A/N: A big thanks to all those who reviewed the first chapter. It is always nice to log on and see that people enjoy your work, so I thank you. I know this chapter is kind of a summary of what happened during the Buu Saga, but keep in mind, Videl doesn't know what happened to Gohan throughout the battles, so I think it's important that he has to let her know. Please continue to review and let me know how you think I'm doing!

Disclaimer: I forgot this last time but I think we can all rest assured that I don't own DBZ. Now, on with the story!

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Videl watched as Gohan's head snapped around and settled on her. Her gaze was steady and unwavering, staring deep into his soul. The pain and torture that she had seen in him earlier at the lookout were still quite obvious. It appeared as though the naïve, innocent young boy in Gohan had died, never to return. Slowly, she started towards him, having to force herself to put one foot in front of the other in an effort to close the distance between the two. Deep inside, she knew she was afraid of what was going to be said between them. Her entire world had been turned upside down in less than 36 hours. Everything she'd been brought up to believe had been shattered. Super powered aliens living among them, seven orange balls that could bring people back from the dead, having died and then been revived, learning that the Earth had been destroyed and then recreated, and the biggest of all, her father didn't defeat Cell, Gohan did. She had a feeling that this was only the tip of the iceberg and was worried about what she would find out. However, she knew it had to be done.

Gohan felt his heart jump as he realized that his dad had dropped Videl off and then left again. He knew why she was here and had been dreading this moment ever since he'd met her. She wanted the answers he was afraid to give. His heart began to beat even faster as he watched her approach and slowly sat down next to him. For what seemed like an eternity, neither spoke. Instead, they stared out over the horizon where a vibrant sunset was painted across the sky, content to just be in each other's presence and each afraid of what they knew was to come.

Finally, Videl broke the silence with a simple question.

"Are you okay?"

Gohan turned to her with eyebrows raised and an expression of disbelief on his face. Why had she asked that question? She already knew the answer.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question." Videl continued as Gohan merely shrugged his shoulders. "What happened Gohan? What was so bad that it made you like this?" she asked, gesturing towards his current state.

An inaudible sigh escaped Gohan's lips. It was time. Videl had to strain her ears just to hear his answer he was talking so soft.

"I let them all down, again. I failed just like I always do."

Videl's face twisted into a mask of confusion. "Gohan, I don't understand. What do you mean again? You were the one who beat Cell. How is that letting people down? Besides, no one was able to beat Buu alone. It took the energy of every single person on earth to win."

Gohan continued to talk as if he hadn't heard Videl's questions. "After Cell, I knew I was the strongest person in the universe, there was no one above me. And that scared the crap out of me. It was my fault my dad died. I had the power to beat Cell but instead I wanted to make him suffer and my dad paid for it with his life. My dad meant everything to me, but he had to give up his life just because I was too overconfident to heed his advice. Every time someone mentions how Cell was defeated, all it did was remind me of my biggest failure, as a fighter and as a son." Gohan paused a moment as he looked off in to the air, remembering something from his past. "I guess I just thought that if I didn't train, and lost all my strength then no one would depend on me when the next battle came. Then I couldn't possibly fail everyone again." Gohan let out a small laugh. "I only wish I knew at the time how incredibly stupid I was being."

Videl sat there shocked. She had no idea that Gohan had felt this way. That there was this huge burden of guilt that rested on his shoulders and that he carried it around with him every day of his life. She could only imagine how it was eating away at him inside. The only gesture she could think of to provide comfort was to place her hand on top of his as he continued talking, tears beginning to form in his eyes that refused to fall.

"I failed not once, not twice, but three times during our fight with Buu Videl. I had the opportunity to fight a warrior named Dabura in Babidi's ship."

Videl's eyes went wide with recognition as Gohan mentioned the name Dabura. Gohan saw the change in her facial expression and immediately stopped.

"You know Dabura?" he asked incredulously.

"Heh, well, we kind of met him up in Heaven in the Otherworld. He was really nice and actually was helping your mother, Bulma and I look for you."

"Wow, who would have guessed?"

"Anyways, back to what you were saying." Videl was still anxious to hear the rest of Gohan's story. She had heard bits and pieces of what had taken place, but Gohan knew almost everything.

"Right, he was one of the warriors we had to face in order to get to the bottom of the ship and get to Buu. My father and Vegeta had each already faced a warrior and had easily defeated them. Dabura had earlier met us outside of the ship and had spit on both Piccolo and Krillin, which turned them to stone. The only way they would have been restored back to normal is if Dabura had been defeated. Therefore, if I won, we would have both gotten to Buu before the whole ordeal had started and my friends would have been revived.

