"Hey chrome dome!" A deep, male voice rang out through the air.
"Who in the fu- Gwahhh!" Frieza's reproach was cut short as Piccolo's boot was planted squarely in his cheek, sending hum careening away an unknown distance. Piccolo caught the falling Goku bridal style and turned to flee. As he did so Kakarot mumbled weakly from his arms.
"C-Can't out run him.. L-Lead him to the others, ahh!" He coughed and cried out as pain racked his body, not just from the pummeling dished out by Frieza, but also from the after effects of repeated zenkais. Piccolo looked down at his rival turned friend and smiled. "Don't need to."
Rather than elaborate any further Piccolo merely bent his knees and flew off, but not before a carbon copy of the green man emerged from his back and slid into a battle stance. "My clone will be more than enough to buy us time." He promised with confidence. Kakarot for his part looked relieved and trusted in what his savior told him. What choice did he really have?
He smiled up lightly at the man before another wave of pain wracked his muscles, forcing him to clench his whole body. "I'm sorry.." He whispered, before blissful unconsciousness took him.
"Me too Goku.." Piccolo frowned. "If only I had this kind of power before I went and got myself killed… Then again That's the only reason I have the power to do this for you now.. I hope it'll be enough."
Back with Piccolo's clone, the replica warrior had his eyes closed in concentration. More or less since he had been summoned he had been gathering power for a singular purpose. Frieza was still nowhere to be seen but now his father was drifting dangerously closer to the green man.
"You know.." King Cold began coldly (no pun intended). "I was perfectly content to sit this little slaughterfest out because I know how much my little boy loves death and destruction and quite frankly.. I'm rather lazy myself." He said with a hand on his chest and a closed eye smirk.
It was the kind of cocky smirk that someone wears when they know they've already won. He looked at the Namekian and smirked menacingly. "But seeing your blasphemous treachery so nakedly levied against my family I believe I've had a change of heart."
Cold raised his arms to his sides as he prepared to unleash his true power but then Frieza's voice cut threw the air from somewhere behind the ridiculously large man. "Stay your hand father!"
A moment later Frieza floated down beside him rubbing his bruised cheek. "That attack was impressive… This must be one of those Namekians. I want to torture and question him personally about the dragon balls."
"But Frieza-..!" Cold began but was swiftly cut off by his entitled son.
"But Nothing!" He screeched, rounding on his father and rubbing his sore cheek once more. "It was a cheap shot, nothing more. He is pathetic just like his disgusting money friends. I will crush them all for challenging me and then make an example of this planet by eradicating it entirely!" The short but mighty emperor demanded with finality.
King Cold looked perplexed but eventually relented. "As you wish, my son.."
He leveled one final glare at the Namekian in front of him before swiftly jumping backwards through the air in retreat. Piccolo watched him go with an internal sigh of relief. 'Did you feel it Nail?.. There for a second..'
'Yeah… That guy's a true monster.' Came the Internal reply that only he could hear. Piccolo shivered before focusing intently on the task at hand. "Even with that freak gone.. This won't be easy. We don't necessarily have to win but I don't want to find out what happens when one of my clones perish either..."
Frieza drifted within a stone's throw from the green warrior, stirring Piccolo from his internal conversation. "I have to say.." The Arcrosian began. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, Namekian. If I were a betting man, which I am, I would say you must be the Nsmekian that has been flying around with the saiyans… in either case you've saved me the trouble of tacking down and torturing your people for information."
Piccolo rolled his eyes 'He loves to hear himself talk..' He thought before snorting. "You're a short little shit, aren't you?" He retorted simply.
Frieza's ivory complexion turned crimson red in anger. His teeth ground together and he took a step forward, raising a clenched fist. For a moment it looked as if he may blow his top, but then he straightened. The tailed man took a deep breath, his skin tone returning to its normal, pale appearance.
"Save your vacuous threats, green bean. You will not leave this place alive." Frieza warned dangerously as he drifted closer to his next opponent. Piccolo removed his weighted clothing and cracked his neck, frowning at the much shorter man. "Your reign ends here lizard. You should never have come to my homeworld."
"My Lord Frieza!" A random soldier shouted from somewhere amongst his army. "His power level is 25 million! We should retr-"
"Death beam.." Frieza whispered, casually raising a finger. There was a chorus of screams followed by an explosion and sounds of panic. "Peasants should not presume to tell a God what to do." He said calmly whilst staring unnervingly into Piccolo's eyes.
