Chapter 11: The Trouble with Parents

Videl's jetcopter landed on the roof just as the school bell rang. She hurriedly made her way downstairs to look for Gohan but was surprised to see Erasa and Sharpner walking out of the class without him.

"Where's Gohan?" she asked.

Sharpner shrugged.

"Brains ran off to the nurse's office. Said he wanted to get that head knock checked out."

"Though he ran in the complete opposite direction" Erasa added.

That was a little confusing for Videl. Gohan was quirky to say the least and had a habit of being late or disappearing for extended periods of time. She never understood that about him and felt a little suspicious about it.

"Why you looking for him anyways?" Sharpner asked.

"Oh!" Videl said breaking her thoughts "I was gonna take him home to meet Daddy."

She covered her mouth when she realized her choice of words. She looked at Erasa who had a massive smirk on her face.

"Introducing him to your Father already, Videl? My my" she laughed.

Videl's cheeks started to flare red.

"That's not what I meant!" My Dad just wanted to meet him, okay? It was his idea."

"Are you sure you're not trying to get Daddy to meet the other kind of Daddy?" Sharpner joked.

WHACK

A massive lump appeared on Sharpner's head as he slumped over against a row of lockers.

"Don't say things like that!" Videl screeched as she began to walk away.

Erasa laughed as she moved to follow her best friend leaving a dazed Sharpner behind them.

"So what's this about really?" she asked in a playful tone.

Videl gave her a strong glare.

"Erasa I know what you're thinking, it's not like that. My Dad's just been acting weird this week and out of the blue he asked to meet Gohan."

"Does that have to do with why you were upset this morning?"

Videl shook her head.

"No it's not. That's something else that I'm still trying to wrap my head around."

Erasa linked her arms with Videl's and gave her a smile.

"Promise to tell me about it when you're ready?"

"I'll try" Videl replied as they walked out of the school building to find Gohan standing outside waiting.

"How's your head?" Erasa asked.

"My head?" Gohan wondered with a confused face "Oh right my head, it's alright, I guess I was just shocked."

Videl eyed him with suspicion.

"You take the star pitcher's fast ball to the face, it explodes and you're just shocked?"

Gohan's sweat dropped. Why was he always like this around Videl and no one else? It was like she had this strange effect on him.

"Err yeah" he mumbled "it was just a rubber ball anyways."

Videl continued to glare at Gohan when Erasa spoke up.

"Well I'll leave you two love birds alone, I have to get home. Bye!" she said with a cheerful wave.

"Erasa!" both yelled.

A few moments of awkward silence filled the air until one of the two spoke up.

"So… how are we getting to your house?" Gohan asked.

Videl threw out her jetcopter.

"Here. Let's just get this over wi-" she stopped in her tracks as she looked at her fuel gauge.

"What's wrong?"

"Ugh I forgot to fill up this morning and that little crime I stopped earlier used up all of my fuel"

"Err so how will we be going then?"

Videl decapsulized her plane and looked at Gohan questioningly.

"You don't have your ride?"

Gohan shook his head, not realizing what he was about to admit.

"Nope, I…" he halted mid-sentence.

'Shit shit, I've always flown to and from school and she never managed to catch or ask me until now. Shit what do I say?'

"Well?" Videl questioned

"Err I didn't bring it today."

Videl's eyebrows raised in confusion.

"You live like what 2 or 3 hours away and didn't bring a ride? How were you going to get home then?"

"I was um" Gohan paused to think of a believable story "I was meant to go to a family friend's later today and was going to get picked up there."

He lied to Videl but she seemed to buy the story.

"Fine, I guess we'll have to walk then."

The two began to walk towards Videl's house as Gohan followed her.

"Is it far?" he asked.

"Not really, maybe 40 minutes. I use my jet because it's more convenient."

"I see."

The first 5 minutes was filled with complete silence as neither teen knew what to say to the other. Gohan particularly was nervous especially because he had to meet Mr. Satan in a little while. How would he be able to hide his emotions if the man decided to rile him up? How would Videl react? They were friends and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Is… everything alright?" Videl asked, seeing him looking a little nervous.

"Heh yeah it's ok I'm just a little nervous. Meeting the World Champion after all haha" he nervously lied.

