"Huh… air isn't as thin as I thought it would be."
The others all turned and stared at me… only to wince at how bright the protection spells I'd cast on myself were. I had wanted some time to deal with my sudden power boost but the danger of someone collecting all the Dragon Balls meant we had needed to hurry to the Lookout, in hopes that Kami might have the answers.
"What?" I complained, gesturing at the open sky that loomed all around us. "We are on the highest point in the world. At least I assume we are."
"We are, Sir," Isco stated. He was using his fighter body, as he had commented that he was thinking about finding a way to bury his actual form deep in the center of the earth so he could never risk being destroyed again. I decided not to mention how often the Earth got destroyed… mostly because other than Kami no one else knew that I was from another universe. That and I had no idea what harebrain scheme Isco would come with in reponse. "We are at 35,000 km, or roughly 4 times the height of Everest at the moment." He paused. "You are correct that it is odd that the readings here are what they are. At this height the oxygen levels should be roughly 6.2%, or roughly a third of what they are at sea level. Then there is the temperature… it should be -54 degrees."
"And… what does that mean?" Yamcha said, scratching his head.
It was a rather nervous looking Bulma that answered. "That at this height I should be gasping for air as I slowly die from a lack of Oxygen… assuming I don't freeze to death."
"WHA!?" Yamcha exclaimed while Chichi nervously held Gohan closer.
"Oh, come on Chichi, its okay!" Goku assured her. "I came up here when I was a kid and nothing happened to me! You'll be fine!"
Piccolo scoffed. "Considering some of the things you've claimed have happened to you I'm not sure that is as comforting as you think it is."
"I wondered why you cast those spells on yourself," Tien said, gesturing to the shimmering aura that was clinging to my skin. "And is there any way to turn that down."
"The air is fine, Kayos!" Goku said, doing several jumping jacks to prove his point.
"Uh huh," I said, eyes narrowed. "Though lets not forget I am still the weakest person in this group. You guys can bench press houses and I include Bulma in that mix because I am still not 100% sure she isn't a cyborg."
"Please, like cyborgs are real," Bulma said with a dismissive way of his hand.
~MC~MC~MC~
Dr. Gero suddenly looked up, glowering, before he got back to work on reinforcing his 15th android's skeleton.
~MC~MC~MC~
"So the rest of you might be able to survive up here but I am going to keep every protection spell I can running… besides, it might actually help burn off some of my excess magic." I paused before holding out my hands. "Though… I can try this to help. I mean, if Piccolo can do it… "
"What was that-" Piccolo began only for me to twist my hands in one direction and then the next before I slam my palms together.
"White Satin!" I declared and from my hand shot out beams of light… that formed into rhinestone sunglasses for everyone. "Heh, it worked! There was a 25% chance that was going to make your eyeballs explode."
"WHAT?!" Bulma screamed.
"Huh, neat," Krillin said, tilting his head as he looked at everyone. "Fancy too."
"Yeah," I said. "Not sure why they went Elton John but hey, it worked." I frowned as I looked at my hands. "Of course I wish I could just snap my fingers, Q style. That would be cooler but I guess the hand gestures are important."
"Or," Kami said, making his presence known, "you could take my word that the protections I have built around this place, like the guardians before me and the ones that will come after, ensure that all who step foot here are safe."
"…okay," I said, willing the protection spells to fade away. Much to my relief I didn't go flying off or suddenly find myself turned into a popsicle. As for why I decided to get rid of them… it was Kami. Even having seen him in the anime there was something… awe-inspiring about the Guardian of Earth. He radiated a sense of serene strength that people just want to trust him. To feel safe in his presence. Chichi set Gohan down on the ground, the tension leaving her. Bulma's shoulders slumped. Tien's face softened.
The only one of us not affected was Piccolo. In fact he seemed to grow more tense being near his other half. I had offered other ways for him to be involved without having to be here, such as using Isco as a kind of go-between and having Piccolo just listen through my mind (assuming he could reach out like Kami could), but Piccolo had refused.
"I have to still hear him," Piccolo had grumbled, "and even then he can always just pop into my head if he wants to annoy me."
"Now then, what is it that brings you all here?" Kami asked, drawing me out of my thoughts. "While I am pleased to see you again, Goku, as well as your friends I imagine that this isn't a social call and you must-"
"Stop pretending that you don't know why we're here," Piccolo grunted. "We all know that you see everything that is happening down on earth."
