Greetings readers. This is my entry for the Gh/Vi Forum's one shot contest. This is the first time I have ever tried to write a song fic, hope I don't screw it up too badly. I don't own DBZ or Kryptonite.
AN: 07/24/2017: Due to concerns over copyright infringement concerns, I have removed the song lyrics from this story. This story is set to the song Kryptonite by Three Doors Down.
Eight years. Almost half a lifetime that had passed since that fateful day. Gohan stood on the bluff overlooking a large lake near his home in the 439 mountain area. Though the sun had just crest the ridge, casting the valley into hazy light filtered through the morning fog, Gohan was oblivious to the natural beauty surrounding him. His gaze was firmly locked into a simple cross planted at the base of a large oak tree.
"Hey dad, it's that time again. Even though you can't respond, I hope you can hear me. It's been eight years, heh, time sure flies, huh? I wish you were here, it's been so hard since you've been gone." Gohan started talking out loud. He was trying to maintain a composed facade, but tears rimmed his eyes.
"Goten is growing up so fast. He's only seven and already a Super Saiyan, can you believe it? He reminds me so much of you it's kind of scary. Mom is so soft on him, it actually makes me a little jealous, but I know she means the best for us. I started going to school this year. I was surprised when I found out they renamed Orange Star City after Hercule. I've made a few friends while there. There's Sharpner; he's okay, once you get past the tough guy facade he puts on. Then there's Erasa. She's really nice and sweet, she was actually the first person to make me feel welcome at the school. Erasa is cute, but I'm not really her type, whatever that means. Finally, there's…Videl. You'd never guess it looking at her, but she's Hercule's daughter! I don't know what it is, but there's something about her that I can't get her out of my mind. She reminds me a lot of mom. She is strong willed and has a quick temper, but she has a really strong sense of justice. I think you would like her. She helps the police a lot. It amazes me what she can do. She is also really smart, she had somehow linked me to the Cell Games, and keeps pressuring me to tell her what really happened. I deny it of course, I don't want to shatter her world view. I just want to see her smile…." Gohan visualized Videl laughing as she talked to Erasa about something. He instinctively sought out her ki as he thought about her. Suddenly his eyes shot open. "Videl!"
-Satan City-
"Yeah Hahaha!" Videl rolled her eyes and sighed as she heard her dad preparing for the day's festivities. Not interested in listening to more of his boisterous posturing she cranked up the radio.
Today was the eighth anniversary of Cell's defeat and the "World's Savior" was to be the guest of honor once again at the opening of the annual Satan Days martial arts festival.
Videl knew that as the daughter of the champ she was expected to attend, but wished she could find an excuse to not be there. Erasa and Sharpner would be there for sure, but Gohan said he couldn't make it because of family commitments.
Videl had hoped that Gohan would be able to make it. It was refreshing to be around someone that didn't worship the ground her father walked on. Though she had been friends with Erasa and Sharpner since they were little, they still idolized her dad to a point.
Videl had another reason for hoping the resident bookworm would attend. She wanted to pressure him into participating in the martial arts tournament that was the showcase of the festival. Videl was responding to a report of a mugging in progress when she came upon a scene that she would never forget.
Gohan was standing in between several members of the Red Shark gang and a middle aged man in a rumpled business suit. She was just about to intervene when she noticed the stance that Gohan had taken. Even from the distance she could find no exploitable weaknesses. The fight, even if you could call it that, was over in less time than it took to describe it. Videl doubted that even she could have dealt with the gang members with such ease. To top it off, there were no serious injuries to any of the participants, they were all knocked unconscious with minimal effort. After the last gang member had been dealt with, Videl called in the police and proceeded to confront Gohan about his abilities.
"What in the HFIL was that? Why didn't you tell me that you knew how to fight?" Videl had raged at the nervously smiling teen.
"Well, honestly, I never really liked to fight." Gohan said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
"Get to explaining, mister." Videl demanded.
"Can't this wait for later? I really need to get going or my mom is going to kill me." Gohan begged.
Videl eyed him suspiciously. "We will talk about this later." Gohan thanked her and ran off before she could stop him.
