AN: Thanks for all the great reviews! My brain is slightly fried right
now; I can't remember anything from the past few days. My short-term memory
is shot. So forgive my slowness with this chapter and don't forget to
REVIEW!! I may not remember your review five minutes after I read it but
it will give me unspeakable joy while I read it.
SO ON WITH THE STORY
Chapter 6 Questions Answered, Questions Asked
"Gohan you have a lot of explaining to do!" Videl was furious, to say the least. "How is it that you know Bulma Briefs?" Videl's face was bright red from anger, she could barley speak and really wanted to just punch the boy in the face.
"Fine Videl, you're right I guess I should explain." Gohan sighed heavily, trying to decide how to explain everything with out explaining EVERYTHING. "Ok, my dad and she were old friends. They met when my dad was about eight and I met Bulma when I was four."
"Wow Gohan, I didn't know your family was that well connected." Erasa slid up next to Gohan and interlocked her arm and his. "Do you know a lot of famous people?"
"No, not really... I mean, I've never considered any of them famous at least. Oh, well, Bulma did used to date Yamcha. He met my dad at the same time he met Bulma, and, after a few problems were solved, became good friends with Bulma and my dad. Even now that Bulma and him have broken up he's still considered a good friend of ours, a part of the group."
"You really do know the Bandit then?" Sharpner seemed shocked and saddened at the same time.
"Yeah, I told you that. I haven't seen him in years though; I actually never even knew he was a baseball player until I saw the picture at your house Sharpner."
"Man, I can't believe nerd boy is 'in' with some of the most famous people in the world. That's just not right; I was supposed to be the cool one here!" Sharpner whined loudly. He soon began to cough though; Vegeta had done a lot of damage to him. "Who was that creepy dude who threw me into a wall anyway?" Gohan laughed.
"THAT was Vegeta, the psycho behind most of the explosions at Capsule Corps. He also happens to be Bulma's err... I guess he's her husband, for lack of a better term. I told you all not to insult anyone there. Vegeta doesn't make idle threats." Erasa was clinging to his arm tighter than ever, almost cutting off the circulation. She was pale and scared.
"I can't believe I was in a room with someone who would actually kill people for fun!"
"Don't worry. He won't kill you; he's mellowed out a lot over the years."
"What did he mean when he said humans are weak?" Videl was eying Gohan very closely looking for a sign of him lying.
"Well you see, Vegeta thinks he's above humans. But he calls everyone weak; he thinks he's the strongest fighter in the universe." Gohan spoke calmly, and, since he wasn't lying, Videl took him on his word. She had grown to be able to tell when he was really lying to her.
"Well we all know that isn't true. My dad's the strongest fighter in the world."
"Yeah," Erasa's death grip on Gohan's arm loosened as she got her confidence back. "He's not so tough I bet. I mean Gohan didn't even flinch when the scary man threatened him." Gohan rubbed his arm where Erasa had grabbed him. *That's right,* Videl thought, *He didn't even flinch, yet he says the man is dangerous. He threw Sharpner into a wall effortlessly and Gohan wasn't scared of him at all. Is he lying or what? I don't know anymore, I just don't know.* Videl watched Gohan closely as he continued to talk to Erasa and Sharpner about what had transpired that afternoon.
"So what are we doing this weekend Gohan?" Videl asked after a few minutes.
"Oh, well, tomorrow we have to go to the town where the shelter was built. I know the way but it is a long walk through the woods, an hour or so, two at max, to do the actual walking. When we get to the village we should probably talk to some of the people who lived there seven years ago. And then Sharpner can take pictures of the site of the shelter and then we can go back to my place and finish everything before you all have to go home." Gohan hid the nervousness in his voice rather well as he spoke about the shelter he had destroyed many years ago. *I hope no one recognizes me. What am I saying, of course no one will recognize me, my hair is black and a lot shorter than it was when I was a child. There's no way anyone can recognize me. Dende please, let no one in the village recognize me.*
"Gohan, hey, we've stopped." Gohan blinked a few times before standing up and walking to the front of the ship. The land in front of him was covered in a dense forest. In the only clearing that could be seen for miles sat a small white house, Gohan's house.
"We're here. I guess Bulma didn't program this thing to land. Hold on guys, this could be a little bumpy." The landing, though a little shaky, wasn't all that bad. Gohan's friends were able to walk properly afterwards, a good sign, especially since it was his first time ever using a machine to fly somewhere. They all grabbed their bags and followed Gohan to his front door. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My mom's a little... eccentric, so just ignore anything she might say that doesn't make sense." They all looked at Gohan curiously as he spoke. *What's he hiding, is he afraid his mom might give something away?* Gohan sighed and opened the door. "Hey mom, we're here! Mom, Mom where are you?"
Gohan looked all around the house but his mother was not there. He finally noticed a note on the refrigerator that read:
Gohan,
I realized we didn't have enough food in the house to feed you and your friends. I'll be back soon with plenty of food.
Love,
Mom
Gohan sighed in relief, at least he could get his friends settled in before Chichi came back. He walked back over to his friends. "She's out shopping right now so why don't I show you where to put your stuff down?" He walked down the hall and opened one of the doors, inside there was two beds. "This is where you and Erasa are staying Videl," He opened the next door down the hallway, "and this is where you're gonna sleep Sharpner." They all went into their rooms and put their bags down.
"Where do you sleep Gohan?" Erasa asked curiously.
