Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 43: The Dignified King Cold

Castle Cold – Main Gala Hall…

With callous serenity and supreme grace, King Cold lifted his sword high into the air. He took a deep breath, and as the Saiyans assumed their defensive stances, Cold launched a flying slash of pure, silver energy at the four of them. The Saiyans were quick to react, each shooting a powerful Ki blast at the slash and causing a small explosion. A smoky wall billowed between the two opposing sides, but Cold quickly breached that wall with a smile on his face.

The swordplay was rapid and brutal as slices and jabs and slashes were levied at the four Saiyans. Each was competent enough to evade the King's swordplay, but they were soon besieged in a different way. From every entrance to the Main Gala Hall, hundreds of Cold Force soldiers poured in. And they quickly swarmed the Saiyans like a hoard of angry wasps.

Vegeta, Raditz, and Bardock were all forced to split away from the main event by the hoard of troops, leaving Goku by himself to face off against Cold's onslaught. Cold was able to match Goku fairly quickly, inflicting a minor cut to the Saiyans cheek. Goku smirked and wiped the blood, Cold smirked back and licked the blood from his blade. The two then charged at one another.

Bardock and Vegeta were forced far off from Goku, denying their assistance to the Saiyan from Earth. However, the troops were only able to force them away because of numbers. No matter how the Cold Force approached the Saiyan soldier or the prince, they were quickly and near-effortlessly dispatched.

And they weren't fairing much better against Raditz either. The elder brother seemed more annoyed by the Cold Force's persistent attacks than he was affected. With Genoa and Salam under one arm and the reporter under the other, Raditz could only respond to the various attempts on his life with kicks. But every kick was a near-instant kill on the soldier that dared get close enough. Raditz landed near an exit, tossing his charges to the ground, and then turned and shouted at his approaching foes. "Vacation Delete!"

Raditz launched a wave attack towards the group of Cold Force soldiers and reduced the lot of them to nothing more than cinders. He then turned to the two former slave girls and the bound-up reporter. "Leave! Now! Things are going to hell here and you'll all die if you don't get going!"

From her position, still hooded on the ground, Faline Phars shouted at Raditz. "Are you kidding me?! This is the news story of the year! Get this hood off of me so I can catch the scoop, you jerk!"

Genoa and Salam, although significantly less excited than Phars, didn't want to leave either. Genoa cried out. "W-We can't just leave Master Goku! Not after how nice he was to us! It wouldn't be right!"

Salam nodded. "We have to stick by his side, he's the first person to show that much care for us! How could we be so callous to abandon him?!"

Another Cold Force landed behind Raditz, aiming his blaster. "Die, scum!"

Raditz sighed and caught the blaster bolt, turning around and overhand tossing it into the soldier's face, killing him. "If you want to repay Kakarot so badly, then just live! That's all that the cheerful fool would want from you! Don't sacrifice yourselves, just get out of here and enjoy your lives!"

The two sisters bowed their heads, looking sad. Phars cried out from under the bag covering her face. "Uh, hello?! Is anyone listening to me?!"

Genoa stood, grabbing Phars and tossing her over her shoulder. "We'll do as Master Goku would want then! Come on, Sis. Let's go!"

Salam stood. "Right! For Master Goku!"

Despite the reporter's protests, the two former slaves did as they were commanded, running out the exit as fast as they could. Raditz sighed. "Good. Now that that's dealt with..."

The elder brother turned and thrust his hands at the crowd of soldiers flying towards him. "DOUBLE SUNDAY!"

As that massive explosion went off to their left, Vegeta and Bardock continued to fight as well. A soldier stabbed at Vegeta with a spear, but Vegeta leapt over him and effortlessly snapped his neck. Bardock rammed his fist through a soldier's gut and then blasted the six men behind him. "Damn, this shit is irritating! We need to finish this so we can focus on Cold!"

As a miniature war waged in front of them, Goku and King Cold continued their heated duel. The Saiyan was showing his skill off in full display, his expert martial arts prowess allowing him to deftly dodge most of the sword swings. Keyword being MOST.

King Cold was no slouch. His experience with his blade allowed him to not only block most of Goku's return strikes, but also allowed him to land occasional damage as well. The first major blow came when Goku attempted to land a hefty strike to Cold's face. Cold feinted back slightly, but then lunged forward and sank his blade into Goku's shoulder. Goku cried out in pain and leapt back, clenching his wound. Cold chuckled. "I must say, young man, this is quite the exercise."

Goku smirked. "Yeah. Reminds me of when I was a kid. I missed having fights like this. It's... it's a shame you're not that great of a guy, otherwise I could see you becoming a rival..."

King Cold smiled and shrugged. "Sorry to be a disappointment. I might be evil, Mr. Goku, but I shall not say that I am unfair. Perhaps, to make this contest more even, you would like a weapon as well?"

