Namek Saga - Part Eleven: Breaking Bad
When Dende and Nail had mentioned Guru, Tien was expecting to see a Namekian that was almost a complete mirror image of Kami. After all, if Guru was this revered by all Namekians and was, in Dende's words, 'like a god', then why wouldn't he look much different than Kami? In fact, it seemed to be a common thought between both Tien Shinhan and Son Gohan that the Namekian they'd soon be meeting would be a frail, old creature with a brilliant mind.
So, when Nail and Dende introduced Tien and Gohan to Guru, the expectations they'd created in their mind were swiftly shattered. Guru was old, yes, but frail?
If anything, Guru was the opposite of frail, as he was in fact a giant Namekian that was morbidly obese, to the point where Tien was wondering if the Grand Elder could even get out of his throne. At the same time, Guru looked to be at least three times the age of Kami, and the Earth's guardian had been around for a long time.
Wait...was Guru dead? He sure looked dead, what with the eyes being shut and the silence radiating from him. In fact, the entire throne room as a whole was deadly silent, and Tien was beginning to feel a bit-
"Grand Elder!" Dende squealed, bringing an end to the silence. Well, that was quick, Tien sarcastically thought to himself, reminding himself that kids rarely had the insight of realizing that a quiet room isn't always so bad.
"It is good to see you alive, youngling. So, you two are the visitors from Earth that have been instrumental in helping my sons live," Guru said, his booming voice echoing across the entire room. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Guru, the Grand Elder of Namek. It is good to meet you, Tien Shinhan and Son Gohan."
"How do you know who we are?" Gohan nervously questioned, and Tien could easily tell that the boy was spooked, probably because he hadn't been forewarned that this behemoth of a Namekian knew who the two earthlings were. Be calm, Gohan, if they were going to do anything to us, they'd have done it already, remember?
"Yes, I know both of you, and I know of not only your recent actions, but also your intentions," Guru replied, weakly smiling at the two earthlings. For some reason, Guru reminded Tien a bit of Master Roshi - both had that grandfatherly feeling to them, like they served as this kind, wise person for others to lean upon, especially in a time of hopelessness and despair. "I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for selflessly risking your lives to combat the intruders attacking our planet. For that, you have my eternal blessings and gratitude."
Blushing at the praise from the oldest Namekian, Tien bowed in Guru's presence. "It's nothing, Grand Elder, I'm sure anyone would have done the same thing when they saw people were in danger. If I may ask, though, how is it that you know of us?"
"I know that you two helped Moori and his people in their village, and I know that you risked your lives in the process," Guru explained, his eyes remaining shut, almost as if he was in the deepest of sleeps. "I shall have you know that Moori and his people retreated to another village, one with strong warriors that could protect them, but they all told me about you two before they departed."
Thanks, Moori, looks like I owe you one, Tien thought, grinning. "Like I said, it was nothing, just us doing the right thing. Now, I hate to be rude, but allow me to get to the point of why we're here. We came to Namek with intentions of using the Dragon Balls to revive friends of ours that were killed on Earth by a Saiyan, Grand Elder."
"A Saiyan?" Guru wondered out loud before breaking into a coughing fit. "I see. I was not expecting to hear that there were still Saiyans out there...I must admit, this is a noble wish, but how is it that you know of the Dragon Balls?"
Now, Gohan stepped forward. "We had two Namekians on Earth, G-Grand Elder...well, they were one, but they were split into two separate people - Kami, who was the Earth's guardian, and Piccolo, who was a fighter. Piccolo wasn't bad, though, just a little grumpy at times."
"Kami? Hmm, then the son of Katas seems to have survived our planet's cataclysm many years ago. This pleases me...there weren't many of us left," Guru recalled, smiling again despite another flurry of coughs. "I can tell that you are telling the truth, young one. Come here, child, I want to see what transpired with my own eyes."
Confused about if he should listen to Guru or not, Gohan stood in place until Tien bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be alright, Gohan. Just listen to Guru, alright? I trust him, and you should too."
Once the half-Saiyan reached the Grand Elder, Guru placed his massive, emerald hand on Gohan's head. "This will only take a minute or so, but clear your mind so that I can see what you two spoke of...interesting...hmm, interesting indeed...hmm…"
Raising an eyebrow, Tien looked over to Nail, who slyly shrugged at the triclops. "I have seen it all, and while I am sad to see the son of Katas is dead, the Dragon Balls will be able to bring him back with ease," Guru said, though he kept his giant hand on Gohan's head. "Do not walk away just yet, young one, I have a gift for you."
"A gift?" Gohan wondered, before he suddenly felt a presence unlike any other; it was like the Saiyan boy was peacefully drifting away, with those he loved and cared about standing alongside him. Bardock and Goku stood in their fighting gis, with the former in his blue and green and the latter in his orange and blue. Next to Goku stood Tien, dressed in his green fighting attire, while Chi-Chi, Ox King, and Krillin all wore the clothing they'd worn when Gohan saw him last.
"You've made me proud, kido," Bardock truthfully remarked, smirking in the child's direction. "Now, POWER UP AND SHOW EVERYONE WHAT YOU HAVE INSIDE OF YOU! DO IT NOW, GOHAN!"
With that, Gohan began to power up, but Goku and Bardock both shook their heads in disapproval. What am I doing wrong? Gohan wondered, continuing to increase his energy output as his fellow Saiyans kept shaking their heads.
"This is it, Gohan? I thought I raised someone more powerful," Goku muttered, tightening the blue sash around his fighting gi. "Where's the energy you showed against Raditz? How about against me and your grandfather in our training? You even took on one of Frieza's elites without any trouble, and this is all that you can do?"
"I let you skip studying for this?" screeched Chi-Chi, throwing Gohan's math book down to the ground. Ox King and Krillin said nothing, just looking on with glances of disappointment and frustration.
"I expected more, Gohan," criticized Tien, all three of his eyes shooting imaginary daggers at the monkey-tailed boy. His tiny fists balling together at the disapproval now from his human mentor, Gohan kept powering up, even letting loose an animal-like battle cry.
Memories flashed through Gohan's mind - the fight with Raditz, all of his training, watching Nappa and Vegeta both pummel his father's friends into nothing, more training, and Gohan was soon forced to watch every death he'd seen so far yet again. First, it was his uncle Raditz, then Piccolo, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe.
"You could have saved me, Gohan!" Chiaotzu cried as Vegeta obliterated him in a massive flash of light, with Yajirobe yelling the same exact thing (except exchanging the word Gohan for the term 'man') as he met his death. In fact, the deaths didn't stop, and neither did Gohan's power up, as he could feel the area around him start to shake.
"Gohan!" the boy heard, but just continued to power up. Every second, the voice would get louder and louder."Gohan! Gohan! Gohan! Gohan!"
"Gohan! Are you there or not?" Tien shouted, and now, the deaths stopped; replacing them was the concerned triclops, who stood in front of the half-Saiyan, waving his hand in front of the boy's face. Gohan's eyes fluttered, like he'd just awoken from a deep slumber that seemed to stretch for days upon days without any desire for it to end.
"He is here, young one, I just was unlocking his potential," Guru explained, lifting his massive hand off the boy's head. "Unfortunately, I was not able to unlock all of it, as it seems that there's a barrier of sorts - perhaps due to his age, but I unlocked as much of it as I possibly could."
"Thank you so much!" Gohan said, grateful for Guru's help in making him more powerful. Wow, wouldn't Gohan's father and grandfather be so impressed when they saw how powerful he was? "I really appreciate this!"
