Legacy of Chaos
Chapter 15
Goku's eye bulged out when he saw what had happened to his oldest son. He was about to intervene, but Chi-chi beat him to the punch, knocking Apocolypse away by surprise. Then mother and son dropped to ground level and disappeared into the ruin city, masking their ki.
"Goku!" shouted a voice.
"Dad!" shouted another voice. Goku tried to turn to both voices, but ended up spinning in circles. Finally, Goten, Trunks, Erasa, and Sharpner made the scene.
"We need your help!" Trunks and Erasa yelled at the same time. Goku rubbed his head, looking back to the destroyed city where his wife and son were hiding.
"Uh…everyone needs my help right now!" he said, perplexed. Then the demi-saiya-jins and teen humans began talking at once, causing more confusion. "Hold on! One at a time!"
"We need the dragonballs!" Erasa yelled.
"Gohan needs your help!" Goten shrieked.
"Sukoshin said something about Dende!" Sharpner called.
"Apocolypse beat us up!" Trunks complained.
"WHAT?!" Vegeta roared from the back. "Someone, I don't care who, but someone better explain what's going on here, right now!"
"Gohan became the Gold Fighter again," Sharpner explained. "And it started tearing Chikyuu apart. But those two gods started doing a spell and it's holding Earth together, but Sukoshin-sama said we have to collect the dragonballs!"
"That's what Gohan told us!" Goten agreed. "He took on Apocolypse!"
"I saw that from here," Goku cut in. "Let's just say he won't be writing anything for a while." Erasa shuddered. "So basically, we need to dragonballs to wish for the Earth to repair itself."
"Uh…I guess," Sharpner replied, still unsure how these 'dragonballs' were supposed to help.
"Where's Bulma?" Goku enquired.
"I dunno!" Goten whined. "She was supposed to be with Mr. Satan and Buu!"
"It's going to be damn near impossible to find them," Goku groaned. "Well where's Krillin and the others?"
"Krillin took Marron and 18 to the airship after 18 got beat up," Trunks responded. "Yamcha's there too."
"Well then Bulma's probably there too. We can get the dragon radar from her!"
"She doesn't have the dragon radar on her, stupid!" Trunks yelled. "It's at home!"
"Damn!" Goku cursed. He levitated into the air. Putting his fingers to his forehead, he focused on Dr. Briefs' ki signal and vanished.
"Whoa!" Erasa awed. "How'd he do that?"
"Instant Transmission," Trunks replied, bored.
"He'll be back…" Vegeta snickered. "He always does."
*~*~*~*
Videl scanned the horizon in search of Apocolypse. As she did so, her eyes skimmed over all the destruction she had caused. Cairo and everything in a 20 mile radius. All her fault…
She blinked back her tears as images of Gohan's scarred face came to mind. It was horrifying, now that she could remember every detail. It had been like watching herself from the inside, doing all those horrible things. She was in there, having an out-of-body experience, unable to control anything she did. And that feeling of helplessness scared her.
And to think, this all could have been prevented had she not blew up at Gohan and over-reacted about the Armagen party incident.
But she had a chance to redeem herself for her misdeeds and foolish actions. She now knew how to stop Apocolypse. She had one chance to try, and she sure as hell wasn't going to blow it.
Remembering back to a conversation she had with Goku, he had explained everything about how a Genki Dama works. The Spirit Bomb was a collection of positive energy surrounding the user. Depending on how strong the need to defeat whatever evil was, the Genki Dama could be the best attack one could depend on. It was drawn to evil like a magnet and vaporized it in seconds. But Goku's Genki Dama had never encountered a being of pure evil in its essence. Pure evil worked differently than imbalanced evil did, this much Videl knew. She also knew that Apocolypse, being pure evil, drew in gold and pure white light, absorbing it as quickly as the Genki Dama was supposed to work. Therefore, Goku's Genki Dama would not work in this awkward situation. Nothing pure good would work. It would get absorbed into Apocolypse. So the only option was fight fire with fire.
Use evil against evil.
And Videl had plenty inside her at the moment.
She knew much about the Genki Dama, about how it drew in positive energy. Well she had to somehow reverse that effect. She had to draw in dark energy in order for her attack to work.
Her own little Kuro Dama [1].
Videl took a deep breath as Apocolypse destroyed things in the distance, trying to find her opponents and the one who knocked her away. The demoness was far from pissed. She was beyond pissed. Videl sucked in her breath sharply when the ground began to rumble. She didn't know how this was going to work exactly. Apocolypse might blow her concentration…or worse, attack her before she's near done the Kuro Dama.
Timing was everything.
Videl raised her arms high into the air, posing in a way similar to Goku when he prepared his Genki Dama. She closed her eyes and focused.
She chanted, "People with black hearts, animals with cruel objectives, evils all around me! Lend me your energy! Give me your darkness!" She felt a tug at her own life force as the air began to tingle. Black lights twinkled in the distances as dark mist began floated aimlessly towards Videl. Very soon, a black sphere formed above her outstretched hands. It was working!
*~*~*~*
Peril stiffened when she felt something inside her twitch and churn. Apparently Crisis was feeling the saw way began she held the same expression as her sister. Then they began to glow faintly black, if there were such a thing, and a mist began pouring forth from the aura. Erasa nearly jumped back when the two sisters' eyes turned black.
