An Unburdened Fury
Chapter 69: Riot
Bulma pointed a flashlight into 16's chest cavity and cursed. All the melted metal and plastic made seeing what was wrong nearly impossible. She pulled out a capsule, pressed it, and tossed it down. A miniature desk filled to the brim with tools appeared in a puff. She worked her magic and had the circuitry in his head exposed and connected to a laptop to perform diagnostics in less than a minute.
Beside her, Dende struggled not to cry as he held onto the Dragon Ball. Gohan held a long stare to where Future Bulma laid. He'd seen death before, he'd experienced it himself, but the suddenness of it had shocked the boy. Before, death was something you fought and struggled against but there was no fight here. He blinked and she was dead.
"Shit, the bomb's done for." Bulma muttered as her initial scans returned their results. Cooler managed to puncture through a sizable portion of the payload and its electronics. Luckily, Gero had some foresight and had safety systems in place that would prevent detonation from outside damage. As it stood, a lot of the damage was for power delivery systems that needed to be rerouted.
"Can he be fixed?" Zangya asked as she kept her eyes peeled for Cooler's return. "And how long do you think you'll need?"
"Yeah, I can fix him enough." Bulma said as she pulled on a single eye goggle, grabbed some handheld tools the Heran didn't recognize, and went to the Android's chest to get started. Sparks started flying as she began to work. "But with the repairs, testing, and tweaking his operating system, we're looking at an hour minimum."
"That ain't happening. Skip what you can." Zangya responded. Not only were the Earthling warriors simply not going to last against Cooler but he wouldn't be fighting them a moment longer than necessary. He'd been gunning straight for the last Dragon Ball and Dende to get his wishes."What's the fastest you can get him up and fighting Cooler?"
The bluenette thought for some moments. "I can get him working in fifteen minutes but there's a risk he might not work at all if I rush like that."
"That'll have to be good enough then." The Heran woman responded. Kogu paced back and forth as an anxious mess.
"Are we sure about that?" Eighteen questioned. From what she could gather, 16 was the strongest here but that was at one hundred percent. "We can't depend on him at all at that point."
"There's no way we'll have the time for anything else!" Kogu cursed and Zangya suddenly straightened. There was something- she shoved Kogu into Eighteen as a purple fist soared right through where he had been. Her ki sensing had warned her at the last moment. Cooler twisted around and dragged his feet along the ground to arrest his momentum.
The trio recovered quickly and fell into defensive stances between him, Bulma, and the kids. Eighteen's eyes glanced down at the round object in the Arcosian's hand and her breath hitched. It was Krillin's head. The lack of blood told her that it was quick. That the monk and his friends stood no chance. He didn't deserve this; none of them did. They were good men. The others seemed to realize the same time she did. The only noise around was Bulma's computer as it threw out alerts over what repairs were needed.
"You ruined the surprise, Zangya." Cooler raised his other hand, capsule in his grasp, and shook a scolding finger at her. "You're just making your deaths more difficult."
He threw the head at Eighteen. The Android instinctively caught it to her horror. Krillin died scared if his vacant expression indicated anything. She lowered his head and Cooler was right there in front of her. His pointed hand shot at her face and it was only her inhuman reflexes granted by her cybernetics that allowed her to dodge the ki blade that burst forth.
The Arcosian brought the blade down and she leapt back. Krillin's head was bisected in her grasp. The woman stood frozen as she dropped the halves. She wanted to throw up at the sight. Cooler twisted and kicked Zangya in the stomach as she tried to assist. His tail swung back and crashed into Eighteen's jaw.
Kogu brought his own sword forward with a war cry against the former emperor. They clashed blades a dozen dozen times in an instant before they stopped each other in a test of strength. The Arcosian smirked at the swordsman.
"How does it feel to lose yet another one of your kind?" Cooler taunted. "He didn't even see it coming!"
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Kogu's anger flared up like a wildfire and his shirt was torn away as he transformed into his larger, green state. The Arcosian's eyes widened considerably as the Super Heran won their battle of attrition and Cooler was forced down onto a knee by the rapid increase in strength.
When did he gain such strength? Cooler had far surpassed even Bojack since their conflict so long ago and he believed he had the advantages these cretins! He even felt it in their training; their rate of growth was slower than his!
The pirate snarled like a wild animal as he pulled his sword away and smashed it into Cooler's like a club. The tyrant sunk into the ground and there was a look of shock on his face that Kogu reveled in. He reared back once more but the Arcosian's tail wrapped around his ankle tripped him up. As Kogu fell onto his back, Cooler leapt to his neck with his ki blade.
