I AM SO SORRY!!! *cries* I just had so much... ...with school, marching band and family issues and... … And the writer's block … …I'm so sorry!!!!*bawls* I have been so incredibly busy it's not funny. I had no time to write whatsoever. Things have been so hectic around here. Not to mention I redid this chapter like three times before I got it the way I wanted it!
*^_^* But I'm back now! My computer is fritzing out, that's what the main cause of the delay was. The Blackout didn't help out either. We were hauling 7-gallon barrels of water up and down the stairs for two days. Not fun.
Oh, I'd like to thank Demona who sent me the VERY detailed e-mail on the World Martial Arts Tournament. It helped SO MUCH! You are a life saver, and should be rewarded! *throws her pixie stix and cookies*
And thank you to The-Obsessive-One, formerly known as Erin for getting me off my behind. She's an authoress and one of my best friends. She doesn't write DBZ (:p), but ALIAS. So if you like that show, check her out WHEN she gets it out. _When_ being the appropriate word here. (Get ur butt movin' grl![like I should talk!])
But enough about all this stuff, you did not come here to hear me ramble on and on about how my life sucks and all the excuses I'm throwing at you. You're here to read the chapter. The chapter that's taken 9 months to get out. -_-;; I'm still very sorry!
It was found out that Shen was actually Kami inside a human host. Goku and he had had a talk of what Goku should do should he fail to defeat Piccolo. After their talk, Shen walked over to the ring to face Piccolo. (I'm speeding this up so I can get everything in. Sorry if it's confusing.)
The battle with Shen and Piccolo was a short one. They exchanged minimal blows, none of which inflicting any damage to either fighter. They just stood there…staring at each other. Everyone in the crowd and backstage was getting anxious. Even Colleen, who knew pretty much of what was to happen from here on out, was getting restless for something—ANYTHING—to happen.
Great looks of hatred crossed between the two fighters in the ring. They were each waiting for the other to make the first move and attack. This would be tricky, however, since any injuries inflicted by one of them would in turn show up on their body. It was really a no-win situation.
Not being able to stand the complete silence anymore, Shen finally spoke. "It seems that neither one of us can win by force."
"Gee, you figure that out all by yourself?" Piccolo sarcastically replied.
Shen ignored him and continued on. "Did your abomination of a father pass on the memory of how I encased him two-hundred years ago?"
Piccolo raised an eyeridge and dropped out of his fighting stance. "Encased?"
Shen smirked. "No. Well, then, I believe a demonstration is in order." He took a small blue, glass bottle out of his coat.
Piccolo immediately understood, as did all of the onlookers in the backstage area… …except Goku, of course.
"What is Kami doing with that bottle?" he asked Colleen, who was standing by his left side, ChiChi on his right.
"I had completely forgotten about this!" She exclaimed. "He's going to try and trap Piccolo in that bottle like he did Diamoa all those years ago before he broke out and you killed him. That baka!!"
As Piccolo gazed upon the little blue bottle, memories of his father suppressed in the very back of his mind started to resurface. The memory of his father's body being shrunken and twisted; pulled and drawn into the vortex the small blue bottle created around its lid.
He shook the memory out of his head. Having that done to him didn't sound very appealing. There had to be some way to counteract it.
'But how?' he thought. From the recesses of his mind, something was tugging at him, telling him something.
His thoughts were broken when Kami's voice (not Shen's) rang out to everyone present.
"Now it is time to put you in your rightful place!" He took the cork out of the top of the bottle and yelled "Mafuu-ba!!"
A bright, white beam of light shot out of the top of the bottle, headed straight for Piccolo. He tried desperately to remember what was trying to make itself known to him, but was failing. Colleen was going nuts on the sideline. She looked on clutching her hair by the fistful waiting for Piccolo to react. Why wasn't he doing anything? Didn't he know what that beam of light would do to him once it touched him? She just couldn't take the suspense any longer.
{Counter it Piccolo!!} She screamed telepathically.
{How?!}
{Just yell what Kami said back before the beam hits you! Hurry!!}
'Here goes nothing.' Piccolo thought. He extended his left hand and braced himself for the tortures of being sucked into a very tiny living space, just in case Colleen was wrong.
The beam was just inches from his hand now. The body that Kami inhabited finally gave out and Kami's soul was released. Shen fell to the ground in a dead faint as in his place stood the wrinkly old Guardian. His freedom would be short lived, however, as Piccolo yelled out the Mafuu-ba and the light beam turned 180° in Kami's direction. He had no time to react as the light hit him in the chest and his body started to shrink and twist to accommodate to the new little space he'd be occupying. His body was pulled into the little bottle like a genie. The cork flew over to the bottle and secured itself in the lid, and that was that.
Goku, Tien, Yamcha, and all the others backstage stared wide eyed at what they witnessed. Piccolo, the son of the Demon King, had just imprisoned Kami, the Guardian of Earth. The only one who didn't look like they would faint was Colleen. She had the biggest smile played across her face as the announcer shakily proclaimed Piccolo was the winner. She walked over to the ring and picked up the bottle where a miniature Kami was yelling and pounding on the glass.
"I like him better like this." She said smiling.
"As do I." Piccolo said smirking evilly. "Give me the bottle."
She did as he said and handed Kami, who was still banging on the glass, over to Piccolo. He took it and tossed it in his hand a couple times admiring the way Kami could bounce. Then he took the bottle up to his face, stared a dizzy little Kami in the eyes…and swallowed him. Colleen's eyes grew wide as dinner plates and she pointed at Piccolo moving her mouth, but no words could come out. Piccolo looked at her, her mouth opening and closing like a bass on a hook, with an utterly disgusted look on her face.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh…nothing. Just the first time I've seen someone SWALLOW someone else. That's all." She shakily walked out of the ring with a blank look on her face. Piccolo watched her walk away and shrugged.
The Z warriors and the girls were looking on wide-eyed and didn't even register Colleen's presence when she walked back in the small room and sat next to Bulma. After a few seconds, Bulma spoke. "Did…did he…did he just…"
"Swallow Kami?" Colleen asked. Bulma nodded. "Yep."
"Oh. O…kay." Everyone was very silent.
"Oh my God! He just swallowed Kami!" Goku yelled in realization. "What do we do?!"
"You're going to have to kill him to get the bottle out." Yamcha said.
"Really, 'cause I'd think it'd be pretty hard to kill Piccolo without killing Kami also." ChiChi said sarcastically.
"Huh?" Yamcha scratched his head.
"Hello! Kami and Piccolo are one in the same! Two halves of one being! One dies, the other dies!" she yelled.
"So then, how does Goku defeat Piccolo and get Kami back without killing them?" Tien asked worriedly.
