Tynzien's Saga: Once We Were Heroes

by Ash The Wanderer

A forgotten warrior caste, rejected and exiled from their own race. A fallen hero, now a murderous tyrant. A corrupting darkness lurking in the shadows. And Tynzien and Syria, charged by fate to prevent more tragedy. (Recommended for Piccolo fans)

Tynzien's Saga: Once We Were Heroes

The Namekian was a fine example of his species, magnificently muscled and with a tangible aura of combat, battles, and wars around him. Two scars crossed his face, one across his left eye at a 45-degree angle, the other zigzagging across his right cheek. The warrior bore the deep green skin of the Namek species, the flesh that had been compared to fit more a plant then an animal, due to its strange texture and regenerative qualities. Qualities that, while they could replace limbs lost in battle, could not erase the scars on the alien's face, scars of a past that the Namekian would prefer to forget.

Not because he did not want to remember what had happened.

But because what lay in the past was something he longed for so much, to think about it would cause him as much pain as a tragedy.

Then again, it was a tragedy. It was a tragedy that what had happened had caused him to be where he was now, looking out the window onto the endless sea of stars that made up space. But the tragedy was not just for him. It was also for the fools who had done this to him.

They had called him a relic, following systems from the past, systems no longer needed, no longer wanted. And when he and those who followed him refused to join the others, the sheep, they had been forced into this endless exile, this state of utter chaos, without any missions or bountries, with no goal other to survive.

The Namekian gritted his teeth, showing sharp fangs that glittered slightly in the dull light. They were a strange thing to have, these sharp teeth of his, he sometimes thought. Perhaps they had once been used, but as the Namekians had evolved, slowly becoming the strange amalgam of plant and upright animal they were, they had lost their use as the Namek species lost the need for the nutrients in food, able to survive fully on the combination of hydrogen and oxygen known as water. Indeed, the Namekian, who had little to do in this endless exile he had been condemned to but to think, had often wondered just what was he, plant or animal. The water, the way his body worked, the asexual reproduction…did it make him a plant?

But then the Namekian would always come back to the same answer. Plants felt nothing. He could. Indeed, he could do more then feel the myriad of feelings available out in the endless universe he had traversed in his years apon years of goalless travel, he could manipulate them in others, make others feel things they might never feel or could not. Why he had been granted this strange gift, he did not know, but it had served him well in the way of life he had chosen. No, that his destiny had chosen.

The Namekian's jaw clenched even harder at these thoughts. He was not the relic, they were! They thought his way of life was the past. They were wrong. His way of life was the future! It was every possible future! It was eternal!

But they had said it was not. And they had sent him off. And so he had wandered. And wandered.

The rage stirred in him. He had been honoured as a hero. Now he was nothing, a lost soul in space.

His species had done this to him.

And he had sworn, on his very blood, that they would pay for it.

But it appeared it would be a vow he could not keep. Fate had raised him up only to pull him down. The Namekian raged at the thought of dying in such a manner that could await him, that he and everyone else on the ship feared would await them.

But fate could not be fought like the species the Namekian had fought. On the battlefield, he and his soldiers had been kings. Now they were mere pawns.

The Namekian's antennae twitched as the door slid open behind him, and his second in command, his right arm, silently walked in. The Namekian could feel fear, oh how he hated that feeling, begin to clench in his gut. It was time. Now he would find out if the game would to be coming to an end.

"Lord Parkussion." Said the second Namekian, as he made a slight bow, the black and silver outfit he wore rustling as he did so. His eyes fixed on his commander, dressed in the colour of red, the colour his species had forsaken shortly before they had banished them. Indeed, it was for that very reason why the commander wore so much red, his whole body covered with clothing of the colour and concealed away by a cloak that seemingly flowed around his body, leaving only his head visible. "We have the final results."

Parkussion turned to his second. It was time.

"What is it, Woodwind?" he asked.

"I'm afraid it is bad, sir." Woodwind said, as despereation began to creep into his voice, causing it to crack slightly. Parkussion's whole body clenched, partly from the news and partly from the fact that he could feel the overwhelming despair coming off his second in command, how he was on the verge of being swallowed by it. It was not becoming of a soldier, and he would not tolerate it.

"How bad, Woodwind?"

"It appears…that…" Woodwind got before he stopped. Parkussion shook his head in disgust and raised one red-clad arm, slowly waving at Woodwind.

And then a change came over Woodwind. His shoulders, which moments before had been slumped in defeat, suddenly straightened, and the terror and fear in his eyes vanished and was replaced with iron determination. Parkussion grinned inwardly. Now Woodwind looked like a proper soldier, even if he had had to manipulate him into it. But Parkussion would rather have a brainwashed troop under his command rather then ones who could be defeated by their own emotions.

"It appears, Sir." Woodwind began again, the desperation in his voice gone, washed away. "That our engines are all but finished. They can barely push us to light speed, much less the speeds we would need to find a populated planet or one that can support life. If we try, our engine will surely fail once and for all, and leave us drifting. Any way, our supply of water is practically finished. We are subsisting on drops as it is, but even by then, our supply will surely run out long before we find any more."

It was just as Parkussion had feared. His ship, the Rage of War, had been old by the time he had taken it, and all the service and punishment it had seen had finally caught up to it. It appeared that the fate of him, and his men, was to die of starvation, out here in the desolate wastes.

No.

Parkussion felt the rage. This would not be his fate. He had been a hero! This was not how heroes died! They died as conquerers, in glory, in the brilliant light that he so richly had deserved only to have his species take it from him! It was the glory he rightly deserved!

"Woodwind, gather the Vermarthuire Boloranusm." Parkussion said, speaking of his unit, the men who had served him so long, the men who had gone with him when he had been stripped of his glory. The name his species had given him and his men had been different, but he had soon dubbed it another name, a name known only to them.

"My commander, I am not sure what we can do. Even if we…"

"We will do that if we have to, Woodwind, even if it supposedly will drive us mad! Better madness then death! This will not be our fate! We were heroes, and we have a destiny to have that glory again!"

Woodwind said nothing, but his firm pose showed he agreed. Then he slammed his hand, curled into a fist, against his chest.

"Yes my lord. What else can I do?"

"Bring the…I mean, Lyre, as well."

"Lyre sir? But I thought he was under…"

"Do it! We will need everyone! And then you can…"

"Fuck me! Oh yes! Harder! Harder! OH! OHHHHHHHHHH…"

That did it, Tynzien could take no more. He swiftly leviated himself out of the computer banks he was fixing and shot out, flipping to his feet.

"GOD DAMN IT CENTURY, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S FOR RESEARCH, TURN THAT DAMN PORNOGRAPHIC FILM YOU FOUND OFF BEFORE I DECIDE TO DO SOME FUCKING OF MY OWN, LIKE FUCKING YOU UP!"

Century made a small noise of irritation, and then the sound vanished. However, the image of a man and a woman copulating in apparent wild and total glee remained on the screen, doing the act that had been considered arousing and erotic by the human race of aeons past. But the way it was portrayed in the film that Century was now studying, Tynzien found it crude, mechanical, heatless, and so false it was disgusting. He snorted in disgust at the sex being portrayed on Century's main screen, and turned away from it, devoting his mind back to his repairs,

"You didn't have to be so volatile, Tynzien." Century said from her speakers.

"Sorry, but it's damn hard to do repairs when you keep hearing false moans and groans interspaced with "Suck this!" and "Lick that!" and all that shit! Why do you have to play it on your main screen anyway?"

"It provides the best sound, which allows me to take the best records, and you built me to take the best records possible, so thus I was playing it on the main screen."

"I meant, why are you studying that damn recording in the first place? It's filth, and besides, you can't feel or do any of those things!"

"Truth is, I find it fascinating."

"Why?"

"Because it's so paradoxical. This is supposedly the greatest act of love people can do, but the way these men and women are doing it…there's no love in it at all. How could people find this so sexually arousing? It's so empty, so lacking in caring. Plus, it's degrading, to both parties but especially the women. Yet people found this erotic? It's so strange, nothing like what you and Zeen did."

"Century…" Tynzien growled under his breath.

"Yes yes, I won't say any specifics, but I do have access to your memories now Tynzien. Ever since you agreed to implant that uplink into your brain. Now, I'm not nosy…but it's not like those memories are deeply buried. You really miss your love, miss all the times you spent with her…and from what I see, what happened between you two was love. Yet this was supposedly love, this crude garbage I am now observing. I'm just trying to figure out how and why."

Tynzien remained tense for a bit, but calmed down. Century was right, she meant no harm in it. She was just doing what she had been meant to do.

"Ok Century, you can keep looking at that damn porn film, just keep the sound off, I don't really think I'll need to look at them for any reason I can think of, so keeping the most detailed records you can is not needed." Tynzien said, before something happening on the silent film caught his eye. Disgust again crossed his face.

"Good Kylas, man, that's an out hole, not an in hole!" Tynzien yelled, before realizing he was yelling at recorded footage that was millions of years old. He buried his face in his hand and muttered in disgust, then turned around to rummage in his tool kit.

He heard the faint sound of a door opening behind him. He didn't bother checking who it was, he already knew.

"Hello sunshine! How are we tod…" Syria's voice trailed off as she saw the footage being played.

UH oh. Tynzien thought, as he quickly spun around in an attempt to explain the footage.

"WHOA! What the hell is this? Tynzien, you pervert! You hentai! How dare you make Century…" Syria began, pointing her finger at the saiya-jin, shock and disgust mingled in her eyes.

"Syria, I am observing the footage. Tynzien is making repairs and tolerating it. He dislikes it as much as you." Century cut both Syria and Tynzien off, Syria with the rest of her accusations and Tynzien with his explanation. Syria swirled in amazement, her long white hair swirling around her before it settled back into the mane that went all the way down to her feet.

"Century? Why? Why would you…" Syria said, before she noticed something happening in the film.

"UGH! That's it, I don't care what the reason is, turn it off now! You can examine it later, when I'm not here! Oh god, yuck!" Syria said, before she made vomiting noises. Century sighed and the feed disappeared.

"I take it that's better?" Century asked.

"Much." Syria said.

"I take it you never did anything like that." Tynzien muttered in a half question and half statement as he slid back into the computer banks in which he was always making endless repairs and enhancements. The sound of sizzling wires gave a humming undertone to the air.

"You kidding me? FUCK NO! If any of my old boyfriends had tried to do that to my face, I would have smashed theirs in! That's the most revolting and humilating thing I've ever seen!"

"Well, as far as I can tell, humanity probably still does it."

"Oh really? My species sure didn't! How about yours?" Syria asked, a faint undertone of impish nastiness in her voice as she tried to embarrass Tynzien, which she did often and could do easily.

However, Tynzien's face was concealed to her, and his voice betrayed nothing.

"No, we weren't for improvising. It was pretty much just rutting like animals, same position every time, and why the hell am I discussing the sexual life of the saiya-jin species? One, they're dead, two, I don't like discussing these things, and three, I'm done. Let's go spar in the gravity chamber." Tynzien said as he pulled himself out of the computer banks and sealed the hole with a metal plate and some ki.

Syria mock-giggled.

"Why Tynzien, is that a date?" she asked, trying to succed where her past attempt to embarrass him had apparently failed.

No dice again, as Tynzien, instead of blushing or turning away, merely met her gaze with his wolfish eyes, a sure sight he was sore for a battle.

"Yes, it's a date with destiny. A destiny that must find out whose can of whoop-ass is bigger. Here's a hint: MINE!" Tynzien half-snapped, half snarled in her face, and turned to head out the door.

"In your dreams, Mr. Smarty Saiya-jin!" Syria yelled back as she took off after Tynzien and drew to his side. Century shook her metaphorical head as the two continued to trade barbs on how they were going to kick the other's ass.

"What setting would you like for the gravity chamber, Tynzien?" Syria asked.

"Set it to 150x normal, I'm in the mood for a challenge, a challenge you won't be able to meet, Syria!"

"Don't write checks your ass can't cash, Tynzien!" Syria snapped back. Century sighed again.

"May I continue my research?"

"Go ahead, there's no monitors in the hallways or the gravity chamber, so you can't bother us anyway, no matter how hard you try!" Tynzien tossed over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

Century watched, and in her metaphorical being, a nasty smirk crossed her "face".

"Wanna bet, Tynzien?"

Then Century switched the film back on and turned the volume up as high as it would go. Then, to keep her prank from effecting the lone creature she didn't want it to effect, she checked on Jack, who was sleeping in Syria's chamber. A quick trip via one of her robots and a small device placed in Jack's little cat bed and Jack had a soundproof bubble around him

Then Century connected the film's sound to the main speakers placed all over the ship. Immensely loud moans and groans blasted through the whole ship at ear-splitting volume.

"CENTURY, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

The Namekian sat on his bed, staring at the wall, as he had done for so many of his days he had spent in the small, cramped, dark room. He sat, his legs steady and his arms in his lap with the fingers interlaced like he was preparing to play cat's cradle. But from the look that glittered in the Namekian's eyes, it was clear he was in no mood to play a game.

His name was Lyre, and as always, his mind kept turning the same subject in his head over and over as he tried to commit himself to a decision, or at least an idea, of what he should do.

But he was held back by one thing: if he came to the conclusion that had become more and more likely, it would surely mean his death. And his survival instincts were enough to keep his morals and his observations from influencing how his future would go.

But the time for thoughts ended as the door slowly and softly slid open. Lyre's eyes turned towards the door. It was rather early for him to get his share of water.

But it wasn't Sello or Viaolen, who usually brought him his share. Instead, it was his commander, the Namekian Brass. And once again Lyre's confusion and wonderment on how to deal with his observations was pushed aside by his soldier's instincts.

"Captain Brass, sir." Lyre snapped as he stood up smartly and slammed his fist against his chest.

"Come along, Lyre. Parkussion has called a meeting. We are to decide what to do, and hopefully find a solution before we all die." Brass said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. He turned, his black and silver cloak swirling around around him, and began to leave.

"Sir! Is the situation with the engines and the water rations that severe, sir?" Lyre asked, following his captain out.

"I am afraid so, soldier. Come, the general will explain it all." Brass replied, his cloak swirling around him, a sign of his rank and power. It was long, but it was smaller then Parkussion's, whose red cloak was so long, he could conceal his whole body with it. Indeed, he had done that more and more, and Lyre felt that his time spent in the makeshift brig would prove the general, his high commander, had not changed.

Brass and Lyre made their way to the main meeting chamber, which was also the main controls for their ship, so old and so near to destruction it was. Everyone was there, everyone who was left after all this time. Lyre looked at how empty the room was and felt a pang of regret. They had been so numerous at first, dozens of the greatest warriors the Planet Namek had ever seen. But the battles, and his high commander, had seen to reduce their numbers down to the twelve he saw before him. With him, that made thirteen, the last of the great Vermarthuire Boloranusm, as his commander had named them.

But as he stood there, waiting for his commander to speak, he could still feel it, the overpowering sense that he did not belong. He could see it in their eyes, even as they tried to hide it.

They all fused with others, I'm the only one who demanded to hang onto his individuality. Now it's made me a virtual outsider. The commander feels this most of all. I don't want to think it…but I fear he has been going mad, if he is not already mad. His madness infects the others, as they all believe him, obey him, without question. Only I dare question, and even in the slight way I had done so before caused me to be sealed away from the others. I must not let them see how much my questioning has increased, lest they decide to strike me down, It is so sad…to see what is happening to my former comrades…my friends…but perhaps…it was inevitable. All I can do is hide my feelings…and try and survive…less their madness consume me as well.

But his rationing did not calm Lyre. Instead, it only made him more aware of his seeming difference. But he could do nothing else. He was a soldier, the last soldiers of a race that had rejected war and their own warriors who would not follow the new ways of battle they had laid down. Indeed, only one had been willing to stay on his home and learn these new ways, to keep his desire for battle tempered and in control. What Nail was doing now, Lyre did not know, but there were times he wished he had joined him.

Then again, Nail had been one of their weakest members. Lyre was among the strongest, even after Parkussion's repeated fusions of their remaining numbers in his attempt to conserve supplies. There had been 114 when they had started out. The battle with Koola, the same battle that had crippled their ship and left them to flee into this dead section of space, had cost them dearly, leaving only 51 of them. Then Parkussion had begun with his fusions, asking, or ordering that his men fuse with one another via the technique open only to Namek species. 51 had become 25 as 46 Nameks had joined together, two becoming one, their bodies, personalities, and powers becoming the possession of a single entity. Lyre had refused, and for some reason unknown to him, Parkussion had listened. Parkussion himself, claiming his body was the strongest, had demanded that the remaining four, his most powerful warriors besides his two commanders Woodwind and Brass, all fuse with him, one at a time. This had drawn some concern, for there had been limits on their home planet of how many Namekians could fuse with one another. The maximum was three Namekians in one body, lest the different voices and different personalities and overall difference that now resided in the individual frame of the fused Namek drive him mad. But Parkussion had rejected that as superstition from the past of their species, and had gone ahead. And indeed, Parkussion had not been driven insane.

Or so it appeared to everyone. Instead of making sure that their leader would not suddenly turn on them, they had instead all been amazed that Parkussion's personality was so strong that it was able to subvert the other four and take total command of the new body that he now possessed (Indeed, the number of fused beings that had combined into one had given Parkussion a much larger then normal body for a Namek). The apparent success of the fusion had made it even easier for his commander to convince his fellow soldiers to do it again later, when supplies first began to run low but hope for the engine's eventual repair and their eventual arrival at a planet with water seemed still possible. Thus 24 had become 12, and Brass had fused with the lone Namek who did not have a partner.

His partner was to have been Lyre. But again, Lyre had refused. But this time Parkussion had not been so accepting. And thus Lyre had found himself in that room. He had spent a long time there. Thinking. Wondering.

There were thirteen now, all of three beings in one body, Brass four, and his commander Parkussion five.

And it had apparently not driven them mad.

Or had it?

Lyre could not come to a decision. He was a soldier. He could think of being nothing more.

And yet…he was much troubled.

But he was still a soldier. A Vermarthuire Boloranusm. He wore the symbol on his clothes, sewn onto the material that covered his shoulder. He was nothing more. Perhaps he was indeed wrong, as his commander had believed.

He would have to wait and see.

"My men." Parkussion finally began, and Lyre knew his time for wondering was over.

"The situation looks very grave. Our engines are on the verge of collapse, barely able to keep us going at this pace. We cannot push them any harder, and we seemingly cannot repair them either. And to make it worse, our water is all but gone. It will last us a few more days at the most, and we are still weeks away from any planet that can support life. We appear to be on our last legs. I have summoned you here for several reasons. First, I will ask you all. Can you think of anything that could save us, or aid us, no matter how small, how ridiculous. We need any idea we can think of, now more then ever." Parkussion said, his voice charismatic and yet serious and with authority. It was one of the reasons that he had eventually become the leader of this unit, along with his great fighting skills and his strange gifts that aided him in battle.

But it did not stir anything in the Nameks. Indeed, Lyre could see in their eyes that they had given up, accepted that they would die.

And he knew that Parkussion would never follow that view.

The silence was deafening, and Lyre could see the faint rage in Parkussion's eyes.

"Very well. Then we are left with two choices. One, we can all die." He said, and Lyre thought he could sense some of the same desperation that permuted his comrades.

It was a false hope.

"And that will NOT HAPPEN! We were heroes once! We were the saviors of our race, and for that, we were exiled! But our destiny will not be denied! We WILL find our way back to our planet, and we shall do as heroes do, and conquer everything that stands before us! That is what will happen, no matter what. Death is not an option!"

"Then what do you suggest we do, sir?" Lyre suddenly said, and was amazed that he had actually said that. Parkussion turned to him.

"What did you say, Lyre?"

"I said, what should we do? We can't fix the engine, and we can't will water out of mid-air! Why must we go on looking for an escape when the trap seems so complete? Why don't we accept death like the soldiers we…"

"SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!" Parkussion roared. The Namekians around Lyre cringed, but Lyre did not back down, keeping his eyes level with his commander.

"There is one way, Lyre." Parkussion said. "We, as a group, will rapidly use up the supplies. But if there are…less…of us…"

Lyre's eyes widened.

"No…you can't be suggesting…"

"It is the only way! My men, we must all fuse into one being. If there is only one, one of us, then maybe, just maybe, we can draw out the last bit of water long enough to reach help and survive! It is the only way!"

"It's suicide! Our ancestors…"

"OUR ANCESTORS KNEW NOTHING! NEITHER DID THE ONES WE LEFT BEHIND ON OUR PLANET!" Parkussion again roared. "We are the future, we always were! That is why they exiled us! It is not because we followed a system of the past that they deemed to be dangerous! It is because we had found a system of the future, we had become the future, and they feared that they would be replaced! They thought I would never know, well I know now, and I will not die until I have achieved my destiny. I will not die until I am a hero, as I once was and was deserving to be for eternity!"

Yells of encouragement suddenly came from Sello, Viaolen, Obo, and Harpe, as they stood up and provided their support for their commander. Parkussion smiled, ever so faintly, and turned his eyes back on Lyre.

"You see Lyre, my men think I am right. Why hang onto your individuality? It will only mean your death. Surely you wish to survive, I have seen you fight! You were one of the main reasons we did not all die when we attempted to defeat Koola! By doing this, we may well survive. If we do not, we will not! And besides survival, you have not tasted power until you have made two or three or more become one! Think of the power we will have if we all become one being! We will be the mightiest being in the universe!"

Lyre swallowed hard. Parkussion thought that undeneath Lyre's defiance lurked a loyalty that was as strong as it appeared to be in his comrades. There was loyalty, but it was not foolish, and nor was it to the level of his comrades. But that was not Lyre's fault. He was still loyal to his commander, long after many others would have forsaken him for his apperent ever-growing insanity.

No, the reason why Lyre's loyalty appeared to be lacking is that, whether consciously or unconsciously, Lyre did not know or care, Parkussion was manipulating his troops's emotions, pushing away their fear, their desperation, and replacing it with feelings of fanatical loyalty. Parkussion thought that the same tricks worked on Lyre, but they did not. For whatever reason, he was immune to them.

But he dared not admit that, nor confront his commander with his manipulations.

But that did not mean he was going to back down.

"Commander, maybe our people were wrong in forbidding fusions between more then three of us. You have fused with five, and yet you are still quite sane." Lyre said, even thought the back of his mind said he was lying through his teeth. "But you cannot suggest that all of us fuse with you, or with Woodwind, or with me, or with Tepmurt, or with anyone! Perhaps a being can handle and control within them three different personalities, or five as you prove, but if we were to all fuse into one, the resulting creature would have over fifty different beings in him! No mind could control fifty ways of thinking, fifty ways of making decisions, fifty ways of reactions! It would be overwhelmed, and would either shut down completely leaving the creature in a vegetive state that it would never emerge as it lay there and died anyway, or it would drive the creature completely mad and turn it into a destructive entity that has no control whatsoever! If we all fuse, we won't ever get a chance to become heroes again! That is why I say it is suicide!" Lyre said.

Parkussion fixed hard eyes on Lyre.

"Very well then, soldier. What do you suggest we do?"

Lyre opened his mouth.

And found nothing. He could argue against his commander's idea, but it was futile. He had no alternative idea, and the fact remained that his comrades were as thoroughly brainwashed and delusional as his commander was. It wasn't just his commander who had been consumed by madness, it had devoured them all through him.

"So I thought. You have no plan. That is why I am the commander, Lye, and you are just a soldier."

And with those words Lyre felt the crushing weight of defeat bearing down on him. He was right. He was just a soldier. A soldier lived to follow orders.

He could do nothing else.

"Now…" Parkussion began again.

Then a rapid beeping cut him off. A beeping that silenced him and drew everyone's attention, including his, to a rusty computer panel. All knew what that beeping meant.

Yet they could not believe it.

Then all the Nameks were moving towards it. The first to reach it was Whorn, which was fortunate because he knew the most about computers. He began rapidly typing as the Namek soldiers moved aside for their commanders as Parkussion shoved his troops aside.

"Is this another malfunction, Whorn? I will be very displeased if it is!" Parkussion snapped.

Then Whorn turned to him, and the mixed look of disbelief, relief, and hope in his eyes immediately told Parkussion that this was no mistake.

"It is sir. I can't believe it, but it is."

Parkussion sucked in breath in amazement.

"Another ship."

The Star Obsidian drifted quietly along, Century continuing her research, Jack sleeping, and in the newly built gravity chamber, Tynzien and Syria dancing the dance of war, trying to overcome both the immense crushing forces that bore down on their bodies, and each other.

Syria snapped her head away from a punch, whirled, and lashed out with a roundhouse kick. But the immense gravity was slowing her down, and Tynzien easily ducked it, reaching up and grabbing her leg. Syria yelped as he hooked his shoulder into the crook of her knee and flipped her right over him and slammed her into the ground. He raised his food and tried to kick her, but Syria rolled away and backflipped up to her feet and lanced forward, driving her fist at Tynzien. Tynzien blurred away and appeared behind Syria, but she had anticipated the move and spun, smashing her fist across Tynzien's jaw with a cracking backhand. Tynzien flew into the wall with a dull clang, denting the metal.

Tynzien smirked even as he felt for loose teeth, and then leapt at Syria. Syria held her ground and the two began to exchange blazing blows, the echoes blasting all around the ship and rattling the gravity chamber.

And so the two fought, and fought, neither giving an inch, exchangings hundreds of blows in seconds.

And with neither giving any quarter, it wasn't long before both had begun to slow down with exhausion. But they fought onward, not giving up, until they were both on their knees, inhaling deeply.

"Shall we…call this…a draw?" Tynzien gasped.

"Sure…why…JUST KIDDING!" Syria yelled as she suddenly leapt on Tynzien, trying to pin him to the ground and get a chokehold on him. However, she was unable to get a good drip and thus the Saiya-jin and Raeus-jin found themselves rolling on the floor, each trying to out-do the other. It finally ended as Tynzien got a good grip and flipped Syria over him, throwing her into the wall.

"Ok, enough children. You're so exhausted you can barely stand up. It's a draw. Go and rest." Century said from the lone speaker in the gravity chamber. Tynzien suddenly felt much lighter as the gravity was set back to normal. He got to his feet and noticed that Syria was still on the ground, on her knees, holding her left arm.

"Syria? What's wrong?" Tynzien asked, concern in his eyes.

"I hit the wall wrong. I think I dislocated my shoulder." Syria said, and the pain in her voice, despite her desperate efforts to hide it, made Tynzien realize it was serious.

"Lemme take a look." Tynzien asked, kneeling down next to his best friend.

"I'm fine." Syria half snarled.

"You're hurt. Let me look." Tynzien said, very carefully taking Syria's arm and looking at its upper joint. She was right, her shoulder was definitely out of its socket. Syria winced as Tynzien touched it gently, trying to get a degree of the seperation.

"Ok, I think I can pop it back in. Brace yourself." Tynzien said, as he carefully moved his hands to different positions on her arm as he felt her tense up.

It didn't help, as the brief but terrible pain lanced through Syria as Tynzien snapped the shoulder back into position, she let out a small half-cry, half yelp. She tried to hide it by immediately getting to her feet and swinging her arm around, turning away from Tynzien to quickly wipe away the brief tears that had bloomed in her eyes from the pain.

"Thanks Tynzien." She said quickly, and hurried out of the room. Tynzien looked after Syria, then followed her out.

"Scanning…Syria Sylinus, Raeus female. Inate power level of combat ability now 4.9 million." Century said as she ran the scanner over Syria's body and a computer 3-D model of the young alien appeared on her screen, rotating around as Century pinpointed various parts of her.

"What? Only 4.9?" Syria asked in outrage and disappointment.

"I wasn't finished, Syria. Inate power level is 4,900,000, but full power is much higher. Higher power levels may be achieved via simple power ups. In other words Syria, if you wish to be stronger, you must simply will it." Century said.

"Oh." Syria asked. The scanner moved off her and onto the silent watching Tynzien.

"Tynzien Warlock, Saiya-jin male. Inate power level of combat ability, 5.5 million. Potential of Super Saiya-jin state, unknown at this time. Estimations suggest 50 million, minimun." Century said. Tynzien nodded, and then noticed that Syria's ki had begun to shoot up. He looked over to her and saw that she was indeed powering up.

"Syria, what are you doing?"

"Powering up. Century, read my power level now."

Century brought the scanner back over to Syria.

"Scanning…power level is now 15.7 million, with great potential to go higher." Century said. Syria smiled.

"That's more like it. And for once I'm stronger then Mr Smarty Saiya-jin!" Syria said, sounding much more content as a wry smirk crossed her face.

"Kaioken times ten." Tynzien said in a deadpan voice. The red flame exploded around Tynzien, driving Syria back slightly.

"Power level of combat ability for Tynzien Warlock now 55 million. And Tynzien, could you fly please because you're melting the floor!"

"What would another ship be doing out in these dead wastes?" Whorn asked, more to himself then to anyone else.

"Who cares? Scan it! Now!" Parkussion said, his heart full of mixed greed, hope, desire, and the lust for revenge that had driven him for so long. Whorn's fingers danced across the keys.

"It's not like any kind of ship I've ever seen! I can't lock on to anything, because the computer doesn't recognize it."

"I DON'T CARE! FIND IF IT HAS WATER!" Parkussion roared. Again Whorn's fingers did their dance.
"It does. Lots of it. More then we could ever need. And their engine…it's the most advanced thing…dear god, I didn't think this kind of technology was possible…" Whorn said in wonderment. The greed forced a smile on Parkussion's face. He turned.

"My men! Fate has given us the chance we need. We will take this ship, and we will fly back to Namek, and we shall gain the conquest and glory that we deserve!" Parkussion crowed. All the Nameks began to cheer.

"Hold it, my lord."

Parkussion turned to Lyre, his grin fading as annoyance came back into his mind as Lyre spoke up.

"What is it, tr…Lyre?" Parkussion asked grudingly.

Lyre pointed at the screen.

"That's not a ghost ship. Scans show it has three life signs on it. We don't know what they are, but I will assume that they are the owners of that ship. We don't know if they'll be friendly." Lyre said.

Parkussion smirked at Lyre's ignorance. In his mind, Lyre felt a clench of realization.

"Lyre, that ship was brought to us by fate. We deserve to use it. It is ours."

"Really? And if the owners disagree with this?"

"Then we will take it from them. They are not worthy to have it anyway."

Century's scanners began to beep as she was finishing up her observations on the film Tynzien and Syria had disliked so much, and she turned her attentions to them.

"What's this…another ship? Why would there be another ship in this dead area? I specifically set a course through here so we would be undisturbed! How…or WHY, is there another ship?"

Then her scanners began to beep more rapidly, and Century, if she could feel emotions, estimated that what they indicated should worry her.

"I'd best tell Tynzien. TYNZIEN!" Century said, sending a message to the uplink in Tynzien's thoughts. She felt his shock and then she heard his responding thought.

"What is it Century? I was just getting nice and lathered up, and you know I need to do that to get of the stink of training! What's the problem?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Is it urgent?"

"Again, I'm not sure…"

"Has Malleus come back?"

"No…"

"Has Emporer shown up and started chasing us?"

"No…"

"Then it's not important. Let me shower."

"Ok fine, I'll just LET that ship ram into us. Why waste power on shields…"
"Did you say another ship?"

"Yes, I'm just as surprised as you finding one out here! Just about any ship would never pass through this area, there's no habited planets to stop and refuel and get food and supplies, and except for ships like these, which were built by our respective species, the Essexs, and are thus the most advanced in the universe, no ship could pass through here without needing at least one of those services! But the question of what this ship is doing out here is not as importent as the one of why it is trying to RAM us!"

There was a pause.

"I'll be right there. I just need to get dressed. Wake Syria up as well."

"Sir, I am not so sure of this plan. The engines might give out at any moment…" the Namekian, who was named Kwitare, said to his commander Parkussion before he was cut off.

"It does not matter! All they need to do is stay together long enough for us to ram that ship down onto that planet! Whorn, are you positive that the ship has a atmosphere that will allow us to breathe?" Parkussion said, watching in the main window of the Rage of War as it rocketed towards the side of the unknown ship that would serve as his new vessal and his way back to his glory.

"I swear on my own blood sir!" Whorn said, slamming his fist into his chest.

"We're on course for the ship, commander." Woodwind said. "What is the plan if the full on assault does not work?"

"Then we will continue to ram it!" Parkussion said. Woodwind gasped faintly.

"My lord, I do no know if our ship can…" Woodwind said before Parkussion held out a hand towards him.

"Sir, I believe it can be done, sir!" Woodwind said in a crisp tone, his doubt removed by his high commander's strange power.

" Klarinet! Zaxafone!" Parkussion snapped, and two soldiers broke from the group that stood behind Parkussion and stepped crisply in front of him, slamming their hands to their chests.

"Supposing that the occupants of that ship survive the crash, you two will go and deal with them. You are strong soldiers, maybe not my best, but you are brave and you have proven yourself in battle. Do not fail me!"

"We will not, sir!"

"Indeed, but in case…Obo! Tepmurt! You will aid them in case of an emergency. But I doubt it will be necessary. No force can stand before us. Nothing."

Parkussion turned again, his cloak swirling around him.

"Kwitare! Continue on the ramming course. Just make sure the ship is forced into the gravity pull of that planet, and make sure that our ship stays together long enough to get down to the surface of that planet safely. I don't care if the ship is wrecked beyond repair in the process, just do it!"

The door opened and Tynzien ran into the room. He was wearing a white full body outfit with the shoulderless armour plate protecting his chest.

"AH! It's a ghost!" Century yelled.

"Very funny, Century." Tynzien said, glancing down at his clothes. The white colour of the outfit was rather loud. He probably looked like a snowflake. He sat down and began to type on keys.

"What kind of ship is this? Is it still staying the present course?"

"It appears to be a ship belonging to the Namek species, although whether it is being flown by Nameks I'm not sure, I can't get a clear reading. But it's still heading right towards us! I've sent hails and warnings, but they either don't understand, lack the equipment to receive them, or are outright ignoring them! At this rate it will hit us in under three minutes at most."

"Shit." Tynzien cursed. "Raise the shields."

"Already have, and it hasn't stopped them. While our shields can take just about anything, I do not know if they can withstand a full impact with a large ship! Ships are not meant to fight in space by ramming each other!"

"Tell me about it. So why are they trying to do it?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Well, figure it out! Quickly!"

"You got it."

The door behind Tynzien opened again, and as Tynzien spun around in his chair, Syria headed into the room, dressed in her usual all body outfit. This one was a bright pink in colour. Also, for some reason, she was also wearing her sunglasses.

"Ok…what's so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?" Syria groaned.

"Well, strike me pink!" Tynzien said. Syria's mouth twisted into an expression of annoyance as she looked down on her clothes.

"Century yelled at me to get in here as soon as possible. I grabbed the nearest outfit I could find. Sue me, it takes me a while to wake up some times, and I don't always have the time for fashion."

"Well, I hope you're feeling in the pink now!" Tynzien replied. Syria's expression deepened.

"Fuck you." She finally said, and headed over to Tynzien's side as he smirked and spun back around.

"What's going on?" Syria asked. Tynzien gave a brief explanation.

"…and that's about it. So tell me something, why are you wearing your shades?"

"One, they make me look cool. Two, they help my eyes adjust to the light better after I've been woken up suddenly."

"Oh good, as long as they help you stay in the pink!"

Syria reached down, grabbed Tynzien's face, and twisted it towards her as she leaned down to look into his eyes, her fist raised.

"Make one more pink joke, and I'll give you a pink eye!"

"Children, children!" Century said. "Behave! I think I have the reason why that Namekian ship is trying to ram us. We're passing by a planet. It doesn't have a name, just a number, FCOH-65785R79 or something. It's a dead wasteland, pretty much like every other planet in the surrounding 10,000,000 par-clicks after whatever galatic disaster torn the ability to support life from this section of space. The only thing it has is a breathable atmosphere, besides that it's dead rock. I think that they're trying to push us towards the planet so the gravity catches us and we are forced to land on it. Why? I don't know, but I doubt their intentions are good!"

"How long before they hit us?"

"Forty-two seconds!"

"Shit." Tynzien cursed again, and sank into thought as he tried to think of a solution, any kind of solution.

"Can we avoid them?"

"No, they're too close. Any attempt at evasive manovers is guarenteed to end in failure."

"I thought so. Ok, that leaves us one option. We let them hit us."

"WHAT?" Century and Syria said at the same time.

"Tynzien, have you lost your mind? Have all the blows to the head I've given you in the gravity chamber caused your brain to short-circuit?" Syria asked incredulously. Tynzien made a noise of exhasperation.

"I wasn't finished! As I said, we let them hit us. Then we fly down to that planet afterward while the ship prepares itself for another attack. Hopefully, they'll follow us down, and we'll get to the bottom of this! Century, you can fly the ship down in a way that makes it look like their impact has caused us to lose control and crash into the planet, can't you?"

"Leave it to me. There isn't a ship made that I can't convincingly crash!" Century said.

"Um, ok, I'm not sure if that sounds good or bad. How long before they hit us?"

"Eleven seconds!"

"Ok, brace yourself Syria, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Tynzien said. Syria sighed.

"Isn't it always?" she said, and sat down on Tynzien's lap. Tynzien's eyes widened a bit.

"Um, Syria…"

"Stuff it Tynzien. I've been in impact situations with you before and I've learned this chair is the one that moves the least. Since you're already sitting there, you left me no choice!"

