A/N—Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and just enjoyed!

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Chapter 3

Gohan lay curled into a tight ball on his hospital bed. His parents were fighting, again. He and Z-Warriors had defeated the Saiyans the day before, but there had been terrible losses. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha had all died on the battlefield. But that wasn't the worst of it. Piccolo had died as well, protecting him.

Nappa had fired an enormous blast at him and he had frozen. Gohan squeezed his eyes shut remembering the sheer heat bearing down on him. Then his Mr. Piccolo had been there, right in front of him, taking the blast. He knew it had hurt his sensei terribly, but Piccolo had smiled at him. Piccolo told him he was his first friend too and to bring him back. He had not even been disappointed in him for freezing. Piccolo had been proud of him; he had felt it. Now he just felt hollow, as though a piece of him was missing.

"Goku, my little boy is not going to go traipsing all over space just to bring that monster back to life!" Chi-Chi screeched at her immobile husband, bringing Gohan back to the present.

"Chi, honey, he needs to do this. Besides, Krillin will be right there with him." Goku cajoled. He had already given Gohan his permission to go and truthfully, he did not see why Chi-Chi was so upset about this. It was going to be a great adventure.

"No!" Chi-Chi yelled, her face flushing with her anger.

"He isn't a monster." Gohan said, his tone quiet and even.

"Gohan, sweetie, it is okay. That horrible demon isn't here now. You don't have to pretend anymore." Chi-Chi crooned, trying to soothe her obviously traumatized son.

Goku looked over at the huddled figure in the bed next to him. Gohan's mutinous expression was clearly stating his opinion to the contrary. "Chi, I'm hungry. Can you please see if I can have something to eat?" Goku asked. Huffing irritably, Chi-Chi walked out.

Goku frowned; something had changed in his son. He could not quite put his finger on it, but Gohan seemed so different now. Goku sighed. He had never been that comfortable in his role as a parent; having to be ready with advice or to discipline. Chi-Chi had always handled any issues Gohan might have and he played with him. It worked well for them. He wished that Chi-Chi was not so opposed to Gohan leaving. Yes, he was going regardless, but it just be easier if she would stop fighting it.

"Hey Gohan, are you excited to go?"

Sitting up, Gohan looked at his father. "Yes sir."

"Sir? What happened to Dad?" Goku asked laughing.

Something in Gohan stuttered at that. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Goku watched him, concerned.

"It's okay little buddy. I was only kidding. I know you're a little sad because of what happened yesterday." When Gohan nodded silently, he pressed ahead. "So what was it like training with Piccolo?"

"It was really great. We slept outside with fire every night and I learned so much. He even taught me how to fly."

"I noticed that. I couldn't fly until I was much older. Even then, it took me a while to get the hang of it. Piccolo must have started working with you first thing with as easily as you handle yourself in the air."

Gohan shook his head. "He only showed me how to a couple months ago. Well kind of."

"What do you mean, kind of? How did he show you?" Goku asked, truly curious. After all, Piccolo was the other half of Kami, who had taught him. How different could their methods be?

"He knocked me off a cliff one day. It was either fly or splat. I flew." Gohan grinned at the memory.

Goku paled. Okay, apparently their methods were very different. "Ah Gohan? Do me a favor. Don't mention that to your mom." He was rewarded with a giggle from Gohan. "So you two got to be pretty close huh?"

"Uh-huh, he's my best friend and he's…I mean…" Gohan's breath began to hitch uncontrollably.

"You miss him don't you? I mean, it isn't the others so much, it's Piccolo that you really miss." A low sob answered the question. "Well, that settles it. You have to go with Krillin and Bulma to wish him back." Goku smiled at Gohan, confident that he had fixed this little problem. "Don't worry about your mom; I'll take care of it."

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Piccolo stared at the seeming endless path before him. As far as he could see in front and behind lay Snake Way. He and the other warriors, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu, had all been allowed to keep their bodies and train with King Kai. While he had expected such preferential treatment to be granted to the others, he had been blind-sided by his inclusion.

Didn't King Yemma realize who he was? He was not some selfless hero, he was evil incarnate. Everyone knew that, well except Gohan. Thinking of the kid brought back the empty ache he had been trying to ignore. Gritting his teeth, he poured more effort into his speed. Piccolo wondered if he went fast enough if he could possibly outrun the sensation.

"Piccolo wait up! You're going too fast!" Yamcha shouted as he and the other two Z-Warriors present tried to keep pace with the Namekian.

"Gohan's faster than those weaklings." Piccolo muttered. Slowing down only slightly, he gave them little opportunity to catch up.

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Gohan slowly released the death grip he had on his seat. Bulma could have given him and Krillin some warning before they blasted off. At least they were on their way to Namek now and one-step closer to bringing Piccolo back.

Racing over to his bag, he pulled out his plum gi and brown shoes. As he shucked off the horrible garments his mother had forced him to wear, he could hear Krillin snickering.

