Planet Xarrack, Northern Hemisphere
The sky over the wasteland of a planet bled a deep crimson as if the world was preparing itself for a bloodbath. It was a lonely speck of dirt in the vast galaxy. What made it unique were its many ecological marvels. Endless plains of dead trees stretched for miles across the planet's dry surface, branches twisted into claws that tore at the bloody sky. Jagged rock formations that pierced the horizon. Poisonous green lakes bubbled and hissed as toxic fumes rose from their depths, giving the planet a nasty, festering appearance.
From the burning sky above, a volley of milky white space pods pierced through the thick fumes the planet had for an atmosphere, leaving glowing trails of exploding gasses in their wake. Dozens of these red-hot spherical vessels hurtled uncontrollably toward the surface, but some slowed their descent as their landing thrusters engaged, propulsion systems flaring back to life. But many others did not, they continued their freefall, accelerating through the upper layer of the atmosphere as the ground below closed in rapidly.
With deafening booms, the space pods collided with the ground, throwing up massive clouds of dust and sand. Craters erupted with each impact, leaving jagged wounds on the already scarred surface. Some crashed into rock formations, shattering cliffs and peaks, while others embedded themselves deep into the dunes of the wasteland.
One of the pods came screaming down, striking a barren, sandy clearing with such force that it sent waves of dust and debris billowing into the sky. As if the atmosphere wasn't toxic enough already, it now became an almost impenetrable veil of sand. The violent shockwaves uprooted the nearby trees, their brittle branches came falling to the ground in dry cracks.
As the last of the pods settled, the world returned to its usual muteness save for the hissing of cooling metal. Steam poured from the milky-white spherical crafts as their internal systems worked double-time to stabilize after the crash.
Inside one of the pods, a pale-skinned girl stirred uneasily. Acala, a young Saiyan, had been in a deep mandatorily enforced sleep for over half a year as her body underwent stasis to endure the journey. The pod's bright red emergency lights bathed her in a crimson glow that made her already unusual features almost ghastly. Her silver-white hair shimmered faintly, and her eyelids fluttered as her body slowly roused itself from its suspended state. She blinked groggily, crimson eyes narrowing as she struggled to regain her senses.
Her head throbbed for some reason, the impact probably, but the disorientation didn't last long. Shaking off the grogginess, Acala's body snapped to attention, muscles tense as some secondary adrenaline gland began to work overtime. The small chamber was cramped, filled with the scent of burned metal and peeling paint. Warning alarms blared in her ears, accompanied by the neutral voice of the pod's AI.
[Error... Critical systems failure. Manual release required.]
Snarling, her instincts kicked in before her mind could fully process the situation. Acala had been cooped up in that egg for far too long, she needed action, and with a burst of raw strength, she reached out and ripped the pod's hatch from its hinges, tossing the thick metal door outside into the molten sand.
The outside air hit her like a furnace. Heat rolled off the sand in distorted waves, the gravity was noticeably heavier here than on any planet she had known, and there was sand as far as her eyes could see. But Acala adjusted quickly, her species' physiology was built for adapting to harsh environments. The air was thick with dust, clogging her throat and nose with each breath, but she barely registered the discomfort.
All around her, she could see the spots where the other pods had landed, thick smoke rose from their craters. Some had landed more gracefully than others, a few were still smoking and sparked from damaged circuits. Several pods had already been forced open, much like her own, and others were emerging.
Acala took a few tentative steps into the scorching sand, her booted feet sinking slightly into the grains. She wasn't fat, just had dense bones and muscles. As she moved, a sound caught her attention. One of the pods, the one closest to her, was beeping rapidly, its hatch opening on its own. Inside there was a child, about her age, curled up peacefully. The same annoying artificial voice from her pod repeated the same command over and over:
[Wake up, Spina. Destroy all lifeforms.]
Before she could make sense of the robotic nonsense, the sky above them exploded into light. A brilliant beam shot high into the crimson sky, piercing the toxic clouds. The light stretched upwards until it erupted into a massive projection that filled the sky—a perfect artificial full moon. The streaks of light joining the projection made it clear that it was being powered by the remaining intact pods.
Acala growled, she knew exactly what was happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it... she didn't like that. She didn't like that one bit.
The change was immediate and violently painful. One moment she was staring up at the moon, the next her body was seizing in pain. Acala's bones cracked and shifted, muscles bulged uncontrollably and her heartbeat sounded like a drum in her ears. She screamed, but the sound was quickly replaced by a roar as her body grew, her small frame stretching and expanding into a monstrous form. Her skin bristled with thick silver fur, and her humane features twisted into the savage snout of a beast. Her red eyes burned brighter, filled with an all-consuming lust for battle.
