IX
Goku rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, looking up innocently at Piccolo. By the looks of things, Piccolo had probably just done something he shouldn't have. Almost afraid of what he might find, Goku turned his head to find a barely breathing body lying on the ground behind him. It dawned on the saiyan just what he had been planning on doing.
"Piccolo... Why?" he asked. Goku didn't need to specify what he was asking about, as that was probably one of the more obvious things at the moment.
"I don't know," the namekian answered gruffly, as if just the act of attempted murder was enough to wrench his stomach in half. It was a good sign, that Piccolo was sickened by what he'd done, and it was good enough to let Goku drop it for the moment.
"What are you doing here, Goku? This is my fight, I don't need any help," Piccolo turned the conversation suddenly. At first he was taken aback, but then Goku realized he was right. After a brief apology, he turned to Gohan, who had remained quiet up until now, and grimaced. It was a silent signal to back off and let Piccolo handle everything. The two floated up, away from all the action, but remained close enough to charge in if things got to rough. Or if Piccolo got to rough.
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Tomatto darted swiftly through the air, trying desperately to find some way to defeat Piccolo while he had some time to himself. Selary was out of the running now that he had been nearly erased by the guardian. Without Selary he was basically useless... He might be fast, but he was definitely not strong. Tomatto had always relied upon Selary to handle all the dirty work; he was just the distracter. He might be able to last a few minutes against Piccolo, but once Piccolo got one hit in and managed to stop him for a moment it was all over. Tomatto realized there was only one course of action possible for him to take. He stopped moving all together, letting Piccolo find him with ease. Immediately the namekian was floating in front of him, glaring menacingly down into Tomatto's eyes.
His response was instantaneous. With a single backhand, Selary was sent spiraling to the ground, his face hitting the hard dirt, becoming bloodier every passing moment. He looked into the air to see Piccolo floating slowly downwards, sure of his victory. It took a few seconds for him to reach the cold ground, but once he did Tomatto quickly explained himself.
"I give up! I don't want to fight anymore, I'm done," he said, stammering as his blood tried to make its way into his mouth. He had to fish it out with his tongue, as he was lacking lips to spit it out with. Piccolo grimaced at the display, unsure of what to do. That's when his Diamao half kicked in....
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Tomatto was a murderer. He'd probably killed hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions when he was alive. Him and his partner Selary were ready and willing to kill anyone who got in their way, and probably anyone just for the hell of it. When given a second chance at life, he chose not to leave in peace, but to instead attack with deadly intentions. Tomatto would have taken Piccolo's life in an instant if he could, and probably still would given a chance. He was pure evil. That's why he was in Hell, so why even consider sparing his life? That made no sense. Evil is evil, and that's all that matters in these kinds of matters. Piccolo snarled and pulled back his fist, just before his rational mind took hold.
Stop! Tomatto might be an evil being, but he was still a person. And even though he'd tried to erase him, Tomatto had surrendered. And he was defenseless. One of the most important rules possible for Piccolo to have ever discovered, was to never kill (or erase) a defenseless man. No one deserved for their very existence to be erased, and that included Tomatto. Even though he'd....
NO! He deserved to be erased for what he'd done. There was no other way around it! He'd tried to erase Piccolo, and for that there was no alternative except death. No one was allowed to challenge his power and live. Tomatto would die, there was no other way around it.
But he was a person! He was already serving his sentence in Hell for what he'd done wrong during his life! So what if he'd tried to attack him? That wasn't worth someone being totally and completely erased for the rest of eternity. Or was it? One slap deserved another, and that's damn well what was going to be given to Tomatto!
NO!
Piccolo put his hands to his head, screaming in torment. His entire body was shaking, bringing him to his knees before Tomatto. The war raging in his mind threatened to tear him apart, a feeling of immense pain overtook him as he grappled with his father's lasting memories. Piccolo let go of his head and dug his hands into the ground, a sort of brace against the ideas flooding into his mind. His white aura sprung up immediately as sweat poured from his face, the grip he held on the ground intensified as his fingers dug farther in, creating small craters as they plunged into the dirt.
Tomatto took a step back, his eyes opened wide. He glanced around nervously, as if looking for a source of Piccolo's agony. Goku and Gohan looked on from high in the sky, perfectly aware of what was happening. Piccolo was finally confronting whatever Diamao brought with him when they fused. The killer instinct, murderous thoughts and self-loathing was finally coming to the surface. Piccolo was finally being forced to deal with it, and this was clearly the hardest thing he'd ever done. The next few moments would decide his fate for the rest of eternity. Gohan gulped.
