A/N Once again its been an eternity since the last up date but know that the story will go on.
Chapter 8
"We're leaving a bit later than planned," Ms. Swan said as she handed the students their capsules. "But, we will try to get you back in time for the start of your tournament: not that it can start without you." She chuckled saying the last part, as did the students: however, the reminder about the tournament began a shift in the way the students were thinking. No longer were they sitting with fellow students but looking at their opponents for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile Tao and his band of hired grunts made their move on the high school. The plan was simple: he would go in through the main entrance and head for the office. Every other exit would be covered by two thugs. They had radios with them to keep in touch in case anything went wrong or the plan had to change. The students were going to be moved to the gym where it would be easier to keep an eye on them.
"Go," Tao said over the radio as he started to move toward the school. He had just gotten onto the school grounds when the P.A. system announced: "would all classes start heading to the gym now."
"Everyone hold!" Tao said over the radio after he heard the announcement. This was just what he needed: all the students in one place would make things easier. "Where is the gym located?"
"It's on the west side of the school by the back field," the leader of the thugs said, trying to show off.
"Everyone get out of sight and wait for my orders. There's going to be a change of plans."
The thugs advancing on the school changed course and walked away, each group of two finding a spot to wait for their updated orders. Some of the hired guns were a bit nervous about the sudden change of plan. They knew that if they screwed up on this job Tao would make sure it was their last.
After about ten minutes Tao made his way to the west side of the building and jumped up on a ledge that he hoped would have a window looking into the gym. He was happy to find that his guess was correct. Looking at the gym below, Tao was curious about what was going on. In the middle of the floor there was a stage that looked distantly like a fighting ring. He didn't know why the school would have a ring; let alone who would be fighting. Tao was confident enough in his skill that he didn't care who the fighters might be; it was unlikely that they could interfere with his plan.
He continued to watch until all the seats were filled, assuming that all the students were there. He would send a group to check the rest of the school once he had control of the gym.
"Here's the new plan," Tao said over the radio to the thugs. He outlined the new entry points for each group and what they were expected to do. Each team confirmed their understanding and the plan was set into motion.
With the crash of doors, twelve thugs came running into the gym from three different entrances. The men split up to cover the gym. Two stayed at each entrance and the other six spread out across the floor and up the aisles where the students were sitting. The sight of men with guns was enough to cause an uproar from the students as they cried out in shock and terror. None of them had been in a situation like this before and they didn't know what to do. The leader of the gang hollered for everyone to stay where they were and be quiet. Within seconds the room was silent and the leader signaled for his men to bring all the staff to one spot. There were a few cries and yells as students saw their teachers get pulled from their seats and moved to the front.
Once the teachers were corralled, the leader gave a signal for the rest of the men outside of the gym to begin their search of the school for any stragglers. One of the gun men brought a teacher up to the leader.
"Who is this?" The leader asked his underling.
"The principle, sir," the man answered while pushing Mr. Plunder forward to face his boss. The poor principle looked wretched. He never did have much of a spine, and given the circumstances he was a wreck; sweat ran down his face and his hand couldn't stop trembling. Using what little courage he had, Mr. Plunder eventually spoke up.
"Who are you? And what is going on?" he said weakly in a trembling voice. However, due to years of talking over students, his voice still carried clear across the gym. The response to his question was the sound of glass shattering as a man came falling on the center of the ring.
"I am mercenary Tao," the man said when he landed, appearing as though jumping from a thirty foot high window was as easy as breathing. "And for now I'm taking over this school. So tell me, why is there a ring set up in your gym?"
"It's for our annual school martial arts tournament," the principle squeaked out.
"Interesting, and where are the competitors for this little event?" As Tao asked this question, a group of people were ushered in to the gym. The thugs sweeping the school collected the secretaries from the office and a few other kids that had tried to sneak away for makeout sessions. The secretaries were put with the teachers and the students were sent to find seats with the rest of the student body. Tao glared at Mr. Plunder to remind him to answer the question now that the disturbance was over.
"The competitors were on a trip to the Capsule Corp Sports Facility. They were supposed to be back by now but they must be running late." Mr. Plunder was speaking clearly now, thinking that he wasn't in any immediate danger.
"And would Ms. Satan happen to be amongst this group of competitors?" Tao leaned in close to the principle, letting his mechanical eyes zoom in and out. His gesture silently reminded Mr. Plunder that he should still be very afraid. The action worked wonders as the man returned to a trembling mess, only responding with a nod of his head.
"Wonderful," Tao said in a cheerful voice, which sent chills down the hostages' spines. "We will just have to wait for them to arrive." He nodded for the man that bought the principle to return him to the other teachers. With the principle gone, Tao turned to the leader of the hired help and instructed him to make sure the soon-to-arrive students made it here without knowing what was happening. Tao wanted to see the shocked expression on the students' faces when they arrived. The leader gave his men some new orders and everyone was left waiting.
