The echo of approaching footsteps woke Burori from his fitful slumber. He cursed himself for having dozed off with those two strangers still watching him, but keeping his eyes open took monumental effort. His two companions were asleep also, the young woman curled up in a ball in her bed of rags. He twisted in his seat, trying to find a way to squirm out of the cuffs that held his arms. Now would be the perfect time to escape, but he couldn't seem to call forth any of his ki. Burori's rage boiled beneath his skin.

The footsteps grew near. Burori lifted his head to see a strange blue creature approaching the entrance to the cell. The thing had a squat, reptilian head, with bulging eyes and sagging scales. It wore armor made from rubber with interlocking metal plates guarding the chest and arms. The creature's dull orange eyes seemed to glow in the pale green light. In its arms it carried three plastic bowls filled with some sort of lumpy gruel.

" Here's your meal, monkeys," the blue alien said as he slid the bowls through the grate. " Hope you enjoy your new friend."

" You call me a monkey," growled Burori, "but you will plead to a monkey for your life before I see your blood."

The alien snarled at Burori and drew back one of the plastic bowls from under the grate. With a sucking noise the alien spat into the gruel and returned it under the grate with a smile.

" You're going to learn respect soon enough, you stupid ape," muttered the creature as it stalked off down the hallway.

Burori clenched his teeth, but the anger bled out of him quickly. Without the power of his ki to fuel his mounting rage, all he could feel was emptiness. He watched his cellmates, noticing that the woman was stirring now, her legs stretching out as she yawned softly. As she awoke Burori became embarrassed at his nakedness, and even more so at his inability to hide it. She sat upright, her nose twitching for a moment before she opened her eyes. She leaned over and nudged the old man next to her, arousing him from his slumber.

" Father, wake up," Krinis said with a smile. " Breakfast is here."

The old man rose, rubbing his eyes wearily. He scratched his beard as he rose to his feet, eyeing the meal hungrily.

Krinis walked over to the grate and knelt down to pick up the bowls. Burori's eyes followed her, a hot anger still simmering in his chest for the unexplained reaction she had caused in him earlier. Even in her torn clothes, she moved with a certain noble grace that the Saiya-jin warrior could not help but admire. If she had been properly trained, she might have been an agile fighter. Burori noticed something hanging out from underneath her dress. Krinis had a tail.

Burori furrowed his brow as thoughts stormed through his mind. He had never before seen a female member of his kind. His whole body tensed now that he was aware that she probably had enough innate strength to kill him in his current helpless state. Suddenly her every movement became threatening and suspect. He cursed his own helplessness as he strained forward, trying to tear his hands free.

" You're awake," said Krinis with a cheerful smile as she picked up the bowls. "Ready for breakfast?"

" You can have mine," muttered Burori as he studied her smiling face.

" I know it may not look appetizing now," wheezed Yanorik as he took a bowl from his daughter's hands, "but it is filling."

" I'm not hungry," Burori sighed as he remembered the alien spit swimming in one of the bowls. His stomach grumbled in protest, but he was determined not to let these new people, these rivals, determine his well being. He would eat when he got his hands free, and then he would show these beings what it meant to threaten a true warrior.

" So how did you come to this place?" asked Yanorik as he sipped on the gruel, his face cringing at the taste.

" Kakarotto," whispered Burori as his eyes became distant, memories bleeding through into his consciousness.

" What's that?" asked Krinis as she sat down next to him.

He looked at her, dumbfounded. How could it be that the hate that had dominated his entire life was completely unknown to her? He had never known someone who did not know of that hated name. Never had he met someone who did not inflict pain upon him, or play with him like a puppet, or mock him from afar.

" It sure looks like the slavers had a tough time with you," grinned Yanorik as he pointed over at Burori's scarred chest. " We heard you all the way from here. I thought that those lizards had run the ship into an asteroid belt, but when they brought you here and bound you to the wall we both figured that you had caused some major damage."

Burori had no idea what the old man was rambling about. No slavers had taken him down. He had woken up in this hell, and once more it was the same cycle of violence.

Krinis raised the bowl to his lips. He turned his head away in disgust, his hands balling up into fists at the arrogance of this woman to try to feed him in this humiliating manner.

" Don't be stubborn, Burori," she chided him, holding the bowl in front of his face. " We only get two meals a day, and you're not going to look like a tough guy by refusing food. Don't wimp out, it's not that bad..."

" I'm not hungry," Burori growled as he locked eyes with the young woman, his dark, hateful eyes boring into her wide innocent ones. For an instant he could see something inside of her, something that was breaking down like crystal, but the sensation fled as quickly as it came. She backed down.