Everyone turned their eyes to Colleen. She noticed everyone staring and became very nervous. "What's everyone looking at me for?"
"Well…" Krillin started. "You seem to know about a lot of stuff that's happened, before it actually happened."
"And you seem to have a lot of answers for the problems that have been going on for a while." Said Bulma.
Dawning realization hit her. "NO! I mean…I don't know! I mean…do you really think that _I_ will help you defeat Piccolo?! You're crazy! It'd be like ChiChi telling Piccolo how to defeat Goku!"
"So you DO like Piccolo in that way." Bulma pointed out smiling wickedly.
"What? No! I mean, yes! As friends! Not saying no one could like him like that but…grr, stop messing with my head!!" She clutched her head in her hands and walked to the other side of the room. The nerve of them, asking her to give them the knowledge that would bring Kami back and defeat Piccolo! She couldn't remember anyways, but still!
~*~*~
The announcer called a 10 minute recess until the final battle between Goku and Piccolo. Neither of them really needed it and they fidgeted on either side of the room. They stared each other down in an attempt to intimidate the other. No one was backing down from this fight, though. Oh no, they'd waited far too long for this day to come—Piccolo especially. This day would be the last battle between them. One of them was going home the victor; the other probably wasn't going home at all.
Ten minutes had passed quickly and soon the two fighters made their way to the ring, all the while each still staring his opponent straight in the eye. They took their positions across from each other on opposite sides of the ring. Piccolo discarded his cape and turban behind him and crouched down in a fighting position. Goku did the same. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The announcer's voice echoed over the deafening silence that engulfed the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the moment you've all been waiting for: the final round of the World's Martial Arts Tournament!!"
The crowd roared with excitement and stood out of their seats, giant foam fingers waiving in the air. Parents hoisted their children onto their shoulders for a better view of the fight.
"Fighters, take your places!" They did as instructed.
"Ready?!" They nodded. "BEGIN!!"
The two warriors propelled towards each other at the speed of light. They could no longer be seen because of their great speed. Only loud, brilliant flashes of light indicated where they were above the arena.
"Oh, my poor Goku." ChiChi prayed by the sidelines. "Please come out of this alive."
Bulma let out a worried sigh. "Colleen, they'll both be okay, right?"
Colleen shrugged. "I honestly don't know. A lot of things have changed since I came here, including Piccolo's and Goku's strength. The ball is pretty much in both of their courts."
Bulma let out another worried sigh and played with the little trinkets on her charm bracelet.
~*~*~
Flashes of light still illuminated the ring. No one could tell who had the upper hand—if there was one—in the fight. Not even Colleen could distinctly tell which blast came from whom. All that could be seen was just a flurry of light and color.
Goku was abruptly thrown out of the battle into sight. He landed on his back on the arena floor. He rolled on his shoulders and jumped back on his feet. He flew up into the air and attacked Piccolo with a barrage of punches and kicks.
"Man, look at them go!" commented Krillin.
Piccolo landed a forceful punch to Goku's stomach which sent him back a few feet. Goku retaliated with a roundhouse kick to his shoulder. Piccolo was unfazed, and head butted Goku square between the eyes. Goku's vision went blurry and he shook his head to clear it. Piccolo flew at him head on and tackled him to the ground, putting a few cracks and dents in the stone tile of the ring's floor. Goku swung his arm and knocked Piccolo in the head and off of him. The shot up into the air again and headed for each other. They met in the middle, fore-arms grinding against each other. They stood in the air like that for a long time, using brute force against each other. Goku kneed Piccolo in the gut and he doubled over. Goku then brought his two fists down on his back.
Piccolo fell down to the ring's floor, but stopped before touching the ground. He wiped a small stream of blood running down his chin away with the back of his hand. His dark onyx eyes looked up at Goku and bore through his head. He powered up and charged him once again. The punching and kicking started anew with more force than their previous bout.
Piccolo pulled himself away from Goku long enough to form a powerful ki blast. He aimed and fired. Goku dodged it and prepared a Kamehameha wave powerful enough to kill him.
"Ka…me…ha…me…"
"Goku don't!" Krillin shouted. "If you kill Piccolo, you'll kill Kami!"
Goku reabsorbed the ki blast into his body. He let out an exasperated sigh and his brows came together in a deep frown. This fight was going to be a long and frustrating one. His temper wasn't helped any as Piccolo started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Goku demanded.
Piccolo smirked. "Oh, nothing. It's just so amusing watching you trying pathetically to come up with some plan to beat me." His smirk turned into an evil smile. "It feels so good to finally be able to enact my revenge upon you for what you did to my father."
It suddenly struck Goku that if he could keep Piccolo talking, he might be able to find out a weakness. Or at the very least, give his friends time to think of something. "What will you do once you've killed me?"
Piccolo arrogantly crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why, rule the world of course! Take over all the humans you hold so dear and enslave them!"
Goku smiled. "Really?" he asked, extending his thumb towards Colleen. "What about her? She's human."
Piccolo looked down at Colleen. She was looking up at him with a confused look upon her face. He'd never really thought of what would happen to Colleen once he killed Goku and took over the world. His plans were set by the time she showed up. He only just now realized the glitch she caused in his plan.
Colleen was completely puzzled as to why Goku and Piccolo were starting down at her. Piccolo seemed to be concentrating while staring. She quirked an eyebrow and mouthed the question 'what' up to them. They quickly jerked their attention away from her and back to each other.
'That was weird.' She thought.
~*~*~
Goku crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, do you have an answer?"
Piccolo thought for a moment. "She'll just rule with me."
"You don't really think she'll just sit by and watch you hurt all those people, do you?"
Piccolo grunted. "She'll do as she's told. She understands what I must do."
Goku shook his head. "Piccolo, even though Colleen cares about you and would probably defend you to the death against any one of us, you and I both know she'd never follow you in your quest for world domination. She has a good heart, and would defend the Earth. You won't like to hear this, but…she's more like us than you. She really doesn't belong with you."
That hit home for Piccolo. It hit hard. He knew there was truth to Goku's words, and that made him all the angrier. "Enough talking! We're here to fight!"
They charge each other again. Ki blasts flew mercilessly toward one another. Finding an open spot, Goku kicked out Piccolo's face. His boot connected with Piccolo's nose, breaking it. He held it in pain, and Goku took this opportunity to hold him in a head lock. Piccolo struggled to break free, but to no avail. His temper rose, along with his ki level.
With an angered cry, Piccolo powered up and broke free of Goku's grasp. Goku landed on the ground and looked up at his opponent. Piccolo's eyes were glowing a deep blood red, snarling with his fangs bared. Needless to say, he was a bit miffed.
"You think you can just push me around?! Well think again! This world WILL be mine and I WILL kill you! You and everyone else here!"
