This is the Nameless Namekian's story (referred to as the Nameless Creature or Nameless One where fit, thanks to a suggestion by Esplandian). It will cover his conferencing with the former Kami, his split, his battle with Garlic, and his ascension as Guardian of Earth. There's too much about this topic to cram it all into one one-shot, and if all goes right, it should be about five chapters in length. Sorry that this first one has so little dialogue - it was just how it worked out. I hope you enjoy my take on the story that was only briefly explained in the series/movies/manga/whatever.
The genie leaned forth against one of the Lookout's many decorative columns, keeping a paled palm pressed against its smooth glaze and hiding his face partially behind its stony exterior. He only allowed his small, round eyes to peer over towards the wide expanse of sun-beaten tile, empty save for the palm trees and flowers and wide, open sky that embraced the floating structure in its bluish grasp. And there were also the strangers that had appeared at roughly the same time but that couldn't have differed more in appearance.
Mr. Popo backed into the shadows of the gleaming palace once more, his mind reeling as images of the pair coursed through it. He had never seen strangers like them before. Of course, the genie hadn't seen much of the world, having been confined as servant to the Guardian of Earth since the beginning of time itself, though he had made his rare ventures through the lands below. But, again, he had never seen humans of these proportions, making him wonder if they were from this planet at all.
One of them had been tall - extremely tall. He had to have been at least sixteen feet tall, though he was rather lanky for his height. His gnarled hands had been clasped behind his back as this green creature with pointed ears peered down at the other visitor, an extremely short imp with his stout legs crossed beneath him. The two had been engaged in conversation, and though the green one in the blue gi had been turned away, Mr. Popo could see the discomfort of their topic from the shorter man's toothy grimace.
Normally, Mr. Popo would have openly greeted a guest and invited him to stay. After all, it had been some thousands of years since the Lookout's last visitor, but there was something suspicious about their arrivals. And there was the matter of the tall green one, which seemed to be emanating a power that far surpassed the genie's. This was a rarity in itself.
His grip tightened around the watering can in his left hand as he proceeded down the corridor, careful to keep in the shadows. He wasn't certain of what to do about this mystery, though he knew that Kami needed to know right away. Then he could choose from there just what to do with these visitors and decided whether they were wanted or not.
But as Mr. Popo approached the main atrium adjacent to Kami's room, he wondered whether it would be wise to inform his master of their arrival. His master had been in decaying health as of late, and his excursions around the grounds had become rarer and rarer. If these visitors were indeed unwanted, he didn't want to distress Kami any further. In such fragile health, the genie wasn't certain of whether the Guardian of Earth would be able to fend off intruders when Mr. Popo himself was fearful of them being too powerful to be handled physically.
There was no other choice, however. He had to tell Kami of their presence. It didn't seem as though they were terribly vicious, anyways, what with their chattering away just on the edge of the Lookout, probably not planning a palace siege. They didn't seem to be together, at any rate, or if they were, they certainly weren't close. Tacticians or not, if they weren't a pair, the genie might have stood a chance in taking them down one-on-one with his magic. And hopefully, Kami would be able to help him assuming he was feeling better than he had been these past few days.
The door creaked slightly with the light pressure Mr. Popo applied to it, and the only other sound the genie made came from the padded footsteps of his slippers. Knocking was futile when Kami had barely the voice to say 'enter', and so the servant was often forced to enter his master's chamber without invitation. All that greeted the genie's sight was a cloaked figure facing the wall opposite him and leaning against a wooden staff.
"Kami?" Mr. Popo dared call as he set his watering can just outside of the door and approached his master's back. When he only received a fatigued grunt in return, he decided to push all formalities aside and get right to the point. "We have two visitors outside, both with impressive strength." He failed to mention that one of them possessed power incomparable to that of even the ancient master's, afraid to distress Kami.
