The weeks worn on and the training was just as grueling as before, if not more. Vegeta's teachings awarded her with more energy than she ever thought possible, and greater control over it. He used his own ki against her, weighing her down along with the greater gravity of the Room. His ki was up to a high level but he hadn't gone super saiyan yet. Videl, with her newfound strength, was powered up as well and they squared off against each other. The heavy gravity made her a lot slower than he but she came at him with all the fury she could muster. His arms were up and blocked her attack. Undaunted, she came at him again unleashing blow after blow which were blocked in sequence. She kept up the pressure and hours passed before her ki dropped to a point where it was too low to continue.
Vegeta was silently impressed by her drive. She never disobeyed his commands and her ki level rose daily. He pushed her constantly, never brooking failure or even the slightest hint of slacking. He was pleasantly surprised by her eagerness to learn and train. She would've made an acceptable saiyan, he thought. If things were different, she could've attained the legendary power of super saiyan by now. Even as a human, she was stronger than most. Still, time was a precious commodity and they were running out of it fast. He resolved that the next day she would spend twice as long at full power and hold it. Her ki attacks were coming off better as well. She was sharp enough to think quickly on her feet, and this helped her to conserve her energy and pick and choose her attacks, rather than clumisly waste her energy on useless attacks. She had already surpassed many warriors that he worked with in his youth. She was stronger than Krillin and Yaumcha already, and getting very close to that three-eyed mystic, Tien. Maybe he'd have enough time to get the job done after all...maybe.
Videl greatly welcomed the warm bath and the soothing bath oils that came with it. Every muscle, nerve ending, and bone was sore beyond belief! Slowly and gingerly she entered the bath tub, hissing at the heat of the water. It took her a few minutes to finally lay down in the tub. She was sure that several of her ribs were bruised, and she wasn't sure if any of the scars on her back would ever go away. Her bath time was the only time that she had that was devoted only to herself. It was during this one hour she had a day to herself that she'd let her mind wander. She saw Gohan constantly in her nightmares and the look on his face as he attacked her. She still felt the person inside and it wasn't the one on the outside that concerned her. During the battle she felt a brief glimse of sorrow from him and she knew then that he was being controlled as the others were. If she could only reach him, perhaps they had a chance of converting the others.
Her musings were interrupted by a rough knock at the door. "What is it, Vegeta?" she asked, frantically grabbing for a towel.
The door didn't open, but she heard his muffled voice from beyond the door. "When you are...decent...I want you to come walk with me." Then she heard his footsteps walk away. What the hell could he possibly want now? She hurried with her bath and put on some clean clothes. She searched the living quarters and eventually found Vegeta standing with his back toward her outside the living area, staring out at the endless expanse before them.
"What is it Vegeta? What did you want to talk about?"
He didn't turn around to face her. "Tell me," he said softly, which always scared the living daylights out of her. "Do you think you can defeat Gohan, your mate?"
Not in a million years, she thought. "Honestly?" was her questioning reply. He barely nodded in response. Her eyes became downcast, "No."
Silence greeted her as long moments passed. Then he spoke, "You are right."
Anger welled up within her and threatened to boil over. "Then what the hell are we doing here? Why the HELL are you training me then?"
"Because, " he said, his voice still soft, "you will be the one who confronts him while the others and I deal with the main enemy."
She looked at him incredulously, "And how do you expect me to pull that off? Besides, he's not my 'mate' as you like to call him!" Her anger was rising steadily.
He turned on her suddenly, his face was stoic and betrayed no emotions. "Then what is he to you?"
She was taken aback by his abrupt question and she could feel herself blush with her combination of anger and feelings. "He's..." she stammered.
"He's what?" Vegeta pressed angrily as he closed in on her. She took several involuntary steps back.
"He's..."
"Is he nothing more than a toy to you? Is he a piece of meat, is that it? To be used and then thrown aside?"
"No...it's...it's not like that at all! I..."
"What? Answer me now, woman, before I end this conversation permanently!" She felt his ki began to rise dangerously.
Videl always had problems with her emotions, especially with those of the opposite sex. Gohan was different, however. She never felt threatened in his presence and he was always very kind and gentle toward her. She knew that he loved her but did she really love him? Before he left to New Namek with the others her and Gohan were going steady for almost a year. The relationship was very easygoing and she knew everyone from his family approved of her. She knew the misgivings/blessings from her own father but none of it mattered to her. She was with him, that's all that mattered. All her feelings that she had repressed since he left resurfaced all at once. Tears fell from her eyes as her body shook from her anger and frustration. She powered up her ki involuntarily and leaped at Vegeta, fists out.
