Disclaimer: I own nothing and am writing this for nothing. Don't sue me.
Note: Tien's full name, Tainshinhan, is spelled phonetically, rather than how it really is spelled. I do this to avoid confusing my readers and myself.
Chapter Three: Satan City Blues
OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Gohan settled into a routine. Everyday, he would leave several minutes early for school and take the Nimbus there. His route to school took him through the worst sections of town on purpose, often giving him the opportunity to do a little good.
It was one of those days (a Monday- Gohan hated Mondays) that Gohan was walking by Satan City Bank. Gohan paused to survey the area around him. There was a group of tough-looking kids sitting in a pickup truck's back, smoking. They were posers, though. No trouble from them. There was a man in a trenchcoat on the other side of the street, holding what suspiciously appeared to be gun beneath the fabric. Gohan shot a small burst of invisible ki from his open mouth and melted the firing mechanism, preventing the weapon from being able to shoot.
Finally, Gohan located the feeling of wrongness that had tickled the back of his spine. His acute Saiyan ears twitched. He heard something. A faint something. That was it. Gunfire. It was a single sharp crack. Probably a pistol shot- .38 or .44, foreign make. Gohan hesitated a moment more to locate the sound and activated his costume.
In an explosion of light, the Great Saiyaman rocketed forth, heading into the bank so fast no one even saw him until he reappeared, directly in the middle of a hostage situation.
"HEY! I said NOBODY MOVE!" A short, fat man shouted, waving around his Uzi submachine gun. The people in the crowd quivered.
"Look!" An old man shouted, pointing at Gohan. "It's the Great Saiyaman! We're saved!"
The hostages cheered, but were silenced when Chubby emptied several rounds into the old man's face. Bullets peppered the man's jaw and forehead, slamming him down and onto the floor. With a grunt of rage, Gohan sprung into action.
Zanzokening to the left, Gohan reappeared long enough to disembowel Chubby with a quick slice to the gut before he was lost again, only visible as a series of black lines. With a short, guttural yell, Gohan focused ki in a tight arc and watched it punch through the shoulder of another crook, who screamed like a frightened woman and collapsed.
"Dodonpa!" Gohan cried, using Tien and Chaotzu's signature move to remove the head of another thief. A few summers ago, Gohan had taken time to learn the Taiyoken, Dodonpa, and how to grow two more arms out of his shoulders, as well as the entire Crane Style from Tien. It was just one of the strange things Gohan did when he was bored: learn to fight better.
"I heard gunfire!" Gohan yelled to crowd, made up mostly of elderly people. "Is anyone hurt?" He noticed that they were all avoiding the casualties nervously, as if they were afraid the bodies would leap up and attack them.
"J-J-Just the manager," one of the old women said, pointing out a corpse Gohan wasn't responsible for. Gohan immediately noticed a large hole in the man's forehead. That at least explained the mystery of the single gunshot Gohan heard.
"Fine then. Call the police." Gohan spoke as he always did in his Saiyaman personality: short and harsh. "I'm leaving."
Gohan exited the building as he always did; in a flash of blinding ki, flying high enough so that he disappeared from view. Once high enough, Gohan deactivated his suit and took out a capsule with the number 45 emblazoned on the top. This was the one. Gohan unscrewed the cap, hearing the familiar hiss of air as pressure began to equalize. Tossing the capsule away from him, Gohan waited for a loud pop to sound, them climbed into the capsule car that had appeared in midair. It was a nice model, one with hovering capabilities and a nice blue paint job, but nothing too special. It was very similar to the one his tousan and Piccolo had learned with, all those years ago, before the androids showed. Bulma had given it to him a year ago for Christmas, but he hadn't had an excuse to use it until now.
When Gohan pulled up into the student lot at Orange Star, several moments later, he was immediately bombarded with Erasa's daily interrogation of his thoughts on her clothes and a brief appraisal of his own. Gohan brushed off the strange teenager's compliments and instead went looking for Videl. He had approached her several times, just trying to get her to talk, but she had harshly rejected him each time. Even a simple "you look nice today" was met with "well who the hell asked you, ugly?"
Finally, Gohan saw her. She was sitting, as she usually did, by herself, a pile of books spread out before her. Gohan encapsulated his car and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking towards her.
"Err.hey," he said, mentally cursing himself for sounding like an idiot. "Looks like you've got a lot of work there." Gohan trailed off as she met his gaze.
"Looks like it," she muttered, gritting her teeth. "And the teachers'll have my ass if I don't get it done in-" she checked her watch. "-twenty minutes."
Gohan froze. That watch. It was the exact same model as his, without the transformation capabilities. It had an audio-video screen used for communications and was stamped with the seal of the Satan City Police Department.
"Umm.you want some help?" Videl didn't rebuke him, so Gohan continued. "I mean, I had to do the same stuff last night, so it's pretty fresh in my mind." It was truth. Gohan had been busy as Saiyaman last night, and had had to do his homework around midnight after sneaking into his room.