"While it is true I can see everything that doesn't mean I comprehend it," Kami stated calmly. "If I showed you a thousand flowers you would see each and every one of them… but would you be able to describe each in detail for me? Tell me the color of every petal? The tilt and bends in every stem?"
"We aren't here about flowers," Piccolo said, folding his arms over his chest. "We are here about the Earth… the one YOU are supposed to be Guarding. Yet you seem to be doing a wonderful job at it, considering that not only did it get invaded by those Saiyans but now someone else has stolen the Dragon Balls."
"And for someone claiming to wish to conqueror the Earth-" Kami began.
"Hold up!" I snapped, raising my hands up. "You two can whip'em out and see who has the bigger green dick later. We came here for info and to find out if we need to be prepared for a fight or if we just need to go on a Dragon Ball hunt. So how about you two actual like good little Namekian boys and stop snipping at each other?" I glared at that the two before remembering just who I was talking to. "Respectfully."
Piccolo merely stared me down for a moment before letting out a huff and turning away while Kami dipped his head, smiling softly. "You are of course correct, Avo Kayos. Come, let us discuss what has happened with the Dragon Balls."
As our group began to make our way towards the main structure of the Lookout, the little home area where Kami stayed, I found myself walking with Mr. Popo. The black-skinned genie glanced at me and smiled slightly.
"That was good of you, to get them both to see reason," he said in a low whisper. "They are very much alike, when it comes to the most basics of their personalities. It is merely a matter of them having different views and focuses. But they both have a stubbornness and a need to be the 'victor' in any verbal duel and if they can not be they shut down the entire conversation. We would have been here for hours had you not gotten the two to actually stop and remember what was going on."
He paused.
"Interested in a job?" he said and it took me a moment to realize he was teasing.
"Sorry, I couldn't pull off the vest as well as you do," I joked.
That caused Mr. Popo to tug on said garment, looking a bit smug.
Finally arriving in the…house?... we found a large table already set up, cups of tea and some finger foods laid out. Glancing at Mr. Popo I knew at once that was his doing, most likely because he knew that Goku would be with us and would be better able to focus if had a snack available rather than sitting there thinking about how hungry we were. Piccolo refused to take a seat, of course, hovering behind us, and much to my amusement Kami did the same thing, though he faced us all.
"You are right that the disappearance of the Dragon Balls is a concern," Kami said. "And I did not think much of it when it first occurred. The Dragon Moon has began to wane… in fact it is very likely that it will end before the Dragon Balls recharge."
"Wait," Yamcha said, suddenly rather nervous, "that means that the punishment for using the Dragon Balls so much will activate! We'll be going years without them!"
"4 years, to be precise," Kami stated. "The wish to free Dr. Wheelo. The one to return you, Yamcha, to life. Avo Kayos' wish to grant the Son family the return of their tails and control of the Great Ape Form-" Chichi opened her mouth to ask about that but Kami continued on, "-and now this wish." He closed his eyes. "Allow me to see if I can determine just what wish was made…"
And with that he felt silent.
"What were you going to ask him, Chichi?" Goku asked as he grabbed some little mini cakes and shoved a few into his mouth.
"I want to know more about that third wish," she said, annoying Goku couldn't figure it out. "I want to know WHY I suddenly have a Saiyan tail. I'm not a Saiyan!"
"Yes and no," Mr. Popo said, pouring tea for her. "It all depends on your point of view."
"What does that even mean?" Chichi asked.
"You are not fully human," Mr. Popo stated.
"I know. The wish-"
"I mean that you were never fully human," Mr. Popo stated. "If I had met you before the wish I could have informed you of this. If it had been important." He paused. "It is rather rude to just blurt such things out.
Chichi stared at the genie in shock. "I… but how? My father is the Ox King and while he might be larger than most Earthlings he is still a Earthling!"
"That is true," Mr. Popo stated. "But what of your mother?"
"My… my mother?" Chichi whispered.
I frowned and held out my hand, the Scroll of Knowledge slapping into it. "Scroll, who was Chichi's mother?" I frowned as I tilted my head, reading of the answer which, for once, wasn't the poetic waxing the scroll seemed to enjoy. "Ohlrara." Chichi gave a shallow nod at that and I continued, realizing I need to be a bit more specific. "Scroll, was Chichi's mother a Saiyan? And how did she get to earth?"
