The stars had never looked so cold.
Through the reinforced viewports of the Cold Family's commandeered flagship, a thousand Saiyan eyes watched their world die.
Planet Vegeta hung in the void, cracked, bleeding. Rivers of magma split the continents like wounds. The atmosphere burned.
"It's... it's really happening."
A young warrior pressed her palm against the glass.
"Where will we go?"
The question came from somewhere in the crowd. Small. Lost.
"We have nowhere to go..."
"Everything we built... our homes... our history..."
"I'm so scared..."
"The Queen... where's the Queen!?"
Voices overlapped. Panic spreading like fire. Warriors trembling before something worse than death.
Extinction.
"What about the warriors who stayed behind? Are they-"
"THEY'RE DEAD!" someone screamed. "THEY'RE ALL DEAD! AND WE RAN! WE RAN LIKE COWARDS!"
"We didn't run- we were ordered-"
"WE LEFT THEM TO DIE!"
A fist slammed into the wall.
Then another.
Grief transforming into rage. Rage into despair. Despair into something that threatened to tear them apart from the inside.
"YOU STUPID FOOLS!"
Bardock's voice cracked across the ship like thunder.
Every head turned.
She stood at the edge of the crowd, scarred, bloodied.
"Look at yourselves," she growled. "Warriors of the Saiyan race, weeping like children."
"Our home is DYING!" someone shouted back. "How can you-"
"Our home was ALREADY dead!"
Silence.
Bardock stepped forward.
"You think this is the first time Saiyans have lost everything? You think we've never faced extinction before? Our ancestors did the same thing. Abandoned their original homeworld when it was destroyed. Traveled the stars with nothing but their pride and their strength. Found a new planet. Claimed it. Made it theirs."
She gestured at the viewport, at the crumbling world beyond.
"Planet Vegeta was never our birthright. It was our conquest. A place we took because we were too stubborn to die quietly."
Her eyes swept across the gathered Saiyans.
"And now we do it again."
A warrior wiped tears from her face. "But... where do we go?"
"Anywhere." Bardock's smile was savage. "Everywhere. We're Saiyans. We don't need a planet to define us. We ARE our planet. Every one of us carries our race's future in our blood."
She slammed her fist against her chest.
"As long as ONE of us survives, the Saiyan race survives. That's who we are. That's who we've ALWAYS been."
Silence held for a long moment.
Then.
A warrior straightened. Wiped her face. Squared her shoulders.
"She's right."
Another stood taller.
"We survived Frieza for generations. We'll survive this."
"Our ancestors rebuilt from nothing. So will we."
"Saiyan pride doesn't die with a planet!"
The energy shifted. Despair giving way to something else. Something that had been beaten down for so long it had almost been forgotten.
Hope.
The unbreakable stubbornness of a warrior race.
Bardock turned away from the crowd.
Walked to the viewport.
Crossed her arms and stared at the dying world below.
*Kakarot...*
Her jaw tightened.
*I'm sorry.*
She'd abandoned her. Sent her away as a baby because her power level was embarrassing.
But even as she thought it, something nagged at her.
The male.
That strange, impossible male who had appeared from nowhere. Who had faced the Cold Family alone.
*He knew her name.*
Bardock's brow furrowed.
*When we first met, he called me Kakarot. Like he knew her. Like they had history.*
*But how? She was sent away before. There's no way he could have-*
*Unless-*
Flash.
Light erupted in the center of the cargo hold.
Gasps rippled through the crowd as figures materialized, the final batch of Saiyan warriors, still clutching each other, eyes wide with disorientation.
And at their center,
Soba.
The Yardrat crumpled the moment the teleportation completed. His small body hit the deck, chest heaving, antennae completely limp, skin pale with exhaustion.
"Little man!"
A burly Saiyan knelt beside him, genuine concern crossing her scarred face.
"Nice work! You actually did it!"
"How many trips was that?"
"Must have been hundreds..."
"He saved us. This little pink guy actually saved us!"
Soba managed a weak smile, too exhausted to respond.
But Nappa wasn't celebrating.
Her eyes swept across the new arrivals. Counting. Searching.
Her expression darkened.
"Where is the Queen?"
The cargo hold fell silent.
"The Princess." Nappa pushed through the crowd, her massive frame creating waves of warriors stumbling aside. "Where is Princess Vegeta?"
No answer.
"WHERE ARE THEY!?"
She reached Soba, grabbed him by the collar, hauled his limp body off the ground until they were face to face.
"THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO TELEPORT! WHY AREN'T THEY HERE!?"
Soba's head lolled. His breath came in ragged gasps.
"Yeah... I... know..."
"THEN GO BACK! NOW!"
"I'm... I'm going..."
"YOU'D BETTER!" Nappa shook him like a doll. "IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THE ROYAL FAMILY BECAUSE OF YOUR-"
"Nappa."
Fasha's hand closed on the general's wrist.
"Let him breathe. He can't teleport anyone if you crush his windpipe."
Nappa's grip loosened. Slightly.
