Dawn of a New World Chapter 2: Changes, a dragon ball z fanfic

Disclaimer:

Dragonall, Dragonball Z and all its copyrights are owned by Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. All characters (Aside from any OCs I may or may not make up.) belong to Akira, and are in no way shape or form mine. The concept, and it's implementation are mine, nothing more.

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Also, I apologize about the lengthy wait, but I tend to have a very busy schedule, often with little time for writing. I also like to write ahead, so may not post a chapter till I am a decent way into writing the next.

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...Chapter 2

On the edge of a forest, a cloaked figure walked down a weed infested path. In his left hand was an orange ball, bearing five red stars upon its surface. Only a few hundred feet ahead loomed the remains of a once magnificent castle.

With a dark smirk he laughed quietly to himself. His master was sure to be pleased with him for his latest accomplishment. He then glanced at the object in his hand curiously, he wasn't sure how seven of these things were supposed to grant any sort of a wish…but it wasn't his place to question his orders. After only a few more minutes spent, he had reached what served as the throne room for the wicked creature he served.

A diminutive creature, almost demon like in appearance was seated at the throne. On either side he was flanked by his two other minions. The one on his left was of average height, with white hair, pale blue skin and a slightly aged appearance. The other had a far more brutish and terrifying form; tall, much more so than his comrade, heavily built, and long orange sideburns that extended all the way down, dangling in front of his chest.

He quickly knelt before the throne; hand extended, and presented the orange orb to his master.

Reaching out and practically snatching the ball, the imp like fiend quickly inspected it, as if to confirm something about it. Satisfied with what he saw, he laughed quietly, almost to himself.

"Well then, five down two more to go. Though it certainly took you long enough to find it…-" he said in a rather bored tone. "However, this brings me one step closer to my goal. Only two dragonballs remain, soon I will have them all, and then I will have MY wish."

And as a sick smile crossed his lips he continued, "I am very pleased with this however, despite the delays. Go now Ginger, and bring me the last two dragonballs!"

As he stood and, for the first time allowed his hood to fall, Ginger followed suite with a twisted smile of his own. "As you command, Lord Garlic."

…

"Goku!" screamed Chi Chi at her husband. "He isn't even three years old yet; he still is not old enough for this. I told you I might allow you to train him when he got older, I didn't mean when he was a toddler." Honestly, the nerve of that man …

"But Chi Chi," whined Goku "I just want to start teaching him some of the basics…nothing too rough yet" he said.

"I still say he's too young Goku" she said, anger clearly evident in her tone. "He needs to grow up and make something of himself, not become some kind of a brainless muscle head."

She suddenly slammed her foot down on the floor and screeched "Honestly, getting him involved in the sort of things you did when you were a kid…you're his father, you should be trying protect him from stuff like that, not endangering him by-"

"Chi Chi!" he snapped suddenly. Completely taken aback she actually took a quick step backwards, nearly tripping in the process. He almost never raised his voice like that, especially not towards her.

"Chi Chi-" he said, much softer this time. "I would never do anything to put him in any danger. I just want to make sure he would be able to defend himself if I wasn't there to protect him. I know he's still kind of young, but I'll take it easy on him. Just all the basic stuff; no ki or anything like that for quite while…I promise."

She didn't really want to admit it to him, but he was right. What if something did happen and Goku wasn't there. Best not think about that… ,it would be for the best if he did learn how to fight, at least he wouldn't be completely defenseless in case trouble struck.

Slowly she began to nod her head in agreement. "I guess so, but only for an hour or two a day. That's all I'm going to allow for now, you go that?" she said sternly.

Wow…didn't expect her to agree that fast… Scratching the back of his head in typical Son fashion he paused for a moment.

"Umm…ok. Sounds great Chi Chi…" he said his voice clearly betraying how surprised he actually was.

"So where is Gohan at right now?" he questioned.

"He's outside playing." She said while smiling. "You should go check on him now though."

"Ok then. Maybe I could start training him today-" he stopped short when he saw the glare she was giving him. Unconsciously he scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner. "Well maybe not right away…" he said with a sweat drop running down his face.

How pathetic

Normally having such exceptional hearing would be considered a blessing, but at the moment Piccolo was seriously considering the notion of tearing his ears off. From his perch in the top of a large tree overlooking the Son house, he could still hear nearly every word that was said.

It meant nothing to him however. As he looked towards the child playing absentmindedly, a wicked smile formed on his lips. That brat was the centerpiece of his plan. Ever since his last battle with that naïve fool of a man, Son Goku, he had been increasingly plagued by memories of his sire's former life, and twisted visions of himself, becoming exactly like him.

Nothing it seemed could stop them from invading his mind; even meditation had become ineffective, bit by bit they were slowly driving him insane. Something needed to be done.

Although he initially given up on his goal of killing Goku; he recently started to believe that he had something to do with his recent mental torment. Eventually he had begun to believe that by destroying him, it would satisfy the small part of him that yearned for his death, and maybe put an end to the turmoil in his mind.

He wasn't sure if he could beat him in a fair fight, but with his mind as clouded as it was, he honestly couldn't care less. He would use the brat as leverage, by taking him hostage. Then, once Goku came after him, he would use that to his own advantage. And if need be, he would give Goku an ultimatum, his life, or that of his son. It was perfect, or so he thought.

Deep inside however, he wasn't sure he could actually KILL the kid. He most certainly didn't care for the brat, not in the least. But to actually kill him, it just seemed almost...wrong.

Suddenly snapping to attention, he knew he had to act now if he wanted his plan to have any chance of succeeding. He could sense Goku's ki moving closer and closer to the door to the backyard; any second now that idiot would be walking outside, well he would be in for one hell of a surprise when he did…

Silently he leapt from the tree, careful not to make any sound. Not missing a beat he rushed toward Gohan, who had at that exact moment turned in to face him. Unsurprisingly, the brat had started screaming at the sight of him charging toward him. Not wishing to endure the noise, he quickly snatched up the child and delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck. Not enough to cause any permanent harm, just enough to knock him unconscious for at least a few hours.

