Legacy of Chaos
Chapter 14
Gohan winced slightly as he came to. He tried to sit up, but he had a terrible headache. He felt like he had just been run over by a bulldozer. Struggling into a sitting position, he tried to look around, but his eyes weren't adjusted yet. Finally, a clear picture came through, and it was one picture he wished he had never saw.
The entire place was in ruins. He couldn't even recognize where he was. Buildings were destroyed and caved in, the only things left were huge pieces of rubble and walls that refused to go down. Gohan felt an incredible pain surge up. How many people had died? Why was he still alive?
"Finally up?" asked a taunting, feminine voice. Gohan turned to the source and saw Devil sitting on a broken wall just behind him. "God, you sleep long." It was true. The battle had started at dawn that morning, but now it looked about noon, although he couldn't tell with the dark, black clouds blocking out the sun.
"Where…am I?" Gohan asked cautiously.
"Hmm…and here I was told you've been here before as a kid," Devil mused. "Was that another lie on your part? You can't even recognize a city you've been to as a kid? You know I hate it when you lie to me."
"Where am I?" Gohan demanded a little more forcefully.
"You're in Cairo, you idiot! Are you blind or something?" Gohan froze up. Cairo? That was impossible! If this was Cairo, then…everyone in it was dead.
"You destroyed it?!" he yelled.
"Well, not exactly destroyed it. More like remodelled completely. Do you like it?" Gohan got to his feet slowly, glaring at Devil.
"Where are the citizens?"
"Y'know, the funniest thing was they were all gone by the time I hit this city. Must've been my father's doing." Gohan continued his harsh glare at Devil, although he was relieved no one had been killed.
"Where is everyone else?" he growled in a low toned voice.
"For all I know, they could be sipping martinis on an abandoned island."
"Where?!" Devil jumped off the broken wall just as it collapsed, and walked over to Gohan, grabbing the front of his shirt.
"What do you want to hear?" she whispered. Gohan swallowed.
"The truth."
"Even if it hurts?"
"At this point, the truth will most likely hurt as much as your dagger does." Devil smirked.
"They're d…" she stuttered on purposed. "They're de…" Gohan choked, knowing what word was going to leave her lips. "They're…de…desperately fighting against my sisters and Apocolypse." Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. Then she released his shirt and walked a bit away.
"You told me the truth would hurt."
"I said do you want to hear it, even if it's painful. Don't you try to re-quote something I know I said!" Gohan eyed her carefully, watching her every movement.
"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" he asked quietly. "And why didn't you try to kill me when I was unconscious?" Devil stopped her pacing, and slowly turned around.
"Because," she replied. "I'd rather kill you when you're wide awake. You're not alert enough yet."
"Well then why'd you knock me out?"
"So we could relocate." Gohan hated to admit it, but she was starting to creep him out. The way she was pacing, the way she was actually talking to him in a civilized manner, not attacking him like a rabid dog, whispering when she was so close…Maybe now was his chance to tap into her good side.
"Videl?" he whispered. Devil shot him an evil glare.
"What have I told about-"
"Videl, listen to me! You're better than this! I know you can fight whatever evil Doom put in you! I saw you fight it before and I know you can do I it again!"
"Shut up!" Devil yelled, pulling out her dagger. She leapt at him. Gohan had been waiting for this and dodged just in time to grab her arm and kick the dagger out of her hand. Before she could retrieve it, Gohan blasted it to ashes. "You asshole!"
She punched him across the face and kicked the legs from under him. Gohan landed with a thud on the ground, but quickly jumped back to his feet and ducked under another punch. Devil charged up a dark ki attack and shoved it into his face, blinding him for a second. That was all Devil needed to land three good punches to his stomach and two kicks to his ribs, breaking one. Gohan cried out and dropped to his knees, where Devil stood over him. Then he vanished from his place and reappeared behind her. But as if she was predicting his every move, she seized him by the throat just as he phased back in. Gohan powered up and kicked her in the leg, unbalancing her for a moment. He got out of her hold and backed up.
"Videl, just stop for a second!" he yelled. "Look around! Do you really wanna say you're proud of doing this?" Devil growled in response.
"You're right," she sneered. "I'm not proud of this. I would have been proud if I had actually killed someone." Then Devil did her own disappearing act and appeared behind him, catching him in a sleeper-hold. That one she had learned from her father.
"Maybe I'll give you the worst demise ever," she purred. "I'll just strangle to death." Gohan could feel the air being pushed from his lungs.
"Videl, please hear me out!" he choked with his quickly diminishing breath. "You're not evil!" Devil tightened her grip.
"Keep talking, Saiya-boy," she growled. "You're just shortening your life." Gohan struggled, but still could not get loose. Slipping in and out of consciousness, he remembered a particular dream he had, for some reason, one of the last strange ones referring to Apocolypse and everything.
"I'll always remember you. I'll always remember our conversations. We always had the best ones." Her smile faded as well.
