II
"What are you talking about? Gohan, are you okay?" Videl asked her husband, pressing her palm to his forehead. Gohan brushed her hand away angrily, staring into the eyes of his comrades in arms. They were all trying to avoid eye contact, hoping that someone else would be the one to tell Gohan that his 'brilliant' idea would never happen. Everyone was gathered in Gohan's house around a rather large oak table eating their breakfast during a meeting that Gohan called. Well, everyone except Piccolo that is. But when he announced his plan to get the namekian off his brooding spout, everyone was quickly shushed. Nearly thirty seconds of complete and utter silence had passed... and Gohan was getting angrier with each passing moment.
"Come on guys! I'm sure that if we ask them nicely enough, they'll agree. And I'm positive that the Grand Kai won't have a problem with it if it helps to get Piccolo back to normal," the demi-saiyan begged roughly. But still, no one looked at him. Videl rubbed his shoulder, but didn't say anything else. She knew how Gohan felt about Piccolo, and she also knew that he'd do anything to help his once mentor. That included letting the dogs of hell loose. Of course, everyone else knew that as well. But no one wanted to announce how foolish Gohan was... that is, no one except Vegeta.
"Boy! Are you mad? Do you really expect anyone to agree to such a foolish brand of antics? Do you really believe that releasing the demons in Hell will do anything to further Piccolo's selfish brood? Letting loose dozens of powerful souls won't do anything but put Other World in danger again. He will come around in time, and if he does not, then he can stay in his own prison," Vegeta said, never moving his body. He stated it so completely matter-of-fact that no one could argue with him. Except...
"Come on, Vegeta," Goku chimed in. "Gohan is just trying to help out Piccolo. I'm sure after fusing with someone that held in that much hate for over two hundred and fifty years, you'd be depressed too. I mean, he's just trying to help." Goku believed that. He honestly did. But Gohan's idea... It was so insane. He wanted to release souls of Hell and have Piccolo single handedly do away with all of them. And, of course, he wanted everything to be rigged. The spirits would know they weren't supposed to win, but common sense told everyone that you can't trust someone in Hell to begin with.
"I don't care, Kakkorot! When Piccolo loses, I'll be the one that has to clean up after him!"
"Shut up, Vegeta! Piccolo is already stronger then you!" Videl yelled at the saiyan prince, defending Gohan's idea.
"Woman! Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Don't talk like that to my wife!"
"And what are you going to do about it, half breed?"
"I'll do the same thing Diamao did to you!"
"Then do it!"
Vegeta and Gohan were inches from each other's faces, gritting their teeth and letting electricity crackle down their body. For a moment, it seemed as if they would really fight, but then Krillin stepped in.
"Hey hey now, calm down you two. Why don't we just ask the Grand Kai? If he thinks it's a good idea then we can do it. If he doesn't, then we won't. He's got enough experience, right? Come on, no need to fight," the bald monk mediated, pressing his hands across both saiyan's chests. Vegeta looked at him with malice for challenging him, but then softened his expression into one of a cocky smirk.
"Alright. Deal."
"Good," Bra said with a smile. "Now, who wants some tea?" Everyone fell down, their legs sticking straight into the air.
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"Hey yall. What brings my super squad to my rad home? I was just kickin' some tunes, yall wanna join?" the Grand Kai beckoned, hopping around from one foot to the other with his boom box in its stationary position atop his shoulder.
"No sir," Tien said meekly. He was always nervous around the Grand Kai, as being around a God can effect people like that. "We wanted to ask you opinion on something."
"Coolios. What can I do for ya?"
"Well..." Gohan began, stepping forward from his friends, his hands playing with the loose fabric of his gi. "I want some of the spirits in Hell set free."
The Grand Kai dropped his boom box and froze in place. One foot cocked into the air and one arm lashed out on the side of his body in a frozen peace sign. Slowly, every so slowly, he lowered his foot and placed his arms at his side.
"What?" he asked, straightening his sunglasses, as if they had somehow fooled him into hearing something never said. "You want to me to release the souls trapped in Hell?"
"Yes, sir. Ever since Piccolo and Diamao integrated, he hasn't been his old self. I think that if he finds out that he's invaluable to Other World, then he might come back to normal. At least, in a while," he said nervously, casting his eyes randomly at the ground. The Grand Kai leaped onto his throne deftly, the ease of the old fighter's body showing the finesse of an olympic athlete.
"It's... interesting. But what happens if they get loose?" he asked, running his fingers though his white beard
"You don't have to worry about that, sir. Piccolo is nearly as strong as Goku now, there's no way he can lose. Hopefully it'll be close though."
"And if even one spirit gets loose in Other World, you know what that means, right? They could send thousands of spirits to their doom with a whisk of their fingers. Are you sure?"
"Grand Kai, Piccolo is one of the most important part of us. The next time a serious situation comes up, and we can't trust him to do his part, everyone is put at risk. We need him to get his self-confidence back. Otherwise we're useless." The Grand Kai thought to himself a few more moments, thinking very carefully about the situation. On one hand, Piccolo was an invaluable set to the Z Warriors, that was true. But to endanger thousands of lives for one man? It just didn't make any sense. But if he didn't do it, millions could die because he wasn't ready when he was needed. And then they'd just come to Other World anyway, where they'd be safe. It was this part of his job that he hated the most.
"Alright," he started to announce his decision.
