I'll never go away. I'm a part of you, and no matter how many times you throw me into the darkness, I'll always come back.

Not listening!

Yes you are.

Relief spread over Gohan's face when Piccolo blinked.

"Piccolo!" Gohan hugged his friend tightly.

Goku joined in. "We were so worried!!"

Piccolo was speechless. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around Gohan.

"He's alright!" ChiChi called down the corridor.

"Yeah!" Yumcha cheered.

"Close one." Tien commented.

Vegeta just smiled, in his own way.

"So what happened?" Videl demanded, once everyone had gathered in the Capsule Corp lounge.

Piccolo sat nervously on the edge of sofa.

"Well, me and ChiChi were taking the Cell Games tour of Ginger Town," Goku began, "And Piccolo arrived. He said something bad was going down. He was right; these two guys arrived and started killing people. It turned out that one of them, the big leader guy, was King Piccolo."

Tien, Chiaot-zu, Yumcha, Krillan and ChiChi gasped. Vegeta frowned, Trunks and Goten looked at each other and shrugged, and Videl turned to Gohan.

"Care to explain?" Vegeta demanded after a few moments.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you didn't know." Bulma said softly. "King Piccolo was Piccolo's father. He was pure evil, and tried to take over the world after the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budokai Tournament. Goku beat him, but in his last moments King Piccolo created a sole heir."

"Nightmares." Piccolo spoke up, fear in his voice. "That's only how I've known him up until now. A nightmare always in the back of my mind. And the cause of so many more."

He fell silent.

Goku put an arm around Piccolo, and continued.

"King Piccolo turned on Piccolo, and the little guy he was with put up this shield thing so I couldn't help. It was only when Gohan and you other guys approached that King Piccolo backed off."

Piccolo began trembling in Goku's arm.

"So how do we beat him?" Videl asked.

"Well, he's not really that powerful." Goku frowned. "The little one's shield was pretty strong, but neither of them are much of a match as far as power goes."

"So let's go destroy him!" Vegeta burst out, standing forward.

"We can't right now." Bulma glared at him. "We don't know where he is. Besides, Piccolo needs a rest."

Bulma turned to Piccolo, and smiled kindly. "You can have one of the spare rooms, Piccolo. I'll take you there now."

Piccolo allowed himself to be led out of the room.

"How do we find him? He's got to be hiding pretty well; we only just discovered he was alive!" Yumcha asked.

"How is he alive anyway?" Tien asked. "Is it even possible? He could be a ghost."

"No, he's alive." Goku frowned. "Piccolo is the key to finding his father. There's still some kind of connection there."

"How can you tell, Kakarot?" Vegeta demanded.

"It's logical. Senior had a connection to Kami. Besides, I felt it."

"We can't ask him to find his father. Not now." Gohan glared. "He broke down just seeing him. Going and finding him..."

"Gohan's right." Krillan agreed. "We'll help Piccolo get better; we'll need his help through this."

"How do you know he's not going to turn around and join his father again?" ChiChi asked. "He was evil too, once, and he could be again."

"I don't believe that." Goku said darkly. "Nobody here does, not those who know Piccolo."

There was a long silence.

"I'm going up to him." Gohan announced, and walked out of the room.

Videl got up and followed him.

"Gohan." She said, and grabbed her husband's arm.

"Videl?"

"Gohan, I've seen the way Piccolo looks at you." Videl pulled Gohan to the side. "It's not just teacher to student, or like a best friend."

Gohan sighed. "I know. I noticed it too."

"Look, it's just..." Videl searched for words. "You need to help him, so... if something happens up there, I'll understand."

"I'm not sure that's the kind of thing that will help." Gohan knew what Videl meant. "But... thanks Videl."

Gohan ran up the stairs.

"I hope..." Videl sighed, shook her head, and walked back to the Capsule Corp lounge.

For those who don't know, the Tenka'ichi Budokai or "Best under the Heavens" tournament is the World Martial Arts Tournament. The winner of the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budokai tournament was Tien, who narrowly beat Goku.