::enters room, looks around::….No, I was NOT kidnapped by aliens (and little sisters don't count), ransomed by ferrets, or fell down a hole. I just finished moving. And my computer took FOREVER to find a spot to put it and hook up. And it STILL doesn't have internet access, so all new updates are written on my computer, transferred to a disk, and then transferred to another computer. Complex enough?
And now I have been brainstorming. Just so you know I like using the Japanese names for attacks. So 'Makankosappa' is 'Special Beam Cannon' in the dubs. (I also hate dubs) I've decided this will be an epic story, possibly going though most of Meece's life, or at least to her adulthood, and about Piccolo and those two 'freeloaders' in Piccolo's mind.
Piccolo: Can't you get them out of there?! My brain is getting cramped.
Kit: Sorry, P-chan, I'm just the writer, you're the genius who fused with them.
Piccolo: ::twitch twitch::….P-CHAN!?!
Nail and Kami: ::smirk:: Peeee-Chaaaaan!
Kit: You two be quiet, I must get on with the disclaimer. I own nothing except this computer, a pair of pants with a tail sewn onto them, and a bunch of manga. Heck, I don't even own Meece….Piccolo does (or he'll tear yer arm off). Therefore, suing me does no good…and neither does flaming me. I'm generally flame-retardant.
Nail and Kami: Peeee-Chaaaan!
Piccolo: ::Twitch twitch:: MAKANKOSAPPA! ::BOOOM!::
Kit: Now if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of nameks to round up for this story…
5/15/02
Touch Tones
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Piccolo tried to dodge the attack, but found it was much faster than expected. The air was driven from his lungs in three quick jabs. One of his massive fists lifted to punch his target, only to be blown backwards by some invisible force. Shit, too strong! How the hell did this person GET all this strength?!
"Makankosappo!" Two fingers jabbed at his target, sending the spiral beam out. The small opponent dodged the entire thing, and then with a swift swing of the leg, knocked the once great Demon King right out of the air. Piccolo was sent spinning for the ground and…
…Opened his eyes from meditation. 'You are getting much better at spirit fighting, Meece. You actually defeated me there.' He smirked. The child sitting in front of him opened her eyes and grinned up. Her spirit power was simply amazing! Far beyond even the saiya-jin's spirit fighting techniques, Meece's telepathic abilities allowed her to dominate the fight. While her physical fighting strength was still pitifully low, in the spirit realm her powers practically exploded.
*I can't believe how strong she's gotten!* Nail said, in awe at the child's progress. *And a human, none the less! Not even namekian children are this powerful with mental powers!*
Kami's wizened old voice spoke in Piccolo's head. *If you keep training her like this, she would make an excellent Guardian of Earth some day. I'm sure Dende would like to know this.* Piccolo grunted at the suggestion, but had to admit that Dende should probably know of this. Meece needed to learn about the other inhabitants of the planet. Right now the child only knew the Son family closely. She had yet to meet the Briefs, the Guardian of Earth, or even go to a large city. Maybe it was time for a trip.
"Come, Meece. We are going." Piccolo rose from his meditative position, stretching his muscles. Meece followed his lead, stretching her hands high over her head. The small girl had just hit a growth spurt, and now was just barely hip high on him. Her ability to read lips countered her deafness, and the ability to send telepathic messages gave her the gift to speak to others without truly hearing them.
'Hai Hai, Piccolo-papa!' Meece answered, looking up at him. 'Are we going to Goku-san's house?' She asked, her deep brown eyes sparkling with her smile.
"No, we are visiting God." Piccolo said, smirking at Meece's confused expression. Slowly, he rose into the air and waited for her to follow. A few days earlier, Meece had learned how to use her chi to help her fly. She was still pitifully slow, and couldn't stay in the air for more than a few minutes, but the practice would do her good. After all, she was a human, therefor her chi would be nowhere near his. But why was she able to beat him in a spirit battle?
