Everyone liked Miss Dempsey's lessons; even the kids who didn't particularly care much for literature couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement. She'd spent much of her youth cavorting about, getting into trouble with the authorities and just generally doing things you didn't really assume teachers would do. As a result, she often managed to tell great stories, and today was no exception; she'd just finished up telling the class about a homosexual friend of hers who had taken so many different substances at once that they all leaked out the side of his face in a greasy, grimy, sludgy pustule the next day.

Did I say great stories? I guess that depends on your disposition.

Not that there's anything wrong with teaching teenagers about moderation, mind.

Erasa had to hold her hand to her mouth, the detail Miss Dempsey went into was usually quite entertaining, but not so much this time around. She took a glance at the other students in the classroom and saw that there were a few who shared her visceral reaction to the tale, although there were many others who seemed unfazed, fascinated even. Mostly boys; typical.

As they looked towards their teacher with rapt attention, Erasa allowed her mind to wander; really she should have done this at the first utterance of the word "pulsating". Turning her head towards the window, its pane reflecting the sunlight dimly enough to look through and beyond, off across the cityscape, she wondered where Videl and Gohan were. It had been more than two hours since the two ran off, not together but sort of? Erasa didn't really know what to make of that; they were probably doing something together but even then, it would have been considered a bold move if Erasa had been the one running off with Gohan, but Videl? It was more or less out of the equation.

Maybe they weren't eloping then. Maybe they were…nope, Erasa tended to have a pretty one-track mind when it came to boy-girl interaction (except for Sharpener, evidently). But it wasn't completely crazy, or at least, she didn't think it was; it wasn't exactly difficult to see that Gohan was mildly attractive – he was hardly going to set the school ablaze but he was definitely above average – and she had heard one or two people mention that they'd seen the two sitting together after school on his first day. Come to think of it, she'd meant to ask Videl about that one.

From the corner of her eye Erasa noticed Miss Dempsey had begun to write lines from a poem on the board. Something about an albatross and a crossbow, but it was one of those sort of poems where you had to really focus to actually understand just what was going on. Erasa gave up her mental transgression and returned her thoughts to the classroom, sighing at the prospect of textual analysis. Whatever Gohan and Videl were up to, she couldn't learn anything more about it until the school bell rang.

Usually it happens that if you really want time to pass, it doesn't. You'll end up sitting there watching the clock instead, hoping that sheer willpower can force the second hand further and further onwards on its endless journey; all this really does it draw your attention to the passing of time though, and that's when starts to drag. Peoples' movements become lumbering and cumbersome and thought processes that once occurred at lightning speed now seem to halt at every individual machination. If you saw a hummingbird, you'd probably be able to discern each individual wing movement it makes. All of this is to say that Erasa was very, very lucky that there wasn't a clock in the classroom, because her own navigation of time that afternoon went ahead without incident, and before long the bell did in fact ring to signal the end of the day. As if on cue, she sped out of the classroom towards the car park to await Sharpener's arrival. However unlike most days she didn't have to await anything; he was standing beside the red-panelled doors, as if he was expecting her.

"This isn't like you."

"I guess a lot of us are acting out of character today then. I saw the exact same thing you saw in the classroom and I already know you're planning to gush at me all about it. At least this way you won't be giving me an excuse for my terrible driving." He smiled at her sheepishly.

As the two walked to the car together, the doors swinging violently in their wake, Erasa felt pleasantly surprised by Sharpener's understanding of her.

v

It was already evening, and the sun was beginning to fall behind the horizon, shadowy trails of trees and rocks and buildings and cars all beginning to drag on towards the point of intersection, lengthening and extending until they enveloped their surroundings, and then it was dark. Gohan and Videl had watched as this entire process took place, but neither could have described it to you in any amount of detail; they were too far gone, enveloped by their own web of words and stories.

In Gohan's defence it was a long story, and not in any way an easy one to tell. After all, you do you describe a ki attack to a person who's never even heard of the concept before? How do you describe far-off planets and their inhabitants when Earth is someone's entire known world? Can someone really suspend their disbelief to such a high level and still take in the complete recount of events that Gohan was giving to Videl just now?

