"No!" Nail cries out. Piccolo and Guru's arms don't provide any resistance. After breaking free, Nail charges the demon king.
The Namekian warrior vanishes and reappears several times around the monster, landing a crushing blow each time. His opponent only reacts by giving him a twisted smile. Each strike bruises the warrior's limbs, drawing them ever closer to breaking.
"There's no place in hell that can punish you enough for what you've done here!"
Nail's fist shoots for Slug's face, but this time it's stopped. The demon grips Nail's head, nearly crushing it. Laughter erupts from his jaws. Piccolo and Guru remain too stunned to act. Slug's free arm smashes into Nail's right side. The warrior's screams are muffled behind Slug's palm. On his arm's return, Slug batters the helpless warrior's left side with the back of his hand. Finally, the fiend tosses Nail. He follows up to finish him with a hefty mouth cannon.
"Stop it!" Piccolo finally snaps out of his daze.
The beam of death is intercepted in the air by Piccolo. The collision booms as loud as it is bright. Scorch marks cover the boy's arms and legs. His heavy breathing conveys the effort required to withstand the attack. Nail continues to fall, disappearing over the ledge of the balcony.
"Why are you doing this!? What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing's gotten into me, boy! I've always been evil! Or have you forgotten that?"
Piccolo quivers, wishing to reject the reply. "The only one forgetting anything is you! All that time we've spent together, it wasn't for nothing!" Piccolo descends to the ground. "Stop this violence, I don't want to fight you!"
"If you don't want to fight me, then kneel! If I hear any more smack out of you, I'll incinerate you like I did your little girlfriend!"
Piccolo's fist clenches. "That's enough! If you keep this up, I'll, I'll have to beat the sense back into you!"
"Do it! Because I'm about to beat the demon back into you!"
Slug doesn't hesitate to carve a path across the room with his laser eyes. Piccolo screams in pain as they tear across his chest. The walls of the throne room begin to crumble, allowing the cold howling wind to race across the room. Before the dust even settles, Slug unleashes three more sets of beams from his eyes. Piccolo's cries become weaker with each one.
"Slug, you must cease this madness!" Guru reaches to grab Slug by the shoulder, but the mad demon king breaks the grand elder's arm as it approaches.
"Listen up, old man. First, I'm going to get my wish for eternal youth. After that, I'm going to shatter every single brittle bone in your body, one by one!"
Guru cries out in sorrow. "How could I be so foolish. I've failed everyone, just like I did all those years ago. It was an impossible task to bring light into your heart, just as it was impossible to bring it into your fathers."
"Don't you go comparing me to that failure!" Slug kicks Guru, causing the elder to spit blood.
"Why do you hold so much contempt for the one who embodies that which you wish to be?"
"Embodies? Another bad joke like that and I'll snap your spine!"
Guru looks back in silent confusion.
Growing in frustration, Slug stares Guru straight in the eyes. "The Demon Fire never lies."
Guru's mind tries hard to understand the meaning behind Slug's vague words. Slowly the missing information becomes clear to him. The Demon King had burned. Guru's eyes widen as far as they can, which is not a large margin. A smile begins to emerge, accompanied by teary eyes. "Then... I had not wholly failed." The last words are soft, expressing relief of a great burden.
Disgusted, Slug kicks Guru once more, this time with the intent of rolling him far enough to distance from the sickening words. "Like I said, I'm nothing like that pathetic loser! I am a king! Now bow before me, before I break your other arm!"
The wind flows harshly from behind Slug and downward onto Guru. It pummels him, as if trying to keep him from resisting the demon's commands. "No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it."
"A mountain of lard can!" Slug's foot smashes the elder into the ground, cracking the floor beneath him. "Hahahaha-whuh?"
"Hercule rescue punch!" Piccolo's mighty fist sends Slug rolling several meters.
Furious, Slug rolls back to his feet in a hunched and wide stance. "Boy! Your five-year-old ass is asking for an early seven foot grave!"
Guru stares at Piccolo from the ground. The resumption of fighting unnerves the elder, but he puts his trust in Piccolo. "Do what you must, The heart of Namek believes in you."
