Tainted Soul Chapter 2 By Cremrock

Tainted Soul
Chapter 2
By Cremrock

A welcoming shout echoed through bare, brightly colored hallways and into the vacant bedroom before echoing out the window, the sound rapidly diminishing but still scattering some of the wildlife that were very close to the mountain home.

"Gohaaaaan-chan! Breakfast is ready! Are you up yet?"

A bright, happy smile with well lit eyes to accompany it slowly diminished into a perplexed look and then Into a frown, as it became apparent to the greeter, Chi-Chi, mother of Son Gohan and the wife to the legendary Super Saiya-jin, Son Goku, that the child wasn't answering. It wasn't like him, and it was eight-thirty, normally Gohan would up by now and wolfing down his breakfast with an appetite not unlike that of Son Goku…

"Goku…" She thought, her mind trailing back to her husband for a moment, as it had so often during recent times… But he was up among the stars, far away, and Chi-chi wasn't at all sure when he would be back. Her brow furrowed again slightly then softened as her lip trembled for a moment. She had tormented herself with the same questions almost every day since that day, so full of happiness, had also been filled with doubt.

"Why doesn't he want to come back yet? Is it because of me? Something Gohan did? He can train all he wants here… Maybe I was too strict with him…" She bowed her head, staring at her feet as she tried to reassure herself as she always did… or tried, at least. Still, she found herself left without an answer. In some ways it reassured her that she couldn't really put her thumb down on any reason Goku hadn't come back yet, on the other… she sighed. Gohan was all she had left, now. She glanced at the entranceway to the kitchen, and realized she still hadn't heard a peep from Gohan, having gotten lost in her thoughts again.

"Gohan! Are you okay? Why aren't you up yet? Your breakfast is getting cold!"

There was no response yet again. Save for one, the thump of something, or someone, striking against something, a wall maybe, or the hardwood floor. Immediately Chi-chi's mind raced. With one thought. "Gohan's fallen out of bed!" It was a trivial thing really, since even if he was sick, a child falling out of bed wasn't much to worry about. But that didn't matter to her as she pictured her son, weak as a kitten and with a huge fever, struggling to move. She cleared the distance between the kitchen and Gohan's room in less then nine seconds, the kitchen and the breakfast forgotten, for the moment. She turned into the room and gasped. The window was wide open, the sun shining through as both sides were swaying. She relaxed slightly. "Must have been the wind…"

She looked over to Gohan's bed and saw a large mass obscured by a large amount of blankets and pillows, so many that she wasn't even sure she could see her son's head, face, or even an arm. She gulped, a tender expression was in her eyes, as she wondered if her baby had the chills or something. She walked up to the side of the bed and leaned down towards where she thought the child's head was.

"Gohan-kun? Are you awake? Feeling sick? Mommy's here…" She put a hand on one of the covers, feeling the warmth beneath them, followed by a slight stirring. She heard a small snuffle a moment later, as the blankets stirred again. Chi-chi sighed and sat down next to her son, wondering what was kind of illness he might have.

"You've got the flu, huh? Can you talk? Do you want me to move the covers a bit so you can see better?" The blankets stirred again, a little more strongly this time, shifting to the side a bit. She sighed, bending over and giving her son a slight hug. "Still want to sleep some more? Well, don't worry, I'll go and start preparing some soup, and I just know I can dig up that ice-pack somewhere…" She mumbled, resting a hand on the blankets again. That was when she heard a slight shuffling sound behind her, whirling around and staring in disbelief at Son Gohan, who was standing in the doorway to his room, arms laden with fruits and vegetables.

