Stay a while. Chapter 009. Case and point.
Disclaimer: Do not own DBZ. ):
After a quick shower to tidy up a bit, the two half-saiyans met up in the hall. "You look like hell," Mirai pointed out as he stretched his arms over his head. He winced at the pain that shot through his side courtesy of his father.
"You're not looking much better," Gohan retorted with a smirk. He managed to get by with mostly cuts and bruises that would no doubt be gone by the next day. It was just a pain (literally) that Bulma banned them from using the regeneration tanks.
The purple haired teenager was clearly thinking the same thing as he rubbed at the side of his stomach in an attempt to soothe the pain. "I can't remember the last time I've been sore this long," he mused and Gohan nodded in agreement. They were spoiled in the past years. The spars weren't anywhere near as intense as the battles they'd fought. Typically, they would be in a regeneration tank within minutes and good as new when they emerged.
They kept up a light banter as they walked, neither realizing they caught up with the class until Bulma cleared her throat. "Well, now that these two are here, we can have that demonstration I told you guys about yesterday," she announced, gesturing for the half saiyans to come forward. They followed her instructions and stood on either side of the genius.
Gohan smiled sheepishly at the class. So much for keeping getting her off my back, he thought as his dark eyes met piercing blue ones. It was clear that she wasn't happy and it was fairly obvious why. He could practically feel his ears ring at the thought of their conversation later, if one could call it that. She yelled and he evaded then she yelled some more. It was a vicious cycle that took detours here and there but continued nonetheless.
A sharp jab at one of his arms brought Gohan's attention back to the blue haired genius next to him. He scowled at her, rubbing the now throbbing area. Super strength or not, that hurt! "As you can see, both Mirai and Gohan have been roughed up a bit." The half saiyans barely bit back a snort at that. A bit, right, and Saiyans were genetically only slightly stronger than earthlings. "These are the senzu beans that come from the plant we saw yesterday."
After exchanging glances, the two groaned in dismay. They'd forgotten about this. Bulma held the two beans out in her palm for the class to see. "The boys aren't too fond of them, but they'll stomach it for the sake of the demonstration," she added, looking pointedly at the two that begrudgingly took a bean each. "Watch because it happens almost instantly."
The class gasped in surprise as the cuts and bruises on both fighters rapidly faded. Most of the wounds completely disappeared but some left faint scars that were barely noticeable. Once the bean worked its magic, the two teens stretched to loosen their muscles. It was always an odd feeling being in pain one moment then suddenly not the next.
Needless to say, one of the half-saiyans was completely oblivious to the sudden change in the stares. The surprise was replaced with awe as the simple stretches highlighted the never before seen muscles of Gohan Son. (After all, the quick glimpse from the gravity room just minutes ago couldn't count.)
"Isn't it amazing?" Bulma asked, earning mute nods from the class. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed most of the attention (of the girls) still focused on the ever-innocent dark haired boy. Whether the agreement was about how amazing the bean's powers were or how amazing Gohan's physique was, she didn't know nor did she actually want to. The teenage female mind was a part of her life she never wanted to revisit again.
Satisfied with his stretches, Gohan finally took note of the eyes focused on him. Slow as he was with human interactions, the looks he was receiving was something he recognized and did not want to have anything to do with. A faint blush colored his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his head nervously as he turned to his friend. Much to his chagrin, Mirai did not seem at all affected by the stares he was receiving as well.
Taking pity on his friend, Mirai turned to his mother and asked where they would be headed next. Surely she had more things in her arsenal to distract a group of teenagers. "Well, we've seen the jet simulator and the senzu plant," Bulma murmured as she pursed her lips in thought. This was turning out to be harder than she imagined. "I guess we can take a walk through this dome. We call it the Invention Room but it's really got a few floors," she explained as she started leading them down the hall.
The doors were closed to most of the rooms, but every so often she would stop to let them glimpse inside. They all generally looked the same. Blueprints and schematics were posted on the walls. Tools and materials were scattered around the room. "A lot of the shared labs are here. If it's a huge project that multiple scientists work on, they probably set up stage here. There are some personal labs scattered around the compound and those are off-limits unless you have expressed permission from its owner. The outdoor lab we have you guys set up in should have most of what you need, but depending on your project, you may have to come here. I don't think I need to tell you that your mentor must accompany you when you come here. They're your pass key."
