A/N: I think I'm going to slow down the pace of my updates. I'm uploading faster than I can write, and I like having a bit of wiggle room, in case I change my mind about something and need to a previous chapter for it to fit. It happens all the time.
To RenegadeForLife: I have an in-universe and an out-universe reason for not having Gohan do a press conference immediately. In-universe, Gohan didn't think it would escalate like that.
Out-universe, well, I could have done that, but then I wouldn't be able to write this story.
And rest assured, he is going to take a much more active role from here on. For better of for worse.
Also, these chapters are going to be fairly Sharpner and Erasa heavy. I thought of cutting them back a little but decided not to. They are main characters just as much as Gohan and Videl are.
Chapter 8
Reflection
A few days earlier, on Tuesday. Just yesterday Gohan had changed from human to god right in the middle of the classroom.
And today, Sharpner and Erasa barely escaped with their lives.
The male blonde stretched himself out. The sore spot in his side was becoming darker already. By tomorrow it would most certainly be a bruise. Only the worst one of several.
But it was worth it.
He was in his home, sitting on a chair by the table. From here he could see the other blonde laying on the couch with her eyes closed. Having run out of adrenaline, she threw down her bag, fell on the couch and had not moved since.
He smiled to himself, remembering her excited face, her blue eyes sparkling. A lighter blue than Videl's, he realised. He never really noticed that. Despite having been friends with her for just as long as he was with Videl, he hadn't bothered to pay attention.
Then again, he only noticed Videl's particular shade of blue when he started to crush on her just three years ago.
Videl. He wondered where she was now. Even at the time he knew publicly disgracing her wasn't really the best thing he could have done, but now that his feelings of pain and anger had settled somewhat, he actually found himself becoming worried for her.
He looked up at the girl who was still here.
Erasa. Who was still in the exact same position as she passed out in.
He stood up and walked over to her. He sat down by her legs, barely on the edge, and looked down at her figure.
Erasa was much lighter than Videl, despite being almost a full head taller. But then, Videl had muscle development, where the only developed parts of Erasa were her chest and her hips.
And quite nicely too. But Sharpner was a bit of an Amazon Chaser. He liked strong girls, which was how he supposed he ended up falling for Videl.
He reached out and gently took her hand into his own. Her thin fingers rested in his own strong ones.
Yeah, Erasa had a completely different figure from Videl.
And yet, they were somewhat alike. They had to be, the two had been best friends for such a long time. And he clearly recognised Videl's influence on her when she punched a guy in the face, and when she grinned up at him in glee.
Ah, Erasa. He had never taken her for a fighter, but thinking back, the girl had always been rather strong of will as well.
Like how she insisted that Gohan would be eating with the three of them, despite the protest of the other two.
Come to think of it, why did she do that? Surely it couldn't have been to just be nice to the new kid? In hindsight, Sharpner was rather glad she did, since they were now friends with the Golden God himself, but she couldn't have known that at the time.
He shook his head. No use in thinking that now.
"The couch isn't very comfortable, you know?" He said softly to the motionless girl. "Maybe you should lie on the bed?" No reaction, of course, but he didn't expect one. "You know what? If you don't reply, I'll move you to the bed." He continued. "I'm not going to undress you though, I ain't pulling the pin on that grenade."
He chuckled softly to himself. Then he got up.
"I guess that settles it then." Having decided so, he picked the girl up bridal style, and carried her to his parent's bedroom, where she had been staying. There he laid her on the bed, and removed his arm from his legs, but kept his arm around her back, keeping her somewhat upright.
"By the way." He started. "Why are you pretending to sleep anyway?"
"Aw." She opened her eyes a little. "You don't find it cute?"
"A little." He admitted with a smile.
"Maybe I just want to be spoiled a little." She teased him.
"A little?" He returned. And sighed. He moved his other arm around her torso as well, with his hand in her neck, and pulled her up slightly.
"Hey, what are you…" Erasa protested until her voice was muffled in his shoulder.
A hug.
For a second there she thought he was going to force a kiss on her.
She had both her hands against his chest, but not actually pushing.
"I'm just glad you're ok." He said softly, hugging her a little tighter.
"Don't worry about it." She replied, now pushing away from him, but he didn't let her. "I'm fine. Now let me go."
He didn't.
"I need hugs too, you know?" He then stated.
