Return to Namek - Learn True Fear

This is the sixteenth chapter of the What-If Story: Saiyan-Made Warrior Red - The Twisted Universe

Return to Namek - Learn True Fear

Back on the battlefield, the others had returned to once again congratulate Red.

"I told you I had it covered," said Red, "Cell is gone. You could have finished him ages ago, Gohan..."

"I don't enjoy killing," said Gohan, whose power had returned to normal, "I even hate killing someone as rotten as Cell. Good thing you had no remorse..."

"A Saiyan who can't kill really isn't a warrior," tutted Vegeta, "Talking of which, what's Kakarot feeling like now..?"

"I wouldn't bother waking him up," said Piccolo, "He's been through quite an ordeal over the past week or so. We can let him catch up tomorrow after he's slept."

"So," said Krillin, "What happens now? The Earth's safe again. It's been a while since I've said that."

"I made a promise to myself," said Raditz, "Now that Cell's been destroyed, I am officially retiring as a warrior."

Everyone was pretty shocked to hear this.

"Retiring!?" said Red, "But Raditz..! You're one of Earth's protectors! A Saiyan!"

"I was," said Raditz, "But now there are new protectors. Vegeta and Gohan have proved themselves to be much stronger than me. You're in a whole other league too, Red."

"Not to mention what Cell said about Goku's power growing along with his," said Krillin, "He must be even stronger than Vegeta at least."

"Shut up!" shouted Vegeta, "I am better than Kakarot!"

"Some things never change..." tutted Gohan.

"Hold up," said Trunks, "We've still got Yamcha and Tien dead here..! We need to use the Dragonballs to revive them!"

"There are no Dragonballs," said Piccolo, "During the 10 days we had to prepare for the tournament, did any of you even notice the absence of Kami?"

"N-no?" said Gohan, "What happened?"

"Me and him have combined bodies just like Nail and I did," explained Piccolo, "That’s why I've become so much stronger in such a short amount of time. However, since Kami was guardian of Earth and creator of the Dragonballs, when he went, the Dragonballs went too. Our only hope is to get a new guardian from the planet which he came from - Namek."

"There's no big rush," said Krillin, "I expect Goku can go there tomorrow with his Instant Transmadoodle."

"Wait," said Raditz, "Red can do that too... Why can't he go?"

"There are reasons why I don't particularly want to see Namek at the moment," replied Red, "The last I saw of the Legendary Super Saiyan was on that planet. That... and I threatened them to give me their Dragonballs for this body."

"You threatened my home planet..?" said Piccolo angrily, "How dare you!"

Piccolo struck a fighting pose, which led to Red forming one too. Raditz stood between the two.

"Hey, hey, take it easy!" he shouted, "Lets not get into another fight here..!"

"If you go to my home planet as much as one more time," said Piccolo sternly, "I will not be responsible for my actions towards you."

"I won't be going there again..." said Red, "It may not even be there for long, now that Broly's there..."

"Broly..?" asked Vegeta, "So... one of the survivors managed to become a Legendary Super Saiyan..."

"Yes," said Red, "I left him there about an hour ago, just before I returned to Earth. He was chasing me through space and our spaceships had been destroyed. I used Instant Transmission to try and be rid of him, but he ended up coming with me to the only place I could think of - Namek. I got the jump on him and managed to leave him there without thinking of the consequences. For that, I am truly sorry, Piccolo. But rest assured that if I come across him, then I will destroy him."

"Well, at the moment," said Piccolo, "It looks like our only option is to return to Namek regardless of who's there. We can't go and leave Goku here on his own, so we need people here too."

"If you go to Namek," said Raditz, "Then I'll stay here and look after Kakarot. I'll be more than enough to take on anything that crosses him. If Red goes with you and you bump into that Broly, then he'll take him out. There's no way that Red's gonna be bettered by anyone."

"Right," said Red, "Gohan and Piccolo come with me, the rest of you stay here and protect the Earth until we return."

"Oh, come on!" shouted Vegeta, "You won't even be gone for a day! What are the odds that something will come along even stronger than Cell within 24 hours of his defeat!? Superstitious imbeciles!"

"Kakarot does attract a strange array of enemies..." replied Red, "It could be wise to have some strong fighters stay here..."

"Do what you will..." said Vegeta, "At least I could play 'Hero' for once if something happens..."

Gohan and Piccolo were in contact with Red, so they could instantly set off.

"We'll be back before you know it," said Red, "Don't let anyone die before we come back..."

