Back again and still do not have ownership of DBZ...

Last time...

Suddenly the reality of the situation caught up to her and tears began to well up in her eyes so she turned heel and ran. The daughter of Hercule Satan never cried.

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For the next week, Gohan avoided Videl although she continued to stare at him when he wasn't looking. It was not the suspicious glare she had become accustomed to giving him but was instead one of intrigue. She realized again that there was a lot more to this boy than met the eye. He had secrets; there was no doubt about it, but then again, so did she. She had no right to try to stalk him, to treat him like a common criminal simply because she wanted to expose him. She just had no right and now she was disgusted with herself. As he opened her eyes to her behavior, she had gotten a glimpse into his eyes and knew he had experienced great pain in his life; probably worse than the pain she felt when her mother declared she was leaving her and never looked back. If she never told anybody what had happened, why would he want to tell her, the girl who treated him like crap, about his life? She just wanted to take back every nasty word she had ever spoken to him and every dirty look she had ever thrown at him.

It was only since he had stopped talking to her did she realize how much she missed him. Part of her actually enjoyed the banters they had; the times they would end up running into each other. Even the times they sparred and she lost, she realized she missed. Sharpner and Erasa were also clearly taking his side on this one. It wasn't that they stopped talking to her completely, but they tended to be distant. As she walked through the halls, she noticed the freshmen scampering to get out of her way as they gave her quick and fearful glances. She chuckled humorlessly to herself as she realized the Son boy was right about her behavior towards them as well. Even the Gold Fighter was less interested in her. He came and saved the day when she needed help but never stuck around so she could get another clue as to who he was. This, added to the fact that she rarely ever saw her father made Videl feel, for the first time, utterly alone.

Over the past week, she hadn't been sleeping well. She was constantly plagued by nightmares in which she was left alone with no one to comfort her. Sometimes the dreams involved the police officers, who took away her badge and communicator roughly stating that they no longer needed her help. Other dreams involved Sharpner and Erasa walking away completely from her. In still others, she was forced to fight an unseen force but always lost no matter how hard she tried. It was now Thursday, the day before the field trip and she knew what she needed to do. She needed to apologize to Gohan, to the freshmen, to Sharpner and Erasa, even to the Gold Fighter. That was her new mission and she was determined to accomplish it.

Within the first three periods, she had managed to apologize to her two blonde friends and to the freshmen. When the police called her in for a case, she apologized to them and the Gold Fighter, who actually smiled at her for the first time. Gohan was proving to be the hardest though. He continued to avoid her, walking away each time she approached him. It was now the final period of the day and she was determined to catch him before he left for the day. She gathered her things two minutes before the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. The minute the teacher granted them release, she chased after the boy, finally meeting him at his locker.

As she approached him, the nervousness finally caught up to her. She took a deep breath before calling out his name. He looked up at her and realizing who it was turned his head away from her.

"Please, just hear me out," Videl begged, breathing a sigh of relief when the Son boy turned to face her.

"You have ten seconds," Gohan responded shortly.

"I-I just wanted to apologize for all the mean things I said and the way I've treated you. I've been a bitch and I'm really sorry. Could we- maybe start over?" she said all in one breath. It felt really good now that she got it all out.

Gohan chuckled at her antics. "My name is Gohan Son. Nice to meet you," he answered sticking out a hand.

A bright smile lit up Videl's face. "I'm Videl. Nice to meet you too," she responded, purposely leaving off her last name, and shook his hand.

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"Videl! We have a hit on a drug cartel. They have two hostages. They're stationed in an abandoned warehouse in South Satan City, We're sending you the coordinates. Infiltrate the building and take them down," a male voice came through Videl's watch. She was on her way home from school when the call came in.

"On it chief!" Videl responded into the communicator and redirected her jetcopter in the direction specified.

As she exited her vehicle, she surveyed the building. It was in shambles. The paint on the walls chipped badly and what little yard it had was overgrown with weeds. She battled her way through the thorns, watching carefully for any signs of life. There were none. She crept through a side door, making sure it did not make a sound. Suddenly something jumped onto her head. She held back a scream realizing it was a raccoon. She grabbed the creature and tossed it away, thankful it landed silently.

She made her way into the dark building, dodging the barely seen security cameras as she explored the labyrinth. Eventually, she ended up in a room larger than all the others.

As soon as she stepped into the middle of the room, the light came on, temporarily blinding her. As she regained her eyesight, her stomach sunk to the floor when she realized there were ten men surrounding her and all except one were armed.

"Well, boys," the unarmed criminal said. He was a tall, bald, muscular man. "Look what we have here!" He sent her a gap toothed, lecherous grin. "I think we're going to have some fun with you," he said, caressing her chin.

They tied her down pointing their guns at her head as the head honcho unbuckled his pants.

Videl's eyes widened in fear realizing what was about to happen to her No! This cannot be happening! I can't lose my virginity to them! Gold Fighter where the hell are you when I need you?

