Goku's pained screams fill Krillin's ears as he watches his best friend suffer in the crushing clutches of their enemy. His hands cradle his head, partially covering his ears. He suffers alongside Goku as helpless empathy chills him. Despair squishes his face and stomps his confidence.
The Kienzan might be able to help, he thinks. But what if it's not strong enough? Or what if I injure Goku by accident. Or worse…
He knocks the thought away by pounding his head with clenched fists. He slaps both of his cheeks and flies at Slug.
Come on Krillin, you can do this.
Another agonizing scream pierces his ears as he sees Slug's fingers cinch tighter. The feeling of being useless injures his morale. Goku's life force dips low.
Ki spins atop Krillin's palm, sputtering to life as he prepares the technique. The swirl is slow. The edge lacks sharpness. The formation flops about without any rigidity.
Krillin takes a deep breath. He captures all the self-critical thoughts as he inhales. He holds the breath for a moment. He releases it in a long exhale and blows away the negativity. With his mind clear, his yuki flowers from his core and fills him with purpose. His Kienzan whirls faster and loses its elasticity. The firm form stretches wide as the thin razor edge takes shape on the circlet.
I could aim for the wrist, but there's no guarantee the hand will release Goku for him to get away. I'll have to cut off the fingers and hope it doesn't strike Goku too.
The Kienzan hits full rotation. His arm cranks back behind his shoulder. His head twists with it for greater range of motion. He slings his arm around the side of his body. His chin follows the same path as if to help pull it for more momentum. The technique releases and slices vertically along its path towards the knuckles of Slug.
Krillin holds his breath and begs for his aim to be good.
Slug catches sight of the incoming saucer. It bites the back of his hand before he can move it. The edge digs in and splatters blood in an arc following the rotation. The tendons of his fingers slice apart as they detach from his hand. They fall while the Kienzan tears off towards the horizon.
Goku drops alongside the twitching fingers.
Krillin starts to celebrate but stops when he realizes Goku is unable to fly off. His twisted arms and legs trail after him as he plummets.
Slug looks at his severed fingers for a moment and then chases Goku with his good hand.
"Oh no!" says Krillin. "He can't get away."
"Leave my Daddy alone!"
Gohan blows past Krillin leaving him in a tailspin. His fingers form a crown over his head as one hand presses to the back of the other. Bright yellow blooms in his palm as he races towards Goku.
Slug turn his head to look at Gohan.
"Masenko!"
Gohan fires a beam as large as his body. The shot punches Slug between the eyes and knocks his head back on his neck.
Gohan finishes firing and dives for Goku. He maneuvers behind him and locks his forearms into Goku's armpits. Gohan flies them both away.
"I've got you dad."
"Thanks son. My body is pretty torn up."
Gohan flies around a swatting palm from Slug who squints and rubs the spot between his eyes with the back of his injured hand. Krillin catches them as they all flee.
"Goku, can you do that Genki Dama you were talking about on the way here. We're going to need a miracle to beat this guy."
"Unfortunately the negativity corrupting the planet hasn't left much for me to pull energy from. I've sensed across the whole planet and there just isn't enough."
Thundering stomps get their attention. Slug lumbers after them. As he builds up momentum, he leaps and glides. His arms slither towards Goku, Krillin, and Gohan as they elongate. The missing fingers are replaced with new one punching out of the damaged knuckles.
"Oh man," says Krillin. "I sure wish Namekians had weaknesses like Saiyans' tails."
"Weakness," says Gohan. "Krillin, that's it. You're a genius."
"I am?"
"Yep! Follow me. We need to set my dad down somewhere safe."
Gohan dives down behind a high reaching plateau of an island. Krillin follows with Slug taking a couple swings at them with his fists. He sees them disappear behind one side of the mountain and reappear around the other. Goku is no longer with them.
"You ready Krillin," says Gohan.
"I think so. And you're sure this will work?"
"What other choice do we really have?"
"I guess you're right. Here we go then."
White auras burst around them as they propel themselves straight at the approaching Slug.
