Chapter 5

Krillin refused to enter the Room of Space and Time with the other warriors.

It was, Kami-sama reflected, his own fault. He made the mistake of mentioning that Goku would be there in the morning. Krillin decided to wait for his best friend so the two of them could enter together. Kami-sama could hardly tell the little monk that he was ruining everything since what Kami-sama planned for Goku was definitely against the rules and articulating his scheme, even within the confines of Heaven, risked discovery by yet higher powers. So God sighed and walked to Heaven's edge, hoping against hope that this unexpected twist wouldn't unravel all his carefully laid plans.

"Well," he murmured as he looked down, momentarily distracted. "That's interesting. Krillin, Mr. Popo? Better cover your ears."

"Why?" asked Krillin as Mr. Popo complied without question.

"Oh, there's about to be a rather large bang—" Kami-sama looked up "—directly over head."

On the close of the statement, Earth's moon shattered.

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It seemed to Krillin that he barely finished brushing moon grit off of his gi when there was a rush of wind and the Demon King materialized at Heaven's boundary, hovering just outside it with an especially grim cast to his face. Held in his arms, cradled with surprising tenderness, was a small curled-up shape Krillin could not quite make out.

Piccolo addressed Kami-sama with a marked lack of respect. "Bet you thought that was funny, huh? There I was, having a nice heart-to-heart, when whamoo! suddenly I have a giant monkey on top of me. Laughed your little godly lungs out, didn't cha?"

Kami-sama replied, "I did forget to mention that, didn't I? Sorry. I'm afraid it slipped my mind, what with the imminent invasion and all."

Piccolo narrowed his eyes at Earth's God. "Beneficent deities," he snarled, "should not smirk."

"Perhaps I thought you needed the sparring practice," returned God. "After all, all the Saiyans can dramatically increase ki by turning into giant monkeys. Now you know what you're up against."

"Oh, paa-leeze," snorted the Demon King. "Don't try and pull the 'all-seeing, all-knowing' act with me, Kami. I know you, 'God.' I was you."

"You represent a lesser part of myself that I foolishly excised believing it would make me more suited to be God," responded Kami-sama with a slight smile. "That does not make you me." He studied his floating other half for moment, taking an especially long look at what the Demon King held. "We would be more powerful as one, Piccolo. It would mean abdicating my godhood, but for the sake of my planet I would be willing to join with you."

"No. Freaking. Way."

"Of course not," murmured Kami. "Well, if you aren't here to be reabsorbed, what are you here for?"

Piccolo opened his fanged mouth to reply, but the bundle in his arms shifted and he looked down, smoothing a taloned green hand gently against dark hair. Krillin, watching the scene open-mouthed, suddenly realized what the Demon King had carted up to Heaven. "Kami-sama! That's Gohan!" He stepped beside the deity, glaring at Piccolo. "Give up the kid, Piccolo."

"I don't think so, chrome-dome. I was thinking maybe I'd adopt him. 'course, you're small enough. Maybe I should just adopt you."

"We don't have time for your games, Piccolo! We're going to defend the Earth. Just stay out of our way! Goku will have plenty of time for you once we defeat the Saiyans."

"Pretty big talk, half-pint, considering the last Saiyan popped you through a wall using just his tail."

Krillin winced. He forgot Piccolo witnessed that embarrassing little scene.

"Baldie's right about one thing," Piccolo told Kami. "There's no time. The Saiyans are, what, two, three days away? The kid will never be ready."

"Whaaaat?" Krillin felt his eyes round in surprise. "You—you're training Gohan? You're helping?"

"What did you think I was going to do, eat him?"

"Well..."

Piccolo displayed his sharp incisors in an unpleasant grin. "Not me. I'm a strict vegetarian. Most of the time." Turning back to Kami, he said, "You know what I'm here for."

"I think so," Kami acknowledged, thoughtfully looking at Piccolo. "How long are you planning...?"

"A day."

Kami looked at the little boy. "Will he be able to take that amount of time in there?"

Piccolo also looked at Gohan. There was a infinitesimal softening in his eyes. "Oh, yeah. Kid's tougher than he looks."

"No way!" Krillin clenched his fists, glaring up the Demon King. "You're thinking about taking him into the Room of Space and Time, aren't you? For a whole day! Kami said that twenty-four hours in there is the equivalent of an entire year!"

"Exactly. My, he can count. You must be the only one of Goku's friends who can."

Krillin whirled on Kami-sama. "You can't let him have Gohan for a year! Who knows what he might do to him?"

"This would not be my first choice, Krillin, but we are looking at the extinction of all sentient life forms on this planet in just a few days. Our plight couldn't be more desperate." Kami leaned against his staff, his brow furrowed in thought, then nodded. "I will allow it."

"And you were going to stop me how...?"