"I... I... Well, it doesn't matter." Gohan knew that he wasn't going to sleep that night, at least not at his house. He wanted to go meditate in the mountains and try and find out who this new enemy was. Suddenly Gohan's Saiyan hearing picked up a sound outside. He turned away from his friends and walked to the window. He got there just in time to see a figure run into the forest near his house. He tried to sense for the person's ki but felt nothing. *What the...? Either I'm seeing things and there's no one out there, or there is someone and they're masking their ki. This isn't good, what if it's a new enemy? Or even worse, an old friend, if one of the gang shows up now I'll have WAY too much explaining to do. Please Dende, let it be an animal or something, please!*
"Hey Gohan, is everything all right?" Videl had come up behind Gohan and was staring out the window trying to find what he was looking at.
"Yeah... Sorry Videl, I just thought I saw something out there, that's all." Gohan turned back to the group and smiled. "You guys wanna watch TV for a while until my mom gets home?" Erasa nodded vigorously and Sharpner agreed. Videl didn't say or do anything but followed the others into Gohan's living room. They sat down and turned on the TV. They flipped stations until they came across a movie that everyone could agree on. The group of friends sat there for a half an hour talking and watching the movie.
"So Gohan how do like our school so far?" Erasa asked curiously.
"It's a long trip but I don't mind. The class work is really easy compared to what I've been forced to study all my life."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I learned everything we're doing in class by the time I was ten."
"No way," Erasa said, sitting up in the couch to get a better look at Gohan, "you must not have had much of a social life if you spent THAT much time studying!"
"It really wasn't that bad, my dad always used to make sure that I got out and had fun," Gohan's eyes flashed a look of utter pain and sadness at the thought of his father, but he quickly recomposed himself and continued, "my mom is the one obsessed with making sure I'm the smartest person on the planet."
"Did she have you study at Capsule Corp or something?" Videl asked quickly, she had noticed the flash of pain in Gohan's eyes and somehow knew not to press that matter.
"Oh, she'd never allow that! Bulma may be a genius but she was also a friend of my father's, which makes her dangerous to be around, at least in my mom's eyes. Besides she always thought that Vegeta would go out of his way to kill me if I ever stepped foot in that place."
"Yet you didn't seem very scared of him at all," Videl asked curiously, staring at Gohan intensely as she did so.
"Yeah, well my mom is really overprotective. She thinks that anyone who ever fought against my father is out to kill me. She has a hard time trusting a lot of his old friends. The only reason she even speaks to Bulma and the others is for Goten, I convinced her that he needed someone like him to friends with. It took a while for her to come around to letting him and Trunks play together, Trunks is Vegeta's son after all, but now the two of them are inseparable. Unfortunately, Trunks has influenced Goten as much as he has influenced Trunks, just don't tell my mother that," Gohan laughed slightly, "if she knew that Goten would be locked up in the house studying as much as I had to when I was a kid." Gohan smiled at his friends, who were about to continue questioning him, but they were cut off.
"Gohan, are you here?" Gohan heard his mother call from the kitchen. He jumped up and ran out to the kitchen to greet his mom.
"Hey mom, don't forget my friends are here. PLEASE act like a normal person."
"I have to meet them," Chichi squealed with delight. She rushed into the living room and introduced herself to everyone as they introduced themselves to her.
"Satan... as in Satan Hercule?" Chichi asked, astonished, when Videl revealed her identity.
"Yeah, he's my dad."
"Oh my... you must be rich!"
"Uh.. I guess you could say that." Videl was uncomfortable with the way that Chichi was looking at her, especially after Gohan had said she was insane. Chichi continued to ask Videl questions about her home, trying to find out exactly how rich she was.
"I'm Sharpner by the way." Sharpner had not introduced himself yet and had been forgotten in all the fuss about Videl's family.
"Oh," Chichi exclaimed when she saw him, "What happened to your face?"
"Vegeta happened, that's what," Gohan said from the doorway.
"That brute, someone needs to teach him a lesson; beating up on an innocent boy." Chichi clenched her fist in anger.
"Well he wasn't exactly innocent..." Gohan started.
"Oh, and if he's in this bad of a mood he may take it out on my poor Goten."
"Mom, Goten can take care of himself. Besides it was Goten and Trunks sabotaging the GR that put him in such a bad mood. Don't worry though Bulma knows how to deal with Vegeta, Goten's in no danger."
"If he touches one hair on my poor Goten's head he'll be sorry he ever messed with me," Chichi said mock punching the air
Videl looked at her for a moment, studying her posture as she spoke. "You're a fighter?" Videl said bluntly, surprised at this revelation.
"Yes, I am." Chichi said regaining her composure, "I even competed in the World Tournament, but that was so long ago, before Gohan was even born..." Chichi's eyes got a dreamy far away look as she remembered her fight at the tournament.
"Wow, who would've ever thought that a nerd like Gohan could be the son of a real fighter." Sharpner began to laugh, but, for the second time that day, he found himself being shoved forcefully into a wall.
"Gohan is not a nerd you ignorant..." Chichi was filled with rage at the boy's attitude towards the person who REALLY saved the world seven years ago.
"Mom, please," Gohan said sitting down on the couch. His mother stopped and released the boy from her grasp.
"Sorry, my temper gets away from me sometimes. But if you ever insult my family again you will live to regret it." Sharpner nodded furiously, dreadfully scared of the woman standing in front of him, threatening his very existence.
"Wow Gohan, everyone you know seems to be really strong. Why aren't you?" Erasa asked innocently.
