Field Trip To CampHercule
Author's Note: OH. MY. GOD. I… UPDATED! AHHH! Dances. Dances around a lot… Because this is a big day.
For all those that have just started reading this, or forgot, or lost track of time, or yadda yadda or just plain don't KNOW… The last time I updated this was on December 5th, 2002.
It is now November 10th, 2003. A few more weeks and it will have been a full year. I'm considering it a full year just because if anyone likes this story enough and isn't patient (I'm not patient and I hate waiting for people to update, bleh), then it must've felt like at least a year. Which it basically has been.
I need to apologize for not updating sooner: I'm sorry! The extended apology is on the ending note at the bottom. (No, this is not the last chapter, by the way. No way in hell is it the last.)
Anyways… Thank you to everyone who's held out, and who's just started reading this… yay! I might get new readers from the new batch of people!
So, read on… and I hope you enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated for feedback, thanks!
Previous chapter…
Ahhh!! Bad thoughts, bad! Bad, bad, bad! Okay Videl, let's get our brain back on track here… Yes, martial arts fighting… Fighting, fighting – Gohan fights martial arts, he's really good and pretty darn sexy too… Wait… Damn!!
She bopped herself on the side of her head several times in a panic, attempting to rid herself of any thoughts/images of a certain spiky-haired Saiyan. It almost worked, 'cept then she realized she was hearing a voice that was repeating Gohan's name over and over.
And it was doing this very loudly.
Videl blinked, then attempted to cover her ears and block out the sound that she thought was coming from her head. Not like she needed her brain constantly chanting Gohan's name anyways… It wasn't like she didn't think of him enough already.
When thinking about something else didn't work, she paused and released the hold on her ears, quirking an eyebrow. That bloody sound wasn't coming from her head, but from the damn loudspeaker which had been conveniently placed next to her.
"…Yes, you heard right, folks! The finalists this time around are Satan Videl, the brave and beautiful warriorress, Robert Johnson, the well-known and, uh, well-liked Head Camp Counselor, and Son Gohan, who appears to be the favorite of the ladies!"
Screeches could be heard from the crowd.
"And it is Son Gohan and Robert Johnson that will now battle next in a match that will determine who will continue moving up towards the top. Prepare, gentlemen, for your battle will begin in five minutes!"
Videl froze, face expression shocked. Gohan made it to the finals?
--
Why Pools of Bubbly Stuff Are Cool
--
Gohan scratched the side of his head with one hand while the other rested on his hip as he glanced over the contents of the buffet table. He didn't know exactly what it was that he wanted, but he knew he wanted something; maybe a slice of pizza? Then again, that hamburger was looking pretty good…
Aw, what the heck! It's all lookin' good! With that, Gohan lunged at the food – but was yanked back by the belt on his pants by a hand, making him nearly topple over backwards before he regained his balance.
"Er?" he turned around, blinking at Videl. "What?"
Videl quirked an eyebrow at him as she kept her arms folded over her chest. It was going good so far 'cause normally by that time, the Saiyan would've realized that Videl's current look meant that he was in for it in some kind of way. She was guessing that at the current moment he was thinking with his stomach instead of his head.
"Gohan, you do realize that you're preparing to go on a food rampage when your next match starts within the next five minutes, right?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes as she heaved a sigh. Obviously it had never occurred to Gohan that eating before exerting a great amount of energy could cause him to get a stomachache. Typical.
"Gohan, if you eat before a match you'll probably cramp up midway and won't do as well as normal, you know? And do you even know who you're going against?"
The demi-Saiyan remained oblivious to the second question as he jerked his head up in surprise, already with a mouthful of cookies. "Videl," he started after he swallowed, "I always eat before my matches! If I don't I do really bad, especially if it's against a hard opponent."
He gulped as he recalled what exactly happened to him when he didn't eat enough to sustain himself. It wasn't all that fun when he'd collapsed and nearly died in his moment of brief starvation before Chi Chi came to his rescue, followed closely behind by a Bulma who was packing several capsules full of food.
From the look she was giving him, however, Videl didn't believe anything he'd said; especially the part about him eating a lot before going against a hard opponent.
"You think Rob, the Head Counselor, is going to be a hard opponent?" she gaped, dropping her arms from their previously crossed position.
"Well, you see, umm…" Gohan paused, tapping his finger on the side of his forehead. He couldn't really say what he thought of Rob since he wasn't so sure himself. What he did know, however, was that when he attempted to check the other man's ki signature all he got was a jumbled mess that could jump from an all-time low of a negative before soaring sky-high. And it did this constantly; he could never fully realize the counselor's true power and it had begun to irritate him. So, just in case, he was getting ready for a possibly hard match.
"Yes?" Videl prompted, narrowing an eye suspiciously.
"Uh, you can never be too careful!" Gohan laughed nervously as he reached up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly while giving a small shrug of his shoulders. Man, please don't question me anymore, else I might slip up…
Videl couldn't help but allow a small smirk at Gohan's obvious reluctance to tell the real reason for why he was actually planning on playing it safe for the fight. I'll find you out sooner or later, Gohan, just wait, sometime you'll make a mistake and I'll definitely catch you then…
"Right Gohan, right." Still grinning mischievously, Videl sauntered off, hands swinging loosely at her sides.
Gohan watched as Videl's form retreated away from him before heaving a long sigh. He'd escaped from her wrath – again. And just barely, that much he knew. Come to think of it, it was always just barely when he got away.
I'm not too good at this keeping secrets stuff, he decided with a frown.
"Aw well!" With a quick shrug, Gohan dove back into the food. He had other things to worry about at the moment, and until then he was going to make sure he was charged to the max.
"Secrets come later… Food comes now!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The crowd roared.
"Yes, it is the moment that you have all been waiting for! The finals… And the winner of this match will face the infamous, well-known, heroine of SatanCity, daughter of Hercule Satan himself, Videl Satan!"