That was it! Bring up a conversation they had before! He briefly flipped through his memories, which was proving very difficult with the lack air his brain was receiving, and remembered a discussion they had about good and evil. Gohan looked up into the sky where he saw Apocolypse. He stretched out his sixth sense, but didn't sense any ki in that woman. 'She's completely evil, just like in my theory!' Everything was making sense now! But he was quickly losing breath, so he didn't have much time to play out his plan. 'Please, Dende, let this work!'
"Videl, don't you remember that talk we had?" he pleaded. "That one we had coming back from Blockbusters?" Devil seemed to remember, briefly loosen her grip.
"You mean the night of the party?" she whispered.
"Yes! That night!"
"The night you back-stabbed me!"
"No! No, no, no! Not that night!" Gohan's mind was running a mile a minute, which wasn't exactly healthy considering his brain wasn't getting much oxygen at the moment. "Forget what night it was…do you remember what we talked about?" Devil took this into account for a moment.
"Yes, you were babbling about evil and ki."
"Yes!" Gohan coughed as he tried to breathe. "Can you sense Apocolypse's ki?" Devil seemed to try, but nothing came up.
"No," she answered truthfully. "This better have a point because these are your last words."
"You have ki! That means you're not completely evil!" Devil took this into consideration.
"So?" she sniffed. "You think I don't know that? That miserable Videl keeps screaming in my head." Gohan froze. "What's your point, Saiya-boy?"
"Videl! Fight it!" he suddenly shouted.
"Will you shut up!" Devil growled loudly. "Why aren't you dead yet?!"
"If she's still in there, she can come back out!" Devil rolled her eyes and placed a hand over his mouth.
"Can't you die quietly?"
*~*~*~*
Sukoshin breathed heavily from the crater her body had formed. She had been lying there for many minutes, alone, and beaten. Apocolypse had left her to die and went human hunting. Everyone was beaten, but not dead. Only Goku and Vegeta remained standing and fighting.
It had been a long fight indeed. Majin Buu had arrived when he sensed Mr. Satan in danger. Everyone took their turns fighting, but somewhere in the middle of it all, they realized Apocolypse and her clan were only teasing them. That's when the battle turn ugly and desperate. Every plan they had been formulating failed in miserable defeat. It was impossible to track Apocolypse's movements because she had no readable ki. The Sisters were simply too strong and Apocolypse's power was just overwhelming. Now, only Goku and Vegeta were left, fighting in simple desperation. After peace had been restored for so long with many prices before, they weren't about to give up and let Earth be destroyed. They had simply come too far.
She could see them from where she was slumped. Doom was gone, hanging out with Apocolypse, while Peril and Crisis took on the only two Saiya-jins left.
Sukoshin heard shuffling from outside the crater, and a second later, Goten poked his head from above.
"Sukoshin-sama!" he cried, dropping down to her side. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Krillin and I just got back from Korin's and we got some senzus! But only three! He told me to give one to you, one to Kaioshin, and one to Trunks!" Sukoshin smiled at the hyper-active child, who could prove time and time again how resourceful he could be. He hastily popped the healing bean into her mouth, and instantly her wounds were cured.
"Thank you so very much," she praised as she sat up. "We'd better find the others!" Getting out of the crater and back onto solid land, the two took flight and scanned the area for the others. Finding Kaioshin proved to be fairly easily. He was slumped on the ground beside the rubble that once was the Great Pyramids. After reviving him, Goten took off to the banks of the Nile, where Trunks was unconscious. He carefully gave Trunks the bean, and seconds later, the purple-haired demi awoke and sat up.
"What happened?" he muttered, rubbing his head, which had sand in it once again.
"That demon hit you from behind!" Goten exclaimed. "You shoulda seen it! It was so cool!"
"Shut up, Goten," Trunks growled, rolling his eyes. "What happened after I was knocked out?"
"Sukoshin-sama attacked Apocolypse and told me to run with Marron. She mentally said that with you knocked out, Apocolypse wouldn't bother you. 18 thought Apocolypse hurt Marron, so she blasted her way through and was like-"
"Skip a bit, Goten."
"Oh, okay! Then Videl came flying out of the broken pyramid and blew up Cairo!! She looked really evil! You didn't see her when she slashed oniisan's face with her dagger back in the Chamber of Power!"
"Where're my mom and dad?"
"Buu and my mom took Bulma-san and Mr. Satan to the outskirts of Cairo last I checked, but I don't know where they are now! Erasa and Sharpner were supposed to be there too. Your dad's fighting one of those Armageddon sisters. So is my dad."
"Where's Gohan?"
"I dunno! He was in the temple, but when I looked for him, he was gone! Then Krillin told me we had to go to Korin's place and get some senzus. That was about an hour ago. We used the last one on you."
"How long have I been knocked out?"
"4 and a half hours."
"4 and a half hours?!"