This time there was a bit of flair.
Enraged by their status
And the respect they weren't shown
The Angry Brides left Planet Vegeta
And Sought out new Homes
Ohlrara was the last
Arriving on Earth
Where the Ox King Found her
And a second crown she did receive
"Well, at least it doesn't rhyme," I muttered before looking at a strict Chichi. "So… that answers that. Your mother left Planet Vegeta, the home of the Saiyans. Not sure WHY, other than she was angry about something involving respect which considering we have Vegeta and Nappa as gauges…"
"Did you say the Angry Brides?" Raditz said, getting up from his seat and moving towards us. "I know of that story." And I felt super embarrassed at that; I needed to remember that Raditz was a fountain of knowledge we needed to tap.
"What happened?" Goku asked, looking at his brother. "Who are the Angry Brides?"
"They were a group of Saiyan Women, the daughters of the Elite of Planet Vegeta who were married into powerful families. They had become friends and through their time together came to believe that Saiyan society was unfairly slanted towards men."
"And I'm sure that was entirely wrong and it was a place of peace and harmony," I groused.
Raditz glowered at me but continued on. "When they couldn't get King Vegeta or the other members of the Elite to take on even a single change they requested the Angry Brides fled Planet Vegeta one night, scattering amongst the stars. It was a massive scandal… many Saiyan Elite Males claimed their wives had died rather than reveal they had left; a great sickness occurred the year they left and many weaker Saiyans died, both among the Elite and the Low Class. No one is even for sure how many Angry Brides there were, as all of their husbands claimed that they died suddenly." He gave a shrug. "Sorry, that's all I know… I wasn't exactly interested in obscure history these last few decades."
"More than what we had," I said.
Chichi was quiet. "My mother… was a Saiyan Elite?"
"Huh," Goku said, scratching his chin. "And Saiyan Elites are powerful, Raditz?"
"Very powerful," his brother confirmed. "Our father was right on the cusp of being declared an Elite. Had Planet Vegeta not been destroyed I would have earned the title myself." He paused and a hint of his earlier arrogance returned. "Not sure about you…"
"Oh, I would have earned it," Goku said, passion flashing in his eyes.
But Chichi wasn't in a joking mood. "But… what does that mean…"
"It means nothing," I said firmly.
"It means everything!" Chichi protested. "My entire life is a lie!"
"Aw, come on Chichi!" Goku said with a grin, wrapping an arm around her. "Did it change things for you when we learned I was Saiyan?"
"Well… no," she admitted. "But-"
"But nothing," I said firmly, cutting off that line of thought. "This doesn't change who you are. It is merely another layer to the woman you are. You are still Chichi, wife of Goku, mother of Gohan, friend of Avo Kayos. And if you want to go beyond that… you are Chichi. Kick ass fighter, quite literally. You battled Goku at the World's Martial Arts Tournament, you can break rocks with yoru pinkies, you are insanely smart, and an amazing cook." Chichi looked at me, eyes brimming with tears. "This doesn't define you Chichi. Not unless you want it to. Raditz bleeds Saiyan. Goku… well, I think he's still deciding. Gohan doesn't care because being a Saiyan or a human doesn't change much. Same with you."
"…right," Chichi finally said. "You're right."
Raditz though was frowning. "It does change one thing though: Vegeta."
"What do you mean?" Goku asked. "You think he's going to be upset that Chichi is a Saiyan? Or half Saiyan?"
"Upset isn't the word I'd use for it," Raditz stated.
"…ah," I said, cluing in at once.
"Wait, what are you getting at?" Chichi asked, confused.
"I'm guessing that Vegeta is the kind of person who would rather be with a Saiyan, even a half Saiyan, over any other race?" I asked.
Raditz nodded, looking at Chichi. "One of the things he's had us doing for the last few years is investigate any rumor about Saiyan Women that had survived the destruction of our home planet. Hunting down any talk of women with tails or who showed great fighting ability. Even if it wasn't one of the original Angry Brides a daughter would have been fine with him. But we found nothing and he came to believe that it was a myth. But now, knowing you exist? He will seek you out." He frowned, brow dropping. "And the fact that you are married to Kakarot will not please him either. You are a daughter of an Angry Bride, one of the Saiyan Elite. He will see Kakarot as unworthy-"
"If he even THINKS of trying to hurt my family I will remove his ability to reproduce," Chichi declared, eyes flashing with rage.
