No one truly understood how large Lord Guru had once been.

The oldest of his brothers had vague memories of him towering over them, holding them in the palm of his hand, careful with his movements so he didn't risk crushing them. But he knew that, for them, those memories weren't fully trusted. After all, they had just hatched from eggs and been young and naïve. That could cause one's memories to become mixed up and confused, making things seem bigger or more powerful than they actually had been. And now the latest generations of Namekians had only seen him as he normally was. Large, yes… the largest Namekian on the planet, but they still didn't understand. They didn't comprehend just how much power rested in his veins.

And he had been fine with that. He didn't want to be feared… Guru wanted his brothers to care for him as he cared for them. To see him as family and not some monster or tyrant. And if that meant keeping himself hunched down, to never stretch and reveal his true might… well, he had been fine with that.

But now his brothers were being threatened. The children were being threatened.

His fellow Namekians also didn't believe that Guru could feel anger. They thought that it didn't exist within him. That the calmness was the only emotion he felt. He was their rock when the winds blew hard and the waves crashed. Something they could cling to and know would remain stable and safe.

But that wasn't the truth.

Guru felt just as deeply his brothers. He could laugh at a good joke. Savor fine water. Become annoyed if someone didn't listen to what he was trying to explain to them. Want to break down crying when he thought of all he had lost. Rage against the fates that he was the one who had to deal with the burden of saving the Namekian species.

So… when he had felt the five new threats arrive on Namek and attempt to destroy his brothers?

Well… Guru had taken a breath, found the steely control he had over himself… and let go.

At once he felt his body shift. This wasn't like the Great Namekian or the Giant Namekian transformation that those of the Demon Clan took on. Nor was it the Grand Namekian transformation that could be taken on by those of the Warrior Tribe who trained against other Namekians in order to obtain it. No… this wasn't a transformation. This was Guru forcing his muscles to unfold, much like airing out a robe that had been tucked away. Getting his bones to swell with fluid, much like how a Namekian could extend their limbs. It was him revealing to all just how powerful he was.

'It is something I don't do lightly,' he thought as he reached out with one hand and smashed through the roof of his dwelling; it was a pity to destroy it, as it had been a lovely home filled with happy memories, but in the end it was a thing and he would trade it a thousand times for even just one of his brothers. 'This will cut down how much I have left of my life.'

Already cutting off his connection to the Dragon Balls had shortened his life expectancy, not that he had let Nail know that. The ancient relics had been forged from his own power, given their power because of him. To cut himself off from them would be no different than cutting off one of his antenna. But now revealing his full form… it would put great stress on his organs. It could likely lead to his death if he remained in the form for too long.

But… he was okay with that. He truly was.

It would be worth it if he saved Namek.

10 feet. 20 feet. 30 feet.

Higher and higher he rose.

Guru felt the bulk of his body stretch and pull, his robes becoming looser on his frame as his bulk shifted. He would still look heavier than most Namekians… wrinklier than most as well. But he was no longer as broad and wide as he was tall. While his shoulders remained mighty and strong his stomach slowly disappeared and his face lost much of its puffiness as he continued to reach to the skies.

Finally it stopped.

151 feet.

He loomed over all of Namek, his shadow casting the land into one of their yearly nights. He took a step forward, coming down from his plateau, and felt the ground buckle under his weight before settling in place.

Lord Guru flared out his aura and called out in a great voice.

"INVADERS OF NAMEK! YOUR END IS AT HAND! BEHOLD THE MIGHT OF THE NAMEKIAN RACE!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"So… so big!" Jeice exclaimed in shock as he stared up at the massive Namekian. "I've… I've never seen anything that big!"

"We… we have to take him down!" Guildo stated.

Jeice though shook his head. He could feel the power coming off the green giant and he knew that trying to fight him would be utter foolishness.

'No, not foolishness. That's like sayin' that Captain Ginyu is a minor grunt in the Frieza Force!'

He looked up… and up… and up at the looming giant that was making his way towards him and Guldo. It didn't matter he was far away from them… he was so huge Jeice still had to look up in order to stare at his face. Stars, the big bastard was FAST too. You didn't expect someone that big to be that quick on their feet. All common sense said they should lumber, with one step for them taking 20 times as long to make even if it covered 100 times the distance. But the Namekian was covering the distance quick and Jeice knew that if they kept standing there it would only be a minute or two before he was on them.

