Like a blade of pure darkness the spaceship Zarastros cut through the stars, its rumbling thrusters on the verge of shattering. The entire ship trembled under the strain of the force propelling it forward, its engines fueled by the tortured energy of thousands of slaves.

From the command deck Zaros gripped the railing overlooking the engineering bay with his powerful little claws, clicking his razor sharp talons impatiently. His eyes burned with madness and hatred the likes of which the slaver crew had never seen before in their tyrant lord. Zaros pushed them forward like a demon, driving the ship further into a technologically inspired hell. There was hardly a corridor left on any of the decks that was not stained with blood from the master's rages. The medical bay was full to the point where the medics now scrambled to prevent an epidemic plaque amongst the slaves whose bodies had been shattered feeding the monstrous reactor.

Zaros saw the pain and desolation around him and did not care. The creatures around him were pawns, nothing more. They were a means to a far greater end than their pitiful lives would ever accomplish otherwise. He was treading the path to godhood, and he would not allow his plan to be ruined this late in the game.

His lips curled as he thought of the rebellion that had been brewing under his nose the entire time. That sniveling wretch Goybi had allowed all of the engineers to escape, leaving the ship crippled amidst the vast wastes that marked the edge of the Western Quadrant. That contemptible slave had allowed for the unfurling of almost a century of hard worn victories.

No, it was not just the wretched little engineer. It was the Saiya-jin that helped them break free, allowed them to slip past the guards and away from Zaros's grasp. Not just a normal Saiya-jin; no, it was a Super Saiya-jin that had ruined his plan. The same creature that he had resurrected, that he was planning on using the fuel his ultimate weapon. It was the same creature who was the key to the entire plan, the long sought after energy source that was pure enough to fuel the Zarastros and its weapon systems for eons to come. That Saiya-jin, that stupid monkey, had ruined everything. It would pay dearly for its insolence.

Zaros's concentration was broken by the squawk of the loudspeaker in his private chambers. He turned from his observation post and snatched up the microphone, nearly crushing it in his blind rage.

" Master, there are no more healthy slaves in the entire slave deck," came the voice of one of the alien guards, quivering with fear. " Master, we must slow the ship down. We don't know how to run the reactor, and if we keep pumping it full of ki then we believe that there's a danger of it leaking and destroying the ship."

" Do you think I care, you fool?" Zaros screeched into the microphone, no longer able to contain his fury. " I am immortal! I am the most powerful being to ever exist! This ship's destruction means nothing to me! Your pathetic lives mean nothing to me!"

" Now listen here," Zaros hissed, his voice colder than ice. " I don't care if there aren't any healthy slaves left. Pull the weakest out of the medical bay and throw them in the reactor until they shrivel up and die. This ship will not slow down, not until we reach the planet that the engineers fled to. Is that understood?"

" Yes master," muttered the alien, his voice groveling through the loudspeaker.

Zaros snarled and threw the microphone across the room, shattering it against the wall. He had no time for these fools. They had no idea how powerful he was, or how important the plan really was. The fate of the entire universe hinged upon reaching that planet in the computer readouts and retrieving the engineers. The lizards would feel great pain, and their punishment for their rebellion would be legendary, but he would keep them alive, and their power would become his once again. Then he could track down the second planet on the readout at leisure. His plan to track the Saiya-jin through the half-breed worked perfectly. Of course it worked perfectly. He was a genius, and he had been chosen by destiny to become the one true ruler of all creation.

Zaros stepped down the stairwell out of his command post, entering the training hall of the warriors. The air was heavy with the smell of sweat and blood. Zaros knew that the guards were now living in a world of twin fears. Voma was now fully recovered from his operation, and not a waking hour was spent outside of the training room, constantly sparring and drilling with the other fighters. Zaros saw the heap of broken bodies in the arena that surrounded the alien fighter. His servant had learned his lesson well from his defiance, and now he was ready to serve once again.

Zaros slithered over the wall of the arena, walking towards his most valuable servant with quiet observance. The alien warrior sat crossed legged on top of a still-bleeding body of one of the younger warriors. Voma's face was set in a perpetual snarl, his eyes set deep with hatred. Zaros watched silently as Voma slid another syringe into his arm, which was now covered with pockmarks where vein after vein had been injected with muscle-enhancing chemicals.

" You're pushing yourself, Voma," Zaros hissed as he walked over to his servant. " I did not expect you to train so hard."

