A/N: Yeah, this took longer than expected, sorry about that. School is a drag. . .

Chapter 17: Heart of Hearts

His life was already a perfect storm of weirdness before he had to go and kiss his best friend's sister! Because fighting an 800 year-old sorcerer that was imprisoned underneath his high school who'd teamed up with a mad scientist and a millionaire who was responsible for many of the products he still used in an 800 year-old ninja suit wasn't weird enough for him, apparently. The worst part of it was that he only felt partially guilty. It had hardly been much of teen drama kiss that the two had shared, more of a peck if anything, but it had felt nice. . . OK, more than nice. It had felt more right and normal than anything he'd felt for days. It was only right that that action would cause a helluva lot more shoobtastic complications to arise.

Randy paused his melancholy. Did he just seriously use the word "complications"? Did he just use the word "melancholy"? The heck had his life turned into?! 'An interdimensional joke,' he thought. 'That's what. Someone's gotta be having the time of their lives up there. . .'

Stewing in his negative thoughts couldn't have been healthy, but it sure beat having to think about what happened after the kiss. He had a long and confusing path ahead of him and he wasn't just talking about fighting Cell.

At least Cell was something he could fight.

"So," Heidi drawled, "What now?"

Randy gulped as he could feel her hands warm against his shoulders. It was clouding his mind and making any coherent line of thought a herculean effort. And God that perfume, had it always smelled that good? 'Ah God, she's still staring at you Randy! Say something, you idiot!' "I, uh, I'm not follow- I'm sorry?"

'Great job. . .'

"What now?" she repeated.

Randy shook his head to try and get more clarity. Heidi pulled back a bit, and Randy had to stop himself from moving forward to alleviate the sudden lack of warmth. "I guess we could date? Or, uh, sorry. Are you OK with this? I can't believe I didn't even ask you before I-"

"You're fine," she laughed despite the situation. "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want you to kiss me again."

Randy felt himself growing warm as he tried to fight the stupid grin trying to grace his face. He couldn't quite meet her eyes, so he settled for the tiny mole resting on her upper cheek, under her eyes. "So. . . do you wanna go on a date? As, y'know, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

He couldn't even begin to understand why the idea of that made him so happy.

"What about Theresa?"

Randy's breath hitched as he looked at her in shock. He felt the spell he'd been under shatter as he took a small step back. "Wh-What?! Wh-What about Theresa?!"

"Do you still like her?"

He felt his cheeks heating up. "Wh-What do you-?!"

Heidi threw him a flat look. "I didn't become Norrisville's leading scoop and gossip girl by not being able to tell a crush when I see one. Now, do you still like her?"

Randy was speechless. It wasn't a feeling that he experienced often, being as witty and bruce as he was, but how was he supposed to respond? He didn't even know what to say. Theresa was probably the longest crush that he'd ever had, but he hadn't been able to have many conversations with the girl. Even when he tried here at N-Tek, she would always run off. It was like she was afraid of him. It stung, but he couldn't convince himself that he didn't still have feelings for her.

But Heidi. . . Heidi was real. He'd known her for a lot longer. Granted, most of their experience wasn't entirely pleasant, but she had come around lately. They both had. For the past few weeks, she had been his rock. Not Howard, not Theresa, not the Nomicon, not Gohan or any of the other guys. It had been that "spicy" orange-haired girl. She'd admitted to liking both sides of him. She understood him. He genuinely had a shot with her.

So why was it so hard to make a decision?

Randy swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I still like her. She was my first long-term crush. I don't know if I'd ever not like her. But I like you. A lot. You've been there for me and everything, a-and I don't wanna go back to the way we were. I think we should give dating a shot."

Heidi didn't say anything. Randy could feel himself start to sweat a little. He couldn't read her expression at all. Wait. That wasn't true. She looked. . . uncertain? Like she was holding something back. What could be holding her back? He tried to push down the frustration and annoyance, but it was so painful to just wait.

"I think. . . I think we should wait. At least until we're both sure how we feel."

Randy frowned as he tried not to look too disappointed. "Alright."