He laughs and swats at their tiny bodies. His huge hands render their efforts as useless as mosquitoes. They dodge and dive while firing some ki blasts, but they never get close to their target.
Goku peeks around the rock formation he hides behind. He leans on it for support while holding his fractured ribs.
"Oh man," he says. "Gohan and Krillin will never be able to get to him. I need to help somehow."
Goku senses another fighter approaching him.
"Oh hey, it's you," he says. "I was worried we'd lost you."
Medamatcha lands by his side.
"I've still got some fight in me," says Medamatcha. "Looks like you guys need some help."
"We sure do," says Goku.
"Can you do that Kaio-thing again," says Medamatcha.
"I can, but my body is in pretty bad shape. I won't be able to fight with it."
"You don't need to. I'll absorb the energy and do it for you. Now pump out as much as you can."
"You sure? It's dangerous."
"It's our best option."
"Okay. Here I go!"
Goku turns his mind inward to draw on the hidden power buried deep beneath his usual reserves. Fire ignites and flows out of his center. His meridians swell with heat which releases from his body as a red aura. The power pushes against his shredded muscles and bruised organs.
"I'm sorry," says Goku. "This is the best I can do."
"That's perfect. I probably can't handle it all anyway. Hold still. This might feel weird for you."
Medamatcha places his hands upon Goku's chest. Heat sears them as they push into the aura. He inhales and invites the intense ki into his body. Power and pain surge up his arms. The fiery red aura follows the ki as it moves through his body until his entire form is ablaze.
A sudden chill makes Goku shiver as the heat leaves him. When the last of it drains away, fatigue leaves him unable to stand. He slumps to the ground not even able to lift his arms.
Medamatcha looks at his hands as the primal aura rises from them.
"This is incredible. My whole body feels invincible, but also like this power could shatter me."
"Be careful with that energy. It requires perfect control to remain stable. If it gets out of hand, it will injure you or worse."
"Understood. Hopefully I'm up to the challenge. Here goes!"
Medamatcha blast off leaving a trail of crimson.
"Time for revenge for what you did to Zeeun and the rest of our people."
Medamatcha drives straight through the waving arms of Slug trying to smack Gohan and Krillin. Pain throttles his body as he makes his move. He focuses on the sweet satisfaction that will come with dealing a blow to his tormentor to endure the agony.
Medamatcha dips down and rockets upward with both fists extended before him. They ram Slug's giant chin. The enemy's head whips back as Medamatcha pushes it aside and loops away from him.
Medamatcha recenters himself in front of Slug's chest as he stumbles back a step. Four boils glowing with the red ki form on his back. Irradiated minions sprout from the sacs to hover beside him above the shoulders and below his feet. With the immense pressure now diffused amongst them, he attempts to control the chaotic energy for a ranged attack.
"Now my babies," he says. "Blast him with everything you've got."
"Right!" they chirp.
All five of them open their arms and fingers with their hands below their hips. Their arms circle up above their heads so their hands meet. With one palm on the back of the other hand, they lower their extended arms to chest level.
"Heyahhh!"
Medamatcha fires a massive crimson ki wave. His four miniature clones shoot their own beams at an angle to merge with Medamatcha's. The energies fuse together and bolster the main beam.
The ki jettisons across the sky and strikes Slug between the chest and abdomen. It rips away the outer flesh and drills deep into the cavity below.
Slug screams and coughs up putrid, purple liquid full of black phlegm. He staggers back another step as the beam tears deeper into his body.
"Krillin!" says Gohan. "Now's our chance."
Krillin nods and they race towards Slug's head from opposite sides.
Medamatcha's beam fades from a deep red to a dark orange. As the power flees from his body, it continues to brighten. It passes through various hues of orange as it enters the yellow spectrum. The beam shrinks alongside the transition.
The wave trickles down to a thread and vanishes. Medamatcha and his clones heave for air as they gaze upon their effort.
