Author's Notes: Ok, after a nasty bout with reality and wrestling that waffy one-shot onto the computer, I'm back with more! Dark Shift is over, so that means I can fully devote myself to this fic. I know in the past few chapters it's been a lot of introspective stuff, and I felt I wasn't giving the actual plot of the story adequate attention. I hope this one finds a nice balance between action and the "thinking" stuff. Rejoice, all my faithful followers, and strap in. It's about to get bumpy…
Last time on It's a Start:
Chichi covered her eyes quickly, feeling the oncoming flood. "He—he's not coming back..." came the barely whispered words.
*****
Humoring her, Videl questioned, "Need them...for what?"
This query pulled Chichi's gaze back level with Videl's. "To revive him. To bring him back. From the dead."
*****
"We cannot work directly on the boy any longer, your former master has seen to that…But what about someone close to him?"
After a moment, the god caught on. "You mean…a hostage?"
*****
Smiling grimly, an evil glint in his eye, he added, "Husbands and wives should be together: Why don't I send you to meet up with him?"
Bulma Briefs stood on the front lawn of the Capsule Corporation building in a thin white lab-coat, shivering as another powerful gust whipped through the city. She stared into the steel-gray sky, frowning at the thunderheads rolling in, and worriedly glanced down at her watch every few minutes.
'Almost 7:00…where are they?' As their sons grew up and began to play together more and more often, Son Chichi and Bulma had begun to, themselves, grow closer, discovering that they had many things in common besides Saiyan husbands. With the Sons practically cut off from civilization, arguments about politics or any other such topics rarely arose; they would, instead, chat about old times, the present, and sometimes even about the future—the subject of Gohan's imminent marriage to the lovely Videl came up quite frequently. Though they might occasionally get into a tiff about which husband—or son, for that matter—was stronger, both women resolved to end each visit with a smile on her face and a light heart. They could afford to carry no grudges.
Bulma had urged Chichi to come and stay with her at Capsule Corp. if there were ever any problem, and she'd been almost certain that this was where Goku's wife would have Videl rush them as soon as she read the note—especially knowing Bulma had the only Dragon radar in existence. But Videl had left hours ago, and still there was no sign of them in the sky. She'd tried raising them on the radio frequency reserved for members of the Satan household, but to no avail; all she was answered with was static. 'Maybe it's just the storm…' Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
Sighing, she trudged back into the shelter of the dry house as the first few rain droplets reached her front steps. Gohan was gone—where? No one knew—and now Chichi and Videl were missing…something just wasn't right about all this. But Vegeta had sensed nothing, nor—she assumed—had any of the other Z warriors, or they would have surely notified her. That left only those members of their group atop a certain Lookout, those who hardly ever came down.
Wandering the maze of hallways, she found her husband at his usual post, in front of the control panel of the Gravity Room, adjusting its settings to accommodate the two demi-Saiyans he was to train with shortly. "Something's wrong, Vegeta," she began worriedly; he didn't even look up to acknowledge her presence.
"You're telling me," he replied derisively, "I'm stuck in this dump with a woman yelling at me all the time, two children to spar with, and a sub-par gravity chamber…" His eyes never left the panel, and he continued to fiddle with the dials.
She hardened her gaze as his mouth curved up into a smirk, believing he'd successfully ticked his woman off. Instead of offering a scathing reply, she merely returned, "I'm serious," in a steady voice. His grin quickly faded and he now looked up, his dark eyes peering up at her from underneath furrowed brows. "It's about Gohan…"
Crossing his arms, he pressed, "What about the boy?" Bulma lowered her voice so as not to needlessly frighten the two boys changing a few rooms down, and quickly breezed through an explanation of all that had happened in the past couple of days, or at least all that was clear to her at the moment.
"So, he is one again…but how?" The scientist shrugged; all she knew was that it was through no action of her own. "And you want me to see if those Nameks know anything about what's going on, is that it?" A nod, and he closed his eyes, musing, "I don't know why I do such things for you…"
She smiled, laying a hand on his well-defined arm, fingering the fabric. "Because, deep down, you really do care, Vegeta."
