Disclaimer: Adult language, sexual situations, and yes...hormones.

...Oh yeah, it's me again. I know - it's been a LONG while! I assured you guys I intended to update and finalize my first fanfic, and while it's taken oh, almost a decade to get my it together and get back to writing for ATS, I did it! I won't keep rambling on with excuses. I do want to thank every single person who's messaged me, read and reviewed this story. Your words have encouraged me and kept me motivated.


Chapter 19

Crossing Over Thresholds

"Speech" 'Telepathy' Thought *Reminiscing*

Serenity reigned before giving way to blissful peace, energizing their metaphysical attractions just as powerfully as their carnal attraction had propelled them into uniting—mind, body, and now soul.

The blissful calm of slumber had begun to ebb away, but consciousness hadn't pulled itself free of the tranquility yet. At least that's what it felt like until something started echoing in the recesses of memories—

Not my memories...where am I?

Suddenly aware, Piccolo felt more than saw the beginning of memories flood him like a sequence of muddled snapshots that quickly became clear and fluid to his mind's eye. I'm not dreaming…

The haziness began to come into focus before him, revealing the sequence of memories slowly. A little dark-haired girl was running away from shouting children, struggling to keep a necklace clutched in her black-nailed hands as she reached a meadow. Her red eyes stood out starkly to him. I've seen those...

Next, the memory melded into a different scene, but a similar instance—a small dark-haired girl running away from a group of menacing bullies. Cornered, she turned to glare at her tormentors, the flicker of fear shining in her chocolate eyes.

Both scenarios morphed into a flurry of cuts between each memory—the red-eyed girl being attacked while the brown-eyed girl curled up and absorbed the blows leveled by her bullies.

This is…this is Sofia and her past life! What in the—!

Piccolo was flooded with an onslaught of memories that ricocheted between Sofia's and her past life's lived traumas, trials and tribulations. From Kyouran's cross apathy in being trained by the humans she loathed to Sofia's lonely isolation from her peers and family. It peppered through in waves—the feelings and hopes of both women who were so intertwined but bled through to show him just how similar each had lived while experiencing such diverse lives across time and realms. Could I be in her mind…?

"Is that anyway to speak to your twin star?"

Piccolo felt the shiver go through his psyche at the voice. Not because he was shocked by the statement clearing the dissonance of the memories, but because he'd heard it in his own mind since the day he'd hatched and been set on his task of avenging and destroying his enemies—

His sire's enemies; his father's diabolical tone splintered the memories into fragments of a battle—one that spanned from Kyouran and Sofia being assaulted by the devastation and fury of the inner turmoil personified in the figure of their twin stars. Piccolo saw his sire's obsidian eyes gleam with cruel intentions while his own onyx stare focused in conflict towards the woman in front of them.

Kyouran and Sofia stood side by side—the former with the front of her chest covered in an expanding circle of blood while the latter began to transform from the embedded crystals of her shattered garnet stone that were bleeding into her skin. The flash of crimson-like aura flared and blinded him from the scene.

Darkness began to engulf him again.


I'm not asleep anymore. I'm not dreaming memories—not my memories…

Sofia floated through the recesses of unconsciousness, dully confused while hyper aware that she was no longer in the calm slumber she'd been relishing. She didn't struggle to escape the confusion, however. Instead, she let her mind calm further and beckoned for clarity to reach her.

Suddenly, she heard weeping—a soft echo of child-like sobs that seemed to pull her down into a recess of long-repressed memories. The muffled cries grew clearer as the darkness began to illuminate from a weakly flickering fire in the middle of a dark and foreboding wood. The small figure that was curled with its back against the dark tree trunk it was huddled against was shivering—the light of the firelight casting an odd bronze hue to the little hatchling's features.

Piccolo faltered into the moment of overwhelming misery and loathing after days of wandering the wilderness alone, his rage and acrimony hard-boiled into his psyche, but not his own. Round cheeks streaked with tears, the little hatchling rubbed his eyes angrily with his balled up fists before using his long sleeve to wipe at his face. His trembling frame caused his antennae to vacillate. He couldn't suppress the shiver from more than the chill to cause him to hug himself—his little emerald hands gripping at his navy tunic emblazoned with the insignia of his sire's title on the front of it. The conflict caused in the little Namekian's mind led him to break down and weep for the first time since his sire had seen fit to propel him into the world with nothing but the rancorous fury of his defeat and need for revenge.

Sofia's heart ached, desperately wanting to reach out to the child version of her twin star and console the little being with hopeful words and infinite kindness, but her mind was pulled away to instead watch a Namekian who's resentment and anger had boiled over towards the humans he watched depravedly corrupt and slaughter each other for decades—his pitiless obsidian glare sweeping across a cold and desolate range of mountains he'd once called home. He was no longer a being struggling to cope with internal turmoil. No longer needing to conceive his struggle between peace and rage—finally free of his meddlesome side, he contemplated all the sadistic chaos he'd inflict on the world, ready to bathe the Earth with his supreme hate and domination.

Daimao glanced in her direction and seemed to look through her at first, until he smiled ruthlessly at her—then the smile changed.

Piccolo's expression distracted her momentarily until she realized he was standing side by side with his sire. Both Namekians glanced at each other—the sire grinning at his reincarnation, who scowled and looked towards her, before surprising them both when he thrust his arm out, repelling Daimao's presence like a cloud of malevolent smoke.

'Piccolo?'

She reached for him over the disembodied distance—

Piccolo felt her. He reached out in the darkness, pulling himself free from it to see Sofia materialize like a specter—one that focused on him with love and relief in her crimson eyes.

'Sofia?'

When his hand reached towards her to caress her cheek, his fingertips brushed through her like she was an astral projection.

Blinking at him, Sofia extended her hand to his, and they disappeared through each other as if they were both holograms. 'Whoa—Piccolo, what's going on?' she realized she could feel her words, but wasn't actually speaking them. 'Where are we?!'

'I think…we're dreaming? But conscious of it,' he mused, his perplexed tone echoing to him as hers had. 'Wait, I saw you—'

'I saw you too! Well…I saw different things—memories…' she glanced up into his eyes. 'We're in some sort of telepathically-linked rapport, aren't we,' her astonished realization caused him to focus on the weight of her realization.

'…I think so.'

'Well…what do we do now?' she murmured, absently reaching for him and watching her hand glide through his again.

'I guess…we fade back into our own minds?'

'That doesn't sound very self-assured, Piccolo,' she ruefully smiled at him, adding, 'When we don't even know how we've got ourselves telepathically tangled up.'

'Hey—I'm not an expert, but I think I have a little more experience with this whole telepathic thing than you,' he retorted in a husky baritone, one that curled even her metaphysical toes.

'Okay…see you on the flipside, sugarlips,' she goofed with a wicked grin playing across her lips before winking slowly out of sight.

Piccolo shook his head, unable to prevent the smirk he felt pull at his features. 'There goes my peace and quiet in here…'

He slowly felt himself recede back into consciousness, pulling out of the darkness and calm of their telepathic rapport.


He'd woken up first a while ago, but didn't want to stir her, so he remained in bed next to her and watched her sleep. Piccolo didn't think she could look any more peaceful than she did, curled on her side, her hand pillowed under her cheek while her arm rested over the blanket. She looked delicate—lovely. Her long bangs were draped over her face; her lips parted slightly.

Reaching carefully over, he combed the dark chocolate strands away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. He trailed the pads of his fingers along her cheekbone before cautiously pulling away. She sighed softly, her eyes fluttering before opening slowly, blinking the sleepy haze away and shifting. He clenched his jaw, embarrassed.