*It's not always the amount of strength a body has, but the amount of energy a soul has to win a spirit battle.* Kami answered his question. *Meece uses both her innocence, and the trauma she's been through to fight. She's using her very emotions to battle, much like Goku does.* Meece tilted her head to the side as Piccolo listened to Kami. She could tell that he was having a mental conversation with the old God, she learned that her 'papa' had fused with two others. But Piccolo's mind was locked off from her own, keeping her prying mind from listening in.
*All I can say is thank the dragon she doesn't eat like Goku does!* Nail added his smart-ass comment.
'I'm thankful for that as well!' Piccolo put his two-cents in the conversation before turning to look at Meece. Gesturing her to follow, they flew off to Dende's tower. It only took three minutes before Meece was unable to fly any further, and they weren't even close. Growling with frustration, he grabbed Meece before she could fall and proceeded to carry her the rest of the way. The child, no matter what he said to her, always loved being held by him. He could be ignoring her or glaring madly, and she would still demand to be picked up and held. And truthfully, it calmed him down as well.
But apparently for Meece there was a fine line between 'calmed down' and 'sleeping'. The child and tucked herself in the crook of his arm and fell asleep almost immediately. What made her fall asleep so quickly after flying. Was she sick? Feeling a tiny tinge of fear, Piccolo quickly pressed his palm to her forehead, testing for a temperature like the so many times he had seen Gohan do. The child was warm, but no warmer than usual. Perhaps he had been working her too hard if she could drop off to sleep so suddenly.
*You still have a lot to learn about children, Piccolo.* Kami said. Piccolo rolled his eyes, preparing himself for another lecture. *Human children need naps. They often fall asleep in the first safe place they find, although it might not be comfortable or an opportune time.* The small green-haired child wriggled about, her fingers catching onto his cape, and gave a humming noise as she slipped deeper into sleep.
*In other words,* Nail simplified, *the kid thinks you're boring.*
*I did not say that! I said she feels safe around him!* Kami snapped back. Oh no, now THOSE two were arguing. When Kami and Nail started fighting, it was all Piccolo could do from blasting himself so he wouldn't have to hear it anymore. Perhaps Dende could wait until Meece woke up and the arguing in his head stopped. Right now he really needed to spar.
And if you want to talk about a coincidence, there was Vegeta right now! Piccolo hadn't sparred with him since before Majin Buu. He knew he would be no challenge to the saiya-jin, but it didn't look like Vegeta was terribly busy anyway. But Piccolo would have to find something for Meece to do while he was busy.
Landing on the grass, he knew Vegeta knew of his presence. Very little escaped the saiya-jin's keen senses. "So, you need a good fight today, namek." Vegeta commented, not questioned. He knew that Piccolo's regular partners were either working, stuffing their faces, or possibly getting yelled at by their loud wives. Unlike Goku, Vegeta was incredibly sharp for reasoning things out. "Well, you're in luck. I'm feeling generous." Piccolo snorted. Vegeta still had an ego, obviously. Now…for a place to put Meece until he was done training…
"VEGETA!" Bulma's shrill voice caught him totally off guard, nearly making him fall over in agony and cover his ears. "Did you break the toaster AGAIN!? For the love of Dende! Everyone knows how to make toast!"
Vegeta scowled. "Onna, it shot dried pieces of bread at me. That was a deliberate attack! So I destroyed the contraption." By now the volume had woken Meece up, and Piccolo felt the need to kill something.
But he was spared of actually going through the trouble when Meece spoke up. 'Loud! Papa, they are making so much noise Meece can FEEL it!' The child sent. Unfortunately, her nap had made her groggy and the message was sent not only to Piccolo, but to Vegeta and Bulma as well. Her telepathic message caused Bulma to panic and start looking about frantically. Vegeta slowly cast one obsidian eye on the child.
"What's this? A brat?" He frowned. Piccolo felt Meece wince at the word 'brat'. Still, after all the time she had spent with him, she was still unable to hear that word without cowering. It ticked the namek off. No, it pissed him off. He wanted to keep her safe. The little girl didn't need that memory, she shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stress. Piccolo knew he would do anything to take that past away from her.