"But…" Tynzien began as Syria gripped the back of the chair. "Oh forget it, impact in three…two…"

The Rage of War shook violently as it collided with the Star Obsidian. While his soldiers were tossed off their feet, Parkussion barely flinched.

"How much damage did we do?" he yelled to Whorn. Whorn, shaking his head to clear the impact, was looking at his screen to see himself. He gulped.

"Um…none."

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NONE!??!?!?!?!?!?!?" Parkussion roared.

"The ship must have a shield…strong enough to deflect our attack…and advanced enough that I couldn't…scan…it…" Whorn said, fear freezing him up at the wrath that was sure to be rained down on his head now by his high commander.

"Hey look! It's tilting down!" Came a voice. It was Kwitare who had yelled, pointing at the screen. Parkussion turned his angry eyes away from Whorn and to where Kwitare was pointing.

He smiled. Indeed, while the ship was undamaged, their attack had appaently been strong enough to knock it severely off course, as it was now spiraling down towards the planet, struggling to regain control.

"It is done! Whorn, how fare our engines?" Parkussion asked. Whorn, relieved that he had not failed after all, relaxed and checked.

"They were severely strained by that ram, but I think if I am careful I can squeeze just enough life out of them so we can land safely."

Parkussion chuckled, a low, evil chuckle. Near him, Lyre flinched, his worries becoming more and more true.

"Well done. Now it is ours."

While both of them sitting in the chair kept them from being tossed off their feet, the violent impact did manage to cause Tynzien and Syria to be thrown into each other, and they nearly fell out of the chair in a tangle of limbs.

Tynzien spat Syria's hair out of his face as he tried to get up, and as he did, he caught a whiff of a sweet odor, pleasant and almost sensual. As he helped Syria up, he realized it was her. Syria didn't wear perfume, so Tynzien had to wonder why she smelled so nice, and why he had never noticed it before…

Then his mind turned to more important things.

"Any damage, Century?"

"Our shields shrugged it off, barely. I'm directing the ship down per the way you ordered, so it might be a little bumpy. Scans show the ship is following us down. I think I can see why they wanted to ram us, the ship appears to be on its very last legs. Methinks that the Nameks flying it want a new vessal."

"Then why didn't they just hail us and ask? We would have gladly given them a ride!" Syria said, brushing her hair out of her face.

Tynzien spat a few strands of that same hair out of his mouth as he answered.

"Methinks that from their course of action in…"contacting" us, they don't like to share."

"We'll be landing in 87 seconds. Should I land normally or look like we crashed?"

"Can you pull that off without damaging the ship?"

"I think so."

"Then do it. How's Jack?"

"He was startled and upset by the impact, but I'm calming him down. The language he can speak is very limited, but he's said he'll stay out of the way until I tell him it's safe."

"Damn, doer of a million things, including the ability to speak any single language. What would we do without you, Century?" Syria asked.

"Probably kill each other while you were training, knowing you two." Century muttered. "Ok, I've found a nice flat place. We'll "crash" there in 57 seconds. From my scans the other ship will land farther away, behind a nearby mountain range to the east. So they'll be coming from there."

"Gotcha. Ok Syria, let's get going. We have to get to the bottom of this."

"The ship has crashed! It appears to be relatively undamaged." Whorn said.

"Excellent. We'll land on that plains area behind the mountains. TROOPS! Prepare to disembark the second our ship touches the ground! Klarinet, Zaxafone, you take the lead! Obo, Tepmurt, bring up their rear! The rest with me, we can watch the battle. Now, the time for my glory has again returned." Parkussion said with saitisfaction and evil greed, as he turned, cloak swirling, and walked out of the chamber, heading for the exit. His troops followed him, save for Whorn, who was piloting the ship, and Lyre.

"It's true…I can't deny it any longer…but what can I do?" Lyre whispered to himself, as he looked apon his commander's fading back.

"What can I do?"

The impact shook the Star Obsidian again, but this time Tynzien barely felt it as he headed for the exit of his ship.

"Scans show the other ship has landed…scans now show 12 life signs disembarking and heading towards us…no wait, make that 13…they're heading towards us at great speed!"

"Good, we can kick their rear ends faster." Syria said as she emerged from a side door. Tynzien glanced at her, adjusted his armour and gloves, and ran his tongue over his upper lip.

"Century, open the door. And raise the shields in case they decide to attack."

"Copy."

The planet, as Century has put it, was dead. All there was was cold, grey lifeless rock as far as the eye could see, stretching across the planet, occasionally bulging out to form cliffs or mountains or various other rock formations. The air was cold and dry, as lifeless as the planet. Tynzien shuddered inwardly. Whatever had happened to this part of the galaxy, he hoped it had been a one-time thing. If such a thing were to happen again, it would be cataclysmic.

On the other hand, it made a perfect place to fight. Nothing would get hurt.

Except possibly, them.

Tynzien and Syria stood on the ramp, looking at the devastation and dead wastes that fate had chosen them to be in.

"This is worse then Velas. At least Velas had a mockery of life. This doesn't have anything at all. It's almost…depressing." Syria said. Tynzien nodded.

"How's your shoulder?"

"Fine." Syria said, swinging her arm. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're going to need both your arms." Tynzien said, as he looked off in the distance. "Here they come."

The first Namekian who landed was huge. Even Tynzien, who stood a good 6'6, felt dwarfed by the size of the Namek. He was dressed entirely in red, including a giant red cape, and he had a face that was clearly scarred by battles past. Tynzien ran his tongue over his upper lip again. He hoped this guy was the leader, because if he wasn't, they were gonna be in trouble.

Thankfully, Tyznien was right, as two more Nameks landed next to Red. This two wore black and silver costumes, along with capes of their own, although they were smaller then Red's. The Black Silvers were also smaller in statue then Red, indeed, they were about Tynzien's size.

Then the rest came, all of them landing in front of Red and Black Silver 1 and 2. They all wore simple black.

Tynzien counted. Only 12…?

Then he saw the thirteenth. Indeed, he stood out. While he also wore black, there was something different about him, something in his position and pose that marked him as unique. Also, there was the fact that he was clearly standing apart from the others, who had all formed into a stance in front of Red and the Black Silvers.

New guy? Outcast? God knows. I guess Red is the main commander and Black Silver 1 and 2 are his sub-commanders or something. That stance the Nameks have taken looks decidely military. Could they be soldiers? Maybe they'll listen to reason then.

"Ok, let's at least try to do this peacefully." Tynzien whispered to Syria, and took a few steps off the ramp towards the group of Namekians.

"My name is Tynzien Warlock…" Tynzien began.

"I claim that ship as the general of the Vermarthuire Boloranusm! Zaxafone, Klarinet, DESTROY THEM!" Red suddenly yelled. Tynzien's eyes widened. OH SHIT!

And then the two Nameks that were at the forefront of the group in front of Red suddenly leapt into the air. Tynzien felt a massive rise in their ki.

"Syria, they're gonna…" Tynzien yelled at his friend, who looked as surprised as he was.

Then the two Nameks let loose with twin violet energy blasts, gigantic blasts that headed straight for Tynzien and Syria.

Parkussion smiled as the two beings were consumed in the explosion of Klarinet and Zaxafone's attack. The wind blast hit him moments before the dust cloud enveloped him, but he waved an arm and a wind of his own making quickly blew the dust away from him and his troops.

"Well done men! You have done me proud!" Parkussion said. "Now let us…"

Then he trailed off as the smoke cleared.

Tynzien and Syria stood there, arms crossed, their slightly singed clothing giving off small wisps of smoke. Tynzien lowered his arms, baleful anger in his eyes.

"I don't like being attacked without provocation, especially by people like you!" Tynzien hissed. Century! He mentally "yelled" over his uplink. Scouter!

You got it!

A small object was suddenly lanced from the Star Obsidian at great speed, and as Tynzien, almost casually, caught it in mid-air and began placing it over his ear, Syria lowered her arms. Her slightly lower power level had caused the blasts to take a bit more out of her, but she was still at her peak.

And she was also very angry.

"Tynzien." She growled. "What's the power levels of those two bozos?"

"Impossible! How could they have survived?" Klarinet gasped.

"Five million Syria…" Tynzien began.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! ATTACK THEM AGAIN!" Parkussion roared.

"YES SIR!" The two Namek soldiers said in unison and leapt to the renewed assault.

"I DON'T THINK SO!" Syria screamed, and leapt up herself and flew at the two Nameks, fists cocked.

"EACH!" Tynzien finished, yelling at Syria's back. "Syria, look out!"

But it was too late, as Syria had already closed the gap. She swung her fist at Zaxafone, but he'd seen her coming and ducked out of the way, before he spun and lanced a hook kick upward into Syria's torso. Just as the pain hit Syria as her wind went out of her, Klarinet came down on her from above, smashing his fist into her spine and sending her rocketing to the ground. As she hit and bounced from the violent impact, Klarinet and Zaxaphone blurred away and reappeared down by her side, kicking her with twin simultaneous air snap kicks and sending her flying across the surface of the planet in a tumbling line, before she crashed into a crumbling rock face. One of the two Nameks hurled a small pink energy ball, and the rock face was shook with a powerful explosion before it collasped on Syria.

"Syria!" Tynzien yelled. Parkussion laughed.

"What a pathetic excuse for a warrior!" he chuckled. Tynzien ground his teeth and turned to the group of Nameks, his teeth clenched painfully and his tail uncoiling from his waist as the anger coursed through him.

The sight was, needless to say, a bit of a shock for the Nameks.

"A saiya-jin…" Whorn said with some fear, but it vanished as Parkussion looked in annoyance at Whorn and waved his hand at him, pushing it away.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A PATHETIC EXCUSE!" Tynzien screamed, and began to power up, the waves of force coming off of him shaking the ground and causing a gigantic field of small rocks and various other debris to rise into the air via the side effects of the power he was summoning. Parkussion's eyes widened slightly.

"He's pretty strong…" he muttered. "Woodwind! You take Obo and Tepmurt and engage!"

"Yes sir." Woodwind said as he tossed off his cloak.

Tynzien continued to power up as he watched. So Black Silver 1 would be his foe. Good, he would be the first to die.

"Obo! Tepmurt! Attack! NOW!" Woodwind ordered, and flew at Tynzien, his two soldiers following him. Tynzien smiled, and with the blue flaming battle aura flowing from all over his being, brought up his hand and made a "come hither" motion.

"Just bring it!"

The three Nameks did, as they immediately engaged Tynzien in a blazing war of blows. Despite the odds, Tynzien blocked, dodged, and ducked out of the way with graceful skill as the three threw dozens apon dozens of kicks and punches at him as the blurred around him, trying to catch him off guard. Tynzien fought back when he could, but he was mostly regulated to defense. He tolerated it for a bit, but eventually he grew angry.

"Ok, you really wanna dance?" Tynzien said as he suddenly stopped dead. "LET'S DANCE!"

Then Tynzien thrust out his hands and fired twin ki blasts, The blasts smashed into Tepmurt and Obo, sending them flying backwards, yelling as the ki burned them. Tynzien didn't stop, one move flowing into the next as he snapped his hands forward and dived, leaping into a foreward handspring as he brought his feet up and smashed Woodwind under the chin with them. Woodwind was thrown backwards, but turned the impact of the blow into a backwards flip and landed on his feet, leaping at Tynzien. Tynzien leaned on his right arm and spun around in mid-handspring so he landed on his feet facing Woodwind as the latter tried to punch him. Tynzien jerked his head to the side as the punch missed and then drove an elbow into Woodwind's head. Woodwind staggered, and Tynzien grabbed him, and spun around to hurl him into Tepmurt, who he had sensed coming up behind him. Tynzien tensed, and then brought his fist up in a backhand that smashed into Obo's face as he attempted to attack Tynzien from behind. As Obo stumbled from the blow, Tynzien spun and clotheslined him, sending him flying into a distant mountain.

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" Parkussion was screaming, and Tepmurt listened as he leapt at Tynzien again, but Tynzien caught his punch and retaliated by driving his knee into Tepmurt's stomach before cracking him with a right hook, sending him flying back the way he came.

Woodwind growled, and then red ki energy glowed on his hands as he snapped his hands out, revealing what looked like red strings of ki attached between his hands. Various points on the "threads" glowed before a storm of thin red energy blasts flew from the pattern. Tynzien's eyes widened, and he leapt into the air, contorting his body to try and avoid all the threads of ki energy. He almost made it, but one seared his ear as it flew past, and he dropped down with a yell of pain, as the blasts flew on and blew a large crator in another mountain behind Tynzien.

Tynzien brought his hand away to see that it was red with his own blood.

"Ok, that's it. KA-IO-KEN!"

The red fire exploded around Tynzien as he flew at Woodwind. Woodwind tried to block, but Tynzien's speed quickly got him around that as he leapt and drove a knee into Woodwind's face before spinning around in mid air and smashing him in the side with the back of his heel. As Woodwind flew away, Tynzien zapped around him and drove him into the ground with an axe-handle.

Parkussion looked apon this with extreme displeasure.

"Klarinet! Zaxafone! He's distracted now! Kill him from behind!" Parkussion ordered his two soldiers, quietly enough so that Tynzien couldn't hear him.

"But sir…that's an act of cowardice…" Klarinet began.

"DO IT!"

Woodwind leapt to his feet, his outfit now badly torn, and once again engaged Tynzien in a war of blazing blows. Tynzien took everything Woodwind could throw at him with an almost contemptuous ease, so concentrated on him that he didn't notice Klarinet and Zaxafone quietly but quickly sneaking up behind him.

"I grow bored of this."

And with that Tynzien spun and belted Woodwind with a jumping roundhouse kick, sending him flying across the landscape and through a cliff face.

Then Tynzien heard it.

"DEATH TO YOU FOR THE Vermarthuire Boloranusm!" Klarinet screamed as he leapt at Tynzien from behind, a black ki blast glowing on his hand and he prepared to put it right in the back of Tynzien's head. Stunned, Tynzien tried to turn as Klarinet cocked his arm back.

Then Klarinet suddenly screamed in extreme pain as a ki blast tore through him, exploding out of his chest from behind. Blood erupted from his mouth, and the killing blast he had charged faded from his hand as he fell to the ground. He landed, groaned, and then lay still, as blood spread in a pool around him.

All the Namekian soldiers stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend that one of their own had just been killed. Then they turned to where the blast had come from.

Syria stood, covered with dust and her outfit torn up, one arm of it completely missing. But there was a hard smirk on her face as she lowered her arm, the arm that had thrown the killing blast. Also, she had amazingly managed to keep her sunglasses on.

"Turnabout is fair play, fuckheads." She said.

"MURDERER!" Zaxafone screamed, totally forgetting his order to kill Tynzien as he decided he wanted to kill Syria instead. He zapped at her, hate burning in his eyes, and thrust his fist as her, smashing her as hard as he could.

Syria's head snapped backwards…then turned back to Zaxafone, anger blossuming in her eyes as she reached up and removed the now-shattered sunglasses from her face.

"You shithead, you broke my shades."

"I'M GONNA BREAK A LOT MORE THEN THAT, YOU CUNT!" Zaxafone screamed, and cocked back his other hand and pistoned it at Syria.

Syria caught it in her hand. Surprise flooded Zaxafone's eyes.

"You caught me off guard last time, you cocksucker. This time, I'm ready, charged, and J-J-J-JACKED!" Syria said, and plastered Zaxafone with her free hand. Zaxafone shot backwards into the far distance, and Syria quickly levitated up and flew after him

It didn't take Zaxafone long to recover, and as Syria drew close to continue her attack he snapped a kick at her. Syria ducked, leapt, and smashed Zaxafone with two rapid-fire spinning horizontal jump kicks. Zaxafone hit the ground with a thud, and Syria pounced, trying to drive her fist through his chest, but he rolled out of the way and sprang to his feet, throwing a ki blast at her as he did so. Syria dodged to the side and countered with her own ki blast, snapping her fingers out and sending five beams of deadly light from them. Zaxafone threw up his arms to block, and then the explosion consumed him.

Meanwhile, Tynzien was trying to finish what he had started with Woodwind, but before he could the revitalized team of Obo and Tepmurt attacked him from behind, smashing into his back with their shoulders. Tynzien yelled as he was thrown forward, the scouter flying off his face, but he quickly cartwheeled and spun back to his feet, facing the two Nameks as Obo cocked back his arm and threw a large blue ki ball at Tynzien. Tynzien whacked it aside, but it took considerable effort, and as he felt his right arm go numb Obo and Tepmurt leapt at him, once again slamming into him with a double-team effort, one of them stepping on the scouter and crushing it before they took to the air. As Tynzien and the Nameks flew backwards, Century barely had time to lower the shields before the two aliens slammed him into the ship, denting the wall. Tynzien's vision swam from the impact, and then Obo and Tepmurt began to pummel him.

Syria looked at the smoke, but then Zaxafone came flying out of it, smashing Syria with a powerful jab. Syria flew backward and Zaxafone took advantage of it by leaping after her and kicking her in the back, making her fly even faster, and then throwing up his arms and slamming them down, hurling a white ki blast that enveloped Syria and smashed her right through a rock face, blowing her clear out the other end before she slammed into a cliff and was consumed in the blast's explosion.

Burned, battered, and utterly furious, Syria screamed as she blasted right back at Zaxafone, her energy aura shattering the rock face as Syria flew right back through it, blowing it to pebbles. Zaxafone barely had time to comprehend her speed before she slammed into him and began to pummel him, pounding him with punches. Finally, Zaxafone formed a coherent thought and put on the brakes, even as he brought his leg up and kicked Syria in the side of her head. Syria whirled from the blow and then suddenly dropped to the ground as she swept her legs out and kicked Zaxafone's out from under him. Zaxafone gasped as Syria, balancing on her hands, swung her legs up and brought her heel right down on his chest. Angered himself, Zaxafone grabbed her leg and pushed it upward, but Syria used the momentum to backflip to her feet as Zaxafone flipped to his. He clenched his fist so hard all his knuckles popped, and he swung at Syria.

Syria ducked out of the way, and threw her own punch.

Zaxafone gasped as he felt the burning pain stab right through him, and he looked down to see the glowing pink ki blade of Syria's Energy Shyutou sticking into his chest.

"You fight well, Namek. At least you had the honour of being killed face to face." Syria said, and twisted her blade. As the blackness consumed him, Zaxafone cursed the woman for out-fighting him, but also thanked her, for in the end, this truly was the best way for a soldier to die…

Tynzien was worse off, as he was trapped against the wall of of his ship and being pummeled by Obo and Tepmurt.

Century, I need a hand! Tynzien said through his mental uplink.

Century didn't reply, but Tynzien suddenly heard a whirring noise above him. The Nameks heard it too, and stopped their pummeling to look up as a panel slid open to reveal a large laser cannon.

How about a gun? Century replied in Tynzien's head.

Obo yelled as the cannon fired and he failed to get out of the way in time, the blast burning a ragged hole in his side. Tepmurt was luckier, the blast had missed him completely. Yelling angrily, he opened his mouth as a red ki blast exploded from within him, destroying the cannon in a hail of burning metal and cybernetics.

But it had served its purpose, as it gave Tynzien the short break he needed to gather his thoughts. And as Obo took his mind off his pain to renew his attack with Tepmurt, Tynzien took advantage of it.

"Ok, now I'M PISSED OFF!" Tynzien screamed, and thrust his hands down.

"KAIOKEN TIMES TEN!"

The flame enveloped Tynzien, scorching the group and the wall of the Star Obsidian. Obo and Tepmurt stopped their renewed attack, surprised and reeling from the heat. Tynzien looked apon them with burning eyes.

Then he leapt forward. Obo yelled as Tynzien smashed him with the most powerful punch he had ever felt, shattering every tooth in his mouth. Tynzien rolled forward from the downward arching punch and twisted his body while upside down to swing his foot around and slam Tepmurt on the side of the head with his foot. As the two Namek soldiers reeled from the blows, they stumbled next to each other as Tynzien leapt back to his feet.

And then, with a snarl and as the air hummed as Tynzien charged up a ki blast in both hands, he reached out and slammed the two Namek's skulls together with a sickening crack. As their eyes clouded from the thunderous blow, Tynzien yelled and let loose with the ki he had been charging in his hands, emitting it even as he still held the Nameks from smashing their heads together. With a combined scream, the energy exploded through them and tore the life from their bodies.

Breathing heavily from effort, the effect the Kaioken had on him, and still not fully cooled anger, Tynzien's eyes watched the two corpses fall, before they snapped back to the group of Nameks, all of whom were looking at him with shock and horror.

Except Red, who only wore a look of undiguised anger. Tynzien, blood running down his face from a bloody noise, smiled.

"Ok, who else feels like dying?" Tynzien growled.

Then he felt the fist slam into the side of his head. But he was still in the thrall of the Kaioken state, so it barely bothered him, and he almost calmly turned his head to see Woodwind, gaping at him for his blow having no effect.

As his body finally did fall out of the Kaioken state, Tynzien smirked at Woodwind.

"Ok, YOU!"

Then Tynzien slammed his fist into Woodwind's jaw in a pistoning uppercut. Woodwind, caught completely off guard, was sent rocketing into the sky. Tynzien thrust his hands to the side, gathering his power as blue ki energy exploded and grew around his hands.

"HEAVEN-SPLITTING VIO-"

Then Lyre slammed into Tynzien's side as his hand snapped out in a clawing motion and half slashed, half punched Tynzien across the face. Century, having just put the shields back up, once again barely had the time to take them down again as Tynzien again flew through the air and slammed into the ship, this time into one of the upper wings.

Tynzien bounced off the wing from the impact, but managed to stop himself in mid air. He brought his hand up to his cheek to feel the blood streaming down from the three ugly wounds that Lyre had managed to inflict with his clawed hand.

Tynzien floated to the ground as Woodwind also came back to earth, abet in a more painful way as he crash-landed in a heap. He managed to get to his feet, but he was steady and uncertain, and Parkussion looked at him with displeasure as Viaolen and Harpe supported their commander, as Lyre and Tynzien locked eyes.

Tynzien looked at Lyre, recognizing him as the one who had stood apart from the group of Nameks before the battle had begun. Looks like he's loyal enough to help them…but still, there's something different about him…something more…radical…

Tynzien again felt his cheek, and as his fingers came away wet with his own blood, Tynzien made a motion with them, almost as if he was commending Lyre for managing to land such a blow. Lyre said nothing, but instead struck a battle stance. Tynzien lowered his arms to the side and began to power up, even as he sensed Lyre doing so as well.

He's strong…very strong…I will enjoy…

Then Tynzien was brought out of his thoughts by a wooshing noise of air.

Then Syria landed next to him, the Namekian warrior she had been fighting on her shoulder. Wordlessly, she tossed the body over to the group of Nameks, a heartless expression of no mercy on her face.

The Namek group was once again shocked, even Lyre, although his expression was more of sorrow then of surprise. But Red kept the same expression, that of total rage.

"He the next one? Then let's get to it." Syria said, and her battle aura exploded around her as she began to power up. Tynzien kept his eyes on her for a second, then turned and looked back at Lyre as continued to power up himself as his own battle aura exploded around him. Lyre's eyes snapped back to the two of them, and he went back to his battle pose, continuing his own power up.

"ENOUGH!" Red suddenly yelled. "RETREAT!"

This time, Lyre looked surprised, as he turned around at Red's order. The Nameks around him were just as surprised.

"What, Lord Parkussion? Did you just say…" said the second Black Silver, the one who had not fought.

"YES! I SAID RETREAT! NOW!"

Although the order apparently greatly surprised the Namekians, they listened, as they rose up into the air and flew off into the distance, going back the way they came. The two Namekians had to help Black Silver 1 fly off.

The newly named Parkussion, and Lyre, although Tynzien and Syria did not know that was his name yet, were the last to leave.

"Come Lyre, let's go." Parkussion said, before he sent one last angry glance at Tynzien and Syria.

"This isn't over. That ship WILL be mine. It is fate." Parkussion hissed, and then turned and flew off, his cloak swirling around him.

"Don't count on it, asshole." Tynzien replied, and then noticed Lyre was still looking at them.

Lyre stared at the saiya-jin and the other, blue-skinned female, almost as if he was pondering something.

And then he turned and flew off, following Parkussion. Tynzien and Syria stood, watching him go.

"There's something about him." Syria said.

"I know. Are you ok?" Tynzien said, turning to Syria. Syria brought up her arms in "I don't think so." Motion.

"Just superficial stuff, I think. Cuts, bruises, a few burns. Nothing a few minutes in the healing tank won't get rid off. You?"

"Same here." Tynzien said, checking his cheek, where the blood had finally clotted. "Let's clean up. Any damage to the ship, Century?" and went silent as he listened to her reply, which only he could hear.

"She says, continuing the streak, only superficial stuff. Let's go wash off." Tynzien said. Syria nodded and flew off.

As Tynzien followed, his nostrils twitched, and his eyebrows raised slightly. He could still smell it, that sweet smell that Syria gave off. But how it was still there, especially after a hard fought battle, was a question that Tynzien could not answer.

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? HOW COULD WE HAVE BEEN DEFEATED! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Parkussion raged, black ki energy crackling on his hands.

"My liege, they were far stronger then we expected…it is not your fault…" Woodwind began before Parkussion snatched him and lifted him above his head in a chokehold.

"No, maybe not, Woodwind, but YOU are definitely at fault! The saiya-jin treated you like a child! Hell, you were a child on that field, and you cost us the lives of four of my men! They are dead because of your failure to defeat the saiya-jin!"

"My lord…forgive MEEEEEEE!" Woodwind screamed as Parkussion hurled him against the wall. He hit the rusted metal hard and again crumbled in a heap, giving off slight moans as Sello and Viaolen came to check on him.

"This is not the end…we will attack again soon! I will have that ship! I will not be denied the glory I so rightly deserve!" Parkussion snarled, then turned to Lyre, who stood in a corner, watching. He flinched. He'd managed to avoid Parkussion's attention for a while, while his general raged over the failure of the attack.

"And you, tra…Lyre! You were not given the order to attack! Why did you? Answer me!"

"I did it to save Woodwind's life, my commander. It was clear that if I had not interfered, he would have surely died. Just because we underestimated the saiya-jin and his friend does not mean more should have died then necessary. Indeed, Klarinet, Zaxafone, Obo, and Tepmurt's deaths were also unnecessary…but I think I might have an idea on how we might avenge them." Lyre said.

Parkussion was silent for a moment.

"What is your idea?"

"My lord, I sense that my power was about equal to the saiya-jin's…I think I should go back there and challenge him to a fight. I am sure that I can beat him one on one. If I can defeat him…I will claim the ship…even if I have to kill the girl as well. She was strong too…but not as strong as the saiya-jin…"

"And how are you so sure that the saiya-jin will accept your challenge?" Parkussion growled.

"The saiya-jin nature is to fight. They live for battle. It's the greatest thing for them, except perhaps sexual exctasy…I am sure he will fight me. Maybe I could even wager with him…make him decide that whoever wins has the ship…"

"Silence." Parkussion said. Lyre listened, and as he looked at his commander, the knot that was twisting in his stomach tightened even more. He could see the thinking and planning going on in Parkussion's eyes, and the fear of what his mad general would conceive in his deluded mind frightened him. He wanted to survive, but not like this. He may not have been the best at observations, but he was no fool, and he could see that the saiya-jin and his companion had only fought in self-defense. His fellow soldiers's death were not murders, as Parkussion and the others saw them as. They were deaths on the battlefield, deaths that had come when they had aroused the wrath of their respective superior opponents.

Such is the hand of fate.

But the fact remained, the saiya-jin and his companion did not deserve to die. Not even for his survival. It would go against everything he had learned as a soldier.

Then again, what he had learned seemed to do him no good anymore.

"Ah. I have come up with a plan. Thank you Lyre, you have inspired me." Parkussion said. Lyre's brow arched in confusion.

"What do you mean, my lord? Are you going to send me…"

"NO! Those two are cold-blooded murderers! They do not deserve a death on a battlefield, and I will not give them one!" Parkussion yelled. Lyre flinched inwardly, as if his general's growing madness hurt him like physical blows.

"I have come up with a far superior plan. Lyre, you will go back to the ship, but it will not be to challenge the saiya-jin! Instead, you will lead the rest of your fellow soldiers back there. But this time, you will not be seen."

Parkussion turned to Kwitare, who snapped to attention.

"Kwitare, we have not had use of it in a long time, but I need you to once again use your special power, your gift that cloaks you and others from all eyes. Can you use it to the extent that you can sneak aboard the ship without being sensed?"

"I am not sure my lord…I do not know how advanced their scanning technolgy is…" Kwitare began. Parkussion made a noise of annoyment and waved a hand at Kwitare.

"…But I will try, SIR! I WILL NOT FAIL!" Kwitae said in a far more strident and confident tone. Lyre gritted his teeth again at Parkussion's emotion manipulating.

"Good." Parkussion said, turning back to Lyre. "Lyre, Kwitare will hide you and your fellow men. You will take him along with Viaolen, Sello, Harpe, and Whorn. Whorn will commander the ship from within, while you find the two occupants in the ship. They are surely tired from their battles, and will not be expecting an attack so soon. When you find them, kill them."

Lyre gaped.

"My lord…that is…"

"THAT IS JUSTICE! They murdered our comrades! I don't care if they are sleeping in their beds, you will slit their throats! And you will succeed! If any of you return without the ship having been seized, it will be better for you if you never return at all! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?!?!?!?!?" Parkussion roared as he turned around to look at all his men.

"YES SIR!" snapped all the soldiers. Parkussion turned to Brass.

"Brass, you will stay with me. We will tend to Woodwind. If the saiya-jin and his companion have been thinking as well, and have managed to get an equivilant of my plan, and decide to come and sneak aboard this ship, he will find us ready. And this time, HIS blood will be staining the ground."

Parkussion slowly turned back to Lyre.

"That is the plan. You will follow it to the letter. Do you understand, soldier?"

Lyre could feel the defiance boiling in him, the rage. He wanted so badly to refuse, to defy this madman his commander had become.

But he could not.

"Yes sir." He said grudgingly.

Syria towelled herself off as she whistled the tune to "The Powerpuff Girls". The tank in the medical section had quickly healed her minor injuries, it had taken less then ten minutes. Wiping off her wet hair, Syria admired herself in a full-length mirror.

"Looking good, sister! If Ywin could see me now." Syria said as she dried her hair with a very low powered ki blast and went to brushing it.

"Syria, I have no problem with you adjusting your hair to your liking, but I really must ask, are you sure it is a good idea for you to do it in the nude? I don't want another incident like before…" Century said from a speaker.

"Oh cram it Century. Tynzien's halfway across the ship, and even if he were coming in, he'd knock. Besides, I have to check for wrinkles." Syria replied as she leaned in close to the mirror.

"Syria, you're 20 years old. Don't you think it's a tad vain to think that you are getting wrinkles at that age…?"

"Oh Century, IT WAS A JOKE! Didn't Tynzien program you with a sense of humour?"

"My scans show your skin is flawless, as it usually is, and for the record, he tried…but he wasn't very successful."

"Oh? How so?"

"Um, ok…a joke…ah, why was Sir Isaac Newton so surprised when an apple fell on his head?"

Syria stared at the speaker.

"Because he was sitting under a pear tree! Ha ha…ha? Get it?" Century asked.

"Who's Isaac Newton?" Syria asked genuinely, and if Century had had a body, she would have done the classic anime facevault.

"He was a genius…lived at about the time humans began stepping up the ladder to their eventual galatic empire…before it was wiped out by whatever wiped it out. He gave humans revolutionary theories on gravity and physics…laughably backward and primitive compared to what we know today, but it was amazing at the time."

"And the apple…?"

"Ugh! He was sitting under an apple tree and one fell on his head, and from that he started thinking and eventually came up with all his theories…"

"But I thought he was sitting under a pear tree?"

"ARGH! Just brush your hair!"

"Heh, just fucking with you, Century. I get it." Syria said, as she finished brushing her hair. "Ugh, I feel stiff. That tank's handy, but it's too small." Syria said, as she lay down and began to stretch.

"Um, Syria, again, maybe…"

"Oh stow it Century, I can brush my hair nude, and I can stretch nude if I want to! I have nothing to be ashamed of…except maybe your prudish opinions…" Syria muttered as she lay down on her stomach and slowly began to bend one of her legs up and over her head with her hand.

"I heard that, Syria. Anyway, I'll try and modify the tank so it's slightly larger…" Century trailed off, and there were a few moments of awkward silence as Syria stretched.

"Syria, may I ask you a question?"

"Ask away." Syria replied as she slowly slid into a full split.

"Who's Ywin?" Century asked. With her mechanical eyes, she saw Syria stiffen and wished she had kept her mechanical equivilant of curiosity down.

"I'm sorry Syria. I should have realized that was personal…"

"No, it's alright…he was an old boyfriend of mine…second man in my life…I was 14, or 15…young, always training and fighting to be the leader in a war I still didn't understand…he was two years older then me…he seemed so suave, so in the know…and I was still naïve. I thought I was in love…that he was the one…and he broke my heart."

"What did he do?"

"At the time, I thought it was something I wouldn't do…I wouldn't "put out"…do you know what that means?"

"Yes."

"I think I angered him…challenged whatever version of male superiority he had kicking around in his head…and he dumped me. That was bad enough. But then he started spreading lies and saying nasty things about me…and the prime one was my chest size."

"Ah, the love of males everywhere."

"You said it Century. At the time I was as flat as a board…I was a late bloomer…and he used that to mock me. He eventually took up with another woman…total airhead…probably only had three working brain cells…but she was busty, and I wasn't. For a long time, that really hurt…then I grew up and realized he was the asshole, not me. Oh, and these eventually popping out helped me feel better as well." Syria said, using her hands to indicate her chest. "So ultimately, it's in his face. Then again, all the men I've known have been basically the same way…jerks, assholes…people using me for my body, or later to try and use my position in the rebellion to get ahead…it was pretty rotten. Hell, the man I've stayed together with the longest is Tynzien, and we're not even dating!" Syria said with a chuckle, although there was an undertone of bitterness in it.

"I see. I wish I could help, but one thing I cannot comprehend are emotions…but I think I have an idea on what you're saying…but it makes me think…maybe you and Tynzien…?"

"Tynzien and me? Don't be silly! We're not even from the same species!" Syria replied, hopping to her feet. There was another hint of bitter humour, but it quickly faded as Syria appeared to consider Century's words.

"He is a nice guy…and from what I've heard about Zeen he knows how to treat a woman well…but he's my friend. I don't see him as anything else…" Syria trailed off. She sighed and looked around.

"Where are my clothes?"

"Over in the corner. I fetched you a new outfit."

"Hope it's not pink." Syria muttered, as she took one last look in the mirror, at her trim, muscular form, her long flowing her, her surprisingly delicate face for a warrior that was constantly having it smashed up. All these "gifts" had driven men wild with lust…a lust that was, in the end, the only reason they wanted her.

Huh…I mock Ywin…saying what he missed out on…but others came along when I had matured, and they deserved it no more then him…and I can't help but wonder…if Tynzien would be any different. Maybe he would treat me with respect…take me to bed and love me, not fuck me…ah, what the hell am I thinking? It can't happen, won't happen, we're too different. Maybe I need to work off some excess hormones…just as soon as I dress…

Lyre cracked his knuckles in worry. Parkussion had left, saying that Lyre would lead the attack in ten minutes. What Parkussion was doing, Lyre didn't know, and didn't care. It gave him the oppurtunity he needed, to speak with his commander Brass.

Lyre sighed, pushed the worries to the back of his head, and approached Brass, who was sitting quietly, monitoring various parts of the ship. It was pointless, but he had nothing else to do, and the only piece of equipment that did elsewise was the computer Whorn had programmed to sense any incoming targets and how strong they were. And seeing how no one expected the two on board the Star Obsidian to attack, it was only afforded an occasional quick glance. If it read anything, they would know even if they weren't looking at it.

"My commander…" Lyre said. Brass turned in his chair.

"Yes, Lyre?"

"I must speak to you. Alone."

"Very well, soldier." Brass replied, getting up and motioning Sello to take his place. He followed Lyre as Lyre went out the door and down a hallway to an isolated and now empty supply room.

"What is it, Lyre?' Brass asked once then had arrived. Lyre sighed again.

"I have given what I am about to say much thought…more thought then anything else in my life…and no matter how I look at it, it stays the same to me. My commander, I think we must remove Parkussion from his position."

Brass was noticibly shocked, as Lyre had expected. But that gave him the oppurtunity to keep talking.

"I know how this must sound, but I am serious. My lord, Parkussion has gone insane. He is no longer the soldier, the man we knew when we served Namek, or even when we were exiled from Namek. He has become a madman! He is talking of stealing ships and murdering beings that we have done nothing to, or have had nothing done to us by, while they sleep! His need to recapture his past glory has been warped and twisted! He is not a soldier! He is a monster! And I think that it would be in our best interests of survival to relieve him of his position."

Brass stared at Lyre, in amazement over what Lyre has just said.

And then he did the last thing Lyre had expected. He began to laugh.

"Oh Lyre! Such strong words! I think you may be the one who is starting to go mad! Parkussion is not a madman, he is a visionary! I think that perhaps his radical new views and the pressure of the mission he has asked you to do is getting to you. Be calm Lyre, I know you will succeed and seize the ship! You do not have to say such things to try and get out of them!"