"Captain," Jeice said, touching his scouter. "We have a problem!"

"If you are referring to the giant Namekian that just appeared we are all aware of this new development," Ginyu stated. "I am attempting to reach Lord Frieza now, to determine how we deal with this situation."

"What do ya mean, Captain?" Recoome declared. "He's just a bigger green bastard! He'll still bleed red like all the rest of these-GAH!" he let out a cry and Jeice winced as he heard flesh hitting flesh. "Hey! I'm tryin' ta talk to my captain here!"

"We have run into some other problems, Captain," Burter stated. "Vegeta AND Raditz are here and they've decided to try and give Recoome a bit of a spar."

"Nothin' I can't handle!" Recoome declared.

"They are more powerful than when we last met them, sir," Burter said and then Jeice heard a whistling sound on Burter's end of the line. "Uh… and they have a lot of friends."

"Don't tell'em that!" Recoome complained. "Gonna make me sound weak!"

"Burter," Captain Ginyu said coolly, with the command and strength that Jeice hoped one day he would be able to put in his own words, "just how many fighters are there?"

"Its… hard to tell, Captain," Burter admitted. "They keep trading off who is coming after me… I am-"

"Don't worry about it then," the Captain declared. "Focus on defeating them."

"Aye aye!" Burter said.

"As for the rest of you, regroup to my position."

That caused Recoome to speak up. "Regroup? We need ta take out these bastards and then kill that green giant!"

"We need to come up with a plan-"

"I can do it, Captain!" Recoome declared. "I ain't wak! Ya don't need ta coddle me!"

"Recoome, now is not the time for such breaks from the hierarchy. I command you to finish off Vegeta and Raditz and then meet up with me."

"…that was about me, wasn't it?" Guldo said and Jeice whipped around to stare at the small green warrior. "You think I don't have what it takes to fight? That I need to be coddled?"

"Guldo, man, no one is saying that!" Jeice said.

But Recoome spoke up at the same moment, declaring, "'bout time ya figured it out."

Even as Ginyu snapped at Recoome, making it clear that when this was all done he would be lucky if he got to remain in the Ginyu Force after his actions, Jeice turned to Guldo. He could see how angry Guldo was… how he was shaking he was so mad at Recoome's words. Jeice knew that Guldo had been felt like a failure after the loss of his own team decades ago but he had thought that they had managed to work through that and get him to no longer see things in such a dark light. To stop fearing that the world was out to get him and trust that they all respected him and WANTED him on the team. It wasn't pity. It wasn't a trick. They wanted him there.

'And Bloody Recoome has ta go and ruin it all…' Jeice thought as he took a step forward, holding out his hand to Guldo.

"Listen Mate… Recoome… he don't speak for us. You know that. He-"

Guldo was gone.

In an instant.

The little bastard had used his Time Halt ability to get away… and a check of his scouter showed exactly WHERE he had gone.

Towards the giant Namekian.

"Guldo!" Jeice shouted as he fired off his ki and burst forward-

-only to feel a strong hand wrap around his ankle and yank him back, slamming him into the ground.

"Sorry," a voice said and Jeice rolled onto his back to see a figure with spiky black hair who was wearing an orange outfit. Next to him was a bearded blond man, wearing a black outfit with a white long coat over the top, a pair of goggles covering his eyes and fingerless gloves covering his hands. "But we just got here and I have been itching for a fight."

Jeice grit his teeth before powering up. "Alright then… you want a fight? YOU GOT IT!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Raditz frowned as he drove his fist into Recoome's belly, feeling the Ginyu Force warrior's bone shake and tremble from his strike. It wasn't the cracking and breaking that he was expecting but it also wasn't like punching a wall like he had expected.

"Hey Vegeta," he said as he delivered a strong strike to the side of Recoome's head, sending him crashing down to the ground, "does Recoome here seem weaker than I was expecting?"

"Well, I have no idea what you were expecting…" Vegeta said snidely. "Amongst my many abilities, far more than a low rank warrior like yourself, mind reading isn't one of them."

Raditz rolled his eyes at that. "You know what I mean! This is the Ginyu Force… why are we having such an easy time taking him down?"

"Maybe because the legend of the Ginyu Force is just that… a legend."

'No,' Raditz thought as Vegeta rocketed towards the ground, punching Recoome in the shoulder and then moving to try and grab his head, 'that's not it.'