*Just keep doing what you are doing. Meece already calls you 'father'. She trusts you with her life.* Kami reminded him. Piccolo straightened and glared straight at Vegeta.
"I'm her guardian. I'm training this child, and she is not a brat." He growled. It was hard to be imposing with a tiny child clinging to your clothes like the Armageddon was approaching. Fortunately, Dende seemed to be smiling down on him, and at that moment a young Bra quickly glomped onto her father's leg.
"Daddy Daddy! Guess what I did!? You'll never guess, never 'n a million billion years!" The blue haired child babbled. "I was trying to get my dolly away from Trunks, and then BOOM! A blue light came out of my hands and I fried him!" It appeared that Bra had finally learned how to chi blast things, starting with her older brother. Vegeta practically dropped everything to listen, and then stood gloating when he heard the news.
"I'm very proud. But I am about to train. You should go back inside and practice some more." He said firmly.
"Not in the house!" Bulma screeched.
Bra turned to go back in, but noticed a swatch of color in Piccolo's arms. Meece's blue gi showed where the white of Piccolo's cape rested. "Oooo! Another person my age!" She girl squealed. "Hi! My name is Bra Briefs! Who are you?" She asked Meece. The emerald-haired girl paused, unsure on how to respond. The only person around her age she had 'spoken' to was Pan, and Pan was only two.
'Meece. My name Meece. ….. This is my Papa!' She added, almost as an afterthought, and hugged Piccolo's arm. The namek grunted, setting the child on the ground. Bra was truly shocked the Meece had just spoken in her mind, and remained silent for a bit.
"THAT IS SO COOL!" Of course, 'a bit' of silence is relative time. "Can you read thoughts too?! Can you tell me what Goten and Trunks are thinking?!" Bra was very loud to people who had working ears, but Meece was listening based off her 'chi hearing', and could find nothing wrong with her volume.
'You know Goten-niisan?!' Meece's eyes widened, and Bra grabbed her hand, dragging the other girl inside with demi-saiya-jin strength. Bulma quickly followed, not sure how much trouble a half-saiya-jin and a telepathist could get into, but it was sure to be lots. Finally, silence filled the backyard, that is if you couldn't hear the racket now coming from inside.
Vegeta broke the near-silence first. "Do you know what you are getting into by taking that brat in?" He scowled, arms folded.
"No more than you did when you first had Trunks." Piccolo responded almost lazily. "But I'm not here to talk. I'm here to fight."
"Ah, that I can 'help' you with." Vegeta smirked, and the two of them began to blow off some steam with heavy training.
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"Look look! This is my brother's room! Trunks is so messy! He never cleans his room and leave it for the robots to clean and I swear he has a boogyman in his closet!" Bra led Meece around by hand, showing her the entire house. Meece looked like her jaw was about to fall off as she was given the tour of the gigantic house. Never had the young girl been in a house so big. She had thought the Son house was large, but THIS was practically a castle! Her blue haired 'tour-guide' ran at nearly impossible speeds, proving that she wasn't fully human.
'Bra-chan! Slow down, Meece cannot keep up!' Meece panted, trailing behind the girl. Even during Piccolo's training she had not been worked this hard! Perhaps he was being to easy on her if this girl could out run her like this.
"I'm sorry, Meece! I forgot you were a human. But you are awfully fast for a human, most of the time I just leave 'em in the dust!" Bra was babbling again. Meece noticed she seemed to do that a lot. And Bra seemed to have the habit of letting her mouth run without thinking what she was saying. That made it difficult to read her words in her mind, and Meece was forced to rely on her lip and chi reading skills.
Bra dropped the speed a little, leading both of them down the hall a little further. Then both of them ran into the legs of someone who turned the corner. "Trunks! Watch where you are going! You might hurt Meece!" Bra shouted out as Meece tried to shake her head clear from the bump. Looking up Meece noticed a young teen about Goten's age with lavender hair. She had to blink a few times, because for a moment she thought it was Vegeta who dyed his hair purple.
