Legacy of Chaos
Chapter 6
"Will you catch me if I fall?" Gohan blinked as he tried to get a view of his surroundings. 'This dream again?' "Will you?" Videl asked again. Gohan looked up.
"Uh…yeah, sure."
"Please don't let me die," she whispered. Gohan gave a puzzled look when the dream didn't end. Suddenly, Videl dropped out of the sky and crashed into the ground.
"Videl!" he yelled, not understanding why he could move when she fell. He finally was able to move once more and rushed to her aid. She was lying on her back, seeming to be unharmed.
"You let me fall," she wept. "You let me die." Gohan's eyes widened. "I warned you Gohan. Now with me and my pure soul, we die and the Earth dies with it." She unexpectedly snatched the front of his shirt. "You let me die! Do you know what this means?!" Gohan shook his head no. "It means they won. It means she comes into the picture. She'll kill them. She'll kill everyone, Gohan! Don't you understand?! She has a master, one more powerful than her!"
"Who has a master? Who is she?" Gohan asked rapidly.
"Her! Her, Gohan!! Don't you see?! She's gonna kill you! She hates you! She thinks she's pure evil, but you need to tell her otherwise! I'm still there, but she's trying to silence me!"
"Who?!"
"Her…" Videl pointed behind Gohan. He looked around and saw a woman who looked like Videl, except…darker…different.
"I'm the one you should be worried about," she said menacingly. "I can bring about this planet's Apocalypse. It's already here, just waiting for me to unlock her." Gohan turned back to Videl, but she was missing. He was no longer by her side. He was floating just beyond Earth's skies. Chikyuu was burning. It was engulfed in red flames.
"Who are you?" Gohan asked the mysterious woman. She grinned.
"The epitome of evil itself, except with a D," the woman replied. "I'm the bearer. The carrier." She looked towards Earth. "Beautiful isn't it?" She turned back to him. "Armageddon is a place. And it was brought to Earth. Apocalypse was always here. Waiting, and gazing east."
"Gohan!" Gohan spun around, facing Videl once more. "Don't you dare kill me! Don't you dare, or that," She pointed to the burning planet. "is the Earth's fate. Embrace my friendship, secure it, and cherish it, for these are the last days of it."
Gohan woke up feeling distressed and disturbed. He didn't understand. The dream held such a powerful emotion over him, telling him not to dismiss it or disregarded it. Something told him it held some importance. Some sort of inner meaning. He couldn't explain it, but didn't have time to elaborate either as he prepared for school.
*~*~*~*
"You're having a party?" Erasa asked excitedly. "Cool!" Dune, Christy, and Pearl just announced that they were having a house party on the weekend. "What time? Where? Who's coming?"
"Starts at 6:00, ends whenever, 450 Canvey Cr. And everyone in the 12th grade is invited," Christy answered all in one breath.
"Cool!!" Erasa squealed.
"Aren't you worried your house will get messed up?" Videl asked.
"Not really," Pearl responded. "After all, the week after the party is the last week of school before March Break, so we'll have plenty of time to clean up."
"Class, please prepare for today's lesson by sitting in your seats," Ms. Brady declared as student began to take their seats. "Now today, we'll be looking at the Cell Games history-"
"Boring!" Dune snorted from the back. Ms. Brady, the usually mild-tempered woman, glared at Dune from the front.
"Excuse me, Dune," she barked. "But do you have a problem with our history lesson?"
"Well as a matter of fact," Dune remarked. "I do have a problem. See, you people have been getting it all wrong! Mr. Satan didn't beat Cell!" She took a quick glance at Gohan to see his reaction. Seeing him squirm uncomfortably nearly made her burst out laughing. "You see, Ms. Brady, he cheated. We all saw the broadcast. He was knocked out of the ring, thus disqualifying him. There was no he could have won without cheating!" Ms. Brady's glare softened slightly.
"Well you do hold a valid point. But remember that Cell did destroy the ring, disabling the rules he set down. And besides, if the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, you'd break a few rules too to ensure Earth's survival." Dune smirked.
"I'm sure."
*~*~*~*
"She's a threat! She knows something!!" Gohan came storming into the living room of Capsule Corp. followed closely by Vegeta.
