A Marriage of Convenience

Piccolo glowered at the empty space in front of him, limitless wasteland as far as the eye could see. It would take hours before he even found an outpost of the Dark Kingdom and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to. From what he had experienced on the Moon Kingdom, Zoycite had agents enough who were willing to kill him so why head back there? The only reason he could go back was to gain favour somehow and get his revenge in some way, strike down Zoycite once and for all and get back into Queen Beryl's good grace again.

While he was planning this, a small snide voice in Piccolo's head asked "So why haven't you killed the boy yet?"

Piccolo shifted Gohan's weight higher up his back, the unconscious boy not even twitching as Piccolo gave him a piggy back across the wasteland. Gohan had passed out from the pain as soon as he hit the soil of the Dark Kingdom and had yet to wake up. One look at him and Piccolo knew that his right shoulder blade had been shattered from the force of the blow the energy spear had given.

Though he believed that he had no reason to help the brat, Piccolo had found himself binding Gohan's wound and tearing off a part of his cape to bind the injury and set the bone. And now he was carrying the young boy to… his fate? Though Piccolo had been certain about taking Gohan to Queen Beryl, he was gradually realising that he was taking a very long route to get to her…

Piccolo felt Gohan stir slightly and the boy groaned slightly as he regained consciousness and opened his eyes. Piccolo heard him moan in pain and shift backwards. The next sound was the boy asking, in a hoarse whisper "Wha… Where am I?"

"You're in the Dark Kingdom." Piccolo answered bluntly.

It took several seconds for Gohan to register this and ask another question "Why am I here?"

"You fell through the portal that went to the Dark Kingdom. You're stuck here." When Piccolo said this, he felt Gohan fall forward limply onto his back.

Another moment passed before Gohan spoke again. This time, his voice sounded hopeless as well as tired "I'm thirsty."

"So are a lot of people, deal with it." Piccolo growled. This kid was really starting to annoy him.

"But my throat is starting to hurt really badly."

"I don't care." Piccolo stated though he noted the rasp in Gohan's voice and how it must hurt the already injured boy.

"I don't suppose you don't have anything to drink then." Gohan said, now resigning himself to the nagging pain at the back of his throat.

At this, Piccolo stopped walking and dropped Gohan to the ground roughly. The Namek twisted around and opened his mouth to insult Gohan for his weakness when he looked properly at the boy for the first time. Gohan looked exhausted and battered; his shirt had been torn to pieces by the energy spear and was only holding on in threads from his other shoulder. His eyes were drooping as he looked exhausted simply from being awake; Piccolo suspected that he whatever he had woken up from wasn't proper sleep.

Piccolo felt his mouth close and inexplicably, his hand reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his gourd which contained the water he drank. He threw it over to Gohan roughly "Here," He growled "And don't drink it all."

The last sentence seemed to go unheeded as Gohan opened the gourd, placed it to his lips and threw back his head, drinking deeply from it. After several seconds, Gohan finished and threw the gourd back to Piccolo with a small "Thank you."

Piccolo glowered as he felt the weight of the gourd in his hand "I told you not to drink it all." He growled.

Gohan smiled sheepishly and had the decency to look embarrassed "Sorry about that but I was so thirsty Mr… What's your name actually? We weren't introduced were we?" Gohan held out his hand and smiled "I'm Gohan, pleased to meet you."

Gohan's smile faltered as Piccolo merely looked at the hand without budging a muscle "My name is Piccolo." He then turned his back on Gohan and looked into the distance "Can you walk?"

Gohan unsteadily got to his feet and took a few tentative steps "I think so Mr. Piccolo."

Piccolo lifted a brow at that but made no comment about it "Good, I'm not carrying you any further. Let's go." And with that Piccolo started to walk away from Gohan, causing him to panic slightly.

"Wait Mr. Piccolo! Where are we going?"

Piccolo had to stop at that as he wasn't entirely sure himself. One part of him was screaming at to lure him into Queen Beryl's clutches while another part of Piccolo was pointing out the fact that Gohan was the only person who had ever stuck their neck out for him. After a few seconds, Piccolo turned back to face Gohan said "We're going to find someway to get you back to the Moon Kingdom."

Gohan's eyes lit up at this and he beamed a smile "Thank you so much Mr. Piccolo! You'll be coming as well?" The voice was so full of hope that Piccolo found himself nodding before he could stop himself. Gohan's smile grew even wider "Great! Wait until you meet everyone, Serena, Ami, Queen Serenity, Kami…"

"Kami?" Piccolo interrupted "Kami the Namek?"

