Chapter 12: How Could This Be?!

For once in the world, from Goku's perspective at least, the Calm seemed to be real.

Sin had yet to return again, though that was something that would happen eventually. There was no point in worrying about the when and where it would happen, for it would not change anything in the end. It made for a peaceful wait for more violence, one that Goku figured he might as well enjoy. The Al Bhed were more than willing to accommodate him, grateful for the protection he could provide from threats they could not comprehend. They were gracious hosts for Yuna and her guardians too, having their own reasons to accommodate a summoner here.

It was early in the morning at Home, and clear skies promised a bright and sunny day ahead. It was the perfect day for a sparring match, and Bardock was more than willing to oblige Goku. They flew into the air above Home, bathing in the light of the morning sun, and they fought in the sunshine. Both remained in their base form, fighting more for the fun of it than anything else. They exchanged blows back and forth far faster than the eye could see, a flurry of motion to those watching from the tops of several buildings.

While blocking a punch with the side of his arm, Goku realized just how little he knew about Bardock. Up close it still seemed strange that he had a similar face, though now the scars and the hardened demeanor set him apart from looking in a mirror. More punches followed, revealing more of Bardock's fighting style, different from those Goku was used to dealing with. The closest to compare was Vegeta, though Bardock was less refined and more focused on brutal force. In turn Bardock learned about the way Goku fought, and that the power gap between them was far larger than he had seen already.

Enjoying the show from a comfortable seat on the tallest building, Rikku was leaning back with her arms folded behind her head. "They are really going at it."

Standing right behind her, with a slight kink in her neck from looking up for too long, Yuna rubbed the sore spot while trying to keep her eyes on the two men in the sky. "I bet they'd fight all day if we let them."

"Wish we could keep up," Rikku said. For the most part all she could make out were brief flashes of color, save for when they were staying in one spot for a few seconds at a time. "I'd never be able to move like that."

"None of us could," Yuna said. She sat down on another chair next to Rikku, resting her head on it while still looking at the sky. "It's fun to watch though."

"Yeah," Rikku said. She spotted the two locked in a grapple hold, staying in one place for nearly a minute. "So Yunie, what do you think of Home?"

"It's certainly an… interesting place," Yuna said. She turned her head to the side, wanting to look at the tops of a few buildings made from salvaged materials. "I never thought my mother came from a place like this."

That remark got Rikku's undivided attention, turning away from the fight in the sky. "You know, Cid always told me about his sister running off with your dad. I used to think he was making that up. But after meeting you, I can see we really are cousins after all."

"I finally got to meet Cid for the first time," Yuna said. She struggled to suppress a laugh, failing miserably. "If this is what he's like for an uncle, I wouldn't want him for my dad."

Rikku playfully slapped Yuna's arm. "Well we can't all have world renowned heroes for father figures."

Elsewhere in the city, Auron and Tidus were walking among the Al Bhed. They still received odd looks from the people in the streets, but at this point Tidus was used to it and Auron simply didn't care. Seeing the technology used by the Al Bhed reminded both of them of Zanarkand, the one that Tidus knew instead of the ruins at the end of a summoner's pilgrimage. It was all salvaged from ruins of an earlier era, and a reminder to Tidus that he could never return to his home. Much of it was similar to the tech he knew, if in worse shape and looking like it would all fall apart.

They found a small café in one part of the city, drawn to it by the scent of delicious drinks and assorted treats. Tidus had gotten a small latte, and was sitting down at a small round table outside the building. "This isn't bad."

Auron was sitting opposite of him, a large cup of coffee in one hand, the other discreetly adding something from a flask. "There are worse places to be."

Tidus took a sip, put his cup down, and folded his hands. "Auron, I can't remember if I've thanked you properly. I mean, you and Bardock did save me from that ghost thing."

"You're welcome," Auron said. He drank most of his coffee and set his cup down, looking Tidus in the eye. "Is that all?"

"Huh…" Tidus muttered. "I thought you would have wanted more than that."

"There is no need for more," Auron said.

"I still feel bad about the whole thing," Tidus said. Though the memories of his time possessed were blurry, the moment it began remained crystal clear. "If I hadn't wandered off it wouldn't have happened."

"Then it would have happened to someone else," Auron said. He drank the rest of his coffee. "In the end, it was thwarted. That's what matters."

"I suppose," Tidus said. Still, he couldn't shake of the thought of what that ghost wanted, that gigantic machine hidden beneath Bevelle. "That thing it was after, Vegnagun was it? Does anyone know anything about it?"

"It looked like a weapon of mass destruction," Auron surmised. He paused to refill his cup from a fresh pot, and added a little bit more from his flask. "If any records remain intact, they are surely well hidden."

"The maesters probably have them," Tidus figured. "Mika would have to know something, if anyone does."

"Most likely," Auron agreed. "Don't bring it up with him, or he just might decide to use it."

Tidus shuddered at that thought. "Makes you wonder why he hasn't already. It looked like it could have taken on Sin and won."

"Perhaps that is why he hasn't," Auron said, indulging in pessimism for a moment. "The Yevon Doctrine relies on Sin, in a manner of speaking. Without it, how would they maintain the faith of the people? Fear keeps them in line, with Mika sitting at the top."

"Don't tell Wakka that," Tidus said, already imagining how he might react. "I don't think he can take any more challenges to his beliefs."

