Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Are you part of my cult? My brother says I have a cult following me.
For those who like Angst/Drama fics, I wrote a new one called "Dear Daddy" I'm not going to explain it, but it hasn't been up for a week yet, and last time I checked, I had 18 reviews for it. It's way more popular than this fic will probably ever be. So, what are you waiting for? Go read it after this chapter! ^_^
This chapter took me a while to finish. I had writers block on it for a couple of days. Enjoy!
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Chapter 10: Sacrifice
…Vegeta walked into the room. He looked down at Bulma, who was still in his arms. He had no idea where he was going, or how he was going to get out. The room was freezing, and if he didn't get out of there soon, they both were going to freeze to death. Luckily, there was a blanket in the corner. Vegeta picked it up and wrapped Bulma in it. If someone froze, it might as well had been him. Suddenly, Vegeta felt a ki come towards him. Before he could react, a hand hit him in the neck. He watched Bulma fall from his arms, and everything went black…
Vegeta opened his eyes and sat up. He blinked a couple of times, and shook his head. "Where am I?" He rubbed his temples. "God…my head."
"You've finally have waken up." Goku said, walking over to him.
"Kakarott…what the hell happened here?" He glanced around his surroundings. "Where's Bulma? She was with me."
"I don't know Vegeta. When we saw you, you were under Dr. Kotchen's control. Remember when I explained this whole thing to you, and Piccolo was under control? The same thing happened to you."
"I'm going to kill the old man…" Vegeta slammed his fist into the ground.
"Calm down Vegeta. We'll go find her. I don't think they would have done anything to her in fear of you coming after them. Dr. Kotchen isn't that dumb."
Vegeta sighed in frustration. "Fine" He said, standing up. "Let's go." He started to walk towards the building. Goku followed after him.
"Hey Gohan, Videl. We're going in after Bulma. Let's go" Goku said, passing them.
Gohan nodded, and him and Videl followed Goku and Vegeta.
They searched several rooms. Finally, they came to the one Vegeta originally was in.
"Stop" Vegeta said, peering in. He saw nothing but the blanket. He walked over to it and shook it. A single piece of paper floated out. He quickly snatched it up and read it.
"Guys…" Gohan started to sound worried.
"Shut up boy!" Vegeta growled at him, and turned back to the paper.
"Where are you Vegeta? They have me. How did I end up in the blanket? Who took me to the other cell? Whoever did it, I'll make sure Vegeta gets them. I'm not badly beaten up, aside from this annoying headache. I think Videl is in worst condition tan me. Speaking of her, where is she? I haven't seen her anywhere. I hope they didn't get her too. Kotchen wants to do an experiment. That's why he wants Goku again. Please Vegeta, hurry up and help me!
-Bulma"
"But guys…" Gohan now was whining, trying to get Goku's and Vegeta's attention.
"I thought I told you to shut up brat!"
"But…Videl's gone."
"Now you see here!" Vegeta crumpled up the note in his hand and walked over to Gohan. "We have more important issues to take care of!"
"No, you did not just say that." Gohan's eyes flickered green. He grabbed Vegeta's shirt by the collar. "Nothing is more to me important than Videl! You hear me? NOTHING!" by this time, Gohan was screaming at the top of his lungs. "I AM GOING TO FIND HER. JOIN ME IF YOU WANT, BUT DO NOT CROSS ME."
"And do not cross me." Vegeta added, coolly. Gohan let go of Vegeta.
"That's it, you and me, right now." Gohan turned Super Saya-Jin and dropped into fighting stance.
"Well boy, you have more Saya-Jin blood in you than I thought." Vegeta smirked and did the same. Gohan screamed and lunged toward Vegeta when something hit him from the side. Gohan was sent into a pile of cement. After recovering, he looked up and saw his father standing in front of him. He felt like a helpless child. He felt like he did when he was five years old, needing his rage to take over in order to use his power.
"Dad…"
"Stop acting like such a child Gohan." Goku eyes were hard for a second, then turned soft. "I know how much she means to you. You just can't go losing it. Vegeta's got something at stake too. You have to remember that."
Gohan sighed. "I know. But now I have to go through the trouble of finding her again. Come on dad, this is the third time for god's sake! Why me…"
"Don't worry about it, let's go. We'll find them soon."
"Al right Dad." Goku stretched out his hand and helped Gohan up.
They didn't have to walk far when a voice stopped them. It wasn't Dr. Kotchen's voice for sure. This voice sounded younger, yet more evil. They all turned slowly around to see what was stopping them. A brown looking creature looked at them straight in the eye. He had an evil smirk on his face. He had something planned for this meeting, and it was only time until the word was out. Fortunately, the search for Bulma and Videl was over. The creature had both of them.
"Look at who we have here. Three Saya-Jins out to save these two girls, right?" The creature hissed.
"Leave them alone" Gohan said, stepping forward.
"And if I don't?"
Gohan said nothing, and flew towards the creature.
"Stop!" Gohan was startled by the noise. Dr. Kotchen flew out next to his creation.
"Gohan. Stop it. Don't you dare touch my bio-android."
"And why not?"
"Because, Mitsubishi is valuable to me."
"I care why?" Gohan clenched his fists.
Dr. Kotchen held up his hands, not wanting a repeat of the last time he met up with Gohan. "I'll make a deal with you. I need someone to do experiments on, and I think one you Saya-Jins would be perfect. You might die in the process, no, you probably will die, but that doesn't matter to me. One of you come with me, and I'll release the girls."
