Author's Note: Ok, this started out as a humorous fic, but somehow it has suddenly become a tear-jerker! For me anyway….Oh dear me…..what have I done? I hope everyone makes it through this chapter….cause I've put in a LOT of emotion. (Wonder where all these emotions are coming from?…hum.. ….) Please, let me know if you are liking my fic….thanks—Sherri.
Three Rivers of HopeChapter Seven
Krillin told Gohan that Kami's request was to gather the Dragonballs. He would give the warriors no more information, other than it was a personal and private matter.
Gohan couldn't help but believe it had something to do with Piccolo's children. It was all too much of a coincidence. The sun would be up in about two hours, and his day of studying would begin again. Gohan decided that this might be his only chance to find out the truth. Quietly, he got up and dressed, exiting out his window as to not wake his mother.
He flew directly to the Lookout, thinking that Kami would be easier to get answers from than Piccolo.
Gohan landed, the Lookout utterly quiet. He stepped carefully, not wanting to cause any noise, but was startled as Kami revealed himself from the shadows.
"It is extremely early for you to be out, young man." Kami said.
The Saiyan boy jumped and grabbed his chest. "Gosh, Mr. Kami, sir. You scared me!"
Kami smiled. "Why are you here?"
"I want to know what is going on. Why do you need the Dragonballs?" He asked bluntly.
The Guardian shook his head "As I told the others, this is a private matter. All I ask is their assistance in locating the Dragonballs, the rest will be up to me."
"It has to do with Piccolo's children, doesn't it?" Gohan asked him. "Tell me, please."
Kami had not realized that anyone else knew of the girls. "Piccolo told you of them?"
"I met them, earlier. They are amazing aren't they?!" Gohan seemed so excited.
The Namek knew this was true. Those little girls had so much potential, so much hope. He felt more pain and sorrow, knowing what was ahead, than he had ever experienced in his long and unpredictable life. "They are an asset to this world." Kami agreed.
"So, what is it?" Gohan pushed. "Is Piccolo having a problem being a daddy?"
The words Piccolo and daddy in the same sentence made Kami grin. "You could say that." He said. "But, soon, it will all be over."
Gohan was desperately curious. "What? What will be over?" Suddenly, Gohan had an awful feeling of dread. "He won't kill them? Will he?"
Kami did not know how to answer. No, Piccolo was not going to murder his children. But, by preventing their birth, it still felt as if a death was pending. "Perhaps, you should spend some time with Piccolo." Kami said. "Get to know the girls." Kami turned around and walked back to his shadowy hiding place.
Not having gotten the answers he wanted, Gohan swallowed hard and left. His only chance at finding out the truth was to confront Piccolo.
Rhyne was still asleep in Piccolo's lap. Rikola by his side, her tiny hand resting on his leg. But, Rideria had chosen to be alone. She finally drifted off just a while ago, her head leaned up against the cave's stonewall. Piccolo could sense her thoughts and emotions, so much anguish and turmoil. It seemed to be happening just as it did with him as a child. Her mind was being slowly overrun with evil; desires of destruction would be next. The tiny beating of her heart would soon be the only proof that she was a living being and not a monster without a soul. His first- born child seemed destined to finish the horrible chain of events that Piccolo had willfully abandoned.
How could he have not known this would happen? Piccolo had never considered it a possibility. Yes, his own memories, but not Damioh's as well. It was a horrible legacy. Piccolo realized that there would never…..never…be another offspring from the bloodline of Damioh. Not as soon as the girls were…..gone. He looked down at Rhyne, stroking her bald head with his forefinger. She seemed to be as innocent and full of goodness as Gohan. How could these three have developed from the same egg, and yet be so different? Obviously, Rideria got the lion's share of the negative memories, but some were passed down to Rikola as well. But, not Rhyne. She seemed beautifully unaware of any evil, which surrounded her.
Piccolo was so deep in thought, watching Rhyne sleeping; he was completely unaware that Gohan was watching him. Only the sound of Gohan's steady breathing gave him away. Piccolo looked up. "What do you want?" He asked quietly.
"You know why I'm here. I want the truth." Gohan said, his face full of resolve. "I will not leave until I know."
Very carefully, Piccolo moved, laying Rhyne on the dirt floor next to Rikola. He flew outside beside Gohan.
"It is none of your concern." Piccolo said angrily. "Now leave. I have nothing to discuss with you."
"Don't kill them." Gohan said, as if he knew the plan. "Please, Piccolo! They are a part of you!"
