These Dreams
Part Seven
Piccolo's cape-festooned back moved further away from me. The majestic white material swished like liquid as he walked without a sound. He didn't even bother to look over his shoulder.
Cool, 'cause I'm gonna get him good this time.
Let's see now, it's been a long time since I've even flown. I wonder if I still remember how...I'll give it a shot! Now I just need some fairy dust laced with ki and a lot of happy thoughts...
Closing my eyes, I focused on pushing my energy into the floor. I needed a cushion of ki strong enough to lift me. Heheh, I could feel it building like a swelling in the pit of my stomach. Now I just had to concentrate on drawing it out from the center.
Before I knew it, I felt lighter. The ground disappeared from underneath me.
Well, whaddya' know...I've still got it!
"WAHAHA!!!" I burst out laughing.
By pushing the stream of ki back like a rocket engine, I shot forward towards
Piccolo's
back. I snatched the turban
right off his head on the way by. It weighed little more than schoolbooks
to me in this form. "Nyah, nyah! Come and get me if you want your turban
back!" I put the too-large turban on my head, held it down with one hand
and flew off, laughing. The gravity in the white void dragged me down a
little, but I managed to compensate.
Piccolo grabbed his bald head and discovered his turban missing. "What the?! Hey!" He blasted after me, hot on my heels. Damn, that Namek is fast! In two seconds he was on top of me!
Piccolo grabbed for his stolen property. I veered left, barely dodging him. He blurred from view and reappeared in my path. I ducked below him. Flew up behind his legs and slapped his butt.
A little too cocky. Stupid!
I was on the ground before I even knew what happened. Turns out Piccolo had backflipped and planted both feet in my spine. He was still standing on my back, arms crossed and smirking at me.
Just to give you an idea on how small I am and how big Piccolo's feet are...his toes touched the tops of my shoulderblades and his heels dug against the base of my spine. Even together, big toe to big toe on my spine, the widest part of his feet spanned the width of my shoulders. And his weight had me pretty well pinned down. The stronger gravity didn't help matters any...thank God he wore those soft shoes that let his feet mold to my back or I'd be crushed!
While I laid there with my tongue out and spirals for eyes, Piccolo rescued his turban. He settled it onto its rightful place, frowning down at me, "Your speed is pretty good, but you must keep your eye on your opponent at all times. Otherwise you're just asking to get pummeled. If this was a real fight, you'd be dead right now."
"Right...I hear ya." I reached back, grabbed his pant-legs and tried to yank him off.
Well...I didn't make him fall, but I succeeded in making him move.
He stepped forward and stopped with one foot on my head.
His weight crushed my cheek harder against the glowing marble-like floor. Then he backed across me and stood squarely on my butt. Crude, but effective, I couldn't get leverage to push myself up without snapping my spine. All I could do was pray that he didn't decide to step on my tail next.
".....owwwww! Gee, thanks. Now I smell like your stinky shoes."
Piccolo snickered at me, "Well, that's what you get for letting your opponent walk all over you. And by the way, my shoes don't stink. Your attitude does."
"Shut up!" I would've laughed if I wasn't so determined to be stronger. I focused on the energy deep in my center. Brought it out slowly, like in my dream.
Piccolo stood there while I concentrated. Probably waiting to see what I was going to do. Well, he was in for a surprise!
Growling, I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath. The hot tingling in the pit of my stomach increased. I drew it towards my spine. Sweat broke out all over me from the effort. It was like flexing a muscle and my entire body was the muscle being flexed. Part of me was so tired of powering up that I nearly threw in the towel.
But I'm not a quitter.
"Piccolo?" I panted.
Piccolo gazed down at me, "Give up already?"
"No, I just wanted to say..." I released the ki I'd so carefully gathered in one gigantic shockwave. "GET OFF ME!"
"OOF!" Piccolo went flying straight up and landed on his butt behind me. I rolled to my feet and faced him with my fists up, bouncing slightly and tail wagging. Waiting for his next move.
I used to hate sparring. Now I was enjoying it! I could go to Disneyland or Magic Mountain and get the same thrill. I wanted to see blood, bruises and mayhem. No...I wanted to cause it!
Piccolo climbed gracefully back to his feet and watched me hop in place. "Oh I see...you want to go all out, don't you? Well, start powering up or you'll be eating the floor again in less than a minute." He smirked at me and removed his turban. Then the heavy shoulderpads came off, taking his cape with it. Both shook the ground on impact. Piccolo cracked his neck and knuckles as if enjoying his new freedom.
