The Cold Palace was abuzz with activity as several spacecrafts landed and departed. Soldiers moved in brigades about the PTO headquarters as their squad leaders urged them on to whatever task had been set forth for them to complete that day. Inside the royal facility, people moved about at a breakneck pace, but always had the wherewithal to pause and salute their dedicated leader, King Cold.
The king trudged through the halls of the palace, his gaze pointing forward, but his eyes glossed over as his mind wandered. He barely even noticed the soldiers that saluted him and completely ignored one soldier who'd grown the nerve to actually offer a salutations.
No, his mind was focused solely on the events surely taking place on Earth right then. If Frieza and Cooler had followed the flight plan, then they should have arrived on the planet already.
True enough, his sons were two of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, and together, made a destructive force that could very well bring the entire universe to its knees, but the Super Saiyan nonsense that had been spreading around lately was a bit concerning. King Cold very vividly recalled the unnerving memoirs of his ancestor, Chilled, and while he wasn't a man that put stock in legend, it didn't necessarily ease his concerns that Frieza had been so horribly wounded before. Never mind the fact that Cooler and Frieza would rather bathe in lava before working side by side.
"Didn't one already do that?"
King Cold suddenly paused as the telekinetic words wandered into his mind. He then scowled vehemently as his mind vaguely recalled passing a soldier mere moments ago that looked a lot like Cooler's new Yadratian dog. With rage flaring inside of him, the king spun on his heel and was ready to vaporize Nosa on the spot, but he blinked in confusion when he found the corridor suspiciously empty.
"Odd," the king mused and then shook his head as if ridding the thought and walked on.
It took less than a minute for Cold to finally reach his destination, and when he entered, he made sure that his presence was known.
"Status report!" King Cold decreed as he stepped into the observation room, leaving every single alien in the quarters to leap to attention as the king stood before them. "I said, 'Status Report!'" he demanded again when no one instantly moved to his earlier demand.
Without another second's pause, the supervisor of the observation room (a bird-like creature) came to stand before Cold and saluted the king readily. "Our liege, Lords Frieza and Cooler have reportedly landed safely on Planet Earth!" the creature happily replied.
King Cold looked unmoved. "How long have they been at rest?"
"We received report of their landing fifteen minutes ago, Sir!"
"No plans of attack? No mention of the status of the planet? What of the Saiyan?" Cold went on to say as he grilled the bird-like creature with question after question. "Have they met offense? Have they begun the onslaught of life on that pitiable excuse for a planet?!" The overbearing king took one dominant step closer to the observation room lieutenant and looked down on him with eyes that were forged for creating fear. "If they've been at rest for fifteen minutes, lieutenant, surely you have more to offer me!"
The bird alien's tongue ran dry as he looked up to the domineering presence of King Cold and then looked to one of his subordinates at the controls, who could only shrug in defeat. "Um…well…sir, I'm afraid we can't report anything if the soldiers aboard the lords' ship do not report anything to us."
King Cold's scowl ran deep as he glared down at the creature before his eyes slowly looked around to the rest of the creatures in the observation room. "Is that so?" he posed casually and backed away from the frightened lieutenant. The king held his brooding scowl for a moment longer as the tension in the room grew thick, but finally, he sighed and allowed the scowl to fall from his face. "That sounds like those two," he said after his agonizing pause. "They never were ones for reporting in, and knowing Frieza, he's surely too excited with his plans of revenge to even consider the concerns of his father. I do spoil him verily."
The lieutenant took that moment to smile and bow to his king. "He is surely ready to exterminate those Saiyan monkeys once and for all, my liege. I'm sure Lord Frieza is having the time of his life."
King Cold's deadly red eyes looked back down to the lieutenant then, whatever hint of humility he'd formed a moment earlier dying out instantly. "Be that as it may, I expect you to get in contact with Frieza and to draw up a status report for my review the next time I enter this facility. Do I make myself clear, lieutenant?" King Cold decreed, to which the bird creature readily nodded. "Good," the king spoke as he turned to leave the room. "I'll be back in thirty minutes, and I'd better have good news."
"Get back to your feet, Cooler. Let's finish what we started on Namek!"