Guru did nothing but smile. "It is of no problem, young one. May you use the great power with great responsibility, and I only hope that-"
"I apologize for cutting you off, Grand Elder, but there is a major energy coming this way," Nail suddenly said, his entire body tensing as the words left his mouth. "I cannot tell if it is Frieza, but I advise everyone to not make any sudden moves."
For as loyal as he was to the Arcosian tyrant, Frieza, Zarbon was definitely tired of Namek and the planet where everything looked the exact same. Zarbon was tired of the Namekians being so difficult about the Dragon Balls, he was tired of the incompetence shown by his fellow soldiers (especially Dodoria, who somehow had went and gotten himself killed by Vegeta), and he was tired of all this hard work.
Why was it that Zarbon, an elite under Frieza, had to go out and do grunt work? Isn't this what they brought all of the soldiers to Namek for?
As Zarbon approached the outskirts of the village, the scene in front of him was very...odd, for a Namekian community. Sure, the Dragon Ball remained in the middle of town, gleaming brightly like a recently-polished trophy, but it seemed dead otherwise. There were no Nameks foolishly hiding in plain sight, no warriors waiting for the threat to approach their village.
Well, that wasn't entirely true, because there was a warrior in town, and that was just the Saiyan monkey, Vegeta. Indeed, Vegeta stood right near a rock wall, pummelling an armored soldier - Zarbon couldn't tell who it was from this distance - while another soldier, Appule, laid unconscious (and possibly dead) not too far away.
Insubordination from Vegeta in the form of assaulting other soldiers? Well, I may as well mark that on Vegeta's list of offenses, jokingly thought Zarbon, noticing the bloodied corpse of another soldier near the Dragon Ball, with another corpse - that of Appule's lead enforcer, Goose - not much further away.
Now, Zarbon could hear Vegeta mocking the soldier, taunting him with something about a weakling beating a Saiyan elite. There is no such thing as a Saiyan Elite left, Vegeta, didn't you know that? The idea of a Saiyan Elite died with the rest of your race, moron. Perhaps that lesson in re-education may actually need a bit of...education.
Having seen enough of Vegeta kick the armored soldier's face over and over again, Zarbon decided to make his presence known...by landing and lightly tapping the prince on his shoulder.
"Vegeta, I see that you've managed to keep busy by massacring some of your comrades," Zarbon happily greeted, sarcastically smiling at the flame-haired Saiyan that had reported to him for twenty five or so years. "Hello there, monkey, I'd like to thank you for finding a Dragon Ball for us! Perhaps Lord Frieza was right in keeping you alive all of those years!"
While Vegeta growled, Zarbon took note of the armored soldier that the Saiyan prince had been so excited to beat the hell out of. A scarred, black-haired humanoid that wore unfamiliar clothing underneath his standard issue Planet-Trade Organization armor, this soldier was near-dead, barely clinging to life by the thinnest of strings. Though something seemed off about this soldier, Zarbon pushed that thought aside as he began to wonder what the scar-faced bastard could have possibly done to warrant Vegeta making him into his own personal punching bag.
"It looks like you're in need of some assistance," Zarbon muttered, failing to recognize the armored fighter that lay beneath him. Perhaps this was a new recruit that had been assigned to follow Appule? No, that couldn't be right, since Appule directly reported to Zarbon and the teal-skinned elite would have been notified of a crew change. What Zarbon did recognize, though, was the man's swollen face and the way his cheek had been nearly caved in.
"My, this is nothing but savagery that you've inflicted on him. Vegeta, I hope you realize that this is nearly as bad in terms of brutality as what you did to Dodoria is," the elite said, ignoring the confused expression on the prince's face. Pressing a button on his scouter, Zarbon connected to one of his subordinates.
"Doctor Strock, I need a medical crew sent to my location as soon as possible. I have two soldiers in our army badly beaten - one of them is Appule, and another is a soldier I don't recognize. Still, they managed to fight Vegeta for one of the Dragon Balls, so send a crew over to bring them back to the ship."
"Of course, commander," Strock, a soldier with medical experience that was manning the med-bay, replied. "Medical chamber for each one, yes? Or are we sending one of them to the infirmary?"
"Both for the medical chamber, doctor, thank you," Zarbon said, ending the transmission and giving his attention back to the flame-haired prince. "Well, Vegeta, not only do I have clear evidence you assaulting two soldiers, but word through the scouter is that you killed a third and possibly a fourth, those being the two corpses over there. Insubordination is something we don't tolerate, and I thought you knew that."
"What makes you think I'm going to let you take these two back to Frieza's ship?" Vegeta asked, wiping a blood that his prey had spat onto him earlier off his tan face. "By the time your people get here, you won't be alive, and they won't either."
See, this was why after years of nearly begging, Zarbon was definitely going to take advantage of the long-awaited opportunity that Lord Frieza had finally given him by green-lighting the near-death of Vegeta - the Saiyan prince was rude, disrespectful, insubordinate, and lacked the intelligence to know that Zarbon was an elite under Frieza for a reason. Oh, was Zarbon going to enjoy pummeling him into the ground until the monkey was in worse shape than he'd left Dodoria; the best part of it, though, was that Vegeta wouldn't be given the ability to be put out of his misery at the end. "I wouldn't worry about that, Vegeta. As I mentioned earlier, I believe we need to have a conversation, monkey."
"I have nothing to say to you, Zarbon," Vegeta replied, spitting on his superior's boots and crossing his arms. "Shouldn't you be off polishing Frieza's boots, or complimenting him on his horns? Hell, since Frieza's so hell-bent on finding these damn balls, I think you'd be the best person to assist him with that...it's your specialty, wouldn't you say, pretty boy?"
"Ah, Vegeta, you never cease to amaze me with your ferocious insults. You remind me so much of your father in that regard," Zarbon taunted, reveling at the now furious prince's hardened glare. Ah, how Zarbon absolutely loved infuriating Vegeta with references to the extinct Saiyan culture, especially when it came time to mention the late King Vegeta. "At first, I was going to actually give you two options: give yourself up and face no punishment - from me, at least - or fight you if you chose to keep fighting, but insubordination and insulting those who rank higher than you is unacceptable."
"Commander Zarbon, it's Captain Peache," a voice said through the scouter, nearly stopping Zarbon mid sentence. "I've come across a group of Namekians, as well as a light-skinned, blue-haired woman that resembles the triclops we encountered with Lord Frieza; they were trying to stay hidden from myself and my crew as we were heading back to the ship. One of them tried attacking me, but we were able to incapacitate him and he's out cold right now. Would you prefer that I eliminate them all, or bring them back to the ship?"
More Namekians? A humanoid who resembles that ignorant triclops? Perhaps the blue-haired woman is working with the triclops, Zarbon thought, keeping his eyes locked on the flame-haired Vegeta. "Captain, I want you and your crew to bring every single one of them to the cells. Make sure that the blue-haired woman is in a separate one, however, I'd like to speak with her on my own. If I find out that any of them died, especially the woman, then I promise you and your men will be paying the price in a hefty fashion. Is this clear?"
"Speaking with her on your own? I can't say I thought you'd ever stoop to the level of rape, Zarbon," Vegeta pointed out, disgusted with what Zarbon had just implied. For as cruel and sadistic of a person that Vegeta was, something he'd happily admit without any attempts at conflicting it, rape and anything close to that were never things he was ever a big fan of; the same went for Raditz and Nappa - in the Saiyan culture, rape was a huge offense, one that warranted a cruel, slow death because it meant you lacked character.
