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.
Chapter Eleven - Victory at Last
It had been nearly two weeks since their second 'encounter' at the waterfall. Since then both Niko and Piccolo had opened up more to each other, not about their past, but about what was to come. What they hoped to achieve, and what might develop between them in the future. Niko still refused to tell him everything about her past, though she did let a few things slide now and then. And although her cared for her, he still wasn't totally sure if she was a danger to the planet or not.
His dream still irked at him, taunting the back of his mind. He distinctively saw that man hovering above all that destruction. It had to be a vision of the future, he was sure of it. And if this so-called 'man' had anything to do with Niko, she could be behind all of it as well. After all, her body was not in all the carnage that he saw. Of course, it could have been overlooked, but this fact failed to reassure him. With all this blank space, he couldn't fully trust her. This huge blank was holding them back from each other.
He had noticed that for the past couple of days, she had been acting somewhat strangely, severely out of her usual character. She would complain about every little thing, no matter how small. The sun was shining too brightly, it was too hot, it was too cold, or it was too stuffy. There was always something to complain about. He expected her to complain about in what direction the grass grew next. She seemed tired all the time, probably because she couldn't get enough sleep at night. She would toss and turn every night as he lay beside her, trying to get sleep of his own. It annoyed him to no end, but he was also concerned that she wasn't comfortable. Sometimes she had uncontrollable episodes of sneezing and coughing. She wasn't eating as much either. She would still cook enough for Gohan to eat, but she would barely touch her own food. She looked awful too. Her eyes were droopy from lack of sleep, and her muscles were weakened. But she refused to stay away from her training, although she was continuing to grow more sluggish every day.
He couldn't figure it out. She explained that she was probably sick. Although she didn't get sick often, when she did, the symptoms were always the same. Piccolo had finally talked her into staying at home to rest instead of training every day, though it wasn't easy.
One morning, as he was coming back from his morning meditation to check up on her, a note that hung on the door held him back. He snatched it off the door and stood there reading, or trying to read it. He couldn't understand English, although he could speak it. He was never taught how to read it. But Kami had studied some on the language, and was able to understand most of it. It read:
Piccolo,
I've gone to the doctor to see about this stupid cold, or virus, or whatever it is I've got. It shouldn't have lasted this long. It never has before. I don't know of any doctors in the city, but I'm sure I'll find one once I get there. Everything will be fine.
We need to talk... about everything. I think it's time that you knew. I've also got a surprise for you. I hope that you'll like it. Wait for me while I'm gone. I'll try to return as soon as I can. But until then, please stay and wait for me. I desperately need to talk with you.
Sincerely Yours,
Niko
He crumpled the letter in his hand. The largest smirk he had ever shown now appeared across his face. It was almost a smile. He hadn't cared about all the other words; he had forgotten them as soon as he read them. But the one sentence that he couldn't... that he wouldn't ever forget was 'I think it's time that you knew'. Finally. Finally, he would know. She was going to tell him. He was finally going to get what he had yearned for after so long. With the thoughts of victory still plaguing his mind, he went inside to wait.
After an hour had passed, Niko had still not returned. The anticipation was killing him. He couldn't stay still. He had to get up and walk around or do something every few minutes. He felt slightly ashamed that he was acting like a child about to receive his birthday present, but he couldn't contain his emotions. Luckily for him, no one was around to see him. He tried to calm himself, thinking that he if had waited this long, surely he could wait a while longer.
He tried to think of what she could have been holding back all this time. What she couldn't bear to tell him before, but was so eager to tell him now. The possibilities rushed his mind, but none made sense to him. He wished that she would hurry back so all his thoughts could be put to rest by the truth. The truth? She was going to tell him the truth this time, wasn't she? Surely she wouldn't lie to him, again. He didn't know everything about her, but he knew enough to be sure that she wasn't one to break promises. And she had promised him that there would be no more lies. She wouldn't lie this time. He could feel it.
Another hour had passed and there was no sign of Niko. He was growing impatient. It would help if he could feel her ki. At least that way, he would know if she was safe. He couldn't stand it anymore. Half of him was wondering if she had been hurt. He wouldn't know what to do if something had happened to her. But his other half was irritated at her. She should have been back by now. What was taking her so long?
He thought that perhaps Dende could help him find her. He was guardian after all. Waiting only a few more minutes to see if she would return, he left the house and headed for the Lookout. As he flew, he kept a sharp eye on all his surroundings, making sure he caught Niko if she was on her way back. But again, there was no sign of her.
