Power, Deception, Lies

Part VIII

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"Sorry, my friend," Pilaf mumbled, trying to get away from anywhere that was within earshot of the Z warriors in the clearing surrounded by the bushes and trees in which he was hiding. He quietly carried Piccolo, now made of stone, into the giant looming cave as the Z warriors continued to speak amongst themselves. "…But we need to do this without you now."

He set Piccolo down, seeing Piccolo's muscly and strong features, and looked down at his own tall, muscly body. No, it was not Pilaf's original form; Pilaf was in truth cowardly, short and shrimpy and lazy as a buffalo, always leaving his difficult tasks to his servants and henchmen. Originally he would boast, let everyone acknowledge that he was a great emperor, and took all the credit for all the defeat of the minor challenges that his servants faced. And then when a great power- which needn't even be great to defeat Pilaf- came along, he would cower away behind his servants, taller and bolder than he was, loyal to him- and when his foes were defeated, he would claim the victory as his own.

Pilaf flexed his arm muscles, taking a good long look at himself and his tall form. There was a secret behind this transformation- one that nobody knew of, save for himself and the other three Dark Foes that were on the spaceship and waiting for Videl's defeat currently. It was he himself that joined forces with Frieza, Garlic and Cell willingly, in a plot to defeat the Z warriors that had once defeated them- for Garlic and Frieza, twice- and to match up with their power, without servants to hide behind whilst screaming like a woman, there was something he had to do. The secret of his transformation, which was enhanced by advice and training from Garlic, who had the same ability- had not been achieved without having his hands stained with blood, but he didn't care, and to him it was worth the slay.

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Flashback

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Pilaf laughed cruelly, like a little evil Elf, his comrades joining him with a dark laugh. He eyed with a dagger in his hand the human that sat before him- tied several times to a wooden chair, sweat and blood dampening his silver robes, moaning in pain and slow loss of awareness. It was very strange, for the man did not look like anything particular- his robes were royal, plain to see, but he did not look like a king with his glittering robes, and he certainly didn't look like a prince. Pilaf looked up at the tall human, Garlic, Frieza and Cell watching interestedly in the shadows behind him, waiting for him to make a sharp move.

"Will you give it to me now?" Pilaf asked straightforwardly as he leapt up, now standing with one foot on each leg on the man's lap.

The man looked up, his eyes sagged with age and the slow drifting away of his consciousness, but not daring to show his fear, for he never showed his fear, although it was present all the same. He opened his mouth and almost nothing came out; he was so tired, and the torture that these foes bestowed upon him consistently was taking its toll, but he struggled to defend himself and if dying, at least die protecting his young Lord and Lady.

"No," he croaked, his voice hoarse and almost not present at all. "You have no mercy for those who are innocent and you take pleasure in death. I cannot trust any of my concoctions with one who kills to make himself feel better, for I am wise, and certainly not afraid of you."

Pilaf flushed horribly, eyes almost watering with anger at such a bold reply, and struck the human twice across the face, hard. He grabbed the blood-stained collar of the silver robe that the impertinent and stubborn human wore with one hand, forcing the poor dying man to look at him, and pressed the dagger that he held with the other hand at his throat.

"You… will… pay," Pilaf emphasized each word, steaming at the fact that the mere human did not flinch or even look afraid. "I promise you, once I find out where you've hidden that elixir, my dagger will be in your gut, and I'll leave it there as a present for your funeral."

"Oh, Pilaf," Cell drawled from the shadows, "don't get angry too quickly. Have a good, long, logical think. Wouldn't it be in the place you'd least expect, which is probably in the most obvious place of all?"

Pilaf looked back at Cell, deep in thought, and after what seemed like an eternity, smiled. In a quick motion that was as fast as a stallion, he had cut loose the ropes which had been binding the man to the chair, and also sliced open the damp robe at the front without hurting the man, revealing an inner pocket in the robe. Reaching in, he produced from the hidden pocket a small bottle filled with a black liquid, at this point making the man react horribly.

"No," he begged. "It's only a prototype. The results may not be what has been promised to you!"