The Saiyans may have been pretty shitty people by the looks of things, but not one of them stood for rape or any sort of sexual abuse. Part of why Vegeta had detested Zarbon and Dodoria from a young age, in fact, was the way they'd handle female prisoners, especially the ones locked away in the mines. Only weaklings stoop that low, Vegeta remembered his father telling him one day. Never let yourself fall prey to something like that, my son.
The cocky smirk remaining on his face, Zarbon stepped forward and gracefully smacked the prince across his face. "After what you did to Dodoria, you have no right to be talking about stooping down to levels. You disgusting, filthy, monkey!"
Holding his face, Vegeta still raised an eyebrow. "What I did to Dodoria? What the hell are you blabbering about, Zarbon? I haven't seen Dodoria since I landed on this planet! The only people I even saw that weren't Namekians are Appule's men, and well, they're dead or close to it." There's also the earthling, but I'm not going to get into that so Frieza can find out about it and try to purge that planet. No...that planet is mine to deal with, after all of this is done.
"So, you mean to tell me that it wasn't you that mutilated Dodoria?" questioned Zarbon, not buying anything Vegeta said just yet; he was a monkey, and monkeys loved to save their tails by lying! "It wasn't you that left Dodoria, his face smashed in and all, in a stream? I believe that you are lying, Vegeta."
"Then you're blind, Zarbon. Believe me, I'm just as angry as you, because I wanted to be the one that put that fat shit out of his misery," Vegeta shot back. "You and I both know that had I been the one to kill Dodoria, I'd be telling you I did it; a time like that would have needed a celebration - we both understand that."
Zarbon seemed deep in thought, so Vegeta chose to continue. "Dodoria was next on my list after I found a Dragon Ball, with you and Frieza shortly to follow. Believe me, I'll be happy to give you twice as hard of a death than I would have given Dodoria if I'd been the one to kill him!"
His tense stance easing up, Zarbon realized that perhaps Vegeta was telling the truth. I hate to admit it, but he's right. If he killed Dodoria, he'd own up to it in a heartbeat. "Very well then, Vegeta, but I'm willing to bet that you know who would have killed Dodoria. After all...we found a Saiyan."
Upon hearing the word Saiyan, Vegeta's eyes grew to the size of saucers. Though Vegeta may have been more skeptical in the past, especially when it was Zarbon who'd just mentioned it, the Saiyan prince also had to factor in that it may not have been a complete lie. If Scarface was here, then there's no way he and blue came alone. They would have needed more backup, meaning…
"Goin' somewhere, prince?" a voice asked. His body aching, Vegeta slowly brought his head up to meet Bardock's stare, one that would scare fear into most people. Bardock's eyes were narrowed, but there was a feral aspect to them, like an animal about to rip its prey into tiny pieces.
"What the hell…do you want…scum?" Vegeta asked, though the prince was clearly aware that he was in no condition to fight. Vegeta was awaiting his pod's arrival, because if it didn't come soon, there was a good chance he'd be in a world of hurt…or dead. More than likely the latter option, in fact, especially with Bardock looking quite feral and ready to feast on Vegeta.
"You came to this planet with the intent of killing my son and I, kidnapping my grandson, and purging a planet for the sick tyrant that rules you and destroyed our planet and race. You expect me to let you live?" Bardock shouted, pointing a finger at Vegeta, who lay in the dirt, unable to move. This entire time, Bardock had been going on and on about how he was going to kill Vegeta, but all he'd actually done was play the part of a neutered warrior that didn't know who we was anymore.
"You won't kill me! You've gone soft, Bardock, and you're an embarrassment to the Saiyan race!" Vegeta scoffed, refusing to give in even as blood started to run down his chest. "If you want to kill me, then fine, kill me. You'll achieve nothing out of it!" Vegeta stood up, shaking as he did so as his knees threatened to give out, but the prince stood firm.
"Fine. You can join your bastard of a father in Hell!" Bardock said, putting his hand out in front of him, a blue ball forming in it. "Goodbye, Vegeta."
"Bardock…" growled Vegeta, clenching both of his fists together. Of course it had to have been Bardock! None of the other earthlings would have been even close to killing Dodoria, and even if they were, they were too soft to kill someone that brutally. What, was Kakarot going to kill Dodoria with kindness and make some kind of burial grave for him?
And, if Bardock was here, then the Dragon Ball hunt just became even more of a priority for Vegeta. There was no way that Vegeta was going to allow the father of Kakarot and Raditz to take the wish that the prince deserved. "That...low-class...shit for brains. It must've been him!"
Confused, Zarbon cocked his head to the side. "It must've been who, Vegeta? If you know who killed Dodoria, or you think that you know, then tell me. If you do that, then I'll allow you to kill him; I'll tell every single one of my men, as well as Lord Frieza, to back off and let you take care of the job."
It all makes sense, Vegeta thought, choosing to ignore Zarbon, who the Saiyan knew was bullshitting him, for the time being. Then, once Vegeta looked at Yamcha again, everything began clicking into place. Bardock must've come here with Scarface, the blue woman, and likely the brat that Nappa and I tried recruiting after Raditz died. At some point, Bardock saw Dodoria, and tore into him because of Frieza destroying our planet.
For a second, Vegeta slightly chuckled at Bardock's bravado. At least it was a Saiyan who put that blob out of commission, I'll give him that much. But, I'm going to make sure that low-class moron Bardock will pay the price for taking my kill away! It was my destiny to kill Dodoria, Zarbon, and Frieza, and he will not be getting off with taking part of that away from me!
"I'm not telling you anything, Zarbon. Who it was and what I'm going to do with them isn't any of your business, nor will you even be around to see it," Vegeta remarked, his body suddenly filled with complete anger and fury. "I'm going to kill you before I let that piece of shit even come close to locating where you are! It's my destiny to end you and Frieza, not anyone else's!"
Before Zarbon could try enquiring, yet again, who it was that murdered Dodoria, Vegeta reared his fist back and sent it flying into the pretty boy's face. Staggering back, Zarbon was unable to stop Vegeta from smashing his head into Frieza's elite soldier's cranium; blinded briefly by the hit, Zarbon tried to counter back with a punch of his own, but Vegeta caught him mid-attack and sent the closed hand back in Zarbon's direction.
"Gah!" Zarbon cried, nearly falling to the ground and just barely managing to stay upright on his feet. Wiping blood away, Zarbon tossed his dark blue cape to the side, reminding himself to wash it after taking out Vegeta. "So, you want to fight, monkey?"
"Fight you? No, I want to make you suffer."
With both arms extended, Bardock kept up his pursuit of Gohan and Tien after finally having located them with his ki sensing ability. The two were smart, keeping their energies suppressed to the point where a scouter wouldn't find them, and it was for this that Bardock was grateful he'd even learned how to detect energy. Thanks, Kakarot, for teaching me something useful.
"They're safe, for now," noted Bardock, internally grateful that both of their energy levels still even existed while being on the same planet as Frieza and, likely, Zarbon. "From now on, I may have to keep an eye on Gohan and make sure he doesn't get too far from me...wait a minute, I'm not his parent."
Shaking his head at such a kind-hearted thought, Bardock sped up a bit and noticed a giant building not too far off in the distance. "That must be where they are, and if not...why not ask and see if anyone's noticed a half-Saiyan and a triclops? Besides, it's not like I'm working with
With how fast the scarred Saiyan was flying, it wasn't much later that Bardock touched down on the surface. Considering how normal the rest off the other Namekian villages looked, the time-traveler presumed that this building must have been similar to a castle or a throne; it was definitely something royal, that was for sure.