She hesitated for a second. Then she found herself wrapping her own arms around his torso.
"Take your time."
Somewhere between Korin Tower and Golden City, Gohan was making excellent time. He had spent some time watching over Videl, though not actually watching her. He was mostly just thinking about what to do now.
He was certain his action back at the warehouse was going to leave some marks. The question was how much. How did the world react? And what would be wise to do next?
Having these questions, but no answers, he decided that sitting on the Nimbus watching Videl climb wasn't going to anything for him either.
He needed to do something, and whatever it was, he needed to do it fast.
And he had an idea of where to start.
Videl used to be very rich, owning literal billions.
Sure, the mansion was burned down, but there was no way this would bankrupt them.
So where did it all go?
At the Satan… no, Golden City Police Department, an elderly man sat at his desk, going through the massive pile of paperwork on it.
It just kept growing, no matter how much he did. There was just no way he could do this all by himself. But all of his assistants had quit, or simply stopped showing up. Most of these were either reports of crime, or had to do with the city's sudden change in name.
He was going to have get used to that new name. And he just stopped accidentally writing Orange Star City too.
He was getting too old for this. Perhaps it was time to pass on his place as chief and just retire.
Throwing his papers down, he stood up. As hard as it was, he was going to have to cut some corners. Reports would have to be filed away, to be looked at later, name changes should be handled by the mayor, but those just ended up on his desk instead.
As if there wasn't enough to do already with the return of the Golden God. And they had little enough people as it was.
More than half the force was gone now, the other half focusing mostly on the parts of the city that were deemed more important.
As such, cops were going down the street making sure no one was speeding, and further down that very street there was a rape attempt in broad daylight just this morning.
Girl got away though, and took a few of her assailant's teeth with her.
But most didn't go that way. Forget chaos, certain parts of the city were becoming lawless areas.
The worst part of it all? There were no hardened criminals left in the city. All had fled the day the Golden God returned.
Most of these crimes were made by average citizens. People who had been driven to madness and desperation.
The crimes reflected that. Gone were the planned and organised raids that one plagued the city. Replaced by spur-of-the-moment robberies, store thefts, break-ins, muggings, assaults, harassments, even manslaughter.
Not at all helped by all the people who didn't need to resort to such measures had already left the city as well.
The chief walked down the stairs, to take a break and get himself some coffee. He also headed down to the front desk, to catch up on the latest happenings, and have a little chat. He had to put a lot of effort in trying to keep the people he still had left. Even if he couldn't promise them they would still get paid. He believed so, but he didn't have certainty, and he wasn't going to lie to them.
Most were here out of a sense of duty, but most also had families of their own. What is duty compared to the needs of one's family?
If only Videl was still here. She was effective, able to take in the toughest of criminals, keep the confidence of the people and had some sense of responsibility.
So what if she wasn't modest about it? It worked, and that was what mattered.
By the time he tried to reach her by her wristband, she had already left it behind, and ran.
Yes, the man was feeling worried for the girl. He had known her personally for quite some time now. Despite her arrogance she was a great asset to the force, and always willing to help. Sure, she complained often, but never actually refused anything.
She did not deserve the backlash she got.
Even the order to hunt both her and her father down was passed from the higher-ups, and there was little he could actually do against it. It was the reason he was so late in trying to contact her.
But she and her father had vanished, and there was little he could do for her now.
He was brought out of his musings when he saw a spot of sunlight move across the ground. Rapidly. Other spots were doing so as well.
But it was cloudy today. There had not been any sunlight at all. And it shouldn't move like this either.
Unless…
As fast as his old legs could carry him he sped down the stairs, and on the ground towards the entrance of the building.
Just in time to see a figure of brilliant golden light walking towards the front desk. The one attending it was frozen to the spot.
More officers came running, also having noticed the light, and put one and one together. Some had their handguns drawn, though aimed at the ground with the finger off the trigger.
It was mesmerising, to see a being made of light standing here, in glory undimmed.
The Golden God himself.
He had heard the stories, but they did him no justice.
Before he scoffed at the notion of a deity, but now that he had seen with his own eyes, he might just want to…
Believe.
Then the light started fading away. His hair stopped glowing golden, and turned to a pale blonde. His eyes became less piecing, and a little dull, but remained teal. His skin seemed to darken, as did his purple outfit, though that might just be because the entire room was no longer bathed in light.
