Dragon Ball Z: Paradise Found

Not The Intended Target

"Incredible, and to think that such a place existed so close to Kame Island..." Muten Roshi stroked his beard while observing a faraway assemblage of mushroom-shaped, steampunk-style towers surrounded by mustard clouds from all directions. "It's got a powerful field of corruption around it, mirroring the field on the God's Temple that prevents from sensing Ki. Once something or someone enters these tainted clouds, they must be completely untraceable in terms of their Ki, just like if they would ascend to the God's Temple."

"It is difficult to imagine that demons would possess the same power as Kami himself," Nam observed.

"That nasty little dwarf Garlick Jr. always wanted to be a Kami, his father may have been a potential Kami candidate, it's no surprise that he has a few similar tricks," Chi-Chi looked the calmest out of everyone aboard on the inside though she still felt anxious about what they would crash into once they reach the Garlick Castle.

"Alright, I'm going to see where I can put it down..." Artificial Human No. 8 said as he had the jet do a sharp swerve before noticing a patch of luscious gardens that seemed prime for a landing as most of the castle was filled with scrap towers and rocky, high-rise pathways that were far too narrow to land on. The android had to navigate through a few of these naturally formed bridges to get into a splendid position for landing already.

The moment that the feet of the arrived warriors touched the ground, murky blurs began flashing around them, telegraphed signs of rapid movement that were impossible to ignore. From the looks of it, only Chi-Chi's eyes could keep up with the shuffling demons that toyed with the lagging perception of their prey before lining up in front of them.

"Couldn't wait until your lord and master Garlick Jr. takes over so you've come here looking for your deaths?" Spice, the commander of Spice Boys, beamed a mocking glare at the arrived humans. "That's too bad, someone like you would have made fine servants to Garlick Jr."

"Maybe if we bully them around a bit, they'll tell us where they're holding Salt?" Mustard turned to his commander.

"Humph... It was Salt's own damn fault for getting caught. Why should we pull his sorry ass out of that fuel container now?" Vinegar crossed his massive arms, looking away in discontent.

"Now, now, Vinegar. Our rankings have felt unnaturally short since we've lost Salt. The Spice Boys feels like the name of a four-member group. It's the name of the whole bunch, three members just don't do the name justice. I agree that we should make these humans hurt until they tell us where they are keeping Salt's container." Spice nodded his chin to Mustard, breaking into a chuckle after Vinegar's remark, suggesting that he might have agreed with the powerhouse member of his group to an extent and that the visual integrity and presentation of his group mattered more to Spice than the well-being and freedom of his ally.

"Nam, let's stick to the plan," Muten Roshi mumbled in a dire tone to his voice. "Our odds at victory are too slim to rely merely on beating the enemy. We may need to lose a battle to win the war here."

"Understood. It hurts to admit it, but I wouldn't be of too much help in this fight and would just hold you back." Nam nodded. "My skill in martial arts could win us some time at best. I don't think the enemy would even register my blows."

Nam might have been selling himself short a bit, but the Dragon Team had discussed their plan thoroughly on their way here. It made the most sense that Nam would be their hidden ace. He was a warrior who relied on striking sensitive weak points of the human body, chops to the throat and the nape of the neck, pinches, and cross-arm dives that put people to sleep and crumbled their bodies, their consciousness, and their will to fight. With these demons, Nam's style was the least efficient. Not only did these enemies possess an alien anatomy with a unique set of pressure points, but also, they had the unnatural resiliency of a demon that made their own pressure points more hardy to target.