Suddenly, Bardock heard footsteps from behind him. Turning around, Bardock was face-to-face with another one of these Namekians, but this one didn't quite have the look of 'help me, Frieza is going to kill me' that he figured all the Nameks had been wearing since the tyrant made his way to their planet. Maybe he's the one who lives here?
"Who are you?" questioned a Namekian that eerily resembled Piccolo, the one that Kakarot had been training with and the one that Nappa killed back on Earth. This wasn't Piccolo, was it? "How did you manage to find this place?"
"I used the wonderful gift of flying, ki sensing, and more flying, you see," Bardock retorted, not at all intimidated by the Namekian's attempts to be scary. Didn't the green man realize that Bardock wasn't working with Frieza and therefore didn't need to be talked down to? "Listen, Namek, don't worry, I'm not here to kill anyone or come for your Dragon Ball. All I'm doing is trying to find someone, alright? Small boy, about five or so years old, he's got a tail and is dressed in orange and blue, you seen him?
Nail remained quiet, only crossing his arms. "My name is Nail, first off. Second, I will not be telling you anything."
"And that'd be because…?"
"Well, you know that I'm a Namekian, you smell like blood and appear to have it on your hands, and I get an awful, malevolent, vibe from you," Nail replied, not scared in the slightest of Bardock. If he was anywhere close to the typical power level of Frieza's men - even the elites, in fact - then Nail wouldn't have any problems ridding this man from the dimension of the living. "Who are you? One of Frieza's men?"
Malevolent? If only you knew the half of it, sarcastically thought Bardock, glaring at the Namek. "Alright, Big Green, I tried to be nice, so here's the deal. I'm not one of Frieza's men, not anymore; all I am is a man looking for his grandson, and anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that before I blast my way in there."
Tossing away his vest, Nail bent his knees and entered a Namekian fighting stance. "If you think you're going to get in here without a fight, then I'd reconsider. I know why you're here, and I promise that as long as there's breath in my body, you will not enter."
"That's fine, I could use a good fight," Bardock replied, getting into his own fighting stance and locking eyes with his opponent. Bardock hadn't really sparred with Piccolo on Earth, so this was the first time that the time-traveler would have the experience of dueling a Namekian; lord knew the last time Bardock had been actually excited - though Dodoria might have argued that - for a fight that didn't involve another Saiyan.
Before the two could fight, however, their standoff was interrupted by a joyful squeal. "Grandpa!" Gohan cheerfully exclaimed, ignoring the shouting Tien from inside. It had only been a few hours since the two had last seen one another - though it felt like much, much longer than two hours - but this was a time of crisis, and Gohan had been afraid that something had happened to his awesome grandfather.
Shit, the kid sure seems happy to see me, Bardock thought, crouching down to awkwardly pet his grandson's head. In a situation like that, chances are most people might have been a bit confused to see a grown man pet a small child's head as if he was a young puppy, but after knowing Bardock and his...weird ways of acting...Gohan had grown accustomed to it.
Still in a fighting stance, Nail slowly lowered his arms. "This...is your grandson? Gohan, you know this man?" Gohan nodded in response, which allowed Nail to give a sigh of relief. "Well, it seems I may have made a mistake in being so ready to fight."
"I wouldn't worry about it. Hell, you were defensive for a reason, what with everything that's going on and all," Bardock commented, breaking from his own fighting stance and reverting back into more of a casual look. "Though, I would have happily fought you..."
Nail didn't find the joke to be all that funny, so Bardock figured he'd change the subject. "Well, you know Gohan and I'd assume Tien, so I get the feeling that you can be trusted-"
As he spoke, Bardock suddenly sensed how powerful Gohan had become in the...hours...it'd been since he last saw his grandson. Nearly falling over in astonishment and disbelief, Bardock's eyes widened at the massive boost in Gohan's energy. "Shit, kid, how'd you get so strong? I think you're stronger than Vegeta at this point, Gohan...but how? Did you have some magic fruit or something?"
Rolling his eyes at Bardock's vulgar language, something else that Gohan had began getting used to over time, Gohan pointed his tiny index finger at the building next to them. "In there is the Namekian Grand Elder, grandpa, and he unlocked my hidden potential. All he had to do was touch me, and I became stronger in a heartbeat! He's really nice, grandpa!"
Touch him? Really nice? Elder? What the fuck is the kid talking about? Bardock thought, misinterpreting Gohan's words at first. "Wait, what'd you say? He touched you and you got stronger?"
Neither Nail or Gohan caught onto what Bardock was implying, so Gohan decided to act like nothing at all was wrong. "Well, the Grand Elder is this massive and really old Namek, even older than Kami! When Tien and I met him, he was really nice and put his hand on my head, and the next thing I know, I became stronger!"
"That's how the Grand Elder unlocks potential, though it's been a while since he's really done it," Nail nonchalantly confirmed. "To tell you the truth, it's the first time in a long time since I've seen him do it. It's quick and painless - your grandson came out of it fine, and much stronger, in fact."
Horrified at the admissions by both Gohan and Nail, Bardock felt nothing but a desire to slowly make the Grand Elder pay for what he did to his grandson. "Where's the Grand Elder, Gohan? I think that me and him need to have a bit of a talk…"
A short walk upstairs later, Bardock was face-to-face with a massive Namekian that looked to have eaten every single planet that the time-traveling Saiyan had ever purged in the name of Frieza...and their star systems as well. I don't think I've ever seen anyone this fat. How is he even still alive? What part of the galaxy have I landed in where a creature could be this fat and still be alive!?
"You're the Namekian Grand Elder, huh? You mind explaining to me what you did to Gohan?" Bardock questioned, barging into the giant slug's room without even bothering to knock or show any form of respect. Silly Bardock, didn't he have any idea what kind of great, mystical being that he was talking to? "What's this about you touching him and making him more powerful?"
All that Bardock received back was a knowing smile, one of those smiles that Kakarot was so prone to giving him back on Earth. "All I did for Gohan was use an ancient Namekian technique to unlock his hidden power, specifically his fighting power. It was a harmless, quick usage of my power and, as I'm sure that you can tell, he's become much stronger than he was a short time ago."
"Bardock, I promise Gohan was, and is, fine," Tien added, starting to worry that the Goku look-alike might go bat-shit crazy again. Of all times for him to even consider doing that, this would have been the absolute worst time of them all, especially when they were so close to getting the Dragon Balls. "If it was anything bad, you know that I would have interfered and stopped it."
Bardock kept his eye on Guru, but nodded at Tien as a way of saying, "I'll take your word for it, but only for now until I find out what's going on," which, in reality, wasn't a bad idea. "If you're serious, then alright...I just wanted to make sure that Gohan was alright and in good hands. I trust you, Tien, you've given me no reason not to."
"Do not worry about this, young one," Guru calmly stated, like there hadn't been an extremely angry Saiyan in front of him just seconds prior. "Now, who are you? You show concern about Gohan, so I assume you are connected to him in some way?"
"Yeah, you could say that. So, I guess you know Gohan and Tien, so I'll introduce myself. The name's Bardock - I'm a Saiyan warrior from the planet Vegeta, or Vegetasei, and I'm the grandfather to Gohan over here," Bardock said, fighting the urge to smirk when he saw Nail's embarrassed look. I told you I wasn't here to kill any of you, asshole.
