Title: A sweet surprise

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Akira Toriyama and Funimation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. And I still do not own Pepsi or other trademarks mentioned here.

This story focuses on Gohan and Videl, and is set after the Majin Buu Saga. It's an AU, and Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Author's Note: Finally Gohan has caught Dende, and the Kami of Earth will be punished. But in another way than you think...

Additional note: Today's my birthday! Yay me! Already got a lot of presents, and I hope I'll get some from my readers too, in the form of reviews, of course... :)



Chapter 28: Don't get caught when pranking a Saiyan



Last time...



With a gleeful snarl, he started looking around. The culprit could not be far, even if he had wisely chosen to suppress his KI to avoid detection.
'Oh no, you're not getting away that easy, pal! I will find you, pray tell...'



Gohan growled and proceeded further into the room, and a door led to just another room, Vegeta following him suit...



Now the continuation...



Opening the door, Dende literally jumped as two shadows fell across his doorway. He had not yet managed to pack the suitcases, much to his misfortune...



Dende audibly gulped when he saw Gohan in Super Saiyan Three mode, the look in his eyes so murderous that he would have been send straight to prison if looks could have killed. This glare even put Vegeta's 'instant-death-glare, just-add-water' to shame. And that was really saying something...
'I knew I should just have left the damn suitcases behind...' the Kami of Earth thought nervously.



Gohan smirked wildly, even though Dende could see that it was a most evil smirk. Uh oh, that did not bode well...
"Hey there, if that's not my favourite Namek! Long time no see! I need you to come with me somewhere, ok bud? I have some nice things planned for you..."



Dende cleared his throat nervously, while holding his head as if he was suffering from a worse hangover (which he probably was),
"G... Gohan! H... how did you get here?"



Gohan smirked,
"Well, you see," he began, looking very serious despite the glint in his coal-black eyes, "Goku did something nasty with Chi-Chi. Roughly nine months later..."



Vegeta actually gave a barking laugh. That was a sense of humour worthy of a Saiyan. Always create irritation in your opponents, and then strike fear in their hearts...



Dende cleared his throat once more, this time audibly nervous,
"Umm, that's not what I meant. And s... sorry Gohan, umm, there's a lot going on down on Earth today and all, I'm afraid I can't make myself available, considering that my head is now clear again..."



Gohan's eyes hardened and his grin grew wilder,
"Oh, you are going to make yourself available, Dende. Remember, I know where New Namek is and Dad could teleport me there anytime – that means that you're replaceable. And don't forget Piccolo – he could take your job any time."



Dende's eyes widened at the implication of Gohan's words, and then he gulped and nodded,
"Heh, I'm sure Mr. Popo can take over for a while. Maybe he has even some aspirin for me..."



Gohan's eyes softened a bit, though his evil smirk never faltered,
"Good, Dende. I'm sure he will. As I untied him moments ago, he will surely be happy to oblige. Now come with me."



Vegeta glared at Gohan,
"Why don't we kill him here and now? He is the one responsible for the misery we went trough, and punishment should be enacted." the Saiyan Prince stated.



While Gohan seemed to contemplate this in all earnest, Vegeta chose to act and grabbed the Kami of Earth by the collar with his right hand, easily lifting the little Namek into the air,
"We know that you are responsible for those damned baka frying pans that even our Saiyan skulls can not resist. It's your fault that the onnas used them on us! For that you will pay!"



The struggling and gasping Dende managed to gasp out
"But I don't remember a thing! I was drunk and sugar high!"



Vegeta glared at him,
"That does not excuse a blasted thing! Due to you we suffered, and nobody makes the Saiyans suffer! Much less the Prince of all Saiyans!"



Gohan, who had pondered the thought enough, looked at Vegeta,
"Vegeta, let him live."



Dende, still struggling in Vegeta's iron hard grip, breathed an audible sigh of relief. The Saiyan Prince, however, was not satisfied at all,
"Why should I?" he asked, stubbornly refusing to loosen his iron grip he had on the unfortunate Kami of Earth.



Dende's relief turned out to be short-lived, for
"So that I can kill him." Gohan stated in a calm and deadly serious voice.



