Chapter 17

When Katrina awoke, she immediately knew that she was alone again. She could feel the cool blades of grass on the side of her face and knew that when she would move, their imprints would remain on her skin. She opened her eyes and sat up, shaking the bugs and loose blades of grass from her hair. It had been some time since she had washed up under the waterfall, so she decided to do that first.

She stood up to go towards to lake when she saw Piccolo poised above the lake in his usual meditating stance. She frowned as she walked over. So much for privacy...

Katrina stopped by the bank of the lake and looked up at him, knowing that he would sense her presence.

Piccolo did open his eyes and he stared down at her. "What is it?"

"I wanna take a bath, do you think you could go someplace else?"

"We all want something, but sometimes we can't have it until we earn it."

"I think I've earned just about a week off of training for all that I've done for you."

Piccolo floated down towards her, still in his meditation position. "Well, you can't do that...but I guess you've earned a bath..." He uncrossed his legs and landed down on the bank next to her. "Don't be too long, we have training to catch up on." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

Katrina stared at him for a moment, making sure that he wasn't going to look back and sneak a peek. Then she shook her head. Nah, he wouldn't. He's not perverted like that...I hope. She thought as she took off her two shirts. She removed the rest of her clothing and slowly walked into the very cold water.

When she got about waist deep, she dipped under the water so her body would get used to the lake's temperature. When she came back up, she stepped over towards the waterfall and began scrubbing the dirt from her skin. She then flipped her hair in front of her face and started washing her thick, saiyan hair.

Suddenly, the hair on the nape of her neck began to stand up and she felt an eerie chill slowly move down her spine. She turned her head to look around, feeling as though she was being watched.

Feeling nervous and panicky, Katrina quickly got out of the water and put her clothes back on. She was about to run over towards the camp when the awful feeling in her heart returned to her. The sudden feeling almost knocked her off her feet, so she stumbled slightly trying to get a clear view of the camp.

But when she looked, she saw that Piccolo was meditating and Gohan was just getting up. Slightly confused, she moved towards where Piccolo sat. He felt her disturbed presence, so he snapped out of his meditation and stood up to meet her. "Kat what's wrong?"

The striking pain in her heart was leaving her with a minimized lung capacity, so she was panting heavily. "Something...is gonna..." But before she could finish, she collapsed right into Piccolo's arms.

"Oh no!" Gohan panicked as he ran over towards them. Katrina's limp body was slightly heavy, so Piccolo fell to his knees with Katrina in his lap.

"Kat??" He called to her worriedly. "Kat, c'mon, answer me!"

Piccolo's distant calling was the last thing she heard before she completely blacked out into nothingness.

Katrina felt like she was going to vomit. Her whole body ached from an inexplicable beating. Her eyes stung and her head was pounding furiously. Carefully, she stood up with whatever strength she could conjure up.

Suddenly, she heard a distant roar. It shook the ground beneath her feet, almost making her lose her balance. But it was the massive wind that knocked her off her feet. She fell backwards and landed hard on the ground.

Tears burned in her eyes as the wind kept growing stronger. A strange light came from what seemed to be the source of this power, and it kept getting bigger and brighter. She was confused, yet frightened beyond belief. Then suddenly, the light began to come towards her at an immeasurable speed. That's when she knew.

She knew that she was going to die.

The massive light seemed to create a vacuum, for she couldn't hear anything except her own fast paced breathing.

The light couldn't have been more than 15 feet away, when it was suddenly blocked out partially. At first, she couldn't tell what it was that separated her and the energy wave.

Then she realized that it was a who.

His voice echoed through her mind. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you...I promise..."

"NOOO!!!"

Katrina awoke with the start and felt that same, massive body ache that she experienced in her dream. Her forehead was pounding and caked with a thin layer of sweat. Her throat tightened and her stomach was in knots, just like she had felt with the dream.

