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Chapter 30
Northern Wastelands
Cooler floated a few inches off the ground at the base of the ramp to his ship. Piccolo stood a few dozen feet away, an the barely healed Turles at his side. Loa and Chiaotzu were beside Krillen, the monk was laying on his back, stripped to the waist. Several corpses and craters littered the battlefield.
"What happened?" Raditz asked Vegeta. "I remember him being a lot shorter, and a lot, less, purple?"
"Pay attention." Vegeta snapped at his former underling. "That's not Frieza. It's Cooler, his older brother. As for why he's here, he probably wants revenge for his brother's death at Saiyan hands."
Cooler's tail whipped behind him as the Arcosian looked between his dead underlings. "Well, that's disappointing." He said coldly. "Good help is so hard to come across. I don't suppose you would be interested in a job?" He tilted his head at Piccolo.
"No." Piccolo said. "I am not interested in becoming cannon fodder for you."
"Well, alright. Maybe one of the other Earthlings?" Cooler looked past Turles, past Loa and Chiaotzu, and up at the mountain that would soon cast shade over his ship. "I KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE, COME ON DOWN!" He raised his voice as he spoke, not yelling, just asserting facts.
"I knew I shouldn't have powered up yet." Vegeta snarled as he stood, at the edge of the perch.
"Either we go down now, or we go down after the fighting starts. Either way, nothing changes." Raditz responded as he followed Vegeta's lead.
Vegeta used one hand to vault over the rock they were behind, and gently flew to stand beside Turles. Raditz waited a moment, taking the opportunity to feel Cooler's ki, before joining Vegeta and Turles. The battle worn Saiyan nodded at the others in appreciation of what they stood to lose.
"No one here will join you." Piccolo said. "So, cut to the chase, who are you?"
"A Namekian, doesn't know who I am?" Cooler crossed his arms as he continued hovering slightly over the ground. "Well, it's actually not that surprising, but the family resemblance should make it obvious. I am Cooler, the elder brother of Frieza."
"Excuse me." Piccolo said sarcastically. "While I know of your brother, I have never met him." He glanced over his shoulder at Vegeta. "I know his reputation though. Why did you come to Earth?"
"My brother was killed on Namek. He didn't stay dead though, he was revived." Cooler uncrossed his arms and pointed three fingers, one to each Saiyan. "He says that he was killed by a Super Saiyan, and our information tells us this is where the Super Saiyan lives. So, Vegeta, Lackey, Muscles, I don't suppose one of you is the Super Saiyan?"
Turles stepped in front of his companions. "The Super Saiyan isn't here." He said. "That would be my nephew." He glanced at Raditz for a moment. "My other nephew. Goku. He's not on Earth."
"I'm aware of Goku." Cooler said. "My sources told me he was the Super Saiyan, and this was his home. They also told me he hasn't been here for a year, something with his son. He's on his way though, and will arrive in a few hours." He smiled at the two other Saiyans. "If there isn't a Super Saiyan here, then that will be plenty of time to wipe all life from this planet. Well, for a true warrior. Vegeta, I'd imagine this would take you at least a month?"
"Hey, Cooler." Vegeta stepped forward. "Go fu..."
"IF YOU'RE here." Piccolo shouted over Vegeta's insult. "To get revenge on Goku for Frieza. Why not..."
"You misunderstand." Cooler said. "I'm not here to get revenge. Simply to make sure that there is no question as to who is the most powerful warrior in the cosmos. Frieza is killed by a Super Saiyan. I kill that Super Saiyan. No individual, no race, no army, can stand against the might of the Cold Empire." As he spoke, he spoke louder, to the point where he shouted his clan name in a glorious decoration of self assured victory.
Wind blew across the landing site. Dust mixed with the metallic smell of blood to fill the air. Krillen groaned.
"Vegeta." Cooler smirked. "I'm choosing to ignore your earlier outburst in favor of a productive dialog. Why have you not reported back to your chain of command?"
"I was killed." Vegeta said, not hiding the disgust in his voice. "When I was revived, I was held prisoner here."
"Vegeta." Turles said. "If you want to go, go, this is your one, and only, chance. You too, Raditz."