But to the genie's surprise, Kami showed no sign of shock. "They have been out there for some time," he informed Mr. Popo, who was taken aback by his knowledge. The deity's voice was strained, barely able to escape his throat. He automatically moved a twisted hand over the skin hidden within the folds of his brown cloak, assuaging the sore voice box, as he turned towards his servant.
"How did you know they were out there?" he asked in pure awe, his amazement with the Guardian of Earth's power never waning in the millenia he had worked with him. But, though there was a low chuckle in response, Mr. Popo had no idea of whether a smile or frown was gracing his master's shaded features.
"I invited them, Mr. Popo," he explained drily. He raised a withered hand up to where his mouth must have been in that cloak to smother a cough before placing it atop his other hand once more. "It shouldn't surprise you that they are here. It is no secret that my health is poor at the moment."
This comment was met with silence; Mr. Popo was uncertain of how to respond to such a critical reflection. It was true that the Guardian of Earth was no longer the man he had once been, as all guardian's health fled them at some time in their reign, though Mr. Popo had become so accustomed to this particular one that he had not imagined life without him. Their relationship was not a particularly close one with Mr. Popo's philosophy that it was never safe to become terribly friendly with one of these beings, but nearly three thousand years was a long time, even for a Guardian of Earth. There was bound to be some type of respect to have bloomed during such a time, and so this topic stung him.
Additionally, with the genie being an immortal being, the subject of death had never been particularly comfortable to him. He had witnessed guardians come and go, but three thousand years was certainly a long time - most definitely long enough for this genie to forget death itself.
"When I go, which I feel will be very soon, I will need somebody to take over. It will be much safer if I choose my predecessor rather than allow you to, seeing as I comprehend all of the trials in undergoing such a task of running the Earth that any subservient mind could not." This insult to Mr. Popo's intellect was quickly dismissed, as the genie was adjusted to having his position as a mere slave mocked. "And so I have offered a job, and these two young creatures have responded to the offer. They are both willing to take it up, though just from feeling their energies, I'd imagine that they both are sub par."
The guardian became winded quickly, forced to pause as he shook his hooded head. He paced towards a blank wall with only the sound of his walking cane to resonate through the spacious room, murmuring, "I will have to see them one-on-one to determine just whether my hunch is correct. The two have great power, and yet their hearts are too tainted to guide them."
He lifted his head to face Mr. Popo once again, his red eyes shining from the shadows of his visage. His glare was sharp, and after only a brief break in speech, he managed to project his scratchy voice to demand, "Bring the shorter of the pair, Mr. Garlic, to the West Wing. You are invited to attend if you'd please, though spectating will be the limit of your interference.
The bite in his tone brought Mr. Popo to eagerly bow and reply, "Of course. Thank you, Kami." Then, with a speed unmatched by any physical being on Earth, the genie disappeared from the room.
Garlic's crooked mouth was transfixed with a toothless grimace as he observed the creature sauntering across the landing, each stride taken filled with power and purpose. This creature was a creature indeed, what with being nearly five times the size of the short imp and being the color of parched grass. It was a sickening green that, when reflecting the sun's rays at the perfect angle, managed to strike Garlic's eyes with its plastic sheen. Whoever this creature was, he certainly was not from Earth.
Of course, Garlic could say the same about himself.
So what was it that brought two extraterrestrials by human standards to this very same planet, in search of the very same job? Garlic's purpose was very clear, being that he was looking for both wealth and power. His avarice was only fueled by his ambition, though he had gone to great lengths to disguise his motives with carefully scripted speeches on just how he would bring world peace. But it seemed as though his opponent had gone to equal lengths to muddy up his goal, not allowing one prominent emotion to stand out for any amount of time on his hardened face.
The two had exchanged a few words, Garlic attempting to know this creature better to recognize his faults, though nothing was revealed. Garlic hadn't even been able to pick up a name, the creature insisting that such formalities were unnecessary. As far as the delusional creature knew, he would be called Kami shortly. But the poor, stupid creature had no idea of just who he was up against; Garlic had been just as hesitant in handing out information.
