Oh my god, I am so sorry this took so long. I'm on summer break and was just having a grand time with the horses and all that, so this got pushed back quite a bit. Hope you all have had a fantastic summer!
"Piccolo! PICCOLO!" Krillin's voice broke into the Namekian's subconscious, and he opened his eyes slowly.
The boy. Where was the boy?
"Piccolo, get up. We've gotta leave now!" Krillin said urgently.
He sat up instantly. "What's happening?" he asked, looking around, his eyes scanning frantically for Gohan. "Where is he?" he asked now, pushing himself to his feet.
"He and Vegeta went completely ballistic. It was crazy. They started to attack Frieza, got him on the rebound, and then these ships landed and-"
"WHERE IS HE?" Piccolo finally snapped.
"Th-they're over there. Vegeta's in bad shape. Gohan's trying to revive him," Krillin stammered, pointing to an outcropping of rocks.
Weight lifted off Piccolo's chest instantly and he let out a sigh of relief. Then, as his senses opened up once more, he felt a very large ki presence in the area; one that made Frieza's appear small. He was moving towards the boy before he was even aware his feet were moving, Krillin's plaintive "hey!" lost behind him.
Gohan's head jerked up at the sound of Piccolo coming towards him. "We're out of senzu beans," he said, gesturing to Vegeta. The Saiyan looked awful, his skin ashen, blood coming out of his nose and spattered around his mouth.
"What happened?"
"I don't remember much, honestly. I was able to get him away from Frieza and we double teamed him for a while, and then there was this explosion... well...look," he said, pointing past the rocks.
Sure enough, there were two Saiyan pods not too far from them, with a scarred man, who seemed oddly familiar, standing beside it, watching in the distance. Piccolo followed his gaze and saw Frieza fighting for his life against a large man with wild golden hair, who was having no trouble fighting off the behemoth.
"Only those my brother deemedimportantsurvived. The young Prince Vegeta, heir to the throne," the orb showed a young boy, then evolved into the obvious adult version, a shorter man with tall, spiked hair, "his two subordinates, Nappa," a large bald man appeared, "and Raditz," there was Goku's brother in the orb now, "the legendary and his father," a man with one eye and his son, who looked almost nothing like a Saiyan at all, with brilliant blue eyes and golden hair wildly sticking out in all direction, "and of course, Kakarott, or the one you know as Goku," and there he was, smiling in his goofy way.
Only those Amat deemed important...
A legend will save you.
The legendary, Broly, and his father, Paragus...
He then heard Tsuki's voice in his head. "You must flee now, Piccolo. He will not stop at Frieza. He will kill all of you, and soon. Leave."
"Time to go, kid," Piccolo said lowly.
"What? Why?" Gohan asked in confusion.
"Because we're next on the hit list. Come on," he urged, turning away.
"I can't leave Vegeta," Gohan said stubbornly.
"Sure you can," Piccolo replied. "Just walk away. He would do the same to you."
"I won't."
Piccolo made a low noise deep in his throat. "Fine," he relented, turning and walking back to the fallen Saiyan. "Come on. Up. We've got to leave."
Vegeta's head snapped up and he fixed a woozy gaze on the Namekian. "The Legendary Super Saiyan...he is here..." he choked out, blood dribbling down his chin.
"Yeah, which is why we've got to leave. Now," Piccolo stated, bending down and slinging one of the Saiyan's arms around his neck. "Grab his other arm, kid. Let's get out of here." Gohan floated up and slung Vegeta's other around his own shoulders and kept pace as Piccolo walked with large strides back to Krillin.
"What's the plan?" Krillin asked, falling into step with them.
"We're leaving," Piccolo said sharply.
"I like this plan very much," Krillin said, obviously relieved.
Behind them, a resonating boom! sounded, followed by the sound of crumbling earth. Piccolo snuck a backwards glance, only to see a chasm where he and the boy had been not moments before. Lava began to spew from it, and the cold laughter from the Super Saiyan filled the air.