His eyes snapped back open, malice blazing out as flames as he glared at the woman menacingly. "If that ever gets out…" He left the threat hanging between them, and Bulma had to suppress a girlish giggle at his tough-guy façade.
Running a finger over her chest in an "X" pattern, she promised, "Not a word!"
The clouds above seemed to have no bottoms, swirling ever upwards, and it appeared no matter how high Vegeta flew he simply could not rise above the steady downpour, forced to grudgingly bear the driving rain. His ki barrier, extending a mere inch out from his flesh, gave little protection save to keep his clothes dry; with a low growl, he wiped his eyes again.
This was merely ritual, though—he could barely have seen now even if there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so dark was it. He'd been flying at top speed for nearly an hour, not only fighting the water pelting him from all sides, but also dodging lightning strikes and constantly being blown off course by violent wind gusts. Were he not blessed with an innate sense of direction, he would surely be lost now. Instead, he noted, he was nearing his final destination, currently passing over the fields around the Son home.
He cast a quick glance downwards, and his eye was caught by bright flashing lights, dozens of them, all gathered below—ground lightning? No, he observed as he dipped down curiously. This was no natural light, with its varying red and blue hues. This was the human police force—and there were quite a few units gathered in particular around a twisted smoldering heap of yellow metal.
Alighting on the roof of one of the emergency vehicles scattered about the scene, he stared intently at the men rushing about from car to car, gathering snippets of conversations as they yelled into small radios:
"…license plate zero-niner-niner…"
"…yellow jet-copter, private owner, series X3M…"
"…registered 'Satan, Videl'…"
Satan…Satan, where had he heard that name before? Wait…wasn't that the name of that fool Hercule who ponced around nowadays claiming that he had saved the world those seven years ago? Yes, he remembered it well now. Hercule Satan—but then, who was this "Videl"? A relative of his, no doubt.
The force of realization slamming into him would have sent even Cell reeling to his knees. Videl Satan—this was the girl Gohan had been so chummy with for the past few days. The brat had brought her into his home before, and she'd come running back there when he'd first separated. What had happened to her, though? Perhaps she had some information on the whereabouts of her boyfriend now. He listened more intently now, focusing his senses on the human he'd deduced to be the leader of the group.
"…them send in the report, Donovan. 'Satan, Videl: missing; Jane Doe: dead,' at 8:13 P.M…"
His post atop the ambulance beneath him rocked suddenly as its doors were heaved open, breaking the Saiyan prince's concentration and sending him falling onto his stomach. He muffled a cry of surprise, allowing the two attendants to load a stretcher, its occupant covered in a stiff white sheet, onto the bed of the truck. Closing one of the double doors, they walked back to the wreckage to gather up their supplies.
Once they were out of sight, Vegeta stealthily slipped to the ground with cat-like finesse and turned to the truck door, opening it back up, gazing icily upon the dead body.
Dead…no longer alive…lost. Though this body deserved to now rest in peace, he held it up for a moment longer, and tugged down the sheet to view the face of the victim fully.
His eyes widened in shock at the sight, and he barely managed to breathe out, "…Kakkarot's mate…?" For it was Chichi, but not as he'd ever seen the woman before; her eyes were closed to the world, but her neck lolled to the side at an unnatural angle, and her hair was knotted and matted with blood, part of her skull having been crushed. He scoured his mind, pulling up files on enemies of Earth…whatever had done this—whoever had done this—had not caught her awake or by surprise. Had he seen merely her face, he might have deemed her asleep. Ohh…Kakkarot would not be happy about this.
Nor, he noted, would the boy. Remembering now his purpose for flying all the way out here, he blasted off back to the storm.
The Nameks had sensed Vegeta's impending arrival since he left the Capsule Corp. premises, monitoring his movements with curiosity. They noticed him tarrying in the gully some few miles from the Son home for quite some time before continuing on up to the Lookout. Perhaps he was merely searching for Gohan, they supposed, Whatever his reasons, he was now close enough that the former and present guardians could make out his form when lightning flashes lit up the skies around their home.
"Where is he?" Vegeta called out as he landed, struggling to be heard over the raging storm. Though an unnatural barrier of invisible power surrounding the Lookout kept out the rain, it could not block the thunderous booms following the lightning strikes. "Something's happening around here—something big, and you two had better come clean about it real soon."
