VII
Vegeta spiraled towards the hard grass below, sticking his hands out just before impact. On contact he pushed up, flipping himself onto his feet. He had to dodge to the right quickly to avoid a seeking ki shot that was barreling towards his position. He turned and ducked abruptly to avoid the next ki attack. Vegeta turned another 180 and raised his hands to fire two energy blasts, both seeking out the targets he recently avoided. Within three seconds two explosions rocked the landscape as his attacks reached their targets. Vegeta frowned and crossed his arms, disappointed. He was preoccupied with the readings he was sensing from Hell. He could tell Tomatto and Selery down there with the namekian, which was definitely not good. Well, not for the namekian anyway. He had barely been able to beat the two years ago, and that was only because he managed a sneak attack on Selery. The two aliens couldn't sense ki, it had taken him nearly an hour into the battle to realize that. And if he hadn't, there certainty wouldn't be any Vegeta around right now.
Oh well. The namekian wanted to safeguard his honor, so let him be. It would only be a disgrace for Vegeta to help him now, after all. Piccolo already was deep into battle, and helping him would do more harm then good. Vegeta knew better then most what honor meant to a true warrior. And life be damned, he knew Piccolo would never accept the information in a fight of this caliber.
With that settled, Vegeta returned to his training, firing five seeking ki attacks this time instead of two.
------------------------
Piccolo breathed heavily, gasping for air. His arms were still in their last position from his assault. As his chest heaved, the sky grew slowly back into it's bright pink color, the darkness receding as the energy from the ki did as well. Once the ground came into view he began to realize what he had done. Everything was charred; a black landscape sent its greetings to him. It was a horrible sight, a dark void piercing the once delightfully peaceful plains of Other World. Surrounding the destruction in a perfect sphere was the painfully obvious green grass, a reminder of the once unscathed land. The circle lasted for two hundred feet on each side. Smoke still dotted some small parts of the area, and were likely not to leave for quite some time, and so far Tomatto and Selery were no where to be found.
Piccolo calmed himself and felt his calm, rational mind slide back into control. He reached out to find his enemies, sure that they survived despite the mass destruction. A faint wisp of ki brought his attention to full height. It disappeared as quickly as it had came, helping Piccolo to identify it as Tomatto. Where Selery was still was a mystery, but finding one fish was better then none at all.
Feeling vulnerable, Piccolo dropped from his location in the sky and landed in a patch of smoke. It always felt safer on the ground; despite he was probably a much better fighter in the air. He glanced around menacingly, trying to make out any shapes he saw in the smoke, but saw none. It was odd for someone to lay hidden for this long... But he was sure that they survived. Although it was very strange he hadn't been able to see them leaving the scene... Tomatto must have been carrying Selery; there's no way Selery could have made his escape alone and not be detected. Two ki signatures appeared just above his position; a quick glance informed him they were indeed Tomatto and Selery. Piccolo almost smiled.
------------------------
Gohan walked into his father's house to find Chi-chi leafing through radish; Pan standing next to her attending to the freshly plucked carrots. Gohan stopped walking and looked between the carrots and radish, puzzled. Something about those two vegetables struck a cord in him... But he couldn't quite place it. He shrugged and continued on his way.
"Mom, where's dad? I need to talk him," Gohan asked sheepishly, hoping his mother wouldn't have found out about his little 'excursion' in Hell. His mother didn't even look up from her work and merely pointed over her shoulder to their bedroom. He nodded and gave his Chi-chi a peck on the cheek as he passed her.
"Ooooooh..." Gohan heard his father from within the room. He peaked in nervously, finding no one there. It took him a second to realize that his father's sounds of wonder were coming from the bathroom... Then Gohan heard another sound that really made him not want to come in. Another 'Oooooh' followed by a flush of the toilet. Gohan really really didn't want to know what was going on.
"Dad... You okay?"
"Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah, I'm fine Gohan. But I just found the coolest thing! Come in here!"
Gohan reluctantly entered his father's bathroom to find Goku crouching, staring into the toilet bowl.
"Okay, Gohan, come here," Goku told him, waving his hand to show Gohan to join him at the side of the bowl. Gohan nodded and crouched next to him, staring into the toilet bowl. "Ready?"
Gohan nodded. Goku reached out with two fingers and flicked the handle, flushing the water away and replacing it with a fresh batch. Gohan looked over to his father to find him wide-eyed, gawking in wonder as it all happened before him. Afterwards Goku turned to meet Gohan, a toothy grin spread across his face.
"Sooooo, watcha wanna talk about?"
