Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball Z: The Android Threat ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

The sun was just as bright as ever and the breeze from my bedroom window cooled my hot skin. With an annoyed growl I jumped from my bed and slammed the window closed, shutting out the light with the heavy curtains. I was not in the mood for fluffy clouds and singing birds today, in fact, I don't think I ever will be again.

 

The memory of last night kept playing over in my mind, the way he'd been so close to me… and I'd scared him off. Stupid! Why'd I have to ask him to stay? I knew we couldn't, I knew he wouldn't… what had come over me?

 

I threw the covers over my head and sighed, thumping my pillow angrily. My new dress was hung on the back of my bedroom door, the golden ribbon still tangled in my hair. Damn it, why'd he have to go and show up like that? He ruined everything!

 

I spun onto my stomach and groaned.

 

He hadn't done anything, except the `right thing' perhaps. What was I saying? If I was honest with myself then I knew it was my fault. I just push and push and never know when to stop. That little flaw used to earn me most of my beatings on Frieza's ship, not that it took much though. But even that would have been better then Trunks' cold rejection.

 

But then again… he had looked genuinely sorry when he took off…

 

“Lani? Are you awake yet?”

 

“Yes Aunt Chi Chi” I mumbled.

 

My bedroom door swung open gently as the woman stepped inside, “Are you ok? Too much to drink yesterday huh?”

 

I made an incoherent noise which she took as a yes.

 

“I thought so, that's why I made you this. It's an old recipe for when you're ill”

 

I heard the `thunk' of the glass on my desk before feeling the slant in my mattress as Chi Chi sat down beside me, her hand ran across the back of my hair, “You should drink up before it gets worse”

 

“I don't feel ill Chi Chi” I whispered.

 

“Then why are lying in bed on a beautiful day like this?”

 

I turned my head and sighed, “I don't think he'll even be friends with me now”

 

“Who?” she said, looking bewildered.

 

I told her the entire story, from when I first found myself attracted to Trunks to the day on top of the roof and finally what had happened last night; how I'd frightened him away. I half expected her to go insane when I admitted I'd asked him to spend the night, but thankfully she only nodded sympathetically.

 

“The path to true love is never easy” she said wisely.

 

“True love? I never said anything about that” I scoffed.

 

“Exactly, Trunks is your first crush Lani. It'll pass”

 

“I don't want it to pass though. I just want things to be simple for a change”

 

“You think getting married to Goku was simple?” she laughed.

 

By the time she had finished recounting how she'd practically forced Goku into marriage I was feeling slightly happier. She'd removed the ribbon from my hair as she spoke and brushed the tangles out before pulling it back into a neat ponytail for me. I felt like a little girl being comforted by her mother as she rewound the gold strong of cloth into the ponytail and hugged me tightly.

 

“I must say I'm relieved though” she said sternly, “You should be married before having a man `spend the night'. I mean look at how Bulma and Vegeta have ended up!”

 

“Can you imagine Vegeta in a suit though” I said with raised eyebrows, “So, where are Goku and Gohan then?” I'd just noticed I couldn't sense them nearby or at any of their usual fishing spots.

 

“Oh, Goku said something about the dragonballs”

 

“What!” I almost shouted as I spun round, “I thought they didn't work since Kami fused with Piccolo”

 

“Well they don't, but if Goku can find a new guardian then we'll have new dragonballs”

 

My heart was racing. New dragonballs would mean I could use a wish to help find out what had happened to Shigeru. I couldn't bring him back as he'd been dead for over a year but the dragon might be able to tell me what he'd been talking about in his messages.

 

“I have to go find him”

 

I threw on some clothes and hurriedly washed up, leaving a stunned and confused Chi Chi to finish cleaning up the house. Just as I was about to step out of my window to fly off my eyes caught sight of the small box on the windowsill. I tipped out the metal instrument and the note before placing them securely in my pocket, and took to the sky.

 

X

 

Where the hell was he?

 

I'd reached out my mind to the furthest stretches of the planet that I could reach and Goku was nowhere to be found. Had he left Earth? Is that what Chi Chi had meant by him finding a `new guardian'?

 

I bet Piccolo knew where he was, in fact he probably knew I was looking for my uncle… and why.

 

Can you hear me?

 

Yes.

 

This telepathy thing definitely had its uses.

 

Where's Goku?

 

Off planet, he'll be back shortly.

 

What's that supposed to mean?

 

He used his instant transmition to get to New Namek. Why don't you come wait at the Lookout instead of flying around and wasting energy.

 

Unfortunately I failed to close off my mind as the memory of Trunks from the night before ran through it.

 

Lani…

 

Piccolo's voice was dangerously low. I knew he was disappointed in me, so I mustered as much mental dignity as I could, Nothing happened!

 

Oh yes. What an argument Lani.

 

Your private life is your own. Just don't let this distract you from your purpose.

 

My purpose? It's not like I can make a difference!

 

Maybe.. But Trunks can, he's going to enter the chamber soon and he needs absolute focus for his training.

