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The unnatural darkness to Namek's skies began to abate, but the returning sunlight brought only the slightest comfort to the broken body of Nail, Planet Namek's last warrior.
Nail could feel every shredded ligament, every torn muscle, and every burst vein in their tattered body as they slowly bled to death. Perhaps worse than the physical pain was the anguish they felt. Nearly every one of Nail's people, their family, had faced violent deaths at the hands of a megalomaniacal planet conquerer and their henchmen. And Nail, by far the strongest of all the living Namekians, Nail, who had been trained since a young age in the Namekian arts of combat, Nail, who had sworn to protect the Grand Elder, and all of their family? They had proven useless against Frieza, and now lay dying on the ground.
A raised Ki in the distance, at the level for sustained flight. Somebody was approaching, somebody much stronger than those humans Nail had met before, though still nowhere near the monstrous power that was Frieza. Somebody broadcasting a flurry of troubled emotions so loudly that Nail could practically feel them vibrating in their ears. A Namekian, but not one of Nail's siblings.
Oh.
So that's who it was. The wayward child of Katas, or really, half of that child. So the humans had successfully summoned Porunga, and made their wishes. That meant little Dende was still safe with them, for now. That could change very quickly; Nail held off Frieza as long as they could, but had been utterly dominated by Frieza's brute strength, and in the end Nail's efforts only bought the humans and Dende the barest of time.
The broadcast anxieties of the other Namekian were overwhelming now. Hadn't anyone ever taught them to shield their thoughts? They were worse than a fussing hatchling whose mental distress calls sent pins and needles into bases of Nail's antennae. A fluttering of loose fabric, the sounds of someone landing... The other Namekian was here.
"Someone like me. A... Namekian." The newcomer sounded like they were still unused to the word. "You're dying."
Nail wanted to reply with a snort of laughter at this bluntness towards their condition, but all that came out was a pained wheeze. This newcomer seemed pretty short on manners; maybe they just didn't teach manners on Earth. A stranger from a strange, impolite world... That's right! That's what the humans had called them, another world, Piccolo.
Nail cracked open an eye to get a look at this Piccolo. Nail's vision was blurred from the damage they had sustained, but they could make out a Namekian wearing a white cape, with some sort of scarf wrapped on top of their head, covering their antennae. Their skin was a dark green, like deep, shadowed water, and their unusually long ears were held upright, alert. Nail couldn't make out their facial features at this distance, but they seemed young. Strange. The child of Katas was supposed to be a survivor of the Great Cataclysm, they ought to appear much, much older.
"Ah, hello. You must be the Namekian the humans spoke of. Seems like the humans got their wish after all. I am Nail, warrior and defender of the Grand Elder of Namek." Nail said, giving Piccolo a polite smile.
Politeness again seemed to evade Piccolo.
"If you already know that much, then you should also know that I'm in a hurry to help those brats. And I can't waste any time making small talk with the soon-to-be-deceased." Piccolo said, and turned to leave Nail as they were, bleeding out on the ground.
Nail had never expected for another Namekian to behave this way; any of Nail's siblings would have stayed with them until the end, or attempted to ease their passing. Even more surprising, of that overbearing cloud of emotions that projected out from Piccolo, sympathy hadn't been one of them. Urgency, worry, a bit of annoyance, but not even a hint of concern for one of their own kind suffering and close to death. Nail would have been insulted if they hadn't been so shocked.
Regardless of Piccolo's callousness, Nail couldn't just let them leave. Not yet. Piccolo's presence had reminded Nail of something.
"I can sense a huge power within you, one that rivals my own. I know not how you managed it, it's truly impressive." Nail said. "And yet..."
Piccolo had paused, an ear cocked back listening, and Nail could feel their rising suspicion.
"It's such a shame. If you had returned as your original self..."
This statement seemed to spark something in Piccolo. Sharp pricklings of animosity rose off of them, and they suddenly turned again to face Nail.
