Normally I wouldn't have had a chapter out this fast, but after late-night talks with some authoresses from this site and a few friends (you all know who you are), I felt much better about this. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that people appreciate what you are doing. Thank you.

Therefore I am entitled to my first chapter dedication. This one is for Chaotic Souls (It's all your fault! -grin-). Thanks for pushing me to write this chapter…I'd have let it slide for another few days if it wasn't for your encouragement!

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or anything that was created by Akira Toriyama, obviously.

Chapter Seven

Hell

Piccolo Daimao erupted with rage. "You ass!" he bellowed into the Seer's face. "How could you have that chance slip? You could have blown them all to pieces, and I would have had no opposition!" The livid elder demon began charging a ki ball in his right hand and held it up to the Seer's face, illuminating its frightened eyes. "And there would be no hybrids threatening my territory!"

"Daimao, please," it spoke hurriedly, gulping as the ki ball grew ever brighter. "My lord, you do not wish to do this!"

"And why do I not, Seer? You have failed! You are of no use to me now that the witch has bound you to this realm!" The demon pulled his hand away from the Seer's face and snarled. "Unless you can prove to me right now that you can still do something, your life is forfeit."

Daimao was slightly surprised when the Seer sighed with relief.

"I can prove that to you, Demon Lord, and more," it said, suddenly content.

"And how do you suppose you will do that?"

"Uranai Baba only bound my physical influence, Daimao. She did not bind my mental influence, nor did she bind any other demons. I can still affect that realm, even though I may not touch it."

The irate demon allowed the ki ball to dissipate. He sat down on a nearby rock for a moment, still outraged that the Seer had been caught. "What have you learned about my son, Seer?" he demanded finally.

The Seer's face blanched visibly. "Daimao," it began, futilely rustling its wings in agitation. "Do you wish to –"

"I told you to speak, weakling!" the demon lord raged. "Now answer me! What has Ma Junior been doing on the planet Earth?"

"If you so badly desire to know this, then I will tell you, Daimao. But know this: you will not be pleased," the Seer warned. The elder demon motioned for him to continue and get to the point. "You already know that Ma Junior has been Goku's ally, but it goes much deeper than that now. Demon Lord, your son did kill Son Goku and his brother both, but when he realized the danger the planet was in, he trained the man's spawn…taught him to fight! The boy, Gohan, he changed Ma Junior, and Ma Junior…" The Seer was upset enough that it choked on the words.

"Out with it!"

"He renounced his heritage, lord. He died for the boy. You can see it for yourself, if you so desired: Radditz, Son Goku's brother, is in Hell. His soul does not wander the Earth as it should. And, Daimao, he is near considering Son Goku and the rest of the Earth's defenders as…as friends."

The Seer had expected Piccolo Daimao to be terribly upset. It had even expected to be blamed for this, though it could not do anything about it as of yet. But it hadn't counted on Daimao's rage exploding around it.

"WHAT?" the elder demon roared, powering up so rapidly that the Seer thought he would tear apart the cavern. The demon's rage had caused his ki to expand in a way that had never been possible for him up to this day, and the Seer cowered before him. "My son has been taken in with the enemy? This is not possible! How dare he defy me?"

The ground below their feet began to tremble with Daimao's anger, and the Seer decided it was time to intervene. The elder demon might not be strong in the mortal realm, but when it came to the demons' realm of Hell, his power was unparalleled. One did not have to be alive in the demon realm to be a force to be reckoned with. "There are ways to change him back, Demon Lord!" the Seer shouted. "Give me time, and I can revert him back to what he was!"

As suddenly as Daimao's horrible rage had begun, it ebbed away. The demon straightened up and smirked. "You don't say, Seer. How can this be done?"

It gulped, suddenly realizing its error. If it failed to catch the other demon's interest now, its life would be forfeit. "I can send one of my minions to the mortal realm. From there I would let him choose his own method for conversion, but it would all turn out the same. Ma Junior, your son, would embrace his heritage once again."

Daimao growled. "That damned boy of mine has become weak. It's no wonder that the Saiyans are surpassing him in strength. The idiot rejected himself…he's a disgrace to our kind. If I did not need him, I would find a way to kill him myself." Then he turned and faced the Seer. "Tell me, what effect will this 'student' of yours will have when the Saiyan genetic hybrids catch Son Goku?"

