Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted Past ❯ The Lookout ( Chapter 12 )

Haunted Past

Chapter 12- The Lookout

Disclaimer: Okay, by now…you should know that I don't own DBZ and I never will. I also don't own the rights to anything by Anne Rice, though I do own most of her books. Plus, I don't own the Kratt Brothers' show Be the Creature and really, I wouldn't want to.

A/N: Well, here we are at chapter 12. I'd love to say that I know how long this will be, but I don't. Warning to all: There will be some citrus-y goodness in following chapters. I will make sure to warn you all before it happens.

~*~*~

Goku appeared on the lookout with a limp female body in his arms. Piccolo recognized the body as belonging to Athena. Walking calmly over to the two Saiyans, he pressed two fingers to a pulse point. "What happened to her?" Goku glanced away with a guarded look to his eyes. Piccolo couldn't tell if that look was embarrassment or shame. Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You two sparred."

The older man nodded his head. "We sparred, she wouldn't stop and I meant to scare her. I shot ki towards her and…I guess she was more tired than she looked, she couldn't dodge it." He hung his head slightly before heaving a sigh and looking up. "Where's Dende? I need him to heal her."

"Goku, what brings you here my friend?" A smaller Namek walked out of a building and gave him a small smile. "Who is that?" He pointed to the seemingly tiny girl nestled in his friend's arms.

Piccolo answered for him. "That's Athena, Goku's sister. He…got a little rough with her in a spar." He looked over at the man in question and noticed the blush that colored his cheeks. "He was wondering if you could heal her."

Dende nodded and started to walk back inside, waving them in. Goku followed quickly and set Athena down on a little table and backed away. "She'll be fine, right?" Dende nodded to the man and gathered some herbs and bandages. He mixed the herbs together until they formed a pasty substance. Lifting her shirt up gently, Dende slathered the paste onto Athena's wound causing her to hiss in pain. He bandaged it before she could sit up.

Athena's eyes popped open as a stinging sensation hit her like a Mack truck. She hissed in pain and tried to sit up, only to be held down by small Namekian hands. She struggled in his grip until he finally released her. She slowly sat up, holding a delicate hand to her stomach, fingering the newly acquired bandages. Her emerald eyes slowly focused on her brother and the green man known as Piccolo. "Go…Goku, where am I? Why is Piccolo here and who's the other guy?"

He gave her a small smile and hugged her gently. "This is the lookout over Earth. I brought you here so Dende could heal you and Piccolo just happened to be visiting him when we got here." He slowly looked into her eyes and managed a smirk. "You're not mad at me…are you?"

She shook her head no and started to get up before Piccolo stopped her with his hand. "Don't move too much. Those herbs on your belly will heal you quickly, but only if you don't move enough to tear open your gash over and over again." She sat back on the edge of the table and sat cross-legged. She crossed her arms in a manner that showed her annoyance. Piccolo couldn't help but smile.

Her eyes focused on the shorter Namek. "I guess I should thank you. You've probably saved my life." She smiled slightly. "So, not meaning to sound rude but…when can I go home? Vegeta and I were having an important conversation." Athena noticed the smile on Goku's visage. "Why are you so smiley?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, I just know something that the others don't." Piccolo took this as his cue to leave and motioned for Dende to follow him. Goku watched them leave and sighed softly. "Did Vegeta ask you yet?"

She nodded slightly. "He asked, but I couldn't answer him before you showed up." He gave her an apologetic look. "No matter, it gave me time to think. Mating is not like being… married as Earthlings put it. Matters of the heart run deeper."

He looked at her like he understood. "I know, Chi wouldn't mate with me, she wanted things to be `normal.' I don't think I miss anything."

"Feh, your wife is a harpy." She smirked as his façade became one of aggravation. "You think not? What about her frying pan of doom? She tried to teach me how to use it." She laughed as Goku noticably shuddered. "I don't understand why she should be allowed to follow her heritage and traditions but you can't. Father and Mother were mated. Father and your mother Fena were mated. It's to death and isn't taken lightly." She nodded slightly afterwards as if to make her point more strongly.

"What do you know about my mother Athena?" He looked at her hopefully. "Did Dad ever talk about her?"

"He did sometimes when Mother wasn't around. He did love her, in his own way. I don't think he would've gone along with his father's plans for him if he hadn't. Father wasn't that type of man."

He nodded slightly and sighed. "I suppose. I'm surprised that he talked about her at all though I'm not sure why. Have you decided what you're going to say to Vegeta?" She nodded slightly.

~*~*~

Vegeta sulked into the living room and sat down beside Trunks. He looked towards the television and noticed that *Be the Creature* was on. "Boy, how can you watch this dribble?" He scowled and reached for the nearest book, it was Athena's. `Even when she's not here she haunts me…she has to say yes.'

Trunks was too absorbed in his favorite show to notice his father at first. Slowly, he made his way back up to the surface of reality and looked at the older man. "This show is cool Dad. You should watch it, they're talking about lions. You might relate." He snickered as his father growled at him.

He flipped through the pages of *The Curse of the Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice*. Vegeta sat it down softly on the arm of the sofa and sighed. Looking back at the television, he growled at Trunks. "I cannot relate to a lazy feline. Males do nothing but lie around all day and do nothing. Come to think of it, it sounds like you." He shoved Trunks softly and wet to grab a bottle of water.

"Dad, how's Athena? She looked pretty tore up when you brought her home?" His eyes followed his dad on his journey to the refrigerator. His voice showed his concern openly.

"I wouldn't know brat, her brother took her to see Dende. He can supposedly heal her." He almost slammed the door to the fridge. "Brat, I want you to know that the onna is off limits to you."

Trunks stood and met his father half way on his journey back to the living room. "Why, who are you to tell me who is and isn't off limits to me?"

Vegeta growled at his son's insolent attitude. "She is my intended. If she turns me down, you are welcome to her, but until then, stay away boy." As he spoke his last few words, he poked Trunks in the chest with his index finger for emphasis.

Trunks' eyes stared daggers at his father. He knew Athena liked him and figured she would never turn him down. He stalked past Vegeta and hit his shoulder against his. It was like brick wall hitting brick wall, but he walked upstairs and into his room slamming his door.

Vegeta eyed his boy as he walked upstairs and felt a surge of pride. `The boy knows what he wants and I think he'd do anything to get it. That's my boy.' He walked back into the living room and sat down. Grabbing the remote, he sat surfing the channels for something more suitable. He found a Bruce Lee movie on a classic movie station and sat watching it and waited for his onna to return to him.