"The air is tense today my brother." One Namekian says to the other. The pair stand atop a hill overseeing their crops.
"You're always paranoid like that. The air is fine, just a little still is all." The other Namekian crosses his arms. "Let us go on a walk, to put your troubles at ease."
The first Namekian nods in agreement. The two brothers set out across the grassy blue landscape. They make it a great distance from their home. Eventually, their walk takes them to a vast empty canyon.
"I should be marveling at the beauty of this landscape, brother. Unfortunately, I cannot help but be anxious"
"I understand how you feel. Even I grow discomforted by this land. It is as if the soil itself is stained by something foul"
The brothers prepare to turn back, but one of them notices something above them. A grey dot shines miles above the ground. They block the sunlight with their hands to get a better view.
"What do you think it is, brother?"
"I know not of any object that can describe that thing."
Far away on the opposite side of Namek, a terrible feeling overcomes the largest and fattest of all Namekians.
"What is it Grand Elder Guru?" his guardian calls out.
"Nail, something descends upon our world. I feel it in my heart, something dark, something evil. It is an energy I am familiar with."
"An energy you are familiar with? Then, it must be before the calamity."
"Yes, you are correct in your judgment. I fear it may be a foe I thought defeated long ago."
Nail is left frozen stiff at the foot of the great Namekian so large and round that he would seem unable to ever move from his chair.
"What does this mean Lord Guru? Who is it that causes you to tremble so greatly?"
"It should not be possible, but that awful aura cannot be mistaken for another. The great and terrible demon king of old. Thought slain atop the devil's spire by the hellfire of our dying world."
Nail kneels before his master, waiting anxiously for the continuation of the tale.
"Come, sit upon my lap. I will tell you the tale of what led to that tragedy."
"That's quite unnecessary, Grand Elder Guru." redness comes to Nail's cheeks hearing the embarrassing request.
"Nay, I insist. Do not defy me, my child." With some slight struggle, Guru elongates his arm so that he can reach Nail's collar. He then hoists the warrior Namekian up to his lap and rubs his shoulder softly.
Looking out from a window within his massive ship, Slug tells a tale of his own. "My story? There's not much to tell. I was only on Namek for a brief moment before being launched into space. Though, some of the memories of my people had been passed onto me. I was at least aware of what was happening. The demon clan had waged war upon the putrid weaklings, and lost." Slug softly tells this to Piccolo, who sits in his lap.
"That can't be all! Come on, what else do you remember?" Piccolo tugs at Slug's robe impatiently.
"Easy, easy, haha. I just don't have all the details. My wretched father withheld most of it from me. Though I should clarify, it was not so much that demons lost as it was that everyone lost."
Guru pats Nail's head and continues after gurgling some water. "The demon clan had kept to the shadows of the forests and the depths of the caverns for a millennium. They feared the magic of the dragon balls held by the dragon clan." Guru pauses, he hesitates to go on, but decides to anyway. "...A mistake was made, a costly one. Seeking to bring true peace, a naive and foolish Namekian had brought their dragon ball before the king of demons."
Slug coughs up some mucus, then resumes the tale. "The time was right, a dragon ball had stumbled right into my father's hands. Without all seven, there was nothing to fear. A full scale invasion had begun." He coughs even louder, having forced his lungs to go on for too long.
"Here." Piccolo hands him a glass of water, which Slug downs in an instant.
Guru's eyes fill with sadness as he finishes. "Eventually that naive Namekian was able to reunite the dragon ball with the others. He was able to stop the fighting with the power of the dragon, but it had come at an unforeseen cost..."
Back below the shiny object in the sky, the brothers watch with uncertainty.
"Is it getting bigger, brother?"
"It is! It is!"
Their reactions are slow, too slow. By the time they realized the size of the descending vessel, it was too late. They fail to escape the shadow of the massive spacecraft. A second later it impacts the planet with a massive shockwave. One brother is blown several meters away. The other is not so lucky.
"Brother!" He calls out with an agonized voice.
He crawls to the edge of the mighty vessel. His jaw drops at what his eyes take in.
"No. No. Nooo!" He grabs the exposed arm of his brother, the only part not trapped beneath the ship.
His sobbing is cut short by the crackling above him. Gas releases from the edges of the hatch, followed by the opening of the main doors. It swings downward like a drawbridge until it collides with the ground.
