The Façade Drops: Deception Ascends
"The art of life is to show your hand. There is no diplomacy like candor. You may lose by it now and then, but it will be a loss well gained if you do. Nothing is so boring as having to keep up a deception."
-E. V. Lucas
"Wh…why the hell did you roast his…uh…" Gohan stammered, as the quartet headed back towards the 439 mountain area. He was thinking of a way to convey his qualms as euphemistically as possible. The problem was, he didn't know any euphemistic terms for the word 'genitals'. He only knew its vulgar subsidiaries.
Last term being implied by his frantic tone, Trunks responded rather indignant. "I was sticking up for Goten! The bald idiot was punking him off! What, helping your best pal is a crime nowadays?"
"No, but helping your best pal by charbroiling people's genitalia in an open flame fashion is. At least I think it is. I have to check with my law teacher," Videl replied, the usual half-smirk half-smile adorning her mouth.
Gohan shook his head in resignation as the small Son abode came into view. The small procession of demi-saiyans and a human landed on the grassy threshold, all lost in various thoughts of conflict. Gohan in a state of astonishment, Videl mentally surveying her new 'family' so to speak, and both chibis lost in haphazard and totally unrelated thoughts. They hadn't noticed the faint noise of hustling and bustling going about inside the domed dwelling, neither would they have noticed even if they weren't all currently immersed in their respective reveries. Gohan entered without knocking, his small troop in tow, and stopped suddenly at the sight that greeted him. He felt someone bump into his muscular back as an irritated chorus of 'oofs' and 'ouch' emanated from behind him. The whole thing looked goofy.
Bulma and Chi-Chi were inside, one hollering at a bunch of men and women clad in white in the hallway while the other was bossing around another set of people clad in white, with large white hats that puffed up at the top, in the kitchen. Given the number of people crammed into the small abode, the feeling of congestion was highly prevalent. Also the feeling of life was there too, as the hired help, he assumed, were performing various chores. Most of them crowded around Gohan and his ménage (A/N-to him at least), waiting patiently for them to step aside and let them file outside. He dumbly moved to the side, and watched the small pageant of servants file out carrying various supplies and capsules as they got to work, setting up the table arrangement and whatnot for some sort of dinner.
"Uh…Mom, what's going on?" The four blank looks from two teens and two chibis accentuated the question, leaving the onus upon the two mothers to reply.
"Oh nothing sweetie, Bulma and I wanted to organize a get together. Since it's a nice day and with winter coming in soon we won't be having those frequently, we decided today was perfect."
"Wouldn't it be smarter and more manageable to have this at Capsule Corp.? I mean, exactly how long did it take for them," he jerked his thumb towards the set of white-clad 'domestic engineers' and continued, "To get here?"
"No, we have too many at CC, and anyway, it can't reproduce the calm and peacefulness this place brings," Bulma explained from behind, simultaneously hollering at some poor maid for placing the punch bowl too close to the dishes, and various other idiosyncrasies harbored by proactive mothers on a 'arranging a party' rush.
The weather was a little chilly, but the sun was out full swing and not a cloud could be spotted in the vast blue expanse for miles. Even though the days had shortened twilight wasn't expected until at least six thirty. Currently it was close to four, with the teenager's trip to the supermarket spanning nearly half an hour to three quarters of an hour.
Both chibis glanced at each other, and whooping joyously rushed outside to bother the servants. Gohan and Videl decided to help unload the groceries and help with the odd job here and there. They both considered it a little fun to be caught up in the excited frenzy both mothers were at, and were each consigned to different chores. Gohan had to call the 'Z-gang' and confirm their arrivals, since it seemed to Gohan that both mothers had been planning this without his knowledge, whilst Videl helped Chi-Chi in the kitchen.