"Your warden is releasing you." Cooler smirked. "I assume you've come under the effects of Stockholm Syndrome, based on your outburst, but come, rejoin Frieza's Army. You, other Saiyans, join your prince, join us."
Vegeta closed his eyes slowly. Life under Frieza was hard, but it was consistent and enough, it was. Turles had kept him from being killed by the Namekian. Raditz, despite his weakness, his unearned confidence, and his refusal to know his place, he was a true Saiyan. Nappa, no matter how poorly he treated him, no matter how much he used him as a punching bag, and how indifferent he was to his life, was truly loyal to the Saiyan race, above all else. The Saiyans, a once proud, powerful, warrior race, reduced to four true members, a simpleton, and a half breed. Frieza destroyed their home world, tried to wipe them from the universe.
"We're not the only Saiyans." Turles said. "Our teammate, Nappa, took an injured human to safety. However, I feel comfortable speaking for him as well as myself, when I say, Cooler, go fuck yourself."
Raditz nodded. "I'll third that."
"Funny." Cooler said. "All Saiyans, except the prince, have spoken."
Vegeta opened his eyes. "Cooler, so long as I live, I promise you, I vow to you." He put his hand over his heart. "I, Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, vow to you, to Frieza, to King Cold, that no Saiyan will ever bow to an Arcosian, so long as I live."
"So be it." Cooler brought a hand up to point at the group. A moment later a large red ki ball was formed, and the moment after that it impacted the ground between Piccolo and Turles. When the dust settled Piccolo hadn't moved, but the three Saiyans spread out. Raditz was directly behind Piccolo, Vegeta was to Piccolo's left, by himself, and Turles was to the right, in front of Chiaotzu, Loa, and Krillen.
Cooler slowly looked between the Saiyans, deciding which to attack first. The worthless Raditz, the arrogant prince, or the fresh blood. Making a decision he crossed his right hand to his left shoulder, palm out, and swept it across his chest as he did a left legged lunge, coming to a rest on his right knee. "Arctic Blast." He said as he expelled hundreds of long, narrow, ki needles, shot from his arcing hand.
Vegeta and Turles took to the air. They didn't see the energy coming their way, but they saw where Cooler was aiming, and decided to get the hell out of there. Raditz hit the ground, stuck his right arm directly out towards Cooler, and braced it with his left, sticking his elbow into the ground. Piccolo didn't move from his place on the field, he wanted to buckle under the pressure of the highest power he had ever felt, but he didn't. He thrust his arms out in front of his body and created a small ki barrier, just enough to protect himself on the plain the blast came in on.
Dissatisfied with the level of bloodshed he caused, Cooler brought his left fist to his right shoulder. He quickly stood as he brought his left leg back, having his left hand follow. His right hand kept pace with his left, and when he confirmed his target he let his right foot and hand move forward, and thrust his left hand after it.
A massive air flow was released from Cooler's hand, and focused solely on Piccolo. The Namekian leaned into the wind, forcing ki into his feet, trying to withstand the incredible force buffering his guard, but his footing wasn't secure enough, the ground under him wasn't solid enough, and he found himself lifting, uncontrollably, into the wind, and shooting backwards, over the prone Raditz.
The moment Piccolo was out of the line of fire, Raditz forced his ki into his open palm. Not all at once, not a single wave, but as a rapid fire barrage of ki bullets, all aimed at the same spot between Cooler's armored chest and smug face. The blasts hit, virtually unnoticed.
"Nova Chariot!" Cooler declared as his ki turned purple. He sank into a ready position, and charged after the still out of control Piccolo. After passing Raditz, the Saiyan turned and continued firing.
Turles hastily prepared his Calamity Blaster, and barely got it off as Cooler soared by. On the other side of the frost demon, Vegeta had fired his Galick Gun. By the time the attacks came together, potentially catching Cooler between them, he was long gone, nearly atop of Piccolo. Turles growled in frustration, barely remembering to cancel his attack, so not to accidentally kill the far weaker Prince of all Saiyans.
Cooler caught up with Piccolo in no time. He noted the dings of Raditz's attacks bouncing off his smooth, leathery, hide, but disregarded them. He saw the light from the other's laser show, he wasn't threatened.
