The Mysterious Namek
Episode One: "Survivor's Arrival"
Look into the others eyes,
many frustrations
Read between the lines,
no words just vibrations
Don't ignore hidden desires
Pay attention,
you're playing with fire
Silence must be heard,
noise should be observed
The time has come to learn, that
silence ...
Silence must be heard
Or diamonds will burn,
friendly cards will turn
'Cause silence has the right to
be heard
People talk too much for what they
have to say
Words without a meaning,
just fading away
Silence must be heard,
noise should be observed
The time has come to learn, that
silence ...
Silence must be heard
Or diamonds will burn,
friendly cards will turn
'Cause silence has the right to
be heard
-- Enigma, "Silence Must
Be Heard"
Explosions painted the sky various shades of red, orange and gold. The remains of a devastated city crumbled in flames that engulfed people as they dashed through the streets. Screams rang out from all direction as blood started to flow into the gutters as easily as rain-water.
A running shape cast a long shadow on the wall as the person dashed in a blur of speed towards what remained of the Capsule Corporation building. So filthy that the real color was impossible to identify, a hand pushed aside debris to reveal an old glistening machine.
The figure climbed into the machine, and the crackle of nearby fires was punctuated by the sound of fingers fervently pressing buttons. Suddenly, a horrid scream of pain came forth, cut off by the sound of ripping flesh. More debris started to rain down, drowning out the thud of a falling body as the glistening machine rose into the air for a swift take-off. It passed through mile-high flames that seemed to lick at the metal and glass.
A figure hovered, silhouetted
by a curtain of fire, observing the devastation below. Black fingernails
scintillated as a pale index finger extended to destroy the last survivors
on the ground. A pair of girlish lips pulled into a smirk. When a flash
of white fire illuminated them, the lips were revealed to be as black as
ebony.
Gohan reached up to brush some of his dark hair out of his eyes when he felt a strange power suddenly appear out of nowhere. He frowned and dropped his pencil, knowing something weird was going on. Normally, a power was supposed to gradually become apparent as it became closer, like a slow-burning fire growing hotter.
"I wonder what that could
be…" The boy wondered silently, gazing out his window.
At the very same time Gohan felt the power, Bulma was in the process of testing a new flying machine when something crashed into the desert she was flying over. It looked like a fireball appearing out of nowhere, trailing wispy tendrils of smoke and fire as it hurtled towards the dust.
"What on Earth?" Bulma blinked and leaned over the side window to gaze down at the smoking wreckage. "My gosh! Someone could be hurt! I'd better check it out."
The strange purple contraption with a propeller on top slowly descended, creating a down-draft that blew out the fire around whatever had crashed. There was a sharp hiss as the engines cut off, and the propeller blades came to a gradual halt.
Bulma's blue hair was blasted into her face as she stepped out of the machine and into the biting desert wind. Smoke from the crash stung in her eyes, and she could feel the heat from the trashed ship's re-entry on her skin. Glass crunched under her shoes as she slowly approached, raising a hand to keep most of the dust out of her eyes. She didn't know what to expect.
Suddenly, a piece of the rubble moved! Metal crunched and glass clinked. A slender green hand, stained purple with blood and adorned with a thin metal bracelet, pushed above the rubble and groped helplessly.
"Oh…" Bulma took a breath, hurried over and grabbed the hand in preparation to pull the person out of the wreckage. As soon as she touched the hand, there was an animalistic shriek of terror and the hand was jerked from her grasp. The only thing she still had ahold of was the bracelet, which had broken off.
Also, at the same moment the hand withdrew, debris went everywhere and a green figure exploded out of the wreck. The figure took off running in terror, covered only by a filthy, slightly torn and bloodstained blanket. Bulma was sure she saw pointed ears and antennae.
Trademarks belonging only to a Namek.
"Hey!" She cried, trying to catch up. "I can help you! Don't run!"
But by the time she caught sight of the frightened Namek, she lost him, because the wind blew sand in her face. It forced her to blink, and that moment was all the Namek needed to disappear into the desert.
"Oh great…" Bulma lowered her blue eyes to gaze at the bracelet, which had strange writing on the underside.
The bracelet had strange symbols engraved on it. Either it was a decoration, or another language, but Bulma couldn't figure out which. She made up her mind quickly and climbed back into the contraption, needing only to glance at the mirror to realize what the desert wind had done to her short hair.