Videl gave him a long, critical glance before turning that smoldering gaze downwards. Was that a blush he detected? No, it couldn't be. No way Videl Satan would blush, for any reason. Her response was so quiet Gohan barely heard it. "Fine," she muttered.
The two set down to the work. The little things, such as Algebraic equations, were done quickly, but the thing that really daunted the both of them was a short essay that was assigned to her by her Classics teacher, Professor Theseus. Gohan wracked his brain for any and all knowledge of the subject, and two just barely managed to finish it before the first bell rang, telling them they better move it.
"I'll see you at lunch, I guess," Gohan said, scratching the back of his head absently. Videl just gave her usual curt nod and turned, headed towards the Liberate Arts Building for her Sculpture class (Gohan knew this because last week he had followed her for the day).
Gohan had turned himself, ready to head to Physics and looking forward to see Videl in Music Theory, when a voice stopped him.
"Gohan?" He whipped around. Videl was standing there, looking like a goddess holding a pile of books. "Thanks. No one's really offered to help me before."
Gohan grinned broadly, glad at her change of attitude. "I don't know why. I'll see you in Music, right?"
Videl shook her head. "Actually, no. Schedule change this week. We've got gym instead."
Gohan barely suppressed a groan. Gym? How was he supposed to control his abilities now? Damn it to Hell. Instead, he affected another grin. "Okay, then I guess I'll see you there."
Gohan walked off to his first class with a happy memory of her smile and gratitude.
* * *
"When is the Tenckaichi Budoukai, Kibito?" a small, purple-skinned figure asked his companion, a maroon-skinned giant with a grim expression.
"In seven months, Supreme One."
The Eastern Kaioshin winced irritably. "I told you not to call me that, Kibito. Have you entered us yet?"
"Of course, Supreme-"
"Kibito," Kaioshin said in warning.
"Of course, Master."
"Do you suppose anyone on Earth will be able to challenge us? After all, you're stronger than any other being alive, save for perhaps Dabura and Buu itself." Kaioshin sighed. "If only you were, Kibito."
Kibito sighed as well, looking down at his diminutive lord. "I'm sorry, my lord. I have reached the pinnacle of what I can become. And actually, my lord, I think that I may have some interesting fights. There is a Namekian there, Piccolo, I believe, who has reached roughly two-thirds of my power. The surviving members of the Saiyan race live there, as well. Who knows what powers they have uncovered. The Saiyans seem to be once transformation after another."
Kaioshin chuckled. "True, Kibito, but if another of them ever reached what their race's true potential again, Majin Buu would not be a problem. A True Saiyan would be able to incinerate Buu with a wave of a finger."
"I doubt that, my lord. The legends probably exaggerate. Besides, the race is weak now. Remember when their planet was destroyed? Even their king, the strongest one alive at the time, was only as strong as the Grand Kai," Kibito scoffed. He didn't like to think of anyone as stronger than him.
"Still," the last Kaioshin muttered. "I hope the warriors on Earth are enough. I'd hate to have to do something drastic, like resurrect that Pikkon fellow, or any of those other strange folk who still train, despite being dead."
"We'll just have to wait and see, Master."
"You're right, Kibito. One hundred percent right. We'll just have to wait and see."
* * *
Gohan was sitting in his English class when his watch began to bloop softly. The volume was so far down that even his Saiyan hearing had trouble picking it up, but Gohan instantly heard it and turned the vid-screen on, looking surreptitiously down at it below the desk.
"The attack seems to be a gathering of Mob families en masse and their leader is demanding to speak with no one but Hercule himself," the newscaster was saying, trying to maintain his professional façade. "Reports are still coming in, and yes.wait.I'm getting something." The newscaster pressed his hand to his ear to better hear the reports coming in. "It seems that leader, who is calling himself Montag, has declared that he will kill one hostage for every fifteen minutes Hercule does not show. We bring you live, where Ted McAllen is covering the even as it develops. Ted?"
Ted the reporter looked wildly at the camera. "If you look, Jim, you can see where Montag and his men are dangling a man from the fourteenth story of the popular Kochi-Bongo Club. We expect that.oh my god! They've just dropped the man, Jim! They just dropped the man! What sick, twisted freaks would do such a thing?! It's madness here, Jim, sheer madness!"
Gohan began shaking with anger as heard a long scream that was suddenly cut off by a crunching sound. As calmly as his furious demeanor would allow, Gohan held up a hand.
"Yes, Mr. Son?" their middle-aged teacher asked, his tone as bored and arrogant as always.
"May I go to the bathroom, Sensei?"
"If you go to the bathroom, you'll miss class, Mr. Son. I'm afraid it will have to wait."
Gohan seethed. Damn this self-important little crap, he had important things to do! "Well, sir, I think there was something funny in the cafeteria food today, and since I have a 103 average for a grade in this class as of last week, I think I can miss five minutes of class, sensei."
His teacher sneered. "Very well, then. But take your things! I'll not admit back-talkers like you when they return from the bathroom! You'll just have to miss the entire period."
