DBAH:

Intermission

Eric Kinneary

I

"Super Kaio-ken!" a voice rocketed. A blue ball of energy twined its way down, taking hold of his body and shaking it roughly. The man's body was tossed like a rag doll to the ground, pure energy barreling onto his weakened form, slicing him in half under the intense heat. He tried to fight back, but the extreme pressure was too much for him to take. The energy slowly dissipated, leaving him alone, bleeding across the spongy ground he was surrounded by. And as time passed, he could see another figure hiding high in the sky, only his outline vaguely visible. And laughter... Laughter filtered down through the air to reach his ears. It wasn't a cold laugh. Or a warm laugh. It was simply... a laugh. But it still pierced his skin, filling him with remorseful dread, and unimaginable fear. It threatened insanity with its monstrosity, never ceasing, not for a moment. It was pure torture...

And he'd brought this about. His loathing of others. His hate for the admirable. It was all his doing. He could have prevented it. It was never his place to judge others; it was never his place to punish. But he did. And in turn, he too was punished. He would pay the price for the rest of eternity, the laughter always haunting him, never resting. But such was the way of Hell. And this was his hell. For attempting destruction where only peace existed, his punishment was supreme. It would never end. As long as he existed he deserved eternal confinement, eternal damnation, trapped within himself. And then... ever so slightly... he began to hear his tormentor whisper his name...

"Diamao... Diamao..."

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Piccolo awoke with a start, gasping for air. He heard it again. Sometimes Diamao's thoughts would leak quietly into his mind while he slept, causing him to wake up panting. It was one of those nights again. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was, but after glancing down quickly he was reminded that he was still perched atop Mt. Kaio-kaikai, the highest mountain in Other World. He had come here regularly lately; it was more peaceful then most of Other World. He didn't have to worry about the noise below; instead, he was free to meditate peacefully. In fact, he hadn't been to his mansion in nearly two weeks. Ever since incorporating Diamao into himself, he found that he had shrunk a little bit farther back into his recluse state he once enveloped himself in. He was slowly fighting it off, however, as he went to Gohan's house every other day, reminding himself of his friends. Even Vegeta was trying to help him, somewhat. Of course, the saiyan prince's definition of help was to offer daily sparring matches. But then again, the namek had a feeling it was more to help Vegeta redeem himself for losing against him the first time.

Piccolo grunted to himself and closed his eyes, sitting himself back down cross-legged.

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Goten wiped the sleep from his eyes droopily. He had been careful not to wake up Marron, she was on 'that time of the month,' but she wouldn't admit it. Goten almost regretted everyone being given back their youthful bodies when they came to Other World, he had gotten used to not having to deal with that when they were older. But it was eight in the morning, what was the point of thinking about it?

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Piccolo soared through the Other World skies, spying silently at the warriors far below him as they trained indefinitely, hoping for their one chance to receive a private training lesson from the Grand Kai. Over the years, he had become increasingly impressed by the skill exhibited by these fresh recruits. And, by cause and effect, the villains they were forced to deal with on the mortal plane were also incredibly strong. The universe had even found a replacement for Saiyans called the Turrelians. Although, they were mostly reptilian in looks. Piccolo had never seen one, but from descriptions given to him by the inhabitants of Other World, they were painfully strong and apparently followed the same path as the Saiyans in their day. Violent, crazed, honor bound and insanely powerful. Of course, the Z Warriors weren't allowed to step in at that particular part of the development of the universe. Well, not until the Turrelians actually became a threat to the security of a galaxy anyway.

As his training mantle flapped across his body, the namekian flew higher into the air to escape the noise generated by the populace. He found more peace when he was alone with his thoughts, uninhibited by the bustle of Other World. But as he found more and more peace, he also found conflict. Diamao's hatred of others was quite easy to defeat after several days of intense meditation. But his morality and sense of worthlessness... That was proving to be a much harder foe to tackle. Even though his strength rivaled that of the almighty Goku, that wasn't enough. He needed more to thrive on, more for life. He needed to be useful. Hell, in the six months that had passed he still wasn't back up to his mental par.

But Gohan had a way to change that...

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 bodies. 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 parts 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.

III

"No? What do you mean he said no?"

