"Gohan, get up!" I say, kicking him from my place on the bed.

"Huh? Wha-? Oh, come on, Piccolo! It's Saturday! That means I get to sleep in!" he groans, burying his face in his pillow.

"Up!"

"All right! I'm up, I'm up! God, give me a break," he grumbles, pulling himself out of bed.

Six years have passed now. Gohan is sixteen years old. He is now up to my shoulders, and has a couple more inches to grow. His hair is now much shorter, with one unruly chunk that continues to stay in his face. His muscles are toned and his ki is higher than ever.

Much has happened in these six years. Krillin and Eighteen married four years ago and have a daughter, Marron. At three years old, she is the spitting image of her mother. Trunks is seven, going on eight in a couple months. He is in rigorous training with his father and occasionally Gohan.

Vegeta.

Two years ago, Vegeta finally was able to ascend to a Super Saiyan II, though his ki is still substantially lower than Gohan's. While Gohan is able to jump from base form to Super Saiyan II, Vegeta must first become a Super Saiyan before fully ascending. He has settled into married life finally, taking responsibility of his son, as well as Bulma. He occasionally comes around for a spar with Gohan under my watchful gaze.

Not much has changed here. Each year, I made an attempt to return to the waterfall, but both Chi-Chi and Gohan would have none of it. No, this place has become my permanent home, at least until Gohan gets married and moves out. Then, and only then, will I return to my solitary life.

Although it will never truly be solitary. Gohan and I are obviously still bonded, strong as ever. He still insists he has no interest in girls, and I suppose that's mostly my fault, as I'm sure my mannerisms have leaked into him.

That puberty issue Krillin had warned me about has never been a problem.

Gohan and I still share his room, even though I've tried to move out to the living room at nights. Turns out we couldn't get used to it. And by "we", I mean Gohan. Every time I've attempted it, Gohan has come out and slept on the couch at some point in the night. So, I stay at the foot of his bed each night.

Our days are peaceful. Gohan spends the weekday mornings doing school work as delegated by his mother. After lunch, however, Gohan is mine and we head out to the desert to train. I am now fully capable of holding a decent spar with him even at his full power. My ki is just marginally lower than Vegeta's, a fact the Saiyan will not let me live down.

Next year, Gohan will be attending Orange Star High, a school in the city, as per his mother's request. He is both excited and nervous, but it's still a year away.

Gohan grumbles groggily to himself as he pulls his gi on. "Why are we getting up this early again?"

"Because you have babysitting duty today at 3:00 for Trunks, and that takes two hours out of our usual time. So, you're making up for it now."

"Oh, I completely forgot about that. Well, couldn't we just have two hours less of training today? Is it really that big a deal?"

"Since when do you complain about training?"

"Since it wakes me up early!"

"You never had a problem with getting up early before."

"Yeah, when I was a kid! Don't you know teenagers need more sleep?"

"That's irrelevant to me."

"Hmph. Fine. But seriously, why does it matter if we train two hours less today?"

"Because, nitwit, we don't get to train at all tomorrow. Or did you forget we have to go to your grandfather's village ceremony tomorrow?"

"Actually, yeah. Totally forgot," he says as he pulls his shoes on. The heel breaks out on one of them as he yet again thrusts his foot into them too hard. "Oops. Think you can give me a new pair?"

"Yes, for the third time this month. Stop thrusting your feet into them. They aren't made to be pulled on so hard."

"Sorry. I keep forgetting my own strength," he answers, smirking. I sigh and conjure up some new ones directly onto his feet.

He really does forget his own strength. His ki increases every day and when I look into his body, I can see a new spark that awaits to be lit. This kid is going to become the strongest being in the universe at some point in his life.

"Okay, I'm ready. I'm so tired! Carry me," he whines jokingly, falling into me. I shove him away. "Aw, come on. You would've when I was a kid!"

"No I wouldn't have."

