Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

Chapter 128: Turles and Slug

On a planet in the Western Galaxy, Planet Pandora...

Planet Pandora is a hopeless world of trash and refuse. Named after the famous "Pandora's Box", it is truly a planet where anything vile or foul can be found in abundance. Used as a dumping ground for both outlaw and Galactic Patrol alike, it is a wonder that anything is able to survive on such a hellish world. And yet, survive things do...

A slightly burnt, but still quite vital hand burst out from the rubble of a now forgotten civilization. What was once the Kamikirians was now just another tic on the ever-destructive ambitions of King Cold. With a gasp and a pained yelp, Turles pulled himself from the rubble. Still dazed, he went tumbling down the pile of refuse to the cold and unforgiving ground below. Using his single arm, Turles shakily pushed himself up and looked around. The remains of various destroyed worlds laid out as far as the eye could see.

Turles stood. He recognized some of what he saw, but other heaps appeared to have been there for a while. The entire planet seemed to be buried beneath a blanket of stench and rot. Little flecks of what had once been vegetation were speckled here and there, but it was quite clear what function this planet served now.

Turles groaned. His back ached. He would have bled out in minutes if not for the burning wreckage of the Kamikirian base falling on his back. The flames seared his wounds of betrayal shut and the pain roused him into life-saving action.

And now he was alone.

Turles stumbled and walked. He could feel his consciousness trying to fade away, but he fought against it with all his might. He might not wake up again if he allowed himself to fall out. Turles stumbled forward and he mumbled to himself. "G-Gine...Panbukin...Toma...Totepo...F-Fasha...Tar...o...C-C-Cassava...Bar...do...ck..."

Repeating their names helped him focus his mind, somewhat. And focus helped maintain a lucid sort of focus. His vision blurred around the edges, but he managed to keep the path at his feet crystal clear. Turles was thirsty and hungry. His mouth felt tacky. But his thoughts were in an entirely different galaxy. "I hope they're okay. P-Parsl...he better not have...no... Cassava would...wouldn't she...? Sh-She'd...notice...Bardock...he would...he'd never...they're...safe..."

Turles felt like he was going to die. He needed something to at least give him some energy. And, thankfully, something stepped into his path. He wasn't sure what it was, though. A dog, perhaps? With a vertically bifurcated jaw? With external teeth?

"What the hell does bifurcated mean, egghead~?"

Turles mumbled. "It means it branches or splits, Panbukin. The vertical part is the weird part..."

The beast howled and lunged at Turles. Turles summoned a ki blast into his hand and roasted the thing to death in one shot. It splattered against the ground, dead, and then Turles lunged upon it. He filled his mouth with roasted meat and, boy, did it ever taste like shit. Actual shit. Each mouthful made him want to vomit, but he ate regardless. He ate until his felt his stomach start to distend. And then he pressed his hands over his mouth. Turles kneeled there, feeling the rancid meat of this ugly creature digest. He needed the nutrients. He needed them. HE NEEDED THEM.

And then, after holding on for 38 minutes, Turles vomited everything in his stomach back up.

With tears in his eyes, Turles shakily stood back up. He nodded to the dead beast. "Th-Thanks..."

"Wipe your mouth and nose. You don't want whatever that is drying in place."

Turles nodded, grabbing at the slightly scorched shroud wrapped around him. Cassava's old cape. He wiped his mouth and nose. "Th-Thanks, Cassava..."

"Oh no. Those poor things..."

Turles turned. "What, Gine?"

Crowded around the dead creature were two smaller versions of the creature. Pups. They both growled and snarled at Turles. The boy bowed his head in shame. "S-Sorry..."

Turles continued his walk, reflecting on his situation. He was one of the sub-commanders of the Saiyan Warhammer...and this is what that got him. Briefly, his mind shifted to blaming Cassava for all of this. She was the one who put him in that position. In Parsl's crossfire. She did this to him! Why would she-

Turles punched himself in the side of the head. Hard enough that his ear rang. He didn't even bother to gauge his own strength. "Don't...go there. C-Can't go...there. Cassava. She..."

Turles sobbed as he continued to walk, the weight of the situation crushing him. "Sh-She believed in me. This...isn't her fault..."

He pushed the thought away. He was just hungry. And thirsty. And tired. And maybe he had a little brain damage from smoke inhalation or being crushed. And his heart hurt. His heart hurt so badly. How could Parsl do that to him? He tried his best to be friends. Turles snapped. "Parsl is an Elite! They're all the same! They don't care about friendship! They only care about advancement! And status! And-"

Turles pictured Cassava being led away by Vegeta III and his men. He screamed and smashed his palm into his face, making blood gush from his nose. Turles snorted and spat. "I'll...get you, you son-of-a-bitch! It's all your fault this happened!"

"Quit hitting yourself! Your nose is bleeding!"

Turles calmed on the outside, but his heart was still thundering in his chest. "Sorry, Fasha..."

Weeks pass...

And in that time, Turles continued to survive for the sake of his friends. The entire time, they cheered him on. They screamed their love and support. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them at his back. They pushed him forward. And, in combination with his own intelligence, they helped him to gather everything he needed to keep moving forward.

Turles killed multiple other animals he came across for sustenance. They were all quite unpleasant, but eventually he utterly smothered the urge to throw up. He also tried several pieces of vegetation he found. Half of what he managed to pluck of uproot was visibly poisonous and was tossed aside, the other half went down his throat rougher than a mouthful of sand. It didn't matter to him, vegetation meant water. And the more water in his body, the less thirsty he felt and the more lucid he became.

As his brain slowly began to unshrivel, Turles came to realize that he was one of the strongest living things on the planet. At least, so far. The animals on this desolate hellhole looked vicious, but most of them died rather easily to a super-powered being like himself. He was an alpha here, unlike on Planet Vegeta.

Turles sat in a pile of junk and chuckled to himself as he rummaged. "I wish I was an Alpha Saiyan."

"No, you don't."

Turles turned towards nothing. "But then I could talk to Cumber and he could talk to you and you'd come get me, right?!"

"Is that how that works?"

He turned to another nothing. "I dunno, Toma. Ask Cassava. Is that how that works, Cassava?"

Silence.

He groaned. "Damn. She always goes away when I ask her that..."

Turles looked around at the bubbling pools of liquid waste all around. "Must be runoff from the various buildings and ships abandoned here. What the hell kind of stew is in those puddles?! M-Maybe I should have a taste...?"