XXXxxxXXX
"Looks like we're arriving a little late," Mr. Richardson said as the limo bus was pulling up to the school. "I want everyone to head straight to the gym so we can get things started right away." The students all nodded in reply, with stoic faces on. None of the students had said anything since they left Capsule Corp. Their focus was entirely on the upcoming matches they would be having.
The limo pulled right up at the main entrance and everyone jumped out and headed for the gym. Passing by the office, Gohan thought it a little unusual that none of the secretaries were there. He was used to seeing someone there every time he'd walked past before. However, he just assumed that they were in the back of the office at the moment.
'We must be really late: the halls are deserted. I guess everyone is in the gym already,' Gohan thought as he walked with the rest of the students. He had slowed his pace while thinking, falling to the back of the pack. The group of students all plowed through the gym doors without noticing that something was wrong. Once Gohan had gone through the door it was slammed behind him and he turned to see two men with guns now blocking his way.
For a split second he was going to take out the two men at the door but thought better of it since he didn't know the extent of the situation. For all he knew there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for there to be two armed men at his school. However, he stayed on guard all the same, knowing that the gun men were most likely something bad.
The rest of Gohan's group soon noticed other men caring fire arms and in a purely instinctual movement they all grouped closer together. Videl was up at the front of the group of student and did her best not to look scared. She had been mad at herself for the way she reacted at the bank robbery, and had decided to never back down in fear again.
Time seemed to slow down for the new group of students. Gohan, however, just wanted to know what was going on. Looking ahead, he spotted none other than mercenary Tao standing in the middle of the ring. Knowing that Tao only worked for other people, Gohan was interested in the reason why he was here.
Switching to unimportant nerd mode, Gohan lowered his head, dropped his shoulders, slouched, and bent his knees just enough, so he mostly disappeared at the back of his group. He made his movements slow and carefully so the guards at the doors wouldn't notice the change. The final key was for him to drop his power level and remove any killing intent. The last part was the hardest; memories of his last encounter with Tao ran through his head, reminding him that this man had no problem killing.
Tao, not noticing Gohan in the group, approached Videl. He came close to her as he had done with the principle. However, instead of simply intimidating her, he was sizing her up. He knew that her father's ability was a far cry from his own but he still wondered what she was capable of. Before the attack on the school Tao had done some research on his target and discovered she was an avid martial artist.
"So you are Videl Satan, daughter of the man that … killed Cell?" It was more of a statement than a question, especially with the way he said the last part; as though the thought of Hercule beating Cell was preposterous.
"What do you want with us?" Her reply filled more with anger than fear.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Just some bug-eyed idiot as far as I'm concerned." Her overly aggressive response almost made Gohan jump from hiding to intercept the attack he was almost sure Tao was going to deliver. Instead Tao chuckled.
"Few have dared to say such things to me, the great mercenary Tao. However I am not being paid to kill you, so I will overlook this slight for now." His eyes looked her over once more, enjoying her small tremble at the mention of his name. "I take it you know who I am?"
"You're the most notorious mercenary alive. It's said that you have never failed to complete a job and that no one has ever beaten you in a fight before." He smiled hearing the sound of fear creep back into her voice as she spoke. The smile infuriated Videl, realizing that he was pleased with the fear coming from her.
"Who hired you, and why?" she cried out in a bust of anger, overcoming her fear in the only way she knew how.
"HAHA! You are very spirited. However, I would advise you to remember who you are talking to. Now then, why am I here? You're a smart looking girl. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Seeing as how no one is dead yet, I'd say it's safe to assume that I'm here to make a disturbance. You see, your father made someone very unhappy when he beat Cell, and as such, I'm here to threaten your life."
"You really don't have any brains, do you? You're threating my father, the man that defeated Cell, a monster worse than YOU, even." Videl wanted to burst with laughter as she said this, still firmly believing that her father was the great saviour of the world he claimed to be.
"My dear child, I almost feel sorry that you believe that: but, lucky for me, my client is just as stupid. Years of isolation must have affected Dr. Gero more than I would have guessed. No matter: he still pays top dollar."
'Gero.' The name ran through Gohan's mind like a pyroclastic flow, eradicating his current mindset of careful analysis and replacing it with the festering memories of Cell. Without thought, Gohan spoke out the one thing he knew to be true.
"Gero is dead!"
Gohan's outburst broke the quiet atmosphere created by Tao's conversation with Videl. The room filled with gasps of shock and worry. Some students feared that Gohan would be killed for interrupting Tao. Others were shocked that Gohan knew this Gero person.