"Oh man!" Bulma quickly ran
a brush through her hair before picking up the phone.
Gohan jumped up from his homework when the phone rang. "I'll get it!" He raced into the living room and picked up the receiver. "Moshi-moshi?"
"Gohan!" Bulma cried on the other end, "You'll never believe what I think I found!"
Gohan blinked, sat down and started winding the phone cord around his pale fingers. The years of battle had finally marked his hands with scars and calluses, and his mother wasn't too happy about it either. She often fell to pieces and went on and on about her son becoming a delinquent.
"Well, what? C'mon Bulma. Does it have anything to do with a power I felt earlier?"
"You felt a power? Then that confirms it!" Something clinked in the background on Bulma's end of the phone, then her voice returned, "A ship crashed almost right on top of me and freaked me out. But that's not the weird part…" More clanking, then her voice, "…there was a Namek in the wreck, but I think he was scared or something. When I tried to help him, he ran away and I don't think I can find him by myself. I've got a bracelet he was wearing and it's got something engraved on it. It might be Namekian."
"I'll be right there, Bulma. Stay where you are." Gohan hung up before she had a chance to answer. He was headed for the door when his dark-haired mother stepped into his path with her hands on her hips.
"Just WHERE do you think YOU are going, young man?"
"Aw, mom! I'm just gonna go - "
" - Back to your room to study!" Chi-Chi finished for him, then ushered him back into his room with him protesting the entire time.
Gohan sighed and sat down
at his desk until he was sure his mother was gone. Then he turned to the
window he often used when he needed to sneak out and climbed over the sill.
He gave another sigh as he cast a last glance behind him before taking
off into the distance.
Bulma waited patiently for Gohan, passing the time by picking through as much of the wreck as she could and finding it surprising that it didn't stay hot for very long after re-entry. She found the main computer and was able to find only one functioning computer console. A piece of information was all she had to go by, and that information was that whatever kind of ship this was, it was in use for nearly twenty years.
"Bulma!" Gohan called from in the distance.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey! Down here!" Bulma waved up at her young friend as he released his ki, did a front flip and landed on his feet.
"Hi, Bulma." He smiled a little, then looked over the wreckage when a few sparks flew and more smoke crawled up, "Gosh…it's hard to believe someone would survive this…it looks totally trashed!"
"I know. Oh!" Her eyes opened wide as she remembered the bracelet and retrieved it from her pocket. "Here, this is the bracelet I saw."
Gohan reached up and took the tarnished metal into his hand. He held it close to his face, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth as he took a good look at the symbols. "I think this is Namekian. I remember seeing symbols kind of like these on Dende's homework!"
"Cool, at least we can take
this to Dende or Piccolo later and have them translate it. Right now, we
should go find that Namek."
At that very moment, Chi-Chi was entering Gohan's room with a glass of orange juice. When she saw that Gohan was gone, she screamed, dropped the glass and ran to the window. But her son was long gone, and she had no hope of finding which way he went.
"Nooo…my only son is becoming
a delinquent!" She sobbed, lowering to sit on Gohan's bed. "Where did I
go wrong?"
"I think he's in here…I can sense him. He doesn't seem to be very powerful." Gohan spoke loudly over the loud engines of the flying machine as he turned away from the rocky terrain spreading out below, "I think we should go down and take a look."
Bulma nodded and touched a few buttons on the controls. "OK, going down."
The purple aircraft vibrated slightly as it lowered. Dust and sand was blown around as the craft landed, the propeller once again whirring to a halt. Wind whipped Gohan's black hair, which didn't get into his eyes because his mother had insisted upon trimming it down.
There was a flash of green among the rocks.
"There!" Bulma pointed.
"I saw him!" Gohan took off towards the Namek, who emitted a frightened cry and turned to run the opposite way with the filthy blanket he wore billowing behind him like a banner. The cloth was so dirty that it was impossible to identify the color. The tall Namek didn't run very fast, but he had a pretty good head-start, and Gohan didn't want to frighten him more by using Zanzoken or anything. He smirked when he realized the poor guy had dashed into a small cave with only one entrance. It was a cave he himself once used years ago when Piccolo had forced him to live alone in the wilderness.