Quickly he tucked the brat under his right arm and got into a defensive stance, or at least the best he could manage considering the baggage he was currently carrying. Inside he felt Goku's ki suddenly spike; not too surprisingly, less than a second later Goku had literally burst through the backdoor, his face twisted into a feral grimace.

The look even unnerved Piccolo for a couple seconds. He quickly pushed the feeling aside and shot a sinister smirk at Goku, who had his fists clenched so tightly that the whites of his knuckles could clearly be seen.

"Piccolo," Goku said, his entire body tense with rage, "I don't know what the hell this is about, but this is between the two of us, so put my son down right now!" He didn't know what in the world had gotten into Piccolo; he thought he could change, was changing even. But this made him really question his prior decision on whether it was worth it to spare his life.

"Or else what, Goku?" taunted Piccolo. "Or are you so stupid as to forget the most important detail, I have your son right here" he said while smirking at the other's obvious distress.

"And if you value his life in the slightest, you will be doing this my way. And if you do something I do not like," He tightened his grip around Gohan's shirt, and formed a small orb of ki in his free hand. "Then I might not be able to guarantee his well being, if you get what I'm saying" The smirk on his face faded when he saw Goku tense up even more. For a moment he even thought Goku might try and attack him.

It would be foolish if he did attack, and he was actually a bit relieved that Goku didn't. That would mean that he might actually have had to act on his threat, and he still wasn't sure if he could actually kill the kid, or whether or not he was actually bluffing Goku the entire time. Still he didn't want Goku to even notice the tiny amount of relief he did feel when nothing happened, he could not show any sign of weakness now.

Goku however did pick up on the subtle change in Piccolo, but since it came and went so fast, he couldn't quite figure out what prompted it. And a small part of himself suspected, that maybe, just maybe Piccolo was bluffing. Still, it was Gohan's life potentially on the line; and with a person that was as unpredictable and volatile as Piccolo was known to be, it likely wouldn't bode well to call him out on a possible bluff.

At the moment, he couldn't see a lot of ways out of it, his only real option seemed to be to do as Piccolo said. And if need be, he would give his own life if it meant saving Gohan's.

"So what then," he said while fighting to keep his anger in check. "What do you even hope to gain from this?" He questioned harshly. If anything, he dreaded what the answer would be.

"Your death of course." Piccolo said gruffly. And for some reason it didn't completely surprise Goku, though he was certainly not pleased. While he wouldn't consider him an ally or friend by any means; he thought, or at least hoped that Piccolo had at least gotten past wanting to kill him. Of course he had no real idea why Piccolo was doing this, and as far as the green man was concerned, he never would.

"But now is not the time and place for that," he paused for a moment, as if to consider the situation. "Oh no, I plan to draw this out as much as possible. I can just imagine how much you and that hellish, banshee of a woman will stress and worry about your precious child." The look Goku gave him at that moment was priceless, but some nagging feeling in the back of his mind was preventing him, somehow, from truly enjoying the moment as he should have. Ignoring it for the moment, he couldn't help sneering at his enemy. "And in case your infantile mind hasn't figured it out yet, I'm taking the kid here with me, as a sort of insurance policy."

"No!" Goku said as he tookd a step forward. "I won't let you just-"

"Enough!" Piccolo roared, interrupting him.

"You don't have any say in this, remember, his life is in my hands now. Don't worry, he will be well taken care of, I can assure you. Unless you do anything foolish of course." Satisfied that he made his point, he continued. "I'll be taking my leave now, so I would advise you not to do anything too rash. And don't worry, when I ready to deal with you, I'll make sure you know it. And just so you don't feel to badly," he said as he formed an orb of energy in his hand. "Here's a parting gift for you!" he threw the blast toward Goku, hitting him dead on and sending him flying into the side of the house.

Taking advantage of this, he tucked Gohan underneath his arm, and dashed of into the forest, not stopping till he was several miles away from the Son residence. Once he was absolutely sure he wasn't being pursued, he suppressed his ki down to a nearly undetectable level; then after a moments consideration, he darted off in a different direction, not stopping for several hours.

When he could hear the almost deafening roar of water cascading over the edge of a distant cliff face, his pace began slow ever so slightly. Finally he had come to his destination. As he looked up towards the familiar waterfall, he almost felt a sense of peace come over him. It was quickly dispelled when he felt the weight in his arm shift slightly, reminding him of what he needed to do. As if that could ever happen...peace...for a monster...

He came to a complete stop just a couple dozen meters away. He paused for a brief moment, then cast one final look back towards the forest as it was bathed in the fading glow of twilight. Then with a single swift movement, he leapt through the torrent of water and landed smoothly on the inside of the cliff facing, with scarcely a drop of water clinging to him.

He quickly walked the last few feet along the narrow path, till finally he reached a hole in the cliff facing. He had to slouch a bit to get in through the rather low lying entrance, but past that, it was quite spacious. Not that he needed anything special in which to dwell in, for someone like him it was more than satisfactory. He never stayed at any one spot for too long a time anyway.

Almost casually he tossed the kid down to the ground, causing him to whimper softly. He almost, felt pity for the runt. He couldn't quite understand it either. The little bastard was the son of his arch enemy, so to feel anything at all for him, confounded Piccolo to no end. Maybe it was because he felt some sort of twisted kinship with him. He wasn't even THAT much older than what the little brat was. All he knew was that he was completely alone, from day one, with nothing but sick, evil thoughts and memories to guide him. And thanks to that, thing that was his father, his childhood passed by almost in the blink of any eye. And all for the sake of being able to quickly gain enough power to kill Son Goku, and then unleash the forces of hell themselves upon the land.

