--- The Phoenix Chronicles ---

Chapter 01 - First Contact

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On a quiet little planet, in the northwestern reaches of the universe, the sound of a fight being waged rang loudly through the streets. All too soon however, at least for one combatant, silence reigned once more. The man, if you could call it that, his purple skin bruised severely in no less than three places, and small wisps of smoke still rising off his burnt flesh, twitched slightly as he lay in a heap on the ground, obviously dancing along the line between life and death.

His opponent, a man just shy of six foot, and with a mass of flame-like black hair, lowered his right hand, still raised from his last attack, and regarded his fallen foe with a glare. His voice was harsh, with a touch of arrogance, as he spat, "Next time, you should consider who you're dealing with before trying to rip them off." He walked over to him, pausing long enough for the fallen being to twitch harder, this time with fear, before reaching down and removing the pouch from his waist. Without so much as another sound, the man threw his coat on, placed the pouch into one of the pockets, and fled the scene, the sounds of approaching footsteps ringing all too clear in his sensitive ears.

When he was sure he was far enough away, he slowed to a walk, and allowed himself a breath before looking over his latest acquisition, the payment for his last job, albeit with a little 'bonus' for his employer's cheapskate attitude. When he spoke again, the words that came out were rough, guttural, and clearly not Basic. "The nerve of that fool! What sort of amateur did he think he was dealing with? I am a Saiyan warrior for Kami's sake! And that job was totally beneath me!"

He paused, both in his rant and his walk, and sighed before gazing up at the faded red sky, the large orange sun slowly setting towards what he guessed was north. He shook his head slightly and continued on, not really focusing on where his feet took him, and allowed himself to dwell in his thoughts. "Maybe being a mercenary's not the best way to go, but I need some way to get by, and fighting's one of the few things I'm good at... Besides, every fight makes me that much stronger, and brings me that closer to my revenge..."

His hands clenched, and his teeth ground against each other as his eyes fell closed, and the faces of his fallen comrades swam in his mind's eye. "They were like family! When Korin died they took care of me, just like he would, and they died protecting me! Because I wasn't strong enough... Because I wasn't ready... Because someone was afraid of what I might become." The images faded, replaced with the faces of those he suspects most. They appear out of reach, as if taunting him.

"Frieza! Vegeta! I don't care which one it was! They were right to fear me! They will learn to fear the name of Kapskaen, the Phoenix! I will make them pay for robbing me of those I hold dear!" The Phoenix, a name he heard not long after he began his crusade. It's a funny thing, to hear rumours of oneself arrive on a planet before you do, and Kapskaen, or Kaen, as he's known to those close to his heart, almost laughed when he first heard it.

His vision swam again, although this time the faces were almost comforting. His mother, his father, his deceased older brother, and his 12-month old twin younger brother and sister; seeing their faces brings his a sense of peace. It is the last face, that of a near three-year old girl, that almost brings the proud Saiyan warrior to tears, and causes his voice to drop to a near whisper. "Just... Just six more months... And now I'll never see her again..."

So caught up was he in his memories that he failed to notice the six and a half plus foot man headed his way until it was too late, and the two collided. He jumped back from him, so angry to be caught in this moment of weakness that he failed to notice the high ki of his opponent, not nearly equal himself in strength, but still a formidable opponent. The man who, on closer inspection, appeared to have green skin under that turban and heavy-looking cloak, gazed down at Kaen, and said in a cool, even voice, "Watch where you're going."

Kaen directed a glare at the green man strong enough to kill lesser being, and barked out, "Watch your tongue before I rip it out and show it to you!"

The green man's ki rose sharply at the remark, now nearly matching what Kaen himself was putting out, as he directed a glare of his own, albeit a weak one by Saiyan standards. "You bumped into me, and I simply said for you to watch your step. Idle threats may end you with a hole in the chest."

Kaen smirked at his would-be foe, his Saiyan pride overthrowing his danger sense. "Well, well, well. Sensitive aren't we?"

"Obviously not as sensitive as you," the green man remarked, looking like he'd be smirking himself were any emotion showing.

Kaen's smirk faltered a bit as he looks his opponent over, the sheer calm the man radiated making him assess the situation better, and remarked, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

The almost-smirk strengthened a little as the green man replied, "Yes, a short man with an attitude problem."

Kaen's right eye started twitching as this sank in, and his glare returned. "Short, am I?"

This time, the man did smirk. "Yes, it seems you need your hair and ego to make up for it."

Kaen bared his fangs, growling out, "Care to back that up with more than words green man?"

The man just shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly. "Perhaps, but it seems to me, that you might just be all talk."

Kaen, forgetting about the half-dozen fights already fought today, cracked his knuckles and removed his black coat, revealing his tight-fitting black body suit and flame-red armour. He threw his coat at a nearby wall, creating a massive dent in it where the weighted coat struck, straightened out his black, fingerless gloves, and re-tied his headband, it's colour matching the armour, before dropping into a stance with an almost feral grin on his face.

His opponent removed his turban, cloak, and mantle, and lazily dropped them behind him, their combined weight spider-webbing the pavement. Before he could make a move though, Kaen raised both hands, crossing them at his forehead, and cried out "Helios Flare!"

The area filled with a blinding light, and the green man staggered around a bit rubbing his eyes before straightening up, the technique having little effect on him. He threw Kaen an almost amused smirk as he said "Cute trick, let's see how you like this," and firing thin ki beams out his eyes.

Kaen dove out of the way; the distance created between them by the Helios Flare working in his favour, and prepared to attack again. He held his hands behind him in line with his hips, a red ball of flame-like ki forming in each, before throwing both arms forward until they meet at the wrist, the two balls merging into one, smirking evilly the whole while.

"Inferno Blast!" An intense streak of flame burst out from between his hands, and his opponent had no time to put up a defence.

When the flames died down, thin streams of smoke could be seen rising up from his body, but he gave no outside show of the pain he felt. What was obvious, however, was the attack building in his hands. "Destructive Wave!" Kaen tried to avoid the attack by taking to the skies, but he wasn't quite quick enough, taking the brunt of the attack in the chest and falling back to the ground almost before leaving it.

Kaen shook off the attack, as his opponent doing the same, and regarding him with a look bordering on respect, "Hmph, not bad. I actually felt that."

His opponent's expression was one of utter concentration, appearing to not have heard him, as he held his arms crossed in front of his chest, two fingers on each hand protruding, and building up ki at each. "Demon Twister!"

The sheer power of the attack surprised Kaen, and he threw his hands in front of him, screaming "Heat Shield!" A wall of flame eight foot in every direction formed around him, and successfully stopped the attack in its tracks.

Kaen smirked, seeing his shield working, and yelled out, "Not bad, but I'm better!" His opponent didn't reply, and instead firing off another Destructive Wave, which also explodes harmlessly around the shield. In desperation, it seems, he fired off another of his devastating Demon Twisters, and unfortunately for Kaen, the sheer strength of the attack, combined with the exhaustion of his previous battles, caused his shield to buckle, and the attack struck home. Kaen looked at his opponent in shock, falling to his knees, and his last thought before darkness claims him was 'Look's like I might be seeing you again sooner than I would've liked Korin.'

His opponent staggered around a bit, finally letting his pain show now that the fight was over, his ki plummeting by the second. He regarded his fallen foe, speaking in an exhausted, and clearly alien, voice. 'He's... stronger... than I thought. Maybe... maybe, if it makes it through the night... he might just be what I've been looking for. He might just be able to help...' His musings were cut short, however, as the after effects of the Inferno Blast finally caught up to him, and he joined Kaen in unconsciousness.

End Chapter 01

To be continued...