These Dreams
Part Twenty-Four
KA-BOOM!
Three bodies slammed into the battle-scarred soil. Vegeta and I sat up, wincing. Freeza dug himself out from under a pile of rubble from the blast. He had one eye squeezed shut in pain. I felt for him...I ached all over too. Vegeta didn't seem much better off. We were all tired. Void kept picking us apart. Chewing us up and spitting us out. Handing asses back. You name it, she did it. We wouldn't be able to hold back for much longer.
I engaged her again. Rapid hit-block. She dispatched me easily. I went in again. Nailed her good with my trusty Gekidoshinku. And got knocked down AGAIN!
"Well this isn't working," I muttered aloud to anyone close enough to hear me.
Freeza moaned and rubbed his shoulder. He gave it a few quick jerks, making a sickening crack. His pained expression melted away. "We don't have much choice."
"Quit clowning around!" Vegeta interrupted, "You fools, in case you didn't notice Void is still standing!"
"Yeah, and what can we do to fix that?" I asked in a smart-ass tone.
"Dying would be nice," Void cut in.
"Butt out!" I glared at her, "Nobody asked you!"
She pretended like I hurt her feelings. Fake sniffling and all, "I just made a suggestion."
Vegeta growled and exploded off the ground. I watched him blur from view. He slammed a fist into Void's face. The impact twisted her head sideways. He landed a second blow that turned her head the other way. Then he jumped back, smirking, both fists held up and ready. "My fists suggest you shut up, creature."
"Hmph."
Yeah, Vegeta...keep running your mouth. The more we delay Void, the more time Piccolo has to get better. I thought to myself. For once Vegeta's big mouth was doing us some good. I never imagined I'd see the day!
"Freeza."
The small Icejin looked my way. He appeared as pensive as I was at the moment. "Yeah?"
"Maybe mouthing off would buy more time. Look at Vegeta...he's insulting her like crazy. Void thinks it's funny and she's still fighting, but it's delaying her attacks. See? More talk than fighting. She can't let anyone have the last word with her. Maybe if we get her mad enough to do something stupid..."
"...she'll make a mistake that'll give us an edge." He finished for me, obviously picking up on my idea. A smile formed to reveal shocking white teeth. "It worked once, it could work again."
"Right," I glanced towards Piccolo's prone form. The blood puddle underneath him wasn't any bigger. Good, he'd stopped the bleeding. I pushed a tag of gold hair aside and grabbed Freeza's uninjured shoulder. "Okay, we have to start using the most childish and obnoxious insults we know. Everything we've got. Are you ready?"
Freeza snickered and gave me a sweeping bow. The same kind of bow performers take on stage. He gestured to Void with a grin, "After you."
For some reason I got the giggles. Maybe it was the childish crap flowing through my mind. I turned to Void and screamed, "Hey Void! Take a piece of dynamite, stick it into your crotch and light it! Enjoy it too, because it's the only bang you'll ever get! Oh my God, you're so ugly your incubator had tinted windows! You leftover shit-nugget!"
Void's entire bulk paused, mouth open and finger up like she was about to give a lecture. Kind of comical. What was she? A monster prepared to take over our dreams or a teacher ready to bust us for mouthing off?
"You have a shifty tail! It shows! Freaaaaaaaaaaaak!"
"Freeza, you call that an insult?" I blinked.
He grinned, "Back on my home planet, telling someone their tail is shifty is insulting their sexuality. Same meaning as the word 'fag' or 'dyke'. I haven't used that one since I was a kid!"
Sweatdrop for me! "Oh yeah, I forgot we come from different cultures."
"Will you two shut up!?" Vegeta floated towards us, sneering. Figures he'd be ticked at us for interrupting....whatever "perfect" plan he had going. "I can handle this myself! Stop interfering!"
A sneer wrinkled Freeza's pale nose, "This is a team battle. It's not all about you, Vegeta. Every time we insult Void we delay her. The more we delay her, the more time Piccolo has to regenerate himself. We need to keep buying time. There's no way we can win this without his help."
"Don't tell me how to fight my battles," snapped Vegeta. Freeza narrowed his eyes into slits. I could practically smell the testosterone levels rising.
Men! They're impossible!
"Idiots," I muttered. I left them to sort out their differences and flew a bit closer to Void. Her expression showed quite a lot of amusement towards Freeza and Vegeta. I growled at her. "Arrogant bitch, your face makes cow shit look pretty! Overgrown boogerflicker."
