Execution

The scene was one of silent, swirling majesty. The asteroid field created by the moon's destruction, illuminated in the pale light of the blue supergiant, was both wild and beautiful. Two ships, one a saucer-like yacht and the other a sleek black cruiser with gold trim, hovered on the outermost edges of the field. Neither dared to enter the dense cloud of debris just yet, but their scanners were desperately searching for signs of life. The explosion had initially caused interference in their sensors, but they were trying to bring everything back online. On board the Bringer of Death, the crew was downcast. They knew that hope was lost; despite Vegeta's complete domination of Cooler, there was no way he could have survived the destruction of the moon.

"C47! Are you able to get any kind of reading from Lord Vegeta at all? If we can locate him quickly, perhaps we could get him to the medical bay in time!" Oniya, clearly concerned more than the others, was frantically trying to rescue Vegeta. Something in her still hoped that he would survive.

"Resigned conclusion: Sadly, my sensors are completely overloaded. I was tuned to the Master's energy signature when the moon blew. Statement: While I can no longer detect him, I can speak with certainty that the blast was not greater than he could survive. If only he weren't hindered by those fragile organs you meatbags possess, he would certainly still remain alive."

Oniya brushed her hand across the cushioned arm of Vegeta's throne, staring out the window into the void. Why she cared so much, she didn't know. The bridge was silent.

"Query: Have you tried to get a radio fix on the master's scouter?" the robot asked. "Theory: If he survived, he might be able to send us some kind of message."

Oniya turned, suddenly daring to hope. "Oh, that's excellent! Quickly, open a search for the scanner signal; let's see if we can't get that broadcast back online."

Cooler, the mighty frost demon, ruler of myriads of planets, had just breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had miraculously emerged the victor against a superior warrior who had him beaten and bloodied. It was especially significant to Cooler because he had never before been victorious when facing such an overwhelming challenge. In fact, he had never faced anything like a Super Saiyan. It was frightening, but he had comforted himself, sure that his victory was now sealed.

Then, suddenly, he had been jolted out of his relaxation. They were the most startling words he had ever heard, like being rudely awakened from a comfortable sleep. Adrenaline suddenly flooded his bloodstream, ripping him back to reality as he searched frantically for the source of this terrifying voice.

"Surprised?" the voice spoke through his scouter once again.

Finally, the frantic frost demon spotted him as the asteroid field parted. Golden light was still rippling around Vegeta's body, boldly announcing his appearance. Not only was the prince of Saiyans grinning, but he was completely unscathed.

Cooler was stunned. He knew the Saiyans could hold their breath in space for a few minutes - their toughened biology kept the harsh vacuum from damaging them - but the Super Saiyan was floating freely in the newly-created asteroid cloud without the slightest difficulty. The smile on Vegeta's face chilled the frost demon to his very core. "How? How did you survive? Only our clan can live in space without air!"

Vegeta's voice, transmitted through the scouter, was low and calm but filled with confidence. "I knew you were a coward, Cooler. You're just like your weak and pathetic brother. I knew my power would be more than you could handle. Your fifth form has impressive strength to be sure, but I am a warrior unparalleled in all the universe!"

"How are you speaking to me, you miserable primate?" Cooler screamed. "It's been too long for you to have held your breath! You should be gasping for air, dying a slow and painful death before my eyes!"

The prince crossed his arms, his golden aura still blazing around him in the black void of space. "I knew you would try the same trick as Frieza. You wanted to blow up the moon? I let you. Using my energy to do it was clever, I'll give you that. But it was my choice. I wanted you to use every cheap trick in your book before I killed you, so that the entire galaxy would watch as you were completely and utterly humiliated by my Super Saiyan power." Cooler was speechless with rage and disbelief.

"While I was training back at Frieza's old base, I prepared myself for this very event," Vegeta continued. "At first, I considered acquiring some sort of breathing apparatus, but I didn't want to rely on a machine to keep me alive. Depending on gears and circuits would probably be good enough for weaklings like you and your brother, but I am a Saiyan warrior." In Vegeta's nightmares, Frieza had come back to life as a grotesque mechanical monster, his strength and abilities unnaturally augmented; it was this vision that had caused him to reject the idea of a breathing device.