*****
Niko had been waiting in the small waiting room of the doctor's office for over an hour. She hadn't made an appointment, so she was waiting for a cancellation in the schedule. She was lucky enough to find Gohan when she arrived in the city. He had come to buy groceries, and offered to take her to the doctor's office himself. He had said that he would take her to their family doctor, adding that the patients were always treated well. She agreed to go with him, but once there, she explained that she wanted to go in alone. After he was assured that this was what she wanted, he left, telling her to take care of herself, and went about his business.
For an hour, she sat there, hoping that she would get waited on soon. Although she didn't notice through her sneezing, coughing, and head throbbing, she was in a worse condition than anyone else there. But still, all the others went before her. Finally, after what seemed forever, a sweet, round-faced nurse opened the door to the hall of examination rooms. "Niko Luminos?" she asked, searching the room. Niko quietly stood and walked toward the nurse who then led her back into one of the examination rooms. She took down her symptoms and other information on the chart she carried. She strapped a strange-looking device Niko's her arm that took her blood pressure. After she recorded the proper reading, she retrieved the thermometer from a drawer on the opposite side of the room. She placed the round object over Niko's ear that quickly detected her temperature.
"Goodness, you have a temperature of 104!!" the nurse exclaimed. "You should have come to the doctor sooner, dear."
"Yeah, well it feels like one hundred and six," Niko tiredly stated. "Usually it barely gets over one hundred. But it also usually goes away before now. This is worse than any virus I've ever had. I thought there might be something else causing this."
"Probably so. Has anything else been unusual from your other viruses?"
"Yeah, I can't keep any food down. I throw everything back up. And I can't get any sleep. I've tried to rest, but I'm always tired no matter what I do."
"Alright, I'll go get the doctor right away. He'll probably need a blood sample," she explained. Niko willing outstretched her arm for the nurse to take her blood. As she left, the nurse once again stated that she would return with the doctor as fast as she could.
As she waited, Niko laid back on the cushioned examination table. She wasn't able to stay comfortable long. A large stomach cramp sent a wave of pain through her weary body. Some of the pain was from hunger; the other was pain from the virus she had been fighting for weeks.
Soon after, the doctor and the nurse entered her room. In his hand, the doctor held the blood tests, a strange distorted expression on his wrinkled face. "Oh God... what is it? What's wrong" she asked with wide eyes, pure fear piercing her voice.
*****
Upon his arrival at the Lookout, Piccolo could see that Popo was outside, watering the plants as usual. "Excuse me Mr. Popo, but where is Dende. I need to speak with him immediately," he asked, trying to be polite through his urgency.
"Why hello, Piccolo! I didn't expect to see you here today. Such a pleasant surprise!" replied the dark, round man.
"Yes, yes. Whatever. Now could you please tell me where Dende is," he demanded.
"Oh, well Dende has a visitor right now. I'm afraid he won't be able to speak to you at this moment. But if you are willing to wait, I would gladly get you some water or anything else you might need," he answered.
"What do you mean he has a 'visitor'? Is Gohan..."
"No, it's not Gohan," Mr. Popo interrupted. "I've never seen them before. But Dende seemed to know who they were."
"What did they look like?" Piccolo asked, his curiosity racing.
"I couldn't really get a good look at them. I'm guessing it was a man, distinguishing from their build. He said nothing, so I'm still not sure whether they were male or female. He wore a heavy black cloak with a hood that hid his face, so I wasn't able to catch a glimpse of his face."
Piccolo's eyes grew wide with astonishment as he heard Mr. Popo speak. It was him, that son of a bitch that had haunted his dreams for so long. That coward who never had the courage to show his face. The solitary soul that had annoyed him beyond all reason. He was here. And his time had come. His identity WOULD be known. Piccolo swore to it. Without another word to Popo, Piccolo took off inside the large building.
He headed toward the main room. It was the largest room of the building and it was here that Dende stayed most of the time. That is, when he wasn't in Kami's old study. After bursting into the vast room, he saw that no one was there. With a disappointed and angry grunt, he hurried to the study. Once again there was no one in site. His rage growing, he recklessly searched through all the rooms. And in each one he found nothing. He was about to search more outside, or ask Mr. Popo if they had come outside when his sharp Namekian ears picked up on voices. They were faint and indistinguishable, muffled by the walls that stood in between. He pressed his ear against the wall, trying to allow himself to hear more clearly.
