*Chapter 3:*
The eagle swoops downward towards the prey,
the snake catches its shadow.

*The Razor's Edge*

In his room, Maxra sat with his back against the wall, while in his hand he fiddled with an old trinket given to him by his father. On the back was engraved in Smargle, "Honor, Courage, and Duty". It was the last gift Maxra ever received from his father who was assassinated when he was merely a child. In silent meditation Maxra recounted the events of that fateful day.

/Outside, the leaves of the trees on Smargle had been falling. What a gorgeous day it was! The two suns had decided to burn a low blue that day, and in the limelight he watched his father walking with his mother as he sat on a tree limb. He breathed easy that day, his father had finally retired from the military, given up being a general to spend more time with them. The flowers of Smargle emitted their strong scent of sweetness, meanwhile Maxra gazed at his father's form. He was a powerful warrior, standing well over 3 zeus (2 feet/zeus) and with long flowing general's hair dangling down around his elbows. His mother was beautiful too, he thought, but his father was a powerful being, and he admired him. Slowly Maxra reached into his pocket and pulled out the new little trinket of his father's. The one they gave to him for retirement. As he read the inscription, he ran his little fingers over the word duty.
Suddenly a streak of light shot across the air and he heard a scream. He looked up in time to see a second shot streak out and strike his father who held his mother in his arms. 'I don't deserve this!' were the last words he muttered as soon a red beam burned his head right off his shoulders, while the silver clock descended to the ground, bouncing off of it like a ball, forever breaking, leaving the exact time and date of his father's death permanently fashioned on its face./

As Maxra turned it over again to look at this time, he remembered how he had taken military matters to heart since then, always planning out his revenge and looking for the person whom had robbed him as a child. He had often come close to learning who it was. Once upon a time he thought it was Sancoah, but then he found more and more evidence that it was indeed more likely to be the emperor's guards than Sancoah. Sancoah had actually been too young at the time, really, to be a good assassin. But it still perplexed Maxra to no end as to why a retired officer would be worth assassinating when in fact he was no longer any threat. It was obvious that he knew something that someone else wanted kept a secret. It's hard to know if it was even the emperor, assassinations were, after all, quite popular on Smargle.
But the more he thought about the actions of the emperor, analyzed them and searched the motivations and eyes of that emperor, especially after the dinner, the more he became convinced it was the emperor behind it. And he thought he even knew why.
Suddenly a comlink buzzed on his wrist, "General, you have an incoming caller, requesting a secure talk with you."
"I'll take it in my sanctuary."
The general rose and walked over to his sanctuary, and entered the personal code to open it, also punching in the last time he used it, "The have been no uses since that date," the computer declared.
He stepped in a shut the door, "Computer, top security level, no one enters twenty zeus of the shell!"
Then he picked up the receiver.
"General," it was Sancoah, "I have good news, the package is in my hands."
"Good job Sancoah, you have done what I asked then? And just in time too."
"Yes, now let's discuss my payment."
"First tell me how I can get a hold of my cargo."
"We'll meet at Knogonodiscruxy (coded language for hangar 15, junction 6) tomorrow at this time. It'll be extra for the earthling you need too!"
"Alright, I'll have your payment ready," and he hung up.
'Sancoah sure is being extra careful to use coded language kroshdulge,' thought the general, 'he obviously does not want to be caught with my cargo.
'Well, this will work right into my plan,' he continued to scheme, 'I'll first marry the daughter of the emperor and than head to the moonbase to get my package. There I'll start the war and use the cover of the attack to escape to the planet where I can use the treasure!
'Then I'll finally get my revenge against that bastard!'
He smiled and went back to his bed and lay down to sleep, not forgetting of course to hook up his dream prohibitor first.

*The Life of Son Gojin*

The four warriors, along with the dead Odysean and Mr. Popo returned to the dojo. There they buried Odysean along with Aretay and the other members of the family and the boys set off on two missions. Goken went to get his mother and sisters to the Brief's mansion, and also Mei-ling, and Centura went to the mansion to prepare supplies to take the entire family to the countryside.
Meanwhile, around the fires, while Mr. Popo wandered about cleaning, Son Gojin told the story of how he had traveled the galaxy in search of the answer to a question that plagued his mind: 'What is Ki?'
"It was the day after we were announced to have passed or failed our tests. I remember how happy you and Aretay were, while Odysean was apprehensive, he knew he was failing. Anyhow, thereafter I went to nap in the graveyard with my ancestors and dream with them, to shard with them the successes of our brotherhood. They were lonely.
"When I had at last fallen asleep I dreamed that a beautiful woman came down to me from the clouds and she told me that I was a special person, that I was to come with her on a journey. And I asked her what her name was, and she told me: Ki. I was amazed and in awe at her beauty, I had never seen energy as a woman before, but I was in love with whatever it was.
"The next day I went to the Brief's household an don loan borrowed a spaceship to take me across the galaxy where I felt a faint whisper of Ki in the universe. I was as though a zombie, a fairy caught in the whimsical magic of some distant place. And I left."
"What," asked Tsu, "Did you find?"
Gojin stared then into the fire, smiled a bit out of the corner of his mouth, "I found everything a man could hope to find. I found terror and triumph, and I found worlds of fantasies and delusions, I found love and hatred. I found, in truth, myself."
"But did you get the answer to your question?"
"Yes."
"Good," Tsu declared.

