Goybi fidgeted anxiously as his scaly fingers ran over the control panel, pushing the colored buttons with nervous accuracy. The screen inside the cockpit of the massive flickered, giving a blurry image of the black void outside. From the central command tower Goybi could hear the ominous clicking of claws against metal, a certain sign that his master was growing impatient.

" You told me that you fixed the screen, Goybi." The voice was a harsh rasp that echoed through the dark ship. Dozens of workers like Goybi hid in the shadows at the sound. Goybi swallowed hard, sweat beading up under his scales.

" Master, I know that in your magnificent patience you have spared my life before, but..." Goybi stuttered, trying to think of more praise to heap upon the tyrant who was staring at him from the command tower.

" Freezer is dead, Goybi," hissed the voice from the tower. "He has been for quite a while. I am not so prone to flattery. Now fix the screen!"

" Yes master!" Goybi ducked under the control panel, grasping at colored wires and frantically tightening clamps until sparks shot out from the machine. The screen began to hum, and the image came into focus.

So this is the ki that we detected in this sector," muttered the ship's commander.

The screen showed the empty vastness of space, with only the flicker of distant stars poking through the velvet darkness. Several hundred yards in front of the ship was a belt of debris, huge chunks of volcanic rock that had frozen over after floating in space for heaven knows how long. Lodged on one of the floating boulders was the figure of a man, burned and black.

From the command tower, Voma studied his master's face intently, looking for the slightest sign of displeasure. Voma was a fighter by nature, and these long trips through empty space wore on his nerves. He had been looking for an excuse to practice his new fighting techniques that he had learned from the Namekian slaves, and punishing a screw-up like this one seemed like the perfect opportunity.

" Sire," Voma called out as he knelt down beside his master. " The machines must be malfunctioning to bring us out so far for nothing. Please excuse me to punish the engineers."

" No Voma, there was no mistake," rasped the master, tapping his claws on his teeth thoughtfully. " This is indeed the ki that we've been following all this time. Fascinating."

Voma rose, confusion and annoyance sweeping over him. He looked into the screen once more, trying to find something besides the wasted body that his master must be talking about.

" Sire, surely you don't mean that corpse stuck in the debris," said Voma as he pointed at the screen. "Its chest is torn apart. The machines are picking up a false reading."

The master turned to look over his shoulder at Voma, his ice-cold glare making silencing the fighter instantly.

" Look at him, Voma," cooed the master as he placed his clawed hands on the rails of the command post. " His heart has burst, he has been blasted through a star, and still we could sense his ki from across this solar system."

" Sire, I do not understand," grunted Voma as he studied the broken body in the screen. "How can a dead body have ki?"

" Dead bodies don't have ki, Voma. This creature is not dead."

" Sire, that's impossible!" shouted Voma. "Look at him!"

" No, it is not impossible. His body may be shattered beyond functioning, but some strong energy is keeping his ki from bleeding out of his body." The master leaned forward, running his claws along the railing. " Just think, Voma. If this thing has a ki that powerful when it is a shattered hulk, imagine what we could strip from him if we repaired him..."

Voma looked at the body once more. It looked pretty dead, stuck there on the space rock at strange angle, its hair burned off, its chest busted open, and its face twisted in one last scream. Voma snarled, his fangs grinding against each other. This super warrior certainly didn't impress him.

" Voma, go down and gathered up the engineers. I want my prize intact." The master picked at his claws thoughtfully as he looked down at the control room below. "Tell Goybi to ready the medical bay, and lock the storage vaults. No one eats until that creature out there is breathing again."

Voma bowed deeply and stalked off down the stairs, ready to slap around some engineers when he got the chance. The commander of the ship hardly acknowledged Voma's exit, his eyes still locked on the screen.

From the lonely command tower Zaros, breaker of slaves and tyrant lord of the space ship Zarastros, smiled. He had waited all of his life for opportunities like this. He was a master of seizing the moment, and he had never been wrong in his decisions before. Since the death of Freezer he had watched and waited, gathering his strength for the perfect moment. He had not imagined that the perfect moment would look like this, but that was fine with him.

Hideous laughter echoed throughout the ship, and everyone, whether they were warrior, engineer or slave, quaked in fear.

