The shrieks do not stop with Slug's passing. Guru watches on, unsure as to why the planet has not quelled. "I fear we may have been too late."
Piccolo is too lost in mourning to respond to the grand elder. His hands clasp the arm, cradling it close. The dragon balls surround him like eggs that will never hatch. It isn't until the sound of rolling meets his ears that Piccolo breaks from his trance. His eyes glance to his side as several more dragon balls knock into the rest.
"Huh?"
Both Guru and Piccolo jolt their heads into the direction of the stairway. The massive cloud of Demon Fire bursts like a bomb. Standing with those flames is the girl Piccolo barely recognizes.
"V-Videl! You're alive!" Piccolo doesn't hold his tears back.
Her hazey wide eyes peer into Piccolo's like an otherworldly monster. "Are you ready, Piccolo?" She rolls the last dragon ball across the room.
Videl gasps when Piccolo's foot stops it. He takes a moment before shaking his head. "I don't deserve this wish. It belongs to the grand elder." He slides the dragon ball back into her foot.
Videl's face is slow to react. It eventually sinks into a sickly smile. "That slimeball got what was coming to him. He broke his promise. I don't care what happens to this planet anymore."
Piccolo's jaw drops. He can't comprehend the words that come out of her mouth. It's then that his mind picks up on the obvious details in front of him. Those flames completely engulf her, and yet she doesn't burn. "Videl, what's happened to you?"
Videl ignores his words. "Piccolo, I used to think of you as a friend." She rolls the ball back, once again it's stopped by Piccolo.
"You are my friend." He rolls it back to her.
"You turned your back on me. You threw me away, just like everyone else." Piccolo, Cui, Guru, Moori, ...Cargo, all of them turned their backs. The dragon ball rolls back across, once again stopped.
"Videl..." The ball stays planted in place. He's ashamed. He doesn't want to hurt the girl in front of him. "I'm sorry, this whole thing is so messed up."
"So now you're sorry for me?"
"Please, Videl, forgive me. You were right, I shouldn't have abandoned you."
That word hits her. "...It's okay Piccolo, I've abandoned you too." The little devil bursts from the storm of flame, dashing for the dragon ball. A blazing trail is left in her wake.
Piccolo kicks it away. It lands just out of reach of it's six brothers.
"Ahhhhh!" The girl leaps after it.
Piccolo's arms stretch just far enough. They grasp her waist and pull her back. "Grand Elder Guru! Do it! Make your wish!"
The grand elder waddles over with great strain.
"Pic-co-lo!" She thrashes in his arms, furious.
Guru grabs hold of the four starred dragon ball. His sorrowful eyes look back to the fighting friends.
"What are you waiting for! Save Namek!"
Guru wants to do it. He wants to save his world with all his might, just like back then, back when he made that terrible wish. In the end he just stands there, watching the two struggle. He knows the strife cannot end by simply wishing it away.
Videl bites down on Piccolo's arm as hard as she can. Pain seers through the Namekian.
"Videl, stop it!"
"Let me go! Let me go right now!" Her anger builds alongside her ferocity. Piccolo's blood covers her mouth. "This is all your fault!"
Piccolo doesn't give in. He can't give in.
"You told me! You told me you would bring my father back! You lied to me Piccolo!" Pain accompanies her hatred.
"I know I did." Tears trickle down his cheeks.
"It's all your fault!" She repeats herself. "He wouldn't be dead if you didn't let him down!" Her sobbing becomes equal to her fury.
Piccolo's arms suddenly grip her so tight that they nearly crush her. "Videl…" Her words, he doesn't know if she really means it, but it doesn't matter. He already blamed himself for what happened that day.
Guru nearly comes to tears himself. Thankfully he's distracted, when the whole ledge of the tower begins to glow. Hundreds of dragon heads peer over.
The two don't respond to the encroaching death. Their battle is all that matters. Videl's arms and legs continue to kick and punch. Piccolo uses all his strength to keep her from moving.
"Why! Why are you stopping me! Why can't you let me have my daddy!"
"I lost my dad too!" His heart clenches. "I lost my dad too. We lost them, and we're not getting them back."
"You didn't lose anything! You just went and got yourself a new one!" She grips Piccolo's antennas with both her hands. She pulls down on them with all her might. The pain is nearly unbearable for Piccolo, but he pushes through it.
The memory of Slug flashes before his mind. He hadn't even finished grieving. "I did, and I lost that too! That doesn't give me the right to steal from these people!"
"I, I don't care! I don't care about any of them!"
Fear and sorrow build in Guru. Time has run out. The heads of horror rise into the air, screeching as they do. In a moment, all of them will die. He looks down toward the dragon ball in his hand. The cries and struggles of the two in front of him ring in his mind. He realizes there is a way that he can stop this.
The old elder walks toward the edge of the spire. Videl and Piccolo momentarily stop fighting to watch him. Both are surprised by what he does. In front of Guru, a dozen heads converge into one. A magnificent and terrible monster stares him down. He lifts the dragon ball above his head like an offering.
"Hear me Namek! The source of your pain, of everyone's pain, I hold it in my hands!"
The dragon growls so loudly that it shakes the tower. It opens it's jaws, displaying a thousand molten teeth.
"Nooo!" Videl screams as loud as her lungs let her.
"Guru!" The sight overwhelms Piccolo. His focus withdraws from the girl.
When her teeth chomp down, Piccolo is unprepared. His arms give way, allowing her to escape. Videl bolts across the roof on all fours. She's not about to give up.
Guru catches sight of her as she approaches. He too is committed to his actions. For her sake, for Piccolo's sake, and for his own sake, he must end it here. The first time the calamity came, he saved nobody. This time, he will save these two.