But instead, we fought to a standstill. I had lost my fighting touch in the seven years since Cell and I could hear my Dad and Vegeta's comments. They knew it too. Instead of continuing our fight, Dabura then noticed that Vegeta lacked the resolve that my father and I had, so he convinced Babidi to use his powers to take over Vegeta's mind and body. Vegeta then challenged my father to mortal combat, and during this fight, my father lost enough energy to revive Buu. Not to mention that Babidi later told me when I was attacked at the stadium, I gave them half of the energy they needed to revive Buu."

Videl looked up at Gohan's face. He was still staring off into the distance at the millions of stars that had appeared when the sun had set, and it almost appeared as if he was reliving each moment as he spoke about it. Every so often, his body would tense and his eyes would shift, almost like he was preparing to take a blow that never came. Videl remained quiet as she studied Gohan. She didn't feel there was much she could say until he was finished with his tale.

"I'm assuming you've heard about what happened at the Martial Arts Stadium after we'd left, correct?"

Videl nodded in agreement. "I was filled in during our hunt for the dragon balls."

"Good, then I'll skip that part. After all that had happened, Babidi used his magic to transport us away from the stadium to a place where my dad and Vegeta began to fight. The Supreme Kai and I fought our way down into Babidi's ship again, only to find that we were too late. My dad had already lost enough energy for Buu to be revived. The Supreme Kai wanted to retreat, but I thought it was still possible to destroy Buu before he came out of his shell. So I fired the biggest energy blast I could and needless to say, it didn't do anything. I had gotten too weak. Buu was revived and only then did I realize how much I'd underestimated him.

When Babidi ordered Buu to kill the Supreme Kai and me, I grabbed the Supreme Kai and I flew as fast as I could away from there. I can fly faster than any of the Z Fighters, yet Buu was still able to get in front of me. He knocked me down with one punch and then proceeded to beat the Supreme Kai senseless. I tried one more time to attack Buu, but all it took was one energy blast and I was finished. I don't really remember much after that. I can remember screaming from the pain as I tried to keep the ball of energy from engulfing my body and destroying me. I don't know how it happened but the ball suddenly broke apart and I immediately fell to the ground. The instant I hit, I fell unconscious. My energy was so low that it was a struggle just to stay alive."

Suddenly Videl interrupted.

"Oh! So that's why no one could sense you."

"What?" Now it was Gohan's turn to be confused.

"When we got back up to the Lookout, Goku told us that you and Vegeta had been killed by Majin Buu because they couldn't sense you anymore. No one believed me when I said you were still alive."

A faint smile crossed Gohan's face as he listened to Videl talk. Watching her facial expressions, he was able to see just how devastated she had been when Goku had announced he was dead.

"Well, I'm glad you had faith in me, even though it was misplaced."

"No, that's not it. I could still sense you were alive. I have no idea how though. I can't sense a person's ki like you can."

Gohan raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew that he'd been starting to sense a bond forming between the two of them, but he had no idea Videl was beginning to sense it as well.

"You know what it is, don't you?" Videl looked up into his eyes questioningly. His sad eyes seemed to hold all the answers, all she had to do was get them out of him.

"Yes I do. Perhaps I'll explain later, but for right now, I want to get through this whole story about Buu."

"Okay, I can live with that."

"The next thing I remember I was waking up on the Supreme Kai's planet. He told me that he'd brought me there to pull what he called the Z Sword from its resting place. To make a long story short, I managed to pull it out, and I was practicing with it, trying to master it when my dad showed up. We decided to test out the blade, and when he threw a cube of the hardest metal in the universe at me, I think it was something called Katchin (A/N: Sorry about the spelling, I have absolutely no idea how to spell it.), the blade broke.

This is going to sound really strange, but an Old Kai appeared and explained that he'd been trapped inside the Z Sword for millions of years. He also performed a ritual to unlock my sleeping powers. That's why I look a little older now. After he was finished, I once again had enormous power and came back to Earth to fight Buu. Unfortunately, this was after he'd already eaten everyone that was left. But we began to fight and I was winning. He couldn't even touch me. Yet he found a way to win anyways. He absorbed my little brother and Trunks when they were Gotenks, along with Piccolo. Using his new power, he was able to use me as a punching bag, beating the crap out of me until Gotenks' fusion ran out and he lost most of his strength. Then he decided to absorb me to gain my powers. I don't remember anything past that, but from what I gather, my dad and Vegeta managed to get inside Buu and free Goten, Trunks, Piccolo and me, but then the final form of Buu blew up the Earth and we all died anyways."

