Disclaimer: In this chapter I don't own Dragon Ball Z and Popsicles.

Warning: No proofreader for this chapter, I apologize ahead of time for any mistakes.

Chapter 21: A Recipe for Wishes

A sudden, loud vibration jolted Gohan from his slumber and he sat up quickly. He glanced around his room frantically, trying to locate the source of the sound. Years of combat training with his father had caused Gohan to always be ready for a fight. The vibration happened again, and he realized it was only his phone. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and then reaching for his phone.

'Bulma…' He narrowed his eyes. 'Does she realize it's 6AM here?'

Perhaps she didn't realize it was still so early in Hawaii. The time difference was almost 5 hours, after all. He grumpily swiped across the screen to answer the phone.

"Bulma… do you realize what time it is here?" He yawned, stretching his free arm out and then slumping back into his pillow.

"Yes, yes. Good morning to you too, grumpy." Bulma muttered over the phone, before Gohan could speak she continued. "I wouldn't be calling you at all if this wasn't important. God knows you need a vacation…"

Gohan frowned into his phone, suddenly concerned. "Everything okay?"

"It's The Elite… Vegeta has found two of them in Los Angeles."

"What?!" Gohan sat up in bed, the drowsiness instantly leaving his body. He quickly covered his mouth, realizing how loud he had just been for how early it was in the morning. He removed his hand before whispering the next part. "When? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He's been trying to keep his distance while following them. So far they haven't done anything of interest."

"So far? How long ago did he spot them?"

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Yesterday afternoon?!" Gohan hissed. "Why didn't anyone say anything to me before?"

"Calm down." Bulma growled fiercely back at him. "Everything has been fine. If the matter were more urgent I would have told you sooner. You needed to relax for a day."

"But—" Gohan tried to protest.

"What's done is done, you can argue with my decision later. Right now I need you to get to LA and back up my husband. Sorry to cut your vacation short, hun."

Gohan nodded into the phone; still very much irritated they had kept him in the dark. "I'll head there now." He hung up the phone before she could say anything else. Luckily all of his things were mostly still packed in his suitcase, it took him no time at all to collect all of his belongings. Once he had packed away his suitcase, he reached for another capsule and tossed it onto the ground. There was a puff of smoke and his fighting gi suddenly appeared. He quickly changed into it and then headed out the door and into the elevator. When he reached the first floor, he exited the elevator and approached the front desk.

"I need to check out of my room." He said briskly.

"Oh… sure." The front desk attendant mumbled. "Room number?"

"424."

"Son Gohan? Checking out early? It says you have the room for a few more days.."

Gohan sighed, having very little patience at the moment. "Unfortunately life happens sometimes."

She nodded understandingly, clicking her mouse a few times as she finished the checkout process. "You're all taken care of. Have a good day sir— Oh." The front desk attendant stopped short when she realized he wasn't standing in front of her anymore. She frowned, leaning over to the hotel manager standing next to her. "He's dressed a little strange, isn't he?"

The hotel manager arched an eyebrow and nodded.

Gohan headed out front, pulling out his car's capsule and tossing it down. He would need to drive out of town a little bit so he could find a clear place to fly without being seen.

The wind whipped through the young half-saiyan's hair as he quickly approached Los Angeles. Gohan closed his eyes, focusing in on Vegeta's Ki and then changing his course to meet him. He arrived just seconds later, touching down right in front of the older Saiyan.

"Nice to finally see you." Vegeta said curtly before turning away immediately. "I was growing bored waiting on you. I'm ready to fight."

"Sorry…" Gohan muttered, noting just how much Vegeta had changed since his time on Earth. Ten years ago if Vegeta had been in the same situation he probably would have charged right into battle. Having a family must have changed him though, as he wasn't as eager to rush in and risk his life.

"Cut the apology crap, I know it was that blue-haired woman that decided to keep you in the dark." Vegeta growled, kicking a rock away. He turned and looked at Gohan over his shoulder. "Do you sense them?"