"I would not send him until after their departure, or death. Either way, though, through my influence or because of the genetic warriors, your son will come back to his roots. And then not even Goku would be able to stop you from breaking free." The Seer turned its attention back to its half-forgotten scrying tool, and its voice took on a detached tone. "Yes, then we will see who is stronger, the father or the son."

Piccolo Daimao stared at the Seer. He had known for a while that the Seer was called that for more than one reason. It was true that it was able to see into and affect the mortal realm, but could it also be able to see into the future?

"At least Kami never made the attempt to confront him," the Seer continued in a stronger voice. It chuckled, a dry, crackling sound. "Ma Junior would have been unsalvageable then. That is one thing your other half has done correctly, Daimao." The demon then clenched the hand holding the scrying tool into a fist, and the tool was incinerated in its grasp.

"Indeed," the elder demon agreed. Then he, too, began to laugh, a chilling sound that would have frozen the blood in any being other than a demon. "Yes, we shall teach the whelp a lesson, and the Earth will be mine. Fetch your minion."

"Right away, oh mighty Demon Lord."

---

North Quadrant, Planet Earth

Piccolo was still rather disturbed by the events of the past three days. He had yet to come up with a satisfactory explanation as to what he had seen, and he had even gone so far as to speak with Tien about it. The Namek warrior knew that the figures dancing around him when the force had caught him were familiar somehow, but he could not quite place it. Nor could he ignore the feeling that he was being watched. With a grunt, he landed on the riverbank next to the waterfall he meditated over. He would have to do something about that soon enough, but he had to check on the humans' progress in finding the Dragonballs. How many of them do you have? he asked Tien telepathically.

We found six of them. Gohan and Krillin are getting the seventh one as we speak, the human replied. You might as well come to the Kame House now, Piccolo. They should be about an hour, tops.

Fine. Piccolo abruptly ended the mental link and leapt into the air. "There must be some reason for caring so much about this," he mumbled to himself. As always, his own mind answered him. It's because of Gohan. You know that. You've grown soft, demon-Namek. And you don't even care. Piccolo growled low in his throat as he began the flight to the Kame House, irritated because he knew the last comment was true. He had grown to care for, and dare he say, love the boy he had trained. Hell, he'd even died for him! And even worse, that same outlook was beginning to apply to the other defenders of the Earth, and that included Goku. His sworn enemy.

"Feh," he spat as he flew over the mountains. He didn't hate Son Goku any more, and both he and the other man knew it. The fight on Namek had left Piccolo with a rather clear notion on where he stood with the man compared to the other fighters, and the level of esteem Goku seemed to hold him in was rather disturbing. Especially since he had killed the Saiyan once before. The man trusted too many people too easily. Then again, so did the rest of the Earth's defenders. Krillin, for example, used to fear him completely. Now the monk attempted to hold conversations with him! This problem probably started when I laughed with Goku, Gohan, and Krillin on Namek, when we thought we had defeated Frieza, he thought. It must have somehow given them the idea that I was no longer dangerous to them, that I was somebody to be friendly with. He shook his head in amazement as he reached the edge of the ocean. Who would have thought that the son of Piccolo Daimao, the Demon Lord, would be addressed as a friend by the very people the father had destroyed?

Within a few minutes he sighted the small island that was home to Master Roshi, the man who had first trained Krillin and Goku together many years ago. The Turtle Hermit, he was called by some. The old man still lived in the house with Krillin and, on occasion, Lunch. As he neared the house, he saw Yamcha trying to flag him down. "Hey, Piccolo, down here!" he shouted.

The Namek landed gracefully on the sand, facing the bandit. "I could see you perfectly well, Yamcha," he snapped.

"Well, Bulma told me to tell you that Krillin and Gohan are gonna be back in a few minutes, and then you can make your 'specific' wish," the man continued, oblivious as always to Piccolo's glare. "I don't know why, but she also wants to know if you want your iced tea sweetened or unsweetened." Yamcha strolled back into the Kame House, unaware that the green man behind him had ceased glaring and was now staring at his back incredulously.