Goku scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "I don't exactly have my weapon of choice here... and I don't think you'd have a bow staff on hand that I could use..."

Cold rubbed his chin. He looked around the room and then, using his telekinesis, he pulled a polearm from a nearby suit of armor. Cold twirled the bladed staff in his hand and then tossed it to Goku. "Does that fit the bill?"

Goku examined the weapon, turning the sharp end downward and then snapping the blade off against the ground. Goku flooded his energy into his new staff and then held it tight in both hands. "Thanks! This'll work!"

The Saiyan leapt into the air with a battle cry and struck his new weapon downward. Cold blocked the strike with his sword and the duel started fresh. With a familiar weapon in hand to counter Cold's swordplay, Goku was easily able to match the king's weapon performance.

The Saiyan from Earth planted his staff into the ground and then used it to pole vault into the air. Goku kicked Cold hard, landing a heavy strike onto the king's neck before sliding down the pole and landing a second kick into Cold's chest. Cold went sliding back and slashed at Goku. Goku leapt into the air, landing feet first on the side of the blade before leaping again and bashing Cold across the face with his staff. As Cold was stunned, he was quickly set upon when Bardock tackled into his side, cloaked in energy. "Tyrant Lancer!"

Cold was sent flying into his throne and crushed the regal chair as he crashed into the ground. Bardock and Goku landed. The King stood up, unfazed, and removed three dead troops from his horns. He tossed each aside, with not a single regard for any of them, and chuckled. "Things certainly are getting hectic~"

A sudden purple flash burst above head and Cold looked up to see an entire score of his troops screaming as they were reduced to ash. "Gamma Flash!"

As ashes and broken bits of armor fell to the ground at his feet, Cold glared towards the culprits. Vegeta and Raditz both rejoined Goku and Bardock, Vegeta with a satisfied smirk on his face. Cold sighed and shook his head. "There is no such thing as a strong army these days, is there?"

Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let's finish this!"

The prince and Bardock both wasted no time, charging towards Cold and ready to fight. Cold waited until they were right in front of him and then he quickly leapt over them. The king ignored Bardock and Vegeta and charged straight at Goku and Raditz. Goku instantly prepared an attack. "Kamehame-"

Cold's tail shot forward and wrapped around Goku's wrists, yanking the Saiyan from Earth into the air. Goku cried out as Cold whipped him around. "Huh?!"

Raditz went for a punch, but Cold dodged the elder brother. The king smirked and slapped Raditz across the face, sending him flying at the approaching Vegeta and Bardock. With those three momentarily stunned, Cold hefted Goku into the air and then smashed him into the ground below. He raised his sword above Goku's chest and chuckled, and then went to impale the hapless Saiyan. To Cold's surprise, Goku managed to catch the sides of the blade between his hands. As Goku struggled to hold back the impending death of Cold pushing down with all his weight, the other three managed to recover far more quickly. Bardock grabbed Cold's forearms. In that moment, Raditz slid in and snatched Goku from the grip of Cold's tail, and Vegeta leapt in with a devastating kick to the face.

Cold quickly flipped backwards, putting space between himself and his foes. Once the king had recovered, he was met with the sight of Vegeta, Raditz, and Bardock all charging massive Ki blasts. The King sneered. Meanwhile, Kikono, who was standing right next to Cold, screamed in terror and rushed behind his master for protection.

Cold grunted in annoyance and then raised his hand up, summoning a massive blast of his own. The two sides each fired their attacks and, once the blasts clashed, a massive explosion erupted out that engulfed the entire room.

In the city, far from the action…

Genoa, Salam, and their complaining captive cargo had made it quite far from the castle. The two sisters, in spite of their years in chains, were still quite fast when ordered to be. Salam had a worried frown on her face. "Do you think Master Goku will be okay?"

Genoa sighed. "We were told not to worry about that! We just have to escape with our lives, Sis. That's it!"

Salam sighed sadly, but then she adopted a little smile. "He would rather us live happily than die with him. To think, such a nice person would care for us like that..."

As the two of them ran, Faline Phars shouted at the top of her lungs. "Look! That's all well and good, I'm glad you're happy! But put me down! I have a job to do! Someone has to let the people know what's happening here!"

Genoa annoyedly sighed. "You know, for someone who was nearly executed for sticking her nose into things it didn't belong in, you sure seem eager to run your mouth about the guy who was gonna kill you..."

Phars shouted. "It's my god-given right to run my damned mouth! And it's the people's god-given right to know things! Now put me down!"

Both sisters ignored her and continued to run. Salam glanced in the distance to a nearby spaceport. "Maybe we could sneak in and steal a small ship?"

