(A/N: I've begun a new Dragon Ball Z story. And yes, it is a Dragon Ball Z story. It takes place after the Buu Saga, but before Dragon Ball Super, around a few months after the movies Wrath of the Dragon and Fusion Reborn. Everyone got the timeframe? Hope so, cause I'm going to make this as canon as possible, so it could actually fit in with the series. And yeah, yeah, I know that most of the movies aren't canon ad take place in an alternate timeline/reality, so you don't need to go pointing it out, but I like to write them into the same universe, so there. Also, I'll be doing something a little different that I usually do, but that won't come until later. You'll see what I mean if you decide to stick around. This chapter is just a preview, but it will be introducing some new characters. Hope you like it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"DRAGON BALL Z: ULTIMATE WARRIOR"

Prologue

He didn't know how they found him. He had always been so careful to remain hidden, but they had somehow managed to track him down. In fact, he was surprised that they had been hired at all; it seemed like overkill.

Gambling could be considered an addiction, one he had certainly fallen prey to. It wasn't uncommon for people with his problem to end up falling very far into debt because of it. And that was exactly what had happened to him. He had fallen so far into debt that he ended up owing more than he could afford. With no other option, he had attempt to earn what he owed by gambling some more, but this had, unfortunately, backfired, resulting in him falling even deeper into debt. And so he had gone into hiding until he could earn what he owed.

Those he owed were ruthless when it came to collecting, but still, he hadn't expect them to hire a team of hitmen when his deadline had passed. They had tracked him down in just a few days, and were currently on his tail right now.

A ray of energy flew through the air, striking him in the back of his leg and passing all the way through. He cried out in pain and toppled over, falling into a heap on the ground. He rolled over, onto his back and looked up to where the attack had come from. Five figures floated in the air; the hitmen that had been hired to take him out. They came down from the sky, landing a short distance away, and four of the five approached.

Fear ran through him as the hitmen approached. They were of different races, each as different as the last. The largest was a light blue skinned hulking beast of a man. He had an obese gut, but his arms and legs were bulging with muscle, as if his body couldn't decide if he should be fat or ripped. Next to him was a greenish-yellowish insectoid creature with various cybernetic enhancements, over half his body being mechanical. Then there was the reddish-orange one that had spikes protruding from all over his body, most only a few inches long, with larger black ones up to a foot long growing out of each elbow, and even larger ones running down his back.

The last one was the shortest of the approaching four, and the most scrawny of the group. Be that as it may, there was an evil vibe about him that made him the most terrifying of them all. He had grayish-brown skin and a tuft of pink hair whose bangs hung over a pair of yellow snake-like eyes. A fanged mouth was plastered in an amused sneer that stretched from pointy ear to pointy ear.

"Got you," he snickered in amusement.

The fat one chuckled, his bloated purple lips breaking into a smile. "Nice shot. He won't be running away any time soon."

The shortest one's grin grew wider. "I can do better. Watch."

He raised an arm that doubled as a wing, pointing a clawed finger at their target, and began firing more energy rays. Cries ran out as several more holes were shot through the target before they collapsed completely.

"The bounty did say dead or alive," the insectoid remarked in a semi-mechanical voice. "I guess we're going with dead. You always do take such delight in taking down the targets."

The short one chuckled as he approached the fallen target. "It's what makes the chase worthwhile, bounty or no. Of course, we could have just saved time and blown up the whole city. That would have been equally as enjoyable."

The spiked one rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep suggesting that method? If we did that, we wouldn't be able to confirm the kill. Besides, we could end up blowing up potential future clients as well. Bad for business."

"And it might make others more hesitant to hire us in the future if they discover how reckless we are," the fat one added as an after thought. "I don't know why we need to keep having this conversation."

The short one snickered as he stood above the fallen but still breathing target. "Oh, come now, we all know that we don't do this for the money."

"It's called our need to eat. Might as well make a living doing something you love."

Glancing at his comrade, the short one smirked mockingly. "Well, you seem to be doing fine in the eating department."

On the ground, the wounded target reached up pleadingly. "Please…"

The short one's foot came down on his chest, unnecessarily pining him down. "Have we reached the begging point already? Excellent, I love this part."

"I can… pay you…"

This earned chuckles from all four of them. "If you could pay us," the spiked one commented, "you wouldn't be in such debt that we would have had to come for you in the first place."

"Even if you did," the insectoid replied, "we would not accept, no matter how much you were willing to pay. It would be bad for business if our clients found out we could be paid off to look the other way."

The short one held up a clawed hand, and it began to glow as talons of energy expanded from his sharp nails. "I think we should teach him a lesson for trying to bribe us."

Further back, the fifth member, who had been standing with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face finally spoke. "Just finish it already," he ordered in a voice that dripped with authority. "It's no fun if they can't fight back. We've wasted enough time with this one."

A look of disapproval crossed the short one's horse face, and his hand stopped glowing. "Oh, fine." He pointed at the target's head and fired another ray, burning a hole clean through their forehead. "There, job done. Way to ruin my fun."

The fat one chuckled. "The boss is just upset that another lead turned out to be a dead end. Oh, and don't forget the evidence."

The short one rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He flicked his finger. There was a flash of light, and the head of the target was severed from the body. He reached down and picked it up, showing it to his comrades. "There, mission accomplished."

With the job done, it was a simple matter of making the delivery and collecting their payment. And in a matter of hours, they were in their client's place of business, being led to their personal room.

The client for their latest job was a large frog-like creature even more obese than their comrade. He was a stereotypical mafia-like boss who had an air about him that clearly indicated that he thought he was untouchable. Two much smaller female members of his species sat on his lap, showing their affection. The only other occupants in the room were half a dozen creatures known as Saibamen serving as bodyguards.