"I'm terrified. I'm terrified for both of them. You don't understand. I don't know if I can do this!" came the muffled voice, still unable to be differentiated.
"You have to... for everyone. For him. Don't be afraid. No harm will come to either of them. Just do it," Dende spoke.
It was him. That 'thing' was in there at this very moment speaking to Dende. Without thinking about why Dende would be speaking to such a cowardice creature, he searched his surroundings and found that the voices had to have been coming from a side room. Once again, he ran toward the main room at the edge of the lookout. As he entered, he rushed straight to his right, toward a small door in the corner of the room. He burst through it as soon as he arrived, and just as suspected HE was there. Under his cloak, he tensed in fear and took off through the opposite door. He ran blindly through the wide corridors of the building, having no idea where he was going. He rushed into rooms, coming out their doors on the opposite sides. All the while, an excited Piccolo followed, adrenaline flowing through his veins. 'Yes my little coward. Run. Run and try to get away. Like a rat in a cage, there's nowhere to hide. So run... while you can,' he thought to himself. He wasn't paying attention to anything else except the task at hand. He couldn't hear Dende's cries of protest from behind him.
As his prey came to a fork in the long halls and turned right, Piccolo went left. He knew the lookout better than anyone, except maybe Popo. Nonetheless, he was about to walk right into Piccolo's trap. When Piccolo finished making his way through the hallways, he stood behind a plant outside... and waited.
Soon the shadowed figure emerged from the building, taking one final look behind him to make sure Piccolo hadn't caught up with him. But he was mistaken. Piccolo leapt into the air after him, grabbing his cloak from behind. As he detached the hood from the rest of his cloak, Piccolo's face twisted in sheer perplexity at the face of the wide-eyed person staring back at him.
***
Ooooh, cliffhanger. I don't get to use them often, but when I finally do, they're torturing. Can you guess who the mysterious stranger is? I tried to throw you off a bit here and there... and everywhere. I wanted this to be a total surprise, although it probably won't turn out that way. Oh well. I'll try not to make this too agonizing and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Review and see if you can guess who it is!! -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.
Chapter Eleven - Victory at Last
It had been nearly two weeks since their second 'encounter' at the waterfall. Since then both Niko and Piccolo had opened up more to each other, not about their past, but about what was to come. What they hoped to achieve, and what might develop between them in the future. Niko still refused to tell him everything about her past, though she did let a few things slide now and then. And although her cared for her, he still wasn't totally sure if she was a danger to the planet or not.
His dream still irked at him, taunting the back of his mind. He distinctively saw that man hovering above all that destruction. It had to be a vision of the future, he was sure of it. And if this so-called 'man' had anything to do with Niko, she could be behind all of it as well. After all, her body was not in all the carnage that he saw. Of course, it could have been overlooked, but this fact failed to reassure him. With all this blank space, he couldn't fully trust her. This huge blank was holding them back from each other.
He had noticed that for the past couple of days, she had been acting somewhat strangely, severely out of her usual character. She would complain about every little thing, no matter how small. The sun was shining too brightly, it was too hot, it was too cold, or it was too stuffy. There was always something to complain about. He expected her to complain about in what direction the grass grew next. She seemed tired all the time, probably because she couldn't get enough sleep at night. She would toss and turn every night as he lay beside her, trying to get sleep of his own. It annoyed him to no end, but he was also concerned that she wasn't comfortable. Sometimes she had uncontrollable episodes of sneezing and coughing. She wasn't eating as much either. She would still cook enough for Gohan to eat, but she would barely touch her own food. She looked awful too. Her eyes were droopy from lack of sleep, and her muscles were weakened. But she refused to stay away from her training, although she was continuing to grow more sluggish every day.
He couldn't figure it out. She explained that she was probably sick. Although she didn't get sick often, when she did, the symptoms were always the same. Piccolo had finally talked her into staying at home to rest instead of training every day, though it wasn't easy.
One morning, as he was coming back from his morning meditation to check up on her, a note that hung on the door held him back. He snatched it off the door and stood there reading, or trying to read it. He couldn't understand English, although he could speak it. He was never taught how to read it. But Kami had studied some on the language, and was able to understand most of it. It read:
Piccolo,
I've gone to the doctor to see about this stupid cold, or virus, or whatever it is I've got. It shouldn't have lasted this long. It never has before. I don't know of any doctors in the city, but I'm sure I'll find one once I get there. Everything will be fine.