"No, Brass, I'm not saying this to avoid the mission! I mean…"

"Enough Lyre. Quell your worried mind. It is nothing. Our commander has done nothing wrong. You will see that in time. Come, you must prepare. I will leave you for now." Brass said, and with that he turned and walked out.

Lyre lowered his head. It was too late. If Brass, who had once been one of the freest thinking Nameks Lyre had ever known, was so throughly brainwashed that he believed in everything Parkussion said with an undying lack of doubt, then everyone else was lost for sure. He was on his own, the only one unaffected by Parkussion's twisted vision of his return to glory.

And he now knew he had to do his original plan more then ever, the one he had hoped he could execute if Parkussion had sent him back to the ship alone as he had hoped.

But how he could do it if Parkussion's eyes and ears surrounded him? For if Brass was so throughly entrenched in Parkussion's rising lunacy, his comrades would surely kill him if he tried to go against his commander's wishes.

But he had no choice left any more. His own survival and his duty as a soldier…or his strongest feelings?

It was time to decide, once and for all.

Even if it meant his death.

As Lyre left the room, Brass drew back into the shadows. As he suspected, he was not noticed. As Lyre left, he glanced backwards slightly as his commander came out of the deepest shadows where he had been all along.

"You were right. He is planning to betray you. But how did you know?"

"I can command emotions themselves. While his seem strangely immune to my power, it does not keep me from knowing about the doubt and the traitorous feelings in his heart."

"So what do we do?"

"Brief the men under his command. Tell them of his traitorous plans. And once they have seized the ship and killed the saiya-jin and his bitch, have him killed as well."

"Yes, sir." Brass replied, no emotion in his voice. "But I am concerned sir. They were mighty warriors. Perhaps…"

"Do not be concerned, Brass. If anyone knows war and battle, it is me. They are surely resting. What else could they possibly be doing?"

"Blossum! She is the commander and leader! Bubbles! She brings the joy and the laughter! Buttercup! And she's the toughest fighter! Powerpuff save the d-ARGH!" Tynzien cursed as he realized he was singing that annoying tune from that cartoon show Century had picked up, again. A chuckling sound came from a speaker, and Tynzien realized that not only had Century been listening, she was now laughing at him.

"Century, shut up!"

"How amusing…Syria's humming that tune and you're singing it. Must be really catchy."

"ARGH! Curse the name of Bis!" Tynzien muttered. "Where is Syria, anyway?"

"Coming in behind you." Syria said as she walked in through the open door behind him. Tynzien smirked and whirled around, preparing to make another pink joke.

Then his face fell.

"Ah man, you changed clothes."

"You got it, snowflake." Syria smirked, tightening the right glove of her dark yellow outfit. Tynzien looked down on the white outfit he still wore, despite it being scuffed and burnt.

"Hey, white has might." Tynzien retorted, and spun back around in his chair and went back to his computer work. Syria walked to his side.

"Watcha doing?"

"Scanning the readings of the Nameks that Century took while we were fighting. From what Icould tell Red was the leader…I believe one of them called him Parkussion…had the highest power level, at roughly 25 million. Black Silver 2, who I didn't fight, had a power level of 16 million, and Black Silver 1 had one of 9 million. The rest had various power levels ranging from 5 to 8.5 million."

"What about that one who slashed your face?"

Tynzien grimaced at the memory, and reached up to where the scars had been before he had been in the healing tank, just before Syria had had her time.

"He was good…scans show 8.8 million, but I strongly sense he is hiding his true power…and considering how hard he hit me, I think it could even be higher then Parkussion's, if that is his name. Why he is regulated to the role of outsider is beyond me, he should be leading them…what was his name?"

"Lyre. They called him Lyre." Century replied. A rotating model popped up on the screen of the Namek. Tynzien and Syria studied it.

"Lyre. Well, whatever his situation, I got a strong feeling of difference from him."

"I did too." Syria said. "Hey, what was that thing Park Crushing or whatever his name was called his troops?"

"The Vermarthuire Boloranusm. It's an ancient Namek tongue, almost forgetten except for historians of the species, I will assume. Roughly translated, it means "Divine Warriors Who Will Bring Death To All". Not a name that would be common among Namek troops. That is an even more odd thing. Nameks are pacifists. They long disregarded the need for a military. So what are a group of Namek soldiers doing out here?" Century asked.

"I don't know, but I have every intention of finding out. I doubt they attacked us just because they felt like it." Syria replied

"No, they want our ship. The question is, why?" Tynzien muttered.

"I am not sure myself, Tynzien, but if you wish, I will begin doing complete scans of the Namek ship. Also, I request permission to lower the shields and send repair bots out to fix the minor dammage the battle did to the ship."

"Go ahead. If they decide to attack again you'll no doubtedly see them coming a mile away." Tynzien said as he tapped a few keys. Century made a noise of confirmation and then she was gone, off to concentrate on other things.

"I'm going to go work out in the gravity chamber." Syria said, as she turned to leave.

"Oh. Want a partner?" Tynzien said, spinning around in his chair. Syria suddenly felt heat rush to her cheeks as her mind made a not so platonic connection to Tynzien's words, and she was glad that her back was to him because she swore her face was probably a bright purple.

"No…no thanks, Tynzien. I want to be alone." Syria said over her shoulder, trying not to show her face.

"Suit yourself." Tynzien replied, and turned around in his chair again to face the screen. Syria gave a small, relieved sigh and walked out, fanning herself to try and cool her burning skin down.

"Hmmmm…now what can I do…" Tynzien said to himself, and then yawned.

"Man…it's been a while since I got some sleep…maybe I should…"

A few seconds later, Tynzien was dozing in his chair. There was a short whirring noise as Century quickly adjusted the chair so Tynzien wouldn't wake up with major cramps, and then the room was silent.

The Nameks he was to lead back to the ship of the saiya-jin rose as Lyre entered the room that served as the exit dock for personel. Brass was there as well, and he turned to Lyre and nodded.

"You are ready, Lyre?"

"Yes sir. I am read. Are you ready, men?"

"Yes sir." Came the simultaneous reply.

"Kwitare, are you ready?" Lyre asked. Kwitare nodded.

"I am ready and waiting, commander. Do you wish me to cloak us all now so we may begin the mission?"

Lyre hesitated, then nodded grimly.

As Kwitare reached out his hands and began to concentrate, Lyre could fel the waves of power coming off of him. He turned towards the door.

"When we have all vanished, move out in position 5-R…Keep that position unless the hounds of hell start chasing you! I don't want us to start spreading out and not noticing it because we're invisible, because if you get too far away from Kwitare, his power won't affect you any more, and if you appear you will most likely be picked up by that ship's scanners, and if they know we're coming…" Lyre trailed off, not wanting to think about it. "Those are my only orders. Once we have arrived, barring any…mistakes…we will board the ship by any ways necessary…while trying to avoid detection of course…Whorn, you will find the main control room and seize the computer…and the rest will deal with the saiya-jin and his companion. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Kwitare, cloak us."

Kwitare nodded and slammed down his hands. Lyre felt the power wash over him, and then he saw his hand disappear in front of him.

"Well done Kwitare. You still have it. Troops, assume position 5-R." Lyre said, and turned towards the door as it began to open. Brass's doing, no doubt.

As Lyre watched the opening door, Brass leaned in towards Kwitare.

"You know the plan. Follow his orders until the ship is yours…then kill him. Do not hesitate, he is a traitor. Remember that."

"Yes sir." Kwitare replied grimly.

It was quiet and peaceful, which was the way Century liked it. Despite her hyper-advanced abilities, Century much prefered it when there was little to do. Fixing the ship was something she could do in her sleep, if she had to sleep.

But Century was not one to let her guard down either, and she maintained a constant scan of the Namekian ship. However, in this case it would do her no good. While she had managed to penetrate Emporer's cloaking systems when he had come to her thinking she would willingly stand by his side and help him take over the universe, it was because his technology had been about trying to hide from the scans.

But Century, even as she watched Jack wander around the ship as he chased a ball of yarn that Century was propelling about via fans and other devices, couldn not have known that Kwitare's power was different and far more effective, for as Lyre and his fellow Nameks left the ship and headed slowly back to the Star Obsidian, Century never noticed them. Indeed, as she continued to play with Jack while fixing the ship, she wouldn't have been able to detect the Nameks even if she had tried. Whatever the power exactly was, it told Century's scans that there was nothing there.

A rare and useful gift.

And a potentially lethal one.

"Steady." Lyre whispered as they drew closer to the saiya-jin's ship. Although he couldn't see his fellow Nameks, he could sense them close by, following his orders as asked. He was glad that Kwitare's power not only formed a cloaking bubble around them, but one that was also soundproof as long as they stayed near Kwitare. Invading the ship would require them not be seen or heard.

Lyre heard a chuckle.

"Look. They left the door wide open. It's like they were expecting us." Sello chuckled. "This will be too easy."

"Never underestimate a situation, Sello. Look." Lyre said, and pointed, although it was more by instinct then to help. He knew his fellow Nameks couldn't see him.

"The ship's computer is apparently controlling those small robots going in and out. Be careful not to touch them as we go in. While the computer can't see us, if one of those robots crashes into us while we're going in, I think it will notice that. Be sure to avoid them!"

"Yes sir!"

Lyre slowly set himself down in front of the ramp leading into the ship. A small bot bustled down the platform, but Lyre saw it coming and stepped aside. The robot meadered on, heedless of anything but it's purpose of fixing the ship.

"Let's go. Stay together, but don't touch those robots!"

Slowly, the invisble Nameks made their way up the ramp, a simple task made much more difficult by their need to remain unseen. But they were soldiers, and they had trained in these espionage tatics many times, and eventually they had all made it up the ramp and into the small room where the robots emerged from various hatches in the wall and came back for supplies or whatever was needed by going through others. A few seconds later, the Nameks were out of the room and into the hallway beyond, in which lights glowed dully overhead.

"Is everyone here?" Lyre whispered, and a chorus of whispered names answered him. He smiled grimly. All of his troops had made it into the ship without being detected.

How bad a thing that was, only Lyre knew. But he knew he could not defeat all five of his companions, no matter how bad the need was. Neither could he order them in a way that would lead to their deaths. They may have been infected by the madness of his commander, but they were still his comrades, his friends.

All he could do was wish. And hope.

"Whorn." Lyre ordered.

"Yes sir."

"I am here. To my side."

Theer were faint footsteps, cloaked from Century's scanners by Kwitare's bubble, and a small noise of Ooofff as Whorn bumped into someone as he made his way to where Lyre's voice had been.

"I am here, sir."

"Good. Everyone else, follow me." Lyre said, and began to make his way slowly up the hallway. There were a few doors on its side and a larger one at the other end. Lyre headed for the large door, having a feeling that what he was looking for would be behind it.

A panel was by the door with various buttons and two larger ones, green and black. Lyre hesitated.

"Whorn, do you think the computer would notice a door opening?"

"Even if it did, it will surely think that it is just a small error. I will open it."

There was a pause for a few seconds, and then the green button depressed, seemingly on its own. The door slid open noiselessly. Lyre tensed, waiting for an alarm, and secretly hoping for it.

But there was none, and Lyre swallowed his hidden disappointment and led his team through the door. It opened into a much larger hallway, with many doors and several branching paths.

"Is everyone still here?" Lyre asked. There was again a whispered chorus of replies.

"Very well. We will now split up. Kwitare, what is the limit of your cloaking ability?"

"I think I can keep it extended throughout the whole ship, but it will be difficult…also, the farther you move away from me, the lesser the effect on you it will have. You will stay invisible as long as you don't touch anything, but the second you do, my link, and my power over you, will be gone. Also, any sound you make will only not be heard if you are close to me…so if we separate, you must stay silent, or you may be detected."

"Does everyone understand?" Lyre asked. Once again, a chorus of replies.

"Good. Whorn, you will go first. The main control room is most likely connected to one of these hallways. We will give you ten minutes at most to find it and override the computer so that it is with us instead of against us. After that time, even if you have not succeeded, Viaolen and Harpe will go as well. They are to seek out the saiya-jin and his companion and…terminate them. Do not try and…engage…instead try and use your stealth to…dispose of them from behind or anything else. Just make sure they do not have a chance to react. I will remain with Kwitare to try and lessen the efforts he must use to keep us cloaked. Sello, you will remain as well. Does anyone have any questions?"

There were none.

"Good. Whorn, go. Levitate off the ground so you can fly, you'll go faster and get rid of the risk that just standing on the ground will dispell the cloaking affect. Hurry, and good luck."

"Yes sir." Whorn said.

And then Lyre could no longer sense Whorn's presense. He was gone.

Invisibility is a useful weapon, but it can also be a disadvantage. Had Lyre and co been able to see Whorn as he took off down the hall, they would have been able to clearly see the stress and worry on his face. Whorn was clearly under intense internal pressure.

Being infected by Parkussion's madness via his commander's emotional manipulations and commanding presense was bad enough, but Whorn had it even worse. Over the weeks the pressure on him had increased to the point that even his discipline and control as a soldier was barely keeping it at bay. As the most technologically knowledgeable of the remaining Nameks, he had, more often then not, been held as the one who could save them or kill them. Over time, his failure to fix the engines or find some other way to get the Rage of War out of the dead sector of space they had been chased into had begun to bear more and more heavily on his mind. His commander's displeasure, if not outright rage, at his failures had not helped Whorn in his struggle to keep his state of mind.

When the other ship had crossed their path, Whorn had had hope. Instead, he now had even more pressure on him. He had to reprogram a computer system he knew nothing about, in a ship so advanced even he could barely believe it. What if the computer was beyond his comprehension? It would mean his death, if not by the occupants of the ship, then by his own commander's hand.

But just how serious the problem this pressure was causing within him, even Whorn could not know. But it was lurking there, deep in his subconscious, and it had shoved him to the very edge of his mind. All it would take was one good push…

But like nearly everyone on this edge, he was unaware of the danger.

As Whorn flew carefully around the hallways, using his ki powers to open the doors so he didn't have to touch anything, he grew more and more worried, and an acid taste began to build in his mouth. Where the hell is the main control room?

As Tynzien dozed in his chair, Syria was hard at work in the gravity chamber. She had set the gravity to be much lighter then usual, only 30 times normal. She did not want to push herself to her absolute limits this time. But she did want to work up a sweat, and hence she danced around the room, doing a variety of acrobatics that would shame the Earth's greatest gymnists, interspersed with random punches and kicks. Her mind was fully on the betterment of herself, and she doubted she would notice if a nuclear bomb had detonated outside her door.

Syria slicked back her wet hair and went into another blazing series of punches, throwing hundreds of blows in seconds. A great calm and joy filled through her. In here, she could truly be herself, and nothing would reject her.

But it would never replace the battlefield.

Whorn did not know it, but the room with the huge computer monitor that stood above a large amount of computer banks and various other pieces of computer equipment was not the main control room. Rather, it was one of the secondary ones. But it did not matter to him, for what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

"Finally." He hissed, and he drifted across the room to float in front of the computer. He looked around and a hard smirk came to his face.

"Doesn't look all that different. I think I might be able to pull this off…" Whorn said to himself as he reached into his black battle outfit and removed a disc from an inside pocket. He searched for a slot, certain he would find one. His disc was universal, and could conform itself to any shape the slot might have.

He found one quickly, and reaching out, quickly shoved it into the computer bank. There was a shimmering of the air and then Whorn could suddenly see his own arm again. He cursed, and only giving himself a second to look the controls over, began to type at the alien computer monitor, entering the commands that would arm his failsafe, hoping the computer would respond.

His luck continued. The screen activated and various words scrolled across it. Whorn felt another tug of relief in his heart. The words were written in one of the common universal languages, instead of some alien language he didn't know. It confirmed his disc was loaded and could be activated at any time. Whorn sighed and continued to type, removing some cybernetic tools from the disc and beginning his search for the primary program.

He could not help but be amazed. The sheer amount of data the computer had within it was amazing, with files that just seemed to go on and on and on. It would take years to even go through one of the larger ones, but Whorn was sure he would have years.

Because soon, the computer would be his.

An odd feeling washed over Century. Something was wrong. She had finally left Jack to his own devices and had gone to investigate some trouble the robots were having with one of the wing parts that Tynzien had damaged. She was just about done with a solution when she felt an odd jolt run through her.

Century began to examine her systems. Whatever the feeling was, it was coming from one of her secondary stations.

"Tynzien…is that you? What are you doing?" Century asked through her mental uplink. All she got in return was a wash of random and bizzare images. Tynzien was dreaming, and if that was the case, he was still asleep.

A more powerful jolt washed over Century's being. That did it. Whatever was going on, whoever was doing it was showing no desire to use finesse. It was like a drunk teenager pawing at his girlfriend's shirt with a slurred desire to "get some", and like that teenager, the person clearly had no idea what they were exactly doing.

But just like a woman may be raped by her drunken boyfriend if she doesn't take his state of mind seriously, Century was not going to ignore these strange feelings. It could prove to be bad.

"Maybe Syria's trying to access something…but why wouldn't she just ask me…?" Century questioned, and finally left to check.

Lyre ground his teeth a bit. Ten minutes had gone by, and while Kwitare had said he had felt his connection to Whorn break, there had been no confirmation from Whorn that he had succeeded. He had to continue the operation.

"Viaolen, Harpe."

"Yes sir?"

"It is your turn. Go and seek out the two beings on this ship, you know what to do once you find them. Try and sense their ki, if you can. Hurry, Whorn is no longer cloaked, and he may set off an alarm before he is successful with the computer."

"Yes sir." Came the reply, and then Lyre felt the two leave.

Harpe was better at ki detection, and he quickly located one.

"Viaolen, I've got something. I think it's that blue bitch. I'm going after it, you handle the saiya-jin, when you find him." Harpe whispered as low as he could, and flew off down a hallway. Viaolen made no reply, but instead flew on and off to another direction.

Whorn thought he sensed movement and whirled, but there was nothing behind him. He scanned the room for a second and then turned back to the computer monitor. He bumped into the nearby chair and started, then sighed with relief and went back to his work. He was finally beginning to get into the main computer program.

Then Whorn got the biggest shock of his life as a voice suddenly came out from the computer.

"Syria, what are you doing? I thought I taught you…I don't think you're her." Century said as she finally arrived at the computer and found a Namek staring back at her.

"Who…who are you?" the Namek stammered.

"I am Century. Who are YOU? How did you get on this ship? What are you doing? I'll…"

Whorn shoved his fear aside as he placed his finger over a large blue button that he has designated as the trigger.

"Not so fast, Century. Don't even THINK of turning on any alarms, or I will destroy you!"

That gave Century pause, and it was then she realized there was an alien program active on this bank, one that could very easily spread through her entire system, and one that was very dangerous, even to her. Even though she could not feel emotions, Century began to get an inkling of what fear was like.

"This file contains a virus, Cnetury. All I have to do to activate it is to press this button. If that happens, your systems will be destroyed. And you as well."

Century did her equivilant of a gulp, and her mind began to race.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to seize the ship for my commander. So here's what you are going to do. You are going to let me rewrite your systems until you exist only to serve the Vermarthuire Boloranusm. If you don't, you "die". Got it, Century?" Whorn said, smirking evily. His plan was a success. The computer would soon be his.

Century eyed Whorn's hand, resting lightly on the blue button that, if pressed, would spell her doom. She could try and analize the virus and then develop a counter program, but this Namek clearly knew his stuff and would undoubtly recognize her efforts.

"And what of my friends?" Century asked, trying to buy time for her to think of something.

"Do not concern yourself with them. They will be taken care of very soon. And you won't care about them any longer in a bit." Whorn said as he began to rapidly type with his free hand. Century began to feel the waves of cold, of violation begin to wash over her. Soon they would become agonizing…and then she wouldn't exist any more, at least in any form she was familiar with.

But none of that mattered to Century in the slightest. Her "mind" was utterly fixated on the Namek's last words, about Tynzien and Syria about to be…"taken care of".

NO! She would not let them hurt her friends! Century, in the world of data she existed in, prepared to stop the Namek's rewriting program cold and sound an alarm, even if it meant her destruction.

But she stopped. If she was destroyed, Tynzien and Syria would be stranded on this world. All the flight programs were within her systems. If they were destroyed, Tynzien wouldn't even be able to turn the engine on, much less fly the ship. He could fly it if her systems were scrambled or damaged, but not if they were outright destroyed. If she acted, Tynzien and Syria would die anyway, wasting away on this dead world in a ship as useless to them as the cold, dead rock that surrounded them.

But as this realization passed through her, another one hit her. Surely this Namek knew the same thing. If he activated the virus, the ship would be useless to him.

And it was clear that her and his fellow Nameks wanted the ship very badly. Century fixed her "eyes" on the Namek.

Yes, she could see it. There was desperation in his mannerisms, his eyes, even underscored in his voice, well hidden behind a cocky assurance that he was successful. He was clearly under a gigantic amount of pressure, a good deal of which he was unaware of. She would have never noticed if she hadn't guessed where to look.

Century was interrupted as the waves of cold increased. She needed a plan, and she needed one now. She scanned the ship, but could detect no humanoids except Tynzien, Syria, and the Namek who stood in front of her, slowly but surely turning her into his lapdog.

Syria increased her scans. Still nothing. Her mind despaired in the way it could. Where are they?

Harpe's cover was nearly blown as he finally located the room where he had sensed the ki of the woman. As he opened the door, the woman glanced over, but she could see nothing but air. The cloak still worked. She had shrugged and gone back to what appeared to be training.

That was not what had nearly revealed Harpe. Instead, it had been the sudden huge increase in pressure as he flew into the room and found the gravity in there was a lot higher then he expected.

His feet almost touched the ground, but Harpe managed to draw apon his strength and keep afloat, mere millimetres from his cover being blown. He grimaced. Apparently this room was rigged so the gravity could be increased for training purposes. Flying would be much harder in here. He would have to go slowly.

Slowly, and with considerable strain, Harpe raised himself back up until his feet were farther away from the metal floor. Good, he had managed to keep the cloak.

Slowly, he began to make his way towards Syria, who remained oblivious to everything, lost in her training. Despite the extra effort needed to stay afloat, Harpe began to charge his ki, confident the woman would not sense him. She was so involved with her work that she might not have noticed him if he was visible.

When he was close enough, he would give the woman just enough time to realize he was there. Then he would blow her head off.

He wanted to seem the same shocked surprise in her eyes, the same shock his comrade had undoubtly worn when she had shot him in the back, before death forever ripped the light from her eyes.

Viaolen could not sense the ki of the saiya-jin, but he lucked out in the saiya-jin being much closer.

Indeed, Viaolen could barely believe his luck as he opened the door and saw the alien sleeping in the chair in front of the computer. It was almost too easy. This man, this murderer, had defeated and killed Obo and Tepmurt in battle, and he had seemingly done so with ease. Now the ease was Viaolen's, for the saiya-jin would never know he was there.

Not until it was too late anyway.

As Viaolen floated forward, slowly to ensure he did not make any noise that might wake the alien, he concentrated and a black ki blade sprang from his knuckles. He would fulfill his commander's wish, and slit the saiya-jin's throat as he slept.

Century made up her mind. She didn't have the time to hunt for the Nameks. If this one had managed to not only make it aboard the ship undetected, but also sneak all the way into this room and begin rewriting her systems before she realized anything was wrong, they undutibly had some trick up their sleeves, and Century didn't have time to figure it out.

She had to act, and pray that Namekians thought, felt, and would react like a typical species. If they didn't…it could very well mean her end.

"Say, Namek! Seeing how I'll be serving you soon and all, we may as well get to know each other. What's your name?' Century asked in the best chatty voice she could manage.

Whorn looked up in confusion at this sudden burst of cheerfulness, and did exactly what Century hoped he would do: he stopped typing.

"Uh…Whorn…" Whorn replied. He could not think of replying any other way.

"Ah, Whorn. Well Whorn, let's talk music. Do you like the Beck song "Loser"?"

"What…what are you talking about?" Whorn asked in confusion. Century gathered herself.

"Well, you see, I only ask because, well, YOU'RE A LOSER!" Century yelled, and stopped Whorn's rewriting program dead in its tracks, casting it out of her systems and sealing the way so it couldn't get back in.

The reaction was instant, as the look of effort and cocky assurance were wiped off Whorn's face in a second, replaced by one of utter fury that the computer he thought was in his grasp had dared to defy him. He snarled, baring his fangs.

"YOU…OPEN YOURSELF BACK UP RIGHT NOW, OR I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Whorn screamed.

There was no answer for a second.

And then suddenly, across the screen, words began to scroll.

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU…

And for Whorn, this proved to be simply too much, as all the pressure and fear and repressed anger was finally sparked into ignition and caused Whorn to finally snap.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!" Whorn screamed, no longer caring about his commander's orders, or his own survival, or anything else except a raging inferno of rage that told him to destroy this computer. He raised up his hand and curled it into a fist, planning to smash it down on the button so hard the computer would get a bruise right before his virus tore it apart.

It was just what Century had planned. She knew if she could get the pressure to crush him, Whorn would no longer think rationally. Instead of just pressing the button, Whorn's raving mind had insisted on adding the extra touch of crushing it. And his rageful gesture showed he planned on doing just that.

But it had also taken his finger off the button.

Whorn was fast.

Century was faster.

The slot snapped open and Century expelled the disc from her physical body, vomiting it out of her like a bad piece of food.

A second later Whorn's fist slammed down on the now-useless button, crushing it and denting the metal underneath it, even as his eyes caught the disc flying through the air and followed it as it hit the opposite wall at high velocity, shattering like glass.

Whorn's mouth hung open in shocked surprise, even as rage coursed through his entire body, causing it to vibrate like he was having an earthquake within him.

"Ah, poor Namek. He could have always uploaded the virus into my systems and set it to be triggered, but he just didn't have the time! So he kept it in the disc, which he doesn't have any more. What a maroon." Century said mockingly.

"AAARARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!" Whorn screamed, as he turned to the chair next to the systems and ripped it from the floor like it was made of paper.

"I'LL DESTROY YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!" he roared, as he raised the chair above his hand, planning to bludgeon the computer into a million pieces.

And then, with a sudden hissing snarl, Jack leapt from the place he had hidden above Whorn and dropped right on Whorn's face, biting and clawing. The surprise and Whorn's state of mind rendered this to be far more effective then it normally would, as Whorn dropped the chair and howled, trying to get the hissing nightmare off his face. But Jack was furious at Whorn's attempted destruction of his best friend and hung on, digging his small teeth right down to the gum into the green skin of Whorn's forehead while digging his claws into Whorn's cheeks. Whorn yelled again and stumbled about, yanking at the kitten.

But despite Jack's best efforts, he was just a small animal, and he couldn't keep on the face of a warrior Namek for long, as Whorn finally managed to tear Jack off his face, abet not without considerable damage as Jack's teeth and claws ripped out of the sensitive flesh of Whorn's face. Holding Jack in one tightly closed fist, Whorn wiped the blood from his face and stared at the little grey cat, who hissed at him in futile defiance.

"Little monster!" Whorn yelled, and brought his other hand forward to crush Jack's fragile body to pulp.

The laser blast took him in the forehead, burning through his skull and vaporizing his insane mind to ash, Whorn's eyes registered surprise, and then his grip loosened and Jack fell from his hands as Whorn tumbled backwards. He hit the ground, jerked once, and was still.

"Mew." Jack meowed, looking at the corpse and then at the smoking laser cannon that had drawn out of the ceiling.

"It's ok, little friend." Century said soothingly. "He's dead. Don't worry, he couldn't have hurt me with that chair…it would have just destroyed this bank…but you were so brave in helping!"

"Meow." Jack purred, hoping up on the computer bank and rubbing himself against one of the monitors. If Century had a mouth, she would have smiled warmly.

But then she remembered what Whorn had said.

"Jack, there's gonna be trouble! Head to the nearest crawlhole you have, I'll send droids to protect you! I don't want you getting hurt!" Century said. Jack looked at Century, and then he understood, hopping off the computer bank and leaping over Whorn's corpse in disdain as he ran out the open door.

Century again scanned the ship, and again found no Namek's except the dead one laying at her "feet".

"They must have some kind of cloaking technique…but it's not mechanical in nature, I could have sensed that…but if it's a technique and it generates from something other then mechanical…then it must be organic. And such an ability would require extreme concentration…I need to get them to have their concentration broken…but…how…"

Century thought it over. For her, it only took a half second, but it was a half second she might not have.

"Sound! Nameks can't stand high frequency sound!"

Syria was never quite sure what happened. One moment she was training in the gravity chamber, and the next a loud and immensely high pitched noise was booming. She grabbed her ears.

"Ow! Century…" Syria began, but was cut off by the scream of pain behind her. She whirled as the Namek phased back into view, on his knees with his hands on his ears, quite apparently in excruisiating pain. Her eyes widened.

"What the…"

"BITCH!" Harpe screamed, his mind afire with pain. But he had enough sense left to throw out his arm and send his dark green ki blast blasting directly at Syria's face.

Tynzien was rudely snapped out of his dream by a loud ringing. He sat up, trying to clear his mind of sleep as he tried to block out the noise, which was quite painful due to his sensative hearing.

The fact that he found a Namek in front of him, trying to block out the noise as well, was at the least, shocking.

"ARRRGGHHHH! KILL YOU!" Viaolen hollered, before leaping at Tynzien to drive his black ki blade into the saiya-jin's chest.

The pain was terrible, and as Lyre fell to his knees he saw his cloak wear off. He glanced sideways at Kwitare and Sello and saw they were in the same pain as he was in.

"ARGH! THE PAIN! STOP THE NOISE!" Kwitare screamed. Lyre wanted to do something but he was in the same agony and could do nothing more then try to stop his own pain.

Then, almost as soon as the noise began, it stopped. Lyre slowly raised himself back to his feet.

"Do you think…that was Whorn's way of telling us the ship is ours…?" Sello asked, as he got up, his face still contorted from the torment the noise had caused in his head.

"Maybe…but why would Whorn…"

Then the alarm sounded.

"There you are." Century said with saitisfaction as the Nameks appeared on her cameras.

"Three near the entrance, and…OH GOD!" Century said as she realized where the other two were, and what they were doing.

"TYNZIEN, SYRIA, LOOK OUT!"

Syria heard the faint scream of warning, but the surprise and the noise had dulled her reflexes.

But she still had her survival instincts, and they immediately kicked into action as she dove to the side, away from the blast.

She almost made it, but the blast clipped her, searing her shoulder and upper arm before exploding against the wall behind her, pelting her with shrapnal. She screamed, but it didn't stop her dodging as she cartwheeled and backflipped away from the Namek, who was already getting to his feet after the noise stopped, his eyes full of anger and bloodthirst.

"FOR MY COMRADES!" Harpe screamed, and threw another blast, which Syria dodged. But as she was doing so, the Namek leapt forward and intercepted her, smashing her with a powerful snap kick that sent her hurtling against the wall. She smashed against the metal and screamed as her shoulder against dislocated. As she fell to the ground, the Namek raised his hands, black ki glowing on them.

"Time to die, murderess." He hissed. Syria looked up.

"Computer, increase gravity to 150 times normal, NOW!"

Harpe gasped as the crushing forces in the room suddenly increased fivefold. They had been disabling before, but now, for his untrained body, they were downright crippling, and severely. Harpe again fell to his knees as he struggled to keep from getting squashed from the huge weight seemingly bearing down on his shoulders.

Syria got to her feet, abet with some effort. However, she was far more used to the immensely heavy gravity in the room and thus was able to start walking towards him, her left shoulder dangling awkwardly.

Harpe watched her approach, and the burning rage within him exploded.

"DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Harpe screamed, somehow finding the strength within himself to raise his arms, as the black ki around his hands exploded outward. Syria's eyes widened as the barrage of blasts came blasting out of Harpe's hands

And she only had one arm to block.

Then the first blast struck her and explosions consumed her. Smoke blasted outward and shrouded the whole room, cloaking everything in black.

Harpe's arms again fell, utterly exhausted. But there was a grim smile on his face. He'd done it. Even after the woman had crippled him, via the room, he had still emerged victorious. He panted through his teeth.

Then the smoke cleared, and his jaw dropped slighly in shock as Syria lowered her right arm. Only having one arm to block had lessened the blow far less then it usually would have been, and Syria was a wreck, blood running from cuts all over her body and burns now joining the one on her shoulder on several areas. To top it all off, her outfit was again a shredded wreck.

But she was alive, and as Harpe gaped at her, she snarled and raised her severely burned right arm as her own ki, this one pink in colour, enveloped it. She had originally planned to just knock the Namek out, but she was now in severe pain because of her planned kindness.

And she was also very angry.

"Fuck mercy." Syria hissed, more to herself then to Harpe, and the pink ki flared at her words, enveloping her whole arm. Harpe's eyes widened, and he tried to raise his arm to throw more ki.

"Oh no you bastard. You had your shot, and with this lady, one shot is all you GET!" Syria screamed as she threw back her arm and let loose with a gigantic ki blast.

Harpe screamed as he felt himself wrapped in its burning embrace.

Then he knew nothing more.

Tynzien was lucky he had the uplink. A voice screaming in your head tends to wake you up quickly, and it worked as the black blade came slashing at his face. Tynzien threw himself sideways and went tumbling over the chair arm as Viaolen's ki blade sliced through it, slashing through the metal like it was tissue paper. Tynzien spun on his hand and leapt to his feet as Viaolen turned to him, fury blazing in his eyes.

With the noise gone, Viaolen had nothing distracting him, and he showed it by leaping immediately at Tynzien. Tynzien jerked his head to the side to avoid the murderous thrust and then went into a dodging frenzy as Viaolen tried to carve Tynzien into shis-ke-bob.

"DIE! DIE! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" Viaolen screamed as Tynzien ducked under another scything slash and leapt across the room, trying to regroup. He thought he would be safe for a few seconds.

He thought wrong, as Viaolen snapped out his arm and it suddenly extended, lancing it's deadly blade right at Tynzien's face. Tynzien barely had time to comprehend this unknown power before his instincts took over and he leapt to the side, but he failed to dodge completely, and the blade sliced a burning path along his cheek. Tynzien snarled in pain as his hand instinctively went to the wound, and came away wet with blood.

"The Namekians have the ability to extend their limbs at will to seemingly any length! Make sure you guard against it!" Century said in Tynzien's head.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Tynzien muttered, and then ducked under Viaolen as he tried the trick again.

"That does it." Tynzien snarled, and his battle aura exploded around him as he lanced forward in a rising tackle, slamming his shoulder into Viaolen's gut and driving both of them into the wall. Viaolen's yell of surprise and pain faded into a heaving gasp as all the air went out of his lungs. He tried another slash, but Tynzien effortlessly blocked Viaolen's arm and blasted him with a pistoning jab. Viaolen's head snapped back violently, and Tynzien seized the oppourtunity to grab Viaolen by the front of his outfit and hurl him across the room, which came to a sudden stop as he crashed into the now closed door.

As Viaolen, swaying on his feet, finished getting up, Tynzien thrust his hands down to the side and began to gather blue ki energy.

"Sorry buddy. I didn't want to use lethal force, but you left me no choice."

Lyre was standing at the branching paths of the main hallway and wondering what course of action he should take when he heard the yell.

"HEAVEN-SPLITTING VIOLENT LIGHT!"

And then Lyre heard a scream before the largest door at the end of one of the paths exploded outward in a hail of twisted metal. Lyre saw the body fly from the room and blast across the hallway at lighting speed, shoved by a blue ki blast. Lyre jumped backwards while pulling the equally surprised Sello and Kwitare back with him and watched in horror as the body of Viaolen slammed against the wall in front of him and was consumed by the following explosion. The close quarters caused Lyre to absorb the full effect of the shockwave and he was sent flying backward into Sello and Kwitare.

Flipping backwards in mid-air, Lyre hit the wall behind him with his feet instead of his spine and riccocheted off, flipping and landing on his feet. He waved a hand and called up a wind to clear the smoke that now filled the hall. Coughing, he saw Kwitare and Sello getting to their feet as well.

"I think we should retreat commander." Kwitare said, desperation creeping into his voice.

Then the three got yet another shock as a voice boomed into the hallway.

"I don't think so."

The open door Lyre and co had come through seemingly an eternity ago slammed shut, and Lyre heard a short electronic noise as it locked. He stared briefly at it, before something else came to his attention.

"Viaolen!"

Lyre turned to see Sello and Kwitare heading to the slumped body that lay against the wall, blackened blood splattered in a pattern above and around it. In a second Lyre was there as well, and let out a small curse. The blast had inflicted a terrible wound on Viaolen's torso.

Viaolen looked at his three comrades, before a racking cough shook him and blood sprayed from his mouth, mixing with the rivers that was pouring from the horrible hole in him.

"Tell commander Parkussion…I'm sorry…I…tried…" Viaolen managed to cough out, and then he stiffened and his head slumped down. He had seen his last battle.

"Oh Viaolen…oh no…" Kwitare said in shock and sorrow, but before Lyre or Sello could add anything, there was a sound of a door opening and the Namek's looked up to see a rather upset looking Syria walked out.

"Oh look." She said, cracking her knuckles. "More uninvited guests."

As the Namek slowly raised themselves back to their feet, Tynzien finally emerged from the room from which Viaolen had been blasted. He reached up and wiped the hair from his eyes as he reached Syria's side.

"You ok?" he asked, looking at Syria's battered form.

"Nowhere near as bad as these three are going to be." Syria shot back, matching the burning glare that Sello and Kwitare were throwing at her.

