Dragon Ball Z: Paradise Found

In Search For a Greater Meaning

"There it is!" Dende exclaimed overcome with joy as the trio homed in on a massive, white dome that appeared like a shell of a snail, built out of white, bone-like substance and donning windows of swampy green from both sides. The house rested on a massive rock that towered like a mountain over the surrounding natural scenery.

"Can you feel it?" Piccolo mumbled out, looking on ahead.

"Yeah, there's someone really strong in there," Chayote nodded her head. While she didn't put much of her stocks into the Nail bag initially, feeling the Ki brimming with power within, one easily rivaling that of Chayote's or Piccolo's did pique her interest some.

"You mean Nail is inside?" Dende turned to the pair with surprise. "Nobody even came here to look for him after the Oldest Elder passed away, to think that Nail would have just stayed here all this time."

The trio landed by the entrance to the building. Chayote noticed how Nail's Ki didn't shift one tiny bit from their appearance. Usually someone capable of sensing Ki would have become interested in someone whose power rivaled their own approaching them. Nail was too powerful and esteemed of a warrior not to know how to sense Ki. The trio slowly walked inside the building that was seeped in shadow.

Deep, at the very edge of the structure, a lone figure floated off the floor, gleaming with aura of bright blue as he sat in a meditative position. By his side there was a throne of bone and skulls, not unlike that which Chayote had seen in her vision on Korin Tower though the throne seemed to be built to fit a giant whereas the meditating Namekian was of similar size to Piccolo.

"Nail..." Dende muttered with a helpless voice. Judging from his mood, one could tell that the boy thought something to be wrong. Nail's body slowly landed on the ground and the Namekian warrior opened his eyes, emitting a strong shock of erupting Ki that forced Dende to cover up his face while Piccolo and Chayote stone-walled it.

"Dende..." Nail muttered. "Who are you?" he turned his attention to Chayote. His eyes then lingered on Piccolo. "You're Namekian. That's impossible, there are no living Namekians that haven't been given birth by the Oldest Elder himself."

"Soon there won't be any living Namekians at all, if you keep at it," Piccolo grumbled, staring right back at the Namekian warrior as he rose on his feet and approached the pair with a strict glare. Dende ran in between Nail and Piccolo before the tension between the two broke out into a full-on conflict.

"Wait a second... Piccolo is a Namekian from Earth, he's come here to live amongst us. He wants to help us." Dende tried to explain during his vain struggle against the two Namekians closing in to where their faces almost touched.

"Help us?" Nail finally broke his stare to turn to Dende who was pulling at his baggy, white trousers by the knees.

"That's right, he can defeat the aliens that want to destroy Namek! He can stop the Divinity Tree from blooming!" Dende explained himself.

"Aliens? Divinity Tree?" Nail muttered to himself. Chayote wondered if the great hero of Namek even knew what was going on in the planet that he was supposedly protecting.

"This is the legendary hero Nail that you spoke of?" Piccolo cringed. "Seems like a hopeless buffoon to me."

"You're right." Nail closed his eyes. "I am no legendary hero of Namek. If you want to fight some aliens, go right ahead. Save Namek, I wish you all the best."

"B-But... Nail... Won't you fight with them?" Dende exclaimed, clapping his cheeks with his palms in shock of what Nail was saying.

"Give it up, kid, if this Nail cared at all about the fate of Namek, he'd have long since kicked those aliens out. Can't you feel how powerful he is? Those chumps would have been of no threat to him..." Piccolo looked down at Dende. Despite his scowl remaining strict and discontent, there was no malice or sharpness to his beady eyes as he spoke to little Namekian.