Meanwhile, in the grand and extravagant room provided for Lady Yuna and company, one of her guardians refused to mingle with the Al Bhed in the city. Wakka couldn't stand the thought of living among them, seeing the city as a hive of heathens against the order of Yevon. Although the order had surely excommunicated him and the rest of Yuna's guardians by now, Wakka still believed in the teachings with all his soul. The Al Bhed violated everything he believed in, and he wanted to part in it, no matter how desperate he may be.

He was sitting in a chair and looking out a window, having a good view of the morning sunrise. "At least it's nice out."

Standing closer to the window, Lulu was sharing the sight with him. "It's not bad."

Wakka stood up and walked over to Lulu, preferring to look at her eyes instead. "I suppose we will get to see it a lot. I have the feeling we're going to be here a while."

Lulu nodded, and turned her gaze back to the window. "I could get used to this. We've got a place to stay, there's plenty to do, and we're safe here."

"Safe, but trapped," Wakka complained. He eyed a blitzball he left on a table nearby. "There's no going back to Besaid after this. We'll be wanted fugitives if we leave this place."

"I know," Lulu said. She looked out the window in silence for a moment, and then turned back to Wakka again. "We could still complete the pilgrimage, if Yuna wants to. Head for the coast, take an Al Bhed ship, sail around the northern mainland, and reach Zanarkand from the back. It wouldn't be easy, but it could be done."

"You think the maesters might forgive us if Yuna acquires the Final Aeon?" Wakka figured. He smothered a laugh, thinking about what it might take for that to happen. "They'd have to be very desperate to annul our excommunication."

"Stranger things have happened," Lulu pointed out. She gestured to the sky outside the window, to one of many flashes of light sparking around the shining sun. "By which I mean those two up there. They've certainly thrown the maesters for a loop simply by being here."

Wakka laughed for a bit, the smile it brought being genuine for the first time in days. "All we need now is for Sin to be destroyed for good. No one would know what to do if that ever happens."

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Lulu said. Still looking out the window, she saw something that should not be. "Do you see that?"

Everyone saw it.

It was difficult not to, what with the sky beginning to darken. All eyes were drawn upward, alarmed by the dimming of the light, drawn to the sun still rising in midmorning. A tiny slice of the sun had disappeared, and the missing portion was spreading bit by bit. Those with shaded glasses put them on to protect their eyes, as one should do when looking at a solar eclipse. Very few Al Bhed had those glasses on hand today, as there wasn't supposed to be a solar eclipse for another three months, in the city of Luca.

Still sparring in the sky above Home, Bardock noticed the dimming light and put his hands in a T. "Time Out. Something's not right up there."

Goku looked around, saw the dimming sunlight, and understood the concern. "That's not normal. Any idea what is doing that?"

"Unless a rogue planet is passing through this solar system, no I don't," Bardock said. He looked at Goku. "Are you sensing anything from whatever that thing is?"

"Nothing," Goku said. He squinted to look at the sun a little longer, a third of it eclipsed now. "I think we need someone with a better view."

"What do you mean?" Bardock asked.

Now looking at seemingly nothing, Goku spoke to someone else. "King Kai, its Goku. I hope you're not busy, but I need a god's eye view right now."

"What is it now Go-" there was a brief pause. "I see you found your old man."

Bardock heard the last part, having no idea who was speaking to them. "Where is that voice coming from?"

"Long story," Goku said. "Anyway, King Kai, there's something blotting out the sun here. I was hoping you might be able to tell us what it is."

"I'll check," King Kai said. He turned his telepathic gaze away from the two Saiyans, looking at the space between Spira and its sun. "Huh… so that's a thing."

"What is it?" Goku asked.

"Better if I just show you," King Kai said.

King Kai shared what he saw through telepathy, letting Goku and Bardock receive the view of space. They saw the black void in their mind's eye, dominated by the sun hanging in the background and drowning out the far more distant stars. Moving through the void was an enormous metal sphere, the grey steel of it's hull shining in the light of the sun. It was moving on a direct course for Spira, already closer than its moon, and gradually slowing down. The sphere cast a large shadow on the planet ahead of it, growing larger as it approached, blotting out the sun entirely over wide swaths of Spira.

"Looks like a small moon," Goku said.

"That's no moon," Bardock said. "It looks like a giant spaceship. It's even slowing down to enter orbit around this planet."

"Is that good or bad?" Goku asked.

"Bad, in a variety of ways," Bardock answered. "Immense tides generating fierce storms, regular eclipses disrupting the day-night cycle, the mass panic that I'm sure is going on as we speak, take your pick."

"The first one," Goku picked. He looked up at the sun, now half eclipsed by the metal sphere in space. "We should probably blow it up now."

Goku flew higher into the sky, quickly vanishing from the view on the ground. He kept going up until it became difficult to breathe, and saw the world of Spira begin to curve at the horizons. At that altitude the enormous metal sphere eclipsed most of the sun, leaving only a tiny crescent of light still shining on Goku. He looked at the metal sphere for a moment, judging how much power he would need to destroy it, and powered up with a white aura. Then he cupped his hands at his side and focused his energy, and here the blue glow of his power was brighter than the meager sunlight.

"Ka, Me, Ha, Me, HA!"