Soba sucked in air, wheezing.
"And while you're at it," Fasha added, stepping closer, "bring the other one too."
Nappa frowned. "Other one?"
"The male." Fasha's eyes went dreamy, her hands clasping together beneath her chin. "The one who fought the Cold Family. We can't let him die down there. Not after everything he did for us."
Her tail swayed.
"Our babies would be SO strong. Can you imagine? That power combined with Saiyan blood? The children would be-"
*THWACK.*
Bardock's palm connected with the back of Fasha's head, sending her stumbling.
"GUAH!"
"Focus." Bardock stepped past her groaning squadmate, eyes fixed on Soba. "Bring him here. The male."
Soba blinked up at her.
"I need to talk to him." Bardock's voice was rough. Hard. "And after what he did for us... we owe him..." Her voice dropped to a mumble. "...we should at least thank..."
"What?" Soba tilted his head. "Sorry, I didn't catch-"
"I SAID JUST BRING HIM HERE!"
Bardock's face flushed crimson. She turned away sharply, arms crossing over her chest.
Soba shook his head slowly.
"I can't bring him here."
"What do you mean, *can't*?"
Nappa's growl was dangerous.
"It's his plan." Soba pushed himself up on trembling arms. Someone helped him into a sitting position against the wall. "If he comes here... if he retreats... the Cold Family won't hesitate to destroy these ships."
"They wouldn't dare-"
"They would." Soba's voice was quiet. Certain. "If they can't have the fleet, no one can. That's how they think. Goku knows this. So he's staying down there. Keeping them focused on him."
Bardock's fists clenched.
"Is he planning to sacrifice himself for us?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Who DOES that? Who throws away their life for people they barely know?"
"I don't think he's planning to sacrifice himself."
Soba's smile was exhausted but genuine.
"Knowing him... he has something on his mind. Something we can't see yet."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because that's who he is."
Silence fell across the cargo hold.
A thousand Saiyans, packed into a stolen ship, staring at a dying planet and thinking about the stranger who had appeared from nowhere to save them all.
*Who is this man?*
The question echoed in every mind.
*Who is he?*
*Where did he come from?*
*Why would he fight for us?*
*Why would he die for us?*
Bardock stared at the viewport.
At the crumbling world.
At the distant flashes of light where the battle still raged.
*Who ARE you?*
---
The golden light scattered across the battlefield like dawn breaking over a graveyard.
Three white faces, illuminated by that impossible radiance, stared upward in horror. Beads of sweat rolled down their skin. They looked like children caught misbehaving. Like brats frozen beneath their father's disappointed gaze.
Further below, three female figures stood equally frozen, but their shock carried different flavors. Hope. Awe. Disbelief. Magnificence.
Goku stood tall in the air above them all.
He didn't move. Didn't speak. Simply looked down at them, not with his head, just his eyes. His golden hair swayed gently with the energy radiating from his form, each strand burning with inner fire.
The only sound was the planet dying beneath them.
Groaning. Cracking. Collapsing into itself like a body giving up on life.
No one dared break the silence.
No one could find the words.
And then, like thunder shattering glass, Goku's voice snapped them back to reality.
"My eyes are up here."
That smirk.
That infuriating, blood-flecked, predatory smirk.
King Cold shook his head violently, as if physically throwing off the paralysis that had gripped him.
"FRIEZA! COOLER!"
Spittle flew from his lips. His eyes bulged with desperate command.
"IGNORE HIM! HURRY TO THE SHIPS! OTHERWISE WE'LL BE DOOMED ON THIS DYING ROCK!"
Frieza and Cooler glanced back at their father. Then up at the golden figure hovering above.
They hesitated.
Something primal, screamed at them not to move. Not to turn their backs on that. Every instinct shrieked a single word:
DANGER.
Goku's smile widened.
He extended one hand, fingers curling in a beckoning gesture.
"What's wrong? Sending kids to do a man's work?"
"WORTHLESS MONKEY!!!!" Frieza shrieked.
"Don't let him bait you!" King Cold roared. "Stay calm and GET TO THE SHIPS!"
The brothers exchanged one final glance.
Then moved.
Both of them rocketing forward, Frieza to the left, Cooler to the right, trying to flank past the golden obstacle in their path. If they could just reach the ships, just escape this dying world-
"Not so fast."
They passed him.
Or thought they did.
Two hands shot out, impossibly fast, impossibly precise, and closed around their tails.
Squeezed.
Fingers dug into the sensitive flesh like iron vices, grinding against bone.
"GAH!" Cooler's composure shattered. "LET GO OF ME!"
"RELEASE US THIS INSTANT!" Frieza thrashed wildly. "DO YOU KNOW WHO WE-"
"Let's go for a spin!"
Goku pivoted.
And spun.
The rotation started slow, then accelerated beyond comprehension. The two princes of the Cold dynasty became streaks of white and purple, their bodies stretched horizontal by centrifugal force, their screams dopplering into incomprehensible wails.
A tornado formed around them.
