My Eternity
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any of its characters
I'm not sure if this is a winner but i'm carrying on anyway! This story has been brewing away in my mind for a long time.
For you info - there won't be romance between Piccolo and my female OC - just friendship. Possible M/M in later chapter though!
As always, enjoy!
Chapter Two-
She breathes flesh to my bones
Bulma kept glancing at her phone, before scolding herself and slamming the book closed. They wouldn't even be there yet. She moved back to her computer and opened up another file. She had one of her assistants scan some of their written material onto the database, so that they could search quicker, maybe even cross reference. She also had a stack of downloaded newspapers from the time, or what they could manage to find in the main library anyway. She rubbed one hand over her face, probably disrupting her finely applied makeup. She didn't care. It had been a week already and they were getting nowhere.
Eighteen made her jump and she knocked over a hot cup of coffee, cursing. The blonde, as quick as ever, righted the cup before it could turn into a major incident.
"Sorry"
Bulma smiled. "No, it's fine, sorry i'm a little frazzled. They asleep?"
"Yeah" Marron, Trunks and Goten had fallen asleep on top of eachother in a heap, she had left Chi-chi to watch over them with her feet up. She deserved the break.
"You know, I just feel like we're missing something, you know?"
Eighteen waited for the scientist to continue.
"Something important, like...so this scientist creates something, a bioweapon we're thinking, kills millions, whole countries dessicated" She noticed Eighteen's furrowed eyebrows "oh, things were a little different back then, we had countries, whole nations of people split up, some heavily populated. Before this happened and it wiped out nations and land with it".
She paused, thinking. "Then this other scientist, whoever it is, gangs up on him and what? Just gets him? Then the Galaxy police turn up and he's imprisoned?"
Eighteen purses her lips a little before answering.
"Isn't that what Blue said?"
"Yeah, it's just that it doesn't add up. For a start, they weren't even sure it was a biochemical weapon, in fact some thought it was actually a lifeform, organic and alive. They called it the black mist because there was always a dark shroud. But some sources are saying that it wasn't the black mist. The black mist happened afterwards."
"And not just that, the timeline doesn't make sense. I can't find any trace of the Galaxy Police being on Earth at all."
Eighteen tapped her manicured fingers against the desk before crossing her arms and responding.
"Maybe you're both right".
"Huh?"
"I'm not saying that this Blue is lying, but it was 500 years ago, maybe he doesn't know all the facts anymore. Maybe it's a mixture of what he says and what you're discovering now."
Bulma nodded "right, yeah, you could be right!"
She was interrupted before she could muse further by the beep of a text message.
Arrived. Gohan
Gohan slid the mobile back into his pocket as he hovered over the ruins of what was probably once a very vibrant town. The structures were nearly completely destroyed with age, but the lake just next to it was still full of life, unaware of the sad contrast. Piccolo then started to descend to the North East part of town.
Both landed softly in what was once a street, dust brushing up against their feet. The silence seemed to be echoing all around them, like it was so quiet that silence itself was now a noise. Piccolo had a deep uneasy feeling, like he had already known something bad had happened here. Could see it now, but somehow knew it before too. He walked alongisde Gohan on his right. Buildings that were now barely upright were mostly filled with a dark sand, rather than plant life. Gohan couldn't even hear the sound of burrowing animals, or birds fluttering and chirping above. He contained a shudder and something caught his eye.
"Ahead, look" He pointed at what looked a little more modern than the rest, though still ancient by his own standards.
The entrance was partially obscured, but Gohan could see it led to stairs that went underground. He could see the ruins of what would have been the entrance's disguise. A medicine shop, maybe. He smirked. Makes sense I suppose.
They both walked down the stone steps and reached a heavy metal door. There was a device at the side that at one time might have had power running to it, but it was long dead and caked in dust. Both Gohan and Piccolo pushed the door, it didn't budge. The demi-Saiyan exhaled loudly before turning to Piccolo.
"I could power up but I don't want to blow a hole through it, we might need to close it behind us ya know" He laughed.
Piccolo frowned. Right, who knows what we might find in there.
He looked at the box to the side of the door and he wiped off the dust and sand with a taloned hand. It was beige, just a blank strip of material and it didn't look like it did anything. But as he stared, he could see that the box slowly changed. Now it was no longer covered in sand. It was clean and he immediately glanced left, expecting to see Gohan but instead he saw wide blue eyes looking back at him. She smiled at him and it felt so normal. Piccolo blinked and she was gone, Gohan was staring at him with worry.
"Piccolo?"
He hesitated, unsure. "Gohan, I think i've been here before".
