Chichi placed a hand to her heart, there was something wrong, she could just feel it. She wasn't super powered like the other z-fighters, she wasn't super smart like Bulma but she was intuitive and in that moment she just knew, something was wrong, someone was in trouble Gohan Chichi thought but that didn't feel right. Chichi looked toward the sky, V was not her daughter, she was a brutal alien child who just looked a lot like Goku and Gohan.
"oh, stop worrying." Chichi snapped at herself as she continued to work on the dress V was going to wear for the next pageant. This one was going to be even more frilly, have an even bigger skirt, oh and butterfly sleeves.
"yeah, that's just what she needs, she won't always luck out by being the hero of the day." Chichi smiled to herself but there was still something wrong, not that she was going to pay it any mind.
Gohan
Gohan didn't understand it, he was not a fighter like his dad was, he never craved a battle, it was only ever to save someone else. Yet, as he let his mind wander toward thoughts of V, he wanted to fight, he wanted to be strong and fierce like V was and make people move out of his way with that look V always gave people when she was annoyed and wanted space. She never looked at him like that though.
"Hey, Gohan." Krillin waved his hand in front of Gohan's face "where'd you go, bud?" Krillin laughed
"I was just thinking about V." Gohan admitted, though he knew Krillin wouldn't like it.
"I don't think it's very healthy, the way you think of her so much and she's always hovering around you, like a moon to a planet." Krillin frowned.
"It's their bond." Dende sighed, why couldn't this Earthling just understand?
"how long have you been bonded?" Dende asked Gohan, Dende had always imagined what it would be like to be bonded like that. To have someone who knew everything about you, who fit with you like a puzzle piece.
"We just met about 2 years ago now." Gohan smiled at Dende, he was glad at least one of them understood what he was feeling.
"What's it feel like?" Dende asked excitedly, he'd never met anyone bonded like Gohan and V were.
"It feels like…" Gohan tried to put into words him and V "it feels like us." Gohan said "like we're-er-I'm never alone, like she's always here with me. I can almost… Gohan laughed at how ridiculous he was about to sound.
"what?" Dende leaned in, entranced by such a feeling, to never feel alone, to always have someone by your side.
"like I can hear her heart beating." Gohan shook his head "I don't know, it just feels like she's there."
"Wow…" Dende smiled "that's amazing."
"To you maybe." Krillin muttered getting more and more sour. He was, afterall, more family to Gohan than that girl was. He had known the kid's father for practically his whole life.
"Krillin." Gohan said looking at him "you don't have to like, V and me being bonded together, but you do have to live with it." Gohan wasn't so much angry or frustrated as he was tired of hearing it. More than anything he wanted everyone to understand what V felt like but that was only for him and her. "Even if it was possible to be un-bonded, I wouldn't do it."
Sorry, kid Krillin thought but no one said it was your choice "yeah, I know." Krillin sighed and went back to staring out at the strange planet.
"So can you at least try to-" Gohan gasped and swayed on his feet. It wasn't from him, at least he didn't think it was what am I Gohan wasn't sure if it was his thought. Although it couldn't be his if it had that much intensity to it,
"What wrong?" Krillin asked, although he was sure he knew.
"I think V's confused…" Gohan wasn't sure what to call it. That thought, what made someone think that that?
"About what?" Krillin had guessed where it came from but hadn't thought that was going to be the reason.
"I don't know?" Gohan shook his head. "herself?"
"Don't try to find the answer." Dende said "just let yourself feel it, for a newly bonded set it can be hard to figure out your partner's thoughts and feelings. You can't try to make it happen though." Dende instructed.
"Okay." Gohan nodded and sat in his meditative position that Piccolo had taught him. he just focused on his breath.
"you're not really trying to find her like that are you?" Krillin face palmed "how do you know you're not going to get her in trouble or distract her from a fight or something?"
"Shush." Dende hushed Krillin "he's trying to focus."
"yeah…" Krillin ground his teeth together and[GM1] balling his hands into fists. Krillin opened his mouth to say something, he hadn't even decided what yet when he caught Dronare and Veltro's energy signal.
"Dronare and Veltro are here?" Krillin announced but Gohan didn't move.
"Dronare." Dende rushed out of the cave in time to see Dronare land with a very unhappy Veltro. Krillin stepped out in time to see Dende rush over to the two.