Tears drip from Piccolo's face and onto Guru. The grand elder understands his sorrow. Slug roars from across the room and Piccolo roars to meet him.
Far below, Nail finally awakens. His body rests on a massive outcropping spike. He's not given much time to take in his surroundings. Before he knows it, a tendril lurches for him. He's only barely able to jump out of its path. As he does, the sight of thousands more meets his eyes. They converge and spiral around the tower like twisted roots. Realizing the peril of remaining outside, he finds the nearest window.
His struggle doesn't end when he enters. The tendrils follow him, acting on instinct. With a flurry of blasts he's able to stop them from moving. Once they do, they become solid rock and blockade the window. It's at that moment that Nail is finally able to rest.
His break does not last long. A fire bursts from another corridor. He almost flees, but the emergence of a figure from it captures his attention. It's a tiny person, too small to be a slug-jin. They carry a sack behind them and another object in their opposite arm. His instincts tell him to be weary of the figure in the flames. When they finally step out, his caution heightens.
"Who are you!?"
Nail isn't greeted with a response. Slowly, he begins to recognize the girl that approaches him. The lack of pigtails in her hair throws him off at first, but he's able to distinguish her.
"It's you. I didn't think you made it. I'm grateful you survived. Now come on, we don't have much time."
Her lack of words makes him nervous. It isn't until she nears a light that his mind lights up. He's finally able to see clearly the dragon ball in her hand. He counts the stars. Four. If it were any other number, he would not be troubled.
"Where… Where did you get that dragon ball…"
The girl finally stops. She grips the ball tighter and stares down Nail with dead, yet guarded eyes. Her head angles downward, closing herself off from him. Nail's blood begins to boil. He wants her to explain herself. Just tell me something, anything. He begs with his eyes. The girl still doesn't answer.
This time Nail is the one who starts moving. As he approaches Videl, she flinches, almost running away. She doesn't want him close. When Nail gets within a few meters he halts. His nose confirms the suspicions he doesn't want to believe.
"That blood. It's his. Isn't it!"
Videl doesn't want to respond. She doesn't need to. But she does anyway. Nearly whispering, she says it. "Yes."
Nail's whole body shakes, not in fear, but in anger. "You betrayed us!"
"You betrayed me first." Not a hint of emotion is carried in her words.
Nail grips her by the collar as soon as she says those insensitive words. "That boy. That little boy. He saved your wretched life, and you killed him!"
"I did."
"Why!"
"He wanted to steal my father from me."
Nail fumes at her answer. "He should have let you die! You devil!"
Videl doesn't refute him. She wishes she'd died then too.
"I! I won't make the same mistake!"
Nail headbutts the girl so hard that she puts a hole in the concrete. Before she can gasp, the arm that holds her stretches. It pummels her through the outer wall and exposes her to the cosmic horrors that climb the tower.
Nail is quick to follow. Leaping out, he lands on the same spike as the girl. An explosion bursts from above them. Piccolo and Slug both fling into opposite thorns of the tower. The intensity of their attacks illuminates the sky like lightning.
By the time Nail's attention is brought back, Videl has already gotten to her feet. After growling at the Namekian, she places her dragon ball into the sack with the others. To unburden herself, she tosses the bag up high. Nail shoots through the air to steal them away, but as soon as he reaches them, so do Videl's feet to his chest.
Nail smacks against the tower, stunning him. He is perhaps the luckier of the two. Three dragon headed tendrils spring toward the girl as she floats. She almost loses control of the sack to evade them. A fourth head sneaks up on Nail. If he was any slower, he would not have been able to roll out of its path. Both combatants climb the tower's walls to reach higher ground.
Up above, a similar struggle continues.
Piccolo and Slug exchange blows evenly. Neither side backs down.
"I know you! The true you! Stop trying to hide your heart away!"
Piccolo blocks the punch that tries to crush him.
"I could say the same about you! You can't drive away the demon inside you forever!"
Slug dodges the kick that nearly takes his head.
"I can! And I will!"
Each fighter shoots an erratic cannon of energy from their mouths. The light meets in the middle and briefly lights up the sky. Filling the void between them, a massive snaking tendril pulses forth. The two realize the calamity has nearly caught up with them.