"Yes, you bastard! I love him! I want him more than anything else in the world!" she cried as she pounded her fists against Vegeta. Tears flowed freely from her face as she struck him repeatedly. He didn't resist her assualt. "Why? Why did you leave me?" she sobbed as she hit him. Vegeta stood there as she hit him, dropping his ki down to nothing. Eventually she stopped hitting him and kneeled before him sobbing.
Finally she stopped and she looked up at him. Tears still streaked down her face. "Why?"
His fierce eyes bored into her. No response was forthcoming for him. He stood there in silence for a minute, his intense glare tearing right through her. Then he walked past her back to the living quarters. "Get some rest," he said gruffly, "Tomorrow will be a long day."

Piccolo and Tien flew over the ruins that was left of Capitol City. The robots made quick work of the military and of the city itself after the Z Fighters retreated. The two warriors landed and surveyed the damage. "This is horrible!" Tien exclaimed as he looked at the devistation. "Nothing could've survived this!"
"Be glad that everyone was evacuated," Piccolo muttered. He stretched his senses, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary. He felt the lingering energy signatures of the robots and of the great creature Leviathan. Then he found what he was looking for. He smiled, I found you...

"What was that?" Vegeta spat as Videl fell from his attack for the hundredth time. "Get up!"
"Bastard," she hissed through clenched teeth. Every bone in her body hurt. She wanted to lay down and die. Seeing her unhurt(and untouched) instructor standing there all indignant and defiant was what was goading her on. She forced herself up to one knee then the other then she stood. Her ki burned white-hot as she launched herself at him again.
The days stretched on into weeks as their training continued. Vegeta never answered her questions about why he asked her how she felt about Gohan Apparently her answer seemed to satisfy him. She knew she loved Gohan, but she didn't realize how much she loved him. Vegeta's simple question put all that into perspective. It strengthened her resolve and made her fight and train harder than before. Perhaps that was Vegeta's plan all along, she thought.
Vegeta's power level was holding steady, barely under super saiyan. Soon he would need to go that high else she might actually hit him. She was improving daily and when he felt that she was backing down he made his displeasure known. It was enough to get the best out of her. His musings were interrupted by a blindingly fast kick that barely scratched him on the side of his face. He blocked the next attack and the next, but she was coming at him faster than ever! Smiling, he went super saiyan and started striking back.
He went super saiyan already? I didn't think I was ready for this yet, she thought. His strength and speed were increased expodentially and she found herself on the defensive now. His punches and kicks would leave bruises on her arms and knees, but she was able to dodge and block his furious attacks now and even throw a punch or two in return. That was the first day of her training against a full super saiyan.
Now that he didn't need to hold back as much, he came at her with a savage fury that made her think like she was fighting for her life rather than training. The next two weeks were tougher on her as Vegeta used his powers to increase the gravity around her and still expect her to block his attacks and strike back as well. When they rush at each other, their ki auras discharged bolts of energy as they attacked each other. Still, for every hit Videl was able to deliver, Vegeta struck two and his reserves of energy were still greater than hers. At least she wasn't the only one returning to the living area with bruises anymore! The training continued without interruption.
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" Vegeta roared as the ball of destructive energy flew straight at her chest.
She was ready for it. Using the techniques he taught her, she caught the ball of energy with both her hands and strained against the sheer power of the destructive attack. Her arms buckled slightly as the ball tried to force it's way to it's intended target. She didn't move but the sheer force of the attack was slowly moving her backward. Focusing her ki, she screamed and the ball began to shimmer as she used her ki to dissipate the attack. The ball exploded sending shockwaves of energy out in all directions. Videl used all of her energy to shield herself from the blast and remain in place. Slowly she was able to see again as her eyes adjusted to normal light from the blinding flash. She breathed heavily and stretched out her senses to locate where Vegeta had gone. "Ha! Got you!" she exclaimed as she turned and looked up.
Vegeta's hands were together in front of him, kind of like the Kamehameha Wave attack, but instead in front instead of from the side. A large blue ball of energy formed in his palms and shot forth at her. "FINAL FLASH!"
Videl leapt to the air before the ball hit her, but she didn't hear the explosion of his attack. She looked down and was horrified to see the energy ball following her. Turning and weaving, she couldn't shake the attack. Turning on it she brought all the ki she had to her hands and grabbed the energy ball. It was too powerful for her to dissipate so she did the next best thing. Screaming, she threw the ball to the ground with such great force that even Vegeta had to shield himself from the resulting explosion. Her power spent she fell to the ground unconscious. Vegeta caught her before she made it to the ground. When she awoke she was in bed back at the living quarters.
"I..." she began weakly.
His frowning face turned to look at her from the wall where he was leaning. "I...need more...training."
