Orion's Perspective
I opened my eyes, and all I saw was a vast blue sky. I was confused. What was I doing before this? Where was I? I looked down, only to see I was walking on what looked like a watery surface that perfectly reflected what was above and all around me. The clouds that were everywhere were flying by, faster than they normally would. I then noticed I looked different from how I usually do as well. I was no longer in the clothes I remembered wearing. I was in a business suit. It was my old work uniform. I didn't have a tail either. I was back to being 'myself'. It made me feel...uncomfortable. Why wasn't I Orion? If...If this is a dream, I'm usually in my Saiyan, so why not now?
"Because you don't belong. You aren't Orion." I stuttered when I heard that familiar voice. I slowly turned around, but then it hit me. Literally. A wall of darkness collapsed right on top of me, consuming my entire being. The darkness began eating away at me, everywhere, all at once. I felt my body being destroyed, and then changing into something different. Something monstrous. I felt my body get slowly and painfully get bigger and hairier as my mouth began to extend out like a snout. Pain! Terror! Make it stop! Pure panic flooded my senses as I desperately tried to swim out of the darkness that was morphing me into a new twisted being.
But it was a fruitless endeavor as the darkness only got stronger with each attempt to escape it. The darkness then began to toy with me as it began to replay all of the nightmares and terrible memories I had in my head. Planets being destroyed, people I knew and could have saved being slaughtered, my friends and family being tortured, and even losing myself and killing everything in sight. Every single one of them were pounded into my soul until I could barely take it. The darkness soon stopped showing familiar sights and began to show a new scene. It was of all my friends and family lying dead on the ground as the androids stood over them with cruel, emotionless expressions.
"No!" I shouted as I tried to move towards them. "Please! Stop! You can't! Don't hurt them please! They don't deserve this! If you need to hurt anyone, then hurt me! Just don't kill them!" The androids ignored me as they continued to brutalize the ones I cared about. I couldn't take it anymore and felt something within me boil as I turned more into a beast. "I said STOP IT!" I shouted as a dark energy erupted from me, blowing away the darkness, androids, and my friends. I started panting as I fell to my knees before looking at what I had done. I had destroyed everything. There was nothing left. I failed to protect people again. I felt myself breaking at that realization. I just wanted to protect them. Why can't I do that?
"You are progressing quite well." I slowly lifted my head when I heard the voice. There was a figure cloaked in darkness approaching me. That voice...could it be a woman? Maybe, but I couldn't see anything from within the dark shroud that engulfed her being. "That pain that you are feeling is fueling you. I was right. You truly do hold the potential to become something twisted. Your distorted self will be most useful when it blooms. You just need a few more pushes. Perhaps I'll give you that push once you have awakened. Even with how you've been doing so far, you've made quite a bit of changes. This timeline will prove to be useful. The amount of energy we'll obtain will be incredible when you fully realize your purpose of being my weapon."
The woman then gently grabbed my chin and lifted my head so that she could get a better look at my broken eyes. "Fight on and become stronger. Try to save those you hold dear. Throw yourself into the depths of hell as much as you wish and continue destroying yourself to that end. That's when you'll become the perfect tool." Darkness then coated me again as I began to sink into the now night sky I was surrounded by.
"I...will...protect them...no matter what...happens to me." I said without thinking as I fell into darkness. That's when my eyes shot open once again, but this time, I was in a warmer, more familiar environment. I was in my room. Not my old apartment, but my room that was in my home in West City. I slowly got up and looked down at myself. I was wearing my normal outfit minus the jacket and I had my tail. I was back. I was Orion again. I gave a sigh of relief. It was just another nightmare. More like nightmares within nightmares. When did the first nightmare start? And how long did it last? In fact, I don't remember anything that happened before I woke up from the nightmares. That figure...that woman...no, I shouldn't take anything from that nightmare seriously.
