He felt himself drowning in flames. Power coursed through his shattered body, filling him with the desire for battle. His strength was returning to him at last. There was no more pain, no more doubt, just endless fury. Amidst the sea of fire he saw the figure approach, grim and alien. He smiled. This thing had come to die, to be crushed utterly between his powerful hands. No one could stand against him now. He was immortal, he was a legend, he was everything that anyone had ever feared. He was the devil. Fury wrapped around him, raising his ki higher. He did not know where this wellspring of raw energy came from, but he relished it. Every wisp of ki was like sweet wine on his lips, making him drunk with power. He had found his strength, and now the universe would once again tremble at his name.

Stop!

The voice cut clear across the burning madness, stabbing into his mind like a dagger. He turned, eyes fiery with pure hate, muscles bulging with inhuman strength. He would destroy this interloper for interrupting his revels. There would be no limit to the amount of pain he could inflict upon this pitiful creature. You are mad.

He snarled, clenching and unclenching his fists to feel the tightness of his body. This thing would die, but it would die slowly. His rage would be satisfied by blood.

Zaros is using you.

He roared, flying through the towers of flames that rose up from below. With a battle cry bellowing up from his lungs he kicked the intruder, sending it sailing backwards into the ocean of fire. Saiya-jin, you are a pawn.

"No!" he screamed, fueling the hellish flames with his own massive ki. The heat seared his muscles, and he welcomed the pain like an old friend.

If you continue this, innocents will die.

"There is no innocence," he growled, crouching to strike. He could see the intruder rising up from the flames, unscathed. He would not let anyone stop his eternal battle, his never-ending festival of death. It was the only comfort he had left.

You care about nothing but yourself.

"You dare to stand in judgment of me, insect?" he screamed as a rain of green ki fell upon the mocking creature, bathing it in explosive force. The creature tossed aside the attack, its gray eyes still intense with conviction.

If you do not stop, I will destroy you. "Nothing can destroy me, fool!" he bellowed as he dove at the thing, wrapping his arms around it and tackling it into the endless fire. He felt his entire body burning, being consumed by the hateful flame, but he did not care. He would be victorious.

So be it.

The creature in his arms broke free, whipping around to smash its heel into his nose. He reeled from the shock of the blow, staggering backwards. With a scream he felt something tearing away from him, like a piece of his mind was being ripped away. Some great force bled out of his mind, leaving only terrible emptiness in its place. He grasped his head in his hands, moaning at the agony of having lost a part of himself.

He let go of his head, looking up to see his father being eaten by the flames. The old Saiya-jin twisted there, screaming in agony as the heat tortured his unprotected flesh. He reached out to his father, trying to save the old man from his fiery grave, but the intruder stopped him.

You cannot save him.

"Father!" he cried as he tried in vain to push past the creature, to pick up the old man from his doom. He watched in horror as the old Saiya-jin became a smoldering, screeching corpses, nothing more than ones thrashing in the flames.

He is a demon of your past.

"None of this is real," he growled as he looked at the hated intruder, his heart raging with the power of his incredible ki.

No, Saiya-jin, none of this is real.

"You will pay for this, bug," he snorted as he reared back, ready to strike with a handful of pulsating green energy.

Forgive me, but it is the only way.

The creature disappeared in a flash of motion, and his ki attack cut through the air harmlessly, crashing into the raging inferno. He turned, screaming, his hatred boiling through his body, threatening to destroy him with its latent power. i>You have spent your entire life hiding in madness.

"I am not mad!" he roared as he flew above the flames, frantically searching for his opponent. "I am sane! It is the world that is mad!"

How long has it been since you started denying the truth?

He flexed every muscle in his body, his ki compacting around him to create a crackling sphere of green force. His eyes went blank, filling to the brim with rage. He would crush this thing.

What is the source of your pain, Saiya-jin?

"Show yourself, coward!" he demanded as he tossed ki wildly, sending compressed balls of energy sailing through the endless drifts of flame. His chest heaved in exertion, his eyes wild with frustration.

The creature came crashing out of the flames like an angel of hell, tearing through the shield of energy with one fist and smashing the Saiya-jin on the head with the other. He went crashing down into the flames, clutching his agonizing skull. He felt like his head had been split wide open, and his brain had been exposed to the horrendous flames. Is this the thing behind your pain?

He opened his eyes to see Vegeta screaming in the fire, his hair and clothes bursting into flames. The proud Saiya-jin's death throes were like a terrible dance with destruction, his body being torn apart by the forces of hell.

"No!" he roared as Vegeta's body faded into ash. "Why are you doing this to me? Why must you cause me this pain?"

