There was a bright flash followed by a jaw rattling explosion and then a scream of pain only.. it wasn't Kami's, as he had expected.

One second he had been reminiscing about the past and dreading what was to come. The next thing he knew the smell of burnt flesh filled his nose. The wizened old Namekian's eyes snapped open in shock as he heard more than saw Garlic get carried away by a foreign blast of energy.

Standing before the confused and wounded guardian were a young boy and girl he had never met before. They could not have been any older than 21 by his expert estimation. But based on their smoking outstretched palms, it was they whom he had to thank for saving his life.

Across from them Garlic slowly stood on shaking feet. "Aggg my head.. What was that!?" The blue behemoth barked. Meanwhile, a gash in his chest began to rapidly stitch itself back together.

Noting the two newcomers standing over the downed Kami he rubbed the dome of his head in confusion. "And just who the hell are you two? You dare interfere with my destiny!? Do you have any idea who I am?" He spat out rhetorically.

"I'm the almighty Garlic Jr. Bahaha! And now thanks to the Makyo star, not only am I more powerful than ever, but I'm immortal to boot bahaha!" He laughed maniacally, throwing his head back and spreading his arms out wide. His shoulders and large chest heaved with the force of his laughter..

Next to the downed and desperate Kami, the two newest arrivals sweat dropped.

"Geese. How dramatic can one man get?" The blonde lamented.

Beside her the raven haired boy chuckled. "Oh and did you hear, sis?" He asked Placing his hands on his hips. "He's immortal and we have infinite energy. You know what that means?" The boy concluded with a mischievous grin.

The blonde folded her arms across her chest. "We finally found a toy that won't break while we're playing with him?" She chuckled dryly in response.

Kami's face was one of confusion as he heard the conversation unroll before him. However this soon gave way to shock as the brother-sister duo disappeared faster than even his eyes could follow.

He gasped, eyes widening in disbelief "H-How?.. I don't even sense any energy signatures from them.." He mumbled.

A second later than was a thunderous:

*Boom!*

And the planet shook around them as the two young warriors buried their fists in Garlic's gut. Due to his sheer size and bulk, it almost looked comical to see the mutant doubled over the comparatively small fists of the twins. Spit and blood flew from his mouth, his face registering his shock and pain.

Not missing a beat, the two powerful warriors uppercutted the gargantuan monster causing him to stumble backwards. They crouched low and began dashing around Garlic faster than the speed of sound, delivering a barrage of kicks, punches and Ki blasts.

Explosions rocked the planet's surface as Kami slowly drew himself up to his knees. His whiskers were frayed and singed, skin both wrinkled and stretched taut simultaneously. His green complexion seemed unusually pale and sweat glistened on his flabbergasted face. "I really am.. Too old for this shit." He mumbled, feeling completely in over his head.

Roughly fifteen minutes later…

Kami walked up to a truly gruesome sight. The entity known as Garlic Jr. Had been unconscious for nearly three full minutes now, but that hadn't stopped the relentless duo from pounding away at the unrecognizable mound of bloody flesh.

Kami had to resist the urge to vomit as Garlic senior's face flashed before his mind's eye. 'Oh Garlic.. I wish I could have saved you.. Or at the very least your poor, poor son. No matter what the two of you have done.. No one should be forced into a fate such as this..' He thought bitterly, leaning on his staff.

"He's had enough.." The Namekian pleaded, holding up a hand as he approached the duo. "please.. I have no right to ask this of you.. I'm already so grateful that you've saved my life."

He began looking between the two. "But if you are truly willing to help then you must take these." The battered old man insisted, handing over a brown bag. "They're called Dragonballs and they are this planet and many other's only hope." He explained.

Within the brown sack was five glowing orbs. "You must go find the final two dragon balls. Once all seven are gathered, say these words exactly. Tell Shenron, the eternal dragon, that it was I, Kami Guardian of Earth, who sent you." The old man instructed urgently.