Videl leaps through the air, desperate to save the dragon ball. She's almost surprised when her hands touch it. It's not too late. She tells herself. I can still bring him back. I can still fix this! She feels Piccolo's hand clasp her ankle. A moment later she's pulled back into the ground. The dragon ball is no longer in her grasp.
She hears it. The sound of teeth against flesh. Piccolo sees it. The jaws shut on the grand elder. They envelop him completely.
Thud.
A round stone hits the ground. It rolls over to the girl. She doesn't have to look up to know it's useless now. The child's will is already broken. The shrieks cease to meet their ear and the planet's tendrils return to stone. Even the flames of the tower begin to fade. Only the cold howling wind remains.
A deep sobbing takes control of Videl. She nearly chokes on her tears. "D-Daddy…" her lips struggle to make the words come out.
Piccolo's ears hear her. Their minds share a common self loathing. In cleansing his own consciousness, Guru had made permanent their guilt. The grand elder had saved their lives, but in return, they had saved no one.
"...I" Her sorrow now outweighs any hatred. "I couldn't make it right." The shell that she formed around herself crumbles. It wasn't about resurrecting her father, not really. She wanted the same thing Piccolo wanted, the same thing Guru wanted. She wanted to undo the horrors that she can barely comprehend. She wanted to save herself from what she'd become.
She can't speak a word more. Her body can only wail. She cries until she passes out. The words hit Piccolo as hard as they do her. They had both failed in every regard. Now they lay alone, fading on a dead world.
Eventually, Piccolo picks up the sleeping child. With Slug's arm strung on his back, he makes his way down the tower. The temperature had lowered once more. His suit no longer fully protects him from the chilling cold. He slowly wanders the desolate wasteland in search of escape. Each attack pod he finds is already ruined.
Every step he takes buckles his knees. The girl in his arms shivers in her sleep, despite his efforts to keep her warm. The darkness makes it difficult to navigate. For all he knows, he could be going in circles.
A faint light blinks through the dusty winds. Hope. Piccolo's legs move at twice their capacity. The still active attack pod comes into view. He nearly goes right through it, bracing himself against its exterior. The door is already open, as if waiting for his arrival. He doesn't hesitate to crawl inside.
He searches for the controls frantically while Videl coughs in his lap. Her tiny body instinctively clutches him. Then, Piccolo hears it. Between his frantic breaths, footsteps. He looks out into the land of regrets. A once proud Namekian warrior stands alone, completing his final responsibility in solitude. A body is cradled in his arms. A younger Namekian, no longer moving.
His eyes meet Piccolo's. They don't harbor any hatred. His heart is past that. The lack of judgment only deepens Piccolo's guilt. A moment later, he sets off and back into the darkness. Not long after, the sound of digging trails in the wind.
Piccolo closes the hatch shut. The little ship soon shoots through the sky. The madness had finally ended, but the sorrow it brought still remains. He cradles Videl with his arms to comfort himself.
"...Piccolo." Her mouth pouts open. She's still half asleep as she mutters painfully, trembling as she does. "I hurt people. I, I hurt them real bad."
Piccolo can't bear it. "Me too." His tears mingle with her own.
"I want to die."
"Me too."
After stroking her back to sleep, Piccolo stares out the window. The person he'd hurt most of all rests on his lap. His burden weighs too heavy. The destination is altered while the girl slumbers, he cannot possibly return to his home as he is.
Piccolo drops himself off on the nearest rock. After crawling out, he gives Videl one final look. He wishes there was something more he could do for her, but this is the best he can manage. The shuttle relatches and disappears into the sky. Now carrying a single passenger, it resumes its course for Earth unimpeded.
Far, far away, beyond the mortal realm, a trio finishes observing. Standing on a tiny planet at the end of snake way are King Kai, Goku, and Mr. Satan.
"Wow, what a crazy adventure." Goku says so with a mostly neutral attitude. "I coulda done without all the crying, but I'm glad Piccolo was able to make it out okay. How come they had to be so dramatic?"
"Because they're five, Goku." A more sullen King Kai responds.
"Huh, weird. Anyway, what I don't get is the Namekian dragon balls grant three wishes right? They could have stopped the calamity, brought back the Namekians, and brought us back too. How come they didn't just do that?"
"You wouldn't understand, Goku."
"Yeah, I guess not." It's then that goku realizes Mr. Satan is no longer beside him. "Hey, Satan where are you going?" Goku rushes over to the father of Videl. He stands on the edge of Snake Way, overlooking the abyss beyond.
"It's Mark."
"Huh?"
"My name. It's always been Mark. Satan is just a stupid stage name. Damn government marked it as an official name change."
Finally sensing Mr. Satan's depression, Goku changes his attitude. "So what's on your mind?"
"My little girl's going to hell."
"Oh? Yeah that's bummer, guess it's kinda hard to fix that. Though they do both have plenty of time. I'm sure she'll come around before King Yemma lays the smack on her."
Mr. Satan shakes his head. "She's going to hell. I have to accept that."
Goku finally drops his optimism. His face now shares Satan's sorrow. "So what's next?"
"If my little girl's going to hell, I'm just going to have to beat her to it."
"Huh? What do you mean? You're already dead."
Mr. Satan lifts himself onto the ledge. "I'll make sure that when she gets there, my mighty arms are the first things that greet her! Goku, I swear by the name of Satan, hell's going to be her heaven!"
With a mighty leap, he launches himself into the cloudy abyss. He disappears into it, never to return.
The miserable journey to resurrect their fathers ends in failure. The course of their lives has forever been altered. Piccolo starts his lonely journey. He doesn't know what he seeks in his solitude, but he won't forgive himself until he finds it.
All the while, sleeping in a tiny spacecraft, Videl zooms across the cosmos. Soon she will awaken on the planet she calls home, but it will not be the world she remembers.
End of Part 2