Deep in the bowels of Frieza Ship 743, one of the deep space communication vessels that was in charge of communications between Lord Frieza's Personal Armada and the greater fleet, a worker named Wamelo frowned as he looked at his control panel. "Uh… are we scheduled for maintenance or something?" he asked the Frieza Force member that was sitting beside him.

"Not that I know of… better not be, I still have to put in the requests for that moon removal for the Soys."

"Thought that was due last week," Wamelo said, turning away from his station.

Pinapel shrugged. "It was but then there was a question if we actually had to handle the debris caused by destroying the moon. Got delayed a week while Lord Frieza went over the contract with the lawyers."

"Huh." Wamelo paused. "Do we?"

"Funny enough we don't so long as we break it up into small enough bits. But not so small that it becomes classified as dust. I have no idea how big 'dust' is by the way; that is up to the number squirrels to figure out."

"Heheh. Yeah." Wamelo turned to his keyboard and typed in a few words only to sigh. "There must be maintenance. This thing is going way too slow."

Looking over his shoulder Pinapel frowned as he watched the letters that Wamelo had just typed in slowly appear on the screen. "Geez, that is going long." He shook his head, the purple stalks that ran along his head trembling slightly. "Try doing a restart. That might fix it."

"Don't bother," Hundew said in his odious and condescending tone; Wamelo and Pinapel hated his guts because he always thought he was the best of the best and that anyone not up to his high standards was a lazy slacker. The Frieza Force member was always puffing himself up, claiming titles that weren't actually his and sucking up to the bosses. He seemed to forget that they were all low level ship workers, entering in data and hoping they didn't get in the way of the Frieza Soldiers. "Its happening to my system too and I have already run several programs to try and clear out any data that would be slowing it down. Something is going on, most likely maintenance, and if you shut down you might cause problems."

"As opposed to not being able to get my work done because it takes 10 minutes for a single line to be typed?"

"Well, Wamelo," Hundew said in a snide little voice, "maybe if you were like some of us and actually got your work done ahead of schedule it wouldn't be that big of a deal for you to be delayed."

Pinapel smirked, though he did well to hide it behind his hand. "You know… you won't be ahead in your work if this keeps up."

That had Hundew lean back in his chair before he reached over and pressed the Call Button on his terminal.

"Do you have to?" Wamelo complained.

"Some of us don't fear the bosses," Hundew said condescendingly. "Maybe if you had a better relationship with them you wouldn't need to worry about them."

Wamelo bit back a retort. Hundew still believed that everyone in the Frieza Force was as rule-abiding as he was, not getting that in order to get through the ranks one had to be powerful, cunning, and underhanded. People were willing to vaporize you in order to take your job or prevent you from stealing theirs. It was why Wamelo and Pinapel were willing to stay low-level grunts; the pay was decent enough, the work was something they could easily handle, and they stayed on the ship while others went and risked their lives. Hundew figured that if he sought out the bosses they would either be able to help him or they would compliment him on his hard work; Wamelo knew that his reward was one day getting told he'd done a good job just before he was shot out of the airlock for annoying someone one too many times.

"What is it?" the gruff, annoyed voice of Sorbet demanded as he waddled over. The short little manager was always gruff and annoyed but he seemed even more so that moment. Most likely because it was Hundew who was demanding his attention. "I am supposed to be monitoring your entire department and not just you, Hundew."

If the orange-skinned alien noticed that Sorbet was looking at him much as how a finely dressed actor might look at some poop they had just stepped in Hundew didn't show it.

"Sir, I would like to know why we weren't warned about there being scheduled maintenance. We could have rearranged our sleep patterns so that our free time fell during it, rather than now when we are supposed to be working. As it is we will need to work unpaid overtime just to get caught back up."

Wamelo wanted to smack the bastard for putting ideas in Sorbet's head but from the way Sorbet was staring at him it was clear that smacking Hundew was something their boss wanted to do himself.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded in frustration. "There is no scheduled maintenance! We are in the middle of an important mission for Lord Frieza! You think we would jeopardize that by scheduling maintenance?"

