Dust scattered in front of him as the light faded. His outstretched palm retracting ever so slightly, Cold felt his body heave but forced himself to stay upright. That effort had been tremendous, and though neither man posed a threat to him, Cold was an old man. He could only fight for so long, do so much before his body started to give. And worse, it had been more than two hundred years since he'd transformed into even the form below this one, to take on his Fully Unsealed Form- his true form- directly after spending so much time in his Second Sealed Form... Well, his body was taken by complete surprise from it. Coupled with the strenuous effort that had been battling- in addition to having not fought seriously since the death of his Eldest Sibling- his body ached like it never had before. It was a good thing that he had trained out the weakness that Frieza had when using his True State- he no longer had to "bulk up" to use his full power, something which would put even worse strain on his body than this. If he had to keep fighting at this level for too much longer though, that additional muscle mass would be required to ensure that he could continue to output energy at this level.
But at last, part of it was done.

He breathed heavily, and after a moment his gas pockets filled and Cold stood straight up again. If nothing else so stressing took place, then Cold would be fine to hold his breath for years... It wasn't often that he felt the need to gasp, and it was a new feeling. He'd heard that lower races had problems with their lungs, a chronic illness that often debilitated their breathing, made it impossible to draw in breath. In his empire, such an illness had been all but eradicated for the more civilized worlds, yet it persisted in many backwater planets. He supposed the feeling that came over him as he fought was similar to this illness. He could push it to the side, ignore the feeling and push on despite it... But he still wanted to fall over. At times, it was like his chest weighed a million tons, like his limbs were pushing themselves through some viscous liquid... And at times, he felt as he did when he was a young man. Powerful and full of vitality, more than capable of taking on a hundred of Cooler's ilk.

But Cold was no longer such a young man, his body had started to give way to age and all the suffering that came with it. He would live for another three hundred years, perhaps more, but those last three hundred were meant to spent sitting on a throne, speaking and looking after grandchildren. In retirement.
Not for fighting wars. Or killing his own children.

Or for raising another one.

Cold's thoughts turned to that. The matter of his legacy, his future. His Empire was hung by a thread now. Both of its leaders were dead, and with them... Frieza's army had already fallen into disarray. The loss of Frieza himself had been crippling, sure. But the Ginyus, Zarbon, Dodoria... Anyone who could have filled in for his son after his passing had died on that world, that last mission...

And soon, the same fate would befall the Cooler Force's greatest warriors. Cold knew, of course he did, that Salza and Dore and Neiz had been a part of the same conspiracy as their master. How could they not be? It had been them, after all, who had returned home on the same voyage in which Cooler had wiped out his brother. Not to mention Salza's own slip up earlier that day.

Yes, the Frieza and the Cooler Forces would suffer the same end. Their Lords killed, and their greatest members destroyed...

But where would that leave them? Who would be tasked with leading the now unraveled forces as word spread throughout the universe that the Kings were dead... And that only one remained, and an old one at that? It would be him who would be given such a task. Him, an old man who was nearing the end of his life. To the universe, it would mean another three hundred years of his reign at best.

But Cold knew better.

Cold knew that once word got out that he was all that really stood in the way of a mass uprising... That one would begin. Even now, well before the deaths of Cooler and Frieza, there were sparks of rebellion across the Empire. Sparks without fuel up until this moment, sparks that could be stamped out well before the flames of rebellion could catch alight across his galaxy...

But the minute- the minute- that they learned that Frieza and Cooler were dead and only their aging, ailing father was left...
Sure, there were stories of Cold from his younger days, when he was feared and respected by those who knew him... But that had been many hundreds of years ago, and many planets had short memories.

Those sparks would be set alight.

And it would be on him to douse their flames before it consumed it all...

And Cold knew he wasn't up to the task.

But if not him, then who? Could Cold take the time, find another bride of suitable power quality and birth another child? Then raise that child to not only be strong in body, but in mind? To prepare them to control his empire when he finally does pass?
No, he was far too old for that.

But if not a new heir, then should his empire die with him? Should he sit and watch as the Empire that his ancestors had cultivated for more than ten-thousand years crumbles before him, torn to pieces by the hands of one arrogant child?

Or worse, should he do the unthinkable? Should he turn his Empire over to inferior beings? Allow them the chance to lead themselves into whatever self-destructive path they'll inevitably set themselves on? It would allow his Empire to outlive him, of course, but for how long? A few short centuries at best? And then what? His legacy vaporized in an instant?

But... Perhaps he was being uncharitable. Perhaps those so-called inferiors really could perpetuate his Empire, maybe... Maybe his family had been misjudging them all along. After all, who had brought his family's empire to ruin but one of his own kin in combination with one of these supposed inferior life-forms? These lower beings were fools, they were vapid and short-lived. Their lives burned away like candles compared to the wildfires that Arcosians had for lifespans... But that was often their strength, wasn't it? He had conquered hundreds of worlds, and on those worlds stood Empires which had reigned for thousands of years, enduring infighting and attacks from the outside world for just as long, surviving with ease in spite of the threats to their stability. On those worlds, no one child could bring down an empire. It would take innumerable decisions to bring an empire like theirs to ruin... And even then, those empires would stay standing, if not dormant, for thousands of years more.

Perhaps that was the weakness of his own kind. For all that they had going for them, the Arcosians were slow to change, and worse... They were a capricious sort. How many of his own kind would Cold sell out to save his own skin? How many of his brothers and sisters did he slaughter after his own father passed away?

Perhaps Cooler's actions were a sign. A sign that the time of the Frost Demons was ending... And to clutch onto power would only hasten that end and leave Cold with as much of a legacy as Ancestors had before they ascended beyond the stars.

Cold sighed, turning away from Cooler's grave. He could bear to look at it no longer, and besides. There were other things to contend with now, there would be time to handle the future... But first, Cold had to face the present. He turned towards the cliff that the Super Saiyan had been embedded in, and to his irritation, but not his surprise, the Saiyan had vanished. Cold couldn't really blame him for running, he would have done the same if their positions were inverted. He would have tried at least. Not out of cowardice. He would fear for his life, this was true, but his choice to flee the battle would be one done for utilitarian reasons. He would leave to find some way to heal his wounds and keep on the battle or to find a way to destroy the planet and hope his opponent would asphyxiate in the aftermath.

Given that the Saiyan wouldn't do the latter, Cold could only assume that he was nearby, licking his wounds or preparing some kind of surprise attack. 'That's fine, let him hide. Just as soon as I'm finished here... I'll wipe away this wretched rock and be done with it.' Cold thought and turned his attention away from the plateau, focusing his attention on his men. 'For now I should deal with matters of state.'

There weren't many remaining men. Of the seventy-five that Cold and Cooler had brought, only twenty survived. Of those twenty, several were badly injured, a few were unconscious... But a good many of them were still standing, more than fit enough for combat.

Of course, Cold had no need for their skills. He could easily put down everyone and everything else on this planet, even if they all attacked him at once. It would be child's play for the Tyrant. The only reason he would struggle even a little would be because of the Super Saiyan, but if he could do nothing to him when he had Cooler as assistance... What hope did he have to stop him now? But the point of having soldiers was so that men of Cold's caliber wouldn't have to get their hands dirty... And they allowed his presence to be felt even when Cold himself wasn't around. In many ways, a soldier was the arm of the King, an extension of his will across his Empire.

And the arm was as guilty as the rest of the body, complicit in the schemes of the mind.