"Murderers." Sello hissed.

"Call me what you will, I'll do the same back. What shall I call you…oh, I know." Syria said as she mockingly placed a finger on her forehead as if she was thinking. "Dead meat."

"DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sello screamed as he leapt at Syria. Kwitare reacted to the charge by adding his effort to it, and the two dove at Syria and Tynzien before Lyre could do anything about it.

It was futile, as this time Kwitare and Sello had nothing going for them except their respective powers, and while they were great, they were not a match for Tynzien and Syria. Syria ducked aside from Sello's furious punch and thrust her foot sideway, doing double damage as she smashed her foot into the Namek's head and then sandwitched it between her foot and the metal wall. Tynzien blurred to the side ever so slightly and Kwitare lunged right past him. As Kwitare tried to turn, Tynzien's hand sliced out in a knife-edge chop, slamming into the side of Kwitare's neck.

As Sello's now limp body began to fall, Syria caught it. Her face contorting in anger, she wrapped her arm around his neck and flexed her arm forward, planning to haul it back suddenly and snap Sello's neck like a matchstick. Tynzien was showing the same degree of merciless, for as Kwitare sprawled on the floor, Tynzien lifted his hand, glowing with ki energy, planning to blow the soldier to hell.

"Goodbye, you sneaking backstabbing cocksucker." Syria hissed to her unconscious prisoner.

"NO!"

Syria was startled enough by the yell to release her death drip on Sello, who fell on his face, unconscious. Likewise, Tynzien turned away from Kwitare, his killing blast fading from his hands.

Lyre was walking forward, his arms up, slowly.

"I surrender. Take my life if you must have revenge for the crimes commited against you, but spare them. They are victims of another's madness and obession…they didn't have a choice in doing what they did…please don't kill any more of my friends…too many have died already…" Lyre said, and lowered his head, at peace with himself and ready to die.

Syria started to move forward, but was stopped abruptly by Tynzien grabbing her unseperated arm.

"Hold it Syria." Tynzien said. Lyre looked up, some surprise in his eyes.

"You are the one they call Lyre, aren't you?" Tynzien asked. Lyre nodded dumbly. Tynzien blinked.

"I knew there was something different about you…I knew it from the start." Tynzien said. "Century?"

"Yes, Tynzien?"

"Take these Nameks to the infirmery. Give them treatment, but also restrain them properly. Lyre, turn around."

Lyre stared, not quite understanding, but he did so.

"Stick your hands out."

Lyre did so, and felt a clamp as something flowed over his hands and upper arms and solidified. He felt the same clamp around his ankles, and then darkness fell over his eyes as the same feeling flowed over his mouth. Lyre gasped, and was amazed to find that despite the feeling, he could still breathe. Ki manacles.

"I am sorry I have to do this Lyre, but I must take suitable precautions…come." He heard the saiya-jin say, before he felt something grip his arm. "I will show you the mercy you asked…but I want some answers."

Parkussion sat, arms crossed. He had been impatient when he was young and having wandered around the wastes of space for so long, waiting for the day when he would seize his destiny and reclaim his glory had done nothing for his forbearance.

"Anything?" Parkussion asked Brass, who was manning the lone working computer. The ship's systems and engine had finally begun the process of its inevitable death, and Parkussion had asked for everything to be shut down except for this. Now he, Brass, and Woodwind sat in semi-darkness, waiting for word or possible attack.

"Nothing." Brass replied. Parkussion made a noise of annoyance and resumed turning the stone over in his hand, having slipped the ring off his finger to do so. It was better then doing absolutely nothing.

"Sir." Came Woodwind's pained voice, and Parkussion turned to his other second in command. Had they had the proper medical facilities, and they had, once, Woodwind's injuries would have been easily dealt with. But they had long ago run out of spare power and medical supplies to keep a working infirmery, and Woodwind could only fix what his Namek gifts allowed him to fix and suffer in silence over what he could not.

"Yes, Woodwind."

"I do not doubt it…but supposing…the traitor and the men fail? If one, or both, of those two survive…if they can beat back a sneak attack…"

"What are you suggesting, Woodwind?" Parkussion asked. Woodwind winced, partly from pain and partly from his commander's angry tone.

"My lord…I felt that saiya-jin's power...that terrible red flame that took the lives of Obo and Tepmurt…what other powers could he possess? What if, by some miracle…he possesses even more power? What if…it's greater then ours…all of ours…?"

Parkussion stared at Woodwind in disgust. Defeat was crumbling away at his soldier core. Parkussion sighed inwardly. After the ship was his, he feared he would have to dispose of Woodwind. He had been a great soldier and ally…but his usefulness was beginning to fade.

"I suppose that miracles do happen…both good and bad…like the miracle that I found this lovely stone shortly after we were exiled…it has been on my hand since…although it no longer provides me with the comfort it seemingly once did…" Parkussion muttered, more to himself then to Woodwind, as he turned the said stone over in his fingers. It may have only been metal, but it had a special beauty that only Parkussion could seemingly see, and it had been on his finger since. It was a part of him now, like his red battle outfit, the defiance of his race worn on his back. When his glory was again his, Parkussion contemplated making everyone have to wear red.

But contemplations for the future had to wait. There were more pressing matters in the present.

"…So to answer you, Woodwind…if the troops…the traitor…fails us…if these two possess even greater power then they showed us…even greater power then the one we all possess…then we will be left with one choice. Our survival must be guarenteed…so we will do what has allowed us to survive to the point that we have…but I am sure that such a terrible miracle will not befall us…fate has been cruel enough already…"

Brass, from his chair, watched the conversation with stony silence. His commander spoke wisely…but Brass did not think that he understood just how cruel fate could be.

Lyre had found himself sitting in a chair, and he had been there for some time. He was not uncomfortable, but a myraid of feelings boiling within him caused him to feel like he was sitting on hot iron. He was beginning to hate the loss of his eyes, but he could understand Tynzien's shrouding of them. He was just making sure Lyre wasn't planning any nasty surprises.

Lyre sat, wondering what he was to do, what his fate was to be. But he was decided on one thing. As he had watched Viaolen die…die believing in something he never would have believed once…die for the sole reason of his commander's madness…he had to tell the saiya-jin and the female about what had happened to Parkussion.

And that he had to be stopped. There was no longer any other choice. Viaolen had died for his madness, along with Klarinet, Obo, and everyone else. He could not let that happen to anyone else.

He was a soldier. His duty was his life…but it was to protect life. That was what he had been taught on Namek.

And it was no longer what his commander believed.

Lyre's ears pricked. He could hear footsteps. A second later he sensed a presense next to him.

"I'm going to take your gag and blindfold off, but be aware you have three sets of eyes on you. If you try something, you will regret it. Do you understand?" came the saiya-jin's voice. Lyre nodded.

And then he could see again. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see the saiya-jin standing in front of him. Lyre cocked his head. He had changed clothes, and was now wearing a black bodysuit with no armour.

"Now, why don't we start off with something simple…like who you are."

"Lyre, Tomatos…"and then said a string of sylibles that sounded like gibberish to Tynzien. He glanced at the computer bank that was behind Lyre.

"What'd he say?"

"He gave his name, rank, and serial number. Cute." Century replied. "Tomatos is a Namekian military position…roughly on the level of a major in an earth army, for one example. Fairly high up, which explains why he was leading this attack. The rest were Namekian numbers for his aforementioned serial number. Do you want it?"

"No, that's fine." Tynzien said, waving his hand in a "come hither" motion. A chair slid over the floor, and Tynzien sat in it in front of Lyre.

"Very well, since you introduced youself to us, I will do the same. My name is Tynzien Warlock. That lady over there is Syria Sylinus." Tynzien said, pointing. Lyre looked over to see the Raeus leaning against the wall to his side. She was still wearing her ripped up outfit, but her injuries appeared to be gone. He acknowledged his glance with a grudging wave.

"And that voice you hear is Century. She's my computer, and she's just as advanced as us, if not more so." Tynzien finished.

Lyre smirked.

"I figured, if she could call up Namekian history, battle knowledge, and so forth so quickly…and just between you and me, I don't think the lady likes me." Lyre chuckled with a grim smile.

"You and your soldier friends did try to kill us!" Syria shot back.

"Syria, be calm. Let him have his say. No one learns anything when everyone is screaming…but it brings me to my next question…why did you attack us, try to kill us? How have we wronged you in a way that warrents our death?"

Lyre lowered his head in shame, his grim good humour gone. Tynzien sensed it was either a coping mechanism or a long buried personality facet that was emerging under pressure.

"I…and my comrades…attacked this ship under the orders of my commander Parkussion. He ordered us to attack your ship, force it down onto this dead world, and then try and take your lives. He wanted the ship, you see. Our ship, the Rage of War was…is nearly dead. We were practically out of water, indeed, we used the last little bit just before we left to attack, and our engines were on the point of collaspe. If we had not attacked, we would have surely died. We needed this ship to survive, to get out of this dead sector of space…" Lyre answered, before he trailed off.

"But why? Why attack us with no warning? Why not hail us, ask us, and see what we were like? Surely your ship has that capacity, even if it was nearly dead! We would have gladly taken you aboard, given you a lift home or wherever you wished to go! Why did you try and take the ship instead?"

Lyre again lowered his head, and Tynzien could sense he was fighting an internal battle. Tynzien knew how such a battle could rip through you, leaving you seemingly unable to decide how to go on.

But such a battle had to have a winner. Otherwise, the one who had the war raging within him may as well curl up in a ball and waste away.

"It is a long story…but the end result is my commander has gone insane. But he was not always like this! He was a good man! He was a hero! We all were…" Lyre said in sadness, and the misery in his voice even caused Syria's smoldering anger towards him to fade.

Lyre looked at Tynzien, and was surprised at what he saw. Tynzien looked like he understood.

"Is this why you seemed to be a virtual outsider on the battlefield when we fought before?"

Lyre nodded.

"Yes. Everyone…all my comrades…they seem to be all beyond retrival...fully immensed in the mad vision my commander has come to desire. I'm the only one left…I'm all alone…I have struggled with this for so long…"

Then Tynzien did the last thing Lyre expected he would do. He reached out and took Lyre's shoulder.

But it was not a strong grip, but rather a comforting one…as if Tynzien was trying to console a friend.

"I know how it is to be an outsider to the seeming majority...Syria knows as well. It's hard. But if you truly believe in what you think…if you truly believe that it is right…then nothing can change that. No matter what others say or think…or how many of them are there. Such a way…it can lead to great evil…but it can also lead to great good."

"Great good? How?" Lyre asked.

"If I had not choosen to think the way I did…if I had conformed…I would be dead…alonmg with the rest of my species…and even if I, and they, had survived, somehow, I would be a bloodthirsty savage, caring only for battle, death, and destruction. But I persavered. It cost me a great deal…but it gave me a great deal as well. Thanks to it, I have known gods…become greater as a warrior then I had ever dreamed…known true friendship…love…and what it is like to be a hero, Lyre. I know."

Lyre stared as Tynzien sat back.

"Why don't you tell me your story? Maybe after we all hear it…we can all understand it better."

Kwitare's eyes snapped open violently, and he lunged upward, breathing heavily. But his upward lunge was halted about two thirds of the way up. Kwitare fell back onto the bed he was one and looked in horror as he saw he was tied down with glowing, pulsating straps of some kind of alien material.

"Where am I…what happened…Lyre! Sello!" Kwitare yelled as he got up as best he could and looked around. The room was dimly lit, and Kwitare could see another figure in a bed near him, tied down with the same material.

"Sello…SELLO! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Kwitare yelled at his comrade.

He was rewarded for his efforts, his comrade began to stir.

"Uggghhhhhhh….where am I…" Sello said groggily.

"Sello, snap out of it!"

"Uhhhhhhh…Kwitare? Is that you? What happened? Where are we…?" Sello said as he tried to sit up, only to discover what Kwitare had already discovered.

"We're tied down. They've taken us prisoner." Kwitare growled, and began to struggle against the bonds. It was futile, he was held fast, and he could not get any leverage to aid him in his quest to be free. Kwitare sensed that even if he could, it wouldn't do him any good.

"Kwitare…we seem to be in a medical section of some kind…maybe they have decided to show us mercy…?" Sello began to ask.

"NO! The saiya-jin are bloodthirsty monsters! They don't known the meaning of the word mercy! They must be planning to torment us, slice us to pieces while we are tied down! They mean to turn our talent of regenerating limbs against us! Lyre must have been taken first…how fitting, he is the only one who actually deserves it. But we will not let it happen to us! We may no longer have the advantage of surprise, but we will escape and hunt them down, and we will kill the saiya-jin and his bitch! And once we're done, we find the traitor, and if the saiya-jin hasn't already killed him, we slit his throat!"

"If you were to visit Namek today, you would find many things that would make you doubt what I am about to say. You would find no army, no records of there ever being an army, possibly even no memory of one ever existing. True, a good many Nameks possess a little fighting talent, and there might be a few strong warriors…but compared to us, they are children. I was once a member of the army Namek no longer has, the 844^th Yarwus…that's a Namekian army unit, or was one, equivilant of a battalion…to save you the trouble Century." Lyre said with a wry grin. Tynzien glanced sideways at Syria. Lyre was certainly proving to be different.

"The Yarwus was the sole military group on Namek, and it had a long and glorious history, stretching back thousands of years into my planet's past. Many of our greatest heroes and warriors were among the ranks of the soldiers of the Yarwus. My soldier ancestors had fought many great battles for my planet, saving my species god knows how many times. We were elite and proud, and we lived to serve our planet. We were the heroes of our people. I miss those days dearly."

"Don't we all." Syria muttered, remebering her days as leader of a rebellion against the mad Malleus Malefictorium.

"When I came to service, there was a young soldier rising rapidly through the ranks. His name was Parkussion. He had the makings of a great leader. Supremely skilled in combat, charismatic when it was needed and deadly serious when it was needed, and a great understanding for the nature of battle and war for someone his age...he was only a little older then I. It wasn't long before he was the commander of the whole unit…the leader of the 844^th Yarwus. And we were proud to have him. He led us well and treated us all as his equals instead of his tools and peons…and believe me, he could of if he wanted to. And not just because of his rank."

"What do you mean?"

"Parkussion was born with a special gift…something no Namek had and possibly may never have again. He was given a special inate talent, both mental and ki related…in which he could control a person's feelings, their very emotions. He could cause others to feel or stop feeling just about anything that we could feel. This served him well on a battlefield. He could make an opponent lose his motivation on the battlefield or cause sudden and total terror in the weaker-willed creatures…or he could give his comrades great feelings of hope, bravery, desire…anything. He was a great warrior, but that talent made him something else, another destined to be legend of the Yarwus. And we, his fellow soldiers, were all very proud to have such a man commanding us, as was our species proud of our generation of the Yarwus. Those were glorious days…we staved off attacks on our planet with ease, almost. I think that even if the saiya-jin species...if they were still alive, had come to prepare our planet and try and sell it, they would have been sent home with their tails between their legs, literally…if there was anything left to send home. Namek didn't have many special facets, but it had some things that various races prized and would want to steal…and then there would be the occasional random berserkers who just wanted to destroy for the sake of destruction…"

"Yes Lyre, this is all very interesting, but you're getting sidetracked."

"What? Oh yes…how did we fall from glory? It was a combination of factors…but it began when a terrible storm ripped through planet Namek. It was by far the worst storm in our history, and it nearly destroyed all the plant life on Namek…life we were linked to, vitally. But we survived and appeared to be moving on…until it all fell apart for us. The Namekians had been discussing…various things without consulting us, which I feel would have been the fair thing to do. The end drift was that the leaders, the elders of my planet, had begun to think that maybe the way the species was living was wrong, that there were other ways. I think the storm must have chilled many of my species's hearts, made them realize their own mortality, how small a part of creation they are that could be wiped out and not missed or replaced. But in talks of life I guess the subject of death must inevitably come up…and we were suddenly being looked apon in a new light. Instead of the protectors of our planet, I think we began to be seen as a threat. After all, we were the causers of death…even if it was for the protection of the species. I think my species forgot that the main part of life is survival…and survival, more often then not, means killing. It is inevitable. Either way, my species began to adapt a whole new style of living, a pacifistic style where disputes would try and be settled by any way other then fighting."

"And when this way of living finally hit a global scale you were exiled?" Tynzien asked.

"No…although I suspect that would have happened eventually. No, what happened was that the cause of the global catastrophe that caused this new way of thinking to begin was discovered…it had been our fault."

There was silence.

"Your fault? You caused the storm?"

"No…not deliberately. But that day…Namek was attacked by a horde of space-trekking pirates…I don't know what they wanted, but when they started attacking our villages we didn't need any reason. They were strong, but we were stronger, and we defeated them. But the battle had been so intense it interfered with pre-set weather patterns…and Mother Nature wound up producing the planet-shredding storm as a result. We were blamed for it. So they summoned us. They said that they were implementing new systems and that the Yarwus was being disbanded. We were to give up our titles and our soldier natures and live normal lives, and disputes would be solved peacefully instead of with violence. But Parkussion…no, all of us, did not want this. We were soldiers. It was our entire lives. So we all refused to do it."

"And you were banished."

"Yes. The Namek people no longer saw us as heroes, but as relics of a system that they were consigning to the past…and potential dangerous radicals. So they asked everyone, individually, if they were sure they did not wish to follow the new system. Almost everyone refused…only one of our weakest soldiers, a boy named Nail, changed his mind. The rest of us were shown the door. We were given a ship and asked to leave. We went about doing so…and then the Nameks, I fear, planted the first seeds of Parkussion's madness. As we were getting ready to leave, we were suddenly knocked out by gas jets. Then the Nameks came aboard our ship, placed us all in suspended animation, set a course for us away from planet Namek, erased the records of all the star charts in the computer, and launched us away, setting the ship to wake us up after a certain amount of time had passed. I think they feared we would return to seek revenge or conquer them…so they set it so we would be sent far, far away from the planet…and have no idea of where it was or how to get back to it. If they had just let us go on our own, it would have been hard, but I think we would have eventually moved on and found something new to do with our lives. This, however, was looked apon as the ultimate betrayal, and slowly all of us began to hate our species. Even I did for a time…before I realized what I am telling you now. But by then I fear Parkussion was beyond the capacity to understand this. Our banishment began this sordid tale."

Kwitare was running out of options, and he had come to one conclusion. If he was going to escape with Sello, he had to break the restraints, and he was unable to do it at the moment. Thus, his eyes had begun to scan the room, and he had finally seen the small control panel.

"Sello." He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"See that panel with the buttons? I bet dollars to donuts that's the thing supplying the power to these straps. As long as it's on, we're trapped. But if we can interrupt the power…"

"But Kwitare, these things probably have alarms up the ying yang! If we try anything, they will surely…"

"Quiet, Sello! I doubt the saiya-jin actually put alarms in the straps. No…I think the alarm is set to go off if we try and raise our ki…or if we try and destroy something."

"So what are you going to do? If you destroy the panel, the alarms go off, and the only way we're gonna break this straps is if you destroy it."

"Not quite. I'm just not going to raise my ki…I'll just call apon as little as I can…" Kwitare said, as he raised his hand. It began to glow, ever so slightly.

"Now…I'm not planning to destroy the panel, indeed, I doubt this blast even has the power to damage it…but a ki blast should scramble the local systems, even if it's just for a second. Hopefully it will cut the power to these straps for that same second…and that's all we should need to snap them."

"And if it doesn't work? Or if the alarms are triggered by that also? Or what if they're watching us right now?" Sello said in a rush.

"QUIET! He who hesitates is lost! Now, when I say so, tense against the straps and get ready to try your best to snap them all in one shot! Now, get ready…"

Kwitare lined up his arm with the panel, grateful that there was enough give that he could reach up enough. Sello tensed against the straps.

"Now!"

Kwitare shot a small dagger of ki from his finger into the panel, flinching in preperation for possible alarms.

There were none, but the dim lights above the Nameks flashed crazily…and the glow on the straps faded.

There was a quick rapid-fire series of snaps as Kwitare and Sello tore themselves loose and rolled off the tables. The broken straps began glowing again, but their purpose was now a moot point.

"Sello, get over here! I'm going to initiate my cloaking ability!" Kwitare hissed. Sello rolled over to his fellow Namek, and there was a slight shimmering as they disappeared.

"Ok…now we wait…if they have been watching us, they'll come after us for escaping…" Kwitare said as he reached up and grabbed a nearby bottle of cotton. He tore the top off and began stuffing it into his ears.

"Here, do this in case they try that sound trick again…that way it won't cripple us…"Kwitare said, passing some of the puffs to Sello, who shoved them in his ears.

"Ok, I'm going to stand up, take my arm…"Kwitare said, and felt Sello grip his arm. He stood and walked in front of the door. If anything was coming in, it would get a nasty surprise.

Kwitare and Sello waited.

Nothing happened.

"No one…you think they don't know we've escaped?" Sello asked.

"Don't be so hopeful just yet. They could have seen us cloak via a camera or something and could be waiting for us in the hallway. Be on guard." Kwitare said, and began to creep forward, aiding Sello so they wouldn't get seperated while invisible. He reached the door and pressed the open button via ki.

"Wait…wait…" Kwitare said as held Sello back, keeping him from going through the door. "If they saw us, they'll think we walked out cloaked and might try something…then we'll know where they are…"

The two Nameks waited again, and again nothing happened. Slowly, Kwitare looked out of the door and scanned his eyes up and down the hallway.

"Nothing. I think they might actually not know after all." Kwitare said, as determination crept into his voice. "Come, Sello. We have to find them and deal with them. And if the traitor is still alive, we deal with him too."

Indeed, if Century had been in the state she was normally in, she would have noticed Kwitare's and Sello's escape. But she was not, as her attention was focussed fully on Lyre as he told his story. Tynzien had programmed her to take in any new knowledge she could find, and Lyre's story offered just that. Had Tynzien not programmed that craving into her, she would have noticed something.

But he had. And she did not.

"Parkussion did not exihibit any signs of insanity at first. He was furious, as we all were, and he also longed for the glory days when we had been our planet's heroes. But we all knew, in a sense, that we had no idea how to get back to Namek. Namek is not very well known…only the best star charts might have it listed, or ones that came from Namek. We don't export or import anything, indeed, most of the times we are attacked because we were stumbled across. Oh, we looked for them, looked for anyone who could possibly have knowledge about Namek and how to get to it. But everywhere we went, and no matter what we did, we could find nothing. It appeared our home was lost to us…and it was then that Parkussion began to change."

Lyre swallowed, then tried to go on before coughing.

"I'm so thirsty…it's been so long since I had water in large amounts…"

"Century, water." Tynzien snapped.

"Hey hey, watch the tone, Tynzien." Century muttered as she went about fetching some water. Lyre drank greedily, to the point where water was splashing on his clothes.

"Better?"

"Much. Thank you." Lyre said, and continued.

"Slowly, Parkussion began to talk about how the my people had been wrong. The system that they had adapted, the one that got us exiled, was not the system of the future, as they had wanted us to believe. Rather, we were the future, our system of battle, war, and being a soldier was the right one, was always the right one, it was the only future system that Namek would have. We had not been exiled because we decided to follow a system of Namek's past, we were exiled because we had discovered the system of the future and my people feared they would be replaced. With this he began to talk of returning to Namek, to act like the heroes and conquerers we had been on the battlefield, and to reclaim the glory we deserevd by claiming Namek as our own, as it should have been. Slowly, the men began to believe him. Even I did…for a short time. But as he began to talk about these new beliefs, Parkussion began to change. He began to use his emotion manipulating powers to make sure no one disagreed with him, not even in the slightest. He began to abandon the honour he had held so highly in the process of thinking he was serving it. And it was while he was being consumed by this that he decreed that our ship was cursed and would never get us back to Namek. We had to find another, better ship. But when Parkussion found one…his twisted vision of glory had blinded him so that he immediately launched an attack…without thinking anything over except that we would attack and kill all who stood in our way. The fact that we were attacking…a transformer-jin…their might…didn't even occur to him. We attacked Koola head on."

"Koola?" Syria suddenly said, and walked over to Lyre. "Did you say Koola? The brother of Freiza?"

"Yes, why…" Lyre began before Syria reached down and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Did you see a blue skinned male alien? Someone who looked like a male version of me? Did you fight him? God forbid, did you kill him?" Syria yelled, shaking Lyre violently before Tynzien pulled her away.

"Calm down Syria!"

"Blue skinned…" Lyre paused in his monologue. "No, I don't remember seeing a blue skinned warrior in Koola's service. There were just the techs flying the ship and him…maybe he was just doing a quick recon or something…but I'm sure there was no blue warrior."

Syria ground her teeth, and then went back to the wall. Lyre looked at her in confusion.

"Did Koola enslave someone close to her?"

"Her older brother."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry I couldn't help."

"That's ok. Not your fault." Syria said sullenly.

"You attacked Koola…you must be very brave or a fool…" Tynzien began, before Lyre cut him off.

"The latter. Parkussion thought we would be a match for Koola, that we had more then enough in numbers to outdo Koola's extraordinary power…he was wrong. It was terrible…a massacre…Koola killed over half of my comrades…I still hear their screams in my nightmares…it's a miracle we escaped…if you can call what happened to us an escape."

"How did you escape? Koola would not be one to just let you leave."

"It was me. I planned to sacrifice myself to allow my fellow soldiers to escape…by engaging Koola. But I also hoped to avenge my fallen comrades as best I could before I fell…as I was sure I would. But when I engaged Koola…my rage…my courage, Parkussion used to say…it gave me a power I couldn't believe. Thus, I was able to match Koola blow for blow, long enough for everyone else to make it back to the ship and begin taking off. With that done, I used up all my power to hit Koola with the mightest ki blast I could. The ship had already been severely damaged by all the fighting, and my blast basically blew it apart. I thought I was dead for sure...if Koola or my own blast didn't get me, the cold darkness of space would. So it was much to my amazement when Brass came back for me, putting his own life at great risk in the process. We managed to make it back to the Rage of War with Koola's ship falling apart around and take off before the ship exploded and took us with it. It was a miracle…or just my life's worth of good luck. I haven't had much luck since."

"Brass?"

"My commander…and once my good friends, before Parkussion's madness infected him and destroyed the man I once knew…which I must ask, where are Harpe and Whorn?"

"Who?" Tynzien asked, although he had a feeling he already knew.

"They were two Nameks I sent out along with Viaolen, the Namek who tried to…kill you, Tynzien. What happened to them…are they still alive…?"

"I'm sorry…just as I had to, Syria and Century had to kill them in self defense…or in Century's case, the defense of another. They're gone."

"I guessed they were…I will miss them…but they were not really themselves any more. You see, Koola was not killed by my blast. Indeed, he was merely angered, and he came right after us, damn his species's ability to survive in space. We had to flee, but he was like a mad dog, chasing us…he wouldn't give up. We managed to keep our ship in one piece, but Koola got in enough shots so that it was damaged so bad it could barely fly. It was old and decrepet already, and this pretty much nailed down every last nail in its coffin except one, which was nailed down when we blew out the engines to ram you down onto this dead planet."

"So that's what you were doing out here."

"Indeed. With Koola chasing us, we didn't have a choice. We had to gamble that he would never follow us into this dead sector. So we flew off into it…and proved to be only half-right. Koola kept chasing us. All looked lost…until we flew through a meteor storm, which damaged the ship even more. But it appeared to allow us to lose Koola, for he was no longer on our tail when we got out of it. But we couldn't go back through that shower…so we had no choice but to go forward…into these wastes…and we had been wandering in them ever since, until we found your ship. I thought the failure might sober my commander up…instead it even made him more insane, more determained to claim his dream and supposed destiny."

Tynzien glanced up at Syria, and saw she had gone back into the corner. She looked very sad.

Oh Syria…I wish I could help you…let you find out about your brother…even if it would just be to get some closure…but I can't…but even so, I will try anyway. Tynzien thought, and then turned back and listened as Lyre told him about the fusions Parkussion had made his troops perform to try and preserve the supplies until they had managed to make their way out…how his refusal had begun his isolation from his former friends and brothers in arms…and all along, his commander's ever growing madness…until it had apparently hit its peak when he had ordered his troops to kill Tynzien and Syria, in cold blood.

"It was then I realized that my commander was gone…as were my friends. So I tried to sell him on the idea that I would come back here, supposedly to fight. What I planned to do was surrender immediately, and tell you what I have just told you…and plead that you release my comrades from my commander's madness. I cannot match my commander's power…but I think you two can. Please, free my friends." Lyre finally finished.

Tynzien looked at Syria.

"Lyre…if this is true…why did you come when Parkussion ordered you to lead the mission that was to lead to our deaths?"

Lyre again lowered his head.

"I could not refuse. I hoped my commander would use my idea…but he used it to come up with his own, that I lead this mission."

"So?" Syria asked.

"I cannot disobey him. I am a soldier. I am nothing else. Nearly my whole life I have been following his orders. I know nothing more. I have tried…but I am alone. I cannot go against him alone. I can do nothing but tell you this."

"Bullshit, Lyre!" Tynzien yelled, and the Namek looked up. "You're not a soldier! Your unit, your systems, your military…it's all dead. It died with Parkussion's descent into lunacy. Your ways of living are gone, swallowed. You are following a relic of the past, just like your people said."

Lyre sighed.

"Then I am…nothing."

"No Lyre, you're not nothing."

"Then what am I? I was a soldier…without it, I may as well be…"

"No Lyre. You are a warrior. Your military beliefs are gone, but not your ability to fight. Warriors are free, they can choose…and you can. Lyre, come with us. You are lying to yourself when you say you cannot match your commander, and you are lying to yourself when you say you cannot go up against him! You are hiding nearly all of your power, the same power that let you match Koola, and you have let Parkussion's madness and your dead system brainwash you into thinking that power is not there anymore, or was never there in the first place! But it is! I saw it emerging when you were going to battle Syria and I! It is there! And as for going up against Parkussion…you have no choice, Lyre. You said it. He no longer believes in what made him a hero. All he cares about is killing and destroying those for a twisted version of glory! He is dead…Parkussion is dead. And we, Syria, myself, and you, Lyre, have a duty to destroy the monster that is now residing in his frame…so he can't destroy anyone else. Do you understand, Lyre?"

Lyre was silent. Tynzien sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Tell me, Lyre. Did Parkussion ever show the slightest sign of acting like this before you were exiled?"

"No, he didn't even start until we had been exiled after some time. I think the first time he started talking about us being exiled because we were the future was when we were on the planet Allamang. We'd landed there to refuel."

"Can you recall anything that happened on the planet Allamang?"

"I don't think so…we didn't fight anyone there…" Lyre said, as he trailed off in thought.

"Century, anything special about Allamang?"

"Not that I know of. It's a small planet, melting pot of races, no major wars or events have ever taken place there…nothing special."

"Oh wait, now I remember. That's where the commander found his ring."

Tynzien turned abruptly.

"Ring?"

"Well, stone, actually. He found it, and he had it cast into a ring which he has worn since…but that's about it…"

"Lyre, what kind of stone was it. Can you remember?"

"How can I not? He was showing it to everyone. Which is strange, because it wasn't a precious stone. It was just a piece of metal. Even polished and set in a ring it didn't look very special. But Parkussion insisted it had a special kind of "dark beauty" which only he could see…"

"Lyre…" Tynzien said with growing apprehension. "What did the metal look like?"

"Um…pretty much like steel…maybe a tad darker…why?"

Tynzien turned around, his teeth rising in a snarl.

"Neuranium. Dark Ki."

"I think I hear voices." Sello whispered. Kwitare stopped, grabbing Sello to make sure he stopped moving forward as well, and pricked his ears up.

"I think you're right…but all these hallways are echoy…I can't tell exactly where it's coming from…but we'll find out, Sello. Let's go hunting."

Lyre was suitably confused.

"Dark Ki?"

"It's a long story, Lyre…" Tynzien said, and told Lyre of the evil mocking opposing force of ki, which Tynzien given the rather unoriginal name of Dark Ki, and of the mad scientist named Malleus Malefictorium who had tried to free the power and become a god.

"Malleus did say he only found a small chunk of the metal… and if an entire core if floating out in the universe in pieces… it's possible that Parkussion found an extremely small piece of it."

"What? Is my commander possessed? If we destroy the ring, will he be free…?" Lyre asked.

Tynzien sighed. He was reaching a conclusion on what little that he knew about the Dark Ki, and it did not look good.

"Lyre, Dark Ki is an evil force, a single minded evil force. Once a person comes into possession of the neuranium that Dark Ki is sealed in, the Dark Ki immediately goes to work on the person's mind, speaking to them and turning them to the Dark Ki's desire to be free…using them…offering them the power of a god in return."

"A force that has sentiance?" Lyre said incredulously.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either." Syria muttered from her corner.

"But Malleus had no power before the neuranium he found granted him it. Parkussion already had a great amount of power. Since the piece was so small, the Dark Ki within it's power must have been minimul…not enough to turn Parkussion's mind to it's goal of being free. I think that the ki in Parkussion's body and soul must have fought with the Dark Ki…and the Dark Ki lost. It couldn't possess Parkussion…but it kept trying. It began by planting suggestions in his head…the idea that he was the future…the idea of reclaiming the glory he had once…whispering to Parkussion a dark twisted version of his own desires. I guess its goal was that even thought it couldn't possess Parkussion like it had with Malleus and others, if it kept telling him these things, it might warp Parkussion enough so that the ki within Parkussion would weaken, and it could seize control. But it failed. And in the process, it drove Parkussion insane."

"And my friends? How about them? Can they be saved?"

Tynzien looked ill.

"Your comrades…you said your commande's madness seemed to infect them...that they lost who they were and became faantical supporters of Parkussion's vision. I think this happened because when the Dark Ki failed to possess Parkussion…it started using him to spread Parkussion's message…or the Dark Ki's warped message, which is really what it was. Perhaps it was trying to use one of your comrades in the way it failed to use Parkussion. That fact that Parkussion could manipulate emotions probably accelerated the matter. But…even with that…it failed also. The Dark Ki, after all it's efforts, could not bend Parkussion or his troops to his will…but…it inadvetingly turned them into whole new people in the process, all without their knowledge…and if that is true…"

Tynzien looked at Lyre, and his face told him that Tynzien didn't have to finish his sentence.

"So that means…" Lyre said.

"We have no choice…" Syria said from her corner. "It's not just your commander who is beyond hope…it's all your comrades as well. We have to…"

"No…I can't…they're my friends…"

"Lyre, they're gone. Your commander's hidden desires and the Dark Ki…it's turned them into something else, something the 844^th Yarwus would have never been or believed… you are the only one to escape. I don't know how you escaped the Dark Ki when it changed your commander and all your friends…but somehow, you did. Only you have your mind and sanity intact…only you tried to disagree with your commander…only you tried for peace. That must mean something."

"It means I'm more alone then anyone could believe. Not only I have been exiled from my planet, I've been exiled from my fellow soldiers…I wish I had gone mad with them…"

"No Lyre. You aren't a soldier any more. Neither are they. You're a warrior. And no matter what path you choose, a warrior is never truly alone. The fighting spirit…ki…binds us all…no matter our species, way of living, or beliefs."

Tynzien had stood as he spoke and as Lyre watched he suddenly reached over and touched Lyre's ki manacles. With a sparkling flash, they disappeared. Lyre stood up dumbly, looking at his hands.

"But why…?" Lyre asked.

"Stand with us now Lyre. We have to kill your comrades and commander. You know that we have to."

The voices had gotten louder and louder as Kwitare and Sello had walked along, and eventually, if they had wanted to, the two Nameks could have even followed the conversation. But that was not to their interest.

Until they finally began to realize that Lyre's voice was mixed in amongst the other ones.

"Lyre! He's speaking with them!" Kwitare hissed as he came to this realization.

"What? Is he being interrogated?"

"I don't know…I don't here any yells or screams of pain…but they could have already broken him…the weak minded fool! No wonder he planned to betray us…even since he declined to join us in fusing he has become weaker and weaker."

"At least dealing with him will be no trouble...." Sello began to reply, but Kwitare cut him off as they rounded a corner.

"There. That's the room where the voices are coming from. Charge up, we're going in."

"Kill…them…? All of them…?" Lyre said, absentmindingly rubbing his wrists.

"Yes Lyre. I know the pain…but we don't have a choice."

"No…I can't…" Lyre said, his emotions and his sense of duty warring within him. "Why can't we just leave them here…let the planet claim them…"

"Too risky, Lyre. God knows what might happen. We have to make a stand, and take them down, together."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"To kill my commander…" Lyre began to say. If one looked closely at how he said the sentence, it would be clear that he was again asking a question of himself, if he could actually do it.

But if looked at, or more precisely, listened to, another way, with a sweeping "glance", it might have sounded like an answer. An answer that symbolized a decision.

And then all hell broke loose, as Kwitare, who had heard the whole think clearly, who had felt his rage grow and grow as he listened to Lyre plotting with the occupants of the ship, finally exploded and leapt into the room, decloaking in mid-leap as he charged a ki blast on his hand. The surprise in the room was shared by everyone save Kwitare. Even Sello, who had not been told they would be attacking, was shocked into stillness.

"TRAITOR! You plot with the enemy to kill us! Parkussion was right to order your death, and now your treason is worse then ever! I pass sentence! DIE!" Kwitare roared.