"What's up with them?" asked Sharpner shakily. Vegeta eyed them with a bewildered look on his face. For once, he didn't have the slight clue as to what was going on. He said nothing. Then he felt a weird pull in the pit of his heart, as if someone was trying to tap into something long since buried. Erasa, Sharpner, Goten, and Trunks felt similar feelings, looking around frantically for the source. Then Goku popped back into the scene.
"I'm back!" he exclaimed. "You…uh…guys?" Everyone was silent. "What's wrong?"
"Shh…" Vegeta whispered. "Do you sense that?" Goku looked up, concentrating, then frowned.
"It feeling like…Videl…" he finally replied. "Her ki's no longer clouded."
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Vegeta hissed. "We figured that out a while ago. Videl's doing something. It's seems…familiar, but different somehow." Again, Goku put on his thinking face, then brightened.
"She's using a Genki Dama!" he exclaimed. "Uh…wait a sec, how does she know how to do that?"
"It's not the Genki Dama." Vegeta zoned out for a brief second. "It's dark. She isn't collecting positive energy like you do, Kakorrot. She's collecting negative energy."
"Why would she want to do a silly thing like that? It won't hurt anyone!"
"Because she knows something we don't." Vegeta stared off towards Apocolypse's quickly approaching figure. "Up for a little protection operation?" Goku grinned.
"Definitely." They turned back to the remaining Armageddon Sisters. "What do we do with them?" Vegeta studied their motionless forms and their black eyes.
"Well, I don't have a damn clue why they're reacting differently, but we shouldn't waste our time on them." He powered up. "We'd better go before Apocolypse realizes what your brat's mate is up to."
"Right!" Goku powered up as well and was about to take off, but he quickly tossed Trunk the radar. "Go find the dragonballs, and wish for Earth to repair itself. You two," he turned to Erasa and Sharpner. "Head back to the airship where it's safe."
"At this point, nowhere is safe," Erasa muttered.
*~*~*~*
Videl held her breath when Apocolypse finally made the scene. Instinctive, Videl forced the Kuro Dama higher into the air, beyond the black clouds where no one would see it. Luckily, Apocolypse did not see this action as she landed in front of her.
"Where are they, hostess?" she demanded. "Where are those two insufferable creatures?" Videl shrugged as casual as possible. Apocolypse eyed her carefully, almost making Videl squirmed under her scrutiny. "Why do you raise your arms like that? Do you fear me?"
"Uh…" Videl stammered, quickly tapping into Apocolypse's conscious. "Of course I fear you! You are the Grand Sister, the epitome of evil itself! A lowly hostess like myself does not deserve to be your equal!" Apocolypse cracked a smile.
"I like the way you talk…" she purred as she approached Videl. "But you need not raise your arms. Put them down." Videl panicked. If she let her arms drop, the Kuro Dama would come down with them. It wasn't ready yet.
"I dare not…" she squeaked, trying to act the way she did just under 2 hours ago. "To do so would show disrespect to my master."
"Enough with the sweet talk!" Apocolypse barked. "You're hiding something! I can smell it." She circled Videl slowly, examining her. "Your heart…is lighter than it should be. A proper hostess needs a black heart. That much I know from sitting in that constricting cell of a statue!" She placed one hand on Videl's left arm. "I'm not going to ask you again. Put…your…arms…down." Videl squinted her eyes shut.
"No," she said boldly. Apocolypse growled and in response to Videl's words of defiance, she grabbed the human girl by her short hair.
"Traitor!" the demon accused. "I should have seen it sooner!" Videl gasped, thinking Apocolypse had discovered the Kuro Dama. "I didn't want to believe that boy, but you really are free. You still have the evil in you, but you're not under its control anymore." Videl cried out when Apocolypse's grip got tighter. "You aren't the hostess anymore…You mocked me by pretending you were…And besides…I was going to kill you anyway, hostess or no hostess. Why the hell would we need you anymore anyway?" In a way, this was better than Apocolypse discovering the Kuro Dama, but if she killed Videl, then it would disperse. And that was enough to alarm Videl.
"HELP!!" she screamed. "Somebody!!" Apocolypse sneered.
"No one's going to help you, foolish human," she scoffed. "They think you're evil, so why would they want to help someone who's evil?"
"Because we know she isn't," answered a voice. Apocolypse turned just in time to receive a nasty punch to the jaw, releasing Videl instantly. In front of her stood the two Saiya-jins, Goku and Vegeta. They both had a smirk on their faces and a glint of anticipation in their eyes.
"Well if it isn't you two…" Apocolypse hissed, rubbing her jaw. "Didn't I beat your asses before?" Not waiting for an answer, she charged them, temporarily forgetting about Videl. Taking a moment to thank the heavens for her saviour, Videl continued concentrating on completing the Kuro Dama.
'Are you sure you know how to use that?' asked a voice. Videl nearly had a heart attack, but recognized the voice as Goku.
'Yes,' she replied through her mind. 'Why do you ask?'
'Because no one has ever done what you're doing,' Goku responded. 'I want to make sure you don't go blowing up the planet.' He chuckled. Videl smiled weakly, only because she found it amusing that he could fight and talk at the same time.
'I won't, Goku-san.'
*~*~*~*
"Last one! I found it!" Goten chirped happily.
"Kinda funny its here!" Trunks laughed. The two boys were sitting on top of the Statue of Liberty, where they had found the last dragonball. There wasn't a single person in sight, mostly because after the earthquakes happened, most people abandoned tall buildings. There also weren't any boats or ships in the harbour because of the ongoing tsunamis and high tidal waves. Manhattan was mostly flooded.