"Yep!" Goten nodded enthusiastically. "C'mon! We gotta go!" Trunks nodded and flew to the sky. Goten followed suit and they quickly did a fusion dance. After their little light show ended, one person remained. He grinned and flew to where Sukoshin and Kaioshin were waiting.
"I'm guessing everything's alright then?" Sukoshin asked, eying the new warrior before her.
"Where's Apocolypse now?" Gotenks asked Sukoshin.
"I'm not sure. She hit me to the ground and took of somewhere."
"Just follow the path of destruction," Kaioshin suggested.
"Got it!" Gotenks said, grinning still. He quickly took of in the direction Cairo was.
"Don't do anything foolish!" Kaioshin called after them.
"Won't he need our help?" Sukoshin asked Kaioshin.
"You've never seen Gotenks in action," Kaioshin replied. "He can be very lethal…when he's not goofing around." Sukoshin sweat dropped.
"Dende have mercy on this planet."
The two gods took off in search of Devil, where ever she may be, but Sukoshin stopped when she caught a glimpse of Vegeta fighting Crisis, in super mode. Then she spotted Goku fighting Peril, also super. And finally, it clicked. "The Golden light!" she screamed. "It's a super Saiya-jin!" Kaioshin came to an immediate halt at these words and he also came to realization too, as if a light bulb was switched on.
"Yes, that makes sense now!" he agreed excitedly. "But…which one?" He flipped through all the possible selections.
"Maybe Goku?"
"No…he doesn't have much of a connection with Videl."
"Then it has to be Gohan!"
"He can't turn super!" Sukoshin blinked.
"Why not?" she questioned.
"Gohan underwent some special training about a year ago with Old Kai. He gave Gohan a Mystic boost so he wouldn't need to turn super anymore."
"But it makes sense, doesn't it?" Sukoshin urged. "The Armageddon Sisters knew all along he was the Golden Light! That's why they turned Videl against him! If she killed him early, no one in the heavens would be alerted, where as if the any of the sisters tried, we'd know immediately. Plus, he's the only Saiya-jin who can't turn super Saiya-jin. That makes him special!" Sukoshin paused, smirking. "And doesn't it seem ironic that the hostess has a crush on the Golden Light?" Kaioshin had to admit, everything she was saying made sense.
"Still, the title is supposed to dictate the look. He isn't a super Saiya-jin, therefore, he's not the Golden Light."
"He's never tried turning, has he?" Sukoshin put a victorious smile on her face, knowing she had won this battle.
"What good does it make? Apocolypse had already been released."
"Videl might know something, like a weakness or some way to beat Apocolypse. She is the hostess after all, and Apocolypse's conscious must've passed through her at some point during the summoning." Kaioshin finally gave up and sighed in defeat.
"What if he destroys the planet?" he muttered as a last counter-statement.
"We'd better pray it does," Sukoshin replied. "Now let's go find him!"
"You can be so impulsive sometimes."
"The correct word is 'insane'."
*~*~*~*
Erasa shuddered as another cold wind blew by. Here she was, running through a sandy desert, in the middle of March, close to the equator, and it was noon, and she was freezing to death. The sun was completely blocked out by dark clouds, making the surrounding area ice cold. She stopped running for a moment to sneeze.
"Hurry, Erasa!" Sharpner called. "We've got to find Videl, before she does anything rash!"
"How do we know she's in Cairo still?" Erasa sniffed, rubbing her nose.
"I saw her take Gohan there. No doubt she's trying to kill him still." They rounded a corner of a broken building and looked around cautiously.
"I still can't believe that was her…" Erasa whimpered. "She looked so…evil, and that black haze around her-"
"Her aura," Sharpner interrupted.
"Yeah, that thing. It was pure darkness!" As they approached the next pile of rubble, Sharpner signalled Erasa to duck. Both teens hid for a few seconds. "What's wrong?" she whispered.
"I think I saw her!" Sharpner hissed. Erasa crouched slightly and took a quick glimpse around the corner, then squealed.
"Gohan!" she shrieked, jumping into action. Sharpner nearly had a heart attack. He jumped up, trying to grab Erasa's arm, but she was out of grasp. Then he saw what she had seen. Videl was standing over Gohan, hold his neck as if she was strangling him. 'Screw the run-away plan!' he thought before running after Erasa.
"Put him down!!!" Erasa screamed at Videl. Videl smirked and did as she was told. Erasa dropped beside the unconscious Gohan, instinctively checking for a pulse and breathing. "What have you done?" She looked up at Videl, tears forming in her eyes. Sharpner was at her side, though not know quite what to do in the event Videl were to strike out at them. For now, though, she was silent, with the most odd look on her face, a look Sharpner did not recognize.
"Is he okay?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Videl.
"He's barely breathing," Erasa answered. "If we were a second later, he'd probably be…" She trailed off. Her attention flickered to Videl, who was yawning with a bored expression on her face. "Videl, how could you? You nearly killed him."