"What? You mean, back before you split with Kami?" Gohan was incredulous. He found it difficult to accept that Piccolo could have been around then, in any form.
"Yes, I mean. It doesn't feel like they're my memories really. But I remember them like they are, they feel the same."
Piccolo winced at his own honesty, he was saying too much. But Gohan's eyes told him different. They said you can trust me. And if there was anyone he could trust, it was Gohan.
The Namek raised his hand to the box and pressed his palm and fingers against it firmly. For a second, nothing happened, but then it whirred, and something in the door mechanism clicked. Gohan pushed the door and it swung open, heavy and protesting, but it opened. He glanced at the box. A fingerprint scanner.
"Let's leave it open, if anything happens no one else will be able to get in"
Piccolo agreed and they both walked inside. Gohan pulled the two torches he had picked up at the store on the way, and gave one to his friend. He turned it on in a way that Piccolo could see him do it, so the Namek didn't have to ask. He knew how he hated to ask.
Light shone down the hallway, but didn't allude to much. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Bulma.
No signal. Of course. He frowned and pushed it back into his pocket.
Once white walls were covered in a fine line of dust, but nothing like the outside. Eventually there was a door on the right, Piccolo pushed both metal doors and once they passed through, the doors swung back behind them both. The room was big, there were several beds lined up on either side. Gohan felt that it looked more like a hospital than a laboratory. He thought, if he tried, that he could smell faint anaesthetic but he didn't know if it was his imagination. He stopped when he realised that the beds weren't empty. Swallowing and moving closer to Piccolo, he spoke now, voice quiet.
"There's…"
"They're long dead Gohan. Come on"
Machines and needles and devices were spilled onto the floor and they had to tread carefully.
Somehow, Piccolo pulled confidence out of somewhere and continued. He wasn't scared, as such, it felt more like dread. The bodies were small and something inside stung at the implication. He wasn't sure how he was involved, and he was becoming increasingly worried what the answer might mean. They both went through the next door together, a single door this time and Gohan gathered back his composure.
Another corridor, this one lined with doors on the left hand side. There was a name on some of the doors Gohan read each one aloud as they walked, feet sometimes crunching on ancient equipment.
"Kayla Makito"
Neurologist
He shone his torch into each room through the little window but it didn't help much.
"Hana Delfino"
Scientist
Piccolo felt something crawling in his throat as they walked. He ignored it.
"Bonnie Briefs"
Scientist
The Namek stopped, he was ahead and Gohan had walked straight into his back.
"What?" Piccolo's voice was strained.
"I know, though it's not surprising, the Briefs had been around for a long time. The women always kept their name too, a lot of them scientists and doctors, things like that. Smart family"
Piccolo felt his chest constrict painfully, wide ocean blue eyes flashed in his mind.
He pushed through the door to her office, leaving Gohan staring down the corridor where Piccolo had been stood before following him inside. The office was small, but not overly, dusty papers lay everywhere, not as yellowed with age. An old computer lay dormant and Gohan thought that maybe if they could get it working, it could be invaluable. Bulma would have a field day in here.
Piccolo was rifling through papers without a clue what he was really looking for, trying to stay on the task at hand. As he was moving, he could smell the sweet wisp of wild flowers and vanila. Her perfume.
He stilled as the memory rammed its way through his mind.
He was standing here, by the cabinet. She was sitting at her desk, leaning back in a brown leather chair, all cockiness and bravado. Her voice, gentle but firm.
"I don't care what he says, this is a Briefs Corp lab before anything else!"
Piccolo heard his own voice then, but it was different, lighter, younger. He held up his hands in mock defence.
"Don't tell me. I have absolutely no idea what this is about"
She smiled then, relenting. Bonnie sat upright in her chair, lavender hair spilling over her shoulders where it had fallen out of her bun. She rested one weary cheek on her han as she leant forward.
"I know, sorry. This capsulisation experiment is turning out to be a real nightmare. It's just one failure after another. At this rate, it's going to take 100 years!"
Behind her, paper was pinned up with sketches of giant dome buildings, a lot smaller, made of brick and less complex than the one there now, but the CC initials of Capsule Corp was unmistakable. He replied, repeating a phrase he had heard the humans say before.
"Rome wasn't built in a-"
"Stop right there. You have no idea what Rome was!" She was smiling now, genuinely.
He looked on and she stood then, she was a little taller than Bulma, but the similarities were all there. Her eyes were the same blue, determined and fierce, but there was a gentleness in Bonnie that Bulma didn't have. She walked towards him, lavender hair falling slightly onto the white coat.
