The Namekians gathered for the Champion Games gawk at the sky. An encroaching shadow creeps over the land as one of their three suns is consumed in an eclipse. Anxious fear roils in their stomachs as the sky darkens.
The black sphere consuming the sun shrinks like the pupil of an eye. A flaming aura bursts around the immense object as it enters the atmosphere. The meteor crashes over the horizon. A mushroom cloud billows up. Shock waves from the impact shake the ground, and a deafening boom rolls across the land.
Nail's tiny legs give out as he is thrown to the ground. He searches the faces of the adults around him which are all covered in terror. The shaking stops, and the panic sets in.
People scream and run about.
"Fear not!"
The declaration comes from above. The conviction in the voice commands the attention of the attendees. Nail looks to the sky to find Slug floating above.
"Your greatest warriors are all gathered here. We will go forth and investigate this disaster. And should there be any trouble, we are the best qualified to handle it. Now future champions, let us make haste and prove our merit!"
Slug charges towards the horizon without bothering to check if anyone follows him. The rest of the prospective champions fall in line behind him.
Nail watches them until they disappear from sight.
"Good luck Slug," Nail says. "Come home."
###
Slug crawls on his belly with his elbows alongside his warrior peers. They reach the edge of a grassy cliff and gaze upon the scene below.
A fleshy blob with a metallic sheen covers the horizon and towers through the atmosphere. The silver structure pulsates like a tumor. Massive tendrils furrow along the ground as they spread out from the base of the spherical body. One of them plows a trench towards the group of Namekians. The earth surrounding the tentacle melts to a black ooze.
An orifice squirms open in the tendril as it slithers. An army of humanoids fly from the opening and land. The tentacle then cups the soggy black ooze and sloshes it back towards the main body.
A feeding hole swims across the surface of the shiny skin and sucks up the liquid. The Namekian warriors gasp at the sight of their land being slurped up. A voice distracts them from the sight. It belongs to a man with silver skin and a jacket like a grenade.
"Behold! The Gete Star has delivered us once more to a land of plenty to satiate our hunger. The trials of famine and starvation tested our wills and resolve, and the worthy have been rewarded."
A loud cheer roars from the group below him. They pump their fists in unison to his words. The mechanical muscles of their arms flex inside their shiny skin. Their asymmetrical bodies appear to be cobbled together from the parts of different humanoid robots. Lights blink from fleshy bulbs while sinewy pistons move their limbs. The leader continues his speech.
"Yes there were dissenters who lost faith. They tried to deceive us from our purpose. But we persevered and the heathens have all been assimilated. Now we stand united in a single purpose once again. So let us give of our flesh as an offering to the Gete Star in thanks for what it grants us. And may it bring us prosperity in the times to come."
He grabs the bicep of his left arm. His fingers puncture the smokey silver skin and peel the muscle from the metallic endoskeleton beneath. The mass squirms in his hand. He throws it to the ground. The others maim themselves in equally gruesome ways and contribute their body parts to form a grotesque pile. Despite the electric blue liquid spilling from their wounds, they cheer as a tendril approaches the offering. A sucking vestibule splits open in the tentacle and inhales the mutilation.
The man hovering above laughs with maniacal fervor. The rest below chant his name.
"Rirudo Shogun! Rirudo Shogun! Rirudo Shogun!"
"Yes my brethren. Our time is at hand. I have led you through our darkest age. My faith was never shaken and now our sins are forgiven. Fate blesses us this day as our first meal has already been delivered."
He points to the ridge from which Slug and his fellow Namekians spy the events. The artificial glow of his beady red eyes target those of the warriors. The camera shutter lenses of his pupils spin inward to enlarge the image of his prey.
"Tear them apart for what nutrition their soft bodies offer."
The Namekians balk as the machine mutants take flight to charge them. Slug prepares for a fight alongside his comrades. Flesh and metal clash as the two sides collide.
Melee and energy attacks exchange between the two fronts. For a moment they seem evenly matched. Then Rirudo Shogun rips apart the Namekian ranks. In a blazing aura, he races across the plateau delivering mighty blows to the resistance. Each victim crumples from a single hit and never comes close to evading or retaliating.