Gohan nodded "That's right, do you know him?"

Piccolo gave no answer as he rapidly thought about this revelation. In truth, the Demon King Piccolo had been created from when Kami had exorcised his evil self in order to achieve a new level of power. Demon King Piccolo had gone on to become the terror of the Central Quadrant while Kami had become something of a hero and one of the most trusted advisors to the Royal Families of the Galaxy. Piccolo had to marvel at that, Kami had achieved a position of true power while the Demon King Piccolo was reduced to a bandit and his son a slave. If only Kami had spat out the egg before splitting with his evil self, then maybe Piccolo may have been able to claim his own destiny.

Realising that Gohan had been waiting for an answer, Piccolo shrugged and muttered "I've heard of him." Turning back to face his intended travelling direction, Piccolo once again started to walk away "Now are you coming or not?" The scramble of feet behind him assured Piccolo of which action Gohan had taken.

For several minutes the two walked in silence, which was the way Piccolo liked it. The silence was broken however when Gohan spoke "Mr. Piccolo, can I ask you a question?"

Piccolo growled and refused to stop walking "Alright, but make it a short one."

"Where do babies come from?"

Piccolo stopped short and twisted around to face Gohan "What did you say?" He demanded, convinced Gohan was making fun of him in some way.

The sheer innocence radiating from Gohan's eyes made Piccolo pause as the boy gave his answer "Well my parents told me the Baby Sprite was what gave babies to people. But then the Princesses told me that was wrong and then Kami said that babies come from eggs but then he said that's only how Nameks have babies. Then Ami said sex was how babies are made but no one is willing tell me what that is and now I'm so confused about it that I don't know who to believe anymore…"

Piccolo listened to this numbly. He had never been in this situation before in his life and had no idea what to do. He had served in the army of the Dark Kingdom for eighteen years and all armies were alike in that they developed a certain… culture (Usually focused on jokes about bodily functions and extravagant hand gestures). Piccolo had picked up what can be called the 'facts of life' in a rough and ready fashion though not entirely of his own will. He found himself unable to bring himself to say it out loud to Gohan however. He instead merely muttered "Ask your parents." And continued to walk onwards.

XxX

Gohan and Piccolo had been walking for several hours now, mainly in silence as any conversation Gohan attempted was quickly cut off by a short, sharp answer by Piccolo. The area they were in was still barren but Piccolo could hear a stream trickling faintly in the distance. It was getting dark as well with the night drawing in quickly on this World. These were things Piccolo only noticed at the back of his mind however as inwardly, he was still debating over what to do about Gohan.

His normal train of thought was telling him still to hand the child over to Queen Beryl and return to her ranks. But another part which was getting harder and harder to ignore pointed out that not only had Gohan saved his life but also was prepared to welcome him into his home. Why had the boy done so? And why had Piccolo helped him when every instinct was telling him not to? These problems were constantly gnawing at Piccolo since Gohan had regained consciousness.

While thinking over his conflicting thoughts, Piccolo came to notice a lack of sound that had been there before. Stopping swiftly, he realised what it was, Gohan's steps could no longer be heard. Turning around, Piccolo was actually shocked to see that Gohan lying face down on the ground several metres away. He quickly walked over to the young boy and only just prevented himself from kneeling down next to him "Are you alright?" He contented himself with asking while standing over Gohan.

Gohan's answer was so quiet that only through Piccolo's incredible hearing did he hear it "I'm kind of tired Mr. Piccolo… Can we stop for a rest?"

Without saying a word, Piccolo bent down, picked Gohan up, walked over to a small area where the ground wasn't littered with so many rocks and gently placed Gohan down facing up. Gohan gave a small smile in thanks and whispered "Is it OK if I sleep a while Mr. Piccolo?"

Piccolo nodded "Yeah, sure. Go ahead and I'll stand guard." He noticed that Gohan was shivering slightly; the temperature had dropped sharply since night had fallen "Are you cold?" He asked.

Gohan tried to shake his head but his exhaustion was already taking over him "No… I'm fine Mr. Piccolo." He said, though his shaking was beginning to get worse. In response, Piccolo took off his shoulder guards, ripped the cape from them and laid it down over Gohan gently. Almost at once, the shivering stopped and Gohan relaxed considerably "Thanks Mr. Piccolo." He whispered softly "You're a great friend…" And with that, he fell asleep.

