Dragon Ball Z 1. The Start of a Memory

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You should know the drill…this isn't my character, I didn't create them or any other affiliate characters, I am not in employment with anyone related to the makings of anything for these characters ….you get it right? I don't own DBZ.  
  
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Early dawn…pink fingers of light curled around the horizon pushing away the last shreds of night. As the sun rose it left a bright trail of golden light spreading out across the forest, a solitary figure sat at the top of a mountain, saturated with the warm light of early morning.  
  
Opening one eye, they grunted and resettled into comfort though they sat rigid. His cape snapped in the rising wind blowing the turban from his head sending it cascading down the mountainside. Piccolo stood, releasing the cape from his body and watched as it was snapped up by the wind and carried across acres. He scanned the valley that lay far below his feet, it was calm and desolate…perfect for a solitary guy like himself. He took to the sky, his feet coming off of the clay mountaintop, and headed for the familiar waterfall where he expected someone to be waiting for him.  
  
The wind blew across his face and rumpled his clothes, blowing off layers of dust that had accumulated over night. As the sun awoke, so did other things in the forest and he watched from his view as the calm of early morning started to perk up the creatures that dwelled there.  
  
Piccolo arrived at the waterfall to find that he was early. Not worried, and willing to take advantage of his time alone he descended onto the pool of ice blue water and perched on a rock near its center. Loosening his gie, he tugged it off of his girth and walked off of the rock. Piccolo plummeted into the frigid water, reveling in the sheer cleanliness of it. He swam a few feet and surfaced floating on his back in the water, beads of it running off of his bulk and the ones that were left shimmered in the morning light. Breathing deep he swam back to the rock and sat next to his clothing letting the sun dry his skin.  
  
The sun felt good on his skin, it reminded him of something he hadn't felt for a long time but he let the thought go as he heard Gohan tearing through the forest near by. He stood and dressed, the remains of a memory hung in the back of his mind but he would have to bring that up and look at it more closely later. 


	2. Hands

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Same schpele… I don't own DBZ or any characters.  
  
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"Piccolo!! Piccolo!" Gohan came around a bend in the trees, his little body full of energy from the new day. Piccolo looked at him fondly from his spot on the rock, adjusting his clothes. As Gohan neared, Piccolo's face hardened into that of a strong mentor.  
  
"You're late."  
  
Gohan stopped on the trail, wisps of dust coming up from his feet. He looked down, kicking at some rocks with hit toe. "Well gee, I'm sorry. Mom wouldn't let me come until I finished my chores…"  
  
"Come on. We need to make up for lost time." Gohan grinned and they took to the sky, headed for a sparring ground.  
  
During the flight Gohan talked about everything his young mind had fathomed since they last met. Piccolo grunted as he chattered on, but only paid slight attention. The sun on their backs struck that same vague memory again, but he couldn't place what it was yet; and it irritated him.  
  
"Umm…Piccolo… I think we flew over the grounds…"  
  
Piccolo snapped back to reality and saw that Gohan was right, they had long since passed the grounds. He scanned where they were and it looked decent enough for sparring… there were a few too many trees in the way, but they could be removed easily.  
  
"Gohan, I want you to concentrate on gathering all of your chi into one mass. It will be tiring, but it's important for you to know." Piccolo looked at the prodigy and saw a look of determination on his face. It would take Gohan most of the day to gather his entire chi, and even after he harnessed it Piccolo knew that he'd need to learn how to handle it.  
  
Gohan nodded and set off across the forest to find a meadow to concentrate in. Piccolo flew up and watched from above, beyond the child's sight. He could sit here and observe and think about that one piece of his past that kept eluding his thoughts.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
The wind blew stingy cold even though the sun was at full blaze, Gohan had been gathering chi for almost seven hours strait, and Piccolo had been lost in thought.  
  
Piccolo's forehead furrowed, he had traced the feeling he'd gotten down several paths in his mind but they all gathered at one place and he still couldn't recollect it. The longer he concentrated the more it slipped away from him. His brain was weary from chasing the same illusive thought, so he stopped thinking about it and flew down to see how Gohan was managing.  
  
Gohan was standing, feet shoulder width apart, a look a pure determination was etched on his small face. Even though he gave no thought to giving up, Piccolo sensed how drained the child was getting already. It had been almost eight hours now, and he knew that the child would be very hungry.  
  
"Gohan."  
  
The youth jumped at the sound of his mentor's voice. He seemed almost confused until he saw Piccolo standing in front of him.  
  
"Oh, Piccolo…" he laughed. "How long have you been standing there?"  
  
"It's time for lunch. Let's go."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piccolo stood outside the house while Gohan ate inside. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, and listened as Gohan told him mother about the days events…the little that they were. Chi-Chi was raving about wasted time, how Gohan should be doing homework and not standing around in the middle of a forest. Piccolo tuned her out and let the sun warm his face. He concentrated on the warmth, how good it felt for the sun to be so prevalent, glad that spring was nearly over and summer was close on its heels.  
  
