Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

A/N: I am so sorry it's been over a month since I posted, but this has been a very difficult December. Back home for the holidays, which is always…erm…interesting. I certainly promise to update much more frequently than this. So, without further ado, here's the long overdue chapter.

THANK YOU! To my lovely (and patient) reviewers: Antigone-The-Wise, Volcanic, MarshmellowDragon, ME, dfd, Kiko cat, storm-of-insanity, dragon-lady, Xzanayu, hmmmm, willywonka, Kasei Tomodatchi, Maria Antibella, dmx, novaselena, Gohhk, and Jade.

Chapter 9

Piccolo lay in the grass and breathed in deeply, hours of training with himself were finally over. Tri-form technique certainly came in handy when he didn't have a sparing partner, which was more often than not. The other two bodies merged with his own after he hit the ground hard, and now he couldn't even move. But he was used to this, this was his life. No worrying over family troubles, no fighting with a mate, no children to care for, no home to keep up…and no one to bother him.

Piccolo seemed to have it made. Except, he wasn't happy. Not that he was chipper like Son had been, not by any means. But he didn't find satisfaction in almost anything anymore, he didn't have goals or plans for the future. He didn't have anything to work towards. That can't be what life is all about, can it? The next adventure or good fight were just steps along the way, not the final destination.

Well, there was always Konna. The girl didn't make it around to see him very often, but he was glad to see her when he could. That mother of hers had yet to admit to Piccolo's change, she still had her daughter under close observation. But there were those occasional slips when Konna was somehow able to get away unnoticed, and she always came to visit her sensei.

Piccolo turned his head slightly as the wind picked up and blew dust into his face. He missed her, guess there was no hiding it. It had been at least a month since her last visit, and even then it had only been a short and simple chat…or rather, Konna chatted and Piccolo listened. Then she ran off home, her mother sure to have a fit if she found that Konna had left.

Piccolo nearly sighed, but caught himself before he actually did. He never used to be lonely, at least not like this. He never felt the need to have company. In fact, the idea alone didn't even use to cross his mind. But not now. Konna changed all that with her impish little grin and childish charms, never once stopping to wonder whether her "Piccolo-san" even wanted her around. She didn't think like that, Piccolo knew. And he was glad for it.

Piccolo had built up a barrier around himself, to keep out all emotions and feelings. But she pushed through them like they didn't even exist, perhaps because she was too young to realize they did exist. She'd dug her way into his affection, like a worm burrowing through the earth. But, there she was. Too late now to do anything about it, Piccolo reasoned with himself.

Rather than being angry that she'd broken through his ice-clad heart, he was grateful. Things were different than they had been before, he truly didn't care about the things that had been so important to him just one, short year ago. World domination was more like a distant dream than something he'd actually believed in. And killing Son…that was a little tougher. He didn't like the man, that much was certain. He didn't want to kill him though, and he didn't hate him with a passion like he once had.

He couldn't tell, though, whether it was for Konna's benefit or just a change of heart. Konna would never forgive him if he killed her father, really killed him. Not like before, with Radditz, but to set out and murder him like he'd always planned on doing. No, that was no longer an option. He couldn't even bring himself to think on those lines anymore.

"Little baka." Piccolo whispered, halfway amused.

Yet again, that creeping feeling of loneliness came upon him when he thought about his little friend. Perhaps a quick check-up would do him some good, to see her and make sure all was well. He'd found that in keeping to the farthest edge of the Mt. Paozu forest, he could watch all the comings and goings of the Son's without being immediately detected by the girl (whom, to both Piccolo's pleasure and annoyance, had learned to sense ki very well). She was also, without Piccolo's guidance, learning telepathy much too quickly for her sensei's liking.

Piccolo pushed himself up after an hour-long break and bent his neck in relaxation. He materialized his clothing and weights, straightened his back and powered up. Within seconds he was flying over the treetops headed due-East, directly at the Son home.

He stretched out his senses carefully and deliberately, feeling for the two who should be at the home. There was only the woman, who's ki was unusually high, and no traces of Konna. In fact, there was no sign that she'd been anywhere near the house for some time…maybe days.

A tightening in his throat caught Piccolo off guard and he swallowed hard. He flew right past his usual landing spot and onto the front lawn, mere feet from the front door. This was the first time he'd been so close to the Son home, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. Konna was no where near here, not for miles. Piccolo stretched out his senses as far as he could and still got nothing in return, not a spark of Konna's youthful ki reached him.

Then, he became concerned.

His keen ears picked up the sound of a metal object hitting a wooden surface, then the opening of a door. He'd nearly forgotten about the girl's mother being home, he'd been too preoccupied with trying to locate Konna. Now, though, the harpy was starring him in the face.

