Chapter 21: Tools of Destruction
The air suddenly chilled around the boy. It was so dark that he could barely see a foot in front of him, and yet somehow someone knew who he was and what he looked like from across the room. Gohan hadn't been scared in a very long while, but right now his mind was in absolute shock. That voice felt familiar, someone he knew once, someone that he had cared about, but one that he had forsaken. He could hear the faintness, the death that lingered in it, the futility, and he was at once angry, sad, and afraid.
Gohan looked throughout the room to no avail, even if there was someone in the room, he would not have been able to see them. As the fear grew inside of the boy, the room seemed to grow darker and colder, and if he had not been so determined to grab the Dragonball, Gohan would have left in an instant. He felt unwelcome, and yet at the same time he wanted to know who this person was. It was silent for the longest time, and neither Gohan nor the stranger said any words for the longest time. He was too filled with emotion to move at the moment, and whoever was in the room with him was either now dead or tormenting the boy.
Finally he had gathered enough resolve to respond to the voice, albeit with a hoarse response; "Who's there?" He asked, not knowing what else to say. The room remained silent, and soon Gohan found himself trying to walk forward through the darkness. He could hear no breathing, no movement, nothing at all. He seemed to have stepped out of reality, and into a world completely separate from the one that he knew.
"Gohan…" The voice broke through the silence, closer now to Gohan than it had been before. This time the boy realized who was speaking to him.
"No… you're dead… why?" Gohan cried, clenching his fists in anger. His eyes showed a different emotion, he tightened them as tears began to form. He received no answer, and the room began to slowly grow even colder than it already was. Gohan fell to his knees, he felt as if this spirit was taunting him, pushing him to do something, something that he had no idea of. An intense feeling of loneliness swept throughout the boy, he felt completely alone, ashamed and broken.
He didn't know how long he had sat there and cried on his knees. Time slowed nearly to a halt, and after an eternity, another voice broke through the blinding darkness and blistering cold.
"Master!" Trokar broke the illusion surrounding the boy, who snapped back to reality and quickly looked behind him to see the Saibamen at the door. Gohan hobbled back onto his feet and in a weak, dazed state he walked over towards the Dragonball and laid one hand on it.
"We've got to get this to the ship." The boy stated hoarsely, grabbing the ball with his other hand and lifting it off of its pedestal. Trokar quickly rushed towards the ball as well and grabbed it himself.
"I carry, you tired." Trokar said, Gohan went along only because he truly felt as if he could barely even fly. The two left the home, and Gohan was relieved that he could finally get away from the voice that haunted him. As they stepped out into the greenery, Gohan shot to awareness seeing Recoome's broken and beaten body. He was breathing, but just barely, and it was obvious that he was close to the brink of death. Gohan looked towards Trokar and then back to Recoome, he needed to do something before he went back to the ship.
"Trokar, go back with the Dragonaball. I need to have a word with our friend." The Saibamen nodded and blasted off towards the ship. The boy slowly walked over to the barely conscious warrior, staring at him while he gasped for air. A sly grin spread across Gohan's face, his handiwork was truly excellent.
"W-what do… you… want?" Recoome managed to gasp out at the boy. Recoome screamed in pain as Gohan kicked him hard in the side, causing the large man to hack and cough.
"Tell me what you know about Frieza and maybe I'll let you have a painless death."
"I have… a better… idea." Recoome gasped, struggling for air "Why don't.. you… AGH!" Recoome screamed once more when Gohan slammed his elbow into Recoome's gut. Blood spurted out of his mouth.
"I can make you feel pain that no mortal being has ever felt before. Now tell me everything you know" Gohan ordered, grinning once more "before I start ripping out your fucking eyeballs." Recoome coughed a few times before he was able to speak again, and this time his demeaner had changed.
"The boss… he… he can transform… more… powerful" Recoome coughed once more, blood dripping down his mouth. "You have… no chance… not a single chance!" Recoome screamed as Gohan clenched his fists in rage.