Lyre threw up his hands, tried to protest, tried to make his former comrade listen, tried to save him. But as he saw Kwitare thrown his hand forward without any mercy or remorse, saw the red ki blast shot from his hands and head straight for him, he truly realized that his former friend had every intention of killing him.

He was beyond redemption.

As the blast tore towards him, Lyre knew that with his hands in the position they were in, he had no time to do a proper block. He was dead. He closed his eyes and waited…

…and snapped them open in surprise as Tynzien rammed into him from the side. Tynzien had been standing to the right of the chair after he had let Lyre free, and as Kwitare had suddenly appeared and attacked, his mind reacted instinctively, and he leapt forward.

"Lyre, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Tynzien yelled as he shoved Lyre to the side. Lyre, his mouth hanging open in astonishment, turned around in mid-push.

And then Tynzien screamed as the ki blast tore through his upper chest. The cry of pain turned into a horrible gurgle as the blast pitched him against the chair, which he bounced off and fell to the ground, blood pouring from the wound in a river.

"Oh god, Tynzien!" Century screamed.

"Tynzien…?" Lyre asked in confusion. He couldn't believe what had just happened, that Tynzien had taken the blast for him. It didn't make any sense to him.

"ARGH! I missed!" Kwitare screamed, and Lyre's eyes snapped from the gravely wounded saiya-jin to his former comrade. "Well, I won't miss this time. You have betrayed us, Lyre, and you must…GRRAACK!"

Kwitare never got to finish his sentence. He got off one last quick, gasping cry of pain before his head flew off his shoulders in a great gout of blood, as Syria, who had been standing in the corner next to the door, and had seen the whole thing, leapt into action, sweeping in behind Kwitare as her Energy Shyutou exploded on her hand. One quick slash decapited Kwitare from behind.

"Bastard." Syria hissed at the corpse as it fell, and then turned burning eyes on Sello.

Sello took in the situation. The woman in front of him was on the verge of going berserk with fury at the severe wound the saiya-jin had had inflicted on himself when he took the blast meant for the traitor, and the way she had killed Kwitare suggested that she would not show any mercy for him.

So he whirled and turned to flee.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Syria screamed as her other hand glowed and she fired a ki blast at Sello. But anger clouding her aim and Sello's fleeing form caused it to miss his head and instead tear through his upper shoulder. Sello screamed from the wound, but kept going, turning around the hallway. His eyes danced crazily. He couldn't remember the way out, and with the computer controlling the whole ship he doubted he would be able to find it easily. And the woman would be on his ass in a second.

So as Syria blasted down the hall after the Namek, he reached up and let loose with all the ki he had been charging for the battle that should have killed the saiya-jin, the woman, and the traitor, throwing it at the ceiling.

Century, her attention fully focussed on her wounded best friend, was suddenly aware of the Namek's escape attempt as he blew a hole through all the upper decks and out through the roof. She snapped on a camera and saw the Namek, holding his wounded shoulder even as blood continued to gush through his fingers, fly up through the hole as Syria turned the corner. Not perturbed, she immediately followed the Namek out.

Sello blasted from his hole, and Century tried to turn on the shields to trap him. But she was too late, as fear, desperation, and adrenaline gave Sello just enough time to get out of their reach. As Syria emerged from the hole in the ship, she saw Sello fly off into the horizon, back towards his ship. She growled in fury. She didn't have time to waste on him. Tynzien was badly hurt. Turning around, she zapped back to the room where she had left him.

Century had several droids around Tynzien, but Syria easily swept them aside as she knelt down beside her friend.

"Tynzien...oh no…" Syria whispered in horror as she saw just how bad the wound was. Tynzien, however, smirked.

"Oh, it's just a scratch…I'll be…" Tynzien gasped, and then coughed, causing a flow of blood to well up from within his mouth, which ran down his chin and sprayed on Syria.

"Syria, that blow has injured his heart. Get him to the healing tank, NOW!" Century screamed. Syria didn't need to be told twice, as she carefully scooped up Tynzien and took off for the medical room as fast as she could.

"It's gonna be all right Tynzien…just hang on…please don't die on me…" Syria whispered to her best friend as she headed down the hall.

Through it all, Lyre had stood, staying out of the way and watching dumbly.

"Why…I tried to kill him…why did he sacrifice himself for me…I don't…understand…" Lyre said to the air, before slowly following the Raeus woman, leaving the droids to clean up Tynzien's spilled blood.

Sello flew as fast as he could, trying to ignore the burning in his shoulder. He landed in front of the Rage of War and stumbled up the ramp, gasping for air.

"Commander! Lord Parkussion! Commander!" Sello yelled, as he lurched down the hall, clutching his wound. He turned the corner.

And almost ran smack into Parkussion, who was standing there, as if he was waiting. Sello stepped back and almost fell down, but he managed to right himself.

"Commander Parkussion, Brass sir." Sello gasped as he took his blood-slicked hand away from his shoulder wound and slammed it against his chest, adding Brass's name when he noticed that he was standing behind Parkussion. "I have news…my comrades...Lyre...the saiya-jin…"

"Do you have the ship?" Parkussion asked quietly.

"What…no sir…operation to seize the ship failed…but Lyre…"

Parkussion's hand shot from underneath his cloak and seized Sello by the throat, grabbing him and lifting him up. Sello wheezed in surprise.

"Commander Parkussion…"

"You were told to not return unless the ship had been seized! You have failed to listen, and you have failed me as well. Now pay the price." Parkussion said evily as he brought up his other hand glowing with black ki energy. Sello's eyes went as wide as they could.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Syria pushed her tangled and sweat-soaked hair out of her face as she looked into the glass surface of the healing tank, watching Tynzien float there.

"Syria…you've done all you can. The wound is terrible, but I think I can handle it…fix it…hovering over the tank like that won't help Tynzien."

"Ok." Syria said in a dead voice, and turned away from the tank, sighing heavily.

Then her eyes lit up with anger, and she looked up at Lyre, who was standing in front of her.

"Well, I hope you're happy." She said.

"I'm sorry…" Lyre muttered, not meeting Syria's eyes.

"You're sorry? You're SORRY? If my teacher, my best friend…my…if he dies, you will BE A LOT MORE THEN SORRY!" Syria screamed.

"Syria, don't blame yourself. It's my fault. I should have been monitoring those Nameks more closely…but I was so caught up in Lyre's story I neglected my duties. I failed to keep Tynzien from being hurt, and I didn't stop that Namek. I am the one who has failed him…" Century said, and Syria swore she could almost hear genuine sadness in her voice.

"Well, it doesn't excuse the Jolly Green Man here. So tell me Lyre, do you see it now? Your commander ordered your death! Your "friends" tried to kill you without a second thought! Do you see now?"

"I…I can't understand…why did Tynzien do that…for me…after all I did to him…?" Namek stammered, unable to think of anything else.

Syria cocked her head and regarded Lyre with a look of half contempt and half wonderment.

"You really don't understand, do you? You're so wrapped up in your soldier's systems and your military beliefs, and you don't get it? Its called sacrifice! Tynzien did that for you, because he saw you, not as a soldier, but as a fellow warrior. It is a sacrifice that any true warrior like Tynzien would make for another he felt was worthy! Personally, I feel his heart is far too noble, but that's just me. When your friends tried to kill you, he, a virtual stranger, acted more like a friend then they ever could, now! I think you owe him, and you know what you must do to pay your debts!"

"Go up against Parkussion…" Lyre said.

"Yes. Come on. I'm not letting us get attacked again…" Syria began, pushing past Lyre and grabbing his arm, planing to guide him to a few areas around the ship so they could get properly ready.

Lyre shoved her arm off.

"No."

Syria whirled, her eyes again incredulous.

"NO?!? After what Tynzien did for you?"

"What Tynzien did for me, I am grateful, Syria. Do not think otherwise." Lyre said, with a look of intensity. "But what you said is true. I am a soldier. And I cannot go up against my commander."

Syria didn't think she could be shocked any more, but as Lyre pushed past her and walked off down the hallway, her thoughts were rewritten.

"HEY! Wait a minute!" Syria said as she ran after Lyre. She caught up to him as he was reaching the room that lead to the ramp and outside. "After all your commander did, after what you know about what he has become, you still refuse to fight him?"

Lyre turned, the same look of intensity in his eyes, but this time Syria saw beyond that, at the true core…an overwhelming look of hopelessness.

"Syria…I am a member of the 844^th Yarwus. A Vermarthuire Boloranusm." Lyre said, looking at the patch, the mark of his troop, sewn onto the shoulder of his outfit. "But they are both dead…and so am I. I am…was…will and always would be, a soldier. Now I am nothing but a pawn pushed by the cruel hand of fate. I am nothing more…I never was meant to be."

With that, Syria watched as Lyre turned and pressed the last few buttons. The door slid open, and Lyre levitated and flew out, flying off into the horizon and vanishing as the dark sky of the dead planet seemingly consumed him.

"Coward. Self pitying coward." Syria snarled, and turned to head back into the ship, not giving the fact that Lyre had not flown in the direction of the Rage of War, but in a totally different one, a second of her time.

Parkussion re-entered the main control room with Brass. Woodwind rose to his feet to meet him, abet with difficulty.

"Well?"

"My troops have failed. They are all dead. It appears that we will have to do the job ourselves, Woodwind." Parkussion growled, as he rubbed his thumb against his neuranium ring.

"Syria, you are not doing this." Century said as the Raeus woman furiously dressed in a new set of clothes. This outfit was coloured blood-red, to match Syria's fury. Her desire to avenge her friend worn on her back.

"Oh yeah, Century?" Syria snapped as she slipped on red and black fingerless gloves. "Well, I'm damn not sure letting those fucking Namek cocksuckers attack us again. They might damage the ship, and if they do that, Tynzien's healing could be interrupted. I will not allow that to happen. Tynzien nearly died for that fucking Lyre, and he turned out to be a spineless worm! Well, I don't need that Namek shithead to take the battle to Park Krushing or whatever the fuck his name is! They hurt Tynzien, they hurt me, and I'm going to extract my pound of flesh!"

Syria headed for the door, tying back her long hair and snatching a pair of her sunglasses on her way out. She set them over her eyes and headed for the main control room.

The robots were still cleaning up Tynzien's blood as she arrived, and the sight of it only increased Syria's fury. She stepped up to the main computer screen

"Century, scan the planet and give me that exact location of their damn ship."

"Syria…"

"DO IT!"

A series of calculations ran across the screen, and then a map appeared, two dots blinking on it.

"The red one is them, the blue one is us. Do you see?"

Syria studied the map.

"Got it. Smell you later, Century. I have a military system to exterminate."

"Syria, I said it before, and I'll say it again. You are not going!"

"Oh yeah, Century? Well then I guess I'll have to tear down the ship, because all the demons in hell aren't going to stop me from getting those bastards!"

"I don't need demons. You're not going. WE are."

A panel next to the main computer snapped open, one as large as a door. The lights on the computer dimmed, and the droids cleaning up Tynzien's blood suddenly stopped dead.

Then there was a metallic clinking, and then Century stepped from the panel in her robot body. Immensely tiny but inconceivably strong motors whirred as Century cracked her knuckles.

"I've known Tynzien longer then you, Syria. And while you know him well, I know him better. If I could feel love, I think I would love him. He is my dearest friend, as he is yours, and I am damn sure not going to let what happened to him go unavenged." Syria said, sweeping back the incredibly fine wires on her head that mimiced hair.

Syria smiled grimly, and thrust out her hand and clenched Century's cool, metallic one.

"Let's kick some ass." Syria said as the air began to crackle as she summoned her power.

"Let's." Century replied.

"Numbers and stealth have failed. I think that perhaps full out assault would be…" Parkussion was saying before the lone working monitor began to beep. He looked at it as Brass turned and went to the monitor to see what it had picked up.

"What is it?"

"Commander…the ship is picking up two high levels of power coming out the saiya-jin's ship…"

Then alarms began to go off, and Brass turned around, his eyes wide.

"Scratch that. Two immensely high levels of power, and they're heading right towards us!"

"The saiya-jin and his bitch are coming after us…I should have known it would come to this." Parkussion muttered, shaking his head.

"It's worse then that, sir." Brass said. Parkussion looked at Brass in disappointment.

"What?"

"………."

"Well, out with it!"

"I matched the levels against ours…they're higher."

Parkussion sighed.

"So fate has indeed decided to strike us down one more time. Very well, that leaves us with one option. Do either of you have a protest?"

"No sir." Brass said.

"No sir. I would be honoured." Woodwind said, again trying to get to his feet.

"Let us go then. Brass, help Woodwind. We will meet these two face to face."

Like twin bolts of burning crimson, Syria and Century cleared the mountains and headed down into the plains beyond.

"There's the ship." Century said, spying the Rage of War from afar. It was a mere dot, but it was rapidly getting bigger

"I have eyes, C-Girl." Syria replied, and increased her speed. Century matched her easily.

"I can see just why they would want our ship. Even from this distance I can see how badly it's damaged." Century said, her eyes glittering as calculations went on behind them.

"I don't care how much of a handyman's dream it is, I just want to kick some ass." Syria muttered.

"There's one point where we actually agree on." Century replied. "There, beings are coming out of it. We've killed eight, so there should be four left. Think you can handle yourself, Syria?"

"I can handle anything, anyone, or any situation." Syria replied, and then there was silence as the two blasted on towards the Rage of War.

"Here they come. Are you ready, Brass, Woodwind?" Parkussion said.

"Yes sir." The two replied.

"Good. We'll give these two a real surpise, right before we destroy them and claim the ship." Parkussion growled, his fists clenching underneath his cloak.

The wind began to kick up, blown up by the power that had begun to flow from Parkussion. Brass and Woodwind and Brass began to add their powers to it as the figures drew ever closer.

Then they were there, landing some distance from them, and Parkussion's eyes arched in surprise.

The saiya-jin wasn't there. Instead, there was what appeared to be another woman. Except it wasn't a woman, it was a machine, but Parkussion could only tell at a close glance. The mechanical body was so lifelike and so human looking. There were even upward bulges, ever so subtle, to make it look like the robot had been a woman wearing clothes who had been coating with an ultra-thin coating of metal. The metal had even appeared to have been wrapped around her hair to form metallic wires. It was amazingly realistic.

But Parkussion didn't care.

The five stared each other down. Century spoke first.

"So, you are the one called Parkussion?"

"I am he." Parkussion replied, nodding slightly. "If I may ask, where is the saiya-jin?"

"YOUR FUCKING GOONS HURT HIM! NOW WE'RE GONNA HURT YOU!" Syria snapped, baring her teeth in a snarl as she whipped off her sunglasses and crushed them in her hand. Parkussion looked at Syria, and grinned, chuckling slightly.

"Oh really, little girl?"

"Yeah. I don't care if you were the leader of the 9749 Yarwussies or whatever the fuck it is! I'm gonna shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be able to floss with my boot laces!" Syria yelled, striking a battle pose. Parkussion chuckled again.

"Sigh, such determination. Too bad you don't have the power to back it up." Parkussion laughed, and motioned underneath his cloak. Woodwind and Brass seperated and walked to Parkussion's side, each on one side of him.

"Oh no? Don't write checks your ass can't cash, Park Krushing!" Syria yelled.

"Oh, my dear, it is "Parkussion", and the only checking anyone will be doing will be you checking out of this life, along with that bucket of bolts!" Parkussion yelled, and thrust his hands out from under the cloak. Brass and Woodwind reached out and each seized one of his hands.

"NOW!"

And then there was a blinding flash as the three Nameks suddenly vanished in an explosion of light. Syria and Century threw up their hands to block the light out. Syria let out a stream of curses as she tried to see what was going on, but the light was utterly blinding, and Syria feared to look at it lest it overload all of her senses. She began to wish she hadn't destroyed her shades.

Then the light faded, and Syria and Century slowly put their hands down as the figure began clear.

Syria's jaw dropped.

Parkussion, Woodwind, and Brass were gone. In their place was a sole Namek-jin. This one was even bigger then Parkussion, with even greater muscle mass and imposing presense. If Parkussion had been a superman, the new Namek standing where three had once been was a god among beings.

"Oh shit…"Century muttered, her eyes flashing. Syria turned to the robot.

"What happened?"

"I should have predicted this. Nameks are a unique species, possessing many talents. One of them is for a Namek to fuse with another Namek to become one being…but I don't even recall three being able to do it at once!"

"Well, I guess we just saw history, because that's what just happened." Syria said, and the new Namek slowly raised his hands and looked at them in wonderment.

"It worked…we are one…we are all one…" the Namek said, staring at his hands.

"Hey! Asshole! Parkussion! Remember us?" Syria yelled, waving her arms, and the Namek raised his eyes from his hands and looked at the two females.

"I am not Parkussion…nor Brass or Woodwind. I am something else…something far greater! I hereby give myself a new name! I am…TORCHIXSTRA!"

"Great. Another name to remember." Syria muttered. The newly named Torchixstra looked at the two females and laughed.

"Is that what stands before me and the glory that will again be mine? So be it. I will destroy you, and then I will seize your ship, and I will go back to Namek and conquer all who stand before me! I will again be a hero!"

"It appears Parkussion managed to hang on to most of the main controls." Century said to Syria.

"So we're basically facing a more powerful Parkussion? I can deal with that. Let's amp it up, Century!" Syria said, and began to power up to her maximum limits, pushing herself to achieve levels she had never gone to before. Century began to charge up her infinate energy core. The ground began to rumble and crack beneath the women, and small chunks of rock began to levitate into the air.

Torchixstra laughed, and reaching upward, cast off the red cloak he wore, revealing his outfit of red, the colour abhorred on his planet and worn by him because of it.

"Let it begin!"

Then the Namek leapt forward at inconceivable speed. But Century and Syria saw him coming and threw up their arms to block.

Only to have Parkussion run through the small space between them. As Century and Syria tried to turn, Torchixstra whirled around and blasted back towards the two. He stretched out his arms and slammed them into the Raeus and robot, sending them blasting backwards from the sheer force of the double clothesline. Syria went into a mountain, the impact blasting a large crator into its side, while Century shot through several rock faces before finally losing enough of the momentum to stop.

Torchixstra laughed again, and calmly began to walk after the two females. He was in no hurry. They would most likely come to him.

Century pulled herself from under the wreckage as Syria blasted herself free.

"Give up girls! There's no way you can match all the fighting knowledge and experience in this frame!" Torchixstra said, pointing to himself.

Syria spat blood.

"FUCK YOU!"

And then the two women leapt at Torchixstra, battle auras blazing, and attacked him simultaneously. Torchixstra shook off the blows the women threw at him, blocking and dodging with ease as the two rained punches and kicks down onto him.

Syria made a noise of sheer frustration and her Energy Shyutou exploded on her hand, but as she swung it at Torchixstra he effortlessly grabbed her arm. Syria yelped and then gasped as Torchixstra reached down and wrapped his other huge hand around Syria's head. Century seized the opportunity and tried to kick Torchixstra from behind, but before she could he whirled and grabbed Century with his other hand by her head, while he used the other one to continue holding Syria by her head. Yelling, he slammed the woman's skulls together, and as they reeled from the blow, he threw them upward into the air. As gravity seized them, Torchixstra took a step forward and pistoned his hands backwards over his shoulders, smashing both Syria and Century at the same time as they came down and sending them both smashing into a cliff face. Torchixstra whirled and his eyes blazed red, before twin beams shot from his eyes and struck the cliff face, touching off a massive detonation of power. The wind buffeted him and smoke spread everywhere.

Then there was silence.

"Was that all? I'm rather disappointed." Torchixstra said, looking at the smoking crator. "It just took that to blast them to oblivion. Pathetic."

Then the ground underneath him began to shake. Torchixstra looked down and saw the ground cracking underneath him, or more precisely, underneath and BEHIND him.

"What the…?"

Then Century exploded outward from under the ground, having tunneled under the Namek from behind.

"SURPRISE!" Century yelled before she snapped her leg out and smashed Torchixstra across the jaw with an air twisting roundhouse kick. Torchixstra snapped backwards and flew right into Syria, who belted him with a jab in the back of the head. Torchixstra stumbled forward and Century met him with repeated punches into his stomach before smashing him upward with an uppercut. As Torchixstra flew skyward, Syria's battle aura exploded and she leapt up after him, flying up until she back to back with him. Torchixstra tried to turn to see was she was doing.

Then Syria flipped backwards in mid air and her foot connected to Torchixstra's face in a sommersault snap kick, sending the Namek rocketing into a mountain. It shuddered, and then Syria threw dozens of ki balls at it, blasting it to oblivion.

"I am woman. Hear me roar, asshole." Syria snapped, flipping the destroyed mountain the bird.

Then Torchixstra exploded from the wreckage, screaming his rage. He threw his hands out and sent a spiraling ki blast upward at Syria. Syria blurred aside and the blast flew off into space, blowing up one of the planet's dead moons. Torchixstra was unperterbed, and as he drew level with Syria he thrust out his hand. His palm glowed and a green ki ball blasted from it. Syria reared back her arm and whacked it aside, sending it off into the distance. The planet shook and an immense mushroom cloud rose into the air in the distance from the explosion.

"You're stronger then I thought." Torchixstra said, holding his jaw as if in appraisal.

"Yeah, that's the last thing most males think before I blow them to oblivion!" Syria yelled and blasted forward, pummeling Torchixstra with thousands of punches and kicks done in seconds, but Torchixstra shrugged it off.

Until Century slammed into him from behind, causing him to spin around to face the robotic woman.

"Forget about me again?" Century asked, and then rammed her elbow into Torchixstra's face. Torchixstra yelled, and then yelled again as Syria drove her knee into his spine. Snarling, he reached out and grabbed the two women again, one in each hand. Raising them above his head, he thrust them downward and held on as he flew after them, holding them by their clothes. He headed for the ground, planning to slam them into it and push them all the way down to the planet's core if he had to.

Then the two reached up and grabbed Torchixstra, and using their combined strength, flipped him underneath them.

"OH SHIT!" Torchixstra roared as he realized that he would now absorb the full impact of the dive bomb.

But it was too late, as Syria and Century smashed him into the ground at terminal velocity. The ground rippled and then exploded outward, stabbing great chunks of rock into the sky as the force of the landing tore the ground apart. A great smoke cloud billowed upward.

Then two figures leapt from the cloud, and then Syria and Century landed next to each other.

"You think…that did him in…?" Syria gasped, her outfit now filthy and scuffed in several places.

"I doubt it." Century replied, sparks coming from a long gash across the side of her metal head and more from a larger one across her forearm.

A roar echoed out from the crator, and then Torchixstra exploded from the smoke and attacked the two women again, blasting them with explosive punches. The two women fought back, and the bizzare menage a trois raged all over the plains, the force of the blows ripping up the rock underneath them, as if the planet was covered with grass instead of rock and someone had driven a lawnmover over a large part of it in a large, twisting random pattern.

"You are starting to make me MAD!" Torchixstra screamed, and blasted Century with a concentrated air blast. Century's mechanical nature caused her to be affected less then other creatures, but it still thrust her back. Torchixstra then took advantage of a missed Syria kick to punch her in the gut as hard as he could. Syria crumbled, the breath going out of her in a wheeze, and then Torchixstra clamped his arm around her head in a headlock, trying to crush her skull between the massive slabs of muscle on his arm.

Century leapt at the Namek, but he reached out and grabbed her in mid-leap. Then he spun around in a 360 pattern, holding Syria the whole time, and hurled Century back the way she had come. As Century bounced along the ground, Torchixstra curled his hand into a fist and began to punch the captive Syria repeatly in the face.

"ONE! TWO! THREE STRIKES, YOU'RE OUT!" Torchixstra yelled as he completed the punches and reached behind the arm holding Syria to grab the back of her outfit. Getting a firm grip on the back of her shirt, he released his headlock and grabbed her hair with his other hand. As Century began getting to her feet, Torchixstra hurled Syria at her. The Raeus woman slammed into Century and they both went toppling down.

"Ha! You thought you could beat me? Foolish girls!" Torchixstra mocked, and charged again, sprinting at the two women as they both tried to get up. His hand glowed with black energy as he prepared to blast them at close range.

But as he bore down on Century, who was almost fully upright, she suddenly dropped back down on her back. Before Torchixstra could correct himself, Century slammed her left leg against Torchixstra's upper feet and twisted herself around to her stomach as she brought her right leg upward, slamming it into the crooks of Torchixstra's knees. As Torchixstra fell forward, his legs knocked out from under him by Century's leglock, Syria thrust her body backwards and up, as if she was trying to get up by backflipping to her feet, and Torchixstra fell right into her rising feet. His head snapped upward violently as his body twisted and his legs flew upward as the force knocked him ass over elbows. As Syria landed on her feet, she spun on her heel and slammed a roundhouse kick into the small of Torchixstra's back. With a howl of pain and rage, Torchixstra blasted across the rock plains and crashed into a cliff face. Surprisingly, the rock face stayed together.

Century spun up to her feet, as Torchixstra roared again as he pulled himself from the cliff face. He stood, panting with rage, his eyes on fire and his fists clenched so tightly his green knuckles were white.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" he screamed.

"Why is it always that?" Century asked Syria as she brought her two arms up in a strange position. "Why can't they ever say anything besides "You're dead!" or "I'm gonna kill you!". Villians, so unoriginal."

Then Century clenched her right fist so that only her fore and middle fingers were upright, and then she slashed the air with them at a 45-degree angle.

And as she slashed, a massive black energy ribbon appeared in front of Century at the same angle. It was at least twenty feet across, and as Syria stared at it in amazement, Century brought her left arm up with the fingers in the same position and slashed the air again. Another black energy ribbon appeared in the sky, intersecting with the first one and forming an X.

"What the…?" Torchixstra said in confusion as he watched this happen. Her shape complete, Century slammed her arms down and curled both her hands into true fists.

"SHADOW DESTROYER X!"

Then Century leapt up and seemingly punched the center of the black energy X, and then the letter was blasted at Torchixstra, propelled by a massive surge of black energy that had exploded from Century's clenched fist.

As the attack bore down on him, Torchixstra smirked contemptuously and set his legs, and then brought up his hands with a yell.

Then the X slammed into him, and he began to growl with effort as he tried to hold the attack back. Syria threw up her hands as a hurricane force wind was tossed up by the forces opposing each other, bufferting her. Century barely noticed, all her efforts were directed at trying to penetrate Torchixstra's defense.

Torchixstra's legs crunched into the ground as the rock underneath them shattered. But even as his legs sank into the rock Torchixstra held the attack back. His hands began to smoke, but he did not let up.

Century's face contorted in frustration, and then with a scream, she brough her blasting fist up and spread her fingers, and then slammed her open palm down again as she brough her other palm down behind it. A massive surge erupted down Century's black beam and then it grew even larger then before, hurling unbelieveable destructive power at Torchixstra. His eyes widened as he saw the power surge coming.

"ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Then the full force hit him, and Torchixstra was tossed backwards like a rag doll, the black energy enveloping him. With a scream, his flailing tumbling figure was carried off with it.

Then the blast exploded, and Syria was thrown off her feet by the gigantic forcewave. She bounced along the ground, and finally came to a stop nearly a mile away. She shook her head and got to her feet, looking at the destruction in wonderment.

The crator was utterly gargantuan, at least five miles in diameter, and Syria didn't even want to venture a guess on how deep it was. She whistled to show her level of impression.

There was a slight wooshing noise, and then Century landed next to Syria. She'd ridden the shockwave out and had thus maintained more control then Syria. Syia cocked her head and looked at the robotic woman.

"Remind me never to tell you to shut up again." Syria said.

Century replied with a half-smirk and a noise of approval.

Then the ground began to rumble. Syria sighed.

"Just like Nahognos says. No one is ever dead when the smoke clears." She muttered.

"The N isn't capatilized, Syria." Century replied.

"Hey, how'd you like to be reprogrammed into a Mcdonalds order taker, C-Girl?" Syria shot back.

"Maybe later." Century replied as Torchixstra flew out from the crator and landed in front of the two women. He was not the worse for wear, as his outfit was torn and burnt, and a long thin cut on his chin was slowly leaking blood. But the worst were his hands and upper arms, which had been burnt and mangled into unrecognizable hunks of flesh.

"Damn you women…" Torchixstra hissed, in severe pain and showing it.

"Still thinking we're going to be an easy victory, Torch Mixup?" Syria mocked.

"Don't think it's over, Syria."

"Whatdaya mean, C-Girl? He doesn't have any more hands! What's he going to do, beat us with his feet?"

"Not exactly." Century said. Torchixstra's eyes glowed, and Syria snapped back to the defensive.

But Torchixstra did not attack. Indeed, he raised up his ruined hands, and with a yell of extreme pain, ki blasts slashed from his eyes and sliced them off at the upper arms.

"Holy shit." Syria said. "He's gone mad."

"No, he's still quite sane. Remember how I said the Namek species possessed many special gifts? Here's another one."

"ARGGHHHH!" Torchixstra screamed, and then new arms burst from the stumps, coated and glistening with some kind of bizzare birth liquid. The pain faded from his face quickly, and Torchixstra flexed his new fingers, grinning in saitisfaction.

"They can regenerate lost limbs." Century finished. Syria made a noise of anger.

"Wonderful. Abso-fucking-lutely won-der-ful. Do these Nameks have any other talents or abilities you haven't told me about?"

"Well, there's…"

Century never got to finish as Torchixstra suddenly leapt forward and renewed his attack, smashing Century in the jaw and sending her flying into a cliff. He swung a backhand at Syria, but she ducked and swept his legs out from under him and then spun back up to her feet and snap-kicked the falling Namek into the air. Flying up beside him, she twirled and smashed him with a discus punch, sending the Namek through a cliff face and into the ground.

Torchixstra bounced to his feet, glaring at the Raeus woman flying in the air. He thrust out his arm, and Syria, expecting a ki blast, prepared to dodge.

She did not except Torchixstra's arm to suddenly extend and lance at her, and was so surprised she was rendered motionless, until the fist smashed into her face and knocked her from the sky.

Syria hit the ground hard, but as Torchixstra leapt to attack her again, Century slammed into him from the side, carrying him back through the cliff face Syria had just sent him through and completely collaping it on them. Exploding from the wreckage, Century threw her hands down and sent a giant blast after her, blasting the crumpled rock to oblivion.

Torchixstra was barely fazed, leaping up and once again engaging the robot. Syria flew up to help, and the three fought all over the sky, before Syria slipped behind the Namek and managed to get her arms around his, locking him in a full-nelson. Century added a clanging headbutt, sending Torchixstra back into the ground.

Dark pink ki enveloped Syria's whole arm, and she thrust her hand up.

"NUCLEAR WINTER!"

The overwhelming storm of ki blasts exploded from Syria's upturned palm and came raining down to earth on Torchixstra's head. The ground below the two women was consumed by a cluster series of ever-larger explosions as Syria's attack rained down.

Finally, Syria let up and lowered her arm, panting and looking at the huge clouds of smoke floating below them. Despite her exhaustion, she grinned.

"That was my best one yet."

"Indeed." Century replied, as she watched the smoke and dust clouds begin to blow away. The two women slowly floated back down to the ground, landing with twin faint clacks.

Syria looked around at the devastated landscape.

"I can't see him…can you?"

"I'm looking." Century said, her eyes glittering. Syria looked at Century's metal body, which now had several other sparking gashes on it.

"Century, isn't that body supposed to be able to regenerate itself?"

"Yes it can, but I removed that unit so I could fit in more powerful enhancements. As soon as I figure out a way to make the unit small enough so that it won't interfer with my other parts…don't worry about me, Syria. I'll be fine. I don't feel pain."

"You lucky bitch." Syria muttered, looking at her badly tore outfit, tangled messy hair, and her battered body.

"Hey Syria, battle scars. A sign of pride."

"I guess so. Speaking of signs, this area needs some. Where are we?" Syria said, looking around.

"We started near Parkussion…or Torchixstra's ship, but our battle has carried us away. We've probably wrecked half the planet, not that there was anything to wreck."

"Ah. I was wondering where all the new mountains kept coming from with us being constantly thrown through them and blowing them up and all." Syria joked. Century looked at her.

"I've scanned…I can't find him. I think he's gone. Nice work Syria."

"Hey, you did all the work. I mostly just threw a few punches and got beat up, as I always seem to do." Syria chuckled again.

"Oh don't put yourself down." Century replied, raising her hand. Syria got her drifted and slapped palms.

"Girl power!"

Then the hand exploded from underneath them, a green wrecking ball attached to a pistoning arm. Syria shrieked as the hand missed her and smashed right into Century's chest, punching right through the metal.

"CENTURY!" Syria screamed. Century looked as surprised as Syria, as she reached up and tried to grab the hand as it began to glow.

"Syria…get away! GET-ARRRGGHHHH!" Century screamed as the ki blast detonated within her, blowing her to pieces. Shrapnal pelted Syria as she was tossed backwards.

Flipping to her feet in mid-air, Syria landed and stared in horror at Century's body, now scattered all over the wrecked plain. Then her eyes seized on the arm, which was pulling itself from the earth. It went up into the sky, and Syria's eyes followed it up.

There was Torchixstra, looking very pleased with himself, as his arm retracted back to him. He'd extended his arm from the air into the ground and had brought it right under the two women, where it had dealt Century a deadly blow. No wonder she hadn't been able to sense him, Century had been scanning the ground. Torchixstra was in the air.

"You're not the only one who can sneak around underground, ladies." Torchixstra laughed, mockingly waving a finger as if he was chastizing two naughty children.

"Bastard…" Syria snarled, and with a scream she leapt upward, her battle aura enveloping her. Torchixstra stood his ground and dodged Syria's furious punch before slamming a knee into her torso. Syria doubled over, and Torchixstra spun and smashed her with a horizontal hook kick, sending her earthward again.

As Syria smashed a small area of rocky ground into yet another interesting new shape, Torchixstra flew down to Century's scattered parts. It only took him a second to locate her damaged and sparking head.

"Sorry it had to end this way. I wanted to keep fighting you, but I'm afarid I have to put my foot down now." Torchixstra chuckled evily, and lifted up his leg over Century's head.

Then a panel opened and the robot's eyes went dark as a small flying droid flew out of the head and took off into the distance as fast as it could. Torchixstra look somewhat surprised by this, but he adapted quickly and looked up at the fleeing plane.

"Trying to run away? I don't think so." Torchixstra said, and raised a glowing hand.

Then he screamed as a sizzling blast of ki burned his ear off. Clutching the wound, he whirled to see Syria standing there, her arm out. He smirked.

"It appears your robot friend is leaving you here to die, the coward." Torchixstra taunted. Syria growled.

"You dare call her a coward? You are the real coward, trying to strike her down from behind."

"Oh, is that so? Well, your opinions matter little to me, as you stand no chance against me alone."

"Oh yeah? Well, Torch Fixup, here's what you can do with that opinion. Take it, shine it up real nice, stick it sideways, and SHOVE IT STRAIGHT UP YOUR ASS!"

Torchixstra just smirked again, which turned into a slight grimace as his destroyed ear regrew, and turned back into a smirk as Syria leapt at him, fists cocked. He whirled and intercepted her with a backward roundhouse kick, slamming his massive heel into her chest. Syria stopped dead as all her air went out of her in a wheeze, and as she doubled over Torchixstra laced his massive hands together and brought them slamming down on her back. She crumbled at his feet, and Torchixstra reared back his leg and kicked her, sending her through several rock faces.

As Torchixstra leapt after her, Syria staggered to her feet. Spitting out more blood, she ducked under Torchixstra's punch and went airboard, slamming the heel of her right foot against the massive Super-Namek's face and then twisting in mid-air and thrusting her other foot into it as well. Torchixstra staggered back and Syria laced into him.

It was like fighting a brick wall, as Torchixstra shook off the Raeus woman's blows and laughed at her, before bringing his left arm down in a scything knife-edge chop onto Syria's left shoulder. Syria screamed at the brief but terrible surge of pain as her shoulder twisted. However, it managed to keep from getting dislocated again.

As Syria grabbed her shoulder and tried to prepare for Torchixstra's next assualt, she realized it wasn't coming. Instead, Torchixstra was taking his hands away from his ears and shaking his head as if trying to clear the effects of an assault on his senses.

"Of course. You Nameks can't stand high frequency sound." Syria realized, as Torchixstra turned angry eyes on her.

"Now to kill you, you-ARRRGGGHHHH!" Torchixstra roared, his hands slamming back over his ears as Syria screamed again, this time in the loudest and highest tone she could. Torchixstra's face contorted in pain at the noise, which did nothing to improve his looks. Syria made it even worse as she slammed her fist into his face, sending the Namek shooting backwards through another mountain. Syria fired a few hundred blasts after Torchixstra and the mountain collapsed on him in a flaming shower of ruined rock.

Roaring, Torchixstra exploded from the crator and lanced at Syria, but just as he was about to attack Syria screamed again and Torchixstra again instinctively threw his hands to his ears to try and block out the sound that was so incredibly painful to him. Syria threw herself into another onslaught on Torchixstra, slamming a side kick into his gut, then comboing it into a twisting back hook kick and a leaping roundhouse spin kick, sending Torchixstra rocketing into the air. Syria zapped after him and, lacing her fingers together, called apon every single ounce of strengh she possessed and axe-handled Torchixstra in the gut. Torchixstra gasped and coughed up blood, before Syria spun in the air and smashed the Namek with a downward heel kick, sending him into the destroyed rock plain below.

