___Chapter 53___
~~~NOTE- Back. Well, if you notice shades of the last 2 eps of Evangelion in here, you're right. Just finished the series a little while ago (Truly Kickass, no matter how confusing) and it came to mind while writing this chapter. I've also got the midi for 'just communication' from Gundam Wing going, so if you've got it, put it on. Ciao. ~~~
"If it's not here.... then were IS it?"
"*growls* That's what I'm TRYING to figure out, but a certain SOMEONE keeps TALKING and distracting me. *glares* Ok?"
"Alright, don't kill me. Jeez...."
"Shutup before I tear your throat out and MAKE you shutup, understand?"
"..."
"Good."
---
Piccolo was alone. He'd left his 'other half' behind, and now saw nothing but the whiteness around, which perturbed him. There was pure silence.
It's not like he hadn't ever heard silence, most of his life had been spent in that state of mind where the only sound one can hear is the beating of one's own heart, but this.... was wrong. Very wrong.
It almost scared him, would have, if he'd let it. But Piccolo wasn't about to go running back to Neru for help. Hell, he'd kill himself before he'd ask Neru for help. Same with Kami. Or most of the other senshi. The only exceptions were three, which he'd use only in the most extreme cases- Gohan, Oboe, and Vegeta. They were the three people he trusted most, who he would, and had in two of the three cases, die for if needed.
But there was no help here in the emptiness. His head felt light, as if from lack of oxygen, which confused him more, because he wasn't breathing in the first place. The dead don't breathe.
{{They don't generally go waltzing around trying to kill gods either.}} mumbled a voice in the back of his mind sarcastically. Piccolo was about to reply 'shutup Neru', but remembered the namekian was separate for now and stopped himself.
Why WAS that anyway? Ever since their fusion they'd been stuck together, why not now? And wasn't it impossible to be separated? If he remembered correctly, namekian fusion was permanent, right?
Piccolo clamped his hands over his head, hissing in aggravation at all the confusion milling in his mind at once. What was going on? Was someone trying to drive him mad with all this?
---
Gohan sighed, hands on his chin as he sat on the cliff, eyes scanning over the edge. They'd been traveling for quite some time, and he + Lute were dead on their feet- the kid had already fallen asleep, using the halfling's leg as a pillow. Gohan smiled, patting the little namekian's head. He was really getting to like the green-eyed boy.
Then his eyes caught the horizon again, just in time to watch the first sun set, turning the sky around it the most beautiful shade of amber and maroon. The effect would have been nicer, though, it he hadn't glanced up and seen another sun broiling down at him. He couldn't help but wonder how weird if felt for Oboe....
Thinking of the namekian woman, he glanced toward the shaded spot she'd curled up in, in her own form. He still stared at her oddly, like he was sure he did every time since she'd told her story, a little disturbed and confused. He'd never thought of her as anything but the happy little thing that loved his sensei before, but now...
{{Weird how much your view of someone can change once you know more about then.}} he mumbled, yawning and patting Lute's head before plopping asleep.
---
"Ah, damnit all... Why's it so damned BRIGHT out here!" Vegeta moaned, shoving his head further between his knees in hopes of being able to sleep. No such luck.
"Shutup." mumbled a voice from further off.
"No woman, I will NOT shutup, I will sit here complaining until doomsday if I wish!" he yelled back, the lack of sleep making him cross. The sayian glanced over at her, curled up on her side on the ground, trying to find some shade between the shadows of a smaller cliff and a tree grove. Spotting a nice-sized rock by his foot, me smirked and chucked it at her back.
When Oboe jerked around, Vegeta was pretending he was asleep, and she murmured "Thank god, he shut his trap..." and laid back down. Vegeta picked up another rock, smirked, and chucked it at the back of her head.
It never reached though, because she caught it in her hand, crushing it. "That wasn't funny, Veggie." she smiled, eyes between laughter and annoyance.
Vegeta's jaw dropped, and he shouted "Don't call me Veggie!", eyes wide.