"NO." "NO." "NO." "NO." "NO." "NO." "NO."

Turles smacked his lips. "A-Are you sure...?"

"NH!"

He bowed his head. "Okay, Totepo, okay. You guys are right. It would probably take months to decode whatever makes up that puddle, much less find a cure for if it poisons me..."

Turles continued to dig through the garbage, eventually finding what he was looking for. He was standing in the remains of a space-faring vessel, so of course they'd have communicators. Turles held the corroded little box in his hand, feeling a mixture of rust and decay slowly eat at his skin. He smiled and spoke mildly. "Damaged beyond repair~"

His face twisted in rage and he heaved the broken electronic towards a cactus of some type growing out of the sludge. "GODDAMN IT!"

The communicator pierced onto the needles and, all at once, it began to melt. Turles flinched, watching as some sort of venom oozed from the fractured spines of the plant. The corrosive goo ate away at the broken electronic until nothing was left. It splattered into the puddle of mystery ooze beneath the cactus and sizzled. Turles cocked his head. "Oh...I see. There's so little water out here...so that cactus has adapted. It melts things into liquid it can nurse on to stay alive..."

He stepped forward. "So, this sludge is just the debris it melted..."

Turles had always had a casual interest in botany, though he didn't know what that word was for the longest time. Whether it be the weeds that grew in his and Bardock's alleyway, the fruit that Tursa had shared with them, or the various flora of the planets they had conquered, Turles had always silently enjoyed plants.

Flying up, Turles carefully gripped one of the cactus spines at the base, near the actual plant. With a steady hand, he dug out the spine without breaking it, finding a natural flask full of the corrosive goo attached to the bottom. "Ah, I see. That's so cool~"

Turles dug out four more. "These might come in handy later. Thank you, Mr. Cactus~"

"ANY TIME, LITTLE MEATBAG~!"

Turles flinched and looked at the cactus. There's no way it actually just talked. He stowed the borrowed spines in the lining of his armor and shook his head. "I have to get off this planet. Surely...there must be a ship around here somewhere..."

More weeks pass...

Turles' eyes were wide. He genuinely could not believe what he was seeing. He fell to his knees, taking care not to let his remaining three cactus spines jab him. He could barely catch his breath at its beauty.

A town.

A shitty little town. It looked like it stunk and the few people he saw looked like they be unpleasant to deal with, but it was a town nonetheless! Civilization! Water, maybe!

Turles sprang to his feet and leapt down the steep hill in front of him. He landed with a thud and sprinted from the off. "They must have a ship! They must! They must!"

In town...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SHIPS?!"

The old man behind the counter flinched, biting the end of his cigarette so hard that it snapped off. He held his hands up. "Calm down, Saiyan! Calm down! We ain't want no trouble!"

Turles was trembling. "I-I'm not trying to cause trouble! I just need a ship! I need to get out of here! Please!"

The old man sighed, spitting on the floor. "Sorry to disappoint you. But think about it. If we had any ships here, do you think we'd be here?! You ain't the only one that don't wanna be on Pandora, kid. This hostile little shithole has been impossible to live on since centuries ago! Since King Winterfell and his bastard kids ended the Corporate Wars and created the goddamned grand monopoly that is the Planet Trade Organization! No one wants to be here, Saiyan! We're stuck!"

Turles sneered. He heard a mostly quiet voice speak behind him. And when Bardock spoke, it was usually more important than the others.

"He's weak. Scared of you. Threaten him."

Turles growled. "You'd better not be lying. I still have my tail. I'll erase this place..."

His voice lacked conviction, but the old man recognized the threat a Saiyan Oozaru posed. He snapped back. "With what moon, monkey boy?! Elpis has been gone for years! Pandora ain't got no moon to stare at no more!"

Turles grinded his teeth. "Ever heard of a Power Ball?"

The old man snapped. "Should I have?"

Turles held up his hand and it began to glow. The old man didn't know what the boy was planning to do, but he certainly knew that he had no ability to stand up to the strength of a Saiyan. Even a scrawny one. He sighed and held up his hands. "Fine. Fine! I was going to keep this to myself...but there is one ship on this planet..."

Turles was blunt. "Where?!"

The old man lit a fresh cigarette. "He's been here since before I was born. An old monster that's been alive for centuries. Pandora used to have this thing called a Vault on it. Some sorta ancient space demon was locked inside. The fella who owns the ship came here looking for it so he could kill it and eat it..."

The old man blew blue smoke from his mouth. "...and from what I've always been told...the second he showed up, Winterfell and his kids ran not just from this planet...but from the entire Western Galaxy. The ain't had no interest in comin' back since. They're scared of him, even today..."

Turles cocked his head. "I-Is he that strong?"

The old man glanced down at him. "You Saiyans ain't got a natural energy sense, do ya?"

Turles flinched. "N-No..."

The old man nodded. "Well, count your blessings that you don't. I don't know how them Heeters come here all the time. Must be energy blind like you or they just have balls o' steel, one of the two. But personally, if I was coming here and I sensed what we've all sensed every day of our lives on this planet...I would never come here..."

The old man pointed towards the south. Turles glanced out and gasped at what appeared to be a frozen hellscape in the distance. "Wh-What?!"

The old man sighed. "Ship is that way. And, well, if you're gonna head in that direction...I guess it was nice knowing ya, kid..."

Turles stared out in the distance. And then he took a deep breath and steeled himself. "S-Sorry for threatening you..."

The old man shrugged. "This is Pandora kid, stopping at threats is considered cordial in these parts. Just really think about it before you go. Thems who go into the Demon's Domain don't ever come back..."

But the warning was too late, Turles had already gone.

In the Demon's Domain...

As Turles stomped over the icy-covered ground, his goal slowly slid into his line of sight. What he had thought was a small mountain back in the village was actually a massive building. Or, maybe something more than that. As he looked over the structure, he noticed several parts that relayed this thing's true purpose. They were iced over and rather rusted, but Turles could tell that this thing was actually some kind of ship.

Turles mumbled. "The four parapets on the outer corners are actually fuselages...must contain some really powerful engines to heft something this large off the ground..."

He stopped and stared at it. "The fact that it looks like a castle can't be a coincidence. Whoever lives in there must have trouble finding hats with a head so big..."

He shrugged. "But maybe if I can just talk to them, they'll be reasonable. Or maybe I can pull the Oozaru card again. Either way...this thing is big enough that it must have some pretty hardy escape pods..."