"Guru!"
"The dragon balls!"
They both bolt back to the throne room to grab their target and rush out as soon as they can. As soon as they exit, they leap up to higher ground. Each level they ascend, they unleash charged beams of energy at one another.
Not far behind them, Nail and Videl exchange rappid volleys of Ki. The two sprint up the walls of the tower in parallel. Soon they disappear behind opposite sides of the throne room balcony. The second they reemerge, they clash in melee. Below them, the glow of tendrils nearly stretch to the horizon. Their density lay strongest at the epicenter of the conflict.
Piccolo and Slug toss Guru and the dragon balls back and forth, bouting in brutal clashes before they drop into their hands. Eventually they reach the peak of the tower and land upon its roof.
"You don't have to be evil!"
"Of course I do! It's my destiny! Just like you, boy!"
"That's a load of doo-doo!"
Slug rolls Guru onto the ground while Piccolo drops the dragon balls. They burst forth, smacking into each other, palm to palm.
"If you're as evil as you say you are, why didn't you just kill me when we met!"
Piccolo begins to win the power struggle.
"I needed a successor! You were already a demon in the making!"
Slug pushes back, the momentum now in his favor.
"That's no excuse! With the dragon balls, you could live forever! You never needed me!"
The two burst from each other, neither winning the exchange.
Down in the throne room, Nail and Videl beat each other relentlessly. Both strike without form or style, instead devolving into primitive brawling. Contrary to the battle above, their conflict needs no words. Each fights for the sake of completely annihilating the other. Their bodies tire before their spirit and their movements become slower.
An outside factor changes the balance. The fire from within the tower finally pushes into the chamber. Nail has no choice but to retreat. Videl drags her body after him, only barely able to walk.
A horrible realization comes over Nail. The stairway up is now impeded with flames he cannot cross, and his strength is too little to climb the walls from outside. Not far below, the tendrils rise. Only a single course of action remains. If he is to die here, he will take the little devil with him. As soon as she gets within range, he wraps his arms around her.
Videl realizes what he's trying to do just in time. Not ready to give up, she plants her feet into the ground and pulls away. The two engage in a tug-of-war. The strength of their bodies matters little at this point. The strength of their wills is what decides the outcome. The wrath of the Namekian people collides with the wish to see a father once again.
Both scream out as loud as they can. From their voices alone, you wouldn't know which was the warrior, and which was the demon. Their cries pierce the skies, attracting the hungry planet's tendrils to them. Videl forces her mind onward. The face of her father eches in her mind. The hug she waits for. The kiss she wants to feel on her cheek. The warmth of his smile to wash all her sorrows away. Someone, to tell her it's going to be okay.
Nail's arms begin to lose their grip. No matter how hard he tries, he can't stop the girl. He knows his struggle is failing. He gives one more push. The thoughts of Dende, Cargo, Moori, Tsuno, all those who've suffered in these dark days. It's not enough. Try as he does, he cannot see them smile. A part of his heart knows they wouldn't want this ending.
His grip loosens more. He knows their faces would be full of sorrow. He knows killing this devil won't bring them back. The dragon balls are no longer a possibility. His meaning is lost. His hands break free.
The stream of tears trail as he falls. They patter on Videl when she hits the ground. The Namekian warrior slips over the balcony and into the sea of dragons.
Piccolo and Slug slice past each other at blazing speeds. Though only grazing as they pass, the point where their arms touch bursts with lightning.
"Come on, boy! Don't pretend to be innocent in this! Who was it who brought us here! Tell me!"
The two collide once more, sending shockwaves abounding. Even after they recover, Piccolo doesn't respond.
"That's right! You did! And when the Namekian bodies started piling, did you stop me!?" Slug tosses a large ball of energy.
"No." Piccolo bounds it back, adding energy to it.
"And why not!?" Slug swats it right back at the boy.
"Because I was complicit! I didn't care as long as we got the dragon balls!" The ball of energy continues to exchange between them. It becomes more unstable as it grows.
"And what does that sound like!" Slug now needs to use both hands to catch it. After some grunting, he's able to force it back one more time.
"A demon!" Piccolo doesn't wait for the sphere. He leaps into it, punching it so hard that it pummels Slug.
