"Ugh...I hate this job."
Private Nanab, a tan-skinned, short-statured humanoid with prominent tusks, stared off into space from his computer console, absolutely miserable. His sole task was to assist in monitoring all of the ships exiting and entering the Chilled system, ensuring that they had proper documentation and bore no threat to the capital planet of the temporarily-rechristened Cold Force. Although a vital job in theory, in practice it all boiled down to a continuous, mind-numbing routine. Hundreds of ships were scanned, checked, and re-checked, all to the same result: "All clear." Over and over, day in and day out, the same old thing.
"Just once," he thought to himself, "just once, I want a situation that's actually interesting." Obviously he'd never wish harm on the Cold Force, but on the other hand, having the honor of foiling some plot against them, possibly getting a promotion...that would be rather fortuitous indeed. However, as Nanab would soon discover, sometimes those who wish for something end up getting more than they bargained for.
"Attack Ball navigational system, please transmit identification code and your intended flight plan, acknowledge," Nanab said, in a dry, monotone voice. After a couple seconds' pause, he tried it again. "Attack ball navigational system, please transmit identification code and intended flight plan, acknowledge." By this point, Nanab's superior officer, a Frost Demon, had noticed him repeat the standard hail and raised an eyebrow. It had been some time since any of his officers had had to do that.
"Is there a problem here, Private?" she asked, in a tone which clearly indicated that if there wasn't, there would be one presently for wasting her time.
The hairs on Nanab's neck stood on end as his superior officer came to stand over his shoulder. The way in which he answered this question would be critical.
"Uh, m-my apologies, Officer Celius, but there's an Attack Ball about to enter orbit, and its navigational system is refusing to comply with standard entry protocols."
Celius narrowed her eyes. This was getting stranger by the second.
"Interface with the navigational system and perform a diagnostic," she commanded. She wasn't about to let some malfunctioning Attack Ball waltz past her monitoring station if she could help it.
"U-understood," Nanab replied, initiating the procedure. After a few seconds, the color drained from his face as he ran into another problem. "Officer, the navigational system...it isn't online."
"What?" Celius asked, beginning to grow concerned.
"I-it says it's operating on manual, which means that-"
"The pilot's awake," Celius finished for him before making a decision. "Get up."
"What-?"
"I said get up, you fool!" Celius barked at Nanab, grabbing hold of him with telekinesis and throwing him out of his chair before she sat down at his station and opened a channel directly to the pilot. "Attack Ball pilot, reduce your speed and maintain orbit until otherwise instructed. You will transmit your identification code and intended flight plan immediately, and you will explain your actions. Why are you not in stasis? For what purpose have you come to this planet? You will respond at once, or we will be forced to fire upon you and disable your vessel. I repeat, Attack Ball pilot, reduce your speed-!"
A light chuckle came out over the computer console's speakers, a sound which left most of the nearby personnel confused, but which sent a chill down Celius' spine. She knew that voice, even if she hadn't heard it in over thirty years.
"Well, I must say that this isn't quite how I expected my grand reemergence to begin," the pilot said, "but I suppose it's about what could be expected. I commend you for your diligence, madam, but I must say, your concerns are...misplaced."
Celius gulped audibly, something which didn't escape her subordinates' notice. They were starting to grow a little worried.
"What is this?" she asked, her tone both defiant and apprehensive. "What game are you playing here, speaking in a dead man's voice?"
"Yes, well, the reports on my death were greatly exaggerated."
Celius began to sweat profusely, trying desperately to reassert her control over the situation. "I-if you think this ploy will let you reach the surface of this planet in anything less than a melted pile of scrap metal, you are sorely mistaken."
The pilot laughed heartily this time. "Madam, I'm afraid it is you who is mistaken. There is no game afoot here. Your ears are not deceiving you, nor are your communication systems."
As Celius was left trying to think of a response, Nanab cut in, looking for an explanation.
"O-officer Celius, if I may, what precisely is going on here?" he asked, to which the pilot immediately responded.
"What's going on here, good sir, is that in the next few moments, I am taking my rightful place as ruler of the empire. Furthermore, I am offering you all an opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty. Allow me to pass, and you will all be placed under review for promotion. Should you attempt to field any resistance against me, even knowing who I am, you will be discharged from the empire's service quite...irreversibly." The room fell silent as everyone within began to grasp just what the pilot meant. "I expect your response within the next ten seconds."
Celius sat at the computer console, lost in thought as everyone around her began panicking, fruitlessly calling on her for guidance. Eventually, just when the ten second interval was about to expire, Celius leaned in closer, in order for the pilot to hear her amidst the chaos.
"All clear. Proceed to intended point of arrival."
While the room fell silent once more, the pilot chuckled. "Thank you, madam. Your compliance will not go unrewarded." With that, he ended the communication, causing the room to erupt into chaos once more as several soldiers rushed towards Celius without thinking, completely caught up in their surprise and outrage.