"You guys okay?" Krillin asked. Dronare nodded "yes, thank you." Veltro muttered and frowned at the ground, Krillin wanted to laugh, how was it this kid looked just like any pouting kid on earth?
"Has Gohan spoken to Veroca at all?" Veltro hated to think about it, how Gohan could just talk to her, how he could just share his thoughts with her whenever he wanted.
"he said she's feeling confused right now." Krillin supplied. "he's in here." Krillin pointed in the cave, Veltro ran in.
"He wants to help save Veroca." Dronare sighed "but he's not ready to face something like that."
"I'm not so sure Gohan is either, but he won't leave her alone." Krillin shook his head.
"I imagine it's more difficult with their bond." Dronare smiled at Krillin, Earthlings could never understand something like that.
"She's just some girl that happen to fall into his life and now because the so call universe says they need each other, he believes it." Krillin huffed "he's not even trying to ignore it." Dende laughed "that's because you can't ignore it." Dende ran after Veltro, he wanted to see if Gohan got anything from V yet.
"You're expecting two lonely children to ignore their perfect halves?" Dronare asked Krillin.
"Gohan isn't lonely." Krillin countered. Dronare shook his head "he's a child, he needs other children to talk to, to be around."
"He's got me and his dad and mom and all our other friends." Krillin assured Dronare "he's even got Piccolo."
"All adults though?" Dronare asked again.
"He can be friends with Dende." Krillin said "or Veltro."
"What did she say!" Veltro's angry vice rang out from the cave. Krillin and Dronare looked at each other, Dronare gave Krillin a look that made Krillin realize how stupid the Veltro suggestion was.
"nothing." Gohna said "they're not so muc words as… feeling." Gohan decided "Really strong feelings."
"you're lying, she was my friend first." Veltro shook Gohan, Gohan refused to raise a hand against V's friend.
"Veltro." Dronare grabbed Veltro by the collar and yanked him away from Gohan. Gohan stumbled back a step but regained his balance immediately.
"he won't tell me what Veroca is saying." Veltro whined "I want to know too."
"Veltro." Dronare began "calm down." It was a stern command, one which Veltro really did try to obey but seeing Gohan close his eyes and knowing Gohan was probably talking to Veroca and he wasn't letting Veltro do it too just filled Veltro with an entirely new kind of anger.
"Veltro." Dronare snapped feeling Veltro's anger slosh around like a stormy sea.
"I'm sorry." Veltro bit out, Dronare felt that Veltro truly was sorry but he still wasn't in control of himself. Dronare really hated to do this but Veltro wasn't leaving him a choice. Dronare walked to the back of the cave and set Veltro on his feet facing the wall. "Stay here until you can keep yourself calm." Dronare ordered. Veltro didn't dare say another word.
"Did you just put him in time out?" Krillin gaped at the scene. Dronare looked at Krillin strangely "if that's what it's called on Earth." He said "I gave Veltro some space to calm himself down."
"Yep." Krillin nodded "sounds like a time out."
"Gohan," Dronare approached him "can you tell us what she's saying?"
"I don't know yet, I can just feel her and she's so confuse but…" Gohan was getting frustrated with himself "she just feels so much, it's hard to find out what she's feeling about what."
"She has a very strong mental presence." Dronare agreed. "you have to learn how to decifer her feelings even if she doesn't know how to."
"but how can I do that if she's not thinking what she's feeling?" Goh looked to Dronare as hif he had all the answers.
"I'm not sure if it's different with a bond as strong as the one you have with V but Namekians are all telepathic, I can show you how we do it, maybe that will help you with V."
"please, I want to help her." Gohan sounded desperate. Veltro couldn't help but feel bitter towards him. he was supposed to be her brother, he was even, supposedly, bonded with her and he couldn't figure out what she needed if I was bonded with her I'd know exactly how to help her.
Veltro Dronare snapped at him in his head save your energy for more useful tasks.
Yes, Dronare. Veltro tried to stop feeling so bitter, instead he tried to think of ways he could help V. I should be bonded with V Veltro couldn't help the thought but at least it wasn't at the forefront of his mind.
"Now, Gohan." Dronare sat cross legged on the ground "you'll need to begin in a meditative state, do you know how to do that?"
"Piccolo taught me some but he was always more concerned teaching V that part, she was always the better fighter, I guess she needed more mental training than me."
