Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, I just like to play with the characters.
Grief Interrupted:
"Majin Buu is not defeated. . . we will have to fight him again."
Piccolo turned his back on the Supreme Kai, not deigning to answer him. He stood silent, contemplating the boy he had trained. The once-nuisance child had had earned his respect and even …affection, as much as he could feel it toward a human. Really when you come down to it, he had seen and been with Gohan more while he had grown up than his father had. The first year or two after Cell, his mother had hardly let him out of her sight. But after that, the boy would come to him and talk about his problems and he had listened (not that he cared) but Gohan didn't train properly when he was bothered, so he had listened and that had been enough. With a gesture, he materialized a cloth to shroud the two bodies before him.
The Supreme Kai left him to his reflections, settling down by the stream near Trunks to pursue thoughts of his own. When the boy started to whimper in his sleep, Shin had calmed him with a touch.
The night was not silent; there was the faint whine of insects and the wheeling cry of night-flyers that hunted them. Crickets chirped and the grass rustled as animals foraged nearby. Above it all, in the Namek's ears, was the rasping wheeze as Goku tried to breathe. Piccolo knelt, lifting him to a more comfortable position. *Kami, I wish I had Dende's healing power.*
"You guard your thoughts well, Piccolo." A slight smirk answered the Namek's snarl of response, then Shin became serious. "I have decided what needs to be done," he stated.
"And what is that?"
"I will take Goku to Dende for healing, then go to the otherworld to extend his stay and arrange Gohan's release."
"He will be alive again?"
Shin shook his head, "Only temporarily, like Goku, until Buu is taken care of."
Piccolo bowed his head, "What of the others?" *Vegita, Goten, Kabito?* he added silently, "Won't we need them?"
A small, purple-hued hand touched his arm. "I can only choose one. Gohan is our greatest hope."
"What am I to do?" He looked directly at the Supreme Kai.
Shin met his eyes; "You must remain here and tell the others about Majin Buu. Then you will meet me at Dende's Lookout. I have need of you, Piccolo." He placed his hands on the Saiyan, then the two disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bulma was pacing, the need for action overriding her pain. "All right, we need a fast jet- we won't all be able to go. How far away are they, Kurillan?" She rounded on the short man.
"About two thousand miles. Who's going besides you, me and ChiChi?"
"I will," Yamcha replied, "I'll pilot the jet, you're a bit stressed to do it, babe."
Furious, the blue-haired woman turned to the scarred man but her reply was cut off by a loud shout in the hall.
"VIDEL!" The strident bass tones of Hercule Satan echoed through the building, prompting everyone to look to the door whence it came to see the man standing over the collapsed form of his daughter. "Why are you here and what did you do my little girl?" he demanded.
"We did nothing to her," an old man walked forward leaning on a cane, and peered at the girl through his sunglasses, "She just fainted, that's all."
"She's strong, why should she do that?" the large man cradled his daughter and tapped her cheek lightly, "Come on, sweetheart, wake up for daddy," he crooned.
Nearer, another father was speaking to his daughter, "Come on, ChiChi, wake up. Goku needs you," the Ox King pleaded as he sprinkled some water on her face.
"Unnh... Dad... Goku's dead." ChiChi moaned as she started to recover.
"Not now, but you need to go to him," her father said sadly, propping her up.
As the rest of the group made plans, Kurillan watched Hercule and Videl and came to the conclusion that there had been more between the girl and Gohan than they'd been willing to admit.
"Ahh... Gohan..." the girl groaned, coming to.
"Videl, sweetpea, what's the matter?" her father questioned softly only to be answered with tears from the girl that never cried. "It's because of that boy, isn't it?" Hercule shook her. "He... you're not... not PREGNANT, ARE YOU?" he roared, gaining everyone's attention
again. Videl pulled away and started laughing hysterically through her tears. Oddly, it was Eighteen that came forward and gave her a slap to control herself while glaring at Hercule, daring him to do anything about it.
"Excuse me," Kurillan spoke.
"What d'you want, shrimp?" the big man snarled, looking for a target for his frustration.
The smaller man gritted his teeth, the idiot sure tried his patience, but he would be polite for the girl's sake, for Gohan's sake.
"She's upset because she heard when I told his mother that he's dead."
"Is that true?" Satan looked at his daughter who stood supported by Eighteen, taking deep breaths. Not receiving an answer from her, he finally really saw the others, recognizing some of the faces and seeing their resentment. "Yeah, well if he got himself killed, he must not have been that strong and Videl's better off without him around," he sneered to everyone's shock.
"Listen, mister," Kurillan growled, having had enough the man's crap, "Gohan was one of the strongest people in the world and he and others died in a fight to save the Earth again. A fight that you weren't invited to because you're so weak all but three people in this room could beat you and two of them aren't even human and the other would outsmart you."