Gohan wasn't even breathing hard when he reached the mouth of the dimly-lit cave, but he could hear the Namekian's breathing back by the far wall. Looking around briefly with eyes as dark as his hair, the young man spotted the frightened green alien huddled up against the wall with his arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees.
"Hey…hi there…don't be scared." Gohan stepped closer, but the green man flinched and pressed himself further against the wall like a frightened little child. He was watching the young man with black eyes as intense as a hawk, yet filled with the innocence of a dove. His gaze alone pierced Gohan's soul.
Again, the frightened Namek tried to flinch away when the half-Saiyajin moved closer. Gohan blinked and took another step closer. The Namek didn't move; Gohan realized why a few seconds later when he heard a loud trickling noise and saw liquid streaming out from between the green alien's legs, where it formed a puddle that ran down the sloping floor to pool against the far wall. The poor guy was so scared he was peeing on himself, yet he didn't seem to notice at all, his intense eyes still fixed on the young man standing so close to him.
"Golly…you're a mess." Gohan said softly, leaning forward a little, "I'm not going to hurt you…my name's Gohan. Can you understand me at all?" Still no response, save for that frightened stare. Then Gohan got an idea and backed away slowly to where Bulma was waiting outside the cave. "Hey, Bulma? Get a bottled water and bring it here. If his mind works the way I think it does, we may be able to lure him into the ship with us."
"Are you crazy!? What if he starts throwing blasts around or something!?" Bulma shrieked.
"Bulma, if we leave him here alone, he'll die!" Gohan cried back. "Please?"
She sighed, running a hand through her short blue hair. Turning on her heel, she headed to her ship, retrieved a bottle of water and returned with it. Handing it over, she said, "You owe me big-time for this."
"Thanks, Bulma." He took the lid off, walked to the mouth of the cave and sipped the water. "Mmm…good. You want some?"
The Namek didn't move, save for the motion of his eyes flickering to the bottled water and back. He licked his lips once, stretched a skinny arm out and tried to grasp the bottle, but Gohan moved back a little. Just as he'd thought, the green alien groped again, standing on his knees for farther reach. Again, Gohan took a few steps back, and again, the Namek reached for it.
It wasn't long before Gohan was backing out of the cave with the tall, thin Namek trailing behind him like a rabbit drawn to a carrot on a string.
"That's it, just a little further and you can have it all you want." Gohan spoke softly to the Namek, who had made it very clear that he didn't seem to understand a word being said to him.
Bulma was already in the pilot seat, ready to take off before the green man could get away, but she was pretty sure the engine was going to scare him to death when it came on. Her suspicions proved correct, because as soon as the door was shut, the Namek began to panic and crash around like a caged animal. When the engine started, he shrieked in terror and started practically climbing the walls.
"Whoa! Hey, hey! Easy!" Gohan tried to hold the frightened man down, a feat that proved easier than thought, and tried to reward him for quieting down by allowing him a drink from the bottled water. The frightened Namek had taken too much fear for one day, however, and shut himself down from as much stimulation as possible. His eyes were fiercely shut and he curled himself into as tight a ball as he could get. He wouldn't react to any speech or physical contact at all. Someone could have kicked him in the head and he wouldn't have reacted in any way.
"Is he OK?" Bulma asked, looking over her shoulder worriedly with a frown. "I hope he didn't die from being so scared."
"No," Gohan answered while looking down at the Namek. He carefully eased the filthy blanket off his green form and replaced it with a cleaner one. The material of the blanket felt familiar, but he didn't think anything of it as he watched over the scared alien. "But he is petrified."
"I don't blame him."
About a half-hour passed before Bulma brought the purple machine in for a landing outside the Capsule Corporation. Gohan had to pick the Namekian up and carry him inside because he'd sunk into something similar to a catatonic state. He followed Bulma into one of the spare bedrooms and gently put the green alien down on the bed.
"There we go…no more loud engines. It's OK." Said Gohan as he pulled the blanket up over the Namek, who didn't move or even open his eyes. The half-Saiyajin watched over his silent new "friend" for a moment more and sighed before leaving.
Once alone, the green man promptly slithered out of bed, taking most of the sheets with him, and huddled up in one of the corners with his cheek resting on his drawn-up knees. He emitted soft murmuring noises from his throat and started rocking back and forth, scared out of his mind by the unfamiliar world he was just thrust into.