"Shut up!" The boy screamed, charging an attack in front of Recoome's face. The badly damaged warrior looked into the face of death and smiled.
"Fuck… you…"
Gohan blasted Recoome's head with his ki attack, incinerating it completely. His temper had gotten the best of him, and now that he was disoriented from his previous experience, Gohan didn't know if he even wanted to continue finding Dragonballs. He fell to his knees, and in a fit of pure anger and sadness, he screamed towards the sky as his energy exploded.
"Woah… that's Gohan… He's gotten so powerful." Goku said as he walked out into the planet Namek. A feeling of both pride and regret washed over him, and he knew that Gohan wouldn't be happy to see him.
"I've got to find Piccolo and the Dragonballs first, then I can deal with Gohan and Frieza." Goku tied the Senzu beans to his waist and sensed around to see if he could find Piccolo's energy source. After a few second, he ascertained the Namekians whereabouts and blasted off towards him.
As Piccolo and Nail neared the site that his ship had landed in, the evil Namekian could not seem to sense Lod, Skriatch or Mkkyr aboard the vessel. He sensed that Trokar was on his way, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not pick up any of the Saibamen's energy levels.
"Shit…" Piccolo cursed under his breath, although Nail picked up on it using his enhanced Namekian hearing.
"What? Did you sense something?" Nail asked, still suspicious of this strange Namekians motives.
"It isn't what I'm sensing, it's what I'm not." Growled Piccolo, picking up speed. Nail tried to follow as best he could.
Trokar landed just as Piccolo and Nail had, and the first thing they both noticed was the gore that lay before them. A man had been ripped to shreds, and obviously there had been some sort of struggle to escape something.
"Trokar, search the damn ship for the Dragonballs." Piccolo shouted, the Saibamen dropped the Dragonball he was holding and rushed quickly inside. 'I don't care about the others, but if someone else gets a hold of those Dragonballs we're fucked!' Piccolo thought with a menacing snarl. A thought popped into his head at that precise moment. "Fuck!" He yelled, startling everyone in the vicinity.
"What is it this time?" Nail shouted, stepping back.
"We forgot the damn ball!" Piccolo said, blasting off back towards the village that he had just came from. Nail decided it was best to stay behind and not slow him down.
"Master! Master!" Trokar shouted, running out of the ship "No one inside! All balls gone!" Trokar looked around to find that there was only Nail.
"He's gone to collect a ball that we forgot back in the village. A lot's been happening, I sense much confusion in your group, especially from you and the boy." Nail explained, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "You don't have to follow this one's evil ways. What do you want to do?"
Trokar looked away to the horizon, not wanting to speak. They sat like this for half a minute before Nail spoke up again.
"This is all a grave situation. Everyone is in danger, you have to protect what is important to you. My people are all that matter to me right now, and even if I have to fight alongside such an evil bastard, I'll do it to save them." The brave Namekian warrior sighed and looked towards the dirt. "And I can tell that you have someone you wish to protect."
The Saibamen turned to Nail, eyes forlorn and seemingly about to cry. He didn't want to face it, but he had to at some point.
"That boy… Guru could sense there was still good in him. Still something left that could be used for everyone's benefit and not just…" Nail clenched his teeth in anger. "No one deserves to be a tool."
These words resonated inside of Trokar for a long while. He looked away and clenched his fists.
"Even if you can't protect him physically… please, protect him from himself. Protect him from becoming what I fear he may become."
The two of them sat in silence for a what seemed like a very long time, but something surprised both Trokar and Nail at the same time.
"Someone coming!" Trokar shouted, taking a fighting stance, as did Nail.
A moment later, Zarbon touched down in front of them both, with a few soldiers in tow.
As Piccolo neared the spaceship, many different senses invaded his mind, and none of them were particularly positive for him.
