Chapter 9
Awaken
Awaken thou within me
And see all that is changed.
Piccolo had no idea where he was.
There was darkness all around him. But there was a warmth to the darkness. A
comforting warmth that he was unable to explain. Later on, Piccolo’s memories
of being inside the Earth became very hazy. But there was one memory that stood
out vividly. There was some sort of presence in the darkness, trying to
communicate something to him. And he knew at one point, he had understood it
completely.
The dragons kept a guarding vigil
over the sacred place throughout the day. When sunset came, both Dende and
Kyloa were ready and waiting with large white robes for the new Chi warriors.
As they waited for the warriors to appear, Kyloa was suddenly gripped by a
chilling thought. What if neither of them passed this final test?
A low rumbling in the earth suddenly
disturbed her thoughts. Out of the ground suddenly rose Piccolo and Sixteen.
They were both glowing with a strange aura. Unable to speak, they were only
able to listen as a voice spoke in their minds. It was a voice unlike anything
Piccolo had heard before. So beautiful and serene, yet with an undertone of
wildness and violence to it. As he thought about it, Piccolo realized it
sounded very much like nature manifested into her voice and being.
The way she spoke was as peculiar as it
sounded. She didn’t speak in any language that they knew. She didn’t even seem
to be making any sounds. There was just the sense of some otherworldly presence
in their minds. But somehow, in their minds, she made them understand . . .
"You are now Chi warriors.
The mark you bear upon your shoulders makes it so. I have great faith in your
abilities and know you will be able to save us all."
As the voice faded so did the glowing
aura. Blinking, Piccolo and Sixteen were finally able to move on their own. Their
friends, who had been standing back while they were listening to the Earth,
rushed forward to greet them.
"Look, Piccolo! You have a
tattoo just like us! You too, Sixteen!" exclaimed Gohan. He was pleased
his mentor had made it out okay.
"You’re one of us now!"
pronounced Goku.
Piccolo glanced at his shoulder to
discover they were right. And that was when he noticed it. He was nude. His
clothes had disappeared. So had Sixteen’s. Piccolo also noticed there was
something wrong with his body. The others noticed as well.
"Oh my gosh!" cried Gohan
blushing.
"Piccolo! You have a dick!"
blurted out Goku, too stunned to be embarrassed. It was true. Somehow, Piccolo
had acquired a set of reproductive organs. And he didn’t seem too happy about
it either.
Dende was so shocked he dropped the
robe he was carrying. Recovering himself, he quickly handed the robe to
Sixteen, who accepted it politely. Cheeks burning a deep red, Kyloa discreetly
averted her gaze as she held out a robe for Piccolo to take. Then Dende pointed
out something else. "That’s not all that’s changed. You have a tattoo upon
your chest as well."
Dende was right. Upon Piccolo’s left
breast was a tattoo they had never seen before. It was a teardrop in a shade of
green much darker than his skin. In its center was a dot the color of dried
blood. Upon seeing it, Kyloa let out a small gasp and dropped the robe. Piccolo
had refused to take it anyway. Instead he quickly used his power to ensemble
himself in his usual turban, cape, and fighting gi.
"What is the meaning of
this?" growled Piccolo, obviously in a bad temper over having his
physiology changed. He had noticed Kyloa’s reaction to the strange tattoo and
was worried about what it meant.
Clearing her throat, Kyloa attempted
to explain. "Um, well, you see, uh . . ." Piccolo glowered at her
impatiently, instilling fear and making her more nervous. Kyloa turned her back
to them and tried to explain again. "I couldn’t warn you about what might
happen. You must go into the Earth having no knowledge. But sometimes when the
Earth has a hold of a Chi warrior or another being, she sees it fit to change
them. She told me be beforehand that she was going to change Android 16. To
make him part human, like Android 18, so he could have a family if he wants to.
It is a gift, a reward. I had no idea she was going to change you as well. I am
sorry. She must have kept it a secret but why, I don’t know."
Piccolo scowled. He knew she was
lying about the last part. She knew why. But she was afraid to tell for some
reason. "What about the mark on my chest?"
Kyloa kept her back turn, unable to
face him. "I cannot tell you what the mark means. She has given you a
private mission. It is for you to figure out."
Piccolo growled and stepped forward.
Placing his hands upon her shoulders, he forced Kyloa to turn around and face
him. "And how am I supposed to do that?"
Although facing him, Kyloa refused to
look into his eyes. "The Earth will give you clues as time goes by. You
must watch for them. If you take too long, she might just out right tell you
what it is. But the mission is optional. You do not have to follow through with
it if you don’t want to."
She finally looked up and Piccolo saw
that there were tears in her eyes. "Please let me go. You’re scaring
me." Her voice shook and one tear slipped out to slide down her cheek.
Feelings stirred within and Piccolo
was suddenly sorry he had been so furious with her. But he still wanted answers
and he could sense she knew something. He involuntarily squeezed her shoulders
tighter, not noticing her wince. Embyr hissed from nearby and prepared to
pounce. Kyloa lifted a hand, silently commanding her to stay as Piccolo spoke
again. "There’s something you’re not telling me. And I want to know what
it is."
Goku stepped forward and placed a
restraining hand on Piccolo’s shoulder. "Enough, Piccolo. Let her go.
Can’t you see you’re hurting her? I know you’re angry and that you feel
violated at having your body changed without your permission but she’s not the
one responsible for it. She had no idea her mother would do this."