Genoa cocked her head. "Neither of us know how to fly one of those, so we'd have to take a pilot hostage and-"

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the entire planet, sending shockwaves through the city and nearly knocking the two sisters off of their feet. Phars shouted out. "What the heck was that?!"

Genoa and Salam both stood and looked up. Then, they screamed in terror as they saw a giant piece of burning rubble was about to crush the three of them. Genoa was quick, she grabbed her sister and Phars, leaping with them into a nearby store window. The glass shattered and the three of them evaded danger in the nick of time. The two former slaves recovered after a moment, both of them sitting up with minor cuts and bruises and glancing back towards the castle. And their jaws both dropped at the sight of Castle Cold having been reduced to a burning heap.

As the two of them gawked speechlessly, Phars grabbed a sizable piece of broken glass from the ground. She cut her wrists free and then pulled the hood from her head. The journalist put on her spare glasses, expertly hidden in a pocket on the inside of her shirt, and then stared at the sight of the burning castle. Her eyes widened, and then began to sparkle, and Phars smiled. "Holy shit! Hoooooooly shit! Story of the friggin' century! Hell yeah! Nice!"

Phars hungrily stared at her perfect scoop and then looked around and saw that the sisters had crashed her into the perfect place: a tech store. She raced forward, grabbed Genoa and Salam by the shoulders and pulled them with her. "You two have just been upgraded from slaves to emergency camera crew! Now come on!"

It took but a minute for the journalist to prepare herself. She grabbed a laptop and accessed her GalacTV broadcast account. After handing that to Genoa, she grabbed a Scouter, activated its video recorder, and forced it onto Salam's ear. "Now then, ladies, I like your idea to take a pilot hostage! Let's go do that and report along the way, okay? It's time to commandeer an eye in the sky!"

Genoa and Salam didn't know what to say. Neither of them was assertive enough to refuse Phars' request, so they simply went along with it, running after the reporter as she started sprinting backwards towards the spaceport. As they ran, Phars silently counted to three and then motioned for Genoa to start the broadcast on the laptop.

And then, staring directly at Salam, Phars did what she did best. "What is up, GalacTV nation! It's your host, Faline Phars, with a special GalacTV broadcast of the realest, most unvarnished scoops for your waiting eyes! And today, we have an event that's going to rock the entire universe to its very core! I'm here on Planet Cold, home of our 'lovely' dictator, King Cold, and it appears the sweet scent of rebellion is rising in the air like the smoke of a burning castle!"

Phars twirled her finger and Salam turned to have a glance at the ruins of Castle Cold. She looked back and Phars continued. "Please, dear public, stick with me as I continue to report this unfolding situation live from the scene! This is a once in a lifetime event, folks!"

Back in the ruins of Castle Cold…

As the smoke of the previous attacks billowed into the air, Cold surveyed the damage around him. Physically unhurt by the explosion, Cold took in the sight of his own scorched armor and then surveyed over the ruins of his former, lavish home. The King sighed and shook his head. "Slowly. I will kill them all slowly for this..."

Behind Cold, Kikono was crouched down and whimpering in fear. Cold turned and saw this pathetic display, and then growled from the bottom of his throat. "Kikono..."

Kikono flinched and looked up to his king. "S-Sire...?"

Cold was blunt. "If you have no contribution here other than sniveling behind me like a pathetic toddler hanging onto my cape, I suggest you leave before I decide to kill you myself."

Kikono swallowed a comet-sized lump in his throat and then immediately complied, getting to his feet and rushing towards the nearest door as fast as he could. Cold noticed, as his attendant fled, a small wet trail left in his wake and buried his face in his hand. "Heaven help me... my kingdom for a competent servant..."

As the smoke cleared more, Cold glanced towards his main problem. The haze settled to the ground and the four Saiyans were revealed to still be standing as well. Their clothes were also quite damaged from the previous explosion, but they all still stood primed to fight.

Cold faced them and swung his sword at his feet, stepping forward with an evil smirk. "So, gentlemen, where do we go from here?"

Goku, Vegeta, and Bardock all responded with a mighty shout as they rushed Cold in unison. Cold smirked and thrust his sword into the ground before meeting the three of them in a massive, hand-to-hand brawl. Each Saiyan came at Cold with a different, raging style of their own and Cold met all three of these styles with quick reflexes and mighty strikes that greatly belied his massive form and bulky frame. Their numbers and technique were able to match Cold's resilience and power blows-for-blow, trading damage with their intimidating foe as they fought against his overwhelming might.