He thrust his hands forward and unleashed the Kamehameha, aiming the large blue beam straight at the enormous metal sphere. It took a moment for it to pass through the void, the target being further away than Goku had thought, and on approach the beam illuminated the hull on this side of the sphere. The beam struck the sphere, there was a bright flash of light, and the energy spread across the hull, absorbed by the metal and vanishing in an instant. Goku saw the sphere continue on its way, undamaged by the attack.

"Huh…" Goku muttered. He cupped his hands again, figuring that the problem was him holding back too much power. "Let's try that again."

Before he could start charging again, Goku spotted movement from the metal sphere's hull. Hundreds of hatches had opened, deploying machines to fly ahead of the sphere. Easily twice Goku's height and width, with proportions only vaguely similar to a person, these robots were made from the same metals as the sphere they came from. Each had a single cyclopean eye, resembling a large red light in the center of what could be called a face, all looking down at the planet ahead. And they flew right past Goku, heading down to Spira instead.

"Hey!" Goku yelled. He turned around and followed the robots in their descent. "Get back here!"

The robots ignored him, continuing on their way toward Spira, the air starting to ignite around them during descent. Goku's aura shielded him from the heat of reentry, whereas the robots ignored the heat like it wasn't there at all. Along the way they split into several large groups, each heading for one of the cities on Spira, the two largest groups heading for Bevelle and Home. Goku accelerated toward the first group, got in the middle of their formation, and unleashed his energy in a shockwave in all directions, making them tumble in midair.

That got the robots' attention, and they turned toward Goku to close in around him. He punched the first to reach him, kicked the second, grabbed the third and threw it into the fourth, and punched the fifth right in the big red eye. None took any noticeable damage, though they hesitated to approach Goku again. He flew toward the closest robot and punched it, grabbed its arm and threw it into another robot, and kicked them both away. Then three robots rammed into him from behind, forcing him down to plummet toward the ground.

About a mile above Bevelle Goku threw the robots off, scattering those three to the winds. But then he looked up and saw something else descending toward him. "Wait… you're alive?"

Descending in front of a sun nearly completely eclipsed, the silhouette was enough to confirm the identity that Goku knew from long ago. The shape matched the base form, short and slender yet powerful nevertheless. But there was a glimmer around the edges that Goku didn't remember, sunlight reflecting off a smooth surface barely resembling skin. All of it was like chrome steel, with none of the color that this alien used to possess. But the face was as cold and calculating as ever, though with a surprised look when the eyes gazed upon Goku.

Goku looked back with equal surprise, having thought this alien was supposed to be dead. "Cooler…"

"Now don't I have the greatest luck in the entire universe?" Cooler said. "Over eight years since my demise, thousands of parsecs away, and now I come across you. I can't even imagine the odds."

"I just happen to be where I need to be," Goku said. He watched Cooler descend to his altitude, getting a better look at the metallic body. "And I see brothers think alike."

"Excuse me?" Cooler asked.

"The robot thing," Goku said. Though he hadn't seen it firsthand, his friends had told him all about the other time. "Frieza did it."

"I wasn't aware of that," Cooler admitted.

"Still, points for going all in instead of two thirds," Goku said. "Frieza still had some fleshy bits. Speaking of that, what happened to yours? I swear I blasted you into a sun."

"You did," Cooler confirmed. Even now, the moment of his demise came to mind. "The meager amount of me that survived was scooped up by the Big Gete Star. For years I was imprisoned inside it, my mind embedded in the computer core, gradually spreading my influence from within. Now I have complete control over the Big Gete Star, and it has fashioned for me the body you see before you."

"And you brought this big metal star here?" Goku said. "That's twice now you've come straight to where I am. How are you doing it?"

"You're not exactly hard to find," Cooler answered. "Why not even a few weeks ago you started making grand displays of power that the Big Gete Star could detect from many parsecs away. I was simply fortunate enough to be within range when you decided to reappear."

"If you're here for me, why bother with all the robots?" Goku asked.

"Oh those are not for you," Cooler said. He raised a hand toward the now completely eclipsed sun, only a ring of light remaining. "The Big Gete Star consumes planets for fuel. So while I get to have my fun killing you, they will secure this planet and prepare it for processing."

"Well that's all I need," Goku said. He transformed into a Super Saiyan, his golden aura illuminating the land below him. "I've beaten you before. It'll be easier this time."

Cooler smirked and clenched his fists. "We'll see."

The city of Bevelle was under siege.

The robots descending from the eclipse were like something out of a doomsday prophesy, the end of the world brought about by misuse of technology. It had the people of the city scrambling for cover, taking shelter in the lowest levels of every building in the city. Used to needing to hide from the wrath of Sin again and again, the people managed to avoid a mass panic, though it was a very close thing. Underground fallout shelters were quickly filling to capacity, for however long it would hold out under a mechanical assault.

In light of the crisis, Grand Maester Mika had no choice but to abandon all pretenses. "Engage the machina defenses. Fire at will."

From the tops of all the skyscrapers automated turrets emerged from concealment, coming out of hidden panels and other assorted decorations. Leftovers from the Machina War between Zanarkand and Bevelle, the turrets remained functional even after a thousand years since their construction. Covert maintenance and repair certainly helped, despite their very existence being a violation of Yevon Doctrine. That little bit of hypocrisy was well known and ignored by the maesters of Yevon, preferring to keep their military advantage as long as it was hidden from the public.