1 Hands  
  
Piccolo jumped. Hands? What about hands? He was confused. That same fleeting memory was just out of his minds eye, but now he could see hands…pale, fingers thin and strong. But what about them? As he thought, it drifted away back into the void from where it came.  
  
2 Goddammit!  
  
Piccolo entered the house with a bang. Chi-Chi jumped and glared at him from the table. Her mouth fell open to a sharp retort but Piccolo cut her off, leaving her pointing fingers to fall back to the table.  
  
"Gohan, I think you've done enough today. Stay here and rest and come back to the falls tomorrow morning."  
  
Startled at the news, Gohan looked at Piccolo. "Did I do something wrong? I can work harder, really Piccolo I can!"  
  
"Get over it kid, it's not you. Just show up tomorrow…on time." 


	3. The Pieces Begin to Fall

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I don't own DBZ, though just a couple days with the characters would be kick shit. =P  
  
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Confused Piccolo took to the sky from the small teapot shaped house headed for his waterfall. When he was close to his destination, he heard splashing and grunts from his watering hole. Stopping just before the line of trees ended he looked out across the water but saw nothing. Scowling and grunting himself he flew to the top of the waterfall and entered a cave high up its side behind the cascading flow.  
  
Settling on a smoothed stone, Piccolo kicked off his shoes and pulled his top down his broad shoulders and let it rest around his waist. He put his chin to his chest and started counting his breathing, listening to the relentless pound of the water when he heard splashing and grunts again. Stretching his long legs he stalked to the edge of the cavern and looked out onto the calm pond of water. He still sensed nothing, this is getting old he thought. As he turned to reclaim his seat he saw something at the edge of the pool of water; a small crimson pool had formed close to the side…  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
Coming from the cave, he floated to the ground by the pool ready to fully explore when a burst of bubbles broke the surface not a foot away from the red puddle. Jumping into a nearby shrub, Piccolo watched with intent eyes, as a hand emerged full of silt from the bottom of the pond. Attached to that arm was something that might have been human, though it was hard to tell through all the busts, cuts and bruises on every patch of showing skin. The thing moved to the bank and sat, ripping off tatters of shirt that hung on by threads. It grunted and looked at the wounds across its body, testing some of the deeper by carefully prodding around them and groaning when it poked too hard.  
  
Piccolo was about to emerge from the brush when the hand filled with silt dumped its contents onto a concave stone, already full of muck, and gritted its teeth. Standing from the shrub Piccolo watched as one hand dug into the fine dirt and ground it through thin fingers. He shook his head as a flashback of an earlier daydream re-emerged. The hand cupped and moved the clump of gritty mud to one blistered and bleeding shoulder, a sudden escape of bass emanated from the "thing" as it slapped the hand onto its shoulder and began grinding the muck into the fresh wound. Piccolo grimaced at the sight and watched in awe as it continued to groan and spit as it used every ounce of silt to clean the seeping wounds. As he fully removed himself from the shrub to grab the poor creature, it dove back into the water, leaving a film of foamy blood and murky water in its wake.  
  
Standing half naked by the pond, Piccolo waited for the "thing" to re- emerge, he didn't have to wait long. Quickly, a head popped above the water, and Piccolo watched as the water rippled as the hands lightly rubbed the dirt from its wounds. As it stepped from the water, Piccolo saw that this being was not only human, but also female. What had remained of the shirt had fallen in tatters around her in the water and it was apparent that she didn't just have wounds along her neck and arms, but all over her body.  
  
Flicking hair out of her face she turned, saw the overpowering namek, and sat with a thump onto the ground, covering herself.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Piccolo growled in mock anger moving forward a couple of steps to see exactly what type of person he was dealing with and was surprised. The woman frowned so deeply that furrows on her forehead grew and her busted lips fell into a sneer. She shook her mane with a jerk and glared up at him.  
  
"I am bathing, and since I saw no markers indicating private land I've taken this place as a temporary refuge…"  
  
Piccolo grunted in reply and stared across the water for a moment then looked back at the pile of bruised flesh at his feet. She didn't look fragile (partly because it was apparent she'd taken one hell of a beating and was still moving) and though her first words were spoken in anger and haste, Piccolo doubted that this was a true demeanor.  
  
Grasping a section of his gi he heaved and ripped off the top half, he tossed the purple cloth at the woman and quarter turned so that she could pull it on.  
  
Surprised at the green hulk, she pulled the top over her head and studied the characteristics of the beast in front of her. He was insanely tall and wide shouldered. She wasn't so shocked at his coloring or the fact that he was plainly not human so much as his sheer size and the well development of features he had. A large square jaw, high cheekbones and it was certainly noticeable that this creature pressed his physical capabilities far beyond was necessary.  
  
She stood, grunting at the tightness of her flesh and catching her balance on a nearby tree. She saw the green hulk jump slightly at her movement, though she wasn't sure if it was because he would have caught her or moved out the way. Frowning she looked up into his face and sighed, "I'm Gjen."  
  
"Piccolo." 


	4. The Fall

The sun began to set and the remnants of sunlight filtered through the trees, long shadows reached out and crossed the two figures both sizing each other up. The first to move was Gjen, walking toward the path cut through the trees. Piccolo followed her with his eyes, not moving but watching.  
  
