Chapter 15: An Angel and A Demon

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters.

Hey everyone, I hope that you are loving this story so far and thank you so much to those that continue to come back and read my fan fiction. It really means a lot to me. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy chapter 15.

The battle between Goku and Frieza had been raging, it seemed, forever. The four Warriors of Earth watched on in tensed silence. If Goku did not come out the victor, then Earth would be next on Frieza's list of destroyed planets. That just couldn't happen. The battle had been so eventful. They even had a visit from Captain Ginyu in a Bulma suit. That only resulted in Ginyu going back to his froggy form. Freiza was gaining the upper hand in the battle. Goku was getting tired, running out of energy and running out of options. He decided that he was going to have to use the Spirit Bomb if he was going to have any hopes of winning this fight. He raised his hands and began to gather energy from Planet Namek itself. He even borrowed energy from the neighboring planets. The others watched on and tried to figure out what Goku was doing. Krillin looked up and was stunned to see a massive ball of blue energy forming in the sky. "It's the Spirit Bomb!" he exclaimed.

The others looked up at the sky and were just as stunned. The ball was enormous. They had never seen anything like it. "Look at that thing." Nonica said in awe.

"It's incredible." Piccolo replied, "Guys, we need to give Goku some of our energy. He needs more." Piccolo extended both his arms out to either of his sides. Gohan and Krillin placed their hands on Piccolo's. Nonica stretched her arms out in front of her with her palms out and focused her energy towards Goku. After a few moments of giving their energy, "Okay, that's enough. We don't want to give up all of it." Piccolo said and they all stopped.

Frieza continued his attack on Goku, but every time he hit him, Goku just got back up and put his arms back up to the sky. Frieza was the only one that didn't know what was about to go down on that planet. He knocked Goku across the ground and Goku landed in the water. It was then that Frieza noticed the massive ball of energy. It was reflected in the water and when Frieza turned to look and saw the plan Goku had been cooking up all this time. He decided he was going to stop it at the source and just kill Goku. Nonica and Piccolo had other plans though. They both blindsided Frieza and sent him fly away from Goku. The two warriors held Frieza off as best they could to give Goku a chance at finishing the Spirit Bomb.

Frieza had grown tired of the two warriors, the battle with Goku, the planet in general and decided to just blow them all up, but Goku was ready and he hurled the ball of energy at the evil tyrant. Goku, Nonica, and Piccolo threw themselves to the ground to avoid the blast.

There was a loud crash, a flash of light, and then nothing. It was over. Gohan and Krillin looked all around them trying to find their friends, praying that they hadn't died in the explosion. Something in the distance caught their eye. Nonica and Piccolo had emerged from the water. They were weak but they were alive. Gohan and Krillin watched with delight as Nonica and Piccolo pulled Goku out of the water and onto dry land. Piccolo pulled himself out of the water. He turned and extended his hand to Nonica. She looked up at him for a moment before taking his hand and letting him help her pull herself out of the water. Exhausted from giving her energy, the little scuffle with Frieza, and heaving Goku up on the shore, Nonica stumbled. She almost fell to the ground, but something had stopped her. When the princess looked up, Piccolo was staring back down at her. He smiled. Nonica's face flushed a little and she straightened herself. She slid her hands out of Piccolo's hands. She smiled shyly. Krillin and Gohan had joined them at that point. They all began to talk about how wonderful it was going to be to finally get home.

Krillin helped Goku stand. They were about to head to the ship when the unthinkable happened. Frieza had survived and he was furious. His first victim was Piccolo. Though Frieza was aiming to kill Goku, Piccolo pushed him out of the way of the attack and took it himself. Nonica watched in shock and horror as Piccolo fell to the ground. Tears felled her eyes and her fists clinched together tightly. Before she even knew what she was doing, she charged at Frieza. "Nonica, don't!" Goku shouted. But he was too late to stop her. Nonica had unsheathed her dagger, meaning to plunge it into Frieza's cold blackened heart. For her race, her father, her brother, for her Piccolo.

Frieza grinned and caught Nonica's hand that was holding the dagger. He twisted it until she dropped it into his own hand. "Now what were you really planning to do with this." he said. Still holding her wrist, Frieza spun Nonica around and held her dangling to him. "The last of the royal Saiyan family." he mocked.

"Let her go, Frieza. Your fight is with me." Goku demanded.

Frieza continued on as if Goku hadn't even spoken. "When you see Vegeta, tell him I said 'hello'" And with that Frieza plunged Nonica's dagger into her back.

Nonica gasped in shock and agony. Her eyes widened and her mouth filled with her own blood. It began to run down the side of her mouth. Tears rolled down her face. Nonica looked down at Goku and said, "I'm sorry." Frieza flung her into the water and everything went black.

Back on Earth, high up on the Lookout, Kami was shaken to his core. "No!' he cried.