Whispers ran throughout the room as the charred body was lowered onto a flat slate in the medical bay. The blinding fluorescent lights revealed every hideous detail of the thing, and despite its terrible state the creature still had its fists clenched in defiance. The frigid temperature sent shivers down Goybi's spine as he looked over at the video camera hanging from the ceiling. The old engineer cradled a small metal box in his lap, knowing that the contents of the box would determine his lifespan in the next few minutes as the medics looked over the tattered body.

" What is the status of the body?" demanded Zaros, his voice buzzing over the loudspeaker. A flurry of white coats gathered around the table as the professionals examined the state of the corpse. Voma looked on from the corner of the room, arms folded across his barrel chest in contempt.

" Master, the body is a human male," began one of the doctors as he picked a scalpel. Zaros cut him off abruptly.

" No human could survive that, you fool, and I want my prize in one piece. Voma, kill that idiot."

" Yes, sire," spat Voma with a grin as he stalked across the room. The gathering of medics scattered, leaving the lone doctor still stooped over the body, his eyes now frozen with fear. In the blink of an eye Voma tossed the tiny old doctor into the air with a left uppercut, and then swung a huge right fist into the doctor's face, hurtling him across the room. The doctor hit the wall with a loud splat and crumpled to the floor, no longer moving. Voma smiled, showing off his pearly fangs.

" Now then," rasped Zaros, " what is the state of the body?"

The medics cautiously crept forward, careful to avoid Voma and the body of their fallen comrade. They meticulously looked over every inch of the body, until one of them looked under the body and probed with his hand.

" Master, there is an amputation scar here on the tailbone," the medic called out as he watched Voma nervously. " Master, with the musculature and scarring, it looks like this is the body of a male Saiya-jin. "

Voma strode forward, his eyes gleaming with vicious intent.

" You idiot, the Saiya-jins have been dead for over thirty years now. " Voma reached out to grab the terrified medic before Zaros's voiced rang out over the loudspeaker.

" Voma, we will have a talk later about your resent impulsiveness," hissed Zaros. "Let the good doctor go. I suspect his analysis is correct. Only a Saiya-jin could have a ki that would survive wounds like that."

" But the Saiya-jins..." protested Voma before Zaros cut him off again.

"...Are alive. Need I remind you of Vegeta, or Gohan, or Son Gokou? Need I remind you of what happened to Freezer, or why we are floating through space mining ki when we could be conquering the Earth?" Zaros's voice steadily rose until it was roaring through the speakers.

Voma cringed. He hated being reprimanded, especially in front of these useless workers. He cursed himself for not holding his tongue, and made a note to take out his aggression on the younger warriors. Quietly, Voma bowed his head and returned to his corner, staring absently at the floor tiles.

The bold medic wiped sweat off of his wrinkled face and resumed looking over the body, carefully probing it with cautious fingers.

" Master, the subject's ribs are uneven, suggesting that they have been previously broken and healed improperly."

" It seems our friend is no stranger to battle," mused Zaros as he clicked one of his talons on the microphone, sending a squeal of static through the speakers.

The little medic shuffled from his position as his colleagues joined him once more. They continued their examination for a few more minutes, then all motion stopped as the outspoken medic stepped in front of the video camera to speak.

" What is your analysis, doctor?" Zaros impatiently rasped.

" Master, the burns are third-degree, but they also served to cauterize the other wounds on the body." The medic looked up at the camera, trembling at the thought of being directly watched by his overlord. " The exposure to outer space has frozen the subject solid, which gives me reason to believe that there is still a small quantity of blood left in the body. The eyes were open when the subject sustained the burns, so they will have to be cut out and regenerated. Master, I believe that if we can get the heart pumping again, we might be able to get the body functional again in a few months."

" Excellent," Zaros whispered into the microphone, his lips curled with pleasure. " Goybi, assist the good doctor with the operation."

Goybi nodded and slid down from his stool, still carefully balancing the metal box in his scaly hands. The medics stood aside as the engineer waddled up to the slate. Goybi stepped up on the platform around the slate and almost reeled backwards at the sight of the body. Swallowing his disgust, Goybi carefully opened the box and took from it a fist sized mass of metal and wires. He handed it to one of the doctors, and the medics descended upon the body in a flurry of scalpels. Goybi stood perfectly still, afraid that the slightest movement might disturb the operation. Finally the medics ceased their maddening motions, and Goybi leaned over the body to punch in a code on the tiny touch pad on the metal device. The tiny machine chirped, and the device, now transplanted into the fried body's chest, began to beat rhythmically. Goybi let out a long sigh.