Void didn't like people insulting her looks. I found that out pretty quick when she tried to bash my face in. Her fists are bigger than my head. It's good thing I dodged! I don't think my face would look too good on her knuckles, do you? Yikes!
"You sloppy sack of Siberian sheep shit!"
"Look who's talking."
"Ass-mole!"
"Grr!" Her ki rose.
"Dick eater! Butthole robber!" I watched her fume. The best part of insulting people? Making up names and comments as you go along. "Pimple popping pussy picker! You're so ugly your hand goes to sleep when you try to masturbate! Haha!"
"I've seen stag beetles with bigger jaws than yours," Freeza cut in, laughing. "You anal whoremonger! Go home to your pimp and come back when you've cleaned up your STDs. Oh wait, that's on your FACE! I'm soooooo sorry. I can hire a plastic surgeon for you if you like. I highly recommend Freddy Krueger. He's real good with knives."
Void swung at Freeza "SHUT UP!"
Freeza dodged her. He spun around and nailed her forehead with a spinning kick. She lost altitude, but quickly bobbed back up to our level. I leapfrogged over Freeza's head to plant both feet between Void's boobs. She fell again. "This is for everybody you've hurt!!" I nailed her chin with an uppercut before she had a chance to recover. Silver blood flew. Then I jumped back. She growled at me, mercury eyes blazing. I could almost see her anger gauge twisting towards critical.
"Weakling." Vegeta muttered. He had better things to do than deal with 'our petty insults'. Like fight. Poor guy, I know how he feels - wanting to fight was like a food craving. Drawing blood from Void put me in a state of bliss much like eating chocolate does.
As usual I ran out of mean things to say after a short time. I threw Void the most cruel, disgusting and stupid insults I knew. Ugh, I'll have to go to Confession after this is all over. But the plan worked! Freeza, Vegeta and myself all delayed her for a total of....fifteen or so minutes.
Then she'd had enough.
Void stopped laughing. Her smile disappeared. Slitted eyes narrowed further. Energy crackled around her large black form, undamaged pincher quivering. "I see what you're doing...you little punks are trying to delay me! Well no more! This ends right here." She fixed her stony gaze on me. "I think I'll start with you!"
No time to react! Void lunged! My brain shut down - I froze. I'm a Super Saiyajin and I froze solid. Shut my eyes and cringed.
A breeze. The 'zing' sound of someone phasing in front of me.
Impact - metallic armor on skin echoing off the sky.
"You!" Void snarled her frustration.
I peeked an eye open. Green filled my vision. The other eye opened. My sight traversed the familiar curve of a thick neck and bald head.
"Piccolo! You're okay!"
"Yeah," Piccolo's voice vibrated through his back, coming out muffled since he was facing the other way. "Thanks for buying me time, kid. Now let's put an end to this freak." Then he thought aloud to all of us, I'll soften her up. The rest of you wait here and start powering up. Cough if you understand.
Three fake coughs answered him. I felt rather than saw the smirk curling the left half of Piccolo's mouth upwards. He probably had one antenna arched higher than the other...that always happens when he's in a good "battle mood". Renewed energy shivered off his large frame. Like being next to an overloaded electric generator. I resisted the urge trace his spine with my tongue. I'm perverted enough to do something like that.
Void's mouth formed a wry grin. Or as close to one as she could get with those ugly mandibles. "Heh, heh, you have no chance of beating me." Snap went her jaws. Piccolo leaned back until his head was level with his feet! Damn, he's flexible! Maybe not as limber as Freeza...but way more limber than I am.
Everything paused. Vegeta and Freeza didn't move. I didn't move. Piccolo and Void didn't move. It probably lasted no more than a second. But to me, it was an eternity.
Zzzzip!
Piccolo and Void blurred from view. I heard the crashes, slams and shouts of their battle. Sometimes I glimpsed little lightning-flashes. Shockwaves rammed into my breastbone. They fought so fast I couldn't follow! Yet Vegeta and Freeza had no trouble watching. Their eyeballs jerked every which way.
Vegeta quit watching first. He stared ahead, lines of concentration framing his angry features. A second later he had golden fire spewing off his body. Freeza took the hint and joined him. I watched his body slowly beef up. He was powering up to a hundred percent.
I smelled blood. It broke my concentration before it established itself. Stupid me, forgetting to power up! Only I would be that dumb.
BOOM!
A crater opened in the dirt below. Piccolo emerged from the wreckage, dirty and mildly bruised. I didn't waste any time locking my arms around his neck. Looking over his shoulder, I saw Void sprawled out in the crater. She looked worse for the wear. Wow, I guess Piccolo got her back for hurting him!