Gohan hadn't at first, but decided to hone in on their Kis. He closed his eyes, carefully searching the millions of Kis around the coastal city. Finally, two distinct Kis stood out to him. Their energy seemed foreign and alien to him, much like Frostburn's had felt to Gohan before. "Are you sure that they're apart of The Elite?"

Vegeta scoffed. "Of course I'm sure. I got close enough to them to see that they wore those same ridiculous black shadowed disguises as Frostburn."

Gohan nodded at the confirmation of what he already knew. There were two members of The Elite right here in Los Angeles. But why had they made themselves so easy to spot? In all of his previous encounters with the group, they had only made their presence known right before they attacked. Something about the whole situation felt very wrong.

"This is probably a trap, you know." Vegeta said, as if reading the half-Saiyan's mind.

Gohan nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Do you think there is a way to lure them away from the city? I don't want any innocent people to get hurt."

"Maybe. But I can't think of anything other than just confronting them and having them chase us outside of city limits."

Gohan sighed and began to levitate a few feet off of the ground. "Well I suppose that's better than nothing. You ready for this?"

Vegeta gave a curt nod, floating upwards to follow the younger Saiyan. The two of them shot across the sky, approaching the very faint but very different Ki that belonged to The Elite. They reached their destination very shortly and quietly landed atop a skyscraper.

"Show yourselves." Vegeta growled, not wasting anytime. Gohan readied himself beside the older Saiyan. A few seconds passed before a dark figure with red eyes slowly manifested in front of them. Uneasiness filled Gohan's mind as he wondered just what techniques the two present members of The Elite would bring to their battle.

"Finally." The figure spoke. "We were beginning to question the intelligence of the great Vegeta and Gohan. I don't think we could have made our presence any more obvious."

Vegeta scoffed but said nothing else.

"What do you want?" Gohan said curtly, narrowing his eyes. "Why make it so easy to find you?"

"Who says we were trying to make it easy to find us?"

"Because I know your group by now. We wouldn't be able to find you unless you wanted us to find you."

The dark figure chuckled. "You are correct."

"Where's your partner? I don't have time for games." Vegeta growled sternly.

"Don't worry about him. I'm all you need to worry about." The Elite member spoke.

"If it's a fight you want, I kindly request that we leave this city. There doesn't need to be any collateral damage from our battle."

The figure took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before nodding.

The gesture caught the pair of Saiyans off guard. They hadn't expected the members of The Elite to cooperate with their wishes.

Gohan hesitated in his shock. He couldn't help but think that this whole situation had been entirely too easy. What were they planning? Would it be unwise to turn his back on them?

"If you don't hurry, we'll have to fight right here. There's no telling how many of your precious earthlings will be killed in the crossfire."

With The Elite member's threat, Gohan decided to take his chances on leading them away. It wasn't worth the risk to the people below them. He leapt into the air; his Ki enveloping him and then took off. Gohan could feel the three of him behind him as he led them hundreds of miles away. They finally landed in an isolated desert.

"I think this is far enough away." Gohan noted before lowering himself into a battle stance.

Vegeta stepped forward, positioning himself between Gohan and the two members of The Elite. "If the other member of club pansy isn't going to show himself, I want to fight." The prince turned and scowled at Gohan. "You've had your showdown of the month, brat, now it's my turn."

Gohan narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Now really wasn't the time for the prince to be acting so prideful. He sighed and reluctantly nodded before standing back up straight.

The tallest shadowed figure did not seem to be pleased that he would have to fight the older Saiyan first. "I wanted to fight the one called Son Gohan, but I guess I will have to kill you to get to him."

Vegeta smirked. "You make it sound like it will be so easy. Besides, the one called Son Gohan has turned into a wimp over the years. I am way stronger than him."

Gohan frowned and then glared at Vegeta for being so harsh. He wasn't that much of a wimp.

