Author's Note: I had fun writing the first part of this because it's all about Goten and Trunks. I just love those two . . . Anyway, this chapter isn't very useful, but it's my way of saying thank you for reviewing and giving me all of the encouragement. It's more funny and fluffy than anything else. No real plot involvement. Anyway, laugh and enjoy.
Oh, yeah, I've finally got my spring break, so I have all of next week off! Expect more chapters sooner.
I don't own DBZ. If I did, I'd be filthy rich, and I wouldn't be using this ten thousand-year-old computer that moves like a snail to type up a fanfiction.
II. Dark Passions
*~* Chapter Twenty Nine *~*
Strange Afternoon
"Do you think it's safe to go in?"
" . . . I don't know. But we can't stand out here all day . . ."
"I'm scared!"
" . . ."
The two little boys darted into the hotel, ducking behind a large potted planted located in the middle of the lobby. Chibi Trunks looked around, then hissed, "The coast is clear! Let's go!" He grabbed Goten's hand and dashed over to the elevator. Once on it, Trunks pushed the 'close doors' button, not allowing anyone on after them, then hit '24'.
Goten sagged against the wall and moaned, "We're done for, Trunks! We're gonna get it!"
"I don't think so. It's not like we did anything wrong. We just entered the adult tournament," Trunks said, trying to calm himself down.
Goten glared at his older friend. "YOU knocked a guy UNCONSCIOUS!!!! If I'd known you did that to get the costume, then I NEVER woulda agreed to enter with you!!"
Trunks looked bit sheepish. "Well, how else was I supposed to get it?!"
"We didn't even get to fight!!" Goten whined.
"Shut up, baka! We don't have to tell them we STOLE the costume!! When they ask where we got it, we'll say from a shop or something."
"WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!!!!!!! We're gonna die!!!!!!!!"
There was a ding, barely audible over Goten's wailing, and the door slid open. Both boys screamed and Goten latched onto Trunks' waist when they saw Vegeta and Goku standing there in front of them.
"Don't let them take me, Trunks! Don't let them take me!" Goten cried.
There was a pissed look on Vegeta's face, and even Goku looked very serious. Trunks' mind began to whirl, and he did the only thing he could think of.
He hit the 'close doors' button again.
Goten sighed in relief as the doors closed quickly. "It's a good thing that neither my dad or yours knew that you could stop an elevator door from closing by pushing on them," Goten said quietly. "So now what?"
"Er . . . Let's give them a while to cool off. How about we . . . got down? I think there's a buffet on the sixth floor."
"OHHHHHHH, GOODIE! Let ME push the button! Let me push it!"
Trunks rolled his eyes and stepped back. He's too easy to please.
Goten went up to the pad, trying to remember his numbers. Ah . . . six is the squiggly thingy . . . This one!! He punched a button labeled 'G'. [A/N: As in ground level.]
Trunks' right eye began to twitch. "BAKA!!!!!! You didn't even hit the right one!!!!!!!"
"Oh! Let me try again!" This time Goten pushed a button that read 'B2'- unfortunately, his little fist went through the board. "Oops . . ." Goten muttered, removing his hand.
Sparks erupted from the board of buttons, then exploded in a small blast and the lights flickered. Suddenly, everything went black and the elevator jerked to a halt.
"GOTEN YOU IMBECILE!!!!!!!!! Now we're stuck!!!!!!" Trunks exclaimed, realizing that Goten had broken the emergency intercom as well.
Goten looked around, but couldn't see his friend. He held a hand in front of his face, but didn't even see that. "Trunks . . . I'm afraid of the dark! Hold me!" He began to grab at Trunks.
The older boy tried to swat his hands away. "Get AWAY from me, you cry baby!"
"Pu-leeeeeease, Trunks! What if . . ." Goten sniffled. "What if the Boogie Monster is out there?! Gohan told me about him . . . how he hides in the dark and eats BAD little kids like us . . ."
"Shut up! There's no Boogie Monster, especially in an elevator, and Gohan probably told you that so you wouldn't be bad!"
* CREEK *
Trunks froze. There's no such thing as a Boogie Monster . . . right? I mean, it was just light in here a few minutes ago and I didn't see anything . . .
