Demon King Piccolo is the strongest threat the world has ever seen and the one who will make this world his own to rule. Those very thoughts are what had driven him those many years ago and those very thoughts are the ones that motivate him on this day - with the longing for revenge in the back of his mind. This world is weak and its denizens are equally as insignificant. They are lowlifes and only he can be their superior. The weak must learn to bow to the strong and today he will not let his chances slip through his fingers again. He will not be defeated, he can not be defeated. Those thoughts fuel and motivate him, even when his first son had so quickly been taken care of, leaving him surprised and apprehensive. No human on this planet should have been strong enough to defeat one of his sons so easily. Yet, Piccolo is left to search for his presence to no avail, all traces of his creation has left the plane of mortals completely.
That cannot be.
"Drumm"
His son kneels before him, eager to be sent out to avenge his brother and complete the simple task that had been assigned to him. All that was to be done is to retrieve the dragon balls from whoever held them and kill any in their way. It should not have ended with his demise and Drumm will prove himself to be the better offspring.
"Collect the dragon balls and kill the one who dealt with Tambourine"
He's gone with no further prompting and Piccolo watches him go with a narrowed gaze. Anger begins to bubble with the feeling of pure weakness that contaminates his mind. For Tambourine to have been dealt with so easily.....surely it must have been some blind luck or his foolishness. It can be no other reason. In his current state, he can not propagate any more sons without further weakening himself, and currently, that is not a risk he is willing to take. He hates to even think about it, but Piccolo knows he's weak. He can feel it in this deteriorated body he is stuck with and feels it through his connection to his other half. He scoffs, displeased by the fact that his once weaker half has now surpassed him in strength, yet he refuses to face him. His other half had and will always be a coward, it seems, always one to stand back and let others fight and die for him. He's one pretentious little creature and Piccolo will revel in his destruction once he has wished for his eternal youth.
He'll make sure to dispose of the dragon once he has gotten his wish. He will not give those puny humans any hope of defeating him and he will not let himself be dealt with in the pathetic manner of centuries before. To think that the great King Piccolo was sealed in a rice cooker for centuries.
Scowling, he regards the short blue man thing that had set him free, smirking when he shivers and scurries. Cowardly little thing thought he could order him around, did he? He's lucky he's of some use, otherwise, he would have been nothing but dust a long time ago.
"Tell me, Pilaf" Piccolo speaks and Pilaf stands ramrod straight. "Who do you suppose could have defeated one of my sons, hmm?"
It is a simple question, yet it has Pilaf releasing a bucket of sweat and shuffling like some anxious child. When Tambourine had been destroyed, Piccolo had thrown something close to a fit and the thought of those kids he ran into had quickly crossed Pilaf's mind. He kept his mouth shut of course, too frightened to dare speak lest he ends up like the fallen Tambourine.
"Speak!"
He jumps, gulping.
He made a terrible mistake and was wishing he never found that godforsaken rice cooker.
"There's a group of stupid kids," Pilaf says with no hidden amount of bitterness, his fear morphs into anger, only to revert back to fear once he recalls the monstrous strength of Kakarot and Durian's threatening words. "They're like monsters"
Children?
Tambourine has been destroyed and here this pesky creature is telling him that mere children had defeated one of his blood? It was bad enough that he had been dealt with that quickly, but it's even worse if he were to have died to some bloody children.
Glaring at the shivering Pilaf, Piccolo is nearly tempted to kill him on the spot for his insolence. He refrains, simply because Pilaf is still of use to him - for now. He requires more information on these children, however, before he could order said information out of his new minion, he's alerted to something terrible once more.
Drum has fallen and it had been a merciless and abrupt end that almost made the great King flinch.
"How can this be!"
The arm of his made throne is crushed under his grip, sending Pilaf scurrying behind something sturdy. Piano, his last remaining son feels trepidation for the first time, realizing that their enemy is more of a threat than he had first assumed. Tambourine could have been blind luck. Now Drum has been dealt with just as swiftly, meaning that luck is not the only factor in this matter. Their enemy truly is strong, at least stronger than Tambourine and Drum.
"Piano, go"
Piano hesitates for a split second, but it is enough to earn his father's ire. The glare Piccolo aims at him threatens death and fear is a far better motivator than simple admiration and devotion. He leaves quickly thereafter, throat dry and mind clouded with the fear of death. He has barely been in this world and here he is flying to his supposed death. If he does not die by the enemy's hand he may die at the hands of his father.