"What are you doing?" He scowled deeply at me, strong hands pushing me off him. I got a nice eyeful of his gleaming fangs. "Don't get affectionate now. Power up! This isn't over!"
I blinked stupidly, "I won't blow myself up, will I?"
Vegeta burst out laughing. He faced me with gold and blue energy swirling around his face like a gilded veil. I swear his eyes were glowing. "You only explode if you can't control your energy. You have nothing to worry about, twig-girl. Let me put it a better way...if it hurts, you've gone too far. Better?"
"Blowing yourself up is highly unlikely," Freeza added. His once-calm face bore the strain of his rising ki. He reminded me of a harlequin. Bloodshot eyes, muscles bulging, teeth clenched. Okay so maybe his power-up wasn't quite as painless as he made it sound.
Piccolo grabbed my shoulder hard, "Come on, Cyndi! Stop stalling!"
I got tired of being ordered around. "Stop..." I shoved his hand off, "PUSHING ME!" And out came all that power. Rushing forth from the core of my being. It sizzled across my skin like static shocks. Imagine passing your hand across a TV screen and feeling all the crackling. I felt that ten times stronger. My aura was violent like a solar corona. I closed my fists and arched my body into the power stream. Didn't want it to stop. Involuntary screams clenched my throat.
I am woman. Hear me roar!
It took about two minutes for me to get anywhere close to everyone else's energy levels. Just in time to watch Void pick her fat ass up off the ground. She staggered drunkenly. Piccolo really did a number on her. Go Piccolo!
"Youuuuuu!" Void scowled up at us. She had one eye screwed shut in pain. "That's it...no more fooling around." A dark, tendril-like silver and black aura erupted around her form. It instantly destroyed the ground under her eight legs. White lightning tore through the dark aura-cloud and created a strobe effect. I just saw flashes of her moving around. She wasn't laughing at us anymore. I only heard an animalistic growl. Her power was insane! "This ends HERE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Vegeta and Freeza went goggle-eyed. Then Vegeta snarled and pushed more power into his aura. Freeza tightened his fists. Piccolo came closer to me. The angry tightening of his lips suggest Void was stronger than he anticipated.
White shockwaves blasted us. I fell back against Piccolo's chest, tangling our auras into a mix of gold and blue-white. Freeza almost lost his position in the air. Vegeta didn't move at all. He was a frowning statue with static discharges oozing over his skin. Another shockwave slammed us. This time it carried screams of the people Void absorbed. I heard Father Jim, my parents and a dozen other people I couldn't identify right away.
The sky turned black. Blacker than it did when the Dragonballs are in use. No, I mean it was black. Horizon to horizon. Existence itself twisted. The earth around Void kept shattering. Everything her energy touched was all but destroyed. Her aura expanded to surround us. Further still. I've never seen an aura so huge! It burned my skin and smelled like ozone.
Then the whole place blew
up. Just...KA-BLAM!...and everything became black.
Dim awareness came to me. I jerked bolt upright in Piccolo's arms and saw only darkness. Little islands of gray-white debris floated around. It reminded me of Rice Krispies in milk. Or like Namek after it exploded, except without stars in the background. Even worse...like the Anime world when I almost failed the last time I fought Void. What if we lost the fight?
My mouth went dry. "What's happening?!"
"She's taking control of the dreamscape. All this time she's had us fooled into thinking we were in control," Piccolo answered nervously. He released me to fly on my own power, but didn't let go of my shoulders(which his hands easily spanned). "Freeza, Vegeta, come over here! I don't know what she's up to and I don't want her breaking us up."
Freeza suggested, "Right. Let's land somewhere." Look out, Mr. Universe, Freeza's about to muscle in on you. Literally! Hard to believe that little body of his can puff up so big.
"There." Vegeta pointed to an island floating below. He headed down. There rest of us joined him. I kept looking back, not trusting my senses to alert me if Void was sneaking up on us. Less than a second after we landed the little island started shaking. It joined with another land mass. And another. Weird mini-continents formed. It made no sense! Then the darkness closed in around us. Just enough light left for me to see the others from four feet away.
Think this is weird yet? There was more. I noticed strange clumps of what looked like water globules floating around. Visible only as wavy distortions in the air, they floated about the island we landed on. I had no idea what they were until Vegeta backed into one.
He went from Anime to Real.