"C'mon, Goten! Hand it over now so we can summon Shenron!" Trunks ordered.
"Here?!" Goten squealed. "But my dad said never to summon the dragon in front of normal people."
"We don't have time for this! The planet's falling apart! Besides, no one's gonna see. There aren't any people around!"
"Oh, okay!" Goten gladly handed over the 6 star dragonball.
"Now what should we say exactly?" Trunks put hand to his chin, acting like he was thinking.
"How about we wish for Earth to return to the way it was before Apocolypse was released?" Goten suggested. "People included." Trunks was almost amazed at how smart Goten was acting, but he didn't show it on the outside.
"I was gonna saw that, stupid!" he yelled. Goten grinned.
"Yeah right."
"Well hurry up! We don't got all day."
"You mean 'we don't have all day', Trunks!"
"Shut up!" The nine year old was about to whack Goten, but instead, yelled out for Shenron to arise. In a blinding light, the dragonballs glowed and Shenron, the dragon guardian, burst forth from the orange spheres. Winding and uncoiling, Shenron gave a mighty roar before solidifying and looming over all of New York. Inhabitants of New York peered out their windows, wondering what else could go wrong, and saw the great, wish-granting dragon floating above the Statue of Liberty. It was probably the most breath-taking sight anyone had ever seen.
Goten and Trunks' eyes were dazzled by the magnificent sight. Even if they had seen Shenron every day for the rest of their lives, they still could never get enough of the sight.
"I am Shenron," the dragon boomed. "State your two wishes and I will grant them!"
"Shenron!" Goten called. "I wish Chikyuu and everyone on it would return to the way they were before Apocolypse was set free from her statue!" Shenron's eyes glowed red briefly. Behind the kids, the waters that flooded Manhattan reseeded back to the ocean.
All over the world, earthquakes ceased, tornadoes dissipated, lightening stopped, tsunamis calmed, and volcanoes returned to mountains. Cities destroyed by Apocolypse, Devil, or any of the disasters were instantly repaired. Videl was given quite a shock when the buildings around her suddenly appeared back to normal in a span of half a second and one burst of light. Peril's hair, which had been burned pretty short, returned to its natural length. People harmed during all the natural disasters became healed, Gohan being one of them. Unfortunately, the scars remained on face only because that happened before Apocolypse.
Goten and Trunks whooped when things around them returned to normal.
"It has been done!" Shenron announced. "Your second wish?" Goten and Trunks froze.
"I forgot about that," Goten muttered.
"I wish you could bring back everyone killed because of Apocolypse!" Trunks blurted. "Let's see how well this works."
Around the world, people killed in floods, volcano bursts, earthquakes, and lightening bolts returned to life.
"I am done," Shenron declared. "I bid you farewell!" Then, as quickly as he was there, Shenron vanished into the dragonballs in a blinding flash of light. With him gone, the dragonballs raised into the air and disappeared in seven different directions, so they would be discovered a year later.
"We did it!" Trunks cheered. "Now the Earth won't explode!" He gave Goten a high-five. "We'd better get back and see if they need our help."
"Oh yeah," Goten remembered. "We still gotta fight Apocolypse."
"Damn! Now that I think of it, we should have used the dragonballs after we got rid of her!"
"But the Earth wouldn't have survived that long!"
"Yeah, I guess your right." Trunks smirked like his dad. "C'mon! What are you waiting for? Humans to turn super?" Goten gained a grin of anticipation.
"Yeah, let's get her!"
*~*~*~*
Gohan blinked few times, stretching his arm around. 'That's funny…I though it was broken…' He got up, ignoring his mother temporarily, who was fussing over him. He checked each finger, finding them to be in perfect working order, then wound his arm around, finding it was working better than good. Nothing hurt.
"They did it…" he thought out loud.
"Did what?" Chi-chi asked.
"I told Goten and Trunks to get the dragonballs."
"You trusted them with something that important?" Chi-chi snorted. "I'm surprised that they even got them…and fast!" Gohan began jogging in the direction he sensed Videl's ki and spotted her holding her hands high into the air.
"Videl!" he called. Videl's head shot in his direction.
"Gohan!" she cried, smiling, then looking distressful as he edged closer. "No! You have to stay back!" Gohan stopped.
"Why?" he asked, feeling a little hurt.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Videl answered honestly. She pointed up without moving her arms. Gohan looked up and saw the bottom of a black sphere, about the size of a rather small moon, sticking out from the canopy of dark clouds above their heads and near freaked out.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" he screamed. "Holy crap!!"
"Calm down…" Videl sighed. "It's a Kuro Dama and I'm going to use it against Apocolypse...but it's getting too big! I think I might have to move higher into the atmosphere and it almost done so-" Then realization dawned on her. "Your arm…it's okay. Now I feel left out on an explanation. What happened now? Did you get a senzu?"
"Ah…no. Goten and Trunks used the dragonballs, I'm guessing." Then he heard rumbling and the sounds of a fight nearby.
"Your dad and Vegeta are fighting Apocolypse," Videl explained, seeing the puzzled look on his face.
"Gotcha!" He turned to go. "Videl…promise me you'll be okay." Videl hesitated, looking away. "Please, just promise me."
