I recommend you listen to "In My Arms" by Plumb. It describes Piccolo's feelings for Gohan perfectly, especially for this story.

Gohan didn't stir for a long while. Piccolo refused to move from his place at the headboard, the boy's head resting in his lap, his fingers absently running through his hair. Eventually, Bulma returned and came into the room. She looked at the destruction and sighed. Piccolo looked at the two body-shaped dents in the wall.

"I can fix that," he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it. Vegeta gave me the gist of what happened. Did...did Trunks see all this?"

"No. Vegeta took him to his room before Gohan could completely explode."

"He...he actually picked up Trunks?" Bulma asked incredulously.

"Yes?" Piccolo replied, somewhat confused.

"Sorry, he's just... never held Trunks before. For anything. I'm just surprised is all. Anyways, it looks like he completely destroyed his IV. I'll have to go make up a new bag for him." She turned to leave.

"Wait. Those things your put in his bag-"

"The antidepressants?"

"Yes, those. Could they have made him so... destructive?"

"Piccolo, I hate to say this, but you'll have to accept the truth. Gohan is suicidal. That's not from this medicine. The medicine is supposed to counteract that. That's specifically what this medication was made for. It's why I put him on it."

"You knew he'd be this way?"

"It was an assumption. The not eating or drinking, those are all signs of self-destructive behavior. I was hoping it would help."

"Well it isn't," Piccolo snapped, looking back down at Gohan.

Bulma held her hands up. "Now hold on. We don't know that. It takes a couple days for the medicine to work, to get fully into his system. That's just how medicine works."

"The medicine for the heart virus worked immediately."

"That was completely different. That was ki infused. Normal medicine doesn't work that way, unfortunately."

"So there's nothing that can be done?"

"I'm going to put him back on the medicine for a while, see what happens in a few days. Same with the nutrition. We'll have to just wait and see."

"And if he doesn't get better?"

"Then we'll switch medications. We'll find something that works, I promise you that, Piccolo."

Piccolo nodded. "Thank you."

"Alright. I'm going to go make up some more bags to hook him up to. It should only be an hour or so. I have to recalculate some things and proper proportions."

Piccolo nodded again and Bulma took her leave. It was quiet for a few moments before Jade finally came out of her hiding spot under the bed. She jumped onto the mattress and planted herself firmly on Piccolo's leg right beside Gohan's head.

"There you are, damn cat," Piccolo muttered, scratching her behind the ear. She purred loudly, turning to lick his palm with her sandpaper tongue.

Gohan's eyes snapped open suddenly, and both he and Jade whipped their heads to the right, staring intently at the wall. Piccolo turned to look as well, but saw nothing.

"Gohan?"

"Shh," the boy hissed. "Someone's coming."

"No one's there-"

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, a being appeared. Piccolo supposed he should be used to this by now, but he was still shocked. He stiffened, staring hard at the new being. He was short, with lilac skin and a shock of white hair, and an aura distinct of the kais. Jade jumped off the bed immediately and trotted over to him, mewing and purring loudly.

"Luna, my friend. I have not seen you in ages," the being said, bending down and picking the cat up. He ignored the Namekian and Saiyan on the bed for a moment, content to stroke the cat's fur. Finally, he set her down and looked up, pinning the two with an intense stare.

"Piccolo, Gohan," he said, nodding in greeting.

"Her name is Jade," Gohan said, ignoring the greeting.

"Ah yes, how could I forget. She was Luna when I last saw her. Though Jade is a lovely name as well, young Saiyan."

"Who are you?" Piccolo asked, cutting to the point.

"I apologize. I am the Supreme Kai."

Piccolo cocked his head. "The Eastern?"

"Well, yes. I was the Eastern. I am alone in my duties now though, so I am the only Supreme Kai. You may call me Shin, if you wish."

"You are the Lady Tsuki's friend," Gohan stated, pushing himself into a sitting position. Piccolo moved to stand, but Shin held up a hand.