'Honestly, it surprising we never figured out sooner that she had Saiyan blood,' I thought to myself as Goku worked to calm her down. 'She has shown the insane bursts of rage and strength that Saiyans have. And yeah, she did appear to be getting older but that was more of her letting the stresses of the world get to her… and we don't know how it will work with Gohan. Do you need to be a pure-blooded Saiyan to have your aging halt?'
"Oh my," Kami said, suddenly opening his eyes.
"What is it, Old Man?" Piccolo demanded, stepping forward. "What did you see?"
"A grave threat, Piccolo. One greater than perhaps even the Saiyans."
"WHAT!?" Krillin, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu cried out in shock.
"What does that even mean?" Goku asked. "Greater than Vegeta and Nappa?"
"That's right, Goku," Kami said. "The threat comes once more from the stars… and is both familiar and vastly different."
"What is it, Kami?" Tien inquired.
"A Super Namekian… Lord Slug."
My eyes widened.
'I should have guessed… the movies are somehow canon in this world. Wheelo proved that. And Goku hadn't achieved his Super Saiyan form when he fought Slug so it was coming… and if he has the Dragon Balls-'
"Well, that is just a lazy name," Isco commented. "A Super Namekian… I suppose I am an Ultra Robot and Kayos is a Super Special Awesome Mage." I blinked and looked at Isco, wondering if that was on purpose or an accidently reference.
"Lazy name or not," Tien said, "it still sounds like this Lord Slug is a threat to the Earth."
"He very much is so," Kami stated. "From what I have been able to gather from viewing his men they used the Dragon Balls to wish for his youth once again. And now, having regained his former strength… Lord Slug will seek to transform Earth into the new vessel for his grand conquest of the universe."
"…well," I said, the other silent, "fuck."
~MC~MC~MC~
Angila pulled off his helmet and smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "I do wish there was a way for us to protect ourselves without having to resort to those things." He looked up and while he couldn't see it he know that high above in the planet's atmosphere the terrafreezing device continued to belch out the heavy black clouds.
"We should have wished on those Dragon Balls to remove our weakness to sunlight," Medamatcha complained as he removed his chest armor. "Then we could have taken this planet out the old fashion way, rather than just waiting to freeze them all!"
"Watch your tongue!" Angila snapped. "We have a way to get around our weakness! Wasting a wish on that might have cost us Lord Slug… is that what you desire?"
Medamatcha began to rapidly wave his hands about. "Of c-course not!" He stammered. "I… I merely meant-"
"I know what you meant," Angila said darkly. "Be glad it was only I who heard that and not Lord Slug… he wouldn't be as forgiving."
Off to the side Wings muttered something under his breath but one glance from Angila had him go silent and he and Medamatcha set to work preparing the area around their ship for any counter attacks by the planet's armies or forces. There were always those that couldn't accept that their time was at an end and tried to fight. Angila, while also looking over the lay of the land around them to determine what would be the smartest thing to do in terms of placement of their own defenses, found his mind turning to his partners.
'How could they ever think of disrespecting Lord Slug like that?' He thought darkly. 'After all he gave us…'
Planet Slug had been one of the most horrid places in all the galaxy. There were scattered records on the planet that stated that it had once been a peaceful place, with a violet sky and calm waters all under the soft light of three suns. But if that was true or just a myth no one could say and certainly for all of modern history and even before that it had been a hellish place. Two great black holes, just far enough away that they didn't consume the planet outright, greedily slurped away the light of the only sun the planet had, leaving it in dim darkness. The gravitational pull of the black holes, the Demon's Eyes as they were called, upon the planet caused earthquakes that made even the most stable structure collapse, so very little could be built. The moon had been cleaved apart and the shattered halves pulled on the oceans, causing them to become chaotic hellscapes that none dared get near.
No one would ever choose to live there.
No one did.
Countless alien species though had found their ships caught in the gravity well of the Demon's Eyes and found themselves pulled to Planet Slug. The lucky ones would die in the crash. The survivors found themselves trapped on the planet with no way to escape. Eventually they would either adapt… or die.