I must destroy you.

"You can't!" he screamed in defiance. "I won't let you! I cannot die!"

You know in your heart that you are lying.

He clenched his fists in rage, letting the flames lick his body like a seductive lover. He flew upwards, smashing the intruder down into the flames. He flew downwards with his enemy, kicking the vile creature in the stomach and flinging a blast of ki at its helpless form. He heard the thing cry out in the flames. He smiled. He could kill this thing.

You must be stopped.

"Kakarotto!" he roared, ki rising up from him higher than the pillars of flames. "Is that you Kakarotto? Have you come to face your destiny?"

Kakarotto?

"Come, let us die!" he cried as he flung himself at his foe, pummeling the creature with a flurry of blows. He felt flesh crumple beneath his fists, and heard the satisfying sound of bones cracking. Hot blood splattered him and fell into the flames below, stoking the fire of his rage.

No!

With a burst of pure energy he was thrown back, his body wracked with pain. He snarled, hating the broken, defiant creature that flew towards him, fists raised. He dove low and rose with an uppercut, flipping his attacker in mid-air. With an axe kick to the stomach he drove his opponent back down into the flames.

Saiya-jin, I must fight you to save my home.

"You waste your breath, worm," he grunted as he hurled blast after blast of potent green ki down into the fire after his plummeting foe. "I don't care why you fight. I fight to win, I fight to kill. You will never defeat me."

You don't even know your true strength.

"I have had enough of your speeches!" He chased the fallen intruder, flying down into the belly of the inferno to stamp out the hated voice that would not leave his mind. He lost the body amidst the waves of fire, the heat blinding him.

"Who are you?" he screamed as the flames bathed him in agonizing heat.

I am Azlan.

"Azlan!" he roared, flying up out of the flames, his ki burning more furiously than any fire. "You said you would help me, Azlan! I see now what kind of help you are! To hell with you!"

It is the only way.

He tumbled forward, stunned by the blow that came from behind. He grabbed the back of his head, weeping in despair as he felt his mind's contents spilling out into the fires below. He turned, tears burning down his face, to meet his foe.

If you cannot be stopped in battle, then I will shatter your mind here.

"No!" he cried out, fists shaking in fury. "I won't let you win like this!"

He heard screams in the distance, and he saw Gohan drowning in the fire, his body being swallowed up by the ocean of flame. He grit his teeth together and smashed into his foe, feeling its ribs strain as he squeezed the intruders body against his own. The interloper cried out in pain, and he felt the hot blood washing over his own body.

Where does this unending hate come from?

"No! I'll never let you take my hate away! It's all that I have!"

If you could only know how pathetic that sounds.

"Enough of this, demon!"

He smashed his phantom attacker with both fists, then grabbed its arms and tore them from its body. The foe cried out in pain and desperation, lashing out with a high kick. He caught the leg by the ankle and tore it from his enemy�s body, letting it fall into the flames below. "My hate is eternal," he rumbled as his ki rose up from within, transforming his body into an engine of total destruction. "My hate will consume the universe in its fury." His eyes flashed, the pupils fading as white light began to emanate from the sockets. "Nothing can stop me."

I had thought you were better than Zaros, but I was wrong.

"I am the devil," he moaned, his will melting as power seduced his wayward soul.

No, you are not the devil.

He frowned, energy flowing over his shoulders and head like a halo of radiant green death.

You are a madman, too weak to control your own power.

"Let's fight, bug, and then decide who is weak."

The intruder closed his eyes in concentration, and to his amazement the creature sprouted a new limb for each it had lost, its once broken body now whole again.

The thing rushed him, its gray eyes focused and calm. He parried its punch, slamming his heel into the creature�s back. It grunted, but whirled around to strike him with an open palm. He caught the blow with his hand, and used his free arm to punish the thing with a smashing blow across its face. Blood sluiced through the fire lit darkness, sizzling in the heat. He kicked the creature in the stomach, and it sailed backwards through the air, holding its bruised frame.

"You fight for your home, fool, and you fight for your friends, but I-" he grimaced, fury carving his face like a knife, "I fight for myself."

The attacker flew towards him once more, determination etched in its face. He welcomed the thing, his muscles wound tightly around their bones, ready to crush this thing that would try to haunt his dreams. The demon came at him head on, no thought for its own safety. He punished its boldness with a fist that went straight through the creature�s chest, punching its heart out of the back of its ribs.

The thing gasped, its lifeblood drenching his arm. He laughed at its plight as it tried in vain to extract itself from his arm. It looked up at him, its face still impossibly calm. It reached up with failing arms, placing its hands upon his forehead.