"Do not stand on my account, Piccolo. I am only here for but a few moments. You are correct, Gohan. Lady Tsuki and I are close friends. In fact, it is she who sent me here. Unfortunately, she could not make the journey herself. The life she gave you has drained her. She must remain in the Heavens for some time to gather her strength."

"Who are you?" a voice from the door came.

"Ah, Vegeta. Hello, Saiyan Prince," Shin greeted. "I am the Supreme Kai."

"Why are you here?" Vegeta asked, still slightly aggressive.

"Come in, come in. I come bearing a message from the Lady Tsuki. You may hear this as well." Vegeta remained at the door, saying nothing, and making no sign of moving. "Gohan, Tsuki wished you to know that what has happened is not your fault."

"But I-"

Shin held up a hand. "Just a moment. Child, you were not your own when you killed Krillin. You were under the control of a powerful god, and you had no control over that. You cannot blame yourself for this."

"It is my fault though! I could've been stronger! I am his son," he spat. "I should've been able to release myself."

The Supreme Kai shook his head. "No, Gohan. You may be his son, but you are only of his flesh, not his spirit. There is no way you could have released yourself."

"Tsuki said in a year, Earth would die if we did not save Gohan. What is coming?" Piccolo asked before Gohan could interject.

"I was only able to see a little of what Lord Amat was creating. He had to banish Lady Tsuki so that she could not see and interfere. And even though I am the Supreme Kai, even I am limited in my sight when it comes to what the gods and goddesses do."

Gohan cleared his throat. "I-I had a dream, a while ago... It was Amat's voice. He was talking about gathering DNA. From-from all of us. DNA from the Saiyan, the Namekian, the human. Is he making something using our DNA? To use against us?"

"That is what Lady Tsuki and I believe. But he has hidden his creation away, waiting for it to mature, we think. Once Lady Tsuki became a goddess again, she sensed the creation, and was able to access the timeline and fates that Lord Amat had interfered with. She is not sure when exactly the being will be made known. All we know is, if Gohan is not here, if he does not fight, it will kill everything and everyone. Yes Vegeta, even you," Shin said, turning to pin the Saiyan with an appraising look when he lifted his chin in defiance.

"I will not die. With or without this brat's help, I will defeat this being," Vegeta said haughtily.

"You cannot," Shin said simply.

"Watch me."

"Only Gohan will be able to kill this being."

"I don't want to fight," Gohan whispered, cutting everyone off.

"Sadly, you must. The creature will want nothing to do with your friends. It will kill them, and use their attacks against you. You three must fight together, train together, learn each other's defenses and attacks."

"I train alone," Vegeta snapped. "I don't need help."

"You trained with Krillin," Gohan said softly.

Vegeta said nothing, huffing and crossing his arms over his armored chest. He muttered something under his breath that Piccolo just barely caught: "That was different."

"Vegeta, I know you grieve for Krillin, but the fact of the matter is, none of this was Gohan's fault, and you cannot hold him accountable. That is the first step in healing, for the both of you. Please, heed my words. Train together. If not every day, then at least a couple times a week. You will never win if you cannot come together and fight," Shin reasoned. "I must go now. My Lady is calling me. There is not much she can do on her own until she recovers."

And with that, the Supreme Kai was gone.

It was silent for several moments before Gohan pushed the covers off of him and rotated his body to the edge of the bed. With determination, he pushed himself off the bed, swaying slightly in his weakness. Piccolo stood quickly, ready to catch him should he fall. But Gohan stood his ground, steadying himself before walking out of the room with purposeful steps.

"Where are you going?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan turned to look at him, his eyes blue and determined. "To get something to eat. We have a long year ahead of us," he answered solemnly. Then, he turned and continued his way to the staircase, opting to float down rather than walk. His ki was shaky at best, and for a moment, Piccolo worried it would give out and the boy would plummet to the ground. Instead, he landed firmly on the ground, walking into the kitchen, Vegeta and Piccolo following curiously behind him.

