Chapter 11

At the Lookout, the altitude's air currents were eerily still this night. This last night. As though the earth had finally caught on to what was happening, and in some maternal gesture attempted to calm her inhabitants with her own peace. Hence, Piccolo stared silently at the universe, the utter quiet enabling him to feel the brightness of the stars against the black sky as though they were the sun.

He sighed as his thoughts turned inward.

He had spent the past three days in some of the planet's most beautiful geographic areas…meditating. He didn't share Goku's confidence, and reluctantly admitted that they'd likely lose against Cell. The creature was that powerful. He wanted to spend his remaining time in places he enjoyed, tuning in to his inner being, distancing himself from her

Granted, she'd apparently left the Lookout as well, according to Gohan. After hanging around long enough to get up to speed on what was going on, and who was who, Axle took off to explore. The alien female apparently wasn't one to just sit around.

Either way, his attempts to regain his focus were somewhat successful, since Nail managed to keep quiet during the entire time. But the end was quite possibly very near, and one could not help but to contemplate the significance of their life. And so here he was again in the final hours before the battle, his thoughts permeated with life as he knew it, and life as he never lived it, and inevitably…disturbingly…

"Coming to terms with what you might lose, big guy?" came the low, effeminate purr behind him…and for all Piccolo's composure, he couldn't stop himself from startling. He turned to see Axle scrutinizing him through mischievous green eyes, her muscled, gray arms folded across her chest. She was wearing a tailored white outfit with a lace up vest like the ones Nail had fashioned for her on Namek, with low-waisted, straight-legged pants. The ensemble was…alluring.

Something that wouldn't have caught his eye a few days ago.

"Mr. Popo made it for me," she said. When his gaze trailed back up to her face, she was in the process of giving him a pleasant smirk. A knowing one.

He grumbled, trying to cover up his embarrassment with annoyance. "I thought you were gone."

She quirked an eyebrow at his abrupt reaction. "I was."

An awkward silence fell between them, and Piccolo turned his back to her and closed his eyes, as though it could possibly make her go away. He wished she would, if only so her presence would stop triggering those insanely intimate recollections that weren't even his; like how soft her neck was right below the ear, or how warm her hips felt when they were under his hands, or the sweet tanginess of her mouth when she kissed him… Piccolo shuddered and clenched his fists.

Damn your memories with her Nail! They're distracting me.

He felt a surge of identity collect in the shadows of his consciousness, alarmed…and…jealous? Piccolo wanted to kick himself for giving his alter ego, who had behaved so well these past few days, a concept to adhere to.

Undaunted, she walked up beside him and shared his view off the Lookout, the starlight illuminating her gray skin in an ethereal, otherworldly sort of way. "Your planet is beautiful," she said quietly…reverently. "I've lined up a new employ for myself these past couple days down below, so I'd prefer it if you won."

Not that he was inclined to encourage the conversation, but… "Employ?"

She shrugged, and that was all the answer she gave him.

He shook his head and looked back out, wondering how far away her crew was by now. "You were a fool to stay."

He could see her humorless smile in the corner of his eye. "Ah, yes," she replied nonchalantly. "But a very self-aware fool, Piccolo."

He snorted. "Indeed."

Another pause passed between them before she broke it with a very invasive insight. "I first assumed that you went to spend time with loved ones these last couple days, but then your demeanor suggests that you have no loved ones, Piccolo," she said. "Has earth not been good to you?"

Ouch. "If you assumed that, then why did you ask me earlier if I was contemplating what I might lose?" he asked defensively.

"Perhaps it would have been better phrased, that which you never had?"

"Regrets?" he asked incredulously. "I have none."

"Right…" And she stood there in all her audacity, as comfortable in his presence as Gohan was. He felt like throwing himself off the Lookout just to get away from her. That's why it surprised him so much when he continued the conversation.

"My sire wasn't the nurturing type," he said, surprised at the bitterness in his voice over something he thought he'd come to terms with.

"I heard," she replied. "It was a pity Katatsu's son split. My grandfather knew him before the virus, and… Well, I imagine your experience here would have been much different had he been around to raise you."

The thought of anyone raising him was almost surreal. "I didn't need babysitting. Thanks to my demon king father, I came equipped with knowledge on survival," he explained, unable to stop the next words from trailing out of his mouth. "And a legacy of evil. One I had every intention of carrying out, so you'll understand if making friends isn't in my nature."

Her head jerked in his direction, and with a quick side glance he thought he saw…sadness…in her eyes? She sighed heavily and looked her feet. "At least you had an excuse, and despite it all, here you are, a hero, protecting the earth…as noble and valiant as a god."

Piccolo blinked. Hero? Noble? Valiant? They were words he'd never thought to associate with himself. He was a fighter. It's what he did…and if he fought to protect the earth, did it really make him all those things?

Is that how people would see me if they only knew? An ache formed in his chest, but it was a different one this time. Instead of feeling like his lungs were collapsing, he felt like his heart was expanding.