Moments later the sound of footsteps against metal meet his ears. He gasps when he sees the figure. Standing atop the steps above him is none other than little Videl. She Dons a new set of slug-jin armor that is adorned by a robe, and a mask covers her face from the nose head slowly turns in the Namekian's direction, eyeing him with murderous intensity.
Before the minute passes a dozen more slug-jin troops march out the door with a "hut hut hut!". They take formation outside the vessel at attention. Next to depart is Cui. He himself wears an even more extravagant suit of armor. His comes complete with spiked pauldrons and a princely cape. He nods to Videl as he takes foot on the stairway and the two walk down together. Once they make land he puts his men at ease.
"Lieutenant Cui! What are your orders!" One of the slug-jin inquires.
With a smile on his face, he points in the direction of the surviving Namekian. "It appears there are lifeforms on this supposed dead planet. Capture that filth and bring him to Lord Slug. You can manage that much, can't you?"
Realizing his predicament, the Namekian begins to flee. It is to no avail. The men are on him in an instant.
"For Lieutenant Cui!" the men all shout. They tackle the Namekian to the ground and pound him ruthlessly.
He doesn't stand a chance. They drag the helpless being back into the shadows of their colossal fortress.
Slug watches the scene unfold from his viewing screen. "Tch! It pains me to see my men worship that idiot. It was bad enough when they called him Lord Cui, I just want to tear his pompous head off!"
Piccolo, still sitting in his lap, grumbles worriedly.
"I know, I know. No killing your friends. Still, just look at those two hooligans, wearing those awful gaudy costumes. They're like a couple of kids!"
Piccolo wishes he could say that he barely knows anything about the purple fish man, but he continues to allow the misunderstanding for Cui's sake.
Meanwhile, Cui takes in his surroundings. He slumps his shoulders in disappointment. "You know Squirt, I've seen a lot of planets in my time, this one is definitely not where I'd want to take a vacation."
"Don't call me Squirt, Fishlips." Videl doesn't even turn to face him.
Her words strike a nerve with Cui. "Hey you better start respecting me, Don't you forget that I'm strong enough to snap you in two!"
"The day I respect you is the day I lose my dignity as a human. And don't count on being tougher than me forever, I'm still a growing girl."
Cui flubs his lips at the boorish child.
Inside, the Namekian is dumped at the foot of Lord Slug.
Slug stares him down curiously. "So you were right after all kiddo. I guess I owe you one." He glares menacingly with a subtle giggle. "Tell me Namekian, how are you alive? Who has given you life, and how many of you are there?"
"And do you have dragon balls!" Piccolo chimes in.
"Dragon balls?" The Namekian native's face turns sour. "I knew it, you're wicked invaders, aren't you! Well, I'll tell you nothing. You will not have our dragon balls!"
"So you do have them." Slug confirms.
The Namekian stumbles, realizing he'd already been defeated. He hangs his head low.
"No matter. If you will not talk, then I will take the knowledge from you myself." Slug puts his hand forth. He touches the Namekian's head and sucks his memories out like a vacuum. It's enough to cause the Namekian captive to faint.
Having finished his interrogation, Slug relaxes. "I've learned what I need. Kill this worm."
"Wha! No!" Piccolo protests.
"What do you mean no?" Slug seems genuinely confused.
"You can't just kill people! That's evil!"
"Kid, we've gone over this." Slug quickly blasts the unconscious Namekian with his finger.
Tears well up in Piccolo's eyes. He kneels beside the deceased body. "He was so innocent! He didn't deserve this!" Piccolo weeps uncontrollably.
"Oh for the love of-. Damnit, fine. If this one pathetic waste of flesh means that much to you, why don't you wish him back to life with the dragon balls."
Piccolo's tears stop. He looks up with sudden realization. "Oh right. That's the whole reason we're here. Though this makes things a bit messy. They might not give us the dragon balls if they find out we killed this guy."
"Give us the dragon balls? What the hell are you on about? We'll pry them from their cold dead hands you imbecile!"
Piccolo jumps back with his jaw hanging low. "Y-You don't mean that!"
"You bet your tiny little butt I do!"
Piccolo's face tightens sorrowfully. "Please, let's at least try to talk to them! Wouldn't it be easier that way anyway?"