"I once worked under Frieza as a high-ranking soldier in the low-class division of Saiyans, but I ended my...relationship...with him after he ordered an ambush on my crew, destroyed my planet, and killed my wife," Bardock continued, his voice almost cracking at the thought of Gine dying with his planet. Stay strong, Bardock, she's gone. "Somehow, I was transported twenty five years into the future, where I met my son, Kakarot, and Gohan on planet Earth."
"Grand Elder, I'll vouch for Bardock here and tell you that he's not a bad guy," Tien spoke up, wanting to make sure the spiky-haired Saiyan wasn't kicked out of Guru's home for no reason. "Despite working for Frieza, Bardock's been committed to changing his life and he even helped defend Earth against the Saiyans that we mentioned."
Quietly flashing a 'thank you' thumbs up to Tien Shinhan, Bardock turned back to Nail and the Grand Elder. "Before you ask, I fought the Saiyans because they were a threat to...my family. Funny, right? A Saiyan that actually fights for his family, not just for the thrill of the battle. Now, I'm here on Namek in large part because I want to prevent Frieza from winning again, the same way that asshole won when he destroyed my race and my planet."
"You sound like a noble Saiyan, Bardock, and I commend you for your honesty," Guru said, actually managing not to break into a coughing fit; Bardock couldn't believe it, sarcastically thinking to himself that the apocalypse was near in light of Guru's ability to keep himself together. "Now, I sensed your power as you approached, and I admit that it is extraordinarily powerful for a Saiyan. You're not the Super Saiyan, are you?"
The Super Saiyan? Damn I wish I was, Bardock told himself, nearly laughing at the thought. "Well, I hope to be the Super Saiyan one day, but I'm not the Super Saiyan right now. Hell, I don't even know if there is a Super Saiyan, to tell you the truth. I used to have a serious ambition to be one - and I definitely still do - but there are some other things that take a bit of priority over finding out if a legend is true or not."
Guru weakly smiled at Bardock, and Nail bit his lip. "I understand, Bardock, and I once again apologize for my behavior outside. I've been very on edge since all of this began."
"Don't worry 'bout it," Bardock said, waving off Guru's protector and aide. "I owe you an apology too, I guess. I shouldn't have been so angry, I just wanted to make sure that the boy was alright. Family's family, after all."
"Understood. So, before you arrived, we were talking about what to do about Frieza and the Dragon Balls," Nail said, hate showing in his tone at the mention of the Arcosian tyrant that'd murdered most of the Namekian population. "We've been trying to figure out exactly what to do, but all we have established so far is that we need to get the Dragon Balls and he has at least five of them by the looks of things."
"See, here's the thing," Bardock said, earning everyone's undivided attention. "The longer we sit, and 'plan', and hesitate, the more Frieza and his cronies win. When I say sit, I mean sitting and talking about things without making a legitimate plan, that's not going to work. Right now, we happen to have the edge on them because of the fact that we have a Dragon Ball, meaning he can't achieve his wish just yet, but that's not enough."
Closing his eyes, Nail nodded, approving of what Bardock was saying. "So what are you suggesting we do? You said it best - you're the one with the most experience here and you know how he operates better than any of us do."
"The way I see it, we need some sort of distraction, some way to get the Dragon Balls from Frieza and his men," Bardock suggested, sighing when he saw the worried looks from those listening. "It's suicide, I know, but this is what we have to do to not just defeat them, but to survive. If we can find a way to get the Dragon Balls, then we'll be fine. My guess is that he's keeping them in his ship, and I know the layout of ships like that since I spent some time in them."
"With all due respect, Bardock, we need to do more than that," Tien responded, letting loose a sigh of his own. "I know you have plenty of history with them, but you're underestimating what we're going up against; we saw an entire legion of his men earlier, and he has much more of them. This isn't ten random guys he got out of nowhere..."
Scoffing, Bardock placed a reassuring hand on Tien's shoulder. "The typical Frieza foot soldier, unless he's changed things over the years, has a power level just a bit higher than what the Saibamen were when you guys fought them on Earth. We saw that with the two who ambushed us, remember? They're all weaklings, Tien, I know this."
"Well, if that's the case then we're fine, but that's not just all we'd have to deal with," Tien reminded Bardock, frowning. "In addition to Frieza, there's the guy in the cape, and the pink blob that we were getting chased by. Spiky guy, looked a bit like a woman with all that lipstick, I think Frieza referred to him as like Dodo...Dodori...Dodoria? Yeah, Dodoria."
Upon the mention of Dodoria, Bardock froze in place. They don't know about Dodoria yet...that's why they've been so calm towards me. If they had known what I did to him, then there's no way they'd have been this cool with me.
"Grandpa Bardock, is everything alright?" Gohan questioned, tugging at his grandfather's pant leg. Once he noticed Bardock daydreaming again, the half-Saiyan boy began to fear that his grandfather was going to go crazy again, and Gohan wasn't ready for another Bardock explosion.
"I...wouldn't worry about Dodoria," Bardock lamely explained, putting a hand behind his head in a fashion not unlike what Goku would typically do. Wonderful, I'm turning into Kakarot and adopting his mannerisms. Fan. Freaking. Tastic. You may as well put me in orange and blue to complete the damn transformation at this point.
"And that would be because….?" Tien asked, confused at first before the realization hit him like a wall of bricks. So, that's why Bardock's fingernails looked to be permanently stained with a dark shade of crimson! The realization seemed to hit Gohan too, who simply stared at the ground and softly whispered what sounded like reassuring words to himself.
"Ah...well, I won't ask any questions," Tien muttered quietly, reminding himself to find out exactly what happened after Bardock went crazy and flat out murdered those two Frieza soldiers (who, in actuality, deserved what they got). "That's one less problem on our agenda...you are sure that he's dead, right? Like we're not going to have a Vegeta problem on our hands?"
"Well, Tien, if he wakes up, then he has a durability rivaled by none," Bardock replied in an annoyed tone that said 'I'll feel free to discuss this later with you later but now is not the time'. Now fully understanding the tone, seeing as he'd often used it with Chiaotzu, Tien simply nodded and decided to change the subject.
"Alright, so as of right now our plan is this: I will go to Frieza's ship and cause a distraction, enough for Frieza to send his men our way," Tien began, making sure that the plan made sense. When he saw Bardock's nod of approval, Tien took it as a cue to continue. "When that happens, I'll use the Multiform technique as a way of taking them all down. As that happens, Bardock and Gohan will sneak through the ship and retrieve the Dragon Balls."
Imagining the look on Frieza's face when he saw a Saiyan - no, two Saiyans - stealing his Dragon Balls, Bardock smirked in sheer excitement. "I like this plan a lot. We're going to need a place to stash the Dragon Balls, though...any of you have a suggestion? I know you mentioned the cave earlier, but I don't know if that'd be too obvious."
Shyly, Gohan raised his hand. "What about underwater, like near the ship? They'd be expecting us to put it some place really far away, right? If we put it somewhere close, at least for a little bit, then maybe that'd work."
As soon as the words left Gohan's mouth, both Tien and Bardock felt their jaws drop open in amazement. The idea of putting the Dragon Balls close to the ship when Frieza would expect them on the other side of the planet was a cherry on top to the plan as a whole, and Bardock absolutely loved it. What an amazing way to cap off sending a middle finger in Frieza's direction, even if it was suicide.