Sofia's crimson eyes opened and she inhaled, stretching before gazing over at Piccolo who looked breathtaking lying next to her in all his glory. He also looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. Then she realized that this was another first for them.

And quickly after that realization, she was thunderstruck with the recollection of their telepathic linking.

"Piccolo?" she murmured and reached for him, knowing that he'd more likely pull away than—

He pulled her close, cuddling her against him. Shocked, Sofia looked up at him, but she couldn't see his expression. Smiling, she kissed his throat and wrapped her arms around him.

Piccolo buried his nose into the top of her head and grunted, closing his eyes as he felt her warm body press against his.

"I saw your memories."

Sofia glanced up at him, startled. "So did I…"

Piccolo's jaw tensed, for a moment. Then his features became stoic as he murmured, "I didn't know how bad things have been for you while we've been in here. I didn't know…"

"It's in the past, and you shouldn't worry about it, Piccolo," she calmly interjected, caressing his cheek with her fingertips. "God I'm glad I can touch you—that astral telepathic projection stuff was freaky!"

He huffed through his nose with amusement.

'Can you hear me?'

Piccolo gave her a small smirk. 'Yeah,' he tipped her chin up so he could lean closer until his antennae were brushing the top of her forehead. 'Guess you'll be able to pester me just as bad as Nail does now,' was his grumbled musing, but she could hear the wry amusement in his tone while his usually brooding expression softened slightly.

'Ah, c'mon! At least now you won't have such a hard time figuring out what I'm thinking, so you won't have any excuse to be such a naïve sexy thang,' she teased and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

'Feh, you're incorrigible,' he muttered and shook his head ruefully. Then, 'What did you see?'

It took her a short moment to realize what he was referring to. She bit her lip, not sure what she should share. He seemed to read her expression without actually having to hear her thoughts.

'I've been wondering why it's been impossible to meditate since we've been here. I thought at first it was just a fluke—some mental block I was putting myself in. But I saw things I never…' he broke off when her eyes intensified on his. 'I saw memories that showed things my sire did that were not passed down to me. Your past life—'

'Piccolo, don't worry about it. I know—' she tried to interject, but Piccolo shut his eyes and projected part of what he'd seen over their telepathic rapport.

Sofia saw in her mind's eye Kyouran and Daimao battling in the meadow, and heard the Demon King's harsh and venom-tinged voice taunt her past life as he cackled.

"Is that anyway to speak to your twin star?"

Her eyes focused back on his expression again. Piccolo was frowning, not liking feeling compelled to repeat the very taunt his sire had once uttered to her—to her past life.

"Why didn't you tell me all of this before—after you knew everything?" his stoic tone was masking a lot of the repressed loathing he'd thought he'd erased long ago. *You—don't know, do you…?! Piccolo suddenly remembered her incredulous cry back when she'd gone manic. *I'm Kyouran's reincarnation…YOU are Piccolo Daimaou's reincarnation, so how could you not know what your sire did to my past self!?*

She watched the conflict cloud his gaze, so she plucked their telepathic rapport to hear his thoughts when her memory snapped at her like a bolt of lighting—

*…Before you accuse me of something I don't even have a memory of, why don't you take up your grievance with that sunovabitch Kami!?*

'Piccolo,' she broke through his muddled thoughts and pulled him into their mental rapport. Instead of seeing her, Piccolo saw the memory of Sofia and Kyouran speaking to each other in her unconscious.

*…Kami decided on some drastic measure, and after taking some preventive measures, he wiped his own memory of the little saga, and since he and Daimaou are the halves of the same being, Daimaou lost all memory…Kami also went through the lengths of blocking out that part of Piccolo's consciousness, once you came into the picture, of course. Just in case he went looking for memories, or chasing ghosts…*

After Sofia had lost consciousness and their romantic angst played out, he'd completely shelved the business of the blockade and her accusations, but now she'd woven a complete picture for them both.

'I didn't want to force you to remember even more terrible things that you weren't guilty of. There's no point in rehashing something so vicious and dark—Kyouran told me it was time to push away and leave the past behind. You and I aren't them. We're going to make our own choices and damn anything that tries to derail that,' Sofia soberly explained, her eyes gleaming like bright crimson stones to him with how resolute her feelings on the matter were.

'I still want to know.'

Sofia frowned, knowing exactly what he meant. 'I'm guessing Kami started to remember way before we walked into the chamber, so any blockade he erected should be weak enough for you to knock down now…but I don't want you to, Piccolo.'

He felt her hand on his cheek, so he slipped from their rapport back to their current state: snuggled in bed together. "No more secrets," he rumbled as he shook his head, stubborn in his decision but not wanting to start a quarrel with her over it. "I agree with you—we're not them, but that still doesn't mean I shouldn't be aware of everything. It's not fair…that you're stuck knowing all of it."

Sofia couldn't help feel the same ache in her heart she'd felt when she saw him as a child. The fear and pain that poor little being had felt had been a cruel state to plunge anyone into, and she hated Daimao for doing it, but now, being here with him after everything he'd gone through and everything she'd suffered in her own life—she didn't want to deprive him of the truth. She didn't have to like it, though.

"I'll help you break it down, if you promise me one thing," she finally spoke, her stare focusing on his as he grunted and nodded for her to continue. "You won't let it weigh you down. You'll accept it, push it away, and move on with me. We'll share everything and not be self-conscious with each other from this day forward…agreed?"

Piccolo thought about it for a moment, his gaze becoming unreadable as he weighed the proposition. Feeling that he would hedge at the prospect of being so emotionally bare to her, Sofia was about to tell him to forget it, but she was surprised when his gaze focused intently on her and he smiled. "We've come this far. Hell, we're in each other's heads now, literally, so what else is left for us to mess up?" he husked in a huff, but his smile didn't falter as he propped himself up on an elbow and stared down at her.

She felt butterflies flutter in her belly at his bravado, and had to suppress her desire for him. Managing to lean up and press her forehead to his instead of pouncing on him amorously, Sofia giggled and nodded in agreement. "Damn straight. Look at you, being all purposely sexy and shit. You're too much for me, you know that?" she purred and winked at him, her lopsided smirk silly and loving all at the same time.

"Har-dee-har," he rolled his eyes, but couldn't muster any sense of annoyance. Her rambunctious and salacious comments had long ago ceased to unnerve him. If anything, he had to admit that he'd grown to like just how insanely titillating her flirtations were towards him. 'What a little hentai,' he chuckled to himself.

'I heard that!' she chimed right back at him.

He chuckled gravelly, his gaze cooling as he sobered. "So…what now?"

"Guide me, and I'll help you remember…" she mumbled, resting her forehead against his again and closing her eyes.

Piccolo did just that—bringing them into the recesses of his mind and easily coming across the mental block. Unlike the last time, there was no red mist; no ominous voice growling threats from the darkness. Instead, they came across an undulating barrier that seemed to ripple the closer they approached. Glancing sidelong at each other, the twin stars continued to approach the barrier until they were both close enough to reach out and touch it. The tips of their fingers brushed and slipped through the rippling blockade until they met a slight resistance.

Staring over at Piccolo, Sofia murmured, 'This doesn't feel like you. It feels like—'

'Kami. I know,' he finished for her. 'Damn old goat really did meddle where he doesn't belong.'

'Well, like everything else, you two are constantly resisting each other, so maybe it's the same with this?' she mused, adding, 'Maybe if you accept his influence—no matter how much it pisses you off—and let things go, this barrier will fall away.'

Piccolo scowled. Easier said than done. Still, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Sofia watched as his astral projection began to slightly glow, and when he reached his hand back towards the barrier, the rippling ceased completely. Pressing his hand against it, she watched as it began to bleed away like ink seeping through a page to reveal chaotic flashes of memories left untouched for centuries.