"Yeah Gohan, tell us," Videl asked coldly. Chichi looked at her son, whose head was bowed in contemplation.
"I don't like to fight," Gohan stated simply. Videl was about to ask why he didn't like to fight when her watch beeped.
"Videl, a group of thugs have taken the mayor hostage, we need your help." The voice in the watch pleaded.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm at least a five hour car drive from the city, I can't help. Please contact my father, and tell me if Saiyaman shows up." Videl looked up from her watch and smiled at Gohan. Chichi saw her son's face pale as he realized that he couldn't leave without rousing Videl's suspicions.
"Gohan dear, we need some firewood so I can cook dinner. Would you be so kind to go get some?" Gohan gave his mother a grateful look as he went out the door.
"I can help too." Videl jumped up to go follow Gohan, but Chichi stepped in front of her.
"You will do no such thing, Videl. You are a guest and I do not allow my guests to do unnecessary work while they are in MY house." Chichi turned around and winked at Gohan, "Now hurry up!" Gohan nodded and ran out the door.
A few minutes later Videl's watch beeped. "The Great Saiyaman has just arrived Videl, your father couldn't be found though, and he doesn't appear to be at home. But Saiyaman just took care of the entire situation, everyone is safe and the criminals are all in police custody." Videl thanked the officer and turned her watch off.
Ten minutes later Gohan walked in with a pile of firewood. He carefully placed some in the stove and some in the fireplace before turning back to his mother and asking if there was anything else he had to do. She shook her head no and went into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. The teens went back to their movie.
The rest of the night went by smoothly; they ate dinner (Gohan less than normal so as not to raise suspicions) and, after specifying their plans for the morning, went to bed. After the three teenagers went to bed Chichi went and got Gohan the rest of his dinner.
"Thanks Mom," Gohan said enthusiastically as his mother set a large mound of food down in front of him.
"I like your friends Gohan, well at least Erasa and Videl. Erasa seems to like you a lot." Chichi eyed her son as she stated this mockingly.
"Tell me about it," Gohan rolled his eyes.
"Videl though... why are you her friend? She's Mr. Satan's daughter, that's very dangerous if you plan on keeping your past a secret."
"I know Mom," Gohan finished his food in silence. He stood up and kissed his mother on the cheek, "I am going to go out and train for a while."
"Not just yet Gohan," said a voice from the door. Gohan turned around to find a shadowy figure standing there. The figure stepped into the light; it was Dende. "I wanted to talk to you Gohan. We have some information I think." Gohan motioned for his friend to sit down. Dende took a seat across from Gohan and began to speak.
"Many of the souls in hell are beginning to disappear. We don't know who has taken them as of yet, but neither Piccolo nor I can sense any beings that have died before. Well, except for the obvious few. So the question is where are these souls going?" Gohan looked grim. He stood up and thanked Dende for the information before excusing himself to go out to meditate.
Chichi watched Gohan leave and then turned back to Dende. "Would you like something to eat Dende?"
"No, thank you Miss Chichi, I don't eat, I only need water to survive."
"Oh, well then let me at least get you some water." Dende nodded in agreement. Unbeknownst to them another figure was making her way down the hall. Videl had heard voices and decided to see who it was that was up. She stopped short though when she saw a green creature sitting at Gohan's kitchen table. She hid behind the wall and decided to listen to the conversation between Dende and Chichi.
"I'm worried about Gohan, first that project and now this. I'm afraid that he'll go back to way he was after..." She handed Dende the glass of water and went to the sink to begin washing the many dishes left behind from Gohan's second dinner.
"Don't worry Miss Chichi, Gohan is strong, I know he never forgave himself for what happened but he WILL get through this."
"I hope you're right about that one, his friends from school are here and he needs to keep his cool. Did you know who he brought into this house?" Dende shook his head no, "He brought the daughter of that idiot Mr. Satan here, I may have forgiven the man for Goku's sake but I still don't trust the girl. Gohan likes her, and he might trust her, but he also trusts some of the most dangerous people with his life and the life of his brother." Videl was still listening and wanted to punch the woman if the face for insulting the man who had saved them all from Cell seven years ago, but managed to restrain herself in lieu of finding out more about the mysterious Son Gohan.
"He got that trait form his father, they trust everyone at face value, and if someone says something they believe it. Goten is the same way I've noticed. It's a wonderful quality to possess, but what happened seven years ago tainted Gohan's very spirit. He may be one of the most trusting and pure hearted people on the planet, but he has common sense and knows how to handle himself better then anyone I know."
"I know Dende, I know," Chichi sighed, beginning to dry and put away the dishes as she did so.
Dende smiled at her lightly, "Please don't worry, the others won't allow anything else to hurt Gohan like that ever again. I need to go now; Piccolo will be worried about me. Thank you for everything." Chichi walked Dende to the door and wave good bye as he took to the sky to return to the Lookout. She closed the door and turned to go to her room. Videl silently ran down the hall and quickly entered her room. She partly closed the door, so that Chichi wouldn't see her, and watched as Chichi walked into her room and closed the door.
Videl breathed a sigh of relief for the fact that she hadn't been caught eavesdropping. She sat back down on the bed and thought about what she'd just heard. *Who was that guy? And why is this project such a big deal to Gohan and everyone he knows? I wonder... what happened to him seven years ago? And why do they hate my father so much? The closer I get to Gohan the more secrets I seem to find. I have to find out what's going on with him. Why won't he tell me the truth, why does he always push me away when I try to get to know him better?* Videl drifted off into sleep still thinking about Gohan and his secrets.
