Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wishes, Horses and Beggars ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Piccolo snapped out of his meditations, startled from a frightening vision. Panting, he calmed down and scanned the land around him, noting subtle changes in the landscape around him.

Mentally, he made a note; longest meditation to date: 4 years.

Sighing, he floated slowly to the ground and stretched out a bit, feeling as if he'd overslept. Piccolo went over what he might have missed in the last four years, but was disappointed when he realized that no one had tried to contact him in the last four years. No one.

Piccolo sighed. I do not mind the Saiya-jins, but I will be willing to bet that there has been trouble in the last four years, and they have not bothered to call me. It is always about the Saiya-jins. I should not complain, though, for it is petty, but it still bothers me a bit...

Frowning, he pushed the thought from his mind and began to walk over the desert like plain. The vision was greatly disturbing to him, and he knew it meant something, but he didn't know what. It ran over and over in his mind like a broken record, this bright and unsettling vision. It gave him a sense of impending doom, yet distant light at the end of the tunnel at the same time.

It was dark, so very dark, and he saw himself trapped in a glass box, watching himself walk away slowly. Suddenly the glass box shattered and he felt himself pour out of the box, unable to breathe and feeling as if he were floating away. Just as he took his last breath, however, a door opened above him, and a gust of cool air rushed over him. As he opened his eyes he saw a white bird sitting in the doorway, outlined by a golden, warm light. As he reached for the bird, however, it took flight, seemingly scared, and the door began to close. He let out a cry for it to stop, jumping toward the door and grabbing onto its handle before it shut completely. The bird stopped and turned, flapping gently, but then came toward the door again. The door opened again, and Piccolo was suddenly floating in front of the door. The bird was gone, but the door stayed wide open, and a faint chirp from the other side beckoned him to cross over the threshold. So, closing his eyes, he stepped bravely into the light.

He thought about it hard, trying to decipher it, lost in thought as he walked. His cloak fluttered out behind him gracefully as he walked toward the small river, feeling extraordinarily thirsty. He came upon in after a few minutes' walk, and he knelt by it and drank its cold, clean water. Then he stripped down and bathed in it, feeling himself wake up in the brisk water. Feeling refreshed, he stepped out of the water and summoned a clean gi about himself, then lifted his face up to the warm sun, closing his eyes a moment and enjoying it's warmth. He was about to stand up and continue on until his sensitive ears picked up someone screaming upriver; high pitched and cracking.

A child's scream, he thought as he took off upstream, his eyes searching vigilantly on the banks and in the water. The screaming grew louder as he ran further up the beach, finally taking to the air to see if he could spot the child better that way. As soon as he gained enough altitude he scanned the river, finally making out a small dot in the raging waters. A small boy was clinging to a fallen log, screaming for dear life. Piccolo shot down toward the log, swooping down next to the boy.

"Come here! Grab my hand!" he shouted at him urgently. The boy, in tears, nodded and reached his hand out, stretching it to try and take hold. Piccolo compensated and moved closer, grabbing his hand firmly and lifting him from the water, pulling the boy into his arms and floated toward the shore. He landed on the hard ground quickly and set the boy down, kneeling down next to him.

Are you all right, boy?" he asked concernedly, holding the boy up by his back. The little boy nodded as he coughed up near bucketfuls of water. After a few minutes, the little boy looked up at him, seeming to recognize him.

"Hey, you're that Piccolo dude, aren't you?" he asked hoarsely. Piccolo nodded.

"Well, thanks for saving me, mister!" he said, getting up. "But wouldn't it be cool if I was saved by a Saiya-jin? I think it would have been. Oh well. See ya!" And with that, he got up and shakily ran off toward a camper in the distance. Inwardly, Piccolo cringed. His fears had just been confirmed. He watched the little boy run off to his parents, the same little boy how had just thanked him and slapped him in the face at the same time.

....I need to leave. he told himself bitterly, justifying his thoughts to himself. No one will miss me if I'm gone anyway. Then, after waiting a few seconds, he powered up and took the sky, heading west.

I suppose I should go and see what the big hype is about America. he thought to himself as he watched Nihon pass beneath him.

It took him a day or so over the ocean to reach the next shore, somewhere on the Washington coast. The weather going there was not to be desired, as it was stormy and choppy, cold and wet. A few times he almost dropped into the ocean, but somehow he managed to get through it all. It all seemed like a grand adventure to him.