"I mean he said no. As in we couldn't do it," Gohan muttered, shaking his head angrily while his wife tried in vain to sooth him.

"Well if that's what he said, then you have to trust him. He's the Grand Kai, he knows what he's talking about, right?" she asked, rubbing his back softly.

"No! He doesn't know anything about Piccolo, and that's the problem. You can't just sit around and hope he'll just sort through it. It doesn't work like that, Videl. Not even God is right all the time."

"Then what are you going to do?" Gohan straightened his head, staring her directly into the eyes. Up to this point, he had been a mess of emotion, unable to speak a few lines without shaking. But now he was strangely calm. He looked as if he had an idea, as his eyes opened wider then normal and a small smirk passed through his face.

"I've got to go, Videl. I'll see you later," he said just before standing up and rushing to the door. Videl sat there cockeyed, unable to grasp what had sent Gohan into such a flurry.

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"So, that's the whole story," Gohan told Goz and Mez, two of the gatekeepers of Hell. He related to them his plan to help Piccolo... excluding the part where Grand Kai said "No." The blue and red beasts looked at each other for a second, trying to make up their mind whether or not to believe him.

"Do you really think they'd let us turn some of the souls free?" Goz whispered, leaning in close to Mez's ear. The other shrugged slightly,

"I don't know. But Gohan is one of the Z Warriors, he wouldn't lie to us." Gohan felt a pang of guilt in his heart when he heard that. True he was one of the Z Warriors, but it was also true he was lying to them. He had to fight off the urge to turn away.

"Alright then," Goz said, straightening up. "So Gohan, when do you want us to do it? I haven't seen Piccolo for a few days."

"He'll be here in a few hours. Now listen, there are certain spirits I want you to set free, so pay attention," Gohan related, proceeding to tell them everything they needed to know.

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"Piccolo! Piccolo!" Gohan cried out, beckoning the namekian who soared high in the pink sky. As the green skinned man turned, and saw Gohan, he felt a little better. He could always count on him.

"Hello, Gohan."

"Piccolo, I came to give you a message," the demi-saiyan said, stopping his ascent as he came face to face with his one-time mentor. "It's about Hell. Mez says he needs to talk to you, it's urgent."

"Mez? What does he want?" Piccolo asked, preparing himself for some idiotic news brief. Goz and Mez were very well known for being... idiots.

"I don't know. He just said to tell you that, I guess he figured I could get here faster then he could."

"Alright then, I'll go check it out. Are you coming?" he asked, turning his back as he prepared to rocket towards Hell.

"No, I have something else I have to take care of. But I'll see you later, okay?" Gohan said, smiling faintly as Piccolo shrugged and fired off into the distance. "Yep. He's gonna be all right."

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"Aaaaaand... Now!" Goz yelled, thrusting his arm up to signal Mez. On his cue, Mez pressed a rapid series of buttons, instantly transporting a few select souls to the ground, and giving them back their bodies. The two watched as three separate entities appeared before them, all crouched low to the soil. One was relatively tall, and quite red. His flowing hair and skin were both a flaming red color and his armor resembling that which was worn by Frieza's men long ago. The only difference? This armor's design didn't include the standard stomach guard like the others, it only had the wide shoulder pads and heavyset chest protection. And oddly enough, he wore a blue jump suit covering his entire body, save his head.

The next to appear had a dark yellow skin, freckled with light brown spots across the head and neck. Unlike his predecessor, he wasn't very tall at all. In fact, he didn't tower more then three foot five off the ground. He made up for it in brute muscle mass though. His neck bulged with veins and his arms were thicker then his entire head. And, also unlike his predecessor, he only sported a pair of boxing shorts for protection. Although his dense muscles were surely enough armor for him.

After him, one more materialized. He was tall, maybe 7'5 with green skin and a long blue robe. He had black cropped hair that was almost completely covered by a white helmet. Underneath his blue covering, his chest was bare, although a large line ran through it, a scar from his last living encounter. And there was, as well, a small scar on the back of his neck.

The three villains opened their eyes in shock at this spectacle. Not only were they released from the depths of Hell and released to the topmost layer of it, but they had their bodies as well. The red one stood and held out his arms in front of him, turning them over as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Yellow followed his example, but didn't rise and instead stayed on one knee. But the green one... He stood. And when he did his aura flashed to life. Now was his chance. Zanji would have his revenge.

