Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Mystery Within ❯ Sacrifice ( Chapter 5 )

The Mystery Within

Part I - Prelude to Terror

Written by Namek Kaia

Disclaimer: I own nothing except original characters and attacks. And don't use them without my permission. You won't like the consequences.

Chapter Five

Sacrifice

That same morning at sunrise, Niko was still awake, her eyes heavy and bloodshot from lack of sleep. She had been lying in her bed ever since Piccolo had left, just staring at the ceiling. Drowsiness hadn't even come to her that night. Occasionally, she tossed and turned to see if that might help her sleep, but no sleep came. In what seemed like no time at all, the sun began to appear over the horizon. 'Sunrise,' she thought, 'Piccolo will be here soon. Better be back before he gets here.' She then got out of bed and headed for the front door.

Once outside, she walked toward a tree on the edge of the forest. It stood alone, away from the other trees, but you could still consider it part of the forest. Niko remembered her father saying that he felt like that tree sometimes. "So close to the others, and yet, so far away," he would say. This was the only time that all his pain and sadness was actually visible. She knew he felt it constantly, but he had always hidden it from her. When he needed time alone, he would sit under this tree for hours on end, and would sometimes even fall asleep under it.

It was under this tree that Niko had decided to bury her father. To her, it only seemed appropriate… to bury him under the only other thing he spent time with besides her. It seemed right… proper even.

His grave wasn't much. Only marked by two sticks that were neatly tied together in the shape of a cross. She didn't care. At least she knew he had one. She wasn't even sure if her mother was given the same privilege. Chills were sent up her spine at the thought of her mother's death. Quickly shaking the thought from her head, she concentrated on the reason for her visit… tradition.

Every morning, ever since she could remember, her family would sit down together before the day's work was to be done. They would all tell of the dream they had experienced the night before. Her family believed that dreams were not just some vision that your mind manifested subconsciously, but that they were actually glimpses of the person you really were. Dreams were revelations to your true self, so to speak. Even after her mother died, her and her father kept the tradition, and she intended to continue to do the same. She hadn't dreamed, or even slept, the night before. But she figured that since she hadn't been able to visit the day before, her last dream would suffice. She knew he wouldn't be able to speak to her, but at least her father knew that she was going on with her life.

Upon reaching her father's grave, something caught her eye. There was something engraved into the tree. But it had not been there before, had it? As she read the message, her eyes grew with surprise. Though soon after, the features of her face firmed with anger. Her assumptions that her father was not the only victim that her attackers sought had been confirmed. The message read: "YOU'RE NEXT!"

*****

Six months had passed and there had been no sign of any danger, and it was driving Niko insane. She knew what they were doing; they were making her wait. Trying to convince her that she no longer mattered, that they had forgotten about her. Well, she wasn't going falling for it. They had done it before. It was only a matter of time before they showed their ugly faces again.

It wasn't really her own self she was worried about… it was him. She could easily overpower those assassins, and so could he. However, these were a different class of enemy all together. It didn't matter if you were stronger… you had to be smarter. Usually they attacked in groups. This way you had to keep your mind on each one simultaneously. They could also create illusions, making it harder for their opponents to attack.

By now, she was sure they knew about Piccolo. He had been staying there every night since she had discovered the markings on the tree. He had said he wanted to help out in case they attacked her again. But his mind never strayed far from his main objective.

Piccolo had tried several times during these few months to find out more about her. He had found out nothing, except she didn't wish to talk about anything but training and getting 'those bastards' back for killing her father. Other than that, conversation was scarce.

Not even when she couldn't explain something while they were training would she talk about her past. Once Piccolo had asked her where she had learned to fight… where she got her technique. She replied she had taken lessons at a local martial arts class. "They don't teach flying and controlling of ki in a martial arts class," he explained. "I was in the advanced class," was her reply as she continued training.

Piccolo could sense her lies, but he didn't know how to get the truth out of her. He couldn't threaten to kill her, then his questions wouldn't be answered for sure. But he was patient. He thought that maybe when she came accustomed to having him around, she would open up a little. But that didn't look likely to happen soon. Sometimes he worried about her intentions. He only hoped it didn't come to the point where he had to open up to her before she would tell him anything.

*****

One morning while Niko and Piccolo were stepping out to start their day of training, Niko suddenly froze. "What? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Do you hear that?" she asked and stood very still, searching her surroundings. Piccolo also searched and listened for any strange sounds. Suddenly, he understood.

"It's quiet," he replied, his muscles tensing.

"Not quiet… totally silent. They're coming. Most likely from the woods," she guessed. "They think they're so smart," she stated in a disgusted tone. "Keep your eyes open. They'll try to sneak up on us." The two remained standing still, not saying a word. After what seemed a long while, Niko turned toward Piccolo and quickly charged a blast and sent it directly towards him. He barely ducked in time for the blast to shoot over his head.

Piccolo was about to go on an all-out rampage when he noticed noise coming from behind him. He turned to see a man, barely conscious, struggling to get back on his feet. "You didn't say they were going to be invisible!!" Piccolo shouted.

"Well, I didn't say they wouldn't be invisible either, did I?!?" she yelled back, finding another target and knocking it to the ground with another blast.

"How am I supposed to fight something I can't see or feel?" he asked.

"Don't worry. I'm trying to fix that," she said, concentrating extremely hard. As he looked over to her, her actions were somewhat strange. She had her eyes closed and her forefingers on her temples. Her brow wrinkled from the depth of her concentration. Suddenly a small, barely visible smirk appeared across her lips. She released a blue wave of energy that spread in all directions, like a dome constantly increasing in size.