"Alright then. I'll catch you later."

"Yeah. Bye, Heidi."

"Bye, Randy."

Randy sighed as he rubbed at his face. He rolled himself out of bed as he headed towards the door. He could think more about his answer later. There were still three days left until the biggest fight of his life. And there was still time to train.

There was still time.

"So, how're things on the road?" Max asked as he watched Sydney, his girlfriend, through his specialized phone. Berto had dubbed it the T.U.R.B.O phone. Not the most imaginative name, but he could've named it Davy Jones' Locker for all Max cared. Being able to talk to Sydney was all he needed.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "It's the road, Max. I've done nothing but scroll through Vine, listen to my dad complain about the traffic-"

"I heard that!"

"-and sit through multiple games of I Spy."

Max snickered. "Yeah, I guess there wouldn't be much to do. Say, uh, Sydney? Do they know about us. . ?"

Sydney sighed but he could see in her eyes that she'd caught his drift. "No, there just hasn't been enough time yet. We'll cross that bridge after all of this chaos is over."

Max let out a breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding. At least that was one less thing to worry about. "I was thinking, how would you like to hang out with me and Kirby at the Copper Canyon amusement park? I feel like it'd be fun and. . ."

"Normal?"

"Yeah, normal."

"Well, I'm down. I want to see how you handle the Titan of Terror!"

Max scoffed. "You don't seriously think that any of those rides are gonna scare me, do you?"

"Never underestimate amusement park rides, Maxwell. The way they strap you in and hold you tight while they whisk you away, it's almost like they're trying to capture you or something. They probably learned that tactic from aliens or something."

Now it was Max's turn to roll his eyes while fighting a grin. Two could play at that game. "Yeah, well, I feel like the aliens are just trying to keep everyone safe while they have a good time."

"Perhaps. Maybe it's their version of a hug."

"I feel like that'd be a terrible hug."

Sydney chuckled as Max cracked a grin. He loved hearing her laugh. As dumb as cliches were, it sounded like music to his ears.

They talked about a lot of things, some of them more important than others, but Max was grateful for all of it. Just being able to be in these moments with Sydney was everything to him.

Unfortunately, as with all good things, it came to an end.

The two said their goodbyes as Max readied himself to head to the gym. It would be great if he could get a group training session going between him and the guys. Hopefully, he could talk Gohan out of his screwy plan.

"I can't lose you."

Those words had been playing in Sam's mind (subconsciously and consciously, there was no escape) for the past week. It wasn't like she and Danny had never had a heart to heart before, but it had never been that. . . that raw. She'd seen a side of Danny that she had never even realized existed; a side so vulnerable. He had been so broken and uncertain and so much unlike himself. She never wanted to see him like that again. That she knew for sure.

She couldn't help but feel guilty. She was supposed to be his friend. She should have known how he was feeling and stepped in. Some friend she was. Instead of helping out her. . . friend, she was moping about not being out with the big kids and fighting the big bad monster. She scoffed, feeling a nasty feeling settling in her stomach. She felt sick.

She wanted to talk to Danny some more about their last interaction, but he'd been avoiding her for the past week. She would've gone to Tucker about it, but Danny was avoiding him too. If any of the other heroes had noticed anything different, they hadn't said anything. She was gripped by a bit of frustration and anger at the other heroes. How could they not have helped him? How could they not have seen this coming? Her anger quickly evaporated almost as quickly as it started. No, that wasn't quite right. Her anger merely rebounded on herself.

'Those guys are too busy fighting Cell for the sake of the universe, Sam. They've probably had similar breakdowns to Danny that they hadn't told each other about. Not to mention, they're a bunch of teens who just met each other around a month ago. They weren't registered psychologists. You are his friend. You've known him since he was a kid. How could you not have seen this?!'

Sam could feel her eyes moistening against her will, no matter how hard she tried to fight it. It would seem that she didn't have a grip on anything. Not on her friend's bleak reality or her emotions.

"Hey, Sam, right?"