"Pfft. Yes you would. I had you wrapped around my little finger!"

Funny. I'm not 100% sure he doesn't still.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to carry him.

As we step outside, Gohan launches himself onto my back, his arms wrapping around my neck and his legs around my waist. I stumble backwards several steps.

"Get off, Gohan!" I say, prying at his arms. "You're too big for this!"

Gohan laughs, all traces of sleep gone. "There's a reason Frieza called Saiyans monkeys!"

I reach behind me and hit him hard over the head. "Off!"

"Ow! That actually kinda hurt! Sheesh, develop a sense of humor, Piccolo!" he says, reluctantly letting me go.

"I warned you!"

He chuckles and takes to the sky. I follow after him, easily catching up.

"So what are we working on today? Blasts? Offensive tactics? Defensive? Speed? Strength?"

"We just did strength yesterday. I think we should work on your offensive tactics."

"Aw man. I hate the offensive."

"Which is exactly why we're doing it. You always go for the defensive."

"Hey now, there is a legitimate plan behind that!"

I snort. "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Simple. I tire them out and THEN show my true power!"

"And what would you do if your opponent tired you out by putting you on the defensive for too long?"

"Oh, come on, Piccolo! Earth is at peace! What are the chances of..."

"Don't even finish that sentence," I snap.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Piccolo! We'll work on the offensive. But when I whoop your butt, don't come crying to me."

"As if, brat."

Gohan flings himself onto the ground, breathing heavily. I lean against a tree for support, breathing far heavier than my pupil, as usual. We've been going at it for three hours now without a break.

"Can we be done yet? I'm beat."

"You most certainly are not BEAT. I'm not even a challenge," I scoff.

"That may be, but I'm tired. You woke me up early, remember?"

"Would you get over that? Life is full of disappointments."

Gohan's mood darkens in an instant, making me open my eyes in shock. He flashes images at me in rapid succession, the death of his father in the forefront. I sigh, and look over at him. He stares at the blue sky, a frown on his face.

"I know disappointment, Piccolo. I am aware of life's cruelties. I'm done sparring today. Please leave me alone," he says, sitting up.

"Gohan... I didn't mean..." I stammer, not knowing what to say. I move to sit by him in silence. He turns to look at me, blue eyes piercing my soul as they always have.

"Let's just meditate for the rest of our training time," he suggests neutrally. I nod, liking this idea. I close my eyes and float up several feet from the ground.

CRASH!

I fall back to the ground harshly by a sudden weight in my lap.

"Gohan! Get off!" I command, trying to push him off. "You're too heavy!"

Gohan laughs triumphantly, not budging. Out of ideas, I shoot him in the back with my eye laser beams. He lets out a yelp and jumps off me, rubbing at the little burn mark on his lower back.

"Ow! What the hell?" he asks, trying to look over his shoulder. "Did you just eye beam me?"

"Yes. Yes I did."

"What gives? You haven't used that in...YEARS! How old was I, like five?"

"You wouldn't get off. I warned you."

"You let me do it all the time when I was a kid!"

"Gohan, you're SIXTEEN. You gained close to 100lbs since then."

Gohan laughs. "Yeah yeah yeah. I really do want to meditate though. Just for an hour. Then I have to go get showered and eat before we have to go babysit Trunks."

"What's this 'we' business? I'm not going to babysit. I got my fill of that from you."

"Oh come on, Piccolo! Trunks' bed time is at nine and Bulma and Vegeta won't be back until eleven! What am I supposed to do alone for two hours?"

"Why are they gone for so long?"

"Because Capsule Corp. is having some huge fundraiser thing that usually lasts late into the night."

"From three until eleven? That's a long time," I say skeptically.

"I don't question it. I just get paid."

"Bulma! Vegeta! Hello! We're here!" Gohan calls as he opens the front door to Capsule Corp.

"Gohan!" Trunks cries, leaping into Gohan's arms.

