Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Errant Exile ❯ The Verge of Memory ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 2 - "The Verge of Memory"

Thunderstorms were rare in the desert, but when they occurred they were usually violent. This particular late night storm was no different. Intense lightning illuminated the small valley Piccolo favored for meditation and exercise, and the subsequent thunder jolted loose a small rockslide. From his dry vantage point in the mouth of a natural cave, he watched as rain churned the dry ground into a field of small rivulets. The noise and light show disturbed his usual routine but he never minded these natural performances. They were almost as spectacular at night as they were during the day. He let out a long, contented sigh and looked upward, listening to the rain.

Piccolo watched as one particular flash of lightning started small, brightened intensely, then faded. His brow furrowed slightly in puzzlement; he'd seen "ball lightning" before and this didn't qualify. The clouds suddenly flared red a moment before a flash similar to the one before lit the sky. Another rolling bolt streaked through the lowest clouds but displayed something completely different when it broke into the rain.

It was a spaceship.

Jumping to his feet, Piccolo tried to use the light from the next lightning strike to identify it. He had an easier time of determining what it wasn't. It didn't resemble anything ever used by Saiyans, Nameks, or Freeza. It was sleek and long with no sharp edges, looking more like an insect or a sea creature than a spacecraft. It was also heavily damaged on one side. It listed a moment before it disappeared beyond a distant mesa, followed by a deep rumble that shook the ground beneath his feet.

A second ship dropped from the clouds. This one was far different from the first - bulkier and bigger - and seemingly in one piece. It slowed to a halt before dropping out of sight behind the mesa.

Piccolo stepped out into the rain, jaw clenched. He reached out with his chi and found Gohan first. It was late into the night but his former student was still awake. A second quick search turned up a sleeping Goku and then Vegeta, who was downing a late night meal. Gohan looked up from his books, Goku twitched awake and Vegeta swallowed his mouthful. 'I think you all need to see what I'm seeing right now,' Piccolo told them. 'Earth may be about to be invaded again.'

Gohan took off his glasses. 'Piccolo, what's going on?'

'Two different spaceships just landed, one of them badly damaged. I'm headed to the crash site so give me a minute then transport yourselves to my location.'

Snorting never translated well in telepathy but Vegeta always seemed to manage. 'I'm sure its nothing I can't handle. You can just go back to sleep, Kakarrot, and let the men take care of this.'

Goku gave the impression he was yawning. 'Its not every day Earth gets new visitors. I'm coming out for a look. Gohan, what about you? You're still at work, aren't you? Think Videl will mind you being home later than you already are?'

'Actually, yes. Pan has a recital in the morning and I promised the both of them I'd be there. You will keep me updated, right, Piccolo?'

'Of course.' Piccolo experienced a brief moment of regret as Gohan's chi faded; not too many years ago the request would have sent the boy scrambling, eager to please. Time, maturity and a young family had changed all that. This is no time for useless sentiment, he admonished himself, feeling the water soaking deeper into his clothing. He shielded his eyes from the rain and took flight, headed for the site of the crash.

Both ships had landed, if the term "landing" could be applied to the first one. It had plowed a trough in the sand and looked like it was in no condition to fly again, ever. The second appeared to be undamaged, engines idling and steaming in the rain. Piccolo, crouched on the edge of the mesa, shielded his eyes with one hand as he watched for any signs of movement. It wasn't long before the hatch on the second craft opened, a platform was lowered, and a figure emerged. It crouched briefly on the ramp, then stood and stepped out into the mud and rain.

It was hard to tell in the dark, through the rain and from a distance, but the alien was obviously human-shaped and tall. It threw aside the bag it carried and took a few steps away from the ship. Its face was hidden behind a helmet and its body covered entirely in close-fitting black armor. The ship's ramp raised, the ramp closed, and the newcomer watched as it lifted into the sky and disappeared.

There was movement from the wreckage.

Piccolo never spared a thought of any kind on insects, but the creatures that were lining up in a half-circle facing the dark fighter were the stuff of nightmares. They stood nearly as tall as the fighter but had more bulk, their multiple spindle legs digging into the mud. There were a total of seven, one of which was bigger than the others and took the center point. A loud screech echoed off the mesa walls and up to Piccolo's sensitive ears. The actual sound didn't disturb him as much as the unexpected feeling he had heard the noise before.

