(Those spam bots sure do love my unfinished story, huh?)

Chapter 4: A Long-tailed Tyrant

The Namekian warriors and Bardock made their descent into chaos.

The village was almost in ruins, but there was no sign of Cooler, that much Bardock noticed.

However, the warriors did find the grunts that were responsible for this carnage. Some had been wounded however and hung back for treatment. Eventually, the threats were cleanly dispatched. Under the rubble in the village, a warrior managed to find the five-star Dragon Ball.

"I've found it!"

"Good job! We'll go with you to Elder Moori!"

Two warriors proceeded to escort back the ball finder to the Elder's hideout.

There was a sudden change in the atmosphere, as the remaining Namekians frowned turning their heads in one direction. Bardock noticed their behaviour and checked his scouter, and paled.

That reading…! Shouldn't the scouter have blown itself to bits by now? 'The blue guy must've had an upgraded model,' he thought.

But that power level. The others were sure of it too.

Cooler.

"He's in the next village! We take him down, we save our planet!" a warrior declared with vigour, "For New Namek!"

"For New Namek!" the others except the Saiyan shouted back.

Before they took off, they noticed the arrival of a band of healer Namekians. They all nodded at each other and set off with Bardock alongside them.

It didn't take too long before even more carnage unfolded. The explosions were indiscriminate, and dead villagers were everywhere.

And to top it off, the culprit was laughing heartily for all to hear. The following salvo of ki blasts reduced the rest of the village to rubble.

"The Dragon Ball!" a warrior shouted, pointing towards Cooler.

The lean tailed figure was indeed in possession of a Dragon Ball - the six-star ball to be exact.

"His power… it's too high. We need to use our last resort!" Half of the warrior Namekians placed their hands on the shoulders of other half of the warriors. A bright blue glow encompassed them and half of the warriors remained, but their powers more than doubled each.

Bardock looked very confused. "Where did-"

"It's called Assimilation - Our last resort," a newly-assimilated warrior explained to Bardock. "By absorbing the power of other Namekian warriors, we are granted the power to defend our home from grave threats, as is how we've always done."

Another warrior shouted, "Surround him! Don't let him escape!"

Cooler was about to take off before being ambushed by the Namekians and Bardock, who was positioned directly behind him.

"Oh, have you Namekian slugs come to be exterminated? Perhaps you were supposed to be the welcoming party!" Cooler chuckled, only just making eye contact with them. "I'm afraid you arrived a little too late for the main event. Everyone already left the venue, ha, ha, ha!"

"You monster…" one warrior whispered.

"Now then! How would you noble warriors rate the efficacy of my extraction of this Dragon Ball, and the destruction of this little settlement?" he mocked, his blood red eyes surveying his new arrivals.

As angered grumbling sounds were heard all around him, he guffawed.

"Not to worry, your turns will come. You'll be joining these fresh kills of mine in the afterlife soon enough - before I've made my wish for eternal life!" Cooler smiled insanely.

The villagers gasped in horror at Cooler's words. One Namekian tried to lie. "The Dragon Balls granting wishes is children's folklore! They are mere artefacts!"

Cooler wagged his finger. "Oh, no. Don't try playing that game with me, fool. I know better than anyone why my brother was here…"

Another Namekian shouted resolutely, "You'll never make a wish! We'll die before you figure out how to use the Dragon Balls!"

The warriors held their stances. It was at this moment Bardock removed his scouter. It made a sound as it fell to the ground.

He knew it was soon time to get his hands dirty.

'I don't even know how the hell I'm supposed to beat this creep. His power level is through the roof!' he thought with concern. Though, he did have some help. That was nice at least. Better than the last two times he fought these galactic tyrants. But he doubted that even their newly combined powers would even be enough to maim this mauve monster.

The sound of the scouter dropping made Cooler turn around to inspect each member of the ambush party.

He stopped as he set his gaze on Bardock.

Cooler narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan before him and he complained, "Not a Saiyan Monkey! Frieza should have paid closer attention or I wouldn't have to be privy to your sorry sight. Perhaps you are the one named 'Goku'."

"Close, but not quite." Bardock tightened his bandana, grimacing. "But it won't matter that I'm not him, because I'll still send you to hell anyway, and get my revenge on all of you demons," Bardock threatened.

Cooler responded, "Such bravado! And here I thought you Saiyans lacked the mental faculties required to seek vengeance. Alas, you will soon find that all of your bluster is greatly misplaced. For you see, I am not my inferior little brother."

He elaborated, "He may have had the raw power my father had and then some, as is the case for the mutant members of my race, but I have the skill and common sense he clearly lacked - which is why he lost to a single ape. Saiyan or not, you will die by my hands either way."

He then addressed everyone present, "I will make you all kneel before me, grant my wish, and then I'll kill you, you simple-minded fools!"

