Hello, my friendly readers. Here goes the next chapter to the soon-ending "A Prince's Past". Sorry for the delay of this chapter. School and personal things have conflicted with my writing time, but never fear! I will never let you people down. Enjoy this chapter!

Special thanks to reviews from:
DBZ Fanfiction Queen
Furea
Starlit
vegeta's little princess
Anime Writer Karica

Disclaimer: I am smart. I am dumb. I am what you can and cannot see. But what I am not, my friends, is the owner of DBZ.
A dust storm the size of Canada suddenly appeared after a huge explosion, leaving the bemused party of about 11 of the Z-warriors fighting to see and wonder what was going on. All they knew was that Vegeta had been released from his cage of fire and Kumberelle had risen to the sky, but in the midst of their celebration that Vegeta was ok, there was an explosion and everything was fuzzy and swarming with rock dust and smoke. Bulma was near tears, fearing that her husband had perished in the explosion that seemed to come out of nowhere, but when the looming cloud of smoke finally disappeared, Bulma saw that he was in front of her, holding her and shielding her from the debris floating in the air. She'd never felt so relieved in her life, and she immediately brought her arms around Vegeta's neck and kissed him, laughing and crying at the same time, happy as hell that he was ok.

"Calm down, woman," Vegeta told her, looking disgusted and a little embarrassed by the sudden act of affection from his wife. "Nothing to get too excited about." He looked down at his son, who he'd also scooped up in just the nick of time and who was looking around with a very confused expression. "After all, our son had everything under control."

"Yes, he did," Bulma agreed and smiled tenderly at both men in her life.

"What happened, Dad?" Goten asked, as he rubbed his eyes and looked into the now clear sky.

"I'm not sure, Goten," Goku told him honestly. He was just as confused as Goten was.

"Where's Kumberelle?" Krillin asked to no one in particular. Everyone was looking around for the enemy like a Saiyan looks for a meal, which is very extensively.

"She's gone," Piccolo said without hesitation, and he looked as though the explosion had no effect on him.

"Well we figured that one out, Mr. Know-It-All," Vegeta said in his normal smart ass tone, and made Bulma smile to be able to hear his nasty comments again. "What happened was that she self-destructed."

"Why?" Gohan asked curiously.

"I can answer that one, for it was my plan that put her up to it," Trunks looked even more cocky and victorious than his father had ever looked. "You see, I made her feel so guilty by what I was saying that she couldn't handle it. She didn't want to kill Dad like so many of those people she hated would have, like Frieza and King Vegeta, so she just went BOOM! Adios, amigos. She's gone." He smiled wickedly, arrogance evident on his features. He was extremely proud of himself, with good reason. After all, he did save his father's life, although he had to admit, he didn't expect her to kill herself over it.

"Impressive, Trunks," Goku commented. The sky was finally clear and everyone could indeed see that Kumberelle was nowhere to be found. Her ki had immediately dispersed as well, and the only clue that she was ever there was the spaceship that sat just beyond.

"What are we going to do about the spaceship?" Krillin asked.

Everyone looked around, wondering the same thing, then Bulma said, "I want to take it. You know, for research."

Vegeta looked at her funny when she said it, but shrugged and simply picked her up and floated down to it with their son so that they could transfer the ship to a capsule to be transported to Capsule Corp. The others simply disappeared, thinking that since the enemy was gone, the show was over and there was no need to stay there. The only remaining people were the Sons and Videl, who was off to the side talking with Gohan.

"Weird..." She said, in regards to the fight. It didn't make sense to her that Kumberelle would simply take her own life after going through the long, tiresome battle, not to mention the whole trip from wherever she was to Earth.

"I know," Gohan said. Even he had to admit that it was an unusual fight.

There was a long pause then, as Videl looked out over the many mountains and boulders with a look somewhat akin to sadness. It made even Gohan sad as he saw the look in the lavender-blue eyes he loved so much, and he gently touched her shoulder with a look of concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Videl looked somewhat startled as she stepped out of her trance. "What? Oh... yeah... I'm fine."

"Does this have something to do with your mother not coming back?"