She pulled masses of branches from the surrounding trees and began forming a crude nest at the bottom of a large redwood tree. Branch after branch fell into a pile at her feet, bending she began pushing them into a cocoon shape that looked rather unstable. After she had finished, Gjen looked at her crappy handiwork. She'd be lucky if it lasted the night, she could only hope that a storm didn't blow up before morning.  
  
Piccolo watched as she kicked grass and swore, but said nothing. He flew back to his cave and stood at its edge watching the sun finish setting before he checked on the woman in the trees again. She was looking around herself rather confused. But seemed to give up on the idea she was struggling with and climbed carefully into her nest. Piccolo couldn't help but laugh to himself at the poor excuse of a shelter; then sat back onto his stone and curled his legs up and began a meditation.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A sharp crack of lightening brought Piccolo back to his senses. Staring in awe at the light as it played across the ripples of water that cascaded down the cliffside. He stood and walked to the edge, outstretching a hand into the water as the flashing lights flickered across his fingers. He smiled a mouth full of sharp teeth and looked through the water at the forest as it swayed in the wind and torrents of rain. It was a beautiful sight to the Namek's eyes. Scanning the forest he was jarred from his trance when he came to the large redwood where that woman, Gjen, had built her shelter…  
  
Gjen had awaked with the first gusts of the storm and braced herself for the coming storm. The majority of her nest had flown apart and blown across the pool of water leaving her to hang on her knees and let the storm drain itself. On the upside, she noticed that the cold rain was doing a good job to clean out the detritus from her wounds and they didn't feel quite so stiff anymore.  
  
Shivering, Gjen curled into a ball and sat on the opposite side of the tree to cut the wind. For some reason she felt paranoid too, like she was being watched. A flash of lightening caught her attention and she watched as the rain puckered the pond with each slap. Heat lightening moved across the clouds, skipping along the bulbous mass that blotted the sky. *That's a pretty sight,* she thought, *probably better if I was inside and dry.* …  
  
Piccolo watched as she moved around the tree and sat facing the pond. When the heat lightening moved over the trees it cast soft shadows across everything, and even in the dull light the woman had evil features. It wasn't the features themselves, but the combination that they were; high cheekbones, furrowed eyebrows, deep-set dark eyes and a thin nose. She might have been considered pretty before the looks of wear and age creased her face before her time.  
  
The air got energized and Piccolo watched as a sharp point of lightening headed for the redwood. Panic seized him, he flew from his perch to grasp the woman and pull her from harms way but bounded too slowly and was struck in the back. The pain was tremendous, but it wasn't so much the energy as much as the burn. As he fell, he saw the woman's face form a look of shock. He grunted as the ground flew toward him and grimaced in wait for the inevitable embrace…  
  
Gjen watched Piccolo as he hit the ground with a wet thud. He had a blister the size of a two fists on his back. Running to him, she knelt and attempted to roll him to one side but stopped when he started to groan. *Wholly fuck! I've never seen anyone do that before.*  
  
"Piccolo, I'm going to help you…the best thing you can to is just -don't- move." If he heard her she couldn't tell since he began to twitch and move about. Ignoring his movement, Gjen placed both of her hands on the flat of his back just below the swell of burnt flesh…  
  
Piccolo was shocked at the feel of small warm hands on his back. He was even more surprised when he realized that his 'memory' was actually happening…  
  
Gjen's eyebrows touched and she scowled and concentrated on the spot in his back. Heaving a great sigh, warmth began to spread around her fingers and warm the charred back of the Namek laying face into the ground…  
  
As the heat spread Piccolo felt panic rise in his stomach but the heat was soothing and the pain of the burn disappeared. The ground was spinning beneath him and he felt a wave of nausea grip his stomach. He closed his eyes and fell into a sleep.  
  
Gjen winced as she pulled her hands from his back. She knew he had fallen asleep and that she was finished. With his enormous size she couldn't pull him to a spot out of the rain, so she sat by him and waited for the storm to pass. 


	5. Enter Gohan

The storm had passed over an hour ago and the sun came out in the early morning as full and vibrant as ever. Gjen frowned at it, *where and the hell were you an hour ago?*  
  
Piccolo was still out of it beside her, she didn't want to wake him after a night that he wouldn't understand. The burn was gone, all that remained really was a small pock in the middle of his back. She frowned at it, *how could he heal so quickly? Christ it would take a normal person a good two weeks to get that far.* Gjen was lost in thought when a shrill voice screeched from forest behind her.  
  
"PICCOLO!"  
  
Startled, Gjen hoped onto the balls of her feet, resting on her knuckles. She looked behind her at the namek still sprawled in the mud then back at the raven-haired child that bounded around the corner.  
  
His eyes were the size of saucers when he came closer and saw the brutally beaten woman crouching in front of Piccolo. But Piccolo didn't move, and he looked like he'd been lying in the mud for a long time.  
  