"Greetings." He said. It was shocking. Not because there was anything weird about his voice, but because there wasn't. One would almost expect him to have some deep bass, or have an echo, or perhaps many voices speaking as one.
It was just so normal, it caught everyone off guard.
"I am looking for whoever is in charge." He asked of them.
"That would be me." The chief stepped forward.
The figure nodded at him. "I have a few questions, and perhaps you could give me some answers." He said.
One of the officers, a younger one, had made a few steps forwards, and now raised his gun to aim at the Golden God.
"Son Gohan." The officer said. "I hereby place you under arrest for the charges of instating riots, attempts to undermine the government, causing mass panic and property damage, and sevenfold manslaughter."
Even the God had to blink a few times at that one. Then he turned back to the chief, a small smile on his lips, and pointed to the courageous officer. "I don't know how much he earns, but something tells me it is not enough."
The chief silently agreed. Though the man was revered and admired, the Golden God should, technically, be a wanted criminal by the law.
"Put that down." He said to the officer. "We all know bullets have no effect on him."
"But we can't just leave him be." The man replied, though he did put away his handgun.
"I'm afraid we do not have much of a choice at the moment." The chief replied with a heavy heart. "What can I do for you?" He asked politely.
"There is a matter I want some insight in." The blonde man replied. "When his lies were revealed, all of Hercule Satan's assets were seized. That is a several billions worth, and includes the donations meant for various charity programs. But where did it all come from? And where has it gone?"
This made the chief scratch his chin for a second. Come to think of it, he didn't really know either. "I know there was a bit of a legal battle, but I was quite busy at the time."
"Could you find something out for me?" Gohan continued. "Or perhaps tell me who could?"
"I think we should be able to dig it up." The chief stated with certainty. "It's going to take a little time though."
"I see." The other nodded. "Then could you at least give me a list, for now. Of what the charity was for?"
"Most certainly." The chief nodded. "It'll take but a few moments." He gestured to the desk, where the person attending it was still frozen to the spot. A spot which just so happened to have a computer and a printer.
He also waved the other officers away, to go back to their duties. Having to bend to the will of a criminal, no matter how the public viewed him, it didn't settle well with him. But right now they didn't have much of a choice.
At least Gohan seemed to be amused and perhaps even impressed when one policeman tried to arrest him.
Finding information on the charities was a simple matter of a few keystrokes.
He promptly printed the list out, and handed it to Gohan.
"Thank you." He nodded. And looked it over. "I think I'll go and have a personal look." He stated. "I should be back somewhere in the evening."
"We'll try to have the information you're looking for." The chief promised.
"Thank you." He nodded again, and calmly walked out. Outside that light returned, and a golden mist enveloped his body. Then, with a flash, a golden beam shot into the sky.
Still in his Super Saiyan, Gohan was making his way across the planet, towards a certain place in the western desert.
Only a few weeks ago there had been a devastating earthquake, one that for once wasn't caused by him or one of his friends, which had destroyed several villages.
Mr. Satan was one of the main investors in rebuilding the homes and keeping the people supplied, mostly with food and water.
But now, with his flow of money gone, how were things going?
When he arrived at the first village, the answer was plain and simple.
Things were not going at all. The entire place was abandoned. Half constructed buildings were left in a hurry.
From the looks of this place, it was promptly abandoned a week ago. The villagers, having no home, no supplies, and now no longer having the promise of those, moved away.
It was the first in several.
Only the last place, one the size of a small city, still had people. All of them, in fact, since this turned out to be where the people moved towards.
Dropping out of his Super Saiyan form, since he really didn't want to draw too much attention, he walked the streets.
This place was busy. Far busier than Satan City had been. And more upbeat too.
But Gohan already knew what he wanted to know. After walking around for a bit, he crossed this item off the list, and made to leave.
Until he noticed a rather distressed energy signal, and an aggressive one close to it. Being his father's son, he was unable to turn a blind eye.
But he didn't want to waste time either, so he turned Super again and sped to the scene in question.
A man robbing another man. Both of them looked up at Gohan the moment he arrived.
The aggressor, holding a sawn-off shotgun, threw said shotgun on the ground and backed away with his hands in the air.
"I swear, I didn't really mean it." He started making excuses.
