Chapter 15

Katrina's vision slowly began to focus until she could see clearly again. She looked up from where she lay and saw Piccolo towering over her, his arms crossed and a mean glare set on his face. "I was going to say that it's too dangerous, but you didn't listen."

"Well it worked, didn't it?" Katrina mumbled, sitting up. "We are inside you're mind, right?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes. "That's not the point." He uncrossed his arms and helped Katrina stand up. "The point is that you never listen to me...and you should."

"Well since we are both here, we should start looking." Katrina replied and walked past him into more darkness.

"Start looking for what?" Piccolo began to follow her. "We don't even know what to—"

"I do." Katrina interrupted. "You said you heard your father's voice, so we're looking for your father."

"Not to burst your bubble, Katrina," He started, "But my father is dead."

"Yes, to the outside world." Then she stopped and turned towards him. "But he's not dead in here." She reached out and touched his forehead, then turned back around and continued walking.

Piccolo shook his head. "Katrina, we are not going to find him in here."

Katrina stopped and sighed in aggravation. She turned around sharply. "Ok Mr. Pessimistic, if we're not going to find him, then just get us out of here and you can continue being miserable because I am not going to try and help you again."

Piccolo hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well...you see...I don't exactly know how to get us out of here..."

Katrina's eye twitched. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"This was all theoretical, I've never actually done this before."

"Then why bother teaching me about it?!" Katrina shouted.

"Well I didn't think you'd be that stupid as to try and pull it off!"

"Well you're the idiot that taught it to me while it was a theory!!!"

"I say you're both idiots for not sensing me come close." An eerie voice from the shadows called out. Suddenly, a huge orange blast came out of the darkness and nailed Piccolo. He flew backwards for a long time before the energy dissipated into the air.

Footsteps echoed off of the black nothingness until a figure came into view. Katrina put up her guard immediately until she could clearly see the culprit.

He looked very similar to Piccolo, but he looked older and some light wrinkles lined his brow. His skin was a shade darker than Piccolo's and his wardrobe was slightly different. Instead of Piccolo's dark, purple gi, this one had a dark blue gi with the Japanese symbol of Demon on the front.

"So you're King Piccolo..." Katrina said callously.

"And you're the girl that plague's my son's mind..." He replied with a sneer. "Yes, I have seen you all too often in here, Katrina. You might even say that my son—"

Suddenly, a huge yellow blast appeared from behind Katrina and hit King Piccolo hard. Piccolo limped up to Katrina's side. "That's for hitting me, old man." He grunted.

"You ok?" Katrina asked.

Piccolo nodded, but she could tell that he was lying.

King Piccolo recovered quickly. "Now was that really necessary son?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Was it necessary to take control of my mind earlier and tell me to kill everyone?"

"I'm only doing what I think is best for my son." The Demon Kind replied. Suddenly, he fired a quick blast at Katrina, who didn't have enough time to dodge it. It was powerful enough to knock her several feet away.

"Kat!!" Piccolo called out, but he turned his attention to the king. "You bastard!!" He roared and lunged at his father.

But King Piccolo stood his ground and smirked. He raised his hand out towards Piccolo and slightly closed his fingers. Piccolo immediately stopped in mid-flight and fell to the ground, screaming in pain and holding his head.

King Piccolo laughed, his hand still outstretched towards Piccolo. "You foolish boy, have you forgotten that I control half of your mind? You and that little cat friend of yours walked right into my trap, and now I can punish you for all that you've done!" His closed his fingers slightly more, and the effect on Piccolo was horrible. Tears ran down his face as the pressure on his head grew worse.

Katrina slowly stood up. Something in her changed when she heard her best friend's cries of agony. An overwhelming power flooded through her veins and she glared hatefully at King Piccolo. "You may be able to punish him, but you can't do the same to me!!" She flew at King Piccolo and landed a clean kick to his chest. He flew backwards and skidded on the ground.

The attack released the pressure on Piccolo and he was able to slowly stand up and walk over to Katrina. "Thanks..." He whispered, trying to catch his breath.

But King Piccolo stood back up and outstretched his hand once again. Piccolo fell to his knees in agony as the pressure continued.

"You just don't quit, do you!" Katrina shouted. She was about to attack him again when he interrupted her.

"If you come any closer, I'll kill him!" King Piccolo threatened.

Katrina narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare...if you kill him, you kill yourself!"

"Actually no, I wouldn't die." He replied. "I would become the dominant side and would be able to control him completely. You wouldn't want to see your precious friend be controlled by me, would you?"

Katrina looked down at Piccolo, who was still crying from his mind torture. Finally, she let her guard down and lowered her power level. "All right. You win..."

King Piccolo chuckled and lowered his hand. "I used to hear that a lot in my day, it's still so nice to hear...from the both of you..."

