Dende got on one knee. "He's lost a lot of energy, not to mention all his injuries;
it'll take a few minutes to heal him. But I can heal him." The Namek put his hands on Kid
Kai's chest when suddenly great black lightning bolts shot out of Kid and traveled up
Dende's arms. Both screamed in pain until Dende broke the contact, racing over to where Mr.
Popo had left his watering can and stuck his hands inside.
All the others ran over to see if Dende was injured. "Sir!" Mr. Popo cried. "Are
you alright?!"
Dende, still shaking with pain and shock, held up his hands palms up. "My-my hands!"
They were burned down to muscle, bleeding heavily. Piccolo looked over at Lily, who was still by
Kid's side. "Lily, is Kid Kai okay?"
"I'm not sure! His chest is burned where Dende touched him!"
As Dende was escorted in the palace by Popo to bandage his hands, the others walked back
to Kid and Lily. Sure enough, black hand prints marked the spot where Dende had tried to touch
Kid. Goku scratched the back of his head and voiced what everyone was thinking. "What
happened?"
Karin shook his head. "I'm not sure. Do you think it has anything to do with that spell
Babidi shot out at Kid?"
Goku yelled out, "Yeah! That must be it!" His face drooped as he said,
"But what do we do about it?"
Piccolo shook his head. "I don't know, but we should take care of him
immediately" Using his cloak as a shield between him and Kid, Piccolo picked the god up and
carried him to a guest room, followed by Lily and Goku.
The rest stayed outside on the platform, watching the others go inside. Krillen sighed. “I
sure hope that guy is okay; he risked his lives so we'd live!" The group nodded, all saying
silent prayers to the young god.
"Where am I?"
I was standing on a cliff overseeing a vast lake. I could feel an odd weight pushing down on
my heart. Out of the center of the lake was a huge stone pillar. I looked around, observing my
surroundings; purple sky, at least ten moons... I was on Kaioshin-kai! I glanced upwards and saw
four shapes on top of the pillar, one short, two normal heights, and one tall. They were in the
shadows, so I couldn't see them quite yet.
Suddenly, a hand came to rest on my shoulder. I gasped and turned around. It was that girl
from my dream earlier today! Now that I saw her closer, she was quite beautiful. Her sapphire hair
flowed in perfect waves down to her feet, reminding me of a waterfall. Her eyes shone like jewels,
and her face held no flaw to be seen. She looked about Lily's age, but she was only as tall as my
shoulder. In a cheerful voice she said, "Hello Mitsuro!"
Who WAS this Mitsuro guy they kept talking about? "Look, little girl, I'm not
Mitsuro! My name's Kid! Ki-i-id! Got it?"
The girl giggled and took my hands. "It's okay Mitsuro; it's just me,
Kumiko!" I pulled away and her face fell. "You don't remember me, Mitsuro?"
I was stunned; obviously this girl thought I was something or someone else."Um,what
was your name again? Kumiko, I'm not whoever-you-think-I-am. I'm Kid Kai, the son of
Higashi Kaioshin and Nishi Kaioshin."
Suddenly Kumiko lunged at me and latched herself round my waist, sobbing. "Oh
Mitsuro! Why don't you remember me?!" I was a bit appalled at the daring of this young
child and began to think of pushing her away. But for some reason, a voice far different from my own
inside my head said, "No!" Instead of rejecting her touch, I suddenly wanted to comfort her,
to subside her tears.
Kumiko looked up at me, her black eyes full of tears. "Mitsurooooo!" Why did her
crying stab at me so? "Mitsuro, you've changed so much. Why do you look this way?"
Suddenly, a silky voice behind me said, I'm here Kumiko, do not cry."
Kumiko and I both gasped in shock and jerked around. She let go of my waist, allowing
blood flow to my legs.
It was the dude in the water! He opened his eyes and I could feel a lot of suffering behind
those onyx eyes."It's okay, Kumiko, it's me, your sibling Mitsuro."