Piccolo's eyes filled with so much pain, Gohan didn't know how to react.
"That's why they must not be born." He said, not quite as angrily. "It is the part, which is like me, that will destroy them if they are allowed to remain."
"No." Gohan said. "Don't even think about it." He continued firmly. "Piccolo, you have been there for me even when my own father wasn't." Gohan chocked back a lump that had formed in his throat.
Piccolo stared at the young Saiyan, but could not speak.
"Yes, my daddy came looking for me. And he would have died to save me." Gohan said, suddenly seeming older than his tender seven years. "But, he's not the one who died…..it was you. To save…. me. Not because I shared your blood, not because I was destined to be a protector of Earth….because you….cared."
"DAMN IT GOHAN! SHUT UP!" Piccolo screeched. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOUR NONSENSE!"
"NO!" Gohan shouted back, stunning the Namek. "I will not shut up! You love those girls! I see it in your eyes!" Gohan continued yelling back at Piccolo, who was speechless at the boy's audacity. "That's why the Dragonballs are being collected! You are going to wish that they were never born!" Gohan was shocked. "You can't do it! I won't let you!" Gohan suddenly became angry.
"You have no say in the matter." Piccolo managed finally.
"Yes I do." Gohan said. "Those girls deserve to know what a great man they have as a dad! They need to see you as I do!"
Suddenly, a question that Piccolo had wondered for so long flowed from his lips. "And how do you see me, Gohan?"
The Saiyan boy's lip quivered just slightly. "As a father."
His words were like razors to Piccolo's heart.
"As much a father as…as my own dad. Maybe more." Gohan said, unable to hold back his tears any longer. "You trained me. You made me who I am right now, at this moment. No one else. Whatever good I am destined for, it is because you saw fit to take a snot nosed kid into the desert and make a man out of him."
Piccolo's fight was over. He looked at Gohan, and yes, he saw more of a man than a boy. "You did it yourself, kid." Piccolo told him.
But Gohan shook his head. "No. You did it." He said. "Don't get me wrong, I love my dad. He's the greatest! And I know he loves me." Gohan wiped away a few stray tears as he began to take control of his emotions. "But you…..no one could take your place. Ever." Gohan flew closer to the cave. "Have the same faith in yourself as their teacher, as you had being my teacher."
"You don't understand the difference." Piccolo said. "Rideria, the oldest…she has inherited a great deal of…of evil from my sire."
Gohan looked back at him. "The one who tried to kill my dad?"
Piccolo nodded. "I cannot release that wickedness onto the planet….not again."
"You said once that you were alone until I came along." Gohan reminded him. "So, make sure they do not grow up alone. Let them have friends, family…people that care….And I'll be there for you, helping you train them! I promise! Together, we can do anything…just you and me!"
Piccolo did not know what to say. This mess all started because of the friendship and love he had developed for Gohan. Now, he felt the same love for the small girls who had turned his life upside down. What would he do?
Kami felt the approach of Krillin and Tien shortly after Gohan had left.
"We got 'em!" Krillin said, sitting down a brown bag, which held seven golden Dragonballs.
"Thank you." Kami said. "You'll never know how much I appreciate your help."
"But, you still won't tell us why you need them?" Tien asked.
The Guardian shook his head. "No."
Tien looked at Krillin. "Well, I guess if you don't need us anymore, we'll head home." Krillin said finally. "You know where to find us!"
As they left, Kami felt a heaviness on his heart. The sun would be up soon, so it was better to summon the Dragon in the darkness of night so as not to alert any unsuspecting Earthling. He reached down and took the Dragonballs out of the bag, sitting them on the tile floor of the Lookout.
"You are really going to do this?" Mr. Popo was in his pajamas, standing a few feet behind the Namek.
"I have no choice." Kami said. "Piccolo's evil cannot be resurrected on this planet…on any planet. And without his guidance, the girls have no chance. Their evil would surface and consume their souls."
Mr. Popo dropped his head downward, tears filling his eyes. "I wish I could have met them." He said, sniffling.
Kami sighed. "It would be easier for me if I had not. For even after this deed is done, I will forever remember their faces."
"I'm sorry." Popo said.
"I am the Guardian of Earth." Kami said. "Therefore, this is my duty."
He raised his hands upward, summoning Earth's Dragon.
THANKS FOR READING!!! PLEASE REVIEW FOR ME AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU CRIED LIKE I DID!!! sniffle
Sherri