/Gojin was the kind of warrior all the students aspired to be, spiritual, surely, strong-minded, and content with linear progressions. He set goals and attained them, and his preciseness was something in a student that Tsu admired. He was Tsu's favorite, in fact, and it broke the old man's heart to find Gojin gone the day after the recognition. He had hoped he'd become a helpful teacher to the others. Tsu meditated all day long in search for his pupil, only to end up hearing words of solace from Kami. "He's gone on a heavenly sent mission, you've done your job Tsu, now see the results."
Tsu saw the results now, and he was impressed. But no more than he had been, it seemed as if nothing in the universe had changed the warrior, as if he merely validated everything he had learned and been taught, and was now back, content, and ready for the next phase of life. He was a strong hero, the kind that could hold the world on his shoulders if Atlas felt tired…/

Gomen sat gazing at his brother, not really jealous, but curious.
"Gojin," he spoke at last, "How do you know of the perils of the planet?"
"On my way back I spent time on the distant planet Smargle, an empire that extends quite far out in the western galaxy. There I lived for a time, as a guest, and in relative ease. It was tough to train there, the entire planet was CO2, but I did manage, enough to enjoy the subtle beauty of the planet. They have a really advanced culture there, you know, strong culture, profusive.
"But I soon became aware of an evil presence haunting me in my sleep. When I would sleep this phantom would stalk through my thoughts, searching for something.
"One night I dreamt of the dragon and I dreamt of wishing I were home, I had come to miss my family, and when I was granted my wish, I soon saw that it was not only I who had seen the dragon's power, but another being, powerful and dangerous. He heard my pleas and saw my wonderful treasure from home.
"It was the next day that I learnt the military was on the move again, for the first time in several years. I learnt of their origin, and I knew I had better come here. If it hadn't have been for the black hole outside of Modula 7, I would have beaten them here. I nearly lost my way along the event horizon, but let's just say a greater force than black holes helped me out of my predicament. Soon I arrived in the Solar System, to find I was too late. The Smargleoids have occupied the whole of the far side of the moon and also Mars, and they have nearly completed their preparations for invasion. Worst yet, they will use some of the worst methods of conquering when they begin, and they will succeed even if we find alongside our race, because they are led by General Maxranoma, the ruthless genius of war.
"We must make an assault on his base, and take back the lost dragonballs and Kami. The fate of not just the planet rests on this, but also of the universe."
"Who is it that Sancoah is selling the dragonballs to?"
"I would say the emperor, but if I suspect rightly, I would also count on the general to make his mark on the search for invincibility," Gojin answered Master Tsu.
"I hope the boys have done their jobs already," Gomen spoke.
"Where, brother, by the way, is Aretay?"
He looked into the eyes of his brothers and saw immediately, "I see, hmm," he pondered for a moment, "and now the boy is all that remains of his clan while ours remains strong?" Gojin frowned, "I should never have left, it only pushed aretay deeper to his insanity.
"It was never your fault, Gojin," spoke Tsu, "He was infatuated with the glory of Goku and Vegeta."
"True, and now the boy is a lost sprite as well. I feel something in him, I can see it: hope for the love of another."
"Yes," spoke Tsu, "what started off as lust for a girl has turned to love of hope, and your son," he turned to Gomen, "has became involved with this girl, and is now stuck between sharing her love and protecting his friend."
"Goken can handle himself, Master, don't worry about that," Gomen declared, with pride, then turned to Gojin, "Let's just hope he can handle taking care of the family enough to get them out to the old homestead."

*Exodus*

Goken had brought his mother and sisters by plane to the Briefs mansion, as well as he brought a somewhat bigger Mei-ling. The plane ride tore Goken apart because although he wanted to hold his love again, he could not in front of his mother, despite the fact that she knew the truth. He sweat, however, not about this, but about the impending danger. It seemed that at any moment the entire planet could catch fire and become a graveyard.
When finally they arrived at the mansion, they found Centura yelling at his stubborn family. Goken landed the plane and got out to go over to them where Centura was ranting at his mother and stubborn family.
"Hey man, what's up, we need to go!" Goken shouted at him.
"I know!!" Centura glared at him.
"But my damn family says I'm crazy and they aren't going to go live in the country, and my mother says she isn't going unless they all go! I can't stand it anymore, I'm going to go insane!"
"Rosetta," Goken's mother pleaded, "please come with us, the boys say it's a terribly important thing."
"I know that, but my family comes first, before me. You should all go, I wish I could convince them to leave, but they think we're all insane nowadays," she flailed he arms to point to the family that was walking back inside, annoyed with Centura's rantings.
"But you don't want to die, do you?" deep down she knew the reason Mrs. Briefs was refusing: she wanted to be dead with her husband too.
"Well, I figure I had better be there for my family just in case, and if something happens the eternal dragon can return things back to normal."
"I guess you are right, Rosetta," they smiled at each other.
But Centura was about to flip his lid and start raging, he was ready to grab his family, throw them in the plane and take off before they could have the chance to protest. Goken saw his friend starting to lose it at this ridiculous insanity and moved to stop him, when Mei-ling came out of the plane.
Centura, for all his anger, stopped dead like a frozen bird, and his arms sagged down to the ground. Goken looked at him, and then at Mei-ling, 'Oh shit, she doesn't know what I did,' he thought.
"Mei-ling…" Centura could only stammer.
"Hi Centura," she said and then turned away.
The two ladies and the sisters looked at the three of them and knew right away, soon Goken's mother spoke up, "Goken, it's time we be going, you'd better go with Centura to the school now, we can fly to the homestead alone."
"Uh, yeah mom, you're right. Centura, it's time we be going."
Centura nodded, but started to step towards Mei-ling, not even noticing anything about her, just her presence. But Goken grabbed his arm and yanked hard, "Come on bro', let's go!" and he flew off with Centura attached to his arm, th both of them looking back at Mei-ling, whom stared into Goken's eyes – her stare could easily have been mistaken to be at Centura's as well.