'You don't have to come with me. I can deal with this now,' Piccolo pulled her gaze back to him.

Hesitating, Sofia glanced back at the chaos just a stones throw away, and shook her head. 'You know better than that,' she ruefully smiled at his brooding look. 'Besides…no more secrets, remember?'

Piccolo gave her a curt nod, grunting resolutely as he stared back at the menacing recess of his mind. 'Let's get this over with.'

The twin stars steeled themselves and stepped through and into the anarchy of his sire's memories, the final barrier to their pasts peeled away and their solidarity towards each other cemented into a bond that would foster them through the horrors of their past selves where they would force only understanding and love to remain.


The worst between them was over.

Sofia felt it with all her being, and although they were technically still having to deal with being at a crossroads in their training, she felt peaceful that things were in their hands alone; no omnipresent force was reaching from the past to dictate what was to happen to them.

They'd seen the horrors of his sire's repressed memories—from how he'd killed Kyouran to how he'd later disposed of Hiretsukan and began to plot his own course for world domination, after spiriting away the necklace in the hopes that his twin star would be reincarnated and would join him on the quest they'd been destined to pursue. Hundreds of years went by, and Daimao soon forgot about the whole business—not aware that Kami had intervened and erased the episode so as to prevent the Demon King from meddling with time and space to force his gemini equal into their world once again.

Piccolo had been struck by the absolute level of obsessive energy his sire had invested in not only antagonizing Kyouran but also annihilating his own subjects and the innocent villagers just to flip a switch in her that would make her fall into step at his side. It made no sense to him how they were supposedly tied together yet so violently opposed to each other's wills.

Staring down at Sofia now, he shoved everything away and kept his promise.

…But there was still the business of what would happen once they left the chamber, destroyed Frieza and fell into normalcy—when there was no defined purpose for her to remain in this realm.

It nagged at him, and he knew it would cause a level of conflict neither willingly wanted to initiate, let alone acknowledge.

Sofia was lying on his chest, her fingertips trailing the red seam of his bicep muscle while his white tipped fingernails combed absently through her hair. They hadn't said much since coming out of the repressed memories of his mind, but not from tension. They felt at ease and were in no rush to break the bubble of zen-like peace they both took comfort in.

"I don't want this to be a temporary thing…"

Piccolo stiffened, adjusting to stare down at her. He hadn't expected her to be aware of the ramifications he'd privately been dwelling on—mindreading or not— or that she had thought that far ahead, but then again, he did have a nasty streak of underestimating her.

She knew he was thinking of some rebuttal, so she sat up and covered his mouth before giving him an intense look. "Don't. I know you well," she quipped and continued, "You're gonna argue with me, but just listen: I'm committed to helping you and the others as best as I can without getting directly involved and messing with the timeline and the organic sequence of events…but I don't want this to be temporary…I don't wanna try to guess how you feel—"

"Then don't," Piccolo rumbled earnestly, pulling her delicate hand away from his lips when he shifted to sit up and gaze down at her. "You can't be selfish…and neither can I. How're you supposed to be in this world and not get involved? It's impossible," he stated sternly, lips pressing together and eyes crinkling at the corners.

She gazed up at his onyx stare and sighed before averting her crimson eyes. "I want to try…I just want to be with you…" His gaze intensified as he tipped her chin up so she'd look at him. She reached for his jaw, tracing it reverently with the tips of her black talon-like nails before leaning up to wrap her hands around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He didn't resist, kissing her tenderly as she clung to his shoulders and pressed her body against his.

Before the kiss intensified, he pulled away and fought a blush. She buried her face against his chest, laughing softly at his still prudish ways and nervousness about his own arousal. We definitely need to work on breaking him of this sexually self-conscious thing.

"I could just have my way with you right now, Piccolo," she purred and finally pounced, batting her lashes while she smiled appreciatively at him.

His eyes grew wide and his mouth bobbed open to protest, "How can you jump to sex?! Stop trying to distract away from the issue!"

"Aw, c'mon Piccolo! You're a sexual dynamo and you know it! Let's not argue," she seduced, kissing along his collarbones while sneaking her hand down his abs.

He grabbed her wrist and grunted before pulling away. "No more mating! Stop trying to pet me," he sneered. Sofia scoffed and laughed, so he growled with displeasure and slid to the edge of the bed. "If you can't focus on the conversation then I'll just get dressed—" his earnest grumble was interrupted by her glomping onto his back, giggling as she slid down to his waist. Piccolo stiffened before glaring at her over his shoulder. "For Kami's sake, woman!"

"Piccolo, if you don't get back in this bed, I'm going to bite your butt!" she threatened with an impish laugh and chomped her teeth to emphasize her point.

His eyes widened. "You're worse than that lecherous Roshi!" he chastised but froze in place, not knowing if she was raunchy enough to do it. When she tightened her grip around his waist, he relented and got back under the covers with her, muttering about being held hostage by an insatiable woman.

The brooding Namek's complaints were quickly quelled once she kissed him on the chest and cuddled sidelong against him. "I just want to…prolong this for a bit. Don't hold it against me…" she murmured against his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat.

Stretching out, Piccolo put his hands behind his head and sighed.

'I don't want this to be temporary either…'

The admittance made her heart swell, regardless of the fact that he didn't say it out loud. The fact he shared his feelings at all was something she cherished deeply.

'Can we just…cross that bridge when we get there?'

Piccolo contemplated that, weighing all the pros and cons, strategizing and tracing all the options the prospect afforded them currently and would eventually afford them in the long run. When he wasn't liking all the options, he internally growled and shoved it all away to be catalogued later. To hell with it. I don't want to worry about any of it, so I'm not going to. Not right now, anyway…

"Are we gonna lay in bed all damn day, or can you rally to get back to training already?" was his only answer to her telepathic question, so she pouted and propped herself up to glare at him. Instead of the scowl she expected, she saw his sardonic smirk and knew he was only teasing her.

Shooting him a mocking and quirked glance, she suddenly sprung up in bed and started jumping up and down on the mattress, triumphantly winking at him while in all her nude glory before him. Piccolo's eyes fixed on her generous breasts as the perky mounds bounced. His eyes roved her nude, curvaceous form, the intrigue and magnetic attraction her sensuality revved from deep within his core still foreign to him. However, it wasn't something that he was fighting to repress anymore. Expression slack-jawed for mere moments as he took in all the splendor of her body that she audaciously only shared with him, he managed to snap his avid stare up at her dazzling smile as she giggled at him, "Let's rally and get nuts, Piccolo-kun~!" before hopping back down next to him onto her knees and floating his discarded gi shirt from the floor to her hands. Tugging the top over her head and on to bag and barely conceal her slender frame, she brought the collar fabric up to her nose, inhaling his scent as she eyed him and mused, "But first, we're in desperate need of a shower…care to join me?"

Piccolo sat up, his antennae bobbing with his movement as he cocked his head to the side and rumbled, "If I haven't before, why would I now?"

Smirking seductively, she leaned in close and kissed him on the cheek, "Because you want to?" She winked at him again and hopped off the bed, strutting towards the entranceway to the main room. Piccolo followed the trail of her long legs up to her firm and round backside hidden by his baggy gi before caressing his gaze up her back to her eyes as she peeked at him from over her shoulder. "Don't take too long in joining me, will yah," she purred before walking through the doorway and crossing over to the bathroom.

He had to admit: it really pleased him to see her wearing his gi. Still a novice at the whole sexual attraction and enticement thing, he probably should've known that the right term was that it turned him on, but regardless of that, the Namekian warrior left the bed and followed her moments later once he heard the shower spray and her melodic humming echo from the bathroom. She's just trying to get a rise out of me—err, it—or whatever, he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he concluded, I'm not gonna succumb to her wily teases. I have more control than that…yeah. It's gonna take a lot more than a shower to get me wound up like some common prepubescent punk.

