QUEST FOR POWER:
THE WARLORDBy Konrad
PART 10
Lulu and Android backed up from Dudan, terrified at his strength. The Warlord on the other hand relished at the dread in their eyes.
"You know, if you had agreed to give the Power Stone in the first place, you wouldn't be in this position." Dudan said, prompting Lulu to temporarily forget her fear.
"And do what?" she snapped back. "Allow you to go on destroying and killing throughout the galaxy? Get real, you creep!" Dudan stopped and smirked.
"I don't understand what it concerns you what I would do to the rest of the galaxy if I were to let you and your people live." He replied. "You don't make any sense and yet you're a general."
"Yes I do! How can I let you go on and kill billions no matter what it does to me! I'd fight every last piece of trash like you until the end of time, until everyone can have the right to live in peace and everyone gets justice!"
"Justice? Evil?" Dundan said, his face expressing slight surprise. "Is that what bothers you, that I'm some sort of great 'evil' being out to enslave? Hahaha, you truly are ridiculous!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" 18 asked.
"I am a mercenary. To be evil would suggest that I had a heart that can be affected by such nonsense as good or evil. To be a mercenary is all about the money, there's no place for having a heart for things, whether it's good or evil!" Dundan yelled back before taking a neutral expression. "You see there are many types of people, many types of fighters. There are those who value petty issues and personal feelings and then there are those who see what's truly important. When Warlords, Warchiefs and Generals including myself founded the Planet Traders Guild, it was inevitable that there'd be a mix of such people."
"What are you talking?" 18 asked somewhat in curiosity but also to buy time. Gohan, Piccolo, anyone, if you can sense this creep, please help!
"To give a good example, take Freezer." Dudan began to explain. "That flake had none of the qualities of his parents and all of their worst faults, magnified in fact. King Cold brought his sons and his kingdom into the fold because all he saw was his concept of power and control. More power, more control. He saw himself as a grand conqueror. But what does that achieve, to live for that and then what? But his second son was worse. Combine those same desires with the vanity and self-consciousness of a bleeding-heart youth and you get a grown brat who bristles at any challenge."
"Bleeding heart? I thought Freezer was a cold-hearted evil tyrant?" Lulu said.
"Oh, Freezer had a heart. It's just that it was completely evil but he had a heart. Which is useless. He was the worst of the worst, a spoiled brat prone to violent tantrums even as an adult. His problems with his self-image and insecurity were like a cancer. Freezer took anything at heart, like a slap to the face. All he could think about was conquering and conquering more, he became more obsessed even as his conquests grew, he felt like he had to live to his image. You see, it was all because Freezer had a weak heart and the more successes he had, the deeper his insecurities and his need for control grew. That is blind conquest, for the sake of control, for the 'glory' of being conqueror. That comes from being consumed by emotions, in this case evil emotions. That's what having a heart means and it's useless."
"But then why would you have tolerated that if you despised the Colds? And why do you do those things yourself?" Lulu asked.
"King Cold and his ilk were still useful partners, the senior founders of the Guild recognized that. And not all of them were like that. Cooler was a prime example of what it takes to be a mercenary. It's not about being evil, it's all about pure business and being heartless!"
"W-what?" 18 stammered. She liked even less the explanation that she perceived.
"Yes, what I do is not evil because I don't let my heart, regardless of if it's good or evil, interfere with logic." Dudan coolly continued. "Just the way to be if you want to be a mercenary, you have to be completely heartless. It's not about some vain notion of conquest or glory for you're left with nothing with those things. No, it's strictly about… the greatest of opportunities ever!" Dudan's entire facial expression contorted into a sinister grin.
"What?" Lulu almost screamed. "You'd kill millions of people just so you can get rich!"
"There are tons of ways to get rich without destroying everything!" 18 contended. He's more insane than he thinks!
"Oh no, you don't know what we Guild leaders know." Dudan replied. "Money and resources, that is true lasting power. With money, everything is possible. And at the Planet Trader's Guild we merely barter our fighting skills for the most lucrative business in the universe! An enemy you want to get rid of? Who do you think would handle such task? A threat someone wants removed? We remove it. If a rebellion needs to be squashed by someone, we do it. Or even sometimes, a rebel force will pay us to overthrow a government. And you'd be surprised how many times we'd be asked to 'solve' an overpopulation problem!" Dudan laughed.
"Ugh! Y-you sick…" 18 started. Lulu's disgust also prevented her from saying anything.