"Just go," tutted Vegeta. With that, Red, Gohan and Piccolo headed for Namek. However, after they left, Android #13 appeared on the scene.

"Red's not here..." he said, "But I recognise 'em all... Guess I can have a little fun here..."

The three warriors touched down on Namek and found that all seemed well - the sky was blue, the grass was green and the scenery looked as majestic as it had when Frieza was at large, except less explody. Red looked around the planet.

"Its been a while since I've been here," said Gohan, "Its much more tranquil than I remembered."

"This is..." said Piccolo, "My home... Its very peaceful here..."

"I can tell Broly's on this planet..." said Red, "He might know about the Dragonballs, so be careful."

The three warriors set off around the planet in search of the Nameks. They looked around and found all seemed very normal - a little too normal. Red was uneasy.

"Broly's on this planet..." he said to himself, "I can feel his presence..!"

"Don't get so worked up," said Piccolo, "If we find him, he's yours if he makes you that uncomfortable."

"R-right..." replied Red, and the three continued around the planet until they came to a small Namekian village. The trio landed - with Red standing out of view - and the Nameks stared at them. One of the young Nameks instantly recognised one of the group.

"Gohan!" he cheered, running up to him.

"Dende!" smiled Gohan, as he met his friend, "You're looking great!"

Piccolo looked at the young Namekian's happy face when he saw Gohan.

"Dende..." he thought, "Why do I know you..?"

"Remember," thought Gohan to himself, "We've come here on business."

Gohan stopped hugging Dende and then turned to the other Namekians.

"The guardian of our planet has been put under a situation where he can't maintain his post," spoke Gohan.

One of the elder Nameks walked out from the crowd of many.

"I am Elder Moori," he spoke, "You're Gohan, aren't you? I recognise you from when you saved our village from Frieza's henchmen all those years ago."

"Yes, sir," said Gohan.

"Very well," said Moori. The Elder then turned to Piccolo.

"You are the Namek who has joined bodies with Nail," he spoke, "Are you not?"

"That's correct, sir," said Piccolo, "I'm also the reason why our current guardian can't keep his post anymore - I have joined with him too."

"And you wish to take another one of our race back to Earth to be its guardian?" asked Moori.

"If that’s OK," said Gohan.

"It is considered our honour to send one of our own to protect the planet that is home to your father - the great Goku," smiled Moori, "The one who saved our planet from the wrath of Frieza."

"My father would have probably come himself," said Gohan, "But he was feeling... sleepy."

"Well," said Moori, "If you need a guardian, then I do believe we have the perfect Namek for the job - Dende."

"You'd send a child to Earth to be its guardian?" asked Piccolo.

"Dende may only be a child," said Moori, "But he is highly capable of the job. Besides, he's missed Gohan and Krillin very much since they left Namek 4 years ago. He hasn't stopped speaking about them since."

"Well, what d'you say, Dende?" asked Piccolo, "Up for it?"

"Yes, sir," said Dende, modestly, "If I may."

"Yay!" cheered Gohan, "Krillin'll be pleased to see you too!"

"And it'll be an honour to be face to face with the one who saved my home planet," said Dende.

Red walked out from hiding and into view of the Nameks. Moori took several steps back in shock.

"Look out, you two..!" he shouted, "The destroyer has returned!"

Gohan and Piccolo looked at Red with confused looks on their faces.

"He's with us," said Gohan, "Don't worry."

"With you..?" stuttered Dende, "But... He stole our Dragonballs..!"

"Dende will not be going somewhere where he could be harmed," said Moori, holding Dende back.

"Please," said Red, "I'm sorry for what I did to you... If there's anything I can do to repay what I did..."

"Get off our planet this instant," said Moori, "and never return."

Suddenly, a green energy ball headed straight for the group of Nameks. Red intercepted the attack, rebounded it and looked at where it had came from - Broly had arrived on the scene.

"You've come back," smirked Broly, "I've been waiting..."

"BROLY!" shouted Red, "Leave these Namekians alone!"

Moori stared in awe at the fact that Red protected his people.

"Maybe I was wrong about this one," he thought to himself, "He's a strange being... His mind seems vicious, but his heart seems pure..."

Red flew up to Broly's level. Both Saiyans stared each other down, until Broly transformed into a Super Saiyan - his hair flowing with its electric blue fizz.

"On my honour," said Red, "I promise that today will be your last."

"Ha," smirked Broly, "Then it looks like I won't be needing this..."