Videl sighed as she turned away from him. "I don't know... I guess... It is a little hard to digest, after I've been so happy all day and so excited to finally be able to see my mom after so many years. It just makes me so... so damn mad, you know?" Gohan nodded as she continued. "Well, of course you know. The same thing happened to you." Gohan nodded again as he thought of it, his own eyes growing sad. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Very much so," Gohan replied, with a glance at his father. He was playing around with Goten while his mother watched them, and it made his heart ache to think about him leaving. "Goten's going to be crushed when Dad leaves.... hell, so am I."

Videl nodded sympathetically. She knew how that felt now more than ever. "But look on the bright side," She said, to lighten his spirits. "At least you have the rest of the month with him."

Gohan smiled. "Yeah, you're right. And that does make me feel a lot better."

Videl smiled and Gohan's heart made one of those familiar leaps into his throat. It made him sick to even think of holding in his feelings any longer, and yet when he finally had the words all worked out in his mind, his brain seemed to have cramp or some sort of temporary deficiency, because he could never work the words from his brain to his mouth. He wanted to scream and possibly blow up something, he was so angry.

"Hey, Gohan," Goku called to his oldest son. "We're about ready to go. You coming?"

Gohan turned his head to Videl. "Do you want to come to my house? We could do some studying or... uh... we could... just talk... uh... if you want." He stumbled over the last few words with a somewhat sheepish expression and a hint of blush on his features, and it made Videl grin. She loved the way he got so embarrassed so easily, and thinking about that made her remember that she had to tell him how she really felt about him before she exploded.

She agreed to come with him to his house, and they all took off into the sky towards the 439 Mountain Area. And unbeknownst to Videl, Gohan was feeling the exact same way.

Later at Capsule Corp....
The spaceship that Kumberelle used to escape the world of destroying planets and eradicating races to obtain royalty with a Saiyan who lived on Earth lay in pieces all over Bulma's lab. She expected the ship to be just like the one Vegeta traveled to Earth in so long ago, but she noticed that it had a lot of advances to it. There were more controls than Vegeta's ship had, more room to move around in, and the seats were designed to give more comfort during long trips. There was even what looked to be a TV in it, and Bulma almost laughed at how absurd it looked. This was the ship of a very troubled, serious woman, and yet she had a television put in for her amusement.

Vegeta stood over Bulma as she sat in the cockpit, the door already unhinged and laying on the floor. She looked like a fascinated child with a new toy to Vegeta, and he was almost tempted to show amusement on his usually stone-faced features. Almost.

"I don't understand what your fascination is about this piece of shit," Vegeta commented, his arms crossed over his chest. He had just taken a senzu bean and was feeling well enough to object to anything and everything. Not that pain would keep him from it anyway.

"I want to learn more about her," Bulma said. "Maybe figure out more about female Saiyans. I don't know why, but she intrigued me."

Vegeta snorted and simply left the room, going in search of some sort of sustenance. He hadn't eaten all day, and he was long over due.

Bulma just shook her head at him and continued to search the ship for anything that might give some information about the mysterious female Saiyan. There were many compartments in the cockpit of the ship that appeared to be for storage, but were full of nothing but extra gis and fighting paraphernalia.

Bulma gave up her search and started to climb out of the seat. As she set foot on the floor again, she heard a loud sound behind her. She looked at the ship, then down toward her feet and noticed that she must have dragged something out from under the seat with her foot. It was a large, black box, which looked like a toolbox. Curious, Bulma picked it up and set it on her desk.

She pulled a chair up to the desk and opened the mysterious box. Inside were many pieces of paper. She pulled one out and began to read:

Dear Kumberelle,

I know things have been bad between us, but let me tell you right now, that is not the reason why I'm writing you this letter. I am writing it because I feel you have to know how I truly feel about this situation.

I can't stand this anymore. Things have been awkward between us, and I just think we're too different. I'm leaving you.

Please don't make this out to be like I'm deserting you. If I could, I'd stay and help you through this, but I just can't. I hope you forgive me.

- Cauli

Bulma raised her eyebrows and sat the letter down on her desk. So it appeared to be that Kumberelle had some sort of love affair going on in the past, that she didn't lead such a lonely life like she made it out to be. Bulma was realizing that there were definitely some things Kumberelle kept from Vegeta.