Turles approached what looked like the main entrance to the ship. It was locked tight, so he thought he might have to knock, even though the very action sounded ridiculous in his head. "Who would even hear me...?"

As he said that, though, Turles heard something himself. As first, he waved it off as nothing more than some animal dragging itself across the ground. But the sudden whipcrack was enough to rouse the boy into action. He leapt out of the way just in time to avoid having something crash right into him. Turles glared down and then gasped at what he saw: it was a head on the end of a large, meaty tube.

The head cackled like mad and was quickly reeled in, back to the source. Turles shuddered at what he saw. It was some kind of lizard-like creature. Tall and coated with purple scales. At the end of each wrist, where a hand should have been, there was an exact replica of the things head. All three of the heads locked their gaze onto Turles and glowered, speaking in unison. "How rare to have a snack with this much energy just waltz up. Your meat will surely taste delicious~"

Turles held up his hand. "W-Wait! Wait! I'm not here to fight! I just wanna talk to the owner of this ship!"

The creature sneered. "A worm like you wants to enjoy an audience with the great Lord Slug?! Absolutely not. I, Maffei, shall strike you down and eat you!"

Maffei thrust the heads on the ends of his arms forward and they each shot beams from their eyes. Scrambling, Turles tumbled to the side and barely managed to evade. The boy rose back to his feet and stammered. "K-Kill Driver!"

Firing an energy ring from a ring made by his fingers, Turles hoped that would be enough to dissuade this monster from any further attacks. But, to his dismay, Maffei simply used one of his arm heads to eat the blast.

Maffei charged at Turles with wicked glee and kicked the boy in the gut. Turles was immediately winded and started to fall back. But then, it was Bardock's voice in his ear!

"HEADBUTT!"

Turles thrust his head forward into Maffei's, smashing his forehead into the demon's jaw and making him stumble. Taking advantage, Turles leapt onto the creature and stomped him to the ground with a thrusting kick. Turles shakily stood atop the demon. "P-Please stop! I don't wanna fight!"

Maffei's eyes snapped open and he cackled. All at once, both of his arm heads shot up and bit into Turles. The boy screamed as he felt razor-sharp fangs sink into the meat of his shoulder and neck. Turles tried to bat the iron-like clench of Maffei's lesser jaw from around his throat, but Maffei gave no quarter. He hoisted Turles high and smashed him hard into the ground with a furious whipcrack. Turles laid in a daze and his stomach involuntarily rumbled.

Maffei cackled. "Oh! Are you hungry? Poor little thing...I bet your meat it stringy~"

The demon retracted his head hands. "Now then, how should I cook-"

Turles sat up like a bolt of lightning and fired a beam from his finger. It wildly missed Maffei, firing behind the demon. He cackled. "Desperate child~ You mi-"

An entire tree fell over and crashed down onto the pompous demon, crushing him into the ice and snow. Turles stood and pressed his hand to the blood oozing from his neck. "D-Damn. Gotta...gotta get away...gotta..."

One of Maffei's snake-like arms shot up from the ice, delivering a swift uppercut that sent Turles flying back. The demon stood, shoving the fallen tree away. "H-How dare you?! Lord Slug watches the cameras on the outside of the ship! H-How dare you embarrass me in front of him like this?!"

Maffei reared his other arm back, the fangs within its mouth growing long and serrated. "I'LL SHRED THE SKIN FROM YOUR SKULL, BOY!"

The arm shot forward, sending a head flying right at Turles. The boy groaned. "I...I didn't want it to be like this. I'm sorry..."

Maffei screeched. "Too late for apologies, fool!"

Turles nodded. "It really is. But, still, sorry..."

As the head hand got right in his face, Turles pulled one of the cactus spines from its holster at his waist. He thrust it forward and jabbed it right into the heads tongue. The force of the impact sent Turles flying back, but Maffei quickly retracted his arm. He stared down at the already festering wound. "Wh-What have you done?! Wh-What is-"

All at once, the toxin within the cactus spine spread up Maffei's arm. The demon shrieked, watching as his scaly skin erupted with bulbous, seeping blisters. His entire body was on fire and he screamed in agony. "N-No! NO! WHAT IS THIS?! STOP! HELP!"

Maffei crashed to the ground, writhing and screaming. He looked to the heads on the ends of his arms and watched as they thrashed and screamed. Their tongues boiled and their eyes were reduced to little more than viscous goo draining out of the sockets. Maffei screamed in fear. "NO! I CAN'T DIE! I'M A DEMON! I'M LORD SLUG'S DEMON! HE BIRTHED ME HIMSELF! H-HELP! HEEEEEEEELLLPPPPP!"

Maffei shrieked one final time. "LORD SLUG!"

Maffei's screams turned to whimpers. Whimpers turned to moans. Moans turned to bubbling groans. Then all became silent. Turles sat in the snow, heaving breath in and out of his lungs. Tears were stinging in his eyes. "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm...so sorry..."

Turles tried to sit up. "Maffei, I'm-"

But suddenly, a massive orange hand clenched tight around Turles throat. He let loose a fractured yelp and was heaved off the ground, brought face-to-face with some kind of furious ogre. The orange brute sneered at the corpse lying on the ground and then glared at Turles. "YOU KILLED MAFFEI! HOW DARE YOU KILL OUR LITTLE BROTHER?!"

Turles gasped. "I'm sor-"

A furious headbutt right to the bridge of Turles' nose brought that attempted apology to an abrupt halt.

?

Turles woke up with a silent groan, finding himself laying atop a massive, stone table. He was not bound in anyway, not even slightly restrained. He was just lying there in a daze. Shakily sitting up, Turles looked towards the far end of the table and saw Maffei's body laying atop it. And surrounding that body was several demons of similar stature: a tall one with a pretty face, a green frog monster, a fat one with wide-spanned bat wings, and the orange ogre that had knocked him out before.

But those ones weren't what drew Turles' eye. The one awarded that honor was the green giant sitting in a stone throne at the very back of the room. He was a wrinkled, hateful-looking beast clad in regal robes. He wore a black cape with a hood hiding all but his glowing eyes from complete view.

His presence filled Turles with primal fear.

The green giant stood, marching forward with a gait that gave some hint as to his real age. It was a slow walk. His knees popped. But he was still built like a brick wall. Trailing behind him were two olive green goblins, both with red lenses fitted over their eyes. One of them made sure the path was clear for their master while the other one monitored some sort of device. He seemed to be scanning the hulking brute.