/The wisdom of women is an interesting thing. Often it is not logical or straight forward, but intuitive. They are weak, yet powerful creatures, and if anything, they can see right through each other. It was on the way to the homestead that Goken's mother worked up the nerve to stare into Mei-ling's eyes and see the truth. She was not angry however, not happy, but not angry, for she saw the strength of their love months before. She saw it the night the two had met. It was as though the guardians deemed it from the beginning.
Goken's mother was a very wise woman to begin with. She was the daughter of a farmer in the village near the school, before the city had overrun the countryside. There she had attended school, and there she had met Gomen. It was a Tuesday afternoon and she and her friends had come back from school. When she began to walk home, she felt a strange urge to wander off into a field. When she did, she stumbled upon Gomen playing a game in the sand. They were extremely young children, only about six or seven, but she knew from then on, as she sat and watched him at play, that he was the one. She schemed for the rest of her life to get him, and get him she did, just before he went off to south city to live.
Now she saw the same tactics in Mei-ling, the scheming to retain Goken's love, and she did not hate, she felt love for her new daughter. She felt sorrow too, because they had just begun their love, and already it seemed possible that death could come to them all./

"Mei-ling," Lila spoke to her, then stopped when she saw the eyes of a sad Mei-ling move to look at her.
Lila waited a moment more, and watched the girl as she stared out the window. "Mei-ling, you'll see him again, don't worry," she soothed her.
"I hope I do," she answered back.
"You will, after all, Gojin has come back and Gomen and he are the most powerful people on this planet, after that is Goken, and you know Centura won't let him die…"
"Hmm, Centura," she shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, he'll understand your feelings for Goken,"
"But will he forgive Goken?" she asked the mother of three.
"If Centura is not blinded by himself, he will see the truth, and no one can be angry about the truth."
"I am just afraid, for them both, I feel like it's my fault, and I've put Goken in such a bad position," she sagged her head.
"There are some forces in this world, Mei-ling, that are impossible to overcome, and love is one of them. You cannot change who you are like that," she said and snapped her fingers, "nor can you change others, you can only deal with them."
"I guess you're right Lila," she spoke, then was silent, and then again opened up, "Sometimes I wish he and I were along, together, far away from this world, and we were on a farm raising our family. Sometimes family would come and visit, but mostly it was just us, and then I think of how things are now: how can I get what I want?"
Lila sighed, "I have only been to the homestead once, Mei-ling, but I can tell you that it is the place where these things can happen. There you can find your love and live happily. And you will, when this is all over. I promise."
Mei-ling whom had been staring at her throughout that sentence, hopped up and ran to her new mother, hugging her. She cried then, and the sisters only watched on, thinking to themselves that boys were often more trouble than they were worth.

*Delivery*

On the far side of the moon sat the Smargleoids' impressive military base. The precision of the computerized military was unimaginable. Everywhere robots buzzed at work, hovering over the dust without concern for it or themselves, and the military personnel remained at work in the training facility practicing the invasion. There the army had set up gravity fields stronger than those of earth and the soldiers trained in them all the time. Only three things did the Smargleoid soldier due before an invasion: eat sleep, and train. They never even talked to each other, just military signals and looks, no talking. The were hardened veterans of conquering and because of their precision, their numbers remained low, around 15,000 or so. They trained with ki blasters, iuquas, plasma rail guns, light grenades, wormhole canisters, and most importantly the dreaded Drechen (imperial sword shaped like a katana, but made with Kichin and sabreteeth on the back).
They were a clan of people, like family, but closer. They never doubted Maxra's orders, never thought for themselves (that was made sure of), all they knew was death. Looking on, it seemed to Sancoah that the robots had more life to them.
"Ah, Sancoah, I see you've made it on time."
The orange mercenary, staring out the window of his ship at some passing soldiers making the rounds, only replied, "You are late!"
"Sancoah, this is time for celebration, you are going to be a very rich Smargle in a few minutes!"
The mercenary then turned to face him, a smug face showing. "Whatever is the matter, Sancoah?" Maxra asked.
"I was ambushed by several Saiyans on this mission," he replied.
"Ha! No Saiyan can take you down, how many did you kill?"
"Only one, they had ancient armor!"
"You should have shot them in the head with you iuqua!"
"Hmph, easy for you to say, these Saiyans were not your usual bunch, they moved faster and had no tails!"
"No tails!? How is that possible?"
"I learned that they integrated with the humans there. The fact is that the ones I encountered were descendents of Kakorotto and Prince Vegeta!"
"Impossible!"
"No, quite true, they are the reason this planet remains intact."
"What are you saying?"
"The majority of them are weak, but they are now aligned with a fourth brother, a great power. He will consume your armies in a flash of an eye!"
"Impossible, Sancoah you exaggerate, what's your goal here? Is it money!?"
"Hmph, I already command more money for the trouble I went through. Besides, I need compensation for losing some equipment."
"Do you, or don't you have what I want?"
"Yes, and I have the Namek as well, he contains much intelligence, your neural scanners will overrun with information," he smiled.
"It won't be necessary, once I have what I want, I will not be needing him or his intelligence."
"You refer to your wishes?" he eyed the general slyly.