An uncertain look passed between the duo as they inspected the contents of the sack before staring back up at the old man. "Listen we uhh.." The raven haired man began awkwardly. It seemed his sister was the more diplomatic of the two as she stepped forth to fill in the social gaps his brain struggled to. "We were instructed by our father to come find you. Not much else. What if we mess up?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Kami's eyes widened as his tired and overworked brain processed what they said. "Your father sent you to..? Someone we know? Just who are the two of you?" He asked, feeling lost.

The pair shared a surprised look before the female chuckled and said, "Forgive us where are our manners? Its been so long since we could have a little fun. We got carried away. I'm 18 and this is my little brother, 17." She said gesturing to herself and the raven haired man respectfully.

The boy in question cut her off. "Nevermind her. We're actually twins but she likes to pretend she's older because she was born three minutes before I was. We were made into androids by the brilliant Dr. Gero. Our goal is to protect Goku and his friends…"

Kami stared back and forth between the two in shock. "Why do I feel like I'm the star of some bizarre source of media in which nothing is as it should be?!" He cried hysterically. He remembered Gero saying he had been working on some new toys but he had never expected something like this.

A few minutes later Kami had regained his composure and managed to convince the two youthful warriors to find the two final dragon balls. To that end, he was left alone with the unconscious Garlic. Kami leaned heavily on his staff, still recuperating from the battle. He looked out into the horizon which was bathed in an orange hue thanks to the burning cities around the globe.

Kami contemplated all the meaningless destruction and everything that had happened since he'd come back to life. By now the effects of Mr Popo's endeavors were making themselves known. He could feel the chaos being cleansed from the planet via the sacred waters. But so much damage had already been done…

He had let chaos energy go unchecked for too long. He should have paid closer attention to the planet and taken his duties seriously before going on his quest for the Dragonballs. "I got careless.. Garlic Jr. was right. I have failed. I am no longer fit to be Earth's guardian."

The devil in question began to stir, just as the bloody red sky above them became unnaturally dark.

Kami looked up and smirked. "Ironic. Garlic's plan was never going to work even if I wasn't here. The next generation was already ready." He said with a smile before looking down at his fallen foe. 'There is still one last thing I can do for them.' He thought, as he prepared to finish it all.

"You're too late, Garlic. You've lost." Kami said matter of factly.

A disgruntled look took over Garlic's appearance. "You're delusional, old man. I'm stronger than ever! In fact I could even beat those two from before! Where are they!?" He yelled angrily. True to his word his power had risen even higher than it had been before and at this point the worst of his wounds were closed.

Kami shook his head and sighed. "As you are, that may be true. Your power has grown higher than perhaps any living being ever before… But power without control is borrowed time at best. And yours is up." He said quizzically.

Garlic appeared confused, and doubly so when there was a bright flash in the distance. Come to think of it, when had the sky gotten so dark anyways?

"I knew that even if we managed to somehow stop you, the Makyo star would still destroy life as we know it here on Earth." Kami continued. "Therefore I had our new acquaintances make a wish from the eternal dragon. How unfortunate for you I had already gathered most of the dragonballs before you began this senseless armageddon." He confessed.

Garlic's eyes widened in horror as the implications of what the man was saying sunk in. He looked up in desperation at the looming monstrosity above them that was the Makyo star. "The wish was no small task, but thanks to the new upgrades I've given Shenron recently, I'm quite sure he's up to it. I asked him to reseal the Makyo star in the dead zone, and restore all the life you've damaged on this planet over the last week.

There was a bright flash in the sky and for a split second a horrendous rumbling could be heard, followed by a brief but deafening 'pop!' The sky changed from the all consuming obsidian back to its natural piercing blue. The Makyo star was gone, as if it had never even existed at all.

"Nooo my power!" Garlic screeched as his body began to hiss and distort. It was clear he was shrinking back down to his original form. Kami closed his eyes and waited calmly for the process to finish. 'I'm so glad that hideous red is gone from the sky.. I do so love the color blue..' He thought serenely.