Piccolo frowned, strongly disliking this Saiyan bossing him around. He turned to look over his shoulder at the young Namek behind him, a questioning expression on his face.
'They're all going to start wondering very soon…we may as well tell him, and he can relay the message to the others.' After all, they were all Earth's special forces, not just Gohan, and they all deserved to know what was happening.
Dende nodded his confirmation, and Piccolo turned back to Vegeta, still frowning, and beckoned him to follow him into one of the quieter inner temples. "Gohan is gone," he began as they crossed the threshold, shutting the great double doors behind them, "He's gone to fight the monster Majin Buu alongside the Supreme Kai and his servant Kibito." A pause settled upon the room, and he smiled inwardly as he watched the proud Saiyan prince's disdainful frown fade into an expression of "deer-in-headlights" confusion. "A lot has happened lately that neither you, nor Bulma, nor any of the others have been informed of, Vegeta." Crossing his arms, he continued.
"Recently Gohan was somehow split in two, his Saiyan side confined in one body, his human side in another—this you know. What you don't know, is why." A nod from the Saiyan. "…Have you ever met the South Kai, ruler and overseer of the South quadrant of space?" Vegeta shook his head "no"; he'd only been dead a short while—how could he have met those who resided among the upper echelons of the realm of the dead? "Well, this kai recently turned—he betrayed his fellow gods and the entire universe by allying himself with a powerful wizard by the name of Babidi."
"…Wizard?" Vegeta snorted incredulously. "What, is he threatening to pull a bunny from his hat and terrorize the Earth with it?"
"Hardly," Piccolo retorted coldly, unmiffed by the remark. "He used the South Kai's powers to separate Gohan as you've seen him, thereby eliminating the only obstacle between himself and universal rule."
"How so?" he queried, still chuckling to himself at his own joke.
"With Gohan's power distributed so unevenly in two bodies, he can no longer stand up to the monster Babidi is gathering energy to release—Majin Buu."
'Buu? What kind of a name is Buu?' Vegeta rolled his eyes as the alien finished his dramatic recitation. "So…where exactly does a Supreme Kai fit into all this?"
"He came to rejoin the two Gohans, which he successfully did just yesterday. As soon as he was ready to fight, Gohan flew off with the Kai and his servant Kibito to find Babidi's ship and halt his plans."
"Well," he replied lazily, staring down at the floor and smiling, "why don't you tell me where they are. If I know his strength—and I do—that brat's going to need all the help he can get in a fight."
"No." Vegeta's eyes shot back up level with Piccolo's. "You are too weak to help."
His gaze darkened, freezing in a cold stare. "What?"
"The word of the Supreme Kai himself. No one can match Gohan's power now. Not you, not Goku, not anyone. That was why they attacked only him—because no one else mattered. If that boy cannot defeat Buu, then there's no one who can."
Contemptuously, he sneered, "How can you speak like that, so hopelessly? I though you cared for this measly little planet—you won't even tell me—"
"Because you can't help, not this time. Picture a man trying to move a boulder. If an ant comes along and starts pushing as well, how much difference will it make? None. If that man can't push it alone, then it certainly can't be pushed with the ant's help. You are the ant this time, Vegeta. Gohan may as well step on you."
Seething with anger, it took all the will power the Saiyan had gained over the years not to blow this Namek before him to kingdom come. Instead, he muttered the first thought that entered his head. "Kakkarot's mate is dead. And his brat's mate is missing." The change of subject was good.
"Wha—?!" exclaimed Piccolo, with Dende unable to form words. His arms dropped to his sides as he struggled to comprehend the revelation. "Wha—how—wait…when—when you stopped near Gohan's house…"
Vegeta nodded. "The humans were already combing through the wreckage; I stuck around to find out what was going on, and overheard them list the girl as missing and the woman as dead. I saw the woman's body—dead as a doornail, her skull was crushed."
Piccolo could only cover his face with one hand, murmuring, "This isn't good…they know Gohan's coming. And the girl…I don't even want to think about what he'll do when he finds out."
'Perhaps,' a light voice echoed in all their minds, 'this is exactly what we need. This may in fact be the final straw which will drive the boy to destroy Babidi and the South Kai.'
