A week rolled slowly by. The Saiyajins and Krillin have gathered beneath Daimaha Volcano at the insistence of Cirell...

-----

The towering shape of the Daimaha Volcano loomed over Raditsu and his friends like some great slumbering sentinel... though this sentinel appeared to be waking up, judging from the smoke billowing from the volcano's peak. An uneasy feeling gnawed at Raditsu's gut - what if the demon Cirell and Bra spoke of wasn't here? Or if it was so powerful that it couldn't be beaten?

"What time is it?" Kakakotto asked Broli, the only Saiyajin present who was wearing a watch.

Broli looked down at the Rolex on his right wrist - the huge Saiyajin wore a white dress shirt and khaki pants. "11:59," he rumbled.

"Then it's starting," Cirell murmured.

"I can't watch," Bra whispered, moving closer to her sister.

Raditsu turned his gaze to the top of the mountain. The smoke billowing from the peak was suddenly thicker... and then the ground began to rumble, causing Raditsu to brace himself. "Here it comes!" he bellowed. "It's erupting!"

However, instead of waves of molten lava, flying rock, and blasts of sheer heat, there was only one event... which made this eruption all the more dangerous. Arcing from the peak of Daimaha Volcano came a single wave of magma, twisted into the demented shape of a blazing talon. And riding atop this talon was a single being.

The creature was not tall - he could not have been over five feet in height - and his body was almost completely hidden beneath an azure robe trimmed with silver. Hidden beneath the hood was an angular face, covered with blue-grey skin and scarred beneath the left eye. Occupying the cruelly jutting chin was a brilliant purple goatee, and stray locks of magenta hair fell about the being's face. His eyes, however, held volumes of unspeakable cruelty.

"That's him!" Cirell shouted over the roar of the magma. "That's Dai Shinnoma!"

"He don't look that strong to me!" Nappa called back.

Raditsu sent out a probing thought towards the magma-riding Dai Shinnoma... and almost fell over. The demon's power was MASSIVE!

Suddenly, the talon of lava spluttered out of existence. A blazing aura of red erupted around Dai Shinnoma's body as he descended gracefully to earth, landing on both feet and straightening with a slight smirk. "It seems that my new slaves have prepared a welcoming committee," he said in a gravelly voice. "Bow before your new god!"

Nobody bowed.

"Feisty," the demon murmured. "But I anticipated this. Devella?"

Raditsu started as a woman suddenly appeared behind Dai Shinnoma. The newcomer was incredibly beautiful... or she would have been had she not had purple skin and pink hair. She wore a tight tan vest that showed off much of her midriff and accentuated her voluptuous figure. Her black miniskirt didn't hide much, either. "Yes?" she said in silken tones.

"Summon the Shin-Ma-Tokusentai, if you please."

"The least he could do is introduce himself," Kakarotto muttered.

Dai Shinnoma offered him a brief grin as Devella stepped off to one side. "Hello," the creature rasped. "My name is Dai Shinnoma. Pleasure to meet you."

"He doesn't even ask our names," Kakarotto added quietly.

"Why should I? I already know you all - Raditsu, Super Saiyajin of legend. Kakarotto, son of Bardock. Bardock, Saiyajin warrior. Broli, son of Paragas. Nappa, ex-General of Vegeta. Kiwi, Ambassador to Earth and Hermit of Yunzabitto. Krillin of the Orinji Temple. Cirell and Bra, future daughters of Raditsu and Bulma."

Raditsu's eyes almost bugged out of his head as he looked sharply at Cirell. "Daughters?!" he shouted.

Cirell blushed a bit. "Sorry," she said.

"Gee, thanks," Bra snapped at Dai Shinnoma.

"You're most welcome," the demon replied coolly. "And I believe Devella is almost ready."

Raditsu's gaze shifted to the voluptuous Devella, whose incomprehensible incantations slowly rose to a thundering crescendo...

-----

Metal Koola 03's aural sensors picked up Devella's spell from his place on a beach a great distance away, drawing the robot away from his study of a shattered jar. He shrugged, then returned to analyzing the concentration of strange energy that seemed to hang around the shards.