Cooler looked up to Goku, completely dumbfounded at what was happening. Just moments ago he'd had Trunks in the palm of his hand and all of Goku's friends at death's door. Now, that Saiyan monkey stood above him, looking down with those insufferable eyes and he had the never to speak as if he was the superior in all of this.
The mere offense in that moment made Cooler's eyes glow with rage.
With a snarl, Cooler launched from the ground and sped right at Goku. "As you wish!" he yelled out as he slung a fist right at Goku's face.
The hero's hand shot up to block the fist with untraceable speed and Cooler sneered at the miniscule amount of effort Goku had offered. Not wasting a second, Cooler pulled his arm away and struck out with a kick that Goku blocked with a forearm, and then a spinning elbow that Goku easily slapped aside. When he spun around once more, the hero moved with a punch across the tyrant's face that completely took the Frost Demon off of his feet.
Cooler's head rocked back in obvious pain, but it was blocked out instantly as he turned with a massive roundhouse kick to Goku's side that sent the hero flying across the land. Before the hero could get far, Cooler's aura roared to life as he rushed in for another attack. The tyrant sped in, ready to go on the assault, but Goku suddenly looked up at the evil monarch and flashed a devious smile. Cooler's eyes bucked in shock and he watched as Goku's golden aura flared and the Saiyan sped off. With an angered sneer, Cooler flew off in pursuit as he and Goku rushed all around the wasteland. They were a blur of golden and violet light as they darted all across the land, slight crashes landing here and there as they clashed about.
"C'mon, Cooler; I'm right in front of you," Goku mocked as he sped across the land back-first, facing Cooler as the tyrant kept pace with him. When agitation seemed to spread all across the Super Arcosian's face, Goku smirked and suddenly darted into the air, leaving Cooler to crash right into a rock formation.
Goku smiled down at his childish antic and waited patiently as the rocks settled from the crash, knowing full well that Cooler wasn't the slightest bit hurt.
The hero wasn't forced to wait long before the rubble exploded with a bright flash of violet and suddenly a storm of death beams rushed into the sky. Goku's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he dodged two of the deadly beams and then was forced to run across the sky as beam after beam chased after him. Completely preoccupied with dodging the blasts, Goku was oblivious to Cooler's movements until a forearm slammed across his face with a powerful clothesline, Cooler chuckling maliciously as the attack connected.
However, Goku recovered almost instantly and rolled under the arm to thrust up a dropkick right to the side of Cooler's face. The tyrant sneered at the attack and moved forward with a ball of orange ki formed in his right hand. Meanwhile, Goku spinning back up with a golden ki orb in his hand as well, leaving the two to clash in a point blank explosive blast that had enough power behind them to shake the ground.
As the smoke from their explosive clash filtered away in the sky, Cooler then appeared back on the dirt. "Where are you?" he growled aloud as he carefully looked around for the Saiyan hero.
Cooler caught up just as Goku appeared at his side, and before the crafty Saiyan could strike again, Cooler spun with a blast aimed right at the hero. However, Goku anticipated the maneuver and ducked under the attack before launching up with a left jab right across Cooler's face and before the Frost Demon's head could rock back out of range, Goku leapt up, snatching Cooler by one of his skull horns and pulled the tyrant into knee to the face. Goku topped the attack with a spinning back kick that sent Cooler flying back across the land, but he didn't stop there as he took off in pursuit.
Just before Goku could attack, Cooler speared through a rock formation, reducing it to rubble as he crashed through, but that contact was all that Cooler needed to remind him of where he was. His eyes sprouted open after crashing through and he was quick to slam his feet into the ground to stop his precarious flight. He looked up to the crumbling rubble of the rock formation and saw through the falling rocks that Goku was right on his tail. Cooler's eyes flashed red then, leaving all of the rocks to suddenly stop falling and before the hero knew what was happening, all of the rocks from the former rock formation were sent flying at him.