Vegeta and Bardock both went for an energy-laden punch and swung on Cold, but the king quickly ducked and went for another surprise gore. Bardock dropped to avoid and Vegeta, reacting quickly, grabbed the horn nearest to himself. Goku leapt in and grabbed the other horn tightly. He and Vegeta held Cold firm and Bardock slid underneath him with a blast in hand. Bardock launched the attack into Cold's face, but the king was quick to block it with his arms. In the brief moment between the Saiyans attacks, Cold quickly seized the advantage. He wrapped his tail around Bardock's waist and flung him into a nearby stone wall, reducing the wall to little more than a pile of rubble and taking Bardock out of the equation.

And then, coating his own fists in a veil of energy, Cold sank a punch in Goku and Vegeta's respective stomachs, drilling each of them into the stone floor below. Having pinned them down, Cold observed each of the Saiyans. "So you are the ones that ended Frieza according to Captain Ginyu's report, correct? Well... if my son died to this, then perhaps I was wrong to place all of my faith into him..."

That sentence instantly caught the ire of Goku and Vegeta. The two of them roared in defiant response and used the force of their power to push Cold off of them. The king was sent sliding back from the sheer, overwhelming force and was nearly knocked off of his feet. Goku and Vegeta quickly took advantage of this, charging at Cold and showing the results of their 2 months of continuous training together.

Vegeta was quick like a flash, charging towards Cold and ducking a punch from the titan. At Cold's back, Vegeta reached down and grabbed hold of his tail and used the momentum of his slide to pull the king backwards. Cold's balance was quickly taken out, and he had no time to attack Vegeta as Goku descended upon him. Goku threw a punch and Cold blocked, and then Cold threw a punch of his own. Goku and the king got into a massive fist fight, Goku's martial skill and advantage given Cold's lack of balance countered perfectly by the king's raw strength. The blows were shattering, breathtaking, and enough to cause sonic booms as they struck into their target.

Vegeta held onto Cold's tail like a vice, knowing two things: he needed to hold the King off-balance in order for Kakarot to maintain the slight edge he had, and he needed to join the fight soon in order for them to make any progress. There was no telling how much stamina Cold actually had, so they needed to start wearing on that pretty quickly.

Luckily, another advantage soon jumped in. Waiting until Cold was completely distracted by Goku, Raditz leapt from the shadow with a new weapon in hand: Cold's own sword! The elder brother leapt into the sky, sword pointed directly beneath him, and skewered the center of the King's tail, pinning it to the ground. Cold hissed in pain and turned to glare at Vegeta and Raditz. Vegeta smirked and then gave a friendly, if not a bit too harsh, punch in the arm. "Smart thinking, Raditz."

Raditz nodded, rubbing his arm, and then he and Vegeta charged at Cold once more. Cold seethed as he defended against Raditz and Vegeta's strikes. Vegeta was all too happy to get into Cold's face and start weighing in with physical strikes. Raditz, meanwhile, forewent the physical attacks in favor of close-range Ki attacks. This onslaught was soon joined by Goku, who also went with the physical route.

Cold deflected as many of Goku and Vegeta's strikes as he could, but the numbers game soon caught up to him. Punch after punch, in addition to the blasts, collided into him and caused much more superficial damage to Cold than he had seen in centuries. The King sneered as he caught a punch from Goku, only for Vegeta to kick him in the back of the head. "I must say..."

King Cold smirked and used Goku like a bat, knocking Vegeta out of the air. Both Saiyans fell to the ground, but quickly recovered and lunged at Cold again. Cold's smirk did not fade. "If this is how you defeated Frieza, through strategy and teamwork, I cannot help but be impressed. Constantly learning and adapting as you go. Saiyan ingenuity is quite the thing~"

Raditz appeared behind Cold, peppering the king's back with several blasts. Cold's smirk quickly faded. "But I must stress how wrong you are to assume the same thing will work on me."

He turned on a dime, ripping the entirety of his tail off of the blade and splitting it straight down the middle. With his bifurcated appendage now free, Cold reared his arm back and slammed his hard, armored forearm into Raditz's side.

A sickening snap rang out and then Raditz spat up a gush of blood and went crashing into the floor. Goku and Vegeta charged Cold from behind, but the king leapt into the air and landed behind them. Using his right hand, Cold slammed his fist into Vegeta's left arm and snapped it in half. And using his left foot, Cold stomped onto Goku's right leg and broke it as well.

Goku and Vegeta slid forward and Cold chuckled, watching as the Saiyans nursed their freshly broken bones. "I respect your individual skill, but I am slouch in hand-to-hand combat myself, and likewise am still quite physically stronger than all of you."

Cold examined his tail and sighed. And then, the king marched forward, his silver aura radiating with such might. Goku and Vegeta both stood, Goku cringing at putting weight on his right leg. The two Saiyans turned to each other and gave one another a knowing look. They had to pull out the big guns for this. As Cold drew closer, the two Saiyans both began to shout, drawing up their power. Cold was unimpressed with this foolish show. He continued his march unabated. But then, to the king's shock, Goku and Vegeta both swelled and their power burst forth. Waves of gold radiated into Cold's silver aura and the evil ruler stopped in his tracks. "Oh! I... I see..."

Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan power burst forth in ripples, each little flare causing the rubble on the floor to rise up and then fall. The two Saiyan began their attack! The two of them were fast as they began to run circles around Cold, firing spates of Ki blasts into the monarch at nearly supersonic speeds. However, like against Frieza, their Super Saiyan forms only partially mended their larger injuries. Goku's leg was plagued with sharp pains as he ran. Vegeta's arm was twitching involuntarily as he fired. Vegeta snarled, pumping his energy into the muscles of his left arm and compressing the bones back into place. In the same way, Goku followed suit. He pumped energy into his right leg and forced his broken bones into place. Both Saiyans roared at the top of their lungs and fired massive blasts at their foe!

It was unknown to either of them whether their little light show had injured Cold or not, but that wasn't the point. They had stunned him and left him stranded in a sea of dark smoke. Cold was unaware and utterly blind.

Goku and Vegeta both drew their arms to their sides and prepared their signature Kamehameha and Galick Gun, respectively. They sensed right where their target was and prepared to fire. But right as they both started to call their attacks, a shock came from within the smoke. Two sets of eye beams, one after the other, shot out. Goku and Vegeta were both shocked and tried to evade, but the attacks were too fast. Goku's attempted dodge netted him a shot in his back and Vegeta, too caught off guard to even attempt dodging, was struck directly in the stomach.

Both Saiyan's cringed and their opponent, a damaged and rather angry Cold, emerged from his smoky prison. His armor was cracked and broken, and his cape was in burnt tatters. The king wiped a trickle of blood from his lower lip and shook his head. "Now I see how Frieza would have failed to smite you. He probably had no clue just how outmatched he was. My little darling never put much thought into mental refinement..."

Cold splayed out all ten of his fingers, pointing one hand at Goku and the other at Vegeta. "I stressed to him as he was growing up that he should learn basic concepts such as power level detection, but he always swore high and low that Scouters negated the need for such a skill. Such a lazy child..."

Cold smirked and, with a crackle from each hand, fired two massive waves of yellow and black lightning at Goku and Vegeta. The currents hit both of their targets and the two of them were instantly racked with pain and agony. The lightning pulsed through their bodies and made their muscles painfully contract. When the attack was over, Goku and Vegeta were both smoking and they each fell to the ground like a pair of stones. Cold chuckled, and then fired a second round at them. The pain hit them like a truck and the sheer force of the attack made the smoke dispel completely.

As Goku and Vegeta screamed, Cold snarled. The king was visibly furious as he shouted at his two convulsing foes. "Did you ignorant Saiyans really believe me to be as green as my youngest son?! Did you expect me to just be a carbon-copy of a snot-nosed, cocky brat?! That I wouldn't have a skill as practical as power detection?! What kind of man who would dare to call himself a king would be that pathetic?!"

With one final pulse of the lightning, Cold sent Goku and Vegeta both tumbling backward. They both crashed into a crumbling, stone pillar and laid still for a moment. Cold glared at them as they shakily stood. The moment both Saiyans glared upon him once more, Cold chuckled. "My Gravity Bolts. Not just mere electricity, but electricity with the pressure of gravity itself! A shock, but with the added fun of severe compression thanks to my telekinetic prowess!"

Cold sighed. "As I've made clear, exceptionally talented and quick-learning as my dear Frieza was, he was also rather uncreative. He relied too much on his immense power from infancy, believing his natural growth and copying of basic energy manipulation was enough to force his rule.'Death Beam' this, 'Death Wave' that. He had yet to come to the realization that general practice and innovation with said power is vital!"

The King held up his hands. "If I were to just try and kill you in a simple manner, you Saiyans might actually succeed in besting me. But I refuse to just allow that~!"

Cold fired the Gravity Bolts again, but this time Goku and Vegeta were able to fire back. Their attacks collided with the lightning and created a beam struggle of epic proportions. The world itself seemed to shake as power met with power and the gravitational effect of Cold's attack burst out in all directions. Stuck at a stalemate again, Goku wearily chuckled. "Damn... so what do we do now...?"

Vegeta snarled and pushed even more power into his attack. "I refuse to be killed like this! I did not achieve the legend of the entire Saiyan race just to have my light snuffed out in my second usage of it!"

Goku nodded. "Yeah... I know what you mean. I have so much I want to do with this power too. But... we're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place..."

On his side, Cold was confident. His Gravity Bolts were an incredibly powerful ability. Barring a miracle, this would be where these two Saiyans would die. And, while what happened next wouldn't exactly be classified as a miracle, it was a lucky break.

"KAIOKEN x22!"

