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Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Dragonball Z or any of its characters. Only this idea and the story with it are mine.

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait, my writer's block has been horrible and my muse ran away... If you're reading this Casey you'd better email me. I mean it! Anyway on with the story.

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Ch. 3: Those that matter most

AN2: WARNING!!! WARNING!!! OOC ALERT!!! OOC ALERT!! Some characters may be out of character for a little while in this chapter. Also keep in mind the age of Piccolo's son in this story. Also I'm giving Piccolo a last name for plot's sake. Thank you for your patience and enjoy.

DBZ World, 2 months later

(Danny)

Time had not eased the pain. The Special Forces were drifting apart. Despite this fact the two families hit the hardest by Kim and Jeri's disappearances held together. All they had left was each other. He wasn't the only one with an upset father. Rena's was distant as well.

Danny could tell that his father was close to a breakdown. Ever since his mother's disappearance his father had been very distant and broody. When they'd come home after the tournament Danny was left to fend for himself while his father vented his pent up emotions training. That had become routine for a few weeks there. Then they'd started going to visit Gohan during the day, but at night his father would leave to train.

Today he almost wished his father would go train. Anything was better than seeing the hopeless look on his dad's normally emotionless face. He'd never seen his father this way before. It was almost like all the life had been drained out of him.

Deciding that he'd had enough of his father's brooding mood Danny stood up, walked over to where his silent father sat on the window seat, tugged on the Namekian's pant leg, and said, "Dad, will you come outside with me? It's really nice outside today."

Haunted onyx eyes focused on him. "Not today, Danny. I'm not in the mood."

Tears sprang into dark brown eyes. Then anger exploded from the normally mellow child. "You never have time for me anymore!"

The outburst finally breached the thick wall of grief that had surrounded Piccolo's mind and heart.

Shifting to stare at his young son Piccolo said, "Danny...."

He never had a chance to finish.

"What?! It's true! Ever since mommy was taken from us you've been ignoring me!"

Anger gave way to sorrow as he continued, "Did you stop wanting to be my daddy? Did I do something to make you hate me?"

(Piccolo)

He couldn't believe his ears. Had he really pushed his own son to such extreme thinking? If so had he pushed away everyone else the same way? Everything was so hazy now; he could hardly remember his behavior over the past few months.

Clearing his throat slightly he said, "Don't even think such things, son. I'd never abandon you like that. You're all I have left now."

Then why can't you even look at me! Do you hate me that much?!"

Kneeling down so that he was on the child's eye level he said, "Daniel Koji Daemino(sp?)! I can't believe you just said that. I don't hate you, I never could."

Again Danny voiced his previous question. "Why can't you look at me, dad?"

He had hoped to bypass answering that particular question. Well there was no helping it now. He'd just have to be honest about it.

(AN: OOC ALERT!)"Danny..." He let out a low exhale then continued, "It's just so hard to think straight right now. You and your mother are my whole world and with her gone a part of my world is falling down around my ears. When I look at you I can see your mother in you and it tears at my heart. You have her eyes and some of her facial expressions. I can't stand being away from her so I try to distance myself from anyone that reminds me of her, even you."

"Do you love us?"

He gathered his young son in his arms then stood up and said, "I thought I already made that clear. I love both of you very much and I'd move heaven and earth to keep you both safe." (AN: END OCC ALERT!)

Slowly the sound of laughter drifted up to his keep ears. Danny was laughing at him.

"What's so funny? I was being serious."

"I know you were, dad."

Danny then fell over laughing in his father's arms. "I can't believe you just said that aloud. My macho, bad-ass father actually saying the 'L' word aloud."

Piccolo stared at his son for all of a minute before he too started laughing softly. If one thought about it a moment, it was pretty funny. After a while he regained his composure and shifted Danny onto his shoulder.

"You are a miracle. I didn't think anything could make me come out of the mood I was in, yet you did so with just a few simple words."

A bright smile was his answer. Then his sweet natured son climbed down to the floor and said, "It seemed to be what you needed to hear. Rena told me once that saying something funny during an emotionally tense situation could sometimes dispel the situation. I guess she was right."

Piccolo made a quick mental note to thank Vegeta's daughter for teaching Danny that. He knew his kind hearted son would never have been able to pull him out otherwise. Danny was just like that. He didn't fight things the way most of the people around him did. If a serious battle broke out among the Special Forces he would calm everyone down with soft suggestions for a compromise to the situation.

Coming out of his thoughts Piccolo looked down at his son and said, "Danny lets go outside. I'm tired of being cooped up in here anyway."

The boy just sat there with a blank look in his eyes.

"Danny?"

Still there was no response. Concern filtered into his normally expressionless eyes onyx eyes as he tried to get his son's attention again.

"Danny."

This time he knelt down to the four-year-old's eye level and raised his voice slightly.

"Danny."

His voice had barely died in the air when Danny's small form shimmered once, twice, three times then faded from existence.

"Danny!"

His voice had taken on a near panicked note by this time. He could not bear to loose him, not now. Letting a long string of curses to show his frustration and rising ill ease, Piccolo quickly composed himself and left the house.

(AN: I know I said they lived on the lookout, but I needed them to have a home of there own so I moved them. Sorry for any confusion. Back to the story.)

He would not give up. It was not in his nature to do so. His family was out there somewhere without his protection and he intended to find them.

As he flew into the air Piccolo noticed that the area around his home was changing. The small capsule house he had gotten for his family disappeared as if it had never been there. Only short remained where it once had stood. Shaking his head in disbelief at what he had just witnessed Piccolo blasted off in a different direction.

He had only traveled a few miles when he collided, full force, into the saiyan prince. Both fighters plummeted several hundred feel before righting themselves, moving away from each other, and stopping their fall. After the saiyan prince had righted himself he started growling at Piccolo.

Growling right back at the saiyan Piccolo said, "I don't have time for this, Vegeta. I have to find my son."

Vegeta tensed noticeably. With a slight shift in his stance he said, "Then Rena's not with your boy?"

"No. She hasn't been over today."

The prince shook his head in obvious confusion.

Noticing the strange behavior from the saiyan Piccolo said, "Isn't she at home?"

"I wouldn't be here if she were! She was in the front yard and she just disappeared. I thought she had teleported somewhere."

"Not likely. Danny disappeared too. Besides, you and I both know Rena is too young to teleport. Too young to be taught to anyway."

Vegeta nodded. "I know that, but if she didn't teleport....then what did happen?"

"Did Angel disappear as well?"

"Hai. He was over at Kakorot's earlier training with Goten. I called to find out if he was still there he didn't come home for lunch. Gohan told me that he had left hours ago. Something about teleporting. The thing is...."

Piccolo caught on to the other fighter's train of thought. "Angel can't teleport yet either."

"Hai."

Shifting his position in the air Piccolo said, "Did your house suddenly disappear as if it had never even been there?"

"Hai."

"We'd better get the others."

"Why?"

"Something is about to happen, something big, I can feel it."

Without another word the two fighters blasted off in two different directions. One was heading to Goku's to inform the saiyan and his family of what was happening. The other went to Capsule Corp, the best place to gather for a meeting during times of chaos.

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That's it.
Sorry for the long wait.
Please read and review.

Next time on Dragonball Z: The Special Forces gather for what has promised to be a very awkward experience. Children are disappearing left and right and nobody knows why. On top of this Trunks decides to tell the others of his true identity. Find out more on the next exciting episode of Dragon ball Z!