Harsh winds hurled the stinging blasts of sand through the air, twisting upon them like coiling serpents. The cold desert howled as the lone figure stepped through the wastes, wrapped tightly in shawls to block out the barbarity of the outside world. In the distance the traveler could make out several shapes, ominous and dark in the moonlit night. He had sensed their ki coming from halfway across the planet, and the dark energies surrounding this group could mean only one thing. Still, he did not fear. He had trained his whole life for this day, for this battle.

Taking long, confident strides the traveler approached the strangers, black eyes peering out from under his turban. The rough cloth of his desert attire could not hide his toned, athletic frame, or his green, muscled arms.

" Hail, good sir," Zaros rasped as the desert figure came into view. " This planet is a bit far for a Namek to call home, don't you think?"

" Leave this place," the Namek barked, throwing his cape back to reveal his powerful, battle-worn body.

" Now that's what I call hospitality," Zaros chuckled as he rapped his talons upon his armor.

" If you leave now," grunted the Namek, "none of your followers will be hurt."

" What? You mean them?" Zaros pointed to the alien guards around him, each armored and set in fighting stance. " If they make you uncomfortable, then I would be happy to send them away."

The Namek staggered backwards as a hideous, unnatural black ki rose up from the alien intruder, slashing through the desert sands like a steel blade through grass. Screams echoed throughout the cold night sky as the alien guards fell into bloody pieces, dead before they could even finish their final cries of pain and surprise.

" You have made your choice, monster," the Namek grumbled as he drew up his fists, ready for battle."

" Now now, you don't even know what I'm after, now do you?"

" I know full well what you are here for, fiend."

" Oh, you are indeed wise," Zaros hissed as he ran his talons along his armor, twitching in anticipation. " So there are indeed dragonballs on this wasteland of a planet."

" There are, but a creature like you will never have them. I am the guardian of this planet, and it is my solemn duty to prevent the dragonballs from being used for evil."

" An admirable goal, my little green friend. However, I'm afraid that I will have to kill you now."

" Then even in my death, I shall have a final victory," the Namek stated with a grim smile, muscles tensing for battle.

" And how is that?"

" If you kill me, the dragonballs will turn to stone," spat the Namek, his hateful, concentrated glare boring into Zaros's face. " Their power and my life are linked. By destroying one, you destroy the other."

" Exactly," Zaros laughed as his hideous, impossibly powerful black ki rose around him like a black wave.

The Namek looked into the eyes of the alien tyrant, and his heart sank. He realized at last what this creature meant to do.

Long screams filled the desert night, and then there was silence.

A gust of air rushed through the room as the massive airlock opened. Goybi could hear the clacking of claws on metal as Zaros stepped through the threshold, his armor covered with dust and blood. The little engineer gulped, knowing full well what his fate would be if the evil tyrant ever discovered his treachery.

Voma kneeled before his master, hoping beyond hope that the guards had patched together the training room in time. Zaros looked down upon the warrior with a smirk, picking a piece of dead flesh off of his armor.

" I am glad to see that the Zarastros is intact, Voma," Zaros hissed as he examined his soiled claws. " Anything of note to report?"

" No, sire," Voma lied.

" Excellent," Zaros purred as he cleaned his armor, his crimson eyes vibrant with energy. " The secondary target has been destroyed. All that is left now is to close the circle." Zaros looked up at the ceiling, clenching his eyes shut, trying to visualize the plan once more in his brain. " We are so close, Voma."

Goybi fidgeted, nervously examining Voma's false humility and Zaros's mad dreaming. He saw his chance.

" Goybi, what is the status of the ship?" demanded Zaros as he began to walk down the corridor to his personal chambers.

" Master, the ship is doing well," Goybi blathered in his most flattering tone. "The training facility is in perfect order again, and we haven't had any more trouble from the Super Saiya-jin, master."

" What?"

