Darkness

Disclaimer- I do not own DBZ, any of it's characters, or concepts. And after seeing the work of FUNimation…I'm not so sure I want to.

And here we go---

*

The night was still and damp, a sure sign that a storm was coming. The clap of thunder confirmed any doubts that it might not arrive. Slowly but surely, tiny droplets turned into a downpour of cold, spattering rain. It pounded mercilessly at the tender undergrowth in the forest. Mud sloshed around everywhere as a flood began rising from the nearby river. Soon, the river was winding a new path, a very large one. It snaked around tree trunks and over rocks, drowning roots and small animals. A terrible force to be reckoned with. A flash of lightning provided a moment of visibility in the utter darkness. The thunder became fierce in its roaring. It sounded as though 50 mustangs ran across the sky, their hoof beats cracking over one cloud then another. Being in this storm would give anyone a good idea of what it was like to be blind, deaf, and mute. There was no light, no sound could be heard above the roar of rain and thunder; it was useless to cry out for help if you were lost. Useless to look for a way back to civilization. Useless to cry in fear, for tears blended perfectly with the torrents of rain. Despite knowing all of this, someone was crying. Huddled under a large tree, not knowing that it was dangerous there. Trying not to be scared, but failing horribly as each lightning bolt and thunderclap let its presence be known.

Keket was this someone. Her long, strawberry blonde hair was matted, tangled, and dirty from being in the woods. Almost to the point where one would think it had never been blonde at all. Her huge green eyes were closed tightly, in an attempt to block out all the moving, twisting shadows that she knew were after her. Small arms locked around small knees, trying to keep her body warm. Tattered shorts and torn shirts were not the fashion of cold weather, however, and Keket began to think that maybe she would never see another morning. Sob after sob racked her small form. She wanted to be safe in a house somewhere, but she could not go home, she would not go home. So, having no other options, she sat. Sat in water that was steadily rising, cold water. The fact that the water had once just been mud and was now a steady stream over her ankles, caused more panic to well inside of the already frightened child. This caused more tears and more hiccups to arise from her heaving chest. The wind snatched the pitiful sounds away before they could reach the ears of anyone that might be stupid enough to be out in this weather. Keket coughed out another sob, but slowly forced herself to open her eyes. What she saw did not please her. With a yelp, she quickly shut her eyes and began to cry anew.

"I'm scared," came the soft, hoarse whisper. Keket would have cried for her mother, but that woman had never helped her before and Keket doubted very seriously that she would come to her aid this time. The child suddenly realized that the water was rising constantly. As she stood to get out of the wetness, she saw that it now came to her calves. She glanced around hurriedly, trying to spot any sort of shelter or the like. Nothing was to be seen. None of the branches in the trees were low enough for her to climb up on to prevent being swept away by the water that was quickly gaining depth and speed. Keket steeled her resolve. She had to find a way out. She had made it this far in life and nothing, especially not a silly old storm, was going to make her give up. The will to survive urged her forward to search for shelter. She trudged through the strong currents of water which were now to her thighs. She refused to be swept away like a helpless infant. A baby that couldn't do anything for herself. Keket had been through too much hardship to let something like this stop her.

"I gotta find shelter, I just gotta!" She cried out into the darkness. Shouting was her way of challenging the storm. Saying, I'm here! You haven't beaten me! "You hear me!?" She cried, "You can't…" Her words were cut off as she felt a strong pull on her legs. Keket stopped moving and the tug became stronger. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that the water would soon over take her. "No. No," she cried piteously, "I don't wanna die…" Her resolve weakened and then broke totally. Sobs once again began to sputter out of her. Quietly at first and then so hard that she had to cough for air. With these tears, Keket gave up all hope of surviving this night.

*

Piccolo bowed his head to the storm. The rain whipped around the ki-barrier he held around him to keep the water from stinging him. Flying at these speeds, the rain would've proved to be a painful weapon. He had been sent out for Senzu beans. Vegeta had been injured once again in the Gravity chamber, waiting out the storm by training there. Piccolo had come into Bulma's house to escape the storm that had begun without warning. As he was entering, the house shook as an explosion outside caused the ground to quake. He and Bulma had quickly run outside to find Vegeta lying in a pile of rubble that had once been the gravity chamber. Piccolo went into action immediately, sensing that Vegeta's injuries were far worse than they appeared to be. He had quickly told Bulma to get the prince inside while he went for senzus.

"Damn foolish Saiyan…" he mumbled as lightning lit his features momentarily, "You'd think he would learn…" Shaking his head, Piccolo glanced down at the forest below. The trees swayed and bent to the will of the wind, allowing glimpses of the forest floor below. He saw that the river had flooded and the water was eagerly rising, destroying everything in its path. His ears twitched at the sound of a small noise beneath the steady crash of thunder. With narrowed eyes, he scanned the forest floor again. Small movement could barely be seen, even to one with such excellent eyesight as Piccolo. 'Probably an animal.' He shrugged and would have gone on with his flight had he not heard a scream from below. Without thinking, he dove towards the ground, ignoring the wind that pushed against him. As he leveled off over the ground, he saw ahead of him a small hand reaching up through the cold flood currents of water. Piccolo picked up speed and grasped the hand before it sank beneath the surface. A tiny tug was all it took to pull the hand, and the body attached to it, out of the cold water. A gasp escaped Piccolo's lips as he realized that it was a child.

"What on Kami's Earth are you doing out here, kid?" He got no reply and had expected none. The child was clearly unconscious. With a curse, he brought the coughing human close to his chest, enveloping her with his ki to keep anymore rain from getting to her. She continued to cough, and Piccolo suddenly realized she was choking. Daring to take one more moment out of his important mission, he turned the child over one arm and forced the remaining water out of her lungs with a well-aimed punch to her back. She drew in a wheezy breath and fell limp against him. "Damn kid, I guess I'll have to take you with me to Korin's… can't leave you here…" With an exasperated sigh, he wrapped his arms around the shivering girl and continued his flight to the life-saving senzu beans.

*

A/N- I have absolutely NO idea where this came from. I sat down, started typing, and when I looked up- this is what I had. And idea for the development of this story came to me as I read it over. So um, I hope it wasn't too horrible _ Lemme know if I should continue or stick to the Action/Adventure which happens to be my specialty. This is my first Dbz fic here so… r & r!