"What's wrong, Kami?" Mr. Popo asked.

"Nonica has fallen. I can sense it. My poor child."

"No. Not Nonica."

Kami pushed his senses to their very limit trying to feel out his child. He concentrated so hard that his body began to shake. He clung to the hope that she was alive. That there was still some life in her body. Nonica, if you can hear me please answer. Are you all right, daughter? He tried to communicate with her, but he got no reply. "Nonica." he whispered, lowering his head.

"Father?"

The voice was inside of Kami's head. It was faint and pained, but it was his Nonica's voice. Kami let out a sigh of relief. He looked to Mr. Popo. "She lives." he said. He closed his eyes once again and went deep into meditation. He saw darkness. He looked around and found Nonica. There was a faint light around her and she appeared to be floating under the water of Namek. "Nonica, can you hear me?" he asked.

Nonica appeared unconscious, but Kami was communicating with her inside their minds. "Yes, Father. I hear you." she replied. "I failed."

"Failed?"

"Yes, I wanted to avenge my family and planet. Frieza has taken everything. He even took Piccolo and, in doing so, took you too. I wanted him to pay and I failed. Now I'm dying."

"Daughter, you must listen to me. You must hang on. I live." he told.

"But, Frieza killed Piccolo. I saw it."

"No, Nonica. I am standing on the Lookout as we speak and if I'm alive…"

"Then so is Piccolo."

Kami smiled. He knew how Nonica felt about Piccolo. Though he didn't know how or when it happened, his beautiful, good hearted daughter had fallen in love with Piccolo. She had turned her rage on Frieza because she thought Freiza had snatched Piccolo away from her. She thought that she had lost Piccolo once again and, with Piccolo gone, it had also meant that Kami was snatched away from her as well. "Yes, Nonica. Piccolo is clinging to life. He is fighting to survive and you must do the same. You must live. You have to hang on. Mr. Popo has gone to gather the dragon balls. King Kai has a plan. I need you to hold on just as long as you can. Don't let that monster, Frieza, win. You must FIGHT!"

Nonica's eyes popped open then. She was suddenly conscious. Though she was terribly injured, she was determined to live through this. She was going to fight just as her adoptive father had told her to. She had to live long enough for King Kai to execute whatever plan he had concocted.

The current of the water had pulled her so far from where Frieza had thrown her. She saw land and slowly swam to it, the dagger still in her back. Nonica reached up and gripped the land above her with both hands. With every bit of strength she had left in her body, the brave princess pulled herself to the surface. She emerged from the water. She gasped and coughed for air. Her lungs stung from the water that had flowed in while she was unconscious. She rested on the ground, lying on her belly, and breathed in deeply. Her wound ached terribly and she was losing a lot of blood, but she was too stubborn to die now. When she had finally spit out the last of the water she lifted her head and looked around. Her eyes widened when she realized where she had ended up. She was staring at Vegeta's grave. Somehow fate had brought her to her brother. She crawled over to the mound of dirt and settled beside it. "Oh, Vegeta. I don't know what is about to take place here or on Earth, but at least you're here to keep me company." she smiled. Nonica reached behind her and took hold of the handle of the dagger. She braced herself and then pulled as hard and as fast as she could. She let out a scream as she rolled over on her back. She held on to the dagger and looked up at the sky. "Okay, Kami. Whatever you and King Kai are scheming you need to hurry it up. I don't know if I'm gonna last long." she muttered. From where she was, everything seemed peaceful and calm. That wasn't the reality though. There was still a battle going on somewhere on the planet, she would bet her life on that fact. She chuckled to herself at the thought of her betting her life on anything at the moment. Nonica soon gave into the darkness and slipped back into unconsciousness. She didn't even notice that the sky had begun to turn black.

The ground next to the princess shifted and moved until the Prince of Saiyans had freed himself and rose up from beneath it. He looked beside him to find his sister lying next to him. The blood soaked dagger was still in her hand and the ground under her was stained crimson red with her royal blood. He was stunned for a moment, but shook himself and placed his two fingers against Nonica's throat. He was relieved to find, though it was faint, she had a pulse. "Still hanging on? Maybe you're more Saiyan than I gave you credit for." Vegeta took the dagger from Nonica's hand, wiped away the blood, and, for reason that he himself didn't understand, put the weapon back in its sheath that was tied to Nonica's thigh. He stood up and bent down to gather up his sister, placing her over his shoulder. "Keep on fighting. I'm going to get us off this dirt clot." he muttered and began to walk, looking for a ship to escape the planet on.

The sun was shining and the birds were softly singing somewhere off in the distance. There were wildflowers everywhere in almost every color. It was peaceful and quiet. Nonica lay in the tall grass and flowers just looking up at the clear blue sky. The air was so sweet and the princess was completely at peace. Her eyes drifted to flowers and let out a contented sigh. "Beautiful." she muttered.