A bright light flared to life from an object in the fighter's hand. It reminded Piccolo of weapons used by schools of warriors who weren't gifted with a powerful chi. Two slightly curved, slender blades of clean light protruded from both ends of a short rod. Small trails of steam boiled into the air where the rain struck them. Piccolo's eyes widened as his memory gave him another nudge. He knew he'd seen a similar image before, but before he could think it through he was interrupted by a familiar surge in chi beside him.

"Hey, Piccolo, what's...whoa!" Goku exclaimed after he peered down the cliff.

Two other powerful chi signatures flared simultaneously. Goku winked at Vegeta and Trunks. "Look down there. Do you think we should give that guy some help? Seven to one isn't a fair fight."

Vegeta stared into the rainy sky in annoyance and said nothing, but Trunks' jaw fell open. "What are those creatures? I hope that weapon is as awesome as it looks because I'm not feeling any chi from that fighter."

"What do you think, Piccolo?" asked Goku.

"We wait. Let's see what happens." He'd been so busy searching his memory he'd forgotten to feel for chi; Trunks was right. I want to see how this fighter moves...this seems so familiar, Piccolo thought with a growing sense of unease.

Trunks gasped. "Look!"

One of the horrors lunged at the fighter but was cut down so fast Piccolo wondered if he'd missed something. The next two that attacked were cut to pieces just as quickly. The fourth tried a different tactic, going for his legs, but the fighter performed a flip backwards that was amazingly fast for someone with no chi. The aerial stunt had put a good distance between the creature and the fighter, who drew back his arm.

Vegeta suddenly leaned forward. "That looks like a..."

A ball of what Piccolo could only describe as black light, edged with flares of purple, appeared around the fighter's fist. Released, it hit a force shield of some kind right in front of the creature's face and skidded around it, but the impact was enough to knock the monster off balance. The fighter took advantage of the distraction and took the head off with one sweep.

"I...I don't know what that was," Trunks said slowly, "but it certainly wasn't a chi blast."

"Vegeta, you've been to more planets than all of us put together," Goku said. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

The Saiyan's perpetual scowl deepened. "Not personally, but there have been rumors..."

"Look, the weapon's changed! It's a bo now!" Trunks exclaimed, brushing sopping hair from his eyes. "Oh, I want one..."

With only three attackers left, one noticeably larger than the other two, the fighter gave the bo a spin, as if trying its weight. It wasn't long before the two smaller creatures surged forward simultaneously. Piccolo watched as the fighter suddenly used the bo to vault himself straight up and landed in a low crouchdirectly in front of the enemy. The bo changed into a broadsword and both attackers were sliced cleanly through the middle. The fighter rolled away to avoid the corpses then jumped back to its feet, covered head to toe in mud.

"There's only one left, but its bigger," Goku said. "I wonder if he..." His comment trailed off when the fighter casually reached up and pulled off his helmet.

Why did I suspect this? "That's no 'he'," Piccolo growled as lightning showed him what had been just a feeling was actually reality.

Trunks, Vegeta and Goku all gaped. "It's a girl!" Trunks breathed.

The last creature standing had a different reaction. It screamed in what Piccolo knew had to be rage and more than a little terror. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vegeta stand up. "Guess its time to rescue another female who thinks she can fight," he sneered.

"No, Dad, wait..." Trunks yelped, but in one quick move Vegeta had vanished. He reappeared and hovered just behind the girl an instant before the creature lunged forward. She was charging another of those dark missiles when Vegeta hit the monster with a real chi blast, impacting its shield and knocking it off its feet. The girl was startled but managed to keep her composure. She raised her arm, letting her own attack fly the same instant Vegeta unleashed his second.

The explosion shook the cliff and lit the area in a light so bright Piccolo had to cover his eyes and turn away. He knew Vegeta's blast had not been nearly strong enough to wreak that kind of destruction; he was too clever a fighter to waste that much energy on such a small target. As the light faded, Piccolo turned back to see the extent of the damage.

There was a large crater where the creature had been standing which was steaming and filling with water. The damaged spaceship had been ripped to shreds; bits and pieces of glowing wreckage were still falling to earth. Of Vegeta and the girl Piccolo could see no sign.

"There they are!" Goku shouted, pointing.

The blast had thrown them both far from the crater. They had landed head to head, the girl on her back and Vegeta face down. The girl stirred only a second before Vegeta raised his head. "Dad!" Trunks shouted and vanished, reappearing at his father's side. Piccolo and Goku exchanged a brief look and a nod before transporting down themselves.