Cooler took up position beside Piccolo, and his first punch came from behind the Namekian, arresting his flight, and bending his spine backwards. His second strike was a kick to the Namekian's stomach, forcing him to bend back in the correct direction. His third strike, final in the sequence, came from his tail, swatting Piccolo like an insect, into the Earth.
"I am disappointed." Cooler said. "Not in you, that would be impossible. I'm disappointed in myself, you see." He floated into the air, half way between the growling Raditz, and Piccolo, who was struggling to his feet. "When I saw that you withstood my Arctic Blast, I thought you, at least one of you, would be a challenge, or at least entertaining." He crossed his arms and looked back to his ship, Vegeta was scowling, Turles was barely paying attention to him. "I saw how much you were holding back when we did our first scan, fifty thousand, what a joke. When I saw five million, when you fought Salza and Dore." He turned back to Piccolo. "I thought you might be able to present a challenge, maybe. Maybe that wasn't all you had, but even now, using ten percent of my strength, barely twelve million, you just can't even make me try. Pathetic."
A Galick Gun hit Cooler in the back. Without looking he put his hand between himself and the blast. With a barely audible grunt he fired a small, for him, ki blast. The shock wave drove through the energy wave, smashing into the Saiyan prince, knocking him off his feet, and skidding on the ground.
"This isn't working." Kami spoke into Piccolo's mind. "You need to go further."
Piccolo growled internally. "I'm trying." He crossed his forearms over his head, quickly pushed his ki into their junction, and shot the wave forward. "MASENKO!"
Cooler bathed his right hand in red ki, and swept it across his body once more. The energy stayed in the air, frozen in a hellish C around the frost demon. When Piccolo's attack got close, or as close as Cooler decided to let it, he released his attack. "Death wave." He said with a yawn.
The Death Wave collided with Piccolo's attack, and utterly annihilated it as it cut across the skies of Earth. Thankfully for Piccolo the attack was just used as a block, he was able, barely, to get over the attack. Raditz got a hair cut, but the other Saiyans were untouched.
"Piccolo." Kami said. "Your attacks aren't working."
"I know." Piccolo growled a reminder. "Do you have any suggestions, or just statements?"
"Use my techniques, get close, and, and I have an idea..."
Piccolo dove back to the ground after the wave completed its flight under him. He landed in a wide stance, and slammed his palms together in front of him. "I hate this attack." He said. "I hate that I'm using it." His hands began to pop and crackle with electricity, and he drew them apart, slowly. Blue lightning stormed between his fingers, between his palms, and as he drew them apart, across his body. "Kai Kai!"
As Cooler watched, smugly, Piccolo vanished. One moment his target was there, tip of the spear in front of the Saiyans, then, nothing. By the look in the remaining fighters eyes, they didn't know what the Namekian was...
"Kai Kai. THUNDER SHOCK SURPRISE!" Piccolo shouted from inches behind Cooler. He grabbed the frost demons upper arms and squeezed. He dug his nails into Cooler's skin, drawing thin blood.
"Hold him." Kami spoke.
Electricity coursed from Piccolo into Cooler, activating every nerve in his body. He wasn't being harmed, not in a meaningful way, but his body didn't know that, his body didn't believe that. Cooler let out a horrendous scream, his eyes bulged, and if he was wearing clothing, they would have been soiled. Piccolo wasn't fairing much better, the typically ranged attack was NOT meant for close combat, and while the contact made sure Cooler was hit, it also left Piccolo in the same situation.
As the two warriors shared a painful moment, Piccolo shared something else as well. Kami felt his prison, Piccolo's soul, his body, and more importantly his ki, which directed the electricity. Focusing on the sensation, the extension, Kami followed the path, leaving piccolo behind.
The sensation of being in a new body, an alien body, took Kami by surprise. He had been in a human before, but that was years ago, and only the once. As Piccolo continued causing a shared agony, Kami took the opportunity to familiarize himself with Cooler's muscles, his senses, his entire mind. Cooler's memories flooded into Kami's awareness, Frieza, King Cold … Beerus … Arcosia … Bulma … Bulma?
Piccolo felt his mind divide. Kami was still part of him, but where he once felt like two body builders in a clown car, he now felt like a one sided coin. The oddity of the transfer distracted Piccolo, not for long, but for a moment. His attack seized, and so was his throat.