Burori sighed as Krinis sulked over to her side of the cell. He wished that he could break free of his prison and destroy something, feel something twist and crumble in his hands. The only way he survived the nightmarish hours of twilight was by tearing apart everything he could reach, because at least then he was in control. But now he had nothing. He couldn't stand this woman and her boldness, but he wanted her to still be looking at him, devoting all of her attention upon him. He despised this gut-wrenching turmoil.

" You certainly aren't the talkative type," mused Yanorik as he wiped his mouth.

" Why can't I gather any ki?" demanded Burori as he glared at the old man.

" You're ready to fight again? You truly are a warrior, young one. In my youth I served in the armies of King Vegeta, but despite my experience I never developed a fondness for battle, especially the kind that nearly killed me."

Burori's stare remained fixed and hard. Yanorik's wry smile faded as realized the deadly seriousness of the battered warrior.

" The walls are made of negatively charged metal," he explained as he tapped the wall with a wrinkled fist. " From what I've overheard, it's some sort of material that the slavers found on the other side of a black hole. It prevents ki from gathering, so Zaros had the prison cells forged out of the stuff to keep us from busting out."

" Who is Zaros?"

" He's the commander of the ship," murmured Krinis as she ate her meal.

" That he is. He's the one in charge of this operation. He was one of Freezer's lieutenants, which is how we ended up here. I was en route back to Planet Vegeta after a mission in a distant solar system, but when I got back, my home was gone." Yanorik looked up at the ceiling, tears glistening in his eyes. " I didn't realize what had happened until my team was attacked by pirates from the Zarastros. We fought so hard, but they were so many, and..." his voice trailed off, sobs working their way out of his throat. Krinis leaned over and hugged the old man, and he put an arm around her, wiping the tears from his eyes. " If I had been stronger, I might have put a stop to all of this."

Burori's mind held not a drop of pity for the old man. He had been deceived before, by sources far less suspicious than two unknown cellmates. If his captors hoped to glean information from him through these pawns, then they were going to be disappointed.

" You're Saiya-jins," Burori stated bluntly, studying the old man's reaction.

" I was once a loyal servant of King Vegeta," Yanorik replied wistfully, "but now I am just Yanorik the slave."

Burori sneered. He wanted to tell this old fool about Prince Vegeta, about how pathetic he had looked when his face was being ground into a rock wall. Burori wanted to open the old man's eyes, to show him what a weak fool he had spent his life serving, and what a waste his loyalty had been. He wanted to hurt the old man, hurt him with words if he could not hurt him with fists. He held his tongue. The satisfaction of getting a rise out of the old slave would not be worth giving himself away. The less dangerous his captors thought he was, the more likely they were to make a mistake.

" I'm not a Saiya-jin," Krinis said defiantly as she set down her empty bowl. He watched her expression carefully, reading the map of lines in her face that clearly expressed her displeasure in him. No one had ever looked at him like that before. She was angry, but not hateful. There were no clenched teeth, or shaking fists, or waves of ki flowing off of a battle-hardened body. It was almost as if she was pretending to be more mad at him than she really was. He couldn't fathom why she would do such a thing.

" You lie," he growled.

Krinis's eyes went wide with indignation, and she began to retort when the loudspeaker cut her off.

" Um, slaves, I do not wish to intrude, but this is Goybi," came the warbling voice over the speaker.

" The ship's chief engineer," Yanorik answered before Burori could ask the obvious question.

" The master has ordered us to move out of this sector, so we're going to be coming soon to bring you to the engine room."

With a shriek the speaker shut off, leaving Burori confused and his companions dejected. He wanted to ask them more questions, but he remained silent. Burori did not want to seem over-eager or foolish, and he figured that he would get his answers soon enough.

The sound of approaching footsteps clanged down the hallway. The blue alien from earlier had returned, this time with four others. They all carried strange glowing sticks that crackled with energy.

" Get up, monkeys," roared the blue alien as he whacked his stick against the grate of the cell, sending a spray of green sparks sizzling through the air.

Burori watched in disgust as the two prisoners stood up and shuffled towards the door. They weren't even going to fight. Now would have been the perfect time to escape, and they were letting it slip away.

" I'm not a monkey," Krinis mumbled as she stepped up to the grate. The blue alien punched a code into the computer terminal next to the cell, and with a groan the grate slid down into a slot in the floor. With a malicious grin the alien stepped forward and smashed his stick into Krinis's face, sending her crashing to the floor as sparks fell around her.

