Chapter 7 - Coping
Last time, on Dragon Ball Zenkai!
The world was ravaged by the terror known as Majin Buu. In its wake it nearly wiped out all of mankind till only a handful of Earth's defenders were left. As a result, those who fought him tried and failed. Only one was capable of stopping him and he was a fusion of the two most unlikely warriors to ever join forces. Son Gohan, the child of Goku and Chi-Chi, and Vegeta the last of a noble line long since destroyed. Together they made Vegehan, the strongest mortal warrior to exist in the cosmos!
With the eradication of Super Buu, his positive counterpart Mister Buu was left behind and was spared with the help of Mr. Satan. Although the Dragon Balls brought back restoration to the Earth and its solar system it couldn't undo the powerful enchantment placed on Vegehan's body. Doomed to live a life of complication and drama, the new Fused Saiyan must come to terms with the sum of his parts' family and friends. What will happen next?
Find out...NOW!
West City, Capsule Corp
"You're WHAT?!" Chi-Chi screamed at the top of her lungs, causing all who gathered around to visibly flinch. Be it alien, god or human, no one liked being near the wife of Goku when her temper was roused.
Vegehan, using his left gloved pinky to clean out the same flanked ear as a sign his drums were still ringing. His scowl carried a mixture of unease and annoyance, giving him a look of pure discomfort. He had expected some violent reprisal but perhaps having his explanation go uninterrupted after waking them on the backyard lawn of Capsule Corp was a bit too much ask.
"Calm down, Chi-Chi," Goku tried to ease sense into his wife, placing a hand onto her heaving shoulder right shoulder. "Let's hear what he has to say next."
"But-!"
"You heard what he said. If there's a bit of Gohan inside of him, you'd want to hear what he has to say, right?" The Turtle Schooler asked with a kind smile, knowing just how much their first born meant to her.
Tearing up, the bewildered woman bubbled out something unintelligible before wiping away her face. Sternly, she glared at her husband fiercely enough for him to back up, and then back at the Potara born Saiyan. Huffing, she crossed her arms as everyone eased back down.
Feeling like he was given permission, oddly enough, Vegehan picked up where he last left off.
"Like I said," Vegehan crossed his own arms, looking at all those gathered. From Chiaotzu and Tien to the far left all the way to Muten Roshi, Oolong and Puar to his far right, he kept his speech directed to all to make sure they understood. "I am a Fusion of Vegeta and Gohan. This means that neither exist in this material plane so using an Eternal Dragon can't undo it. Believe me, I've tried. I carry the characteristics, powers, memories and skills both had in life along with their life led experiences. Despite drastically different upbringings, I find that they had quite a bit in common with each other."
"That right there," Piccolo pointed out, glaring stoically at Vegehan while being the center of the group along with Goku to his left that had either woman on either of his flanks. "You referred to the two as if you aren't them, as if they were part of the past. How do we discern you from them?"
"That's easier than you think," The Fused Saiyan remarked with a tilt of his head. "Up until hours ago, Vegeta died through a noble sacrifice and used his second chance in life to make a difference. Gohan escaped death to gain an incredible power and helped save the world. Their lives may have come to an end, but mine began literally today. My first moments were spent fighting a monster none of you could possibly overcome. You're welcome by the way."
"Cheeky attitude reminds me of Vegeta but his calm explanation is definitely a Gohan trait. Still, it really is hard to tell the difference which one is more dominant in him," Piccolo thought as he got his answer, which only made his scowl sharpen and a bead of sweat form along his brow at the most obvious answer. "Either way, Gohan died the same time Vegeta did. The Fusion was an equal trade, two lives for one stronger being."
"Man, this is weird," Yamcha whispered into Krillin's ear, having chosen to not stand up so close to a man he considered to be a stranger. "Vegeta and Gohan sharing the same body? This sounds like a bizarre mad scientist experiment if you ask me!"
"I don't read comics so I wouldn't know," Krillin remarked with a roll of his eyes, placing his hands on his hips as he tip-toed to pay more attention to this new Saiyan.
A clearing of the throat caused everyone to look front and center as a pair of feet stepped tentatively closer to Vegehan. When everyone turned to look, it was the face of Bulma that stared up at a surprised Saiyan. Her eyes stared not judgmentally or with fear, but wonder. Reaching up she flinched slightly before making the decision to touch the man's cheek.
"I can feel a little bit of my husband in you," Bulma whispered, her eyes welling up with tears as she pulled back, looking at her trembling hand. "But I can tell that it's a remnant. Like an echo of someone who's gone forever."
"Bulma," He quietly spoke, causing her face to rise up with a start. When she saw him smile in a way unlike Vegeta, she could tell it was truly out of the new Saiyan's character that he reacted in such way. Or spoke as he did. "I know I can't replace Vegeta and it'd be unfair of us acting like nothing happened. Just know that I'll be there for you and Trunks, just like I'll be there for Chi-Chi and Goten."
"You mean," Goku's second born uttered out, catching Bulma and Vegehan's attention. "Does that mean Trunks and I are brothers?"
"Uh," Trunks scratched his head, looking at Vegehan and back at his best friend, wondering if that's what was really going on. Even he was out of his element with how much weirdness was going on.
Sighing, Vegehan shrugged with resignation at the young boy, "If you really want to put it that way, you can just think of me as your uncle. In hindsight since I have both the Son blood in me and Vegeta's, you could say we're all related now."
"Awesome!" Goten cried out, now giggling with joyous glee as he bounced around a confused yet half-way smiling Trunks. "I got a new brother! You're my new brother! Trunks is my brother!~"
"Calm down, Goten! No need to get too excited about it," Trunks laughed while failing to rein in the boy's excitement. While he wasn't too fond of the idea of his dad being replaced by this weird fusion of Gohan, he didn't seem too bad. Whether he'd like it or not, this was definitely better than having no dad at all.
"After all that talk about you being separate from Gohan and Vegeta, you certainly make it sound like that isn't the case," Tien remarked with a sly grin. "Face it, those two are apart of you whether you acknowledge it or not."
"Heh, I guess if you want to go into technicalities, I can't be stone faced all the time. That's Piccolo's job, even if I know he's a softy underneath like me," Vegehan joked out loud as he laughed in a way that befit his Gohan side. Despite Piccolo twitching irritably, the Namekian was glad to see part of his disciple and surrogate son lived on in this new Fusion.
The only one who still wasn't fully convinced was Chi-Chi.
"Are you all happy?!" She cried out, causing the hint of happiness in the group's mood to plummet like a stone. Her fists were clenched and her eyes were now overflowing with tears. Taking one step after another, her breaths came out in hisses through her nostrils as she approached the newly born Saiyan. "I guess you all can laugh and make compromises. But I guess that makes me the pitiful loser in this situation, doesn't it?"
"Chi-"
"No, Goku!" Chi-Chi whirled around, staring with a seething edge that made him stop cold and immediately forget what he was going to say. "We lost our son. OUR SON! At least give a damn for once in your damned, selfish life that we lost something precious! But I guess you can't do that when I was the only one who tried to raise him right!"