He was unusually thin, the kind of thin only achieved by lack of proper nutrition. His bones vaguely stood out under his skin, and his cheeks were sunken so his cheekbones stood out prominently beneath the dark hooded orbs of his eyes.
Outside the door, Gohan emitted a sigh of relief and handed Bulma the filthy blanket. "This was his, just in case you want to do something with it. Would you mind if I borrowed the bracelet so I could let Piccolo and Dende take a look at it?"
"Oh," Bulma fished around in her pocket until she produced the tarnished silver trinket. It glittered dully in the light, and some of the dirt on it rubbed off on Gohan's skin when his sweaty, but curious fingers slid across it's surface. She handed it to him, "Here, go knock yourself out. I'll see you later."
"Thanks a lot. Bye!" Gohan
pocketed the bracelet, headed out the door and took off for the Lookout.
High above the planet Earth, on a structure resembling a child's toy top, a short green form was peering down over the edge while a larger green shape with a white cape stood nearby with his arms crossed. Both were sensing an approaching power, and both immediately knew it was Gohan.
"Gohan's almost here." Dende commented, turning to look up at the taller Namek. "I'm more than sure it's all about what happened earlier with that ship crashing."
Piccolo's only reply was a simple nod; he wasn't a man of many words, never was. His attention turned to the rapidly approaching shape as it came closer, and only after Gohan had landed did he speak with a deep voice often likened to echoing thunder in a canyon, "Hey, kid."
"Hi, Piccolo. Hi, Dende." Gohan greeted his two Namekian friends cheerfully. "I guess you guys know why I'm here, so I'll make things simple." He reached into his pocket and retrieved the bracelet. "Is this Namekian writing?"
Piccolo extended a large, slender hand and took the bracelet from Gohan's grasp. He examined it closely, nodded and handed it over to Dende, who also nodded as he spoke, "It's Namekian alright, but all it has here is a name." He handed the bracelet back to Gohan.
"Oh? What's it say?"
"Setsuetsu." Answered Piccolo.
"It means 'my hope' in Namekian." Dende added in while clutching his wooden stick in both hands. He looked almost comical that way, because the stick was taller than he was.
"Setsuetsu…" Gohan repeated to memorize it. "That's kinda neat. Thanks a lot you guys."
Piccolo allowed himself the smallest smile as he watched Gohan put the bracelet away again. He could still see him as that frightened toddler who knew nothing of the real world, untainted by life. In a way, he envied that innocence, yet found being near Gohan as the closest thing he would ever have to feeling what he never got a chance to feel.
"Hey, Piccolo? Why don't you come meet this guy? I mean…he may not be so scared if he meets another Namek." Gohan suggested.
Piccolo quirked a hairless green brow ridge, "Scared? Why would he be scared?"
"Well…he acted as if he's never seen the real world at all. I mean…he peed all over the ground when I got really close to him, and I don't think he even understands someone if they talk to him. He's like an animal…" Gohan tried hard not to giggle about the serious situation, but that was only because the mystery of what Piccolo hid under his clothes was finally solved. It's funny…they're asexual, yet they have *that* to pee with. Pretty weird if you ask me…
"If that is the case, then I don't see how my presence would do him any good other than show him he's not the only green alien running around." He frowned at Gohan's slightly amused expression, then dismissed it as the typical behavior of youth.
"Maybe, but he may feel safer around you too… Just…would you please at least meet him before you judge him?" Gohan started giving Piccolo his puppy-face, and Piccolo hissed in annoyance. He really hated it when Gohan looked at him like that.
"I guess." He finally replied after standing in silence for several tense moments. "But if he turns out to be retarded or something…I don't know if it would be possible to help him. I'll come, but if I don't like what I see, I'm leaving. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly. Thanks, Piccolo."
Gohan's expression turned from amusement to delight. The way his face manifested
the expression made him look a lot like his father.
While Piccolo, Dende and Gohan tied up a few loose ends on the Lookout, Bulma was taking the newly-washed blanket, which turned out to be white, into the room where the Namek known as Setsuetsu was residing. She opened the door slowly, creating a sliver of light in the dimly-lit room, and looked at the empty bed.
