes for the final time. "It's not like he is even a minor threat to me, anyway."
Cooler and Salza stepped out of the room, hoping, that once they joined Neiz and Dore, an immortal Frieza wouldn't be waiting for them.
"Hahg!" spat Vegeta, a stream of blood and sputum leaping into the face of his accoster. Who was this person? It was none other than Frieza. The maniacal overlord had Vegeta by the strap of his armor and was poised to deliver the final blow to the Saiyan Prince. Frieza had once looked upon Vegeta with a small amount of kindness. Of course, kindness in the eyes of Frieza was allowing one to live while still offering ego-diffusing insults on a daily basis, but it was still better than being in the situation that Vegeta was in now. His once pleasing Saiyan pet had done the unthinkable; he defied Frieza's commands and turned traitor. If that wasn't enough insurrection, the arrogant Saiyan had the audacity to challenge Frieza to a fight, something that no one had ever done and lived to tell the tale. Alas, this was the foretold end for Vegeta's pain-stricken life, Frieza leaning over him with a hand poised to pierce his body.
"It's a shame that things have to end this way, Vegeta, but look at the bright side. You'll finally be able to rule as the Prince of the Saiyans," Frieza stated from above Vegeta, his cold red eyes practically piercing into Vegeta's soul. He saw a glimmer in the eye of Vegeta. Frieza wasn't sure if it was hope, nor did he care. It was time to put an end to this traitor's life. "You can finally rule those pathetic monkeys in Hell!" Frieza yelled as he sent his spear-shaped hand at Vegeta's heart. Before Frieza could impale the Saiyan Prince, the sound of a fight caught his attention. He looked up to see the Namek, the half-breed Saiyan, and the bald guy fighting two people, two people that Frieza was beyond shocked to find there.
While Frieza had been readying himself to end Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin stood atop a small ridge as they helplessly watched. Vegeta was by no means a friend of theirs, but watching him get shredded by Frieza was something excruciatingly painful to watch. Despite the horror of it all, they stood by like sheep awaiting for the farmer to finish slaughtering one just so that he could move on to the next one. While standing there, Piccolo in between the two shorter warriors, they were so entranced by what was happening that their minds were left blank to any other aspects. This left them wide open for attack.
The large, brutish Dore flew in and delivered a massive knee to the lumbar region of Piccolo's vertebrae, knocking the Namekian senseless both from surprise and the power of the attack. With Piccolo's back slightly arched toward him, Dore raised his clasped hand over his head and slammed them on the side of the Namek's face, sending the warrior piercing down into the ridge below them.
"Oh, no; Mister Piccolo!" announced Gohan as he leapt into the air to place distance between him and the brute. As he focused on the slowly collapsing ridge and the brute standing atop it, Gohan barely caught the glimpse of Neiz from his peripheral vision. Thankfully, he did and leaned back just as Neiz's gloved fist passed where the young Saiyan's head had once been.
The amount of force that Neiz put behind the punch forced the Zaltian to lean into the dodged attack, but he quickly reacted before Gohan could capitalize on the dodge. Swinging his other arm around, Neiz smashed the back of his hand into the temporal area of Gohan's skull, sending the young Saiyan back a great distance. Turning his body to face the disoriented child, the Zaltian lazily raised a hand above his head, igniting it in a purple, electrically-charged aura. Charging his attack in his hand, Neiz licked his lips and said, "Never tried deep-fried twerp. I guess there's a first for everything."
Krillin, who had been affrightedly entranced by the hulking behemoth of a man before him, casted a glance into the air to see Gohan get swatted away by Neiz. He was thankful that Dore had yet to turn and face him, but his best friend's son wasn't so lucky. As he saw the charge of energy form in the hand of the orange-skinned alien, he knew he had to act. The monk leapt into the air just as Dore turned to challenge him. Flying into the fight without a plan, Krillin caught Neiz by the elbow just as the Zaltian was ready to fling the attack.
His energy dying out, Neiz thrashed his arm around in an attempt to release the adhered Krillin. "Let go of me, you freaky little bald thing," Neiz announced as Krillin fluttered back and forth on his arm. Tired of playing games, Neiz used his lanky frame to thrust his foot back and smack Krillin in the abdomen.
The force of the blow was enough to dislodge the Earthling and send him back a few meters before catching himself. Holding his stomach in pain, Krillin readied to attack, but before he could go anywhere, Dore leapt into the air and placed a firm grasp on both of his ankles. The forest green brute used his grip to pull Krillin out of the air and aimed to slam the Earthling face first into the rock remains of the ridge.
Unable to release the grip, Krillin closed his eyes in preparation of what he expected to be extreme pain. Just before Krillin connected with the ragged soil, Piccolo burst from his rocky tomb and placed a halting palm against Krillin's chest. Surprised by the turn of events, Dore was unable to move as he watched Piccolo fling a fist directly into his jaw. The force of the blow knocked Dore high into the sky.