Unlike with the death beams, Goku met this challenge head on and flew into the fray. He slapped away, dodged around, and completely charged through the massive assault of rocks while Cooler watched on with an emotionless expression. The tyrant watched Goku like a cat observing his prey and just when Goku barged right through his final boulder, Cooler smirked and allowed a translucent bullet of energy to shoot from his eyes. The hero didn't even register the attack until it was right upon him and by then, a colossal explosion erupted on site with enough power to rival a hydrogen bomb.
The power of the explosion had enough reach to force the others – who were all far outside of the battlefield by then – to the ground as gusts of winds ripped and tore at the ground around them, completely leveling whatever rock formations had stood at that moment. Even Cooler was forced high into the sky in that movement, his superhuman speed saving him from the blast radius, but the tyrant smiled pleasantly at the explosive sight below.
As he floated there and admired his handiwork, he vaguely noticed plummet out of the sky in the distance. He looked over in the direction, but his sight was soon shrouded by the smoke cloud from his very own titanic blast. The mushroom cloud of smoke left behind the explosion explained everything that Cooler needed to know in that moment and reminded him of more important matters. "You might've survived that, Super Saiyan, but that was one of my ultimate attacks," he went on to say. "There's no way you're not maimed. Let's see if you're still so spry!"
As if on cue, Goku suddenly rocketed in out of practically nowhere, and before Cooler could even think of doing anything, the hero's boots slammed across Cooler's face in a punishing dropkick that sent the tyrant spearing toward the ground. However, despite the pain blossoming in his face, Cooler's aura surged to life before he could crash and with a flare of energy, he managed to stop himself mid-air before looking back up at Goku and awing at the fact that the hero didn't have a scratch on him, despite taking that explosion head-on.
Goku smirked at the tyrant as if reading his mind. "I've learned a lot since we last met, Cooler," he said. "I wasn't lying when I said that I'm leagues stronger than what I used to be. I can tell that you and your brother have different ideas about training. You're a much better fighter than Frieza, both power wise and in fighting skill, and I knew that you'd be out there training and getting stronger for our next meeting. So, when I landed on Yadrat, I made sure that I trained like there was no tomorrow because I refused to let you beat me again. You're not the only one with an arsenal of skills at your disposal, Cooler, and my Instant Transmission gives me a distinct advantage over you."
To signify the statement, Goku placed his index and middle finger at his forehead and warped away in an instant. The Saiyan hero materialized at Cooler's side in the blink of an eye and immediately moved to punch Cooler across the face before the Arcosian could dodge. However, just as Goku moved to attack, Cooler dematerialized right before the hero's eyes. While Goku's eyes widened in shock, Cooler appeared at his side and capitalized with punch across Goku's face that sent the hero rushing back across the land.
It took no time for Goku to recover and with a quick handspring, the hero landed upright on the dirt of the wasteland. He looked over to Cooler with a mildly bewildered expression on his face, only for Cooler to smirk with his own fingers pressed against his brow.
"You're not the only one with tricks!" Cooler declared.
Goku continued his expression of awe for a second longer before he smiled. "Well, that makes things interesting, doesn't it?"
Not a single word was uttered from either competitor before they both rapidly disappeared.
Trunks was without words as he gaped at the war of titans before his eyes. Claps of thunder and clashes of monstrous power rained down on them all as Cooler and Goku moved about in the sky with such incredible speed that they both seemed to be simply disappearing and reappearing in the air.
"This…this is unbelievable!" the boy awed. He was so stunned that he trembled with the realization. "This was his power the whole time! He scarcely used a fraction of it against me! I never stood a chance against Cooler!"
"Join the club, buddy," Yamcha griped as he looked back at Trunks over his shoulder.
Trunks blinked as if just realizing that he was within others' company and looked down to the former bandit. It was at that moment that Trunks noticed the intensity with which everyone watched the showdown between Cooler and Goku. Most notably was Vegeta, who looked thoroughly upset with the current proceedings.
Yamcha looked away from Trunks and back to the sky where Goku and Cooler continued to clash about with ungodly speed. "This is all on Goku, now."
"Do you think he can do it? Can he beat Cooler?" Tien asked with a sense of wonder in his voice.
Gohan turned serious and looked over to declare his dad's victory, but didn't get the opportunity.