IV

"Woah! What was that?" Piccolo asked himself, his path to Hell stopped abruptly when he felt a massive ki erupt suddenly. He remembered it vaguely, but couldn't place who he sensed with it before, but he remembered that fighting that ki wasn't much fun. He grunted and closed his mouth, which was gaping open, and activated his own aura. In the seven months he stayed in solitary, he practiced powering up. It was easy to do if you reached your max regularly, like he did. And now he found that he could do it in only a few seconds, merely by letting it all loose in a quick burst. And that's what he did now. Piccolo tightened all of his muscles and let his white aura swirl around him, his veins bulging momentarily under the stress until they became accustomed to the new power a couple seconds later. True it wasn't as dramatic as the Z Warriors usually made it, but this way was much more efficient. He cocked his head again, searching for the ki he lost momentarily while he powered up. After he found it, he pushed two fingers to his forehead and rushed to meet it.

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"What do you mean you don't know who Gogeta is? You must know who he is! He sent me here!" Zanji said, tightening his grip on Goz's throat. The gatekeeper let a small cry escape his lips as he felt his veins bulging. "I want to know who he is, and where he is. Now!"

"I... don't... know!" he sputtered out, fading in and out of consciousness.

"Well do you know what that makes you?" he asked as his eyes narrowed and his face became overshadowed with a grin of malice. "That makes you... expendable!" Zanji threw out the arm holding Goz into the air behind him. He hit the wall of a cavern and fell down, bruising his entire body, but not breaking any major bones. At least, hopefully not breaking any major bones. Goz couldn't tell since he wasn't... awake. As the green menace was approaching Mez a figure faded into view a few yards in the distance. Yellow turned to see whom it was, then gasped aloud.

"Piccolo!" Red turned with him, following the others example. His reaction was the same. Zanji mimicked the other two and nodded his head slightly to see who it was. And he nearly broke down in shock when he saw him.

"You're the one! You're the one who held me while that energy wave overtook us. You'll do just as well as Gogeta if I can't find him, green man."

"Go... geta?" Piccolo struggled for a second to figure who he was talking about. But he realized that it was the fusion that Goku and Vegeta used to defeat him twenty-six years ago, Zanji must have picked up the name when one of the Z Warriors was talking to the fusion. The namekian looked into the sky of pink and the distant white of cover clouds. Maybe he should call upon the others? No... No, he was the guardian of Hell for a reason. It was his business to deal with this. Zanji had escaped, and by the looks of it so had two others. The red, Tomatto, and yellow, Selary, were a tag team Vegeta brought in a few years earlier. Tomatto was incredibly fast, while Selary was impossibly strong. Separately they weren't much of a challenge, but together they were more dangerous then...

"Die!" Piccolo looked up just in time to see a bright green ball rushing toward his position. The namekian jumped into the air to avoid it, easily sending the ki attack sailing away into the distance, where he heard it impact the wall of the mountainside that was stationed back there. The sky darkened for a moment while the blast sucked in light, but everything was quickly brightened again as it dissipated. Piccolo, from his high position in the air, saw Zanji disappear. On instinct, he immediately turned around to intercept the blow he knew was coming. He wasn't fast enough and Zanji's fist slammed into the side of the namekian's face, forcing him back... seven inches. Zanji's jaw dropped for a few seconds, but then he clenched his teeth and threw another punch into Piccolo's face. This time, however, Piccolo was prepared. When the fist connected it sent rivets through his body, but he remained stationary. The wind from the impact blew behind the two fighters and created a three foot crater in the ground below, only a few feet away from where Mez sat, dazed from his last encounter.

Piccolo smiled. This was going to be fun.

