Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DBZ OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS
Father-son centric
Summary: Goku reflects on Gohan's birth before he is to face his older brother, Raditz. Will Piccolo's absence in Goku's greatest crisis lead Earth's Greatest Hero to the dark side? One-Shot
Chapter Four: A Safety Net
How much time has passed? The question kept nagging me. I couldn't help but think I'm still moving too slow. I kept thinking that I had made a million mistakes. I shouldn't have hesitated; I should have followed in Raditz's direction. The list just went on and on as I struggled to push myself faster. If anymore harm befell Gohan I could never or would ever forgive myself.
Master Roshi's Island came into view along with a certain meditating green man. His eyes were closed, squeezed shut in concentration, before they slowly opened to glower at me. It seemed that no matter how much time passed Piccolo would always carry a special dislike for me. When I set foot on the island, Piccolo uncoiled from his meditating position to loom over my shorter form. I didn't have time for another mindless tug-of-war fight, so I cut to the chase.
"What is it, Piccolo?" A hairless green eyebrow rose at the sound of my irritated and stressed out voice.
"I want to know where those pathetic beings you call friends are."
I managed to keep a straight face as he mentioned Master Roshi and the others. It didn't stop my heart from speeding up though. Why was Piccolo here? Did Kami tell him what happened? Too many questions were popping into my head. I didn't have time for any of them or their answers. Gohan is still in danger.
"Why are you looking for them?"
His glare darkened. It was a clear sign that he also wasn't in the mood for questioning. "You mean to tell me that you haven't felt another, larger, energy besides ours? There is a mammoth mass of muscles lumbering through the atmosphere spewing on about some Cat-Car-Rat and you haven't noticed." Piccolo seemed to force the words through his teeth as his right eyebrow twitched.
My mouth moved quicker than my brain could comprehend. "Kakarot." I corrected.
The name probably stopped Piccolo's forming insult. "How do you know?" He asked.
A heave sigh left my lips before I explained how Raditz found me. "Raditz, the one you're talking about, came to me. Turns out he's my long-lost-alien brother and my birth name is Kakarot. He took my son and I need to get him back. I'm leaving, Piccolo. I'm getting my son back."
"Not without me. He's strong, Goku. Neither of us have the strength to stand up to him alone. The only chance we have of winning is if I go with you. There is only a slight possibility of overpowering him, but it's better than nothing." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow or two. A cold smirk lifted the side of his green face as he spoke with confidence, "It'll be like taking two monkeys out with one stone. We kill him. I kill you. The world ends by my hands within the next week."
A bark of laughter bubbled in my throat. There's just something warm and steadying when one can count on a person to never change, even if it was Piccolo's dark sense of humor.
"You got a deal. It looks like we're a team. A partnership to only last till Raditz is taken care of." I mumbled back in agreement.
My eyes turned to scan over the now desolate island. This would probably be my last time ever seeing this place. No more happy memories would be made here. A white circular device caught my eye. Piccolo kept his eyes on me as I picked up the device and turned it around in my hands.
"It's a Dragon Ball Locator." I mumbled out. The back of my eyes stung as I realized that I had lost my greatest friends.
"Are we leaving or not? I don't have time to stare off into the distance, Goku." Piccolo's sarcastic voice broke me out of my trance.
"Yeah, Piccolo. This should lead us right to Raditz." I explained while waving the locator beside my head.
Together we took to the air. Both of us lost in our thoughts. Doubts didn't start to plague my mind until a few minutes later. Honestly, I hadn't put much thought into joining with Piccolo. What would happen if Piccolo charged in head first? No, he wasn't like that. The green man in question always favored strategy, however would Raditz kill Gohan over Piccolo's appearance? There are just too many ifs, ands, and buts to see how everything would turn out.
I need a plan. I want a safety net to fall back on if things went from worse to unimaginably terrible. A small smile formed on my face as I mulled over what I was thinking. 'Chi-Chi looks like you're rubbing off on me.'
"Goku, why is your brother here now?"
"He said I was supposed to conquer and destroy the planet. But, when I was little I bumped my head so hard I guess the destructive-take-over-the-world part of me kind of disappeared. Now he said if I don't destroy Earth with him, he and two others will."
"Great, just what I need three rampaging monkeys taking my job", he muttered. His eyes narrowed in thought before he asked, "Do you know of any weaknesses?"
I stayed silent as I tried to remember anything that would help us out. "His tail. That's his weakness. I remember when someone grabbed my tail. I couldn't even move. It was like I was paralyzed. That and our sudden appearance should give us an advantage."
"He'll know we're coming. He has a device that can detect energy. We'll just have to work with the tail." He grumbled under his breath.
The locator let out a squealing like sound as it sensed a dragon ball near us.
'Hold on Gohan. I'm almost there. I'll have you back at home soon.' I thought.
Raditz deep voice could be heard from below us, "Kakarot is here!"
Without a second thought I descended from the clouds with Piccolo by my side. My heart began to race as my eyes looked for Gohan. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. Where was he? Was he all right? Did something happen to him? I couldn't even pay attention to Raditz ranting. I couldn't see Gohan. I didn't want to think about being to late.
"Where's Gohan!" I shouted.
"Where are the hundred human bodies?" Raditz asked me back.
I could see Piccolo raise an eyebrow at the question. Begrudgingly, I pulled out the capsules that housed the remains of friends and innocent souls. In quick succession, I flicked out each capsule off my finger. The sound of each one exploding on the ground echoed through my ears as dirt rose into the air. The breeze blew the unsettled dirt away leaving a tall pile of dead bodies behind. I couldn't look at the destruction I had caused. All I wanted was Gohan. I had done my part and Raditz needed to do his.
Through gritted teeth I demanded, "Give me back Gohan."
Chapter Four Fin
Word Count: 1,174
AN: Here it is! The chapter contains more than 1,000 words. Piccolo comes into the picture and with him comes a shocking display of the Earth's Greatest Hero's sin. Thank you all for reading and a special thank you to those who have left a review for any of my story's chapters. I really do love hearing the feedback. Oh, another thanks for those who have checked out my other stories! Summer is almost at its end, so I'll do my best to get one or two more chapters out before I'm locked up on campus.
AN: Special thanks to gue22 for clearing up the Namek confusion. I didn't know when Goku found out Piccolo was from Namek, but it is after the Raditz episodes. I just took out the "Namek" and replaced it with other descriptions.