"Namekuji, over here!"
The one antennaed Namekian sees Gohan waving his hands beside Bulma on a plateau. He flies down and lands beside them.
"I was worried no one had survived that horrible attack," Namekuji says. "I'm so glad the two of you are safe. And is that … the Dragon Idol."
"I'm pretty sure, yeah," says Gohan.
Namekuji stares intently at the statue.
"So we just need to get it back to Lord Guru so he can restore the Dragon Balls?" he says.
"Yep. But everyone else is fighting Slug. I need to go help them. Will you protect Bulma and the idol until we get back?"
Gohan offers the idol to Namekuji. The green hands clasp the back of the boy's.
"Of course I will. I'll keep both safe until you return."
Namekuji closes his eyes and smiles. His hands slide off Gohan's to grasp the idol. Gohan lets go of it.
"Alright, I'll see you guys soon!"
Gohan blasts off.
Bulma looks at Namekuji, but he does not return it. He stares at the idol he holds.
###
Nail faces off against a clone of Slug. The single, slitted eye of his fallen hero rolls back in its head. The pupil that resurfaces is round and weary.
Nail. Help me.
The almost perfect replica of Slug's voice whispers in Nail's mind. It sounds weak and raspy. He fends off another assault by the possessed Slug.
I can't stop it alone.
"I'm going to save you. We've got the Dragon Idol. We can wish everything back to normal."
He locks arms with the corrupted champion.
It won't work, says Slug with a hiss. You and your friends won't escape from this planet. The darkness is too powerful.
Nail surveys his allies. Goku and the others struggle to keep pace with their opponents. His resolve weakens at the thought of not succeeding after everything he has done to get this far. The Slug he fights breaks his hold and claws him in the chest. Four deep gashes tear open his pectoral. The wounds burn with an acidic taint from the vile aura radiating from Slug. The pain alerts his survival instinct, and the battle starts anew.
"What can we do? How can I save you and Namek?"
When our people overused the magic of the Dragon Balls, I stayed behind to face the consequences of the negative backlash that nearly destroyed us all. I trapped the heart of that corruption inside myself to contain it. If you destroy it, you can save Namek.
Nail's face contorts in sorrowful confusion.
"But what about you? I can't kill you. I won't! I'm so close to fixing this, and I'm not a child anymore. I'm a champion, I'll save you this time."
Your words are kind, but my will is nearly depleted. I've spent hundreds of years battling for control of my own body, watching it do horrible things. But I am weary. I cannot hold off this entity much longer.
Please stop me now. For yourself, for those you brought here, and for the rest of our people. Do what must be done.
The voice fades to silence. The single eye of the demon he battles rolls back in its head again. When the iris reemerges, the vertical slit pupil returns with it.
There may be another way, but it's dangerous.
Slug's voice returns with sudden vigor. Its deeper tone resounds around the walls of Nail's skull.
"What is it? I'll try anything."
Fuse with me. Together, our power should be enough to purify the corruption.
The boisterous words command the offer as though it is an order.
"Yes, I suppose that could work. Can you hold it off long enough to perform the ritual to merge our life forces?
Yes. I can with the last of my strength.
The Slug clone stops attacking. Its head lowers. Nail waits and hopes for a favorable outcome. Slug lifts his head back up and looks him in the eye.
Bow your head, and we'll begin.
Nail hesitates.
Hurry, there isn't much time.
Nail starts and lowers himself into a kneeling position. A cold palm chills the back of his head. Wormy fingers grip his flesh.
Now release your physical form and give willingly your essence unto me.
Nail surrenders himself to a meditative state. His sense of self unravels as his body loses its rigidity. His entire mass converts to energy, and a luminous silhouette takes its place. The brilliant spirit funnels into Slug's hand. When the last of the spectral force vanishes, Slug clenches his fingers and turns them towards himself. He smiles as the veins and muscles in his arm bulge with renewed vitality.
He raises the fist to the sky and roars in triumph.
"Now I am unstoppable!"
The other clones leave their respective battles to join the one Nail fought. They each place a hand upon a rapidly de-aging Slug. As they do, their bodies liquify and evaporate into a black and purple mist. Slug inhales them through his mouth and nostrils until he consumes them all.
Krillin and Medamatcha arrive on either side of Goku. They watch with helpless horror as Slug grows in stature. His muscles bulk to sculpted perfection. His skin loses the tarnish and wrinkles of age and regains its bright, youthful green. The milky white eye swirls in its socket until the fog clears revealing a yellow iris and slit pupil.