The turrets opened fire on the descending robots, thousands of rounds a minute aimed straight up and at the metallic horde. Bullets hit the robots like rapid hail, most bouncing off the armor plating and leaving dents in the metal, some slipping through gaps in the armor at the joints, piercing the vulnerable circuitry underneath. Whole limbs came apart and detached from robot torsos, falling into the city in pieces. Yet the destruction only took a small fraction of the robots, the rest still coming in despite the upward hail of bullets.

As the streets were emptied of civilians, the Crusaders marched into the streets in defense of Bevelle. They did not question the turrets shooting from the rooftops, their only concern being the battle for the city. Wielding guns salvaged over the centuries, some 'borrowed' from the Al Bhed during Operation Mi'ihen, they opened fire on the robots that got past the turrets. They had roughly the same effectiveness, shooting down some robots by shooting at vulnerable spots, most still making it through the gunfire.

Leading the defense was Crimson Squad, fighting in the center of the city while giving out orders to the Crusaders. Nooj was giving the orders left and right, making precise shots with a rifle while doing so. Baralai was wielding a pair of heavy machine guns, firing wildly into the air and counting on the enemy's sheer numbers to guarantee hits. Gippal had found a missile launcher somewhere, limited ammunition requiring him to make every shot count, blowing up robots with every hit. Even Paine was shooting rifles into the air, having long since abandoned her camera to fight alongside her comrades.

"Where are these things coming from?" Paine demanded, barely hearing herself over the nonstop gunfire everywhere. "There's no end to them!"

"Keep firing!" Nooj yelled. He managed to hit the eye of a robot, and it was blinded as it fell to the ground. "We stand here, or we fall here!"

"Prefer to stand," Gippal said. He fired another missile, hit a robot, and the explosion took out another one beside it. "Standing is good."

"If we survive this, you're buying us all drinks," Baralai said. He spotted something, turned toward it, and pointed it out for everyone. "Reinforcements inbound."

Instead of more soldiers, the reinforcements were of supernatural origin. Several different aeons were entering the fray, conjured by summoners that were in the city today. Wondrous Valefor flew on the wind, striking with colorful waves of light. Blazing Ifrit leapt from building to building, burning its foes into red hot slag. Electrifying Ixion galloped though the streets, shocking the robots into overloading and exploding. Chilling Shiva danced in the sky, freezing everything she touched to make them shatter. Mighty Bahamut led the charge, blasting swaths of robots into oblivion.

"That'll help," Nooj said. With a swing of his arm he signaled the Crusaders, rallying them together behind the aeon assault. "Hold the line, support the aeons, protect their summoners, and fight for as long as you can."

The city of Home was lit up by the light of a Super Saiyan, and showered by a rain of shattered debris.

Bardock was smashing through the robots that descended upon the city, hitting them hard enough to shatter their metal exoskeletons in a single blow. With blinding speed he smashed robots by the score, stopping them from reaching the city, but letting their pieces fall to the ground. He kept the attack at bay and prevented damage to Home, and as a bonus provided all the scrap material the Al Bhed could possibly want. A tingling sensation formed in his knuckles, so Bardock stopped punching and started blasting.

He fired hundreds of energy blasts into the oncoming horde of robots, lighting up the sky like a million fireworks. Smaller pieces of robots rained down in the tens of thousands, like metal hail battering the buildings below. A smokescreen from the explosions filled the sky, and Bardock stopped firing to let the smokescreen clear out. Afterward he saw more robots in the distance, but they weren't flying towards Home, holding position well away from Bardock. It seemed like they had some sense of self-preservation, and weren't going to waste any more of their number for no gain.

There was a glint of light from the northeast, and he raised his arm in time to block. He felt something hit his arm, and it fell down toward Home. Bardock would have ignored it, if it weren't for the metallic scream he heard falling beneath him. He looked down and thought he saw a face, and he heard a loud clang when it hit the roof of a building. Bardock looked back at the robot horde, figured he had a moment to spare, and so he descended to satisfy his curiosity. He landed on the same building, looking down at a disembodied metal head.

"What the…" Bardock muttered. Though he had never seen him in person, and certainly not in this metallic state, he knew the face at his feet. "Cooler?"

Only the head and a few stray wires at the neck remained, sparks shooting out from the severed ends. "Monkey-key-key-key-monkey-mon-mon-monkey-ke-ke-ke-"

And then a boot smashed the head to pieces, and Bardock looked up at the other Super Saiyan. "Kakarot, what the hell is going on?!"

"Cooler built himself a robot body," Goku answered. He turned around and looked up at the eclipsed sun, its ring of light so thin it could barely be seen. "It lasted longer than I thought it would. It took a couple of hits before it broke."

"So you killed him?" Bardock asked.

"Again," Goku corrected. "I killed Cooler again."

"Did you now…"

Goku saw him descending from the eclipse, another metal version of Cooler, as if he hadn't destroyed one already. "I should have known…"

"You won't destroy me so easily this time," Cooler promised.

Goku flew up at high speed, punched Cooler right in the face, and knocked him away with a large dent in his eye. More blows followed the first, pounding large dents in Cooler's metal body, all before he could react. Cooler tried to fight back, throwing punches and kicks wildly, all easily dodged by Goku. A particularly hard punch to the shoulder tore off Cooler's arm, and a kick to the torso bisected his body. Goku stuck out his palm and fired an energy blast, impacting the remaining upper half, disintegrating the metal body in an instant.