"What?" they growled, taking a few steps forward.
"If you had returned as you once were, you may have been capable of defeating Frieza." Nail said.
Piccolo gave an indignant grunt at that.
"So you're saying that the only way I would have stood a chance against Frieza was if I had reunited with Kami? That as I am now I'd just be throwing my life away to take them on? That all the effort Gohan went through to bring me here was for nothing?!" Piccolo said, growing more and more agitated as they spoke.
"I do not intend to discourage you, only to speak the truth. I faced Frieza in battle prior to our meeting. I know their power from firsthand experience." Nail said.
Bringing up Piccolo's other half, the fragmented nature of their soul, and the hopelessness of their situation had struck quite the nerve with them. They bristled at Nail's words, ears half-pinned, and momentarily the image of an elderly Namekian with long ears and dark skin similar to Piccolo's flashed across Nail's mind. They really did not seem to know how to control their telepathy.
"Well, thanks. You've been very helpful." Piccolo sneered. "But just so you know, even if my better half had been here, I'd never reunite with them. I don't need whatever pitiful power that withered old husk could provide. I don't care how strong this Frieza is, I'll find my own way of destroying them."
"I have a proposition for you, then. Unite with me." Nail said.
Piccolo's expression flickered from disgust and frustration to uncertainty, and they made a small noise.
"I am a warrior-type Namekian, the last of my kind left in this world. I don't mean to boast, but my strength greatly outclassed that of all my warrior siblings, and had we met before I fought Frieza, my power would have been greater even than your own. The two strongest Namekians in centuries, meeting on the cusp of our race's destruction... I do not think this is mere coincidence. If we were to combine our powers as one, it may lend us the edge we need in this battle."
Piccolo averted their gaze, and the heavy miasma of their emotions retracted on itself just a little.
"A tempting offer, but I... I'd rather stay who I am. I don't want to be another person." they said gruffly.
"You are quite the proud one, aren't you?" Nail said.
Suddenly, Nail felt a spike of Ki far in the distance, and from the hitching of Piccolo's breath and the twitching of their ears, they had felt it too. The ground beneath them began to tremble, jostling Nail's broken body and awakening new pains. They could hear waves beginning to break on the nearby shore, and Nail felt a deep sense of dread. There was only one person capable of generating that kind of Ki on this planet; Frieza, that monster, must have finally caught up to Dende and the humans.
"We must act swiftly! My life draws closer to its end with each passing second, and if we do not hurry, your companions will be lost as well! Place your hand on my body, quickly now!" Nail said.
Even with this new urgency, Piccolo hesitated. Nail's antennae twitched weakly as they scouted Piccolo's mind for a reason why, and for once, Nail was glad for Piccolo's overwhelmingly loud and unregulated telepathy. Fear and anxiety were the primary emotions at the moment, but not just because of the imminent threat of Frieza. Just under the surface was the reason for Piccolo's hesitation, a deep, existential dread. Piccolo was less afraid of being killed than they were of losing their identity.
It was a reasonable fear, and if the times hadn't been so desperate, Nail never would have pushed so strongly for their fusion. Truthfully, Nail ought to have been the one concerned-- if they were to unite, Nail would be the one losing their body, and Nail had no idea of what would become of their soul once they had fused.
When Nail had been very young, around Cargo's age, two of their siblings had discovered the technique for combining the powers of two Namekians into the body of one. They had not known that the technique was both a complete assimilation, and completely irreversible. The Grand Elder had been inconsolable upon finding out, forbidding anyone else from using the technique. Nail had been too young to fully understand what had happened then, and was never close to the siblings who had fused. All Nail had known was that the sibling whose body had disappeared was mourned as if they had died, and the remaining sibling continued on much as they were before, albeit with greater magic and ki, and with a heavy psychological burden for what they had done.