"Very beautiful." a voice replied.

Nonica turned her head to see Piccolo lying beside her with his arms behind his head. He didn't have on his cape or his turban, just his gi. "Piccolo? What are you doing here?" she asked. She sat up and looked around. "Oh my God, are we dead?"

"I don't think so." Piccolo answered.

"Then what is this?"

"Maybe it's a dream."

"Then why are you here?"

"That is something I have no answer for. I thought this was my dream for a minute."

"I thought you were dead. I thought Frieza had killed you."

"Is that why you flung yourself at him with a dagger knowing full well you couldn't defeat him with it?" he looked over at her, she looked shocked, "I saw you just before I lost consciousness. Seriously, what were you thinking?"

"I got angry. I thought you had been killed again."

Piccolo grinned and sat up, "Why would that make you mad?" Nonica made no response as she turned her head and look in front of her. She was sitting in the middle of the most beautiful meadow she had ever seen. It was simply gorgeous and what made it even better was she was there with the man that she loved with all her heart. Surely she was dreaming. That was the only explanation that she could come up with. She couldn't remember anything after she had blacked out beside Vegeta's grave on Namek. Oh yes, definitely a dream, which meant that she wasn't dead yet. That was a good thing. Piccolo reached over and gently took her chin in his hand and turned her head so that she was looking at him. "Hey, I asked you question." he said softly.

Nonica knew that she was dreaming and that since she was dreaming there was no reason to conceal her feelings. Piccolo wasn't going to laugh at her or reject her in her dreams. "I came to Namek because I wanted to be sure you were brought back."

Piccolo tuck her hair behind her ear and softly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Why would you care that I got brought back? Kami?" he asked.

"No." she replied, "Not just because of Kami. I wanted to make sure you were brought back because I wanted to tell how I felt about you."

Piccolo removed his and said, "You came all that way to tell me that you hate me and that I am the worst part of your father. How it isn't fair that he should be linked to me and that he have to die because of that link."

Nonica had once said something like that to Piccolo. It was the night after the tournament and Nonica had planned to kill Piccolo, but couldn't bring herself to end him. It was the link he shared with Kami and the fact that Kami died if Piccolo had died that had saved Piccolo that night. She hated that he, even her dream, would think that that was how she still felt about him. She shook her head, "No, Piccolo, I don't hate you. I'm in love with you. I have loved you for so long." she placed her hands in her lap and stared down at her fingers. "I don't when it happened or even how it happened, but I fell in love with you. I never told you because I didn't think you could feel the same about me. Kami's daughter, remember?"

Piccolo was stunned. He had said once that he could never care about Kami's daughter, nothing could be further from the truth though. He loved this woman. He loved her very much. He smiled, "I thought you hated me. I didn't think you could ever love me. Love a monster."

Nonica's head snapped back in his direction. "You are not a monster." she snapped. She got up on her knees and crawled closer to Piccolo. She took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes and said, "You are good. You overcame the things that King Piccolo wanted you to do. You are better than all that hate and anger."

"I guess I have you and Gohan to thank for that. You two were the only ones that didn't treat me like a demon and a monster."

Nonica smiled, "Because you're none of those things. Not anymore. You're different now."

Piccolo closed his eyes and placed his hands around Nonica's wrist, savoring the feeling of her touch. "I could never be that demon, Nonica. Not when I have the love of angel." Nonica's hands fell from his face as he continued, "I'm in love with an angel. She drives me crazy and makes me angry. She has never been afraid of me and stood up to me when no one else would dare. But, she has shown me kindness and caring, even when that had not been her intention. She did all of that without thinking. I need her by my side because she is my redemption, my salvation. I don't know how I could have lived without her and now I would die for her." Piccolo reached up to wipe a tear that had fallen down Nonica's face keeping his hand on her cheek. "You are my angel, Nonica. I love you. I have been such a fool. I've hurt you and said terrible things to you, but I swear to you that I will never do any of that again. I want to be with you and protect you, love you and have you love me. I love you, Nonica." Piccolo slid his hand behind Nonica's neck and pulled her to him. Their lips meet in a passionate kiss. Piccolo put his other hand around Nonica's waist and pulled her into his lap. Her arms went around Piccolo's neck. What a wonderful dream this had turned out to be. Nonica almost didn't care if she ever woke up from it, but all goods things must end. Piccolo suddenly disappeared leaving Nonica in her meadow alone. The princess jumped to her feet and looked all around her. Piccolo was gone. It was such a beautiful dream and then he vanished. Nonica was suddenly filled with pain and anguish. She knew that the dream was only that, a dream. Piccolo would never love her. Never say all those beautiful heartfelt things to her. They would never embrace and share a long passionate kiss like that in reality. Nonica fell down to her knees and sobbed.