Goten whimpered. "It's . . . it's . . . it's THE BOOGIE MONSTER!!!!!!!! WAHHH!!!!!"
There was another creek, then the damaged buttons crackled again, shooting sparks into the air. The boys leapt back and the elevator began to move down again.
Trunks sighed in relief. "Good, we're moving. Some back up thing must've activated itself or something."
Goten sighed too. Soon they would be out of the elevator, in the bright, well-lit hallways of the hotel and stuffing his face full of that delicious, gourmet food . . .
Both boys began to scream as the elevator began to fall faster and faster, until they glued to the ceiling, still screaming their heads off. The baby fat on their faces was flapping backwards, exposing their teeth and gums. They could barely keep their eyes open due to the force. It was like the ride at Disney World, but much, much worse. They weren't strapped in or anything, and it was going way too fast.
"WE'RE GONNA CRASH, WE'RE GONNA CRASH, WE'RE GONNA CRASH!!!!!!!!" Goten cried over and over again.
Trunks paled. They had to be nearing the lowest floor, and the elevator would probably be smashed to bits. "POWER UP!!!! GOT SUPER!!!!!
They powered up at the same time, but it was all for nothing. Suddenly the elevator stopped and the boys crashed to the floor. Then it lowered itself very slowly, coming to another stop.
Goten sat up and rubbed his head. "Have we stopped . . . for good?"
"I dunno . . . Let's wait."
They sat very still for about ten minutes. Trunks stood up. "Yeah, I think it's okay." Goten got up too. Both stayed powered up to allow them to see in the dark elevator.
"Now what?" Goten whispered.
"Um . . . let's open the door."
"Blast it?"
"NO!! There could be innocent people out there, baka. We'll have to pry it open with our hands. I mean, a few layers of metal shouldn't stand in OUR way, right?"
"Right! Let's do this!"
Goten grabbed the right side of the door and pushed it back with Trunks on the left doing the same. In no time, they had it open and powered down, expecting to be embrace with light. Goten giggled in excitement, the thought of a buffet still fresh in his mind, and peered out of the elevator . . .
Only to come face to face with more darkness.
Unknown to them, they had somehow managed to get down to the basement of the hotel.
"Trunks!" Goten hissed. "This ISN'T the sixth floor!"
Some shuffling came from the other side of room.
"Be quiet! Did you hear that?"
They fell silent.
" . . . she'll say yes. Videl, I can tell, is the type of girl who would do almost anything to be useful."
Goten grabbed Trunks. "Hey, isn't that the voice of the purple guy from the tourney?"
"Oh, yeah! The feminine one!"
"That's well and good, Shin, but," began another voice, "what will we do with Gohan?"
Goten forced back a gasp. The purple guy was planning to do something to his big brother!! What could he have planned? Goten crawled forward to try to hear better, coming in contact with a wall. Trunks followed suit and both leaned against it.
"If you don't mind, Shin," said another new voice, "could you do something about the lights? I don't like this darkness."
Goten and Trunks began to panic. They were going to be caught!!!!
Shin muttered something and light appeared, only surrounding the group speaking to each other. The two boys were safely hid in the darkness. They peaked around the wall to see Shin, Pikkon and Kibito standing around.
"There. Now, as for Gohan, Videl would've already been taken before he found out. I will suggest that she go off by herself, with me watching, of course. She will be taken, I'll follow and contact the others with my mind, telling them to search out my ki and to follow me. They will- the Namek wouldn't dare disobey any order that came from me," Shin replied.
Goten's eyes widened as he misinterpreted the information he'd just heard. They were gonna take Videl!! This was awful! He and Trunks had to somehow get out of the room and back up to his father to tell them what was being secretly conspired right under their noses! But he didn't even know where they were!! By the looks of thing, they were in some sort of storage place, but he couldn't see any possible exits in the dim light.
In other words, they were trapped.
"And you're confident that nothing will go wrong?" asked Kibito, who'd spoken about the lights before.
"There is always the chance that something will go wrong. But I do not see what could happen that I have not foreseen."