"He'll win," Piccolo responded casually and offered no other explanation as he focused solely on the action above.
Back in the sky, Cooler appeared behind Goku, aiming a punch for the hero's back, but then Goku disappeared and appeared behind the villain before slinging out a kick. Likewise, Cooler disappeared and appeared behind Goku, but the hero was already teleporting again before Cooler could even begin to attack. Cooler teleported, then Goku, then Cooler once more before both warriors teleported simultaneously and appeared at the same time, slamming a strike into each other's bodies. Goku managed to plant a boot in Cooler's abdomen while the Arcosian's long arms managed to land a punch in Goku's jaw.
Both warriors' eyes appeared glazed over from the respective strikes, but Cooler blinked away the pain quick before slapping aside Goku's leg to move in with a knee to the hero's sternum. Goku caved in on the strike and was left wide open as Cooler slammed an elbow into his back, sending him flying out of the air.
Naturally, Cooler raced down on the pursuit, ready to spear the hero deep into Earth's surface. Goku freefalled out of the air, casually flipping around against the rush of wind, and looked thoroughly out of it. However, just before striking the ground, he recovered by landing feet first against the dirt and readily leaping aside as Cooler rushed in behind him.
Cooler's eyes widened at the maneuver and he was so shocked that he had completely forgotten that he was about to slam face first into the ground. Goku didn't allow that to happen though. Just before Cooler could impact, the hero dove forward and slammed a boot into the tyrant's chest, completely knocking the air out of the villain. While Cooler's body curled in on the strike and the power behind it readied to send him flying, Goku pressed on with a round of barrage strikes across the inverted tyrant's body, ending with two snapkicks to Cooler's skull that finally sent him flying. However, Goku stopped Cooler's flight abruptly by snatching up the villain's tail at the last second.
Cooler's eyes widened in pain and shock at the fierce tug at his tail and before he knew what was happening, he was suddenly being spun around.
"You want to know something funny, Cooler?" Goku casually yelled out as he continued spinning the tyrant around. "Back on Namek, after you'd killed Frieza and it was just us, you gave me the fight of a lifetime. You pushed me beyond my limits and then some. My body was broken and my energy depleting." Cooler scowled as he listened to Goku, but by that point he was so disoriented that he could barely do much more than listen. "I was running on fumes and I knew that I couldn't last another round against you. You had bested me."
With that, Goku released Cooler and sent the tyrant flying across the wasteland, but Cooler recovered quick enough by slamming his feet into the dirt and grinding to a halt. He breathed deep and huffed against the exertion he'd put out thus far.
Goku watched Cooler for a long moment then, but when the tyrant made no immediate move to attack, he knew that he still had time to talk. "I had given it my all Cooler, but you…I just didn't have it in me. I refused to just give up, but I knew that I was finished. You had way more energy left than I did. I could sense it."
"What…are…you…trying to say?!" Cooler yelled out, half angry-half exhausted. He knew this feeling all too well and he didn't like it.
Goku smirked despite himself. "If you had attacked me just one more time, Cooler, I'm pretty certain that you would've killed me. Back on Namek, unofficially, you had won." Cooler's eyes sprouted in alarm and shock, his fists tightening in anger at what he was hearing. Goku took one step forward and Cooler's focus was back fully on the person in front of him. "But now…" Goku went on to say as he took another step. "The shoe is on the other foot."
"No," Cooler glowered and involuntarily took a step back.
"I can see past your façade, Cooler. It's happening again. You're beginning to lose energy. That titanic power you have only lasts for so long before it starts draining. It's a juggernaut form that only lasts for so long." Goku continued stepping over to Cooler, walking so casually that it infuriated the tyrant. "Your power is fading while I'm only working at about 80% of my max. We're done here, Cooler."
Cooler involuntarily took another step back, but once he realized what his body was doing – once he realized his situation – a flare of anger erupted in the Super Arcosian. His aura roared to life as he yelled out in fury. "NO! I WILL WIN!" On cue, Cooler thrusted a hand forward and a colossal wave of orange energy flew from his palm.
