Chapter 16: The Sons of Rage and Love
"Another day of panic holds, not only Copper Canyon, but the rest of the world," a reporter said to the camera. She was live on one of the many, now empty, streets of Copper Canyon. "Many of the UN Leaders are set to meet in a summit with the other countries of the world for a temporary world truce of sorts. Scientists all over the world are already working together to try and gain an edge on this new threat."
Gohan scoreless at that piece of information but continued to listen. "When asked if the Gold Fighter and the superheroes of Copper Canyon had contacted the military, the President declined to confirm or deny. Our experts believe it is very much possible that our heroes are working alone in their quest to defeat Cell. If the sounds of battle from just a few days ago are to be believed, then-"
Gohan lowered his remote as he ran his hand through his hair. He supposed it was too much to ask that the world stay out of the fight. It was human nature, after all, to fight against feeling helpless.
'Boy, don't I know it. . .'
He'd barely been outside of his room since he'd decided that he was done feeling helpless. Although the lives lost had been returned, the confidence that the team had in him hadn't come back with it. It was going to take more than a small modicum of work before they would start trusting him again. If they ever trusted him again.
'Not that you deserve it.'
Gohan groaned as he threw his gaze to the roof. He messed up big time. He hadn't been ready. Why did he think that he'd be ready? How could he look his friends in the eyes after his screw-up? After his selfish decision? They must've been angry, insulted, maybe even disgusted.
Dende knew he felt that way.
'Randy doesn't hate you. He offered to try your plan, remember?'
"It was a last resort offer," he scoffed to himself. "You made him feel like there was no option left."
Part of him wanted to say that they'd just been shown the reality of what could happen in the Cell Games, like he warned them about. But another, much louder, part of him told him that he took an unnecessary risk. He didn't believe in his friends and now they knew it. He'd destroyed their trust, confidence, and any real shot of defeating Cell. They saw that their ace couldn't do a thing against the android. He was too weak, and they knew it now.
'You're still too weak!'
And what was he doing about it? Hiding out in his room and image training? While image training was a useful tool, and came in handy on the way to Namek, it couldn't beat real training.
He shot up with a gasp, the realization barely enough to counteract the sudden lightheadedness that the motion brought. "I haven't been training Jazz and Danny. All because I've been hiding in here!"
The thought of being so remiss as a teacher almost saw him shoot right out of bed. However, he was halted by a rogue thought. 'What if they don't want you to train them anymore? What if they hate you now for what you've done?'
That was true, he'd gone behind their backs and gotten their comrades killed. Who said they'd even want to see him again?
'Don't deal in ifs, ands, or buts! They're simply a coward's excuse not to try! Piccolo-sensei, Vegeta-sensei, and your Dad would be ashamed of you if you let fear stop you!'
Gohan nodded to himself as he headed for the door. "I'll go out there. Whatever happens, happens."
He took a deep breath as he made his way through the door. He felt exposed from the very instant he stepped out into the hallway. Nevertheless, he kept walking in the direction of Jazz's room. Under the stares of passing agents, Gohan finally reached his friend's door.
'If we're still friends. . .'
Gohan took a deep breath and knocked. There was a small shuffling sound and soon the door opened.
Jazz looked at him with wide eyes. Her mouth only hung open for a few moments before it snapped into a tight frown. She jerked her thumb behind her before stomping into her room.
Gohan gulped as he obliged, closing the door behind him as he entered the room. 'Well, at least she still wants to talk to me. . .'
Gohan hadn't seen much of an angry Jazz before that moment, and he was sure that he didn't want to see more of that side of her in the future. He could barely meet her eyes as she glared at him with crossed arms.
"Well," she started, "Aren't you gonna explain yourself? That is what you're here for, right?"
Gohan gave a mirthless chuckle, shaking his head. "I actually came by to see if you still wanted me to train you."
"Train? How could I even think about training after that stunt you just pulled?! I had no idea what was going on! I thought Cell had changed his mind and started attacking before the Cell Games!"
Jazz paused. He didn't even need to sense her Ki signature to know that she was barely keeping herself together, but for the life of him, he didn't know what to say to help. He found himself cursing his lack of experience with talking to people his age.