"E-Exactly!" The ball bursts in his face. Slug doesn't have the energy to properly defend. His age takes its toll.
"But that's not all I am, uncle Slug." Piccolo dashes in beside Slug. "There's a me inside who rejects that."
"I've heard enough of your self indulgent naivety! You were born a demon, and you'll die a demon. Just like me!" Slug remains beaten on the ground, no longer capable of fighting.
"You only think that because of what your father was. Well guess what, he probably didn't even want you to become a demon!" Piccolo stands, back turned to the demon king.
"Shut up! Don't speak of things you know nothing about! Being evil isn't a choice! It's a part of who I am, and It's a part of who you are too!"
"Maybe it is!"
Slug gasps, surprised to hear him admit such a thing.
The boy hasn't finished. "But there's other parts too!"
Slug hesitates.
"I know I'm not wrong! I heard what you said to Guru! That fire burnt your dad, just like it burnt you!"
"Quiet!"
Slug finally springs up, summoning a reserve of energy that he doesn't have. Piccolo is taken by surprise. The mighty demon king's hands pummel the hero's back. Slug follows up with a kick that launches Piccolo across the roof. The boy is too slow to react to the massive beam of energy that chases him. His arms brace him, but they scorch under the mighty stream of energy.
Slug doesn't let up. The ray that pulsates from his palm shines greater than any before. It refuses to stop until the boy is dead. Piccolo knows this, but even so, he refuses to shoot back. The Namekian hero knows that if he wins the struggle, Slug will not survive. He plants his feet into the ground, using all his might to withstand the onslaught.
"I remember when it burnt you too!" He heaves, struggling even more. The beam nearly breaks his back. "You knew that fire would have killed me! You knew I wasn't nearly evil enough to withstand it! Even so, you put your body in front of me! It burned you, because you cared about me!"
"Stop it!"
"You saved me! And now I'm going to save you!"
Piccolo's defense gives out. The beam bursts against his skin. The explosion lights up the sky so bright that it becomes day for a moment. The force cracks the sky, dissipating the clouds. Sunlight shines through once more.
"Piccolo!"
Slug rushes over to where the boy had been. His legs are so weak that the run nearly breaks them. Piccolo is alive, but barely. Slug grips him by the collar and punches his face. He doesn't care that his tears spill onto the boy's body. Guru is completely shaken by what he sees across the rooftop.
Slug punches Piccolo again and again. Each blow weaker than the last. His mind is no longer capable of repressing his memory. The day he was born. The face of his father that had disgusted him so much. He remembered that smile across his face. The tears of weakness that ran down his cheeks. His father wasn't even a demon anymore. The flames that burned him proved that. Slug only knew his father for a few brief seconds before the ship launched.
He had also known of the planet's tendrils. They had chased his ship as it fled. His father alone stopped every one of them. He didn't understand it at the time, or at least he didn't want to. It was easier to call him weak, but his father was stronger than any demon king before him, and he was stronger than his father.
Slug fully embraces Piccolo. His arms wrap around him and pull him tight. With strained muscles, Piccolo returns the hug. The wholesome moment is interrupted by the shrieks of the tendrils below. The wind returns with the darkness, and the groans of the raging planet carry on.
"Looks like this is the end, kiddo." Slug separates from Piccolo, he watches the glowing horizon with stern eyes. He knows there isn't enough in him to go on. "I want to give you something. A parting gift."
"W-What? What do you mean parting? It's not over, we can still survive this!"
Slug shakes his head. The life force within him fades quickly. He puts every last drop that remains into his arm. Once done, he tears the appendage from his body.
"What are you doing!" Piccolo trembles, completely surprised by what is transpiring.
"Take it." He places the arm in Piccolo's hands. "There's no rush, but when the time comes that you need me again, this arm will bring me to you."
"I don't understand! What does that mean!?"
Slug has no response. His eyes close and his body becomes stiff.
Deep down, at the base of the tower, the Warrior Namekian partially opens his eyes. Tendrils slide past him, rolling his body about as they do. They have no interest in him, no interest in those who have no life to take. His heart beats, but his spirit has already left him.