Cold recoiled in pain, his entire body shuddering. He looked down, feeling a pain in his gut, and saw a glowing, red blade sticking out and covered in purple blood. In this brief moment, Cold's lightning stopped and the beam struggle ended. Goku and Vegeta's attacks collided into Cold at full force and the king was forced to endure the brunt of the blasts. He didn't budge, not at all, but the blasts did their damage and exploded in his face. Once the smoke cleared, Cold was still standing. But his anger was no longer focused on Goku and Vegeta. Instead, Cold turned and glared at the impudent fool that had dared stab him from behind: a Kaioken-imbued Raditz.

Raditz didn't regard Cold, though. Instead, he looked past the king and shouted to Goku and Vegeta. "Retreat and recover, dammit! We'll never finish this if he manages to kill you! I'll distract him, so go!"

Goku and Vegeta seemed hesitant, but they knew that Raditz's words rang true. They needed time to adjust to the grueling struggles they had just endured to better their chances of victory. Reluctantly, the two Saiyans nodded to their third brother-in-arms and leapt into the air, flying away.

Meanwhile, Raditz ripped Cold's blade from the king's back and then leapt back. Cold snarled at Raditz and Raditz snarled right back. He then leapt forward with the sword drawn. The first swing that Raditz tried missed wildly, as Cold dodged to the side. The king sneered. "What in the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Raditz grumbled to himself. Honestly, he knew that he was only buying time. But he couldn't let Cold know that! Raditz shouted at the king. "I'm acting like a Saiyan! And as such, I refuse to just sit by and be the only one not trying to take your head!"

The elder brother's Kaioken power was flaring. He lunged at Cold again and took another swing, missing again because of Cold's superior speed. Cold glared down at Raditz, regarding the weaker Saiyan as little more than a fly... and then he swatted him just as easily. A single, full-force punch to the side of the head rattled Raditz from head-to-toe and then sent him flying away at whistling speeds. Raditz crashed into a wall, impacting before landing on his head and then splatting flat onto the ground. Cold reached down to where Raditz once stood and grabbed his blade that the Saiyan had dropped.

The king shook his head. "Pathetic. Too pathetic to kill. Low-class loser..."

Cold then took to the sky after his real opponents, unaware of a different person stirring beneath a nearby pile of rubble.

Within Bardock's mind...

Nearly 40 years ago…

Gine sighed as she walked with the rest of her crewmates, fresh off another mission. She turned to her allies and stared at Bardock. "What do you plan to do after all of this?"

Bardock took a break from drinking from his canteen. "What do you mean?"

Gine sighed. "What do you mean, what do I mean? What do you plan to do when you are unable to be a soldier anymore?"

Fasha chuckled and slugged Bardock in the arm, before wrapping her own arm over Gine's shoulder. "Are you kidding, Gigi? Bardock's a lifer if I've ever seen one! His plans for when he stops being a soldier are probably burning in Hell~"

Panbukin and Totepo both chuckled. Gine glanced down to the ground. "Do none of you find that sad at all?"

Toma sighed, wiping his face with his armband before tying it back over his bicep. "Will you guys quit picking on poor Gine? She's trying to make conversation! At least humor her."

Fasha puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not picking on her. I'm joking with my best friend, ya friggin' wet blanket!"

Fasha turned to Gine and poked her cheek. "You know that, right Gigi?"

Gine sighed. "I-I know that. It's just..."

Bardock spoke up. "I tell ya this much..."

Everyone turned to look at Bardock. He took one more canteen sip and then sighed. "I have no idea what I plan to do after I can't fight anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that I know when it'll be... when I'm done being a soldier, I mean..."

Gine's face lit up a bit. "Oh... really?"

Bardock nodded and summoned his signature blast into his hand. "This is my Riot Javelin. I actually created this attack on the first day of my first mission. So, I've always imagined that the time I'm done being a soldier is when I fire my final Riot Javelin, I guess..."

Gine's face lit up in a blush. That was more poetic than anything she had ever heard Bardock say before. However, that moment was quickly broken up by Toma. "Jeez, Bardock! That's the lamest, cheesiest shit I've ever heard you say, dude!"

Bardock rolled his eyes and, hearing the click of a rifle, threw his blast into a nearby cave and obliterated several concealed soldiers. "Shut the hell up, Toma!"

Recently...

Several thoughts from recent times flooded through Bardock's mind after that memory. The same memories from before, of Gine and her wish for a peaceful life, streamed through his head like a rushing river. And alongside these memories, the recent memories of Kakarot talking about this Grandpa Gohan guy flowed in as well. All of these thoughts, from his wife and his children, welled into Bardock's head. And then…

In the ruins of Castle Cold…

Bardock's eyes snapped open and he sat up from the rubble, his head aching and bleeding. The older Saiyan glared up to the sky and saw the ever-shrinking form of Cold flying into the distance. Bardock looked around, trying to get his bearings, and saw the stilled form of Raditz lying in the distance. "Dammit...! Raditz!"