Gohan started to shake uncontrollably. He wished it didn't have to come down to this. Now he was putting someone else's life at danger. There was only one thing to do. He'd follow his father's and Vegeta's footsteps and sacrifice himself.
Gohan sighed. "Fine. Take me. Do what you want, but you have to let them go." He looked down at his father.
"No Gohan. You can't do this. Vegeta or I will go." Goku said, trying to convince his son.
"No Dad. If you or Vegeta die because of this, we can't wish you back. It has to be me. I've never died before."
"But Gohan…" Goku was trying hard to get Gohan to back out of it.
"I must do this Dad. If I die, so be it. You can always wish me back."
"But…I'm more concerned about your mother. I don't think she'll be able to deal with it."
"I'll be revived within a year Dad. Tell her that I love her and that I'll be home soon."
"Fine, if you must do this, then I won't stop you."
Vegeta turned to Goku in disbelief. "What? You're going to let your oldest son die? Are you crazy? The boy just turned eighteen! You're going to let him throw his life away?"
Goku smiled. "Vegeta, I didn't know you cared about Gohan." Goku said sarcastically. Vegeta frowned and crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about Kakarott. I don't give a damn about the brat." Goku continued to smile.
"You're right, he just turned eighteen. He's no longer a boy. He can make his own decisions now. You and me both did the same exact thing, and now it's his turn to do something for the one he loves."
Vegeta stayed silent and turned his back to Goku.
"Very well" Dr. Kotchen smiled, pleased with the results. "Mitsubishi, release them." Mitsubishi threw Bulma down to Vegeta and Videl down to Goku.
"Come Gohan. We have many things to do." Gohan took one last look at his father and Videl, and then turned his back to them. He didn't look back again.
"I'm sorry Videl." He mumbled under his breath, "I'm doing this to protect you. I can't take too many chances now. I've hurt too many people in my life doing that, and you're not about to be added to that list." Gohan followed Dr. Kotchen out of the room through an opposite door, leaving Goku, Videl, Vegeta, and Bulma alone. Videl turned to Goku. "Goku, where did Gohan go? Why isn't he here with us?"
"I don't know Videl. You're with us now because he agreed to go with them."
"Goku?"
"Yeah"
"Is Gohan going to die? Am I never going to see him again?"
"I don't know Videl. I truly don't know."
"Okay Goku. Thank you." Videl seemed unusually calm. Maybe she was confused over what just happened, or maybe she was just dazed. Either way, it didn't matter.
Bulma watched the whole scene. She felt like she was going to cry herself. She quickly turned to Vegeta. "Do you think he's going to die?"
Vegeta shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well. You heard the old man. He said that Gohan was probably going to die." Bulma listened to his words and went into shock. Vegeta even used Gohan's real name, which didn't happen often. He wasn't kidding. He only used real names instead of the ones he gave himself if he was dead serious and firmly believed in something.
Bulma started to cry harder and flung her arms around Vegeta. "Oh god I'm so happy you're here. What would I do without you." Bulma buried her head into Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. He said nothing, and let Bulma cry her heart out. She had a rough day. She deserved to cry. (a/n: not in a bad way, but in a good way.)
Not wanting to interrupt a rare moment for Vegeta, Goku signaled that him and Videl were leaving. Vegeta waited a few minutes after they left, and took Bulma out of his arms.
"Bulma, come on, let's get out of here." He said, looking at her straight in the eyes for once. Bulma nodded her head. Vegeta grabbed her hand, and they left.
Goku, Videl, Vegeta, and Bulma were soon out of the building. They took one last look at the doorway they came out of, hoping that Gohan would be coming out behind them. No luck came, and they all turned around and took to the air. (a/n: Vegeta was carrying Bulma, of course. ^_^)
They traveled a few meters when they heard and explosion. Quickly spinning, Videl saw her former prison go up in flames. Now all hope was lost.
"Gohan!" Videl screamed at the top of her lungs. "NO COME BACK!" She left Goku's side and started to fly back towards the explosion. Goku quickly caught up with her and grabbed her wrists. "NO GOKU! LET ME GO! GOHAN'S IN TROUBLE! I NEED TO HELP HIM!"
"I'm sorry Videl."
"No…don't say that Goku. He's alive. He has to be. He can't die…he can't." Videl started to cry hysterically. Goku turned Videl away from the explosion. She buried her head into his shoulder and slammed her fist in Goku's arm. She knew that nothing she did hurt him. Goku didn't mind either. He knew the pain she was feeling. His oldest son was dead, and he could have prevented it. Suddenly, he understood Gohan better. This is what he always talked about. Watching people you love die. Goku only saw his best friend Krillin die at the hands of Freiza. Gohan's seen his father leave him twice. A single tear fell from Goku's eye. He turned away form the explosion. The thought of Gohan dead was too much to bear. He slowly started to fly away with Videl still in his arms.
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End of chapter! Wow! Almost 2000 words! LOL. That's a lot for me! I'm trying so hard to make the chapters longer. I can't wait to get started on chapter 11…Is Gohan really dead? Stay tuned! I'll get it up A.S.A.P.
Oh, and I know some of that was inaccurate. I know that Krillin died twice, and I think Goku saw Choutzu die at the hands of Piccolo Diamou. I'm not sure though. So, for the sake of the fic, Krillin dies only once at the hands of Freiza. Okay? Okay.