Knowing that Vegeta wouldn't mind if he pulled back (in fact it was likely Vegeta would be THRILLED to be able to take on Recoome all on his own, having a chance to show off even if Raditz wouldn't actually be paying attention) Raditz allowed the two to move the fight away from him, catching his breath and going over everything he had done over the last 18 or so months, going on 2 years. Every bit of training. Every fight. All of it.

The math wasn't adding up.

'I know I've gotten stronger,' Raditz thought, looking down at his hands. 'I can feel the power flowing through me. That year on that planet near Earth… spending every day just training… I was close to Nappa's strength, if not just over it, when we fought him and Vegeta on Earth. And training with Kakarot and his friends… that only made me even stronger. So did taking on that Namekian, Slug, and Turles.' It was hard to truly gauge it, not without having Frieza Force equipment to truly get an accurate reading (even with Bulma's new 'system' for measuring power) but Raditz had a feeling that he was now well past what Vegeta had been during their fight on Earth.

It was something that he had never considered before but his brother had brought up. Training by yourself was fine but it could lead to bad habits. Cause you to compound mistakes because you didn't have someone to help you correct them. Lead you to miss out on new ways to get stronger. It made him wonder if that was why Frieza had never given Raditz or Vegeta a squad to command; he knew the two would butt heads and never truly become a well functioning team so it ensured that they didn't grow as strong as they could. Add in the long time they sat in their pods doing battle meditation (which helped but wasn't a replacement for true fighting) and Frieza had been making them weaker.

'So… I'm stronger now. Stronger than I ever imagined.' He watched as Vegeta and Recoome traded blows, Recoome getting the greater end of the strikes. He was giving out a few, of course, but Vegeta was definitely winning the fight. 'But I shouldn't be this strong. Not against Recoome…'

"How utterly pathetic!" Vegeta taunted as he caught Recoome's wrist and began to twist it, the bruiser of the Ginyu Force letting out a cry as Vegeta slowly began to turn his arm, forcing him to rotate his body to try and take some of the pressure off. "You truly are a weakling, aren't you? Why Ginyu allows YOU on the force I'll never know… you certainly aren't your father!" He cackled as Recoome sank to one knee. "Or maybe all of the Ginyu Force is weak!"

Recoome… smirked.

Raditz' eyes went wide.

"Vegeta! It's a trap!"

"What are you-" Vegeta yelled only for Recoome to suddenly twist his arm the other way, the earlier pain and weakness gone as he spun his wrist and caused Vegeta, who hadn't been expecting such a reversal, let out a cry as he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the ground. He groaned and Radtiz could only watch as Recoome, with a grin on his face, clamped his fingers around Vegeta's wrist so hard it made his scream in pain. Recoome then proceeded to swing Vegeta about wildly, slamming him again and again into the ground, leaving craters with every blow before he finally tossed Vegeta at Raditz.

If Recoome thought Raditz was going to catch the Prince he was mistaken and Raditz took a step to his left, letting Vegeta fly past him and fall in a heap.

He had bigger things to worry about.

"Sometimes," Recoome said, rolling his neck back and forth, "I like ta give the weaklings a glimmer of hope that they can defeat me. And I also don't mind getting a few blows to my body. My dad taught me that gets the blood pumping… you can't really call it a fight if you haven't gotten a few cuts and scraps on you." He took a step forward and tensed. "So thanks for the massage, Raditz. It really helped warm my muscles up. Let me return the favor!"

And with that Recoome launched himself at Raditz and the Saiyan found himself having to quickly dodge the punches and kicks, the blows so fast and powerful that the air that was being moved by his swings was striking Raditz with enough force to make him feel like he had been caught in a hurricane.

'Recoome doesn't like using Ki attacks,' Radtiz reminded himself. 'He prefers to just use all that energy on himself, to make his blows all the stronger… but I also bet he uses it to reinforce his body!' To try out his theory Raditz waited for an opening and then delivered a solid kick to Recoome's side.

It was like hitting a bricak wall.

'he was purposely lowering his defenses!' Raditz realized. 'The mad bastard wanted us to think he was a weakling, to burn up our energy when he wasn't trying, all so he could then turn the tables on us and pummel us into dust! And we fell for it! Damn it all!' Raditz tried to fire off a Ki blast at Recoome's face but the bruiser caught his hand and smacked it away, causing the blow to go wide. Recoome then delivered a savage headbutt to Radtiz' skull causing him to go flying back.