"Your abilities are limited on Heaven's platform, Piccolo. Once you set foot in Heaven, I could stop you."

"Yeah, right." Skepticism radiated from Piccolo.

"I will require a few minutes in there first, to make arrangements."

"What's to arrange? It's just null space, isn't it?"

"Not exactly," replied Kami. "I scheduled Goku for today; I need to adjust the schedule to allow for you."

After a minute, Piccolo shrugged indifferently. "How long do I have to hang around before we get to go in?"

"The others come out in another ten minutes. My arrangements will take only a moment longer. You could come down here and wait."

"No, thanks. The kid and I are just fine here."

Nodding, Kami turned away and started toward the inner sanctum of Heaven. Krillin trailed after him, still protesting. "Kami-sama, Gohan's just a little boy. We can't hand him over to Piccolo for a whole year. Why don't we wait for Goku? He's going to be here soon. We can all go in together."

"No, Krillin. Goku's training will be impaired if he's worried about Gohan. I can't have Goku distracted, not with the planet at stake."

"I owe Goku everything. I'm not going to let anything happen to his son." Krillin took a deep breath. "Kami-sama, I'll go in with Piccolo and Gohan."

Kami-sama paused briefly. Turning, he regarded Krillin solemnly. "Are you sure? Consider what I told your friends before they went into the Room of Space and Time. It can be many things. It is not meant for humans. It can drive them mad. That's why I only let the others in for an hour, the equivalent of a couple of weeks. Piccolo and Gohan will be in there for a year. A year, Krillin."

"I'll do what it takes to keep Gohan safe, Kami-sama."

"Your resolve is admirable, but we are talking about Piccolo. He can fight Goku to a standstill."

"I'll find a way," said Krillin with determination.

After gazing at the monk for another minute, Kami-sami said gently, "My son, you are frightened. This is beyond you. There is no shame in pulling back."

"I've been scared to death since Radditz showed up, but that doesn't mean I can't do what needs to be done."

"Very well," said Kami-sama. He smiled at Krillin. "After all these years as your deity, I find humans still have the capacity to surprise me."

Krillin smiled back, but the strain of his decision was evident in the worried creases folded around his eyes. "Hopefully we'll surprise the Saiyans, too."

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Sashoki pulled her gloves on, tapping a foot impatiently. She stalked into her bedroom, glared at the communication screen, and stalked back into the outer chamber. She tugged on a chestplate, adjusted the shoulder guards, picked and packed some spare armor, then marched back into the bedroom and scowled again at the communications screen. "Why hasn't he called —?" she muttered, as close to wringing her hands as a Saiyan ever got. "I've got to go—the mission leaves in half an hour. Ah, feh—" Sitting at the console, she pressed the record button and stared defiantly into the recording lens. "I've done something you are going to be beyond angry about," she started. "So I'm not even going to tell you what—"

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Gohan took a step, swayed then, his arms waving wildly, sat down hard on Heaven's smooth marbled floor. He glared at Piccolo, who was still hanging just outside Heaven's boundary as he watched the boy stoically. Gohan thrust out a lower lip. Recognizing the signs, "Don't start caterwauling," warned the Demon King.

"I can't believe you took my tail off!"

Piccolo shrugged. "Your dad doesn't have one. What do you need it for?"

"Balance!" snapped the little boy, petulantly. "How can I fight the Saiyans when I can't even stand up?"

"Never fear, Uncle Piccolo has the cure."

Gohan's glare hardened, his brows drawing down, his mouth setting firmly. For just a second the round face resembled Goku's right before a fight. "My uncle is Radditz," the boy said with precision. "You are my sensei."

Piccolo blinked, then smiled faintly. "Right, kid. I stand corrected. How would you like a year's worth of training before the Saiyans get here?"

"I thought they were almost here now."

"True enough. But we can remove ourselves from this plane of existence and train outside of it. A year will pass where we are, but only twenty-four hours will pass here. Do you understand?"

The boy's forehead knotted. "This time tomorrow I'll be a year older?"

"Yep."

"Can I see Mom and Dad while I'm training?"

"Nope. Once we enter the Room of Space and Time, Kami sets a timer and we can't come out until our Time is up. That means the only one you'll see for the next year of your life is me."

"And me," Krillin hurriedly added. "I'm going in with you."

"Try not to factor the runt's presence into your decision too much."

"I miss my mommy," the little boy said, as if to himself. Almost overwhelmed with sympathy, Krillin started to speak but Piccolo, frowning, held up a hand for silence.

Gohan struggled with some inner turmoil, quicksilver emotions running across his face. Finally he said, "If Uncle Radditz's friends come here, they'll hurt Mom—hurt everyone. I'll never see her again. Never." The slight shoulders squared. Gohan got to his feet, carefully adjusting his stance until he could stand without wavering, and tilted his head to look Piccolo in the eyes. "I'm ready," he said.