Goku rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, looking up innocently at Piccolo. By the looks of things, Piccolo had probably just done something he shouldn't have. Almost afraid of what he might find, Goku turned his head to find a barely breathing body lying on the ground behind him. It dawned on the saiyan just what he had been planning on doing.
"Piccolo... Why?" he asked. Goku didn't need to specify what he was asking about, as that was probably one of the more obvious things at the moment.
"I don't know," the namekian answered gruffly, as if just the act of attempted murder was enough to wrench his stomach in half. It was a good sign, that Piccolo was sickened by what he'd done, and it was good enough to let Goku drop it for the moment.
"What are you doing here, Goku? This is my fight, I don't need any help," Piccolo turned the conversation suddenly. At first he was taken aback, but then Goku realized he was right. After a brief apology, he turned to Gohan, who had remained quiet up until now, and grimaced. It was a silent signal to back off and let Piccolo handle everything. The two floated up, away from all the action, but remained close enough to charge in if things got to rough. Or if Piccolo got to rough.
------------------------
Tomatto darted swiftly through the air, trying desperately to find some way to defeat Piccolo while he had some time to himself. Selary was out of the running now that he had been nearly erased by the guardian. Without Selary he was basically useless... He might be fast, but he was definitely not strong. Tomatto had always relied upon Selary to handle all the dirty work; he was just the distracter. He might be able to last a few minutes against Piccolo, but once Piccolo got one hit in and managed to stop him for a moment it was all over. Tomatto realized there was only one course of action possible for him to take. He stopped moving all together, letting Piccolo find him with ease. Immediately the namekian was floating in front of him, glaring menacingly down into Tomatto's eyes.
His response was instantaneous. With a single backhand, Selary was sent spiraling to the ground, his face hitting the hard dirt, becoming bloodier every passing moment. He looked into the air to see Piccolo floating slowly downwards, sure of his victory. It took a few seconds for him to reach the cold ground, but once he did Tomatto quickly explained himself.
"I give up! I don't want to fight anymore, I'm done," he said, stammering as his blood tried to make its way into his mouth. He had to fish it out with his tongue, as he was lacking lips to spit it out with. Piccolo grimaced at the display, unsure of what to do. That's when his Diamao half kicked in....
------------------------
Tomatto was a murderer. He'd probably killed hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions when he was alive. Him and his partner Selary were ready and willing to kill anyone who got in their way, and probably anyone just for the hell of it. When given a second chance at life, he chose not to leave in peace, but to instead attack with deadly intentions. Tomatto would have taken Piccolo's life in an instant if he could, and probably still would given a chance. He was pure evil. That's why he was in Hell, so why even consider sparing his life? That made no sense. Evil is evil, and that's all that matters in these kinds of matters. Piccolo snarled and pulled back his fist, just before his rational mind took hold.
Stop! Tomatto might be an evil being, but he was still a person. And even though he'd tried to erase him, Tomatto had surrendered. And he was defenseless. One of the most important rules possible for Piccolo to have ever discovered, was to never kill (or erase) a defenseless man. No one deserved for their very existence to be erased, and that included Tomatto. Even though he'd....
NO! He deserved to be erased for what he'd done. There was no other way around it! He'd tried to erase Piccolo, and for that there was no alternative except death. No one was allowed to challenge his power and live. Tomatto would die, there was no other way around it.
But he was a person! He was already serving his sentence in Hell for what he'd done wrong during his life! So what if he'd tried to attack him? That wasn't worth someone being totally and completely erased for the rest of eternity. Or was it? One slap deserved another, and that's damn well what was going to be given to Tomatto!
NO!
Piccolo put his hands to his head, screaming in torment. His entire body was shaking, bringing him to his knees before Tomatto. The war raging in his mind threatened to tear him apart, a feeling of immense pain overtook him as he grappled with his father's lasting memories. Piccolo let go of his head and dug his hands into the ground, a sort of brace against the ideas flooding into his mind. His white aura sprung up immediately as sweat poured from his face, the grip he held on the ground intensified as his fingers dug farther in, creating small craters as they plunged into the dirt.
Tomatto took a step back, his eyes opened wide. He glanced around nervously, as if looking for a source of Piccolo's agony. Goku and Gohan looked on from high in the sky, perfectly aware of what was happening. Piccolo was finally confronting whatever Diamao brought with him when they fused. The killer instinct, murderous thoughts and self-loathing was finally coming to the surface. Piccolo was finally being forced to deal with it, and this was clearly the hardest thing he'd ever done. The next few moments would decide his fate for the rest of eternity. Gohan gulped.