"We will have to make sure that none of the others find about this plan. I am sure that the majority of them would protest," Pikkon said. "We will have to watch each of them carefully, to see if any have caught on. They are smarter and more observant than they look, especially Goku. He may come off as an idiot and a clueless-"
Goten gasped. His father WAS NOT an IDIOT, nor was he CLUELESS!! What an outrage!!
Pikkon halted in mid-speech. "What was that?"
Trunks glared at his friend. They were going to be found out!
"Well . . . it seems like we have two visitors," Shin said in amusement. "We must get them- I'm sure they'll tell what they've heard."
"RUN GOTEN!!!!!!!!!!!" Trunks yelled, grabbing Goten's hand. He pulled him over to the elevator, ran in and they quickly shoved the doors closed.
"Now what Trunks! We're in more trouble NOW than BEFORE!!" Goten whined.
"Ahh . . ." He looked up, then fired a ki blast at the roof of the elevator. It crumpled to pieces and they both powered up, taking flight, shooting straight up the elevator shoot.
Below them, the elevator door was blasted open and Shin stepped in, glancing up at the fleeing boys. He held his hands up and, using his powers, froze both of them in their places.
"TRUNKS, I'M STUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goten exclaimed, trying to struggle against his invisible bonds.
"SHUT UP!!! I AM TOO!!!"
Kibito chuckled slightly. "Shall I go get them?"
"Why not."
The pink man floated up and grabbed the boys, placing each under one arm. He went back down and into the basement where Pikkon and Shin were waiting for them. He sat them in front of the Supreme Kai, who released his hold on the two.
"Don't try to run- you won't get far," Shin advised.
Neither boy moved. They were paralyzed in fear.
"Do either of you boys know who I am?" Shin asked, looking at them.
Trunks managed to shake his head. "Ah, no sir! Please don't hurt us!"
Goten just whimpered.
"I won't. I am the Supreme Kai. That's right, Supreme. I am fighting WITH you and your friends, not AGAINST you all. Now, I hope that both of you boys know that what you've just overheard is a very delicate situation, and I cannot risk having you two boys speaking to any of your friends about it."
"Y-y-you gonna kill us cuz we know too much?" Goten asked hesitantly.
"I said that I would not hurt you- as long as you keep quiet."
Behind Shin, Kibito snickered. The Supreme Kai wouldn't hurt an innocent kid.
"And, if you two are able to keep yourselves quiet for a while, I think a reward might be a proper sign of my appreciation."
Trunks looked suspicious. "What KIND of reward? Huh?"
"Good question. Hmm . . . Dende is the guardian of this planet, right?"
They both nodded.
"How would you like to have your own place like his Lookout? I can arrange that for you, complete with a senzu bean garden, several training rooms with the best equipment, and a never-ending supply of food. How does that sound?"
"COOL!!!!" they both cried. "We'll be quiet! Not a word will be said!"
"Great. Now, there's a freight elevator in the corner over there. You boys go and take that up."
They dashed away, bubbling with excitement. They were going to have their own lookout!! As they climbed on the freight elevator and began to pull themselves up, they debated on what to call it.
"Goten's Lookout sounds good," said the youngest Son.
"WHAT?! No way! Trunks' Lookout sounds WAY better!"
"No it DOESN'T!!"
"Yes, it DOES!!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"N . . . hey Trunks?"
"What is it, Goten?"
"We're gonna have to pull ourselves up twenty something floors."
" . . . your point is?"
"Why are we doing this?! Let's just fly up!"
" . . . oh, yeah! Haha!"
They took to the air, letting the wooden 'elevator' fall to the floor below.
"Hey, Trunks."
"What NOW, Goten?"
"The Lookout is not gonna be called your stupid idea."
"Yes, it will."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"I SAID NO!"
"AND I SAID YES!"
"I SAID . . . WAIT! I got an idea!"
"What?"
"How about Super Saiyan Lookout?!"
" . . . COOL!! WE ROCK!!"
"YEAH!!"
The two used little numbers printed on the back of doors that would open for the freight elevator and quickly located the 24th floor. They pushed open the door and entered the bright hallway.
Goten winced at the lights. "Now what?"
"Well . . . after THAT, I THINK we can face our parents. Let's go find them."
