In Search of Amity
Period 6
A few days later it was a hot night, a widely yawning Savarna entered the bathroom to shower and cool off before bed, meanwhile Piccolo remained outside in the warm air hoping to hear from Gohan, sure enough the second he closed his eyelids to meditate he heard him.
Piccolo Im a half hour away, what did you have in mind?. Gohans asked promptly.
Piccolos eyes remained shut.
I might not need you to start off with, however be only seconds away so I can call on you. Piccolo instructed, breaking the telapaphic link he did a scout of the immidiate area for Dende without success, there was no rush so he decided to search the rest of the lookout on foot.
Mr. Popo walked into the empty bathroom after Savarna had finished, picking up the soaked towels and dirty clothing from the floor that she left behind, with it being such a hot night he thought it best to leave the windows open.
Sarvana appeared in the doorway, drying the ends of her hair with a towel.
"Thanks Popo, im sorry for leaving it such a mess I was just coming back to pick it up". Savarna said, standing shoeless in the doorway dressed in the tank top and shorts she used for sleeping in.
Popo stood up with a pile of garments in his hands, so high he could hardly see over them.
"On this occasion I will cover for you dear, just don't forget for next time. " he said walking by, carefull not to drop anything.
Smiling to herself she walked back to her room, putting her hair up in a high bun with a black scrunchi before laying down on the bed with only a thin sheet to cover herself, the heat of even one blanket was impossible to sleep in.
Outside Piccolo stalked the lookout with soundless footsteps, he had scouted the kitchens, hallways and throne room with no sign of Dende, there were still almost a hundred other rooms he could check, but there was one place that he had confidence in.
Stopping when he reached the edge of the main building he focussed his eyes toward the building across the way, walking up to its door he found it was shut, but the dust from the doorhandle had been recently disturbed.
"He never did learn to conceal his evidence. " he mumbled to himself with a grin.
Reaching out he grasped and turned the handle of the great double door; pushing it open he disappeared inside silently as the great door clicked shut behind him. Inside it was dark and quiet, but not quiet enough for the namekian warrior to ignore. Piccolo floated up and descended down the flight of stairs before him.
After a few moments of faultless gliding he reached the bottom, his mind and sences then focussed upon sounds of rummaging coming from the west wing of the great lookout library, the same wing that Dende had made his arrival in.
The charred remains of ancient texts and scrolls lingered upon the tilled library floor, his gentle light footsteps were not enough to keep the room calm and undisturbed, with each step ashes floated up into the air clouding the room grey.
Gingerly Dende held in his hands a single book, the cover was half destroyed and the sewing of the binder almost unstrung, he could make out only half of the books title from what was left of his favourite read, 'NOST'
Long did I dream to hold you in my hands again, open up your pages to read, but not anymore. he thought mournefully, his fingers loosening to let the half destroyed book slip from his grip to fall heavily to a pillow of ashes at his feet, the impact of its fall echoed through the wing
He bowed his head and closed his eyes; swallowing the lump of sorrow in his throat before he looked up to the missing skylight above him where the faint moonlight was shinnign through. So much he longed for and missed that he could never have back was here, also alot more coming to him that he didn't desire.
"Spring cleaning? " Piccolos voice interrupted.
Dende swung himself around frightfully to meet the Nameks presence; startled he inhaled a breath of relief while placing his hand over his heart.
"No not exactly, You startled me Piccolo" he said with a shallow smile. Piccolo declined to return the gesture, the shadow of the still standing shelves hideing him from view; walking slowly toward Dende and into the faint light until they were a several feet apart, his eyes glided down to the book at Dendes feet.
"Catching up on your reading i see, maybe not everything about you has changed. " The namek uttered smoothly, his eyes retracting back to look into Dendes. The guardians eyebrow ridges knitted together, unconsciously he swallowed a lump of saliva from the back of his throat.
"Changed? " He asked, his feet shuffling appart slightly as he wondered where the conversation was leading
"Yes changed" Piccolo paraphrased then raised his hand slowly from his side up to his eye level, reaching out toward the shorter Namekian. Dende took a step back and his eyes widening like a startled kitten.
"What are you doing? . " he asked.