"What's going on? Why is his power skyrocketing?" says Krillin.
"I don't know," says Goku. "One second I could sense Nail, and then the next he vanished. Though I can still feel his presence somewhere inside of Slug."
"It seems Nail fused with Slug," says Medamatcha. "If that's anything like when my smaller clones fuse with me, then he is probably going to experience a boost in strength at least equal to Nail's power."
"No way!" says Krillin. "They were both way stronger than us to begin with. What do we do now?"
No one answers.
A black and purple lightshow shines around Slug as his ki levels out. His increased stature now puts him head and shoulders above Goku. He removes the ratty cloak and gives them a wicked grin.
"You have all bore witness to my rejuvenation," he says. "I am now finally free of that Namekian's influence. He was a worthy adversary. I shall honor him by assuming his name. You may call me Lord Slug."
Slug pulls his head to one side and stretches his neck until it cracks. He repeats the process for the other side by pushing his knuckles into his chin.
"Now then," he says, "I'm going to make you an offer. Help me escape this miserable planet, and I will spare your lives. I'll even offer you protection if you serve as my underlings. What do you say?"
"Not a chance," says Goku. "We'd never work for the likes of you."
"I'm sorry to hear that," says Slug. "Perhaps I can persuade you to change your minds."
Slug leans to the left. He vanishes and reappears to the right of where he was, the distance between them now halved. Slug leans right and vanishes again.
"Get ready guys," says Goku.
Krillin and Medamatcha jump to attention. Goku ducks a punch. A knee strikes his blocking arms. The power of the attack knocks him toward the ground.
Krillin and Medamatcha try to capitalize on Slug's opening. Slug kicks Krillin in the stomach and karate chops Medamatcha across the face. They both drop low to join Goku on the ground.
"We need a plan," says Krillin.
"We'll have to hit him hard and fast," says Medamatcha.
Slug lands on the island with crossed arms and a smug smile.
"If you guys can distract him," says Goku. "I can power up my strongest Kaioken. Hopefully that can do some damage."
"Let's try it," says Krillin.
Medamatcha nods and the two of them charge Slug. Medamatcha grows four minions on his upper arms and forearms. When the birthing sacs are about to pop, he whips his arms at Slug. The tiny gremlins burst free of their mucus filled boils and fly at their target.
"These pests again," says Slug.
He inhales and spits rapid fire ki needles. The thin projectiles pierce each of the minions one after another. The tiny bodies ride the momentum of the attacks as they flail about.
Goku throws open the spiritual meridians of his body and soul. Ki pours into him as the red aura of the Kaioken bursts to life. Numbing vibrations tingle his nerves as his vessel fills with power.
Medamatcha spreads his arms and legs as he prepares to grapple Slug and drain his ki himself. Slug's eyes twinkle with power. Laser beams spring from his pupils. The violet pins strike Medamatcha in the chest. His frog-like body stops hard and recoils. He flops on the ground and is still. Hissing smoke rises from the impact of the attack.
"Oh no!" says Goku.
He wills his energy to rise higher as Medamatcha's fades from his mind.
Be careful Krillin, he thinks.
Slug looks down as Krillin appears at his feet faster than expected. Krillin kicks the inside of Slug's knee so the whole leg sweeps outward. Slug swings his arms for balance. Krillin takes flight through the opening underneath him. Slug growls as he regains his stance and gives chase.
Krillin puts his wrists together as Slug closes in faster than he can fly. Just as Slug is about to grab him, Krillin turns and fires his Kamehameha. The blast slams Slug's chest and slows him down. Krillin zips away as he rides his beam towards the sky on a curved trajectory.
The ki wave ends, and Slug rockets after his opponent. Krillin tries to out maneuver him by dashing short distances in random directions. While this tactic keeps him ahead of Slug, he cannot sustain the rapid sprints.
Goku watches as Slug closes in on Krillin's erratic movements. He pushes the power level of the Kaioken beyond the limits of its previous use against Vegeta. His muscles swell with maddening agony. He grits his teeth and encourages the pain to grow just a bit more.
"Kaioken…"
His body cycles intense heat and chills.
"Times two!"
The ground around him disintegrates as he blasts off towards his friend. The raging aura around him spills forth untamed. He wonders if he will be able to control twice the amount of his usual active ki.