A horrendous hole punctures Slug above his abdomen. Torn and burned strings of flesh hang limp from the top and sides of the wound. Bile gurgles up and spills from the cavity.
"You'll pay for that," says Slug.
He flexes his abdominal muscles. The tissue reproduces at a rapid pace as the injury forms a grotesque scab to shield the vulnerable area.
He takes an earth shaking stomp forward. He stops when he feels two objects dash inside his ears. Gohan and Krillin slide down the canals with greasy wax coating them along the way. They only stop when their shoulders wedge too tight in the canal to go any farther.
Each of them sees a vibrating membrane covering the canal ahead of them.
I hope this works, thinks Krillin.
He and Gohan release all their power and channel it to their throats.
"Hey Slug!" says Gohan. His ki empowers his shouting voice. "I know a Namekian from back home, and he has very sensitive hearing. I bet it must hurt like hell when I scream right into your eardrum like this!"
Slug claps his hands to his ears, but it does nothing to muffle the shouting of the two fighters inside them.
Gohan and Krillin scream as loud and long as they can with each breath. The membranes resonate faster and faster as they pick up the sounds. The reverberations stretch the membrane as it flaps haphazardly like a sail caught in a storm. Slits rip open one at a time in the membrane. They start to tear from where they attach to the walls of the canals. Blood runs from the creases.
Slug bellows in agony as he digs his fingers into his ears. He scratches at the feet of the intruders. His probing nails cut open the soft inner skin, but he does not care as it pales in comparison to the torture of his eardrums. He whips his head violently hoping to shake them loose. Nothing works as he stumbles about. Each scream stabs his eardrums with a long, puncturing knife.
###
The electricity coursing into Nail and Slug stops. A new torture replaces it.
"What is that awful noise?" says Nail.
"Our last chance," says Slug. "He's distracted. Take my arm Nail. Let me fuse with you."
"I can't. I came here to save you!"
"Please. I'm begging you. Living in this hell, unable to control my body, is the worst existence imaginable. Save me from that. My time has come. I accept it."
"But I want to fight alongside you as a fellow champion of Namek."
Slug smiles.
"I wish I could have been there to watch you grow into the strong man you've become," he says. "I'm so proud of you. I promise that my spirit will fight alongside you if you keep memories of me alive in your heart."
Nail's eyes flood with tears as he looks at Slug. Despite the years of torture, a confidence shines through the decaying flesh.
Slug reaches his left hand. He speaks with a tired, raspy voice.
"With my left arm I preserve our people's past…"
Nail stares at the hand. He chokes on a sob. He swallows it. He reaches out his right arm and grabs Slug's hand. Their fingers lace.
"And with my right arm," says Nail, "I protect our future."
White hot light erupts from their clasping hands. It blankets them in its soft but firm power. Surging physical and mental energies overcome Nail. Strength and emotions he cannot control bombard him.
Slug's grip on his hand weakens. Nail tightens his, but the other hand slips through his fingers like water.
The blinding light dims.
He is alone.
He is sad.
Come champion of Namek. There is much work left to do.
A voice that is almost his with a hint of Slug's speaks from deep within his consciousness. The comfort it brings steadies Nail's mind. A half smile lifts his lips.
Golden and white flames sprout from his form. They rise and expand. The aura eats away the wires restraining his body. They snap one at a time until he is free. He hovers to the middle of the room. The puncture wounds bubble with new flesh as regrowing tissue fills them. The soft pink patches take on the usual texture and color of his skin by the time he reaches the center.
The fiery aura trails behind him as he travels. Cinders break away and dance in the air before fizzling to ash. He stops at the center. His breathing deepens as the inhales and exhales become longer. The air fuels the golden and white flames around him. They grow to fill the room and cast away the shadows and burn up the vile fluids.
A purple and black liquid spits from the ceiling to douse the fire. It recedes under the shower.
Nail clenches his fists and jaw. A warmth carrying the scent of Slug and a memory of when he once carried him upon his mighty shoulders as a child empowers him. Nail's aura billows again. The great inferno evaporates the foul slime. The smog rises to flee from the fire chasing it.