"S-Supreme Kai…?" Piccolo breathed, a little surprised that the god had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
'It was Babidi and the Kai who took the girl and killed the woman—of that I am certain. However—I do not want Gohan to know of these events yet.'
"But, why, sir?" Dende questioned.
'Gohan must be taken by surprise when Babidi uses her as a bargaining chip. If he knows of this beforehand, he may begin to plan his actions, losing any on-the-spot thinking. We can't have him contemplating consequences—he must think of nothing but saving her…and killing Babidi.'
Vegeta sat on the proverbial sidelines, observing the conversation distantly, gauging the strengths and weaknesses of the Kai's plan. It was time to intercede. "One moment," he called out during a lull in the telepathic chat. "You're forgetting something, Kai."
Giving a mental frown, but humoring the man just the same, the god responded, 'And what might that be, Vegeta?'
"You forget—the boy cares for the girl too much. Too much to do anything rash. As soon as he learns of her situation, he will check his emotions, tone them down, lest he somehow endanger her well-being with his good intentions." This was exactly why love was a weakness—and he was sorry to say that he himself had succumbed to it. If anything like this ever happened to him, well…he didn't doubt that someday he might find himself in Gohan's position. "What Babidi says, he will do—whatever he says. He's a simpering milk-sop of a half-Saiyan, not fit to rank himself with our race."
'I think…you judge Gohan too harshly, Vegeta,' came the cool reply, and the Saiyan "hmph"ed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. 'You conjecture based on outward observations, tainted with your own opinions of the boy. I speak as before with the knowledge of actually seeing into his mind.
'I feel his emotions still inside me, his joys and sorrows. I sense him forever weighing events on a balance, discerning consequences to follow. His emotions float in a slough amidst memories and worry—what can he do? Can he possibly make any difference? How?—but deep inside, hidden in his heart, he keeps a terrible beast, thrashing about, bound in chains of unconscious will. Babidi will break them—I have seen it. And in doing so he will unwittingly unleash this beast Gohan keeps in secret.
'You call him a simpering milk-sop, not fit to call himself a Saiyan.' A mental smile formed in the minds of the Lookout's occupants. 'I've watched your race for quite some time, Vegeta…It was like a little pet to me, I guess you could say. I shifted events throughout history, always in your favor whether you deemed them to be or not—your triumph over the rivals for your planet…quite a fortunate coincidence the first full moon in ages appeared on the night of that fateful battle, eh? And Frieza…well, lucky the one you call "Kakkarot"—the most powerful pure-blood—escaped to Earth before that dictator came and destroyed your planet, wasn't it?
'Gohan, though, has found the golden mean in himself. One half peaceful, desirous of knowledge, caring—one half powerful, desirous of the thrill of the fight, cunning. Simpering milk-sop? Hardly…he is exactly what I envisioned for all Saiyans; he has achieved balance, stability. The only fault I see is that half of his heritage had to be sacrificed for my desires to come to fruition…'
Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, dark and foreboding with no light escaping their depths, still staring at the floor. His frown deepened, forming creases upon the features of an otherwise perfectly chiseled face.
He was no one's pet.
"Oohh…" Man, speaking hurt. A lot. In fact, as she tested her limbs tentatively, she discovered that pretty much any kind of movement pained her. Thinking was starting to hurt as well.
Making a concerted effort to ignore the pain emanating from her skull, she willed her eyes open…what had happened? She stretched her memory—the last thing she remembered was…flying. With Chichi. In her jet-copter.
Well, she was definitely no longer in her copter, she wasn't—as far as she could tell—flying, and Chichi was nowhere to be seen. Of course, there wasn't a lot to see. This was…a cell. Yes, that was how best to describe it. There were no bars, but then, none were needed. She was surrounded on three sides by steel—thick steel, from the sound of it as she rapped on the floor a few times. The only difference between the fourth side and the other three was the presence of a small door, most likely to deliver meals to prisoners. Craning her head around as she sat upright on the floor, she gauged her surroundings.
One door, four walls, no furniture, no ventilation system, no windows—what kind of a prison was this?