Broly reached around the back of his head and took off his headband. His hair left its blue colour and replaced it with the original Super Saiyan gold. His power also increased slightly too.

"Do you really think that you can beat me?" laughed Broly, "My powers are bettered by no mortal - especially my clone!"

Gohan and Piccolo stared at Red strangely.

"You're a clone?" asked Gohan. Red still stared at Broly without response.

"We can ask questions later, Gohan," said Piccolo, "For now, let's help him out!"

Piccolo dashed up to Broly and attempted to chop his neck. Broly looked at the Namek and smirked.

"Fighting on your home turf will give you no advantage whatsoever, Namek," laughed Broly, as he grabbed Piccolo's arm in mid-chop. He pulled Piccolo in swiftly and punched him hard in the face. The Super Namek was smashed backwards and hurtled into a cliff. Red clenched his teeth and fists as he watched Piccolo crash into the cliff.

"Piccolo!" shouted Gohan, as he quickly transformed into a Super Saiyan, "You're gonna get it now!"

He dashed up to Broly and kicked the side of his body. The arrogant Broly stood still and took the hit easily. He remained still and didn't feel a thing.

"I hope you have more strength than that, boy," laughed Broly.

Broly then grabbed Gohan in his arms and dived towards the ground, just had Vegeta had done with #19. Broly's body gathered his Super Saiyan aura and he flew faster into the ground. Moments before he hit, Broly threw Gohan into the ground with a sensational smash. Gohan dug down deeper and deeper into a crater, taking heavy damage. Broly then flew to the edge of the crater and prepared an energy wave.

"You're a waste of Saiyan blood..." tutted Broly, "Just die."

Just as Broly was about to fire, Red intercepted the attack and kicked Broly's hands up. The blast flew high into the air and exploded when it got far enough. Broly frowned at the Saiyan before him.

"How dare you touch me in the middle of a kill..." snarled Broly, "You must really want to die..!"

"Same to you..." said Red, his eyes glistening aquamarine, "Attacking Gohan like that will be a mistake you won't live to regret."

Broly looked on into Red's eyes.

"You..." Broly said, "You're a Super Saiyan too?"

"See for yourself!" shouted Red, and his Super Saiyan powers exploded out of him once again. Broly was pushed back slightly by Red's power. The air space around Red thickened as he pushed his powers higher. Broly looked impressed at this display of power.

"Well," smirked Broly, "It looks like the scientist's dream of creating an army of Super Saiyans was possible. It's a pity he died when he did... With the rest of Vegeta..."

"You can't beat me like this," said Red, "Even you have to admit I'm stronger than you."

"I'll admit it," laughed Broly, "For now... But now you've led me to something that I've never been forced to do..."

Red looked at Broly without fear, knowing that he was about to transform.

"Brace yourself, mortal," laughed Broly, "The end is here!"

Broly's power took a massive surge up as he prepared to transform. Red watched - interested to see a Legendary Super Saiyan. Slowly but surely, Broly's power revealed itself. Red was noticing several different things that he could distinguish from a regular Super Saiyan. Firstly, Broly's pupils were slowly becoming white, making him look more untamed and wild. Secondly, his body was extremely buffed up - similar to when Trunks transformed against Cell. Finally, his power had grown much higher than it should, increasing by not 50x - like Red's assumption - but 200x. With a roar of energy, Broly's power snapped and erupted from his body. A massive green aura surged throughout his body. He sent several invisible waves of energy from his body that pushed Red back considerably. Red looked on in awe at this display of power.

"So..." he said, "This is the real you..?"

Broly revealed his true self. His hair was much more wild and golden with a green tint. His muscles had grown expansively, and the worst of all was that his power was slowly growing higher. He stared into Red's eyes.

"You asked for this..." smirked Broly, "You pushed me over the edge."

Red's stare slowly turned into a grin, then a slight snigger, then a laugh. Broly looked on at Red, unimpressed.

"I missed the joke," he said firmly.

"I hate to say it," smirked Red, "but... I'm stronger than you..."

"Ha!" laughed Broly, "That's your last bluff!"

The Legendary Super Saiyan jumped at Red and shot an energy ball at him, which had enough power in it to destroy a planet. Red caught the blast and kicked it into space. The blast shattered through the planet's atmosphere and exploded. Broly stood and watched his attack fly away and burst. By the time he had looked back at Red, he had disappeared. Broly looked around, but couldn't see Red anywhere. Suddenly, he burst down from above him and threw a punch. Broly stood still as the Super Saiyan hit him. Red bounced straight off and flew off in another direction. Broly turned to face him with a smirk.

