Part III

Chapter 36: Changes

It was a short flight until Gohan reached his destination. He touched down again in a deserted alleyway and walked the rest of the way through the town. He passed a well-known building and had to smile, when he felt two familiar kis inside. Apparently Erasa und Sharpener had survived the attacks, something Videl would surely be happy to hear.

The building was just as he remembered it, as it seemed as if it had somehow managed to escape Buu and the smile on his face widened, when he remembered the short time he had spent there. At first, he hadn't liked it at all, but then he had made his first friends, if a bit reluctantly, had gotten two new secret identities and, not to forget, he had met Videl.

However, his destination was on the other side of the town, so Gohan left Orange Star High behind and went on through the streets of Satan City. He passed the bank, where he had stopped several bank robbers on his first day at school and other places that held memories for him.

Several people he met gave him weird looks and pointed at his head, or rather, at the halo floating above his head, but this didn't bother him. The halo was something he and the other had quickly gotten used to so he barely noticed it anymore.

While he was walking through the streets, Gohan saw that the destruction in this city wasn't as bad as in the Western Capital, but he still felt a pang at his heart, when his eyes landed on a destroyed building or house, knowing that, if he and the other fighters had just done a tad bit more against Buu, if they had just taken the threat of Babidi and him a bit more seriously, nothing of this might have happened. But it was too late now. None of them could change what had happened so many months ago and Earth's inhabitants seemed to have learned to live with this.

He reached the mansion about half an hour later and, even though he could have easily flown there, he had enjoyed the walk and the memories. As usual some reporters were milling around and Gohan, not particularly fond of meeting any of them, just moved too fast for them to see and appeared on a balcony on the first floor on the other side of the large house. Fortunately the glass door was standing wide open, allowing Gohan to step inside without breaking anything. He was standing in what appeared to be the largest living room he had ever seen – even the one at Capsule Corporation was smaller – and, spreading out his senses, he found the ki he was looking for down the hall.

Leaving the living room and following the corridor, Gohan finally found himself in front of a wooden door. He knocked shortly, as the politeness that his mother had taught him kicked in, and opened the door to reveal another large and dark room with a large screen at one wall, showing scenes from a children's birthday party. His attention was immediately drawn to the small black haired and blue-eyed child that was sitting at the head of the table with a huge cake in front of her. Behind the girl two people were standing, a man and a woman. The woman looked at lot like the girl, with the same straight black hair and the sparkling blue eyes and the man was no other than,

"Mr. Satan?"

The very same man as in the video, just a bit older, jumped out of the front seat and whirled around startled, when he heard someone calling him. His eyes rested on the teenager and his brows furrowed, when he tried to remember, where he had seen him before. "Who are you? What do you want? And how did you get inside? I warn you, I'm Mr. Satan, the—"

"Strongest man on Earth. I know. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," Gohan told him with a slight grin, stepping closer. "My name is Son Gohan and I—"

"Son Gohan?" Mr. Satan cut him off, finally recognizing the young man in front of him. "B-but you're dead! Why are you alive?"

Gohan took a few more steps towards him, but stopped, when Hercule Satan began to stumble backwards, his face ghostly white, and raised his hands to indicate that he really meant no harm. "I'm dead, that's correct, but I was allowed to return to Earth for a couple of hours. I'm here because of Videl…"

"Videl? What's wrong with my girl?"

"Nothing's wrong," he quickly reassured the girl's worried father. "It's about her birthday in a few days." Gohan's gaze wandered again to the screen, as it showed how the birthday girl furrowed her brows in concentration, apparently to think of a wish, and blew out the three candles on the cake. The sound of applause could be heard through the speakers and the young child squealed in delight, when she was handed the first piece of the cake. Gohan smiled, when he saw this scene. "You should know that Videl and I, we've been dating for a couple of months and I—"

"You!" Mr. Satan cried outraged. "Dating my daughter? I would never allow anyone weaker than me to go out with my daughter! You may not forget who I am! I'm the defeater of Cell!"

Gohan grinned, as he pointed out, "Actually, that was me."

"Oh, right," Satan mumbled, remembering what Videl had told him in the course of the one night she had been allowed to visit him in his dreams. "Well, so you and my little girl are going out. Do you love her?"

"Very much," Gohan replied, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze of his girlfriend's father. Somehow he had always imagined that meeting his girlfriend's parents would be slightly different. However, that was before he had met Videl Satan. Meeting her had truly turned his world upside down. "And because of this I want to give her something special for her birthday. Well, actually it began with an idea of my dad to come to Earth to get plenty of her favorite chocolate, which doesn't exist in the Afterlife."

"White chocolate bars with Mini Smarties?"

"Exactly those," the Saiyajin confirmed Videl's father's words. Somehow, after only really talking to him for a few minutes, he began to receive a complete new impression of this man. He would have never thought that Mr. Satan knew the favorite chocolate flavor of his daughter. "However, the more I thought about it, the more another idea started to grow. I decided to give her something personal, something from home. And I need your help for this. Of course, if you want to, I could give her something from you. I'm sure she'd be happy to get a present from her father."

"So, something personal, you say?" Mr. Satan asked thoughtfully. "How long do you stay here?"

Shrugging, Gohan answered. "Until late afternoon I guess. There are still some other things that I have to do—"

"Like buying the chocolate."

"Like buying the chocolate," the teenager agreed grinning. "If you had the things ready by three o'clock this afternoon, it would be great."

It was already a lot later than Gohan had thought it would be, when he was finally on his way back to Capsule Corporation. Mr. Satan had insisted that he stayed a bit, so that they could get to know each other a bit better, before he returned to the Afterlife. Gohan was surprised that Satan was actually alright after having talked to him for almost two hours, and he was glad that he had nothing against his and Videl's relationship. This had always been a thing that had bothered Gohan a bit, that they had never really had the chance to get her father's blessing. He only silently wondered if Mr. Satan had always been like this, or if the changes in him had been caused by Buu and losing his only daughter.