And in a truly ironic twist of fate, not only had he taken the kid captive, he was also plotting he death of his father. But it wasn't for Daimao, he didn't owe that monster a damn thing. He was doing it for himself. Or so he had thought, what he couldn't see was that it was Daimao who was indeed pulling the strings; using all the lingering hatred, doubt and any other negative feelings or emotions he could latch on to to guide Piccolo further into darkness.

As he walked over to the far corner of the cave, it finally occurred to him just how exhausted he was; and not just physically. Having practically collapsed, he closed his eyes and prepared to start his meditation ritual.

...

He wasn't sure how much time had actually passed, it could have been minutes or even hours for all he knew. But just as he was in that state; between meditation and sleep, he was suddenly jolted out of it by a sudden, and distinct sound. Goddamn it...blasted kid would decide to wake up now!

For a few moments he tried to ignore the kid, and even considered blasting him to get him to shut up. Anything to stop that awful racket. He dismissed the idea quickly enough; he still needed him alive for his plan to work, or at least that was what he tried telling himself. But in actuality, he already HAD the kid, so Goku wouldn't even know if he did kill him. Hell, for all he knew that could have already been the case. So why, why keep him alive at all? He, for the life of him, couldn't figure it out.

It had been several minutes though, and he still wouldn't be quite. So finally Piccolo decided that his ears had suffered enough for one day.

He quickly jumped into a standing position and bellowed across the room, "Enough with the blasted crying already!" When nothing happened and the brat kept on screaming, he darted across the room in a flash; appearing right in front of the boy. Snarling, he grabbed him roughly by the collar and hoisted him so that the brat was eye level with him. And surprising, the kid actually stopped screaming for a moment.

"Listen up real good kid, because I'm only going to say this once. Keep that incessant whining up any longer and I will be forced to rip out that tongue of yours. But if you're quiet...I may be generous and allow you to keep it, understand me?" he barked out. Slowly the boy nodded his head in affirmation. Grunting, Piccolo released his hold on the boys collar, sending him down to the stone floor with a dull thud.

Satisfied with the response he received, he turned and prepared to head back to the far side of the cavern; to tryand get some sleep. Just a few short steps later he paused when he heard a soft, sobbing noise.

Damn this kid.

"What the hell is it now?" he growled. Just as the boy was about to open his mouth to answer, Piccolo raised his hand dismissively, as a sign to keep quiet. "I think I know what your problem is..." he said with a look on his face, that was some twisted combination of a smirk and a scowl. "You probably want to go back...home, to those buffoons you call parents...don't you?"

Watching as the kid nervously nodded , Piccolo frowned. Big surprise there... He should have seen that coming. "Well guess what kid, you better make yourself at home here," he said gruffly. "Because you're going to be stuck with me for quite a while...or at least until I deal with your father." The last part was said under his breath, but he still wasn't sure; given the kids confused expression, if he managed to catch that bit. It didn't matter at any rate, once he had disposed of Goku he might consider allowing him to go, but not till then.

Surprisingly too, at least to Piccolo, he didn't make any real fuss over the issue. Maybe it was because he wasn't old enough to comprehend the situation, or perhaps he may have inherited Goku's stunning intellect after all. Snorting at the thought, he walked back to his part of the cavern and resumed his meditation where he left off.

Over the next few days, Piccolo had found himself unsure on what exactly, his next move would be. At first he had tried to tolerate and ignore the kid to the best of his abilities, but he quickly found that to be impossible. And at first, he despised the boy, wondering if it was even worth going all the trouble; just so he could eliminate Goku.

Slowly however, he came to realize that he was beginning to feel, almost a sort of affection for the kid. Why though? He couldn't even fathom such a thing, he was brought into the world for the sole purpose of destruction; so how was it even possible that he could have any feelings other than those associated with that? Of course, he couldn't flat out admit such things to anyone; hell he barely believed it himself.

And this was the primary cause of his relative inaction. He wasn't sure how to go about the next phase of his plan, and on a subconscious level, was even beginning to question the logic of what he was doing. A tiny voice in the farthest corner of his mind was telling him that what he was planning was foolish, and that it was just a ploy by Daimao to bring him back to his evil ways. But so far he had been suppressing that notion, not wanting to believe that it could actually be true.

On the fourth day Piccolo found himself more restless than ever before. It was coming to a point where all the conflicting thoughts and feelings were about to drive him insane.

After spending the entire morning, and better part of the afternoon meditating, he felt somewhat calmer. Still he couldn't completely shake the uneasy feeling he was having. Glancing over to the far corner of the room, he saw that the kid was just starting to stir. And despite his better judgement, he found himself walking over to him.

As he looked down at the boy, who was currently sitting up, he noticed something. He saw no fear in his eyes; instead they almost looked...trusting. He shook his head quickly, trying to dispel such nonsense. If the brat trusted him in the slightest, he was even stupider than Goku was; and to Piccolo, that was really saying something.

And it was just at this moment, that he realized he didn't even know the boys name. Why that would even matter, was another mystery to him. So after narrowing his eyes, he said in a rather gruff tone "Well kid, I'm curious...do you even have a name, or was your father to stupid to ignorant to even come up with anything?" Almost instantly he regretted ever wondering, but it was to late to take that question back now.

The boy paused for a second, before nervously answering, "G-Gohan s-sir..."

Sneering, Piccolo mumbled "How amusing..." he paused for a moment, somehow that name seemed familiar to him. "Seems your father wasn't quite as stupid as I thought he was..."

...

It had been days since Piccolo had taken his son, and Goku was absolutely frantic. Chi Chi was another matter entirely, she had fainted when she found out what had happened, and even after waking up she didn't react in any predictable sort of way. After screaming her head off at Goku, she was almost completely silent. And that unnerved Goku more than anything, he could deal with her screaming rants, but to be practically a mute, he just couldn't handle it.

He couldn't understand what had happened with Piccolo to cause this. He hadn't reached any point where he could trust him, but what he did seemed to come out of nowhere. He thought he was starting to change for the better. While he wanted to know what caused him to do this, finding Gohan and taking him back was the top priority.

