PART ELEVEN: DOUBLE TROUBLE

Chapter 55

Translated by Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai?

Nail woke slowly, as his wounds and pain disappeared. When he opened his eyes at last, the comforting feeling that he lavished ceased. First, it took a few seconds for his fuzzy vision to become accustomed to the light. Since he had left his planet, all he saw was space, and the Multiverse Tournament's arena was not much brighter... Dende's smiling face appeared into focus in front of him, with the tears in his eyes becoming clearer.

"Dende?" the warrior said weakly before recovering slowly.

"Nail!"

Dende resisted the urge to jump onto his friend's neck. He was scared; Nail was almost dead and it was primarily through a good deal of luck that he had survived.

Nail took a few moments to regain his senses and look around a bit. Dende was with three other accompanying Nameks: another healer and two warriors. The latter looked in the same direction, to a distant place from the other side of the nearby sea, where thick dark grey smoke (with hints of black), stood high in the green Namekian sky. Suddenly everything came back to him. Nail suddenly rose, fists clenched, ready to fight.

"We separated into three groups," intervened Dende. "The first is headed to the crash site, the other one over there, where a monster crashed..." he said, pointing to the distance off to the right side.

"That's King Vegeta..."

"Who?"

"He's dangerous! If he survived, we shouldn't heal him!"

"We can't let anyone just die like that..."

Nail said nothing. It was not at all like the Nameks to let a living being die. But what to do that living creature it was vile and evil?

"Anyway, I gotta go. I'm going off to help the first group."

Without waiting a second longer, he fixed onto Vegeta... the man who had nearly killed him... who by his orders and plans had struck down many Nameks... Nail flew off quickly, following the direction that Dende had pointed out. The former did not want to lose a minute, and decided to follow.

In three minutes, Nail arrived on the scene. He expected to see an Oozaru, but instead he saw a naked and wet man, who was lying near a crater filled with water. Three Namek warriors were there around him, while a healer... had already applied first aid!

"No, wait!" cried Nail, advancing rapidly.

But it was too late. King Vegeta began to regain consciousness. Nail pounced to subdue the king immediately. The treatment, was no issue; Nail was far stronger than him. If Nail could prevent Vegeta from using his arms, there would be no problem.

"Get off me! Bastard!" shouted Vegeta, invigorated by a sharp pain in his arms, was now fully awake.

"You shall not harm anyone else," calmly replied the Namek warrior who had defeated Reacum, while he raged inwardly.

Dende arrived in turn, followed by three other warriors. Nobody even knew what happened... The hypothesis of the accident had already been chosen from the beginning. Nail explained to his brethren quickly, and he when he spoke of their dead brothers, betrayed, killed in the explosion of the shuttle, all the warriors shook their teeth, cursing King Vegeta, but still controlled their rage, firmly planting themselves on the ground.

The young Dende approached, and with a snap of fingers, conjured a very strong rope that Vegeta could not destroy with the sheer force of his arms.

"I hope that the first group found survivors..." said Dende as he regarded Vegeta, before flying to the remains of the crashed Varga mothership, followed by the whole Namek group.

Nail carried Vegeta, supervising him closely. The King continued to scream, struggle, and liberate his wrists in vain.

The carcass of the ship was still smoking in places, but all the fires were out. Fifty meters away, the bodies of the Nameks, Vargas, and Saiyans were placed next to each other. The other bodies were continuing to be added to the already long list of the dead, carried by several Nameks that sifted through the rubble hoping to find survivors. Nail found a small smile forming on his face, noting that Cargot was standing in full health, currently restraining another Saiyan that had survived. It was the one who had lost to the teenage girl: Baddack. A few yards away stood two Vargas who were arguing with a healer Namek. They must have been recounting the story of what happened...

Nail landed near Cargot and dropped Vegeta, who fell heavily onto the brown and green ground. Dende rushed to materialize a second that snapped and attached itself to Baddack, before seeing Cargot and sharing a smile with him.

"We'll gather the gather the Dragon Balls," said Dende, maintaining his grin. "We'll bring back our friends!"

Nail never even thought of the idea; he had been distracted by the loss his friends and too focused on Vegeta to prevent him from escaping or waiting for the opportunity to take revenge.

The two Vargas as well as their interlocutor Namek approached, while the two Saiyans learned of some vital information: the Dragon Balls! The wish-making balls that they would have gotten if they had won the tournament! They were here too, and the Nameks were the guardians! If only they could get their hands on them, and resurrect their brethren...

"If you will, Master Nameks," said the little voice of one of the Vargas, "the first wish should be to bring back to this planet the souls of our dead, before reviving them with the second wish. If you do not mind, with the third one, we could repair the ship and go home.

"If the Saiyans attacked shortly before arriving in our planet," began Dende, "it wouldn't be a problem. There would be no need for the first wish; they can be revived here."

"You're not factoring in our technology," replied the Varga. "Our mothership has a lot of speed. I'm afraid, that our first casualties took place in the vacuum of space, hundreds of thousands of miles away. Better be careful."

