"I wonder what he intends to do with him." Krillin replied.

"Well, if it's Kami then we can relax." Roshi spoke.

"In any case, we need to hurry and gather the other six balls and bring Goku to life." Krillin said.

"He picked the worst possible time to do this. I wonder where Yamcha and the others have gone off to!" Bulma hissed.

"You were the one who chased him away, weren't you?" Krillin said, sarcastically. Bulma frowned.

"But then again, how did Goku's brother know where he was so easily?"

"It's that strange device he has attached to his face. It seems to be able to tell an opponent's strength and location." Piccolo explained.

"So that's it? Krillin, remove it, will you?" Bulma asked him.

"S-Sure. H-He's not going to back to life or anything, right?" Krillin said, nervously. He reached out and took it off the dead Saiyan and handed it to Bulma, who began to tinker with it.

"This is incredible technology. It's a bit damaged, but I think I can do something with it."

"You're incredible, Bulma." Krillin replied, in awe. Bulma smiled.

"I'll take this back, study it, and make some alterations, we might just be able to find out where Yamcha and Tien and the others are."

"Let's go back to the Kame House for the time being." Master Roshi spoke.

"Right. There's nothing more that we can do here." Bulma nodded.

"I'll start looking for the Dragon Balls." Krillin said. Bulma turned to Piccolo and Ocarin.

"Hey, you two what are you planning-" Everyone's eyes widen as they saw Piccolo, who was gritting his teeth painfully. He let out a yell and a newly formed arm shot out as it regenerated, replacing the one that was shot off. Bulma, Krillin, and Roshi's eyes widen even more in shock and in disbelief, trembling, as well in disgust. Ocarin gaped awe, blushing. She will never get used to that!

"It's just like a lizard's tail!" Krillin exclaimed.

"You guys search for the Dragon Balls. Kami doesn't have the power it takes to restore life. However, I'm going to be in charge of Goku's son there." Piccolo told them.

"What?!"

"What do you want with Goku's son?" Ocarin questioned.

"That's none of your business." Piccolo told her. Krillin stepped up, walking over to him.

"You're kidding, right!? What do you plan to do with him!?" He shouted. "I know what it is! You're planning to eat him, huh!?" Piccolo's eyes widened, looking at Krillin, confused.

"Eat him?! What are you talking about!?" He exclaimed.

"What are you going to do?" Master Roshi asked him.

"This Gohan kid should give us some powerful fighting potential, depending on the training he gets. If we're going to fight the two Saiyans who are arriving in another year, we're going to need him. I'm going to train him." Piccolo replied.

"Y-You can't seriously be saying that..." Krillin sputtered.

"I'm not sure if that's going to be agreeable, you know?" Bulma smiled, nervously.

"We'll have to take it up with Goku first, as well as his mother, Chichi." Master Roshi frowned. Piccolo growled, getting more irritated.

"We don't have time for that! Now stop bickering and hand him over! I'll kill you all if I have to do so!" Suddenly, Gohan quickly disappeared from Ocarin's arms and appeared right into Piccolo's.

"Piccolo!" Ocarin shouted. Piccolo smirked.

"After another year has passed, I'll be coming to your house, together with this kid. When Goku comes back, tell him to wait until then." He flew off, taking Gohan with him, leaving the others.

"I don't know about this." Bulma replied unsure.

"He's going to die! Even if he's lucky, he's still going to become a delinquent! Goku and Chichi are going to be upset." Krillin cringed. Ocarin frowned and started to take off, to follow after Piccolo when Kami's voice echoed telepathically in her mind.

"Ocarin, I need you back at the Lookout." He spoke to her. Ocarin froze in her tracks. She sighed and turned back to Krillin, Bulma and Master Roshi. "I have to go. See you in a year." She waved and flew off, heading back to the Lookout, leaving the other four even more confused as ever.


Ocarin landed on the Lookout, meeting up with Kami and Mr. Popo. Her eyes widened to see Goku in front of her, now with a halo above his head.

"Wow, you really are dead."

"Ocarin, come with me. I need to take Goku to the checkout station." Kami told her. Ocarin sighed.

"And you need me, to use my powers to teleport the two of you there." She replied. Kami nodded.

"You know I hate using it." She told him. Kami frowned.

"I know but we don't have choice. It's the fastest way." Ocarin nodded.

"All right, the two of you grab on." She told him, holding out her hands to Goku and Kami. Kami and Goku, who was still confused as to what was going on, took her hands. The three of them, quickly teleported to the checkpoint of the checkout station. Before them sat a giant, bearded, boss ogre with red skin, a helmet with two horns protruding out of it, at his mahogany desk. King Yemma. He was in charge of the dead souls, passing judgment. He looked up, sensing Kami, Goku and Ocarin, standing in front of him.