The crowd gave another roar of recognition.
Within the small compartment he had been sent to, Gohan eyed the crowd. Apparently, since this was one of the final matches, it was supposed to be more dramatic or something. There was actually a stoplight in front of him; when it hit green, he was supposed to go.
…But I don't have a driver's training!
Gohan was still thanking Kami for Erasa and Sharpener. They were his form of human transportation. When he was by himself, he had his own mode of movin'; and it was done in Saiyan-style.
Anyways, back to the story: They'd been driving him to the mall to make him be the decision-maker for a hideous sweater that Sharpener wanted. Erasa thought it was idiotic. Sharpener thought it made him sexy. And obviously, they were having problems with the debating.
Already, Erasa had sworn off anything sexual; but then she realized that that would mean that she wouldn't get any either, so she had to re-swear right back on it.
Gohan, unfortunately, didn't realize that he was the decision-maker while he was being taken against his will, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the car ride over.
"Yeah, so, Mr. Rayus was all like, 'you can't have cell-phones in class', and I was all like, 'well maybe you wouldn't be so grumpy about it if you didn't have a stick up your ass!' and he was all like—"
"AHH ERASA IT'S RED STOP STOP STOP!!"
"What? Oh shut up," Erasa hit the brakes, screeching the car to a stop at an intersection.
Sharpener and Gohan toppled forward in their seats with the force of the stop before being yanked back by the seatbelts.
Gohan squeaked as Sharpener tried to regain his composure, still breathing heavily over his idea of a near-death experience.
Actually, just going near a car that had Erasa in the driver's seat is always a near-death experience.
"And, like, totally! She looked so bad in that skirt it was hilarious the way she was all walkin' around, tryin' to show off that booty… Oh, my gosh, that's so true! She's flaunting what she don't got, like yeah!"
Erasa giggled as she continued blabbering on her cell-phone.
Sharpener wheezed once, as he was still trying to get breath back into his chest from the seatbelt slamming. But then he realized that the honking noises in his head weren't only in his head. The light had been green for about a minute.
Oh, I'm going to regret this, he groaned inwardly before turning to tap Erasa on the shoulder, motioning to the green light.
"Oh, thanks, sweet-cheeks," and with that, Erasa hit the gas full-force and peeled out, seeing the mall in the distance.
And Sharpener emitted a high pitched girly shriek.
To finish up the story, they got to the mall safely (barely) and Gohan thought Sharpener's possible sweater looked like something Kami created to fling at Halloweener's for kicks. Yes, it was grungy, creepy, and oddly misshapen. Still, it managed to cling to Sharpener's body. They made him comment on it, and he said just that.
Erasa gave Gohan the tightest hug he'd gotten in awhile. Sharpener didn't understand what he was trying to say. He was still trying to regain speaking capabilities after being in a car with Erasa at the wheel.
And, to end the tale, Gohan had learned that red means stop, green means go. All thanks to Erasa and Sharpener. The end.
"And the match between our two finalists before the big final will begin in five! Four! Three! Two!..."
Lights began flashing and the arena began to vibrate, thanks to the cheering crowd. Gohan squeaked as he bumped back into the present, blinking rapidly. Already he'd completely blanked on who he was fighting – thought he seemed to remember thinking about how much he was going to enjoy it.
Oh well, I'll find out in a few seconds…
"…One… Now!"
The light flashed to green, and Gohan nearly exploded from the compartment, sprinting at a speed that seemed almost humanly impossible to the audience, but merely a crisp jog for him. He was merely looking to intimidate whoever he was going up against; he didn't feel like having another episode in which the character he was facing off against was macho man to the max.
Gohan's eyes widened with surprise as he suddenly saw a flash.
Yes, I'm going fast for humans I guess, he thought as one of his eyes narrowed, the other staying slightly stricken. So why is my opponent coming at me just as fast as I am?
Finally.
A sadistic smirk gracing his lips, light fractured off into the shadows, bouncing off the metal that cloaked a crouching figure.
Finally, it's time… Amongst all these people, they shall see…
His usual demeanor that others had been viewers to had dispersed. Already the toxins within him were causing the change.
But it wasn't against his will. He wanted it this way.
This is who I really am, he thought once, fleetingly.
'Yes… You are me…' the toxins within his mind seemed to echo back with a flicker of a thought.
'And it is our time.'
With a metallic shriek and an explosion of glass shards, the figure burst from the shadows that had covered its form, its entrance blinding to the audience as light reflected off the metallic surfaces.
The form spun one as it shoved off the ground, seemingly falling through the air as it turned to take long, bounding strides towards the one that he had infected his own body for.
Claws outstretched, he grinned a silver-plated tooth smirk, his eyes narrowing.
Rob was gone. Now he was merely the Toxin.
Videl sprinted to the balcony seats that were only for the Satan family, hands grabbing a hold on the metal railing as she skidded to a stop. Already in front of her the contestants were emerging, both coming at full speed.
Eh, forget full speed… They're past that!
She could recognize Gohan on one side, shirtless and all. She almost forgot to look at his opponent before the flash of light caught her eye.
She blinked once, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the spots she'd gotten from being half-blinded, then turned quickly to look to the other side of the ring from where the opponent was entering.
She couldn't keep it in her sights. It was moving so fast… Even speeding up somehow… But all she knew was that it was metal.
And she also knew another thing…
"That freakin' piece of metal scrap junk is ROB?!"
"Eep?" Gohan blinked as the burst of light flashing towards him sped up to speeds he could only imagine a human reaching.
Okay. Forgot any thoughts of this being a human…What the Kami is this junk?!
Gohan revved up his speed to constantly match that of his opponent, and before he knew it, a fist was swinging towards him.
Don't care how fast you are, I'm not gonna let you get a hit in, trashcan!
