Author's Note: ONE MORE CHAPTER in the first part of the story is over!! Yipee! I can't wait for the second part. Also, I WILL be changing the title to this story, but keeping this part called 'Secrets'.
I own nothing, except for MY version of Angela, Vile and any other guys I decide to make up and stick into this story, which, I will remind you, is being written for the heck of it.
Part I.
*~* Chapter Fourteen *~*
Warmth and Security
The next morning, Chichi dragged Goten out of bed, hastily dressed him and shoved him outside. She hopped into the jet car she'd borrowed from Bulma and sped off towards Satan City.
A drowsy Goten groaned. "Aww, Ma, I didn't even get to eat!"
"How can you think of eating at a time like this, Son Goten?!" snapped Chichi. "Your future sister-in-law is in the hospital, and probably on her death bed and all you can think about is FOOD?!!"
Goten wisely kept his mouth shut for the rest of the trip. He was thankful, after a few minutes of riding in the back seat of the jet car with his face pressed against the window, that he hadn't gotten to eat. His mom's wild driving was making him queasy. Did she even have a license? He didn't think so.
Chichi speed throughout Satan City and pulled into the parking lot of Satan General Hospital. She dragged Goten out of the car, marched past the tons and tons of reporters and right up to the front desk of the hospital. She slammed her hand on the desk, making everyone in the lobby jump.
"I need to see Satan Videl," she demanded.
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, but only family members are allowed. Unless you have some proof that you're-"
Chichi leaned over the desk and glared at the young lady. "Listen here, missy! I just drove over FIVE HUNDRED-MILES to see how Videl is doing and I won't be let down! Now either you tell me where she is, or I'll FORCE it out of you!!"
The lady's eyes widened. "SECURITY!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Four guards came rushing into the lobby, a flood of reporters coming with them, anxious to see the commotion.
Goten grinned. "Cool! Mom's gonna get arrested!!"
Chichi sent Goten a heated glare. "I will not!"
One of the cops scooted over to Chichi cautiously. "Now, lady, we realize that everyone's upset about Miss Videl, but-"
"Don't give me that! My Gohan is supposed to MARRY her!! He can't do that if she's DEAD, now can he?!"
The cop looked startled. "Gohan? You . . . you're his mother?"
"Damn right I am! I demand to be let up to Videl's room immediately!"
The guy laughed. "Why didn't you say so before? Of course you can go up. After all, your son did save Videl's life."
Chichi took a deep breath. "That's what I thought."
The cop lead Chichi up to Videl's room. Chichi and Goten entered. Gohan's mother sighed romantically when she caught sight of Gohan sleeping in a chair next to Videl's bed, his hands gently clutching hers.
Goten took the honors of waking Gohan up. He pounced on his older brother's stomach, laughing as his eyes flew open.
"What the . . . Goten? What are you doing here?" muttered Gohan, wiping the sleep from his eyes with a lazy yawn.
He giggled. "Mama brought me here! You shuda seen it, Gohan! Ma almost got arrested!!"
Gohan sent Chichi a shocked look. "What?"
Chichi just shrugged her shoulders. "Those people wouldn't let me see Videl! I was worried about both of you."
Gohan looked over at Videl, then slipped his hand out of hers. How had it gotten there? He couldn't remember. "Videl's doing just fine. She's a fighter . . ."
Chichi grinned. Gohan was gazing down at Videl with passion in his eyes, whether he knew it or not. He likes her! I KNEW it! "What happened, Gohan? I mean, I watched the news, but . . ."
Gohan told his mother the story. "She . . . Videl . . ." Gohan paused, his voice cracking. "Videl almost died, Mom. She . . . she wasn't breathing for a while . . . I thought . . . I thought that it would be just like what happened with Dad. That I could've done SOMETHING to save her, but failed . . ."
Chichi frowned. "It's okay, Gohan. The important thing is that she's alive and well. She's going to need your support, Gohan."
He just nodded.
Suddenly Goten's stomach grumbled loudly. He flushed. "Ma didn't feed me this morning, Gohan! Can you believe it?!"
Chichi rolled her eyes. "Come on, Goten, let's go down to the cafeteria and bring up some food."
"YAY!" Goten exclaimed and followed his mother out of the room.
Once they were gone, Gohan sighed and turned back to look at Videl's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful, sleeping there. He wanted to touch her, to stroke her hair. Gohan then chuckled. Yeah, and if she found out that I'd touched her, I'm sure she'd kill me.
