Out into the depths of space is a sight of insanity. Explosions emit from all directions in a sporadic pattern. Piccolo and Videl can only scream their heads off at the grisly sight. A nearby burst sends a spandex-wearing brute in armor similar to the Saiyans crashing right into the front window of the ship. His muffled scream resonates with our heroes as his eyes lock with their own. A moment later his body explodes and covers the window in a sickly red hue.
Just as the ship's windshield wipers clear the view, a stray energy strike collides with their Namekian vessel. The ship is sent tumbling into a nosedive toward the nearby planet. The pair have no time to react. In the blink of an eye, their ship collides with the ground like a missile. The explosion radiates like a meteoric impact, though buried among the thousands of other bursts that fill the sky with chaos.
Piccolo is the first to crawl out of his hole. He limps along the bloody trail etched out by Videl's body until he meets her. He tries to call out to her but he's too stunned to muster anything more than terrified moans. He shoves her arm repeatedly, half afraid that she's already gone. Some gargled noises make their way out of her mouth that refute the lifelessness of her eyes. It's enough for him. He pulls her into his arms and makes his way to the wreckage.
Dozens of horrible screams litter the dust beyond his sight as bursts of light and fire ignite in the distance. He frantically moves shrapnel away. His teary eyes compound with his panicked breaths. He finally finds it. He pulls their supply bag out from under the rubble and hoists it over his shoulder.
As he makes his way to the ledge of the impact site, a manic scream hits his ears. A horrified soldier bursts from the dust cloud and into view. The soldier barely registers Piccolo. His mind is already gone. Frantic shots fire from his blaster in the general direction of the young Namekian. Piccolo trips backward, but not before blasting erratic energy from his palm that vaporizes the soldier's upper body.
Piccolo holds back the puke rising in his mouth just as he catches his feet. It is then that he realizes the skyscrapers around him. The ship had landed within a large alien city. He quickly takes cover inside the largest and sturdiest building around.
The explosions and screams are muffled within the structure. It's just enough for Piccolo to recollect some of his sanity. He notices the oozing red fluids coming out of Videl's neck. He puts her down gently and fumbles around his bag for a first aid kit. The tears in his eyes blur his vision, but he finds it. After struggling to undo the wrapping on the bandage he seals her most serious wounds.
A tinge of light returns to Videl's eyes and her breathing becomes more regular. The sight relieves Piccolo a bit. He closes his eyes to sigh, but as he does her hand touches his arm to steal his attention back. She glares at him intently with a furrowed brow and her palm outstretched, expecting something.
She can't yet speak, but Piccolo understands instinctively. He returns his hands to the bag until he finds it. He plops the candy into her hand. She presses it into her mouth with noticeable effort and begins to gnaw on it with a bit of wincing.
Piccolo takes the time to examine his surroundings. He notices the bodies that litter the street. Many likely civilians, but among them at least three distinct military groups. He continues to work out the situation in his head, but is interrupted by the sound of Videl's shoes against the ground. Piccolo jerks in surprise.
"Hey, you shouldn't be moving yet!" He protests Videl's back.
She speaks with a pained and strained voice "We gotta keep moving. It's not safe here."
Piccolo fails to find fault in her words and silently joins her. They make their way deeper into the massive concrete building. After traversing several halls they eventually find a vault-like door. Voices penetrate from the other side. Piccolo's Namekian ears have no trouble deciphering the words.
"We don't have enough reinforcements to contain the whole planet, my lord. I recommend requesting backup from another Frieza Force division."
"You fool! I gave Lord Frieza my word that I would resolve this issue and I intend to do so!"
"But Lord Cui, we did not factor in the local militants revolting. I'm sure nobody would fault you for failing in these circumstances."
The sound of weeping echoes through the door.
"Oh geez, he's crying."
"Shut up! I'll kill you all!" The weeping intensifies.
"Shhh. It's okay. It's alright. Just rest your head on my lap, my lord."
A third voice interrupts the whining session. "Lord Cui! The door! My scouter is picking up readings!"
Piccolo jumps back with Videl's collar in hand. Just in time, it seemed. The vault door blasts open and off its hinges outward across the hall. Inside is a large spacious conference room. Three aliens stand beside the large table in the center, and several bodies of another faction litter the ground.
"Well well well!" the purple phallic-headed fish-faced Cui interrupts his own introduction with sniffling. "Some pesky rats made their way in! Get them!"
Two oily spandex-wearing super troopers leap toward Piccolo and Videl. Piccolo pulls one by the wrist, causing him to trip his partner. As the second one tumbles over, Piccolo slams them together with a kick from below that blasts them through the ceiling like a sloppy sandwich.
Cui curses under his breath. "You may have been able to deal with my aids, but you'll soon find I'm on an entirely different level!"
Cui stands utop the table and strikes an incredibly menacing and intense spread leg pose that signifies both power and sex appeal. Piccolo is taken aback, but not for long. Before their epic battle can begin the building rattles. Everyone's eyes follow the cracks that race across the room. The whole room gasps in unison, anticipating the second impact that shatters the structure in half. A blinding light silhouettes Cui from behind where a wall once stood. The droning of the massive space-faring vessel before them dominates the atmosphere.
A sweat pools down Cui's face as he slowly turns his head around. Facing him from within the open door of the ship is a soldier clad in blue spandex, white armor, a face obscuring helmet, and an expensive looking cape. Cui is unable to escape his own immaculate pose before the boot of the new foe meets his vulnerable rear. The force sends Cui groin first into the marble table beneath him. Standing atop Cui's head, the soldier prepares to assail his next victim.
