Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Ransom Due ❯ Interlopers ( Chapter 14 )

Ransom Due - Chapter 14 - Interlopers

 

Piccolo felt the warmth creep over him and then the darkness and swirling patterns behind his eyelids brightened slightly to take on a muted green hue. He opened his eyes to greet the newly risen sun and stretched his prone body just enough to feel which muscles had kinked up. He didn't really sleep, but found that when darkness blanketed the world his energy did deplete somewhat. Falling into the routine of laying down and doing nothing for the night in emulation of the human worms, a sort of pseudo sleep, did amplify the reenergizing effects of the returning sunlight. Rote activity and discipline helped his training as well.

 

He rose and took a slow walk down to the banks of the small waterway that had become one of his favorite parts of the wilderness locale he had chosen as something of a home. More specifically, his favorite part was the waterfall that cascaded violently over a chiseled cliff interrupting the lazy meander of the river's flow. The clean refreshing fluid made for good sustenance as well. As he reached his destination, he concentrated briefly, materializing a ceramic bottle with which to collect water and mulled over his dilemma.

 

His greatest rival had become nothing more than a mere domestic. The world could not be riper for the plucking of his all-powerful demon grasp. He believed he could easily take his rightful place as king and lord of all; assume his due inheritance in a reign of fear and destruction without challenge. But without confrontation, without resistance, his prize and the vengeance of his sire's death had less worth.

 

So, he had elected to wait for the boy. Not very long after Goku's whelp grew out of babyhood, he showed a prospectively potent strength, though it ebbed and flowed erratically. Eventually the boy could prove to be a more than worthy rival. While surreptitiously watching Goku's brood he observed what he thought must be meager attempts by the boy to control his ki, hovering short distances rather than climbing or falling and the like. Sure the human woman wielded more than enough influence over the boy to possibly stifle his potential as much, perhaps even more than it had caused decline in the father. Yet, Piccolo had sensed just enough rebellion in the boy to believe that the wait would be worthwhile.

 

He began spying on the Son household on a regular basis just to witness those occasional tiny sparks of revolt, the subtle use of potentially powerful ki that the boy exercised when he thought no one was watching. He knew instinctively that the time to act, to stoke the spark to flame and then raging inferno would come soon. But when? The clouded memories and intuition of his sire told him an outside influence, in addition to anything he could provide, would be necessary. What though? What would break the boy out of his shell and prompt him to unleash and hone the power he carried within him? It could be something as simple as frustration with the endless studies his mother forced upon him or something entirely earth-shattering. The answer to that question would come with time, he could only wait and watch until then.

 

He took a long drink out of the bottle, dipped it back in the water to top it off and tucked it into the sash around his waist. After splashing some water over his face to completely shake off the sluggishness from his nighttime rest, he powered up and flew to the cliff's precipice where the river bottlenecked and crashed downward. He assumed a lotus position and levitated there to begin his morning meditations. No sooner had he closed his eyes then he heard an almost imperceptible undercurrent to the white noise of the waterfall. His sensitive ears pricked in annoyance as he identified the sound, one of the humans' capsule planes. The closest human settlement was miles away, and rumors of the Demon King living in this wilderness kept them from disturbing him. Who of them would presume to interrupt his meditations?

 

Strange that one of the humans would actually seek him out. Even the most foolhardy adventure seeker gave his domain a wide berth. His public showing at the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budokai had insured his complete privacy for several years now. Perhaps this one didn't watch television, or had a short memory. Piccolo prepared to make a good showing of fierceness and bluster to send them on their way. The appearance of a female exiting the small transport surprised him even more. Weren't they all soft, fearful things that his very appearance set to shrieking? As the figure made its way towards him, he realized that this one had been at the Budokai, in the front row in fact. He remembered her because one of the few spectacles that actually entertained him that day was the sight of this human woman irreverently kicking the Old Man into a ditch. Too bad she would have to find out the hard way that the Demon King had no tolerance for such disrespect. He supposed there could be worse starts to a day than killing a human.

 

“Not easy to get a bead on you,” she announced as she fiddled with some odd device worn on her head. “Whaddya do? Turn everything down when you're sleepin' or something?”

 

Piccolo put on his most contemptuous glare and asked a question he was relatively sure she already knew the answer to, but it presented a good opportunity to bare his fangs. “Do you know to whom you speak?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, Great Demon King and all `o that. I came to do business, though, not chit chat.”