The Namekian couldn't help but gulp.
Back at the resistance's ship
Piccolo's second clone, which he had created shortly after fusing with Nail to fulfill Guru's directive, arrived at the resistance's ship right around the time the four saiyans emerged from their tanks. The result was a spike in four angry and distinct power levels.
The green man raised an eyebrow and hummed. "Hmm. Seems like the others are awake. Perfect timing."
A moment later the ship's ramp began to lower itself to the ground with a screaming hiss. At first Piccolo half expected a fuming Vegeta to come flying out of the open maw of the massive transport but instead a flustered looking Bulma appeared and began running over.
'Not too surprising, she probably sensed my arrival.' Piccolo logically concluded. As soon as Bulma reached him it was clear she was in a state of deep panic. He raised an eyebrow in concern as the blue haired woman looked like she might cry.
"Piccolo! Kakarot is fighting Frieza and-!" She began quickly. Piccolo raised his arms to placate her concerns and said, "Don't worry, my main body and the other clone are already on their way to help Goku, soon we'll-.." He began but was cut off by a frantic Bulma.
"No! you don't understand! It's Gohan, he ran away!" She said with a frustrated frown and a stomp of her foot, cracking the ground beneath them.
The eyes of Piccolo's other doppelganger widend. "Damn it.. I can only make two clones.. The Planet is crawling with Frieza's men and soon… Frieza himself." He deduced.
Bulma nodded rapidly. "And right now he's not in a rational state of mind, he'll fight anyone. We have to do something Piccolo!" The woman pleaded.
Piccolo's features morphed Into one of great discomfort. "You're not going to want to hear this but.. I can't help you. I'm just a clone and I have very specific orders that are time sensitive.. I can relay your message to the main body, but he's got his hands full and so does the other me… I think you should wait for Goku and the other saiyans before trying to rescue the boy."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Bulma looked as if she'd been slapped for a moment before sucking in a breath and shutting her eyes tightly. After taking a few calming breaths she opened her eyes. "You're right.. I know you are. He's too far away at this point and the moment he senses our power he'll hide his own anyways." The woman looked off into the distance for a moment before she looked back at Piccolo.
"Even like this, in the state he's in, he's such a smart boy.. I'll wait for Kakarot. In the meantime.." She said, looking up at the tall Namekian with determination. "What do you need for your mission? We have to take this Frieza guy down or none of us will ever be safe."
"Right." Piccolo nodded. "Let's gather the saiyans real quick, Guru has a plan. But we don't have long; his life force is fading rapidly." With that they proceeded quickly up the ramp and into the ship.
Back with clone 1 and Frieza
A beaten and battered Piccolo drifted through the air, smoke curling lazily off of him. His purple blood gushed from the stump of his missing right arm. The damage didn't stop there as he was sporting innumerable minor cuts and gashes that also bled subtly. If he were human he would certainly already have been dead.
"Any last words?" The evil emperor taunted, raising both his palms and gathering a dark maroon colored ball of energy. It was clear the tyrant was angry at this point and he was no longer pulling punches.
A huffing Piccolo recovered enough to smirk. "Just one you freak." "Kaio-Ken." The Namekian said simply.
"Kaio-what? Gwahhh!" Frieza began but was cut off from a punch to the gut followed by a haymaker to the head, sending him flying. Piccolo roared in pain, his power flaring briefly for a second before his missing arm regrew.
The clone managed to keep the blazing, crimson Aura of the Kaio-Ken up even while expendinding the necessary energy to regenerate, but it was clear it was taking considerable effort to do so.
Healing already took a lot of stamina on its own. This was only further compounded with Kaio-Ken. The King kai's fist, as it translates into, was essentially a divine ability; Therefore, it did horrendous damage to mortal bodies and consumed stamina rapidly.
Piccolo's eyes widened as Frieza exploded from the mountain of rubble he'd been buried in some hundred feet away. The Arcrosioan placed his arms infront of him and charged at the man in the same manner he'd done to Kakarot during their fight. "No time to dodge and I can't beat him as I am.. No choice… Sorry King Kai." He winced, before shouting with determination..
"Kaio-Ken times two!"