"Hello there. Who is your new friend, Bra?" Trunks crouched down, looking over the new girl.
Meece became flustered, not use to people examining her so closely, and hid behind Bra. "This is Meece! She's Piccolo-san's daughter and she's deaf and a telepathist and isn't her hair cute!" Trunks took a minute to process all this, and then his eyes widened.
"Pi-piccolo has a daughter?!"
"Close your mouth Trunks, you're attracting flies." Bra shut her older brother's mouth.
Meece adjusted her gi slightly, standing up straight to answer, mimicking Piccolo's indifferent pose. 'Piccolo-papa saved me! He is teaching me fighting and chi and he's my new papa.' She explained in her childish manner, and the hid behind Bra again. Trunks was staring intently on the young Meece, as if he could see a resemblance between her and Piccolo.
"Well…her hair is green." He said finally, causing both girls to fall over.
"Who's hair is green, Trunks-kun?" Someone down the hall asked. Meece recognized the speaker long before he came around the corner. In fact, she was on her feet running towards him before he even spoke, she could detect his very chi.
"Gahten!" She cheeped, diving at the demi-saiya-jin. "Oneeehsan!" She stretched the words, not deliberately, but testing them on her unused vocal cords. Meece's 'brother' was barely able to grab the girl before she plowed into his chest. Her connection to the Son family made everyone perceive her as 'Goku's other kid' because of all the time she spent over there. But despite the fact that she lived at their house, she made it bluntly known that she was Piccolo's daughter. Piccolo let her live where she wanted, and Meece usually chose to live with Chichi, Goku and Goten.
Goten nearly ran into a picture on the wall when Meece glomped onto him. "Whoa! Flying Meece attack! Nice jump there." He scruffed her wild green hair. Meece made a humming noise with her head still buried into his chest. Then Goten set about the difficult task of prying Meece off of him.
'Go-niisan!' Meece used Goten's nickname, 'Piccolo-papa is taking Meece to visit God! And then stopped here to train and Meece met Bra-chan!' The quick message on what she was doing at the Briefs' house answered all and any questions he had and before he even opened his mouth.
"Looks like you have a 'new' little sister, Goten. … or a very strange growth…" Trunks joked, laughing at Goten's troubles. Meece let go easy enough though, and returned to touring the house with Bra. Apparently curiosity was greater than her desire to fuse to her 'brother's side.
Brushing the imaginary dust off Goten straightened himself. "Heh, you think that was an enthusiastic greeting, you should see how she greets Piccolo-san. Even if he's only been gone for five minutes, she acts like it's been years since she's last seen him." Goten tried, mostly in vain, to straighten his hair. "It's kinda cute. She follows him around like a little chick follows its mother. I think Piccolo is actually spoiling her!"
Trunks was shocked, but only for a minute. "Yeah, well. Girls can do that. Dad is the prince of all saiya-jins and if Bra told him to jump, he'd be halfway to Dende's Palace before asking 'how high'. Girls get spoiled." His rant was temporarily distracted when a blue and green blur shot down the hall, giggling madly. "No running in the house, Bra, Meece!" He shouted after the two chibi girls. The two of them ran up the hall, slid down the banister, and then proceeded to jump on the sofa in the living room. Meece couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun!
Sure, being with Piccolo-papa was fun, but it was more like an excitement kind of fun. This was the kind of fun where if you didn't get up and run around like a nutcase you thought your stomach was going to explode. It's the kind of fun that you couldn't stop giggling about even if you tried. It's a kind of fun she had never had before. Soon a large-scale pillow fight had broken out, and fluffy white feathers powdered the room like snow. But, like all childish fun, an adult had to come by and ruin it.
"AAHH!! What just happened to my living room?!?" Bulma's voice held a hint of panic in it, and a generous helping of wrath.