"Well duh," Videl replied. "That was the whole point. And please don't call me that. The name's Devil, and you'll do good using it." She smirked. "So Cry-baby, no longer playing to idiot role you're so good at?"
"That's not gonna work this time, Devil," Erasa snapped. "I know what you are now. Sukoshin-sama told me."
"God!" Devil cursed, throwing her hands into the air. "Sukoshin this, Sukoshin that. Will people please stop talking about her? I'm not interested!"
"Gohan!" called a voice above them. All heads turned to the newcomers, Sukoshin and Kaioshin.
"Well, speak of my name [1]," Devil snickered. "So you're the infamous Sukoshin everyone's been talking about? I don't think we've been formally introduced. I believe you know me as Videl Satan?" Sukoshin ignored her as she ran to Gohan's side.
"Wake up," she muttered. "C'mon, kid! We need you now more than ever!" Then, as if on cue, Gohan's eyes flickered and opened rather slowly. "Yes, that's right!" He groaned as Erasa and the female god helped him sit up.
"Why am I still alive…?" he muttered, annoyed. Then the surrounding area and the events of the past half-hour came flooding back. "Shit! Where's Devil?" He jumped to his feet, quickly locking eyes with Devil.
"Damn," she groaned with a snap of her fingers. "I was so close too. Just a few more seconds, and I would have gotten you." Gohan growled. Devil pretend to get bored and began examining her finger tips, when she noticed Sukoshin whispering something to Gohan, then the raven-haired teen turned pale and shook his head frantically. After what seemed like a millennia of more convincing, it appeared Gohan finally agreed to whatever Sukoshin was talking about.
"Oh Gohan?" Devil hissed. "What were you and the little god talking about?" She put her fists on her hips, as if she were scolding him. "What have I told you about talking about me behind my back, hm? You know I don't appreciate it. Just like the nasty little rumour you spread about us. Like how you told everyone I was the school whore or something."
"Don't you remember?" Gohan yelled. "I didn't spread those rumours!"
"Well then who did?" Devil asked, not impressed.
"The Armageddon sisters! They've been trying to split us up since the start! And besides, Erasa told you where I was that morning!" Devil scoffed.
"Cry-baby's alibi for you was bullshit! She was covering up for you! And as for the Sisters, you leave them out of this! This is between me and you, Saiya-boy!" She lunged at Gohan in fury. Everyone but Gohan jumped out of the way while Devil attempted to strike him down. He blocked her fist, so she raised another and tried again, but he blocked her other fist. Then, in moves she could no track, he was behind her, holding her arms in place. That's when she realized her mistake. He had been intentionally angering her so she would be sloppier with her moves.
"Now we have a chance to talk," Gohan whispered to her.
"I don't want to talk," Devil replied stubbornly.
"If you won't talk, then I'll just have to make you." The tone in his voice made Devil a bit worried. Her Videl side was telling her this wasn't like him at all. He was acting much colder than usual. She decided if he could make her mad, then she would return the favour.
"If you don't let me go right now, I'll make your death painfully slower," she threatened. "I'm not afraid of you. Give me the chance, and I'll break out of your lock." Hiding behind rubble and debris, Sukoshin and the other three were praying this plan would work.
"I don't see how you can break free," Gohan sneered, something he wasn't exactly used to doing. "You're just a woman." 'Damn she's gonna kill me after this,' he thought to himself. But the plan was working. Devil was seeing red.
"You insufferable little insect!" she screamed, thrashing about pitifully. "I'm going to kill you!" Suddenly, her struggling ceased. Gohan waited for any kind of reaction, but got none. He made a quick eye signal to Sukoshin, who shrugged.
"Um…Devil?" he said cautiously. Then he heard her whine softly.
"Gohan…" she whispered. "Gohan, help me…" He felt his heart leap and ignored the warning signals Sukoshin was sending him.
"Videl! Is it really you?"
"Help me…" she pleaded again. "I…I can't breathe." Without even the slightest thought, Gohan released her arms. Devil stood for a second, looking as if she was about to collapse, but suddenly spun around and kicked Gohan in the face.
"Foolish boy," she spat as Gohan hit the ground. "Don't you know anything?! Never listen to your enemies' pleads! You're as naive as your pathetic father!"
"Don't talk about my father!" Gohan growled, holding his injured jaw.
"No, I think I'll talk about him all I want," Devil scoffed, knowing she had hit a soft spot. "He's the reason you're here, so I have to place some blame on him. After all, if he was never born, you wouldn't have been born either. That's like hitting two birds with one stone."
"You don't know what you're saying," Gohan muttered, feeling pain flooding his heart. "He's saved the world countless times."