Zangya flew by and yanked the Super Heran away just as Cooler made contact. The ground and blade shattered as one. He pulled his arm out and shook the dirt from it as Kogu and Zangya got on their feet.
"Wonderful teamwork." He said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice like poison. "You've saved him but left her wide open."
The confusion that passed through their faces provided the momentary hesitation he need. Cooler turned and sent a pair of eye beams at the vulnerable Bulma. they thought he wouldn't pay attention to the tools and machines around their downed Android?! They hit with a dense explosion and the shockwave shook even him. He hadn't anticipated such a violent pushback; did the android's body explode?
The smoke quickly dissipated to reveal a barrier. The blond android stood there with her hands raised.
He didn't have even a moment to process his anger at the failure as Kogu grabbed the back of his head and shoved him into the floor. Kogu's scream of rage was soon drowned out by the passing of miles of dirt across his face as the Super Heran dragged him along. Cooler kicked down and the two were sent tumbling as the swordsman lost his balance.
"What is going on?!" Cooler quietly seethed as he got back on his feet. He had assumed that he left the Herans behind in power but the swordsman kept pace with him the entire time! He miscalculated; were they holding back the entire time they had traveled together? Was he so predictable? No, no, he was missing something. They had out maneuvered him in some way. The tyrant shook his head; he had to play it cool. A hint of ki behind him warned Cooler and he pushed himself out of the way of a spearing kick from Zangya.
She rushed back in and the two exchanged furious blows. She couldn't match him in skills for he was trained by the galaxy's best but their power was close enough that she put up a fight regardless. For ever two or three blows he landed, she returned one of her own. Cooler jabbed and she avoided it but then feinted the second. Zangya avoided the strike that never came and it left her open for a cross that landed squarely on her jaw.
Blood and spittle painted the floor but she moved with the momentum of the blow and braced herself against the ground. Her kick shot at Cooler like a cannon and her heel smashed right into his nose.
"My turn!"
The android smashed her shin into his right arm and Cooler was left gasping as it nearly broke his arm. The Arcosian bounced along the ground before he was caught by Kogu. The Super Heran heaved him overhead in a suplex and Cooler's body cratered the ground. The three fell upon him and whatever grace the battle may have had before was lost entirely as they just tried to beat him to death.
"RAAAGH!" In an uncharacteristic display of raw anger, Cooler exploded out and threw the trio back. He let out a long suffering sigh. "Despite my best attempts, I underestimated you." He started with clenched teeth but his voice soon boomed. "But I am Lord Cooler! Whole worlds tremble at my name! I won it all through blood and bone and contest! I will not have my final victory tarnished by you!"
The Arcosian's exploded out and his aura touched the darkening skies. To Kogu and Zangya's primitive ki sensing, Cooler went from a shining beacon to a veritable star as his muscles and stature engorged in size.
"What's happening?!" Eighteen yelled as she blocked some of the light with her arms.
"He's transforming!" Zangya answered as she grit her teeth.
Horns rose from his skull like mountains from colliding tectonic plates and the armor on his arms form deadly blades while his shoulders jutted out into pauldrons. His crystalline red eyes burned with hatred as the bone mask slipped onto his face. He tossed the capsule behind him and caught it with his tail. He wanted his hands for this brutality.
"You deserve long, suffering deaths for this offense against me."
He rushed forward and Kogu was the first to meet him. The Heran pirate held his ground for a moment but even that was too long for Cooler as the Arcosian roared and pushed forward. Kogu's wrists creaked as he was moved near effortlessly by the giant in front of him. Cooler stamped down and the swordsman cried out as his foot was crushed by the tyrant. This time, Cooler pushed down and he nearly folded backwards in half as his back crashed against the floor.
Zangya got over her initial shock at their clash and raced to Cooler. She, stupidly she thought, jumped onto the giant Frost Demon's back and grabbed at his neck. Psycho Threads wrapped around the tyrant's throat and a storm of lightning coursed through him as she stole his power.
"Parasite!" His massive hand wrapped around her face and pulled her over snapping the threads. "Have some dignity and fight under your own strength!"
He smashed her down into Kogu and the Herans both screamed in agony. Eighteen rushed in, fist pulled back and at the ready, but Cooler, with a simple glance her way, casually raised his fist and smashed her aside with the back of his hand. He lifted Zangya and slammed her into Kogu again.
He glanced at his tail. The capsule was safe and sound. He focused on the skies. He didn't feel any significant powers. This didn't mean Genome wasn't on the way but it meant he had some time. He gave their unmoving bodies a mocking tap. "Stay here. I have grievances with the machine."