"See..." smirked Broly, "A bluff..."

Red was impressed that his punch didn't even faze Broly.

"Then maybe I should show you some more power..." said Red, "My true power."

"What is it with you and bluffing?" said Broly, "You can't possibly raise your power level higher."

"I'm more like you than you think!" laughed Red, "But you can't even begin to comprehend the power I have. You've only destroyed with your power since you were young - you haven't built it up at all with training or anything whatsoever. I'm going to show you the power you could have had if you tried harder... By training ruthlessly over the last 5 years, I've grown incredibly strong. You wouldn't know that though, your power came easily to you. Witness the ultimate power of a Legendary Super Saiyan!"

Gohan and Piccolo recovered from their attacks and rejoined the Nameks watching the fight from below.

"Can Red really become stronger than a Legendary Super Saiyan?" asked Gohan, "Cos Broly's power just seems to keep on growing!"

"We're about to find out..." replied Piccolo, "Red has been making a lot of sense though. The difference between his Super Saiyan form and Broly's was vast in Red's favour, so if Red can transform into the same form as Broly, then his power will be practically unlimited."

Red proceeded to show the very peak of his ultimate power. His power increased as quickly as Broly's did. Lightning boomed and the ground shook violently as he powered up. Broly looked on unimpressed.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me..!" laughed Broly.

Red's power continued to pulse out of him and grew higher and higher with each passing second. Eventually, Broly's unimpressed face turned into a quick face of shock - Red had surpassed him. But Red wasn't stopping there - his power continued to grow until his body exploded with a dangerous golden aura. His muscles had grown like Broly's, as did his hair. His pupils had vanished and his power was continuing to grow higher.

"This is the kind of power I'd be running away from," smirked Red, "You ready?"

Broly was stunned - seeing a DNA duplicate of himself surpass him in every way was painful to see. He roared and dashed at Red with his power bursting from all angles. The two Super Saiyans collided and disappeared. All the Nameks took cover, as the last fight that included a Super Saiyan on their planet had caused it to explode. Broly and Red bounced off each other with such speed that they were almost invisible. Finally, they settled back down, with both of their power levels higher than when they first started.

"This can't be happening..!" thought Broly, "He's matching me blow for blow!"

"What do you say we get serious?" smirked Red, as he flew down to the ground, "Why don't you release all of your power now that I have."

"You scum..!" shouted Broly, "Enough toying! I will obliterate you!"

Broly flew high into the air and began to gather energy into a small ball in his hands.

Red stood beneath him and started to power up an energy wave of his own - the Kamehameha. Gohan and Piccolo watched, not knowing that Red could use the attack.

"Care to get in the way of this one!?" laughed Broly maniacally, "Die with this planet!"

Broly released his attack, which didn't seem all too threatening until Red's Kamehameha came in contact with it. It went from a small energy ball to a giant energy sphere.

"Woah, man!" thought Red, "I'll have to use more power!"

Red pushed much more power into his attack, thinking that Broly would as well. However, Broly had no more power to push into the attack. It was slowly being sent back to him.

"Damnation!" shouted Broly, as he darted aside of his attack. Red's Kamehameha pushed Broly's attack further and further away until it shot out of the atmosphere of Namek and disappeared. Broly was seething with rage and his power had been crippled. All the Nameks were watching scared at the fight above them.

Red flew back up to Broly's level - both power levels still rising. Red now had a major upper hand in the fight.

"Why don't you just die!?" shouted Broly.

"That would be very un-Saiyan of me..." laughed Red, "Come on. Try harder!"

Broly suddenly got blinded by rage and jumped at Red. He punched Red hard in the jaw, hoping to damage him. Red took the punch hard and stumbled back slightly. He retaliated the punch with one that seemed ten times as hard into Broly's gut. Broly flew backwards and held his stomach with pain.

"Gah..!" Broly mumbled, "IMPOSSIBLE!"

Red flew up above Broly and prepared an energy attack to blow the Legendary Super Saiyan away.

"No longer will you ravage the universe..!" shouted Red, "Die!"

Red slowly gathered up energy that soon felt even stronger than Cell's Spirit Bomb.

"RED!" shouted Piccolo to the Super Saiyan, "If you fire that, then the whole of Namek will be destroyed!"

"I know what I'm doing!" replied Red, "Sleep easy!"