"Yeah, no thanks to you. You're always in his way, from what I heard." Gohan glared, unable to speak. "So after I'm done with you, I'll move on and kill your brother," she took a step forward. "And your mother," she took another step. "And all your little friends," and another step. "And then, your father," she grabbed the front of his shirt. "Just like how you killed him at the Cell Games," she purred. Gohan's eyes widened.
His vision blurred for a moment with tears. He couldn't breathe and it wasn't because Devil was holding his neck. His throat felt like it had a large lump in it, as his heart felt like it was painfully bleeding. He didn't want to think about what she just said, but the longer he stood there, more time those words had a chance to sink in.
He snapped.
Letting out an almost primal roar, accompanied by blinding lights, Gohan began glowing and his aura forced back Devil, who fell to the ground. With tears streaming down his face and his ki sky-rocketing, Gohan began to change. Loose debris, stones, rocks, and rubble began floated all around him, snapping and breaking into small fragments. The ground was rumbling terribly as cracks formed beneath everyone's feet.
All around the world, people were feeling the effects of his power. Earthquakes began, volcanoes erupted, hurricanes took deadly turns for the worst, tornados occurred all over the place, and tsunamis formed off the coasts of continents. If one was not aware of Gohan's power-up, they'd think it was the end of the world. And in truth, it quite possibly was. Earth had never handle power of such magnitude.
Devil's mouth nearly hit the ground as she watched Gohan's hair turn gold and his eyes turned green.
"What have I done…?" she whispered, frightened more than she had ever been in her life. She knew about Gohan's Mystic power as well as any other Z warrior. And she knew that because of that, he was unable to turn super. But why was he doing it now? Had she pushed him over the edge? The only thing that kept entering her head was, 'I'm gonna die.' The planet was breaking apart because of the shockwave.
Then, everything stopped.
The light show died down and the rubble around Gohan fell back to the ground. The booming sounds of thunder didn't register in Gohan's mind. His attention was on Devil, who seemed very pitiful at the moment, cowering away in fear. His transformation was complete and Chikyuu had survived.
Around the corner, Sukoshin and Kaioshin weren't aware of the events happening close by. They were holding hands, surrounded by a white, heavenly aura, and were constantly muttering under their breath a spell. This spell was like no other. It was a Supreme Kai spell…and it was the only thing keeping the planet together. Erasa and Sharpner stared in awe and confusion, their attention switching back and forth from Gohan to the gods.
"What are they doing?" Erasa asked timidly.
"I don't know-" Sharpner was cut off by the sound of Sukoshin's voice in his head. 'Goku. Dragonballs. Collect. NOW!!' While she had been delivering the message, the ground began to shake again and didn't stop until she was silent once more. And Sharpner knew what she meant. He didn't know much about the dragonballs, but he knew he had to get them quick.
"Let's go!" he said to Erasa, pulling her away.
"What about Kaioshin?" she whined. "And Sukoshin? And Gohan! We can't leave them here!"
"Gohan can take care of himself," Sharpner explained, still running with Erasa in tow. "And the gods need complete concentration! I think they're trying to save the planet for falling apart." Erasa's eyes widened, but she did not scream. Instead, she nodded and ran with Sharpner.
*~*~*~*
"What was that?!" Goku yelped. The battle between him and Peril stopped all at once when they felt a tremendous power surge up. All around then, strong winds had picked up and lava occasionally spewed up from the cracks in the ground. "It…it felt like Gohan. But…"
"He's ascended," Peril whispered, unconsciously messing with her now burnt and short hair. "How…?"
"Are you sure?" Goku asked, not caring she was the enemy.
"Positive," Peril replied with a nod. "It was the Golden Light the Book prophesied about. The Light can destroy the hostess' evil."
"Yeah, if he doesn't destroy the Earth!" Goku yelled. "He's not supposed to be able to do that!"
"Kakorrot!" yelled a voice. They turned to see Vegeta and Crisis flying towards them. "You most certainly must have felt that."
"Who cares about feeling that power," Crisis interrupted. "Look around! This place is about to blow sky-high! It's about to share the same fate as Planet Namek!"
"Then why hasn't it happened yet?" Peril whined. "I wish I never came here! I wish I didn't listen to Doom and her big, ugly mouth."
"Shut up!" Crisis and Vegeta yelled at the same time.
*~*~*~*
Gohan's turquoise eyes watched Devil's every move. She stumbled to the ground, rubbing a ripped spot on her shirt. She was watching Gohan closely as well. Of course, both were wondering why Chikyuu was not destroyed, but at the moment, it was the least of their worries.
"No one," Gohan spoke in a deep voice. "And I mean no one talks about my father like that." He frowned deeply. "You're going to pay for those words." Devil gasped, backing away slightly.
"You can't…you can't kill me," she squeaked meekly. "I'm still Videl! You'd be killing her too!" Gohan smirked cruelly, totally opposite of his calm, laid-back characteristics.
"I didn't say I'd kill you," he replied. "I'm just going to beat you up. Really…really…badly." Devil stumbled again as his words sunk in.