Her throat was dry and scratchy, sore from disuse, and she waited until she'd worked up a coating of saliva before attempting to speak again. "…H-Hello?" she hazarded, shivering as her voice echoed loudly in the small room, bouncing from wall to wall. She stood up and called again, one hand on the wall above the small door, "Can anyone hear me? Hello? I'm awake now…" On second thought, did she really want whoever had put her in this room to know she was conscious?
She sank back down to the floor against the wall, pulling her knees up to her chin. Where was Gohan?…Did he have anything to do with where she was now? Did the final clue on that paper hold the answer? "Lookout"? She'd been so close to finding out, then this happened…but where was Chichi? Videl hoped nothing bad had happened to the woman. Maybe she was also—
'Ah, awake already, my dear?' She quickly scrambled to her feet, eyes darting around the room. 'My, my, and I would've pegged you as out for another hour at least…' The voice sneered in her mind, squeaky, scratchy, both at once. She tried to block it by covering her ears, but to no avail. 'Oh!' The voice was offended. 'You don't like listening to me? I'm hurt! But don't worry—you won't be kept waiting for long, just until that brat and the kai arrive. Then, I'm afraid I'll have no more use for you…Dear me, what shall I do with you? I'm sure South Kai will think of something.'
"Wh—who are you?…What do you want with me?" she called out, making a visible effort to keep her voice steady, still scanning the room for the owner of the voice in her head.
'You?!' the voice laughed. 'What ever would make you think I want anything with you? Oh no, no, you are merely my little bit of security just to make sure that boy, that Son Gohan, doesn't go and do anything too rash that might upset my plans…Strange, I simply don't understand what he sees in you—too tall and lanky for my tastes.'
Videl might have been slightly offended had she not been battling a storm of other emotions at the time. Fear, anxiety, worry, anger, confusion, despair, hope; they all vied for her attentions, but she could acknowledge only one at a time. Right now, it was confusion's turn.
"…Wha—what do you want with Gohan?"
'I merely want him not to interfere with my purpose on Earth—that is all I require. And with you here, I have a strong feeling he'll comply.'
Great, so she was blackmail material! No one treated a Satan this way—after all, her father had…oh, wait… "…And your purpose would be?"
A mental sigh from her captor blew through her mind. '…You bore me, girl. I've no time to answer such banal questions—besides, I've got a few more important tasks at hand right now; in fact, I can sense him arriving right now! Why don't you just sit there and look helpless for a while? I'll be back for you soon.'
"Hey—!" But the voice was gone. "Hello? Hel—come back, you! Come back and talk to me! Now!" Darn…it seemed yelling wouldn't work right now. She lowered her eyes in defeat.
"…Gohan…"
"We've been tracking him for quite some time now. Long before he'd even thought about the Earth, we were already following his movements. Bibidi hid Buu's container back at the end of the First Majin War, and his whereabouts were lost to the Kais. He simply disappeared from existence, it seemed, which was perfectly fine with us."
"Then, what happened to bring about this new threat with Babidi?"
"Well, deep down, though he was gone, we all feared that since he was never truly destroyed, he would always pose a danger. He would always be there, haunting us, threatening to come back and destroy us all. Thankfully now—at this time of his unleashing—he is reborn in a universe where one exists who can beat him."
Gohan gulped nervously, glad that the god and servant couldn't see his worried expression as they flew along in the dark. "Guess that's me, huh?"
A nod, though none could see it. "When Babidi started becoming active in his quest to resurrect Buu, gathering support for his cause, I made it a point to interfere as little as possible with his plans—to try and lure him into a false sense of security. We tracked him as he moved throughout the universe, from quadrant to quadrant, and when he reached the Earth, it didn't take long to deduce why. He'd begun gathering energy to break the seal long before he came here, and now he merely needs the smallest bit, one last burst to top it off."
"Right—so, you want me to take out Babidi first?"
"Yes. The kai doesn't know the spell to release Buu, and if we can manage to kill the wizard quickly enough, then we won't even need to worry about the monster. This Second Majin War will be over before it is begun, and you will have saved the entire universe. Again."