"Hm…where did he go? Aha." The sliver of light illuminated Setsu's huddled form. He was sitting in another puddle, which gave more than a hint that he knew nothing of using a bathroom.
Ugh, I'm glad I'm a mom and this doesn't gross me out as much as it should… Bulma thought with a sigh as she reached for a towel in the bathroom behind her. She crossed the room slowly, placed the towel on the floor and began using her foot to move it around until she had mostly cleaned up the puddle. Setsu pulled away from her when she started cleaning up his mess, and moved to settle in another corner. His intense black eyes watched her, like frightened prey watching a predator.
"Hey…it's OK…" She left the towel in place for the moment and held out the blanket she'd just washed. "It's clean now…remember this? It's yours." Moving slowly closer, she held out the blanket so he could take it.
Setsu wordlessly reached for the blanket, snatched it out of her hands and nuzzled his face into it like it was the most precious thing he owned. As far as Bulma knew, it probably was. She got another idea as she watched him, went into Trunks's room and grabbed a teddy-bear. Returning with it, she cuddled it, then left it on the floor where the Namek would find it and left the room.
"Man…this is just too weird.
He's like a little kid…" She sighed, leaning on the door. Turning around,
she opened the door a crack to peek in and saw Setsu cuddling the teddy-bear.
Smiling, the door was allowed to click shut again, and Bulma quietly headed
down the hall to wait for Gohan and Piccolo.
"…it sounds like he's never left that ship at all, the way you describe the crash and his behavior." Piccolo was saying as he and Gohan came in for a swift landing outside the Capsule Corporation. The tall Namek's white cape settled behind him, rustling every now and then as he moved.
"In other words…he's never seen another living person, he's never heard language before…how he knows how to walk is beyond me…" Gohan's thick eyebrows drew together as he frowned.
Piccolo crossed his arms and pressed his lips together. "Well, let's get this over with. If he freaks, I don't plan on staying."
Nodding, Gohan led the way and headed into the huge yellow dome. Piccolo followed close behind, having to turn sideways in order for his weighted shoulderpads to fit through the doorway. A few people walking by stopped in their tracks to stare, a few women blushed and a few others looked a bit frightened.
When he reached the door to where Setsu was, Gohan paused and looked over at Piccolo, "Should I come in with you?"
"Nah, I'll be alright."
"OK, but one suggestion: Take off your cape and turban. You know…so he'll see your antennae. You'll also be a little less imposing." He sweatdropped a little, hoping his mentor wasn't planning to slug him for that.
Fortunately, Piccolo only sighed, removed his turban and slipped off his magnificent weighted cape. Both made a loud plunk when they hit the floor, and the tiles would have a few cracks from that moment on. He cast one final glance Gohan's way before turning the knob and slowly entering the room. Shutting the door quietly behind him, he allowed his eyes to traverse the entire room until they came to rest on the huddled form in the corner.
Piccolo crossed his arms and watched as Setsu turned his head to gaze at him with those intense onyx eyes of his. A gaze not unlike his own, yet filled with a naïve innocence.
Setsuetsu stared at the other Namek like he was the most interesting thing in the world. It was the first time in his life he'd ever seen another living Namek…yet something about the way he was staring at Piccolo seemed a bit un-nerving. Before Piccolo could think, Setsu had risen to his feet and taken a careful step forward. Staying silent, Piccolo allowed the other Namek to explore him, even tolerating it when a curious hand rose to tap one of his antennae. Comically, Setsu tapped one of his own antennae, seeming to realize they both had that same appendage.
Piccolo, after watching for a few seconds, finally spoke, "Setsuetsu…"
Setsuetsu immediately stopped playing with his own antennae and met Piccolo's gaze. Good, that meant he at least understood his name, which probably meant his father had been able to at least tell him that much before he was born.
"Setsuetsu, can you understand me?"
No response, save for the intense stare. Piccolo sighed, his eyes wandering to the blanket and teddy bear in the corner, and he sweatdropped when he became aware of Setsu's nakedness. He rumbled wordlessly, walked to the blanket and picked it up, running his hand over it before returning to Setsu and placing it around his shoulders.
Setsu murmured softly in delight as the memory of hands wrapping him in that very same blanket surfaced. Because he had no language skills, all of his thoughts were images, sounds and sensations, and the only way he could express himself was with his eyes or body.
