Being a galactic soldier in the military is a privilege, a position of power. Not that it's always easy to tell what's actually an "enlistment" and what's not. It certainly feels like one sometimes - especially when you're a kid who hasn't even made your first kill yet and are trying to learn the ropes, as if your life weren't already in danger.

But then there are the times when they'll look at you with those dead eyes and tell you you're good, you have potential, and you can start serving in the ranks after this mission. Sometimes you'll be called by one of the generals or admirals or something fancy like that, because they know you were part of the original unit and you know some stuff. They might even make you one of their own. And while the idea makes sense, it makes your heart pound in fear, for all the reasons why.

And Dinrew doesn't do well being afraid. Being scared of the unknown. He's been doing pretty damn well for years now. Well enough, anyway.

Due to his accomplishments through the ranks, the general had given him special missions to his interest, among them were conquering planet Arus. The Arusians, though nomadic and poor, weren't really a threat to the Empire, but they could be useful. And he did it well with excellence and diligence. That alone should convince everyone that he's a soldier to be reckoned with and feared.

Well, not as much as the Emperor that Dinrew serves under. The Emperor is known by all as Frieza and Cooler's cousin in more than one way, from his calm composure and terrifying reputation, to his ruthless ambition and unending quest to rule over every star system within a hundred lightyears' radius. There were rumors that he was two times stronger then even Frieza, but those were just idle whispers amongst soldiers on both sides. The fact that they don't dare speak anything out loud only adds credibility and credence to that rumor.

The Emperor knows how to hold his own. He can be as cruel as a tiger and as cunning as a fox. Everyone knows that. But he also respects the men around him, as a leader ought to. He was born into the Imperial family and grew up surrounded by nobles who raised him to be the Emperor he is today, and his name was Crimlet.

Dinrew watched with pity as Emperor Crimlet's right hand gripped the neck of the young man kneeling before him and crushed it between his palms until the bones snapped. Blood sprayed all around the throne room, drenching the floor in gold as if it were raining and gore onto the palace walls.

Dinrew's stomach turned and he gagged. It wasn't just the blood. It was everything that followed.

He heard screams as people tried to escape but couldn't, and he saw civilians running away from his troops while others cowered in the corners. The air was thick with the smell of burning flesh and the clanking sound of metal as bodies collapsed to the ground.

Dinrew turned his gaze back to Crimlet, whose expression remained stony despite the chaos. If one saw him for the first time, they would've mistaken him as King Cold but with a few differences. For starters, his deep colored lips and two horns protruding from his skull. Unlike Frieza and Cooler who were mostly purple or pink in color, Crimlet was all crimson and there were red areas as well. His snake-like tail swished behind him, keeping balance as he stood. His eyes were slanted and he wore black armor with dark purple shoulder pads out to the sides, and wore a scouter with a scarlet screen.

"Y-You killed my son!" Dinrew heard the father shout, turning away from Crimlet and seeing the father holding the lifeless corpse in his arms. "How could you do this?!"

Crimlet crossed his arms. "Did you not hear me? I simply told him to surrender this planet to me and he and his people would've lived. But, no, the fool refused. So here I am." The Emperor stepped forward, and the people backed up again. "If your son hadn't been so stubborn and obstinate then he wouldn't be dead now." He rolled his body around, his cape spreading behind him like a halo. "Now, Dinrew. Finish off this vermin and meet me back on my ship." He gestured to the father, his wife, and his children behind him before exiting the throne room with his soldiers marching to his side.

Dinrew step towards the father. Right hand reached out, his palm charging with violent cyan energy. The family before him cowered.

"Please… please stop. Please just kill me and leave my family alone." The father pleaded, dropping his head to the ground, hiding his face beneath his hands. The mother covered her little girl's eyes. The youngest boy whimpered, looking terrified.

Dinrew's eyes narrowed. No matter. He's been given orders; they will be followed. The power fled from his hand. Consuming the family and their screams flooded the room. Nothing but black ashes and charred flesh were left of his targets.

Dinrew turns and exits the throne room. Passing by a few of his troops blasting their blasters at the remaining rebels, he continued walking down the winding hallways until he was outside and stood by Crimlet's side.

The Emperor stared at the city around them. He looked around in fascination before turning to look at Dinrew. "This could be a good homing base," he says. "It has the necessary infrastructure. This planet will never fall and our forces may advance further into space. With these people's technology, I have no doubt that we will conquer planet Ekkon, eventually."

Dinrew nodded thoughtfully. "What's our next move, my lord?"