Death seems to be the only outcome for him.
Silence fills the plane and it is a tense feeling.
Anger boils hotter under Piccolo's wrinkled skin, his eyes almost dark with his hatred. Children? Mere children were killing his sons as if they were animals? He'll kill them all and he'll make sure it is a slow and painful death for each of them. Once he has his wish granted and builds his strength, he'll go for his weaker half. He may not be able to kill him, but there is no harm in having some fun.
The thought is amusing enough, alas, his musings are cut short by a sudden explosion that eats away at half of the plane, leaving the space to his right open to the air and sending the machine tilting to the left, falling.
"Yo," a small grinning boy stands in the middle of the destruction and chaos, waving at him as if they were long-time friends only now reunited.
To say Piccolo is surprised would be a grave understatement.
"You puny human!" How dare he regard him with such nonchalance.
"The name's Kakarot, my lord" Kakarot introduces with a playful bow. "And I am sorry to inform you that I am in no way human"
Piccolo does not get the chance to question the boy, as within an instant he is in front of him, and in the next, Piccolo is staring at the infuriatingly beautiful sky as he's sent flying out of the crashing plane.
Today has just been full of unpleasant surprises.
~~~~~~~~~
When Kakarot had bulldozed through Pilaf's plane I did not expect to see Piccolo plummeting through the air some seconds later. But there he goes, freefalling with a comically angered look on his wrinkled face as he attempts to catch himself before he crashes and breaks his body. While I'm sure it would be no issue fixing himself up, I'm fairly certain it would take precious time.
Kakarot returns soon after, holding a panicking Pilaf who flails and shouts like some toddler in Kakarot's unrelenting hold.
For some reason, I'm not surprised that this man child is involved with Piccolo. I'll bet everything that he was the one foolish enough to release the demon king in hopes of gaining some sort of power. If there's one thing I can respect about this small blue man, it's his resilience.
"You again?" Kakarot wonders, a bit amused as he holds Pilaf outward and away from the Nimbus. He only makes the poor guy fall into a deeper sort of panic at the threat of being dropped.
He's a blubbering mess begging Kakarot not to drop him. He promises his servitude and his service and everything he can offer, basically giving up his freedom if it meant Kakarot wouldn't deal him the same fate as Piccolo.
"It's sad to watch," says Bulma with a shake of her head. "I can't believe this guy thought it was a good idea to release a literal demon king"
"Technically Piccolo isn't a demon king simply because he isn't a demon," I say, correcting her. "If anything he can be an alien king or plant king"
"Plant?"
"Kami's species reminds me of plants"
Surely it's not a ridiculous thought.
"Elaborate" Bulma orders, because like everything, she needs an explanation for my thought process. "How do they remind you of plants."
"They're green," I say, first and foremost, only for Bulma to give me a very pointed look. "Okay, not just that, they also don't need food, only water, and Kami told me that he feels weird at night, meaning he is at his best during the day, meaning photosynthesis because it requires the intake of water and exposure to plenty of sun, which would explain the green skin. And lastly their regenerative abilities. When a plant loses a part of itself, it grows back, much like Kami can do if he loses a part of his body "
I am not ashamed to admit that I have been thinking about this for a long time and have been observing our amazing Kami whenever I visit the lookout. On top of the plant-like similarities, I have also considered comparing whatever he is to slugs. The antenna made me consider this and I have yet to delve into my studies.
"Okay, I guess you have valid reasons," Bulma says, nodding in understanding. "What would further drive your theory home is if we got a sample of his DNA"
"A million miles ahead of ya, bunny" I assure her, looking down at the Earth in search of the very creature we are talking about. "I'm never asking Kami for something like that, but Piccolo is right there and I can take as much as I want from him"
The thought had come to me after we encountered his second son. I had been a bit more curious about how he makes his offspring and why they have such varying appearances despite coming from the same man.
"That explains your enthusiasm"
Yes ma'am. Piccolo is going to be a very useful labrat of mine.