The attack worked like a tidal wave that roared over Goku and swallowed the hero whole while carrying off into the distance and swallowing up anything else that dared to stand in its path. Cooler looked on at his handiwork and offered a maniacal laugh at the sight, but his senses told him better than his eyes.
Blue arcs of light started shining within Cooler's tidal wave attack and suddenly Goku reappeared within the wave with a Kamehameha that pushed back against Cooler's attack. There was virtually no battle of wills. Cooler's wave was forced back almost effortlessly by Goku and before the tyrant could do more than snarl in anger, the Kamehameha crashed into him and sent him flying across the battlefield.
In a last ditch effort, Cooler managed to push the blast aside and send it careening into the sky while he felt onto the ground to catch his breath. He groaned in frustration at the energy that he could practically feel pouring out of his body and with an angered yell, Cooler's body flashed a blinding light before he reverted back to his fourth form.
"No…NO!" he yelled before angrily punching the ground again and again.
"Stop it," Goku's voice suddenly announced and Cooler indeed paused before looking up to the hero standing over him. Goku looked down on him again, just as he did at the start of their fight, but now…it was as if a dash of pity hid behind those emerald eyes. "You gave a good fight, an honorable fight, Cooler. Don't sully it by being a sore loser."
Cooler pushed himself back until he was sitting back on his knees. He looked up to Goku and offered a conniving smirk. "To the victor goes the spoils, I suppose," he grouched with a thick undertone of disdain. "So how does it feel, Super Saiyan?"
"Beating someone who would've undoubtedly killed my friends and family had I not arrived?" Goku posed sarcastically. "Pretty good actually."
Cooler scoffed. "No, you insolent buffoon!" he snapped. "Beating a handicapped man." Goku lifted a brow in mild confusion to which Cooler offered another smirk. "You arrived here after I'd completed a rather intense battle with Trunks, and although I was very much the boy's superior, it doesn't change the fact that quite a bit of my energy was used to best him. You had an unfair advantage, Goku, so enjoy your cowardly victory."
"Dammit, Goku!" Piccolo all of a sudden snapped, making the others around flinch back at the Namekian's unexpected response.
Krillin looked up at their green friend and noted the anxiety written all over his face. "Piccolo, take a chill pill. Goku just beat Cooler and he's about to finish it."
"No," Piccolo shook his head in frustration while his eyes remained glued to Cooler and Goku in the distance. "Cooler's trying to talk his way out the defeat, and Goku's actually buying his crap!"
"Oh no he isn't!" Vegeta grouched before rushing off.
Piccolo readily flew off in pursuit as well.
Gohan looked ready to follow suit, but was held back by Krillin. "Whoa there, Gohan!" the monk announced, grasping the kid's arm. Gohan looked back in mild anger, but Krillin held firm. "Cooler might be weakened, but he could still take you, me, and everyone else with relative ease. Stay back in case he tries something."
Gohan looked as though he wanted to argue, but bit his lip and instead looked over to where Piccolo and Vegeta were landing.
"Kakarot! What the hell are you doing?" Vegeta declared as he dropped out of the sky by the hero's side.
"Goku, finish this!" Piccolo declared next as he landed on the other side of Goku. He paused just briefly to glare at a smirking Cooler before he addressed the hero.
Cooler remained in his position, looking between the Namekian and Saiyan Prince as they urged Goku to finish off the fight. It wasn't a tactic that Cooler was proud of, but self-preservation meant everything. Besides, it wasn't entirely false. Cooler had used a decent amount of energy on fighting Trunks, and if Goku's assessment of Cooler's fifth form was correct, then the tyrant would never be able to rely on that form for a long due fight.
"Kakarot, do you not remember what I told you on Namek? If you give monsters like Frieza and Cooler any slack, they'll walk all over you! For the sake of your friends, your family, your PLANET, you have to finish Cooler off, now!"
"Vegeta is right, Goku! Don't you remember what those monsters put us through? He was mere moments from killing all of us before you arrived! If you don't stop him now, he'll come back and finish us off for good!"
Goku looked between both of his comrades and frowned at the decision that they were trying to force upon him, but he never got the opportunity to decide.
"GOKU! LOOK UP!" the others' collective voices declared across the wasteland.
