Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Feeding Genius ❯ The Drelaxian Consortiun ( Chapter 24 )

Feeding Genius

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Drelaxian Consortium

Disclaimer: Mmmmm Vegeta *cough* I mean… I don't own DBZ.

Piccolo's POV

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There is something that hangs in the air here. It chills the skin and gives a sense of dread to a scene that might otherwise be called, awe-inspiring. In my mind I can hear Kami's unease, but I push it to the side. The old fool has no say in my actions at this moment. I know my path. I know what has to be done. That is all I need - not his pessimism.

We have been on this mountaintop for hours now. Yamcha, Tien, Chaotzu and Krillin left from this exact location two days ago and as far as my mind allows, I can tell they have made steady progress. Tien and Chaotzu have surprised me with their enthusiasm and determination. The same can't be said for the others. Perhaps it would have been better to split them up. Anyway… there's not much I can do about it now. We just have to hope that the length of Tien's route will gift the others enough time to make up the difference.

Secrecy is the top priority now. Everyone has their ki suppressed to ridiculously low levels. Kami's ability to mind-read over great distances is the only way I can keep track of them. Fusing with him, I guess, did have more benefits than I had originally believed. I hate it when he's right.

I look up to the stars. They glow against the cloudless sky and illuminate the snow around our feet. Gohan is next to me, feeling the effects of the cold more than he would let on. He's a good kid and is showing exceptional control to hide his discomfort. I'm proud of his ability to endure… I'm proud of him.

As for the other member of our group… well I'm still unsure what to make of her. She is standing at a little distance from us with her back turned, her long robes wet at the bottom from the snow. She made an instant friend of the others. Her easy manners and love for gossip and storytelling were never likely to fail. She flirted, coaxed and forced her personality onto them, charming her way into their affections. Even her dictatorial tone did little to put them on their guard.

It worries me, how much she seems to force it. She wants everyone to see her openness, but in that I fear she is trying to deceive us. She tells stories well and with proper feeling, but it concentrates on the places she has been and the people she has met, and when the questions turn to her, they are deflected effortlessly. Just like a well-trained politician, she answers without telling anything.

Under my inspection she turns to face me, a small smile on her lips. Despite this her hands are nervous, thumbing over a set of ornate beads that hang from the sash at her waist. "Namek," she says, when our eyes meet. "I don't like all this waiting about. Is it really necessary?"

"You're the more familiar with Faylorn. You are the one who advised caution. Why are you so impatient all of a sudden?"

"I'm a warrior, just like the rest of you," she says. "I think something of Vegeta's impulsiveness has rubbed off on me. You know, the whole 'blow things to pieces first and ask questions later'"

"It's been said that patience is a virtue."

"Has it?" she laughs. "I bet none of those who said it have been stuck on a space station for years, without even the sniff of a good battle."

"It'll be several hours before the others are able to give us accurate intelligence. We have no choice but to wait."

"I guess not."

She walks closer; looking me over as though it is the first time she has noticed me properly. She puts a hand thoughtfully to her chin, her eyes sharpening into contemplation. "You know I have a great deal of trouble making you out, Mr Namek."

"Then don't try." I snap, frowning and turning my back to her.

She laughs at my attempt to halt the conversation. "You don't like being analysed and yet you scrutinize me so thoroughly? What a curious riddle."

I guess she'll figure out eventually that this is the wrong road to go down with me. She succeeded with the others, but that's because their minds are weak. I will not give her what she wants.

"I see you won't humour me and ask me the reason for my confusion?" she pursues. "Well perhaps you are wise, but I hold no such desire to be waylaid by your will. Tell me Namek… what are you? Your life energy is like nothing I've ever felt before."

She is trying to pass the curiosity off with smiles, testing how far I might take my scepticism. She's clever.

"I am what you believe me to be." I reply.

"Then you're a complete contradiction?"

"That's very possible."

Finally getting the hint she moves away, and instead of pestering me, turns to Gohan. He has been silent throughout, simply watching to see how things will play out, and (I note) cringing at Master Suh's misapplied enquiries.

"Is he always like that?" she asks, talking as though I am no longer here.

"Yes Master Suh," he replies nervously, and then in a whisper. "Mr Piccolo-san is a very private person, but he's really very nice when you get to know him."