Amazing effect, he mused contemplatively. Words…

Axle sighed beside him and he refocused on her as she continued. "I, on the other hand, had all the love and nurturing in the universe, but that didn't stop me from turning sour," she said, her words dry, as though the emotion behind them had died long ago.

Her self-condemnation didn't sit well with him. He knew too much about her. "The manner in which Etrack and your mother were taken from you wasn't exactly subtle, Axle. Your world was shattered where mine was pieced together. You can't compare the two."

Her face scrunched as she studied him. "You know all about me, don't you?" she stated more than asked. "From Nail…"

He nodded, mutely.

"Strange," she said. "Strange to think you know me so well when we just met a few days ago."

"It's been…weird," he conceded. "Confusing…"

She laughed lightly at that. "Yes, I imagine it would be, coming from your angle. I bet I shocked the hell out of you when I kissed you."

A smile lifted corners of his lips. "Yes. 'Shocking' is one of the reactions I had to that gesture," he said reflexively, and then felt the blood rush up to his face as he realized what he'd just said.

She exhaled in a breathy chuckle. "So you never had that restraint on sexual desire that Guru shackled all his sons with…?"

He couldn't believe the conversation was going there, and he couldn't believe that he didn't stop it. But thanks to experiences that weren't his, he felt alarmingly comfortable around the female. "No."

"So my nearness isn't wreaking havoc on your system, like it did to those poor boys on Namek…"

He snorted. Oh, I wouldn't say that… He opened his mouth, then closed it, figuring it was safest not to respond to that last comment at all.

She took the hint and changed subjects. "So tell me something," she began, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head. "Did you ever misuse that urge during your evil years?"

"No."

She seemed impressed. "Wow. A celibate tyrant," she chuckled. "Unprecedented."

"I aspired to kill Goku. Every waking moment, every dream at night, every breath was spent towards that end. I had no attention span for anything else, and after training Gohan, I lost that motive, which resulted in my reluctant transition from destroyer to protector of this planet. So I never got the chance to exploit other facets of my inherited 'evilness' before I became a good guy, if that's what you were wondering."

"Yep. That was exactly what I was wondering," she said, "And if you took the time to get intimately invested since then."

His eyes widened. "Can you get any more personal?"

She grinned, the tip of her lips touching the bottom of her yellow-starred birthmark. "I could…" she said, leaving the comment open for interpretation, but after watching him squirm for a few seconds, she shrugged. "With as much as you know about me, I just thought it fair to even out the odds."

He shook his head incredulously. "I didn't seek out those memories, you know." He watched her still-smiling profile as she gazed across the curve of the planet. After a moment, he relented. "It's not like females flock to me," he said. "Besides, the few I've met are…" he shuddered, "terrifying…"

She fell into peels of laughter at his last comment, and he faced her, wondering what she found so funny. After several confusing seconds, she composed herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh, Piccolo. That was one of the most honest reactions I've ever seen," she chuckled. "Is that how you see me, too? Because I rank myself pretty high up on the intimidation scale."

"Hmph. Well I know you," then he considered her more objectively, "which almost makes it worse."

That sent her laughing again, and she leaned against him for support. Though perplexed, he couldn't deny that her giggling was contagious. Not to mention that no one had pegged him as a comedian before, and he had to admit that the effect made him feel pretty good about himself.

He held a hand out to steady her. "You're not acting very dignified," he commented, his tone lacking its usual bite.

"True," she managed in between sniggering. Then, as though in afterthought, she looked over her shoulder to the sleeping quarters where soft snoring noises emanated from. Fortunately her laughter hadn't woken them up. "That kid," she said, more subdued. "The golden-haired one. He's crazy about you."

Piccolo tried to keep the smile internal as his soul warmed at the thought of the boy, but he felt it tweak the corners of his lips anyways. "Gohan…"

"Yeah," she agreed. "So despite all your projected gruffness, it seems that someone has penetrated those barriers."

"Mmm…" Piccolo considered their current conversation. Must not be too hard, because you're doing it right now.

She frowned then, her mind having found another venue to pursue. "Dende. It amazes me that the little scrub was powerful enough to create a god. An Eternal Dragon. Nail said he was destined for greatness, but…" she shook her head. "Damn."

Piccolo had to agree, though he said nothing.

"What I don't get," she continued, her brows furrowed, "is why no one has come up with a wish yet that would stop Cell. I mean, can't the dragon do something?"

Piccolo shook his head. "He can't just wipe Cell from existence, if that's what you mean."

She pursed her lips and folded her arms again. "But there's got to be a loophole. How could a deity be powerless to stop such evil?"

"The Eternal Dragon is a mechanism for wishes, that is all. It has no alignment. Why else would it grant unrighteous requests?"

She snorted, and went quiet. Piccolo could feel her rising anxiety. She was perhaps just beginning to comprehend that tomorrow might be it. For all of them.

