The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon to cast over Metro West. To the Z-Warriors, however, the arrival of the morning light was an omen of the coming battle. Events had been set in motion and regardless of their outcomes, one thing remained certain: it was going to be a long day.

Vegeta pulled his left glove into place with a jerk. After some thought, he had decided to wear the replica of his Saiyan armor Bulma had made. Logical reasoning about the clones' strength was reassuring, but it was always best to take every precaution. If the armor would give Vegeta an advantage over the clone, he'd be happy to take it.

Stretching the armor's wasteline, he pulled the chestplate over his head and slipped his arms under the straps. Vegeta's first impressions of the human race had been that they were a primitive people, doomed to be crushed by one of the universe's more highly evolved lifeforms. Living up to her reputation as a genius however, Bulma had succeeded in improving upon the design that Frieza's scientists had boasted as "state-of-the-art." Her replica was more durable against physical and energy attacks, and was easier to move in. Vegeta had never said so, but he had been impressed with her design.

Bulma had managed to change his opinion of humanity. Perhaps that was why he had taken an interest in her.

There was movement in the mirror at the edge of his vision. Vegeta turned towards the door. "Speak of the devil."

"What?" Bulma asked, slightly cocking her head.

"Nothing," Vegeta said waving the comment away. "How's the situation with Kakarrot's wife?"

Bulma took a deep breath. "Somehow we managed to calm her down. I told Yamcha we wouldn't have to resort to sedatives. Anyway, Mr. Satan is keeping an eye on her." She watched Vegeta adjust the position of his chestplate. The silence in the room bore down on both of them.

"You can beat him, right?"

Vegeta stopped fidgeting and looked her in the eye. "During that final battle with Buu on the Supreme Kai's world, as I watched Kakarrot fight I realized that he was my better…or rather, I finally accepted that." His tone was subdued, but then a smile appeared on his face. "But these clones are just more shoddy work created by that crackpot, Gero. They're rip-offs, nothing compared to the original.

"So can I beat them?" Vegeta clenched his fist. "Of course I can."

Some of the tension in Bulma's stance loosened. "Just don't blow yourself up this time," she said. "I'll keep working on the data file."

Piccolo walked into the room. "Vegeta, we have to get going."

Vegeta nodded.

The master thrust his hands out in front of him. "Kame-Hame-HA!"

The beam of ki split the air as it arched upward. Goku gritted his teeth as he watched his own attack close in on him. He concentrated his own energy in his right arm moved it downward across his body. The beam was right on top of him.

With an intense roar, Goku swung his arm up, smashing it into the massive energy wave. With a brilliant flash of light, the Master's Kame-Hame-Ha rebounded.

"What?" the Master screamed. The beam lanced away, soaring high into the sky. Both warriors watched as it vanished into the cosmos. Goku drew a deep breath allowing his body to recover from the deflection.

The Master's sight remained fixed on the sky. His jaw quivered. The amount of energy I put into that…he should have been incinerated on contact. Even so, his opponent was still levitating in front of him, without a scratch.

He looked at Goku, his Super Saiyan 3 power pouring out in all directions. Things were becoming painfully clear. With both of them at full power, the Master was at a clear disadvantage against the original. He clenched his fists, trying to remain focused. D-damn it…this outcome was always a possibility, but I didn't think that Son Goku's natural increase in power would actually overtake what the Supercomputer did to mine.

Goku dropped into a fighting stance. "We're not done yet, are we?" he asked. "I thought you were going to kill me."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the Master charge. Goku was ready as he unleashed a flurry of continuous punches. "Shut your damn mouth!" The Master was fighting on bloodlust now, any attempt to implement a strategy forgotten. Goku blocked blow after blow without any trouble. Excess energy saturated the air around them causing the atmosphere to contract and snap.

Below the maelstrom, the Servant watched intently, his self-control slipping every time one of the fighters struck his mark. A brief snarl escaped his lips.

Goku whipped his hand out punching through the Masters defenses and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. With a jerk that snapped the clone's head back, Goku pulled him forward and smashed his face with his other elbow. He released his grip on the opponent's tunic and watched him fall back. The Master moaned and rubbed the side of his jaw. A thin line of blood trickled out of his mouth.

The Master shouted in anger and tried to return the blow. Goku ducked his head to the side, avoiding the punch, and then followed through by slamming his fist into the Master's solar plexus. The clone gasped as all his breath left him. He looked up, in time to see Goku bring his arms down in a hammerfist strike. The attack sent him flying smashing into the ground. The force of the impact snapped and uprooted the nearby trees like they were twigs.

The Servant watched the dust settle where his master had collided with the earth. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he spun around and prepared to charge Goku. Then the Master leapt from the crater and flew upward to continue his assault. The Servant held his position, but his anger was rising. His one desire, to fight without any reservation, was being denied.

And then, the voice returned.

P-please. Please!

The Servant's eyes went as wide as they could. "No!" he screamed. "Get the hell out of my head! Now!" It was the last straw; the Servant snapped. Without any care about his Master's orders or the mysterious voice in his mind, he charged up at the fray.