"What did you do to Piccolo?!" Moving like a cheetah, the kid flew at Gjen and struck her under the jaw with both fists melded together. Gjen flew from her stance and slammed into the jagged points at the base of the waterfall and fell to the ground in a thump.  
  
Gohan raced to Piccolo's side and rolled him over with ease. His eyes teamed and tears threatened to fall when Piccolo grunted and opened his eyes to see his young student smile and laugh.  
  
"Piccolo you're okay!" Gohan laughed, dancing around him as he pulled himself from the mud.  
  
"Yeah kid, I'm fine." Piccolo dusted himself off and stretched. He placed a hand on Gohan's head and looked across the water. It seemed the woman had left after what had happened. Remembering the events of the night Piccolo tensed and stretched his back a little, there was no pain and no blister. *Amazing…usually even after a regeneration I can feel the pain for a day or two…*  
  
Piccolo snapped back to attention when Gohan's small body tensed and his energy began to skyrocket. Piccolo scanned the area mentally but didn't find anything worth worrying over but followed Gohan's eyes where they rested on the base of the waterfall.  
  
Piccolo's jaw dropped and he let out a shocked yell. Gjen was pulling herself from the jagged rocks, one had lacerated her face and blood was spilling in torrents down her back. She screamed at the mass of small saiya-jin flying toward her, bloody bubbles foaming around her mouth.  
  
"GOHAN STOP!" 


	6. Reparation

A flash of golden hair and flying fists, Gjen grimaced waiting for the brunt impact that was coming. This kid looked pissed and there was no way she could stop him. She sucked in breath and waited for the inevitable.  
  
…Nothing…  
  
Gjen peaked one eye open and saw a small fist just inches away from her face, the golden glow had faded and the small child with raven hair was hovering and looking back at Piccolo.  
  
A sweat drop was falling down his face, an arm extended toward Gohan, it fell to his side and he sighed deep with relief. He began walking toward them, Gohan landed on his feet and looked rather confused. Piccolo grasped Gohan by the shoulder and looked down on him. "Take it easy, Gohan. She's one of us."  
  
Gohan looked over at the woman half slumped and bleeding, "Geez, I'm real sorry. I thought you hurt Piccolo. I hope you're okay…" Gjen smiled at him, his initial hit to her jaw had re-split her bottom lip and a trickle of blood was flowing down her chin.  
  
"Hey kid, I understand. Don't worry about it." Gjen smiled down at him and grunted as she stepped forward.  
  
"Let me look at that." Piccolo said frowning. She turned slowly to show her back. Where she had hit the jagged bottom of the falls had pierced through flesh in several areas, all of them rather deep and all of them bleeding profusely. Piccolo furrowed his brow, his frown deepening as he looked at the damage. The worst was on the lower left, a chunk of flesh was barely hanging on and the muscle underneath could be seen in spots where it was torn through. The others weren't so severe, but close enough. Thick trails of crimson had already soaked her makeshift top and were oozing slowly down one thigh. Small chunks of stone were stuck throughout, leaving her back a total wreck. A previous wound had re-opened on her shoulder and fresh cuts criss-crossed the old scrapes. A deep gash on her outer thigh was new, but it looked to be a clean cut, easily stitched.  
  
"This is going to hurt…" Piccolo reached forward.  
  
"What did you sa-…" Gjen's mouth hung open, no sound came out, but a flow of hot tears began to make clean trails along her dirtied face and neck. As soon as she gasped in, it came back out in a hiss of air and grunts. Her eyes looked at the cherub face of Gohan standing beside her. He was pale and a little shaky; he looked up at her after a moment and saw the pain etched there.  
  
"P-p-piccolo…" His large round eyes sought that of his mentor. Piccolo didn't stop whatever he was doing but only grunted in response. "Piccolo, I think that hurts…a lot." After several moments of silence, Piccolo's gaze shifted from Gohan to the face of Gjen.  
  
"I know."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piccolo looked at Gohan, "I want you to bring me some water from the falls. Go home and get something if you need to, but be quick about it." Gohan nodded, a look of stone determination on his face and flew toward his house.  
  
"Gjen, are alright?" His voice didn't waver and was void of emotion, but he truly felt internal pain as he removed each piece of splintered rock from her tortured flesh. Every time he pulled out a sliver a muscle would twitch, but he understood fully since he wasn't pulling gently or with tweezers.  
  
He got a grunt in reply and squinted his eyes as he pushed two fingers into the tattered flesh to retrieve another shard. It was deep in, and he had to part pieces of bloody tissue to get to it. Gjen coughed, but couldn't breath in from the pain so he grasped it quickly and pulled it free. She breathed in sharply, coughing several more times.  
  
"Stop…just stop for a minute." Gjen slumped to the ground, the wound on her thigh ripped a little from the force and she shivered. Piccolo stood back and let her sit. *That's enough…there'll be more fun when Gohan shows up…*  
  
Piccolo looked down at his hands, they were covered in sticky red syrup. He walked to the waterfall and rinsed the residue away, back spray flecking his bare chest. He looked down, *Damn, I forgot about that.* Piccolo flutter charged and beamed on a fresh gi. As he turned to help Gjen to her feet, Gohan's voice rang from the somewhere near by.  
  