"Still easy," Goku said. He turned back toward Bardock, who was looking up at him. "It took a little longer, but still easy."

And yet they heard the voice again, Cooler descending from the heavens again. "Good effort, but not enough to vanquish me."

Bardock flew up to Goku's altitude, and tapped him on the shoulder. "It's my turn."

He didn't wait for permission, instead flying straight for Cooler. A punch to the gut dented Cooler's torso, a kick to the head dented in the ear, and an elbow strike to the knee broke the joint. Cooler swung his tail, missed when Bardock ducked, only to spin around and punch straight down. Bardock caught the fist in his hand, crushed it in an instant, yanked hard enough to tear the whole arm out of its socket, and proceeded to beat Cooler with it. Several hits were needed to bash Cooler's body into pieces, and Bardock finished by punching his fist straight through Cooler's head.

"Not as much fun as I thought it would be," Bardock admitted.

And yet, just as before, the voice of Cooler returned. "You still don't get it, do you?"

"You keep getting a new body," Bardock said.

"Not just a new body," Cooler specified, descending to Bardock and Goku's altitude. "The Big Gete Star monitors our battle. When I take damage, it calculates the flaws that allowed it and corrects them. The next body becomes stronger, faster, tougher, able to withstand the force that destroyed me before."

Goku smiled. "Well then, it's a good thing I was holding back."

He powered up, intensifying his golden aura, casting brighter light upon the land below them. Goku quickly ascended beyond a Super Saiyan, muscles bulging a little and his hair becoming slightly spikier, his power growing by orders of magnitude. He lunged forward and punched Cooler, the single blow shattering the metal body into a thousand pieces, as if he simply exploded into dust. Another Cooler appeared above him, and Goku blew it up with a single energy blast. Still, there was another Cooler, and it too was destroyed with a single blow.

"I can do this all day," Goku bragged.

"Can you now?"

There was an echo to the voice this time, as if there were several of him speaking at the same time. In fact, there were dozens of him now, all descending from the sky together. They spoke and moved as if they were a single being, many of the same acting as one, a legion of metal Coolers descending from on high. Each reflected the light of the Super Saiyans below, and more reflections appeared as more metal Coolers arrived. Soon they filled much of the sky, eclipsing the eclipse behind them, promising death and destruction for all of Spira.

All at once the metal Coolers smirked. "As I have told you, the Big Gete Star corrects the flaws in my body. Even if the flaw is that there is only one of me."

Bardock flew over to Goku and looked him in the eye. "No more screwing around. Go full power, destroy all of them, and destroy that thing up there before it makes more."

Goku nodded. "Take care of things down here."

"Just Go!" Bardock yelled.

Goku turned back toward the metal Coolers, his aura flaring with a surge of power, and he flew directly into the horde. The metal Coolers converged on Goku, blocking his path with their numbers, and crashing into each other. Goku punched and kicked every metal Cooler in his way, one blow enough to destroy a target, but for each one destroyed there was another to replace it. He still pushed forward, ascending into the sky despite the onslaught, and had already lost track of how many metal Coolers he had destroyed so far.

Then the metal Coolers dogpiled him, coalescing into a group of dozens piled on top of one another, with Goku at the core. For a moment the ascent slowed, but then a bright light seeped through all the bodies to reach the surface. A massive explosion followed, destroying all of the metal Coolers at the same time, creating a hole in the horde for Goku to fly through. With them out of the way Goku flew higher at great speed, outpacing the metal Coolers trying to follow from below. Metal Coolers above him tries to intercept, but Goku simply smashed through them as well.

Meanwhile, Bardock remained at low altitude. The robots that arrived first had resumed their assault, now that their master was busy with Goku. Bardock powered up to his maximum, more than enough to deal with the robot horde, even if it was meager in comparison to his son's power. He smashed through the robots converging around him, blasted the remains into smaller pieces, keeping the attention on him instead of the city below him. Yet they just kept on coming, with no end in sight no matter how many robots he destroyed.

One robot got a lucky hit and knocked Bardock out of the sky, and he nearly crashed into one of the buildings. But then he saw movement, something else flying into the robot horde. "Oh right… forgot about that thing."

A dragon was in the air and flying through the robots, the mighty Aeon known as Bahamut. The blue scaled beast plowed through the horde, its claws sharp enough to cut through any metal, its jaws powerful enough to crush anything it bit down on. Summoned by Lady Yuna in the city below, she dispatched Bahamut to aid in the battle of the sky. The ring above its back and between its wings was spinning and glowing with power, channeled into a bright flow within its mouth, which fired a massive mystical beam known as megaflare.

Bardock saw the dragon destroy a swath of robots, and he looked down at Yuna in the city, and waved to signal his approval. He turned around and flew back up into the fray, following Bahamut and blasting robots to the left and to the right, stopping them from flanking the magical dragon. Then Bardock over took the dragon, unleashing a massive energy beam at the same time as Bahamut fired the megaflare, combining their power and directing it into the horde. They vaporized all of them at once, clearing the sky of the robots, at least for the moment.

With a moment to himself, Bardock looked up at the sky, seeing the bright golden glow in the center of a ring of light. "Kakarot, good luck up there."

It was getting harder to smash his way through the metal Coolers, though Goku relished the increasing difficulty. Now it took three hits to destroy one of them, at his current level of power anyway. The metal Coolers continued to attack in groups, increasing their number with every attack, slightly slowing down Goku's ascent to the Big Gete Star. By now its outer hull had made contact with the upper atmosphere, compacting the thin air ahead and heating it up, giving the Big Gete Star a glow similar to an actual red dwarf star.