Leaping from the hairless cranium, the attacker launches a flurry of punches and kicks at Piccolo. Each one is blocked or evaded. Without even thinking Piccolo swats his opponent through the wall to his left. He has no time to rest, a much fatter winged opponent closes in quickly. This time Piccolo sends him back with a "Satan Blaster Wave!" of energy. As he does, he notices another smaller opponent attempting to flank him.
Piccolo lands his forearm right into the neck of the third foe with a single solid chop. He senses that it's not over yet. He readies himself and focuses intently on the open ship door. He hears the footsteps first. Then the silhouette of a cloaked figure dominates the ship's entryway in a manner the other three had not. The massive mystery man stands silently for a moment, then begins to speak in an elderly voice.
"I see… I thought that ship looked familiar, it was just like the one I once traveled in. You must be of my kind."
Piccolo refuses to respond. He senses ominous and dangerous energy emitting from the dreaded figure. With heavy feet, they make their way out of the ship and into the room. Piccolo can now make out his features. He's tall, bulky, and quite old. Piccolo can't help but compare his wrinkles to that of his own mother, Kami.
"Who are you?" Piccolo asks assertively.
"Oh? Where are my manners." The monstrous man removes his hood to reveal an unmistakably Namekian face. "You may call me Lord Slug! Since I'm in such a good mood, I'll offer to let you bow before me now. Your putrid life will be spared under eternal servitude." Slug waves his hand across his body to accept the boy's surrender, but Piccolo does not humor the gesture.
"You're responsible for this, aren't you? Attacking this planet." Piccolo maintains his defensive posture.
Slug chuckles, amused by the unexpected response. "Yes. What of it?"
"Why! Why would you do such a thing!" Piccolo's distress echoes in his voice.
Still humored, Slug lowers his hand. "Because I wanted to. Because I felt like it. See, I want to conquer this laughable universe. Good enough for you?"
"Of course not! That's stupid!" Piccolo growls with his teeth on display.
Slug erupts into roaring laughter, not calming down for at least a quarter of a minute. "Kid, I'm just evil." He Then surges power within and eyes Piccolo with a sadistic grin.
The surge is so great that it shocks Piccolo into fight or flight. "He's even stronger than Gohan!"
Realizing the danger, Piccolo instinctively moves to protect the barely conscious Videl. He's not a moment too soon. The building explodes in all directions, nearly leveling it. Piccolo comes out of it slightly singed. He can feel the girl's heart race in his arms. Piccolo turns back around to face Slug. Behind him, he sees the true massive magnitude of the spacecraft Slug had come from.
The roar of the space battle overhead finally reaches his ears again. The bursts have not calmed one bit. Even so, all Piccolo can focus on is the opponent before him. The gap between them has widened. The floor itself had split apart and moved a dozen meters away from Slug.
Piccolo almost becomes intoxicated by the impending power struggle. That is until he hears the sound of Videl finally collapsing behind him. His focus is snapped. Instantly he spins his body back around to see his withering companion.
She looks back at him in agony, her bleeding has resumed. Her mouth tries to mutter something angrily, but it's too late. Piccolo's vision is overtaken by the fist in front of him.
"Don't let yourself get distracted kid!" Slug's voice hits Piccolo's ears close enough to whisper a secret.
Before a thought can be processed Piccolo finds himself shooting through the air at an incredible speed that is only interrupted by the building he collides with. He rolls the moment his body lets him, just fast enough to evade the following kick that disintegrates the skyscraper he'd been pelted to.
Not missing the opportunity, Piccolo plants both feet into Slug's chest. "Hercule Knockback!" He shouts. The attack is only half as effective as he'd anticipated. Slug Rebounds too quickly to perform a combo.
"You're naming your moves? How old are you, four?" Slug taunts the young Piccolo as they exchange a series of punches and kicks mid-air.
"Five! And I bet you're just jealous you didn't think of it first!" Piccolo lets out a warrior's roar. His aura expands violently.
Slug is stunned by the spectacle. More than that, he's shaken by the familiar energy that exposes itself from deep within the boy. Could it be? Could he be a demon too? Slug's objective changes. He wants to end the fight quickly now. "It's time I start treating you like the eight foot oaf you are!" Slug's eyes light up like lightbulbs and shoot a pair of lasers right into Piccolo's own eyes.
"Ow! My eyes!" Piccolo recoils in pain and covers his face. His stomach is bombarded with several dozen strikes while he is blinded.
The strikes let up, allowing Piccolo to take in the pain. Just as his vision starts to come back, he's blinded again, not by darkness, but by the illumination of Slug's supercharged attack. There's no energy left to dodge. Piccolo is swallowed up by the blast and blown into the ground with tremendous force, instantly knocking him out.
Slug hits the ground where Piccolo lay. His subordinates whom Piccolo had downed come to his side. Seeing Piccolo still breathing, they prepare to finish the job.
"No, I've decided to keep this one. Take his friends prisoner. I want to try this again when he awakes."
"Yes lord Slug! Right away!" The soldiers hurry in compliance with their master's orders.
Slug wipes his jaw and spits. "We're getting out of here, this has gotten too messy. I can't risk a full on engagement with the Frieza Force quite yet."
The ship soon departs the war-torn planet, leaving it for another day.