~~~~~~~~
When we locate Piccolo, Krillin and Yamcha have already caught up to us and Kakarot tried to pull me into a game to decide who gets to fight Piccolo. I argued that since he destroyed his two other sons that it is only fair I get to fight Piccolo. And Kakarot's tendency to draw out the full power of his opponent during his fights is another reason why I should handle Piccolo. Besides, Kami has more or less assigned me the task of dealing with him, so I might as well.
"Come to die, child?" Piccolo asks, sounding far too confident when I land in front of him. He shifts his shoulder, forcing it back into place, and wipes purple blood off his face.
He's old and looks almost exactly like Kami did when he was as wrinkled and shriveled as Piccolo. The things this old villain must know by now. How many years has he lived before being sealed away?
He releases his full power, apparently well aware of how strong I must be and not willing to lose once more. It happens in a sudden burst of ki that elicits a strong wind and equally heavy pressure. It's intimidating in some way, the sheer malice emanating from this old King constantly takes me by surprise and forces a shiver down my spine. I'm not a fan of the feeling.
"I will not be defeated again" he declares with an admirable determination. "Especially not by some human child"
Ah, well, I'm not fully human, but I doubt that will make him feel any better or less determined to wipe me off the face of the Earth.
He pounces in the next instance, fast and determined, but with no hopes of doing much of anything to me - being less than half my strength in comparison. He has unleashed all his power, while I would not need to exert much effort to keep up with him. The realization is oddly exhilarating, as it goes to show how much my training with Kami and Kakarot has paid off over the past three years.
I suppose, there is no reason for a fight.
His nails are sharp and just barely graze my face as I lean away. I'm not fond of injuring my face in any way. He's a massive creature and his arms are thicker than my much smaller hands, but that does not stop me from grabbing onto him as tightly as I can. I land a double kick to his chest with enough force to separate his body from his arms and it is quite the gruesome sight.
I wonder why his blood is purple.
From the distance where Piccolo has landed, I hear him shout, frustrated and angered, I'm assuming. I would be too if someone just took my arms, but unlike me, he can grow them back so there is no need to throw such a tantrum over some missing limbs.
Are two arms enough for my research?
"You did not just rip out his arms" I hear Krillin say, his voice wavering.
"I did," I say as I toss said arms towards him. "Hold onto them for me"
Krillin does not appreciate being tossed two green arms, but what is he to do? He just needs to hold onto it for me until this is taken care of, which won't take a minute.
Just as I had assumed, his old age makes his regeneration much more of a chore than it would normally be, as when I locate him, he still lacks both arms and is trying to buy time to recover. When he sees me, his mouth unhinges in a sight I wish I had never seen and a ball of energy forms in his mouth - an interesting thing.
He releases it, I step out of the way.
"Pointless" it truly is. "You're incredibly weak, Piccolo"
There is no honor in toying with the weak, so I shall not make this more than it should be. I'll offer him a quick and painless death, even if he may be undeserving of such mercy.
Perhaps he now realizes his weakness. Perhaps the innate instinct to survive finally registers in his mind. It could be either reason or it could be both, but something must have clicked in his mind if that almost wild look in his eyes is anything to go by.
"I am the mighty demon king Piccolo!" Is his desperate cry. "I will not be defeated by some human child!"
That so?
The area around us is swallowed by the familiar baby blue light as I regard him, slowly channeling the power I would need to put an end to him. There is something about such desperation that brings forth pity, pity for the delusional creature that sits at my feet. The poor unfortunate fool cannot begin to comprehend his loss, cannot understand how a "human child" could outclass a creature such as him.
He attempts to retreat, a useless attempt, but I humor him as the energy between my palms simply grows.
He will not be defeated he says?
I suppose he has a point there, doesn't he?
Energy sparks up my arms when I release the technique and it burst into an incredible flash of blue and white, brightening the area and nearly blinding me with its strength.
This may be a bit too much, but too much is better than too little as now I am certain Piccolo will not survive to rear his head in the future.
"All in a day's work" and all within less than thirty minutes, quick and light work, I must admit.
There is not a trace of the green villain in sight and his ki has already faded from my senses, a good sign.
Looking ahead in the direction he attempted to flee, I do a double-take at the sight that lay before me.
"Durian"
Kami?
He's alive? Well, he must be if he's currently communicating with me.
"You're alive?" Yes he is, I can feel his presence familiarly settle over my mind. I've learned to associate it with telepathic communication. Piccolo is dead, yet Kami lives.