The class was in an awed silence as they followed. They might not have understood half the things going on in the rooms, but they knew they were probably important. Even though the place wasn't milling with people, there were obvious signs of activity all over the place.
Bulma pursed her lips as she noticed they were nearing the end of the building. A quick glance at her watched showed it to be too early for lunch. With a sigh, she turned to her son. "Most of the on-going projects are classified so we don't have very much I can show them that they haven't already seen. I don't kno—" She trailed off as if suddenly realizing something, motioning for the class to follow her as she wandered down the hall. A faint humming sounded from one of the doors. "Aha! We can go here," she announced, pushing open the door.
The class followed her through the threshold and winced at suddenly finding the sun in their faces. Once they adjusted to the brightness, the area was revealed to be a large dirt track. "Since it's still the weekend and I promised we wouldn't be doing one much thinking, you guys will probably enjoy this. This is one of our fun projects," she announced, gesturing to the garage nearby. "To stay ahead of the competition, we're constantly adjusting our cycles to increase their performance. Or at least that's what they say. The guys really just love an excuse to play." As if to prove Bulma's point, three blurs appeared seemingly from out of nowhere around the bend. They were neck and neck as they raced forward. She sighed, shaking her head. "Case and point."
Mirai and Gohan didn't seem anymore enthusiastic than the genius. "That girl is going to be the death of me," Gohan grumbled under his breath as one particular racer barely avoided clipping another. The three skidded to a stop at the entrance of the garage, pulling their helmets off and delving into a heated discussion.
Needless to say, the red head was familiar to the group at that point. The two others, they noted, were mentors they met the other day. One was a dainty woman with blonde hair that ended with shockingly pink tips and the other was the same guy that volunteered Gohan as a mentor. "Sharpner, my man!" The male greeted as he raised a helmet in greeting to call the group over. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Yo, Brock," Sharpner greeted as the two clasped hands, "Bulma is showing the class around. What are you guys doing?"
Brock looked at his mentee after a brief glance Bulma. "We're gathering data through our trial runs for new adjustments to make to the Capsule Cycles," he explained, inclining his head towards the computers sitting in the building. "You guys can give it a shot if you want."
The class turned to Bulma expectantly. Even if Brock did say they could, it was still her call. She seemed to deliberate for a bit before waving an okay. "Send them to the dining hall for lunch when you're done," she instructed before walking away. This wasn't too bad. After all, this should keep them occupied as she tried to find something else she could show them.
With a grin, Brock called everyone's attention to himself. "Okay, so the name's Brock. You guys know Lime and I think only Angela has met Tina." He led them to the garage, walking over to one of the computers. "These computers are specified to track the movements and data on the cycles during our runs. I know you guys got to try out the jet simulator yesterday so how about trying out an actual cycle today?"
That earned a unanimous yes. "Great, we can even make this interesting and have a little competition. It won't be anything big. Just bragging rights," Tina announced and pointed towards a map on the wall. "This is the map of the track. It's slightly bigger than what you see outside, but we've got cameras everywhere. Lime and I are going to get more gear for the rest of you."
"While they do that, Gohan and Mirai are going to demonstrate since we all know they'd have an unfair advantage if they compete," Brock pointed out and the two half-saiyans shrugged in indifference. "Besides, none of these test cycles stand a chance against theirs." At the confused looks of the class, he nodded at the boys to decapsulize their cycles. Needless to say, eyes popped and jaws dropped at the sight. "If you have a cycle, it's yours. You make repairs and adjustments. No one else touches it. The two with the fastest cycles are these two."
The half-saiyans were mounted on their cycles at the starting line as Lime ran up to hand them both their helmets. They stared at it in distaste but she frowned, shoving it in their hands anyway. "We know your heads could crack steel, but they don't know that." Besides, she saw the way that Satan girl was watching them. Those blue eyes didn't miss a thing. When they strapped on the helmets, she grinned and patted the tops of their heads before joining the others on the side.
