The Torment 13: Rescue, and Destroyed Hope
Disclaimer: It's mine, all
MINE!
Mr. Therapist, (tm DMP,)
comes out.
"Due to circumstances,
Larania has run out of medication, and cannot make the standard disclaimer,
therefore, we, her guardians in good faith, say that Larania does not own the
aforementioned series, and will be able to write this story, because sanity is
not a requirement."
(A/N: This part will contain
some serious angst, but will have a happy ending, in the next chapter.
Hopefully.)
Gohan woke up, not knowing where he was, and for a
moment, not even who he was. Everything was overshadowed with a haze of pain,
and it seemed like someone else's vision fell like a curtain over his own, and
all that person could see was darkness.
He whimpered. Mindlessly, he groped outwards, trying to
find the ever-present sense of Piccolo in his soul, but he couldn't. It was
like she was dead.
Gohan let out a moan.
He had to find her. It didn't matter that all his senses
were screaming out that she was dead, well, and truly dead. He
wouldn't believe it until he saw it for himself.
He had to get help.
Flying into the air, he went to find the only other
person who knew about Piccolo-chan. Videl.
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Dende paled when he realized what was happening. The
thought of someone kidnapping Piccolo, maybe even murdering her, was incomprehensible.
To him, he couldn't think of anyone who would want to kill the green giant, or
the human female he had become.
Who would want to kill Ma jr.?
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Gohan had flown as fast as he could to get to Videl-san's
house. She was practicing on her roof, looking for all the world like she was
perfectly comfortable standing on high wire.
If he hadn't been freaking out at the time, he would have
admired her.
Gotta find Piccolo, gotta find Piccolo, gotta-
Then the
spikes of pain from his wife and child hit him. Falling from the sky, he
expected to hit the ground, when Videl caught him.
Then he passed out again.
A few seconds later, he came to, sputtering, because
Videl had hit him in the face with a glass of cold water. Literally. Glass and
all.
"Wah?" Gohan asked intelligently.
"You fell out of the sky, muttering something about
Piccolo. I take it something happened?" she asked, all business, even though
she was blushing at holding Gohan in her arms.
Gohan had tears of phantom pain slipping down his face.
"Someone- something attacked Piccolo, and got her. And
that person is hurting her, and the baby. I wish I knew what to do!" he
screamed, nearly busting Videl's eardrums.
"Okay, okay, take me to where you saw her last!" Videl
screamed back, trying to calm the hysterical Son. Not working, she went to get
another glass. She thought better of it, and got a pail.
Splash
"Its this
way," he told her, pointing in a general direction.
They took off.
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Piccolo-chan was cold. She had no idea how long she had
actually been there, but it seemed like a long time.
This man who held her was terrifying. He wasn't cruel the
way she would have expected, but he was insane. How else could he do the things
that he did, yet never show any sign of emotion?
Today was no better than any other time. The man never
raised his voice, never spoke with righteous anger, but he had- he had-
NO! I won't think about…that…
She whimpered softly, willing the memories of….
"Don't worry, child, your friends will find you soon,"
said that kindly, old voice. "Then justice will be served."
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"So, no luck so far?" asked Bulma, looking at the new
Great Saiyaman I and II. She had been the first person they had gone to when
they're attempts to find Piccolo-chan had failed. Bulma had tried using several
interesting gadgets, but they had not worked either.
"So what do we do?" shouted Gohan, about to pull his hair
out. Then he screamed; another flash of pain along to the bond between him and
his mate lashing him.
"Gohan!" shouted Videl and Bulma at the same time. Then
he looked up.
"I know where they are!" he shrieked, and took to the
skies.
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Why has the pain stopped? She asked herself,
opening her eyes after what seemed like an eternity.
She was in a regeneration tank. Her mouth was covered in
a breathing mask, and slowly, although it was fast by natural standards, her
numerous wounds were being repaired.
The world outside the tank was blue and unfocused. The
blurry face of Gohan, wearing a ridiculous outfit, peered at her with worry.
Gohan was shaking with suppressed fury.
What that monster had done… The artistic burns, slashes,
and bruises were more than he was going to say. There was even evidence of…
She had been raped. His eyes shut as he admitted it to
himself. This beast had raped a pregnant woman, and he had no idea why.
It had taken them all of eight days to find Piccolo. When
they had, she had been starved, badly hurt, and unconscious. They had taken her
back to Bulma's, and she had told then it was a miracle she hadn't miscarried.
Piccolo-chan, Gohan moaned mentally. This is my
fault. You tried to kill yourself because of the pain you thought you had
caused me, but what about what I have caused you? I don't know how this person
was able to do this to you, but it's all my fault. You took care of me, loved
me, and you are carrying my child- I failed to protect you. My fault, my fault…
Still watching her, Gohan saw her eyes open
with the memories of the past week. Gohan was glad he couldn't tell if she was
crying.
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It was several hours later that Videl and Bulma helped
Piccolo to the recovery room. Piccolo-chan had taken a look at Gohan, and
flinched so violently that they thought it was best if only females tended to
her. It was Gohan's turn to want to cry.
"Come on, hon," Videl told Piccolo-chan, who was leaning
heavily against her. The Namek's pride had taken a beating over the past
several months, but this worse, and Videl felt like something inside her was
broken. Piccolo would never be the same after this. It was all Videl could do
to keep from taking her into her arms and holding her. That would kill any
shreds of dignity that Piccolo had left.
"We'll get you a bath, that'll help you feel loads
better," said Bulma, and they walked her over to a furor.
Unnoticed to all of them was the ki signature of the
nameless man… Who had done his own research, and had found a magic kettle…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Up the steps to the deep, hot water basin. Piccolo-chan
wanted to cry at the thought of a wonderful, cleansing bath. Taking the final
step into the water, and settling in, there was a strange tingle, and-
Her skin turned green, and she became-
"Piccolo?" gasped Bulma, backing away from the huge,
green Namek, hot water that had been displaced sloshing over the sides and
soaking her jeans.
Piccolo's eyes flew open, shock making him wonder briefly
why her skin had turned green, when another fear made itself known.
Kami- what happened?
Touching his
now flat abdomen, Piccolo gaped in shock, and Videl, also realizing what had
happen, screamed.
To be continued…