I know Gohan's death made you upset, but I promise there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, I'm extremely proud of myself for cranking this out. We had another internet outage, so I worked on this, haha. ENJOY!
Krillin openly lets the tears run down his face as he stands beside Gohan's body. I do not move from my position over Gohan. They will not see me cry. I will not cry. But I can't help the few tears that escape and fall on his face.
"W-we can bring him b-back, right?" Krillin chokes out.
The dragon balls! Of course! How could I be so stupid?
I sit up into a kneeling position and pick Gohan's body up into my arms. I stand and turn to face Kami, waiting expectantly to hear his answer.
"Well, yes. He hasn't died before. But…" Kami falters off.
"But what?" I snap, holding Gohan's body closer.
"The question is if Gohan even wants to come back."
"Why wouldn't he?" Krillin exclaims.
I look down to the ground. Gohan, you have to come back. We need you.
I look at Kami sternly. "You need to go to Yemma's and make him allow Gohan to keep his body," I demand. "Let him train with King Kai. He can learn to control his powers there without having to worry about killing anyone."
Kami nods and disappears without a word. It's a good plan. Earth's dragon balls won't be ready to use still for another year while they regain their magic from disappearing when Kami and I left this dimension. If Gohan agrees to train, he'll feel safe to come back. And hopefully Goku will have returned by then.
Suddenly, Gohan's body begins to fade in my arms, gradually disappearing. Good, Yemma has allowed him to keep his body. Once he has fully gone, I drop my hands down to my sides heavily. A year without Gohan. A whole year. It won't be the same here. What am I going to do without the kid? As much as I hate to admit it, I don't want to go back to my solitary living.
Kami reappears in front of us, a satisfied smile on his face. "Well, Gohan is headed down Snake Way as we speak. He's agreed to train with King Kai for the year and wants to come back once he's finished. He's worried about his mother, however."
Oh shit.
Chi-Chi.
Someone is going to have to tell her that her son is dead.
"I-I can't do it," Krillin says quietly. "I can't do it again. I can't tell her that her son is dead too. It was hard enough about Goku."
Kami looks at me expectantly. I grimace. "Fine. I'll do it. But you have to tell—"
I'm cut off as Vegeta lands in front of us abruptly. In the confusion and devastation, I hadn't noticed his ki come toward us. He looks around at the destruction with impassionate eyes before looking at me pointedly.
"Where's the kid?" he asks bluntly.
Krillin shakes his head solemnly.
"He's dead," I say softly. "He destroyed Garlic Jr., but he killed himself in the process."
Vegeta is taken aback for a minute. His eyes widen slightly and I can tell he is shocked. I know the only reason he came up here is because he couldn't sense Gohan's ki, but he found mine. And wherever I was, the kid wasn't far behind. Until now.
"When will he be brought back?" he asks, acting nonchalant. But I know better. Gohan's death has shaken him. He is now the only Saiyan left unless Goku returns.
"In a year. If he's ready. He's training with King Kai to learn to control his power," I reply.
"You should have been training him before this," Vegeta says snidely. "He wouldn't have died if you had trained him to control himself."
"Vegeta!" Krillin gasps.
Time seems to stop for a moment. He's right. This is my fault. I shouldn't have been so soft on the kid; I should've made him train as soon as he was strong enough. He could've been able to control himself and he'd still be alive.
"Stupid kid shouldn't have even tried to transform in the first place, the weakling," he adds.
With a snarl, I launch myself at the Saiyan, catching him off guard. I land a strong punch to his face and flies backwards. I phase behind him before he hits the ground and kick him powerfully in the stomach. He gasps as he falls to the ground in a heap. I stand over him, a deadly ki blast glowing in my hand.
"That is enough!" Kami commands harshly. "Piccolo, stand down immediately."