Entering the room, the steam was already fogging up the mirror and clinging to the tiles under his bare feet. He stared at her silhouette behind the shower curtain as she hummed away and washed her hair, her hands tangled in the thick strands and lathering up the shampoo as she tipped her face up to the cascading water.

Feeling his presence, Sofia glanced at him through the shower curtain to see his silhouette standing amongst the steam of the room. "I'm almost all clean, but I could use your help with something," she called out softly to him over the shower spray.

Hesitating, Piccolo reached for the curtain as he answered, "Help with what?"

Rinsing the soapy water out of her hair, Sofia tilted her head to the side and smiled, "With scrubbing the spot between my shoulder blades."

She heard the shower curtain partially open and then quickly shut. "Kami's sake—this water is scorching! How the hell can you bathe in this?!"

Blindly reaching for the nozzle, she adjusted the water temperature. "Sorry—I forgot to ask you how hot you wanted it to be," she responded, letting the double entendre hang in the air flirtatiously as she turned to face him—brushing the wet hair from her face and over her shoulders. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but stare alluringly at him, in all his naked glory, standing so close to her in the tight confines of the tub.

Piccolo inwardly gulped. He couldn't help stare down at her to watch the water that was cascading over her neck and shoulders run in rivulets down her clavicle, stream down her breasts and nipples while a cascade washed down the valley of her cleavage to run further down to her lithe belly and the haven between her thighs. When she caressed her wet hands up his pecs, his gaze broke to glance up to her face, his cheeks burning violet at realizing how he'd been leering at her.

"Want to switch?" she murmured up at him, her eyes affectionately staring up into his, as she pressed closer to him.

"Uh—I thought you wanted me to help scrub your back," he husked between bashful lips, his blush subsiding but not disappearing completely from his handsome emerald features.

She giggled sultrily at him before giving his masculine and muscular body an appreciative once-over and biting her lower lip. "Oh don't worry, we'll do that later. But I don't want to hog up all the water," she explained serenely as she helped him maneuver to the other side of the shower so the water could cascade down on him, purposely brushing her hips lightly against his and trailing her hands down his sides as they moved.

Must keep my composure. Don't be a damned horny jackass, will you! Just focus—don't get riled up… Piccolo instructed himself as he watched Sofia pump some shower soap into her hand from a bottle before handing it to him so she could lather up the liquid and begin caressing it across her wet skin. She glanced at him when she scrubbed her palms across her chest and down her stomach. Shit.

He realized he was staring again and gripping the bottle in his hand. Blushing, he turned to face the cascading spray of the showerhead, hoping the lukewarm water would be enough to calm his rising arousal. Get your mind right, dammit. It's just sharing a shower—stop fixating on her…curves. Her skin and curves…

Sofia had to keep her impulse and desire in check at seeing the warm water cascading down his sculpted back to run reverently down his spine and across his firm and muscular butt before trailing down his powerful thighs and calves. The fangirl glee of before was gone, replaced with the roving and seductive eye of a lover proudly taking in the body of her one and only. That didn't mean her heart wasn't fluttering and she wasn't wistfully sighing in her mind, however.

He washed his face and started reining in his mounting libido, when he felt her hands rub and caress across his back. Stiffening, he realized she was soaping up his shoulders and back, humming serenely again under her breath as her hands traced the contours of his shoulder blades, the curve of his shoulders, down his sides to linger at the small of his back before sliding her palms back up his spine to massage the sloping muscles that joined shoulder to neck as she leaned forward to press her soaped up body against his.

"If you want, I can soap up and scrub your front too," she whispered against his shoulder.

Before she could react, Piccolo had maneuvered to move her back under the spray while his hands came to rest on her shoulders in an attempt to keep her from turning and discovering the effect her ministrations had on him. "I'll scrub here now," he blurted out and tried to inject gruffness into his tone, but ended up sounding flustered. Dammit…she's making it hard to—grr, focus! He admonished internally and shook his head. "Is this good?" this time, his tone sounded less starved, but the confidence ebbed away when he squirted too much soap down the middle of her back that caused a glob of the viscous liquid to stream down her spine and drip to areas that made her clench her teeth before he dropped the bottle and cursed under his breath.

She felt the bottle spin and slide to her feet, so she bent down to pick it up, unintentionally brushing her derriere against his hips. Blushing, Sofia gasped at the firm arousal that pressed momentary against her before Piccolo's hands grabbed her waist to hold her steady from falling while still allowing him to step back. "Whoa-sorry—" she began as she straightened and started turning around to face him.

"No-no, wait—!" Piccolo began to protest and tried stepping back again, but his foot landed on a streak of shower lotion that had seeped out of the dropped bottle. The next thing they knew they both slipped and fell in a tangle to crash facing each other in the tub—shower curtain coming down around them from both flailing their hands out to grab hold of something to stop them from falling.

Being pelted by the cascading water while they recovered from having the wind knocked out of them, Sofia sweatdropped and stared wide eyed into his blue blush-tinted features as he huffed a long breath out of his nose. She'd landed squarely down on him, her hips pressed against his, with her breasts flat against his chest.

"Ow-oh…." Piccolo finally breathed between clenched jaw, and Sofia realized his poor arousal had taken the brunt of the fall. "I'm never showering with you again!"

Blinking down at him, Sofia couldn't help feel torn between being mortified and wanting to laugh. When his hands encircled her waist, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and snorted into poorly repressed laughter. "Oh my god I'm so sorry!" she wheezed against his wet skin and shook with laughter, adding breathlessly, "I can't believe how much we fail at this!" She continued to giggle ridiculously as Piccolo sweatdropped and sputtered with embarrassment under her.

"This is ALL your fault—I just wanted to shower and you had to seduce me—!" She was just about to try and peel herself off of him when his flustered growl made her go into hysterics again, bringing her back to slide down the side of the tub to press against him while laughing uncontrollably.

After a minute of glaring at her in exasperation, Piccolo slowly began to realize how absolutely idiotic the whole thing was, and how a beautiful naked woman had managed to take him down.

When she felt his chest begin to rumble with a suppressed chuckle, Sofia paused in her laughter to look at his expression, and before they knew it, they were both laughing. All the awkwardness, embarrassment and mortification were forgotten as they succumbed to each other's judgment-free amusement at the state of their epic failure of a shower romp.

Sofia loved it when he laughed. His eyes would crest with unbridled amusement and his smile showed off his fangs as his baritone laugh flowed out like liquid velvet to her ears. Piccolo secretly adored her laughter. Her expression would glow as her warm effervescent laugh filtered from chuckles to cackles then to soft giggles—her eyes dazzling as she brilliantly beamed her joyful humor at him with her sterling-yet-mischievous smile.

When the humor finally began to quell between them, Sofia sighed and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, exhaling and regaining her composure as his own amusement dried up and died back to a long huff. Serves me right for underestimating how damned enticing she can be…

Piccolo brought his forearm up to shield them from the raining water, completely sobering as he grunted, "Seriously. I'm never taking a shower with you again."

Smiling goofily, Sofia looked up at him and mused, "Fine. Only long, hot, sexy baths for us from now on."


The twin stars had successfully practiced what they'd promised: sharing everything and no longer being self-conscious with each other.

From returning to their rigorous training, helping each other develop new strategies, to even being comfortable splitting off to work on their own for a few hours, Piccolo and Sofia fell into a synchronization of life unlike anything either could've ever expected for themselves. Added to that was the continued breakdown of self-conscious bashfulness and wonder between them during the quiet moments when they weren't training.