Dust and debris blasted outward in all directions. Pebbles became bullets.
Queen Vegeta shielded her face with one arm, her cape whipping violently behind her.
Princess Vegeta braced against the wind, eyes wide, unable to look away.
Eve simply watched. Smiling.
"HERE! CATCH!"
Goku released Frieza first, the emperor of the universe launching like a cannonball toward the ground below.
Then Cooler, following the same trajectory, a blur of purple flesh and desperate flailing.
King Cold dove aside.
His sons weren't so lucky.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Two impact craters. Two mushroom clouds of dust and debris. Two princes of the universe, groaning in the rubble like broken toys.
Princess Vegeta's fists clenched at her sides.
Her eyes were wide. Sparkling. Her small body leaned forward involuntarily, as if pulled toward the battle by invisible strings.
*Master.*
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
*Master master master!*
She couldn't hide it anymore. Watching him toy with the three most powerful beings in the universe, watching him humiliate them with such casual ease.
*He's incredible.*
*He's INCREDIBLE.*
King Cold stared at his sons crawling from the rubble.
Frieza's 100% form was cracked and bleeding. Cooler's pristine composure had shattered entirely, replaced by something approaching hysteria.
And above them all.
The golden demon descended slowly. Leisurely. Like a cat that had cornered three mice and was deciding which to eat first.
King Cold's fists clenched.
With rage.
And something else.
Something he hadn't felt in centuries.
Fear.
The planet shuddered beneath them, a violent tremor that split the ground and sent magma geysering into the darkening sky. The death throes were accelerating.
Goku sighed.
"I'm enjoying this too much."
His teal eyes swept across the three broken figures before him.
"But I need to end this."
King Cold looked up at him. "What do you mean en-"
His voice died.
Because Goku wasn't above him anymore.
Goku stood directly in front of King Cold.
*When did he-*
The thought never finished.
Five fingers pressed against the patriarch's chest, not a fist, not a palm. Just fingers. Extended. Pointing. Like a surgeon preparing to operate.
"Don't worry."
Goku's voice was calm. Conversational.
"Your kids will join you soon enough."
A single drop of purple blood welled up where Goku's fingertips touched flesh.
"WHAT!? STO- GRAAAHHH!!!"
The fingers began to push.
Not fast. Not merciful.
Slow.
Goku's other hand gripped King Cold's shoulder, holding him in place. His right hand continued its inexorable journey inward, through skin.
King Cold's massive hands wrapped around Goku's forearm.
Pulled.
Strained.
Nothing.
The arm didn't budge. Didn't shift. Didn't acknowledge his resistance at all. It was like trying to move a mountain with bare hands.
"STOP! STOP!"
King Cold's fists rained down on Goku's face, blow after blow after blow, each one carrying enough force to shatter planets.
Goku didn't blink.
Didn't flinch.
The punches landed against his cheek like raindrops against steel.
And his hand continued digging deeper.
King Cold saw those eyes, those terrible, empty teal eyes, and for the first time in his existence, truly understood what it meant to be prey.
"PLEASE! STOP! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! I'LL-"
Flash.
Light erupted beside them.
Soba materialized mid-sentence, two fingers still pressed to his forehead.
"I teleported to you Goku, I hop-"
He lifted his head.
Saw King Cold's massive form towering above him.
Saw Goku's arm buried in the patriarch's chest.
Saw the purple blood streaming down that golden forearm.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
The Yardrat's scream echoed across the dying battlefield.
Goku didn't look away from King Cold.
"Go ahead, Soba. Just one more trip and your mission is accomplished."
Soba's legs were shaking. His antennae had gone completely rigid with terror. But he nodded, quick, jerky movements, and turned toward the three women.
Started running.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Princess Vegeta's voice cracked across the battlefield like a whip.
She shoved Soba backward, hard enough to send the small Yardrat stumbling.
"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
Goku's eyebrow rose.
He glanced over his shoulder, his hand still embedded in King Cold's chest, the patriarch whimpering and gurgling with each micro-movement.
"Bu-but it's Goku's orders!" Soba stammered, picking himself up. "You have to-"
"MASTER'S ORDERS DON'T MATTER!"
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Master.
Said with such fierce possession. Such desperate need.
"I'M STAYING HERE!"
Queen Vegeta rounded on her daughter, eyes blazing.
"Stop being childish! You are not a child anymore!"
"But Mother-"
"QUIET!"
The Queen's voice carried the full weight of royal authority.
"You are a Saiyan. A warrior. An elite. One of the strongest of your generation." Her eyes bored into her daughter's. "And you are NOT behaving like it."
Princess Vegeta's lower lip trembled.
Her fists shook at her sides.
But she didn't back down.
Goku watched the exchange from a distance.
His hand slowly withdrew from King Cold's chest. The patriarch collapsed to his knees, clutching the wound, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
Goku placed his hands on his hips.
Sighed.
"This is not good parenting, you know. You need the other parent to play the nice one. Balance things out." He shrugged. "This way, Saiyans just end up as savages."