Videl saw a lone tear roll down Gohan's cheek and reached up to wipe it away.

"I made a promise Videl. I promised Goten and Trunks that they wouldn't have to live the kind of life I have. That they wouldn't have to fight. And I broke that promise. It's my fault that the fate of the world was placed on their shoulders. I never should have stopped training after the Cell Games. If I hadn't, this whole tragedy could have been avoided. I can't make that same mistake again."

Videl looked at Gohan in shock as she heard the determination in his voice at the end of his speech. Never before had she seen or heard this side of Gohan. It was a far cry from the innocent boy she'd come to know at Orange Star High.

"What are you going to do Gohan?" she asked tentatively.

"I've never really wanted to be a warrior. Unfortunate circumstances always kind of forced that roll upon me. But I know what I have to do now. My father and I are two of the strongest beings in the universe. He once told me with great power comes great responsibility and that we were going to do great things. I've tried to deny that responsibility for far too long. Its time I finally started training consistently so I can always be prepared for whatever comes next."

The determination that had been before only in Gohan's voice had now made its way to his eyes and Videl knew he wasn't joking. The nerdy, innocent Gohan seemed light years away. Yet deep inside, she knew that she sill loved him with all her heart. She'd become painfully aware of that fact when they were on the Lookout and she'd been told he was dead. She berated herself for never having told him and didn't want to pass up the opportunity now.

Slowly she put her hands on the side of his face and stared deep into his obsidian eyes. Inching forward, she captured his lips with hers and reveled in the sensations she had never experienced before.

"I want to tell you I love you Son Gohan. I will always love you, no matter what happens. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Gohan opened his eyes and returned her gaze. But instead of a spark of happiness at her words, Videl found only sadness.

"I love you too Videl. More than you'll ever know." Videl felt her heart soar at those words, but it immediately fell straight down to her stomach when she heard what he said next. "And that's why I don't want you to get close to me."

Videl felt tears stinging her eyes and threatening to overflow.

"I don't understand... Is it me?" her voice sounded shaky, even to her.

"No, its not you, its not you at all. I'm going to die Videl, not from old age, but a violent, premature death. Such is the destiny of a warrior and I have resigned myself to such a fate. But I could never live with myself if I did to anyone what my dad did to my mother and I. If I am alone, then less people will be affected by my death."

"Gohan, I don't care about that. I would rather be together with you for one second than to never have you in my life. There is no way what I feel for you is ever going to go away. I have faith that things will work out. Please, please don't push me away because you are afraid for me. That would hurt me more than loosing you in a battle. Let me make that choice for myself."

Gohan studied her face intensely, searching for any kind of doubt, any sign that would reveal her fear. Yet he could find none.

"There's so much you don't know about me Videl. My life includes so much more than just Cell and Buu. You'll think I'm a freak when you find out everything."

"Never in a million years could that happen. Everything that's happened to you so far has just contributed to make you the man I fell in love with. Nothing you could say will change that. Besides I already know some things about you that you haven't told me and I'm still here."

"Like what?" Gohan was almost afraid of the answer. Half of him was afraid that Videl would already have known everything and the other half was afraid that she wouldn't know nearly enough. Explaining about Buu had been hard enough, he didn't know if he would be able to tell her everything at one time.

"I know about Saiyans. I know that your dad and Vegeta are the last two full-blooded Saiyans alive. I also know that Vegeta is a Prince, which if I might say, does explain a lot."

Gohan had to laugh at Videl's words. As someone who'd known Vegeta for 13 years, he was used to his behavior, but it was amusing to hear someone else's view of him.

"I know that when you were the Gold Fighter, you were a Super Saiyan. I know there are different levels of Super Saiyans. I know you are the Great Saiyaman. I know you defeated Cell. I know all that, and I'm still here saying I love you because of all of it, not in spite of it."

Gohan watched Videl speech with awe. She had a knack for saying the right thing at the right time. It was exactly what he needed to hear. For the first time all night, a genuine smile crossed his face and he wiped away the few tears that had managed to fall down Videl's face.

"God, I love you so much Videl. I promise I will always come back for you, if there is any possible way for me to do so."

Videl was on the verge of breaking down into sobs as she listened to Gohan. Never before had she been this happy and scared at the same time. She was ecstatic because Gohan had confessed his love for her, however she was also scared for two reasons. This would be her first relationship ever, and deep in her heart she was worried Gohan's prediction of an early death might prove correct.

However, all of her fears were quickly washed away as Gohan once again kissed her lips. This time with a passion that sent shivers throughout her entire body.

*Please be kind and review! Thanks!*