"Can't stomach it, girls?" Dudan said smirking sinisterly. "Like I said, it's not about being evil. It's about being heartless and seeing the bigger picture, this is only for the strong. And with this, the possibilities are endless!" he said as he brought the Power Stone to his face. The large multi-faceted gem sat comfortably within the giant's palm. In spite of being highly polished, it held a very dull glow. But Dudan couldn't contain the hunger in his expression as he admired it. "With this, I have the power to dictate any contract I get, that is how much my services will be worth. Even the other leaders in the Guild won't have access to such an asset. This will truly set me apart like nothing else!"
Idiot, it's useless without the Scroll! At least if Chen can get them here in time… 18 thought darkly."You heartless creep! There are more important things than money and power, how can you do this just for some stupid Stone! And so you can kill more people for money after? This makes no sense!" Lulu yelled.
"I gave you a chance to allow me to look the Power Stone peacefully. I never intended to destroy your race but now you see what you have forced me to do? Why would you care what happened to others if I let your people survive? That truly made no sense." Dudan asked.
"No, we won't let you go on and destroy innocent lives, no matter who, no matter where!" The Jubian said and she took a defensive position, followed by the Android. Dudan merely shook his head.
"Again with that sentimentality and no logic. This is why I say don't have a heart. A heart will kill you!" he countered. With that, he started to glow with a light grey aura, causing the cave to shake violently. While the girls struggled to keep their positions, Dudan, smirking, lifted his left arm towards them. "I can't say I won't enjoy this."
"Crap!"Android 18 muttered.
Lulu and 18 jumped to their respective sides, feeling the searing heat of Dudan's beam as it passed where they were standing only a moment before. The blast continued its trajectory and dug into the far wall. The resulting explosion took out a huge portion of the terrain and the mountain started to crumble and cave in on itself.
"18, we need to get out of here!" Lulu yelled.
The two women leapt up and raced through falling chunks of rock. They kept firing off small ki bursts to keep the falling mountain's debris from hitting them. Finally they made it into the fresh air high above. Lulu and 18 looked down as half the mountain range crumbled into a cascading pile of rubble while a dust cloud rose into the atmosphere, blinding the girls.
"Oh no, Trunks!" Lulu cried out when she realized they couldn't get the Saiyan.
"I can't find his ki with the explosion, damnit!" 18 exclaimed as she tried to use her abilities to scan. Suddenly something flashed through her sensors. "Look…!"
Before 18 could warn her, Lulu was sent flying back by a ki blast to the stomach. An oversized hand reached out and punched 18 in the face, causing her to land awkwardly in the ground. It took several moments before the Android struggled to get up but Dudan was once again rapidly upon her with a kick to the ribs. 18 flew back several feet before landing hard on her back. She coughed out blood as pain shot through her entire body. A broken nose, a broken right forearm and several cracked ribs registered to her systems.
"D-damnit!" She cried out desperately, her own blood threatening to drown her pleas.
"I don't understand why you Earthlings wanted to interfere in something that never regarded you." Dudan called out, mocking. "But I'm glad I was able to get intelligence on you just in case. What did you hope to accomplish here, a bunch of weaklings protecting lives that weren't your own! None of you could defeat me." Tucking away the Power Stone in his suit, Dudan charged another blast in his hands.
"Y-you jackass… C'mon, give me your best shot!" 18 screamed as she managed to get on her feet.
The brilliant light from Dudan's energy blast forced the Android to cover up her eyes as she waited for what would be her death knell. Suddenly, a thin shadow moved in front of the blast, surprising both of them. A flash lit up, the explosion scattering more debris and dust in the area. Completely blinded and deafened, coughing uncontrollably, 18 waited for a few moments until the light, the noise and the wind had settled to allow her to see what happened. Just as she uncovered her face, a body feel back into her arms.
"Lulu!" 18 screamed as she finally understood that the Jubian had thrown herself into the path of the blast. She knelt down slowly, cradling Lulu in her arms, but it was painfully clear that she was lost already.
"D-damnit…" Lulu muttered through clenched teeth, tears swelling in her eyes. Her body, once pristine, was now completely charred with open wounds spewing blood all over. "I failed… everyone… Trunks… Chen… my people…"
"Don't talk, you're agitating yourself, you gotta save your energy… please, you gotta stay…" 18 pleaded, her own tears flowing freely. Is this what it's like to be a 'hero', you gotta watch people you love die?
"I can't… this hurts too much, this is it… we gotta win… every life… stop him… I'll miss Chen so much, tell him…" Lulu's lips stopped moving at once, a last gasp escaping from them as her life escaped from her body.
"Lulu, damnit, stay with me!" 18 screamed, her heart breaking in two. She settled down after a few moments. "You were my first close friend, I'll miss you…"
"How… quaint. And charming. This was unexpected but it won't matter." Dudan's cold voice rang out from right beside 18, sending chills down her spine. Without turning to look at him, she could feel him smirking cruelly. "Now perhaps you'd like to join your friend!"
