"Welcome to the House That Cash Built" a plaque proclaimed on a brick column.
Staring past the fence, Gohan could agree that cash built this place. The "mansion" looked more like a medieval castle rather than a house. Tall towers spiraled out of the main gallery majestically, its grey stone dulled over time. Brightly colored flags waved proudly in the wind on top of the towers. Stained glass windows could be seen at different levels. Surrounding the "mansion," a tall brick wall with columns at even intervals made the shape of a square around the perimeter with a metal gate causing a break in the masonry, protecting the entrance of the driveway.
Well, you couldn't say the humans didn't feel at home.
According to Videl, the official, or mayor as she called him, was a man by the name of X. S. Cash. Apparently a favorite of Hercule, he was given the job as the town leader mostly because Videl lived there. The man had no governing experience prior to his current position. Gohan shook his head. The way humans played politics was a completely different animal, one he didn't really want to find out about.
"So, how do we get in?" Gohan asked staring at the gate.
Videl turned to him with an incredulous look. "I thought you were supposed to think of how to get us in."
Staring mesmerized by the structure in front of him, Gohan paid little heed to Videl. Suddenly, something reflecting light caught his eye. There, on the left side of the gate, an intercom, gold plated to stick out like a sore thumb. How convenient. Staring at the intercom, Gohan formulated a plan. When he liked what he saw, he approached it, pressing one of the buttons when he arrived.
Videl looked at Gohan confused. What was this guy doing? She thought they were supposed to be doing this without people knowing. Then he goes up to announce they're out here. What was this guy thinking?
After a moment, a voice came over the speaker. "Please state your business," a monotonous voice said.
Clearing his throat, Gohan said, "I have a message from Videl Satan to the Mayor X. S. Cash. She said it was urgent."
A second passed before "Just a moment please" was heard. Suddenly, the gates began to open slowly, the sound of well-oiled gears working was a blessing to Gohan. He had heard a metal gate open once and let's just say that was a bad experience for him.
Walking through the open gates, Gohan followed the driveway to the large wooden front doors, Videl hurrying behind him.
"I thought we were supposed to go in unnoticed," she hissed.
Gohan looked at the girl with amusement. "Girl, if you knew how many times I faked a mail delivery just to get into one of your bases, you'd die from shock."
Videl stopped walking, a shocked look on her face. Were her people that stupid? The mayor she could understand since no Saiyan had been seen in the area since the humans won the war, but to hear the soldiers doing it without hesitation was shocking to say the least. Waking up from her reverie, she ran to catch up to Gohan, who was nearly to the door.
She caught up to him just as he opened the door. If the outside had been captivating, the inside was even more. Opening to a waiting room, the two walked in, their feet clashing against marble floor and echoing throughout the whole room. A strip of red and gold carpet ran along the middle of the floor, chairs and suits of armor stood against the wall with small tables with plants sitting on top of them. The pale marble coloring greatly brightened the room as a golden chandelier hung directly in the center of the room. Gohan looked at Videl. "You people have to go all the way with your decorations, don't you?"
However, the look on Videl's face was not happy. How the hell could this crony of her father have such an expensive place when the rest of the town looked more like a poor ghetto? She was going to have some words with this Mr. Cash once her original business was concluded.
Just then, a set of doors opened, revealing a well-groomed man wearing a suit that a butler would wear. "How may I help you?" he asked with a thick accent. An accent of what, Gohan didn't know and he could hardly understand the guy. Hopefully Videl could.
Guessing that the butler guy wanted to know their business, Gohan replied "We have a message for Mayor Cash that he needs to see at his own leisure. However, our more important business lies with the estimates of last year's wheat crop. If you would be so nice as to take us to the room where the records are kept, it would be greatly appreciated." As Gohan spoke, Videl gave him a weird look. Apparently she was still under the impression that they were delivering an important message from her.
"Right this way, sir," the heavily-accented man said, leading the two down multiple hallways similar to the waiting room until they reached a wooden door with a metal ring sticking out as a doorknob. Pulling the ring, the door creaked opened, the hinges protesting, making Gohan almost wince from the shrillness. "The records are in the filing cabinets. I shall leave you to take care of your business," and with that, the butler left the couple.