Piccolo could only look on as Gohan began his peaceful sleep as he felt himself slip into inner turmoil. In his entire existence, Piccolo had never been shown a true genuine display of affection. Only in the last few hours had Gohan been showing Piccolo the sort affection others would take for granted throughout their entire lives. Piccolo stood silently over Gohan and knew then that he couldn't go back to the Dark Kingdom. Not just because he hated it with a passion but it would mean that he would betray the only person who valued his life, the only person who had actually called him 'friend'.

Piccolo allowed himself the first genuine smile in his entire life "You're something special kid." He muttered quietly and sat down. He removed his turban and got into a meditating position, allowing himself to mentally concentrate and slip away from his surroundings.

XxX

Morning had now broken over the area Piccolo and Gohan were staying in. While Gohan himself was still asleep, Piccolo had gone to the stream he had heard in the distance in order to fill up the gourd Gohan had earlier drained dry. Knowing the boy would also be starving after a day with no food, Piccolo also managed to grab some fish from the water. Although they were small and measly, they were better than nothing and would hopefully restore Gohan's strength somewhat.

Taking the fish in one hand, Piccolo turned around and was greeted with an incredibly unwelcome site. Before him, there was a group of twenty Dark Kingdom soldiers with none other than Zoycite standing in front of them with his usual insufferable smirk on his features. Realising that he was in deep trouble, Piccolo decided to get right to the point "Zoycite? What are you doing here?"

Zoycite took several steps forward; eyeing the fish in Piccolo's hands he said in a confident tone "Well that slug Babidi told us that there was an anomaly with the portal which showed that two people had slipped through. We seeing you must have run and hid from the Moon Kingdom's Army, that leaves the second person and I wonder who that is…"

Piccolo had been looking at the Dark Kingdom soldiers during Zoycite's little speech, judging his chances. He knew that he could take most of the soldiers with only three of them giving him any real trouble but Zoycite was another mater, he was powerful in magic and could pose a real threat to Piccolo. Piccolo's train of thought was interrupted by Zoycite continuing in his own little monologue "Now seeing you here means that you must have fled like a coward from the pathetic forces of the Moon Kingdom. But who's the second person Piccolo? According to Babidi, it wasn't someone from the Dark Kingdom so that leaves the fact that whoever it was must have been Human…"

Zoycite left the sentence hanging in the air which, coincidentally, was what Piccolo wanted to do to Zoycite. Knowing that he would be facing a battle soon regardless of anything he said, Piccolo struck first by letting loose an energy blast from his right hand that went flying towards the Dark Kingdom soldiers. Acting far too slow, the blast killed all of the soldiers on the spot, vaporising all of them instantly. When the dust cleared, Piccolo turned to Zoycite and smirked "I don't know about you, but I'm going to enjoy this." And with that, he dashed directly at the General in a pre-emptive strike.

With a flash of light, Zoycite disappeared from view and Piccolo, expecting a back attack, lashed out behind him, throwing another energy attack as he did so. Only empty air greeted the blast though and Piccolo was struck from behind with a magical blast that sent him to the ground. Zoycite began to pompously laugh "Pathetic Piccolo! And to think you were supposed to be the most powerful soldier in Queen Beryl's army!" Rising slowly as he shook the stunned feeling from his head, Piccolo realised that Zoycite hadn't made himself teleport but had made himself invisible instead.

Gritting his teeth, Piccolo quickly rose back to his feet and snarled "Don't think you're little tricks will save you Zoycite! Only one of us gets away from this place alive!"

Another pompous laugh from Zoycite made Piccolo clench his fists in rage and he started to concentrate to see if he could find the very energy that came from Zoycite's very being. He was stopped however when a blinding flash of light lit up directly in front of his eyes, blinding him. Covering his eyes with his hands and shouting in agony, Piccolo heard Zoycite call out again "Well this is much easier than expected. I think I'm going to have some fun with you Piccolo before I go after whoever you dragged back with you."

The thought of Zoycite getting his hands on Gohan made Piccolo temporarily overlook his pain to focus properly to find Zoycite's location. Sensing him standing only a few feet to his left, Piccolo twisted and lashed out, stretching out his limb so that it struck Zoycite head on. The blow broke Zoycite's concentration and he became visible once more as he landed roughly onto the ground. It gave enough time for Piccolo to fully clear his vision and get into a fighting position as Zoycite clambered to his feet.