" Excellent work, all of you," hissed Zaros. " Doctor, remove his eyes and dunk him in the regeneration tank for a few days. I want him to be put with the rest of the slaves as soon as he can survive without life support."

Goybi looked away in disgust as the medics gathered over the thing's face with scalpels gleaming. Voma looked over and scowled, still unimpressed. From the shadows, Zaros leaned back in his chair and smiled as he flicked off the microphone and proceeded to dream about the days to come.

Kakarotto

He clenched his teeth in the darkness, his hands curling into fists. His ki was faint, but he could feel it slowly bleeding out the surface of his skin, as if it had been frozen and was beginning to melt.

Kakarotto

The name still haunted him, echoing in his mind like a mocking phantom. He felt like he was drowning, but somehow kept breathing when he gulped for air. His entire body ached, and his eyes felt like someone had poured acid into the sockets. He hadn't been able to see since he woke up.

Kakarotto

He had never been in a place that was so silent. It was unnerving to not hear voices, to not hear the wind or even his breathing. He hadn't been able to smell anything either. Maybe this was death.

Kakarotto

His ki was now wrapping itself around his body like a warm blanket. He did not know why he had been so cold all this time. His mind was still stumbling out of the darkness, trying to piece together what had happened.

Kakarotto!

He remembered it all with stunning clarity. He had dueled the other Saiya-jins, the ones who were keeping him from finding Kakarotto, and then he had seen his face, his hated face for one terrible instant before the enormous energy attack.

Kakarotto!

His entire body trembled with rage. The swirling wisps of ki that circled around him began to rage in a torrid storm of energy. He tried to scream, but no sound could come out of his mouth. With both hands he reached up to his face, and found there some sort of tube covering his nose and mouth.

Kakarotto!

He tore the tube from his face, and immediately salty liquid poured down his nostrils and throat. He gagged, flailing his arms as he found himself drowning in this strange, thick fluid. In rage he forced his eyelids open, only to be blinded by pain and light.

Kakarotto!!!

Silently screaming, drowning in darkness, he let loose all the ki he could muster in all directions. His ears caught the faint sound of cracking glass, and suddenly the pressurized liquid fled from him as if in terror. He stumbled forward, unable to balance himself. Why was he so weak? His whole body felt shattered and frozen, and the rush of cold air around him chilled him to the bone.

He fell to his hands and knees, shivering with cold rage. He forced his eyes open again, and once more he was blinded by light, tears streaming down his face. His eyes wouldn't stay open. Someone was toying with him. Again. No matter how much ki he spent, no matter how powerful he became, someone else was always controlling his fate. He let out an enraged scream, and was pleased when his ears heard screams of fright cry out in response.

He raised his hand to his face so that he could shield his weak eyes. He could now see dark objects moving in the milky light that flooded his eyes. He flew towards them, teeth grit. He tore at them with his fists, flinging the little men away from him into the darkness. His ki began to roll off his body, giving him power with every step. The force of the energy running through his muscles threatened to engulf him.

" No, I cannot lose control," he whispered as he crouched down low, trying to peer through his blurry white vision to see oncoming attackers. He knew that he was far from healthy, and his body would never be able to handle the strain of going Super Saiya-jin. He had to escape this place, crushing as many of these would be captors as possible, and then find a place to heal.

Voma was the first to see the enraged Saiya-jin burst through the airlock into the command center of the space ship. Voma jumped to his feet from his chair and snarled, furious that this pink, hardly healed thing was now tearing into the training center of Zaros's warriors. The Saiya-jin didn't look dead any more, even after only three days in the regeneration tank, but Voma was still unimpressed by the warrior's strength, even when he began tossing around Zaros's guards like rag dolls.

" I've been waiting for this," grunted Voma as he cracked his knuckles.

The Saiya-jin still could not see anything more than blurry shapes, and keeping his eyes open made his head ache like something was chewing on the back of his eyeballs. He heard a growling voice amidst the blurry white confusion of his vision, and he could make out a large, dark shape moving towards him.

Voma dashed towards the raging fighter, sliding low to avoid a clumsy sweep of the Saiya-jin's arms. Voma gave a hard kick to the back of the Saiya-jin's knee, sending the wounded creature crashing to the floor.