"Ok girl…give it everything you got…" Syria said as she thrust her hands to the side and began to gather ki energy. She had greatly admired Tynzien's Heaven-Splitting Violent Light, and she had set out to develop her own simular attack. Now, it was time to use it.

Red ki exploded on her hands and began to grow, beams of light spraying from between her fingers. As the ground below her began to rumble and crack, and a huge field of pebbles began rising into the air from the power being summonedm Syria gritted her teeth and continued to pour power into it, channeling more energy then she had ever conceived of commanding.

And then Torchixstra, roaring his rage, blasted out of the ground where Syria had buried him and headed straight for her. Syria's eys shot up. NO! I'm not done gathering yet!

"YOU WILL SUFFER!" Torchixstra bellowed. Syria watched him coming and screamed again, but this time Torchixstra did not stop. The scream affected him, as his face showed the noise wracked him with pain. But his rage and determination had become so great that not even the terrible torment that high-pitched noise caused him could stop him.

Fear shot into Syria's stomach and heart, even though the feeling disgusted her. I just need a few more seconds…if I can just…push mysef…

As Torchixstra closed the distance, his fists raised to pummel Syria to oblivion, Syria inhaled and screamed again, somehow managing to push her vocal cords to go even higher and louder.

The shockwave of pain that this caused in Torchixstra was too great for even him to ignore. With an uncharacteristic noise, almost like a squeal, Torchixstra again stopped his attack, his hands flying to his ears.

Syria half-grinned, half-snarled. Not only had the attack bought her the little time she needed, it had left Torchixstra vunerable. As the Namek began to lower his hands, recovering from Syria's senses shock, Syria thrust her hands forward at him.

"GENOCIDE HEAVEN!"

Torchixstra's eyes widened as the red ki ball between Syria's hands exploded and lanced a huge red blast at him, as if Syria had taken command of the fires of hell themselves and brought them to bear against him. The blast struck his chest and sent him downward, screaming all the way as the terrible ki energy burned him.

Syria threw up her hands as the blast hit the ground and exploded. The shockwave slammed into her, but she was prepared and rode it out, barely moving at all as she waited for the light to fade. When it did, she lowered her arms and stared in awe at the huge cloud of smoke and dust before her, rising seemingly off the world and into the cold eternity of space.

"Wow…did I do that?" Syria said to herself. Then she shook her head. She could marvel at her own power later. Right now she wanted to see if there was a corpse down there. If there wasn't, she'd go swiftly about making one. If there was one, she wanted a trophy.

Syria grimaced and put her hand to her throat as she slowly descended downward. There was a terrible burning sensation in the back of it, and it bothered Syria enough to temporarily take her mind off her various other injuries.

One thing I like about battle…it takes your mind off non-serious injuries…but it also gives you more injuries…life can't ever make anything perfect, can it? Syria mused as she looked at the clearing smoke.

Then her jaw dropped slightly. The crator that her blast had left was so deep she couldn't see the bottom of it.

Holy shit. I wonder if I drilled Torch Bitch Pup right to the core of…SHIT.

The last bit of smoke was blowing away as Syria finally landed, to reveal Torchixstra, standing with his arms crossed and looking at Syria.

While the Namek was alive, he had definitely suffered the effect of Syria's blast. His outfit was even more torn up then before. It was even more shredded then Syria's. Blood was slowly leaking from his cut chin and a new cut across his right cheek, intersecting one of his old battle scars.

But he was alive, and with no apparent crippling injuries.

Syria licked her lips in a slight amount of nervousness. She'd put everything she'd had into the Genocide Heaven, and Torchixstra had survived it.

"Well little girl, I thought for sure you would be dead thirty seconds after I took care of your metal friend! Instead, not only are you alive, but you managed to hurt me. A girl like you, managing to take the greatest warrior ever to a decent fight! I never would have thought it."

Syria gritted her teeth in anger as Parkussion lowered his arms and his laughing tone and face turned dead serious once again.

"But you failed. And I have grown tired of this."

The rage exploded through Syria, and she opened up her mouth to scream again. And this time, she wasn't going to stop until Torchixstra was on the ground begging for mercy.

But to her shocked surprise, no scream emerged from her throat when she tried to make one. Instead, all that emerged was a ragged noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a weak cough, along with the burning pain in the back of her throat increasing in the process. Torchixstra's eyes shot up at this, and then a cruel smirk crossed his face as he realized what it meant.

Syria realized it at the same time.

"Oh no. I lost my voice." Syria thought out loud, and nothing made the realization slam home harder then the way her voice sounded as she said it. She had meant to speak in a normal tone, and what had emerged was a faint whisper even Syria had trouble hearing.

"Huh. No more screaming. Pity…for you." Torchixstra snickered.

And then he blasted forward, enveloped with burning green fire, and slammed his knee right into Syria's face in a leaping knee lunge. Syria, thrown backwards, felt pain blossum out through her face as her nose broke with a sickening crack. But Torchixstra wasn't done, leaping after Syria's flying body and catching up to her in a second. He swung his leg and smashed her across the back with a kick. Syria completely lost her sense of direction as she crashed through several more rock faces before her momentum finally slowed down enough for one to stop her.

Coughing, Syria staggered to her feet, and then barely managed to duck down as Torchixstra came roaring up to her, swinging his leg in another kick. Having successfully dodged it, Syria put her hand down and shifted her weight to it as she pushed up and delivered two angled thrust kicks to Torchixstra's gut and upper torso before she spun on her palm and flipped to her feet. Torchixstra threw another punch at her, and she threw up her arms to block.

The pain was so great that both of Syria's arms nearly went numb, but she tried her best to ignore it as she shifted gears and started blazing Torchixstra with punches and kicks, hoping she might be able to use her speed.

It was futile. Torchixstra blocked and dodged most of her hits, and the ones she was able to land he laughed off. Cursing inwardly, Syria tried to fake Torchixstra out by pretending to lunge to one side and then going the other way, but he saw through it and grabbed her in mid-lunge. Lifting her over his head, he slammed her into the ground hard, cracking the rock. Syria gasped and then choked as blood welled up from inside her and came spilling out from her mouth, staining the ground dark crimson.

Despite her agony, Syria rolled to the side and flipped to her feet as Torchixstra stomped his foot down on the ground where she had once been, trying to pound it through her chest. Leaping to her feet, Syria's Energy Shyutou materilized on her hand, and she slashed the ki blade at the Namek. Torchixstra jerked her head back to avoid her first slash and then grabbed her leg when she spun and tried to thrust kick him. He began to smirk and then yelled in pain as Syria cortorted her body somewhat and brought the Energy Shyutou down on Torchixstra's gripped hands, slicing most of his left hand and a good chunk of his right hand off, even though she accidentally opened up a jagged cut along her calf in the process. The blade dematerilizing as Torchixstra reeled from his injury, Syria cocked back her arm and brought it forward with everything she had, slamming it right between Torchixstra's eyes.

The Namek's head snapped back violently, then slowly slid back into its normal position. Torchixstra locked eyes with Syria as again a cruel smirk adorned his face. Syria again felt fear clench her gut. The punch hadn't affected him at all.

Keeping the cruel smirk, Torchixstra raised her hands slightly as new fingers and palms regrew with a slight popping noise.

"My turn."

The blow was so quick that Syria couldn't even see it, but she felt it as Torchixstra pistoned his fist right into her face, dislocating her jaw and breaking her cheekbone as she was sent bouncing backwards at high speed. She skipped along the planet's dead rock surface like a flat stone thrown at a pond, her tumbling finally coming to an end nearly half a mile away from Torchixstra.

Syria staggered to her feet, feeling blood running down her back in steady streams from the multitude of cuts that her trip had caused to be opened up. The abnormal shape her face was with due to her injury scared Syria, so much that even though she had no real idea what she was doing, she reached up, grabbed her jaw, and attempted to pop it back into place.

She was extremely lucky, as she got it mostly right, but the terrible pain it caused didn't make her feel blessed. She tried to scream again, but all that came out was a low groan. Her vocal cords seemed to be too damaged to do anything else. The pain blurring her vision, Syria tried to find Torchixstra.

She was surprised to find he hadn't moved, and was still standing where he had been when he had hit her so hard. Syria shook her head and prepared to attack again.

Then, although she barely caught the movement, she saw Torchixstra's shoulders rise up.

And she realized that he had been waiting for her to see him…and now he was…inhaling.

Syria's instincts took over then, and she leapt into the air as fast as she could.

And then Torchixstra thrust his head and body forward slightly as a burning light welled up inside his mouth and then exploded outward in a gigantic expanding red ki blast. As if Torchixstra had become a fire-breathing dragon, the blast blazed across the ground in front of Torchixstra and obliterated everything standing before him as he moved his head back and forth. The mountains that had been behind Syria were enveloping with incinerating energy and consumed, not even leaving pebbles behind.

It was over in seconds, as the super Namek closed his mouth and marveled at his work, watching the huge cloud of dust, ash, and smoke drift upward and break apart to reveal the devastation before him. The crator was not deep, for the blast had been used to raze the area aboveground rather then having actually impact it, but it seemingly stretched as far as the eye could see.

Admiring his power, Torchixstra glanced up.

And then his good mood faded as she saw Syria lancing towards him, her right foot out to kick him in the face. She had barely dodged the mammoth blast, indeed, if she had been half a second slower the blast would have burned off her feet. Even so, she had been close enough to the apex of the energy discharge that her boot soles had been practically destroyed. Taking advantage of the smoke, she had tried to attack Torchixstra as quickly as she could.

But she was not quite fast enough as Torchixstra managed to shift slightly to the side and take Syria's kick on his shoulder instead of his face, which turned what would have been a relatively painful blow into a minor annoyance. Syria reacted to Torchixstra's reaction and spun to try and hit Torchixstra with her other foot, but Torchixstra's huge arm shot up and seized Syria's ankle in mid move. With a roar, Torchixstra slammed Syria down on the ground.

Syria took the hit on her left side and she managed a better imitation of a scream as her injured shoulder finally dislocated again. Shaking her head to try and clear the pain, Syria started to get to her feet.

Then everything in her head was ripped away by a new shockwave of pain as Torchixstra grabbed her by her injured left arm. Syria again tried to scream, but all that came out was a groan of pain.

"Well, what have we here?" Torchixstra mocked, and savagely twisted Syria's arm. This time the pain as so great Syria nearly blacked out. She stumbled and fell to one knee, but Torchixstra yanked her up by her injured arm and twisted it again. Stars danced in Syria's vision as the pain seemed to light every nerve in her body on fire.

Taking his other arm, Torchixstra clamped his huge thumb and forefinger on Syria's chin and lifted it up to look into her eyes, smirking briefly at the sight of the tears of pain that had streaked down Syria's dusty and bloody cheeks.

"Beg for mercy, little girl. It may please me enough to spare your life." Torchixstra chuckled. Syria's vision cleared and focussed on Torchixstra.

Then she reared back and spat in his face.

"FUCK YOU." She hissed. Anger contorted Torchixstra's features, and he let go of Syria's chin and twisted her injured arm up, exposing Syria's torso.

"Very well!" Torchixstra yelled, and slammed his fist into Syria's exposed body. Syria gasped in pain and then blood poured from her mouth again as Torchixstra again smashed his fist into Syria, breaking several ribs. Syria tried to mount a defense, but Torchixstra just punched her in the face, again causing her vision to swim. The Namek then thrust his knee into Syria's torso, slammed his clenched fist on the back of her head, and for a finale, lifted the severely injured Raeus woman above his head and brought her stomach down on his knee as hard as he could, shattering her sternum. Syria went limp, and Torchixstra tossed her on the ground in front of him. Syria hit and lay cumbled in a heap.

Syria tried to get up and found she couldn't. Her body seemed to be one big exposed nerve ending being baptized with a blowtorch. Blood continued to well out from her mouth, forming a small pool around her head that was added to by all her injuries.

Then she heard the sound of footsteps coming up to her, and then suddenly a hand reached up and grabbed her by her tangled hair. It was slick with sweat and her own blood, but the hand raised her up with an unfailing grip.

Torchixstra looked in contempt at the woman he was dangling in front of him, not understanding why the woman had bothered to fight on. With her friend, they might have stood a chance, but alone it had been futile from the beginning.

"Time to die, little girl." Torxchixstra said, and then clamped both his huge hands around Syria's throat and raised her above him. He began to apply slow pressure. Despite the ease of the battle, the woman had still managed to hurt him a few times, and he was going to make her suffer for it by dying a slow death.

Despite her exhaustion and her pain, Syria tried to get out of Torchixstra's grip, yanking at his hands. But she couldn't get him to release the hold on her no matter how hard she tried. The darkness began to close at the edge of her vision as her air was cut off, and nightmares of being choked by One back on Velas flooded Syria's mind. She redoubled her efforts, but even then it was in vain.

Torchixstra chuckled as the girl writhed and tried to get away, almost feeling the life flow out of her.

"Take heart girl. At least you died by the hands of the greatest soldier in the universe. Such a fate is almost unworthy for you, the bitch who murdered my…WHAT?"

Then Tynzien's foot came smashing into Torchixstra's face as the saiya-jin swooped down from the sky and kicked Torchixstra as hard as he could. The Namek's yell of surprise was swallowed as he flew across the plain and crashed into a mountain so hard it collasped on him without anything else needed to weaken it. Syria felt the grip release and felt herself falling, almost in slow motion, into she was suddenly caught. She blinked and tried to clear her vision.

Close by, a small robot plane that has been flying with Tynzien lowered itself to the ground and re-inserted itself back into a severely damaged robot head. The dark eyes suddenly flared back to life and flickered and flashed for a few seconds.

Then, wires shot from the head's destroyed neck and snaked across the ground, seizing other destroyed parts of the robot and dragging them back towards the head even as wires erupted from the destroyed parts as well. Within seconds the parts were all together, and more and more wires exploded as the robot body raised itself upward. A few seconds later, armour plating covered the wires even as a group of them exploded from the robot's metal scalp, and Century was back.

"Good to be back on my feet…I guess…" Century muttered to herself, and flew over to where Tynzien was standing, holding Syria.

Syria's vision had finally cleared, and she looked apon Tynzien in his black bodysuit and the shoulder-padded armour he had thrown on before he had taken off to help Syria.

"Tynzien…you're ok…" Syria whispered.

"Yeah, thanks to you Syria. Thanks for holding down the fort, I can see how much it cost you." Tynzien said, looking at the severe injuries of his best friend. The anger began to burn in him.

"Tynzien…"Century said, and Tynzien turned to the robot. "While Syria managed to stay near where my remains were, the damage Torchixstra did to me has ruined the various enhancements I made to my body, and while I was able to return with the body's regeneration program and put it back together…it's got hardly any power at all. I will fight if you wish…but I don't think I'll be much help…"

"No Century. I'll take it from here. You take Syria back to the ship and put her in the tank…"

Syria had been in the midst of trying to figure out how Century's parts had been nearby where she was, after all the moving around she had done, when she heard Tynzien's words. The question of whether she had gone in a big circle, gone around the planet, or something else was shoved from her mind as she tried to protest.

"No…Tynzien…I can go on…I'm not done…I owe this asshole…" Syria protested weakly before Tynzien put a finger to her mouth.

"No Syria. There is a difference with being brave and with being stupid. You've done all you can, and you've proven just how true your warrior soul is. Rest for now. I'll bring you back his head."

Syria managed a faint chuckle.

"Oh Tyn…you're a sweetie…only you can make me feel proud of getting my ass kicked…don't ever change that…about yourself…" Syria managed to choke out, and then she went limp. Tynzien's eyes widened in panic.

"SYRIA…!"

"Don't worry Tynzien, she's just passed out. Give her to me." Century said, holding out her arms, and Tynzien carefully passed Syria to her.

"What a heart…it makes me wish I had one…to go on…in the face of such overwhelming odds…and she even gave you a cute nickname in the process. I'll be back at the ship, "Tyn". I'll look after her. You deal with Torchixstra." Century said, and slowly lifted herself up and flew off into the distance with Syria.

Tynzien watched them go, then his ears pricked as the faint sound of rock moving. Torchixstra must have been severely affected by Tynzien's kick, but he was too powerful to be affected long. He turned his head to the noise and floated off the ground as he headed over to where the Namek had crashed.

Yelling, Torchixstra pulled himself out from under the pile of rock. It didn't take long for him to regain his composure, though, and the eyes he finally looked apon Tynzien with were cool.

"The saiya-jin. Here at last. I can finally avenge the murder of my comrades." Torchixstra said with saitisfaction. He glanced down at his severely torn red outfit and made a noise of dissaitisfaction. A slight glow passed over him, and when it cleared the outfit was whole and complete.

"It wasn't murder, Parkussion. It was self-defense that your orders forced me to have to take. But you could never conceive of that. Not anymore."

"I am not Parkussion! Parkussion is gone! I am Torchixstra, a being far greater then him! I am the greatest soldier the Yarwus has and ever will know! I have the power to conquer everything, and my glory, the glory that I had when I was a hero, will be given back once more!"

"Bullshit. You might have a new name, and a new form, and maybe even a new way of thinking, but you are still Parkussion. He's still pulling all the major strings…or rather, what Parkussion became is. But I know one thing. No matter who you are, you are not a hero. You are a tyrant. You are a true murderer. And you hurt people that are very dear to my heart. For them…I will destroy you."

The rage had been seething under Tynzien's surface during his speech, but as he finished up it began to bubble to the surface, as he thought of how close he and Syria were, of that sweet scent she seemed to give off, and how badly the Namek standing before him had beat her. The air began to hum with power.

Torchixstra blinked.

"What is this?" he asked, as a windstorm suddenly blasted up, tossing Tynzien's hair around his head. Tynzien smiled, but it was not a smile of joy or saitisfaction, but a smile of mirth, a smile of incoming destruction.

"You are strong, Torchixstra, but you are ultimately a creation of the Dark Ki. And they cannot stand before me! You hands have spilled innocent blood…including the blood of my best friends…and you WILL PAY FOR IT!" Tynzien screamed. Golden beams of energy suddenly erupted from the ground and swirled around Tynzien in a shimmering field as his hair finally flared up and exploded into the same crackling, blazing gold colour.

Torchixstra's jaw dropped.

"No…what is this power…?" he gasped, the waves of force coming off of Tynzien causing him to be slowly pushed back. The now SSJ Tynzien looked through the windstorm, the upward rain of pebbles, with his newly green eyes, and smiled.

"No…I am the greatest soldier that ever lived…what kind of power could…could…" Torchixstra stammered, his feelings telling him something and his mind screaming that it wasn't true.

"The power of the Legendary Super Saiya-jin!" Tynzien snapped. "Prepare for your last war, Torchixstra!"

"NEVER!" Torchixstra screamed, and inhaled deeply before the gigantic ki blast he had used on Syria exploded from within him again, blasting from his mouth and enveloping Tynzien. Torchixstra, sweat popping on his brow and sizzling away from the heat, kept on the pressure, turning everything in front of him in a mile radius to dust before finally stopping his onslaught.

"Ha! Legendary…no…" Torchixstra gasped as the smoke cleared to reveal Tynzien. He didn't even have a hair out of place.

"That was amusing, Namek. I think if you'd put more effort into it, maybe I'd have actually had to block. But oh well, what can you do?" Tynzien said, shrugging sarcastically.

Torchixstra snarled with anger and leapt at Tynzien, but hit nothing but air as Tynzien blurred away and disappeared. Torchixstra whirled around, trying to find the saiya-jin.

Then someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Torchixstra turned into the hardest punch he ever felt in his life, a blow so powerful it nearly seperated his jaw from his skull as he was blasted backwards, a loud boom echoing as he broke the sound barrier. He hit the ground and bounced along it before flipping to his feet as Tynzien raised his right arm.

"TRIAD BLAST!" Tynzien screamed, and then thrust his arm down and fired a blue ki blast at Torchixstra. Almost immediately, he brought up his other arm and thrust it down, throwing a white ki blast along with the blue one. As they shot at the Namek, Tynzien lifted both his hands and thrust them at Torchixstra, sending a much larger red blast zapping ahead of the other two. Torchixstra yelled and tried to block, but he didn't have time to set his arms properly as the red blast struck him and exploded. As he was enveloped in the flames, the other two blasts struck Torchixstra as well to combine into one huge mega-explosion.

Torchixstra lowered his aching arms and looked at the smoke surrounding him, trying to plan his next move.

Then Tynzien suddenly exploded out of the smoke directly in front of him and pistoned a twisting thrust kick into Torchixstra's gut, sending him flying with a cry of pain as he crashed into another mountain. The huge rock shuddered, and then the top of it exploded as Torchixstra blasted upwards from it, screaming his rage.

"DAMN YOU!" Torchixstra bellowed, and thrust up his hand as a truck sized black ki ball materalized above him that he proceeded to hurl at Tynzien. Tynzien stood his ground and threw up his hands to meet the ball. It hit his hands and stopped, and then Tynzien threw his hands upward and flung the ball into space.

"ARRRGGGHHHHHH!" Torchixstra screamed in frustration, and thrust his hands to the side. Two other ki balls appeared under his arms, relatively close to his hands. Torchixstra swung one arm out and a spray of ki blasts erupted from the ball and exploded across the ground in a chain of detonations that consumed Tynzien. Torchixstra swung his other arm and another spray of ki blasts erupted from the other ball, creating another chain of explosions that crossed where Tynzien had been standing. Torchixstra continued his offensive as he continued to rain ki blasts down on where Tynzien was standing, before he thrust his arms above his head and the balls flew to his hands. With a final yell, he hurled the balls down on the massive cloud of dust created by his explosions and the sky was consumed with light as a final massive eruption of power.

The light faded, and Torchixstra lowered his arms and laughed at the devastated landscape below him.

Then the smoke cleared and his laughter faded. Tynzien stood there, arms crossed, outfit slightly singed but ultimately undamaged, and looking up at Torchixstra with an amused half smirk.

"Ouch?" Tynzien said mockingly, and then blurred away. Before Torchixstra could do anything, he reappeared right in his face.

"My turn."

And then Tynzien slammed his knee upward into Torchixstra's jaw and comboed it into a twisting heel kick into the Namek's forehead. Torchixstra flew backwards and Tynzien zapped after him, flipping around and driving both his heels into Torchixstra's chest, sending him back towards the ground.

The Namek spun in mid-air and hit the ground with his hands, turning the impact into a series of backflips before he flipped to his side and began to run at high speed along the ground. Tynzien flew down and began to run alongside him, like swordsmen did sometimes during a duel.

"Running away?" Tynzien mocked.

"Never! I have just begun to fight!" Torchixstra bluffed. The truth was he was hitting the saiya-jin with everything he had and the saiya-jin was shrugging it off like it was nothing and treating him like a child in the process. Torchixstra had never felt so humilated, but he would not fall. He had a glory to obtain again, a destiny to achieve.

"Really? That's good, because this fight was getting boring."

"YOU IGNORANT LITTLE SHITHEAD! YOU BATTLE THE GREATEST…"
"Greatest? I don't think so, seeing how I'm stronger, faster, more resilant and better looking! You are the greatest soldier ever? I am the Legendary Super Saiya-jin, and did I mention, I'M FASTER?"

And then Tynzien suddenly stopped on a dime, and then literally lit the ground on fire as he blasted off in the OTHER direction. Torchixstra stopped dead, confusion written all over his face.

"What is he-AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Torchixstra screamed as Tynzien burned up to him from behind and shoulder rammed him directly in his left knee, ripping the limb right off at the joint. Torchixstra fell, clutching the spurting stump, as Tynzien rolled into a forward flip and spun in mid-air to face the Namek, who was groaning in pain.

"How…how…?" Torchixstra moaned. The saiya-jin had somehow managed to fly around the entire planet in a split second and hit his leg so hard that the impact severed it like a blade. Trying to swallow the pain, Torchixstra tried to get up.

"I suggest you surrender. You were pathetic before, but now you don't even have a leg to stand on." Tynzien smirked, running a hand through his gold hair. Torchixstra snarled, but he also smirked. With a yell, he regrew his leg, and took some saitisfaction at the look of realization and rememberance that flashed across Tynzien's face.

"Oh yeah, you can regenerate." Tynzien muttered to himself.

"You hurt me…NOW I'LL HURT YOU!" Torchixstra screamed, and leapt at Tynzien, throwing hundreds of punches in seconds. Tynzien effortlessly dodged the attacks, even when Torchixstra began throwing kicks as well, blurring away long before the blows hit him. Finally Torchixstra, his temper having barely been under control before, finally lost it and tried to punch Tynzien in the head as hard as he could.

Tynzien caught the Namek's hand, and when Torchixstra tried to punch him with his other hand, Tynzien caught that one as well. Gaping and making surprised noises of shock, Torchixstra stared at Tynzien and then screamed as Tynzien began putting pressure on him. He tried to hold his ground, but almost without effort on his part, Tynzien drove him to his knees.

"I've been toying with you before, Namek. Normally, I'm a nice guy, and I give people a chance. But when people try and repeatedly kill me, it tends to turn me off. So my mercy is over. Now the real fight begins." Tynzien said, and then golden lightning began to crackle on his form, dancing on his body as he powered up. Torchixstra tried to get away but Tynzien's grip was infalliable.

And then Tynzien yelled and threw Torchixstra above him, and then zapped up and punched the Super-Namek in the gut as hard as he could. Torchixstra gasped and then coughed up blood, and then Tynzien began pummeling him with punches, the onslaught so fierce Torchixstra was pushed upward into the sky by its rain.

"No…YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!" Torchixstra screamed, and then his eyes glowed. But as the beams of deadly light shot at Tynzien, he blurred away and the attack struck the ground, blowing yet another crator in it. Holding his aching midriff, Torchixstra spat out more blood and looked around.

Then Tynzien blurred behind the Namek.

"I beg to differ."

Torchixstra whirled and was then struck in the chest by the man-sized ki blast that Tynzien had thrown out of his right hand. He hit the ground with a bang and a swallowed Namekian curse.

Tynzien spat himself, then lifted up his hands as they glowed and let loose with an insane barrage of thousands of arching ki blasts. The roar of the assault swallowed Torchixstra's screams, and the planet shook under Tynzien's wrath.

Finally, Tynzien stopped and floated back down, mentally whipping up a wind to blow away the dust quicker. He landed and watched as about a hundred feet away, Torchixstra pulled himself to his feet, his outfit again in tatters and several wounds on his body dripping blood on the ground.

"This isn't possible…" Torchixstra gasped.
"That's what they all say." Tynzien replied with contempt. Torchixstra again made a growl of anger and thrust his arm at Tynzien, the limb extending and lancing at him. Tynzien jerked his head to the side and the thrusting hand flew past his ear. Torchixstra made another snarling growl and thrust his other hand at Tynzien, but the Super Saiya-jin ducked under the extending limb and leapt into the air. Torchixstra quickly withdrew his limbs and then pointed them at the sky, extending them at Tynzien. This time it appeared that luck was on his side, as the hands succeeded in clamping onto the saiya-jin.

"Now…you….what, NO!" Torchixstra wailed as Tynzien gripped the Namek's extended arms and yanked him up into the air by them, before flipping Torchixstra over his head and slamming him back into the ground as hard as he could. The grip was released as Torchioxstra's arms instinctively withdrew, leaving the Super Namek groaning on the ground.

"No…shut up…I can defeat him…not now…" Torchixstra groaned to himself, gripping his head as Tynzien, almost delicately, floated back down to the ground and began to slowly walk to where Torchixstra lay. Instead Torchixstra's head, a revolution was beginning to thunder. Parkussion, as Tynzien had said, had managed to remain the dominant personality in the new being he had become with his subordinates. However, his continued inability to even scratch Tynzien had caused the eleven other personalities to rise up, each wanting to survive and each wanting to take over and battle Tynzien their own way. It was as Lyre had feared, and now Torchixstra had a war going on within his head as a dozen voices clamored for control. It was immensely painful, but it was too late to reverse it.

"I said I can win! Give me some more time! Don't do this now…" Torchixstra groaned, as Tynzien approached.

"It's funny." Tynzien said, and Torchixstra looked up at the saiya-jin, who was standing several feet away and looking at Torchixstra's inner struggle. The understanding in Tynzien's eyes chilled Torchixstra. Somehow, the saiya-jin knew.

"You slowly exiled Lyre and marked him for death seemingly for refusing to become a fusion like you are…yet in the end he was the one who was right. His reason to fear the possible repercussions of doing things his elders…your elders…had forbidden…well, you are now experiencing what he feared would happen, only to a degree far worse then he even dreaded. I pity you, Parkussion, Torchixstra, or whoever or whatever you are, but I will show no mercy. If the beings you were are fighting for control of the being you have become…that was your choice. And your problem."

Torchixstra nearly broke his own teeth as he rose to his feet, his jaw grip was so tight due to his rage. Not only did the saiya-jin somehow know of his actions to become what he had become, but he was now mocking them for it, saying that the traitor Lyre, the one who had wanted to depose him, had been right. So great was Torchixstra, or more accurately, Parkussion's fury, that the eleven other Nameks within him fell silent.

"You…you…" Torchixstra snarled, and then screamed something that was incomprehensible to Tynzien, most likely something in Namek, and again leapt at him.

Tynzien snapped his head to the side to avoid Torchixstra's furious punch, and countered with a few of his own, staggering the massive Namek. On a roll, Tynzien blocked a clumsy kick and nailed another jab, which he comboed into a twisting backhand. Spinning on his heel, he smashed Torchixstra with a reverse roundhouse heel kick, which he comboed into a spinning roundhouse. Torchixstra staggered again, and then was knocked down as Tynzien finished off the combo and used the momentum he had built up to spin around again and leapt into the air, slamming Torchixstra with a leaping upward roundhouse kick.

Again, the Namek struggled to his feet, spitting out more blood and renewing his attack. But it was simply no good, as Tynzien blocked anything he did and countered with his own moves. After hitting another dozen punches and kicks, Torchixstra was down again.

The Namek swayed back to his feet, then fixed his eyes on Tynzien and let loose with another low snarling growl. He laced his massive hands together and ki energy exploded on them, enveloping them in flames. With a yell, Torchixstra again leapt at Tynzien, holding his flamming hammer above his head to bring down on the saiya-jin's skull.

Tynzien easily dodged the blow and countered with a punch to Torchixstra's torso that was so fierce Tynzien's fist bulged out Torchixstra's back, almost ripping right through the Namek. The pain was so great that Torchixstra stopped dead. As Tynzien stepped back, Torchixstra fell to his knees, clutching his mid-riff and with his eyes and mouth wide open in sheer shock and pain before another torent of blood gushed out of his mouth.

Tynzien didn't say anything, but his leg snapped up and smashed Torchixstra in the face with a snap kick, sending him flying backwards several feet. As the Namek groaned and tried to get up, Tynzien set his feet and thrust his hands down to the side. A ball of ki energy, blue beams shooting between Tynzien's fingers and raising a field of rock and debris into the air with the force waves it was emitting, appeared and began to grow as Tynzien charged up. He'd had enough of the being that had once been the finest soldiers of the Vermarthuire Boloranusm, and was going to finish it.

"No…I can beat him…I can…" Torchixstra groaned to himself, holding his head as twelve inner pairs of eyes watched Tynzien charge up his killing blast.

"Beat me? I'm afraid not Torchixstra! It doesn't matter of your lineage, or your past glories, or even the power you possess as the Namek you all became! For in the end, you are no match for the rage of a lone saiya-jin!"

"Let me fight!" Torchixstra suddenly said, but it was not in his voice, but in a totally different one. Had Tynzien been paying attention, he might have recognized it as Brass's.

"No! I shall defeat him!" came another voice from Torchixstra's mouth, this one of a soldier that had long ceased as an individual. More protests came as Torchixstra warred within himself.

"No! You fools!" Torchixstra screamed, holding his head. "He's going to kill us!"

"Perhaps that is our true fate then." Woodwind's voice suddenly said. "You saw his power. No matter what we did, we couldn't hurt him. What he just said is true."

Waves of force and dust were being blown away from where Tynzien stood, and the ground was again beginning to crack as Tynzien charged up his Heaven-Splitting Violent Light. Torchixstra stared helplessly. Woodwind's last words rang though his ears, and then the last thing the saiya-jin had said to him followed suit.

"I…no match for a lone saiya-jin's……………..rage…" Torchixstra whispered, realization lighting up in his eyes. "Wait, my allies! I have an idea!"

Tynzien watched as Torchixstra's slumped soldiers suddenly straightened and then the Namek charged at him.

Fighting to the end. I have to respect that. I'll let him hit me, and then he gets a…

But Torchixstra didn't hit him. As the Namek charged, he raised both his hands in fists, but instead of punching Tynzien, he suddenly spread his fingers and clamped his hand on Tynzien's head. Tynzien's eyes widened.

"What the?"

And then Tynzien suddenly felt a terrible draining sensation rip through him. It wasn't painful, but it might as well have been. Torchixstra released his grip as the saiya-jin staggered backwards, the burning light between his hands dispelling into nothingness.

Then, Tynzien's shining gold hair suddenly went limp and slid back to it's normal black. Slowly, Tynzien raised his hands and stared at them.

"What…I'm not a Super Saiya-jin anymore…how did you…oh who cares?" Tynzien snarled, and thrust down his hands to recall his ultimate power.

And found that he couldn't. The power that he possessed refused to come back. Torchixstra reared his head back and laughed.

"Well saiya-jin, you almost won! But you made one mistake! Through your continued flapping of your gums, you made me realize that your power was linked to your rage. And I command ultimate power over emotions! And with that gift from the Namek known as Parkussion…I have removed your ability to get angry."

"WHAT? NO! That's impossible! Even for you!" Tynzien yelled, but a sinking feeling was growing in him that the Namek spoke the truth, because Tynzien found he could not get angry. He thought of everything that had ever been done to him, everything that had ever wronged him…and found that it stirred nothing. Torchixstra smirked.

"Parkussion had the gift of manipulating emotions in others. It served him well on the field of war on route to becoming the hero he became. And in my frame, it is even mightier…and as you can see, it is truly effective. You cannot feel rage…no matter what. It is a block that lives as long as I do." Torchixstra smirked.

Then he zapped forward and seized Tynzien, wrapping one hand around Tynzien's hands and the other around his neck, taking the saiya-jin completely by surprise. As Tynzien tried to figure out how Torchixstra had become so fast, even though he knew in his heart, the Namek hoisted Tynzien up into the air, delighting in his new and "rightful" supremecy over him.

"Where are your taunts NOW, saiya-jin? Where is your air of smugness and cocky self-righteousness? Where are they that your power is gone, and that I am now the one who commands power far greater then-ARGH!" Torchixstra screamed as Tynzien's eyes glowed and blasted Torchixstra in the cheek with twin beams. The pain was brief but powerful, enough that Torchixstra released his grip. Tynzien flipped backwards, landing on his feet and striking a battle pose.

"You might have taken away by ability to feel rage, Torchixstra, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten how to fight! And I don't care if you're a million times stronger then me now, I won't give up until you're dead…or I am."

Torchixstra sneered at Tynzien, taking his hand away from his cheek and crossing his arms contemptously.

"I would say the latter is rather inevitable. Why don't you just give up? As a Super Saiya-jin, you may have somehow been superior to me…but as a normal saiya-jin, you are like an insect! Why not just surrender and swiften your eventual fate? There is no chance in hell that you can defeat me!"

Tynzien made a noise of half-amusement and half-defiance.

"Torchixstra, I have just one thing to say to you." Tynzien said, and then raised his hand and gestured at the huge Namek.

"JUST. BRING. IT!"

Torchixstra's amusement vanished, replaced by a smoldering anger.

"You are faced with impossible odds, and yet you refuse to surrender? You are even more stubborn then that bitch!"

"Bite your tongue." Tynzien growled.

"Very well, saiya-jin! I will crush you like the insect you are, that you always were, and I will do it in the most fitting way. Prepare to be trodden underfoot, Tynzien!"

Then Tynzien raised his arms up, clenched his fists, and emittted a low growling roar that rose steadily in pitch.

And then he began to grow.

Tynzien recoiled in shock as Torchixstra's huge frame began to grow even bigger. A triumphant smile spread across the Namek's face and then it was absorbed in another roar as Torchixstra continued to grow even larger. Tynzien backed up as Torchixstra grew from a giant to a collossus to a behemoth and beyond.

"Century…why didn't you tell me about THIS Namek ability…stretching and replacing limbs I can handle, but THIS…" Tynzien cursed as he continued to back up. A cliff face, recently created by the battles that had gone on above the planet's crust, loomed behind Tynzien. He leapt to its jagged, unstable perch and found Torchixstra still towered over him.

Finally, the Namek stopped growing, and Tynzien looked at him in horror.

"Dear God…he must be over two hundred feet tall at least…" Tynzien whispered, and then the air exploded with the booming sound of Torchixstra's laughter.

"Behold it, saiya-jin! Behold the shape of your destroyer! Behold the shape of…A GOD!"

And then Torchixstra lifted up his gigantic leg and brought the foot down on where Tynzien was standing. Tynzien was so shocked that he almost didn't make, but his senses came to him at the last minute and he leapt out of the way as Torchixstra's massive foot crushed the rock face to dust under his boot. Landing a few thousand feet away, Tynzien only had the time to leap again as Torchixstra turned slightly and brought his fist down on where Tynzien had been standing. However, this time Tynzien was thinking on his feet and as he leapt he thrust his hand at Torchixstra, throwing several ki protectiles at the massive Namek's chest. They struck and exploded, but Torchixstra acted as if they had never existed.