"Okaasan? Who are you talking to?" Gohan asked, wide-eyed, even as a small, slightly mischievous grin began to spread across the lower half of his face. Chi-chi blinked at him a moment, then turned to stare in disbelief at the lump of blankets that had suddenly rose up and stood on the bed. Chi-chi's eyes widened even more as the lump seemed to rear back, and she covered her eyes, to shield them from whatever was going to hap-

"KRPHLAAAAAAAT!" Chi-chi shuddered as something warm, slimy, and somewhat sticky substance hit her, accompanying this odd sound that sounded almost like a large animal sneezing. Before she could move or even open her eyes to stare, another sneeze came, followed by a blanket which wound up draping itself over Chi-chi, covered in the sticky mucus. She pulled it away from her face, her eyes opening to stare at the reptilian, smooth, horn rounded purple face in front of her, containing two slightly glazed eyes and… an unattractive glob of goop dripping from the creature's left nostril. She instantly recognized the creature, despite it's appearance, and turned to glare at Gohan, who had dropped the vegetables and was trying very hard not to burst into laughter. A moment later his defenses gave way and by the time he had fetched his mother a towel, he was laughing so hard that it felt as if his sides would burst.

Chi-chi accepted the towel, glaring from Gohan to the sleepy Haiyaa Dragon before settling her gaze on Gohan again, even as the dragon burrowed back under the covers and pillows of Gohan's bed. She thrust her right arm out, pointing at the dragon.

"WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE, GOHAN?!"

Gohan gulped, his laughter stopping, his face taking on a somewhat serious, somewhat pleading expression. "There's something wrong with him, 'kaasan! I think he's sick or hurt! He came around last night, and he wouldn't eat the vegetables I offered him, so I went to get him some of his favorite ones!"

Chi-chi wasn't visibly moved, although she nodded slightly. Gohan quickly darted up beside her and gently pulled some of the blankets off the dragon, revealing an ugly scabbed over burn wound on the dragon's back. He pointed at it, a tear beginning to well in his eye, which he quickly wiped away, sniffling. "This is a burn mark, mom! Something did this to him, and he's sick! He can't take care of himself in the wilderness right now… I couldn't leave him alone… not when he was like this… he's my friend…"

The woman sighed softly, observing her son, who was biting his lip in an effort to keep from sniffling anymore. "I can't… there's no room for that Haiyaa Dragon here… we don't have a pen or anything to keep him in… He'll be okay in the wilderness, Gohan has to study…" She stopped dead in her thoughts for a moment, as a brief semblance of her earlier thoughts about Son Goku returned. "What if I was being too strict with him…" She sighed again as she looked from the dragon to Gohan again, who was waiting patiently for a response.

"He can't stay here, Gohan…" Chi-chi began. Gohan opened his mouth, about to protest, to wail, to scream, but his mother wasn't finished yet, as she raised a bracelet ringed hand, rested the other on her hips, and waggled a finger, smiling slightly. "As I was saying, the dragon can't stay here… for an extended period of time. But I'll give you the day off for your studies so that you can find someone to take care of him, okay?" She noticed Gohan's surprised expression, as the child wondered if he were dreaming. Chi-chi groaned under her breath. Realizing that she must have been acting too strict the past few months. If she hadn't, her son wouldn't be so surprised and shocked.

To his credit, Gohan dashed up and embraced his mother, as Chi-chi stepped backwards softly before recovering and keeping the child from inadvertently tumbling her to the ground.

"Thanks, mom! I'll be sure to study more for the next few days to make up for it!" The child beamed, his cherub-like face reflecting off the sunlight. Chi-chi smiled down at her son. Despite his occasional disdain, she really did believe that he didn't mind his studies too much… and well, if her child was growing up, it was nice to know he still thought enough of her to give her a hug now and then, rather then showing the rebelliousness tendencies some children did at his tender age…

"Before you go, would you like some breakfast, Gohan-chan? I don't mind heating it up again…"

"Okay!" Gohan squeaked, and was dashing down the hallway a moment later. Chi-chi shook her head again slightly, grinning. There was more of Son Goku's personality in that child then she had previously thought possible. She felt so cheerful, she even waved slightly to the Haiyaa Dragon, which had watched the exchange with a small hint of interest. She started down the hallway, then peeked back around the door, eyes regarding the dragon suspiciously.

"You're housebroken, right?"