They were barely more than blurs as they took off. The class stared in awe at the screens. "Those things can't be legal," Videl blurted, following the race through the screens. It seemed the moment they got in one screen, they were suddenly in the other. Any faster and it wouldn't be surprising if they broke the sound barrier.
"They're not for street use," Tina supplied, turning towards the bend they came from earlier. "The cycles you guys will be trying have nothing on these two super cycles." The class, or rather jocks, seemed ready to complain but she rolled her eyes. These people really had no clue what they were getting themselves in to. "It takes way more than any of you have to be able to operate one of the super cycles. As for the races, only those that actually know how to use cycles can participate. We don't need to be taking unnecessary risks."
A few students sighed in defeat at this. "If we have time, those of you that don't know how to ride a cycle can try so don't join the competition unless you actually can." Brock crossed his arms over his chest as the half-saiyans skidded to a stop a few feet away. "I should probably remind you all that our regeneration tanks can only heal injuries. You happen to die and need to be revived; you're shit out of luck. We don't have that technology here."
There was silence and Gohan raised an eyebrow as they approached the class. "We leave them alone with you for a couple of minutes and you're already terrorizing the class?" Sometimes he really had to wonder about the people he worked with.
"Yeah, chill out, Brock," Mirai added, "Mother had them sign a liability form so it's no skin off our backs if they're stupid enough to kill themselves." The class shared horrified looks at that. Did they really sign off on that? Mirai raised an eyebrow at them. "So none of you actually read the fine print before signing the forms?" That earned him an incredulous look. It should have been expected. Everyone assumed that anything they did would be in a lab with almost all variables under control. No one considered the possibility of actually being in danger.
Gohan groaned in dismay, placing a hand over his face. His friend was clearly enjoying the horror-stricken faces of his classmates. "You have been around your father and brother too much," he pointed out only to receive a satisfied smirk. Before Lime could add anything that would no doubt be in support of the time traveling teen to spite her best friend, Gohan clamped a hand over her mouth and turned to Brock. "Don't you have a competition to run?"
"We're going to use the honor system," Tina announced. "We don't know who actually has ridden a cycle before so we're going to trust you to tell the truth. Anyone that wants to participate, step up. Spectators, gather around the monitors." The class made an almost even split. It was no surprise to find Videl, Sharpner, and all the muscle heads in the competing half. The excitement came back a ten fold as test cycles were decapsulized for each competitor.
"Just to remind you: we are not liable for what happens to you here. If there are accidents, we will do our best to ensure everyone's safety but we're not all super humans. If you happen to go on this track and snap your neck, you, as Brock put it, are shit out of luck." After giving them a few seconds to reconsider, Tina gestured towards the gear on the wall. "Grab a helmet and pads. You guys will draw numbers and go two at a time. We'll judge the competition by time since the track isn't wide enough for all of you to go at once."
Needless to say, everyone forgot about the possibility fatal injuries or deaths during their stay at Capsule Corporations as soon as the first pair was whizzing down the track. Each group that went only served to pump everyone up until they were down to the last pair. Videl was in the lead when they came into view. The class erupted into cheers, eager to see the final stretch. So far, it seemed these two had the fastest time. This could very well determine the winner of the little competition.
"This won't be good," Mirai mumbled under his breath as he saw Sharpner make the same turn. He was too wide and Videl was too close. It seemed he wasn't the only one to notice this. As soon as the two cyclists collided, Gohan was out of the garage and a few feet away from one crumpled body.
He knelt next to the girl, examining the extent of her injuries. "Sharpner, you okay over there?" He called out only to receive a muffled groan. Well, at least that one was conscious. "Videl," he lifted the visor of her helmet, "Videl, can you hear me?" Receiving no response, he cursed under his breath and gently removed the helmet. Not moving the body be damned. Physical injuries could be fixed. He needed to be sure she was actually alive.