The hero first looked back to his friends in alarm before then looking to where Cooler had once been and then he looked skyward where Cooler floated with a red bomb of energy in his hand.
"This really has been an enlightening trip, Goku, but I must bid you adieu! Until next time!" he yelled out before swinging his hand down to the ground, releasing the destructive bomb of energy.
In no time flat, the orb reached the heroes below and it ignited in a grand fashion, first forming a massive dome of bright, golden heat before bursting with a destructive explosion that rocked the entire area.
Meanwhile, Cooler wasted no time racing across to the outskirts of the wasteland. "That should buy me some time. If I'm lucky, maybe I maimed someone," Cooler mused to himself as he darted across the land. "Monkey boy didn't just randomly appear on this planet. The fact that he still had on the clothing from his expedition on Yadrat means that he only just arrived and if my gut is telling me correctly, then that little shooting star I glanced at earlier had to have been his spacepod."
On cue, Cooler appeared at the edge of the crater that he was looking for. "And if it was indeed a spacepod, then a crash site I should find waiting for me," he spoke before leaping into the crater and opening the pod. With no time to waste, he jumped inside and began entering coordinates. "It would take me forever to find my way back into PTO territory from this area of the galaxy. I'll need these coordinates to set me on the right track and from there I can return home."
Cooler pushed one final button just as the door to the pod closed shut. Instantly, the pod began lifting into the air. Flying in the spacepods weren't desireable, but it was his best bet at getting back into familiar territory. Trying to navigate space once again was not something he wanted to do.
"You bested me this time, Goku, but I'll be ready for you next time. I can promise you that," Cooler grouched and then sighed heavily as he leaned his head back against the padded hull. However, the tyrant had only a second to feel at peace before a very familiar sense appeared.
Cooler sat back up instantly and looked through the window of the pod to where Goku stood at the crater's edge, looking right back up at the tyrant. An orb of golden ki suddenly formed in the hero's palm and Cooler grew alarmed at what was sure to happen next, but then, the orb dissipated. The intense expression on Goku's face softened and then the hero even offered a smile.
That smile was the last thing Cooler saw before his pod suddenly launch into the atmosphere and a breakneck speed. In no time, he was out of Earth's orbit and soaring through the stars on his way back into PTO territory, the failures of his mission on Earth soon to be a memory. Yet still, that smile…that smile that Goku had given Cooler stuck in the tyrant's mind and for every second he pondered over it, fury seeped deeper into his skin.
Cooler gripped his hand into a tight fist as he glared out at space. "Challenge accepted, Super Saiyan!"
Lightyears away, back on Planet Arcos, Onen sighed as he slumped into his chair in the communication center of Cooler's sector of the palace. It was a popular place for him when Cooler was off the planet on expeditions. The tyrant would always leave Onen in charge when he was indisposed, and quite often that rubbed some of the commanders and generals the wrong way, considering the fact that Onen could count the number of times that he'd been off the planet on both hands.
Still, Cooler's orders were absolute and anyone that gave Onen grief for his auxiliary title would face Cooler's wrath. Besides, Onen had grown into the position and excelled at coordinating Cooler's troops accordingly. In fact, at that moment, Onen had a stack of reports and a galactic chart laid out before him that detailed the location, populace, and terrain of three refugee planets that Cooler had been looking into attacking. The problem with refugee planets was that they usually were home to rather powerful enemies of the PTO, but squashing threats was a specialty of Cooler's troops.
Cooler had his own section of the galaxy to monitor that was substantially smaller than Frieza's or King Cold's, but still required constant patrol and maintenance. On top of that, rebellions against the PTO were often handed down to Cooler and his men, and though rebellions were often considered grunt work, Cooler took his duty as the rebellion squasher seriously and he made sure that all of his soldiers took it just as seriously. On the side of quadrant maintenance and rebellion control, Cooler also had special brigades and troops, such as the Seeker Brigade, that he personally controlled, but in rare moments, Onen would be left in charge of these as well.
All in all, as Lead Commander of Cooler's sector, Onen typically had a lot on his plate when Cooler wasn't around to help make decision, but it was a job that he excelled at if for no other reason than to make Cooler happy.