Gohan muttered his thanks and ran out the door. Looking frantically around, Gohan finally spotted what he was after. A roof-access stairwell!
Several moments later, on the roof, Gohan noticed a puff of smoke from another building belonging to the school. It was a Capsule Copter. Gohan wondered briefly for a moment who it belonged to before shaking himself from his stupor. A click of a button and flash of light later, the Great Saiyaman sped from the roof of Orange Star High School, aimed for the Kochi-Bongo Club.
* * *
Videl Satan took off in her Capsule Copter from the next building over, having heard the exact same report on her own watch moments before. [Stupid crooks] she growled to herself. [Can't even let me finish a whole day without fucking around]
In reality, Videl was terrified. Not many people knew it, but Montag was a brutal fighter who had almost killed her father in the first Budoukai the great Hercule had won. Montag had sworn vengeance on the new champ. Videl shivered. It didn't matter anyway. She could beat him. . . she hoped. As long as that Saiya-freak didn't show up, she'd be fine. Videl gave a little growl as she piloted her helicopter. Damn freaks. All those wackos from the Budoukais before her father competed had let the Earth down. They had all those strange fighting powers, but who had to save the world from Cell? [My idiot of a father] she growled to herself again. And who had left her in charge of the Special Operations department he started? [My idiot of a father] Now Videl was forced to go around and do his dirty work while he lived it up at his palace, surrounded by whores and sycophants. Son Goku, the Budoukai champion before her father, was never seen with hangers-on or slutty women. Pity he died. He was a real champion, that one. Sure, he was freak, but at least he fought against that Nappa fellow who destroyed the Blue Monarch Air Force a few years ago (Blue Monarch being the country Satan City was in, bordered by the tiny Fry Pan Kingdom, called the 439 Mountain District by most).
A bleeping noise snapped Videl from her thoughts. She was there. Videl used the cannons in the copter to dispel a foul-smelling smoke into the large, broken panoramic window that took up the club's eighth through twelfth stories. She could coughs, spluttering, and vomiting and knew she had done her job. Videl landed her copter and hoped out, landing in a fighting stance she had learned by watching videos of the 21st Budoukai during Jackie Chun's fight with Son Goku. With a short, guttural yell, Videl fell into her attackers.
Right kick, left uppercut, backflip, headbutt. Videl became a gyroscopic blur into which foes disappeared into, reappearing only unconscious. This went on for ten minutes until she saw a particularly large man walking towards her through the dispelling smoke. He looked unusually muscled, almost to the point of deformity, and wore a skull cap on his head with a single metal barb on top. Videl also noticed that, tattooed between the prominent veins on his forehead was an elaborate )V( shape. Jumping in the air, Videl extended her right foot, preparing to catch the crook right in the nose. To her great surprise, the world suddenly jolted and became upside-down.
"Now, now," the giant said. "We can't have any of that." It came out Ve can't haff any of thaht.
"I am Montag, und I'm here for my revenge. Poor girl, I ask to fight Hercule, and he sends his daughter. Oh vell, better than nothing, I suppose."
The giant tossed Videl to a compatriot, who put her into a full- nelson and held her there. The need for oxygen roared through her brain.
"Hercule!" Montag called, motioning for a news man to bring his camera over. "I know you are vatching dis, so come out! Or I do this to your leetle girl!" Montag suddenly reared over and punched her as hard as he could in the stomach. Videl's eyes widened in surprise and pain. Bile rose up, unbidden, spewing forth from her mouth and soaking the ground in front of her. [Damn, missed the bastard] Videl began hacking.
"You see what your cowardice is costing you, Hercule? Ve vouldn't vant your only daughter to die, vould ve? No answer? Alas, Hercule. I guess I vill haff to kill her und gum looking for you."
Montag turned back to Videl and began raining blows upon her. She felt ribs give way several times and lost track of the times she had vomited. With nothing in her stomach, Videl had begun to vomit blood. Not a good sign. Internal organs must be damaged.
"Vell, time to say good-bye, sveety. Remember, you haff your father to blame for thees." The giant called Montag's fist reared back and Videl tried to met his eyes with hers, knowing this was the end. His fist would shatter her nose, cheek, and jawbones, hopefully sending shards of bone through her brain, killing her instantly. Otherwise, she might, unable to do anything for herself, trapped in the shell of her broken body. Unable to watch, she squeezed her eyes shut. [This the end- good-bye, --]
She was torn from her thoughts as the ground began shaking quite suddenly. A faint roaring noise could be heard, growing louder and louder by the second. Montag drew his fist back. . .more . . .more. Finally, with a slow-motion roar, she saw the fist fly at her. Her pupils dilated to bring in more light and her lips parted to draw in the minutest amount of oxygen possible before-
"MMMMMOOONNNNTAGGGGG!!!!!" a feral scream sounded, seemingly coming from everywhere. Everyone looked around in panic, save for Montag, who had just thrown his punch to Videl's face.