 

The silly human showed no fear, but he could sense a good portion of it just below the surface of her audacity. Perhaps the large weapon she carried gave her some sense of security. He scoffed at her outwardly and motioned to the gun. “Such human contrivance will afford you no safety here. The Great Demon King has no business with the likes of you. Leave me now or perish.”

 

“Oh, good thing there ain't nothing human about this here gun, then.” she replied, patting the weapon lovingly. “I think if you take a moment, you might take a shine to the deal I have to make you.”

 

He didn't even bother to give the weapon a second glance. He certainly didn't sense anything special about it. He decided he'd give this human consideration for making such a good show of things and give it one more chance to vacate the premises. He made another presentation of his fangs as he fired a warning blast of ki from his antennae at her feet.

 

The human surprised him again by raising her weapon to the fore sooner than his blast hit. Then something he absolutely never would have expected happened. The impact stirred up the grass at her feet sending pollen into the air and she sneezed. Suddenly, a completely different woman stood in her place. If she hadn't looked totally different, he would have known by his senses that everything about her had changed. Her ki fluctuated and then dropped rapidly, overridden by fear so conspicuous he could almost smell it.

 

Then everything changed again. The woman's ki skyrocketed in a surge so palpable he found his heart suddenly in his throat. Her ki fluttered between exorbitant and nearly non-existent before settling in to a range he supposed was below his own, but still formidable.

 

“Snarky as ever, eh?” She chided him in a disturbingly gravelly and un-feminine voice. Her eyes took on a threatening appearance despite her stance. She opened her arms as if to invite an embrace. “Shall we?” Strange looking black and green spots, almost like hives or welts began erupting on her skin. His mind struggled to wrap around this new information when she rushed him. Right before the first blow connected with his hasty block, it dawned on him why her eyes taunted him so. Her pupils had become vertical slits.

 

***

 

“Without doubt, any attempt at mating would severely injure or kill you. Nevertheless, you will service me when I demand it and as I see fit,” Raditzu glowered down at her.

 

Ranchi dared not look up at him for longer than it took to note the heated look of both anger and hunger in his eyes, but casting her gaze downward only showed her the evidence that he meant to make good on the hunger part. Her eyes widened at the distended appearance of his fatigue bottoms. He wore the regulation uniform from the tournament, which had no armored skirt and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her mind's eye conjured up an image of taking the entirety of his girth past her lips, gagging, practically suffocating, and she found herself struggling to reconcile fear and anticipation. Unconsciously backing away from him, she found that the swampy earth of planet Freiza 75 sucked at her feet, virtually rooting her to the spot. Fighting to neither shed tears nor make a sound, which she knew would only make things go all the worse, she could only shake her head in disbelief of the situation. She muddled for clarification in her confused memories. She stood in a perfectly wonderful stretch of Chikyuu forest just a second ago, hadn't she? Besides, he seldom, if ever, looked on her with any sense of desire and if he had it was quickly replaced by something akin to disgusted pity.

 

“On your knees!” he growled, obviously taking her reaction for denial of him. He forced her down, much too roughly, on what had all at once become Andolonusian hard-pack.

 

Pain shot through her legs as her kneecaps connected with the ground. An audible snap caused her stomach to flip flop before unbearable pain registered. Unable to hold on any longer, she cried out, her screams diminishing to a defeated moan upon noticing the bloody trail she left as she scrambled feebly backward, realization dawning that he'd most likely crippled her.

 

“Oh, please! Cease your wailing,” he sneered. “Or shall I just do it for you?” He grasped her hair in his favored spot with one hand, forcing her to look up at him as he began jerking down his fatigues with the other.

 

“No! No, you don't have to, I'll do as you say,” she pleaded through deep, jagged breaths, striving to regain some kind of control, although the words came out in a high-pitched whimper indicating a loosing battle.

 

“Tell me something I don't know!” he laughed, and she could've sworn she saw serpentine fangs lacing his mouth and a flash of red in his eyes. The sight set her to trembling in fear, but she continued, knowing that to acquiesce to his demands couldn't possibly be any worse than if she fought him.

 

“Not like this, please. I'll do whatever you ask, willingly. You don't have to force me, I… I want to.” Silent tears began streaming at the half whispered declaration, not just because it felt like letting go of a little piece of herself, but in some twisted, sickening way it was true. Maybe it had been for a long time.

 

“Is that so?” he hissed, kneeling with her so that his eyes, pupil-less and unforgiving, bored into hers.

 

“No. Not really,” a deeply feminine voice broke in from behind him.