She had transformed into a monster—Oozaru—the Great Ape.
The planet's gravity came pressing down on her massive form, but that only served to excite the Oozaru. Her monstrous size dwarfed the rock formation around her. She towered over the wasteland. Others were also transforming, though their forms were more standard—brown fur, glowing red eyes.
Acala was an albino, perhaps an unheard-of mutation among Saiyans, and her Oozaru form reflected that. Her fur was silvery-white and her eyes a shade of burning scarlet that set her apart, making her even more monstrous than the others. She let out a thunderous roar that echoed through the barren landscape.
As she roared again and again, a pulse of energy exploded from her mouth, unintended, sending a shockwave across the dunes. In the distance, a massive mushroom cloud erupted where the energy had struck, consuming everything in its path. Others responded to her display of dominance with roars of their own and began to tear through the dead forests, smashing trees and boulders and anything else in their way.
But something was wrong. Even as a monster, her senses were sharp, she could feel a new threat, a low rumbling that shook the earth beneath her feet. She turned her head, massive eyes comically narrowed as a sandstorm rose in the distance, the ground trembling as though something enormous was moving beneath it.
With a guttural roar, a monstrous figure emerged from the storm. A colossal warm, its body thicker than any Oozaru, slithered toward the cluster of Saiyans. Its scaled, snake-like body glistened in the harsh light, and its enormous, circular maw was lined with countless razor-sharp teeth. The creature let out a rage-fueled roar as it sensed the intruders on its territory, approaching it at a terrifying speed despite its size.
A feral grin split Acala's already monstrous face, her fangs bared as she let out a challenge of her own. Beating her massive chest, she roared, and the other Great Apes followed suit. The air filled with the sound of howling giants, their cries of excitement resonating as they thirsted for battle and blood.
The colossal worm lunged forward, moving with a speed unbelievable for its size, and the Oozaru charged to meet it. The battle was destructive. Massive fists hammered into the worm's armored hide, but the creature barely flinched. It lashed out with its powerful body, sending several Oozaru flying through the air. The ground trembled as they crashed into the sand, but they quickly remained undaunted by the blow.
The worm charged at the gathering of Giant Apes, who roared and charged back, their massive fists pounding into the creature's scaled hide. The worm was surprisingly agile, bringing its maw down on a Great Ape's head, crushing it with a sickening crunch before spitting out the severed head. Vile green mucus covered the severed head, hissing and smoking as the skin melted off the skull.
Undeterred by the loss of one of their own, the other Oozary lunged at the creature's head, slashing, clawing, and hammering with fists and feet into its scaly hide, searching for a weak spot.
Acala leaped onto the worm's body, sinking her claws into what might've been the creature's eyes... not anymore. Others managed to tear a large opening in the creature's side, exposing raw flesh and muscles.
Taking advantage of the creature's momentary distraction, those swept away came charging back with massive boulders, shattering them against the creature's body and sending shards of splintered stones deep into the exposed bits between the armored scales.
The balance had finally tilted in the Saiyan's favor when two of them grabbed onto the worm's tail, pulling with all their might. With a mighty heave, the Oozaru lifted the worm off the ground, swinging it into a nearby rock formation. The impact cracked the stones and exposed the worm's soft underbelly.
Acala lept high into the air, coming down with both fists onto the creature's exposed underbelly. Its armored plates cracked under the blow, and the worm writhed in agony.
Suddenly, the creature struck viciously, latching latched onto an Oozaru with its gaping maw, slicing through fur and flesh.
With a mighty roar, Acala unleashed an energy bomb from her mouth, point-blank into the creature's face. The blast detonated with a blinding light, and the worm's head exploded in a shower of blood and viscera. The creature's enormous body went limp, twitching in its death throes.
The Saiyans stood victorious over the lifeless body of the worm that had challenged them for territory.
However, their celebration feast was cut short as more and more roars erupted from the horizon. Acala turned her head, eyes narrowing as she scanned the horizon. The earth trembled once more, and from beneath the sands, more colossal worms emerged. These new creatures were just as massive if not more, their circular maws gaping with rows of razor-sharp teeth.
The Albino took a step forward and with a roar that shook the very air, she charged headfirst into the fray. Muscles coiling and releasing like springs.
The Titans met head-on, first met armored hide and tails whipping the air as the nimble Oozaru dodged and landed blow after blow. The wasteland echoed with the sound of furious combat as the Saiyan's first battle turned into a survival match of titanic proportions.