Chapter 7- Vegeta's Plea, Nightmare's End

"GOHAN! STOP THIS!"

"Goku…it's no use…nothing is getting through to him…", King Kai said, no trace of hope in his voice.

"NO! I've got to keep trying…"

"GOHAN!"

-On Earth-

Vegeta and Piccolo stood ready to attack Gohan. Standing in fighting stances, they readied themselves to fight a foe more powerful than both of them combined. Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiyan and Piccolo powered up to his limit.

"RAAAAAAAAH!", screamed Piccolo as he and Vegeta charged simultaneously. Gohan smirked and sidestepped with amazing speed, kicking Piccolo in the chest. The Namek went flying into a building, fell to the ground and didn't get up. Vegeta threw punches left and right with everything he had, but Gohan blocked everything. Gohan suddenly went on the offensive and started pummeling the Saiyan Prince with a volley of powerful punches. Vegeta fell backwards and stood. He started coughing and saw that his white gloves were stained with blood. His blood.

"You son of a bitch…", Vegeta muttered. He knew that he needed a senzu bean as soon as possible. Vegeta also realized he'd need to finish Gohan before that could happen.

"AAAAAAAH!", Vegeta yelled as he threw a spinning back kick to Gohan's head. Gohan caught the kick and held onto Vegeta's leg. The demi-Saiyan brought his elbow down on Vegeta's knee, breaking his leg with a sickening crack. Vegeta screamed in pain and Gohan kicked him in the chest. The Saiyan Prince flew and hit a wall, sliding down. Vegeta looked up at Gohan, his face bruised and bloody. Gohan smirked and charged up his Ki to one hand, walking towards Vegeta. Vegeta quickly formulated a plan in his head, hoping that Gohan still had any trace of a soul, and spoke quickly.

"No…Gohan…don't do this. For now, I care nothing for my own life, I care for yours. You cannot go down this path…this path that I myself have gone down. Anger, hatred, lies, jealousy. They will consume you. They will eat away at you until you hate everything you know…including the person you've become. This…I know firsthand…"

Gohan stopped in his tracks, the energy still pulsing from his hand. He looked shocked…as if he was sorry for what he did. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed again and he continued to slowly walk towards Vegeta.

"SHIT!"

Vegeta closed his eyes in anticipation of the blast, but opened them after nothing happened. His eyes widened when he saw Gohan thrashing around, growling. Piccolo had a firm grip on the demi-Saiyan's tail and was digging his razor-sharp nails into it. Gohan cried out in pain as he thrashed and Piccolo shot Vegeta a strained look. Gohan's tail squirmed in the Namek's hands. The look told Vegeta what he needed to do. Vegeta summoned the rest of his strength and fired a thin beam at the tail. Vegeta grunted as the thin, purple beam left his hand and pierced Gohan's tail, cleanly slicing it off. However, the angle at which the beam was shot caused it to travel through the tail and pass also through Piccolo's right thigh.

"UGH!", Piccolo grunted as he fell backwards, clutching Gohan's tail. Vegeta fell backwards, leaning against the wall. He opened his eyes and saw Piccolo grunt and sit up, his right thigh bleeding thick, purple blood.

"Two for one…"

Vegeta smirked and started to chuckle. Piccolo winced and stood, smiling.

"When he wakes up…he won't remember a damn thing.", Vegeta said, still smirking. Piccolo kneeled and picked up Gohan's limp body. Vegeta also stood and began to fly away, heading for Capsule Corp. Piccolo quickly looked at the Saiyan and shouted.

"Vegeta! All that you said to Gohan…was it true?"

The smile was wiped from Vegeta's face and he turned towards Piccolo.

"I told the whelp exactly what he needed to hear. I was hoping he had any trace of a soul left.", Vegeta explained, scowling. Piccolo chuckled quietly to himself and watched as Vegeta, still scowling, flew away and disappeared. The Namek looked down at his student. Gohan was dirty, but uninjured.

"Let's get you home, kid."

-Just a few blocks away-

Hercule Satan saw the kid fall unconscious. He saw the green man pick him up and fly away and he saw the other man fly away.

"Heh heh. Easy money."

Hercule rushed down from his hiding place and ran quickly to the spot of the battle. He stood in the rubble, a smirk on his face, waiting for the police cars to show up…

-On Snake Way-

Bubbles jumped up and down joyfully and Gregory cheered when King Kai smiled and told them that everything had been solved. Goku was smiling.

"You think Gohan will be ok?", King Kai asked. Goku chuckled.

"Of course. He's my son. I know he'll get through the sadness."

King Kai nodded, smiling and began to walk into the makeshift hut. Goku took a final look over the clouds and followed King Kai inside, the smell of food cooking already filling his nostrils…

-At the Son residence-

Chi-Chi was an inferno. Baby Goten watched as his mother paced back and forth, fuming and muttering to herself. She stopped in front of the child and spoke to him.

"Boy oh boy. When you're brother gets back, he's going to get it!"

Goten looked curiously at his mother and giggled, clapping his tiny hands.

"Gowan! Gowan!"

-Meanwhile, 20 feet away, in Gohan's room-

Piccolo quietly crept into Gohan's room, still holding the unconscious boy. He silently walked to Gohan's bed and set the sleeping demi-Saiyan down. Piccolo smiled at his slumbering student and backed up, accidentally running into Gohan's desk. The desk let out a low moan as it slid slightly on the wooden floor.

"Shit!"

Piccolo moved quickly to the window and climbed out, pressing himself against the side of the building. He heard Chi-Chi open the door and start her usual rant.

"GOHAN! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOUNG MAN! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE SIX HOURS AGO! AND LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE FILTHY!"

Gohan looked around, confused. He remembered seeing Piccolo, but after that, nothing.

"Mom, I-", Gohan tried to defend himself, but his mother cut him off.

"BUT NOTHING! DON'T MAKE EXCUSES! YOU ARE GROUNDED, MISTER!", Chi-Chi gave a final yell of frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

"Well, at least things are back to normal", Piccolo thought to himself. He peeked around the corner and saw Gohan, still in a state of shock, sitting on his bed. Piccolo decided to not tell Gohan what had happened. He turned and flew away from the Son house, towards the setting sun…

The End

Thanks to:
-MikoKrizty
-Vegetachik for her help with Vegeta's character (are you happy now!)
-CaptainTheBull- for helping with the title
-Suren (just cuz you're cool)