Videl couldn't help but feel this overwhelming notion that she was intruding on the privacy of the Sons and their 'family'. Judging by the way Gohan talks about the people she assumed were invited, the 'Z-gang' as he so affectionately dubbed them, she knew he considered them all more than family after all the adventures they were mixed up in, mostly with his dad and himself. With the kind of intimacy and camaraderie these people shared with each other, she felt oddly displaced. Sure she and Gohan were sweetly in love and destined to be together for all of eternity, or so she liked to think. But she realized that she didn't know the first thing about anybody else save a handful of people, and them likewise. Feeling disturbed, she relinquished her job of assisting with the baking of a cake, an enormous cake judging by the flour and stuff (A/N-ok ok, I dunno the ingredients of a cake, geez…I like to eat them though…), she wandered off in search of Gohan.
She found him shortly after in the living room, sitting comfortably on a sofa-chair and conversing idly with someone; someone close as his joking demeanor betrayed. She slowly padded towards him as he gave her a look of acknowledgement and said his goodbyes to whoever it was on the other line.
"Yeah, ok Yamcha, I'll see ya at the party. Yeah, no, No! Isn't that Master Roshi's job or something? Ok, bye." He clicked the 'talk' button on the cordless and flipped through a small black book, obviously searching for another name and number to call and confirm. "Wanted anything, love?"
She frantically swiveled her head around to make sure no one was in earshot. With all the fuss going on about the party preparations, she didn't doubt that they'd take no heed to her shouting out a proclamation of her undying love for Gohan, let alone a small absent-minded remark from him. "Don't tell me you meant Yamcha, The Yamcha, or THE Master Roshi for that matter."
"Yup. I dunno why the whole emphasis was on 'THE'."
She smacked him playfully and sat down on the side cushion of the one-seater, giving him a rueful look. "I wanted to meet the legendary master of the arts the Turtle Hermit for so long! Why didn't you tell me?"
Gohan chuckled as he lay back in his seat, giving her an amused smirk. "Trust me, your expectations are immensely overrated."
She decided to ignore his last statement, and moved on to her object of concern. "Gohan, I know that the people coming over mean a lot to you. And…" she hesitated, her eyes downcast as she continued shyly, "I don't mind helping out and stuff, but I couldn't help but feeling like I'm intruding on something I shouldn't be, you know? I mean…"
She was interrupted by Gohan. Well more like interrupted by him grasping her waist and pulling her in his lap, uncaring if anyone saw him at that particular moment. "Hey, you know I want you to be here at the party. And you also know that my mom and Bulma want you here as well. It'll be fun, you'll get to meet my extended family. They're a great bunch of people, once you get past their obvious manufacturing defects!"
She laughed faintly, beaming down at him. "I would like to meet your family, but still, all these people mean so much to you and I would be just interfering in your private time—," again she was interrupted, this time by a wail of exasperation from her boyfriend.
"Videeeeeeeeelllllll! This is stupid. You know that you mean much more to me than they could ever do, and I am not just saying that. SO, if this is a get together of all the people who mean the most to me, you and my dad would be the FIRST people on my guest list. Since I can't have the best of both worlds (A/N-Literally and figuratively ;x), I think I would choose you over my dad. No disrespect to him, I could never do that. But you're just…special…"
She smiled as he brushed his nose against hers, in an embarrassing display of public affection. She was awed by that statement, and knew that she had chosen the right person for her life partner. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, and reality. Both of them still had to graduate from high school for Pete's sake! But, in her heart, she knew, without an inkling of doubt, or distrust, or cynicism, that they were meant for each other and that was how it was going to stay. She knew Gohan, and she'd like to think she knew herself. 'Know thyself' was how the Latin saying went.
With that little quandary quelled, Videl went back to helping in the kitchen while Gohan dialed some numbers and chatted away with another member of the 'Z-gang'. Both teens were too preoccupied with their chores to realize that nearly all pre-party preparations had been completed. Of course, cue now the customary 'last minute touches' administered by two self-proclaimed party experts, and mothers.