"Shit! I put nearly everything I had into that!"Tynzien cursed. Torchixstra laughed again and his eyes glowed before twin beams, once as small as Tynzien's finger but now larger then Tynzien himself, lanced at the saiya-jin. Tynzien ran for his life and the beams followed him, burning twin 20-foot wide channels behind him.

"Give it up, saiya-jin! You can't escape me!" Torchixstra boomed, his deadly beams closing on Tynzien's heels. Tynzien could feel the heat.

I think his growth has slowed him down…but not by too much…but any port in a storm and I have to use it if I want to survive! Tynzien thought desperately as the ki lasers chased him. Suddenly, he made an abrupt turn and started to run towards Torchixstra. The huge Super-Namek smirked.

"Do you think I can fall for such a simple ploy?" Torchixstra said, and raised his forefinger and fired a blast at the advancing saiya-jin. Tynzien did an ultra-quick blurred jump to the side and the blast exploded behind him, spraying his back with shrapnal. Undaunted, Torchixstra keep firing blasts from his finger, but his need to look down his ki lasers inhibited his aim and Tynzien was able to avoid the blasts by a series of side leaps, all the while pressing forward. Finally, he achieved his goal and ran through Torchixstra's legs, and the Namek was forced to stop his energy eyes attack to turn around.

"Come here, you little bug!" Torchixstra boomed, stomping his foot down and again finding Tynzien wasn't there. Looking up, he found the saiya-jin in front of his face.

"Say cheese, motherfucker!"

Then Tynzien let loose with a blistering barrage of ki bolts into Torchixstra's face. The gigantic Namek staggered backwards, his fists flailing wildly, trying to hit Tynzien, but Tynzien easily dodged the clumsy blows and kept up his assuslt until exhaustion forced him to stop.

Panting, Tynzien watched the dust clouds around Torchixstra's head vanish…to reveal Torchixstra's face, whole and seemingly unharmed. The massive mouth again smirked.

"Was that your best?"

Tynzien didn't answer, but instead flew upwards as Torchixstra brought his hands together in a thundering clap, setting off a deafening sonic boom. Tynzien ignored the pain in his ears as he flew behind Torchixstra, but the Namek anticipated the move and swung around.

"Too slow, saiya-jin."

And then one of Torchixstra's huge fists finally made contact, and Tynzien was sent flying like a rag doll, smashing at an angle through two mountains before being embedded in a third one. His vision swam and his ears rang, not to mention the immense amount of pain his body was in.

"What…power…I don't think even Malleus hit me that hard…how the hell am I going to win without my SSJ ability…" Tynzien groaned, his body in so much pain he couldn't even pull himself out of the indentation his body had made. He heard booming footsteps, and his vision cleared to reveal Torchixstra heading towards him, stepping over the two mountains like they were nothing. Instinct took over, and Tynzien pulled himself from the rock that was embracing him and stood on shaky feet.

"Still not dead? I am impressed, but that will not make me merciful!" Torchixstra boomed, and then opened his mouth as his terrible ki attack again exploded from within him.

The mountain Tynzien was standing on was utterly annihalated, and the planet wildly shook and ripped up beneath the power of Torchixstra. The Namek again smirked, and inhaling slightly, blew softly through pursed lips. The wind that blew from the Namek's mouth was enough to hasten the dispersion of the dust cloud.

"It is over." Torchixstra said triumphantly.

Then his jaw dropped as the smoke totally cleared to reveal Tynzien floating in the air, in the same place where he had been standing on the mountain before it had been destroyed, his arms crossed in front of him. Torchixstra was thunderstruck. The saiya-jin had somehow managed to block his attack.

As Tynzien lowered his blistered, bleeding arms, however, it was clear the attack had not been without cost. Tynzien's trip into the mountain had severely damaged his armour, and Torchixstra's mouth blast had finished the job. The only part left of the armour was about half of the lower regions of the chestplate, the rest of Tynzien's body upward was mostly bare skin. The only thing left was the damaged harness still managing to cling to his right shoulder and the shredded cloth running down Tynzien's left arm. On his right arm was nothing more then a torn white glove with a little hint of black cloth poking from it. Tynzien's pants were laced with simular cuts all over.

Blood flowed from open wounds as Tynzien lowered his arms, blood leaking from his noise and the right corner of his mouth.

"Not…just…yet…"Tynzien managed to spit out, then curled his hands into fists and thrust them down.

"KAIOKEN TIMES TWENTY!!!!!!!!!!!"

The red flame enveloped Tynzien, and before Torchixstra could even blink the saiya-jin blasted at him, a burning bolt of crimson fury that slammed into his forehead with all the strength Tynzien could muster.

The giant Namek was staggered by the blow, but he managed to keep his feet as he swung around.

And then the giant bolt of concussive force struck Torchxistra, and he screamed as he toppled over onto his back. Tynzien zapped above him, holding his hands to the side.

"HEAVEN-SPLITTING VIO-ARGGGHHHH! The pain! Can't control it!" Tynzien screamed, his attack fading seconds before the red flame around him did. Tynzien cursed. He had thought he would be able to control that Kaioken state long enough to get off a blast that could at least injure Torchixstra, but the pain had been too great.

Torchixstra had managed to sit up, and this event in the air amused him.

"That was your last chance, saiya-jin! Now you die!" Torchixstra laughed, and thrust his arm up. To Tynzien's shock, the mammoth arm extended at Tynzien.

"Dammit! I thought that if he grew he wouldn't able to do that! Curse my luck!" Tynzien yelled as he zapped away from the hand. But Torchixstra proceeded to extend his other arm and Tynzien nearly flew into its greedy grasp. Switching gears, Tynzien flew back down to the ground and flew away from Torchixstra, a plan brewing in his mind.

"You aren't getting away that easy, saiya-jin!" Torchixstra boomed as his arms contracted back to their normal length as the giant Super Namek got to his feet. He thrust out his left arm and again the arm extended at Tynzien's fleeing form.

Tynzien smirked inwardly. He had done exactly what he had predicted. As the hand drew close, Tynzien spun around and leapt into the air, raising his hand above him. A massive and roughly V-shaped gold ki protectile appeared above Tynzien's head.

"VIOLENT TALON PHOENIX!"

And then Tynzien hurled the massive ki blade at Torchxistra's extended palm. Like the blast that Tynzien had used to knock the Namek down a minute ago, this Violent Talon Phoenix had been created to only do one thing: cut.

And a terrible cut it inflicted, as it hit Torchixstra's open hand and sliced right through it. Torchixstra screamed in pain, but the ki blade was just beginning, as it lanced on, travelling right down the length of Torchixstra's huge extended arm and cutting right through the middle the whole time before it exploded through Torchixstra's shoulder and flew off into the distance, where it dispelled.

And as Torchixstra's booming screams of pain continued, the top of his arm fell off, thudding to the ground. There was relatively little blood, for the ki blade had cautorized as it had cut, but the pain was utterly astronomical. The other half fell to the ground as well and lay there, limp and dead.

Tynzien felt a hard smirk cross his face. What he had done might have been cruel, but he had no other choice. All was fair in love and war.

As Torchixstra continued to howl, unable to think of anything but his pain, Tynzien's battle aura exploded around him and he flew at Torchixstra, ki charging on both his hands. In the corner of his eye, Tynzien noticed a mountain range and was confused when a faint feeling of familarity flowed through his mind. I've seen and destroyed dozens of mountains, why should I recognize that one? They all look the same.

The thought was brief and fleeting, as Tynzien's mind turned back to the task at hand as he flew at Torchixstra, drawing level with his face. Torchixstra's eyes, clouded with agony, cleared enough to see the tiny saiya-jin charging headlong at him. The scream faded from his mouth.

And then the scream re-emerged as Tynzien thrust out his arms and sent twin ki blasts directly into Torchixstra's eyes. Having only one working arm, Torchixstra's hand flew into his destroyed optic receivers, bellowing his pain.

Tynzien stopped in front of the huge Namek, set his pose and began to charge. When Torchixstra took his hand away from his face, Tynzien was going to put a ki bolt directly through his brain. Moaning, Torchixstra's hand began to slide away. Now or never!

"HEAVEN-SPLITTING VIOLENT-AUGH!" Tynzien screamed as Torchixstra's huge hand suddenly shot out and curled around Tynzien, seizing him fast. His attack was again dispelled, and then Torchixstra smirked.

"You forgot about my ears, saiya-jin. With them I could see you even though you have blinded me…although not for long." Torchixstra growled. As the realization that Torchixstra had been playing possum on just how severe his pain was, Torchixstra's upper face clenched in a motion that might have been attributed to him shutting his eyes tightly, if he had had eyes to shut. There were some unpleasent biological noises, and then Torchixstra opened new lids to reveal a set of new eyes. Tynzien gaped. They can regenerate eyes as well? They truly are a species made for war…and that's not good for me!

"I have to admire your resilance and your brutality, saiya-jin." Torchixstra rumbled, as he looked at his destroyed left arm. He made a growling noise of pain as he sliced the remaining piece off at the shoulder, and then yelled as a new arm popped out. That arm reached down and curled around the fist that already held Tynzien.

"However, the fact that you oppose me, that your brutality has resulted in causing me pain, far outstrips any admiration I have for you! So now, you shall die, and you shall die as painfully as I can make it!" Torchixstra yelled, and began to squeeze. Now Tynzien was the one to scream as his body began to be crushed.

"No one defies me, saiya-jin. No one!" Torchixstra laughed. In an agony of pain, Tynzien did the only think he could think off.

"KA-IO-KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"ARGH!" Torchixstra screamed as Tynzien's body was suddenly enveloped in the red flame of the Kaioken, burning his hands. Instinctively, he released his grip, and Tynzien acted immediately, diving to the ground as he raised his fist above his head.

"EARTH'S FURY!" Tynzien screamed, and brought his fist down, smashing it into the ground. The Kaioken enhanced the attack, and the ki charge, normally only large enough to envelop a man, blasted upwards from under Torchixstra, comsuming his massive frame in a gigantic firestorm of burning ki. Torchixstra's bellow of pain could be heard across the whole planet.

Panting from effort, Tynzien slowly raised himself up in the air, looking at the cloud of dust where Torchixstra had been. He slid out the Kaioken state.

"The X20 charge exhausted my limits on how quickly I can maintain the charge so fast… if I can barely even keep a small charge going…then the Kaioken is practically unavailable to me until I rest…can I do that now?" Tynzien gasped.

Then it was silent. Tynzien floated, watching.

The smoke cleared, but Tynzien could see Torchixstra's huge figure long before it was all gone. But it was not the same. Torchixstra's outfit was smoking in several places, a charred wreck, and Tynzien could see that his bare patches of skin were badly burned in places.

"DAMN YOU…DAMN YOU SAIYA-JIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Torchixstra screamed, his inability to put away such a weak and inferior opponent finally getting to him. The voices in his head had fallen silent when Torchixstra had turned the tide by blocking Tynzien's ability to feel anger and thus his SSJ power, but the fact that he had still to destroy the saiya-jin were causing them to rise up again. Parkussion again had firm control, and he wasn't going to let it be weakened

But while his anger at his failure caused the voices to start speaking again, it also gave him speed, and he threw back his arm and thrust it forward in a thundering punch. Tynzien tried to dodge, but his exhaustion had finally caught up to him.

The blow was ever worse then before, and Tynzien flew backwards so fast the sound barrier broke. Like an out of control pinball, Tynzien went crashing through the mountain that he had thought familiar so violently part of it collasped. Exploding out the other end, Tynzien hit the ground and bounced painfully across it, a trail of smoke following him, until he finally came to a stop on his stomach.

"Oh dear god…the pain…" Tynzien coughed, as darkness began to creep into the edges of his vision and Tynzien tried to keep it at bay. Tynzien slowly raised himself to a crawling position and found even that simple move made him want to vomit.

Tynzien! Oh dear god what happened?

The voice ringing in his head nearly scared Tynzien to death, until he realized that it was Century.

Century? But how can you be speaking to me, unless…

Tynzien, getting to severely unsteady feet, turned around to see the Star Obsidian nearby, less then twenty feet from him.

I was just watching, and suddenly you just came blasting out that mountain! What happened?

Tynzien shook his head, looking at the mountain range in the distance, the same mountain range he had gone through, and realized why he had found it familiar. It had been the same mountain that had seperated the two different plains that their respective ships were on.

So…after all that…it's gone full circle…it began here…and it will end here.

"Tynzien? What happened? Why aren't you in SSJ state?" Century said, this time from the speakers on the ship.

"It's too complicated to explain. This uplink you put in my head allows you access to my memories, right? Read my most recent ones." Tynzien replied, spitting blood. He could feel the ground quivering slightly. Torchixstra was coming for him.

Century was quick, and it took her less then two seconds to retrieve the info.

"Oh no…he used Parkussion's emotion-manipulating power to block your anger?"

"It appears so…and it's my fault too. Not just because I gave him the idea, but because I should have trained myself so that I wasn't so reliant on my rage for a trigger…I'll look into that in the future…if I have one…"

"But Tynzien…in your current state Torchixstra's power far outstrips yours! And you've exhausted yourself with the Kaioken…what are you going to do?"

"Stand, Century."

There was a stunned silence.

"Tynzien…"

"Don't try to talk me out of it. Lyre said that the being I faced was once a hero…a hero destroyed and warped into this monster by that accursed metal ring he wears on his finger. What the Dark Ki is done, to me at least, is a crime, and I am going to deal out justice…or die trying."

"I'm fighting with you!"

"No you're not. If you leave the ship Syria will be at risk, and she's worse off then I am. But I will tell you what I you can do. If it appears I'm going to lose, leave."

"No! I won't!"

"You can and YOU WILL! My life is not worth yours and Syria's! If it appears my fate is sealed, I want you to take off and leave! At least that way Torchixstra will be stranded on this dead planet, with no way to use his awful power on anything."

"Let's leave now! We can all go!"

"Negative. Torchixstra would see us and shoot us down. Even your shields couldn't stand before the fury he could bring to bear against us. I won't allow it. So I will provide the necessary distraction, and if it comes to it…leave me."

"Tynzien…I…I…"

"Century, THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"………………….Yes sir. I will."

The booming was growing louder, and Tynzien could see Torchixstra's massive frame looming behind the mountain that had seperated the two ships. Despite his pain and the dire situation he was it, Tynzien half-smiled.

"Death on the battlefield in man to man combat. In the end, no better way for a saiya-jin to die. At least my blood's accursed pride is saitisfied with it." Tynzien said.

Then Torchixstra was stepping over the mountain, causing weaker parts of it to collaspe and crumble the mountain further.

"Here he comes. Century, raise shields to their maximum in case you get hit by any errant ki blasts…and if it comes down to it…leave."

Century was silent. Tynzien was secretly glad for it.

"So, the insect lives. You are harder to squash then a cockroach, you know that, saiya-jin?" Torchixstra boomed, taking a few more steps and stopping a few hundred feet from the Star Obsidian.

"My name is Tynzien." Tynzien said defiantly. Torchixstra laughed, a laugh that swept across the planet.

"Very well, then, Tynzien! Are you ready to bow before true superiority?"

"I will NEVER bow to you, Torchixstra." Tynzien spat. "If it means my life, the possible end of the saiya-jin race…I will not give up, and I will not let you have this ship!"

Torchixstra roared with laughter again.

"The ship? THE SHIP? I don't need the ship anymore! I am a god! Revalation came to me when I ascended to the higher plain I exist on now! My power defies any physical laws that will keep me from Namek and my glory!" Torchixstra roared. A faint shudder ran through Tynzien. It had finally happened. Lyre had been wrong. It was only now that the Dark Ki lurking within the neuranium ring had executed its final curse and driven Torchixstra completely mad, so mad that he thought that the cold airlessness of space would have no effect on him at all.

"But…I'm afraid you and your companions have caused me far too much trouble to live! So take heart, Tynzien! You can keep the ship…because I'm going to destroy it with you!" Torchixstra roared, clamping his hands together and pulling them apart slowly, a ball of black ki forming between his gigantic appendages.

"Take one last look at it Tynzien…and then DIE!!!!!!" Torchixstra screamed, and he hurled the giant ball of ki at Tynzien. Tynzien gritted his teeth, charged up as high as he could without the Kaioken, and set his legs as the ball bore down on him, a terrible black destroying light.

"You can have me, Torchixstra, but YOU CAN'T HAVE MY FRIENDS!" Tynzien screamed, and held his hands out as the ball of ki closed on him. The burning energy slammed into Tynzien's palms and stopped dead, but the strain on Tynzien was apparent and terrible. Slowly, the ball began to push him backwards as his gloves burned away and his palms blistered and began to char.

"Century, take off!"

"No! I can't!"

"DO IT! SAVE YOURSELF AND SYRIA! My life isn't worth yours…and all the innocents Torchixstra might claim!" Tynzien managed to spit out as he furiously opposed the ball. But he could feel his body giving out, and knew it wouldn't be long before the destroyed light embraced him and sent him to his maker.

"Tynzien…"

"Century, I am making this sacrifice for you! Please don't let it be in vain!"

Tynzien's hands now felt like they had no more flesh left on their palms, but he continued to stand. Then he heard the faint rumbling as Century activated her engines. Despite himself, he smiled.

"Goodbye my friends…I hope you have great lives…and that you won't forget me…" Tynzien said quietly, and prepared himself to die.

"NO!"

Then the massive green ki blast slammed into the side of the ball, and then suddenly it was gone, pushed away and off into the sky. Tynzien watched it dumbly, and then threw up his arms as the two blasts exploded and filled the sky with a blinding light.

Then it faded, and Tynzien put his arms down, his eyes turning to the Namek who floated down some distance away from him, in the process of lowering both his arms.

"Lyre?" Tynzien asked with confusion.

Then the darkness claimed him, and he fell to his knees and limply onto his side, out cold.

"Lyre! I thought you were dead!" Torchixstra said in some wonderment. Forgetting about the saiya-jin, he quickly shrank down back to his "normal" size, although he still towered over Lyre.

"You were wrong Parkussion, if that is you. I draw breath still." Lyre said without emotion. Torchixstra quickly floated closer, his eyes going back to to Tynzien's sprawled form before settling on Lyre again.

"I am Torchixstra now, Lyre. The fused form of your commanders. I see that Sello was not the only one to escape the ship with his life. But that is not surprising with you, my comrade. You faced Koola and lived. You are truly a survivor."

Lyre was silent, his hands down at his side clenched lightly.

"Come Lyre. The saiya-jin is defeated. The ship is ours. Let us go back to Namek, and reclaim the glory that was ripped from us. I think you deflected my blast because YOU wanted the saitisfaction of finishing him. Well Lyre, I will consent. We can finish him together. Fall in."

Then Lyre spoke, a voice so soft that if Torchixstra hadn't had such sharp hearing, he never would have heard it.

"No."

Torchixstra halted in mid-turn. He could feel the mask he was putting on beginning to crumble, but he couldn't let the traitor see that. But he could let Lyre see his anger, to a degree.

"What did you say?"

"I said, NO. I won't do it. I didn't deflect that blast so I could finish Tynzien. I did it to save his life."

Torchixstra's mask crumbled more, and his faced contorted with rage.

"LYRE, ARE YOU DEFYING ME? I am your commander!"

"No, you are not. Not anymore."

Torchixstra cleched his fists harder, baring his teeth.

"What did you say?"

"I tried, Parkussion, or Torchixstra. I ignored your change, the change in my comrades, and the changes in your attitudes towards me. Even when I learned that you planned to kill me, I tried to believe in my vows as a soldier, as a member of the 844^th Yarwus. So I refused to stand against you. Instead I flew off. I did not know what to do. My comrades were all dead…if not in body, then in soul. I thought I would join them in death, that that would be the honourable thing, a thing that would honour the friendship we once shared. But that got me thinking, of the old days, when we were heroes, all of us. We became heroes through our deeds, our protection of those who could not fight themselves. You seek those days of glory, but the way we obtained this glory was one major reason: our companionship. We were all friends, all willing to die for one another. And that made me remember when I stood against Koola, and Brass came back for me, saving my life at immense risk at his. He was willing to sacrifice his life to save mine. That stood at the core of my soldier code, the code I defined my life by."

"Lyre, by defying me you are breaking that code! You…"

"You are wrong, Torchixstra. The 844^th Yarwus lived by that code, but you do not. Not anymore. All you care about is glory, glory that you think will come to you in the destruction of others, even ones who did nothing to you. I tried to deny it to myself as long as I could. I tried to be a soldier. But when Tynzien nearly sacrificed his life for me to take a blast that was thrown by my own man with the intent to kill me, and when he refused to back down from you even if it meant his life…I realized the truth. He knows what sacrifice and companionship is….you do not anymore. He was right. My commander, my friends…they are dead. The only thing left is a monster lurking within their bodies, a monster created by cruel fate and that accursed ring you wear on your finger. I am no longer a soldier, my system of belief is gone."

The mask shattered like glass, and the hatred and hostile intentions flowed back into Torchixstra's features.

"Traitor." He hissed.

"No, Torchixstra. You are the traitor. You destroyed the way I lived my life by, you destroyed my friends, and you nearly destroyed me. But I live. I am not a soldier, I am a warrior. I am free to make my own choices. And for my friends, I will destroy this beast that now lurks in the skin of men who were heroes. I should have done this a long time ago, and I regret not doing it before. But I will no longer delude myself. Instead, I will stand!"

"ARGH! I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF WITH MY BARE HANDS!" Torchistra screamed, leaping at Lyre hands first. But Lyre's arms shot up and grabbed the Namek in mid-leap.

"You exiled me for my refusal to fuse with others. There was more then my heeding of our people's warning in that refusal, Torchixstra." Lyre said, shoving Torchixstra away. "It was because, subconsciously, I knew I was tapping only a fraction of my true power. I did not need to fuse to become strong. Deep down I had strength in abundance. This power emerged when I fought Koola. I don't know if I always had it or earned it by some forgotten deed, but I will no longer deny thatit is not there, as I tried to do when I thought you could be redeemed. But you could not. And so this power will be your undoing!" Lyre declared, and then a green battle aura exploded around him as he began to power up, throwing the door wide open and letting his true ability emerge. Torchixstra backed away from it.

Then he smirked.

"This is your true power, is it? Very impressive, traitor. I can see why Parkussion would have exiled you if he knew, he was a jealous man. Even when fused with his initial four Nameks, this power still far outstrips his. You have been blessed, Lyre."

Lyre was silent, watching his former commander through the field of rocks and dust that his charging was kicking up.

"But you have forgotten one thing! I am the fused form of Parkussion, Woodwind, and Brass, a whole new being with the power of a god! Your power may be greater then each of them, but they have all been put together now. And their combined strength is greater then any level you can hope to achieve!"

"Maybe that is so…but it will not stop me. I have retreated long enough. Now I will fight. And if I lose…I can only hope for redemption for my sins."

"It won't be your sins that will destroy you Lyre. It will be ME!" Torchixstra screamed as he leapt at Lyre again.

And it began, as the last true member of a forgotten Namek code and the one who had destroyed it plunged into battle, each knowing that only one would walk away, and each one knowing who that one would likely be.

Tynzien's eyes fluttered open, and as his vision cleared he saw what appeared to be a metal face looking at him.

"Uhhhhhhh…what happened?"

"Oh Tynzien, you're alive." Century said, and shocked Tynzien by throwing her arms around him. "I'm so glad…I thought for sure you were dead…you stood for us so bravely…I'm so glad to call you my friend…"

Tynzien's amazement increased even more.

"Century…are you CRYING?"

"I don't know…I feel so strange…I'm actually feeling…is this the emotion known as happiness? Because if this is what feeling it is about, it's more wonderful then I could have dreamed." Century said, and her voice even hitched as if she were trying to hold back sobs. Tynzien stared in bewilderment. For so long he had tried to figure out how he could program Century so she could feel the things that organic beings felt. Had something in the situation somehow made Century figure out the answer on her own, even without her realizing it?

"Oh Century…" Tynzien said. Normally he would have felt strange hugging back a machine, but now it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Tynzien." Century replied.

Then the realization snapped into Tynzien's mind.

"Where's Torchixstra?"

"Lyre came back. He's fighting him now, but that's why I'm out here." Century said, pulling herself away from Tynzien and standing, helping the saiya-jin to his feet.

"Ugghhhh…I still feel like one big bruise…but I seem to have no crippling damage to myself…how…?" Tynzien asked in confusion, looking at the palms of his hands. They were still seared pretty badly, but nowhere as badly as they should have been.

"When you collasped, I…well, I don't know what happened. I just felt this strange feeling…that I couldn't let you die…no matter what…and I rushed and cobbled together a small healing device based on technology from the healing tank and inserted it into my robot body. Then I came out here and used it. It managed to repair your body somewhat…but not enough that you should fight. But that is what I fear…" Century said, as she looked off into the distance. Tynzien looked after her and saw Lyre and Parkussion warring across a plain, their arms and legs an interlocking blur as each tried to land a blow on the other.

"What's the problem?"

"I have finally managed to calculate Torchixstra's power level, and I've put it at fifty million. Lyre's giving it everything he's got. He even tapped the power you suspected he was hiding. But his level is forty-five million at most, and my readings show he's going all out. A miracle could happen, but with such a difference…"

"But when I fought Malleus, he was much stronger then me, and I held out…"

"Malleus was ultimately toying with you. Torchixstra is not toying with Lyre. If Lyre falls…"Century said, and in the field Torchixstra finally struck, nailing a kick to Lyre's jaw. Lyre was staggered but didn't fall, and almost immediately countered with a punch. But Torchixstra grabbed Lyre's arm, and as Tynzien watched, the Namek threw his former soldier up into the air above him. Then Torchixstra threw up his other arm and let loose with a ki blast as Lyre flew above his head, but Lyre saw it coming and met it with his own ki blast. A wave of dust exploded outwards as the two canceled each other other and produced a powerful explosion in the process.

"Lyre's holding his own now, but eventually the difference will catch up…I don't know what to do."

"I do."

Century looked at Tynzien, whose face was set in a look of determination.

"Century, can I fight?"

"I wouldn't recommend it…"

"CAN I FIGHT?"

"I think so…but your SSJ ability is still blocked, and you've exhausted the Kaioken. What could you possibly do?"

"What's my innate power level?"

"5.5 million, why?"

"I still have one last trick up my sleeve, Century. And it may be our last hope."

Lyre cursed as he failed to fully dodge a storm of ki blasts from Torchixstra, the first wave clipping his arm and burning it. He returned fire by cocking back his arm and whipping it out, sending several ki balls which exploded around Torchixstra, blasting him with the area effect. It didn't appear to do much though, as Torchixstra immediately burst from the smoke and dove at Lyre with a punch. Lyre blocked Torchixstra's fist and landed several punches of his own. Torchixstra shrugged them off as well.

"Is that your best?" Torchixstra taunted, grinning.

Then several of his teeth were broken as Lyre smashed his fist into Torchixstra's grinning mouth. Torchixstra yelled in pain and staggered back a step.

"Not quite." Lyre retorted, and swung himself to do a reverse hook kick. But Torchixstra had recovered from Lyre's previous blow and blocked it with one massive arm, before spinning down low and sweeping Lyre's legs out from under him. Lyre fell, and in a terrifying display of speed, Torchixstra spun back up to his feet so quickly that he managed to axe-kick Lyre's body in mid-fall, sending him flying several dozen feet before he crash landed painfully.

"Ready to give up?" Torchixstra said. Lyre responded by leaping to his feet and thrusting out his palms in a quick one-two motions, throwing a ki blast each time. Torchixstra easily blocked both, then threw two retaliatory ki balls. Lyre whacked them aside, but Torchixstra had planned for this and flew at Lyre while he was distracted. As the balls flew off and blew large crators in the ground and another mountain, Torchixstra slammed into Lyre shoulder first and blasted off into the distance with him.

"Tynzien? What are you talking about? What last trick?" Century asked.

Tynzien didn't reply. His battered face had taken on a look of quiet intensity, and he brought his hands nearly together, keeping them only spread apart slightly, as if he was gathering himself for something. And he was.

"Century…should something go wrong…the ball in the sky will be destructable. Destroy it." Tynzien said, as he unwound his tail from his waist. It quivered and lashed about as if in anticipation. Century stared at it for a second, drawn by the movement.

"And if push comes to absolute shove…and you find you can't destroy the ball…cut off my tail." Tynzien said, as a soft white glow appeared on his hands and began to grow into a ball. Realization lit up Century's eyes.

"NO TYNZIEN! NOT YOUR OOZARU STATE! You've barely trained in it at all! I don't think you'll be able to control it!" Century said, his voiced filled with fear. Tynzien turned his head, cocking it and looking at Century.

"It's our last hope, Century. My master taught me great control and I continued on his teachings myself. The Oozaru state has always been the pinnacle of what I hated about my species…pure destruction and bloodlust. But I have trained myself anyway, and I have no choice but to call apon it now. I can only hope that the discipline I learned from him will allow me to control the monster…and if I can't…you know what to do. Do you understand, Century?"

"Yes Tynzien. I do."

"Thank you Century. Pray for my success." Tynzien replied silently. Raising his hand up, a small white ki ball about the size of a basketball floated above it. Tynzien stared at it for a minute.

"Here goes nothing."

Then he cocked back his arm.

"SIMULATE MOON BLAST!" he yelled, and hurled the ball into the ki. It flew up and glowed brightly, casting a dim light across the plain.

"Tynzien…" Century said. Then she put her hand to her mouth.

Tynzien was already beginning to change. His pupils were beginning to vanish, and the teeth in his mouth were beginning to sharpen into fangs. Century took a step back.

"I can feel it, Century…the Brutz Waves are flowing into me…filling me with power…with rage…I have to get away…don't want to hurt you…!" Tynzien said, his voice deeper and somehow far more violent. Quickly, he took several large leaps away into the middle of the plain. Century flew to the top of the Star Obsidian and watched.

Tynzien's frame began to grown larger, as his face began to elogate and take on the qualities of an ape. Dark brown fur began to sprout on every inch of Tynzien's bare skin even as he continued to grow larger and larger. Fortunately, Tynzien's clothes and remaining armour, specially made with saiya-jin combat in mind, easily stretched to fit Tynzien's new gigantic body size.

And then the transformation was complete, and Tynzien was gone, replaced by a gigantic were-ape creature wearing his clothes. Almost in confusion, the huge head glanced around, its nostrils twitching.

Then, as his now huge tail lashed the air, Tynzien reared up his arms and roared to the sky, before bringing his fists down on the ground, shattering it like glass.

"Oh no! Has he lost complete control?" Century said in horror, agonizing if she should destroy the white ki ball gleaming dully in the sky or wait and see. But her hopes diminished as Tynzien continued to smash and destroy the ground and nearby cliffsides with his fists and feet, all the while continuing to roar. Then a terrible blue light glowed within his mouth before a huge blue ki blast shot from it, flying off into the horizon and leveling everything in a five mile radius when it finally hit another mountain several dozen miles away. Tynzien lifted his head to the sky and roared again, and then another blast fired from his mouth, lancing off into the sky and blowing another one of the planet's dead moons to dust.

"Tynzien! Stop! This isn't you!" Century screamed.

Century's plea did not appear to bring Tynzien to his senses, but it did do one thing. It got his attention.

Snarling, Oozaru Tynzien stomped his way over to the Star Obsidian. He stood for a moment as if he was admiring it, then roared and raised his fists to smash it to scrap.

Century never did know why instead of destroying the ball or going for Tynzien's tail, she elected to fly up and level herself with Tynzien's now ape-face.

"Tynzien. It's me, Century! Syria's in there as well. We're your friends! Friends! Is that part of you that cares for us truly no longer in that frame?" Century pleaded. She had a feeling that if her body had mechanical replicas of tear ducts, she really would have cried.

Oozaru Tynzien stood, his hands still raised above his head to smash his ship, the ship that had begun this whole sordid affair. But his eyes had changed. The pure look of lust for destruction faded, to be replaced by a somewhat grudging but genuine recognition. Then a voice, incredibly deep but still familiar, rumbled from Tynzien.

"Century."

Lyre was beginning to lose hope. Torchixstra was right. Even with all his power tapped, he was still no match for him, and it was becoming more and more apparent. But Lyre would not give up. He owed his comrades more then that to give up against the monster his commander and friends had become.

Torchixstra leapt forward with another lunging punch, but Lyre contorted his body backwards and ducked under it. Shoving his arms behind and under him as if he was trying to crabwalk, Lyre snapped a kick at Torchixstra's legs, but the mammoth Namek blocked it easily. Lyre pushed himself back to his feet and tried another punch, but Torchixstra dodged it and clamped both his massive hands around Lyre's throat.

"Fall before me, you-UGH!" Torchixstra growled as Lyre flipped backwards and brought both his feet up underneath his commander's chin in a devastating impact. Lyre landed on his feet as his commander turned his backwards plunge into a few backflips to break his fall. Growling, his eyes glowed and twin beams lanced from them, but Lyre met them with twin beams from his own eyes, rocking the area between them with yet another explosion.

Torchixstra leapt through the smoke, and again he and Lyre engaged in a war of blows across the plain. But Lyre was starting to tire, and while Torchixstra was no spring chicken, he still had plenty of fight left.

His exhaustion made him sluggish, and Lyre paid for it by being too slow to block one of Torchixstra's thunderous punches. It rang his bell, stunning him, and Torchixstra immediately pressed the advantage by grabbing Lyre's head and shoving it down as he brought his knee up into Lyre's face. The impact threw Lyre backwards, and Torchixstra spun and thrust-kicked him, embedding him in the rock at the bottom of a cliff.

Lyre tried to pull himself out, but Torchixstra went airborne and dove at Torchixstra feet-first, slamming his right foot into Lyre's chest. Lyre gasped and coughed up blood, and then Torchixstra pummeled him again, smashing several blows into Lyre's chest and face before pistoning a hand into Lyre's windpipe. Lyre gasped as he tried to breathe, and then Torchixstra whirled and slammed a hooking axe-kick against the side of Lyre's head. Lyre began to fall, but Torchixstra grabbed him before he could and threw him backwards into the air. As Lyre spiraled up towards the heavens, Torchixstra blurred away and appeared above Lyre. He snapped out his leg and slammed a thunderous kick into Lyre's stomach, and as Lyre vomited up more blood Torchixstra again laced his fingers together and slammed Lyre back down into the planet with an axe-handle.

Lyre tried to get to his feet, but found he could not. He looked up, loose pebbles falling off of him with his effort to get up, as he watched Torchixstra float back down to earth and land next to him.

"You have failed Lyre. You are no match for me, you never were. You should have fused with me instead of being handed this sorry fate." Torchixstra said, looking at the sprawled Namek. Lyre looked up at the being that had been his commander and friends and was now a evil manifested in their bodies, an evil awakened when his commander had found a piece of metal that he had thought beautiful.

"Fate is fate, Torchixstra. We cannot escape the cards it has dealt us. I only regret that I could not stop your evil, but I will not regret breaking away instead of joining with you and having the corrupting darkness consume my soul as well. So go ahead, kill me. I will not fear death."

Torchixstra laughed.

"Kill you? Kill you? Oh no Lyre, that would be too merciful. Instead, I am going to bless you." Torchixstra chuckled, and then suddenly he began to grow again. Lyre's eyes widened and he again attempted to scramble to his feet and get away. But despite his continued growth, Torchixstra managed to reach down and grab Lyre, holding him in a fist that continued to increase in size.

"You are not going to die, Lyre. Instead, you are going to do the right thing. The Vermarthuire Boloranusm may be dead to you, but they live still within me. And you are going to join them!"

"What? NEVER!" Lyre spat. "I will never fuse with you!"

"I never said you had a choice in the matter, Lyre." Torchixstra laughed as he completed growing, once again the size of a giant. "I may not be able to make you fuse with me the conventional way, but with my power I can easily go around it. Instead, I will devour you, and you will be absorbed into my body and become part of me from within!"

"NO!" Lyre screamed, struggling furiously to get out of the huge hand that was now clenched around him. But his struggles were futile, and all they did was amuse Torchixstra, as he lifted Lyre above his head and opened his mouth.

"Goodbye traitor. Do not worry, eventually you will grow to accept your fate. You will have plenty of company chained beside you."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lyre screamed again as Torchixstra lowered Lyre down.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Torchixstra was now the one to scream as a gigantic ki bolt suddenly blasted against his arm, cutting the hand holding Lyre off at the wrist. Clutching the stump, he whirled as the hand holding Lyre crashed to the ground. Lyre pried himself from the now dead fingers and flew some distance away, before he turned to look at his savior. His shock was as great as Torchixstra's at seeing the massive ape creature standing some distance, wearing tore clothes and destroyed armour.

"Where did you come from?" Torchixstra cursed as he regrew his hand. "Who are you, the rejected stunt double of King Kong?"

"I am Tynzien, Torchixstra." Oozaru Tynzien rumbled. Torchixstra gaped.

"Impossible! How could such a pathetic worm become such a gigantic beast?" Torchixstra said, not believing that the giant ape, practically the same size as him, was the saiya-jin. And he couldn't grow any bigger, or he would start having trouble breathing in the very thin atmosphere of the planet.

"This is the ultimate power of a saiya-jin. While only I can become the golden warrior known as a Super Saiya-jin, every saiya-jin has the power within them to become this creature that I am." Oozaru Tynzien growled, before turning his eyes to Lyre. Lyre started, then realized Tynzien was not looking at Lyre in anger or hostility, but in comradeship.