I grabbed the phone I got during my stay in West City and turned it on to look at the time, only for my eyes to pop out of their sockets. May 12th!? What happened to April!? Last I remember, we still had a month until the androids showed up!? And it's already 2pm!? Why didn't anyone wake me up!? I gotta go and-
I heard something rattle as I jumped out of bed. I looked and saw a vial had fallen off my nightstand from my sudden movement. I picked it up and looked at it, and that's when it all made sense. The heart virus. I was talking to Bulma, and I collapsed. That's right. I've been sleeping because of the virus. But...I was asleep for 4 weeks, an entire month!? I guess that explains why I'm so hungry and feel so sluggish. Oh god… This is a mess. I need to quickly get something to eat and hurry over to where the others are. Androids 19 and 20 shouldn't be too much for them, but 16, 17, and 18 will be trouble for them.
Luckily, those androids aren't like 19 or 20, or I guess I should call that one Gero. 17 and 18 were kidnapped and transformed into Gero's weapons in his line of the 'Android' series, being cyborg models instead of pure machines. And 16 is special too. Gero modeled 16 after his deceased son after he died during one of Goku's attacks on the Red Ribbon Army, I think. Gero wanted 16 to be like his son: bold, daring, and a fighter, but 16 was passive and didn't like violence, which made him a failure as a weapon and as Gero's replacement for his son. They can be swayed and talked to unlike Frieza and Cooler. I mean, 17 and 18 turn good in the main series, so-
My head began to hurt a bit when I had that thought. Wait...did 17 and 18 turn good in the main series? Didn't they destroy everything-No! That was Trunk's timeline, and they only did that because they had no purpose for themselves. So they can be good? But don't they die to… wait… who was I just thinking about? A green...bug man? C-Cell… his name is Cell, I think. Why does it feel like I'm missing a lot of details? Am I...forgetting things? Now that I think about it, I have been forgetting some things about my old life, but I'm not forgetting anything important like what's going to happen! I'm probably just dazed from waking up. I'm sure everything will clear up once I start doing things. I shook the doubts and fear I was feeling away and quickly ate something before pinpointing the other's location and teleporting over there.
Well that happened. As soon as I got to where everyone was, I found that everyone except Krillin had been knocked out by 17 and 18. I tried to convince the androids to reconsider what they were trying to do, but they refused for now. At least they said they were going to think about it, and they said they didn't know if they really wanted to kill Goku. They sound like they just want to meet and fight him more than anything else. As soon as they had left, Krillin and I began to give out senzu beans to everyone. "B-Brother!? Is that you?" Raditz as after I had given him a bean and he opened his eyes.
"Yeah. Alive and well. I hear you've become a Super Saiyan. I knew you could do it." I told him. Raditz smiled and nodded, a few tears coming to his eyes before he wiped them away.
"I'm glad you're alright too. When did you get here?"
"Shortly after you all got your butts handed to you by those androids." I said with a laugh.
"Then did you fight them?"
"No. They didn't want to fight, and frankly neither did I."
"But why?"
"I'll explain later. For now, I need to get everyone else a bean." I told him as I rushed to Nappa and gave him a senzu bean. Nappa's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet in a panic.
"What happened!? Where are they!? I'm gonna-"
"Nappa, calm down." I told him. Nappa turned to me and gaped.
"Orion!? You're awake?"
"Yep. Just got here. You ok?"
"Y-Yeah. I just...freaked out 'cause of what happened."
"I know. Get your bearings together while I help the others." I told him as I patted his back and headed off to the next person. Eventually, everyone was back in action, everyone of them surprised to see me up and about again, but everyone seemed extremely happy that I was cured now.
"So they knew all about the senzu beans and just let us go on our way…" Piccolo stated once me and Krillin explained what had happened. "They didn't even feel the need to kill us."
"I'm not so sure that's the reason." I said. "I think that they aren't as evil as we think they are."
"And what's the basis for that?" Tien asked me.
"Just a hunch, but my hunches are usually right." I answered. Vegeta just scoffed before flying off. Trunks tried to fly after him, but Piccolo and Raditz stopped him.
"Don't go after him. Just leave him be." Piccolo told the boy.
"Vegeta finally became a Super Saiyan and regained his pride and confidence as a warrior. Getting beaten that badly was probably too much for his pride to take." Raditz explained. "If I'm honest, I feel much the same way." Raditz grumbled. Nappa also looked away, his fist tightening as he did. He probably felt the same way. From what Krillin told me, he lost in the same way he did to Goku during the Saiyan Saga. It must have given him some bad memories.