Slug kicks away the abomination of parts he battles to flank Rirudo from behind. He pulls back a fist and leaps towards his target. As he drives the fist at his enemy, Rirudo's head twists. The cold light of his eyes leaves a fading trail in the air.
The fist connects with Rirudo's cheek, knocking him back a step. Rirudo kicks Slug's exposed side before he can recover. Slug plows into the ground and furrows the earth as he slides to a stop. His head bobbles about as he tries to bring the adversary into focus. His knuckles throb from striking the foe with all his might, but Rirudo shows no signs of injury or even feeling pain as he approaches with machine precision.
Slug staggers about after gaining his feet. He raises his fists. From the corner of his eye, he sees someone fly off for the horizon. One of his comrades deserts the battle. Others follow his lead. The machine mutants give chase.
Slug shouts after them.
"Wait! You'll lead them back to the village!"
Rirudo dashes. A punch from the huge man smashes Slug's gut. A foot strikes the same spot. Slug's torso caves in. His back deforms as the impact shifts his insides to stretch out in a horrible hump. His organs slosh back into place. The movement forces purple blood to vomit from his mouth. He wipes the ooze from his chin and assumes a fighting stance.
"You should follow the instincts of your brethren and cower away like them," says Rirudo.
A computerized hum in the back of his throat accompanies his words.
Slugs grins.
"No way. I'm not going to let you off that easy. And something tells you won't either."
"I admire your courage, green knight."
Slug flinches, but he is too late to respond to the expanding red energy before him. Rirudo fires the ki blast, consuming Slug in its fiery wake. Rirudo watches the incinerating sphere carry Slug over the cliff's edge and explode.
"Strange," says Rirudo. "His power reading spiked for a second. Heh, must have been one last shot of adrenaline."
He scans the battlefield for his next target.
###
Slug's consciousness swims up to the surface. One agonizing wound after another assaults him as he regains his wits.
Only one eye opens as the other is swollen shut. A quick glance at his body reveals two mutilated limbs and two missing entirely. Burns and bruises cover his skin leaving horrid patchworks of red and purple.
A scream escapes his throat before he can stifle it. He checks his surroundings for the presence of any enemy who might have heard. The only thing he sees is the Gete Star hard at work melting the surface of the planet and sucking it up.
The organic machine seems bigger than before and to have sunk deeper into a crater of its own making. If he remains where he is much longer, he too will be melted to join the rest of the slop.
He focuses his breathing to get his panic and pain under control. His mind takes hold of his depleting ki so it no longer bleeds away uselessly. It flows to the areas of his body that need it most. He wills his way through mental exercises for preparing his body to regenerate.
When every ounce of his remaining life force takes its proper place, he activates all of it at once. Pain grapples his body once more as each wound feels like it is ripped open a second time and cauterized with tremendous heat.
Fresh flesh replaces missing and dead tissue. The exhausting process leaves his body whole once more, but many of the burns and bruises still linger.
Slug cannot lift himself with muscle strength alone. He instead relies on his dwindling ki pool to levitate his body to lighten the load. He floats up the cliffside using his hands and feet to pull and push himself a little faster. Droplets of purple drip on him from above.
The sight at the top sickens him. The slaughtered remains of his comrades lie scattered in a giant puddle of blood. The purple liquid creeps downhill to the edge of the cliff where it crawls down the stone to the valley below.
But what really churns his stomach are the teeth marks on each body part. The stench of the gnawed corpses strikes his nose. The nauseous sensation to vomit combines with the sickening images playing in his mind. He turns away before the nausea overwhelms him.
He flies in a tired bobbing path towards the village. As he travels, he continuously checks over his shoulder at the alien ship. Despite how far away from it he travels, it never appears any smaller. Various sections of it pulse in asymmetric rhythm as the planetary lesion grows from its gluttonous consumption.
Carnage and destruction greet his return to the village. Mutilated bodies and burning buildings attack his psyche as he tries to process the loss and senselessness. There are no signs of life, friend or foe.
"Those monsters…" Slug says. "They're just parasites. Feeding and multiplying on a planet before moving on to the next one. A virus…"
He sags to the ground. His limbs hang limp as does. His torso hunches over in despair and defeat. His toes touch the scorched grass, but his body collapses flat upon the earth. His breath scares away the dried out soil.