"Gohan, you're brilliant," praised Bardock, uncharastically ruffling his grandson's hair. "When we approach the ship, we'll keep an eye out for a deep body of water nearby that would be perfect for the Dragon Balls. The way I see it, we should all split up as soon as we have the Dragon Balls and only put them underwater when the coast is clear."
"This is a fantastic plan, my friends," Nail admitted, and the strongest Namekian warrior was actually quite surprised by how smart these three were. Sure, Nail knew they were powerful, but this smart? Especially after his encounter with Bardock outside, Nail hadn't been expecting too much from the Saiyan, but he was proving to have quite a mind. "You all know what you're doing, that much is for sure."
"Actually, Nail, that brings up the question of what you'll be doing here. I know that you have a job here guarding Guru, Nail, but will you be assisting us right now?" Tien inquired, not at all shocked when the Piccolo doppleganger shook his head. We've all got jobs to do, and I can't take him away from what he has to do.
"As much as I would like to help you three, my duty remains protecting Guru," Nail said, faintly smiling Tien's way. "In a time of crisis like this, I cannot abandon my post and leave Guru open to the threat of being killed."
Again, Gohan timidly raised his hand. "What about the other Namekians? I know they're not really fighters, but maybe they could help us with the distraction? Even if it's just yelling or something, it'd be a big help."
"Namekians causing distractions, huh?That's not too bad of an idea, kid," Nail kindly complimented. "I'll tell you guys what - I will get in touch with Moori now and ask him his thoughts on that idea. If he wants go through with it, and I have a feeling he will out of gratitude to you three, then I'll explain how to get there."
"And that would be...where?" inquired Bardock, still confused as to why the Namekian people had to be so vague. For great ape's sake, hadn't this Nail learned that Tien, Gohan and Bardock...well, Tien and Gohan, could be trusted?
Not to Bardock's surprise, Nail kept a close eye on the scarred Saiyan. "It's a hidden Namekian temple, well off from most of the villages. We once kept our Dragon Balls there, but soon decided to keep them in the villages for ease."
"Sounds good, thank you, Nail," Tien replied, pleased at how things had turned out. Again, Bardock had proven to be a genius when it came to combat, even if he was pretty arrogant and cocky. "Alright, so we have our plan, we have our safe place for the Dragon Balls, and we might have some backup coming in the form of the Namekians. Any questions?"
"I have one," Gohan said, innocently smiling. "Do we have a name for this plan? Like...how about 'Getting the Balls?'"
The next sound anyone could hear for the next three minutes (well..thirty seconds, but it sure felt like three minutes) was Bardock smashing his head against the wall in pure embarrassment. What did I do to deserve this?
For as stoic and emotionless as he was, Piccolo couldn't help but feel speechless at the words that had left Daimao's mouth. It was like something out of a bad dream, except it was a dream Piccolo had been having for years now and it was coming to life.
"I know that there's a chance," Daimao had said, "and I know that you're going to be revived by Son Goku and those feeble earthlings - the Dragon Balls are too important for them to let go of, so they'll find a way to revive you. But, once you return to Earth, you won't be you anymore…we'll...we will be the Demon King."
Daimao had been completely serious about it, and that was the part that disturbed his son the most. Never before had Piccolo seen someone so hell-bent and determined to get their way - hell, even Nappa and Vegeta weren't this crazy about their desire to bring Goku's kid back with them - and what normally would have been a begrudging sense of respect (in its own weird way, of course) was replaced by a feeling of hatred for his father.
"Nothing to say, Piccolo? Then I'm going to make the assumption that you're considering fusing with me," Daimao casually remarked, almost as if he found the conversation between father and son to be completely normal. "Don't you understand what could come out of us combining our powers? We would be the most feared being in the universe!"
Piccolo remained silent, moving only to wipe the violet-colored blood off his forehead. "I understand how this must feel, I do, but you must understand that it is necessary. The Demon King line will die with you unless we combine our talents, Piccolo! Imagine all that we can do, my son!"
"I don't care about what we can do," Piccolo finally spat, tightly clenching his green-skinned fists together. Though the idea of power had been an intriguing one at first, Piccolo wanted nothing to do with being a slave to his father's whim and desires to rule Earth. "What I care about is the here and now, and that's me walking away as my own self, not a puppet like the other demons you created!"
Rubbing his fingers together, Daimao closed his eyes and sighed. "You're making a grave mistake, boy, and don't be so quick to insult your brothers. After we fuse, you'll have the pleasure of meeting them and calling them your...our...allies in battle. They're not the most intelligent, I admit, but they make up for that with loyalty."
"Listen, I want you to get this into your brain: I'm not going to let you even come close to fusing with me," Piccolo yelled, sharply sliding his elbow into his father's emerald-colored chest. "I had to fight for a long time to rid you from my mind, and I'll be damned if I let you back in. Got it, old man?"
Coughing up biles of purple blood, Daimao locked eyes with his son and mumbled something to himself. If I remember correctly, all I have to do is beat him to near death and then remind him that death in this realm means him dying for good. After that, he'll have no choice but to fuse with me!
"Fine, Piccolo, this is how we're going to do things, then," Daimao said, letting out an animal-like howl as he lunged at his son, throwing a right fist into the wise Namekian's gut; unsurprisingly, Piccolo met the fist with a counter of his own, but Daimao smartly gave a sweep with his leg and knocked his opponent to the ground.
Silently, Daimao then grabbed Piccolo's leg in an attempt to likely throw him into one of the nearby rock plateaus, yet the dead Namek realized this and decided to respond in the best way he knew how - fighting fire with fire. Once Daimao tightened his grip on his opponent's ankle, Piccolo let two thin beams from his eyes fire and make a connect hit with Daimao's head, nearly blowing off the demon's right ear in the process.
"GAH! You...jackass," Daimao complained, suddenly feeling lightheaded and almost ready to pass out from the buzzing feeling he felt. Nervous that Piccolo had completely destroyed his ear, Daimao began instinctively feeling the side of head to make sure his pointed ear was still in place.
With his father momentarily distracted, Piccolo decided to take advantage, jumping at his father and burying his fist inside the man's stomach, twisting it in an effort to make the Demon King suffer. Once Daimao doubled over, desperately gasping for breath, Piccolo raised both hands above his head.
"Demon King or not, you're making a mistake fighting the most powerful Namekian in the universe," Piccolo boasted as a bright energy began forming in both of his dark-green palms. "Now, I want you to see just how much of a critical flaw you've made, Daimao."
Thrusting both hands forward, Piccolo sent the energy attack straight at his furious father. "MASENKO HAHHHH!"
Even with the buzzing noise still filling his head, Daimao was aware of his surroundings enough to move into a defensive position. "No chance, Piccolo!" Daimao replied, crossing both arms in an x-like fashion as a means of protecting himself from Piccolo's flash of energy. Luckily for Piccolo, Daimao had crossed his arms just a second too late, and the blast hit the goblin-like creature full on, knocking him into a massive rock wall.
Hell echoed with the sound of rocks breaking and the ground shaking, but Piccolo knew that his Masenko hadn't been enough to defeat Daimao just yet. It was a powerful move that had been a direct hit, which Piccolo was happy about, but Daimao was too durable to die from a simple energy wave.
"Come on, Demon King, show me what you got. I want to be able to walk away from this fight knowing that I fought a worthy opponent, not one that was nothing more than a pushover," Piccolo mocked, raising his voice loud enough so that his father could hear him all the way across the battlefield. "So, come on...let me see why Goku and his friends were oh so afraid of Demon King Piccolo."