Oboe merely pulled on her lower left eyelid and stuck her tongue out.
"HEY!" he was about to shout, but then she smacked him upside the head, pointing to the two sleeping children.
With a grumble of annoyance, he sighed, settling back down to attempt to sleep in the sunshine.
---
Neru looked around himself, hoping for a sign of some sort. Nothing. With an agitated moan, he slumped to the ground in a sitting position. He'd thought being with Piccolo breathing down his back was bad, but being alone proved far worse.
The 'darkness amongst all the light' he'd mentioned earlier was still there, and it made his head pin just to TRY and figure out what it was. So many possibilities.... and so many of them bad.
He'd had enough negativity in his life, though, so he pushed those out of his mind. He'd seen his people, family, and friends slaughtered twice in his lifetime, and the deaths of hundreds of others through the mind's eye of Piccolo and his sire, he didn't need anything else negative to think about.
---
"... Can't get any more quiet here, can it?" he whispered gruffly, glancing around his surroundings and sighing. The strange thoughts had disappeared as suddenly as they'd come, and he was walking through the whiteness again. But now something else was unnerving him, something he'd known for a while but only now could admit to himself- he was totally lost.
---
Oboe shifted again, trying to get comfortable and rest, but whenever her eyes closed, she felt as if she were back in that night forest all those centuries ago, and jolted back up in a cold sweat. She still couldn't sleep, not without him there.
Vegeta, because he'd been complaining so bitterly noone could attempt to shut him up, had gotten a small capsule house for himself out of the backpack ("Seems that onna has some practical use after all!" as he'd said), and was now fast asleep. Lute'd been out the whole time, and Gohan had plopped back down in a matter of minutes. But Oboe was too haunted to rest.
---
"What's WITH those two, after all the sake they've ingested, they should be out cold!" Bulma yelled at Yen, hands on her hips. Actually, one was on her hip, the other was pointed at the transporters in question.
Yen just took one look at Bulma's exasperated face and cracked up.
"Hey, this isn't FUNNY!" she shouted in indignation, but the triclops woman didn't respond. Bulma grumbled something about idiots under her breath and, sweatdrop visible on the side of her head, stormed off to the kitchen, an idea for revenge already stirring in her mind.
---
"Trunks, slow down, will you!" shouted the young namekian, eyes wide. "You're gonna choke or something! And GOTEN, that's a-"
"Hey, who stuck a napkin on my plate? I almost swallowed it!"
"*sweatdrops* Um... then what's that hanging out of your mouth?"
"..."
"*takes one look, smacks his purple-haired head into the table so he doesn't laugh and start choking, fails* "
"See Trunks, I told you you'd choke! Here, let me help"
"*screeches* The claws, watch the claws!!!"
"Um, gomen Trunks...."
"*sighs* Dende, Dende, Dende.... what are we suppose to do with you?"
Then Goten's eyes lit up, an evil smirk on his face. He disappeared for a minute, but returned quickly, hands behind his back.
"Goten, what's that?"
"Oh, nothing Dende......"
Trunks gave him a look, but then he saw what the other halfling had and smiled.
"Hey, why are you two looking at me like that...." mumbled the child in question, but by the time he realized what was going on, they'd jumped him.
Dende broke away a few seconds later, coughing and yelling "What'd you guys just force down my throat?"
Goten flashed the traditional Son grin, and said "Food. Just came out of the kitchen."
Dende sighed, and was about to reply when his face washed pale and he collapsed over in a faint. Trunks and Goten merely blinked in confusion.
The black haired child glanced down at the plate, eyeing the contents. "Hey, might as well not let it go to waste! Whaddya say, Trunks?"
"Dig in!" they both chimed in, but after the first bit passed their mouths, they froze.
"...W.. what is this, poison?" Goten shouted, gagging.
Trunks just shook his head, whispering "No, worse... kassan's cooking!!!!"
---
Bulma smirked evilly- though she wasn't proud about her cooking deficiencies, it'd get her and the other ladies out of the kitchen fast enough, since no more orders would be coming in.