Android 18 wrapped her arms tighter around Lulu's body and closed her eyes shut. With her injuries, it was worthless to try running away. She felt the searing heat of Dudan powering up another blast. A bang resounded and a strong but brief gust disappeared almost as soon as it came but no pain registered with 18. Instead a familiar voice called out.
"18, are you ok?…" Piccolo started before his eyes fell on the Jubian's still body. He felt a lump in his throat and he understood immediately. A pang of guilt and anger struck him. Certainly Goku would've been here in time to save her. He never had such a thought before and he quickly buried it.
"Piccolo, she's gone…" 18 spoke softly.
"I-I see…" The Namek replied. He took a glance in Dudan's general direction. The Warlord was sent flying and crash landing several hundred feet away by Piccolo's strong kick. Piccolo quickly handed 18 the senzu bean he had. "Here."
"Thank you." The Android instantly recovered her health.
"Where's Trunks?"
"He's down… somewhere in the rubble, we didn't have time to get him out. I don't know what happened to him." She answered downcast.
"Damnit! He can't have… You need to get out of here!"
"What? Wait, what about you?"
As if on cue, the earth shook. The wind picked up dramatically as Dudan's aura flared in the distance.
"Go, I'll keep him busy." Piccolo ordered.
"But…"
"Go!"
Nodding silently, 18 gathered Lulu's corpse in her arms and flew off. She struggled not to be overwhelmed by her emotions. Kami, all this death… If I had continued to do bad things, is this what I would've done?
Piccolo didn't flinch when the giant Dudan landed in front of him, lifting a cloud of dust. As they faced off silently for a few moments, the Warlord growled, suppressing his anger at being kicked so unceremoniously.
"So you're Dudan." Piccolo finally stated simply.
"So another bug has come to be squashed!" Dudan boasted, his voice booming.
"You know, the last loser who said something like that is now a footnote in history." Piccolo replied, which caused Dudan to laugh loudly.
"Haha! And I suppose you killed that being?" He mocked. "No, certainly not you! I bet it was Goku who defeated that warrior. Or maybe Gohan. Or Trunks maybe? Anyone but you, Piccolo, you couldn't be a hero. You don't hold the power!"
"Bastard!" The Namek retorted, his blood starting to boil. "I got more power than you think!"
"You! Don't kid me, Piccolo. What have you accomplished that can compare? What was your biggest sole contribution? You always needed others, you relied on the far stronger Goku."
"I never needed anyone, you hear!" Piccolo yelled back, his anger near its peak. "I'm my own man, a man of power and one who'll use it to defend others!" A dark thought rang again in his head. Goku would've saved Lulu. He struggled to mentally strangle the thought.
"Why do you hide yourself in such delusions, Namek?" Dudan continued his taunting. "Look at the Human warriors, they never thought for a minute that they couldn't win without Goku, did they? No, they accepted their status as weaklings and went along with it, learning to live with it on the battlefield. But you? You keep living with your delusions of grandeur, that you're a warrior of power, that you are still the equal of Goku. And yet, more than anyone else, even the Humans, you find yourself constantly in need!"
"Shut up! I need nothing, I need no one! I'm as strong as the best!" Goku would've saved Lulu.
"Yes, that must be what you keep telling yourself, isn't it? That you're somehow a worthy warrior, someone to contend with. Well come test your so-called power against a truly formidable opponent!"
"Gladly!" Goku…
The two warriors rushed each other simultaneously and collided in a single huge burst of energy. A wave of energy swept the land, blowing away everything in its path. The light faded to reveal that the two had tried to ram each other with their left elbows at the same time. They were matched left arm to left arm, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder.
"Heh… eh?" Dudan wondered out loud. They seemed to be equally matched in this position. How is this possible? He has nowhere near this power… Wait, what! He stared at Piccolo's expression. It seemed like the Namek was looking past him. His eyes glowed with a strong hint of danger. And his facial expression held anger beyond anything he had seen. This can't be, it's as if this isn't the same person as ten seconds ago!
"I'm stronger than you, Goku!" The Namek screamed.
The evil Warlord was caught by surprise as much by the words as by the resounding punch that connected with his jaw. He stumbled backwards and left himself open to an elbow to the face.
"Mfft… What!" Dudan exclaimed as he held his bloodied nose.
Piccolo didn't relent in his assault. He punched Dudan in the stomach, causing him to double over, and then delivered an uppercut before sending him to the ground with a spin kick. No, he doesn't have that kind of power. Dudan thought grimly as he got back to his feet, clutching his jaw with one hand. He felt Piccolo coming upon him.