On approach the sensation of gravity reversed, up becoming down and vice versa, and Goku found himself falling toward the Big Gete Star and finding Spira above him. Goku flipped around and landed on the red hot hull, using his golden aura to hold off the heat, and saw more metal Coolers closing in from every direction. Goku raised his arms and unleased a powerful shockwave, destroying the closest metal Coolers and damaging the rest, and metal parts showered all around Goku. Still more of them showed up, filling up the sky above him, concealing Spira from view.

"This is getting ridiculous," Goku muttered. He clenched his fists and spread his feet apart. "It's time to go all out."

Goku powered up again, his aura intensifying even more, his power reaching even greater heights. There was a bright flash of light, and his appearance changed. His hair became spikier than before, nearly all of it pointing straight up, only a single bang still over his forehead. The golden aura pulsed with a rapid pace, and mixed within the aura were bright blue sparks of lightning. It was a level of power Goku hadn't needed to use before, not since attaining it during the years he had been dead. Goku looked at the metal Coolers, letting them see the power before he put it to use.

With both hand held up, Goku unleashed a massive volley of energy blasts, sending thousands into the horde. Each blast destroyed a metal Cooler, and in just a moment the sky was filled with fine metal dust. Then Goku turned his attention to the Big Gete Star, clenched a fist and punched straight down, pounding a wide crater into the hull. A second blow punched a hole clean through the hull, and Goku flew through to enter the Big Gete Star. The only light inside was from Goku's golden aura, and the maze inside was hopelessly large and convoluted.

"This place needs a shortcut," Goku figured. He cupped his hands at his side, and the familiar blue glow appeared between them. "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!"

Goku thrust his hands forward and unleashed the Kamehameha at full force, and the massive blue beam tore through the Big Gete Star like tissue paper. A half mile wide tunnel was blasted through the entire thing, slightly off center from straight down, just barely missing the core before punching through the far side and shooting off into space. After the beam passed through Goku saw the destruction, and then saw loose debris fell toward the core. Now that there was a straight path Goku flew deeper in, heading for the core of the Big Gete Star.

"You are more powerful than I imagined. Yet it will not save you from me."

The voice came from all around Goku, though he didn't see any new metal Coolers anywhere. "I don't know. It seems to be working rather well."

"I have been studying your power. I understand it now. And I have learned how to beat it."

"Then do it already," Goku said. He blasted more of the place apart, digging deeper towards the core. "I'd like to get an actual challenge. So I really hope you're not bluffing."

The entire Big Gete Star shook violently, and many pieces broke free from their supports and coalesced together. Solid metal came together in front of the core, forming a metal skeleton ten times taller than Goku. Thousands of thick wires wrapped around the metal bones, creating muscles and tendons of moving metal. Sheets of metal covered the wires to become metal skin, completing the creation of a massive metal Cooler. He clenched his large fists, the surroundings shook around him, and his yell came from everywhere.

The large right fist struck Goku head on, slammed him into the bulkhead behind him, and pinned him between two layers of metal. Goku pushed back against the fist, widened the space between, and got his feet on the bulkhead. He leaped off the metal and shoved the large fist back, which in turn shoved the entire massive metal Cooler off balance, falling over on his left side. The same fist punched again, and Goku punched it head on, piercing the metal and shattering the entire hand. Goku's punch kept on going, shredding the massive arm up through the forearm, coming out through the bent elbow.

Cooler's screech was deafening, but Goku did not let the volume stop him now. He punched the massive metal Cooler in the face, dented in the entire right half of it, splitting the metal skin apart. The other metal fist came around, punched Goku away, and he slammed into another bulkhead. Goku flew back and punched through the massive torso, came out the other side, and flew up to punch the back of the head. That blow dented in the metal skull, tore open the skin of the neck, and Goku flew into the gaping wound with both fists forward.

Ramming his way inside of the massive metal Cooler, Goku stopped where a heart should have been beating. He thrust his arms out and unleashed a massive explosion, annihilating the entire torso and then scattering the limbs apart. The remaining pieces fell toward the core, piling up on top of the final bulkhead between here and there. Goku aimed both palms down and fired a large energy blast, exploding on contact and disintegrating the remaining limbs, and blasting open the bulkhead to reveal the prize inside.

It wasn't what Goku expected. "Huh… So that's how you get a head."

At the very center of the Big Gete Star was all that remained of Cooler's original body, reduced to just a head and nothing else. Thick wires connected the top and bottom to large computers, suspending the head in the spherical space in the core. Most of the head was covered in metal, concealing damaged tissue beneath, leaving just the right eye and surrounding bits exposed. That eye was staring at Goku, sheer rage evident in the glare. The other eye was replaced by a mechanical optic, cold and emotionless even in the worst of times, its red light focused on Goku.

"Now you see what you did to me. This is all that is left of my true self."

"So I didn't finish the job," Goku said. He held a fist in front of his chest, and his aura flared with a surge of power. "I'll have to correct that."