"Uh-oh." Bra hunched down, hiding from her mother's view
'Uh-oh. Should we run?' Meece asked, making sure the message went only to Bra. The blue-haired demi-saiya-jin looked around the room and shook her head. 'Want Meece should call her papa in to rescue us?' Bra judged the distance to the window, and then how long it would take for her mom to see her and ground the living daylights out of her. She nodded, for anything had to be better than her mother's wrath.
Concentrating slightly, Meece found Piccolo was in the gravity room just outside the house. Rather than seeing if he was keeping his mind open, Meece flat out sent a message. 'Can we go see Dende-sama now, Papa?' By the fluctuation of his chi, she could tell he was either catching his breath, or sparing very lightly. Both Bra and Meece were hiding behind the sofa, hoping that Piccolo would 'rescue' them in time.
'I'll be there shortly.' Piccolo only sent that reply, but Meece had a feeling that 'shortly' wasn't soon enough. So she tried again. This time she sent to both Goten and Trunks.
'Go-niisan! Trunks-san! Bra and Meece need help! Run down here! Help help!' Ok, so it wasn't entirely true. But if her plan worked…
Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, making the two boys' sound like a herd of elephants. "Where are the girls?!" The teens both yelled. Goten was rather protective of Meece since he had never had a sister before, and Trunk knew if anything happened to Bra that his dad would flay him alive. But in their haste to get down the stairs, they totally missed the fact the sofa had been moved and flipped over the furniture to land in a giant, feathery heap. Of course, now Bulma had her targets and moved to intercept them with astonishing volume
"WHAT did you do to this room!?!" She yelled with volumes so loud Meece found it necessary to cover her ears, even if she was deaf. Bra and Meece bolted out the window, leaving the boys to take the rap.
'Meece feel bad. Meece didn't want Goten to get blamed.' Her hands began to fiddle with her green hair.
Bra bit her lip, looking back over her shoulder. "Aww, don't feel bad. They've done much worse, and gotten away with it. I hear that once Trunks and Goten gathered all the dragonballs and wished for a bunch of frogs and then let them go in the house, and at school, and in the girls bathroom…" But Bra felt a small push of Meece's mind, letting the girl know that she had something to say.
'Anou…what are, 'Dragonballs'?' Meece asked. Bra looked flat out shocked that Meece didn't know, especially if she had Piccolo as a dad.
Before Bra could respond, Piccolo was looming over them. Meece gave a kind of cooing noise and latched onto his leg, sitting on his foot. The namek tried for a moment to disengage the child, but Meece must have had barnacles as ancestors and stuck firm. Giving up all together on pulling her off, Piccolo headed back to the house with one kid clinging to his foot and another trotting along side of him.
"Goten, we are going to Dende's now." Piccolo said, watching in mild amusement as Trunks and Goten cowered before Bulma's yelling. Judging by the look on the youths' face, they wanted nothing more than to come with and get out of this torture. Meece waved goodbye to them, and quickly hugged Bra. During the hour they had been together the girls had formed a strong friendship. Then Meece quickly followed behind Piccolo as they flew toward Dende's Lookout.
*It USED to be Kami's Lookout.* The aging namek god said.
*Sure, just like Istanbul was Constantinople.* Nail retorted. The sparring hadn't done much for Piccolo other than drown out their voices for a while. It seemed Nail was in a rather caustic mood and wanted to argue. A visit with Dende would easily shut him up.
*Ahh, to be young and stupid again.* Kami remarked towards Nail.
*I heard that, you wrinkly green prune!* Nail snapped. Piccolo would have admitted it was funny to hear the fight if it wasn't only him who could hear the argument, and if it wasn't causing a migraine.
'Nail-san! Kami-sama! Stop fighting right now or Meece put you both in the timeout corner!' The girl's voice suddenly entered Piccolo's mind, shocking all three Nameks. Since when had she been able to get past Piccolo's mental shield? Or did he accidentally lower it?
*I don't think you lowered it. I think…she's actually stronger than we may have guessed. Piccolo, you have to take her to Dende, now. Her telepathy is amazing!* Kami said.
'Thank you!' Meece chirped.