Piccolo watched Setsu's delighted reaction and blinked a little; just what was going through this guy's head? There was no way to know, and he sighed as he assumed the lotus position on the floor next to the bed. Great…I have to start from scratch if I'm going to teach him anything…feh…who would have thought I'd end up being a surrogate father?
His thoughts were interrupted when he lifted his gaze to find Setsu trying to assume the same position on the floor. Piccolo quickly realized the other Namek knew they were the same, in a way, just by comparing color and shape. That proves he's not retarded or anything…which is good…maybe…maybe someday he will be able to fight.
Outside the room, Bulma was passing through the hall when she noticed Gohan standing out there next to Piccolo's cape and turban.
"Hey, Gohan! Is Piccolo in there with the Namek?"
"Yeah. Oh! By the way, the Namek's name is Setsuetsu. The bracelet was engraved with his name." Gohan replied, nudging Piccolo's heavy shoulderpads with his toe. Bulma reached down and bunched up a corner of the cape in her hand.
"Funny…something about this is familiar," She commented while letting the white material roll out of her hand like water. Her blue hair bounced against her neck as she lifted her eyebrows and looked up at Gohan, wondering if he got what she was getting at.
The bridge of Gohan's nose crinkled momentarily and he frowned, "Why don't we see how they're doing in there?"
"You can, I'd rather not mess with Piccolo." Bulma commented, growing a little blue in the face for a second. Then she giggled and pointed behind herself with her thumb, "I-I'll just go see if my dad needs my help."
Gohan just shrugged, waited for Bulma to walk by, then placed his hand on the cool metal doorknob and twisted it gently. The door slid open slowly, and he only opened it enough to slip in before easing it shut once again. His dark eyes immediately spotted Piccolo and Setsuetsu next to the bed.
Upon seeing someone entering, Setsu shifted uneasily and fixed his hawk-like gaze on the person who came in. A low whine came from his throat, and his heart started beating wildly within the confines of his chest.
"It's OK, Setsuetsu. Gohan is a friend." Piccolo stated calmly, though his words had no meaning to the frightened Namek. His dark eyes lifted to meet Gohan's gaze, "From what I can see, his mind is pretty normal, just…empty."
Gohan nodded and turned his attention to the frightened Setsu, who was watching him like a hawk. "Hey, Setsuetsu…remember me?" He reached towards the table by the bed and picked up the half-full bottled water. The Namek's antennae seemed to rise and fall in a comical shrug, and his bony green hand slowly reached towards the bottle in Gohan's hand. Gohan smiled and allowed him to take it, then looked over at Piccolo. "So, what do you think of him?"
Silently, Piccolo shrugged his broad muscular shoulders and looked over at Setsu, who was trying to figure out how to drink from the bottle. Gohan found it strange that Setsu looked almost exactly like Piccolo, the kind of resemblance one could only have if they're related. But then again, Nail had been identical to Piccolo too, and they'd never met. Still, he didn't think it hurt to ask.
"Hey, Piccolo? Don't you think it's weird that he looks like you?"
"Nah. Nail looked like me, and we aren't related." Piccolo faced forward again to look up at his young friend, "For right now, he needs water and rest. He's malnourished and weak…I'm surprised he put up as much of a fight as he did when you got him into that flying machine…but he wouldn't have been held down so easily if he had more meat on his bones." He smirked a little, reached over and gently took the bottled water from Setsu. Then he opened the lid, moved the bottle to Setsu's lips and showed him where the water came out so he could drink. To Gohan, it almost looked like Piccolo was bottle-feeding the other Namek like a father feeding a baby; rather comical, in his opinion.
"Do you think he'll ever learn to speak?"
"Yeah. Eventually." Piccolo rumbled softly. "But for now, I think he should stay here. I don't want to risk taking him to the Lookout because he could wander away and fall off. And I have no clue how he'll tolerate flying. Knowing him, he'll freak, and we don't need that."
"True, but you do realize he needs to be checked out to make sure nothing else is wrong with him?"
"I'm a little concerned about that myself…" Wrinkles creased his brow and the shadows around his dark eyes deepened a little, "I'll keep him under control while he's being examined, but I don't guarantee I'll be able to stop any property damage." He smirked a little. "And speaking of weird things…I think Setsu needs some clothes."
"I'll get some."