Life on Planet Slug was difficult, to say the least. There had been no government, no true society. Roving bands of nomadic warriors would be constantly on the move, trying to get just a little bit more for themselves and knowing that at any moment their alliances would shatter and they would fall into brutal infighting. This constant join and unjoining had resulted in nearly the entire population of Planet Slug, those that had been born on the planet, to be nothing more than Half Breeds. Odd mixtures of alien species, resulting in new powers and abilities… and problems.
'Wings suffers from stomach cramps once a month… no one knows why,' Angila thought to himself as he walked the perimeter of their landing site. 'Medamatcha's teeth keep falling out. No one knows why.' He looked down at his boots; Angila knew he was rather attractive by, well, every species' standards. Tall. Strong. Gorgeous hair. Stunning cheekbones. But… he suffered just like the others. Perhaps even more son than any other!
He got calluses on his feet.
No one knew why.
The constant blending of genetics meant that within a few generations anyone born on Planet Slug simply had no other home other than that wretched place. They didn't belong anywhere. Had no people.
'Nevermind we can't survive most places in the universe,' Angila thought to himself, looking up once more at the sky and the thick dark clouds that were rolling along the it. 'Our eyes can't handle strong light and the warm temperatures leave us cooking. If not for our armor we wouldn't be able to survive a planet such as this for more than a few minutes!' Thus the bulky, heavy armor that they wore that helped regulate their body temperatures so they could survive the warmth of the planets they landed on, as well as the helmets that allowed them to see without being blinded. 'Planet Slug… it left its mark on all of us. Ruined us. Until Lord Slug came. Until he united us-'
He suddenly whipped around when warning signals screeched out from the perimeter sensors.
"Medamatcha! Wings!" he shouted. "It looks like the people of this planet have finally decided to face us!"
Medamatcha hurried over, eyes sparkling in delight. Which wasn't a good thing for ANYONE. "Oh, about time!" he declared, rubbing his hands together. "I was getting bored… about time I got a fight."
"Hold on!" Wings declared, grabbing onto the smaller warrior's shoulder before he could rush out and confront whoever was coming. "You know the orders. We let the grunts take'em on first."
"Aw, where is the fun in that?" Medamatcha complained. "Let me just tear them apart a little bit… I'll leave enough for us to be able to identify the women and children." He pressed his hand to his mouth and giggled.
But Angila shook his head. "Wings is right. Lord Slug likes to see the strength of any opposing forces. We will remain on the sidelines until we see just how strong the planet's defenders are." He paused. "And then, should our forces fail… you will be given free range."
"Then I hope they fail quickly!" Medamatcha declared as the alarms continued to blare… and the strangest group of beings landed just on the outskirts of the landing site.
"Why does that one have three eyes?" Wings asked, staring at a tall bald headed figure who had his arms folded over his chest. Next to him was an absolutely tiny figure, pale white with red cheeks.
"And that one has a tail!" Medamatcha declared, pointing to the figure in question.
"And that one with the weird things growing over his eyes!" Wings added, pointing to a male that was standing next to a robotic being.
"…those are glasses," Angila stated dryly.
"Oh."
Angila huffed… only to grow quiet when he noticed the tallest member of the group.
'It can't be,' he thought, staring at the green skinned figure. 'He… he just looks similar! That's all!' He wished the warrior would remove his turban, let him see his ears. Nice rounded ears… that would have settled all his questions for him. Dismissed his concerns. Proved that the figure was just another alien race and not one of the legendary Na-
One of the Slug Force members let out a cry and opened fire on the ground and the battle was at once joined.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Thank you for letting us stay up here, Kami," Chichi said, watching as Gohan practiced with his power pole. Mr. Popo had volunteered to train with him and while at first Chichi had been worried that her little boy would injure the genie Mr. Popo had proven to be surprisingly flexible and agile. Gohan would swing the pole in a hundred different ways and still Mr. Popo found ways to avoid the blows. Many times he didn't even move his feet, simply leaning away like Gohan was moving in slow motion. Rather than get upset her son just became more determined, grinning as he and Mr. Popo chatted about his flowers even as they sparred.
"It is no trouble at all," Kami said with a soft smile. "Honestly I wonder why I haven't opened up the Lookout to more of Goku's friends and family sooner. It is a good place to be if there is a battle that might endanger others. I am the Guardian of Earth, after all."
"Well, I wish you could guardian me up some circuit boards," Bulma said as she finished her lap around Kami's palace. "I mean, this is nice and all, but I'd rather be working on something to help the guys down there."