Yes, there were men there who were as guilty of treason as Cooler... But not all of them were at fault. After all, Cooler, for all his faults, was smart. He would not have told anyone but those who were absolutely necessary to his goals about what he had done... As a result, many of those men who had been under him were of innocent blood...

Sparing those men... Was not something Cold would have done in his youth. No, he would vaporize them all for simply being associated with Cooler, as if the crime of association was equal to the crime of treason. But here, with his Empire hanging in the balance... The King knew that he couldn't afford to lose any more men in such a frivolous manner.

"Men!" His smooth voice carves across the desert, the echo of his baritone being loud enough to bounce around the barren wasteland for miles. "As you can see, your Master had been a traitor to the Frieza Force and a traitor to the greater Cold Empire! His treasonous hunger for more power has only brought him to the end of his life! To those of you not within the Cooler Force, let this be a reminder for what happens to traitors. For those of you who followed him, I should have you all be put to the sword!" Directly addressing them now, Cold faced them and scanned the crowd. His eyes bore into each man one by one, and in all of them he saw the same.
Terror.

Even the Armored Squadron looked on with horror. Dore, the great brute that he was, looked as though he was ready to turn and flee as fast and as far as he could. But he and Cold knew he wouldn't make it very far... And so he stood there, paralyzed. Neiz on the other hand seemed be more focused on the pile of ash that had been his Master only seconds earlier. A story was written across his face, it spoke of shock and terror- he simply couldn't fathom that Cooler had failed... And that inability to process that fact meant that he simply couldn't comprehend that death awaited him next. Such fear had paralyzed them both, one in body and the other in mind.
Cold smirked ever so slightly. These men had been the ones most responsible for his Son's coverup... They were the ones most to blame for it.

Well actually... Cold could think of one other person more to blame for what had transpired than the other two. The one who had lied to him straight to his face...
And the one who had tipped him off to the facts of Frieza's death first. Though Son Goku's denial of his involvement had ultimately been what had driven Cold to action, it had been Salza to water the seeds of doubt that had been growing since Cooler's return from Namek. In many ways, Cold should thank him.

But he would not.

Salza refused to show Cold that he was afraid- though Cold knew that he certainly was. Instead, he glared at the tyrant, shooting daggers of frozen hatred into Cold's eyes, unwavering and standing in solidarity with his master, to the very end. In some ways, Cold could respect that. Loyalty was a trait that was fleeting in the modern age. So few dogs would be willing to stand at their master's grave.

Of course, Salza was more than a dog to Cooler, wasn't he? Yes, Cold knew they were close. How close, the elder Frost Demon was never sure, but Cooler would treat that man with far too much respect for his status. There were times when he questioned whether or not it was a completely work based relationship... But standing here now, he could tell that this had nothing to do with love... No, this was loyalty, a respectable trait to have. Cold's only regret was that it was so misplaced. Were it not, perhaps Salza could live.

"But let it never be said that I am an unreasonable sort." Cold continued. His arms crossed over his chest, furthering his imposing stature. Unlike both of his sons, Cold was not a lanky man. His arms were like walls of solid iron, large rivulets of muscle were built into them like grooves in metal. Power dripped off of his form like rain from a storm dripped off of the hull of a ship. Even now, while Cold was at rest, his body rippled at odd times with barely contained energy, as though at any time... He could erupt.

Cold lifted gently into the air and floated towards the men, coming to a stop just in front of them. He didn't need to fly, but it was a power move of sorts. These men had no loyalty to him after all, if he wanted to bring them to his side it would take more than just words- a showcase of his power directed at them would be more than sufficient.
Unlike his son, he found no sadistic joy in terrorizing his men. For him, it was merely a tool to be used to keep them in line. A healthy dose of terror went a long way to keep them nice and subordinate.

He found the way that Frieza treated some of his subordinates to be barbaric, unbecoming an Emperor, though he couldn't argue with the results. There were very few men in the Frieza Force who would even think about treachery. In fact, men, especially ones under Frieza's direct command would happily throw themselves into unwinnable situations if it meant that they wouldn't suffer the wrath of Frieza. Cold had employed similar tactics in his youth and when he was in control of the Empire, so he supposed that was where Frieza had gotten the idea to use fear from... But he had taken it to extremes that Cold never would have.

Cooler on the other hand had come to a completely opposite conclusion, one that was far too lenient on his men. Cooler had almost never executed or made an example of a man under his command before, and while it had served him well enough... Cold knew too well what the results of his efforts were. His men didn't fear him, didn't see him as a threat to their lives and as a result... Would be more than willing to sell him out.
Cold knew exactly who had given Cooler that mercy of his as well. His wife had been a wonderful woman, and in many ways... She mellowed the King out.

But that had been the problem, wasn't it? Her death, that illness... It had come about from her peaceful nature. The men who served under her were more than willing to sell her out despite everything she'd done for them. Just the memory of her was pulling Cold back, away from the present... But he forced that to not show on his face. Swallowing the emotions that threatened to bubble up, Cold returned to the current moment.

"There are traitors among you, I don't deny that much." His face changed as his spoke, his glare softening, some facsimile of sympathy coming over his face as he looked at them. Of course Cold didn't actually feel sympathetic towards them. While some of them were innocents, men simply caught up in their master's web of treachery, others were less innocent. But showing that sympathy was important, it gave them hope. The idea that one's fate had yet to be sealed- that they could still change their future- was an important feeling to give to them. It would make them all the more malleable. Then, tilting his head, he added. "But many of you are innocent men. Many of you were unaware- unwilling- pawns in your master's schemes. And for those of you, there is salvation. I am not like my son. I am willing to grant you all that salvation..." He trailed off, eyes closing and his face changing again, reverting to a kind smile.

But immediately, his face changed as soon as his eyes opened. Smile dropping, glare stiffening, in a single moment Cold had wiped away the burgeoning smiles that had started to come over the men's faces. In an instant, the fire of hope within them wavered.

And in the next, he snuffed it.

The men's faces fell all at the same time, their worries returning to them as quickly as they could, as they were all dragged back into the black emptiness of uncertainty.
And all it took was one word.

"However."

"For that salvation, there must be recompense. I do not ask much of you, I have but two conditions to my forgiveness." Cold spoke in a detached manner, a manner that was completely calm... And terrifying. He could only imagine how they saw him. Anyone who could switch from grieving and full of righteous hatred and anger to this calm... Detached demeanor had to be someone incomprehensible to them.

Fear was, then, only a natural response when confronted by one such as him. Which meant that they would treat him as they would treat Frieza. It meant respect.
It meant subordination.
Even from those who had been Cooler's greatest lapdogs.

Indeed, Cold knew that he couldn't part with all of the Armored Squadron. Each man was strong enough to defeat the entire Ginyu Force at once, the only reason that they were considered lesser to the Ginyus was the latter's selection of odd powers. To have all of them killed for treason would be the satisfying move, perhaps even the best one to do publicly... But it would only bite him in the ass in the long run. If Cold is to keep his Empire afloat, he would need men such as the Armored Squadron. Either the men themselves or someone to replace them, and unfortunately there were very few in the universe with that kind of power, and many of them would refuse to join him if a rebellion was in the works.

But even so, Cold also knew that he couldn't allow them all to live. One or even two of them surviving- that was manageable. Disloyal to him as they were, they would know better than to turn on him again, especially after he'd made an example of one of them and their master already. Besides, he'd be able to separate the survivors into their own little squads, far from being able to plan a revolution against him... But all three of them together... Well, it only made sense that they'd be able to find some way to coordinate. Especially if he allowed their Captain to survive.