/Sancoah was playing a dangerous game here. But he knew the aim and goals of the general as well as the emperor. He had correctly gauged and called upon the general, even despite the possibility of being caught on the military moon base! He was quite a mystical mercenary, and even the second best in the business wasn't half as good. Even if General Maxra wanted to get rid of Sancoah without paying him, the best he could hope for was doing it himself, a task he wasn't willing to undergo before he got what he sought. Until he could make such a daring move, he would have to play by the rules of Sancoah./

"Maybe, how would you know what I would do with them?"
"I learnt of their powers on the planet…"
"Well, it will do you good to keep that a secret, and hand them over as soon as possible!" he commanded, "Where is my package!?" he was getting irritated with the mercenary.
"Ah ah ah," Sancoah waved his finger back and forth, "first let's talk money."
"You agreed to a price beforehand!"
"Yes, but at the time I was not aware of the importance of the mission, now I realize I was in too much danger, I require recompense!" he lied.
"Grr! Sancoah, you are trying my patience!" he yelled inexorably, "How much!?"
"Fifty million jubilee," he said matter of factly.
"What!? That's my entire fortune! You cannot demand all of my money for this! You agreed to the job at merely ten million!"
"If you are unwilling to pay…"
"Fine! It will be done. Where can I pick up my package?"
"When I have received the payment, the bank will auto-reply with a set of coordinates. The package will be found on Earth itself, and you can simply go there to do what you please."
"I will send the money, only if you agree to be on video conference within the area," he replied, reaching into his pocket to pull out a phone, "Here, you must use this, it will tell me where you are. If you are anywhere outside of this moon base or the fourth planet, or if you are nearby a port, I will cancel my transaction," he tried to retain control over Sancoah.
"Agreed, farewell, Supreme General," and with that the being simply blended into the background.
'Yes, farewell, you cretin. When I get my wishes, you will be the second person I destroy, greedy demon!' he thought leaning against the railing, gripping it until it crumpled.
Above him the hum of another load of nemants and soldiers was making it's way towards space in preparation for the invasion.

*Alert: Citizens of Earth Awake!*

Early in the morning the four warriors awoke to the sound of an alarm going off in the distance. "Woahhhhhh!" it cried like the end of the earth was near.
"What's that?" cried Centura.
"That's the city's alarm!" replied Gomen.
SoonMaster Tsu came running into the room where the warriors were sleeping. He ran to the nearby radio and switched it on. "…diately. Again, for those of you just tuning in, an alert to the population of the world has gone out. Early this morning, at o-200 hours Satan City time, a government spy probe satellite caught sight of an unidentified flying object landing in the northern polar region of earth. The military sent planes to investigate, and they were promptly shot down by two targets just twenty kilometers away from the suspected landing site. Later, at approximately o-420 hours, a scientist at the Briefs Center for Atmospheric Studies noted that a larger portion of carbon dioxide gas was being emitted from the polar regions than from even the cities! It was suspected that the alien invader theory could prove to be true.
"At approximately o-450 hours the government of the Eastern quadrant was reporting attacks from a mix of air and ground forces that moved swiftly. By o-500 hours, the government of the quadrant was gone. Spy satellites, before being destroyed, revealed that the invaders were rapidly setting up station in that region.
"At o-530 hours, the government of the Southern quadrant launched a nuclear strike on the base. The missles were redirected by computer hackers back to the bases where they struck South City. The Briefs technology centers were almost completely destroyed. The President has announced a state of emergency, and is ordering Satan city residents to evacuate immediately!"

/Already in the Eastern and Southern quadrants, the Smargles had set up nemant processing centers that began to quickly transform the environment, plant new, viscious vegetation, and systematically destroy the human population. As quickly as they were being caught, whole families, towns, populations were being devoured by the machinizations of the Smargle military. Ashes rained down from the sky like snow and children screamed to their mothers and fathers before seeing the world turn a reddish black around them. New terror had come upon the earth swifter than the light of sunrise, which could not be seen in this morning throughout much of the earth because of the thick ashes. The precision… the horror… it made the warriors tremble./