"I'm sure he is," she says with little conviction, "I say mores the credit to you for being so advanced under his tutorage."

"Mr Piccolo is the best sensei!" Gohan enthuses, wisely ignoring her slur on me.

Uncomfortable with praise I try to change the course of the conversation. "Tien will be in position within the next hour. If Faylorn really is as strong as you say he is then we all need to become as focused as possible?"

"Oh yes. There is no denying his power."

"And you're sure he's evil?" Gohan asks. "Only… when I first met Mr Vegeta I thought he was evil, and he's not anymore, he has a family and Bulma and…"

"Calm down dear," she coaxes. "You are right to be thinking that way. Outside Other World there is no absolute good, and there is no absolute evil. Every living creature has its own shade of grey. It's how dark that shade is that determines how we live our lives. Faylorn is a bounty hunter, that doesn't make him evil, but for us it could be extremely dangerous."

"But don't bounty hunters work for money? Bulma's very rich, perhaps she could pay him more than he's getting at the moment."

She nods in agreement. "Most bounty hunters do… yes, but Faylorn isn't an ordinary bounty hunter."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" she says, looking out across the stark mountain range. "Faylorn comes from a very, uh, complicated background. He was destined for great things as a child. I knew him then." She chuckles, "You wouldn't recognise him as such today but back in those days he was a very gentle little boy. A greater contrast couldn't be given between my first two young charges. Faylorn was my first private appointment. I trained him in the martial arts for five years. When I had done all I could for him I was given the honour of being recommended to King Vegeta."

What the…? She trained him! She's been on planet with us for the last four days, planning our attack, and this is the first reference she makes to it? I knew I was right not to trust her!

"What changed him?" Gohan asks.

"Circumstance," she replies forlornly. "As it has changed all of us caught up in the Ice-jin rule. His life could be described as a parallel to Vegeta-sama's. Frieza was the kind of creature that went for power and manipulation. The whole damn family did the same. It made no difference to them how it was attained, they targeted the best potential fighters and manoeuvred or tricked them into working for them. Both Vegeta and Faylorn were forced into the Ice-jin service, Vegeta under Frieza and Faylorn under Cooler."

"That must have been hard for him. Vegeta got pretty screwed up by it."

"Yes, but then again, Vegeta was always pretty screwed up. I guess that's why he suffered less than Faylorn. He was a spoilt child, they both were, but while Vegeta was spoilt with freedom, Faylorn's mother spoilt him with affection. His heart was never hardened as Vegeta's had been from birth."

"What planet is he from?"

"Drela. It was a beautiful planet, very lush and green, a complete opposite to the desert landscape of Vegeta-sei, but you see, that is where circumstance changed between them. Faylorn's father survived the purge of his planet and formed a resistance movement. They called it 'The Drelaxian Consortium' and things went downhill from then on in."

I should have known it would be Gohan that managed to purge so much useful information. I am pondering how our battle might be able to be changed because of it, but there is something at the back of my mind that won't shut up. It's like a dam has just burst and all I can hear is Kami's thoughts, screaming at me through my own. It's powerful enough to make my legs buckle, forcing me to one knee.

"Piccolo-san!" I hear through the haze of pain. "Piccolo-san what's wrong?"

"K… Kami!" I choke. Damn him! He's giving me that part of his memory too quickly, is he trying to kill me? "K… Kami! H…he k…knows about the Consortium. I… I can..."

"The Drelaxian Consortium?" Master Suh gasps, "But no one on this side of the Faryian Straight should know anything of it, unless..."

"That's right," I rasp. "I was once guardian of this planet, at least, part of me was."

"Tell me what's going on Piccolo-san!" screams Gohan with tears in his eyes. "How can I help you?"

"Y… you can't!" I snap.

"He's right!" replies Master Suh, lifting my chin to hold my attention with those stern eyes. "You can't do anything to help, he has to do it himself. Whatever you do Piccolo, do not power up any more! You've already given away too much, you have to focus on what you're seeing, look beyond the pain and extract what you need."

Damn her! What does she think I'm trying to do? I roar out in pain, my voice echoing around the mountain.

"Tell me what you know," she persists. "What are you being shown?"

