The Mystery Within
Part I - Prelude to Terror
by namek kaia
Disclaimer: I own nothing except original characters and attacks. And don't use them without my permission. You won't like the consequences.
**Author's Note** Yep, it's me again, interrupting the flow of the story. Oh well, get over it. Just wanted to warn you that this is somewhat of a boring chapter, but it was necessary to bring other characters into the story. And I'm talking about Gohan! Yea. Oh come on, you knew he had to come into the story sometime. You can't have Piccolo without Gohan. And to make the story work a little better, Gohan is much older. Call it an A/U or whatever. Just thought I'd let you know so you weren't confused or anything. So without further adieu... on with the story!!
Chapter Nine - Weakness
That afternoon, Piccolo hovered by the fire, meditating. Niko stood in the kitchen, cooking lunch for herself. Food was scarce around this time of year because of winter. The only sure source of food she had was the garden she and her father had kept. They found it easier to provide food for themselves than to risk human confrontation by buying food in the city. It was a long way to the city anyway. The journey would have taken some time, time that they didn't have. But sometimes, a trip to the city was necessary for things they couldn't obtain on their own.
Their source of water was the stream that ran through the mountain. But the cold had frozen the pipes. It had only happened once before. Winters of this area weren't usually brutally cold. This winter season was a definite exception. She was lucky to have bought a lot of bottled water on her last trip. She couldn't shower, but at least she wouldn't die of thirst.
Piccolo's eyes slowly opened as he came to an unsure thought. He had been thinking about the things that Niko had told him. This time, she had told the truth. He replayed the words in his head, trying to gather some additional information through her words, as if they held an encrypted message. This unsure thought, he thought it stupid, but it filled him with curiosity. He wasn't even sure if it was appropriate. But it couldn't hurt to ask, could it? "Niko?" he asked, breaking the silence without looking in her direction.
"Yes?" she asked in return, continuing to stir the soup she was preparing. She hadn't completely heard the question, still engulfed in her own thoughts.
"You don't have to answer, but I was thinking about what you had told me," he said, causing Niko to interrupt her activities. "When those men... did that to you... you didn't get pregnant? I mean, you don't have a ten-year-old child that I don't know about walking around somewhere, do you?" he finished.
"He would only be eight years old, thank you very much. And no, I didn't get pregnant. I made sure of that," she answered, slightly insulted at his misjudgment of her age. But she quickly forgot it. It was a common mistake. She had to admit she did look a bit older than she actually was.
"You made sure?" he asked, more confused and curious than before.
*I have mental abilities like you wouldn't believe,* she replied mentally, a large smirk gracing her face. Piccolo was almost thrown off balance at the sudden invasion of his mind. He stood and faced Niko with a greatly surprised expression.
"You're telepathic!!!" he shouted in confusion rather than anger.
"And telekinetic," she added with pride, releasing the wooden spoon from her hand and proceeding to move it with her mind. Soon after her pride was replaced with anger. 'Damnit, Niko. There you go being idiotic again. Sure, tell him about your powers, why don't you? And while you're at it, why not write him a frikin' book TELLING HIM EVERYTHING!!!!' she raised her voice at herself. She knew that she did these things sometimes. She couldn't help it. She was very proud of her abilities, and most of the time her pride clouded her better judgment. "Um, heh. I was born with the ability. It took me quite a while to learn how to use it and improve on it," she lied nervously. Piccolo saw through her statement and grunted in disapproval. He was getting tired of being lied to, even if it was for his own protection.
"Whatever. But I don't see what that has to do with what happened. Or rather, what didn't happen."
"Well I just mentally moved their sperm in the wrong direction, so there was no possible way I could get pregnant. Thank God, too," she stated with a disgusted shiver. Piccolo was amazed; both at the fact that she had this ability and that she didn't seem to mind speaking on the subject of her abuse. Probably because she liked to explain the capabilities she had, no matter the subject of discussion.
After a long awkward pause, Piccolo returned to his meditation. Niko continued her cooking, this time stirring the soup herself.
*****
Outside, not too far away, Gohan had taken his little brother, Goten, out to play in what little snow had fell the night before. He gasped as he was caught off guard by a flying snowball, and cringed as he felt the freezing snow crawl down the back of his neck. Seeking revenge, he bent down and picked up a handful of snow with his glove-covered hands. "Take this you little punk," he called to his three-year-old brother and launched his ready snowball at his target.