"Unbelievable! We go to sleep for five hours and the world is half destroyed!" Gomen shouted.
In the background, Centura was weeping childishly, "…mother…" he cried and Goken hugged him, "Don't worry Centura, we'll get her back, you'll see!"
Suddenly Gomen stood up, "We have to go now, we must fight the armies!" he cried, pointing out the window at the approaching vehicles from the west.
Yet no one else rose. Tsu sat in cogitation and Goken consoling Centura. But most perplexing for Gomen was looking at his brother, who could only stare into the distance, teeth clenched and fists bloody.
"…Maxra! You'll pay with your life for this! You and the emperor will drown in my tears!" he whispered angrily.
Tsu looked up at him gravely, peering into his soul, and he shivered… 'What power!' he remarked to himself.
"Gojin! Let's go!" Gomen repeated.
"I'll kill those bastards!" Centura suddenly shouted, and stood, relasing a powerful wave of energy that knocked everyone a bit. "Argg!" and with a fit of rage, he flew out the window, blue aura circling his body.
"Centura!" Goken shouted, and he and Gomen flew out the window as well after Centura.
"Gojin, aren't you going to go with them?" Tsu asked him, bent over looking at the powerful man who bled from his palms and gums.
"No, they can handle this, I have some unfinished business to settle. I'm going to look for the general in the Eastern quadrant. Tell them I'll meet them at the lookout tonight."
And with that the venerable warrior flew out the window as well, only in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, above the skies, the trio of heroes had begun assaulting the air and ground forces with powerful ki blasts. Iuquas and plasma rail guns lit the sky like flashlights, in a mad attempt to destroy them. But the military had been taken by surprise and was forced to not only avoid attacking people, but retreat. They were suffering defeat steadily from the three who killed with their palms and heels and laser beam eyes. Centura, whom was a volatile child since his father died, suddenly found a peace in hearing the death curdling screams of the military warriors who wore masks and carried Drechens. In his mind he sang heavy metal songs of hatred and rage and in the heat of the battle he picked up two Drechens and began to systematically slaughter the enemy. Goken handled himself quite well, and managed to protect his father from any harm as well, noting the loss of skill in the old warrior, but he often stopped in awe at seeing the gentle young Centura who seemed so weak dismantle the entire military with his rage. 'He is a god of death…' he thought, watching Centura whack off someone's head while smashing another's with the hard teeth of the Drechen.
Gomen and Goken preferred the peace and tranquility of fighting with their hands, but soon it became obvious to Goken that he needed to step up the power.
Rising up to the sky he yelled aloud, "Cover your eyes, father, Centura! Solar Flare!!" and a bright wave of light lit up the city like day, and then grew to blind the entire military.
Then bring up his right palm to face the military's technological barrage, Goken shouted out, "Take this! Hiyaa!" and using the Big Bang attack created a huge ball of power that descended and nailed the army directly in the center.
Soon the light in the air grew again and the heat of the blast scalded the trio of warriors who watched as flames of hatred sucked the souls from the orangish demons. Around them aircraft began to turn around and fly away.
"No you don't!" shouted Gomen, as he fired blasts like a gattlin gun from his finger, nailing each craft up to a kilometer away.
It wasn't but a few more minutes later that the battle was over and the trio descended to the battlefield. There they puffed and huffed until they were recovered and then they looked around them at the carnage.
Centura and Goken began to weep at seeing this destruction: they had never experienced death in war before Odysean, and this was far too shocking!
"Where's Gojin?" soon Gomen asked himself, looking around, "He hasn't fled, has he?"
Suddenly Master Tsu landed behind them. "No, Gomen, he has gone in search of the leaders of this terrible force. He has gone looking for the general, in the eastern quadrant."
"Then we'll go too!" and he turned to fly, but Tsu interrupted him.
"No, he says to meet him at the Sanctuary. He'll see you tonight."
"But what if he needs our help?" asked Goken, looking up at the old man.
"None of you can help him, he would only be burdened by your presence."
"Is there anything we can do then?" Gomen asked.
"You can hope, and believe. You must go to the Sanctuary to meet him, but along the way, you and the rest of my students will follow me into battle. We will systematically defeat the warriors of Smargle! It is not too late to regain our lost honor!"
And to this the trio flew off with their sensai towards the school, preparing their minds for a new challenge and goal. They were going to defeat the forces of Maxra in one day! At least that was their hope.

*Double-Cross*


The general stood in the dark area of the hidden room. Around him only a light blue neon lamp glowed, humming softly. He was dialing a number. Soon the receiver picked up.
"Sancoah?"
"Yes," the voice of the familiar mercenary replied.
"I am about to wire the transfer, have you set the auto-reply?"
"Of course, and as you can see, I am still on this very planet, on the other side in fact, where your people have not yet started converting it."
The general looked at the transmitter, it confirmed the words. "Alright, I don't think you can go anywhere, so here it is."
He reached over to a computer console where a bank screen popped up and lit the room. First he entered his personal password, and then gave his digital signature, which was confirmed by the computer. Once he logged in, he went to the wire transfers, and entered in the amount. "Here it goes…" he whispered to himself.
Instantly the transfer was made and a message popped up in front of him. "103 P by 23 Q by 756 R" (these are not earthen cardinal directions).
He chuckled to himself, then said, "Pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure's all mine," added Sancoah, with what seemed to Maxra must be a sly smile.

/Maxra had ordered the strike against the earth only a few earth hours before, and already they had dissembled most of the earthen forces. He was personally surprised at the minute resistance, especially when told about the family of Saiyan descendants there. He had not yet, at this point heard of any defeat at the hands of the Saiyans in Satan City, because it had not happened. But, then again, he didn't care about victory anymore. All he wanted was his treasure.
With haste he informed his commanders that he was going to the base on Earth to better survey the terrain and get a feel for his next move. They were speechless, but no one dared gamble a word with the new son-in-law of the emperor: the Supreme General Maxranoma! Thus he left in his favorite shuttle, a very expensive model with a cloaking device and that could transport his favorite vehicle with it. He was going to need it after arriving at the base to go to the specified coordinates.
Inside his little shuttle, which operated on its own and traveling kinematically without wormhole assistance, the general held his fathers watch in his hand, turning it over and over, looking at the inscription, 'Very soon father and mother, I will have everything back and more… and you will be proud of me!'/

The shuttle soon arrived at the base, where the general emerged to greet the four admirals of the army. When all the formalities had been disavowed, the general spoke to them, "Prepare my Flanvula! I am going out to survey the planet myself," he commanded, hiding his ambitions sloppily behind an air of military prowess.
"But…" one of the admirals interjected, "General, you've just arrived!"
The general turned to the questioning admiral and glared at him. Suddenly he pulled out his waist pistol and blasted the admiral right in the mask. Then he turned to the remaining three admirals, "I am the Supreme General, and I demand respect! You have all done a miserable job here on this planet! Why is it not conquered yet!?" he had no idea the answer would come.
"But sir, the resistance from the Northwest has been strong, the band of flying warriors is defeating our technology. Can we not launch a nuclear countermeasure?"
'So the Saiyans finally awoke, eh? I imagine they must be angry!' he thought, "No, you fool!" he retorted, "The emperor wants a healthy planet, and I will accept no substitutes! You will win this war within one pass of the sun or you will be beheaded! Prepare my Flanvula!"
And with that he turned about and faced the sun, it was a bright one, but something about the planet seemed so beautiful to him, and he felt like taking off his mask. 'This seems so familiar to me… why do I feel as though I've been here before?'
Behind him, he heard his Flanvula hit the ground and begin to hover. He turned around and walked to it. "I don't want any escorts, they won't be necessary!"
"Yes sir!" the admirals shouted as they watched the craft rocket off into the distance. Behind them stood huge smoke stacks, churning out ashes and smoke that drifted into the distance with the wind.

