The Vicious Gods Wrath
Chapter 5: Extinction Gambit
King Kai's Planet
"Aah, it feels like it's been a lifetime since we've been here," Sighs a content King Kai as leans back in the chair of his 1957 Red Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop with the top down, enjoying the ride around his small, recently restored world. Sitting next to and behind him are Bubbles and Gregory respectively, equally happy to have their little home-world restored to them after nearly a decade.
"We can thank Goku for that," Gregory points with a hint of annoyance in his voice while lying in the back seat, causing the blue deity at the steering wheel to recount the infamous moment his star pupil (not so wisely) decided to transport the exploding Cell to here of all places. Without his permission no less, which he wouldn't have gotten. "Still, he did save the universe from Buu, so I'll cut him some slack."
King Kai's brief spurt of resentment at Goku evaporates instantly as he recounts another incident with his student, one much more to his liking. "You should've seen West Kai's face when we were all watching it happen too, my greatest pupil defeating the infamous Majin Buu! That might've been the prettiest thing I've ever seen!"
He laughs heartily in a mix of pride and joy, genuinely amazed at how far Goku has come from the relatively low-level fighter seeking to save his world all those years ago. There was a time when the Saiyan could barely stand properly on this tiny world and its more powerful gravity, now? He can survive fighting in hostile dimensions with even harsher living conditions for an entire year.
In spite of the trouble he's caused, King Kai can't help but feel a great swell of pride with his student, until the man in question suddenly appears before him and his treasured car rams into him. Needless to say, the vehicle never stood a chance as the entire frontal half of it almost cartoonishly caved into itself and sent the un-seat-belted Gregory flying into the dusty clouds surrounding Snake Way. Bubbles lies in the co-drivers seat with his head smothered by a crash pillow while King Kai merely sits in the wreckage of his newly restored car, gripping its steering wheel ever so tightly and ignoring the suffocation of his own pillow pressing against his face. The dead don't need to breathe after all.
"Hey, King Kai-" Goku cheerfully calls out to him with a salute only to realize that a car has run into him. "Uh, King Kai?" He calls out to him, hesitantly this time just before the Kai leaps at him like a hungry wolf. Positioning himself on the Saiyan's shoulders, King Kai grabs a fist full of Goku's hair, pulling on it tightly while his free hand smashes repeatedly over his skull.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop it King Kai!" Goku tries to plead for mercy but receives none.
"You moron!" Proclaims a furious King Kai as his foot plants itself into Goku's face. "To think a minute ago I was proud of everything you've accomplished! Then you go and do this!"
Goku's woes grow worse when Bubbles regains consciousness and joins the fray, grabbing hold of the Saiyan's legs and giving his butt a large bite. Somehow, Goku manages to remain standing until Gregory returns with a vengeance, ramming his head into Goku's chest and with a large, painful thud, he finally comes crashing down to the grassy meadows.
"You better have a damn good reason for ruining my good time!" King Kai tightens his grip on Goku's hair, sending his student into a frenzy of pained, child-like yelps.
"It was I who asked to come here, your lordship."
Taking his eyes off Goku, King Kai looks to his right and finds Piccolo of all people standing there with a look of barely restrained puzzlement and perhaps even satisfaction at watching the whole ordeal. A sudden calm manages to douse the fires of his anger, for if Piccolo of all people is here, then it must be for a good reason. With an intentional clumsiness and slowness, King Kai lets go of Goku though doesn't bother to order Bubbles to do the same.
King Kai clears his throat and puts his hands behind his back to try and salvage what little dignity he has left. "Well, well, it's been a while since I've seen you around this place, eh Piccolo?"
"Indeed it has, sir," Piccolo responds with a surprising tone of respect and formality, a far cry from the cockiness he displayed back when they trained on the eve of his arrival to Namek. "I apologize for coming here uninvited and stirring up this trouble."
"Your manners have certainly improved a great deal since I last saw you."
"Reuniting with Kami has given me some greater insight into the importance of the deific hierarchy, something I sorely lacked in my younger days," He explains with something resembling embarrassment? With his features remaining stoic and that deep voice, King Kai can't precisely be sure. "In any hand, I've come seeking your assistance to clear the air about something."
"Must be serious if you felt like coming here yourself to ask me, is it anything I should worry about?"
"It could be nothing, but, recently the Dragon Balls were used on Earth by someone other than us. At first, it didn't seem any more bizarre than when we summon Shenron, however, this time I felt a strong presence on the planet. It was something scattered, but very malevolent. I tried to ask Dende if you could quicken the restoration of the Dragon Balls but he told me no. Apparently, upgrading their wishing capacity has made it impossible for even their guardian to restore them on a moment's notice."
"Now that you mention it," Goku speaks up as he manages to pry Bubbles off his feet while Gregory continues to assault him from the sky. "I did notice something for a split second too, but it vanished just as fast as it came around."
"And you think malevolent power could potentially be a threat?" Questions King Kai with Piccolo nodding in agreement. "Very well then, seeing as your planet has been a constant magnet for trouble over the past few years, its best not to take any chances." He turns around to let Piccolo place his hand on his back.