"Piccolo, I'm coming!" 


	7. 

*God, everything hurts. What and the hell is going on anyway? An alien that can heal like nothing, a kid that changes hair color and packs one hell of a punch…I think I should have stayed at that stream a few miles back instead of traipsing here, but of course not.*  
  
Gjen heard the kid yell but didn't hear what, her entire body ached and throbbed with intense twinges in every muscle. Some of them stung to high heaven, others were a dull ache. She tried to stand again, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Between the beating she'd survived a couple days ago to this new punishment her body was shutting down to heal. She could still remember it too…  
  
~~Her clan had held a trial after the murder of several of its members…it was all quite extensive really and since the clan followed no laws only one person had to be picked to satiate the newly dead. Gjen was the first and only choice by the male comity. The clan was a strong patriarchy, and she was the one who was shaking its foundations with her views, loud strong voice, and ability to make people listen to her side of things. Everyone knew Gjen loved to rile the high noblemen and keep them on their toes by pressing people almost to revolt and then letting off for a while before returning. That's why she was chosen and not to her surprise when her name was yelled across the expanse of the clan that they parted like a sea and refused to help her. It was the way things were done.  
  
Most ritual deaths are quick and simple, beheadings with mallets…probably more appropriately called maiming of the head. Gjen was a special case, she was going to be an example to others who would follow her steps, she would be beaten to death by any means necessary. And so it started, the sun rose and she walked from her domicile with a high head and strong lope. They started with whips of course, repetitive lashings cutting already split flesh causing blood to cake the dry dirt. She had passed out once from the pain and was rewarded with cold water forced down her throat until she regained consciousness only to be beaten more.  
  
Her sisters attempted to come to her aid only to be stopped with lashings of their own. Their pain created a hatred for the men who stood behind her, reveling in her pain and blood. She knew that this was the only beginning and for the life of her, she would find a way to make them understand what they were doing and to feel the pain themselves.  
  
For the rest of that day she was brutalized, bruised muscle and bruised bone were the least of her concerns as they cut her flesh with "sacrificial" knives and stones. Brutality after brutality was committed and she gathered her hatred for those men and buried it into her chest. They left her lying on the ground to bleed to death as night fell. As her breathing slowed she listened as they made their way home, whipping her blood from their hands…they were laughing, making jokes of her death and spitting on her as they went by.  
  
After night had fallen, Gjen forced the pain from her mind and stood from the cold sticky ground. She stumbled a good part of the way through the forest, snagging low hanging fruit and berries as she labored. Eventually she had passed out from exertion into a pile of brush and awoke late the next afternoon. She could barely move but drug her sorry carcass toward the sound of water. A small stream rippled, as she looked down into it she saw her bloody beaten face and smiled, her bruised busted lips cracked and stung as fresh blood flowed. Gjen spit a lump of bloody snot from her throat, noticing that a tooth had gone with it. She cleaned her face and stuck her head into the rivulet of icy water and almost resigned to stay that way until she drowned, but the burning hatred buried inside forced its way to the top and she pulled out her head and gasped for air. After cleaning up what little she could with the small stream she stood and staggered along it until the path forked, not long after she found herself at the base of a great waterfall and dove into the cool blue hoping it would wash away her pain.~~  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"…Gjen?" Gohan looked at her with large eyes. After he arrived at his house he'd grabbed the closest thing he could find, which happened to be a large bowl filled with Chi-Chi's sewing supplies. When he got back Piccolo was walking back to help her up but she sat there with a glassy look on her face…it was kind of scary.  
  
Gjen blinked and looked up at the boy, remembering where she was she tried a smile but it slipped from her face as she tried to stand. Gohan smiled back and laughed, relieved she was all right. Her face fell into a scowl and her muscles twitched in exertion as she slowly stood. She swayed a little but took a couple shaky steps toward the pool of water to finally collapse onto the rock where she had earlier place handfuls of silt.  
  
Piccolo took the bowl from Gohan and dumped its contents onto the ground beside the rock. He filled it with water and after picking up a rag from the pile on the ground began gingerly scrubbing at the smaller wounds along Gjen's back. As they were coming clean, the damage didn't seem quite as severe as it first did. There were several large lacerations, but there weren't nearly as many as Piccolo first thought.  
  
He saw her look down on the mound of supplies at her side. Piccolo glanced at them and then continued to clean up. It was going to take more time then he first thought since many of them hadn't stopped bleeding. His brow furrowed and he grunted, *damn humans.*  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gjen reached down into the supplies by her side, trying her best to move as little as possible. She removed a slim mattress needle and some thick thread from the pile and began thread it. Putting the point of the needle to the top of her thigh wound she closed her eyes and concentrated on willing away the pain.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piccolo saw Gjen pick up some items from the pile but thought nothing of it and continued to clean up the tatters of her flesh. As he held together a small rip to clean around it, he felt heat from her back warming his hand. Piccolo's eyes got big as he looked at it in wonder…  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gjen drove the point through both sides of the cut with one swift and steady push, the small curved needle appeared to be made for this type of thing. Feeling the slight pop of her flesh as the needle moved through, she looked down at it confused at the lack of pain…in fact her leg no longer hurt at all. *Maybe I pinched a nerve in my back or something…hell as long as it's making this work easier…* She tied the stitch quickly and got three more finished when she felt Piccolo's hand twitch on her back.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piccolo's thigh was on fire. He looked down at it, eyes wide but saw nothing. A sharp sting and pop of flesh made him think otherwise but still there was nothing there. A sweat drop rolled from his forehead to his chin and he looked in shock at his leg, Gjen's back forgotten. After a moment the pain increased as the stinging intensified and the pop/crunch feeling in his flesh made him shudder. *What and the fuck is going on?!* 


