Chapter: 4

:Two young Hearts United by Pain

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Dragon Ball Z. All rights are owned by their respective owners,Toei, Toriyama, etc. This is purely a fanfictional work done by a simple fan done for fun. I do no get profit from this in any way.

([ ]) Goku's telepathic communication via King Kai.

Videl was left staring into the sky after the Z-Fighters flew off for Kami's Lookout. She was left to think about the day's events and about the young boy who had saved her and the planet. Meanwhile, her father Hercule Satan had just recovered from the blast and stood agape at the new canyon that now scarred the battlefield. When the announcer finally recovered and asked what had happened, Hercule put up the most boastfull pose he could do and said that he took down Cell while everyone else was looking away. What was most surprising was the fact that most of the other numdskulls actually believed him. The camera operator found their van with their communication equipment in the some nearby rubble. Without anyone around to really corroborate or disprove Hercule's story, the announcer had no choice but to run with what he had. The bright shinning lie that was Hercules word was soon spread all over the world to an ignorant public ready to eat it up with a spoon.

After a while of staring off into space, Videl decided to search for her father. Videl soon found where her father was and ran up to him. Hercule was shocked to see his daughter. "What!? Videl!? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be back home!" exclaimed a surprised and dumbfounded Hercule. "I wanted to see you beat Cell, so I kind of snuck aboard your car and came here." said a sheepish Videl. "WHAT!? You mean you were here the whole time!" yelled out Hercule in surprise. "Yeah, I was. I saw the whole thing from behind those rocks." Videl said while pointing in the adjacent area of where she was. "Then you can tell us just how great your father was when he beat Cell with one chop." said Carone, her fathers student had a look of anticipation on his face. Videl looked at him as if he had grown a second head. 'What is he talking about? My dad didn't beat Cell, it was that young boy who did it. Are those idiots blind or something?' thought Videl. "We were knocked out shortly after Cell and that kid shot those weird lights at each other so we didn't get to see what happened, but your father told us everything. He told us about how he walked up to Cell and ended the Cell Games with one punch." said Carone, sounding excited. Videl then looked at her father and saw him sweating in that goofy look of his. It was true, Videl couldn't believe it but it was still true. Her father had just taken credit for something he didn't do and had gotten away with it.

Videl tried to tell everyone what really happened but was discounted by her father, saying that she was just a little girl and she was just making up stories. Hercules students and their empty headed manager were all too willing to believe everything their hero told them and they weren't going to argue with the worlds strongest man. Videl gave up trying to convince those idiots of the truth and try to just ignore them. While Mr. Satan was busy fooling his numbskull students of his 'greatness', Videl whispered a question to the announcer. "Did you honestly believe him when he told you that he'd beaten Cell?" asked Videl. The announcer whispered back his answer. "Not a word, I knew he was lying though his teeth by the nervous look on his face." he said. "Then why did you tell the world that my dad beat Cell when you knew it wasn't true?" Videl whispered. "I may not be as gullible as those moron he calls students. But I'm not about to call the Worlds Martial Arts Champion a liar in front of his powerhouse fan club. Besides, the world needs someone to cheer for and it might as well be Mr. Satan." reponded the announcer in a whisper. Videl just smirked at him. 'At least somebody else here knows the truth.' thought Videl as she walked away.

A few hours later, a hovercopter came to pick them up. "Aren't you coming sweet pea?" asked Hercule as he boarded the the vehicle. "I think I need some time to be alone. I'll signal when I need a lift." Videl answered. Hercule didn't why his daughter wanted to stay behind, but he didn't want to pry and he didn't want to argue with a girl as stubborn as Videl. "Alright, just don't stay here too long." said Hercule as he then climbed into the hovercopter and flew off. Videl had decided to stay and reflect on what happened here today. And also maybe, just maybe, the cute boy she saw would return to the scene and she would be able to thank him personnally for saving her life.

Meanwhile, at Kami's Lookout, the Z-Fighters had summoned Shenron, The Eternal Dragon. They had used the first wish to revive all of Cell's victims and were ready to wish themselves to New Namek so they could revive Goku. However, the voice of an old friend stopped them dead in their tracks. It was Goku, talking to them telephathicaly through King Kai. Goku decided that he wanted to stay dead and he explained his reasons why. As Goku continued to talk about staying dead, Gohan grew sadder and sadder knowing that he wasn't going to see his father again. ([Hey! Whats wrong there champ?]) Goku asked his son. Gohan starting to show tears. "Dad, it was my fault you died and now I'm not going to see again for a very long time. If only I hadn't let all that power go to my head you'd still be here with me." Gohan said in between sobs. ([No Gohan, its my fault. I never should've let you be placed in that position. I had the chance to get stronger in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and I passed it up because I had so much faith in your power. I forgot that you were still just a boy and shouldn't have been placed there. I allowed my pride in your abilities to blind my reason and for that mistake, I paid the price. I always thought that because you were my son that you were just like me, but I failed to realise that you were your own person. I'm sorry Gohan, for not being the father that I should've been. But always know that I was always proud of you, and that I'll never stop loving you. Goodbye, my son.]) And with that, he was gone.

Gohan now felt even worse than he did before. He had made his father feel bad about himself. The grief was too much and he flew off the Lookout with tears in his eyes heading to nowhere in particular. Yamcha was about to go after him when Piccolo stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. "Let him go. He needs to air out his grief." said Piccolo. Yamcha nodded and they both went back to tha agenda of the second wish. Meanwhile, Gohan flew to find someplace to grieve, his grief guided his body and the place he found was the place where he had last seen his father, at the Cell Games Battlefield.

