Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Errant Exile ❯ A Friend In Need, Indeed ( Chapter 5 )

Errant Exile

Chapter 4 - A Friend In Need, Indeed

This...just...isn't...working!

After what felt like hours of teeth grinding and frustration, Piccolo finally gave up on trying to meditate. Each time he managed to put aside his emotions and begin to focus, an old memory would surface and he'd have to start the struggle all over again. Normally he found dark, clear nights like this one to be soothing, especially in the quiet country where Goku and ChiChi lived, but it nothing to help calm his turmoil. He watched as small tendrils of ground fog snaked their way over the grass under his feet as he hovered beneath a tree. He ears caught the soft burble of the nearby river and the occasional chirp of a night animal; all sounds he normally found comforting. They were all being drowned out by his own internal voice screaming questions. Why her? Why is she here now? How long will it be before she recognizes me? What will she say when she does? Does she even remember me? Am I worrying over nothing?

The moment he saw the Telkarri skitter out of their wrecked ship, old memories, broken and nearly forgotten, had started to piece themselves back together. Some of them had still had strong emotions attached - fear, anger, curiosity and frustration - but others he could almost physically feel. The tang of blood not his own on his fangs and tongue. The stench of burning meat. A painfully loud, echoing screech and the acrid whiff of acid eating into metal. He looked down at his large hands and rubbed his fingertips together. They held memories of their own; the feel of gathering chi and its blast into one of those creatures. The texture of warm, black fabric and lean muscle inside a sleeve. The sound of someone breathing, the feel of a heartbeat beneath his palm and a strange feeling of security. His hand went to the spot between his antennae, remembering a soft touch there. The clearest memory was actually an image of a pair of gold eyes like mirrors, and he once wondered if he could see his reflection in them. He couldn't remember if her voice had been soft or gruff, but fragments of something Khri had said were lingering in the back of his mind. Words of advice, and a challenge.

Khri! Her name is Khri! Until Vegeta had starting ticking off a list of less than flattering nicknames, Piccolo realized he couldn't recall her real one. He knew for certain she didn't know his. He felt himself flushing in remembered indignation when another memory nudged him, giving him the name she had dubbed him with and the one he'd used in tournaments since.

Junior.

Piccolo looked up at the bedroom window through which Khri slept. Earlier he'd seen colored lights flicker in addition to the lamp light and had been tempted to take a closer look, but the last thing he wanted was to draw her attention. Not now, when his memories were so fragmented and he couldn't trust himself to speak to her. Perhaps he could get some advice from...Gohan! He'd forgotten to update Gohan on what had happened. Snarling at himself for allowing his emotions to distract him, he reached out for the chi of his past student and present friend.

Gohan responded quickly. 'Piccolo! I've been waiting to hear from you! What happened? Is everything ok? Earth's not being invaded again, is it?'

'No, Gohan, Earth is not being invaded.'

Piccolo could feel his friend reaching back to him with his chi and noticed it was more of a challenge for Gohan than it used to be. He had abandoned his physical training for a life as a scholar, husband and father several years ago. Piccolo didn't approve, but Gohan had his own life to live and it didn't include time for sparring. There were still some things, unfortunately, that he had always been quick to notice. 'Piccolo, I've...I don't think I've seen you this...agitated...about something before. What's going on? Does it have anything to do with what happened tonight?'

'Yes...and no. It's a long story, Gohan.' Just how much did he want to tell him? 'It goes all the way back to just a few months after the twenty-second World Tournament. I don't remember much from that time period, but now its important that I do.'

'Just after the twenty-second World Tournament? Wait, Piccolo, wouldn't that make you...'

'A very little kid? Yeah. I was. Its one of the reasons why I'm having so much trouble remembering...her.'

Gohan's amazement hit him like a good punch. 'Her? Whoa, let's back up a second. Who is this 'her' and and what does she have to do with what happened tonight?'

'Like I said, it's a long story.' Piccolo took a deep breath. 'I had snuck into a tournament, hoping to see your father fight so I could improve my own training. We both know my motives for that. I met her...Khri...when I...tripped over her feet. She wouldn't let me go after that, so I kept trying to force her to. Gohan, this is embarrassing...'

'Go ahead, Piccolo.' His tone was understanding and encouraging. 'You know I won't tell anyone unless you want me to.'

Piccolo felt himself flush again and clenched his fists. 'I....uh...I bit her.'

'Hard?'

'Hard enough to draw blood. I was proud of it, too, and didn't hide it.' Piccolo closed his eyes. 'She probably hasn't forgotten that.'

'Well, what did she do after that?'

He let his smirk carry into his reply. 'She called me a name and swore at me, which I deserved.' Another unexpected memory popped up and he growled with indignation. 'Then she...she threatened to spank me!'

If Gohan was laughing, he had the decency not to let Piccolo hear it. 'She sounds formidable, Piccolo! What does she look like?'

'Like a kid, maybe a few years older than Trunks. Tall, long blonde hair she wears in a braid and gold eyes that glow in the dark. She was wearing the same kind of black uniform tonight that she wore all those years ago. She hasn't aged a day.'

'Is she attractive?'

Why all the questions about her looks? Piccolo wondered. 'Yes. Trunks seemed pretty eager to find out when he'd see her again. Gohan, what she looks like isn't important. She can pass herself off as human if she wants to.'