Gohan flew quickly and didn't even bother to be careful, as he just landed in the backyard of Capsule Corporation in front of the gravity room. Jenny's ki was still at school, Mrs. Briefs's somewhere in town and he could feel Vegeta's in there. A low chuckle escaped Gohan's lips. Where else had he expected to find Vegeta?

He punched in the code and smiled in relief, as the door slid open. He had almost feared that Vegeta had changed it over the course of the last months. Fazing again out of sight, he slipped through the door and watched from under the ceiling, as Vegeta stopped his training and turned to the door.

"Who's there?" he demanded to know, sounding annoyed. Vegeta quickly checked the kis of his family and found them at school and in town. His body began to tense, as he couldn't feel anyone near the gravity room. "Whoever's there, show yourself. I warn you, I'm the—"

"Strongest man on Earth, yeah, I know. Heard this already from someone else today, but the difference is that you're telling the truth." Gohan chuckled, as he let himself drop behind the other Saiyajin. The grin on his face got even wider, when Vegeta suddenly spun around and lashed out at him. However, the teenager easily caught the fist, seeing as Vegeta hadn't put any real force behind it.

After the young man had released his fist, Vegeta straightened his body and smirked. The only thing that indicated the Prince's astonishment of finding the other Saiyajin on Earth was the slight and quick widening of his eyes, when he had recognized him. Crossing his arms over his chest in their usual manner, he said, "It's really you, brat. I don't want to appear rude, but why are you here? And what happened to your ki?"

Gohan shrugged. "Short visit to take care of some personal stuff."

"Such as?" the Prince asked with a raised eyebrow, as he was walking to the main control to switch of the gravity and grabbed a towel to dry his face.

A sheepish smile spread over the teenager's face, as he began to scratch the back of his head. "It's about a birthday present for Videl."

Vegeta snorted. "So you're finally together. Have you mated already?"

Completely caught off guard by this blunt question, Gohan blushed a deep red and lowered his gaze. "Well, uhm…"

"You haven't. Boy, you've got to have some self-control." Shaking his head, Vegeta only smirked at the teenager's embarrassment and used the time to eye the boy carefully. He had grown again an inch or two in the course of the last eighteen months, now being about as tall as his father, and Vegeta wondered silently, if the boy had also gotten stronger. "But I'm sure you're not here in my gravity room to talk about your love life. So, spill it, it's about the brat, isn't it?"

Gohan nodded seriously, the blush slowly fading. "I have seen her this morning, at school. She didn't seem to be… happy."

"Why didn't you talk to her?" Vegeta asked gruffly, now opening a bottle of water and taking a few large mouthfuls.

"I…" Sighing, Gohan ran with his hand through his hair. "I don't want her to find out that I'm here. Hence the lack of my ki. I believe it would be too hard for her, if she saw me now only to say goodbye again in a couple of hours."

"You should have more trust in her."

"Stop it, Vegeta, please. Just tell me what's wrong with her. What's happened that made her so sad?"

"The girl had some problems at school." At Gohan's confused look, Vegeta explained, "Saiyajin related problems. She… lost control over it for a short time, making her defiant and rebellious."

Gohan paled, when he heard these news. He knew only all too well what could happen, if a hybrid lost control over the stronger and more primal part of this body. "Did she… did she hurt anyone?"

"Only her social life at school," Vegeta said, not believing it necessary to tell him about the threat of social services. "She's got to visit the guidance counselor at school once a week, but that's all. We're working on finding the balance between the Human and the Saiyajin, but—"

"It doesn't work, right?" Vegeta only nodded. "Yeah, I know this problem. Finding the balance, it's, I dare say, impossible."

"I thought so," the older Saiyajin admitted, sounding a bit defeated. "The girl is usually quick at picking up new moves or meditation techniques, but we've been at it for weeks and there are no improvements."

"And there won't be. Piccolo tried to do the same training with me directly after Cell, but we only found one way to solve the problem. The only thing Jenny can do is try to control her feelings and accept the Saiyajin as a part of her. The worst thing she could do is starting to fight against it." Gohan sighed and once again ran his hand through his hair. When he had decided to come back for a few hours, he hadn't expected this. "I wished that she wouldn't have to go through this. Losing control over the Saiyajin isn't pretty. Goten and Trunks have been spared until now, but apparently it's a problem all Human-Saiyajin-hybrids have to live with. Once something triggers the Saiyajin, it's ever present. Only the trigger seems to differ from hybrid to hybrid."

"Apparently," Vegeta agreed, thinking about what Gohan had told him. He could guess what had triggered the Saiyajin in the teenager – the transformation to the second level in the battle against Cell.

Damn! If there truly was no other way, he had to keep an eye on the girl. She had already made huge improvements in their earlier training to control her emotions, but still, it had happened.

Her Saiyajin had been set off in the fight against Frieza somehow, or maybe even before, when he had forbidden her to fight. Maybe it was also a number of things that had cumulated to wake the Saiyajin in her, he didn't know.

The only difference between then and now was that she knew of the problem. She knew what might happen if she lost control and hopefully this knowledge would be enough to help her to avoid this.

"But this isn't everything, is it, Vegeta?" Gohan pulled him out of his thoughts, after having watched the silent Saiyajin for a while. "There's something else, something even more important. Jenny's different and it isn't just the Saiyajin in her."

Sighing almost inaudibly, Vegeta pondered if he should tell the brat what he had overheard more than one year ago. The Kaioushin was stupid that he hadn't told them yet about Jenny's destiny. They were her family and so much had gone wrong already due to the god's failure. Deciding that they would find out eventually, Vegeta said, "Shortly after Buu, the brat had a visitor – the Kaioushin. I overheard their conversation. He has told her about a prophecy that's concerning her and then asked her to keep it a secret."

"A-a prophecy? About Jenny?" Gohan asked stunned. "What is it about?"