The ancient, green beast gently pressed his hand to Maffei's face and one of the goblins shouted. "S-Sir! Please do not touch Maffei! We have no idea if what killed him is transmittable!"

The old man didn't seem to hear. He croaked in a voice that sounded like ancient dust made a sound. "Maffei...my foolish, youngest child..."

Turles couldn't quite make out what was in the old monster's voice, grief or otherwise. But his good nature kicked in regardless. He quickly popped to his feet and began to shout. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want to kill him! Please believe me! I just wanted to talk and he attack and-"

The green giant lifted his glowing, black eyes and locked them onto Turles. Turles immediately fell silent. The monster let loose a sinister chuckle. "Zeeun explained what he overheard to me. You...came here for an audience with me, did you? You kill one of the treasured minions of Lord Slug...a beast given life of mine own flesh and vitality...and you dare to seek audience with me?!"

Turles shuddered. "P-Please...I didn't mean to-"

Lord Slug snapped his fingers. "Angila. Wings. Medamatcha. Zeeun. Teach this brat some manners."

Turles gasped in horror. But, before he could react, all of the demons pounced on him. And then they spent a few hours beating him like a dog as Lord Slug bitterly watched on.

By the time brutality had lost its novelty, Turles was left a broken heap on the table. So much blood had pooled beneath him, it was a wonder that there was any left in his body. Not a single bone was left intact, some completely broken and others left fractured or cracked. Even a simple twitch sent waves of lightning through his entire body.

Lord Slug stood again, ignoring the fussing of attendants as he made his way to Turles. He lifted the boy by the throat. "You will make a fine example of what happens to those who cross me. We will find whatever scummy village you originate from on this planet and we will parade your corpse as we burn it to the ground..."

Turles couldn't even move his lips to form a response. Slug raised a hand to the boy's face. "I'm going to pop your head, now. Die, nameless trash."

On that remark, Turles managed to speak. "Tu...rles..."

Slug cocked his head. "Huh?"

All at once, every voice in Turles' mind screamed. "DON'T LET HIM KILL YOU SO EASILY!"

And so, finding himself roused, Turles screamed and drew one of his last two cactus spines. "MY NAME IS TURLES!"

The young man moved so fast that it even surprised himself. The cactus spine, dripping with its corrosive toxin, whipped through the air with an audible crack and slashed right across Lord Slug's face. The tip of the spine dug into his flesh, splitting all the way up his face and causing his eyeball to burst.

Slug bellowed in pain, crashing backwards and falling flat on his back. He roared in agony as the bubbling toxin pooled in his now empty eye socket. Turles landed on the table with a dull thud. On instinct, the demons all came rushing in. Turles could only stare on as Angila, Wings, Medamatcha, and Zeeun loomed over him with killing intent.

But then, Lord Slug snarled. "Halt!"

The demons halted and Slug got back to his feet. And, to his dismay, Turles heard the demon let loose a bellowing, malicious cackle. Slug loomed over Turles with a smirk. "I must say...I actually kind of respect what you just did there...Turles~"

Turles glared up at his tormentor, listening as his mocking cackle rang out. Slug continued. "It was a ballsy attack. But, utterly in vain. After all..."

Slug dug his finger into his eye socket, pulling out the infected fleshed. "...I am the type of demon that can regenerate~"

And then, with a sickening burst of fluid, a new eyeball grew into Lord Slug's eye socket. Slug smirked. "It'll take time to heal the wound you carved into my flesh. But, even then-"

As Slug spoke down to Turles, something happened that made him stop talking. Very quickly, the vision in his new eye went blurry. And then it went back. Slug pressed his hand to his face. "Wh-What...?!"

Wings, off to the side, gasped. "L-Lord Slug...your eye! It's gone white!"

Turles looked up at Slug with a smiled. "Yeah. That's unfortunate, huh?"

Slug clenched his teeth. "Ch-Cheeky brat! What is this?!"

Turles sat up, his body radiating with pain. "The pollution on this planet has yielded some truly harrowing results. L-Like these cactus spines that I've gathered in my travels. Your...your regeneration appears to be quite potent...but this poison also acts pretty quickly. I can only assume that it's infected the nerve leading directly to your brain..."

The young Saiyan smirked. "But, that's okay...just rip your head off and grow it back. A great demon like you can do that, right?"

Slug snarled, lifting his hand and charging a blast. "I SHOULD KILL YOU FOR THIS! I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Turles smiled. "That's a shame. Your reaction suggests you think this is irreparable. Do you have no faith in your little attendants' capabilities?"

Slug sneered. "Gyoshu and Kakuja's capabilities are none of your concern, you cocky brat..."

Turles sighed. "T-Trust me, I don't have much in the way of self-confidence, I just know that I could make a cure for that poison if given enough time..."

Slug paused. He glared at Turles, this pup that would dare try to bargain in his position. Slowly, Slug's rage dulled and was replaced by a malevolent grin. "Oh, I see, you're bargaining for your life..."

Turles nodded. "I am."

Slug motioned to his two attendants. "You gamble that you can make a cure for this poison faster than Gyoshu and Kakuja?"

Turles nodded again. "Definitely."

Slug fell silent. Then he chuckled again. "Medamatcha, fetch an explosive collar."

Medamatcha quickly obeyed. He scampered off for a moment and then returned. Slug motioned to Turles and Medamatcha snapped the collar around his neck, arming it to go off if it was tampered with or sent a signal. Turles glanced up at Slug. "Wh-What is this?"

Slug sneered. "It's our wager, boy. You say that you can make a cure for this poison you've afflicted me with quicker than we could. I'm taking you up on that. You will scour this planet for a way to fix my eye. If we find the cure first, I will activate that collar and kill you. But if you win this wager..."

Turles spoke up. "You let me live. And you give me a ship to leave this planet."

Once again, Slug found himself taken aback by this brat. But he quickly offered his hand. "We have a bet, Turles?"

Turles swallowed hard, feeling his adam's apple rub against the collar. But he nodded and shook Slug's hand. "We have a bet."

Back in the village...

Turles stumbled back to the village feeling like he weighed a ton. Not only did his bruised, battered body simply not want to work, but the collar around his neck was also quite heavy. His injuries ached and he could feel the blood drying on the sides of his face. But none of that mattered at all.

Turles returned to the shop that the old man ran, nearly collapsing on the counter and grunting for something to drink. The old man was stunned. "Y-You aren't dead?!"

Turles shrugged. "I-I guess..."