"Officer Celius, have you lost your mind?!"
"Who even was that guy?! Why does he think he has a right to rule the empire?!"
"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"Enough!" Celius barked, powering up just enough to cause her subordinates to cease their objections. "You all should be thanking me for saving your worthless lives!"
After a couple seconds, Nanab spoke up. "O-officer, with all due respect, you still haven't explained who that was. And if he indeed poses a danger to us and to the planet, why did you let him through?"
Celius turned towards him angrily before sighing. "He may well have deceived us, but if that pilot was who I think it is...nothing I could have done would have stopped him." After a pause, she stood up from the console, attempting to recapture her original authority. "In any case, we don't have the time to argue about this any longer. Private Nanab, contact King Cold immediately."
Nanab nodded hurriedly. "R-right away, Officer. What do you wish me to say to him?"
Celius took a deep breath. "Tell him...tell him that his son lives."
Nanab's eyes widened. "His son? But that wasn't-"
"Not Emperor Frieza," she said. "His first son...Prince Cooler."
Elsewhere, a spherical ship remained suspended in the sky several thousand feet above the surface of a lush planet covered in orange flora. The large doors of the ship's main training bay opened up to reveal a moderately sized pod, which looked like the top half of a strange ladybug-like vessel based on its shape and coloration. Seated within was a blue-skinned figure with three eyes, while a spiky-haired man with teal eyes and golden hair stood next to him, engaged in conversation.
"I must thank you again for taking the time to divert course here and drop me off," Jamba began, to which Goku chuckled.
"Ah, come on, it was no problem. What's, like, ten minutes to make sure you get picked up? I must admit, it took these Galactic Patrol guys a lot longer than I expected to get somebody out here."
"Yes, well, our ships can only travel so fast," Jamba said, chuckling a little.
"Heh. Well, anyway, it was nice having company for this leg of the journey, at least."
"Likewise. Your generosity is truly remarkable, Son Goku. I wish more of the galaxy had that trait in common with you. Then, at least, me and my colleagues wouldn't have quite so much work."
Goku laughed somewhat sheepishly. "Ah, well, at least you've grown a good deal stronger, huh? That should definitely help you out!"
Jamba chuckled, his expression a little more melancholy than usual. "Indeed," he said, before brightening up. "Well! At any rate, I ought to get going. I have some time still before my rendezvous, but you must still make it to Planet Chilled with all due haste. Thank you for all of your help, Son Goku."
Goku nodded. "Like I said, no problem, and hey, thanks for taking the time to spar with me. I feel like I've gotten a much better hang of this whole Super Saiyan thing thanks to all that training I did with it."
"Well. I'm glad I could be of assistance."
"Yeah," Goku said, pausing for a moment. "You take care, huh? Who knows-I might even see you around again someday!"
Jamba smiled, that same sense of melancholy hidden in his eyes. "Perhaps you will," he said, managing to sound somewhat cheerful at the prospect. Goku nodded, giving him one last wave before Jamba closed off the hatch of the cockpit and took off to land on the planet below. Goku watched him go for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Alright, computer, close up the doors and let's get out of here on our original course."
The computer beeped. "Acknowledged. Closing training bay doors and preparing for departure on original heading." After a few minutes, the doors were shut, and the ship rapidly exited the atmosphere before jumping to speeds massively faster than light, fading away from Jamba's awareness as he watched it depart from the ground. Once he was absolutely sure that Goku could no longer sense his own energy, he took a deep breath as well.
"This planet is as good a place as any," he said, before he split into two copies, which in turn split into two copies, and so on and so forth until a growing crowd of identical copies began to occupy the lush field.
"Sire! Sire! Come in, sire!"
King Cold had just finished the fifthtieth of his one thousand nightly laps around the gravity chamber, operating at four hundred times standard gravity that night, when a voice came in over the intercom, speaking in an urgent, panicked voice. He sighed, anticipating some minor emergency blown way out of proportion, and tapped the button with telekinesis as he flew over towards it, dripping with sweat.
"What is it?" he demanded, already irritated regarding the time he was losing. He could easily finish five laps in the time this conversation was bound to take.
"Your son is here!" the panicked voice said, causing King Cold's eyes to widen.
"Frieza...? But...but I was told he was dead," he said. Had Zuno been incorrect? After all, according to Jamba, the man had continued to remain completely incoherent. Had his information ever been completely reliable? Of course, there was also the medical ship. Surely they would have contacted him if they'd found Frieza. He hadn't received any word from them since they had been deployed. They could have been killed by Frieza, of course. The boy had always liked the satisfaction of killing a subordinate. But in that case...Frieza would have to have somehow managed to arrange faster transportation. That, too, should have led to him learning about Frieza's return sooner or later. To have heard nothing, yet for Frieza to be here all the same...it didn't add up. Unless...no. No, that was even more absurd. It had to be Frieza, if anyone. It had to be. It was the only answer which made any sort of sense.