"Slug?"
The tiny voice of Nail drifts to his ears, whispered on the wind. Slug grunts a muffled response.
"It is. There's no need to hide. Those monsters are gone."
As Slug listens to the far off sounds, his keen ears piece together Nail's movements. A slab of some kind crashes with a thud. Hesitant feet scamper from one hiding place to the next as they approach until Nail kneels at his side with several other children.
"Is Guru alive?" says Slug.
"He is. When the first champion in training arrived, he warned us of the danger. Everyone made Guru and the children hide in a secret chamber while they tried to fight those monsters. When that didn't work, they tried to lead them away from the village. We don't know if any of them actually escaped."
"I see. Take me to Guru. He can heal me, and then I will go after those monsters again."
"But you can't win!"
"I know that. But maybe if I can get a sneak attack in, I can do some damage."
"But what's the point of throwing your life away? Stay with me and Guru."
Tears form at the corners of Nail's eyes. Slug inhales a deep breath and sighs.
"I wish it were that easy. But sometimes we have to make hard choices and do things we don't want to in order to get what we want. Now please help me up."
"No! I won't help you run to your death."
Slug grunts out a laugh.
"I understand."
Slug slaps one injured arm after the other on the ground above his head. One battered knee slides up to his hip. All three work in unison to drag him through the dirt towards where the children came from. His wounds bleed as the friction of sliding across the rough surface opens up their feeble scabs.
Nail stares in horror as Slug leaves a trail of blood as he goes. He cannot believe Slug does not cry out in agony when he is ready to do so just from empathizing with how much pain he must be in.
"Stop! Just stop. I'll help. Okay. Just stop torturing yourself."
"I was hoping you'd say that. This hurts like hell."
The children fall in around Slugs body and lift him from anywhere they can find that is not a gaping injury. Nail and three others sling his arms over their shoulders. Six more get his legs, four on the outsides and two on the inside. Two others lift on either side of his abdomen.
They carry him to a building with a missing panel in the floor. They walk him down a flight of stairs. Guru sits against a wall at their base. Bloody bruises and glistening burns cover his body. He coughs several times.
"Oh, Slug, my son," says Guru, "you are in so much pain. Bring him here. Let me heal you of your horrible afflictions."
The children lay Slug down before him. Guru leans forward and hovers his hands over Slug's torso. Golden waves of energy ripple outward from his palms and sink into Slug's body. The severe injuries heal at a rapid pace until it appears they were never there at all.
Slug rises to a sitting position. He flexes his arms and fingers.
"Thank you Lord Guru," he says. "I feel fantastic. I'll do what I can to defeat those horrible invaders."
"Not like that you won't," says Guru.
Nail smiles at the denial.
"But Lord Guru, our people are dying."
"I know. And it will take a champion to stop our adversaries."
"Do you have someone in mind? I can search for him and bring him here for the awakening ceremony if he still lives."
"I do, and he's right here before me."
Slug's and the children's eyes widen in surprise. Guru speaks again.
"The kindle of a champion now calls to me from within you. It merely needs a spark to ignite. I will begin the ritual to release your latent power. Please kneel before me."
Guru struggles to rise to his own feet.
"But Lord Guru. I'm no champion. I'm inferior to all of my peers. They are bigger and stronger. They can fight with more ferocity. Surely one of them would be better suited to receive the ritual. Do not waste it on me."
Guru lifts the immense weight of his gut and stands.
"This is not a ritual that can be wasted. Only the worthy can receive this gift. You have demonstrated a determination none of your peers have shown. They may fight fiercely amongst themselves, but in the face of the atrocious adversity we saw today, they failed to show the courage and selflessness you did. Today, the spirit of a champion has awoken within you. And I will release it."
Slug shifts to a kneeling position.
"Being a champion is all I ever wanted, but I don't believe I am worthy of such responsibility."
"You are my son. Let me show you."
Guru places a hand upon Slug's head. The children step closer to watch the spectacle. Slug feels the spirit of Guru reach through his own. The ethereal hand shatters the divide between the physical and spiritual. The fingers grasp a vast power beyond Slug's comprehension.