He turned to look down at King Cold, who was desperately trying to stem the flow of purple blood from his chest.
"Don't you think I'm right? You're a dad too."
King Cold stared up at him, teeth clenched, fear swimming in his ancient eyes.
Goku walked toward the women.
His steps were casual. Unhurried. As if he wasn't leaving three wounded emperors behind him. As if the planet wasn't dying beneath his feet.
Frieza and Cooler made themselves small as he passed, pressing against the rubble, not daring to move, barely daring to breathe. Their eyes tracked him like prey watching a predator drift by.
Planning something.
Waiting for an opening.
Goku didn't seem to notice.
Or didn't seem to care.
He stopped in front of Princess Vegeta.
The girl's fists were clenched so tight. Tears trembled at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall but held back by sheer stubborn will. Her whole body vibrated with barely contained emotion.
Goku knelt.
Brought himself down to her level.
And extended his hand.
She flinched, a sharp, involuntary jerk away from the contact.
Then his palm settled on her head.
He padded her hair softly, his teal eyes meeting her dark ones with something that was almost... tender.
"You need to go with them."
His voice was quiet now.
"This planet is going to blow up. You'll die if you stay here."
"But-" Her voice cracked. "I'm an elite Saiyan. I can't flee from a battle. And y-you-"
"It's not a battle anymore."
His hand continued its gentle motion through her hair.
"The planet is dying. Staying here would be a meaningless death. And you're worth more than that."
Her eyes glistened.
"Now go. I'll see you in the near future."
She looked up at his hand, that warm, comforting weight on her head, and slowly, hesitantly, her own small hands reached up toward it.
Touched it gently.
Almost held it.
And then shoved it aside.
She spun away, arms crossing over her chest, head turning sharply so he couldn't see her face.
"HA! Who wants to see YOU again!?"
Her voice was thick. Wobbly. Completely unconvincing.
"A weird Saiyan man... appearing out of nowhere... causing all this trouble..."
She sniffed. Hard.
"FINE! I'll go! Come on, pink man, let's get this over with!"
She marched toward Soba, refusing to look back.
Goku smiled.
"You too."
Goku's eyes found Eve.
"Go. We'll meet again where we left the device."
Eve nodded slowly. "O-okay, Da- Mr. Goku!"
The slip was barely covered.
Eve walked toward Soba and Princess Vegeta.
Then stopped.
Turned.
And launched herself at Goku.
Her arms wrapped around him, tight, desperate. Her face buried against his chest, golden light dancing around them both.
Both Vegetas twitched.
Queen Vegeta's eyes narrowed slightly. *What is this...?*
Princess Vegeta's expression flickered through confusion, jealousy, and something she couldn't name.
Goku's arms rose slowly.
Hesitantly.
And wrapped around the girl who was hugging him like he might disappear if she let go.
*Weird,* he thought to himself.
But the feeling wasn't unpleasant.
It was... warm. Familiar. Like something he should remember but couldn't quite place.
Eve pulled back, eyes glistening, and rejoined the others without another word.
Soba looked at Queen Vegeta.
She met his gaze evenly.
Then gave a single, sharp shake of her head.
Just go.
The message was clear.
I'm not coming.
Soba turned to Goku, seeking confirmation.
Goku nodded.
The Yardrat pressed two fingers to his forehead. Princess Vegeta and Eve touched his shoulders, ready for transport.
Behind them, movement.
Goku's hand snapped up, already glowing with gathered ki, and fired without looking.
BOOM.
The blast carved a smoking crater directly in the path of Frieza and Cooler, who had been trying to slip away toward the ships while everyone was distracted.
They froze.
Caught.
Goku didn't turn around.
"Stay."
One word. Absolute command.
The brothers didn't move.
Flash.
When the light faded, Soba, Princess Vegeta, and Eve were gone.
Silence settled over the battlefield.
Goku and Queen Vegeta stood together, the Super Saiyan and the Queen, facing what remained of the Cold dynasty.
King Cold, kneeling.
Frieza, his 100% form trembling and cracked, eyes darting for any escape route.
Cooler, analytical mind finally accepting that no calculation could save them.
"Are you sure you want to stay?"
Goku's question was directed at the woman beside him.
Queen Vegeta stood tall. Regal. Unbroken despite everything.
"I am your Queen. It is my duty."
Goku studied her for a moment.
Then smiled.
He turned back to the Cold Family, three emperors reduced to cowering, bleeding wrecks.
"Now then."
Golden lightning crackled around him.
"Where were we?"
---
On the other side of the capital.
A lone figure flew through the collapsing streets, dodging falling debris, over fissures of molten lava.
A woman.
Saiyan armor. A scar running down the side of her face, cutting through one eyebrow, closing her eye.
*Where are the civilians?*
The streets were empty. Not a soul. Not even bodies.
*The Queen already fled?*
Another tremor shook the city. A building to her left groaned and collapsed, sending a wave of dust and debris.
*She led us into that war against Frieza... and she FLED? Took her soldiers and LEFT us?*
Her teeth clenched.