Crimlet glanced at Dinrew for a moment. "For now, we will remain here and fly back to the stars tomorrow," he said, gesturing with a hand for Dinrew to follow him further down the street. The soldiers began to follow them, their blasters lowered. "Once planet Ekkon is ours, I'll be leaving you in charge of that planet while I go pay a visit to my cousins; we haven't seen each other in a long while. Until then, we will begin setting up our base here."

Dinrew nodded again, not knowing what else to say. 'Yes, sir.'

"Lord Crimlet!"

Both Dinrew and Crimlet looked up to the direction of the cry. A female soldier ran towards them, stopping and dropped to one knee, panting heavily. "My lord," she said, looking up at Crimlet. "We received another report…"

"From whom?" Crimlet asked.

"From the Frieza Froce, sir," she replied. "They said that both Frieza and Cooler, and King Cold… are dead."

Every soldier including Dinrew stopped moving, the wind completely stilled as they listened attentively to the news. A silence settled upon the imperial capital as all eyes fixated upon the woman.

Dinrew was the most shocked out of everyone. Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold…dead? But how? Who could've been strong enough to defeat those three? Could it have been the Saiyans? His mind raced with possibilities as he searched for any sign of dishonesty or trickery in the woman's words, searching for anything that could point to a possibility that didn't exist. But nothing seemed to stand out, not even a hint. The woman just told the truth.

Dinrew looked up at Crimlet and to his and everyone's surprise, found a slight smile on Crimlet's face.

Crimlet shook his head, chuckling. "I'm not suprised," he answered. "It was only a matter time before he and Cooler gone soft and let themselves be slain by one of those Saiyans."

The woman blinked. "Actually, they weren't slain by the Saiyans, my lord."

Crimlet's grin widened. "No?" He asked. "And who were they then? Some rouge group of warriors and fools who had the gall to try taking down the greatest threat ever?" he laughed. The female soldier shook her head.

"Not at all, my lord." She took a deep breath as she composed herself. "Not by a group of warriors, but by one armored warrior alone."

All the soldiers immediately tensed up at her words, their eyes locked on the woman. Even Crimlet was taken aback by that revelation but then his face relaxed slightly. "And who might that be," he asked. "Did your sources give out the name of this lone armored warrior?"

"Indeed." The woman bowed.

"Who?"

She straightened up. "They say he goes by the name…Doom Slayer."

Dinrew narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms, humming in thought. "Doom Slayer…" he murmured. His brow furrowed and he closed his eyes, thinking.

"So," Crimlet said, breaking the silence. " This so-called Doom Slayer slain my cousins as well as King Cold." He crossed his arms, his smirk deepening with each passing second. "That means that he beat me to it. What a shame," he sighed.

"What should we do, my lord? Do you want us to set course for Planet Vegeta?" Dinrew asked, looking up at Crimlet.

"No, that won't be necessary Dinrew." Crimlet waved him away dismissively. "Besides, if my cousins and King Cold couldn't match up with the Doom Slayer himself, then flying over to Planet Vegeta would be an unwise move." He looked up to the sky whilst his eyes closed. "I admire the Slayer's accomplishment but at the same time I'm disappointed in my cousins for their failure. And the fact that they lost against this lone armored warrior," Crimlet chuckled. "A lone warrior! It seems that even the mighty Frieza wasn't invincible after all… but, it matters not." Crimlet's smirk grew, his eyes brightening with excitement. "To make up for their incompetence, i will take great pleasure to rid this foe for myself. But… we must be patient - that day will have to wait."

The female soldier bowed. Right hand placed on her chest. "Then, what's the plan, my lord?" She asked.

Crimlet opened his eyes and looked back at the woman. "The plan doesn't change. We are still setting course for planet Ekkon and conquer it," he explained simply. "But once we have it in our possession, Dinrew." He glances down to Dinrew who stares up back at him waiting for his next order, "Find me this Doom Slayer and observe him carefully. Find out what kind of a fighter he really is. I want to learn about him and what I am truly up against, do not engage him and do well not to leave out any detail," Crimlet paused. "If you discover some valuable or interesting information of the enemy, tell me immediately. Understood?"

Dinrew nodded, not saying a word.

"Good." Crimlet gave him a smile. "You're dismissed. You too, Dinrew."

Dinrew saluted. "Sir!"