/The drive was a long one, even for the Flanvula. The general mostly admired the beauty of this world, seeing the colors and the animal life that was so much gentler than what would soon replace it. The green fields, the blue-looking pools and streams of acid. He admired it for its simple elegance, and it's rarity. He had only seen one other planet as beautiful as this one, and it he had blown to pieces with the mega-iuqua. But he didn't really care. For him the universe was uglier than his black heart, all of life unfair and unjust. He would bring justice! He would get revenge and make things right! He would rule the universe with such an iron-hand that the people would cower in fear of his anger and remain at peace. They would loathe and love him. Fire of desire burned brighter and brighter in his eyes.
Yet he felt a growing presence as well. Down in his heart he felt a sagging weight, a worry from somewhere. Was it the Saiyans, or was it the nagging feeling he had about his presence on the planet? He wasn't for sure, but he did not let him worry himself either./

Soon he arrived close to the location of the coordinates. Ahead of him remained a cave, with a wide opening, just wide enough to walk into. His heart sank, "Why did he have to go and hide the treasure in there!?" he said aloud, turning off the ignition and stepping out with his mask on.
On his waist rested a Drechen and of course, his iuqua, which he was rumoured to have mastered the use of both. His eyes squinted at the cave opening, then he looked around him. 'Why do I feel as if I shouldn't go in there?' he thought.
He again looked at the sun, then back to the cave. He began to walk, carefully not stepping in any puddles or on any plants. His breathing became shallow, and he sweat, giving off a powerful aroma of sodium hydroxide.
Out of the corner of his eye, a bright flash approached, quickly he dodged the beam by jumping to the right. He reached down to his drechen as fast as he could, but as soon as he had detached it, he felt it become pinned to the ground and suddenly his whole body collapsed from a blow to his jaw. "Argg!" he went flying.
A long time he lay in the dust, staring at the ants go by, thinking to himself angrily. He was somewhat afraid, but mostly annoyed. Soon he heard a voice, "Get up, Maxra! I know you are not dead… yet," the voice rang out across the distance.
Maxra's eyes widened, and slowly he stood, and peered out across the many meters towards his enemy. "Son Gojin!"
"Yes, it is me!"
"Im.. impossible! You were dead!" the general muttered.
"Hmph! Not yet, Maxra, but you were made to believe so."
"What!? How is that possible, Gojin, how can you have remained alive?"
Soon another voice, a powerful voice, coming from the cave echoed across the plains.
"Because I kept him alive, Maxranoma, because he knew things, more than you learned from him!"
"Emperor!" the general cried aloud, looking over to the source of the voice.
The emperor, as well, was accompanied by a figure, in particular the orange, cold, tall figure of Sancoah. He stood just behind him with a smug smile running across his face.
"Sancoah! How?"
"Are you surprised, Maxra?" the emperor questioned him, redirecting the attention to him.
Gojin had turned to face the emperor, sensing his energy, and he thus raised his power.
The general, of course, had nothing left to say, and only stared, gaping.
Around them, the quail fluttered and flapped their wings, taking flight from this field of nightmares… soon death would be reincarnated again.

*In the Meadow*

Around the four figures the sun was shining bright while the clouds hovered slightly overhead with a tinge of gray in them. The birds had long stopped chirping and flown away. Water nearby in the soft pond rippled slightly with the light wind. Three of these figures wore masks, their green eyes shifting back and forth between each other and the black eyes of the lone Saiyan. They each had a feeling that something great was about to happen, only what, none of them knew, not even the emperor.
"Gojin, it's been a while," eyed the emperor, speaking to the Saiyan warrior with a slight smile covering his face.
"It has, your eminence. You seem well," he retorted.
"I see you survived the escape without much trouble, I would expect tat, however from a Super Saiyan of your stature."
Maxra blinked, and then looked back to Gojin, "He," he said, pointing to Gojin, "is a super saiyan?"
"Yes, Maxra, has been ever since you left him on Fragader 12 to die."
"Gojin, you must understand…" Maxra began to speak.
"I do, Maxra, I do," Gojin replied, "The emperor ordered you to get rid of me, not surprisingly. He knew of my potential, and he hid that from you."
"What? How could he know anything about you beyond your reputation?"
"Because, Maxra, he's telepathic."
The words took about two seconds to sink in, then Maxra turned to the emperor, "No…" but he was suddenly interrupted.
" 'impossible?' Is that what you wished to say Maxranoma?" the emperor smiled, "It's true, Gojin was recovered shortly after his powers subsided near the brink of death. We took him in, controlled his mind so that he remained in a state of unconsciousness that seemed as real as life itself. It was only after he discovered my presence in his final 'quasi-dream' that he managed to awaken and escape. By then, of course, I had already left. His anger now, at you grows, because you were unaware, Maxra that this very planet you plunder in search for the Klasfugen is his home!"
"What!?" Maxra could not believe, and then he realized.