"No, this ends here!" Dudan growled.
He turned in time to catch Piccolo's kick with his right hand. And just as suddenly as it started, the Namek's attack was stopped. The Warlord delivered a hard punch to Piccolo's chest, knocking the wind out of him, then he head butted him solidly. Piccolo was still getting his bearings together when Dudan slammed both his fists down on his shoulders. The Namek couldn't keep the painful yelp from escaping his lips and he crumbled to his knees. Dudan picked him up by the back of his neck and brought their faces close together.
"Ah, much better!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "I don't know how your power grew so incredibly for that little while but I'll count that as a fluke. That's over with and you're no more advanced than you were before. I told you, you are worthless!"
Piccolo was barely listening. He felt dizzy from the blows, his body wrecked by pain and his brain kept churning out more insecurities that he had kept inside. I can't lose. If not for everyone else, at least for me. I can be strong, as strong as Goku. I was that strong once… Dudan continued his victory taunt, oblivious to whether the Namek was listening.
"You know what's interesting? I once heard of a story about a legendary Super Namek. Incredible and entertaining, you can imagine! Hahaha, what a ridiculous story! There's no proof that it ever existed, it's all a myth. But it's fun to hear. If you thought you could pull off some 'Super Namek' thing on me, it seems you were mistaken. See, even if there was some truth to it, it wouldn't come from you. Because you're too weak, Piccolo, you wouldn't be it. So there will be no rise of the Super Namek, at least not with you! Hahahaha…!"
Again, a deafening series of explosions rocked the entire landscape. Dudan turned in the direction of the city where it seemed the blast came from and was surprised by the sight. Like a second sun over the planet, the carrier that he commanded and brought down to the planet was now a gigantic fireball.
"What! My carrier! How is that possible? Hmmm, I'm going to have to look into this and find another way off this damn planet." Dudan mused.
While the Warlord was distracted, Piccolo felt his deepest reflections overcome him. I am strong!
As soon as Dudan turned his head back to the Namek, Piccolo kneed him in the chest, forcing him to let go. Dudan bounced back away for a few feet.
"I… am strong!" Piccolo muttered, his words slurred slightly from both the pain and his raging emotions that now overtook his very personality. Every insecurity he had concerning his place fought lashed out against the part of him that wanted to prove himself to the world.
"You-you insignificant worm!" Dudan cursed, forgetting his typical self-control. "You still think you're something? I'll make something out of you, a corpse!"
With that Dudan leapt high in the air and powered up to his max. He raised his right hand and in a few moments concentrated all his power in it. It glowed yellow up his forearm all the way to the elbow. He looked carefully at Piccolo to make sure his aim was true and was almost taken aback again by the Namek's features.
Piccolo's aura flared red and occasional red sparks of electricity crackled over his body. Meanwhile, his pupils had completely disappeared behind an eerie red glow. Strangely, the Namek seemed to barely acknowledge his opponent's presence and actions. He stood in a position of extreme tension, teeth clenched and fists tightened. Piccolo seemed to be battling his emotions rather than Dudan. What is the meaning of this? Dudan asked himself. He quickly shrugged off the hesitation and the questioning though.
"You die now!" Dudan screamed as he fired the blast he had prepared. At the tip of a yellowish beam was a gigantic sphere of energy that barrelled towards the Namek.
As if he only now noticed the danger, Piccolo adjusted his position and, with great difficulty, caught the blast with his bare hands. His aura started to burn even brighter as he struggled against the beam. Dudan kept pouring energy into it but to no avail.
"I am strong! I need no one. I win… or I die by my own strength alone!" Piccolo yelled.
Now what? Dudan couldn't help but wonder at what was going on. It's like he's no longer himself, like he's a… No, this will end here and now! His resolve strengthened and his cool returned, he tried to assess the power of his opponent. After a few moments when the struggle seemed decidedly even, Dudan felt like the peak of the Namek's power had been reached.
"As I said before, there will be no rise of the Super Namek!" He stated coolly.
With that, Dudan poured in a much greater surge of energy. It travelled quickly down the beam and into the ball at the tip. The blast grew exponentially and this time Piccolo couldn't contain it. It enveloped him completely until he had literally disappeared in it. It continued to grow until all the pent up energy finally exploded. The entire planet shook and a mushroom cloud rose to the upper limits of the atmosphere.
Dudan shielded himself from his own blast with his arms and was even pushed back a bit. When the howling of the winds died, he finally took a look at his work. From the air he scrutinized the area carefully for a few long moments until finally he grinned evilly with great satisfaction. There was no trace of Piccolo.
END OF PART TEN