"Is that so?" The figure asked, shaking his head. "I guess we'll just have to see about that." He let out a yell as he charged towards Vegeta. The Saiyan immediately prepared himself to counter the attack. Vegeta caught his attacker's fist with practiced ease, pulling him down towards the ground and then using his other arm to attempt to connect a punch. His swing missed as the figure disappeared.

Vegeta growled in irritation. "Only seconds into the fight and you're already deciding to run away? Stop. Wasting. My. Time." He bit the last part out through clenched teeth. Vegeta threw his head back, shouting as he began to transform. Powerful energy enveloped him and the ground shook in agony. Gohan floated upwards off the ground a few feet to avoid losing his footing to the sudden earthquake.

The black shadow reappeared before them. "Ah… so it's true. It seems like the Saiyan prince Vegeta can also turn into a Super Saiyan. This will be interesting after all."

"We'll see how interesting you find me after you're dead." Vegeta quickly charged forward, swinging his fist where The Elite member had once stood. The Saiyan growled in frustration. Suddenly the figure appeared behind him, quickly swinging a leg towards his stomach. Vegeta deflected the kick and landed an uppercut to the creature's face.

The blackish form flew back, somersaulting a couple times before ultimately landing safely on his feet. He immediately pounced back towards Vegeta, wildly swinging his fists.

Vegeta carefully followed the creature's movements and blocked each attack skillfully.

Gohan looked on in awe, as Vegeta seemed to be holding his own against the enemy. Maybe if Vegeta could defeat the members of The Elite so easily, he would also be able to take down their leader. Maybe Earth wouldn't be doomed after all…

"Makankōsappō!" The figure suddenly released a spiral beam of bright light from his hand. It quicky rocketed towards the prince.

Vegeta was quick to counter though, quickly pulling his own Ki attack into his hands. "Gyarikku Hō!"

Gohan barely had time to leap into the air to avoid the explosion from their attacks colliding. The earth opened up and shook from the massive energy.

The two began battling for control of the energy. Eventually it became apparent Vegeta was gaining the upper hand. With one last yell, he forced more Ki into his attack, sending it towards the surprised member of The Elite. It slammed into his body, sending him flying backwards and through a nearby mountain.

Vegeta wasn't finished though and quickly took to the skies, intending to follow his target and finish him off once and for all. He had barely made it very far when a sudden shout stopped him.

"ENOUGH!"

The sudden shout had both Gohan and Vegeta whipping their heads towards the source. The voice was timid as if it belonged to a child. Slowly, a dark figure with the expected glowing red eyes manifested itself before them.

"Please stop the fighting. You have proven yourselves."

"Proven ourselves of what?" Vegeta spat. "I'll kill you both." Vegeta landed on the ground and began making his way towards the creature.

Before the dark figure continued speaking, he began dropping his disguise. The black energy that had concealed him began to pool at his feet, revealing an alien-like figure. The figure had green skin with pointed ears and antennae on his head.

"My name is Dende and the guy you were fighting is named Piccolo. We are a pair of Namekian that were enslaved by The Elite."

"Dende and Piccolo?" Gohan said, a smile beginning to touch at his lips.

"You… know of us?"

Gohan nodded. "The Supreme Kai had intel that you might want to help us."

Dende nodded. "I'm sorry that my partner attacked you. We are committing a great crime by turning against our old master. We wanted to ensure that you were strong."

"I'm guessing we passed your test? No offense, but your friend is a bit of a weakling." Vegeta scoffed.

Gohan shot the older man a glare for his bluntness.

"Piccolo wasn't fighting at full strength. We simply wanted to test your abilities."

As if on queue, the taller dark figure appeared beside Dende before dropping his disguise as well.

"We need to head somewhere else before speaking. It is unsafe for us to remain in one place too long. The Elite have men everywhere and their tracking skills are unmatched. The longer we stay here the more likely it is that we will be destroyed."