"What about you? Aren't you going to power up?"
"Feh." He chuckled and assumed his graceful fighting stance, a faint aura wafting around him. "I will when I see how strong you are, first."
Your ass is mine! I thought to myself. Widening my stance, I relaxed and let the energy inside me bubble up. It oozed through every pore like steam from boiling water. I felt like I was sinking into a hot bath with the warm water creeping its way up my body.
But Piccolo wouldn't be patient with a slow power-up.
Ever wonder why people scream when they power up? Same reason that some pregnant women in labor moan and scream even though they have an epidural. Every fiber in their being is intent on pushing the baby out. Just like every fiber in my being was intent on bringing the energy out.
I hunkered down and screamed my head off while pushing upwards with all my might. I could feel my ki ready to overflow, just a little more!
Whoosh!
My long hair blew straight up. A white aura snapped into being around me. Gravity distorted. Senses heightened. What little muscles I had flexed and hardened. Veins dilated to keep up with the power flow. Powering up does get tiring, but once someone such as myself reaches the level they want, the energy is NOT being wasted. It's just "there" until used...I can't really explain it better than that.
Now that I had all that power on the surface, I had to decide what I should do with it. Like clay, it could be molded to my will. Should I rush Piccolo and beat him into submission? Maybe I'll condense my energy into a ball and blast him. Or I can power down and walk off...but that would suck! Being this strong was thrilling, every fiber of my being literally vibrated. I wanted to see what I was really capable of!
"Well?" I growled, all efforts on keeping control of my ki. Sticking my hand out palm-up, I made a 'come here' gesture with my fingers and quoted The Rock, "Just bring it!"
Piccolo shook his head. I waited, not daring to blink. Then it happened, he flat out rushed me. But I existed on a slightly higher plane now. With my heightened senses he appeared to move in slow motion. I quickly leapt over him...to the untrained eye I appeared to blur in and out of view, but from my point of view it looked like a normal leap-frog move. Piccolo might have lost sight of me, but I knew he could still sense my ki.
Suddenly, Piccolo vanished. One second he was there and then...he wasn't.
I barely sensed him moving(sensing ki makes my ears ring, I hate it!), but his location was difficult to pinpoint. "Argh, where'd you get to?"
"Look up, kid!"
I flipped backwards twice at hyper speed. A good move - Piccolo narrowly missed kicking my head. I twirled forward, nailing his neck with a roundhouse. He caught my hair as I came around and flung me hard at the ground. I righted myself. Did a little bounce like Freeza and launched myself back at the green man. We went immediately into a rapid hit-and-block routine that echoed all throughout the area.
Punch, kick, flip...block! Kick! Dodge the haymaker! Uppercut! Hair-pull. Knee to the gut, get up! Hair-pull, again! Block high, block low! Duck and twirl! Cartwheel right! Slap his face and back off! Fly higher! Spin again - move aside! Hair-pull. Knife-kick, left jab, block! Hip take-down! Pivot right! Drop left! Hair-pull and a kidney punch! Lean back, catch his fist! Toss! Backflip and breathe...and start all over again.
Most of the blows were thrown by Piccolo, I did more blocking, dodging and getting hit. He had a graceful fighting rhythm that was just too damn fast - I couldn't find a good opening! Plus, he kept grabbing my hair every chance he got. Whenever he did that, I got punched, kicked or flung in a random direction. Grrrr!!
WHAM!!! A fist came at my
jaw. I twisted sideways so my shoulder took the impact. Then my hips rotated,
letting a foot connect solidly with Piccolo's exposed side. We spun apart
to regroup and went right back into our skirmish.
Three hours later, we were still struggling against each other. I was wearing down fast, Piccolo always had way more endurance than me. My only hope was to put my all into every move and hope to knock him out before I got too tired. Everything went great! For a while I actually thought I'd win this one. That is...until Piccolo used an afterimage to confuse me. He appeared to go right and then ki-blasted me from the left.
"Owwww! That burns!"
"Feh, I've seen you take worse." Piccolo paused to catch his breath. He was in full battle mode with one antenna arched higher than the other and a cold gleam in his eyes. "Ready to quit yet?"
I sneered and rushed him, "Never!"
Piccolo dodged me easily. He always escapes! It's not fair! Frustration and exhaustion were setting in. Only one thing left to do - I charged blindly like an idiot. Piccolo's fist appeared out of nowhere. I saw it a second too late.