Eighteen could hardly focus; she'd never been hit that hard. In her swimming vision however, she could see Cooler stalking her and she scrambled to her feet. Did she really want to keep going at this? She hardly knew anybody here; she had no obligation to stick around! But she remembered Krillin and stayed rooted. He deserved some kind of justice. She had to try.
"I asked the bald one if machines like you could truly feel emotions." He said as he flashed forward and nearly cut her in half with a knee to the gut. She couldn't breath much less make a noise. He put his hands together above his head and slammed into her back with an axe handle. "It's clear to me that Gero retained your ability to fear."
Cooler gazed down at the hole with a pleased smile. He couldn't feel the Android with his rudimentary sensing; either she was so weak or she simply had nothing to sense. He had to make sure she was dead. He pointed his hand to the ground and gripped the air. There was a monstrous groan from the ground as his telekinesis took a hold.
He flicked his wrist up.
The crust below him shattered like glass as thousands of tons of dirt and stone were instantly compressed. The sound like a volcano's eruption boomed for miles around. Cooler let his hold go and swept some dust from his shoulders. Enough fooling around. He had to kill Bulma and then the Herans. The Saiyan boy had potential to be turned over; he'd keep him alive for now.
He dashed back in their direction. He knew he was letting his advantage get to him, he could have taken care of the android at any time, but the frustration that had built up was too much even for him. If he didn't get some of it out here and now, he might not be clear-headed enough for his wishes after all.
Meanwhile, Bulma growled in frustration herself as her computer registered yet more errors. "Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck!" Normally, this language was very unbecoming of her but this was far from normal. She just saw the ground beside her sink, like, a hundred feet! It was a miracle she was just outside of whatever that was. Yet another error popped up.
"What do you mean, not enough power?! Aren't these supposed to be infinite?!" She hit 16 with her wrench and the computer suddenly registered proper power output. In fact, most of the problems disappeared with that. Percussive maintenance wins again! 16 was rebooting now but he was only showing 85% effectiveness. "Not good enough, I need to find some way of boosting him." She muttered.
"Is there no way of unlocking his potential?" Dende asked with a mix of curiosity and desperation. He didn't know what was happening in front of him but Cooler's presence had seemingly enveloped the planet. How was this hidden before now? "Like the Grand Elder can?"
Bulma shook her head. "It's not like people where you can break limits with hard work or some magic. In machines, it's a hard line. Trying to work beyond it will only cause damage in the long run."
"But you can do that with computers!" Responded Gohan beside her. The boy still had a distant look to him but now it was focused on the Android. He was on the verge of tears. "Computers can be overclocked. Can't you do that with him? It'll be like dad with the Kaio-ken!"
Bulma had thought about that and it was theoretically possible. She pursed her lips as she went into his BIOS and looked it over. If she disabled some safety protocols and ignored the part of her that questioned the ethics of forcing 16 to hurt himself- it was their best hope. If she didn't, 16 would most likely be killed and if he died so did they. It was one life for all of them...
"We might be onto something."
Nearby, Kogu rose from under the crushed stone and pulled Zangya out as well. His head was ringing and the cool breeze on the side of his head told him he was bleeding. The Heran woman was lost in a daze and he gave her a light shake to get her out of it. When that didn't work, he raised his palm.
"Sorry about this, Zan." A slap rang out.
"MotherFUCKER!" She cried out as she pushed him away and rubbed at her face. She shot him a dangerous look as Psycho Threads danced at her fingertips. "You do that again and I will castrate you!"
"Yeah, yeah." He said, waving her off. "We need to get the Dragon Balls first before we worry about any 'agains'."
A noise like a freight train alerted them to the rapidly approaching form of Cooler. A large orb of dark, violet ki heralded the tyrant.
"Quick, together!" Zangya yelled in a panic. The Galaxy Soldiers put their hands together and a ball of ki was born like a star between them. With a war cry, they pushed their hands forward and a unified beam of power rocketed at the charging Arcosian. Cooler met the attack head on and a thunderous roar boomed out from their meeting.
There was a momentary struggle as the beam ground against his ki like heavy machinery before his protective aura gave way and the ki washed over him. The Herans flashed smiles of victory a moment before a large shadow appeared in front of them.
Cooler popped out of the beam, scorched and burnt, and almost decapitated them with a dual clothesline. He threw them forward and caught Zangya by the chest with his foot and stomped her into the dirt. His hand wrapped around Kogu's face and kept him still as he brought his knee up into the swordsman's face. Blood soaked the Arcosian's leg.