"Oh, Gohan! You're up!" Bulma's voice came, surprised, nearly dropping the bag she was filling. "You should be resting! Piccolo, why is he up?"

"Bulma, this is important. I need something to eat. Preferably something high in protein and fat," Gohan stated matter-of-factly.

Bulma turned to look at Piccolo, who just shrugged. "I... you're hungry?"

"No, but this is important."

"Gohan, it's really not a good idea for you to just get up and start eating something... I let you have the bacon because you asked for it and I wanted to reward that behavior, but... Gohan, your system is weak. It needs a steady flow of balanced nutrients and-"

"There's no time for that, Bulma."

"Wh-what? Gohan, what's going on?"

By now, Vegeta was moving around the kitchen, throwing the boy a protein shake, which was downed in seconds, as he slapped together two fish sandwiches. He handed one to Gohan before scarfing down the other himself.

"Vegeta, what is going on?" Bulma asked. But both Saiyans simply walked out the front door. "Piccolo, answer me! What's happening?" she asked in frustration.

"Training."

"He can't train yet! He's weak, Piccolo! He'll hurt himself!"

"I'll take care of him."

"No! You tell me right this instant why this is so important that it can't wait until Gohan is more stable! I know you would never let him possibly be in danger of hurting himself unless it was serious! TELL ME!" she practically shrieked.

Piccolo sighed. "The goddess told us when Gohan was dying that if he died, the Earth would die with him in a year's time. The Supreme Kai has confirmed it. The god who was trying to kill everyone has made something so strong that we are in grave danger if we don't start training right away," Piccolo explained quickly, wanting to get outside.

"A year? Why not now?"

"I suppose it needs to mature to its full strength. Amat has hidden it away. That is all I know."

"Can't he rest just for a week? Piccolo, he needs it..."

"I will make sure he is safe. He is Saiyan. He will not stop even if I tried to make him."

Bulma gave a great heaving sigh. "Alright, alright. Whatever you say. Just... be careful."

Piccolo nodded and made his way to the gravity room. Vegeta was already in Super Saiyan form, warming up. Gohan sat on the ground with his back against the wall, watching Vegeta closely. He looked up at Piccolo before returning his attention to the Saiyan.

"We're studying each other's blasts and defenses today," he explained.

"You are not to overexert yourself," Piccolo stated.

"I won't."

Piccolo nodded and turned to watch Vegeta as well. The Saiyan began throwing his blasts, giving simple explanations here and there, but overall being silent and letting the Namekian and boy figure it out for themselves. He finished shortly, wiping the sheen of sweat from his brow. He nodded at Piccolo then, going to stand by Gohan as Piccolo walked to the center of the room.

Piccolo warmed up quickly before launching into his blasts, giving a more thorough explanation of his blasts, more for Vegeta's benefit than Gohan's, for the boy already knew his mentor's movements like the back of his hand.

When it was Gohan's turn, Piccolo helped the boy up. "Nothing too complicated. We have time to learn."

"I'm fine," Gohan said, warming up. He did not ascend, choosing wisely to stay in base form. He threw a couple blasts, all of which were identical to Piccolo's. He stopped short, though, and stood silent for a moment, staring at the ground. "DNA of the human," he muttered. He looked up. "This being is going to know Krillin's blasts. I-I know one. It was my father's move. I think I inherited it from him. I've never used it, but..." Gohan held his hands in a cup shape at his side. "Kamehameha!"

The blast roared out of his hands in a brilliant flash of blue, overwhelming in its size and power. It bounced off the blast-resistant walls and flew towards Vegeta, who caught it and extinguished it before subtly shaking his slightly singed hands.

"Oh," Gohan said simply.

"Oh? OH? You've been hiding that all this time? Why have you never used that before?" Vegeta demanded. "Do you have any idea how useful that would have been before?"

"I didn't know I could," Gohan replied. "But that's the only one I know of his. Vegeta, do you...?"