The Saiya-jin hit the cold floor hard, the wind knocked out of him. He rolled over to a crouching stance, wincing as waves of pain shook through his ribs. He turned to face his attacker just as he felt a heel connect with the side of his jaw, snapping his head to the side. He roared with pain and frustration, groping out in the darkness to smash this annoying foe. The dark shape slid between his arms and cracked his head back with a kick to the chin. With every passing moment the huge Saiya-jin grew more furious, until finally with a roar he whipped a green ki ball at his opponent in a wild swing. The dark shape quickly dodged to the side, but the energy attack slammed into the wall of the space ship, rending metal and sending a shower of deadly shrapnel flying throughout the room.

" Voma, stop this madness!" shouted a harsh voice from somewhere above the Saiya-jin. "Don't you dare hurt my prize, or it will be the end of you!"

The battered Saiya-jin growled, his mind being overcome with the rage of battle. He lashed out at the constantly shifting dark spot in front of him, but he could never lay his hands on it. The mysterious fighter kept laying stinging blows all over his body, and all he could do was thrash wildly like a horse being bitten by flies.

Voma grunted as he jumped backwards from another one of the Saiya-jin's wild attacks. He was growing more and more frustrated with every second that the fight prolonged, because no matter how many stunning hits he laid upon the body of this warrior, nothing seemed to phase. A mere three days ago this thing had been a piece of space junk, and now Voma was unable to take it down. He wanted to kick it in the chest, to bust in the fresh stitches and shatter the artificial heart that had resurrected this monster, but he knew that if he did, Zaros would kill him. He dodged another wild ki blast, desperately looking for an opening on his insane opponent. Even though he considered himself a great fighter, Voma was grateful that his mysterious enemy was nearly blind.

The Saiya-jin stumbled forward, his breath now only coming in halting gasps. His weariness now showing through his rage, and the powerful ki boiling up from beneath his skin was waning as his vision began to darken. His blurred attacker still darted in and out, punishing the Saiya-jin's unprotected stomach and face. The huge warrior let out a grunt as his attacker kneed him directly in the groin, then lunged forward with a sudden burst of energy. Finally he felt something solid and squirming between his massive, bloody-raw hands. He raised it up in the air and screamed as he pressed in upon it with his powerful hands, to crush the life out of this hateful thing. Then there was a flash of red light, and the Saiya-jin's grip slackened as he tumbled backwards to the floor, darkness flooding his eyes until his mind melted away into peace.

Voma gasped for air as the huge Saiya-jin fell backwards. It had taken a point-blank ki blast to the forehead to level the monstrous thing, and even though he was barely alive himself, Voma prayed dearly that his bloody opponent was only unconscious. The stupid blind thing had almost crushed him to death. Voma rose to his feet, spitting out a wad of phlegm and blood at the fallen creature's feet.

" Do you still doubt his power, Voma?" asked Zaros as he walked down the stairwell from his command post. Voma grunted, gingerly touching the bruises on his side that the Saiya-jin's hands had made. " Don't worry, Voma. You've done well. We'll have to be careful to control him next time, so that he lives long enough for us to tap into that marvelous ki of his."

" Sire, with all due respect, I don't think it is safe for us to keep this thing here," Voma stated bluntly as he pointed to the fallen warrior. " He almost tore apart the ship, and he was blind and weak from being so near to death. It might not be safe for us to let him regain any more strength. If we kill him now..."

" Voma, you are a good soldier, but you are too proud," hissed Zaros as he paced back and forth in front of the unconscious Saiya-jin. " Don't forget, Voma, that I am more than a match for you, and for this pathetic, insane creature." Zaros looked down at the Saiya-jin smiled. " You see Voma, beneath all the muscles and ki, there's nothing. We're dealing with nothing more than a dumb animal."

Zaros rubbed his claws against his armor and laughed.

" Throw him in with the rest of the slaves. He will learn soon enough that I am his master."

� Everything was a dream to him. Images flickered across his mind, haunting figures that tormented him in the dark. They tore at his skin and burned his eyes, screaming into his so that he could not rest. The same ghosts came that always haunted his dreams, ghosts with names like Paragas, Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan, and Kakarotto. They were all laughing at him, laughing at his utter helplessness. He cowered before them, his ki having abandoned his shattered body. Mercilessly they pounded him with fists and boots, his entire body in pain. He screamed in the darkness, crying out for the pain to stop. No one ever answered the call. There was only darkness, and mocking, and ghosts. Then a small white hand pierced through the darkness and touched his chest.