Bardock shakily stood and ran over to the prostrate form of his eldest son. He knelt next to Raditz and flipped him over, seeing that his eyes were completely glazed over. Bardock gave his unconscious son a light shake. "Raditz!"

He shook a bit harder. "Raditz! Come on, boy! You can't be dead!"

Bardock shook him harder. "Raditz!"

Still no response. Desperate, Bardock coated his fist in energy and slammed it into Raditz's chest. "Wake up, Son!"

Raditz coughed, wheezing in a painful breath before settling for forced heaving. Raditz's eyes focused a bit and he looked up at his father. "D-Dad...?"

Bardock fell silent for a moment, staring down at his eldest boy before squeezing his right hand over his eyes. "Dammit, Raditz. Don't scare me like that..."

Raditz shakily sat up. "S-Sorry..."

Bardock growled and quickly readopted his gruffer exterior. "You can't die yet. Vegeta is busy fighting Cold, so you're the only one who can make our trump card!"

Raditz rubbed his aching head. "Wait... can... can you seriously not...?"

Bardock blushed and snarled. "No, dammit, I cannot make a friggin' Power Ball!"

Raditz's shoulders slumped. "But, didn't your brother-"

Bardock rolled his eyes. "Yes, Raditz, my brilliant brother invented that damned technique! And yes, I never bother to learn the damned thing because I was never sent to a planet without a moon where someone else didn't know it! But that's irrelevant! We need to make one and throw it into the air, cuz Cold is a lot stronger than any of us thought he'd be!"

Meanwhile, in the Capital City…

Goku and Vegeta both sat in the alleyway that they had chosen to hide in and took a breather. Goku's leg was still broken, Vegeta's arm was still broken, but they couldn't let that affect them right now. The two Saiyans maintained their Super Saiyan forms, pushing their power as low as they could muster, in an attempt to hide out. But they knew it wouldn't take Cold long to find them. Goku turned to Vegeta. "We need to sneak a bit farther away. We need more time to recover our stamina…"

Vegeta nodded. "Indeed..."

The prince pointed to the fleeing crowd of nobles and rich-folk. "We should try to sneak away in that crowd. All of their energy signatures will muddle ours from Cold's view."

Goku nodded. "I... I don't like using other people as a shield... but it's probably the smarter choice this time around..."

The two Saiyans both stood and ran into the crowd, unnoticed by the terrified noble snobs as they used the crowd to sneak further and further away from the ever-approaching Cold. Up in the air, the King glared down at the fleeing hordes of his terrified subjects. He could tell that the Saiyans were hidden somewhere in there, but he couldn't pinpoint them. Cold chuckled to himself. "Smart..."

His smile faded. "But they seem to forget who the king of this world is..."

And, with that, Cold descended. The king landed with a solid boom onto the ground below and shouted as the entire crowd turned to him. "Writhing populace, SHOW YOUR KING RESPECT!"

And every one of them immediately did, falling to one knee and instantly screaming praises for King Cold. With all of them down, only Goku and Vegeta were left standing. They stared at Cold, shocked. Cold stared back with a smarmy look on his face. "Found you~"

Goku and Vegeta scoffed. The two Saiyans went running in the opposite direction, knowing that with the amount of distance between themselves and Cold, they would have a better chance at avoiding his Gravity Bolts. The King was quick to pick up on this as well. "Maintaining a distance. Very smart. You Saiyans have been worthy adversaries."

Cold held out his fingers. "However, allow me to instruct you on something you might not know, gentlemen: Electricity conducts!"

Cold fired his Gravity Bolts. But this time he didn't aim for Goku and Vegeta. Instead, he fired the attack at his kneeling subjects. The effect was instantaneous, the lightning bolts hitting the first row of them before hopping to the next and the next. It picked up speed as it went, blasting from person to person and eventually reaching the fleeing Saiyans. And this time, the attack hit even harder. Having had hundreds of people go through to pick up speed and strength, the Gravity Bolts hit Vegeta and Goku hard, the force pulling inward on their bodies and sending waves of electrical current through every fiber of their being.

Goku and Vegeta screamed in pain, but it only lasted a moment. Soon after, the noble subjects of the king all charred black and fell dead in the street and the current that Cold created disconnected. Goku and Vegeta both looked at this display, Goku feeling absolutely terrible about what he had allowed Cold to do, and then they both took to the sky. Cold watched as his enemies fled into the air with mild amusement on his face. His eyes began to glow and he thrust his right hand to his side. "The open air won't save you!"