He was Garlic, Lord of Makyans and less formally nicknamed the King of Demons. Unfortunately, however faithful his demons may have been, there simply were not enough to fuel him. He needed a larger supply of fresh souls to nurture with his mist, in the manner a mother trains her child, and to build his army. With more supporters backing him, he would be able to surpass those others that labeled themselves as Demon Kings, and Earth seemed to be the perfect location to begin with its weak and malleable inhabitants.
He had a goal in the end of all of this madness, though he couldn't find a single hint as to exactly why this Nameless Creature would want to assume a position of so much responsibility. There was neither maliciousness nor goodwill lurking on his facial features, keeping himself composed where the imp couldn't. He simply went on pacing back and forth, obviously buried in thought and leaving Garlic to wonder exactly what was coursing through his mind.
The short imp subconsciously tightened his grip on the twiggy legs crossed beneath him, holding on to the blue flesh that stuck out sorely from beneath his black cloak. His brain wandered with curiosity, ambling down different paths of possibilities that could explain the Nameless Creature's presence. He regarded every exterior facet of the monster, from the pink patches of veins that lined his arms to the sheer height of him, unable to pin just whether he had pure motives or not. But that was nearly impossible, as Garlic believed the notion of having pure motives was unrealistic in a world of so much temptation.
Garlic cocked his disproportionately large head in curiosity and feigned a smile. He pushed himself off of the white tile and, with his curiosity getting the best of him, decided to approach the creature once more. Perhaps this creature had more malicious motives than he had let on, and the two could be allies, however unlikely. Even if this Nameless Creature possessed the intent to take over this world, it was most likely that his plans wouldn't coincide with those of Garlic's. But it never hurt to gather a bit more information about your opponent.
The Nameless Creature automatically spun around as soon as Garlic shifted his weight to his feet, having heard the tiny imp's grunting. He leered down at the Makyan sitting only a few yards away, and the suspicion in the creature's eyes was similarly reflected in Garlic's, though with more warmth. Whereas the green man wasn't afraid to openly show his hostility, the imp disguised it with a smug grin, a jagged incisor pulled over his bottom lip to glint in the sun's light.
"I don't believe I recall where you said you come from," Garlic said in an attempt to get the Nameless Creature to confide in him. He patted down the skirts of his cloak as he did so, but when he looked up towards that stoic face, he was met with immense distrust.
The taller of the pair only snarled in disbelief, able to see all of the evil in the imp's intentions through the evil that lurked in his own heart. Their so-called 'conversation' earlier had been uncomfortable with the imp attempting to pry into every detail of his life, forcing the Nameless Creature to recall many of the evils of his life he had aimed to forget before his interview with Kami. And so, after allowing his eyes to fall upon the pitiful thing that barely stood up to his shin, he turned away to begin his pacing once more.
The Makyan's fake smile receded, but before he could make another attempt at conversation, he heard a clear voice call, "Garlic? Garlic?" He tore his gaze away from the Nameless Creature's retreating back to locate the source calling his name, and his eyes fell upon a stout, black man in a white turban, red vest, baggy pants, and golden slippers that released a metallic glow.
Before he could inquire just why this odd man was calling his name, the servant explained, "Kami would like to speak with you in the West Wing."
A more genuine smile formed on Garlic's impish features as he exclaimed, "Of course!" He picked up the trails of his cloak and scurried towards the genie, satisfied with having been called in over the likes of the Nameless Creature. He wrinkled his tiny nose conceitedly as he threw a look over his shoulder to see the Nameless Creature's first undisguised emotion of the day, and that being open shock. His eyes were wide as they trailed over the Makyan and genie, and Garlic couldn't help but release a sinister snicker.
He had been chosen first to counsel with Kami. Perhaps this was a sign.