"Hey big guy! Ready for a day of awesomeness?" Gohan asks, throwing him into the air and catching him again.

"Yeah! Mom just bought me a new game for the game station! It's really cool!"

"Sweet! You'll have to show me how it works!"

"Yeah! Oh, hi Piccolo. Are you staying too?" Trunks asks.

I grunt. "Yeah."

"Cool! We can play on three player mode then."

Gohan shoots me a look. "Uh, Trunks, Piccolo doesn't like games, so he'll just watch, okay?"

"Okay! I'll go get Mom and Dad and tell them you're here! Grandma and Grandpa left a little while ago already!" he says, racing up the stairs.

Vegeta comes down first, looking uncomfortable in a black suit. "Gohan, Namek," he greets.

"Hey Vegeta. You look...uh..."

"Extremely uncomfortable, yes. I don't understand how humans can wear these things. They're itchy and hot. Stupid woman, telling me what to do," he grumbles.

"Vegeta, stop complaining. God, you're such a baby sometimes," Bulma says, coming down the stairs. "Hey guys, thanks for watching Trunks tonight. Sorry we'll be gone for so long. We have to get there two hours early and stay an hour late...it's just a mess. So, I left you guys enough money for five large pizzas and Gohan, I'll pay you when we get back. Have fun!"

"Sure thing Bulma! See you later!"

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!"

They leave, shutting the door behind them. Trunks runs to the living room, dragging Gohan behind him. They sit on the floor in front of the giant television, and Trunks passes Gohan a controller and turns the system on.

"Okay, so what game is this?" Gohan asks, studying the controller.

"Uh...I forget. But it's really cool! You get to shoot people and blow stuff up!"

"Sounds violent."

"That's why it's awesome!"

"You're definitely Vegeta's son, all right," Gohan mutters. "Okay, so what does this button do?"

"Ah! Don't press that! That sets off the grenade launcher! You can't blow up our base!" Trunks exclaims.

Oh god. This is going to be entertaining. I can already tell.

"Okay, so what about this button?"

"You're shooting me! Stop, stop!"

"Oops, sorry!"

"Just press B!"

"Okay okay! Oh, so you run by pressing B? Okay, got it."

Gohan's screen begins to flash red.

"Ah! What do I do?"

"Press A! Press A!"

"It's not doing anything!"

"Yes it is! Keep pressing!"

Gohan's screen goes black.

"I think I just died," Gohan says.

"Yeah, you definitely did! You're really bad at this!"

"Well, I don't have one of these systems at home, so naturally, I'm going to be bad at it!"

"Yeah, I guess... Hey Gohan, can we go to the park? Please? I promise I'll be really good and go to bed on time if we go to the park!"

"Is that how you goad your dad into taking you?" Gohan laughs.

"Yeah! It doesn't work usually, though. But then Mom yells at him and says he has to take me or she'll turn the gravity room off! It's so funny! Were they always like that, Gohan?"

Gohan chuckles. "Oh yeah. Even worse, especially before you were born!"

Trunks laughs. "No way! So can we go? Can we? Please?"

"Yeah sure. Go grab your baseball and we can play catch."

"All right! You're the best, Gohan!"

Watching them play, I am reminded of that day all those years ago on the lawn of the Son home. Just as it had been that day, Trunks throws the ball as far as he can and Gohan chases after it, phasing in exactly where it would land and throwing it back.

Of course, Trunks is now able to throw is way farther than two feet... more like 200 before Gohan catches it. Who knows how far it would go if we let it fly?

"Someone would probably be dead," Gohan chuckles. "It kinda hurts my hand to catch it. Can you imagine it hitting someone in the head? BOOM! Dead."

"You are morbid."

"I can see into your thoughts and memories. What did you expect?"

"Don't do that!" Trunks says, stamping his foot.

"Do what?" Gohan asks, confused.

"That speaking with your mind thing with Piccolo! It's creepy!"