As King Cold continued to silently mull over this development, the voice on the other end seemed to become even more panicked.
"M-my lord, please forgive my mistake! It's-!"
"Your firstborn son," a new voice interrupted, one which shocked King Cold even more. He turned towards the door, where the voice seemed to originate from, and saw something most peculiar: a hulking figure, perhaps only a couple inches shorter than King Cold himself, covered in blade-like protrusions and obscuring the figure's mouth behind a white mask. Blank red eyes looked back at him as the king continued to inspect the new arrival, quickly noticing a number of similarities. The color of the figure's dark purple skin and white and blue armor, the general proportions of the figure's body, the design of the figure's chest armor, and the figure's long tail: all of it pointed to one particular person. His voice may have become deeper, and various other features were completely new, but there were far too many similarities to ignore. The king promptly turned off the intercom.
"Cooler," King Cold said, clearly struggling to believe that his son was really alive, yet at the same time determined not to show that Cooler's sudden appearance had affected him in any way. He couldn't quite tell whether or not he had succeeded.
"Father," Cooler replied simply, the mask continuing to deepen and distort his voice beyond its usual range. "You've gotten taller," he said simply, catching the king off guard somewhat.
"As have you," he said, unsure how to respond as he continued trying to process the situation.
Cooler simply chuckled before they both fell silent for a couple seconds. "I was told that Frieza was dead."
"Hm?" King Cold said, still occupied. "Yes, that is correct...I'm certain. He was killed several months ago."
Cooler chuckled again. "In that case, you're quite fortunate, Father."
At this, King Cold became slightly bemused in spite of the circumstances. "Oh? And why's that?"
"If you had said he wasn't, I would have simply killed you."
King Cold couldn't help but laugh, his bravado coming back a little in the light of such an obviously empty threat. "Ha! You believe yourself to be capable of that, son? Clearly I held back too much during our 'disagreement' all those years ago!"
"Hm. Or perhaps you had simply underestimated me," Cooler replied assuredly. "Are you prepared to make the same mistake twice?"
King Cold scoffed. "My mistake was in succumbing to your trickery, and thus being unable to ensure your death. That mistake is one I most definitely will not make again...and one which I will readily correct!"
"Heh. By all means..." Cooler promptly let out a kiai as he powered up to full strength. "Try."
With a confident smirk, King Cold powered up in turn and flew towards Cooler, grabbing hold of the front of his armor and pushing him backwards first into the hall and then through several bulkheads out into the vacuum of space. At that point, King Cold let go, throwing Cooler forward before charging up a ki blast and firing it at full force, intent upon reducing his son to ash. Cooler thrust out his arms to take the blast head-on, straining against it for a solid minute before managing to deflect it, sending it flying off harmlessly into the great void. When all was said and done, King Cold was left dumbfounded as Cooler appeared to be only moderately injured, flashing his father a look of amusement as he dusted himself off.
"Well," he said inside King Cold's mind. "You've actually gotten stronger."
The next thing King Cold knew, Cooler had flown forward and punched him right in the stomach, leaving him winded. Before the king could recover, Cooler grabbed the back of his head as he bent down instinctively to clutch at his stomach, ramming it into his waiting knee and breaking King Cold's nose. Angry and bleeding, King Cold attempted to strike back at Cooler, but was shocked to find his fist moving through empty space as it passed through an after-image. The next thing he knew, he felt a mighty blow from behind which sent him flying off deeper into space.
He could see Planet Chilled fading from view as he came within reach of the next nearest planet in the Chilled system, a gas giant. He began glancing around just as he passed over the planet, and saw too late that Cooler had somehow beaten him there and was ready to send him crashing into it with a kick. He reacted too late, crossing his arms in order to lessen the force of the impact as he was sent flying deeper and deeper into the gas giant's atmosphere.
Eventually, with a considerably greater degree of effort than usual, King Cold was able to cancel out his momentum, holding himself in place roughly around the center of the planet. Fortunately for him, between his gravity training and his natural endurance, the increased pressure had little effect on him, but the swirling purple and dark blue gases which made up the planet made it especially hard for him to see anything around him. He thought that he could see the vague outline of a figure a couple times amidst the gas, and grew frustrated when the figure seemed to vanish as soon as he fired off ki blasts towards it. Each time he did, small sections of gas cleared, turned to plasma by the energy of the attacks and rapidly dispersing. However, these missing sections were quickly filled with new gas, and King Cold still had no idea where his adversary was. Whether Cooler was simply dodging the attacks, or whether Cooler had even been in those places to begin with, King Cold couldn't say.
"You're quite powerful, Father, I will say that much," he heard in his mind, only increasing his frustration before he felt a powerful blow hit his side, breaking one of his ribs. Wincing further, he sent out a telepathic message.