"I can't…" she said softly. Gohan stared at her, not knowing what to do or say. Was she planning something stupid? Before he had a chance to question her, she levitated and flew upwards beyond the black clouds that refused to go away, taking the Kuro Dama with her.
"Please stay safe…" he whispered before flying after Apocolypse.
*~*~*~*
Sukoshin and Kaioshin looked around. They had stopped chanting the spell when everything around them returned to normal. Cairo was once again a great city and thunder slowly quieted down to silence. Sukoshin breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she and Kaioshin had managed to keep the planet from blowing up for so long. Then she blushed when she realized she was still holding Kaioshin's hand. Pulling away in embarrassment, she put on a sheepish grin.
"I guess Sharpner got the message to Goku," she said quietly.
"Yes, it is good that we have resourceful humans around to help us," Kaioshin agreed. An awkward silence followed. Finally Sukoshin sighed.
"Oh hell," she muttered. "If we don't live through this…" She quickly grabbed the back of Kaioshin's head and pulled him into a kiss. A few seconds later, she pulled back. "Alright, I think I'm ready to take on Majin Buu, Apocolypse and even all the Sisters at once." Kaioshin was left speechless, blushing.
*~*~*~*
Even with the odds stacked against her, Apocolypse still managed to hold her own against two full-blooded super Saiya-jins. She dodged all their pathetic moves with ease, as if she were dancing at a club or a ball. Goku and Vegeta were quickly tiring out, having been fighting for the past 6 hours and not getting any rest since the morning the day before. For Vegeta, he had been awake for 30 hours now. Normally, that was nothing. But a Saiya-jin does deserve rest from fighting every now and then. This was torture!
Apocolypse pummelled them with dark ki blasts left and right, not giving them any breathing room. She didn't have a scratch on her.
"What's the matter, boys?" she taunted. "Am I too much for you?" Vegeta growled and launched forward, trying to land a punch on her, but she caught his fist. "You wouldn't dare hit a lady."
"You're not much of a lady," Vegeta sneered, despite the fact his fist was in danger of being broken. And that was just what Apocolypse would have done…if she hadn't been interrupted by Goku, who kicked her arm, freeing Vegeta.
"You really need to watch what you say," Goku warned.
"Yes, it just slipped out," Vegeta muttered sarcastically. "What have I told you about helping me, Kakorrot?"
"Do whenever you feel it necessary," Goku replied, equally sarcastic. He teleported behind Apocolypse, catching her in a lock. "Hit her now!"
"I know!" Vegeta barked, swing his fists into Apocolypse's stomach. She barely flinched from it all. "C'mon, damn you! What are you made out of? Steel?" Apocolypse sighed before flinging Goku off her back and into Vegeta.
"Bored now…" she yawned, stretching her wings out. She flapped her bat-like wings strongly, producing a dark haze. "Sleep." The dark cloud passed over the two Saiya-jins' head, putting them to sleep at once. "Sweet dreams." Apocolypse smirked and looked back to where Videl was supposed to be. "Oh damn! Where'd the little bitch go? I didn't get to find out what she's hiding!" Looking all around, and stretching out her sixth sense, Apocolypse saw something glowing black from above the clouds. "Bingo." She was about to go after the source, but a figure stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gohan asked, hands on his shredded Saiyaman suit. Apocolypse gave him a look that said 'I'm not impressed.'
"You again…Back for another round of beatings? I thought I broke your arm!"
"I got better," Gohan snickered, intentionally stalling for time so Videl could finish whatever she was doing.
"Quaint," Apocolypse muttered. Then she clasped her hands together. "Well, I could always fix that!" She sprang forward with the intention of kicking Gohan in the arm again, but Gohan dodged effortlessly. "Nani?!"
"Do you know much about Saiya-jins?" he asked, flexing his arms. "They get stronger after every battle." He punched Apocolypse across the face. "That phrase 'Whatever doesn't kill me can only make me stronger' comes into play very well in this situation," He wound up for another hit. "I may not be strong enough to take you down," he punched her again. "But I am strong enough to defend myself now." Another punch hit home. "And I'm the least of your worries right now anyway." He threw another punch, but Apocolypse caught it.
"What do you mean you're the least of my problems?" she demanded. Gohan grinned.
"The very woman who brought you back into this world is going to take you out again."
"You mean that pathetic excuse for a hostess?" Apocolypse was alarmed, but she hid it very well with a sneer. "Why should I be afraid?"
"She knows something about you…something the rest of us didn't know…your weakness…" Apocolypse nearly gasped, but held it in. She should have known from the start that Devil would obtain her secrets during this summoning. But she never counted on the Golden Light actually turning her back to the good side. Now she really had to kill the hostess. And fast.
Not wasting another second, she slammed Gohan aside and started flying towards the glowing black orb, but was stopped again by two short figures.
"Stop right there!" Trunks yelled. "We want a rematch!"
"People who go to hell don't get rematches," Apocolypse answer innocently. "Now beat it!" She fired two dark ki beams at the boys, but they dodged and did zigzags to throw Apocolypse off. Catching her off-guard, Goten kicked her in the back while Trunks kicked her across the face.
"That's for the sucker-punch!" he yelled. Apocolypse grabbed him by the hair and threw him towards the ground. Then she blasted Goten off with a black ki ball. Moving towards the canopy of clouds once more, she was stopped again by Chi-chi and Piccolo.