Guru's transcendent hand struggles with the immeasurable force. A sudden yank rips the immense ki from the beyond and into Slug's physical chest. A burst of golden light blinds the children. Their arms cover their eyes as a gale of wind pushes them back against the wall. The swirling storm deafens them.
As the light dims and the air settles, the children peek from behind their eyelids.
Kneeling before Guru with a palm on one thigh and a fist resting its knuckles on the floor, is someone unrecognizable as Slug. Thick, muscular arms replace the stick thin ones of before. Tree trunk legs stand in for the twigs they once were. Broad shoulders and a stout abdomen erase the scrawny torso.
The children stare in disbelief. Even the clothes have changed. Vibrant yellow robes flow over a regal purple suit. An orange, fabric belt and scarf adorn the attire.
Slug extends one arm, then the other. In a booming voice, he recites a pledge.
"With my left arm I preserve our people's past. And with my right arm, I protect our future."
Slug rises. The children gawk at his towering physique. Nail cannot believe it is the same person. The voice barely matches the old one.
Slug turns to face the exit. It is only then that Nail accepts the truth. The unmistakable facial structure still resembles what it once was, but it exudes a new confidence. He strides for the stairs to leave the hidden chamber.
Nail runs in front of him. He reaches up his hands and pushes against his walk. They only reach Slug's thigh now instead of his stomach.
Slug stops and drops to one knee beside Nail. He places a hand on top of his head.
"Fear not Nail. I promise to rid this planet of the vile intruders. I will protect you and our people with these powerful arms of mine."
He flexes his bicep. Nail nods and steps aside. Slug ascends the stairs and exits the building. The children run up behind him. He blasts off into the sky in a dense aura beyond anything they have ever felt.
"Go kick their asses!" says Nail.
The other children shout.
They see Slug hold out a thumbs up before disappearing from sight.
Slug senses out the stench of the invaders' aura. The odor of a nearby group draws him in.
The impact of his landing shakes the earth. The machine mutants and their Namekian victims who flee or struggle in their grip form awestruck expressions.
"It seems we have a willing sacrifice to our cause," says a lizard-like man.
Slug narrows his eyes at the purple skinned lizard with metal plates of armor fused with its skin. He vanishes before their eyes, and reappears with the lizard-like man aloft and a hand around his neck.
Pain squelches from his throat as the fingers tighten. A single squeeze pinches the head from the body. It falls to the ground. Slug splatters it with a stomp of his foot.
"What the hell?" says another machine mutant. "Open fire on this guy."
The five remaining invaders shoot ki bolts from their hands. They explode over Slug and conceal him in a cloud of smoke. They finish their barrage and await to see if the threat is vanquished.
Slug walks free of the cloud showing no signs of damage. The machine mutants recoil in fear.
"No one should have been able to survive that," says one taking to the air.
Two more follow while the other two let go of their victims and do the same.
Slug aims his palm at one of them. A golden ki sphere forms and fires. His arm cocks back from the release. The attack punches a hole in the abdomen of its target. After breaking out the other side, it explodes. The splattered remains of the deceased rain down.
Slug repeats the process four more times with the same ruthless efficiency. The last victim taps the side of his head, depressing some kind of button. Slug hears his final words before his body is blown apart.
"Slug … is that you?"
An old and injured Namekian approaches him.
"It is."
"You've done it. You've become a champion. Your father would be so proud."
"Thank you. Tend to the wounded. The last one sent out a warning to their leader. I need to take out as many as I can before they regroup."
"Yes of course. Be careful and good luck."
The old man staggers back as the force of Slug's take off pushes him.
Slug repeats his destruction of the enemy forces two more times before he senses the rest gathering near the Gete Star. Among them broods the life force of Rirudo Shogun. Slug travels towards him for a rematch.
Slug finds Rirudo's beady mechanical eyes at the head of the remaining machine mutants.
"It seems you flesh bags have more fight than I thought," says Rirudo. His eyes study Slug. "I know you. You're the green knight from before. I'm curious, how have you come to acquire so much power without a technological upgrade?"
"Someone who trades their body for machine and metal could never understand the self actualization that comes with training your physical and mental forms."
Rirudo laughs.
"I forget we are dealing with a primitive tribal race who believes in spirits and mysticism. Allow me to open your mind to a limitless world of possibilities. You are a worthy specimen of your species. I offer you the invitation to join our ranks. How do you answer?"