"What... was that?" Piccolo asked her.

"Wait, you'll see," see said with pride. Her mood soon changed. 'Oh, you idiot!' she mentally berated herself. 'Why did you go and do a stupid thing like that? You just took yourself into a whole world of trouble. Damn you, why do you have to be so stupid sometimes?' she continued cursing herself. 'It doesn't matter now, it's too late to change anything.'

Piccolo intensely searched his surroundings. Out of nowhere, a whole group of people appeared in the air, each one holding their heads in their hands. Piccolo was still confused, but he knew an opportunity to attack when he saw one. He immediately started attacking his now-visible enemies, as did Niko.

There had to be twenty of them, at the very least. Niko took out most of them without problem. 'They've had almost no field experience,' she noticed. 'They really are becoming desperate, aren't they? It won't be long before they start sending...' She quickly shook the thought from her head. 'No, Niko keep your mind on what you're doing before you get your ass hurt.' She quickly rid of two more opponents, leaving only two more. Out of the corner of her eye, she could she that Piccolo was having slightly more trouble. He had managed to reduce the number of his attackers to only five. She thought of helping him out, but she decided he could handle it himself.

Focusing all her attention on the remaining two in front of her, she could see that she was dealing with the two strongest of the group, both mind and body. 'No problem' she thought to herself. All three engaged in what became a two-on-one aerial battle. After dodging numerous kicks and punches, she sent one of them flying back towards the earth. She then sent a blast in his direction, making sure he wasn't going to gain consciousness any time soon. She refused to have a repeat of what had happened the last time. With only one opponent remaining, she descended from the air. "Give me your best shot," she challenged.

Still in the air, he charged an enormous blast. She watched him as he collected the energy he needed, her face remaining emotionless. After a long wait, he finally had the amount of energy he wanted. Holding it between his hands, he started to laugh evilly.

"What's so funny?" she asked, quite amused that he thought he could harm her with such a pitiful attack.

"This time... you won't be coming back!!" he screamed with delight as he released the attack. Niko stood her ground, not moving and making no attempt to block the oncoming blast.

Upon feeling an amazing rise in ki, Piccolo beheld most of what had gone on between them, all the while fighting off his last three attackers. He froze in surprise at the sight of Niko not even attempting to block his attack. Was she insane? Seeing an opportunity, all three fighters jumped on Piccolo all at once. Immediately, Piccolo released his energy into the air around him, sending his challengers flying back into the first thing in their paths.

Concentrating on the blast heading straight for her, Niko didn't even notice Piccolo running in her direction. "Niko, get out of the way!!" he shouted as he jumped in front of her.

So startled by his actions, she barely had time to scream before the blast hit and they were both sent hurling toward a nearby tree. Niko managed to stop herself, but Piccolo continued to plummet through the forest, crashing into trees one after the other.

"BURNING SUNLIGHT!!" she shouted as her fire-like blast was sent in multiple directions. Those who weren't writhing on the ground in sheer, unbelievable pain, were running away to avoid any more attacks. She swiftly turned and ran to the forest, following the path of destruction left by Piccolo's body. When she found him, she sighed in relief. He was unconscious, but alive.

She kneeled beside him to examine his wound. The blast had hit his left shoulder, just above his chest. She couldn't tell if it had damaged any bones or vital organs, but it needed to be treated… and soon. Thinking quickly, she lifted him into her arms and proceeded to carry him to the house. She knew she had to hurry; he was still losing a lot of blood. "Piccolo, you idiot. What were you thinking? I knew what I was doing. I'm not stupid, no matter what your opinion is of me. What idiotic impulse made you jump in front of me?" she asked all in one breath. Calming down, she spoke again. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have even brought you into this. I may as well have killed you myself."

She kicked her door open and brought him to the couch, laying him down and removing his turban and cape. She used the nearby pillows to prop up his head and feet. She then rushed to her father's room to gather her supplies.

When she returned, she was carrying a large box full of numerous gadgets. She noticed that Piccolo was beginning to regain some of his consciousness. She was glad, but didn't want him waking up just yet. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She took out a steel rod-like instrument attached to a monitor. A blue light was emitted from the rod as the machine powered up. She held the rod above his wound and scanned the injured area. The monitor showed that the blast had barely hit his left lung and had cracked his left shoulder blade. Other than that, he had minor injuries to the head and neck, most likely from when he crashed into the trees. His injuries were nothing to have great concern about. He was a Namek, right? Nameks were supposed to be quick healers. He'd be fine in a couple of days… she hoped.

She turned the machine off and placed it back in the box. Then she started to clean and bandage his wound, carefully lifting his body to wrap the width of his chest in bandages, making sure not to put him in any more pain. As she started to wrap his head in bandages, he suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Niko..." he started to say, looking sternly into her eyes. A horrid expression of surprise stretched across her face as she waited for him to finish, fearing what she knew she was about to hear.

"Niko, you can't keep hiding things from me anymore. I think I deserve to know why the hell these people want to kill you. Because now… they're going to want to kill me too," he finished as he squinted in pain.

"Shhhh," she soothed. "Don't talk now. You need to rest. I'll tell you... everything… later."

"Promise?"

"Yeah… promise."

**Author's Note**

Well, that's it. Will she finally tell him everything she's been holding back all this time? You'll have to wait and find out! You may have noticed that I switched from the word "sparing" to "training". I don't know why. I guess because now it has purpose? * scratches head * Anyways, just wanted to warn you that the next chapter is kinda dark. Enjoy!