Gohan nodded. "I can take you to our place in the mountains. It's isolated from the cities. You should be safe there." Even though the Supreme Kai had said Piccolo and Dende were on their side, the young half-Saiyan was still wary. He didn't want to needlessly endanger his family and friends until he had the chance to speak with them more. His mom and Goten were still staying with Bulma so bringing them to the Son house in the mountains was certainly the safest option.

"Lead the way. We will follow."

Gohan nodded, slowly floating upwards before turning towards the sky and taking off. Vegeta, Piccolo and Dende followed closely. Gohan couldn't help but note all the traveling he had done today. He didn't seem to stay in one place long at all.

They flew hundreds of miles per hour until the familiar landscape around the mountain home finally came into view. Gohan found himself giddy with nostalgia despite the serious situation. It had been quite awhile since he had visited his childhood home. They slowed their flight speed, gradually bringing themselves down towards the small home. One by one they touched down, their energy kicking up the dust around them.

Vegeta took this opportunity to power down to his normal Saiyan self.

"This is a lovely home. The landscape around is beautiful." Dende said softly.

Gohan was surprised to notice just how polite Dende was. It was obvious he was very young, probably no older than 10 or 12 in human years. He wasn't particularly well versed of the aging rate of Namekians though. The larger Namekian, however, still said nothing which Gohan found to be a bit unnerving. It was hard to predict the movements and attitude of someone who didn't speak or show any sort of emotion. "Thank you, your words are too kind." Gohan said just as warmly. He reached into his gi and pulled out a large key ring with a variety of different keys. He flipped through them until he found the familiar one that belonged to the mountain home. Once he unlocked the door, he pushed it open. Even if the home had been vacant for some time, it was still clean and presentable. His mom took pride in keeping it nice, even if they rarely had any visitors.

The group approached the dining room table and took a seat. Piccolo opted to stand and glare at the rest of them from afar.

Before anyone could speak, there was a sudden knock on the door. Gohan was immediately on edge. Were they followed? He cautiously stood up and made his way to the door. It was only then that he began to recognize the energy of the beings outside. He let his guard down and opened the door.

"Greetings." The calm voice of the Supreme Kai spoke. "We had been keeping an eye on you and Vegeta and were ecstatic to see you were able to find Dende and Piccolo."

Gohan tried not to twist his face in irritation when he found out the Kais had been watching him. He let his mind drift a bit… had they watched him and Videl last night? He quickly shook his head and regained his composure, giving the Kais a respectful bow. "Greetings, I'm glad you're here. I was just wondering how we were going to contact you."

Vegeta stood up as well and gave the Supreme Kai a quick bow.

"Hello Dende and Piccolo. My name is Shin." He gave a polite bow before gesturing towards the being beside him. "And this is my associate Kibito. I am the Supreme Kai. I watch over this universe."

Piccolo nodded politely but Dende had trouble finding an appropriate reaction. "Sh-Shin? The Supreme Kai?!" He dropped to his knees, bowing deeply. "I'm not worthy of being in your presence."

Shin chuckled. "Rise, young one. The pleasure is all ours. I have heard of yours and Piccolo's valiant attempts to escape the control of The Elite. We need your help now more than ever."

Dende stood up and nodded. "I… I will do whatever I can to help!"

"Shall we begin?" Shin spoke softly, taking a seat at the table. Kibito stood behind him.

"Where do we even begin?" Gohan said. "I mean, how screwed is Earth?"

Dende returned to his chair. "To put it bluntly, the outlook is not good. Our master is very powerful and has many loyal followers.. As I said before, turning away from our master was extremely dangerous. No doubt our master already has patrols looking out for us since it's been some time since we checked in with him last. That's why we wanted to make sure you were strong."

"Will they be able to find you here?" Gohan asked calmly.

"Yeah, how do we know that members of The Elite aren't going to just come bursting through that door any minute now?" Vegeta growled.