Crimlet nodded and turned back towards the palace. As soon as Dinrew and the woman were out of sight, Crimlet let out a hearty laugh. "Doom Slayer…" he muttered to himself. "That title sounds ancient and far too grandiose for such a puny warrior." He turned to look at the city around them. "However… it seems appropriate for someone as impressive as him to slain my cousins. Doom Slayer…" He grinned, leaning forward, his voice dropping low. "I look forward to meeting you one day."

King Vegeta sat on his throne, staring at the six senators gathered before him. His expression was unreadable as he surveyed them one by one. They were seated around a circular table in a small room that looked more like a dungeon than an opulent conference hall. The walls were covered with thick black stone blocks that were so close together that they formed a solid, impenetrable barrier between themselves and the king.

"Gentlemen, I think we can all agree that these past two years have been most enlightening," said an elder Senator with a smile, "and I think we should discuss it together rather than separately." At this he turned to one of the closest middle-age Senators to his left. "Starting with the three factions." The senator gestured with a hand as the man next to him nodded.

"Yes," the middle-aged senator agreed, "Ever since the Doom Slayer's interference all those years ago, the Saiyans on Planet Vegeta have been divided into three factions. There's the low class and the elites that we are all too familiar with, and then there's the Slayer Core itself."

King Vegeta nodded, looking thoughtful. He learned about this from the reports that had come back over the months. On the day when the Doom Slayer defeated King Cold and Cooler more than five-hundred Saiyans, both low class and elites, gathered together and created what he quotes in the reports as 'a fan club', or something close to that. It wasn't hard to figure out what that was meant for.

The Slayer Core. The elite and low class faction, which was composed of nearly fifty members of both Saiyan men and women; it was also made up of a large group of warriors who considered the Slayer an idol and an inspiration to push themselves to get stronger. As such, they tended to be very loyal to the Doom Slayer, and often trained with him, even though the Slayer absolutely demolished them on the regular.

All the members of the Slayer Core went as far as wearing new Saiyan armor with the Doom Slayer's sigil marked on their right breast plate – it was the first time the Saiyan King had seen anything like that and he honestly didn't know how to feel about it. When he inquired about the symbol later in private, the leaders of the Slayer Core explained that the symbol represented fear and a warning in battle, while both the symbol and the armor itself symbolized their loyalty toward the Doom Slayer. And so it remained.

"It amazes me how fast the Slayer has become popular among the lower class and surprisingly the elites too," the elder senator continued, "This could spell trouble for the Saiyan race and our way of life if we don't act soon." He took a sip from a glass of water that someone had placed beside his seat during the discussion.

A bearded senator nodded, "I agree. I admire the Doom Slayer's accomplishment but I fear his presence is badly influencing our way of life as a warrior race, especially when we have no way of fighting back against him."

"Well," a tall, elegant young Saiyan woman senator spoke up. She narrowed her eyes at the other Senators, "We mustn't underestimate him. He has proven to be well experienced in combat and his strength alone is enough to overwhelm many of us. But it's like you said, we are a conquerors, a warrior race not some peace folk!" She stood up abruptly, causing the table she sat at to tip precariously over. "This can not stand," she declared, right hand clenched tight. "But I am no fool. Fighting the Doom Slayer is suicidal. We need to find another solution." She glanced around the room, meeting each person's eyes. "We can't sit here and accept defeat."

"What do we propose we do?" A short, bald man asked quietly after a few moments of silence passed.

"I think I know."

Every Saiyan senator, including King Vegeta, turned to look towards the entrance to the chamber where a voice had spoken. Their eyes landed on a tall black cloaked figure standing just outside the doorway. A tall, muscular man stood behind him, who also wore a cloak as both of their faces were partially concealed by the dark cloth, save for their bright red eyes.

King Vegeta abruptly stood up from his throne. Glaring at the two uninvited guests. "Who are you?" he demanded, walking towards the stranger in the doorway. "How dare you intrude upon my chambers, intruder? You've got no business being here!" He stopped mere inches away from the stranger and stared into his deep crimson orbs.

The cloaked man smirked at him in response, taking a step closer to the king. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure." His smirk grew wider as he raised a gloved hand to reveal a glowing gemstone embedded within his palm. "Think of us as allies. Ones who are willing to help you with your… problem."

A/N: Hey it's me, Goku! Man, I know some of those guys admire him but I didn't think they would go that far for him? Hehehe, I find it funny that they made their own fan club that's inspired by Doomguy. But hey, least he's got some potential allies that will have his back. I am little wary about those guys in dark cloaks though. Just who the heck are they anyway?

Next time on DOOM: INCARNATION!

CHAPTER 12: A NEW THREAT

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