A silence hit everyone like a ton of bricks at the implications she made. It wasn't a simple fix to adjust to a man who took the place of two people. One was already dead and was going to stay that way if it wasn't for circumstance. Gohan was alive and gave up that life for the sake of the greater good. Even if that good was justified, it clearly meant that everyone he was apart of had to suffer in the process.
Vegehan could see that now, as his eyes dilated and his mouth parted open with shock.
"Maybe you were comfortable acting like a child for the rest of your life, but there comes a time when you have to grow up and wish for something normal," She continued, turning to look over at Vegehan with repulsion. "But no, he had to keep training. He had to keep fighting. Even when he enrolled into school he took up dressing like a lunatic and danced around like his grades didn't mean anything! Toss aside years of maternal toll and proper upbringing for the sake of creating this abomination!"
"Chi-Chi," Vegehan tried to speak, suddenly silenced by a slap across the face.
"SHUT UP!" The Ox-King's daughter shrieked, backhanding him again and again. "I don't want to hear another word! Not another!"
"Chi-Chi, that's enough!" Bulma reached out and grasped her wrist, only earning a vicious glare. "It's over. We can't do anything to change this. You heard him. He already tried to fix things for his own existence sake. How do you think he feels about that failing? Ever thought to ask him about this?"
"I don't care what he feels!" She screamed, her face a fountain of moisture that reddened her cheeks. Looking towards the solemn visage of Vegehan, she swung a fist at his face. "I WANT MY SON BACK!"
A loud clap of knuckles meeting cartilage could be heard by all. Looks of surprise were seen by the fact Chi-Chi didn't wail in pain or the targeted stop her. Instead a dribble of blood leaked from his nostrils as her trembling fist was held in place. What was once an uneasy expression on the Fused Saiyan was now a look of pure anger, one that even made Chi-Chi back up with apprehension.
"Did...Chi-Chi just break his nose?" Goku asked out loud with confusion, scratching his chin with curiosity. "I was certain he was going to stop her or she'd get hurt..."
"For whatever reason," Kibitoshin finally piped up, having stayed adamantly silent until now. "Vegehan allowed himself to be injured. I guess we're going to see the reason why."
A swift tug that made an audible snap and Vegehan put his nose back into place. Despite the ugly discoloration on his face, he was able to at least breathe and speak easier. With his gaze boring into hers, he began in a low guttural tone, "Are you done spouting your bullshit? Yes? Good. Because I'm going to take your words and throw them right back at you."
Taking a step forward he swung his hand to the side, making Bulma back up with trepidation he was going to do something drastic. Instead, it was a mere gesture for emphasis of what he was going to say, "Have you looked in the mirror in the past sixteen years? Do you realize how much of a hypocrite you are? I'm not painting your husband as a model but you are no better than he was. You, who lauded out how you sacrificed and you toiled for the sake of Gohan becoming a better scholar, a better citizen, a better person from your eyes. Ever thought to ask him if he even WANTED that?!"
Struck speechless, Chi-Chi's lips quivered as her eyes stared on with awe. It was like a revelation she hadn't even considered. Did she once ask, or rather, listen to what he wanted to do? Was she even aware that he might have wanted to follow in his father's footsteps or even do something else with his life?
As she questioned herself, Vegehan continued to speak, "I'll tell you why he did as you told him. He did it because he loved you as much as he loved his father. He respected you and he was a great son to you both. He didn't want to become a scholar, but he never said a word. He suppressed his own Saiyan blood and the instincts of his own flesh so that he could make you happy. Now tell me who is more selfish? Kakarot, the idiot who'd rather spend a whole day alone training away from his family or you, the control freak who never thought to once ask if your son wanted to do something different with his life?"
Falling to her knees, Chi-Chi slumped to her hands as she looked to the ground she squatted upon. Tears fell anew but her cries were silent. When Bulma rushed to her side, Vegehan powered up, encasing himself in a mantle of transparent white light. With everyone looking his way he sighed for a moment before taking to the air.
"I need some space," He grumbled, kicking off with a sonic boom that rattled the earth and the house behind him. As he disappeared from sight, everyone looked awkwardly from one another, not saying anything to break the silence that had fallen upon them.
Ox King couldn't defend or chastise his daughter for it was just a baffling issue as it was to the rest of them. Roshi knew any jokes would spoil the mood further; a similar conclusion Yamcha and Oolong had settled with. Predictably, none of the other fighters that were assembled could conjure a response.
It was only thanks to Bulma that they could agree on something.
"Well, I don't know about you," She coughed up as she rose up with the dazed Chi-Chi under arm. "But I could do for some food right about now. I can't remember the last time I ate anything."
A deafening chorus of roars echoed in the air, as if on cue to what her words suggested. The loudest that overlapped all the other stomach rumblings was Goku, causing those who were gathered to stare at him awkwardly or with surprise. When all eyes drawn to him, Goku turned his head side to side before tilting it back and scratching its scalp with a nervous giggle.
"Hahaha, I guess when Bulma said the word food, my stomach decided to remind me I'm in a living body again!" Goku cried out with comical distress, laughing it off soon after.
"Now that you mention it," Tien rubbed his stomach, trying his best to subdue the noises coming from it. "I am famished."
"Haha, same here!" Krillin agreed with pat to his stomach.
"I'm hungry too!" Marron cried out in Eighteen's arms.
"Well, I think its settled," Bulma declared with a smile. "I think I'll order out what we don't have in the cupboards. Mom and dad, can you help me prepare some plates for everybody?"
"Sure thing, sweetie!" Panchy agreed with a cheerful voice she was known for. Dr. Briefs followed with a smile, agreeing to help his daughter in this task. As everyone either pitched in to help get a meal ready, the only ones who didn't look enthusiastic was Kibitoshin, Piccolo and Eighteen herself.
"Krillin," The cyborg addressed her husband formally, handing their child to him. "You fill up. I remembered I have business to take care of."
"Really? What's that?" The Orin temple monk asked curiously.
"It's a secret," She assured with a smirk. "You'll find out later tonight. See you later."
Departing with a chaste kiss, she took to the air and flew in a similar cardinal direction of Vegehan. As everyone clambered to Capsule Corp's expansive kitchen, Piccolo turned to address Kibitoshin formally.
"So what are your plans now that the threat has been dealt with?" Piccolo asked as straightforward as he normally did.
"For now, I'm unsure. I don't know what the future may hold for me or my duties as Supreme Kai," He admitted with a shrug, looking towards the horizon where Vegehan had disappeared to. Turning his head back to Piccolo, he smiled cryptically. "For now, I think I may journey across the cosmos, learn a bit more about the worlds I've overlooked and maybe secrets that have been buried over generations of Kaioshins being in place. I'll drop by from time to time to see how the Universe's strongest mortal is faring. I owe him that much."