The dragon's reply was another tremendous sneeze, and once again, Chi-chi was the unfortunate recipient of it. The woman fumed as the goop slid down her face, as she bit back the urge to throw the creature out that very instant, since she had promised Gohan…

"Lovely…" She mumbled, storming out of the room, even as the dragon lie back down and nestled into the covers.

Gohan pulled on his shoes and tightened his bright red belt before tugging on the white clothing around his neck. In the room next door, his mother was rapidly tidying up the kitchen. He smiled in the award-winning way only a true child could, feeling confident and maybe even a little stronger in his self-made "Piccolo Clothes". He was bending down to make sure his shoes were on securely when Chi-chi poked her head into the room, shaking her head again as she noticed Gohan's choice of clothing for the day. She closed her eyes.

"Now Gohan, you know I don't like you wearing those clothes… they look too much like the clothes that awful…" Gohan tiptoed out the door, pretending not to hear, as Chi-chi continued. "Green kidnapper wears… seriously, why would you want to emulate such a sketchy person… He's so quiet, and I don't think he's ever said hi, or had a polite word for anyone… How about you put on your overalls and that nice yellow shirt… isn't that a good idea, Gohan? Gohan?" She opened her eyes, gazing around the empty room, before shrugging, her eyebrows raising upwards questioningly. "Maybe I should get his hearing checked…"

The ground was a brilliant, multicolored patchwork quilt below him, and the empty sky above was almost dizzying in its eternal blueness, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Gohan flew through the sky slowly, eager to find attention for his pet, but at the same time enjoying the first day off he could without worrying about his mother suddenly finding him and asking why he wasn't studying… He also wasn't sure whom he could ask. A moment later, his face brightened as he thought of his mentor.

"I know! I'll go visit Piccolo-san! I haven't seen him for awhile, and I bet he'd know of some way to help me…" For a moment he pictured his mentor actually taking care of his pet, and giggled aloud. No, he knew better then to directly ask for that kind of help, but he decided he might ask it anyway, if only to see the look of surprise followed by a rapid crossing of his arms, a smirk, and an, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can do that, Gohan." As a response. Still, maybe he would have some advice, and at the very least, he would have an engaging conversation with his best friend. He was surprised as he realized that he hadn't seen the older warrior for a little over two weeks. Time had truly been passing by quickly. His eyes narrowed, as he realized he was almost over the area that Piccolo frequented the most, which was quite near his house. Gohan decided he liked that, although he did wish Piccolo would actually come to visit him sometime…

"I wonder where he could be? He wasn't here two days ago, and he wasn't here when I checked last week either…" Gohan knew that these thoughts were easily explained, as it was fairly easy to miss his mentor. After all, it wasn't as if the man actually had a true clear-cut home… He journeyed the planet, meditating and training, and there were times when Gohan wondered if he was truly the only bright spot in the Nameksei-jin's life. He tried to sense his ki in hopes that he would discover him in the area, but found nothing. The child sighed, cupping a hand to his chin. "Well… maybe he's meditating… I've never been able to get enough control to sense him when he's been doing that…" Gohan shrugged, beginning a descent to the ground. "Maybe Piccolo will find me…"

With a small crackling of branches and the gentle wheezing of breath, death stormed through the forest on all fours, seeking to claim another victim. The mountain lion, it's representative for this particular day in the woods, as well as the largest mammalian predator in the area, stalked it's prey, a large, powerfully built antelope whose scent the lion had picked up only moments before. It approached from downwind, observing from a high tree. Below, on a plain several meters away from any trees, stood the antelope, placidly chewing on a mouthful of grass. A moment later, a howl echoed from somewhere nearby. The sound terrified the antelope and it dashed towards the underbrush, fifty meters away.

The lion, realizing that it's chance was blown by the strange howl, leapt to the ground and started pursuing the startled creature. With luck, it would only take one or two enormous bounds to catch up with the prey, and then it could bring it down just short of the underbrush with one colossal leap. It was about to pounce when the antelope put on a burst of speed and made it into the underbrush. The lion sniffed the air delicately, picking up another scent, raising its head to probe the air further. A moment later, there was another howl, but this one was more animal-like in nature, and it echoed from the underbrush the antelope had run into moments earlier. Whatever the howl was, it frightened the lion, which turned and scampered away as fast as its legs would carry it.