'This can't be right…' she thought. 'Something's wrong. But I don't have time to think about it!' And with that, she took off in a blind run to find Apocolypse. But she didn't get very far.
She was slammed to the ground in an instant, and rolled to the left, narrowly missing Gohan's fist. Scrambling to her feet, she was caught off guard by his leg, which swept her feet from under her. She did a one hand cartwheel to avoid his next attack and fired a dark ki sphere at him. It hit him dead on…but he did not falter. In blind desperation, she charged him, then phased out and behind him, catching him by his throat. Gohan half-smirked and flipped Devil off his back. She landed on one knee and was unable to defend very well when he began lashing out.
Finally, getting back to her feet, she threw a clumsy punch at Gohan, which he caught with ease. She weakly threw another punch, which was also caught.
"Please," she whispered. "Don't kill me…" Gohan didn't flinch or move.
"Fool me once, shame on you," he murmured. "Fool me twice, shame on me." His smirk disappeared. "You're pleaded won't work this time. I won't stop until I see ocean blues in your eyes again."
"I can't bring her back!" Devil cried, finally giving up the tough-girl act. "I already suppressed her! Only the Armageddon sisters can set her free." Gohan's eye twitched.
"What do you mean?" he asked softly.
"I mean there's so little of her left, she can't be brought back by conventional means! She doesn't remember you, I hope you know! Her memories were wiped! She barely exists!" Those words triggered something in Gohan's conscience. The last Apocolypse dream he had…
"Will you kiss me one last time?" She tried to smile once more. "Maybe I'll remember more."
Was that the key? Her defences were all down. She was paralysed with fear because of his super Saiya-jin form. But did that mean he had to actually kiss her? Maybe it was the only way to bring her back with her memories intact. It was a long shot, and if it didn't work, he could be earning himself a huge slap. But it was the only thing he had to go on right now that didn't involve beating her to a bloody pulp.
"Videl…" he whispered. "Please forgive me." And with that, he leaned in rapidly, closing the gap between their faces, and kissed her. Devil's eyes widened, but slowly, they became droopy and she closed them without protest. The kiss was sweeter than imagined. Gohan had almost recoiled because her lips were so cold, but now they were warming up. Her whole body was returning to normal temperature. He slowly released her fists and moved his hands to her face.
When he felt enough time had passed, he pulled back and looked at her face. The colour had returned, but her eyes were still closed. 'Please let this work…' he thought silently.
"Gohan…" she whispered delicately. Her eyes opened and shone a beautiful, brilliant blue, bright as the morning sky. "Where am I?" Gohan broke down and hugged her with all his might.
"Thank Kami you're back!" he cried. "God, I've missed you!"
"Uh…Gohan? Need a little air here," Videl replied, tugging at his arms somewhat. Gohan quickly pulled back, apologizing.
"I still can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "It's really you!"
"What?" Videl laughed. "You make it seem like you haven't seen me in weeks or something!" Gohan froze.
"Don't you remember?" he asked quietly.
"Remember what?" Videl tilted her head to the side. "C'mon, Gohan! What in the world are you talking about?" Gohan felt like he could cry. She didn't remember anything! That meant she didn't know about Apocolypse or the demon's weakness…or the kiss they just shared.
"Uh…yeah," he stuttered, feeling quite sad. The dream told him she'd remember all. But she didn't have a clue what was going on around her. Maybe it was for the better. He was sure she would feel awful if she knew about the things she had said to him, to Erasa, Sharpner, and her father. She would especially feel horrible if she knew she had been trying to kill him for the past five and a half hours. "I'll explain all later. I gotta-"
"Oh my lord!" she suddenly yelled. "What happened to your face?!" She quickly examined the scars on his face from her dagger. "You're bleeding. We've gotta get you a senzu."
"I'll live, trust me."
"Who did this to you?" Videl asked, concerned. Gohan nearly choked. What now? He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want to say 'You did it.' Fortunately, he was saved when a loud thunder-like noise was heard, followed by an explosion.
"I really gotta go!" Gohan insisted.
"What's going on?" she demanded. "Why are you super? 'How' is a more appropriate question! And why's the sky so dark? What was that noise? Where is everyone? What-"
"I said I'll explain later!" Gohan vowed. "Just…stay here! I'm not sure how dangerous it is, but I don't want you getting hurt."
"Getting hurt?!" Videl yelled. "I can fight, remember, genius?" Gohan winced.
"Please Videl…" he pleaded. Videl's expression softened and she gave in.
"Fine…but you'll come back, right?"
"I will!" Gohan said with a nod and took to the skies toward the source of the explosion.
In seconds flat, he arrived at the scene of the crime. There was a large pile of rubble, Apocolypse was hovering above, with ever-faithful Doom by her side. Then, Goten and Trunks emerged from the rocks.
"That was a dirty trick!" Goten complained, holding his head.