"Okay," understood Dende. "But unfortunately, the Dragon Balls can only resuscitate one person at a time!"

"Oh!" the Varga exclaimed, astonished. "Ours, that is to say, the Nameks from our universe, must have upgraded them..."

"You should talk to our Elder Moori," Nail intervened. "If we must upgrade the Dragon Balls, he alone can do it and must make a decision."

Dende nodded, then left after a few minutes to find the leader of their tripe and gather the seven Dragon Balls, to see if he could actually improve their powers but still grant three wishes. It took less than two hours to gather the crystal spheres. On the other hand, Moori, who agreed to help his family and the Vargas, took a few days to increase Porunga's power.

During those few days, the two Saiyans were forced to help work the many Namekian fields, assisted by two survivor Vargas, who wanted to help even if their contribution was small. The day the Dragon Balls were ready, the Saiyans, monitored by Nail and Cargot, and the Vargas returned to the crash site of their mothership, while from their main village, Dende invoked the Sacred Dragon.

For the first time, the Saiyans discovered the magic of the myth. The sky darkened immediately (Vegeta tried to find a moon!). And in the distance, a bright light rose in the sky, before taking the form of a strange green dragon, who turned his back towards them. Despite the significant distance between them, they heard the dragon utter words, but only in the Namekian language. A few seconds later, the effects of the first two wishes were visible, and even if they had expected it, the two Saiyans were struck speechless: the lifeless bodies of the Nameks and Vargas were reanimated together. As if waking from a deep sleep, they first stirred their arms and legs, before opening their eyes and sitting up. As they rose out of the 'coffins' that the Nameks had created to hold the bodies, it did not take long for them to realize what was happening. A few more seconds passed, and then it was the remains of the Varga mothership that suddenly took form . With its chrome and white colors sparkling, it looked good as new. The Vargas and Nameks from Universe one cheered for the effectiveness that the Dragon Balls, while the two survivor Vargas, with tears in their eyes, tightly hugged their friends' legs out of happiness.

Vegeta cursed. The Dragon Balls had amazing power, the Vargas regained the technology that was theirs, but they had dared to insult his race by not reviving the fallen Saiyans!

The sky cleared as suddenly as it had darkened, and a line of light passed over the entire planet, suddenly splitting into seven total lines of light that took different directions. Each line was a Dragon Ball, which was travelling towards an unknown destination, unusable until the next year.

While the majority of Nameks and Vargas from Universe 1 went up to the ship, the head Varga asked to see the Namek chief, if only to thank him for his kind assistance.

Two hours later, he came back to say that they were going to stay for a few more hours before leaving; it was time to check the ship's functionality, and to decide the fate of the Saiyans.

Nail and Cargot heavily weighed this decision, reflecting what they had seen: the limitless aggression in these creatures. Without discussing it for too long, the head of the Nameks made the decision to send them off quickly. But with the dragon balls unusable for a year, Moori asked the Vargas to deal with them. Nail, Cargot, and twenty other fighters were to accompany them to protect them until it was time to drop them off.

They arrived in sight of Planet Vegeta. Its King and Baddack stood in a corner of the control room, watching their planet. The Vargas detected their city and prepared the shuttle. Thirty minutes later, supervised by the 25 Namekian warriors from Universes 1 and 10, Baddack and Vegeta descended the ramp of the shuttle before several Saiyans who welcomed them home, wondering quickly where the others were.

Nail remarked that their city was nothing more than a ruin, made of buildings that were too small for the Saiyans. Could they be the remnants of a civilization that they exterminated? Nail had no doubt. A sort of palace was constructed, overlooking the city and the plain, or rather, the rocky desert. Nail noticed one last element: that it was almost dusk.

"Hurry up. If they all transform, we might have some problems," Nail said softly to a Namek from Universe 1.

The latter nodded and pushed the two Saiyans. He did not intend to stay long; he had but three jobs to do: drop them off, release them, and leave. That was all there was to it. But he failed to account for Vegeta's intervention, once released:

"I challenge you to a duel!" he cried with a loud voice to his men. "One on one, against one of you!" he said, pointing at Nail and Cargot.

The latter looked at him incredulously. Was he mocking them? Without answering, the two Nameks turned their heels.

"Cowards! After leaving my subjects dead, you dare flee when I demand a duel?" King Vegeta shouted angrily.

Nail and Cargot turned at the same time. They had much to say in response, in order to put him in his place. But, their silence could be even stronger. Vegeta was already discredited in front of his "subjects". And that gave Nail an even better idea: if he could beat him up quickly, his would be even further discredited. This thought is what caused Nail to finally accept such a duel.

As Nail approached King Vegeta, the latter made a sign to his subjects, who retreated a few meters back. Then the King assumed a fighting stance. Nail did the same, not letting go of his opponent's eyes. If ever the latter began to transform, he would be finished... With his strength, at the maximum, one or two shots would be largely sufficient. Nail waited for his adversary's attack to arrive. The first attack was to come soon. Could it be that the King was trying to buy time? Was he seeking for a way to win?