The old man cackled. "Well well, you're more than I thought you'd end up being, kid! Nice job!"

Turles lifted his head and glared at the old man. He was setting two glasses on the counter. "Tell you what, I'll let you have some of the good stuff. Anybody who can survive a run in with those demons deserves more than water~"

Turles almost felt a smile spreading on his lips. "Th-Thanks..."

The old man nodded. "Yup. Lemme just ring for my slave to bring us the good shit~"

Turles flinched. "S-Slave?!"

The old man rang a bell and then harshly kicked the wall. "Daiz! Wake up you entitled little shit! Bring us a bottle of hooch! Now!"

Turles fell silent. He watched as the door to the back of the shop opened and a boy, at least 5 years his junior, came shuffling out in matching wrist and ankle shackles. The boy was thin, as if he was barely afforded food. His dark blue hair hung shaggy around his angular face. The boy shook like a leaf, gripping a bottle. "Y-Yes, Master Anistar! I'm right here, sir..."

The old man, Anistar, took the bottle from Daiz' hands. He popped the cork from it, letting it fall to the ground and roll under the counter, and poured a glass for himself and for Turles. He glared at Daiz. "Useless brat! Pick up that cork! Now!"

Daiz fell to the ground without a word, frantically searching for the cork with a fearful glimmer in his eye. Turles could only watch on, utterly speechless. Eventually, Daiz stood back up with a look of pure dread on his face. "M-Master Anistar..."

The old man sneered. Daiz stammered. "I-I c-c-can't find it, M-Master. P-P-Please allow me to g-go and get a fr-fresh one from the-"

Anistar raised the bottle into the air and smashed it over Daiz' head, sending him crashing to the ground. Daiz yelped and screamed in pain, gripping his bleeding head. Finally, Turles spoke up. "Wh-What was that for?!"

Anistar turned to Turles and gave a cheerful shrug. "Oh, don't worry about him! He's nothing more than royal scum~ He deserves this~"

Turles flinched as Anistar began to kick and stomp on Daiz. "I served this brat's family for years! The royal family of Planet Kabocha! Decades even! I watched all of his stupid siblings grow up in the lap of luxury while I lived as a commoner! And then, THEN, the Cold Force comes along and his parents have the nerve to beg me to escape and keep him safe?! Me, a servant who enjoys no royal luxuries left in charge of some five-year-old brat?!"

Anistar cackled. "So, I decided not to. And he's been a useful tool to me on this hellhole planet since we crashed here ten years ago~"

Daiz whimpered as Anistar stomped his foot into the cowering slave's cheek. Across the counter, Turles' face became grave. "I see. So..."

Bitter memories flooded Turles' mind. He glared at Anistar and, behind him, he could feel his entire squad glaring as well. Turles seethed. "Just like Parsl...just like Slug..."

Anistar turned. "Huh?"

Turles blasted him right through the heart, killing him in a single attack. The one-armed Saiyan stood up and glared down at Anistar's dying form. "People like you...I AM SO SICK OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU!"

Turles leaped down, ignoring Anistar and reaching out to Daiz. "Hey! Daiz...that's your name, right?"

The beaten, cowering slave looked up at his savior. "Y-Yeah. My...name is Daiz..."

Turles nodded, reaching down and breaking the shackles holding the young man hostage. "Well, Daiz, you don't have to worry about that guy anymore. Cuz, from this day on..."

Daiz lifted his head and saw a smiling face hovering over his. Turles beamed like the sun. "...we're friends~"

Weeks pass...

And so, Turles and Daiz found themselves on a journey across Pandora. It was a trek that showed them the worst the Universe had to offer. Turles and his new subordinate maintained a friendly relationship, but it was easy to see just what the endless cruelty was doing to the poor, young Saiyan.

Turles' mental state was eroding. Where before the voice only popped up occasionally, now they spoke all the time. And Turles spoke right back to them. And, though this did freak out Daiz to no end, he still chose to stick by the person that had stuck up for him.

And sooner still, another joined their party.

Outside of a Galactic Patrol emergency outpost...

The various convicts being transported by the Galactic Patrol could only watch on in awe as Turles killed the officers that were in charge of watching them as they awaited a rescue ship. The convicts and their cruel guards had been stranded on Pandora for nearly a year waiting on their rescue beacon to be answered, as hopeless as that was given where they had crashed.

In that year, the guards had gone from just and law-abiding to cruel and domineering. The prisoners, as bad as some of them were, had been reduced to slaves and punching bags in their energy-sealing shackles. Whether they were beaten by their jailers for fun or whether they were rented out as livestock to be worked near to death, life had been hell for these men.

On the ground, one such convict, a mountain of a man with orange skin and flowing, dark hair, watched with utter astonishment as this boy, this Saiyan boy, rushed in and blasted the officer that was mercilessly beating him in the chest.

This convict, Amond (arrested on over one hundred counts of assault and with at least ten murders to his name) was saved from one of his eyes being gouged by someone who he had never met. He watched in silence as the Saiyan moved from Patrolman to Patrolman, slaughtering them all as he screamed unrecognizable names such as "Toma" or "Fasha" or "Bardock".

Once the former Galactic Patrollers were all dead, the Saiyan freed all of the former convicts of their shackles. "You're all free!"

But, of course, there is no honor among thieves. The convicts all encircled with sick smiles on their faces. They were thirsty for blood after spending so long oppressed, and these two boys certainly couldn't take them all on. They prepared to pounce, only to suddenly all be shot dead.

The two boys looked to Amond, who smiled a very grateful smile. "Unlike those fools, I appreciate a good friend when I meet one. Name's Amond. Who're you two?"

The shorter one answered first. "M-My name is Daiz..."

Amond turned to the Saiyan. "And you?"

The Saiyan boy smiled. "Name's Turles. Let's be friends~"

More weeks pass...

And so, Turles, Daiz, and Amond continued their cruel journey across Pandora. They tried to be civil wherever they went, but things often more than not came to violence. They three gained a terrifying reputation as brutal bandits that would kill anybody who crossed them.

Amond reveled in this bloody reputation.

Daiz learned to.

And Turles...kept his focus on his goal, feeling the weight of the collar around his neck.

And soon enough, his diligence was rewarded splendidly. The three of them stood atop a hill, overlooking an almost mystical valley carved in the middle of a wreath of garbage. Much like the cactus that had blinded Slug, this place could only be the result of the pollution that ran into it.

