A/N: Normal. Song lyrics. **Flashbacks.** Dream sequence
A 2nd N: This Chapter is dedicated to: BLUEYDMNSTR. For her dedication to fanfiction authors, and fanfiction in general. I'm NOT dedicating it to Shadow Phoenix, because she is in dire need of a good hard spanking. And not from eye candy either.
Piccolo and Mikayla were sparring on the roof. He could tell her mind was elsewhere and he also knew she wouldn't confide in him. Not yet. Not because of trust. But because, well... he didn't quite understand why. Her eyes held a glimpse of a dark pain for one unguarded moment before they shut him out again.
"NOTHING'S WRONG," she answered him, AGAIN.
And that was another thing. She was sweating awfully heavy. That would be because she had so many clothes on. Tape wound around her hands and up her wrists, and her top was tight but with long sleeves. Baggy sweatpants. The outfit itself wasn't bad, not her usual garb since Bulma made her first fighting outfit, but... the fact that the sun had been beating down on them for four hours and she had declined his offer to wait while she changed seemed... odd.
Something was going on.
Gohan loved it when she performed. He felt like she was doing it just for him. Even though she was currently beating the crap out of her opponent, he still felt what she was doing was special.
She looked so good! Tight black pants, her leather boots, and a long sleeve, low-cut tight dark green top. However, the "low-cut" part was NOT That appealing as she bent over to help her fallen oppressor. The man on the floor couldn't remove his eyes from HIS heaven. Gohan growled instinctively.
His glare soon turned smile when Mik moved her arm and ring-clad hand in the guy's line of vision, drawing his gaze to her ring. 'ENGAGEMENT ring,' it screamed. Indeed the man was familiar with her love, and respectfully (fearfully?) looked away with a grin.
Piccolo leaned closer to Gohan so he would be sure to be heard. "Let's go to my office and talk." Without waiting for a response, he knew the demi would follow, he stood and made his way to the elevators, detouring through the kitchen.
Gohan entered behind Piccolo and watched him for a minute as he stood, hands clasped behind his back, looking out the window. It was another couple of minutes before he spoke.
"Sing for me."
"Excuse me?"
"NO! Don't do that!" Mikayla started to panic.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Mik, but under YOUR orders, I have to examine participants that I deemed received any particularly rough attacks. And YOU were fighting pretty hard. You're panting heavily, and sweating, possibly suffering from mild heat stroke, and I NEED to examine you. If you will not co-operate, I WILL call Mr. Piccolo."
"I told you I'm fine!"
The medical technician picked up the phone. Mikayla would've blasted it if the insurance people wouldn't've had a hissy fit about it.
She growled. "Fine, but lock the door and you CANNOT tell anyone what you saw..."
As the med tech. locked the door he turned to see her bare back, and his eyes... widened... in disbelief...
"One word... and you are fired."
Piccolo and Gohan bumped into Mik as she was leaving the medical area.
"Hey, THERE you are, babe! Everything okay?" Gohan smiled brightly.
"Fine, let's go, I'm hungry."
Piccolo glanced at the startled med tech. "You two go ahead." Mikayla threw him a suspicious glance and reluctantly the couple made their way back to Gohan's table.
The namek walked into the med room and glared at the technician.
"I know what you want and I can't say."
At the raised eyeridge, he continued, "I *can't* say."
"You better 'say.'"
"Or what? You'll fire me?"
"No, but you'll wish I had."
The human trembled. "I can't. But trust me, you'll find out soon enough. There's no keeping something like that a secret for long."
Barely content with the shaken man's rambling, Piccolo decided that his time was best served keeping an eye on Mikayla. Looking for a betrayal of her secret.
She was onstage again. She was in her element. The lights sent a steady beat of heat down upon her body and she signaled for the fans to be turned on backstage. A moment later, a soft, cooling, DELICIOUS breeze flowed over her skin, drying the sweat, and playing with her hair.
The music started and her voice, soft to start, breathed heartfelt words to her love in the front row... and his daughter next to him.
You can run, you can hide
But you can't escape my love
She had changed, so her clothes weren't sweat soaked, but they still trapped her body heat, staining them with new prespiration. She flashed Gohan a smile.
Here's how it goes
You and me
Up and down at this time
Kami, she's so beautiful, Gohan thought, not for the first, nor for the last, time that hour.