"Just leave." Gohan replied. "Crime doesn't pay."
"Yeah, thank you." The man bowed, and walked off. He also started muttering under his breath. "Criminals have been running around for days, I try one little mugging and I run into the freaking Golden God. That's it, I'm going back and work on the farm like mommy wanted me too."
Though it was said under his breath, Gohan still heard it perfectly fine, thanks to his Saiyan hearing.
He flew up again, into the sky. And he smiled as he did.
It wasn't a bad person, just someone having a bad day.
Erasa woke from her slumber. Wow, she actually slept. Her little fight must have exhausted her more than she thought.
She looked aside to the nightstand next to her, and found a glass of water.
Looked like Sharpner had come to check up on her.
It made her smile a little. And come to think of it, she was indeed quite thirsty, so she drowned the glass in one go.
Then she moved on to shifting her clothes a bit. There was a reason people didn't like to sleep fully clothed.
Well, at least she was still fully clothed when she woke up.
She slapped herself on her cheeks. 'Don't think like that.' She berated herself. 'Sharpner would never do that to you. He let you in when you showed up unannounced and fought for you without thinking twice.'
Indeed, even though Erasa didn't like violence, seeing Sharpner break someone's nose to protect her did hold a strange charm. Even if it didn't quite work out and she ended up being the one who had to bail him out.
She actually smiled at that last part. It was kind of a blur, especially after the adrenaline took over, but she didn't think she had actually been scared at any point. She did remember punching someone in the face.
When faced with a fight/flight/freeze, she actually ended up with fighting her assailants.
She never pictured herself being the type to choose fight.
Then again, she did spend a long time with Videl and Sharpner. They must have rubbed off on her.
Sharpner. He may not be as strong as Videl, but he was also second to Videl only. Videl may have been the one to become the WMAT Junior Champion, but she had to take Sharpner on in the semi-finals.
Even after being beaten down by four guys, Sharpner jumped up and was ready for round two. Erasa on the other hand had to lean on him or she'd have collapsed, having exhausted herself within a few seconds. There was a large difference between the two of them.
And yet, the knowledge of him having been here while she slept didn't bother her in the lightest. She just felt cared for.
Sharpner was sitting on his bed, watching the TV. His room had changed a little since Erasa moved in. He told her to make herself at home, but he didn't think she'd take him literally.
Erasa had pretty much marked his bedroom as her territory, putting her clothes in his wardrobe, which was half empty anyway, some makeup on his desk and hung up her favourite poster over his.
She also started putting small teddy bears in various places, such as on top of the wardrobe, in the window, on his nightstand and the corner of the bed.
Sharpner had to admit, the girly touch on his room had done wonders. It just felt so much lighter and cosier. It was true what his grandfather once said. It takes a man to make a house, but a woman to make a home.
He leaned back, relaxing a bit, and rested his eyes in the TV without really paying attention.
It had news on Gohan, who was seen flying around various places of the world, including Golden City, but no one knew what he was doing, only speculation.
Wild speculation at that. Someone was suggesting Gohan was seeking the best place to deploy his army and start his invasion of the world.
As if someone that powerful would need an army.
"Hey." He heard a familiar voice. Erasa walked in, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Slept well?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.
"I guess." She shrugged. "I can't believe I actually fell asleep."
"Well, fighting is intense and tiring, especially if you're not used to it." Sharpner reasoned.
"No kidding." She returned. Sharpner felt her crawl on the bed and lay down behind him. "What's going on?" She then asked.
"Gohan has made a few appearances around the world." Sharpner brought her up to date. "I think he's planning something."
"I guess we'll have to wait and see." Erasa replied. She took his hand, drew it back a little and tugged on his fingers. "You're pretty strong, aren't you?" She asked.
"Obviously." He replied slightly offended. "I did get a black belt, you know?"
"I guess I never really thought about it." She admitted. "But I'm glad you were there."
"Heh!" He let out a dry chuckle. "You were the one who saved my ass."
"Yeah, you were pathetic." She agreed.
"Hey?" He protested.
"So what time is it anyway?" She skimmed over it. "I'm hungry."
"Pfff." He suddenly got a thought. "You're like an animal in bed. Pet me, play with me, give me food."
"You ass!" She returned, giving him a small shove.
He shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the TV. It had switched to a program on the larger companies changing names, and some shady guy saying he was Gohan's acolyte.
He felt Erasa get up behind him, then slid her arms over his shoulders. She leaned on him, her head resting against the back of his, and her breasts pressed against his back.
It made some alarm bells ring. Erasa wasn't usually this touchy-feely. Sure, compared to her two friends she was a bit more physical, but never this much.
He turned the TV off, so he could focus on her. There was something wrong.
"Hey." He said as he stroked her arm. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing." She denied. Yeah, sure, he totally believed her. "I'm just… never mind." She cut herself off. She let go again, and pulled back. Except she grabbed his shoulders and pulled slightly.
Sharpner assumed she wanted him to lean back, so he did. He let her guide him all the way down. Right into her Pillow of Heaven.
"Ok." He said out loud. This was downright abnormal. So he pushed off with his hand on her stomach. She tried to hold on to him, but he simply overpowered her.
"What is wrong with you?" He asked directly, not caring how rude it sounded.
She didn't reply immediately. She just averted her eyes, and bit her lip. For a second he thought he made a mistake pushing her away, but she put her hand over his.
"You think I'm a bother?" She then asked.
"What, a bother?" Sharpner repeated, now sitting up straight again. "Not at all, why?"
"Because I'm… just…" She seemed to be looking for the words. "freeloading here." She then decided.
"Freeloading?" He repeated. What is going on here? "I don't mind you living here." He then replied. "In fact, I'm glad you do, you brought a little light with you."
"Oh, come now." She sounded annoyed, probably thinking he was joking.
"No, I'm serious." He replied. "I was feeling pretty lonely before you showed up."
"Well." She smiled slightly. "I knew you'd let me in."
"Of course I'd let you in." He replied. "I'm here for you." He said it without thinking. But then a painful surge shot through his chest. "Or at least, I'll try to be." He added sorrowfully.
"Hey, it was nine against two." She tried to lift his spirits. "You did what you could."
"It wasn't enough." He continued. He wasn't sure why. "Just the mere thought of them… you…" He couldn't finish it. "It hurt." He confessed.
"It didn't actually…" She started, then stopped. "Hold the fuck up!" She then swore. Sharpner was taken aback by her sudden change in tone. "I'm the one who nearly got raped here, why am I consoling you about it?"
He needed a second for that one, then realisation hit him. And a slight chuckle escaped his lips.
Meanwhile, she got up, and took place next to him on the edge.
"But I'm glad you told me." She then said. "I guess you really do care about me, don't you?"
"Yeah." He admitted. No point in hiding that.
They fell silent. Sharpner felt pressed, as if he should be saying something. And something came to mind. 'Why am I consoling you?' Her voice repeated in his mind. 'Does she want to be consoled? Is that why she really came here?'
It did make a little sense. For some reason, one Sharpner didn't quite understand, women tended to talk about things. He also knew it helped them, somehow.
And he had been turning the conversation to himself every time.
"Were you…" He started, and had to look for the right word. "scared?"
"Not really." She replied, to his surprise. "I guess I was too busy fighting them off to be scared." She continued. "But when I think about what could have happened, I… I'm a little scared."
He put his arm around her, pulling her against his side. "Do you want to talk about it?" He offered.
Erasa was quiet for a second, then nodded. "Yeah." Looked like he guessed right. "I wanted to just walk away at first, but then those other guys cut us off." She started. Sharpner just nodded, deciding to let her ramble for a bit. "Who were those guys anyway? They looked our age. When I heard they were not going to help, I reached into my bag for my pepper spray, just in case it would go south. It wasn't like I didn't trust you or anything, but there were nine of them, and two of us."
"It's fine, I understand." Sharpner replied. "Besides, I'm glad you bought those. But why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to…" She hesitated for a second. "To hurt you. To make you feel useless, or something."
"Well, I'm glad you got those." He repeated again.
"So you've said." She replied, a little annoyed. "So anyway, I thought we were home free when you punched one in the face. It was so sudden, and it shocked me. But then one of them grabbed me, and you were too busy punching the other two."
"Actually, that guy grabbed you first, then the other two started punching me." Sharpner corrected her.
It made Erasa press her lips together, and glare at him. Then she reached up, and grabbed him by the ear. "Shut up!" She commanded.