"I was wondering when you were going get out of that monkey suit." Krillin chortled.

"I know, it was awful." Gohan's voice was muffled as he pulled his top over his head.

Krillin looked his young companion over. "You really respect Piccolo don't you? I mean when Piccolo took you after Goku died, we all thought he was going to eat you or something."

Gohan bit his lip, trying not to laugh at his father's friend. He lost the battle. Between giggles he gasped, "Mr. Piccolo, eat me? That's…have you ever even met him? Wait till he hears…that's great!"

"Hey, come on bro, have you seen his teeth? It was a legitimate concern!" Krillin defended, blushing at the memory of when he had actually accused Piccolo of wanting to eat the boy.

Calming down, Gohan looked the ex-monk over. Since the battle, he had been unable to get an answer to one question. "Um, Krillin, do you think you could tell me what everyone's problem with Mr. Piccolo is? I just don't get it. He's so strong and smart. He died for me, but even my mother keeps calling him a demon. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Thinking back to the 23rd WMAT and all of the people that Piccolo murdered, Krillin wondered what he should say. One thought kept circling in his mind. 'Oh man, Chi-Chi will kill me if I answer that!'

"Krillin?"

"When we first met Piccolo, back before you were born, he did something really bad. I guess you could say that because of what happened, no one really wanted to be around him." Krillin answered slowly.

"That's not very nice."

"Neither was Piccolo."

Gohan frowned, that was not fair. "My father told me you should always show mercy and forgiveness, even when somebody does something really bad. He didn't lie to me, did he?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that if everyone gave Mr. Piccolo a chance they'd see what a good person he is."

Krillin nodded. "Good enough bro. How about we play a game before bed?"

Grinning happily, Gohan scrambled away to grab a one of the many board games his mother had packed.

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They had made it to the end of Snake Way and King Kai's planet. Piccolo should have been pleased. In fact, he would have been if it wasn't for the annoying blue man waiting for them. There was no way this creature was a martial arts master. It simply was not possible. What kind of master tests comedy of all useless things?

Standing back from the rest of the group, Piccolo watched the others chase after a monkey. It was disgraceful to see warriors losing to an animal. Turning to the instigator of it all, he growled, "When does the real training begin?"

"After Bubbles has been captured." King Kai answered, his eyes not leaving the chase. He still was not too sure about the Namekian currently towering above him. He had a repressed violence about him that the others lacked. When Piccolo did not answer him, King Kai looked over to where he had been standing. He was gone.

Piccolo walked back to King Kai, one dejected monkey in hand and three floored humans behind. Tossing the animal at the Kai's feet he crossed his arms and waited. "There, I captured your pet. The training starts now."

"Piccolo, you know this exercise was not meant for you!" King Kai shouted.

Scowling, Piccolo walked away and settled under a tree to meditate. 'Hurry up and bring me back kid.'

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Gohan carried Bulma over the ruined planet. Frieza and his men had killed nearly everyone. The Namekian people, Krillin, Dende, even Vegeta; they were all dead. His father was taking care of him though. Gohan just wished he had been able to help more. Maybe if he had, then Piccolo would not have had to get hurt protecting his father.

Reaching his father's spaceship, he set Bulma down carefully. Looking back outside he followed the battle by feeling the clashing energy. Bulma's scream brought him back to his immediate surroundings.

"G-Gohan, it's Piccolo!" Bulma stuttered clearly terrified.

"You didn't hurt him did you?" Gohan ran over, kneeling beside his sensei and checked him for any additional injuries. For the first time in nearly two months, he did not feel hollow. The reassuring pulse of Piccolo's energy had once again filled that space. The sudden drop in his father's energy caught his attention. Running for the door, he called over his shoulder, "Bulma, I have to go help. Take care of Mr. Piccolo and get out of here."

"Gohan no, you can't leave me here with him!"

"I have to go, something is wrong with my father. Keep Mr. Piccolo alive. Without him, the dragonballs are gone and no one can come back. Goodbye Mr. Piccolo." With that, Gohan leapt into the air and was gone.

Bulma whimpered at the green giant taking up most of the available floor space. She wanted nothing more than to push him out of the ship and leave. Gohan had already been gone for far too long. Sending a silent apology to the child, she stumbled to the controls. As yet another earthquake shook them, Piccolo let out a low groan.

Piccolo struggled to regain consciousness. Hissing at the pain, Piccolo opened his eyes. The loud blue-haired woman was standing by the control panel, no one else. He could feel that the kid was alive, but he could not focus. "Where's Gohan?"

"He left." She whispered. "Now we need to get out of here. The planet is about to blow."

Piccolo snarled, his fangs gleaming in the low light. "Touch anything before the kid gets back and there will be nothing left of you for the dragon to bring back."

Bulma blanched and sank to the ground. She was too young and beautiful to die. There just had to be a way to make him understand. Before she could say a word, the room spun and blurred.