Thinking back on the fight, Videl could help but notice similarities to his fighting style and that of the biggest pain in her ass, the so-called 'Great Saiyaman'. This only added fuel to her suspicions that he and the caped vigilante were one and the same. She also still suspected that he was somehow tied to the Golden Fighter that had made a one-time appearance when the school year first started.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Go ahead, Chief." Videl spoke into her wrist communicator, thankful for the distraction.
"Videl, there is a robbery in progress at the Satan City Reserve Bank. Multiple suspects, all heavily armed. We suspect they are members of the new gang, the Black Crane." Chief Fife informed her.
While in route to the bank, Videl wondered if Saiyaman would make an appearance. While she was loathed to admit it, there were times that his interference really saved her ass.
Videl flashed back to an incident where she was trying to talk a bridge jumper out of committing suicide. A sudden gust of wind knocked both them off balance. Without thinking, Videl managed to push the would be jumper to safety at the cost of her own. Finding herself suddenly falling through open space, Videl resigned herself to plummeting to her death when a strong hand caught hers. Feeling herself being pulled into a tight embrace, she opened her eyes to find herself staring into the visored face of the Great Saiyaman. She instinctively clutched tight onto him as he started to soar through the air. He brought them in for a safe landing in a nearby park. Before she could even thank him, he had already taken off and was quickly flying away.
She was brought out of her reflection when her autopilot alerted her to her arrival at the bank. She rushed over to the barricade to locate the officer in charge.
"What's the situation?" Videl asked impatiently.
"They currently have five hostages. The bank manager, three tellers, and a security officer. One witness said that there were only four robbers, three with large caliber weapons. The fourth was unarmed according to reports." The officer relayed.
"Are they making any demands?" Videl inquired.
"Nothing as of yet." The officer answered.
"Okay, I'm going to check out the situation." Videl jogged around to an alley looking for an alternate entrance. Carefully she surveyed the alley where she spotted a masked person holding an automatic rifle guarding the rear entrance. Using a dumpster for cover, Videl was able to to close the distance to where she was able to rush the watchman, knocking him out with a combination of a punch to the solar plexus and a knee to the chin.
Finding the door ajar, Videl slipped into the back of the bank. She crept to one of the back offices that had a view of the lobby. Parting the blinds she could see two gunmen and a strange looking man wearing goggles and a metal skullcap. The man seemed somewhat familiar, although Videl knew she had not ever seen him in person before. She gasped when he turned and looked directly at her.
'Shit! How did he know I was here?' Videl cursed in her head. She turned to escape, but found that her way was blocked by a last gunman. Videl considered trying to take the gunman out, but the distance was just too great. Damn it! Where was Saiyaman?
The gunman escorted Videl to the lobby, careful to keep his distance the whole way.
"Ah! Greetings Miss Satan." The strange man said with an exaggerated bow. "My name is Tao. You, my dear, are going to earn me a nice little sum. Unfortunately for you, it will be the last thing you will do."
"Screw you!" Videl shouted in defiance.
"Hmm….I like them with spunk. It makes breaking them all the more fun." Tao said with an evil smirk.
"Yeah right, asswipe! You're nothing without your little minions and their guns." Videl scoffed.
"So you think you can take me, huh?" Tao said amused. "Okay boys, let's see what the little lady can do. Okay, Miss Satan. I'll make you a deal. If you can beat me, my friends and I will turn ourselves in."
"Too easy." Videl smirked. Adopting her fighting stance, Videl charged at Tao. Feinting to the right, Videl went for a snap kick to Tao's left side. Tao stepped casually out of the way. Videl threw punch after punch at his face which he dodged with ease. Dropping low, she tried to sweep his legs, but Tao just hopped over her leg and kicked her in the chest. Videl was launched across the lobby, slamming heavily into a pillar. She tried to stand but found that her body didn't want to respond.
Tao walked confidently towards the fallen Videl and removed his cybernetic hand. A blade extended from the stump. "Well now, I think we forgot to discuss what would happen if you lost. Well, my dear, I think a little compensation is in order." Moving faster than Videl could see, Tao's blade slashed straight down Videl's shirt exposing her breasts. "Here you go boys, why don't you show our guest a good time."
The gunmen smirked and started to approach Videl when something crashed through the ceiling. When the dust cleared, Videl could see a red cape waving in front of her. A wave of relief washed over Videl.
"Mercenary Tao….I should have taken care of you in Chazke Village."
'What? Where the HFIL is Chazke Village? And since when does Saiyaman "take care" of someone?' Videl screamed in her head.