V

Piccolo raised his fist to meet Zanji's. The two connected and a small sonic boom erupted, shattering small rocks that lay on the ground. Piccolo and Zanji brought their other two fists together, pushing them apart the second they touched. They weren't pushed away more then a dozen feet, as they soon rushed at each other again. Zanji saw Piccolo's fist approaching his face and ducked, his eyes drawn to the namekians unprotected mid-section. They both quickly realized the mistake, and as Zanji was bringing his fist up to attack, Piccolo brought up his knee and hit his opponent in the jaw, sending the monstrosity sailing into the air. He clutched his fist, opened it, then threw it forward, releasing a small green ball he created towards Zanji. Zanji gained his grounds just in time to see it coming. He turned himself sideways, allowing the blast to sail past him. He smirked at this victory, but as he turned to face Piccolo, he saw a purple knee covered in a green gi slam into his face, sending him flying backwards. His arms and legs flailed in a vain attempt to help him regain his bearings, but that was quickly put to an end as Piccolo appeared in Zanji's path. The namekian grabbed a hold of the robe encasing him, swinging him around and flinging Zanji to the ground.

Yes... This was fun.

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"Gohan! Come on! There's a disturbance in Hell. The Grand Kai wants us to go check it out," Krillin relayed to the demi-saiyan quickly as he sped by. Gohan's eyes snapped open immediately, instantly relieving himself of his meditative state.

"What do you mean? Who's going down there?" he asked, snagging Krillin's arm and tugging him back towards him. The human let a face of confusion pass over him at Gohan's odd behavior, then it dawned on him.

"Did you disobey the Grand Kai?"

"Look, Piccolo needs something. He needs to be shown that he's an important part of the team, that we still want him around even though he tried to kill us all seven months ago. He's my friend. And I'll do whatever I can to help my friends, Krillin. You would too. If my father was in his place, what would you do?" Gohan questioned, tightening his grip. Krillin looked as if he would protest, but thought better of it.

"Alright, Gohan. I won't say anything to anyone. I'll tell the others to back off and not go. But if you're wrong and this doesn't help Piccolo, or he gets hurt, you know what'll happen, right?" Gohan nodded solemnly. Krillin was satisfied. "Don't you let his ki out of your mind for a minute, you hear me?"

"Yeah, Krillin. Don't worry, Piccolo will be fine. Trust me," Gohan said. Krillin put two fingers to his forehead and disappeared. "Come on, Piccolo. You've got to win..."

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Piccolo slapped away an oncoming ki away, exploding it far into the sky, for away from where it could do any damage. It singed his hand slightly, but as his skin was green anyway, nobody could tell except for him. He stood, raising himself out of the stance he adopted automatically when he saw Zanji charging up his attack. The smoke was still clearing from the path of the ki wave, but Piccolo could sense Zanji was worn out from releasing that much energy. In fact, Piccolo was surprised that the terror they faced on earth twenty-six years ago was this easy to best. His thoughts were short lived, however, as he felt his opponents ki shoot up as he rushed through the still clearing dust. Piccolo leaned to the right, letting Zanji's fist slip just to the left of his head. Zanji brought himself around sideways, letting his knee land in Piccolo's neck. The namekian's eyes opened a bit wider than usual, but he quickly dropped to the ground in a push up position. Then he rolled over sideways and thrust out his hands, firing a barrage of ki blasts into Zanji's stomach. His foe was pushed into the air by the attacks, unable to guard himself. Piccolo readily got to his feet and pressed two fingers to his forehead.

"Special Beam Cannon!" he pushed his fingers forward, letting loose the purple screwdriver. It rocketed at the still dazed Zanji, who was now falling back to the ground. He lifted his gaze just in time to see Piccolo's ki shatter his chest. It plunged through his skin and bones with the utmost ease, exiting his back roughly. As Zanji fell, the Special Beam Cannon continued to burn through his body, turning the flesh around the wound a sickening shade of black. Piccolo cut the blast and leaped back just before Zanji fell on his last position. The namekian looked down at the charred body of his attacker. His ki was slipping away quickly, Piccolo sensed. He wasn't a challenge anymore. But it was better to end his life now.

"Die!" he screamed, charging a ball of energy in his left hand. He was halfway through the swing before he stopped himself. "Wha... What happened?" he questioned. He let his ki dissipate quickly, the green glow of energy leaving his hand. It was almost impossible to believe, but he nearly erased a helpless enemy. Nothing could justify the taking of a helpless man's life, no matter what the circumstances. But he was prepared to do it without any remorse...

"Damn you, Diamao. Why did you have to fuse with me?"

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Selary and Tomatto watched on from a few hundred feet away, assessing their opponent.