"Well… not as easy as ya thought," Recoome taunted as he made his way towards where Raditz had fallen, the Saiyan groaning and trying to get his brain to work like it was supposed to because, thanks to that blow, all his thoughts were going 'brrrrrr'. "You Saiyans… think ya're so special because of what your daddies and yar granddaddies did. Always crowin' how you are the greatest fighters in the universe." Recoome squatted down and poked Raditz' forehead, causing him to moan slightly as he prodded the tender spot. "And then I got everyone bringin' up my old man.

"I know he was smarter than me. I know that he was one of the best warriors Lord Frieza ever had. And I know that Captain Ginyu only took me on as a favor ta him. Now… ya might think the reason why I don't go mentionin' him all the time is cause I hates him. And that ain't it, Raditz. Not one bit. I don't mention him because I ain't livin' in his shadow. I refuse to. He was a great man but he ain't me. I'm gonna make a name for myself. Unlike you Saiyans I don't need ta rely upon the past. I am going to rely upon myself. My future. My legend. And I think it starts… with me doin' what that meteor couldn't."

He stood up and raised his foot.

"I'm gonna render the Saiyan Species extinct."

~MC~MC~MC~

'Man, when Vegeta and Avo warned us that the Ginyu Force was powerful we should have listened more!' Tien thought as he rushed towards where Krillin and Chichi were fighting the blue alien; Raditz had said his name was Burter and he was the 'fastest in the universe'. 'And I see why he got that title!' he thought.

The plan had worked out well. Krillin and Chichi had stay behind to deal with Burter while Raditz and Vegeta dealt with his partner, who they had sensed further away. Nail and Senza were going to find the kids and then would go after another member of the Ginyu Force once they had gotten them to safety. Goku and Avo had contacted them that they were moving to engage with Jeice and Yamcha and Isco were going to try and track down the other two and pinpoint them. Bulma had remained with Chiaotzu at the hideout, ready to protect it in case anyone stumbled on it.

Divide and conquer. Use their superior numbers to overwhelm the Ginyu Force.

'But these guys… they are so powerful that it isn't helping!' Tien thought. He had been worried about Chichi and Krillin taking on Burter alone and decided to go and help them; the others were all too far away for him to do much so he had settled for them. They had been doing well, from what he had been able to gather from the comm unit chatter (and he was so glad that Bulma had whipped those things up… honestly the Z Fighters needed something like the scouters to be permanently added to their arsenal), but Burter had begun to figure out what they could do and was now fighting back, making the battle all the harder.

'Alright, Chiaotzu,' he thought to his partner over the mental connection, 'I'm getting close to them… ready to link up?'

'I'm ready Tien!'

'The moment that you need to break off because there is a threat you let me know!' he argued back, knowing his partner wouldn't listen anyway. 'I don't want you risking yourself.'

'You focus on taking down the Ginyu Force!' Chiaotzu declared.

'Right,' he thought to himself with a sigh. 'Though, I'll probably need every drop of power Chiatozu is able to give me!'

Up ahead he could see Chichi and Krillin fighting Burter… and it wasn't going well for them anymore. Burter was moving so insanely fast around the field that the two of them had to be careful with how they attacked, as more than once they had gotten too close and Burter simply shifted away, leaving them striking each other. He could see that Chichi's clothing had become ripped in spots, with her belly and one arm exposed, while Krillin's clothing was singed in areas that made it clear to Tien that he had taken the brunt of her fiery ki attacks.

'I'll have to be careful with how I join up,' Tien thought as he felt Chiaotzu's powers flow into him. His skin began to grow whiter and he felt the psychic abilities of his partner unlock within his mind. 'On one hand, I'll be someone he doesn't expect so maybe that can buy them time to regroup. But I could also-'

And then Burter was RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.

Tien slammed into him, just managing to shift his body so it was his shoulder that struck the man rather than his head. But he still hit him hard and while Burter moved a few feet back it still rattled Tien to suddenly stop that fast.

"Well, look who is coming rushing in for a fight," Burter said with a hissing laugh. "I was wondering if there were more of you alien freaks around and I see I was right." He reached for Tien's head but he quickly darted out of the way. "Oh ho ho… fast one, are ya?"

And then Burter was behind him, Tien just managing to roll his torso so that he ducked under the karate chop that Burter directed at his head.