Katrina blinked. "Both of us...?" Suddenly, she was thrown into a strong headlock from behind. She struggled to keep breathing but it was a hard task. She was lifted up off of the ground, her feet kicking empty air. She managed to turn her head slightly but what she saw she didn't want to see. "P-Piccolo?! What...are you...doing?!?!"

His face was as stern as a stone, and his eyes held a tint of red emptiness.

King Piccolo laughed. "It seems that he's under the impression that if he didn't give in to me, I would kill you. Now where would he get that sort of idea from, hm?"

"You...you tricked us both!!" Katrina struggled to say, but Piccolo's headlock was too strong.

King Piccolo smirked as he came closer. "Well something had to be done. With you gone, my son will have no attachment to the outside world, enabling me to take his mind over at the peak of his depression. Then the world would once again fear the name King Piccolo, as it should!" He stopped when he reached them and laid a hand on Piccolo's arm. "Then he will have done his father proud..."

Suddenly, Piccolo loosened his headlock and he turned his head to look at King Piccolo. "Good plan, but there's one thing wrong with it..." He smirked, then uncurled one hand from his headlock and pointed it in King Piccolo's face. "I have no father..."

Then he unleashed a huge, white blast that decapitated King Piccolo. His body fell flat on the ground and his purple blood oozed out of his open neck.

Piccolo released Katrina from his hold, but she immediately fell to her knees and struggled for air. Piccolo kneeled down beside her and rested a hand on her quickly rising shoulders. "You'll be alright, Kat. Just take deep breaths..."

Suddenly, she shoved him on the ground and pinned him again. "If you EVER do that again, I will never forgive you." She hissed coldly.

Piccolo thought she was pretending again, so he began to laugh lightly. But when she didn't start laughing, he stopped. Instead, she stood up and walked away from him. Piccolo quickly stood back up and followed her. "Kat, I had to make him think that he was controlling me, otherwise I would have never got the chance."

"You could have told me." She spat back.

"I couldn't because he could have read our minds like open books."

"Is that the only reason for putting me in that headlock?" Katrina turned around sharply and eyed him.

"What are you talking about?" Piccolo asked while stopping in front of her.

"You've always said that I'm a pest and—"

"You actually take that seriously?" Piccolo raised an eye ridge at her. "I'm only kidding when I say that..."

Katrina stared at him coldly. "How do I know that's the truth?"

"Remember when my—I mean, King Piccolo said that if he killed you, I would have no attachment to the rest of the world?"

Katrina nodded and self-consciously rubbed her slightly sore neck.

"It was all true..." He replied.

Katrina looked into his eyes. "Really?"

Piccolo nodded, but then decided to chance the subject. "Now, let's see if we can find a way out of here..."

"Well...I was thinking about that too..." Katrina said, stepping closer towards him. "And I say, let's just leave the way we came in." And without another word, she rested a hand on his forehead and closed her eyes.

When she reopened them, she found herself at the familiar scenery of the clearing. Piccolo's cape was draped over her again, and it looked like the fire had died hours ago. Piccolo and Gohan were sparring nearby, but when he saw that she was awake, he stopped and sent Gohan on his way.

As he was walking over towards her, Katrina knew something had changed about him. He still looked the same, but something about his aura was a little different. It seemed lighter. Whatever it was, Katrina knew it was for the best. She stood up and met him as he walked over.

"I've got good news and bad news, so which do you want to hear first?" He said when he reached her.

"I don't care." Katrina shrugged.

"Well the good news is that King Piccolo no longer talks to me in my head, but the bad news is that I still have the urge to kill Gohan and will continue that urge if he doesn't stop asking me what happened last night."

Katrina giggled. "Don't kill him, we may need him for the battle."

"Yeah, that's the only thing that's stopping me." Piccolo grumbled. "He'll probably pester you too, so keep that in mind."

Katrina laughed and nodded. Then she lowered her tone and said, "So is he really gone?"

Piccolo sighed. "Well, he doesn't talk to me anymore, but I can still feel his presence in the back of my mind. I think I will for the rest of my life. As long as it never overwhelms me I think I'll be fine." Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a light green gem stone with a long string as a chain. "Here. It's a little thank you present." He stepped closer and tied the string behind her neck.

Katrina picked up the gem and stared at it in amazement. "It's beautiful." Then she looked back up at Piccolo and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "Thank you." She whispered.

Piccolo hesitated, but slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He buried his face in her shoulder and mumbled, "Thank you...for being there..."

Piccolo's grip tightened before he let go of her. He blushed slightly before turning away. Katrina still stared at him with a smile on her face. Suddenly, it faded and she looked around worriedly. "Piccolo?"

Piccolo turned around when he heard the fear in her voice. "What is it?"

"Where's Gohan?"