The Ultimate Power
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Nano: Ok… Trailer is over. Now we start the actual story. As always, please review. (5 please, for the next chapter) How does that sound? Just five reviews every two chapters. I also have a couple of ideas for other fics, but I'm not sure I'll have time to write them. I'm a little upset… I had the entire plot for this story planned out, but I lost it during a computer crash. Oh, the joys of computing. Anyways, enjoy the story!
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Story Setting: The Ultimate Power is placed one year after the Buu Saga. No changes to the original DBZ plotline have been made. This will also help explain how Gohan and Videl get together.
Disclaimer: I don't trust my subconscious, but I do know I don't own DBZ.
CHAPTER 1: Of Dreams and Conspiracies
Gohan looked around him. He could feel his energy being slowly drained away. Illuminated by the blood red sunset, he could see the plains around him, but as he looked harder, Gohan could not see a thing. His senses told him that one by one, the Z Fighters, his friends, his family, everyone he knew and cared about fell silently to the grass covered ground, their hearts stopped, their life force depleted. Gohan cried out, channeling all of his rage, helplessness, and anger into a primal roar of fear. The only thing that returned his cry was its echo. Suddenly, as if the mist clouding his vision, Gohan could see exactly what it was that had been taunting him forever. The vague figure that was always lurking beyond his reach, his reasoning, was now crystal clear. In that moment, Gohan knew he was dead.
* * * * * *
"Gohan? Gohan! Wake up, Gohan!"
Gohan snapped his eyes open, seeing his younger brother Goten right in front of his face.
"You okay, Gohan?"
"Um, yeah. I'm fine Goten. Thanks for asking." Gohan focused his gaze on the room around him. His sheets were all messed up and his clothes were soaked through. Blood was flowing through his body at an extremely high pace, his heart beating fast even for a saiyan. The feeling in his gut had been familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Whatever it had been, that dream had felt extremely real. As Gohan sat pondering whether or not he should bring this up with his mom, Goten ran out of the room, chasing after the smell of breakfast. Gohan stood up and changed, then turned to follow Goten.
"Good morning Gohan."
"Good morning mother." Gohan sat down to the table that had an extremely large amount of food on it. His mother always insisted that he needed a good breakfast to help him learn at school.
ChiChi turned around to start quizzing Gohan on math, but once she saw the look on his face, she decided that now was not the time. "Everything all right Gohan?"
Gohan looked up from the food that he was absently playing with on his plate. "Yeah Mom, everything is fine." After sitting there for a couple more minutes, Gohan stood up and headed towards the door, using the excuse that he had study group waiting for him.
ChiChi watched Gohan leave for school, and then turned back to her daily ritual of cleaning the house from top to bottom.
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"So anyways, I went shopping again yesterday. You remember that cute stock boy I was telling you about? No? Well, anyways, he started talking to me. I don't remember about what, but who cares? I now know that he definitely likes me. Do you think I should ask him out on a date this Friday? Yeah, I think I will."
Erasa walked down the hall with Videl and Sharpner. Videl put on her usual 'I'm interested, keep talking' face as she listened to yet more tales of Erasa's World Famous Shopping Adventure. (Not for sale at local retails. Call now and receive model of hunky stock boy for FREE).
"Sounds good Erasa." Sharpner turned to look at Videl. "You know what? We could make it into a double date. How about it, Videl? Feel like going out with your one true love this Friday?"
"Actually, I'd love to. But the problem is, I don't think I can date soap operas. You do know that they are my true love." (A/N Ummm… Gimme a break) Sharpner looked crestfallen.
As the trio walked down the hall, Videl caught a glimpse of Gohan at his locker. "Hey guys. Will you excuse me? I have to go use the ladies room."
"Sure. No problem."
Erasa, on the other hand, saw Gohan as well. "Sure, Juliet. We'll catch you later." As Erasa grabbed Sharpner's arm to start leading him away, Videl turned around and started for the restrooms. She could barely hear Sharpner say, "Erasa, you know that her name is Videl, not Juliet, right?"
Videl smiled to herself, and then checked to make sure they were out of view. When she was sure, she turned around again and headed back to Gohan's locker.
"Hi Gohan."
"Oh, hi Videl." Gohan put the last of his things away in his neatly organized locker, and closed it.
"I just wanted to thank you for dinner last night. It was great."
"Yeah, no problem. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you study English." Gohan turned around and started towards his first class.
"Gohan? Where are you going? Class doesn't start for another half-hour."
"Really? Guess I lost track of the time." Gohan turned back to face Videl. "Well, looks like I don't know where I am going right now then."
"Do you want to go to the library? You could help me study for English."
"Sure. I would be more than happy to."
As they walked down the hall, Videl's mind raced to think of something to say to break the awkward silence. She finally settled on talking about dinner last night. "Is Yamcha always…"
Gohan could almost sense what Videl was going to say before she even finished. "Yeah. He has always been a bit of a pervert. Can't seem to find a date these days."
Videl opened her mouth to ask another question, but Gohan beat her to it. "Master Roshi as well. He's basically an older Yamcha."