". . . I was thinking the worst and then you all came back, but no one would tell me anything! I just barely found out later that Jefferson died for an hour and then was brought back to life! I can't even begin to think about how Danny must be feeling in all of this, considering he had to have been close to the action and then I don't see you for days and you think I care about training right now?!"
Gohan swallowed hard and scratched the back of his neck. It took everything within him to finally look up and meet her gaze, but it almost made him return back to the tiled floor.
Jazz's glare was gone. In its place was a teary-eyed gaze and a mess of sniffling. "I was so worried! You scared the life out of me, you idiot!"
Gohan stood as still as a statue, his mouth opening and closing. "I. . . I'm sorry."
Jazz became overcome by sobs as she rushed forward and hugged him to herself. Gohan could feel the tears staining his Gi as he hesitantly rubbed her back. In response, she held him even tighter as if she let go, he would disappear. "Never do that again. I was so worried about you."
Gohan felt himself nodding into her hair. Suddenly, he didn't have any conflict within him. All of his reasoning for going off on his own that day seemed to die with every sob that shook his redheaded friend. "I'm sorry."
"I told you, y-you don't need to go it a-alone. You have us."
"Yeah, I think I finally get that now. I'll fight Cell on tournament day. With you guys."
The two didn't say anything for a while, both just finding it unnecessary to speak as they hung in each other's grasp.
Finally, Jazz began to slowly pull away, rubbing at her eyes. He found himself reluctant to let go, but he did so. "I'm sorry about your shirt, Gohan. I really messed it up."
"Don't sweat it. It isn't anything that I can't fix."
Jazz nodded as she took a deep breath. "Well, thanks for coming by. We can talk later about all of this. . . or training, or anything else later today. I think I'm going to need some time to collect myself."
Gohan nodded as he stepped back, allowing himself a small smile. "Yeah, I get you. I'll see you later."
Jazz smiled back, slightly. It wasn't as bright as her old smiles, but the light was still there. "Yeah."
Gohan was out the door after a quick wave. He could already feel a little weight fall off of his shoulders.
Talking to Vlad again so soon was the last thing that Danny expected to do.
Yet he found himself once again in front of Vlad, surprisingly from the fruitloop's own request. He almost questioned if N-Tek was punking him but quickly dismissed that conclusion. N-Tek wouldn't have joked about something so serious. Still, he could hardly count himself prepared for an encounter requested by his nemesis.
Thankfully, he'd been briefed before he'd even entered the room. Vlad had apparently said that he would give up the location of his portal but only to him. Danny didn't know what Vlad was up to with this gimmick, but he knew it couldn't have been good.
N-Tek, apparently, thought much of the same. So, with Danny, there were two armed agents with three more outside listening in. He didn't know the specifics about their jobs besides monitoring the incoming conversation, but he knew enough to guess that life would get a lot more difficult for Vlad if he tried anything.
Vlad somehow looked even more disheveled than he'd looked last time as he grinned down at Danny. "It's good to see you again, Little Badger."
"Cut the crap and get to talking, Vlad. You know the deal, right?"
Vlad rolled his eyes. "Yes, Yes. I must tell you where the portal is or else you'll be free to leave and I'll be locked up in this doghouse for the rest of my rather long life. Believe me, I know."
"Great. So where the heck is the portal, fruitloop?"
"Fine. You'll be able to find it if you go down the porthole on the corner of Henderson Street and Lockett Avenue."
Danny couldn't believe his ears. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Vlad chuckled. "Your agent friends are listening in, aren't they? They're probably on their way to the location as we speak."
"I swear if this is a trap-!"
"You worry too much, Little Badger. I've said nothing but the truth today."
Danny scowled at the man, trying to find any hint of a tell. When he couldn't find much aside from the whackjob's smug grin, he turned to the door. "Fine, then we're done here."
"Ah, not quite."
Danny drew a deep sigh as he turned back to Vlad, much to his bodyguards' chagrin. "What?"
Vlad spread his hands as wide as his hands would allow in his ectoranium handcuffs. "I have skills that you all could use to fight Cell."
Danny groaned. "Oh, Lord! Not this again. . ."
"Come now, Daniel, think with your head, not your emotions! I have abilities that you don't, intellect that you do not possess!"
"Oh because you'd do so well against Cell."
"Not on my own, no. But with a few distractions, who's to say that I can't teleport Cell into the Sun and then escape leaving him to burn?"