"Ugh please don't" Videl said in disgust.

She wished Gohan didn't say that. He had never seemed all that impressed with her Father before and had treated Videl as she had always wanted. As Videl Satan and not Videl, daughter of Hercule Satan. She wondered why he had changed. It'd be a shame to her if Gohan turned out to be a Hercule fan boy all a long and he had lied about it or hadn't told her before they became friends. Would they have become friends if he had been like that from the start? Videl didn't think so.

Speaking of not telling things, her thoughts drifted over to her Father and yesterday's talk. It started to sour her mood once more just thinking about it. She had managed to keep herself busy for a large part of the day so she wouldn't think about it but now that she was left to her thoughts and a quiet Gohan, she couldn't help but think about it. It began to sour her mood. Noticing her expression change, Gohan spoke up.

"Is everything okay, Videl?"

Videl shook her head.

"Not really."

Gohan put a hand of reassurance on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Hey if you're that worried about me meeting your Dad then we won't have to" he said, almost half joking.

A soft chuckle left Videl's mouth.

"No that's not it. It's just… my dad's been really…"

"Overbearing and pushy?"

"Yes, exactly that" Videl said looking up at the boy standing beside her.

There was an aura of understanding in his look.

"I know how you feel. My Mother is the same way."

"Does she make decisions for you? Like without even letting you know about it?"

Gohan was a little stunned at this question. It was almost exactly the same situation as him. Though he was unsure if it was actually similar, he felt a feeling of understanding and sympathy with Videl.

"She does. Sometimes I feel like I don't even get to decide my own future. She's already got it all planned out."

His mind began to replay the events from yesterday. Sure he was willing to take on the crown for his Grandfather, it was his dying wish after all but he was unsure about the whole betrothal deal that his Mother had forced onto him. She had been forcing him to study all his life so he could become the scholar she always wanted and while he did enjoy learning, he wanted a bit more freedom in his life. Even though he was to be King, he felt a little less freedom than someone who would be taking on a top position would have. Soon he'd have to marry some girl that his Mother had chosen for him and if she had her way, it would happen as soon as possible without Gohan or even the girl's say in it.

"My Dad's like that too" Videl stated "All my life he's kind of wanted me to uphold the Satan name and do everything that's good for our family's image."

Gohan felt a pang of sympathy towards his friend. He imagined what it would be like if he had instead claimed Cell's defeat instead of Hercule. Would he be in a similar position? Would he have to live up to the ungodly expectations of not just his family but the world? He would probably have to get used to those scenarios if he was really to become the next Ox King. He would soon experience what she went through every day.

"Do you ever want to just get away from it all?" he asked Videl.

"Sometimes I do. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if Cell had never appeared and my Dad never beat him. Maybe I could have some peace if I just went away for a bit but I just couldn't do that."

"Why's that?" Gohan wondered.

"A few things. I guess well my Dad is still my Dad. Since Mum passed on, we've only really had each other. And there's also the city. I don't know if you've noticed but the Satan City Police Force isn't all that competent."

Gohan chuckled a little.

"They're lucky to have you" he said with a smile.

"I guess so but sometimes I wonder if I'm strong enough. I've almost died a few times and lately the Gold Fighter's had to bail me out a few times."

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing" Gohan commented

"I guess it's not but when you're supposed to be the second strongest person in the world and your Dad's the strongest, it does get to you."

"All the expectations of being your Dad's daughter, I take?"

"You don't know the half of it" Videl said "I know he loves me but sometimes I wish he would show it more. He cares way too much about his image and where our family stands in the world. In fact yesterday he just told me that he was gi…"

She cut herself off before she blurted out what happened yesterday. She wasn't sure why she had been so open with Gohan when she was never that way with Erasa or Sharpner. She loved the two (maybe Sharpner less) but they weren't always the best people to talk to about things and she was never the kind of person to talk about how she felt. She would rather bottle it all up inside and release her frustrations on a punching bag. Gohan noticed that she had stopped talking and seemed to be contemplating whether or not to tell him.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to" he said.

"I know but it's just…"

"You don't have to. Whenever you're ready" he reiterated.