BAM!! The impact reverberated off the ground. That punch must have totally deformed my face when it connected. I saw stars and my vision wavered.
Piccolo was relentless. He brought his elbow down on my cranium. Dazed as I was, I just floated there and let him hit me. And stupidly forgot to anticipate just how much power he'd put into the blow.
I ate the floor bigtime and laid there on my back. Dammit, a hit like that would've killed me if I was human! I felt like a pinball and Piccolo was the flipper.
Piccolo wasn't letting up his assault. I saw him dropping down from directly overhead. It reminded me of the dream where Void was coming at me from above.
And I got angry.
I rolled aside. Did a quick kip up and faced Piccolo as he landed. My ki surged like fire around me, tangling my hair and rippling my clothes. I lost myself in the intoxicating power. I screamed until I thought my vocal cords would explode. The floor shook under my feet. Senses distorted and twisted. Muscles I didn't even know I had tightened.
Suddenly the blank void was replaced by an intense thunderstorm that mirrored my inner anguish. I fed off its fury, drawing it into myself and making it into my power. And the whole time, Piccolo just stood there watching me in amusement.
"Hey, kid," His deep voice rang in unison against the thunder, "You've gotta do better than that if you want to beat me in a spar."
Oh that was it! He wanted better? Time to bring out my big gun! I'll show him what power is! Goku has his trademark Kamehameha, Piccolo has his signature Mankankosappo...and I have this...
With ki power boiling over, I held my tingling hands together, palm-up, in front of me. A tiny crimson sphere flickered into existence. It looked kind of like an atom with white electricity for the electron trails. I added energy and watched it inflate like a balloon. It made my palms ache...concentrating ki into a single point felt like lifting weights with tired muscles. I forced the sphere to grow the size of a softball. I took my hands away and grinned. The little ball floating in front of me contained enough energy to make the Shock and Awe attack against Iraq look like mere fireworks.
Piccolo gawked at me. He knew exactly what I was doing. "Wait! Cyndi! You're - "
"Gekidoshinku..."
I passed my hands through the sphere and shoved them forward behind it. Massive bolts of brilliant red electricity exploded everywhere! It looked so vivid against the blue-white lightning crashing around me. Sparks flew whenever the crackling bolts touched something. I saw some lick at the hourglass on the Anime side of the Time Chamber. You know, the one where the sand goes up instead of down.
It took me a few seconds to get control of my energy. The red lightning condensed into twin blasts from my palms. My biceps were already starting to burn just from holding everything together.
This wouldn't last long, I had to make the best of it!
"Hey!" I aimed right at Piccolo and let loose. Sent the twisting energy zipping his way. "AHAHAHAHA! Better run FAST or I'm gonna zap you!"
Zap was an understatement. Poor Piccolo! He tried to phase away, but his ki only attracted the electricity more. I watched the bolts arc to the floor, right where he reappeared. Piccolo cried out in pain, the same shout he did when Cell almost absorbed his arm. The charge ripped his baggy purple gi open and lifted his body high off the ground. I got a sick enjoyment of seeing him convulse in mid air as thousands of volts passed through his shuddering frame. For those few moments I wasn't even me anymore. My opponent's pain gave me pleasure...isn't that sickening!?
Piccolo's agonized screams suddenly turned into a gurgle and ceased entirely. He just hung there at the mercy of my Gekidoshinku, his entire body stiff. I didn't see the reason for his sudden silence.
That is, until I noticed a red glow in the clouds behind him.
Oh my God, I just impaled him! Oh my GOD!!!
I came to my senses. The energy and thunderstorm immediately dispersed. Piccolo dropped like a stone and landed roughly on his feet. I heard a loud snapping noise and closed my eyes, not wanting to see what I'd done.
This is just a nightmare, right? I'll wake up any second, won't I?
No, not a nightmare. I opened my eyes and the frightening image reappeared.
Piccolo was lying on his side with his legs folded up underneath him. The same pose Lara Croft lands in if you make her fall feet-first to her death in the game. Something about his body alignment looked weird, but I couldn't quite place it. He appeared to be unconscious, at least I hope he was only unconscious...so I hurried over.
I rolled Piccolo onto his back and felt his neck for a pulse. It was slow, but strong. I examined the two puckered wounds marring his broad chest. They were wet, but didn't seem to be bleeding much.
Fate must have smiled on me...I'd missed all his vital organs and blood vessels by millimeters! If his anatomy is anything like a human's, then the blasts struck near both sides of his trachea, just a scant distance from his heart. Luck...pure, dumb luck, saved his life. I could have killed him with my stupid arrogance!