The Master backpedaled away in an attempt to catch his breath. Everything was shot to hell. His plan, his dream, was slipping through his fingers. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it! I could try to boost my ki with the Kaio-ken. No, he'll only counter it with the same technique. And I can't use my last resort unless I have a chance to concentrate… My only chance at survival now is to have my servant back me up, but unless I defeat Goku alone, then there won't be any point to this! The Master snarled and looked down at where his counterpart was.

Only he wasn't there.

Goku noticed that something was wrong. Suddenly the Servant appeared right in front of him at point blank range. Goku shifted backwards as he the clone tried to land an uppercut. The Servant then unleashed a combination of punches and kicks, all of which Goku managed to dodge, but only barely. One of the blows nicked Goku's chin causing him to flinch.

It was the opening the Servant was waiting for. He thrust both hands out in front of him and let loose his ki. Goku didn't have time to dodge or even put up his guard. He could only watch as the energy wave smashed into him. The impact sent him flying towards the skyscrapers of Metro Central.

For a moment, the Servant allowed himself to catch his breath. The Master approached him, trying to keep his anger in check. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I told you to stay back!" The Servant said nothing. There was a new intensity in his aura that the Master found unnerving.

He wanted to beat Goku alone, but there was no helping it now. The best course of action would be to take advantage of the situation. "Buy some time for me. I can still beat him, but I need time."

The Servant clenched his fists. In the next instant, the clone took off in pursuit of his opponent. The Master wasn't sure whether or not his counterpart was following orders or following impulse, but either way the respite that he needed was his.

It was time for the final attack.

Goku focused his ki and managed to slow himself to a stop. Mentally he scolded himself; he had completely forgotten about the second clone. Suddenly, that clone appeared in front of him. Goku gasped and threw up his guard. The Servant attacked with a fierce flurry of punches, no bars held. With surprising speed, Goku was pushed back. With a fist charged with raw ki, the Servant broke through his guard and slammed his face. Once again Goku was sent flying. This time he wasn't quick enough to slow his flight before he crashed into one of the city's high-rises.

Morning sunlight shone through the gaping hole the impact created, illuminating the clouds of dust and debris in the otherwise dark room. Goku coughed as he got to his feet and looked around. He was in a storage room of some kind; there were file cabinets, desks, and chairs strewn about. The collision with the outside wall had slowed him down enough to stop him from crashing through the opposite wall. He had left a few noticeable cracks though.

The Saiyan tried to focus himself. This fierceness the Servant had just unleashed was no different than when they had fought at the military base. Bulma was right; fighting truly was the only thing this guy cared about.

A shadow cast over his eyes brought Goku back to the fray. The Servant was standing inside the opening. Like an avenging angel, his form eclipsed the sunlight entering the room. Goku grunted and took up a fighting stance. The clone slowly walked forward, his shadowed eyes glaring at him. Goku braced himself.

An adjacent door opened and a young man entered. He took in the scene as two men with identical faces stared at him. "Wh-what's going on in here?"

The Servant growled like a wild dog. "Get out of here!" he bit out. "I'm sick of these interruptions!" The man stumbled backwards and fell on his rear. All he could do was tremble. The Servant yelled angrily and charged him.

"No!" Goku shouted and jumped in his path. He held up his arm and blocked the clone's blow. The two stood there, Goku trying to hold his ground, the Servant trying to break through. The man gasped and crawled away as fast as he could.

"So all you care about is fighting?" Goku asked. "Well I'm the only person you need to focus on!" The Servant heaved as his opponent swung his knee into his solar plexus. He staggered backwards unable to defend himself as Goku threw a sidekick to his face. Groaning in pain, the Servant went flying, crashing into the wall a few meters from the first hole. Goku soared into the open air in pursuit.

Vegeta, Krillin, and the others soared toward their target in Metro Central as energy continued to fluctuate between the three superpowers.

Piccolo looked over at Gohan and noticed the strained look on his face. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Huh?" Gohan snapped out of his daze. "What?"

"You look like something's troubling you," Piccolo said

"Well, you could say that," Gohan replied and looked back in the direction they were flying. "I'm sensing something unusual."

Trunks came up alongside him. "Unusual meaning what?"

"It's the energy," he elaborated. "I can feel two of those powers fighting each other, but there's something up with the third. His power keeps fluctuating."

At the front of the group, Vegeta listened in. He could sense it too, and what's more there was something familiar about it.

Goku fired off a chain of ki blasts. The Servant dodged the streams of energy and closed in on him. "No you don't!" Goku shouted and quickly descended. As the clone passed over him, he grabbed his ankle with both hands and swung him down like an axe.

Out of range, Goku finally had a chance to catch his breath. If the clone was worn out, he wasn't letting it get in the way of his ferocious attacks. "What's with these guys?" he asked. "Is the other one the same way?" He looked over to where the Master was.

A sense of total dread filled Goku's being as his brain registered what his eyes were seeing.

The Master was totally stationary with his hand held high in the air. Above him was a giant ball of pure ki.

"I-impossible," Goku choked out. "That's a Genki-dama!"