Chi Chi stood at the mouth of the cave, gazing into the west, opposite of where the sun rose. She apparently didn�t notice. Gohan scampered out to meet her. �Mom, where did Piccolo-san go? Did he go off to train alone today?�
Chi Chi looked down at him and that was all he needed. �You don�t mean that he�?�
�I�m sorry, Gohan. There was no preventing him.�
Instinctively, he took off to the north, leaving his mother behind. All the while, he cursed himself. How could he not have seen it? This was why he was so quiet that night!
It didn�t take long to reach the ruins of East City. Smoke continued to rise from the tortured streets and skeletons of buildings. Gohan circled the area desperately, finding nothing. Just then, a thought occurred to him. What if Piccolo had survived and was trying to make it back? He doubled back to where he had come from, only to gasp in relief and horror.
A tall figure was limping along one of the streets that went in the direction of the wasteland. Right off, Gohan knew whom it was, diving to the ground before his mentor, �Piccolo-san!!�
Piccolo stopped in his tracks, staring at the small figure before him. A sick feeling began to build as the boy took note of his injuries. One leg was virtually useless, bent forward like a bird�s leg. Blood was everywhere, leaking from a gash above his forehead, his mouth, and the gaping hole torn through the left side of his chest that progressed down to his upper abdomen.
Finally, after stressing his mind to the limit, Piccolo registered who the child was and smiled. �G-Go�han�� As if saying his name used up the last of his strength, he fell to his knees. Before his upper half hit the ground, Gohan caught him and tried to support him. Piccolo�s head came to rest on the boy�s shoulder.
Though he already knew what was about to happen, the boy begged his mentor. �No, Piccolo-san�don�t die!�
�Hey�just because�I�ll be�in another dimension�doesn�t mean�I won�t be there�for you�� he rasped.
Tears began falling in torrents from the child�s black eyes as he felt his friend�s life force slipping away. �Piccolo-san��
�Gohan�you�re like a son to me�� Piccolo continued, determined not to die until he was finished with what he had to say. �That time of peace�was�the happiest�time�of my life. But you must live, my boy�.and fight for the good of�the Earth�.Do it�for me�your mother�and all those�who perished. As long�as you�re here�.there�s hope�don�t ever let�that hope die.�
Gohan clutched Piccolo�s head close, hiccupping in an effort to keep from going into hysterics. He didn�t want Piccolo to die thinking that the Earth�s last hope was an emotional wreck. �I�ll fight for you, Piccolo-san!� he cried fiercely, �And I�ll win!�
�I know you will��Piccolo�s body slowly stopped functioning and went limp against Gohan. �And I�ll be with you throughout your entire war�Always.�
Gohan never lost faith in those words.
THE END