He turns around to let Piccolo place his hand on his back. "I should warn you, despite my sensing abilities being sharper than any others in this quadrant of the galaxy if this power source is too weak for me to find or hidden, even I won't be able to help you."
"For my conscience sake, I hope you're wrong about that last part." Piccolo evenly responds before placing his hand on King Kai's back and closing his eyes, focusing entirely on his Ki sensing ability. With it now greatly increased, Piccolo looks throughout the cosmos, reaching out to billions upon billions of living beings in their quadrant of the galaxy. The vast majority have very low, barely noticeable levels of power, some are stronger with a tiny handful being in the upper levels, some benign, others malevolent yet none the one he seeks. He tries again, putting, even more, effort into detecting the Ki signature to no avail.
With a sigh, he removes his hand and takes a step back, letting King Kai turn around to face them. "Didn't find it huh?"
"No, unfortunately," Piccolo says as his arms cross over his chest, the disappointment clear in his. "I expected to catch at least a glimmer of it, but it appears the user is hiding it."
"Or maybe we just imagined it," Goku chuckles after fully subduing both Gregory and Bubbles. "Not everything's part of some evil scheme to get us y'know?"
Piccolo gives him a disapproving look. "After all these years, you're still far too relaxed when it comes to our world's safety."
"Well, not to toot my own horn, but we have beaten Freeza, Cell, and Majin Buu. I'm pretty sure this power, whatever it is, is something you, me, Vegeta and the boys can handle."
Piccolo continues his silent glare, conceding to Goku's point somewhat.
"Goku does have a point you know," King Kai agrees, somewhat reluctantly. "The warriors of Earth have repeatably shown themselves to be perfectly capable of fending off even the most powerful of adversaries." Piccolo directs his glare now towards King Kai with Goku's smirk changing into a big, pleased smile. "However, you're all idiots when it comes to stopping these adversaries before the trouble can even begin."
His Saiyan pupil's pleased smirk almost turns into a full blown smile.
"We're not that bad, are we?" Goku asks, his satisfaction evaporating as quickly as it came.
"This coming from the guy who could've stopped Doctor Gero long before the Androids and Cell started their rampage and got himself and me killed." Criticizes the deity, with other instances of their hunger for battle getting in the way of common sense quickly coming to mind and getting to the tip of his tongue. But he ultimately decides to keep these sentiments to himself, opting to reassure Piccolo instead. "If it's any consolation for you, I'll keep an eye and ear out for that power you were looking for, the second I get an idea of where it is I'll be sure to notify you at once."
Knowing that this is his only remaining option for the time being, just short of scouring the very cosmos of space personally, the Namekian nods in agreement and bows to the deity. "Thank you, sir, any help you can offer is greatly appreciated."
"Not a problem at all," Assures King Kai with a friendly smile. "I'm just glad to have someone who can show me some proper respect."
"Wow King Kai, you're really mad about the car aren't you," Goku playfully jabs him in the side with his elbow. In response, King Kai's usually blue skin turns a fiery shade of red.
"YES, I'M STILL REALLY MAD ABOUT THE CAR!" Bursts the small deity before jumping back on Goku's head and continuously punching him in the head, with Piccolo looking on, secretly enjoying the whole thing as the sole silver lining of his trip here.
Hours Later, PTO Command Ship
"He's healing very quickly," Comments Sorbet on the recovery process of his master as he stands before his healing tank with a pair of guards, the chief medical doctor at the console and Tagoma with him. Inside the chamber slumbers, the infamous Freeza, in a deep sleep as the fluids inside the tank quickly regrow his either mauled or missing limbs.
What was once a mangled torso with extensive cybernetics replacing his missing lower body, arm, and half of his skull is now an almost healed body as far as Tagoma can tell. Though, his appearance is a stark contrast to what Tagoma expected. Instead of a small, almost unimpressive midget-sized being with an oversized head and two black spikes protruding from both sides is a somewhat tall, sleek, white skinned lizard with purple shells adorning his scalp, chest, and arms.
"Hard to believe we only brought him back 7 hours ago."
"Hard to believe indeed,"The chief medical officer agrees with Tagoma's comment without moving away from the panel. "When you delivered him to us, I wasn't sure we'd be able to peel way the robotics without destroying his real body. But Lord Freeza has proven himself to be quite resilient indeed, anyone else surely would've perished from such a condition."
"Any predictions concerning his full recovery?" Tagoma asks, successfully keeping his worry at this unnatural recovery rate out of his voice and disposition.
"He should physically recover very soon. However, the trauma of being sliced to pieces then burned alive... " The medical officer momentarily glances at his slumbering master. "The mental exhaustion cannot be underestimated."
"It better not be too long," Sorbet interjects harshly."If it's all the same to you doctor, I and Tagoma here will remain here until he awakens." He tries to sound authoritative, but his constantly tapping left leg betrays him, revealing his nervousness at Freeza staying in this comatose state. If Tagoma could only make it so...
