* * * * *
"What's a Super Saiyan?" asked Videl.
Both 18 and Bulma turned and gave Videl a look as if they were caught doing something they shouldn't have been.
"Videl, remember when I told you there were somethings I couldn't tell you?" asked Bulma.
"Yyyeeeeeessssss," Videl replied in an unsure tone.
"This is one of those things. Gohan will tell you, if and when you both are ready."
Videl sighed, closing her eyes while shaking her head said, "Once again I am out of the loop."
"Don't worry lady, I'll be your friend," said a small girl with two red ribbons in her blonde hair as she tugged on Videl's shirt.
"And who might you be?" asked Videl as she crouched down and smiled at her.
"My name is Marron. Me and my mommy came to check on Gohan and make sure he's getting better. He promised he'd marry me when I was older so he can't get sick," she beamed at Videl.
18 studdenly stopped moving, as if in straining to hear something.
"Marron, be a good girl for Auntie Videl. I have somethings to take care of, and I'll come back for you soon, ok?" asked 18, bending over to give Marron a quick peck on the cheek.
"Ok, mommy hurry back," said Marron smiling back at her mom.
"I will sweetie," replied 18 as she kissed 18 on the cheeck."Thanks for watching her, Videl."
"What? I'm sorry but I can't, I have to get home. I have to..." explained Videl before she was cut off by 18.
"You can't go home. Not yet anyways. Don't go anywhere with out either Trunks or Goten. That goes for you too Bulma," said 18 as she walked out the door.
"First Vegeta, now her. Somethings up. Something big. And they are both deliberately trying to keep us in the dark," Bulma said in an annoyed tone, then she turned and smiled at Videl. "Well, it looks as if you'll be spending the night again."
"I really sorry about that, it just, well, happened. Every time I tried to move Gohan start to clutch his chest again, and I just got so sleepy I guess I fell asleep," mummbled Videl.
"There is nothing you need to appologize for. People seem to fall asleep here all the time without meaning to. There are a lot of very funny stories to be told, and since it's probably a lot safer if we stay here, I might as well tell you one of them," replied Bulma.
Videl smiled and walked over to a chair and sat down. Marron quickly jumped in her lap and leaned back against Videls chest as Videl put her arms around Marron protectively.
"A few years ago, Vegeta and Gohan were sparring in the gravity room. That's a room that increases the gravity inside the chamber. Anyways, they're fighting and it ends up getting real late before they finish. Gohan supposedly goes home, Vegeta goes and takes a shower. I wake up and go through my usual routine, expect I notice the showers been going for way to long. Vegeta had fallen asleep in the shower. As soon as I wwoke him up we hear this terrified screamming. Candice, my assistant slash secretary, walked in to find Gohan face down on the living room floor. His clothes were torn, blood and scratches covered him every place that wasn't cover by clothes, and some of the blood has spilled onto the carpet. Well, you know Gohan, he was just sleeping like a baby, as if nothing were wrong."
Videl and Marron burst into laughter imagining the scene layed out for them.
"Oh, it gets even better. Candice was really destraught, but relieved to see the boy was ok, so I gave her the day off with pay. Gohan's mother finds out about this, and dresses him up in this horrible little suit-like thing complete with little beanie hat and makes him go over to her apartment and appologize. Then, because we had to have the rug cleaned, his mother makes him work as her assistant for two weeks."
Videl and Marron laugh even harder and both have to wipe tears from there eyes.
"Well, Vegeta gets wind of this, and he is not pleased. I mean Gohan has to be here for two weeks and they can't spar. It's like dangling a steak just outside the reach of a dog. He ends up trying to barter with her to lend him Gohan. Gohan's sitting there wide eyed as they barter back and forth but they were unable to come to an agreement. Then I come in say something like, 'Candice didn't you say you needed some one to go with you to the opera.' They end up making a deal where he gets Gohan for four hours after Vegeta takes her to the opera. Of course, Vegeta had no idea what and opera was and what it entailed. The look on his face when he left in his tuxedo was only matched by the look of his face when he came home. I don't think I have ever seen him so horrified and disgusted, I just wish I were there to see him at the opera. Afterwards he didn't speak to me for days," laughed Bulma.
The three laughed for a while until Goten and Trunks entered the room.
"What's so funny?" asked Goten.
"I was just telling Videl and Marron a story about Vegeta and Gohan,"
* * * * *
18 walked down the halls of the Briefs house until she came to the gravity chamber. She punched in a key combination and a mechanical voice warned her that inside the chamber it was 125 times normal earth gravity. She entered and was awestruck as they were both super saiyans. She watched at Trunks and Goten continued their fight. When the first opportunity presented itself Trunks turned to look at the new arrival, and was immediately caught with a fist to the cheek that sent him crashing into the wall near 18.
"I need to talk to you both for a minute," said 18.
"About what?" questioned Trunks as he picked himself off the floor. He was angry with himself that he allowed 18 to distract him, and he subsequently lost the round of his sparring match with Goten. Both of their hair returned to its normal color and the golden glow subsided as they returned to their normal state.
"I am leaving for a little while. You need to protect your mom," said 18 pointing to Trunks and then she turned to Goten, "and you need to protect Videl. Do you think you can handle it?"
"That's easy. We can do that," replied a smiling Goten with a hint of cockiness in his voice.
"They're outside your brothers room. Do not let them outside of your sight for an instant. Everywhere they go, you go, it's extremely important. Do not resort just to energy sensing, understand."