And there's an egg in front of me.
"Do spawned children come from eggs?" I must ask because that is the only thing that could make some sense. But then if Piccolo made a child in his last moment, how does that keep Kami alive?
"Yes, Piccolo used his last bit of strength to create his last son" Kami explains. "But this is unlike what he has done before"
I would assume so because Kami is alive.
"He may have transferred his essence into his latest creation"
Reincarnation then?
"Curious thing" crouching down, I carefully collect the sizable egg and turn to reunite with the others. "It's quite fascinating the things your species can do, I'm impressed"
"We must take care of it, immediately"
I don't think Kami's words mean what I want them to and I say as much.
His voice is persistent in my mind when I do not reply or agree with him and I ignore him as best I can. His telepathic skills far outclass my own so I am not strong enough to force him out of my mind but acquainted enough to ignore him as easily as I would a drowning mouse.
When I return to the clearing I had first been in, no one is in sight. Apparently they left me here.
"Nimbus!"
It takes little time for my trusty cloud to come to me and hitching a ride alongside Bulma, is Krillin, whose clothes are dirtied with purple blood.
"Yo"
"Why do you have an egg?" Is Bulma's first question and frankly that is the most important matter at the moment.
"It's my trophy"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Kami is not happy when I return with the very thing he has been urging me to destroy. His stare is heavy with his displeasure, but not something I have not faced before. I tend to irk the guardian of the earth with my behavior. His attempt to take the egg from me does not go his way, as I am not willing to let him destroy the egg in his fear of his counterpart. In all honesty, he should be happy this egg is here as I'm sure it is the only reason he is still alive right now. If he destroys the egg, he is killing himself and while I will have no issue with his demise, it is not something I'll let him do.
"You stubborn child!" He bristles, pointing his staff at me in a very threatening manner. "I trained you to destroy Piccolo, and that is what you must do"
"And I did" Blew him into bits and pieces if he can recall. "This is different"
"That egg is Piccolo, otherwise I would not be standing here right now"
I'm aware of that, Kami, I've done the math and puzzled the pieces together. Even then, I will not let him destroy this egg. Whatever comes out of this has done us no wrong, and it goes against everything to kill an innocent creature. It may have the intent of Piccolo, but that is the only threat I can see. If it does pose a threat, I will take care of it, but for now, no one shall lay a hand on this egg unless they're ready to face the consequences. I don't care if Kami is the God of this earth.
"Kami, let's just wait and see what comes out of the egg" Kakarot suggests in an attempt to defuse the air, a rare occurrence for the young Saiyan. "We can go from there"
The silence on the lookout is tense and the gaze Kami settles on me has me fearing he'll continue to be a stubborn wall, however, he releases a sigh, his shoulders slacking.
Without a word to any of us, he turns on his heels and walks away, heading for the only building on the lookout. Hopefully, his head clears while he's away and he realizes what he had been asking of me.
Relieved, I sit down on the ground and place the egg down as carefully as I can.
"That was awkward," says Yamcha around a nervous laugh at the edge of the lookout, looking between me and the retreating Kami. "This happens often?"
"Kami is Kami"
"So Piccolo made this egg," Bulma asks with a raised brow.
"Yeah"
"That's why Kami wants to destroy it"
"Yeah"
She nods in understanding, glancing at the egg curiously.
"So, are you gonna take care of it?"
A valid question since it seems like Kami wants nothing to do with it.
"We'll see how things play out"
"I thought you two were going to fight for a second there" Bulma admits, joining me on the floor. She seems more amused than concerned. "Imagine fighting two green aliens all in one day"
Wouldn't that have been something?
"Man, so this is where Kami lives" Yamcha whistles as he looks around. "I don't know what I expected, but I guess this fits"
"The air here is thin" Chichi states with a wrinkled nose as if having caught wind of some terrible scent. "How do you train up here"
"By emptying your mind and soul" is Kakarot's easy, if not mocking response, repeating the words Popo had spoken to us. "You'll feel like dying, but you'll get used to it"
"Yeah, don't do anything physically tasking if you don't want to pass out," I say to Bulma, as she's likely the most affected by the thin air, even if she did not comment on it.
