03: Just In Time.

"I have an assignment for you, Kerrell." said Dark Spectre.

"Yes, sire?"

"Kerell, we have found quite a few pests here on Guardian. Blaze and the two of the colonists have the same goal as me, and that can be a nuisance. Get rid of those two weaklings, understand?"

"Yes, Lord Dark." he said.

So, Kerell was entrusted with the mission of eliminating the colony sayans, while Dark and his gang continued his crystal hunt.

While they were flying, Margrit and Zelfire ran into Kerell. What bad luck for them.

Margrit: "Kerell? What are you doing here?"

Kerell: "Margarita, it's good to see you again."

Margrit: "Shut up, you creep! What do you want now? Did Dark Spectre order you to kill us?"

Kerell: "Bingo! So you see, I have no choice but to kill you. Sorry, but it's nothing personal. But if you are nice to me, I might give you a painless death."

Margrit: "Dream on!"

Zelfire: "Dark Spectre ordered you alone to kill us? What a stupid order. And I feel bad for the person who's stupidly following his orders. There's two of us and one of you. What can you do?"

Kerell grunted. "Quiet, idiot. A dead sayan shouldn't be speaking."

"I'm not a sayan. I'm a human."

"So you're one of the humans from earth? Is the colony that weak and desperate? They need to recruit humans now? Ha ha ha ha."

Margrit's fist tightened. "Save it, Kerell."

Kerell: "Ah, you're never into small talk, are you? You never change, Margrit."

"It's Margarita to you!!"

She flew at him with full speed. Zelfire followed suit.

Margrit: "Zelfire, stay put! I'll take care of this one."

When she got close enough, she attacked. Then they landed on the ground and fought.

Zelfire just stood there watching them. "Looks like Margarita wants to fight him by herself, without any help from me."

"You're through." Kerell said.

Pow! Wham! Crack! They kept on hitting in the air. Doosh doosh doosh. Kerell charged and punched, Margrit dodged, and maneuvered behind him, and kicked, and he blocked with his arm. Doosh. Then he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Margrit got up slowly, coughing. Kerell, in the air, fired a bright beam and hit the ground right in front of her. It exploded right in her face and she was knocked away. She was bleeding by the mouth.

Zelfire joined in to help Margrit. "Don't hurt her!"

"So you want to die too?" He fired a beam and Zelfire jumped over it, and flew forward. Kerell blocked his kick, and counter-kicked Zelfire away. Doosh. "Damn human. You piece of trash."

Zell got up and breathed hard, with a hand over his wound. "You're one of Margarita's old enemies, aren't ya? You betrayed the colony. You're the real piece of trash."

Kerell got more annoyed. "How dare you…say that to me? Who do you think you are?" He gathered energy.

Margrit: "No, Kerell!"

Zelfire: "Shit…"

Kaboom!

Meanwhile, in outer space, a space pod was flying towards Guardian. Mason was inside, training harder than ever. (Wow, I sense so many different power forces on that planet. I've got a feeling something big is about to happen. Guys, hang on. I'm coming to save you!)

Kaboom! Zelfire was thrown into the air, and crashed on his back. Wham.

Margrit charged wildly and let out a fury of punches. She was wearing out, as she expelled a lot of energy, while Kerell kept his movements to a minimum. Margrit used her best moves, but he was able to intercept all of them.

Margrit made one more shot, she charged at him head on, jumped, and got ready to make a kick, then Kerell, with precise timing,jumped up towards her and kicked her before she could. She fell down on her back, then got up and tried again. This time, Kerell took out a laser gun, aimed and shot her leg. Although she was fast, she was not fast enough for a laser trigger. Blood dripped from her wound.

"Ugh! The pain!"

Kerell: "Oh, poor Margrit, did I hurt you? You should be more careful. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Kerell, you're using weapons like this in fighting. That's low even for you!"

"No one said I can't do that. Winning is the most important thing, and I'll do anything to win."

"And that is why you're Dark Spectre's dog!"

"Silence!" He fired again, she tried to dodge, but she's a bit too slow, it hit her arm, and hurt even more than her leg. He shot again and again, and she screamed after every shot hits her body. He stopped when she fell on her knees, not able to get up. He blew out the smoke from his gun, and held his aim at Margrit.

Zelfire: "Stop it! Can't you see she can't defend herself"?

"Quiet, human." He fired at Zelfire's chest. Bang.