"It's not my place to tell. Give this information to your father and ask him to talk to the Kaioushin. I'm sure that, if confronted, this so-called god will tell him."

"I'll do that." A small smirk tugged at Gohan's lips. "And if the Kaioushin doesn't want to, I'll find another way to persuade him. No one, and when I say no one, I mean it, dares to mess with my family. Not even a god."

Vegeta smirked. "I knew you had it in you."

"I'm just protecting my family," Gohan replied with a shrug, now again with a small grin on his face. "Well, I guess I gotta go again. I still haven't done everything I've come back for. It was good to see you again, Vegeta, you and Jenny. But please don't tell her that I was here."

"I won't."

"Thanks," the teenager answered relieved, though also a bit sad. "And also thanks for telling me about her problems. I'd just wish that she was happy again."

The last sentence was a silent plea and the teenager hoped that the Prince of the Saiyajins would understand it. He couldn't stand it, if Jenny remained as miserable as she had been today. The girl still had her whole life to look forward to and no matter what this mysterious prophecy said, she deserved to live this life to its fullest without regrets.

Turning to the open door, Gohan took a few steps, before he looked back and said, "We'll meet again, Vegeta. I'm sure of this."

"Just make sure that you continue your training, brat," the other Saiyajin replied smirking. "I plan to fight you someday, when I'm finished with your father. That future-mate of yours better understands that, before she takes up too much of your time." Gohan nodded at him with a small grin, before he continued his way to the door, but was again stopped by Vegeta's voice. "Before I forget – is there a bond?"

"There is," Gohan threw over his shoulder, as he left the room, but before the door slid completely shut behind him, the teenager could have sworn that Vegeta had mumbled,

"Good for you."

The teenage Saiyajin smiled brightly, as he shot through the sky. The wind was whipping past his face and the sun was shining down on his face over the clouds. It was great to finally see a blue sky again, as the sky in the Afterlife was either black at night or of some strange pink or purple color during the day. But he had to return soon, so he wanted to savor this as long as possible. Who knew, when, if ever, he could see this sky again.

Gohan had resisted the urge to fly by Jenny's school to see her one more time, instead reminding himself that he still needed to buy the chocolate and that he would most likely have to go to several stores to buy as much as he had planned to purchase. Before he had left the Afterlife to visit Earth, he had exchanged the Mice (the intergalactic money; small white stone coins) that he had won during several smaller tournaments in the Afterlife, for his own currency on Earth.

With the huge quantity of chocolate bars safely stored away in several capsules, Gohan was now on his way back to Satan Mansion. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon and he hoped that his future father-in-law would be ready, because Baba would appear half past three to get him.

The door to the balcony was still open, so the teenager set down there and entered the living room after having knocked at the glass to alert Mr. Satan of his presence. The self-proclaimed savior of the world was sitting in an armchair, obviously already waiting for his daughter's boyfriend. Next to him on the table Gohan could see a small case that was specially made to contain capsules.

"Mr. Satan," Gohan said, as he stepped closer to the man. "Do you have everything?"

Hercule Satan smiled toothily, as he picked up the case and gave it to Gohan. "There are five capsules in there. Four of them are filled with some of Videl's personal stuff. And the fifth one is from me for her birthday."

The Saiyajin returned the smile and pocketed the case, making sure that it was safely stored in his jeans, along with the chocolate. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "I'm sure Videl will be happy."

However, Satan suddenly shook his head. "No, young man, I have to thank you. You told me that a dead person only has twenty-four hours to return to Earth and it means very much to me that you're sacrificing some of your precious time to do something like this for my daughter. You really are in love with her and I know that you will make her happy."

Gohan was dumbfounded to hear something like this coming from Mr. Satan, the man that he had, if not downright hated, at least disliked for a long time. A small blush crept on his cheeks and his hand wandered to the back of his head on its own accord, as he stared at the ground, embarrassed. "Well, uh… thanks?"

"No need to thank me for saying the truth, for once," the older man added with a thoughtful frown. Then, he suddenly extended his hand. "Just promise me that you'll take care of her."

"Don't worry, I will," Gohan pledged and shook the offered hand. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to her."

"I know," Satan laughed, slightly sheepishly. "It's just, sometimes Videl just doesn't want someone to take care of her. She's a strong girl and she's incredibly stubborn, just as her mother was."

"Son Gohan?" they both suddenly heard a raspy voice from the balcony. "It's time to go."

Gohan looked around to Uranai Baba floating on her crystal ball and then glanced at the watch around his wrist. Was it already so late? He hadn't even noticed how quickly the time had passed. "One second, Baba!" he called over his shoulder, before he again turned his attention to the man in front of him. "Mr. Satan, it was nice to have gotten to know you."

"Likewise," Satan only responded. The world champion inclined his head and Gohan returned the gesture, before the young man turned around to go to Baba. "Son Gohan," he said suddenly, causing the teenager to look back once again, as he was already halfway on the balcony. "I'm- I'm sorry."

Gohan had a happy smile on his face, when he arrived again on the Dai Kaiou's planet. Somehow it felt good to be here again, though this feeling was somewhat unexpected. Had he truly come to accept this place as home already? He was immediately greeted by two whirlwinds, who were throwing themselves at him and firing him with questions.

"Where've you been?" – "Have you brought us something?" – "Any presents?" – "What've you been doing?" – "Can we get something to eat?"

The teenager laughed at the last question of his little brother and finally realized, why he had been happy to be back here. This place was his home, because the largest part of his family was here on this planet. Everyone he loved, except for Jenny and, he admitted grudgingly, Vegeta, was at this place.

"Let's go home," he said to them, after having peeled both hyperactive demi-Saiyajins off him. "I'm sure mom has some small snacks for you."

He raced the boys to his family's house, where all three of them rushed through the door, Gohan having allowed Goten and Trunks to win their small competition. ChiChi looked at them with a disapproving look on her face and dangerously clicked her tongue. "What did I tell you about running in the house?"