Cooler dropped out of the sky, dragging Piccolo down with him. He felt numb, distant, like he was watching himself fight, but he could still control his body, even if it was just by making suggestions, and watching as they played out. He instructed himself to close his fist, crush the Namekian's throat, but his body didn't obey, not correctly.
Cooler's left fist grabbed his right. His thumb went into the underside of his wrist, nail first. He hissed in pain as he dropped his hold on Piccolo. "What, what's going on." With effort he was able to loosen his grip on himself, and with the pain no longer distracting him he was able to focus his ki into a red sphere. 'Particle Bomb." He muttered through unmoving lips.
As Piccolo scrambled to his feet, backing towards the cliff, Cooler struggled to bring his hand back, preparing to throw. With great effort the tyrant was able to successfully ready the attack, although his left hand only released his right for a moment, adjusting itself to an underhand grip. "Prepare, to, die." Cooler struggled through the words.
Bleeding some of his ki into his elbow, and his shoulder, Cooler released his tightly wound muscles. His right hand shot forward, as intended. His left arm pulled tight, as not expected. While his right hand focused on speed, his left focused on strength, and it was able to hook the attack off course, and to a new target.
The Particle Bomb exploded on his carapace. An unexpectedly large smoke cloud burst from the small blast, completely hiding Cooler. This was good for him, and the others. It was good for him, as no one saw him fall to the ground, unable to move. It was good for everyone else, as their deaths wouldn't be particularly slow, after witnessing one of the most powerful beings in the universe crumble, even if under his own attack.
With his eyes forcibly closed, and all smells masked by the smoke cloud, Cooler let himself slip into his thoughts. To his surprise, he was not alone. Just as he would suggest actions to his body, so to did another voice.
Forming a circle in the darkness, Cooler placed himself within it. Another voice, another mind, a Namekian, joined him in it, as if he was always there. The pair shrank as the circle expanded, widened, and rose. Now, as forever, Cooler and the stranger were inside an arena, a square platform surrounded by tall, sloping, walls. The stranger was behind him, holding him, not restraining him. He was on the ground, watching the clouds, disappointed that his father took his little brother on yet another mission. This person, this Namekian, cradled his head, whispered to him.
Words of acceptance. Words of approval. Words of love.
Words he had never heard, words he had never spoke. Words that his father would kill him for if uttered. Words that were replaced, respect, fear, power. Glory, envy, pride, those were important.
This green man from beyond the stars. The only person to ever care for him, to comfort him, was corrupting him. His father was powerful, his father was brutal, his father wouldn't allow this, and neither would he.
Cooler reached up, touching the Namekian's shoulder. He sat up, looking into his eyes. He extended his ki from one finger, a long, jagged, edge. With only a moments hesitation, he dragged it from one Namekian shoulder to the other.
Kami's head disappeared before it hit the floor, and his body followed. As the specter faded Cooler was shot out of his mind, and back into his body. The dust had settled, everyone was looking at him, and the Namekian looked like he was freshly picked from the garden.
Floating back into the sky Cooler dusted himself off. "Well, this is embarrassing." He made eye contact with the four warriors. "If you don't mind, I'm going to kill you all now. If you do mind, I'm still going to do it." As he spoke faint green wafts of energy mixed in with his standard aura. As the green ki rose, it thinned, and left Cooler, making its way to Piccolo, and surrounding him in a familiar, but now far more potent, energy.
"PLAN B!" Turles shouted as he began charging his energy. Vegeta wasn't far behind him.
Raditz on the other hand didn't increase his power, instead he cut it in half, flipped to his feet, and shot a large ball of energy into the air, well over Cooler's head. "Burst open and mix!"
As the Power Ball soared into the air, all three Saiyans focused intently on it. Turles began growing first, and the others weren't far behind him. The trio grew in width and depth at the same rate as they grew in height. Their faces grew out into dog like muzzles as each hair on their body darkened and multiplied. One hair became two, four, eight … eventually their fur was more densely packed than that of the fuzziest sea otter.
As they grew, their clothing did not. Earth scientists did the best they could to duplicate Planet Trade Organization armor and suits, but the results were lacking. While Vegeta and Nappa could share a wardrobe, an Oozaru was asking too much.