###
Gohan and Krillin sweat as rising heat bakes them in the ear canals. Smoke fills the cramped space, choking them. They wriggle their hands before their faces and fire a ki wave to push themselves backward. Their blasts smash the eardrums as they slide along the waxed tubes.
They pop out of the ears and fly away. They keep an eye on Slug who writhes and screams. Black and purple miasma rises from the orifices of his face. Slug's skin melts and droops.
Gohan and Krillin catch up with Medamatcha who flies down to where Goku watches from the ground. They all behold the grotesque scene.
Blisters form on Slugs skin as it chars to a black. The boils pop and splatter pus. Chunks of flesh slop from Slug's body. They flop on the earth in rotting mats. The giant shrinks to his usual size as smoke billows out in droves. A thin outline of gold and white simmers beneath the rising smog.
A fire grows until it envelopes the body. The immolation consumes the entirety of Slug leaving Goku and the others unable to see him within.
The smoke mixes with the clouds above. Lightning flashes and thunder booms as a dangerous storm brews.
Each blink of electricity reveals the silhouette of a monster obscured within the clouds. Its glowing red eyes are the only definitive feature the Dragon Team can make out.
The brilliant inferno on the ground smolders out. Within the dying flames stands Nail. His body is untouched by the fire and continues to glow with its great light. The space suit he once wore is nowhere to be seen. His Namekian robes dance in the breeze.
His eyes flash open as the last of the slime evaporates from him. He looks to the sky.
The eyes in the clouds return the stare.
"You will abuse this planet no longer!" says Nail.
His hands crackle with radiant electricity. He shoves them skyward.
"Raigekikosappo!"
Three piercing bolts of lightning fire from his hands. They swirl around each other and drill through the air.
They puncture the clouds above and disappear within. A wailing shriek rings out from the monster. A purple smear streaks the sky. It falls as a rain of blood. The creature tumbles sideways and crashes down with the clouds still obscuring it. The collapsing storm shakes the earth upon impact and disperses. Goku and the others cover their faces as gusts of black wind blow over them.
The winds rip apart the exposed soil and sloshes the oceans. Splinters of lightning strike at anything they can.
When the storm finally dies down, there are no signs of the creature to be seen. The black skies above open and roll away from where the monster crashed. Sunlight peaks through the overcast sky that replaces the blackness.
They watch in awe as Nail floats toward them with his radiant aura. His feet touch the ground, and the aura extinguishes. He looks each of them in the eye.
"Thank you," he says. "You saved Namek. And you saved Slug."
A tear drips from his eye as he bows his head in gratitude.
You did well Nail. You are a true champion.
Slug's tired voice recedes from the forefront of Nail's consciousness leaving him alone with his emotions.
The skies continue to brighten as the dreary blackness fades away into the distance.
Medamatcha winces at the light and shields his eyes with his forearm. He wheezes for air.
"What's wrong?" says Gohan.
"I'm not used to this much light. It burns my skin and eyes. And the air is different somehow. It's like it's getting thinner."
He drops to his hands and knees in a coughing fit. Krillin and Gohan place a hand upon his back.
"What can we do?" says Krillin.
The wheezing worsens. Medamatcha grabs his throat with one hand and scratches at the dead grass with the other. All three of them share panicked glances. They look to Nail for answers.
"What's wrong with Medamatcha?" says Gohan.
"Namek is returning to its original state as the negative energy dissipates," Nail says. "He is not acclimated to such conditions."
"There must be something we can do," says Krillin.
"There might be one thing I can try."
Nail kneels in front of Medamatcha and places a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to try to transfer some of my Namekian essence to you. We're very close in ancestry, so hopefully it can alter your body enough to survive the new environment."
Medamatcha nods as his eyes close.
"Okay, here we go. Absorb it like you would any other ki source."
Nail's body glows with a verdant hue. The vigorous energy flows across and down his arm. It washes over Medamatcha as the viscous ki covers his entire body. It sinks into his skin as they merge together.