" You are what I say you are, slave!" The alien hit her once more, this time across the flat of her back. She fell onto her stomach, and Yanorik rushed over to her side. One of the guards grabbed the old man and held him back. " One of you carries the girl. The rest of you are going to help me with this other monkey."

" I all ready warned you once, bug," Burori spat as his eyes became slits of hate. " You'll regret hitting the girl."

The alien snarled and stepped forward, his glowing weapon hitting Burori in the cheek. An electrical pulse tore through his face, and a flash of light filled his vision. The blow felt like someone had pressed hot coals into his face. All it did was make him furious. Another blow came, slamming straight into the top of his head. Burori roared like a caged beast, his fury rising up through his chest.

" Hold him down while I get off these cuffs," grumbled the blue alien as he reached behind Burori and pressed a slender key into a slot on top of the bonds. The pressure on his wrists was instantly gone.

Now.

With a thunderous roar Burori leapt to his feet, bowling over the blue alien. The three aliens surrounding him swung their weapons, stinging his body with blows. His mind was too numbed to notice their effect. He picked one of them up by the throat and slammed its head into the ceiling, blood raining down across the cell. The guards quaked where they stood, terrified of his awesome strength. Burori reveled in it.

The jailer carrying Krinis dropped her and rushed at Burori, swinging his glowing stick at the huge Saiya-jin's head. Burori caught the stick in mid-swing, electricity forking off of the weapon down his arm. With a grunt he wrenched the weapon out of his attacker's hand and shoved it into the alien's chest. The other two jumped upon him, trying to hold down his arms and grab his throat. The blue alien still lay on its back, too petrified to even move. Burori began to laugh maniacally. Now he was the master.

With fury he tore the two aliens from his body and slammed their scaly heads together, a meaty crack echoing in the cell. They both fell to the floor, bodies limp and eyes glazed. Burori reached down and wrapped his massive hands around the blue alien's waist, holding the pitiful creature up to his face.

" No!" pleaded the creature as it looked into the Saiya-jin's mad eyes. Burori simply laughed as he pushed in on both of the creature's sides. It thrashed furiously in his hands, then went limp as the sound of shattering bone resonated from its ribs. Burori tossed it aside, his eyes wild. He was in complete control, and he loved it.

Krinis rose to her feet, still reeling from the beating she had received. Burori caught her movement out of the corner of his eye, and in a heartbeat he had crossed the room, hot rage rolling off of his skin. With one hand he picked her up by the torso and pressed her against the wall. She wasn't threatening him any more. She wasn't humiliating him any more. She wasn't controlling him any more.

" Why are you doing this?" she screamed.

" What kind of a question is that for an angel to ask the devil?" chuckled Burori as he pressed his face up against hers, gloating in his power. He looked into her eyes and saw delicious fear. All he had to do was push his hand and he knew that she would fill the air with hideously beautiful screams. Her life was his to take.

" No, please, I beg of you!" cried the old man. Burori ignored him.

He drank of the young woman's fear like it was sweet wine. Finally, after sleeping for so long, he was awake. When he was awake, he was the world's nightmare. He smiled at the thought of galaxies cowering in fear before him. If they were afraid of him, they couldn't control him. His only freedom was the freedom of a wild beast, the freedom of violence and death.

Now he had this woman in his hands, this woman so weak that he could kill her now without spending a drop of ki. Her weakness disgusted him. It disgusted him just as it fascinated him. A few moments ago she had been smiling at him, and now she looked him like he was a crazed monster. He could smell her breath on his face. Her life was in his hands.

" I thought you were..." she began to sob, her eyes still trying to look into his despite the tears.

Something snapped inside of him. He had done this so many times before, killed so many insignificant beings and done so laughing, but somehow this was different. The fear he saw in her eyes made his stomach sour. He was ashamed at himself for having frightened her so badly. All he could think of was how nice it would be to dispel her fears and tell her that he would protect her from the monsters.

Except he was the monster.

Burori lowered Krinis to the floor and stepped back, trying to think of something to say that could explain what he had almost done. No words came. Yanorik rushed to his daughter's side, and the two held each other as they eyed him in mutual terror. Burori hung his head in disgust, and then turned away from them. Gritting his teeth in anger he darted out of the cell, his speed picking up as his ki began to rise from his body once more. His hate was strong as it pounded through his veins.

This time, his hate was for himself.

� Zaros paced his private quarters, lost in thought. The bloody remains of his meal lay half-eaten on his table, its legs still twitching in the air. He looked out the window of his room into the vastness of space beyond. There was so much left to do. He drummed his talons against his palm; his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to envision the plan again. He was close now, closer than he had ever been.