So this is what it's like to be a Saiyajin... Yes I was powerful, yes I liked having the power...but I didn't like what that power just allowed me to do.
I cradled Piccolo's head in my lap and broke into tears. "Oh my God, Piccolo! I'm so sorry. Please be okay! I'm taking you to a bed, just hang on and I'll clean you up!"
Piccolo groaned when I moved to heft him over my back. My plans were to "piggy back" drag him. But when I started lifting him towards my back, he gave a hoarse, almost animalistic cry. A pained noise I never want to hear him make again.
"What? What is it?" I let go and turned around. Dear Lord, I wish I hadn't.
Both of Piccolo's legs looked unnatural. At first I thought he just had his knees bent funny. But then I noticed the two limbs looked way shorter than normal. His left knee was twisted sideways at an odd angle. When Piccolo lost consciousness his body automatically powered down. Consider the strong gravity, his body weight, the velocity at which he hit the ground and imagine him landing on his feet in an uncontrolled fall from at least a hundred feet up. The impact snapped his legs like twigs just above the knees.
Oh my God...what...what have I done? What kind of a freak am I?
"Piccolo...you have to regenerate yourself! You can fix a broken bone, can't you?"
Piccolo hitched a deep breath, opened his eyes and stared at my face, his gaze unfocused, "I need to recover my strength first...expended a lot of energy trying to escape your attack. It'll take a while...I need to...rest..." His eyelids fluttered and closed.
"Wait!" I shook him so he'd stay awake, "Don't we have any Senzu beans?"
Those dark eyes flickered open. "No. Korin just planted a new batch. They take a month to grow in good soil, longer when there isn't enough sunlight." His face twisted, but his voice remained perfectly steady, "You'll have to set my legs before you move me. Otherwise you risk injuring me further."
That made me cringe. "Are you NUTS?! I...I can't do that! I've already hurt you enough, how can you ask me to cause you more pain?!"
Now it was Piccolo's turn to get mean. He angrily grabbed my face between thumb and splayed fingers and yanked me to eye-level. "You should've thought of that before you got all cocky! Maybe next time you'll think about the consequences of your actions before you act! NEVER let your power control you like that again! Now I'm going to walk you through setting the bones. Pay attention and don't you dare wimp out or I'll break your arms AND legs when I get back on my feet!"
"O-okay..." A bitter liquid collected in the back of my throat. My hands trembled, slick with sweat. I swallowed and nervously licked my lips. "T-tell me what I...what I have to do..."
Piccolo pushed himself up onto his elbows and glared at me. "This would be a lot easier if you were taller, but...sit down and put your foot between my legs."
"But..."
"No 'buts', just do it! We're in my half of the room, remember? There's nothing there to crush so do it!"
I shuddered with dread. "Are you sure you can't...uh, you know...do this yourself? And don't you need traction for an injury like this?"
The green man sneered contemptuously, "If I could, would I be asking for your help?! Just shut up and do this or it'll never heal right when I regenerate. I don't want to go ripping my legs off if I don't have to." Then he gestured to the area around him, "We don't have the resources for traction...all I care about is lining the bones up. So just DO AS I SAY AND SHUT UP!!"
"Eep, okay!" I sat down like he said to do, scared and sick inside. The way he scowled at me was...unnerving. For once I couldn't discern what he felt. He was probably thinking of a million ways to dismember me once he got well.
"Get my leg across your knee - mmh...now put...my knee over your shoulder...and pull backwards until you hear a crack." Piccolo slowly braced himself, eyes still focused on my face. Like he expected me to wimp out on him...and I probably would have if he didn't need my help to get better. "It's a clean break so it'll line up by itself. Now pull!"
With my arms wrapped behind Piccolo's knee, I used the foot braced against him as leverage and leaned back. Pulled with all my might and grunted from the effort. C'mon...
"Pull harder...dammit!" Piccolo hissed with eyes glazed in pain.
The swollen, deformed leg quivered in my grasp and the strong thigh muscles knotted up. I heard a loud, sickening crack. Piccolo clutched at his hip, arched his back and roared in agony.
I wanted to throw up. Piccolo was in this much pain and I had to do it again!
Carefully, I began working on Piccolo's other leg. This one proved more difficult to manipulate into proper alignment...I had to rotate his knee before I could do anything else. I heard a lot of ugly grinding noises.