Gohan set the cordless back in its cradle and wandered into the kitchen where an ambrosial aroma wafted out from, tantalizingly tickling his olfactory senses. More like a moth drawn to a flame, he strolled into the tiled kitchen and drooled at the sight of the various victuals that made up the cuisine. Chi-Chi and Videl, at the moment, were caught up in concentrated mensuration over the various foodstuff and the respective tables they were supposed to be placed. It seemed that there wasn't enough space to fit the massive cuisine on to the tables set up outside. He didn't know how measuring the dishes would help them, and shrugged his shoulders as he stole a rice ball and popped it into his mouth.
"Gohan! Stop that, or I'll have to restore law and order with an iron hand, or pan, is more likely." Gohan sweat-dropped considerably, frozen in mid-thrust as his hand already had stole out for another delicious morsel, only to be stopped by Chi-Chi's stern admonishment. What was even more flabbergasting was that she hadn't even diverted her attention from her measuring! It was like she had a food proximity sensor calibrated in her brain.
Identify anything that moves towards food…
React by issuing verbal admonishment…
If unsuccessful, most likely in the case of Saiya-jin men, threaten with a certain metallic kitchen utensil…
If target unperturbed by aforementioned warnings, authorized to use said utensil with extreme prejudice…
Gohan mentally chuckled to himself at the vivid picture of Chi-Chi acting like a proximity sensor that had popped up in his mind. Both raven-haired women turned towards him brandishing similar beads of sweat on their temples. Gohan was snickering to himself, his statuesque form held stiff with his hand frozen in mid-lunge at one of the food bowls, and had an aloof expression plastered on his face.
"Has he been drinking the school water?" Chi-Chi asked blankly.
"I think he ate that month-old tuna sandwich crammed in my locker yesterday, that or it just got up and vanished without a trace…"
"Most likely the former," and both women still stared impassively at the tall spiky-haired teen, who now also had a river of drool trickling down the side of his mouth.
Videl stood up and walked briskly to his motionless physique and promptly bopped him on the head. Instantly he snapped out of his trance and rubbed his rump, glaring at Videl. She smiled sweetly at him, and returned to whatever it was that both women were preoccupied with before.
***************************
"Hey, Gohan! Long time, no see, bud!" The short man, clad in a red shirt and khaki pants, exclaimed loudly at the door. If fact, he was so short, he'd make Vegeta appear tall and imposing. The midget entered, trailed by a beautiful blonde woman and a somewhat chubby, with braided blonde hair, child.
"Hey Krillin! Good to see ya old man!"
"Old man? I'd have you know I am not nearly as old as…as…Vegeta!"
"What was that midget?!" A voice roared from somewhere off yonder, probably some dark corner where the sadistic egomaniac brooded over his 'misfortunes'.
"Eh heh. See ya Gohan, gotta use the john!" Krillin quickly shuffled towards the hallway, and disappeared before any pointy-haired spandex-clad narcissists with weird foreheads decided to get physical. A consistent wave of Z-senshi kept appearing, some with families and others single. Even Piccolo didn't pass up the opportunity for a gathering, most probably to please his student and first friend.
Soon, a gathering of some of the most elite fighters on Earth, and some in the known Universe, had been assembled in a small domed dwelling in the 439 mountain area. One would think that some dilemma of intergalactic proportions was going to take place with such an assembly of fighters. Of course, the most elite fighter was not present at the time, but this was not a gathering intended to dwell on melancholy memories. It was intended for quite the contrary.
Some of the very best, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, both chibis, Krillen et al., Tien, Yamucha, Choutzu, Android 17 (Even he decided to come, abandoning his long spell of reticence and isolation), and even Master Roshi, were crammed in the small Son home.
"Alright people, it's getting way too claustrophobic in here!" Krillin remarked, back from his pit stop.
"Yeah, I agree man." Yamucha commented agreeably. Most of the other Senshi nodded their heads in assent, save for the few (Or perhaps many?) reticent ones.
"You guys can go on outside. This was a party intended for the outdoors you know," Bulma proclaimed loudly, rolling her eyes at the questioning glances she got.