"Why does everyone have a problem with this?" Gohan asks, exasperated.

"Because it's not normal!"

"Neither is this..." Gohan ascends to Super Saiyan and back in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah but... you're a Saiyan. That's normal for Saiyans."

"Well, this bond is normal for Namekians."

"But, you aren't a Namekian."

Gohan sighs. "Well, I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that one, kiddo."

"Hm. Okay. I guess it's kinda cool. So you guys hear everything the other is thinking?"

"Yup!"

"Unfortunately," I mutter.

Gohan and Trunks laugh.

Trunks is finally in bed.

That child is way too full of energy.

Four large pizzas were demolished at dinner. Trunks ate one and a half to himself and Gohan ate the remainder. Gohan insisted on leaving the fifth pizza in the fridge for Vegeta to eat when he returns. No doubt he'll be hungry by the time they come back. I doubt Bulma allowed him to stuff his face in public.

I hover slightly above the couch, staring blankly at the screen. Gohan comes out of the kitchen with a slice of pizza in his hand. He jumps onto the couch beside me and quickly devours the slice in two large bites.

"I thought you were saving that pizza for Vegeta."

"Yeah, but I figured he wouldn't miss just a little slice. I was still hungry!"

"It's absolutely revolting how much you eat."

"Yeah, well, I think it's weird you don't consume anything but water. Speaking of which, I brought you a glass," he says, indicating to the glass he had set on the side table when I wasn't paying attention.

"Thanks," I say, taking it. "How is it that the water from here is so much colder and fresh tasting than at your house?"

"Because Bulma's rich and has a water chiller and purification system."

"I hate it when you sound smarter than me."

"It's a human thing to know, I suppose. Not something you ever concern yourself with."

"You've got that right. What are you watching?" I ask, my interest suddenly caught as an explosion lights up the screen.

"The news, I thought..."

And then we sense it. An odd disturbance in the natural balance of the Earth.

It's tiny, and seemingly insignificant, like a blip on a radar, gone again.

An news anchor appears on the screen. "Do not panic, everyone. It appears that one of our automated broadcasting stations has experienced a technical difficulty and self-destructed. Nothing to worry about. By noon tomorrow, the investigation crew will have determined the source of the malfunction. We apologize for any worry this may have caused. Please stay away from the area, as there may be some radioactive material released."

"That was no mechanical malfunction," Gohan says, staring intently at the screen. "You felt it too, right? That blip of ki?"

"Yes. We should go check it out as soon as Bulma and Vegeta get back."

"We can't. You heard them; there might be radioactive material. Mechanically caused or not, it's there. It's too dangerous. We'll have to wait until the authorities clean it up."

I groan to myself, feeling stupid. "What exactly can radiation do?"

"It can mutate cells in our body and make us really sick or die even. I don't know if it would have an effect on a Namekian, but the human part of me would surely be affected. And you aren't going there alone, just in case."

"And since when do you give the orders?"

The door slams open.

"Vegeta! Shush! You're going to wake up Trunks!" Bulma hisses.

"Be quiet woman. You two, did you feel that?" he demands, stepping towards us, glaring at the screen.

"Yeah. Piccolo and I are going out to investigate tomorrow after the radiation crew cleans it up."

"Hmph. I'm coming with you, then. When do we leave?"

"I guess as soon as they're done. The news said it'll be done by noon."

"Fine. Meet me here."

"Okay. By the way, there's a pizza in the fridge for you."

"Oh thank god! Stupid woman barely let me eat anything," Vegeta snaps, shooting a glare at his wife.

Bulma sighs and hands Gohan some money. "I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow then. Thanks for watching him, Gohan. I know it's not exactly how a teenager wants to spend their Saturday."

"Nah, it's cool! Trunks is a great kid! We'll see you tomorrow!"

I cannot think straight on the way home.

Is our time of peace coming to an end?

Again?