"Why?" asked Trunks.
"My..." 18 paused as she tried to find the right words to use, "A distant relative of mine is headed here, or probably will. He shouldn't make it here, but you never know."
Trunks assumed that because they couldn't sense her energy, they wouldn't be able to sense her relatives.
"Oooh, relatives. Will we be having a party with food?" asked Goten.
"No little one," 18 smiled at Goten's innosence, "Did Gohan ever tell you about your Uncle Radditz?"
Both Goten and Trunks nodded changed from being happy to being conserned.
"He'll be like Radditz and he's coming for your mom and Videl. Destory him, if and when he arrives," she said and she left the gravity chamber.
She exited the building and immediately took flight and headed in the direction of the Satan Mansion. She arrived quickly and set down on the roof. She walked over to the edge of the roof and put a foot up on it and closed her eyes.
'I know your coming here. Your programming will dictate this as the most logical place to find Videl. I can sense you out beyond the horizon, but there is something else there with you.'
* * * * *
Vegeta walked through the main gates of Gundark Enterprises. Since this was the only company that produced the Poly-Rubber alloy it was a logical place to start. He walked through the door and was greeted by a short, fat security guard.
"Can I help you, sir?" asked the guard from behind the desk.
"Where can I find..." Vegeta looked down at a sheet of paper "Yuumara?"
"Do you have an appointment?" replied the guard as he came around the greet Vegeta.
Vegeta smirked and grabbed the guard by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Unlike when he entered the Capsule Corperation building, there was no one else around.
"Where is Yuumara?" He stated in a cold methodical voice, while increasing the pressure on the guards' throat.
"F...F...Fif...ohr," said the guard choking for air, desperately clawing at Vegetas fingers to no avail.
Vegeta lowered the guard to the ground and released him. The guard fell to his knees clutching his throat while Vegeta removed the guard's weapon from its holster.
"By the way, if you call the cops or tell any one I was here...."
He leveled the gun so it was at eye level with the guard and then crumpelled it in to a very small ball and let it fall to the floor at the guards' feet. Vegeta walked to the elevator behind the desk leaving the guard staring at the ball on the floor. He pressed the 'Up' button and leaned against the opposite wall waiting for the doors to open. It didn't take very long and he took one last look at the guard, who was still staring at the crumpled ball of metal that was his gun, before he entered the elevator. It was a quick ride up, and Vegeta exited the elevator and went to his right. As soon as he turned he saw a secretary sitting at a desk and behind her was a door with black lettering that said "Yuumara". He saw the secretary look up from filing her nails as he approached.
"Howz it goin' sweety? Can I help ya?" she asked while chewing gum.
"Where is Yuumara?" demand Vegeta glaring at the secretary, but unfortunately for Vegeta, you have to be looking for the glare to work. The secretary was to busy examening her newly painted nails to look up at him.
"Do you have an appointment, hun?" replied the secretary as she broke out a file and started on her nails.
Vegeta quickly slipped by the desk and went through the door before the secretary even realised what he was gone. Behind the large oak desk sat an old man with his left hand in his hair and his right holding a piece of paper. He was leaning heavily on his desk and looked frusterated.
"Are you Yuumara?" asked V egeta in an annoyed tone.
Startled, the man looked looked up and he tried to straighted out the papers on his desk.
"Listen I don't want any trouble, I told your boss the next batch of rubber will be ready tomarrow. My company is nearly bankrupt because of you. Now leave this instant," Yuumara said seething with anger pointing at the door.
"Where did you send the rubber to?"
"Your not one of them. Who are you?" he questioned in a confused tone.
"That's none of your concern. Tell me where you sent the rubber to...now," replied Vegetain a menacing tone, glaring at Yuumara. Unlike his secretary, he was looking at Vegeta, and was quite scarred and visibly shaking.
"If...If I tell you this you'll let me live?"
"I have no intrest in killing you. Tell me where you sent the rubber to and I just may reimburse your company. I grow tired of asking, so it will be the last time. Where did you send the rubber?"
"We don't send it anywhere. They come and pick it up. They don't pay for it they take it and threaten us."
"Well, we'll just have to find out where they transport it won't we?" smiled Vegeta sadisticly.
* * * * * Author's Notes and other things
Get To Know The Random Characters That Probably Won't Appear Again!
Candice – Bulma's Assistant / Secretary. Her name actually comes from Calvin And Hobbes. She only appeared by name in one strip, but for some reason I always remember the last panel in it.
Vice President Inaba – The 40 something VP of Capsule Corp. Has sacrificed everything for his carreer. His name comes from Mizuki Inaba Full Metal Panic, where she origanally tried to ruin Kaname when her boyfriend started to lavish attention on Kaname.
Yuumara – Taken from the anime series "Noir". Kirika Yuumara is a teenage asassin that is one half of the asassin group Noir.
* * * * *
Yes, I have thought about doing an interlude piece of Vegeta and Candice's trip to the opera, unfortuneatly the only opera I have ever seen was the one is Final Fantasy 6 [The greatest RPG ever made]. And I don't think I would particularly enjoy doing the research nessicerry to do the project correctly, so there is a 99% chance I will never do such a thing.
* * * * *
Shameless plug: Check out my anime auctions on E-Bay. You can find some great anime collectibles for cheap, including anime production cels and help support my writing. And if you looking for something in particular just drop me and message and I will do my best to find such a item. If this link doesn't appear its on in my profile.
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