The answer seemed to be an almost disarmingly resolute "Yes". Gohan had expected denial, stubbornness, anger even. What he was met with instead was calm, but intense fascination; Videl's eyes seemed fixated on him, widening and shrinking almost in time with the kicks & punches Gohan was describing to her. Finally the sun disappeared completely, and the stars came into full view, doing the best they could to match the sun's illuminations. Gohan's words too began to disappear.

"That all happened seven years ago, but I guess you knew that bit already. Things have been pretty quiet since then for all of us, but I think we're all glad for the change of pace." Gohan paused as his hand snaked behind his head; he'd never really thought how he was going to go about ending it all. Up until that point he'd been very happy with his re-telling of events, but when it comes down to it it's the ending that people remember the most. He cleared his throat quietly, and continued.

"Well! That's a fair bit to take in for one sitting, I know. I imagine you've probably got at least this one question though: Why did Hercule do what he did?"

Videl took a moment to respond, her eyes blinking in rapid succession once she had acknowledged it was her turn to speak. "Replace the Hercule with 'Dad' and you're pretty much there." She replied with a little smile, trying to delay the onset of doubt, shock & all other associated emotions that was no doubt going to follow this conversation.

Gohan smiled back at her; she had taken it all far better than he could possibly have dreamed. "I probably don't really need to add this part, but it's worth saying that I don't actually know exactly what he was thinking at the time; I might be able to do some pretty cool things but mind reading isn't one of them. The theory we've collectively come up with though is this: Hercule came to, looked around and noticed that there was nobody left; we'd all flown away by this point. The camera crew was still there however, along with his own students, and they all wanted answers. To be honest, the entire world wanted answers, and all of us knew that; we just didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath.

"Videl, have you ever felt overwhelmed by your own fame? I know I would if I was in your position, but then again I suppose you're talking to a kid who lives 500 miles away from the nearest city here. The fact remains though, we all saw it as a burden that we could do without. Maybe it's a genetic thing as well; from what I've gathered, Saiyans traditionally fought for the battle itself moreso than the spoils it offered. In any case, we decided amongst ourselves it wasn't for us.

"Which bring us right back to your Dad. Here he stood, with the collective weight of the world on his shoulders, microphone in front of his face, having answers asked of him that even if he had truthful answers for, he couldn't offer any sort of satisfactory proof, and to the regular person these would have seemed like some pretty crazy answers. If a week ago someone had told you people could fly and shoot light out of their hands, how would you reply?

"If you had to break it down to its core components, I guess he was partially acting in his own self-interest, but also to some degree in the interests of people at large. People know Hercule, they trust him, they believed that he could do it. To assign the victory to a band of mysterious, heretofore unknown strangers that possessed superpowers would be more than just flat unbelievable; it'd be career suicide. He'd be labelled crazy, a victim of brain damage from flying debris during the Cell Games or something similar. There's no concrete right or wrong actions in situations such as these. Your Dad took one road, but it's not for me or any of my friends to comment on the morality of said road. All we can do is say he took it, and appreciate the effects of his decision."

Gohan's words hung in the air for a moment before dispersing into the now cool night, being replaced by silence. Above all other things, this was perhaps the most important point he could make to her. Regardless of how all these revelations would affect her perception of himself, he didn't want to be responsible for any bad blood between her and Hercule, or worse, estrangement. He tried not to think of such things.

After a little while longer, Videl piped up, again the hints of a smile playing across her features, although this time Gohan could swear she seemed more at ease than before: "Did you think I wouldn't figure that out for myself?"

"I hoped, but I was hardly going to leave it to chance! Father-daughter relationships are pretty serious business, you know. Actually I guess I can only comment on father-son relationships really."

"They're pretty similar; less "pull-my-finger" jokes though, so they tend to be a bit better overall."

"You're very lucky, then."

"I know, I know." Videl responded as she took stock of her current position in life for the first time in a long time, and realised perhaps just how lucky she was. Her own father was alive, for one.

"Hey, Videl. You okay?"

She looked up to see Gohan's eyes on her, not laden with the concern that had been glazed over them throughout most of his talking but instead with simple inquisitiveness. It was a nice change, all things considered. "Yeah, I'm okay."

The two smiled at each other once more; they seemed to have done a lot of that just now.

"Cool."

v

"That's your house?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, it's massive!"