"Where do you people keep coming from?!" Apocolypse screamed, almost ready to pull her hair out. "Buzz off!!" Ch-chi ignored her threats and launched at her from the left, using some martial arts moves she had learned from her father while Piccolo attacked from the right.
"I'll teach you to go after my daughter-in-law!" she yelled, trying to punch Apocolypse. The demon was about to strike Chi-chi down, but Gohan had finally recovered from the sneak-attack and clobbered Apocolypse with a round-house kick. Then, he gave her a clothes-hanger strike and landed a kick on her left leg.
"Hurry up, Videl!" he yelled to the clouds above him while trying to hold Apocolypse down.
*~*~*~*
Videl held her breath as she collected the last of the energy she needed…but she felt so terribly weak…and she knew why. She began descending towards the ground so she would be able to get a clear shot at Apocolypse. Gulping once to try removing the lump in her throat, Videl went through the clouds and saw solid ground once more. She could see everything from where she was. A bit further north, Krillin, 18, Marron, Erasa, Sharpner, Bulma, Majin Buu, Mr. Satan, and Yamcha were cowering around the airship. They probably didn't have a clue what was going on other than Cairo being restored. More south, lying on the ground was Crisis and Peril, still black-eyed, but not looking so pale, and further west, Doom was in a similar state. A bit east, Goku and Vegeta appeared to be passed out, snoozing. Then directly below Videl, Gohan, Piccolo and Chi-chi were tag-teaming against Apocolypse while Goten and Trunks were on the ground, cheering for the three.
"It's now or never…" Videl whispered. She looked up, knowing the Kuro Dama was just waiting for her command to destroy Apocolypse. And thank Kami too. Her arms were getting really tired.
"HEY!!" she shouted to the occupants below her. "Gohan! Chi-chi! Piccolo! Clear off!!" The two Sons and the Namek didn't need to be told twice. They were gone in half a second flat, leaving Apocolypse by herself. "So long Apocolypse!" Finally, Videl let her arms drop. The air around her began to tingle with anticipation of what was to come. Apocolypse didn't look impressed yet.
Suddenly, a massive, enormous black sphere just a tad bit smaller than Pluto burst forth from the canopy of clouds behind Videl. The Kuro Dama sparkled and crackled with energy. It was truly a spectacular sight for all who were present to see it. The former hostess smirked. Apocolypse paled.
"This baby is made up of all the negative energy flowing through this planet!" Videl called, arms crossed. "There's enough here to obliterate ever last molecule in your body! And who would have guessed Earth was an abundant source of dark ki?" Apocolypse began wheezing, never being so terrified in her life. In fact, this was the fist time she had ever been afraid before. The Kuro Dama inched its way slowly towards Chikyuu's surface.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Apocolypse screamed, trying to regain some composure. "You'll destroy Earth along with me! You're being foolish!"
"Nope!" Videl chirped. "Dark ki doesn't work on landforms. I think you should know best, since every planet you've destroyed…you haven't really destroyed. Only wiped completely of life." Videl was showing off her use of Apocolypse's memories in her subconscious. "Any last words?" Apocolypse growled loudly, then let out a scream of frustration. Wildly cursing, she blindly threw a ki blast at Videl. The raven-haired girl gasped, not expecting that, and the blast hit her dead on in the stomach. No one had saw this because the Kuro Dama had been in their line of sight. She nearly fell out of the sky if she didn't remember she needed to control the Kuro Dama. Focusing as best as she could while suppressing the pain of her wound, she willed the Kuro Dama to move faster. Apocolypse raised her arms in a defensive position to stop the Kuro Dama, like so many villains had done with Goku's Genki Dama, but the Kuro Dama did not stop. Instead, it slipped in-between her fingers.
"No!" she screamed. "Dammit! No!" The Kuro Dama engulfed Apocolypse completely. Shrieks were heard from inside before everything became completely calm and the Kuro Dama dispersed. The black clouds above everyone's heads disappeared and the beautiful afternoon sky was seen.
Silence followed for many moments before the silence was broken by Trunks and Goten's cheering. Gohan cracked a smile while Chi-chi laughed and pulled on his arm, as all the fighters and non-fighters around the airship let out a cheer as well. Sukoshin and Kaioshin smiled warmly, though both were stifling their urges to scream for joy.
No one thought it could be done. They thought Apocolypse was invincible. They were wrong, thank the gods. Gohan shook his mother off for a moment to see how Videl was taking things…but she wasn't in the air where he thought she'd be. Instead, she was plummeting towards the ground.
"Videl!" he yelled, bursting into action. Moving fast than the eye could see, he arrived just in time to catch Videl from her free-fall. "Videl, are you alright?" He quickly caught sight of her wound in the mid-abdomen, bleeding somewhat. "Oh god…" The rest of the Z group was by his side in seconds. Videl was breathing heavily as she slipped in and out of consciousness.
"What happened?" Chi-chi yelled above the murmured. "How'd she get hurt?!"
"It's not fair…" Gohan whispered. "We beat Apocolypse and yet…something like this was just bound to happen…"
"I'm sorry…" Videl choked, holding her stomach in pain. "I didn't mean…those awful words I said…about your father…He's a great man…and I'm just a…" Gohan calmed her down and held her hand supportively. Sukoshin pushed her way to the centre of the group and examined Videl carefully.
"Don't we have anymore senzu beans?!" Bulma asked frantically.