At first he had scoured the entire area, trying to figure where Piccolo had went. But it had been in vain, considering he had no doubt suppressed his ki.

After two days of almost constant searching, he had reluctantly resigned himself to his home. He didn't want to think Piccolo would harm his son, and hoped this could be resolved without anyone having to die. Piccolo had told him he would contact him, at his convenience, so he no doubt had something devious planned for then. But he hoped his son would be fine till then. Such thinking however, did little to ease Goku's mind, and he hadn't slept a bit since.

By the end of the fourth day, he was almost out of his mind with worry. He finally decided that if Piccolo didn't make his presence known in the next hours, he was going to find him, by ANY means.

And if need be, if it insured Gohan's safety, he would gladly make the greatest sacrifice any father could ever make for their child...

Conversing with the kid, no...Gohan, had been amusing to say the least. Piccolo had thought that much. He did seem to grow noticeably agitated when he had insulted his fool of a father. He was also quite intelligent for his age; at least based on his knowledge of human children, and that was made all the more impressive considering who his father was.

And he didn't react with much fear when Piccolo told him who he really was, though he did at least seem to know of him. Probably thanks to Goku, though he had apparently omitted certain details. He had almost snorted at that thought, of course that naive bastard would try to shelter his spawn in such a way... Not that it really mattered now. He would find out soon enough his true nature.

What was truly surprising was that he had even found his presence tolerable. It seemed almost pleasant to have someone to interact with, given that he always had forced himself to live isolation up till this point.

The one thing he didn't share was the fact that he was planning to kill his father. For some reason he didn't want to face his reaction, and more over, that it might actually make him reconsider his plans. And now, he could at least grudgingly admit to himself that he was beginning to form some level of attachment to Gohan. Though the idea was still a bit repulsive, primary because he thought it was a sign of weakness, it was still a tolerable idea.

And after Gohan had went back to sleep much later on in the night, Piccolo had resumed his typical meditation. But shortly before dawn he was pulled out of it by something rather alarming, Goku. He was out, probably searching for his location. It didn't seem like he actually knew where he was currently, but he was wondering extremely close all the same. But he could tell right away from Goku's ki that something was off. It seemed that it was fluctuating much more than it should otherwise be. The idiot probably hadn't rested at all since he had taken his son, and now his body was paying the price for it.

Perfect he thought grimly to himself. Considering Goku's nearing proximity, it seemed to Piccolo like the perfect chance to finish him off once and for all. And ignoring his reservations, he quickly made his way through to the outside of the cave. What he didn't realize was that Gohan was awake, and had seen him leaving the cave.

After jumping through the waterfall, he paused to collect himself for a moment. Then he started raising his power as high as it could go, with his weighted clothing on of course. And sure enough, Goku had picked up on it and was quickly heading towards his location.

So this was it. Scarcely a minute passed before Goku arrived, stopping only a few meters away from Piccolo. Just by his disheveled appearance, he could tell that his guess was correct. It was obvious that he hadn't slept a bit in the past four days. No doubt worrying about the safety of his son. And all for nothing, after all, he had no intention of harming Gohan, not now at least. But he wouldn't let Goku catch on to that one.

And his power was much lower than it should have been, and for a moment Piccolo regretted how little of a challenge he would likely offer. But he had to do this, anything to free his mind. And this might be his last, and only reach chance to actually kill him.

"Where is he Piccolo?" barked Goku rather forcefully. "You better not have hurt him or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Piccolo interrupted. Before Goku could even respond he continued, "In any case, he is fine. You're the one I'm after, he was just the bait. So I had no reason to do anything to him. It wouldn't have even been worth the effort anyway." he spat.

Goku shot Piccolo an icy look before speaking, "Then where is he Piccolo, this is the last time I'm going to ask you."

It took every bit of restrain to refrain from outright blasting him for such a stupid question. "Idiot. Have you forgotten how to sense energy or what," Piccolo growled out. "Because if you had actually tried, you should have easily been able to pick up on his ki by now."

And sneering, he continued, "But that doesn't matter now. Because if you're not getting him back unless you can some how manage to defeat me. And I just can't see that happenin-"

But before he could even finish his sentence, Goku had rushed forward, and smashed his boot directly into Piccolo's face.

After flipping end over end dozens of times, Piccolo managed to right himself just before he crashed into the tree line. Looking upward he saw Goku throwing away his weighted clothing. And in doing so it brought his power up dramatically. Much higher that what he thought it would be.

Damn it all! His power is almost at my level... Noting that, he would have to be much more cautious than he previously planned. But no matter.

Quickly discarding his turban and cape, and then spitting out a mouth full of blood; he rushed towards Goku, fist already cranked back. "Guess you're not in the mood for small talk today, well that suits me just fine, in fact I was thinking the same thing!" he said while aiming his fist right at Goku's unguarded face.

Quickly Goku leaped over it, with Piccolo sailing just inches below him. Before he could react, Piccolo had already charged a small blast, and right as Goku was spinning around Piccolo fired it right toward his face.

Goku held up his hand at the last second to shield himself from the blast, but was still knocked several feet backwards by the explosion. Attempting to take advantage of this, Piccolo lunged forward and was preparing to slam an elbow into his gut, but Goku recovered in time and delivered a swift jab to Piccolo's throat, sending him reeling backwards, sputtering while clutching at his throat.

Reaching forward, he grabbed Piccolo's leg, but was thrown back when Piccolo fired two thin beams, one from each eye, right into his chest. Other than having a large chunk of his Gi ripped off, he was otherwise unharmed. But in his surprise he left himself wide open, and Piccolo seized the opportunity and flipped forwards, bringing his knee down onto Goku's skull and sending him flying towards the ground like a missile.

