Dragon Ball Z: Paradise Found

The Ultimate Namekian

"We have reached our destination–Planet Namek!" the ship's AI announced as the vessel carrying Piccolo, Gohan and Dende hovered over a grey and bleeding planet with white clouds providing it its only standout features by which one could tell it apart from bland cement. With a husky gasp, Dende ran up to the porthole.

"This is what's left of Planet Namek!?" the young Namekian cried out.

"It's fortunate that Puri let the planet live after she was done with it. What's even more surprising was that King Cold heeded her call to leave Planet Namek be," Piccolo sighed, authorizing the Capsule Corps spaceship to descend onto the planet's surface. Soon enough, the pathetic sights of a devastated planet disappeared from sight as a blazing outline formed around the spaceship and the portholes shut closed to protect the space tourists from the immense heat of re-entry.

It was only when the ship shook up and down with the amortization system softening the landing somewhat and when the bridge descended to guide the arrivals onto the planet's surface that the three visitors stepped out from the spaceship and walked down the bridge while absorbing the lingering, hefty atmosphere of an extinction-level event that hit this planet years ago.

"How horrible..." Dende pressed his face with his hands and began weeping. Gohan pressed his hand on the back of his friend.

"I wish I could have seen Planet Namek before all of this happened," Gohan tried comforting his good friend just as Dende comforted him during a time of significant loss.

Planet Namek's atmosphere and the sky had been coal-black. Silver-colored clouds gathered over the head and vicious lightning bolts lashed at them, splitting them apart and forcing the planet to bleed fiery blazes of ignited atmospheric gas. Namek's widespread swamps, lakes, and seas boiled and had changed their color to that of a dirty bog because of toxic emissions from the clouds. The once vibrant cerulean grass now turned ash-grey as it received virtually no sunlight from any of the surrounding suns. The stars around the planet were just shapeless fireballs as one could have seen on their way onto the new and deteriorated Planet Namek.

"Tsk, that Puri..." Piccolo hissed, clenching his fists. "I'm not sure what pisses me more about that wretch, that she ruined Planet Namek or that she acted high and mighty enough to leave the planet be like this as if she's some grand savior just doing what needs to be done."

"It's terrible to imagine how the survivors lasted this long. Namekians are incredibly sensitive to changes in our environment. Water and clean air to breathe are vital to our survival, even more so than to other species," Dende lamented with a crushed voice as he turned around on a small hill, offering brief glances in many directions. "There are around thirty-six survivors, they're widespread all around the planet."

A sparkling aura of pure, electric energy enveloped Piccolo as his form became shapeless. In a flash, the Super Namekian split into many identical clones of himself that took off toward each of the Ki signatures. The Namekian survivors splintered off. They no longer lived in large establishments that could have been easily located, which made both finding them and finishing King Cold's job much more difficult.

"Let's go meet the current elder," Piccolo sighed. Alongside Dende and Gohan, the Super Namekian took off toward the largest cluster of living Namekians. Even the surviving leader of the Namekian people only had a handful of living Namekians attending them. That was the extent of the sadness of Planet Namek's true state.

A short and obese Namekian with moss-colored, decrepit skin turned around, alongside a trio of terrified Warrior Clan Namekians watching his back at all times. They all focused their attention on the airborne visitors that were speeding up to their location with pinpoint precision. Before flashbacks to Planet Namek's most terrible moments in the hands of Turles and his men and King Cold's alliance with Dr. Puri could form, Piccolo, Dende, and Gohan descended before the current Namekian elder.