It was only his second time seeing it, but already Shael was sick of this damned planet. He longed to-- 'to what? Go back to Geo and its conspiracies? If you aren't executed for treason you'll be obliterated by Denatu. No place is safe anymore.' He smacked a clenched fist into his hand. 'Time was when all a warrior had to do was fight. There were only two sides to a conflict: ally and enemy. None of this subterfuge. We certainly didn't make deals with the fucking enemy! Better to die fighting--' Shael frowned. 'I didn't fight. I did as I was told, like a good little minion. Damn it!' Honor, duty--he couldn't feel pride in them anymore. His life had been reduced to a mindless struggle for survival--abruptly his dire train of thought was broken by a flat, mechanical voice.

"Landing in fifteen seconds." Shael cleared his mind and braced for the impact. The craft landed near the location of his encounter with the Earthlings; it gave him a place to start. Climbing from the pod, he affixed the scouter to the side of his head. It was breathtakingly primitive, but occasionally helpful. Not only could it direct him to large sources of ki, but the transmitter was linked to his ship in case Dolmit or a member of the crew needed him.

He turned his head slowly, scanning the horizon. There was only one direction giving off a signal, and it seemed to be coming from more than one being. He flew towards it; with any luck, one of those would be that damned girl. Then he could collect her, deliver her to Deoge, and get the hell out of there. He didn't know where he'd go, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stay. He could only take so much.

He was almost upon the ki source now. He could sense it without the scouter; it was somewhere inside a huge complex labeled Capsule Corp. Hovering over it, he roughly pinpointed the location directly below him, and with a concentrated attack, blasted through the roof, sending debris tumbling down on the surprised group below. Shael landed heavily on a slab of broken concrete, eyeing them. Not all were fighters, apparently; a few of the power levels surrounding him were simply pathetic. A few were fairly strong, but he recognized none of them. The two he'd met before were not there. A short bald man stepped forward boldly, craning back his head to look Shael in the eye.

"You came back for more, huh? What did you do with her?"

"What?" A man with a scarred face stepped closer to the bald one.

"I don't think that's the same one, Krillin," he murmured. Krillin looked annoyed.

"So? Maybe he's working for him. Why else would he come to Earth?"

"I came here to find the one who killed Mordrig. I don't know who you think I am or associate with, but I'm guessing that you're wrong."

"You're here for Takira, too?" the scarred one exclaimed. "What is with you people?"

"I don't know what you mean, human. Explain."

"A Roc showed up here a few weeks ago and kidnapped the one you're looking for."

"What?! Under whose authorization? Where the hell did he get a ship?"

"Well, it wasn't really a ship, more of a pod, actually--"

"A pod. An escape pod. Shit! How did he get off the ship?! Everyone was accounted for when we docked on Geo."

"So this guy's not working with you?"

"No, he isn't, whoever the hell he is. Damn it. What am I going to tell Deoge?" he ranted, until an electronic beep from his scouter cut him off. A fair-sized ki was approaching fast. Suddenly the speaker in the scouter hissed and Dolmit's anxious voice spoke to him.

"Shael, come in, Shael, damn it, come in!"

"I'm here. What is it?" he said, momentarily ignoring those around him.

"Remember Mehat? He wasn't killed. Fespa helped him hijack that escape pod, and he got the girl!"

"So I gathered. Where is he now?"

"Dead."

"He was 'dead' before, Dolmit--"

"Trust me, he's dead; but he's the least of our problems."

"Well?"

"It was Degradu, Denatu's brother, who hired him and Fespa. Degradu has the girl now. Denatu's gone after him." He paused. "Where are you now?"

"I'm on Earth, surrounded by weaklings, tracking down a damned humanoid who isn't even here!" Shael snarled. "I can't even find the one who was with her!"

"That's because he's here, too."

"What?! What the hell is he doing there?!"

"He and two others came for her. They landed here on Geo, and they're heading for Abeter now, if they're not there already."

"So there is no reason under the heavens for me to be here? Is that what you're telling me? I came all the fucking way to this miserable little heap of dirt again, just to hop back on my ship and run back home?"

"If I were you, Shael, I'd be careful about hopping back on your ship. If Degradu managed to hide two of his henchmen in the crew--" The rest of the message was lost in the warning shouts from the Earthlings. Before Shael could turn around, the ki he'd sensed before slammed into his back, smashing him face-first into the debris. Instinctively, Shael lashed out with his tail, knocking his assailant back. He whirled and froze, jaw dropping as he recognized the Roc who'd attacked him.

"Kalsa?" Shael gasped. "What in the hell--"

"Sorry, old friend," Kalsa murmured. He lunged forward, claws reaching for Shael's throat. Shael ducked and kicked, slicing only air as Kalsa twisted away and caught Shael in the back with his tail. Shael sprawled on the ground and lay perfectly still. Kalsa slowly approached him.

Tenshinhan and Chaozu stood with the rest of the Earthlings, exchanging worried glances.

'Is he dead?' Chaozu asked telepathically.

'No way; he's tougher than that. Don't interfere. Just wait.'

Kalsa stood over his fallen comrade, his face a mask of sorrow. He crouched beside Shael, reaching out to feel for a pulse--suddenly the world around him blurred. He was flying through the air, the ki driving him back until it exploded in a bright blast of pain as he slammed into the wall. He caught himself as he fell and stood, wavering, staring at what had once been his friend and ally.

