The cold void of space was dark all around but for two bright spheres. One was millions of miles away and showered light upon its system of planets. The other hovered in vacuity, slowly rotating and even more slowly moving around its parent star.
The planet was red, and thin, whispy white clouds created a web-like network in its atmosphere. Orbiting nearby were the planet's two moons, bright orange in the light of the star. Above it all hovered the demon Apollyon.
He stood with his arms crossed and head hung low in thought. His bright platinum hair reflected the light of the nearby star, creating what almost looked like a halo around his head. His heavy trench coat hung limp around him, utterly immobile in the vacuum.
It had taken Apollyon seventeen years of scouring the galaxy to find the world before him now, the planet Vegeta. Much had he heard of the ancient and powerful race of Saiyans that inhabited this planet, and much had he heard of the incredible powers they were capable of achieving. Apollyon knew that power unchecked eventually became power immeasurable, and so here he was. The Saiyans were to be his next victims.
He hovered silently, sensing the wide range of power levels on the planet below. There were some that were weak, and others that were powerful.
Apollyon decided to give the planet a taste of his power, a mere inkling of what was to come. Before arriving, Apollyon had suppressed his power to almost nothing, avoiding for the time being any unwanted attention, but now it was time to make his presence known. He sent a ripple of power outward in all directions, raising his detectable energy level ever so slightly. Patiently, he awaited a response.
Within twenty minutes, orange glows registered in Apollyon's sight--something, or rather, two somethings, were coming through Vegeta's atmoshphere, aimed directly at him. Apollyon grinned. The Saiyans had sent a scouting division after all. His power must have been recognized as hostile, as had been his wish to begin with.
The fiery glows disappeared, and moments later were replaced with white specks. Minutes after that, the specks grew, eventually becoming human-sized spherical pods. The pods rocketed towards Apollyon with amazing speed, and as they closed in they broke off from one another and began circling the demon in opposite directions. Apollyon traced their trajectories with his eyes as they passed in front of him at regular intervals.
Eventually, the pods slowed and halted before Apollyon. A panel opened outward from each of them, and out onto each panel strode a Saiyan warrior. Both warriors were dressed the same: a skintight black combat suit below traditional Saiyan armor. Each wore a breathing apparatus as he came out of his pod and into the void of space.
Apollyon did not hope to fool these two: they knew he was a threat, and they knew he was supernatural. But just how severe of a threat Apollyon truly posed was a mystery the demon planned to keep from the lowly scouts.
Glancing at each other for a brief moment, the Saiyans converged on Apollyon. They lashed out with fist and foot, planting blows on Apollyon's face, stomach, shins, and ribs, aiming for all his weak points. Apollyon took all the blows, feigning injury. These warriors had skill, but they lacked the power to back it up.
Fighting as a single force, the two Saiyans backed off and combined their ki into a single overwhelming blast aimed straight at the intruder.
These two Saiyans had nothing on Apollyon, and he simply shrugged off the blast, protecting even his coat from harm out of sheer mockery.
The Saiyans looked at each other once again, not entirely sure what to make of this fighter. To them, Apollyon's power was pitifully low, but their attacks had no effect.
Apollyon glanced from each warrior to the other repeatedly, playing a game of "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo" in his mind.
You're it.
Raising his hand and holding his open palm at arm's length, Apollyon fired a bright red beam of energy crackling with dark bolts of lightning. The Saiyan had barely a split second to react, and the beam passed clean through his stomach.
The warrior clutched at the gaping hole in his torso, gasping through his apparatus, and eventually dying.
His companion looked frantically from the corpse to Apollyon. "You!" he screamed. The sound carried only as far as his breathing apparatus extended from his face, and Apollyon heard nothing but silence.
A golden aura gathered around the Saiyan, and his hair stood on end. With a sudden burst of energy, his hair shimmered blonde, his eyes became a deep aqua, and his power soared to new heights. He had transformed into a Super Saiyan. He smirked. As far as the Saiyan knew, his power was now a hundred times greater than Apollyon's.
But the demon merely returned the gesture. He sincerely hoped that this was not the best the planet had to offer.
The Saiyan lunged at him with a powerful thrust punch. Apollyon caught the warrior's fist and held fast, not flinching even for a second. The Saiyan gained a look of confusion and tried to pull free, but it was like he was struggling against the very idea of immobile itself. He lashed out with his other fist in retaliation, but Apollyon moved his head to the side, allowing the blow to pass harmlessly.
Then Apollyon squeezed. Hard. The Saiyan suddenly let out a cry of rage and pain as the bones of his fingers were slowly, agonizingly crushed. With his free hand, Apollyon latched onto the Saiyan's neck. As a final act of desperation, the Saiyan fighter thrust his knee upwards, striking Apollyon in the jaw.
Out of courtesy for his foe's resolve, Apollyon took the blow and allowed the Saiyan to pull free from his grip.
The standoff lasted only momentarily before the nameless warrior began forming a ball of ki before him. Apollyon sensed the flow of energy, essentially watching all of the fighter's power draining from his body and pouring into the ball of ki. This was the Saiyan's final attack, his last attempt to defeat Apollyon. Apollyon almost pitied the fool. He would throw everything he had at the demon and it would do nothing.
Finally, the charging was complete and the Saiyan warrior unleashed the beam of energy. Apollyon held out his arms and allowed the burning ki to make contact with his hands. The pain felt good. He charged his own attack, and slowly it began to repel the Saiyan's beam. Apollyon pumped more and more energy into it, until suddenly it exploded outward, dissipating the Saiyan's beam and completely obliterating his body.
Apollyon slowly lowered his arms and regained his composure. The sudden spike in his power most likely garnered new attention. It was time to make his descent. He rocketed towards the surface of Vegeta, plowing through the atmosphere like a raging meteor. As he neared the ground he extended his feet and slammed into the rocky surface, burrowing a crater the size of a small dwelling.
Apollyon floated up out of the crater and onto flat ground. He had picked the perfect place to land: civilization lay not far in the distance.
And so it begins.
O heart, lament not, for this world is only metaphorical.
O soul, grieve not, for this abode is only transient.
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