They shuffled out noisily, conversing about the past and generally enjoying each other's company. Gohan breathed in deeply, mentally preparing himself for the arduous task at hand, and then motioned for his silent 'friend' to follow him out the door. He walked up to a group of Tien, Yamucha, Krillin and Choutzu, the 'male congregation' of his father's friends from way before.
"Hey Gohan," then eyeing the new girl with a smirk, "Who's the new blood? Finally decided to 'hook-up' with someone?" It was probably a lame attempt on Krillin's part to pass off as some teen, but it pushed all the right buttons.
"No Krillin, she's a friend from school. You may know her," Gohan responded, a little too cool for comfort. Perhaps all that mental preparation through Piccolo's meditation techniques really worked. Of course doubting them in the first place would earn you the scorn of the imposing Namek-jin.
"Aw come on pal, don't be shy. I see the way your face is flushing just introducing her!" Krillin pressed, sneakily jabbing the much taller saiya-jin's rib cage with his elbow.
Videl had already abandoned her half saiya-jin boyfriend and left him to face the shrewd ex-monk and his verbal jibes alone. She figured she couldn't be bothered with defending such a pointless cause anyway. Sure she was indomitable with regards to her abilities in her own right, but even she knew when to acknowledge a hopeless cause and move on. Gohan meanwhile, had let his frontage of calm disintegrate into undecipherable pieces and was in the process of frantically denying Krillin's allegations.
As was expected, his panicked denials had no effect on the trio of human fighters (A/N-I do believe Choutzu is human) as their transparent snickers fuelled Gohan's denying spree even further. Generally frivolous gossip and idle conversing had been the theme of today's party, as the guests enjoyed an absolutely delectable cuisine and took a trip down memory lane. Even with having to relapse into denial every five minutes or so, Gohan thoroughly enjoyed this 'reunion' of sorts and felt the time slip away into the abyss of night.
All too soon the bright sun had receded away under the horizon, and the cloudless night sky, sporadically interspersed with small shining stars, was accompanied by a drop in the temperature. Gohan watched as Videl casually strolled in the grassy clearing encompassing his home, neck strained backwards as she gazed at the clarity of the country night sky. The twinkling stars embedded in the black blanket canopy shone particularly bright tonight, and even though the sight was relatively familiar to Son Gohan, Videl watched in riveted fascination at the lucid stars. Gohan silently watched her as she continued her midnight stroll, mentally noting that she looked more inapt in the city than she did here. He guessed the halcyon environment of the rural area provided a much-needed hiatus from the commotion of city life.
"Gohan." He heard his mother's voice emanate from inside his cozy dwelling, and after throwing a long wistful glance at his love he entered his home to seek out his mother. He found her soon enough chatting away merrily with Bulma and Eighteen as she reclined in a comfortable sofa-chair. Gohan gently smiled at his mother, who more than deserved a relaxing evening to socialize with her close friends and earn some time away from slaving in a kitchen almost perpetually. Although she didn't seem like it, his mother was naturally gregarious if a person managed to break through her strict demeanor and uncompromising attitude. She could be quite enjoyable to converse with if one strayed away from the sensitive subjects that frequently caused her to dramatize the issue.
"You called mom?"
"Oh yes son, can you be a dear and bring me my photo album? It's in the room, top drawer." She smiled proudly at her son, as if boasting to the other two women about her luck in progeny.
"Sure mom, be right back." Gohan carefully navigated a path between running chibis, chitchatting adults and growling Princes to make it to the corridor. It seemed that everybody was crammed into the living at the moment, save for Videl, who presumably was still admiring the view. The corridor was dark and awkwardly lonely, so Gohan whistled to himself a tune he picked up on the radio as he walked towards his mother's bedroom. He suddenly felt Videl's ki spike, as if under duress, but as quickly as it appeared it vanished. It was accompanied almost simultaneously by a double ki spike from Goten and Trunks, and Gohan's rapidly beating heart calmed slowly and he began to loosen up his stiff posture. Shaking his head and laughing, he chided himself for being so tense and deduced that the chibis were imposing their own brand of 'playing' on his ailing girlfriend. He chuckled at the thought of Videl being dragged between the two vibrant chibis as they argued over who would get to play with her first.