Kumiko gasped with joy and kneeled on the bank, ignoring me completely. "Oh Mitsuro!
I am so glad to see you after all these years!"
Mitsuro sighed and smiled slightly. "Yes, it is nice to see you too, sister." Looking up
at me, he said, "I see you've met my reincarnation. His name is Kid."
All the while, I was standing there a bit dumbfounded. "What is going on?!"
Mitsuro sat down on the ground, or water, whatever. He set the staff next to him and cupped
his hands. "I am Mitsuro, the Keeper of Time, or, in the Western Culture, the Grim Reaper.
Kumiko, my sister, is First Kai or an Angel as Earth's culture calls her. We've been called a
good deal else, too. I guess I should explain why I inhabit your body Kid Kai, son of Higashi no
Kaioshin and Nishi no Kaioshin."
"Do you remember the day of your 5th birthday, when you entered the room of the Purity
Tree?"
It took me a moment to remember, but I nodded.
"Well, do you remember the events of that day, when you fell off that bridge into
nothingness?"
"Yes, I remember falling, but I don't know what happened afterwards."
"Well, Kid Kai, you died."
My eyes got to the size of dinner plates and my jaw unhinged. "No way.!"
"Way. You died and landed on my grave. I sensed that you were pure in heart and soul,
but then all children are at that age. I knew you would somehow play a role in this universe, so I filled
your body with my soul. Only because of I are you alive today."
I was a bit stunned, to say the least. "So,am I your creation?"
Mitsuro waved his hands frantically. "No! No! I simply gave you life again, but you are
still the same person as you were before fusing with me, but you had a tiny personality tweak. Do
you understand?"
I scratched the top of my head. "Yeah, I guess." I laughed and said, "It's just
not every day you hear you actually TWO people! Wait till I tell Lily she's kissed TWO
guys!" At this I couldn't help but laugh hysterically and fell over. Kumiko and Mitsuro simply
stared at me, then the two ancient ones began to giggle, the giggles became snickers, and the snickers
became roaring laughter to match mine.
We cackled like a pack of hyenas for what seemed like hours. I sat back up and wiped a
tear from my eye. "Woo! Well, seriously".
Krillen was playing Go Fish with Roshi, Yamcha, Oolong, and Bulma while the others
watched and/or played with Marron. Suddenly, Krillen felt a ki appear nearby. Turning his head
behind him, he said, "Hey, guys! Did ya feel that?"
The others looked up and could feel it too. Suddenly a woman walked by, a VERY
beautiful woman at that! She was alien from the looks of it; her ears were pointed. Her hair was red,
as were here eyes, and pulled back in two long braids. She wore an amber shirt that ended at her
elbows with black flowing sleeves. Her skin color was a pale white. She had long flared pants the
same colors. Her shoes were orange like Piccolo or Dende's.
"Whoa-HO!" Roshi yelled out, his sunglasses falling off of his wrinkled face.
The woman merely ignored the stares of the men and walked on towards the room where
Kid Kai was. When she reached the door, with all the men following her, she closed her eyes. "I
can feel it, Kid Kaioshin is dying. I came just in time."
She opened the door and walked inside, startling Lily, Goku, and Piccolo. Lily stood up and
demanded, "Who are you?"
The woman ignored her and walked over to Kid. She made a pair of rubber gloves out of
thin air and put them on. She muttered to herself often and the trio had to wonder her sanity.
Whoever-she-was tried to touch Kid, but when she came about a foot near him, another black spark
like the one that had attacked Dende shot out. The woman grimaced and pulled her hand back.
By now, everyone on Kami's tower had come to see what was happening. For the first
time, the stranger said something aloud.
"Some guardians YOU are! Humph."
She seemed to say this to Piccolo, Dende, and Mr. Popo. Piccolo scowled even more than
usual and said, "Who do you think you are to talk to us like that?"