" Master, there is an emergency in the medical bay," squeaked the loudspeaker beside his bed. He had been meaning for some time to have the engineers cut the wire to that one so that he could have some peace in moments like this.

" This had better be good," hissed Zaros as he picked up the microphone. " What kind of disturbance is it?"

" Master, one of the slaves has escaped his cell. The guards have sealed him in the medical bay, but if he isn't stopped, he's going to destroy that entire wing of the ship."

Zaros frowned. It must be the Saiya-jin. Again. He was all ready starting to hate that stupid animal.

" Tell Goybi to meet me at the medical bay airlock," Zaros rasped as he slid into his armor. " I'm going to teach this wretch a lesson."

� Burori's rage knew no bounds as he flew down the twisting corridors of the space ship. The vessel was humongous beyond belief, and he knew that he was hopelessly lost amidst the ship's bowels. He had considered blasting a hole through the hull of the ship to escape, but he wasn't in the mood to run. He wanted to see blood. He wanted to hear screams of terror and pain, to drown out the sobbing female voice that was stuck in his mind. He wanted to find the one responsible for holding him here, and he wanted that creature to know the meaning of agony before it died.

He ignored the tiny lizard things that fled before him, their white lab coats flapping behind them. There was no sport in killing such worthless things. Besides, their screams made a lovely symphony for him to work with. He tossed a ki ball down a hallway to his left as he flew by, the sound of the explosion complementing the cries of the lizard men nicely. He was an artist whose canvas was death. That thought made him smile.

The entire corridor went black, only to be filled moments later by dull red light. Down the length of the ship Burori could hear the harsh sound of steel grinding on steel. They were trying to lock him in. How quaint. He drew forth his mighty ki, power running over his body like water. He wanted desperately to change form, but his ribs still ached. He wouldn't risk disabling himself now, considering that he had yet to run across any real opposition. These slavers were weaklings, mere bullies and cowards. He remembered his own father, and his eyes flashed with hatred. Yes, slavers were cowards. He would kill them all.

The sound of boots pounding upon the steel floor rang in his ears. Finally, someone was coming to fight. He could see the shifting shapes coming down the hallway, bulky figures wearing armor. Burori frowned. Armor was a crutch for the weak, an acknowledgement of an opponent's strength. He would punish these fools for insulting his power. The armor reminded him of his own nakedness. He missed the loose, smooth feel of his silk pants and the comfort of his plated boots. He needed to find some clothes before he left this place. He thought of Krinis, and he wondered what she would think of him in his favorite clothing. It struck him as odd, but he had never actually cared what someone had thought of him before. He shook the thought from his head. He needed to get out of this place before he went mad.

The first of the alien fighters lunged at him, fist outstretched. Burori ducked under him easily and bicycle kicked him down the hallway. It was just as he had thought. These were clumsy, weak fighters. He could toy with them for a while. He enjoyed toying with his prey. It gave him an illusion of control.

One of the fighters stepped forward, its face twisted in an arrogant frown. It looked like a bizarre cross between a man and a tiger, with tufts of striped fur growing out from its face and fangs jutting from its lips. The strange creature's lithe movements were eerily familiar.

" I knew that you'd cause trouble," rumbled Voma as stepped forward to meet Burori. The Saiya-jin's eyes narrowed with hate as they heard the familiar voice.

" So you are the one who likes to wrestle with blind demons," Burori laughed as he pointed at the alien warrior. " How do your ribs feel?"

Voma snarled, fists shaking. " I am Voma, scourge of a thousand worlds, and this time no master is holding back my full power!"

" I don't care to become acquainted with those who are all ready dead," Burori chuckled as ki whipped around his body. " If you let your boasts do your fighting, you will are going to be sorely disappointed."

Voma slid forward, his crimson ki covering him like an endlessly burning flame as he screamed into battle. Burori jumped over him, whipping around to throw a ki ball at his opponent. Voma easily dodged the wild shot, but the explosion that the energy ball caused rocked the entire wing of the ship. Burori flung himself at the alien, hands reaching out to crush his foe. With incredible speed Voma swayed to the side and landed a roundhouse kick on Burori's ribs. The huge Saiya-jin grunted, his rage washing over the pain.

Burori stepped to the side and swung his elbow at his enemy. Voma grabbed the big man's arm and, with acrobatic grace, swung onto his back.

" You're tough, freak," Voma grunted, "but you're too slow."

Burori threw himself backwards, slamming Voma into the wall of the corridor. The alien screamed in agony, then tossed a red beam of energy at the Saiya-jin. Burori tried to dodge the shot, but it caught him across the side, punishing his still wounded ribs. A furious rumble grew in the huge warrior's throat, his amusement with the battle coming abruptly to an end.