"Sounds like you have things figured out," Piccolo nodded to him, solemnly catching a glance at Dende helping with stacking place mats for those eating inside. "I've noticed something off about Dende since we were revived. I can't get a feel for his Ki. It's like I got this feeling I got from you..."
"He possesses Godly Ki now," Kibitoshin explained, earning a shocked turn of the head from his Namekian counterpart. "It was the only way for Earth's Dragon to be sufficiently strong enough to protect Earth from imminent destruction. Plus, the benefits of him having a surplus of Ki may lend to the possibility of him becoming a valued asset to the planet's roster of defenders."
"Hmph," Piccolo grunted, processing what was said and taking into consideration for the ramifications for the future. The potential for training the current Kami to becoming a formidable fighter was tempting, especially if it kept him from babysitting the half breed children again. Perhaps he'd even be more well mannered.
"Well, take it what you will," Kibitoshin replied with a soft sigh. "It's time for us to part ways. But know that I'll keep an eye on this planet. If you need anything, just call out my name and I'll do my best to assist."
"The day we need your help, I fear we'll be in greater danger than before. So let's hope it doesn't come to that," Piccolo explained with a slight nervous laugh.
In a second of a hand wave, the Supreme Kai's entire person vanished from sight and soon from even eerie sensation. With Piccolo left to his devices he could only look on to the horizon with a tenuous feeling of unease. He felt as if something was already stirring, as if a malevolent force was aware of what had happened. Dismissing this as just a wave of paranoia, he assumed a spot underneath a tree and closed his eyes, dropping his consciousness into meditation.
Satan City, Mark's Mansion
Despite a brief brush with potential death, Mark was starting to have a good day. It was the late afternoon and the Sun was on the verge of setting in the horizon. With the world none the wiser of what happened to them and what had caused the calamities of the earlier day, it was easy for such a talented deceiver to fool everyone into thinking he was solely responsible for helping rid of their crisis. As they had him paraded through the streets, it took all of Mark's restraint from keeling over from the wave of guilt of how close they all were to demise.
No thanks to him.
He had contributed nothing and it burned him up inside that the closest he had done to a noble deed was help spare Mr. Buu. Thanks to him, he had a second chance at life and he aimed to be a good example to him. While Buu was introduced as the Great Mr. Satan's prized pupil and eventual ward to his heroic mission to protect the Earth, he was glad to see the simple minded blob feast on what looked like a buffet of sweets and food of all sorts. Mark could barely eat a plate full with the sight of gorging his new friend took upon.
Still, it was a good way to end a day, at least he thought so. Reaching his mansion, flanked by voluntary guards issued by King Furry to escort him home, he had lost track of his daughter during the chaos. While they had shared a tear-jerking reunion when she awoke, she chose not to go with Vegehan and the others as he explained the situation back in West City. Coming with her father and their new house guest, along with their adopted dog Bee, she had partook in the festivities long enough for her to be lost in the crowd.
"I guess I can't really blame her," Mark thought as he reached the front porch of his home. "That Gohan fella wasn't so bad if he was being selfless this whole time. I was being the big dummy for getting in the way of young love. Now that scary guy, Veggie-hans, took his place. I hope there's some way I can make something right with her..."
"Mister Satan! A few questions please!"
"Mister Satan, can you answer a few inquiries!"
"Mister Satan! Mister Satan, please!"
Hearing the swarms of paparazzi approach his home, he felt in no real mood to answer questions. Not with the things bogging his mind and weighing down on his shoulders. He'd rather just have a day to spend with his daughter, even a simple talk with Buu to understand better the ground rules he's to follow from here on.
Still, that tug in his chest made him stop walking towards the door. He had an obligation as Earth's "Hero". If he was to make sure the morale of all of humanity was up, he had to be their spokesperson, whether he wanted it or not. It was the least he could do with his contrived position he had stolen from those who truly deserved it.
Turning around, his magnificent crimson cape laced over his simple brown top and white bottom gi flourished with fabulous flare. Rubbing his chin, he cleared his throat before thrusting his arm towards the space of the top of the mansion's steps to the bottom which the Royal Guard were keeping them at bay with their large physiques.
"Oh, I guess I can answer a few questions!" He declared out loud, placing his fists on his hips proudly, jutting out his chest to show how macho he is. "But I can only answer so many. Saving the world can take a lot out of this Champ, I'll tell ya, HA-HA-HA-HA!"
As the journalists and reporters look to each other nervously at the sound of the Hero's laugh, they resumed a barrage of queries. They sounded inaudible, so the Champ had to pick one out by pointing at them. When one was chosen, a smoothly combed man raised his mic while holding onto a notebook.
"Mister Satan, I'm sure everyone at the The CheeZe wants to know how you did it. And if you can't tell us in full, can you explain how you were able to pull it off?"
Mark was prepared for such a question. He had been rehearsing in his head a number of answers to any nosy member of the press who'd corner him. Thankfully he could at least lace a small bit of the truth.
"You see," He began, as if he was telling a fairy tale to a child, swinging his arms outward for dramatic flare. "I found this big, magic dragon-"
"A...Dragon?"
"I'm not finished!" Mark angrily shook his fist.
"Sorry, please continue," The Journalist cleared his throat, holding back his cynicism so that the Champ could explain.
"Okay. As I was saying before I was RUDELY INTERRUPTED!" Mr. Satan raised his voice pointedly, causing most of the gathered press to glare at the now very embarrassed journalist. "It was a BIG, MAGIC DRAGON. What many of you don't know is that it was the only way to bring you back to life. An evil man with a tattoo on his forehead came in and started killing everybody. But after beating him, I didn't let him have the last laugh."
Turning to look at his new friend, he waved an arm at the content Mr. Buu, whom was eating a large proportioned sack of potato chips, "I found my newest disciple whom I'm making my ward for succession. Mister Buu is a powerful, er, Genie who told me about the Magic Dragon. But the Dragon was stubborn and we had to give him a stern talking to. When he threatened to turn us to fried crispy bacon, the two of us beat some sense into him. Realizing how amazing we were, he undid the massive loss of life and returned the world back to normal."
Crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded with a smile, eyes closed as if it was a true story that he could believe, "Mhm, that's how it happened."
"So," A news reporter piped up, propping up her spectacles as her eyes blinked widely at the man standing above them. "Let me get this straight. The Hero who Killed Cell, labeling the villain you fought as a hoax and a fraud who used cheap tricks now relies on fanciful magic to help win your battles? I'm starting to see a contradiction in your story compared to your past personal account-"
"Do YOU doubt MY word as TRUTH, lady?!" Mark shouted with heavily accentuated words, veins about ready to pop from his forehead. When she cleared her throat and shook her head, he immediately calmed himself and coughed himself. "I know this may seem strange to hear but...fighting Cell was nowhere near as challenging as the evil that I faced. It is so horrifying I can't even say his name, but rest assured, he has been dealt with. You should thank Mister Buu for helping me for I couldn't have done it without his help!"