Live a little. Go on, touch her. Besides, she's asleep and she'll never know . . .
Why do I want to touch her? To make sure she's still there? Gosh . . . I came SO close to loosing her last night . . . It's hard to believe. We haven't even been friends that long . . . and already she's grown on me . . .
Stop talking to yourself and touch her! Look, her hair . . . so soft . . . her skin . . . like silk . . .
Gohan tired to control himself as he reached out to stroke Videl's soft cheek. He yanked it back when she shifted in the bed, sighing softly.
"She's like an angel," he muttered. "Oh, man, what's wrong with me? Videl's my friend . . ."
And all of the best couples start out as friends.
Says who?
Never mind that! You're beginning to like her.
Yeah, she's nice. For a girl, that is.
NOT THAT WAY! As in LIKE LIKE.
Gohan shook his head. No way! Eve if he did like her that way, Videl's probably would be totally disgusted. No, he didn't think she would fall for him. It was just too unlikely.
But still, Gohan could not suppress the urge to reach out and stroke her hair. He slowly extended his arm and placed his hand gently on the top of Videl's head. He gently ran his hands through her soft locks, a tiny smile appearing on his face.
Suddenly, Videl yawned and opened her eyes.
Gohan flushed and pulled his arm away as quickly as he could. "Er . . . good morning Videl!"
She smiled at him, then struggled to sit up in the bed. "It will be . . . once I . . ."
Gohan placed a supportive hand on her back, propped up some pillows and then placed his other hand on her chest. He flushed when his arm brushed one of Videl's breasts, but kept his hand there and gently pushed her back against the pillows.
Chichi suddenly entered the room, raising her eyebrows when she saw where Gohan's hands were. "Ahem. Are we . . . interrupting something?" she muttered in amusement as Gohan got even redder and Videl turned pink.
Gohan leapt back about a foot. "No! No! In fact, Videl just woke up and I'm sure she's hungry."
"I hope she is, because we've got a whole bunch! Okay boy, bring it in!"
Videl watched in awe as several men marched into the room with plate full of hot food. Others brought in tables, chair and drinks. When they were done, Chichi thanked the men and began to dish out the food.
"How did you pay for all of that?" asked Gohan.
"I didn't," his mother chirped happily. "Once the cafeteria people heard I was the mother of Son Gohan, the by who saved Videl's life, they gave it to me all for free! Isn't that great?!"
Goten nodded, stuffing food into his mouth. "WOW, THIS IS GREAT!! I wish I were in the hospital so that I could have all this good food!"
Gohan ignored his own demanding stomach and turned to Videl. "You need some help eating?"
Videl smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "I'm not a baby. I can feed myself."
He flushed. "Sorry."
About thirty minutes into their meal, the door suddenly flew open. Everyone turned their gaze towards the door as an anxious looking Hercule stepped into the room. The huge man caught sight of the Son family and glared at them.
"Who are all of you people?! Why are you bothering my daughter?!" he roared.
Videl winced. "Jeez, Dad! Relax! This is Gohan's mother and his little brother and they were kind enough to bring me breakfast."
Hercule rushed past Goten and Chichi and almost shoved Gohan out of his chair. He took Videl's hand and squeezed hard. "Oh, sweet-pea, the moment I heard what had happened, I rushed right back home! Are you okay? Who did this to you?"
"I'm FINE, and I don't know who did it," she muttered.
"Did you get a look at his face?"
"NO! It was dark outside. Now can I PLEASE-"
"Surely you say SOMETHING that would distinguish him from someone else!" cried Hercule frantically.
Chichi just shook her head. That man is annoying. No wonder Videl doesn't like him.
Gohan spoke up. "Er . . . this might help! The guy flew away!"
Chichi and Goten were surprised when they heard that. FLEW? Flying wasn't something that just anyone could do.
Hercule thought for a second. [A/N: Yes, only a second. His brain, as small as it is, cannot handle extensive thought. Did you think otherwise?] "HA! If he flew, then he HAS to be that Saiya-jerk!"
"It's Saiyaman," Videl growled. "And, I don't think that he would do anything like try to kill me. That's just ridiculous!"
Her father didn't seem to agree. "See, Videl, this Saiyaman character is nothing but trouble! I mean, it's like he practically stalks you anyway."
"WHERE are you going with this?! He does NOT stalk me!"