Dende meanwhile was on his way back to the Lookout. Suddenly a ki beam came out of nowhere and knocked him out of the sky. His limp form fell into the forest below and didn't move. A shadowy figure came up behind the Namekian and lifted him onto his shoulder. The man looked around and then took to the sky himself. He stopped at a waterfall deep in the mountains, a waterfall that he was very familiar with, and set the young Guardian of the Earth on the ground. He dug through his pockets until he found the piece of paper he was looking for and set it down on a rock. He placed another rock on the paper to keep it from plowing away and walked over to where he had left Dende. He flung the unconscious Dende back onto his shoulder and looked back to the waterfall solemnly. He did not take to the sky this time though, he knew Gohan was nearby, and that Gohan would sense his ki if he flew. The figure jumped up to the top of the cliff and ran, faster than a human eye could see, down the mountain. After he was a good distance away left the ground he flew towards Satan City. He landed in the backyard of a large domed building and went inside. A few minutes later there was a loud roar and the Capsule Corp space ship/training room was launched into space.
Gohan took off from his house more worried than ever. *This new enemy has the power to steel souls? If he come with an army of dead villain from our pasts. What if Cell get resurrected? I'm not as strong as I used to be, everyone could die this time. Not just the other fighters but my mom and Goten, not to mention Videl and my other friends. They could all die and it would be entirely my fault.* Gohan stopped flying and slowly descended to the forest floor. *I can't do this. I just can't I always fail. People always end up dying; first my dad when he fought Radditz, if I had known how to fight, he never would have been able to take me; then Piccolo, he stepped in front of the blast when we fought the Saiyans, he gave his life for me, and trapped the others in the Next Dimension by doing so. Then in the fight with Cell...* Tears began to overflow Gohan's eyes as the events of that fateful day resurfaced. The pain felt fresh in his mind, like it had all happened only yesterday. *If I had only defeated Cell when I had the chance. I let my power go to my head. I guess I proved I was truly a Saiyan though, too cocky for my own good; but if I had just listened to my dad...*
Gohan took to the sky once again and made his way to his mountain sanctuary, the one place that was his and his alone. His thoughts were always a little clearer there. He stopped flying and returned to the floor of the forest. He walked slowly towards his sanctuary feeling that there was something wrong. He suddenly felt a ki, faint and a long way, Vegeta was on the rampage once again. Gohan thought about going to check out what had gotten Vegeta so upset, but then thought better of it. He did NOT want to cross an angry Vegeta, and either way it was probably just his brother and Trunks that had upset him. Gohan continued on to his sanctuary and when he arrived he stopped short in surprise.
Sitting on his favorite rock was a note. Gohan walked up to it slowly, wondering how it had gotten there. He picked it up and noticed his name scrawled across the envelope in a small letters. No one he knew wrote that small and with that much care, and even if he had recognized the writing, no one knew this place existed but him, so how would someone know to leave a note there for him? He took out the paper inside of the envelope and stopped breathing as he read what was written
Gohan,
I have taken Dende, the Guardian of the Earth, as my hostage. By now we are on our way to another planet. I know you cannot follow us now without raising your friend's suspicions. I will not harm him and I promise that all will be revealed in three days when you arrive at our location. Until then you cannot tell anyone about this. Dende's disappearance will not go unnoticed, I know, but you must not tell anyone of this note or of where you are going or Dende will die. I expect to see you alone, and prepared for a fight in three days. The coordinates for the planet shall be uploaded into the Capsule Corps backup space module tomorrow night. Take the ship then. We anxiously await your arrival.
Gohan didn't know what to say or do. *I have to save Dende; but how? I can sense he's already off the planet and whoever wrote this was right, I can't leave while my friends are staying with me... I failed again, Dende was taken and whoever has him is expecting me to be ready for a fight. The enemy is strong enough to override Dende's powers and now he has Dende himself. Does he want control of the Earth? No, if that were true then he wouldn't have told me where he was going and wouldn't tell me how to follow him. But then of course maybe he wants to fight me alone away from my friends. Maybe he's trying the 'divide and conquer' approach, we are all vulnerable when we're alone. What is going on?* Gohan stood in his sanctuary, his mind racing, trying to find a way to save one of his oldest friends from the evil that had taken him. Gohan stood there for hours staring at the letter in front of him, it was only the reflection of rising sun in the water that caught his eye and woke him from his thoughts. Gohan flew quickly back to his house to prepare for the day ahead of him. He was sure he couldn't tell his mother or any of his friends about Dende's predicament, they would try to rescue the Namek, which, in turn, would spell Dende's demise.
RANDOM FACT: It is pointed out by Dende in the Namek Saga that the Namekian race is asexual. They (like Goku in DB) don't recognize the difference between male and female. When referred to though masculine pronouns and nouns are used (i.e. KING Piccolo, God as opposed to Goddess, he instead of she, etc). It is also pointed out that Namekians do not eat anything, but they do drink water to sustain them, although Piccolo seems to contradict this fact when he comments on the food prepared by Chichi during the Trunks Saga ("Fish again?") as though he ate it himself...
AN: Hehe isn't that the title of an episode in the Frieza saga, 'Dende's Demise'? I don't know. I would like to thank everyone for their review and for helping me to formulate some ideas for the bad guy's identity. This chapter is so long compared to my other ones but then of course a lot happened. Poor Gohan, he's even more worried than before. And why did the mysterious figure take Dende? Well you aren't going to find out yet, no matter how many times you ask. Now go down, hit the little button and REVIEW!!!