	8. Empath of Pain

Gjen turned to look at the namek, her thigh forgotten for the moment. As she turned his hand fell from her back and the pain raced back into her leg. She winced but still looked on to see what was wrong with Piccolo.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The pain kept flickering like a tongue of fire across his thigh. After his hand fell from her back, it flickered once and was gone. Piccolo blinked several times and rubbed at the once pained spot on his leg… *What the fuck?*  
  
Gjen had turned around to look at him, when she saw his look of confusion she sighed. "I suppose I should tell you what just happened huh?" Piccolo cocked his head, a sweat drop moving from his temple to his cheek. He nodded slowly and waited.  
  
"Well, my…clan…is a group of "gifted" people. They started out as a few freaks from the medieval times with talents and things, eventually as they gathered others the group grew, people got married and had families of their own. I'm a sixth generation empath of pain. I can suck it out of a person, but not myself. Usually if someone in the group practices with their own special "gift" they can master it, I didn't have that type of atmosphere growing up and I can only make someone's pain go away for a time."  
  
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, "That's what you did last night." Gjen nodded.  
  
"But I had no idea I could will pain away from me…like I said I've never practiced my art." She looked thoughtful for a moment then smiled sheepishly, "If I did, I wouldn't have given it to you."  
  
With her explanation stated, she turned back to her thigh, this time stitching more slowly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As the afternoon came Gohan had helped Piccolo stitch up pieces of Gjen's back. They'd stopped often and let her aching flesh rest before attacking it again. Gohan didn't much like it, he held the materials mostly and couldn't watch as Piccolo made hasty stitches. The smell of copper was making him a little sick, and he'd rather have been training but she seemed pleasant enough and even told him some stories of her childhood.  
  
As the tedious task drew to an end it was just after noon and Gohan's stomach told them all as much. Gjen laughed as his cheeks tinted pink. Piccolo looked up at the sky, it was time for Gohan to eat, and there was still time for him to get in some training before night fell.  
  
"Gohan, go home and get something to eat. But be back here as soon as your done, there's still training to do today."  
  
Gohan bowed to his sensei and took flight to his house, "I'll bring you back something!" he waved to Gjen. She nodded at him and waved back.  
  
As Gohan's silhouette faded Gjen turned to Piccolo, "That's a nice kid. Where'd you pick him up?"  
  
"It's an old promise to his father…" when he didn't speak further Gjen dropped the question and began throwing rocks into the water. She sighed. *Now that I'm "fixed up" where am I going to go next…I can't just waltz back into the clan now, not like this. Christ, they'll eat me alive.*  
  
She pondered for a while, resting her head in her hand and looking out into the forest beyond the pond.  
  
Piccolo got to his feet and dusted himself off. It had been a really strange past few hours, meditation sounded really good. With his mind set he floated up and crossed his legs, settling into his routine position and closed his eyes, rested his chin to his chest and counted his breathing.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gjen watched as the namek flew up the waterfall. *Even with the clan there was no one that had what these two creatures did. The power of flight, immense power, regenerative properties…cripes it was almost mind boggling.* She watched Piccolo as he began to meditate, a light blue flickering aura surrounding him in his suspension. She didn't remember when he'd gotten a cape and turban, but he had them now and the cape was fluttering in the breeze coming across water. He looked so peaceful that Gjen felt sleep tug at her brain. She yawned and stretched a little, feeling the tightness of her skin and the pull of stitches. Almost as though it was a reminder, the pain took precedence in her brain again and her whole body felt like one big ache.  
  
She could feel some of them seeping and grunted. Gjen inched to the water and stepped tentatively in, it was cold and knew that it would feel great on the burning of her flesh. Falling forward with arms extended, she hit the water with a clap that pushed the air from her lungs and stung on impact, but it was great. When she surfaced she laughed to herself and floated on her back. The cold water was sucking impurities from her wounds as the sun was warming her face. It was almost nirvana.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piccolo heard the sharp splash and opened one eye to see where it had come from. *That woman…should have known…* Reclosing his eye he grunted and resettled into his comfort zone. This one person was disturbing his routine, he hadn't gotten a decent meditation for a day and a half, had lost concentration for almost two, felt someone else's physical pain and been struck by lightening.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gohan had finished eating and grabbed a small portion of food to bring to Gjen. *She's kind of neat, I mean she can take other people's pain!* Gohan smiled big and flew from his house not hearing Chi-Chi's threats of death if he didn't return her sewing supplies. When he got to the waterfall Piccolo was meditating and Gjen was floating in the middle of the pool.  
  
