A Special Training:
From Ashes Rising
Disclaimer: The copyrighted characters in this story do not belong to me, and I am not making any money from this.
The legend
of the Phoenix is one of constant death and renewal. An immortal creature, the
phoenix will live, age, and die, then burst into flame. From its own death it
emerges, reborn, to live until its next death, where the cycle begins again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I hear a
voice scream.
I can't
tell who it is, because I am too busy feeling the scorching pain in my chest. I
know what happened. I'm dying. I can feel my life ebbing away with each heart
beat that forces the blood from the wound, gushing from my shredded torso.
Someone catches me, and I can feel tears on my face, even as the numbness of
shock replaces the first agonizing pain.
I can
gather my thoughts together long enough to open my eyes, and see those familiar
blue ones staring down into mine. A hand gently rests over my breast, feeling
the faltering of my heart, the hollow wheezing of my punctured lungs.
Then,
everything is engulfed in white light.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Piccolo
sobbed over Usagi's limp form, after her had found her, her gravid middle
seemingly even larger than before. He could hear her breathing in agony, and he
saw the blood that had soaked her pants. Her life force guttered like a candle
flame, and he held her to him, hard, not caring if she was in more pain. The
contractions that were supposed to bring their child into the world were
instead killing her, as it forced something too big for her narrow channel.
Tissues ruptured, blood flowed, and she was slowly loosing her life.
He cursed
himself, cursed the egg, and cursed at life in general. More importantly, he
cursed the ones that had kept him from getting to her in the first place.
"Piccolo,"
whispered a voice, and he looked down. Usagi's eyes were open, and she smiled
weakly at him. "Piccolo, baby- save my baby-"
"No, we- I
can get you to a doctor- hold on-"
"Too late,"
she sobbed. "Please, I want to see her first, hold her once…"
Piccolo had
bitten his lip until it bled, and he was shaking. There was only one way he
could get the baby out, and that would kill her all the faster. Yet, there was
nothing he could do for her. It was the only thing that he could do, for both
of them.
Steeling
himself, he placed his hand on her middle, and using his claws, sliced
downwards. She choked, blood gushing from the incision, and Piccolo had to
pause.
Reaching
in, he touched the hardness of the shell, and moved his hands around inside her
to pull it out. Usagi was screaming in pain now, and it was the hardest thing
Piccolo had ever done, removing the smooth, round object from her body.
It started
to crack as soon as it touched the surrounding air outside her body, and then
shattered. Piccolo found that he was holding a tiny girl, his daughter, as she
opened her mouth to let out her first wail.
Tears of
joy leaked out of Usagi's eyes, and Piccolo handed the baby to her, and she
kissed the little one on the head. Then she was gone.
Taking the
crying child from her mother's arms, Piccolo bowed his head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Most
children start out their lives remembering something about their mothers.
Phoenix wished that she did.
Goten and
Trunks, her best friends, had mothers. Why didn't she?
"Because,
something very bad had happened to her," said her Papa, whenever she asked.
Even at two, she knew something was being left out. She could tell already that
she was better at some things than her best friends, walking only being one of
them. She was talking better than they could, or at least, she could make the
adults understand her better.
"Did she
bump her knee?" Phoenix asked. It was the worst thing that had happened to her
so far, and the bleeding had seemed like the end of the world.
"No."
"Then why
isn't she here?" Phoenix asked. It seemed reasonable. Sometimes Trunks' father
left for a little while, and Goten's father was gone, too.
"Your
Mother," her father said softly, not looking at her. "Your mother is with
Goten's father."
"Will I
ever get to meet her?" she asked him, climbing into his lap. Piccolo turned to
her, and caressed her blond hair.
"No, you
won't."
"Why?"
"Because-"
her Papa, her big, strong Papa, that even made Trunks' father pause, closed his
eyes. "I would be lonely without you."
"She can't
come here?"
"No," she
saw tears running down his face, but Papa couldn't cry. She had seen him play
with Gohan, and not get hurt! Papa had told her over and over, that if she
played with Gohan like that, she would get hurt. She had secretly promised herself
that she would be as strong as her Papa some day.
She wanted
to play with her friends like that.
"Papa,
don't cry. I won't go visit mommy, if you get so sad about it."
She felt
his arms wrap around her, and his cheek rest on her blond curls. She snuggled
against him. Phoenix always felt safe around her Papa. Yet, she could feel the
wetness of tears on her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Gohan!"
she yelled, as she struck her fist out, almost hitting him. Goten was still too
small to be training, but she had sprung up very fast already, and had been
watching her Papa for some time. She knew that was how he played with Gohan,
and it seemed like the most fun in the world.
"What the?
Chibi-Phoenix, what the heck are you doing?" he barked, and got out of the way.