The woman stood up and stared at the speaker; she could look Piccolo in the eye. "I am
one of the servants of Dai Kaio * Grand Kai to dubbies*, THAT'S who I am."
Everyone was stunned. "D-Dai Kaio?!"
"Yes. I'm surprised mere mortals have heard of him. I was sent to protect this
Kaioshin, as he is the last, and you obviously can not."
"Wait, you said Kid was the last Kaioshin. Isn't his father, Higashi, alive?"
The woman shook her head in remorse. "No, I'm afraid not, nor is Kibito or
Gato." Her expression changed from sadness to anger in less than a second. "And you call
yourselves Guardians!" She screeched at a certain genie and two Nameks. "Leaving not only
gods to fend for themselves, but the HOLIEST gods at THAT!" At holiest, her hair burst into
red and orange flames.
Everyone else jumped back at the sight of the fire as a spark caught onto Goku's hair,
waiting for the woman to settle. The woman stopped panting and the flames subsided. "I'm
sorry, I lost my temper. We fire-witches often do."
Goku yelped when he finally saw the small flame atop his skull. As he put it out, he said,
"What's a witch-fire?"
The fire-witch put her hands on her hips and the ends of her hair began to glow. "It's
FIRE-WITCH, got it?"
"Okay, okay! Just don't get REAL upset and blow us all up or somethin." Goku
patted his burnt head and said, "Who are you anyhow?"
As she bowed, the woman said, "I am Fiddlesticks."
"Fiddlesticks? What kinda name is that?"
Fiddlesticks blushed. "Well, you see, when I was born, my father was expecting a boy.
When my mother said, "˜It's a girl, what shall we call her?" my father yelled out, "Oh,
FIDDLESTICKS!" and I was named so."
"Oh."
Fiddlesticks turned around and glanced at Kid Kai, who was breathing very heavily. "I
was sent here to heal Kid Kaioshin, for he is the last of his kind. He has to take his place as Dai
Kaioshin."
Lily was stunned. "Dai Kaioshin? Wow." She glanced down at the young god in the
bed. Hard to believe he would hold such power over the universe. "Wait, did you say you could
heal Kid Kai?"
The fire-witch turned and said. "Yes, I can. But that spell is preventing me. It has
wrapped around his heart, so I'll get Baba to make something. Be right back!"
Suddenly, the woman disappeared for a few moments, and then appeared again, landing
on top of Piccolo. "Oh! Sorry! I haven't been very good at teleporting, as you can see!"
Piccolo put her down and Fiddlesticks walked over to Kid's side, with a small bottle filled with a
purple liquid. "This will take away the spell, if Kid is willing to take it all."
Lily was confused. "If he's willing to take it?"
"Well, you see, this taste is one of THE worst tasting medicines in the known parts of the
universe. I'm not sure he can stand the taste of the whole thing, but we should try. It's the
only thing that'll work."
Fiddlesticks lifted Kid's head gently and poured the contents slowly into his mouth. Kid
coughed a bit and sputtered, but he eventually swallowed it all. Suddenly, his wounds began to heal
and his breathing returned to normal.
Standing back up and setting the god's head on his pillows, Fiddlesticks announced,
"He'll be perfectly fine now! He will wake in a few minutes or so!"
All the faces in the room smiled, even Piccolo and 18. Lily was finding it hard not to cry in
happiness. "Oh thank you Fiddlesticks!" The girl hugged the fire-witch as hard as she could.
Fiddlesticks tried to pry the girl off of her. "Hey, kid, don't get me emotional, okay?
I'll burn ya to a cinder if you do, and not on purpose!"
Lily's eyes popped open and she released her captive. "Oh." Fiddlesticks inhaled
and sat down. "We just need to wait for him to wake up."
Lily pulled up a second chair. "I'll stay too."
Goku nodded and said, "Well, now we can start to train Goten and Trunks. We'll
leave now." Everyone else left while Fiddlesticks and Lily watched the sleeping Kid Kai.