"Gjen! I brought you some food!" He laughed and waved both hands over his head.  
  
"Thanks Gohan, I'll be over in a second!"  
  
"Oka--…" Gohan stopped and cocked his head to one side scanning the forest nearby carefully. As Gjen swam to the edge and climbed out she saw Gohan in a tensed stance, looking intently.  
  
"Gohan…" Gjen's eyebrows furrowed as she looked in the direction he was glaring. She didn't see anything but the back of her neck prickled and at once knew what was coming. "Gohan, I want you to leave."  
  
Gohan snapped out of his trancelike state and looked up at her, "What? Why?"  
  
"Just…go…"  
  
"No! I'm staying here, I can fight you know! Mr. Piccolo is a great teacher!"  
  
Upon hearing his name Piccolo looked down at the two at the edge of the lake. They were both tensed and looking into the forest. "Wha…?" Piccolo's head snapped to where they were peering. He could hear a group of heavy feet pounding through the mass of trees. He flew down to where the two stood looking down on the two by his side. "Are you ready for this?" His question was directed toward Gjen. She nodded, her scowling face showing her disgust with the coming situation.  
  
"Piccolo what's going on? Who is that coming?" Gohan's eyes were hard lumps of coal, his voice stern.  
  
"I'm not sure, but I think Gjen knows…"  
  
Gohan looked up at Gjen, her eyes still focused in the trees, as the thump of feet grew louder. "Is that true? Do you know who's coming?"  
  
Gjen nodded slowly, "Yes I do."  
  
"Well, what do they want?"  
  
"They're looking for the walking dead…" 


	9. Curled Claws and Broken Jaws

The trio waited as the noise grew, grunts and shouts were heard through the trees as the pack grew near.  They didn't wait long as several men emerged from the brush pulling twigs from their clothes and hair.  Gjen recognized them immediately; there were six of them, all from the council -- the strongest men from the clan.    As their eyes fell on the trio, Gohan stepped forward in defense of them.

"Well look at that…a boy is going to fight us off!"  The man in front laughed whole heartedly holding his hands up in mock defense.  Gjen knew him as Difon, he was as ugly as he was cruel.  The others behind him laughed as well until Difon held up a hand to silence them  "Well, Gjen, it appears that we've found you well enough.  It's a pity you didn't just stay and die."  His eyebrow cocked suggestively as he threw a bag at her feet.

Gjen growled at him, picked it up without looking away as she pulled the drawstring and shook the contents into her palm.  There were two pendants on thick twine, the emblem of her sisters' heritages, the twine broken after being ripped off of their necks.  "You filthy pig…" her voice was barely above a whisper.  Tears sprang to her eyes but she bit them off as she hurled herself into Difon, his eyes wide at the attack.  

He grabbed her easily by the wrists and held her at arms length laughing in her face.  "Well now, it looks like something horrible has happened to you."  Difon clucked his tongue, "you look almost as bad as your sisters before I ripped those chords from their necks."  His lips curled from his teeth in a sour smile.  

Gjen looked up at him, his thick brown hair hung in mats around his face; his face itself a greasy sheen of sweat.  Snorting deep into her throat she spat on him.  Difon growled deep in his chest twisting her arms behind her back, ripping several stitches.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo watched as the encounter happened.  He had put a hand on Gohan's shoulder to keep him from being brash.  This was Gjen's fight, they would play by her rules until it was necessary to break them.  He could feel Gohan pulling at his hand as the man grabbed her by the wrists, Piccolo squeezed Gohan's shoulder to keep the boy still though inside he himself wanted to rip the sadistic grin from his face.

Piccolo scanned the others around them, checking ki levels and seeing if any had weapons.  They were all rather minimal, nothing to worry about for him or Gohan but if they were quicker than he thought they could kill the girl in no time.  Piccolo's eyes rested again on the main attraction in the center of the group, watched as Gjen hocked onto her captor and felt his blood boil as the man twisted her arms and ripped her stitching.  Piccolo dropped his hand from Gohan and gave him a nudge, he wanted Gohan to take out the back drop while he went for main course.  

*~*~*~*~*~*

Gohan waited for what seemed forever before Piccolo let him go, he immediately knew what his sensei wanted and flew into the gaggle of people that watched Gjen as the big guy hurt her.  A furry of fists and he saw three of them drop like nothing in a pile of shattered jaws and concussions.  He was about to tear into the next closest when an inhuman roar ripped, shocked he looked behind him and saw Piccolo inches from reaching Gjen, he too looked stunned and was staring at the woman in front of him.  Gjen's head was back, teeth bared the noise was coming from her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If she had blinked she would have missed it, but she saw a flash of Gohan as he barreled past and knocked out three of the biggest men in the clan.  The fight was on and it was time for her to get dirty.  