 

Well I didn't do anything before he went in last time and I was still a `distraction'.

 

I was met with silence. I really hated mental arguments, if we were face to face I'd be glaring at him triumphantly as he worked to think of a retort.

 

Very well. But don't say I didn't warn you.

 

That's it?

 

No reply. Damn him, cryptic weirdo. Maybe it's because Namekians are asexual that they just don't understand that not all races can flip their emotions on and off.

 

Still, that left me with who knows how long `till Goku got back. My hand wandered into my pocket and I pulled out my gift, running my thumb over the glistening material as I found myself mesmerised by its shining exterior. I hadn't really taken a proper look at it yet, after Trunks flew off I just undressed and landed straight in bed where I spent the night fighting back angry sobs. Steadily I drifted down to the ground and landed in an empty field, save for a few cows grazing away hungrily.

 

I sat cross legged and placed the instrument in my lap before pulling out the note. Piccolo could be cryptic when he wanted to be, but Shigeru just had a natural gift for being a pain in the neck.

 

“What's been hidden from me?” I asked the note, as though expecting it to speak back in Shigeru's rough voice.

 

I rubbed my temples and let the situation really sink in. So Shigeru had left this thing on Earth and then disappeared, telling no one where he was going or how long for. Why not give it to me before he left?

 

…when I think you are ready for this…

 

“Ready for what?” I grumbled, “Why didn't you just tell me? I thought we didn't keep things from each other!”

 

It was odd that Shigeru would have something like this, that seemed to be intended for me. He had no official ties to me really, except our friendship. He'd just been on the ship as a slave at the same time that my mother was and had been there when I was born. In fact I think I remember him telling me he'd been there to help with the birth…

 

Perhaps it was a family heirloom, given to him from my mother before she died. She'd been sick with a new illness that had struck the servant quarters, not an uncommon phenomena since `health-care' didn't exist on the ship of a murderous tyrant. Frieza would just purge another planet and have all those that died replaced. But if it was a gift from my mother then that still didn't explain the sudden disappearance and why he'd left it with this `third party' on Earth. Nor why he couldn't have just told me whatever it was I didn't know!

 

“Damn you old man!”. My frustration peaked and I sent a Ki blast as the frightened cows, sending them running for cover, “Damn all of you!”. What was it with this planet and secrets!? I hated it! I hated every living creature on it!

 

I felt my power begin to rise wildly, my tail stood up straight as though anticipating an attack. My breathing became more and more irate and the blood in my body boiled as it was pumped to every nerve and muscle. I could feel all the frustration, anger and confusion from the past few weeks building up within me, pushing at the barriers I'd worked so hard to set up, like a swollen river trying to burst through a slowly dilapidating damn.

 

Lani, stop it right now!

 

Piccolo's voice boomed in my head, catching me off guard and causing me to drop the silvery instrument. My breathing slowly steadied once more and I felt rather dizzy as the oxygen rushed to my brain.

 

Get up here now. Bring that thing with you.

 

Normally I would have spat back some sarcastic retort, but his tone almost had me shaking like a child being scolded. I didn't hesitate as I stood on shaking legs and prepared to take off, forcing the present into my pocket once more. Unfortunately, when I made to take off my legs only gave way and I fell to the ground. Hard.

 

What the hell… I couldn't even hold my body up! My head rested on the cool grass as I felt a wave of nausea overtake me and the world began to spin. My eyes grew blurred and then, steadily, everything started to darken. Was it night? No… I wasn't cold or anything. I felt strangely warm, like being lowered into a nice bath, just like when I'd first arrived on Earth and had been introduced to bathing by Chi Chi. I smiled at the memory and sighed, the fact that I was alone in the field and at the mercy of the cows I'd almost killed didn't register in my mind, nor the faint sound of someone's voice deep in the recesses of my mind.

 

Nothing meant anything at that moment… nothing but the warm, sinking feeling that overtook me and led me into darkness.

 

X

 

If I could, I'd have cried out the name of every god and goddess worshipped in the universe when I came too. My head was in indescribable pain to the point where, when I finally opened my eyes, all I could see was bright white dots jumping around in front of me. To make thing's worse I then proceeded to throw up. Oh how I hate the acidic after-taste once one has unloaded the contents of their stomach. I collapsed onto my back and tried to breathe calmly, keeping my eyes shut as tight as I could. Gingerly I tried to move but found myself, both too exhausted and in pain to budge so much as an inch where I lay.

 

Which was where exactly?

 

Slowly I cracked open one eye, waiting for my vision to clear enough for me to figure out where I was. My mind reached out for a Ki signal of someone I would recognise. Sure enough I located one headed in my direction, though it was very low it was still familiar.

 

“Bulma?” I croaked, cursing my now sore throat.