"Oh no, no no no!" He shouted, feeling an enormous energy on the move towards the Dragonball that he and Nail had forgotten. However, he also sensed a very familiar power approaching the ship, two to be precise, but one he was absolutely sure to be Goku. "Damn, what should I do…" Knowing that he didn't have time to hesitate, the Namekian sped up towards the lost Dragonball in order for it not to fall into Frieza's hands. 'How could I have been so stupid! Damn it, all the fighting, it was too fun to kill again.' He thought, nearing his target.
Luckily for Piccolo, he touched down next to the Dragonball just in time, as the insane power that he sensed had not yet been able to acquire it. Piccolo was about to grab the ball when he heard a voice he had never heard before.
"Well well well, if it isn't the little Namekian that could!"
Piccolo snarled and clenched his fists, readying for a fight. He slowly turned to see a small demonish looking alien, and he could only presume it to be the entity that King Kai had feared so much. Despite his stature, Piccolo could tell by the sheer energy that this entity held that he was not to be fucked with.
"Frieza, I presume." Piccolo smirked, trying to keep his cool.
"Oh, so you have heard of me, excellent. Then you'll excuse me if I dispense with the pleasantries." Frieza said, hands still firmly behind his back. "You've been killing my men, I can obviously see that you've already dispensed of my most powerful fighting force." The evil overlord tilted his head towards the bodies of Captain Ginyu, Jeice and Guldo.
"They were pathetic." Piccolo proclaimed, trying not to give in to the sheer horror of the magnitude of this beings power.
"I can see that you're very powerful, yes. You don't have to brag about it." Frieza chuckled and began to talk once again "You know, you've been the biggest thorn in my side since… well, ever! So I have an offer for you, Namekian. Work for me, gather the last ball and I shall give you a position of power in my galactic empire." Piccolo was taken aback by this offer. Obviously he would not ever work under anyone, but he wanted to humor Frieza.
"That… is a very intriguing offer…" Frieza smiled once more.
"I don't usually lend my hand to anyone, especially if they cross me. I've decided to give you a second chance, because as you can plainly see, I'm at a lack of powerful soldiers since you killed them all." Piccolo looked away slightly, but kept his eye on Frieza.
"And if I accepted your offer, what does it entail?" The Namekian asked. Frieza shook his head.
"Look, I don't have all day to sit around and chat."
"I need to know what I'm getting into before I accept anything." Frieza's grin shifted to a grimace.
"Fine, I'll indulge your curiosity. A high ranking officer in my empire gets to command a group of soldiers that they select, as well as selecting the ships that they will travel with. I run a galactic trade, destroying sentient life on planets and selling them to the highest bidder, so I usually pay my higher ups rather well. Ginyu here was practically one of the richest men in the north quadrant. That is, until you relieved him of duty." Frieza smiled and continued. "of course, you will be working under me, and that entails killing off millions, if not billions or trillions of inhabitance in order to make it ready for sale. I'll have you put to wo-"
"SOLAR FLARE!" Piccolo screamed as Frieza's eyes widened. A flash of brilliant light shot into the overlords eyes as he attempted to shield himself to no avail.
"Damn you, you insolent-" A fist collided against Frieza's face, and his scouter was smashed. In a rage, Frieza shot a huge energy ball in a direction he could only hope that his opponent was in, however, Piccolo dodged it and grabbed the Dragonball, flying away as fast as he possibly could.
Frieza rubbed his eyes, sneering in total rage and frustration.
"I will kill you!" He screamed after Piccolo.
"Ahh, if it isn't another one of Skriatch friends!" Zarbon said, looking down at Trokar. "He told me you're the strongest Saibamen. Tsk…" The handsome alien shook his head "Too bad I have to kill you. Men, attack and kill them both." Zarbons men rushed at Nail and Trokar. Nail easily disposed of the two men that had attacked him with a kick to the gut and a punch to the left temple. Both of them were unconscious.
