Sooooo sorry for the long wait! i had a little bit of trouble getting on the computer, so i had to wait to finish chapter 3 so i could upload this ^^;
Anyways, i don't own DBZ. The all power-full Toriyama-Sama does.
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO: START READING!
The Underworld (AKA: HELL)
Piccolo stared wide eyed ahead of himself, staring at nothing, seeing nothing important, but hearing something that had just stopped all coherent thought in his mind. He exhaled his lungs roughly, not even realizing he had been holding his breath.
"Dende, is this true..?! Are they all really getting a second chance?" he asked through the mind link he was currently sharing with the younger namekian. Dende had contacted him right before he'd shown up in the Underworld before Lord Enma, and asked Piccolo to 'please listen to the conversation Lord Enma would have with the others' as the young Guardian had put it.
"Yes, it's true! Everyone will get to come back to life if they choose too!" though Piccolo could tell by the excitement in the boy's voice that he knew no one would object the offer.
"I'm happy for them, they all deserve it." 'especially Gohan…' he added secretly. Gohan had been forced into the life he'd lived since he was a child. Piccolo had long since felt guilt for that, as it wasn't just Goku's, but also his own fault that the boy had to fight such horrible battles since age 4. If he was being given a chance to live in peace again, he would be the first to say Gohan deserved it.
"Piccolo, I don't think you fully understand the situation at hand…" Dende said through the link, his excitement dwindling slightly. Piccolo briefly wondered what he was talking about. Dende caught the confusion across the link and his cheeks started to hurt from his smile widening. 'He really doesn't know…!' He thought to himself. Stifling a giggle, he blocked out the yelling and cheering in Enma's office once more to speak with Piccolo.
"Piccolo, you do realize Enma said the original Z fighters and their families were getting a second chance, don't you?" The boy teased, relishing that he could taunt the imposing namekian warrior and not get beaten half to death for it.
"Yes, I do Dende, now get to the point." He growled back menacingly over the link, causing a subconscious shiver of fear to crawl up Dende's spine.
"Well, you're an original Z fighter aren't you? You sacrificed your life countless times, though admittedly they were mainly for Gohan…" he flinched at the feral hiss that passed into his mind, able to imagine the look of rage on Piccolo's face. Despite all the time that had passed Piccolo still tried to keep face, even though everyone knew how much the two meant to each other.
"Anyway," Dende continued quickly, "you're an original warrior, and you sacrificed just as much as everyone else did. Just because you were sent to hell-which was a STUPID move by the way! I can understand that you wanted to get Goku out of Hell, but still, that was such a moronic thing to do, and-"
"Dende, FOCUS! Just tell me what the hell you're trying to say already!" Piccolo yelled, getting aggravated with the back and forth banter. It was getting tedious.
"YOUR COMING BACK TO LIFE TOO YOU IDIOT!" Dende screamed through the link, every word coated in excitement tenfold of what he'd had earlier.
For a moment, Piccolo couldn't understand what the young God had said, but once he did, he was completely immobile. It was almost like he'd been turned into a statue again. Dende almost began to worry when he didn't hear a response from the other end of the link.
"Umm… Piccolo? Are you OK…?" he asked timidly, unsure why he felt so uneasy.
"…I'm coming back to life as well…?" Piccolo's shaky and hesitant voice filled Dende's mind once more, relieving the Guardian.
"Yeah, after everyone is brought back to life, we'll be getting you out of Hell. It'll be a little more difficult, which is why you're not with everyone right now, but King Kai, Lord Enma and I have all pulled some strings to get you out of there." Dende's chipper voice replied, concreting the truth for Piccolo. He was getting out of Hell. He was going to get to live again and see everyone once more.
'I'll get to see Gohan again…' he thought to himself, a soft smile coming to his lips. Dende's laughter suddenly filled his mind.
"I heard that Piccolo!" he cheered gleefully, a tinge of mischief coating his voice. A deep violet blush coated Piccolo's cheeks as he forcefully, and particularly violently kicked Dende out of his mind. Once he was back to life he'd throttle the boy. His lips quirked up menacingly at the thought.
"Back to life… so this really is happening, huh?" He thought, looking up at the red sky of Hell.
Dende rubbed his head, moaning under his breath in pain. "He didn't have to be so rude…" he complained to himself. His grimace of pain turned into a gentle smile however. 'He really does miss Gohan and everyone else. I can't wait to see his and Gohan's reactions when they see each other again.' He snickered to himself as he watched everyone calm down slightly.
They were all still very shaken however. Goten, Videl and Pan were trying desperately to waken a fallen Chi-Chi, Bulma and Bra were hugging and crying in joy while Trunks tried (and failed miserably) to hide his pure happiness from his father, who was trying to look indifferent to the offer. Everyone could see the slight upward tilt of his lips though.