Cold knew precisely which one would coordinate the other two to try and launch a revolt against him, or at least the one most likely to try. After all, there was only one who stood at their Master's grave in defiance of him.

"Let it be known that my mercy extends far. Even to those who were closest to the traitor... Dore, Neiz, even you two may be forgiven for the hand you had in what happened to my son. But if you seekthat forgiveness..." He trailed off and focused his gaze onto Salza, who stared daggers back into the King, unwavering in his hatred and anger... Facing away from the other men without fear. "Then you will have to prove your loyalty to me. I ask of you all to first renounce your loyalty to Cooler... And then to kill Salza."

For a moment, there was a stillness in the air as the crowd turned their attention from Cold and onto Salza. The Brench took center stage beneath the sun, more than a dozen eyes bore into him like scalded blades against unsuspecting flesh. From his position in front, Cold could see Salza's eyes closing as though he had accepted his fate... But that wasn't what he was doing. To Cold's amusement, he took a deep breath in and opened his eyes, glaring one more time at the Arcosian before he set his shoulders back and turned away.
He intended to face down the entire platoon all on his own.

But just as he did a man stepped from the crowd and placed his hand on Salza's shoulder. Cold wasn't surprised by this, he had expected some people to refuse his offer, especially those who were once part of the Armored Squadron... Though he'd had higher expectations for the more intelligent Neiz. He guessed that he'd given him too much credit.

The Zaltian gulped and looked towards Cold with something barely approximating resolve before managing to force himself to speak. "I... Refuse." He managed out. "I won't..." He trailed off, and Cold could see his entire body shaking with terror, desperately trying to say what he meant to, but unable to get the words out. Cold wasn't going to stop him. No, he wanted to hear it. To him, it didn't make much sense for Neiz to throw away such an offer... So just this once, he wanted to know why someone would throw away their chance to live. What insanity could drive someone to throw away their own life even when handed a free offer to live? It simply boggled his mind... But Cold supposed it wasn't unexpected. After all, their loyalty was commendable, it only made sense that one of them would refuse...

But then, as Cold was reassuring himself, a green skinned hand clasped over Salza's other shoulder, and Dore spoke up. This had been expected, though Cold hadn't known him long, Dore never gave the impression that he was very smart. Although... He had assumed that Dore's idiocy might have kept him from experiencing the same kind of loyalty that drove Salza and Neiz... It was dissapointng to learn that his assumption was wrong. Dore spoke louder, though not in a way that was more confident than Neiz. No, he spoke in a way that was less intelligent than him. "I ain't doin' it neither! Salza's always done right by me, led me through more battles than I can count!" His voice started as shaky as Neiz's did, but grew more solid as his tone took on more belligerence. "More 'an that, Cooler's done the same! Ain't never treated us like slaves, or- or things to be disposed of! Not like you or Frieza! I ain't tradin' their lives for my own, 'cause I know they wouldn't! Cooler's always treated me well, and Salza's always had my back! I ain't tarnishin' my Lord's memory by throwing all he did for me away!"

Dore turned to the crowd of men behind him, voice rising to a yell as he did. "And you lot! You goin to do that? Throw away all that Lord Cooler gave you, serve the man what kept us on our knees for years? What'll kill us for questioning his suicidal plans? What'll spare you one day, then put a hole in you the next? That the kind of life you want to live? That the kind of life you'd sell out your mates for?" He demanded, and Cold scoffed at his words. It was a noble sentiment, but Dore was not surrounded by noble men.

These were hardened killers. Men who, in their time, have participated in genocides, in conquests and blood-soaked wars. They'd done more than kill enemy combatants, they'd killed children, civilians, all under the direction of one man who had at one time worked under him. These men knew no such thing as nobility. Loyalty for the Armored Squadron had made sense, they had worked and lived with Cooler for the better part of their lifespans. But for these men? Many of them had only worked alongside Cooler on occasion. There was no chance that they would choose to side with a dead man over themselves...

And yet... One by one, Cold saw the men's eyes turn away from Dore's harsh gaze. Their expressions flickering from guilt, to conflict, to anger or fear and then at once... Acceptance. At first, Cold was unsure what the men were accepting. Were they accepting the fact that they would have to fight the Armored Squadron, injured as some of them were?

Some of them were. But it dawned on him that a rift had formed between the remaining Cooler Force members. Men who had known Cooler better, even those that were seriously injured, stepped up and placed their hands onto Neiz or Dore's shoulder, deciding to throw their lot in with them.

The others, they simply remained where they stood. Like Cold, they too looked on in shock as one by one, their colleagues threw themselves in with the ones slated for death. But unlike him, those who had decided to stand with Cold had turned uncertain. For so many men to choose to die... Perhaps they were making a mistake?

Man by man, they came to stand by the Armored Squadron. And slowly but surely, all but the most cowardly, most injured, or most fearful man had come to stand as one. A great wall of bodies and armor all bearing Cooler's emblem on their chests. All's eyes were locked with resolve and fear- fear of what would be their future... But resolve to stand by their master...

For those who had chosen to stand with Cold, they backed away from the wall, fists clenched in a mixture of resolve and terror all their own. Sure, they were throwing their lot in with the most powerful man on the planet... But they would be expected to kill this many traitors? Cold could imagine that they saw it as a no-win solution...

Could imagine, but wasn't at that moment. No, instead, Cold stared back at the wall of eyes, uncomprehending. Bewilderment contorted his face while unhinged rage began to simmer at the surface of his heart. It didn't make any sense at all. These men... They... They had chosen to die?

To die?! And for what? The honor of a dead man!? Loyalty to a man that was nothing more than ash?

It was unfathomable, like staring into the void of space between galaxies and trying to put to words the size of that emptiness. It was as maddening and as ludicrous as staring into darkness and expecting your senses to be illuminated. And yet, Cold could only form one word in his mind. One word that that might help him put to words that infinite expanse. One word to help him comprehend what they had done.

"Why?"

And then, as if he was the universe itself was mocking him, putting gibberish in the place of the words that would help him understand the scale of that maddening distance... Salza replied with a scoff of his own.

"You wouldn't get it."

It was as though the entire universe snapped. Cold felt his vision blur and before he could even process what he was doing

He lunged. And in his mind, surrounded by hatred and uncomprehending fury, one word stood out above all others. One word managed to rise from his lungs and into his throat.

"WHY."

Piccolo shielded his face as dust erupted around him, the force of the attack leveled at Salza was extreme enough to whip up a tunnel of air, a gale-force maelstrom that had caused a massive explosion of dust to erupt for miles. Just as Piccolo felt the dust rush past him, another movement had the opposite effect, sucking the dust back in like a vacuum. Grunting as he shielded himself, the Namekian lifted into the air to get better look at the action.

Piccolo had predicted that Cold wasn't as bad as son had been when it came to executing minions, but he clearly had a limit to how much he was willing to put up with- and these men's loyalty to their dead Emperor had clearly pushed him over the edge. But they'd done it in a way that wasn't going to net them a quick death. No, Cold's inability to understand why they chose to stand with one another instead of take up his offer to survive meant that he wanted to know why they had done what they did... Which meant they'd be getting beaten to death.

In all fairness to Cold, Piccolo himself could only guess at why exactly the men had decided to stand with someone they thought was dead. While he never met any of Frieza's minions personally, he did get to witness many of the events on Namek through King Kai, and none of the few men he did see ever struck him as the loyal type- Though, those were Frieza's minions. From what he understands, Cooler must have treated his men differently- enough that even when they assume him to be dead that they would willingly trade their lives to not betray the respect they had for him. In a way, Piccolo could respect both parties- the men and Cooler himself. The men's loyalty was honestly commendable, and if he was still in the mood to try taking over the Earth he'd kill to have such loyal minions of his own. As for Cooler, he would have to have been a genuinely good leader to garner such fervent support. If Piccolo ever had the opportunity to lead an army of his own- and he wasn't sure he ever would again- he would have to take notes from him.