As the Saiyans grew in power, so did Piccolo. Previously, having Kami in his body felt like they were two eggs in a cart. Now, now that Kami had been cracked and mixed, he was able to integrate into Piccolo fully. All that he was, all that he knew, joined with Piccolo, and no longer were they fused, but simply one. As Piccolo explored the ease of access he had to Kami's being, he was surprised to find that even Kami's memories from inside Cooler were available to him.
He snapped two fingers to his forehead. As Piccolo forced his ki up, he realized just how much the blending of him and Kami had changed him. His power was thicker, denser, and far, far larger. The Special Beam Cannon only took a few moments to charge, at least to where he used to be satisfied. Feeling that he was now at least on equal footing with the foe in front of him, Piccolo decided it wasn't enough. He closed his eyes, using his ki sense to follow the action, and kept forcing ki into his fingertips.
"Three little monkeys, and a frog. This planet has become nothing more than a zoo, and I'm the poacher." Cooler rose to be eye to eye with the lead Saiyan, at this point he couldn't be bothered to tell them apart.
The ape in front of him, Raditz, was not the first to attack. That honor went to Turles.
Turles opened his mouth wide. Cooler looked down it, feeling slightly disgusted by the saliva dripping from the unkempt teeth. He considered pinching his nose, monkey breath was not good breath. As the thought went through his mind a red light began glowing deep in Turles' throat. The red glow quickly grew into a large ki ball, which exploded out of his mouth and shot, as a wave, at Cooler.
Not bothering to dodge, Cooler instead held up an open palm to the attack. A ki ball, as wide as the incoming beam, appeared instantly in his hand and took the blast head on. Instead of exploding, the far denser ball simply deflected Turles' attack, the blast washed around Cooler, not making any contact.
"That was almost impressive." Cooler said. "That attack felt nearly as powerful as the Namekian's. Too bad for you, that isn't going to be enough."
"Or so you say." Piccolo said under his breath as his attack preparation was completed. "Special Beam Cannon!" He released the drilling beam attack from a short range. Cooler couldn't sense the attack coming, and at this point his attention was solely on Vegeta, who was hoisting a massive boulder over his head.
The attack scored a direct hit on Cooler. Its drill was sharp and fast, but Cooler was tough. It penetrated his natural armor, and even shredded into his skin, but that's about as far as it got. Blood did spill onto the ground, as too did chips of Cooler's exoskeleton, but nothing more.
Cooler hissed in pain as he turned his back on the monkey king. His left hand went to his back, putting pressure on his wound. His right rose and sighted Piccolo. A trio of Death Beams shot out of his pointer finger, and Piccolo was barely able to dodge them.
Growling under his breath Cooler launched another, larger, barrage of Death Beams. All of his fingers were flaring with ki, and all his beams missed. Wincing as he pulled his left hand from his wound, Cooler began an assault with both hands. He heard a crash from behind him, but dismissed it as nothing more than monkey business.
That turned out to be a mistake. From either side of Cooler a large, hairy, hand closed in. He noticed them too late, and was grabbed by Vegeta. Carefully aware of Cooler's wound, Vegeta wove his fingers together, and used all the force he could muster to stab his thumbs into the injury.
As Cooler struggled against the pain, Turles closed in. The far more powerful Saiyan faced Vegeta. The pair opened their mouths, hell fire began to glow from both their throats. Thinking quickly Cooler looked down and began shooting solid beams from his eyes. Vegeta's skin began to darken, began to smoke, and then relaxed as he released his grip on Cooler. It was too late though, and he was forced to take a direct hit from Turles.
"Fuck." Cooler shouted as he was forced into the ground by the massive attack. Fortunately for him the beam didn't last too long, just a few seconds. Unfortunately for him, Raditz quickly followed up by throwing a large boulder into the hole Cooler found himself in.
Punching the air in front of him, Cooler sent a blast of air to counter the incoming rock. It wasn't enough to throw the attack back, but it was enough to stop the forward momentum entirely, and make the rock drop down to the ground. With his arm extended though, he couldn't block what came from behind the boulder.