We need to talk... about everything. I think it's time that you knew. I've also got a surprise for you. I hope that you'll like it. Wait for me while I'm gone. I'll try to return as soon as I can. But until then, please stay and wait for me. I desperately need to talk with you.
Sincerely Yours,
Niko
He crumpled the letter in his hand. The largest smirk he had ever shown now appeared across his face. It was almost a smile. He hadn't cared about all the other words; he had forgotten them as soon as he read them. But the one sentence that he couldn't... that he wouldn't ever forget was 'I think it's time that you knew'. Finally. Finally, he would know. She was going to tell him. He was finally going to get what he had yearned for after so long. With the thoughts of victory still plaguing his mind, he went inside to wait.
After an hour had passed, Niko had still not returned. The anticipation was killing him. He couldn't stay still. He had to get up and walk around or do something every few minutes. He felt slightly ashamed that he was acting like a child about to receive his birthday present, but he couldn't contain his emotions. Luckily for him, no one was around to see him. He tried to calm himself, thinking that he if had waited this long, surely he could wait a while longer.
He tried to think of what she could have been holding back all this time. What she couldn't bear to tell him before, but was so eager to tell him now. The possibilities rushed his mind, but none made sense to him. He wished that she would hurry back so all his thoughts could be put to rest by the truth. The truth? She was going to tell him the truth this time, wasn't she? Surely she wouldn't lie to him, again. He didn't know everything about her, but he knew enough to be sure that she wasn't one to break promises. And she had promised him that there would be no more lies. She wouldn't lie this time. He could feel it.
Another hour had passed and there was no sign of Niko. He was growing impatient. It would help if he could feel her ki. At least that way, he would know if she was safe. He couldn't stand it anymore. Half of him was wondering if she had been hurt. He wouldn't know what to do if something had happened to her. But his other half was irritated at her. She should have been back by now. What was taking her so long?
He thought that perhaps Dende could help him find her. He was guardian after all. Waiting only a few more minutes to see if she would return, he left the house and headed for the Lookout. As he flew, he kept a sharp eye on all his surroundings, making sure he caught Niko if she was on her way back. But again, there was no sign of her.
*****
Niko had been waiting in the small waiting room of the doctor's office for over an hour. She hadn't made an appointment, so she was waiting for a cancellation in the schedule. She was lucky enough to find Gohan when she arrived in the city. He had come to buy groceries, and offered to take her to the doctor's office himself. He had said that he would take her to their family doctor, adding that the patients were always treated well. She agreed to go with him, but once there, she explained that she wanted to go in alone. After he was assured that this was what she wanted, he left, telling her to take care of herself, and went about his business.
For an hour, she sat there, hoping that she would get waited on soon. Although she didn't notice through her sneezing, coughing, and head throbbing, she was in a worse condition than anyone else there. But still, all the others went before her. Finally, after what seemed forever, a sweet, round-faced nurse opened the door to the hall of examination rooms. "Niko Luminos?" she asked, searching the room. Niko quietly stood and walked toward the nurse who then led her back into one of the examination rooms. She took down her symptoms and other information on the chart she carried. She strapped a strange-looking device Niko's her arm that took her blood pressure. After she recorded the proper reading, she retrieved the thermometer from a drawer on the opposite side of the room. She placed the round object over Niko's ear that quickly detected her temperature.
"Goodness, you have a temperature of 104!!" the nurse exclaimed. "You should have come to the doctor sooner, dear."
"Yeah, well it feels like one hundred and six," Niko tiredly stated. "Usually it barely gets over one hundred. But it also usually goes away before now. This is worse than any virus I've ever had. I thought there might be something else causing this."
"Probably so. Has anything else been unusual from your other viruses?"
"Yeah, I can't keep any food down. I throw everything back up. And I can't get any sleep. I've tried to rest, but I'm always tired no matter what I do."
"Alright, I'll go get the doctor right away. He'll probably need a blood sample," she explained. Niko willing outstretched her arm for the nurse to take her blood. As she left, the nurse once again stated that she would return with the doctor as fast as she could.
As she waited, Niko laid back on the cushioned examination table. She wasn't able to stay comfortable long. A large stomach cramp sent a wave of pain through her weary body. Some of the pain was from hunger; the other was pain from the virus she had been fighting for weeks.