" I can beat the Saiya-jin," Voma growled as he flexed his arm, feeling the artificial strength bleed through his muscles. " I've been training since the day I stepped out of the regeneration chamber. He's been running all this time, burdened by the female and the old male. Ever since that thing crawled out of the medical bay there's been a score to settle between him and I. I plan on ending it the next time we meet."

" You know that I won't let you kill him, Voma," Zaros rasped, eyeing the alien fighter warily. " He's far too valuable to us alive."

" I don't want to kill him, sire," Voma replied as he looked at Zaros, the alien fighter's eyes now filled with cold vengeance. " I want to break him. I want to feel his back crack under my fists. When it's over, he's going to be nothing but a shattered hulk with ki."

" Excellent," Zaros chuckled as he patted Voma's shoulder with his claw. " This is why you serve me, Voma. Being under me gives you the ambition you never would have had otherwise. Now you are starting to realize your full potential.

Voma hardly acknowledged his master's words. All he could think about was the feeling of bone breaking between his hands. He had practiced destroying limbs and spines for seven days straight now, and there were no warriors left in the entire ship willing to spar with him. He didn't care. He had transcended them now, become a thing like the Saiya-jin and like Zaros, a kind of unstoppable monster. He enjoyed the sensation.

Zaros stalked out of the training facility, leaving Voma to his madness. The alien tyrant stepped into the engineering bay, where dozens of slavers cowered in fear at the sight of their dark lord. Zaros simply looked out of the massive window on the deck, seeing the fleck of light off in the distance that was a sun to far off planet. He knew that on that planet he would find his prey. From there, the plan was simple. It had always been a simple plan.

� � Azlan sensed the enormous ki entering the atmosphere, breaking his deep concentration. The Namek warrior looked up to the clouded heavens and saw the space pod falling to the ground below, smashing through soil and stone. The Turos ran to their guardian, fearful of what kind of terrible being might have come for them.

" Do not fear," Azlan commanded as he stood from his seat on the grass, his stormy gray eyes full of energy. " It is an ally."

Burori tore himself from the pod, bursting out of the metal structure like it was his cocoon. The huge Saiya-jin turned and lifted the pod up, crushing it with his bare hands. With a thud the twisted mass fell to the ground, now a useless lump of metal. Burori turned to Azlan, his dark eyes glowing with quiet fury.

" I've come for the fight," Burori stated as he strode towards the Namek, his silky white pants rippling in the wind.

" I understand," Azlan said flatly as he smiled grimly at the Saiya-jin. " We do not have much time now. I sense Zaros coming, and he is very close."

" Let him come," Burori growled as he looked to the sky.

" You are changed, Burori," the Namek stated as he studied the warrior with his cool gray eyes. " I sense that you are close to your true nature now."

" That may be," Burori spat bitterly, " but I don't care. I didn't come here to change, I came here to fight."

" Then you are a fool," Azlan grunted as he sat back down on the ground, crossing his legs in meditation.

" I thought you wanted my help," Burori rumbled, his eyes glaring at the insolent Namek.

" I do want you to help," Azlan stated as he closed his eyes. " I am merely saying the truth. Only a fool is unwilling to change."

" Changing doesn't do anything," Burori muttered as he touched his own scarred chest, faintly remembering what is was like to have a female body pressed against his.

" That is not true," Azlan stated flatly as he began to float above the ground, his body crackling with white energy. " There are three great powers in the universe, Burori. Most creatures, like the Turos, have the power of creation, where they are able to make something from nothing, to construct things that would not have otherwise existed. Others, like the Saiya-jins, have the power of destruction, the ability to rend apart creation and break things down into their base parts."

" And how does this apply to me?" Burori asked, his eyes locked on the meditating Namek.

" Yours is a power different from the rest," Azlan began, his voice rumbling far deeper than Burori had thought was possible from the slim green alien. " Yours is the power of the Super Saiya-jin, the power of transformation. Transformation has the aspects of both creation and destruction, yet is something more powerful than either. When you accept that, and you are willing to change, then you will have your true power."

" I think I'm powerful enough where I stand," Burori grunted as he turned to walk away.

" Your power is not enough to defeat Zaros," Azlan said, his eyes still peacefully closed. " It was not enough to defeat the ones who destroyed your body before Zaros found you, or enough to defeat the enemy that hides in your dreams."

" I'll do fine without your help, Azlan," Burori grumbled as he walked. " You had to train for years to get as powerful as your are now. I never had to train a single day of my life. The power I have is natural, it comes from within."