"I can see it all," I say at length, breathing shakily through the pain. "All the bloodshed - all the pain that was inflicted by this so-called consortium. They weren't resistance - they were mercenaries. Factions of soldiers gathered from all over the galaxy and used as pawns to play out a twisted old mans wishes. Faylorn's father, Lord Drayon didn't care about peace or even his sons capture, all he cared about was regaining what had been taken from him - and then, once he had obtained enough wealth, all he wanted was to overthrow the Ice-jin tyrants and take their place as rulers of the universe! He created a monopoly on the monetary flow of the universe, buying cheap and selling at extortionate prices, financially crippling those solar systems that were still free, and forcing his military to all corners of the galaxy. He didn't want to fight for power, he wanted to buy it, and… to an extent… he succeeded."

"Is this true?" asks Gohan, looking expectantly at Master Suh.

"Oh yes, he had enormous weight even before Frieza was defeated - enough to be allowed to trade technology for humanoid livestock. That was how he managed to release Faylorn from Coolers army, and then, once the Ice-jin's were slain, there was nothing to hold the Consortium back. Without the fear of the Ice-jin's immense physical power it was at its most devastating. Those under Frieza's rule hardly had a chance to celebrate their freedom before they were enslaved by an opponent just as deadly… poverty. With no opposition, Lord Drayorn's Consortium of powerbrokers and ki-merchants continued to consume the universe, and will continue to do so. That is why I'm here, and that is why I want to stop Faylorn. His father is the mastermind, but Faylorn - Faylorn is the power behind it."

There is sweat pouring off my body and my ears are ringing, as I look up to the woman in front of me, my canines grimaced into a growl. "When were you planning on telling us all of this?" I demand! "And poverty? What poverty? Look at you with your elaborate and expensive clothes! When has this poverty seen you? You don't look like you've ever had to suffer. Answer me!"

I want her to defend herself, but I already know there isn't anything she can tell me that won't somehow give her a share in the guilt. Her cheeks burn a deep red under my rising anger, and fuelled by her own. Clutching her beads again she turns away, standing tall against the bleak surroundings.

"You're right," she says stiffly against the cold air. "I haven't seen any." She breathes in deeply, and for the first time since our meeting I can hear it shaking under emotion. "Faylorn's freedom wasn't the only one bought." She turns to face us both, starlight glistening from the lashes of wet eyes. "I too was enslaved under the Ice-jin rule, and I too was freed by Lord Drayon. Everyone on Gleya Four has either been freed before the Saiyans defeated Frieza, or bought their way into Lord Drayon's favour afterwards. There are several colonies similar to it all over the known universe. I too swore an oath to serve Lord Drayon, and for five long years I have suffered for it."

It is now Gohan's turn to speak. "I don't get it?" he says. "Confrontation with the Ice-jins must have been a big risk? What did this guy get in return for freeing you?"

"He… he got me…" she says, the stiffness and posture of her character, evaporating by the second. "For him that was enough. He got my power, he got my mind, and…" she puts a hand shakily to her mouth. "He got my body."

"Y… you don't mean?"

"He fell in love me while I was teaching Faylorn, even asked me to marry him, but I refused. What the hell did I care for love? I was an independent woman, a warrior with my own amount of respect and power. I was not a housewife for some nobody weapons merchant! I didn't care for him anymore than as an affluent source of income. Unfortunately my indifference didn't cure him. Instead his mind turned to obsession, and I was the force of that obsession. He paid King Cold for my release, but I was never really freed. I went from one form of prostitution to another."

"That's terrible!" gasps Gohan.

"Yes," she replies. "Yes it is."

"There's something about this situation that doesn't add up?" I say, half to myself. "You mean everyone on Gleya is working for this Lord Drayon?"

"For the entire Consortium… yes."

"Well if that's the case why didn't they just kill Vegeta when they had the chance? From what I understand Faylorn could have done that with little trouble."

