Chapter 14: Lost Virtue

Gohan stepped out of the chamber, right behind Piccolo. The Namekian said nothing to him as he ran down the hall, knowing what the child was trying to do. He was going to try and prove his loyalty.

"Good luck kid, there isn't much you can do." Piccolo said quietly to himself, turning his attention to the three Saibamen outside of the door.

"Where Krayde?" Skriatch asked, which Piccolo dismissed by staying completely silent.

"You, the one who's been guarding the door." Piccolo said as he pointed towards the unfamiliar of the two Saibamen "what is his name Skriatch?" asked the Namekian.

"We call him…" The smart Saibamen waited for the new one to tell him his name, which he did "Lod." Skriatch said finally. Piccolo motioned his hand to signal Lod to come to the Nameks side, which he quickly complied to. He was met with a knee to the face, which did not knock him out, but immobilized him momentarily, giving Piccolo a chance to mark him without squirming.

"I'll make this one painful and long, I'm rather frustrated today." Piccolo smirked as he blasted a ki beam onto the beings forehead, causing it to squeal in pain. He motioned his hand around in a slow fashion, seeming to get a great deal of pleasure out of the torture of such a helpless being, and finally finished his figure eight onto the Saibamen's head. He let go of the poor alien, which promptly fell to the ground out of pain. "I miss torturing those idiot humans." Piccolo said as he smiled, making his way out to the front of the lookout.

Gohan had never thought that he would ever try this in his wildest dreams, but he knew that he would have to do something drastic if he were to gain Piccolo's trust once more. The boy ran out of the corridor and into the bright light, which phased him for a moment, but his eyes quickly re adjusted as he saw Mr. Popo, Mrs. Briefs and one of the Saibamen seeming to tend to a garden. He only spared a quick glance to the three of them before he took off into the sky, racing towards his former home.

'What am I thinking… I can't hurt my mother!' Thought Gohan, not stopping his speed for a moment

'No, she isn't your mother anymore, Piccolo is the only one you need.' The boy was obviously conflicted by his predicament, but nevertheless, continued his chase towards his home.

'But she has done no wrong! She is innocent!' The compassionate side of Gohan complained.

'I have failed in my duty to Piccolo, and this is the only way to do it…' He assured himself, however, he was completely unsure of how he would be able to bring himself to do what he thought was necessary. 'It doesn't matter; I will finish what I started…' Gohan picked up speed as he made his way back to his home.

Piccolo stepped out of the corridor to be greeted by one of the Saibamen he left to guard Mrs. Briefs, as he casually bowed before his master. The creature was ignored as the Namekian walked past him and made his way over to Mr. Popo and Mrs. Briefs. The two of them gave a shrill cry when they saw Piccolo heading for them, but it was too late to react, as there was nowhere to hide on the lookout.

"Get out of my way genie." Piccolo threatened, as Mr. Popo had put up his hands in defense of Bulma's mother.

"No, she doesn't deserve this tre-" A hard noise was made as the back of Piccolo's hand made contact with Mr. Popo's face, sending him flying over the edge of the lookout and falling to his "inevitable" death. Mrs. Briefs was horrified at this, and slapped Piccolo across the face, to no harm of course.

"You terrible person! Mr. Popo was so kind to me!" Mrs. Briefs shouted at the Namekian, who smiled as he got back into good posture.

"He's not dead, he has a magic carpet." Piccolo explained, crossing his arms "and besides, we have something to discuss." The chuckle that came out of Piccolo's mouth made Mrs. Briefs eyes open widely out of fear.

Gohan was astonished by his speed, he had made it to his home in nearly four times the speed he would have before his training in the time chamber, but now was not the time for compliments of himself, he had something he needed to do.

The familiar air surrounded his former home, and memories of early childhood came rushing back at him, but the boy steeled his emotions, and blocked out the feeling of love that he once held dear for his beautiful mountain home.