Soon they had wondered far away from home, taking their snowball fight into a large clearing on the outskirts of the woods. Just as they were about to launch another barrage of snowballs at each other, Gohan stopped. In the distance, he could see smoke escaping from the chimney of a small house. This was irrelevant. He could feel Piccolo's ki. This excited him to no end. He hadn't seen Piccolo in so long. He didn't wonder what he was doing in this house instead of out in the woods... alone, nor did he feel Goten's snowball that had hit him on the side of his face. Quickly he grabbed his little brother and flew in the direction of the house, knocking on the door at his arrival.
Upon hearing the unexpected knock on the door, both Piccolo and Niko tensed. They quickly stopped what they were doing and stalked to the door carefully. They vaguely recognized the ki they felt, but knowing their enemies, anything was possible. Niko reached for the door handle and quickly opened it, assuming a fighting stance. She relaxed as she saw their intruder gasp with surprise and stumble backward into the snow.
"G... Gohan!?!" came Piccolo's words.
"Yeah, heh, sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you or anything. I just felt your ki and came to see you. It's been a long time hasn't it?" he said, getting up and brushing the snow off his clothes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, really," he continued, turning to Niko. However, she only halfway heard his apology, more concerned with Gohan's shy accomplice. She knelt down so that they were at eye level with each other.
"And who might you be?" she asked happily, showing a smile.
Sensing her gentleness, Goten stepped out from behind his brother's leg. "I'm Goten," he stated in his high-pitched childish voice, bowing slightly.
"And I am Niko. Very nice to meet you, young sir," she said, returning his bow jokingly.
He giggled and replied, "You're silly."
"I'll show you silly," she remarked with false offense and began to tickle his sides. He laughed uncontrollably while struggling to break free from her torture. She was amazed at the amount of strength he exerted for a child of his age. 'Must be his Saiyan blood,' she thought. After bringing him to tears, she released him, allowing him to stumble back out into the snow.
"You're not silly, you're mean!" he shouted and playfully threw a snowball in her direction. She looked away, allowing it to hit her on the shoulder. "Alright Goten," she shouted back, standing, "you asked for it!!" Once again Goten had engaged himself in a snowball fight, Niko willfully playing along. Piccolo and Gohan watched in amazement at the scene before them. That is, Piccolo watched in amazement. Gohan was more confused than anything else.
Gohan had never seen someone take so quickly to a child that wasn't his or her own. But then again, he could understand this in Goten's case. Goten was so laid back and carefree. He was always laughing and playing around with everything. Gohan could remember seeing him sad only once or twice. His mother had said that Goku had been the same way when he was young. So innocent, so fun loving, and very adventurous. He missed his father so much. He longed more and more everyday to see him, to hear his voice again. It had been so long since he had left. It seemed to him like an eternity.
As Gohan became captured by thoughts of his father, Piccolo still stood with a stunned expression on his face. Niko had amazed him yet again. She was altogether a different person. She was... happy. He had never seen such an emotion from her. Not much different from he, the only expression she wished to show was seriousness and scorn. Occasionally, sadness and depression broke through it all, but never happiness. Never once. Now, she was actually smiling, making her even more beautiful than before. And she laughed... creating such a sweet melody for his ears. It was then that he figured out one of her deepest secrets.
She yearned more than anything to have children of her own. It was so obvious. She immediately connected in some strange way with Goten. There could be no explanation, no other way to give reason for her reactions. She would be complete if only she could have children. But could it be possible? She loved her life of near solitude. She wouldn't go out and find someone she loved enough to start a family with. Then, of course, there was himself. The thought rolled over and over in his mind. They didn't exactly love each other, but couldn't he help her bring a child into this world? With a mental grunt, he pushed the thought away. He wouldn't be able to bring himself to do such a thing. He would feel responsible for the child, and would need to play a major part in its life. He couldn't just abandon something like this, no matter how capable Niko was of raising a child on her own. And he wasn't ready for such a commitment in his life, not yet. Trying to forget the subject matter, he returned to his conversation with Gohan.
"You've grown a great deal, both body and soul, since I have seen you last. You must be what, fifteen now?" he asked.
"Sixteen," Gohan corrected, fixing his gaze back onto Niko and Goten.
"You have become quite the father figure haven't you? You've barely taken you eyes off of him since you've been here," he commented.
"Maybe it's not him that I'm looking at," he stated with a slight smile. Then suddenly realizing his mistake, he tried to re-word his statement. "I mean, not that I was looking at her. I just..." he stammered.