"..."
Vegeta spiraled towards the hard grass below, sticking his hands out just before impact. On contact he pushed up, flipping himself onto his feet. He had to dodge to the right quickly to avoid a seeking ki shot that was barreling towards his position. He turned and ducked abruptly to avoid the next ki attack. Vegeta turned another 180 and raised his hands to fire two energy blasts, both seeking out the targets he recently avoided. Within three seconds two explosions rocked the landscape as his attacks reached their targets. Vegeta frowned and crossed his arms, disappointed. He was preoccupied with the readings he was sensing from Hell. He could tell Tomatto and Selery down there with the namekian, which was definitely not good. Well, not for the namekian anyway. He had barely been able to beat the two years ago, and that was only because he managed a sneak attack on Selery. The two aliens couldn't sense ki, it had taken him nearly an hour into the battle to realize that. And if he hadn't, there certainty wouldn't be any Vegeta around right now.
Oh well. The namekian wanted to safeguard his honor, so let him be. It would only be a disgrace for Vegeta to help him now, after all. Piccolo already was deep into battle, and helping him would do more harm then good. Vegeta knew better then most what honor meant to a true warrior. And life be damned, he knew Piccolo would never accept the information in a fight of this caliber.
With that settled, Vegeta returned to his training, firing five seeking ki attacks this time instead of two.
------------------------
Piccolo breathed heavily, gasping for air. His arms were still in their last position from his assault. As his chest heaved, the sky grew slowly back into it's bright pink color, the darkness receding as the energy from the ki did as well. Once the ground came into view he began to realize what he had done. Everything was charred; a black landscape sent its greetings to him. It was a horrible sight, a dark void piercing the once delightfully peaceful plains of Other World. Surrounding the destruction in a perfect sphere was the painfully obvious green grass, a reminder of the once unscathed land. The circle lasted for two hundred feet on each side. Smoke still dotted some small parts of the area, and were likely not to leave for quite some time, and so far Tomatto and Selery were no where to be found.
Piccolo calmed himself and felt his calm, rational mind slide back into control. He reached out to find his enemies, sure that they survived despite the mass destruction. A faint wisp of ki brought his attention to full height. It disappeared as quickly as it had came, helping Piccolo to identify it as Tomatto. Where Selery was still was a mystery, but finding one fish was better then none at all.
Feeling vulnerable, Piccolo dropped from his location in the sky and landed in a patch of smoke. It always felt safer on the ground; despite he was probably a much better fighter in the air. He glanced around menacingly, trying to make out any shapes he saw in the smoke, but saw none. It was odd for someone to lay hidden for this long... But he was sure that they survived. Although it was very strange he hadn't been able to see them leaving the scene... Tomatto must have been carrying Selery; there's no way Selery could have made his escape alone and not be detected. Two ki signatures appeared just above his position; a quick glance informed him they were indeed Tomatto and Selery. Piccolo almost smiled.
------------------------
Gohan walked into his father's house to find Chi-chi leafing through radish; Pan standing next to her attending to the freshly plucked carrots. Gohan stopped walking and looked between the carrots and radish, puzzled. Something about those two vegetables struck a cord in him... But he couldn't quite place it. He shrugged and continued on his way.
"Mom, where's dad? I need to talk him," Gohan asked sheepishly, hoping his mother wouldn't have found out about his little 'excursion' in Hell. His mother didn't even look up from her work and merely pointed over her shoulder to their bedroom. He nodded and gave his Chi-chi a peck on the cheek as he passed her.
"Ooooooh..." Gohan heard his father from within the room. He peaked in nervously, finding no one there. It took him a second to realize that his father's sounds of wonder were coming from the bathroom... Then Gohan heard another sound that really made him not want to come in. Another 'Oooooh' followed by a flush of the toilet. Gohan really really didn't want to know what was going on.
"Dad... You okay?"
"Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah, I'm fine Gohan. But I just found the coolest thing! Come in here!"
Gohan reluctantly entered his father's bathroom to find Goku crouching, staring into the toilet bowl.
"Okay, Gohan, come here," Goku told him, waving his hand to show Gohan to join him at the side of the bowl. Gohan nodded and crouched next to him, staring into the toilet bowl. "Ready?"
Gohan nodded. Goku reached out with two fingers and flicked the handle, flushing the water away and replacing it with a fresh batch. Gohan looked over to his father to find him wide-eyed, gawking in wonder as it all happened before him. Afterwards Goku turned to meet Gohan, a toothy grin spread across his face.
"Sooooo, watcha wanna talk about?"
"..."