"Let me try it, then," Pilaf purred as he jumped off the man's lap, unscrewing the lid and gulping down the entire content, before flinging the bottle away behind him. In an instant a yellow flickering outline, like a windy aura, surrounded him as he began to grow rapidly in size, his muscles protruding more and his height towering. A sharp wind from an unknown source cut through the room, and books and other miscellaneous items began to fly, the dark force within the yellow dome almost becoming a blur. He screamed, although unknown if it were of pain or of pleasure, as he felt the power surge through him, four very startled pairs of eyes gazing in his direction in shock and bewilderment.

Pilaf panted hard as he finally reached his full size, the wondrous liquid reaching the full extent of its chemical properties, and the yellow aura and the mysterious wind vanishing. He smiled with a mischievous glint in his beady eyes as he looked down at his new body, grinning at Garlic.

"I can do what you can do, now…" Pilaf taunted in a singsong tone, to which Garlic merely raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"Finish the job, Pilaf," Frieza pointedly stated, pointing a long, black fingernail at the man draped over the chair, who was so weary he hadn't even tried escaping during the transformation. Pilaf smiled, turning back to the royal, elderly chemist and professor, picking up the dagger he'd dropped during the spectacular yet monstrous change.

"Thanks, Frieza," Pilaf fondled the dagger, flashing it once in a while from behind his palm. "I almost forgot. You don't think I'd ever break my promise, do you, my dear friend Sindor?"

Sindor looked up weakly at the glinting silver dagger that the giant monster held before him, not realizing the whimpers of horror that escaped him. And outside the grey stone-brick tower, a sharp blood-curdling cry tore through the tranquil air, and those who heard it never found out where it had come from.

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End Flashback

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Pilaf smiled at the memory of the bitter blade, before creeping over to the opening of the cave. Poor Marty, he thought, seeing the beautiful and innocent prince from where he was. Never really found out the truth, but he's not finished yet, and until then, the truth will remain only in the shadows of the Dark Foes' hearts.

It's time, Pilaf thought, seeing the angelic boy before his eyes. It will be a pity indeed to lose such a breathtaking, heart-stealing prince, especially for the Z warriors. But it's time now… the prince must be taken care of… reunited with the princess, whose fate had sadly turned for the worst. His innocence was so beautiful, even to Pilaf who couldn't stand having soft mushy feelings, and it will certainly be a pity that it will be lost in the blood-stained hands of the monster in the mirror.

So, looking down at the damp piece of cloth slipped into his belt buckle, he ran out of the cave in an instant, much to the sudden shock of the five that stood there. Videl was so startled, not knowing whom this mutant stranger was, and her bright brown eyes filled with horror as she saw this giant being running towards Marty. As an instant reaction, she flew over and landed in between the shocked Marty and the alien stranger that ceased abruptly that before was about to strike him; anger and horror and relief flooding from the others about her.

Videl's pulse raced as she gazed into the eyes of the terrifying beast before her, towering over her. Nevertheless she remained standing guard protectively in front of Marty, whom at this moment had almost fainted in shock. The beast was large and blue; shaped like a human, but too big to be one; exactly what Piccolo had described. However, Videl made another startling discovery just as she was about to conclude the two facts; his ears were pointed, unlike the ears of a human.

Videl almost smacked her palm to her forehead when she realized how stupid that must have sounded if she had been thinking aloud. Clearly she didn't need to conclude with the fact that humans didn't have pointed ears because she already knew it wasn't a human anyway, with the obvious fact that it was large and blue.

Pilaf let out a low growl, sounding much like a stereotypical vampire, while a shadow and a terrifying grin just melted across his face, like it had always been there. His pulse was also racing with excitement and a little bit of worry of failure and anxiety; this was the beginning of the end, and it was such a pity that the happiness lasted only one day.

"Who… who are you?" Videl demanded, desperately trying to hide the fear within her. "What do you want with us?"

Pilaf stopped, and backed away, laughing. The Z warriors looked at him with an expression of fear and irritation and anger all mixed into one, as he regained composure, trailing off his laugh with a long, high-pitched tone of voice.

"I may be what you call an old foe," Pilaf announced, a grin still pasted on his face. "But none of you really know me, except maybe Goku… if his memory span is that long, and if he recognizes my voice, for certainly my form is different."