Piccolo held up a hand to stop him from going any further. "Don't worry, you said nothing wrong. She isn't my mate, not really, though I would protect her with my life, as I would you," he spoke, serious as always. Both their gazes lingered on the two figures playing in the snow. After a few moments, the silence was once again broken by Piccolo. "You know, I wouldn't mind testing your improved fighting skills. What do you say to a spar?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow.
Gohan hesitated with a sigh, keeping his eye on Goten. "Don't worry," Piccolo assured. "I'm sure he'll be fine with her. She's not dangerous." 'At least I hope not,' he thought. "Nevertheless, I don't think you could possibly separate those two."
A smile growing on his face, Gohan finally responded. "You're probably right. Alright, I accept," he said with happiness, glad to finally get a chance to spar with his mentor once more. "But I have to warn you, you might not be able to keep up with an accomplished fighter such as myself," he finished, projecting his chest outward.
"I think puberty has destroyed your mind, kid. But we shall see who is keeping up with who once it begins," he explained, leaping into the air, followed closely by Gohan. As they flew off Niko and Goten paused in their activities.
"Where is brother going?" Goten asked desperately. Niko, unable to answer the toddler's question, watched in confusion as they flew away. Piccolo glanced back at her, mentally sending her the message reassuring her that they would be back soon.
"Don't worry, Goten. They'll be back soon. You can stay with me in the meantime. What do you say to us going inside and me making us some nice, warm cocoa? Okay?"
"Yea, cocoa!!" he exclaimed, patting his tiny gloved hands together and taking her hand to follow her inside.
**
UH OH!! Do I sense a little... love triangle going on? Piccolo has some competition? Maybe, maybe not. And I intentionally created a slip of words in this chapter. Did you catch it? Oh well, it's not the end of the world if you didn't.
Yeah, okay. The ending is kinda, well... bleh. But I finally found a way to split the chapter. It'll give me a chance to build on some of the relationships going on. Well, the final chapters of part one are finally approaching! Both the identity of the mysterious stranger and Niko's secret are revealed!! But they've both kind of been put off b/c of this new chapter. And hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Review and tell me what you think. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long. Luv y'all lots! - NaK
Part I - Prelude to Terror
by namek kaia
Disclaimer: I own nothing except original characters and attacks. And don't use them without my permission. You won't like the consequences.
**Author's Note** Yep, it's me again, interrupting the flow of the story. Oh well, get over it. Just wanted to warn you that this is somewhat of a boring chapter, but it was necessary to bring other characters into the story. And I'm talking about Gohan! Yea. Oh come on, you knew he had to come into the story sometime. You can't have Piccolo without Gohan. And to make the story work a little better, Gohan is much older. Call it an A/U or whatever. Just thought I'd let you know so you weren't confused or anything. So without further adieu... on with the story!!
Chapter Nine - Weakness
That afternoon, Piccolo hovered by the fire, meditating. Niko stood in the kitchen, cooking lunch for herself. Food was scarce around this time of year because of winter. The only sure source of food she had was the garden she and her father had kept. They found it easier to provide food for themselves than to risk human confrontation by buying food in the city. It was a long way to the city anyway. The journey would have taken some time, time that they didn't have. But sometimes, a trip to the city was necessary for things they couldn't obtain on their own.
Their source of water was the stream that ran through the mountain. But the cold had frozen the pipes. It had only happened once before. Winters of this area weren't usually brutally cold. This winter season was a definite exception. She was lucky to have bought a lot of bottled water on her last trip. She couldn't shower, but at least she wouldn't die of thirst.
Piccolo's eyes slowly opened as he came to an unsure thought. He had been thinking about the things that Niko had told him. This time, she had told the truth. He replayed the words in his head, trying to gather some additional information through her words, as if they held an encrypted message. This unsure thought, he thought it stupid, but it filled him with curiosity. He wasn't even sure if it was appropriate. But it couldn't hurt to ask, could it? "Niko?" he asked, breaking the silence without looking in her direction.
"Yes?" she asked in return, continuing to stir the soup she was preparing. She hadn't completely heard the question, still engulfed in her own thoughts.
"You don't have to answer, but I was thinking about what you had told me," he said, causing Niko to interrupt her activities. "When those men... did that to you... you didn't get pregnant? I mean, you don't have a ten-year-old child that I don't know about walking around somewhere, do you?" he finished.
