Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Mystery Within ❯ Desperation ( Chapter 8 )

The Mystery Within

Part I - Prelude to Terror

Written by Namek Kaia

Disclaimer: Here's the deal. I don't own Dragonball, so you don't sue! Got it?! Good. ^^ Enjoy.

**Author's Note** This chapter contains adult material and suggestive dialog. Though it's nothing too graphic, kiddies still need to BEWARE!!

Chapter 8

Desperation

As soon as Niko hit the water, the pain in Piccolo's head subsided. He lay doubled over, hands still at his head, trying to catch his breath and gain his senses. When he was in control of himself, he could only think one thing. Oh Kami… Niko! He scrambled to this feet and jumped from the ledge to the bank of the lake, knowing it would be useless to jump in after her and risk both of them freezing to death.

He saw air bubbles erupt from the surface of the water where she had landed. Thinking quickly, he extended his arm to the point of impact and drove his hand toward the lake's floor. He winced at how cold the water was, but ignored the pain. He had to find her… even if it was already too late to save her. Please be alive…

After a few moments of searching, his hand brushed against something… something that felt like an arm. He hastily grabbed on to it and brought it to the surface. Please be alive were the words that were repeated in his head. He was somewhat relieved when he saw Niko emerge from the water. Her skin had changed to a pale blue, her eyes red. As she broke through the surface, she inhaled sharply and immediately began to tremble.

He instantly brought her into his arms and wrapped his cape around her. With her wet body pressed to his, he knelt and began creating ki around them, trying to warm her. But her convulsions continued, never even calming. He couldn't increase his ki without fear of hurting her. If she became too warm too fast, he'd lose her for sure. He tried rubbing his hands over her arms rapidly in attempts to make friction to cause heat, but his attempts were in vain. Noticing faint condensation that her breath was making in the air, he knew that the cold atmosphere they were in wasn't helping at all.

Keeping her as close to him as possible, he rose from the ground and swiftly flew through the forest to her house. Upon arrival, he burst through the door and headed for the bathroom to run a hot bath. It was then he remembered Niko's fit of anger while she thought he was asleep about the pipes being frozen. This meant no running water. He cursed, anger and panic building within him. Not knowing what else to do, he rushed to the living room and set her down by the fire.

He still held her in his arms, pressing her against him, seeking to transfer his heat to her. But her soaking clothes were only causing them both to grow colder. His stomach knotted as he realized what was to be done. "Niko, listen to me. I need you to stay here with me, okay?" By now, he was rocking her in his arms. One could hear the masked fear in his voice, but Niko failed to notice, her body and mind still in shock. "Do you have any blankets?" he asked, hoping she could understand.

"Cl… clo… set…" she managed to stutter, motioning toward the hall. He rested her body, still wrapped in his cape, near the fire and then rushed to the hall closet. As fast a possible, he grabbed all the blankets, towels and anything else that might promote warmth. Panic was continuing to grow in him, but he didn't stop to question why he, a Namek, could become so worried in a situation so mild. But this wasn't mild… not to him. Arms full, he raced back to her and set the blankets aside. He paused, looking down at her painfully shivering frame. His stomach clenched and his voice caught in his throat. All this was shoved away within a moment.

This had to be done.

"Niko," he started, kneeling beside her. His voice was relatively gentle. "You can't stay in these clothes…"

Niko only gave a nod, knowing this was necessary. Nervous shivers were added to her ongoing convulsions as he began to remove her clothes. Her sweater was easily removed, though her tight jeans had to be ripped away, the water causing them to lose their elasticity. He quickly slid her underwear off and began to dry her dripping body, a purple blush forming at his emerald cheeks. His own soaking gi top was then discarded before he pulled her close and wrapped the blankets around them. He rubbed her arms and back, still making feeble attempts to create heat between them.

Her skin was still a faint blue color, her lips nearly white. The spasms still racking her body had barely calmed. He feared that his methods weren't going to be effective. If she didn't get warm, and soon, her body would be forced to shut down. His face fell into the curve of her neck as he began to rock back and forth with her in his arms. Nothing he did was affecting her.