Slug sighs heavily. "Think about it this way kid. If we ask for the dragon balls and they say no, then we don't have the dragon balls. Without dragon balls, then you can't wish this… peasant, back to life."
"But if we used force then even more people would die!"
"And we could wish them back, good as new! They probably wouldn't even notice they died!"
Piccolo doesn't know what to say. He's trapped in a moral dilemma he can't escape. Finally. "I don't want to hurt innocent people." He hesitates, thinking over it once again. "But if it's the only way to make everyone happy, I." He stops. He can't bear to admit it.
Slug grabs him by the shoulder. "Don't break on me kiddo. You can leave all the sinning to me"
Piccolo doesn't answer. He'd been offered an out.
"You want to see your daddy again, right? Don't want to let him down, do you?"
A battle of morals wages within him, but he surrenders to the words of his master. He releases a sigh of reprieve and nods to signify his acceptance of the flawed logic.
"I don't. I don't want to let him down."
Slug and Piccolo are the last to depart the vessel. Outside is Slug's mighty army. Hundreds of slug-jin stand neatly arranged. He stops at the foot of the ship where his officers await him. Four commanders stand ready.
"Alright you sorry band of slug-suckers, as you can plainly see, this hunk of rock isn't exactly as dead as it should be. In fact, our mission has changed a little. See, there's these orbs called dragon balls tucked away in the shabby little villages around here. I want them at my feet by the end of the day!"
"Yes sir!" The entire army chants in unison.
"Wings! I want you to head this mission."
"It will be my pleasure sir!" one of Slug's four commanders; the largest and roundest of the group, responds.
"My Lord, please allow me to seek the orbs for you as well!" Cui interrupts the conversation.
"Did I tell you to speak maggot? If I wanted you in the field I would have told you to walk on a landmine by now!" Slug becomes highly agitated by the out-of-turn announcement.
"My Lord, I didn't mean to offend you. I simply wished to honor you! Allow me to prove myself worthy of command, I'll gather more balls than that fat lumbering oaf Wings! Surely a little competition would be acceptable, for the expediency of your wish granting."
"Wish granting?" Slug bursts his arm from under his cloak and wraps his fingers around Cui's neck. "Who the hell told you that?"
"Ah Ack! I… Only meant that… To grant your wishes of having the orbs my Great and honorable Lord!"
Slug releases the gasping fish. "Better be, for your sake. You just better bring more than Wings if you have any value for your life."
Without any more words, Cui stands back straight. He nods to Videl, who stands beside him.
"What about the pod my Lord, shall we launch it?" Another commander speaks out.
"No, not yet. It'll be more troublesome if the Namekians know we're here."
"Very good sir!"
"You are all dismissed!"
"Yes sir!" the soldiers disperse.
Before Cui can leave, Wings grabs him by the shoulders. He turns the fish man so that they square up. He laughs at Cui in a condescending way.
"Fat lumbering oaf? You're pretty ballsy today, Queef. Hope that succulent scaly body of yours has the guts to show up when we're done here. Heh, I'll make a personal savory snack out of you as my victory prize! Hahahaha."
With that disturbing discussion's end, Wings blasts off from the ground. He joins his horde of several hundred slug-jin. Cui shudders for a moment, then curses once more under his breath.
"Come, brat!" He waves on Videl. The two depart on their own hunt with a meager twenty men.
After the soldiers had cleared, Slug had taken a deep breath. He examines the grassy cliffs where he had landed. He fixates on the canyon not far away.
"This must be it." Slug whispers to himself.
"What do you mean by that?" Piccolo pops his head into Slug's view.
"I may be wrong, but this feels like the land of my ancestors. It looks quite different without any trees, but the ground still emanates that sweet demonic energy. Don't you feel it?"
"This feeling, I've felt it before." Piccolo says so without thinking, he can't actually remember where or when he'd felt it. It is only faintly familiar to him.
"You don't say? I shouldn't be surprised. I felt it when we'd first met. You sure don't act like a demon, but maybe I can make one of you yet."
"Or maybe I might make a good guy out of you." Piccolo jokes with a playful laugh.
"Hmmm…" Slug doesn't like the sound of his words. "Let's take a walk, I want to explore a bit while we wait."
The two casually stroll into the canyon once home to the Namekian demon clan of old.