Danny paused at that. It took everything he had within to not give a reaction to the man's words. He couldn't lie the logic was sound, but. . .
"There's no guarantee that Cell wouldn't be fast enough to fly out of that. Also, according to Gohan, Cell can teleport, too. And any kind of way, you could go into hiding if we let you free."
"If that were to happen, your personal Superman could catch me."
Danny shook his head with a chuckle. "You're slippery. You'd have a plan to avoid getting caught again. I know it."
"You don't know that I'm lying right now. The world is at stake and my life as well. What would I gain from lying while I'm captured here like this?"
And there it was. The little nugget of information that Danny was trying to figure out. "I may not have proof that you're lying, but I do know you."
"Randy, what's up man? I thought we didn't have training until three hours from now?"
Randy nodded as he made his way deeper into the gym and closer to Max. "Yeah, you're right, but I'm not here about that." At Max's raised brows, Randy continued. "I've been thinking about what Commander Forge said about being on the same page."
Max frowned. "What? Are you planning something?"
Randy came to a stop a few feet away. He partly wished he hadn't arrived at conversational distance so soon. "Gohan had an idea on how to get an edge on Cell."
Max shook his head with a laugh. It was short and quick with very little mirth. "He's gonna do something crazy again after what just happened?"
"Well, it sorta makes sense."
"Seriously?"
"It sounds like he's done it before or seen it done-"
"Done what? Seen what? I'm gonna need a lot more specifics, Randy!"
"Alright, fine, fine! Just don't freak out, alright?"
Max frowned but grudgingly nodded.
Randy sighed. "Gohan wants me to severely injure him and then heal him."
The color immediately drained from Max's face. "Jesus, is this some kind of self-harm thing?!"
"No, well, technically? Whatever, the point is that it isn't as bad as you think it is."
"Gohan wanting you to put him at death's doorstep isn't that bad?!"
"I mean, it sounds bad, but with Art of Healing, I can have him patched up as soon as he gets injured. And if everything goes according to plan, Gohan'll get a power boost."
"Power boost?"
"He gets stronger after every serious injury. He said it was a byproduct from the experiments."
"So, what? His plan is to spam near-death experiences until he gets strong enough to beat Cell?"
"I mean, I don't think he wants to spam it. We were just gonna do this once and see how it works."
"And if that isn't enough, the both of you are just gonna stop there? Yeah right. I'm not gonna sign off on that. I doubt Danny's going to either. You can forget about Uncle Forge, especially."
Randy felt his ire building. Sure, he could see where Max was coming from, but why couldn't he see where he was coming from. "Look, Gohan didn't have the upper hand in their fight. Not once."
"He didn't have us-"
"Cut the bullshit! If Gohan can't get an edge on Cell, even a little bit, how is any bit of our plan going to work?! Cell would just sense us and take us out."
". . . That doesn't mean you can maim Gohan just because you can raise the dead! I mean, d-do you hear yourself?! Do you hear what you're saying?!"
"Yes, and I'd agree with you on normal circumstances, but these aren't normal circumstances! This, This whole situation is freaking wonk!" Randy sighed as he listlessly threw a hand up. "If what happened a few days ago was the Cell Games, we'd all be dead. Everyone. Probably this entire universe too. If we have the slightest ability to give our most powerful fighter an edge against that fucking monster, then we've got to at least consider it, right?"
At Max's silence, Randy stumbled along. "I-It isn't like I can't do it, I can. I can heal things, people. You've seen me raise the dead. It'd be perfectly safe."
"What if it doesn't work? What if you're wrong? Then we have, what, our most powerful fighter down? Dying? He wouldn't even be able to fight Cell by tournament day! That's basically a week away!"
"We have a bunch of doctors on the staff in N-Tek, right? It's like a super agency, so it's gotta have some crazy good healthcare or something." Randy gave a nervous chuckle. Max didn't seem to be amused as he continued. "E-Even if it doesn't. . . I dunno. Cell wants to fight Gohan, right? He doesn't even care about us; he wants to fight Gohan! That's the only reason why he gave us a month, gave Gohan a month. He wanted to fight Gohan at his best. If he can't fight Gohan, he won't host the tournament. He'll push the date back."