"perhaps he sensed her abilities even if he didn't know exactly what he was sensing." Dronare mused. "Good, just like that." Dronare encouraged as Gohan settled into his meditation. Gohan deleved into his own inner being only to find V there. And then he saw Frieza, shock jolted Gohan from his meditation and made him jump to his feet.
"What's wrong?" Dronare hopped up with him thinking Gohan must have felt something coming their way.
"I-I saw Frieza." Gohan shivered "er…" he shook his head "I think V was seeing Frieza?" he said it more like a question, he wasn't sure anymore what was his and what was hers and for a split second, Gohan was afraid of that. V had been through things he couldn't imagine and he felt bead for her and he wanted to help her and make her feel better, but he didn't want those feelings.
"Breathe, Gohan." Dronare instructed, he didn't need his telepathy to know Gohan was beginning to understand the more difficult side of V's and his bond.
"See, I knew it." Krillin jumped on the opportunity "I knew she'd be too much for him."
"No." Gohan shook his head, his doubts dropped away immediately we can do this together he thought to himself nothing is different we just know what it's called now.
"Gohan, you just jumped out of your own brain because of her." Krillin tried to reason.
"No, Frieza scared me is all." Gohan explained "I just wasn't prepared; I'll be ready this time." Gohan turned back to Dronare "let's get to it."
V
V had the strongest sense of Gohan suddenly, fear was cold, a frozen sense in the recesses of her mind. V swayed slightly and bumped straight into Frieza.
"I'm sorry." V blurted immediately dropping to the floor and bowing to him. Frieza chuckled "there's nothing I love more than a Saiyan who knows her place."
"Please forgive me, I don't know what happened." V apologized, while she would do anything to save her friends and family, she wasn't particularly in the mood to get beat up on, especially by Frieza.
"you're lucky I've taken a liking to you, Veroca." Frieza walked on ahead and looked out through the huge window facing the sky, V was terrified of who he was waiting for.
"would you like to know what you are?" Frieza asked as if it were a casual thing to shatter her world the way he had.
"I…" do I? V wasn't so sure, if she did then she wasn't a Saiyan anymore.
"You're not a Saiyan." Frieza said "not fully anyway."
"but I am some?" V asked.
"I don't know, nor do I care." Frieza snapped his tail against the ground impatiently "you've absorbed all of the best traits of a Saiyan and none of their flaws, you've even absorbed some of my power in this short time." Frieza wasn't entirely sure he was happy about that "you'll need to learn to control that."
"I don't know how I'm doing it." V said "I thought I was just a Saiyan, I thought I was getting stronger from all the fighting and getting hurt and getting better." V shook her head. Things were so much easier when she was just a Saiyan.
"figure it out." Frieza snapped "in the meantime, you'll stay with Zarbon."
"Me!" Zarbon exclaimed "won't she take my power too?" Zarbon glared at V, what a parasitic little child.
"I'm not doing it on purpose." V snapped although she almost wished she was because then she could take all their power.
"Don't be an idiot, Zarbon." Frieza rolled his eyes "she's not really taking it, her energy samples yours and duplicates the energy within her, if she learned how to control all that energy, she'd be quite the little warrior." Frieza gave V an evil look. V didn't want to be on this side of Frieza, not even a prisoner, but a weapon.
"not watch her and stop being a coward." Frieza snapped as he walked away, she didn't need any more of his power, she was already much stronger than she even knew how to access.
"I'm not parasite." V mumbled glaring up at Zarbon.
"What else steals life from someone else." Zarbon spit out bitterly flipping his hair. V looked out at the planet.
V, what's wrong? V recognized the feeling of Gohan more so than his voice.
Nothing, go home. V said, they never should have come here.
You can't do that, V, it's not fair. Gohan felt angry, V wasn't used to the feeling from him. she shifted uncomfortably.
I can't protect you from Frieza. V grit her teeth he can't know who you are and he can't find you on this planet.
We can beat him together. V could feel how much Gohan wanted to help but that didn't change anything.
No, V thought to him eyeing Zarbon, they couldn't even take Zarbon on. We can't V swallowed her feelings and clenched her hands into fists I don't know how to stop him V told Gohan but I only know one way to keep you safe. V trembled as the pressure built up inside her go home, Gohan, go back to mom and dad.