"You think you're stronger than me, yet you strike at me from dark clouds?!" he asked angrily. "Are you afraid to come out and face me like a warrior, Cooler?!"
He heard his son laugh at him from inside his head. "Not at all. I simply wanted to take a moment to illustrate your limitations." With that, King Cold felt another powerful impact against the back of his skull, one which caused his vision to blur for a second. "You lack perceptiveness." King Cold thought he felt another impact coming, and attempted to intercept, only to find that it was coming from the opposite direction than he had predicted, leaving him vulnerable to a swift kick to the back of his leg. "Technique." Another attempt to intercept failed, and was rewarded with a second hit to his side, breaking two more ribs. "Control." This time, the impacts stopped for a moment, and King Cold was left panting as his anger began to boil over. "But most importantly-"
King Cold roared silently as he released a powerful wave of purple ki which expanded in all directions, turning the gas around him for hundreds of meters into plasma in an effort to smoke out where Cooler had hidden himself. As the plasma rapidly escaped, there was a brief window during which King Cold could see Cooler, having been hit by the retreating plasma. Seizing his advantage, the king rushed towards him at full speed, intent upon taking off his head...only to feel a piercing sensation in his chest, not that far away from his heart and other vital areas. He looked at his son, who had managed to turn around and spot him before he got there, and now had a finger outstretched towards the point of contact.
"Restraint," King Cold heard as his vision began to blur. "These are all things that I lacked as well, before my exile. Had I the means to do this thirty years ago, I would have simply shot you in the chest and left it at that. But now...now I know that you're more useful to me alive than dead...for the moment, anyway." King Cold could feel his grip on consciousness slipping away as Cooler grabbed him by the front of his armor, pulling the king closer to him. "While you're recovering...think of this moment. Think of it often...and make sure that you fully grasp one crucial thing."
"...Which is?" King Cold replied, his defiance evident as he glared at his son, hatred in his eyes. Cooler's eyes looked back dispassionately, but King Cold had the sense that his son had been waiting for him to ask that.
"I'm the Emperor now," he said, right before he knocked King Cold out with one last blow to the head.
"Well, um, under the present circumstances..."
An older, diminutive woman with blue skin and short pink hair hovered alongside dozens of elite Frost Demon warriors, the full complement of the Palace Guards. Although adorned in a custom-fitted variant of the newly-designed battle armor of the Cold Force, it was evident that the woman wasn't much of a fighter. Even if she were, she and the guards were certainly not a match for the forces arrayed against them. Loosely surrounding the warriors assembled was the combined might of what remained of the Ginyu Force, the Armored Squadron, and a strange alien which the scouters showed possessed a similar degree of power to Jeice and Recoome. Hovering above and across from her and her men, looking directly at them, was what was almost certainly Prince Cooler, having apparently survived his battle with King Cold over thirty years ago and was now sporting an incredibly powerful fifth transformation. The woman didn't like the idea of bowing to the spoiled brat who had murdered her dear Frosta, but at this point, it was a question of survival. And she rather liked surviving.
"...let me be the first to welcome you as our new emperor...Lord Cooler," she said, bowing before him and briefly drawing a look of shock from the guards around her before they hurried to mask their emotions and bowed along with her. Today was not the day to revolt.
Although she couldn't see his face move under the mask, she could tell that this pleased him.
"I'm glad to see that your good sense has not faded with the passage of time, Berryblue," he said in a deep, commanding voice. Berryblue simply smiled serenely. "If you don't mind, I would like you to personally see to it that all of the empire is made aware of the events of this glorious day. The rest of you, please return to your assigned duties. Any changes to what is expected of you will be brought to your attention at my discretion."
"Certainly, my lord," she said, beginning to fly off attended by two Palace Guards. Knowing that the present battle was clearly lost, the remaining guards simply gave their new emperor a salute before they took off towards their previously assigned posts, trying to carry on as if nothing had happened. Cooler sighed with immense satisfaction as the squadron of mercenaries descended to meet him.
"Well, I think that went rather smoothly, wouldn't you say?" Cooler asked, to which Salza smiled.
"Indeed, my lord. I am glad that that snake was not lying to us when he said you had survived."
Cooler chuckled. "Ah, yes, that reminds me. One moment." With that, he quickly disappeared from Salza's sight, seeming to rush about the area in a blur for a second before taking off at incomprehensible speeds. After a minute of absence, the emperor returned, looking only slightly winded as he took a deep breath. "Curious. He doesn't appear to be anywhere. That's rather disappointing. I had been hoping to kill him a few more times, simply as a bonus." This last remark caused the mercenaries assembled to raise an eyebrow.
"Hm. I wasn't aware that he had left," Salza remarked before shrugging. "He probably fled in advance of your arrival. From the sounds of things, you two did not part on the most agreeable terms."
"Well, the terms were fairly agreeable to me, at any rate," Cooler said, seeming to smirk as he did so before returning to more serious matters. "In any event, how is my father?"