"Ungh!" Piccolo's eyes bulged and his pupils turned white. His entire body shook. He clenched his teeth and gasped, trying to stay silent. His breathing grew more ragged with each swallowed moan.
Desperate to make his pain stop, I hugged his knee and wrenched the leg backwards with all my might.
Crack!
I heard the bone snap into proper alignment. It sounded exactly like a large joint being popped. Piccolo fell backwards and screamed through trembling jaws. The kind of scream that echoes forever and haunts your nightmares. He's had limbs blown off, been burned and shot through the stomach - all of which involved nerves being severed. I don't think he ever dealt with a broken bone before. He obviously wasn't prepared for the pain.
Thank God the worst was over.
"Piccolo, I...I'm so sorry. I just went crazy... I mean, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if this dumb stunt of mine ruined our relationship. Please don't hate my guts for this..." Here came the tears again. I did a slow face-palm and tried to keep my voice steady, "Please don't hate me. You have every reason to...but please don't." Good Lord, I'm such a wimp! But if Piccolo really did want me to go home after this, I guess I deserve it for being so stupid.
Piccolo twisted his head around to look at me. His left eye twitched, a sign that he was still in a lot of pain. One of the wounds in his chest started oozing a little blood. "Just remember that you're not the strongest being in the universe. You might feel like it, but you're not. You caught me off-guard...and that will never happen again."
"I know." I winced and closed my eyes. Each time I spoke to him I felt like I risked a fierce retort. "We need to get you back into the chamber area so those wounds can be taken care of. Since I did it, I might as well help fix it. Now sit tight while I find something to splint your legs...at least long enough to get you to a bed."
"More of that mothering bit?" He eyeballed me, still expressionless.
I hung my head. Shame closed my throat so tightly that only a whisper escaped, "Yeah...might as well since you need help. Can't leave you sitting out here for however long you need to rest. What's the dignity in that?"
"Hm." Piccolo's eyes finally regained their normal color, albeit less shiny. "How do you plan on carrying me back? You know I can't fly in this condition without damaging my legs further."
Ack. I hadn't thought of that. Being the impulsive person I am though, I blurted, "I'll just carry you on my back, I guess. I'll find a way to get you onto my side of the room so I don't run the risk of hurting you any more."
Piccolo lifted a hairless brow. "I'll be able to use my energy to lessen my weight when we shift between Realities. I'm afraid that'll be all the help I can offer."
"That should work."
I left the wounded Namek alone and rushed back to the living area. Let's see....what would be strong enough to brace his entire thigh? An armpit-to-ankle splint just wouldn't work, not on both legs. Dammit, let's just hope a small splint would keep the bone from moving. But what would make a good brace?
I shifted my gaze to the kitchen table. Pure wood. That'd work!
Four karate chops reduced the wooden table back into timber. I carried the pieces back out to Piccolo and knelt beside him. "I'm going to try and splint your legs before I move you. Broken femurs bleed into your thigh and a splint will stop it from getting any worse than it already is. Now let's just hope I do this right...I'm gonna brace them in the position they're in now and use the wood for handles when I carry you on my back. I'll have to use strips of your cape to tie them on."
Piccolo seemed uncertain, but didn't say anything. What other choice did he have? He was bleeding internally and externally, his legs were broken and he was probably going to enter shock if something wasn't done soon.
All because of me and my stupid power. It felt like all the guilt in the universe was resting on my shoulders.
"Okay, here goes." I measured the broken table pieces until I found two long enough to be suitable splints. "Now just lift your butt off the ground and I'll slide these under your legs."
I received another odd look from Piccolo. He twisted his face in pain and lifted his rear end up while I slid the lumber into place. "Now where did you learn to do this?"
"Uh...." I stopped tearing strips out of his white cape and glanced over, "Well...from the internet. Somewhat. The rest is just me improvising. See, I'm supposed to bind your legs together, but they're both broken and that won't help. These are just temporary braces anyway."
"I see..." At least he tried to sound interested.
More guilt pressed down on my shoulders. I twisted the cloth strips into ropes for strength and tied the splints in place. Lots of patience and several minutes later, Piccolo was ready to be moved. I squatted down, he grabbed my shoulders and stuck his splinted legs over my hips. I looped my arms around the wood and carried him towards the living area...one shaky step at a time.
Hey, Piccolo is heavy, even to a Saiyajin! I found myself dreading the moment when I'd pass through the septum dividing our Realities.
But I didn't need to worry. Piccolo emitted small amounts of energy just like he promised. It helped a lot more than I expected and gave me a workout to boot.