It takes little time for Kakarot to entice Chichi and Krillin into sparring with him, still eager for a fight - always eager for a fight. It's two against one, a severely unfair match as Krillin and Chichi together overpower poor Kakarot. Having trained together for years, Krillin and Chichi have impeccable teamwork and Kakarot quickly realizes his mistake.
He shouldn't have challenged them both, the over-eager fool.
"Kakarot is stronger than them individually" Bulma notes, with a tilted head. She hums, shifting to settle her arms on her knees as she watches their little fight. "I can tell"
"Yeah he is"
She can sense the difference between them, that's good, considering she just recently fully opened that sixth sense I've been attempting to nourish.
"My ki is like an ant compared to you guys" Bulma realizes after a moment of silence and focus.
"At least it's higher than the avera-"
There's a very audible and telltale crack that gets my attention, as it does everyone else's. The egg in front of me has visible cracks on its surface, spreading and spreading until pieces crumble and fall apart, revealing a small glimpse within.
"It's hatching already?" Krillin wonders, baffled.
More and more of the white shell falls away, crumbling in the silence of the lookout as everyone watches. It all crumbles until there is a small green creature sitting in the remaining shell, small, green, and covered in what could be amniotic fluid.
Oh.
It's a baby.
It's a literal infant.
It - he - sits there wet with fluid and curious and perhaps confused as he looks around, eyes shifting until landing on me and staring intently.
Does he recognize me, perhaps?
I'm not sure, he makes no other moves, just stares.
"He's a baby," Bulma says, sounding almost dumbfounded. "He's adorable, Durian"
Why yes, he is quite the enjoyable sight. He looks nothing like Kami or Piccolo. His entire body is green, but the antenna on his head clearly distinguishes his heritage.
And the ears. His species have some very big ears.
Carefully, I take hold of him, not enjoying the feeling of his amniotic fluid on my hands, but ignoring the discomfort in favor of getting him out of said fluid and what little remains of his egg. He doesn't struggle, simply lets me take him, his eyes on me the entire time.
Is he plotting my demise?
"Okay, you're a baby" just a baby. Kami would reconsider now, wouldn't he? This is just a child and even he knows better than to harm a child, I'm sure. "Bulma, do you have anything I can use to clean him off?"
I expect an affirmative because Bulma tends to walk with almost everything one can need. When she hands me a towel, the little Piccolo is swaddled and carefully dried off. Kami's species is incredibly durable, that much I'm aware of, but little Piccolo is just an infant and so I must treat him with care.
"He is really cute" it's Chichi who makes that remark now. She gets down to further observe, grinning in a manner I'm familiar with. When she sees something she likes, she gets this goofy look on her face. "He's harmless"
I doubt it, as his strength seems to be higher than the one who made him. Luckily it's not much of a threat, but it is still something noteworthy.
Once fully cleansed of amniotic fluid I clothe him with one of the many techniques Kami has taught me. The clothes beam is a truly useful skill and now the little Piccolo is dressed in Kami's colors. It may anger him, but little Piccolo looks very endearing in his little gi, albeit, very serious.
I suppose he's Piccolo. Jr, no?
He doesn't talk, which is expected seeing as he's just an infant. He can stand and walk just fine and I let him roam the lookout in his curiosity. So far I have not detected any malice from him, just curiosity.
He keeps staring at me though.
Ah but his exploration of the lookout comes to a halt once Kami emerges with a grave expression painted onto his face. He looks at the small Piccolo, hard eyes softening for mere moments, a good sign.
"I sense no malice" he admits warily, looking at Piccolo. Jr with distrustful eyes now. Kami has some serious trust issues he needs to take care of. "Still-"
"I am not harming a child, Kami," I say, because he seems to believe me to be some heartless creature. "And as you've said, you sense no malice, meaning he is of no threat to us. He's a child and has done no harm unto us so there is no reason to do harm unto him"
Even if he has Piccolo's intent within, the fact that he's a child means he can be nurtured into a better person. Kami would be the ideal person to raise him, as they're of the same species, but if Kami does not accept him, I'll have no problem taking him in myself.
Kami is quiet for a minute or two, staring at Piccolo. Jr all the while.
"I'll allow him to stay here" he then says. "I can keep a close eye on him"
"You won't attempt anything?" I question, not trusting Kami with the child of his mortal enemy. "No mafuba or anything of the sorts"
"No"
Okay, I'll be staying on the Lookout, just in case.