Instantly the Namekian's Aura and muscles doubled in size, but it didn't stop there. He continued growing until he was easily towering over even Frieza's father, making him somewhere well over ten feet tall. "Miniature-Colossal form!" The green man roared as he finished powering up.
His eyes had turned red and his fangs had elongated slightly, in a manner similar to what Gohan calls his beast mode. 'Have to act quickly.. Won't last long like this..' The clone/man panted out between labored breaths.
The massive giant set his feet in the ground, shoulder length apart and raised his open palms towards the approaching calamity. The volatile pink ball of unstoppable energy that was Frieza met the immovable wall that was a monstrous looking Piccolo.
The resulting impact was thunderous and deafening. The ground cracked in all directions for nearly a mile and the planet rumbled in a way that just seemed wrong. As if it were shuddering and crying out in pain.
Piccolo roared as his hands were burnt practically to the bones but he managed to stop the tyrant in his tracks. Frieza's eyes widened in fear and disbelief.
"Impossible…" He muttered, just before Piccolo opened his mouth and roared once more. Only this time a gigantic beam of raw energy shot forth from his gaping maw and swept the unprepared Acrosian away. Piccolo, or his clone rather, was left exhausted and panting but feeling victorious.
He turned to flee the battlefield, hoping that his body would last long enough to catch up to the original.
He decided to remain powered up even though it was only damaging him further because the moment he dropped the Kaio-Ken and Miniature-Colossal form his body would collapse, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Bending his knees he sucked in a breath. "Time to fly- Gah!"
Just then a large death beam percied the Namekian's right knee, causing his leg to buckle under his own weight. He slowly turned as he heard Cold's harrowing voice prattling off behind him. "- Repent, blasphemer. I grow tired of you insects daring to harm my precious boy." He finished as he faced off against the wounded Piccolo.
'No chance of escaping this now..' The clone thought to himself. It was odd that, even he could be so afraid of his coming and inevitable death. Despite the fact that he was just a clone. With steady eyes he looked up as the Patriarch of the Arcrosioan empire began to take his true form.
Unlike Frieza, Cold's transformation was quick and as decidedly un-flashy as can be. His armor cracked and fell away as his body swelled slightly before compacting into his final form.
It was immediately clear the Cold's true form was remarkably similar to both of his son's in appearance. He had the same sleek and slender design with ruby colored gems in the same spots his sons had their own. The most discernible differences were the litany of scars adorning the Arcrosioan, and the fact that he was easily twice the height of his sons.
Each of his muscles was bulging and defined, his biceps looking more like ivory tree trunks than arms belonging to a man.
Though he was large and was clearly very experienced in battle, his physical appearance wasn't all that intimidating, relatively speaking. But the man's power level told a deep truth… "H.. How can such a monster exist..?" Piccolo's 1st clone shuddered in fear and trepidation.
"You see.." Cold's voice drew slowly across the air like a bow across a violin, creating a sound that pierced one's very soul. "I built this empire into what it is today after the mess my ancestors left me. They were all afraid of that cursed saiyan fairy tail.." He explained with a frown. But the expression melted into a bemused smirk and he shrugged.
"So I enslaved those weakling saiyans and forced them to bolster my army hahaha. I have systematically crushed every conceivable threat to my family and myself, and once I was the undisputed ruler of all that there was… I gave it all to my dear boy. But my son does not know when to take matters seriously. A flaw I blame on his mother." The massive lizard man said with a roll of his eyes.
All the while he had been drifting closer to the giant Piccolo clone. But Piccolo was making preparations of his own…
"I have fought thousands of battles with all but the most powerful beings in the universe throughout my time. I have more raw power Than my youngest son currently possesses, and my skill and discipline far exceed even my eldest son's capabilities." The Arcrosian bragged.
Piccolo meanwhile, placed his hands in a circle and continued drawing power. 'Easy Piccolo.. steady as she goes..' He thought to himself.
Cold, apparently oblivious or not caring about the Namekians steadily rising Ki, continued his monologue while steadily drawing ever nearer. "I try not to use this infallible, immeasurable power, because it undermines the authority of my successors. Nevertheless… You have forced my hand and currently I am the strongest power in the universe. Plus I am a seasoned warlord with the experience to use my abilities to their fullest."
Piccolo waited for the man to finish with a heavy frown before a smirk graced his lips. "And I… Am Piccolo." He said simply, as he unleashed all of the energy he'd gathered in the potent golden orb between his palms. The resulting explosion shook the planet to its core and sent a cloud of smoking ash a mile into the air.
