Chapter 7: Two Confused Souls

  “Piccolo…” Gohan pleaded. “Please…Please…don’t leave me tonight.”

  He stared down at the child gripping his pant leg as tightly as possible. He was weeping into the purple clothing he’d recently conjured. Piccolo looked down at the boy, feeling both confused and knowing instinctively what this was about. He shook his head in annoyance, afraid to say anything further.

  Goku…The Namek silently pleaded. I’ve done the best I can with your boy. I’ve done everything to give him assurance in a world that would never understand what he’s endured.

  He reluctantly looked down at the half-Saiyan who met his gaze, his eyes filled with tears.

  But I can’t heal his scars. Piccolo realized. And you know that.

  “Piccolo!” he shouted. “It was awful! I didn’t–my mother–she got mad at me–!”

  He was sniveling so much that snot ran down Piccolo’s pant leg, further staining the deep purple.

  “When I–!” Gohan said. “I-I didn’t…I didn’t dance–! But I did–! Or at least I tried and…!”

  He then hid his face in the folds of Piccolo’s baggy pant leg, his cries far too much for him to handle.

  “Gohan,” he said. “Just…Just explain what happened.”

  The boy couldn’t seem to gather his words, something that mildly irritated Piccolo. He couldn’t understand how a dance would be so important as he knew nothing about human culture. From what he knew of Namekian culture through Nail, it wasn’t even important to his own kind. This meant he couldn’t make inference on the emotional significance to a human. Fortunately, Gohan seemed to regain some amount of composure so Piccolo wouldn’t have to make an incorrect guess.

  “I-I-” Gohan said. “I can’t continue…like this. I-I can’t stop…I can’t stop…wanting…wanting to fight.”

  “But Gohan,” Piccolo said. “You hate fighting. I know you like sparring with your friends but…that’s mostly because you just want to be around Krillin and the others.”

  “I know…” the child said. “But…But I still feel the urge to hit something.”

  “The urge?” Piccolo asked.

  “It…” Gohan said. “It’s like…like I’m…I’m still fighting. Like I never left Namek.”

  “Never left?” Piccolo asked.

  “It’s like a part of me is still there,” Gohan said, clinging to Piccolo’s pants with the ferocity a drowning person would cling to a float ring. “Part of me is still fighting Nappa. Or Vegeta. Or Freeza.”

  He began pushing his head further into the Namekian’s leg, as if trying to dig a hole to hide himself.

  “I’m still…” he said. “I’m still fighting them. In my mind. Only…Only even in the recesses of my mind…I can’t win. I can’t…I can’t overcome them and…and all they do…is gloat.”

  It was at this point Gohan burst out into more tears.

  “They keep winning even when I’m alone with myself!” he said. “I can’t defeat Freeza even in my wildest dreams! All I can do is die over and over again! I can’t fight, I can’t win…all I can do is die.”

  “Gohan!” Piccolo said. “Don’t…Don’t say that.”

  “But it’s true,” Gohan said. “I can’t…I can’t…I can’t win. I keep fighting in my mind and…and all I did is lose. My nightmares…”

  Gohan’s face could barely be seen as he’d hid it so deeply in the folds of Piccolo’s garment.

  “They’ve crept into the day when I’m awake,” he said. “And because of that I find no peace when I sleep or wake up.”

  The Namekian was glad Gohan had hid his face from him. Piccolo was beginning to tear up, something he never wanted to happen. It was so rare that he felt this emotional that Piccolo was struggling to remember the last time he cried.

  The last time I cried…He thought. Was when I died protecting Gohan from Nappa’s attack. I wish…I wish I’d lived to accompany him to Namek rather than being so selfish to let myself be killed.

  “And my mother…she doesn’t understand anything about that,” Gohan said, his voice slightly muffled. “Neither do the kids she wants me to be around or the teachers she forces on me. I…I have no one to talk to about the reality of death. Even…Even the others don’t have it as bad as me.”

  “Yes,” Piccolo said. “The other warriors weren’t helpless children like you thrown into the battlefield. Gohan…I want you to know I regret throwing you to the Saiyans like tossing a lamb to the wolves. You…You didn’t deserve that.”

  “I don’t regret it,,” he said.

  “Why not?” Piccolo asked.

  “Because whether you did or not,” Gohan said. “My dad still wouldn’t be around. We’d still have to go to Namek to revive you and the rest of our friends. If anything, not only did you prepare me for the harsh road I’d have to walk but…I also gained the person I feel safest around the most.”

  “Gohan…” Piccolo said, shaking his head.

  “It’s true!” Gohan screamed, his voice still muffled. “I prefer being around you to my mean witch of a mother, my classmates that don’t know the meaning of terror or even the other warriors who are happy with their current lives! You…You know what harshness is like on the battlefield and…and yet you still seem discontent with your life…like me.”