"First you will need to heal," he commanded. "Today took more out of you than I would have liked. I thought you were ready and I was wrong."
"What are you...talking about?" she asked as she sat up in the bed slowly.
"You almost died out there today," was her reply.
Really? Only today? Here I was thinking every next second could be my last, she thought sarcastically. "What do you mean?" she asked, anger rising in her voice. "I blocked your attacks like you taught me to."
"Yes, but they were too strong. In order for us to succeed we will need everyone alive and well enough to fight. If I accidentally killed you, we would be at a greater disadvantage than I am willing to risk."
"Don't forget about the dragonballs," she said dryly. "I can always come back."
"That's not the point," he spat back angrily. "The point is you will heal for a week then we will continue your training."
"A week! I won't sit around doing nothing while..." she said as she stood up, and then fell back down to the bed, nearly passing out.
"You are injured," he said matter of factly, "and you need rest. So rest and heal."
She mumbled something in response, but it was all garbled. Vegeta frowned and left her to rest. He left the living quarters and took to the air. He landed out in the great expanse and smashed his fist to the ground. Damnit! We don't have time for this! She's so close, even I can feel it! He raised his hand from the crater that was now in the ground. He powered up to third level super saiyan and went through several katas and exercises. I have to be careful. I forgot that she isn't a saiyan, she's only a human. Damn their frailty!
He practiced well into the week, stopping only to eat and to take short naps. He said nothing to her as he went back and forth and she said nothing in return. That week for Videl was pure hell. She was barely able to walk, much less do anything else. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were the only real times she ever saw Vegeta and he wasn't much of a conversationalist to begin with. Confined to the state she was in, she found different ways to train and keep her mind sharp. Finding it harder to walk around where she needed to go she used her ki to either bring things to her, which was arduous enough, or she would use her ki to force herself up and she'd hover to where she was going. Using her energy to move herself was worse than picking up things like chopsticks, forks, spoons and bowls. Her total concentration was needed for the task and when she did it she found that her nose bled and she had severe headaches for hours afterward. Still, it was a way for her to train and she welcomed the pain. It was better than the alternative...boredom.
Without her knowing it, Vegeta watched her from afar. He silently approved of her methods, even though she still risked getting injured more. He surprised himself when he thought how lucky Gohan was to have such a fierce warrior for a mate, even if he didn't know it yet! She was the one who would face him though and her feelings for him would be put to the ultimate test. It was his job to make sure she was ready and he wouldn't disappoint.
Between sleeping and stretching her ki to make use of it, Videl was bored. Time slowed to a crawl as she regained her strength. She was afforded the 'luxury' of 'free time' and didn't want any of it. Her thoughts eventually drifted to Gohan and she would end up crying. Vegeta would come around then and make a remark to her that would piss her off. It made her hate Vegeta with a passion, but it kept her mind off of him. It also gave her something to look forward to when she was back to full health, Vegeta's face getting punched in over and over!
In actuality, it took Videl almost two weeks to fully heal. But she was twice as committed as before. "So," Vegeta began smugly, "did you enjoy your rest?"
She flexed her arms to get the last of the soreness out of them. "I've been waiting for this," she replied.
Vegeta smiled evily. "As have I." He powered up to super saiyan. Videl powered up as high as she could.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Let's go!" The two warriors squared off and flew at each other. Videl never felt stronger thanks to her new way of training and she was eager to show that arrogant asshole a thing or two! She would get her chance in a second as he came at her with all the fury a super saiyan could give...



A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Just to let ya know both Goten and Trunks are still in the evil camp, sorry if I missed that. Thanks for the criticism as well. This things become an underground cult favorite, thanks to the e-mails I've gotten (102 at last count, and only 9 reviews!!!!). Now if only I can get more reviews(hint, hint). I'm starting to feel like the Kevin Smith of Fanfiction.net! Anyway I hope you like the story so far and I'm writing it as the story comes to me. If you have any other questions about the story or if you have any ideas feel free to e-mail me or post it in a review. I've gotten some great ideas from people via e-mail and I think they'll be pleasantly surprised as the story unfolds. I've got the main plot fleshed out but I'm always open to new ideas, as all writers should be. If ya like it give me a buzz, even if ya don't I'd like to know why and I'll see if I can change it. Flames are welcome of course if they are written intelligently and without malice. Basically if you have a point. Otherwise don't even bother. Sorry, I'll get off the soapbox now.
Next time: Training continues for Videl and she has a surprise for Vegeta! The Grand Kai makes a decision that could affect the Spirit World, and we'll take a look at Bulma and the others on their quest to find the last dragonball. I'll see ya next time...later!

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