/For several years, at least three, Gojin had lived with the Smargles on their home planet. His reputation as a fighter had earned him friends in high places, including the honorable Maxra.
Late one day, after a sparring match between the two, when they had been evenly matched, Maxra had asked of Gojin to describe his home. And thus poetically and spiritually Gojin recited description after description of his wonderful homeland, a planet of vast beauty and blue hues mixed in with green. The beauty of the prose had not been lost in a translation box, Gojin had by then learned Smargleoid language.
Sometime thereafter the emperor had come to call the general to him. He declared Gojin was a spy and ordered him to leave him to die alone on a deserted planet. The general could not disobey the emperor, and had no time to warn his friend. Thus he did as he was told, and betrayed Gojin to death.
But the emperor had merely used Maxra, and taken Gojin in as described above. More important than his learning of the richness of earth, however, was his learning of the hatred for him in Maxra, the suspicion of the truth about his fathers' death. He determined then to let the rumor out of what he was looking for and of course ahd since played Maxra for a toy. He did not know, however, that Gojin whom had escaped would manage to get to earth in time, much less at this very moment that Maxra was to be utterly destroyed!/

"Gojin!" Maxra cried, "I… I didn't know!"
"Does it matter, Maxra?" Gojin replied, stern as steel.
"… eh…" he could only mutter.
"You fool! You have made the same mistake as the rest of villainy throughout the ages! You have let greed consume you. You have even forgotten your revenge! Do you forget what lays on that memento of your fathers?"
"What do you know of it!? You don't believe I would let my revenge never be!"
"Then take it, Maxranoma, if you can," the emperor interjected, "for Sancoah here is whom I ordered long ago to eliminate your father!"
"I knew it!" shouted Maxra after a moment.
"Hmph! You are a fool, Maxra," replied the emperor, "to believe you could get by me. Your father thought he could manipulate me and hide from me things, and when he thought he could defy me with retirement, I showed him the truth! No one escapes my grip, and that includes you, Gojin!"
The wind howled again, leaving the four still staring at each other.
"Hmph, I have one thing to tell you, emperor,"
"What is that?" he retorted.
"That whether or not I die here today, you shall not become the god you believe."
"You are no fortune-teller, boy!" he replied.
"You are angry, eh, that you can no longer read my mind? Let me tell you why you are going to fail… your treasure hunter here, Sancoah has hidden from you the truth about the dragonballs. He does not have all of them, at least not all the real ones. He only has 4 real ones, because I have hidden the remainder."
"What!?" the emperor turned to Sancoah, who was slowly sliding away, starting to morph into the atmosphere. The emperor ad seen the treasure and never bothered to test the mercenary's cool mind, he had figured the fool wouldn't dare!
Reaching down into his side, the emperor pulled forth his Drechen and sliced at the mercenary, but he was too late, and the fiend had vanished. But then the two remained Smargleoids heard a thunderous yell, "No you don't!" and saw the body of Gojin turn a blazing gold, then vanish.
Suddenly a flash of light let out and the body of Sancoah came crashing to the earth, impacting the dirt. Gojin soon appeared over the bleeding warrior. Sancoah, down but not out, began to pull his iuqua from his waist, and Gojin did not stop him.
Then Sancoah stood, and leaning over, breathing heavy, he moved to strike, swinging down to Gojin with both arms in full power.
But the warrior, the golden eagle, he caught the arms of Sancoah with ease, and he looked him into his eyes. "You killed one of my brethren, you will not live to enjoy your money! Instead I send you straight to Hell!" and he yelled in angry fire, and the aura of Gojin consumed the flesh of Sancoah like a whirlwind in a pile of leaves. Flames a atred licked his orange skin that became red and then black. His eyes trembled with terror, and soon he was dead.

/When Son Gojin awoke that day 4 years past, he found himself laying in the middle of a barren wasteland. His ears were ringing and he had a heavy, pounding headache. Hunger racked his abdomen like a ravenous wolf and thirst crept up his throat. So finding himself in that state was a strange thing, and thus he sat up and began to try and remember the past. Around him lay only vast purple dunes that whipped about the air with bitter tasting sand, the air was barely breathable, and his eyes had to strain to catch the light of the far off sun. He was shivering, as well, wrapped only in tattered clothing, which he found strange as well. The world was a confusing mix or reality and horror.
He sat there for several hours, struggling to see the past, until at last the words, "I'm sorry, Gojin, I've no choice," rang in his head. He soon saw too the mouth, the source of those words. He felt a growing anger, more anger than he had ever experienced in his life, and he saw more and more the images of Maxra, his friend, whom had betrayed him to death here on this lonely planet.
The longer he pictured it, and cried from the hurt, the angrier he became, and soon the rage swelled in him at the betrayal. He finally let loose this rage and found himself transformed from mere saiyan to super saiyan. He saw his power was great, and his aura golden, but it did not matter to him, and soon the energy wore away and he fell into slumber, awaiting death.
It was not long after that when he awoke in what seemed like his home, only everything was askew. He spent the next three and a half years struggling to survive in this strange world, thinking he had gone insane himself and that he was a sick man. It was only after he caught sight of the figure that he began to realize his bondage and called to ki to help him. Once again the lady of light appeared, and she took him in her arms towards the gates of freedom. She kissed him and then he awoke. There he found surprised scientists who were about to inject some toxin into him.
He escaped their tentacles, and from there, he continued on towards home, like a lost angel with no guide but the Light as his path./