  Piccolo didn’t know what to say. At first he was overwhelmed with feeling responsible for Gohan’s emotions, wondering how to make him feel better, before realizing Gohan was right. He didn’t feel content with his life.

  I don’t feel right. He thought. I don’t feel right. I…I feel…torn.

  Piccolo looked up to the sky above, glaring at the stars. The Namek remembered the earliest days of his life, when he thought of nothing but killing Goku to avenge his father. Even when using all his might to achieve that one goal, he couldn’t help but feel purposeless, drifting even.

  It confused him to be so solely focused on a concrete task and yet think his life had no real meaning. The Namekian felt incomplete and like he was not where he was supposed to be, a stranger in the only home he’d ever known. And Piccolo knew the reason for it.

  There were no other beings like me. Piccolo thought. The humans had each other. Goku was so raised so separate from Saiyans he thought of himself as nothing but a human. He never experienced the harsh traits living amongst his brutish race would have instilled in him. But Gohan…

  He looked down at the child clinging to his leg to see a pool of tears had welled up in each eye.

  Gohan had to experience Saiyan hostility when he was five. Piccolo realized. And he hardly had any human influence considering Chi-Chi’s strict homeschooling. Gohan truly does know little about where he came from and, as such, exists on the fringes of the two races that conceived him.

  Piccolo winced in agitation, realizing where his pity for the boy arose from.

  Like me…He thought. He has no exposure to his people and lies on the border of a race he has never been a part of. Gohan…you are like me an…outsider.

  Then tell him that. Nail said. Tell him you are both outsiders…and that he can find comfort in you. Admit it’s not odd and it does not mean he’s worthless.

  Piccolo genuinely thought of taking Nail’s advice. While he normally wasn’t fond of expressive emotions, the thought of helping Gohan through such a trying time. The Namekian didn’t want to open up to others about his vulnerabilities because Piccolo viewed himself as a powerful fighter. Admitting such a weakness would violate the code of the warrior and cast him in a pathetic light.

  But he never viewed Gohan as a warrior. He was just a child who was caught up in the middle of a battle with no real agency. He was scared, frightened by beings too powerful to ever face. Every instance Gohan tried to seriously fight, the young boy was thrashed mercilessly by his opponents and was forced to watch others suffer and die.

  I think I can open myself up for his sake. Piccolo said.

  That is good. Nail said.

  Piccolo was about to open his mouth before he heard his father’s voice again.

  “You cannot deny your nature,” he said. “You wish to kill the seed of your sworn enemy…then you will take this world for yourself.”

  Piccolo clenched his teeth in frustration, hating that he could sense King Piccolo’s lingering presence.

  “You will feel purpose once you take the Earth for yourself,” he said. “You will never know purposelessness again and your will to live will be ironclad.”

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  Piccolo tried to push the king’s presence back as much as possible but it seemed immovable in that moment.

  “You only began to drift once these insects began to infect you with their sentimentality,” he spoke. “Don’t allow yourself to grow any weaker in resolve…seize what belongs to you.”

  Piccolo squinted hard, surprised the temptation in him was this strong. No matter how much he attempted to wrestle the desire away, it found a new foothold. Piccolo felt his power giving out, unable to continue fighting. The voice became stronger and stronger as failed to hold back the presence of darkness within himself. His body felt as though it was weighted down with lead as his father continued to speak.

  That’s it…King Piccolo said. Give into your darkness. Your real nature. The one that is not a mask of a personality, a facade you used to pretend to be like these weaklings. Admit who you are…and make this boy’s death the first of your acts to reveal that nature.

  Piccolo lurched forward, almost in pain, wishing with all his might to stop the pressure.

  That’s it…King Piccolo said. That’s it…give in. Give in and-

  Leave now! Nail’s voice reverberated within him.

  Piccolo suddenly felt the load weighing upon his spirit lifted. The dark presence began to disappear from his being. He recognized it was Nail fighting the darkness along with him as he sensed the other Namekian’s presence.

  I won’t allow you to corrupt a proud Namekian warrior! Nail said. Get out! Get out this instant!

  With their combined effort, King Piccolo’s voice vanished entirely. After that mental struggle, Piccolo sighed in relief as he stared down at Gohan. The half-Saiyan child was thankfully burying himself in the folds of his loose pants, so he didn’t see Piccolo’s momentary quarrel with his own soul. He breathed hard before turning his attention to Nail.

  Thank-you. He said to the other Namekian warrior.

  He was taking advantage of you in a disturbed state. Nail commented. He seems to attack when you are most emotionally insecure. This is one of those times. Opening yourself up…admitting to Gohan you’re just as lost as he is…that is a prime example of when you feel the most afraid and unstable.