This time, Jeice spoke up. "We put the bloke in one of those fancy healing tanks ya got. The techies running it gave it thirty minutes before he was done when we dropped him off, meaning it's probably getting close to done by now. They've got him knocked out and ready to move as soon as the tank's done fixing him."
"Excellent, Jeice. I can see that you and Recoome are as dependable now as you were when I last set foot on this planet." When Jeice simply rolled his eyes, Cooler chuckled. "Not to worry, my good man: you'll get the profits you've been promised. I think you'll find me to be a far more considerate employer than my dear departed brother."
Jeice scoffed. "Let's hope so, eh? Otherwise I'm not sure where else me and me mate could go to get any work." He chuckled along with Recoome and Pui Pui before they all took off, intent upon the quarters they had been assigned when they arrived. The group watched them go before Salza turned to Cooler once more.
"If I may, my lord, is it possible you're being a bit too forgiving? I'm worried that Berryblue and the Palace Guard will not comply with your regime."
Cooler chuckled. "Ah, worry not, my dear Salza. They may oppose my rule, but as they've just demonstrated, when push comes to shove, they're more concerned with staying alive than dying for a cause. So long as the little rebellions they feel they can get away with it don't set us back too much, I'm perfectly happy to continue making use of them in their present capacity."
Salza nodded slowly, evidently still concerned. "Well, if you believe it to be wise..."
Cooler smiled. "If it'll put your mind at ease, I will make arrangements to ensure that any troublesome personnel find their access to critical systems somewhat...restricted during my tenure. I don't anticipate any problems from them." After a moment of silence, Cooler clapped his hands together and looked towards the palace in the distance. "Well! If it's all the same to you, I would like to be in the room when my father awakens. We have much to discuss."
Salza nodded, and the rest of the mercenaries flew towards where their lord had indicated.
When King Cold eventually came to, he was lying in bed within the private chambers of his palace. As he got up and looked around, he quickly spotted Cooler, still in the hulking form he had been in when they had fought earlier. The king growled at the sight of his son, who looked at him with a bemused look in his eye.
"Oh, good, you're finally awake. I was starting to think that the medical officers gave you too much of a dosage on the anaesthetic. I was hoping to not have to kill any subordinates on my first day in power."
Nothing Cooler said improved the king's mood. "Why are you letting me live?" he asked sternly. "You're stronger than me. From the sound of things, you are now emperor, and became so without any significant resistance. By all rights, I should be dead in order to ensure that there's nobody strong enough to even attempt ousting you from power. So, I ask again: why?"
Cooler chuckled. "I must admit, a part of me enjoys the idea of letting you experience something of my circumstances. Overshadowed by your own family, your rightful claim to power taken from you by someone stronger, due to circumstances which you couldn't control?"
"Bah! Spare me the pain of your childhood, Cooler. I gave you an army, a fleet, hundreds of planets to your name, and you repaid my generosity by poisoning our family and killing your mother." The king scoffed. "If it weren't for her, I may well have killed you once I learned of your weakness, did you know that?"
Cooler rolled his eyes. "No, but it doesn't surprise me. And at any rate, it's quite irrelevant to answering your question: I need you alive to answer some questions of my own, and to help me with what appears to be a rather serious threat to my power."
"And, of course, if I refuse, what? You'll kill me, even though you need me alive?"
Cooler's expression shifted, and from how his son looked at him, the king could tell Cooler was smiling underneath that mask. "I don't think I need you alive that badly."
King Cold sighed. Based on the strength his son demonstrated earlier, he didn't seem to have much of a choice. "Very well. What do you want to know?"
Cooler cleared his throat before he began. "I couldn't find any of Jamba's copies anywhere on the planet. Where is he?"
"What? What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's a simple question, and if you want to know how I've survived for all of these years, you're going to have to answer it, Father. And I know that that question has been in the back of your mind since I arrived."
King Cold paused before chuckling. "Is that so?" he said, in a slightly mocking tone. "He departed a few days ago, with my permission."
To King Cold's surprise, Cooler chuckled. "Of course he did. In that case...I really don't think I have to tell you the story in any great detail."
"And just what do you mean by that?" King Cold asked, just the slightest trace of doubt in his tone.
"Oh, come now, Father. Jamba was useful to you precisely because of his penchant for deception and persuasion, in various forms." King Cold's eyes widened slightly as Cooler continued. "Did you ever stop to consider that he might be deceiving you?"
The trace of doubt grew larger by the second, but King Cold tried not to let it show. "Please. Jamba's not a fool, nor is he so powerful that I couldn't have him quite efficiently hunted down to the last copy if I wanted to."