'Maybe I'll get the chance to ask him.' He thought with a hint of dry wit, turning away from the fight to stare out towards the North, out towards Kami's lookout.

Piccolo could detect Goku and Cooler's energy signatures out that way. He wasn't sure how the Saiyan had managed it, but he'd managed to rescue Cooler from Cold's final attack and take them both halfway across the world, all without being noticed by a single person. It was probably the same way he'd managed to make such an entrance earlier while they were engaging Cooler's minions in the first place, Piccolo would have to make sure to interrogate him about that sometime. The ability to appear anywhere instantly was a power that would be better suited in all of their hands.

For now though, he had to figure out what Son's plan was. Obviously he'd rescued Cooler from death at his father's hands, but why? The more cynical part of Piccolo wanted to say that he had done it solely for the same reason he'd spared Vegeta, to fight him again sometime in the future...
But that didn't seem right to him, Goku might have been an idiot, but he would take a fight like this seriously and leave any mercy for after the enemy was defeated. Maybe he was giving Goku too much credit...

Or maybe the Saiyan had realized how outclassed he'd be in a straight up fight against Cold. It wasn't impossible, Goku wasn't above asking for help when an opponent is too far above him for him to defeat on his own, and Cooler didn't seem to be on the best terms with his father. If they worked as a unit instead of trying to defeat him separately... They could stand a chance, or so Piccolo guessed.

"Damn it! Where the hell is Kakarot?!" Vegeta demands, stepping up next to Piccolo, but casting his gaze away from the north to observe the fight. "As much as I hate to say it..." He spat. "We need that clown. Once Cold finishes off Cooler's army, there will be nothing stopping him from just wiping out the planet!" Vegeta's voice shook with a fury that was all too familiar. Piccolo knew the feeling of being powerless in the face of one of these monsters, of being forced to rely on someone other than himself. For a warrior like Vegeta, someone who held themselves in such high standards... That feeling of helplessness must have felt like a direct attack.

'Even so, even Vegeta recognizes how much trouble we're in without Goku. If that's the case, then there's no doubt about it. Son must have rescued that monster to ask for his assistance.'

"Yeah... Where is my dad? I didn't see him leave..." Gohan said softly, searching the area around them for any sign of his father.

"Use your senses." Piccolo's gruff voice caught both of their attention and he gestured with his head towards the north. "He's up on Korin's Tower, that way. You might also feel someone else along with him."

Gohan's eyes lit up with excitement as Goku's presence was felt, but his face fell almost immediately after as Cooler's own dark presence appeared in his mind. "Cooler? Did my dad... Help him escape? Why?"

Vegeta growled in response but didn't say anything, giving Piccolo the chance to speak up. "Its obvious. There's only one reason why Son would choose to save a monster related to Frieza. He knows as well as the rest of us that Cold outclasses him a dozen times over. Even with his power fluctuating like it is, neither Goku nor Cooler were able to deal any significant damage to him earlier, but together they might stand a chance."

Now the Prince interjects, scoffing loudly at the implication and putting everyone's eyes on him. "Tch!" He crosses his arms and glares towards the direction of the pair. "If he thinks that an Arcosian would be willing to work with a Saiyan to kill one of his own kind, then he's not only a clown- he's the entire circus."

"Why? I think we know better than almost anyone that he's got a knack for turning enemies into friends." Piccolo says, glancing between Vegeta and Tenshinhan, who stood at the back of the group, looking towards Goku's location as well.

The triclops nods in agreement. "If there's anyone who can talk one of these monsters into helping, it'd be Goku, that's for sure." He agrees, but then glances towards Vegeta warily. "But you know them better than anyone else Vegeta, do you really think Goku couldn't do it?"

Vegeta growls at them both, crossing his arms tightly around his chest. "First, allow me to make one thing clear. I'm not working with you weaklings out of the kindness of my heart or because Kakarot's changed my mind, but because I'm biding my time to become strong enough to kill the fool myself. And second..." Vegeta trailed off, his anger subsiding but his glare not loosening, now shifting his attention back towards Tenshinhan. "It isn't about whether or not he can make an argument for it. That clown was able to convince this idiot to spare me after all." He gestures his head towards Krillin. "Its a matter of pride amongst Arcosians. Frieza's people look down on all other races in the universe, and for Cooler, this isn't just about taking out one of his one kind. Its about killing his own father. No matter how they may hate each other, using Kakarot's help to defeat his father would be a mark on Cooler's pride." He then glances back towards the north, frowning deeply. "But if what was said earlier was true then..." He smirks and shuts his eyes, irritated. After all, he was about to give his worst enemy a compliment. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time Cooler took help to defeat one of his own, Kakarot might stand a chance."

"Even so, we'll need to buy Goku some time. And the best way to do that is by working alongside Cooler's minions." Piccolo says, and Vegeta snaps his glare back up at the Namekian, who quickly interjects. "It might not be the most popular idea, but you yourself said it. Once Cold finishes with them, it'll be Earth that's next on the chopping block. And besides, we'll need all the help we can get if we want to hold him off even slightly."

Tenshinhan spoke up next. "As much as I'm against the idea, maybe we'll be able to set an example for Goku and Cooler. If we can work with his men, maybe he can work with Goku, if only temporarily."

Gohan was quiet, something that Piccolo had noticed. He glanced down at the boy and spotted him still gently holding his ribs, which had been injured earlier in his fight against Dore and Neiz. Piccolo looked on in thought for a moment, but then decided to speak up. "You sit this one out, Gohan. You're too injured from earlier to make a difference."

"But- I can still fight!" The boy protested, moving his hands from his ribs and looking up at Piccolo with fierce eyes for a moment, before the pain in his ribs forced him to cringe. That determination had been what had drawn the elder Namekian to him in the first place, his determination had allowed the hidden rage inside to become explosive and gave them the edge against Raditz... But it had also made the boy impulsive, and the training he'd gone through had turned that determination almost self-sacrificial at times. The boy had learned how not to quit, which was a good thing in most circumstances... But it was about time Piccolo imparted a different lesson onto him.

When to quit.

It had been Piccolo's training that had given the boy that never-quit outlook, so it fell on him to try impart wisdom that went against that. "Sometimes its better to keep out of a fight. And right now, you couldn't take a hit from me, let alone that freak. You can feel the power from here, you know you won't be able to hurt him either, you'd just be gettng in the way. Right now, the best thing you can do is wait on your dad. If worse comes to worse, then you can jump in. Understand?"

The boy fell silent for a moment, pouting towards the ground. Piccolo's first reaction was a sudden tightening of his features as his softer tone turned to disgust and annoyance. For a moment, Piccolo felt the desire to call him a brat again- seeing the boy as no different from how he'd been more than two years ago now. But he held those feelings back and brushed aside his frustration...
And then, Gohan spoke up and Piccolo felt that irritation vanish.

"I understand." The boy nodded, looking up at him with respect now. "If anything bad happens, I'll try my best! So... Be careful, all of you."

Piccolo smirked and placed a hand on top of Gohan's head, giving him a soft pat. In many ways, the boy was more mature than most of the grown men here, and somehow Piccolo knew that he'd grow into a strong young man.