"I guess anything seems massive compared to a hut in the sticks though."

"Hey! It has a rustic charm, I'm telling you!"

"And I'm believing you! But for the time being, I'll stick with my multi-storey mansion if that's alright by you."

"The balconies probably have a great view of the city."

"Not really as good as I'm getting from up here, but it's pretty nice. On the topic, could you let me down on my balcony? It's a bit late to be bugging Michael."

"Michael?"

"The security guy."

"Well I like that you're on a first name basis with the servantry; all the rich people on TV just snap their fingers instead of using names."

"I do have a heart, believe it or not Gohan! Oh, down on that balcony there, directly above the fountain."

"Sure thing, Ma'am."

"Ma'am?"

"Oh, I'm considering trying out for a spot on your house staff. I figured I could be your chauffeur."

"I know that's a joke, but really I wouldn't say no if you asked; I can't get over this. We're flying, flying! People have spent centuries dreaming about flight, theorising, writing stories about it, dedicating their lives to putting people into the air. And here you are, hanging out with the clouds and barely even having to put any effort into the task, it's amazing. How can you do it so thoughtlessly?"

"After ten years the novelty begins to wear off, I suppose. It's a bit like walking after this long."

"I can see where you're coming from, but I certainly don't agree."

"Fair enough. I remember the first time I flew, it really gives you a level of appreciation for the enormity of the planet we live on."

"Yeah, it really does."

"Well, here's your stop Ma'am."

"You know you'd make a pretty good chauffeur, I've got a spare hat or two lying around if ever you want to consider moonlighting as one."

"Oh I would but my hair doesn't agree with hats all too much."

"A noble reason, to be sure."

"Hey Videl."

"Yeah?"

"If you can't get to sleep because you're up thinking about stuff, call me."

"My my, you're awfully presumptuous Gohan."

"It's a lot to take in for one day, and that's not even including the calculus lesson we had this morning either."

"Oh right, that. Yeah I'm kinda writing off the stuff we were taught today, other things have taken priority."

"Fair enough. Well, I guess I should be getting home myself then; my mother's probably worried sick."

"I'll see you tomorrow though, right?"

"Right."

Gohan looked up at the sky, about to take flight once more.

"Oh, and Gohan."

He looked back at Videl, who was leaning casually against the glass door leading into her bedroom, her face showing none of the signs he would have expected it to after hearing so much new information. "What is it?"

"Thank you for everything. I know this was a big thing for you to do, and it's going to be a big thing for me to take in entirely. But I'll let you know now, that I don't think you're strange, and I don't hate my father for what he did."

Now it was Gohan's turn to look relieved.

"Oh, and thank you for talking to me on the phone later tonight." Videl added with a wry smile; already Gohan knew he'd be up most of the night.

"No problem. Goodnight, Videl."

"Goodnight, Gohan."

Author's Note: Shorter chapter this time, but it allows the explanation to take centre stage at least. Man, that was hard to write. Seriously, I struggled with this chapter for a long time, which explains the delayed release, so sorry about that. In the end, I just stayed up and punched it all out in one sitting, but I don't think that detracts from the overall quality of it.

The conversation piece at the end is a bit of a deviation from how I've written things before now, as is to a degree the overall tone of the writing this time around (I'm like Skynet, I'm growing self-aware). But with this story I'm trying to address what seems to me to be a key flaw in a lot of fanfiction, in that it deals primarily with plots as opposed to characters. Fanfiction by and large revolves around "what if" scenarios and alternate universes, and that's all well and good but it almost always works to the detriment of characterisation.

With this story I'm hoping to construct characters that you all enjoy reading, and that you care about on their own merits, as opposed to simply because they represent characters in that TV show you like. I don't know if I've actually done that so far but you know, fingers crossed!

In any case, thank you to all of you who are reading this story. I know this chapter took a while to come out and I'm sorry about that, but good things come to those who wait etc. etc. But now we're starting to move past the initial hurdles and the four key characters can really start to intermingle and relationships can really start to get a move on. This chapter should have given some indication as to how the characters are going to interact, expect plenty more where that came from!

Also, bonus points to anyone who gets where all the chapter titles/title for the actual story came from. It's a bit obscure but that's what makes it cool, right?