"Alright!" Vegeta yelled. "Calm down, brat! Explain what happened."
"She knows I beat Cell!" Gohan shouted. "In the middle of history class, while we're about to talk about the Cell Games, she brings up how Mr. Satan wasn't the one who beat Cell and I could have sworn she was staring at me! It's like she knows which strings to pull, which buttons to push to make me nervous! She's a menace!"
"Will you shut up!" Vegeta demanded. "I came up with some information that might be useful. It's turns out that your little friends aren't from Earth." Gohan perked up.
"Are you sure?"
"What the hell do you mean am I sure?! Of course I'm sure! There aren't any records of them or their family name anywhere on Earth except in the school records of Orange Star High. That's means they're impostors."
"That's it!" Gohan cheered. "I'll just confront them and blow their cover!"
"Not so fast, Lightning!" Vegeta barked. "You can't barge in on them! You don't know anything about them! For all you know, they could be far stronger than even Buu. You could be jeopardizing your life and everyone on this planet while you're at it. We have to take things slowly. Let them make the first move. In the mean time, just hold off. I'm trying to think!" There was silence for a few minutes. Then Gohan snapped alert.
"Wait, she's having a party on the weekend. I'll go investigate, find out all I can and report back to you."
"You sound like a true saiya-jin solider. Stop it."
*~*~*~*
It was finally Saturday and people, or rather teens, everywhere were preparing for the high anticipated party being held at the Armagens'. At least, everyone but Gohan was getting ready. He had yet to even get permission.
"Please mom!" Gohan wailed. "Pleeeeaaaasssseeee!!!"
"No, Gohan!" Chi-chi snapped. "Absolutely not! Who knows what will be at this party! Guns, drugs, sex, beer! Heaven forbid if you get mixed up with the wrong crowd."
"But mom!" Gohan pleaded.
"No 'buts'. I said no, young man. Isn't seeing your little friends at school enough?"
"You're the one who was encouraging me to make friends in the first place! This party is the perfect way!"
"I'm not going to repeat myself, Son Gohan! NO!" Gohan gave her the irresistible, patented Son puppy look. Unfortunately for him, combined with Goten and Goku's overuse of it, Chi-chi had become immune to it. "Don't you dare give me that look! It won't work."
"Darn!"
"Oh c'mon, Chi," Goku added. "It's just a party. You raised Gohan to be bright enough, so he won't get involved with that kind of stuff." Hopefully that would butter her up. Complement her child-raising skills, and she'd give in to anything.
"You stay out of this!" Chi-chi growled at her husband. Oh well, so much for that strategy.
Chi-chi raised her arm, as if to strike someone with an object, but her frying pan was nowhere to be seen, so she lowered her arm. She had long since gotten rid of her favourite frying pan, so she had nothing to use against her family. Screaming and nagging always seemed to work anyway.
"But mom!" Gohan began again. "I need to go to this party for some undercover work! I need to find info on a couple of kids!" He was careful not to say 'girls' or else his mother would have run on a tangent, completely forgetting about giving him permission.
"That's even worse! I will not have you go to someone's house and snoop around." Gohan sighed sadly. He and Goku had tried every trick in the book, but Chi-chi was a fortress today, unbending and unwilling to let Gohan go. That's when Goten came to the rescue.
"I bet Gohan only wants to go because he wants to see Videl," announced the little clone of Goku proudly, following it with embarrassing kissing noises. Gohan turned a deep red, but Chi-chi found hearts in her eyes.
"That's right! That nice young woman, Videl is going to be there, isn't she?" she said dreamily. "Why didn't you say so earlier?! Now you have to go! And when you get back, I want you to tell me that you proposed to her!"
"Moooommm!" Gohan whined. "We're just-"
"Call her now and tell her you want to walk her home!"
"But I don't want to-"
"CALL HER OR YOU CAN'T GO!!"
"Yes ma'am!" Gohan quickly snatched the phone up.
*~*~*~*
While getting ready for the party, Videl received a phone call.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Uh…Hey Videl, it's me, Gohan."
"Oh hey Gohan! What's up?"
"Listen, I was wondering if I could walk you home after the party's done." Videl blushed and was thankful he couldn't see her right now.
"How come?" she asked cautiously, so not to sound rude.