He choked when he saw her little fist knock off all the bark on the side of the
tree she had hit.
"I want to
play with you! The way my Papa does!" she exclaimed, and mimed one of the kicks
she had seen Piccolo do. She stomped a good size hole in the ground.
My
kami-sama! She hasn't even started training!
"Isn't
this the kind of thing you should have your papa do?" Gohan asked, dodging her
skillfully. Yet, the way she was mimicking what she had seen Piccolo and
himself do in practice was amazing. He shuddered. He knew why Piccolo hadn't
wanted her fighting, but she was her parents' daughter. She had to get that
under control, or she could be dangerous.
"Papa
doesn't want me playing with you like this," she said in a tiny voice, hanging
her head. "But it looks like fun, and- I want to be as strong as you and Papa."
Gohan was
suddenly struck with the memory – I have to be as strong as you-
Oh, Usagi,
you would be so proud of her, he thought painfully, and
shivered. The little girl was so much like her mother. She loved without
reservation, completely and trustingly.
Yet, her
father's coldness would leak into her demeanor ever so often. When she was
upset, she didn't cry, she just got that Daimou scowl on her face. It was icy.
"Where is
Piccolo, anyway?" Gohan asked, then he remembered. It was Phoenix's hatching
day- the anniversary of Usagi's death.
"He's gone.
He didn't tell me where," Phoenix said, and continued to glare down at him.
Piccolo,
do you know what you are doing to her? She loves so much, and I know you can't
help but see Usagi in her. You leave her alone. It hurts you to see her-
I know you
try, but is it enough?
Tears
stung his eyes as he tried to think about his loving friend. The hole she had
left in all their hearts was agonizing. Piccolo…he was a shell. If it wasn't
for Phoenix, he could have followed his mate into death.
If only
you knew, Usagi. If you only you knew.
She
couldn't be wished back, having been wished back once already. Also, childbirth
was natural causes, so the Namekian Dragon Balls were out.
Absently
correcting her stances, he stared at the crescent moon on her brow, flickering
with her concentration.
Things
between dimensions had completely broken off after Usagi's death. Piccolo
couldn't bear to be there, and had taken his daughter without warning. Usagi's
friends had no idea what had happened.
"Why does
he do that?' Phoenix grunted, dodging the playful kick sent at her.
"Do what?"
"Disappear
on my hatching day?"
Gohan
stopped cold, and Phoenix got a good kick in to his shins. He barely noticed.
Oh, God,
she doesn't know.
"It's a
long story-"
"TELL ME!"
she yelled, stomping her little foot.
Gohan sat
down, and told her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My mommy
is dead. She's dead- and I killed her.
Phoenix
hadn't understood 'death' until recently. Being three meant that you got to be
innocent of a lot of things, but her father had never hid the darker side of
nature from her, and she knew about hunting to survive. The idea of someone
dying so unfairly hurt.
It's my
fault. That's why Papa is so sad all the time. He knows I killed mommy- and he
loves me anyway. How? How can he love what killed her?
Gohan
could feel the sadness coming off the child in black waves, as what he told her
set in. He had tried to be gentle, telling her that it wasn't her fault, that
it was something that couldn't be helped, but he could tell she wasn't
listening. Keening, the little girl sprang up and ran away, and he tried to
chase her. She had learned how to fade in with the forest long before, and he
soon lost her.
"KUSO!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The
memorial that had been made for Usagi was a simple one, one that had seemed
appropriate to everyone.
She had
been buried within a cave, with two blooming trees on either side, and a
crescent moon marked the stone that sealed the entrance. Fresh flowers
constantly bloomed there. No one had planted them.
Piccolo
knelt before it, eyes closed in mediation.
Apathy was
fast claiming him. Phoenix was the only reason he was still alive, and that was
fast becoming too little. He just…didn't care anymore.
He loved
his daughter, but it was torture seeing her become more and more like her
mother every day. Piccolo was not one to open his heart to just anyone, and
with Usagi gone, he was just- just-
Empty.
Why
can't I keep living? Phoenix needs me; I am her father! I love her. She is such
a joy- like her mother.
His chest
clenched. Black despair overwhelmed him. Had it not been so overwhelming, he
would have noticed that it didn't seem natural. He had lived with pain before.
But not
like this, whispered that ever present voice in his mind. You lost your
cause for joy. She betrayed you, left you alone… Even if she couldn't help it.
No.
PHOENIX!
"Papa?"
said a trembling voice, and he looked over to see his daughter, sobbing. Tears
streaked her chubby cheeks. His own pain was forgotten as he comforted his only
child.
"What is
it, Chibi-chan?"
"Did I kill
Mommy?"