Chapter 6 Questions Answered, Questions Asked
"Gohan you have a lot of explaining to do!" Videl was furious, to say the least. "How is it that you know Bulma Briefs?" Videl's face was bright red from anger, she could barley speak and really wanted to just punch the boy in the face.
"Fine Videl, you're right I guess I should explain." Gohan sighed heavily, trying to decide how to explain everything with out explaining EVERYTHING. "Ok, my dad and she were old friends. They met when my dad was about eight and I met Bulma when I was four."
"Wow Gohan, I didn't know your family was that well connected." Erasa slid up next to Gohan and interlocked her arm and his. "Do you know a lot of famous people?"
"No, not really... I mean, I've never considered any of them famous at least. Oh, well, Bulma did used to date Yamcha. He met my dad at the same time he met Bulma, and, after a few problems were solved, became good friends with Bulma and my dad. Even now that Bulma and him have broken up he's still considered a good friend of ours, a part of the group."
"You really do know the Bandit then?" Sharpner seemed shocked and saddened at the same time.
"Yeah, I told you that. I haven't seen him in years though; I actually never even knew he was a baseball player until I saw the picture at your house Sharpner."
"Man, I can't believe nerd boy is 'in' with some of the most famous people in the world. That's just not right; I was supposed to be the cool one here!" Sharpner whined loudly. He soon began to cough though; Vegeta had done a lot of damage to him. "Who was that creepy dude who threw me into a wall anyway?" Gohan laughed.
"THAT was Vegeta, the psycho behind most of the explosions at Capsule Corps. He also happens to be Bulma's err... I guess he's her husband, for lack of a better term. I told you all not to insult anyone there. Vegeta doesn't make idle threats." Erasa was clinging to his arm tighter than ever, almost cutting off the circulation. She was pale and scared.
"I can't believe I was in a room with someone who would actually kill people for fun!"
"Don't worry. He won't kill you; he's mellowed out a lot over the years."
"What did he mean when he said humans are weak?" Videl was eying Gohan very closely looking for a sign of him lying.
"Well you see, Vegeta thinks he's above humans. But he calls everyone weak; he thinks he's the strongest fighter in the universe." Gohan spoke calmly, and, since he wasn't lying, Videl took him on his word. She had grown to be able to tell when he was really lying to her.
"Well we all know that isn't true. My dad's the strongest fighter in the world."
"Yeah," Erasa's death grip on Gohan's arm loosened as she got her confidence back. "He's not so tough I bet. I mean Gohan didn't even flinch when the scary man threatened him." Gohan rubbed his arm where Erasa had grabbed him. *That's right,* Videl thought, *He didn't even flinch, yet he says the man is dangerous. He threw Sharpner into a wall effortlessly and Gohan wasn't scared of him at all. Is he lying or what? I don't know anymore, I just don't know.* Videl watched Gohan closely as he continued to talk to Erasa and Sharpner about what had transpired that afternoon.
"So what are we doing this weekend Gohan?" Videl asked after a few minutes.
"Oh, well, tomorrow we have to go to the town where the shelter was built. I know the way but it is a long walk through the woods, an hour or so, two at max, to do the actual walking. When we get to the village we should probably talk to some of the people who lived there seven years ago. And then Sharpner can take pictures of the site of the shelter and then we can go back to my place and finish everything before you all have to go home." Gohan hid the nervousness in his voice rather well as he spoke about the shelter he had destroyed many years ago. *I hope no one recognizes me. What am I saying, of course no one will recognize me, my hair is black and a lot shorter than it was when I was a child. There's no way anyone can recognize me. Dende please, let no one in the village recognize me.*
"Gohan, hey, we've stopped." Gohan blinked a few times before standing up and walking to the front of the ship. The land in front of him was covered in a dense forest. In the only clearing that could be seen for miles sat a small white house, Gohan's house.
"We're here. I guess Bulma didn't program this thing to land. Hold on guys, this could be a little bumpy." The landing, though a little shaky, wasn't all that bad. Gohan's friends were able to walk properly afterwards, a good sign, especially since it was his first time ever using a machine to fly somewhere. They all grabbed their bags and followed Gohan to his front door. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My mom's a little... eccentric, so just ignore anything she might say that doesn't make sense." They all looked at Gohan curiously as he spoke. *What's he hiding, is he afraid his mom might give something away?* Gohan sighed and opened the door. "Hey mom, we're here! Mom, Mom where are you?"
Gohan looked all around the house but his mother was not there. He finally noticed a note on the refrigerator that read:
Gohan,
I realized we didn't have enough food in the house to feed you and your friends. I'll be back soon with plenty of food.
Love,
Mom
Gohan sighed in relief, at least he could get his friends settled in before Chichi came back. He walked back over to his friends. "She's out shopping right now so why don't I show you where to put your stuff down?" He walked down the hall and opened one of the doors, inside there was two beds. "This is where you and Erasa are staying Videl," He opened the next door down the hallway, "and this is where you're gonna sleep Sharpner." They all went into their rooms and put their bags down.
"Where do you sleep Gohan?" Erasa asked curiously.