Trokar blocked an attack from one and tanked one from the other. They were no match for the Saibamen however, and he grabbed ones arm as he attempted to punch him and threw the soldier into the other, sending them flying into a nearby mountainside. Zarbon clapped his hands and smiled.
"An excellent show. Lord Frieza tasked me with destroying this vessel, and I intend to do just that. Now see how you deal with a real warrior!" The blue alien said as he removed his scouted and took a fighting stance.
"This one is mine." Nail said to Trokar, leaving the Saibamen a bit disappointed. Zarbon quickly rushed at Nail who blocked his attack with his forearm. It hurt, but only a bit, and soon Nail was blocking a barrage of attacks from his opponent, waiting for the right time to strike. An opening presented itself when Nail blocked a left hook, and The Namek quickly took advantage of it by punching Zarbon straight in the chest. The impact sent Zarbon back a few meters, winded.
"That was… more than the others…" Zarbon attempted to say, referencing the strength of the other Namekians he had faced. Nail went in for a kick that was blocked by Zarbon as he punched Nail in the gut, flying back and rushing at the Namekian with another punch. Nail blocked it with his leg and backfilled once through the air, blasting a quick ki attack at Zarbon who shielded himself with both his arms. The impact damaged him, but he was still very ready to strike back. Zarbon attempted a right hook on Nail, who was slightly drained from his ki attack, however he successfully blocked it and punched Zarbon in the face, sending him flying backwards.
The blue alien quickly recovered and was surprised to find Nail had been chasing him, delivering a devastating right kick to Zarbons side, making him tumble to the side, writhing in his side.
Zarbon quickly took a defensive position as Nail barraged him with a flurry of kicks and punches that left Zarbon quickly drained. Zarbon used a quick ki attack to throw Nail off guard, catching the Namekian in his left shoulder, causing him to step back. Nail brushed it off and stood across from Zarbon, waiting for his next move.
"I can tell you aren't like the others." Zarbon said, panting slightly, knowing that he wasn't a match for this particular Namek. At least not in this current form. "You've forced me to reveal the beast to my beauty!" Zarbon shouted as he begin to transform. Not knowing exactly what was happening, Nail shielded himself, expecting some sort of energy attack. When the he realized there was no attack coming, Nail lowered his arms and stepped back, seeing Zarbon in a completely different way.
"What the…?" Nail whispered to himself.
"Haha, now you're screwed!" Zarbon chuckled, launching himself at Nail, punching the surprised Namekian in the stomach, causing him to stagger back in pain. Another punch was thrust at Nail, this time from the left, but Nail blocked it with his right arm and thrust his left arm towards Zarbons face. The beast caught his arm and attempted to kick Nail in the stomach, but Nail blocked the left leg with his right. Now in a very precarious position, both of the fighters let go of one another and flew back, staring their opponents down.
Nail broke eye contact and launched a flurry of punched that Zarbon blocked, although one got through and sent him flying backward. Nail took advantage of this opportunity and blasted a large ki attack towards his opponent. Zarbon saw the blast coming, but could not block or dodge.
"AGH!" The blast hit Zarbon directly in the chest, throwing him into a back flip and then on the ground, face first in the dirt. Nail walked up to him, grabbing onto one of his arms, however, Zarbon grabbed Nails throat and clenched down on it as hard as he could, lifting himself to his feet as he strangled the Namekian who could do nothing to stop Zarbon.
"Now you die!" Zarbon laughed, tightening his grip on Nails throat.
"No!" Trokar screamed as he slammed his left foot into Zarbons face, causing him to let go of Nails throat and stagger back a few feet. Trokar used his entire body to tackled Zarbons stomach, throwing him to the ground. Trokar slammed his fists into Zarbons chest, blood spurting from his mouth. As the Saibamen went for another strike, Zarbon swatted him away easily, struggling to get back on his feet. As soon as Zarbons head lifted, he saw that Nails finger was pointed towards his face.