Turles searched for a few days and eventually found what he was looking for. It didn't take him long to synthesize what he thought was a cure. Turles asked one of his new companions to help him by taking the sting of his very last cactus spine. His request was met by two offered arms. Turles was almost taken aback, but he saw nothing less than loyalty and trust on their faces. He was almost brought to tears. "A-Amond...D-Daiz..."

Amond rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Now don't go and cry on us~"

Daiz smiled. "We know you. Your antidote has no chance of failure. Now, get to pricking us~"

And so, Turles stuck them both. The two screamed in pain and agony, but quickly stopped once Turles' cure was poured over the wound. The symptoms of the toxin disappeared in an instant. The cure was 100% effective. Turles smiled and gripped the vial containing the last dose in his hand. "Great..."

He rubbed the collar around his neck. It suddenly felt a lot lighter. Turles lifted his gaze back to Amond and Daiz and chuckled. "Now then, only one more thing to do before we go back to the Demon's Domain~"

Amond smirked and raised a hand, summoning a ki blast. "Right~"

Daiz did the same. "Right~"

Turles nodded and summoned a blast of his own, tucking the vial into his armor. "Right~"

Back in the Demon's Domain...

With a crash and a thud, the doors to Lord Slug's inner chamber came crashing down and Turles came marching in. The other demons all sneered and snarled at Turles and his two followers. Turles paid them no heed, instead marching right towards the throne of the demon lord.

Slug glared at him as he approached. His festering, injured eye sat milky white in his socket. The scar was throbbing rather painfully, purplish-blue like a bruise and dry as a desert. Kakuja and Gyoshu, Slug's two medical attendants, both cowered in place. If Turles had truly returned with a cure, their lives were potentially forfeit to their master's wrath.

Turles smirked. "Slug."

Slug sneered. "I see you've befriended some vermin. I don't recall granting them permission into my domain."

Daiz flinched at the pressure coming off of Slug. Amond sneered. "Piss off, you wrinkled fossil! We'd follow Turles to Hell and back!"

Zeeun grunted and started to charge at Amond, but Slug raised a staying hand. Zeeun shied away like the loyal dog he was. Slug glared at Turles. "And have you found the cure to this affliction you've given me?"

Turles nodded and reached into his armor, pulling out a vial of medicine. "Right here. Took forever to find it too. The pollution on this planet has caused plants to grow unlike any other I've ever seen..."

Slug smirked. "Riveting. Give it to me..."

Turles frowned and snapped towards the metal ring around his neck. "Collar first. I'm not going to give you a cure just so you can blow my head off."

Slug snorted and snapped his fingers. Angila immediately stepped forward and removed the collar. Turles cracked his neck. Slug held out his hand. "Now then..."

Turles nodded. "Right..."

The room was tense as Turles walked up to Slug; the vial gripped tight in his hand. The boy stopped right in front of Slug, so close he could smell the monster's breath. Turles smiled and slowly pushed the vial towards Slug...

AND THEN HE SMASHED IT AGAINST THE GROUND WITH A FURIOUS SCREAM!

Slug flinched back in his throne. "WHAT?!"

Instantly, Wings and Medamatcha charged forward. The two of them quickly seized Amond and Daiz, forcing them to the ground and pinning them down. Angila and Zeeun both charged at Turles, but Turles leaped up. The two demons crashed into each other and Turles landed on their backs. Using his single arm, he thrust a finger right into Slug's face and laughed. "AND NOW, YOU'LL NEVER USE THAT EYE AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME, YOU MISERABLE BASTARD?!"

Slug was gobsmacked. In his many, many years, he had rarely seen someone so willing to stand up to him like this. He laughed a wicked laugh. "Well done! Very well done! I'd almost be impressed it what you just did wasn't utterly pointless!"

The demon lord rose from his throne, seizing Turles by the throat and sending Angila and Zeeun flying back with a hateful shockwave. Slug snarled. "But do you take me for an idiot?! We've been tracking your movements, boy! We know where you've been! It won't take my men that long to locate the ingredients for your little cure there and synthesize a new one!"

Turles was straining in Slug's grip. And yet, still, he managed a smile. "What...ingredients...~?"

Slug flinched. Turles chuckled. "I assure you, the cure I had in that vial was very real. Would have dispelled the poison from your body and let you regenerate that eye. But...it was also the last of its kind~"

Slug's eyes went wide. "No... what do you mean...?"

Turles was dropped to the ground. He sneered a hateful, victorious sneer and stood up. "What I mean is this! Once I made that vial...Amond, Daiz, and I did a little clean-up project~"

The boy swept his arm to the side. "Not only did we burn every last plant that could have been used to make that cure, we also destroyed every bit of pollution and refuse in that area! Scorched landmass! TERRA VACUA! THE LIQUID CURRENTLY SEEPING THROUGH YOUR FLOOR IS THE LAST REMNANT OF WHAT WAS THERE!"

Slug gasped in horror, pressing his hand to his face. In his long life, the aged demon had learned to judge whether he was being lied to or not...and he sensed nothing but honesty pouring from this boy's voice. Turles screamed. "SO GO AHEAD! KILL ME! KILL ME DEAD! BUT EVERYTIME YOU OPEN YOUR EYES WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, YOU WILL REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AND EXACTLY WHO DID IT! EAT SHIT, SLUG!"

The demons present in the room were all appalled. On the ground, Amond and Daiz couldn't help but smile. They were dead. All three of them were dead men awaiting their execution, but they didn't care. In this moment, they had won.

Turles had won. And even Slug realized that.

What's more, the boy stood confident. His chest was puffed out. Obviously, he knew that Slug could kill him with ease. That wasn't a question. And yet, he stood with the unwavering confident of a man immortal. As his minions went in for the kill, Slug felt his wicked old heart tremble. And then he shouted at the top of his lungs. "HALT!"

The demons all did. Angila, Zeeun, Medamatcha, and Wings all looked to their master with fear and reverence. Gyoshu and Kakuja cowered in the shadows. Slug stepped forward and glared down at the boy. Turles showed no fear. And why was that? Madness, perhaps? There was that glimmer of barely contained mania in the boy's gaze. So much so that Slug found himself speaking without thought. "Be my apprentice."

Turles cocked his head. Everyone else flinched. Finally, Slug adopted a wicked grin. "Yes. Be my apprentice, boy! Serve under me and let me teach you the ways of evil~"

Turles looked genuinely confused. "P-Pardon me?"