Hundew though wasn't affected by Sorbet's angry tone; it was probably why he had survived as long as he had, annoying he might be. Bosses liked having workers who could take their bellows and screams and not react. "Sir, you can clearly see that something is going on here." He gestured at his screen and Wamelo glanced over, seeing that the words his neighbor had been typing were still slowly appearing, one letter at a time.

Sorbet frowned and leaned in close. "What have you done to your computer? Why is it acting like this?"

"That is why I asked about the maintenance," Hundew stated, his tone respectful but also making it clear that he was finding Sorbet's questions confusing. Wamelo, for his part, wasn't too concerned at all and much to his own surprise found himself speaking.

"Probably was but it got lost in the shuffle. You know how it is… one person sends a message off to let everyone know about an update to the computers, but that person got killed because they said Zarbon's thighs were looking a bit chunky, and none of us get the message."

"Watch your tongue!" Sorbet declared, forceful and stern but also filled with terror. "We must show respect to our commanders! None of these filthy lies about Zarbon letting himself go and eating too many cream puffs!" Wamelo decided not to mention that the word 'cream puff' had never crossed his lips; he'd tap danced as close to the line as he wished to.

"Its happening to mine now too," Pinapel stated. "While we were talking. Everything is moving like a Tremill Slug after gorging itself on peppers."

Sorbet frowned as he shoved Hundew away from his keyboard and began to type away. Wamelo saw several other works were pausing from their work to watch what the department head was up to… and he also saw that their screens were still filling with text as they did their data entry, despite the fact that their fingers weren't touching the keys at all.

That… was concerning.

"Its spreading," Hundew stated and for once Wamelo didn't get annoyed by the worker's voice. He took out a handheld and began to type into it. "This seems to be working-"

"Wait a minute," Pinapel said as he took out his own handheld. "Blakberry, come here." The short worker with curly pink hair hurried over. "Take out your handheld, okay? But don't turn it on just yet. Hundew? You signed into the network?"

"Of course I am," Hundew stated. "We are always supposed to be…" he trailed off, staring at the device he was clutching. "Its slowing down."

"Blakberry. Don't sign in. Cast to Hundew's." The worker nodded and after a moment confirmed he was now piggybacking off of Hundew's system… only for his own handheld to slow down. "Disconnect from the network!" Pinapel declared. "No wireless and no hardlines! They don't matter!"

"What is going on?" Sorbet demanded and Wamelo wasn't surprised that while all the rest of them had figured it out their boss was still in the dark. Honestly that was the norm for them all.

"Something is hacking our systems," Wamelo stated. "Its gotten in and its draining all our resources in order to do… whatever it is that its doing."

Sorbet's eyes went wide with panic. "Can we kill the connection? Reboot the system?"

Good suggestions but far too late. "He's controlling everything. See, my computer's no longer typing…" he reached over and typed in the word 'boobies' because even in an emergency he was an immature brat, but nothing happened. No words appeared on the screen. "I'm completely locked out. It only finished up the last bit I was typing before everything was taken over but that's it."

"You… you mean to tell me that our network has been compromised?" Sorbet demanded. "How?"

"Someone looking at some nudie pics?" Pinapel suggested.

"Grow up," Hundew declared.

But Sorbet took that comment and ran with it. "Well? Was that what happened? Did one of you little perverts decide to use your work terminal to look up some smut?"

"Wamelo was the first one to notice anything," Hundew stated.

"You told us it was happening to your computer," Pinapel pointed out.

"Yes but he was the first to report it… so clearly he's the porn-looker."

"That is exactly something someone looking at porn would say," Wamelo commented, causing Hundew to bluster.

"I… I have no need to look such garbage! I am too busy serving Lord Frieza!"

For his own safety Wamelo resisted the urge the comment on that little admission. "Sir, we need to get everyone off the network before this spreads."

"What we need to do, soldier, is figure out how this happened and destroy the one that dared to do it! This is an embarrassment for the entire Frieza Force and I'm not going to let it stand for a moment more!" Sorbet puffed out and his little speech might have meant something… had he actually been addressing soldiers.