The next few minutes were quiet again as they continued to walk towards the Satan mansion. Suddenly Videl spoke up a question that Gohan hadn't been expecting.

"Can… can you tell me about your Dad?" she asked hesitantly.

Gohan was taken by surprise but knew that Videl would have been curious for a while. He had talked about his Mother and Brother but never about his Father. Anytime the topic skimmed over the topic of his Dad, he seemed to choke up a little.

"What do you want to know?" he queried.

"Well what was he like?"

"He was great" Gohan began "He was strong and had this powerful presence about him but was as kind and gentle as they come. He loved nature and animals and often did whatever he could to protect them. He could be a bit dense at times but he had this way about him that just made everything okay. He was a fierce friend who would do anything for his family or friends, including…"

Gohan paused. That last sentence hurt a little more than he had hoped. He had mostly gotten over his Father's death but that didn't make the memory hurt any less.

"Including dying for them. For me" he finished.

A rush of sadness surrounded the two teens. Videl didn't mean to open up old wounds. She looked at Gohan. He looked more down than she had ever seen him.

"I'm sorry" she quickly said "I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine" Gohan cut her off "I'm mostly over it but I still miss him. We all do."

The memory of meeting Krillin yesterday played in Videl's mind. She remembered the newest member of the Police Force mentioning Gohan's father with a little bit of sadness in his voice.

"I met your Dad's best friend Krillin yesterday" she said.

"Oh really? Where at?" Gohan asked curiously.

"At the Police Station. Turns out that job Marron and Eighteen mentioned was a Police Officer. Ended up being great timing as the Precinct was attacked and he helped out a lot."

A small smile made its way to Gohan's face. With Krillin now a member of the Satan City Police Force maybe they would work a little harder seeing 'one of their own' being as skilled as the formerly bald monk was. Hopefully Krillin would exert restraint and not show off too much of his strength. And who knows, maybe with Krillin on the team, Videl wouldn't have to be called into as many dangerous situations.

"How did you know they were best friends?" Gohan asked.

"He told me when I asked how you two knew each other. He seemed a little down when I asked and I guess I found out why today."

"Yeah, his death did hit all of us hard" Gohan said.

It was Videl's turn place her hand on Gohan in reassurance. She smiled at him.

"He must've been very special to a lot of people then."

Gohan nodded.

"Yeah… he was the one that held us all up and kept us together. If you built a house out of all of us, he would be the foundation. He was just that kind of guy"

Gohan smiled as he thought about his Father. It felt nice to talk about him again, no matter how much it hurt he had to move pass that and focus on the positives.

"I wish I could have met him" Videl said with sadness.

Gohan's Dad from what she had heard was the complete opposite of her Fathers. What if their situations were reversed and Gohan was taking her to meet with his Dad. What would it be like? Would she be nervous too?

'Why am I having these thoughts' she thought 'And his Dad… Krillin was from the Turtle School which means he would be close friends with fellow students Yamcha and Goku… Yamcha's still alive last I checked with a successful baseball career so does that mean…'

"What… what was your Father's name?"

Gohan paused to think about it. Would Videl recognize the name? He was unsure about how famous his Dad was but with someone like Videl who lived and breathed martial arts, she no doubt had at least heard of the previous World Champion before her own Father. As he opened his mouth to answer they were greeted by the sight of a massive gate made out of gold with the words 'SATAN' shining at the top.

"This is your house?" he said in surprise "Wow."

"Yeah it's… a bit too big I think."

Gohan agreed with that. It was bigger than their school and that's a public building. He didn't really understand why a family of 2 needed such a large home. He compared it with the Briefs and the residential building of Capsule Corp. At least they had Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Dr. Briefs and his Wife, not to mention the guests that frequently stayed over like the Son Family.

"Come on, let's get this over with" Videl said as she dragged Gohan up the stairs and into the massive mansion where Mr. Satan would be awaiting.

The pair were greeted by Janice, one of the Satan Household's maids who bowed to them in respect.

"Good Afternoon Miss Videl, who might this young man be?"

"This is my friend, Gohan. He's here to meet my father" Videl replied.

"My my, introducing him to the old man already?" the maid smirked.