He ducked off to the side, and then continued a complicated pattern of ducking and parrying to continue dodging the attacks. He wasn't gonna let it come easy.
Well, not that easy at least. A fist suddenly came out of nowhere, grazing him roughly on the lower leg, blades smoothly slicing through the fabric of his pants and leaving skid-like marks on his upper thigh.
"Hey!" Gohan pulled back, flipping once to land a short distance away from his opponent, first taking time to examine the wound with a small frown before looking back to the one he was facing.
He wanted to know who the man was behind all the metal covering. His question was soon answered.
"You didn't expect this, did you, Son Gohan?"
He recognized that voice. Except now it was deeper, not as… annoying… and… sadistic, even.
"…Rob?"
The creature before him, human-like in form but covered with a blinding metal sheet, gave a low chuckle as it stood before him, keeping the distance between them.
"Not anymore, Gohan. Not anymore." He motioned to himself. "As you can see I'm not as I was. Thanks to… Toxins, you can say. At first it was slow within me, not doing much to aid me in my plans. But now it's completely sunken within, putting me at my prime, just so I will be able to fight you."
Gohan smirked, slightly out of character. "Can't say I don't enjoy a challenge."
Rob-Toxin returned with a abrupt laugh before taking a step forward.
"No, Gohan. You won't enjoy this, for I'm not a challenge."
He held an arm to the side as the metal appeared to bulk itself, becoming larger and more dense as his form seemed to mutate.
"Challenge… That's not what you will even be to me, Gohan, once the Toxins within me have completed the links amongst themselves. Already now that it's sunken in, you are merely an obstacle that must be removed. And you will be, removed… Quickly…"
A low groan came from his mouth as he inclined his head slightly, veins on his neck bulging for a moment, then pulsing repeatedly to an oddly patterned heartbeat.
"I will…"
The shrieking of metal could suddenly be heard as Rob-Toxin leaned back, arms extended as they flexed and pulsed again and again, small spurts of silver liquid now oozing from the pores nearest to his eyes.
And, without further warning as Gohan's wide eyes looked on, the Toxin leapt at the target of his wrath.
"Oh shit!" Gohan ducked under a wild punch then quickly sprung to the side, the whistle of air beneath him being the only effects of the Toxin's kick. He then continued with a quick hand-spring to the left, followed by a front flip, shoulder roll, his head ducking once to the left then right, and then finishing by taking a step forward, falling to the ground and sliding between Toxin's legs to bounce up on the other side.
With that, he turned his head quickly and, as he spun, swung out with a hook punch to Toxin's head.
It hit with a loud clank and left a small dent.
Gohan blinked, then shook his hand once, biting his lip as the android-like creature slowly turned to face him.
That kinda stung, his mind seemed to mutter to him. This guy's beginning to piss me off.
He was about to continue his attempts at assaulting Toxin when he was suddenly distracted by a voice amongst all the crowds, one that stood out. Just one…
"Gohan!"
"Gohan!"
Videl yelled at the top of her lungs, hands cupping the sides of her mouth, both Erasa and Sharpener doing the same as they now stood beside her.
"Come on, Gohan! Kick his ass! You know Rob what's-his-face is just a loser that needs to be shot-down for not giving us our cooking prize!" Erasa waved both hands in the air excitedly, bouncing up and down.
"Yeah, Gohan! Make him pay for pissing off my babe!" Sharpener grinned as he yelled, throwing up a thumbs-up with one hand.
"Gohan…" Videl glanced at Erasa and Sharpener, realizing that both of them were completely wrapped up in their cheering, then grinned slightly while shaking her head. She couldn't help but admit that she was a little nervous for Gohan… yes, just a little… After all, he was facing a gigantic metally thing.
She wasn't sure why, though, but she thought he could do it. Which didn't make sense. Gohan was supposed to be the nerd-boy. He wasn't supposed to be able to do anything strong and… uh… superhuman-like.
Either way though, she wanted Gohan to win. Really badly. She wanted him to beat Rob's ass.
With a grin, she waved both hands in the air while yelling…
"Go Gohan!"
Gohan grinned slightly as he turned back to Toxin, eyes narrowed. He fired off two quick punches right from the start, than finished with a sweep-kick. The first missed as Rob-Toxin moved with surprising agility; the second grazed his body, emitting a loud, squealing sound. The last felled him, Rob-Toxin hitting the ground with a crash.
Not much of a surprise to Gohan, Rob-Toxin leapt up, using his hands as springs as he jumped to a stance.
With a slight grin, the metallic creature took several steps back.
Time to make this end… It doesn't need to be so lengthy.
A low, grinding noise came from within Rob-Toxin's interior. Gohan eyed the man, slightly confused on the whole idea.
What in the…?
Rob-Toxin took another step back, his hands held at his sides, fists clenched closed. He flexed his fingers occasionally, still grinning sadistically. Within his palms, liquid was gathering; as he flexed, it was melded together and crushed as it began to harder within his grasp.
By the time he'd flexed his fingers several times, vapor-like dust was all he held. It was ready.
Rob-Toxin stepped forward suddenly, grinned, and then gave out a roar as he lunged into the air, twisting once as he flung his hands up, releasing the substance.
The dust flitted through the air, surrounding Gohan; it was invisible to the crowd and went completely unnoticed. Gohan, however, noticed it as soon as he breathed it in.
Gasping, Gohan dropped to his knees, his throat catching as he began to hack, eyes watering.
What in the Kami was in that dust?
One hand went to the ground as he tried to steady himself, still coughing. His eyes were filled with tears, everything was blurry – he couldn't see a thing.
So he didn't see the punch coming towards his left-cheek.
Metal racked at his skin, the thud dizzying him as he was knocked to the side with surprising strength. It was the first time he experienced a full-on hit.
He gasped once as dots clouded his vision, and he felt another blow coming to his stomach and ribs.