"What do you think, Selary? He's fast and strong... I don't know if we can beat him. He looks even stronger then that black haired one who killed us in the first place," Tomatto said quietly, discussing their odds with his closest friend. The yellowed speeder simply shook his head.

"We're stronger now too, Tomatto. Don't worry. Now then, shall we?"

"Yes."

VI

Piccolo felt Tomatto's ki vanish for an instant. He turned from Zanji quickly, preparing himself for whatever would happen next. Selary stood far enough away to allow Piccolo some time to defend himself if he attacked, but close enough to remain a threat. Tomatto, on the other hand, was still yet to be found. He felt a flash of energy somewhere above him in the sky, so he looked up to find it, but the second he did it was gone again. Piccolo lifted himself from the ground with a bit of ki, a small dust cloud floundered from where his ki settled to raise him up. He hadn't gotten more then twenty feet in the air before he felt a sharp pain in his back, causing him to bend over slightly. He turned as fast as he could, but by then his assailant was gone. He checked Selary... He was still in his last position. So that meant Tomatto was so fast he couldn't even detect his movements. That wasn't good.

Dammit.

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"What are you talking about? That little half saiyan bastard went through with it anyway? Even though the Grand Kai told him not to!" Vegeta, of course. He was holding Krillin up by the collar of his gi, lifting him probably three feet from the ground. Vegeta cocked his head slightly and grinned. "You are sure he violated the Grand Kai's orders?"

"Y... Ye... Yeah, Vegeta. I'm positive," the small monk blurted out nervously. He almost worried Vegeta would hit him, but instead the saiyan tossed him to the dirt. Krillin landed roughly, but since he was more a super human then anything else, only his pride was hurt.

"Get out of here," Vegeta ordered. Krillin wasted no time and immediately jumped to the air and flew away in search of his next target, putting as much distance between him and Vegeta as he could.

"So... Gohan went against the Grand Kia's orders?" Vegeta mused, his grin not receding. "Maybe he really is a saiyan. That little punk might just have some sort of honor in him after all." He said this just before closing his mind to the entire matter, returning to his training. He turned to the nearest mountain and raised a single finger. A small blast of ki erupted from it, bearing towards its target. A matter of seconds later a small ping could be heard in the distance from its impact, but nothing changed. Vegeta stood his ground, waiting. He didn't have to wait long, as the entire mountain soon erupted in a ball of fire, melting before his very eyes. Not bad... But it took a few seconds more then it should have. Maybe he should transform into a Super Saiyan next time.

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Selary zanzokened behind Piccolo, sending a punch into the namekian's spine. He bent over and spittle flew from his mouth at the sharp pain. Taking advantage, Selary took hold of Piccolo's antennae and yanked his foe up quickly, slinging him over his shoulder. Piccolo dove through the air with incredible speed, his antennae throbbing in pain. It took him a few seconds, but he managed to gain control of himself. He flipped upright, the air behind him sending a sonic boom at his abrupt stop. Piccolo floated in the air for a few seconds, glancing at the ground far below. That would be a dangerous drop if someone was sent careening towards it fast enough... He'd have to remember that.

He surveyed his opponents. Tomatto seemed no worse for the wear, as his speed ensured that Piccolo never touched him. Selary sported few cuts and bruises as well, since every time that Piccolo tried to approach him he was almost assuredly deferred by Tomatto. How the hell did Vegeta beat them if they were this strong?

His thoughts didn't last for very long, however. Tomatto disappeared, leaving a very cocky Selary alone. Piccolo reached out with his mind, trying to pin point Tomatto's ki, but he was moving to fast. No luck so far. He felt a disturbance in the air directly above him. Just as Piccolo was looking up to see what it was, he felt two fists slam into the sides of his head, punching them together. He reached up and grabbed onto Tomatto's head, palming it. Instantly he charged a ball of ki, with Tomatto's head blocking it's growth. Immediately it detonated, throwing both men in opposite directions, but damaging Tomatto much more. Piccolo didn't have much time to think about his victory, as Selery was quickly there to defend his partner. He swung his massive fist at Piccolo's head, but because of his lack of speed, Piccolo easily avoided it by crouching and dropping a few feet lower in the air. Quickly, he grasped Selery's wrist and swung him around in a complete circle twice, dizzying his opponent. Then he let go, aiming Selery for the ground far below. He had just enough time to search out for Tomatto before having to lean backwards to allow a smaller, but still deadly, fist to soar past his head. Piccolo brought his knee to the stomach of Tomatto before he had a chance to do any more damage with his super speed. Piccolo thought he heard a grunt, but was to busy with his next attack to pay much attention. He removed his knee and lifted his elbow, slamming it into the back of Tomatto, also sending him spiraling to the ground several dozen yards below.