But no… he was addressing the clerks and the officer workers who kept the Frieza Force going. The true lifeblood of Lord Frieza's business. Because for as much as the soldiers liked to believe that they were the most important ones, since they were the ones that were out there wiping out life on planets, that wasn't true. What they failed to realize is that without the workers who, behind the scenes, set everything else up… they wouldn't have a reason to exist. It was the salesmen who were going to planets desperate for more land or new resources that made the planets valuable. The workers like Wamelo who cataloged everything to make sure that records were air-tight. Those that checked on the supply lines. The Frieza Force wasn't just the morons with blasters and body armor, after all.

But some, like Sorbet, always had it in their heads that they belonged with the fighters rather than doing the important work.

"We need to contact Lord Frieza at once!" Sorbet declared. "He needs to know about this!"

One of the other workers chimed in. "Sir, Lord Frieza left strict orders-"

But Sorbet cut him off. "The fleet is being hacked! He'll want to know of this!"

"Except, sir, we run the risk of infecting his ship," Pinapel pointed out. "Do you want to upset him by having his ship taken over too?"

At once Sorbet's eyes went wide, his body rigid with terror at that little bit of info that was sinking into his gray matter. "No calls in or out! We need to figure out a way to contact help without using our network! All hands on deck for this!"

The workers all set about, trying to figure out just what was going on. Only Wamelo noticed that at the bottom of his screen a single word appeared, but he thought little of it.

After all… what the hell was an ISCO anyway?

~MC~MC~MC~

Dodoria grunted as he took a hit in the side.

"Now… it seems to me that three possible things have happened," Vegeta stated as he swung several more punches at Dodoria's head, the heavyset fighter just barely managing to bring his open palms up to block them. They were hovering about a 100 feet above the surface of the planet, trading blows with one another. Or, to be more accurate, Vegeta was flinging punches and kicks at Dodoria's body and the elite warrior was doing all he could to avoid being hit. "First, you have gotten weaker, Dodoria. Arms a bit sluggish… legs weighed down. Eating a bit too much of that fine cooking you get on the Frieza Hub Worlds?"

"Jealous?" Dodoria said, trying to turn the insult back on Vegeta. While he would never have been turned down visiting one of the Hub Worlds, the planets that Frieza kept for himself to serve as the capital bases for the Empire, the Saiyan Prince had always been kept far too busy to make a visit. It was a message from Frieza that Vegeta best remember his place and that was NOT part of his Inner Circle. Thus he didn't get to experience the wonders of the Hub Worlds, only hear of them. The casinos that never closed, where people played card games and slots that all featured Frieza's face. The shows put on by the most skilled performers in the galaxy; some performed due to an agreement to spare their planet, others because they simply wanted to. The cultural artifacts from civilizations long dead, preserved by King Cold himself (Frieza had never really gotten into such things and Dodoria didn't blame him as it was all odd and strange to him anyway).

And, of course ,the food.

Every kind of meal that one could desire could be found there. The great chefs in the universe all clamored to work for Frieza, knowing that doing so would allow them to showcase their skills. Agreements were ironclad, allowing them to have other restaurants (and always be warned ahead of time if the Frieza Force was targeting a plant one was located on) but their main place had to be on a Hub World. There the finest dining was available and they all competed to become Frieza's new favorite. Dodoria himself had table always ready for him at three of the different restaurants on the Hub Worlds and he enjoyed watching the glowering, envious looks of those that were forced to wait in line as he was sat at a table and given a menu.

"Considering what the food has done to your already ample waistline?" Vegeta asked, giving several quick punches to Dodoria's gut. Thankfully he had trained up his body to absorb such blows but it was still annoying that Vegeta was able to get the hits in. "Second option is that I've just gotten so much better."