"I used the last one on Trunks," Goten admitted sorrowfully. "Please don't die Videl!"
"I don't think a senzu would have done much except heal the wound…" Sukoshin finally said, very upset. "That last attack…took everything from her…" She checked Videl pulse every three seconds. "Did you know what you were getting yourself into?" she asked the teen girl. Videl nodded solemnly.
"What do you mean?" Gohan asked worriedly. Sukoshin sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"I mean she intentionally used every last bit of her dark ki," she explained. "You know as well as I do one cannot live without a part of both light and dark. I've seen people use the Kuro Dama before. Every time, the result is the same. The user's dark ki is sapped dry. Without dark ki, they pass away…"
"You mean Videl's gonna die, even with a senzu bean?!" Gohan yelled. "No! There's gotta be another way!"
"I'm sorry…" Gohan couldn't believe it. Videl knew along that this would kill her! That's why she wouldn't promise she'd be alright. "I'm so sorry…but there is none…wait…there is something!" Everyone was jolted out of they morbid thoughts. "I…I can't think of the object! It's on the tip of my tongue! Damn, what is it?!"
"The hostess essence?" asked a tiny voice. Everyone turned to see little bashful Marron staring at Sukoshin with big bright eyes. Sukoshin looked back, feeling a mix of emotions, mostly a cross between absolute praise and happiness, and surprise. Marron had been able to pick out the right item because she was not as panicky as everyone else. Being nervous or edgy tended to make people not think too clearly, therefore make bad judgements or rash decisions.
"That is exactly what we need…" Sukoshin whispered, wanting to take Marron and hug her. "But where is it?"
"West wall of the Great Pyramid," Marron answered happily.
"Of course…" Sukoshin was becoming more and more surprised as to how Marron knew more about the essence than she did. "How did you know?"
"You told me!" Marron replied. Of course she remembered. Sukoshin probably though at the time that the young little girl wouldn't remember and only pretend to understand, but Marron really did have a great memory and a high understanding of most things explained to her.
"Yes…Trunks, you take Marron to go get the sphere! Marron, I'm guessing you know what it looks like."
"Yep."
"Good. But we still need a senzu for Videl's injury, or the hostess's essence sphere will be not good!" While Trunks and Marron took off to retrieve the essence orb, Gohan zoned out for a moment, patting the pocket of his Saiyaman suit. He froze when his fingers trailed over a tiny, marble-sized object in the left pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out a tiny…green…senzu.
"Oh my god…" he mumbled. It was the senzu his mother had given him that day she did laundry and found it in one of his pants pockets. "I've got one!" he yelled, holding the life-saving bean in his hand. "I found one!"
"Are you serious?!" Chi-chi freaked. "Thank Dende! Everything's gonna be okay then!"
"I was so worried!" Erasa agreed, relaxing a bit. Trunks and Marron returned from the wreckage of the Great Pyramids with a blackish-red orb in Marron's tiny hands. Sukoshin expressed her thanks and took the sphere, then held it awkwardly above Videl body's, which was supported by Gohan.
"Um…any idea how it works?" Kaioshin asked, staring at the sphere, puzzled. Sukoshin began sweating.
"I think…I'm not sure…" she whimpered.
"You hold it above her heart," offered a voice. Sukoshin spun around to see Peril with her arms crossed across her chest.
"Why should we trust you?"
"Look, you don't have much time or a choice. Either you take my advice and she lives…or you let her die." Sukoshin bit her bottom lip and followed Peril's instructions. She placed the essence sphere above Videl's heart. The sphere glowed red and disappeared into Videl's body. "There, see?" Videl gasped, but did not open her eyes. This was actually a good sigh that showed she was still alive.
"Why are you helping us anyway?" Goku asked the blue-haired half-demon. Peril sighed.
"I never wanted to be a bad guy. Doom dragged me into this. I just want to be one of those redeemable heroes that make a final effort to be good."
Sukoshin checked Videl's pulse again, which was slightly stronger.
"Now the senzu…" she whispered. Gohan placed the bean in Videl's mouth and massaged her throat to get her to swallow, but she didn't. He tried again, but got the same results.
"She won't take it!" he exclaimed fearfully. "I don't know what's wrong!"
"If she won't take it…she might…" Goten sniffed, wiping his tears. Gohan had to think quick. How else could he give her the senzu bean? It was like she was rejecting it on purpose. Then one idea popped into his mind and he nearly threw aside that idea if it wasn't the only idea he had to go on. It was just so…embarrassing…but it was the only way to give her the senzu.
"Guys…" he said, calling everyone's attention. "I think the only way…to get her to take the senzu is if…" He gulped. "I give it to her by…um…" He silently pleaded to Sukoshin to help him out. Sukoshin clicked in with what he had planned.
"Just do it, Gohan! We don't have much time…" she encouraged. Gohan took a deep breath. He nodded and looked to Videl's face.
'I already did it once before day…so I can do this again…but there weren't any people gawking.' Shaking off all his fears and doubts, Gohan followed through with his idea shyly. He popped the senzu bean into his own mouth and leaned down, very gently kissing Videl. Chi-chi and Mr. Satan nearly went berserk for totally different reasons. Goten and Trunks were very close to bursting out laughing. Bulma thought the whole thing was romantic and scolded Vegeta for not doing something like that with her, while he only rolled his eyes. Goku didn't have a clue as to why a kiss would help in this situation.