Well, all Piccolo had to do was ask, because the next thing he received was Daimao sprinting at him and firing a a massive, bright energy attack from his bloodied mouth; when Piccolo expectedly dodged it, Daimao used his opponent's movement to his benefit and delivered a powerful uppercut to the Namekian's jaw. For as powerful as Piccolo was, even he would be feeling the aftereffects of a jaw punch later on, especially when it came from someone who knew just where to hit for maximum precision.
Putting the pain aside for now, Piccolo returned the favor by throwing his shoulder into Daimao's body in a move that mirrored a chest bump between two baseball players after a home run had been hit. The two split personalities exchanged punches back and forth, trading curses, splatters of blood, and even a flip or two along the way. To an untrained viewer, nothing would have been seen but two purple blurs flashing across the sky, but both Piccolo and Daimao were able to see their opponents with near perfect accuracy
"You're sure that you don't want to just give in, Piccolo?" Daimao inquired, dodging a right hook from his son and, after regaining his balance, tightly grabbed his son's arm. Before Piccolo could even attempt to squirm out of his father's grasp, Daimao slammed his elbow down into the Namekian's forearm, nearly breaking it upon impact but still doing enough damage to make Piccolo recoil in pain.
As Piccolo held his wounded arm like a mother would clutch her baby, Daimao continued with his persuasion tactics. "I mean, you're clearly wounded, and they do say that fusion will help bring you to full strength. If I were you, I'd be practically begging to just fuse right now to spare me even more pain and suffering. You must understand this...I know how you work."
"That'd make you a coward, then, since you'd be running away from a battle," Piccolo retorted, refusing the urge to start asking himself if his father had gone completely crazy. "Speaking of running, I have a feeling you'll have the urge to do exactly that in three..."
Daimao looked confused by Piccolo stopping midsentence, which was enough time for the young Namek to grab Daimao's arm in the exact same fashion that his father had done just minutes prior. Like his father's grip, Piccolo held on tight, but it was with enough strength and determination that Daimao had no chance of breaking free, even if he would have used some sort of demon spell to try getting out of this hold.
"Two," Piccolo continued, using the arm he'd just been holding to punch Daimao straight in the stomach; it wasn't by any means a powerful punch - Piccolo could only do so much with an arm injured this badly - but it was placed in a spot that was sensitive to Namekians. If Daimao and Piccolo had the same interior makeup, and Piccolo would be shocked if they didn't, then Daimao would be feeling the aftereffects for a very long time.
"One." Now, Piccolo threw Daimao into the air like he was just a mere toy that the Namekian warrior had gotten bored of playing with. Before his father was able to react and regain control, Piccolo went through with the final phase: firing a large, powerful yellow beam straight from his mouth that hit his father dead center in the chest. With the blast came a mushroom-shaped explosion, and though Piccolo could still sense Daimao, it was a move executed perfectly that gave him the upper hand in the fight.
Not too bad for a Namekian that wasn't entirely evil, it seemed.
Well, maybe Piccolo had spoken too soon about thinking that it was perfectly executed, because Daimao had gone a bit further than the Earth-born warrior had intended to send him. Flying could easily solve making up the distance, and within seconds, Piccolo was standing on top of a plateu, getting a perfect look at his damaged father and the aura of awe that surrounded him.
Coughing, Daimao began to slowly laugh as he rose from the ground, the top of his fighting attire nearly entirely gone from Piccolo's energy onslaught. "I must admit, Piccolo, you've fought very well. But, I believe there's one more trick from me that you have yet to see, and chances are, you forget that I could even pull this off! Yes, it's my ultimate trump card, the move that will put you out of commission!"
When Piccolo cocked his head to the side in confusion, Daimao began to smirk in excitement once again. It was a shame that Daimao had to exert this much energy to pull off this one technique, but if it meant he was going to partner with his son, then he'd do whatever it would take. "Now, you will taste the true power of a Demon King."
As soon as Daimao stopped talking, a pure white aura began surrounding him, bright enough to the point where Piccolo had to shield his eyes. Suddenly, Daimao's size began to double, with the energy he was exerting being powerful enough to destroy the giant section of rock that stood behind him with ease. This transformation...Piccolo knew exactly what it was...
Piccolo's father was turning into a Great Namek, and since Daimao had more experience and control with it than Piccolo ever had, this wasn't going to be an easy fight. Damn, how could I have forgotten about the fact he could do this? I should have realized it as soon as he said ultimate trump card!
Daimao must have noticed the shocked look on Piccolo's face, because his deep, baritone voice began to loudly laugh. "Hahahaha, don't you see now, my dear Piccolo?" Daimao questioned, his veins pulsing with such intensity that it appeared that they might quickly pop. As Daimao continued to grow, his eyes sparkled with delight even with the pain that came through enlarging himself in such an extreme manner.
"I am the Demon King, and I always get my way," Daimao continued, about three-thirds of the way done with his transformation into this monstrous, beast-like form that would soon feast on Piccolo. "Now, you will feel my wrath, as I pummel you into near-death before absorbing you into my being!"
What can I do? If he completes this transformation, then the entire magnitude of the fight changes and...wait, that's it, Piccolo thought, realizing the answer to his problem. Of course...it would ironically be the attack that indirectly got him killed that would be what saved his life here, but considering Piccolo was a demon-like creature that had been sent to Hell for the sole purpose of confronting his deceased father, nothing was able to surprise Piccolo anymore.
Quickly, Piccolo brought both the index and middle fingers of his right hand to his forehead, putting as much energy as he possibly could into both of the fingers; it was times like this where Piccolo was so glad that he'd spent part of his time training for the Saiyans honing and adjusting this technique to the point where it didn't the full five minutes to properly charge up.
Piccolo was also glad that charging the Special Beam Cannon didn't take as long to prepare as the Great Namek transformation did, because if that were the case...well, Piccolo likely would be either panicking or dead by now. I hope this works...no, I know this will work. It has to...if it could somehow hit Raditz, who was squirming in Goku's grip, then this should be easy.
"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"
"Special Beam what?" Daimao asked, before feeling a strange sensation go through his body; it was almost like a warrior, brilliant with sharp objects, had began cutting his limbs and extremities all at the same time, like an entire school of young children slowly started to whistle with the determination and excitement that a child possesses. God, how Daimao hated whistling...it was something he'd have to outlaw as soon as he became Demon King once more...
...and, that thought would have to be remembered by Daimao later, as the rush of pain soon took focus over everything else. This sensation was much more painful than Daimao had ever felt in his life, even more than the Mafuba he'd been put in all of those years ago by that rotten human Mutaito in the Demon King's first conquest of Earth. It was like Daimao knew that he'd been greatly injured, but just the sheer, painful feeling of it was something he never would have expected to experience in his existence.
With this sensation came a massive hole that had formed in Daimao's chest, all because Piccolo had chosen to use the spiraling energy attack he'd used on both Raditz and Nappa in his duels with them on Earth. Unlike when he used it on Nappa, however, Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon hit its target with a perfect shot here; luckily, there was no sudden change of angle that hit Daimao in his shoulder - or even missed him completely.
And, with this sensation and the massive hole in Daimao's chest came the end of his attempted transformation into becoming a Giant Namek. As quickly as it began, Daimao's massive growth into a monster stopped, with the former King of Earth reverting back into his normal form...except, this time, with a gigantic gap in his chest that was spewing blood like a volcano.