Zaros's enraged voice echoed throughout the ship. In every dark corner the workers hid in fear, trembling at the thought of their dark lord's rage. Voma trembled, silently cursing the little toad that betrayed him. Even as Zaros stalked towards Goybi, the little engineer was smiling behind his fear.

" Master, what I mean to say is that the heart control device is working sufficiently."

" Did you say Super Saiya-jin?" Zaros roared, his talons outstretched and ready to rend flesh.

" Y-yes, master the Super Saiya-jin, the one we brought back from the dead."

" What makes you think that he's a Super Saiya-jin, Goybi?"

" Master, I saw it," Goybi muttered as he looked over at Voma. Watching the bully squirm warmed the little lizard's heart. " When Lord Voma fought the Saiya-jin in the training room, we all saw the creature's hair and eyes change, and it became incredibly strong."

" Voma!" Zaros hissed, his voice laced with venom. Voma felt his heart pounding furiously against his ribs.

" Sire, I can explain."

" Voma," Zaros whispered as he walked up to his kneeling servant, placing his claws on the crown of his head. " Need I remind you of what happened to Freezer?"

" But sire, I..."

" Voma, you fool!" Zaros screamed as he hurled the huge fighter through the air, slamming him into the metal walls of the ship. " Freezer was killed by a Super Saiya-jin! Don't you remember the computer read outs? The Saiya-jin that killed Freezer had a pathetic power level, but when he transformed he utterly destroyed my old master. Did it ever occur to you that this creature, with its enormous ki, could have easily destroyed the entire ship?"

" Sire, I only wanted to-" Voma struggled to speak, blood running freely between his fangs.

" You only wanted to show off, you idiot!" Zaros picked his servant up by the neck and slammed him into the floor, bending the metal beneath.

" Sire, please!" Voma groaned as shuddered in pain.

" You fool! You utter fool! Do you have any idea how much losing the ship would have set back my plans? Do you? You pathetic, petty, wretched fool! I will not let my plans be ruined by your incompetent pride!"

" Sire-" Voma managed to gasp as Zaros tightened his grip around the warrior's throat.

" I warned you Voma," Zaros hissed as his talons broke through Voma's skin. "I warned you before about your pride and your ambition. Now you have proven to me that you are incapable of following orders. That makes you useless."

Voma's eyes went wide as he felt his hot, sticky blood run down his throat.

" I'm going to give you a second chance, Voma," Zaros cooed as he looked into the terrified fighter's eyes. " I'm going to give you another chance to prove yourself. But this time, I'm going to give you something to think about whenever you consider betraying me."

Voma opened his mouth wide with surprise as Zaros's claw slid into his belly, slicing through skin and grasping his hot, slippery innards. Zaros continued to lock eyes with the warrior, his crimson orbs remaining calm.

" You will never have children, Voma. I will see to that. You will never again taste food, or feel pleasure. I am going to rip you apart, and leave you to the medics to be patched together. When they're done with you, you won't be able to take a breath without my permission."

Voma's eyes rolled back into his head as Zaros dug through his body, freely rending apart whatever he touched. The alien tyrant withdrew his hand, stained with blood and viscera. Goybi gasped, horrified at the brutality of his alien master.

" Goybi, get the medics. I want him completely rebuilt. Tell the medics that they won't be fed until it is done. Tell them that if they make a mistake during the operation, I will throw them out of the ship and watch their bodies burst in outer space."

" Yes master," Goybi groveled as he scampered over to the nearest computer terminal.

Zaros looked down at his dying servant in disgust. Shaking his head he walked down the corridor, fresh blood dripping from his talons. He knew that he walked a path not intended for mortals, but the weakness of those around him did not fail to disgust him. He would have to be more careful now that he had a Super Saiya-jin in captivity. The monkey would be a great boon to the ship's power supply, yet his strength might prove to be more than his guards could contain.