The class was in a panic once the initial shock wore off and that was not going to be of any help. With a growl of frustration, the time traveler turned to Tina and Brock. "Get the rest of the class to the dining hall. We'll take care of those two," Mirai instructed and the two older scientists wasted no time before ushering the stricken students out of the building.
Lime decapsulated the emergency hover cart, but Mirai shook his head at her. "Gohan and I got this. We're faster. Tell my mother what happened. We'll be in the regeneration room." The red head hesitated for a second then went to do as she was told.
With Sharpner over Mirai's shoulder and Videl in his arms, the half-saiyans all but instant transmissioned to the regeneration tanks. Sharpner grunted in pain as Mirai set him down in the tank. "You're gonna be okay, man," Mirai reassured the larger guy as he pulled off the helmet and proceeded to prepare him for the healing process.
Gohan was doing the same with Videl. The jumpsuit came off with ease but he froze at realizing one particular predicament. She's going to kill me for this, he thought to himself before quickly removing the outer layers of her clothes. There were no changes in her state and he worked faster. The sooner he could get the machine started, the better. "You'll be fine, Vi," he murmured, placing the breathing mask over her face and shutting the tank.
Mirai hit the start button as soon as they were done. Blue liquid filled the machine slowly and the machine beeped once the initial analysis was over. "Tank 1. Estimated healing time: One point five hours," a computerized voice announced, "Tank 2. Estimated healing time: Four hours."
"What's going on? Are they okay?" Bulma asked as she hurried into the room. Her eyes quickly scanned the monitors and she pursed her lips. "What happened?"
"They got into a little collision on the track," Mirai answered, cringing as his mother let out a horrified squeak. "They'll be fine. The girl, Videl Satan, got the worst of it." It was simple physics and one of the fundamental principles—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It just so happened that Videl got the shorter end of the stick. Being the smaller of the two, she flew farther and at a higher acceleration.
At noticing the pensive look on her best friend's face, Lime slowly walked up next to him and placed a hand on his arm. "You okay, Gohan?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to examine him.
His attention was focused on the second tank. "It's just a bit of a shock to see her like this," he admitted, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"What? Practically naked?" Mirai quipped, only to earn a spatula to the head from his mother and a glare from his friend. "Ouch, just trying to lighten up the mood. C'mon, 'han, Videl Satan is a fighter."
"I know, but I've just never seen her so…helpless." It was one word he never thought to associate with the Satan girl. She was always so fierce and tenacious. It seemed like nothing could stop her from doing anything. "She can take on robbers and basically do the job of a whole police force, but a collision like that just took her out of commission." He found a wry smile on his lips. "It's unsettling how fragile humans really are."
Videl Satan was one of Gohan's friends, if you could call her that. Lime knew that the girl at least meant that much to him, but why was he so affected? This was more than the caring Gohan she knew. Pushing the thoughts aside, she scowled at him. It wasn't the time to be analyzing his every move. "Are you calling us weak?" Lime demanded, throwing a punch at his arm only to have her fist caught in his palm. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "We may not even register on a scale against you when it comes to strength, but humans are by no means weak."
Gohan turned to his best friend and felt an easy smile form on his lips. Her dark eyes were narrowed at him in annoyance. He knew the irritation wasn't for calling humans weak. Lime didn't care for such things, but she cared for him and the fact that he had yet to learn that things happened and sometimes there just isn't anything you can do about it. "Thanks, Lime," he murmured, ruffling her bangs a bit which only served to further annoy her.
Bulma showed up as the last of the group were finishing up their lunch. "Good news: Videl and Sharpner will be fine," she announced, much to the class's relief. "Sharpner should be joining you in an hour or so. Videl is going to need a little longer, but don't worry. She'll be up and running in no time."
A petite blonde sitting down raised a hand and Bulma nodded at her to speak. "Can we go see them?" she asked quietly, her voice making it clear that she just stopped crying.
"I don't think it'd be wise to have so many people in the room," Bulma started to say but stopped as Gohan stepped up behind her. After a hushed conversation, Bulma turned to the girl again. "Erasa, right? Okay, after you're done with dinner, Gohan will take you."
Erasa immediately stood and picked up her dishes to put them away. "In that case, I'm done," she announced. Her two best friends were just in a horrid collision. Eating was the last thing on her mind.
