Expect the next update in a week at the least

Chapter 14

Despite the fact that Videl had her freak out that Friday, Gohan and Goten continued their training. They both woke up early on Saturday to train before their mother woke up. They agreed to training on Goten's flying in the morning and would spar all afternoon. Goten has made much progress since Videl left. He was already comfortable flying on two feet and he was starting to work on his speed.

"You've had great progress since we started, squirt," Gohan commented as he saw his brother float into the air with ease. Goten just smiled at the compliment and focused more on flying faster. "Keep that up and you'll definitely pose a challenge for Trunks whenever he isn't grounded anymore," Gohan said as he sat cross-legged. He started to meditate while paying attention to his brother's energy to make sure he didn't get himself into trouble. Every now and then he would give Goten a push in the right direction, other than that he managed to meditate until his mother came out to see what her boys were doing. Gohan felt her come and he stood up to give her a hug. They both stood contently as they watched the miniature version of her husband and his father fly through the air. They watched for a few minutes before Chichi said, "Goten, time for breakfast." Goten hadn't even noticed his mom, he flew down and hugged her before they all walked back to the house together. It was around ten whenever they finished breakfast, Gohan and Goten stepped out together to feel a rush of air as they saw a capsule copter land outside their house. They were both surprised to see Videl step out of the copter and shrink it back to its capsule state. She held a scowl on her face and she looked over at the brothers and asked, "What? We're training aren't we?"

Gohan shook the stupid look off his face before replying, "Well, we've never actually trained before on the weekend. To be honest I wasn't expecting to see you until the morning."

"Well we didn't really train yesterday and I didn't want to miss anything."

"Well that was because you –never mind, Goten we're doing more flight training," Gohan said. Goten shrugged as he could go for some more flying practice. He wanted to be able to catch trunks in a race soon. Gohan motioned for them to follow him to their training spot and they picked up where they left off the day before. Except for Goten who was already flying in the air, Videl looked at him jealously and then looked at Gohan. "He's been practicing since yesterday, not to mention he's been using his Ki a lot longer than you have," Gohan explained. Videl still didn't look satisfied as she watched the boy fly faster and faster in the air. "Focus on yourself," Gohan instructed, "If you get jealous of him then you'll get frustrated which will hold you back even more." Videl nodded and started to fly a little bit while standing up. Gohan noted that she had to have been practicing yesterday considering how much her balance has improved. She started to fly a little bit higher and Gohan noticed her energy starting to falter a little. And sure enough it gave out and Gohan moved to catch her in his arms. She opened her eyes and saw herself in Gohan's arms and blushed a little before Gohan helped her stand back up.

"Is there anything else we can do instead of flying?" Videl asked. Gohan could tell that there was a hint of frustration behind her voice.

"You're not ready yet," Gohan replied sternly.

"How am I supposed to practice and get better at techniques if I don't know them?" Videl said with a pleading look on her face.

"You do realize how lucky you are right now, right?" Gohan asked. Videl shook her head indicating a no. "Most martial artists never achieve this kind of power in their lifetime. Most haven't even heard of this, mainly thanks to your father. Even so Ki manipulation can take years upon years to master. Although you already have a head start, most fighters would train themselves up even more before considering learning what you are now. Patience is key here Videl, if you move too fast you will hurt yourself as well as others. You have to learn what you can and cannot handle with this. If you don't then you'll have a hard time dealing with how you injured or worse killed someone you cared about because you lost control. That's why we're taking this slowly, ok?"

Videl nodded understandingly before asking, "Did that happen to you?"

"No, but I'm not going to risk anything like that happening though."

Videl could tell by the look on his face that he was lying, but perhaps that was for another day. "Fine," she said, "We'll stick to flying, how much longer do you think it will take for me to get the hang of this?"

Gohan thought it over in his head, "given your progress already, I would say another month at the least but no more than three."

Videl looked like she wanted to argue but at this point she has given up arguing with Gohan. No matter what argument she seemed to place before him he had an answer to stop her. In a way she liked that about him. He always has guidance about him, whether it was with her or his brother. "Alright," Gohan said before floating off of the ground, "back to work!"