"Then explain how he shows up where ever you are! If you're at City Hall, then he's there a few minutes later! And maybe he doesn't want another crime fighter competing against him."
Videl sighed in frustration. "Do you even HEAR how juvenile that sounds?"
Goten was tiered of hearing them talk trash about his brother. Why didn't Gohan defend himself? "Saiyaman wouldn't do anything to Videl! They're friends! They sell their action figures in sets at the toy stores!"
Hercule looked the little boy over. The kid looked familiar. His hair . . . those clothes . . . WHERE had he seen them before? "Aw, what do you know, kid? You're just a little brat!"
Chichi leapt up. "You've gone TOO far! Who gave you the right to call my son a BRAT?!"
Gohan raised an eyebrow. His mom was on fire today.
"I am the man who defeated Cell. I can say whatever I want! And just WHO are YOU?"
Chichi was mad. VERY mad. "Ohhhhh, you . . . You'll never know how great this family is, you jerk! If you'd stop lying to yourself and everyone else, then maybe you'd-"
"That's enough, Mom," said Gohan, finally speaking up. Knowing his mom, she would've probably kept going until she revealed BOTH of his secrets. "No need to fight over any of this."
Goten grinned. "My Ma could beat Mr. Hercule any day!" he cried.
Before Hercule could protest, Videl spoke. "Why don't you make yourself useful, Dad, and go see if the cops have any leads yet."
Hercule reluctantly left, sending glares at Goten, Gohan and a fierce one at Chichi. "Sorry about that," muttered Videl. "He likes to PRETEND that he cares."
Gohan frowned. She didn't need this, not after what had just happened "Don't say that. I think he cares. He . . . just doesn't show it very well, you know?"
"If you say so." Videl, personally, didn't believe any of it. But she didn't feel like hearing her father's big mouth anymore. "Hey, why don't we turn on the news?" she suggested. Videl was a little curious about the people's reactions. No doubt that the news had spread throughout the world by now.
When Gohan turned on the televisions, he was surprised to see Hercule standing at a podium that had been hastily erected outside of the hospital. Cameras were flashing and reporters were sticking their microphones in his direction.
The crowd quieted down as Hercule loudly cleared his throat. Everyone in Videl's hospital room had their eyes trained on the tv, curious as to what Hercule was going to say.
"I'd like to thank everyone who's expressed their concerns about my daughter," said Hercule, his face very straight. "I'd just like to announce that she's doing well and is on the road to recovery."
Several reporters began to shout out their questions, and Hercule pointed to a big man in the front. "Do you have any clues as to who attacked Videl? Have the police uncovered any information?"
Hercule seemed to fidget on the stand. The public wants an answer . . . What now? Tell them I have no clue? "Er . . . I have just recently made an important discovery! I suspect that Saiyaman, this city's so-called superhero, of trying to murder my daughter!"
The reporters went wild with the information. It was common knowledge that Saiyaman and Videl fought crime side by side.
Gohan nearly fell out of his chair in shock. WHAT?!! This is just great! He's gone to the press with his crazy idea!!
"What makes you think this?!" shouted a reporter.
"Well, when I was told that the man who tried to kill Videl could FLY, I logically made the conclusion," he said, looking very proud of himself. "After all, we all know that this Saiyaman character can fly! But, what ELSE do we know about him? Nothing! The man is afraid to reveal his identity to the public- it sounds like he's hiding something!"
Videl groaned. Great. Her father was starting and anti-Saiyaman campaign, using her near death experience to launch it.
"I'm gonna find this clown!" her father exclaimed. "And when I do, he'll pay for hurting this city's beloved daughter!"
The reporters and other on-lookers began to clap and cheer.
Videl turned off the television and tossed the remote at the end of her bed. "This is awful," she muttered. "There's got to be something I can do to fix this."
Chichi stood up and began to gather up their trash. "Don't worry about it, dear." She sent Gohan a look. "I'm sure Saiyaman will be just fine."
*~*
Videl was finally allowed to leave the hospital a few hours after Hercule's speech. Her father went 'right to work' on discovering Saiyaman's secret identity while she and Gohan returned to the mansion. Once they were there, Videl was nearly ambushed by a swarm of worried maids and butlers. After assuring everyone that she was just fine, Videl made it up to her room, where Gohan insisted on putting her to bed.
She argued with him for a while, then reluctantly climbed under her blankets. "I'll rest for a while, but I refuse to spend my whole day in bed!"