"Our master had a general idea where we would be patrolling, which is why I wanted to distance us from Los Angeles. Piccolo and I have both been trained with The Elite's most prominent techniques. We both have the ability to conceal our Ki if need be."

Gohan nodded before continuing. "So who is your master? Will we be able to defeat him?"

Dende looked down, as if ashamed for what he was about to say. "I'm…. I'm not sure on either of those things. It may sound silly but we have never actually met our master. None of us have. He keeps the same dark disguise on himself and has never dropped it in front of any of his followers. We have never even seen his power demonstrated but when you're in his presence… it's almost suffocating how powerful his Ki is."

Vegeta sighed, irritated. "Well if you can't tell us about your master… can you at least tell us how many of his followers he has?"

"Hundreds, honestly… too many to count."

Gohan swallowed nervously. "And how many of them are as powerful as Frostburn?"

"There are three others as powerful as Frostburn. Frostburn was part of our master's elite guard. They personally attend to his well being and destroy anyone that opposes him."

Gohan sighed. "Well, at least all of his followers aren't as powerful as Frostburn."

Vegeta scoffed, shooting a glare at the half-Saiyan. "Always looking on the bright side of things?"

Shin ignored the comments of the two Saiyans and continued. "Dende, we are going to do everything we can to stop your old master but we will need your help. I had heard rumors that you had mastered some of the ancient ways of your people. I heard that you could create Dragon Balls."

Dende seemed taken aback and slightly shocked. He swallowed. "M-maybe. I mean, I have never actually done it myself. But after Frieza destroyed Namek, there were very few of us that were able to escape. I spent a lot of time with our guru before being captured by The Elite. He taught me a lot and I think I might be able to do it. It won't be easy though."

"What do you need? We'll help in anyway we can." Gohan's voice had been confident sounding, but on the inside his stomach was doing somersaults. The Dragon Balls were real… His dad might really be coming home…

Dende reached into his cloak, pulling out a very old and ancient looking book. The book was written in characters and a language known to Gohan. He pulled the book open and flipped through the pages until he came to one page in particular. Dende seemed to scan through the pages before speaking aloud. "We will need… seven round objects to be transformed into the balls… a replica of the dragon we wish to create… and some of the life energy of the planet's guardian."

Gohan's heart sank even more. His father wasn't around to give his life energy. It seemed they hit a dead end.

"What about the life energy of his son?" Shin asked.

"That… might work. I'm not sure. I've never seen it done but it could work since they're blood. It at least doesn't hurt to try."

The group agreed, nodding silently. Gohan would do whatever needed to help the Earth out, even if it meant he would finally face his father.

"We'll need some time to get everything in order then. I'll inform the wife of the plan and we'll go from there." Vegeta said, standing up from the table. It was clear he was ready to leave. He was very irritable from having his fight cut short.

Dende nodded. "I will also need some time to meditate and study. I have never attempted creating Dragon Balls before but I'm confident I can do it."

"Very well then." Shin said calmly. "Vegeta, Gohan, please escort the Namekians to Capsule Corporation. We will rendezvous with you there at a later date."

Gohan and Vegeta both bowed. "Yes, Supreme Kai."

"Oh, and Gohan?"

"Hm?" Gohan said, straightening himself up.

"It would probably be best if you started training with Piccolo as soon as possible. As early as tomorrow, even. We don't know when The Elite will strike again. If we are to stand any chance, we need everyone at their best.

"Yes sir." Gohan agreed.

Shin and Kibito vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the group of Saiyans and Namekians.

"Come now. That woman is probably going insane wondering where we are." Vegeta muttered, leading the way out of the house.

"Is he talking about his wife?" Dende whispered, leaning over towards Gohan.

Gohan chuckled. "Yeah. Let's just say Vegeta and Bulma are a very interesting couple."

"Oh I see."

They all exited and Gohan was sure to lock up the house. All at once they rose high into the sky and took off at the speed of light.