"You'd better know..." thought Piccolo, "Or we're all dead..."

Broly gazed up in horror at Red's attack, then realised that he wouldn't fire because he would destroy Namek. But Red's power still continued to fuel the energy wave into something deadly. Just as Red was about to fire his attack, he used Instant Transmission. Disappearing and reappearing behind Broly, the evil Super Saiyan turned round and saw his nemesis pulsing with energy right in his face.

"You wouldn't..!" shouted Broly.

"Checkmate for you, Legendary Super Saiyan," laughed Red.

With that, Red's almighty attack fired at the Legendary Super Saiyan and dealt extreme damage. Broly was hurtled into space on the very end of the blast. He was still alive, but barely clinging on to the end of the attack.

"When I get my hands on that trash I'll..!" Broly said before being interrupted by a certain realisation. He turned and looked at an oncoming meteor. Before he could do anything, Broly was finished. He, the energy wave and the meteor collided together and brutally exploded. The explosion was mind-numbingly painful. The Namekians, Gohan, Piccolo and Red watched as the sky lit up a dark red. The Legendary Super Saiyan was no more, and the planet Namek had been saved. However, Red's Legendary Super Saiyan form was getting the better of him as he lowered down to the other's level. Gohan could see that he was losing control of his body.

"Red..!" he shouted, "Remember who you are! You're you, no-one else, don't let the form control you..!"

"Ngg..." Red struggled, "Kill... Gohan... Grr... Stop..!"

Red suddenly enveloped himself in an ordinary Super Saiyan aura. The aura covered his body completely from view, but slowly calmed him down. He returned to his regular Super Saiyan form and the aura lifted. He then fell to his knees and returned his power to normal - he was panting heavily.

"It's OK, Red," said Gohan kindly, "It's over, Broly's dead."

Red looked at Gohan, still breathing heavily and then got to his feet.

"I think I've proved my point about who's side I'm on..." said Red to the Namekians, "Will Dende still be able to come to our planet to be its guardian?"

Elder Moori looked at Red in astonishment.

"Never before have I felt such an awesome power," he said, "Were it not for you using our Dragonballs, you wouldn't have been able to defeat that monster and save our planet from certain destruction. For that, we are eternally in your debt, sir. Dende would consider it even more of an honour to now go where two of our planet's saviours reside."

"It just goes to show that you don't judge a book by its cover," smiled Dende.

"We'd better head back to Earth," said Piccolo, "The others'll probably be wondering what happened to us."

"Right," said Red, "Time to go, Dende, grab hold."

Gohan and Piccolo grabbed hold of Red, and Dende grabbed hold of Gohan.

"We'll take good care of him," said Gohan.

"We'll miss you Dende!" cheered some of the Namekians.

"You'll be an excellent guardian," said Moori, "Farewell, young Dende."

Dende waved goodbye to his friends, and the trio headed back to Earth with its new guardian.

The group arrived back on Earth at the Kame House. Krillin immediately ran out of the house to see Dende.

"Hey, Dende!" he cheered, "Long time no see!"

"Good to see you too!" smiled Dende.

"Dende's gonna be the new guardian of Earth," said Piccolo, "You'll be seeing him a lot more often."

"Wow, really!?" said Krillin, "That’s great!"

"Living on the Lookout with Mr. Popo," said Gohan, "It's easy life really. You can even make a new set of Dragonballs!"

"Wait... Dragonballs!" said Krillin, "Man, I nearly forgot! We're in trouble, guys!"

"What’s the matter?" asked Red.

"About a minute after you left," explained Krillin, "I picked up Goku and left the battlefield and brought him here, he's inside. But I did look round and see a strange figure overlooking the fighting ground by the Cell Games arena. I didn't think it'd be that much to bother the three Super Saiyans, so I left them to it. But ever since I've been here, I've felt strange power surges and even more power plummets. I don't know what’s going on over there, but we need to find out..!"

"OK," said Red, "If me and Piccolo head over to the battlefield, you can take Kakarot and Dende to the Lookout with Gohan. Then you can create a new set of Dragonballs that we can use to get rid of this new threat and bring the others back to life."

"Sounds like a plan," said Krillin, "And if this bad guy's after Goku, he'll be safer on the Lookout than he is here."

"Keep him alive," said Piccolo, "Let's go, Red."

The group then parted ways again, with Gohan, Krillin and Dende escorting Goku, and Red and Piccolo heading towards the battlefield (again).