Stopping himself, the brute grabbed his cheek and flinched from the throbbing pain. Enraged, he yelled to Neiz, "Let's end these weaklings!"
Not being one to decline a proposition for killing, Neiz happily accepted. Dore placed both palms forward while Neiz opted for one palm as energy grew in preparation of both of their attacks.
Just as the two readied to fire off their respective attacks, Gohan entered back into the fight by sending a Masenko into the back of Neiz, causing the Zaltian to shriek in pain. Dore broke his observation of Piccolo to watch Neiz's plight, providing the Namek with an opportune moment.
Using his stretchable arms, Piccolo sent one long green arm at Dore, catching the brute's entire face in a tight grip. Piccolo then retracted said arm as he brought Dore in for an attack. When he was in range, the Namekian delivered a strong side kick into Dore's stomach, halting his progression. Piccolo then attempted to knock Dore away with a powerful left hook, but green flesh met with Dore's white glove as the Beppa-seijin caught Piccolo's fist in a tight hold. The two fierce green warriors growled at one another for a moment before leaping into the air as they began releasing a flurry of punches and kicks upon their opponent.
As for Neiz, after feeling the sneak attack, he turned to find a determined Gohan. The pint-sized Saiyan had his dukes up and was ready for battle, a battle that Neiz was happy to provide. Leaping at the half-Saiyan, the two fighters were immediately locked in a close range brawl, with Neiz having the advantage. The Zaltian landed one fierce left hook, smiling as he did so, before preparing to fire off an even stronger right jab. Against his wishes, he was caught off guard by the mighty monk's fist. The soldier was knocked back slightly before lunging into another close range fight with both Gohan and Krillin.
"What is this?" questioned Frieza as he released his grip on Vegeta and stepped forward. He couldn't believe his eyes. He'd know those symbols on the two fighters' armor from anywhere. They were from Cooler's Armored Squadron and if they were on Planet Namek, Cooler had to be as well.
While Frieza stared absentmindedly at the events before him, he paid no heed to what was happening behind him. Vegeta managed to position himself on his knees as he gazed upon the back of his most hated enemy. He watched as the tyrant folded his arms, a condescending position that he'd displayed before Vegeta so many times over the years. A slideshow of such demeaning events played over Vegeta's mind as he gazed upon Frieza and it enraged him to no end. He'd been put through a lot at the hands of Frieza over these past couple of hours, his entire body feeling like a lead weight from the pain, but he was still determined and unwilling to give up the fight. And what's more, Frieza had done the unbelievable; he had left himself wide open for attack. Barring his teeth out of anger and frustration, Vegeta slowly and silently rose to his feet, careful not to agitate Frieza's sensitive hearing. He gathered as much energy as he could muster into his left palm; just enough for what he thought would finish Frieza, but not completely total his life-force. He pulled the arm back like a pitcher ready to throw the fiercest fast ball of his career. Frieza was fast, absurdly so, but Vegeta knew that he'd never be able to dodge at such a close range. He was so confident in this that he had to agitate the gravel just a little by announcing, "Take this, Frieza!" as the blast was flung from his palm.
Frieza's eyes grew big at the declaration that he heard from behind him. He was sure that Vegeta was down for the count. However, those eyes turned to the size of saucers once Frieza looked over his shoulder to see the massive blast coming his way. Frieza was fast, he knew he was fast, but to Chilled's good name, Frieza knew that he wasn't that fast. The blast was practically upon him, time seeming to slow down just long enough for Frieza to freak out. He knew that this was it, that this would be the end of him. Even if the blast didn't completely kill him, Frieza was sure that it'd manage to blow off a limb.
His teeth gritted like a mad man as he saw the blast inch closer. This was going to be one hell of a moment for Frieza to recall one day, that is, if he lived through the event. Frieza's whole body tensed in preparation of the attack, but then it happened. Something shifted; a purple haze seemed to shoot between Frieza and the blast at the last second. And then it happened. Vegeta's massive blast was knocked away, not merely off course, but slapped clean away from the area.
Frieza watched as the blast soared across the horizon until it detonated on a faraway island, a massive mushroom cloud and gust of wind following its contact. Frieza then gazed over at Vegeta, who looked more defeated than he had earlier when Frieza displayed his second form. He watched as the Saiyan Prince fell to his knees, his eyes full of a terrifying awe at Frieza's savior. He heard the Saiyan admit, "I was such a fool," before shifting his gaze to his savior and upon sight, Frieza felt a tremendous wave of shock surge through his body.
Upon slapping Vegeta's blast away, Cooler took a fleeting moment to enjoy the look of terror in Vegeta's eyes. Feeling a cold glare upon his back, Cooler turned his head to gaze into the scarlet, cold eyes that adorned nearly every member of his family. A small smile curved at his lips as he said, "Hello, brother."