"You know, its not all about speed," Burter taunted as he began to send a flurry of punches and kicks around Tien, forcing him to switch up his defensive style. Something all of them had worked with Gohan and Avo with was learning that you had to defend yourself in different ways depending on the number of opponents. If you only had a single person you focused on different things than if a mob of people were trying to attack you.

Burter was a single person… but he moved so fast it was like Tien was trying to fight 10 people at once!

"Its about endurance," Burter continued on. "Its about having enough energy to be able to attack ten thousand times in the matter of seconds." To prove his point he rocketed a dozen punches at Tien, forcing him to block and dodge them.

'But there's no need to,' Tien realized grimly. 'He isn't actually trying to hit me… he is purposely swinging just off the mark. He is making a point… a good one. He is faster than me.'

Tien smirked.

Suddenly two more sets of arms grow from his sides and two more faces appeared on his head. It was only thanks to Chiaotzu helping that he was able to handle the sudden sensory overload that came from being able to see in over 360 degrees. His best friend was shouldering the burden, helping him deal with the influx of information that was suddenly bombarding him thanks to having now 2 extra sets of eyes and ears.

But it was worth it to catch Burter's fist in his hand and squeeze.

"Thanks for the advice," he replied before he lashed out with two more fists, striking him in the chest and the shoulder and sending him flying towards Chichi who halted his movement with a hard leg kick. Burter crashed to the ground but was quick to get up… only for Krillin to come at him, throwing punches and kicks, allowing Tien to look over the battlefield and try and come up with some sort of plan.

"Heheh."

That made Tien freeze. And Chichi looked just as startled.

Burter… was laughing.

"Well… looks like I'll actually get a good fight after all!" he declared before suddenly leaping away from Krillin.

"Get ready," Krillin said. "He could be trying to do anything."

"Oh… what I am doing is something you will NOT be ready for," Burter said before, to Tien's shock, part of Burter slid away… and then another… and another…

"It's the multiform technique!" he shouted.

"Well… that's good, right?" Chichi said. "That cuts his power level down for each duplicate he creates."

"Except he was already powerful enough to take on three of us pretty easily," Krillin reminded her.

Tien narrowed his eyes though as he stared at the four Burters that were now there, watching them. 'Why four though? Three would be able to handle each of us-' His eyes widened. "STOP HIM!"

"Wha-?" Krillin said just before one of the Burters rocketed off. It wasn't as fast as he had been when he was just a single Burter but it was still so quick that it was utterly startling for the threesome. "What is going on?"

"He's going after the Namekians!" Tien shouted, turning his back on them and taking off after the fleeing Burter. But as he did so he sensed the other three now chasing him., Krillin and Chichi hurrying to try and catch up. 'Damn it! He is still really fast even with his power level split! And if the other three are able to get on me quick enough they will be able to buy him a bigger lead!' At once he ended witches style, needing to make himself as sleek as possible and knowing that he also needed the Ki that the form created to help him move faster. "Guys!" he called out via the comm piece. "Keep them off of me as much as you can! I'm going to focus on getting the leader!"

"Right!" Krillin said.

"We'll handle them," Chichi echoed.

'I hope you can…' he thought to himself. 'I hope you can.'

~MC~MC~MC~

I smirked as I looked Jeice over carefully. "Well… you're a strong one, aren't you? From the way Goku is practically vibrating in place that means you have a lot of power flowing through your veins. Whole lotta ki."

"Oi, that's right!" Jeice declared, brushing himself off. "Now… maybe if ya surrender I might make things easy on ya. After all, maybe ya didn't know about the Frieza Force… considerin' how weak ya feel-" he nodded in my direction, Goku still tensed and ready to fight, "-ya have ta be from some backwater planet. Let me guess, yar the Saiyan's little pet?"

"Well, you got half of it right," I said as I slowly rose in the air, my coat billowing behind me. How Edwin could go about never having a long epic coat I'd never know… sure, the suit was sweet but my outfit? Oh, now that was a banger.

Jeice's eyes slowly widened at that. "What… what is this?"

Goku laughed before I could say a word. "I guess the Frieza Force doesn't know anything about magic, huh?"

"Magic?" Jeice got out before I held out my hand.

"White Satin!" I shouted and at once he cried out as the magic struck him… and caused him to be covered in Christmas sweaters. 'Huh, filler arc must still be influencing me,' I thought as I watched Jeice suddenly slam down to the ground.