Quickly, he lifted both his hands and charged two small ki attacks in each. He threw both of his hands down, firing them in succession. Rapidly, he pulled them back a few inches, only to thrust out again with more and more small ki attacks. Soon the air was heated with the impossible number of balls whizzing through it. The ground was nothing but a giant fireball as the entire landscape was lit up with explosions and fire, everything within a hundred feet of the epicenter was burned, all of it charred unrecognizably with the sphere's immense power. Piccolo felt his ears pop as the explosions became louder and more difficult to bear. The entire sky changed from it's regular pink hue to a darker and more appropriate green, as the energy from the ki blasts sucked in all of the light from the air to fuel their power.

He felt his arms begin to tire and palms burn as the energy balls he threw came more ferociously and were thrown with more vigor then he was willing to spare at this point in the match. He began to slow down his expulsion of ki attacks until he came to a stopping point a few seconds later. He panted heavily, then pressed his hands together. He concentrated on his power, then he pulled them apart, revealing a relatively large ball of green ki. He lifted it above his head, then threw it downwards. It moved rather quickly for such a large size, reaching its destination in less then five seconds, disappearing in the sea of orange. The fire and random energy floating randomly around the point of contact pulled towards the center of the contact point, just before exploding in a hale of fire, ki and heat. The entire sky changed from green to black as all of the light was drained. Piccolo was swallowed by the darkness, his body aching from the last assault.

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?"

"..."

VIII

Piccolo wondered what the two were waiting for. He was still engrossed in smoke, leering towards the two demons, but they glanced around curiously instead of coming to his position. It was almost as if they couldn't tell where he was. And, if that was true, Piccolo told himself he shouldn't feel the least bit surprised. Back when he was alive very few enemies he ever fought could sense ki, so it only made sense that these two couldn't as well. The more he thought of it, the more he became convinced he was right. Tomatto's speed was uncanny, and Celary's strength was, as of yet, almost unrivaled. With the knowledge the two couldn't sense ki Piccolo might have the advantage he'd be waiting for.

He lifted his hands into the air above him, opening them flatly so that each faced one of the two villains. In both hands a small orb of green light appeared, giving off stray rays of light that cut through the gray walls of smoke giving cover to their creator. Selary and Tomatto glanced down at the frenzied rush of lights taking place below them, frustrated at the fact they couldn't pinpoint the source. Piccolo made sure to keep his aura suppressed in order to avoid creating a homing beacon for the two. The energy required to create the small ki attacks was minimal, as that way they would travel faster. He lowered one arm slightly, then shot it upwards violently, launching the green orb at Selary. He repeated with the other arm for Tomatto. The two were far to busy searching the sky for Piccolo to notice as the balls came zooming for them.

------------------------

"Dad, has Krillin come to see you yet?" Gohan asked nervously, still crouching on the bathroom floor his father. Goku cocked his head questioningly:

"About what?"

"I did it anyway."

"Did what?"

"You know.... I didn't do what I was supposed to do," Gohan said, feeling speckles of sweat appear on his brow.

"You didn't wipe?" Goku asked as he reached over to the toilet paper.

"No! Dad! I let Zanji and two others free in Hell!" Gohan's cheeks flamed a bright shade of red as his father put down the piece of toilet paper he recently tore from the roll.

"So you let Zanji go in Hell with Piccolo?" Goku questioned, his gaze turning stony and his ki rising slightly at the news. Gohan rubbed the back of his head and nodded. Goku turned his face downwards and looked at the ground, searching through the space of Other World to find Piccolo's ki in Hell. After a few moments he turned back to his son. "Piccolo's doing fine and Zanji's ki is so low he probably can't even walk. There are two other powers down there though that Piccolo's fighting. I can't tell if he's fighting both or only one, but both are lower then his so he shouldn't have any trouble with them. But..." Goku trailed off.