She read more letters then, some of them love letters from someone named Cauli, others letters from a man named Lord Tado. One of them read as follows:

Kumberelle,

I am writing you in regards to your latest fighting achievement. You have amazed not only every citizen in the S.S.S., but me as well. As ruler of the S.S.S., I want to appoint you to a special rank of armed forces that I am creating just for you.

Please reply when you have thought over your answer.

- Lord Tado

The rest of the contents of the box included tattered, old photos. Some looked to be of Kumberelle when she was a child and with who Bulma assumed to be her parents, as well as Kumberelle a little older with a man at her side. But what really got Bulma's attention were the letters. All kinds of questions were running through Bulma's head. Like who this Cauli and Lord Tado were, and what the S.S.S. was. And more importantly, why Kumberelle kept that part of her past a well-guarded secret.

Bulma dumped everything that was in the box onto the desk, just so she could get a much better look at the contents. A large, heavy black book dropped down from it, and when Bulma picked it up and looked through it, she noticed that it was a journal of some kind. Some of it was written in English, but most of it was written in some strange language that Bulma didn't understand. She'd never seen it before, and she was so enthralled with the journal's contents that she failed to notice Vegeta standing over her.

"Woman," He said, and Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin. The book went flying out of her hands and into the black box.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" She asked, clutching her fast-beating heart. She suddenly twisted her nose up into a confused expression as she sniffed the air and heard a familiar beeping sound. "What's that smell?"

Vegeta looked almost sheepish as he told her. "I tried to cook..."

Bulma leaped out her seat and followed Vegeta upstairs to the kitchen. The smell was of burning food and the beeping sound was the smoke alarm. The black box, the letters, and the journal were forgotten as she fought to save her kitchen from the flames produced by Vegeta's lack of knowledge when it came to everything but training.

Two Days Later...
It was a Monday like any other Monday. All the students at Orange Star High School were summoned forth to go to school, most of them against their will. They all walked in, each thinking about different things. Some looked forward to school. Others only looked forward to lunch. And Videl Satan looked forward to doing the thing she was most good at: fighting.

As soon as she entered the school she scanned the hallways for that person who would definitely feel her wrath today. Her hair was cut a lot shorter, so the bitch wouldn't try to grab at her hair, and over her long white t-shirt was a pink top with no sleeves. No one even noticed her without her pigtails hanging at her shoulders, so it gave her a little advantage when it came to springing her fists on Lucy. The preppy bitch wouldn't know what was coming.

Videl followed the sound of giggling girls, thinking that that was a competent trail in finding her opponent, and sure enough, she was right. There was Lucy, her long, dark hair flowing past her shoulders (Videl thanked Dende for that) and her blue eyes so much like Videl's shining as she laughed. She stood with a group of her cheerleader friends, wearing her skimpy cheerleader outfit, with a skirt that made Videl wonder why the dress code banned revealing clothing but allowed the cheerleaders to walk around with half their asses showing. (A/N: Ain't that the truth, though? Haven't you ever wondered that?)

Feeling Videl's eyes on her, Lucy turned around with a somewhat startled expression. She looked Videl up and down like she was a total stranger, and then about five minutes later it registered into her ditzy head.

"Oh, it's you, Videl!" She exclaimed in her high-pitched, annoying voice. "I didn't recognize you. You cut your hair." She gave a somewhat disgusted face of disapproval to Videl's wardrobe change, and glanced at her happy-ass friends who giggled like something was painfully funny. "What do you want?"

Videl couldn't help but smirk, thinking of what the bitch deserved. "Well, Miss Lucy, I'd like to talk to you about what you did, or rather, what you didn't do on Friday."

Lucy blinked her eyes in a clueless manner. "What I... didn't do Friday... I'm sorry, I'm confused."

"What else is new..." Videl muttered. Lucy didn't seem to notice, either that or she didn't understand her comment. "I'm talking about the way you stood Gohan up on Friday."

She did her little blinking move again, and then her eyes widened and she threw her hand to her mouth. "Oh! You mean that."

