Chapter 5- The Planet of Nightmares
"DAD!", Gohan yelled to his sleeping father, "Come here at look at this!" Goku walled out of his room, looking tired. "What is it son?", Goku said, rubbing his eyes and then he looked up at the planet, "That's strange. Namek shouldn't look like that. The only time I've seen a planet look like that was when the old Namek was about to explode.", he looked at the computer, "Computer, check status of New Namek." The computer made a quick calculation and the voice chimed in again, "New Namek in stable condition." "What's going on out here?", a grumpy Vegeta said, walking out of his room. Piccolo appeared next to him, "Yeah. What's happening?" "Guys. You gotta see this. The computer says Namek is fine, but just look at it. It shouldn't look like that." Vegeta stayed in his doorway, while Piccolo walked up and looked out the window. "Your right. Something very wrong is going on down there. And it's up to us to find out. It's too late to turn back now." "Yeah, I know.", said Gohan as he glared at the diseased planet.
"Now entering Planet New Namek atmosphere. Please fasten harnesses.", chimed the computer voice. The four of them quickly got dressed, sat down and put on their harnesses, waiting for the bumpy landing. They entered the atmosphere at a bone-jarring speed, bumping everywhere. It was like a giant had picked the ship up and was shaking it all around. Gohan hit his head on the side of his seat and blacked out before they landed. He awoke to find the ship had landed on New Namek. The others were gone. Had they left him? He unbuckled his seat and stood up. He looked outside to see that the planet was worse than he thought, it was red and diseased, and there were no signs of life at all. He walked outside and saw exactly what had been plaguing his dreams. His father and Piccolo lay dead, outside the ship. Tarian appeared, with Vegeta at his side. This was the first time Gohan got a good look at the evil Namek's face. He had the evil grin of Lord Slug, but a slender face like Piccolo. He looked battle-worn but still full of energy. He had a scar across his the side of his mouth. Gohan was terrified, the sight of his father and Piccolo's corpses were enough, but Vegeta! Vegeta stood there, smirking. He his arm looked broken, yet he didn't cradle it. He stood there, and then Gohan saw it in Vegeta's eyes. The milky white eyes of a soulless zombie. Tarian nodded towards Gohan and Vegeta walked towards him, still grinning like the devil. Gohan didn't have a chance as Vegeta charged and knocked him to the ground. Gohan lay there in a daze, Tarian stood over him, looking down at Gohan, in a voice that sounded almost like Zarbon's but deeper and raspier, he said, "Gohan…", Gohan's world went black. "Gohan…", again, this time it was his fathers voice. Gohan sat bolt upright again. He was alive, it was only another dream. He had blacked out from the hit his head suffered on the way down. He was sitting on the floor of the ship, his father next to him, Piccolo stood over them and Vegeta sat in the corner. "Are you ok, Gohan?", his father asked. "Yeah…I'm fine." Gohan decided that it was best not to tell them about what he dreamed about, he didn't want anyone to jump to conclusions, especially Vegeta. Gohan stood, "I'm alright, Dad. Let's start this search."
The team walked outside to find that the planet was completely desolate. Instead of the green, lively paradise that Namek was, it was nothing but a red, mountainous desert. The black clouds overhead growled with ominous booms of thunder. There were no signs of life at all. They immediately sensed a strong power from far away, and they walked towards it. They sensed power levels that felt like those of the Nameks, but they were different. "That doesn't feel like the Nameks we encountered before", said Goku, who was in the front of the group. Piccolo walked next to him and Gohan and Vegeta walked behind. Piccolo spotted a village and stopped, "Look! There's a village! Let's check it out, maybe we can find out what's going on around here." They approached the village, seeing Nameks outside, working. "Hello!", Goku yelled, waving in a friendly manner. The Nameks turned, and Gohan gasped at what he saw. They had the same milky white eyes that Vegeta had in his dream. "What the hell…", Vegeta muttered. More Nameks started walking out of the houses, even the children were possessed. They started running towards the team. "GET AWAY FROM THEM!", yelled Piccolo. Vegeta charged forward and started fighting, easily killing two Nameks immediately and holding another by the neck. "VEGETA! STOP! THEY'RE NOT THEMSELVES!", Goku yelled. Vegeta stared at the struggling Namek in his grasp. "You're not worth it.", he said. He dropped the Namek, who was now unconscious and followed the others away from the village. The Nameks yelled at the fleeing invaders but, apparently, could not fly after them in their possessed state. After getting far away from the village, the group slowed down, landed and started following the strong power level again.
They walked for what seemed like hours, seeing and avoiding many more possessed villages. As they continued, the clouds overhead got darker and the environment grew more ominous. The villages became few and far between, and hills and mountains became the majority of their surroundings. Gohan looked to his left and saw something that chilled him to the bone. "Guys…look.", he said. In his nightmares, Tarian was always on top of a mountain. Gohan saw that mountain. "That's where he is. I'm sure of it.", Gohan said, staring at the mountain. "Well. Let's not waste time here. Let's go.", said Vegeta impatiently. Gohan led the group as they walked towards the treacherous mountain. When they reached the base of the mountain they saw how tall it really was. Without a word, Gohan stepped forward and the group started their ascent.