"What? What's wrong dad?"

"But I don't know how much of Diamao he's conquered. He might still have some evil in his heart, and if he does he might end up erasing those two powers down there," Goku said, his mind already working on his next move. Gohan understood what his father had in mind before another word could be spoken. Once again, Gohan nodded his head. Goku smiled and placed one hand on Gohan's shoulder, the other hand stretched two fingers on his forehead. Then they disappeared.

------------------------

Tomatto was the first to take a blast to the chest. It was to sudden for him to even let out a scream of pain before he was soaring through the air, the green ball still churning and twisting, trying to make it's way into his chest. Selary, however, did notice it. But he was to slow to move out of the way, and because of his height disadvantage the blast did not impact his chest; but instead it browsed by his face, burning him slightly before it continued on it's way into the air. Selary smiled at his fortune. Or, he would have smiled had Piccolo not appeared immediately after the blast vanished. The namekian wasted no time in launching his assault, as he immediately lowered his elbow harshly into Selary's skull. He could feel it sink in an inch before his arm stopped moving. He removed it and immediately blood poured across the yellow man's head. Selary's blood was a bright blue and very thick. A few specks were still on Piccolo's elbow, which were quickly removed with a quick flick of his opposing arm's wrist. He lent out his mind to see how much power Selary still held in his compact form and found... none. Selary was on the brink of being erased.

"He deserves it," Piccolo stated bluntly before firing two blasts from his eyes, aimed straight for Selary's forehead. They would have killed him, had not Goku arrived milliseconds beforehand to take the lasers in his forehead instead.

"Ow!" Goku yelped suddenly, rubbing his forehead thoroughly. Piccolo apologized and cursed silently to himself for coming close to taking another's life. That was twice in one day he'd tried to commit murder. He didn't know how much longer he could live with Diamao.

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.

------------------------

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, Tomatto 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.

X

Piccolo wrestled with his mind, a torrent of thoughts and emotions swirling about his bloodied head. The urge to hurt, kill and murder overwhelmed him, threatening to break him with its urgency, its unrelenting force crashing again and again against the walls of his mind. A crippling pain surged through the Namekian, causing him to scream in agony. The ground he held onto cracked and shuddered beneath him as his aura pushed outwards, as if isolating himself.

Goku and Gohan, not to mention Tomatto, looked on with bewilderment. They all tensed themselves, ready for whatever would happen next. Piccolo appeared to be on the brink of insanity, holding onto his own ideas, thoughts and character by a thread. Certainly he no longer appeared to be the calm and focused Piccolo Goku knew him to be. Instead he was a wild animal; his eyes held the look of a madman within. It was obvious that whatever Diamao had added to him, whatever it was that kept Diamao seething with hatred was now unleashed inside Piccolo. And, as it appeared, Piccolo was loosing.

------------------------

They deserved to die! All of them! Goku, Gohan, Tomatto, Tien, Grand Kai, all of them! No one could live! Everyone was a threat to him. He wasn't safe, not from anyone. Everyone must be erased.

But they were his friends! All of them. They tried everything to help him. Goku alone saved his life half a dozen separate times. Gohan was his first true friend, the first person to trust in him! Maybe he should spare Gohan's life, but kill Tomatto? The others maybe should live, but Tomatto was truly his enemy. Him and Selary teamed against him, tried to erase him. They weren't worthy of this, not worthy of even dwelling within Hell. So he, Piccolo Diam…NO!

He wasn't Piccolo Diamao! That person was dead! He was Piccolo, guardian of Hell, member of the Z Warriors. It wasn't his place to pass the sort of judgement that he was about to. Tomatto was defenseless now, there wasn't any need to erase him or Selary.

------------------------

On the outside, Piccolo's aura was whipping wildly in the air, tendrils of energy snaking through the air violently, as if searching for something to wrap themselves around. The ground was literally shuddering as waves upon waves of energy shot out from Piccolo's pained form. He was still gripping the ground with his fingers dug through the compacted dirt. Veins running under his skin bulged over his entire body, giving him a disgustingly grotesque appearance.

