Piccolo lay back on the large, soft bed. He stared up at the ceiling. For some reason, all thoughts were lost from his head. Instead, all his brain was processing was the white plaster in front of him, the soft talk downstairs and the sound of someone coming up the stairs. His eyes slowly fell shut, exhaustion warding off the wave of confusion, anger, fear and loneliness that threatened to destroy his mind.
"Piccolo?" Gohan cautiously whispered from the doorway.
Piccolo opened his eyes, and turned his head.
Gohan smiled. He quietly padded over to the bed and sat down.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"I'm not sure." Piccolo sat up. "Confused, I guess. I... I reacted badly."
Gohan frowned. "Why do you say that?"
Piccolo didn't answer.
Gohan shuffled up to sit next to his friend. Put an arm around him.
"You can tell me." He assured.
"I was so scared..." Piccolo felt tears he couldn't control. "All I could think of was the nightmares... I-"
Gohan pulled Piccolo into a hug.
"Shhh..." Gohan whispered softly, stroking Piccolo's back lightly, being every part the family Piccolo never had.
"Go-" Piccolo swallowed hard, fighting more tears and fears. "Gohan, I-"
"Its okay, Piccolo." Gohan replied. "I know."
Piccolo fell silent, and sank into the hug. He soon fell asleep.
Dende arrived the next morning.
"Goku told me everything last night." He assured Bulma. "I did the whole guardian thing, searching. S'far as I can tell, there are only a few places he could hide."
"That's good. At least that way the pressure's not on Piccolo to find him." Bulma got out a world map and red marker.
"Gohan!" Goku called, sticking his head in Videl's door.
"Not in here." Videl told him, brushing her hair. "Try with Piccolo."
"Thanks!" Goku grinned, and left with a little wave.
He walked back up the corridor and slowly pushed open Piccolo's door.
"Aww." Goku smiled.
Piccolo and Gohan were curled up together on top of the covers.
"Must've fallen asleep like that last night." He chuckled. "That is so adorable."
He took a moment to take in the happy moment.
"Oh well. They had to wake up sometime, right?" He asked himself.
Goku grinned.
"TIME TO GET UP!!!" Goku leapt onto the bed.
"Wha?!?" "Yaa!"
Piccolo sat straight up, and balled his fists in preparation for a fight. Gohan, being near the end, sat, windmilled, and fell flat on the ground.
"Goku!" Piccolo snapped. "What the hell are you doing?"
Goku couldn't answer. His sides were splitting from the laughter.
Gohan grumpily pushed his father off the bed.
"What are you doing?" Gohan asked, yawning, as he walked into the Capsule Corp lounge.
"Trying to figure out where King Piccolo could be hiding." Bulma replied, looking up from her map. "Dende thinks he knows a few spots."
"Well, Goku said King Piccolo transported away with magic. There are only a few spots he could have gone where that kind of thing would go unnoticed." Dende explained.
Gohan sat down on the sofa and looked at the areas that were circled in red.
Piccolo walked in.
"How are you feeling?" Bulma asked.
"Better." Piccolo replied. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to find King Piccolo." Bulma explained.
"It looks like he saved us the trouble." Vegeta said darkly as he marched in from the kitchen.
He picked up the remote from the sofa and turned on the TV.
"--Is destroying Nikki Town! Horrors like this have not been seen since Cell arrived to destroy the world. Those lucky enough to get away describe the beast as--"
"That's him!" Gohan exclaimed, staring at the picture.
Goku ran in. "I saw the report in the kitchen."
"What are we going to do?" Bulma asked weakly.
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Goku glared furiously. "We need to stop him. Now."
Gohan stood up, and looked at Piccolo. "You don't have to come."
"Yes, I do." Piccolo replied softly.
"Alright. I'll Instant Transmission us all there." Goku held out an arm. "Hold on to me."
Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo all grabbed Goku's arm.
"Ready?" Goku asked. "Three... two... one..."
The four warriors fazed out of sight.
"Good luck." Dende whispered.