"What was that all about?" Videl asked angrily.

"Well..." Lucy seemed to be groping for the right words, but just decided to cut to the chase and tell her the truth. "I found something better to do."

"Something better to do?" Videl repeated, her anger growing, then added smugly, "Are you sure you don't mean 'someone' better to do?"

Lucy apparently understood that one, as did her group of friends, who all gasped at the same time with an over dramatic look of displeasure. The stupid little girls were all talking at once, telling Lucy different insults she could fling back at Videl, but she shushed them by bringing her hand up. It was like she was the leader of a mentally challenged herd of animals.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" Lucy retorted, obviously disgusted.

"How dare you treat Gohan like that?" Videl screamed back. As far as she was concerned, Lucy committed the ultimate sin. She betrayed Gohan's trust, and even though Videl wasn't so sure that Gohan minded all that much, or that he even liked Lucy once he got to know her, Videl knew that she had to defend him regardless. After all, he was Gohan. No explanation needed. "For all you know, he could've been heartbroken, he could've been in love with you." - Dende forbid.-

Lucy flipped her hair with a look of conceit. "Everyone's in love with me..."

Videl's face twisted up with anger so quick that her hand literally had a mind of its own and was about to slap Lucy so hard that her brain would work, but she stopped herself, wanting to find the reason for Lucy's selfishness before she beat her ass.

"What is your problem?" Videl asked. It was one of those questions that she could've easily answered with another smart ass remark, but she didn't. "You practically pissed on yourself when I told you Gohan had a crush on you. You begged me to set up a date. You were literally attached to him all week...." Videl was about to continue but paused when she saw the strange look on Lucy's face and the reaction of her friends. They were giving her weird looks, like she'd committed the ultimate act of treason, and Lucy was looking at Videl with an expression that could only be described as pitiful. Her friends looked at her as if she had a disfiguring disease, and Lucy kept glancing at Videl as she was speaking, with a look that was pleading to her to stop talking. Videl would've smirked, if the circumstances had been different, and it made her almost sick to her stomach at what some people did to maintain a certain "image". "Oh, I get it now. Your friends don't approve, so you had to stand him up, instead of being honorable and simply calling it off. That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard."

Lucy didn't appear to be objecting. Her friends had already cast judgment on her, discussing what she did and if she was allowed to even be friends with them again. Videl saw a new look in Lucy's eyes then, a look that told her that beyond all the make up and the constant smiles that she was human. But that look still didn't change the fact that she'd rather hurt someone than look bad in front of her friends. She might have been terribly stupid, but Videl was sure she wasn't that stupid, that she knew what she was doing all along. And for that reason, Videl was still sure she would enjoy pummeling her to the ground.

"It's people like you that give teenagers a bad name," Videl told Lucy. "And I don't care how pitiful you can make yourself look, it still doesn't change the fact that you did something so stupid. In about five minutes, you're going to see just how it feels to be those people who dream of being people like you, and end up getting shunned by them in the most awful way."

Lucy looked pathetic and confused then. "What does that mean?"

She got her answer when Videl slammed her fist into her face. And again after that. And again, and again, and again, all the while Lucy's so-called friends watched, telling her how bad her face was going to look after that, not bothering to help. It was another look into the life Lucy lead, that there was no telling with people like that if they were true friends, or even real people, or not.

Lucy's screams caught many people's attention, and all at once shouts of "Fight!" were heard in every hallway and it seemed like Orange Star High's student body multiplied a couple hundred times when they all gathered to watch. Some kids were even off to the side taking bets, although it was obvious to anybody that Videl was beating the shit out of Lucy. It wasn't much of a fight. It was a massacre.

Teachers and any and every other authority figure rushed to the scene and pulled the two apart, even though it was Videl that needed the restraint. Lucy was practically a limp, bloody, rag doll by the time the fight was over, Videl looked like a rabid monster as she fought to get out of a big, burly, gym teacher's grasp, and Gohan was leaning against a set of lockers watching. He'd seen the entire thing, heard Videl's speech to Lucy, and surprisingly to him, he didn't feel bad about Lucy getting beat by Videl. He came to school with all intentions of making sure Videl didn't kill Lucy, but after he heard the reason why Lucy stood him up, he didn't blame Videl for her assault. Frighteningly enough, the sight of Videl almost killing someone was quite enjoyable. And it made it even sweeter when he realized that it was all because of him.

