Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of it's characters...never have never will.
What once was, What now is..by: lilpreciousone
summary: Dende has always been so quiet and sweet. Piccolo is gruff and withdrawn. In this fanfic (my first) the two Nameks under go a strange adventure dealing with the effects of the acts of ancient Nameks of the past...he screamed and screamed and screamed..." I'll always be there by your side "...
So..heres my first shot at portraying some of my daydreams. Please note that this is a Dragon Ball Z fic, meaning there will be fighting but nothing too gory. ( like no eating of flesh or anything)
Oxxxxx]=============== Enjoy...
What once was, What now is
A very long time ago...
The victorious Namekian warrior refused to succumb to exhaustion until he was safely off the arena field, and completely out of sight from the thundering crowd. No longer able to hold himself upright his shoulders slumped, his own knees betrayed him, and sent him ungracefully to the floor. His breath came in painful gasps, his lungs burning. Blood seeped through his many wounds, staining his white silken vest and pants lavender. Though the fight was only moments before over, already deep black and purple bruises began to form all over his aching body. You couldn't go more than a few inches from one bruise to find the next. ' It's alright,' he thought numbly through the throbbing of his head. ' You've suffered worse, and this was your second to last fight. One more and they'll free you from this wretched place.' Despite his pain Nyiel ( Pronunciation: nigh – eel ) smiled.
Then Nyiel winced and a horrified cry erupted from his throat. No! It had gotten him after all! Even now he could feel the cold beast's poisonous liquids freezing his veins, as they descended from a gash in Nyiel's shoulder to his frantic heart. And the harsh words of another warrior, called Kaldar, came back to him," It doesn't matter how strong or how smart you may think you are Nyiel. Your a fool to think you have a chance making it out of here alive. They will send the worst creatures they can conjure straight from hell, and you'll die here in the arena, just like us all. Accept it." Nyiel couldn't accept that. Not that. With fierce determination he had stunned them all, making it past the usual levels people died in. Made it all the way to the last two levels. He had been soooo close to freedom...so close. Now, Nyiel wasn't one to die lying face down in the dirt so, with the last reserves of strength he had left, he sat up. Using the earth wall as a back rest he waited, his legs crisscrossed, and eyes closed to die.
Lynelin ( Pronunciation: lin – el- in ) ran as fast as he could, his little green and pink legs a blur. Darting through the tunnels he made his way to Nyiel's arena exit. As he watched the battle not two minutes ago, he had seen when the Docksa beast's spine-spike cut into the warriors shoulder. But as always when he tried to tell the grownups they just waved him away, not wanting to be bothered by the small servant. Lynelin knew he could save him. He just had to!
Nyiel's thoughts were of regret, distress, and the realization that he'd never really done anything significant in his life for others to remember him by. He'd just be another corpse for the arena Masters to throw out onto the rough tundra, to be feasted on by the gruesome creatures of this world. Involuntary tears flooded down his scratched cheeks out from under heavy eyelids. The ice had reached his chest, and he could tell from the lack of feeling that his left arm was gone for good.
Then, ever so faintly, the area at the base of his neck and left shoulder started to feel warm. Then it became warmer and warmer. Finaly it burned. Nyiel gasped, his eyes snapping wide open. This new fire drew in on itself then exploded, attacking the ice viciously. Devouring the cold death, the fire spread four times quicker than the pace the venom had set to take his life. He could feel his arm and fingers again. His chest moved in and out smoothly, taking in cool relieving air. Even his cuts and bruises faded away.
When his vision no longer swam in murky waters Nyiel's eyes met with those of a child Namek. The boy smiled showing his sharp pearly whites. Nyiel glanced down at his collar bone to the small green hand resting on him then back to the child. The young Namek was attached to that hand. " I don't believe it," Nyiel whispered, his soft voice quiet," You...saved me." The boy stood up, never letting that angelic smile slip. " Don't get used to it. I don't want you thinking you can bash yourself up because I can just heal you," his voice was high pitched and chirpy like.
It was the first time Nyiel heard the child speak. The other fighters had all assumed he was dumb and made constant fun of him. Picking on him, and all this time he was the most priceless thing in the whole of the arena. A healer. If they had but known, this child's miserable life as a servant to the fighters would have been far more pleasant. He could have been treated like a lord. But the boy had kept quiet, suffering the cruelty of the enslaved Namekian warriors. He had kept quiet. Till now.