When he opened his eyes again Garlic was on his knees crying inconsolably. Sure enough he had reverted to his original form, having lost his power and Immortality right along with his monstrous body.

"It's over Garlic…" Kami began softly.

"Shut up!" Garlic yelled, rais8ng one hand and firing off a violet nervy ball in the blink of an eye. Kami gasped and jumped to the side just in time to avoid the attack. He fixed Garlic with a sad smile. "I was going to give you one last chance to surrender but.. I see now there is no reason." He said calmly.

Garlic snorted loudly amd fixed Kami with a glare. "Yeah right! Even as I am, I'm still more than powerful enough to kill you." Garlic observed. "And after that I'll reduce this planet to ash! There's nothing you can do to stop me, Kami, you're completely out of energy right now!" He said pointing an accusing finger at the man.

Kami stared unflinchingly into Garlic's eyes, making the imp nervous. "Why are you looking at me like that!?"

"...For this final attack, I won't be needing my own energy. I'll be using the life-force of this planet and it's people whose lives you have so erroneously destroyed with your actions these last few days. Reap what you sow, Garlic!" He boomed confidently, slamming his staff down as he finished speaking.

There was a shockwave and a flash of blue light. An instant later a large ball of powerful energy burst to life between the two men. The ball was easily four meters in diameter and pulsed with positive energy. The grass beneath their feet began to glow and grew ever so slightly.

"H-how?" Garlic stammered.

Kami fixed him with a stern look. "I have not been idle since you've regained consciousness, Junior. Always remain two steps ahead of your opponent." He lectured.

He raised his staff slightly, nodding towards it. "And admittedly, I had help. I'm old, you see. Therefore as a gift from my dear old friend, the great King Kai, this staff was imbued with powerful magic that better facilitates the gathering of positive energy for ite user."

Garlic took a step back in fear before his face contorted in fury. "No! I was so close to my goals! I will not give up simply because you asked nicely. If I'm dying I'm taking you with meeee!" He yelled as he charged at the Namekian with reckless abandon.

"This is the power of the Earthlings. Behold our spirit bomb!" Kami yelled in response. Garlic clashed with the ball and was swept away an instant later, standing absolutely no chance against the ultimate ability of the gods.

His screams could be heard fading away as he was carried far off into the horizon before the ball of energy detonated, ending his life forever.

Kami stared for a few minutes, cstching his breath. Even though the spirit bomb didn't technically use any of his energy to form, he did have to expend quite a bit of effort to control it. "What a mess.. I must contact the others.." he said tiredly, hanging his head in defeat.

Suddenly he winced and grabbed his chest. "Ahh!" He cried, falling to the ground. On his back he stared at the blue sky huffing and puffing. He had pushed himself too far past his limits today.

He wasn't sure how much longer it was before his loyal servant Mr Popo found him..

Popo placed his black, stubby hand on kami's frail, green one. "Why did you fight so hard, Kami?.." The genie asked with anguish. The truth was, Popo loved Kami. He always had. And it killed him to see him in such a state.

"For them.. Mr Popo. And… For you." He admitted. Popo's eyes widened and he could no longer hold back the dam tears in the corners of his eyes. Kami reached up with great difficulty and placed one hand on the genre's shoulder. "We will make it through this.. Together. *cough* *cough*" He paused to catch his breath.

Kami had always known about Popo's feelings. They had discussed it only one before, when Kami told Popo the truth about his past, and his relationship with Garlic Jr's father. They mutually decided that it was in the best interest of Earth for their relationship to remain strictly professional.

"I'm afraid we're not done yet, my friend." Kami continued breathlessly. "The wish we used saved the Earth. And the spirit bomb defeated Junior but.." He trailed off. His bloody teeth were visible through his worried mouth and Popo couldn't help but see death's smile in them.

"The Resistance only has one wish left to deal with Frieza.." Popo finished somberly.

End of chapter 56