"Was there some kind of bet between your father and Vegeta?"
"No, they just always eat that much. There was no competition to see who could eat more. Trunks and Goten, on the other hand, well, you saw them going at it."
A small smile came to Videl's face as she recalled the two little brats competing to see who could stuff the most food into their face. "Who did win that little competition?"
"It was a tie, as I remember it. I think they both fell asleep at the same time."
Videl laughed as she remembered the sight of two little heads falling over onto plates filled with huge helpings of food. No one seemed to have taken notice, and Videl guessed that that happened regularly. "Well, at least Krillen had some good jokes."
"I'm glad you enjoyed them. Everybody else there has heard them a thousand times before, at least." The two stopped as they arrived next to the doors leading into the library. "After you." Gohan opened the door, and followed Videl inside.
As the two sat down at an empty table, Videl let her mind wander as Gohan started to talk about the latest English grammar assignment, articles of the preposition, present subjunctive, and other nuances that are part of the English language. Falling again onto the subject of the previous night's dinner, Videl found herself in a dreamlike state remembering how happy she had been eating dinner with good company. It was definitely a good break from her normal dinner at her house, eating alone with just her father and servants. Despite what Gohan had said, Videl found Krillen's jokes extremely funny. The food, jokes, and company had made for a very pleasant evening. The company especially. Warmth flooded throughout Videl's body as she remembered her happiness at being together with Gohan. Although she would never admit it publicly, Videl knew that she had fallen head over heels for that boy.
"Videl?" Videl was snapped out of her reverie as Gohan called her name. "Can you answer this problem?" Videl took a quick look at the problem Gohan had laid out before her. She answered it correctly. Gohan, satisfied that she was learning quickly, started lecturing again. Videl let her mind start wandering again. In all truth, Videl had no problem in the English class. English was simple. The only thing that got in her way was the constant distraction of Son Gohan, that cute yet nerdy book boy who was constantly on her mind.
As Videl remained in her dreamlike state, Gohan continued lecturing oblivious to the fact that Videl was not listening. As the morning bell rang, both of them were pulled back into reality. When Videl looked up into Gohan's face, she realized that something was wrong.
"Gohan, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I gotta go to my class. I'll see you around."
"Gohan, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself today."
"I'm fine. Seriously."
"No, something is wrong. For one, you haven't been acting all nervous when I'm around. Big clue. Number two, you haven't smiled once this morning. You're always happy." Videl was tempted to add a third reason: that she could just feel that Gohan wasn't alright, but how the hell was she supposed to explain that to him?
"It was just a dream, okay? Nothing to worry about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for class." Gohan finished packing his bag and started off for advanced physics.
'A dream? He's upset over a dream? I've had nightmares before, but in the morning you always wake up and know that it was just a dream.' Videl watched Gohan leave the library, and decided that now would be a good time to head for her class too.
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"So Juliet, how was your morning?"
Videl sat down next to Erasa and Sharpner in their usual seats for chemistry. Erasa gave Videl a big wink. Under the blonde hair and chatty outside, one very sharp mind worked away inside her head. Videl would not have been surprised if she had been able to rival Gohan in almost anything, that is, if she set her mind to it.
"Erasa? Are you loosing your mind? I told you this morning that her name is Videl, not Juliet!" Sharpner looked doubtfully at his friend, believing very much that she had gone senile at 18.
Videl chuckled silently. Sharpner was all brawns and no brain. Even then, when he was compared to Gohan, no brawns, and definitely no brains. As Videl settled in to be bored yet again in another chemistry lesson, Erasa started up her usual chatter. Videl paid only minor interest. However, something caught her ears.
"So Videl, what are you going to be doing for your birthday tomorrow?"
Videl blinked a couple of times before realizing what had been said. 'That's right! My birthday is tomorrow!' While everybody in Satan City always turned out to celebrate her birthday, that day held no special importance for her. So she spent some extra time with her father, and her friends came over, but how was that different from any ordinary day? "Just the usual. Nothing too fancy."
Sharpner looked disappointed again, but a huge smile came onto Erasa's face. Videl almost could have sworn that she muttered something like "I'll change that." under her breath. Class went on, and Videl forgot all about it as she got lost in another boring lesson.
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As Gohan entered his second period class, he found Erasa waving to him, with an empty seat pulled out next to her. Gohan headed her way, since she was usually a good source of information for all things Videl. After all, she was her best friend.
When Gohan sat down, Erasa immediately launched into her mode. Gohan, who had been hoping for something other than Erasa's World Famous Shopping Adventure, (Call 1-800-STU-PID5 and get FREE shipping and handling!) steeled himself for yet another boring class. However, something caught his ears.
"Did you know that Videl's birthday is tomorrow?"
This made Gohan pay more attention to what she was saying then he ever had to any teacher. He knew that Ms. Satan's birthday parties were famous, but he had never been around to see one, and never knew the exact date. This was his chance. He could finally do something non-stupid for Videl.
"Gohan? Did you not just hear what I said?"