Later...
Videl spent the entire day in the principal's office getting lectured. It seemed like every adult that worked at the school came into the principal's office to berate her for her "reckless behavior". They were all understandably disappointed in her, she was one of the top students at the school and had never been in any sort of trouble like this, but what did they expect? Everyone knew of her temper, and naively assumed that the daughter of Hercule had exceptional strength. Putting two and two together should've told them that there would be fights involving her, and there was, but none nearly as catastrophic as this one. Lucy had so many broken bones that her parents were threatening to sue the Satans, which was the only thing about the entire situation that Videl felt guilty for. The large chunk of her father's money would leave him griping to her for years to come.

"I just don't understand this whole situation..." The principal, Mr. Nark, said to Videl for about the millionth time that day. He was pacing in his office, like he'd been doing all day, and it seemed like the whole school stopped by his office to give their comments on the situation. Most were students who wanted to congratulate her on her job well done (which earned them detentions), and then there were teachers who walked by to shake their heads at her with a look of disappointment. But none of it bothered Videl. She was surprisingly enjoying attention for a change. It was very different from the attention she normally got, when people would kiss her ass in order to say they were friends with the daughter of the man who "saved the world from Cell". This was something she felt she deserved recognition for.

"What else is there to understand, Mr. Nark?" Videl responded to the very irritated man. He was a very nervous-looking man, damn near bald and very short, but yet known for extensive and unnecessary punishment for any offense of the school's rules. It was a frightening combination to most, but not to Videl, of course. "I broke the rules. I... beat up... a fellow student," Videl had to hold in laughter as she said the words. "I should be punished for my crime." It was obvious to Mr. Nark that Videl thought the entire thing was very funny, and it made the whole situation extremely difficult for him.

"There is nothing funny about this, Miss Satan," Mr. Nark said in his small, but determined voice. "You hurt that poor girl very badly. Do you know how many bones you broke? The poor girl will probably need plastic surgery after this."

Videl couldn't contain her laughter any longer. Just explaining the damage Videl had done to Lucy made her stomach almost burst with all the laughter that poured out from her mouth, and she almost felt guilty for how she was feeling. She'd never thought a fight was funny before. Well... not this funny anyway.

Mr. Nark was so outraged with her reaction that he just waved her out of his office with a two week suspension. It didn't bother Videl at all; she'd just make up her work later. And as she walked out of the room, she collided with Gohan almost immediately. Her laughter ceased, but there was still a smile on her face that told Gohan that things had worked out alright. He'd been worrying about her all day. School was almost over by then.

"I assume you got off easy with Mr. Nark?" Gohan asked, feeling relief and joy envelop him.

"Well, not exactly," Videl replied, still smiling. "I got two weeks suspension."

Gohan's eyebrows rose. "Two weeks? Damn... so why are you smiling so much? I didn't know you hated school that much."

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "For some reason, I found this whole thing extremely funny."

Gohan shook his head. "Figures. My best friend is possessed."

Videl laughed. "Well, I wouldn't say that.... but I'm not quite sure..." They both laughed as they walked back to their last class. "So what are you doing on the outside?"

Gohan flashed his watch in her face. "The Great Saiyaman had to make an appearance."

Videl nodded. "I thought so. My watch went off too, but Mr. Nark explained to them that I was being 'held in his office for irresponsible behavior'. What did I miss?"

"Bank robbery. The usual. It only took about 5 minutes, really. Nothing too serious." He turned to her with a grin. "You know, everybody's been talking about you. That was one violent fight. I was sure you killed her."

"You saw it?" Videl asked, then remembered feeling a familiar ki when she was talking to Lucy, but she'd been so angry she hadn't bothered to figure out who it was.

Gohan nodded. "I saw everything... and heard everything..."

Videl looked sympathetic as they stopped in the hallway and she touched his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Gohan looked surprised and touched by her concern. "Yeah. I'm fine. It didn't bother me all that much, even though I wasn't expecting that to be the reason..."