"Quiet Janice, he's just a friend" Videl said with heated cheeks.

Gohan paid them no mind, he was too busy admiring the room he was in. If you had to look up the image of a typical mansion foyer you would get this result. The floor was made of marble tiles which looked to have been polished recently. Twin staircases bordered the eastern and western sides of the room which Gohan assumed would lead to the two main wings of the house. The walls were painted a dark forest green with wooden pillars adorning them. It looked impressive to say the least. In the middle of the giant room was a golden statue of the World Champion, complete with his hands up in a victory pose.

'Of course he would' Gohan laughed in his head.

"Where is my Father?" Videl asked Janice.

"He's in the parlour, been there for a while actually."

"Alright, we'll go there now" Videl said as she motioned Gohan towards that side of the room.

Gohan had been too busy examining his surroundings and was startled by the feeling of Videl's hand pushing him gently on the back.

"Come on, Gohan" she complained as he was still looking at everything.

"Sorry" he mumbled "Just admiring your err… walls."

"You're a dork" Videl muttered under her breath.

The two soon reached the room in which Mr. Satan was sitting. He had a nervous look upon his face and was startled when he heard the door open.

"Oh Videl, you're here" he said.

"Yeah sorry we're late. My jetcopter ran out of fuel so we had to walk home."

She pulled Gohan into the room who nervously smiled at Hercule.

"I'm Gohan, sir. It's nice to meet you."

Gohan put out his hand to shake the World Champion's and to his surprise, Hercule accepted and shook his in return. Gohan had expected Mr. Satan to be more flamboyant during this meeting. That was what he recalled when he saw him during the Cell Games and from what he saw of him on TV. He was normally loud, arrogant and daresay annoying but this was different. Was he always quieter at home? He almost seemed to be treating Gohan with respect and… maybe was a little scared of him? Did Hercule know who he was?

"It's nice to meet you too, kid."

Videl was surprised to say the least. Was her Dad really being nice to Gohan?

'I know that he's already trying to set me up with that Prince guy but wouldn't he normally be grilling Gohan about being a boy and being around me?' Videl thought

"I'm just about to have some afternoon tea, would you like something to eat or drink?" Hercule asked Gohan.

'He's even offering Gohan food! If Dad just knew that food is the way to get onto Gohan's good side.'

"Sure, thank you, sir" Gohan replied courteously.

Hercule called for Janice to bring in some hot tea and a few cakes and pastries as he motioned Gohan and Videl to sit down.

"So Gohan, tell me about yourself" Hercule asked, taking a sip of his tea.

Gohan in the meanwhile had been fighting an internal battle of whether or not he should eat like he normally does and enjoy the food or take it slowly and not scare Mr. Satan. Videl on the other hand had been too preoccupied watching the two males sitting across from each other.

"Not much to say I guess. I've just started attending Orange Star High last month but I guess you could say my grades make up for the lack of in school learning. My Mum had been homeschooling me the whole time up until now."

"I see, tell me about your family."

Gohan took a small nibble of the Danish he had in his hand.

"Well there's my mum and my brother as well as my Grandpa but he doesn't live with us."

"And your Father?"

Videl held her head down a little in sadness as Gohan answered.

"He passed away seven years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Hercule replied.

'So it IS him. I feel sorry for the kid, having to watch his Father die like that. Makes me feel really bad about the things I've had to say and do' Hercule added mentally.

Videl had decided to grab a cake too when her Father cut her off.

"Videl, remove your gloves before you eat, please" he said.

It was one of the small rules Hercule had around the house. It may have been to do with maintaining a good image but Hercule would always tell Videl to keep good table manners, especially when they had dinners with important people which Videl hated to attend.

"Ugh fine" Videl complained as she removed her gloves.

Gohan began to take a sip of tea when he noticed something wrapped around Videl's wrist. Something red.

'What is that…' he wondered as his eyes peered closer.

He watched Videl begin to place chunks of the cake in her mouth, keeping his eyes locked onto the red object. It was a bracelet made of red thread with silver adornments.

'That almost looks like… mine.'

"Do you um, do you have any aspirations or plans for the future?" Hercule asked, trying to keep the silence at bay.

This was awkward enough as it was.