Cooler sighed. "You have a rather nasty habit of underestimating people, Father. From what I understand, you and my dear brother had that in common. Jamba has the ability to hide his power level from scouters, as well as the ability to sense other power levels without one." King Cold's eyes widened as his son continued his explanation. "With his duplication ability, there could be any number of him on any planet in the universe, at any time, and we'd be none the wiser. The only reason I know for a fact that what you've told me is likely true is that I've already searched every inch of this planet personally, and found no trace of him whatsoever."
King Cold sighed, already considering the ramifications of what his son was telling him. He had no reason to believe any of it was true, but, on the off-chance that it was...well. He had to admit, he had always been slightly suspicious of his three-eyed advisor. His subordinates were rarely as eager to please as he often had been, and yet unlike many of them, he didn't seem to take pleasure in the work that he did while in the king's service. Still...he had appeared to serve him loyally, and had served him well for longer than either of his sons had been alive. To hear that he may have betrayed him...was harder than he would have cared to admit.
"To answer your next question: yes, he was the one who helped me escape," Cooler said, disrupting King Cold's train of thought for the moment. "He had me transported to a remote planet, where he and I trained in secret for these past thirty years, allowing me to reach the level of strength you experienced firsthand, as well as learn many useful techniques."
King Cold sighed again, more deeply this time. "He gave you the poison as well, didn't he? He was using your own desire for power in order to eliminate the two of us and rule the empire using you as a proxy."
Cooler scoffed. "He was hardly using me. From the sound of things, if he wanted to rule the empire through a proxy, all he had to do was let you remain in power." The look on his father's face, in Cooler's mind, was worth every moment he spent waiting to enact his revenge. "In any case, I believe that entire debacle was a ploy on his part to eliminate all of us, thus working steadily towards a position where he could either rule the empire directly or simply allow it to break apart in the chaos that would surely ensue."
"If what you say is true...then Son Goku's anomalous circumstances may have played right into his hands."
Cooler raised an eyebrow. "'Son Goku?' Would this be the person who killed Frieza, by chance?" King Cold nodded. "Yes, Jamba alluded to someone incredibly powerful having killed Frieza and having since set out on a quest to kill you as well. Just how strong is this person, exactly?"
King Cold sighed again. "At last report...he has a power level of 225 million. Almost twice as strong as Frieza at his maximum...and still much stronger than I am now. If your claims about Jamba are correct, Son Goku may well grow stronger by the time he arrives at the first planet of this system in the next few months."
"Can this Son person breathe in space?" Cooler asked bluntly, catching King Cold off guard somewhat.
"Well, no, he can't. He's merely a Saiyan, even if he has attained the power told of in that whole 'Super Saiyan' legend."
"Hm. I see. Then, pray tell, why haven't you simply sent some of your troops to where he is in order to blow up his ship and leave him to die out in the vacuum of space? If you know when he'll arrive, you can guess where he is, correct?"
"You don't understand; he is also capable of reducing his power level and sensing the energy of others, and he knows a technique which allows him to trap air and heat around himself in order to briefly last in space. He could easily deal with any resistance I sent his way."
Cooler sighed. "Alright. So the only way to kill him is through a direct confrontation." When King Cold nodded, Cooler pressed on. "In that case, I propose an alliance."
The king scoffed, amused at the idea. "An alliance?"
"Yes," Cooler replied simply. "In exchange for my letting you live and allowing you to train with me, I will retain my leadership over the empire." The king simply growled in response, prompting Cooler to look at his father with a hardened expression. "Look, I've made it abundantly clear that I want to kill you, and I know the sentiment is mutual, but if your information is correct, this 'Son Goku' is too much for either of us. Were I to kill you and deal with him on my own, I may not be able to grow strong enough to face him by the time he arrives. And as I'm hopeful you've learned, you are weaker than I am." He let King Cold have a moment to stew over that fact before he continued. "But together, in the time remaining, the two of us will likely prevail. Between my training and knowledge of ki manipulation, and your knowledge regarding our mutual enemy, we can work together to grow much stronger than either one of us could on our own. Strong enough to kill this 'Super Saiyan' and avenge the humiliation of my brother being slain by such a low creature."
King Cold grumbled to himself for a moment, every fiber of his being opposed to the idea yet at the same time seeing little alternative. "And afterwards?" he asked, to which he could tell Cooler was grinning behind his mask.
"Afterwards...to the strongest go the spoils," he said. King Cold understood the idea well enough. "What do you say, Father?" he asked as he held out a hand expectantly.
The king sat there for a moment, thinking the whole situation over. Although the thought of letting Cooler live a minute more was intolerable, and the thought of ceding control to him even more so, the king had to admit that he hadn't been making as much progress in his training as he would have liked. With Cooler assisting him...he could do it. He could grow strong enough to kill Son Goku. And, of course, with the right amount of strategy and careful planning...he could correct this latest humiliation as well. Everything would soon be back on track.
"To the strongest go the spoils," King Cold repeated as he took Cooler's hand and shook it firmly, sealing the newly-ordained emperor's third and final bargain.