Gohan frowned. The universe…save the whole universe…what kind of responsibility was that? Why did it have to come to him—why did it seem to always come to him? He could never escape it, this curse of his power. What if…what if the Supreme Kai was wrong? From what he'd heard, fighting this Majin Buu would't exactly be a walk in the park—in fact, if things had gone differently before, he probably wouldn't even be alive to be worrying about fighting.
So, what if he couldn't do it? Could he, Son Gohan, son of the most powerful pure-blooded Saiyan, really have the kind of power this being spoke of? Was it possible? He still, still did not feel it rushing through his veins. He sensed no sudden welling up of energy in his body, no surge of confidence that yes, he was the strongest in the universe. Could he…win? Save them all?
'Of course! You're a Saiyan—you shouldn't even be having these doubts!' he could almost hear his alien blood sneering at him. 'How can you have doubts with me in you? Power—it's yours! We'll win!'
And, what of the human half? 'I don't know how, but I can feel it as well. We will win, because we have to. You have to. I must win.
'Human—Saiyan. It matters not what I am, for I am both, and I feel them coming together at last. I feel their thoughts finally merging, no longer separate and striving for separate means, pushing in two directions, but as one soul. Now, with a common goal—to beat this, to win the day. This…this is all that matters: that we, you, I win…'
Gohan closed his coal-black eyes to the coal-black night and flew on in silence. If either the Supreme Kai or Kibito spoke again, then he neither heard nor noticed it.
'I am not human. I am not Saiyan. I am not even half-Saiyan…I am Son Gohan, and I am coming for you, Babidi.'
Mere miles away, Babidi shivered as he climbed up the chute connecting the inner workings of his ship to the outside world. They were coming, and very near now. He'd thought the ship had been hidden well enough—with it buried underground, even if you flew over and looked right at it, you wouldn't notice it unless you were truly looking for it. Apparently, however, somehow the Kai had found him.
Though the night was dark—the waxing moon provided little light—Babidi didn't need nocturnal vision to sense the three energies speeding towards his hideout.
"Kai!" he called out to his servant. "Come to me, now! They are nearly upon us. Have you done as I requested?"
The traitorous god climbed up to join his master. "Exactly as you commanded, Sir. The girl is ready and waiting in the room."
"Wonderful…" Both lifted their eyes now to the incoming kis. One was exceptionally larger than the other two, and it didn't take an expert in ki detection to pinpoint it as Gohan. The others were the Supreme Kai and that sycophantic servant of his, Kibito. The wind picked up around the ship, ruffling the South Kai's long robes and sending Babidi's cape flapping behind him, nearly dragging the small creature to the ground.
As if they were beings from some sidereal realm, Gohan, the Kai, and Kibito gently alighted upon the dusty ground, hardly making any sound, a few yards from Babidi. The area in a radius of twenty feet from the group was lit up clear as day by the demi-Saiyan's glowing aura—though, the light was merely a sign he was powering up, nothing more.
"…So good to finally meet you in person, boy. I've heard great things about you…" the wizard began softly, lips curling up into a devious smile.
"Wish I could say the same of you, Babidi," Gohan spat back, each word dripping with disdain. "The Supreme Kai neglected to tell me my opponent would be so…short."
The wicked smile faded; this boy was obviously not one to observe the niceties of introduction before they commenced their attempts at destroying one another. "Well then, I regret to inform you that I will not be your opponent."
"Oh, yes, now I remember," he fired back tauntingly. "That Majin Buu creature of yours, right? I was under the impression that he wasn't available, though…something about you not having gathered enough energy to release him?"
The Supreme Kai eyed Gohan anxiously from behind as he silently observed the seemingly pointless banter going on between the demi-Saiyan and Babidi—he was wasting precious time! From the look on the wizard's face, Gohan was correct in assuming Buu hadn't been released yet—so what was he waiting for?
He missed seeing the eager smirk cross Gohan's face as Babidi's expression paled in fear, but he did not miss him gradually sinking into a fighting stance, arms raised at the ready.
He was going to fight? "Gohan!" he hissed just loud enough for him to hear. "What are you doing? Stop wasting time and kill him—now!"
"I am," he responded coldly, having lost any hesitation he might have had before, and leaned his weight forward, preparing to strike with lightning celerity before the wizard or lesser kai could respond.