" You're a lot stronger than you think you are," Azlan said as he turned in midair. " I sensed it in our dream duel. There's something holding you back, preventing you from truly immersing yourself in your own natural power. As long as you let your emotions rule you, you will never be able to defeat a true warrior."

" That's where you're dead wrong, Azlan," Burori stated as he looked over his shoulder at the Namek. " My emotions are my power. My hate allowed me to get this far. I just hope I hate Zaros enough to find the strength to rip out his mechanical guts."

" You won't be fighting Zaros when the time comes," Azlan said as he opened his prophetic gray eyes. " Zaros is far more powerful than any mortal warrior. I will face him in a battle of minds, and if the ancient gods are willing then I shall be victorious."

" And you want me to sit back and watch?" Burori hissed.

" Your task will be to breach the Zarastros and free the slaves within," Azlan said, his voice cold and precise. " The Turos are working now trying to gather all seven of this planet's dragonballs. If I fall in battle, the Turos will awaken the dragon and wish for all the former slaves of Zaros to be transported to Namek for a final stand. Once you free the slaves, Zaros will have no fuel left to pilot his warship, and he will be forced to travel alone to my homeland, where hopefully some greater hero can arise to destroy him."

" It sounds like you've all ready give up," Burori muttered.

" There is very little hope left that we can succeed," Azlan stated grimly.

" But wait a minute," Burori began, his brow furrowing. " If you can gather the dragonballs, why don't you wish for the dragon to destroy Zaros?"

" I've thought long and hard about that," Azlan said softly, his voice almost becoming a whisper. " I could have used the dragonballs many times to reshape the fabric of reality, but I realized long ago that the path of power is the path of corruption. If I was willing to use the dragonballs for evil, then I would be no better than Zaros. There would be nothing to stop me from becoming a far greater villain than the one I was trying to destroy."

" That sounds like a coward's reasoning," Burori spat.

" Perhaps it is, Burori, but I am not willing to risk it," Azlan said with stunning finality. " Besides, the dragonballs probably won't be gathered in time to affect the final battle. And I don't even believe they'll really work."

" You don't believe in the dragon?" Burori asked, growing more confused and angry with the cryptic Namek.

" No, I believe in the dragon," Azlan sighed. " I've seen the dragon. I made the dragonballs for this planet using powers older than the stars, and I created a portal that allowed a mighty dragon to enter this world and grant two wishes."

Burori watched as the Namek's face twisted, becoming lost in bitter memories.

" When I was young, I gathered the dragonballs and made two wishes. One was that Turosa would always be kept safe from evil, and the other was that I would live long enough to see justice in the universe." Azlan's eyes went soft, and for the first time Burori could see weakness in the strange creature's face. " I was a fool to wish for such things. It appears that even the eternal dragon is unable to grant such potent wishes, for Freezer and then Zaros both devastated this world and enslaved my people. It is an ironic fate, not justice, that awaits my end now."

" You should never have put your faith in legends and old mysticism," Burori lectured as he looked at the growing storm overhead. " Put your strength in flesh, in bone, in your own power. That is the way of the Saiya-jins. In the old days our gods walked with us into battle, but they did not fight. They watched as the first Saiya-jin heroes fought, serving as witnesses to deeds of warriors. As the last Saiya-jin, it is my fate to fight this battle alone."

" The battle will come soon enough," Azlan whispered as he closed his eyes. " I can feel Zaros's evil coming terribly close to us."

" Then let's face the final battle like true Saiya-jins," Burori declared as he flew off into the darkening sky. Azlan watched as the huge warrior landed on a strip of hills to the south, green ki hovering over him like a personal storm.

Burori put his head back and let out a monstrous roar, shaking the planet with his fury.

� � The loudspeaker in Zaros's private chambers clicked on. Zaros looked for the microphone, and then realized that he had shattered it in his fury. The tyrant lord looked out onto the floor of the engineering bay before and saw one of the alien guards trying to operate the communications system from a computer terminal. With a snarl Zaros shattered the glass around his command post, glaring down at the terrified slaver below.

" What is it now?" Zaros demanded.

" Master, there's something on the surface of the planet," quivered the alien guard.

" You idiot!" Zaros screamed. " If this isn't important, then I'll wear your skin as a cape!"

" Master, there's a mountain range rising out of the planet's surface!" screamed the guard in terror.

" What?" the evil alien asked, peering out of the window in his private chambers.

" Master, it looks like it's spelling something," the guard screeched.

