Stay tuned to the end of the story for some liner notes. Enjoy!

The Sons had taken a trip down to Frying Pan Mountain for an extended vacation. Ox King was more than happy to welcome them, as he had planned to go up and visit them for Gohan's second birthday. Either way, they could all celebrate it together.

Chi-Chi pushed a present over to him. "Go on, Gohan. Open this one, next. It's from mommy."

Gohan grabbed onto the paper, tearing it and throwing wrapping paper everywhere. As he tried to open the box, Piccolo leaned over him, and helped him remove the lid. Gohan grabbed onto the object inside and pulled it out.

His eyes widened and he looked at his mother.

"What is it? What did you get?"

He lifted it up with his tiny, chubby arms and showed it off to the others.

"Is that a Dragon," Goku asked. Gohan nodded. "It looks just like Shenron. That's awesome! Great choice, Chi-Chi."

She shrugged. "It wasn't all my idea. Piccolo helped me pick it out."

The Ox King walked back into the room at this moment, carrying a few heavy boxes. "Well, then you have good taste, Piccolo!"

Chi-Chi shook her head, as she helped her father set the boxes on the floor. "Dad, you really didn't have to go so overboard with the presents. There will be other birthdays, you know."

"Oh, these aren't for Gohan!" He handed a smaller box to Chi-Chi "This is for you, princess."

She looked down at the box in surprise. She tilted it side to side, before unwrapping it. She gasped, as she pulled out her gift – it was a helmet with a large blade in the middle of it. "Where did you get this old thing?"

"I found it digging in the attic. I had some guys resize it, clean it up, and sharpen the blade a little bit. I thought you might like to have it!"

Goku leaned back on the couch. "Man. That was a really long time ago. It feels like just yesterday." He laughed. "Did you remake the armor, too? I might like to see that, too!"

Chi-Chi blushed. "Goku, not in front of Gohan!"

"I'm not even going to ask," Piccolo muttered, as he shook his head.

Ox King handed another box to Goku, as he laughed at Goku's joke. "Maybe another day. In the meantime, this is for you!"

Goku's eyes lit up, as he hastily opened the present, making even more of a mess than Gohan did. He tore open the box, and its contents plopped into his lap. It was a worn-out training gi. He lifted it up and inspected it. "Hey, what's this?"

"That was the old uniforms that Master Roshi had me and your grandpa wear. Old Gohan handed it off to me, when we finished out training. Thought I might get more use out of it than he would."

"You mean Grandpa wore this?" Ox King nodded. "Wow! That's so cool! Thanks so much, Ox King!"

The last wrapped present was the biggest of all – a large, flat rectangle. Ox King carefully lifted it back up, and waddled back over to the couch. "Well, this one's for all of you to enjoy." He stopped in front of Piccolo, who just looked up at him, strangely. He laughed. "Don't look so surprised! Take it!"

Eventually, Piccolo took the large present from him. Goku picked Gohan up off the floor and scooted closer to him. Chi-chi leaned over the arm of the couch. They wanted to see what this was going to be as well.

Piccolo used one of his nails to pierce the wrapping paper, dragging it down the length of the frame. He slowly tore open the remaining pieces, revealing its contents.

It was a large framed canvas of the Son family. Goku stood next to Chi-Chi, pulling her close to him. Gohan was balanced in one of his arms, looking up at his father with a confused expression. It was a pretty portrait of the small family.

"Oh, it's so beautiful," Chi-Chi said, as she began to tear up. "We're all here! How did you get this?"

"I know a couple of really good painters and asked them if they could do something with all of you. I gave them a few of your old pictures so they could get your look just right – hope that was fine with you."

"No, it's wonderful! Thank you so much, dad!"

Goku leaned in closer to the picture, bringing Gohan closer. "Look, Gohan: that's you! Isn't that cool?" Gohan giggled, when he recognized himself. Goku pointed at his portrait. "And who's that?"

"Dada!"

"That's right: it's daddy!" Goku stretched his arm across the canvas, pointing at Chi-Chi's portrait. "Who's that?"

"Mama!"

"Good! It's your mommy!"

Chi-Chi pointed somewhere else on the canvas. "Now, who's that?"

"Pikkoyo!"

Piccolo's eyes widened. Sure enough, he was there, as well. He wasn't off in the background or hidden by anything – he was standing with them, right behind Chi-Chi. He nearly dropped the whole painting right then and there; he was in that much shock.

"It's like you said, Chi-Chi," Goku said, nudging Piccolo with his elbow. "The whole family's here!"

There was that word again: family. He looked over at Goku and Gohan, then at Chi-Chi. These people truly believed that he was one of their own. Even though he came from such a different place and wasn't of their blood, they didn't care: they cared for him all the same. Never had he been so accepted and, dare he say it, loved as he was, now.