Right as he was about to hit, Goku righted himself and braced his legs for the impact. As soon as he had stopped himself from digging any further into the ground, he looked skyward and saw Piccolo barreling towards him, and just when Piccolo's boot was about to connect with his head, he jumped backwards narrowly avoiding the blow. Quickly Piccolo tried to spin around to defend himself, but was thrown back when Goku extended his hand and launched a powerful, wind like ki burst into his side.

Catching himself half a second later, he spun and caught a a punch aimed squarely at his jaw. Right when he saw that Goku preparing to strike with his other hand, Piccolo quickly yanked him forwards, and slung him face first into the ground half a dozen feet away. Not wanting to give him any time to recover, Piccolo quickly formed a ki orb in each hand; the second Goku regained his footing, Piccolo combined the two blasts together and launched it right at him.

Much to his surprise however, Goku quickly spun around and managed to catch the blast, his feet digging into the ground as he strained to hold it at bay. Frowning, Piccolo jumped a good hundred feet backwards, before forming a small orb and firing it directly at the one Goku was struggling with. At the last second he managed to throw the blast up into the air, but not quick enough to prevent it from colliding with Piccolo's second blast.

The resulting explosion level several acres of forest, in addition to sending both fighters hurtling several hundred yards away. After a few seconds spent getting their bearings straight, they rushed each other, each intent on ending the fight as quickly as possible.

They went back and forth for several minutes, with neither managing to gain the upper hand. Piccolo also found that while he was at an advantage as far as power went, Goku was displaying an almost unfathomable amount of tenacity. Even though Goku's ki was falling at a higher rate than his own, it didn't seem like it was getting any easier. He seemed to have switched to a more defensive style of fighting, and was making an excellent use of hit and run tactics. But Piccolo knew that if he could manage to actually hit him with everything he had, he could easily disable him. The trick was in finding an opening.

After yet another brief exchange, each managed to land a solid blow to the others face, knocking themselves several meters backwards. After recovering, they both got back into fighting stances, neither wanting to be the one to make the first move. Suddenly Piccolo lunged forwards, feigning a right hook, to which Goku instinctively tried to duck underneath. But instead of following through with the punch, Piccolo opened his mouth and fired a concentrated beam of ki right at his face.

Unable to block in time, Goku tried to weave off to the side to avoid the blast, but it still managed to engulf his entire left arm. The attack had done a fair amount of damage to his arm, he could barely even move his fingers, much less even attempt to defend himself. To him, things were really starting to get desperate.

Piccolo grinned when he saw just how much that blast had injured him, he hadn't expected it to do that much damage. But it was exactly what he was looking for, and as he saw Goku attempt to move to a defensive stance, he rushed towards him, with a twisted glint in his eyes. He quickly aimed a kick at Goku's skull, but to his amusement, Goku managed to grab his leg. Seeing that Goku's good arm was occupied, he extended his hand and quickly fired a small blast in Goku's face, stunning him.

With the odds firmly stacked in his favor, Piccolo then drove his elbow into Goku's stomach, following up with a punch that sent him sailing skyward. Smirking, he gathered his ki and blasted off, quickly intercepting Goku's path. Not wanting to give Goku any chance to defend himself, he grabbed Goku into a bear hug, and immediately sped down towards the ground.

The two impacted with enough force to form a crater nearly a hundred meters around, and easily twenty meters deep. Piccolo quickly forced himself into a standing position, the force from the impact had shaken him up a bit, but it was nothing compared to Goku. Glaring down, he saw that Goku was still conscious, and was attempting to pick himself up, with little success. Piccolo could hardly believe what he saw at first, but quickly thought better of that notion. This was the same man who had continued to fight after sustaining a hole to the chest, so this was hardly surprising.

Slowly a faint glow formed around Piccolo's hand, as he prepared to deliver the final blow. This was the moment he had been waiting for his entire life, was it not? So why was it that he felt no satisfaction from what he was about to do?

Propping himself up on his elbows, Goku smiled weakly "I guess this is it. I was hoping it wouldn't have ended like this..."

"Really, Goku?" Questioned Piccolo, "You honestly couldn't see this coming, you know full well who I am, you really must have been deluded if you thought you saw any good in me."

"But you didn't have to do this, you could have changed an-" Goku started to plead, before being interrupted.

"No!" Boomed Piccolo. "You really don't understand a damn thing do you?" Slowly, the the energy around his hand began to glow brighter, as he unconsciously started to put more energy into it. "You will die today...and maybe I can finally be at peace". The last part was nearly a whisper, and Goku wasn't even sure he had heard Piccolo correctly. If he had heard right, then their was probably quite a bit more going on that he didn't understand.

Piccolo then extended his palm, preparing to finish Goku off for good.

"Wait!" Goku shouted. "I don't care what happens to me, but please, promise me that you will let Gohan go. He has nothing to do with any of this."

For a moment he nearly faltered. Regaining his composure, he smirked at Goku. "I suppose I could grant you that much. And unlike you, his presence is actually tolerable."

Goku was greatly perplexed at the way he said that, but he didn't have time to ponder what he meant, because he could see something climbing down the cliff face. Gohan? What in the world is he doing...

Right when he was less than ten feet from the ground, Gohan suddenly lost his grip, making a tiny thud when he hit. Fortunately he managed to get up rather quickly, and began running over to where Piccolo and Goku were.

With the noise he made, Piccolo turned and saw him running his way. For a moment, a look of utter shock crossed his face. He quickly replaced it with a neutral expression and he turned back to Goku.

"Gohan, get back now!" yelled Goku. This was way to dangerous for him to be getting this close. But Gohan wasn't listening to him. Quickly he saw Piccolo pointing his hand at his father, and it was glowing.

Coming to a complete halt just a few feet from where Piccolo was standing, he said "Mis-Mister Piccolo, why is my dad on the ground like that, and why is your hand flashing?"

God damn it! This was it, he was hoping that the kid wouldn't have to see this, but no way out of it now.