Videl walked alongside the beach as the gorgeous Hawaiian sunset shown in the sky. She absent mindedly licked away at a Popsicle in her hand. Although she was enjoying the quiet of being on vacation, she felt quite lonely today. She didn't want to bother Erasa and Sharpner since they were probably enjoying some sort of newly wed bliss at the current moment. Surprisingly, she had yet to see or hear from her father today as well. She was slightly curious what he was up to. Videl sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cell phone. Her heart sank a bit when she noticed that she still hadn't heard a single thing from Gohan.

'So much for all of the plans we had today.' She thought sadly.

Videl certainly felt strange checking her phone obsessively. It was weird to actually like someone to the point that they consumed a lot of her thoughts. She felt herself frowning deeply. What if Gohan didn't want to spend any time with her today? She shook her head roughly, banishing the thought from her head. Gohan was too polite to just blow her off. He probably got caught up in some work and hadn't been paying attention to the time.

She decided to go to the front desk of the hotel and ask what room number was his so she could swing by and see him. Videl wasn't sure if the hotel staff was allowed to disclose that information with her but she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. Mustering up the courage, she headed off the beach and into the hotel. She approached the front desk.

"Hello, Videl!" The evening desk attendant greeted her excitedly. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me…" Videl could feel her cheeks turning slightly red no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "…. What room number is Son Gohan's. I need to talk to him."

"Oh!" The desk attendant said. "Actually, I can't disclose his room number. I'm sorry." She frowned.

Videl felt her heart sink. "Don't worry about it. I understand." She was about to walk away when the manager suddenly approached the desk.

"Son Gohan checked out very early this morning. I think around 6AM?"

Videl's eyes widened. Gohan had left? Just like that?

"He seemed to be in some sort of hurry. However, he was dressed quite strange. He was wearing the kind of outfit you would only expect to see a martial artist wear before fighting in a tournament." The manager continued.

The realization suddenly hit Videl that Gohan could be in danger. If was wearing his gi and left in a hurry, he was most likely going to fight.

'Gohan…' Her stomach twisted with worry. "Th-thank you." She finally managed after awhile and walked away. She headed back onto the beach, and laid down on one of the lounges before closing her eyes. Her heart was heavy with worry and there was no way for her to tell if Gohan was okay or not.

Videl wasn't sure how much time had passed but she began to doze off. Even if she was worried, the gentle sounds of the beach waves had her fighting to stay conscious. She never stopped thinking about Gohan even for a split second though.

"Videl…"

Gohan? The voice had been faint at first, so Videl chopped it up to being in her imagination.

"Videl."

The voice came again and this time Videl could not deny the realization that it was real. Her eyes flew open and she quickly sat up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." His voice was soft and comforting.

Videl whipped her head around and made eye contact with the one person she couldn't keep from her mind all day. "Gohan…."

He no longer wore his fighting gi, but instead was sporting a casual t-shirt with shorts. "I'm sorry today didn't go as planned. I hope you can forgive me. Something came up and-"

Videl didn't let him finish. Instead she threw her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

Startled, Gohan slowly brought his own arms up to hug her. After a few brief moments, he hoisted her into his arms and laid her back down on the lounge.

"Are you okay?" Videl blurted, frantically looking the half-Saiyan over. "The front desk attendant said you were wearing your fighting gi."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a long story. Everything is fine though." He frowned. "I am disappointed I checked out of my room, I just wasn't sure how long I was going to be gone."

Videl's relief melted away. "Hey, next time try to keep me in the loop! You had me worried."

Gohan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, sorry. I will try to keep you in the loop more. I sometimes get tunnel vision when something serious comes up." He admitted. "I'm here now though, I know it's not ideal since the sun has already gone down, but maybe we could hang out for a few hours?"

Videl fought the urge to ask him about his day. It was obvious he didn't want to go into too much detail. He probably had a stressful day and just wanted to relax. She would let him off the hook for now, but tomorrow she wanted to know all the details. "Sure. What do you want to do?"