Zaros squinted through the glass, and sure enough, on the surface of the blue planet that the guidance system was locked on there was a set of mountains forming, cutting sharp, unnatural angles. They did indeed spell something.

Come for me.

Zaros's eyes went wide, and then his mouth twisted into a sick mockery of a smile. It was the Saiya-jin. He had abandoned the female in order to come for a fight. Zaros began to laugh maniacally. It was all too perfect now. In one fell swoop he would retrieve his engineers and the tool with which he would forge his eternal empire.

" Excellent work!" Zaros shouted to the guard below. " Bring the Zarastros to hover in the planet's lower atmosphere, and tell Voma to ready the guards. Today we turn this planet into a living hell!"

The Turos engineers gasped in terror as the enormous spaceship Zarastros broke through the barrier of dark, rolling clouds. The warship was massive in size, blocking out the light of the sun for miles. It hovered in the air like a gigantic vulture, its metallic husk rumbling with stolen energy. The small lizard people scurried about, desperately searching for the dragonballs, clinging to the faint hope that their guardian would persevere.

Azlan watched calmly as the ship's prow turned towards him, aiming at him like an enormous rifle. The Namek could see the command tower set high above the front of the ship, glaring down at him like a malignant eye. He knew that Zaros was there, watching him.

" I am the one who sparked the rebellion," Azlan whispered, his thoughts piercing into the mind of the dark master of the ship. " I am the guardian of this planet, and before you take my people captive, you must first deal with me."

Burori watched the Namek from afar, feeling a mixture of horror and awe as the simple green alien stared up at the enormous technological terror above. The Saiya-jin warrior shook the thought from his head. He had a task to do, and he wanted to be done with it in time to give whatever aid he could to the guardian of Turosa. Clenching his fists Burori let his green ki rage through him, bloating his muscles and filling him with power. His hair became golden spikes, and his eyes began to glow with fierce white light. At his fullest power the Super Saiya-jin flew up towards the side of the massive vessel, slipping easily into the open docking bay.

Burori landed with a crash, his feet creating a crater in the metal floor around him. Dozens of alien slavers, about to step into their space pods to invade the world below, stood in awe of the monstrous fighter as he glared at them with his glowing eyes.

" If you run, I might not kill you," he rumbled as he formed a compact ball of shimmering green ki in each hand.

The first guard tried to rush him, screaming a war cry and raising a crackling energy weapon. Burori turned with lightning speed and whipped a ki ball through the creature, the force of the blast destroying several screaming aliens behind it. The rest of the guards scattered, crying out in terror at their unstoppable foe.

Burori frowned, his contempt for the slavers rising in his throat. He did not give chase. He knew what he had to do, and he had precious little time. Kicking up shards of metal behind him the Super Saiya-jin flew down the twisting corridors of the ship, heading straight for the slave deck. Bursting effortlessly through airlock after airlock Burori tore through the ship, his mind focused on his task. When at last he smashed into the old cellblock, all was eerily silent.

" I knew you'd come here," a feline voice growled from the darkness. Burori grit his teeth in hate at the alien warrior who strode down the other end of the hallway. Voma was much larger now, his furry body stretched to the point where it was about to burst with bulging muscle. The alien smiled, his glistening fangs showing complete confidence.

" I've come for the slaves," Burori rumbled, his voice booming down the corridor.

" They're all in the medical bay," Voma snarled, his insane smile still wrapped across his face. " Seems they weren't as strong as you. The reactor has nearly killed all of them."

" And so you've come to fight me," Burori stated, his eyes studying the graceful alien's every movement.

" Yes, I've come to break you," Voma purred. " But not here. There is going to be a certain poetic justice to this battle. Follow me."

Voma turned and flew down the corridor, with Burori in hot pursuit. The alien warrior skidded to a halt inside the training arena, the stench of bodies still thick in the air. Burori floated to the ground, his nose wrinkled at the rank, familiar smell.

" If I remember correctly, I beat you the last time we were here," Burori chuckled.

" Let's see how much you've improved," Voma growled as he crouched low into a fighting stance.

Burori flew towards his foe, green ki streaming behind him. Voma somersaulted forward, and pressing down with both hands sprung from the floor with a double kick that caught Burori in the chin. The Super-Saiya-jin flew backwards into the wall of the arena, recovering just in time to see Voma smashing an elbow into his throat.

" I've gotten a lot faster," Voma snarled as he grabbed Burori's ankle and threw him down into the floor. The Super Saiya-jin reeled, trying to get a bearing on his foe. The alien was incredibly fast, and Burori raised his fists in defense, trying to see the pattern of the enemy's movements.