At that moment, Bardock and the Namekian warriors began their bout with Cooler, with Cooler still clutching the ball.

Bam!*

Kzzh!*

Whack!*

"Agh!"

Already, there were casualties. Cooler moved as efficiently as he could, using little effort to bat the green attackers away. He blasted the area around him without care, as he had already obtained what he wanted from this place.

He took the opportunity to take several jabs at the Saiyan, questioning his whereabouts when his home planet was blown to dust.

Bardock refrained from saying too much about it, instead yelling, "Stop wasting your breath. You really think I'll answer that?"

Cooler guffawed all the while.

'…Oh, and there goes another slug.'

He decided he was going to have a little fun riling up this Saiyan relict. "I never did have any interest in setting foot on your planet-sized exhibit, and you should know that I never once employed your filthy hides, despite your race's supposed 'warrior' status."

Cooler walked slowly forwards to intimidate him. "After your red rock blew up, I had a brief encounter with a straggler who attempted to thwart an occupation of mine oh so long ago. Turnip, was it? Please excuse me, I can't seem to recall. Anyway, I had him stranded on a remote planet for all eternity… which is what your kind deserve and more!"

"Got a mouth on you haven't you?!" Bardock barked. 'Turnip…? Wonder if he meant-'

Bardock threw himself out the range of an incoming tail swipe that bashed a couple of others around.

Another one down.

Cooler was still holding the Ball!

"I needn't use anything but my tail for you lowlifes. You're all as pathetic as I predicted!" Cooler swung his tail with such velocity, knocking yet another warrior out of the way.

The fight was completely in Cooler's favour as the Namekian warriors proved to be no match for him. Some retreated to be secretly healed, while others were knocked unconscious or killed.

Only a few warriors remained. Bardock still stood.

'I'm still up, but not for long at this rate,' he thought worriedly, as Cooler had grown bored of the green folk and was now exclusively targeting him. And Bardock couldn't keep up with the assault, even with Cooler handicapped by the Dragon Ball in his clutches.

Another swing to his abdomen. A kick to his chest. Bruises would come up soon for sure.

What's more, Cooler was simply enjoying himself all the while, as any relative of Frieza would, while attacking a weaker being.

Oh, that nasty grin…

Millions, no… billions had fallen with their last moments being at the mercy of at that kind of smile.

Cooler, upon seeing Bardock bleeding from cuts and bruises all over yet still fighting, was reminded of that one idiotic Saiyan who confronted his brother before Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

He even noted the characteristic hair and red bandana of the Saiyan, but dismissed his further thoughts as the Saiyan he was thinking of was without a doubt long gone, having been directly in front of Frieza and his planet-destroying attack.

"Rrrgh… that's it…!" Bardock snapped at him, "All of you red-eyed freaks can go to Hell!"

Bardock charged an attack in his palm, and chucked it head on, hoping to cause some kind of damage… or to at least cause him to drop the Ball.

To his dismay, nothing happened. It impacted directly on Cooler, but Cooler didn't so much as flinch.

"Bahahahaha! And just what was that supposed to be?"

Cooler vanished directly behind him, grabbing his head with one hand and ascended with him into the air. He kneed him in the back, then threw him below him and kicked him further into the ground. Cooler flew down and slowly walked over, his steps resounding like a hydraulic press.

"How does it feel?" Cooler jeered.

Bardock was face-down in the dirt. Oh, this was not good. He couldn't afford to give up here. If he did…

Bardock flared his ki and rocketed upwards away from the tyrant. The remaining Namekian warriors banded together besides him as a defence. One of the hidden healers approached from behind them, and briefly healed each warrior.

"Bardock… we may not know you well, but we'll fight with you to the end!" one warrior proclaimed.

Bardock nodded silently at him and the healer, and steeled his gaze on their foe.

He spoke while maintaining his gaze on Cooler, "I'm not gonna let another planet I'm currently stuck on fall to these monsters. This one goes down today!"

"Yeah!" the three other warriors shouted.

Bardock charged into Cooler, preparing to kick Cooler's left arm to free the Dragon Ball. Cooler swivelled away with some amusement showing on his face.

"Oh do try again, Saiyan! I'll even let you get a few hits on me this time!"

A jab at his pride would not go unpunished. "Raaagh!"

"Bardock! Don't!" a warrior exclaimed.

Bardock did indeed try again, only to have his head meet dirt once more.

"Dang it!" one of the warriors tried to distract Cooler while another dragged Bardock the heck away from the alien.

'How could I be so stupid?!' Bardock screamed at himself, 'I gotta get off the ground and focus, dammit!'

Bardock slowly pulled himself up, just in time to see two warriors get bashed to the ground like him.

Inside his mind, Bardock wondered how in the world they were supposed to defeat him.