Just before Videl was sure to feel impact, his fist was gone. The shadow he had cast on her was gone. And. . . so was her consciousness. The man holding her dropped the dying girl, leaving her to breathe her last in the brown dirt that used to be the club's lawn.
* * *
Gohan screamed the name of giant responsible for so much death and flew, still at full speed, right into him. He had just enough time to register the tattoo on his forehead- before impact. He felt Montag fly at several times the speed of sound into and through the brick wall of the club. At that point, Gohan knew something was wrong. His speed, coupled with the aura of ki around him, should have been enough to utterly disintegrate Videl's tormentor. [No time to waste, stupid!] With another roar of rage, Gohan dove into the terrorists like a wolf among blind, three-legged sheep that had mental issues.
With a wet snap, Gohan broke the neck of one man and tore off his arm, throwing it so fast through another man's chest it left a burning hole. In his very next breath, Gohan grabbed a man by the face and flung him as hard as he could into the air. Several seconds later, gravity took hold of the would-be crook and he landed with a sickening thud several feet away.
The foes on the outside dealt with, Gohan dashed inside through the hole Montag made. In the corner, he found what he was looking for. A stairwell! Gohan raced up, meeting two guards along the way, who he disintegrated with a single ki blast each. 2nd floor. Gohan dealt with the few guards he found, dropping each with either a short ki blast or physical attack to a vital area. After locating the stairwell in this floor, Gohan continued right up to the twentieth story, the owner's office. Blasting his way through any resistance he met, Gohan finally reached the large, opulent office the club's owner dwelled in before being dropped twenty stories to his death. Once inside, he saw-
"Montag!" Saiyaman cried, snarling ferally at the bulbous giant.
"Yesh, Shaiyaman," the giant sneered, speaking as best he could with a Jondolan Imperium accented-voice and several missing teeth. Saiyaman glared at him, his emotion turning the ki that hid his face brooding red so dark it was nearly black. "Und I'm afraid thersh nahtink you can do to kill me, so you vight was vell geeve ahb now." As he spoke, his accent came out more and more, branding him a foreigner.
Saiyaman growled, an animal sound that made use of the second set of vocal cords Saiyans possessed for just the occasion. It began low in his throat and rose from a wolf's snarl to a lion's roar, causing the hairs on Montag's 82-inch neck to rise as fear filled his black heart.
"You really think I can't hurt you?" Saiyaman smirked, adding so much malice to the gesture even Vegeta would have been proud. "We'll have to see about that. After all, I have a personal vendetta against you now. You hurt my friend."
Montag grinned the grin of fellow warrior about to fight. "I haff studied your fighting style. Partly Turtle Style from Kamesennin, mainly the Demon Style from Ma Junior, and occasional bits of Crane Style from Tsuru-Sennin. You are an accomplished vighter, Saiyaman, no doubt aboud it. However, I vill kill you all the same. Haff you ever heard of Majin Style? I haff learnt it and gained the godlike power that comes from it. Feel my wrath, Saiyaman!"
Montag jumped at Saiyaman, clearing the desk and roaring like a wounded buffalo. Gohan just dropped into Piccolo's "coiled cobra" stance, a form perfect for reacting to such advances, and grinned predatorily. [Idiot. He told me his power. That must be how he got so strong. . . its not just ki, though. His whole being seems. . .dark. . .like the Demon King, Piccolo's parent. Never heard of Majin. Majin. . .Ma-jin? The demon race? I'll ask Piccolo. That is, after I finish up here.]
The fight between the Great Saiyaman and Montag was short and brutal. In the end, Montag failed to live up to his promise, and, to pay for his crimes, was left hanging from the horizontal flagpole that stuck out from the office window. Gohan had removed a decent length of the gray rope Montag had for intestines and hung the giant by them, not even giving him the grace of letting the corded gut break his neck. The giant was left there, tongue lolling, to die an amazingly painful death several hours later. His corpse, which wasn't removed until two hours after he died, made even the toughest of police gagged when they removed the body already in the beginning stages of rot.
"Videl!" Saiyaman cried uncharacteristically when he landed, several seconds after leaving Montag to die on the flagpole. Gohan felt like crying when he saw her pale, twisted body lying in the dirt. Her head was thrown far back, making her bruised neck seem even longer and more graceful than usual. The terrible beauty death had brought her haunted Gohan. His mask of ki began to smoke as it dissolved the tears Gohan shed over the fallen teen.
Then, quite suddenly, Gohan heard it. His eyes perked and twisted, trying to discern which way the sound was coming from. It was heartbeat, very, very faint. Gohan followed his ears to the origin, hardly daring to hope. However, when his eyes finally rested on her, Gohan allowed himself to believe it. Videl was alive! Gohan's tears of sorrow suddenly became joyful weeping. Searching in his pockets, Gohan scowled. [Not a single Senzu on me. Dammit] There was only one thing left to do.
Gohan swept up Videl in his arms and poured energy into her, hopefully stabilizing her heartbeat. With his remaining ki, Gohan blasted off, headed towards the top-shaped complex called Kami's Lookout.