Piccolo lowered his arms. "Masenko!" He shouted as the powerful blast ripped through the atmosphere on its rapid approach. Cooler pulled his arm back, forming a hasty block, but it wasn't enough. The attack hammered him back into his hole, and ground him against the rubble.
From within the hole Piccolo felt Cooler's energy balloon. He already felt like ten pounds of shit in a five pound sack, but now, now he just kept heaping it in. Feeling a wave blasting out, Piccolo quickly dropped to the ground.
A massive wall of energy flew over his head, and continued out towards space. Right behind it came Cooler. He was covered in dirt, his shiny white body plates were now a matte, dusty, brown. Most importantly though, his aura had thickened around him.
"Congratulations." Cooler said. "I expected to beat you, beat you all, with ten percent of my power. That wasn't enough, I'll admit that. Fifteen percent though, that should be enough."
"Why don't you cut to the chase." Vegeta's voice echoed across the land. "Show us what you're really made of."
A massive open palm smacked Vegeta's back. The surprise attack sent him tumbling face first into the ground. "How about we don't encourage him." Raditz growled.
Cooler chuckled at the Saiyans monkeying around. Turning away from his ship, away from Vegeta and Raditz, he faced Turles and Piccolo. The ape wasn't nearly as tall as the mountain, although he felt it at the moment. Piccolo had followed him back into the air, and was floating beside Turles.
Bringing one hand up from below, and another from the air, Turles had taken his turn to capture Cooler. Not bothering to target his already injured back, Turles instead wove his meaty fingers together, placing Cooler between his palms, and rubbed them together with as much speed and force he could muster. He was hoping to reveal nothing but a purple, white, and red paste when he opened his hands.
Without the pain of massive nails being driven into his back, through his shattered carapace, Cooler was captured, but not restrained. He waited for the right moment, when Turles' paws were the most offset, and threw his limbs out. Turles' hands were forced apart, and Cooler burst free, towards Turles. He dove down in the limited space between the Saiyans hands and face, before coming back up with a brutal uppercut that sent the most powerful Saiyan on the planet flying into the air.
A fist swung in from behind Cooler, gripping a massive, heavy, rock. The stone crashed into Cooler, being reduced to rubble in Raditz's palm as the frost demon didn't react. Holding one finger to Piccolo, asking him to wait, Cooler spun in place, letting his tail lash out from his body, a small spot of ki at the tip tracing a full circle in the air. As he once more faced the Namekian, the ki circle expanded in all directions, slow, but powerful. The wave rushed over Piccolo, who resisted its chaotic motions to stay still in the air. Raditz on the other hand, as well as Turles and Vegeta, were sent tumbling in all directions. Turles came to rest at the base of the cliff, and Vegeta and Raditz were thrown into the space invader's ship.
"I took out the trash, now you I will thrash." Cooler redirected his finger from asking for just a moment, to pointing between Piccolo's eyes.
"That was weak, and so is your spirit." Piccolo widened his stance in preparation of Cooler's Death Beam, but it didn't come. Instead the frost demon himself was there, in front of Piccolo, swinging with an overhead strike.
Piccolo blocked the punch with his forearm. The attack didn't break his body, but only because it forced piccolo downward instead. Taking advantage of the low ground, Piccolo drove a knee into Cooler's unarmored groin.
Cooler winced, but it didn't have nearly the impact Piccolo had hoped for. He withdrew his first fist, and smashed into Piccolo's guard with a mirrored attack, from his other ki infused fist. Piccolo braced and took the second blow as well as the first, this time though he countered with a punch to the higher fighters core. At the moment of impact Piccolo released a small amount of his ki, forcing the two apart.
Not giving him a chance to regroup, Piccolo charged right back into physical combat. He was keeping some distance though, taking advantage of his Namekian body, and extending his arms and legs to attack from a variety of unusual directions. Cooler was struggling to keep up with his defense, but he wasn't too bothered whenever an attack would make it past his guard. Sure, he was getting struck, but there wasn't much force behind the blows.
Weaving between the Namekian's odd blows, Cooler began to close in on his target. As Cooler approached, Piccolo both moved backwards, and shortened his reach, to keep him in the sweet spot. It wasn't enough though, and moments after taking a fierce swipe across the face, Cooler was on Piccolo. The pair exchanged a rapid series of punches, kicks, and both elbow and knee strikes. Piccolo was hitting more often, but Cooler was hitting more effectively.