The technique itself was simple, especially for one as disciplined as Nail; the consequences of performing it were lifelong. But the current situation was so dire, Nail found themself not caring whether they would simply stop existing or not, so long as Frieza was destroyed, and justice served for their slaughtered family members. So long as any Namekian survived this catastrophe.
"Do not worry. Your individuality will be yours. My strength, my knowledge, my soul will all be yours. I offer only this opportunity." Nail said.
As they spoke, Nail had mentally reached out to Piccolo's psyche, and given them a sort of 'nudge' with the sincerity and desperation behind their words. Piccolo flinched back at this unexpected mental contact, and Nail could feel Piccolo's unrestrained emotions recoil yet again. Piccolo's reaction to this puzzled Nail-- conveying one's true emotions through telepathy for emphasis as one spoke was a basic part of Namekian communication. Of course, such interactions were normally gentle and focused, not constant and near-deafening, unless the speaker was a young child. Or Piccolo, apparently...
"How do I know that you're not manipulating me? That this isn't some trick to save your own sorry skin?" Piccolo said.
"On my honor as a warrior, I would not deceive you. Our current goals are in alignment, and the stakes could not be greater. My fate is irrelevant. Surely you must be worried about the fate of your human comrades? I only wish to assist you, even at the cost of my own existence." Nail said.
Nail felt another surge of Ki in the distance, and heard the waves grow more violent. If Piccolo didn't make up their mind soon, it wouldn't matter whether they and Nail fused, Dende and the humans would be killed! Thankfully, Piccolo seemed to realize this; Nail could feel their increased anxiety, and caught a glimpse of of the face of the human child, Gohan, within their mind's eye. So that was who Piccolo's loyalties belonged to...
"Fine." Piccolo said, as they knelt beside Nail. "I'll try you out. But if I don't like what happens, I'll make you wish you had died."
Nail couldn't help but grin in incredulity. They'd never encountered a Namekian this stubborn and hostile, and the two of them had only barely met! Now that they were closer, Nail could clearly see Piccolo's face. Despite being firmly set in a scowl, their features were actually quite attractive. It was a shame such a pretty face belonged to someone with such a bad attitude.
"What a thing to say, to someone offering you such a gift at their own expense! I am not your enemy!" Nail said.
"Whatever. I'm in a hurry, so let's just get this over with" Piccolo grunted, setting their hand on Nail's bicep.
"When you meet with Frieza, do not hold anything back. Stop at nothing until they are dead. Defend your comrades, and avenge our fallen brethren."
"You don't have to tell me that. I'll destroy that pasty little jackass for my own reasons."
Nail smirked, and gave a small snort. This Piccolo person was almost too much; mistrustful, prideful, stubborn, and vulgar... But that glimpse of Gohan, and of Piccolo's concern for the child gave Nail hope. Piccolo may be abrasive, but it seemed that they were not motivated wholly by selfishness.
Nail began to focus inwards, raising their Ki as high as it could go, considering the sorry state of their body. Nail's body began to glow, and burn with the exertion as Nail attempted to raise it beyond its limits. They focused themself on their point of contact with Piccolo, gathering their Ki beneath Piccolo's hand, and pushing into it. All the pain in Nail's body, the aching, the burning, the exhaustion, it was beginning to fade into a dull buzzing sensation. Nail could hear Piccolo gasping and grunting in discomfort, and they dug their claws into Nail's bicep. The action registered as barely more than that of a child clinging to a caretaker with their tiny, undeveloped claws.
Nail's body began to feel light, incorporeal. They could not feel their body touching the ground, and when a slight breeze rustled Piccolo's cape, it passed right through Nail. At the same time, Nail was starting to feel a body that was not their own-- they could feel the hand clenched to their bicep as if it were their own, the other raised in a defensive claw, and the weight of the other's cape and headgear. The light from Nail's body was growing brighter, so much that they could no longer make out Piccolo's face. They were close now, only a little bit more Ki...