Sam just barely choked down the urge to throw her cup of herbal tea at the speaker. She wasn't quite sure if she'd have done it out of annoyance or surprise. 'Probably both.'

She regarded the speaker, a girl not that much older than her, possibly Jazz's age. She squinted at the girl as she tried to remember her name. Tidy? Shiny? Heidi! "Yeah, what is it, Heidi?"

Her voice was rough and biting, more so than she'd intended, but she couldn't find it in her to care much about that. As Heidi sat down next to her at the lounge table, it quickly became clear that she didn't either. "You looked like hell, so I decided to come see what was eating at you."

Sam glared at her.

Heidi raised her hands up. "Alright, not in a joking mood. Got it. What's up?"

Sam gave her a flat look.

". . . Look, you helped me, so now I'm returning the favor. Y'know, courtesy and all that."

Sam scrunched her nose, trying to remember when she had helped the peppy redhead when the instance finally reached her mind. "You don't have to."

"But I want to."

Sam bit back a sharp rebuke. She might have something worthwhile to say. And if she didn't, she could always just leave. Most people outside of Danny and Tucker didn't even dare to come into her room, new universe or no. "My friend has been shutting me out lately. It seems like the pressure of all of this has gotten to him, and now he won't even talk to me. I should've seen it sooner, but I feel like it's too late to reach him and tell him how I feel. Maybe that way, he won't feel so alone."

That last sentence had been a whisper. That was the most of her feelings that she'd be able to vocalize. Feelings that she could barely understand but felt so strongly.

Heidi hummed as she set down her. . . latte? It looked like one, but that was beside the point. "This friend wouldn't happen to be Danny, would it?"

Sam didn't respond.

Heidi turned to face her. "I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm a bit of an expert in this field, so I know what I'm talking about when I say this: If you've noticed how amazing he is, the chances are that someone else has too. If he's avoiding you, make him listen. Be persistent or else you just might lose him."

Sam faced the girl, more startled than she'd like to admit. Heidi had a wistful expression on her face as her eyes had gone back to her drink. Something told Sam that the girl's experience wasn't secondhand. Heidi took another sip before she stood back up and pushed her chair in. "I think you know the answer as well as I do," Heidi said, looking Sam in the eyes. "What you have to do. Don't put it off any longer."

"It's not like that," Sam blurted. "I just. . . I just want him to be happy. It isn't like romantic or anything!"

Heidi smiled, knowingly. It was beyond infuriating. "I never said it was."

Just like that the girl was gone. Sam finally tore her gaze away from the door that Heidi had left through and brought it back to her tea. It was getting cold.

Working out was starting to become conflicting.

It wasn't the normal lifting weights, or push-ups, or what have you that most people would do. Well, sometimes that came into play, but most of Randy's time "working out" consisted of running through his power sets and training his endurance. He didn't need to work on his proficiency with his swords or weapons because those things came naturally thanks to the suit. But anyways, the training was good for keeping his mind off of things. He knew that he'd have to think about it eventually (his conscience made sure of that. . .), but he couldn't afford to lose sight of his goal. Not even for a moment.

The problem was that it was also addicting. Because it kept his mind off of things, he could ignore problems that he probably shouldn't. He didn't need the Nomicon to have the alarm bells ringing in his head. He could already hear them for a couple of situations. He still had no idea what he was going to tell Gohan. He was almost certain that he wasn't going to go along with the plan after Max disagreed, but a part of him still wasn't sure. It seemed like as good of a shot as any to take down Cell, but they were a team. A team with a plan. And teams didn't just jump ship because of a little worrying.

Lord knows he'd already wasted enough of those with worrying.

Randy made a beeline through the snack bar, picking up a Gatorade and a foot-long. He made his way over to his room, ready to take it easy for the day, only to find Gohan standing in front of his door.

He grimaced as his eyes darted from left to right. He debated turning around for all of a millisecond before deciding to tough it out. Working out wasn't gonna save him this time.

"Hey, man," Randy said, not nearly as confidently as he'd like.

"Hey yourself," Gohan's tone had a hint of this same nervousness except his was shrouded in layers of determination. It didn't take a genius to know what he was there for. "You ready to do it?"