Piccolo didn't answer and continued to walk toward him with his eyes focused in a manner that frightened the guardian, his hand reached for Dende's forehead again and the guardian dodged hastily.
"Stop it" Dende said calmly, Piccolo ddint stop
"I said stop it, your starting to annoy me! " He warned with a twitch of his left lip, his hands closing into fists.
Piccolos eyes slitted and he smiled
"Thats Good, ill get what I want faster" He snickered, Dende lifted an eyebrow just as he realised what was going on, suddenly he felt his heel hit the wall he was backing away against, he panicked.
"NO stay away from me! " Dende cried out throwing his arms up pushing piccolo away, then leaping forward knocking him off balance he flew over his head.
Piccolo regained his footing with a back flip and turned to find Dende waiting with a furious expression across his face.
"Who do you think you are, you have no fucking right to read me. NONE! " Dende yelled with fury, baring his pail fangs and tightly formed fists. Piccolo dashed forward without hesitation, catching Dende around the waist with his arms he flew them both to the floor, lunging his hand out he tried to grasp Dendes cranium again, the guardian grabbed ahold of one of Piccolos wrists in each hand releasing scorching ki through his palms , holding on firmly to increase the effect.
"Arrghh! " Piccolo cried leaping off Dende with his wrists scorched and churned. Dende stood up taking on a fighting stance his body shacking with tension, he knew there was no way of escaping without a fight. Piccolo's wrists recoverd within seconds and he again attacked the guardian with his own powers of persuasion prepared.
Ascending higher into the air with his palms exposed he fired several ki blasts toward Dende who avoided them with amazing speed, bouncing from wall to wall away from the bright golden spheres.
"You wont get far, make it easier on yourself! " Piccolo cursed, firing another load of blast that were also dodged.
NOW GOHAN! Piccolo commanded.
Dende sensed a slight flow of telapathic energy as he continued avoiding Piccolos attacks, he didn't know what significants it held before a rock like force stabbed him in the back sending him face first to the floor below.
Gohan hovered where Dende previously did.
"I don't want to hurt him Piccolo, please get this over with fast! " Gohan shouted, flying down to where Dende's motionless body lay. Piccolo also floated down and tried to quickly reach out and grasp the nameks cranium, suddenly the guardians motionless form erupted into a flash of light and
Dende escaped their clutches flying up high into teh air before looking back at them.
"You too, I can understand Piccolo but you of all people Gohan" Dende shouted from the ceiling, blood flowing from the gash on his eyebrow ridge.
"Please Dende. We don't want you to get hurt, we know something has happened to you and we wanna help." Gohan pleaded, trying to float closer but stopped when Dende generated a ki blast between his palms.
"No Gohan, im only giving you one warning" He hissed through gritted teeth.
"Give it up Dende, we know there is more to your years away that just en extended training period, you aren't telling us something and its tearing you apart" Piccolo uttered, edging closer and closer to Dende. Dende increased the glowing green blasts size, eyeing Piccolo angrily as he tried to edge closer.
"Im hiding nothing, Understand, nothing" he said with a hard swallow.
Piccolo growled
"If you wont tell me them I will drain it out of you! " The warrior yelled and dashed up toward Dende.
"NO Piccolo! " Gohan shouted, unable to move himself for he knew the blast would destroy them both.
With some hesitation Dende closed his eyes and deployed the blast, his eyes tense as they awaited the screams of pain that would instantly follow, however nothing came except for a small gust of air. Looking back toward Piccolo Dende's eyes widened and he backed away several feet.
"Dad! " Gohan shouted.
Goku hovored bwteen Dende and Piccolo and in his hands he held the emerald ball of energy centimetres away from impacting Piccolo.
"You just couldn't wait could ya? " Goku inquired at the namek.
"Nope" Piccolo smirked back, Goku quickly turned the blast toward the missing skylight and let it go.
Dende turned and prepared to flee the scene, the second his eyes faced the opposite direction they were met with several fists to the face and head until he was knocked off balance.
Piccolo dashed up latching onto Dende's waist, holding the guardian in place as Gohan continued to throw punches. Goku coiled his muscular arms around Dende's neck in a chokehold, all three urged on and on until they felt the fighting namek grow weaker, his arms collapsing and his lungs emptying of breath.