At first, her eyes seemed hopeful, almost glad to see him. Then her dark orbs moved to his knee's and feet, and her face fell. She locked eyes with him again but this time, she looked a mixture between anger and fear.

"What do you want?" She asked, none to nicely.

"Where is she?" Piccolo asked, toneless.

Chichi huffed and moved to lean on one leg, then crossed her arms.

"What d' you care?" She spat.

Piccolo growled and took a step forward, allowing his upper lip to reveal one of his impressive fangs. He was rewarded by ChiChi clamping her mouth shut and standing up straight, eyes widening just a little.

There was a long silence, in which the tension between the two could be sliced with a knife. Finally, ChiChi broke and let her arms fall.

"I don't know where she is, I'm worried to death." She confessed. "She, Oolong, Bulma and Krillin went camping over a week ago but never came back. Master Roshi says they just lost track of time, out there having so much fun."

ChiChi diverted her eyes and nervously twisted the dishtowel she'd been holding.

"But it's just not like her to stay gone that long. She promised to be back in a few days…three or four at the most." She laughed oddly and looked at Piccolo again. "I'd hoped that seeing you here meant she'd come back home."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed slightly and he gave a short grunt, then turned around with his back to the woman. He'd not but taken a step in the opposite direction of the house when ChiChi ran out toward him.

"Wait!" She yelled.

He growled slightly and shifted just enough to face her.

"What?" He barked.

She looked at him from about two feet away and shifted slightly, moving from one foot to the other.

"You'll find her, won't you?" She asked.

He made an irritated face and, without answering, began walking away from her again.

"Just bring her home safe." ChiChi said quietly.

Piccolo stopped short and waited just a moment.

"I will." Then he powered up and took off, sending a gust of wind toward ChiChi.

She fidgeted a few more minutes until she couldn't see his form at all. If he brought Konna back safely, she'd reconsider her opinion of him. Surely someone who tried that hard must care, at least a little. Maybe Konna's trust in him wasn't completely misplaced, or endangering her.

Perhaps, the demon really had changed.

X-x-X-x-X

Piccolo landed on the little island quietly, then walked steadily and carefully (for the ground was nothing but sand) toward the old man. The hermit was sleeping in a chair with a magazine, of questionable content, laying across his chest. Piccolo contemplated grabbing the old man up by his beard, but decided against it. Instead he kicked the lawn chair over, dumping the old man onto the ground.

"Ladies?" He asked, his mind apparently still muddled from sleeping. "Huh?"

When the hermit saw, through his dark sunglasses, Piccolo towering above him he nearly 'went' on himself.

"PICCOLO!" He yelped. After visibly gulping, he slid backward across the hot sand.

"What can I do for ya…on this fine day?" He asked nervously.

Piccolo glared daggers at the human for a few seconds, intending very much to scare the man into telling the utmost truth.

"Konna." He said first. "She left with friends of yours. Where are they?"

"Oh, uh…" He started. "They're still gone."

"I know that, idiot." Piccolo growled. "Where were they going?"

"To…uh, the um…Oh, the Sumri Forest. You know, it's that-"

Before he could finish, Piccolo had taken off toward the North and left the hermit in a cloud of dust and sand.

"…way." He finished, shaking himself off and laying back on his little cot. Before he could think about, or otherwise worry over, what Piccolo had been doing on his island Master Roshi was asleep, dreaming about young girls who would never have anything to do with him in real life.

Piccolo, though, let himself worry. Or rather, couldn't help himself from doing so. He'd never had to deal with feelings of this nature and so he didn't know what to do with them. This overwhelming desire to find Konna and make sure she was safe, to keep her from getting hurt. The instinct to get to her as quickly as possible was driving him insane, and it didn't help that he couldn't seem to pinpoint her.

An hour later he arrived at the beginnings of the Sumri Forest, with some of it's outlaying cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Piccolo found the small, pink objects rather bothersome as he landed. The flowers covered the ground all around the forest, outlining the deep green with light pink.

Piccolo fazed in and out of swarms of trees, flying low over the less dense part of Sumri. There was a large stream that led to a pond, so Piccolo decided to follow it. Common sense told him the humans would have made camp by water, or at least it was a shot. He followed the stream for miles until he found what he'd been hoping for: a campsite.

It was several days old, the fire had not been rekindled recently and the footprints were faded to almost nonexistent. There were turned over, muddy tents with clothing inside. He smelled the air slowly and cautiously, searching for Konna's familiar scent. He found little trace of it, and her ki signature was long since passed. If they had left so long ago then why had they not returned home? Why would they leave their belongings, unless they had intended on coming back?

Piccolo thought on this for a while, looking over the pond's clearing as he did so. And in the distance he could see the tops of white mountains…familiar mountains. They were the Zulmite-zubri, ancient alps that had been frozen for all eternity. They were cold and aloof, much like Piccolo himself. Humans didn't venture there, at least not the sane ones. There were stories of the mountains being infested with demons, or of mad scientists making it their refuge.