Everyone's eyes went wide as Piccolo began to power up a powerful blast.
"He-he's gonna kill us all!" Yamcha yelled.
"No way." Bulma said, shaking her head. "He's joking. He's GOT to be joking." She turned to Colleen. "Tell me he's joking. It's just a bluff to scare Goku. He wouldn't do that to us, right?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised by what he'll do." Colleen said, staring at the enraged warrior. Bulma grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.
"That was NOT the answer I WANTED!!"
~*~*~
The announcer, who'd been shocked into silence up until this point, made an interesting observation. "You know, without the turban, this guy looks a lot like Piccolo."
"I AM Piccolo, you idiot!" he yelled down to the not-so-bright announcer, and loud enough so that everyone in the stadium could hear.
The entire stadium was completely empty in two seconds. Only the fighters, the now very skittish announcer, and Z-gang stuck around.
"You guys!" Goku called out to the others. "Move back! I don't know what he'll do."
They moved back outside of the little backstage hut. ChiChi ran around the outer wall and screamed in frustration. "I can't see a damn thing!"
No sooner had she said that when the portion of the wall she was standing by blew apart. She hurriedly climbed over the rubble to look on how the fight was going. Colleen and Bulma were right behind her. The guys flew above them, and Oolong and Puar sat on the edge of the wall that was still standing.
"You better not die on us, Goku." Tien whispered.
~*~*~
On the battle field, Goku was getting nervous. Piccolo's ki was rising at an alarming rate, and he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. He was having serious doubts about whether or not he could defeat Piccolo. That and he also had to find a way to get Kami out of Piccolo without killing him. This just was not his day!
"Oh Goku." Piccolo tantalizingly called him. "Watch this."
Piccolo began to descend to the ring floor. Once both of his feet were planted, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and began to concentrate. He started to grow…and grow, and grow, AND grow. When he stopped growing his height was that of a three story building.
Goku stared up at the new gigantic form of a smirking Piccolo. His eyes went wide and his limbs went limp. If he had a mommy, he would have very much liked to hug her now.
Everyone on the sidelines had eyes the size basketballs. Some were pointing, some were staring; some were pointing AND staring.
Yamcha giggled nervously.
"Oh my God, it's Piccolozilla." Tien spoke in a dazed voice, and kept a serious face.
Piccolo laughed out loud at the looks on everyone's faces, especially Goku's. He looked as though he'd wet his pants any minute now! This was going to be very fun. He advanced toward the little man. Goku tried to leap out of the way. He should have looked before he leaped, for he was swatted like a mosquito back onto the pavement. Face first.
The others looked on in horror as their friend was about to be squished. Tien tried to fly off and help Goku, but Colleen flew into his path before he could reach the ring.
"This is their fight, not yours." She said.
"What are we supposed to do, just sit and watch our friend die?" He balled his fists.
"No. You are supposed to sit and root him on."
He reluctantly backed down and floated down to the earth. She too came down and took her place back by Bulma and ChiChi at the hole in the wall. Holding the others back was seemingly going to become a problem.
~*~*~
Goku slowly got up from the pile of rubble he had created at his impact. He had to think of something fast. Then, a wonderfully brilliant idea came to him. You could almost see the light bulb over his head turn on. He stood up and prepared a kamehameha blast. Everyone looked quizzically at him, because he was preparing the blast facing AWAY from Piccolo.
Piccolo walked toward him. 'What's he up to?'
Goku suddenly fired the blast at the pavement and was cascaded into the air in Piccolo's direction. He went faster and faster until the blast sent him right toward Piccolo's mouth…and down his throat.
ChiChi screamed. "Go…Go…ohhh!" her legs gave out as she fainted. Bulma caught her and lowered the both of them to the ground. She herself was shaking in shock and looked as if she'd faint as well. Krillin nearly went into conniptions and Puar had to slap him to calm him down.
Piccolo was clutching his throat and trying desperately to cough Goku up. After all, it couldn't be all that pleasant having someone jammed down your throat. He started to cough and bent down on one gigantic knee. Colleen was very tempted to go and try to help dislodge Goku from Piccolo's throat, but remembered that everything would work itself out.
After a minute that seemed like an eternity, Piccolo's coughing and hacking increased, and after much effort, Goku was spat out holding the bottle that Kami was entrapped in. Everyone stared at him wide eyed, and ChiChi chose this moment to wake up.
"My Goku! He's alive!" she cried. She wanted so badly to run out onto the battle field and hug him, but she knew better.
~*~*~
Goku stood up and wiped himself off. He looked down at the little bottle to make sure Kami was alright. He looked a little dazed with swirlies in his eyes, but he would be fine. Goku lifted the bottle up for all to see.
"Lose something?" he asked Piccolo with a wry smirk on his face. He quickly threw the bottle over to the crowd of friends which Tien caught. He pulled the cork out of the top and in a puff of smoke Kami was free.
He had a dazed look on his face. "My…what happened?" he asked.
"You were captured in the bottle and then Piccolo ate it! He grew to the extremely large size you see before you, Goku went in to get you, and here you are." Krillin explained.
Kami frowned. "This battle shall be difficult for Goku. Piccolo has grown much stronger because of his training with the girl." He glared at Colleen. She in turn glared back.
Piccolo reverted to his normal size and took a fighting stance once again. Goku charged at him, his leg extended for a powerful kick. As Goku's leg made contact with Piccolo's blocking arm, they once again moved with speeds beyond one's capability to see. Even though the battle could not be seen, it could definitely be felt. Even by those who had never practiced reading ki signatures could feel the waves of power radiating from the two heated warriors. So great was this power coming off them those without powers found it difficult to stand.
"Man! Those two are really going at it!" Krillin shouted, stating the obvious. But that's what he does, and we love him for it.
Tien blew a hole in the ground behind them. "Everyone get inside! It'll be safer here." The announcer was the first to jump in, followed by Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong.
"Colleen, ChiChi, Kami come on, get in." Krillin called to them.
"And miss my fiance's fight? Forget it!" ChiChi yelled back.
"I'm watching the fight too." Colleen said. "Besides, you need someone to keep you posted on what's going on."
She looked at Kami. "You, on the other hand, should get in the pit too. We wouldn't want you getting hit by a stray blast."
Kami frowned. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I am the Guardian of Earth and need to-"
Colleen held out her hand and sent a wave of energy in Kami's direction, knocking him in the pit cutting his sentence short. She sighed. "Ya know he and Piccolo are so similar it's funny."
~*~*~
Goku was trying to get into Piccolo's defense any way he could. This battle was getting out of hand, and he knew it. Not only were he and Piccolo in danger, but the others as well. There was no more time to be careful. He cupped his hands together one more time.