It was crazy to think how much had changed in less than a year. All of his life, he had believed he was destined to be alone. Whether it was through serving cruel masters or living out on his own for the rest of his days, it would always end in solitude. And yet, through pure tenacity and good faith, one man had opened his door for him and let him in. Though it had taken some adjustments on everyone's part, he had grown to find his place and had gained something he had been missing for his entire life: purpose.

Piccolo stood on a barren cliff, overlooking the landscapes of Planet Namek. This should have been it. This should have been the moment where he found his place. He had been reunited with his people. He was home, after centuries of being away. This should have been closure, after a long life of slavery.

Yet, when he looked over the blue seas and green skies, he felt nothing. Nothing but a vague nostalgia of memories he had long since forgotten.

Footsteps came up, behind him. He glanced back at the Grand Elder's assistant for a moment, before looking back over the seas. "What do you want?"

"The Grand Elder wished to meet you, personally. I believe he has some words for you."

He supposed that he couldn't turn down an invitation from him, regardless of how disconnected he was from his heritage. "You lead."

Piccolo followed behind Nail, flying above the peaceful landscape until they reached his home. The door opened for them, and they went inside. Nail smiled at him, stepped beneath the hole in the ceiling and floated to the second floor. Piccolo said nothing, as he did the same.

"Elder, the Namekian known as Piccolo has come."

"Step aside, Nail. You have done well."

Piccolo looked up at the Grand Elder with a blank expression. He was certainly much larger than he had imagined, but it did not surprise him much. He had seen much stranger things in his life than a giant Namekian. He removed his turban, as he stepped in front of him – a sign of respect.

"Ah, Piccolo. It is good to finally meet you. Bulma has spoken much about you. I never would have suspected that the son of Katas would turn out to be such a powerful warrior. If he were still alive today, I am sure he would be proud."

Piccolo nodded. He didn't have anything to say on that point; he had no memory of his Namekian father and the praise meant nothing to him.

The Grand Elder sighed. "It pains me to know of your misfortune and suffering. A Namekian divided by his heritage and forced to tear himself apart. I can only imagine the pain that must have wrought. I sense that division in you, still."

"I've learned to deal with it, by now. No need to worry yourself over it."

"I do not doubt your capabilities, but I fear that one day, it will become too great for even you to handle. The pain and suffering may return and consume you. Piccolo, you may be independent, but you do not have to go through this, alone. There may be others that are able to accept you and help."

"Even if that were true, where am I going to find that? No disrespect, but I won't find it from the rest of you here."

"I realize that well. However, if you will let me make a suggestion, perhaps you should return to your old home."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "You mean Earth. Sorry to disappoint you, but I know what Earthlings are like: they wouldn't even go near me."

"I do think you may be surprised. There may very well be someone there willing to lend you a helping hand. The final decision is yours to make, my brother. You are free to make your own choices. All I ask that you at least consider this. I sense that a purpose is waiting for you, there."

His sense of respect had kept him from just scoffing and leaving the hut without another word. He had no reason to believe the Grand Elder, as wise and powerful as he might have been. For all he knew, he could have predicted something wrong.

But he had been correct.

Piccolo was nudged once more by Goku. "Hey, you okay?"

He shook his head, as he was pulled from his thoughts. "I've never been better."

He grinned. "I'm glad! I was beginning to think you didn't like the painting, or something."

Piccolo looked over the portrait, once more. As his eyes roamed over the delicate paint strokes, his gaze landed right in the middle – where Goku, Chi-Chi, and Gohan were standing. As he looked at their happy faces, a small smile formed on his face.

They were his purpose.

They were his life.

They were his family.

And he would never leave them.

THE END

And so another chapter in my thrilling saga comes to an end. Thank you all so much for reading this. I had so much fun writing this. It took a few different turns than I was expecting, but the end result is basically what I had planned, from the start.

I mentioned earlier that this story was happening, regardless of if A Thrilling Chase was getting a sequel. There's a reason for that. Most of the character arcs I felt came to a pretty nice conclusion - Bulma got the boy and was able to go home, Vegeta got the freedom he wanted, King Vegeta repaired his relationship with his son, the Saiyans overcame Frieza, the works. I wasn't quite satisfied with how I ended Piccolo's arc. I left it kind of open ended. He gained his freedom, sure, but nothing much besides that. So, I got the idea to finish that up with a spin-off. Hopefully you're satisfied with how his arc has come to an end. For now, of course. There may be new developments in the sequel.

On that note, I am happy to say that I have made pretty decent progress on the sequel to A Thrilling Chase. You can expect to see it going up either by the end of this year or early next year. There'll be a little break so I can get a few things done with other stories before I really start committing to a new one. After that, it'll be back to business as usual, so keep your eyes open for that first chapter. I'm not sure how many people reading this story haven't read A Thrilling Chase yet, but if you haven't, now's the perfect time to catch up.

As usual, thank you so much for all your wonderful feedback with your favorites and comments. Until next time!