The group of five walked into the room, and once again, the fifth member of their group uncaringly hung back while the other four stepped forward to great their client. One by one, they reintroduced themselves to their client by thumping themselves over the chest.

"Beegoh," said the fat one.

"Gorbii," said the spiked one.

"Thoryuk," said the short one.

"Stookz," said the insectoid.

"Reporting in," they finished.

With a grin on his face, Thoryuk held up the severed head of their target. "Job completed."

And then, just to get a reaction, he tossed the head onto the client's desk. The two females recoiled, but the client seemed completely unfazed. An arrogant smirk crept up his face as his two red chameleon-like eyes stared at the severed head. "Very well done, boys. Your reputation truly precedes you."

"All in a day's work," Stookz replied.

Beegoh held out a large hand. "Our payment."

Their client motioned to one of the Saibamen, and the severed head was taken away. "Yes, your payment. About that. You see, I've been doing some thinking while you guys were away. I can't have anyone who owes me thinking that they can simply get away without paying me what they owe. I needed to send a nice brash message to anyone who thinks that they can cheat me in the future. That's why I hired you boys."

He folded his webbed hands together. "However, I can't help but think about how much I'm losing with this whole transaction. Not only am I not going to get the money that was owed to me, but now I'm going to lose even more for your services. And I don't like to lose. That's why I'm thinking we need to renegotiate the price we agreed upon."

This was meant to be intimidating, but the four only looked amused. Beegoh found the situation to be especially funny as he glanced at the fifth member of their group. "Hey, boss, you hear that? This guy wants to renegotiate."

The boss, as Beegoh had called him, was casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, completely disinterested in the conversation. However, at Beegoh's words, he held out a hand, his index finger extended. A spark flashed at the end, and one of the Saibamen exploded, sending a spray of gore over the others, electing a cry of surprise from them.

The boss then redirected his finger towards the client, and a small bead of energy appeared on the tip of his finger, and it slowly began to grow. It expanded to the size of a baseball, then to the size of a basketball, then a beach ball, the air crackling around it.

The Saibamen and the two females jumped back in fright, and even their employer looked nervous as he realized he had just made a very big mistake in trying to take advantage of this group.

"Wait, hold on!" he exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to hide his panic. "I just said that I was thinking about it. However, I'm feeling generous today. You'll be paid what we agreed on, in full."

The ball of energy shrank away and disappeared, and everyone in the room relaxed. The frogman motioned to the Saibamen, and a metal briefcase was placed on his desk. He opened it and turned it to the four before him to show them that he was indeed paying the agreed upon amount.

"Well," said Gorbii, "everything looks to be in order. A pleasure doing business with you. If you ever need to hire us again, we'd be happy to oblige with whatever job you have. As long as you pay us what we agreed."

The client tried to discreetly wipe away the beads of nervous sweat that had run down his head, trying to save face and maintain the illusion that he was in control. "Yes, well, like I said, I've been in a good mood since we heard of how the universe was saved."

"Oh?" Beegoh replied curiously as he picked up the briefcase. "How so?"

The client raised an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't heard yet? Word of it has been spreading across the galaxy. Apparently, the ancient mythical destroyer, Majin Buu, turned out to be more than a myth after all. He returned and blew up a bunch of planets before he was finally destroyed by a Super Saiyan from Earth. Supposedly, it was the same Saiyan that defeated Frieza."

Up until now, the boss had shown no interest in the conversation whatsoever. But now his eyes snapped open and shot towards the client. Faster than any of them could see, he moved to stand in front of the client. The large frogman was so startled that his chair tipped backwards, and he began to fall.

The boss' hand shot out, grabbing the frogman by the gold chain he wore around his non-existent neck, and pulled him forward. "What you just said? Say it again."

The client blinked. "Eh, what?"

"What you were saying about a Saiyan from Earth. Repeat it."

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, apparently the same Saiyan that defeated Frieza also destroyed Majin Buu. It happened about a year ago, but we just recently found out about it since it happened on the other side of the galaxy."

The boss' eyes narrowed, cold up until now, but suddenly shining with emotion. "This Saiyan, what is his name?"

The client blinked again. "Uh, his name? Um, let me think. I think it was, um, Gok-kuh, or Gako, or something like that."

"Goku?"

"That was it! Goku, the Super Saiyan from Earth."

The other four, who had been looking on with interest, now looked confused. "Goku?" Beegoh repeated. "That can't be. He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes," said Stookz, "it was confirmed years ago by the Galactic Patrol. Goku the Super Saiyan who defeated Frieza and the rest of the Cold Clan was reported to have died nine years ago."

Gorbii crossed his arms in thought. "It could have been a cover, or misinformation. The Galactic Patrol can be incompetent at times. After all, they once thought the Saiyans were an extinct race until a few survivors were discovered."

Though the boss had his back turned to them, he was listening to every word. Releasing the client, allowing him to fall back, he turned and walked past them. "We're leaving."

Beegoh frowned. "What, you mean for Earth? I thought you wanted to find another lead."

Gorbii shrugged. "I guess this is a lead. But even if it's not, we were going to have to go to Earth eventually. Might as well get it out of the way now."

A sadistic grin crept up Thoryuk's face. "Ooh, this is going to be a lot of fun."

As the five of them walked away, a bead of sweat ran down the side of frogman's head. "Boy, I'd sure hate to be that Goku fella when they get there."

(A/N: I'm sure you have many questions, such as who these five men are, especially their mysterious boss. And what's this sudden interest in Goku. Seems he thought Goku was dead all this time. Technically he was, ever since the Cell Games, but it seems that news of him suddenly coming back to life, courtesy of Old Kai, has only now reached this boss. Just who is he, and what's he want with Goku? You'll have to read more to find out.)