Gohan sat at the foot of the bed and turned on the television, steering away from the news channels. Videl was obviously upset at her father for accusing Saiyaman of her attempted murder without any hard core evidence, and he didn't want her to be reminded of it. "I guess if you're feeling better later, then you can do whatever you want. Bu I almost lost you last night, Videl, and I don't want it to happen again. No doubt this guy is going to try again."
Videl blushed a bit at his words. She turned her attention to the tv, trying to pay attention to whatever it was that was on.
A few minutes later, Gohan muttered, "I wonder if Erasa will bring us the homework we missed."
Videl had forgotten that it was a school day. She groaned. "Come on, Gohan! I'm sure we'll be excused from any assignments."
"I don't know . . . I don't want to fall behind . . ."
She snickered, then grinned. "You? Mr. Straight A's? Never!"
Just then there was a knock at the door, then Sharpner and Erasa entered. They both looked relieved to see that Videl was okay.
Erasa rushed over to Videl's bedside. "Oh, I was so worried when I heard what happened! Everyone was shocked! I mean, they even cancelled school today!"
Videl sent Gohan a look. "That's good. Gohan here was worried about missing his work."
"Well, I think we should all thank Gohan," suggested Erasa. "After all, he saved your life." She nudged Sharpner in the ribs. "Go on! Thank him."
Sharpner just stared at Gohan. He was a little jealous that Gohan had been there in Videl's time of need and not him. But, if Gohan hadn't been there, Videl would've died . . . and there was no way he wanted that to happen. "Thanks, I guess."
Gohan gapped at the blond boy. He'd actually THANKED him? You're forgetting, Gohan, that he's got some strong feelings for Videl. Of course he'd be happy that she's still alive. "Uh . . . no problem. Videl's my friend too, and I was happy that I was able to save her."
For about an hour, the group sat around chatting until Gohan let out a huge yawn. Everyone stared at him and he turned pink.
"He, he, sorry! I . . . didn't get much sleep last night," he mumbled.
Erasa looked a little sorry for him. "Oh, you poor thing! I bet you stayed up all night by Videl's side. Why don't you go take a nice long nap? Sharpner and I will watch after Videl."
He looked a little hesitant. It didn't seem likely that Videl's attacker would show up around the mansion with the tightened security. "Okay. Just . . . make sure she gets her rest."
Erasa began to push him out of the room. "We will! Now you go get yours."
"And make sure she doesn't try to sneak off . . . feed her something light if she gets hungry . . . keep her comfortable . . ." Gohan rambled on.
Erasa rolled her eyes and gave him one last out into the hall, then shut the door in his face. Man, does he have it BAD!
Gohan stared worriedly at the closed door. "I . . . suppose she'll be fine for a few hours. Besides," he yawned again, "I'm beat!"
He entered his own room and locked the door behind him, falling onto his bed in exhaustion. As soon as he snuggled underneath his blankets, he heard the faint wails of sirens sounding somewhere in the city. Sounds like trouble . . . get up, Gohan! Saiyaman's needed.
Gohan warily got up and pushed the button on his watch, then flew out of the window, hoping no one saw him. He followed at sirens to the bank and landed on the steps outside. Surprisingly, the cops let him walk right into the building without saying a word to him. There was no 'There's Saiyaman' or anything like that.
Gohan dismissed it, thinking it was because of Hercule's earlier speech. He walked into the lobby, which was strangely empty, except for a man with a ski mask over his face and a big bag full of what Gohan suspected was money thrown over his shoulder.
"Hold it right there!" shouted Gohan.
The man in the mask sneered at him, then drew out a gun. Normally, this would not have worried Gohan, but when about fifty police officers came from behind desks and under tables, all with their guns trained on him, a sweat drop rolled down the back of his head.
Hercule came from no where and began to laugh loudly. "Take a step, clown, and you're Swiss cheese!"
Gohan looked around at the police officers, then at the crook. He'd gathered that the 'thief' was really a cop and that he'd been royally set up. "Now, what's this all about?"
"Don't give me that crap! I know you tried to kill my daughter, and you're going down!"
Gohan took a step closer to the cops. "I-"
"TAKE ANOTHER STEP AND THEY'LL SHOOT!!!!!" cried Hercule, looking around a little nervously.
Gohan grinned. "Are you scared? Of ME?" Then he took another step forward.
"SHOOT!!!! SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!!!!!!!!!" Hercule exclaimed.