Gohan was on the ground now, clenching his own body as he curled into a ball, still coughing and still blinded from the dust. The blows were raining down on him now, several rapid punches to the shoulder, more kicks to the stomach, side, and back. And they were coming harder by the second.
He was going to be sore tomorrow.
Come on, Gohan… Get up! What's wrong with you! Videl clenched her fists on the railing as she narrowed her eyes, looking on as Rob continuously kicked Gohan in the stomach
There was something up. She just knew there was. She didn't know how but she knew that there was something wrong.
Rob did something. He must have. He was doing something and he was cheating and…
Gohan was getting hurt.
Gohan was getting hurt, and Rob was cheating so he'd be able to hurt Gohan. She was getting pissed.
And that's all she knew.
"Bitch," Toxin muttered under his breath as he slammed his foot into Gohan's ribs. "Weakling," he added as an afterthought, again kicking his victim in the stomach.
Gohan groaned as the beating continued, trying to tighten his stomach muscles to try and protect himself. He still couldn't see for crap, and he was getting his butt beat in the meantime.
Not even cool.
He coughed again as a foot hit him hard in the chest, making his breath catch for a moment. Another blow came, knocking more air out of him. It was getting hard to breathe.
This is ridiculous. Gohan held his arms closer to himself, attempting to deflect more of the blows as the crowd's gasping, cheers and screams roared in his ears.
I… am the son of Goku, his mind seemed to gasp. I have attained the level of Super Saiyan. I'm the Great Saiyaman… I have defeated enemies greater than this… Rob… Toxin… will ever be before I even thought of going to high school.
And if there ever is a list of the strongest inhabitants of the earth, I sure as Kami am a contestant for it.
He growled under his breath. Utterly… ridiculous… how this is being done, he blinds me simply to get in his hits… I can't lose to this, but why don't I seem to have the… will, power, inspiration, whatever… to take control of this?
He would find out very quickly exactly what inspiration was needed.
"Gohan! Get up!!"
Amidst the roar of the crowd, again, Gohan could pick out Videl's voice. He calmed momentarily, lifting his head slightly to catch it as she yelled at him.
"Come on, Gohan! You can do it!"
It was then that he realized that the beating had ceased. Gohan turned his head slowly (his neck was stiff) to look at Rob-Toxin, bewildered. Why did he stop?
"You hear her voice, don't you, Gohan," Rob spoke smoothly, almost in a gentle way. "You hear it, screaming your name, don't you?"
The Saiyan didn't answer; he merely narrowed his eyes.
"I hear it too, Son Gohan." Rob chuckled, voice low again, returning to its sadistic tone. "And I will continue to hear it. Except it'll be screaming my name, once I get her."
Gohan's eyes popped open as his fists suddenly clenched, surprised.
Rob-Toxin grinned at the look on his opponent's face. "Yes," he continued, delighting in the look of both horror and rage on the young student's face. "I will take her, many, many times, and you'll be able to watch from the Gates of Hell."
That's it.
It was one thing to act crazy-psycho weird and hit him. It was another thing to insult the object of his affections.
His eyes flashed once, a bright, aqua-marine tint covering the pupils as they dilated rapidly, sizes changing as the transformation to his figure and muscle mass speedily took place within his body, his arms slightly bulging as they flexed, veins becoming more prominent.
Gohan slowly lifted himself off the ground, shaking off several beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead as his body trembled slightly, almost giving off a familiar shiver. His hair seemed spikier, less limp; his eyes were bright and almost blinding to look at directly. To the crowd, they shone a bright white. To Toxin, they were an amazingly blinding marine hue, staring him steadily in the eye.
From where Videl was sitting, she was shocked, to say the least. Confused, shocked, and overall bewildered. She recognized something about this… Gohan… and she was beginning to put it together with someone else.
Gohan had done this once before, when he went all weird-aggressive on her. So had a certain someone else, though she hadn't really stared either time.
But she was staring now. And she was actually seeing it.
And now everything was slowly beginning to make sense.
She wanted to run out to the fighting ring, to say something, but she knew the timing wouldn't be good. From the look on Gohan's face, Rob had said… something… and it was enough to infuriate him. She never wanted to see that look on his face again. It was terrifying, to say the least.
But was she worried for Rob? …No, not really.
She was actually laughing at his predicament.
"You think your eyes will be able to scare me? You think I care about what you think you are now?" Rob-Toxin chuckled, almost merrily. "Fool! You think this will actually phase me? I don't even need to know what you are now to know that I can still defeat you."
Gohan grinned, his sadistic expression almost matching that of Rob's. Yes, his power level did appear to be low at the moment. But that's because he was keeping it masked. He would save the revealing of his true potential later… After Rob made his first swing.
Which he did.
"Filth!"
Toxin swung heavily, his fist looking to penetrate through Gohan's ribcage, tear through the muscle and leave destruction in his wake. It moved so quickly it was virtually invisible to the audience, but to Gohan? It was child's play.
With a short laugh, he skipped to the side, then gently swung his arm up, catching the offending hand and twisting it towards the ground harshly, placing his weight on the attack.
Toxin grunted, surprised with the easily done evasion and counter. He grunted again, ripping his hand from Gohan's loose grasp, then swung once more, but then time following with several other blows.
Gohan ducked under each one of the hits smoothly, neatly swerving to avoid each attack. He knew that Rob should realize fairly soon that he wouldn't go down easy.
"So you're going to put up a fight? Alright then." Toxin grinned as he took a step away from Gohan, ceasing his attacks. He leapt into the air but then stayed there, hovering as the crowd gave a gasp. He motioned to Gohan, almost as if saying, 'I know you can do this'.
And Gohan did.
"Holy shit."
Videl stood there, mouth hanging open, knowing that Erasa and Sharpener were probably doing the same.
"Oh… my… God!" squealed Erasa, almost bouncing up in down in her bewildered excitement.