Vegeta and the girl got to their feet, both covered in mud. Piccolo watched as she slowly took a couple of steps backward, her glowing eyes focusing briefly on each of them. When she reached him her gaze seemed to linger a bit longer before moving back to Vegeta. "Saiyan," she said just loud enough for everyone to hear, "your interference nearly got the both of us killed."

Scowling at his damaged gloves and ignoring Trunks efforts to look him over, Vegeta said, "I was just finishing what you refused to. You should be grateful I stepped in when I did."

"Grateful?" Her tone was incredulous. "You really don't understand what you were dealing with, do you?"

A cheerful voice piped up, "Hi, I'm Son Goku. Please don't be too offended by what Vegeta here says, he insults everyone." For good measure Goku conjured a chi light so she could see his face. Piccolo nearly smiled; even soaking wet Goku's hair managed to stand out at impossible angles. "We were watching from that cliff to see if you needed help. Obviously you didn't."

For the first time Piccolo got a really good look at her face, and what he saw made him clench his fists in resolve not to back away. Underneath all the mud and the hair plastered to her face were a set of features he knew he'd seen before. By human standards she was very pretty, the straight lines of her nose and mouth locked in a stern expression he could almost recall. Her most striking feature, the one he could actually remember as an image rather than a feeling, were her eyes. They were large with long lashes and Goku's chi light made them look even more gold than he knew them to be. It was a face from the past. I just don't know if its my past, Daimou's, Nail's or Kami's!

Goku continued on in his cheery tone when she remained silent. "Uh...it doesn't look like this rain is going to let up any time soon. Why not come back to my house? My wife ChiChi is a great cook, and I'm sure she'd love to meet you." That statement earned Goku a look of disbelief from Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo. "You already know my name, and Vegeta...that's Trunks," the young man bowed slightly, "and the big, scary green guy over there is Piccolo."

Piccolo snorted, used to such rude introductions, but he took them in the spirit Goku meant them. He did, however, step closer to the light and watched the girl carefully for her reaction. After she returned Trunks bow she graced him with one no less respectful and without fear. As she straightened her eyes met his for an instant. I know we've met before and I think you know it too, he thought. One brow arched slightly before she broke eye contact and looked away.

"My name is Khri," she said, placing a hand over her heart and bowing to the group. "Thank you for your kind offer, Son Goku. I think I would like to dry off."

She's accepted. Good. She knows she's going to be questioned and she's willing to go through with it, Piccolo thought. It'll also give me some time to try and remember...

Goku grinned. "I'm sure ChiChi wouldn't mind if you stayed with us" - again the others stared at him - "but we can talk about that when we get there. Um...Piccolo?"

"What?"

"Can you carry her? You're the tallest and...well...it would be a little awkward for the rest of us..."

Piccolo hated to admit it, but Goku was right. She was so tall that if anyone else tried to carry her with any sort of dignity the positions required would indeed be...awkward.

Khri blinked. "Carry? What do you mean, 'carry'...ah. You're chi users. You flew here so there's no mechanical transport."

"If you'd rather walk," Vegeta sneered, "it'll take you a few days."

Khri cocked her head and looked at Piccolo. Was she actually blushing? If she didn't like feeling undignified he could definitely understand that. He didn't like it either. "Isn't Goten home?" He asked. "We could instantly transport."

"Sorry, Piccolo, but he's spending the night with some friends."

"Fine. I'll take her."

Khri's stern expression didn't change, but she inclined her head towards him. "Thank you. There are a couple of things I need to retrieve first," she said. With Goku and his chi light's help she found her weapon, sticking out of the mud. The pack she had thrown was a short distance from there and seemed to be intact. She slipped the knapsack over one shoulder and walked back to Piccolo, her jaw set. "I apologize in advance for the mud and I'll try not to be too much of a burden. Would it be easier if I removed the armor? I...ah...do have clothes on under it."

Piccolo looked her up and down, trying to gauge how much weight was armor and how much was Khri. "No, you shouldn't be a problem, as long as you stay still, hold on and don't panic." To prove his point he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her easily off the ground. He felt her arms wrap awkwardly around his neck, impeded by his own armor. He looked back at Goku, who gave him a wink and a smile before taking to flight, then followed Vegeta and Trunks into the air.

To Be Continued...