Dodoria hated to admit it but… yeah, Vegeta was better than he had been the last time the two had brawled. Frieza had decided he wanted to be entertained and demanded the two to spar, so he could see 'what a monkey can do against an urchin'. The two had battled for about 10 minutes and Dodoria had enjoyed the fight, declaring that Vegeta should stick around the Flagship more often, because he made the best punching bag he'd ever had. The bobbing, the weaving, the attempts to avoid hits? No punching bag did that. Made him an utter delight.

But now it was Dodoria who found himself the punching bag. While he was able to get some hits in as well, and he could tell that Vegeta was actually trying against him and not toying around with their fight as Dodoria had done years ago… it still remained a painful blow that he was having so many problems against the Saiyan.

He was one of the strongest warrior in Lord Frieza's army. All but Frieza himself and Zarbon feared him and the latter didn't tremble only because he was arrogant enough to believe that he could beat Dodoria. But now Vegeta was-

A direct punch to his chin brought Dodoria out of his thoughts, mostly because the blow nearly caused him to bite off the tip of his tongue and crack his teeth. He barely managed to bring his arms up to defend against the second punch that had been aimed at his temple.

'Damn it… he has gotten better! I try to take him on and it feels like I'm strugglin' ta get through syrup! How the hell did he get so fast and so strong so quickly! We had him so busy he never had a chance ta get bored and properly train!' Frieza had been firm that he didn't want Vegeta to ever get delusions of grandeur… or, rather, more than he already had. As such he had commanded Zarbon and Dodoria to make sure Vegeta was far too busy to do anything other than Frieza's orders, comparing it to constantly forcing a dog to do tricks until that was all they knew. 'That would prevent him from healin' up properly too… smug little bastard would only be able to rest enough ta be able ta fight the next fight. Yet here he is, managin' ta go toe ta toe with me. How is this possible?!'

Vegeta smirked as the two of them locked up, fingers interlaced as they struggled to shove each other back. Fingers gripping hard Dodoria shoved with all his might… only for Vegeta to not even budge in the slightest.

"Of course… there is the third option," Vegeta said, purposely shifting his body so Dodoria suddenly found himself leaning close to him, the Saiyan able to whisper in his ear. "That I am stronger… and you have gotten weaker."

Dodoria roared at that and moved to crack Vegeta's wrists like they were sugar cane sticks. It was a move he had done many times, which always served to startle his foes and leave them screaming in pain. A show of raw power that few were ready for-

Vegata suddenly spun his body and drove his foot into Dodoria's ankle, causing the pink warrior to howl as he felt something crack.

"oh oh oh," Vegeta taunted as Dodoria let go of him and flew back by about 20 feet, giving them some distance. He looked over his left ankle and saw that it was already beginning to swell up. The bastard had managed to break it! "Frieza isn't going to be happy when he sees that!"

"He won't notice when I bring him your head!" Dodoria roared before taking a deep breath, charging up the energy in his gut before unleashing it from his mouth. The beam rocketed at Vegeta, so fast that he had no hope of fleeing-

Vegeta slashed out with his hand and batted the blast away like he was swatting a pesky fly.

"Now now, Dodoria… everyone knows in a fight you should only focus on what is happening and not what might. That causes you to get distracted." Vegeta folded his arms over his chest, a condescending smirk forming on his lips as he stared the pink warrior down. Dodoria HATED seeing him look at him like that; no one looked at him anymore like that. He hadn't been looked at like that since he was a child, mocked for being the weakest of his tribe and that he should be left out in the woods to die.

'And when they did leave me out there… I grew strong. Powerful. And I returned and killed all the elders and everyone that ever doubted me and took over! I showed them how wrong they were and made them regret ever doubting me!' He looked at his broken ankle again and it filled him with a dark and powerful rage. 'And I am going to show Vegeta just how bad he messed up challenging me!'

Letting out a roar Dodoria flared out his aura before rushing at the Saiyan Prince, ready to put him in the ground.

~MC~MC~MC~

"I got it!" Gohan said happily, hurrying over to Dende. He held up the scouter that Bulma had given him, turning it over in his hand. "Look, it even can adjust its size so you can wear it if you want!"