"Kami, you know Kami started to explain everything to King Yemma about the situation on Earth and about the Saiyans that were arriving within a year.

"That is why I brought him here as flesh and blood, to ask that he be allowed to train. If you please Great King Yemma, allow him to call on King Kai." Kami spoke.

"Goku, huh? Indeed, his achievements have been outstanding. So, you're asking that someone who could go to heaven be allowed to put himself at the risk of danger, travel the snake way and meet with King Kai, then?" King Yemma asked. The guardian nodded.

"Yes."

"Does everyone come here when they die?" Goku asked Kami.

"That's right." Kami told him. Goku's eyes widened in surprise.

"Even aliens!?"

Kami nodded. "Yes. All who die have judgment passed upon them here, to determine whether they are to go to heaven or hell." Goku turned back to King Yemma, who was going through the paperwork.

"Hey, did a guy named Raditz come through here?" Goku asked him. Kami's eyes widened.

"Goku! You can't ask him that!" He hissed.

"He was here all right. He was your brother, huh? He's heading to hell." King Yemma replied.

"He didn't cause a commotion, did he?" Goku asked, concerned.

"He did, he did! He did cause a commotion, but I had to put him down!" King Yemma shouted, angrily.

"You must be really strong, huh? You took care of someone like Raditz?" Goku asked, smiling. "Maybe, I should get him to train me!" Kami pulled Goku aside, whispering.

"Goku, you're being too loud. You shouldn't be addressing Yemma in that tone!"

"But-"

"Be quiet! King Kai is much stronger than him." Kami insisted.

"I heard that, Kami, you little weasel!" Kami let out a startled yelp, letting go of Goku. King Yemma smirked, looking down at the two. "I'll remember that when I'm passing judgement on you."

"Please forgive me! I didn't know that your ears were so big-I mean, so good! I was just kidding!" Kami laughed, smiling, nervously. Ocarin snickered. "Busted." Kami shot her a look, telling her to be quiet. King Yemma frowned at him.

"Kami, you're starting to annoy me."

"S-Sorry!"

King Yemma spoke. "Well, I forgive you this time. Goku can try to make it to King Kai if he really wants to."

"Thank you." Kami sighed in relief and bowed to him, gratefully.

"I'll call a guide for you. Now go wait outside." King Yemma pointed to Goku. Goku nodded.

"Thanks!" He started to leave when King Yemma stopped him.

"Oh, and Goku, you need to be careful that you don't fall from snake way. Should you fall off, there's no coming back." He explained.

"Goku, you better step to it now." Kami told him. Goku smiled.

"I'm not sure what to expect but I promise that I'll try my very best to make it to King Kai's place." He told Kami and Ocarin.

"Just don't tell him any puns otherwise he'll never shut up." Ocarin warned him. Goku waved the two goodbye and left. "So long! I guess I'll see you in about a year!"

"Kami?"

"I hope so, my friend. I'm afraid that we are in much more danger than we realize. The journey down snake way is a perilous one but I have no choice. These Saiyans are a most fearsome race. And those who are on their way to Earth now are even more powerful than the last one. You must make it to King Kai and receive his training! We have little hope in defeating them when they arrive even if Piccolo succeeds in training with your son. If he's left to fight the Saiyans alone then I'm afraid we will all stand before King Yemma."

"Kami!" The guardian's eyes widen, snapping out of his thoughts. He turned to Ocarin when King Yemma slammed his fists down on his desk, making the two jump, startled.

"You two! Get out now!" He growled at them. Ocarin pointed her finger to a large line of the deceased spirits who were glaring at the two, to be checked in.

"We're holding up the line."


Piccolo flew down, landing in a desolate wasteland filled with tall plateaus. He looked down at the small boy, still unconscious in his arm. "Time to wake up, you little brat!" Piccolo growled. He tossed Gohan into the pond. The boy woke up, failing his arms. He sputtered, spitting out water. He couldn't swim. "We need to talk. Get out of the water!" Gohan's eyes widen, seeing Piccolo. He stopped now realizing that the water wasn't too deep and was able to stand.

"Y-You're not my daddy! Daddy!? Where are you?! Daddy! Help me! Daddy! I'm scared!" He cried out. Gohan ran in the water, frantically calling out to his father. Piccolo twitched, getting more irritated.

"Spoiled little brat. We don't have time for this!" He walked into the water and grabbed Gohan by the collar of his tunic, dragging him out of the pond. He roughly dropped Gohan on the ground. The boy teared up, looking up at him, scared. "Quiet or I'll give you something to cry about, you hear me!? Now, listen up. I'm only going to say this once. First, your dad didn't make it." Gohan's eyes widened in disbelief. "You remember, partially what happened right? In order to defeat the man who took you, your father sacrificed himself."

