Status: Ongoing
Cooler Rising
Chapter Thirty-five
Salza and Zither landed on the ground in front of Cooler. The Namekain rushed forward and swung the sword at Salza again and again. Salza dodged the blade each time.
The blue alien gathered a ki blade around his wrist and lunged at his Namekain opponent. Zither parried the blow with his blade and pushed back. Salza gathered a ki blade around his other and and swung both at the Namekain Elite Blade. Zither blocked both hands with it, and pushed back again.
Salza laughed and kicked Zither in the stomach. Zither buckled down as Salza elbowed the Namekain in the back and swung one of the ki blades across it. Salza ducked down and tripped Zither into the ground, and then kicked the Namekain between the legs.
Zither buckled with pain a second time. Salza continually kicked the Namekain in the stomach. Then Zither jumped up and hit Salza square across the jaw.
"Enough!" Cooler said. "I've seen enough."
Cooler walked up and regarded Zither coldly. "I've been told you're nothing but a pirate," Cooler said. "But you're a pirate who can fight, and I like that."
"No sir, I'm not a pirate," Zither said. "I'm an elite warrior who's been outcasted by his own society."
"A tragic story, I'm sure," Cooler said. "My family too are outcasts among our people as well. Or, at least, we were until most of us were killed by Saiyans," he added, taking a quick glance over at Turnip. "But, alas, you're not the only one outcasted from his own people."
"Your people?" Zither said.
"Much like yours," Cooler said. "Peaceful, placing too much emphasis on negotiation and hypocritical enough to have an elite warrior class at the same time. They didn't quite see it like my family does--that if you have the strength, then you should be allowed to hone it and become a great warrior. They found us a little too savage for their taste, so they outcasted us."
"And then what?"
"We became the greatest family in the entire universe," Cooler said. "We controlled more planets and people than you could ever imagine. I'm sure I still have a couple of cousins out there vying for their power over the small amount of planets they still control. But my brother Freiza and I? We were the greatest of them all; we were the ones who controlled the great stretches of this galaxy and the next.
"And, well, I'm sure you know the rest. Some unheard of Saiyan who'd been hiding on some backwaters planet comes up and kills my brother. He killed me as well soon enough, but I found my way out of Hell. And, as I'm sure you can imagine, I seek vengeance for what he did to me, and what he did to my family.
"So, Zither, my question is, will you join me in my quest? Will you fight with me so we can gain back some of the glory that was wrongfully stolen from us?"
Zither kneeled and smiled. "Yes, Lord Cooler, I will fight for you," he said.
Cooler started heading back to the ship with Turnip. "Salza!" he called. "Get Zither cleaned up. We're leaving for Namek in an hour."
As Zither stood up, Salza smiled. "You should feel honoured," Salza said. "I never heard that version of the story until just now."
"But you've heard other versions?"
"Not so much that," Salza said. "I've heard bits and pieces of the same story. But I've never heard it delivered all at once until just now."
"Ah," Zither said with a smile. "A great honour indeed, then."
The blue alien gathered a ki blade around his wrist and lunged at his Namekain opponent. Zither parried the blow with his blade and pushed back. Salza gathered a ki blade around his other and and swung both at the Namekain Elite Blade. Zither blocked both hands with it, and pushed back again.
Salza laughed and kicked Zither in the stomach. Zither buckled down as Salza elbowed the Namekain in the back and swung one of the ki blades across it. Salza ducked down and tripped Zither into the ground, and then kicked the Namekain between the legs.
Zither buckled with pain a second time. Salza continually kicked the Namekain in the stomach. Then Zither jumped up and hit Salza square across the jaw.
"Enough!" Cooler said. "I've seen enough."
Cooler walked up and regarded Zither coldly. "I've been told you're nothing but a pirate," Cooler said. "But you're a pirate who can fight, and I like that."
"No sir, I'm not a pirate," Zither said. "I'm an elite warrior who's been outcasted by his own society."
"A tragic story, I'm sure," Cooler said. "My family too are outcasts among our people as well. Or, at least, we were until most of us were killed by Saiyans," he added, taking a quick glance over at Turnip. "But, alas, you're not the only one outcasted from his own people."
"Your people?" Zither said.
"Much like yours," Cooler said. "Peaceful, placing too much emphasis on negotiation and hypocritical enough to have an elite warrior class at the same time. They didn't quite see it like my family does--that if you have the strength, then you should be allowed to hone it and become a great warrior. They found us a little too savage for their taste, so they outcasted us."
"And then what?"
"We became the greatest family in the entire universe," Cooler said. "We controlled more planets and people than you could ever imagine. I'm sure I still have a couple of cousins out there vying for their power over the small amount of planets they still control. But my brother Freiza and I? We were the greatest of them all; we were the ones who controlled the great stretches of this galaxy and the next.
"And, well, I'm sure you know the rest. Some unheard of Saiyan who'd been hiding on some backwaters planet comes up and kills my brother. He killed me as well soon enough, but I found my way out of Hell. And, as I'm sure you can imagine, I seek vengeance for what he did to me, and what he did to my family.
"So, Zither, my question is, will you join me in my quest? Will you fight with me so we can gain back some of the glory that was wrongfully stolen from us?"
Zither kneeled and smiled. "Yes, Lord Cooler, I will fight for you," he said.
Cooler started heading back to the ship with Turnip. "Salza!" he called. "Get Zither cleaned up. We're leaving for Namek in an hour."
As Zither stood up, Salza smiled. "You should feel honoured," Salza said. "I never heard that version of the story until just now."
"But you've heard other versions?"
"Not so much that," Salza said. "I've heard bits and pieces of the same story. But I've never heard it delivered all at once until just now."
"Ah," Zither said with a smile. "A great honour indeed, then."