Slowly and in painful silence (except for small talk with Sharpener and Erasa), the three-hour journey soon came to a halt. Outside the bus window lay a barren wasteland, with blustering winds sending dust over large mountains in the area. The weather was not ideal for this particular field trip, but after such a long trek, the class were willing to ignore it easily enough.
In their eagerness to finally escape the vehicle, everyone stood at once, struggling to push into the middle aisle. With carefully executed elbows and sheer determination, Videl made it out eventually, Erasa and Sharpener in tow. She stepped down and breathed deeply, taking in the clear, country air. She had lived in the city her whole life, so it felt weird standing somewhere so isolated for a change.
Surveying the area meticulously, the crimefighter couldn't help but pause at what appeared to be huge craters in the ground. "What the hell are they?" commented Videl, looking to her two best friends.
Sharpener crossed his arms and grinned smugly. "It's obviously where those planted bombs went off. Those fakers were really something else."
Sharpener's words reminded her of something suddenly, and she looked back to locate the whereabouts of Gohan. "Where even is he?" she muttered.
Confused by this, Sharpener tilted his head. "Who? I'm right here, babe."
With Sharpener instantly silenced by a fierce right hook to the face, Videl continued her search, eyes finally landing upon a sorry sight. In the doorway of the bus stood an unmoving Gohan, his fingers tightly grasping the walls on either side. His gaze was locked on the wasteland, similarly to everyone else, but a ghastly shade of pale possessed his face.
Videl felt herself frown in worry. Maybe Gohan really was feeling unwell. He certainly looked sick.
Taking a few, hesitant steps closer to the boy, she also noticed his eyes seemed glassy and distant. Her concern grew. This was certainly not normal.
"Gohan?" she tried gently, not wanting to startle him.
There was no response. The boy simply continued to stare into nothingness, legs beginning to shake slightly. Videl looked back to her friends. For the first time in a while, she was afraid. And this time, it had nothing to do with fighting crime. "Erasa! Sharpener! Come help!" she called, nervous.
Apparently, the volume of her voice that time was enough to spark Gohan's attention. But his reaction wasn't at all what she had hoped for. Instead, her classmate suddenly fell straight forward, landing flat in the dirt before she could react. She yelled out incoherently, something akin to a scream, and clenched her fists with anxiety.
What was happening? Was Gohan dying? She had never seen anything like it before. Maybe he had a medical condition he hadn't told anyone about. Was this the information she had been trying to dissect all along?
Her exclamation alerted the class, and within an instant, her two best friends were by her side.
"Holy shit." breathed Sharpener, taking in the scene. "What the fuck is wrong with him?"
From his position on the ground, Gohan was visibly quaking. His eyes were open but unseeing. Empty and lifeless. As his tremors worsened, he fisted the dirt beneath his hands and pulled himself up into a kneeling position. Yet despite the calls from his many classmates, he still refused to pay them any attention. Videl's mind was racing with possibilities and questions.
Out of the trio, it was Erasa who first made the move to get any closer. She squatted down so she was level with him and scooted over gently. "Gohan?" she spoke softly. "You okay?" She received no response, but turned to Videl nonetheless. "He's talking to himself." she whispered helplessly, gesturing for her friend to join her.
Nervously sliding over to Erasa, Videl bent down and listened closely.
"I'm sorry. Please come back. I'm sorry. Come back. Please. Please don't go."
Despite the curiosity imbedded in her, Videl knew this was too far. This was too personal and it wasn't fair to Gohan. She felt sick. Videl stood up suddenly. "Everyone back off!" she yelled at the growing audience before turning to her teacher. She lowered her voice. "Miss, please, you need to call someone. A doctor, his family, anyone. I think he's having a flashback of some sort."
"R-Right." The woman stuttered, pulling out her phone and dialling desperately. Videl watched impatiently, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. "There's no signal!" their teacher cried after a few moments, meeting Videl's eyes with despair.
"Shit." Videl muttered. This was not good. Gohan needed to snap out of it immediately. With a dubious plan in mind, Videl nodded firmly to herself and began marching her way back over to her friends. "Move, Erasa." she ordered firmly.
Erasa scurried back. "Videl. What…?"
A loud slap echoed through the wasteland.
Videl looked down at Gohan, her hand bright red. Nothing. Not even a flinch. Bracing herself, she tried again, putting in everything she had.
With a sudden gasp, Gohan was back, eyes wide with fright. His gaze darted everywhere, from Videl to Sharpener to the rest of their classmates before he seemed to remember where he was. Videl thought it would be a relief and was prepared to withdraw, but the realisation only seemed to set Gohan off once more. His breathing became laboured and he scurried backwards in the dirt, tears building up in his eyes.
"Gohan, calm down." tried Videl, reaching out to him.
Gohan yelped and his tears began to flow freely. Sobs wracked his whole body and the more violent they got, the more he struggled to breathe.
Everyone stared at each other in panic. Who knew an innocent field trip would turn into something like this? Nobody knew what to do without further terrifying the boy, so all they could do was stare hopelessly.
Videl thought hard. If she put him in her jet copter, she could reach the nearest hospital in approximately forty minutes. It was a long time, but Videl had no idea how else to deal with the situation and assumed anything was better than this.
Making up her mind, Videl pulled a capsule from her pocket, nodding resolutely. But before she could follow through with her plan, a huge gust of wind overpowered them from above. Looking up with wide eyes, Videl noticed three significant things upon first glance.
One: the cause of the wind was a man.
Two: the man was flying.
And three: his skin was green.
A/N: Hey guys! I hope you're all enjoying the story. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews so far. This chapter strayed a bit from my original plan and I churned it out quite quickly, so please let me know what you thought! It was quite difficult trying to display what Gohan was experiencing from an outsider's perspective.