"H-He can't be!" The boy started to tear up about to cry again.

"Stop it right now! I already warned you what would happen if you cry again!" Piccolo warned. "You've heard about the Dragon Balls from your father, right? Goku's friends should be gathering them to bring him back to life. However, that's not what the problem is. Yes, we managed to deal with the guy who kidnapped you, but in a year from now, it seems that some even more terrible friends of his will be coming. Once they do, then even with having Goku back to life, there's absolutely no chance of us winning with just him and myself."

"But what about that weird lady?" Gohan asked. Piccolo blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"She seems pretty strong." Piccolo interrupted him, ignoring the boy's question.

"Shut up! Listen, we need you and your power, too! Train yourself to learn the tactics of fighting and defend the Earth!"

"Me? Can't you do it? I can't fight at all!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Apparently, you still haven't realized it yourself. The power that you have inside of you, is something else. That is why we're going to draw that power out through training, until you can use it effectively." Piccolo told him.

"But I don't have any power like that." Gohan replied. Piccolo smirked.

"You want to see it for yourself?" He grabbed Gohan by his head, picking up by his hair, lifting the boy up.

"Hey! W-What are you doing!? Ow! That hurts! Stop it! It hurts!" Gohan cried out, struggling to get out of Piccolo's grasp. Piccolo turned towards a huge plateau.

"Here you go!" Then he tossed Gohan, sending him hurling directly at the plateau. Gohan screamed. "Come on! Show me that power you have locked away!" Then Gohan suddenly began to glow as ki surrounded him and he crashed through the mountain, creating a huge explosion. Piccolo's eyes widened in shock. "What the-!" The plateau had been completely demolished leaving a long crater of the blast that Gohan had created. "What a surprise! This is more than I imagined! I've got mixed feelings about this. Here I am about to raise someone who could turn out to be my most fearsome opponent in the future."

He walked over to Gohan who sat in awe, completely stunned by what he just did.

"I-I did that?" Gohan said in disbelief.

"That's right. Looks like you've more or less realized it now. When you lose control of your emotions, the power that you have inside of you comes out. However, it only lasts for an instant. We can't beat them like that! I'm going to train you in the way of fighting and turn you into the greatest warrior ever. You got that?" Piccolo smirked down at him.

"But I don't want to be a martial artist. I want to be a scholar."

"Then become one. But after we've defeated the Saiyans first, alright? They're planning to exterminate everyone on this planet. If they do that, then your future is not going to be worth much." Piccolo said.

"But I'm scared." Gohan whined.

"Stop it with your whining! Do you want to get killed right now!?" Piccolo shouted. Gohan's eyes widen, fearfully. "We don't have time! We're going to start right now! Take off your tunic!" Gohan immediately stood up and started to take off his tunic, wearing a white tank top underneath. He scared to argue with Piccolo. He folded it neatly and placed his tunic on the ground and turned back to Piccolo.

"Once daddy comes back to life, I want him to train me." Gohan replied.

"That's too bad. He certainly is strong, but he's not cut out to be a teacher. He doesn't have what it takes to handle others. I can easily tell that just be looking at how spoiled you are!" Piccolo replied.

"What should I do for training?" Gohan asked him.

"To begin with, you don't need to do anything. Just survive." Piccolo told him. Gohan blinked.

"Survive?"

Piccolo nodded. "Right. Try surviving all by yourself without anything happening to you. If you can survive for six months, then I'll train you." Gohan's eyes widened in shock, looking at Piccolo in disbelief.

"S-Six months, all by myself, here?!" He exclaimed. "No way! I'll die of loneliness!"

"You won't be lonely. This place is teaming with beasts that are thirsting for your blood." Piccolo chuckled, darkly.

"No, don't do this! Don't leave me here!" Gohan shouted.

"Right now, you don't have the time to be spoiled." Piccolo said.

"But!"

"Survive, for the next six months and make yourself stronger, both physically and mentally. Don't forget Earth's fate is in your hands. Believe in your own power and learn a way to draw it out." Piccolo explained to Gohan.

"But I-I...!"

"See you later. Oh, right. Don't think about trying to escape from here. This place is surrounded by nothing but wasteland and desert." He told Gohan.

"But what about food? What about a bath? What about a bed? What about books, and notebooks and pencils and..." Gohan started to panic.

"You think there's any of that here?" Piccolo smirked.

"Oh no! That's horrible!" Gohan cried out.

"If you have to blame something, then blame your own fate. The way I do." Piccolo replied. He left, leaving Gohan behind. Gohan tried to chase after him, but he didn't know how to fly. He fell on the ground, crying alone. Kami was watching the entire time from the Lookout. Mr. Popo walked over to him.