"We have to think about Gohan," Chichi reminded her. Honestly, and it was shocking for her to realize it, she also wished that she could be down there. "I want nothing more than to be side by side with Goku, making sure he is okay." Her tail twitched in agitation until she carefully grabbed it and wrapped it around her waist. "After fighting Vegeta and Nappa I would feel so much better being with them all. But I have to remember that Gohan needs to be protected and your mech suit was damaged."
"More like reduced to scrap," Bulma said with a shake of her head.
"You must have faith in them," Kami intoned. "They are stronger now then they were yesterday, and tomorrow will be stronger still. They push each other to go beyond their limits."
"It also helps that they have things that the invaders won't expect," Mr. Popo said as he walked backwards past them, still dodging Gohan's blows. "Tien and Chiaotzu's power swapping, the training King Kai gave Yamcha, Kayos' magic…"
"What worries me," Chichi said softly, "is we don't have any more senzu beans left. We used them up healing ourselves. We thought we might have a break after the Saiyans but…"
Kami sighed, cracking an eye open. "You didn't know. How could you? None of us expected these invaders to arrive."
They all fell silent, hoping that their friends would be okay.
~MC~MC ~MC~
"So…" Roshi said with a sniff as he looked up at King Yemma, "ya miss me?" He smirked at that, staring right up at the Judge of the Dead.
"You know," King Yemma said with narrowed eyes, "its not wise to taunt someone that can boot you down to Hell!"
Roshi's beard blew backwards a bit at that but he just combed it back down. "Me? I'm as pure as fallen snow!"
King Yemma merely stared at him.
"Honest."
"I know about the peeping," Yemma replied. "If it had been my daughter you peeped at I would have thrown you threw the soul scrubber myself!"
Roshi looked about. "Uh… just as a hypothetical… where might your daughter be right now?"
"SILENCE!" Yemma roared, this time causing Roshi to tremble as he finally realized he'd pushed things just a touch too far. "I am seriously tempted to toss you into the deepest pits of Hell! The worst one ever!" He leaned in. "You know the one."
"Not that!" Roshi exclaimed.
"Oh yes! Where all the women are old, fat, and saggy! And they grow hair where they shouldn't and not where they should!"
"NOOOOOO!" Roshi wailed, falling to his knees, pressing his head against the floor. "I beg of you, King Yemma, show mercy to an old man!"
"Hmmm… very well," King Yemma finally said. "It isn't my choice to make either." That had Roshi looking up in surprise. He didn't understand what the King of the Ogres could mean; he was the Judge of the Dead! How could it NOT be his choice?! "King Kai has requested you be allowed to run Snake Way and, if you succeed, you join him on his planet. He apparently wishes to see the man that trained Yamcha-"
"Sold!" Roshi declared, running out of the room.
"HEY!" King Yemma bellowed as Roshi ran off. "I WASN'T FINISHED!"
"Uh… if you need more time I'm willing to wait," Nappa said, still a few souls behind the front of the line.
"SILENCE!"
The bald Saiyan's spirit ducked his head and meekly went back to just standing in line.
~MC~MC~MC~
Piccolo grabbed onto one of the alien invaders and threw them hard into a strange looking light near the base of their ship. He didn't even smirk when it shattered into a million pieces… both the light and the body. No, he was more focused on the others, making sure none of his…
'What are they to me, anyway?' he thought to himself as another one of the invaders tried to fire on him. But Piccolo merely sidestepped the shots, barely registering the screams of pain from another one of the invaders as they were caught in the crossfire. 'Allies, I suppose… except my truce with Goku should be over. The Saiyan threat is gone… well, Vegeta is still out there.' The moment he thought that though he scowled; it sounded pathetic and weak to even himself. An excuse. 'As much as I am loathed to admit it… I actually have enjoyed my time with them all.'
He had thought, when they had come up with the plan to train together for a year, that he would hate every moment of it. Needing to be around the humans and deal with their messy emotions and petty desires would lead him to ripping their heads off (verbally) and then needing to apologize for it. That or them cowering and trembling as they moved about him… which admittedly might have been entertaining at first but as time would have gone one would have become frustrating to deal with as it meant everything taking ten times as long to complete.