Videl expected at least mild disappointment, but Gohan didn't seem to be effected by it at all. "It doesn't bother you?"

"A little bit, but no, not really. I wasn't counting on anything coming of that date." In fact, he was hoping quite the opposite.

"I'm not quite sure I understand," Videl said, confused. "I mean, I know she's Lucy and everything, and she can get quite annoying, but I thought you had some kind of feelings for her. If you didn't, why'd you tell me that then?"

"Lack of a better answer to your question," Gohan replied truthfully. "When we were at Bulma's, and you asked me who it was I had a crush on, Lucy was the first person that popped into my head. I didn't know you were going to try and set me up with her."

"So all this could've been avoided if you had just kept your mouth shut?"

Gohan grinned sheepishly, his father's trademark gesture shining through. "Yeah... I guess so..."

Videl shook her head. "The things I do for you Gohan..."

They were almost to the door of their class, when the bell suddenly rang and hundreds of teens came swarming out of every classroom. So, turning on their heels, Gohan and Videl headed in the opposite direction towards their lockers.

"So," Videl turned to Gohan with the mischievous look in her eyes that he knew only too well. "Who is this mysterious girl you have a crush on?"

Gohan grinned, a mischievous look of his own in his eyes. "You'll find out soon enough.... I promise." He turned to leave then, with Videl on heels. He turned around suddenly, much to her surprise, and grinned at her. "By the way, I love the new look." He ran a hand through her now short hair, trying to carve the way it felt into his memory unconsciously. Then, without another word, he left, leaving behind a blushing Videl.

Almost 3 weeks later...
The clouds seemed to hang awfully low that day. The sky was filled with a grayish tint to it. No cheerful blue. No birds singing. Just a desolate gray, which was directly proportionate to the feelings being exchanged at Capsule Corp.

Goku stood looking at his family and friends, as if trying to permanently carve their faces into his heart. He said good bye to each and every one of them, but of course, it was particularly hard leaving his family.

"I'll miss you, Chichi," Goku said to his wife as tears flowed piteously from her horribly sad eyes.

"I'll miss you too, Goku," She said through sobs. "Why can't you stay?"

Goku sighed. "I wish I could, but I can't. I'm dead, Chichi. There's no coming back."

Chichi nodded as he gently pulled away, and looked down at Goten, who was holding his big brother's hand with a look even more pathetic than that of his mother.

"You really have to go, Dad?" He asked, tears forming in his eyes.

Goku nodded sadly. "Yes, I do, Goten."

"But I like you..." Goten said, as he started to cry.

"I like you too, Goten," Goku said as he brought the 7 year old into his arms. "But I have to leave. We'll see each other again sometime.... I promise..."

Goten nodded as Goku let go of him, and it broke his heart to be leaving the son he'd only known for a month. It was the most difficult thing he had to do, but he had no choice. He was dead, and his life, or rather his afterlife, was meant to be in the Other World.

He stood up in front of Gohan then, and gave his oldest son a long hug and he said his goodbyes. "You take care of your mom and Goten for me..."

"Always," Gohan said as they parted.

"And tell her how you feel..." He whispered so no one could hear, and Gohan knew exactly what he meant.

The witch, Baba, suddenly appeared, signally that it was definitely time for Goku to leave. He nodded to her, and with one last wave, Goku disappeared, gone once again from their lives. Forever.

But as Gohan stared into the gloomy sky later that night, he knew that that wasn't true. They'd meet again. Sooner than anyone thought. He was sure of it.

*~*~*~*~*
How was that? Review as always. Expect the next chapter sooner than that, but not anytime soon. And review and check out my bio and stuff. It helps. Oh yeah, and in case you haven't noticed, I changed my fanfic name. I am the Angry Black Woman. Well that's it. Review!

Next Chapter: This is going to be relatively short. Gohan and Videl finally come clean with their feelings, and there's going to be a surprise appearance towards the end. Also, Vegeta and Bulma reflect on the things they've gone through along with some other stuff that can be thrown end to tie all the loose ends together. This will be the last!