"You cannot grasp the power of the Super Saiyan transformation, Cooler! In preparation for a situation just like this, I trained myself to use my Super Saiyan energy to isolate the oxygen around me and draw it into my lungs, compressing it until it entered a liquid state. The heat from my transformation insulates my body, allowing me to return the oxygen to a breathable form as I need it. With my lungs just half full, I can survive for nearly a week on nothing but my own power! I prepared a reserve of oxygen with this technique as soon as I transformed earlier. Your trump card has failed, demon. Prepare to meet your end."

Raising his arms, he flexed his aura, sending dozens of asteroids flying toward Cooler. Snarling with rage, the Frost Demon waved his clenched fist and deflected them effortlessly. "You fool! Don't you know that the telekinesis of my clan is-GRAARCK!"

Vegeta had used the distraction to teleport behind Cooler, slamming a powerful kick into the back of his neck. The blow sent the demon flying, blasting through rock fragments in his path. Vegeta followed up his advantage, his golden aura streaming behind him as he fired a flurry of blasts into Cooler's face in mid-flight.

On the ship, Vegeta's crew was exultant. Though only Oniya and C47 felt any real concern for their leader, the crew knew that Cooler would not treat them mercifully if he emerged victorious. They had spent several frantic minutes struggling to move the ship out of its former lunar orbit and into a planetary orbit, but the ship was now stable and they had re-established the broadcast. Seeing the prince alive and well, tossing Cooler around just as he had before, filled them with excitement.

Across the Planet Trade Empire, regents rose in up a clamor. The moments following Cooler's destruction of the moon had been filled with sighs of relief, each regent glad that things were about to return to normal. The Viceroy was not only a feared and experienced leader, but many viewed him with true respect, something that no one had ever willingly given to Frieza. Cooler was certainly more considerate toward his inferiors and was more intelligent than the younger frost demon. Screams of "What!" and "Impossible!" rang out across the empire at Vegeta's reappearance. The legendary Super Saiyan seemed completely invincible, able to overcome any obstacle and invulnerable to any attack. Fear, terror at the legend, was growing like wildfire.

Cooler was on the run now. As he flew, dashing between large rock fragments, he kept pulling smaller asteroids behind him, hoping to slow Vegeta down. He cursed the Saiyan's abilities; not in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that a mere Saiyan could challenge him in the vacuum of space.

Vegeta was enjoying Cooler's fear. Although his bony facemask had snapped back into place again, his terror was obvious in his eyes and his frantic movements. The rocks Cooler pulled into Vegeta's path were either blasted out of the way or simply vaporized by his Super Saiyan aura. He was now significantly stronger than the frost demon and the chase filled him with excitement. As the two warriors continued their dance of death, more and more asteroids were turned to powder. There was nowhere to hide; the Super Saiyan just kept coming.

Catching himself on the surface of a medium sized asteroid fragment, Cooler launched himself back at Vegeta. The prince now held an enormous advantage over him in power, but he wasn't about to give up. Dashing forward, he fired an energy blast above the Saiyan which shattered a small asteroid. The debris cloud, suddenly obscuring Vegeta's vision, would give him the perfect opportunity. Gathering his telekinetic strength, Cooler gripped a cluster of truck-sized rock fragments and began twisting them together in a circular pattern around his body. They swirled into a whirling grey vortex, the airlessness of space freeing them from friction and allowing their speed to increase exponentially.

As the dust around Vegeta cleared, his opponent smiled behind the spinning cloud of jagged rock fragments. His telekinesis had formed a spiral containment field in the vortex, accelerating the rocks to nearly the speed of light. Vegeta would see them coming only a split second before they arrived, and Cooler was sure that their momentum would shred him. "Take this, Super Saiyan!" he shouted.

With a scream, he released his telekinetic hold, and the entire cloud of projectiles flew forward. Each fragment was moving far faster than Cooler himself could go, even at his maximum strength. "This will knock him down a few pegs," he murmured. The barrage was overwhelming; the trajectory of each boulder targeted to a specific point that Cooler thought he himself might go when dodging. His plan was brilliantly executed, displaying once again the unrivaled psychic abilities of his race.

Vegeta, sensing that Cooler had released his attack, began gathering his energy around him. This was a technique that he needn't even dodge.

"RAAAAAA!" screamed the mighty prince, releasing a golden explosion wave from his body in every direction. It obliterated matter at an atomic level, disintegrating each of the individual rock fragments that Cooler had hurled. The waves of excess energy he released rushed through the field of moon debris, breaking most of the larger asteroids apart and obliterating smaller ones. His power was overwhelming.

