PART FOUR: TWO UNIVERSES IN BAD LUCK.

Chapter 17

Translated by Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai?

With the announcement of the fight between Trunks and Coola, almost everyone in Universe 18 began to cheer. It was now time for them to witness a fight featuring their old friends.

"Hey, I can see how I'm doing," laughed Universe 18's Trunks.

"It'd be funny if he lost," muttered Goten beside him.

"It's okay. There are three of me here. I'm entitled to three lives. You only have two of you! Ha ha!" countered Trunks.

Son Goten whispered, "Hey! That's cheating!"

"The kids are right," Goku intervened. He walked over from a group that consisted of Gohan, Vegeta, and Uub over to the side. "Coola is Freeza's brother, so their power levels must be pretty close. ... There's no doubt that he's hiding his true power, but I think we can make an off-hand guess..."

"I hope that he's continued to train over the years, unlike the idiot son I have over here," Vegeta grumbled, insisting on every last word. He provocatively glared at his son, who turned away with a grin after his eyes met his father's. Though it did not seem like it, Vegeta could (if he truly wanted) very well have forced his son in Universe 18 to do pushups or run a few hundred miles.

Trunks left his space after ending his conversation with #16 with a quick smile. At the other side, Coola flew off from his area and landed on the ring. He stood erect, arms and legs crossed. He must have found it stylish. In a way, he had class. At least, he enough class to impress his minions. The look and his eyes demonstrated his strong character, his strength, and his will. He was the type that would never let victory escape, of that he was certain.

"Fate must have a sense of humor..." said Trunks to his adversary as he landed on the ring.

"What are you talking about, boy?" replied the voice of the despicable son of King Cold.

"You are the only one of your family that I haven't fought yet," Trunks continued as he stretched.

"I'm delighted..."

"What is your power level?" cut the semi-Saiyan. "Are you stronger than Freeza?"

"Of course!"

Coola nearly lost his composure. He thought to himself, "What is that thing? Who is that man? Surely not a Saiyan, he has purple hair... Regardless, it would be best to quickly eliminate him!" Coola slowly raised his arms and his wrist... He extended his finger, pointing it at Trunks. The latter assumed his fighting stance, having finished stretching, and fixed his eyes on his opponent. Suddenly, a reddish-pink laser beam fired from Coola's fingertip to Trunks, who dodged it with a simple turn.

"Not bad..." he smirked.

Cooler continued to fire, several bursts this time, but Trunks dodged them all... even those fired by Coola as he flew in the air.

"That's enough," Trunks finally slapped down a beam with the palm of his hand. "I'll tell you one last thing."

"And what could that be?" Coola descended, noticing that the hair of his enemy seemed to rise up slowly... almost as if a wind was rising below him...

"You're also the only member of your family..."

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, followed by a shining light that dazzled the eyes of Freeza's brother for several seconds. When Coola finally opened his eyes, the hair of the man before him had become golden yellow and he exuded an aura of the same color. ... More than that, his eyes, too, had changed color. Strangely, the man now seemed cramped in his clothing. Coola witnessed it for the first time. Trunks, sneering, finished his sentenced as he rushed towards the Frost Demon.

"...That I didn't kill!"

Coola's eyes widened when he thought he saw Trunks vanish into thin air. But suddenly, he reappeared, inches away from his nose. Coola stared into his opponenents frightening eyes. He thought to himself, "Those eyes... this look.. what is this? I've never seen this before in my life."

Trunks dealt the first punch to Coola's stomach. He followed up with a slight uppercut, then a kick to the ribs. Taking advantage of his speed, he moved slightly to get behind Coola and violently kicked Coola's tail, making the Frost Demon bellow in pain. He raised his left hand to his sword, while with his right, he parried a punch from Coola, who turned around. But clearly, it wasn't enough.

The Saiyan seemed to spin, but Coola was unable to track his movements. Trunks landed from the air and slashed Coola, creating a long gash on his purple and white back. The tip of the blade crashed down and lodged itself in a small trench on the ground.

In Universe 8's wing, Freeza laughed at his brother's struggle. He thought to himself, "This is good for him, a good lesson of humility... But wait... where did that golden-haired guy go?" Freeza lost sight of him ... and Coola had the same problem. Trying to predict the Saiyan's next move in advance, he turned around, extending his leg to strike, but he failed. Trunks was there behind him, but he easily parried the kick.

"I'll show you how it is... to be the fastest and strongest," Trunks calmly said.

Disappearing once again, Trunks was unable to be seen by Coola's eyes during the twenty seconds that followed. Coola took hit after hit, whether by fists, feet, or the sword... Trunks' sword slashed him furiously. Fortunately for Coola, the injuries were minor. Suddenly, Coola snapped, exuding an agitated force, concentrating a shock wave that drove Trunks back. Finally... he was free to focus, to distance himself and predict his opponent's next move.

In Universe 8's wing, Freeza had completely lost all confidence. He was stunned now that he could clearly see his brother's condition after the sequence of attacks. Behind him, his father was equally amazed.

Coola stood, breathless, sweating and... losing...

"I'm not done yet," said Trunks, who truly did not want to give Coola any breaks.

Trunks charged Coola, sword in front. Coola retreated but the sword gashed his chest. Following the momentum, Trunks gave Coola a violent kick to his left rib cage. Coola fell to his knees and Trunks hit his back and Coola launched forward 2 or 3 meters. His knee had left a mark on the ring... as if the ground, though hard, were made of sand and dust.

"Wait!" yelled Coola quickly between two sharp breaths. He raised his hand forward, as a sign of saying 'stop' as he placed his other hand on his sore left ribs. The cut on his chest was bleeding... "It's a shame," he continued. "You're showing off, but I'm sure you're nothing without your weapon!"