"Sorry, mom," Gohan and Goten mumbled immediately, while Trunks only said sorry.

The teenager ruffled through both boys' hair, much to their dislike and went up to his room to hide the capsules until Videl's birthday in three days in his underwear drawer. He still needed to plan how to hand her the presents, as he didn't think that this would be something he should do with the whole extended family being present. But that could still wait a bit, Gohan decided, now with a serious expression his face. Right now, he needed to talk to his father.

Jogging back down into the kitchen, he saw that the boys were now happily munching away on some cookies, while his mother was nowhere in sight. He spread out his senses and found her in the garden, on the other side of the house. After having stolen a cookie from Goten, who was now complaining loudly, Gohan hurried through the backdoor and saw that his mother was hanging clothes on the clothesline. "Hey mom," he said. "I'm gonna see dad."

"Alright," ChiChi said, "but be back in time for dinner. And while you're at it, take your father with you."

"Of course," Gohan replied and his aura flashed around him, whirling up some dust, before he took into the sky. A sheepish grin appeared on his face, when he looked back and saw his mother shaking her fist at him, as now some of the clean clothes were lying on the ground. Hopefully, she had cooled down until he was back.

Gohan found his father only a few minutes later. Son Goku was lying in the grass at the lake, enjoying the warm sun on his face. "How was your day?" the older Saiyajin asked, before Gohan could even make his presence known.

"Pretty good, actually," he replied, sitting down next to his father, who was now leaning on his side with his hand resting on his propped up elbow. "I got the chocolate, some personal stuff from Mr. Satan for Videl, I talked a bit with him and found out that he isn't that bad once you get to know him, I saw Jenny and I talked to Vegeta."

Goku's eyebrows rose slightly, as he noticed that Gohan's eyes had become a bit darker, when he had mentioned his daughter and Vegeta. "Did something happen?" he asked worried, now sitting up completely.

"Yes, and no," the teenager answered vaguely. "They are alright, but Jenny had some problems with her Saiyajinside. But I'm sure that she'll be able to deal with it. The thing I wanted to talk to you about is something else that Vegeta told me. It's about the Kaioushin."

Gohan now had his father's full attention. Whenever the Kaioushin was involved, it was either something extremely important or bad. "Go on."

"A few weeks after Buu, he paid Jenny a visit and told her something about a prophecy. She isn't allowed to tell anyone else about it, but Vegeta overheard and told me to ask you to confront the Kaioushin about it," Gohan recounted, and then, after a short pause, said, "Vegeta sounded worried."

Goku stared at his son. Hearing the words Vegeta and worried in the same sentence was somehow strange and yet, he had seen the connection between the Prince and his daughter with his own eyes. It wasn't that unlikely, but if Vegeta was actually letting his worry shine through, it really must be important.

Suddenly an almost forgotten memory fought its way back into the Saiyajin's mind. Hadn't the Kaioushin said at the Budokai that there were some matters he had to discuss with him and ChiChi? Almost one and a half years had passed since then and the Kaioushin hadn't approached him yet with whatever he had wanted to talk about after Buu and after everything that had happened, Goku simply hadn't thought of this again.

Anger rose in him. It almost appeared as if the Kaioushin had kept them in the dark willingly, most likely hoping that Goku would forget about their conversation in the whole chaos about Buu. At the Budokai, he had wondered, if the Kaioushin was somehow involved in his wife's death, but what if ChiChi's reason for being here was somehow connected to this strange prophecy Gohan was talking about?

"Dad?" Gohan asked worriedly, when he noticed the rising ki, as his father tensed remarkably and clenched his fists almost hard enough to draw blood.

The older Saiyajin looked at his son and there was an expression in his eyes that Gohan usually only saw during battles about life and death. His father was dead serious and determined, but he was also clearly enraged. "I will talk to the Kaioushin," Goku informed him. "And you will come with me."

The Kaioushin didn't know what hit him, when one of his servants suddenly announced that he had two visitors. He had been so absorbed in his paperwork that he hadn't even noticed the strong kis that were now standing in his foyer. Putting his pen down with a sigh, he wondered what the two Saiyajins might want. There were still many important things that he had to do today, so he hoped that they hadn't just dropped by for small talk.

After having asked his servant to show them to the parlor, he just finished the paragraph he had been writing and also got up from his chair to leave his office. Taking the shortest way through the maze of hallways of his large mansion in the Afterlife, he hurried to the parlor, only to find father and son already present. They were sitting in two of the large red armchairs and the Kaioushin noticed at once the grim looks on both faces. This worried and at the same time scared him a bit. He could only remember one time, when the seasoned warrior had had this expression on his face, and this had been during the fight against Buu.

"Son Goku, Son Gohan," he inclined his head in greeting and sat down in the remaining armchair across from both of them. "Is something wrong? Did something happen on Earth?" he asked Gohan, referring to the few hours he had allowed the Saiyajin to spend on the planet.

Father and son exchanged a quick glance, before Goku simply asked, straight to the point, "Were you somehow involved in my wife's death?"

The Kaioushin's heart sank, when he heard Goku's question. He had meant to talk to Goku about this after Buu, but then everything had gone downhill and later he had decided to keep his secret just a little longer, seeing as the Z-Warriors, as they somehow liked to call themselves, had already gone through so much. Only that this 'little longer' had now turned into one and a half years.

But now, it seemed, it was finally time for the truth. "Yes," he admitted, not daring to look at them. "And no."

"What do you mean?" Gohan demanded to know, as he was slowly growing even angrier at the Kaioushin than he already was. His father had told him on the way to the mansion about what the god had told him at the Budokai and his own suspicions. "Is it the prophecy? Did she die because of it?"

Looking up sharply, the Kaioushin breathed, "How do you know about the Prophecy?"

"I've got my sources," Gohan only said and crossed his arms over his chest. "We know that there is a prophecy about Jenny. The only thing we don't know is what it says."