*This is the first time we've been able to speak to her directly!* Nail added. *Hello Meece! I hope this rude specimen of a namek isn't offending you in anyway.* His jab was aimed at Piccolo. Oh, it was times like this Piccolo really wished Nail had a body, so he could beat the crap out of it. Short of hitting himself in the gut, Nail really couldn't be hurt by him.
'No no! Meece love Papa!' Piccolo felt like his insides had just been filled with cement while his chest was as light as a feather. How could she….Sure he understood her thinking of him as her father, but actually caring enough for him to say that? Gohan has said that once, and it left him feeling the same.
*…I think he's speechless, dear.* Kami said, chuckling slightly. Meece was running very low on chi energy and once again clamped onto Piccolo so he could carry her the rest of the way. But she wasn't expecting to be pulled into a hug.
"Daddy." Her voice was muffled as she was cuddled. Never had Piccolo done this to her, he rarely smiled as is. It was something that no one, excluding Chichi, had ever done for her in her life. Meece felt like crying, but she didn't know why. So instead she buried her face into his collar and hugged him back. Very small hiccups started immediately, Meece struggled to swallow them down.
Piccolo's head was a turmoil. How?! How the hell could one small child do this to him? He was suppose to be strong, the Great Demon King, and yet all she had to do was ask and he'd do anything for her. Dammit! If she asked him to sing Kareoke, he'd ask 'what song'! She depended on him, without him she was helpless. Even more than Gohan had, she trusted him. Without him she would be helpless, but now he needed her just as much as she needed him. Was this what it was like to be a father?
Kami responded. *Very, very close. And congratulations, my boy, you've got a wonderful daughter.*
'I'll never leave you behind, Meece.' He sent directly to her, something he hadn't been doing much since she learned how to read minds herself. Another part of his mind, neither Kami nor Nail, was saying only one thing. Mine. My daughter.
'You really mean it, Piccolo-papa?' Meece lifted her head from his gi, the wind whipping her hair about.
"I only lie to Nail, and occasionally Kami." And Meece was happy. Although the other two nameks residing in his head had a few bones to pick with him about that.
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Dende smiled from the platform high above the planet. He hadn't foreseen Meece coming into Piccolo's life. It was some sort of fluke. The sad truth was she was suppose to be found by the authorities and dragged back to live with the humans who didn't understand her. But by some odd twist of fate, they found each other instead. But even from this distance he could detect the child's extraordinary gift of telepathy.
"Dende-sama? Piccolo and his ward are coming." Mr Popo alerted the Guardian of Earth, but it was not necessary. He could feel Meece coming like a moth goes to a flame. Her power was growing and calling.
"Mr. Popo. Has there ever been a human with a power quite like this before?" Dende tapped his staff against the ground.
The Genie-like man thought for a moment. "Why, in fact, most of Earth's Guardians have had such powers. His Godliness before Kami was a human with abilities just like that." Popo came beside the Guardian to wait, his eyes unblinking. "Perhaps she is to be your 'pupil'. To learn to control her gifts before they go to waste."
"I agree. She has the makings of a true Guardian." Dende nodded. The white and green blur that was Piccolo quickly appeared and grew closer by the second. With a large flurry of air, the elder namek landed before Dende, Meece tucked in his arms still. The child was either sleeping, or deep in meditation, because Dende could detect no large mental readings from her. Almost instantly the God of Earth noticed there was a sort of possessive way Piccolo was holding Meece, like he was afraid someone would take the child from him. The truth dawned on him quickly, 'Piccolo is keeping her as a daughter, not a student, now.'
"Greetings, Piccolo-san! I've more or less been monitoring your approach and I think I know what you are here for." Dende shuffled closer.
"I'm here so you can make Nail and Kami stop arguing and give me some peace!" Piccolo snorted. Dende was caught off guard and nearly lost his balance at the request. "Oh, and Meece. Just observe her and tell me what you think." Of course. He doesn't want to make it seem like he cares for the child.