 

His grip loosened in his surprise and Ranchi quickly pressed herself as close to the ground as possible. Recognizing the voice, she knew what would surely come next.

 

Raditzu, or more accurately, the thing that looked like him, didn't have a chance to turn and face her counterpart before concussion blaster fire ripped through him. Gaping wounds dripped something green and slimy before closing upon themselves in a wave of regenerating flesh, also conspicuously green.

 

Ranchi didn't get to see what happened next as her counterpart ran past and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to a safer distance and raining another volley of fire at the thing before it could regain complete solidity. Her legs still protested with pain, but they worked, at least enough to facilitate retreat.

 

“Idiot!” Kushami yelled over another round of fire, “you're not supposed to let that monster past, remember?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Now all of this is beginning to make sense. You haven't really been paying attention, have you? Been too busy showing up on my time and stuff. Not smart.” They skidded to a halt behind one of the crumbling shanties from Freiza 75. Kushami began hurriedly stuffing Andelonian opals into the battery chamber of the blaster between quick glances around the corner of the structure. Ranchi wanted to look and see if their pursuer was close, but an earsplitting insectoid chattering from the direction they'd come made her think better of it.

 

Kushami grabbed a wad of her shirt and pulled, getting her attention. “Well, you're on now. I'll take care of things here. Remember, follow the plan. Don't screw this up or we're both completely fucked. Got it?”

 

***

 

Ranchi gasped as the scene dissolved into nearly blinding sunlight. The ground under her knees cushioned her in its rich carpet of grass. A throbbing pain did course through her legs, but minor welts were the only evidence of the ki attack that had caused them on account of her dropping to the ground fast enough for her armored skirt to absorb much of the energy. However, she looked up to see something as bad as the monster she half expected. Piccolo stood over her, his white cape swirling in the breeze behind him making him look every bit the Demon King he declared himself to be.

 

“And this display is supposed to convince me of what?” he said evenly as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

She licked her lips and swallowed, replaying in her mind what she'd heard of the Other's conversation with him. Her mouth felt dry as a desert and she wanted whatever words that came out to sound at least more convincing than a desiccated squawk.

 

“Look.” Standing on shaky legs she lifted the armor enough to show the welts. “I know there must've been a lot of power in that attack and what I'm wearing stopped most of it. If someone is coming here whose clothes can stop you by themselves, maybe you should listen to what I have to say.”

 

“Then perchance I shall just remove their clothes first.”

 

“That's not what I…” She stopped mid sentence. The smooth, almost warm timbre of his voice put her off guard, and was that a hint of a grin? Could it be possible that the reincarnation of the Great Demon King Piccolo had just cracked something of a joke at her expense? What he'd said and the thought of him trying to be funny made her smile.

 

“Insolent fool!” He roared suddenly. “Do you have the slightest inkling of the wrath you seek to incur?”

 

“Eek! No wrath! N-no wrath please!” She held up her shaking hands in surrender, realizing that she had left the concussion blaster far from arm's reach. Maybe if she'd kept it, she could have at least blasted and disoriented him for long enough to run away. But, no, her counterpart was right. She'd spent too much time watching and it deluded her thinking. She didn't have the skill to even handle such a weapon, let alone actually hit an intended target with it. Anger at the inequity of this fact began to override her fear, but she made an effort to drive it away recognizing it as what had sent her into that strange dream-place where a true fiend waited to devour her. She started to plead with Piccolo to hear her case, but didn't get the chance.

 

“Come,” he said simply before she opened her mouth again. Then he turned in a grand gesture and began walking up to the nearby woods, cape billowing with him.

 

“O-ok then,” she said to his back, not knowing if he even heard. Then she remembered the jade statue in the bag and ran to retrieve it and the concussion blaster, just in case, and followed him under the thick canopy of trees.

 

********

 

AN: Apologies again for the loooooooooooooooooong wait for an update. This is becoming harder and harder to find time for with a bunch of other things going on in RL, but I try. I'm still concerned that Lunch (the nice version mostly) is somewhat OOC, but I suppose that could be explained by the fact that both personalities being aware of each other would change each a little. Oh, yeah, and I guess the true villain has been revealed.

 

What?! Are you saying I am not a true villain?

 

Raditz, dear. Sorry, I don't really think that in the original series you were… errrrr… yeah… donuts. There's plenty. In the pantry… You're certainly welcome to them you…you… villainous cur! *bats eyelashes*.

 

If the above doesn't show good reason for me to steer clear of this fic, I don't know what does. Thanks to everyone who still reads and reviews.