Nonsense and folklore, that's what Piccolo thought of it all. Still, the mountains seemed to call to him. He walked slowly away from the campsite and a small distance closer to the Zulmite-zubri, his eyes glued on their forms. Something gave him a feeling to go there, that what he was searching for was being held up there.

Normally, he wouldn't have given more than a second thought to such a notion, they were foolhardy and time consuming. He did, though, get the feeling that Konna might be up there. He didn't know why and didn't wish to explain it, but he just knew that's where he needed to be looking.

So, he powered up and traveled toward the mountains. He kept his senses completely open for most of the journey, especially when he neared the slopes. And within minutes of reaching the tallest peak he could feel Konna's ki, though it was much weaker than it should have been.

So weak, in fact, Piccolo doubled his speed in search of the source of the ki. Konna might be dying up here, and he'd of never known it. Gusts of icy wind cut at him like knives, and he noted mentally that it was much colder than he remembered. Maybe it was the time of year, or just a cold day. Either way, Piccolo knew if he (a Namek) was having trouble with the cold, Konna would be having a much worse time.

Piccolo looked down as the hills of ice paraded in front of him, all the newer ones looking the same as the last. With snow, it became easy to forget what he had already seen and what was new. It all seemed to blend together in a mesh of white or gray. Suddenly, he blinked and looked below him at a huge building, doubting at first that it was actually there. It was there, though, and not only was it large but it was made completely of ice.

An odd sense of dread began building inside of Piccolo as he realized Konna's ki, as well as the other human's, was coming from inside that building. He landed in front of it and waited for something…anything. As if on cue, the large entrance doors opened for him and the darkness inside became slightly visible as a very long hallway. Piccolo knew this was some kind of trap, something unpleasant waited for him inside.

But Konna was in there too, probably waiting on him to come help her. And help her he would, he had to. She needed him, no one else on this planet was as strong as he. So he clinched his fists and glared inside the doors, feeling the presence of things other than humans; none of them friendly or weak.

Piccolo walked slowly and carefully inside the doors, his breath visible in front of him. The doors creaked loudly, then closed once Piccolo was securely inside. He had a bad feeling about his, something wasn't right. Something was causing the humans trouble, something strong enough to hurt Konna.

I'm coming kid. Piccolo thought. Just hang in there a little bit longer.

He wasn't left in total darkness at least, the hallway was lit by torches as far as Piccolo could see. He had the odd feeling of being watched, though he could plainly see there was no one nearby. Still, he walked on and gave no physical indication that he was the least bit unsteady. He felt Konna's ki spark and fizzle, her life force barely a fraction of it's usual flare. His eyes narrowed and his fists clasped and relaxed in rhythm with his pulse.

Whoever was doing this would pay dearly, no one messed with that girl. Not now. She was more important to him than anything else had ever been, so he wasn't about to let something take her away. Surely she could feel him by now, he was so close to her. She had to know he was coming for her, wouldn't that give her some hope to hold on to?

Where are you brat? Piccolo asked himself, after passing a door that wouldn't budge.

There was a noise behind him and he jerked around, ready to attack. There was nothing there, just the darkness that he'd already passed. So he turned and pressed on, eagerly waiting for one of the other beings he felt around him to attack. They were leading him somewhere, but he wasn't sure where or why. It was closer to Konna's ki, though, and so he went willingly.

He stopped short when his eyes caught sight of a piece of cloth on the ground, and he bent to pick it up. It was red and torn, fresh blood stains darkened it's cherry color. It was Konna's sash, it even still smelled like her. And Piccolo knew the blood was hers, he didn't have to guess.

He gripped the tattered piece of wardrobe so tightly his own purple blood trickled onto the fabric, causing it to turn an odd brown color. Anger swelled inside him so strongly he thought for a moment he wouldn't be able to control it. He wanted nothing more than to find Konna and destroy whatever had hurt her, he wanted blood for her blood. And he would have it, if it took every ounce of power he had.

He folded the cloth and wrapped it over his own sash, wanting to give it back to Konna when he found her. He walked not much farther forward until he reached another door, this one was unlocked. He could feel something on the other side, and it was not human. But he was ready now, and he wanted to see the person who did all this.

He put his hand up to clasp the metal knob, but the door opened before he even touched it. He entered the darkened room and smirked, someone was about to be sent to Outerworld…and it wasn't going to be him. And it definitely wouldn't be Konna, he'd make sure of that.

"Whoever you are, I hope you're ready to die." Piccolo said lowly.

There was a silence that was immediately preceded by eerie, screeching laughter.

"We'll see Piccolo." Came a voice, not belonging to any human. "We'll see."