" Why? Why help me?" Nyiel asked. " You are different...special, " the young Namek replied. " I'm Lynelin. Will you be my friend?" ' Hell yes!' Instead he rose and picked up Lynelin with his finely muscled arms, and placed him on his shoulders. " I'll never let anything bad happen to you Lynelin,"he said, knowing with full confidence that after his last match he'd be taking the child with him, " Not anything."
In the present...
Piccolo was calm, with his arms folded, head bent, and hovering right above the Kami house. As calm as he was however, he couldn't meditate with all the inhabitants of his mind's thoughts running around hectic and free. Selecting one at random, one spiraling in on itself, he listened. " Well Cell is gone finally. How does that make you feel?" was the thought. " I feel the same as I always have," Piccolo replied.
" And what is that?"
" Empty..."
"Not entirely true, you never feel like that when you fight, or when Gohan's around. Your not lonely when you serve others."
" Maybe so, but there aren't any evil entity's trying to take over Earth, if you haven't noticed. Gohan's locked up in his room, studying, with Chi Chi guarding the door. He has no time for me. No one needs me to save them. Though I thought it impossible, I no longer have the desire to fuel my murderous hate against Goku, and his planet... I feel empty."
" You don't have to you know."
" What do you know Nail that I don't?"
" Well, there is our brother..." this said withlonging.
" You mean Dende. What of him?"
" He's always meant so much to me, and I know you like him. Dende, in a way, is as much your brother as he is mine."
" So?"
" So, spend time with him, get to know him. Train him perhaps. He has the magic thing down, but he needs more. Even Kami knew how to fight. Dende is really sweet and kind. He might make you feel...you know " alive"...like Gohan does. Maybe even more so. He is a Namek, same as you and me."
Piccolo felt a surge of hope tugging at his chest. Yes, he could be Dende's mentor...possibly his friend. " Nail," he congratulated the other Namek, " As of now, you are my favorite brain tumor. Kami's wrong about you being pointless brute strength." " Well, gee...thanks. Wait! Kami said wha-" Piccolo pushed Nail back to his dormant spiral, to wizz lazily this way, and that. Once again alone Piccolo descended to the Lookout's white floor. Walking with purpose he made his way to the small Namek's side. Silently he observed as Dende watched in dutiful concentration the people of Earth. Seeming content with his findings, Dende sighed tiredly and loosened his tight grip on his staff. " Hey Piccolo," he said, stepping away from the edge to stare up at the big guy. " Can I help you with something?" " Yes, actually, you can. I would like to train you Dende. All the guardians of the Earth have been masters of magic, but they knew how to fight as well. I am aware of your weaknesses, so I promise I'll try to be sensitive to your limitations...well?" Piccolo said, the words coming out gruffer than he'd like. But there it was out in the open. There wasn't a way to take it back and try to approach this differently ( unless Kami was holding out on him).
Dende's brows furrowed, and he brought a green thumb to his chin, thinking. He studied Piccolo to see if he could read his dark expression. Then he remembered what Gohan had told him about the one year he spent kidnapped, and living the tall withdrawn Namek. He remembered the negetive and positive details. He shuddered.
Piccolo caught said movement and searched Dende's eyes...what was that look he was giving him...was that fear? ' Curses!' Did he always come across as scary and intimidating to everyone? He felt utterly disappointed. Disappointed in himself, that he so easily became enraged at the slightest things people did, that annoyed him. Whether they simply asked, what he considered, a pointless question, or looked at him in a way he thought was critical, Piccolo would then degrade the false offender till he drove them away, without really meaning any of what he said. He just couldn't seem to let go of his sour disposition of the past. Gohan knew this, he could see right through Piccolo's charade, and knew his rare side. The young teen brought it out in him, Piccolo's easy going happy side. ' Maybe..maybe I let myself on. To think Dende could...' He had hoped that his fellow Namekian would be more trusting in him. " O-...okay," Dende said, bringing Piccolo out of his self chastisement. Standing taller, he grinned. The sort of grin that caught Piccolo off guard. " I'm tougher than I look Piccolo, even Nail has no clue. When do we start?" Piccolo smiled for the first time in weeks. A genuine smile.
A/N: soooo? What ya tinkin'? Review if you please. It's my first fic. If you have an opinion I'd like to hear all about it.
The next chapter will be up shortly seeing how its already written down and I'm just final drafting as I type. ( stick around)