Piccolo shook Goku’s hand off him. He
knew he was right but he didn’t want to admit it. Slowly he took his hands off
her and watched as she took several steps away from him. Awkwardly, she rubbed
her shoulders and Piccolo realized how hard he had been squeezing her. Feeling
angry with himself, he quickly turned and headed for the forest. Byrn tried to
follow him but he quickly ordered him to stay behind. He needed time alone.
Two days had passed with no sign of
hair or hide of Piccolo or his whereabouts. It was late at night and everyone
was asleep except for Android 16. His dragon, Zek, slept silently on a branch
above. Although like him in many ways, including not talking much, he still
needed more sleep than he did. But they were both alert and awake when they
heard a low voice say, "Quiet, rogue. You’re going to give us away."
A few moments later, Sixteen saw a
large dark figure emerge from the trees, a bright green dragon perched on its
shoulder. From his angle, the figure couldn’t see him but he could see the
figure. And he knew who it was. Revealing himself to it, he said, "So. You
have decided to return."
The figure turned to him and one look
at his face confirmed what Sixteen already knew. It was Piccolo. When Piccolo
saw him, he snorted. Not being able to sense Androids was annoying. "Yes.
I have. There is not much time left for us to train before Frozena
arrives."
Sixteen nodded and then turned his
head towards the cottage where Goku and Gohan were sleeping. "They were
worried about you." Piccolo had no answer to that. They knew better than
to worry about him. "So was Kyloa." That surprised him.
"Why was she worried about
me?" asked Piccolo.
Sixteen studied him. No one ever knew
what exactly Sixteen thought about but they all knew he observed more than most
people did. "She feels guilty about what the Earth did to you. She felt
guilty about me ‘til I reassured her that I was grateful. And I am
grateful."
Piccolo noticed his last statement
but decided not to comment on it. "Her feeling guilty is foolish."
Sixteen averted his gaze to the stars
above them. "Maybe you should tell her that. She hasn’t slept since the
day we became Chi warriors and you know how much power she used that day. She
needs rest."
Piccolo frowned and looked out
towards the meadow. Anticipating his question, Sixteen said, "She had been
meditating in the meadow. But she disappeared into the river a little while
ago. I don’t know where she went."
"I do." Turning, Piccolo
walked back into the forest, leaving Sixteen to wonder. It took awhile but he
was able to retrace the way to the clearing with the immense waterfall. And
there she was, sitting on a rock outcropping just above the waterfall. She
wasn’t meditating or sleeping. Just sitting. But she must have been deep in
thought for she didn’t notice Piccolo ‘til he was floating in the air in front
of her. She gave a little gasp and scrambled back a few inches but was forced
to stop when she reached the edge of the rock. Regaining her composure, she
stood up to face him as he floated there before her. Unbeknownst to them, Embyr
and Byrn were perched in bushes nearby, eavesdropping.
Piccolo scrutinized her and realized
Sixteen was right. Kyloa needed sleep. She was extremely pale and there were
bags under her eyes, not to mention they were also bloodshot. Has she been
crying? Piccolo leaned forward, capturing her eyes with his own. "You
haven’t been sleeping. And I bet you haven’t been eating either."
Kyloa gulped and forced herself to
stare back. Ignoring his comments about her health, she instead asked about
him. "Are you all right? I truly am sorry. I don’t understand why she did
what she did but I – "
Piccolo put a finger to her lips,
instantly silencing her. His action surprised himself as well as her. Pulling
his hand away, he said quietly, "I don’t hold you responsible. And
although I would have rather not to have my body altered without my permission,
I have accepted it. What’s done is done. There’s nothing anyone can do about it
now."
Kyloa lowered her eyes from his gaze.
But Piccolo seemed to see right through her, though she tried to hide it.
Reaching forward, Piccolo used his hand to tilt her chin upward. "You
still feel guilty."
A belligerent look came into her eyes
as he said those words. Piccolo sighed. Her guilt could wait. Right now, he
needed to get her to a tree. "I would spend the time to convince you
differently but you are obviously in no condition for a serious discussion. You
need to sleep."
Kyloa pulled away from his grasp and
began backing up again. "There’s no need to show concern for me. I –"
She was cut off as she reached the rock’s edge and lost her balance. She fell,
too shocked and tired to scream. But she only fell a few feet before Piccolo
caught her. Adjusting her weight in his arms, he floated closer to the ground
but he didn’t set her down.
"You can put me down now,"
Kyloa whispered.
"I don’t think so. Not until you
agree that if I set you down, you’ll go straight into a tree and let yourself
regenerate," replied Piccolo, tightening his grip. "You are in no
condition to argue."
Kyloa struggled in his arms and
became frightened at how weak she was. She sighed in resignation. "I
agree."
"Good." Setting down on the
ground, Piccolo quickly headed to the nearest tree and leaned her up against
it. Several moments passed as Kyloa gathered strength to change. He eyed her
worriedly. "Will you be able to change?"
Kyloa glanced at him with an
unreadable look in her eyes as her limbs slowly became bark. "Of course.
It is much easier to become part of a plant or dirt than air, water or fire.
Especially fire. Even if I was near death and couldn’t change, Kaachi would
reach out and pull me into her. She’s determined not to let me die until I
fulfill my task. She’s very protective of her children, remember?"
"Yeah," Piccolo replied.
"I remember." On his last syllable, Kyloa slipped completely into the
tree, her unreadable eyes the last to disappear.