Sofia still loved to tease him, and was unabashedly comfortable being the one to initiate their sensual moments, but that didn't mean Piccolo was still the skittish and uninitiated Namek he'd been when he'd first become a sexual being. He'd realized that under other circumstances, most people would be demanding or impatient with his lack of knowledge and inexperience in the arena, but Sofia was anything but. While she wasn't the most patient person, not to mention guilty of having one hell of temper, she was infinitely loving and patient with him in those moments of sexual curiosity. His questions, touches and desires were not only encouraged, but genuinely welcomed by her—no matter how silly the matter would seem afterwards.

He also had to admit it: she'd been totally right about it being the same as training. Practice makes perfect.

And did she ever love practicing with him—in and out of bed. Sofia was totally comfortable with Piccolo. No longer self-conscious about what he'd think of her body, she proudly showed off her transformed form, feeling a sense of content glee when he'd pull her close, not to mention when he eventually began feeling the same towards her with his own nudity. She would never get tired of seeing him naked and comfortable being near her when he was. It meant that he wasn't hung up anymore about no longer being asexual, and if anything, was embracing being sexually woke and attracted to her. His once mortified or irked stares had become intrigued and possessive looks when she'd pull him down for a kiss or strut over to him after a long and grueling sparring session. When she reached for him now, instead of tensing or recoiling, he pulled her close or pressed his hands against her curves confidently—tenderly. He wasn't the most affectionate—nor would he ever be—but when she flirtatiously caressed him or glomped him now, he'd reciprocate with a gruff sense of bravado, trying to act like he was too bad ass to be "a mushy fool," but nevertheless his pulling her close or leaning into her affectionate touches always spoke volumes.

The one thing Piccolo had still to get used to were the times his mind would wander, or unbidden, rehashed different moments of passion between Sofia and him. From the heated sounds she'd make when he made love to her, to the feeling of her body as they engaged in foreplay or when she'd arch under him when he'd climax—or the way she tastes…

Piccolo shook his head, grumbling to himself that he needed to meditate a way to not be constantly thinking of sex when he should be focusing instead. How can anyone possibly get things done when they're constantly thinking of this stuff?!

'With lots of practice!' Nail cut into his thoughts. 'It's usually absent-minded second-nature for everyone else, but it's still new to you, so you'll just have to give it time,' Nail's tenor rasp continued in amused reply to his loud thinking.

Piccolo rolled his eyes. 'You're telling me Goku—who does little to no thinking, has moments when he's thinking of sex?' Piccolo groused, adding, 'Maybe that's how he thinks of food…'

Nail snorted. 'All I know is it's common for males to obsessively think of past sexual conquests or fantasize about fulfilling certain desires. I believe Kami once told me that statistically, human males think of sex every 7 seconds—'

'For the love of Shenron—that's gotta be a joke,' Piccolo interrupted, sneering at the chaotic mess his life would be if he couldn't go more than a few thoughts without pining for sexual gratification. Shaking his head, he focused back on what he'd been watching before his mind started to wander.

Sofia was about a few miles away from the palace training by herself. He could hear the echo of her boombox blaring music he could only describe as a thrashing chaotic wail, but that somehow seemed to help her focus the best during her feverish regiment.

'No joke,' Nail retorted, adding, 'I'm kind of glad I grew up without the trappings of dealing with romantic and sexual love. It's no wonder humans are subject to irrationality and—'

'Insanity? Yeah, tell me about it. That's probably one of the main motivators for wanting to annihilate them…'

'What, the insanity of wanting sex all the time?' Nail inquired with confusion.

'No! Just their insanity period—the constant mania and corruption they'd commit in the name of love or greed or whatever. My sire hated them for being weak, vindictive and fearful creatures dominated by their baser impulses…' Piccolo scowled at the thought of all that, but once he focused on Sofia again, his expression softened. 'He was wrong. They're…not all bad.'

Humming knowingly, Nail went quiet, leaving his counterpart to resume watching his twin star as she transitioned from her flurry of hand-to-hand techniques to concentrate on energy attacks.

His attraction for her went beyond her physical beauty or her personality. He found it an absolute turn on that she was a powerful, skilled and fearless warrior. Once filled with empty bravado, now her prowess as a fighter rivaled that of his once-archrival Goku. She could hold her own in battle against him, to the point that they'd yet to surpass each other or have a clear victor at the end of their sparring sessions, and while that once maddened him to no end, he now accepted it with pride. She's a force to be reckoned with. A force he'd trained and honed. Even now as she trained by herself, his intrigue for her grew—

And his mind wandered to their hot and heavy session earlier in the day.

They'd woken up together—as had become their routine—and began prepping for a long day of training. But damn if she wasn't looking tempting wearing only his gi shirt. She'd sauntered into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, the latter what she was in the middle of doing when he walked in and stood behind her, watching her brush vigorously while she hummed a jaunty tune he'd never know the words to before she spat and filled her mouth with water. Playfully glancing at him in the mirror, she had slinked to the side to let him reach the sink so he could splash cold water onto his face before cupping his hands together to guzzle a mouthful to then gargle and spit it out. Leaning back over the sink, she'd provocatively pressed her derriere against his hips, but instead of straightening once she was toothpaste-free, she let her hips linger against his.

"Have you ever brushed your teeth before?" she had asked, but the playful glint in her eye remained as she watched him in the mirror trying to focus on what she was doing versus what she'd asked.

She'd been totally taking advantage of the fact that he was completely nude and already enticed, but he'd be damned if he quickly succumbed to her charms—at least not just yet. "No…not like I would've ever had a chance to before," he wryly retorted, his hands trailing to rest on her waist as he decided that two could play this game.

Biting her lip, Sofia stifled a gasp as her cheekbones flushed with excitement when he ground his hips against her. He was watching her in the mirror, relishing the accomplishment of seeing heated desire linger in her glowing crimson eyes. "No time like the present to give it a try," she'd mustered to chime, her tone smoky as she offered him the clean toothbrush.

Piccolo had wrinkled his nose at the oral hygiene tool. "But you were just using it," he'd protested and paused in his teasing to take it from her and glance at her quizzically in the mirror.

Sofia had rolled her eyes at him and grinned. "Umm, as if we haven't swapped spit already," she'd snickered, showing off a pointed fang as she added, "Not to mention all the other things these lips have done to you without getting a complaint."

Piccolo had blushed furiously at that, but quickly recovered to get his revenge. He'd taken the brush, leaned over to press fully against her as he lined a glob of toothpaste onto the tool, and remained pressed so that his manhood was flush against her womanhood as he brushed his molars and wickedly pointed fangs while she was propped against him and the sink countertop. As soon as he'd rinsed and flashed her a brilliant-yet-pointedly smug smirk, all oral hygiene had been tossed to the wayside as they abandoned the teasing and began having sex right then and there. Pressed over the sink, she'd gripped one hand on the counter while the other wrapped around his arm to grip the back of his shoulder as he leaned against her—one hand on her hip while the other held them balanced as he thrust in and out of her.

Shaking his head and trying to suppress the blush that crept across his chiseled emerald features, Piccolo had to compose himself to shove the raunchy memory away in order to return to his present position. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an errant boner that would linger until he could quench his lust for her.

I seriously gotta get this damned libido in check…


She'd switched from the kata stances to work on her ki attacks, mainly on the way she generated the energy she needed to not only create a blast but also navigate its course once she fired it. It'd been a long process for her to feel confident in the level of her energy attacks, wanting them to feel as second nature as the Kamehame-ha was for Goku or Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon was for him.

Once she managed to get the energy to feel cool to the touch to her, like concentrated waves that crackled but didn't burn or singe her skin, she knew the attacks were perfect. Now she wanted to have complete dominion of the attacks.