He was going to lose her.

The one last thought arose in his mind. Where it came from, he didn't know… most likely some rare conversation with Goku. But was he willing to risk it? Would she even let him? He knew she would most likely rather die than to do this, but he had to at least try. He didn't know what else to do.

Slowly, he began to take the skin that was pressed against his lips into his mouth, kissing the soft spot of her slender neck. When her muscles tensed, he ran his hands up and down her back gently, trying to be soothing. 'Gods… what am I doing? She doesn't want this. Do I even want this?' he questioned himself as his lips make a trail up to her mouth. He kissed her icy lips, hoping for some kind of response… any kind of response.

Her eyes grew wide as she saw him kiss her. 'Is he… kissing me? He looks like he's kissing me. I… can't feel anything. But… why would he kiss me? Shut up Niko, and don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Just kiss him back!'

Just as he was about to stop, thinking it useless, he felt her lips respond to the kiss. He paused and pulled back, searching her eyes for some kind of answer. What he found was the same desperation that filled his own eyes. He leaned in and took her lips again, this time with confidence and a slight degree of passion that was lacking before. His hands roamed her back, seeking to pull her even closer. One hand finally rested at the back of her neck, moving her face closer to his to deepen the kiss. All Niko could manage was to shakily slide her arms around his neck.

Her body still shook, although somewhat less than before. He could feel heat start to build within her body, but it still wasn't enough. His only choice was to take this farther, or let her die. Even though he didn't want to lose this moment, lose the taste of her lips, he knew the chance had to be taken. Once more his hands moved down the spasmodic muscles of her back, and while one rested on her hip, the other slipped slowly to the inside of her leg. 'Please let it be right,' he pleaded silently.

Niko's body went completely still. He could now faintly manage to feel a rising in the pants of his gi. And it was apparent as to where his hand was moving. 'Oh Gods… no. Not this… not again.

Piccolo wrapped his other arm around her waist, his hand cupping her inner thigh. He released her lips and, letting his eyes fall closed, spoke softly and soothingly into her ear. "I won't hurt you, Niko. I promise you. I'll stop when you need me to. But I won't let you die. Not like this."

Her mind was rushed what thoughts of 'What ifs' and 'Maybes'. What if there could be more to this life that just fighting? Maybe she could finally have what she had been denied for so long. Maybe the fact that this was about to happen wasn't such a bad thing? The only aspect that she mildly feared was what if he didn't want this at all? She knew that he was only doing this to save her life. Not because he held any special feelings for her. Knew that he probably hated her by now for what she had done to him. Her mind didn't let her linger on that thought for long. This was going to happen whether either of them liked it or not. It was inevitable. She could at least pretend that there were feelings present.

"Okay," she managed quietly, trying to make her body relax. She gave a kiss of encouragement, and made herself ready to let him do what he pleased.

He slowly laid her on the floor, never breaking their kiss, and let his instincts guide his actions.

*****

Piccolo was the first to return to reality from the blissful world he had made with Niko. He was able to open his eyes long enough to see that she was flushed and beginning to sweat. Knowing that his purpose had been fulfilled, but not wanting to stop, he slowed his actions atop her. He paused as he saw a tear escape from the corner of her eye and roll downward into her hair. Fear pierced his heart at the sight. "I'm sorry. Did… did I hurt you? I didn't mean…"

"No, you didn't hurt me. It's not you at all," she assured.

"You are sure?" he questioned, still unsure.

"Yes… I'm sure. You didn't hurt me, Piccolo… you saved me," she replied, staring up into his onyx orbs with mixed emotions.

His heart began to race as he saw the look her eyes. He felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time… anxiousness and nervousness as to what was going to happen next. Raven eyes stared down into golden eyes, prolonging the moment. "Do you want me to stop?" he questioned after building up enough nerve, already beginning to move off of her.

She quickly grabbed him by the arm, holding him in his place. "No, I don't want you to stop," she said, trying not to sound desperate. 'Gods… what am I doing?!' She released his arm, looking away in shame at what she had just done.