"NO!" he
yelled, even as that voice in the back of his mind hissed yessssssss…
He held
her, and started to ramble stories, the stories he had never told her before,
about her mother. Phoenix listened with rapt attention, and asked questions,
laughed, and cried.
Oh, my
little one, Piccolo said to himself, his heart bleeding for her. Never,
ever will I hurt you like that again…
(But, she
killed Usagi- she is the offspring of a demon- it would be a mercy if she
weren't allowed to live…) That voice continued to insinuate itself, poisoning
a father's love…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her next
hatching day was fast approaching, and Phoenix's friends were planning a blow
out party.
"You have
the balloons?" asked Gohan, to his little brother. Goten nodded, and did his
best to blow them up. Unfortunately, he didn't have the lungpower, and just
made spitting noises.
Gohan
grinned as his mother took the balloons from her youngest, and inflated them.
Trunks was
carrying a stack of presents bigger than himself, while Vegeta stood in a
corner, facing the wall. Yet he was there.
"What did
you get her?" asked Bulma, helping with the balloons.
The party
was being held at the Son house, because it was closer to where Piccolo and
Phoenix lived. The inside of the house had been colored with bright streamers,
confetti was everywhere, and there was a huge banner outside, proclaiming,
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PHOENIX!"
So, they
hadn't quite got the birth part right, but, it was the thought that counts.
"Books,"
Chi-Chi answered, and they all saw the large pile of colorfully wrapped
rectangular objects. Gohan stifled a groan.
They all
hid when they felt Piccolo's ki, and grinned as Phoenix entered.
"SURPRISE!"
They
startled the half-Namek girl so much that she stayed in the air, having learned
how to fly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Piccolo
smirked indulgently as Phoenix huffed at her candles, finally having to spit at
them, to get them to go out. Vegeta had exchanged the normal ones for the
relighting ones.
Chi-Chi
winced, but wiped up the mess, and the huge pile of gifts followed the cake. It
was huge, due to the guests.
Piccolo's
smile froze, as that voice whispered silently in the back of his mind.
Freak-
deserves to die, child of demon, killed Usa-chan-
Before he
knew it, he had unconsciously increased his power-level, and a small ball of ki
was forming in his hand. He stopped, when Vegeta turned, looking at him.
I
nearly… I tried to kill my daughter.
Something
wasn't right. He knew it. For the first time, he examined his thoughts and
feelings for the past year. It was something other than the usual depression of
loosing a loved one-
Kill
kill kill killlll….
Who are
you? Why are you doing this?
She must
die, she must die, she is evil, she must die…
He started
to feel his power rise again, and abruptly stood. Phoenix was so busy with her
gifts that she barely noticed. Vegeta did, but shrugged.
I don't
know who you are, but it won't be happening. My daughter will live.
He turned
back to the house, and if he hadn't chosen that moment to fly away, he would
have incinerated it without knowing.
He flew
far, and fast, and knew that he no longer had control of himself.
Phoenix,
I love you, give me strength!
That dark
thing inside himself was pulling him back, the thing that had tried to make him
kill his own daughter- all he had left of Usagi-
Oh,
Usagi, forgive me. I don't know…
Kill the
demon, kill the freak, kill the bitch before she grows-
NO! I WON'T
LET YOU!
(You
can't fight me forever, Piccolo.)
I can, for
my daughter's sake.
(Really?)
His hand
moved of its own accord, and blew up a nearby tree.
(Forever is a long, long time,
Daimou. You will give in.)
You don't have forever.
Without regret, Piccolo placed his hands to his chest, and powered up. Without pausing, he blew away his own heart, dissolved his spine, and felt his spirit slip away.
(NO!)
My daughter will live, whoever you are, and destroy you. She is my hope, and her mother's.
Sending out one last thought, he touched the beautiful mind of his little firebird.
Phoenix, I love you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The
whispered voice echoed through the little girl's mind, as she found her
father's body.
The party
had ended, as most do, and full of cake and ice cream, she had flown off alone,
into the woods. It was far from the first time her father had left her alone.
Nothing was really strong enough to hurt her, so she wasn't afraid…
"Pa- PA!"
she wailed, curling up next to his body.
It had to
be her fault, she thought. She knew he was still hurting about her mother, and
it was her hatching day, so that had to be why.
She sobbed
harshly, and wrapped herself in his cape, and hugged his cold body.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Gohan found
her there several days later. She hadn't eaten, just stayed there with her
father's body. When he had tried to approach her, she had fled, screaming about
it being her fault. Too stunned by his mentor's death, he hadn't followed her;
just shed his own bitter tears.
Piccolo was
laid to rest next to his mate. His kanji was carved next to the crescent moon,
and it seemed oddly complete, that they be together at last.
A week
after his death, Gohan finally found the little girl. She still had that
uncanny ability to blend into the forest.