Hours later, after father and son had announced their arrangement to the entire empire and immediately set out to train, night fell over Planet Chilled, rendering the entire planet far below-freezing in moments. Without the use of ki to warm oneself or the standard-issue equipment provided to most Cooler Force soldiers stationed on the planet, anyone who wasn't a Frost Demon or belonged to a select few other species would develop frostbite within an hour. Fortunately for the small, cloaked figure rapidly flying through the night towards a small island hundreds of miles away, she was one of those species.
The figure soon found what she had been looking for: a fairly small supply depot, one of dozens scattered throughout the planet, holding cargo more precious than all of the others put together. The figure landed in front of the entrance and looked around one more time to make sure that she hadn't been followed before knocking on the massive doors in a particular pattern. After a tense minute, they were lifted open just enough to allow her to fly inside before slamming shut. A Palace Guard stood by the doors to greet her before escorting her to the opposite side of the depot. There, sitting on top of a crate in a large cargo bay, sat a Frost Demon woman, taller than average and dressed in an exquisitely-crafted white gown. Two Palace Guards flanked her, keeping a watchful eye out for any possible threats to her safety. As the figure and her escort came into view, the woman glared at them with annoyance, a hand instinctively resting on her belly. Before she could even get a word out, the figure spoke up in a firm voice.
"You must leave tonight," Berryblue said, to which the woman scoffed.
"For what reason? What am I even doing here? One minute I was sitting in my chambers, the next these two came rushing in like they were running from King Cold himself and dragged me off here! I've been sitting here for an entire hour, and nobody's even bothered to tell me what's going on!"
Berryblue sighed. "Let's just say your guess wasn't that far off," she said, leaving the woman confused. "Cooler's alive, Friga. What's worse, he's far stronger than when he left. Strong enough to have bested King Cold in combat and taken control of the empire."
Friga's eyes widened as she began to understand the stakes of the situation. "What? But...that would mean-?"
"He hasn't learned of you yet," Berryblue interrupted. "Those of his soldiers who do know of you have elected to wait and see what he decides, and we're lucky for it. As soon as he finds out about you, your life is forfeit."
Friga gulped, but a part of her didn't want to accept what would have to be done.
"H-he doesn't have to kill me, does he? It's not like I'm the one he's after. He could just wait a few more months and-"
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple," Berryblue interjected again. "King Cold kept you alive because he wants to resurrect Frieza, and he knows that Frieza would want his heir to be kept alive. For that same reason, he won't inform Cooler of your existence himself, because in this situation, having an heir to the throne alive and hidden away is a valuable safeguard." Berryblue paused for a moment, her gaze becoming more serious. "Cooler despised his brother, Friga. So much so that, now that he's finally in power, he won't want to leave any trace of Frieza's reign anywhere in the empire. That would include any of Frieza's consorts...and would certainly include Frieza's heir." Friga didn't respond for a couple seconds after that, prompting Berryblue to continue, her expression shifting to one of concern. "I don't like this situation any more than you do, Friga, but you must leave, immediately. I've made arrangements to make sure that you can get off the planet safely, but time is of the essence. Do you understand me?"
Friga remained silent for some time before finally asking a question, in a soft whisper. "What will become of us? Where can we go?"
Berryblue sighed, looking at Friga with a slight twinge of sadness in her eyes. "Far away, my dear. The empire's reach is vast, and it will only grow with time. Still, these guards will accompany you, and keep you both safe as long as they can." As she spoke, the guards all nodded firmly, ready to make good on their commitment. "Life will not be easy by any means. But you will be alive. That is no longer possible for you here."
Friga stared off into space for a moment before nodding slowly. "Alright," she said hesitantly. "Alright." She got up from her crate and let the guards escort her to their intended means of transport: a couple of Attack Balls hidden by large tarp coverings and various crates filled with weapons and rations. With one last glance back towards Berryblue, she allowed herself to be set down gently into one of the Attack Balls before the guards entered their own. Barely a minute afterwards, all four of them rocketed off into the night sky, carrying the future of the empire with them.
Whew! Okay, getting close! Just a few more chapters before this arc is over. I hope that you guys enjoy it.
We're gonna have a bit of a departure from the usual routine, unfortunately. As I'm writing this, it's proving quite troublesome to keep myself awake, so we're going to be having an abbreviated author's note to start with in this chapter so I don't fall asleep before I upload this. I'll go over power levels for this chapter, but I'm going to update this chapter later today with additional comments as well as my responses to both all the reviews from the last chapter and any reviews left in between the time that I upload this and when I post the update. Like I said, bit of a change, but we can make it work, yeah?
Here we go, power levels:
Cooler(5th form, in all its glory): 160 million
King Cold(post-one month of gravity training and sparring): 125 million
The Cold Squadron(the new name for all of the mercenaries placed into one unit): Fluctuating a fair bit, but between that gravity training and sparring with King Cold of all people, they've gotten a lot stronger: all of them are hanging slightly above the 1 million mark.