"Can we ask him a few questions?" Another journalist, more wiry than the rest, tried his hand at getting some time with the Champ.
"Uh," Mr. Satan blinked, not expecting anyone to interview his new buddy. Looking over at Mister Buu, he saw him chewing contentedly and minding his own business. Smiling at as a light bulb lighting in his head, he turned and looked aggravated at the media man. "Of course you can't! I mean, look at him! He's not as amazing as I am so he has to recharge. You've seen how much he's eaten and he's STILL famished! Let's leave the poor scout alone so you can barrage him with more of your questions at a later time."
"Oh," The Journalist looked deflated, but followed up quickly at hearing those last words. "Can I quote you on that?"
"NO!" Mister Satan shouted, finally striking a victory pose. "But you CAN take a few pictures of me being awesome! BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Videl wasn't in a festive mood.
Not that she wasn't happy to be alive; quite frankly she was ecstatic she was brought back. She was even brought to tears of joy to see her father alive and well, eager to embrace her and to her chagrin felt the roughness of his beard on her cheek. She swore that she never grew up in the man's mind and remained a toddler in his overprotective perception. But it was nice to see him heralded as a Hero, even if it wasn't true unlike the time before she had believed it wholeheartedly.
Which is why she was left alone in her thoughts for most of the day, deep in thought what Vegehan had told her.
"Gohan did his best, but in the end it wasn't enough. Vegeta and him made the ultimate sacrifice. I'm the product of that selfless act and I robbed people who they admired or loved the most. Sorry you had to hear that from me, Videl."
"The way you said that, made it seem like you were more sad than anyone you knew," Videl thought as her hand pocketed self strode down Satan City, walking away from the busier party area of her home. Her eyes remained on her feet, yellow boots kicking the sidewalk while her long-sleeved shirted self with a deep blue "Fight" shirt was still affixed over her as it had been earlier that morning. Her short hair blew as a gust of wind caressed the town, blowing from the west to the east.
Still lost in her thoughts, she had wandered across the sidewalks as people idly talked about Mister Satan's second time saving the world. Even the idle talk of their bizarre dream of dying or forgetting something important could be heard under their breaths, as if it was too weird for them to speak loudly. Videl knew the sentiment too well. Her own embrace of death came in a flash of rosy light in which she lost all form of sensation and felt herself floating in a never ending abyss. She thought she saw a rosy sky and a line of ghostly bodies towards an ancient structure with a sea of yellow clouds bordering each side of the divine highway.
But she still doubted what she saw was entirely real but more of a figment of her imagination. Or...was it?
Shaking her head, she turned the corner and began talking to herself while closing her eyes in a dramatic tone, "Nice one, Videl. Keep thinking like that and you're going to be seeing double with how crazy this so-UNDS!"
Grunting with her interrupted dialogue, she felt herself run into somebody or rather something that felt too solid to be human. After stumbling back, she felt a hand catch hers when she almost fell on her buttocks. Looking up she blinked with surprise at seeing the newly fused Saiyan, Vegehan, whom glanced down at her with shock and concern that seemed so...eerily familiar.
"S-Sorry," She managed to say at the same time he did, causing them both to blush and look away. Pulling herself up to her feet, she let go and put her hands behind her back shyly. Wondering what she could say, she heard Vegehan mutter as he hastily walked around her to leave. "Won't happen again."
"Hey!" Videl sharply cried out, causing the man to skid to an awkward halt. Arching a brow at his nervous trembling, she tip-toed behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. When she saw him shake his head, putting a gloved palm over his face, an audible hiss of pain could be heard. Frowning, she grasped him by the opposing sleeve and turned him around. What she saw caused her to gasp with shock. "Oh my God, your nose! What happened?!"
Twitching, Vegehan grumbled low enough to be heard by Videl but by no one else, "My moth-er-Chi-Chi punched me in the nose."
"A-And she did that to you?!" She asked, suddenly terrified if the simple-mannered woman was stronger than she looked.
"I let her do it," He replied dryly, twitching irritably as if some simple human could harm him without his consent.
"Why the Hell did you do that?!" Videl shouted with bulging eyes of bewilderment.
"Because I love my mother!" He shouted, almost recoiling as instantly as the words left his mouth. Seeing the confusion cross the young girl's face mirror his own, he tore himself away from her. Before he could move away, he felt his hand grabbed tightly by her, causing his attempted movement to be halted.
"Stop," Videl whispered, reaching up to grasp Vegehan by the chin. Despite his eyes rolling at the manhandling she was doing to him, he didn't retort but didn't look pleased either. When she got a good look, she bit her lower lip and held up a finger for him to wait. Walking around the corner she grasped what looked like a cheaply framed picture, one of many of her father, placed on the downtown infrastructure. Pulling it off, she mangled it till she had everything she needed and strode back to Vegehan, beckoning him to kneel so she was closer to her height. "Stay still. I'm going to fix that so you don't look like a walking bruise."
"Gee, thanks," Vegehan mumbled sarcastically.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that!" She jabbed as she put purposeful pressure on his mangled nose.
"AH! Okay-Okay, I'm sorry! Please stop!" The Fused Saiyan cried out in agony, feeling it only relieved after a handful of seconds. When she went back to work, he sighed and closed his eyes. When it seemed she was close to being done he whispered a genuine apology. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Just try being more mindful of what you say," Videl replied with a mirthful smile, moving her hands away from a now properly wrapped nose. The white paper and thin pieces of wood made a neat brace considering the mundane supplies on hand. Putting her hands on her hips she admired her work up close, unknowingly placing her face inches away from the man's own. "There. Should cover up that bruise till it gets fixed. Or you eat another bean, haha!"
"Haha, right!" Vegehan replied, remembering how he had saved Videl from her crippling pain with a Senzu Bean Goku had got from Korin's Tower. It was at this thought that made his smile vanish and his eyes stare off into space. Seeing Videl stare curiously back at him, he looked away before rising up, scratching his chin idly. "Uh, Videl? Can I ask you another favor?"
"I dunno. Should I be keeping a tab?" She asked wittily with an arched brow and wry grin.
"A...tab?" He titled his head to the side, for once having never heard of this Earthling idiom.
Sighing, Videl shook her head before smiling up at his ignorant expression, "It was a joke. And sure, I can help."
Furrowing his brows at the idea this was a time for jesting, he blew a raspberry in favor of snorting through his mangled nasal cavity. Staring to walk down the sidewalk, he made sure Videl kept up as he spoke, "I am...having trouble understanding who I am."
"That's no surprise," Videl commented lightly, causing the Saiyan to look down at her curiously. Gesturing, she remarked honestly. "If I had the circumstance where I had to merge with someone I knew, I don't think I could keep myself straight or level-headed as you seem to. Then again, I don't know how to even comprehend that. Is it like you're two minds or do you remember two histories at the same time?"