"Onen, we've received a report from the main HQ; seems that the forces of Coral have grown uneasy since Lord Cooler's Seeker Brigade had visited. A few citizens have taken up arms against PTO soldiers. King Cold demands that we send out our soldiers to handle the confusion," one of the half-dozen soldiers monitoring the computers announced.
"What is the highest power level recorded on the planet?" Onen asked, not even looking up from the chart in front of him.
"15,000, sir."
"Respectable," Onen replied and lifted a report. "What's the average power level and should I know anything special about the planet or citizens?"
"Average power level of a Coralian: 6,000. Aside from their naturally powerful telekinetic abilities, Coral is also home to special subterranean creatures that respond to the telepathic requests of the Coralians. Some of the creatures have been known to breach a 20,000 power level."
"Hmm…" Onen mused, taking a moment to process the information. "Coral has been a rather subservient planet under the PTO's control. They are lashing out because of the Seeker Brigade, but can hopefully be consoled back into servitude. We'll send out Troop C. The troop leader has a power level of 21,000 and also has rather formidable telekinetic prowess as well. They should be able to calm the citizens, but if need be, we'll send out Troop O1 if things get out of hand."
"I shall alert Troop C at once, sir!"
Onen squinted as he read the reports over and over again. There were quite a few rather large power levels spread across the three refugee planets, most of which easily cleared a 20,000 level, and who's to say some of the creatures couldn't transform. Onen sighed in exasperation as he tried to map out a prime approach to conquering the planets. This was a task that Cooler had planned to tackle himself, but was sidetracked with the Frieza debacle.
"It's times like this that make me miss the Armored Squardron," Onen griped as he leaned over the paperwork. "Maybe I could get Nosa to help out?"
"Lt. Commander, incoming transmission from Commander Flambé of the Seeker Brigade," another of the soldiers announced.
That actually made Onen lift his head out of the reports. Cooler had sent out his Seeker Brigade on a special mission a few days before his departure from the planet. It was unlike Flambé to call in a report. "Patch him through, soldier," Onen responded and leaned back in the chair again, watching the large screen in the room. Static flashed over the screen before a carmel-colored Brench appeared. "Greetings, Commander Flambe," Onen offered.
"Oh, Lt. Commander Onen? Salutations," the man replied with an exceptionally polite, British tone. "I was attempting to contact Lord Cooler, but I'm afraid the link to his scouter is broken. Do you know how I can reach him?"
Onen shook his head. "I don't. As you know, he's on a mission with Lord Frieza, and if they followed the flight plan, they've surely arrived on Earth by now. If him or Frieza actually powered up, I'm sure the scouter shorted out." Flambe looked disconcerted at that moment, making Onen's interest perk even more. "You know, you can report to me, Commander. I understand that Lord Cooler is the primary handler of the Seeker Brigade, but if something's wrong, I take it as my responsibility to fix it in Lord Cooler's absence."
Flambe sighed. "Very well, then," he said. "As you know, the primary mission of the Seeker Brigade is to hunt down new and intriguing abilities that our lord can master." Onen nodded. "Well, this time, we were dispatched on a recon mission. We were to investigate a string of unnatural planetary deaths in the West Quadrant."
"West Quadrant? That is Lord Frieza's territory," Onen interrupted in slight surprise.
"Indeed; but Lord Cooler felt that with everything that has gone on recently, Lord Frieza wasn't as concerned with the maintenance of his quadrant. Therefore, he requested that we move covertly and find out what has been happening."
It made sense, Onen supposed. Frieza has had his hands full recently, especially with the latest expedition. "What did you come up with, Commander?"
Flambe fell silent once more and looked…unsure. "Well…not much, but the planet that we're currently occupying has something in common with the last five planets that we've visited, all of which were a few weeks - possibly even days - away from imploding on themselves." The commander paused again and Onen actually had the urge to reach through the screen and shake the answers out of the man, but finally Flambe spoke once more.
"Tell me, Onen, has Lord Cooler ever mentioned anything about the Tree of Might?"
Next update: Thursday 2/25