Zoycite glared at Piccolo with a face full of unrestrained hatred "DAMN YOU NAMEK!" Zoycite screamed in fury "I'LL DELIVER YOU HEAD TO BERYL ON A PLATTER FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID!!!"

Piccolo only smirked in reply "It's going take a lot more than your childish screams for that to happen Zoycite." Piccolo then dove at Zoycite again, this time reaching out to grab his throat. Zoycite managed to dodge to the left and sent out a dark green flame from his hand. Piccolo was left with little choice but to take on the full brunt of the attack. It seared across his skin but Piccolo was able to shake off the worst of the pain and braced himself to launch another attack on Zoycite.

Zoycite allowed himself to smirk as he gathered the energy for another attack on Piccolo; perhaps this wouldn't be so hard after all… With a cry, he shot a blast of pure magical energy towards Piccolo that he hoped would seriously damage the Namek. He was amazed to see that Piccolo, instead of trying to dodge the blast, dove straight through it and came out the other end, heading directly for Zoycite. The Dark Kingdom General could only look on in shock as Piccolo dove at him and unleashed a devastating punch into his stomach.

Zoycite doubled over as the blow winded him and he felt his body shudder in pain but it wasn't over yet. Piccolo sent out his other fist and struck Zoycite's head so hard the General momentarily blacked out from the pain. When he came too, he could blearily make out that Piccolo had grabbed him by the jacket of his uniform, twisted around and flung him over his shoulder. Zoycite crashed onto the ground, rolling several metres before his body finally stopped, crumpled into a heap amongst the dirt.

"Like I said," Piccolo muttered loud enough Zoycite to hear "I'm going to enjoy this." He had long wanted to put Zoycite in his place but the fact that Queen Beryl would have killed him for it was a major detractor for the plan. Now though, realising he was essentially defecting from the Dark Kingdom, Piccolo allowed himself to fully enjoy putting his long held desires for killing Zoycite fully "You were always pathetic," Piccolo said as he walked towards his opponent "Always bragging about things you were going to do, always getting in everyone's way. I'm amazed that Beryl didn't allow me to kill you years ago and save her some headaches. I'm going to kill you Zoycite, and then I'm going to make it my business to grind the Dark Kingdom into the dust."

Zoycite gathered the strength to raise his head only to see Piccolo with his palm facing straight towards him, energy gathering into a single sphere powerful enough to end Zoycite's life "Good riddance Zoycite." Piccolo said and moved to let loose with the energy.

Before he could however, a bright light shaped like a blade tore through the air and Piccolo's arm, severing it at the elbow. Shouting in pain, Piccolo grabbed the stump and turned to face those who had attacked him, the remaining three of the Four Generals; Jedite, Nephlite and Malachite. They were standing in a row, with Malachite holding out his hand, displaying he had been the one to throw the attack "So," He said in a calm tone "You've betrayed us after all Piccolo. How… unsurprising."

Piccolo glowered at the three that stood before him, realising he was in trouble. Out of the Four Generals, Piccolo knew that the biggest threats to him would be Malachite and Nephlite if they ever allied against him. And with his arm severed, Piccolo doubted his ability to take on the three remaining Generals to any great extent. If they attacked him one by one then he might have beaten them, but all at the same time…

Malachite smiled as he saw Piccolo's indecision, out of the Generals, he was the most dangerous "So it's come to this then has it Piccolo? You openly betray the Dark Kingdom when you're surrounded and outnumbered? I think it isn't Zoycite that's the pathetic one, your own actions have doomed you and still you think you can fight us? I will enjoy putting you in your place before we take you to Beryl, she will decide your fate with a certain amount of relish."

Piccolo didn't say anything, he didn't need to be told what Queen Beryl would do to him, he had seen it happen to others and had hoped he would never see it again. Regardless of that, he would never go quietly; they would have to drag his dead and bleeding body before he submitted to Beryl again. Preparing himself for death, Piccolo gained what energy he could and snarled "If I'm being taken to Beryl, it'll be only because I'm dead Malachite. You want to try your luck against me?"

Malachite nodded "For some time now, yes." He made a motion with his hand and Nephlite walked forward and drew up his hand into a motion for attack. Beside him, Jedite did the same while Malachite also raised both his hands to let loose a magical attack "And now," Malachite aid in his calm manner "You begin to die an agonising death."