~~~NOTE- Back. Well, if you notice shades of the last 2 eps of Evangelion in here, you're right. Just finished the series a little while ago (Truly Kickass, no matter how confusing) and it came to mind while writing this chapter. I've also got the midi for 'just communication' from Gundam Wing going, so if you've got it, put it on. Ciao. ~~~
"If it's not here.... then were IS it?"
"*growls* That's what I'm TRYING to figure out, but a certain SOMEONE keeps TALKING and distracting me. *glares* Ok?"
"Alright, don't kill me. Jeez...."
"Shutup before I tear your throat out and MAKE you shutup, understand?"
"..."
"Good."
---
Piccolo was alone. He'd left his 'other half' behind, and now saw nothing but the whiteness around, which perturbed him. There was pure silence.
It's not like he hadn't ever heard silence, most of his life had been spent in that state of mind where the only sound one can hear is the beating of one's own heart, but this.... was wrong. Very wrong.
It almost scared him, would have, if he'd let it. But Piccolo wasn't about to go running back to Neru for help. Hell, he'd kill himself before he'd ask Neru for help. Same with Kami. Or most of the other senshi. The only exceptions were three, which he'd use only in the most extreme cases- Gohan, Oboe, and Vegeta. They were the three people he trusted most, who he would, and had in two of the three cases, die for if needed.
But there was no help here in the emptiness. His head felt light, as if from lack of oxygen, which confused him more, because he wasn't breathing in the first place. The dead don't breathe.
{{They don't generally go waltzing around trying to kill gods either.}} mumbled a voice in the back of his mind sarcastically. Piccolo was about to reply 'shutup Neru', but remembered the namekian was separate for now and stopped himself.
Why WAS that anyway? Ever since their fusion they'd been stuck together, why not now? And wasn't it impossible to be separated? If he remembered correctly, namekian fusion was permanent, right?
Piccolo clamped his hands over his head, hissing in aggravation at all the confusion milling in his mind at once. What was going on? Was someone trying to drive him mad with all this?
---
Gohan sighed, hands on his chin as he sat on the cliff, eyes scanning over the edge. They'd been traveling for quite some time, and he + Lute were dead on their feet- the kid had already fallen asleep, using the halfling's leg as a pillow. Gohan smiled, patting the little namekian's head. He was really getting to like the green-eyed boy.
Then his eyes caught the horizon again, just in time to watch the first sun set, turning the sky around it the most beautiful shade of amber and maroon. The effect would have been nicer, though, it he hadn't glanced up and seen another sun broiling down at him. He couldn't help but wonder how weird if felt for Oboe....
Thinking of the namekian woman, he glanced toward the shaded spot she'd curled up in, in her own form. He still stared at her oddly, like he was sure he did every time since she'd told her story, a little disturbed and confused. He'd never thought of her as anything but the happy little thing that loved his sensei before, but now...
{{Weird how much your view of someone can change once you know more about then.}} he mumbled, yawning and patting Lute's head before plopping asleep.
---
"Ah, damnit all... Why's it so damned BRIGHT out here!" Vegeta moaned, shoving his head further between his knees in hopes of being able to sleep. No such luck.
"Shutup." mumbled a voice from further off.
"No woman, I will NOT shutup, I will sit here complaining until doomsday if I wish!" he yelled back, the lack of sleep making him cross. The sayian glanced over at her, curled up on her side on the ground, trying to find some shade between the shadows of a smaller cliff and a tree grove. Spotting a nice-sized rock by his foot, me smirked and chucked it at her back.
When Oboe jerked around, Vegeta was pretending he was asleep, and she murmured "Thank god, he shut his trap..." and laid back down. Vegeta picked up another rock, smirked, and chucked it at the back of her head.
It never reached though, because she caught it in her hand, crushing it. "That wasn't funny, Veggie." she smiled, eyes between laughter and annoyance.
Vegeta's jaw dropped, and he shouted "Don't call me Veggie!", eyes wide.