Vegeta nodded and stepped forward. "He really only had one more worth noting. The rest were relatively simple, easy to block. Destructo Disk." He held his hand above his head, palm up. "He showed me this a while ago, but..." He grunted, and a shining disk grew in size, hovering above his palm. "There we go. When you release it, it cuts through anything. And I mean anything. You can't catch it. All you can do is dodge. He also had one called Solar Flare, that he said he learned from the triclops."

Gohan bristled slightly. "Tien. His name was Tien."

"Whatever. Anyways, I don't know how to produce it. All it does is create a blinding light for several moments. Hopefully this being won't know about it either."

Piccolo nodded and looked at Gohan. The boy was breathing heavily, though he had done very little. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his knees shook slightly. He walked up to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We're done. We have to be done for today. Gohan is too weak yet for much else," he said.

"Mr. Piccolo..." Gohan protested.

"No, Gohan. We have a year. I will let you train every day, but you are still very weak. You could hurt yourself, and then you'd be of no use to us. What then?"

Gohan turned sad eyes to his mentor. "Is that all I am to you? A weapon?"

Piccolo stood stock still for a minute. He glanced at Vegeta, who simply raised his hands and left. Once he was gone, Piccolo dropped to his knees in front of the boy, both hands on his shoulders.

"Gohan, you are not a weapon. You are a boy. A Saiyan. My friend. My son. Do you understand? I..." Piccolo swallowed, uncomfortable with what he was about to say. He did not like to show emotion, didn't like to admit he had feelings. "I... I love you, kid. Don't you know that?"

Gohan stiffened beneath his touch before his face screwed up and he launched himself into Piccolo's chest. He began to sob heavily, staining the Namekian's gi with tears. Hesitantly, Piccolo wrapped his arms around the boy, and the two remained that way for some time.

Finally, Gohan's tears subsided and his knees went weak. Before he could collapse, Piccolo scooped him in his arms. He walked them into the house and sought out Bulma, who was busy feeding Trunks in the kitchen. She saw them and stood instantly.

"Is he okay?" she asked worriedly.

"He's fine. Just tired," Piccolo answered.

"Okay, take him to bed. I'll finish up here and be right up. Gohan, I'm going to give you the go ahead to train, but until I deem you fit enough, you have to be hooked up to the IV, okay? You need these nutrients. Just for a little while. You can eat some solids too, but please, allow me to do this, okay?"

Gohan nodded. "Okay Bulma. I will. Do I still have to be on the antidepressants?"

Bulma bit her lip. "Yes. Just for a while. Depression is an ugly beast, Gohan. You may feel okay one moment, and then horribly down the next. Trust me, kiddo."

Gohan nodded again in assent. "Alright."

"Alright. I'll be up in a few minutes. Go ahead and get situated."

Piccolo took Gohan upstairs, letting him use the bathroom.

"Mr. Piccolo? Can I take a bath?" Gohan asked in a small voice.

"I suppose."

"Thanks," Gohan said. He shuffled over to the tub and began filling it, before stripping down. Piccolo turned and waited until he heard the telltale splashing of Gohan entering the tub.

"Not a long one, kid. I can't have you falling asleep in there."

"Okay," Gohan said, slipping under the surface for a moment before coming back up. He grabbed a bar of soap and began washing himself, scrubbing at his skin a little too vigorously for Piccolo's liking.

"Take it easy, kid. You're going to scrape your skin off that way."

"Sorry."

Ten minutes passed before Piccolo deemed the bath had been long enough. He bade Gohan get out and dry off, before clothing him in a clean oversized shirt.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gohan replied, walking slowly to the bedroom. He slipped into bed and Piccolo situated himself at the foot of it. Shortly after, Bulma came in an prepped Gohan, inserting the IV, and bade them goodnight. Gohan fell asleep shortly after that, Jade snuggled up against his side.

Piccolo watched them for a long while before slipping into a deep mediation.