"You know him?" Eighteen questioned worriedly, as all the warriors and Marty turned to Goku. "Who is he?"

"Is that…" Goku trailed off, as he struggled to bring forth the memory of the voice from the back of his mind. "Is this… are you… Emperor Pilaf? I haven't seen you…"

"Approximately twenty years," Pilaf snickered, knowing the shock that was within Goku at the realization. "That's far too long for you to pay debt, wasn't it, my friend and my foe?"

"Well, I don't care who you are," Videl declared. "I don't like you, and I have just as much the desire to beat you senseless as what twisted scheme you are trying to trap us with."

With that, Videl lunged forward, bestowing powerful kicks upon the Emperor. Pilaf was glad, since he'd planned to have less talk and instant action anyway. However, the kicks did not hurt Pilaf, for he managed to block every one. Videl was surprised, imagining at first that the giant muscles he held within him held his speed down.

Why isn't he attacking me, she thought suspiciously, as her rage bubbled up within her. At that moment she just let out everything within her; kicks, punches, energy balls, and sneak attacks with dematerialization. However, none of this really worked, and she ended up falling on her knees on the ground, breathless and completely powerless to even lift a finger.

Pilaf laughed and kicked her hard in the stomach, much to the horror of the other warriors. He squatted down, looking at the kneeling girl straight in her angry chocolate eyes, her arms wrapped around her stomach in searing agony.

"You must learn, dear girl," Pilaf said in a teacher's tone, "that when your opponent doesn't attack you, that means he's got something up his sleeve. Now I can use your wasteful downfall to my advantage."

Videl braced herself nervously for any attack that he was about to bestow upon her, for she thought he meant that he'd hurt her while she was weak. Instead, much to the surprise of everyone, he walked straight past her, and came face-to-face with Marty.

Marty didn't understand what stirred inside of him at that second; he thought he was afraid, but he somehow had an overwhelming urge to draw out a dagger or a sword or any kind of weapon and strike this beastly Emperor wherever he deserved it. That's why he was trapped between moving forward, or cowering back. Instead, he found himself standing exactly where he was, not even flinching, which surprised him since he had no memory of being skilled in any area of weaponry. Then again, he had no memory of anything at all, save for the few visions he'd had, which he desperately knew was a link to rediscovering his identity.

In a speedy flash which no-one saw coming, hurling everyone's hearts immediately up to the roof of their mouths, Pilaf pulled out the damp piece of cloth slipped into his belt buckle, twisted Marty around savagely to do his work from behind, and clamped the drugged kerchief over Marty's nose and mouth with one hand, which immediately brought everyone to action.

Videl reacted first, trying to get up, but only to fall over on her knees again in her pain, coughing little blood onto the grass as her arms supported her. Eighteen ran immediately to help her, while Goku and Gohan tried as many physical attacks such as kicks and punches, hoping that this monster would drop the innocent boy. However, it did not have much effect, and Pilaf hit them away with a sweeping motion using his free arm, throwing them quite some distance away with a silenced thud on the dirt and grass.

Pilaf laughed as he felt Marty's body go limp, which told him that the drug was working, or the young one simply suffered from lack of breath. This enraged Videl greatly, for she could not think of anything more horrifying than the beautiful young teenager being attacked without anyone trying to stop the attacker. She got up, unintentionally shaking Eighteen's hand off her shoulder, and leapt up to reach his tall arm and pathetically but desperately digging her nails into it. She had not prepared herself for the cry that followed, but it worked, for Marty's body fell to the ground, limp and unconscious.

Goku immediately ducked beneath them and lifted the young one, rushing to lay him down away from where a huge squabble was obviously about to begin. But to Videl's extreme surprise, a thin figure streaked out from the surrounding trees and behind Pilaf's enormous form. Pilaf could not see the mystery attacker behind him who proceeded to bend and twist the arm Pilaf had used to drug Marty; and Pilaf, who let out a painful mind-shattering cry for the second time, obviously did not expect it. A loud crack was audible as something, most likely a bone, snapped in his arm; Pilaf ran away with horror as fast as possible up the mountain which he'd trekked down earlier, returning to his original short, shrimpy form, revealing the mysterious figure who had saved the warriors behind him.

To be continued…