"Are you kidding me?" Videl squeaked under her breath in a whisper. "Are, you, kidding me? I always thought it was like this, but I don't think I ever thought about how it'd be if it was true…"
Videl shoved both her hands onto the railing before her, knuckles whitening as she tightened her grip. Her eyebrow was shaking slightly; her upper lip was twitching, almost maniacally.
"HE LIED TO ME?!"
"Welcome to the ring, Gohan," Toxin taunted the demi-Saiyan with a sadistic grin.
Gohan returned the look, then replied in an almost nonchalant tone, "Let the games begin."
With that, he growled deeply within his throat and lunged forward, grabbing for Toxin's throat. He wanted to end this quickly, just beat up the guy fast. Get it all over with and have time to grab a quick drink afterwards.
After the fight, normal Gohan would ask himself why Saiyan Gohan wanted a drink. He would then later conclude – after remembering numerous Saiyan Gohan-related incidents – that his Saiyan side was all the 'rebel' he needed.
Toxin stepped to the side then swung out with a hard kick, slamming his foot roughly into Gohan's side. Gohan let out a soft grunt as he turned, grabbing the foot before it could pull away, and was about to twist it when he suddenly felt a fist slamming into his forehead. With a surprised groan he dropped the foot, toppling down a few short feet in the air before regaining his balance, steadying himself.
That was a doozy, he said dazedly, rubbing the now forming bruise on the side of his face.
"Too hard for ya?" mocked Toxin, eyeing Gohan as he continued to nurse the bruise.
"No," Gohan looked up, eyes briefly darkening before they appeared to flash a bright marine color. "Too soft."
Gohan darted up in the air, faking a swing to the right and then faking a swing to the left, all the while rapidly bringing up his knee to slam into Toxin's gut. The soft thud of flesh being struck sounded as the hit made it, then was soon followed up by two rapid others.
The demi-Saiyan was about to continue the attack when Toxin suddenly gave a loud roar, bringing up both of his fists as metal shot from small crevices in his bodysuit, many of the shards striking Gohan and sinking into the skin.
"What the hell!" Gohan yelled as he flashed back, giving a sharp hiss of pain as the needles penetrated his flesh. He hadn't been expecting that.
He gripped one of the needles, ripping it out of his skin as he growled under his breath, feeling the flesh tear. Examining it, he could then see what he had almost expected; once the needles had passed into his body, the sharp ends had expanded, so as to make it more painful for him to remove it.
Cheap, he muttered within his mind, glancing up once to look at the now guffawing Rob, Toxin, machine head, whatever. The idiot. The horn-dog. The man that was obsessed with his Videl – she was more his than Rob's, anyways – and that had gone too far too many times.
I'm through with playtime, he thought to himself, a small smirk forming on his lips as his eyes now glowed almost blindingly, the entire audience now realizing the aqua-marine color of the young student's eyes.
Through with this…
Gohan floated in midair, now calmly, his arms held to his sides. He lowered his head slightly, neck bending, eyes narrowing as they focused in on his opponent.
He cheated… Can't even fight with honor…
A gold glow formed around his body, the air becoming denser around his form.
And he insulted Videl over and over…
His spikes seemed to lengthen as his once onyx-black hair appeared to take on a goldish tint…
And he's trying to take her from me.
Gohan's eyes squeezed tightly shut as he let out a roar, head rearing back as light spurted from his form. Yellow streaks of lightning flashed repeatedly from his glowing spikes that extended rapidly; small bolts of electricity danced over his arms as his muscles bulged and flexed, the veins pumping as the blood forced through them. His pants tore and ripped as his leg muscles tightened, the metal needles popping from his skin as he flexed repeatedly, the shards falling to the ground distorted.
Gohan's roar slowly died down, and he bowed his head again, breathing more regularly than he had before. He sucked in one slow, deep breath, almost as if to steady himself, then slowly raised his head, eyes now open.
They shone a flaming white.
"AND HE'S THE GOLD FIGHTER TOO?!" Videl screeched, hands waving in the air. "SON GOHAN, YOU BETTER WIN AND NOT GET HURT SO I CAN KILL YOU AFTER THIS MATCH!"
"Omigoodness, Videl, you're so lucky," Erasa whispered as Sharpener continued to gape at the sight of Gohan flying around with muscles and gold glowing stuff around him, the blonde-haired jock still unable to produce any other sound other than squeaks.
"Why am I lucky?" Videl spoke tensely, her eyebrow still twitching dangerously.
"Because your future boyfriend is, like, two whole superheroes at once!"
"HE'S NOT MY FUTURE BOYFRIEND!"
"Raarrgh!" Toxin roared as he fired a single blast of ki at Gohan, coming up to speed up behind the blast, intending to follow it up with multiple strikes to the body.
Gohan merely grinned tersely before brushing the blast away with a quick flick of his hand, then slamming a powerful punch to Toxin's face.
"Bitch!" Toxin screamed as he fell back, an odd, metallic ooze coming from his nose now as he grabbed at it rapidly.
"Just because you're a piece of mutant shit like me doesn't mean you're as good as I am!"
Toxin held his hands to the sides as slowly built up energy within his palms, managing to conceal them from Gohan. He would need to distract the idiot until it was ready.
"You're right, it doesn't," Gohan said thoughtfully, already feeling the raise of Toxin's ki signature. Toxin had been careless and had stopped concealing it, and even though it was distorted, like a faulty, virus-infected machine, it was still readable. Gohan still kept his ki concealed for now as he, himself, built up energy within his body, not bothering to make it materialistic yet. "It doesn't make me as good as you are, Toxin, but better."
"Idiot!" Toxin grinned crazily, small drops of ooze now appearing at the sides of his lip, peeling away as they dried. "Fool! You honestly think that a mere human… mutant… can defeat that which was created to cause death?"