"I... I... Well, it doesn't matter." Gohan knew that he wasn't going to sleep that night, at least not at his house. He wanted to go meditate in the mountains and try and find out who this new enemy was. Suddenly Gohan's Saiyan hearing picked up a sound outside. He turned away from his friends and walked to the window. He got there just in time to see a figure run into the forest near his house. He tried to sense for the person's ki but felt nothing. *What the...? Either I'm seeing things and there's no one out there, or there is someone and they're masking their ki. This isn't good, what if it's a new enemy? Or even worse, an old friend, if one of the gang shows up now I'll have WAY too much explaining to do. Please Dende, let it be an animal or something, please!*
"Hey Gohan, is everything all right?" Videl had come up behind Gohan and was staring out the window trying to find what he was looking at.
"Yeah... Sorry Videl, I just thought I saw something out there, that's all." Gohan turned back to the group and smiled. "You guys wanna watch TV for a while until my mom gets home?" Erasa nodded vigorously and Sharpner agreed. Videl didn't say or do anything but followed the others into Gohan's living room. They sat down and turned on the TV. They flipped stations until they came across a movie that everyone could agree on. The group of friends sat there for a half an hour talking and watching the movie.
"So Gohan how do like our school so far?" Erasa asked curiously.
"It's a long trip but I don't mind. The class work is really easy compared to what I've been forced to study all my life."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I learned everything we're doing in class by the time I was ten."
"No way," Erasa said, sitting up in the couch to get a better look at Gohan, "you must not have had much of a social life if you spent THAT much time studying!"
"It really wasn't that bad, my dad always used to make sure that I got out and had fun," Gohan's eyes flashed a look of utter pain and sadness at the thought of his father, but he quickly recomposed himself and continued, "my mom is the one obsessed with making sure I'm the smartest person on the planet."
"Did she have you study at Capsule Corp or something?" Videl asked quickly, she had noticed the flash of pain in Gohan's eyes and somehow knew not to press that matter.
"Oh, she'd never allow that! Bulma may be a genius but she was also a friend of my father's, which makes her dangerous to be around, at least in my mom's eyes. Besides she always thought that Vegeta would go out of his way to kill me if I ever stepped foot in that place."
"Yet you didn't seem very scared of him at all," Videl asked curiously, staring at Gohan intensely as she did so.
"Yeah, well my mom is really overprotective. She thinks that anyone who ever fought against my father is out to kill me. She has a hard time trusting a lot of his old friends. The only reason she even speaks to Bulma and the others is for Goten, I convinced her that he needed someone like him to friends with. It took a while for her to come around to letting him and Trunks play together, Trunks is Vegeta's son after all, but now the two of them are inseparable. Unfortunately, Trunks has influenced Goten as much as he has influenced Trunks, just don't tell my mother that," Gohan laughed slightly, "if she knew that Goten would be locked up in the house studying as much as I had to when I was a kid." Gohan smiled at his friends, who were about to continue questioning him, but they were cut off.
"Gohan, are you here?" Gohan heard his mother call from the kitchen. He jumped up and ran out to the kitchen to greet his mom.
"Hey mom, don't forget my friends are here. PLEASE act like a normal person."
"I have to meet them," Chichi squealed with delight. She rushed into the living room and introduced herself to everyone as they introduced themselves to her.
"Satan... as in Satan Hercule?" Chichi asked, astonished, when Videl revealed her identity.
"Yeah, he's my dad."
"Oh my... you must be rich!"
"Uh.. I guess you could say that." Videl was uncomfortable with the way that Chichi was looking at her, especially after Gohan had said she was insane. Chichi continued to ask Videl questions about her home, trying to find out exactly how rich she was.
"I'm Sharpner by the way." Sharpner had not introduced himself yet and had been forgotten in all the fuss about Videl's family.
"Oh," Chichi exclaimed when she saw him, "What happened to your face?"
"Vegeta happened, that's what," Gohan said from the doorway.
"That brute, someone needs to teach him a lesson; beating up on an innocent boy." Chichi clenched her fist in anger.
"Well he wasn't exactly innocent..." Gohan started.
"Oh, and if he's in this bad of a mood he may take it out on my poor Goten."
"Mom, Goten can take care of himself. Besides it was Goten and Trunks sabotaging the GR that put him in such a bad mood. Don't worry though Bulma knows how to deal with Vegeta, Goten's in no danger."
"If he touches one hair on my poor Goten's head he'll be sorry he ever messed with me," Chichi said mock punching the air
Videl looked at her for a moment, studying her posture as she spoke. "You're a fighter?" Videl said bluntly, surprised at this revelation.
"Yes, I am." Chichi said regaining her composure, "I even competed in the World Tournament, but that was so long ago, before Gohan was even born..." Chichi's eyes got a dreamy far away look as she remembered her fight at the tournament.
"Wow, who would've ever thought that a nerd like Gohan could be the son of a real fighter." Sharpner began to laugh, but, for the second time that day, he found himself being shoved forcefully into a wall.
"Gohan is not a nerd you ignorant..." Chichi was filled with rage at the boy's attitude towards the person who REALLY saved the world seven years ago.
"Mom, please," Gohan said sitting down on the couch. His mother stopped and released the boy from her grasp.
"Sorry, my temper gets away from me sometimes. But if you ever insult my family again you will live to regret it." Sharpner nodded furiously, dreadfully scared of the woman standing in front of him, threatening his very existence.
"Wow Gohan, everyone you know seems to be really strong. Why aren't you?" Erasa asked innocently.
"Yeah Gohan, tell us," Videl asked coldly. Chichi looked at her son, whose head was bowed in contemplation.