This side of the house seemed eerily silent and desolate—which usually wasn't the case—but Gohan shrugged off the suspicious foreshadowing and entered his mother's bedroom. Fumbling against the wall his calloused fingers finally found the light switch, and a 'flick' later the room became dimly illuminated in a yellow glow. His mother's room wasn't much different from his—or even from any other room in his house—albeit it was larger than his own bedroom. The décor was relatively congruous with the idyllic style of the other wall ornaments and interior decoration Chi-Chi was comfortable with. She wasn't much enamored by fancy expensive jewelry, or ridiculously extravagant furniture and overpriced paintings (Not that she could afford it, mind you). Living her childhood and subsequent adult life in this rural area instilled within her a strong affinity for the simple picturesque environment she was used to. How this environment nurtured the budding young lady influenced her choice in décor, cooking, and even recreation. Gohan quickly opened the top drawer in his mother's dresser and rummaged through the contents until he exclaimed in triumph. Carefully picking out the dusty, ink-blotched and worn leather-bound album he replaced the jutting drawer into its slot, and headed back towards the living area.
He turned the album over in his hands, peering down at it in calculating scrutiny as he tried to remember what kind of pictures it contained. Surprisingly, he concluded that he never saw this album before. He was sure, because a particularly conspicuous yellow stain marred the brown leather on the back, and he supposed he would remember such an identifying mark. Attempting to assuage his curiosity, the tall saiya-jin literally 'peeled' off the cover to reveal a photograph neatly encased in a transparent envelope of the album. The photograph was old, the black-and-white and blurry focus attesting to that fact. There was a determined, but astute looking girl with dark hair staring back at what apparently was the camera taking the photograph. He guessed her age to be about seven or eight, no less than ten, and she was splendidly dressed with what he presumed to be fashionable clothes back in those days. Still casually flipping through the album, Gohan re-entered his living room and strolled over to the small group of mothers seated near the fireplace.
"Hey mom, who's this?" Gohan interrupted the women's tête-à-tête while still peering at that one girl.
"Who dear?" Chi-Chi replied to her eldest, as Eighteen and Bulma threw inquisitive looks at the dusty old book in Gohan's hands.
Gohan bent down to his mother's sitting level and pointed at the photograph in question. She took the album from Gohan and tilted it a little to allow the light emitted from the fireplace to properly illuminate the picture. Chi-Chi smiled remorsefully as she stared at the black-and-white photo, the tarnished edges and wilting paper adding an intangible effect on her trip down memory lane.
"That's my mother Gohan, when she was a child." Her voice was soothingly soft and distant, almost melancholy.
"Wow, you sure look a lot like her mom."
The ends of Chi-Chi's lips tugged upwards, as she beamed at photograph in her hand, "You really think so?"
"Of course mom! The resemblance between you two is nearly the same as Goten's to dad!"
"Oh? Let me see!" Bulma squealed excitedly, leaping off the couch opposite Chi-Chi like an effervescent teenage girl. Eighteen's reaction was much more muted, but even she relinquished her place on the armchair to sneak a peak.
Chi-Chi laughed as her long-time blue haired friend squeezed herself in the space beside her on the overstuffed one-seater to have a closer look.
"Oh, you two look like twins when you were her age Chi!" Both women giggled in delight as they started flipping through the other pictures, Chi-Chi was more than happy to play narrator for the other women. Eighteen casually strolled behind the enthused mothers, folding her arms on the back of the chair and glancing at the photographs of Chi-Chi's family.