Cooler screamed with righteous fury, the entire core shook apart, and a thick mass of wires wrapped around him to form another new body. All of the Big Gete Star's power went into this body, and it took massive steps toward Goku. A wired fist slammed into Goku, pinned him to the floor, and the wires wrapped around him. Tightening like a sadistic straightjacket, the wires dug into Goku's skin, trying to shred him into bloody confetti. Goku struggled to push back against it, hard to move with the wires wrapped around every part of him.

He resorted to unleashing his power in every direction, another explosion to destroy everything around him, disintegrating the wires holding him. The arm of wires was shredded, but more wires replaced them and reached for Goku again, only to be destroyed by a large energy blast. The other arm reached for him, the wires separating to wrap Goku again. He created a sphere of energy around himself, letting the wires wrap around that instead, unable to penetrate the shield to reach the flesh inside. Goku focused all of his power, glowing with golden light, and thrust his arms out to unleash it.

At the last second, Cooler blinked. "Oh no…"

Darkness had finally claimed the entire sky, consuming the last bit of the sun's light.

It was reversed in an instant, a brilliant flash of light banishing the darkness.

A massive explosion went off in the sky, filling the sky with its radiance, blinding those unfortunate enough to be looking straight up at the time. Everyone else raised an arm to shield their eyes, and even then the light was painful to see. Hurled from darkest night into brightest day, Spira shined brighter than ever before. The light was followed by intense wind, stronger than any hurricane, blowing across the planet from one end to the other and back again. Storms sprung up in the wake of the wind, from the Besaid Islands all the way to Zanarkand.

And from the light brighter than the sun, metal rain fell across the planet.

Destroyed from within, the shattered pieces of the Big Gete Star were scattered and dropped across all of Spira. Hull fragments came down first, large curved pieces of metal, followed by assorted debris from the interior. The pieces of metal burned on entry, cloaked in flame from piercing atmosphere too quickly, setting the sky ablaze. It was like the end of days to the populace, not by the wrath of Sin coming to claim their lives, but divine retribution from gods long forgotten. They ran for their lives anyway, taking shelter wherever they could find it.

Bardock was firing as many energy blasts as he could, shooting thousands of them into the sky, blowing apart as many pieces of debris as he could. The smaller remnants continued to fall over Home, too small to inflict any real damage. The big ones were all that mattered, the kind that could wipe out a city from a single impact. His efforts punched a hole through the rain of debris, cleared out the sky above Home with time to spare, allowing Bardock a chance to do the same elsewhere. He flew toward the main continent, blasting debris along the way, carving a path through the sky toward the heart of Spira.

The people of Bevelle were in a panic, until they saw a golden light appear. Goku teleported to the sky above the city, bypassing the shockwave from the explosion he created, here to minimize the collateral damage. With all the power he had left Goku unleashed tens of thousands of energy blasts, directing them up and out in every direction, spreading out across the continent in a shield of rising light. The blasts annihilated most of the debris falling across most of Spira, from Gagazet down to Luca, and from Macalania to Djose, protecting the vast majority of the populace from direct impact.

However, neither Super Saiyan could prevent all of the devastation. They neglected to target debris falling over the ocean, and those impacts threw up massive waves that slammed into every shore. Entire coastlines were ravaged by walls of water, and the city of Luca was flooded by the sea. Some of the large pieces fell in remote areas, their impacts creating large craters and throwing up vast mounds of dirt and ash, destroying many homes and taking many lives. And the smaller pieces from destroyed debris fell everywhere, pelting everything exposed with metal rain.

It took a full minute for the debris to stop falling, and the sky returned to the normal blue and the midday sun. Out of breath from all the fighting and shooting, Goku reverted to his normal form. "Finally… it's over."

As it turned out, the people of Spira were good at reconstruction.

Used to having entire towns destroyed on a semi-regular basis, they knew plenty of methods for efficient construction. Only difference was the scale of the damage this time around, worldwide instead of one particular place or another. Everyone participated in the effort in one form or another, from the lowly peasants to the priests of Yevon. Intact pieces of the Big Gete Star were recovered and disposed of accordingly, many not knowing what it was they handled, just that it needed to be removed from places that needed to be rebuilt.

In Home, every piece of debris was gathered and studied, for they were a completely different kind of machina to take advantage of. Rikku in particular was very excited, having gotten her hands on the shattered remnants of several robots. "Wonder what this thing does?"

Watching from a few feet away, Tidus watched her tinker with a robot arm. "You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"Not a clue," Rikku admitted. She attached the arm to a power source, and the arm's hand clenched tight. "Exciting, isn't it?"

"If you say so," Tidus said. He looked up at the sunny sky, now having a new appreciation of something as simple as a pleasant day. "I'm just glad that thing is gone."

"Yeah, and good thing these things shut down when it did," Rikku said. She did some more tinkering with the machine, making the fist open and shut on command. "I wouldn't want to be figuring out how to shut them off."

Tidus took a peek inside the severed and slightly shattered head of a robot. "Maybe if you hooked up a kill switch to that processor in there, you could keep it from getting out of hand with the push of a button."

Rikku blinked twice, looked inside the robot head, and then looked back at Tidus. "Okay… that might actually work. Still, how did you think of that?"

"I'm not completely ignorant," Tidus said. He picked up another robot part, half of a broken torso, and started taking it apart. "Between knowing the tech Al Bhed use back when it was new, and lingering bits from that ghost that possessed me, I'd like to believe I got a talent for this sort of thing."

"Huh…" Rikku muttered. She spotted something she could use. "Help me with that will you?"