"I'm okay with you wearing it, Gohan," the young Namekian said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Gohan said as he slipped the scouter on, allowing it to adjust to his head. Bulma had actually been rather impressed with that, marveling at how everything, even the glass that made up the screen of the scouter, was able to shrink down to fit whoever wore it. She had almost refused to part with the scouter, wanting to study it and figure out how she could apply such tech to her own devices. Raditz though had spoken up, telling her that she could look at his when they were back on Earth and even if not he was sure they would be able to snag more scouters before everything was said and done.

"I'm still not sure why we are doing this," Dende said as Gohan led him through the crowd of adult Namekians that were mingling about the canyon that had become their hiding space. None of the elders paid any attention to the two; Dende had told Gohan that Namekian adults let children have a lot of freedom, since their planet was very peaceful and what dangers children might get into could be handled because they were trained very young how to fly and how to do some minor Ki manipulation. So they didn't think anything of the two sneaking away from the group, not even noticing as they did so. As for Gohan's family they were busy working on carving out the underground cavern that would allow everyone gathered to safely hide from Frieza and his men.

"We can't just sit here and let Frieza hurt your people," Gohan answered. "My daddy, if he were here, wouldn't be standing around waiting to see what was going to happen! He would be working to stop this! And that's what we're gonna do!"

"We're not gonna fight Frieza though, right?" Dende asked nervously.

Gohan shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he told his new friend. "Or any of his men. But we are gonna find Lord Guru."

Dende nodded at that; going to the Eldest Namek wasn't that bad of a plan. Certainly not the most dangerous thing they could do. He had never met Lord Guru but he had met Nail, the Namekian that Guru had selected to take over for him. Or, at least, that's what everyone said about Nail. He had been a bit scary because he was so tall and powerful… but also very kind. He'd taken time to talk with everyone, even Dende, asking him about what training he was getting and showing him how to perform a healing technique. Dende hadn't quite been able to master that but he really wanted too.

'And if Lord Guru is anything like Nail then he'll be able to help us for sure!' Dende thought happily. 'Lord Guru is the wisest and most powerful Namekian to ever live. It is said that after the Great Drought he carved out homes for all the new Namekians with his bare hands!' He had been told that in the Prime of his life Lord Guru had been over 100 feet tall and that was him at his smallest! If he went into his giant form he could hold the planet in the palm of his hand!

"We have to make sure that someone told him about Frieza and his forces invading," Gohan said as they got through the crowd of people. But rather than make for the end of the canyon he carefully flew up, towards the cracks and gaps in the great stone slabs that had been used to cover the top of the canyon. While they did well to hide them from any of Frieza's men that were flying about there were still gaps to allow some light in and these were just big enough for Gohan and Dende to wiggle through.

With a pop the two of them emerged outside and Gohan grinned, his tail wagging as he looked about the planet.

"We can use this scouter to find the highest power level… that should be Lord Guru!"

"Uh… wouldn't the highest power level be Frieza?"

Gohan's eyes went wide at that and he swallowed nervously. "Oh. Oh yeah."

"Its okay," Dende assured his new friend, patting him on the shoulder. He hadn't meant to scare him. "I know where Lord Guru is. And we can still use the scouter to make sure that none of Frieza's men are coming near us."

"Oh yeah!" Gohan said, pleased that they didn't have to stop their adventure before it even began. Dende could tell that Gohan desperately wanted to help out and to be honest Dende did as well. He didn't like hiding away… he wanted to be out there doing SOMETHING. Maybe not fighting, as he'd never really enjoyed any of those lessons (he was rather proud to be part of the Dragon Tribe, unlike other younger Namekians who dreamed of being one of the rarer Warrior Tribe or rarer still Dragon Warrior Tribe), but still helping. "Come on, let's go!"

With that the two boys rocketed off.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Aw, are you winded already?" Vegeta taunted as Dodoria gasped, clutching his stomach. It had nothing to do with being tired though and all to do with the devastating punch that Vegeta had landed on Dodoria's belly. He had felt the Saiyan digging into his insides with the strike and knew that if it weren't for his armor he would have ended up with a hole right in his middle. "Come now, Dodoria… where is your warrior pride?"