"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Trunks agreed, equally disgruntled and in pain. "I've seen Majin Buu sucker-punch people, but what you did was in a class all on its own!" Gohan dropped beside them without a single word.
"Oniisama!" Goten cheered at the sight of his big brother. "Where have you been? And how'd you turn super?"
"No time to explain," Gohan replied, his eyes never leaving Apocolypse. This was his first real glimpse of her, so he was getting every detail, looking for possible weaknesses.
"So you're the Golden Light," she laughed. "I was expecting something a little more…impressive, but you'll do. Just try not to destroy Chikyuu while we're fighting."
"What were you two doing?" Gohan asked his brother.
"We were fighting her!" Goten replied.
"How?"
"How else, stupid?" Trunks sighed. "The fusion dance, remember? We can turn super 3 if we wanted to, but dumb bitch over there knocked us apart!"
"Watch you're language," Gohan scolded, while Trunks rolled his eyes. "Clear off, okay? Go find your dad and mom. We need dragonballs, pronto!" The two boys nodded and took off, leaving Gohan alone with Apocolypse and Doom.
"What have you done with Devil?" Doom demanded. Gohan smirked slightly.
"I set her free," he replied. Doom scowled.
"You what?!"
"I said I set her-"
"I know what you said!" Doom's face contorted to an ugly grimace. "You'll pay! She may not have been blood, but she was an Armageddon!"
"Calm down, sister dear," Apocolypse said smoothly. "So what if an outsider was taken away. No biggie. Clearly we need no humans in our clan." Doom hesitated, but then agreed.
"Yes, you're right," she whispered. "Just an outsider…"
"Now what do you say we get down to business, hm?" Instinctively, Gohan got into a defence position. "Sit back, Doom. I'll show you how to eliminate pests like this one." Doom rolled her eyes, apparently not interested, and took off in search of her own prey. Apocolypse sprung forth from her spot, a fist aimed Gohan's way.
Dodging with lightning-quick reflexes, Gohan returned with his own punch, which was countered. For possibly 10 minutes, they traded fists, Apocolypse landing a majority of hers. They got air born and feeling a little bold, Gohan fired a beam at her. It looked as if it was going to hit, but suddenly, the beam disappeared with a flash.
"-the hell?" Gohan said, puzzled.
"Absorption, kid," Apocolypse replied dusting off her outfit. "Any gold light you send my way, I can absorb it in a second. Tough break, huh? And speaking of break…" She raced forward, landing a painful kick to Gohan's right arm, breaking it on impact. Gohan screamed out and nearly fell out of the sky as he dropped out of super mode. He grinded his teeth, suppressing his pain as best as possible.
"Not…again…" he groaned. "Why does someone always have to injure my arm in the most painful way?" A shadow covered his face. He timidly looked up at Apocolypse's looming figure. She sympathetically grasped his unharmed arm and patted it, as if she were comforting him.
"Poor mortal…" she whispered, taking his hand into hers. "You simply do not know how fortunate you are…and yet how unlucky you are for crossing my path. Most never live too long, but you…I like you." She ran her nails down each finger on his hand, making him shiver. "That's why killing you is going to be so un-fun." Without warning, she grabbed his index finger and bent it backwards. Gohan's eyes clenched tightly together and his jaw seemed glued together, but he would not cry out. "Oh c'mon," Apocolypse complained. "Scream for me. I wanna hear your voice." Opening one eye, Gohan glared at her.
"Fuck you…" he muttered. Now that was something totally against his personality. But at the moment, he was in a great deal of pain with the universe's biggest evil breathing down his neck. He had every right to be pissed.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, little brat," Apocolypse scolded. "Don't make me punish you. You won't enjoy it as much as I will." Another quick grab and another bend backwards, and Gohan now had two broken fingers. But he still would not cry out. "Come on!" Apocolypse yelled. "I'm getting bored! If you don't scream, then I'll just have to find someone who will. Say…your little girlfriend…Videl is it?" Gohan's eyes enlarged.
"NO!" he shouted. "Please, don't!"
"Then scream," Apocolypse scowled. She held his middle finger threateningly, but Gohan's pride would not allow him to yell out. "Scream, dammit!" She gripped his finger a little tighter. "It's either you or your girlfriend." Suddenly, after the sound of a violent kick, Gohan found himself about a mile away from Apocolypse. He was in the same place, but Apocolypse had been kicked somewhere else by…Chi-chi of all people.
"Gohan, are you alright?" she asked, examining every wound. Gohan tried to speak, but his voice got caught in his throat. Instead, he hugged his mother with one arm as a form of thanks. "It's okay…We've gotta get you outta here! C'mon…" Tenderly, Chi-chi helped him off the battlefield and into safe grounds. "What happened?" she finally asked.
"I…Videl…she's normal…" Gohan stuttered, unable to clearly think because of all the pain he was in.