"There will be no treasure for you emperor, nor for you Maxra," Gojin announced as he stared into the corpse that burned in front of him, a horrible scream captured on its face, "Only newfound pain, pain of the mind, body, and soul. I will give you twice that you gave to me, as recompense for the pain you have caused humanity and my family.
"You," he turned to the emperor, "shall be the first to die, then the old friend," he pointed to Maxra off to his left. The three formed a triangle and in the middle lay the burned body.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Gojin!" the emperor declared, "For though I haven't all of the Klasfugen as of yet, I do have something integral to them," and at that, he pulled out a capsule and waved it in front of Gojin's eyes – Dende.
"Kami!" Gojin declared, he was quite amazed that the Smargleoids had the capsule technology to keep people.
"That's right, and now let me tell you what is going to happen," the emperor eyed him keenly.
"You are going to go retrieve for me the dragonballs or else the Namek dies."
"Ha!" retorted Gojin, "Nice try, but if he dies, you get nothing."
"But if he dies, then you cannot ever bring the earth back to the way it was."
"Do you think I am a fool?" asked Gojin, "When you get what you want, you will only continue to dominate the universe. Kami's life is not worth that!"
"Perhaps, but what of your family's? They are in this capsule as well, your brother and the boys."
"What!?"
"Oh yes, and the black servant man from the lookout, caught all of them just today," he smiled slyly.
"You bastard!" Gojin yelled out.
"You have no choice! You will retrieve for me the Klasfugen or else!" the emperor commanded.
Maxra still stood there in wonder at what was going on in front of him, he had never seen such an amazing power-struggle as this, and it seemed as if Gojin might lose. But what was most important about Maxra at this moment was his swelling hatred and guilt. He hated the emperor, his new father, with all that was in his heart because of the evil of this vile being and because he now was weighed with a terrible guilt for Gojin.
For several minutes now he had been fidgeting in his pocket with the memento of his father's. He twisted it and turned it over in his hand, feeling the inscription on its backside and feeling it burned into his forehead. He saw the face of his father, looking on sternly as he explained the importance of the words. He winced, "Honor, Courage, and Duty" he mouthed to himself. 'Father, what should I do, what can I do?' he thought, praying to be heard.
"He doesn't deserve this!" a voice replied, and Maxra looked over to see Gojin, and instead of the golden warrior, he saw the torment and pain of him. He realized that this warrior had been through more torment and anguish than he had ever known, and he owed him everything. He grasped the watch.
"I will do…" but as Gojin spoke he saw suddenly a streak of silver dart across the meadow and smash into the capsule in the hand of the emperor.
Gojin gave the surprised emperor no time to react, instead he let out a blinding "Solar Flare" and rushed forward, snatching the capsule before it hit the ground and the emperor could tell where.
The other two remained blinded, but when they opened their eyes, they could not find Gojin. Quickly the emperor looked over to Maxra and growled and then, tracing Maxra's eyes, he turned around, where in the distance stood seven figures. In their front stood Gojin, defiant, smirking. He turned to Mr. Popo. "Take Kami away from here, somewhere hidden, and take the remaining dragonballs," which Gojin then removed from the satchels of Goken and Centura and Gomen.
The emperor's eyes widened, he never thought that maybe those three had the remaining dragonballs! He gritted his teeth, and reached for his pistol at his waist, but suddenly a ki beam ripped through his arm from behind.
"Argg!" he shouted, and twirled around to see Maxra holding his iuqua, staring coldly at him, "You fool, what do you think you're doing!?"
"Doing what I should have a long time ago, taking you down!"
"You idiot! Do you realize what power you are giving up!?"
"Yes, but so long as I can put an end to your life, I don't need the Klasfugen. I can see my father one day, in Hell, but at least we'll be together. And there we can laugh at you together, because your soul will burn hotter than a thousand suns!" he grinned at the thought.
The emperor stood there a long time, looking at him, then slowly he began to chuckle. This chuckle soon raised to a giggle and then to a laugh and then a roaring laugh. "Ha ha ha ha!" he laughed so hard it looked as though he would fall.
"Do you really believe, Maxra, that I would let you kill me!?" he laughed so hard his eyes teared, "Me, the almighty Emperor? Me whom could crush even King Frost with my will!?"
"I do believe that's what I said," Maxra replied strongly.
"Hmph, you know what is special about your phone, Maxra? That little tool you used to check the coordinates… did you know that when it was designed that every single phone was made secretly with a grand override?"
Maxra froze.
"And that this override permission was designed solely for the explicit use of myself to kill whomever I pleased whenever I pleased? I'm afraid that for quite some time now, the mega-iuqua has been tracking your position from space and when I press this button," he held out his hand, while keeping a sharp eye on the Saiyans, "It will fire, and you will die."
Maxra shivered, he couldn't believe how foolish he had been! Inside he was like a trembling child, he nearly urinated his pants now.
Quickly Gojin turned to Gomen, and spoke, "You must fight on, my brother, good-bye," and turning back to the field made a mad-dash towards Maxra.
The emperor, thinking he was under attack pressed the button, and in a flash the mega-iuqua launched it's powerful beam down towards the earth, and just as it was about to strike Maxra, he was displaced by the amiable warrior, the golden warrior, Gojin, whom received the full blow of the beam.
At the same time Gomen had leapt onto the back of the emperor and broke his right arm in two so that the tool he held dropped to the ground. The emperor yelled in disgust and flung Gomen from him like a doll, but already Goken had retrieved the apparatus and destroyed it.
Yet the emperor only smiled, for across the distance knelt Maxra over the burnt body of Son Gojin, whom had suffered the full weight of the iuqua beam without any armor, and was dying.
Maxra flipped the body over, and soon the others came running to see. Lying there, Gojin's eyes were closing, but before they did, he reached up to Maxra and gripped the Smargleoid's hair, pulling him close, "Earn it," he said and looking to Goken then he smiled and then closed his eyes forever, dying there - in the meadow.
Maxra, angry and bitter, but slow, pulled his iuqua up in his arm, and looked towards the emperor. There he saw only an open portal with swirling black ripples that slowly, if not surely consumed the body of the emperor until only a vicious face remained smirking at him, then disappeared completely. Quickly Maxra raised his weapon and fired at this face, but the portal vanished long before the beam arrived, and the machine that had provided it merely turned to ashes. The emperor had escaped!
But to Maxra it did not matter – he would search the universe for the emperor and seek revenge - for with his friend, his care for his own life had also died in the meadow.