"Hmm, you seem to think you know me, but you underestimate me. You think just because you have a few powers that you can defeat me? Now tell me…" Tao stopped what he was saying and raised his arm that was now glowing at the end. "Super Dodon Ray!"
Saiyaman deflected the blast with ease, but that is what Tao was expecting. Coming in quickly, Tao slashed out with his blade. Saiyaman dodged, but the blade caught just enough of his helmet to cause it to fly off.
Videl gasped. Even though she could not see his face, she would recognize that black spiky hair anywhere. 'I was right! Gohan is Saiyaman!'
"You look familiar, hmm….No matter, you will die here today. With you and the Satan brat gone, I will have complete control of this city." Tao stated.
'Something's off. I can't sense his ki.' Gohan frowned. Tao charged at Gohan. Gohan either dodged or blocked all Tao's attacks, but he seemed different than the last time he had seen Tao. Catching Tao's bladed arm with one hand, Gohan asked. "Why can't I sense your ki?"
Smirking, Tao ripped his arm out of Gohan's grip and flipped back out of the way. "Interesting you should ask. I happened to stumble upon a hidden lair that once belonged to Dr. Gero. I was able to adapt much of his android technology to my own cybernetics."
'Shit!' Gohan cursed. 'I'm going to have to take this up a notch to defeat him after all. Damn it! Videl is going to hound me about this for sure.' With a shout, Gohan powered up to Super Saiyan.
Tao looked on with a straight face as the young man before him transformed. 'Hmm….I know I have seen this boy before, but where….?' Then it struck him as Gohan's first words came back to him. 'Chazke Village! A young boy with blonde hair and teal eyes. No! It can't be! Goku's brat that stood up to me back then.' Tao started to sweat. He had seen the news reports of the Cell Games. He knew that Mr. Satan had no chance of beating Cell, and had seen that boy fighting just before the camera was destroyed. Tao leapt straight up in the air and pointed his arm at Videl. "Super Dodon Ray!" He fired at Videl. Gohan was able to swat the blast away, but Tao had already ripped the antenna off the roof and was currently riding it through the air as he made his escape. The gunmen gaped in shock as their leader abandoned them. Without hesitation, they immediately threw down their weapons and rushed to the safety of the police waiting for them outside.
Gohan removed his tunic and handed it to Videl who put it on to cover herself up. "Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.
Videl could only nod in the affirmative. Her mind was still reeling from everything she had just witnessed. Gohan retrieved his helmet and put it back on his head. He then picked Videl up bridal style and flew out of the hole in the roof.
They landed in Satan Park and he set her down on a bench. They looked at each other in awkward silence for a few moments before Gohan sighed. He removed the helmet and scratched the back of his head while grinning nervously. "So, umm….I guess the secret is kind of out."
Videl stared at him in disbelief for a few moments. "You lied to me."
Gohan sighed. He knew that this was going to happen eventually. "I just didn't want people to know. I never wanted to hurt you, Videl. You have to believe me. I just wanted to help, I don't care about the recognition or the praise, I just want to make a difference."
"You are also the Golden Warrior, aren't you?" Videl shot him a challenging stare, daring him to try and deny it.
He sighed again and nodded. "That would make you the Delivery Boy from the Cell Games too, wouldn't it?" Videl continued to question him, her excitement rising. When he confirmed that, she just had to ask. "My father didn't really defeat Cell, did he?" Her heart was racing. She was afraid of what his answer would be. She had long suspected that her father was lying, but now she would finally learn the truth.
"No, he didn't." Gohan admitted. Collapsing against a nearby tree, he closed his eyes and told her exactly what happened that day, which led to him having to recite the history of his life. By the end of his story Videl had tears flowing down her cheeks.
'He has suffered so much. I had no idea. No-one should ever have to live through what he has.' Videl forced herself to her feet and walked up to Gohan. Taking his hand in hers. "Gohan….Thank you for telling me the truth. I'm sorry for your loss. Don't worry, I won't reveal your secret." Leaning down, she kissed Gohan on the lips much to his shock.
Well, there we have it. My very first song fic. I listened to this song so many times while writing this that I don't think I will be able to listen to it again for a while. I apologise for having to remove the lyrics, but I would rather do that than be in trouble with the admins.