*She did it on purpose.*
*Because of...*
The nursery was ahead.
*Because of-!!!*
She burst through the doors.
Emergency lighting bathed everything in red. Alarms blared, warnings. The automated systems were screaming for an evacuation.
"Where,"
She ran past rows of empty pods.
Open. Abandoned. The other infants had been taken.
At the far end of the facility a single pod remained sealed.
The display beside it flickered with warnings:
SUBJECT: CLASSIFIED
POWER LEVEL: ERROR - READING EXCEEDS PARAMETERS
STATUS: QUARANTINED BY ROYAL ORDER
Her fists clenched.
"Royal order."
She'd known. The Queen's jealousy. The fear hidden behind cold eyes when the readings had come back.
Her daughter's only crime was being strong.
Too strong.
Strong enough to threaten a bloodline that had grown comfortable on its throne.
She slammed her palm against the release mechanism.
Nothing.
Locked.
"OPEN!"
The ground shook violently, the worst tremor yet. Cracks across the ceiling. Chunks of concrete began to fall.
Her fist drew back.
Gathered ki.
And struck.
The security barrier shattered.
Alarms screamed louder, breach detected, unauthorized access, containment failure, but she was already past them. Already at the pod. Already tearing at the seal with her bare hands.
The glass cracked.
Broke.
And there she was.
A baby.
Small. Perfect. Sleeping peacefully despite the chaos around her.
The woman gathered the infant into her arms, pressing that tiny body against her chest.
"I've got you."
The ceiling groaned above her.
The floor cracked beneath her feet.
Planet Vegeta had minutes left. Maybe less.
She turned clutching her daughter and flew from a window.
—
A little further away, four figures stumbled from behind a collapsed hangar. Frieza Force.
Low-rank soldiers with their commander.
One of them was gripping his head with both hands, rocking back and forth.
"Shit! We're gonna get dusted on this stupid rock! The monkeys took all of our ships! And we destroyed every pod on this planet ourselves, SHIT! shit shit shit!"
The biggest of the four, their commander, sat against a collapsed wall, arms crossed. Calm. Eyes closed.
"Would you calm down. We're going to die. At least keep your honor."
The third one spat.
"What honor? Genocide planets for Frieza and his family? That's what we're keeping?"
Silence.
The panicking one stood up. Wiped his face. "No. No, I'm not dying here. There's gotta be something, a pod, a shuttle, SOMETHING we missed."
"I'm with him," the third said.
The commander didn't move.
"Go, then."
Three of them lifted off, scanning the wreckage, flying low over the crumbling city.
That's when they found her.
A Saiyan woman flying through the streets, a baby clutched to her chest.
"Oh! A Saiyan!"
"Shit!"
They dropped down in front of her, blocking her path. She skidded to a halt. Eyes darting between them.
"Didn't you leave with the others?"
"They abandoned you?"
Her mind raced. *Shit… I don't need this*
"Doesn't matter." The one who'd been panicking stepped forward. His eyes moved from her face... down. A mature woman, voluptuous but hardened, a warrior's body, athletic and toned. A black leotard visible under the green cracked Saiyan armor. His gaze lingered on her thighs. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Even these monkeys look attractive to me now."
"Interracial?" his friend said with a grin.
The first one spread his arms wide.
"I don't wanna die like this! Let's make our ending pleasant, honey."
She clenched her teeth. Frowned. Pulled her baby tighter against her chest.
The three of them spread out. Surrounding her.
"I can't wait, I'M FIRST!"
The middle one rushed her, arms wide trying to grab her in a bear hug. She leaned to the side, smooth, and drove her heel into his stomach.
BOOM.
He folded, spit flying from his mouth, gasping. Hovering in the air, clutching his gut.
He recovered. Looked at his two friends with wild, furious eyes.
"What are you waiting for?! LET'S GO!"
All three rushed her at once.
With one arm holding her baby and the other free, she dodged, kicked, weaved. But one of them got above her and brought both fists down like a hammer.
The blow caught her clean.
She rocketed downward, smashing into the ground, a cloud of dust erupting on impact.
They dove after her.
Inside the dust, a flash.
A ki blast tore through and punched clean through one of them's chest.
He fell out of the cloud, smoking. Dead before he hit the ground.
The other two froze. Staring at their friend's body.
"You BITCH!"
She burst from the dust and flew. Fast. Desperate. Baby screaming against her chest.
They pursued.
She looked back, two of them gaining, and she slammed into something solid In front of her.
The commander.
Just hovering there. Arms still crossed.
She looked up at him.
Behind her, the other two caught up.
"Cap-"
"Out of my way!" She kicked him square in the chest.
Nothing.
He didn't move.
His fist came down and hammered her earthward. She crashed into the ground, dust and rubble exploding around her. Her vision blurred. Her arms shook. But the baby, still there. Still cradled against her.
She couldn't get up.
The two descended. Slowly. Licking their lips.
"Hehehe..."