"The Legend...the Legend..." Vegeta mumbled almost incoherently, hanging limply between Gohan and Piccolo.
"Time to pick up the pace, kid," Piccolo muttered, and he took to the sky and flew briskly in the direction of their ship, keeping a sharp ear tuned for sounds of Broly's approach. Krillin flew slightly ahead of them, rocketing for the ship and Bulma.
Behind them, there were louder noises of destruction and upon looking down, Piccolo could see the ground was beginning to crack and split.
When the ship finally came into view, they descended. Krillin ran into the ship, yelling for Bulma to start the ship engines and get them the hell out of there. Piccolo and Gohan shuffled Vegeta up the ramp and closed it behind them.
Bulma was already at the controls, pressing buttons and pulling levers like a mad woman. Krillin was already buckled into a seat, drumming his fingers impatiently on the armrests. Piccolo plopped Vegeta on the couch, while Gohan was more careful about setting him down gently. He then ushered the boy into the other empty chair, bidding him to buckle in. He glanced out the window and noticed mountains crumbling and new ones forming as the tectonic plates of the planet shifted angrily. He gripped the back of Gohan's chair tightly.
The ship dipped downward slightly.
"Bulma, any time now would be good!" Krillin yelped.
"Working on it, nimrod!" she snapped back.
"Piccolo..." Gohan whispered, reaching up and grabbing the Namekian's hand tightly.
"It's okay, kid. We're getting out of here."
"We're up and running! Everyone hold on! This is going to be a bumpy ride!" Bulma exclaimed, thrusting one more level. The ground fell out from beneath them and Gohan's grip on Piccolo's hand became so tight, it was painful.
He looked out the window once more and saw the planet falling into shambles, the ground seemingly a fiery pit.
Two Saiyan pods whirred past them.
Broly and Paragus made it off the planet. Frieza surely had not.
The ship rumbled and sputtered as it tried to shoot past the atmosphere, creaking and shuddering the whole way, though Bulma looked as though she expected thus. Finally, they were out of the torrential atmosphere and the ascent smoothed out as the space around them blackened. Krillin and Gohan let out a tandem sigh of relief.
Krillin unbuckled his seatbelt and stood. "Well, good work guys. Now if you don't mind, I have really got to use the bathroom..." And with that, he scurried away.
Gohan unbuckled himself as well and sat for just a few moments, just breathing. "I got dibs on the bathroom after Krillin!" he said finally.
"What the hell happened to him?" Bulma asked quietly, causing the two to turn to look at her where she stood over an unconscious Vegeta. She brushed her hand lightly over his forehead.
"Oh, Frieza beat him up really bad, but then we got the upper hand, I think...Then, then this huge guy with crazy blond hair crash landed in front of us and practically beat Vegeta to a pulp! All he said was Kakarott over and over and he just kept hitting Vegeta... Kakarott. That was my dad's Saiyan name, wasn't it?" Gohan asked.
"I believe so, yes," Piccolo replied.
"Why would he call out his name? Vegeta looks nothing like my dad...And the other guy, the one with the scar and one eye, he was giving the big guy the directions. Told him to 'kill the prince' and then 'the monster who destroyed a near perfect race'. It was confusing. Frieza jumped in and it all just got crazy. I barely dragged Vegeta out of there..."
"You did well, Gohan. You really did," Piccolo said softly, placing his hand on the boy's head.
The boy flashed him a brilliant smile. "Bulma, is he going to be okay?" he asked, gesturing to Vegeta.
"Sure he will, kiddo. I'll fix him right up. Just need my first aid kit. I can't believe you guys ran out of senzu beans already."
"There weren't a lot left," Krillin explained, coming out of the bathroom. "All yours, Gohan. I need to shower once you're done, though not as badly as you do... Kid, take a shower while you're in there, yeah?"
Gohan wrinkled his nose at him and stuck his tongue out. "Meany."