If you think a Super Saiyajin looks fantastic on the show, check one out in the flesh! Vegeta's hair literally glowed as if someone injected pure sunlight into every strand. His aura was the corona, a golden fire dancing off his scarred skin...brilliant against the black background. I saw different scars all down his arms and a long line that started at the corner of his left eye and drew a curving line down to his jaw. The scars were visible only as small, raised spots slightly paler than his tanned flesh. I just happened to be two feet away from him and got a really good look. He had a fierce face - deep-set asian eyes that gleamed turquoise like Paul Atreides' in the modern remake of the movie Dune. So eerie! He also had prominent cheekbones and sharp, thin lips. And his sweaty, glistening body - dear God, he put pro-wrestlers to shame. They don't call him the Saiyajin Prince for nothing.
Vegeta had just enough time to look down at himself. Then the little "pocket" moved on, surrounding Piccolo and making him flesh. His sweat-festooned brow knit. Curvy lips pulled back to reveal one gleaming white fang. Then he blasted the distortion away with a weak ki ball from his palm. I just hoped there weren't any more floating around. How would such a dimensional tear affect me or Freeza? Neither of us can afford to suddenly lose power in the middle of being attacked!
I clutched nervously at Piccolo's belt. He didn't stop me. "I don't like it, Piccolo. This is freaking me out."
"Keep your cool," Piccolo replied. He was studying our new surroundings intently. The wheels were turning in his head. He narrowed his dark eyes. "I can't pinpoint her power level! It's like she's everywhere! Vegeta, can you locate her?"
"No," came the annoyed reply.
"Freeza?"
"No luck."
I started hearing leather-scratching noises. They sounded huge. Scritch-scritch, scritch-scritch, scritch-scritch!
It circled around, out of sight. Just like that part in The Scorpion King where the Rock ran around the outer edge of a quicksand cave. All you heard was the sound of his swords whipping about as he took the bad guys out without their comrades noticing. It was better in the theater with surround sound. Now the situation became all too real. I didn't like it.
My heart squeezed in on itself. I rested my body harder against Piccolo's side. Freeza and Vegeta scooted closer to us. If we clumped together we'd be harder to grab. We stood back to back in a circle, each in our respective fighting stance - Piccolo and I hunched down with our hands curled into claws, Vegeta holding both fists up like a boxer and Freeza bent forward slightly with his fists clenched and both arms at right angles to his body. His tail twitched occasionally.
The scraping noises grew louder. I breathed faster and pressed my hip nervously against Piccolo's thigh for reassurance. My own heartbeat thudded in my ears. I felt like I couldn't breathe in enough air.
Don't worry kid, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. Piccolo's calm voice entered my mind. He said the same thing to Gohan all those years ago and made good on it. I believed him. Deep, slow breaths, Cyndi. Deep, slow breaths.
Deep, slow breaths. I forced myself to follow Piccolo's advice. It forced my heartbeat to slow down.
"Ooh, now who's scared, hm? Where did all your bravado go?" Void's guttural voice emanated from everywhere.
"Show yourself!" Vegeta taunted, "You call us cowards when you won't leave the shadows! Come out and fight like a true warrior!"
"Shhh! Don't rile her up," Freeza hissed.
Void went on, "All in good time, little ones, all in good time."
I smelled ozone. The air heated up. Half our land-mass exploded! Debris flew everywhere. A massive dust plume spiraled up around us, limiting our vision even more. Freeza, Vegeta and Piccolo all cursed under their breath. I just focused on not sneezing - I'm allergic to dust!
Booming laughter. Everywhere. Surround sound from hell.
Piccolo bore his sharp fangs, "Damn, I can't locate her!"
The ground rumbled.
Okay, I was getting tired of this. I pressed down on my energy, making my aura flare. I hate being scared...after a while I just get mad. "Void, you stupid piece of shit! Get out here!"
Another blast. This time almost on top of us!
"Let's get away from here!" Piccolo tugged my arm forward. He pointed ahead at the untouched flat area ahead. "C'mon, this way."
We made a run for it. Pounding our feet into the moon-like ground. I felt like my heart was about to explode because it beat so fast. What if we were running right into Void's clutches? Vegeta blasted another dimensional "pocket" out of our path. He looked just as frustrated as me.
Another earthquake almost sent everybody sprawling. Freeza almost fell off the edge of our floating island. He was lucky he fell onto his back or we might've never seen him again. The ground shook again. Harder than last time. Cracks snaked along between my feet. My legs moved apart. The land was splitting!