Berryblue: 500
With all that said, I will see you guys later today with the rest of this author's note. In the meantime, thank you all for reading, have yourselves a fantastic day, and take care.
Alright, part two of the author's note! Let's do some responses real quick!
mastercheif says:
"Great chapter! It's 12:47 AM this time! I can't wait for the next one! Also, are stopping at the end of Z or are you going into Super?"
Alright, at this point, I give up. Live your best life, my friend. Don't let anyone stop you.
As for your question, I'm...honestly not sure at this point? Originally, the absolute furthest that I was willing to go in this story was to the time of the Battle of Gods movie. At the very least, I would like to get through my own versions of all the arcs of Z, as well as a little extra to account for some extra story elements. This is also easily my longest running fic and I would like to finish it if only for the satisfaction of finishing what is, at this point, far and away my biggest and most ambitious writing project. Like, seriously, the word count on this fic is about to cross 250k, and we've still got several arcs to go. It will almost certainly double before this story is finished.
In the end, while I do want to take this story to the end of Z, it's going to be a long while before this story is actually finished. When I started, I could afford to devote a lot more time to it, but after working on this arc, I think the best thing both for me and the fic is for me to take it at a more relaxed pace. I was writing the arcs before this one without too much pause after the schedule came into play, which was possible at the time, but towards the last few chapters I was, admittedly, starting to flag. With this arc, I've mostly been writing update to update, which has been paired alongside a much busier personal schedule, so it's been a lot harder. I'm still thinking about how to go about things in the future to avoid this problem, and I'll hopefully have a much more fleshed out idea of that by the end of the arc. Stay tuned.
Jokermask18 says: "Another great chapter" and "Great chapter, but why didn't King Cold try to transform?"
Thanks! As for your questions, put simply, King Cold hasn't yet gotten to the point in his training where attaining another transformation is even possible yet. He has immense power, but the 2nd form is pretty much his limit; that's what makes both of his children, who each had 4 transformations, so extraordinary. So yeah, in that fight, he does not have the capacity.
RKF22 says: "EXCELLENT WORK CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE" and "EXCELLENT WORK CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE FUN" Why thank you!
Amanny says:
"I hope Piccolo gets better and I wonder how he will get 5 times stronger like Goku."
That statement was more of a hypothetical on Piccolo's part than anything, although he's going to keep trying. Having Gohan as a sparring partner, if only for a little bit, will definitely help him get stronger, and he does know the Kaio-ken now, which will also help.
"Great chapter."
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
chris2828 says:
"I like the story so far, however having a character like Zuno, that literally comes out o left field in a story like this is a little...unfair? How can you beat anyone if you know everything about them. Also where did he come from? How has no one else heard of him? Why would Beerus let such a person live that knows so much about the universe. I have more questions but I'll save them, hopefully as I'm reading this some of those questions are answered."
Honestly, I'm with you. I think Zuno's inclusion into the story might've made more problems than it solved, in hindsight. The main idea I had with him was that even having unlimited information doesn't necessarily guarantee victory if you're too arrogant to use that information effectively, and both King Cold and Jamba are extremely arrogant, albeit in different ways. As far as Zuno's origins, I didn't really give much thought to them beyond him being a guy who has almost total omnipotence, but consequently is bound to answer any question he's asked in exacting detail without respite. As for no one else hearing of him, he's known in various sectors of the galaxy, and as such, he received a lot of visitors before King Cold and Jamba came along and drove them all off. You have to admit, the idea of a guy with the answer to everything is a little far-fetched, so a lot of people in distant star systems probably heard of him, but brushed him off as a myth. As for why Beerus would let a person like that live, I really don't think Beerus would care that much. He's a God of Destruction. As far as he's concerned, what information could Zuno give anyone that would cause him even the slightest inconvenience? Zuno hasn't done anything to piss him off, and killing him takes time that would be better spent eating, napping, and/or actually doing his job. Hope that answers those questions of yours, at least.
GojiRanger says:
"Wow, loving the dynamic between Cooler and King Cold and that fight was Awesome!
The inclusion of Friga was an unexpected but interesting surprise, and I look forward to seeing what you have planned for her, I'm guessing that she's Frieza's wife and she's pregnant with Kuriza?
Anyway, great chapter as usual; update again soon!"
Thanks! As for your question, yes, but calling her Frieza's wife is...beyond generous. Consort was kind of the polite title Berryblue used for her; concubine would be more accurate to where Friga and Frieza actually stood.
Warga says: "Dont kill of Cooler! Hes so cool!" Well, he is definitely Cooler than Frieza. ;) (I'm sorry, I had to)
Thomas-The-TMC says: "I enjoyed this chapter a lot." Thank you! I'm glad.
Alright, that'll about do it. As I said before, thank you all for reading, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.