Soon after, the doctor and the nurse entered her room. In his hand, the doctor held the blood tests, a strange distorted expression on his wrinkled face. "Oh God... what is it? What's wrong" she asked with wide eyes, pure fear piercing her voice.
*****
Upon his arrival at the Lookout, Piccolo could see that Popo was outside, watering the plants as usual. "Excuse me Mr. Popo, but where is Dende. I need to speak with him immediately," he asked, trying to be polite through his urgency.
"Why hello, Piccolo! I didn't expect to see you here today. Such a pleasant surprise!" replied the dark, round man.
"Yes, yes. Whatever. Now could you please tell me where Dende is," he demanded.
"Oh, well Dende has a visitor right now. I'm afraid he won't be able to speak to you at this moment. But if you are willing to wait, I would gladly get you some water or anything else you might need," he answered.
"What do you mean he has a 'visitor'? Is Gohan..."
"No, it's not Gohan," Mr. Popo interrupted. "I've never seen them before. But Dende seemed to know who they were."
"What did they look like?" Piccolo asked, his curiosity racing.
"I couldn't really get a good look at them. I'm guessing it was a man, distinguishing from their build. He said nothing, so I'm still not sure whether they were male or female. He wore a heavy black cloak with a hood that hid his face, so I wasn't able to catch a glimpse of his face."
Piccolo's eyes grew wide with astonishment as he heard Mr. Popo speak. It was him, that son of a bitch that had haunted his dreams for so long. That coward who never had the courage to show his face. The solitary soul that had annoyed him beyond all reason. He was here. And his time had come. His identity WOULD be known. Piccolo swore to it. Without another word to Popo, Piccolo took off inside the large building.
He headed toward the main room. It was the largest room of the building and it was here that Dende stayed most of the time. That is, when he wasn't in Kami's old study. After bursting into the vast room, he saw that no one was there. With a disappointed and angry grunt, he hurried to the study. Once again there was no one in site. His rage growing, he recklessly searched through all the rooms. And in each one he found nothing. He was about to search more outside, or ask Mr. Popo if they had come outside when his sharp Namekian ears picked up on voices. They were faint and indistinguishable, muffled by the walls that stood in between. He pressed his ear against the wall, trying to allow himself to hear more clearly.
"I'm terrified. I'm terrified for both of them. You don't understand. I don't know if I can do this!" came the muffled voice, still unable to be differentiated.
"You have to... for everyone. For him. Don't be afraid. No harm will come to either of them. Just do it," Dende spoke.
It was him. That 'thing' was in there at this very moment speaking to Dende. Without thinking about why Dende would be speaking to such a cowardice creature, he searched his surroundings and found that the voices had to have been coming from a side room. Once again, he ran toward the main room at the edge of the lookout. As he entered, he rushed straight to his right, toward a small door in the corner of the room. He burst through it as soon as he arrived, and just as suspected HE was there. Under his cloak, he tensed in fear and took off through the opposite door. He ran blindly through the wide corridors of the building, having no idea where he was going. He rushed into rooms, coming out their doors on the opposite sides. All the while, an excited Piccolo followed, adrenaline flowing through his veins. 'Yes my little coward. Run. Run and try to get away. Like a rat in a cage, there's nowhere to hide. So run... while you can,' he thought to himself. He wasn't paying attention to anything else except the task at hand. He couldn't hear Dende's cries of protest from behind him.
As his prey came to a fork in the long halls and turned right, Piccolo went left. He knew the lookout better than anyone, except maybe Popo. Nonetheless, he was about to walk right into Piccolo's trap. When Piccolo finished making his way through the hallways, he stood behind a plant outside... and waited.
Soon the shadowed figure emerged from the building, taking one final look behind him to make sure Piccolo hadn't caught up with him. But he was mistaken. Piccolo leapt into the air after him, grabbing his cloak from behind. As he detached the hood from the rest of his cloak, Piccolo's face twisted in sheer perplexity at the face of the wide-eyed person staring back at him.
***
Ooooh, cliffhanger. I don't get to use them often, but when I finally do, they're torturing. Can you guess who the mysterious stranger is? I tried to throw you off a bit here and there... and everywhere. I wanted this to be a total surprise, although it probably won't turn out that way. Oh well. I'll try not to make this too agonizing and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Review and see if you can guess who it is!! -NaK