"Even Trunks, who beat Frieza so easily, couldn't lay a finger on them…" Tien added with a grim expression.
"And that's not to mention how these androids are a bit stronger than the ones in my time." Trunks added.
"Th-That's it, then, right? We can't beat them, no matter how strong we get. Even with Orion and Goku, it's over, isn't it." Yamcha asked.
"Hey! Don't count me out just yet." I piped up. "I may not have wanted to fight the androids right now and think they could talk down, I still think I could handle them."
"R-Really? I know you're strong and all, Orion, but do you really think you can beat them?" Trunks asked me.
"Sure. I might not be able to sense their energy, but compared to you guys, I should have a much easier time with them." I told everyone. "Don't forget that I was also training for these 3 years before I got the virus. Besides, if I'm not enough, I think someone here might have an idea of how to handle them, right Piccolo?" I said while turning to the Namekian. Piccolo, who had been silent for a while now, sighed and let his thoughts be known.
"Okay here's the plan. You guys go to Goku's house, then move him to a different location immediately. Whatever our next move is, we need to keep Goku safe until he's ready to join us."
"Sounds like a plan." Krillin said before thinking more about Piccolo's words. "Wait, 'you guys'? What about you? What are you going to do?"
"...Good question." Piccolo said, still seeming a bit hesitant about his idea.
"Hey, you obviously have a plan and Orion seems to already know it, so fill us in. No sense in leaving us in the dark. Last time I checked, we were all in this together." Krillin's words made Piccolo grimace.
"Oh is that so? And when did I agree to that?" Piccolo asked the others. They seemed a bit shocked by this, but I knew what he was doing. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that we were ever friends!" Piccolo shouted as he fired a blast at the others, who dodged it immediately. Piccolo then flew up into the air and looked down at us. "If we have a temporary truce between us, it's only because it furthers my goal of world domination! Never forget that!" Piccolo then flew off, leaving us to just stare.
"...Perfect. We should have seen that one coming." Tien sighed.
"Yeah. And here I thought he was a good dude now, but I guess some things never change." Yamcha added.
"Damn it! Why did we ever trust him? This entire time he's just been using us as his pawns!" Tien shouted angrily.
"Wait, the green man used to be bad?" Nappa questioned.
"I find it quite hard to believe that after everything he would go back to how he was before I arrived here." Raditz said. "I've known him for a while now, and while it might not be as long as you all, I would like to think that Piccolo has changed, same as me and Nappa."
"Huh? Since when have I changed? Don't go assuming things." Nappa grumbled, which got a chuckle out of me. What a big softy.
"I have to agree." Krillin said. "I'd say Piccolo's just trying to save face. He has his own pride too. I don't think he's gonna take what those androids dished out lying down. He's going to do whatever it takes to beat them, even if that means asking someone to help him."
"Yeah, he's just too proud to admit he's gone to cash in on that final option he has." I chuckled.
"So you're thinking Piccolo is going to do what I think he's going to do?" Krillin asked me.
"That's totally what he's going to do." I confirmed.
"Wait, what is he doing? What's this final option?" Yamcha asked us.
"Didn't you see the direction he was flying in?" Krillin asked. "He's heading to Kami's place. When we were on Namek, Guru mentioned something. He said that if Piccolo and Kami hadn't separated, they'd be as powerful as a Saiyan, maybe even a Super Saiyan."
"Nail mentioned that too before he fused with Piccolo." I added. "Piccolo's going to go and fuse back with Kami so that he can have his original power again."
"But wait… If Kami ceased to exist as he is now, won't the Dragon Balls disappear too?" Tien asked.
"But if either of them dies separately, well then the same thing's gonna happen anyway, so Piccolo probably feels like this is our best shot at taking down an enemy this powerful." Krillin stated
"Besides, if we wanted the Dragon Balls to remain, all we would have to do is ask one of the Namekians from Guru's Haven who can make Dragon Balls to become Earth's new guardian." I added.
"Oh right! I forgot there were still some Namekians here!" Yamcha said.