All of the cops fired their guns without a moment's hesitation. Just before any bullets hit him, Gohan fazed out, then fazed back in front of Hercule. HE took the man by his collar.
The police officers turned towards Hercule, their guns trained on Saiyaman's back. "Er . . . should we shoot, sir?" asked one cop.
"NO NO NO!!!!!" Hercule began to wave his arms. "Hold your fire!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," said Gohan calmly. "But I'd just like to tell you that your stupid traps won't work. Nothing YOU can think up will stop me."
Fear flashed through Hercule's eyes as Gohan set him back on his feet. "Stop you from doing what?" With his left hand, he motioned for a cop to mover forward. "Killing my sweet pea?"
"We're on the same side here, whether you know it or not. I want to find out who tried to kill Videl as much as-"
BANG!!
Gohan gasped as he felt hot metal tear through his side. He vaguely acknowledged the fact that he'd been shot, obviously by an idiot with poor aim. His hand drifted down to his right side, where he found his skin sticky with blood. "Dirty," he muttered. "Very dirty." Gohan gave Hercule one good punch in the face and fazed out.
This time he appeared on Dende's Lookout, where Piccolo was busy meditating. The minute Gohan arrived, Piccolo opened on eye and sighed. "What happened this time?"
"An . . . accident at a bank. I need a senzu bean."
Piccolo stood up and tried to ignore Gohan's ridiculous costume. He called for Dende, who appeared almost instantly.
"Gohan! Man, what happened to YOU?" he asked, staring at Gohan's hand covered in blood.
"I was shot," was all he said.
Dende went up his friend and placed a hand over Gohan's wound, feeding his energy into Gohan's body, allowing him to heal.
Gohan stared down at his newly healed skin. "Gee, thanks. Say . . . before I go, maybe I should tell you what's been going on lately." He told his friends about the man who tried to kill Videl.
Piccolo snickered. "Well, Gohan, you must be rusty if you got shot."
He flushed a bit. "Uh . . . I was preoccupied?"
Piccolo shook his head, then looked a little worried. "Be careful, Gohan. I'm not worried about Hercule or what he may try, but all of this sudden activity is strange. After seven long years of peace . . ."
"I'll be just fine, Piccolo. Thanks, Dende. I should be going . . . gotta make sure Videl's alright." Gohan fazed out.
The older Namekian sighed warily. "Looks like I better start training harder."
*~*
The Next Day . . .
"I am going to school toady, Gohan," hissed Videl, "and there's nothing you can do about it!"
Gohan sighed and placed a hand on his waist. He and Videl had been arguing for the past thirty minutes on whether or not she was going to school. Gohan, of course, didn't think she should be up and about, but Videl instead that she was feeling well enough to go to school. "But Videl-"
"GOHAN, I know you're worried, but I'm FINE! I refuse to spend another day in bed!" Videl began to dig around for some clothes to wear.
He frowned, but didn't know what to do. She was so determined . . . Gohan sighed again, this time more stressed. "OKAY, you can go. But no fighting crime, and if you start to feel tired, I'm going to take you straight home, go it?"
She rolled her eyes. "I get it. Now get out so I can get dressed."
Gohan reluctantly left the room and got his things, then waited outside of her door. A few minutes, it opened and Videl stepped out. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Let's go."
Once Videl and Gohan made it to the school, Gohan had to keep the kids from ambushing Videl as they asked her a ton of questions. They managed to make it up to their classroom just before the bell rang.
The school day passed by rather quickly. During their last bell, their teacher approached Videl and Gohan and told them to step out into the hallway.
"Now," said their teacher once they were in the hall, "I doubt that either of you two remember, with what's been going on, but I'd just like to remind you that you two have clean up duty today after school." [A/N: This may need some explanation. In the Japanese school system, kids are assigned weeks in which they must stay after school and clean up their classroom (they stay in one classroom the whole day and the teachers come to them) or they clean the hallways. This way, they have little use for janitors. J ]
"If you're not up to it, Videl, then you don't have to do it," continued their sensei.
Videl shook her head. "I'm fine. I'll do it."
Gohan was concerned. "Are you sure? I mean-"
"YES, I'm SURE. Don't worry so much Gohan."
They went back into the classroom and finished their work. When the bell rang, they waited for everyone to file out, then set to straightening up.
Halfway into their job, Gohan felt a familiar ki heading their way. Who . . . who could it be? He froze, then turned his gaze to window. His eyes widened.