"Whoa!"
The heavy weight on my chest was suddenly gone! I stood up and said, "Hey! I feel great
now!"
Mitsuro also stood up. "Yes, I feel it too! Babidi's spell has been lifted, it seems."
Looking up at me and First Kai, he said, "Kid Kai, you had best wake up from this dream. Try
your best to remember the things you have seen here, alright?"
I nodded and said, "I will certainly try."
Suddenly, a bright flash engulfed me and I heard Mitsuro's fading voice echoing,
"Remember"
Light. So much light.
I rolled over onto my side, letting my hand fall over the side of the bed. Suddenly, a hand
intertwined its fingers with mine. As I opened my eyes slowly, red hair filled my vision.
"Lily?"
Lily smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. "Yes, it's me Kid! I'm so glad you
are finally awake!"
A voice behind her said, "As am I, master."
I sat up and saw a woman with red hair to match Lily's. "Who-who are you?"
The woman stood up and said, "Fiddlesticks, almost-professional-fire-witch, your
bodyguard and servant, Dai Kaioshin."
I am sure my mouth dropped open and my eyes popped out of my skull. "D-Dai
KAIOSHIN?! SAY WHAT?!...Wait, what kinda name is Fiddlesticks?"
Fiddlesticks spread her hands out and said, I'm sorry, but your Father, Higashi, has
died today, along with your two bodyguards. Your Father clearly stated that when he died and/or
retired, YOU, sir, would become Dai Kaioshin. As for my name, I've already explained it and I
won't say it again. I was sent here to protect and guide you, sir."
"Oh don't call me sir."
Fiddlesticks smiled and said, "Yes Master."
"Or Master. Just Kid, 'kay?"
"Okay." Fiddlesticks looked out the window. "The Kais are expecting you back at
Kaioshin-Kai as soon as possible, Kid. We will need to leave before the day is done."
I hopped out of bed, landing on poor Lily's foot. "HOLD IT! Leave?! But what
about BUU AND BABIDI!?!"
Fiddlesticks turned back around. "Exactly why we are leaving, Kid. The Kais are
panicking and need guidance. If they found out you had died, they would go insane. They are
demanding that you return to Kaioshin-Kai and help from there. I'm sorry to say it sir, but Earth
is not the only planet in the universe threatened at the moment."
Lily pulled her foot out from underneath my own. "But Earth is in the MOST danger right
now! Can't Kid stay a little longer to help?"
Fiddlesticks was about to say something, but I held up my hand. "Lily is right. I will stay
here than leave when Goku returns to Heaven. Fiddlesticks, could you leave for a while?"
She looked a bit flustered, but Fiddlesticks left. As soon as she left, Lily began to bust with
laughter. I turned around startled. "What? What?!"
"I just realized how you look! Take a look at yourself in the window!"She resumed
laughing.
I looked at the window and was astonished by my reflection.
"My-my HAIR!"
My hair was as long as I was! No, LONGER! "How did my hair get sooo long?!"
Lily shrugged. "I dunno, it just grew when you freaked out on Buu." She shuddered at
the memory. "You were so evil looking, you frightened me a bit!"
"Oh, I'm sorry if I did that." I looked back at the mirror. "Maybe I should
change clothes, neh?" My garments now looked more like rags.
Lily nodded. "Yeah, I think so too." She walked out the door and closed it. I took off
the tattered remnants of my clothing and thought of what I should wear. "What DO Dai Kaioshins
wear? Well, I'm the supreme god of just about everything; I guess I can wear what I want!"
I imagined just a plain old set of sneakers, faded out, blue carpenter jeans, and a comfy, red,
long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves unbuttoned and they appeared on my body. I walked outside to
meet Fiddlesticks and Lily waiting on me. Fiddlestick's eyebrow went up. "Are you sure that
you should be wearing that, sir?"