"Dad! That's a little embarrassing don't you think?" Videl whined.

Why was her Father asking things like this about Gohan? He had already planned to give her away to some royal family. Why was he drilling Gohan with questions like he was her boyfriend? Not that she wanted that sort of thing, it's just what she saw in shows and movies, right?

"I'm just curious about him, it would be nice if your friends had plans after school. You probably need one too."

"Ugh Dad" Videl complained, rolling her eyes.

"It's alright" Gohan said with a smile "My Mother's always wanted me to be a scholar and had this scholarship set up for me at Satan University actually but now I'm not sure if that's going to go ahead."

"Why not?" Hercule asked.

Mr. Satan knew about the scholarship. He was the one that set up the whole thing after all for Gohan and Chi Chi though he was unsure if Gohan knew that it was him that did it. He wasn't completely comfortable with saying it out loud. It'd raise a lot more questions than he was ready to answer.

"Well sadly my Grandpa's gotten a bit sick so he wants me to take over his uh.. business" Gohan answered.

'Damn' Hercule thought.

He didn't know that the Ox King had been unhealthy. They hadn't interacted all that often but when Mr. Satan did come in contact with Gyumao, he found him to be respectful and though Hercule loved the attention from his adoring fans, he enjoyed that the Ox King treated him as a regular acquaintance. It was a breath of fresh air.

'Wait taking over… does that mean…'

"I'm sorry to hear about your Grandfather" he said "I hope he feels better soon."

Gohan's eyes lingered back onto Videl's wrist. The more he looked at it the more he noticed it was exactly the same as his own. Why did Videl have the same bracelet as him when his was an heirloom from his Grandmother? Maybe it was part of a set? It would make sense that the Satan Family was able to purchase treasures and heirlooms like that but Videl didn't strike him as the type to wear jewellery.

"Is that all, Dad?" Videl asked, clearly uncomfortable at the moment.

"Could you give Gohan and I a moment, please Sweet Pea?"

"What for?" Videl asked with a raise eyebrow.

"Nothing too much, I just want to talk to him in private. Could you go to the cellar and fetch a nice bottle of vintage or something? As a gift for his family and his sick Grandfather."

"You don't have to do that, Mr. Satan" Gohan said but his small protest was dismissed by the World Champion.

"It's fine, we don't drink it all anyways."

Videl stood up and dusted off some crumbs that had made their way to her lap.

"I'll be back then" she said as she walked out of the room but not before mouthing 'I'm sorry about my Dad' to Gohan.

"You really didn't have to get us something, sir" Gohan said.

Mr. Satan waved him off dismissively again.

"No it's my pleasure. Besides, if I didn't get Videl to do something then she would be standing against that door right now trying to eavesdrop."

Gohan focused his Ki and sensed Videl walking away almost at a powerwalking pace. He was right, Videl was naturally inquisitive by nature.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I think you're an incredibly mature kid and well…"

Hercule's breath was bated and his hands were sweaty. Did he want to reveal everything to Gohan or should he wait til tomorrow. He figured perhaps tomorrow might be the better setting so he would have to word his sentences correctly.

"I'm not sure how close you and my daughter are but I know she'll be going through a bit of a rough time soon and I wanted to make sure she would have friends to support her."

Gohan nodded. Videl had told him that her Father had done something without her talking to her first. It seemed that it must've been big if it was going to put Videl through some grief.

"Shouldn't you be talking to Erasa and Sharpner about this instead? They've known her longer" Gohan pointed out.

"Eventually but they're not exactly the smartest kids around. They adore my daughter and they're great friends but they can be a little… immature" Hercule stated.

Gohan was a little confused at how Mr. Satan was acting. For the past few years all he had seen of the World Champion was how loud, confident and obnoxious he was. A complete 180 from how he was acting now. Today he was being respectful, friendly and was even asking Gohan for a favour.

"Look, Videl will be coming back soon and I'm sure you know that she doesn't always take kindly to help."

Gohan agreed with that statement. Videl was strong, tenacious albeit a bit stubborn. It had taken her almost dying a few times to ask the Gold Fighter to help. She probably would never do that with a normal friend.