"Ka…me…ha…me…"
Piccolo smirked. "You wouldn't dare."
"HA!!"
Piccolo's eyes grew wide as the blinding blast grew closer and more powerful with each passing second. The blast hit him full on the chest and knocked him to the ground. The force of the blast pushed him farther and farther into the ground crushing the air out of his lungs.
The blast ended its light fading away to reveal a huge crater where Piccolo had once stood. The air was silent as everyone watched the crater in anticipation. Piccolo was nowhere to be seen.
~*~*~
"What happened?" Bulma yelled from the pit.
"Goku used a Kamehameha wave on Piccolo that caused a huge crater. Piccolo's not getting up." Colleen answered.
"Is…is he dead?" Yamcha asked.
"No." Kami answered. "My being alive is proof that he still lives. He may be unconscious."
"Well," ChiChi turned her head to the pit. "Announcer, start counting!"
"Hm? Oh! Yes, of course." He climbed out of the pit and ran over to the side of the crater where the ring used to be.
"One...two…three…four…"
Everyone had climbed out of the pit and was standing at the hole in the wall next to ChiChi and Colleen. They all had smiles on their faces as they knew Goku was about to win. How little they know…
"Five..."
"ChiChi." Colleen called for her.
"Six…"
"Yea?" She answered.
"Seven…"
"You might want to cover your eyes."
"Eight…"
"What?" ChiChi raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked back at Goku and the announcer at the crater. 'Why should I close my eyes?' she thought.
"Nine…"
The 'e' of nine had just left the mouth of the announcer when Piccolo suddenly shot up. He opened his mouth and a powerful blast shot out from it straight at Goku. Goku had dropped his defenses, so he was totally unprepared for the attack. The blast hit him in-between his shoulder and chest and went all the way through him, ripping a gaping hole.
"Goku!!" ChiChi screamed as he fell clutching his shoulder and cried out in pain. She started to run to him but Tien grabbed her around the waist.
"Let go of me!!" She screamed and started thrashing against him. "Let GO!!" Tien only tightened his grip.
"If you go out there, Piccolo will kill you!"
She sank down to her knees and sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "But…Goku…"
He picked her up to her feet. "He'll be fine."
"You don't know that!" She screamed.
He took her by the shoulders and made her look him in the eyes. "I believe it."
She hugged him around his waist and cried into his chest. "You sure as hell better be right." She choked.
~*~*~
Goku shakily stood and faced Piccolo who was walking towards him. He was breathing hard and had his hand over the hole in his shoulder. Blood was gushing out and spilling out over his fingers onto the ground. His vision was starting to get hazy from blood loss and he swayed from side to side.
Piccolo stared at his opponent. He looked so pathetic and beaten like a dog. He smiled evilly. This was going to be a great victory. He would finally beat Son Goku. He charged Goku and proceeded to pound on every inch of his body. The sound of cracking bones and cries of pain could be heard. ChiChi covered her ears to keep from hearing it all. It killed her every time she heard Goku cry out in pain, and she felt sicker with every breaking bone.
By the time Piccolo had stopped Goku was left with both of his legs broken and his left arm limp and bloody. He lay on the ground covered in blood, his breath coming in short, raspy intakes of air. Piccolo was also covered in blood, his right arm badly wounded and blood oozing from large gashes on his head and stomach. But he could stand, and stand he did. He loomed over his crippled enemy gloating without words. He glanced over to the sideline to see the reactions on everyone's faces.
ChiChi was crying hysterically with Tien trying to console her. Krillin stared out in pure shock and Yamcha leaned on the wall looking as though he'd be sick any minute. Bulma had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide. Kami looked pissed as he had expected. But he didn't really care about them. The reaction he wanted to see was Colleen's. He looked over to her and their eyes met. She wasn't crying, didn't appear to be shocked or upset or…anything. She wasn't mad that Goku was about to lose, and wasn't happy that he was about to win. She instead averted her gaze to the ground.
'Why won't she look at me?' Piccolo wondered. 'Didn't she want me to win? No matter. This all ends now.'
He formed a large ki ball in his hand and aimed for Goku's head. He looked down to Goku who looked at him back. No fear was evident in Goku's eyes. In fact, he was smiling.
'Must be the blood loss.' Piccolo thought.
~*~*~
Kami was furious. There was no way in HFIL he was going to let Piccolo win! "Tien! Kill me!"
He looked at him as though he were insane. "WHAT?!"
"You heard me. It's the only way. Do it!"
"No, don't!" Goku yelled from the pile of rocks that used to be the ring. "I'm going to win. Just hold on a few seconds."
Piccolo laughed. "Win?! You can't move! How do you expect to beat me?!" He fired the blast, its light swallowing Goku whole. His friends looked on in horror as he was devoured by the powerful ki blast.
"It's over." Bulma dropped to the ground and cried. One of her best friends was gone. Forever.
Piccolo sighed heavily and powered down. Now that he had stopped fighting he felt exhausted. He bent over trying to catch his breath with his hands on his knees for support. Even though he felt more tired now that he had ever in his life, he felt powerful and was overjoyed with his victory. A large evil smile played across his face as he looked at the dust cloud that hovered over the crumbling ring where Goku had once lay. Within the cloud he thought he saw something moving; hovering.
'No, there's no way he could have survived that.' Piccolo reassured himself. But he had.
"Look!" Tien cried out and pointed to the cloud of dust. There hovering above the ground horizontally with his face to the ground was Goku. He picked his head up and locked eyes with Piccolo.
"You lose!" he yelled and shot off like a bullet towards Piccolo. Piccolo was so shocked he didn't even move or make any effort to stop him.
Goku's head collided with Piccolo's chest hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying several feet. He landed with a great 'thud' on his butt and sat there wide eyes and stunned. What the heck had just happened?!
"I don't believe it." Yamcha said smirking. "Hey ref, Piccolo fell out of the ring right?"
He took a look at close as he dared and nodded. He raised his microphone to his mouth. "Goku is the winner!"
Everyone cheered and leapt for joy. Bulma ran straight up to Yamcha and gave him the biggest kiss he'd ever gotten. ChiChi was elated; crying hysterically, out of happiness now instead of fear. Colleen gave a small smile to show her happiness. She was happy Goku won like he was supposed to, but she was also sad. Sad Piccolo had lost. Living with him for next couple of months was going to be difficult to say the least.
Piccolo just sat there. He didn't have the energy, physically or mentally to move. How could he lose!? He was the son of Piccolo Daimoa, The Demon King! He was supposed to be the strongest being on the planet. But no, he had been defeated by a mere human! All the preparation…all the training…all the work: for nothing. He had failed. He had lost.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again I am SO sorry for the wait. And this chapter probably sucks too.-_- I wouldn't blame any of you if you aren't around anymore. But if there are still some of you out there, you all have the patience of saints and I humbly ask for your forgiveness. I promise you the next update will me much, much, MUCH faster!!