"He would only be eight years old, thank you very much. And no, I didn't get pregnant. I made sure of that," she answered, slightly insulted at his misjudgment of her age. But she quickly forgot it. It was a common mistake. She had to admit she did look a bit older than she actually was.
"You made sure?" he asked, more confused and curious than before.
*I have mental abilities like you wouldn't believe,* she replied mentally, a large smirk gracing her face. Piccolo was almost thrown off balance at the sudden invasion of his mind. He stood and faced Niko with a greatly surprised expression.
"You're telepathic!!!" he shouted in confusion rather than anger.
"And telekinetic," she added with pride, releasing the wooden spoon from her hand and proceeding to move it with her mind. Soon after her pride was replaced with anger. 'Damnit, Niko. There you go being idiotic again. Sure, tell him about your powers, why don't you? And while you're at it, why not write him a frikin' book TELLING HIM EVERYTHING!!!!' she raised her voice at herself. She knew that she did these things sometimes. She couldn't help it. She was very proud of her abilities, and most of the time her pride clouded her better judgment. "Um, heh. I was born with the ability. It took me quite a while to learn how to use it and improve on it," she lied nervously. Piccolo saw through her statement and grunted in disapproval. He was getting tired of being lied to, even if it was for his own protection.
"Whatever. But I don't see what that has to do with what happened. Or rather, what didn't happen."
"Well I just mentally moved their sperm in the wrong direction, so there was no possible way I could get pregnant. Thank God, too," she stated with a disgusted shiver. Piccolo was amazed; both at the fact that she had this ability and that she didn't seem to mind speaking on the subject of her abuse. Probably because she liked to explain the capabilities she had, no matter the subject of discussion.
After a long awkward pause, Piccolo returned to his meditation. Niko continued her cooking, this time stirring the soup herself.
*****
Outside, not too far away, Gohan had taken his little brother, Goten, out to play in what little snow had fell the night before. He gasped as he was caught off guard by a flying snowball, and cringed as he felt the freezing snow crawl down the back of his neck. Seeking revenge, he bent down and picked up a handful of snow with his glove-covered hands. "Take this you little punk," he called to his three-year-old brother and launched his ready snowball at his target.
Soon they had wondered far away from home, taking their snowball fight into a large clearing on the outskirts of the woods. Just as they were about to launch another barrage of snowballs at each other, Gohan stopped. In the distance, he could see smoke escaping from the chimney of a small house. This was irrelevant. He could feel Piccolo's ki. This excited him to no end. He hadn't seen Piccolo in so long. He didn't wonder what he was doing in this house instead of out in the woods... alone, nor did he feel Goten's snowball that had hit him on the side of his face. Quickly he grabbed his little brother and flew in the direction of the house, knocking on the door at his arrival.
Upon hearing the unexpected knock on the door, both Piccolo and Niko tensed. They quickly stopped what they were doing and stalked to the door carefully. They vaguely recognized the ki they felt, but knowing their enemies, anything was possible. Niko reached for the door handle and quickly opened it, assuming a fighting stance. She relaxed as she saw their intruder gasp with surprise and stumble backward into the snow.
"G... Gohan!?!" came Piccolo's words.
"Yeah, heh, sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you or anything. I just felt your ki and came to see you. It's been a long time hasn't it?" he said, getting up and brushing the snow off his clothes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, really," he continued, turning to Niko. However, she only halfway heard his apology, more concerned with Gohan's shy accomplice. She knelt down so that they were at eye level with each other.
"And who might you be?" she asked happily, showing a smile.
Sensing her gentleness, Goten stepped out from behind his brother's leg. "I'm Goten," he stated in his high-pitched childish voice, bowing slightly.
"And I am Niko. Very nice to meet you, young sir," she said, returning his bow jokingly.
He giggled and replied, "You're silly."
"I'll show you silly," she remarked with false offense and began to tickle his sides. He laughed uncontrollably while struggling to break free from her torture. She was amazed at the amount of strength he exerted for a child of his age. 'Must be his Saiyan blood,' she thought. After bringing him to tears, she released him, allowing him to stumble back out into the snow.
"You're not silly, you're mean!" he shouted and playfully threw a snowball in her direction. She looked away, allowing it to hit her on the shoulder. "Alright Goten," she shouted back, standing, "you asked for it!!" Once again Goten had engaged himself in a snowball fight, Niko willfully playing along. Piccolo and Gohan watched in amazement at the scene before them. That is, Piccolo watched in amazement. Gohan was more confused than anything else.