In a moment's time, the magic healing bean had done its job and healed the wound in Videl's stomach (only now did Goku understand what the kiss was for). Videl's eyes twitched for a moment, then relaxed as her hand found its way onto the back of Gohan's neck. Finally, Trunks and Goten could not contain their giggles and burst into laughter. Videl's eyes snapped open and she quickly saw her surroundings. Turning an odd shade of red, Gohan quickly pulled back.
"Gomen!" he apologized. "Gomen nasai! I'll never do that again, I swear, never without your permission." Everyone couldn't help but smile or giggle at this sight, Gohan acting like a goof and Videl acting like she was Sleeping Beauty, just waking up from the longest slumber of her life.
"Gohan…it's alright," Videl assured.
"Are you okay?" he asked quickly. "You're not hurt anymore, are you?"
"I'm fine!" Videl replied. Gohan eagerly hugged her, hiding the tears that were forming in his eyes.
"I was so worried," he said, his voice muffled by her shoulder. "You scared me half to death with that stunt! God, I'm so thankful you're alive." Videl returned the hug.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," she whispered weakly with a soft smile. There was an appreciated silence before Sukoshin cleared her throat.
"We should get back," she whispered, so not to disturb the teens. "I'm sure everyone's tired…so we'll take the airship and turn it to autopilot." The others murmured in agreement, each turning to leave. Soon, it was just Sukoshin, Gohan, and Videl left. "Videl…" Videl looked up at the sound of her name. "I wanted to wait until everyone was gone."
"Maybe I should…" Gohan mumbled.
"No, stay. This involves you too." Sukoshin took a deep breath and sat down beside the two. "So…the whole time…you knew the Kuro Dama would cost you your life…why did you do it then?" Videl looked down, ashamed and wiped her cheeks of dirt.
"I thought…it was the best attack anyone could use…" she answered. "I thought it didn't matter what happened to me, as long as the planet's safe."
"I could have thought of a million better attacks to use…" Sukoshin whispered. "Of course, I'd never be able to use them like you." Gohan looked back and forth from Sukoshin to Videl. "There must have been a different reason."
"I…" Videl stammered. "I…I used all my ki and darkness because…I didn't want to…live." Gohan gasped. Sukoshin's expression changed from content to worried.
"What?" Gohan nearly yelled. "You can't be serious…" He looked into her eyes, so full of sorrow. "You are serious…why?"
"You know why!" Videl shouted. "Look around! Look how much pain I caused! Look at how many people suffered because of me! My life is ruined! I yelled at my dad, told off all my friends, screamed at the police chief, and I tried to kill you! I even had the nerve to insult your father…those cruel things I said…" Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing. All that…was enough to drive her to suicide? "It was my fault Apocolypse was released…" She choked back a sob as tears trailed down her face, then she traced her fingers along the cuts on Gohan's face. "It's my fault you have those scars on your face…" Gohan took her hand.
"It's not your fault…" he whispered. "Don't you think if we thought it was your fault, we would have said so? If we really thought you did those things on your own, we would have let you die then and there! But we didn't! We saved your life because we care about you! Look…some people in your position would never get over something like this…but I know you can. You're too strong to let a few inconveniences bring you down!"
"If I'm so strong, then how'd the Sisters get control of me in the first place?!"
"You were strong! You fought the spell, remember?" Videl froze.
"I did?"
"Of course! When they cast the spell that afternoon, you started screamed for nearly ten minutes. You were resisting the spell! Sukoshin said not many can do that!" Sukoshin nodded in agreement. "And you're life's not ruined! So you told off your father. He knows why now and he still loves you. You screamed at the police chief. He doesn't care, he thought you were sick that day. You yelled at your friends. They'll get over it. You tried to kill me…" Videl whimpered. "I'm still alive, aren't I? And even after all that…I still love you…" Videl's head shot up.
"You what?" she breathed.
"I…love you…I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you…remember how you dragged me to the tournament last year? If we hadn't gone, Babidi would have released Buu and we'd all be dead anyway…" She began crying a little harder. She understood now. Life was a precious thing and she nearly threw hers away. She didn't even consider anyone else's feelings when she flew off the handle with her attack. She didn't even think that Gohan might've care a great deal. But now she felt at peace. The pain still lingered, but she knew she wasn't alone.
"Gohan…" she whispered. Instead of talking, she kissed him passionately. Pulling away, she smiled when he blushed. "You have my permission now…"
"Guh?" he mumbled.
"Permission to kiss me, silly!" She and Gohan began to laugh. "I love you, Son Gohan." She gave him a big hug. "I'm just wondering why it took me so long to figure that out." She laughed a little. "We'd better get back…the others are probably wondering where we are." Gohan nodded and lifted Videl off the ground, carrying her back to the airship along side Sukoshin.
The trip back to Capsule Corp. was uneventful. The group was very wary of Peril, who had accompanied them. But Sukoshin confirmed that the girl's mind was no longer clouded. Apparently when Videl had been drawing energy for her Kuro Dama, Peril, Doom, and Crisis' dark ki had been cut in half. Now none of the girls were capable of evil intentions. Of course, Peril was the only one to admit so.
Ch-chi and Mr. Satan were fussing over Videl, checking that she was alright. Marron now had a new level of appreciation and admiration from her parents. Goten, too, was looked at in a new light, because he proved his intelligence back in the pyramids and resourcefulness with the senzu beans from Korin and the dragonballs, collected and summoned in record timing. Even Chi-chi was given credit for helping out Gohan when he needed it most. And she was also praised for giving Gohan the live-saving senzu bean on that laundry day. The two teens, Erasa and Sharpner, received commendations for saving Gohan's life back in Cairo and for helping to tap into Videl's good side.