The weight shift, unfortunately, didn't pass unnoticed—nor was it unexpected by the duo. All fear fled from Babidi's face, replaced with the smile he'd worn at Gohan's arrival. He raised a single hand and snapped—a screen popped into existence between Gohan and Babidi, and he had to react quickly to stop himself from flying into it. "Something I think you might want to consider before attacking, my boy…"
Before he could respond, the screen buzzed to life, and Gohan felt the strength suddenly flee his arms and legs, nearly sending him to his knees. How he managed to stay standing up was beyond his ken at the moment. "…Videl…" She wandered around a small room, pacing worriedly, banging on a small door and occasionally opening her mouth to yell—there was no sound from it, though. Tearing himself from the image, Gohan shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You—where is she? What'd you do to her?" he growled.
Behind the screen, Babidi's grin merely widened, and he gave not a word in response.
'Gohan,' the normally calming voice of the Supreme Kai failed to comfort him. 'Gohan—do not pay any attention to him; you must strike now. Do not think, do. He can't do anything to her if he's dead.'
"But…" he spoke aloud, words fail him. "Videl…she—"
'Kill him!' The rage was evident in the thought. 'Now, Gohan—or he will surely kill her. He is desperate to release Buu, that is all that matters, and that girl's life is nothing to him, nothing but a tool he can use to manipulate you with. Take him down now!'
Gohan still hesitated, and with a mental shove, he pushed the boy's astral form forward, inadvertently propelling his physical form forward a step as well from the shock. The demi-Saiyan grabbed his head in frustration, releasing another growl.
"Kai! You tell your monkey he'd better hold his ground—or else!" the garbled and scratchy voice called out defensively, sensing the internal conflict between his enemies. "One more step, and I snap my fingers again." Gohan looked up, eyes wide, but behind them was evident fury, "You may be fast, little boy, but do you think you're fast enough?"
'Videl…forgive me…' He cast a quick glance at the image—she was now sitting in the middle of the floor, eyes shut as she massaged her temples wearily. "No—I know I'm fast enough."
Before he'd even finished the statement, though, Babidi had snapped his fingers in anticipation of the brash statement, drawing Gohan's attentions again to the screen…Sound! He could hear now everything that was happening in the cell, and the first thing he heard was…a knock…Videl apparently also heard it, and her head shot up to look at the door, expression puzzled.
"You know…" Babidi began again, a sly tone laced in his voice, "Humans, for some strange reason, don't seem to hold up that well under pressure—South Kai can attest to that." He cast a wicked glance at his servant, then turned back to Gohan who looked on worriedly. "I suppose they just can't handle emotional situations that throw them off balance, that toss their perceptions into disarray…Now, I wonder, what might happen if that poor girl was led to believe that you…who she cares for so deeply…no longer returned those feelings…" He turned back to the image, and Videl now stood at the door, which seemed significantly larger than before and had somehow sprouted a doorknob.
"I wonder just what might happen with a shift in balance like that…South Kai?" The god merely smiled grimly.
He watched as Videl reached forward, and all the while he cried in his mind, 'Don't…don't do it, don't open it…Videl…' But she did; she grasped the knob firmly in one hand, biting her lip, and gave it a definitive twist as she flung it open.
A tall figure blocked the doorway, then stepped through, forcing Videl to retreat a few feet, one hand clapped over her mouth as her voice shakily choked out, "…Go—Gohan…?"
"No…" he murmured, voice soft with shock at first as he viewed the false Gohan—this wasn't happening; he wasn't watching this happen! "No! Videl!"
But, of course, she couldn't hear his futile pleas.
Post-Chapter Notes: Well? Oh come on, don't act like you didn't expect me to leave you hanging! Yeah yeah, you want to be mad at me? Then put it in review form! After all, it's tradition to review after reading, and since you stuck with me this far, why not give a few more moments to let me know what you thought. Praise? Hatred? Put it in your review. Also—for anyone interested, I'm putting together an e-mail list for notification purposes. Drop me a note at orofangwen@fr.st, and I'll be sure to put you on it. Thanks to all who've reviewed so far—you're wonderful! Hmm, if these reviews keep up, I might have to throw together some "100 Review Special" something-or-other….