Slug nodded. "Oh yes. That attitude of yours, it's one I appreciate. And the fact that you've managed to so permanently mutilate me...I can't allow a natural talent for evil such as yours to simply fall through the cracks! You could rule the Universe with proper training, boy!"

Turles was stunned. This was...so sudden. And yet, Turles could hear the genuine tones of Slug's bellowing, ancient voice. As twisted as it was, he meant what he was saying. And, in that genuine tone, Turles saw opportunity flash. "Fine. I accept."

Amond and Daiz both gasped in shock. Turles adopted a wicked smirk. "But, my boys on the ground come packaged in. If I'm going to join you, they come with me. Understood?"

Slug glared at the two, and then he nodded. "Very well."

Turles thrust a finger into the demon's face. "And another thing, green man! If you're going to teach me the ways of evil, it had better not be limited to this shithole of a planet! If you say I'm going to conquer the Universe, then you had better damn well mean it!"

Slug grinned from ear-to-ear. "Also, very well~"

Turles smirked. "Good. Glad we have an understanding~"

Slug chuckled. "Oh, we do. And I look forward to this little partnership, brat. But, first, I think I need to teach you one important lesson. Let's call it...Rule #1."

Turles cocked his head. "Rule #1?"

Slug nodded. And then he raised his hand and shot an energy beam right into Turles' left eye socket. With an explosion of fluid and blood, the boy fell back. He screeched as he rolled on the ground, smoke curling up from his face. On the ground, Amond cried out. "TURLES!"

Daiz struggled as well. "T-Turles!"

Slug motioned to Wings and Medamatcha. "Let them up..."

The order was obeyed and Turles' two followers ran to his side. They helped Turles sit up and Slug spoke down at them. "Rule #1! Never listen to those pearl-clutching fools of the Universe! If a comrade rips out your eye, you rip out his as a sign of respect! If an enemy rips out your eye, you take both of his and feed them to his offspring! Am I understood, young Turles?!"

Turles nodded. "U-Understood..."

Slug sneered. "So, are we comrades or enemies? My other eye is waiting~"

Turles lifted his head, a twisted and pained smirk running across his lips. "I'll just say this...you have my respect~"

Slug snorted. "Good. Then this should be quite the beneficial partnership~"

Back in the present, the deck of the Planet Cruiser...

Slug sighed and closed his eyes. "Turles wanted to be strong. That's what he said from that day forward. He wanted to become strong enough to return to Planet Vegeta and conquer it single-handedly. I told him I could overtake that ridiculous, chimp-infested rock in a day...but he insisted he wanted to do it himself. It was like he had something to prove..."

Slug turned to Bardock. "He always told me that he had so many people he wanted to save, but he never named names. So, I followed his wishes to the letter and beat him like a stray dog every day. I smashed him and crushed him until he could no longer be so easily smashed and crushed..."

The Namekian adopted and almost pleasant, nostalgic smile. But that smile quickly faded. "When he heard that Planet Vegeta was destroyed by a meteor...he despaired. And then when the truth leaked out about what Frieza had done...he raged. After that, it wasn't just about conquering a planet for him. He wanted Frieza dead for what he did. He wanted Cold dead for spawning Frieza. I could never quite understand why something as simple as the loss of a few people could drive him like that. That is...until you stepped foot on this ship and I saw his reaction to getting you back..."

Bardock clenched his fists, his eyes hitting the floor. He had always considered dying to be the ultimate injustice in what Frieza did. He had never considered that anyone might be left to mourn or grieve. Slug concluded. "You asked me how Turles got the way he is. Unhinged, you said? Well...I guess unhinged is a word for it...or disillusioned...or constantly despairing. If I had to put up with everything he's dealt with in his short, short years...I can only imagine what it would do to my head..."

Bardock's ears twitched. Somewhere, deep in Slug's voice, the older Saiyan heard what he could only describe as understanding. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you for keeping watch over him, Slug..."

Slug turned and glared at Bardock. Bardock offered a handshake and, with reluctance, Slug accepted. The two men nodded to one another and turned away, each heading to their quarters for some rest.

And then a siren began to cry out across the entire ship. Bardock stopped dead in his tracks and so did Slug. The Saiyan turned. "What the hell is that?!"

Slug groaned. "Oh great, she's calling. I guess we'd better go answer..."

Bardock cocked his head. "Who's calling?!"

Slug merely motioned for him. "Come along."

Under the Planet Cruiser's bow, the Munitions Storage...

Zangya was gasping for breath, her face flushed and her hair a mess. Lying beneath a tarp that she and Turles had grabbed as they had climbed to the top of his stupid machine, she wasn't sure what had just happened.

Zangya was expecting it to be quick; Turles seemed like the quick type. And yet, here she was almost half an hour later. Her desire to snoop had faded from her mind, replaced by a mixture of fatigue and what she refused to admit was satisfaction. And Turles was laying right next to her looking no worse for wear as he scrolled through an article projecting from a screen in his palm.

She gasped. "I-Is there...anything that you don't...store in that arm...?"

Turles chuckled. "I keep the essentials. Tablet for reading when I'm bored, miniature toolbox in case I need to fiddle with something on the fly, my ki magnet..."

Zangya cocked her head. "Ki magnet?"

Turles nodded. "Yeah. It's a nifty little device. It attracts or repels ki based on which polarity I set it to. Remember how I just kinda slapped my palm onto Bojack's forehead and his body started breaking apart?"

Zangya's eyes went wide. Turles smiled. "I set it to repel and sent a ki-magnetic shockwave through his body. That Gomma-whatever that he had me implant in his heart basically got over-filled and it burst~"

Zangya shuddered. "That's...terrifying."

Turles frowned. "H-Hold on! I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to make you scared or anything. M-My bad!"

And, like that, the terrifying mystique was gone. And Zangya returned to her old, sardonic attitude. "Ugh. It was terrifying. Then you have to go and start simpering..."

Turles chuckled and wrapped his arm around Zangya's shoulder, pulling her close to himself and looking her right in the eye. "Why would a lovely lady like you wanna be scared of who you're with? Huh? Why...isn't romance a better feeling?"

And then, Turles pressed his lips to hers. For a second, Zangya lost herself. For just one little moment, that felt right. But then the bad memories came flooding back into her head and she shoved him away. "I hate romantic bullshit. Nothing but inherent dishonesty and preening..."

Turles flinched, and then his eye became quite sad. "You...hate romance? But...why would you-"

Zangya cut him off. "So, this thing we just did it on top of is your Gibberish Cannon, huh? I'll give you this, it's big."