Gohan recognized the ki now. It was the guy from two nights before, the one who'd tried to kill Videl, and he was flying straight towards them with an evil grin on his face. The man raised his hand and a ball of energy began to form.
"Holy . . ." Gohan grabbed Videl's arm and pulled her out of the classroom and into the hallway just as the man's ki blast enveloped the room.
Videl stared in horror as the dust and smoke cleared the air. Where their class used to be was a gaping hole, and in the hall in front of them was her attacker.
"Get out of here," muttered Gohan.
"WHAT?! I can't leave you here with this guy! Did you see what he just did?!" shrieked Videl.
"I'll be fine." Gohan gave her a little shove. "Get out of the school as fast as you can, okay?"
"But-"
He pushed her again, harder this time. "GO! NOW!!"
This is just like that time at the bank. Gohan . . . I hope you come okay out of this one too. Videl bit her lip bottom, then ran away.
The man snorted. "Trying to save your little girlfriend, kid? Don't mess with me, I've got a job to do."
Gohan pressed the button on his watch and turned into Saiyaman. "What's your name?"
"Vile. What's it to you?"
"Well, Vile," sneered Gohan. "You picked the wrong boy to mess with!" With that, Gohan punched Vile hard, sending him flying through the roof. Saiyaman flew through the hole he created and joined the man in the air.
Vile growled. Who IS this kid?! He caught me off guard with his punch . . . he's FAST!
Gohan was worried about keeping the people on the ground safe. He attacked Videl, trying to steer him away from the school.
Vile began to tire, but noticed that his opponent didn't look the least bit winded. He had to do something and FAST if he wanted to survived. He began to catch on to Gohan's tactic. Concerned about the building . . . or more like the people IN it, huh? He grinned, then raised a hand, summoned a ki blast and shot it at Gohan. While he was busy dodging it, Vile shot another directly at the school.
Gohan could only watch as it hit the school. Oh, Kami, no . . . please . . . He gasped as the building's foundation shook, and one side of it collapsed.
Screams of horror rang out from the ground as people tried to get away from the falling debris. Gohan felt numb inside. When he whirled around to face Vile, the other man had disappeared.
Gohan refocused his attention to the building. Had Videl gotten out? Or had she stayed, because she was so stubborn? He landed in the student parking lot, behind a huge pick up truck, and changed back to Gohan.
"VIDEL!!!" he called, looking around.
People were running everywhere, looking for their friends. Others were sitting on the ground, trying to nurse their wounds. Firefighters, paramedics and police began to arrive, adding to the amount of people milling around. It was total chaos.
"VIDEL!!!!!!!!" shouted Gohan again. She HAD to be all right . . . she just HAD to be . . .
"GOHAN!!!" Videl pushed her way through the crowd and ran towards Gohan. Her face and clothes were covered in ash and soot, but she was alive. Videl threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "I thought you were still inside . . ."
Gohan could say nothing as he hugged her back. Again, she'd come so close to dying . . . He slowly released her and stared down at her tear stained cheeks. "Are you okay? You're not hurt?"
Videl shook her head. "I'm fine. Just a little dirty." She looked back up at the school. "I just hope . . . I hope that no one was in there. Especially not someone we knew." She shivered.
Gohan closed his eyes tightly. If anyone had died in there, it would be his fault. He hadn't stopped Vile from blowing up half of the school . . . and he could have.
Videl stared up at Gohan, noticing a tear sliding from the corner of his eye. He's shaken up. I can't blame him . . . this is all too scary and too personal. Videl leaned back against Gohan and sighed when he wrapped his arms around her waist. Gohan provided her with warmth and security . . . and Videl felt that she would be needing a lot of that in the days to come.
Author's Notes: Yeah, okay, that sucked. I got stuck SO many times that it wasn't even funny. And sorry if that reminded anyone of 9-11, but I needed to get rid of the school.
ADVERTISING: I've got a Videl/Gohan fic that isn't getting enough attention! Come on, guys, 'Some Dreams do Come True' by Boombubble is awesome. Check it out. And, if you ever want something NON-FF.NET related, you can read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, especially if you like sci-fi. It's the most amazing book I've read in AGES, and I read a lot of stuff. Make sure you read the companions, especially Ender's Shadow.
NEXT CHAPTER: The death of an Orange Star High student just a day after the attack on the school alarms the whole city. AND . . . Hercule makes an announcement that sends Gohan up the wall, one that could decide whether Videl lives or dies.