'But that wasn't the case,' he thought even as he moved in on the invader who had been shooting him, shattering his gun in his bare hands and then delivering a punch that broke the visor of his helmet and drove glass into his eyes and face. 'All of them found ways to fit me into their group without me ever feeling like I was forced to participate or was only being allowed around because of the threat.' That had been the most surprising thing, how welcoming they'd been. He had been led to believe ever since his creation that he would be hated and feared forever because of who his father was. Yet Goku and his friends had accepted him rather quickly… 'Hell, they were more suspicious of Kayos than they were me! Heh… admittedly that's because he made the comment about poisoning Goku but I actually tried to kill him!'
Of course Isco had pointed out that almost everyone in the group had tried to kill Goku more than once. Perhaps that was why Krillin had mistrusted Kayos so much: he hadn't made the attempt.
Yet.
'So… what does that make me to them?' Piccolo thought even as he thrust out his hand and fired a ki blast that sent the invader flying through the air right towards Tien who delivered a hand leg drop right as the being was passing him by. All momentum shifted as the triclops drove the alien invader into the ground, leaving him still. 'Friend? Partner?' He paused. 'Does it matter?'
The three unmasked figures, who were clearly high-ranking members of the invading forces, finally decided to get into the battle, leaping at Piccolo and the Z Fighters. The widest of the three managed to hover slightly off the ground thanks to his wings, easily zipping past bodies to move at Yamcha who met him with a series of Wolf Fang Fists and Wolf Fang Kicks. The smallest of the three spawned strange miniature duplicates of himself that he sent at Krillin and Chiaotzu, the two dodging the first assault and going after the duplicates even as their creator cackled and moved towards Tien. Isco continued to focus on the remaining invaders, leave Goku, Kayos, and Piccolo staring down the final member of the trio.
"You know… you might be the fiercest foes we've ever encountered," the tall alien said.
"Thanks," Kayos said, stepping forward. "That is appreciated Mister…"
"You may address me as Angila." Their foe smirked. "Of course how LONG you are able to even form words matters entirely on what you do next."
Goku narrowed his eyes, clearly not liking that threat at all. "Why did you come to Earth? And what is with the dark clouds you are making?"
"Those?" Angila asked, looking up. "Hmmm… I suppose that would be a bother for you. Already I can see the little puffs of air coming from your lips. You must feel it, certainly… not just the cold but the darkness itself? For me it is a comfort but for you I imagine it's a terror."
"You think the darkness is your ally," Kayos suddenly said, doing… something odd with his voice. Giving it a weird accent. "But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING!" He paused and flashed a smile. "What? No Space Dark Knight Rises placing in the Space Theaters?" He shrugged. "I couldn't help myself, a thousand pardons for interrupting."
'What is he doing?' Piccolo thought to himself. 'That isn't like Kayos… he's a talker, sure, but he doesn't gibber on without a reason…'
Anglia quickly recovered from whatever Kayos had been talking about, looking right at Goku with his arrogant little smirk reforming. "This is the terrafreezing process. Our ship will generate a great cloud that will cover this planet completely, blotting out the sun and dropping the temperature to a chill only known in the depths of space. When complete nothing but our forces will be able to survive on this planet… which will allow us to move to phase 2."
"And what exactly is Phase 2?" Goku asked.
"Why, the transformation of this world into our new Planet Cruiser."
"Planet Cruiser?!" Goku exclaimed in shock. "What is THAT?!"
"The Planet Cruiser is a planet that has been hollowed out and modified to serve as a space ship for all of us of the Slug Demon Clan! Just as we transformed our wretched home world Planet Slug into a Planet Cruiser in order to escape the grasp of the Demon's Eyes so too will we turn your planet into our new vessel. That will allow us to continue on our journey to conquer more worlds, cleansing them before selling them to the highest bidder!"
"And you expect us just to let you do that?" Goku demanded. "This planet is our home! We've already taken out one set of alien invaders, we'll take you out as well!"
"My my my… that sounds rather impressive," Angila stated flipping his hair over his shoulder and closing his eyes. "No. Wait. I'm wrong. For you see… you living your cushy little lives and defeating other soft weaklings isn't that impressive at all." He snapped his eyes back open, his features taking on a far more fierce look. "We were born into pain and suffering! Had to fight for every scrap! That is why I know we are going to destroy you if you dare to stand in our way."
"Okay," Kayos said, once more causing Angila to falter.
"…what?"