The beams of energy within his palms were almost burning him now, scarring the steal into his skin that remained somewhere under all the Toxic covering, beneath the metallic shroud that covered him now. The glow was blinding now for the audience, but he didn't realize it. He was too intent on his target, and his mind was too corrupt to pick up on the obvious.
"I was created for this! I, was, made, to, kill! Nothing else! And with a human body to inhabit, I will do so, not as merely a solution but a machine."
"Rob." Gohan spoke more calmly now, his normal side showing through the Saiyan. "I know you're under there, under all that toxic waste and virus. I don't see how you could really want to kill. Do you really think that's going to help anything?" The energy was still building up within Gohan, ready to release whenever necessary; he felt like the power was about to explode from him, almost burst through his body just to reach a victim, any victim.
Rob-Toxin appeared confused by the question. "I'm not Rob… Robert… Head Camp Counselor…" he said the names with disgust, almost embarrassment; "…not the geek, fool, idiot… but rather… Toxin… Rob has become Toxin… They are one…"
His tone kept changing rapidly as his body began to quake, the ki within his hands now causing his palms to bleed, a constant flow of scorching, boiling metal now falling to the fighting ring's surface.
"One… being… one… creation… one… machine… one… human… One being… O-one… Chaos…" His eyes were now flaring a bright white, changing rapidly back to red by the second, almost flashing as his features appeared to sink back to his skin. "One… person…" A pool of silver bubbles laid beneath Toxin's hovering form, still being fueled by the lifeblood of the machine.
"One… destruction…" Toxin's eyes, manic and psychotic in their look, suddenly darted to Gohan's form, falling in and out of focus. He raised his arms, hands closed as they turned towards the demi-Saiyan, still shaking as they struggled to hold all the power within them.
"And I will cause… this one DEATH!" His palms opened, a burst of light dashing from his body as Toxin let out a high scream, eyes closed tightly shut as silver burst from his form.
Gohan growled and yanked up his own hands, fists held before him as he narrowed his eyes.
He had tried, at the last moment, but it wasn't enough. And it was time to end things.
"Kame…" The silver was bulging towards him, building up slowly.
"Hame…" It looked as if it intended to engulf him, eat him up completely and dissolve him, coming so close to him now he felt as if he could reach out and grab a fistful of it.
"HAAAA!" Gohan opened his fists, an explosion stream of light surging from the palms of his hands, gold completely engulfing the silver expanse that had been Toxin's vicious attack. It blinded the crowd, which gasped with shock; it blinded Toxin, which managed a final choking screech before the machine found itself taken up within the exhibition of energy, overwhelmed by the demonstration of true power.
The golden light continued to invade the entire area, leaving no space for any other light presence, the audience left wondering of the outcome whilst the golden streams continued to pulse and flash.
Then they stopped, and all that could be seen was an onyx-haired Gohan's form collapsed on the ring and several hardened drops of metallic pools before him.
"Ugh, my head," Gohan groaned as he rubbed his forehead, still confused as to how he got back into a bed. All he heard from the camp's medical team was questions, questions, questions, while they all patted his head with a cold compress.
It was getting kind of annoying.
Fortunately enough for him, his friends came barging in, Erasa's screeching and Videl's glare enough to scare anybody off.
Unfortunately for him, after Erasa gave her "OMIGOSSSSH YOU WERE GREAT"-speech that lasted all about 30 very word-filled seconds, and Sharpener gave his "You da man" pat on the back, Videl shooed them all out.
So, very unfortunately for a now cringing Gohan, he was left alone in a now locked room with a very angry Videl.
The raven girl jumped onto Gohan, grabbed his shoulders and thoroughly throttled him.
"You LIED!" she yelled, right in his ear. "You lied about being Saiyaman! And the Gold Fighter too?! God! If the last match for me and you wasn't canceled, it'd be slaughter!"
"Videl, I-"
"Don't you 'Videl I-blah blah blah bullshit me! Always being all 'oh, I'm not Saiyaman!' and all like 'oh, who's Gohan, yadda yadda can't be me!' and then 'oop, gotta fly! Can't meet this friend of yours, thieves everywhere!' and crap! You lied to be one too many times Gohan, and as soon as you get your ass outta this bed, that's gonna be it!"
"Videl, I can ex-"
"Oh no you can't! Because when you said you were gonna explain earlier you lied! And once you lie once it means you're gonna lie again! One lie just leads to another, Son Gohan, and it's obvious that you're living proof of that. I can't believe you did that. I just can't believe you – Gohan?"
Videl stopped his ranting to look down at Gohan, who now looked extremely sad, depressed, and teary. Which he was… it wasn't just the lighting.
Oh geez, don't tell me he's trying to bullshit his way outta this with a puppy-face… he is faking it, isn't he?
Gohan lowered his head more, now letting out a small sniff. He really wasn't; he actually did feel like shit for what he did to Videl.
I mean, I had no choice but to lie to her to keep me… and, well, my family… safe. But did I have to lie that much? I could've done better at everything and just avoided all of that…
Gohan sniffed again and purposely turned his head away from Videl. He hadn't even realized that she'd stopped her yelling at him, so he ended up being surprised by seeing a now very gentle looking Videl peering at him.
"Gohan," Videl spoke softly, so as not to worsen the situation. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that… harsh."
Actually, I just didn't think you'd be that affected by it. I kinda thought you'd pull the common macho-whatever-guy thing and brush it off, but, I guess not. He's so sweet…
"It's just, I'm just kind of an anti-lying kinda person, you know? I expect people to tell me the truth when I demand it. I guess I was just kind of unnerved that you actually managed to lie to my face. Most people chicken out before I even ask them the question."
Gohan nodded slowly, still obviously feeling terrible but more calm.
"I'm sorry Videl," Gohan whispered, reaching out to hug a surprised Videl around the waist.
Nice surprise though, she thought to herself as she leaned more comfortably into the hug once the surprise vanished.