…

Bade woke up in the small cot on their "home." It was about eleven in Earth time he judged as he put on an outfit for the day. He went outside to see what everyone was eating for breakfast, the same as usual, rations boiled in water. He seemed to be the only one bothered by this as he sat down and Appur handed him a bowl of grey goop. He made a slight look of disgust as he started eating his meal for the day. He was thankful for that compared to Saiyans and Earthlings, his people only had to eat once, rarely twice a day. Still, it didn't mean that he had to eat the same garbage every day. "Bade," Appur began, "How is your mission going in the schools, we need some more information on your end for our next reports."

"It's going," Bade said, "Frankly they aren't anywhere near as technologically advanced as some races are in the galaxy, light years away from us to be honest."

"Tell us something we don't know boy," Appur said.

Bade hated it when Appur called him that, "One, I have a name. Two, the educational system from what I can tell is basically set up for kids to not fail. And those who struggle don't seem to seek the help of those who are exceling. Besides from what I can tell, what they teach is the basic framework to set them up for some sort of higher education, whatever that may be."

"Don't back talk me again like that, Bade," Appur said, "you may be bright but you lack respect for your elders. Because of us we get to wipe out this pitiful race and those brute Saiyans. On top of that we get a second chance at rebuilding."

'I don't respect hateful bigots,' Bade thought to himself as he simply stood up and walked back into the ship with his bowl.

"You don't think you push him too hard?" one of the Tuffles asked.

"Not hard enough, if he doesn't get that he's a Tuffle and that makes him superior to others than I worry for him," Appur replied.

'I don't know how much more of this I can take,' Bade thought to himself. He sat on his bed and placed his head between his hands. All of his intelligence yet he couldn't find a way out of this. He'd run away but his elder put a chip in his wrist so that they could never lose him. 'I got it!' Bade thought as he walked over to the tool bench, 'Those bastards can't keep me here forever. I quit.'

…

"I think it's time," Piccolo stated solemnly.

Cole nodded in agreement. This last month has done wonders for him. He has mastered much more control over himself and was mastering his training as well.

"You're going to make your blade," Piccolo said, "I feel that the lookout would be the best place for this. Kami used to make swords back before he got too aged. He still has the tools."

"Then shall we?" Cole asked. Piccolo nodded and they took off. 'This guy has really improved over the last month. I have a feeling if he keeps this up then he'll probably have a power level around that of the Ginyu Force,' Piccolo thought as they flew. Eventually they reached the lookout and Dende didn't look surprised to see the two, he sensed them coming a while ago. "Piccolo, Cole, what can I do for you?" Dende asked.

"Kami had a workshop where he would forge swords, we need to use it," Piccolo replied.

Dende looked confused and asked, "We have a forge?"

Piccolo shook his head and motioned for everyone to follow him. He lead them through a maze of halls until they came in a room with an anvil, a furnace and a lot of tools and leftover ores and ingots from Kami. Upon more inspection there were impressive swords hanging on the walls. Dende and Cole gasped at the masterful works that the previous guardian made. "How come you two never told me about this?" Dende asked.

"It's been so long since I've been in here," Mr. Popo said recollecting in the old days of Kami and possibly other guardians.

"Last thing we need you doing is hurting yourself with toys," Piccolo said with a grin. He looked over at Cole and said, "Get to work, there's a guide around here somewhere. I will not teach you how to smith your own blade." And with that the three left Cole in the room by himself. "I guess I'll get started," Cole spoke to himself as he started reorganizing the cluttered room, he knew this was going to take a while.