"No need." Piccolo pointed towards Setsuetsu, grasped his wrist and concentrated. Goldish-white light washed over Setsu's thin frame, leaving behind a dark purple gi, navy blue belt and brown shoes just like Piccolo's. "There."
Blinking, Setsu looked down and started picking at his new clothing, seeming completely unaccustomed to wearing anything other than his blanket. His antennae swayed when he turned his gaze to Piccolo, who was nodding his approval with a slight smirk.
Gohan crossed his arms and leaned on the wall by the bed, still watching the two Nameks together. "I hope you know he's probably going to make a mess of those leggings. I don't think he's ever seen a bathroom."
Piccolo promptly sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "Well…he'll learn." He dismissed the subject immediately and stood up. "When does Bulma plan on 'examining' him?"
"Tomorrow, I think. She didn't say much about it." Answered Gohan honestly as Setsu curled up next to the bed, "What I want to know is…where did he come from and why?"
"Me too, kid." Piccolo half-turned to regard Setsu with his dark eyes before starting to walk away. Setsuetsu emitted a panicked grunt and grasped Piccolo's wrist. He didn't want the only person who looked like him to leave him in this strange place, especially one as scary as this!
"Mmm!"
"Setsu, I have to go now." He grasped Setsu's shoulders and gently pushed him down until he was sitting on the side of the bed. Setsu whined softly and tried to hang onto Piccolo's gi, but Piccolo pried his hands off and wrapped the odd white blanket around his shoulders for him. Setsu immediately giggled, giving that delighted, almost orgasmic response to having the blanket wrapped around him, and Piccolo used that moment's distraction to silently slip out.
Outside the door, Piccolo
could hear Gohan trying to calm Setsu, who sounded like he was crying.
He sighed noisily, picked up his cape and turban and promptly donned them
both. Frowning, he looked at the white folds of his cape for a moment before
turning and heading out.
Gohan was awakened very early the next morning by the phone ringing. He dragged himself out of bed, thick-headed and sticky-eyed, and staggered to the phone, "What?" He moaned, using the wall to keep his head from flopping down because he was so drowsy.
"Gohan! Bulma here…I'm at the crash site where that ship came down, and I've found something you really should take a look at."
"Aw, Bulma…it's too early!" he moaned, rubbing his eyes once again and yawning.
"It concerns your new Namek friend in a big way…" She added, hoping that would get him going.
"Fine, fine." Gohan hung up, trudged back into his room and climbed into his clothes. He yawned again as he climbed out the window in his room, took off and started flying towards the desert. The morning air was chilly and foggy, so he almost missed the landing place entirely. That is, until he spotted Bulma's strange flying contraption.
Bulma was standing next to the crash site, using a remote control to maneuver a crane extending from the side of the flying vehicle. Debris from the crash was slowly being shifted or lifted away to reveal more and more intact ship parts. She waved Gohan over the moment she spotted him in the fog. "OK, I thought I'd piece through this crash to determine what kind of ship it was when I found something you should see. Come on."
Gohan followed his blue-haired friend towards the heaps of metal and glass lying in the crater. Bulma pointed to a small piece of something yellowish, like a piece of bone, but it crumbled in Gohan's hand when he touched it. He blinked, "Eggshell?"
Bulma nodded slowly, then backed up a few steps while Gohan shifted the piece of metal where the eggshell had been. What was revealed made Bulma cover her mouth and turn away, but the young half-Saiyajin just stared in shock.
Curled up on the floor was a naturally-mummified body that seemed dried beyond recognition, but Gohan could tell it had once been a Namek. The withered skin was tainted black with dirt and shrunk up against the bones. Its head was twisted at an odd angle, the gaping hole in the throat speaking louder than words could, yet the strange calm on the unrecognizable face didn't seem to fit until Gohan's eyes examined the throat closer. A huge pile of broken eggshells filled the hole, and the mummified body's arms were clutching open air, as if the person had been holding an infant when he died. Gohan gulped slowly as he continued to examine the mummified Namekian.
"Golly…" He whispered to himself in shock. It wasn't the presence of the body that bothered him, really, but the clothing it was wearing did.
The withered body was wearing a dark purple gi with a navy-blue belt, brown shoes, a turban and metal shoulderpads adorned with shreds of what was once a white cape.