The God of Earth nodded. "As you wish." He carefully took the sleeping Meece from Piccolo's arms. But the second his fingers touched her, he felt a viable wave of spiritual power radiate from the deaf child. It was almost to the point of surpassing his! Dende used what free energy he had to carefully examine her abilities and after a moment tucked her into his arm to let her sleep more comfortably.
"Well, this is a shock. Meece's abilities go far past what a normal human would. She's almost to the level of Guardian already. If she is trained, she'll be able to use 'Kami's Eye' and see what is happening all over the world. Perhaps even a small bit of psychic abilities to see the future as well, but that's only if she's trained." His dark eyes looked up at Piccolo. "Are you willing to leave her here to be trained? I coul~"
"No." Quick and firm, Piccolo's answer shocked Dende fully. "Meece is not going to be separated from me. That is the last thing…she wants." But Dende wasn't foolish, he could read between the lines and replaced 'she wants' with 'I want'.
Handing the child back to Piccolo, Dende rephrased his statement. "I mean, you can stay here while Meece trains. She needs to exercise her mind more, she isn't a fighter." Dende paused. "I'm not a fighter. I was just a healer back on Namek, and then I had to come here and learn to be a Guardian. Meece should be able to do the same."
*Wait, Meece can heal?* Nail asked. Dende quickly heard the message, using his own telepathy.
"Possibly, if she's taught to. Hello, Nail! I hear that you are giving Piccolo-san troubles?" Dende smiled, taking on a more youthful appearance.
*Of course. He needs to mellow out.* Nail struck up a conversation with the young God, with Kami putting his comments in when he saw fit. Piccolo rubbed his head. He wasn't a warrior, he was a telepathic telephone booth!
"Ah, but that's the way he is. As long as Gohan has known him, that's how he's been." Dende sighed.
'Meece can hear a new voice' Meece's telepathic voice spoke, although she still seemed to be sleeping. Silence filled the platform, waiting for the next message. 'Papa, who is the new speaker?'
Piccolo nudged Meece carefully, making sure her head was pressed to his neck as he spoke so she could feel the movement of his vocal cords. "Open your eyes and see." The child felt the vibrations deep in his throat and carefully translated the words into her unheard language. Slowly she cracked her russet eyes open, wincing from the bright sun. Small fists rubbed her eyes as she adjusted to the light, her face still wedged under Piccolo's chin. Finally she turned he head to look at the green Guardian.
''nother Piccolo-papa!' She noted, seeing that they were at least of the same race. 'I named Meece!' This was one of the rare times she used the personal pronoun 'I'. '…You are God.' She said. Whether she knew he was God based on the fact Piccolo had told her they were going to visit him, or that she had read this thoughts, they didn't know. She wiggled slightly, letting Piccolo know she wanted to be put down. Her attention was pulled from Dende to Mr. Popo and her eyes widened with disbelief or shock. Then again, when she first saw a monkey when Gohan took her to the zoo, her reaction was the same.
"Yes, I am 'God'. My name is ~"
But Meece beat him to the punch. '~ Dende!' Now Piccolo blanched, how did she know that?! He was positive he never told her,…but the ability to directly read a God's mind took telepathic powers far beyond his own.
"Very good! But in the future, adults get grumpy if you read their minds like that. Some human issue about 'privacy', you know." Dende said kindly. Meece nodded, storing the info away. It was probably for the best she knew this. Piccolo would have to teach her to 'play dumb' some time.
Meece would hardly pay attention to any conversation around her, she was far to busy looking around Dende's Lookout. Meece poked about the flowerbed. She looked over the edge of the platform in a manner that had Piccolo a little edgy. She ran inside and opened every single door before she was ready to sit down and listen to Dende. Seeing the child would probably be distracted, he led them into a very plain room to speak.
"Meece, do you know your full strength using your telepathy… your 'mind power'?" He simplified. Meece only tipped her head to one side, unsure on what he was asking exactly. "Tell me what you can do using it."