She shakes her head, looking at the floor. "You're missing the point Namek. You're doing exactly the same as she did. Blaming Vegeta! This has nothing to do with him. The planet Earth was given a wide birth from the rest of the universe because of the formidable warriors that were rumoured to inhabit it, and would have continued to do so if it wasn't for one person, or more importantly, one company. They've never been interested in Vegeta. The Earth woman and the Capsule Corporation… that is what they want, Vegeta has never been anything more important to them than a headache by being in the way. They know his thirst for power and they fear this little mans father. They couldn't risk a confrontation, not with Vegeta's knowledge and Goku's strength. They still don't know he is dead. I didn't until I came here. That is one thing we have in our favour. Right from the outset their priority was to separate Vegeta long enough to get to Bulma and steal her Capsule technology."

This isn't what I had expected, very far from it, and I find the true ramifications hard to comprehend. "So… you're saying that they never planned to disrupt the planet Earth or to confront Vegeta?"

She nods, "That's right. There have been spies in Miss Briefs' company since the Ice-jins defeat, mostly investors and shareholders. It has been a long operation, but Lord Drayon felt he had to tread carefully. It took me over two years of services to gain Drayon's trust enough to allow me the slim amount of freedom I was given on Gleya. He set up a school for martial arts for me, and even though I was only tutoring future members of the Consortium, I was happy that way. Rian was my keeper, he is fiercely loyal to Lord Drayon, and though not as powerful as Vegeta or Faylorn, he is more powerful than I can ever hope to be again. Even you little one," she looks to Gohan and smiles. "You could take me out if your heart was absolutely set on it."

"B…but… your ki…" stammers Gohan, in amazement. "When you landed it…"

"It was synthetic ki," she sighs, pointing to the pendant around her neck. "I have my own share of power its true, but I had no idea what I was going to run into here. Bulma is a nice enough girl, (if you pass over the bitchiness) but I don't trust second hand intelligence. I had to be careful. This is my only way out of this nightmare, and I'm not going to mess it up!"

There is such anger and hurt in her voice. Such purpose and fire in her eyes. So this is the true Master Suh. This is the woman behind the shell I have watched for the last four days. I like her better for it.

"Why Trunks?"

I look to Gohan, having lost myself in the spell of the woman before me, realizing that she had similarly been engrossed in her thoughts.

"Why did they take Trunks?" he reiterates.

She sighs, rubbing her anger away with a ring clad hand. "They needed more time. Bulma's encryption was so complicated that they had trouble integrating it into their system. When she first came she was reluctant to share the Capsule technology, even though she let Rian have a few patents, the gravity enhancer being one of them. They soon found out that the information they wanted wasn't for sale, and so they were left with no choice but to extract it themselves. That meant stalling. When Vegeta arrived out of the blue, they had to think fast. Kidnapping Trunks was a step they concocted out of panic. It was designed to keep them both busy long enough to get what they wanted."

"Then… they never planned on hurting Trunks?" Gohan continues.

Master Suh looks to the floor. "I'm not sure… he's a strong child, whether or not they intend to keep him I don't know. It's a possibility that he might be returned to his parents, but these are ruthless people we're talking about. If it suits their interest to keep him, or kill him… then they will do it, and without a morsel of regret."

"So," I interrupt. "You're saying we could be doing this for no reason."

"No!" she snaps, "Don't you see! This isn't about what's best for the Earth or whatever creatures live on it. This is about the beginning of freedom for the entire universe. If we can defeat Faylorn then we have taken out a major player in the Consortium. That'll be a huge leap forward, and if we can take out Faylorn, what's stopping us from doing the same to Rian and Lord Drayon himself, and every other asshole that has made my life a living misery!"

The tears I had seen a hint of previously, now flow unchecked, as she yells, "I want my life back!" It echoes around the mountains, as she slumps to the floor.

"Where did all that pride go?" I snarl. "Get up!"

She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

"I said get up!" I repeat grabbing her by the hair and pulling her to her feet.

"Look at me!" I demand. "I don't like being made a fool out of! How much of this were you planning on telling to me?"

"None of it. You didn't need to know. All I wanted was to borrow your power to defeat Faylorn, that's all that mattered to me, but…"

"But we caught you out and you had no option. That means you're relying on us, and that you have to put your trust in us. We are not out to save the universe; we're out to help a friend. You will tell us everything you know and you will do it now, because I'm not moving a foot further until I know exactly what I'm dealing with."

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A/N - Well to say I'm nervous about this chapter is an understatement. As you can probably tell there's a lot of information in it that is integral to the plot. *Is very worried* I hope I've managed to pull it off.