After she realized that in the worst-case scenario she could divert her attack to dodge of miss her target, she was struck with the idea of absorbing an attack. On the occasions when they would go off to train by themselves, Sofia spent the time working on her theory of not only deflecting a large ki attack, but finding a way for her own ki to absorb the energy and make it part of hers.

Today she had raised the stakes. She decided to duplicate the same amount of physical stress and exertion Goku used when he trained in 100 times gravity. Since the chamber had it's own level of gravity set, she was currently wearing weighted gear to duplicate the level of strain her body should be under when trying to repel an attack. The battle armor she had on was similar to the model Gohan wore on Namek, except it was weighted to feel like 100 times heavier on her frame and it was molded to take account for her generous bust line. She was wearing a black bodysuit similar to the one Bulma had donned while she trotted around Namek, but her boots were styled similar to Goku's weighted ones, each representing 80 additional pounds she had to battle in. Her hair was up in a tight ponytail to avoid it sticking to her sweaty features as she panted softly.

Wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, Sofia steeled herself into a stance that forced all the weight on her shoulders to root her in place as she began rubbing her palms together free of tension. Taking a cleansing breath, she began charging up the more manageable and less daunting of her energy attacks, concentrating even as her boombox blared in the background with a thrashing punk song. The energy began to zip like molten quicksilver through her bloodstream, flooding every muscle until she knew she'd hit critical mass if she didn't will the energy down into hands. Cupping her palms in a Tiger-style hand formation, she slid her left foot out and forced her ki to overflow and blast outwards. "Crimson Wave!" she shouted balefully and fired the coalescing blast of red energy straight in front of her, honing it to strike a target off into the distance before willing the energy to curve and turn back towards her. She watched the blazing and crackling energy flare and churn like an undulating scarlet sunburst as it careened closer. She clenched her hands before willing her ki to crackle and sizzle like pulsating gloves around her clawed fingers before flaring and engulfing her arms completely.

Don't mess up, or you're burnt toast!

She slowed her breathing, focusing on the energy until she could feel time slow around her. Just as she could feel the stifling heat of her Crimson Wave lick at her, she raised her hands up and caught the wave's outer sphere, feeling the massive energy push her back to skid on the tips of her weighted boots until she pressed back and held her ground. Baring her fangs, she winced at the pressure the energy was causing in her joints to a bone-crushing level that would've splintered her months ago. Snarling, she willed her ki-enveloped hands to puncture the thin-bubble-like membrane of the energy. Just as the ki threatened to blister and shatter into dangerous scorching waves of fiery energy, her pulsating hands willed the spiritual energy inside her to begin cannibalizing the Crimson Wave.

A flash of light blasted across the void, blinding Piccolo and sending aftershocks to undulate over him as he shielded his eyes to the blistering aura. No! Sofia—!

He blasted off at full speed to cut the distance and reach the spot she'd been grappling with the energy, worry knotting in his gut as he skidded to a halt and ended up watching in awe as the aura dissipated to reveal Sofia—completely unscathed, glowing like a crimson-enveloped livewire. Even her red eyes were blazing with a glow that looked otherworldly as she focused them from her clenching hands up to his onyx eyes.

"Whoa…WHAT A RUSH!" she laughed and began hopping back and forth from one leg to another before going into a dizzying flurry of jabs and kicks that to the untrained eye would look like a mirage of blurry movement, but to Piccolo looked like intense speed and agility only rivaled by what he'd seen from the likes of Goku back on Namek.

When she flipped effortlessly into a volley of phases and acrobatics that would remind anyone of an expert gymnast on speed, Piccolo was about to shout at her broodingly when his ears finally registered the boombox's labored sputtering to continue playing against a quickly waning battery surge before it zipped off.

Freezing, Sofia phased next to him and crouched down next to the boombox, her scintillating and super-charged aura fizzling instantly as she did so. "Ah man! Nooooooooo!" she picked up the device and occasional bane of the Namekian's existence and frowned deeply at the dead battery icon that blinked at her from the display screen. "Dead battery?! ¿POR QUEEEEEEEE?!" she wailed forlornly, almost at the point of sniffling at the death of her source of music.

"I'm surprised you didn't manage to obliterate that damned thing with that risky maneuver you pulled!" Piccolo finally snapped at her, pulling her attention back to him.

Goofily whimpering up at him, she suddenly sweatdropped and quirked a delicate eyebrow at him. "Hey, wait a minute—just what're you doing over here, hmmm? I thought we agreed that solo training time was gonna be that—solo?" she mused and put the boombox down so she could plant her hands on her hips and give him a knowing look. "Have you been spying on me, Mr. Piccolo?" she leaned back overconfidently on the balls of her heels, forgetting she was still wearing all the weighted gear, and succeeded in tipping herself backward to fall flat onto her back with a loud yelp.

Now it was his turn to sweatdrop before slapping his hand over his face to huff in amusement and stifle the urge to laugh at her expense. "You really never cease to amaze me, you crazy woman," he leaned down and helped her sit up. "What the hell were you thinking?! You should never try such a risky technique by yourself."

She shook the spirals out of her dazed eyes before focusing on his handsome features and laughing nervously, giving him her best impression of any male member of the Son family as she chirped, "Oh, c'mon Piccolo. Have a little more faith in me will yah? I didn't just go for the full blast and absorb technique today. I've been slowly working my way up to it. I'm not like Vegeta or Goku—trust me, I wouldn't try to cripple myself just on the off chance of reaching another insane power up level milestone."

Grunting, he eyed her more closely, reaching out to brush the rogue strands of a bang out of her face and behind her ear as he grumbled, "Yeah well…I still don't like the idea of you doing this on your own. So, don't, alright?"

Sofia's heart fluttered at that, the closest thing to being told, 'I love you and you had me worried!' she'd ever get from her lover. Still, she couldn't suppress the smile that quirked her lips as she grabbed the front of his cape and pulled him close for a kiss on the lips.

Piccolo grunted into the kiss before pulling her close and deepening the gesture.

"What's with the weird outfit?" he mumbled against her lips when they parted from the kiss, eyeing the getup with a sharp look before giving her a rueful glance.

"Hey—we can't all pull off shoulder pads AND a cape, okay?" she quipped and let him help her stand. "Unlike you, I just can't fight comfortably wearing baggy clothes. This getup was also the best way I could think of for wearing weighted gear that molded to my body and would stay in place," she explained. After realizing she couldn't snap herself into any garments made of metal ores—which explained why Kyouran had to rely on getting her armor breastplate repaired, she remembered that Saiyan armor was flexible—almost like corseted fiber-woven plating that absorbed and redistributed blows. Snapping herself a version of the armor that was of a higher density would be perfect for her to train in. She pulled off the heavy armor and tossed it to crash with a loud thud to the white chamber floor. "Whew! That feels better," she huffed and stretched her back, extending her arms straight up and standing on her tippy toes before wobbling and being caught by Piccolo. Leaning against him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and purred, "So, have you been spying on me or not?"

Rolling his eyes, he let her continue to lean on him as she battled with pulling her feet free of the weighted boots. "Spying is such a strong word…" was his feigned grumble before he snorted at the skeptical glance she shot him. "Alright, I was curious about just what kind of training you've been up to on your own, so I've peeked in on you from time to time," he admitted with a shrug as she snapped her fingers to make the weighted gear disappear and to materialize normal biker boots onto her feet.

"Well—what did you think then? If I keep practicing, I can learn to absorb all sorts of massive energy attacks and use them to juice up my own ki," she declared with more glee than she'd intended, so she cleared her throat and shrugged, "I mean, at least in theory. That way instead of causing a lot of collateral damage from deflecting an attack, I can use it to my advantage and supercharge myself."