It took some doing, but Cooler was eventually able to corner Piccolo. With his literal back to the wall, Piccolo struggled to find an opening to fly through. He'd even settle for a way to get behind Cooler, and corner the rabid animal. He couldn't think though, not much, not while dodging and blocking life threatening blows.
As Piccolo tried to focus, he was distracted by a shadow cast over him. Vegeta had closed on them, and was feet behind Cooler. The Saiyan prince curled in over the fight, focusing his ki into his core, and with a mighty roar released his Explosive Wave. The ki blasted Cooler into Piccolo, and piccolo into the now crumbling cliff side.
Growling in surprise Cooler turned his back on Piccolo, lashing out with his tail, to face the Oozaru that got involved in the first good fight he's had in ages. Cooler didn't notice that his tail strike only connected with rock, he was too focused on the Death Ball he had formed in his right hand.
Piccolo's right hand was poised into a sharp peak. As Cooler threw his lethal attack at Vegeta, Piccolo thrust his hand into Cooler's back. When he was knuckle deep he widened his hand and forced as much ki as he could manage into the frost demon's body. The Death Ball went wide, Vegeta jumped back, and Piccolo could have sworn he scratched Cooler's spine with the tip of one of his nails.
Cooler took a sharp, deep, breath, and turned back to Piccolo. With a single punch he bounced Piccolo's head off the rock slide behind him. His next strike was a kick to the Namekian's shin, and the third was interrupted. A sharp pain shot from his injury, and looking over his shoulder, no one was there.
Piccolo took advantage of this distraction as well, and began hammering heavy blows into Cooler's chest. The attacks didn't come close to causing real harm, but they did push him back, and allowed Piccolo to get back into open air.
Cooler turned his attention back to the brawl he was participating in. Every time he twisted a little to far, curled in a little too low, or didn't keep moving, he'd get a bite of pain. This was getting old, quickly. He went from dominating the Namekian, to struggling to keep up with each blow. He wasn't in danger, not when he still had so much power held back, but he was starting to get frustrated, and he refused to let a Namekian and a barrel of Saiyans push him any further.
It was barely there, but Cooler thought he felt something. His tail was swinging wildly, as he moved his entire body to put force behind each and every punch and kick. The pinch of pain he felt in his back, he felt it on his tail. He glanced over his shoulder, and a small orb of ki darted down, out of his line of sight. Piccolo delivered a world class kick to the side of his head, and Cooler was back in peak form, focusing on the fighter in front of him.
Behind Cooler's back, squatting beside the stabilized Krillen, Loa kept a close eye on the fight. She held two fingers together, and every few blows she'd bend them this way and that. Her small Spirit Ball danced behind Cooler, constantly pestering him, aggravating his injury. If he caught on to what she was doing, she'd be dead, but as long as she only hit that one spot, he shouldn't suspect Piccolo was getting outside help.
With the constant pain, Cooler found it harder and harder to focus. He was surprised, but the Namekian was actually pushing him back, not much, but slightly. The cliff that had been pressing against Piccolo, was now several body lengths away. He still wasn't taking much damage, but looking over the Namekian, neither was he.
Cooler jolted backwards, getting some distance between himself and Piccolo. As Piccolo went to close the distance, Cooler swept his arm in front of him, releasing a quickly formed Death Wave. The attack was a direct hit, and due to the limited range, it didn't waste any energy on the surroundings. Piccolo was forced back into the cliff, yet again, and Cooler rushed forward, hoping to punch through the Namekian, into the stone.
As he drew back to punch, Chiaotzu appeared, upside down, barely in his vision. The little human had his hands to his forehead, and a blinding light overwhelmed him.
Piccolo nodded to Chiaotzu as he retreated. Cooler was rubbing his eyes, swearing up a storm, but this wouldn't last long. Piccolo focused his energy into his two fingers again, and the moment Cooler lowered his hands, he released a point blank range Special Beam Cannon into the frost demon's forehead.