One knelt beside her and ran his tongue up her calf. She thrashed but couldn't move, her body was broken from the commander's hit. The other reached for her armor, tugging at it, but the baby was in the way.
"Move this baby monkey!"
He tried to push the infant aside. Couldn't. She was holding on with everything she had.
The first one's hand slid up her thigh. Higher. Dangerously higher. Fingers hooking under the edge of her leotard.
"YOU SCUMS!"
"My name is Payolo, by the way." He grinned, face inches from hers. "Don't forget to scream it."
His fingers gripped the leotard. About to rip.
"Stop."
The commander's voice. Cold.
They both looked up.
"I'll go first."
Payolo's grin died. The other one pulled back too, bitter but obedient.
"Fine..."
The commander knelt over her.
The other two grabbed her arms and wrenched them open, pinning her flat against the rubble. Her grip broke, and her little daughter slid to the ground beside her.
She looked up at the commander above her.
Too proud to beg. Too hardened by a lifetime of battle. She just gave him that look, the one of a warrior.
The commander's eyes dropped to her chest. Her armor was pressing tight, squeezing her breasts together, pushing them up and to the sides against the rigid plating. His breathing changed. Became uneven.
He reached down slowly.
She didn't move. Didn't flinch.
His fingers found the strap of her armor. Unclasped it.
The chestplate sprang open, the pressure released all at once, and her breasts bounced free, heavy, settling to the sides under their own weight. The black leotard underneath clung to every curve, molding their shape like a second skin.
The two holding her arms craned their necks sideways.
"Woooaaahh..."
Their grip tightened. Their breathing got worse.
The commander placed his hand on her breast. Squeezed. Kneaded it through the thin fabric.
"Enjoying it?"
Nothing. Her face was stone. Absolutely nothing behind her eyes.
His other hand slid down. Found her scarred thigh. Lifted it.
"I was hoping for more resistance, doesn't matter know, let's begi- AAARRGGH!"
The baby had woken up.
Tiny jaws clamped down on the hand groping her mother's chest. Hard.
"You stupid brat-!"
He ripped his hand up toward his face, the infant still dangling from it, teeth sunk in, refusing to let go.
"Let her go!"
He flicked his arm to the side.
The baby flew, hit a pile of rubble, bounced off the wall, and landed hard on the ground.
"YOU ASSHOLE!"
She thrashed against their grip, veins bulging in her neck.
"I like it more when I see the fear and despair."
The commander leaned over her face. Tongue out.
"Kiss me on my hot mouth ! I'm feeling-"
Behind him, the baby lifted her head.
And started to cry.
*Bip. Bip. Bip. Bip.*
The soldiers froze.
"What's that?"
"Th-that's the scouter..."
"Where are those numbers coming from?"
All four of them turned toward the baby. Her cries grew louder. The numbers kept climbing.
"What the hell?!"
"This piece of crap might be broken-"
The commander's instincts kicked in. He scrambled off the woman and rushed toward the infant, hand extended, a ki ball forming in his palm.
The baby cried louder. And louder. The ground trembled.
Then, light.
Blinding. White.
A shockwave ripped outward from the infant, followed by a wall of raw ki.
"THIS BABY ISN'T NORMAL-!"
The mother had already moved, the second their focus shifted to the baby, she'd torn free and thrown herself behind a collapsed wall. The blast hit the commander square, scorching the side of his face black, and swatted all three of them away like insects.
Rolling. Writhing. Screaming.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
"THE BABY, IT WAS THE BABY-!"
The commander was on his knees, one hand pressed against the burnt side of his face, breathing through his teeth. Payolo was slapping at his own arms, hissing. The third was on all fours, groaning.
She stared at her daughter from behind the wall. That tiny body, quiet now. Fists still balled up.
Then she snapped out of it.
She ran to her. Scooped her up. Pressed her against her chest so tight the baby could feel her heartbeat. Curled her entire body around her child like armor.
And flew.
Straight up. Fast.
---
"Now... where were we?"
Goku turned back toward the Cold Family.
Frieza and Cooler stood in low stances, hands and teeth clenched, beads of sweat rolling down their temples. Gulping.
Behind them, King Cold was on his knees. hand clutching the hole in his chest, trying to hold the bleeding. Blood seeped between his fingers. He raised his head and spoke to them, quiet, discreet.
"We have to do something. And fast."
They both looked back at him.
"Otherwise I'm gonn-" He caught himself. "- we are going to die here."
Frieza's eyebrow twitched at his father's words.
Cooler looked down at the ground in front of him.
"I have something."
They both snapped to him. Shock. And a sliver of hope.
"I can't believe I have to use it here." His fists tightened. "Damn monkey!"
"What is it, son?! Tell me already!"
Frieza's voice came through tight. "Come now, dear brother. This is not the time for pride."
Cooler clenched his teeth.
*It was my trump card against Frieza. To show Father I was his legitimate, stronger son.*
Then the three of them turned forward again.
The sound of Goku's boots on the ground. Slow. Steady. Walking toward them.