*^_^* But I'm back now! My computer is fritzing out, that's what the main cause of the delay was. The Blackout didn't help out either. We were hauling 7-gallon barrels of water up and down the stairs for two days. Not fun.
Oh, I'd like to thank Demona who sent me the VERY detailed e-mail on the World Martial Arts Tournament. It helped SO MUCH! You are a life saver, and should be rewarded! *throws her pixie stix and cookies*
And thank you to The-Obsessive-One, formerly known as Erin for getting me off my behind. She's an authoress and one of my best friends. She doesn't write DBZ (:p), but ALIAS. So if you like that show, check her out WHEN she gets it out. _When_ being the appropriate word here. (Get ur butt movin' grl![like I should talk!])
But enough about all this stuff, you did not come here to hear me ramble on and on about how my life sucks and all the excuses I'm throwing at you. You're here to read the chapter. The chapter that's taken 9 months to get out. -_-;; I'm still very sorry!
It was found out that Shen was actually Kami inside a human host. Goku and he had had a talk of what Goku should do should he fail to defeat Piccolo. After their talk, Shen walked over to the ring to face Piccolo. (I'm speeding this up so I can get everything in. Sorry if it's confusing.)
The battle with Shen and Piccolo was a short one. They exchanged minimal blows, none of which inflicting any damage to either fighter. They just stood there…staring at each other. Everyone in the crowd and backstage was getting anxious. Even Colleen, who knew pretty much of what was to happen from here on out, was getting restless for something—ANYTHING—to happen.
Great looks of hatred crossed between the two fighters in the ring. They were each waiting for the other to make the first move and attack. This would be tricky, however, since any injuries inflicted by one of them would in turn show up on their body. It was really a no-win situation.
Not being able to stand the complete silence anymore, Shen finally spoke. "It seems that neither one of us can win by force."
"Gee, you figure that out all by yourself?" Piccolo sarcastically replied.
Shen ignored him and continued on. "Did your abomination of a father pass on the memory of how I encased him two-hundred years ago?"
Piccolo raised an eyeridge and dropped out of his fighting stance. "Encased?"
Shen smirked. "No. Well, then, I believe a demonstration is in order." He took a small blue, glass bottle out of his coat.
Piccolo immediately understood, as did all of the onlookers in the backstage area… …except Goku, of course.
"What is Kami doing with that bottle?" he asked Colleen, who was standing by his left side, ChiChi on his right.
"I had completely forgotten about this!" She exclaimed. "He's going to try and trap Piccolo in that bottle like he did Diamoa all those years ago before he broke out and you killed him. That baka!!"
As Piccolo gazed upon the little blue bottle, memories of his father suppressed in the very back of his mind started to resurface. The memory of his father's body being shrunken and twisted; pulled and drawn into the vortex the small blue bottle created around its lid.
He shook the memory out of his head. Having that done to him didn't sound very appealing. There had to be some way to counteract it.
'But how?' he thought. From the recesses of his mind, something was tugging at him, telling him something.
His thoughts were broken when Kami's voice (not Shen's) rang out to everyone present.
"Now it is time to put you in your rightful place!" He took the cork out of the top of the bottle and yelled "Mafuu-ba!!"
A bright, white beam of light shot out of the top of the bottle, headed straight for Piccolo. He tried desperately to remember what was trying to make itself known to him, but was failing. Colleen was going nuts on the sideline. She looked on clutching her hair by the fistful waiting for Piccolo to react. Why wasn't he doing anything? Didn't he know what that beam of light would do to him once it touched him? She just couldn't take the suspense any longer.
{Counter it Piccolo!!} She screamed telepathically.
{How?!}
{Just yell what Kami said back before the beam hits you! Hurry!!}
'Here goes nothing.' Piccolo thought. He extended his left hand and braced himself for the tortures of being sucked into a very tiny living space, just in case Colleen was wrong.
The beam was just inches from his hand now. The body that Kami inhabited finally gave out and Kami's soul was released. Shen fell to the ground in a dead faint as in his place stood the wrinkly old Guardian. His freedom would be short lived, however, as Piccolo yelled out the Mafuu-ba and the light beam turned 180° in Kami's direction. He had no time to react as the light hit him in the chest and his body started to shrink and twist to accommodate to the new little space he'd be occupying. His body was pulled into the little bottle like a genie. The cork flew over to the bottle and secured itself in the lid, and that was that.
Goku, Tien, Yamcha, and all the others backstage stared wide eyed at what they witnessed. Piccolo, the son of the Demon King, had just imprisoned Kami, the Guardian of Earth. The only one who didn't look like they would faint was Colleen. She had the biggest smile played across her face as the announcer shakily proclaimed Piccolo was the winner. She walked over to the ring and picked up the bottle where a miniature Kami was yelling and pounding on the glass.
"I like him better like this." She said smiling.
"As do I." Piccolo said smirking evilly. "Give me the bottle."
She did as he said and handed Kami, who was still banging on the glass, over to Piccolo. He took it and tossed it in his hand a couple times admiring the way Kami could bounce. Then he took the bottle up to his face, stared a dizzy little Kami in the eyes…and swallowed him. Colleen's eyes grew wide as dinner plates and she pointed at Piccolo moving her mouth, but no words could come out. Piccolo looked at her, her mouth opening and closing like a bass on a hook, with an utterly disgusted look on her face.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh…nothing. Just the first time I've seen someone SWALLOW someone else. That's all." She shakily walked out of the ring with a blank look on her face. Piccolo watched her walk away and shrugged.
The Z warriors and the girls were looking on wide-eyed and didn't even register Colleen's presence when she walked back in the small room and sat next to Bulma. After a few seconds, Bulma spoke. "Did…did he…did he just…"
"Swallow Kami?" Colleen asked. Bulma nodded. "Yep."
"Oh. O…kay." Everyone was very silent.
"Oh my God! He just swallowed Kami!" Goku yelled in realization. "What do we do?!"
"You're going to have to kill him to get the bottle out." Yamcha said.
"Really, 'cause I'd think it'd be pretty hard to kill Piccolo without killing Kami also." ChiChi said sarcastically.
"Huh?" Yamcha scratched his head.
"Hello! Kami and Piccolo are one in the same! Two halves of one being! One dies, the other dies!" she yelled.
"So then, how does Goku defeat Piccolo and get Kami back without killing them?" Tien asked worriedly.
Everyone turned their eyes to Colleen. She noticed everyone staring and became very nervous. "What's everyone looking at me for?"
"Well…" Krillin started. "You seem to know about a lot of stuff that's happened, before it actually happened."