Gohan sat down in the sand next to her, tilting his eyes up thoughtfully. "Hmm…"

Videl laughed softly. "I mean, I'm all for hanging out, but there's not a lot to do at night except for hitting the hot tub again and getting some drinks."

"I've got an idea!" Gohan stood back up, reaching a hand towards her.

Videl took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "What's your idea?" She asked curiously.

"It's a surprise."

Videl resisted the urge to groan. "Come on Gohan, I hate surprises."

He chuckled. "This surprise will be worth it." He walked towards her. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

She reluctantly nodded, still unsure of what his plan was.

Gohan scooped her up in his arms and glanced around to make sure no one was watching. He began to float upwards.

Videl's stomach flip-flopped as the feeling of weightlessness took over. "Gohan…."

"I'm going to fly a bit fast. Will you be okay?"

She nodded again, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes just in case the speed was a bit much for her. Only a few minutes seemed to pass and she suddenly felt them stop moving.

"Videl, you can open your eyes now."

She slowly opened her eyes and noticed a bright orange glow. She followed it until she noticed just what exactly was causing the eerie color.

"G-Gohan!" She tightened her grip around his shoulders. She squeezed her eyes closed tight.

He chuckled. "Videl, you know I would never drop you. Come on and enjoy the view. This is certainly one of the coolest things I've ever seen."

She reluctantly opened her eyes again, deciding to trust him. She forced her eyes back downward and instead of focusing on the fear she felt, she focused on the beauty before her. Gohan had taken her to see one of Hawaii's volcanoes. There was molten lava right below them. It was bright and beautiful looking. She had never seen anything like it.

"Okay, that is pretty cool. How did you know you would be able to see the lava like that? I thought that volcano hadn't erupted recently."

"It hasn't. But the lava still sits within the volcano. I read in a book somewhere that you could only really see it at night."

"Wow… when do you think it could erupt again?" Videl said, feeling a bit uneasy floating over the volcano.

"I'm not sure. But it has been quite awhile since it last erupted, it's probably long overdue." He teased.

"OOooookay." Videl started. "On that note I'm ready to distance myself from the volcano a bit."

Gohan smiled and nodded. He flew a short distance from the volcano and landed near one of the many viewpoints. He set her down and they began to walk around a bit. They shortly came up on an outdoor building.

"Whoa… what is this place?" Videl asked, stepping inside the dark building.

"I think it's some sort of museum. We are in a National Park." He brought a bit of Ki to his hand, creating just enough light for them to see around the room.

"We're in a National Park?!" Videl whipped around. "I bet they're closed by now… meaning we are trespassing."

"Oh come on, Videl." Gohan teased. "Let's have a bit of fun. We are just checking out a museum. There's no nerdier way to commit a crime."

Videl sighed, shaking her head. "Sometimes I feel like you forget you're speaking to a cop." She began to scan the room, reading over the many different articles and artifacts in the room. The entirety of the room was dedicated exclusively to volcanoes. Volcano eruption history, volcano researchers, volcano eruption cause, etc. , were all subjects the museum offered. She couldn't deny that she was finding everything to be quite interesting. Reading about the volcano eruptions did make her slightly more nervous though. She eventually tore her eyes away from the artifacts and settled them on Gohan. He seemed to be deep in thought, enjoying the articles just as much as she had. He looked entirely innocent in that exact moment. A slight smile graced his lips and he looked deep in thought. It was a sharp contrast to the many he had been while fighting Frostburn.

'Frostburn…'

Videl suddenly felt the air thick and hard to breathe. Her stomach began to churn.

Videl wanted to run but fear gripped at her. Her legs felt like they were made of stone. She could only watch as Frostburn slowly and meticulously approached her, his tail dragging through the mud behind him.

"Sorry girly. Nothing against you, you just got involved with the wrong loser." He said to her when he finally reached her.