They were cornered animals.
"What are you snakes plotting?" Goku asked. He tilted his head. "Feed me an apple?"
Cooler snapped. Eyes bulging.
"Don't get cocky, MONKEY! I've been restraining myself, but you just signed your death wish!"
Goku stopped.
He lifted his chin. Looking down at them.
"Alright." His voice was bored, regal, as if he were the emperor, not them. "You've intrigued me. I'll allow you to show me."
Something cracked behind Cooler's eyes.
"Allow me? ALLOW ME?! You will soon regret those words!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Purple aura erupted from his body.
"Son Goku..."
A feminine voice. Behind him. The Queen.
"Are you sure of yourself?"
"Don't worry." He didn't turn around. "He can't do anything."
She smiled softly behind his back. Whispered.
"I believe you."
The shockwaves from Cooler's transformation hit like a storm, dust, rocks, debris flying in every direction like bullets and rockets. The wind howled. The ground cracked under the pressure.
Veins bulged across Cooler's body. Every muscle, every fiber, pumping blood, swelling with power.
His body began to change.
His arms grew longer. Thicker. Beefing up with raw mass. Then his legs, trunk-like, planted. His chest expanded, plates of bio-armor cracking and reforming, widening. And finally his head, the round skull elongated, stretching backward into a shield of bone and horn. Like a triceratops.
He was towering now. The size of his father.
The Queen's mouth fell open.
Frieza stared at his brother. He hadn't known.
King Cold's eyes widened. Pride and terror in equal measure.
Cooler stopped screaming. Straightened up. The dust and debris settled around him like a curtain falling.
He smirked down at Goku.
"Now... see me in my ultimate form. Tremble, monkey. Tremble and plea before your master."
A small plate of armor deployed from his chin, sliding up to his nose, a battle mask hiding half his face. Only his eyes remained visible. Red.
Goku smirked.
"You got big. Big deal."
*His power level spiked considerably... even higher than the three of them combined earlier.* Goku thought. *Interesting.*
"It's not just my physical appearance that got bigger." Cooler's voice was muffled behind the mask, deeper, resonant. "Let me show you."
Still facing Goku, still locking eyes, Cooler raised one arm to the side.
A small ball of ki, no bigger than a marble, left his fingertip without him even looking.
Everyone's eyes followed it. Everyone except Goku and Cooler, who stayed locked onto each other.
The ball drifted lazily toward the horizon.
Deafening silence.
Then… flash.
A light erupted from the horizon like the sun had crashed into the surface a few kilometers away. Blinding. White.
And then the mushroom cloud.
Fire, raw violent, surged upward, climbing, climbing, punching through the atmosphere itself, a pillar of destruction reaching into space.
Queen Vegeta stared, mouth open.
Frieza stared, mouth open.
King Cold stared, mouth open.
None of them had ever seen such a display of power.
Goku kept his smirk. Eyes still locked deep into Cooler's.
In the ships above, every Saiyan pressed their faces to the windows. On the far side of the planet, a colossal explosion disintegrated the cloud layer, the light visible even from orbit.
"What the hell is that explosion?!" Nappa shouted.
"Move the ships! The shockwave is coming!" Bardock's voice cut through the panic.
The pilot blasted out of Planet Vegeta's orbit. The other ships followed, engines screaming.
And then came the shockwave.
It tore across the surface, violent, all-consuming. It changed the atmosphere. Changed the terrain. Changed the colors of the sky. Everything in its path was flattened, stripped, blasted into nothing.
Before it hit them, Goku casually reached out, grabbed the Queen, and pulled her against his chest. One arm around her. His back to the incoming wave. Shielding her.
King Cold and Frieza drove their arms and legs into the ground, digging in, holding on with everything they had to not be swept away. The wind was so violent it sliced their skin, thin cuts opening across their faces, their arms, their shoulders.
Cooler didn't move an inch.
The storm raged. Mayhem.
Then it passed. The wind settled.
Queen Vegeta was blushing. Looking up at Goku's face, turned sideways, eyes still locked on Cooler. He hadn't moved either. Not an inch. The ground behind him was untouched, shaped by the shockwave's path flowing around where he stood, around where the Queen was pressed against him.
Her tail swayed erratically behind her.
He let go of her. Turned to face Cooler again.
Frieza and King Cold crawled out from under the rubble. They looked at Cooler, awe and desperation fighting on their faces.
"Amazing, son!"
"Tch!" Frieza spat. Prideful even now.
"Now, son, finish him quickly so we can catch up to the ships!"
"I'll end this quick," Cooler said, lowering into his stance. Ready.
On the other side.
"This explosion..." The Queen's voice was shaking. "He's too strong... Goku! Are you sure you can-"
She stopped.
She'd looked at his face.
That calm, soothing face. The one that was so terrifying for the Cold Family precisely because it was calm. No tension. No worry. Nothing.
She reached out with both hands. Grabbed his cheeks. Pulled him toward her, making him lean down.
And her lips found his.