"It's just… I was worried you wouldn't like it if you really knew the truth, that was one part… but the biggest thing was that I needed to try and protect myself – and my family – from just… everything. I didn't want it to get out to people that I was the one person that went around saving people. I don't want Godfather showing up at my front door, looking to take out my family if he can't get me."
Videl nodded, understanding. There was a reason for all the security at the Satan household. And even all that sometimes wasn't enough.
"And, you know how it is at school already. The guys already hate me just 'cause of all the stupid fan clubs under my name. I don't get why the girls do it… it's just making me look like some crazy competition to the guys and makes them wanna hate me just because of some stupid crushes some girls have. It wouldn't help for them to realize I'm also the masked superhero, the Great Saiyaman." Gohan shook his head and heaved a sigh, hoping that Videl would understand what he was trying to say.
Videl looked down at Gohan from where she was still sitting on his torso, still wrapped up in his arms. She allowed a small smile and she scooched down a little, making the hug tighter.
"I get it, Gohan. It's alright. I just didn't really think about it when I first went after you. I would've probably done the same thing to avoid all that drama."
Gohan smiled, relieved that Videl was forgiving him. "Thanks, Videl. I promise I won't lie to you again," he spoke more cheerfully, tilting his head up a little to kiss her on the top of the forehead.
Apparently there was a tiny bit of Saiyan-Gohan present, 'cause he didn't realize what that he'd managed to do that without blushing until a long time later.
Videl, however, did realize what he did, and blushed instead, blinking once. She hadn't really been expecting that; neither the promise, which actually meant a lot, or the quick sign of affection.
And she also hadn't been expecting for Erasa and Sharpener to burst in at that exact moment and see Gohan and Videl in a very compromising and suggestive position.
"Oh my God, how great is this! We don't have to hook them up anymore, they're doing it themselves!" Erasa squealed and jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Isn't this great, Sharpy?!"
"Uh, Erasa," Sharpener gulped, now nervous as he quickly realized his girlfriend's mistake. "I think they need more time to themselves, uh, so, let's… go…" He placed his hand on the doorknob, trying to grab for his girl as he slowly backed out of the room.
"Oh, yeah! So they can make out or something! I hope we didn't almost interrupt that happening, I mean we've been trying for so long to get them to do it themselves if we just totally ruined it now that would suck, yanno? So, you guys go about your business! No worries! Don't even think we were ever here! Just go ahead and-"
Sharpener had finally reached Erasa, yanked her out of the room and slammed the door shut. All that was left was a red-faced Videl and a confused Gohan, who know looked up at the blushing Satan.
"What was that all about?"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer to the fights now stood out amongst the crowds of people that had formed a large mob around him. The ring had been closed down because of the most recent fight, which had resulted in some damages and paranoia about the metal pools. Now everyone stood outside on the camp grounds where the buffet was to later take place for after the fights.
The announcer spoke into a make-shift microphone system that had been set up at the last minute to make his voice audible over the hordes of spectators.
"Ladies and gentlemen, because of the last battle, the final fight has been called off. Instead, we will call it a draw! We have two victors… Both loved protectors of SatanCity, famous for fending off felony-committing foes!"
The crowd gave out a cheer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our heroine victory tonight goes to none other than the wonderful Videl Satan! Daughter to Hercule Satan himself, this beautiful wonder has saved our city and its citizens countless times, carrying on the tradition of heroism in her family!"
There was a roar of approval.
"And, ladies and gentlemen, our hero victory goes to the Great Saiyaman, now revealed to be Son Gohan! With amazing abilities that none of us can even comprehend, this marvel has only recently appeared amongst our city's protectors and has already amazed the public with his daring rescues, done in the most impossible fashion!"
Another cheer could be heard from the audience, the screams of girls the most prominent.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, return tonight for our awards ceremony with includes a magnificent dinner in which Hercule himself will be present to award the victors with their prizes! Admission is free because of the technicalities of our final fight!"
And, from all the penny-pinchers in the crowd, there came a huge roar.
"So, lucky watchers of our fantastic annual matches, we all hope to see you back tonight!"
"That was just plain brilliant, Erasa," Sharpener mumbled as they cruised amongst the crowds, Sharpener constantly looking over his shoulder to keep a watch on their backs. "Videl is gonna murder us. Bloody murder, you know? She's not squeamish about blood, like you are."
"Ew, I don't even like the word!" Erasa cringed. "But don't worry, Sharpy. I know Videl. That probably just embarrassed her or something and it's not like I never do that. Sharpy, if you knew half the things I said to embarrass her without anyone else picking up on it, you'd think that was nothing."
"What?" Now the blonde jock was confused.
"Never mind. Let's just say that our little heroine is probably soooo preoccupied with Gohan right now that she forgot everything. I mean, she does like him, and he probably had no idea what we were talking about."
"Oh."
"Men are like that sometimes," Erasa added with a grin.
"Like what?"
"…Exactly."
"Videl, I don't wanna go out there," Gohan whined still holding Videl tightly around the waist. He'd decided that he'd refuse to let her go until she agreed with him.
"But Gohan, I don't wanna stay in here. Those medical guys keep knocking on the door telling us to open up, and you know they just wanna start asking questions about how you can fly and why I'm here and crap. You know how gossip is."
"Actually…" Gohan grinned sheepishly while Videl blinked once, than rolled her eyes. She temporarily forgot that Gohan was mostly oblivious to what was said around school expect for a few really, really obvious things. And even then it sometimes took his radar awhile to pick it up.
"Yeah well, okay… Gossip is terrible. And questions from other people are just are great. Besides, I want you to save up your answers for me, Son Gohan. You know I'm going to ask you about everything later."
With a small gulp, Gohan nodded. He knew she was going to do that. And he figured she deserved all the answers… when she was ready to hear them, at least. There was going to be a lot of questions and answers. They'd probably have to take breaks between the questioning periods.