"Ow, ok, ok, ow, I'm sorry." Sharpner half played along. She wasn't pulling that hard. "I won't interrupt anymore."
And so, Erasa told her side of the story, one which Sharpner already knew, but he understood she needed to let it out.
She told him of how she felt when they threw her against the ground, and started grabbing her pants. It made him angry just to think about it. She also told him how she poked the first one in the eye, and only then had enough room to start using her bottle.
And how much of a kick it gave her when she punched that one guy, and he actually went down.
"So I ended up taking a nap." Erasa concluded.
Sharpner wanted to say something, but thought the better of it. Erasa wasn't done yet anyway.
"I was thinking why they picked me." She continued. "Did I provoke them somehow? Did I meet them before, someplace else?"
Since she was looking down at the floor, she missed Sharpner clenching his teeth at the last part.
"Was it because I'm always dressing like…"
"No!" Sharpner stated decisively, interrupting her. It was the first time he spoke up since she grabbed his ear.
"Sharpner!" She warned, annoyed. But now she did look him in the eye again.
"No!" He said again. "I am not going to sit here and listen to you blame yourself!" He said with passion. "You didn't do anything wrong! There was nothing you could have done to avoid it! They were looking for trouble! They were looking for a victim!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked her straight in the eye.
"You will not blame yourself!" He stated. "I will not have it! You did nothing wrong. The fault is theirs, who were looking for a girl to rape. The fault is with those teens, who didn't even think twice about joining in. It's… mine." He looked aside, unable to keep looking in her large blue eyes. "For letting it go on for as long as it did. But not yours!"
She blinked a few times, not having expected this outburst.
"You did good, Erasa." He stated, looking at her again. "You did what you could. So no more thinking about what could have happened, or why. We got out, and you're ok, and that's all that matters."
She sighed, and pushed his hands off her.
"Then what should I do?" She asked him. Not angry, not sad, just asking.
"I think you should…" He started, and found himself coming a little empty. Indeed, what should she do? He didn't think about that one when he started. But hearing her blame herself for that just hurt so damned much.
"You should buy a fresh can of pepper spray." He then stated. "And take me along, so I can get a few choice items myself." He started making it up as he went. "I promise, I will never let that happen to you again." He stated with certainty. He wasn't sure where that came from.
Erasa looked shocked for a second. Then she smiled. It was a watery smile, her eyes glistening a little. And she bended forward, her forehead making contact with his shoulder.
"Thanks Sharpner." She nearly whispered.
He awkwardly put one had on her back. "For what?" He asked out loud.
It earned him a dry chuckle.
"For making it so simple."
Quite some time later, and far longer than he expected, Gohan had made a few discoveries.
Most importantly, worship of the Golden God was even stronger than before, for some strange reason. And if anything, the speech King Furry had made had only spurred them on more.
He also heard of a large cult, just south of East City, absorbing smaller cults at a rapid pace. They also had a foothold in many of the cities. The Golden Cult, they called themselves. It was said to be a group devoted to him. Gohan highly doubted they actually were.
There was also another big one forming in Golden City itself. Or simply a large group of them, since he never actually heard the same name twice.
This one seemed a few tads more dangerous. He did hear several stories about a certain man, who was said to be his disciple. Who was said to regularly speak to him in dreams and visions.
Of course, Gohan had done no such things. Which left only two, no, three possibilities.
One, the man was delusional.
Two, the man was lying.
Three, the man was tricked.
All were equally bad. Something had to be done, and fast.
In comparison, the Golden Cult, besides absorbing smaller groups, didn't actually do anything, besides pledging their allegiance to Gohan. He could afford to leave them be, for now.
First, there were still a few things left on his to-do list.
Again a little time later, Gohan took off from the police station, a large stack of papers in hand.
Details on Hercules bank accounts. It wasn't everything, but it was enough for Gohan to get a general idea.
The list of added sums was pretty long, spanning all but one of the pages, from many different sources, including donations from normal people for charity programs.
Subtractions fitted on half a page.
It was said that the money was seized in the name of the Golden God, or to be returned to Satan/Golden City.
It was a lie.
Bulma leaned back on her couch, only vaguely aware of the radio talking in the background. She had been having a lot on her mind lately. She was thinking on how to help Gohan.