"I'll-" Dodoria began only to realize Vegeta had closed the gap between them far quicker than he'd realized, the Prince kicking him right in the side of the head. That sent Dodoria flying, tumbling through the air… only to come to a stop when Vegeta blasted into his path and caught him by the throat, holding him still for just a moment before he delivered a devastating punch to his face that had Dodoria's brain rattling in his skull.

Though he couldn't see him well thanks to the blow rattling his vision he could hear Vegeta as he purred, "What was that, Dodoria? You really must speak up." He delivered another punch right to his throat, making Dodoria gag. "Come now… tell me to stop if I am getting to rough with you."

Dodoria tried to gargle out a threat but nothing managed to get past his lips and after a moment Vegeta hurled him into the ground, Dodoria slamming into the green grass and forming a crater. He tried to push himself up and did manage to get to his knees, but any attempt to put weight on his ankle had him hissing in pain.

"This is what Frieza considers the elite of his forces?" Vegeta taunted from above him as Dodoria worked to get his heart to stop pounding and for his throat to allow him to breathe properly. He could tell that his right eye was swollen shut and his jaw ached something fierce but he was able to suck in a mouthful of air without it burning horrifically so that was a plus. It meant he was still in the fight and he could turn this around.

'Might not have had a battle this tough in a long time… but Vegeta is still a little brat that don't know his own limits. I can take him down still… I just need ta distract him…' Out loud Dodoria said, "Aw, what's the matter, Vegeta? Still upset ya weren't chosen?" He forced himself to smile, even though the act hurt his jaw greatly. "Poor little Vegeta… so desperate for everyone ta love 'im… 'cept there ain't anyone who gives a flyin' fig about ya, do they? All alone in the universe… maybe because we all know what a waste ya truly are!"

But Vegeta, rather than going into a rant about how he was powerful and Dodoria should fear him… smiled.

"Why would I care about being part of Frieza's elite forces… when I'll be creating my own soon enough?" Dodoria slowly moved his hand behind him, hiding the energy ball he was forming. "That's the problem with you, Dodoria… for such a big… big… BIG… man… you think terribly small." He sneered at him and Dodoria forced himself not to react. He wanted Vegeta thinking he was weak and injured so he wouldn't see what was about the happen… "Only concerned with pleasing your master instead of BECOMING the master! That is your problem, Dodoria. You lack vision. Frieza's days are numbered. Everyone can see that. He is growing desperate as the universe catches up to him… as I catch up to him. Soon he will be cast down and-"

Dodoria thrust out his hand and fired off the Ki blast, striking Vegeta right in the face, causing his head to snap back.

"I think I thought ahead pretty well there!" he taunted as he struggled to get up, putting all his weight on his good leg. "And what was it ya told me? Focus on the here and the now? Ya were lookin' too far ahead, Vegeta and-"

Vegeta slowly tilted his head down, revealing that the blast hadn't even scratched him.

"Awwwwww… fuck," Dodoria got out before moving to flee.

Vegeta however was on him in an instant, lashing out and shattering his other ankle.

"Where are you going, Dodoria?" Vegeta said mockingly as he purposely stepped down hard on the pink warrior's leg, making him howl in pain. "I've never seen you run from a fight! Though, could that be because you always were so careful to choose your fights?" He ground his heel a bit into Dodoria's limb before reaching down and forcing him to sit up a bit. "That is the difference between you and me, Dodoria. Where you were happy to have your easy fights I always sought out the harder ones. Yes, Nappa sheltered me far more than I wanted, but with him gone there is nothing to stop me from testing myself against stronger and stronger foes, so I can truly learn my limits… and break through them. Had he been here he would have stopped me from ever confronting you… and I would have missed out on this glorious beating." He smirked and his free hand began to glow. "But now… I think our time has come to an end."

"Wait!" Dodoria said desperately, reaching up and grasping at the hand that was holding him. "Wait! We don't have ta be fightin'! We both have beef with Frieza… we can help each other!"