Gohan landed at or near the spot where his father had vanished. Gohan just stared at the ground with tears in his eyes as his mind drifted back to those great moments of joy and triumph he had shared with his father. It made things all the more painful when he realised that he wouldn't get to have those kinds of memories ever again. (A/N: Trust me, I know. I lost my dad when I was only a few years older than Gohan is at this stage. Whenever I think about him, I think of nothing but the happy times and its the realisation that I won't get to have those good times with him again that are what truly pains me. Having great memories doesn't make the situation better, it makes it a bit worse.) Gohan broke down to his knees and started to sob and cry. "Why...why..did you...leave me like that?" Gohan asked himself in between his sobs.

It was then that Videl made her move. She had hidden among the rocks waiting for the boy who beat Cell to show up again, so she could get some answers about what happened. But as she watched the boy grieve, all she could do was feel simpathy for him. Memories of her own loss a few months ago flooded her mind and all she wanted to do was to comfort him in his time of need. Videl began to slowly walk to where Gohan was crying. It wasn't until she was a few feet away from him did Gohan finally notice her. He looked up at Videl with eyes full of tears, he saw that her eyes were glittering with sympathy and care. Gohan didn't care who she was or of why she might be there, all he saw was a person's shoulder to cry on. Gohan lunged at her and hugged her while he cried on her shoulder. Videl was surprised and stunned at this action at first but she soon found herself patting him on the back to comfort him.

After about a half-hour of crying and comforting, Gohan finally let go and regained his composure. "Thanks, for the shoulder." said Gohan, jokingly. "Your welcome, you looked like you needed it. I know what its like to loose a loved one. Plus I wanted to thank you personnally for saving my life." responded Videl with a kind smile. It was then that Gohan recognised her from earlier. "Hey! You're that girl from the Cell Games aren't you?" exclaimed Gohan in recognition. "Thats right, but I guess its time for proper introductions. My name's Videl...Videl Satan." Videl said with pride. "Hello Videl, My name's Gohan." Gohan said with a bow and a kind smile. "I know your name already, Gohan. I overheard some of your friends refer to you by name." responded Videl with a smirk.

Over the next couple of hours, Gohan and Videl talked about their reasons for being at the Cell Games and about some stories about their lost loved ones. When they saw that the sun was setting, the two kids decided it was time to part ways. They each gave each other their phone numbers and adresses so they could get in touch later. Gohan waved goodbye as he flew off while Videl signaled for a transport to come pick her up. As both of them headed to their respective homes, they each felt better knowing that they had each made a new friend out of an awful affair.

When Videl Satan arrived at her home she found that her father was hosting a party at their house to continue the day long worldwide celebrations of his 'defeat' of Cell. Videl felt disgusted as she made her way through the crowds of partiers to her room. She felt disgusted by their ignorance and by her father's conceited showmanship of taking the credit away from the real heroes. Videl finally made it to her room and immediately fell face first on her bed. Videl began to shed tears on her pillows as she felt ashamed that her own father would so blatantly lie in front of the whole world just to get a little more prestige.

Not long after she started crying, her father, Hercule Satan, opened the door to his daughter's unlit room. Hercule was wearing a silly party hat on his afro and confetti rained down from behind him as the party continued outside the door. He was so busy enjoying the party that he hadn't noticed that his daughter was crying on her bed. "There you are sweat pea. I've been looking for you. Sme of the guests said that you'd arrived. Why don't you join your father in celebrating the new world hero!" Hercule exclaimed with cheeriness. When he took a closer look he saw that his daughter was upset about something. He closed the door behind him to lessen the noise outside. He then sat on the side of her bed and tried to comfort her for whatever was bothering her. "What's the matter sweat pea? Why don't you tell daddy what's wrong and he'll make whatevers bothering you go away." said Hercule in caring, fatherly way. "Why did you do it daddy?" Videl asked in between her sobs. Hercule was taken aback by this. What was she asking about? "Why did you take the credit from those guys who really beat Cell?" Videl asked while still sobbing. Hercule didn't know what to say, he felt like a deer caught in headlights. Truth be told, deep down, he felt a little ashamed of himself too. "I can't believe my father is such a lying coward! I'm so ashamed of you right now!" Videl shouted while sending a glare at her father with her tear filled eyes.

Hercule tried his best to think up a good reason for his selfish decision but he couldn't find any. Hercule felt that he had disappointed not only his daughter, but himself as well. Hercule left his daughter's room disheartened and returned to the party to try to drown his pain in the festivities. As he closed the door to his daughters darkened room, Hercule took one last look at his crying daughter and then slowly closed the door. Videl continued to cry into her bed in the midst of the darkened room and the sounds of the party outside her room. She eventually went to sleep thinking about the day's events, the blatant lying of her father and of the heroic young boy she'd met. A small smile crept on her face when she thought about the boy she'd met, Gohan.

Author's Final Thoughts: So there you have it. Videl knows the truth and now has met Gohan, and now things are going to take of from here. The whole farewell speech with Goku I changed in order to set a different mood and to illustrate more of Goku's regrets and to more showcase more of Goku's absolute love and devotion for his son. It was also to provide an excuse for Gohan to get sad and to meet with Videl so that they could hit it off.