Then the Namekian retracted his hand stood back up to his full height before looking back towards the others. "Alright!" He shouts loud enough to catch all of their attention. "Lets go!"

And with that, the group sans one shot headlong into hell.

"You sure about this, Goku?" Korin asked nervously, glancing down at the Senzu Bean in his palm. "He could wake up and try to kill us you know, it ain't exactly like he's the nicest guy in the universe." Korin might not have known the alien personally, but he was able to sense energy, and could tell from earlier just how dangerous this guy really was.

Goku glanced down at the purple skinned alien, uncertain for a moment. That was true... Cooler might immediately leap to attack them as soon as he was fully healed, it seemed on brand for his family at least. But at the same time... Goku knew that he didn't have any other choice. Without his help, facing Cold would be like trying to scale a mountain without legs. He needed to at least try.

"I'm sure, Korin." He nods and reaches down, cradling the Arcosian's head so that he was sat up. "I'm going to need his help if I want a chance to defeat his father."

"Are you sure the Spirit Bomb ain't an option?" Korin protested one more time, only to sigh as Goku gave a nod.

"When I used it on Namek, it didn't manage to kill Frieza... If anything, it just made him angrier." Goku's brow furrowed as he remembered the experience and what came after. Unless there was something beyond the power of a Super Saiyan, he didn't want to risk the same result if he tried the Spirit Bomb against Cold. "And that was when I could draw energy from Planet Namek and its solar system. Earth just doesn't have that much to give, even with all the people on Earth." While true that he would have access to some of their strength, unless he asked them to willingly give it over he wouldn't have nearly enough to finish the job. "It would do even less to Cold than it did to Frieza." He finished. Goku had considered using the Spirit Bomb earlier, even if only a small one, in order to weaken the tyrant enough for him to stand a chance- but that would be too risky. If Cold was anything at all like his son, he probably wouldn't even feel a small Spirit Bomb. For all of Frieza's faults, Goku had to admit that he could take serious damage.

Sighing again, the cat nodded. "Alright, open wide big guy." He mutters, and Goku opens Cooler's mouth to allow the Cat Spirit to drop in the Senzu Bean. On instinct, Cooler's body swallowed the magical bean, and almost immediately, both of the Earthlings took a step back out of shock as a transformation began to take place- one that was nothing like the one used earlier.

On humans and Saiyans, the magical beans had the ability to cure most forms of injuries or illnesses as well as replenish the energy of anyone who consumes them. And while this was still the same for Cooler's people, or so Goku hoped, there was a more drastic change forming, though Goku had no idea as to why. The bits of bone armor that Cold had torn off of Cooler's body earlier suddenly began to knit themselves back together. Before Goku and Korin's eyes, like moss growing over stone, Cooler's bone fragments pulled over the exposed flesh and sealed back up, fully healing themselves. In moments, it was like the battle had never even taken place.

Almost immediately after his chest wound had closed, Cooler sucked in a breath-
And quickly shot up and out of Goku's hands, snapping his attention towards the Saiyan as soon as he did. "You?! What happened? Where am I- How am I...?" He noticed that his body felt like it had been healed and glanced down at his chest, his hand finding its way up to his white armor and touching it- testing the bone and sinew to see if it had been fully healed... And finding that it had been. "...Healed?" Slowly, Cooler's gaze shifted back from amazement as he looked towards Goku with wary eyes. "What did you do, Saiyan?"

"I rescued you from you father just before he shot you." Goku explained. He went to say more but the Arcosian stopped him.

"Why?" He squinted at the Saiyan, glaring at him with suspicion. "What do you get out of my survival? Surely it would be better to have one less threat roaming around your world."

Goku went silent for a moment, considering his next words carefully. But before he could speak, Korin cleared his throat, shocking them both. For Goku, he hadn't expected the meek Cat God to speak up, and for Cooler... Well he genuinely didn't notice that Korin had been there. "Well it sounds to me like you both have a shared problem. Your dad wants to kill you and he wants to kill us. Problem is, neither of you hold a candle to 'em. So Goku figured the best way to fix that issue... Was to save you."

Cooler stared at the cat for a moment, a mixture of emotions on his face. His eyes flickered from surprise to irritation, and then contemplation.

And after a moment, he spoke up. "If you intended to offer me a partnership, I'll have to disappoint you..." He said seriously... But then, he grinned with wickedness. "I'd be more than happy to ally myself with you in killing my father, Super Saiyan. As you might have surmised, I intended for the two of you to weaken one another so that I could step in and kill you both, but it seems that plan has fallen apart."

"I picked up on it when you offered your dad the chance to go at me first. It was sick, but you were pretty convincing about how much you wanted to avenge your brother up until the end." Goku admitted, glaring at him. "So you planned to kill whichever one of us was left afterwards. Its a pretty underhanded move, but I guess that means you would be willing to work with me to take down your father?"

"Easily, although I must warn you, Saiyan, I have full intention of betraying you just as soon as my father is killed. It would be a black mark on my family name for a mere Saiyan to have had the pleasure of killing two of my family members and then survive, Super or otherwise."

"That's fine by me." Goku replies, smirking ever so slightly. He did want to fight Cooler again for sure, he reminded him of Vegeta in that way- he'd pushed him to his very limits and it had taken everything that Goku could muster to put up any defense against him, so the offer to go it again was invigorating enough to boil his blood with excitement. However, his smile gently faded after a moment, something that Cooler picked up on. "But... I don't want to have to kill your entire family." Goku admitted, and the Arcosian blinked in shock, as did the Cat Spirit, who opened his eyes in legitimate surprise at the admission. "I spared your brother because I saw that he had the potential to do more with his life." Goku's own words flashed in his mind as he spoke. He'd hoped then that Frieza would do more with his second chance, but that had been taken from him. "You might be a bad person, but you're not as evil as either your father or your brother, I can tell that you have the potential to do more too, maybe even more than Frieza could. If there's anyone in your family who deserves a second chance... it's you."

As Goku spoke, he saw conflict form on Cooler's face again as the Arcosian looked down at himself, as if testing Goku's words against what he thought about himself. Then, he forced his face to harden and glared back up at the Saiyan. "And you think I can't take that chance from you?" Cooler snarled. "Even if we are equals now, Super Saiyan, I only came close to losing because I hadn't anticipated all your tricks! Next time, you won't be so lucky!"

Goku sighed and returned his more laid back personality while standing up. "All I'm saying is, I don't want to have to kill you if I don't have to, so think about it for me, would you?" He offered Cooler a hand up while planting two fingers to his own forehead. "Now..." Cooler begrudgingly accepted Goku's help up. "Lets go save our friends."

Two large hands bashed into Piccolo's spine, causing him to slam into the rocky earth before bouncing back up and having a massive ivory foot lock itself into his side, shooting him across the desert. After a moment of flight, he dropped to the ground in a roll, gaining dozens of new cuts and scrapes as a result. This was how it had been for the last few minutes. Of the group to attack the Frost Demon- which, Piccolo was learning, was an extremely apt name- only himself, Vegeta, and Salza had been of any use against him, and even that was pushing it. They had barely managed to scuff him.

Surrounding the trio were the dead bodies of those who had decided to stand with the Armored Squadron from the beginning, of that group only two remained- and they were mercifully unconscious- as well as Dore and Neiz themselves, who were too injured to keep going. As for the others that had joined up with Piccolo, they were in the same boat as the Armored Squadron. Tenshinhan and Krillin stood a ways off from the action, and Piccolo could just about hear them chittering about how useless they felt. The only reason Piccolo could imagine for why they had all survived this long was because Cold was still in the mood to toy with them, as well as interrogate Salza on just why those men had willingly thrown their lives away.

