The silence was unsettling. Scorpina felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, felt goose pimples rise all over her skin… She was afraid. It had been a long time since she’d last made the acquaintance on this man, of this ‘Emperor of all he saw’, and her memories of him continued to unsettle her to this day. But now he was changed… he was older, though not ancient, and scarred, brutally so, by an encounter with the legendary Zeo crystal. There were those who said that he had only grown stronger, others who said he’d lost his touch… but to many he was still the same man, just damned to be forever trapped within a malformed body.

The barracks of the Lunar Palace that she and Goldar now walked had not heard the footfalls of the living for centuries - these passages had been cut-off, forbidden to enter, areas of the palace used by the Emperor alone. Now that he was back, they could once again come into use.

Scorpina inhaled ruggedly, hugging herself as a chill spread through her body.

“You’re not scared, are you?” Goldar asked her quietly, noticing her unease, his voice resounding eerily off the cold, stone walls.

She gave him a quick glance, “Yes,” she admitted.

Goldar smirked, giving her shoulder a quick rub; “Don’t… he preys on the fearful. He respects the sturdy.”

“Thanks for boosting my confidence, Goldar,” she rejoined.

He shrugged cockily before they both made a turn from the passageway into the Chamber of Command itself.

They halted. The large room was pitch black, the pale white light of the cosmos giving a slight glow to its gothic architecture. A stealthy mist crawled across the floor, but the room was still completely empty. A large balcony yawned out unto the stars at the room’s far end, and wide rafters, carved with beasts of far-off planets, arched across the vaulting ceiling; large, old fans on the walls remained motionless and all the torches remained unlit…

“I don’t like this,” Scorpina said, her eyes darting about from dark corner to dark corner.

Goldar placed his hands on his hips, sniffing the stale air, “He always did like to make an entrance.”

Scorpina arched her eyebrow to him, feeling as though she’d missed something, until suddenly, with a flash of lightning, the chamber burst to life! Yelping in surprise, Scorpina leapt backwards, and Goldar grabbed her instinctively, until, when they both finally realised there was nothing to fear, he just threw her another smug smile, and she tore herself from his grasp. They then simply waited as things around them slowly began to breathe air once more; the fans on the walls - giant, metallic, razor-bladed things, looking more suited to a torture chamber than a command room - were the first thing to groan painfully back into action, their colossal blades swinging at a steady, ponderous rate, bringing fresh air forth into the still atmosphere. Following this, with dragon-like roars, the mounted torches on the walls relit, red flames bursting forth from their maws; the walls now flickered with their ruby light, giving the chamber a warmer yet ever the more uncomforting edge.

“Come,” Goldar ushered his girlfriend, pacing forward toward a slight, raised platform in the room’s centre.

She followed at his discretion, eyes scouring the chamber even more vigilantly as it regained more and more of its original soul. They were now wading knee-high through the mist of the chamber, marching willingly to the heart of the dragon’s den.

She stared at the plinth that Goldar now stood before, his poise at a startling ease; she looked between him and it several times, “What are we waiting for?” she whispered.

“The Emperor,” he replied.

She stared at the dais once more, brow furrowed, “I see nothing.”

“Neither do I,” he replied, before he gave her a meaningful look, “Yet.”

She gave him another glare until, right on cue, another horrendous clap of thunder hit the ground before them. Scorpina didn’t jump as much this time, though she felt Goldar’s hand take a grip on her wrist to keep her by his side. Out of the smoke that billowed from the ground before them, some large, solid form began to materialise. The two frowned, squinting through the haze, until - the cloud clearing - they made out the back of a large, stone throne, engraved with many a dragon, and with a distinctive ‘Z‘ at its centre…

Goldar nodded to himself, whilst Scorpina kept a vigilant watch; here was their Emperor.