With Krillin's help, Bulma managed to get the armor and suit off Vegeta, leaving him in his shorts. She began to sponge his sickly pale skin off with water, wiping away the blood, sweat, and dirt. He winced slightly several times, but gave no notion of waking up.
Piccolo watched her neutrally as she began to bandage him up carefully, skillfully. He marveled slightly at how, for the second time, she had tended to him diligently and without prejudice even though it was on his orders her love was killed.
"So...we're short two rooms..." Krillin said absently. "I mean, you obviously need your own room, Bulma. Vegeta likely won't share with anyone..."
"I'll stay out here with Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said, exiting the bathroom in one of the fluffy white robes Bulma kept in there. "He doesn't lay down, and I can sleep on the couch."
"That works. So I'm just gonna say, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to take the world's fastest shower and then I'm passing out in my bed for a million years," Krillin said, stretching. "It's been nothing but action and worry since we've gotten on this forsaken planet, and I barely did anything! Gohan and Piccolo are probably beyond tired, and Vegeta is obviously spent. What do you say Gohan and I take Vegeta to his room, hm?"
Gohan nodded and made his way over to Vegeta, a look of sadness on his face as he assessed the bandages covering him. He looped his arms under the Saiyan's knees and Krillin grasped him under the arms. They carefully lifted him off the couch and treaded lightly to the room opposite Bulma's. Krillin came straight back out and into the bathroom, but when Gohan didn't emerge, Piccolo went into the room.
His features softened as he saw what the boy was doing.
Gohan was in the midst of tucking the Saiyan in, pulling the layers of blankets over him and carefully tucking the edges under the mattress. He looked at Piccolo and smiled before fluffing the pillow under Vegeta's head once more and stopping to gaze at him for a moment.
"He's not so scary when he's sleeping," he said softly, looking up at Piccolo.
"You didn't seem afraid of him even when he was awake," Piccolo replied.
"Yeah, that's because Frieza was a lot scarier."
Piccolo nodded and placed his hand between the boy's shoulder blades. "Come on kid, bedtime," he said, ushering him out and closing the door softly behind him. Bulma was already in her room, and Krillin had indeed taken the world's fastest shower, for he was leaving the bathroom and headed into his room as they came back into the living space.
"Hey Gohan, I've got a shirt and probably some boxers you can sleep in tonight. And an extra blanket. Want them?" he asked, gesturing towards his door.
"Oh, yes please! Thank Krillin!" Gohan answered happily, following him into his room. Piccolo took the few moments to go into the bathroom and slash cold water onto his face and neck.
He'd bathe once they made it to Earth.
Gohan reappeared without Krillin, bounded onto the couch, and buried his face into its softness. The boxers and shirt were a little big on him, making him appear much younger...
...his real age...
He sat up then and beamed a smile straight at Piccolo, and then patted the seat next to him. "Sit beside me? Please?" he asked with an almost pleading tone to his voice.
Who was Piccolo to say no? Deny the kid a sense of comfort after having been gone so long, only to be thrust straight into battle... he couldn't do it. So, he gingerly sat upon the couch in his customary lotus position. The boy smiled once more and got as close as he could, tucking his body up in a ball, his head resting against Piccolo's thigh.
Piccolo sighed a sigh of content mixed with slight discomfort at the contact. He draped the blanket over the boy and rested his hand on his head, instinctively rustling his hair. Gohan breathed in and out once, deeply, and snuggled even more into his mentor.
"Thanks for wishing me back," he whispered finally, his eyes drifting shut.
Piccolo looked down at him, startled. Thanks? He shook his head and ruffled the boy's hair once more, saw the little smile that graced his lips.
And for the first time in months, Piccolo was happy.
Okay, so seriously cranked this out in like an hour, so I know there are mistakes in here that I didn't catch, so I apologize! You can start expecting more regular updates I hope. Any and all reviews are appreciated!