"That's the thing," Vegehan placed both arms behind his head, craning his neck to look up at the sky as they walked side by side across the more underpopulated part of the city. "I don't know what's me and what's them. I can't even figure where Gohan begins or if I'm being more Vegeta in how I speak. I feel awkward around Bulma to the point moving in with her would feel wrong and Chi-Chi already makes my blood boil while my stomach turns. Her little tirade already made me feel worse for the way this outcome happened."
"What about you?" She asked curiously, starting to piece together what she was noticing. "How do you feel when you're not in the middle of a fight? Like when you're among those you cherish?"
Flushing a little in embarrassment, Vegehan turned to look down at Videl. Crossing his arms he turned to look at the passing windows, watching his passing reflection. In it he saw someone who was trying to dodge the question but also was just unfamiliar with this kind of feeling. The more he looked at himself the less he started to see someone who wasn't disconnected from the sum of his parts. They were there, all at once, and looked all too familiar for him to deny it.
"I guess the only time I feel uncomfortable is when someone is making me uneasy. I just want to withdraw and look away into space. But when I was happy to be with Goten, Trunks, Bulma, Piccolo and the others...I felt so happy I couldn't contain my laughter. It felt normal for me to speak frankly and simply, like I didn't need to explain something complex or overthink a situation," He started to explain, turning to look over at Videl, mustering up a half smile to her blinking gaze. "And instead of feeling uneasy, you make me feel funny inside. Like I can't place a name for the sensation I get being near you. It's like...I'm happier when you're next to me."
Blushing at the thought, Videl smiled as she looked forward to the place they were walking, noticing they were almost at the outskirts of Satan City. Stopping at once, she heard Vegehan stop as well, sighing with relief as she declared firmly, "That's it then. There's nothing for you to worry about."
"Huh? What are you on about?" Vegehan asked with a furrowed glare at her. Backing up when she turned, he felt her lean into his chest with the left side of her face. As his arms began to flail, unused to this proximity, he watched her back up to look up at him.
"From what I know of the guy, you have Vegeta's inability to cope with harsh or uncomfortable social cues. You even have some of the roughness leaking into your instinctive talk. But, you're still down to earth, smart and too much of a nervous wreck to be too much of him," She explained, pressing one hand gently over his chest where his heart was beating hard. "I can feel it. You may have Vegeta's traits but I know Gohan when I feel it. His heart is still there, beating like a wild drum, holding back a passion for life and yearning to show all he can do."
"So, I really am a power of two in one body?" Vegehan asked, as if he was finally coming to terms with who he really was.
"You're not a construct, you're a living being. You have their best and worst, but I can see the best far outshines those vices. Someone like that is worth being friends with, perhaps even more," Videl suggested, smiling up at him as her eyes twinkled with nothing but acceptance of him. "Sure, I liked Gohan and I'll never forget what he taught me or stood for. But maybe I can grow to like you even more. Would that be such a bad thing, Vegehan, to have someone who can be more than just a friend?"
It felt like the shackles of indecision was broken. If anything his worse fear was to be isolated, alone and not being able to belong. While a part of him was prepared to cope with the burden of being irreproachable, the other desired company and someone to stand with him no matter what. Hearing Videl open up to him and even help him through his own crisis was like a prayer answers from on high.
He didn't see the tears that formed in his eyes. Only the comfort and warmth of Videl as he pulled her gently into a loving embrace. As he stroked her hair he couldn't have smiled wider as his face stung with a pain coming from the joy he was experiencing. Now he didn't need to fear what came next. For the first time since his birth, he felt truly unstoppable.
"Want to get out of here?" Vegehan asked mischievously, pulling back to brush his hands over her face. "I'm thinking the other side of the world. What do you think?"
"Ha! Already trying to be romantic. Aren't we being assuming?" Videl joked with a blushing smile.
"Eh, am I?" He asked, suddenly unsure of what he just said.
"Oh shush, that was a joke," She rolled her eyes as she stifled giggles at his awkward gullibility.
"Ugh, you-!"
"Come on," Videl ushered as she leaped into the air, leaving a flabbergasted Vegehan in her wake. Making a face she rose higher and higher into the sky. "Don't be a slowpoke or I'll leave you behind!"
"HA, as if you could!" He jeered back, leaping up to catch up with her, leaving the celebrating city far behind. For all he cared, they could be on another world. When he caught up to her, he couldn't help but feel like he had ascended past the nirvana of power from a transformation. The thrill of being in love. "I don't want to forget this moment for as long as I live. This, above all other things, will be the reason I fight. To keep this moment mine and mine alone to have."
Sad to say, Mark was still bombarded by a series of insistent questions about the state of the world and other things he had to skirt by the truth with his own brand of fiction. He chose more believable explanations, seeing that his initial story barely scraped by as plausible. When he was finally done he noticed that the Sun was starting to set, giving him reason for him to bolt inside, letting the Royal Guard of King Furry escort the rest of the press.
Whether they took his word to heart or not, it didn't matter to Mark.
He was just happy to be inside his home. The lavish insides of polished tile and walls of beautiful wallpaper, occasionally taken up by pictures, one of which in the living room being a painting of himself as he was seven years ago. He saw Bee yipping happily as he explored his new home, causing the martial artist to smile. Watching Buu chase after the dog, he realized now was the best time as any to confront him.
He had already taught him that killing was bad, but what about fighting? He couldn't let him run wreck loose or else he'd have Veggie-hans come after him. It couldn't wait, no matter how much he just wanted to take a dip in the pool, soak in his hot tub or take a nap on his comfy bed.
"Hey, Buu!" He called out, causing the childishly dressed large being to come to a halt as Bee kept racing around the vast mansion. Gesturing for him to come close, Mark clasped his hands together underneath his chin. Breathing in and out several times, he finally brought it up straight to the point. "You know what I said about killing being wrong?"
"Uh-huh! Buu remember that!" Buu replied with a cheerful smile, nodding his head as if he understood the value of life.
"Well, to make sure you keep yourself from killing I'm going to suggest some ground rules about fighting," Mark continued, raising a finger as he talked as sternly as he could to the bloated alien man-child. "Fighting may be okay for us fighters but we have to do it in a sportsmanship way. Uh, as if it was agreed you're playing a game. We can't harm people because we're angry or someone is just being mean. Under no circumstances must you fight when you're angry, you hear me?"
Silently mulling it over, the rotund being nodded for a little while to himself. After what seemed like an hour, for what was only twenty seconds, he smiled and gave Mister Satan a thumb's up, "Buu understand. No fighting while mad and only when its fun!"
"Good, Buu! That's good!" Mister Satan applauded his friend, wanting to instill pride in how he comprehended his message. Feeling like he did his job, for now, the weathered martial artist told Buu he could keep playing as long as he didn't make a mess. The sounds of happy squeals and barks filled up the normally empty home. It was a nice sound, but he wished Videl was part of it.
Shaking his head to get rid of his funk, he decided to get some private time sunning outside and maybe swim in his pool.