"Why, I'll have you know that I'm the champion," Hercule blustered.
"Really?" Eighteen smirked at him and he paled, darting his eyes nervously at the unimpressed group.
"I...I, yeah," he tried to portray his usual confidence.
"A championship without real fighters is just a show," Kurillan dismissed.
"Oh yeah? Well, I bet I could beat you, half-pint!"
The smaller man, stung and having been gypped out of fighting earlier, thumbed his nose and replied with relish, "Bring it on."
AN: Sorry this segment was delayed. As always, thanks for the reviews. Good news, the next chapter is about ready. (Yahoo! Kurillan vs Hercule in a battle of strength and wit.) For your patience, I've written an editorial as a bonus. Enjoy!
EXTRA! EXTRA! SATAN CITY NEWS:
The World's Martial Arts Tournament was the scene of a possible terrorist attack yesterday. Our hero, Hercule Satan had just won the tournament again and was preparing for the awards ceremony, when four men appeared on the fighting arena. One of these was identified as the 'Gold Fighter' a.k.a.: the Great Sayaman, another was identified as Shin, who had left the fighting arena earlier under mysterious circumstances. ere accompanied by two other men who had a similar appearance to the 'Gold Fighter'. One of these proceeded to somehow blow up part of the stadium causing great damage. The people who had been sitting in the affected area are missing and presumed dead. The authorities are on the lookout for the Great Sayaman and these 'Gold Fighters'. Hercule Satan is quoted as saying, "It is a terrible, terrible thing. These men are very dangerous." Anyone who has any information on them and their identity are requested to contact the police.
This year's tournament had already been beset with unusual problems starting with the machines breaking down during the elimination round and the amazing end of the Junior Division. It continued with the vicious beating of city heroine, Videl Satan and then an attack on the fore- mentioned Great Sayaman by Spopovitch during his round, followed by the abandonment of the tournament by most of the remaining fighters leaving only five: Hercule, Jewel, Eighteen, Killa and Mighty Mask. During the last round, Mighty Mask was revealed to be two boys- Trunks Briefs and Goten Son, the finalist and semi-finalist of the Junior Division, and was subsequently disqualified. All in all, it had been an unsettling day with the only good outcome was when our hero, Hercule Satan, showed his prowess by winning the Championship title once again over second-place fighter Eighteen.
Grief Interrupted:
"Majin Buu is not defeated. . . we will have to fight him again."
Piccolo turned his back on the Supreme Kai, not deigning to answer him. He stood silent, contemplating the boy he had trained. The once-nuisance child had had earned his respect and even …affection, as much as he could feel it toward a human. Really when you come down to it, he had seen and been with Gohan more while he had grown up than his father had. The first year or two after Cell, his mother had hardly let him out of her sight. But after that, the boy would come to him and talk about his problems and he had listened (not that he cared) but Gohan didn't train properly when he was bothered, so he had listened and that had been enough. With a gesture, he materialized a cloth to shroud the two bodies before him.
The Supreme Kai left him to his reflections, settling down by the stream near Trunks to pursue thoughts of his own. When the boy started to whimper in his sleep, Shin had calmed him with a touch.
The night was not silent; there was the faint whine of insects and the wheeling cry of night-flyers that hunted them. Crickets chirped and the grass rustled as animals foraged nearby. Above it all, in the Namek's ears, was the rasping wheeze as Goku tried to breathe. Piccolo knelt, lifting him to a more comfortable position. *Kami, I wish I had Dende's healing power.*
"You guard your thoughts well, Piccolo." A slight smirk answered the Namek's snarl of response, then Shin became serious. "I have decided what needs to be done," he stated.
"And what is that?"
"I will take Goku to Dende for healing, then go to the otherworld to extend his stay and arrange Gohan's release."
"He will be alive again?"
Shin shook his head, "Only temporarily, like Goku, until Buu is taken care of."
Piccolo bowed his head, "What of the others?" *Vegita, Goten, Kabito?* he added silently, "Won't we need them?"
A small, purple-hued hand touched his arm. "I can only choose one. Gohan is our greatest hope."
"What am I to do?" He looked directly at the Supreme Kai.
Shin met his eyes; "You must remain here and tell the others about Majin Buu. Then you will meet me at Dende's Lookout. I have need of you, Piccolo." He placed his hands on the Saiyan, then the two disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bulma was pacing, the need for action overriding her pain. "All right, we need a fast jet- we won't all be able to go. How far away are they, Kurillan?" She rounded on the short man.
"About two thousand miles. Who's going besides you, me and ChiChi?"
"I will," Yamcha replied, "I'll pilot the jet, you're a bit stressed to do it, babe."
