Chapter 12

Piccolo would have fallen over if Katrina hadn't been in his arms. An anime sweat drop formed on his brow and he glared down at Gohan. "Why didn't I know about this before?!"

Gohan shrugged. "Well, you never asked."

Another big anime sweat drop appeared. "So this is what happens with you too?" He asked. "You fall unconscious?"

"My daddy told me that that's what happens." Gohan replied.

"You mean you don't remember if you've ever gotten your tail pulled?" Piccolo raised an eye ridge.

"Not exactly..." Gohan murmured, scratching his little round chin. "I just remember waking up and not knowing when I fell asleep."

Piccolo looked down at Katrina. "Well, maybe she won't remember either. That way she won't be mad at me." He mumbled the last part so Gohan wouldn't hear him. "C'mon, let's go back to camp." He said and flew off towards the clearing, Gohan following.

When they landed, Piccolo laid Katrina down on the shaded ground of the large tree.

Gohan took his time looking around the clearing, this being the first time he had seen it. Finally, he walked over to Piccolo, who was kneeling down beside Katrina. "So, are you gonna cook dinner? Because I'm hungry..."

This time, nothing stopped Piccolo from falling over.

Fire surrounded her, but it didn't seem to affect her. She reached out and grazed the flame with an open palm, but there was nothing. No burning sensation. No heat at all. It was just there.

It slowly began to brighten and grow taller until it seemed that she was in a castle made entirely of the golden-red flames. She gazed up at the black smoke that covered the sky. She couldn't even smell whatever was burning.

Suddenly, she noticed the fire was parting in a few different ways. Two beings—one small, the other rather large—moved closer and closer towards her. She couldn't make out who they were, but she knew one thing was for sure: they were evil.

Katrina slowly opened her eyes to the sound of a crackling fire and the tempting, delicious smell of fish. Her vision was blurry at first, but then she finally made out what was around her. The sky was black and clear, and a small fire resided in front of her. Gohan sat, happily eating his dinner and humming a tune.

She was just about to ask him where Piccolo was when a sudden fish on a stick appeared before her from her left. She turned her head and saw him sitting next to her, with his own fish stick in his hand. "I got dinner." He declared.

Katrina stared at him for a moment, then she took the fish. "Well, you did cheat so you were the loser." She replied and took a dainty bite out of her fish.

Piccolo scowled. "I didn't cheat. It's not cheating when you don't know."

Katrina side-glanced him before taking another bite. "You still did it, so you lost and made dinner." She took another bite from her fish.

Piccolo's scowl deepened as he tore a big chunk of meat off from the fish bone. He chewed it slowly, still glaring at Katrina while doing so. Katrina smiled triumphantly and finished her fish on a stick.

Katrina knew she had to tell Piccolo about her dream, but she waited until Gohan was asleep. That took about an hour, so it was pretty awkward.

When he was finally asleep, Piccolo turned towards her. "So what was it about?"

Katrina stared at him quizzically, but she was answered when he tapped his finger on his head. Katrina sighed. She wished she had that much control over her telepathy. "It was...just strange."

"Even stranger than the full moon and the red eye?" Piccolo questioned, and she nodded.

"There was...fire...all over the place." She said, picking at the blades of grass beneath her. "But I didn't feel anything. It was like I wasn't even there...and then—" She cut herself short, trying to think of the proper words to say. "I saw these two figures, kind of coming towards me...I couldn't exactly see them...but I knew that they were there."

Piccolo nodded his head as if he understood, but Katrina wasn't sure if he really did. They remained silent for a long moment, and it became another awkward moment.

Piccolo finally spoke up. "I think it was just a premonition. Nothing to be truly worried about."

"But," Katrina responded, "What about the fire? It was all over the place." Katrina stared at him. "Is that what's gonna happen?"

Piccolo shrugged. "I suppose so." And that was that.

Katrina decided that she had had enough awkward moments with Piccolo for a while, so she stood up. "I'm gonna go get a drink. I'll be back soon." Piccolo nodded and closed his eyes.

Katrina's powers weren't that strong, but she could still sense a massive aura surround him as he sunk into meditation. She stared in awe at his power for another moment before taking her leave.

The pond wasn't too far away, but it was so dark that she couldn't see Gohan or Piccolo back at the camp. Katrina shrugged, knelt down and cupped her hands in the cold, fresh water.

She was taking a few sips when she noticed the moon's reflection in the pond water. She stared at it for a moment, then looked up at the sky. It was almost as if she was drawn towards it...

Piccolo slowly came out of meditation. He opened his eyes and found that Gohan was his only company. If she got lost, I'm gonna laugh. He thought to himself but a small thought of worry was still in his mind. He stood up, figured that Gohan would be fine, then started towards the pond.

"Kat?" He called out. "Kat, where are you?" He rolled his eyes when he got no answer and stood by the bank of the lake. He crossed his arms and looked around, but she wasn't around.

His sensitive ears picked up some movements in the surrounding forest. He turned and peered through the darkness. "Kat? Is that you?"

He didn't get a direct answer. All he heard was a few small growls and grunts. Suddenly, he saw a pair of glowing red eyes coming from the forest. Piccolo planted his feet firmly on the ground, not knowing exactly what he was going up against.

Out of the blue, a wild shriek echoed through the trees. Something leapt out of the forest at him. He didn't expect the attack, so he was pounced on by whatever was there. He managed to stop the beast from clawing him to death and he pushed it off of him.

"What the hell?" He stood back up and suddenly felt a cold liquid on his neck. He wiped it and saw that it was his own blood. "Son of a bitch..." He mumbled as he took off his turban and shoulder weights. He threw them aside and focused on the creature.

It was on all fours with jet black fur and a long, slender black tail. It began to hiss at Piccolo when he moved closer towards it.

"You're asking for it." Piccolo said as he fired a small energy blast at it. Quickly and swiftly, it jumped in the air and avoided it. As soon as it landed, it pounced again.

This time, Piccolo expected it and managed to nail it with another energy blast. It bounced backwards and skidded on the ground. When the dust settled, it was motionless.

"Well that was easy." Piccolo mumbled. He walked over towards the beast and picked it up by the nape of its neck. As soon as he did, the creature opened its red eyes and swiped its massive paw at Piccolo. Piccolo screamed in shock as the razor sharp claws pierced his chest and made a huge gash. He dropped the creature, but as soon as it landed, it made for another attack.

This time, it pinned Piccolo down completely. It growled low in its throat and stared at Piccolo with its glowing red eyes. Its massive paws were holding down his strong shoulders, and even he could not move with the weight of this massive creature.

He stared into its eyes long and hard and noticed that they seemed familiar. He searched deep within them and made a startling revelation.

"Holy shit..." he mumbled. "Katrina..."