No, he reminded himself sternly. For her and Nail. Her affections had nothing to do with him. His gaze turned towards the heavens, and he sighed. Nail's consciousness bobbed at the edges of his mind like a predator, undoubtedly waiting for a moment of weakness to spring. His alter ego had grown alarmingly aware the past few minutes, and Piccolo had been so engrossed in conversation with Axle, that he hadn't even noticed it.

It leeched the better-than-usual mood right out of him, and it didn't help any that he could see Axle now staring at him through his peripheral vision…achingly… longingly, the starlight reflecting off the shimmering in her eyes. Again, he wondered how good it would feel to have that attention all to himself. Not meant for another, despite the fact that she was looking right at him.

"I'm not him," he grated without facing her, "so stop looking at me like that."

She exhaled deeply and looked at her feet. "You look identical," she said in a strained tone, "and it's screwing with my mind."

"Well you're screwing with mine!" he said more heatedly than he meant to, and suddenly she had his purple gi curled in her fists, her face inches from his.

"Gods, Piccolo, let him out," she whispered frantically, her earlier tranquility replaced by crazed desperation. "You can't in good conscience face tomorrow without giving us a chance to say goodbye!"

Her sudden rapid change in demeanor caught him off guard, and he stared stupidly at her honest face.

Nail perked up at that, and all too soon he joined in as well.

Piccolo…

He grimaced, remembering the horrible sensation and blind panic from the last time Nail took over. It was almost as bad as those insane first few months after he'd been born, having no sense of self under the weight of the Demon King's memories. "NO!" he snarled. "We face our most formidable foe tomorrow, you impetuous female! Releasing control of my body scatters my concentration. You have no idea what you're asking of me."

She shook him, and he grabbed her arms, too stunned by the plea in her face to push her off. "The world may be coming to an end. Allow us these last moments!"

"What about me?" he asked crazily. "All because I don't have someone doesn't make my needs any less valid. And I need to be in my body to prepare for a fight!" He felt his edge soften against his better judgment. "Besides, I can't trust him, Axle."

"Please…" she whispered, water standing in her eyes. She stared intensely at him as though to pull Nail from his mind with her gaze alone.

I give you my word Piccolo that I'll return your body to you in time for the fight, Nail sent urgently.

After hours of mental torture? he responded back. Being locked in a nightmare? And how would that prepare me for Cell, you narrow-minded amateur? He snapped internally. Get over it! It's not happening.

His face scrunched in strain as he mentally pushed at Nail, shoving him back…way back. He relaxed slightly as his swallowed persona begin to disperse…dissipate. At least he was still in control.

PIC…COL…LO!

The resistance faded. Nail was still there, but silenced. He'd somehow managed to lock him down. Won. And Piccolo felt terrible about it. He opened his eyes and looked apologetically down at Axle, feeling like the biggest ass in the world.

But she misinterpreted his softened look as someone else's.

Axle blinked, the tears rolling down her cheeks and she caught her bottom lip in between her teeth. There was so much emotion behind her eyes that Piccolo nearly choked, being the unintended recipient of it all. Then with an elated sob, she grabbed his face and kissed him.

His mouth responded to the lip lock, more out of reflex than intent, thanks to his alter ego's memories. The words 'I'm not Nail' were on the tip of his tongue.

But his tongue was busy.

He intended to push her away. Really, he did. But he was utterly stupefied. Her abrupt intimacy and the warmth behind it was overwhelming to his unprepared senses. It just…

felt…

…so…

… … good……


.

When she kissed Piccolo, Nail was able to centralize immediately, despite the dominant namekian's efforts to keep him quiet.

Piccolo!

Panic coursed through his collected awareness as Piccolo's hands, instead of pushing her away, hesitantly pulled her to him. A whimpering moan trailed down to his awareness, and he didn't have to guess the effect she was having on him. He knew, first hand. If ever there was a Hell for a warrior, it was being forced to watch the female you love in another's arms.

Rage, jealousy and fear nearly pushed Nail over sanity's edge. Don't touch her! He screamed. She's mine!

No response.

I'll make you crazy! Do you hear me?

That hit. He sensed Piccolo's aggravation immediately.

Suddenly, an unseen force slammed into him like the side of a mountain and he was hurled back, yet again. Only this time the onslaught didn't stop. The horror of what was happening froze his ability to project coherent words. It was Piccolo's own consciousness, given more strength to fight him, because instinct was taking over his body.

PICCOLO!

Swirls of nothingness licked and tugged at him, threatening to completely absorb Nail into a greater whole. He screamed and fought it, crazed beyond all rationale. But the claustrophobic vortex only became stronger.

He screamed, cried…subliminally…futilely…as Axle eased Piccolo back onto the tiles, laying atop him - the namekian's once reluctant hands now caressing and frantic…

The last thing Nail was aware of before utter blackness swallowed his soul, was that her bold actions were crossing boundaries she hadn't crossed before. Axle wasn't going to merely exploit the small gestures…

She intended to go beyond them.