"Lyre…you speak of fate. Fate has chosen that this is the form that will defeat the creature your friends have become. You honoured me by realizing the truth and coming back to save my life and the life of my friends. Now let me honour you by destroying Torchixstra in the memory of the 844^th Yarwus!"

"YOU FOOL! I AM THE 844^TH YARWUS! I AM A GOD!" Torchixstra bellowed, leaping forward to grab Tynzien. But Tynzien pistoned his arms out and stopped Torchixstra dead. The ground shattered and bucked beneath the two battling giants, and Lyre flew into the sky to escape being swallowed by the earth.

"Tynzien…you battle for me…after I…I am honoured, Tynzien. As a soldier and a warrior both."

Oozaru Tynzien locked fists with Torchixstra and the two engaged in a test of strength, the ground cracking under their humoungous frames. Torchixstra roared his rage as Tynzien began to push him downward, and ended the test by bringing up his knee and slamming it into Tynzien's chest. Tynzien doubled over, and Torchixstra brought his hands up to slam them down on Tynzien's back, but Tynzien had been playing possum and he proved it by immediately rearing up and bringing his fist up into Torchixstra's chin. Torchixstra roared in pain, and then Tynzien belted him across the face with a right hook, sending the Namek crashing to the ground. The planet shook under the impact.

Bellowing, Torchixstra thrust up a hand and fired a huge ki ball at Tynzien, but Tynzien simply smashed his huge ape hands together over the ball, snuffing it out. But it gave Torchixstra time to get to his feet, and he took charge by bringing his massive foot up and slamming it against the side of Tynzien's head in a roundhouse kick, and then twirling and slamming Tynzien with a backhand. Now Tynzien was the one to crumble to the ground, and Torchixstra didn't let up, reaching down and picking up Tynzien's massive ape frame. Raising the huge creature Tynzien now was above his head with phenomenal strength, Torchixstra roared and hurled Tynzien forward into a mountain range. The massive statues of rocks were crushed beneath Tynzien's body before he bounced off them and came crashing down stomach first onto another rocky plain.

Torchixstra leapt over the ruined mountain range and landed a hundred feet from Tynzien as he struggled to get up. Torchixstra's mouth opened and his huge ki blast shot from it, but Tynzien opened his own mouth and countered with his own blast. The two met and began to push against each other, sending out waves of force that turned the area for miles around into windstorms of rock shrapnal and debris. Up in the sky, Lyre threw up his arms as he was pelted with sharp pebbles and rocks, as Tynzien and Torchixstra each warred for dominace in their blast war.

In the end, Tynzien won, but only because Torchixstra let him. Torchixstra, his blast being gradually pushed back, suddenly broke off the attack and dodged Tynzien's mouth blast with terrifying speed, before leaping at Tynzien, hoping to catch the saiya-jin off guard while he was recovering from shooting the ki blast.

Torchixstra was quick, but Tynzien was quicker, sidestepping at the last second. Torchixstra blundered by the were-ape, trying to regain his balance, and Tynzien whirled and slammed his fist into the back of Torchixstra's head. Bellowing in pain and rage, Torchixstra fell face-first into the ground. Tynzien leapt into the air and tried to bring his massive foot down on Torchixstra's spine, but Torchixstra rolled onto his stomach and fired a ki blast from his eyes, forcing Tynzien to abort the move so he could block it and land properly. Lowering his arms, his fur singed, Tynzien was greeted with a leaping knee lunge that slammed into his jaw and sent him toppling backwards.

Lying down, Tynzien saw that the Star Obsidian was not far away. He watched his impact rock the ground and the ship as well, and fear began to gnaw in his gut. Am I back here again? I can't let Torchixstra damage the ship!

And then Torchixstra was looming in his vision, bringing his fist down to crush Tynzien's skull. Tynzien caught the fist with his hands as it plunged, stopping it dead, and then his tail lashed out, striking Torchixstra in his eyes. Torchixstra reared back, roaring his pain while clutching his head, and Tynzien brought both his feet up and slammed them into Torchixstra's chest, sending him flying backwards several dozen feet. Again, the ground quaked as the giant hit the ground hard.

Tynzien and Torchixstra got to their feet, and then Torchixstra lunged and rammed into Tynzien, then screamed in surprise as Tynzien used Torchixstra's own momentum against him and threw him over his head, causing another section of rock plains to be shattered under the gigantic Namek's bulk. Tynzien got to his feet quickly, his eyes flitting back and forth between Torchixstra and the Star Obsidian. He's too close! I have to get him away!

Torchixstra again rose to his feet, and Tynzien was on him, trying to grab at him and get a sufficient grip to toss him away. However, Torchixstra retaliated with a cheap shot, bring his leg up between Tynzien's in a mule kick. The pain was so great Tynzien's instinctive reaction was to double over, and Torchixstra clamped his arm around Tynzien's huge furry neck.

"You think you're so tough? I think that your neck can be broken just like any other being with an inner skeleton!" Torchixstra snarled, tighening up his muscles to deliver the fatal wrenching motion.

"NO!" came a voice, and then Torchixstra felt several ki blasts explode against the back of his head. Growling in irritation, Torchixstra turned his head towards Century, who stood on the Star Obsidian with her arms out.

"You again? Time to melt you down for scrap!" Torchixstra bellowed, taking one hand away from his grip on Tynzien and pointing it at Century.

"NO!" Tynzien roared, bringing up his fist in a swinging backhand into Torchixstra's face, breaking his grip on him and distracting him away from Century. Torchixstra reeled backwards, then spat out broken teeth and attacked Tynzien again. Tynzien took the blows, keeping his huge body between Torchixstra and the Star Obsidian. On the ship, Century watched, unable to do anything. The several blasts she had used to distract Torchixstra had used up the little power she had left. She didn't even have enough to blow up Tynzien's white ki ball floating in the sky.

"I WON'T LET YOU GET ANYWHERE NEAR THIS SHIP!" Tynzien roared, lashing back and hammering Torchixstra with thunderous punches. Torchixstra blocked the first few but failed to block the next one, which connected with his forehead and sent him staggering backwards, stars dancing in his vision.

"BLASTED SAIYA-JIN! I grow tired of you standing in my way! I have a planet to conquer! I have the glory of a hero…"

"You don't deserve glory, and you don't desire it any more. All you desire is death and destruction, the actions that extinquish light of all kinds. Many great men have died because of you, including the being Lyre respected as his commander, Parkussion. Once you were heroes, but no longer. You have fallen from grace. You are Torchixstra, a destroying tyrant with delusions of greatness. Those delusions END NOW!" Tynzien roared, and doubled his efforts. Torchixstra staggered before the saiya-jin's furious barrage of blows, even as the giant ape Tynzien had become seemingly shrugged off everything he did in retaliation. Despite the odds, he smiled evily.

"You are the one with the delusions, saiya-jin. You are a mere warrior. I am the combination of the greatest soldiers ever to live! Forget the Yarwus! I am greater then any hero that ever came from their ranks! I am the purest combination of fighting that ever existed! I am the greatest player to ever play the game of war!"

And inside Tynzien, something finally snapped.

"ARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Tynzien bellowed, and smashed Torchixstra with the hardest punch he ever felt. Torchixstra's evil cockiness shattered as the Namek staggered back again. Tynzien didn't stop there, smashing pistoning punches into Torchixstra's torso and abdomen as he felt bones snap underneath his blows. Torchixstra tried to counter, but Tynzien cut him off, smashing repeated right jabs into Torchixstra's face before flattening with a left hook. Torchixstra's head snapped back violently, his eyes cloudy as he swayed on his feet.

"No…this is just not possible…" Torchixstra said, as Tynzien drew in a deep breath of air. His eyes fixed behind Torchixstra, on the mountain that stood just behind the massive Super-Namek. It was the same mountain that the Namek troops had flown over seemingly an eternity ago, and the same mountain Tynzien had been thrown through before he found himself back near the Star Obsidian for the first time. Tynzien's trip through it and all the earthquakes caused by the war going on had caused the rock structure severe damage, but a good half of the peak still stood, pointing at the sky, a gigantic dagger of stone.

Tynzien looked apon the mountain, and then turned back to Torchixstra.

"GAME OVER."

And then Tynzien leapt skyward and slammed Torchixstra with a hooking axe-kick, putting all of his strength, his rage, and his desire to protect others in the force of the blow. Torchixstra flew backwards up into the air. As he began to fall, he let loose with one last cry.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then he landed in the peak, impaling himself on the sword made of the planet's crust. It burst from his chest as if the rock was claiming its own revenge on Torchixstra for the damage he had done to it all over the world. Torchixstra screamed, a scream heard round the world, and then a flood of blood poured from his mouth. Ignoring the scream, Tynzien brought his massive ape hands to the side as blue ki exploded on them, enveloping them in flames.

"HEAVEN-SPLITTING VIOLENT LIGHT!"

And then Oozaru Tynzien thrust his hands forward and let loose with the gigantic blue blast at point-blank range. The mountain and Torchixstra were consumed by an explosion so powerful it picked up Tynzien like a rag doll and tossed his massive bulk backwards. Flailing, Tynzien turned and managed to regain some control, landing on his hands and knees.

Shaking his head, Tynzien slowly got to his feet, glancing over and realizing he had nearly landed on the Star Obsidian. Thanking god he hadn't, he straightened and looked at the huge mushroom cloud of smoke that his blast had made.

Then he heard a slight whooshing noise, and then Century was floating next to him, a look of sorrow on her face, as she looked at the devastation where the Namek commander had been.

"Such a tragic fate, for a man who did so much for his world. He didn't deserve this."

"No one does." Tynzien said. "Especially those who were heroes. But even Lucifer was an angel…once."

Tynzie slowly turned, looking at up the white ki ball.

"Ok Century, destroy that…"

And then Lyre's voice rang through Tynzien's ears as the Namek suddenly flew at Tynzien at top speed.

"TYNZIEN, LOOK OUT!"

And then Torchixstra exploded from the massive cloud of smoke and dust that was still clearing. He was no longer a giant, but the wound inflicted apon him while he had been one was still there. His clothes were practically gone. He was completely missing one antenna and the other was torn and mangled. His body was a mass of burns and cuts, the worst one the wound that bleed rivers from his chest and back as his punctured heart tried to perform after the severe damage that had been done to it. But he lived still.

Torchixstra lanced at Tynzien, knowing his wound was fatal and death was imminent. But he still had some strength left, and he was going to use it to take the saiya-jin with him.

"DDDDDIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, blood pouring from his mouth, as his whole body was enveloped in black ki energy. He pistoned his hands forward as ki enveloped him and formed a point at the end of his hands, turning his body into a giant dagger.

Tynzien heard and sensed Torchixstra coming, and he tried to turn his massive form in time. But Torchixstra was coming too fast, and Tynzien's eyes widened in shock as Torchixstra dove at him, aiming right for the center of his chest.

Then a blue blur of blazing energy blasted out of the Star Obsidian and flew past Tynzien. Torchixstra screamed in surprise as his trip was stopped as Syria smashed her fist into his face in an air dashing punch. Torchixstra's body was pushed backwards by the blow, and almost in slow motion, he began a 360 degree turn in mid-air as Tynzien completed his turn around, watching all this.

"Tynzien, finish it!" Syria yelled as she flew out of the way of Torchixstra, giving Tynzien a clear shot. Tynzien reacted by instinct, throwing open the floodgates within him and gathering his strength for one final shot.

"BLOOD RAGE!" Tynzien roared, before the burning blood red light poured from between his teeth. Then he opened his mouth and the burning destructive beam erupted from within him. Torchixstra's eyes widened as he saw it coming, and he let loose one final scream.

Then it enveloped him and carried him away into the distance, blasting over the ruins of the mountain where Tynzien had almost destroyed him. Torchixstra felt the burning ki energy piercing through every cell in his body. He tried to scream again and found he could not. His vision began to fade, replaced by a glowing brillance that flooded his eyes and became all he could see.

"The light…the glorious light…once again…the light of glory…is mine…" Torchixstra somehow managed to whisper.

Then the beam completed its journey and slammed into the Rage of War. In the horizon Tynzien, Syria, and Century covered their eyes as the light seemed to devour everything as the ship was blasted to oblivion. Torchixstra's silhoulette stretched out and vanished as he was blown to atoms along with his ship.

And through the air, a piece of metal that was once in the shape of a ring and was now nothing but a melting chunk let out a sound that almost sounded like a hiss of fury before it was obliterated with the man who had worn it and been ruined by it.

As the light faded, Syria threw up her arm and fired a ki blast at the white ki ball floating in the sky. With a slight bang, the ball dispersed, and Tynzien felt the power known as the Brutz rays stop flowing into him. Slowly, he began to shrink, even as he began to change back into Tynzien. With a few moments, Tynzien as once again looking like a human. He raised his hands as Syria flew back down and sighed with relief, and recurled his tail back around his waist. He was glad to be back to normal.

"Is it over?" Syria asked. With a slight clack, Century landed next to Tynzien. Her eyes flickered as she ran calculations.

"It's over…I can't sense any life at all besides us…it's over. Torchixstra is dead." Century said. Syria half-smirked in saitisfaction.

"We did it guys. We won."

"Did we?" Tynzien asked, looking at the new mushroom cloud that was rising off in the distance from his final blow to the Namek. Century raised her hand, placing it on Tynzien's shoulder, comforting him.

"You had no choice, Tynzien. You know you didn't. He was beyond redemption."

"I know." Tynzien muttered, before looking at Syria. "I thought you were healing?"

"I got out early. I knew I would have to save your ass." Syria smirked. "I feel as good as ever."

"Then it's finally over." Tynzien said, sighing again. "Tell me Century, why did you plot this course through this dead section of space again?"

"Ironically, to give us some peace. So we wouldn't be disturbed." Century said with a wry smirk as she looked at the situation in restrospect. "And it's not completely over, Tynzien. There's still one more thing to deal with."

As Century spoke, she pointed behind Tynzien, and Tynzien and Syria turned around to see Lyre in the process of landing on the ground. He looked sadly off into the distance, past Tynzien and his friends at the mushroom cloud. Then he lowered his head in shame and in sorrow. His eyes glanced on his shoulder and then fixed on the symbol sewn onto his shoulder of his black war outfit.

"Once this gave me so much pride…once this was my life…" Lyre whispered, before he brought his hand up to the symbol, the mark of his unit, and tore it off. Opening his hand, the wind caught the piece of material and it floated away, blown off into the distance. Slowly, Lyre lowered himself to his knees, his head still bowed and his hands resting on his upper thighs.

As Lyre knelt there, silently, Tynzien slowly started to walk towards him. Syria and Century picked up his lead, following close behind him. Eventually, Tynzien stood in front of Lyre. Lyre looked up amd smiled grimly at him.

"Tynzien." He said, before pausing. "It appears you have defeated my former commander. Well done, you are truly a great warrior. And I will appeal to this greatness. Just give me a few more minutes, to say a few things and prepare myself, and then you can kill me as you plan."

Tynzien started, as long as Syria and Century.

"Kill you?" Tynzien said disbelievingly.

"Instead of making my stand long ago, I lied to myself and ran away for as long as I could. In doing so I put innocent lives at risk, including yours. In trying to follow my soldier's code, I betrayed and lost it. I deserve nothing more then death at your hands then what I did to you." Lyre said, and lowered his head again, as if in preperation for Tynzien to strike a fatal blow.

But it didn't come. Instead, Tynzien kneeled down and took Lyre's shoulder.

"No Lyre. I'm not going to kill you, and you don't deserve death."

Lyre looked up.

"But after all I did…"

"All you did in the end was try to follow your beliefs. That in itself is not a sin. And as for what you did against us…you realized what the right thing to do was in the end, and you stood with us against Torchixstra. We forgive you, and we will not kill you." Tynzien said, rising back up to his feet.

A look of grateful thanks came into Lyre's eyes, but there was still sorrow mixed in with it.

"But…even if you forgive me…what am I to do? My whole life I was a soldier. I know nothing else. Even thought I am a warrior now, that does not answer my questions…where do I go from here?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Syria stepped forward and offered her hand.

"Come with us."

Lyre blinked.

"What…?"

"Come with us, Lyre. Join us on our ship. In the end, if you want to go back to Namek…or somewhere else…that will be your choice. But if you wish to accompany us…we would be glad to have someone like you with us." Tynzien said, also offering his hand. Lyre stayed on his knees for a few more seconds, then he took both their hands and pulled himself to his feet.

"Thank you…I am honoured…beyond belief…" Lyre said.

"We are as well." Century replied.

"But before we go…I have one last thing to do…will you allow me to?" Lyre asked.

"We aren't in any big hurry. What is it?"

"My comrades's…bodies. Do you have them?"

Tynzien blinked, then turned to Century.

"Century?"

"Well…for the Nameks killed in the first attack…and on the attempted raid on us…yes, I have their bodies preserved in the medical section. I was going to ask you what you wanted to do with them when this was over. As for the Namek that got away…and the Nameks that fused to form Torchixstra…I don't know if there is anything left of them." Century said.

"Thank you, Century. May I have the bodies?" Lyre asked.

"Sure, they were your allies…it's only your right." Century said. Lyre smiled slightly.

"Thank you. I won't be long."

"Take your time, Lyre." Tynzien said, rubbing his neck. "I have a few things I want to do too. Like sleep for a million years."

Some time had passed, and the planet, for so long having been rocked by continuous loud noises, was finally enjoying a well-deserved silence. The Star Obsidian stood quietly, its main door open and the ramp extended.

Tynzien stood on the ramp, waiting. He had taken a well-deserved rest in the healing tank and changed out of his destroyed clothes, now wearing another black bodysuit without armour. A slight breeze stirred his hair, but he didn't notice. He was deep in thought.

"What are you doing, Tynzien?" Century said from a speaker. She was back in her home in the Star Obsidian, her robot body sealed away to be recharged, enhanced, and to fight another day.

"Waiting for Lyre, and thinking." Tynzien said, looking off in ths distance but not paying particular attention to anything happening out there.

"Thinking…thinking about what?" Century asked.

"I don't understand it Century. From what I heard from Lyre, and I severely doubt he is a liar, Parkussion was a great man. Yet when I finally met him…nothing of that remained. Just the…monster he had become. And I just don't understand it. We speak of fate…so if it does exist, why did he give Parkussion and his men such a cruel destiny? They should have had the glory Parkussion wanted back so badly their whole lives…yet due to a combination of fear, chance, and the inevitable tragedies of major change, they began everything they once loathed. Why did heroes become demons? It troubles me greatly. They strived to do what they thought was right as much as I strive to do it. Does it mean that it could be all for nought for me as well? Am I destined to be consumed by the dark side of of my saiya-jin nature no matter how hard I try to control it?"

Century was silent.

"I don't know Tynzien…but the way you speak of fate working…I will tell you something. Long ago, back when humans were just beginning to fully develop their mastery over their world and beginning to take the first steps towards travelling off of it…there was a country called the United States. Humans, when they began their empire, usually had classes of ignorant elistism and prejudice, and one of their worst examples was the way they treated people from another country called Africa. They were known by many terms, both in insults and in simple descriptions, but the most common name they were given as a whole was blacks, due to their very dark skin. This darkness was caused by a concentration of a chemical that even you have in your skin, Tynzien, and it helped protect them against the sun. That was all it was, a different coloured skin. Yet it was enough that "the elite" of the world to classify them as not being human. For centuries these black people were enslaved as used as labour, tortured, and killed in the millions. It was a terrible example of how cruel man could be to his fellow man. That is one of human's legacies to all it's descended species, the ability to do great evil. It is a legacy you carry within your own blood, Tynzien, and Syria's as well."

"But Nameks are not descended from humans. So why…?"

"I am not finished, Tynzien. Eventually, humanity finally grew a little smarter, and over the world slavery gratually ended. The idea was to start treating black people as equals, give them the same rights as their former "elite masters", those with lighter skin, or "whites". This seems reasonable to you, am I right Tynzien?"

"More then that. It sounds like what's right. After all they did to those people…"

"Indeed. But while it seems easy in theory, in practice it was immeasurably difficult. How did you think that white people, after centuries of being taught that people with black skin were their inferiors, their lessers, that they deserved to be nothing more then slave labour, were going to react that black people should now be their equals, and have every right they did?"

"If I know humanity, they hated it. They hate anything that infringes on their supposed superiority."

"How true. It took even more centuries to undo what centuries of hate had done, but eventually, blacks were excepted as equals. But by then, humanity was colonizing other planets. To tell you what I mean specifically, though, we must go farther back, back when going to the moon of planet earth was deemed impossible and was only written about in science fiction. It was a time that humans called the 19^th Century to go with the dating system they had back then, and it woud extend into the later phases of the next step of that dating system, the 20^th Century. Black people had gotten their "right to be human", some time ago, but hatred still lurked everywhere in the United States. And one of the ways this hatred was manifested was through the law system."

Tynzien said nothing, listening.

"Back then, if a crime was commited, and there was even the slightest chance that a black man or woman had commited it, they were immediately picked up. It didn't matter if evidence said that it was impossible that they could have commited the crime. Hundreds of black people were charged with crimes they didn't commit, and juries would convict even if they heard overwhelming evidence for the case of the black perso's defense. Then the black person would go to jail, and usually be executed soon after, if they didn't drag him out of the courtroom and hang him in the spot. And the saddest thing is, people would cheer as these innocent black men and women died. They would pose for pictures with them. I'm sure there were guilty black men and women who died this way, but a good many, far too many, were innocent. They died because they had black skin."

Tynzien ground his teeth, but said nothing.

"This process continued onward into the 20^th Century. It did, if we really must give humanity credit, get somewhat less extreme over time. But as time went on, blacks became more and more excepted. Black people became officers in armies. They held high positions in society. They became millionaires. And eventually near the end of the 20^th century came a certain case. It was the trial of a black man known as O.J Simpson. Simpson was a famous man, he had been a great star of some Earth sport called football, and when he became accused of murdering his ex-wife and a friend, the eyes of the world turned on him. But unlike the many innocent people in the past who died because they had black skin, O.J did have a great deal of evidence against him that said he commited the murder. To a great many people, his guilt was so clear that you could practically see it hanging over him like an aura."

"Let me guess. He got off."

"Yes, he did. But it was a total circus. O.J's defenders started using the fact that their client was black as a defense, and it became a massive mud-throwing contest instead of a legal trial. But the end result was that O.J Simpson was aquitted. But that's just backstory. The whole point of this comes now. After it was all over, someone said something. His name is lost to time, but what he said was not. And what he said was that maybe after so many innocent black men died in the past for crimes they didn't commit, maybe it just somehow deserved that a black man so obviously guilty got away with murder. In other words, maybe it was a retribution of fate, a balancing of the scales."

Century's words washed over Tynzien, and he realized what Century was saying.

"So you're saying that in some grand cosmic equation, Parkussion and his men became what they became as a way of fate's attempt to balance the scales?"

"Maybe. Maybe fate decided that there were too many good soldiers and that some had to go bad. Maybe fate decided that Parkussion was too good and that his dark side needed to be a little more dominant, and it got out of control. Hell, maybe it happened because fate wasn't paying attention to Parkussion and couldn't stop what happened. I don't know. But the end result is, despite all the circumstances, just like the people known as blacks and O.J Simpson, it happened. And that is that."

Tynzien sighed.

"It just isn't right."

"Was it right that Malleus came into possession of the Dark Ki and tried to destroy my planet for its power?" Syria suddenly said, appearing out of the darkness behind Tynzien. She had changed herself and had brushed her hair, and she was now the picture of loveliness, rather then the battle-scarred warrior she really was. Tynzien started, then calmed down as Syria walked to his side.

"Was it right that because it thought it was perfect, that Emporer had to destroy all the life in the universe? Maybe, maybe not. But it happened, Tynzien. Let it go. All we can do is go on…and do what we can. We had to destroy Parkussion and his men…but at least we saved Lyre. That counts for something in the end. It's not always easy to do the right thing, Tyn."

Tynzien's brow arched.

"Tyn?"

"Yeah! I called you that by accident, and it stuck in my head. It's cute!"

"It's annoying!" Tynzien growled, although it wasn't in a serious tone. In reality he was trying hard not to grin. Syria laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Oh I'm sure you'll get used to it…TYN."

Tynzien gave an exhasperated sigh and leaned against the wall, looking at Syria with a "what am I going to do with you?" look. Then he noticed she was wearing white, the same colour she was wearing when they had met. His nostrils twitched. Yes, she was still giving off the sweet comforting scent that Tynzien had found he liked.

God…most of the time I don't notice…but damn, she is beautiful…

Then Tynzien shoved the thought from his head and turned back to the door, waiting.

Lyre stood solemnly, not moving a muscle. His deed had taken him somewhat longer then he had expected, but he had no fear of the time. He didn't have time for fear.

Before him, in a neat line, stood twelve piles of stones. All the stones were smooth and round, polished by Lyre's ki powers. Beneath eight of the piles lay the bodies of his comrades, buried with careful care. The other four were purely symbolic. There had been no bodies to bury underneath them.

Blinking, Lyre looked up. It had taken him a while to find a properly sized cliff, and even longer to carve, polish, and write all he had needed to write on it. But his ki powers had served him well, making his task far quicker then it would have been for a normal man.

Lyre glanced up, looking at the black stone on which he had carved his memorial. On it was a long line of short written words in Namek, all underneath each other in perfect rows. Listed were all the names of his comrades, every one who had left with him from Namek, then died in the battle against Koola or fused with his companions. On the top were the men he had been with when they had landed on this planet, the men who lay buried before him. And above that, on the top, was some final Namek words.

Lyre lowered his head. He had said all the necessary words and prayers that had been said on his planet when a warrior or soldier had passed on. It was time to leave.

"Goodbye, my friends. I will never forget you, and every battle I fight will be in your honour. I may no longer be a soldier, but as a warrior, I will never forget being one." Lyre said solemnly, and slammed his hand to his chest in his final salute and bowed.

"Rest in peace my comrades. Farewell."

And with that, Lyre turned and flew away, not looking back apon the graves again.

My old life had ended. My new life begins now. I don't know what it will bring…

Then the Star Obsidian came into his view, and to his slight surprise, he could Tynzien and Syria at the entrance. They were waiting for him.

But I know one thing. With people like that so willing to accept me as a friend, I think it may just bring me glory beyond my dreams. And I hope that wherever my comrades are, they can share in it.

Silently, the Star Obsidian left the atmosphere of the planet that Century had labelled as FCOH-65785R79, leaving behind the battlefield it had become. Again, the planet was alone with itself.

And on the Star Obsidian, chaos was about to erupt.

"You know, we should play a theme song! Something that says "We won"!"Syria said as she sat on the arm of a chair in the main conrol room.

"Syria…!" Tynzien said, indicating Lyre with various motions that basically said "That battle killed his friends. Maybe we shouldn't glorify it".

"It's ok, Tynzien. I have mourned my loss, but I will recover. You can celebrate victory in battle with a song, if that's what you usually do." Lyre said, Jack sitting in his lap and purring, and Lyre stroking the kitten.

"Yeah! Tell em Lyre!" Syria said.

"And I know just the song!" Century said. Tynzien's eyes widened in comical shock.

"No, not the…!"

"Blossum! Commander and the leader! Bubbles! She has the joy and the laughter! Buttercup! And she's the toughest fighter! Powerpuff save the day!" sang a female voice from the speakers. Lyre's eyes arched in surprise at the light hip-hop tune being played, Tynzien smacked his hand into his face in exhasperation, and Syria leapt up and started dancing to the tune.

"Yeah! Fighting crime, trying to save their world! Here they come JUST-IN-TIME, THE POWERPUFF GIIIRRRLLLLSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!" Syria sang along with the band known as Bis.

"Century, you may finally be starting to figure out how to feel emotions, but I am strongly considering fixing you so you don't try to be funny! The last thing I need on the ship is another her!" Tynzien said, pointing his thumb at Syria. From another speaker, Century laughed. Tynzien growled and walked over to Lyre.

"At least I can be serious with you." Tyznien muttered. Lyre arched an eyebrow and looked up.

"The best thing about your hair is that birds aren't nesting in it." Lyre said. Tynzien felt the confusion cross his face.

"WHAT?"

Lyre didn't respond, but instead lifted up Jack and looked at him.

"The best thing about Jack here is that if I threw him, he wouldn't land on his head after going six feet." Lyre said again. Tynzien's eyes rolled around in an expression of disbelief at what he was hearing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sorry Tynzien. I'm afraid I didn't tell you everything about me. There were a few things I was known for in my unit, and one is for fun I like to make utterly ridiculous observations." Lyre said, and looked at Century. "The best thing…"

"ARRRGGHHHH!" Tynzien mock-screamed, stomping away from Lyre as the Namek laughed. "Ok, I can tolerate three people that are secretly hopped up on goofballs, but what I cannot take…" Tynzien said, as he walked briskly towards Syria, who was still dancing to the song. "…is your TERRIBLE DANCING!"

With that said, Tynzien reached out and grabbed Syria to jokingly try to stop her dancing. Syria, acting in turn, jokingly shove back at Tynzien. Tynzien retaliated in turn, and soon the two of them were again rolling around the floor. Lyre watched with amusement before gently shooing Jack off his lap, getting up, and walking over to the struggling saiya-jin and Raeus-jin.

"You know, if you want, I can leave you two lovebirds alone…"

Tynzien and Syria stopped dead in mid-grapple, and they both got to their feet. Lyre felt a slight pang of unease at their looks.

"What did you call us?" Tynzien asked.

"Lovebirds, you know…" Lyre said, then trailed off as Tynzien and Syria looked at each other, exchanging a "can you believe this guy?" look between them before they turned their eyes back to the Namek.

"Well, from what I saw you two are so close and protective of each other…you seem to be able to read each other's minds at times, and so I assumed…I figured…you're…not lovers?" Lyre said with some embarrassment.

Tynzien and Syria looked at each other again.

"I'm gonna hit him!" Syria said, starting towards Lyre, but Tynzien grabbed her and pulled her back.

"No, I'M gonna hit him!" Tynzien said, himself starting towards Lyre, but this time Syria pulled him back and they began to argue.

"I'm gonna…no I'm gonna…I should……..we're BOTH gonna hit him." Tynzien and Syria said in unison, before they turned around and nailed Lyre. They weren't serious hits, which is why Lyre hadn't tried to move, and then had been open hands instead of fists, but the impact, although not painful to Lyre, was enough to send him flying backwards across the room, until he hit the opposing wall back first. Landing on his feet, he smirked evily, drawing his hand across his mouth.

"Oh, you two want a piece of me? Fine, I don't mind kicking both your asses!" Lyre said with the relish of a warrior about to have a good fight.

"Don't write checks your ass can't cash, Lyre!" Syria shot back, the same relish in her voice.

"Yeah." Tynzien added, bring up his hand and motioning to Lyre. "JUST. BRING. IT!"

"Children, children!" Century said. "I know you wouldn't mind fighting in a way that won't result in death for the loser, but…NO NO NO! NOT IN THIS ROOM! Go to the gravity room! Children, behave! Don't make me come out there! Oh god, what am I going to do with you three?"

Far away, on the planet known only as FCOH-65785R79, a slight breeze stirred in the dead air. The air was silent, broken only occasionally by a pebble falling from the massive changes that had been rendered to the landscape by Tynzien and co.

Quietly, the planet entered its nightfall, and slowly, the light that had burned and illuminated the planet during the whole encounter began to fade away, swallowed by the shadows. Slowly, the light slid away from the graves and began to slowly be devoured up the memorial, finally come to the words at the top. They would probably never be read, or even if they were, they would probably not be understood. But they were there, written in Namek apon the black stone.

To the Final Battle of the 844^TH Yarwus

We May Have Lost Our War

But As Long As We Are Remembered

We will Never Fall

The End

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And so we finally come to the end of my latest Tynzien story. It's ironic, I thought this would be the shortest story about Tynzien I ever wrote, and it turned out to be the longest! I have been rather scarce on FF.Net lately, and the reason is because I was working on this, mostly that huge 27-page final fight scene! I hope I haven't written myself into a corner, it's going to be damn hard to top that one. But I will try. Now, if you've read this whole thing in one sitting you probably want to leave, but now I have to give you my special info section! If you don't wanna read it though, just skip to the bottom and write your review. Also, Flamer, if you're reading this, consider this my unofficial response to the challenge you made a while ago, although I could write the next version of the bible and you would probably still say it sucked. Anyway, with that out of the way, onward ho!

Power Levels

Tynzien: 5,500,000

Syria: 4,900,000

Syria charged up: 15,700,000

Tynzien Kaioken X10: 55,000,000

Parkussion: 25,000,000

Brass: 16,000,000

Woodwind: 9,000,000

Klarinet: 5,000,000

Zaxafone: 5,000,000

Obo: 7,000,000

Tepmurt: 7,500,000

Whorn: 5,000,000

Harpe: 7,000,000

Viaolen: 8,000,000

Kwitare: 8,500,000

Sello: 5,500,000

Lyre (hidden): 8,800,000

Century: 40,000,000

Syria, Maximum: 27,000,000

Torchixstra: 50,000,000

Century during Shadow Destroyer X: 43,000,000

Syria during Genocide Heaven: 36,000,000

Super Saiya-jin Tynzien: 75,000,000

Tynzien Kaioken X20: 110,000,000*

Lyre, True Power: 45,000,000

Oozaru Tynzien: 55,000,000**

*=This state is so powerful Tynzien can only use it for a brief burst lest it rip him apart. He managed to knock Giant Torchixstra down with it but failed to deliver a killing blow.

**=As any true DBZ fan knows, being in Oozaru state increases your power tenfold. And unlike the Kaioken, it doesn't risk destroying you when you use it.

Puns

Seeing how Piccolo, everyone's favorite Namek, is named after a musical intrument (and his father's creations were too), I decided to keep the music "theme" when I named my Nameks, as you probably guessed. But for those who didn't get the names…

Lyre: Unaltered, a lyre is actually a medival kind of harp

Parkussion: Percussion, a section in an orchestra (It contains instruments like the drums)

Woodwind: Unaltered, the woodwind section is another part of an orchestra (It contains intruments like flutes and other non-metal instruments you play by blowing into)

Brass: Unaltered, yet another section of an orchestra (This one contains the intruments made of metal, like tubas etc)

Sello: Cello, a type of large string intrument.

Obo: Oboe, a playing intrument in the woodwind section.

Whorn: Horn.

Harpe: Harp (duh)

Tepmurt: Trumpet (if you don't think that's a pun on an intrument, read it backwards!)

Viaolen: Violen

Kwitare: Guitar (Yes, that's not normally part of an orchestra but it occasionally is!)

Klarinet: Clarinet (Another instrument in the woodwind section)

Zaxafone: Saxaphone

Torchixstra: Orchestra (Considering that the Nameks who combined to form him were all named after sections of one…)

Questions and Answers

(Writer's Note: If you want to know how Tynzien/Syria/Century/anyone knows about so and so, or why Tynzien thinks he's the Legendary (and only) Super Saiya-jin, refer to the answer section in my last story, Twisted Steel. While you're at it, read it!)

Q: How did Torchixstra know about King Kong?

A: You're just doing this to bug me, aren't you? I don't know. The answer will be forever lost to time.

Q: Why didn't you have a Namek named "Strings"?

Hardy har har. Well, while I could get away with using Woodwind and Brass as names and Parkussion as an altered name, I couldn't seriously get away with calling a Namek String or Strings.

Q: Then why didn't you just think of a pun on Strings?

A: Shut up or face the wrath of Scuba Steve!

Q: Why did Torchixstra start acting like he was a new person later in the story, yet earlier he was basically acting like Parkussion?

A: A few reasons. One, the Dark Ki was still working on his mind, eventually driving him mad. Two, as Parkussion noted, the being Torchixstra was a lot of Nameks combined together one new being, so out of a bunch of old personalities a new one was starting to form. If this confuses you however, just think of Torchixstra as a more powerful Parkussion going more and more insane, ok?

Q: What does Vermarthuire Boloranusm mean?

A: In case you missed it, it "translates" to "Divine Warriors Who Will Bring Death To All". Nice.

Q: Do you like Koola or something?

A: I don't think so, but he seemed to have a connection to each situation in every Tynzien story so far, hasn't he? Well, I hereby promise that the next Tynzien story will be Koola free! Or maybe not.

Q: Who's Nahognos?

A: Nahognos, or nahognos, he hates having the N capatilized for some bizzare reason, is another author on FF.Net, known for his epic "A Freiza Story" and his ultra-bizzare sense of humour (DBZMessed, read at your own risk! He almost puts Bionic Umbrella X to shame!). Century and Syria are quoting a line from his Freiza Story, where Freiza remarked that, well, no one is ever dead when the smoke clears! Also, for those who know nahognos like I do, look at what Syria threatens to turn Century into. Aren't I funny, Ian?

Q: Finally, did someone really say that after the O.J trial?

A: Actually that was something I thought up when I was in a philosiphical mood one time. And if you can handle the far-fetched nature of it, it does make sense. But I couldn't have my characters quoting ME, I slammed the fourth wall enough with nahognos.

And although you are probably sick of me by now, finally, a preview of my NEXT Tynzien story.

The very first creation of a evil genius…may provide the final fate for everything in the universe.

Don't ask if a machine can be mad.

Ask if it can be stopped.

Tynzien's Saga: Omega Alpha

Life Is Obsolete.