"Yeah. In fact, I'm going to follow Piccolo to the lookout to try to help convince Kami to fuse back with Piccolo. I can even bring a new Namekian back to the lookout afterwards." I said. "Besides, I've never met Kami. I want to at least meet him before he goes." I then turned to the others. "You guys need to get to Kakarot's place and take him to a safe place. Kame House would probably be the best bet. But before you go, try to look around the remains of Gero's lab. You might find a blueprint of the androids, or even other androids that are still not activated. Once you find anything useful, destroy everything." They nodded at me and I flew off to catch up to Piccolo. I eventually made it and saw Piccolo land on the lookout. I landed right after he did, Piccolo turning to me with an annoyed expression.
"And why are you here?" He asked me.
"I came to see what you were up to, and maybe help you." I said. "Don't mind me. You just do what you were going to do." I then turned and saw a much older Namekian. "So you're Kami. It's nice to finally meet you in person."
"Yes. It's nice to meet you too, Orion." Kami said cordially before turning back to his other self.
"Am I correct in assuming there's no need for me to explain why I've come to see you?" Piccolo asked Kami.
"...Yes, you are. You and I were...that is to say your father and I were once a single being long ago. So suffice to say, I know your mind well."
"That oughta save us some time then."
"Though I never thought the day would come when you and I would settle our differences and merge back into our first form."
"It's not a merger. I simply intend to absorb you and your power to enhance my own abilities so I can defeat the androids. If the Earth has to do without the Dragon Balls, then so be it." Piccolo said, making Kami tighten his fist. I can't imagine how he feels about this situation. Being stuck in a situation where the best course of action would be to give up your being to strengthen another. Mister Popo was also unnerved by Piccolo's words, being Kami's friend and assistant.
"N-No! You can't!" He said, but Kami stopped him.
"I...I no longer serve a purpose alone. I fear that not even Goku will be able to vanquish those foes once his health is replenished. Perhaps the only way to answer this threat...is for Piccolo to absorb me."
"Right you are. What Earth needs is not a gentle guardian, but a warrior. One with the strength and cunning to crush these bastards before it's too late." Piccolo told Kami.
"Y-Yes, but...let's let things unfold a bit more."
"Unfold? A-Are you serious!"
"Of course. It would be foolish to act before we could surmise if they are a threat to the Earth."
"Waiting for things to play out would be foolish! You've seen how powerful they are!"
"I've seen that you were the ones to start the fight." Kami pointed out. "And, more importantly, that they didn't try to kill you. I have the same feelings as Orion does. I do not believe these 'androids' ,as they're known, are true threats yet." Piccolo huffed before walking over to the edge of the lookout and sitting down to meditate.
"Spineless coward. Very well. As you wish. We wouldn't want to act rash, right? Let's just hope that when you come to your senses, there still will be a world to save." Piccolo grumbled as he began to meditate. Kami and I sighed before turning to one another.
"So you think they can be good too?" I asked Kami.
"Perhaps. Only time will tell. Your conversation with them showed a lot of their character." Kami answered.
"I see. I'm glad. I wasn't as sure as I usually am with this sort of thing." I told him. "So, what are you going to do if they do turn out to be dangerous threats, or if something worse shows up?"
"...Then I'll have no choice but to be absorbed by Piccolo. He is right. The Earth does need strong warriors, not an old guardian who can't properly protect anyone." His words hurt to listen to, as I could perfectly understand where he was coming from.
"Yeah, but I can understand your reservations on the whole ordeal. But hey, if it helps, there's a village of Namekians near here. If you want to choose a successor to be Earth's new guardian to take your place when it happens, we can go there right now."
"Ah yes. Guru's Haven. I cannot express how glad I am that some of my people now live on this planet, but I haven't had the chance to interact with them as Piccolo has. It is my duty to stay up here." Kami then thought for a moment before he turned back to me. "Could you do me a favor, Orion. Could you go down to Guru's Haven and find someone to take my place if I am to become one with Piccolo again. I trust your ability to judge a person's character and kindness. If you find someone you believe would be well suited for the role, I think I would too."
"...Alright. I can do that. I'll bring them here when I do find them." I said. I placed my fingers on my forehead and used Instant Transmission to teleport to Guru's Haven. As soon as I touched the ground, the Namekians turned to me and immediately smiled.