The flash was nearly blinding. Forgetting for a moment to sense energy, Cooler searched desperately for Vegeta's form as the new debris cloud began to clear. 'Surely at least some of those fragments struck him,' he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a golden glow from a nearby asteroid and spun around.

Vegeta's fist crashed against Cooler's jaw, but this time the powerful blow shattered the bony mask with a sickening crunch. Underneath, the frost demon's face was swollen and bloodied. With both hands, the smiling Super Saiyan gripped Cooler by the throat. In return, the choking frost demon spat in Vegeta's face, provoking the prince to smash his knee into the demon's stomach with all his strength.

Cooler's body went suddenly limp as his power level plummeted. He was already exhausted from the beating Vegeta had inflicted, but this latest blow had sapped the remainder of his strength. His armored fifth form could be maintained as long as he had at least half his energy, but now even this was impossible. His horned crest shrunk back around his head, his shoulder bows collapsed, and his face returned to normal. His musculature grew thin and slender again as he reverted to his fourth form.

The frost demon's eyes were tired and swollen. Losing his transformation hadn't improved his appearance; his flesh was a mass of bruises and his face and chest were covered in angry cuts. In the absence of gravity or air, the droplets of congealed purple blood floated around him in a misty cloud.

Vegeta crossed his arms, his voice coming over the scouter again. "How sad, to have worked so hard for so little. Sad indeed...for you." Releasing his hold on Cooler's neck, he leaned backward and kicked Cooler in the chest several times in rapid succession. The frost demon was floating helplessly, incapable of even resisting. "You're pitiful," Vegeta snarled. He quickly caught up to Cooler and grasped him again by the throat, this time with only his left hand.

Cooler gasped, but was unable to get a breath in the vacuum of space. He didn't need air to live, but it would have helped him regain his strength. His own attempt to deprive the Saiyan of oxygen was now sealing his fate. With the last few breaths he had in his lungs, he spoke in a low whisper.

"So, Vegeta...you have won. Cong...congratulations." The words were torturous, but he continued anyway. "With my death, I suppose you will be...satisfied. But...for what? What...what have you gained? You are the last of...the Saiyans...and your precious legend will die with you. You have—"

"Shhhh." Vegeta placed his finger over Cooler's lips. "I let your brother have his precious last words, and it is a concession I regret. Unlike you demons, I never make the same mistake twice."

Stretching out his free hand, the Super Saiyan began to slowly fill it with glowing golden energy. His aura shimmered, extending out from his fingertips in a jagged sword. "Your minion Salza tried to use an energy sword against me. I find this fitting." Vegeta let go of Cooler's neck and turned rapidly, swinging his extended right arm toward the frost demon. The rigid aura extending from his fingertips sliced through Cooler's neck, sending his head tumbling off his body.

Bringer of death.

Faster than his audience could see, Vegeta slashed back with his shining sword repeatedly, turning Cooler's corpse into dozens of floating pieces. Vegeta extended his left hand and fired a full-power energy wave, immediately incinerating the fragments of Cooler's body, the atoms left to litter the lifeless void of the cosmos. Wordlessly, he flew to where the head still floated, its inert eyes staring in blank horror. Seizing the gruesome trophy, he ignited his aura and took off through the asteroid field toward his ship.

Far away, on a lush green planet with three moons, a few slender pink aliens watched as something small and white streaked across the sky. Moments later, a massive shockwave reverberated from the center of a city to the north. Alarmed, the aliens looked at each other, then shimmered in place and disappeared.

Over three months later...

On Earth, the Z Fighters eagerly gathered on Kami's lookout to await the return of their friends. Elder Moori had assumed leadership of the Namekian people after the passing of Guru, and King Kai had helped Piccolo to communicate with him. Although Yamcha and Tien (unlike Chiaotzu) did not need the Namekian dragonballs to be revived, Earth's dragonballs would not become active again for nearly eight more months; Elder Moori had graciously allowed all three of Porunga's wishes to be used to return the three remaining Z Fighters to life. King Kai had sent them down Snake Way the preceding day, ready to be reunited with their friends.

Deep in the former Cooler Empire, Vegeta boarded the Bringer of Death again. He had just finished quelling an insurrection on one of the oldest Cooler star systems; it had been an utterly boring task. The rebel fleet had fired on the Bringer of Death as soon as it came within range; he had been forced to exit his vessel and personally vaporize the offending ships. Energy shields could only repel a tiny fraction of his strength as a Super Saiyan.