Trunks smiled because any observer could tell that the sword was definitely not the reason for his enormous advantage over his opponent. It seemed that evil and stupidity definitely ran in the family...

"I only brought it for the fun of the event," Trunks said after a few seconds of thought. He firmly planted his sword into the ground and walked slowly, still as a Super Saiyan.

"You're honest with me, now... I will be too..." Coola advanced, getting up, "...and show you my true power!"

Smiling, he clenched his fists and concentrated his strength more intensely. He began to grow taller and his muscles expanded. Protuberances appeared on his legs and natural arm bands, and a crest grew on his head. The tip of his tail was now covered by a solid white layer, like a bone, but more resistant. Trunks noticed other things during the metamorphosis...

"His wounds are healed... and he's releasing a lot more power."

Had he not heard that even Freeza could also transform several times?

Coola took two steps forward and was already within range of attack. He lifted his leg and fiercly struck Trunks' chin with his foot. Trunks flew several yards away, only to recover and land on his feet.

"You're amusing," he said, rubbing the back of his hand under his chin.

Coola took no notice and quickly released several bursts of energy. But Trunks parried all of them away, sending them into the air. All the balls were lost in the sky.

Coola noticed something. Why did he launch the enrhy into the sky when it'd be easier just to send them in all directions, instead? "Would he," he thought to himself, "by chance..."

He had to check if his theory was right... especially since it would give him an enormous advantage.

Trunks saw Coola fly immediately and once the Frost Demon was above him, he launched a volley of badly-aimed energy balls. But this time, his target was not Trunks... but rather everwhere but him.

And yes, if his opponent was the kind of Samaritan as Coola had thought, then the boy would would try to deflect each ball so that none of them hit the audience, which would be a disadvantage for him.

Some of the rays landed right near Trunks, who blocked each attack. The other, more distant ones, struck through the ring and hit the ground below, often landing in the other universes' wings, like in Universe 18's as Pan narrowly dodged one of the beams.

Trunks, however, did nothing to stop them. His kindness was not so apparent... did that mean he knew about Coola's trap?

The audience, indeed, was almost hit. The attacks were violently attacking, but a protective barrier activated, blocking the impact several meters in front of the audience. All the people were dazzled by the explosions in front of their eyes.

Trunks, who had flown up because the ring had become unstable, saw that his hypothesis was confirmed: the public was well-protected. The Vargas had planned that, too.

Coola charged, taking Trunks from behind. He raised his fists and did not miss a step... But the semi-Saiyan was too fast. Turning quickly, he parried Coola's fist with a jerk, he grabbed the Frost Demon's wrist and pulled it towards himself to give him a mighty headbutt. Coola seemed to fall backwards. Trunks grabbed his tail and spun it around several times to send him into the ring, where he collided violently under a cloud of dust. Trunks simply waited there... and glanced at his father in Universe 18.

Coola recovered gradually... He crawled in the dust and his head hit something... hard. He rose and found himself facing his opponent's sword, still stuck in the ground.

As Vegeta from Universe 18, looked away from his son, seeming to ignore him, Trunks sensed his opponent coming back from behind him to strike him with his own sword... Turning once again faster than Coola would have liked, he caught the sword with two fingers... The scenario reminded him of a good memory.

"It really is a habit that runs in the family..."

"Do.. Don't take me for a fool" yelled Coola, attempting a kick while holding the sword.

Trunks parried with a knee to the stomach of Coola, who yelled in pain.

"You tried all your dirty tricks, didn't you? Just like your father."

He dealt a violent blow to Coola's stomach. The Frost Demon nearly lost consciousness as Trunks repeatedly struck him by kicking and dropping him into Universe 8's wing, in front of a petrified Freeza and King Cold. Coola lost consciousness before he even touched the floor.

"You're not even worth killing anymore," said Trunks, storing his sword in his sheath and reverting to his normal state. He cast a glare at the other two in the family. He sneered, anticipating their reaction to his statement...

"Oh, by the way... I am a Super Saiyan. See ya!"

"Victory for Trunks!" announced the announcer while King Cold and his son did not budge an inch/

The.. the Super Saiyan? No, a Super Saiyan! Did that mean there was more than just one? Their thoughts intersected quickly in shock. It was impossible! Impossible!

Freeza quickly studied all the universes. There was no way in hell so many Super Saiyans could be in the same universe, it was ridiculous! Oh dear god! In Universes 16 and 18... this Trunks was also present... that made three! Way too many! And the others? Universe 10... not impossible... Universe 13? Vegeta... he had come to taunt several hours ago, claiming he was a Super Saiyan... was he just trying to scare them or was he... telling the truth?

Freeza trembled slightly. He had not felt a fear such as this in so long... His father tried to reassure him.

"You're going to the next round to face Nappa. We know for sure that it's impossible for him to be a Super Saiyan."

"I won't be humiliated by these filthy monkeys!" Freeza replied, annoyed.

"As soon as the ring and grounds are restored," said the announcer as pieces of the ring approached to merge together and the walls of the arena, obviously made of the same material, were recovering in place as if by magic, "Universe 10's King Vegeta will fight against Universe 18's Vegeta!"

"Ho! Ho ho!" cheered Universe 18's Goten and Trunks, eternal adolscents.

"No time to vegetate!" finished Goten, to the amusement

of his friend.

"Hey, Vegeta, you're up!" Goku said happily. "Wait a sec... where is Vegeta?"

Indeed, Vegeta was no longer in Universe 18's wing...