Piccolo raised his remaining arm to defend himself only to be interrupted by a shout of "YOU LEAVE MR. PICCOLO ALONE!!!" And a blast of energy that hit directly between the Four Generals and kicked up a cloud of dust that blinded the sights of all. Realising that Gohan had given him a brilliant opportunity, Piccolo dove through the dust straight towards Malachite. The General (Who was already unbalanced) was amazed when Piccolo came forth and struck him directly in the face, sending him sailing back.

Piccolo quickly dove forward and struck Malachite in the stomach with his elbow while the General was still flying through the air. Malachite hit the ground roughly and screamed in agony when Piccolo landed by stamping both his feet of the General's chest. Looking around him, Piccolo noticed that Gohan was in trouble. Although Jedite had been knocked to the ground, Nephlite was using Gohan's injured shoulder as an advantage an attacked his weakened side ferociously.

Piccolo drew back his hand and threw a blast of energy that struck Nephlite in the back though it was only strong enough to send him crashing through the air and hitting the ground some metres away. Piccolo dashed to Gohan's side, relieved to see that he wasn't too badly hurt "You OK Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked looking at Piccolo's severed arm with a great deal of concern.

Not wanting the young boy to worry lest he become distracted from the fight, Piccolo nodded "Don't worry, I'll see to it before long."

By this time, Malachite had risen to his feet and was glaring at the two with pure hatred "Is this it Piccolo?" He demanded "You betray us for some half-breed barbarian?!"

"Shut up." Gohan whispered. Piccolo looked at the boy and felt himself edge to the side slightly, the body language Gohan was showing and his tone of voice put him in mind of a fuse that was just about to reach the bomb.

"And why should I do that half breed? I'll see you and the Namek begging for mercy from Queen Beryl before this day ends! And I'll personally see to it that you, you little mongrel, have your head paraded throughout the Dark Kingdom."

Gohan raised his head and Piccolo found himself stepping back a little from the sheer rage on his face. When he later found out about what Gohan had been through his entire life, Piccolo realised that Gohan had found an opportunity to vent eleven years of pent up frustration. Raising his hand, Gohan started to speak in a monotone voice "I told you," The energy Gohan spiked and the sphere he had formed grew as large as his head. For an instant, Piccolo could have sworn that Gohan's head flashed gold "To shut UP!"

The sphere was thrown and Malachite threw his own magical attack in response. Gohan's attack ripped through the magic like paper and struck the astonished Malachite on the arm, disintegrating flesh and bone alike until the attack had passed and nothing remained of Malachite's arm past his shoulder. The General collapsed in agony, too convulsed in pain to even scream.

Gohan collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted while Piccolo looked on in amazement. For such an attack to be launched and to tear down Malachite's defences like they didn't even exist must mean that there was more to Gohan than met the eye "Are you alright Gohan? Piccolo asked.

Gohan nodded slightly, breathing heavily as he answered "I'm… OK Mr. Piccolo… Just need… a minute to… catch my breath."

Piccolo nodded and looked up, seeing Nephlite standing over Malachite and aiding him to his feet. Malachite looked at Gohan and Piccolo and the Namek saw fear in his eyes for the first time he could remember. Malachite took several deep breaths before croaking out "Re… Retreat back to the Palace. We ca… can get reinforcements th… there." Nephlite nodded and with a flash of light, the two disappeared, leaving only thin air behind. Another flash from behind Piccolo made him turn around, only to realise that Zoycite and Jedite had escaped as well.

Feeling more than a little cheated for not being able to get rid of Zoycite once and for all, Piccolo turned back to Gohan "We need to get out of here, there'll be reinforcements arriving soon. Can you walk?"

Gohan nodded and rose back to his feet "Will you be OK Mr. Piccolo. What about your arm?"

Piccolo looked down at the stub of an arm and sighed. He hated losing a limb, growing a new one always stung like crazy "I'll sort it out but for now we need to get going."

Gohan nodded and turned to go before noticing the stream "Hey Mr. Piccolo, do you think there's fish in there? Perhaps we could get something to…"

Wordlessly, Piccolo grabbed Gohan gently but firmly by his good shoulder and started to steer him away from the stream. He was not going to go through all that again…

To be continued…

Well we're into double digits but still on the Dark Kingdom and how will Gohan and Piccolo escape? What's happening on the Moon Kingdom? And how much wood would a woodpecker peck if a woodpecker couldn't peck wood? Hope you enjoyed and remember to R&R!