Vegeta was so astounded that he actually dropped Dende. That had sounded so... serious. Dende, now lying in a heap on the floor, began to stammer,
"B... but G... Gohan, we... were friends since we... were kids. You can't... kill me."



"What did you just say, Dende? I did not quite get that..." Gohan said in a calm, deadly voice. Stalking purposefully towards the now trembling guardian of Earth, Gohan slowly stretched out his left hand and grabbed Dende by the collar, who continued stuttering,

"B... But Gohan, if y... you kill me, t... the dragonballs w... will disappear... too!"



Gohan smirked and a KI-blast formed in the palm of his free hand,

"You forget that I could teleport to New Namek with Dad easily and get a replacement for you. Also Piccolo could take over your post, so no danger for the dragonballs. Hmm, I'd say Shish Kebab Dende or Dende filet sounds like something Toto and Chobi would love..." he said, fully knowing that this would scare Dende even more. He was not intent on actually killing the little Namek, but he wanted to give him a good scare. And obviously he was doing a pretty good job...



"Eep!" was the only thing Dende was able to utter, but before Gohan could retort or do anything suddenly movement could be heard from the door. Vegeta threw a look and felt for KIs, then groaned. The onnas, the Namek and the useless humans had arrived. Not to mention the third-class...



Now the possibility of killing Dende for his treacherous deeds against the Saiyan race looked... slightly diminished...
'Face it, Vegeta, with the onnas here our chances are naught. Zilch! Nada! Hmphh!'



And...



The women came rushing in, followed by the others, and they came to an abrupt halt, not a yard away from where Dende was dangling from Gohan's grip like a piece of meat from a hook,
"Gohan Son, what on earth are you doing?" Chi-Chi asked.



"What does it look like?" Vegeta asked sarcastically, "Gohan is dealing out the proper punishment for messing with us Saiyans."



Gohan nodded, a nearly insane glint obvious in his coal-black eyes,
"I'm about to separate Dende´s head from his body." the demi-Saiyan stated calmly and businesslike as if talking about the weather, "It's a new kind of stress therapy I've devised. And I had a lot of stress lately. Want to give it a try? It's bound to be very relaxing."



Never in all the years had Vegeta, one of the other Saiyans or anyone else for this matter, seen Chi-Chi or Bulma so at a loss for words. Both onnas only spluttered incoherently, a sight Vegeta found highly amusing.



For the first time ever the onnas honestly seemed incapable of speaking, and that was really a first,
'I like them better this way. No more screeching. Think we could make it permanent?' Vegeta send to Gohan, highly amused.



Gohan shook his head, while still strangling Dende,
'I'm afraid not, Vegeta. Not without significant behavioural modifications, and I highly doubt that they would be willing to undergo those...' he send back, smirking.



Videl however was not as affected,
"Stop it this instant, Son Gohan!" could be heard from her. Faster than lightning, the Son woman rushed forward. Vegeta nearly pouted. Gohan surely would not...



But much to Vegetas' displeasure the demi-Saiyan did just that and obeyed, dropping Dende to the ground, where he landed in a heap. But when Vegeta noticed the evil smirk on Gohan's face an anticipatory smile formed on the Saiyan Prince's face and he was instantly reconciled,
'Heh, they must have conversed telepathically. This should be fun...'



Unaware of that the guardian of Earth got up and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief again, until...
"I want to kill him! For all that he did to you and me he has to suffer!" Videl exclaimed and stalked forward, while her frying pan of doom™ had appeared in her hand out of thin air.



Suddenly the Kami of Earth' thin features were such a shade of pale green (even for a Namek) that Gohan wondered if he wasn't actually producing chlorophyll. It would not have surprised him... much. The threat of being walloped by a frying pan of doom™ had interesting effects on a potential victim...



Vegeta however nearly snickered at the sight. That was a mate worthy of a Saiyan! He would have said so, if he had not had to keep his image. Thus the Saiyan Prince limited himself to a smirk, an evil gleam in his eyes, and folded his arms across his chest, watching the spectacle that was unfolding before his very eyes. That would prove to be highly amusing...
'I don't have to kill him and the onna can't screech at me. Our honour has been restored and I will get to see a nice show. Perfect...'