It was night when he landed on the rocky shore, looking at the tall, craggy cliffs as the ocean crashed behind him, casting a salty, cool breeze up toward the mainland. The sky was slightly hazy, but the bright moon and the stars shined through just enough to make them look soft and gentle.

So, this is America...it does not feel any different. A little cooler, but not that different." he stated to himself, looking about. "But there will be plenty of time to explore in the morning." With that, he walked further up the beach somewhat tiredly and settled against the cliff side, dropping into meditation.

"Elisabeth, you're going to be late!"

Lisa burst out of her room, hopping on one foot as she struggled to pull her shoe on the other. A piece of toast held in her teeth, she thundered down the stairs after getting her shoe on, grabbing her hoody off the post on the end of the stairs, along with her backpack. Her mother met her in the entryway with some letters and some lunch money.

"Now remember, Daryl is going to be here for dinner tonight, so don't make any plans. And don't bring anyone over, this is a family affair." she warned her crossly, shoving the letters in her hand "Drop these into the blue mailbox on the way to school, and don't spend your lunch money on junk like last time. Have a good day goodbye!"

Lisa merely nodded over and over again as she rushed out the door and slammed it behind her. The mention of her mother's latest heartthrob Daryl had put her in a foul mood, and she knew what kind of a day this would be. Smoldering inwardly, she rushed by the blue mailbox, barely remembering to stick the letters in before passing it completely, depositing the money in her pants pocket. She was finally able to take the toast from her mouth and munched on it, wiping a bit of the strawberry jam from the side of her mouth. Sighing, she slowed to a brisk walk, noting how hazy it was that day. Though it was pleasantly cool, she knew as the day wore on it would get much warmer.

Man, I knew I shouldn't have worn my hoody today. She thought somewhat irritably. Now I'm gonna have to carry it around with me all day. She hiked her backpack up a little higher on her back and walked still, searching the next street ahead for any sign of her friend Kirk.

Kirk was a self-proclaimed computer and sci-fi geek, and he lived up to his title very proficiently. He was popular with the other people in his computer science classes and in the library during lunch, but with the rest of the school, he wasn't at all. He dressed somewhat nice, and even wore contacts instead of his glasses, but the fact that he carried a laptop around with him wherever he went made other people nervous, if not jealous. Kirk's parents were rich and were able to afford things like that.

Just as he always did, Kirk came down the street just as Lisa crossed it to meet with him at the corner. Kirk smiled and nodded at her, and she smiled and nodded at him as well. He reached into his bag, a shoulder bag rather than a backpack, and pulled out some papers.

"Here, I pulled this off the `Net for you last night. More local sightings of the Green Guy you saw in your history book," he told her, smiling a bit. "I don't see why you're even interested, he's just an old relic from the past."

"It's cool! There's living history in our area! I hope to meet him one day!" she replied, her day brightened.

"No, William Shatner would be a part of living history, not this guy." Kirk said.

"Well, he would be if he were a part of real world history." she teased. Kirk glowered for a moment, then regained his composure.

"So he fought. Woohoo," he shrugged dully, whirling his finger around a time or two.

"He didn't just fight, you dork! He saved the world several times!" she retorted good-naturedly.

"No, the Saiya-jins saved the world several times."

"Oh don't you say that, he helped a lot!" she said, beginning to grow a bit angry. "I mean, who's the one who trained Gohan hmmm?"

"His father, Son Goku."

"Before that, cheese-brain."

Kirk shrugged.

"Well DUH! Piccolo did!" she reiterated, shaking her head. "You really don't pay attention in history class, do you?"

"Only to the things I think are important." he grumbled a bit.

Lisa merely shrugged and looked over the papers. "Hmm .... one in Forks .... and three here! Here in Port Angeles!" she exclaimed suddenly, smiling. She looked up at him. "He's been seen here! Within the last day or so!"

Kirk shrugged again. "You're obsessed."

"I'm not obsessed. This is not obsession. Writing about your fantasy dates with Tifa or Lara Croft is obsession."

"Shut up, that's just dorkness, you wouldn`t understand..." he said uncomfortably, blushing a bit, but said no more on the subject.

The school appeared over the treetops, the old smokestack shooting into the sky as a testament to its age. It wasn't a very large school, but it was made of red brick and that alone made it seem majestic. The grounds around the school were green and pleasant, allowing for lots of shade, and the athletic field was of notable size as well.

Lisa and Kirk came in through the back doors of the school by the band room and deposited their jackets and such in their locker, then, with simultaneous sighs from both of them, it was off to the daily grind.