The Frieza force members scattered to avoid the ensuing chaos as everything shook and thundered around them. Soldiers flew into one another during their desperate bid to escape as even the most seasoned veterans ran in fear for their lives. Some of the closer and weaker amongst their ranks were killed by stray shrapnel and shockwaves, but it harsly mattered. No one would miss them.
The only thing that mattered right now… Was waiting for the dust to settle and the noise to die down.
Piccolo huffed and puffed. At this point he was beginning to look more white than green. Any minute now his body would give out and his time would be over, whether Cold finished off or not. His heart beat like a sledgehammer in his chest and his tongue was heavy in his throat. His whole body felt like lead. He hoped beyond all hope it was over… But he knew it could never be so simple.
Just then Cold appeared behind him in a flash step. His body was littered in cuts and bruises but they were all superficial and insignificant. For all intents and purposes he had failed. The clone sighed in defeat and his shoulders slumped.. But then he chuckled and took a fighting stance, spinning around andfocusing on his opponent with determination. "Gotta give it my all.. Until the end!" He yelled before charging at Cold.
The Acrosian stood with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face. He seemed calm but beneath the surface.. A force equivalent to a million thermonuclear bombs was brewing. Piccolo arrived at the slightly smaller, but still massive titan and the king uncrossed his arms; However, he made no move to defend himself as the exhausted clone of Piccolo began raining down blows.
He jabbed Cold several times in the face and low-kicked his right knee, twice in a row. He struck the giant twice in the left ribs and then once in the right. Drawing back his fist he intended to continue his assault but King Cold caught his punch with apparent ease. The Namekian's eyes widened in fear and surprise. He gasped as he tried to no avail to pull his fist free from the King's grasp.
"You have pissed me off to a point that no living being ever has." Cold said dangerously. He reared back his free hand and faster than the eye could see, delivered an open palm strike to Piccolo's chest.
While the palm strike itself was devastating, all but collapsing his sternum and collar bones, it was the fact that the King of the Arcrosians retained his grip on the Namekian's arm that was probably the most painful and gruesome sight to behold.
The clone of Piccolo roared in agony as his arm was once more forcefully ripped from its socket with a sickening, wet cruuunch! Blood squirted from the open wound. Twice now he had lost his arm but this time it was decidedly more brutal and painful than when Frieza had taken the last one with a large purple disk of energy. At least that had been a clean cut.
Before the clone could react or recover in any meaningful way, the overwhelmingly powerful Cold lasted out a hand and gripped the Namekian's bald head with one hand. Piccolo kicked feebly and punched him repeatedly with his one good arm in an attmeottoto free himself but he may as well have been a child punching a bear for all the good it did him.
The last remaining dregs of energy began to leave him and his Aura faded. Quickly the Namekian shrank back down to his natural size.
At this point King Cold was now several magnitudes larger than the resistance warrior and it was a truly terrifying sight to behold as the Namekian was left to the monster's mercy. "Your friends are next, I'll have you know, Namekian…" Cold said with a calm and calculative malice.
"You will die knowing what horror you have wrought upon them all." And with that cold crushed the Piccolo clone's head. Blood and gore matter scattered several feet in all directions, the body falling slowly until it hit the ground below with a dull, wet thud.
Cold floated down and stared at the downed body. He half expected the worthless insert to heal and rose again like that bastard saiyan. After several moments of nothing but the steadily blowing wind, Cold turned to leave with a disgusted click of his cheek. However he paused as he was distracted by an odd phenomenon.
"Oh..?" Before his very eyes the body burst into golden energy and decapitated into the air. He watched the energy disperse with mild annoyance before shaking his smooth, bald head and sighing. "It matters not. Soon they will all meet the same fate. At dawn we fly."
End of chapter 48
Frieza: (30 percent) 45 million (50 percent) 75 million
Piccolo (and clones): 25 million each
(with Kaio-Ken) 37 million each
(with Kaio-Kenx2) 50 million each
(with Kaio-Kenx2 and miniature-colossal) 150 million each
King Cold (True form) 300 million
Kakarot: (1st Senzu and EGW off) 12 million (2nd Senzu) 15 million (3rd Senzu) 18 million (4th Senzu) 22 million (5th Senzu) 25 million