The only sound Dende managed to make was MEEP! before he was whacked by his own tool of amusement, the frying pan of doom™! And the evil thing had stricken with deadly accuracy, knocking the Kami of Earth down like a sack of potatoes, and he landed on the ground in a boneless heap,
"This is for what you did to my Gohan and me!" Videl uttered, clearly satisfied with the result of her frying-pan-slinging. "I hope that will teach you to never do something like that again!"



Dende, who had made aquaitance with the hard ground once more, was now nursing a large lump and a headache of astronomic proportions,
'Oww, has anyone noted the license number of the spaceship that crashed down on me? Ooh, to be on the receiving end is no fun...' he thought wryly.



Gohan looked at his wife proudly, and he wished that he could have been able to kiss her at this very moment. That reminded him...



He slowly turned to Dende, anger obvious in his face, his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits once more,
"Do you know how it feels to stay powered up to the fullest the whole day? Being unable to touch or kiss the woman you love? To rub her belly? To be there for her? Do you? All that because of you! And what is your excuse? 'I was drunk and sugar-high.' Do you have any idea how much I have suffered because of you the last few weeks? You gave my pregnant wife an indestructible frying pan, supposedly even tempered with her mood-swings and sat two mini-demons on me who applied that cursed water on me that, worst of all, dyed my hair lilac! LILAC! Not to speak of that you played pranks on Vegeta! Care to explain that?"



Dende gulped audibly,
"Is 'I was drunk and sugar-high and did not know what I did' going to help me any?"



"No!" Gohan, Vegeta and Videl chorused. And Gohan added "If my hair stays lilac you won't be safe anywhere in the whole universe. That is if you survive the punishment..."



Dende looked now really put out, and then he looked to the ground, obviously ashamed,
"Gomen, Gohan, Videl, Vegeta. I really don't know that I did all that. I know however that I should not have drunken Pepsi. I should have listened to Mr. Popo. Please, how can I redeem myself?"



Before anyone could say anything let alone deal out proper punishment, a red-skinned and horned figure popped into existence in Dende's rooms. Nearly everyone was startled by his sudden appearance, but due to Goku's quick elaboration everyone calmed down quickly,
"It's okay, everyone. That's just one of King Yemma's messengers."



Said messenger puffed out his chest, cleared his throat importantly and adjusted his glasses, oblivious to the tension in the room. Glancing down at his list, the demon looked up at Earth's startled Kami and said
"Dende, Kami of Earth, I assume?"



Dende gulped, contemplating if he could somehow sneak out of this whole mess. For if he said 'Yes', that would surely not bode well for him. Sighing, as he had not found a promising approach, he nodded,
"Eh, actually, umm... yes." he answered, while thinking 'Oh no! What now?'



The red-skinned otherworld messenger nodded and pulled a deep red envelope out of his vest pocket,
"This contains a message from King Yemma. Please read and acknowledge receipt."



Dende reached out reluctantly and took the envelope, opened it, and smoothed out the paper inside. Reading the message, Dende cringed visibly...



To: Dende, Kami of Earth

Dende,



This is a letter to inform you, that due to recent infractions of your Kami-duties, namely the misuse of your Kami-powers in order to create an indestructible cooking gadget (there are three listed here), furthermore referred to as the frying pan of doom™, and your abuse of your powers to create the cursed water of powers, your Kami-powers have been revoked for the period of one year.

This is consentient with paragraph 15b, subsection 2b of the bye-law to regulate Kami activities. For this period of time, Earth will be watched over by a substitute. A messenger has already been sent to notify this substitute. Note, that good behaviour will be taken into consideration. Your case will be re-evaluated in one year.

Furthermore, the three listed frying pans of doom™, two of which created by you and one of unknown origin, have been destroyed as of now.

Your period of suspension begins now.



Signed,
King Yemma
Elite vive and infinitely long-headed Bureau of Appointed Demons Governing Otherworldly Domains



P.S.: You screwed up, kid. If you prank a Saiyan, don't get caught! And no more Pepsi for you!



Dende signed his acknowledgement that he had received the letter, and handed it back to the messenger, grumbling all the while. That had not gone well...