I shrugged, not really caring. "I don't think anyone's gonna argue with me about
it." Lily smiled and said, "Yeah, and it makes him look a bit more normal too!" She and I
exchanged a secret wink as Fiddlesticks shook her head.
"If you say so, sir." Fiddlesticks walked off, leaving us alone again.
Lily and I smiled at each other and I grabbed a hold of her
hand. " I am glad you are alright Lily."
"I'm glad to see you in one piece too, Kid." She reached in and gave me a soft
kiss on the cheek and I felt my heart skip a beat. Then I realized I had to tell her
"Let's go somewhere more private so we can talk, 'kay?"
"Alright."
"So, you're TWO people?"
I sighed, glad she had understood. "Yeah."
Lily and I sat in silence on the edge of the tower; everyone else was on the other side. She
finally broke the silence with, "It's okay with me."
My head snapped up in surprise. "R-really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it's alright. Mitsuro said you were still Kid Kai inside.
That's all I need to know." She began to lean in to kiss me, but this time I pulled away.
"Kid Kai, why'd you do that?"
"I don't want to fall in love with you, Lily."
Her face was full of hurt and confusion. "What?"
"I don't want to love you, because I'm gonna have to leave soon. As far as I
know, I'll never see you again. That and I'm immortal. When you grow old, I won't
even look any different than I do now! And we look so different, we just don't belong
together, Lily." I put my head in my knees to hide my tears and to hide my eyes from the face I
had fallen head over heels with.
Suddenly, her hand slid under my chin, lifting it up, and turned it to Lily's face. "Kid, I
don't really CARE about all that. I don't care who you are or where you're from.
All I need to know is that YOU love me."
I didn't answer right away. My conscious was beginning my heart did more than pump
blood to my body; it held feelings for this human, it wanted to protect her from anything and
everything, it wanted to stay here. "I do love you Lily. With all of my heart. You do something to
me I can't explain." I leaned in and we kissed passionately for a minute or two.
I pulled her closer, wanting to feel her warm skin. She, too, drew me closer. When we finally
pulled apart, I could still feel her fingertips on my neck. Lily looked at me and said, "Maybe there
is a way you could stay here, permanently? What if you CHOSE to live here?"
Shaking my head, I said, "No, I have to be at Kaioshin-Kai. I need to go there
today." I looked up at the clouds overhead. "I want to stay here, honest. But this is my job
now, I cannot turn it down." I glanced at her; she had begun to cry softly like she had done in the
park. I drew her head onto my shoulder, stroking her hair. "I love you Lily and I will come back
as soon as possible. I swear it on my father's name."
I let her cry on my shoulder for awhile, thinking and occasionally speaking words of comfort.
After an hour or so, she sat back up and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just can't stand
the thought of never seeing you again!"
I made a handkerchief appear in my hand and wiped away her tears. I'm sure it
won't be EVER, I bet I could see you from time to time."
She took the handkerchief and blew her nose with a rather cartoon-like honk. We stared at
each other for a moment, and then began to roar with laughter. I was surprised at how easy it was to
laugh around her. She made the very air around me easier to breathe.
Lily held the cloth up and said, "I'm guessing ya don't want this back, huh?"
She flung it off the edge and watched it float on down.
"You guessed right." I stood up and massaged my legs. "We should see what the
others are doing."
"Right." We walked over to where the others were hanging out at the edge of the
tower. They seemed anxious about something. "What's the matter?"
Goten pointed down. "My dad went Super Saiyan 3!!"
I ran over to the edge, bending over the edge. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! SUPER
SAIYAN 3!?" Fiddlesticks grabbed a hold of my collar to keep me from falling off.
"Sir! Be more careful!"
Using my godly powers, I watched the fight, occasionally giving details to the others.
Suddenly, Goku powered down to his normal state and teleported back to Kami's tower.
I saw him first and said curiously, "Goku? What are ya doing here!?"
He looked at me and said, "My time is up."
~Oh shit! Kid Kai's gotta go now! How is Lily gonna take it?!