"Look! It's Orion!" One of them shouted as they ran to me. When I went to go see them before, they were extremely happy to see me and gave me a hero's welcome, along with Goku when he went or so he told me. They knew I was one of the two Saiyans who fought Frieza and Cooler and they were incredibly thankful for my part in saving the Namekians. I told them it was nothing and I could've done a better job, but they were still thankful all the same.
"Orion. It's good to see you. What brings you to our village?" Tsuno, the Namekian elder of Guru's Haven asked me.
"Well, I came to find a Namekian to take the place of Earth's guardian." I told him. "Kami, the Earth's current guardian, feels as though he might have to fuse back with Piccolo soon if things start to get bad, so he asked me to find someone to take his place so that Earth still has Dragon Balls." Tsuno nodded and then smiled at me.
"If that's the case, I have the perfect person for the job." Tsuno then went off and came back with someone I should have known would be picked. "Dende here is who you want to become guardian. He's perfect for the job."
"Is that so?" I asked. "Dende, let me ask you this. Are you sure you want to do this? If you become the guardian of Earth, then you might not be able to come back to this village, as you'll have to look over the Earth." Dende nodded confidently.
"I am. I want to help you all. You've done so much for us, so I would be happy to help." Dende told me.
"Thanks, Dende. Then I suppose we'll have to head back to the lookout so that Kami can meet his successor. Take my hand." I extended my hand to Dende and waited for him to take it before I put my fingers to my forehead. "We'll be off. Thanks again, you guys. This will be a huge help." I told them before warping back to the lookout. Once there, Kami looked back to us and smiled.
"So this is the one who will take my place?"
"Y-Yes. My name is Dende. It's nice to meet you." Dende said before bowing to Kami.
"There is no need for that. You can speak to me like how you would normally address someone." He then turned to me and nodded. "Thank you. I can tell that this young child will be an excellent guardian."
"Yeah. I'm happy you got to meet your successor." I told him.
"Yes. Now then, Dende, please follow me. There is much for me to tell you about being a guardian." Kami, Mister Popo, and Dende then went inside the lookout to discuss things while I walked over to Piccolo and sat down to join him in meditation.
"So that's why you came here. To help reassure Kami about fusing with me." Piccolo said.
"I guess you can say that. I also wanted to meet him before he...you know."
"Then you think he will let himself be absorbed by me?"
"I think so, but not because of the androids you all encountered." I said, my face now frowning. "I have...a really bad feeling something is going to happen." Cell. That was the name that made me worried. I was starting to remember more about him, and if I was right, he was going to make an appearance soon. It's actually the reason why I wanted to meditate right now. I needed to clear my mind and calm down, and maybe forget about the nightmares I was suffering through during my recovery. But it was also nice to be able to talk to Piccolo again after so long. "So, from what I've heard and seen, everyone's a Super Saiyan now. That's cool. I bet Vegeta was a huge show off."
"Oh yeah, right. You should have heard the name of the attack he used. 'Big Bang Attack'." Piccolo told me with a chuckle.
"Oh wow. It almost sounds like he's trying to rip off the space name motifs I have for my attacks." I said. "But should you really be talking Piccolo? I mean, you are mister 'Special Beam Cannon'."
"Is that how it's going to be? Why don't you try to come up with a better name for an attack?"
"How about… 'Mercury Blast'?"
"What about 'Spiral Death Beam'?"
"'Spiral Galaxy'."
"'Rail Beam'."
"'Stardust Blitz'."
"That's pretty good. How about… Nail Gun?"
"...Shit, that's good." I sighed while laughing. "You get that from Nail?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Hmm, perhaps." Piccolo remarked with a grin. It was nice to just talk to Piccolo. He wouldn't admit it, but we have gotten pretty close from our time training for the Saiyans and on King Kai's planet. We tended to challenge each other in training or in some ridiculous manner like this. "Alright, how about 'Regicide Blaster'?"
"'Cosmic Rush'."
"'Anarchy Barrage'"
"'Meteor Crash'!"
"Ehh…"
"Screw you, I'm keeping that one."
"Fine, then how about 'Hellzone Grenade'?"