…

A couple of hours passed since Bade started working, but at last, with patience and some luck he finally made what he needed. He added a new function on his utility belt to jam signals emanating from his body until he could find a way to remove the chip. He replaced his belt around his waist and left the function off. He grabbed some tools and placed them on the belt and in his bag as he left for the upper level of the ship. He walked outside and went into the storage section towards the outside of the ship. He grabbed a couple of the ration packets that he despised and walked out. He started heading towards the woods, he knew that once he activated his jammer that an alarm would raise on Appur's console and everyone would be looking for him. He needed some help and there were only a handful of people that he has started to trust. He was out of range of the ship and activated the jammer. He then activated the teleport on his belt and the next thing he knew he was in Satan City by the high school. He felt butterflies in his stomach, he knew they will look for him hear, but he had no choice, he had to run. He started walking towards the school and sure enough he saw who he was looking for. The two blondes were casually walking out of the small sandwich shop across the street from the school when Bade yelled, "Hey Erasa!"

Over the course of the last month the two of them really started to bond and he was on good terms with Sharpener since he tutored him every now and then. "Bade, what's up? I thought you said your parents never let you leave on the weekends," Erasa said.

"They don't? Dude that sucks, is this your first time sneaking out?" Sharpener asked.

"It's a little trickier than that," Bade began. He then saw a familiar face and ducked inside the alley nearby. He motioned for the two confused blondes to follow him. "I ran away, I couldn't take it anymore I had to leave," Bade said. Their eyes light up with shock.

"How can you leave your family?" Erasa asked.

"I can no longer call them my family, they have long since gone," Bade said.

"Wow, why are people looking for you?"

"Let's just say they considered me an important possession."

"Oh wow, do you need help? You can probably hang around my place for the weekend," Erasa offered.

"I would really appreciate that," Bade said. The blonde gave him a hug and reassured him that things were going to be alright. The trio then took back roads and shortcuts until they reached Erasa's apartment building.

"Here we are," Erasa said a little disappointed, "Home sweet home." Bade didn't understand what was wrong, he saw a certain charm to the neighborhood. Before he could say anything Erasa said, "Just promise you'll stay in here after dark. Trust me looks can be deceiving and this neighborhood does look too good to be true." The trio walked up the stairs and when they walked in Erasa's mom greeted them happily. She was a little shorter than Erasa and her hair wasn't as blonde. She held her age pretty well as she looked like an older Erasa with longer hair. "Mom, this is Bade. He's going through some tough times, is it ok if he stays in the guest room until Monday?" Erasa asked. Her mom looked the kid over. "Don't worry, I trust him, he's a good kid," Erasa said to quell her mother's suspicions.

"Well if my daughter can trust you so can I. Welcome Bade, Erasa's father went out to the store he will be back soon enough. Please make yourself comfortable." Erasa's mom said. "Thank you very much," Bade said with a bow. Sharpener then said goodbye as it was starting to get towards the evening and he didn't want to get caught up in the neighborhood before he got home. Erasa showed Bade to the guestroom which was in the hall, opposite her room, but next to her parents. Bade set his bag down on the ground before thanking Erasa again. She simply gave him another hug and said, "That's what friends are for." He returned the embrace and sat down on the bed and pulled the nightstand over so that he could place his bag in the corner. The room was small and had a single bed, a closet, and the small nightstand. "You're probably tired, and I have some school work to get done. So why don't you rest up in here for a while, and I'll get you when dinner is ready," Erasa suggested.

"I appreciate that, thank you," Bade said before offering, "would you like some help with your work?"

"Not now, but I would like that later, thanks," Erasa said, "Bye." She left and closed the door behind her.

Bade went to work immediately, he wanted to be quiet so that no one would get suspicious. He pulled his personal scouter out of his bag and tuned in to the Tuffle's channel. The only way they could track him through it was if he made noise so he was careful. It was just static. 'Darn they knew I would try and listen in,' Bade said as he turned the device off. He checked his belt to make sure that his modification was still intact and working. It was but he noticed that he would have a week before the thing died of use. Which meant he had a week to remove that blasted chip before he was caught and probably locked up for desertion or treason or come crap like that. Bade pulled his scouter out again and checked if it had any messages on it. It had one from Appur that read, "I don't know why you decided to abandon your own people in this time of promise. We need you as much as you need us, you are no one without us. Regardless we will find you, whatever means you have of blocking your tracker will wear out eventually. When we do find you, you can count on not leaving our sight ever again. You can run but you cannot hide, Bade." Bade deleted the message, that was a good joke. They need him much more than he needs them. He was going to enjoy his freedom, he wanted his own life, and he would be damned if he would let some crazy old bigot set out on revenge stop him. An hour passed and Erasa knocked on the door before walking in. "How are you doing?" She asked.