"Argh!" He allowed a grunt of pain to escape his lips. He lowered his head closer to the ground and rubbed his teeth together. Goku watched with interest; he'd never seen something like this. Under normal circumstances, Piccolo was a calm and collected fighter. But within himself, the battle inside his own heart, everything was on the table. The rational warrior became a wild beast, unmatched in raw fury by anyone Goku had ever seen. Even the gi that Piccolo wore was being torn asunder, bits and pieces of it were flying freely, eventually breaking off in the high winds.

------------------------

The Grand Kai stared out across the glittering sky of his tournament room. The power he sensed coming from Hell was fluctuating rapidly, but not centering at any one thing. He also sensed four other kis down there as well. He recognized two as belonging to Goku and Gohan, the other two were the ones that Piccolo had been engaged in combat with earlier. But both of those were painfully low.

In addition to being able to sense ki over long distances, he was also able to sense the intent of that ki. Be it good or evil. All during the battle Piccolo had waged, the Grand Kai sensed an ever-present evil aura about him, in company with the good. And more recently he felt that evilness take hold of Piccolo and momentarily control him. But now it was slowly diminishing, letting the namekien take control again. The Grand Kai picked a star at random and fixated his gaze upon it, not really looking at it.

XI

Piccolo opened his eyes slowly. His aura was dying down, and the howling of the wind stopped as his power decreased sharply. He felt the darkness in his heart recede slightly, just enough for him to notice. The stares of the others didn't penetrate his stony exterior. The war he raged was coming to a close, at least now it was finally near a resolution. The pain he felt in his body, the uncertainties in his thoughts, and his unsteady actions would finally vanish. With each new fusion he felt a new way of thinking become integrated into his being, a new sense of purpose added to his own. But with Daimao it was different; he'd had to fight against this one. If he gave in to its desires and wants he'd change completely. Nail had given him courage and a sense of honor; Kami had added to him wisdom beyond his years. But when Diamao fused with him, it was as if he'd taken a step back thousands of years. His thoughts were sporadic and illogical, almost mindless.

Piccolo's thoughts ceased as his mind went completely blank, and he fell into unconsciousness.

------------------------

The next few months were a flurry. Gohan was put under scrutiny for tricking Goz and Mez into letting three of the more powerful souls in Hell loose. He was put under suspension, although no other sentence was handed on. Goku had a sneaking suspicion that the Supreme Kai had stepped in at some point and set the Grand Kai straight, but decided not to voice it too loudly. Tomatto, Selary, and Zanji had all been exiled back into Hell, and their souls stripped from their bodies. It hadn't been too hard to convince Tomatto to back down once Piccolo had passed out; Goku was the one who would have dealt with him if he'd tried to run. The landscape of Hell had been slightly tarnished, but was being feverishly worked on by King Kai and East Kai's warriors. Apparently they'd made a small wager on whom could get their section rebuilt first. Goku wasn't completely clear on what the bet entailed, only that it involved the loser shouting loud obscenities and insults at Vegeta.

Piccolo had been doing well. He seemed to have buried whatever ghosts haunted him when Diamao joined his body. The Namekian could be seen regularly on patrols, and he no longer was obsessed with a quiet, brooding urge to maim his co-workers. Instead, he was just quiet and brooding. With no urges.

Over the months, Vegeta challenged Piccolo to another intense spar. It lasted for nearly fourteen hours, but finally held Vegeta as the champion. Amid the boasts of power that Vegeta was prone to voice after his victory, he also had a sentiment to offer.

"It took me years to get over a single obsession to become stronger than Kakkorot. You overcame the hate, greed, anger and pain that culminated over the course of centuries. I may be able to out-fight you… But you truly are the stronger man." At that, Piccolo managed the first smile in a long time to crease his lips. He nodded to his one-time enemy, and long time ally. Neither of them had held anything but a mutual respect before that day. And perhaps they didn't have anything afterwards. But Piccolo had glimpsed the man beneath the stony exterior. Vegeta was a man of honor and pride. Vegeta was also a man of understanding.

"Vegeta, you're truly a man of honor."

"And you, Piccolo, are truly a man of great power. You've used it well, and I hope you always do. My…" Vegeta fixed his gaze on Piccolo's eyes. The Namekian met that gaze, returning it. This was a moment that held great importance, something that obviously meant a lot to Vegeta. What was uttered next was something that weighed greatly on Piccolo's mind for many weeks to come. "…friend."