Goku and Vegeta turned to face Cold as he shouted at them. With enough distance between them and Cold, the two Saiyans thought to blast at him. But they were quickly shocked to see Cold's next callous move.

With a flick of his wrist and a wave of his arm, Cold caused a wave of screaming citizens to come flying towards Goku and Vegeta. The two Saiyans looked to their left and were horrified to see hundreds of Cold's subjects flying through the air like mere toys. Goku realized what was about to happen and immediately shouted down to Cold. "NO! STOP!"

But it was too late. Cold held his hands up high and fired more of his Gravity Bolts. The electric attack hit and fried many of the innocent civilians and shot through them all like a miserable spider web. The attack reached Goku and Vegeta in a flash and hit them even harder this time. Both Saiyans cried out in pain and, to Vegeta's horror, Goku briefly lost consciousness. "Kakarot!"

As the attack ended and the burnt corpses of the noble class rained down from the sky, Goku fell along with them. It was only after about 20 feet of free fall that the Saiyan snapped back into it and stopped himself. He watched, from his position in the sky, as all of those people splattered against the ground. He glared down at Cold and the king wickedly smiled back at him. Goku's Super Saiyan power flared back up and he rose back up to join his comrade. "Vegeta!"

Vegeta frowned over to his ally. "I take it, playtime is over, Kakarot?"

Goku drew his hands to the side. "Let's destroy this guy!"

Vegeta smirked and drew his hands to the side as well. Each Saiyan began to charge a truly massive attack: Goku readied a Super Kamehameha and Vegeta readied a Galick Meteora.

On the ground, Cold cocked his head. "Well, that will not do at all. How about... we try this one then~"

Cold extended a single palm towards the sky and smiled wide. The king then fired out an ethereal, blue fog made from his energy. Up in the sky, Goku and Vegeta watched as this cloud flew towards them. They braced for the impact as Cold's attack was suddenly on top of them... but then no damage occurred. Goku and Vegeta both floated there for a moment, confused as to what Cold had done. Neither of them could quite process it, but then the true effect of the attack hit them. Their blasts dispersed and Goku and Vegeta both clenched their throats as, suddenly, neither of them could breathe!

What the hell had King Cold just done?!

They had no time to think of an answer for this question as, moving like a flash, Cold appeared above the two Saiyans. "Hello there~"

The monarch gripped his massive feet onto Goku and Vegeta's faces, squeezing harshly, and then began to rapidly descend to the ground. With Goku and Vegeta unable to do anything, other than suddenly breathe once more, Cold slammed feet first into the ground with the force of a bomb. The blast radius of the King's landing shot out through the entire city. Nearby buildings buckled and fell over like a house of cards, farther out buildings creaked and their windows shattered. Once again, the force of one of King Cold's attacks was enough to make the entire planet shudder.

At the epicenter, Cold glanced down at the dazed Saiyans still in the grips of his feet. He smiled and chuckled, and then charged a blast into each. He kicked Vegeta away first, sending him sailing through a pile of buildings to the left. And then he kicked Goku away, in a similar manner, to the right. Goku and Vegeta both laid there, beaten into submission, and their Super Saiyan power dispersed.

Cold stumbled forward, more damaged than he would care to let on. But he couldn't say that he cared. In his head, the king was satisfied to have beaten these cretins completely. And, best of all, he was not forced to transform to do it. Cold grabbed a piece of rebar from some nearby rubble and straightened it out. He walked up to Goku and heaved the metal beam above his head, preparing to run the Saiyan through. But then, the King noticed something was off. He stared down at Goku, who was perfectly conscious, but the Saiyan was paying him no mind. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, his pupils having turned completely pink. At that moment, Cold realized what was happening!

He turned and followed Goku's line of sight to confirm his suspicions. Hovering above the ruins of his own castle, was a Saiyan Power Ball.

Cold sighed. "You must be joking..."

The King heard a shifting of rubble behind him and turned to see that, indeed, this was not a joke. Goku was suddenly looming above Cold, having quadrupled in height and still growing. The Saiyan grew taller and taller, his tattered orange outfit stretching with him as he did. After another few seconds, Goku became a full Oozaru and roared in utter fury.

Cold leapt away to a nearby toppled building and observed the situation all around him. In the distance, Vegeta had become an Oozaru as well. And, up at his castle, those other two Saiyans had also transformed. He glared as Bardock and Raditz both leapt down from the castle, landing a few hundred feet away and glowering right at him. He turned around and saw that Goku and Vegeta were approaching from the opposite side. On top of that, the fur of their Oozaru forms suddenly erupted with golden light as they stomped forward. Cold was besieged from all sides by four, angry Great Apes. And those four apes let loose a combined roar that let Cold know exactly who they were coming for.

The Kin sneered at his radical turn of events. "Simply ridiculous..."