"Kid," he started to say. a bit unsure of how to explain himself. "Me and your father here, we'll we aren't exactly what you might call, friends."

Noting his reaction, he frowned and continued, "In fact, I'm the one who did this to him. And now, I'm going to finish what I started, before you rudely interrupted. I'm going to kill him."

No sooner than the words left his mouth, a cry erupted from Gohan. And his ki actually jumped up a bit, certainly higher than it should have been.

Seconds later he jumped onto his back, screaming in his ear to stop, that he wasn't going to let him hurt his dad anymore. Piccolo almost scoffed at that, like he could do anything to stop him. And doing his best to ignore him, he pointed his hand at Goku again, and started pouring more power into the blast. He barely noticed it when Gohan started slamming his fists into his back, but it was only seconds later that he completely froze.

How could he do this? He would be doing exactly what Daimao wanted to do if he actually killed Goku.

And then it hit him, and he cursed himself for not listening to it earlier. Those twisted dreams, they would never go away if he did this, it was all a trick. Everything, all of this was just to bring him back to his sire's path; to make him become like him again. And he had walked right in, hardly giving it a second thought. He was the real fool, not Goku. The thought alone sickened him to his very core, and at that moment he felt a hatred greater than anything he had ever felt before. This time, it was Daimao that it was all focused on; the bastard had played him masterfully. But never again, from this moment onward, he would do everything in his power to be different from that monster. This was his life, and he would be damned if he was going to allow himself to be a puppet for anyone. Especially Daimao.

Goku may have killed his sire; but in his mind, Daimao deserved it, and then some. And he then though back to that day, when Goku spared his life. He would never admit it out loud, but he actually respected Goku for it, deep down. So killing him in turn, would be a lousy way to repay him. What was more, he could not bring himself to hurt Gohan by doing so. So if he wanted to preserve his honor, or what little he had left, he knew that he only had one choice left.

Finally pulling himself out of such thoughts, he realized Gohan was still hanging on to him, sobbing quietly into the back of his shirt.

"Please, don't kill my daddy mister Piccolo, please..." Gohan sobbed.

"Fine!" growled Piccolo as he lowered his hand, and allowed the ki he gathered to dispel. "Now get the hell off me brat!"

Even Goku was a bit shocked at what he heard and saw. He was even more surprised when Piccolo grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him roughly to his feet. His legs nearly gave out at first, but he quickly managed to regain his balance.

Looking to Piccolo, he smiled.

"Piccolo...I don't know what to say." stammered Goku. "I really thought you were actually going to go through with it for a second, but you didn't..."

"Spare me the lecture, Goku. I've heard this speech of yours before; and I don't care to hear the "revised" version right now." growled Piccolo. And giving a twisted smirk, he went on, "And don't thank me for anything just yet..."

And faster than Goku's mind could even register, Piccolo phased out of sight and quickly reappeared behind him. Before Goku could turn around, Piccolo delivered a swift blow to the back of his head, that sent him tumbling to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

...

Several hours later, Goku finally started coming to. If it hadn't been for the sheer amount of pain he was in, he would have been quick to think he was already dead, and in Otherworld. As he opened his eyes, he saw all the bandages covering his body, and quickly felt the back of his head. Sure enough, their was a large bit of cloth wrapped around it. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was Piccolo disappearing from view and a sudden stabbing pain in the back of his head. Of course it had been Piccolo to knock him out...

As he thought more on the entire episode, it only served to puzzle him more. First Piccolo had taken Gohan, and seemed dead set on killing him. He could not comprehend what had caused the sudden regression, but even more shocking was that he had him at his mercy, and seemed poised to kill him. He could vaguely remember Gohan jumping on Piccolo's back and screaming at him to stop, but that still didn't explain it. And Piccolo's demeanor towards Gohan seemed a bit odd, if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that maybe he had started to form some sort of bond with him.

But the fact that he still spared his life, it seemed hard to swallow. Then there was the fact that he had woken up at home, in his own bed none the less. And even disregarding how odd Piccolo's sudden change of heart was, and how surprised he was that Piccolo didn't finish him off. It was even more out in left field that Piccolo had apparently been the one to drop him off; which was probably a pretty accurate guess when he thought about it literally; at his home. Obviously Gohan would have had no way to do that, he was too young, and couldn't even fly, let alone be capable of carrying him such a considerable distance.

But all in all, he was glad things turned out as well as they did. He still didn't think he could trust Piccolo all that much, but he no longer felt any need to fear for his life around him now. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he felt a subtle change in Piccolo in the seconds before he had dispelled the ki blast he had been preparing to finish him off with. It felt as if whatever darkness that had been lingering over him had altogether vanished, as if the he had finally overcome the last bits of influence Daimao had over him.

Of course, Chi Chi and all the others would probably think he was crazy for coming to such a conclusion, but it didn't matter to him. He was also sure that he would get an ear full anyway, once his wife finally came back in and found him awake. And he would almost, almost rather fight Piccolo all over again than deal with her screaming rants. At least fighting he could understand, his wife, that was another story entirely...

Almost a month after Gohan's kidnapping, things were getting back to normal for the Son family. Goku's injuries had, of course, healed up in under a weak. Such was normal for him, wounds that took anyone else weeks to recover from, took him only a matter of days.

He had started training Gohan, and the most surprising thing was that Chi Chi actually encouraged him. He had only started with the absolute basics on technique, and had been spending more time demonstrating things than anything else. He had went over simple fighting techniques, and was only at this point, beginning to teach him the basics of sensing ki.

Every now and then, he had sensed, or at least thought he sensed Piccolo's presence near by. He always kept that to himself however, not wanting to set off his wife by mentioning such things. She still hadn't gotten over what Piccolo had done already, and wanted him nowhere near her family.

Once, during the middle of the night, he had noticed something odd. Gohan was not in bed, rather, he was outside near the edge of the forest. And what was more alarming was the fact that he had sensed Piccolo out as well. Immediately he had suspected the worst, but was relieved to see, after barely glancing out the door, that nothing was too amiss. From what he saw, Piccolo seemed to be giving Gohan some instruction using ki to create small, visible orbs of energy.