I growl angrily, throwing the blast beside Vegeta's head, showering shattered tile onto his face. I stalk away a few feet and stand with arms crossed, a dark scowl on my face. Vegeta pushes himself up and turns to face me, anger written clearly on his face. Krillin stands back, mouth open in fear and disbelief at our scuffle.
"If you say anything like that ever again, I'll kill you," I snarl at the prince.
Vegeta scoffs. "I don't have time to waste on you, Namek," he grounds out before rocketing over the edge of the Lookout back to Capsule Corp.
"Man, I can't believe the nerve of that guy!" Krillin says.
"Forget him," I growl.
"Enough," Kami says. "Krillin, go inform the others of Gohan's passing. Piccolo, stay up here for a few moments, please."
Krillin nods in affirmation and flies off in the direction of Yamcha's ki. I turn to the old man and wait for him to say something. I already know where this is going.
"You can't blame yourself, you know," Kami says matter-of-factly. I grunt. "What were you supposed to do, hm? What could you have done to save him, Piccolo?"
I raise my lip at him. "I could've done something. There's always something."
"Did you ever stop to think that this may be for the best?"
I growl angrily. "What? You think I wanted the kid to die? You're losing your marbles, old man, and I'm losing my patience with your bullshit," I snap.
"Enough," Kami says neutrally. "I wasn't implying you wanted Gohan to die. But I want you to think about this; isn't it better Gohan can train in a place where he feels safe? Isn't that what he wanted?"
I look down and don't reply. I have no answer. My mind tells me that it's for the best, but my heart aches painfully with loss. There is an emptiness in my soul where Gohan used to share his with me. My mind feels barren, his little thoughts no longer there as a reassurance.
"It's okay to grieve, Piccolo. It hurts, I know."
"I don't need to grieve. He's going to come back in a year," I say, mostly to remind myself it's true.
"A year is a long time, Piccolo. You haven't been alone for that long since—"
"I did it before, I can do it again," I snap defensively.
"Your heart was cold then, uncaring. If you need somewhere to stay, there's room up here."
"I'll be fine. I don't need your help."
"I know. Now you had better get down to Gohan's mother. Break it gently; she's going to be very upset."
When I land outside the Son home, Chi-Chi comes running out worriedly. She looks around expectantly, waiting for Gohan to pop out from behind me.
"Piccolo, where is my son?" she asks worriedly.
I look to the ground. "I'm sorry," I say softly.
"This isn't funny, Piccolo. Where is my son?" she yells, her voice increasing with each word.
"Gohan is dead," I say, my ears ringing.
For a moment, there is no emotion on her face as she takes the information in. And then all at once, she lets out an ear-piercing scream and falls to her knees sobbing.
"No! Not my son! Not my child! You can't do this to me! Not after Goku! I can't lose them both!" she yells to no one in particular. Tears stream down her face and she holds her head in her hands, rocking slightly, her body shaking from her sobs.
I stand awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "We can bring him back," I say quietly, but I'm not sure she'll hear me.
She looks up at me, a slight shine of hope in her eye. "When? When can I have my child back?"
I hesitate. "A year…"
"A year? Why so long?" she sobs exasperatedly.
"The dragon balls are still recharging from when they disappeared. He's in good hands though."
"Who?"
"King Kai. The one who trained myself and Goku when we were dead."
"So he's training. Of course," she says wryly. "He's his father's son alright," she pauses, looking up at me again. "How…how did he die?"
"He died saving the planet. He destroyed Garlic Jr., but he killed himself as well. His body couldn't…handle…that type of power."
"He wasn't scared, was he?"
"No. He knew what was going to happen. He knew it would happen before he even started fighting."
"Oh my poor baby," she whimpers. "To be just a child and to know you're going to die…I can't imagine…"
I nod, opting to stay silent. I turn to walk away, now at a loss for words.
"Thank you, Piccolo, for telling me. I know you tried to save him," she calls after me softly.
I stop and nod my head, and then continue on. She never moved off the ground.