The god's mind was running wild. How could they know about this? The only people, who knew that a prophecy existed, were the ones working on translating it, Kibito, himself and the girl. As far as he knew, none of the translators had ever encountered any of the Saiyajins, he trusted Kibito and the girl had promised that she wouldn't tell anyone. Apparently, she had lied to him. "Did you speak with your sister, while you were on Earth today?"

Gohan shook his head. "The only people I talked to were Mr. Satan, some shop assistants and—"

"Vegeta," the Kaioushin concluded. Jenny didn't betray his trust. Vegeta must have been there, when he had told the girl about the Prophecy. He truly hadn't expected this. This changed everything.

"Yes, Vegeta," Goku now said, starting to sound impatient, and showed a side of himself that barely anyone knew. His eyes were cold and his voice even colder. The Saiyajin was slowly getting sick of being kept in the dark about things that concerned his family and friends. "Vegeta told Gohan that there's a prophecy about Jenny, but he also said that I should confront you about the contents. So tell me, is this prophecy the reason for ChiChi's death?"

Once again sighing loudly, the Kaioushin got up from the armchair and went to a glass cabinet. Opening the door, he took a bottle filled with purple liquid and three small glasses out and placed them on the low table in front of them. First after he had filled the three glasses with this liquid, he leant back in his chair and, after having taken a sip from the liquid, stated, "Again, I can only say yes and no."

"This doesn't make sense," Gohan shook his head in disbelief. He somehow got the feeling that the Kaioushin was trying to stall. But the more the god was beating around the bush the more he wanted to know everything, and, just as he had already told Vegeta, he would make him speak, if he was unwilling to share information. "How can the prophecy be the reason for mom's death and at the same time not? How can you be involved in her death and at the same time not?"

The Kaioushin winced, when he was assaulted by Gohan's thoughts and feelings. The boy was truly serious about hurting him, if he didn't tell them what he knew. "It's a longer story, but if you're willing to listen, I'm going to tell you everything." When he noticed relieved that the teenager seemed to have calmed down a bit after his proposal, he took another sip of the fake kind of courage and began his tale.

He began the tale with a general explanation about prophecies, before he continued with the contents of the one about Jenny, as far as they were known until now. Both Saiyajins listened intently and the Kaioushin tried to quell the fear within him, when both of their faces were contorted into deep scowls and he noticed their tightly clenched fists, as they obviously tried to keep their powers in check.

Since Buu he finally knew what those Saiyajins were capable of, and he didn't want to be at the wrong end of their wrath, so he quickly recounted everything that had happened from the ritual and how it was interrupted by Babidi until now, not leaving out a single thing. ChiChi's role in this took some more time, as he wanted to make them understand that it wasn't really his but Babidi's fault that the woman had to bear two Saiyajins, something which was physically impossible for a normal human woman.

Both Goku and Gohan were silent after the Kaioushin's tale. It truly was a lot to take in. Gohan buried in face in his hands, as he thought about what Jenny had to go through. His baby sister was carrying the weight of the world – both her world and another world, if he had understood the Kaioushin and his explanation to her dreams correctly – on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," the Kaioushin apologized, as he looked at Gohan, who wasn't looking at him, and Goku, who only regarded him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"You're sorry?" the teenager suddenly exploded. He jumped up from the chair and his power level skyrocketed, as he just turned Super Saiyajin. "She's only eight years old, for Dende's sake! She was seven, when you dropped this on her! Are you insane? It's no wonder that she's so depressed!"

"Gohan, please," the Kaioushin pleaded, trying to reason with the outraged teenager. "Calm down. I had no other choice. She was blaming herself for everything that Buu has done, for everything he has destroyed and everyone he has killed. She needed a new purpose."

"But what if it hadn't worked? If your little revelation had tipped her over the edge? She's just a child! No child should have a responsibility like this!"

Sighing once again, the Kaioushin simply replied, "I had to take the risk. She's the world's only hope."

Gohan took a threatening step towards the god, his anger and ki by now so high that he had passed the next level without even noticing it. "You've no idea, what it means to be the world's only hope and to know that you're it, do you?" Motioning with his arms around the room, he spat, "You just sit around here in your fancy mansion, and use your pawns, use us, to make the universe a better place instead of doing it—"

Putting a hand on Gohan's arm to keep him from doing anything he might regret later on, Goku said firmly, "Gohan, that's enough."

"Dad! Jenny's my sister and he's—"

"She's also my daughter," his father interrupted him calmly and somehow these words and his father's blazing eyes, showing his son that he was just as angry as him, helped Gohan to calm down. The teenager left the second level and eventually also the first level, causing his hair and eyes to return to their normal color. "I know what you're feeling and I'm sure the Kaioushin is aware of the mistakes that he has made. He knows that he's to blame for this and I guess that from now on, he will consult us first, before he takes any other steps regarding Jenny."

The Kaioushin felt the older Saiyajin's burning eyes on him and somehow this was by far scarier than having a powerful Super Saiyajin as opponent. "Of course," he only mumbled, lowering his head.

Clapping him on the back, Goku said to Gohan, "Let's go home. I'm sure your mother must have dinner ready by now."

"Alright," Gohan answered, scowling at the god. "But I'm not hungry."

Goku only nodded at him sympathetically. If he was completely honest with himself, he wasn't hungry either, but ChiChi had cooked for them and he couldn't disappoint her by not eating anything. With his hand still resting on Gohan's back, Goku put two fingers at his forehead and concentrated on the ki of his wife. However, before they disappeared, he turned once again to the god. "Kaioushin, I hope you remember my words. If you ever again keep something like this from us, I promise you'll regret it."

With those parting words, the two Sons vanished, leaving two fully filled glasses behind.

Only a split second later, they arrived in front of the Son home. It was already dark outside and the lights were burning inside. Goku was already halfway at the door, as Gohan's voice stopped him. "Dad? Are you gonna tell mom?"