Fin.
Note: Tien's full name, Tainshinhan, is spelled phonetically, rather than how it really is spelled. I do this to avoid confusing my readers and myself.
Chapter Three: Satan City Blues
OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Gohan settled into a routine. Everyday, he would leave several minutes early for school and take the Nimbus there. His route to school took him through the worst sections of town on purpose, often giving him the opportunity to do a little good.
It was one of those days (a Monday- Gohan hated Mondays) that Gohan was walking by Satan City Bank. Gohan paused to survey the area around him. There was a group of tough-looking kids sitting in a pickup truck's back, smoking. They were posers, though. No trouble from them. There was a man in a trenchcoat on the other side of the street, holding what suspiciously appeared to be gun beneath the fabric. Gohan shot a small burst of invisible ki from his open mouth and melted the firing mechanism, preventing the weapon from being able to shoot.
Finally, Gohan located the feeling of wrongness that had tickled the back of his spine. His acute Saiyan ears twitched. He heard something. A faint something. That was it. Gunfire. It was a single sharp crack. Probably a pistol shot- .38 or .44, foreign make. Gohan hesitated a moment more to locate the sound and activated his costume.
In an explosion of light, the Great Saiyaman rocketed forth, heading into the bank so fast no one even saw him until he reappeared, directly in the middle of a hostage situation.
"HEY! I said NOBODY MOVE!" A short, fat man shouted, waving around his Uzi submachine gun. The people in the crowd quivered.
"Look!" An old man shouted, pointing at Gohan. "It's the Great Saiyaman! We're saved!"
The hostages cheered, but were silenced when Chubby emptied several rounds into the old man's face. Bullets peppered the man's jaw and forehead, slamming him down and onto the floor. With a grunt of rage, Gohan sprung into action.
Zanzokening to the left, Gohan reappeared long enough to disembowel Chubby with a quick slice to the gut before he was lost again, only visible as a series of black lines. With a short, guttural yell, Gohan focused ki in a tight arc and watched it punch through the shoulder of another crook, who screamed like a frightened woman and collapsed.
"Dodonpa!" Gohan cried, using Tien and Chaotzu's signature move to remove the head of another thief. A few summers ago, Gohan had taken time to learn the Taiyoken, Dodonpa, and how to grow two more arms out of his shoulders, as well as the entire Crane Style from Tien. It was just one of the strange things Gohan did when he was bored: learn to fight better.
"I heard gunfire!" Gohan yelled to crowd, made up mostly of elderly people. "Is anyone hurt?" He noticed that they were all avoiding the casualties nervously, as if they were afraid the bodies would leap up and attack them.
"J-J-Just the manager," one of the old women said, pointing out a corpse Gohan wasn't responsible for. Gohan immediately noticed a large hole in the man's forehead. That at least explained the mystery of the single gunshot Gohan heard.
"Fine then. Call the police." Gohan spoke as he always did in his Saiyaman personality: short and harsh. "I'm leaving."
Gohan exited the building as he always did; in a flash of blinding ki, flying high enough so that he disappeared from view. Once high enough, Gohan deactivated his suit and took out a capsule with the number 45 emblazoned on the top. This was the one. Gohan unscrewed the cap, hearing the familiar hiss of air as pressure began to equalize. Tossing the capsule away from him, Gohan waited for a loud pop to sound, them climbed into the capsule car that had appeared in midair. It was a nice model, one with hovering capabilities and a nice blue paint job, but nothing too special. It was very similar to the one his tousan and Piccolo had learned with, all those years ago, before the androids showed. Bulma had given it to him a year ago for Christmas, but he hadn't had an excuse to use it until now.
When Gohan pulled up into the student lot at Orange Star, several moments later, he was immediately bombarded with Erasa's daily interrogation of his thoughts on her clothes and a brief appraisal of his own. Gohan brushed off the strange teenager's compliments and instead went looking for Videl. He had approached her several times, just trying to get her to talk, but she had harshly rejected him each time. Even a simple "you look nice today" was met with "well who the hell asked you, ugly?"
Finally, Gohan saw her. She was sitting, as she usually did, by herself, a pile of books spread out before her. Gohan encapsulated his car and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking towards her.
"Err.hey," he said, mentally cursing himself for sounding like an idiot. "Looks like you've got a lot of work there." Gohan trailed off as she met his gaze.
"Looks like it," she muttered, gritting her teeth. "And the teachers'll have my ass if I don't get it done in-" she checked her watch. "-twenty minutes."
Gohan froze. That watch. It was the exact same model as his, without the transformation capabilities. It had an audio-video screen used for communications and was stamped with the seal of the Satan City Police Department.
"Umm.you want some help?" Videl didn't rebuke him, so Gohan continued. "I mean, I had to do the same stuff last night, so it's pretty fresh in my mind." It was truth. Gohan had been busy as Saiyaman last night, and had had to do his homework around midnight after sneaking into his room.