Not without you Gohan said defiantly. V held the tears back as best she could, nothing had ever been so hard to do in her entire life. Yes you are, goodbye Gohan V slammed up her walls, she left no cracks in her walls.
"ugh, you're not going to cry now are you?" Zarbon flipped his hair.
"No." V felt more alone in that moment than ever before. Having a taste was worse than not ever having it before.
"why don't you show me what you are good for." Zarbon flung his arm back, V ducked and his arm sailed right over her. Zarbon smirked, "not bad, you're fast but lets see what else you can do." V felt empty, she was just going through forms as Zarbon tried to hurt her.
GOHAN
Gohan yelled as he was thrown back. There was a finality to V's last words, he felt empty inside, alone despite the people around him.
"What happened?" Veltro grabbed Gohan by the scarf and dragged him off the ground. "what did you do?"
"she's gone." Gohan felt so hollow he wasn't sure how to feel, or even if he could feel.
"What do you mean, she's gone?" Veltro yelled "She can't be, she's too strong, she's too brave." Veltro felt too much, he couldn't handle it again. He had never experienced the kind of hurt that he had suffered when she first left, he couldn't survive it again. "where is she." Veltro screamed, Dronare grabbed Veltro and locked him in his arms "Calm down, Veltro, you have to give him time."
"She just…" Gohan shook his head "she told me to go home and she did something. it felt like my mind just got hit by an energy blast." Gohan kept shaking his head "I can't feel her, I can't feel her thoughts anymore."
"she cut you out." Drone said
"why would she do that?" Gohan demanded trying to get used to this isolated feeling.
"she doesn't want you to find her." Dronare shook his head, he was almost angry, she couldn't just make this easy on him, let them find her so Veltro would stop trying to run after her. Just for a second, Dronare wanted to be angry at Gohan, Veroca had made her decision for Gohan and Gohan alone. Veltro had spent so much time trying to find a way to Veroca, trying to make sure she was okay and then when he had stopped he had gotten sad. So sad everything on the planet could feel his sorrow. But that wasn't Gohan's fault and it wasn't Veroca's fault that she had bonded with Gohan and not his son.
"Maybe you should listen to her." Dronare suggested "take Veltro with you, go back home to Earth."
"I can't leave her." Gohan whispered, Dronare got the vague notion of Gohan's sadness but V hadn't just closed him out of her mind, she had closed him inside himself.
"there is danger in being as strongly bonded as you and Veroca are." Dronare began
"you said that before." Krillin said placing a hand on Gohan's back. "what did she do to him?"
"she's doing it to protect him." Veltro said feeling Krillin's anger. He was always angry at Veroca.
"Yeah, well she's not doing a good job of it." Krillin quipped.
"I don't see that you're doing any better." Dronare finally let go of Veltro. Krillin and Dronare just looked at each other for a moment. Krillin wanted something to say to back, but Dronare was right. Drone dared Krillin to try and justify his animosity toward a child.
"This isn't helping Veroca." Veltro snapped suddenly.
"I'm taking Gohan home." Krillin announced "Veltro, Dronare, you're more than welcome to come with us."
"We can't leave!" Bulma finally chimed in "we have to get the dragon balls, our friends need us." Tears welled up in Bulma's eyes.
"Yeah, well we'll be joining them in Other World if we stay." Krillin reasoned. Dende, standing there, quietly observing, stepped toward Gohan "is there anything I can do to help?" Gohan just knelt there on the ground, his arms wrapped around his stomach and stared at the floor. "I-I hate this feeling." Gohan stammered "I want her with me." Gohan shivered. "we need to bring her back."
"You can't still think she's good!" Krillin yelled at him "she's hurting you, right now she's hurting you and you still want her back."
"She's only hurting me because she's trying to make me leave her, Krillin." Gohan winced, it was like there was something in him that kept trying to reach out for her and she kept swatching him away.
"You'll get over it once we get far enough away." Krillin assured him, to Krillin, there would be nothing better for Gohan than to get away from that alien.
"She's not your friend." Gohan pushed himself up "fine, but she's my family and I won't leave her here. if you won't help me…" Gohan pushed Krillin aside "I'll do it myself." Gohan ran out of the cave and took off.
"Gohan wait!" Krillin called after him but before he could fly Dende grabbed his arm "wait, you're not strong enough."