"Can you just… look out for her?" Hercule asked with pleading eyes, holding out his hand towards Gohan.

Gohan smiled and took Mr. Satan's hand.

"You have my word."

"Please don't tell her about this either" Hercule added to which Gohan begrudgingly agreed.

It was going to be hard enough hiding another thing from Videl. They broke apart their handshake when Videl came in through the door, an expensive bottle of wine in her hand.

"Is this one okay?" she asked her Father.

"Ah yes, a red from Yahoi, year 765. That'll do fine."

Videl handed the bottle to Gohan with a look of concern. What exactly did her Father want to talk to Gohan about?

"Is that all then, Daddy?" she asked, thinking that she would be saving Gohan from some torture.

"Yes that's all, it was nice meeting you, Gohan."

"You too, sir" Gohan replied "See you later."

"Yes, see you to- next time" Hercule said, managing to catch his slip up.

Videl looked at her Father strangely. Man he had been acting weird lately. She began to push Gohan out of the room and lead him back to the front of the house as Hercule sat back down in the parlour to relax. The two teens stood outside the large mansion for a few moments before Videl finally spoke up.

"So err… why did my Dad want to talk to you alone?"

Gohan had to think of a lie and quick. Something believable that Videl wouldn't see through. Lying was definitely not his strong suit.

"Nothing really I guess, he was just curious about my studies and my scholarship. Also wanted to know about my Grandfather a bit more"

"Is that it?" Videl questioned "He wanted you alone just so he could ask you about that?"

"Err yeah, he said that it might've been a bit more awkward with you around complaining about him asking questions."

Videl nodded. That made enough sense.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the gate."

The two continued their way down the long driveway when Gohan noticed Videl looking a little out of sorts.

"Something wrong?" Gohan asked.

Videl sighed.

"It's just… my Father's been acting really strange. Normally he would be berating you for having a penis and being around me but there he was asking you questions about your life"

"Err thanks for your concern about my private parts" Gohan jested earning him a light punch from Videl on the shoulder.

"That wasn't my point. It's just I don't know, he's changing."

"How so?" Gohan asked.

"He's kind of reverting back to how he was before the whole Cell affair. He was always flashy and confident but that was all amplified when the World started treating him better than King Furry. Now he's a bit more reserved, at least at home and he was even nice to you!"

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing."

"It isn't. It's just… he used to be my hero you know? I wanted to be just like him. To be able to fight like him. To be strong like him but then he started changing and we kinda drifted apart, especially because everyone only ever treated me as Hercule's Daughter."

Gohan listened with intent as his friend continued to pour her heart out.

"So it made me want to train harder so I could get out of his shadow. I wanted to be known as me but everywhere I went, everything I did, I could never do it. I was always Hercule Satan's Daughter. Don't get me wrong, I love my Dad but it feels like he has control over everything I do even if he's not directly doing it."

"It sounds like you just need to find your place right now" Gohan said, placing his hand on Videl's shoulder "You need to find something that lets you be you. Don't worry about people thinking you're only Hercule's daughter. I know it probably gets to you at times but you're stronger than that. The people of Satan City know you're a hero."

He placed his hand on Videl's face, cupping her cheek.

"If you asked me, you're already out of his shadow. You just need to accept that."

Videl smiled.

"I know I should it's just… I've failed a lot lately. You know, I've never really told anyone this but the reason I started helping out the police was because of my Dad."

"Yeah? Did your Dad tell you to do that or something?" Gohan asked to which Videl shook her head.

"No it's just, I said how he was my hero and I wanted to be like him right? I mean he's the guy that saved the world from Cell. I thought that if I started helping out and working my way up then I could save the world too but… lately it just seems hard."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked curiously.

"It's about the Gold Fighter" Videl started, causing Gohan's heart to skip a little beat. Did she know it was him?

"He's saved me a lot lately and… don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for him and all. I mean I probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him but it doesn't help that I'm starting to feel a little…"

She took a deep breath, it took a lot out of her to admit something like this and she wasn't all that sure why she was pouring out her heart to Gohan. She looked up into his eyes and noticed they were full of warmth and understanding, like he knew exactly what she was going through.

"Helpless" she finished as she looked back down to the ground.