The Namekian managed to push himself onto his hands and knees, before a pair of arms wrapped around his arm and helped him up. The Blue Skinned leader of Cooler's forces was beside him, and he gave an uncertain glance at Cold. "I would... really appreciate it... if your Super Saiyan would get back here already..! Ze future is looking... razter grim for us..." He said tiredly. Salza had been battered the hardest out of all of them, including the dead. For them at least, Cold had been careless enough to kill them outright. For Salza, it had been a slow and torturous process that Cold had decided to impress upon him. His armor was bashed and his ribs were broken, his body was covered in blue-blooded lacerations of all types, and Cold had been cruel enough to blast what must have been dozens of finger-sized holes through Salza's torso. It looked like at any moment, the Brench would give out, and Piccolo wouldn't be able to blame him.

"Even if he did arrive, he would only buy you worms mere moments." Cold snarled as he approached them. "Once he's dead, all of you are next. The only one I'll let live will be you, Salza. You will live the longest out of these wretches only because I will torture you all the way back to Cold Planet One until you tell me what godforsaken thing possessed those men." Cold's words were ferocious, rabid. Like the man himself, they were barely holding themselves back, their true emotions obscured by restraint and willpower that Piccolo might have found commendable if it was from anyone else.

But now, Piccolo could only feel a chill run up his spine. That anger was only contained because Cold had been venting it, letting the Armored Squadron and Z-Fighters take the brunt of his fury- and Salza and himself had seemed to take the worst of it. He suspected it had something to do with the fact that they had been the only two do to any serious damage on the tyrant. Salza's energy blade seemed to ignore his defenses, and Piccolo had managed to hit him with a fully charged Special Beam Canon earlier...
But both of them had done superficial damage at best. It was like they were taking knives to a tank, it barely seemed to matter to him what they did.

Cold then pulled a hand back, a sneer coming over his features. "On that note however, I think I'm finished toying with these Earthlings!" A luminous red orb of Ki appeared in his palm. "Now DIE!" His hand raced forward and launched the red beam towards Piccolo and Salza, the beam was turned ever so slightly to the left, aimed dead-on...
At Piccolo.

Salza let him go and dove out of the way, and Piccolo moved to do the same-

When suddenly a blue wave of light rushed in from his left and sent Cold's attack spiraling across the desert, causing the red light to crash into a nearby plateau, vaporizing it instantly. Piccolo smirked as the Ki washed over him, it was unmistakable. "Goku. Took you long enough." He grunts and looks towards the man... No, the pair.

"Indeed! I've been waiting for you to come out of hi...ding..." Cold turned to face Goku and as he did, his eyes locked onto the figure standing to the side of the Super Saiyan. Cooler stood proud, his sleek royal purple flesh seemed to be completely healed over, and even the bone armor that Cold had torn off was gone. Now basking in his Fifth Form, the purple-skinned Arcosian turned to face his father, a wide grin on his face that quickly vanished beneath the safety of his bone mask.

"Surprised to see me, father?" Cooler gestured towards himself as he spoke, and Cold's wrathful look turned darker as he did. "Sorry to have to spoil your revelry, but I believe its time I put an end to your reign, just as I did to my spoiled little brother!"

"How... are you still alive!? I turned you into ash!" Cold roared and unleashed his aura, kicking a massive shockwave through the air that blew Piccolo off his feet. Cold's fists were clenched tightly enough that his knuckles turned an even paler shade of ivory. He spread his legs, prepared to spring forward at any moment... And all of his muscles shuddered and twitched with barely constrained energy.

"The power of teleportation is a wonderful thing. It even allows me the chance to cheat death." Cooler replies coyly, but Cold already knows what he means- he'd seen the Saiyan use it in his fight with Cooler earlier. Cold hadn't fully believed that it was teleportation then, but he had no choice but to accept it now. His eyes snap to Goku, who glared back at him while taking up his traditional stance again. Unlike Cooler, the Saiyan had no intention of toying with the Arcosian Tyrant.

"It's over, Cold!" Goku shouted. He wanted to say more but stopped himself. If it weren't for the deal he'd struck up with Cooler earlier, he might have told him to give up as well, that this would be his final warning... But Cooler wanted Cold dead, so the Saiyan held back. "I... Won't let you get away with everything you've done! Especially to my friends!"

Cold snarled at him. "This time, Super Saiyan! This time I'll make sure you die before I wipe my bastard of a son off the face of this miserable planet!" In his fury, his aura exploded around him as his muscles shuddered once more-
And then in the next moment, the Arcosian kicked off of the ground and shot towards the pair. Unlike last time, Cold ignored Cooler entirely, putting all his focus onto the Saiyan. He blitzed forward so fast that Goku had barely enough time to realize that he had moved, and not enough time to move out of the way as a gigantic force slammed into his sternum. A ripple tore through the air and Goku was shot backwards, Cold hot on his trail.

But before the Tyrant could move, two massive hands grabbed his tail and yanked him back. Straining with all his might, Cooler managed to hold Cold in place long enough for Goku to recover, the Saiyan managing to dig his heels and fingers into the rock and skid to a stop, his teeth grit tightly from the pain. Cold turned to glare at his son but snapped his head back as the Saiyan let out a furious war cry and launched himself forward.

Cold turned again and whipped his tail, throwing Cooler off and sending him spinning through the air, but it was too late as Goku came in and struck him across the face before dropping low to avoid Cold's counter and throwing his fist into the Arcosian's right rib. Cold grunted but moved quickly, bringing both hands above his head and slamming down on Goku with all his might. The Saiyan dropped as Cold's fists came down over his back, but before Cold could do more, a laser struck his chest, and then another and another as Cooler unleashed a flurry of death beams against his father, giving Goku the chance to recover and roll away from him before leaping into the air.

Cold growled and batted away one of the beams before rushing towards Cooler, easily batting away more of his son's attacks as he crossed the distance between them. Seeing his father growing closer, Cooler kicked off the ground and took to the air as well, trying to put distance between them as he continued to blast Cold with Death Beams, each subsequent one growing in power at the cost of speed, but it was fruitless as the elder Arcosian came closer, tanking each attack like they were mere bee stings. His hand reached up and snatched Cooler's leg with crushing force, and Cold whirled him around once before letting go, sending Cooler shooting towards the ground.

Cold raised his hand above his head to attack more, but grunted in pain as he did so. His energy faltered, which Goku picked up on. The Saiyan took his chance and powered up before shooting towards the stunned Cold with both of his arms extended out. He bashed into Cold's body at full tilt, but didn't stop. Instead, the Saiyan continued to fly through the air, shooting like a golden star carrying a meteor made of solid ice. Goku moved to turn in an arc to point Cold towards the ground, but as he did, Cold managed to recover and grabbed onto Goku's stomach. Using all his might, Cold swung Goku over his head and turned Goku's own momentum against him. The pair shot directly towards the ground now, and Cold let go of the Super Saiyan just before he hit the ground, letting Goku slam into the hard rock while Cold shot higher into the air.

"So... They've decided to start working as a team..." Cold panted, taking in heavy, debilitated breaths as he did. That sensation of not being able to breathe had come back with full force, it was as if his chest was being crushed by a million tons of weight... As though his arms and legs were swimming through lava and not air. "Cooler..." He grits his teeth again, forcing himself to focus on his son instead of his treacherous limbs. "I won't... I won't let this stop me..." He growls...

