(Some lyrics from a song that played on the radio while I was writing this.)
You fade into a dream
You're freer than you've ever been
You float just like the wind
Explore a life you never lived from deep within
Though you fight it off
You know there's a moment
When you have to give it up
It's all over now
It's all over now
It's all over now
Washed Out, All Over Now
A small fading life crawled laboriously over the rubble of the ruined city, leaving a trail of blood behind him. When his weakening shouts were met with silence, he had decided to search for his fallen comrades the best way he knew how. No easy task for Krillin, who had been blasted by both of the androids at once; it was a miracle that he was still in one piece. Not only was he certain that all four limbs were collectively fractured in several places, but he was also coughing up blood. There was little time left at this point.
Yet he soldiered on.
Even if no one else was left alive, maybe one of them at least had an extra senzu bean in their possession. It was well worth using up his remaining strength in order to take that chance.
But so far they were all dead. Vegeta. Yamcha. Yajirobe. Tenshinhan, and little Chaozu who was laying right beside him.
Seven of us. Just like the dragon balls, which were now gone as well.
Not a single senzu bean could be found on any of them. Krillin choked back a sob, assuming it would be no different once he came across Piccolo's body. Piccolo, for whom it was too late now. Not only for him to live to see another day, but to understand just how much a certain someone cared about him.
Goku ... Oh, Goku! If only you were here! If only you hadn't died! Little Gohan and Trunks may have been spared, but the rest of us sure did a fine job protecting them - as well as the rest of the world - from the androids, didn't we? This is such a nightmare. This can't really be real, can it? As much as I want to see you, I don't want to die again.
"I don't want to die!" he shouted in frustration, tears running down his dusty, blood-stained face. He let himself collapse to the ground and cried bitterly, no longer caring about how much it made him cough.
"Be quiet, will you? Some of us are trying to die over here."
"Piccolo ...?" Krillin wiped his eyes, silenced himself, and listened. Could it really be him? Sure enough, a groan sounded somewhere behind him. He called out to Piccolo, hoisting himself back onto his knees and dragging himself toward the sound of his voice. "Piccolo! Where are you?"
"Under this pillar. I can't feel my legs."
"I wish I couldn't feel mine. I'm in terrible condition, but I can still crawl. Hold on, I'm coming."
Krillin painstakingly made his way over the debris-strewn ground that, until a few hours ago, had once been part of a thriving city on an island in the south. So this is where I'm going to die?
"My, my. Stubborn as ever, I see. How the hell did you manage to survive?" Piccolo remarked as soon as he was close enough to be in his sights.
"Both of them fired at me at once, but I evaded at the last second, rolling out of the way. That way, I managed to avoid a direct hit; though by looks of it, the others weren't quite as lucky. Not that it matters now, anyway. Looks like pretty soon I'll be done for as well."
"I'm guessing there aren't any more of those beans, then?"
Krillin shook his head. Suddenly a surge of hope filled his heart as an idea occurred to him.
"But since you're still alive, you'll be able to regenerate yourself in time, right?" He sat himself beside the Namekian.
It was Piccolo's turn to shake his head. "Impossible. I've exhausted all of my ki. That bitch's kick to my chest was the final blow for me, but it wasn't enough to stop my heart completely. I don't die easily, as you know. That said, not wanting to suffer a slow death, I waited until the commotion died down, keeping an ear out for any survivors. When I was sure that no one was coming, I struck myself in the head in hopes that it would finish me off," Piccolo turned his head to the side, revealing a splatter of violet blood on the concrete behind him. "But it looks like I only managed to pass out. Had you not woken me up with your bawling, I probably would have just gone peacefully in my sleep, as planned."
"I'm sorry," Krillin frowned, hanging his head in remorse.
"But maybe you can help with that. How much ki do you have left?"
"None. I'm all out," Krillin responded in a grim whisper of defeat. Piccolo uttered a curse and smashed his fist down onto the pavement. The blow was rather weak. "I suppose I'll have to just cut my own throat."
Krillin started weeping again. It's just not fair! Piccolo regarded him with silent sympathy.
"Stop that damn crying. Do you want me to break your neck?"
"I can't even tell if that was a threat or an offer," Krillin chuckled sadly.
"Look, it's not like I'd take pleasure in it or anything, but it would be the best way to put you out of your misery."
"I don't want to die like that."
"Fine with me. I -"
"Why is it always like that with you?" Krillin turned to him sharply with a truly pained expression on his face. "Even now, during our last moments, you don't have even one kind word to spare."