Max paused before he spoke. "I guess that would make sense, but that's not something that we know for sure. There's no telling how long he'd be willing to wait. And if he does wait, what happens then? If Gohan's recovering, he can't fight, can't train. If he can't fight or train, his body's gonna get weaker. That's gonna take even more time to get to an acceptable fighting level. Who's to say Cell believes that's too much trouble to wait for and that there'd be more enticing competition in other universes? Your plan is a gamble."
Now it was Randy's turn to pause. ". . So what? We just do what we've been doing? You can say that we've prepared for him. That we-we've done all this planning and maneuvering, done all this stuff to get ready for this fucking psychopath and you'd be right, you'd be right. But what if it doesn't work."
". . . Look, I know this looks bad. Hell, I thought fighting an alien invasion against Makino would be the worst thing I had to face. Then, a bug man comes through a dimensional portal and says he's gonna destroy the universe if no one can beat him in a tournament. In these past couple of weeks, I've never been more terrified in my entire life. But. . . this isn't the right way to take him down. This isn't the right way, it isn't safe. There's better options. If we don't believe that our plans will work, then they won't. We need to be bought in, one-hundred percent. Every single one of us."
". . . Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll see you in training, I guess."
Max gave him a tight nod. "Yeah."
Randy left the gym feeling more lost than he'd felt before.
Before Norrisville's Ninja knew what had hit him, his feet were carrying him to his fellow dimension native's dorm.
He'd been holed up in his room for an hour after talking with Max, trying to sort through his mess of thoughts. The Nomicon hadn't helped. The stupid book was just as cryptic as always. What the juice did "the picture makes the puzzle clearer" even mean?
He couldn't talk to Howard because he was still annoyed at him. His "friend" still thought that he should be taking time off playing all of the new video games that this world had to offer.
Theresa. . . He didn't know if the girl even wanted to talk to him. Just thinking about their last "conversation" was enough to get his brain in a jumbled knot.
He couldn't really talk to any of the other guys because he didn't want to put anything on them. Plus, he didn't know them all that well.
When he put it that way, it seemed that there was no wonder why he was headed to the gossip girl's room; the biggest reason his head was so wonk.
He gave two quick knocks at the door and waited. Heidi didn't keep him waiting too long in opening the door. It took even less time for her to notice his agitation. "Come in."
Randy obliged, sitting down on the bed without a second thought. It was quite comfortable and quickly becoming a familiar feeling, something that terrified him to no end. It felt their entire dynamic was hopelessly shifting out of control.
Heidi sitting down next to him sent his already spiraling feelings into overdrive. Her perfume on its own felt like it was clouding his mind. "What's wrong? You look awful."
Randy fell back on the bed, dragging his hands down his face. "I feel awful. I'm not sure what to do. I haven't felt this stressed in my entire life."
"Having to fight a bug android hellbent on destroying the universe will do that."
"Not the time."
"Yeesh that bad? What happened?"
Randy glanced at her concerned face before casting his eyes back to the ceiling. He still couldn't quite get used to a Heidi who was concerned about anything other than her popularity and show. "Remember when I talked to you about using the Art of Healing on Gohan?"
"Yes, I remember saying that it should only be used as a last resort. And you agreed with me."
He didn't miss that stern tone that he'd come to see as bossy from his younger years. He wasn't quite sure if he considered it bossy anymore. "I know, but I was thinking-"
"Randy-"
"-about what happened with Gohan and Cell a couple of days ago. You know, Gohan didn't get the upper hand in that fight, not once."
"So you think giving him the boost will be enough?"
Randy shrugged about as well as he could laying down. "Maybe, I don't know. We have to try though, right?"
He gazed up at her pursed lips and big, blue eyes staring down at him. "My stance hasn't changed. When all else fails, sure, go ahead. Until then, stick to your plans."
Randy sighed, taking his gaze back to the ceiling. "Ugh, you sound like Max."
"Good to know Max has a brain behind that pretty face."
Randy froze up at that before scowling. It was short, but there was an unmistakable swell of negative emotions when he'd heard that. Why would he feel annoyed? Why should he? She probably didn't even mean it, and it wouldn't matter if she did. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
She chuckled. "Whatever."
Randy forced down his fluttering stomach. "But no, I hear you both. I get that we should follow the plans we've created. We've all been working so hard to take Cell down. . . but I feel like Gohan needs this. I saw him a couple of days ago. The day after his fight with Cell, Gohan looked so broken and guilty."