"Don't tell me it was this easy," Videl said her face full of disbelief. Gohan chuckled a bit from the girl's response before looking into the room and grimacing.
"In case you didn't notice, there are a lot of filing cabinets in here and I don't think the guy wanted to help us out with the mess," Gohan said as he disappeared into the room.
Walking in herself, Videl understood Gohan's reasoning. Every single wall of the room was covered with metal filing cabinets. About the only place that didn't have a cabinet was a small desk by the door with a book sitting neatly on top of it. Immediately, Videl began looking through the book to see if it mentioned anything of interest to the two snoopers. Gohan, on the other hand, was busy looking at the floor, trying to find something.
It was nearly ten minutes later, and many pages found useless by Videl, when Gohan suddenly exclaimed "I found it!"
Startled, the girl turned around to look at the Saiyan as he was examining a certain section of cabinets. Grabbing a handle, Gohan pulled on the cabinets, swinging a set of them away from the wall, opening a separate room. Videl turned to Gohan amazed. "How did you know about that?"
Gohan looked at Videl with a glint in his eye. "When I first began fighting you humans, I was sent in to investigate what ever military compound my comrades and I were going to attack. You're such a predictable race that it didn't take long to figure out how you would organize your bases and whatnot. Eventually, I stopped investigating because it was like going to the same place over and over. Now look at the ground," Gohan said as he pointed to the ground. "Notice how the floor is covered in dust heavily except in this part of the room. That shows that this is recently settled dust, meaning that something keeps sweeping the old dust away. Understand?"
Videl slowly nodded her head. It was a little scary to know that she could be so easily predictable. She'd have to change that the next time she was home.
Walking in to the room, Videl noticed that the hidden room wasn't much different from the one she had just been in except there were only a few cabinets in the back corner of the room. Gohan stride purposefully to the cabinets, opening one and looking through it before tossing a file to Videl.
Videl caught the file and gave him a questioning look. "Well, read it," Gohan said, watching her with emotionless eyes. Taking a look, she read a few reports concerning a few matters on Namek. Videl's eyes grew wide. This thing was saying there was a genocide of the Namekian people just so a military base could be established without resistance in the uncertain future. Videl looked up at Gohan who wore a grave face. "Why is this here?" was the only question she could come up with.
Gohan sighed. "Apparently this Cash guy was involved with the matter. His signature is at the bottom of every single report."
Taking a quick look, Gohan proved to be a hundred percent true. If this was what really happened on Namek, then there was no telling what other atrocities her people had committed.
She heard papers being rustled from Gohan. While she had been in deep thought, Gohan had turned his attention back to the filing cabinets, digging for some more proof no doubt she thought bitterly.
Gohan continued his searching for the next five minutes, never letting up. It seemed like this Cash had a thing for star stickers, covering every manila folder with a couple stickers. Some had green stars, others red, some yellow and so on. Looking through each file, he couldn't find anything that would be of any importance. Every file had something to do with a shady dealing or something, nothing that Gohan cared about. Suddenly, a folder stuck out to him. Of all of the folders, this one had a couple blue stars on it. Taking a look, Gohan smirked. This is what he needed to know.
Taking a peak at Videl, who seemed a little miserable at the moment, he quickly stuffed the file under his shirt. Turning to the distraught girl, he said "You had enough or do you want more?"
Videl looked at the file in her lap. Although it only spoke of one incident, it was still mind numbing. How could her race be so destructive? It was like taking a look at a picture and becoming disgusted with it. How could she go back and look at everyone with a straight face and continue living that lie?
"Yo, Videl, you in there? We have to get out of here," Gohan said, breaking her concentration. The look on the girls face was so lost. However, Gohan remained emotionless. He'd lived way too long in this world he'd open her eyes to; he would show no sympathy to those who wronged him. "Are you coming or what?"
Videl slowly nodded her head. Hanging on to the file, she followed him out of the room, waited for Gohan to close the door and headed out of the record room.
Only to run into several guards, each holding a blitz rifle.