At least, he was going to have to. He'd probably be out of breath by the time the first two questions were over.
There was another knock on the door, followed by a jumbled chorus of voices.
Videl rolled her eyes again as Gohan tilted his head to the side, peering around her. The medical team. Annoying, just as he said earlier. Very annoying.
"Gohan, see why I want to get out of here?"
"Fair enough. But it'd be just as bad going through the crowds of… girls…" Gohan sighed as he showed a small frown, not looking forward to the idea of having girls tackle him even more while trying to ask him questions as well. Didn't sound too exciting to him.
He did want to get out too, but he couldn't think of a way – wait.
…Wow. Why didn't I think of that before?
Gohan smirked as he turned back to Videl, his attitude now beginning to worry Videl. She remembered that look on his face. He was going to do something that was either going to confuse the hell out of her or at least catch her completely off-guard.
"Uh, what are you thinking?"
The demi-Saiyan widened his smirk. "I'm gonna do just what you said and get us out of here."
"Yes, well… That's good…" She couldn't think of anything harmful that had to do with that. So she just had to know… Why was he smirking at her like that?
"I'm glad you agree." Gohan suddenly sat up, scooping up Videl in his arms as he stood.
Videl squeaked.
"What are you doing!"
"Getting us out of here," Gohan grinned, lifting a hand to shoot a small blast of ki at the skylight's lock, the window popping open with the force.
"Hold on tight."
Leaping into the air as Videl gasped, Gohan quickly flew out the window.
"Tell me, Erasa," Sharpener paused mid-hot dog, half a chewed up bun hanging out of his mouth before he swatted it away. "Where are Gohan and Videl? You do know Videl better than me."
Erasa grinned triumphantly. "Yup, I do. Well, I'm guessing that she's trying to avoid this whole scene and all the questioning. You know how she is. And knowing how Gohan's probably just trying to make his baby happy, he's probably doing all he can to get her away from where she doesn't want to be."
Sharpener blinked. "So, uh, what do you conclude from that?" he questioned, scratching his head with the hand that held a soda.
Erasa rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm concluding that we're not gonna see Videl out and about until she has to be here. So don't expect any sign of the Satan chick until the awards ceremony, Sharpy."
Sharpener nodded his head once; "Mmkay". Then he stuffed a hotdog into his mouth.
"Gohan!" Videl screamed at the top of her lungs as she gripped even more tightly around Gohan's neck. She hopped she wasn't hurting him, but for some reason she completely doubted that she was going to even leave a bruise. On most other guys, they'd be choking by then.
"What?" The son of Goku still had a mischievous grin on his face as he kept Videl in his arms, now floating. He had gone high enough so that no one down below could see them, and figured that they might as well rest on a cloud.
To be exact, that cloud happened to be a loitering Nimbus that had happened to be in the area. Goten had let him wander off for awhile and obviously, he had decided to visit Gohan at camp. Gohan decided not to tell Videl that she was now resting with him on top of a cloud that was very sturdy and wouldn't make them float through it anytime soon.
She had learned enough in one day.
"Gohan, you need to give me warning or something!" Videl sucked in a shaky breath, trying to regain her composure. She wasn't ready for all this flying stuff yet.
I mean, yeah, I fly around in my yellow 'copter all the freakin' time. But there's a big difference in flying in a helicopter and FLYING AROUND ON A PERSON. …And… floating on a… cloud?...
She decided not to ask until later. For now, she decided it was completely rational that she was now being hugged by a flying superhero that was obviously using a cloud as a sofa.
Cautiously, she reached out to touch the area next to where Gohan was sitting with a hand. Finding it to be completely safe, she slowly moved out of Gohan's arms so that she could sit next to him on the cloud instead.
The demi-Saiyan grinned. Mom would love her. She only screamed once or twice in a scared way, even though she screams all the time in a mad way. They were meant to like each other.
"Hm." Videl actually found the cloud fairly… comfy. But then she'd never really had an opinion on how a cloud would feel really. Well, she did think it'd be soft, but she didn't really think she'd get a chance to feel one anytime soon.
"I'm glad you like it."
"What? Oh, yeah," Videl let out a little laugh. "I'm actually not understanding how I'm sitting on a cloud right now without falling to my death, and a little part of me thinks I actually am dead already and just haven't realized it. I don't know if the pinching would work… Ouch!"
Gohan snickered under his breath as Videl turned on him, grinning. "You!" she accused him as he looked at her, attempting to pull up an innocent look.
"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
"Oh, don't even try it…"
Gohan burst out laughing, unable to stop himself. Videl narrowed her eyes as she now smirked at Gohan, her look becoming more evil.
"Oh yeah?"
Completely forgetting that she was on a cloud floating high in the air, Videl lunged at Gohan, all worries gone.
Tackling him as he continued to laugh loudly, she sat on his chest, gently smacking him a few times on the chest before placing her hands on his shoulders. After another minute, Gohan's laughter finally slowed but he continued to smile widely, looking up at her as he grinned.
Gohan suddenly reached up, placing his hand on the back of Videl's neck to gently pull her down to him. "Yeah," he finally replied, before softly placing his lips over hers.
Erasa looked at her watch.
"Told you they weren't gonna show up."
Sharpener rolled his eyes, still stuffing his face with hotdogs and soda. He shrugged as he mumbled out a response, spraying bits of crumbs and hotdogs everywhere.
"Excuse me, piggy?"
"I said," Sharpener swallowed the glob of food in his mouth before continuing; "that I never argued with you on it to begin with!"
Erasa grinned, shaking her head as she took a small sip of her café mocha. "I know, Sharpy, I know. Just wanted to prove that I'm right."
She looked at her watch again before reclining back in the lawn chair. "And that they only have a few hours before they need to be back for the dinner."
She shook her head. Videl, I hope you know how to kiss!
To be continued…