"What are you talking about? Gohan, are you okay?" Videl asked her husband, pressing her palm to his forehead. Gohan brushed her hand away angrily, staring into the eyes of his comrades in arms. They were all trying to avoid eye contact, hoping that someone else would be the one to tell Gohan that his 'brilliant' idea would never happen. Everyone was gathered in Gohan's house around a rather large oak table eating their breakfast during a meeting that Gohan called. Well, everyone except Piccolo that is. But when he announced his plan to get the namekian off his brooding spout, everyone was quickly shushed. Nearly thirty seconds of complete and utter silence had passed... and Gohan was getting angrier with each passing moment.
"Come on guys! I'm sure that if we ask them nicely enough, they'll agree. And I'm positive that the Grand Kai won't have a problem with it if it helps to get Piccolo back to normal," the demi-saiyan begged roughly. But still, no one looked at him. Videl rubbed his shoulder, but didn't say anything else. She knew how Gohan felt about Piccolo, and she also knew that he'd do anything to help his once mentor. That included letting the dogs of hell loose. Of course, everyone else knew that as well. But no one wanted to announce how foolish Gohan was... that is, no one except Vegeta.
"Boy! Are you mad? Do you really expect anyone to agree to such a foolish brand of antics? Do you really believe that releasing the demons in Hell will do anything to further Piccolo's selfish brood? Letting loose dozens of powerful souls won't do anything but put Other World in danger again. He will come around in time, and if he does not, then he can stay in his own prison," Vegeta said, never moving his body. He stated it so completely matter-of-fact that no one could argue with him. Except...
"Come on, Vegeta," Goku chimed in. "Gohan is just trying to help out Piccolo. I'm sure after fusing with someone that held in that much hate for over two hundred and fifty years, you'd be depressed too. I mean, he's just trying to help." Goku believed that. He honestly did. But Gohan's idea... It was so insane. He wanted to release souls of Hell and have Piccolo single handedly do away with all of them. And, of course, he wanted everything to be rigged. The spirits would know they weren't supposed to win, but common sense told everyone that you can't trust someone in Hell to begin with.
"I don't care, Kakkorot! When Piccolo loses, I'll be the one that has to clean up after him!"
"Shut up, Vegeta! Piccolo is already stronger then you!" Videl yelled at the saiyan prince, defending Gohan's idea.
"Woman! Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Don't talk like that to my wife!"
"And what are you going to do about it, half breed?"
"I'll do the same thing Diamao did to you!"
"Then do it!"
Vegeta and Gohan were inches from each other's faces, gritting their teeth and letting electricity crackle down their body. For a moment, it seemed as if they would really fight, but then Krillin stepped in.
"Hey hey now, calm down you two. Why don't we just ask the Grand Kai? If he thinks it's a good idea then we can do it. If he doesn't, then we won't. He's got enough experience, right? Come on, no need to fight," the bald monk mediated, pressing his hands across both saiyan's chests. Vegeta looked at him with malice for challenging him, but then softened his expression into one of a cocky smirk.
"Alright. Deal."
"Good," Bra said with a smile. "Now, who wants some tea?" Everyone fell down, their legs sticking straight into the air.
------------------------
"Hey yall. What brings my super squad to my rad home? I was just kickin' some tunes, yall wanna join?" the Grand Kai beckoned, hopping around from one foot to the other with his boom box in its stationary position atop his shoulder.
"No sir," Tien said meekly. He was always nervous around the Grand Kai, as being around a God can effect people like that. "We wanted to ask you opinion on something."
"Coolios. What can I do for ya?"
"Well..." Gohan began, stepping forward from his friends, his hands playing with the loose fabric of his gi. "I want some of the spirits in Hell set free."
The Grand Kai dropped his boom box and froze in place. One foot cocked into the air and one arm lashed out on the side of his body in a frozen peace sign. Slowly, every so slowly, he lowered his foot and placed his arms at his side.
"What?" he asked, straightening his sunglasses, as if they had somehow fooled him into hearing something never said. "You want to me to release the souls trapped in Hell?"
"Yes, sir. Ever since Piccolo and Diamao integrated, he hasn't been his old self. I think that if he finds out that he's invaluable to Other World, then he might come back to normal. At least, in a while," he said nervously, casting his eyes randomly at the ground. The Grand Kai leaped onto his throne deftly, the ease of the old fighter's body showing the finesse of an olympic athlete.
"It's... interesting. But what happens if they get loose?" he asked, running his fingers though his white beard
"You don't have to worry about that, sir. Piccolo is nearly as strong as Goku now, there's no way he can lose. Hopefully it'll be close though."
"And if even one spirit gets loose in Other World, you know what that means, right? They could send thousands of spirits to their doom with a whisk of their fingers. Are you sure?"
"Grand Kai, Piccolo is one of the most important part of us. The next time a serious situation comes up, and we can't trust him to do his part, everyone is put at risk. We need him to get his self-confidence back. Otherwise we're useless." The Grand Kai thought to himself a few more moments, thinking very carefully about the situation. On one hand, Piccolo was an invaluable set to the Z Warriors, that was true. But to endanger thousands of lives for one man? It just didn't make any sense. But if he didn't do it, millions could die because he wasn't ready when he was needed. And then they'd just come to Other World anyway, where they'd be safe. It was this part of his job that he hated the most.
"Alright," he started to announce his decision.