"Fuck." A piercing beam was sent through Zarbons brain, and the beast fell to the ground.
Nail panted a bit and helped Trokar to his feet, the both of them heading back to the ship.
The two of them had only barely settled back into their spots when someone arrived, someone that Trokar had only seen once before.
"You… you look like Piccolo, who are you?" Goku asked Nail, who was just as confused as Goku was.
"I am Nail, a warrior of the Namekian people. And you are?" Nail asked, wondering who and why this person was here at all.
"I'm Goku, I'm here to find the Dragonballs, and my son."
"He isn't your son anymore, Goku." Piccolo said, touching down near the ship. "He hates you, and if you know what's good for you you'll leave this place now."
The tension in this moment was unbearable for everyone involved.
Goku desperately wanted to attack Piccolo, and clenched his fists in anger.
"I'm not here…" Goku looked away "to fight you." Piccolo shook his head and smirked.
"Good, because if you were, I'd have Gohan kill you." Goku held back all of his anger, trying not to attack the son of a bitch in front of him.
"We need to work together to beat him. You sensed it, I know, you almost fought him. We need to help each other." Goku explained trying to hold his composure. Piccolo didn't want to admit it, but it was true, he did need as much help as possible to defeat this powerful enemy, even if it meant he had to work with his arch nemesis.
"Fine, but don't expect a great big hug from Gohan." Piccolo said, turning his attention to Trokar. "Did you find anything?"
The Saibamen shook his head.
"We have some unconscious soldiers for questioning, if you'd like to speak with them." Nail asked, to which Piccolo nodded. One of the soldiers was hunched on the ship, looking up towards Piccolo as he knelt down to be at eye level with him.
"I'm not gonna tell you shit." The soldier said, staring Piccolo straight in the eyes. Piccolo only smirked.
"Trokar, bring me the other soldier." He ordered. Trokar complied and dragged the unconscious soldier to Piccolo, who laid him next to the soldier he was interrogating. "What's his name?"
The soldier looked confused. "Why the fuck do you care?"
"Tell me, or he dies."
"H-his name is Hix."
"So you do know his name…" Piccolo smirked, grabbing Hix's face and crushing it in his hands. Hix woke up momentarily and screamed before his head was crushed, blood spurting all over the other soldiers face.
Everyone in the vicinity looked away in horror, especially Goku, who was even more enraged than before.
"You BASTARD!" The soldier shouted, attempting to punch Piccolo in the chest. When it failed to do anything, he gave up and sat back. "Why? Why! He had a family!"
"Piccolo, why? He wasn't even a threat!" Goku shouted at him.
"Shut up Goku." Piccolo said "Now that's going to happen to you if you don't tell me right now where Frieza took the Dragonballs." The soldier looked over at Hix's crushed head and gulped, deciding that he would take his chanced with this sadistic Namekian.
"Th-they… The ship, Frieza's ship. Here, take this, it'll show you where it is." The soldier handed Piccolo a small device that looked a bit like a map, with a small dot that he could only theorize was where the ship could have been.
"Was that so hard?" Piccolo smiled, lifting the soldier up by the collar of his armor. Piccolo bared his teeth at the soldier, who cringed and panted in fear.
"Pathetic." Piccolo said as he threw the soldier to the ground, crushing his head beneath his foot.
Goku took a step forward.
"That's enough you bastard!" Goku shouted, having seen enough of Piccolo's malicious ways. "I can't take it, I'll kill you right here you sick twisted low life!"
"You'll have to go through me first you piece of shit!" Gohan said, quickly landing between a chuckling Piccolo and an enraged Goku, who stepped back in fear and astonishment. "No one lays a hand on my master, especially not you Goku!" Gohan began to power up, his vengeance was finally at hand.
What will happen now that Gohan finally has a chance to prove himself by attacking his father? Will Piccolo and Gohan be able to gather the rest of the Dragonballs? Find out next time on Piccolo's Choice!
Written By: Saucemonkey