Standing in the middle of the hall, Gohan and Videl found several guards to either side of them, filling up each end of the hallway.
After a few minutes of waiting for the guards to make a move, a small, chubby man wearing a rich-looking suit and a monocle approached the couple from their left, a cigarette pipe with a burning cigarette sticking out of his mouth.
"Well if it isn't Miss Videl. A pleasure to finally meet you. How is your father by the way?" the pompous man greeted, blowing smoke out of his mouth.
Videl just glared. Here was one of the men responsible for shattering her world, hiding away the truth from his very own people. "Can't say I can return that pleasure," she stated tartly.
"My, my, such a harsh tongue. And we only just met! How could you be so rude young lady, especially in my own home?"
Videl's glare intensified. "How is it that you're able to live with such lavish surroundings and everyone else isn't?"
Cash laughed. "Quite simple my dear: I had the money to do so while everyone else didn't. Truly, what do they teach you children these days?"
"What's the meaning of this armed brigade, Mayor?" Videl demanded. "Don't you think it'll make you look bad to be holding one of your friend's daughters at gunpoint?"
"Well, it wouldn't be necessary had you not tripped one of my alarms. Apparently, you two got into a room you were not supposed to be in and I believe that file in your hands is proof enough. I doubt that's all you've taken so give me everything you've taken or I'll have to shoot you."
"You can't do that!" Videl exclaimed, clutching the file tightly. "What do you think the rest of the town will think if I wound up dead?"
Cash smirked. "Simple my dear, I'll just say you two were attacked by a Saiyan. Kami knows that they could appear anywhere nowadays."
"But there haven't been any Saiyans here since the war ended! You can't possible use that excuse!"
"You have a point dear," Cash said as he blew out smoke. He stared calmly at the ceiling before grinning. "I'll just say that young man beside you did it and that my men killed him on sight. Care to argue that one?"
Before Videl could answer, she felt Gohan's hand on her back, pushing her down to the floor roughly. Without wasting a second, Gohan extended both of his arms, one pointing down one way of the hallway, the other in the other direction. Giving out a cry, he fired what appeared to be bright golden lights from his hands, the light rushing down the hallways, killing all who touched them. Videl could hear the cries of agony as men were killed. So these were the deadly lights the old veterans always talked about...
Once the ki blasts had done their job, Gohan stopped pouring the energy into them. Scattered throughout the hallway, bodies of dead guards smoldered. Cash was lying on the floor; a large chunk of his left shoulder was missing, the burned flesh preventing the loss of blood. He was breathing in ragged breaths as he clutched his injury. Upon hearing footsteps, he looked up to see Gohan staring at him with emotionless eyes.
"P-p-please don't kill m-me! I-I'll give you what ever you want! Just don't k-kill me!" the man pleaded.
Gohan continued staring at the old fart. His first impulse was to cast this man into hell with the rest of his elk that Gohan had killed. However, he thought of something more poetic. Crouching down, Gohan stared into the eyes on the frightened man. "I'm not gonna kill you old timer," he said bluntly.
A look of relief crossed Cash's face before Gohan delivered a chop to his neck, knocking the man unconscious. Picking up the man's dead weight, Gohan turned around to see the wide eyed look on Videl. Gritting his teeth, he said "Well don't just sit there! We have to get out of here!" With that said Gohan turned around and headed off down the hallway.
Snapping back to the world around her, Videl got to her feet, still clutching the file and hurried after Gohan. It didn't take long for them to run into another group of guards, which Gohan took care of without much problem, though he had to jerk Videl out of the line of fire so she didn't get shot before blowing the men to kingdom come.
After a few more run-ins with the guard units, and subsequent destroying of the building, they managed to get out of mansion, but they didn't rest there. They continued their escape until they were outside of town, looking down upon it from a hill lined with trees. Dropping the still unconscious man's body to the ground, Gohan sat down, weary from their escape, Videl joining him a few seconds later.
There was silence between the two until Videl spoke up. "What are you gonna do with him?" she asked.
"Nothing you should worry about," he answered.
Videl jumped to her feet. "What do you mean by that!" she yelled. "That man deserves to be taken in and have justice done upon him!"