We'll get right, where to fight
Cause love is something you can't shape
When it breaks
All it takes is some trying
**"I'll break you, bitch!" His high pitched laugh echoed through his minions surrounding her. His name a taunt on the brink of her sanity, whispered and passed like a secret let loose... audible to everyone but her...**
She stumbled with her steps and faltered with her words slightly, but Gohan caught it, and shot up. Something was wrong.
If you feel like leaving
I'm not gonna make you stay
**"Stay and play, little girl..." Mik scrambled to her feet, her arms screaming from the assault, her back... numb. Years of practice kept her pain hidden behind an impassive face as she, somehow, stood and ran...**
She grabbed the microphone stand for support and struggled through the next words...
Soon you'll be finding
You can run, you can hide
But you can't escape my love
**"You can run, and you can hide... but you won't ever escape..." She was breathing heavy and she knew that he was right. Suddenly a pain burst through her side and she went flying several yards, catching a glimpse of the sleek, white tail that just left a huge red mark on her body. She could feel it forming as her body hit the ground.**
With her strong, soprano voice, her scream blended with the lyrics, seeming to the audience just to be an emotional overflow, her sound reaching every corner, every crevice, the street, stopping people in their tracks, and it was awesome. They loved it. They couldn't see the dark torture buried in her throaty cries. But Piccolo did. And Gohan did. And Pan could tell something was definitely wrong.
You can run, you can hide
But you can't escape my love
**Run. Smack. Hide. Smash. Escape. Flip. Bash. Pound, beat, bruise, bloody, DIE!!!**
She took a deep, cleansing breath, and while the visions vanished, her apprehension did not.
So if you go
You should know
It's hard to just forget the past to pass
Piccolo and Gohan were tensed, ready to leap at a breath's notice. She could tell without even looking at them. Which she hadn't for the last few minutes.
It was good, it was bad but it was real
And that's all you get in the end of the matter
She continued on, trying to concentrate on the rhythm vibrating under her soles, on the hum of the fan, and the feel of the air current. On anything and everything but what images her brain was trying to remember and the look on his face... Like he was dieing...
Here's how it goes
All it takes is some trying
The end of the song was close, and she pushed herself to complete it without a side show of her hitting the floor in an exhausted heap.
You can run, you can hide
But you can't escape my love
After a couple more strains of the final verse, she died the song out, bowed, and ran off the stage before the music faded.
Piccolo's voice stopped her as she walked out the back door. "Where are you going?"
"Outside, all right? I need some fresh air!" She stopped in the large alley and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"What the hell happened, Mik," Gohan barked, running past Piccolo.
"Nothing," she said softly, her fears and trepidation released with each breath.
"BULLSHIT!" Piccolo raised an eyebrow at Gohan's choice of words in the matter, however accurate, it was rather unlike the demi. "Tell me the truth!"
She stood silent. He waited. Nothing. They waited. Still nothing. She turned at the sound of the door slam behind her and saw Piccolo standing alone. Gohan had given up.
He spoke. "I haven't seen him this angry since the World's Martial Arts Tournament when he was 18 years old."
"What happened?" she whispered.
"He saw the woman he later married, being beaten to near death by a monster, because she wouldn't admit defeat and back down."
"I remember him talking about attending the tournament. He told me about teaching Videl to fly. Then he got so busy with her... and I left..."
He could hear the words she wanted to say, the words that for so many fire filled years caused her great pain. They permeated the air about them, charging it with an angry energy, long since spent by her, rekindled in him.
To be beaten to near death by a monster, because he was a monster. No words would ever have stopped that one.
"Time to play 'Monkey Mate in the Middle!'" The first hit landed on the back of her head, turning her world black, though she was still conscious. She could hear the demons' taunts, smell her blood, feel her sweat and tears. But she couldn't see a damn thing!
"MONKEY MATE! MONKEY MATE! Gonna pay!!" Every which way she was thrown, laughter filled her ears. Again and again, she was hit, bounced around like a volleyball. To her credit and the demons' annoyance, she didn't scream.
Mikayla woke with a start and looked at the clock. Six a.m. The glow of the numbers nearly sent her in a panic as the red glared like eyes she saw moments ago. She tentatively reached for the lamp and slapped it, turning it on with her touch quickly.
She stared at her hand as she pulled it back, shaking rather hard, as her blood dripped onto her red satin sheets.