"I don't like to fight," Gohan stated simply. Videl was about to ask why he didn't like to fight when her watch beeped.
"Videl, a group of thugs have taken the mayor hostage, we need your help." The voice in the watch pleaded.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm at least a five hour car drive from the city, I can't help. Please contact my father, and tell me if Saiyaman shows up." Videl looked up from her watch and smiled at Gohan. Chichi saw her son's face pale as he realized that he couldn't leave without rousing Videl's suspicions.
"Gohan dear, we need some firewood so I can cook dinner. Would you be so kind to go get some?" Gohan gave his mother a grateful look as he went out the door.
"I can help too." Videl jumped up to go follow Gohan, but Chichi stepped in front of her.
"You will do no such thing, Videl. You are a guest and I do not allow my guests to do unnecessary work while they are in MY house." Chichi turned around and winked at Gohan, "Now hurry up!" Gohan nodded and ran out the door.
A few minutes later Videl's watch beeped. "The Great Saiyaman has just arrived Videl, your father couldn't be found though, and he doesn't appear to be at home. But Saiyaman just took care of the entire situation, everyone is safe and the criminals are all in police custody." Videl thanked the officer and turned her watch off.
Ten minutes later Gohan walked in with a pile of firewood. He carefully placed some in the stove and some in the fireplace before turning back to his mother and asking if there was anything else he had to do. She shook her head no and went into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. The teens went back to their movie.
The rest of the night went by smoothly; they ate dinner (Gohan less than normal so as not to raise suspicions) and, after specifying their plans for the morning, went to bed. After the three teenagers went to bed Chichi went and got Gohan the rest of his dinner.
"Thanks Mom," Gohan said enthusiastically as his mother set a large mound of food down in front of him.
"I like your friends Gohan, well at least Erasa and Videl. Erasa seems to like you a lot." Chichi eyed her son as she stated this mockingly.
"Tell me about it," Gohan rolled his eyes.
"Videl though... why are you her friend? She's Mr. Satan's daughter, that's very dangerous if you plan on keeping your past a secret."
"I know Mom," Gohan finished his food in silence. He stood up and kissed his mother on the cheek, "I am going to go out and train for a while."
"Not just yet Gohan," said a voice from the door. Gohan turned around to find a shadowy figure standing there. The figure stepped into the light; it was Dende. "I wanted to talk to you Gohan. We have some information I think." Gohan motioned for his friend to sit down. Dende took a seat across from Gohan and began to speak.
"Many of the souls in hell are beginning to disappear. We don't know who has taken them as of yet, but neither Piccolo nor I can sense any beings that have died before. Well, except for the obvious few. So the question is where are these souls going?" Gohan looked grim. He stood up and thanked Dende for the information before excusing himself to go out to meditate.
Chichi watched Gohan leave and then turned back to Dende. "Would you like something to eat Dende?"
"No, thank you Miss Chichi, I don't eat, I only need water to survive."
"Oh, well then let me at least get you some water." Dende nodded in agreement. Unbeknownst to them another figure was making her way down the hall. Videl had heard voices and decided to see who it was that was up. She stopped short though when she saw a green creature sitting at Gohan's kitchen table. She hid behind the wall and decided to listen to the conversation between Dende and Chichi.
"I'm worried about Gohan, first that project and now this. I'm afraid that he'll go back to way he was after..." She handed Dende the glass of water and went to the sink to begin washing the many dishes left behind from Gohan's second dinner.
"Don't worry Miss Chichi, Gohan is strong, I know he never forgave himself for what happened but he WILL get through this."
"I hope you're right about that one, his friends from school are here and he needs to keep his cool. Did you know who he brought into this house?" Dende shook his head no, "He brought the daughter of that idiot Mr. Satan here, I may have forgiven the man for Goku's sake but I still don't trust the girl. Gohan likes her, and he might trust her, but he also trusts some of the most dangerous people with his life and the life of his brother." Videl was still listening and wanted to punch the woman if the face for insulting the man who had saved them all from Cell seven years ago, but managed to restrain herself in lieu of finding out more about the mysterious Son Gohan.
"He got that trait form his father, they trust everyone at face value, and if someone says something they believe it. Goten is the same way I've noticed. It's a wonderful quality to possess, but what happened seven years ago tainted Gohan's very spirit. He may be one of the most trusting and pure hearted people on the planet, but he has common sense and knows how to handle himself better then anyone I know."
"I know Dende, I know," Chichi sighed, beginning to dry and put away the dishes as she did so.
Dende smiled at her lightly, "Please don't worry, the others won't allow anything else to hurt Gohan like that ever again. I need to go now; Piccolo will be worried about me. Thank you for everything." Chichi walked Dende to the door and wave good bye as he took to the sky to return to the Lookout. She closed the door and turned to go to her room. Videl silently ran down the hall and quickly entered her room. She partly closed the door, so that Chichi wouldn't see her, and watched as Chichi walked into her room and closed the door.
Videl breathed a sigh of relief for the fact that she hadn't been caught eavesdropping. She sat back down on the bed and thought about what she'd just heard. *Who was that guy? And why is this project such a big deal to Gohan and everyone he knows? I wonder... what happened to him seven years ago? And why do they hate my father so much? The closer I get to Gohan the more secrets I seem to find. I have to find out what's going on with him. Why won't he tell me the truth, why does he always push me away when I try to get to know him better?* Videl drifted off into sleep still thinking about Gohan and his secrets.