She didn't need to be told who was behind the killing of those seven people yesterday. She did wonder why, until Piccolo came by with a short explanation.
Now she considered it a miracle those seven were all that died. The rage of a Super Saiyan was no joke.
And today, the King of the World had taken a stance against Gohan. Well, technically not Gohan, but the image the world was making of him. Gohan himself would applaud him, of that Bulma was certain.
"What are you doing?" Vegeta walked in, fresh from his training, topless and sweaty. But she was used to that, and didn't take notice anymore.
"I was wondering how we can convince the world Gohan isn't a god." She stated her thoughts.
"Why is that necessary?" He asked in return. "It's fine to let all of those Humans believe it, isn't it?"
"Of course not!" She stated, flaring up. "People are actually worshipping him. How can that be a good thing?"
"Gohan isn't likely to let such a minor thing go to his head." Vegeta stated with certainty. "He is better than that. And I didn't say you had to keep it that way."
Bulma paused for a moment. Vegeta was being way too calm and collected about all this. Was there something he knew that she didn't?
"Ok, what are you going on about?" She sat straight up, and invited him to sit down next to her. Of course, he did no such thing.
"There are numerous possible explanations for Gohan's powers." Vegeta started. "Magic, illusions, mutations, science experiment, training in the ancient ways, being the half blood product of an alien warrior race, have your pick." He summed up for her. "So why a god? Why a god specifically?"
Bulma opened her mouth, but didn't have an argument. Indeed, at first there had been several theories and explanations. So why did the god-theory gain so much headway. Only a few hours after Gohan's appearance it was already decided he was a god? But why? Why a god?
"Let me tell you this." Vegeta saw her asking herself these questions. "Frieza was the emperor of a large part of the known galaxy. Emperor, not god. There was a reason he did that. And it has to do with the reason the Humans are worshipping Gohan now."
"Ok, so what is it?"
"You're proud of that big brain of yours." He returned. "Use it." And just like that, he walked off.
"Hey!" She called after him, but he didn't care.
Just great, now she had even more questions that she did before.
But Vegeta was right, why does everyone claim Gohan to be a god? Even when King Furry said otherwise, people only became more vocal. As if they want Gohan to be a god.
And why didn't Frieza want to be seen as one? Surely, god was a stop up from emperor, wasn't it?
You get worshipped, people are devoted to you, you get to rule unquestioned, and people bring you offerings.
Her mind paused on that last bit.
"Offerings." She repeated. "Hold on a second…"
Off in her thoughts, she didn't really hear how the talking of the radio had gone over into a song.
A new song, dedicated to the Golden God. It wasn't all that good, but it was scraped together in a week.
On the Day of the Awakening, with His winds of power blowing,
with His voice ringing through the sky, and His bright hair flowing,
while the earth was trembling beneath Him, and the golden fire glowing,
He returned to us his home again, only to stand and see.
We have forsaken Him our Saviour, He who had helped us in our need,
passed Him off as a mere shadow, denied Him in our greed.
He came and saw we did not wonder, how He had performed the deed,
declared His powers to be trickery, told ourselves He couldn't be.
But He was kind and was merciful, did not punish us with His might,
swept away all our transgressions, forgave us for our slight.
He gave us the change to apologise, gave us time to set it right.
But in His eyes He retained one question. "Why did you forget me?"
Then on the Day of the Reckoning, when He saw we were still in sin,
He took the lives of seven as, His grace was running thin.
We have to heed to His warning now, before He does us all in,
For His kindness fills an eternity, but so does His decree.
Having what basically amounted to a free day, Erasa and Sharpner found themselves at a bit of a loss on what to do with it.
Until Erasa had the brilliant idea of visiting the ruins of the Satan Mansion. After it was burned down, the entire area had been fenced off and ignored. No cameras, guards police or anything whatsoever.
Sharpner was against it. The less they had to do with the Satans, the better. Besides, they still had to visit a certain store. When Erasa persisted, he put his foot down.
So, naturally, after having bought Erasa a new bottle of pepper spray and Sharpner some brass knuckles, they were on their way to the ruins.
Erasa had threatened to go alone, knowing Sharpner would never let that happen. So he came along, if only to make sure nothing happened to her, loudly voicing his disagreement all the way.
"What are we even here for?" He asked yet again as they stood before the fence.
"I told you ten times!" She snapped back at him.