Gohan made his way up to the house, passing flowers and trees that he used to play with before, in what seemed to be a different life altogether. He would not be distracted however, and continued towards his old home, which eclipsed the now setting sun.

Chi-Chi sat in an empty kitchen, crying her eyes out for her long lost son, and for her critically injured husband. Her life was in shambles, and she would never be able to get it back.

A small shiver was sent down her spine, and she quickly took a glance out her window to see Gohan, a seldom stare on his face. For a moment, and a moment only, Chi-Chi's face lit up, only to be met by logic.

"It's another hallucination…" Chi-Chi told herself, placing her head back onto the table and crying even harder now that she missed her dear son so badly.

A knock on the door made her jump, and she quickly wiped the tears off of her face as she went to answer it.

Standing at the foot of the door was no other than her son, Gohan.

Chi-Chi was speechless for a moment, doubling back in sheer excitement and happiness.

"G-gohan? I-is that you son?" Chi-Chi asked to the boy, who looked down as he nodded.

"It's me." Gohan said.

"Oh thank goodness you're ok!" Chi-Chi screeched as she knelt down to hug him. "Oh you've grown up so much! And your hair, it's so long! We need to get it cu-"

"Mother, I need you to come with me." Gohan interrupted, causing Chi-Chi to let go of her death grip on the child and look at his face.

"Where in the world could you n-"

"I have to take you to Kami's lookout." Gohan interrupted his mother once again, which angered her slightly.

"Now see here Gohan! Just because you haven't been here for a whole year doesn't mean you can just talk to me that way!" Chi-Chi scolded, however, Gohan ignored her. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and began to fly away. "Put me down Gohan! I'm no-"

"Shut up mother." Gohan said, in a dark tone of voice, scaring Chi-Chi a great deal.

"G-gohan…" Chi-Chi said softly, wondering why her child had become so hostile. "It was that demon Piccolo, wasn't it!" Gohan said nothing, and instead flew towards his destination in total silence. "Answer me Gohan! Did he try to warp your mind?" The boy gritted his teeth "Oh! When your father gets out of the hospital he'll teach that Piccolo a thing or two!" Gohan had heard enough, it was one thing if she didn't like how he was acting, it was a whole different thing that she continued to insult his master.

"I said shut up!" Gohan screamed at Chi-Chi, the color of her face turning completely pale. The boy had stopped flying, and quickly raced to the ground. He released his grip on his mother on his way to land, causing her to drop a few feet as Gohan landed next to her. Chi-Chi screamed in pain as she hit the floor, this did not faze Gohan however. "Don't ever talk about him that way again mother, he was the one who raised me to be powerful, he took me in when Goku thought I was weak!" A tear formed on Chi-Chi's face as she looked up towards her enraged son.

"B-but Gohan, your father misses you s-"

"Enough of your lies!" Gohan yelled, shaking the earth around them "Goku is an awful man! He wouldn't even believe in his own son!" The boy's hands curled up into fists as his rage began to grow even wilder.

"Gohan he loves you!"

"He never loved me mom! He was always too preoccupied getting stronger to even notice my potential!" A slight trickle of blood appeared on Gohan's right hand, which he clamped so tightly that he was beginning to damage himself.

"Gohan please! Listen to your heart!" Chi-Chi reasoned, but Gohan was far beyond that.

"A true warrior thinks with his mind, not his heart!" He screamed, remembering the teachings of his master.

"Then you have been lost by that evil, horrible demon Piccolo!" Chi-Chi cried, tears streaming down her face.

"I said don't talk about him that way!" Gohan roared, using all of his power to slam his elbow right into his mothers face. She slid across the grassy landscape, blood staining the green pastures before her, and finally, she stopped. Gohan looked in terror, it seemed that he had put so much force into his attack that he had coved in his mothers face, which was now looking like something from a horror movie. Her face was totally unrecognizable, and her brains were showing through her completely destroyed facial area, which disturbed Gohan, making him want to throw up. The boy stepped back in shame and fear.