The mercenary turned his gaze on Gohan allowing his bionic eyes to study the teen. Yet, with the crowd of students in front of him, all Tao could see was the stern look on Gohan's face. 'I see some of these students are spirited," Tao thought, noting the contempt on Gohan's face. 'I should make an example of this boy; remind these kids of their place. Although this one seems to know about Gero, I should find out where he got his information from. Then I can kill him.'
"So child, you think you know about the great Dr. Gero. Tell me, what makes you think he is dead?"
"My friend saw him get killed by his own creation, Android 17."
There were a few gasps from the crowd of people, surprised by what Gohan was saying. Some of the students assumed that it must have been another kid that saw this happen.
"It would not surprise me if that crazy scientist got himself killed by one of his experiments, but I can assure you he is very much alive. Only Dr. Gero contacts me in the manner he did. So it would seem you are wrong. Therefore you have no useful information for me, so there is no point in keeping you alive any longer."
The whole student body gasped and cried out with those words. They soon returned to their state of silent shock as Tao started to twist his hand off.
"You see, I might not have been hired to kill anybody, but I can't have little brats think that they can stand up to me." He said this while looking at Gohan and glancing at Videl, indicating to her that part of this was her fault for trying to act tough. The glace had its desired effect as her stoic face fell to one of terror and guilt.
The heavy mood seemed to lighten when a chuckle echoed clearly in the silent gym. It took a moment for everyone to realize that it was coming from Gohan. None of the students could understand why this soon-to-be-dead student was laughing. Some thought that he had cracked, knowing he was about to die. Other speculated that he thought the threat was a joke. Although no one that had met Gohan in the last week would have expected what he said next.
"What makes you think you are capable of killing me? Have you forgotten who I am! Don't you remember Chazke Village?"
". . . Gohan?" was all Tao could say as shock filled his face and sweat covered his body. Gohan simply replied with a nod of his head, making Tao take a step back. The feeling in the air shifted from one of fear and dread to one of complete shock. Both the school and the hired guns were shocked to see Tao, the legendary assassin, move away from this kid in fear.
Despite Gohan's calm exterior, he was a raging ball of emotion on the inside. No matter what he told himself, Tao had no reason to lie about Gero being alive. He knew it should be impossible but so too were many of the crazy inventions that man came up with. This new truth filled him with fear and rage, leaving him to act on base instincts instead of logic and calm reason.
"Now Tao, get your little goons to leave." Tao trembled slightly at the command, his pride and desire to live fighting against each other. In the end the desire to live won out as he remembered his past dealings with Goku, knowing that this boy was just as strong.
"You heard him, get out of here," Tao said to his men in a rushed command, hoping Gohan would take into account his cooperation.
"You got to be kidding, taking orders from a kid," the thug by the gym entrance said, pointing his gun towards Gohan. "Let me just shoot this tiny punk and be done with it."
Gohan turned to the gun man; his inner rage now starting to show on the surface. His killing intent flared out as he took a step towards the thug. The man trembled for a moment, sensing that something was not right with this kid. The whole student body had chills run down their spines as they too felt the negative energy coming from him.
The man finally tried to fire but nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again and again but not a sound or bullet came out. The man looked down at his gun to see why it wasn't firing only to discover Gohan's hand firmly crushing the chamber of the gun. The man was shocked both from the sight of twisted metal beneath the hand of the boy and by how quickly he had gotten there to grab his gun. The man dropped the gun in fear and was taking a step back when he felt something hit him in the stomach
Gohan let the gun fall only to deliver a devastating punch to the guy's stomach. The poor man flew into the gym doors behind him and crashed through them, tearing the left one off its hinges. Faces that had previously been surprised turned to fear as they watched the man on the ground cough up large amounts of blood.
Gohan turned around to face Tao again. The leader of the thugs had moved to stand beside the mercenary during the altercation with the gun man. Gohan could tell that this man was the leader and addressed him.
"I told you to leave. I won't ask again!"
The leader's face turned white as he tried to find his voice. Failing that, he waved his hand to signal his men to retreat. All too eager, the men quickly ran out, leaving their injured comrade behind.
"I will just go and get out of your hair now," Tao was saying as he started moving to another exit.
"I didn't say you could go yet, Tao," Gohan yelled out, making the mercenary stop in his tracks. "You have some information I need. Tell me: where is Dr. Gero hiding?"
"Now, now, Gohan you can't expect me to give out client information like that, now can you?"
Gohan was not in the mood for games. He fazed in front of Tao and picked him up by the neck with one arm, raising him up onto his tippy toes. "Let's try this again," Gohan said through clenched teeth. "Where is Dr. Gero hiding?"