Still, Zaros was not concerned with his personal safety. The Saiya-jin may have incredible strength, but he was still only one being. Zaros had the strength of a thousand worlds at his disposal, years' worth of stolen ki running through his fortified armor. The monkey was the key to his success, last piece of the puzzle needed, but in the end the creature was nothing compared to him.

Goybi scuttled through the cellblock, trying in vain to move silently as he looked all around in nervous anticipation. Everywhere the shadows seemed to play tricks with him, morphing into threatening shapes of guards at every turn. The image of the eviscerated Voma was still fresh in the small lizard's mind. His stomach turned at the thought of being subject to a similar fate.

The engineer slipped through the corridor, peering into each cell to examine the contents. Inside he saw faces from all different worlds, all etched with despair and pain. Goybi was more aware than most at the full extent of Zaros's villainy. Through wiretaps, eavesdropping, and years of building the tyrant's monstrous technology, Goybi had a vague idea of what the evil creature was planning. The thought of Zaros's plan made the lizard shudder, and he prayed that his savior would have the strength to stop it.

Goybi paused at one cell, holding his breath as he watched the inhabitants. He saw inside an old Saiya-jin man, a slave who had been in the Zarastros for almost as long as Goybi. The old man was nestled up in a pile of rags that the guards had given them to protect against the freezing temperature of the cellblock. Beside him was his daughter, her eyes locked on the third figure, the sleeping warrior, who was sprawled out in the center of the room. Goybi remembered the girl's mother, and Zaros's cruel experiments that had finally destroyed her. Goybi held his head in shame, the remorse of decades of servitude creeping through his veins.

The young woman watched the warrior intently, her soft brown eyes glistening in the pale light of the cell. Goybi looked at her from the darkness, and he saw a swirling chaos of emotions within her eyes. Regret, pity, desire� all these he could see fighting through her soul, each trying to wrest control of her heart. The little engineer shook his head and walked away, leaving the woman to her quiet tragedy.

At the next cell Goybi stopped and pressed his scaly face between the metal mesh of the grate, his bulbous eyes searching anxiously. The Namek inside looked up at him, his green body calmly folded into a meditating position.

Goybi, you have come.

Goybi sighed with relief, glad to hear the friendly voice one more, even if it was only in his head. He grasped the mesh of the grate with his hands, looking around for any sign of interlopers before he began to speak.

" Azlan," Goybi whispered to the Namek. " Zaros has disposed of Voma. The chief of the guards is in the medical bay, being nursed back to health."

Good work, old friend.

" Zaros was worried about the Saiya-jin. He said something about the warrior being able to destroy the ship."

The evil fool doesn't even realize the danger to himself.

" He came back from his scouting mission without the guards and covered in blood. Do you know what that could mean?"

It means that my brother is dead, and that my home planet is the next target.

" No!" Goybi gasped in a horrified whisper. " Azlan, what can we do?"

We must use the Saiya-jin.

" What? But Azlan, the creature is mad. It only lives to fight."

I know the dangers, Goybi. It is the only way.

" How much time do we have?"

Time is short. I suspect that Zaros will stop along the way to test the weapon that he has built. After that, there will be no stopping him.

" The cannon? But that weapon is totally useless, Azlan. I know because I built it. It would take an impossible amount of ki to fire that thing, and Zaros wouldn't dare drain the reactor or his own power supply."

That is why he needs the Saiya-jin.

" Then we're doomed."

No, we are not doomed yet. His weapon can become our weapon.

" The Saiya-jin?"

Yes.

" Azlan, is there anything else I can do?"

No my brave friend, you have done enough for now. The next step only I can do.

" Good-bye, Azlan," Goybi whispered as he slipped off into the darkness.

The Namek lowered his head, returning to his meditation. The next step would be crucial. If he failed, then his home world would be destroyed.

Reaching deep from within himself, he tapped into dreams of the sleeping Saiya-jin warrior, his mind focused on the task to come.

There was only one way to save his home. The Saiya-jin would have to be destroyed.

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