Bulma discussed having a party to celebrate yet another battle won to keep Chikyuu safe. It'd probably be held a few days later because right now, everyone just wanted to sleep. For the most part, after congratulations were handed out, 3/4 of the crew went straight to sleep. Marron was curled up on Trunks' lap, and Goten was sleeping beside his mother, snoring loudly. Gohan and Videl made a rather cute sight. Videl was asleep in his arms, while Gohan was resting his head on the window beside him. The only ones wide awake were Buu, 18, Kaioshin, and Sukoshin. Even Vegeta had dozed off, muttering something about the longest fight in his life.
Arriving back to Capsule Corp. around sundown, the exhausted crew dragged themselves inside and to random guest bedrooms to take a long, long nap. Chi-chi nearly yelled at Gohan when he took the same room as Videl, but Mr. Satan calmed her down, saying they were responsible.
Gohan gently placed Videl in her bed and turned to get a cot, but he heard her mumble his name.
"Where are you going?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm getting a spare bed from Bulma," Gohan answered, suppressing a yawn.
"Don't go…" she whispered. "I don't wanna be alone…" Not really know what to say, Gohan sat on the side of the bed. Videl sat up a bit. "You don't have to sit all the way over there. There's enough room for two people." Gohan flushed red as he crawled timidly beside Videl.
"Are you sure…?" he asked. "I mean…I could just get the cot and…"
"It's no problem." She smiled warmly. "I just…I don't want you to go…I wanna make sure I really didn't…kill you…" She sniffed as her eyes flooded with tears again. "The memories…they keep coming back…" Gohan gently wiped away her unshed tears.
"Don't cry…" he whispered. "I'm still here. I'm still alive! See?" He patted his chest to show he wasn't a ghost.
"I know it sounds silly, but…" Videl sniffed again, rubbing her eyes. "For a second, I truly thought you were dead…and it was my fault."
"We've been through this…it wasn't your fault…nothing was." He smiled. "You want me to just lie next to you?" Videl smiled.
"Sure. Anything to remind me you're alright." She wrapped her arms around Gohan's waist and closed her eyes. "Kagirinai heiwa."[2] Gohan blinked a few times and was about to question Videl, but she was already sound asleep. Thinking it was a random outburst, he shook it off. But her words did have a hidden mean. This was the last time they'd have to risk someone's life to save the world. This was the last time he'd have to worry that Videl's life was in danger. Eternal peace.
*~*~*~*
Next Saturday, Bulma held her party with everyone invited. Even Dende arrived, apologizing for not helping very much during the big fight. It was a big feast, and since Vegeta wasn't sure if the chefs would make enough food, he helped out with the cooking (O.o). While Gohan had been talking with Videl, Chi-chi eavesdropped and announced to everyone present that Gohan and Videl were dating. Then she and Bulma began making plans for their wedding and what sort of clothes their kids would wear. At the end of the night, Sukoshin and Kaioshin bid everyone a fond farewell, for this was the last time they'd be allowed to interfere with mortals lives. But, as Sukoshin later said, mortals were welcomed to interfere with the gods' lives. All they had to do was use the heavenly portal installed on Kami's lookout.
Generally, everyone agreed it was the most action packed March Break they had every had.
The following Monday morning back at school, Gohan, Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa acted as if nothing eventful had happened during their March Break. When asked by fellow classmates if they felt the earthquakes, the teens replied 'What earthquakes?'
When others saw Gohan and Videl hanging out together, they assumed the two had made up after the fight they had at the Armagens, so the others treated Gohan with a higher amount of respect. And speaking of the Armagens, Peril and Crisis returned to school as well, going by their alter egos and doing their best to make up for the trouble they had caused. Doom refused to associate with 'mere humans' and left Earth on her ship, leaving Crisis and Peril homeless. Feeling bad for the two, Videl offered them the guest bedrooms at her mansion until the two were old enough (or at least looked old enough) to get their own house.
Things returned to normal rather quickly. Videl got over her experience, with lots of help from her new boyfriend, Gohan, and her ever-closer friends, Erasa and Sharpner. And the whole incident had caused Erasa and Sharpner to become closer.
Sukoshin and Kaioshin also began a relationship. By order of the Council of the Gods, they reappointed Sukoshin as the Supreme Kai, but she turned it down, saying she didn't deserve it. She wasn't the one who fought Majin Buu twice and lived. Much later, she received tips from Bulma concerning her and Kaioshin's wedding.
Vegeta, feeling guilty for not cooking more often, spared his son of eating anymore of Bulma's cooking and took on the job for full-time cook of the house, when he wasn't training in the gravity room.
Using the excuse that video games saved everyone's butts, Goten was given more puzzle games for his Playstation, such as Dragon Warrior 7, Final Fantasy 10, and other widely known titles.
Gohan never teased him about playing too many games again.
*~*~*~* The End *~*~*~*
FINALLY DONE!! Whew, that was a lot of typing! I'm so glad I got this done before school started up again!
[1] Kuro means dark/black and Dama, as you should all know, means bomb.
[2] Kagirinai heiwa means 'Eternal/endless peace/harmony'.