Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Little Slave Girl ❯ A Discovery Most Unusual... ( Prologue )

He'd been out scouting, alone, as usual. Actually, he'd used the excuse that he needed to check things out around the Son residence and the surrounding buildings to get as far away from Chi Chi's horrid piercing screams at her husband and child. Her voice still caused his sensitive ears to ring from the inside out.

Gah! He thought as he flew as far from the house as he could, his large, white cape billowing out behind him like a proud banner, How can he stand that female?!

As he paused in the air, far enough away that Chi Chi's voice now only sounded like a muffled hum and felt something entirely different. A slight sense of someone's ki. He turned about slowly in mid-air, focusing, trying to hone in on it.

The signal was faint, seeming to flicker in and out, as if the person behind the energy was struggling to stay alive. Piccolo finally pinpointed it and spun in mid-air towards it, flying at a break-neck speed. Whoever it was, he had no intention of just flying on by why it died needlessly.

The time he'd spent with Gohan during his training and in between really seemed to have left it mark. Otherwise, he would have just as soon left the creature to it's fate, whatever that may be. He cursed himself for a fool and touched his fingers to his forehead, flickering out of sight….

…And materializing in front of a very young girl. She was half concealed by the small underbrush she'd tried to crawl into and as he stared down at her, she cringed inwardly in terror. Her long dark hair tangled about her arms and the branches of the brush about her. Her clothing was torn and he could see her fair skin though the gaps in her clothing.

She blinked large dark eyes, eyes that reminded him of his own for some odd reason, save for the fear lurking within their depths, and he noticed a nasty cut running across her forehead and another along her jaw.

As he looked at her, he also saw that her body was bruised and bloody in other places as well. She made a kind of squeaking noise between her teeth and he was a little shocked to notice that they weren't normal teeth. She had fangs much like his!

"Don't be afraid of me." He commanded, though the way he said it would make any creature fearful of it's life, she jerked away, tangling herself up more, and whimpered like a caught animal. Piccolo also noticed, where her hair fell away from her head on one side, that her ears were long and tapered to a delicate point. So, she was certainly not human.

** Geez, Piccolo, scare the kid half to death, why don't ya?! **

"Shut up, Nail." Piccolo muttered under his breath, thankfully, the girl didn't seem to hear.

He softened his tone and bent down on one knee to gaze at her at her level, to make her more comfortable, "Don't be afraid…what happened to you? Can you talk?"

Slowly she inched forward, her hair ripping where it was caught by the branches of the bushes, but she didn't seem to mind, she didn't even wince. She came within an inch of him and looked very closely at him. Finally, she fell backwards, eye closed…

Piccolo gasped and leaned over her, afraid she was dead! He felt along her slender neck and wrist, praying to gods not his own that he'd find…

A pulse! He thought as he lifted the pitifully small body into his strong, capable arms and began to lift them both into the air. What am I doing?! He asked himself, as he felt her body, small and childlike…he thought she must be a child…pressed against his chest as he carried her. She so cold…I hope…

** This is so stupid! Why are you doing this? Where are you even going to take her?! Back to Goku and Chi Chi's? Yeah, right! "Here, I found another kid for you to yell at, Chi Chi!" **

Piccolo merely growled at the inner voice of one of the namekians he had the displeasure of being fused with. He didn't mind the extra strength and dexterity…but, he could do without the constant commentary…

** But, I thought you liked our little talks? **

Shut up, old man!

** So, where are you going with the kid, huh? ** Nail butted in to ask, ** Haven't thought of any place, have ya? She's dying you know. Not much time left by the way her ki keeps flickering in and out…**

"All right!" Piccolo yelled, his burden wriggled some in shock at his voice and suddenly outburst, but didn't otherwise wake up, "Enough! I know where I'm taking her!"

"…cold…" She muttered in her sleep…faintly. Piccolo realized that time was short and made a quick decision.

"Hold on, Kiddo." He said, even though she was beyond hearing or understanding, she shivered with more than just the cold now creeping along her body, trying to make her it's own.