" Krinis, don't touch him, he's hurt."

The voice, though only a gentle whisper, jolted him from his sleep. His eyes opened, letting in a flood of blinding white light. In a matter of seconds the eerie white fog that had covered his sight lifted, and for the first time in ages he saw the world clearly before him.

The first thing he realized was that something soft and warm was pressing against his chest. He looked down, and was shocked to see the terrible scars that crossed his chest from battle and surgery. Touching up against the now puckered up hole where his heart had exploded was a small, dirty female hand.

His first instinct was to kill. The last time he had wasted a moment, just a single moment in awakening, he had been made a slave for over a decade. His muscles strained to leap into action, to grab this intruder and crush and kill it, but his arms were bound behind his back. He clenched his teeth, struggling in vain to bring out his monstrous ki, but nothing happened. Not so much as a flicker.

" No, please, don't be frightened," whispered a concerned feminine voice. " I'm not going to hurt you."

He almost wanted to laugh, but his ribs still ached from his previous battle. This tiny creature thought that he was frightened of her? If it wasn't for his bonds, he would have torn her to shreds in maniacal laughter, but he was utterly helpless. His rage began to ebb, and for the first time he followed the hand upon his chest to the slender arm reaching out for him, until finally he saw a young woman kneeling next to him, her eyes gazing intently into his.

His honed battle instincts took over, and he immediately looked her over for weapons, armor, and ki strength. What he found was a young woman, several years younger than him, clad in a simple, sleeveless brown cloth dress. Her straw-colored hair was pulled back over her shoulders with a simple leather cord, but a few stray strands fell across her face like a veil. Her eyes seemed too big for her face, but they were soft pools that had the color of chocolate. Her small nose was smudged with dirt, and her pink lips were pressed together in concern. Only after a few seconds had passed did he realize that she was looking directly into his eyes. Her gaze was confident yet gentle, and he could almost see the concern working through her mind behind those beautifully dark eyes.

His chest heaved, and his breath became short in his lungs. He looked at her, and he wanted to run, wanted to flee like she was a ghost from his dreams. He tried to pull back from her touch, but he was pinned against the wall. His stomach knotted up, and he did not know why.

" I'm not trying to hurt you," whispered the young woman as she slid closer to him, so close that he could feel her breath upon his chest as she looked up at him. " My name is Krinis."

He pulled back his head, trying to keep his distance from this new intruder. Krinis simply looked up at him as she continued to press her hand against his wounded chest. He clenched his fist, wishing that he could draw the ki necessary to destroy this person who was invading him while he was helpless.

Krinis looked at his chest, running her fingers along the spider web of scars that covered up where the hole in his chest had been. She bit her lip in concern, and he lifted his , utterly confused. If he could tell from Krinis's face, it looked as if she actually cared about his pain.

" I'm sorry," she said as she softly placed her palm against his chest again. " I didn't mean to wake you. I guess you've had a pretty rough time with your wounds. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help..."

" Krinis, leave the poor man alone," scolded a voice from across the room. " He needs his rest."

He looked past the woman by his side and saw for the first time that he was in a small metal cell. Lime green lights glowed eerily from the ceiling, and a massive grate blocked the exit. Built into the wall was a broken-down loudspeaker. In one corner was a small toilet, and on the other side of the room were two small shelters made from rags. Lying in one of the shelters was an older man, his hair going gray and his beard reaching down to his chest. His simple brown tunic showed years worth of wear and tear, but his quiet brown eyes glowed with calm confidence.

" You're right, father," sighed Krinis as she took her hand off of his chest and stood up. The moment he felt that gentle pressure leave his chest all of his senses returned to normal, leaving him feeling confused and intrigued. As she walked over to the old man's side of the room, he wished that she had stayed beside him.

" Burori."

" What?" asked Krinis as she turned, surprise gleaming in her captivating eyes.

" My name is Burori," said the Saiya-jin warrior, the simple act of speaking making his chest throb in pain.

" I am Yanorik, son of Glandin, and this is my daughter Krinis," spoke the old man with great reverence. " We are honored to have you as our guest, even in these dark circumstances."

Burori merely studied his new companions, wishing nothing more than to break the accursed bonds behind his back. This was completely new to him.

He hated it.

Back to the Formulations