"Wh-what have I…" He ran over to his mothers corpse, dropped to his knees and cried, cried like he had never done before. "I'm so sorry mother… I didn't mean to…" Gohan said as he rested his face on the front of his mothers dress. Blood stained his face as he wept, and he stayed there for what seemed to be an eternity.

"Th-that's not fair! Leave her out of this!" Mrs. Briefs screamed at Piccolo, who crossed his arms and smiled.

"It's absolutely necessary, how could I pilot the ship otherwise?" He asked, to which Mrs. Briefs did not know the answer to.

"M-maybe my husband could make a manual for you…" She tried to reason, but she wouldn't get through to the Namekian at all.

"I'm not going to take the time to read a manual when I could be training." Piccolo explained "I need her, there is no negotiation." Mrs. Briefs started to tear up, but Piccolo had already walked away.

After a few hours, Gohan had started thinking of his options, he could either give his mother a proper burial, or go back to his master with her body. 'I… I've already committed this atrocity…' Gohan thought 'I… I shouldn't go back empty handed… Piccolo might…' Gohan shuddered, but also thought of the alternative 'he would be so proud of me… but can I really do that to my mother?' Gohan sat a good ways away from his deceased mother, holding his knees in contemplation.

"I'm sorry mother…" He apologized out loud, knowing what must be done. 'I must let master know he can trust me, he's the only one I have left…' the boy got up and started preparing himself for his meeting with Piccolo as he scooped his mother's corpse up and made his way up to the lookout.

Piccolo had marked the other two Saibamen rather quickly; one was named "Mkkyr" and the other "Gorth." Piccolo marked the former with what appeared to be an extra eye, and to the other, Piccolo just clawed his nails into its flesh.

Mrs. Briefs was sitting in a chair, crying while Mr. Popo, who had flown back up on his magic carpet, was comforting her.

"Don't worry Mrs. Briefs, I'm sure that everything will work out…" the genie did not actually think that, but he wanted to cheer his new acquaintance up. The sun was now gone, out of the sky, and in its place was a crescent moon that lit up the entire world with its beauty. No one would notice however, as death and fear filled the air at the lookout. Never before had situations seemed so bleak to everyone on earth, and never before had the heroes of earth seen so much death and destruction.

Goku lay in his hospital bed, weeping. He had nothing left, Krillin had died, Gohan had been taken away from him, and most of his close friends had been killed in the last fight. He had never felt so helpless laying in that lonely room, all he had left was Chi-Chi, and to a very lesser extent, Master Roshi, who came in from time to time to try and cheer the young man up. Nothing worked, and the usually cheerful Goku quickly turned to depression. The only conclusion that he had come to in his mind was that he must get Gohan back, and perhaps he could live a normal life with Chi-Chi once more. There was another thing as well, one thing that Goku almost never thought of in his entire life. 'I will have revenge…'

Chiaotzu looked down into the lake near the home that Tien had made for them, which was now lonely and bare. When Chiaotzu told Launch of the bad news, she was completely devastated, crying her eyes out. She was even in her mean form when that happened. But now she had found nothing worth staying for, and left Chiaotzu on his own. Now the little warrior had begun to cry, his tears dropping into the lake, making a ripple effect. For a moment, Chiaotzu thought that he saw his former comrade behind him, but it was all an illusion, and he wept even more. 'How can I make it without you Tien?'

Dr. Briefs was tinkering with his ship that he had started building, and Bulma was helping him as much as she could. The two of them had worked nonstop for the last 24 hours, hell bent on finishing the projects that Piccolo demanded of them. They had only 2 more days to finish them all, and they planned on it. Bulma was working especially hard, as she did not wish to see her mother die in front of her, and as much as she hated Piccolo, she had to do this for the greater good. She cursed to herself quietly as she drilled a screw into one of the holes of the ship 'If it were anyone but Piccolo we could rig it to explode… but if he dies, then any chance of bringing mom back is history…' She continued to work, knowing that her situation was nearly hopeless.