Just as Piccolo had made up his mind to walk in the front door of the house and throttle Bulma, a familiar ki signal alerted him to someone's arrival. He turned his head in time to see Gohan and Krillin both speeding toward him. "Hey, Piccolo, catch!" the demi-Saiyan shouted. The boy then threw something at the Namek, who caught it deftly in one hand. It was the four-star Dragonball.

"Good to see you, Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed as he landed next to his mentor. Krillin followed suit. "Was your training successful?"

"As successful as it ever gets, kid. That woman, Bulma, is waiting in the front room for us," Piccolo said, grimacing.

"Why aren't you in there with them?" Krillin asked.

"She wants to give me 'iced tea', the idiot."

The midget held back a laugh. He was in a rather jovial mood; the prospect of seeing his best friend after a year was heartening, and he was so elated that he made the mistake of trying to usher Piccolo into the house. The Namek was too shocked to do much of anything at the man's audacity, and Gohan followed them in.

The movement was futile, of course, for no sooner did Krillin get Piccolo into the kitchen then did the rest of the group walk out. The group, consisting of Bulma and Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu, Master Roshi and Krillin, Pu'ar and Oolong, and Piccolo and Gohan, gathered on the beach.

"Well, we've got them all!" Bulma exclaimed happily. "Do you know what you want to wish for, Piccolo?"

The Namek gritted his teeth in frustration; the woman was treating this as if it were a game, when in fact it was one of the most critical moments in her life. Something inside him told him that there was something bad coming at them, and he had the feeling that if he didn't get this wish right he would be dead. Literally. He watched as the woman and the shape-shifting pig set the Dragonballs up in a circle before them. More specifically, before him. The rest of the group fanned out behind him. It's just me, isn't it? he thought.

As the group gazed at the glowing orbs, their enemy-turned-ally held his hands out in front of him and spoke the summoning words: "Arise, Shenlong!" The sky grew dark as the dragon emerged from his own realm, heralded by the light arcing between the magical artifacts and the clouds. The massive being appeared with a roar and a peal of thunder (Convenient, Piccolo thought).

Shenlong hovered above the small group. "You have summoned the Dragon. I shall grant you one wish, and one wish only."

"Well, Piccolo?" Gohan asked. "Aren't you going to say the wish?"

"Quiet down, brat," the Namek snapped. "I don't need your encouragement." Truth be told, Piccolo had never made a wish on the Dragonballs before, and he had never seen one made. He had little idea of what to expect. "Shenlong," he said after a minute, "I wish for the man known as Son Goku to be brought safely out of stasis."

The dragon's eyes glowed red. "Your wish has been granted," he rumbled. "I must return to my slumber. I bid you farewell." Shenlong arched his body and shot himself up into the sky. As he did so, the Dragonballs rose with him. He then faded into the light from the glowing orbs, and when there was no more sign of him, the Dragonballs broke their circle and were flung away over the Earth. The sky grew bright once more.

"Piccolo!" Yamcha exclaimed. "What are you trying to pull? We were supposed to wish Goku to this spot!"

Surprisingly, it was Bulma who came to the rescue, so to speak. "You big oaf!" she yelled as she smacked the back of his head. "You can't just pull someone out of stasis like that! If the person isn't allowed to revive normally, they will die! At least one of you guys has some brains." The blue-haired woman winked at Piccolo before glaring at her now-fuming boyfriend. Piccolo merely raised an eye ridge. If she wanted to make her boyfriend jealous, that was fine by him, but he preferred to stay out of her little situation.

Ignore her, Yamcha, Tien said as he caught the murderous look on his friend's face. Piccolo isn't going to steal your girlfriend from you. He only fights, remember? And trains? He won't let her within ten feet of him anyway. The telepath watched as Yamcha's expression went from rage, to calm, and then to embarrassment, as he realized what he had been about to do. Or rather, what he would have tried to do.

Without any warning, Piccolo took a small jump into the air and hovered in his lotus position. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, to all appearances trying to meditate in the middle of a semi-crowded beach. Tien knew better, though; Piccolo had left part of his mind wide open, as if to invite Tien and Chiaotzu to listen in on whatever conversation he was going to be having. The triclops nudged the doll-faced emperor and alerted him to what was really happening.