If I cannot destroy you...

"No!" he screamed as he felt energy tear through his mind.

Then I will remake you.

The creature's body fell apart, chunks of flesh tumbling into the furnace below. He roared in agony, his mind reeling in pain and emptiness. He could see the familiar body off in the distance, falling into the flames.

"Kakarotto!" he screamed as he chased after it, grasping its burning body in his powerful hands.

Then he was wrenched once more into the hated world of consciousness.

Azlan fell to the floor, gasping for air. His head pounded, and purple blood ran freely down his nose and mouth. He had failed to kill the Saiya-jin. He cursed himself, but the being was just too strong. He had been able to tear apart its mind, but how long would it be until he was able to piece his patchwork of hatreds back together again?

The Namek sighed as he pulled himself up against the cell wall, taking a sip of water from a small bowl beside him. The creature was alive, which meant that Zaros could still use it as a weapon. But it was no longer mad, at least for the moment. If he could find a way to keep it from Zaros-

Azlan looked up at the ceiling and made a quite prayer to the ancient Namekian gods. He would need their blessing if he were to succeed now. And if he did not succeed, then Namek was doomed.

Burori woke with a start, his body shuddering on the cold metal floor. He wrapped his arms around his chest, shivering in the frigid air of the prison cell. He tried to rub his arms to warm himself, but it was no use.

"Burori, are you awake?" whispered a soft female voice.

He knew the voice was familiar, and for a moment he felt a twinge of hate rise up from his throat at the sound. The feeling quickly faded, leaving him confused. Why did he not hate that voice? Why would he hate that voice? His head hurt tremendously, and his body ached as if he had battled for hours, even though he knew that he had been sleeping most of the night.

"Krinis?" he called out, not daring to look up. He felt naked, alone, and frightened. Something was wrong. There was something missing from his mind, like someone had stolen a piece of his memory.

"Burori, what's wrong?" Krinis asked him as she knelt by his side. He looked over at her, his breath visible in the chill air. He wanted to punch her, to pick her up and break her, to rend her limb from limb, but he did not know why. The feeling abandoned him, nothing more than a ghost racing across the desert of his mind. Something balled up in his chest, like a fist jammed into his ribs, and he could not seem to let it go.

"Krinis, I'm naked," he whispered as he shuddered on the metal floor.

"She smiled down at him, reaching over to wrap his muscles shoulders in sheets of dirty cloth. Why had he wanted to kill her? He couldn't remember. There was something important that he could not remember. Someone had stolen something from him, but he did not know who or what or why.

"Krinis- something is wrong-"

"What is it?" she asked, anxiety showing through in her soft words.

"I don't hate you," he whispered.

She looked at him, afraid and confused. Gently she brushed some of his hair away from his face, gazing into his dark eyes. The rage was gone from them, and all that was left was innocence. There was no animal anymore, just a man.

"Just rest," she whispered as she leaned back, studying him carefully. He looked at her, his eyes wide and frightened. She did not know what had happened, but something had fundamentally changed about this mysterious stranger.

"Burori, are you the Legendary Super Saiya-jin?" she asked in a quiet, awestruck voice.

The name hit him like a falling mountain. He remembered death and agony, countless acts of wanton destruction, and nothing rose in his chest. It was like the hate had fled him. He felt like someone had torn out his heart.

"I- I don't know," he whispered as he pulled the ragged sheets tighter around himself. "I- Azlan."

"What?" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Azlan- Azlan did it to me."

"Azlan," she repeated, closing her eyes as she mulled over the name.

"I'm not Burori anymore," he said to the darkness, despair creeping over his soul. "I'm nothing now-"

"No, no that's not true," Krinis protested as she leaned towards him, trying to get him to look into her eyes. "You will always be Burori. You are who you want to be."

"I don't know-" he muttered as weariness crept over him, closing his eyes.

Krinis watched the huge warrior drift off to sleep, leaving her alone to her thoughts. She looked over to her sleeping father, and then again to this slumbering giant who had suddenly become so gentle. She sighed deeply, wishing that her mother was here to tell her what was happening inside of her, and what she should do.

"You're not the only one who doesn't know, Burori," she whispered as she watched his body in the pale light. She looked over to her sleeping father again, and remembered the lifetime spent in a cell with him. He was all she had ever had. But now-

"Damn you," she whispered as tears ran down her cheeks. Her hands clenched she looked over at the old loudspeaker on the wall, cursing the tyrant who listened to her every word.

She fell into a fitful slumber, plagued by dreams of beautiful, gentle men and hideous, mocking aliens.

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