Chapter 25 - Dead Zone

A/N: I do not own Dragon Ball Z!

I do however own Mura and Mizuki, plus her origins!

Please ask permission before using them!

I got the idea for this chapter when I was re-watching the Garlic Jr. Saga and I just had to write it!

Enjoy!

"G-Gohan, you have to open the barrier!" Piccolo hissed, in severe pain as Kami tried to make it to the deepest part of the Lookout to release the Ultra Holy Water. "Before we get sucked into the Dead Zone!"

Mizuki looked at the young boy of about seven, unsure what to do, this child didn't have the power to hold this barrier against the Dead Zone for long, and if it broke, then...

She didn't want to think of what would happen.

If it weren't for these guys, she wouldn't have been released from the hold that Garlic Jr. had on her, Piccolo's words of reason shattered the Aquamist's control on her and she finally had her own mind back.

"Gohan, listen to Piccolo! Open the barrier!" Mizuki shouted, and the boy looked back at her, seeing those cyan blue eyes and not the pink-ish red eyes she had when she was possessed.

"What if-"

"Just do it!"

Gohan thought for a moment before he opened the barrier, a gust of wind sweeping inside. "Now!" Piccolo and Kuririn shouted, aiming to destroy the red world in the sky that had caused all these problems.

However Piccolo's eyes trained on something else as an earsplitting shriek filled the air. Mizuki was thrown from the ground by the winds and being pulled towards the black abyss of the Dead Zone.

"Mizuki!" Piccolo shouted, grabbing her wirst and digging the claws of his other hand into the battered patio. "Don't let go of my hand!" He snarled, gritting his teeth as the pain of Kami's mission hit him full force.

With his weakened state, he could not pull her inside, and Kuririn couldn't help as he had been weakened in the fight with both Garlic Jr. and Piccolo pretending to be possessed.

"Piccolo-sama!" Mizuki cried out, grabbing his wrist with both hands, she was terrified, he could see it in her eyes. This wouldn't be dying, if she were to fall in the Dead Zone, she would be trapped in a living hell with no escape possible.

"Calm down Mizuki!" Piccolo shouted, feeling his grip slipping and squeezing tighter, knowing it was a painful grip for her, but it was better than what awaited in the void above. "I won't let you go!"

Mizuki's eyes filled with tears and Garlic Jr. spotted them, smirking with malice as he strengthened the power of the void.

Piccolo's eyes widened in horror as Mizuki's hands fumbled to keep hold, her grip slipping as the force of the pull increased. "No! Kami, you damn asshole, stop dawdling! I need my strength back!" He cursed to the Kami below, knowing the man couldn't hear him, but trying anyway. "Mizuki, keep hold of my hand, don't let go!"

Mizuki's face softened and she smiled at Piccolo, wishing she could press her lips to his, even if it was just once. "Piccolo-sama...I don't blame you!" She whispered and Piccolo's acute hearing was the only reason he heard it.

"No! You're not giving up!"

"I love you!"

Then her grip finally failed, and she screamed, trying to grab his hand once more, however even when he leaned out of the hole in the barrier, he could not reach her.

"Mizuki!" Piccolo barked, watching her being pulled closer and closer to the void. "Mizuki!" He called out, his voice louder as she reached the void and slipped inside, trapped for all eternity.

"MIZUKI!"

Garlic Jr's laughing echoed in Piccolo's ears as tears filled his eyes and he growled, glancing at the world orbiting behind the mad man.

"You...YOU BASTARD!" Piccolo roared, shooting as powerful a blast of Ki as possible at the world, making Garlic Jr. panic as he tried to stop it, but the power was too much, and in blocking the world's destruction, he was destroyed.

The world above cracked and exploded, a storm of dust falling towards the Earth as the Ultra Holy Water was released and the world got back to it's senses.

~DBZ~

Gohan and Kuririn left once the celebration was over and the world was no longer under chaos, but Piccolo remained, standing where he had when Mizuki had fallen into the Dead Zone.

Kami and Mister Popo left him alone, knowing what he was feeling, so they flew away, going to Karin's for the night.

"Mizuki..." Piccolo breathed once he was alone, then his face contorted into tragic loss and he dropped to his knees, digging his claws into the patio below him. "MIZUKI!"

Tears were pooling in the Namek's eyes, and he let them flow, falling from his cheeks onto the stone below with soft patters and taps.

Mizuki hadn't died, no that would have been a merciful end. She was lost, trapped in a hell worse than death, and she's been sealed not knowing the answer to her confession.

"I love you!"

The worlds swirled continuously through Piccolo's mind, over and over, like some hellish recording. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to wrap his arms around Mizuki and tell her he felt the same.

But because of that asshole Garlic Jr. he would never see her again. Piccolo's power had even broken the lock of imortality on Garlic Jr's soul, causing him to shatter and disintegrate into dust, which faded before it hit the floor.

Garlic Jr. would never cause chaos again, but at such a price. "You BASTARD!" Piccolo roared, rearing back and crying out into the sky, tears spilling down his cheeks.

If Mizuki could see him now, she would hold him, calm him, tell him she would never vanish again.

Piccolo slammed his hands back into the patioed floor of the ruined remains of the Lookout, glaring at the ground below as if it were Garlic Jr. himself. "You...This is your fault!" He slammed his fist into the ground, trying to vent both his anger and turmoil, but to no avail.

Mizuki was gone and he was never going to see her again.

A/N: What did you think?

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Thank you!