In the Eyes of a Child
Chapter Six - Nani?! Vegeta?!
"We gave you the rules. But you broke them. So we're going to stop being nice. You want to play rough? Then let's play rough."
Both of Gohan's hands were clamped, and he yelled, "Lay a finger on my brother and I'm going to kill you all! That I swear! I'm going to kill you---"
"I dare you to try, brat. I dare you to."
And then, silence.
Brat...?
Goku looked at Gohan, then he grabbed the younger saiyajin's arm. "Let us go, Gohan," he said as he put two fingers to his forehead. "I know how we can get there."
"Dad, no!" Gohan yelled back. "They're going to hurt Goten if we don't play by their rules! We have to play things their way! We have to---"
"If my hunch is right, it's them who's in for more trouble," Goku countered. "Come on, Gohan, let's go."
"And where do you think you're going?" the voice teased. "I'll say this for the last time, follow the rules... or the girl... and the kid... is going to get it."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Two kids were rolling on the floor in laughter in front of Videl, who was still tied up to the wall with ki-rings. The horror on her face was the complete opposite of the boys' expressions. One was a spiky-haired chibi, while the other was a lavender-haired boy, and they continued to laugh as Videl whined in defiance.
"NOOOOOO!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The older boy got up to face her and held up a small device in his hand. "Oh yes!" he taunted as he pointed the device in his hand to a box-shaped contraption in front of the other kid. "Oh yes, Videl! Let's do this!"
He flipped a switch.
Gohan froze as he heard Videl's scream from the other end of the line. As her screams grew louder and louder, he began shaking uncontrollably, and without much thought, he blasted the transmitter, and a part of Korin's tower with it. "Take me to where they are, dad. Take me there! They've hurt her long enough, and for that, they will pay!"
And Goku teleported themselves to Goten and Videls' location.
A cloaked figure stood in front of Goku and Gohan when they arrived at the location of the people they were supposed to rescue. He looked really short for his age, and they could now sense his aura that was carefully hidden a while back. However, Gohan was too furious to notice what was obvious.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
As he heard another scream escape from the lips of the woman he loved, he immediately charged for the man behind it all. His hands swiftly went to the man's neck, and he began to strangle him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! IT HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURTS!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!" Videl continued to scream from inside another room, followed shortly by demonic laughter apparently from two children. In his anger, Gohan pressed his hands on the enemy's neck even harder, until the other managed to charge up a ki-blast that knocked the saiyajin away.
"NOOOOOOOOO!! STOP IT!! GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!"
The device lay unnoticed on the floor as the two children continued to burst out in laughter in front of the tortured teenager. Everything was just driving her out of her mind, everything was making her lose more and more of the sanity she had left. And the torture continued to her dismay, and all that she could do was scream out the name of the man who protected her all this time.
That was all she could do.
"Let them go!" Gohan snapped at the cloaked warrior he was now facing with his father. Although Goku wasn't really paying much attention, he was busy looking around for some odd reason that Gohan could not explain. At one moment, he would stare at the walls and the roof; at their nemesis in the next; and sometimes he seemed to be putting clues together. But Gohan didn't have time to mind his father. The task was at hand. He had to save Videl and Goten, no matter what the cost. No matter what it would take him.
"Make me."
Gohan attacked in fury, throwing punches, kicks and ki-blasts blindly at the enemy. To his amazement --- and Goku's puzzlement, as that was his current state --- their foe seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. And to add to their confusion --- Goku's confusion, that is --- the cloaked man seemed to hold himself back for some odd reason. He only attacked once, and the blast he fired was clearly one of his weakest ones. The younger saiyajin jumped away from the enemy and once he landed, he held his hands over his head as he began to charge up a massive ki-blast.
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
he enemy folded his arms as he stopped moving, and he was directly in the path of the ki-blast Gohan would fire. But he didn't seem to know. Or he didn't seem to care. He just stood there, without any movement. He just waited for the blast.
"SENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!"
Goku continued to run his hand through the walls as he examined what they were made of. He used his fists to knock on the walls and check how thick they were, and what they were possibly made of. He then put his ear against the wall to listen for sounds from the other side, and he could still hear Videl's screams and laughter of two kids who were obviously enjoying. And with that, was the sound of...
Someone singing...?
And then, the singing stopped.
For once, Goku seemed to be actually thinking. He took a second to look at Gohan, who was increasing the power and size of the blast he was planning to fire. Their enemy still stood there as if nothing was happening, looking smug as ever. Goku could see the lower part of his face even though the hood pretty much shrouded the rest of his features. And then, Goku turned away from the battle as he continued to investigate the area they were in, and at the same time, he tried to figure out how to get Videl and Goten out. He was too caught up in his investigations that he forgot that he could easily do so by just locking on to Videl's ki and teleporting there.
He was thinking too much. Too much, indeed.
Gohan hissed, "You shall pay for what you've done, you monster."
"Your blast won't hurt me," the other continued to taunt.
"We'll see," he sneered. "KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
I love you, you love me,
we're one happy family,
With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you,
Won't you say you love me too?
They were all petrified as the song echoed continuously. They were so petrified, in fact, that the ki-blast Gohan was charging up completely died down. The song hurt their ears, and it prevented them from moving.
I love you, you love me, we're one happy family...
The cloaked man could not take it any longer. He turned around and yelled --- a yell that surpassed Chichi's. Goku and Gohan, who knew what was coming because they had seen Chichi yell so many times before, covered their ears in an instant.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP PLAYING WITH MY FAVORITE TAPE, DAMNIT!!"
An earthquake accompanied the yell, and once it was over, a part of the wall seemed to separate from the rest, and a head stuck out from the inside. It was a little boy, with lavender hair and blue eyes. A little boy Goku and Gohan had seen almost every day. And he said, "Sorry, Otousan! It was a mistake!"
It took another second for all the events to register into Gohan's brain, who was used to solving all sorts of problems ranging from basic algebra to the most complicated ends of trigonometry. Then everything fell into place, and he felt like smacking himself in the head --- hard --- and then killing himself for not noticing what was obvious all along. However, to his surprise, he found himself rolling on the floor in laughter.
"What's so funny, brat?!"
"Gohan, what's wrong?" Goku asked cluelessly.
The song continued to play.
I love you. You love me. We're one happy family.
Yes, that song.
It still continued to play, for the chibi left behind still did not get it into his brain that the yell from the mastermind of the prank was supposed to be his cue for him to stop the tape. But no, the song continued. And this time, it was a girl's laughter that went in chorus with Gohan's.
"Gohan, what's going on? Can you please explain it to me?" Goku asked. "I have the clues, but I can't seem to figure stuff out for some reason..."
A pair of cold, angry eyes darted towards the kid, and in fear, Trunks ran back into his hiding place and slammed the door-which-looked-like-part-of-the-wall shut.
"WAIT!! WHAT THE---?!?! BARNEY?!?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Gohan exclaimed as he continued to roll on the floor in laughter. The more the song played, the more he could not stop himself from bursting in laughter. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt, and tears were coming out of his eyes.
Then it hit Goku. The saiyajin stared at the person Gohan was fighting with earlier, and at the same time, the other turned to face him with a face as read as a tomato. Goku could not help hold back his shock. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened considerably, and with a voice clearly depicting disbelief --- a voice, which too, was nearly drowned by the continuous laughter of Gohan and Videl --- he managed to choke out, "Nani?! Vegeta?!"