The attack forced Cooler's head back, and his body followed. He rotated around his waist, until he was bodily facing the sky. Piccolo appeared above him, a Masenko hit his armored torso, and blasted him back to the ground.
Cooler, not for the first time that day, tunneled into the ground. Not wasting the opportunity, Piccolo, Turles, and Vegeta, surrounded the crater. Two mouth beams joined a Masenko, and a massive explosion spawned where the attacks met, against Cooler's prone body. The shock wave blasted the warriors back, and Cooler deeper into the ground.
Cooler didn't move. He stayed in his pit, and thought back on what he was doing here. The Super Saiyan hadn't even appeared, and he had already taken damage. The only real foe here, a Namekian, had already pushed him to fifteen percent of his power. He didn't want to go any further, and if it was just the two of them, he doubted he'd have to. The monkeys though, they wouldn't stop getting involved, and that, that little, that little thing, whatever it was, he was the reason for this current predicament. Cooler decided he'd rip that ones head off first, then the monkeys, and he'd leave the Namekian, at least until the Super Saiyan appeared.
Digging deeper than he ever had to before, at least when not fighting with his family, Cooler let his power double, and triple, and grow some more. "Fifty percent. I can't believe I'm at fifty percent." He expected the Earth to tremble as he powered up, but the moment passed without much fanfare.
After a few more seconds of thought, Cooler opened his eyes. Cooler slowly floated back to ground level. The Saiyans were in a line in front of his ship. He'd have to be careful not to destroy it, or it would take even longer to get home. He turned his back on them, looking for the Namekian. He found him.
Piccolo was standing beside the short Earthling that was near death. The shortest one floated beside them, and the pink in blue woman was beside the trio. All four of them stood around a pair of newcomers to the battle.
The two new Earthlings were naked, piles of white and brown robes on the ground beside them. The duo were quickly putting on bright orange clothes, held out by the Namekian. Once they finished dressing, the pair would look just like the baldy.
"Where did you come from!" Cooler shouted down to the pair.
"Instant Transmission!" Goku shouted in return. "Basically teleportation, based on ki signatures."
"Forget him." Piccolo said. "What took you so long, couldn't you tell how bad of a situation we were in?"
"Mr. Piccolo." Gohan smiled. "We were trying to get here first, but Cooler's ship was faster than ours. We felt him reach Earth, but based on what we felt, we knew you could handle it."
"Well, until he powered up." Goku said. "He's, he's unbelievable."
"We're on the brink of death, and you didn't get involved, because, because you thought we could handle it?" Piccolo growled.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to get involved in a fight of mine." Goku scratched the back of his head. "Not if you thought I could handle it, that is."
Piccolo scoffed. "Saiyans." He shook his head. "Gohan, never..." It took him a while, but he noticed Gohan's eyes had changed. Instead of being burnt orbs floating in milky white space, they were smooth, obsidian, seeing. "You've got your vision back?"
"Excuse me." Cooler raised his hand. "Boy, that tail, you're a Saiyan, correct? Are one of you the Super Saiyan I've been waiting for?"
Tail? The Power Ball is still active. "GOHAN!" Turles shouted, pointing behind the boy. Gohan looked to see what he was pointing at. "DON'T LOOK AT THE POWER ..."
Turles was too late, too brash. Gohan turned to face whatever the Oozaru was warning him of, and his eyes focused in on the Power Ball. His transformation was slower than the others, his body not as familiar with these particular mechanisms. Goku grabbed Loa and Krillen's collars, dragging them away from his son, and Piccolo handled Chiaotzu in the same manner.
As Cooler watched the freshly materialized gi was torn to shreds, and there was now a fourth monkey. "Go ahead and transform." Cooler said. "The strongest Saiyan was nothing compared to the Namekian, and I doubt this ape will be..."
Gohan appeared in front of Cooler, fist swinging down, pounding him into the ground. He was getting tired of being berried, but thankfully this time he didn't create a crater, instead his lower body was just embedded in the ground. Gohan opened his mouth, and a hastily prepared mouth beam erased the ground around Cooler completely, and shredded against his body. This ape was far, far, beyond the others. This, this boy must be the Super Saiyan.
Author's Note: Yeah, Turles kind of screwed that up. Next chapter, Cooler and Great Ape Gohan go at it.