"Um…two reasons." Videl heard a little fumbling in the background, as if Gohan was getting pushed around. "Make that one reason." Videl stifled a giggle, realizing it was Chi-chi in the background. "It's because…" He paused, receiving more instructions from a third party. "I love you. Hey! Wait a minute!" After more fumbling, Gohan got the phone again. "Sorry, my mom's kinda bugging me…Uh, listen. I just wanted to walk you home because it's gonna be great weather tonight and I thought it's be nice."
"Sounds great. But you gotta promise," she joked.
"Okay," Gohan laughed. "I promise to walk Videl Satan home after the party. Happy?"
"Always. What time are you getting to the party?"
"Around 7. My mom wants me to eat first."
"Okay and we'll leave at around…how does 1am sound?"
"Uh…kinda late," he said reluctantly. He quickly added, "But I'll see what I can do! Kay?"
"Sure, great!" Videl grinned. "See ya then!"
"Later!" She hung up the phone and continued to prepare when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," she called, brushing her short hair. Mr. Satan walked in and noticed her actually looking presentable.
"Hey, who was on the phone?" he asked.
"Gohan."
"Oh, that skinny kid."
"Dad, you and me both know he's not skinny. In fact, I think he's getting a bit podgy." Hercule chuckled a bit.
"Yeah, I know. I'm just kidding. Anyways, what are you getting ready for?"
"The Armagens are having a house-warming party."
"How come you didn't tell me?"
"I dunno. Probably an involuntary teen thing." She stood and walked past him, giving a quick kiss on his cheek. "Later daddy! I'll be home at around 1am. That okay?"
"Yeah, sure, just be careful. And tell that Gohan kid I said hi."
"Okay." Hercule watched his only daughter walk out the door and down the stairs.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" he muttered to himself. He shrugged it off and went to find Mr. Buu so he could train a bit.
*~*~*~*
"Time to get this party started!" Music began to blare as snacks were distributed to random tables and people. This party had everything a teen could think of: beer, snacks, great music, loads of friends, and the most important thing, a pool.
"Let's go swimming!" Erasa exclaimed. Most people in the pool hadn't even brought a swim suit. They were fully clothed, but in the pool anyways and completely drenched. Someone had even ridden their bike off the roof into the pool. There was also a mini skater park around the side of the house.
"This house is awesome!" Angela remarked coolly to Christy and Pearl. "It has everything! Even an arcade in the rec. room! And the best part is it's far away from other houses, so we won't bug anyone."
"Too bad," Derek moped. Down in the rec. room, Gohan was kicking Sharpner's ass in Smash Brothers, totally forgetting that he was supposed to be snooping around, trying to find dirt on the Armagen sisters.
"Yes!" Gohan yelled. "Pikachu just knocked you the hell out! WOO!!"
"Yes, woo indeed," Sharpner muttered. He started to get up. "I'm gonna get a Vanilla Coke. You want something?"
"Word, I'z be thirsty and shit," Gohan laughed. [1]
"Riiiiiiggggghhhhhttttttt….." Sharpner said slowly as he walked to the kitchen. He came back with two Vanilla cokes. "How the hell do you keep beating me?"
"All in the wrists, buddy," Gohan snickered. "Besides, you keep picking that crappy little Jigglypuff thing. Pick someone like Link or Kirby."
"Okay, buddy," Sharpner said sarcastically. "Can't be as bad as your brother. Man, how many times has he killed that princess in Ico? He's supposed to save her!"
"She's annoying!" Gohan laughed. "She doesn't speak our language and she runs around, playing with birds and one time, she actually ran right up to those shadow dudes." Then Gohan came up with an idea. "Hey, why don't we go to Blockbusters and piss off some people while renting Ico? I've got my membership card." Sharpner considered it.
"Why not? Let's get Videl and Erasa. That way we'll have an audience."
"Good thinking." The two got up and went outside to the pool only to find Erasa and Videl completely soaked. The girls smiled sheepishly while Videl crossed her arms.
"Y'know," Videl began. "If I had known this place had a pool I would have never worn white." She slowly moved one arm to show that in fact, her white shirt was utterly drenched and was a bit…exposing. The guys' eyes nearly popped out.