Piccolo stared down at her with shock written across his features. 'She doesn't want me to stop? Is this a… dream?' "Are… are you sure you want this? I can stop… if you'd like."

"I… I don't want to force you. I could understand if you didn't want to continue," she said quietly.

His look turned to the faintest hint of confusion. "Why would I not?"

"Because you only did this to save my life. I know you didn't want it to happen. I won't make you go on when you don't want to," she explained, her eyes searching the room to look anywhere except into his.

Piccolo then bent down and captured her lips in a hungry kiss. She gasped in surprise at first, but slowly started to respond. He once again began his movements over her. Niko soon remedied this, pushing him on his back so that she now straddled his hips. From then on, passion filled the night.

*****

Niko's eyes fluttered open just as the sun peaked over the horizon. She smiled slightly at the warmth that surrounded her, warmth she had never known before. The first thing her eyes fell upon were green muscles of a strong, broad chest. Her head tilted upwards to find Piccolo's face smirking down at her. From the length of their late night events, she knew that she hadn't slept long, and that he hadn't slept at all. She smirked back at him, knowing it was as close to a smile that either of them would get.

Niko shifted under the covers, drawing her body closer to his. Reflex led him to do the same, enjoying the feel of her naked body against his own bare skin. He stole a moment to take in her appearance, noticing a great difference between the person she was now and whoever she was on the rock ledge last night. Whatever dark thing that had possessed her mind was now gone, and would hopefully remain gone. The Niko he knew had returned.

"I suppose we'll forgo training for a while," he mentioned quietly.

She looked up at him, nearly surprised. "You're still going to train with me?"

"Of course. Someone has to keep you out of trouble," he replied, unable to hide his smirk.

Once again, she returned his smirk. "And what shall we do instead?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I believe we can find something to do."

"Or someone," Niko finished, her smirk turning to a grin. Piccolo was taken somewhat aback by the comment. Not only had he expected last night to be a one-time event, but he also received the impression that she shied away from intimacy in her life. Something had changed, though he didn't know what. It was then that one question returned to him and hovered in his mind. "Niko?" he asked, the tone of his voice turning serious.

"Yes?"

"Why… were you crying last night? Right before I offered to stop?"

She grew silent for a while, her mouth agape. Finally, she sighed as she often did when an internal conflict ended. "It wasn't you. That's all you need to know."

"Niko, you can tell me. There's only me and you here."

Again, she sighed. "Fine. If you must know…." Her voice turned emotionless as she continued. She shifted her weight so that her head was now nuzzled into his chest. She couldn't bear to look at him. "When the Zion soldiers took me from my home, they didn't just throw me into a cell of some kind and wait. They wanted to have their fun first. Not even beating me would satisfy them."

Piccolo's eyes widened as he pieced it together. "They didn't…"

"They did. They all did. All of them took my innocence, not just the first." Her voice now shook with emotion, straining to hold back tears. "I can't remember how many there were. I don't want to remember. Thirteen and broken, that's exactly what I was. I died that day. I'm not her anymore, and I refuse to become her ever again.

"To answer your question, the wounds healed, but the scars have never gone away. That's why I cried. It wasn't you. It was painful memories that hurt me so badly. And I'm sorry."

"No. I'm… I'm sorry Niko. I didn't know. I didn't mean to…"

"Stop it. I don't need your sympathy. You're the only one who knows, and it damned well better stay that way. I couldn't even tell my father."

He fell silent, knowing words had no purpose here. His arms wrapped around her, holding her even more closely to him than she was already. Her head was tilted upward by his unusual soft touch in enough time to see his lips begin to close against hers. She immediately pushed him away. "I said I don't need your sympathy."

He gave a half smirk. "I know. This isn't sympathy. This is something completely different." He brought his lips to hers, this time with more heated emotion. Niko didn't refuse him… she couldn't. Her lips moved against his with the same passion his held. Piccolo moved over her, his hand roaming her hip and outer leg, and began to make their first morning together a passionate one.