Videl gave him a long, critical glance before turning that smoldering gaze downwards. Was that a blush he detected? No, it couldn't be. No way Videl Satan would blush, for any reason. Her response was so quiet Gohan barely heard it. "Fine," she muttered.
The two set down to the work. The little things, such as Algebraic equations, were done quickly, but the thing that really daunted the both of them was a short essay that was assigned to her by her Classics teacher, Professor Theseus. Gohan wracked his brain for any and all knowledge of the subject, and two just barely managed to finish it before the first bell rang, telling them they better move it.
"I'll see you at lunch, I guess," Gohan said, scratching the back of his head absently. Videl just gave her usual curt nod and turned, headed towards the Liberate Arts Building for her Sculpture class (Gohan knew this because last week he had followed her for the day).
Gohan had turned himself, ready to head to Physics and looking forward to see Videl in Music Theory, when a voice stopped him.
"Gohan?" He whipped around. Videl was standing there, looking like a goddess holding a pile of books. "Thanks. No one's really offered to help me before."
Gohan grinned broadly, glad at her change of attitude. "I don't know why. I'll see you in Music, right?"
Videl shook her head. "Actually, no. Schedule change this week. We've got gym instead."
Gohan barely suppressed a groan. Gym? How was he supposed to control his abilities now? Damn it to Hell. Instead, he affected another grin. "Okay, then I guess I'll see you there."
Gohan walked off to his first class with a happy memory of her smile and gratitude.
* * *
"When is the Tenckaichi Budoukai, Kibito?" a small, purple-skinned figure asked his companion, a maroon-skinned giant with a grim expression.
"In seven months, Supreme One."
The Eastern Kaioshin winced irritably. "I told you not to call me that, Kibito. Have you entered us yet?"
"Of course, Supreme-"
"Kibito," Kaioshin said in warning.
"Of course, Master."
"Do you suppose anyone on Earth will be able to challenge us? After all, you're stronger than any other being alive, save for perhaps Dabura and Buu itself." Kaioshin sighed. "If only you were, Kibito."
Kibito sighed as well, looking down at his diminutive lord. "I'm sorry, my lord. I have reached the pinnacle of what I can become. And actually, my lord, I think that I may have some interesting fights. There is a Namekian there, Piccolo, I believe, who has reached roughly two-thirds of my power. The surviving members of the Saiyan race live there, as well. Who knows what powers they have uncovered. The Saiyans seem to be once transformation after another."
Kaioshin chuckled. "True, Kibito, but if another of them ever reached what their race's true potential again, Majin Buu would not be a problem. A True Saiyan would be able to incinerate Buu with a wave of a finger."
"I doubt that, my lord. The legends probably exaggerate. Besides, the race is weak now. Remember when their planet was destroyed? Even their king, the strongest one alive at the time, was only as strong as the Grand Kai," Kibito scoffed. He didn't like to think of anyone as stronger than him.
"Still," the last Kaioshin muttered. "I hope the warriors on Earth are enough. I'd hate to have to do something drastic, like resurrect that Pikkon fellow, or any of those other strange folk who still train, despite being dead."
"We'll just have to wait and see, Master."
"You're right, Kibito. One hundred percent right. We'll just have to wait and see."
* * *
Gohan was sitting in his English class when his watch began to bloop softly. The volume was so far down that even his Saiyan hearing had trouble picking it up, but Gohan instantly heard it and turned the vid-screen on, looking surreptitiously down at it below the desk.
"The attack seems to be a gathering of Mob families en masse and their leader is demanding to speak with no one but Hercule himself," the newscaster was saying, trying to maintain his professional façade. "Reports are still coming in, and yes.wait.I'm getting something." The newscaster pressed his hand to his ear to better hear the reports coming in. "It seems that leader, who is calling himself Montag, has declared that he will kill one hostage for every fifteen minutes Hercule does not show. We bring you live, where Ted McAllen is covering the even as it develops. Ted?"
Ted the reporter looked wildly at the camera. "If you look, Jim, you can see where Montag and his men are dangling a man from the fourteenth story of the popular Kochi-Bongo Club. We expect that.oh my god! They've just dropped the man, Jim! They just dropped the man! What sick, twisted freaks would do such a thing?! It's madness here, Jim, sheer madness!"
Gohan began shaking with anger as heard a long scream that was suddenly cut off by a crunching sound. As calmly as his furious demeanor would allow, Gohan held up a hand.
"Yes, Mr. Son?" their middle-aged teacher asked, his tone as bored and arrogant as always.
"May I go to the bathroom, Sensei?"
"If you go to the bathroom, you'll miss class, Mr. Son. I'm afraid it will have to wait."
Gohan seethed. Damn this self-important little crap, he had important things to do! "Well, sir, I think there was something funny in the cafeteria food today, and since I have a 103 average for a grade in this class as of last week, I think I can miss five minutes of class, sensei."
His teacher sneered. "Very well, then. But take your things! I'll not admit back-talkers like you when they return from the bathroom! You'll just have to miss the entire period."