Zangya glanced down at the massive machine they were laying atop of. It looked to be a stereotypical sci-fi style ray gun. It was just massive. Zangya cocked her head. "What does a weapon this big even do? Blow up planets?"

Turles sighed. "Nah. Nothing so banal. Slug and I can both blow up planets. This thing is more for-"

Suddenly, a siren began to screech all throughout the ship. Zangya flinched and nearly fell from her place atop the cannon. "What in the holy hell is that?!"

Turles gasped, suddenly looking quite invested in the noise. "The Spy Alarm! IT'S THE SPY ALARM!"

Completely nude, Turles jumped down to the floor and went sprinting towards the door. "THE SPY IS CALLING!"

Zangya sat there, dumbfounded. "He...changes emotions and interests at the drop of a hat..."

She wrapped the tarp around herself and jumped down as well. "Well, I guess I'd better hurry. Might as well see who this so-called spy is..."

On the Planet Cruiser Communication Deck...

Bardock and Slug marched into the Communication Deck to find all of the other ships officers standing and waiting. Slug glared at all of them. "What?! Does everyone have a hangnail?! Why haven't you answered the call?!"

Angila bowed his head. "F-Forgiveness, Lord Slug. The caller ID says it's the spy. We haven't been given permission to speak to them, sir!"

Slug narrowed his eyes and looked up at the projection. The caller ID displayed in big, block letters "SPY 3".

Slug groaned. "Real professional, Turles..."

Bardock cocked his head. "Is... that meant to look like a heart?"

As if on cue, Turles came rushing in. He shoved several officers out of the way and spoke in a cheerful voice. "It's our spy~"

Everyone else gasped in shock. Bardock averted his eyes. "Wh-What the hell?!"

Slug snarled in aghast astonishment. "WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!"

Zangya marched right next to him, wrapped in a tarp but also clearly nude. "What's all the ruckus?"

Slug was livid. "WHY IS SHE NAKED?!"

Turles waved Slug's inquiry off and pressed the button to answer the call. The image was fuzzy at first, but quickly took shape. Hovering before all the ship's officers was the final member of their ranks, the last person allowed in Turles' inner circle. Standing there with her bright red skin, slightly chubby, and with a cold gleam in her eye was Bonyu.

Bonyu stared down at her captain, a sudden lustful glow to her face. Her eyes locked onto one feature in particular. "Heyyy Turles~"

Turles, instantly reacting, ran his fingers through his hair and then snapped at finger gun at his espionage expert. "Heyyy Bonyu~"

Zangya's face immediately twisted into a mask of annoyance. She reared her foot back and shot it like a missile right between Turles' legs. Turles dodged back. "H-Hey! Don't aim there! That's so rude!"

Zangya snapped at him. "You nasty little-"

Slug reared his hands back and slapped both on the back of the head, using Magic Materialization to make an outfit appear on each of their bodies. Slug looked annoyed, a vein bulging from his head. "Enough. Get to the point."

Turles nodded. "R-Right. Sorry, Slug~"

Zangya sneered. "I don't recall giving you permission to dress me."

Slug sneered right back. "You're lucky I didn't think to put on a new muzzle. Now shut up."

Bonyu cleared her throat and everyone looked up at her. Slug motioned. "Speak, Bonyu."

Bonyu nodded. "This is probably going to have to end soon, Slug. I'll have to sneak away and come to your ship. The General came aboard the other day and pressed his hand to the computer. He almost immediately found the various external drives I've been pouring information into. So now the three stooges are on a manhunt for whoever was stealing data. Ya know, me."

Slug snarled. "Fine. We might not get everything, but that's no big loss. We just need one important piece of information that they might be holding on to..."

Turles nodded. "So, Bonyu, does the Cooler Force know where Planet M1 is?"

Bonyu nodded. "They do. I'm going to transfer that data now, through this link. It should be there momentarily."

Turles smiled. "Excellent~ Those Tuffles won't escape us this time! Nice job, Bonyu!"

Bonyu smiled. "I just thank you for letting me have an out from this stuffy, boring organization. I am so sick of Cooler and his so-called vision."

Slug rolled his eyes, tapping on the console and smirking. "The data has been transmitted. We now know where M1 is~"

Turles smiled as well. "Good. Good~ Now we just gotta get our friend here safely with us and then we can start our invasion! Hey, Bonyu, I'll transmit our coordinates to your Scouter. Get to an escape pod and-"

Turles looked up at the projection and his eyes went wide. "BONYU! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

Bonyu flinched and tried to turn, but a massive green arm smashed its fist into the side of her head. The communication went dead. The communication deck was silent.

Turles groaned. "Shit. Bonyu's in trouble."

Across the Western Galaxy...

Bonyu thrashed and bucked on the ground as a tight, folded cloth was bound over her mouth. Her hands and ankles had been cuffed as well. She was rendered helpless and powerless. The green brute standing over her sneered and stomped his foot onto her hip. "Shut up! You've always been so annoying! No wonder you're the rat!"

Bonyu glared from him, to a brown lizard-man, to her arrogant and snobbish fellow Brenchian. She snarled into her gag, but the teal-skinned, blonde-haired fop merely blew her grunting off. "No reason to be cruel, Dore. Don't stomp on her. She's in for it as is..."

The lizard-man shuddered. "Yeah, she is. Why would you turn against us like that, Bonyu? You know how our Lord and the General feel about traitors..."

Dore chuckled. "Neiz is right. Me stomping on ya might hurt, but Lord Cooler and the General are gonna be a hell of a lot angrier than we are!"

The three of them loomed over their bound, squirming prisoner as the lesser soldiers came in to collect her. Bonyu struggled as she was carried to the brig, but was swiftly forgotten about. Salza turned towards the console she was communicating from and pulled up the data that she had transferred. "Hm..."

Neiz cocked his head. "What is it Salza?"

Salza sneered. "She leaked ze location of Planet M1. It seems we aren't ze only ones searching for ze Tuffles..."

Dore gasped. "Y-You don't think they're after...that...do you?"

Salza shrugged. "Who knows? But...if zese cretins are after Lord Cooler's much desired Big Gete Star, zen zey shall be swiftly struck down by-"

Salza struck a pose. "COOLER'S!"

Neiz struck a pose. "ARMORED!"

Dore struck a pose. "SQUADRON!"

On the floor, Bonyu rolled her eyes and shuddered in disgust, wondering just how she was going to get out of this.