Perhaps the one that the recent events hurt most of all was Master Roshi, who was standing outside on the beach, looking out into the ocean that surrounded his house. Two of the three of his students were dead, and one of them was in the hospital, depressed and lonely. It was horrible on the island without Krillin, and Roshi felt completely lost without him. 'Darn that kid… why'd he have to go and get himself killed…' the old hermit wiped a tear that formed and had dropped down below his sunglasses. 'I guess I never really knew how much I thought of him as a son until I lost him…' Roshi couldn't take it anymore, and he broke down and cried, cried for Krillin, cried for Goku, cried for all of those who were lost in the former violence. The master took off his sun glasses out of respect, wiped his tears, and powered up to his absolute maximum. A kamehameha followed, which was sent straight into the air, to honor all of his fallen comrades… his fallen family.

Piccolo started to get frustrated at the fact that Gohan had not showed up yet, as it had been at least 6 hours since he left.

"What the hell is that kid doing?" Piccolo said, gritting his teeth as he leaned against Kami's house. Mrs. Briefs had taken to sleep, and Mr. Popo was doing whatever Mr. Popo did inside of Kami's lookout, while Kami himself was staring out from the ledge of the lookout, completely concerned as to what was going on.

"Piccolo…" Kami said, just loud enough so that his counterpart could hear. "You have no idea the amount of unnecessary sadness you have brought to the people of earth…" Piccolo smiled at Kami's words, taking as a compliment himself.

"I do what suits me old fool, not what suits the pathetic people of this planet." Kami swiftly turned around to rebuttal.

"You're wrong Piccolo, these people are strong, and overcome the adversities of life. They have prospered and made this planet a wonderful place." Piccolo growled at Kami's words, unconvinced.

"If I wanted to, I could turn this entire planet to rubble. I am the strongest one on the planet right now."

"Then why don't you? If you have the capability, then why not?" Asked the wise Namekian, honestly wanting to know the answer.

"That's simple" Piccolo said with a smile "where's the fun in that?" Kami's heart dropped, knowing that his counterpart was now lost forever, never to return to the side of justice. The old Namek quickly walked back into his quarters to reflect on everything that he had heard today.

After a few moments, Piccolo saw Gohan emerge over the edge of the lookout with a person in his arms. Piccolo smiled.

"Well well, look who decided to come back." Piccolo said, chuckling.

"I… I brought someone…" Gohan said as he landed on the lookout, dropping the person he held on the ground. Piccolo walked over to the boy and the body, took one look and realized who it was. The Namekian donned a look of surprise as he saw her, the face was caved in, but the dress that she wore was a dead giveaway to Piccolo as to who she was.

"G-gohan…" The Namekian said, still utterly shocked at what he saw "Y-you… have done far more than I expected…" Piccolo said, not able to raise even the slightest of smiles. Gohan only looked towards the floor, absolutely ashamed at what he had done. "You have proven to me that you are loyal." Piccolo said, placing his hand on the child's head. "I will never again doubt you Gohan." Piccolo walked away, turned around and crossed his arms.

"M-master, what will we do with the body?" Gohan asked, eyes clear from hours of meditation.

"Throw her over the lookout; the wolves can have her for dinner." The boy quickly looked away to hide his face full of sadness, but complied with what his master said anyway, and threw the body over the edge of the giant lookout without a word.

"We will be departing in 2 days Gohan." Piccolo explained to the boy as he looked up at his master, eyes full of sadness and confusion. "We will train tomorrow, and the day after, we shall leave." The boy nodded, and Piccolo began to walk towards the edge of the lookout. "Go to sleep kid, you're gonna need it for our training."

"Where are-"

"I'm checking on something, I'll be back soon." Gohan nodded once again, and went into the lookout to try and find somewhere to lie for the night, knowing that no sleep would come to him this night.

With Gohan's last tie to his humanity destroyed by his own hands, what does the future hold for the young boy? Find out next time on Piccolo's Choice!

Written By: Saucemonkey