"You can talk to him! He always listens to you!"
Piccolo came back to reality with an astounding thud, as he dropped to the floor. Gohan was already beside him, concerned when his mentor had zoned out.. Piccolo's mind was whirling unpleasantly, and the headache was now well within the migraine category.
"Piccolo!"
Piccolo stared, but instead of seeing Gohan, he just saw blood snaking towards him as he lay there on his front, head awkwardly and painfully turned to the side. He could feel immense pain in his lower back and a wetness had begun to pool beneath him, soaking his clothes. Blinking through the pain he realised he could hear loud machinery somewhere, it was deafening to his sensitive hearing but as he looked he felt the sound dissipate. Lying underneath the desk, with papers strewn everywhere, were those blue eyes. Bonnie lay there, on her front with hands pressed into her own blood. Her eyes were glazing over as the red pooled and spread. Her white lab coat was dipped into it. Piccolo felt himself make a noise but it was just a cough as he choked on his own blood, pain swimming in his vision. She said something then, but he didn't know what. The pain overwhelmed him, and he lost consciousness.
Gohan was frantic. Piccolo was unresponsive. His eyes were open but not seeing, he picked mentor up in his arms and started back the way they came, using his Chi to open doors, no longer caring. Piccolo's head lolled about lifelessly and he felt like a dead weight. When he left Bonnie's office he didn't notice the picture frame sat on her desk, nor the name printed on the next door.
"Tenchi"
Pediatrician
Through the glass of the frame, a faded photo sat, a woman was sat in the middle, lavender hair tied back, blue eyes glinting as she smiled, she looked pleasant. A blonde man stood next to her, leaning on the desk, with deep brown eyes. Another man, with dark blue hair and grey eyes stood with his elbow on the shoulder of a tall Namekian, who's dark eyes warmed with the small smile he was giving to the person behind the camera. All were wearing white coats except the Namekian, who was wearing purple scrubs.
Gohan walked on, unaware. He strode confidently but with worry lining his young features as he made his way back through the big room with the ancient bodies, and back up the corridor to the main door. He wondered if the door would be closed now, and his mind conjured up unrealistic thoughts of zombies and darkness but it was open. He was through and he swiftly pulled the door closed, the slam echoing in the dead town.
Somewhere behind him, deep in the corridors and rooms, something stirred at the noise.
Bulma had given up on her phone and was actually asleep, head firmly against the desk. She came to with a start when she heard Vegeta's urgent tone.
"Bulma!"
He never used her name, she felt cold dread fill her gut. Her immediate thought was of her son but as she crashed through the door she could see Gohan standing there with Piccolo unconscious in his arms. She pointed to the room on the far right and Gohan went through, with Vegeta holding the door open. Blue, in all the commotion, was half jogging down the hallway chasing the noise. His pale features looked concerned. Bulma rolled some equipment into the room on a trolley. Gohan rubbed his hands through his dusty hair. After a few painful, long minutes, Bulma spoke, voice quiet.
"He's okay, I mean he's breathing and his heart is beating. But he's totally unresponsive"
Gohan breathed a few times to calm himself.
"What does that mean? When will he wake up?"
Bulma looked then at the demi Saiyan with genuine sympathy. For a moment she saw the short black hair and big worried brown eyes of a young Gohan, as he stood in his Saiyan armour on Namek.
"I don't know, i'm going to call our on call Doctor, hang on"
Gohan collapsed on a chair then, looking at Piccolo. His vibrant green and pink skin was dusty. Blue then asked, in a hesitant voice, from his position behind Gohan.
"What happened?"
Krillin and Eighteen followed Bulma back in, they had stayed behind, waiting on news from the lab.
"We got into the lab, one room...it was...there were bodies." He paused then but Blue interrupted.
"What lab?" Grey eyes became alert.
Vegeta spoke then, surprising them all.
"They found a lab in Elorn Valley, where this all started"
Blue went silent then, and Gohan continued.
"We found some offices, and one of them, Piccolo just stormed right in, it was important for some reason. We were searching and...he just zoned out for about a minute. Then he collapsed, I grabbed him and raced out of there."
Gohan breathed then, finally calming down.
"The name, it was Bonnie Briefs. And get this, there is a fingerprint scanner on the main door to get in. Luckily Piccolo had been there before and just..." he made a motion with his hand said the last bit in disbelief.
Bulma's brows were furrowed and she looked up then.
"Bonnie Briefs? I'm sure...no wait, Bora Briefs founded Capsule Corp. I'll check the archives. Anyway, the proper Doc is on his way"
Vegeta then chipped in, surprising them all again, before leaving.