"I don't know, I swear," Tao pleaded, realizing that Gohan was not as gentle-hearted as his father. "He contacted me. I never met him."
Seeing the terror in the poor man's eyes, Gohan knew he was telling the truth. Lowering the man back to the ground, he released his grip around Tao's neck and nodded for the man to leave. Without a second thought Tao jumped back out the window he had come in through, and got out of the city as fast as possible.
With Tao and his thugs gone, the student body started to relax. One of the students must have called the cops because off in the distance people could hear sirens approaching. Despite the calm, the school now felt everyone started to look at Gohan. It had been because of him that twenty armed men and the most notorious mercenary ran away. The students didn't know what to think of this turn of events.
The sirens were getting close: probably just pilling into the front parking lot. Still, the gym stayed quiet, eyes still fixed on Gohan who just stood there staring of into space. The echo of running feet could be heard out in the hall way, a clear sign the cops were in the building now.
The approach of the police broke the students out of their daze and they began to mill around and talk to each other. It was clear each student was affected in a different way. Some students tried to put the incident out of their heads and began talking about the usual things – classes and homework. Others were not so badly affected and kept say the same thing over: "Can you believe what just happened . . . and Gohan just . . ."
The police soon entered the room and seeing that no one was outwardly hurt, they approached the principal. "Mr. Plunder, can you tell me what happened?" the officer asked him. The principle stuttered, "Men with guns . . . He came through the window . . . School tournament . . . Gohan." He pointed around the gym as he said each incoherent sentence. In the end his finger came to rest pointing in Gohan's direction. With his final movement, the principle swayed and passed out on the floor.
The officer guessed that the student Mr. Plunder just pointed at must know something. He walked up to Gohan, who was still standing motionless. "Can you tell me what happened, son?" Gohan turned to look at the officer. His eyes looked vacant, as thouh he was far away in some other place. Little did the people around him know, he was reliving the Cell Games in his mind. Although he said nothing, Videl was right beside him now, ready to tell the whole story.
"I can tell you what happened officer," Videl said to the man. He broke off his gaze from the absent- minded teen and gave her a nod to tell away.
"I wasn't here right when it started because I was on a field trip, but from what I know it would seem a group of thugs marched into the school and held everyone hostage. They were working for the mercenary Tao: apparently he was hired to hold me and the school hostage. All the students were here in the gym by the time we got back from our field trip. That's when Tao told me about his plan. He said he was hired by a guy named Gero. That's when Gohan here spoke up and told them all to leave. One of the armed men attacked him but Gohan quickly sent him flying through the door. After that the armed man and Tao left." Videl knew she left a couple things out but figured it best just to give the officer the gist of it at the moment so they could get to work sorting out what to do with the students.
The officer went and talked to his team and got them to start moving the students back to their classrooms so they could get statements from them. With the rest of the officers busy working with the other students in the gym, he went back to where Gohan was. As he arrived by Gohan's side he saw Videl was tugging on his arm, trying to get him to snap out of whatever trance he was in.
After another moment Gohan moved his head and it was clear he was back in the moment. The officer got straight to the point where he saw the change. "I need you to come with me so I can figure out what happened here." Gohan had a worried look on his face when he turned to the officer. "I'm sorry but I don't have time to chat with you. I'm sure several of the students can tell you everything that happened." With that he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. Videl and the officer stood there in shock at the fact that first Gohan refused to cooperate with the police, and now he was making a phone call.
Videl and the officer, although shocked, listened in on the call as best they could. "It's me," they could hear Gohan say on his side. "I need you to get everyone to meet me at the lookout . . . Gero's alive . . . thanks, and please don't let my mom know. Bye." With that he hung up the phone and started to walk away.
"Hey kid, I've tried to be understanding but I need you to come with me," the officer said reaching out to grab Gohan by the shoulder. As his hand made contact Gohan turned and shoved the officer back several steps. "I suggest you don't try that again." The statement was said in a harsh tone, not one of malice, but one of complete authority. The officer stood down and didn't try to stop the boy again.
"Where are you going?" Videl called out. She was worried about him. "To do my job!" it was a simple statement that left her confused but for some reason she was unable to pursue him any further. He walked out of the school and headed straight to the lookout, not caring if anyone saw him take off.
XXXxxxXXX
"Computer, is there any word on how Tao's mission is going?" Gero demanded, knowing that there should be some news on it by now.
"According to reports there was an incident earlier, but it seems it was resolved before the police or reporters arrived."
"Damn it, Tao failed me. I never expected him to fail. I guess there is something to this Hercule guy if his daughter is able to take out Tao. I guess we'll have to go to Plan B. Computer: activate the factory. Let's see how his little girl handles an army of my androids."
