Sedu was sleeping soundly in his bed. The house was at peace, no one was awake. All was quiet. He shivered slightly in his sleep as he slipped into his dream world. He was crawling through the bush, in some strange jungle. Its was incredibly humid, the air dense, perspire forming on his face, dripping down like bullets to the ground, boring holes into the dirt. He stumbled over roots, desperate to reach his destination. He didn't even know where he was going, but something told him he had to go there.

At last, he burst through the growth and came upon a clearing. There was a tall, stone pillar that stretched for an eternity. Different symbols were carved into its surface, as well as ornamental patterns and geometric shapes. He looked at the tower for a moment, before glimpsing a strange golden light in the forest beyond it. Curious, Sedu followed it.

He forced his way through the branches, but he could never get closer to the light. It would always float away. The heat of the jungle was taking its toll; Sedu was having difficulties breathing. Just when he was about to give up, drop down and die in the forest, the trees gave way. They were blasted away by an unseen force, and they shattered, one by one. Looking ahead, Sedu saw, to his horror, Caush and Zakri in a horrible fight. They were beating on each other, blasting huge amounts of ki. Blood was spraying everywhere, they were screaming. It was awful. Then, the gold light revealed its true nature. It split into two ghouls, both of them glowing. They fell upon Sedu's family, and tore them to pieces. Blood poured in a crimson cascade of pain and suffering. The monsters heard his screams, and they swooped down, grasping him, holding him high in the muggy air. A castle broke through the ground and rose up before Sedu, who struggled against the other worldly bonds that held him. The doors swung open, revealing King Kakarotto lying dead, blooding pouring from the wound in his chest.

The ghosts pulled on Sedu's limbs. He screamed in agony as he was pulled to pieces. He jumped out of bed, shaking and still screaming. He puked over the floor and crawled out of the room. He made his way to his father's room, opened the door and approached his father's bed. Zakri was sleeping, though he too was restless. Sedu curled into the bed, resting with his beloved dad.

The Past...

A sick slap echoed off the stone walls, fading with each repetition. Just as the first vanished another succeeded it, this time followed by a mild groan.

Zakri stood, panting, watching the bruised criminal Luce bleed. The criminal is tied to a chair, bound tightly in cords. His long, thin, greasy black hair is hanging over his face. He stared at his torturer through bloodshot eyes, and was slapped again. Spit flew from his dry lips, and he looked for a moment at Dok, who simply grinned at him.

"Do what you want, it makes no difference," taunted Luce. "You can't undo what I've created. It's imp-" Zakri punched him, knocking out two teeth and sending his head back, cracking his neck.

"Shut up... just shut up!" screamed the tormented warrior. He hung his head. A though sneaked into his head, and formed a sly smile on his face. "Do you know what was announced by King Kakarotto today?" He chuckled uncontrollably. "Barban, you're precious Barban, has been banned! Your power is gone, your advantage lost. However..." he laughed more. "My comrade Dok, who you see beside me, he still has a case of the stuff. He rendered the leaves into a liquid, and has agreed to supply me with some for my own amusement." No emotion showed on the scarred face of Luce. He simply watched Zakri withdraw a thin glass vial filled with green fluid from a black box. Zakri looked at Luce, then slashed him viciously across the chest without warning, using a large surgical blade brought by Dok. Luce yelped as the wound was opened and thick, red blood flowed down his chest. Zakri cracked open the vial and rubbed some of the green liquid into the wound, which healed immediately.

"I've given you just enough Barban to sustain you... for now. You will not lose consciousness, and you will not break away. Attempting to escape will result in your immediate capture and more pain." He gripped the handle tightly and slowly dragged it across the moon shaped scar, distorting it. Green blood flowed from the new cuts. Luce screamed.

Zakri tortured Luce with the blade for hours, occasionally administering more Barban. He used the razor sharp cutting edge to slice segments of skin, using the narrow point to dig in the flesh and pry off parts of the skin, peeling Luce, who screamed endlessly. The now hoarse sounds gave Zakri some satisfaction; he knew he was succeeding with his plan, to give Luce as more pain then he had ever experienced.

He flipped the knife over and pressed the serrated edge against Luce's shoulder. They're eyes locked, and Zakri began to saw. Blood poured as tendons snapped, the heavy metal blade tearing through skin and muscle, and was chewing through the bone. Luce screamed in agony as his body was mutilated. When Zakri paused, he slackened in his seat, breathing heavy.

The hours wore on into days. Luce hung from the bunker ceiling, his arms shackled and bolted to the roof. His feet bound to the floor, he was pulled taught, while no possible movement. Blood covered the floor; it had slowly accumulated from the massive damage performed on Luce's torso. He was pale, his muscles sagged from prolonged use of Barban. He barely screamed when stabbed by the thick blade. Fresh, green blood oozed slowly. Barban pushed his bones further, making them grow and stretch out of proportion, distorting his figure and allowing more blood to be produced. Zakri dropped his knife with a clatter.

"Enough of the blade work," he growled. "Time for some shock therapy." He charged ki into his hands, causing them to glow and spark. He focused his energy into the electric range of the ki spectrum, allowing him to shock his prey without burning them all to the ground. He allowed some of his power to escape his mental bindings, leaping forwards to toy with the nearest target. Luce gasped as he was shocked by the electric energy. Zakri intensified the blasts. More screams erupted when parts of the victim's body bubbled as his organs boiled inside him, bursting through the skin, splashing the walls with a gory paint. Some of the skin turned black around the edges, emitting a vile stench that made Dok cover his face with some cloth. Zakri cackled insanely as Luce begged for him to stop, finally broken by his continual Hell. He closed his black eyelids and fainted.

Zakri woke up, covered in cold sweat. He looked around, watching the blood and guts fade from the walls, felt his soaring, adrenaline fueled power subside, and listened as his cruel laughter and screams of enemies faded. The room was dark and completely silent, except for the soft snores of Sedu. He peeled himself off his moist sheets and pulled himself out of bed, taking care to not wake his son. He glanced out the window. Otim was missing from the sky, and Pax was a few degrees over the horizon. He concluded the time from these factors, and decided to get a start on the battle. He knew his orders, and would go straight to the fight. He donned his armour, which, like most of his gear, was designed by himself, and power radar, then launched out the door into the depths of war.

"Sedu! Sedu wake up!"

Sedu heard an urgent voice brimming with excitement, and felt light, playful shoves. He opened one eye a crack and peeked at his assailant. He saw the slightly blurred silhouette of Caush, who was desperately trying to shake him awake.

"Quickly Sedu, I have an idea."

Casting his charade of sleep into oblivion, Sedu groggily replied.

"What is it?" He looked around, realizing his location. "Wait, where's Dad?"

"Thats what I'm getting too," said Caush as he poked his brother, forcing him wide awake. "He's gone off to a battle. I want to go watch."

"Wha- Caush, you know Dad doesn't let us go near the battles."

"Oh come on," whined Caush very dramatically, frustration seeping into his voice. "It'll be interesting to see how it all works. Everything I'm learning put in action" His eyes flashed at the prospect.

Sedu considered it. On the plus side, adventure was fun. On the minus side, he could get in trouble, he could get killed and, well, the bed was comfy.

Caush glared at him.

"Get out of bed or I'll beat the shit out of you," he threatened maliciously. Sedu quickly complied. He stretched his small black day suit on and pulled the boots over his feet. After donning his gloves, he was ready for a day out in the sun. Though he was still unable to fly, Caush had passed the basic course and knew some basic techniques. He carried his little brother by piggyback, and shot into the sky, towards the flashes and bangs of the war zone.