Chapter 21

Videl could feel her heart pound frantically in her chest. She couldn't see for the blindfold firmly tied over her eyes. Her arms ached behind her back as rope burned at her wrists with the course fibers chaffing her tender skin. Somewhere to her right Erasa whimpered, scared out of her wits. Sharpner valiantly struggled against his bonds even though several minutes had past since he began his futile effort. Hercule slumped against her heavily, still out cold. The milk truck they were hearded into rocked and swayed as it drove along, rocks occasionally assaulting the undercarriage. Where they were or where they were going was anyone's guess. From time to time she got the feeling that the guy was just driving around in circles. As if they could really tell where they were going by the turns or the sound of the tires rolling across the asphalt. Whenever the vehicle lurched to a stop the hostages found themselves sliding across the cold metal floor and bumping into each other. Apparently this guy didn't care for seatbelts. It was at times like this that it struck the Satan girl how fearless she was. Most people in her shoes would be having a heart attack. But not Videl. In fact she felt surprisingly clearheaded. Even exhilarated. Maybe Erasa was right. Maybe she was an adrenaline junkie. Abruptly the truck stopped. That rumbling diesel engine died off. Heavy footsteps crunched gravel underneath. The back doors squeaked in protest as they reluctantly opened.

"Will you gentlemen be so kind as to escort our guests inside?" the bionic man sneered mockingly. "Be careful with the dark-haired girl. She's a real scrapper." There was some shuffling. Erasa squeaked. Hands grabbed her none too gently. Her feet stumbled as her 'escorts' put her back on solid ground. A hand at her elbow guided her across the gravel. Videl had no choice but to trust whoever was pulling her along that she wouldn't just walk right off a cliff or something. Gravel gave way to concrete. Some sort of massive rolling aluminum door typically found in factories and warehouses closed behind her noisily. Their footsteps echoed eerily in their wake. Abruptly she was forced to turn left and right so many times that she didn't even bother trying to remember the pattern in the hopes that they could somehow escape. Various doors opened and closed with a heavy sound, probably aluminum or some other such fire rated material. Videl guessed that they were somewhere in the old warehouse district on the outskirts of the city. For a number of years the city council had mulled over the possibility of transforming many of the abandoned warehouses into luxury condos or apartments in a bid to make the rather poor surrounding neighborhood as upscale as the rest of Satan City. Only there were numerous diesel tanks buried underground for the delivery trucks that once drove in and out like ants at a picnic. To dig out the tanks would be costly, dangerous, and time-consuming. The city council was more interested in immediate results than some lengthy project that may not even pay itself off. Her escort roughly pushed her into a hard cold chair. There was a thump next to her. Apparently these guys weren't too inclined to treat Hercule Satan like a hero…Suddenly her blindfold was removed, blinding her with brilliant light. Slowly her sight returned to her. The first thing that she noticed was the large electronic component in front of her that seemed to dominate the room. Next thing she noticed was the perpetual army standing on the factory floor below through the bank of windows lining one wall. That meant they were in the manager's office. It looked like all that community service with the police was paying off. Mr. Cyborg was standing next to a shorter, much older man in gaudy gold and emerald robes with some bizarre cap topped with some bird looking thing. For one reason or another he wore sunglasses indoors. Probably to look cool or something equally as stupid. But it was the oddly familiar symbol on his robes that held her attention. Tsuru. Crane. Then that could only be Shen. So was that bionic asshole his brother Tao? It didn't really matter. Either way they were pretty well screwed.

"What the hell do you people want?" Videl snapped irritably.

"There are a lot of things we want." the old man said. "Unfortunately, getting them isn't easy. That's why you, that pig you call a father, and your friends are here. One, we want to expose your father as the lying coward that he is. Two, we want to restore martial arts to what it was before your father bastardized it. Lastly, there are a few people we want dead. Luckily we can kill two birds with one stone thanks to you…"

"W-what do you mean?" Erasa squeaked. Shen stepped closer, making the blond girl shrink back fearfully.

"You three befriended one of them. Unintentionally I'm sure. But this does save us a lot of trouble. Especially considering how hard it would've been for us to even get near him."

"Gohan." Videl breathed. Shen grinned crookedly.

"Well, aren't we the smart one." He turned away from them to look out over his pupils standing ready to carryout his every command. "You can't even begin to imagine the humiliation the Sons and their little friends have caused us. They have the nerve to get in our way, disgrace us in front of the world, but stand back and let an oaf like Hercule take all the glory for saving the world and warp martial arts into little more than another money making scheme! Those cowards! They're a disgrace to martial arts! Where's their pride? Where's their honor?" His voice echoed in the ensuing silence. None of his men awaiting down below moved a muscle. He leaned into Videl's personal space. She got an unpleasant whiff of garlic on his breath. "But I promise you, that's all about to change…"

"Gohan destroyed Cell!" the Satan girl shouted defiantly. "What makes you think you stand a chance against him?" He gave her a look that could only be described as evil as he twirled a wispy gray whisker that hung down from his upper lip.