Bulma chuckled at the dismayed face of the half-saiyan. "Go on, Gohan. I'll have the robots deliver food for you." That was all he needed to hear before leading his friend away. The genius shook her head in amusement. Saiyans and their stomachs, really.
"Are they really going to be okay?" Erasa asked, looking up at him with uncertainty. Everyone saw what happened. A collision like that had serious consequences.
Gohan smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. Remember we've got the best facilities here. Like Bulma said, they'll be good as new in a few hours." He pushed open the door and stepped aside to let them through.
Erasa gasped in surprise as she saw the two tanks. Sharpner didn't look too bad and she ran up to the tank containing the female crime fighter. The gashes on her arms and legs didn't look as bad as she thought they would. "How long do they have to be in there?" She asked, placing a hand on the glass.
"Sharpner has another half hour and Videl has three hours to go," Gohan answered, gesturing towards the monitors a few feet away. Erasa nodded solemnly and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, E. They're both fighters. This isn't going to take them out." She barely managed a nod as the tears seemed to fill her eyes again. Without much warning, she threw her arms around his waist. Gohan froze in shock before placing an awkward arm around her shoulder. "It's okay, E. Don't cry. Videl will kill me when she wakes up if she finds out you were crying and I didn't do a thing."
That got a strangled laugh from the blonde as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Not like she can, Mister Gold Fighter," she shot back, finding a small smile forming on her lips.
Gohan scoffed, leading her over to one of the chairs. "That's what you think. She's so stubborn. Sometimes it's like all she wants to do is beat me up," he admitted with obvious amusement. Either as the Gold Fighter or as himself, the skirting around her questions seemed to infuriate the crime fighter to no end and Gohan found himself amused at her tactics.
"Only because you confuse her," she supplied, earning a confused look. "You're an anomaly, Gohan. First you're the nerdy boy from the mountains. You were smart and a bit quirky. That made sense. Then you make that double play your first day in gym like it was nothing. It didn't fit with the nerdy mountain boy image." Erasa pursed her lips in thought. "Videl likes to categorize people, so to say. Everyone more or less fits in a nifty little category in her head. She knows what to expect from them, but you just wouldn't stay put."
The shock was evident on his face as he took in everything Erasa said. He never pegged her to be so insightful. "I don't know what to say," he said with a soft chuckle. This was not something he expected from bubbly and sometimes airheaded Erasa.
"Rendering a genius speechless, mission accomplished," she grinned triumphantly.
They passed the hour talking about the past few weeks. Erasa was curious about the Golden Fighter. Not so much how it was possible, but more so about what happened on those calls. The media was censored and Videl didn't talk about it much so Gohan had to fill her in.
Before they realized it, Tank One started beeping. Erasa got up in alarm and Gohan chuckled as he went over to the controls. "Don't worry. It just means he's all healed up," he assured her as the liquid started to drain.
Sharpner groaned as he pulled off the mask. He blinked when the glass pane in front of him lifted and a bright blur launched at him. "Erasa?" He asked, squinting to focus his eyes on the girl latched around him. "What's going on?"
"Why don't you let him get out of the tank and into some clothes first?" Gohan chuckled as he tossed a set of garments at the long haired blonde. "You need help getting up or can you manage?"
It took a few tries before Sharpner gave in and allowed Erasa to help him stand. As soon as he did, the color drained from his face as he caught sight of the girl in the adjacent tank. "Oh god, Vi," he breathed, "did I do that?"
Gohan shook his head and Erasa frowned. "It was an accident, Sharpy," she stated, daring him to disagree with her. For a second it looked like he would, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Okay, why don't you get dressed, eat, then get some more rest," Gohan instructed as he nodded towards the clothes. "Your energy is depleted since your body used so much of it to heal. You should feel more like yourself when you wake up." They looked at Videl's tank and Gohan gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll watch her."
Three hours later, Bulma entered the room to find Gohan still sitting by the controls. "Have you been here the whole time?" She asked, clearly surprised. He shrugged, eyes focused on the screen. "How's she doing?"