Piccolo hauled me backwards. Another crack formed. The ground split again! Freeza, Vegeta, Piccolo and myself now stood on our own tiny islands. Strong winds blasted my hair back, stinging the wound on my left arm.
"What's happening?!"
"I dunno!" I barely heard Piccolo over the wind, "Just stay where you are!"
Vegeta snarled a word I won't repeat. "She's toying with us!"
"This sucks!" Freeza chimed in.
Sometimes I just can't help myself. "No, it blows!"
That broke some of the tension...for about three seconds.
An immense shape rose between our islands. Up and up in the darkness. Massive. Skyscraper sized! Booming laughter roared like thunder. Void's laughter.
How did she get so huge?! How are we going to beat her?!
It was Freeza who acted first. He jumped forward with an arm out, his other hand clutching his wrist. I didn't know he could trap something THAT big in his imprisonment ball!
"Guys! Help me, I can't hold her forever!"
I charged my ki. Held my hands out to reinforce the energy Freeza put into the ki ball. Void's movements diminished. Piccolo joined in. The ball glowed a mix of green and yellow. Vegeta's angry blue showed up a moment later. I can't say what position he took - he was hidden from view behind Void's bulk. All I saw was a luminous orb surrounded in power.
The combined energy shook our little islands. Shockwaves blasted into the darkness. Freeza's ball kept trying to explode while our energy forced it to remain intact. Void powered up inside. More shockwaves. I almost lost my footing. Piccolo screamed. How do we fight her when we can't drop the shield?!
My power drained fast. I sensed the others weakening as well. Ki doesn't last forever. And it took so much just to keep Void contained.
"Remember the Believers!" Piccolo shouted to me, "They're with us! Draw on their power!"
Right then I felt you there. All of you. Believe...
Something floated by, illuminated in the tangles of lightning coming off Void's frame. Round, woven in the center - the giant dream catcher! It floated upwards as if alive. It carried a massive energy signal. Millions of ki's.
"Look! Up above Void!"
"I see it!" Freeza shouted. He'd been forced down to one knee by his own power.
Piccolo growled in concentration, "Where did it come from?"
"Who cares!"
The dream catcher stopped above Void's head. It turned luminous white and started spinning. Faster and faster until it looked like a miniature star shining in the sky. It shot off long, white lines of energy that escaped into the distance. Millions of them. They just kept coming!
You're one of them, Believer. Can you feel your power?
The earthquakes increased in strength. More ki streams emerged in the distance. Up above and below I saw white criss-cross patterns against the blackness. Each of them belonging to a person reading this right now.
"They found us!" I slumped to my knees and struggled against fatigue. Even Vegeta was losing his focus.
Energy passed through Vegeta and me, circled around and soared into Freeza and Piccolo. I felt instantly refreshed! It was you going through us!
Renewed, we all reinforced the energy ball pinning Void in place. She kept cursing us. Cruel words were the only weapon she had left.
Tiny stars twinkled in the distance. The energy lines were coming back! They shot out from all directions. Poof, poof, poof, poof...I heard thousands of tiny impacts. Each stream impaling Void inside the sphere. She screamed bloody murder. One slammed into the carapace between her eyes and exited the back of her head. Everyone she absorbed exploded to freedom. Father Jim floated out. I saw a redheaded woman and a little girl, probably Freeza's wife and daughter. Then my parents and a slew of other people. Many of them jumped into the spinning dream catcher. Others became pure ki to join the others already picking Void apart.
More and more energy streaked through Void's massive black body. The ki ball wavered. I saw her immense face emerge. Bloody tears raced down her cheeks. She arched herself and I heard her scream. Then her entire form turned brilliant white.
Piccolo came out of nowhere. He practically clotheslined me to the ground! "Everybody hit the dirt!"
I couldn't see if the others did so. I just peeked out form under my arm to watch Void.
The ki shield was gone, but the energy streams held her in place. It looked like she was trapped inside a spherical dream catcher. More ki's poured into her. White light shot from Void's mouth and eyes. Her whole body shone brilliantly. She arched again and shattered like glass!
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Void's scream faded.
Piccolo and I looked up. A stream of light emanated from the dream catcher to envelope the energy weave and shattered pieces of Void floating in the air. It stopped its mad twirl and spun in the opposite direction. The whole mass turned into a luminous white whirlwind with the dream catcher at the center!