"Better than I thought," he replied.

"That's good, well dinner is ready and my dad would like to meet you also."

"Ok, thank you," Bade said as he rose from his bed. He walked over to their small living/dining room area and bowed before taking a seat at their table. Erasa and her mother were there. There was also a man about the same height as Erasa with blonde hair that seemed to be graying early from stress. He held lines on his face as well as fatigue in his eyes. It was clear the man worked hard in his life and had no regrets in it. "Thank you very much for having me sir," Bade said with a bow.

"You are a respectful young man, and Erasa speaks highly of you, believe me the honor is mine," her father said and the two shook hands. There was bread and pasta with red sauce on the table as well as a few meatballs. "There's not too much, I hope you don't mind," Erasa's mom said.

"Not at all, I actually don't eat very much to begin with," Bade said, "Besides it looks delicious anyway."

"Thank you," she said and they started to eat while bringing up conversation about each other's day. None of the family wanted to bring up what happened with Bade unless he started to talk about it, they agreed to that before dinner. Once they were done, Bade helped clear the table and helped with dishes even though he ate half a meatball. It was clear that Bade and Erasa's dad were off on the right foot already. The two talked in the kitchen about opportunity and freedom of choice in life. Once that was all done Erasa and Bade set up schoolwork on the dining room table and was helping her figure out her math and science. Erasa's dad couldn't help but overhear the studying while he was watching TV with his wife and put out, "Bade, you're pretty smart. That will take you places in life, believe me." Bade thanked him and they went back to work. Eventually they all started to settle down to bed, ready for the next day to do it all over again. All in all, Bade was glad he left.

…

Gohan was pleased with the progress that Videl and Goten made that day. Although Goten was miles ahead of Videl, she was persistent. He admired that about her. It was getting late at night and Gohan sat up with his mother watching TV. Goten retired to his bed a couple hours ago. As they were watching the news, the most recent glove strike came out again, this time they attacked a bank and managed to make away with a couple hundred thousand. "Bade called it again," Gohan said, "At least the city anyway. And I guess the robbery, he said that they were probably going to be looking for more cash soon since their last attack."

Chichi looked at him suspiciously, "You don't think Bade is one of them, do you? You say all the time how he predicts the attacks."

"Believe me mom, he isn't one of them. He had no idea who they were until over a month ago. Besides that Bade is too good spirited to want to harm someone, I can sense it in him."

"Ok," Chichi said in disbelief. She then decided to change the subject, "so, you and Videl have been seeing each other a lot this last month."

Gohan blushed a little, "It's not like that mom, we're just friends and it's only training."

"We'll see about that," she said laughing as Gohan's face flushed a deep red.

"Mom, we're honestly only friends."

"Ok dear," she said dropping the subject for now. Gohan was glad she didn't start to go off about grandchildren and weddings. He's too young to be dealing with that kind of stuff right now.

"So when should I be expecting grandchildren?" Chichi said teasingly.

'I swear she can read minds sometimes,' Gohan said as he sighed, "no mom, I don't know."

She laughed a little as Gohan hugged his mother and went upstairs to his room for the night. 'I can never catch a break sometimes,' he thought as he marched up the stairs defeated.

…

Woo that's done. What do you think about Bade? I got some more stuff coming in with him later it's going to get interesting to say the least. Well tell me what you think and again I think I'm going to probably update again in a week give or take three days. I didn't forget about Cole either. Just wanted to have him started this chapter. He'll have a little more next chapter. Sorry for not having as much on Gohan and Videl but they weren't the focus this chapter.