"What… what is all this?" he shouted as he tore and ripped at the sweaters I had made.

"Weighted clothing," I replied. "My own take… about a ton's worth, I would say based on what I was going for."

Jeice growled at that and tore the sweaters apart; I needed to look into a strong weave. "You think this is a joke?" He stepped towards me, fists cracking with energy.

"Nah… just you." And with that I began to juggle black and white magic orbs. "Ladies and gentlemen and genders that don't conform to either of this, I am your ring master Avo Kayos! The Mage With A Mouth, though don't tell Deadpool! It is time for thrills and chills that you won't get from any ol' conquered planet. No… we have something special right from Planet Vegeta because Goku you can finish powering that attack up any time now!"

Jeice turned… only to see Goku still just looking at him.

"Skadoosh!" I declared before flinging my magic orbs at Jeice, each of them striking him and unleashing raw white and black magic at him. He cried out as he was sent flying right towards Goku. "Alright, now you can tag in!" I shouted and Goku grinned as he began to slam his fists into Jeice's body, the red-skinned alien moving to deliver his own punches and kicks. That allowed me to turn and focus on Lord Guru. "Now… if you have this handled I-"

Goku let out a yelp and I caught him just as he flew at me.

"…we need to work together to stop him because he's too strong for you, don't we?"

"Uh huh," Goku said with a bashful nod.

I let out a sigh. "We really need to have you almost die a few times to power you up and NO that was just a joke, don't even think about it!"

"But we have Senzu Beans…" he pointed out.

"Goku no," I said sternly.

"Oi! Are you two-"

I fired another White Satin at Jeice and he screamed as he found his head in a motorcycle helmet… that was also a microwave.

"Sir! I am talking with my man-child."

"I'm not a man-child!" Goku complained.

"I didn't mean it was a bad thing," I pointed out just before Jeice shattered the helmet and roared out in frustration. "And I've made him even more mad. Yay me." Goku and I tensed before launching ourselves at Jeice.

~MC~MC~MC~

Guldo glowered as he flew towards the gigantic Namekian that was still storming towards him. 'Jeice thinks I'm weak… that there is no hope for me if I take on something so large. Everyone looks down on me because of my size but I am going to show them how wrong they are! I will defeat that giant and then all the Frieza Force will know that I am worthy of my position!' He narrowed his eyes as he focused on his plan. 'All I need is to use my Time Stop ability and then I can cut that giant bastard up-'

"Guldo, whatever are you doing?"

Guldo near fell to the ground below, whipping his head around to stare at the Captain as he flew beside him.

"I-"

"You seem rather determined to take down this new obstacle," Ginyu said. "So… what exactly is your plan?"

Guldo considered the Captain for a moment but when it became clear to him that Ginyu wasn't laying some trap but honestly wanted to know what his plan was he declared, "I'm going to use Time Stop and chop that bastard up into tiny bits!"

Ginyu slowly nodded. "Well… that sounds like a rather simple plan." Before Guldo could complain he continued on. "But I suppose that sometimes it is the simple plans that are the best ones. They allow you to better adapt should problems arise and not get bogged down by the weird and the complex. Very well, Guldo… I can see that this is important to you and what is important to my men… is important to me."

He stared at his captain in shock. "I-"

"So you have my full permission to do this," Ginyu stated. "Battle with this giant Namekian… I will not stop you. I will merely observe, so that you will have a witness should any claim that you did not achieve this victory on your own."

Guldo grinned at that before nodding his head. "Thank you, Captain!"

"You are more than welcome," he replied.

There was nothing more to say. And even if there had been it wouldn't have mattered because they had come upon the giant Namekian. He came to a halt before them and Guldo slowly tilted his head, staring up at the giant.

"LEAVE-" he began only for Guldo held his breath and time froze.

He set to work, flying at the Namekian and creating a blade with Ki, driving it deeply into his leg.

It was like sawing through rubber.

Guldo began to force his way towards the back of the Namekian… only to gasp, his body needing more air.

At once the giant Namekian felt the sting of the cut, which Guldo realized due to the lack of blood hadn't even gotten that deep, and quickly reached down and grabbed him.