"Normal? You mean you got her back?" Gohan nodded weakly. "Thank goodness! Where is she now?" Gohan would have pointed but both arms were feeling a little weak. "Forget that. Do you have any senzus?" He shook his head no. "It's alright, sweetheart. We'd better get you to Dende's then."
"No…" Gohan croaked. "…Can't leave…Apoco…get…I…"
"Shh…" Chi-chi whispered, placing her fingers to his lips. "If not Dende's, then what?" He didn't say anything. Carrying him as best as she could, the mother warrior began flying low to the ground to avoid detection. Then she spotted Videl sitting by herself beside a half-destroyed wall.
"Videl?" Chi-chi called. Videl's head shot up and she nearly mauled Chi-chi with hugs, but saw the condition Gohan was in.
"Omigod!" she shrieked. "What happened?!"
"He took on Apocolypse…" Chi-chi replied, laying him down. "Dende's is too far, now that I think about it." She placed her soot-covered hands over her forehead. "What are we gonna do?"
"Wait…Apocolypse?" Videl asked.
"Don't you know?" Chi-chi questioned.
"Look, the last thing I remember is that little fight me
and Gohan had. The rest is just a blur. He won't tell me what happened, so I'm
out of this little loop." Chi-chi hesitated.
"Videl dear…" She didn't get a chance to even start as Gohan began groaning,
trying to sit up. "Honey, lie back…"
"Lie?" Videl repeated as she concentrated. "Lies…too many…lies…" Suddenly, a white flash blinked in her mind. And then another flash appeared, like lightening. And with each flash, a new memory appeared in her mind. Things she didn't remember before began playing in her head. She had brief glimpses of the fight with Gohan, then trying to strangle him in the medical wing at school. She remember telling her father off, screaming at Erasa on the phone, calling her a cry-baby, insulting Gohan's dad. She recalled everything the Armageddon sisters told her, how she was the hostess to a special entity, how her soul could unlock Apocolypse from her containment…how Videl agreed to it all. But the thing that bothered her most was how cold she acted to Gohan.
As more memories flooded back to her, she slowly raised a hand to her mouth, traumatized at what her memories were telling her. He turned Super because of her. She pushed him too far. The scars on his face…it was her fault.
She was trying to kill him.
"It's all my fault…" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I nearly killed him…I almost killed him!" She grabbed her head. "Apocolypse…she's here because of me!" Chi-chi didn't say anything. "That's why Gohan wouldn't tell me who hurt him. It was me!"
"Videl…" Gohan murmured from his laid-back position on the ground. "It's not your fault…" Videl felt her breathing become uneven.
"Of course it is! The Earth is about to be destroyed and it's all my fault!"
"No…please don't…blame yourself…" Gohan began dozing off.
"Gohan?" Videl wept, placing her hands on his chest. "Please, wake up! Oh god…this whole mess really is my fault…I'm a dokufu! [2]"
"Videl, hon," Chi-chi piped in. "It wasn't you who did all this. It was a different woman named Devil. She was the one who hurt Gohan. She was the one who released Apocolypse. You had nothing to do with it!" Videl sniffed as she wiped away the tears that refused to stop coming.
"If that's true…" she mumbled bitterly. "Then why does my heart hurt so much? Why do I share the memories as this so-called 'different woman'? Why have I been permanently scarred because of what I've done?"
"The hurt will always be there," Chi-chi explained. "But as long as we forgive you, it shouldn't matter."
"But it does matter! How could you all possibly forgive me for letting the world die?! How can you all forgive me if you're all dead?!" Then Videl quickly covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Chi-chi replied, trying to smile warmly. "Things…are just so unfair right now…" She sniffed as her voice cracked. "I know how you feel…this feeling of helplessness, not being able to affect change when you need to most. Hell, it happens to me all the time! I've simply learned to cope. And I'm sure you'll learn in time that you're not at fault in this situation. You really had no choice in the matter! Please…just don't blame yourself…" Then there was a mild explosion in the distance, then another and another, making Chi-chi jump to her feet. "Oh no, she's coming back!" Videl turned to the source of each blast and got to her feet as well, moving towards the source. "Where are you going?"
"To correct my mistakes…" Videl replied. "Even if it means my life." Chi-chi gasped.
"No! Don't go, Videl! We can figure out another way! Just don't go!" She grasped the young teen's arm. "Gohan would never forgive me if I let you walk off…if something happened to you…" Videl sighed.
"I must leave," she responded solemnly. "I'm the only one who can stop her."
"What do you mean?" Chi-chi questioned, quite puzzled.
"I was in her mind!" Videl said with a gesture. "I know her conscious, her memories…her weakness." She looked at the horizon. "I know I can beat her."
*~*~*~*
[1] "Well, speak of my name." Sorta an ironic gag. When Devil's says that, it really means "speak of the devil." Get it? Oh boy, I try too hard.
[2] Dokufu means evil woman.