 

“Lani, it's ok. Just relax. You've been very ill”

 

What a way to make me relax! I'd been ill? I didn't remember feeling sick… the last thing I'd been doing was trying to find Goku. No wait… the word cows sprung into my mind. Cows? Oh yes, the field! I'd been sitting in a field and…and…

 

And I didn't remember. I felt Bulma moving my limbs, checking my pulse and temperature no doubt. If only my jaw would move so I could ask her what happened.

 

Ah, no need.

 

Bulma?

 

“Holy cow!” the woman jumped as my voice invaded her mind.

 

It's only me, I'm too tired to talk physically. What happened?

 

“Piccolo brought you here. You were unconscious and running a fever, you've been having hallucinations and nightmares since… but I can't figure out why. I was worried you'd caught Goku's heart virus for a while”

 

Piccolo?

 

How long ago?

 

“Almost three days”

 

Three days?

 

“Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”

 

My mind slowly began to work again as I remember sitting in the field… pointlessly attacking cows… holding something in my hands and feeling…

 

I don't remember.

 

My head began to spin and I made a gagging noise as I pushed away the urge to throw up again.

 

“Lani! Stay awake ok!”

 

Bulma's voice was frantic but I could feel myself slipping away, as though falling away from her echoing voice and into a long tunnel...

 

Suddenly I snapped back to my usual sense of awareness as though someone had thrown cold water over me. But Bulma was nowhere to be seen. I pushed myself up with my elbows so I could take a better look around.

 

“Hello?”

 

My voice echoed in the darkness, as my eyes adjusted I could see ripples of light surrounding me as though my words had been transformed into tiny balls of energy which floated aimlessly before disappearing.

 

“Weird” I whispered, creating more tiny lights amongst the shadows. I managed to stand up quite easily considering I wasn't even sure if the ground I was resting on was even solid. This place gave me the strange feeling of floating around in space… completely surrounded by nothingness… yet I knew something was here, watching me.

 

“Who's there?” I called, realising that the lights changed in size according to the volume of my voice.

 

You shouldn't be here… the time is not yet near…

 

A silky voice hissed through my mind, like a sharp knife piercing my skull.

 

“Well… where is…here?” I tried to keep my voice calm but was given away by its shaky tones. So now I was hearing voices. Had I finally snapped?

 

…the time is not yet near… what has called you here…

 

“Called me here? Nothing! I don't have a clue what's going on!” I cried out into the black nothingness.

 

…so afraid… so alone, Young Perisa…

 

I froze. This was getting beyond creepy, “How do you know to call me that?” I whispered.

 

…ask us your questions if you seek us to answer…

 

“I just did!” I shouted loudly, feeling my fear mingle with annoyance, “What's going on?”

 

…that which we cannot speak off…

 

“Helpful” I snapped, “Ok well… is this real? I'm not dreaming or something am I?”

 

I felt a stinging sensation in my chest but ignored it. I had no clue as to what was happening; my mind felt oddly blank, as though I'd just had everything wiped from it.

 

…our time grows short…

 

“I hope so… you're freaking me out! Look just tell me where I am?”

 

…at the beginning of all things and the end of nothing, you shall meet us once more to make your choice…

 

“My what? Ow!”

 

I cried out as pain filled my side, the tingling sensation crept around my entire body like a bad case of pins and needles. I could feel the non-existent ground moving under me while my body remained still. I tried to shout, to demand to know what was happening but the darkness that surrounded me was fading and I could see a light before me, growing bigger and bigger…

 

The first gulp of air sent my head in a spin. My eyes snapped open to the harsh artificial lights above me which sent a stab of pain through my head. I groaned as I felt my heart racing almost painfully and voices began to reach my ears.

 

“Did it work?”

 

“Lani? Can you hear me?”

 

“Uh huh” I said dumbly.

 

“She's back!”

 

It was a woman's voice, light and feminine… Bulma!

 

My eyes focused as a mess of blue entered my vision, “Hey, welcome back!”. I could see a smile of relief crossing her features.

 

“Where'd I go?” My voice was hoarse and scratchy, making me choke on my words. At least it wasn't vomit, that's something.

 

“Your heart stopped for a few moments, it was like you went into shock or something…”

 

I blinked rapidly, “I died?”

 

“Kind of” the new voice to my left surprised me, but I didn't have the energy in my limbs to jump in response.

 

“Trunks?”

 

“You were still responsive, but your Ki just disappeared…” His voice was soft yet gruff, as though he were trying hard to control it.

 

“Where am I now?”

 

“Capsule Corp. We gave you a shot of adrenaline straight into your heart when your body started shutting down… it was all we could think off…”

 

I glanced down at my chest and noticed a small syringe sticking out of me, the needle deeply embedded in my flesh, “Think you could take that out of me before I pass out again?”

 

Bulma reached forward and steadily pulled it out, creating a disturbing sensation as she did. I breathed deeply through my nose and let my head roll to the side, “I could really use some of Chi Chi's home made punch right about now” I whispered.

 

X

 

Disclaimer: I own no rights to the series Dragonball Z or its characters/places. Copyright to Akira Toriyama.