Son Goku didn't hesitate, as he replied, "No."

Once again with his typical carefree grin on his face, Goku opened the door and stepped inside. Admiring his father's ability to pretend that everything was alright, Gohan also tried to school his face at least into a more neutral expression, before he entered his home, where no one knew about what they just found out.

"Happy birthday!" a couple of voices sounded in the morning three days after Gohan's trip down to Earth. Only that Videl didn't know that this had happened three days ago, as she groggily opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. It took her few seconds to realize that this wasn't a dream, but that four black-haired people were standing in the door to her room, the smallest one of them holding a cake adorned with eighteen candles in his hands.

"Wha—?" she asked, throwing the Son family a confused look.

"Happy birthday, sis!" Goten yelled and ran up to her, not caring about the cake, which Gohan only barely managed to catch, as his little brother threw it in the air, before the young Saiyajin tackled Videl.

Yeah, right, Videl belatedly realized, as she was nearly crushed by the optimistic boy. Today was her birthday and she turned eighteen.

"Goten, get off her," Gohan said laughing, for what seemed like the first time in days to Videl. She watched her boyfriend curiously, as he first put the cake on the desk in her room and then grabbed Goten to put him back on his feet behind him. After having given her a quick peck on the lips, the teenager took the cake and placed it in her lap. "Happy birthday, Videl," he mumbled softly and kissed her again, this time a bit longer, actually until ChiChi pointedly cleared her throat behind them.

"Gohan, don't forget that we also want to congratulate Videl," she said scowling, but there was a merry twinkle in her eyes.

Gohan grinned sheepishly and backed off, allowing his parents to step up to his girlfriend. He watched with a smile, as both his mother and his father hugged her tightly and wished her well, before they all took a step back and looked at Videl with expectant gazes.

"Come on, dear," ChiChi encouraged her. "Wish for something and blow out the candles."

Videl furrowed her brows in concentration, reminding Gohan very much of the video he had seen at her father's, before she blew out all eighteen candles at once. No matter how hard Videl always denied it, she certainly was cute and even though she had grown up too fast, a bit like him, she had retained some of her childish innocence, which she usually hid under a thick layer of sarcasm, when she met strangers. Only around her new family she had begun to open up, especially around Gohan.

The Son family applauded and ChiChi then ushered all of them out of the room, claiming that Videl needed to get ready for her special day and that they would get a piece of the cake tonight at the party.

Party? She didn't know anything of a party, Videl thought puzzled, as she saw Gohan winking at her before he closed the door behind himself to give her some privacy to change.

By now, it wouldn't bother Videl anymore, if Gohan saw her wearing less than her underwear, but the teenager was too much of a gentleman to push her. It was getting annoying, really. They had already been together for several months and they hadn't gone much further than making out and some light touching.

They even shared a bond, for Dende's sake!

She remembered the day that they had discovered this as if it had happened yesterday. It had all started out small with Videl suddenly feeling emotions that weren't her own.

The first time this had happened had been rather embarrassing, as she, Bulma, ChiChi and a rather reluctant Juuhachigou had decided one night to watch some sappy movies, while Gohan had been with his father and their friends to have an 'all men's night out'. It had been towards the end of the first movie, the main actor had just died a heroic death, when she had suddenly burst out laughing, earning strange glances from the other three women.

Other times, she had simply felt frustrated, sad, happy or angry for unexplainable reasons. Then, when she had suddenly started to hear Gohan's voice in her head, she had believed that she had gotten crazy. Some of the things she had heard had actually caused her to blush, especially since all of those naughty things had been about her.

As she hadn't wanted to talk to ChiChi about this, she had instead entrusted herself to Bulma, who had simply nodded and said that she had seen it coming for a long time. She then had explained about the bond a Saiyajin shared with his mate, the bond that represented dedication, respect and the thing they on Earth and on some other planets called love. "The bond is eternal," Bulma had told her. "It shows that you're the one and only for Gohan. Of course just, if he returns it, but I don't doubt it." The blue haired woman had then informed her of the effects a one sided or denied and rejected bond would have – pain and most of the times death.

Videl had waited for a few days, watching Gohan intensely, before she had finally confronted him. It had been incredibly awkward at first, as Gohan admitted that, yes, he had felt her emotions and heard some of her more personal thoughts, just like she had. Eventually a smirk had crept on his face, as he had stated that she wouldn't get rid of him that easily now and that he liked it that way – this had been a small part of Gohan that had been developed under her influence and with the help of his Saiyajinside.

Relief had been the most prominent of her feelings at this moment, as she had just flung her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him. She didn't know, what she would have done, if the bond had been one sided or if Gohan hadn't wanted this.

However, bond aside, Gohan hadn't made any moves towards the last step in their relationship yet and Videl hadn't either, because she feared that he might not be ready for it yet. They were still young, after all, but still his touches were always making her feel as if she were on fire and the hardest part was always, when they just stopped at it and her body was yearning for more.

She was ready and she wanted to cry it out to the world, so that her boyfriend would finally get it, but she kept quiet, for his sake. Videl knew that Gohan had been raised quite conservatively, even though he had spent about half his life at Capsule Corporation, and that his parents weren't exactly the best role models for building relationships, seeing as they had first started dating after their wedding.

This was mostly frustrating and Videl didn't know if she could take it much longer. Actually, she wondered more, how Gohan managed to control the Saiyajin in him. Apparently his self-control had grown much ever since the incident in that house. Besides, he had made it a habit to stay away from her during full moon nights, but would he also stay away tonight? If her calculations were correct, the full moon would come out tonight. She hoped not, because today was her birthday and, not caring if she sounded selfish, she wanted to spend the day with the one person she loved the most – Gohan.

With a heavy sigh, Videl swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up, scuffling over to her closet and taking out some sexy underwear (well, she could always hope), a pair of blue three-quarter jeans and a white tank top before going into the bathroom.

