SMACK!
Goku spat a globule of bloody saliva into the void. The metallic tang lingered. "You enjoyed that, huh? My turn!"
He unleashed his fury on Cooler. Without his father to cover him, Cooler was overwhelmed in moments, taking a brutal punch to the gut that doubled him over.
Seizing the advantage, Goku abandoned all defense, his immortal body allowing him to fight with reckless, terrifying abandon. He traded blow for blow, a golden whirlwind of violence.
In seconds, Cooler was a tapestry of wounds. Goku looked equally battered—clothes torn, face bloodied—but it was a facade. Beneath the surface, every injury vanished the moment it formed, his immortality weaving flesh back together faster than it could be torn.
As Goku reared back for the finishing blow, a searing energy wave from King Cold forced him to twist aside, sacrificing the kill-shot. Cooler flashed away in that split-second, regrouping with his father.
King Cold's eyes gleamed with a perverse excitement. "Magnificent! To hold your own against the combined might of the Cold Dynasty… The legend of the Super Saiyan does not disappoint."
"What legend?" Goku scoffed, wiping his mouth. "This is just the standard model. If I were the real legendary Super Saiyan, I'd have flicked you both into atoms by now."
"Oh?" Cooler's brow furrowed, confusion cutting through his pain. "You mean there are… grades? This isn't your ultimate form?"
"Explaining nuance to you two is a waste of breath. Let's finish this!"
Goku shot forward, reigniting the three-way clash. This time, Cooler fought smarter. As King Cold grappled with Goku in a test of raw power, Cooler hung back, finger extended.
P-CHI-WHOO!
A thin, crimson beam lanced out—a Hell's Flash, carrying enough concentrated force to pierce a planet's core.
Not good. Goku grunted, shoving King Cold back with a burst of ki. He brought his palms together. A golden energy sphere bloomed between them, then expanded instantly into a perfect, shimmering dome that encased him.
Cooler's beam struck the barrier and dissipated into harmless ripples across its surface.
Energy Barrier. Another gift from the Yardratians.
"NOW, FATHER!" Cooler roared.
In perfect sync, both Cold and Cooler flashed above Goku, hovering in the starry black. They extended their hands in unison, their voices a chilling duet.
"DEATH… BALL!"
Two spheres of absolute annihilation—one violet, one crimson—coalesced above their palms. They spiraled together, merging and swelling into a single orb of apocalyptic power, dwarfing the asteroids around them. With a final, synchronized scream, they hurled it downward.
Goku's eyes widened. The sheer, oppressive force of it pressed against his barrier, making it groan. Even with immortality… if my entire existence is erased in an instant, can I come back from that? Their combined power was a tangible, terrifying force.
"KAMEHAME—HA!"
He poured everything into his attack. A titanic beam of blue-and-gold energy roared upward to meet the descending Death Ball. The two forces collocated in a silent, searing stalemate, lighting the darkness with a false sun.
"Kakarot! You are the strongest Saiyan we have ever faced!" King Cold bellowed, veins bulging. "But strength alone will not save you! HAAAAAAAA!"
"DIE!" Cooler echoed.
Together, they unleashed the last reserves of their ki. The Death Ball swelled, doubling, then tripling in size, beginning to slowly, inexorably, push Goku's Kamehameha back down toward him.
This is insane! Goku thought, his muscles screaming. In the old stories, it was always Goku and his son teaming up! Since when does the villain get the family power-up?! This isn't how it's supposed to go!
He was being driven down, the Death Ball looming ever closer, its heat blistering even from a distance. The event horizon of his own demise yawned before him.
No… Bulma… Saeko… everyone… I didn't come this far to end here!
"RAAAAAAAAAGH!"
A guttural, universe-defying roar tore from his throat. The golden aura around him crackled, then exploded with arcs of savage blue lightning. His spiked hair lifted higher, sharpening, his frame tightening with new, unimaginable power. The pressure that had been crushing him shattered.
Super Saiyan 2.
"KAMEHAME—HAAAAAAAA!"
The renewed beam wasn't just stronger; it was transformative. It swallowed his previous attack and magnified it tenfold, a divine spear of light that met the Death Ball and punched straight through it. The colossal orb shuddered, distorted, and then was utterly consumed, reflected back toward its creators in a wave of pure retribution.
"NO! IMPOSSIB—!" Cooler's denial was cut short.
"MY DYNASTY—!" King Cold's cry vanished into the light.
There was no final explosion, only a wave of annihilating brilliance that washed over them. When it faded, only Goku remained, hovering amidst dissolving cosmic dust.
"Hah… Hah…" He gasped, the lightning still dancing faintly around his form. He looked at his hands, feeling the awesome, crackling power coursing through him. A fierce grin spread across his face. "So this… is Super Saiyan 2. Incredible."
He chuckled, the sound cold in the vacuum. "I guess I should thank the Cold family. First Freeza helped me unlock Super Saiyan… and now his dear old dad and brother helped me reach the next level. As a token of my gratitude…"
His senses expanded, locating the cowering, frog-like form of Mūgu trying to paddle away. A single Shunkan Idō later, Goku had him by the neck.
"Did you really think you could run?"
"Eeep! No! Never! Forgive me! The planet! I'll take you to their homeworld right now! Please, no more slaps!"
Soon, they hung before a glacial, blue-white planet.
"This is it? The Cold Dynasty's seat of power?" Goku asked, his voice devoid of warmth.
"Y-yes, sir! I swear! You can sense them! Please, just let me go!"
Goku did. His consciousness swept over the icy sphere, confirming it—hundreds, perhaps thousands of life signs, all carrying that familiar, hateful chill in their ki. A nest of vipers.
"Your service is at an end," Goku said flatly. He hurled Mūgu toward the planet's surface, a final, contemptuous dismissal.
Then, he took a deep breath he didn't need. The lightning of Super Saiyan 2 erupted around him once more, brighter and more violent than ever. He cupped his hands, not to the side, but above his head, gathering not just his power, but the righteous fury of a promise kept.
For his shattered ring. For the fear they had sown across the galaxy. For the sheer, unmitigated evil of their bloodline.
"KAME…HAME…"
Energy swirled, pulling in the ambient light of nearby stars.
"…HAAAAAAAA!"
The beam he fired was not a wave, but a lance—a concentrated shaft of divine judgment that struck the planet's core. For a moment, the ice world glowed from within, a brilliant blue lantern. Then, it vanished in a soundless, expanding sphere of light and dust, erased from the cosmic map.
Goku watched the aftermath, his golden hair settling. The deed was done. The Cold Dynasty was extinct.
He turned, his gaze already looking beyond, to the next horizon, the next challenge. The universe was vast, and he had only just begun to explore its heights.