Eventually, I got Piccolo(who decided not to remove the leg-splints) settled into bed with his legs propped up on pillows to keep the swelling down. He squeezed his eyes shut, bared his teeth and hissed angrily during the transfer. His face lost all expression as soon as he was lying still. The tension around his lips and subtle tremblings in his cheeks and chin remained glaringly obvious. I was glad I brought him into my side of the room, it made reading his vague facial expressions a little easier.
I went about patching up his chest the best I could. Let me tell you, those wounds were ugly! Looking away and throwing up would've been easier than actually touching the slippery mess.
But Dende wasn't here. He couldn't magic himself onto the room and heal Piccolo's boo-boos.
It was all up to me.
I'm no surgeon so the best I did was wash them out with soapy water and stuff two rolled-up sanitary pads inside to absorb the fluids oozing out. Don't laugh, okay? They were the only absorbent material available at the time.
Thank God for the show ER. Without it I'd have never known how to irrigate or pack injuries like that.
And Piccolo's stony silence stretched on. He watched me intently while I worked on him, and I studied him so I would know if I was hurting him or not.
Then our eyes met.
My upper legs began to ache. Sharp pains tunneled through my chest. I bunched a corner of the sheets in my fist and pressed it against my mouth.
His pain...I can feel his pain...
"I-I'm...so sorry, Piccolo..." I told him again. "I - "
"Be quiet." The Namek finally spoke. I felt so relieved, knowing I was still worth talking to after what I did to him. "Beating yourself up won't change what happened. It was an accident and it's over with. We both learned from it. Let it go." His closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. Struggling for composure under all the agony.
"...I'll try."
"Hmph."
Piccolo said no more after that. I stayed sitting on the edge of the bed and watched his handsome green face relax as he rested. For once I was actually afraid to touch him. I couldn't even bring myself to give him a get-well kiss...because I feared my touch would only harm him more.
Blazing hot tears finally found their escape down my face. I let them fall. Piccolo was resting and wouldn't notice if I remained silent. I turned my back towards him and buried my face in a pillow to muffle my blubbering.
A large hand pressed itself against my back. I stiffened, gasping, more jumpy than normal in my exhausted state.
"I'm not mad at you anymore." Piccolo's deep, sexy voice spoke, "Just remember what your power did to your ego and don't let it happen again. Now stop your whimpering and let me have some peace and quiet."
I looked over my shoulder while still hugging the pillow. "So I'm forgiven?"
Piccolo answered me by exhaling loudly through his nose, flaring his narrow nostrils. One corner of his prominent lips curled slightly upwards. Then he closed his shiny granite eyes, turned his face away and sighed. I'm not sure if he was really asleep or just meditating...he breathes the same way for both.
Wait, his jaw just relaxed; he's falling asleep.
It'll be a while before I'll be able to forgive myself, but time will heal me. Knowing Piccolo didn't hate my guts provided the Band-Aid my soul needed. The ugly, heavy knot lifted itself from the pit of my stomach. Oh I'll stop dwelling on this eventually, but it's not easy. My own conscience is probably more brutal than any foe I ever faced. I hang on to pain and anger for a while, berating myself until I think it's okay to move on.
And I was really taking a mental beating today.
With a heavy heart, I leaned over and lightly touched my lips to Piccolo's cheek. It made his eyelids flutter and his lips curl into a smirk. In the flesh, he looked almost boyish while asleep. All the tense lines were smoothed off his angular features, making him seem like an entirely different person. I wish he'd let his face relax like that when he was awake.
Sleep well, my sweet green lover. I'll make sure you stay safe.
I assumed the lotus position on the bed and quietly watched over him while he rested. It felt weird, the way our roles were temporarily reversed.
In silence, I studied how shadows played about the perfect curves of Piccolo's closed eyes and parted lips. He looked so comfortable between the white sheets and purple blankets. You'd never know by looking that he had such horrific injuries.
But I did.
After all this, would I dare call on my ki again in a real fight? How do I know I won't go insane the next time I power up? I could so easily lose control.
It wasn't worth the risk.
Sighing, I stretched out on my stomach and smoothed the sheets down against Piccolo's bare upper body.
"Beating yourself up won't change what happened. It was an accident and it's over with. We both learned from it. Let it go." His comment came back to haunt me. Good advice, let's just pray my conscience will let me take it to heart.
"You'll be okay, Piccolo..." I told him softly, "...and someday I hope I will be, too."