The party was already in full swing, just as Videl should have suspected it to be. It was held outside the Sons's home with all of the family's and now inevitable also her friends attending. The weather was still pretty good, so they had decided to hold a barbeque with the most delicious things that Videl had ever tasted. After dinner, they had cut her birthday cake and several other cakes to satisfy everyone, who was present.

It was already dark, had been for one hour already and then had been the last time, when she had seen Gohan. She sighed, as her gaze wandered over the table with her opened presents. She had gotten one from everyone, only her boyfriend's was still missing. One tiny part of her mind tried to tell her that Gohan had planned a surprise for her, that he wanted to give her his present in private, but she didn't want to believe this. Gohan had disappeared because of the full moon, she was pretty sure of that.

Somehow, this hurt.

"Don't you like this party, sis?"

Videl looked up startled from the glass in her hands, only to gaze into the large dark and innocent eyes of Goten. After the new Son home on this planet had been finished and she had moved in with the family, the young boy had immediately adopted her as his big sister. At first, it had been strange for Videl, but Goten was simply too adorable and she had always wanted to have a smaller sibling.

"The party is great," Videl said, hoping that the Saiyajin wouldn't notice how fake the smile on her face really was.

Goten eyed her for a few seconds, before he replied with a shrug, "But you look unhappy." Suddenly, a huge smile spread over his face and he grabbed her hand. "Come on, sis! I've gotta show ya something!"

Before Videl could even react, the young boy had pulled her up and seeing as he was much stronger than her, she wasn't even able to pull her hand away. She just barely managed to put her glass on the table, as she was already dragged away from the others and along a path that Videl already knew by heart – it led to the lake, where they usually went to go swimming.

"Goten, where are we going?" she panted, as the Saiyajin was simply too fast for her and she had trouble keeping up with his speed. But as he was still holding her hand, she had no other choice but to give everything she had.

Flashing her a bright grin, Goten called over his shoulder, "You'll see!"

They didn't need long to reach the lake after a quick run through the small forest behind which the lake was lying. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, when she took in everything in front of her. Directly at the bank of the lake, Gohan was standing, having a large smile on his face, next to a blanket on the ground and brightly burning candles placed around it.

Videl barely noticed that Goten had let go of her hand and had disappeared again, as her full attention was on Gohan. The first thing she noticed, when she looked at him, was that he had changed clothes and was now wearing dark blue jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt instead of the black jeans and white T-shirt he had been wearing before at the party.

"G-Gohan," she stuttered, as her voice failed her. This was incredible! So he hadn't run off after all.

"Hey Videl," Gohan was still smiling – a true smile, unlike the forced ones of the last couple of days – and held out his hand. Almost of their own accord, Videl's feet began to move towards him and she took his hand. His grip was firm, but at the same time loose, she couldn't describe it, as he led her over to the blanket and motioned for her to sit down.

After she had taken her spot on the blanket and Gohan had joined her, she finally managed to ask, her voice filled with curiosity, "What's the meaning of this?"

Gohan blushed a bit and Videl noticed that he was now nervously fidgeting with his hands. "I wanted to surprise you. Here, your present." He gave her a small longish box and Videl raised her eyebrow at this. "This isn't the only one, I promise, but the others aren't really from me. Come on, open it."

Gohan's heart nervously fluttered beneath his chest, as he watched his girlfriend opening the small box, studying her face for any kind of reaction. Much to his relief, a small smile spread over her face, as she took out the single chocolate bar, and her eyes were twinkling like the ones of a child. "Where did you get this?"

"The same place, where I also got your other presents," he answered mysteriously, now already feeling a bit more confident. "By the way, I've got many more of that in my room. This one bar is just representing them. Do you now want to see your other presents?"

Nodding eagerly, Videl expectantly held out her hands, much to Gohan's delight, as he suddenly broke out laughing. Yes, deep inside, his girlfriend was still a child. Her eyes narrowed, believing that he was mocking her, but then he suddenly gave her a small capsule case with a blue ribbon around it. "What is this?"

"Open it and you'll see…"

After having taken one more glance at Son Gohan's mischievously twinkling eyes, Videl turned her full attention back to the case. She carefully untied the ribbon and then opened it, to find five capsules inside, numbered from one to five. Thinking that she should start with the first, she took it out and pressed the button, before she threw it to the ground.

Some smoke rose up, as the capsule opened and Videl gasped, when she saw what was now lying in front of her. "Tigger!" she cried out, as she grabbed her favorite small plush tiger from Winnie the Pooh. Gohan grinned, as Videl pressed the cuddly toy against her chest. "How?" she asked, turning to Gohan.

"It will be explained later. Now, open the last ones."

Capsules two until four contained several more of Videl's favorite things. Some cups she had won during Martial Arts tournaments, some of her favorite clothes, a couple of books, photo albums and even more stuff. Videl had already tears in her eyes, when she held the last capsule in shaky hands, not knowing what to expect. With a quiet 'poof' the capsule disappeared and revealed another box, wrapped in colorful paper and a ribbon. Carefully Videl unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. Her hand flew to her mouth, as a small gasp escaped her lips. Gohan glanced into the box and saw a picture frame with one photo. There he could see Mr. Satan, a rather pale looking woman, whom he recognized as Videl's mother and an about seven years old Videl, who looked rather disheveled.

"Oh my…" Videl mumbled, as she gently took the picture frame out and held it in trembling hands. Tears sprung into her eyes, as memories of the moment this photo had been taken resurfaced. It had been only a few weeks before her mother had died of cancer. She and her father had just been training a bit, although it had been more fooling around than actual training, when her mother had suddenly appeared with her camera, activated the self-timer and then joined them. This photograph showed her family before it had been ripped apart and her father had gone through the drastic changes that had turned him into the man he was today.