"I'll get Dende"
Blue didn't look at any of them, his innards were turning. He looked at Piccolo with a softness in his eyes. I'm so sorry Tenchi. You'll never know how much.
Gohan stayed the night, eventually falling asleep in the chair next to his best friend. Blue had let them be, if Gohan had found anything, he would know by now. Blue put on the capsule corp jacket that had been given to him. He would need to go to the lab to do some damage control.
The next day was uneventful, in a manner of speaking. Krillin had dropped by to console Gohan, he had also placed his hand very briefly on Piccolo's before leaving. The little former monk stopped by Bulma's kitchen for a glass of water and felt an awful dread. They had less than three weeks before this thing arrives and he grimaced as he thought of his little daughter and his lovely wife. He slammed the glass down, shattering it. He decided to speak to Master Roshi, the guy had been around forever, he must know something.
In his room in Capsule Corp, Piccolo was dreaming again. He looked right, and that grey truck came into view, trundling down the road, and as soon as it was there, it was gone. Every time, the truck would get almost close enough and then...nothing. Then he was in the lobby by the main door to the lab, E-lab, they called it. He remembered now that Bonnie said that Elorn lab was too 'wordy'. She was smiling and he pressed his hand to the fingerprint scanner. The door clicked and opened easily. Light flooded his eyes and they walked, the white walls telling him nothing. She was talking but his memory couldn't recall, he could just see her lips moving. The double doors pushed open and he felt familiarity, children of all ages lined the beds on either side. Above the door read a sign.
Elorn
Temporary Pediatrics
This was where Bonnie left him, half waving as she walked through the other door and to the next corridor. He was wearing scrubs, and nurses came over immediately, though yet again he couldn't hear them, just seeing their lips move.
The dream ended and left him confused, he thought that maybe he had woken up but he was certain this was just another dream. This time, it was more harrowing.
Black mist was everywhere, but he wasn't worried about it. He charged through, he was carrying a weapon and he recognised the lake in his periphery. The scent of burning was heavy in the air, he knew the humans were trying to burn the lab. It wouldn't work, it was already done. You don't kill the mother to kill a child that's already born.
It was somewhere here, the thing, the creature that was killing everyone, that was turning them into the black mist. He dimly remembered thinking something then. The phrase echoed in his mind, seeming so irrelevant and yet important at the same time.
What would you give for forever?
The words had been said to him so long ago but he remembered that the voice was so soothing. Grey eyes flickered in dim light as he spoke. Words that were centuries old now.
What if I could give it to you?
Bonnie was there then, back in that little office and she held his hands in her own. He felt her heart beating in her wrist. But this didn't feel like a memory.
"You have to talk to him, he listens to you"
He was confused but she held tighter.
"He listens to you"
He shook his head, he felt strangely aware. This time his voice was his own gravelly tones.
"Who?"
Piccolo sat up in the bed abruptly, breathing heavily. He looked to the window in confusion and saw the rolling green of a well looked after garden, violet and red petals fluttering on the sil. He sighed, relieved to see that he was back at Capsule Corp. He noticed he had company and from where he sat on the bed, stared into grey eyes that looked at him with sadness. He soon gathered himself and adrenaline shot through his veins like he had injected it himself.
"How do you feel?"
"I've been better"
Piccolo felt himself go cold as he looked at Blue, soothing words ringing in his ears.
What would you give for forever?
And in that instant he knew, that it was Blue. But what does it mean?
Gohan came in, carrying a glass of water. He started to hurry when he saw that Piccolo was awake.
"Piccolo-san!"
"Calm down kid, i'm okay"
Gohan exhaled loudly in relief.
"I'm so glad, even Dende couldn't rouse you"
Piccolo spoke then, insistent and certain.
"We need to get back to that lab"
Gohan was still then, sitting down. Piccolo narrowed his eyes impatiently.
"We can't, it was...it exploded last night"
"Once the fire stops, sure we can take a look again but it doesn't look like there'll be much left worth looking at." He sighed then "some fail safe Bulma thinks, she did some digging and discovered it was a Briefs lab"
Piccolo felt recognition. He knew it was a Briefs lab, he didn't know how he knew. He had seen something in there, the memory of it swimming just ahead of where he could get it. Gohan gave him one last sad look before leaving the room to find Bulma.
Piccolo showered, clothed and thankfully emptied the glass of water before he joined the Z senshi in the 'research room' to hear about this latest drama. Bulma's voice was despairing.