If Sorbet looked worried a moment ago, the sudden and violent shaking of their ship coupled with the blaring alarms almost gives him a heart attack if the clenching of his chest is any indication.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Sorbet barks into his hand-held communication device.
"It's an enemy ship, sir! Somehow a Galactic Patrolman has discovered our location!" The ship shakes once more with explosions occurring outside of it, illuminating the room with momentary flares of orange light before dying in the vacuum.
"Sir! There's a javelin heading for the medical bay take cover-"
The projectile in question breaks through the outer shielding of the ship, piercing right through its hull and smashing into the ground of the medical bay, nearly slicing Sorbet in half. The diminutive creature leaps back with a shocked gasp and clumsily falls on his head. With just as much eloquence, Sorbet climbs back to his feet and kicks the javelin.
"Despicable piece of trash!"
A lid on the top of the long javelin missile opens up, with four small, orb-shaped drones flying out of it and immediately opening fire on anyone nearby. The chief medical officer is the first to fall with a laser blast piercing him right through the torso, with the other guards following suite. A volley of similar attacks come at Sorbet. All he can do is futility try to protect himself with the raising of his arms. Luckily for him, Tagoma leaps into action, destroying three of the drones outright with simple hand chops while taking care to make a convincing effort to crush the fourth without breaking the vital piece of their plan inside.
A moment later, Sorbet lowers his hands and gives Tagoma an appreciative smile. "Well done, my lieutenant."
"My pleasure," Tagoma lies, wishing he could've let the drone kill him too. But even if Freeza dies today, his original undercover mission requires him to play this role for just a bit longer still. While Sorbet frantically examines the exterior of Freeza's healing chamber, Tagoma slips the means of his assassination from the drone still in his hands and tosses its remains away.
"Is he alive?"
"Apparently so," Sorbet confirms with a relieved sigh when their ship shakes once again. "Damn Patrolman, he'll tear this ship apart if more of those javelins break through."
"Then you should take command of it, sir, with you at the helm of this ship I'm sure we'll be able to drive him away for the time being," Tagoma suggests, pouring as much determination and respect into his very being as he can. He even bows for a bit more emphasis. "I will remain here, and protect Lord Freeza with my life. With my power level, even the Patrolman himself won't be able to get to him."
The Trade commander looks at his right-hand man, surprised by this spur of emotion from a man who usually keeps his emotions check, mostly. However, the battle raging outside quickly grabs his attention again.
"This is the most important mission I've ever given you Tagoma," He looks back to his lieutenant. "Don't screw it up."
Faking understanding, Tagoma nods and watches his master scurry off towards the bridge, leaving him alone with the most feared tyrant in the universe, now as helpless as an infant child and entirely at his mercy. He glances at the device delivered to him by Jaco, the means by which he can hopefully send Freeza back to the depths of whatever afterworld exists: the Extinction Bomb. The most powerful weapon ever designed. It is capable of destroying entire species in a matter of minutes through airborne infection or in this case, polluting water to achieve a similar effect.
With this in mind, Tagoma wastes no more time and runs to the nearby canisters responsible for pumping the healing liquid into the tank. He opens one located close to the control panel once manned by the now dead medical officer. The tubes pumping the healing juice do their job and as he stands mere inches from the slumbering Freeza with only the glass of the chamber keeping them apart, Tagoma spots the Extinction Bomb floating close to Freeza's head.
"I hope this hurts you, loathsome psychopath," Tagoma spits at the glass in disdain and proceeds with the operation.
Narrowing his eyes at the device in an effort of mental focusing, he manages to telepathically press down the button situated at the top of the small, orb-like device. The green chemical responsible for healing Freeza soon turns to a sickening shade of purple, the kind you only find in the most polluted, sickly of planets in the galaxy, one's so ruined by industry or ecological ruin, there's no hope of ever restoring them.
For a few moments which stretch out into the length of an age in Tagoma's anxious mind, nothing happens. But soon enough, the slumbering tyrant begins to writhe inside the chamber in his sleep, slowly and clumsily grasping for something and trying to struggle against an enemy he can't defeat through sheer power, not this time.
Tagoma watches the continue him squirm and twist, like a man grasping for air as a pillow suffocates him to death, and like many unfortunate enough to end in such a position, he does not last long. In a matter of moments, Freeza's body stops struggling and slowly but surely goes limp with even the bubbles from his breathing vanishing entirely. Glancing towards the control panel responsible for keeping track of Freeza's vital signs, Tagoma almost leaps triumphantly into the air in joy when he notices that all of them are firmly in the red.
He has succeeded, the monster has been put back down.
Yay! I managed to finish this today! I didn't know if I could pull it off but it's amazing what too much free time and a writing/editing kick can get you!
If anyone's wondering how Piccolo didn't detect Freeza's power in space, it is due to the fact that 1) he's in a drug-induced coma and 2) extensive injuries are shown to drastically cut down a person's power, and since Freeza was sliced and diced before getting mauled some more just to get back together, I imagine his strength was quite weak even after healing as much as he did.
Anyway, get ready for some nasty things to go down next chapter.