  So it was wrong to attempt to empathize with Gohan? Piccolo asked.

  I didn’t say that. Nail said.

  I am the reincarnation of King Piccolo. He answered. His nature lives on in me, just as the branch of a tree is the same as the tree it springs from. I may have convinced myself I am not the same as him…but that…that was a reminder how false that view is.

  And will you let that stop you from helping a hurting child? Nail asked.

  Piccolo looked down at Gohan again, gritting his teeth with more resolve this time. The Namekian placed his hand on the boy’s head, feeling his soft black hair. Gohan slowly began to sob less and less, shivering as he looked up to the Namek.

  “Gohan,” he said. “We are the same.”

  “The…?” Gohan asked. “Same?”

  “Both of us live on a planet we were never meant for,” he said. “And have had to endure the strain of living as strangers amongst a people not our own. We are neither a part of the humans, the Saiyans or the Namekians. We are alone, existing on the fringes between such groups.”

  “Piccolo…” he said, the tears starting to fade.

  “I know what your burden is,” Piccolo said. “Your life was torn asunder the day Raditz took you away. From then on you’ve had to confront your reality as a person meant for neither humans nor Saiyans, an alien to both.”

  “Yeah…” Gohan said. “Yeah that’s…that’s true…”

  “You took no pride in the warrior culture and brutality of the Saiyan race,” he said. “And found little in common with humans. Especially the children. I remember you’ve told me before how you wished to tell them how you nearly died fighting Nappa, Vegeta and Freeza but…they wouldn’t understand. They’d think you were lying for attention…making up grand feats of strength to pretend you were a superhero.”

  “That’s right,” Gohan said. “They…They’d think I was making it up.”

  “So Gohan,” Piccolo said. “You must…must do what you can to assimilate into one of your two heritage’s races.”

  “What?” Gohan asked.

  “It’s true,” Piccolo said. “You must choose a race that you’re descended from and do everything you can to blend in. Prove you are valuable as one of their kind by protecting and befriending them.”

  “But Piccolo!” Gohan said. “There are no more Saiyans! Vegeta’s the only one left and…and-”

  “And that means you will have to befriend humans,” Piccolo said. “I understand…that’s hard. That’s difficult for someone who's seen more death at your age than most people in their entire lives. But…Forget about death. Forget about battle. Humans are more sensitive and averse to harshness than Saiyans.”

  He sighed, afraid to say more yet knowing he had to.

  “You must do your best to purge your heart of the pains of a warrior,” Piccolo said. “Forget about the burdens of death and bloodshed. Yes, prepare for them as much as possible. Realize you’ll have to take the mantle of warrior up when trouble arises once again…but realize when that time has not come about…treat other human beings as your friends. Make them into companions and then…then they will alleviate your burdens and you will finally know peace.”

  In that instant, Gohan looked calm. The half-Saiyan child’s face wasn’t some distorted mask of pain and sorrow. He looked genuinely happy. A smile even began to grow on his face, the tears disappearing faster and faster. His grip on Piccolo’s pant leg even softened.

  “Th-Thanks Piccolo,” he said. “I…I feel…I feel relieved now.”

  “That’s good,” he said.

  “I…” he said. “You’ve put the pieces together for me in a way I didn’t understand until now. I know what you're saying, I even knew it before you said it but…but you’ve put it into words for me…in a way I couldn’t understand before. I…I finally understand how to shed my burden now.”

  “Good,” Piccolo said. “Now…you should go back to your mother and apologize.”

  “B-But,” Gohan said. “I-”

  And that’s when an odd sound rippled through the air. The shockwave caused Piccolo to become more alert, turning in the direction of the sound. Gohan did the same as the Namekian, taking a fighting stance as he turned to the source of the noise. Once they were ready for battle, Piccolo’s eyes widened at what he saw.

  It was similar to a rocket, with a transparent dome top at the center of the machine. Surrounding it were yellow legs that allowed it to stand atop one of the mountain peaks close to them. Rocket thrusters were stationed around the body of the machine, in between the vertical yellow legs. And inside Piccolo could see a young, male human stationing the contraption through the transparent roof.

  Once the top of the machine that functioned as a roof and window opened, he climbed out and hurried forward. He was a qi-user, no doubt of that, as he flew toward Piccolo and Gohan. Piccolo was at first afraid he might be a threat but it was apparent that he didn’t wish to battle. Piccolo could sense no hostility within the human as he neared them.

  He was a fair skinned man with a bowl cut of lavender colored hair with blue eyes and a blue jacket over a black tank top and equally dark pants. Something about him looked familiar but Piccolo couldn’t quite place the resemblance. But the most striking feature was the red scabbard held in place across his back by a belted strap. As experienced a warrior as Piccolo was, the black leather wrapped hilt and silver handguard struck a certain amount of fear into him.