The original howl, or scream, returned, conveying pain, disgust, regret… and a loss of self-control… A moment later, it stopped abruptly, as the person behind the sound, from some semblance of his rapidly diminishing resolve and shattered mind, sensed a ki approaching. A ki he knew, and knew well, almost always keeping it in his mind, with the resilience a father would have watching over their child.

"Gohan… no…" Piccolo stammered, turning the head of the antelope he had so forcefully decapitated around in his hands, so that the startled eyes were staring up at him. Piccolo wasn't himself, wasn't in control of himself… The reason, truth be told, was quite simple, and it terrified him. He was losing control. Control of his mind… and body.

Death wasn't scampering away on all fours, frightened off by a howl. It was huddled in a bush, desperately praying that it's student wouldn't come any closer.

Gohan knelt down over the fire-pit, rubbing a hand over the ashes, which were stone cold. He had heard a howl coming from this direction only a moment earlier, and had decided to investigate. Something had been going on here, all right. There was what appeared to be dried blood all over the ground, and the sight chilled Gohan.

"Maybe there's a pack of wolves living around here or something… But wolves can't make fire…" He surveyed the rest of the area. Then, a thought coming to him as he remembered his original purpose for coming here, he cupped two hands around his mouth.

"Piccolo-saaaaaan! It's me, Son Gohan! Are you here?" There was no answer, but Gohan hadn't really expected one. He narrowed his eyes. Something didn't feel right. He almost felt as if he was being watched, but he couldn't sense any ki… "Piccolo-san? Are you hiding somewhere?" Gohan asked to the empty air, his face expressionless. He didn't think that would be the answer… Piccolo rarely played games, and he certainly wasn't one to hide. It just wasn't the man's nature. A slight rustling in the bushes far to his left caught his eye, as if a shudder had passed through someone… or something… inside. "Piccolo-san? Are you in there?" Gohan asked, meandering closer, intending to investigate.

Piccolo trembled as the figure that he distinctly recognized as Son Gohan edged closer to the bushes he was in. He began to shudder again. "NO… Stay away… please…" He silently begged, biting his tongue in hopes that the pain would help him control himself. He glanced down at his hands, which were sweat-covered, like the rest of him, his gi sticking to his back. He was waging war, war against himself. He had already needlessly killed any wildlife that had been walking near him… he hadn't been able to control it, and now, his worst nightmare was coming to pass. Gohan was approaching. And if he didn't do something in a moment, Gohan would find him. His shattered memory thought back to the dreams he had been having weeks ago. They had stopped, but only because he hadn't slept for two weeks.

"I didn't kill Gohan, we killed Gohan." Like a knife through his heart, foretelling the future, at least to Piccolo, his war continued. He quietly swore then. He knew he was close to losing control again. Every fiber of his being wanted to go out and… kill. Destroy, murder, and cause pain and suffering in his wake. The only thing holding him back was his mind. He wasn't sure if he could go on for much longer… and Gohan continued to approach.

"Oh Kami… please…" Piccolo silently prayed from within one of the dark corner's of his mind. It wasn't a plea to his counterpart, as much as it was a general plea to himself. He slowly stared down at the antelope head at his feet. It sickened him, but gave him one small glimmer of hope, in the hell he found himself wrestling with. He willed his protesting arms to pick it up, and…

Gohan shrieked in disbelief and surprise as something flew out of the bushes in front of him, smashing into a tree behind him. He turned around and dashed towards the object, observing what it was. When he realized it, the thought chilled him and saddened him, even as it completed what he had been thinking.

"Must just be some wild animal, then. The poor antelope must've been grazing… There was a struggle, that would explain the blood, and whatever killed it dragged it in there and is chowing down on it right now." Gohan shuddered, feeling nauseated. He had seen death before, and much worse then the mutilated head of a single animal. But it never made it any easier. He glanced up at the sky, thinking of such an animal devouring the Haiyaa Dragon, and relaxed slightly, glad he had persuaded his mom to let it stay for the day. He thought for a moment, then decided to go to the Capsule Corporation. He was sure the Briefs family wouldn't mind a visit, and maybe they had seen Piccolo. And he knew that they would probably have some facility that could take care of the dragon for him… at least until the creature got better… He stared at the head one last time.