"Kalsa, what is going on?" Shael shouted hoarsely. "You're no traitor!"

"Nor is any of us. It's not treason when the race is dead."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's over, Shael. Degradu has what he needs to pick up where Proteas left off. The Roc are as good as dead." Shael shook his head vehemently.

"It's not over! Denatu is going to confront Degradu now; what if he wins?" Shael spoke with more conviction than he felt, trying not to meet Kalsa's desperate gaze.

"What if he wins?" Kalsa repeated dully. "Shael, what will it matter? Once he's in power, all deals are off. Don't you see? Denatu needed us to destroy Mordrig and retrieve the girl, nothing more! By the time we make it back, Geo will be destroyed."

"So what are you doing?"

"Following orders of a sort. I've already taken care of the ship and your pod. All that remains is to destroy you and wait for Degradu to send a ship to come get me."

"What do you mean, taken care of the ship?" Kalsa squinted up at the evening sky.

"Well, of course I had to build a delay into it, but--ah, there we go." A corner of the sky momentarily brightened, then exploded silently. Flickers of light blinked where bits of the Roc spacecraft hit Earth's atmosphere. Shael's throat worked as he stared, but no sound came from his slack mouth. Kalsa turned to him with an expression of pity.

"By now your pod's gone, too. I couldn't chance you escaping." He sighed. "Shael, I really didn't want to face you with this. If you hadn't moved at the last second, I would have snapped your neck with one fine blow. I guess your reflexes are still better than mine even after all these years--" He managed a feeble smile.

"Kalsa, I--" Shael sputtered, "I don't believe this! You had no right--"

"They were going to die anyhow, Shael. This way Degradu won't have the satisfaction of seeing it. I don't expect you to agree with me or even to understand. I did what I had to."

"You honestly believe they're going to send a ship for you?"

"No," Kalsa whispered. "I'll die here. I wouldn't go back even if they came for me."

"Are you still going to kill me?"

"If I can." Shael removed his scouter and tossed it to the short bald human.

"One way to find out," he said solemnly, falling into a defensive stance. Kalsa followed suit and the two began circling slowly. Shael was preparing to attack when Kalsa glanced down at what appeared to be a watch, strapped to his burly wrist. He straightened and walked forward, embracing Shael warmly.

"My time is up," he murmured. "Whatever you think of me, Shael, I can say I never met a better soldier--" Suddenly realizing Kalsa's meaning, Shael sought too late to pull away.

"Hit the deck!" Krillin yelled as the detonator exploded. Blood spattered hotly over him and something heavy struck him in the side. It was an arm; whose, he couldn't tell. Shuddering with revulsion, he rose to his feet and quickly checked the others to see that they were all right. Tenshinhan and Chaozu had been nearest the blast, but apparently they'd had time to throw up ki shields in time. Videl and Pan had shielded Chichi with their bodies, and all three seemed okay, though a little pale. Yamcha was holding back Bulma's hair as she retched; the sight of the shattered corpses had been more than she could stand. Krillin closed his eyes, grateful that #18 had decided to stay home with Marron.

He still had Shael's scouter clutched in his hands. It began to make noises, and he held it to his ear, shouting in surprise as it latched onto his head.

"Shael? What just happened? I heard an explosion."

"Um, he's--not here," Krillin answered nervously.

"Who is this?"

"My name is Krillin. Shael and Kalsa just--detonated."

Silence.

"Uh--hello?"

"Shit," came the quavering voice. "What about the ship?"

"That's gone, too."

"Great. Just great." Krillin paused until his curiosity got the best of him.

"Sir? I hate to bother you, but could you explain to me what's going on? We have friends involved in this." Dolmit heaved a sigh.

"So did I."

Struggling to keep his voice from shaking, he began to tell Krillin what he knew.

*****

Degradu flailed wildly as a shower of kicks and punches fell on him. He never even saw them, only felt the sudden blows and heard the sodden thuds they made on his battered flesh. He tried to think even as his head was knocked from side to side. Suddenly he clenched into a ball, not bothering to block Denatu's potentially lethal blows. For a moment Degradu let the power build, feeding on his anger and the stunning pain, as his bruised muscles bulged and tightened; then with a wordless shriek, he released his pent-up rage. The ki slammed into Denatu, knocking him away. The ground beneath Degradu exploded, sending out a shock wave that leveled the landscape for nearly a mile. Degradu's assistant was carried away with the remains of his building.

Takira leaned into the blast, trying to maintain her shield as her feet cut furrows in the shaking ground. She hadn't thought Degradu capable of that much power; in a way, it was alarming, considering he was losing to the one she would fight next. As the energy from Degradu's blast dissipated, Takira looked up and saw them standing off again, but this time Degradu was breathing hard, one eye swollen shut and one arm dangling from its dislocated shoulder. Denatu had barely gotten dirty.

'So this is really why he needed to hire a mercenary. It wasn't politics; he knew Denatu could beat him.' Fear and excitement mixed hotly in Takira's veins. She forced herself to remain calm, and not to transform just yet. She had a feeling she would need all the energy she could save.