"I said okay." He shrugged at that, walking around Angila without a care in the world. "So, I'm assuming you guys have a way to induct new members into your army?"
"New…"
"New members, yeah," Kayos said. "Sorry, am I talking to fast? I'm talking to fast. New members into your army… how does that work? Is there an interview process? Do I need to schedule an appointment to betray my planet and side with you in the name of survival? Or is it more of a walk-in thing?"
"I… I don't…" Angila scratched his head, utterly befuddled by the turn of events.
Kayos let out a laugh. "I mean… there is no way that you guys have been just flying around, killing whole planets without replenishing your ranks! I mean, Piccolo over there has killed… 7 guys?"
"9," Piccolo confirmed.
"Exactly!" Kayos said with a happy little grin, pointing right at Piccolo and making a clicking sound with his tongue. Piccolo merely stared at the man who continued to shoot him a plastered on grin before suddenly whipping around and walking over to Angila. "Now then, we need to talk about benefits. Sure sure, survival is well and good but what's your dental plan like? You do vision? I can't get Lasik…"
"Are we sure that Kayos is healthy enough to be fighting?" Piccolo found himself asking. "I think Nappa might have gotten a hit in on him when we weren't looking and caused some damage to that brain of his."
Goku though titled his head. "I don't know… I bet he has some reason for doing all this."
And that's when a giant explosion burst above them, causing several of the remaining invaders that Isco had been fighting to slam down into the ground.
"What?!" Angila cried out, twisting up and staring at the sky only to scream, flinging his hand over his eyes. Piccolo pulled his own gaze up to see a giant fireball illuminating the dark clouds that had been building… and the remains of some device falling down to the earth, crashing into the invaders' ship, tearing great holes into it.
"Yeah," Kayos said casually, "I was buying Raditz time to destroy the terrafreezing device."
"You bastard!" Angila shouted, opening his now bloodshot eyes, energy pooling in his mouth.
"WHITE SATIN!" Kayos shouted and the alien screamed again, his blast going wide as a pair of sunglasses with blinking white lights appeared on his face. He clawed at his face, but the ones Kayos had created didn't end with earpieces like the ones he'd made for Piccolo and the others but instead were strapped to their head. He turned and began to create more of the sunglasses, more of the invaders screaming in pain as their weak eyes were assaulted by the light. And even if they weren't Kayos' oversaturation of Good Magic had caused him, upon performing the spell, to begin glowing again, the light causing the invaders to flee from him in agony… and right into the waiting fists of Goku's friends.
"Piccolo!" Goku shouted and the green warrior spun out of the way just as Goku fired off a ki blast that slammed Angila into the already damaged ship. Piccolo, not to be outdone, rushed over and grabbed a large chunk of the damaged ship, tearing it free from the vessel before driving it into the Angila's gut… and pretty much cutting him in half.
"Well… that was surprisingly brutal," Krillin commented.
"Yet you didn't mind doing it to those creepy little guys!" Chiaotzu commented, gesturing towards what Piccolo assumed was the remains of their foe. "You were throwing those Destructo Discs around so much they ended up looking like swiss cheese!"
"Yeah well…" Krillin trailed off, clearly having no answer.
"Hmmpf," Piccolo said with a scoff. "So much for your invasion. At least the Saiyans destroyed a few buildings." 'And managed to kill someone,' he thought, wisely deciding not to finish that comment.
Angila let out a weak cough. "This… this isn't the end. Lord Slug will have heard what you did and will be rushing out here any moment to destroy you all! You will suffer-"
Kayos held up his hand and flared it with light, Angila letting out a pained cry.
"No one really cared about his speech, did they?" he asked. The blond man looked at his hand. "Huh… I thought torturing dying people would net me more evil magic. That sucks." He flashed his hand several more times, making Angila groan. "Still… I suppose he is right… Lord Slug won't take this kindly."
"Right!" Goku said and the Z Fighters all backed away from the ship, ready for the leader of the alien invaders to make an appearance.
"…uh…" Krillin said, tilting his head. "He's coming, right?"
"He should…" Yamcha admitted.
'Where is he?' Piccolo thought.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Where indeed?" Kami murmured, gripping his staff. "Where is Lord Slug?"
"Oh… right here… cousin."
Kami turned… and stared in horror at the massive Super Namekian that was hovering above the lookout, a fierce and sinister grin on his lips.