Memories are Made of What?
"Haaaaah!" Came a powerful cry. Young Son Goten just fired off the strongest Kamehameha he'd ever done in a desperate attempt to finally defeat his older brother in their sparring match.
Unfortunately for Goten, Gohan was effortlessly able to tank his brother's attack and counter with a swift chop to the back of the head.
"Gotcha again Goten," Gohan playfully teased. Before Gohan could do anything else however, Goten quickly tried to sucker punch his brother.
"I'm not finished yet Gohan!" Goten exclaimed with narrowed eyes.
Gohan sighed and put his guard up. However, he lowered it slightly when he noticed the tears forming in his younger brother's eyes.
"Goten, are you okay?" Gohan asked with concern in his voice.
"I'm fine. Let's just go!" Goten snapped back. The boys' actions were all but halted when a familiar female voice was heard.
"Gohan! Goten!"
The two brothers turned to see none other than Gohan's feisty girlfriend.
"Oh! Videl's here! Goten, let's take a break," Gohan said.
"You can take a break Gohan, I'm going home to spar with Dad!" Goten exclaimed.
In a flash of golden light, Goten sped off back to their mountain home.
[]
Videl turned toward the direction Goten was flying, with a hint of curiosity.
"Videl, hey." Gohan greeted. "What's up?"
"Let's just say that, since Buu moved in, I've needed to get out a LOT more," Videl replied.
Gohan couldn't help but chuckle at his girlfriend's 'dilemma'.
"Hey Gohan," Videl began. "Is there something up with Goten?"
Gohan raised an eyebrow at the question. "What makes you say that?" Gohan replied.
"Well for starters, he doesn't usually fly away like that. Second he didn't even say 'Hi' to me, and third, I'm pretty sure that when he flew away I saw him crying.
Gohan sighed. "Well, you're just as perceptive as ever," he said. "But to answer your question, I honestly don't know. He's been acting a bit more…a bit more…."
"Vegeta?"
Gohan snickered. "Actually yes," he said between giggles. "Anyway, he's been like that for a while after Dad beat the evil Buu, and I don't know why." He finished.
Videl thought back to their time on the lookout. For the most part, all she could remember was hanging out with Chi-Chi, Bulma and the others while Goten and Trunks learned how to Fuse. Until...until….
Videl's eyes widened when she remembered something that happened after Buu showed up at the lookout.
"Videl?"
"Gohan, I think I may have an idea why Goten's been uncharacteristically 'serious", Videl said.
"Really?"
"I think it might have something to do with Buu killing your mother," Videl said.
Gohan paused for a moment and said, "That…makes sense. But didn't Buu kill everyone at the lookout?" Gohan asked. 'Including you?' he silently added.
"Yeah but, what happened to Chi-Chi was…different than what happened to everyone else." She said, taking a seat on the grass. 'And frankly, I don't know which is worse.'
Gohan sat down next to her. "Videl, what happened to Mom on the lookout?" Gohan asked.
Videl sighed. "This'll probably sound ridiculous out loud, but thinking back it was probably a lot more gruesome than I already thought at the time." She said.
"Long story short, your mother went right up to Buu, slapped him in the head, then Buu…turned her into an egg," she trailed off.
"Wait…what!?" Gohan exclaimed.
"Like I said, ridiculous," Videl replied hesitantly.
Gohan crossed his arms. "So Mom was killed right in front of Goten?" he asked.
"Naturally, he didn't take it very well," Videl replied.
Gohan sighed. "I can't say I really blame him in that situation," he said.
"I wish I could've been there sooner, and maybe I could've done something to help," Gohan looked down, old memories flooding his mind. "I know what it's like to watch one of your parents die and be helpless to do anything to stop it. Maybe I could've spared Goten the same kind of grief."
Videl put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "It's not your fault Gohan," she tried to console him. "For what it's worth, I know that feeling too."
Gohan looked at Videl with confusion. A second later, he remembered, "That's right. You said your mother passed away before, right?"
Videl nodded with a saddened expression.
"Videl, if you don't mind me asking, what actually happened to your mother?" Gohan hesitantly asked.
"There's not much to say Gohan, she died of a heart attack, end of story." Videl said wanting to drop the subject.
"Really?" Gohan raised an eyebrow. "I don't mean to pry, but I don't think that's all there is to it," Gohan said with a hint of smugness.
Videl narrowed her tear filled eyes at Gohan. "You want the whole truth Gohan? Fine! My mother was stricken with an incurable virus that kept eating away at her heart until her time finally ran out!" she shouted.
"The doctors, my father and I did everything we could to try to and save her, but in the end, it all failed. I had to watch my mother cough herself to death, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it!" Videl snapped.
"There, are you happy now!?" Videl sharply asked. Her tune changed when she saw Gohan's expression. She had half expected him to have a shocked expression, at least due to her outburst, but instead he had an indistinguishable look that seemed like a mix of anger, regret, and worry.
"Gohan?"
"Videl, I'm sorry to hear about your mother," he began. "But I think there's something you should know."
"Know what?" Videl asked.
"The heart virus that got your mother, my father got hit with it too."
"What? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Before we fought Cell, we had to deal with his 'creator' and Dad got hit with the virus during the middle of the fight. Vegeta saved him, but he was out of commission for days. It was almost miraculous that Dad managed to survive," Gohan said.
'I should probably tell her about Future Trunks and the cure, but now probably isn't the best time.' Gohan thought.
Videl couldn't help but feel ashamed at her earlier outburst. She snapped at Gohan for bringing up a particularly painful memory, but who would've guessed that he had nearly the same one.
"Gohan, I'm sorry for yelling earlier," she apologized.
"Don't worry about it. I probably shouldn't have made you remember something you probably didn't want to," Gohan replied.
"No, that's not your fault, I kind of asked for it," she said in a defeated tone. "It's just, I usually don't let it bother me, but seeing Goten act like that after what happened to Chi-Chi, just made those harsh memories of my mom's passing flock back."
Gohan chuckled. "Like I said, I know what it's like to lose a parent too, after all, Dad died twice," Gohan began.
'Twice?' Videl thought.
"The key to coping with it is to ask yourself, 'How would they want you to live on; In a constant state of regret due to unnecessary guilt, or actually living a happy life?" Gohan said.
Videl looked up at the sky with a warm smile. Of course she still missed her mother, but she hadn't let that slow her down before, and she sure wasn't about to let it now. Letting reality sink back in, she had a certain realization.
"Still, how did we go from worrying about Goten to spilling our guts about how our parents died?" she asked.
"Maybe it's just one of those things that keeps us all linked?" Gohan suggested. "Speaking of Goten, maybe we should go check up on him."
The young couple proceeded to fly back to Gohan's mountain home, both filled with unforgettable memories.
"Videl, I hate to ask you this, but do you think you could tell that story one more time?" Gohan asked.
Videl slowly nodded. "Don't worry about it Gohan. I'm fine now, and I think it just might help."
"Thanks. I appreciate it, and I think Goten will too," Gohan said.
"Whatever it takes to make Goten smile again. Seeing someone like him get upset is kind of heartbreaking," came Videl's response.
The two young heroes continued their flight into the sunset, hoping that their heartful tale(s) would be enough to raise the spirit of a saddened young boy.
(A/N: This story is dedicated to my mother who very recently passed away. This probably isn't my best work, but frankly, this was something I needed to get out of my system. The idea of Goten still being shell-shocked at Buu killing Chi-Chi even after everyone's revived and looking into how Videl's mother died both seemed too perfect in this situation so I decided to loosely combine them. Like I said, this is dedicated to my mother who left this world late in August.)