It shrank. Smaller and smaller until...WHOOSH! Our original dreamscape of Namek reappeared. The dream catcher stopped twirling and dropped to the ground. Its hot white glow faded as it wobbled to a halt in the grass, smoke rising around its edges. I heard sizzling noises. Then all was quiet.
Piccolo's hot breath grazed my ear. Until then I'd forgotten he was using his own body like a shield over mine. I felt a little sad when he scooted off and stood up - I was enjoying his muscles! I dropped out of Super Saiyajin mode, pushed myself to my feet and took a look around.
"Did we just win?"
"I think so...I don't sense Void's power anywhere." He flashed a rare smile, "Thank you, Believers."
Freeza lay sprawled out on his back. Somewhere during this mess he powered down to his normal shape. He reminded me of a doll just unwrapped from its package. Or he would if he wasn't bruised and covered in dust.
Vegeta powered down and hauled himself upright at the same time Freeza got to his feet. Freeza came over to us with a big smile on his dirty white face. "She's gone! Totally obliterated! That was amazing, wasn't it? It's over!" He leaned over to give me a bear hug that lifted me off the ground. I kicked my feet and laughed. He chuckled with me.
"Freeza."
The laughing stopped. Piccolo rumbled in his throat. I looked over Freeza's shoulder. Freeza put me down and turned around to face Vegeta. "Yes, Vegeta?"
The Saiyajin Prince didn't smile or say a word. He just stuck a hand out and waited, his face unreadable as ever. Freeza's red eyes looked down at the offering. Then he met Vegeta's gaze, took his hand and both gave a firm shake.
"You aren't what I thought you were." Was all Vegeta said. He walked off after that, probably to be alone. Freeza nodded to him, sighed and wiped sweat off his brow.
Piccolo materialized his clothes, weighted gear and all. His skin was a mess, but at least his clothes were intact! Too bad - I enjoyed seeing him without his shirt.
"Look ma, it's pa!" Came a tiny voice that carried a distinctive Australian ring.
Freeza's eyes became saucers. He looked to his right and there stood a little redheaded girl, holding a stuffed kangaroo. She wore light pink pajamas. Freeza was ready to faint! "How did you recognize me, Lex?"
Alexis ran up to Freeza and jumped into his arms without answering. She put her head down on his shoulder and cooed, "The meanie gone walkabout."
"Yeah." Freeza settled his daughter onto his hip and petted her curly red hair. "The meanie's gone."
Another voice called, "'oly-dooley! Anty?! What the 'eck did you do to yourself?"
That must be Cathy. She walked up to Freeza with her red braid swinging behind her back and eyed him up and down. They were about the same height. Aww, how cute! I grabbed Piccolo's arm and pointed to the couple.
Freeza reached up and petted Cathy's head like he did Alexis. "I'll explain everything when I get back home. It was all a nightmare and it's over now. Wait for me when you get up." He winked at her, glanced our way and smiled crookedly. He went on. "I'll be there soon to cook up some meat pies."
"Right-o. See ya," Cathy grinned. "You're a real beauty, ya know." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and took Alexis into her arms. Freeza promptly blushed from chin to forehead. Cathy waved to us, not really afraid of Piccolo(a tall green man wouldn't be too scary after dealing with Void), and give Freeza another long once-over. They exchanged smiles. Then Cathy and Alexis faded to the land of consciousness.
"Ahhh." Freeza remarked, his eyes faraway and dreamy. "My girls...I love 'em."
Piccolo released a huge snort. Chuckling, he said, "Looks like you have your hands full with those two."
"Heh, yeah! Wouldn't have it any other way."
I giggled and jumped into Piccolo's arms, giving him a surprise peck on the lips. "Who says he's the only one with his hands full?"
Piccolo caught me easily, "Kid," he glared at me. A mocking glare, "As small as you are, I'm surprised you even have a handful."
Did he just make an innuendo? His smirk suggested so. Oh my God!
"FfffftHAHAHAHAHAH!" Freeza was the first one to burst out laughing. Then Vegeta, myself and finally Piccolo. We all laughed like a bunch of idiots. Glad the nightmare was finally over.
Thanks to you.
"See you when we wake up," I told Piccolo. "You owe me a Hershey bar."
"Sure thing." He put me down, kissed the top of my head and faded before I could react.
Freeza gave me a thumbs-up. "See ya."
He still had his thumb up and a grin on his face when he faded.
"Humph!" Vegeta glared at me. "I'm out of here."
He crossed his arms and vanished, smirking his head off.
I took a last look around at Namek. Then I relaxed. Closed my eyes and let myself rise towards consciousness.