Krillin was hugging 18, who, shockingly, was hugging her husband's shoulders just as tightly, a smirk on her face. Marron and the rest of the gang were cheering and whooping still. Dende locked his gaze on the only person who wasn't reacting nearly as hysterically as the others. In fact, the man hadn't moved at all really. His lips were turned up in a smile, but it wasn't as large as Dende had expected. In fact, it seemed a little distracted by whatever it was he was thinking about. Dende, nearly unable to contain his curiosity, and even less willing to try, reached out his mind to grasp his friend's, slipping in effortlessly.
'Brought back to life… We're being brought back to life… I can't believe it… but…' here his mind slowed, hesitating in where ever his train of thought had been heading. Dende fought the urge to lean forward and dig through Gohan's mind. If he tried to pry his thought out instead of merely listen, Gohan would become aware of his presence in the demi-saiyan's mind. He waited patiently, keeping his gaze from staying on Gohan, so as not to become obvious.
Suddenly, images and memories of Piccolo raced through his mind. Some were of his training with the namekian when he was a child, others were of battles and talking with the group about whatever was going on at the time. Yet still more were of things like chats around their campfire, or Piccolo taking the time to help Gohan with his stance or attacks and defense without beating the hell out of him to make him understand, or even showing him how to use the Masenko.
Then there were the private moments, not meant to be seen by anyone, like how Piccolo meditated while allowing a young Gohan to eat or even sleep in his lap. Or how Gohan was able to sneak up on Piccolo while he meditated and scare him out of the sky. Or even how Piccolo would splash a laughing Gohan back after getting wave upon wave splattered onto himself from a river. The one that caught Dende's attention the most was the one where Gohan and Piccolo were in the shade under a tree. A young Gohan was in Piccolo's lap, leaning back against his chest while the green man hovered over the ground in his signature lotus position. Piccolo was stroking and playing with the boy's wild black hair, almost absent mindedly like it was habit. Gohan didn't seem to be too astonished by this, almost enjoying it, and Dende was certain it wasn't the first or last time Piccolo had done this. He couldn't understand what Gohan was saying, but suddenly Piccolo smiled. Genuinely smiled. After a little more talking, Piccolo started laughing heartily, rapping his free arm around his ribs. Gohan merely turned in the man's lap smiling up at him and laughing along. They acted so naturally, while Dende was dumbstruck to see the usually stoic namekian genuinely enjoying something so thoroughly. As he watched, he realized that Gohan was the only person in the world to know the true Piccolo. The one that smiled and laughed and joked along with him so freely.
More memories flowed through his mind, courtesy of a certain demi-saiyan. All of them were accompanied by a sense of nostalgia and warmth, and an emptiness Dende couldn't place exactly… longing maybe? No, it was more like an anxiousness to see him. He was incredibly sad, almost lonely without the cruel namekian. The feeling was an incredibly heavy, crushing sensation. It was so painful, almost as if half of his very soul had been ripped from his body. It quite possibly was, not having Piccolo. Gohan had been hiding it for a very long time. Dende was willing to bet he'd been feeling this impossibly depressing emotion since Piccolo sacrificed himself to rid the world of those damned black-star balls.
'He wants to see Piccolo again… but he doesn't know if Piccolo is being resurrected as well or not…' Dende hid the pain in his heart as he opened his eyes and chanced a glimpse at Gohan. At first glance, he was still his happy-go-lucky self, his smile still in place, just like before Dende had read his thoughts. But now that Dende felt his pain and heart ache, he could see the darkness in Gohan's coal eyes. How long had he gone without seeing his friend's misery? The demi-saiyan was obviously suffering from the separation.
'Now that I think about it, Piccolo was everything to Gohan… he was his first teacher and his best friend. Those two were so close, and then Piccolo just died so suddenly… I can't believe I never considered how much pain Gohan felt after Piccolo's death. And then Gohan was sent to Heaven, knowing Piccolo was trapped in Hell. Gods, what kind of a friend am I?'
Dende hung his head in shame, remembering how distant Gohan had seemed when he'd arrived to the man's 'sending-off' after he died. (For the last time, that is…) Throughout Lord Enma's speech of all the good deeds Gohan had done during his life, Gohan hadn't even moved. He stayed perfectly still, staring at the floor beneath his feet. As Dende looked back on that time, he suddenly realized how dark and empty Gohan's eyes had been. Being told he was going straight to the Upperworld while his best and closest friend was trapped unjustly in Hell… Dende felt the pain of unshed tears burning his eyes.
"Dende are you alright? What's wrong?" Dende snapped back to the present, seeing the concerned faces of Krillin, Pan and Trunks before him. He blinked absently before processing what they'd said. He smiled weakly, laughing lightly, but even he could hear how hollow and sad it sounded.
"Yeah, I'm fine, really. Why do you ask?" he said, hoping he could convince them otherwise.