Voma leapt high into the air, his red ki streaming like snakes around his body. The alien slaver fired charge after charge of red-hot ki down at the Super Saiya-jin, and Burori returned in kind with a flurry of green ki balls. The room shook with the ferocity of the blows as the energy stormed around the room. Burori flew upwards with a gigantic uppercut, only to have Voma flip backwards out of the war and kick him in the gut. The blow didn't hurt, but it frustrated the huge Super Saiya-jin, who could not seem to lay a hand on his quarry.

Voma crashed down on Burori, both of his hands cupped together as they smashed into the Super Saiya-jin's nose. Burori tumbled downwards, but Voma flew below him and caught his back with a knee. Burori screamed in agony as Voma stretched the huge warrior across his knee, bending his spine backwards. With a roar the Super Saiya-jin slammed a fist into Voma's face, spraying blood across the floor. Voma laughed hideously, unable to feel his own pain.

" I'm not going to kill you," Voma laughed as he wiped blood from his mouth. "I'm going to break you. I'm going to shatter your arms and legs and laugh at you in your cell for decades to come."

" Your boasts have yet to kill me," Burori snarled as he whipped a ball of ki at his foe. Voma easily flew out of the way, letting it crash harmlessly behind him. Burori flew after him, swinging out to catch the alien with an axe kick to the chest. Voma gasped, his eyes wide, his mouth still marred into an insane smile. Burori swung his leg out again, only to have Voma swing over it like it was a gymnast's vaulting horse, landing behind the Super Saiya-jin. Voma grabbed Burori's arm and wrenched it behind his back, and the Super Saiya-jin screamed in agony as he felt his ligaments being stretched to the limit.

" My boasts haven't killed you yet, eh?" Voma laughed into Burori's ear. " Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we? It will be marvelous, a lifetime of watching you rot helplessly in that cell-"

Something inside of Burori burst forth, like molten steel ripping through a barrier of wood. His mind was flooded with nothing but fury, and his body responded to the old, familiar sensation with greater vigor than ever before.

" Enough!" Burori roared, flinging Voma from his body. The alien crashed into the wall, laughing as he saw the Super Saiya-jin turn to face him.

Burori saw Voma laughing at him, and the burning hate took hold of his heart. His muscles engorged themselves upon hidden reserves of ki, and his energy rose like a tower of green fire around him. His hair became so golden that it almost looked platinum blonde, his once dark locks now resembling daggers carved out of gold. His white eyes flashed once, then faded to reveal pupils the color of solid jade. Volts of pure white energy crackled around his body like a nimbus of lightning.

" Is that all you've got?" Voma laughed, his red ki swirling around his body. "Come on monkey, let me grab your arms and show you how I'll-"

Voma never finished his sentence. Before the insane alien was even aware of it Burori had crossed the room, his speed ten times what it was before. The alien slaver who had once been the terror of so many worlds only saw the flash of Burori's fist before it punched through his face and smashed his brains against the wall.

Burori watched Voma's headless body fall to the ground as he shook the brain matter from his glowing hand. He had transformed, become something greater than he had ever been before. Perhaps Azlan had been right, and there was something lurking beneath the surface of his rage that was his true power.

" Azlan," Burori whispered, his voice resonating with power.

He flew to the medical bay, smashing apart the guards stationed there before they even realized their doom. The enormous Super Saiya-jin tore open the locked doorways, and the thousands of wounded slaves within the medical bay cowered before his glowing might.

" I've come to save you," he thundered stepping out of the ruins of the doorway. " The guards are all fled or slain. Follow me to the docking bay, and I can bring you to the planet's surface with the space pods.

Warily, the horde of slaves followed the glowing warrior as he flew down the abandoned corridors of the spaceship; mind focused on the battle that was raging outside. He wondered if Azlan really stood a chance against Zaros.

As he flew, slaves following behind, Burori could not help but remember the new life that had been forged for him since being thrown through the star by his enemy and his children. He had been reborn a monster, only to become a disciple of a gentle woman. He had been a pawn to many sides, but he had shouted his defiance into the storm. He had seen the deception of his foes, and transformed his mind into a new being. He had been a part of an alliance for good, only to watch helplessly as an invincible tyrant declared his plan to become a god. He had taken part in a rebellion and an exodus through the depths of space. He had briefly known the pleasures of heaven, and he had become familiar with the fires of hell. There was only one thing left.

Chaos.

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