They went to Goten's father's room since it was the closest and were surprised to find almost all of their friends there, except Videl, Vegeta and Goku.
Chichi sent them a look. "Where have you boys been?" she demanded angrily. Bulma shook her finger at them. "Yes, and what were you boys doing in that costume?"
Goten glanced at Trunks, who gave him a tiny nod. Suddenly, both boys broke down into 'tears'.
"We just wanted to have fun!!" Goten cried. "We didn't MEAN to be trouble, Ma!"
"Yeah!" Trunks added. "We learned our lesson! Please don't let our dads beat us up!! They looked so MAD earlier!!"
Chichi frowned and scooped up her little boy. "Shhhh, Goten! Goku isn't angry with you! Vegeta isn't either . . . I think."
Trunks stopped his crocodile tears. "What? Dad looked mad earlier."
"What? Oh! He was upset that he had to go look for Shin or something. I think they were going to spy on him," Bulma said.
Goten grinned. "Shin's d-" He was just about to tell them where the Supreme Kai was.
"LOOKOUT!!!!" Trunks suddenly shouted.
Everyone in the room looked around frantically, ducking to the floor as if they were about to be attacked at any second. Chichi grabbed Goten to her chest and Bulma screamed, ducking under the bed.
"WHERE?!" Gohan screamed, glancing over at the window for any sign of danger, particularly an enemy Saiyan flying towards them from outside. "WHERE'S THE BAD GUY?!"
Trunks sweat dropped and looked sheepish. "I thought . . . I thought I saw a . . . shoot, I don't know."
Bulma stuck her head from underneath the bed. "Is it safe?! Can I come out?"
Krillin helped his wife off of the floor and glared at Trunks. "Yes, Bulma. You can come out now."
She wiggled out, then froze. "Guys . . . I think I'm stuck."
Goten began to giggle. Trunks covered his mouth with his hand.
Chichi set Goten down and rushed over to her friend. "How did you get stuck? You're TINY!"
"AND SO IS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE FLOOR AND THE BED!!!! DAMN IT!! GET ME OUT!!!"
Gohan rushed over. "Okay, Bulma! Calm down! I'll lift up the bed, then you crawl out, okay?" He lifted the bed and she scooted out, jumping to her feet. She grabbed Trunks by the ear and screamed, "DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT AGAIN, MISTER!!!!!!! THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!!!!"
"OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!!"
*~*
When Videl woke, she glanced over at her clock. It was six o'clock, and she was very hungry. I wonder if dinner's started yet . . .
She got out of the bed and washed up quickly, then pulled on a nice sundress and a pair of comfortable sandals. Videl exited the room and went next door, knocking softly. The door opened and Chichi grinned back at her. "Well, Videl! You're awake and ready for dinner! Come in."
She entered the room to see the Z-Fighters (except Piccolo, who'd flown off somewhere) dressed up in eveningwear, obviously preparing themselves for dinner. Gohan looked very handsome in his crisp white shirt and black slacks. Goku and Tien were wearing similar outfits to Gohan's, while Krillin was dressed in a- GASP- blue pimp-like suit. Even Goten and Trunks were dressed nicely, although they were trying to pry the bow ties away from their necks.
The women were all wearing a dress of some kind- even Juuhachi. Bulma and Chichi looked great in form-fitting gowns.
The only problem was, as she should've expected, was Vegeta. Bulma was trying to squeeze him into his pink tough man shirt, which she claimed, 'brought out his eyes' or some crap. Naturally Vegeta refused.
"I thought I BURNED that shit!" he cried, trying to pull it out of his wife's grasp.
She yanked back. "I bought another one! You look so HANDSOME in it!"
"I WILL NOT wear pink!! I refuse!!!"
* RIP *
Bulma cried out as the shirt tore in half and everyone laughed. She looked as if she was about to cry. Then she grinned, ran over to a suitcase and pulled out ANOTHER pink shirt. Yamcha, Master Roshi and the Ox King all snickered. "I brought extras!!"
Vegeta growled, snatched the suitcase full of pink shirts off of the bed, including the one in his wife's hand, and flung them out of an open window. "THAT'S what I think of those . . . those . . . ABOMINATIONS!!"