"A nifty little serum that'll disrupt his powers, that's what. Our friends, the Red Shark Gang, are ace marksmen. At least one dart is bound to hit it's mark."

xXx

It was freezing. His body had gone numb from the cold a while back but he ignored it. The frozen forest was still and silent, like someone had managed to freeze time itself. A snowy white hare cautiously ventured out from the safety of the barren underbrush but a cry from an eagle soaring overhead in the icy blue sky sent it scurrying back. Icarus crooned in concern, foregoing foraging in the snow for any surviving green shoots in favor of attending to his distressed friend as best he could. Gohan simply looked out at the expansive lake which now resembled a glacier thanks to the chill weather. The fact that he was only in his dark blue gi didn't seem to bother him as much as his conscious. Only one thought ran through his mind like a mantra. 'Baka. Baka. Baka.' It had been allover the news since yesterday evening. Videl, Erasa, Sharpner, and Hercule were missing. The police had no idea who, what, where, when, or even why. That night the teenage Saiyan simply couldn't sleep. How could he, knowing that it was likely his fault that they were in this situation in the first place? He should've known better by now. Just associating with him was dangerous given that he and his friends and family were constantly battling fiends of one type or another. Maybe the world would be better off without him. All he ever did was attract trouble anyhow. Suddenly a white cloak was draped over him.

"You're going to freeze to death." a gruff voice said. He turned to find Piccolo standing there.

"Gomenasai."

"For what."

"Everything." Icarus squawked worriedly. There was a sigh. Then the Namek hit him firmly on the head. Gohan cringed and cradled the lump forming on his noggin.

"Shimatta! Will you snap out of it! You sound like you've already given up without even trying!" The teenage Saiyan stared at him. "Since when did you abandon your friends?" It struck him how much everyone seemed to care that his school friends had been kidnapped when they really didn't have to. They even had some concern for Hercule, even though he was an annoying buffoon. Yamcha, Kirllin, Eighteen, Roshi, Puar, Oolong, Bulma…Trunks and Goten were probably concerned because he was worried. Vegeta…well, who knows what goes through the Saiyan prince's head. But they had all come over when they heard the news. Even though they didn't know his friends, even though Hercule was more hassle than he was worth, they still cared. Any friend of Gohan's was a friend of their's. Moisture burned at his dark eyes. He was too old to cry, damn it!

"Gohan!" Goten and Trunks hollered as they ran as fast as they could through snow that reached up to their chests. It looked like they were racing each other. "Sixteen and Seventeen are on the phone! They found 'em!" Gohan leapt up. His heart thudded almost painfully in his chest. Without another thought he raced home. Fresh snow crunched loudly as his feet sped along. A startled fox threw himself out of the Saiyan's way. Running seemed to get his blood flowing as cold numbed limbs slowly thawed and tingled with renewed feeling. He could hear Piccolo, Icarus, and the two younger Saiyans race after him. Only when the house came into view did he slow down. Everyone stood around outside, looking anxiously through the open door at Goku who was speaking on the phone. Marron waved at him happily as he came closer from where she was making a small snowman with her mother's help. When Goku hung up and came outside, everyone practically jumped on him.

"Well?" Chi-Chi demanded.

"Sixteen and Seventeen thought they sensed an unfamiliar ki and found Tao throwing the into the back of a truck." he explained. "They followed the truck to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. As we spoke the local gangsters were spreading out to surround the area, heavily armed. Some of the Shen's students are standing guard outside the warehouse. It sounds like there could be a lot more waiting inside."

"It's a trap." Roshi affirmed. "They're using Gohan's friends to lure us out."

"Man, do these guys hold a grudge…" Yamcha muttered.

"So, what do we do?" Krillin asked. "There's a small army poised to take us down the minute they see us."

"What do we do?" Vegeta growled. "Idiot, we charge in there and kill them for daring to challenge us!"

"No." a new voice argued. They all looked to the tree line and saw a tall muscular man wrapped in a tattered cloaked. Below his bald cranium a third eye peered out at the world. His companion, a ghostly pale boy with red cheeks wearing a cloak that was in a somewhat better condition, hovered slightly off the ground. "Knowing him, he undoubtedly has a nasty trick up his sleeve. We have to be careful."

"Tien! Chiaotzu!" Oolong exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"To help, of course." Chiaotzu answered. "We feel some responsibility for this mess. Shen was our sensei."

"That was a long time ago." Goku pointed out. "But we appreciate the help. You two and Roshi know Shen and Tao better than anyone."

"Still, this is low even for them." Roshi said warily, feeling his age. "They are no more martial artists than they are criminals. Martial arts is meant to help people, not hurt them."

"But I don't get it!" Gohan ground out in frustration. "Why involve innocent people? Why go through all this trouble just for revenge?"

"People like Shen and Tao don't think rationally." the old martial arts master told him sagely. "All that matters to them is getting what they want."

"And they won't." Tien stated vehemently. "We'll have to move fast. Kami knows what they'll do to the hostages if we don't make an appearance soon." As they began hatching a plan of attack, Gohan sank down in the snow. Icarus nudged him encouragingly. It was shaping to be a long day.

xXx

Omake

"Hey, Videl." Erasa whispered. Videl turned from her unconscious father and raised an eyebrow at her. The gruesome twosome had left some time ago to be evil elsewhere. They were alone. Why whisper. "What do we do if they…"

"If they…" the darker haired female prompted.

"You know!" the blond hissed anxiously.

"No, I don't." she admitted.

"'Have their way with us'." Erasa gulped.

"Rape?" Erasa nodded. Sharpner's head jerked up, a worried look crossing his face. Videl rolled her eyes. "What makes you think they're going to rape us?"

"That's what bad guys do!" she argued weakly.

"Not all of them." the Satan girl reasoned. "Some rob. Other beat people to a pulp. The really bad ones kill for no real reason."

"What about me?" Sharpner asked. Videl gave him a funny look.

"What about you?" she snapped. "I swear! You two are such chickens!"

Translations:

Tsuru- crane

Gomenasai- I'm sorry.

Shimatta- damn it.

Ki- energy

Kami- god

AN: Please review!