"Think you could do that with a Special Beam Cannon?" he smirked, crossing his arms and giving her a quirked brow that was the telltale sign that he was trying to wind her up.

"Hmmm…well I don't know. Right now, there's only one special cannon I want to try out," she skillfully purred after moving close to him and languidly trailing her fingers up his arm and across to his chest before capturing his wide-eyed stare with a flirty glance up through her long lashes.

Flustered, he shook away the blush her raunchy proposition caused and barked incredulously, "Just how in the world do you come up with that lascivious shit all the time?"

"Stick with me, Namek, and you'll be properly trained in the art of the naughty clapback in no time," she snickered and gave him a scintillating smirk before snapping in her best Vegeta impression, "Now let's head back to the palace. I'm famished!"

Face-faulting to the floor, Piccolo remained there as she stood over and giggled down on him.

I'm gonna need one of those long hot baths after this…


It felt great to be able to meditate with an unobstructed mind and a centered psyche once again. Piccolo reached so many moments of clarity through the practice that having gone without meditation for so long really had done a number on his ability to concentrate on clearing his mind and letting peace reign over his senses.

"…you see the colors in me like no one else…You're something else…You're really lovely, Underneath it all. And you want to love me, Underneath it all…"

He could dimly hear her singing under her breath in the kitchen as she washed her lunch dishes, a soft melodious tone free of any affect or imitation he'd come to know as a sign that she was in a content and wistful mood.

After returning from the chamber's void, Sofia had encountered zero resistance from him when she drew a hot bath for them and began stripping him of his clothes. She did encounter a very assertively sensual Namek once she'd joined him in the tub, however, and their long hot bath quickly became the venue for another passionate session of lovemaking and post-coital relaxation. The tight confine of the bathtub was actually pretty cozy when she was straddling him and gave them the perfect excuse to press against each other and kiss languidly.

"…but lately you've been trying real hard, And giving me your best. And, you give me the most gorgeous sleep that I've ever had…" she sung to herself and she dried the dishes and put them back in the cabinet before going to glance out at the main room.

She continued humming the chorus to herself as she leaned against the doorframe and let her mind replay their sultry bath session earlier as she stared at him from the meditative state he was currently eased into. He was back in his usual attire, shoulder pads and turban-clad head bowed with his features softened from the relaxing docility of the moment, quietly in his meditative pose. Sighing fawningly in her mind, she thought for the hundredth time how much she loved him. Then she wondered if it would always be like this. We're in an isolated chamber—of course it won't last. But dammit, I'm too happy to care right now. I just want to prolong this…

Piccolo's mind was finally clear. His senses were just about the point of reaching cathartic blissfulness.

'Hey Piccolo…? You all zen yet?' the plucky telepathic whisper cut through his concentration, and caused the seasoned Namekian warrior to frown despite himself.

Opening one eye, he glanced up at her from his lotus position in the middle of the main room. His gaze caressed up her curvaceous bare legs to her short shorts, lingered on the hint of her midriff before glancing over her tight crop-top shirt to finally anchor onto her crimson eyes. 'I was getting there…why?' the tentative and gruff question was quickly answered by her joining him in the lotus position directly in front of him.

Her knees brushing against his shins, Sofia placed her hands on his knees as she leaned forward to be almost nose to nose with him as she telepathically chirped, 'Teach me how to meditate?'

Blinking at her, Piccolo pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line before he responded, 'What? Why the sudden interest in meditating?!'

Pouting morosely, she grumbled, 'Well, my boombox is out of commission, and while I could just go slowly mad in these idle moments, I figured trying a new hobby could be a good way to keep myself occupied. Unless you'd like me to start doing a capella-style karaoke to fill the quiet—'

'Ok, yeah…it couldn't hurt giving meditating a try,' he interjected gruffly, cocking an brow ridge at her knowingly. 'Although, I don't think you could quiet your mind long enough to clear your thoughts and focus to succeed in a decent meditation session,' he challenged, earning a defiant smirk from Sofia.

'Alright, if I can't, then there's always other more provocative diversions I could occupy myself in that'd just involve you getting naked—'

'See? You're already failing at this,' he grunted, adding, 'Get your mind off of everything. No smartass or goofy stuff. Just quietly reflect on…nothing. Close your eyes,' he paused until she did as he instructed, then he took her hands from his knees and folded them in her lap. 'Let your mind ease away from focusing on anything other than your natural breathing. Slowly, you'll feel your mind relax, and then if you keep that up, your mind will clear and you'll meditate on things that come to you. But don't try to linger on any one thing. Just be a neutral observer. Concentrate without concentrating on anything other than the stillness you feel.'

Sofia let his telepathic words seep into her as she slowly willed her thoughts to quiet and tried focusing on his steps. Before long, Piccolo watched her breathe in and out calmly, her eyes closed and countenance relaxed as she slowly slipped into a meditative state.

This is…actually nice. Her stray thought seemed to echo to her in the clearness of her blank mind, until she realized she couldn't feel her surroundings anymore. What felt like minutes bled away into no real concept of time in the internal silence that pressed in and around her. Then, the stark clarity of her mind began to feel pulled upwards until a variation of flashes started to cross her thoughts in rapid succession. She saw a battlefield riddled with rock formations and plateaus that seemed eerily familiar. Then she felt flashes of sensations that began to take shape in her mind's eye. She saw herself, standing alone in the battlefield and looking up at a blinding figure obscured by the skyline. The figure was then on one of the plateaus, turning towards a surprise blow he hadn't anticipated.

Mirai Trunks flashed in her mind in slow motion. He stood mortally wounded by the blow that spun him around towards his attacker before falling to his knees. Sofia realized the hulking figure before him was King Cold, then the scene shifted to flashes of global annihilation before a flurry of images that made no sense to her sprung forth unbidden. She watched how suddenly, her arm being branded by a scorching black tribal-like vine that began to coalesce across her skin from some power within her. It was the last thing she saw before she felt herself dig her talon-like nails into her palms to pull herself out of the chaotic visions.

"—ia! Sofia, what's wrong?!" She finally snapped out of her turbulent meditation and realized she was panting and being shaken by Piccolo. His worried features came into clarity as her frenzied gaze focused. "Hey…are you alright?"

Staring up wide-eyed at him, she slowly looked down at her hands and realized she'd pierced her palms deep with her pointed black nails and was drawing blood. "Oh my god…" she gasped not from the pain, but from the frenzy of thoughts that swam back at her.

"What the hell was that?! One minute you were fine and the next you began struggling. I couldn't get through to you," he explained in a troubled tone as he took his hands off her shoulders and forced her fisted palms to relax into his grip.

After a long silence, she exhaled a shaky breath.

"…You've seen premonitions in your meditation before, right? Like when you sensed something bad was going to happen before Garlic Jr. attacked?" she slowly whispered, her gaze unfocusing as she turned her vision internally to the image of Future Trunks falling in battle.

Troubled, Piccolo's gaze bore down on her as he groused, "You're telling me you saw something…? That doesn't happen normally—"

"Piccolo, can you see shit that hasn't happened yet in meditation, or can it be your mind fucking with you?" she cut him off, her eyes finally focusing on his again.

"…It's very rare, but yeah—meditating can allow your mind to become aware of disturbances and sense things that could be on the horizon of happening. What I felt before Garlic Jr. attacked wasn't really a premonition, but they could happen…" he replied stoically, uneasy that she was so rattled.

After a tense silence, Sofia jumped up and started pacing in a state of worry. He watched her internally debate for a long pause. Then she suddenly stopped and looked at him with the most caustic expression etched in her features.