Gohan muttered his thanks and ran out the door. Looking frantically around, Gohan finally spotted what he was after. A roof-access stairwell!
Several moments later, on the roof, Gohan noticed a puff of smoke from another building belonging to the school. It was a Capsule Copter. Gohan wondered briefly for a moment who it belonged to before shaking himself from his stupor. A click of a button and flash of light later, the Great Saiyaman sped from the roof of Orange Star High School, aimed for the Kochi-Bongo Club.
* * *
Videl Satan took off in her Capsule Copter from the next building over, having heard the exact same report on her own watch moments before. [Stupid crooks] she growled to herself. [Can't even let me finish a whole day without fucking around]
In reality, Videl was terrified. Not many people knew it, but Montag was a brutal fighter who had almost killed her father in the first Budoukai the great Hercule had won. Montag had sworn vengeance on the new champ. Videl shivered. It didn't matter anyway. She could beat him. . . she hoped. As long as that Saiya-freak didn't show up, she'd be fine. Videl gave a little growl as she piloted her helicopter. Damn freaks. All those wackos from the Budoukais before her father competed had let the Earth down. They had all those strange fighting powers, but who had to save the world from Cell? [My idiot of a father] she growled to herself again. And who had left her in charge of the Special Operations department he started? [My idiot of a father] Now Videl was forced to go around and do his dirty work while he lived it up at his palace, surrounded by whores and sycophants. Son Goku, the Budoukai champion before her father, was never seen with hangers-on or slutty women. Pity he died. He was a real champion, that one. Sure, he was freak, but at least he fought against that Nappa fellow who destroyed the Blue Monarch Air Force a few years ago (Blue Monarch being the country Satan City was in, bordered by the tiny Fry Pan Kingdom, called the 439 Mountain District by most).
A bleeping noise snapped Videl from her thoughts. She was there. Videl used the cannons in the copter to dispel a foul-smelling smoke into the large, broken panoramic window that took up the club's eighth through twelfth stories. She could coughs, spluttering, and vomiting and knew she had done her job. Videl landed her copter and hoped out, landing in a fighting stance she had learned by watching videos of the 21st Budoukai during Jackie Chun's fight with Son Goku. With a short, guttural yell, Videl fell into her attackers.
Right kick, left uppercut, backflip, headbutt. Videl became a gyroscopic blur into which foes disappeared into, reappearing only unconscious. This went on for ten minutes until she saw a particularly large man walking towards her through the dispelling smoke. He looked unusually muscled, almost to the point of deformity, and wore a skull cap on his head with a single metal barb on top. Videl also noticed that, tattooed between the prominent veins on his forehead was an elaborate )V( shape. Jumping in the air, Videl extended her right foot, preparing to catch the crook right in the nose. To her great surprise, the world suddenly jolted and became upside-down.
"Now, now," the giant said. "We can't have any of that." It came out Ve can't haff any of thaht.
"I am Montag, und I'm here for my revenge. Poor girl, I ask to fight Hercule, and he sends his daughter. Oh vell, better than nothing, I suppose."
The giant tossed Videl to a compatriot, who put her into a full- nelson and held her there. The need for oxygen roared through her brain.
"Hercule!" Montag called, motioning for a news man to bring his camera over. "I know you are vatching dis, so come out! Or I do this to your leetle girl!" Montag suddenly reared over and punched her as hard as he could in the stomach. Videl's eyes widened in surprise and pain. Bile rose up, unbidden, spewing forth from her mouth and soaking the ground in front of her. [Damn, missed the bastard] Videl began hacking.
"You see what your cowardice is costing you, Hercule? Ve vouldn't vant your only daughter to die, vould ve? No answer? Alas, Hercule. I guess I vill haff to kill her und gum looking for you."
Montag turned back to Videl and began raining blows upon her. She felt ribs give way several times and lost track of the times she had vomited. With nothing in her stomach, Videl had begun to vomit blood. Not a good sign. Internal organs must be damaged.
"Vell, time to say good-bye, sveety. Remember, you haff your father to blame for thees." The giant called Montag's fist reared back and Videl tried to met his eyes with hers, knowing this was the end. His fist would shatter her nose, cheek, and jawbones, hopefully sending shards of bone through her brain, killing her instantly. Otherwise, she might, unable to do anything for herself, trapped in the shell of her broken body. Unable to watch, she squeezed her eyes shut. [This the end- good-bye, --]
She was torn from her thoughts as the ground began shaking quite suddenly. A faint roaring noise could be heard, growing louder and louder by the second. Montag drew his fist back. . .more . . .more. Finally, with a slow-motion roar, she saw the fist fly at her. Her pupils dilated to bring in more light and her lips parted to draw in the minutest amount of oxygen possible before-
"MMMMMOOONNNNTAGGGGG!!!!!" a feral scream sounded, seemingly coming from everywhere. Everyone looked around in panic, save for Montag, who had just thrown his punch to Videl's face.