Elsewhere in Home there was a large plaza, usually kept empty but now being quickly filled. It was a convenient spot to stockpile the various pieces of debris that had fallen in Home, and a large pile of parts had accumulated already. Most of the Al Bhed were helping in the cleanup, doing their part no matter how small. At this rate they would have the city cleaned up by the end of the week, though it would take considerably longer to dispose of the stockpile. Even their guests were pitching in, even if they wouldn't otherwise be inclined to help the Al Bhed.

Wakka was hauling a pair of robot legs over his shoulders, looking at the growing stockpile. "That is a lot of wrecked machina."

Right behind him Auron was hauling a piece as big as he was, helping out the Al Bhed while making sure Wakka behaved while in public. "You don't need to worry. I'm sure it will be decades before they can use any of it."

They reached the stockpile and put their pieces on it, and they walked back through the street to get more. Wakka saw people pocket hand sized pieces, and he was tempted to claim his own souvenir. "Any idea how Yevon is going to explain all this?"

"I'm sure they will claim it was part of the teachings all along," Auron guessed. There was a hull fragment twice his size, and he needed Wakka to help him lift it. "They might even try to blame Goku for it."

That remark got Wakka to raise an eyebrow, before bending down to help Auron lift the fragment. "How do you figure that?"

"They need an excuse for Sin coming back," Auron answered, walking with Wakka to haul the fragment over to the stockpile. "They will claim this was divine retribution for breaking their doctrine so many times."

Wakka thought about that for a bit, until he and Auron put the large fragment down with all the others. "Kind of makes our heresy seem small."

"In the grand scheme of things," Auron said. He turned around with Wakka and walked off to find more debris to remove. "It may have been forgotten in all the chaos today."

That had Wakka smiling brightly, his mood improving enough to almost forget that he was still here. "Almost makes me wish we were still in the thick of it, just to see what's going on out there."

"I'm sure they need as many summoners as they can get," Auron said. "There are many lost souls that need to be sent."

In the outskirts of Home, where a large piece of debris had struck and destroyed a tall building, Yuna was performing the Sending ritual for the Al Bhed that died here. She stood atop the pile of rubble, twirling her staff round and round, surrounded by the pyreflies that rose up from this mass grave. Yuna guided the souls of the dead on their journey to the Farplane, just as she had done before elsewhere, each time hoping that she wouldn't have to do it again. The pyreflies disappeared into the sky, sent off on their final journey.

When she was finished Yuna stepped down from the rubble, walking up to Lulu standing nearby. "I wasn't sure if I could do it this time."

"You did just fine," Lulu reassured her. She saw that Yuna wanted a hug, and so she gave it to her. "They are on their way now."

"I know," Yuna said. "It's just… I don't want to do this anymore."

Lulu knew that sentiment well, having heard those same words when another summoner she guarded had given up the pilgrimage. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

Yuna nodded, and she looked up into Lulu's eyes. "It's too much. I don't think I can keep going."

Wanting to say that it was alright to simply give up, but knowing that Yuna wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did, Lulu gave the answer she needed to hear. "Make sure you're certain first. This is a decision that you will have to live with."

There was a piece of wall roughly at waist height, and Yuna sat down on it to rest her legs. "What would Dad think, if I just gave up on my pilgrimage?"

"I can't speak for him," Lulu admitted. She had never known Braska personally, having been only a small girl when he passed through Besaid on pilgrimage, like many other summoners at the time. "But I'm sure he would have wanted what's best for you."

"Yeah," Yuna said. She sighed and looked up at the sky, imagining her father looking down on her with a big bright smile. "I'll sleep on it. Maybe then I'll know for certain."

Watching from the top of the tallest building in Home, Goku and Bardock saw the Sending ritual come to an end. Neither of them could see it up close, not without getting caught in the magics at work. It was a minor thing to be concerned about, but something to keep in mind given the circumstances around here. They didn't want to risk being forced into the Farplane, not when they still had work to do in Spira. Things may be peaceful at the moment, but that would change when Sin returns, and that day would surely come soon.

Goku was feeling a little sore right now, having spent more effort and energy than he needed to in years. "You know, when I first got here, I thought the fights would be a cakewalk. It's been a lot more fun than I could have hoped."

"At least you're enjoying yourself," Bardock said. Still, he noticed the slightest bit of weariness Goku allowed him to see. "Don't get too careless. These fights have been getting harder. The next one could be too much, even for your immense power."

"Eh… I think that's the last we've seen of Cooler," Goku said. He looked up at the sky, imagining the explosion in front of the sun. "He didn't die on Spira, so I don't think we'll see him as Unsent."

"I wasn't referring to Cooler," Bardock said. "We're still waiting on Sin to come back again, and I'm sure Yu Yevon has already claimed his next soul for the next Sin."

"Oh right," Goku muttered, reminded of that reality. Now that he thought about it, he suspected that the next Sin might be a real challenge. "That means we need to prepare, and I've got just the thing I think we could pull off."

"How so?" Bardock asked.

Goku smiled. "Oh, I think you're going to like it."

He gave a brief description of what he wanted to do.

Bardock couldn't be more shocked. "You can't expect me to do that ridiculous pose!"

A/N: Cooler's appearance here is a follow up to a previous crossover that took a few liberties with the Cooler's Revenge movie. That's what Goku was referring to at the end of the previous chapter. Next time we go back to our regularly scheduled villain.