As Difon warped her arms she felt stitch after stitch pop and pull through her skin.  She felt a wave of nausea hit her but bit back the bile and opted for a scare out instead.  Rearing back her head she bellowed like she had only a day before, a battle cry for her family that was long forgotten except to her.  As Difon was taken aback with the melee around him Gjen could feel Piccolo inches away and shouted orders to him. "Piccolo, I want…need you to hurt me!" Piccolo was taken aback, entirely confused.  "Kami damn you, just do it!"

Looking away, Piccolo aimed a small ki blast to her lower back, only enough for a burn and aimed at the only portion of her back that wasn't flayed.  After the shot, the remainder of the group pounced and Piccolo found himself ripping apart flesh…and enjoying it.

The agony of the blast sizzled and twisted its way throughout her body every nerve ending tingling in unforgiving pain.  She could feel Difon laughing as his arms wrapped around her shook her body, the jostles they caused adding to her agony.  "Well now, it appears that you haven't made as many friends as you thought." Difon spoke, his breath penetrating her skin.  *On the contrary you ass…*

Gjen looked up into his face and smiled, a small glint reflecting in her eyes.  Difon looked at her a mask of confusion as she brought her knee up sharply into his groin.  Difon collapsed like a wet tissue and cupped himself.  Gjen threw herself onto him and grasped him around the neck, her fingers only inches away from crushing his larynx.  As he chocked from pain and lack of air, she lowered her head until it was close to his ear and whispered to him like a lost lover, "Difon, the pain of two days that I am going to give to you now will be nothing…because after a bit of reflection earlier I've realized that every pain I have ever deflected is within me and you are going to know it…" As she raised her head she looked down into his eyes and saw the fear there.  Closing her own eyes she pushed her weight onto his neck and willed every pain she had ever known from her body, and her hands did not just warm the bruising neck of Difon but blistered his skin from the searing heat.

*~*~*~*~*~*

As Piccolo chopped the last man standing in the nose he was rewarded with a sharp crack and free flow of thick blood.  The man crumpled to his knees clutching his face as the sound of a screaming grown man caught his attention.  Piccolo turned and raised his eyebrows at the spectacle he saw.  Difon's face was a deep shade of red, his head thrashing so hard it looked like he'd snap his neck.  But for all his bucking and screams Gjen had latched herself onto him and wasn't letting go.  The look on her face made Piccolo shudder.  Gjen's hair was sticking to the sweat on her neck and face plastered flat. Her eyes were cold and distant, squinting with a small glint in them eyebrows furrowed together.  Her lips were twisted into a mixture of a leer and a grimace, teeth tight together and a strand of drool was shaking from her lower lip inches away from her hands curled into claws around Difon's neck.  

Gohan was standing on the opposite side, looking at Gjen in shock and then up at Piccolo his eyes wide.  As Difon's scream was strangled out, his body became limp but still Gjen sat with hands locked.  Piccolo walked over and touched her shoulder, a jolt of pure unadulterated pain pulsed up his arm and settled at the base of his neck, he pulled away and instead spoke to her.  

"It's over."

Gjen still sat, not moving.  Piccolo knelt onto one knee in front of her, "I said, it's over."  Gjen blinked, the cold glint gone.  Looking down at her hands she peeled them away from Difon's neck, pieces of his charred flesh sticking to the pads of her hands.  Her hands were in hooks but she slowly stretched them out and stepped off of the corpse.  Piccolo stood and looked from Difon to Gjen, not sure exactly what had transpired there but was pretty sure he knew the gist.  Gohan laughed and ran to the two.  A slew of questions and excited words spilled from his mouth but he stopped when he realized that neither was paying him any attention.

"What will you do now?" Piccolo looked down onto Gjen, thick arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not going back to the clan, there's nothing left for me there anyway."  Gjen shrugged, not sure where she was headed from here.  She squinted into the distance and pursed her lips.  "I suppose I'm going to travel…find something different.  All I've known is the clan…" she trailed off and shrugged again.  "Thank you both for helping me.  I'd probably be dead twice over." She laughed and Gohan soon followed suit.  Gjen bowed deeply at the waist to both of them and started along the forest trail.  

Gohan waved enthusiastically from his spot yelling his farewells.  Gjen turned and smiled waving back, she nodded respectfully at Piccolo then yelled to him, "I'm not going to run across more like you am I?"

Taken a little aback he shook his head, "Not here…why do you ask?"

Gjen smirked, "Well, because I think one of you is all I can handle."  With a turn on her heel she began her journey again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Piccolo had sent Gohan home a couple hours ago after a few hours of training.  Night had fallen and a thick shroud of clouds had patched the sky leaving only pieces here and there to see stars and allow in the moonlight.  Piccolo sat on the curved stone behind the waterfall looking at the shiny trinkets he held in his hand.  He had found them on the grass beside Difon's body when he began to remove the bodies.  Piccolo knew they were the pendants of Gjen's sisters, he had rethreaded both of them on new twine and knotted them securely.  He knew certainly Gjen would come back for these one-day after the shock of today's events wore off, and that fact gave him a mixed census in his stomach.

Tucking the pendants into the waist of his gi, Piccolo lowered his head to his chest listening to the pound of the waterfall and started a well needed meditation.


End file.