The messenger returned to otherworld with a pop once he had taken the letter back, and Dende sat down on the ground and pouted, feeling utterly empty now that his Kami-powers had left him.



Videl rounded up on him, curious as to what the heck had happened just now. And that she voiced...
"What the hell has just happened here, Dende? And where the blazes is my frying pan?" she asked in a dangerous voice.



Gohan nearly felt pity for Dende. But only nearly. But he wanted to know that too. As the messenger had not elaborated what the letter had contained, everyone was dying to know now what the hell was going on...



Dende looked up at her and answered with a childish pout,
"They have revoked my Kami powers for one year. One year! There, satisfied now? And that only because I stepped a tad bit out of line... no fair!"



Gohan had processed these information the fastest, and he nearly blew his top a hearing that. Okay, he blew his top...
"A tad bit?" he yelled, red-faced, "Damn it, you created indestructible cooking gadgets of terror, tempered with the mood swings of my wife,"



"Not proven!" interjected Dende, but shut up quickly as Gohan's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits once more, and continued as if Dende had said nothing at all,
"...tempered with the mood swings of my wife, created a cursed water of powers that put me in this state," he pointed at himself, still in his fully powered up Super Saiyan Three mode, complete with lilac dyed hair, "and made my life all around a living hell! So, pray tell, you wanna tell me that was a tad bit?" demanded Gohan.



The suspended Kami of Earth sighed,
"Sorry, Gohan. I promise I will never ever drink a Pepsi again. Although the stuff is so yummy..." the little Namek said with a dreamy expression on his face.



Piccolo, who had stood in the background with the others to watch the spectacle, stepped forward,
"I can assure you, kid, that you won't drink any Pepsi for the rest of your life. I will personally see to it."



Dende gulped, but managed to utter a 'thanks', even if it did not sound convincing at all. But Videl was still not trough with him,
"All good and nice, but where the devil is my frying pan?" she asked angrily. She had become quite fond of that thing...



Dende was unsure if he should smile or fake some pity. In the end he decided to fake pity (that was a lot safer) and send Videl an apologetic look,
"I'm afraid that the frying pans have all been destroyed by King Yemma. As I created them illicitly, King Yemma eliminated yours, Bulma's and even Chi-Chi's, although I had nothing to do with its creation. That was the original Kami."



The uproar among the females (except Bulma, who did not seem all too sad) was instantaneous. Chi-Chi and Videl both screeched
"My beautiful frying pan!", whereas Goku and Gohan both breathed a sigh of relief, and even Vegeta looked relieved for a moment until he put on his indifferent act again.



'Woot!' Gohan thought, 'Now I can finally say the word 'Pan' without dread again! Great!'



While Gohan was thinking this, his father was thinking along the same lines,
'Finally I am rid of that dreaded thing! Now all the needles on this planet have to disappear too and I will be perfectly happy! Ah, life is wonderful!'



As the females were busy moaning their losses, Gohan was still curious about something. And now that he had calmed down enough that he started to think again.
"Umm, Dende? If your Kami powers have been revoked, then who is going to watch over the planet?"



TBC...



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Our Saiyans will never have to fear the dreadful frying pans of doom™ again! Now the question remains: who will be Kami of Earth for the next year? And what for surprises will Gohan have for his family and friends? Find out next time!



As always very special thanks to my beta Rose Vaughn, who is doing a great job! Thx, Ash!

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inuyashasdragonballs: You're welcome. I guess it will be between five and ten more chapters, and yes, I consider writing a sequel. But before I'll do this I think I'll finish my story 'Welcome to the Afterlife, son!' first, cause I had no chance to write at it for a long time. Your idea is good, but I dunno what I will write in the sequel yet. Atm I have other worries...



ElectraBlack: Thanks! But as you saw, he was not killed, but his punishment is nearly as bad. His beloved Kami powers taken away for one year... ouch!
Well, Gohan took a while to gather enough backbone to stand up to his mother, so I'd say you have so time. And thanks for your good wishes, I can use them!



Rejhan: Yeah, poor Popo indeed. And you're right, Vegeta and Gohan together are a deadly duo. Hope the punishment is okay with ya, though it is not complete...