"That's enough, he isn't going to fight back now" Goku ordered, keeping his grip on the guardians head. Gohan felt relief, he did not enjoy his part in subduing Dende but there was no alternative. Slowly the three standing warriors lowered him to the floor.
With Dende on his knees Goku held his arms behind his back with Gohans assistance. Piccolo stood in front of the guardian whose head was bowed with exhaustion; as he prepared to read the the guardians mind Dende slowly looked up at him.
". . . No, please, please don't". he sobbed, tears churning in his bruised eyelids as blood trickled from his parted lips, his chest started to hiccup as he repeated his please, the pain was too much for him to hold in any longer.
Piccolo looks emotionlessly down into his younger kinds balling eyes, rasing his hand up he reached out and grasped Dende's cranium firmly beneath his massive palm.
"It will all be over soon, I promise you it will all go away, " he said with sincerity, then closed off his mind to everything but Dende and the task at hand.
------------------------- READING OF MIND BEGINS----------------------------
The scenes that fell upon Piccolo's mind were things that in his wildest dreams he never foresaw, death... horrible deaths plagued by horrid sacrifices.
Blood, darkness, daggers, cold dark places, deep underworld places filled with underworld killings. Battles fought with the strength of those who were left, faces of strangers and those that he knew, suddenly the same faces appeared on corpses littering the ground.
Mutilation of bodies by the victors, the victors were great dark creatures with red glowing eyes and horns extruding from their shoulders, arms and hands. He saw young nameks that were starving then drying in the arms of their starving and dying elders. all this in was projected in great detail it made his chest feel with anger and dismay.
A memory then appeared before his eyes.... a clear fluidic sphere that contained within it the scene as it played out. Half dozen of individuals held their arms up using all their strength and ki to hold open a portal, their bodies shaking with strain with much pf their clothing was torn and singed, their sweat spilling out from their pores onto their straining faces and quivering arms.
"Jephthah we cant hold on much longer! " Shouted one of them, seconds before he collapsed to the hard scorched ground, his strength spent and his blood flowing uncontrollably from his previous limb wounds.
"GO... YOU HAVE TO GO NOW! " Jephthah screamed, his arms motioning his companion to run through the mysterious green and white portal.
"Someone else can come with me, C'MON come with me you wont live after this" Piccolo heard Dendes voice shout at Jephthah and the others, all of them refusing to acknowledge his please.
Jephthah reached out grasping Dende by the chest of his clothing.
"GET THE FUCK IN THERE NOW, no more arguing! " He cried out in rage, holding on tightly to the fabric of Dendes neckline, he tossed him across the ground toward the open portal.
"GOOOOOOO! ". Jephthah screamed long and hard with all his lungs, his mouth stretched open to its limit, his facial muscles pulled like a super sayajin on his first transformation. Dende looked back and nodded then turned to one of the warriors helping to hold open the portal, the warrior also looked to him and gave a brief enforced smile, Piccolo sensed that this warrior held a deep companionship with Dende.
With the deepest regret in his heart, Dende swung around and run toward the swirling liquid portal with a pouch held firmly in his fist. The caverns high ceiling suddenly exploded with rocks and boulders went flying and pain went thought Dende's body, then everything went quiet. . .
-------------------------THE READING OF MIND ENDS----------------------------
Piccolo hands pulled away from Dende's head which were shaking from the experience, Goku and Gohan watched with wide eyes as they had never seen Piccolo look so outraged and at the same time frightened. Dende continued to sob in their grasp as his body fell limp, they released him and he fell to the floor face first without trying to cushion his fall.
Gohan kneeled down to assist him, Dende shunted him away with a swipe of his hand.
"Leave me". He hissed hatefully, remaining on the tile floor with his sobs. Piccolo looked to Goku and Gohan who had no words to offer with the gravest of expressions that was upon their faces.
"Namek is in the midst of war". Thousands have died and thousands more are dying as we speak" He announced despondently, closing his eyes to vanquish the pain within them for deep inside it hurt him deeply when his kind were in turmoil and pain.
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Thankyou for reading...