Quickly racing up the stairs to change into his nicest burgundy robe, he strode down as dignified as he could manage. He made a mental note to hire a butler or an assistant to help keep things in order for he could feel a lack of maintenance if not for the maid service he'd call every weekend. Plus, it'd give someone he could talk to that was remotely normal.
When he exited into the backyard, he was beside himself. There was someone swimming in his pool!
"H-H-Hey!" Mark shouted, pointing at the vague silhouette moving through his pool, obscured by the shadows that were created by clouds covering the afternoon sunlight.
A distinct hush was made to his forward left, causing his breath to hitch and step halt. One particular man he hadn't thought to see again, dressed in an expensive suit dotted with spots on a big cat's fur coat endowing his short and round person. He was reclined underneath an umbrella sun chair, surrounded by a pair of broad shouldered men who bore insidious features hidden by their flat capped hats. When he looked around, he saw nearly a dozen of them standing stoically around the pool, with the figure still somehow swimming underwater longer than any human should be able to.
"Ah, my good friend! Why so pale? Its just your good old friend, Jerry," The pony tailed, pudgy faced man smiled, making his thin mustache stretch across his upper lip. Taking a drag from a thick cigar, he puffed out as he waved across the surrounding men and without Mark realizing, made a pair of them block off his escape to the backyard entrance behind him. "And don't think about calling for help. My men are exceptionally skilled and they CAN kill you in a heartbeat. I spared no expense in their...specialties of making people disappear."
"Ha! Isn't this rich!" Mr. Satan huffed, forcing a brave voice even as sweat beaded down the side of his scalp. Crossing his arms over his chest, he studied his surroundings and gauged the enemies. Lucky for him, he could tell that none of them seem to look abnormal other than their large size and their silent demeanors. Still, he wished that Buu could come out to help clobber them so he maintained his confidence regardless of how close the danger truly was. "Jerry the Jaguar has dropped from sore loser to breaking and entering into people's homes. What, has times been that hard on you had to come harping in my life?"
"Not at all," Jerry replied, chuckling sinisterly as he pulled out a pocket watch, checking a particular time that he had been measuring. "I've actually been doing quite well in the practical bachelor arts. Not like you'd know what real business ventures are, someone who's shrunk and become bloated on your own fame. If you keep up your world saving ventures, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up in a wheelchair with how lazy with power you'd become."
"Oh yeah?!" Mr. Satan barked back, holding back his anger at the jabs to his character that were made. Pointing with accusation, he forced a taunting smile that invoked a sneer from his voice. "Says the guy who came alone with a bunch of thugs! What dumpster did you drag these from?"
Twitching, only slightly, Jerry the Jaguar closed his watch just as the underwater figure rose up like a missile from the pool's surface. Performing an impressive aerial flip, the swimmer landed with the expert poise of a gymnast and the grace of a dancer. Rising up, Mark had almost sputtered outright at seeing a gorgeous woman in a black two piece bikini.
What made him calm himself was the near emotionless look in her eyes and the stone cold features that marred her otherwise beautifully strong cheekbone face. Short cropped violet hair with blue eyes, the slender yet decently proportionate woman grasped a towel and began drying herself as if she wasn't being ogled by another man. When she slid a black dark tank top followed by a jacket, a particular insignia caught his eyes: the crest of a blood red star on her upper left breast pocket.
"Meet Colonel Violet, formerly of the Red Ribbon Army," Jerry waved with a devious smile on his face, having taken the entire time to observe every inch of her body in all its glory. When she slid on some cargo pants followed by boots, he grunted with displeasure, but returned to grinning confidently at Mark. "All these men are, what you can say, dissidents from that unpleasant organization that ravaged village to city in their quest for unstoppable power. They are quite the greedy bunch. Miss Violet here actually left her comrades to burn when they were in jeopardy, hauling off their treasury as they died by the hands of intruders. They are all stone, cold, efficient killers. Something I believe even we don't have in common with their lot, do we?"
"Time?" Colonel Violet asked offhandedly as she stood attentively next to his seat.
Blinking at having been derailed, he smiled as he presented the watch to her for her observance, "Five Minutes, twenty seconds. Marvelous how you don't seem out of breath."
"Was aiming for 6 Minutes," She frowned, looking up idly as she muttered to herself. "I guess I have a ways to go."
"Ahem!" Jerry coughed impatiently, earning her attention once more. Looking forward, he clasped his hands together and smiled widely. "So, you may be asking yourself, why did your good friend Jerry come into your house, wait for you to come out here and then announce how dangerous his hired associates are?"
"Yeah, that does sound like a good question," Mr. Satan grumbled with a pair of fists clenched tightly on either side of himself.
"You see," Jerry waved his hand, taking a drag from his cigar before puffing it out with a greedy grin. "You are the most influential person on the planet. Even someone with my lucrative holdings cannot compare to the likes of you. Perhaps if we could arrange a promising partnership where you invest in my business proposals, maybe even forward some money to me...we could avoid any unpleasantness?"
"You want me to pay you to keep quiet and protect myself?" Mark stated, as if to make sure he understood what his old rival wanted.
"Precisely!" He squealed with a manic voice of delight.
"In your dreams, Tiny!" Mr. Satan cried out with a wave of his arm, holding up an upraised fist that crackled with intensity. A confident smirk donned on him as he watched his infamous win in the ring the year he became Champion. It was a Semi-Final victory, but it was still fresh on his mind how he had tossed the short yet agile man off into the out of bounds area. "I beat you once years ago. You think I'll go running now? It doesn't matter if you got a bunch of goons. I'm going to make you cry like a baby and no number of fists is going to make me give up!"
One snap of several fingers caused the cocks of various safeties to be disengaged from now very visible firearms. They almost seemed to spontaneously erupt in thin air, appearing after a cacophony of capsules bursting from their sleeves or pockets to reveal their choice weapons. Most of the overcoat and hat toting goons brandished machine guns, while Violet held a large magnum that pointed directly for his head.
"Oh crap," The Champ thought as his eyes bulged and his face turned a few shades paler than it was before. "Last time I checked, I'm not bulletproof. Maybe I spoke too soon..."
"I should be gloating with that look on your face, but my patience has worn past being thin," Jerry declared as he glared with a dark smile spread across his chubby face. "There's no way you can be a Hero or a Champion of the World. If you won't join me, I'll expose you for the fraud I know you to be!"
"Satan?" Chimed Buu from behind a pair of Red Ribbon goons. He peered past them curiously, sensing little Ki from them all. Yet, they were all pointing guns at his friend. Looking over at Mark, he tried gain clarification of the situation. "These bad people, Satan? Want me to beat them up?"
"Oh, if it isn't the disciple of Mister Satan. Nice for you to join us. You can watch the end of a legend in the making before you join him," Jerry the Jaguar declared from his seat, not viewing the bizarrely shaped being as a threat to his revenge.