"Because for a while your eyes were closed and you looked like you were in pain. Not to mention you've got tears streaming down your face." Trunks said gruffly, an angry glare on his face at how easily Dende tried to brush off their concern. As he watched, he saw the Guardian's eyes widen greatly, before a shaky green hand slowly went to his face to brush his cheek.
When Dende pulled his hand away and looked at it, he saw tears covering his skin. He hadn't realized he'd allowed his tears to fall, but once they had, they came freely, unbidden.
He quickly wiped the sleeve of his robes across his face, clearing his flushed face of the traitorous fluid. "I'm fine, really guys. It's nothing of importance I swear." He said, hoping they'd believe him, glancing up from his sleeve, he saw their hesitant faces before Krillin's expression hardened slightly. He looked to be concentrating a bit before Dende felt a faint fuzziness in his mind. He quickly grasped that feeling, recognizing it as Krillin's request to speak telepathically. He didn't have the ability like he and Piccolo did, nor the talent Gohan did due to constant mind links with the other namekian, but after much deliberation and practice, he'd attained the ability to let his will be known when he wanted to speak privately.
"What is it…?" Dende asked hesitantly, unsure what the short warrior wanted.
"Ya know damn well what, now tell me why you were just crying like your heart had been shattered." Krillin growled in his mind, still glaring at the namekian. Dende winced at the statement, looking down. Krillin nodded to Pan and Trunks to tell them to leave, giving them some more privacy to 'talk'. Both did so with no complaints.
"…I can't Krillin, it's private; I shouldn't have 'eavesdropped' the way I did…" he hinted what he meant by flicking his gaze to Gohan for an instance, then back down to the floor. Krillin saw his gaze change for a split second, and with discreteness the Guardian hadn't thought he'd owned, took a peek in the direction Dende had.
"…Gohan..? You listened in on his thoughts right? Just what did you 'hear' or 'see' or whatever that made you react the way you did?" he asked, eyeing Gohan out of the corner of his vision.
"I can't say Krillin, it's bad enough I know about it, it'd be even worse if I let it slip to you…" he said, completely crestfallen. Krillin's expression changed to one of sympathy as he watched.
"He's my friend too you know… At least gimme a hint to what happened…" he pleaded, his gaze softer.
Dende hesitated for a minute, weighing the pros and cons of each thing he'd retained from his 'eavesdropping'. After much deliberation, he decided he'd show Krillin the pain he'd felt from Gohan. The memories were too risky. If he showed one of the memories he was afraid he'd let his mind wander to the personal moments they had together. There was a reason Piccolo never acted like that around Gohan when someone else was around, and there was a reason Gohan never spoke of those moments they had together. He decided it was bad enough he already knew about it, but it was best if only he knew. Those secrets they shared would die with the Guardian and no one but the three of them would know. He didn't need anymore guilt for trespassing on such a sacred patch of memories and moments shared by the two unlikely companions.
"…alright, but it's not going to be pretty…" he spoke, before remembering the crushing feeling of misery and yearning he'd felt from Gohan. He pushed the memory through the link into Krillin's mind. He showed him more and more of the pain and anguish Gohan had dealt with up until that point, until he heard Krillin groaning in pain and… sniffling..? He stopped sending the feelings and looked down to see Krillin nearly on his knees, his hand clasped tightly over his heart, wrinkling the fabric there as his other arm scrubbed furiously over his face, trying to stop the tears. He sniffled again before looking up at Dende, the same torment in his eyes that Dende had most likely had upon realizing how much Gohan had suffered. Dende had just enough speed to stop Krillin from turning and making a b-line to Gohan to most likely crush him in a devastating hug. Holding onto the former monk's shirt, he leaned down and hissed into his ear.
"Calm down you idiot! If you act upset around him about this, he'll know I went through his head! He'd never forgive me, or you for wanting to know as well! It's not fair to either of us and it's most definitely not fair to him! Besides, I have something I'm sure will help you cheer up a bit." He said, a grin coming to his own lips. Krillin stopped struggling against the hand on his shirt, momentarily forgetting that he was fighting a losing battle, and turned to look at the young God.
"Uh, like what..?" he asked timidly, not sure why Dende was smiling when he knew how Gohan felt. Dende smiled wider before responding.
"Piccolo is being brought back to life too. Gohan doesn't know, but once all of you are brought back to life, King Kai, Lord Enma and I are going to get the old witch to help us get Piccolo out of Hell and able to come back to life as well!" he said, and by the end of his thought he and Krillin were grinning like complete lunatics.
"So it's going to be a complete surprise for him? He has no clue he'll get to see Piccolo again?" Krillin thought slowly, already knowing the answer. Dende nodded furiously, his eyes alight with happiness.
"They'll finally be reunited!" they both thought in unison, whooping with joy.
AN:/ YOU ALL KNOW THE DRILL! WHEN I FINISH CH 4, I'LL UPLOAD 3! PLEASE REVIEW FOR ME TO UPLOAD CHAPTER 3! 3