"That's a funny thing to say, when I have you dead to rights," Vegeta stated. "Whatever help do you think a broken thing like you could ever give me?"

"Information!" Dodoria declared. "The truth you don't know!"

Vegeta scoffed at that. "And what might that be? What Frieza likes in his tea? What color socks Zarbon wears?"

"The truth… the truth about Planet Vegeta!" Dodoria got out. "It wasn't a meteor that destroyed it!"

Vegeta's mouth curled downward at that. "What are you talking about?"

Dodoria swallowed. The secret… it was one that could never be taken back if he spoke it. There would be no going back to Frieza if he revealed the truth. Vegeta would never be able to contain it and Frieza would know Dodoria was the one to speak the words. It would mean tossing aside all he had… but considering that he was about to lose everything to Vegeta there was no real choice.

"It… it was Lord Frieza!" Dodoria cried out. "He destroyed the planet! He feared ya Saiyans… there's some prophecy, passed down by his ancestors. That there would be one who would become more than the average Saiyan Warrior. That he would discover a power that didn't merely rival Frieza's kind but eclipse them. The… the Super Saiyan!"

"The Super Saiyan?" Vegeta murmured, loosening his grip.

"Frieza is convinced that the Saiyans are a threat to him… that's why he destroyed the planet! Its why he's kept such a close eye on ya!" Dodoria smiled. "But… but the two of us could work together! I could train ya, help you reach new levels of power… and you could achieve the legend and destroy him!"

Vegeta let him go and Dodoria grunted in pain. Still… it meant that he was alive, which he would take any day of the week! The Saiyan prince shut his eyes and turned his head away from Dodoria, mouth pressed into a firm line. He was thinking… that was good. That was very-

"What training could someone so weak give me?" Vegeta asked before holding out his hand, Ki burning around his palm.

"WAIT!" Dodoria screamed, holding out his hands, pleading desperately. "I can tell you more-"

"You've told me enough," Vegeta stated with a cruel smile. "Don't worry Dodoria… I'll make sure that Frieza knows everything you told me… that way when you two meet in Hell you will be able to have a long chat!"

"WAIT!"

"Galick Gun."

Dodoria let out a scream as the attack hit him, his body torn apart by the blast, bit by bit ripped away until-

-then Dodoria hit the ground hard.

He looked about wildly, trying to figure out where he was. All he saw was endless sand. Trillions of grains of coarse dry said. He took a breath and found the air hot and dry. The sky was filled with a multitude of suns that were all burning fiercely, making the desert he was in blinding.

"I… I ain't dead?" he said and at once he regretted it because it felt like just saying those four words had robbed his body of gallons of water. He got to his feet and marveled at the fact that he could actually stand; his ankles weren't broken anymore and he could tell the swelling had gone down in his face. He rubbed his belly and smiled. "Alive…" he said even as he smacked his dry tongue against the roof of his mouth. The air was so hot it was robbing the moisture from him every time he tried to say a word!

"Oh, you are dead," a voice rasped out and Dodoria turned to see a Namekian standing a few feet away from him, wearing baggy white clothes, green skin so dark it was nearly black. He was a withered thing, with no muscle at all on his bones. All there was to cover them was skin, which hung like floppy bits of cracked leather upon his arms and his skull. Which made the fact that he was so tall, looming over Dodoria like some thin reedy tree, all the more off-putting. "Been a long time since I got a guest… this will be fun. I will have to see if I'm rusty."

And with that the King of Namekian Hell smirked before raising his hand and Dodoria looked about wildly before feeling something churn in his gut. He watched as from his mouth vapor began to ghost past his lips and he looked down in horror to see his skin begin to grow dry and cracked, his bloated form slowly squishing in on itself. His stomach crumbling like a pastry that hadn't been allowed to rise properly. Limbs draining away like a hose emptied of it's contents. He reached out and he tried to draw the vapor back… but more and more of it was coming out, stolen away.

"Hmmm… going slower than normal," the demon said. "Ah well… we have plenty of time."

As for Dodoria…

…his throat was too dry even to scream.