Panicking at the thought of Buu going berserk if the thugs opened fire, the clever deceiver had to think of a way to bend the odds into his favor. Buu's presence was a boon if only to buy him precious seconds to think. Then, it hit him. Palming an open fist, he turned to smile broadly if not too friendly at his newest buddy.
"Oh, it's nothing Buu!" He shouted with a gallant tone in his voice, waving to the guys around him. "They just wanted to challenge my title, and I accepted them in a game of fair martial arts. However, it seems that they aren't playing by the rules! No guns are allowed. Do you think you can get rid of them so it's more even?"
Understanding what Mark said, even if it wasn't the situation entirely, he smiled widely. The top of his head crackled a bright, mysterious pink as the leader of the goons looked on with bewilderment.
"What are you-?" Jerry began to ask, only to find a flash of light momentarily blind him and the others. When he blinked away the spots in his vision, he saw with his surprise that all of the weapons had turned into pieces of candy. Violet dropped hers with shock at holding a chocolate bar while others found tootsie rolls, suckers and gum being held instead of expensive weaponry. "The Hell just happened?!"
"Buu made it fair!" Buu nodded proudly, his arms elastically stretching out to the amazement to the thugs for hire surrounding the World Champ. Gathering all of the candy, he began to munch with happiness, shouting gleefully at his friend. "Buu cheer for you, Satan!"
"You...You cheat-!"
"Says the guy with men doing dirty work for him and then turning guns on a man. You're the ultimate low. But that's okay," He began, gesturing in a way that briefly exposed his all natural body including a substantial girth between his speedo covered legs that made all sputter at the sight. Pointing with a stance of ignorance, he shouted with charisma in his voice. "I BEAT SCUM LIKE YOU EVERY TUESDAY!"
As some goons looked away, others dropped to their hands and knees with shame, muttering things like, "I-I am unworthy to be called a man," or "He really is the World Champ," as an aura of despair lingered over their heads.
"What are you all doing?! I paid you to do as I said! Kill him!" Jerry ordered while covering his eyes with one arm. This of course kept him from seeing the momentary look of embarrassment Violet had at seeing something so well proportioned. Shaking her head, it didn't take long for her to process what happened in the next few seconds.
"HOOWAH!" Mark cried out as he stepped back into two dazed thugs, elbowing their solar plexuses hard enough for them to keel over, making them open to have their bent faces to be smashed by swiveling back handed strikes. Falling onto their backs with stars in their eyes, Mister Satan leaped off the ground and double snap kicked two more charging Red Ribbon attackers in the chins.
He didn't have time to admire how they flipped head over shoulder, crashing near the edge of the pool. When another burly thug swung a punch, he grasped the incoming arm and placed a leg in between his own. Twisting around he used the man's own momentum to perform a Judo throw to send his head ramming into another, causing them both to collide into some pool equipment nearby.
Jumping up into the air he launched himself at a particular thug that marveled at the sheer tenacity of his target. Someone like that had decimated their Army a long time ago. A young boy with a penchant of wanton murder and destruction of their machinery...
"DYNAMITE KICK!" Mark hollered out as he interrupted the reverie of the older thug, kicking him square in the chest hard enough to smash him into and through the earth a good three meters downward. Leaping up with an acrobatic flip, he landed with a crouch and managed a machine gun of punches into nearby three thugs, breaking through their sloppy defenses and into their muscular yet vulnerable builds. "YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA!"
"This isn't happening!" Jerry cried out as he saw the trio go down, soon followed by a few more of his thugs dispatched as soon as they got close. "He shouldn't be this good...no, this can't be real!"
"He's good," Violet admitted out loud, returning once again to a cold disposition that her employer was familiar with. Her cool azure irises tracked Mark's movements, watching how he moved and dealt with his opposition. As her mind processed his body language, she finished with a slight smile. "But he's nothing I can't handle."
"T-T-Then do it! You know how I feel about doing things myself!" He snapped back violently to an uncaring woman's back. He watched her seem to disappear in a rush of momentum, causing her to become a blur of dark hue.
When Mark turned to look to his left, he felt the hand on his throat lift him up off the ground. Before he could squirm he felt an excess of force placed in driving his upper back and head into the pool yard's tiled outline. A mighty crash that made his head spin and his breath exhale forcibly from his lungs.
"You're nothing but a paycheck to me, Hero or no," Violet admitted as her grip on his throat tightened, so did the contraction of her pupils in her dispassionate pupils. "So make this easy on both of us and stop breathing."
"Lrk...Irk...Plrn...To!" Mark gurgled with effort, using both of his arms to grasp her extended one. Using his own upraised legs like scissors, he locked them around Violet's head. With a swift heave, she was lifted up and over him, crashing on her own back away from his impact site. Thankfully it gave him the break he needed, if only for a moment.
Coughing as he was swallowing bountiful volumes of air into his lungs, he barely rose in time to block a swift thrusting palm towards his face. Unfortunately his body was flung headlong into the pool, causing him to submerge and struggle to get to the surface. What he didn't count on was Violet leaping up high into the air and then descending willfully with left fist facing the water...
...which proceeded to smash into its bottom, her fist wedged in between Mark's sternum and abdomen.
"GAUGH!" Mister Satan coughed out while screaming in wheezing pain. Flecks of blood and spittle flew from his mouth, feeling a wildfire of pain spread through his torso. It wasn't until after the wave of pain dulled that he noticed the water was blown back from the aerial descending punch of Violet's, completely splattering the backyard but was unable to hit Buu due to being luckily outside of the splash zone.
Much to the Jaguar's chagrin, he was completely soaked.
"NNNNNGH!" Jerry convulsively snarled, looking at his doused cigar with much displeasure. Looking over at the emptied pool, he could hear a number of beatings coming from within. All of them retaining Mark's gruff voice, causing him to smile wickedly at the sounds echoing it.
"I'll give you one thing, you're tougher than most people I've killed," She complimented dryly, pulling back her blood covered fist from a bruise faced Mr. Satan. She was surprised that he could even move, let alone muster a grated laugh. This caused her hits to waver for a moment, as if contemplating where his confidence came from.
"You should really...work...on that...footwork...of yours," Mark pointed out, grasping her by ankles she postured to squat on either side of the downed Champ. Jerking them hard enough for her to slip back, the Hero swung her around with all his strength smash into the side of the pool. Pressing the advantage, he rose up shakily, stumbling forward until he landed a punch into her gut followed by another aimed at her face.
Heaving with pained effort, he watched with surprise as her bloodied mouth turned with her face, eyeing him coldly with disinterest, "Is that all you got, Mister Satan?"
Not waiting for a reply, she lifted him up by the collar of his robe and leaped into the air once more. Twirling around she tossed him head over shoulder to crash just to the right of her client, his shoulder embedded into the earth as he was once again face first into the dirt. Landing just prior to him, she watched as he clawed at the dirt and fail to push himself up past his knees.