'All right, I was just curious. So, it sounds like the main the reason you're worried is that she'll eventually recognize you, remember your first meeting and then tell her side of the story to my mother, or worse yet Bulma. Is that right?'

Piccolo thought hard about that. Yes, the story would be very embarrassing personally -- his juvenile boasting and threats, his biting her, the threatened swat on the rear, being carried around like a child's toy, his wanting to fight her -- all those details and probably more he hadn't remembered yet. If word of this ever got to Bulma...he shuddered, bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Everyone would get a huge laugh at the idea of a girl turning their former enemy, the Demon King, over her knee and administering corporal punishment. 'Yes.'

'I take it you don't want to talk to her about it,' Gohan asked wryly.

'Talk to her?' Piccolo's head snapped up and he nearly started shouting at Gohan out loud. 'Do you know what happened tonight? I started remembering who she was not too long after she landed. I carried her all the way back to Goku's house and couldn't keep myself from staring at her. As I was about to leave I finally remembered who she was and how I knew her, and I almost panicked! She saw that I was upset and asked me why!' Piccolo knew he was probably giving Gohan a headache but he didn't care. 'I couldn't even say one word to her because I'm afraid she'll figure out who I am!'

'Piccolo, if you start avoiding her and freaking out when you do see her, she's going to become suspicious, if she isn't already! You're going to have to talk with her, and soon, if you want to avoid an embarrassing situation. Not all women are like Bulma and my mother. She might be the type who would happily keep your secret. If you approach her first you'll have some control over how, where and when she finds out. You don't want this to be the discussion at Bulma's next party, do you?'

'Gohan, if you're trying to scare me...its working.'

'Just think about it, ok? You're not a little kid anymore, so she's not going to realize who you are right away. You've got some time, but you shouldn't wait too long. In all honesty, Piccolo, she sounds like she was treating you as if you were an ordinary child.' Gohan's tone became introspective. 'As a father, if Pan were to sink her teeth into me, I'd punish her if only to make sure she didn't try it again. Adults usually don't hold grudges against children for what they did as kids. Now, you've told me about your past experience with Khri. What about the present? What happened tonight?'

Piccolo did his best to explain the events from earlier that night; how two different ships had appeared in the desert, Khri's fight with the Telkarri and Vegeta's interference, and the conversation in Goku and ChiChi's kitchen. 'Gohan, I almost forgot...Vegeta said Khri is a famous commander and has a reputation. He says Saiyans used to tell stories about her but always thought they were just rumors. He's pissed at the moment because it was always assumed Battle Commander Khri was a man.' Piccolo's mental voice softened as another memory came forward. 'I remember now why she was at that Tournament. It's the same reason she was in the desert tonight. I'm sure she was trying to protect Earth.'

Piccolo could hear Gohan's tired sigh. 'It sounds like Khri is a very smart, mature woman who wields a lot of power. Vegeta might be making a big mistake by underestimating her, and it sounds like her own people are wasting her by sending her here...Piccolo, I've got an idea. Do you know what she's going to do tomorrow?'

''ChiChi said she'd take her to Satan City in the afternoon.'

'Perfect! Videl and Pan are supposed to meet my mother after the recital for lunch. I'll talk to Videl - don't worry, I won't tell her anything about your history with Khri - and see if she'll ask Khri to join them. Between my wife and my mother, they should be able to find out more about your friend.'

'Friend? I never said she was my friend.' Then what is she? The irritating question came up, unasked for and unwanted.

'Piccolo, if she let you take a bite out of her and didn't throw you through a brick wall, she's your friend. I'm going to go home now before Videl throws me through a brick wall for being so late. We'll talk again tomorrow, ok? Hopefully I'll know more by then.'

'Fine. Thanks, Gohan'

Piccolo let his link to Gohan dissolve. He knew it had to be hours after midnight, which still left him plenty of time to think about his situation. Gohan is right. I've got to talk to Khri before she figures it out on her own. I wish I knew how she'll react, he thought. Why am I so worried about this? What's the worst she could do, act like ChiChi and start screaming at me? Feh, its not as if I haven't put up with that before. And if she did decide to make an issue of it, why should I care? He crossed his arms tighter, determined not to waste any more time ruminating on a conversation that hadn't happened yet. He glared at the upstairs bedroom window again, this time in resentment. I haven't even talked with her and she's interfering with my life!

As he stared at the window, a new idea occurred to him. Khri didn't use chi - her energy source was unlike anything he'd ever seen - but could she be sensed with chi?

Tentatively Piccolo reached out towards her, feeling for the slightest hint of power, but found nothing. He sighed and was about to back away when he noticed a shadow where her aura should have been. No, shadow isn't the right word...it was almost as if there was a depression, a blank spot, where he should have found her chi. He could only describe it as a total absence of chi, like a picture hanging on a wall without a frame. He wanted to study it further, but Khri must have felt his probing in her sleep; the blank spot changed. It almost seemed to solidify and become resistant to his testing. Piccolo drew back cautiously, not wanting to wake her. Puzzled and more than a little curious, he pushed aside his memories of her and started going through long ignored ones that belonged to Kami, hoping to find a clue. He worked hard not to look to closely at most of them because they tended to spur feelings of loathing for the old man, but he couldn't find any information on Khri's energy source. I think I need to talk to Dende, and soon. If he doesn't know about what's happened already, he soon will. Resigned to a long, unproductive wait until morning, Piccolo closed his eyes and tried not to think at all.