"You mention your ultimate trump card and it was a technique that I knew, meaning I understood its advantages and flaws. If there's one thing I've learned with that technique, or anything close to it, it's that hitting you as you transform will normally interfere with it, " Piccolo explained, doing his best to ignore the tingling feeling from his fingers; it was an after-effect of the Special Beam Cannon that Piccolo wasn't sure would ever quite go away, but it was damn well worth it when he saw the monster of his nightmares desperately gasping for air. "
I didn't mention my ultimate trump card, and I end up stopping the transformation. Funny how that works, right?" the Namekian added, waving his hand to make his weighted clothing appear back on him "Rule number one of fighting: if you know that your opponent knows how your technique works, don't make your moves so obvious."
Speaking of techniques working, that's two out of three times the Special Beam Cannon worked in battle, Piccolo thought, recalling its successful use on Nappa and the failed attempt to kill Nappa with it. Still, Piccolo knew that the only reason why it even worked this time was because Daimao was in the middle of transforming and wouldn't have been able to stop it; though the Special Beam Cannon currently had a chance of doing its job two out of three times - which, for a beam that required immense concentration, wasn't too bad of a result - it was becoming apparent that the move was a liability in most main fights.
If it wasn't a direct hit on something like the brain or the heart, then his opponent likely wasn't going to be , Piccolo would figure the logistics of his Special Beam Cannon out later, because Daimao had finished shrinking from his not-even-fully-finished Great Namek form and was currently in pretty bad body a bloody mess, Daimao slowly crawled forward, the hole in his chest not even close to being fully regenerated yet.
The sight reminded Piccolo of the bodies he'd seen from Daimao's memories, the horribly mangled mangled men whimpering and crying after the Demon King and his minions had gotten through dealing with them. I guess that's karma then, old man, Piccolo told himself, approaching the fallen Demon King with a sudden swagger in his step.
Piccolo may not have been one for celebrations or even joy, but for so long, he'd wanted nothing more than to beat his father to a pulp, and he'd done exactly that; with a move that Piccolo himself had created, no less, and that was the ultimate cherry on top.
Still crawling while leaving a trail behind him, Daimao coughed up a giant ball of purple blood onto the ground in front of him. "Damn it, Piccolo...all I wanted was to recreate the Demon King, and you come in the way of this. Why?"
"Because I understand why Kami and King Kai sent me here...they wanted to see if I had truly moved on from my past life," Piccolo slowly explained, crossing his slightly bruised and bleeding arms. "They weren't convinced, and they thought this would be a good test. Those two, they wanted to see what the difference between us was."
Kneeling, Piccolo firmly placed his hand on Daimao's chest. Confused, Daimao's eyes met Piccolo's, who simply kept a neutral glance on his face because now came the part that the younger Namekian had been thinking about since the fight began... "The difference between us is simple: you want the power to be the Demon King, I want the power because I know I'm going to need it. So, here's what I'm thinking...we're going to fuse, but I'm going to remain the host entity."
Finally! He finally sees things the way I see them! Daimao thought, weakly chuckling to himself despite the brutal pain he felt. At long last, Daimao had his key to get back into the realm of the living! "Yes! Piccolo, I'm so glad that you've come to your senses at long last!"
Though he kept the same emotionless look, Piccolo nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's become quite clear that King Kai and Kami made the right choice in having us meet. Together, we'll be a powerful warrior, one that will be known throughout the entire universe."
Welcome back to SC, the fic where black comedy and slapstick humor make a fusion even more fantastic than that of Super Saiyan 4 Goku and Vegeta...wait, GT doesn't exist. A fusion even more fantastic than that of Goku and Vegeta, I guess would be a good answer. Speaking of fusion...yeah, we'll talk about the ending in a bit.
Anyways, this was definitely a chapter I was looking forward to, because not only do we have some legitimate action, but there's also a lot of plot progression. And, as was mentioned in this chapter, there is going to be a sort of legitimate war between Earth's Special Forces + Namek versus Frieza and his men, meaning that the Namek Arc is going in a bit of a different direction than it did in canon...and by a bit, I mean a lot. Yes, this means pushing certain things in the story slightly back, but I have a feeling you're all going to love what is coming in SC.
Also, quick little music mention - from now on, any scene involving Daimao and Piccolo should have you play the Emperor's Theme from Return of the Jedi. Just search it on YouTube as 'Return of The Jedi Soundtrack - Emperor's Throne Room (Emperor's Theme) ' and start at 1:06. Anyways, onto a few of your reviews...
R: So Demon King Piccolo, wants to fuse with/absorb his son, to come back to Earth, to become the new Demon King. Having flashbacks to the GBA game Supersonic Warriors where Piccolo after having fused with Nail and Kami, he brings back King Piccolo, ignoring the 1 year death revival thing that Shenron has, maybe he used Namek's Dragon Balls, I dunno, but, he brought him back, beat him, and fused with him to be strong enough to kill Buu.
A: Ding ding ding, you nailed part of where the inspiration came from. If I remember correctly, he does use the Namekian Dragon Balls (been a couple years since I last played SW). The other part of the inspiration, or at least a good chunk of it, comes from the theme of identity that we've had throughout the work, which goes back to what I said in chapter 24, but good catch with the Supersonic Warriors reference. And I know that the end of the fight may seem like a cop out, but all will make sense in the next chapter (though, knowing how smart some of you are, I have a feeling at least one of you will realize what's going to happen in SC27).
R: Hmm. I'm curious to why this chapter is called "Edge".
A: In this context, Edge refers to a few things, the first one being that Vegeta has the obvious edge on Appule and Yamcha in their fight. Edge also refers to Daimao being on the edge of returning to Earth, and it also is a reference to the edge we've seen in a character like Vegeta recently with his attitude.
R: Regarding my comment about your interpretation of the Saiyan culture, I would like to point out that King Kai's "knowledge" of the Saiyans is based on anime filler and is mostly inaccurate (especially that bit about Arcosians, ugh). That doesn't really change their habits of fighting, but let's be honest, I don't think Akira Toriyama intended them to be treated like a bunch of soulless killing machines. They're more like neighborhood punks who like to knock down trash-cans in comparison.
A: Yeah if anything Toriyama has said that they're NOT soulless killing machines, especially with the introduction of Tarble and Gine over the past couple years. I like to think of the Saiyans, pre-Frieza, as kind of like a biker gang that likes drinking, womanizing, and having fun. Did you have exceptions who maybe didn't want to fight or maybe took it too far? Sure, but King Kai doesn't know jack. From now on, if it's not said by AT or someone affiliated with DBZ directly, I'm not really buying it.
For the first time in a long time, we also have...power levels!
Zarbon: 24,000
Nail (suppressed): 14,000
Nail (when he's not suppressed): 42,000
Gohan (post Guru's help): 20,000
Piccolo: 6500
Daimao: 5200
Just a quick thing on power levels - I don't know how much more of power levels we'll have, to tell you guys the truth; they're just numbers, and ineffective ones at that. Chances are I'll do more of a ranking system at the end of certain chapters or sagas, so it'd hypothetically look something like this.
Post SC Saiyan Saga:
Bardock
Vegeta
Goku
Gohan
Piccolo*
OR
Following chapter 26:
Frieza
Vegeta
Bardock
Zarbon
Gohan
Then, the asterisk would mean 'killed' or something like that. I personally enjoy the rankings idea, but let me know if you'd rather see power level check-ins or occasional rankings based on who is the strongest (not just power level wise).I know I said a lot of stuff here, but I just wanted to address a few things.
Alright, next time on SC, we'll do more stuff and thangs. FP out, see ya peeps.