"As you've all heard, the Elorn lab exploded last night. It's a massive set-back but all is not lost. It turns out it was one of our labs, back when it was Briefs corp, it was owned by Britney Briefs, it was a medical research centre. It also coupled as a temporary relief and specialist help for the local children's hospital, for more unusual cases." She seemed proud of the last part.
"Which sounds great, however, there was a lot more going on in there than was publicised. A huge amount of funds was being filtered through Elorn lab, far more than any of its experiments warranted. I also found documents pertaining to DNA manipulation between species, human, Namekian, and a number of others"
Piccolo looked up, he had sat down just due to sheer exhaustion. She continued then.
"More worryingly, was the experiment's agenda. I can't find the specifics, but one scientist, Bonnie Briefs actually, submitted an official complaint that the experiment was not for the furtherment of the human race, but for the furtherment of one man's career at its expense. The details are vague. But basically, if she figured out what happened, maybe we can"
Recognition filled Piccolo's mind. Bonnie. Images of the woman talking in her office were in his mind, then lying in her own blood. Who were you? Who killed you?
His onyx eyes were tired and he closed them as thought of the words that Blue had said, at some point, centuries ago. He almost mentioned it, but decided not to. It had no context, no meaning. He would need to remember more before saying anything.
"Blue, what species are you?" Yamcha asked this question, to everyone's surprise.
Their visitor hesitated. He looked human, but rather young for a 500 year old one.
"You wouldn't know it"
"Oh, it's just, maybe they used your DNA, you know?"
Blue was quick to counter that. "Doubtful, I arrived after the black mist was created"
The crowd then started talking amongst themselves, mulling over the news.
Two weeks passed by, without much new information. Piccolo was sparring, in the wastelands, with Vegeta, Tien with Gohan. The weather wasn't great and recent events had them all on edge. Piccolo spun around as Vegeta went to punch the right side of his face, he countered with a swift and powerful roundhouse kick. He missed, however, as the Saiyan disappeared, his long leg swinging through the air and throwing him off balance. He thought quickly, and used one hand to flip himself over back onto his feet. Vegeta came at him then, a rapid fire of kicks and punches. He stopped only when one of his fists connected with Piccolo's cheek and he pulled away with violet blood covering his knuckles. They'd been at it for hours and finally he called it, stomach growling.
Piccolo scoffed, how many meal breaks do these Saiyans need? Gohan happily sat down to eat and Tien as well, though not as desperately. Piccolo just sat in his usual cross legged pose, waiting for his body to heal. They had a week left, and stepping up the training had been all they could think of. Blue had still been relatively unhelpful with information but helpful enough to be worth keeping around.
Piccolo wiped the blood from his cheek without much thought. They still weren't really sure what they were up against but they would put up one hell of a fight, he was certain of that much at least. He heard Gohan's phone ring, it was Bulma. He could hear her as clear as if she was standing next to him.
"You all need to come, you won't believe what i've found!"
With that, they packed up and all four of them flew to Capsule Corp. Tien felt like he'd spent more time there than at home. He knew that his telepathy may become incredibly important soon and he glanced, with all three of his eyes, to his companions. He only hoped that it would be enough.
They landed and were ushered inside, she was practically giddy, and Vegeta wondered if she had finally lost her mind. Like scientists on this planet do apparently. She handed Vegeta a newspaper clipping, the quality was dubious but you could still see the image clear enough. Piccolo, Tien and Gohan all peered easily over Vegeta's shoulder and Gohan gasped. Piccolo just looked stunned.
There in the photo, were four people. Bonnie was squatting down, lavender hair roughly pulled up out of the way with dirt on her face and blue eyes shining brightly anyway. Her clothes were tattered but hard wearing, she had a gun strapped to her waist. She was doing something with equipment in her hands when this photo was taken. A blonde man was also crouched to her right, brown eyes smiling pleasantly, large goggles on the top of his head and he looked in poor condition too. A girl was stood behind him, black hair and chocolate skin, grinning with fabulous teeth, she was holding what might have been ammunition. To Bonnie's right, facing the camera but leaning on one knee, was a Namekian, he was wearing the same tattered combat clothing, shirt rolled up to his elbows, exposing pink. There he was, with a lopsided smile, exposing one canine, eyes glinting in kindness and excitement. Tenchi, the nameless Namek.
The caption underneath the photo read:
Not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they wear lab coats
The article went on to describe the black mist, the harrowing ordeal, the death of the inhabitants of Elorn, and the odd but brave group of former Elorn laboratory scientists that were now their biggest hope against the creator of the black mist.
Piccolo was speechless.
Until next time! Please R&R :)