"Never!"
Slug's aura breaks from his body as he charges Rirudo.
"I understand. Some convincing is in order to break that ignorance of yours."
Rirudo blocks Slug's powerful fist with his forearm.
"And if that doesn't work, we can use chip implants to enslave your mind. Sigma Force! Engage!"
Four humanoid shaped robots circle them as Rirudo falls back. Though their metal exteriors show no signs of flesh, Slug still detects a spark of life within their cores.
The red coated one has jet fighter fins coming off the sides of its head and shoulders. It points a finger and announces several commands.
The shortest of the four in blue armor acts first. The lightning bolt shaped prongs attached to its ankles blur as it zooms at Slug. He attempts to punch the machine out of its approach, but it zips away.
The yellow robot then attacks with fists like boxing gloves. It throws a flurry of rapid jabs. Slug raises his arms to block the barrage.
While he endures the pummeling, the largest of the squad curves in behind him. Its huge arms wrap around Slug's body and pin him to the giant green chest plate.
The red leader issues another command. The arms restraining Slug tighten and crush his airways. Yellow fists beat his head like a punching bag. It bangs against the metal chest with each hit. The small blue bot darts around shooting electrical pulses to zap Slug's body.
"Sigma Force! Sigma Force!"
The audience of mutants cheer as they watch the spectacle.
Slug flexes his muscles. He draws upon the champion power swirling inside him. It concentrates in his abdomen. The heat and density of the ki as it compacts itself into a spheres brings the energy to a boil. It bubbles and emits an intensifying light that shines through his clothes.
Rirudo Shogun's eyes widen as their screen like lenses read rising currents of energy within Slug's body. Several increasing numbers followed by symbols float at the edges of his vision.
"This is absurd," he says. "Only machines should be able to produce power on this scale. A living body is too inefficient to generate values like these."
A detonating boom signals the release of Slug's aura. The Sigma Force are blown back, ending their assault. Slug spins and slashes with his arm. He splits the green combatant in half at the waist. His other hand spears the foe in the face deep enough for his fingers to poke out the back.
The yellow machine roars and challenges Slug with a hurricane of fists. Slug evades the mach speed punches with ease. His hands catch both of the adversary's forearms in their grips. The enemy strains to pull his arms free of the vices.
Slug raises a foot and stomps it against the yellow armored chest. His heel crumples the metal. The force of the blow shreds the shoulder sockets of his opponent. The arms rip free as the rest of the body falls. The lights of its eyes fade to black.
The blue member blasts off in a blaze of electricity to flee the fight. It looks back over its shoulder to see if it is being pursued. It slams against something solid and recoils. To its horror, Slug has appeared to block its path.
The cyborg zooms off in another burst. The futile effort ends in the same result. As it tries to race away again, Slug grabs its leg. His fist punches deep into the thing's chest cavity. He pumps ki to his palm and unclenches his fingers. Expanding energy rips the droid apart from the inside out. It falls in a heap of debris. Only its shins and feet remain distinguishable.
Slug detects movement from behind. He senses his charging aggressor's movement and times a high reaching spin kick. The ball of his foot slams the red leader beneath the chin. The foe's head rips clean off its neck as the opposing forces meet. Slug lowers his leg as the decapitated body tumbles harmlessly past him.
Cries of despair reach Slug's ears.
"He defeated the Sigma Force."
"He made it look easy."
"He's going to kill us all."
"Back to the ship. We have to leave now."
Rirudo roars at their cowardice.
"Do not betray the Gete Star! Those that flee will be punished for their treason."
None of his subordinates listen. They swarm the exterior hull like flies. They bang it with their fists for an opening to appear. The living metal ripples but does not open. Instead, a tendril shoots out and slaps the group. Each of them sticks to the viscous surface. It slams the ground and secretes the corrosive black gunk.
Slug grimaces as they are melted alive and absorbed by the hungry tentacle.
"Ignorant fools," says Rirudo.
"You should take their advice," says Slug. "You're not welcome here."
His body positions itself for battle.
"The Gete Star will raise a new army with the corpses of your people once it's done feeding on your planet," says Rirudo, taking a fighting stance. "And I'll make sure you're among them."