"And you seem to have a lot of answers for the problems that have been going on for a while." Said Bulma.
Dawning realization hit her. "NO! I mean…I don't know! I mean…do you really think that _I_ will help you defeat Piccolo?! You're crazy! It'd be like ChiChi telling Piccolo how to defeat Goku!"
"So you DO like Piccolo in that way." Bulma pointed out smiling wickedly.
"What? No! I mean, yes! As friends! Not saying no one could like him like that but…grr, stop messing with my head!!" She clutched her head in her hands and walked to the other side of the room. The nerve of them, asking her to give them the knowledge that would bring Kami back and defeat Piccolo! She couldn't remember anyways, but still!
~*~*~
The announcer called a 10 minute recess until the final battle between Goku and Piccolo. Neither of them really needed it and they fidgeted on either side of the room. They stared each other down in an attempt to intimidate the other. No one was backing down from this fight, though. Oh no, they'd waited far too long for this day to come—Piccolo especially. This day would be the last battle between them. One of them was going home the victor; the other probably wasn't going home at all.
Ten minutes had passed quickly and soon the two fighters made their way to the ring, all the while each still staring his opponent straight in the eye. They took their positions across from each other on opposite sides of the ring. Piccolo discarded his cape and turban behind him and crouched down in a fighting position. Goku did the same. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The announcer's voice echoed over the deafening silence that engulfed the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the moment you've all been waiting for: the final round of the World's Martial Arts Tournament!!"
The crowd roared with excitement and stood out of their seats, giant foam fingers waiving in the air. Parents hoisted their children onto their shoulders for a better view of the fight.
"Fighters, take your places!" They did as instructed.
"Ready?!" They nodded. "BEGIN!!"
The two warriors propelled towards each other at the speed of light. They could no longer be seen because of their great speed. Only loud, brilliant flashes of light indicated where they were above the arena.
"Oh, my poor Goku." ChiChi prayed by the sidelines. "Please come out of this alive."
Bulma let out a worried sigh. "Colleen, they'll both be okay, right?"
Colleen shrugged. "I honestly don't know. A lot of things have changed since I came here, including Piccolo's and Goku's strength. The ball is pretty much in both of their courts."
Bulma let out another worried sigh and played with the little trinkets on her charm bracelet.
~*~*~
Flashes of light still illuminated the ring. No one could tell who had the upper hand—if there was one—in the fight. Not even Colleen could distinctly tell which blast came from whom. All that could be seen was just a flurry of light and color.
Goku was abruptly thrown out of the battle into sight. He landed on his back on the arena floor. He rolled on his shoulders and jumped back on his feet. He flew up into the air and attacked Piccolo with a barrage of punches and kicks.
"Man, look at them go!" commented Krillin.
Piccolo landed a forceful punch to Goku's stomach which sent him back a few feet. Goku retaliated with a roundhouse kick to his shoulder. Piccolo was unfazed, and head butted Goku square between the eyes. Goku's vision went blurry and he shook his head to clear it. Piccolo flew at him head on and tackled him to the ground, putting a few cracks and dents in the stone tile of the ring's floor. Goku swung his arm and knocked Piccolo in the head and off of him. The shot up into the air again and headed for each other. They met in the middle, fore-arms grinding against each other. They stood in the air like that for a long time, using brute force against each other. Goku kneed Piccolo in the gut and he doubled over. Goku then brought his two fists down on his back.
Piccolo fell down to the ring's floor, but stopped before touching the ground. He wiped a small stream of blood running down his chin away with the back of his hand. His dark onyx eyes looked up at Goku and bore through his head. He powered up and charged him once again. The punching and kicking started anew with more force than their previous bout.
Piccolo pulled himself away from Goku long enough to form a powerful ki blast. He aimed and fired. Goku dodged it and prepared a Kamehameha wave powerful enough to kill him.
"Ka…me…ha…me…"
"Goku don't!" Krillin shouted. "If you kill Piccolo, you'll kill Kami!"
Goku reabsorbed the ki blast into his body. He let out an exasperated sigh and his brows came together in a deep frown. This fight was going to be a long and frustrating one. His temper wasn't helped any as Piccolo started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Goku demanded.
Piccolo smirked. "Oh, nothing. It's just so amusing watching you trying pathetically to come up with some plan to beat me." His smirk turned into an evil smile. "It feels so good to finally be able to enact my revenge upon you for what you did to my father."
It suddenly struck Goku that if he could keep Piccolo talking, he might be able to find out a weakness. Or at the very least, give his friends time to think of something. "What will you do once you've killed me?"
Piccolo arrogantly crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why, rule the world of course! Take over all the humans you hold so dear and enslave them!"
Goku smiled. "Really?" he asked, extending his thumb towards Colleen. "What about her? She's human."
Piccolo looked down at Colleen. She was looking up at him with a confused look upon her face. He'd never really thought of what would happen to Colleen once he killed Goku and took over the world. His plans were set by the time she showed up. He only just now realized the glitch she caused in his plan.
Colleen was completely puzzled as to why Goku and Piccolo were starting down at her. Piccolo seemed to be concentrating while staring. She quirked an eyebrow and mouthed the question 'what' up to them. They quickly jerked their attention away from her and back to each other.
'That was weird.' She thought.
~*~*~
Goku crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, do you have an answer?"
Piccolo thought for a moment. "She'll just rule with me."
"You don't really think she'll just sit by and watch you hurt all those people, do you?"
Piccolo grunted. "She'll do as she's told. She understands what I must do."
Goku shook his head. "Piccolo, even though Colleen cares about you and would probably defend you to the death against any one of us, you and I both know she'd never follow you in your quest for world domination. She has a good heart, and would defend the Earth. You won't like to hear this, but…she's more like us than you. She really doesn't belong with you."
That hit home for Piccolo. It hit hard. He knew there was truth to Goku's words, and that made him all the angrier. "Enough talking! We're here to fight!"
They charge each other again. Ki blasts flew mercilessly toward one another. Finding an open spot, Goku kicked out Piccolo's face. His boot connected with Piccolo's nose, breaking it. He held it in pain, and Goku took this opportunity to hold him in a head lock. Piccolo struggled to break free, but to no avail. His temper rose, along with his ki level.
With an angered cry, Piccolo powered up and broke free of Goku's grasp. Goku landed on the ground and looked up at his opponent. Piccolo's eyes were glowing a deep blood red, snarling with his fangs bared. Needless to say, he was a bit miffed.
"You think you can just push me around?! Well think again! This world WILL be mine and I WILL kill you! You and everyone else here!"
Everyone's eyes went wide as Piccolo began to power up a powerful blast.
"He-he's gonna kill us all!" Yamcha yelled.