He finally attacked, screaming, fist forward. With a simple, effortless movement, Nail dodged, grabbed his arm, and kneed the King's belly, then sent him waltzing several meters away. The King, under the collective astonishment of his subjects, save for Baddack who knew the King was never going to win, found it hard to get up. Already spitting blood, trembling, his legs feeling as if they were going to collapse under him, he stared at Nail with a dark look. He was clearly enraged.

Once again, the wait for the next attack was long; the two fighters were staring each other down without attacking. Then Nail broke the silence:

"I've already won; you can't do anything about it. It'd be best if you quit as soon as possible."

"Don't make me laugh, Namek."

Shouting again, the bearded king attacked Nail once more, who, in two shots, almost knocked out the King. The technique was fast, and very few of the Saiyans had seen it coming. Now all they saw was their king, the loser, half-conscious, sprawled on the floor, writhing in pain, spitting a bit of blood. Nail regarded him, still with a serious and careful look. The other Nameks turned and boarded the shuttle, when Baddack intervened:

"Couldn't you heal him before leaving?"

Nobody answered him. The Saiyan continued:

"He lost; he won't be our king anymore. He'll even be punished for letting some of us die."

Baddack spoke in a calm voice. He seemed serious. After a moment's hesitation, Nail agreed. A healer Namek arrived, protected by a warrior. It took him only two minutes, and while Baddack helped Vegeta get back on his feet, the shuttle prepared for takeoff, waiting for Nail and Cargot, the last to board.

"Wait..." said Baddack once again.

The two Nameks turned around, hoping that it would finally be the last time. They did not want to stay there... In addition, it began to become seriously dark at that moment. Precisely then, Baddack spoke of it, looking at the sky:

"Look, it's the full moon."

Nail and Cargot regarded the sky in turn, and actually saw the full moon. Suddenly, Nail's eyes widened. Why was it that this moon reminded him of the ball of light that King Vegeta created on two occasions to transform? His gaze fell on all the Saiyans, who almost all smiled.

"As I thought," muttered Nail. "He's going to make himself giant again! If I'm fast enough..."

But a glance around him made him understand that it was not a magical power, exclusively for the king... but instead, everyone had that ability! It was confirmed when they had all close their eyes...

"Take off!" cried Nail to the Vargas before turning to Cargot. "We have to beat them before they become that monkey!"

Together, the two Nameks. In a few punches and knife-hand strikes, they were able to take out several Saiyans. But did they have enough time? There were way too many... fifty? maybe even more? Nail, haven taken flight while the Oozarus in front of him increased in size, saw even more gorillas appearing. Many more... there were hundreds of Oozarus!

"Nail ! Cargot!"

A Namek, from the Varga shuttle that was now tens of meters above them, called out to them. It was time to go without a fight. They were done here. Cargot flew immediately to the shuttle, while Nail had to avoid a blow from an Oozaru, who had surprised him with a stream of energy from his open mouth that almost hit the Namek. After the first attack, many others followed, which Nail dodged fairly easily. Suddenly, a blast almost hit the shuttle, but thanks to Cargot, they came out without any damage. As the shuttle took even more altitude, Nail also followed suit, being careful to avoid energy shots from the Oozarus. He knew they would not kill him, but it could certainly hurt.

When Nail was only ten meters away from the shuttle, which had been speeding up out of the atmostphere, Cargot called out, shouting at Nail to look behind him. An angry Oozaru had managed to jump up to his height! Hands clasped, he tried to strike a fatal blow to Nail. Was it King Vegeta, who insisted on winning again? Or one of his warriors, like Baddack? All Oozarus looked alike... Anyway, it did not matter; he was a Saiyan of some sort, so Nail cared. Reacting quickly, the Namekian warrior parried the attack, although with much difficulty. The Oozaru obviously had nearly the same strength as him. Veritably enraged, Nail rushed towards the transformed Saiyan, even though he was already beginning to fall. The Namek flung a kick into the gorilla's stomach, and fired a burst of energy that exploded in his eye. The Oozaru, screaming in pain, punched several times in the air without hitting the Namek, who above him, released a multitude of energy bursts. The Oozaru was hit by all of them, the explosions causing him to scream in pain and increase his downward velocity and the force of his fall.

Nail's nervousness subsided once the Oozaru had created a crater on the ground, and he stopped shooting. Recollecting his thoughts quickly, he flew at full speed towards the waiting shuttle. Once he was inside, Cargot shut the door and the pilot Varga made the direct flight to the mothership...

"Maybe we should do something about these Saiyans... If they ever get the ability to travel through space, they could become a threat..." said Cargot when they came down from the shuttle that landed on Namek.

"I don't think so," said Nail. "We could always use the Dragon Balls to do something, but Freeza seemed to be a greater threat than the Saiyans, and a Kaioshin killed him. If the Saiyans ever become too dangerous, I think he'll do the same."

Cargot nodded. It was true. In their universe, they had the fortune to have a god who was paying attention to what was going on...

With the Saiyans on their near-desert planet, a place with too many bloodthirsty inhabitants, the Nameks could live in peace on their planet, without being bothered...