Medamatcha gasps for air. The rapid breaths slow their pace until he breathes normally. His eyes keep their squint, but they no longer hurt or require extra shade.
"I think it worked," he says. "Oh no! I have to check on Dorodabo, Angira, and the village. You have to come with me to save them too."
He takes flight. Gohan races after him.
"Wait, there's something you should know."
"Tell me later, we need to hurry to the village."
"There is no village!"
Medamatcha stops and stares at Gohan. Gohan's cheeks pinch his eyes.
"What do you mean there is no village?"
"It was attacked and destroyed by the demons. No one survived."
"But Dorodabo was there … and, and … Angira was following you, and … I've got to get to the village!"
A white aura bursts around him as he hurries through the sky. Gohan looks back at the others. Krillin slings one of Goku's arms over the back of his shoulders and carries him up to Gohan. His other arm supports Goku's back. Nail follows behind them.
"What are we supposed to do dad?"
Goku shakes his head.
"If all that's true, there isn't much we can do. He'll just have to see it for himself. Is Bulma okay?"
Gohan slips under Goku's other arm to help Krillin support him.
"Yeah. The demons were long gone when I found her. She was with Namekuji when I left."
"Good. Let's get to her as soon as we can."
They make their way toward the village.
They find a grief stricken Medamatcha sobbing at the center of the scorched earth. His forehead presses to the ground as his fists bang the dirt.
"Zeeun, Dorodabo, Angira! Where are you? Where are our people?"
He drags his knees to his chest and tucks his head between them. His hands wrap behind his neck as he forms the smallest ball possible.
Goku and the others leave Medamatcha to grieve.
Namekuji floats down to them with Bulma hanging around his neck and the Dragon Idol in one hand. As soon as Bulma's feet hit the ground, she runs to Goku and Krillin and wraps an arm around their necks for a hug.
"I thought I was going to lose you guys in that storm," she says. "Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay," says Goku.
"We stopped the evil plaguing Namek and Slug," says Krillin.
"Good, I'm glad," says Bulma. "Hopefully we can fix things up now with the Dragon Balls. Get the Namekians home, save Medamatcha and his tribe, and get our friends back."
She looks at Nail.
"Will Guru agree to restore the Dragon Balls now that we have the idol?"
"I think so. Let me talk to him."
Bulma hands him the communicator. He holds it to his mouth and presses the button.
"Dende? Dende are you there?"
"I'm here. What's up Nail?"
"We recovered the Dragon Idol. We stopped the evil on Namek."
"Are you … are you serious? You mean we can all go home?"
"We sure can. Let me talk to Lord Guru."
"Okay, hang on."
The Dragon Team waits for the click on the other end. Seconds pass filled with anticipation.
Static drones from the communicator followed by Guru's croaking voice.
"Nail, is that you?"
"It is. I'm sure Dende told you the good news."
"Nail, you disobeyed me. You endangered the entire clan."
"I know I did. And I'm sorry. But I needed to save Slug, and I did. Now can our people stop running and finally come home? Can we use the Dragon Balls one last time?"
Nail lets off the button.
The Dragon Team stares at the communicator, waiting with anxious knots in their stomachs.
The communicator crackles as Guru responds.
Author's Note 6/18/2022: And that's the end of the Lord Slug Arc. I hope you enjoyed my take on these characters. I tried really hard to make them more impactful than just being generic movie villains and to make them fit into the overall plot of the original story. I'm going to take a little break from posting for a while as I prepare new material. I've got a good start on drafting the next few chapters, but I'm still working on some plot points.
After finishing the Saiyan Saga, I wasn't sure I'd feel motivated to keep going because that was such an undertaking for me as a writer. I thought I'd be burned out by the end of it. One thing that really helped me feel like I could continue was seeing all the views and comments from my readers. Thank you all so much for that positivity. It feels really good for me to have this welcoming creative outlet. So all of you stay awesome, and I'll be back with more chapters in the near future. Take care!