"CAP-"

~MC~MC~MC~

Ginyu sighed as he watched the Namekian easily crush Guldo like he weas a gnat. 'A pity… but he brought this on himself. He didn't even consider that flying so fast would wear him down, meaning that the time he would be able to hold his breath would be reduced down to such a small amount. And that such a foe was far too large to be simply 'hacked to pieces'. He shook his head at that. 'Guldo… I wasn't lying when I said I would do anything for my men. But your refusal to listen to reason and risk the rest of us because of your continued self esteem issues? Well… you can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped.'

Ginyu looked up at Guru who simply wiped his hands together, the friction so hot that it reduced Guldo's corpse to ashes.

"LEAVE THIS PLANET OR YOU WILL SUFFER AS HE DID," the massive namekian intoned.

Ginyu though merely smirked.

'But don't worry, Guldo… your sacrifice will not be in vain. I have already learned much about this Namekian… and it will aid me greatly.'

~MC~MC~MC~

Guldo let out a gasp and looked about wildly. The last thing he remembered was a horrible feeling of pressure all around him so that it felt like his very essence was being driven out of him. And just as he'd felt something pushing up through his throat… it had stopped and he was now surrounded by endless sand.

"Hello?" Guldo called out.

"Another one?" he heard a raspy voice said and he turned, startled to find a very tall yet thin dark Namekian looking at him. His skin was like old cracked leather and his eyes looked down at Guldo with malicious glee. "Well… I am certainly getting a chance to be creative recently, aren't I?"

"Who… who are you?"

The dark Namekian chuckled. "The pious and good would claim that I am the one that ensures that the wicked receive their just deserts."

And then his hand suddenly shot out, arm stretching far too long, and grabbed Guldo by the throat. He struggled and thrashed but the dark Namekian merely yanked him off his feet, the scream that wanted to come from the small warrior's throat unable to bubble forth thanks to the tight grip the Dark Namekian kept on it. Guldo flew through the air before smashing into the ground but before he could even begin to feel the pain, his tormentor yanked him back once again, sending him hurtling to where he had started.

Again and again he did this before, finally, he let go mid swing and Guldo was allowed to scream as he went blasting through the air like a javelin before, mercifully, he crashed into the gritty sand.

Guldo slowly rolled onto his back, panting hard. His mouth was full of grit and his arms and legs felt like they had been turned into jelly thanks to the countless smashing.

"But really… I just enjoy hurting people," the Dark Namekian said, suddenly appearing beside Guldo, reaching out and poking one of his shattered limbs. Guldo screamed in pain but after a minute or so the agony became bearable and he realized that the limb had been seemingly fully healed. "Now," the wrinkled and worn Namekian said in his horrid dry voice, "someone that is dim or dull would merely focus on broken bones and bruised bodies. That would be all they cared about. But you should know well, Guldo, that there are pains FAR worse than that."

He smiled at that and Guldo shifted. He couldn't help but flash back to the worst of the campaigns he had been a part of. The ones where he had succeeded but even he had felt dirty and soiled due to what he had done. How no one even tried to laugh or joke about some of the horrible, vile things they had done in order to claim the planet for Lord Frieza. It was their job… it was their job.

How many times had he repeated that to himself as he washed the blood of his squad mates from his hands, knowing they could have come home had he just not gone with a plan meant to degrade and break a populous?

"Guldo!"

His head snapped up, eyes wide.

"Springles?" he whispered. He… he remembered Springles well…he remembered holding his hand, trying to drag him up out of the gravity pit. The man screaming, pleading with him to not let go… he never had screamed. Never pleaded. Not until that moment. And he had screamed all the more and his glove had slowly slipped free of his hand.

"GULDO!"

He didn't know how it was possible… but he would save him this time! Ignoring the Dark Namekian Guldo blasted off in the direction of the screams-

"GULDO!"

He stopped short. Back the way he had come… it was Cheri. She had been so eager to work under him… so excited to learn under him. And she had learned… learned not to trust him when he was forced to allow those damn Burgnar to shoot her down lest he risk the rest of his team. She had cursed his name spotting him in the crowd, trying to get the Burgnars to see him, turn on him… but they had thought she was lying and gleefully blasted her to bits.

But she wasn't filling her words with rage now. No… she was begging him to come to her.

And he would… this time he would.

"Hold on!" he shouted. "Cheri! Springles is here! I'm going to get him and then we'll get you!"

"GULDO PLEASE!" she screeched but he shook his head and turned towards where he'd last heard Springles.

He could save them all. He could.

He never saw the Dark Namekian smiling, watching as he was pulled one way and another, the voices of those long gone tormenting him, just out of reach…