"Better. She's almost completely healed," he answered, turning to his father's best friend. "What brings you here?"
"Checking on you," she stated simply, placing an arm around his shoulder. He gave her an inquisitive look and she shook her head. He was all grown up now, completely different from the five year old that hid behind his father's leg. "I've known you for thirteen years, you know. I know you." He didn't say anything. She didn't expect him to. He knew what she was talking about. "People are going to get hurt and it's not your fault. That's how the world goes. You can't save everyone, Gohan."
"Doesn't mean I can't try," he pointed out with a grin. Bulma blinked at him in surprise. For a moment, it seemed like she was looking at Goku himself. Despite the care free demeanor, the father and son would not stand aside if they could do something to help. Heaven forbid anyone ever get in their way. "You know what they say in the movies, Bulma," he added, "with great power comes great responsibility." His attempt to lighten the mood with a movie line didn't evade her, but this wasn't so simple.
"You and Trunks have grown up too much too fast, you know that," she murmured, pressing a kiss against his temple then walking towards the door. "I'll go check on the other students."
The machine beeped a few minutes after she left and Gohan wasted no time in deactivating it. With a robe in hand, he approached the tank to help her out. Videl groaned as she pulled the mask off her face and attempted to get the room to focus. "Videl, I'm going to help you up, okay?" She could hear Gohan clearly. Despite her attempts to answer, it seemed her body didn't want to listen. Why did her arms feel like lead?
Warm cloth slid over her skin. The heat it provided was a welcomed change from the frigid air. Once she was, for the lack of better terms, a human burrito, strong arms slid under knee and behind her back to lift her. She grunted, turning her head towards the warm chest. "You're okay, Videl," she heard him say before everything faded to nothingness again.
So who was completely thrown off by the sudden appearance of Bryson and Tina or this chapter in general? I know a lot of it in the beginneing seems like filler (and it kind of is) but oh well. :D I'm going to admit that the continuity of how I want this is not going as I planned, but I'm trying to work around that. I've got scenes written out for future chapters and it's weaving them together that's got me stumped. For now, I'm just going to force this story through til the end then I'll probably end up doing a revised version once this one is complete. It also seems like my writing is getting worse as this goes, but I'm working on it. /: So, just bear with me, guys.
Layab The Dark Saiyan: Gohan will basically just confirm whatever Videl finds out for herself. Vegeta wasn't about to blow up the class. Sure, injure them a bit but the wife would have him on the couch and banned from the kitchen if he really did any damage and he isn't about to risk that.
SeanHicks4: I do have their spar written out. I'm just trying to find a place to fit it in. My original plans for the story keep changing as I edit and add on. Haha.
lancecomwar: Definitely intend to keep the school part of the trip. Bulma is much more relaxed than teachers are so it won't be as intensive as a regular day in school, but the students are going to learn something daily. Besides, Gohan has to play mentor for Videl for her project and we clearly need to see how that goes. xP
NiceNipps: Videl isn't an idiot. She's going to piece things together herself. That's the only way it's really fair. Besides, she's a strong willed girl that needs evidence to back up whatever she's told. Even then, it may be hard to accept just because Gohan's secrets will basically turn her whole world upside down.
Eikyuu Sonomi: Bulma is a really chill woman, in my opinion, and the only one that seems to really rile her up are the boys in her life. Admittedly, I don't really know much about her character so this is my vision of her based on the few glimpses from the Saiyaman and Buu saga of the anime. Also, Videl is a levelheaded girl, except (it seemed) when it came to Gohan. She's fully aware of good qualities in Lime but she's still in the somewhat jealous stage. After all, Gohan seemed to be this awkward boy that lived in isolation and she suddenly finds out that he's got this girl he's known for forever and he's completely different with her than he is with everyone else. (Rationally, she knows that it's because they've known each other longer but who's ever really rational at that age when it comes to those topics?)
Once again, thanks for the reviews! They are a great help in letting me know what to work on and urging me to work faster. I know I don't reply to every single one, but I do try to get to those that have questions/need clarification. Really, thanks, guys. :D
- Skye