The tyrant tossed Kogu aside and prepared to run him through with a Death Beam but a sudden explosion to the back of his head knocked his attack off course. A island in the distance was erased off the map. Cooler snarled as he turned just knowing it was the Android. She was in bad shape with her torn clothes covered in filth and uncountable scrapes and cuts all over her body.
Eighteen dropped her arm as her chest heaved. Despite her unlimited reserves, it was hard for her to breath after surviving whatever Cooler did to her. There were so many errors being listed by her systems that she couldn't even read them all.
"I should have known you'd come back." Cooler lifted Zangya with his foot as he turned to face Eighteen. He squeezed a cry from her as he stamped back down. "That'll teach me to not witness the body. I won't make that same mistake again."
"Rocket Punch!"
"What-?" A disembodied hand crashed against his cheek faster than he could react. Cooler stumbled as he felt at his face where the fist struck. That hurt?! A freight ship collided into him right after and the Arcosian could only be dumbfounded at the power behind this new assailant. Only Broly and Genome could do this and one of them was dead. They let him go and he rolled head over heels along the blue grass until he naturally stopped.
He pushed himself up and nearly popped a vessel at the sight. She couldn't have fixed him so quickly! "How are you standing?!"
16 stood as a bulwark between him and his victims. The android still had the hole in his chest but it was like the colors on him had all darkened; the machine even had a slight aura. In his previous encounters, only Genome could claim to have one. This one was different.
"It is my directive to ensure your demise." There was a distant whir within 16 like an engine suddenly revving and the aura around him seemed to solidify.
"Even at the cost of my own functions."
Cooler's ruby eyes narrowed with a cold rage and the two met in a gargantuan clash that shook the continent.
Eighteen was nearly bowled over by their meeting even at this distance but she pushed through to rush over to Zangya. The pirate was wheezing from the impression Cooler created with her body. The android did her best to be gentle as she pulled her ally up but the Heran let out a low cry as she was brought to her feet.
"Hey, hey, stay with me here!" Pleaded the Android as she wrapped Zangya's arm over her shoulders. "We need to leave."
"No, no, he'll follow us." Zangya weakly responded as she put her free arm over her broken ribs. The tremors that quaked the ground around them kept jostling them which sent shooting pains throughout her torso. Couldn't they fight just a little farther out? "We need to regroup. Go back to the nearby village."
"What? What do you mean?" Eighteen questioned as she began to fly them over to where Kogu sat nursing his bleeding face. "Won't that put them in harm's way?!"
"They might be able to distract Cooler and maybe heal us." Zangya said. "We need to regroup and think of a way to take the Dragon Balls from him."
"I'm okay with that plan." The swordsman said as he stabbed the point of his sword into the ground to push himself up. "We got our asses handed to us quick. We need to put as many bodies between us and Cooler."
Eighteen shook her head. She couldn't claim to be some heroic paragon of virtue but intentionally putting innocent Namekians in harm's way was...she didn't have the words. "We can't do that. This isn't their fight; we can't involve them like this."
"Like it or not, it was theirs the moment they created those Dragon Balls." Zangya responded and pointedly didn't try to defend herself further. Every moment wasted in debate would put them in further danger. "Kogu, grab Bulma and the kids."
Kogu sent her a questioning look. "Why? Don't we only need Dende?"
Zangya shook her head. "We're not abandoning them after they've helped us with Cooler. Now go!"
The swordsman nodded as he flew back to where he believe he last saw them. Zangya gestured for her to move and Eighteen bit her lip as she thought about what to do. Her superhuman mind went through the possibilities and chances of survival but, barring 16 miraculously winning, their best change was help from the village. The Android began flying over to it.
No matter what, she wouldn't allow the Herans to just sacrifice the Namekians.
She couldn't.
Author's Notes
16 enters the fray with a nice power up! Let's see how that fares. The Herans and Eighteen also have some friction when it comes to battle tactics too which might get in the way of their survival. Who will win? Eighteen's morality or the Heran's self-preservation?
Let me know whatcha think in the reviews below!
Ent out.
fightingchampion: Cooler is so fun to write because of those differences from Frieza. He's my favorite antagonist I've written to date in this fic.
The Rocha: The humans having a moment would have been nice but I really wanted to show just how little Cooler plays around when it comes to getting what he wants.
twisterblake201: Thank you!
Chengy137M: Hmm, I don't know how to respond to this.
SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Oh yeah, that's the main thing that separates the two. Cooler doesn't play with his food like Frieza.