High above the battlefield, Cell floated with his arms crossed, looking down at Frieza's family with complete disdain.
"You better not disappoint me," He sneered.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a massive figure suddenly shot toward him like a bullet. A heavy punch came crashing down, howling with raw power.
Cell raised an eyebrow.
It was King Cold, and he was stronger than before.
Back in Hell, Cell and King Cold had battled over territory more than once. At the time, Cell held the upper hand. But eventually, Cold was locked away in a more secure part of Hell, and they'd gone their separate ways.
Now, Cell took a good look at him and grinned. So the old man had undergone a transformation. This was unmistakably a bulkier, third-form mutation, an oversized version of Frieza's earlier forms.
But Cell wasn't impressed.
"Hmph. Still too slow." In a blur, Cell twisted aside like a snake, letting Cold's punch sail harmlessly past him.
Then,
CRACK!
Cell's palm landed squarely on King Cold's back. What looked like a light strike sent a shockwave rippling through Cold's body. He gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as his enormous back buckled from the impact. The force crushed his muscles inward like a collapsed building.
Before Cold could react, Cell's hand slammed against his gut.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A flurry of punches erupted, each one sharper, heavier, more merciless than the last. King Cold, once a feared galactic emperor, was now nothing more than Cell's personal punching bag.
Yet from the sidelines, Frieza and Cooler remained completely unfazed.
"So this is the result of Dad's so-called training?" Frieza said dryly, arms behind his back. "Pathetic. He just clawed his way back to his old transformation."
Cooler scoffed. "He's past his prime. It's sad, really."
As Cell's final punch launched King Cold through the air, a bright Kamehameha burst from his hands and slammed into Cold mid-flight, sending him crashing to the ground at Frieza and Cooler's feet.
Blood dripping from his mouth, Cold struggled to rise. His body trembled as he leaned on one knee, clutching his ribs.
"Grr... Damn it! Just a little more time... I would've broken through!" He spat.
Frieza rolled his eyes.
"Face it, Dad. You're old." He smirked and added, "Then again, if that luxury suite of yours hadn't been blown up, maybe you would've finally done it. Heh."
Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
Suddenly, several purple energy blasts rained down on the trio. Frieza's expression sharpened. He bolted upward and deflected them with ease, swatting the attacks aside like flies.
"Cell… You've improved. I'll give you that," Frieza admitted, voice calm but edged with menace.
From above, Cell sneered. "Frieza, your father's garbage. I bet you're not much better."
Frieza gave a cold laugh. "Hoh hoh hoh… You're not wrong. My father is garbage."
"But me?" His grin widened. "I'm beyond him."
Frieza cast a quick glance at King Cold, bruised and broken on the ground, before calmly floating up to Cell. But before he could get any closer, a blur of movement cut in front of him.
It was Cooler. His body straight and tall, he floated between Frieza and Cell, his eyes fixed like a blade.
"You said you killed Vegeta?" he asked coldly.
Cell rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to repeat myself, you scaly lizard?"
Hearing what he wanted, Cooler's tense shoulders relaxed. Then, unexpectedly, he broke into loud laughter.
"Ha! So the monkey's finally dead?"
He shook his head and chuckled darkly. "Shame I didn't get to finish him off myself… but you've done me a favor, Cell. Let me show you my gratitude."
A sudden flash erupted from Cooler's body as he spoke. Blazing silver light enveloped him, coating his form like a second skin. It pulsed with intense power, like an unbreakable shell forged from refined energy.
The silver light erupted with stunning brilliance, instantly swallowing the sky and turning the once-blue horizon into a blinding sea of silver.
As the light intensified, space around it seemed to ripple and distort, as though reality itself were bending.
In that moment, the entire world faded into a blur, except for Cooler, who stood alone at the center of the radiance, wrapped in its blinding glow.
From the heart of the light, a powerful surge of energy burst forth, sweeping outward in an unstoppable wave. The surrounding air twisted violently, drawn in by the sheer gravitational force of Cooler's transformation.
Dust, gas, and raw Ki spiraled around him like a vortex and then, silence.
When the light finally faded, a transformed figure emerged.
Silver Cooler.
His entire body shimmered with metallic perfection, his form more refined and lethal than ever before. Towering and regal, he now radiated a divine sense of cold supremacy. And in that moment, he completely stole the spotlight from the smaller figure floating nearby.
Frieza scowled.
"Tch. Damn it... I didn't think he'd reach that form too."
FWOOSH--!
In a flash of blinding energy, Frieza transformed as well. His body gleamed with the same radiant silver hue, the air around him warping with pressure.
Now, two silver-clad brothers advanced slowly toward Cell. Frieza drifted ahead of Cooler, stopping just short of his rival.
"Heh heh... Cell," Frieza smirked, "this is the result of just two weeks of training. I won't lie, if I had more time, my power would've reached an entirely different dimension."
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not like my pathetic father. I'm the genius of our race, born once in a thousand years."
Cell snorted, then casually pointed at Cooler.
"A thousand-year genius, huh? Then what's he supposed to be?"
"He's taller than you, broader too. Stronger, maybe?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Frieza twitched.
[Oh no. He touched the nerve. Here it comes...]
Even Trunks, watching from afar, winced inwardly.
[You never talk about Frieza's height.]
Vegeta's voice echoed faintly in his mind: 'Hmph. Good to know. I'll make sure to mock him next time we fight.'
Frieza's face darkened. Veins bulged across his forehead like crawling worms.
"You... bastard!!"
FLASH--!
In a blink, Frieza vanished from sight and reappeared behind Cell, fists raised, aiming for the back of his neck. But Cell was ready. He turned with a smirk and caught the blow mid-air.
"I always wondered," Cell teased, "why your dad and your brother are giants, but you look like a pocket-sized action figure. Some kind of genetic defect?"
"SHUT UP!!" Frieza howled, his silver tail whipping across Cell's face with explosive force.
Snarling with rage, he launched a barrage of attacks.
Cell's smirk vanished as he was forced to retreat under the furious onslaught. Waves of ki exploded around them as the two tore through the air, plummeting toward the ground in a spiraling clash of fists and energy blasts.
Each collision sent out shockwaves that ripped through the landscape. Cooler, meanwhile, didn't interfere. He folded his arms and watched, calmly analyzing.
[Heh. He really does hate being reminded about his height.]
Still, his crimson eyes gradually shifted. They narrowed as he turned his gaze toward King Cold, who was still gasping for breath, slumped on the ground.
Cooler slowly floated over, his expression unreadable.
"Useless." The word came like a cold slap.
King Cold's eyes flared. "You ungrateful brat! Say that again!"
Cooler's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Sorry, Dad, but our clan has no use for dead weight."
He raised his arms above his head, energy building.
"This is the last time I'll ever call you father."
A massive purple energy sphere bloomed in his palms, and without hesitation, he hurled it forward. King Cold barely had time to scream before the blast consumed him. The explosion sent him hurtling hundreds of miles away, vanishing into the horizon in a spectacular eruption of silver and violet light.
Cooler turned back calmly, eyes settling once again on Cell and Frieza's ongoing battle.
But then, he froze. Something was behind him. Someone was watching.
Cooler's instincts screamed. He spun around sharply. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
From the shadows came a chillingly familiar voice.
"Heh heh... what a good son you are."
(End of Chapter)
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