"It must be nice having pictures of your parents and grandparents around," Eighteen mused forlornly. She never knew if she looked like her mother. Heck, she didn't even know if her parents even exist today. After Dr. Gero administered the android transformation to her, she lost all her childhood memories. She had no idea where she lived as a child, or who she played with and what kind of life she had. She felt a bit empty for that. It was like she never even existed before Dr. Gero had activated them. Her memory banks started with that, the first thing she ever saw being the insides of the coffin-like contraption Gero kept them locked in. She was a strong girl though, and what she lacked in herself she made up for in the joy of witnessing her little girl grow up. She knew now the elation and bliss associated with a family, how the unconditional love and support changed a person. Seventeen though, was her only blood relative and she found herself frequently worried about him. She didn't let on much in terms of her emotions, always hiding behind a mask of indifference and languor. She was always the introverted and reclusive type. But that didn't necessarily mean that she didn't care, not anymore.
Seventeen used to frequent her in the first couple of years after her marriage to Krillin. He even actually played with his baby niece a lot as he slowly began to change for the better. But after the first three years or so, his visits became intermittent, then occasional, finally tapering off to nothing voluntarily. He would come reluctantly if she had specifically instructed him to do so. She figured he was under a stage of regression, as loneliness slowly ate at him. He needed to be with someone to freshen up his social life, which included talking to himself and his 'pet' wolf more often than not. She was determined to set him up with somebody, regardless of how unappealing the role of 'matchmaker' was to her. Many women would love to indulge themselves in this risky game of mix-and-match, but as anyone would have discerned, she wasn't the type. But she had to do it, because if she didn't care about him then who will?
Gohan wandered outside into his 'front yard', glancing around for any signs of Videl. He peered out into the darkness, squinting his eyes and scanning the clearing around him. She was no where to be found. Even a scan of her ki resulted with nothing. Which was odd, because if she was in the near vicinity he could almost always pick her ki signature out, regardless of how many people were around and how relatively low her ki level was (compared to what he's used to). Her life essence, every single quirk and detail of it, was etched in his heart forever. He could never forget her, or how she felt, or how her ki positively glowed with warmth. Furrowing his brows in concentration, he briskly entered his house again and made a quick scan of the living room. Still no sign of her.
Oh yeah, she was playing with the chibis a little while ago. Better ask them if she had said anything to them.
Gohan found the two ruffians wrestling each other in the guest room and yelling heatedly.
"Give it back!"
"No! You don't know how to do it!"
"Nuh-uh! I do too!"
Gohan strolled over to the tussling duo and yanked them both up by their collars. Observing the controller pad clutched tightly in Goten's hands, Gohan concluded that they were fighting over a video game.
"Hey, what's the big idea Gohan?" Trunks exclaimed heatedly, narrowing his little eyes in his best attempt to emulate a Vegeta-esque glare.
Gohan shook his head and chuckled, saiya-jins will be saiya-jins. "Hey squirts, have you seen Videl around?"
Trunks rolled his eyes at the mention of Videl while Goten shook his head earnestly. Gohan frowned, and then queried, "But weren't you playing with her a little while ago?"
"No Gohan, 'I' was playing Zelda: The Wind Waker and Goten was 'WATCHING' me," and the little prince glared at his best friend, "the whole time."
"What? That can't be, I felt your ki spike with Videl's a little while ago."
The two chibis looked up at him curiously, "No big brother, we didn't do anything with Videl tonight."
They weren't with her? Their ki must have spiked because they were probably having an argument over the game. That leaves the question, why did Videl's ki spike?
A palpable sense of dread overtook the saiya-jin, as he dropped both chibis and raced out of the front door and into the clearing. The guests momentarily ceased their idle chatting and stared blankly at the front door, which Gohan had already zoomed out of.
"Videl! Where are you!?" Gohan called out, running aimlessly in the clearing.
"Gohan? What's wrong?" His mother's concerned voice called out from the threshold of their house. She had her dark eyes trained on him tentatively, as if she could just grasp the magnitude of his concern by his tone.
Gohan raced back up to the front of the house and frantically looked about. "Mom, have you seen Videl?!"
Chi-Chi could immediately sense the panic and fear in Gohan's tenor, "No honey, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry over. She probably just went home."
"No! She wouldn't without telling me! Where could she be?!" Gohan was pacing in and out of the house, as if expecting to find Videl hiding somewhere in the kitchen or out in the bushes.