"Thanks kid, but I can't let him go off all alone." Krillin tried to nudge Dende off but he held tight. "no, I know someone who can make you stronger."
"I don't have time to train, I need to go now." Krillin shook him a little harder.
"Guru can make you strong right now." Dende shouted at him trying to get him to listen. Dende wondered if all humans were so stubborn.
"what?" Krillin stopped trying to get away from Dende "why didn't you say that."
"I was trying to." Dende sighed "I can take you to him, but we have to leave now."
"You can't just take strangers to Guru, Dende." Dronare chastised meeting them outside.
"this is an emergency, Dronare. Besides Nail is there and he'll decide if Krillin gets to meet Guru or not."
Dronare considered Dende, it was an emergency, they didn't have the time to play with. "okay, but lets go now."
VELTRO
Veltro watched Dende and Dronare talk as he snuck out the back of the cave I won't loose you again, Veroca.
Veltro caught up to Gohan relatively quickly, he was definitely no Veroca when it came to speed. Veltro smirked at Gohan when he finally realized that Veltro was behind him.
"She's my friend too." Veltro said. Gohan smiled "but she's my sister."
"she never chose who she was going to stay with." Veltro pointed out "the only reason she left me last time was because she wanted to protect me, she picked me first." Gohan sighed "fine, she still gets to pick, but we need to save her first."
"Don't worry, I'll save her." Veltro said. Gohan was not usually one to brag but Veltro might have been her friend and she might have met him first but V was his sister and his family and she was coming home with him.
"You can't even feel her anymore." Veltro had been raised better than to take such a cheap shot but Dronare didn't really care about Veroca, she wasn't his first priority and besides, it was true. Veroca probably sent Gohan away because she was going to have to tell him later that she was going to stay on Namek with him.
Gohan didn't like the smug look on Veltro's face. The universe bonded them for a reason, Gohan didn't really know why, all he knew was he had never felt happier than when she was a constant precense in his head.
Five space pods tore through the sky, the energy coming from them made Gohan and Veltro had never felt such immense power before, it was nothing like Vegeta's. It was evil and so big, his dad surely didn't stand a chance against even one of them, let alone five.
"We have to get to Veroca before they do." Veltro darted ahead. Gohan swallowed hard and followed after him.
PICCOLO
Something was wrong, Piccolo felt it like a fist through his stomach. He glance around, something this powerful had to be close. Glancing around Piccolo couldn't find a single thing except for that annoying blue creature that insisted on pestering him worse than V ever did.
"you okay, Piccolo?" King Kai seemed to like to ask questions he already knew the answer to.
"Somethings wrong." He admitted giving into the Kai "I don't know what or where, but something is very wrong."
"You felt V try to sever the bond." King Kai informed him "she could kill herself and Gohan of she keeps trying.
"What are you talking about, V would never hurt Gohan, she'd give her life first." Piccolo didn't believe V was even capable of hurting Gohan, the two were meant for each other.
"she doesn't know what she's doing, there's no one to teach her how to control it or to even tell her what it is."
"you said she knew she was bonded with him, one of the locals told her." Piccolo growled.
"she know's that she and Gohan are connected, yes." King Kai clarified "but she doesn't understand to what degree or even what kind…" King Kai trailed off and smirked "and it seems she's bonded with more than one person."
"how is that possible?" Piccolo growled "I'm tired of your games old man. If you need to tell her something then talk to her yourself."
"I've already tried that." King Kai said "she's blocking me."
"How, she doesn't even know who you are." Piccolo wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off the Kai's face but he wasn't strong enough, not yet.
"when she blocked Gohan she blocked everything, no one can get into her head until she lets Gohan back in." King Kai explained.
"So what is it you want me to do about it?" Piccolo rolled his eyes "I'm a little stuck at the moment if you hadn't noticed."
"Oh, I've noticed." King Kai snickered "but you may still be able to reach her, just give it a try and if you're able to, like I think you are, tell her to be careful, let Gohan back in and if she gets the chance, she should get off that planet."
"and the dragon balls?" Piccolo asked "what about those, they're the whole reason she and Gohan risked their lives to begin with."
"I'm sorry Piccolo, but unless you want them to meet you here, they have to leave. With any luck Frieza won't follow them." King Kai turned and left Piccolo with the news.
V and Gohan are stronger than that. Piccolo thought they can beat this guy Piccolo settled back into his meditation unless they can't.