The series of executions that followed his victory hadn't distracted him from his boredom in the slightest. He could think of nothing more mind-numbingly dull than continuing to maintain his new empire. His mind was made up: he couldn't wait for his fight with Kakarrot any longer.

"Oniya, set a course for Earth."

Just inside the orbit of Jupiter, a dim crimson planet shrouded in shadow slowly made its way in an elliptic orbit toward the center of the solar system.

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And so the dramatic battle with Cooler comes to an end! Thanks so much for all the reviews, questions, and comments. This was a really fun battle to write.

A few responses to questions:

Q: Earlier you guys said that Vegeta was holding his breath in space ... Bardock was also seen breathing in space in his T.V. special. Does that mean that you can learn to breathe in space?

A: It's never really made clear whether Bardock is in Planet Vegeta's upper atmosphere or actually in space itself. The fact that he and Frieza are able to hear each other would seem to indicate that some atmosphere does remain. Obviously, no one can actually breathe in a vacuum, but Saiyans can most likely hold their breath in a vacuum for short periods of time - in fact, you could hold your breath in space for a few minutes, though your lungs would sustain damage from the pressure difference. Vegeta expected Cooler to try and deprive him of oxygen, so he made sure he was prepared. We hope that our explanation makes sense!

This technique probably couldn't be used by anyone other than a Super Saiyan. Vegeta relies on the intensely concentrated energy of the Super Saiyan transformation to isolate and contain oxygen; he also needs it to control the oxygen's transition from liquid back to gas. He can only survive using this technique as long as he maintains his transformation.

We made sure that Vegeta and Cooler would both retain their scouters during their fight. In the vacuum of space, there is no way for sound to travel between them, and we didn't want their battle to be completely silent. We also wanted to make sure that the audience would be able to hear their conversation through the broadcast.

Q: You guys are great at battle scenes, as myself as a writer would have just left it at Vegeta being thrashed and somehow escaping, becoming stronger and defeating Cooler in a quick swoop.

A: Glad you liked it! Vegeta's strength as a warrior is more than just brute force; we thought the fight with Cooler was the perfect opportunity to showcase his battle instincts.

Q: Just how many heads is Vegeta going to mount on the front of his ship?

A: Vegeta will probably stop his obsession with head-mounting once he lets Cooler's head join Frieza's. Now that he has killed Cooler, he will want to claim ownership of Cooler's part of the Empire, just as he did with Frieza.

Q: I know this is Vegeta centered but what of the Androids saga & the tie in to canon events? With Vegeta not on earth I don't see a clear path to Trunks...

A: With the last few sentences of this chapter, I hope the path to Trunks is a little more obvious (wink).

Q: What are Goku & Gohan doing in the year Vegeta gave Goku for the rematch?

A: Well, as this chapter implies, Goku has just arrived on Planet Yardrat. As far as Gohan is concerned, the last sentence of this chapter might have something to do with that.

Q: Not to knock you or anything but why do people call them frost demons or icejins? As far as I know they have never identifyed thier race.

A: Our usual use of "frost demon" is mostly due to influence from Dragonball Multiverse, where pretty much everyone refers to them using this title. Frieza, Cooler, and Cold are probably Arcosians, since the inhabitants of Planet Arcos are identified as the original creators of the Planet Trade Organization in a filler episode.

Q: Cooler seemed to be the only 1 in his family to actualy train and fight himself. So even if his 4th form was weaker than frieza, he is a more skilled fighter. Depicting him as a brute a la broly isn't doing him justice.

A: Cooler was certainly skilled in developing many techniques, but he was not a true warrior like Vegeta. His fifth form is more like the Ultra Super Saiyan state used by Trunks - a massive increase in power, but not so good if your opponent is able to use your strength against you. He had never trained his fifth form for battle against truly skilled opponents; instead, he expected to be able to overpower Frieza and his father with sheer power alone. He was certainly not prepared to face an opponent like Vegeta. But we certainly didn't mean to imply that he was a mindless brute like Broly...more like Ultra Trunks vs. Perfect Cell.

Q: What the hell is "thuuum"?

A: I chose to use that as a sound effect as a tribute to Skyrim. In that game, the "Thu'um" is a dragon shout, an arcane magic that sends shockwaves reverberating through the air. That's why I use it for the sound of fists colliding.