And throws his arms out to his side while his stands up straight, gasping for as much air as he could in order to shout down at them, rage refueling Cold's desire to wipe them both out, giving him the energy to do... What he had to.. "I WON'T! I SWORE TO YOU BOTH THAT I WOULDN'T LET A SINGLE ONE OF YOU SURVIVE! I'LL STAND TO THAT PROMISE EVEN IF IT MEANS I DIE ALONG WITH YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Cold bellowed as his energy swelled around him, a gargantuan maelstrom of power and light erupted from Cold's body, shooting out titanic waves through the air as the Arcosian began to scream.

"That fool!" Cooler roared, shielding his face from the onslaught of power as he stood next to Goku. "He's pushing his body to its limits!" Despite his words, Cooler was grinning beneath his mask. "Do you know what this means, Saiyan?"

"He's taking on the same transformation as Frieza!" Goku noted from next to the Prince, looking up at Cold as he did so. "But unlike him... Do you sense it?" Goku looked at Cooler, who looked back at him and nodded in affirmation. They could both tell, Cold's body had begun to reach its limits, and as a result... He was forcing it to output more and more power, causing his muscles to swell up as he did- the same final transformation that Frieza had taken on during his fight on Namek. Unlike his son however, Cold didn't need to add that additional mass in order to use his full power... He needed to add that mass to sustain it.

But there was a problem. "His body can't keep up at that level anymore." Cooler smirked beneath his mask. "He's entered his death throws."

Cold reached the apex of his power, and a thunderous explosion rocked the world around him as he did so. The once powerful body had transformed into a hideous mirror of itself. Where Cold had once looked like a powerlifter, he now more closely resembled a steroid addict. His rippling muscles were gone, replaced with abhorrent bulges that stuck out of his flesh unnaturally and veins that had been stressed beyond their capacity.

Cold took off towards Goku with both of his arms extended outwards, a red bubble of energy forming around him as he formed. Nova Emperor was another member of the Nova Strike and Nova Chariot "family" of techniques and was in many ways the progenitor. Goku and Cooler shot away just in time for Cold to make impact against the earth, causing a massive eruption of rock and dust to be pushed out from the crater he'd made. But as the pair took to the skies, Cold suddenly shot back into the air after the Saiyan with no loss of momentum! This was what differentiated it from his sons' attacks- unlike them, Cold had tuned the technique to allow him to bounce off of objects rather than barrel through them.

Goku's eyes widened, but before he could do anything Cold was already upon him, bashing the energy ball into his lower torso and winding the Saiyan. Nova Emperor's aura vanished from around the elder Arcosian as he grabbed Goku by the throat. The Saiyan clawed at his fist, trying to force him to let him go. His fingers dug between Cold's and to the tyrant's horror, Goku managed to begin prying them apart. Though only barely as Cold clamped down harder on the Saiyan, it was stern reminder- Cold couldn't keep this up for much longer. He let out a snarl and slammed his fist into Goku's stomach. Then he did it again, and again and again all while his fingers clenched tighter around Goku's throat. The Saiyan's efforts grew more desperate as he began to strike and pummel Cold's arm, but his efforts were in vain, and shortly... Goku felt his head start to go numb. But before he could black out, Cooler's knee impacted the back of Cold's head and forced him to drop Goku, now clutching his Bio-Gem in agony.

Cooler snatched the Saiyan as he flew past, pulling him into his barrier and pouring on the speed to put as much distance between themselves and Cold as he could. "Father's put all his hopes into killing you, even to his detriment. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage?" Cooler remarks, and Goku weakly flashes him a thumbs-up, still gasping for air. After a moment, the pair come to stop and Goku finally manages to catch his breath, breathing hard while touching his bruised neck with one hand and holding his bruised stomach with the other.

"Y-Yeah, I think we could. I've got a plan, can you use that attack Frieza did to destroy Namek?" Goku questioned, glancing over to Cooler with tired eyes. He knew that he was trusting Cooler with a lot, but it was the best idea he could think of right now.

Cooler nods. "I can... Do you think that will be enough to wipe him out?"

"Not on its own, we need to wear him down a bit first. But feel his power, it won't take very long." Goku explained as Cold finally pulled himself back together and blasted off towards the pair. "Stay here and start powering up, I'll do my best to wear him out." Goku gets ready to shoot off as well, but stops when he feels Cooler's hand on his shoulder.

"How will I know when to fire?"

Goku smirks a bit, proud of himself for thinking of this one. "You'll know it when you see it."

The Saiyan then powered up as far as he could and threw himself at Cold, letting out a war cry as he did. The duo clashed in the air, Cold unleashing a punch that sailed over Goku's shoulder. The Saiyan countered fast, letting loose two jabs to Cold's ribs before following up with an uppercut, only for Cold to grab his hand. Goku recovered fast, and before Cold could do more, his other fist rocketed up towards his face-
Only for Cold to snatch his other wrist as well. Now holding both hands, he yanks Goku forward and slams their skulls together while letting go. Goku floated back through the air in a daze for a moment before managing to shake himself free just in time for Cold's meaty fist to come bashing into his face. Cold was relentless, and sat on top of Goku while he bashed his face in, using gravity and his own Ki to propel them both into a freefall, intent on slamming Goku into the ground.

But before they hit the dirt, Goku suddenly grabbed hold of both of the King's massive arms while gritting his teeth. "RRRRAAH!" Goku grunted with effort and forced Cold's arms up before throwing Cold off of him and into the air. Cold was surprised and was taken completely aback as Goku shot up and planted his fist into the tyrant's jawline. Cold lunged forward and countered with a strike of his own that embedded itself in Goku's cheek, but the Saiyan didn't let that stop him as he shoved both hands into Cold's abdomen-
Blue light spilled out of Goku's palms as he did, and in an instant- Cold was sent flying backwards through the air.

But not for long, Cold halted himself in the air and blasted towards Goku again, forming a red barrier around himself again as he did. Intent on slamming the Saiyan again, Cold put all his focus into that and, when Goku leapt out of the way, the Arcosian suddenly turned with incredible accuracy and came rushing towards Goku as he did. Cold was breathing heavily as he struck Goku with full force. His muscles shuddered and purple blood spilled out of his mouth as he continued to race around the Saiyan, bashing him over and over again until finally dropping the barrier, now high above him. Cold brings up both hands and lets gravity take over for him, but as he does-

"AGH!" He lets out a cry of pain, feeling his joints lock up. His arms drop down to his sides again and Cold begins to breathe even harder. His heart feels like it could erupt at any moment, he can't get enough air in- his whole body feels like its on fire! His muscles ache, and every part of Cold's body wants to give up... But his teeth grit tighter. "Not a chance... I've got him on the ropes, and that worthless brat of mine seems willing to let his partner die..." His aura erupts around him again, Cold forcing energy to flow back through his muscles, giving him the strength to push on... But... He needed a moment to recover.

But by now, Goku's recovered from Cold's assault. "Ngh... That's right..." And he can sense Cold's power dropping. Despite his best efforts, Cold wasn't able to sustain his power this way much longer. By now, it had even dipped below his lowest level. If there was ever a time, now would be it. "Alright so where is..." Goku surveyed his surroundings and spotted Cooler in the same spot he'd left him, and more importantly than that, Goku could sense a massive spike of energy coming from him. Good, that meant that everything was going just like he wanted it.

"Time to end this, Cold." Goku whispers and cups both hands at his side while flying back and making sure he was about level with Cooler. "Ka..."