Gohan indeed knew exactly what she was going through. Through the fights with the Saiyans, against Frieza and the Ginyu Force and even the Androids, he had felt pretty helpless at times. Like every time something happened he needed his Dad, Piccolo or even Vegeta to be there to help bail him out. Even with Cell, if Gohan had finished off that monster then his Father wouldn't have needed to step in to take that last blow.

"Don't beat yourself up about that, Videl. You're one of the strongest people I know" he said "Even the best need help at times, trust me on that. I know."

Videl gingerly shook her head. His voice was almost soothing to her heart.

"I know that but I just can't shake this feeling. It's like I'm starting to get out of my Dad's shadow and now I'm within the Gold Fighter's. Do you understand that?"

Gohan nodded, he had been in a golden shadow before. His Father's.

"I just need to find my strength again" Videl said "I just need to get better."

She felt a sudden pressure on her shoulder and saw that Gohan had placed his hand there, holding her in a reassuring way.

"It sounds like you need to ask yourself a few questions then."

Videl's eyes met Gohan's in a clash of blue and black. His eyes were filled with kindness and compassion, something she found entrancing. The way he spoke was soft yet hit her like a ton of bricks.

"You just need to find a reason to why you fight and why you need to be stronger, not just so you can come out from that shadow" he said with a smile.

Videl's eyes widened. Where had she heard that before? It was almost like what the… Gold Fighter said… Seeing a thousand questions going through her head, Gohan decided that it would be best to leave her to her thoughts and head home.

"I'll be going now, Videl. Take care!" he said as he walked off, her eyes still fixated on him.

'Is it you, Gohan?'


In a dimly lit room filled with scientific instruments, test tubes and the like two figures sat across from each other on a sterile looking table.

"It looks like our little test yesterday provided us with quite poor results" one of the men said.

His greasy black hair seemed to have an unnatural shine to them, even in such a sparsely lit room. The man stood up and dusted off his red suede blazer before walking over to the other person in the room who had a look of nervousness on him.

"I trust you'll be able to produce better next time?" the greasy haired man stated, his nefarious eyes drilling holes into the other.

"Y… yes, my lord. Just give me more time, I can do it" the shaking man said in fear.

"Good. I would be disappointed if one of Dr. Gero's former assistants would let failure define him. To make sure this is done, I'm bringing in my cousin who is quite well versed in these… experiments."

The door to the room opened to reveal a slender looking man dressed in a cyan suit. He tipped his fedora in greeting towards the other men.

"I trust you'll get along and produce better results, this is important work after all" the greasy looking man said.

The scared scientist nodded.

"It.. it will be done, just give me time please."

"But of course, you do know what will happen to your daughter should you fail but I am a generous man after all."

The two superior men clasped both their hands on the frightened man's shoulders as they looked at a giant tank, inside another man. He was unconscious, kept alive by the fluid in the tank.

"What a specimen" the cyan dressed man said, marvelling at the peak physical appearance of the floating figure.

"Yes indeed" the Lord said "Our work here will bring me World Domination. Now, let's get back to our gene research, shall we?"


Author's Notes:

QueenKeesie, thanks for the compliments! I was hoping that the characters wouldn't be a little too OOC or at least weren't extremes of the personalities that sometimes people put them as (eg. Gohan's way too awkward or Videl's extremely bitchy but suddenly becomes soft).
I do hope that you'd get your groove back in regards to Role Reversal because I was enjoying that story too. I get what you mean and while I do think I should maybe look into getting a beta reader (just to make sure all my grammar and plot points all make sense), I will most likely be sticking to what I have planned for the story.

Tactician, thanks for being honest. Yeah the Saiyaman persona has always been a little too awkward and while I enjoy it at times, I felt like it wasn't too necessary for this story. In regards to Videl seeming a little Lois Lane like, don't worry, she definitely won't become just a damsel in distress.

Thanks to everyone else who left a review about how they're enjoying it so far. Means a lot to me and thanks guys for the 120 Followers and 70 Favourites! Honestly didn't think I'd even get that much attention with this story when I first started so it means a lot.

As always, if you have any thoughts, criticism or just want to let me know you're liking what you read, do leave a review!