Soft at first. Then deeper. Her fingers slid from his cheeks to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His golden hair brushed against her forehead. She tilted her head, and the kiss opened, her lips parting against his.
She let go.
A thin thread of saliva connected their lips for a moment before it broke.
"I'm a married man, my Queen," he said. Smirking.
She smiled.
"To me now."
"Disgusting." Cooler's voice cut across the moment like a blade. "Watching two monkeys copulate isn't exactly my preference."
"Don't worry," Goku said, turning back to him. "You won't ever see it again, so-"
He cut himself off.
His head snapped toward the destroyed capital.
"What's that?!"
The Queen blinked. "What?"
*I sensed a spike in power... just for a second. Now it's gone. Is there still someone here? A goon of the Cold Family? A Saiyan?*
"WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING!"
Cooler appeared in front of him, massive, instant, all momentum, his fist already following through.
BOOM.
The punch connected square with Goku's face.
The shockwave blasted outward, the Queen was thrown off her feet, tumbling across the broken ground, her cape whipping around her. Dust erupted in every direction.
It began to settle.
"Keep your focus in a battle..." Cooler's voice was low, dripping with satisfaction. "...monkey."
The dust cleared.
Cooler's enormous fist was pressed against Goku's face.
And Goku was standing there.
Like a tower.
He hadn't moved. Hadn't shifted. Hadn't even blinked.
Cooler's smirk died.
"That's it?" Goku said.
When Goku spoke those two words, Cooler flinched. His whole body jerked backward, legs nearly leaving the ground, an involuntary, animal reflex. The reflex of prey.
Goku slowly raised his hand.
Cooler saw the hand coming and leaped back, scrambling, putting distance between them.
Goku picked a small rock out of his hair. Flicked it away.
He looked back at the Queen.
"There might still be someone in the city. We're going to search for them after this."
She looked at him. Then at the Cold Family. Back to him.
"Un- understood."
"I'll finish them now."
Cooler snapped.
"...I pulled my punch."
"You hear me? I pulled it. I felt it the moment it landed, I held back. Subconsciously. You can understand that, right? I've never used this form on anyone. I didn't know how much strength to- I was calibrating. That's all. That's why you're still standing."
"And- and don't mistake this form for something fragile. You saw the transformation. You felt it. This power is beyond anything my brother or my father could ever dream of. I just- I was too worried about killing you in one blow. That's the problem. I didn't want it to be that easy."
"Stop looking at me like that."
"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! I am the strongest here! I'm the strongest- gnnh..."
Frieza's mouth fell open. His eyes went wide.
"Brother!"
King Cold lunged forward a step.
"COOLER!"
Cooler heard them. Their voices, strange. He turned his head toward his family. The sight of their faces was terrible. Pure shock. Pure terror. They weren't looking at him. They were looking at his chest.
He looked down.
Goku stood beside him. Close, too close. His entire arm buried deep through Cooler's chest.
"Wha- what are you- move your-"
The pain hit.
"AAAARRGHHH!"
The arm jutted out from Cooler's back. Blood ran down Goku's forearm in thin lines, tracing the ridges of muscle, gathering at his knuckles before falling in slow, heavy drops onto the dirt below.
Cooler screamed. A raw, animal sound, continuous, shapeless, his massive body locked rigid around the thing inside him.
Frieza couldn't move. His mind was still catching up.
*It was instant. He was standing there, he was just standing there listening to Cooler talk and then he was gone. No blur. No flash. No movement at all. One frame he was in front of us and the next his arm was through his chest. He didn't even-*
King Cold's thoughts mirrored his son's, but colder, sharper.
*He could have done that at any point. He was letting Cooler talk. He was letting him finish.*
Goku looked up at Cooler's face. The screaming had thinned into something breathless and gurgling. Goku's eyes were still shadowed beneath his brow.
*One down.*
His gaze shifted, slowly, deliberately, to Frieza. Then to King Cold.
*Two to go.*
They both saw it. That look. They understood it at the exact same time, and they moved at the exact same time, Frieza stumbling backward, King Cold stepping sideways, both of them putting distance between themselves and the thing standing in front of them.
Goku's free hand came up and gripped Cooler's shoulder.
He pulled his arm out fast.
Blood traced an arc across the ground, a long wet crescent whipping through the air as his arm came free. Cooler swayed. His legs buckled but didn't fold. He looked down at himself. At the hole in his chest. Clean through.
His lip trembled first. Then his jaw. Then something broke behind his eyes and the tears came.
He looked at Goku.
"Help me..."
His voice was small. A child's voice in a monster's body.
"Please... I don't want to die..."
Goku said nothing.
Cooler's eyes went glassy. His knees finally gave out. He fell forward, hit the ground face-first, and didn't move again.
—
Power level:
| King Cold | 60,000,000 |
| Frieza (Final Form 100%) | 120,000,000 |
| Cooler (5th Form) | 470,000,000 |
| Queen Vegeta | 15,000 |
| Goku (Super Saiyan) |470,000,000+ ??? |