Piccolo woke up on the ground looking up at the little Namekian boy named Dende. He was fully healed and was going to be just fine thanks to Dende. Piccolo got to his feet and looked around. They were back on Earth. Dende had explained that they were all brought back to life by a wish made on Earth's dragon balls. The wish brought back Guru, the elder Namekian, and with him alive Porunga was able to come back. Dende asked Porunga to bring everyone except for Frieza and Goku to Earth. Piccolo looked around him once more. He saw Gohan and Bulma and the rest of the Namekians, but where was Nonica? He could have sworn that they were just together and then she was gone. He then remembered it was just a dream. "Of course, it was just a dream. Nothing like that could happen for us." Piccolo mumbled, "But, where is she?"

"You there, boy! Get over here." They all looked to see Vegeta coming out of a clearing in the woods. He was carrying Nonica. She was bleeding badly and still unconscious. "You must heal her. She isn't going to last much longer." Vegeta said.

Piccolo hurried over to them. "Give her to me." he said.

Vegeta scoffed, "Where were you when she got skewered with her own dagger?"

"Shut the fuck up and give her to me, Vegeta!"

The prince smirked, "Well, aren't we testy? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you actually cared about my little sister, Namek."

"I care for her far more than you ever could. Now give her to me." Piccolo replied. He took Nonica from Vegeta and carried her over to Dende. He sank down to the ground with Nonica's legs on the ground and supporting her back in his arms. "Dende, please help her." he begged.

"Sure thing." Dende answered and placed his over her.

Nonica began to glow with the healing power Dende was generating through her body. When the glowing stopped Nonica's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Piccolo. She smiled and said, "You came back. I got so scared when you vanished out of the meadow."

"What?" Piccolo said.

Nonica realized where she was and that she was awake and alive. "Nothing. Help me up."

Piccolo did as she asked and helped her to feet. Meadow? We had the same dream? Is that possible? Piccolo thought. Nonica walked over and hugged Bulma and Gohan, so very glad that she had survived just like Kami had told her to. She was brought up to speed when she realized that Vegeta and everyone else was alive. That was why Kami had come to her and told her to fight. If she had died after the wish was made on Earth then she would have excluded and therefore would have remained dead.

Guru had soon passed away and he made Moori the elder Namekian, giving him the power over the Namekian dragon balls. All that was left to do now was to wait for news about the battle still going on between Goku and Frieza.

It seemed like an eternity waiting for the news on Goku. Finally, the report came in. King Kai acted as a link so that Yamcha could talk to Bulma. Yamcha told Bulma that Goku did defeat Frieza, but couldn't get off the planet before it had exploded. Goku was gone and so was Planet Namek. They weren't too sad because they knew that could bring him back with the Namekian dragon balls and that they would be able to wish back their other friends along with Krillin very soon. They made plans to do just that. Bulma also arranged for the Namekians and even Vegeta to stay at Capsule Corp. until they could make preparations to make a New Namek. They all loaded up on a huge Capsule Corp. air bus and headed to Capsule Corp. while Nonica headed back to Kami's Lookout to reunite with her adopted father and Mr. Popo.

When Nonica laid eyes on Kami she embraced tightly and tears streamed down her. It had been so long since she had seen him and she had missed him so much. "Thank you for coming to me. I thought I was gone for a second there." she confessed.

"You are a fighter, my child, and I am very proud of you. You were so brave. You fought bravely and you came home safe and sound." Kami replied. Nonica smiled into his chest and just let her father hold her. When they finally released each other, Nonica gave Mr. Popo a very big hug as well. He told her that he had made her a huge dinner and for her to go on inside and enjoy. Nonica did just that and she enjoy the meal very much. She soon departed and went back to her home in the mountains. It seemed like forever since she was last in her own bed and it was a wonderful feeling. She went to bed that with a strange sense of peace. Frieza was no longer a threat to her and her race and her father had been avenged, and what was better is that a Saiyan had been the one to avenge them. Nonica went to sleep that night with a smile on her face and wondered if she would see Piccolo in her dreams. She sincerely hoped that she would because, in her dreams, Piccolo loved her and they were happy. She figured that that was better than nothing for now.

Frieza is gone and the universe is at peace once again. Nonica has made it through the ordeals of Namek in one piece. She is back on Earth and now even Vegeta is with her. How will he adjust to life on Earth? Can the Saiyan siblings be on the same planet in peace? What about the special dream that helped Nonica pull through her brush with death? Was it truly "just a dream" or could it have been so much more? Find out in the next and final chapter of….Princess of Saiyans.

Okay guys, chapter 15 is done and it looks like this story is winding down so be sure you come back soon for the conclusion of my exciting story. I hope that you have enjoyed the trip as much as I have and for those of you who are fans of my other story, I am considering a sequel so be on the look out for that. As always please feel free to leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks so much and I will see you all in the next chapter.