Gohan had never seen someone take so quickly to a child that wasn't his or her own. But then again, he could understand this in Goten's case. Goten was so laid back and carefree. He was always laughing and playing around with everything. Gohan could remember seeing him sad only once or twice. His mother had said that Goku had been the same way when he was young. So innocent, so fun loving, and very adventurous. He missed his father so much. He longed more and more everyday to see him, to hear his voice again. It had been so long since he had left. It seemed to him like an eternity.
As Gohan became captured by thoughts of his father, Piccolo still stood with a stunned expression on his face. Niko had amazed him yet again. She was altogether a different person. She was... happy. He had never seen such an emotion from her. Not much different from he, the only expression she wished to show was seriousness and scorn. Occasionally, sadness and depression broke through it all, but never happiness. Never once. Now, she was actually smiling, making her even more beautiful than before. And she laughed... creating such a sweet melody for his ears. It was then that he figured out one of her deepest secrets.
She yearned more than anything to have children of her own. It was so obvious. She immediately connected in some strange way with Goten. There could be no explanation, no other way to give reason for her reactions. She would be complete if only she could have children. But could it be possible? She loved her life of near solitude. She wouldn't go out and find someone she loved enough to start a family with. Then, of course, there was himself. The thought rolled over and over in his mind. They didn't exactly love each other, but couldn't he help her bring a child into this world? With a mental grunt, he pushed the thought away. He wouldn't be able to bring himself to do such a thing. He would feel responsible for the child, and would need to play a major part in its life. He couldn't just abandon something like this, no matter how capable Niko was of raising a child on her own. And he wasn't ready for such a commitment in his life, not yet. Trying to forget the subject matter, he returned to his conversation with Gohan.
"You've grown a great deal, both body and soul, since I have seen you last. You must be what, fifteen now?" he asked.
"Sixteen," Gohan corrected, fixing his gaze back onto Niko and Goten.
"You have become quite the father figure haven't you? You've barely taken you eyes off of him since you've been here," he commented.
"Maybe it's not him that I'm looking at," he stated with a slight smile. Then suddenly realizing his mistake, he tried to re-word his statement. "I mean, not that I was looking at her. I just..." he stammered.
Piccolo held up a hand to stop him from going any further. "Don't worry, you said nothing wrong. She isn't my mate, not really, though I would protect her with my life, as I would you," he spoke, serious as always. Both their gazes lingered on the two figures playing in the snow. After a few moments, the silence was once again broken by Piccolo. "You know, I wouldn't mind testing your improved fighting skills. What do you say to a spar?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow.
Gohan hesitated with a sigh, keeping his eye on Goten. "Don't worry," Piccolo assured. "I'm sure he'll be fine with her. She's not dangerous." 'At least I hope not,' he thought. "Nevertheless, I don't think you could possibly separate those two."
A smile growing on his face, Gohan finally responded. "You're probably right. Alright, I accept," he said with happiness, glad to finally get a chance to spar with his mentor once more. "But I have to warn you, you might not be able to keep up with an accomplished fighter such as myself," he finished, projecting his chest outward.
"I think puberty has destroyed your mind, kid. But we shall see who is keeping up with who once it begins," he explained, leaping into the air, followed closely by Gohan. As they flew off Niko and Goten paused in their activities.
"Where is brother going?" Goten asked desperately. Niko, unable to answer the toddler's question, watched in confusion as they flew away. Piccolo glanced back at her, mentally sending her the message reassuring her that they would be back soon.
"Don't worry, Goten. They'll be back soon. You can stay with me in the meantime. What do you say to us going inside and me making us some nice, warm cocoa? Okay?"
"Yea, cocoa!!" he exclaimed, patting his tiny gloved hands together and taking her hand to follow her inside.
**
UH OH!! Do I sense a little... love triangle going on? Piccolo has some competition? Maybe, maybe not. And I intentionally created a slip of words in this chapter. Did you catch it? Oh well, it's not the end of the world if you didn't.
Yeah, okay. The ending is kinda, well... bleh. But I finally found a way to split the chapter. It'll give me a chance to build on some of the relationships going on. Well, the final chapters of part one are finally approaching! Both the identity of the mysterious stranger and Niko's secret are revealed!! But they've both kind of been put off b/c of this new chapter. And hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Review and tell me what you think. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long. Luv y'all lots! - NaK