Piccolo, still in mid-flight, wrapped his cape about her and flared up a ki bubble around them both, warmth issuing from it like a steambath, trying to keep her as warm as he could until he reached his destination.

~*~*~

"Piccolo!" Dende, standing on the edge of the Lookout, watching the summer bright afternoon clouds passing, a favorite game of his, and one he would never venture to admit to anyone else, was trying to come up with different shapes and stories for each passing cloud. It was fun and passed the time.

Being Guardian of the Earth may sound important, and it was, but it could also be extremely dull, was the first to spot the other, larger namek and his cargo.

Piccolo landed in front of Dende, unwrapped his cloak and revealed the girl to him. Dende winced outwardly at her marks and cuts, obviously a sign of some deliberate harm. She was so small he wondered who could have done such a thing to such a tiny creature? Surely, she posed no threat!

** Tell him to quit staring and get to healing! ** Nail yelled inside Piccolo's head. Piccolo winced but ignored him. To Dende he asked, "Do you think…she…?"

"Might live?" Dende asked in return, gathering his power up into himself and holding out his hands to her, one over her heart, beating slowly, sporadically, the other over her forehead, to lessen the pain. "I don't know."

As Piccolo held her, Dende continued to dive deep into his healing magic, pouring all of it and himself into the small, half-dead ragdoll of a girl in the other namek's arms. A golden aura formed about them and seemed to possess the power to heal just by itself. After a very long moment, Dende sagged to the floor, spent, and held up one hand.

"She...she should be all right…" He gasped, between breaths, it was difficult, just after a particularly hard healing…especially when one's body had all ready prepared itself to die…fighting death was always a daunting task that left the little namekian with little to no strength.

"I'll go find her a bed…" Piccolo said, walking away with the girl still, though now warm and breathing regularly, her ki signature seemed stronger, more steady now, and the bruising and cuts no longer marred her features, though, he noticed Dende could do nothing for the long scar across her forehead or the one which ran from the corner of her mouth to bottom of her chin.

He found a relatively comfortable looking bed and laid her down upon the flowered red and green bedspread. Almost as an afterthought he removed her soiled and ripped clothing, which had been a tunic much like the one's boys of earth used to wear and a pair of leggings. Her feet had been bare. As he looked at her laying there, exposed, he realized that she was not the child he'd first took her to be.

** Quit staring and materialize her some new clothes, baka! ** Nail bite off inside his head.

Quickly, Piccolo summoned an outfit much like own dark purple gi and hurriedly dressed her, a flush forming across his cheeks and nose as he did so, tucking her under the covers and sheets afterwards. Almost as an afterthought he summoned a pair of shore akin to his own, only smaller, and placed them beside the bed next to her. Then, to Nail's snickering, he left her to her rest.

~*~*~

Dende was resting as well, though his natural namekian restoration abilities had kicked in and he was already feeling much better. Mr. Popo handed him a large glass of ice water and he smiled at the black man in gratitude, downing the clear, cool liquid in a few fast gulps.

He saw Piccolo emerge from one of the many hallways and rejoin them. He couldn't avoid the obvious questions in both their eyes. He saw down, crossed legged in mid-air and closed his eyes, for just a moment, then re-opened them to focus on Dende. "I found her like that. I don't know what happened to her. I don't even know why I brought her here…to you. I don't even know her name!"

"Her name is Rowyn…" Dende said, "I felt her name as I was healing her…sometimes, it happens."

"Rowyn?" Piccolo mused, "Like the tree…?"

** I think that's Rowan…** Nail offered, ** Different spelling…**

"I think so," Dende said, "Though she looks more like a willow to me…"

"No, Rowyn's a good name for her," Piccolo said, warming to it, "It's different. I like it."

** you would! **

** Shut up, old fool! No one asked you! **

Piccolo winced by kept silent. He should be used to their constant bickering by now. After informing Dende and Mr. Popo that he'd be back to check on the girl, he took off.