"And that justice will come. That I can assure you," Gohan replied. "No punishment that your people could come up with would be as adequate for what I have in mind."
Not willing to fight about this, Videl plopped onto the ground again. Slowly, she looked up to Gohan, studying his face. At the moment, Videl was feeling something funny. What it was and how it happened she didn't know, but as she continued to study Gohan, the feeling grew stronger.
Gohan turned to look at the young girl. "What?" he asked.
Without warning the Satan girl leaned towards him, her face close to his as she continued to study him. Reading her face, all Gohan could tell was that she was debating something within herself. It didn't take long for her to come to a decision as she leaned in closer and kissed him.
Shock was the first thing Gohan felt. As the feeling died down, he returned the kiss, not being one to back down from anything. After a few seconds, they separated looking into each others eyes. Simultaneously, they turned to look at the sleeping village.
After some time, Videl spoke up. "Sorry about that. I can be impulsive sometimes."
It was a few moments before Gohan replied. "I didn't mind."
They continued to sit in silence, still staring at East Fort, their minds off in their own little worlds until Gohan yawned.
As if that was some kind of cue, they both stood up and stretched their bodies, fatigue slowing down their minds. "You want to spend the night at my place?" Videl asked, still looking towards the town.
"I have some business to take care of with tubby over there," Gohan said, indicating Cash.
"Will you come by after you're done?"
"Sure."
"I'll leave the door open. Just let yourself in," Videl said before walking down the hill. As she reached the bottom of the hill, she turned around to see Gohan still standing in the same spot. Smiling a little, she gave him a small wave, which he returned before continuing on towards the village.
When she finally entered the town, Gohan turned around and picked up Cash before flying off to the campsite.
It took only a few minutes, but Gohan finally reached the cliff, landing on it and walked towards the cave. As he neared the mouth, he heard a gruff voice ask "What took you so long?"
Turning around, he saw Piccolo sitting beneath a tree in his traditional meditation pose.
Gohan smiled at him before saying "I've got a present for ya," which resulted in Piccolo raising his eyebrow.
Dropping his cargo, he went into the cave, woke up the two sleeping Saiyans from within and returned with them fully awake.
"I've got some news guys," Gohan started. Removing the file from under his shirt, Gohan held it out for all of them to see. "In this file, I've got all the information we need to make our next strike hurt." The grins that appeared on Trunks and Goten's faces became contagious as Gohan began to grin too. "We'll move out in the morning. Everyone get their rest. You're gonna need it."
Before anyone moved, Gohan turned to Piccolo. "Wait a second Piccolo. There's someone I want you to meet."
Turning again, Gohan walked over to the still unconscious Cash, crouching in front of him before slapping his face, awakening the man with a start.
"Ahhhhhh!" Cash screamed, holding his face. Not recognizing his surroundings, he looked around until his gaze fell upon Gohan. Cash paled. It wasn't a bad dream as he wished it was. It was all real. Suddenly, Gohan spoke.
"Hello Mr. Cash. I'm glad to see you're awake. I'd like for you to meet a friend of mine. Piccolo!" Gohan called out. Slowly, the Namekian walked over to Gohan and stared at the human in front of him, his piercing gaze looking him over. Cash immediately recognized what Piccolo was and began to sweat nervously.
"Piccolo, I'd like you to meet Mr. Cash. I found a few files at his house earlier today, one of which I think you'll find interesting."
Cash jerked his head to look at Gohan with horror as his face paled. "Apparently, Cash here was in charge on Namek years ago and I was hoping you two could get aquatinted with each other."
Piccolo grinned. He liked the way Gohan was thinking. "Yes, I'd like that very much." Striding over to the horror stricken Cash, he grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and began dragging him into the woods.
Cash finally found his voice as he began crying out "Please don't do this! Help me please!"
All he got in return was Gohan waving back and calling out "You guys get along now, ya hear!"
Piccolo stopped his death march, turned his head towards Gohan, and replied "Oh, you can count on it," then continued his march into the woods.
That was the last time anyone ever saw Cash again.