  That weapon…He thought. It has a frightening aura.

  “Piccolo!” the teenage-looking human shouted. “Gohan!”

  Gohan and Piccolo recoiled upon hearing their names as the stranger landed on the same mountain peak as them.

  “What?” Gohan asked. “Who are you?”

  “How do you know our names?” Piccolo asked.

  “I’ll explain later,” he said. “I know all about you two.”

  He pointed to Gohan.

  “You’re the son of Goku,” he said. “A halfling of human and Saiyan origin. You bring out a vast, untapped well of potential when you're angered.”

  “Um…” Gohan mumbled. “Yeah…”

  “And you,” he said, pointing to Piccolo.

  “The reincarnation of King Piccolo before turning good by the influence of Gohan and Goku’s human friends,” he said.

  “Um…” Piccolo said. “Well…”

  “A brilliant strategist and known for being stoic,” he said. “You were split off from Kami after he arrived on Earth to purge the evil of humanity from his being.”

  Piccolo fell silent, slightly flattered by the young man.

  Hmmm. Piccolo thought. Well he got something right.

  “Look,” he said. “We don’t have much time before the Convergence War begins. Soon, all of time will change to bring about the greatest period of darkness in the universe. I know that’s a lot but you have to trust me.”

  “Convergence War?” Gohan asked. “What’s that?”

  The young man seemed uninterested in answering the question as he fished into his pocket for something.

  “It’s tough to explain,” he said. “But just know Goku sent me.”

  “Goku!” Piccolo said. “But-But he’s-!”

  “Merged with the Trampled Innocence,” he said. “I know. He appeared to me in preparation for this coming crisis. And trust me…you’ll need all the help you can get.”

  “But when did-?” Gohan asked.

  “Here!” he said. “Put these on!”

  Piccolo looked down to see the young man had produced various green rings from his pocket, maybe a dozen in his hand. Upon inspection, he found one of the rings was around the youth’s right index finger. He glared down at them.

  “What are these?” he asked.

  “Time rings,” he said. “You need to put these on and put them on every ally of yours you can muster. I repeat…you’ll need all the help you can get.”

  “I-” Gohan said. “I don’t know. I…I don’t even know who you are.”

  “I agree,” Piccolo said. “First off-”

  “Do what he says,” Goku said.

  Gohan and Piccolo turned to see the Saiyan standing behind them in his orange gi. Piccolo’s jaw dropped at the sight of the warrior. He shook his head as tears burst from Gohan’s eyes.

  “Dad!” he shouted.

  “There’s no time to explain,” Goku said. “If you want to save as many lives as you can then do what he says and where the Time Rings. Then go give them to everyone he tells you to.”

  Piccolo and Gohan turned back to the young man, watching him look directly into Goku’s eyes. After observing his expression, Piccolo turned around to find Goku gone. He sighed, knowing this would only further upset Gohan.

  “I told you,” he said. “Now get a ring and get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover. Also…”

  The young man took something from his pocket and handed it to Gohan. Piccolo watched as the young man handed it to the frightened child. It was a bronze colored card with archaic, rune-like symbols and a red eye-like gem in the middle. If Piccolo watched closely, he almost saw the gem blink.

  “I was told by your future self the omni ticket would be needed and to the single person I trusted the most,” he explained. “Apparently, you’re to use it to travel to the Flavum Circumference and do…something there. And because of his influence, er…your influence…I became the person I am today.”

  He held it in front of the boy’s face.

  “So I trust you the most,” he said.

  “B-But-” Gohan stuttered. “I-I don’t kn-know what this is. I-”

  “The omni ticket grants access to any part of the galaxy through the Galactic Rail System,” he said. “Even the forbidden parts of space Freeza has closed off to only the most trusted of his personnel.”

  “Galactic Rail System?” Gohan asked. “Forbidden parts of space? What…?”

  “Just take it, Gohan,” Piccolo said. “So we can get this over with.”

  The young boy turned back to the strange young man and stowed the card away into his pocket. Piccolo sighed as Gohan began sniveling. He could only imagine what the sight of his dad would mean to him after so long. After shaking his head, he took a green ring from the boy’s hand and slipped it on. The Namekian felt weird as he did. Piccolo couldn’t describe it as anything more than just a mild strangeness. After Gohan slipped a green ring on, the young man lifted himself into the air pointed north.

  “Let’s get moving!” he said. “We need to get to the human fighters before it begins!”

  Piccolo and Gohan shared a look before ascending into the night sky and following him. As they began jettisoning off at high speed, Piccolo recognized the young man was incredibly powerful. Definitely stronger than Gohan and very possibly more so than the Namekian. This only increased his suspicion.

  “So?” Piccolo asked. “What’s your name?”