Margrit squeezed her wounds tightly to prevent any more blood from leaving her body. Sweat dripped down of her head and she was breathing hard. Kerell enjoyed watching her suffer.

Kerell: "Look at yourself. Pathetic. If only you had joined me..."

"I'll…never join you."

Suddenly, she got up as if she wasn't hurt at all, ran at Kerell and kicked the gun out of his hand. Kerell was surprised, having no idea she could do this with her injuries. He watched the gun spin in the air, and she kicked his face and left a mark. Then the gun fell on the ground making a loud cling against the quiet environment.

Kerell: "Why you! My face!"

Margrit: "Oh, poor Kerell, did I bruise your face?!"

Kerell: "Where did you get all this power? You're injured! You're supposed to be helpless!"

They ran into each other and hit on the elbows, then jumped back. He formed an energy ball and threw it at her. She jumped up, avoiding it. He jumped even faster than her and knocked her onto the ground. Then he motioned his hands and the ball went backwards, then up, then straight down right in front of her. Margrit blocked, but she was close to the impact. Boom!

"Hahahaha! You have incredible skills, but you're no match for me!"

He charged up energy and prepared his 'farewell gift' to her. Just before he fired, a bright star fell down not far from them, and went kaboom.

"What was that?" he asked in surprise.

At the landing site, the door on the pod opened, and a familiar figure stepped out. "So this is the Guardian Planet. It's a gloomy place." (I sense something...it's Margrit and Zelfire! They're in trouble.)

He flew in their direction at ultra-high speed, and hit Kerell, just before he fired at Margrit. Kerell was thrown backwards, scraping against the ground.

[Split screen - 2] - [Margrit, Zelfire].

Kerell: "Uhh…you're Mason!"

Mason: "That's right. I take it you know me?"

"Heh, more than you think. But stay out of my way, just let me kill those two first, then I'll deal with you."

"Sure, you can kill those two, over my dead body." Mason said, pointing at himself."

Kerell chuckled. "As you wish."

"Today's your unlucky day," Mason said, smiling. "I've heard about you. And I'm not as forgiving as Jerrell."

"Idiot! I should've killed you when I had the chance. Then you wouldn't be in my way right now, today."

"What do you mean?"

"Starburst and Kori wanted you dead. But I told them to spare you. I had them brainwash you and turn you against your colony, this way, at least you can still live. You should've stayed at your miserable colony, you damn sayan."

Mason's eyes widened and his fists got angry. "So you were responsible for my brainwashing...it was your doing."

They started fighting aggressively. Neither wanted to waste any time.

Kerell jumped into the air and fired an energy wave. "Aero Shockwave!"

Mason: "Energy Bomb!"

The bomb was more concentrated than Kerell's wave, and it hit him far away into the sky, and disappeared.

They don't know for sure if he's dead, but they're sure he was not a threat anymore. "You did it, man! You're awesome!" Zelfire yelled happily.

Mason walked towards Margrit. Although they were just separated for just two days, all this danger made it seemed like a month to them. It was a joyful reunion of two lovers.

Margrit gasped. "Mason...but you're injured! What are you doing here?"

"Forget that...those little scratches can't stop me from coming here. Look at yourself, you're a mess."

"Mason." She smiled and he smiled back. He helped her up, then helped Zelfire stand up. Margrit and Zelfire leaned against the rocks to maintain their balance. Mason was ready for some crystal hunting.

"So, what's the situation?"

Margrit: "It's worse than we thought...Dark has already gathered five of the crystals. And we have zilch."

Zelfire: "To make it worse, he has destroyed many villages."

Mason: "He's got five, so let's go get the other two!"

Margrit: "Ummm, Mason, you see...it's not that simple...my scouter broke and we can't find anything without it."

Mason was shocked and made a face like he's seen a ghost. He sat down on the bare ground, crossed his legs, and put his head on his fist, getting into his thinking position. "So, Dark has five, Blaze is here, and probably has gotten one by now, and we don't have a thing."

Zelfire: "That's right. Oh yeah, there was a villager who said an old man has one of the crystals. But we don't know where he is."

"This is really bad...but we can't give up yet...let's go look for that old man to get the crystal. And once we have one, we can be sure those guys can't get all seven. We'll go back to your ship to rest and recharge, then we'll be back in action."

"Sounds like a good idea." Margrit said. It was a good plan, but heck, at that moment any idea from Mason sounded good.