Cold's breathing began to calm down, and he picked himself back up to full height, letting the sun bask around him. Then, his energy erupted again, and though his body ached, he turned around, searching for the Saiyan. Spotting him a few dozen yards away, Cold grinned evilly and powered up, summoning his Nova Emperor for what would hopefully be the final time. "Lets finish this, Super Saiyan!"

"Me..." Blue light fueled Goku's hands as Cold came closer, but the Saiyan wasn't focused on that. Rather, he looked past Cold, towards Cooler. "Ha... Me..." Swirling orange energy had formed around the Arcosian. He'd definitely had more than enough time to charge up whatever attack was coming. Goku had asked about Frieza planet-destroying attack since it had been the strongest move that he'd seen him use at that point, but this looked different from that... Somehow, it looked bigger.

Goku's attention refocused on Cold as he got close enough. Unlike all of the other times, the power gap between himself and Cold had shrunk just enough that Goku was fully able to keep up with the Elder Arcosian. Cold didn't seem to notice it or, if he did, he didn't care that he felt weaker. Either way...

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Swirling blue light erupted from Goku's palms and rushed around Cold's body, halting his forward momentum. Cold seemed shocked by this, but merely growled and poured more power into his Nova Emperor, using the barrier to defend his body from the wave of energy that was washing over his body.

And then a crack appeared, splitting the center of the barrier into two halves... Halves that would begin to gain their own cracks which spider-webbed off of the central crack, creating their own paths through the energy field, slowly but surely forming into dozens of tiny canyons, a kaleidoscope of blue-lit veins.
And then the blue light poured into his barrier, and the cracks began to vanish just as soon as they came, those infinitesimal canyons being filled with vibrant blue oceans and then at once merging together-

And then the energy rushed into Cold's body, burning his flesh with scalding heat, pushing him back with incredible force! But this was no matter to Cold. He powered up even more than before, letting his muscles expand to ever greater heights, forcing his power level to shoot back up, giving him the chance to-

But just as that second wind came, it was gone. Goku's Kamehameha wave was halted for only a moment before Cold was swept up in it, being flung backwards in the air.

"COOLER NOW!" Goku roared above his attack, and Cooler nodded in response before lifting a single palm up.

At once, the orange glow that surrounded Cooler shot above him, coalescing in the sky above his palm as a single titanic ball of energy, so much energy that it outshined the sun by a million times, blinding those present on the ground and even causing Goku to shield his face from looking at it directly.

For Cooler, time seemed to slow down for a moment. This moment was the culmination of everything he'd worked for. In this, Cold would certainly die and that would leave Cooler himself as the one and only lord of the universe. It should have been a moment of elation, a moment of revelry and celebration on behalf of the Arcosian- He was about to attain everything he'd ever dreamed of ever since Frieza took power from him!
And yet... He felt strangely... Hollow.

It wasn't the thought of killing his father that had driven this pit into his stomach, no. Something else was rotting away his joy. The facts of the situation. Everything he'd ever dreamed of was only made possible... By the actions of that Super Saiyan. His mercy had allowed Frieza enough energy to inform Cooler of his location, giving him the opportunity to wipe his little brother out, to lure Cold out here. His mercy had saved Cooler's life, and now it was his plan that had brought King Cold to the end of his life.
The facts of the situation meant that Cooler's victory had not been his own. Not entirely his own, at least.

Cooler's palm never wavered, but that thought stuck in the back of his mind. He detested it, just how much he... Owed this Saiyan. That thought stuck deep in his mind even as he threw his palm forward.

Cold screamed. His muscles tore from the strain of taking on this form, veins burst as Cold desperately forced even more energy through them, clawing at his one chance of escape as both attacks converged on his body. Cooler hadn't been simply allowing his ally to die after all. In his cowardice, the boy had teamed up with the Saiyan in a bid to overpower him- and... It had worked. The pair must have banked on the fact that Cold's body was failing him. After all this time, his fears were finally realizing themselves. He couldn't maintain this form any longer. His muscles tore open and began to deflate, energy passing through them like volcanic eruptions as his lungs screamed for air that wouldn't come.
Yet all of that seemed almost pleasant compared to what had begun to happen to his fingers. It started slow, inch by inch his fingertips would begin to be erased, turning into ash and dust. But soon enough, his fingers were consumed, and then his hands, and then his wrists. Then his back began to fall away.

Cold was long gone when the two titanic powers met in the air. And there was a moment of peace before the entire universe erupted in a beautiful merging of orange and blue.

Dust scattered around them as the light faded.

Cooler's feet touched the ground, and a few minutes later so did Goku's. The two men stood across from one another, only a few yards away.

Goku said nothing at first but, noticing Cooler's intense look, gave a grin and a weak chuckle. "Well, I guess its time for that rematch, huh?"

Cooler said nothing at first.

And then, he spoke.

"Actually. I'd like to make a different "deal"..."

His fingers twitched.

Author's Note: HOLY FUCK, AH, GOD, THAT WAS WAYYYY TOOO HARDDD TOOOO WRITEE!

YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR.

Or... I guess you do actually. Sorry about the wait. I spent December working on a project for someone else and then I struggled HEAVILY with getting this chapter out. So much so that I'm skimping on the edits for the last section of the fight just so that you guys don't end up getting this on February 5th. Some parts of this were a struggle, and if I was to ever remaster this fic this chapter would be on my top list of priorities... But its finally finished and ready to go. I hope you all enjoyed at least some pieces of the story, and for a certain commenter I hope you enjoyed the less action heavy chapter.

Next month might be a little better, but I make no promises on that front. I will promise, however, that we're going back to desert world! Frieza is coming back boys and girls, I hope you're all ready.

Now then, onto the reviews and then I'm posting this sucker.

OH but before I go, here is a brief look at the power levels throughout this chapter

King Cold (Start)- 190-210 Million

King Cold (Buff Form)- 200 Million

King Cold (Buff Form, strain taking hold)- 190-180 Million

Goku (SSJ, Post Zenkai)- 160 Million

(Taken from Fanfiction)

edwardskeniyea: The Fact You Take The Time To Respond To Readers. Man You're Fucking Awesome.

Me: Thanks my dude! I always like getting feedback and hearing what people have to say, so feel free to comment any and all thoughts you guys might have!

Guest: I really hope King Cold lives. He has been a great character. An honorable despot

Me: Though he died, his legacy may still live on. I'm glad you enjoyed his characterization throughout our short time with him, I've always thought of Cold as being one of the more honorable members of Frieza's family, though still being fully capable of treachery as we saw with his attack on Trunks with his sword. Hopefully I continued to impress.

SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Yea, Cooler got arrogant, unsurprisingly. The better fighter won that. Or he would have without interference

Me: Goku's training definitely outclasses Cooler, putting him into a bit of an awkward situation. Even though Cooler himself also trains, he's not as well-taught as Goku is, which is a glaring weakness. I wonder if he'll try to fix that issue in the future...

jovanni0427: immediate favorite and follow and I can't wait for more!

I always loved Frieza and having him last maybe 5 chapters in Dragon ball fics was never enough for me but having an entire fic centered around just him? of literally everything I could ask for.

Me: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I think that Frieza is extremely underused in some stories, but if you want more of him then may I suggest Savior of Demons or Mr. Arkham's Fall of Lord Frieza? The latter really helped shape my early desire to write fanfictions and is one of the reasons I'm writing this story right now, so maybe go give it a look!

Well that seems like all of them for now. I hope to hear from you all (especially my AO3 friends) again soon, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all again relatively shortly, and, as always...

Until Next Time, True Readers!