Krillin senses the approach and closes his eyes while pointing to their sides with his index and middle fingers.
"Taiyoken!"
Blinding white light flashes from his body and suffocates Slug's vision just as he is about to grab Krillin. His hands slap to his sockets. He cries out as Krillin escapes.
Goku squints as the blinding bulb of light ahead of him fades and presses on despite his body rattling apart. He slams a sharpened elbow in the side of Slug's head. A ripple of power diffuses through Slug's face from the epicenter of contact. His eyes and jaw stretch as the energy pushes through them. They reach the limit of their flexibility and snap back into place.
Goku lets loose a flurry of strikes on the vulnerable Slug. His fists, elbows, knees, and feet work in tandem to deliver the greatest number of blows to all of Slug's vital areas many times over.
Goku ends by putting his palms together at his hip while stomping Slug in the chest with both feet. Blue ki fills the space between his hands as his foe hurtles backward.
"Kah, meh, hah, meh, hah!"
Goku fires a massive wave of energy that eclipses his body. His overexerted muscles shrink to their normal size as all the pent up ki releases. Endorphins soothes his mind as he expels the last of the volatile spirit.
The beam crashes against Slug and adheres him to its hot surface. Thrumming waves smash his body as the attack shoves him back. He forces out his own ki to combat it.
He halts himself. His arms close together and push back the energy.
"No way!" says Goku. "Even my most powerful attack isn't enough to hurt him."
He watches as Slug's body grows to a monstrous size that matches Vegeta's great ape form. His beam now only scratches a small patch of Slug's palm instead of battering his whole body.
Slug laughs as the hand blocking the beam races towards Goku on a stretching arm. It extends the length of Goku's Kamehameha to snatch him up in his grasp. Only his victim's head and feet stick out of his clamping fist.
He retracts his arm and holds Goku up to his face. His fingers tighten their constriction. He feels Goku's body deform under the pressure. Goku grunts and gasps out anguished shrieks.
"I'm going to crush the life out of you peon."
Slug squeezes harder.
###
The pain of thick, blunt wires puncturing their way into Nail's body awakens his consciousness from the fusion. More than a dozen piercing sinew strands from multiple angles hoist him off the ground. Hanging by his soft tissues aggravates the burning impalements.
Fatigue infiltrates his body as his stamina leeches away. He watches particles light up in the wires and traverse them away from his body.
Unable to turn his head because of a strand sticking through his neck, Nail examines his location. Pulsating flesh surrounds him. It expands and contracts as though it is breathing. He watches a black sludge pass from one area to the next within the walls with each contraction.
He forces his head to swivel a mere fraction for any more insight into his situation. His gag reflex chokes him as a horrific sight churns his stomach. On his right, hanging from the same kinds of wires, is the decaying body of Slug. Every wound from the wires is surrounded by black necrotic flesh. The holes have grown large with the receding flesh. Many of them overlap to form even bigger cavities.
An entire leg is missing!
Nail struggles to keep from vomiting. He squirms to move away, but the wires rub the insides of his injuries and do not sway.
"Nail…"
Slug's voice again but not in his head this time. The raspy, deflated voice comes directly from the carcass hanging next to him.
"Slug? Is that really you?"
"It is. I—"
A convulsion of coughs shakes Slug. The wires he hangs from chaff the tender tissues within the wounds they inflict. When the spasm stops, he speaks again, one labored word at a time.
"I'm sorry, Nail. I thought I was reaching you by my own will. But the darkness was only letting me do so as part of its plan."
"Save your strength, Slug. You don't need to justify yourself to me."
"Please listen. My time is short. We have to end this."
Slug stops for a breath.
"What can we do now? It tricked me into fusing, and now it's feeding on my power."
"The fusion is still new. Your consciousness won't fully assimilate for quite some time. So if you take my power now…"
Slug pushes his left arm towards Nail against the unmoving wires. The holes driven into his arm expand as they stretch against the stationary wires.
"Please, Nail, take my hand—Aarrgghh!"
Electricity runs through the wires and shocks Slug. He writhes and screams as the current jerks his body.
"Slug! Slug!"
Nail struggles against his own bindings. His hand whips around to grab Slug's flailing one.
Hot shocks rip down Nail's body as his wires illuminate with electricity.
Both Namekians suffer the torment within the strange cavity that imprisons them.