"I'm glad Piccolo-san can take care of himself. He could probably wipe out anything that could do that to an antelope, no sweat…"

With that final, ironic thought, he leapt into the air, propelling himself with his ki in the general direction of the Capsule Corporation.

Gohan had left, but the thought didn't relieve Piccolo at all, as he staggered out of the bushes. It was terrifying, but he had come so close to killing his best friend, and the child didn't even know it… He pushed the thought out of his mind. He was still shaking, and he threatened to lose control again.

"Why is this happening to me?"

Piccolo didn't know the answers. He wasn't even sure he knew himself, anymore. And his control was slipping again. It had diminished slightly after Gohan had left, but not completely. It was never gone completely. He wasn't just killing animals. He wasn't in control of himself, but now… it almost felt like an addiction. Every time he lost control, he had killed something, with a few notable exceptions when it had begun, two weeks ago. And every time after that, the killing relieved him slightly. He regained partial control. But he wasn't sure how long that would last. And he was terrified at the prospect of killing an intelligent creature.

Deer and wildlife were one thing. People were another. And friends… He shook his head. The shadow that enveloped his body and was taking control of him… he could feel it. And it wasn't content with his body anymore, because he could control it at times. Piccolo knew. Whatever was happening to him, it wanted his mind.

That was when a rustling from behind alerted him, and he sensed the ki of someone behind him. The man was dressed in camouflage and toting a shotgun, evidently hunting in the area, maybe camping. He smiled at Piccolo, who hadn't turned around yet.

"Well I'll be. I didn't know anyone else was hunting in this area!" He frowned, taking in Piccolo's clothes, even though all he could see at the moment was the Nameksei-jin's long cape, tattered by two weeks of journeying.

"Go away…" Piccolo growled, and even that took effort. He felt himself losing control and being seized by whatever was happening to him again… The man scratched his head from under his cap.

"Are you okay, sir? You don't look very good to me… Do you need help?" He asked, kindly. He was a hunter, but he only was doing it for food, and not for sport. Piccolo trembled and stared at the ground, his voice a low rumble.

"Get out of here… I can't control myself… get out… or… you'll… DIE!"

The man blinked in disbelief, as Piccolo spun around upon finishing the last word. He looked like death itself, his face covered in sweat, his hands clenched at his sides, purple blood streaming from his lower lip, which he was even now biting, struggling to remain in control of himself for just a few crucial seconds longer. Maybe long enough for the man to run away.

"A-are you okay, sir? Your skin doesn't look very good… Have you been bitten by anything? A snake? I've got all sorts of anti-toxins in my survival kit, you… k-know?"

Piccolo shuddered one last time, then smiled at the man, who took a step backwards, surprised at this odd person's friendly expression. Piccolo raised one hand.

"No! R…run you fool, I can't… NOOOOOOOO-" The jolt of ki exploded from his hand, and the man shrieked in horror, raising his hands up to shield his face… It didn't make a difference, as Piccolo's attack raged with such force that the man's corpse, ablaze yet still standing, buckled for a moment, before finally drifting completely into ash as Piccolo finished his attack. As his mind regained control of himself, at least for the moment, he fell to his hands and knees, winded. A small pang of relief had come, yes. But he had lost himself. He bowed his head, shedding tears not necessarily for the man, whom he felt he had failed, but himself. And for all that stood to die if he lost control of himself again.

That was when he felt it. A voice that sent chills down his spine, echoing from inside his mind. For he knew the voice, clipped and harsh though it was, like his own.

"One down, millions to go. And your Gohan, your best friend in the world… he could be next."

It was the voice from his dream, that of the doppelganger. He stared down at his hands again, rising slowly to his feet, the sheer terror of what had happened remaining with him. He had lost to himself. Again.