"R-Right now?! We just got done training! My control over the Art of Healing might be off!"

Gohan shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I guess it doesn't have to be right now. We could do this later tonight in say. . . two hours or so? That a good time?"

". . . I dunno man. I feel like-"

"Randy, you are on board with the plan, right?"

Randy felt his voice catch in his throat. He was going to have to make a commitment. He'd been setting a foot in both camps for a while now. He knew he ought to make a choice, but it really didn't feel all that appealing when both options were awful. Not to mention that his choice (once again) would likely decide the fate of the multiverse. Still, despite his unease, he found his voice. "I was. . . but I. . . I talked to Max."

Gohan cast his gaze up to the ceiling.

"And he brought up some good points," Randy said, more quickly. "Commander Forge wouldn't be on board with it, it's too close to the Cell Games. Heidi thought that we should-"

"No, no," Gohan said with a smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes. "I get it. It was a crazy idea anyway. I'll see you for our final practice run."

"Yeah man. Definitely."

Randy watched the teen go down the hallway before he opened his door. He sat his food and drink down on his desk before he slumped back on his bed. "God, this is wonk. . ."

Drip.

Drip. Drip.

Drip.

Drip. Drip.

Drip.

Gohan brushed at his forehead, futilely trying to stop his sweat from falling into his eyes. It stung but it was welcome compared to the emotions threatening to spill out of him. He'd scarcely been able to convince Forge to let him fly out. And even then, it had been under the condition that he'd be monitored by drone as well as only a few one hundred meters away from the base.

He was thankful for the small bit of freedom at the moment. He understood why Randy didn't want to do it, but he couldn't help but be so frustrated. They didn't have a shot against Cell. His plan was their best shot at bringing the android down. He'd been so desperate that he almost considered blasting himself while weakened. Gohan wasn't sure if it would work; his body might have just reflexively raised its battle power to tank whatever attack he'd thrown at himself. It was a relatively hopeless hour that Gohan had found himself in. He was almost crazy enough to goad Cell into blasting him on the promise of an even better fight.

In fact, he still felt tempted.

Gohan let out a sardonic laugh as he clenched his fists. He could already feel blood running down in small rivulets down his palm as his nails dug into the flesh. Why was he so damn weak? He'd always needed someone to bail him out. Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, his Dad, Yajirobe, Krillin. . . the list could go on and on. But none of them were here now. He was on his own.

And he was still the same cowardly bastard.

Still too weak.

Drip-Drip.

Drip.

Drip-Drip.

Drip.

Drip-

"AGHHHHHHHHH!"

Gohan released a primal scream. One full of hate. Hate for Cell, hate for his weakness, hate for Randy's refusal of his plan, hate for the way his fellow comrades regarded him, hate for Vegeta and his role in his current situation, hate for all of it.

Dimly, he could feel the familiar power of a Super Saiyan wash over him, bathing the night in a powerful gold. The air around him began to crackle with electricity as he pushed beyond that to the 2nd level of Super Saiyan. He could feel the hurricane force winds battering at his face and likely the surrounding terrain. But he continued to scream, for his hate had not yet run out. His hate for burdening his mother, his hate for not being a better brother, his hate for his father leaving him alone ripped out of his throat, damn near leaving him hoarse.

But he continued to shout, to push against the barrier he'd felt for the past year. The barrier keeping him away from any meaningful power. His limit.

In his rage, he could feel the barrier strain.

He shouldered against it.

He could feel it stretch.

He shouldered against it.

He could feel it break.

He felt the world explode with electricity and his power swell just before his vision was obscured by darkness.

A/N: Kinda got that idea at the end there from Gohan's Dilemma (a really dope Naruto and DBZ crossover that you should check out if ya haven't already). I felt the vibe come on and I was like "yeah, I've gotta do this" lol. Lemme know your thoughts in the review section below. It is really hard to be a fair judge of myself on my own, so any review helps! Also, feel free to favorite/follow.

Catch y'all later!

Uploaded: September 22nd, 2022