"You forgot something," Gohan softly reminded her, as he took an envelope out of the box. Videl regarded the envelope curiously and her hands began to shake even more, as she took it from Gohan and opened it as well. Gohan simply watched her, giving her the space she needed, as she began to read the letter.

All kinds of emotions passed over her face, while she was reading the few pages that Hercule Satan had written for his daughter. There were silent tears, homesickness, a grin or two, some smiles and also laughter. Videl was also laughing, when she finally put the letter aside, much to Gohan's surprise.

"What's so funny?" Videl was already holding her sides, not being able to say anything, as she simply handed her boyfriend the last page of the letter and pointed to the bottom, where the letter said with a large PS:

If this young man ever hurts you, betrays you, makes you cry or even worse, touches you at inappropriate places, robs you of your virginity or just looks at you the wrong way, I'm going to hunt him down and kill him, no matter if he is the defeater of Cell or not!

"So, uh, if I ever hurt you or make you cry, I won't even defend myself against him," Gohan said completely serious, but then a mischievous smirk tugged at his lips. "However, he won't be able to stop me from looking at you, touching you or…"

"Robbing me of my virginity?" Videl provided grinning, when Gohan hesitated. She noticed that her boyfriend immediately blushed and she didn't know if she should feel annoyed by it or think that it was cute. However, seeing as it was her birthday and that she had gotten the best present ever from him, she decided that it was cute and immediately flung her arms around his neck. "Thanks," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Dad said in the letter that you went down to Earth just to get those presents for me… You've no idea just how much this means to me."

Gohan cleared his throat, somewhat nervously. "Well, I also talked a bit to Vegeta and saw Jenny from afar, so it wasn't just—"

"I don't care," she only said. "You went down to Earth and got me all those things, you talked to my father and I don't care if seeing Jenny and Vegeta were also reasons for you to go to Earth. They're your family, after all." Suddenly, Videl frowned and she pulled away from him, as something dawned on her. "What's wrong with your sister?"

Gohan looked at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't been yourself since you've come back from Earth. Something must be wrong with her."

"It's nothing, really," he lied, scratching the back of his head. "She just had some troubles at school and I'm worried about her. You know me."

"Listen, Gohan," Videl now said seriously. "I barely know Jenny, but I know that she's strong, smart and incredibly stubborn. I'm sure that whatever problems she faces and will have to face, she'll be able to deal with them."

"I know," the Saiyajin admitted with a heavy sigh. A heavy silence fell upon them and Gohan already felt bad about it. This was Videl's day and he was ruining it because of his problems. This wasn't fair to her. She deserved so much more.

It had already been extremely difficult for him to be present at all because of the full moon and what it might tell the Saiyajin in him to do, because he was still, despite the hints that she had dropped, unsure if Videl was ready for it, and he didn't want to hurt her. But he had meditated straight for almost one hour before Goten had brought Videl to the lake. All of this, just for her. And here they were, not talking to each other, because he had said the wrong thing.

A few minutes passed and Gohan suddenly looked up from his lap, when he noticed out of the corners of his eyes that Videl had gotten up and was now pulling her tank top over her head. His mouth went dry, as it dropped to the ground and she turned her full attention to the buttons of her jeans. "What are you doing?"

"I want to go for a swim," she answered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "And hopefully get your mind off the things that trouble you."

Oh yeah, she was definitely successful, as the body part in the lower regions of his body immediately reminded him of its presence, banning all thoughts of Jenny from his mind, when her jeans slipped to the ground. The Saiyajin in him immediately began to roar, calling out one thing – Mine! But Gohan used all of the self-control he had gathered during meditation to keep the beast under control. "N-now?"

"Why not?" Videl finally stood in front of him, only dressed in black panties and a matching bra. Throwing him a smirk, she ran over to the lake and jumped in, headfirst. She remained under water for a few seconds and eventually emerged a few yards away from the bank. "Come on, Gohan! What are you waiting for?"

Was she crazy? If he joined her now, he couldn't guarantee for anything! And she knew that! What the hell was she playing at? Was she— Was she actually trying to seduce him?

Was she maybe readier than he thought she was?

"Gohan!" she called again and waved. "I'm waiting!"

Her short hair was dripping wet, tiny water droplets running down her radiant face and as soon as his mind wandered to what exactly the water was concealing, the battle against the Saiyajin was almost lost. Just with the tiniest bit of self-control left, Gohan gave in and at last got stripped down to his red boxer shorts. It only took a few more seconds, until he, too, was in the water and appeared directly in front of Videl.

They were both floating in the water. Only inches were separating them and he could feel her warm breath on his face. Small goose bumps were visible on her shoulders, but Gohan barely noticed the coolness of the water, as his body was on fire. He looked into her eyes and noticed at once that they were a lot darker than before, filled with desire.

"Videl…" A hiss escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, as Videl raised her hand and gently pulled him closer into a kiss.

"Shush!" she murmured against his lips. "Don't say anything. Don't think. Just enjoy."

As if he could do much thinking in the current situation. Whereas their make-out sessions were getting more intense with each time, the full moon multiplied each sensation she was causing within him tenfold.

He was only able to feel. Reason stood no chance now. The Saiyajin had won.

He was lost. Lost within her. Lost in her touches, her kisses, her being.

Groaning, he mumbled her name and pulled her even closer.

She was his!

Videl awoke sometime later, feeling soft grass underneath her body. Sleepily, she opened her eyes, noticing that it was still night and gazed fondly at the arm that was wrapped around her, holding her hand. A soft breath tickled at her neck, as she was pressed against a hard and muscular chest.

As the blanket that was covering them had slipped a bit, Videl used her free hand to tug it up again to her chin. It certainly would be too embarrassing, if someone found them in this position without something covering their bodies.

There was a low murmur behind her and she felt that Gohan buried his face even deeper in the nape of her neck, still fast asleep.

A satisfied smile appeared on her lips, as she mumbled, "Love you, too," and dozed off again.

This truly had been her best birthday, ever!