Everything around her was a blur, and she couldn't hear much of anything either. But once everything focused again, she saw Gohan training in the clearing by himself. She was about to sit up and look around for Piccolo when she felt a gentle hand on her forehead holding her back.

"Don't strain yourself, Kat, you may faint again."

She heard his voice but couldn't pin point his location until she felt him shift slightly. She tilted her head a little and noticed that she was propped up in his lap with the blanket draped over her.

She strained to look up at him and muttered weakly, "Piccolo...I—"

"We can talk about it later, Kat." Piccolo interrupted quietly. "But for now, you should just rest up."

Katrina stared at him faintly for another moment before burying her face in the ruffle of his collar. Piccolo could sense that something was seriously disturbing her, so he rested his hand on her temple and sent energy to his finger tips to try and soothe her thoughts.

In a matter of minutes, she was relaxed. Piccolo breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart ached on the inside. Those saiyans will be here in a little more than a month, and we're still no where near tapping into her full power... He thought grimly. I don't want to her to get hurt, but if she doesn't stop having these visions soon... His thoughts trailed when he felt her move somewhat closer towards him. He came to the conclusion that she probably sensed his uneasiness, but didn't have enough energy to do anything.

I have to remember to block my emotions when I'm near her... Piccolo thought as he rubbed her shoulder gently. Then again, even when I do block she can still read me like a book. He smirked slightly and shook his head, wondering how he allowed himself to get this close to someone.

But when he stopped and looked down at the sleeping saiyaness on his shoulder, his grin faded into a frown. His eyes saddened dramatically and he laid his cheek on the top of her head. I shouldn't have gotten so close... he thought after he closed his eyes.

Why not?

The sudden reply almost made Piccolo jump. He lifted his head off of Katrina's so he could look down at her. You're supposed to be resting.

How can a girl rest if all her pillow does is lump up and worry? She replied.

So I guess you heard everything, huh?

When exactly were you going to tell us about the saiyans?

Soon enough.

Katrina finally lifted her head to look at him. Why don't I believe you?

'Cause you know me too damn well. Piccolo answered. Great, first I have to block my emotions, now I have to block my telepathy all together?

That sounds about right. Katrina retorted as she laid her head back down on his shoulder. Now stop worrying, it makes you lumpy and stiff.

"I'm not lumpy." He said sternly.

"Pillows don't talk..." Katrina replied tiredly.

"Then maybe you won't have me as a pillow, you'll have the ground."

"The ground isn't as lumpy as you are."

"Oh that's it!" Piccolo chuckled. He grabbed her shoulders and playfully shoved her on the ground.

"Hey!" Katrina laughed. She pounced on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "That wasn't nice, I'm supposed to be resting."

"Then go to sleep and quit complaining." Piccolo answered.

"Ok, I promise not to call you lumpy anymore." Katrina giggled in his ear. "Will you still be my pillow?"

Piccolo groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you better sit still and sleep."

Katrina released Piccolo's neck from her grasp and crawled around to be next to him. He took off his turban and his shoulder weights and tossed them aside. He laid down on his back and patted the ground next to him to tell her to lie down.

Katrina followed and rested her head on his shoulder again. Piccolo grabbed the blanket and draped it over her.

She tried to fall asleep but couldn't seep into her dreams. After a long time, she lifted her head to look at her pillow. "Piccolo?"

"Hm?"

"If...if you know that something's going to happen to someone...what do you do?"

"Usually the future can't be changed, what you see is usually what happens." He replied, still staring up at the sky. "Even when you think you're changing it, you're just following what's supposed to happen." Then he turned his head to look at her. "Why?"

Katrina's eyes lowered. "No reason..."

"It has something to do with your vision, doesn't it?"

Katrina didn't wish to answer. Instead, she laid her head back on his shoulder and drew the blanket closer towards her chin. Piccolo watched her for a moment until he felt her aura dim into her subconscious. He could have just probed her mind to find out what was bothering her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She'll tell me...she can't hide it for ever...