Dende meanwhile was on his way back to the Lookout. Suddenly a ki beam came out of nowhere and knocked him out of the sky. His limp form fell into the forest below and didn't move. A shadowy figure came up behind the Namekian and lifted him onto his shoulder. The man looked around and then took to the sky himself. He stopped at a waterfall deep in the mountains, a waterfall that he was very familiar with, and set the young Guardian of the Earth on the ground. He dug through his pockets until he found the piece of paper he was looking for and set it down on a rock. He placed another rock on the paper to keep it from plowing away and walked over to where he had left Dende. He flung the unconscious Dende back onto his shoulder and looked back to the waterfall solemnly. He did not take to the sky this time though, he knew Gohan was nearby, and that Gohan would sense his ki if he flew. The figure jumped up to the top of the cliff and ran, faster than a human eye could see, down the mountain. After he was a good distance away left the ground he flew towards Satan City. He landed in the backyard of a large domed building and went inside. A few minutes later there was a loud roar and the Capsule Corp space ship/training room was launched into space.
Gohan took off from his house more worried than ever. *This new enemy has the power to steel souls? If he come with an army of dead villain from our pasts. What if Cell get resurrected? I'm not as strong as I used to be, everyone could die this time. Not just the other fighters but my mom and Goten, not to mention Videl and my other friends. They could all die and it would be entirely my fault.* Gohan stopped flying and slowly descended to the forest floor. *I can't do this. I just can't I always fail. People always end up dying; first my dad when he fought Radditz, if I had known how to fight, he never would have been able to take me; then Piccolo, he stepped in front of the blast when we fought the Saiyans, he gave his life for me, and trapped the others in the Next Dimension by doing so. Then in the fight with Cell...* Tears began to overflow Gohan's eyes as the events of that fateful day resurfaced. The pain felt fresh in his mind, like it had all happened only yesterday. *If I had only defeated Cell when I had the chance. I let my power go to my head. I guess I proved I was truly a Saiyan though, too cocky for my own good; but if I had just listened to my dad...*
Gohan took to the sky once again and made his way to his mountain sanctuary, the one place that was his and his alone. His thoughts were always a little clearer there. He stopped flying and returned to the floor of the forest. He walked slowly towards his sanctuary feeling that there was something wrong. He suddenly felt a ki, faint and a long way, Vegeta was on the rampage once again. Gohan thought about going to check out what had gotten Vegeta so upset, but then thought better of it. He did NOT want to cross an angry Vegeta, and either way it was probably just his brother and Trunks that had upset him. Gohan continued on to his sanctuary and when he arrived he stopped short in surprise.
Sitting on his favorite rock was a note. Gohan walked up to it slowly, wondering how it had gotten there. He picked it up and noticed his name scrawled across the envelope in a small letters. No one he knew wrote that small and with that much care, and even if he had recognized the writing, no one knew this place existed but him, so how would someone know to leave a note there for him? He took out the paper inside of the envelope and stopped breathing as he read what was written
Gohan,
I have taken Dende, the Guardian of the Earth, as my hostage. By now we are on our way to another planet. I know you cannot follow us now without raising your friend's suspicions. I will not harm him and I promise that all will be revealed in three days when you arrive at our location. Until then you cannot tell anyone about this. Dende's disappearance will not go unnoticed, I know, but you must not tell anyone of this note or of where you are going or Dende will die. I expect to see you alone, and prepared for a fight in three days. The coordinates for the planet shall be uploaded into the Capsule Corps backup space module tomorrow night. Take the ship then. We anxiously await your arrival.
Gohan didn't know what to say or do. *I have to save Dende; but how? I can sense he's already off the planet and whoever wrote this was right, I can't leave while my friends are staying with me... I failed again, Dende was taken and whoever has him is expecting me to be ready for a fight. The enemy is strong enough to override Dende's powers and now he has Dende himself. Does he want control of the Earth? No, if that were true then he wouldn't have told me where he was going and wouldn't tell me how to follow him. But then of course maybe he wants to fight me alone away from my friends. Maybe he's trying the 'divide and conquer' approach, we are all vulnerable when we're alone. What is going on?* Gohan stood in his sanctuary, his mind racing, trying to find a way to save one of his oldest friends from the evil that had taken him. Gohan stood there for hours staring at the letter in front of him, it was only the reflection of rising sun in the water that caught his eye and woke him from his thoughts. Gohan flew quickly back to his house to prepare for the day ahead of him. He was sure he couldn't tell his mother or any of his friends about Dende's predicament, they would try to rescue the Namek, which, in turn, would spell Dende's demise.
RANDOM FACT: It is pointed out by Dende in the Namek Saga that the Namekian race is asexual. They (like Goku in DB) don't recognize the difference between male and female. When referred to though masculine pronouns and nouns are used (i.e. KING Piccolo, God as opposed to Goddess, he instead of she, etc). It is also pointed out that Namekians do not eat anything, but they do drink water to sustain them, although Piccolo seems to contradict this fact when he comments on the food prepared by Chichi during the Trunks Saga ("Fish again?") as though he ate it himself...
AN: Hehe isn't that the title of an episode in the Frieza saga, 'Dende's Demise'? I don't know. I would like to thank everyone for their review and for helping me to formulate some ideas for the bad guy's identity. This chapter is so long compared to my other ones but then of course a lot happened. Poor Gohan, he's even more worried than before. And why did the mysterious figure take Dende? Well you aren't going to find out yet, no matter how many times you ask. Now go down, hit the little button and REVIEW!!!