King Kai, the Namek thought, can you hear me? Goku requires your assistance.

What is he up to? Tien wondered as Piccolo (and he and Chiaotzu) waited for a response. What could he possibly need King Kai for?

---

King Kai was getting ready to eat when Piccolo's telepathic message came through to him. He was just about to put a spoonful of rice into his mouth when his long antennae suddenly stood on end of their own accord and began to glow. "Huh?" the short blue god exclaimed softly.

"What is it, King Kai?" Gregory asked. The grasshopper cocked his head slightly to the side in a questioning manner.

"Hmm, it's someone from Earth trying to contact me. It's long distance…what are the going rates now, Gregory?" King Kai had always thought himself to be a master of all things funny, especially when it came to jokes. Unfortunately for his often-unwilling audiences, those jokes were old, outdated, and no longer funny. The telephone joke was no exception, and Gregory just rolled his eyes as the martial arts master chuckled into his hand. Then he stood straight up in shock. "Piccolo? What do you want?" he asked in surprise before hustling out the door.

Humph, Gregory thought as he watched him walk out the door. The reception must be pretty bad today.

"What on Earth compelled you to contact me, Piccolo?" the god asked.

Goku managed to escape Namek's destruction in a Ginyu force space pod, King Kai. Can you help us out here and tell him what buttons to push so he can get back to Earth?

"The great and mighty Piccolo is asking me for help?" the god laughed. "Are you going for a record, Piccolo? Or did you just give up on him?"

King Kai hadn't even thought it was possible to growl that loudly in one's own mind. Stop with the smart-ass remarks for once, the Namek snapped. The planet's in trouble right now, and we're going to need him. And that would require him learning the directions home. Can you help us or not?

"Well," the god began, tweaking his glasses, "I could contact him, but – "

NOW! The force behind the mental roar was enough to knock King Kai off his feet.

"All right! All right! I'll tell him," he grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet. "Sheesh. Kids these days. They don't know how good they've got it," he muttered to himself. Then he caught a hint of danger in the air, and he turned his body to face the east. "Oh, dear."

"Oh dear" what, old man? Piccolo growled.

"There seems to be a disturbance in the East Quadrant."

What does that have to do with us?

"It's headed your way. It seems to be searching for something." King Kai had to cover his mental ears as Piccolo let out a long string of curses. "Are you quite finished yet?" he asked after half a minute of foul language.

Fine. How long will it take them to get here?

"Mmm, I'm not sure. I would guess about eight days. Why?"

Will Goku be able to make it back to Earth in eight days?

"He should."

Good. With that, Piccolo severed his end of the link with King Kai.

The portly god grumbled some more to himself as he sat back down to his dinner. "That brat. He never had timing down. I was just about to tell him a joke, too."

"Are you sure he didn't do it on purpose?" Gregory teased. "Your jokes are getting old, King Kai."

"Oh, be quiet."

---

Piccolo opened his eyes at the same time Tien and Chiaotzu exhaled. "What was that all about?" Gohan asked. "Were you talking with my dad?"

The Namek shook his head. "No, kid. I was talking to King Kai."

"What did he have to say, Piccolo?" Yamcha asked, pushing his way past Master Roshi and Krillin. Piccolo, in turn, glanced over at Tien, the look on his face saying 'you do it'.

"Well, guys," Tien began, "there's some good news and some bad news."

A collective groan was issued forth from the group. "Great. What else is new?" Krillin asked, smacking his forehead.

"What's the good news?" Bulma asked.

"King Kai is contacting Goku as we speak, and he's going to tell him how to get home."

"Then what's the bad news?" she pressed.

"There's something following him home, and it's not good."

- - - - -

Again, thank you very much for reading. I'd appreciate it if you could let me know how I am doing so far. Questions, comments, queries, and whatever else are all welcome.

-thoughtful look crosses face- I've noticed that I seem to work better in the middle of the night. Hmm. Not that the fact is relevant. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up within a week, because I'll be back on a modem connection with very limited Internet time after that.

Dreamwraith