"NOOOO!" Bulma exclaimed, watching in horror as her beloved shirts floated down into a garden below. "Damn you, Vegeta."
He just grinned and pulled on a white shirt. "The Saiyan Prince ALWAYS wins."
Gohan shook his head at the couple's silly debate and went over to Videl, taking her in his arms and kissing her hard. "You look great."
She flushed at his open signs of affection and was well aware that everyone was staring at them. "So do you."
"AWWW!" they echoed from behind them.
"Shut up!" Gohan muttered. He took Videl's arm. "Are we ready?"
They nodded and exited the room, heading down the hall and to the elevator. The little boys squirmed a bit as they passed an elevator door labeled 'OUT OF ORDER' and sighed in relief when none of the adults asked about it.
The group gathered into the elevator, managing to fit everyone (and their big muscles) into the space without much trouble. It was a cramped space, but they would make it. They rode the elevator down to the second floor, where the ballroom was located, with Goten and Trunks clutching their mother's legs as they muttered, "Please don't fall, please don't fall" under their breaths. [A/N: Hmm . . . do you think all of those people would exceed the weight limit? J ]
The Z-Fighter gang made a grand entrance into the ballroom, with Videl and Gohan taking the lead as they descended down the marble stairway arm in arm. Cameras flashed all over the place and people began to whisper, awed by the sheer power that radiated from their spectacular entrance.
A couple of waiters managed to set a few tables together, making enough room for all of them to sit in one place.
Bulma pulled Videl and Gohan aside, telling them that she'd managed to get them a separated table in the corner of the room. It was a semi-circular booth surrounded by candles.
Very romantic, Videl thought as she and Gohan sat. He grinned at her over the able and took one of her hands in his.
"I-" he began.
* Click *
Gohan paused and looked around. What was that? He shook his head and started again, moving closer to her. "Videl, I-"
* CLICK CLICK CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK *
Videl rolled her eyes. She stood up and glared around at all of the reporters. "DO YOU MIND?! We're TRYING to be ROMANTIC over here!!!!!" she shouted a little to loudly.
The dining room immediately quieted down and everyone, even the waiters, looked over at them. Gohan turned six shades of red all at the same time and Videl sat back down, looking very embarrassed.
On the other side of the room, Krillin shouted, "Get 'em, Gohan!! You da man, you playa!!" The whole table began to hoot and cheer. The rest of the ballroom followed suit, clapping too.
Gohan groaned. "ARGH!!!! I'm going to KILL him!!"
Videl giggled. "Don't worry about it, Gohan. He was just kidding!"
"We'll see who's ' just kidding' when I knock his block off . . ."
She grinned and buried her head in his chest, nearly sitting in his lap. Gohan flushed and, despite Videl's previous outburst, cameras everywhere went off. Videl kissed Gohan's jaw, then placed tiny kisses up the side of his face. More camera flashes.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Gohan demanded softly. "Ah . . . not that I'm not enjoying it or anything . . ."
She chuckled seductively and ran her bare leg up his while stroking his hair at the same time. "Gotta give them something to put in the papers!"
Across the ballroom, Chichi was practically standing on the table, trying to see why the reporters had flocked over to Gohan and Videl's table. "What are they DOING?! What's going on?!"
Goku stood up and, with his very good vision, saw what they were doing. "I think . . . Videl's kissing Gohan! Yep! Oh, man . . . she's not playing around, either . . ."
Vegeta raised an eyebrow and stood up too. "Damn! She might as well throw him down onto the table here and now!" He turned to Bulma. "Why won't you give ME any of that, woman?!"
Bulma flushed and smacked him on the back of the head, then stood too. "I WISH all of those people would go away! I want to see, too!"
By this time, everyone at the table was trying to get a better look. Mirai Trunks was laughing his head off at Gohan's nervous look, while the little boys were gagging in disgust.
No one noticed as Hercule stepped into the ballroom. He'd been expecting a huge crowd of fans and reporters to crowd him, but got nothing. Everyone was looking at something else. What could be more interesting than HIM?! He stalked over to the table surrounded by reporters and shoved a few out of the way.