"No, you just keep saying you want to see it. What do you want?" He asked sharply.
"You'll see." She replied.
"No." He refused. "You will tell me."
She looked at him in defiance, but was met with the same look. No, Sharpner wasn't going to budge this time.
"Fine." She sighed. "There are a few things I'm hoping survived the fire."
"You do realise the place has been looted already, right?" He pointed out. At least he was no longer being stubborn.
"Oh, I know." She replied. "But the things I'm looking for are either hard to get or not worth much money. Like Videl's diary."
"She has a diary?" Sharpner asked surprised. He never took Videl to be someone to keep a diary.
"She doesn't write in it every day, so I guess it's more of a journal." Erasa explained. "It should in a hidden safe in her bedroom. I know the combination to it."
"And how do you know that?" He questioned.
"I pressed Videl into telling me." She replied lightly.
"Of course you did." He gave in. "Fine, let's go find that diary. You think you can make the climb over?"
"Nah." Was all Erasa said, and walked over to a nearby gate, and tried it.
It was open, to Erasa's hilarity, and they made their way over the ruins. The both of them pretty familiar with the layout of the place, but they still had a bit of trouble.
Videl's room seemed to have been dug out, for some reason. And a quick peek into her closet revealed that reason. All of her undergarments were gone. Only those. Damn fetishists.
Luckily, this also meant that finding the safe was easy. Obviously someone had tried to open it, but without success. And taking it along wasn't an option either, considering it was part of a large piece of wall.
Erasa opened the thing. The inside was still completely intact. She pulled out a book, a few boxes and a folder of papers.
"I thought we were here for the diary." Sharpner commented, seeing her shove it all in her bag.
"Oh, while we're here, I thought I might grab a few other things." Erasa replied lightly.
"That is theft." He pointed out.
"Videl won't mind." She argued. "She said I could take them whenever I liked."
"Take what?"
"Err…" She hesitated. "These." She opened one of the boxes. Glittering gold and sparkling gems met his eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me." He breathed.
"And those are all real." She continued. "I bet they'll fetch a high price."
"When Videl said that, she meant to borrow, not to sell off." He felt the need to point out.
"She won't care." Erasa replied. "Have you ever seen her wear jewellery?"
"Well…"
"Exactly." She cut him off. "And we need the money to live."
"It is theft, Erasa." He said again.
"Dammit, why are you being such a stick up?" Erasa became annoyed. "You're sounding like…" She wanted to rant, but stopped halfway, realising what she was saying.
"Gohan?" Sharpner accurately guessed the last word. "Yeah, I think I'm taking a few leafs out of his book."
It made Erasa feel guilty. "Look, I don't really want to do it either, but who knows how long this is going to last? We don't have jobs, or much of savings. We need money." She finally told him her main reason for coming here.
Sharpner had to admit, that was a pretty decent point. But there was something still bugging him. "So what's in the folder?"
"Bank account details." She replied. "Videl has a lot of money, and I thought it be better if those didn't fall into the wrong hands."
"A little too late for that one." He pointed out. "All of their accounts have been seized and emptied."
"Even Videl's personal one?" She asked.
"Yep." He nodded.
"Her trust fund?" She then tried.
"Also." Unlike her, he had been keeping up to date. "There's nothing left."
She sighed in defeat. "I'm still taking them with me. Oh, and this one." She took one of the smaller boxes and showed it to him. Inside was a singe golden ring, with a sapphire worked into it.
"It's Videl's." Erasa explained. "She showed it to me once. Said it was her mother's wedding ring."
"I see. He replied. "We better give that one back then."
"I thought so."
End of Chapter
Thank you for reading, and your continued support. I hope this in-between chapter wasn't too boring.
As for the song, I know it's bad, but it's supposed to be bad. So I say. I just couldn't write a good one, ok? TT_TT
If you're wondering about Videl, she isn't going to reappear for a little while. She'll be back hen we've reached the part where she leaves Korin Tower on her Nimbus.
And speaking of that Nimbus, I'm surprised no-one brought that up yet. I usually roll my eyes at pure-hearted-Videl, so I was kind of hesitant to use it myself here.
Videl has become stronger thanks to her training, obviously, but I'm not going to reveal just how much just yet.
And, as is becoming usual, I thank MrChuckMan for beta-reading.