The Saiya-jin lunged forward once more, and Voma deftly rolled to the side, firing another blast of ki at the exposed back of the warrior. Burori arched backwards in fury as the bolt burned into his skin, driving his rage higher. He began to call upon the monstrous ki lurking beneath the surface of his skin, and the metal floor began to buckle as pure energy laced itself around the powerful warrior. Voma fired another bolt of energy at his foe, but Burori caught it with an outstretched hand, deflecting the blast as if it had been nothing but dust on the wind. Voma's eyes widened in surprise as his enemy's muscles became grossly distended, the Saiya-jin's entire form swelling up with raw power. Voma bared his fangs and raised his hands over his head, gathering all of his energy for a desperate attack.

" Enough, Voma," hissed a guttural voice from the shadowy depths of the corridor. The alien fighter lowered his hands obediently, stepping to the side of the corridor. Burori's ki coursed through his body, and his entire form shook with energy. It felt as if his ribs would shatter like glass if he pushed himself any further. His hate and frustration almost consumed him, but he held himself back, knowing that he couldn't destroy himself fighting such an unworthy opponent.

The thing that came from the shadows was like one of the terrors from Burori's nightmares. It looked like it might have once been some sort of reptile, but its entire body had been gutted and refilled with gleaming metal and wires. Even though it was only half the huge Saiya-jin's height, the thing's bizarre appearance was enough to make the warriors around it cower in fear. Tubes and metal coil ran throughout the thing's armor like veins, and its head looked like a mask of silver with blood-colored eyes. The creature's face was like liquid metal, twisted in a sick, unnatural smile. The monster's ki raged around it like a storm of colors, all different patterns and hues bleeding into one another, laced with black. The thing reeked of that which should not be, like it was some living vengeance that technology was reaping upon the universe.

" You've caused enough trouble today, you wretched thing," hissed the monster as it held up a small, shiny device in its claws. " It's time to go back to your cage."

" Zaros!" roared Burori as he flew forward, holding his right fist back to gather a deadly blast of ki. Hate boiled in the Saiya-jin's blood at this hideous thing that was so much machine that it no longer seemed to be alive. He wanted it to suffer for trying to control him, to tear it apart and see if a beating heart existed within the metal hull.

" Pleased to make your acquaintance, monkey," Zaros rasped as he pressed down on the strange device in his claws with one of his talons.

Burori's eyes went wide as he crashed into the floor, his ki fleeing his body. He gasped for breath, clutching his chest in agony. His entire body felt like someone had sucked all of his blood away and filled his heart with sand.

" You see, slave, I am your master now," laughed Zaros as he walked over to the fallen Saiya-jin. " I own you, monkey. I even control the beating of your heart."

Burori looked up at Zaros, his teeth clenched, his body shaking in pain and hatred. He reached out with his left hand, trying to grab hold of this mocking little thing and smash the life out of it. Zaros effortlessly kicked away the warrior's grasping hand.

" You know why I always win, monkey?" mocked Zaros. " I always win because I'm smarter than you stupid animals. You're strong, monkey, very strong. But I will always be better than you, because I know the true meaning of power."

Zaros leaned over and took hold of Burori's chin, the thing's talons drawing blood.

" Power is control, monkey."

The alien tyrant pressed down on the device again, and blood came flooding back into Burori's heart. Burori struggled for air as he tried to rise to his feet. Voma knocked him down with a kick to the back, sending Burori sprawling out in front of the gloating mechanical horror.

" Voma, throw this piece of trash back into his cell," Zaros commanded with contempt. " From now on, be sure to get the heart controller from Goybi before attempting to remove him."

" Yes, sire," Voma declared with a deep bow. The alien warrior lifted up the big Saiya-jin's head by his hair. " You were right about his ki, sire. It was incredible."

" Indeed, Voma." Zaros looked down at the fallen warrior with delight, the tyrant's mind filled with dark deeds to come. " Take him away."

Burori felt himself being dragged down the hallway, but all sensation seemed distant to him. He had failed. Once more, he was a slave. He could not escape this prison, because the prison was his life.

Kakarotto

His mind drifted off into dreams of pain and crimson. He would not let this happen again. Next time, he would wait until he was fully healed, and then these worms would see his full power.

Kakarotto

The thought first struck him as odd, but he could not get it out of his mind. They would throw him back in the cell with the old man and the girl who claimed not to be Saiya-jin. He would have to explain himself. He dreaded that.

Kakarotto

The old nightmares came, but this time they were strangely comforting in their torture. At least he was familiar with this kind of pain.

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