"Well, isn't this surprising?" Jerry asked with a pleased grin, not fazed in the slightest by any injury Violet had sustained but at the mess Mark looked like. "You, face in the dirt and no heroic deeds to perform. You must be the world's greatest liar or hypnotist to have duped the masses."
Mark felt his body was in pain. It took all his energy just to remain conscious. Blood dripped from cuts on his skin and out of his mouth, bruises colored his body, from his chest up to his face. One eye was swollen on the left side just above his dazed socket, both eyes seeing a hazy color of green that faded every other second.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. When the world finds out you are a fraud when I deliver your body to them in public, they'll find everything you said to have been a lie. I'll feed off their despair and anger at you, profit and watch your name be smeared from the history books," Jerry declared, already seeing the future in his eyes.
The suffering Champion felt tears well up in his eyes. Was this the end? Was he going to die to a ruthless killer like his teacher to Tao Pai Pai? History seemed to be repeating itself, only with the addendum of shame to be left in his wake. He could only take solace that Buu would keep his cool and not go berserk. That way he had done something good before the end.
"Who knows? I may be in the mood to extracting more vengeance upon that little bitch of yours," Jerry said offhandedly, staring at Mark's trembling back. Either by arrogance or ignorance, he didn't see his trembling cease and supporting hands clench tightly to the earth. Leaning over from his seat, he spoke in a low key, as if to keep it low profile from the disciple watching them as he stuffed his face. "I may personally see to it I take charge of defiling her young, precious body before she meets a similar fate. I can't wait to see how much she'll curse your name before I finally snap her little neck. Won't that be fun?"
As he cackled, Mark's eyes widened and his teeth clenched tightly. The pain was not an encumbrance but a motivator. Something deep within him, a part he couldn't explain, began to throb. Tied to his own boiling anger, his insides began to quake while his outsides looked completely still. His breaths came out quick and raspy, his mind focusing on the last words the Jaguar taunted and held over him with.
"Enough gloating, I guess. You must be unable to hear me what with your pitiful state. Violet, snap his neck," He ordered, watching her nod and walk towards him. One step taken and a distinct twist in the air was felt. The second felt as if it was sucked in towards Mr. Satan's ground prone position. The third was when it was released in a baffling explosion of air pressure.
Jerry screamed confounded things as his seat and himself was sent hurtling back, the air now a cyclone of force. Violet somehow managed to only be pushed back a foot but paid the price of bearing sight of a vengeful looking Satan. His eyes were practically blank, his body a wild outline of airwaves with a smooth aura of white light that crackled around him.
"You may crush my body," He began as he stepped towards Violet, causing the woman to tense and attack on instinct. When she found that her first fist thrown missed what looked like a mirage of him, a counterattack clocked her across the jaw hard enough to cause her to stumble back.
"You may take away my fame, my money, and my image." He continued as she spat out a tooth, sneering at him. Rushing back she rapidly punched and kicked at him, only for each attack to miss him by a hair, once again finding her other cheek punched out.
"But above all things I'll never forgive anyone," Finding it harder to stand, she rose up as he spoke those words in a guttural tone. Twisting around to grapple him, her whole face was struck by a powerful punch that seemed to warp the air and jerk her body with the thrust of his arm. All the while he shouted out at the top of his lungs. "WHO THREATENS MY LITTLE GIRL!"
It was like watching an artillery gun launch a human being. When the punch fully whipped out, Violet was sent crashing into the side of the pool, gouging through the earth and forming a deep trench to the other side of the yard. Her body lied inert and still, giving question if she was even alive. But besides the fact, every soldier other than the Jaguar was left, making Mark the seeming victor.
"My arm...feels like I broke something. What...what the Hell just came over me?" He mumbled dumbfounded as he finally calmed down, finding his strength to be even less than it was before. Falling to his knees, he clutched his right hand, not paying the mind that Jerry looked absolutely livid. When he turned to look over, he tried to laugh but found it too painful. "I guess...I didn't know my own strength...?"
"YOU...SON OF A...BITCH!" Jerry cried out, his body suddenly inflating, growing enormous over the expanse of a few seconds. His muscular body ripped apart his expensive suit top and strained his slacks. Being easily three times Mark's size, the enraged bulked-up man growled at him with an almost rabid look in his eyes. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"W-Where did this come from?!" Mr. Satan thought with terror in his eyes. "When did he get this kind of power?!"
Snarling out with a bestial charge, Jerry the Jaguar made his final attempt to quell his age-old rivalry that threatened his pride. What he hadn't accounted for, from Mark showing his true mettle to his firearms being turned into candy, didn't compare for what happened next. Five steps in his whole body was crushed by a speeding, lithe framed pair of feet that pummeled him into the ground.
Without mercy, Eighteen appeared with arms crossed, staring indifferently at the very injured Mister Satan. Despite what should have been a look of fear at seeing his hulking enemy dispatched so easily, he looked up with sincere thankfulness.
"T-Thank you for showing up! I don't think I could have handled that guy like I did the others," Mark almost wept as he thanked the blonde woman.
"You did this?" She asked dubiously, looking at all the various unconscious bodies including the large hole where a barely living Violet was wedged into the earth.
"Y-Yeah, haha," He laughed sheepishly, wincing as he wiped his nose cheekily. "I guess I had something in me I didn't know I had when it counted. I even convinced Buu to stay out of the fight so he wouldn't do more damage than good."
"Really?" Again, she inquired in a doubtful manner as she looked at Mr. Buu who simply waved while eating candy he had transmuted himself. Crossing her arms she looked down at him with a measure of minimal interest. "Not bad. You have some worth after all, beyond you still owing me all that Zeni."
"Oh...right...of course," Mark gulped, realizing in full the blackmailing she had done in the Tournament.
"You are going to pay me, right?" She asked pointedly, as if it shouldn't be a question.
While a part of him hesitated, the Champ was truly exhausted. He knew that Buu could fix him up based on past experience, but he really just wanted a break from it all. With his shoulders slacked, he waved at her to follow him, "Sure...I'll pay you what I owe. It's the right thing to do, given the circumstances..."
Surprised at seeing him not resist, Eighteen was briefly stunned by this move in his character. Shaking her head she followed him in, still taking in the scene that she had observed upon arrival, it was hard for her to grasp all that occurred. As she walked past Buu, she could only wonder what other surprises the man known as Earth's Champion had in store for everyone.
A/N: Wow. What a way to follow up my last chapter, right? Starts off as just an atypical feelsy update and then turns into a Human vs Human slugfest that ends with 18 arriving like a boss. I hope I did everyone justice, from Violet actually DOING something outside of her Filler related plot to Mark's showcasing of his natural martial art prowess to his sudden awakening of the latent potential within him. How will this play out to his character? Will he get further moments such as this? Who knows? Maybe it'll be a one time thing to give him some legitimately good limelight instead of the bad kind he keeps on getting.
Either way, I had fun with this Chapter and I hope you all did as well.
See you on the next update to see how everyone else settles on continuing their lives after the Buu Saga on the next Dragon Ball Zenkai!