"No way." Bulma said, shaking her head. "He's joking. He's GOT to be joking." She turned to Colleen. "Tell me he's joking. It's just a bluff to scare Goku. He wouldn't do that to us, right?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised by what he'll do." Colleen said, staring at the enraged warrior. Bulma grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.
"That was NOT the answer I WANTED!!"
~*~*~
The announcer, who'd been shocked into silence up until this point, made an interesting observation. "You know, without the turban, this guy looks a lot like Piccolo."
"I AM Piccolo, you idiot!" he yelled down to the not-so-bright announcer, and loud enough so that everyone in the stadium could hear.
The entire stadium was completely empty in two seconds. Only the fighters, the now very skittish announcer, and Z-gang stuck around.
"You guys!" Goku called out to the others. "Move back! I don't know what he'll do."
They moved back outside of the little backstage hut. ChiChi ran around the outer wall and screamed in frustration. "I can't see a damn thing!"
No sooner had she said that when the portion of the wall she was standing by blew apart. She hurriedly climbed over the rubble to look on how the fight was going. Colleen and Bulma were right behind her. The guys flew above them, and Oolong and Puar sat on the edge of the wall that was still standing.
"You better not die on us, Goku." Tien whispered.
~*~*~
On the battle field, Goku was getting nervous. Piccolo's ki was rising at an alarming rate, and he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. He was having serious doubts about whether or not he could defeat Piccolo. That and he also had to find a way to get Kami out of Piccolo without killing him. This just was not his day!
"Oh Goku." Piccolo tantalizingly called him. "Watch this."
Piccolo began to descend to the ring floor. Once both of his feet were planted, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and began to concentrate. He started to grow…and grow, and grow, AND grow. When he stopped growing his height was that of a three story building.
Goku stared up at the new gigantic form of a smirking Piccolo. His eyes went wide and his limbs went limp. If he had a mommy, he would have very much liked to hug her now.
Everyone on the sidelines had eyes the size basketballs. Some were pointing, some were staring; some were pointing AND staring.
Yamcha giggled nervously.
"Oh my God, it's Piccolozilla." Tien spoke in a dazed voice, and kept a serious face.
Piccolo laughed out loud at the looks on everyone's faces, especially Goku's. He looked as though he'd wet his pants any minute now! This was going to be very fun. He advanced toward the little man. Goku tried to leap out of the way. He should have looked before he leaped, for he was swatted like a mosquito back onto the pavement. Face first.
The others looked on in horror as their friend was about to be squished. Tien tried to fly off and help Goku, but Colleen flew into his path before he could reach the ring.
"This is their fight, not yours." She said.
"What are we supposed to do, just sit and watch our friend die?" He balled his fists.
"No. You are supposed to sit and root him on."
He reluctantly backed down and floated down to the earth. She too came down and took her place back by Bulma and ChiChi at the hole in the wall. Holding the others back was seemingly going to become a problem.
~*~*~
Goku slowly got up from the pile of rubble he had created at his impact. He had to think of something fast. Then, a wonderfully brilliant idea came to him. You could almost see the light bulb over his head turn on. He stood up and prepared a kamehameha blast. Everyone looked quizzically at him, because he was preparing the blast facing AWAY from Piccolo.
Piccolo walked toward him. 'What's he up to?'
Goku suddenly fired the blast at the pavement and was cascaded into the air in Piccolo's direction. He went faster and faster until the blast sent him right toward Piccolo's mouth…and down his throat.
ChiChi screamed. "Go…Go…ohhh!" her legs gave out as she fainted. Bulma caught her and lowered the both of them to the ground. She herself was shaking in shock and looked as if she'd faint as well. Krillin nearly went into conniptions and Puar had to slap him to calm him down.
Piccolo was clutching his throat and trying desperately to cough Goku up. After all, it couldn't be all that pleasant having someone jammed down your throat. He started to cough and bent down on one gigantic knee. Colleen was very tempted to go and try to help dislodge Goku from Piccolo's throat, but remembered that everything would work itself out.
After a minute that seemed like an eternity, Piccolo's coughing and hacking increased, and after much effort, Goku was spat out holding the bottle that Kami was entrapped in. Everyone stared at him wide eyed, and ChiChi chose this moment to wake up.
"My Goku! He's alive!" she cried. She wanted so badly to run out onto the battle field and hug him, but she knew better.
~*~*~
Goku stood up and wiped himself off. He looked down at the little bottle to make sure Kami was alright. He looked a little dazed with swirlies in his eyes, but he would be fine. Goku lifted the bottle up for all to see.
"Lose something?" he asked Piccolo with a wry smirk on his face. He quickly threw the bottle over to the crowd of friends which Tien caught. He pulled the cork out of the top and in a puff of smoke Kami was free.
He had a dazed look on his face. "My…what happened?" he asked.
"You were captured in the bottle and then Piccolo ate it! He grew to the extremely large size you see before you, Goku went in to get you, and here you are." Krillin explained.
Kami frowned. "This battle shall be difficult for Goku. Piccolo has grown much stronger because of his training with the girl." He glared at Colleen. She in turn glared back.
Piccolo reverted to his normal size and took a fighting stance once again. Goku charged at him, his leg extended for a powerful kick. As Goku's leg made contact with Piccolo's blocking arm, they once again moved with speeds beyond one's capability to see. Even though the battle could not be seen, it could definitely be felt. Even by those who had never practiced reading ki signatures could feel the waves of power radiating from the two heated warriors. So great was this power coming off them those without powers found it difficult to stand.
"Man! Those two are really going at it!" Krillin shouted, stating the obvious. But that's what he does, and we love him for it.
Tien blew a hole in the ground behind them. "Everyone get inside! It'll be safer here." The announcer was the first to jump in, followed by Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong.
"Colleen, ChiChi, Kami come on, get in." Krillin called to them.
"And miss my fiance's fight? Forget it!" ChiChi yelled back.
"I'm watching the fight too." Colleen said. "Besides, you need someone to keep you posted on what's going on."
She looked at Kami. "You, on the other hand, should get in the pit too. We wouldn't want you getting hit by a stray blast."
Kami frowned. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I am the Guardian of Earth and need to-"
Colleen held out her hand and sent a wave of energy in Kami's direction, knocking him in the pit cutting his sentence short. She sighed. "Ya know he and Piccolo are so similar it's funny."
~*~*~
Goku was trying to get into Piccolo's defense any way he could. This battle was getting out of hand, and he knew it. Not only were he and Piccolo in danger, but the others as well. There was no more time to be careful. He cupped his hands together one more time.
"Ka…me…ha…me…"
Piccolo smirked. "You wouldn't dare."
"HA!!"