Why he was even doing it, Goku had no honest clue. But it was far better than how he could have ended up, and that thought had made him shudder briefly. And in a sense, Goku found it hard to ignore just how ironic it was. He had fought to the death with Piccolo's father, and had eventually killed him. Yet, it appeared that he was beginning to form a friendship with his son, Gohan. It was definitely bizarre to say the least.

But he never mentioned the incident to anyone, least of all to Chi Chi. He never even said a word to Gohan, though eventually he would have to confront the issue. The way he figured, as long as Piccolo had no malevolent intent, their was no harm in him being around Gohan. And if such actually ended up changing Piccolo for the better, then there was no issue to be had. In fact, it would be good to have him as an ally, in case any trouble ever presented itself.

...

Slowly Piccolo opened his eyes, having just finished a nearly twelve hour long meditation session. His thoughts often thought back to his last battle with Goku. In a way, he had wished he had never allowed himself to be led by Daimao so easily. But, he was glad, or as close as he could figure, because that entire ordeal had given him the resolve to completely break free from the shadow of his father. Now in hindsight, he could see just how wrong Daimao, and by correlation, him as well, were about everything. Everything that bastard once stood for, completely disgusted him now.

And while he still felt a familiar disgust at the thought of being near him, he had to to admit that he was glad that Goku had killed Daimao. Above all else, that demon had deserved it. Not that he would ever pass on a chance to beat Goku's face in; in fact, he would rather enjoy that, but he had absolutely no desire to kill him, not anymore.

He was an excellent opponent, probably the only person on the entire planet that stood a decent chance at beating him, and that alone was a good enough reason to keep him around. Much as he also hated to admit it, he truly held quite a decent amount of respect for him. And despite always taunting him over his lack of intelligence, it was very clear by then to Piccolo, that Goku was not stupid. Naive, and simple minded at times; but Piccolo suspected that those were, at least in part, a put on, to make his opponents underestimate him.

Then there was Gohan. He had started off despising the kid, but he had quickly grown on him. And, despite his better judgement, Piccolo eventually found himself sneaking over to the Son family residence, to check up on him. Noting that Goku was started to train him, he decided that he would, offer his "assistance" in that role. He knew that Goku would probably cave in to that loud mouth, banshee of a wife, and as such would likely omit certain things from his training. So he decided, that he would begin teaching him the basics of ki control.

Truth be told, the kid seemed to have quite a bit of promise, and was remarkably strong for his age. He just lacked control. Well, Piccolo had thought, he would teach him that. The kid just might end surprising everyone one day.

Suddenly, Piccolo was pulled out those thoughts when he sensed to rather large powers quickly approaching him. Recently he had come across a dragonball, and had decided to hang onto it. He had no use for it himself, but he felt that it would be prudent in keeping anyone who might really be a threat to the planet, from getting their hands on all seven. Now, seemed like it had been a good idea to do so, considering the dark energy that was practically radiating off of the two that were heading right for him.

Two blurs shot right past him, and skidded to a stop in mid-air, just a few feet behind him. One had blueish skin, and looked, in human terms, as if he were in his mid eighties**. The other was a hideous giant, and had long orange hair all down his face, dandling down just above his chest. Both were significantly weaker than he was at full strength, but at Piccolo's current level they were definitely a threat.

Piccolo smirked; and while cracking his knuckles said, "Look, I really don't care who the hell you two misfits are, but if I were you I would leave, while you still have your lives." Suddenly a scowl overtook his features. "But I'm sure you freaks are here for something else, so state your business, or get the hell out of my sight!"

Grinning wickedly, the smaller of the two spoke up, "You know full well what we are here for, Piccolo." The fact that these two apparently knew his name, was of little surprise. After everything Daimao did, and his own battle with Goku at the tournament, Piccolo would have been surprised to find anyone of this planet that had never heard of him in some way or another. What made it unnerving was the fact that they had know exactly where to find him, and he had a hell of a good idea what they were after.

Taking on a neutral expression, the blue man continued, "We are looking for, the dragon-balls I believe they are called. And we know you have one of them." The dragonball, damn. Of course they would want that... Glaring across, Piccolo got into a fighting stance. "Well, I have news for you, and who ever else is looking for these..." He quickly charged a large purple orb of ki in hand. "Consider this a gift!" With that, he hurtled the blast at the smaller of the two.

To Piccolo's surprise, both raised their power levels greatly; quite a bit above his current level. The one he launched the blast at handily batted it away, with minimal effort. He quickly raised his ki as much as possible in the time allowed, and rushed toward the larger of the two, fist glowing with energy. The orange giant tried to block, but wasn't quick enough, and the blow sent him barreling off in the distance, crashing into the dirt over a thousand yards away.

Before Piccolo had a chance to follow up however, the other one landed a kick to the middle of Piccolo's back that sent him sprawling. He recovered, and spun around just in time to kick the blue man away from him. Just then, he was blind sided by a ki blast, launched by the guy that he had just punched into the ground seconds before. The blast sent him rocketing forwards for several seconds, when he finally came to a stop, he spun around, narrowly avoiding a blow to the face.

Suddenly the smaller of the two spoke up, "Take it easy Sansho. We can't kill this guy, not yet at least."

The larger of the two, who was apparently called Sansho, replied "Alright, alright Nicky. I was just trying to have a little bit of fun with him is all."

"Yes, but we need him alive for now. If he dies, the dragonballs won't be any good, and lord Garlic wouldn't be to pleased."

That name! Piccolo recognized that right away. It was from some left over memory that Daimao had, when he and Kami were still one. Apparently Garlic had also wanted to be the guardian of earth. When he was rejected, he tried to go on a rampage, with Kami as the first target. Kami, along with help from his predecessor, had succeeded in banishing him forever, to another dimension. Piccolo did remember something, about Garlic having a son however.