Videl watched in fear as his tail shot towards her neck. She couldn't do anything as his tail wrapped around her neck and lifted her to her feet. Videl suddenly felt strength in her body again as blind panic and adrenaline took over. She was going to suffocate to death and there wasn't anything she could do.

Videl began to sweat and gasp for breath as the memories flooded back to her. She fled from the museum, just barely making it to the grass before retching violently. Gohan had followed her just as quickly and was immediately by her side, rubbing her back carefully while she got sick.

"Videl, are you okay?" Gohan asked softly once she had finally stopped.

Videl slammed her fist onto the dirt beside her. "Dammit…" Never had she felt so vulnerable. No matter how much she tried to deny it, being kidnapped by Frostburn had left her mentally scarred. "I'm fine..." She muttered, forcing herself to her feet. She didn't want to burden Gohan with her troubles. She felt so weak.

Gohan frowned, he knew she was keeping something from him but it wasn't his place to pry. "We should probably get you back to the hotel since you're feeling ill. I'm sorry I brought you out."

"No no no…" Videl said. "I promise it wasn't you. I guess I'm just feeling a bit under the weather. It probably would be a good idea if we headed back."

He nodded, gently picking her up and quickly flying back towards her hotel. She closed her eyes, relaxing against him and taking deep breaths.

'Calm down Videl' She thought to herself, feeling utterly humiliated.

They reached the hotel rather quickly and Gohan set her down. They headed upstairs and Videl let both of them into her room.

"I'm going to go change and brush my teeth. I'm sorry I'm not feeling well, maybe we could watch some TV or something?" Videl knew watching television while in Hawaii was a waste of vacation time, but her stomach was too upset to do anything else at this point.

"Sounds good to me. I'll wait here." Once Videl had disappeared from the room, he stretched his arms out and laid back on her pillow. He dug into his pocket and decided to check his phone. Gohan was relived to find that for once he didn't have a ton of unread messages. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and reached for the remote to flip the television on. Gohan scrolled through the channels until Videl returned wearing her pajamas. She crawled into bed next to him, snuggling up against the warmth of his body. Gohan smiled down at her, laying one of his arms around her shoulder.

"What do you feel like watching?" Videl asked.

"It's up to you. I honestly am just happy to be here with you." Gohan replied.

Videl's heart skipped a beat and her cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'm… I'm happy to be here with you too."

Gohan leaned in and kissed her forehead sweetly. "Are you sure you're okay Videl?"

Videl nodded. "I'm sure. It was probably just something I ate."

Gohan nodded in response. He knew it wasn't food poisoning and that there was something really wrong with Videl. He couldn't pry any further though. Instead he would just need to be as supportive as possible until she was ready to speak about what was bothering her.

Gohan noticed her breathing start to even out and realized she was already falling asleep. He reached over and flipped off the lamp and then grabbed the remote and shut the television off as well. He knew he should probably leave and that it was improper for him to stay the night but he couldn't keep himself from worrying. Something told him Videl still wasn't ready to spend nights alone since the ordeal with Frostburn. The fact wasn't surprising to him at all; any sane person would have some serious PTSD from the incident. Thinking about it made his heart tight with guilt.

"I'll protect you no matter what. You don't need to be afraid anymore. Goodnight, Videl." Gohan whispered, once again kissing her softly on the forehead. With his final words, he too let sleep begin to succumb him. His mind danced with its own worries about Videl, The Elite and his training with Piccolo.

A/N: Videl seems to be having some serious issues dealing with the Frostburn incident. Those two silly lovebirds need to learn to open up to each other. It would make things a lot easier on them!

Next Chapter: Gohan's training with Piccolo begins and Videl heads back to Satan City!

Hello lovely readers! I hope you're having a happy New Year so far! OKAY. SO. Don't hate me. I did not realize it had been ALMOST 3 months since this story had been updated! D: That's unacceptable and I am very sorry to my readers. I'm not sure I have any readers left after all the crap I've been pulling. I will definitely get the next chapter out a lot faster. I really appreciate everyone being patient with me.