"You need
to come with me," he told her.
She just
looked at him.
"Come on,
sweetheart," he whispered, and picked her up. It alarmed him that she refused
to cry.
She just
huddled next to him. She grabbed onto his shirt, and refused to let go.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chi-Chi and
Gohan did their best, but they couldn't keep her there with them. Goten didn't
really like having competition for his mother's and brother's affections, and
while he was her friend, he let her know that. (He's barely over three.)
The only
time that Gohan ever saw her after that, was when she asked for training, or
late at night, when she had crawled into his bed, seeking comfort of her
father's best friend.
He could
feel her tremble, her little green hands around his waist in the middle of the
night, as the nightmares wracked her. He had tried again and again to convince
her that she was not responsible for her parent's death. It hadn't worked. All
he could do was offer her the comfort of his presence.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Why is she looking that way at us?" Videl asked,
seeing the cold expression on the green girl's face.
Gohan
shrugged, and turned to see Phoenix sighing, and walking outside. She was
looking more like her mother, in many ways, but her bearing was all Piccolo's.
Sometimes, when she was around, he expected his departed mentor to walk into
the room.
At eleven,
Phoenix could pass for a well grown fifteen year old. She was physically
developed, and mentally in her fifties. Intelligence wise, Bulma had kept her
challenged, but only just. Her demi-Saiya-jin counterparts had trouble keeping
up with her, and only Gotenks could beat her.
Goku had
been thrilled to meet her when he had been revived.
"She's just
like her daddy!" he would say, not seeing the pain in her eyes whenever he said
that.
Gohan had a
sudden flash of insight as he looked at her retreating back-
No way.
She's too young.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sitting on
the Son roof, Phoenix clenched her fangs.
What
would he see in an eleven year old? I'm just a kid.
That
hadn't stopped her from feeling what she did. He had been her best friend
forever, even more so than Trunks and Goten. He had taught her to fight; he had
held her when her father died…
The tears
always threatened to come when she thought about Piccolo. She had tried to stop
thinking of him as her 'papa'. Distancing herself from him was about the only
way she could cope.
As a Namek,
she had impressions of her father's memories before she was conceived. They
hovered, like silent ghosts in the back of her mind, like forgotten reflexes.
It was what had helped her learn to fight so quickly. They were what had made
her age before her time.
"Honey, are
you there?" asked a voice, and Phoenix dangled herself from the roof.
"Here,
Chi-Chi-bassan."
"I thought-
I have something to give you," the older woman said, and handed something blood
red to the daughter of her friend. Taking it, Phoenix examined it curiously.
"It was
your mother's," she said, answering Phoenix's unasked question. She left,
before Phoenix could say anything about the gift.
It was
warm, was the first thought that entered Phoenix's mind. The blood red, simple
red broach, with a silver crescent around the edge looked strange to her, and a
split seemed to open. Walking off into the night, she stared hard, as a shining
silver crystal emerged. Vague stories, dimly remembered, suggested what it was…
Bright
moonlight shown down, and Phoenix heard a noise-
She was on
a guard position before she could think about it, her teeth bared in a snarl.
Then stopped, stunned.
The woman
behind her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Silver hair fell
from her head in the strangest style she had ever seen, with fairy wings behind
her.
"Hello,
Phoenix," she said, and the girl had the urge to kneel.
"I am your
grandmother, Queen Serenity."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pluto
watched the child from the shadows, behind the former Queen.
So
powerful, yet so emotionally fragile, was her impression. Such a frail
vessel for our hopes.
The Queen
explained who they were, and what they were doing there. Phoenix listened
intently, her father's sharp mind obvious.
"You want
me to fix the damage that was done to time, done by the time machines? How can
you do that?"
"There are
places in time that should never have happened. They altered, and fixed certain
events in place, and Chaos was loosed. Not just loosed," Pluto said, hand on
her chin." Given life, form. It wants to destroy everything, leaving not even
itself in its wake. Nothingness."
"We need
someone to willingly become unstuck in time, to remember what has happened, to
keep paradox from completely taking over, but out pace with it. You will not
forget what has happened. Everyone else will. Are you willing to do that?"
Phoenix
thought back at her life. The only true freak there. The only person she had
cared about loving another. Why should she stay?
"Done."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her chest
was a mess of bloody gore, and she looked into the eyes of her other self.
"I know,
and I understand. I accept," said the other Phoenix, having seen all her
counterpart's memories, her hand on her chest.
It seemed
that the other girl became a mass of light, without even the strength to
scream.
Both voices
merged into one, and Phoenix stood up, looking at the world, one being, one
soul. Two became whole.
"I leave my
ashes behind," she whispered to herself, and took off. She had a fight ahead of
her.
End.