"...Damn it, why do you always have to upstage me?" Piccolo and I continued to talk before we began to meditate again. for a while before Kami, Dende, and Mister Popo came back out. Kami began to survey the situation again, but after a little while he and I felt something. Something horrible. It snapped me out of my meditative trance and made me tremble. "Wh-What is this?" I asked in a terrified tone.
"You feel it too, Orion?" Kami asked me.
"I-I think. The Yardrats told me that my ki and spirit control were the best that they had seen, so that means I can sense ki better and from farther away then most. What I just felt...it was like countless energy signals just...vanished."
"Yes… it seems the feelings of doom that have haunted me these past 4 years have little to do with those androids at all. Something has come. Some form. Some pestilence from I know not where. The only thing I do know is that something worse than the androids, something far superior to any of them in strength, is lurking in the world below."
"What are you babbling on about now! What do you mean something's lurking down there!?" Piccolo asked as he got up and moved to Kami.
"...It seems the time has come for me to relinquish my duties as guardian of Earth and assume with you the mantle of a full fledged Namekian warrior." Kami said. "There is a monster down there. It has just whipped out a city."
"What!?" Piccolo exclaimed.
"So that's what I felt. I felt all of the people die." I muttered in disbelief.
"You mentioned a monster, right? What can you tell me about it?" Piccolo asked Kami.
"Why go through the trouble of using words? Once you and I have merged into a single Namekian, Piccolo, you shall know everything I know, as well as have all our power."
"I see. Whatever it is down there, to cause you to make up your mind, it must really be something else."
"Let's get on with it." Kami said as Piccolo put his hand on Kami's chest.
"Kami, please don't!" Mister Popo begged.
"Don't worry about me, my loyal friend. It's not an overseer that the earth needs right now. It needs a warrior." Kami stated. "Piccolo is different now, for the evil that once tainted his heart has all but faded away. Once we have merged, I doubt we shall ever be split again. He and I shall be as one. Thank you for all your years of service, Mister Popo." Kami then charged his energy and began fusing with Piccolo, a bright white light flashing from the two of them that covered the entire lookout. Once the light had faded, the only one who remained was Piccolo. Piccolo looked down at himself in amazement, completely in awe at his new form, power, and knowledge.
"...Orion, let's go." He said before he started walking away.
"Right." I said as I joined him.
"...If you can hear me, Kami, then please take care of yourself." Mister Popo said as we were leaving.
"...I am neither Kami nor Piccolo now. I'm only a Namekian who has long since forgotten his name." Piccolo said before turning back to Mister Popo and Dende and waving at them. "Now...farewell." Piccolo said before flying off. I waved goodbye too before I followed Piccolo.
"So, Kamiccolo, are we heading to that town where all those people died, or are we going to do something else first?" I asked.
"Don't call me that. You can still call me Piccolo for simplicity's sake, I suppose." Piccolo told me. "And yes. Ginger town is where that monster is at right now. Between the two of us, we should be able to easily handle him on our own if needed."
"Roger that." I nodded as we continued to fly off. Piccolo informed me of everything Kami had passed onto him about the monster, which only confirmed my suspicions that it was Cell. Great. Should be fun. I wonder if he will have traits from Raditz, Nappa, and even me. We continued to fly until we finally reached the town, though it was now a ghost town. Not a single person was there. The only thing left of them were their clothes and belongings that they had on them. It was unnerving. Horrifying, really. It was dead quiet. Piccolo and I began to walk around to try to find the monster, but we didn't see anything strange...until we heard something. Something was being dragged. We looked over, and saw him.
"Took you long enough, monster." Piccolo said when we saw him. A big, green bug man with sinister eyes, a disgusting tail, and a person being dragged along in his hand. The man woke up and saw us and panicked.
"H-Hey! You with the big pointy ears and spiky hair, please help me!" I nodded and immediately turned to Cell.
"Let that person go. Now. He's done nothing wrong, so just let him go. He doesn't deserve to die." I said. Cell dropped the man before he stabbed him with his tail. Piccolo and I were horrified as we watched Cell drink him from his tail, leaving nothing behind but his clothes and belongings.
"...I will absorb you two next." The monster told us. "Submit. Piccolo. Orion."