"She was taking a walk right? Maybe she's out in the forest enjoying the night?" Chi-Chi tried to console her frantic son, reaching out and rubbing his arm.
"I can't feel her ki!" Gohan shrugged of his mom's gentle touch and raced towards his bedroom, nearly unhinging his door as he burst into the room.
"Videl, where are you? Where can you be?" He muttered to himself as he paced about his room, even feeling a compelling urge to look under his bed. But he knew that that was childish; especially since Videl had no idea how to manipulate her own ki, much less suppress it. Between his frantic pacing his elbow caught a book on his shelf, causing the thick hardcover book to crash on his floor with a loud 'thud'. Ignoring it, Gohan racked his brain for a solution, still maintaining a repetitive conduit of walking to his closet from his desk, and back again. In his preoccupied state he didn't concentrate on where he was going and promptly fell over the fallen book. Cursing animatedly, he got up and scowled at the pages of text before him. It was a textbook; his physics book to be precise. He wanted so badly to blast the darned thing to oblivion in his agitated state of mind. But the large bold typeface at the top of the page, obviously the title of the section, caught his eye. It read, 'Wavelengths of Colors'. He glanced down the page until his eyes rested upon the color red.
Red. His memory whizzed backwards in time, finally resting on a specific moment evoked by recollection. A dialogue. A statement. Crimson fluid. Wavelengths.
Oh no. It can't be. Android Seventeen?
* If any one can deduce how Gohan figured out—or 'apparently' is the more operative word—it was the android, then I will be thoroughly impressed. It takes some remarkable perceptive skills coupled with basic scientific facts to figure this out. Indeed, the recollection of Gohan's I alluded to was documented in a previous chapter, and what specifically happened in that reminiscence is the key to unlock this conundrum. Speculate away.
(A/N-Heh, it's been a while eh? I know you (those select few people actually reading this, which incidentally I could count on my fingers) probably want to inflict intense flagellation followed by numerous other painful things on me right now, and I don't think I have a valid enough excuse for my hiatus from writing. I just felt, spent…ya know, like I had nothing left. Exhausted from writing I guess, I needed a change. I just read for the past few months. However, some assiduous and supportive readers did urge me to continue, and I thank them for that. But I don't know why they wanted me to continue. Some of the best stories I've read are updated rather intermittently, and I know how that feels.
The GyrlieGyrados (what's a 'Gyrados'?), who conjured up a remarkable gem of a story, has left me pulling out my hair in anticipation. I don't think her story needs any designation, all of you know of her fic, for her reputation precedes her every time.
CCS AnGeL00 and Absolut Angel have been taking up protracted lengths of time to update their absolutely hilarious and engaging fiction, and again, their reputation too precedes them and I am positive you know which story I'm babbling on about. (They JUST updated, woohoo)
I also extol the authors who grapple with the whole 'mob-arc' introduced in DBZ (I am cognizant of the fact that the Red Shark Gang was introduced primarily as comic relief, but it's a great concept to explore). Specifically writers such as Squirrel Assassin, who portrays how his character and the DBZ characters combat the mob in intuitive ways. His is in the development phase and promises to be entertaining.
The amazingly talented Cka3ka, whose story "Circumstantial Evidence" (She has others) is a genuine attempt at a G/V transpiring around a cop setting, with the mob, crime, deceptive saiya-jins, and all that other juicy mystery/drama stuff thrown in for good measure, an extremely provocative read. She hasn't updated for ages too.
Although Psycho-Ann (another amazing talent) updates habitually, the duration in between is often too prolonged for my feeble story-craving mind to take. She didn't tackle the 'MOB' scene per se, but her premise about bounty hunters and a renegade Videl constitutes immensely enjoyable reading.
These authors need to update, and readers have the innate prerogative to support them and commend their time consuming and arduous efforts to bring you grade-A entertainment.
There are probably more that escape my mind or I haven't come across, in which I am gratuitously apologetic. )
"The only charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception necessary for both parties. "
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