A grunt sounded from deep inside Piccolo's throat, as if there was something caught there. There was a slight pause before he decided to speak.
"Just listen to me for a minute, all right? I only said that because I was trying to say that it would be hard for me to do such a thing to you."
"Why?"
"I know it might be selfish of me, but I don't think that I could kill someone like you. Remember how I was worried that I had killed you during our first battle? Well, it wasn't just because I feared disqualification. No. Even then ..." Piccolo's expression softened. "Yes. Even then, I think I had already taken a liking to you."
Krillin smiled. "Is that so? Thank you, Piccolo. That means more to me than you'll ever know. All the more reason for me to refuse, because I wouldn't want to put you through something like that. I didn't know it at the time, but even when you were a demon you weren't evil enough to just senselessly slaughter anyone in your way. Unlike these androids, who really seem so inhuman that it terrifies me. And now the world has gone to hell. I just can't believe it ended like this."
"Maybe not. It's only over for us. I hate it as much as you do, Krillin, but we have to have faith in the future. In Gohan and Trunks. There's nothing else we can do now but leave it to them."
"I guess you're right. We really don't have a choice, do we? It's just that I have so many regrets now. Maybe if I had done things differently, I could have enjoyed what life I had left before it ended so suddenly. And now it's too late."
"You know, I feel a lot like that right now, myself. Only ..." Piccolo placed his hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "It's not too late."
In a rush of emotion - but still taking care not to hurt him - Krillin scooted closer and gingerly wrapped his arms around Piccolo's body, burying his head against his chest.
"I should have told him!" he wailed. "I should have told him ... If only I had told him sooner!"
Piccolo returned the embrace, his wavering voice betraying the fact that he was now on the verge of tears himself. "It's all right now. He probably knew all along, but was just too much of a coward to tell you that he felt the same way."
"Piccolo ... I love you."
"I love you too, monk. I'm sorry for not opening up to you even once all these years. I feel like I've failed you even more than I've failed the whole world right now."
"It doesn't matter. I'm just so glad to hear that." He sighed, and it was the most content sigh Piccolo had ever heard. "I'm so tired now. Would it be all right if I slept here? You're so warm."
"Of course. Let's both take a nap. I'm sure we'll both feel much better when we wake up. Then I'll take you on a date, and you can eat whatever you'd like. What do you think of that?"
Piccolo heard a gurgle and felt something wet soaking into his top. He lifted Krillin's head and found that there was blood trickling out of his mouth.
"Krillin!?"
The human had gone rigid and he was now wheezing loudly. Oh, you idiot. I told you to stop crying! Now your lungs just can't take anymore. "No, not yet! Not when we finally ..." And then, letting his true age show, he added, "I'm afraid of dying alone!"
Krillin put one hand on Piccolo's, and the other on his own throat. "I'm sorry. Please ... It hurts!"
Piccolo gritted his teeth, bracing himself for what was to come. The thing he dreading doing, but desperately needed to be done to spare his friend - his love - from an agonizing death by suffocation. It was a cruel paradox that made him both a killer and a savior. He placed his hands on Krillin's cheeks, planting a kiss on his lips - the first and last they would ever know in this lifetime.
"Forgive me," he whispered. For breaking your beautiful neck.
They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity; cool blue-grey and fiery crimson facing each other so intimately for the first time. Before the sickening snap of bone - felt in his hands as well as heard in his ears - that would break their eye contact came, Piccolo could see clearly within them nothing but unspoken gratitude and love, as well as a trace of regret for leaving him behind.
It was done. Krillin's head hung limply to the side; unlike Piccolo, he was now free from any further suffering.
Piccolo closed his eyes and unleashed a scream that was loud enough to wake the dead. Except, of course, Krillin remained silent.
The Namekian cradled the corpse of his beloved to his chest, weeping and muttering words of apology. His head and body ached more than ever now, but he didn't stop until his tears ran dry. It was the end of the world; he was free to set aside his pride and cry as loudly as he wanted, without shame.
"I curse you two, sons of whores," he growled hoarsely, his hands shaking. "May you both meet your end tenfold as painfully as I've met mine."
Still holding Krillin tightly against him under one arm, he raised his other limb, straightening the fingers of his free hand.
He wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't alone anymore.
"I'll be right there, Krillin. Just hold on."
Fueled by every ounce of his passion - rage as well as love - he brought his hand down with fatal force; black claws boring through his already broken rib cage, impaling his heart. His death was instant.
And this was not the final end - as he had soon found out - but only the beginning.
[End.]