With a final burst of light and energy, Nail heard Piccolo yelp, and lost all connection their body. Nail was left with a vague floating sensation, surrounded by white, all thoughts slowing to crawl, before they too vanished, and with it, consciousness.
---
They were left grasping at empty space, and their breath came in haggard gasps. Memories begain to flood in, memories steeped with pain, loneliness, and anger. The raw agony of a gaping hole in one's torso. Bright sunlight streaming down through the canopy on a broken eggshell, alone in the woods. Wandering, hiding, training, surviving, with only the rage towards a small tailed human, their parent's murderer, as motivation. Trying to kill, almost being killed, being spared and set free; left to fester in their hatred for several more years. Finally having their revenge, but only feeling emptiness afterwards.
And then, Gohan.
Gohan, who they had stolen from his family so selfishly. Gohan, who they had left in the wilderness, and then trained with harshness and cruelty over the course of a year. Gohan, who never gave up, and never fostered hatred, no matter how unreasonably Piccolo had behaved. Gohan, who was so eager to learn, who smiled so easily, who spoke to "Mr. Piccolo" as if they were a friend, a person, rather than the demon they were.
Gohan, who they found themself growing to care for. Gohan, who became more important to them than the fate of the planet, or even themself. Gohan, who they had died for. Gohan, who was in peril this very moment, and they had to get going before that monster slaughtered him!
Nail finally understood why Piccolo acted the way that they did.
Nail found themself suddenly cognizant again, feeling their hands rising and closing into fists, but not of their own accord. No. Not their own hands, Piccolo's hands. Nail was again aware of Piccolo's churning emotions, though strangely enough, they were now much less overbearing. Piccolo seemed to be processing the results of their fusion, and presumably the visions of Nail's memories. Confusion, then a strange sense of wistfulness, which faded into peacefulness, and then genuine happiness. Of course; for one such as Piccolo, who had for so long had nobody and nothing, the memories of a life on one's home planet, surrounded by a loving family must be cathartic.
Piccolo trembled, staring at their own fists as if in a trance, and gently tested their own Ki.
"I... Wow. This is amazing!" Piccolo gasped. "This power! It's unbelievable!"
Nail observed in amusement as Piccolo grew almost childishly excited with the vast increase in power Nail had given them.
"I can do this! I can win!" Piccolo cried, raising their arms to the skies as if to embrace the three suns of Namek. "I'm the strongest Namekian in the universe! I'm alive! I'm home!"
Piccolo flared their Ki and rocketed into the sky, blazing a path towards Frieza and Gohan.
"Hold on Gohan, I'm on my way!"
Do not forget about Dende. Or your other comrade. Nail provided.
Piccolo made no indication that they had heard Nail, instead opening their mouth to release a mirthful, but demonic-sounding laugh as they flew towards their goal. Nail wasn't sure if they hadn't heard them, or had merely deigned to ignore them, but at the moment it didn't matter. How immense their combined Ki was, and how motivated Piccolo was to defend Gohan gave Nail assurance that they would not fail in their task. Fussing over Piccolo's lack of common courtesy could wait until after Frieza was slain.
Grand Elder... I can only hope you will understand my choices once this nightmare has ended. Frieza will face justice for all the suffering they have wrought upon our planet and our people. Grand Elder, and all of my siblings, I'll fight for you, I'll make you proud.
Keep on with that mushy stuff, and we'll show up to our fight sobbing. Or is that your plan? Tug at Frieza's rotten little heartstrings before we eviscerate them? Piccolo cut in.
Piccolo's tone wasn't as scathing as it had been before, and the mental image of Frieza looking down guiltily tickled Nail. Rough around the edges as Piccolo was, they weren't really so bad. Nail could see themself and Piccolo becoming fast friends after this fiasco was through. If they pulled through this...
No. No more doubts.
With the two of them now working as one, they would prove unstoppable.