Pikachu90000: Thanks, and I'd say so too...



Princess of the Saiyans 16: Oh yeah, I do agree. And you saw that I liked your 'menu suggestions' so much that I included them. Nice ones! And thanks! I don't feel sorry for Dende either, he had it coming...



cosmictwilight: You and half of the female population on the globe. Lol. Thanks for the compliment, but yeah, the pranking time is now over...
Also thanks for your good wishes, I seriously need them...



Megs21: Yup, I thought it funny. And obviously the chibis too, for they listened to me. :)
Glad that you have no complaints, and yeah, it was about time that Gohan and Goku stood up to Chi-Chi. Now her controlling streak is broken for good, I'd say. Glad that you approve with 'fighter Gohan'.



Marshmellow13Dragon: Lol, I'm sure you know, you just try to pull a Goten here, ne? And Mr. Popo was ot long in the timechamber, only for some hours. Not that it would matter much anyway, the fella is immortal. :)
Glad that you liked the chappie, and yea, only once a week. #sniff#
I just had to include the Vegeta-applejack-scene, I found it funny. And yeah, it is some college thing, and it is already starting to drive me nuts. #sigh#
Nope, didn't mean ya driving, but I figured that your driver lady should actually be able to drive. Meh...



GOGI: Yeah, that we are. Right after this chapter, actually. I'm glad that you liked the whole Dende thing, it made a lot of fun to write it!



zfighter1989: Sry, then the chappie would have been much too long. Hope it was worth the wait. And you can count on me updating when I say I will do so. If I don't I'm either dead or too busy...



Mei fa-chan: Hmm, maybe we could make wishes with this basketball? #ponders thought# Maybe it is a special basketball...
Thanks, I'm glad that you liked it!



Joou Himeko Dah: Me too. #snuggles caffeine in general# Without that stuff I'd be lost!
Heh, glad that you liked it!



Candy the Duck: Of course I realized that. And yeah, anything besides simple water has... interesting effects on Nameks. And it was a red applejack. Those are the evilst in my experience...



HieiLuver1: Thank you! The secret room is an insertion of mine, and one I'm quite proud of. And you should not wonder that Vegeta and Gohan are working together, for the Saiyan Prince has a lot of respect for this Gohan.



SSJ3MysticGohan: Thanks, I always try to surprise, and I like to think that I manage to do so.
It is good to hear that you found someone, and I will be looking at it as soon as this blasted term paper is due. Which will be in roughly four weeks... #sulks in corner#



Rose Vaughn: Nope, they did not kill him. But he's been stripped of his beloved powers for one year. Quite a sound punishment, wouldn't you say? And more to come next chapter, heh...



zara m: Yup. But Dende was actually too drunk to think of something like that, and another reason why that would not have worked are the improvements Dende made to the chamber. You can now use your KI-signature to enter the chamber at all times and you can also use it to leave the chamber. Quite convenient, eh?
Glad that you liked the changes, and which rule says the rules for the chamber can't be changed? Everything is changeable...
And as you saw, there were more surprises for Dende than the other way around... :)



Cappucine: Thank you very much! I guess it was not the 'bruise-leaving-part' but more the intimidating part, and the punishment from Otherworld was quite severe too. And there is more in store for Dende...
Heh, I understand that perfectly. Actually I wear glasses too, and Gohan would not hit me for all that I have done to him while I wear those. But actually I say he is quite satisfied with the changes I applied to him... :)



animeprincess1452: Thanks! I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and I'm doing my best that it stays this way. Cool that you like the idea, I figured that was something no one came up with before (as far as I know, that is). And yeah, he got it quite bad. I can still hear his accelerated heartbeat while dangling from Gohan's grip...



Son Oliver: Yeah, he did sense it, and thus everything has been revealed. And nope, Gohan and Vegeta do have too much sense in them ti actually kill Dende. Bring him into the danger of dying of heart failure, yes, actually killing him, no. Hope you liked my solution of how to get rid of those fpods...



Has anyone a guess who the new Kami will be? It's actually quite easy and obvious, I'd say. So, till next Wednesday. Ja ne!