This managed to get the message across. 'Meece can speak in people's head, and see pictures and hear words. And sometimes Meece even tells people stuff that isn't true.' This caught Piccolo's attention and he began to listen in. 'Like, once, Meece told Goten-nii-san that his underpants were showing! And he stopped and looked down to check!' Well… it seems that some of Goten's mischief rubbed off on Meece. 'And Meece, when she is sleepy, can sometimes see what will happen tomorrow. Like last night, Meece saw Dende-sama standing way up here, and today Meece sees him!' So the child could see the future in small glimpses. But was that it? The ability to read minds and project thoughts? She didn't seem to have the 'Kami Eyes' that most Guardians did. But then again, Guru on planet Namek didn't have Kami Eyes. But he could sense the lifeforce and mood of every namek on the planet. So maybe…
"Meece, I want you to close your eyes, and tell me something." Dende gestured for Piccolo to step out of the room, which he grudgingly did so. "Can you tell me what Piccolo is feeling right now, and no fair looking into his mind." The child sat on the floor in meditative position, a pose that Piccolo frequently used. Meece took several deep breaths, and then lifted her head into the air. She was searching, not using her chi or her telepathy. She was extending her very soul to find Piccolo.
'Piccolo-papa… Oh, he's mad for some reason. And Meece can feel Nail too, and he's mad, no… upset as well, but he's trying to make Papa feel better. But it's only making him feel worse.' Dende smirked as Meece sent the message. He was right. The child possessed a 'Kami's Heart', something with allowed her to feel the emotions of the people rather than see them. To his knowledge, it was only something nameks could learn, but perhaps since Meece was being taught by one she had managed to pick up on it.
'Dende-sama? Meece thinks Papa is worried. He doesn't like to be alone. He's worried about Meece.' Dende had to admit, her simple pattern of speech and how she referred to herself in third person was a little strange, but perhaps it was because learning such strong telepathic techniques so young, and without another way to communicate altered her thinking. But despite how she spoke, she was still in full control of her abilities at her young age.
'Hup! Too late!' Meece chirped, leaving Dende wondering just what she was talking about. One second later Piccolo stormed back into the room. Meece gave a squeal and grabbed a hold of his leg. Dende smothered a smile, it was rather cute to watch. Piccolo had only been out of the room for a total of one minute, and she was acting like his entry into the room had been a surprise.
Piccolo seemed to be wearing an altered version of a smirk as he looked down at Meece, then up at Dende. "Well." His one word seemed to be a demand, a question, and almost a threat all in one.
"She does have what it takes, and I've decided that I will train her." Dende rapped his staff against one of the pillars. "She may not be the Guardian of Earth in the future, but there are still many other planets who need a Guardian." Piccolo frowned at that, much like a father does when his child says she wants to attend college in another country.
*Hey, are you going to send Meece to college?* Nail asked. *I hear most humans like to do that. Gohan went to college.*
*ShhH! Don't mention college! You'll scare him!* Kami hushed Nail. *After all, Meece would need proper education, and then some sort of money to pay for the college and she has to get use to large crowds, and personally… I don't think Piccolo could take that kind of stress.* Meece cocked an eyebrow, obviously listening to Kami. Piccolo rolled his eyes and shrugged, showing that he really didn't care what they were talking about in his head.
Dende chuckled, "Well, feel free to bring her back up tomorrow and all her stuff for her training." The young Guardian smirked, an expression much like Piccolo's own, "And welcome to heaven, and I hope you enjoy your stay." The green God turned and left the room briskly, his staff tapping with every step. Mr. Popo bustled off to prepare a room for them, leaving Meece and Piccolo both a little confused.
"Well, do you want to train to be a Guardian?" Piccolo asked, realizing he hadn't fully asked her permission yet.
Meece paused, weighting the options. 'Will Papa stay with Meece?'
"Yes."
'Will Meece get to visit the Son's, and Bra-chan?'
"If you wish."
'Will Piccolo-papa will still train Meece to fight?'
"Definitely."
'Can Meece have her own car?'
"WHAT?!"
'Just kidding Papa.'
*Did I mention I love this kid?* Nail spoke up.