Just before Videl was sure to feel impact, his fist was gone. The shadow he had cast on her was gone. And. . . so was her consciousness. The man holding her dropped the dying girl, leaving her to breathe her last in the brown dirt that used to be the club's lawn.
* * *
Gohan screamed the name of giant responsible for so much death and flew, still at full speed, right into him. He had just enough time to register the tattoo on his forehead- before impact. He felt Montag fly at several times the speed of sound into and through the brick wall of the club. At that point, Gohan knew something was wrong. His speed, coupled with the aura of ki around him, should have been enough to utterly disintegrate Videl's tormentor. [No time to waste, stupid!] With another roar of rage, Gohan dove into the terrorists like a wolf among blind, three-legged sheep that had mental issues.
With a wet snap, Gohan broke the neck of one man and tore off his arm, throwing it so fast through another man's chest it left a burning hole. In his very next breath, Gohan grabbed a man by the face and flung him as hard as he could into the air. Several seconds later, gravity took hold of the would-be crook and he landed with a sickening thud several feet away.
The foes on the outside dealt with, Gohan dashed inside through the hole Montag made. In the corner, he found what he was looking for. A stairwell! Gohan raced up, meeting two guards along the way, who he disintegrated with a single ki blast each. 2nd floor. Gohan dealt with the few guards he found, dropping each with either a short ki blast or physical attack to a vital area. After locating the stairwell in this floor, Gohan continued right up to the twentieth story, the owner's office. Blasting his way through any resistance he met, Gohan finally reached the large, opulent office the club's owner dwelled in before being dropped twenty stories to his death. Once inside, he saw-
"Montag!" Saiyaman cried, snarling ferally at the bulbous giant.
"Yesh, Shaiyaman," the giant sneered, speaking as best he could with a Jondolan Imperium accented-voice and several missing teeth. Saiyaman glared at him, his emotion turning the ki that hid his face brooding red so dark it was nearly black. "Und I'm afraid thersh nahtink you can do to kill me, so you vight was vell geeve ahb now." As he spoke, his accent came out more and more, branding him a foreigner.
Saiyaman growled, an animal sound that made use of the second set of vocal cords Saiyans possessed for just the occasion. It began low in his throat and rose from a wolf's snarl to a lion's roar, causing the hairs on Montag's 82-inch neck to rise as fear filled his black heart.
"You really think I can't hurt you?" Saiyaman smirked, adding so much malice to the gesture even Vegeta would have been proud. "We'll have to see about that. After all, I have a personal vendetta against you now. You hurt my friend."
Montag grinned the grin of fellow warrior about to fight. "I haff studied your fighting style. Partly Turtle Style from Kamesennin, mainly the Demon Style from Ma Junior, and occasional bits of Crane Style from Tsuru-Sennin. You are an accomplished vighter, Saiyaman, no doubt aboud it. However, I vill kill you all the same. Haff you ever heard of Majin Style? I haff learnt it and gained the godlike power that comes from it. Feel my wrath, Saiyaman!"
Montag jumped at Saiyaman, clearing the desk and roaring like a wounded buffalo. Gohan just dropped into Piccolo's "coiled cobra" stance, a form perfect for reacting to such advances, and grinned predatorily. [Idiot. He told me his power. That must be how he got so strong. . . its not just ki, though. His whole being seems. . .dark. . .like the Demon King, Piccolo's parent. Never heard of Majin. Majin. . .Ma-jin? The demon race? I'll ask Piccolo. That is, after I finish up here.]
The fight between the Great Saiyaman and Montag was short and brutal. In the end, Montag failed to live up to his promise, and, to pay for his crimes, was left hanging from the horizontal flagpole that stuck out from the office window. Gohan had removed a decent length of the gray rope Montag had for intestines and hung the giant by them, not even giving him the grace of letting the corded gut break his neck. The giant was left there, tongue lolling, to die an amazingly painful death several hours later. His corpse, which wasn't removed until two hours after he died, made even the toughest of police gagged when they removed the body already in the beginning stages of rot.
"Videl!" Saiyaman cried uncharacteristically when he landed, several seconds after leaving Montag to die on the flagpole. Gohan felt like crying when he saw her pale, twisted body lying in the dirt. Her head was thrown far back, making her bruised neck seem even longer and more graceful than usual. The terrible beauty death had brought her haunted Gohan. His mask of ki began to smoke as it dissolved the tears Gohan shed over the fallen teen.
Then, quite suddenly, Gohan heard it. His eyes perked and twisted, trying to discern which way the sound was coming from. It was heartbeat, very, very faint. Gohan followed his ears to the origin, hardly daring to hope. However, when his eyes finally rested on her, Gohan allowed himself to believe it. Videl was alive! Gohan's tears of sorrow suddenly became joyful weeping. Searching in his pockets, Gohan scowled. [Not a single Senzu on me. Dammit] There was only one thing left to do.
Gohan swept up Videl in his arms and poured energy into her, hopefully stabilizing her heartbeat. With his remaining ki, Gohan blasted off, headed towards the top-shaped complex called Kami's Lookout.
Fin.