"So, he wants to do this as some kinda. . . atonement?"
"I guess, partially, maybe? I know the circumstances and intentions may be wonk, but I don't think there are many other better options."
"Sounds like you both have a lot in common."
Randy spun so fast that he should've gotten a mean case of whiplash. "What?"
"You both are feeling super guilty. Gohan feels responsible and guilty about Cell's appearance in this dimension and not stopping him last Wednesday, and you feel guilty for feeling so helpless, right? I don't think it's much of a coincidence that you're more open to Gohan's plan after reviving those fighter pilots. You've seen a way that you've been able to do good in a war of titans and you want to feel helpful again."
Randy stared at her wide-eyed. At the beginning of her statement, he'd wanted to interject. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, tell her that he just wanted to help get an edge on Cell and that he didn't feel guilty.
However, the more he thought about it, he'd been feeling guilty for a long while. It had started with the nightmare illusion that the Sorcerer cooked up, was continued by not bargaining with Cell for more than a month of training time, followed by not being there for Howard, blowing up at Danny weeks ago, not being able to help Theresa, and being utterly helpless the day Gohan fought Cell. Reviving those pilots had been the first time in weeks that he'd actually felt like the heroic Ninja he was supposed to be.
This clueless girl had seen all of that immediately. 'Not quite all of it. . .'
His feelings about the girl hadn't gotten much clearer, but he could see where the guilt attached itself from him to her. Randy felt himself stiffen at that new insight. ". . . That's what the Nomicon meant!"
"Huh?"
"It's nothing!" He looked away again. "Well, no, it's just that. . . the Nomicon said that I have to mind wipe you when this is all over."
"The Nomicon? You mean that old ninja book?"
"Yeah, that'd be the one."
"How come Howard gets to remember everything and I have to forget everything?!"
Randy glanced at her curiously. "You mean, you don't want everything to go back to normal?"
Her already big eyes got even wider with surprise. "No way! Do you?"
". . . No, I don't think I do."
Randy sat up as he looked her in the eyes "Look, I will do whatever it takes to let both you and Theresa keep your memories, but I have to ask, why have you been so different lately?"
"Different?"
"You've been calling me by my actual name, helping me, nice, caring. . . I dunno! It's so weird!"
Heidi shrugged, looking out of her element for the first time that day. "I. . . I'll be perfectly honest, Randy. I didn't take the time to know the real you, until I suspected that you were the Ninja. But knowing you as a person is what kept me interested."
Randy felt his cheeks heat up. "Interested?"
Heidi caught on to his question as her face burned bright as well. "I-In you as a person, not just you being the Ninja or my annoying brother's friend."
Randy nodded, trying to force down the disappointment that was trying to claw its way out of him. He stood up and was soon on his way to the door. "I see, well, uh, thanks for listening to my problems-"
"Wait!"
Before he could turn back, Heidi's hand gripped his shoulder. Spinning him around with a surprising amount of strength, Randy was now face to face with Heidi. He looked at her with complete bewilderment, searching for any clue as to what could possibly be going on in her head. All he could see was her red-tinted face. "What's wro-?"
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
"-y."
"-dy."
"Randy!"
"Wha-?! Did you, uh, just? On my cheek?"
If Heidi was red-faced before, she was a honking tomato now. If he wasn't so shocked, he'd probably have went to touch his cheek, just to make sure the kiss had actually happened. Or at least pinch himself. "I-I wanted to tell you that I think I like you. As in more than a friend. I just didn't know how to say it or if this would be a good time so I just-"
Randy didn't know what compelled him to move. Lately, he felt like he didn't know why he was doing a lot of things. However, what he did know was that his decision felt right.
He could feel Heidi's breath hitch as his lips pressed to hers. She didn't waste much time as she cupped his face in both hands and returned the kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but even as he pulled back, he could feel a tingle on his lips.
Heidi was looking at him with a myriad of emotions and he guessed that he was looking at her much in the same way. Although they had stopped kissing, their hands hadn't left each other. "So," she started, "what now?"
A/N: First kiss finally fucking happened! I've had this scene in my head for the past year and it is finally in writing. Feels good.
As always, lemme know what you thought in the review section. Feel free to do the whole favoriting and following thing, and I'll catch y'all later!
Uploaded: August 4th, 2022