"Kami, is something wrong?" He asked Kami.

"Sure enough, there's something different about Piccolo from how he was before. He's still unmistakably evil, but I sense that the devious abrasiveness he had in the past is fading away." Kami told him.

"Popo thinks so to. The old King Piccolo would never be willing to train Goku's son." The genie agreed with him.

"What made me clearly realize that there was something strange about Piccolo was that when Goku's brother Raditz was killed by him, his spirit went to the Other World. Up until now, whenever anyone was killed by someone by the Demon Clan, their spirit had been unable to pass beyond, and they drifted through the air as they suffered. Yet, Raditz had gone to the Other World, Piccolo is clearly different than how he was before." Kami explained.

"So, his heart his changing?" Popo asked.

"Perhaps, he realizes it too. My life-and thus Piccolo's life has only one more year left in it." Kami told him. Mr. Popo's eyes widened in shock.

"O-One more year?"

"Whether it's because Piccolo will be killed by the Saiyans that are to arrive in another year, or whether it's because that is when my life will end, I do not know." Kami spoke. The genie's eyes widened even more as tears started to form.

"Kami..."

"My death means death for Piccolo, and Piccolo's death means death for me. Even being Kami, it is not a pleasant thing to know the time when one's death will come. I'm sure he has to be sensing it too. Maybe, he was to leave something of himself behind." Kami said.

"Then the possibility of using the Dragon Balls..." Popo paused, realizing, what the guardian meant.

"This next time will be the last one." Kami finished for him.

"Does Ocarin know?" The genie asked him. Kami looked down, avoiding Popo's gaze.

"No. And I intend to keep it that way. It is better that she doesn't know." Kami told him.

"But you've never lied to her before, Kami! How do you think she's going to take it when she finds out! She's going to find out about it, eventually." Popo told him.

"Then I rather her be angry at me then grieve for me. Where is she now, Mr. Popo?" Kami asked.

Piccolo was meditating in the air when he sensed Ocarin's energy somewhere nearby. He flew off into the direction where he sensed the ki was and saw her sitting on the ground, soaking her feet by a lake. He could take her out now, while she didn't sense him! Before Piccolo could summon any energy to do so, he heard Ocarin spoke.

"I know that you're there. Come on out, I don't bite, much." Piccolo's eyes widened, surprised that she was able to sense him so easily. He stepped out from the trees, revealing himself to her. "Avishta, Piccolo."

"Aren't you supposed to be training?" Piccolo asked her.

"Hmm, I don't know. Aren't you supposed to be training? And what about the Goku's son, the one that you kidnapped?" She asked him. Piccolo growled.

"Don't mock me! I left the boy in the wastelands to fend for himself for six months then we'll see if he's ready or not." He explained to her. Ocarin chuckled.

"Let me get this straight, you left a small boy alone in the wilderness unable to defend for himself. Wow, I can't wait to see what type of father you would be someday." She laughed.

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble. I don't plan on having any kids." He replied.

"Today's been a busy day. Right now, I'm relaxing. You may join me if you wish." She told him.

"No thanks." Piccolo snorted.

"Too bad. You don't know what you're missing then." Ocarin retorted.

"Then answer me this. What are you?" Piccolo asked her. Ocarin turned to Piccolo, now looking at him. "I know by now that you're not a normal human."

"I don't know." She answered.

"Stop with the mind games!" Piccolo shouted, getting more irritated and tired by her dodging his every questions.

"I'm not. I really don't know. Kami found me when I was a baby somewhere on Earth. Even he doesn't know what I am. So, I decided that I am one of you guys." She told him. Piccolo blinked.

"Huh?"

"I'm one of you guys. Whatever you are." She smiled.

"I hate to break it to you but that's not how it works." Piccolo told her.

"Why not? It's not there's a rule against it or anything." Ocarin shrugged.

"Why do you owe anything to that old fool? Why stay with him? What has he done to deserve it?" Piccolo asked her.

"I owe him my life. You asked me before that Kami is precious to me that is because he is. If you really want the truth, then yes, I do love him." She told him. Piccolo scoffed with crossed arms.

"Figures as much."

"But I care about you, too." He heard her spoke. Piccolo's eyes widened a little in shock.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. You do mean a great deal to me, Piccolo." Ocarin told him.

"Then you are a bigger fool than HE is! I know what I am, and I will carry out my father's legacy. Neither you or Goku will stop me from achieving it!" Piccolo shouted.

"Do you?" Ocarin tested him. "If you are like your father, then why did you save me?" Piccolo tensed up, gritting his teeth together.

"You seem like a worthy opponent to fight. I didn't want to lose that chance." He told her. Ocarin chuckled.

"Then, when that time comes. I'll look forward to it." She smiled, cockily.