"You…" Gohan stuttered. "You…your…you…shirt…" Promptly, he fell backwards into the pool.
"Oh for Kami's sake!" yelled Sharpner. "With reactions like that, you're never gonna get laid!"
*~*~*~*
After Gohan recovered rather quickly, and Videl managed to dry off her shirt, the four of them went to Blockbusters, which was just down the road.
"Okay, here's the plan," Sharpner said in a military sergeant voice. "Me and Gohan will stand outside and play Jay and Silent Bob. You, girls, will go in and retrieve the game Ico. I'm gonna prove to Gohan that you can get through the game without killing the princess."
"Yeah right," Gohan snorted. "But I get to be Jay!"
"Fine," Sharpner said, rolling his eyes. "Ready? Break!" Videl and Erasa rushed inside while Gohan and Sharpner leaned against the glass window.
"Noise, noise, noise! Smoking weed, smoking weed, doing coke, drinking beers!" Gohan rapped, just like in the movie. "Drinking beer, beers, beers! Rolling phatties, smoking blunts. Who smokes the blunts? We smoke the blunts! Rolling blunts and smoking-"
"Hey can I get a nickel back?" Sharpner rehearsed his lines.
"15 bucks, little man, put that shit, in my hand! If the money doesn't show, then you owe me, owe me, oh! My jungle love! Owi owi o! I think I wanna know ya, know ya!" [2] Just as they finished, Videl and Erasa had returned with the game.
"Mission accomplished," Erasa announced, handing the game to Sharpner. "And the best part is you guys distracted the clerk, so he punched in the wrong button and gave us a discount price."
"Good job, solider," he commended. "There will be a dog biscuit in your bowl today."
"Very funny, but you can keep the dog biscuit." The four began laughing.
*~*~*~*
As they were walking home, Sharpner and Erasa walked up ahead while Videl evaded Gohan's tickling tactics. Once he had caught her, he mercilessly tickled her until she could barely breath.
"Stop!' she cried in between giggles. "Ack! You're so evil!"
"No I'm not," Gohan said smugly. "There's no such thing as evil."
"Oh really?" Videl raised an eyebrow. "Mind explaining that little out-burst?"
"Well, it's really simple. Anyone I've ever fought has ki."
"Okay. So what does-"
"I'm getting to that. Each time, either they're redeemable, or they try acting innocent to avoid their demise. Now normally, if they were completely evil, they wouldn't be redeemable, nor would they know how it's like to behave good. Plus, to be completely evil is an imbalance in the ying yang."
"The what?"
"Y'know, ying yang. That's your balance of good and evil. One can't be complete without the other, otherwise you're technically dead, or have no ki. That's where I get the ki thing."
"Interesting theory, but it made no sense whatsoever."
"Lemmie try it this way. My dad, for example, has an abundant amount of ying, which is good, I believe. But somewhere inside him, his Kakorrot side, there's yang, the evil. But that part stays dormant in some people."
"Okay."
"So no living creature has pure ying or yang. It's impossible. That imbalance is either caused by acts of Kaioshin, or they have no life energy that ying yang is based on."
"Did you make that up just now?"
"Videl, you're not taking me seriously."
"No, actually, I was just kidding. You have a very valid point. Complete evil can't really exist. Ki is based on that balance of good and evil. So without one, there is no ki, am I right?"
"Exactly!"
"Cool! That would explain why your little android buddies in the other timeline did things without a conscious. Technically, they can do whatever they want and have no regret or guilt. They can be all good or all evil if they wanted."
"Well, I hate to admit it, but they aren't really alive anymore. They died a long time ago when Gero made them androids in the first place. And since they're dead, they have no ki, no ying yang."
"Makes perfect sense in a way." Videl shoved Gohan into some bushes. "That's payback for tickling me!" She squeaked when he jumped out and started chasing her.
"Hey, will you two love birds pick up the pace?" Sharpner asked. "We wanna get back before the party is over." Gohan and Videl blushed, but ran up ahead.
*~*~*~*
They returned to the party and Gohan popped Ico into the Playstation. Sharpner pulled up a seat and watched as Gohan struggled with first Shadow demon.