Furious, the blue-haired woman turned to the scarred man but her reply was cut off by a loud shout in the hall.
"VIDEL!" The strident bass tones of Hercule Satan echoed through the building, prompting everyone to look to the door whence it came to see the man standing over the collapsed form of his daughter. "Why are you here and what did you do my little girl?" he demanded.
"We did nothing to her," an old man walked forward leaning on a cane, and peered at the girl through his sunglasses, "She just fainted, that's all."
"She's strong, why should she do that?" the large man cradled his daughter and tapped her cheek lightly, "Come on, sweetheart, wake up for daddy," he crooned.
Nearer, another father was speaking to his daughter, "Come on, ChiChi, wake up. Goku needs you," the Ox King pleaded as he sprinkled some water on her face.
"Unnh... Dad... Goku's dead." ChiChi moaned as she started to recover.
"Not now, but you need to go to him," her father said sadly, propping her up.
As the rest of the group made plans, Kurillan watched Hercule and Videl and came to the conclusion that there had been more between the girl and Gohan than they'd been willing to admit.
"Ahh... Gohan..." the girl groaned, coming to.
"Videl, sweetpea, what's the matter?" her father questioned softly only to be answered with tears from the girl that never cried. "It's because of that boy, isn't it?" Hercule shook her. "He... you're not... not PREGNANT, ARE YOU?" he roared, gaining everyone's attention
again. Videl pulled away and started laughing hysterically through her tears. Oddly, it was Eighteen that came forward and gave her a slap to control herself while glaring at Hercule, daring him to do anything about it.
"Excuse me," Kurillan spoke.
"What d'you want, shrimp?" the big man snarled, looking for a target for his frustration.
The smaller man gritted his teeth, the idiot sure tried his patience, but he would be polite for the girl's sake, for Gohan's sake.
"She's upset because she heard when I told his mother that he's dead."
"Is that true?" Satan looked at his daughter who stood supported by Eighteen, taking deep breaths. Not receiving an answer from her, he finally really saw the others, recognizing some of the faces and seeing their resentment. "Yeah, well if he got himself killed, he must not have been that strong and Videl's better off without him around," he sneered to everyone's shock.
"Listen, mister," Kurillan growled, having had enough the man's crap, "Gohan was one of the strongest people in the world and he and others died in a fight to save the Earth again. A fight that you weren't invited to because you're so weak all but three people in this room could beat you and two of them aren't even human and the other would outsmart you."
"Why, I'll have you know that I'm the champion," Hercule blustered.
"Really?" Eighteen smirked at him and he paled, darting his eyes nervously at the unimpressed group.
"I...I, yeah," he tried to portray his usual confidence.
"A championship without real fighters is just a show," Kurillan dismissed.
"Oh yeah? Well, I bet I could beat you, half-pint!"
The smaller man, stung and having been gypped out of fighting earlier, thumbed his nose and replied with relish, "Bring it on."
AN: Sorry this segment was delayed. As always, thanks for the reviews. Good news, the next chapter is about ready. (Yahoo! Kurillan vs Hercule in a battle of strength and wit.) For your patience, I've written an editorial as a bonus. Enjoy!
EXTRA! EXTRA! SATAN CITY NEWS:
The World's Martial Arts Tournament was the scene of a possible terrorist attack yesterday. Our hero, Hercule Satan had just won the tournament again and was preparing for the awards ceremony, when four men appeared on the fighting arena. One of these was identified as the 'Gold Fighter' a.k.a.: the Great Sayaman, another was identified as Shin, who had left the fighting arena earlier under mysterious circumstances. ere accompanied by two other men who had a similar appearance to the 'Gold Fighter'. One of these proceeded to somehow blow up part of the stadium causing great damage. The people who had been sitting in the affected area are missing and presumed dead. The authorities are on the lookout for the Great Sayaman and these 'Gold Fighters'. Hercule Satan is quoted as saying, "It is a terrible, terrible thing. These men are very dangerous." Anyone who has any information on them and their identity are requested to contact the police.
This year's tournament had already been beset with unusual problems starting with the machines breaking down during the elimination round and the amazing end of the Junior Division. It continued with the vicious beating of city heroine, Videl Satan and then an attack on the fore- mentioned Great Sayaman by Spopovitch during his round, followed by the abandonment of the tournament by most of the remaining fighters leaving only five: Hercule, Jewel, Eighteen, Killa and Mighty Mask. During the last round, Mighty Mask was revealed to be two boys- Trunks Briefs and Goten Son, the finalist and semi-finalist of the Junior Division, and was subsequently disqualified. All in all, it had been an unsettling day with the only good outcome was when our hero, Hercule Satan, showed his prowess by winning the Championship title once again over second-place fighter Eighteen.