"We have to leave the Time Chamber."

Blinking at her, Piccolo jumped up and sweatdropped as he barked, "WHAT?! But we're nowhere near done training—"

"Doesn't matter. We have to leave. Today. Now. I feel it in my bones—" she paused, and grabbed his forearms as she pleadingly added, "My mind is not fucking with me. Something bad is going to happen that is NOT supposed to happen. We have to leave."

Taking in her earnest expression, Piccolo let her serious words weigh in the air as he turned his questioning inward. 'Can you show me what you saw?'

Sofia shook her head. 'Not without explaining a whole hell of a lot that you can't know about yet. Please…trust me,' she explained and pleaded. 'Maybe nothing will happen…but I don't think that was something to ignore.'

He hesitated; then, as quickly as all the questions had sprung in his mind, he batted them away and nodded. 'Fine. Get packed and let's go…' he stated telepathically as he caressed her cheek protectively. 'I'm guessing you know we're in no way ready to face Frieza at our current levels…I mean if I could sense your power level, it'd most likely be a match to mine, and there's little chance we'll be a match against him in his final form,' he added stoically to submerge his brooding.

Sofia internally hesitated with wanting to tell him he didn't have to worry about that, but she knew it'd only open a Pandora's box of issues she couldn't get into with him just yet. Telling him we're not even getting a chance to battle Frieza is going to throw him for a loop and question everything we've been doing up to this point in here…I don't want him to hate me for omitting things—it's such a huge betrayal to his trust…I can't stand the thought of it alienating everything between us now.

"I know. I'm not afraid though. We'll figure it out. After all, you've trained me," she answered serenely and he watched as her eyes began to gleam with what he could only describe as purposeful devotion. "And dammit, we're a kickass duo. Frieza ain't got nothing on us!" she declared with confidence and kissed him. Piccolo wryly grunted into the kiss. Then she pulled away and proclaimed, "Alright! Let me get to cleaning and we can go!"

Sweatdropping again, he watched her march into the kitchen and lope back with cleaning supplies before she snapped her fingers and materialized a bandana that she wrapped around her head to keep her hair out of her face. "Clean?! But why? Popo can deal with it and I thought there was all this urgency—!"

"It'll take me 5 minutes to get things spick and span, babe. I'm not going to be a slovenly houseguest!" she interjected and before he could open his mouth to argue, she shot off like a bolt of lighting, phasing in and out all over the small palace as she scrubbed, shined, buffed, and polished the surfaces clean—occasionally snapping her fingers to materialize fresh linens and towels in her wake as she went. She was like a whirlwind now because of her intense training with the weighted gear, light as a feather and quick as a flash—materializing like a specter around him momentarily to move him from his spot so she could scrub the tile he stood on before phasing out again. He looked up at the clock and sure enough, a few minutes had zipped by when Sofia suddenly appeared in front of him with an accomplished Cheshire cat grin without having broken a sweat—the cleaning supplies returned to their rightful place as all the surfaces around them gleamed and sparkled pristinely. "Whew! All done," she chirped as she brushed her index finger across the tip of her nose and stifled a sneeze. "You wouldn't believe how dusty those hourglasses were. Anyway, I'm all packed," she continued as she quickly snapped her fingers and materialized a completely new outfit before swinging her little backpack onto her left shoulder before asking, "How do I look?"

He gave her a sharp once over from head to toe, and back up again. She looked like a gorgeous Western Capital resident—save for her height and red eyes. Formfitting dark blue jeggings with shredded and frayed cuts at the knees, a magenta off the shoulder long sleeved top with thumbholes that showed a hint of her tight navel with 2 lime green suspenders keeping it anchored to hang just below her clavicle while both of her elbows had turquoise-outlined cutouts—matching the turquoise stripe outlining the hem of the top—allowed her to flex her arms unobstructed. Completing the whacky color combination were a pair of old-fashioned brown lace up combat boots with red shin-high socks. She tossed her hair free and put on some lipstick to accentuate her already-curvaceous lips before shooting him a wink and blowing him a kiss.

Piccolo's expression comically tensed as he tried to fight sweatdropping again. "Uh—are we going to a battle or to a fashion show at Capsule Corp?!" he finally grumbled.

She shrugged her shoulders and declared, "Well—both. Kind of."

Huffing, Piccolo crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I give up. Can we go now?"

Her smile suddenly faltered, as if a realization just hit her. We're going to leave…and be around everyone for the first time since we've become something…it won't be just he and I anymore. We won't be just…us.

Piccolo read her expression, and stepped close to her as he shook her shoulder affectionately. "Hey, quit worrying. Nothing changes—"

"Yeah it does. You're telling me once we walk out of this chamber, we can be us? What we've been to each other…with each other in here; that we'd be able to be the same while out in the world?" she cut in, hesitating as she added, "Once we walk out of here, it won't be just us anymore…"

He absorbed her words, and contemplated them quietly before he took her hand and led her to the large wooden door that was the only entrance and exit to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The clocks above the door displayed all the time measurements for how long they'd been in the chamber versus the time difference outside of the chamber. Sofia barely registered it'd been close to 6 months that they'd been together in the magical time-bending palace and void before her thoughts became conflicted with her desire to remain isolated with her twin star—just her and him sheltered from the intruding will of the world outside, when she felt Piccolo's hand tighten before he interlocked his long tapered fingers with hers.

Pausing in front of the door, Piccolo turned and surprised her when he declared, "It'll still be us. Just…in private. When it's you and me…we'll still be us. But I don't think it's anyone else's business. Not even Gohan's; least not until we figure out all the other stuff—but we're not going to worry about any of that. Not right now. You…you mean something to me. I don't think that's going to change ever…" he paused, then added in a whisper, "You and I won't change, Sofia."

The surge of pride and unfettered love that blossomed inside of her at the power of his words was unlike anything she'd felt before. Her heart felt heavy and light all at the same time. She smiled up at his stoic gaze, knowing just how much trust it took for him to express his desires—how much he had to trust her to be able to say those words not just to express his feelings, but to put her at ease. It was one of the most romantic things he'd said to her, and she cherished it.

"So does that mean no kissing in public?"

His stoic gaze intensified to something searing as he surprised her yet again by pulling her close and kissing her on the lips.

'Yeah.'

Snickering into the kiss, Sofia wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her against him until she had to stand on her tippy toes to stay anchored to the kiss.

'Fine…but if you don't get me alone after a while, I'm going to have to pounce on you,' she purred at him telepathically as she deepened the kiss. 'Regardless of who's around,' she added as they ended the make out session.

Huffing in amusement, Piccolo shook his head at that before declaring, "Alright, enough stalling. Put the mushy stuff on the back burner. We gotta go."

Nodding at him, she turned to face the door, the trepidation of before only a small ripple in the back of her mind as he wrapped his hand around the handle. Before he opened the door, he reached his left hand back and took hers again.

The gesture was more profound than any kiss he could've given her then. Looking at the strong resolve that shone in his eyes, Sofia squeezed his hand, silent affirmation that she was ready.

Clicking audibly, the door opened with a heavy creak as the light and air from outside began to filter into the palace before the twin stars exited the time chamber that had been the only witness to the trials, tribulations and tenderness that anchored them together as equals.

They never looked back.


THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!

Just FYI - The song lyric featured in this chapter is from No Doubt's "Underneath It All"

The upcoming chapters will be hella long! Sure, I could've parceled them out to smaller chapters, but honestly, if a DBZ saga has taught me anything, is that I'd rather have one LONG episode/chapter than a bunch of short ones. Plus, i think each has a natural flow that I didn't want to break up haphazardly. Anyway, thanks again to everyone who's stuck by this fanfic!

-ROGUEFURY