"The burning stick!" Gohan yelled at the screen. "Pick it up! Oh my god! Why is he doing this to me!" Once he got the character Ico to pick up the stick, he began growling. "Go over there!" he yelled at the girl on screen. "There! Away from the shadow hole! Are you an idiot or something?! Oh Kami!" After playing for nearly half an hour, Sharpner began to really get into the game. "Over here!" Gohan yelled at the screen
"You've got to try pushing," Sharpner commented. "Get around the other side!"
"Damn her! She keeps jumping off the box."
"Lemmie try!" Sharpner suggested.
"NO!!" Gohan barked.
"Gohan!" Pearl called from the kitchen. "Come here!" Gohan got up and went over to where Pearl was. "Hey, you mom just called. She wants you to go home right now. She sounded pissed."
"My mom?" Gohan said, paling. "Oh crap! I knew her permission to stay till 1 in the morning was too good to be true!" Pearl shrugged sympathetically. "Wait! I was supposed to walk Videl home. I can't just leave her alone without telling her."
"She's already gone," Pearl replied. "She said she got a ride from that…Tyler guy."
"Tyler? Oh…that Tyler…basketball Tyler." Gohan looked back to the rec. room. "Are you sure she's gone? I mean, why wouldn't she at least tell me first?"
"I asked her if she knew she was taking off without you, but she said you'd understand or something. Anyways, you better get home quick! If I had a mom like yours, I'd be living in fear of her. Hurry man!" Gohan nodded and ran to the front door, slipping on his shoes. "Hey, want me to walk with you?" Gohan smiled, but shook her head no.
"It's really far!" he explained. "I'd have to fly at top speed." [3]
"Don't worry," Pearl said with a sweet smile. "I can keep up." Gohan gave her a puzzled look.
"But I'd be flying!" he insisted again. Pearl gave a sly grin as she began to levitate.
"As I was saying, I can keep up." She winked. Gohan just stared.
"…Guh…sure…"
*~*~*~*
He had started out slow, in case she was a slow flyer, but she kept up, just like she said would.
So he picked up the speed.
She maintained.
He began flying at regular speeds.
She matched and flew a bit faster.
Soon he found himself racing her. When they arrived at his house, they were both laughing.
"You really are fast," Gohan complemented. "Where'd you learn to fly so fast? In fact, where'd you learn to fly at all?" Pearl gave a mischievous smirk.
"My secret," she purred. Her voice sent weird chills down Gohan's spine. 'Time for the spell,' she thought. She placed her hands at both sides of Gohan's head and before he knew what was happening, she began chanting, "Onnazuki kisu no eimin." [4] Suddenly, Gohan's eyes went dull and blank. "That's right, Gohan, just relax." He began leaning forward until their lips were barely touching. She slowly removed her hands from his head and snapped her fingers, breaking the trance.
He immediately became aware of his surroundings…and where his face was. Before he could react, Pearl roughly shoved him away from her.
"You hentai!" she screamed. "How could you?! Trying to take advantage of me!"
"What?" Gohan asked, dazed and confused. "I…I didn't mean to do anything…I swear!"
"You're drunk!" Pearl scolded. "I can smell the alcohol in your breath!"
"Pearl, wait!" He reached out, but she quickly backed away.
"Don't touch me! How could you? I'm only 15! You disgusting…I can't even look at you!" She hastily shot into the sky and flew as fast as she could away.
"Wait!" Gohan shout. "Pearl!" He fell to the ground, not knowing what to do. "What now?"
*~*~*~*
A sudden shockwave sent Sukoshin out of her trance.
"We're too late!" she shouted. Kaioshin looked at her, stunned.
"What?" he said a little more calmly.
"Peril got to him. She's poisoned his mind," Sukoshin explained. "Now he thinks he's the bad guy in this whole situation. If Peril goes back to the party and tells everyone what happened, Videl will be lost forever." She looked down at her hands. "It's too late because I'm still much to weak to do anything to help." She looked at Kaioshin. "Contact Dende."
*~*~*~*
"Gohan, what are you doing home so early?" Chi-chi asked. Gohan's head shot up. "I thought you were going to be at the party until 1. Did you get a chance to walk Videl home? On no! There wasn't anything wrong with her, was there?"
