Disclaimer: Armes is mine. The rest of Dragonball Z isn't.

In The Hands Of The Prophet.

Chapter One: First Glimpse.

Armes was feeling very proud of herself.

Looking down at her charge, now completely naked and lying on a thick quilt before the fire she had just managed to get going, she was suddenly struck by how unflustered she was by the whole situation. Being unflappable was nothing new to her; people often commented that she was the stoic type. But she was a woman after all, and even she had half-expected herself to collapse into childish giggling when she had peeled off the last of his clothing and let him lie there in all his naked glory. She would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation had she not been so intent on getting him warm. She felt the corner of her mouth lift in a half smile as she regarded him.

"Why, excuse me sir…. but we've only just met."

Well, technically not. She supposed she wouldn't actually 'meet' him until he woke up.

"Guess I'll just have to put up with you and your indecency until then, won't I?" She smirked at her own little joke, kneeling down to place a gentle hand on his bare chest. He was breathing more deeply now, the rate steady and even, although he was still quite cold. She had plenty of blankets with which to cover him and return warmth to his body, but first…

She allowed her hand to slide up and across his chest, to the shoulder, then down his left arm. When she reached the wrist she gently lifted, holding his larger hand in her smaller ones as she studied it. She noted the slender, tapering fingers, the perfect oval shaped fingernails, but none of those things struck her as odd.

It was the perfect, unmarred condition of his hands, as well as the rest of his body, which caught her attention.

Winter in the Lothian Valley was always harsh, but she had learned through conversing with the town locals that this year it had been even more so. Temperatures had dropped well below average, and many a community had suffered from loss of crops and livestock. "How cold had Old Alf said it had gotten? Sometimes as low as minus 15 degrees on some nights."

Minus 15 degrees. Now that was cold. Cold enough for any poor unfortunate who either didn't have the foresight or wasn't lucky enough to be indoors to suffer death by hypothermia within minutes. And if that didn't get them, frostbite most assuredly would.

And yet this strange young man had succumbed to neither. Despite the fact that it seemed he had been lying out there, exposed and unprotected, long enough to be buried under a good deal of snow.

Armes frowned, still staring at the cold hand she held in her own. "How odd."

The answer to this puzzle could only be one of two possibilities. One; he was the luckiest bastard in the world, or Two….

She smiled as she tucked the blankets underneath him. All of a sudden she was very curious about her new houseguest.

She glanced at clock sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. 11.56. Time for lunch.

She looked back down at him, his face relaxed and peaceful in sleep, dark shoulder-length hair spread out across the pillow. Insatiable curiosity gnawed at her, and she bit her lower lip, indecisiveness pulling her in both directions. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick look, while he was unconscious…

"Don't be a fool. You remember what happened last time don't you? The bastard deserved it, oh yes…but remember how you ended up afterwards?"

She shut her eyes tightly, forcing the memory away.

"Yes. I'm just an observer. Nothing else."

She walked briskly into the kitchen. A ham sandwich sounded good right about now.

**

You are me. I am you. We will become one.

What? Who...who are you?

I am you.

No…

Yes. Don't be afraid. Submit to me and you will have all that you desire. You want that, don't you?

Y-yes…

Good.

Something forced it's way in. Twisted, sharp and black. Pain, unbelievable unimaginable pain followed, and an agonized scream pierced the darkness.

Do not worry. Soon you will feel no more pain, Juunanagou.

This power fills my body…the powers of Hell flow into me…

The pain ceased abruptly, leaving a gaping hole. Hatred poured in, filling it. There were screams, and flashes of heat and light. Twisted hulks of metal flew through the air, followed by splashes of blood and dead bodies. And somewhere among it all, there was laughter.

Die you idiots!

~W-why am I laughing?~

Because you like this. You want it.

~No…Oh God…No! Make it stop! Please!~

No. Join with me.

A woman, clutching the lifeless body of her husband. She stared, despair turning to rage. Hate burned in her pretty blue eyes.

~No… I didn't mean to…please. Don't hate me. Please….Juuhachi…~

She attacked, striking with impossible speed, accentuating each punch and kick with words of rage. How she hated him, how she would never forgive him…and how she wished that he were dead.

The man with the cold blue eyes and long dark hair tried to cry, but his body refused to let the tears fall.

~No…Y-you…You said I wouldn't feel anymore pain.~

I lied.

**

Armes awoke with a violent jerk, chest heaving for breath. An involuntary sob pushed it's way out of her throat, and she lay there for several moments panting, disorientated and confused.

It came back to her quickly. She was in her cabin in the Lothian Forest. It was her winter holiday and she was on vacation. She'd had lunch an undetermined amount of time ago and had fallen asleep on the couch afterwards…and she had a guest.

Said guest was currently still occupying a cozy little spot in front of the fireplace. The blankets were twisted and crunched around his legs, and he faced away from her, curled on his side in a fetal position. She watched the lean body spasm and twitch, caught in the throes of an uncomfortable dream. Every now and then the silence of the room was punctuated by the tiniest of whimpers.

He was having a nightmare, that much was obvious. It was what had woken her up after all, and it still burned in the back of her mind. She should have expected such a thing to happen, since he was currently living in the same house as her.

She sighed and walked over to where he lay, sitting down beside him. His face, which had seemed so peaceful earlier, was now twisted into an expression of pain. For the second time that day she felt pity for him, and decided that she would ease his pain, if only for a little while.

She gently pressed two fingers to his temple. Sudden doubt took hold of her, and she hesitated.

"I'm not going to look. I'm not interfering. I'm helping."

Armes closed her eyes and began to think.

She thought of oceans, sunsets, of flowers blooming in a thousand different gardens. She thought of herds of deer grazing peacefully with their fawns in endless fields of green. She thought of people kissing, children playing, and of everything she knew that was good.

And then she thought of nothing.

She let her mind go blank, and allowed herself to sink into inky calm. It washed over her, soothing and cool, and after a while she was dimly aware of the fact that the burning images of the dream had stopped, and that he no longer struggled underneath her.

Very slowly, she pulled herself out of her mantra, floating back up into reality. After a minute or so of adjusting, she gathered the blankets and spread them over him again. He was warmer now, and she was pleased to see that his face was expressionless. She gently pushed an unkempt strand of hair out of his face, pausing for the briefest of moments to admire its silkiness. She smiled.

"Feeling better?"

She glanced at the clock. 2.44. Her favorite radio show would be on soon.

She stood, still smiling. She spoke a quiet farewell to him as she left.

"Sweet dreams Juunanagou."

To Be Continued…

So, did you like that? Then please review! And oh, I've actually seen some of the Super Android 17 Saga now, so I should start to be more accurate. Notice I got some of the dialogue in there? Well, some of the Japanese translated dialogue anyway. But, this is A/U, so that probably gives me the right to be as inaccurate as I want.

Bleah. I'll shut up now and try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

SiS