Meanwhile, miles above the city, Gohan was on his way home. He was reflecting on Videl's apology a few minutes ago. He felt great that she had decided to change her mindset. He just knew both them would become good friends. He stopped short suddenly as he heard a voice that was clearly Videl's in his head, "Gold Fighter where the hell are you when I need you?" He quickly felt for her chi and was horrified by what he discovered. Videl's ki was surrounded by ten others, all of which were weaker than hers but not by much. He could tell they were possibly armed, by her stationary body and panicked ki. Nothing was going to happen to her once he was around. He changed into the Gold Fighter and IT'd to her position. There was no time for flying.

The criminals by now had removed Videl's shirt and pants and all had their pants and underwear down, creeping towards the frightened girl. Suddenly the Golden Fighter appeared in front of the girl and before either of them could react, a golden blade of light appeared from his hand, castrating them all in no time. The blinding pain of their emasculation was too much for the crooks and they collapsed on the spot.

The Golden Fighter untied the dark haired girl and took off his shirt so she could cover herself up.

"Thank you," Videl whispered. She would be forever indebted to this man.

"Don't thank me. I should have been here earlier," he replied, not meeting her eyes.

"It's not your fault! How were you to know where I was? How did you even get here?" the girl questioned.

"Let's just say I can sense when a friend is in danger," the young man replied, extending a hand to help her up. She took it gratefully, knowing he wasn't going to say anything more.

"They had hostages," Videl spoke up, frightened as an explosion emanated from somewhere in the building. The rotting wood quickly caught fire and it was spreading rather quickly as if the building had been coated with gasoline.

"Hold on," Gold Fighter said, sitting down and taking a meditative position. He knew they didn't have much time.

Videl looked at him strangely as he sat down. This wasn't the time to take a break. The building was burning down for Kami's sake. Just as she was about to scream at him his eyes opened and he stood up. "They're one floor down in a utility closet," he responded.

"How the hell do you know that?" Videl asked, skeptically.

"Like I said, I can sense when people are in danger," Gold Fighter replied easily, leading the way.

They quickly made their way down to the bottom floor, arriving at the closet a minute later. They opened the door to find a middle aged man with blonde hair and an equally blonde woman who was bawling hysterically. They both had bombs strapped to their chests.

"Shit," Gohan cursed under his breath. They had only a minute before the bombs exploded.

Videl moved to unbuckle the two hostages but stopped in her tracks when the woman screamed, "No! He-he said it will explode if you touch it!"

"Ok," the Gold Fighter said seriously, thinking fast. "I'm going to try something. It may seem kind of crazy but I need you guys to trust me." By now, the timer was down to 25 seconds and seeing no other way the others conceded. "First I need you all to be touching me. Videl I need you to unbuckle his bomb while I do hers. Tell me the second you're done. There is usually a two second interval before the bomb will explode so I'll get you out of here in time."

The others looked at him with wide fear-filled eyes. The timer was now down to 10 seconds. "On my mark," the Gold Fighter said, looking Videl in the eye. "Go!"

"Done!" Videl said a second later.

Instantly they were transported in front of Satan City Police Department. The Gold Fighter looked at his passengers and found them all with their eyes shut tightly. The man let go first, catching his wife as she collapsed, the stress becoming too much for her. He picked her up and, at the Gold Fighter's nod, made his way into the building, repeatedly stating his thanks. Videl opened one eye and, realizing they were safe, let go of the Gold Fighter's arm. He reached to steady her as she wobbled on her feet.

"The jump can be pretty disorienting for those that aren't used to it," Gold Fighter offered with a smile.

Videl looked up at him and nodded. 'He has a really nice smile,' she thought with a blush.

"Your life force is strong here since you spend a lot of time in this location," the Gold Fighter responded as if he heard her question. "I could have chosen your room, but that would be inappropriate."

Videl nodded before her eyes widened in realization. "Is this sense of yours the how you find me when I'm fighting crime?" she asked.

The Gold Fighter nodded.

"Why do you do it?" Videl whispered, feeling ashamed. "I mean I've been completely ungrateful to you and tonight… I really thought that was it. I really thought they were going to hurt me and I couldn't do a thing to save myself much less the other two people! Why do I have to be so weak?" By now Videl had descended into a near hysterical state, tears streaming down her face as the gravity of the situation hit her. He launched herself at the Gold Fighter's chest, sobbing into his bare chest.

The Gold Fighter was surprised for a second but wrapped his arms around her, stroking her long hair as he whispered comforting words into her ear. He felt sorry for her and wished he had come earlier so she wouldn't have to go through this. "Videl," he whispered, tilting her chin so she stared into his teal eyes. "You are one of the strongest persons I know. You are not weak."

"So why aren't I as strong as you?" she whispered back, tears still brimming in her cerulean eyes.

"My strength is genetically determined," the Gold Fighter responded simply. "Now let's get you inside."

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