He couldn't believe his eyes! Videl was making out with that scrawny kid she'd taken as her boyfriend! And in front of PEOPLE!! More importantly, the PRESS!!! With CAMERAS and VIDEO CAMERAS!!!!!!!!! He betted than some people in their homes were watching the love-fest RIGHT NOW, and getting off on it.
"VIDEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he roared.
Videl gasped and let go of Gohan. She tried to stand up and move away from him, but forgot her legs were tangled up in his. She ended up toppling into his lap, her skirt riding up her thighs.
The cameras went wild and people hooted.
"YOU GET OFF OF THAT BOY RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME????!!!!!!!!!" Hercule shouted angrily.
Gohan helped his girlfriend up. She was red, and almost purple.
Hercule shooed away the press and turned to his daughter. Before he could say a word, someone pulled him away from the table and up to a podium. It was the coordinator of the Tenkaichi. He cleared his throat into the mic attached to the podium, silencing everyone.
"Welcome to the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai!!!" he exclaimed.
Everyone cheered.
"We've had a very successful- and exciting, I might add- first round!! I'd like to congratulate all of the advancers and wish you good luck tomorrow."
Once again, every clapped.
"And, although Hercule did not advance, I'd still like to have him say a few words. After all, he IS the man who saved the world!"
This got no response from Goku's table, or from Videl and Gohan.
Hercule stepped up to the podium. "Uh, um, yeah! I'd like to say . . ." He couldn't think of any of his usual, cheesy crap to say. He was still angry over Videl's actions. "I'd like to tell the scrawny kid to KEEP HIS HANDS OFF OF MY DAUGHTER!!! OR I'LL BE AFTER YOU!!!"
The crowd gasped and looked over at Videl and Gohan. Videl looked as if she wanted to die, but Gohan just smiled and said, "Will do, sir! But I don't think she can contain herself!"
Everyone chuckled good-naturedly, but Videl smacked him on the back of the head.
"Er . . . with that said, LET'S EAT!!" the coordinator cried.
Waiters entered with big trays full of food. Gohan was practically drooling and was happy that a waiter stopped at his table first.
Goku's table, however, kept being passed by the waiters, probably because of the large amount of people there. This got Vegeta all angry. He shot his death glare at several men who passed.
Goten and Chibi Trunks were also angry. They picked up their forks, banging them on the table and chanted, "WE WANT FOOD!! WE WANT FOOD!!" over and over again.
They were finally served so that the boys would be quiet. M. Trunks winked at them and they grinned back.
As Gohan ate, he was scanning the room for the other Saiyans. They weren't present, and neither were Shin and Kibito, although he hadn't really expected those two to show up. He glanced over at Videl, who was eating her food in silence. She looked deep thought. I bet Shin DID say something to her. Maybe I can get her to tell me what it was.
Gohan spoke. "Are you okay, Videl? You seem . . . lost in thought."
She blinked several times. "I-I'm fine! Nothing wrong."
"You sure? Because you can tell me anything, right?"
Videl suddenly felt extremely guilty. She didn't like deceiving Gohan and lying to him. He's so sweet and caring. But I CAN'T tell him! I made a promise- and to the Supreme Kai, of all people! If I break my promise, there's no telling what he'd do! She gave him a tiny smile. "I'm fine, Gohan. Just fine."
Gohan sat back and eyed her as she averted her gaze. It was obvious that she was not. Why, Videl? Why won't you tell me what's up?
Author's Note: I had fun writing this. Did you like it? Unfortunately, we're gonna have to get back to business in the next chapter.
ADVERTISING: It's another HP fic, and a Harry/Snape. It has about 300 reviews for like, three chapters, so that should tell you how good it is. It's called 'The Mirror of Maybe' by Midnight Blue. Go read it!
NEXT CHAPTER: It's finally time for the second round of the Tenkaichi! The line up: Juuhachi vs. Gohan, Videl vs. Asento, Piccolo vs. Goku, and Vegeta vs. Tien. Who will advance? Has Videl made her decision? Will Goten and Trunks be able to keep their mouths shut, or will they loose the chance to get their very own Lookout J ?