Oboe merely pulled on her lower left eyelid and stuck her tongue out.
"HEY!" he was about to shout, but then she smacked him upside the head, pointing to the two sleeping children.
With a grumble of annoyance, he sighed, settling back down to attempt to sleep in the sunshine.
---
Neru looked around himself, hoping for a sign of some sort. Nothing. With an agitated moan, he slumped to the ground in a sitting position. He'd thought being with Piccolo breathing down his back was bad, but being alone proved far worse.
The 'darkness amongst all the light' he'd mentioned earlier was still there, and it made his head pin just to TRY and figure out what it was. So many possibilities.... and so many of them bad.
He'd had enough negativity in his life, though, so he pushed those out of his mind. He'd seen his people, family, and friends slaughtered twice in his lifetime, and the deaths of hundreds of others through the mind's eye of Piccolo and his sire, he didn't need anything else negative to think about.
---
"... Can't get any more quiet here, can it?" he whispered gruffly, glancing around his surroundings and sighing. The strange thoughts had disappeared as suddenly as they'd come, and he was walking through the whiteness again. But now something else was unnerving him, something he'd known for a while but only now could admit to himself- he was totally lost.
---
Oboe shifted again, trying to get comfortable and rest, but whenever her eyes closed, she felt as if she were back in that night forest all those centuries ago, and jolted back up in a cold sweat. She still couldn't sleep, not without him there.
Vegeta, because he'd been complaining so bitterly noone could attempt to shut him up, had gotten a small capsule house for himself out of the backpack ("Seems that onna has some practical use after all!" as he'd said), and was now fast asleep. Lute'd been out the whole time, and Gohan had plopped back down in a matter of minutes. But Oboe was too haunted to rest.
---
"What's WITH those two, after all the sake they've ingested, they should be out cold!" Bulma yelled at Yen, hands on her hips. Actually, one was on her hip, the other was pointed at the transporters in question.
Yen just took one look at Bulma's exasperated face and cracked up.
"Hey, this isn't FUNNY!" she shouted in indignation, but the triclops woman didn't respond. Bulma grumbled something about idiots under her breath and, sweatdrop visible on the side of her head, stormed off to the kitchen, an idea for revenge already stirring in her mind.
---
"Trunks, slow down, will you!" shouted the young namekian, eyes wide. "You're gonna choke or something! And GOTEN, that's a-"
"Hey, who stuck a napkin on my plate? I almost swallowed it!"
"*sweatdrops* Um... then what's that hanging out of your mouth?"
"..."
"*takes one look, smacks his purple-haired head into the table so he doesn't laugh and start choking, fails* "
"See Trunks, I told you you'd choke! Here, let me help"
"*screeches* The claws, watch the claws!!!"
"Um, gomen Trunks...."
"*sighs* Dende, Dende, Dende.... what are we suppose to do with you?"
Then Goten's eyes lit up, an evil smirk on his face. He disappeared for a minute, but returned quickly, hands behind his back.
"Goten, what's that?"
"Oh, nothing Dende......"
Trunks gave him a look, but then he saw what the other halfling had and smiled.
"Hey, why are you two looking at me like that...." mumbled the child in question, but by the time he realized what was going on, they'd jumped him.
Dende broke away a few seconds later, coughing and yelling "What'd you guys just force down my throat?"
Goten flashed the traditional Son grin, and said "Food. Just came out of the kitchen."
Dende sighed, and was about to reply when his face washed pale and he collapsed over in a faint. Trunks and Goten merely blinked in confusion.
The black haired child glanced down at the plate, eyeing the contents. "Hey, might as well not let it go to waste! Whaddya say, Trunks?"
"Dig in!" they both chimed in, but after the first bit passed their mouths, they froze.
"...W.. what is this, poison?" Goten shouted, gagging.
Trunks just shook his head, whispering "No, worse... kassan's cooking!!!!"
---
Bulma smirked evilly- though she wasn't proud about her cooking deficiencies, it'd get her and the other ladies out of the kitchen fast enough, since no more orders would be coming in.