Piccolo's eyes grew wide as the blinding blast grew closer and more powerful with each passing second. The blast hit him full on the chest and knocked him to the ground. The force of the blast pushed him farther and farther into the ground crushing the air out of his lungs.
The blast ended its light fading away to reveal a huge crater where Piccolo had once stood. The air was silent as everyone watched the crater in anticipation. Piccolo was nowhere to be seen.
~*~*~
"What happened?" Bulma yelled from the pit.
"Goku used a Kamehameha wave on Piccolo that caused a huge crater. Piccolo's not getting up." Colleen answered.
"Is…is he dead?" Yamcha asked.
"No." Kami answered. "My being alive is proof that he still lives. He may be unconscious."
"Well," ChiChi turned her head to the pit. "Announcer, start counting!"
"Hm? Oh! Yes, of course." He climbed out of the pit and ran over to the side of the crater where the ring used to be.
"One...two…three…four…"
Everyone had climbed out of the pit and was standing at the hole in the wall next to ChiChi and Colleen. They all had smiles on their faces as they knew Goku was about to win. How little they know…
"Five..."
"ChiChi." Colleen called for her.
"Six…"
"Yea?" She answered.
"Seven…"
"You might want to cover your eyes."
"Eight…"
"What?" ChiChi raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked back at Goku and the announcer at the crater. 'Why should I close my eyes?' she thought.
"Nine…"
The 'e' of nine had just left the mouth of the announcer when Piccolo suddenly shot up. He opened his mouth and a powerful blast shot out from it straight at Goku. Goku had dropped his defenses, so he was totally unprepared for the attack. The blast hit him in-between his shoulder and chest and went all the way through him, ripping a gaping hole.
"Goku!!" ChiChi screamed as he fell clutching his shoulder and cried out in pain. She started to run to him but Tien grabbed her around the waist.
"Let go of me!!" She screamed and started thrashing against him. "Let GO!!" Tien only tightened his grip.
"If you go out there, Piccolo will kill you!"
She sank down to her knees and sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "But…Goku…"
He picked her up to her feet. "He'll be fine."
"You don't know that!" She screamed.
He took her by the shoulders and made her look him in the eyes. "I believe it."
She hugged him around his waist and cried into his chest. "You sure as hell better be right." She choked.
~*~*~
Goku shakily stood and faced Piccolo who was walking towards him. He was breathing hard and had his hand over the hole in his shoulder. Blood was gushing out and spilling out over his fingers onto the ground. His vision was starting to get hazy from blood loss and he swayed from side to side.
Piccolo stared at his opponent. He looked so pathetic and beaten like a dog. He smiled evilly. This was going to be a great victory. He would finally beat Son Goku. He charged Goku and proceeded to pound on every inch of his body. The sound of cracking bones and cries of pain could be heard. ChiChi covered her ears to keep from hearing it all. It killed her every time she heard Goku cry out in pain, and she felt sicker with every breaking bone.
By the time Piccolo had stopped Goku was left with both of his legs broken and his left arm limp and bloody. He lay on the ground covered in blood, his breath coming in short, raspy intakes of air. Piccolo was also covered in blood, his right arm badly wounded and blood oozing from large gashes on his head and stomach. But he could stand, and stand he did. He loomed over his crippled enemy gloating without words. He glanced over to the sideline to see the reactions on everyone's faces.
ChiChi was crying hysterically with Tien trying to console her. Krillin stared out in pure shock and Yamcha leaned on the wall looking as though he'd be sick any minute. Bulma had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide. Kami looked pissed as he had expected. But he didn't really care about them. The reaction he wanted to see was Colleen's. He looked over to her and their eyes met. She wasn't crying, didn't appear to be shocked or upset or…anything. She wasn't mad that Goku was about to lose, and wasn't happy that he was about to win. She instead averted her gaze to the ground.
'Why won't she look at me?' Piccolo wondered. 'Didn't she want me to win? No matter. This all ends now.'
He formed a large ki ball in his hand and aimed for Goku's head. He looked down to Goku who looked at him back. No fear was evident in Goku's eyes. In fact, he was smiling.
'Must be the blood loss.' Piccolo thought.
~*~*~
Kami was furious. There was no way in HFIL he was going to let Piccolo win! "Tien! Kill me!"
He looked at him as though he were insane. "WHAT?!"
"You heard me. It's the only way. Do it!"
"No, don't!" Goku yelled from the pile of rocks that used to be the ring. "I'm going to win. Just hold on a few seconds."
Piccolo laughed. "Win?! You can't move! How do you expect to beat me?!" He fired the blast, its light swallowing Goku whole. His friends looked on in horror as he was devoured by the powerful ki blast.
"It's over." Bulma dropped to the ground and cried. One of her best friends was gone. Forever.
Piccolo sighed heavily and powered down. Now that he had stopped fighting he felt exhausted. He bent over trying to catch his breath with his hands on his knees for support. Even though he felt more tired now that he had ever in his life, he felt powerful and was overjoyed with his victory. A large evil smile played across his face as he looked at the dust cloud that hovered over the crumbling ring where Goku had once lay. Within the cloud he thought he saw something moving; hovering.
'No, there's no way he could have survived that.' Piccolo reassured himself. But he had.
"Look!" Tien cried out and pointed to the cloud of dust. There hovering above the ground horizontally with his face to the ground was Goku. He picked his head up and locked eyes with Piccolo.
"You lose!" he yelled and shot off like a bullet towards Piccolo. Piccolo was so shocked he didn't even move or make any effort to stop him.
Goku's head collided with Piccolo's chest hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying several feet. He landed with a great 'thud' on his butt and sat there wide eyes and stunned. What the heck had just happened?!
"I don't believe it." Yamcha said smirking. "Hey ref, Piccolo fell out of the ring right?"
He took a look at close as he dared and nodded. He raised his microphone to his mouth. "Goku is the winner!"
Everyone cheered and leapt for joy. Bulma ran straight up to Yamcha and gave him the biggest kiss he'd ever gotten. ChiChi was elated; crying hysterically, out of happiness now instead of fear. Colleen gave a small smile to show her happiness. She was happy Goku won like he was supposed to, but she was also sad. Sad Piccolo had lost. Living with him for next couple of months was going to be difficult to say the least.
Piccolo just sat there. He didn't have the energy, physically or mentally to move. How could he lose!? He was the son of Piccolo Daimoa, The Demon King! He was supposed to be the strongest being on the planet. But no, he had been defeated by a mere human! All the preparation…all the training…all the work: for nothing. He had failed. He had lost.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again I am SO sorry for the wait. And this chapter probably sucks too.-_- I wouldn't blame any of you if you aren't around anymore. But if there are still some of you out there, you all have the patience of saints and I humbly ask for your forgiveness. I promise you the next update will me much, much, MUCH faster!!