"Wait!" he yelled, abruptly cutting off his mother. "What am I doing home?" he enquired. "You called and told me to come home!" Chi-chi looked at him oddly.
"Why would I do that? I don't even have the number of the place you were at!" Gohan paused, realizing…he had been set up.
*~*~*~*
Videl looked around through crowds and rooms, trying to find Gohan. She had been looking for him since about half an hour after they had gotten back from Blockbusters. It was nearing 1am, and she wanted to find him so they could leave. When she walked into the rec. room, she found Christy playing Ico with Sharpner.
"Hey guys?" Videl questioned. "Have you seen Gohan?"
"Gohan?" Christy answered. "Nope, haven't seen him since he left the party with Pearl." Videl stood with her mouth open slightly.
"He…left with her?"
"Yep, said something about macking. I don't know what he was blabbering about, because he was a bit drunk."
"Gohan was drunk?!" Videl demanded. "He doesn't even drink!"
"Well apparently you don't know him well enough. I told him you'd be looking for him, but he's like, 'She can find her own way home. She can fly.' And then he was gone." Videl shook her head slowly.
"No…that couldn't have been him." Just as the words left her mouth, Pearl came running into the room, looking scared, frantic, and damn near tears.
"I can't believe that jerk!" she shrieked. "Christy! Do you know what Gohan tried?!" Christy shook her head. "He tried to kiss me!" Videl gasped. "We got to his house and he tried to force himself on me! He was drunker than hell and he…he just…" Pearl couldn't finish her sentence as Dune walked in the room and hugged her younger sister.
"Shh…it's okay, Pearl…" she whispered soothingly to her sister. Erasa walked in quietly, only catching bits of the conversation, while Sharpner shook his head in disbelief. Both teens knew something else was up. Videl couldn't believe her ears. Gohan didn't seem like the type to do something like that. But then again, he didn't seem like the type that would spread rumours about sleeping with his best friend. What if that was true too?
"Tell me what happened," Dune whispered, but loud enough so some surrounding people could hear. Pearl sniffed a few times before continuing.
"He was playing Ico, and then he came up to me and asked if I wanted to go with him to his house." Sharpner was about to interrupt, but was 'accidentally' elbowed by Christy. "And I asked why and what about Videl. But he didn't care! And next thing I knew, we were at his house and he…grabbed my arms and tried to kiss me. And naturally, I screamed at him. And I ran." Videl certainly couldn't understand how Gohan of all people would do something like that.
It just wasn't…him.
Since the moment she had met him, she knew he was different. He wasn't like other guys she knew.
'But people change,' said a little nagging voice in the back of her mind. 'Gohan's just one of them.'
'No!' her sensibly side retorted. 'He would never do that! He never had a single drink tonight! He's not one to attempt something like that!'
'Precisely how well do you know him?' asked that nagging voice.
'…'
'Exactly. Remember that fight you had with him in the halls? Remember bringing up how many times he's lied to you? He might walk into school Monday and tell you he didn't do anything, but in truth, he'll most likely be lying. Don't fall for his lies again. And what about his broken promise? Do you think he took the time to consider your feeling before he left? No! If he had, he would have never left in the first place!'
Videl couldn't deny what that voice was saying. It was all true. Gohan had lied a lot to her, and he did break his promise to walk her home. She knew it seemed childish, but it still hurt, nonetheless. And she also remembered thinking that one of these days, he would pick a girl. She just didn't know he'd actually try forcing himself on that girl.
Looking at Pearl, in tears, was enough proof to say she couldn't trust him anymore. What if that had been Videl? After all, she was the one that was supposed to have walked with Gohan in the first place. She felt her breathing get ragged as all these facts came into place.
She couldn't handle it and ran from the room, ran from the party, ran from the whole house. She needed to think.
She needed to know whether this friendship with Gohan was really worth it.
*~*~*~*
[1] That entire skit between Gohan and Sharpner is ripping off a comic from Penny Arcade. Check out their web page at www.penny-arcade.com Lots of laughs!
[2] Now this skit was from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. If you haven't seen that movie yet…what the hell are you waiting for?! Go see it!
[3] Everyone knows Gohan can fly, so he talks about it casually.
[4] Onnazuki kisu no eimin: translates to "Lustful kiss of death." I could be wrong again.