"Damn it!" Growled Piccolo. "Garlic's son, he wants the dragonballs!"

While Piccolo was in shock, Sansho and Nicky quickly rushed him. Before he had the chance to prepare himself, Sansho delivered a powerful blow to his gut, knocking the wind out of him. He then tossed Piccolo up in the air, where Nicky intercepted, and slammed an elbow into his head, sending him flying straight into the ground at breakneck speed. The impact knocked Piccolo unconscious, and blasted a crater over a dozen yards in diameter, into the ground.

Descending quickly, they landed right next to Piccolo's unconscious form. After rummaging through his clothing for a moment, Nicky managed to find the dragon-ball.

"That was too easy, would you say Sansho?" remarked Nicky causally.

"Hahahahaha, indeed it was. Kind of pathetic if you ask me, if this guy was one of the strongest, then the rest should be nothing." Sansho said merrily.

"Now, all we have to do is for Ginger to get the last one. He should have it within the hour, lets bring this one back to lord Garlic. The sooner we bring it to him, the sooner he gets his wish." Nicky said, to which Sansho curtly nodded.

Promptly, they blasted off into the distance, towards the castle where Garlic was at.

Quickly. Ginger ran through the forest, rapidly approaching the Son residence.

Goku, at the time was out fishing; Chi Chi and her father, the Ox-King were outside in the yard with Gohan. Suddenly, Ginger appeared right in the middle of the group. Before anyone could even process what was happening, he charge forward and slammed the Ox-King into the ground, face first.

"Dad!" screamed Chi Chi. "Gohan run!" She yelled, as she charged the assailant. Easily, he leaned to the side and avoided her punch; then he turned and extended his hand, and launched a violent kiai, sending her flying several yards backwards.

"Mommy!" cried Gohan, who was to stunned to move from his spot.

"Go-Gohan, run." the Ox-King whispered. At that, Gohan took off, as fast as he could. Ginger smirked at this, and darted after him seconds later.

He quickly appeared in front of Gohan, and easily knocked him out with a well placed jab to the stomach. Then he snatched up Gohan's hat, and ripped off the dragon-ball that was attached to it. For a moment he considered taking the boy, but thought better of it. Garlic would have no use for the kid anyway. All he wanted was the dragon-ball, the kid would be useless baggage.

At that he smirked, by now Sansho and Nicky must have claimed the other remaining one, and should have made it back to Garlics lair. Throwing a final glance backward, he quickly bolted off through the forest.

...

Meanwhile, Goku, who had been catching a fish some distance away, had heard his wife and son screaming. Along with it was a strong, menacing power. Quickly, he leaped out of the water, fish in tow, and threw on his clothing.

Just a few hundred feet from where his wife was laying, Goku finally dropped the giant fish he was dragging. Goku rushed towards Chi Chi's fallen form, and cradled her head on his lap.

"Chi Chi, what happened here?" he said, concern and worry present in his voice.

Slowly she stuttered out, "I-I'm s-sorry Goku. I tri-ed to protect him, he ran, but this, thing, ran off...a-after him. I don't know if it took him..."

Gently, he sat her down. "I'll find him Chi Chi, I think I sensed where he ran off to." At that, he quickly ran off, in the direction he had sensed that strange power, and Gohan run off to. Only a few seconds later, he found Gohan lying on the ground. After checking him over, he was relieved to find that his son was for the most part, unharmed. His relief didn't last too long however, when he saw the four-star ball-the one his grandfather had given him-, missing. Who ever did this, they would pay. That, Goku thought, he would see to personally.

Just then, he felt a familiar energy signal coming from behind him. Instinctively he whirled around, only to see Piccolo hovering in mid-air. His clothing was burned in places, and he had several cuts and bruises. Whatever, or whoever this was, had likely attacked Piccolo as well. That meant that their was more than just one, and they had to be pretty strong, to get the drop on Piccolo like they did.

Grunting, Piccolo looked down at Goku, before speaking, "Looks like I'm not the only one who had a run in with those bastards. And by the looks of it, I'd say they were after the dragon-ball that Goh-I mean, your son had." After seeing Goku nod fiercely in confirmation, he continued, "I think I know who we are dealing with. Seems like these goons are not good at keeping secrets. Get those idiots all taken care of, then meet me right back here. You might want to try and get the bald midget too, we're going to need all the help we can get if my guess is correct..."

...

**A/N: I know DBZ takes place in a completely different universe, with wildly different things. So on can no specify a precise point in time, with all the anachronisms that are around. But, if there is one thing that can be agreed upon, iit is that the Earth there is decades, if not centuries ahead of ours in a great many ways. Which, if anyone remembers Piccolo's nightmare/flashback from Daimao's life, from the last chapter, is why cars and other such tech exist despite it being 300 years or so prior. Think of that point as an analogue for the 1960s or so, and present as the DBZ verse version of the 2260s or so.

But to the point, because of, well everything, being better is because the world is so much more futuristic. Better medicine, genetics, diet etc. mean that the average human life span in this world is roughly 120-130 years. Maximum lifespan is still normally around 140, but the point is that people age slower. So by saying that Nicky appeared to be in his eighties, he really looked like someone in their fifties in this world.

Power Levels:

Goku: 919 (Sleep deprived): 887

Piccolo: 921

Gohan: 25 (Slight anger boost): 107

Garlic Jr. Mini saga:

Piccolo (Heavily suppressed, with weighted clothing): 250 (Powered up slightly): 340

Nicki (Suppressed): 225 (Powered up): 325

Sansho (Suppressed): 217 (Powered up): 320

Ginger (Heavily suppressed): 285

Chi-Chi: 125

Ox-King: 90

Beta read by lilpumpkingirl.

Read and Review, I accept all kinds of opinions on my work, and any constructive criticism or advice would be greatly appreciated.