Gohan snapped out of his reverie, and proceeded to bombard Erasa with questions. By the time class was over, Gohan left the room feeling happy about his plan, the morning's events completely forgotten.
* * * * * * * * * *
At first, it was nothing. Gohan saw the blow hit, but it did not register. He saw the repeated blows, and yet still nothing. His earthling side of him thought that this was very strange, but his saiyan mind was screaming at him to do something, to counter-attack, or at least block. But Gohan just stood there, unable to move. More blows came in. Still no pain. Gohan tried to raise his power, but the power was not there. He was not weakened, his power had not been drained, but Son Gohan had no power to raise. Gohan remembered the intense feelings of despair that had brought the super saiyan spirit to reside in him during his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but it did not work. He could not power up to a super saiyan. More blows, but still no pain. Gohan looked deep inside himself, remembering the deep meditation he fell into with the help of Elder Kai. He sought to wake up the power of goodness that was granted to all who were pure. But the power was gone. More blows. He could see the blood, but there was still no pain. Gohan looked around. Bodies littered the plain around him. Friends, family, and people he had never known but were innocent civilians. Humans caught up in a struggle beyond their comprehension. There was only two people still standing. One was his attacker, the mysterious figure who was always present, always tormenting, always stronger than Gohan could ever be. The other, he did not recognize. His ki signal was unfamiliar. Gohan turned to look to see who it was, but at that same moment, his enemy dramatically increased his power. Gohan snapped his head around to face his attacker, but came face to face with the largest ki attack he had ever seen. Gohan felt that his power was back, and immediately powered up to block the attack that could have easily destroyed the planet and kept on going. However, at that moment the pain set it, and Gohan doubled over at the intensity of the pain. His ki dropped faster than a rock. As Gohan managed to look back up, he saw the ki blast an inch away from his face, and was promptly blown to smithereens.
* * * * * * * * * *
"GOHAN!!! GOHAN WAKE UP!!!!" Goten jumped out of his bed, looking fearfully at his older brother who was screaming loud enough to wake everyone on the planet up.
Gohan continued to roll fitfully on his bed, eventually falling off, and landing on the floor with a loud thunk. Gohan continued his screaming, and eventually the door flew open, revealing ChiChi armed with her deadly frying pan.
"Where's the dead man whose hurting my son?" ChiChi swung the pan around with deadly efficiency, and eventually spotted Goten. "What happened?"
Goten, who was still extremely confused, did his best to explain it. "Well, one minute I was sleeping, and the next I was awake, because he started screaming." Goten pointed to his brother, hoping that his mother would understand that it was not his fault. "I think he's still sleeping."
"Then wake him up!"
Goten turned to face his brother, and punched him in the gut. Gohan rolled the other way, without even a response. With ChiChi urging him on, Goten ascended to super saiyan and punched Gohan in the gut again. This time, he curled up, and screamed even louder. Goten tried one more time, to no avail. However, in an unusual, rare, cosmic event, Goten got an idea. (Just kidding… Goten is smart) He descended back into his normal state, leaned over next to Gohan's ear, and started whispering about breakfast.
Needless to say, Gohan woke up immediately with "Pancakes! Yummy!!!!" Gohan made his way down to the kitchen, only to see that there was no food prepared.
Goku, who had heard Gohan's shouts for food, soon joined them. He looked around the kitchen hungrily, standing in his PJ's. "Where are the pancakes?"
Goten soon entered the kitchen, followed by ChiChi. The realization slowly dawned on both Gohan and Goku that there was no food. Gohan was the first to break the silence.
"What time is it?"
ChiChi looked at the clock on the oven, and it read 4:42. "Four forty-two."
Gohan did a double take, double-checking the clock to make sure. "How could you let me sleep in so late? I missed the entire day of school!"
Goku provided the answer. "It's four two-two in the morning, son."
Gohan blinked a couple of times, before asking another question. "Why are we up so early then?"
ChiChi, who had just finished putting her frying pan away, finally spoke up. "Why don't you tell us, Gohan. You were the one screaming."
Gohan still had no idea what they were talking about. "Yeah, Goten told me that there was food, so I was yelling out of excitement for a good breakfast."
"Before that, Gohan. Goten said you were screaming in your sleep."
Gohan screwed his eyes shut, thinking hard about what he might have been dreaming of. However, the thought of food had wiped it completely from his mind. "I don't know, Mom. It must have been some dream. For all I know, I could have been having a nightmare that the world ran out of food."
ChiChi looked at her oldest son doubtfully, fearing that he had gone insane, and thus would not be able to provide her with grandchildren. "Well, go back to bed. You still have school in a couple hours."
As the Son family dispersed back to their rooms, Gohan tried to remember his dream. Although he couldn't remember the details, he did remember that it felt extremely real. After checking to make sure Goten was tucked in, Gohan lay down, trying to catch a few more hours of sleep before school, before having to see Videl again. Tomorrow, well, today actually, was her birthday. Videl… A slight smile came to Gohan as he slipped into a restful slumber.