If any of you have read my first fic, Survival of the Lamest, then you know that I had a question relating to girls and marker boards. Just recently, I have found another question to ask all of you ladies and I would appreciate if you would help me out. What is with the obsession you girls have for the movie Dirty Dancing? Practically every girl that that I know and has ever heard a rumor of the movie is all head over heels for it. So, please, tell me, what is the deal with that?
It was utter chaos in the streets of New Central. Civilians were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to escape the same kind of horror as the person next to them. What that was, Crane didn't know. After he had left his body guards to deal with the saiyan intruder, he fled from the temple with tremors occurring every so often. However, those tremors were not enough to cause a riot in the streets. Something else was going on.
As Crane followed the flow of panicked humans, he noticed soldiers running in the opposite direction, fighting the crowd in vain. What ever that something was, it had to be serious. The soldiers of this city rarely put their noses into any kind of mishap, small or large.
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the city; the bodies of the soldiers vaporized along with any unfortunate civilian who just happen to be nearby. Crane had been fortunate enough to be out of reach of the blast but was thrown through the air like a rag doll, landing on top of other people who had landed before him. As he got up and began to start running, Crane had a bad feeling that he knew what was going on. If that explosion was caused by a ki blast, then that meant that the saiyans were done with their code of honor. Long ago, it was determined that the saiyans wouldn't kill a noncombatant because of their honor code, even as the humans continued to slaughtering the saiyan civilians. This was bad. There was no way that human settlements could be placed on Vegeta without an armed guard and at the moment, that guard would be a long time coming.
Had Crane actually been paying attention, he would've noticed that the ki blast only landed near armed units of men. Any civilian that just happened to be nearby were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Crane ran, he never saw the ki blast that was heading his way, aimed at the soldiers currently in front of him. He was just as surprised as the other civilians that the deadly orb of light just appeared out of nowhere and land directly in front of them, exploding on contact. The blast did its job of a quick death for all in the vicinity, though it was painful nonetheless.
Throughout the city, the human civilians wreaked havoc as they tried to escape the onslaught of ki blasts, disrupting the reaction time of any armed units. It was because of that panicked state of mind that no one noticed three figures leaping from roof top to roof top above their heads. After wondering lost inside the governor's temple, Piccolo had gotten tired of the mindless twist and turns and blasted the group's way out. As they neared the outskirts of the city, Raditz took one look at all of the lost sheep below him as they trampled each other, seeking safety. Although he wasn't pleased that civilians were being killed, it was their own fault that they were killed. A look of disgust crossed his face. "You really do know how to predict these sorry excuses for people."
Gohan took a quick glance of his uncle before answering. "Like I said, humans are way too predictable. If you can figure out their mannerisms, then you could get away with murder with these people."
"Well, I hope you don't mind if I say that I'd rather not know how these weaklings actually thought," Raditz replied.
"I wouldn't blame you. As soon as their menace is gone, I'm going to enjoy losing every single bit of knowledge I have on them as I grow older. Becoming senile doesn't look so bad right now."
Both Piccolo and Raditz laughed their heads off. The way the youth thought these days. You never knew what would come out of their mouths.
Shortly after leaving the city and reuniting with their comrades, they left the New Central amongst the chaos and carnage that erected itself. With their mission complete, the documents secure, the band of saiyans headed towards the sanctuary, a new ray of hope shining itself on them. If everything went right, they could be on the road to freedom and peace. And they would fight with everything they had to ensure it.
Videl was in shock. Before her stood the remains of New Central a week after a surprise attack by a band of saiyans. Ruined buildings loomed over the destroyed pavement of the streets beneath them. Bodies were still being removed from the gutters that they rested in, a majority of them being soldiers. Looking from the recovering streets, the desecration of the governor's mansion looked worse then the rest of the city. Scorch marks and large holes littered the building; its once proud display of power shattered as its structure crumbled. Out of the whole city, that was the most heavily damaged real estate in the whole city.
Videl began walking through the streets, staring at the destruction that the saiyans had unleashed. If a small band of those fearsome warriors caused this much damage then Videl had to shudder at the though of what a good sized army could do. How her father managed to defeat such people was a miracle in itself.
Looking at the damage report she had managed to persuade from an officer upon arrival, she took note of what happen that fateful night. A loud explosion from the mansion, which was eclipsed by the hailing of energy balls, caused a riot amongst the people. Because of the panicked civilians, the soldiers couldn't react as well as they had been trained to do and were easy pickings for the artillery the saiyans launched at them. As Videl continued reading the report, a question formed in her inquisitive mind. Why would a sudden attack on the city start from within it? It was almost as if the whole thing was planned based on the reaction from the denizens of New Central. But saiyans weren't known to be that thorough in their attacks. They would have to predict every single move that the people would make and Videl only knew of one saiyan that could've predicted that.
Videl eyes widen. It was the only logical explanation she could think of. Gohan had to be behind the whole thing. Videl would've jumped for joy if it would've been appropriate. She had been receiving reports from scouts that the young saiyan was heading this way and the design of the attack proved it. Of course, Gohan wouldn't have just attacked a whole city without a good reason. He must've been after something, but what?
Looking at the damage report for the governor's mansion, she found out that two of the governor's body guards had been killed, another one being held in custody and the whereabouts of the governor being unknown were very reminiscent of East Fort. It fact, the pattern was way too similar to just be coincidental.
Now what? She had been able to track the saiyan down but was too late to actually run into him. Frustration began to build up. She couldn't just sit on her ass and wait for Gohan's next move; it would be the same scenario all over again. But she couldn't just throw a dart at some random city and expect him to be there either. Who knew how long it would take to find him like that. Great, now she was back at square one.
"This is just horrible," a shaken voice said from behind her. Turning around, Videl saw Erasa, completely overwhelmed by the destruction.
The blond girl had practically blackmailed Videl so she could tag along on her trip. After Videl had stormed away from her friends the morning after Gohan jilted her, Erasa grilled Sharpner about this mystery man of hers. Apparently, Erasa got the idea that there was some kind of romance behind everything and wanted to see the whole thing played out. She practically forced herself onto the trip, using memories of certain embarrassing moments that Videl didn't want anyone to know about.
Once Erasa had gotten on board, she once again used her threat of embarrassment to get the whole back story to this romantic ideal of hers. In the end, Videl had to tell the blond everything from their chance meeting, the interrogation, the mayor's house, Gohan's lineage, and his sudden departure. Even the fact that Gohan was a saiyan hadn't deterred the girl from coming. Fortunately, Erasa had been instrumental in preventing Sharpner from joining them. It had been her idea that the blond boy's injuries wouldn't allow him to travel at the rate the girls wanted, shutting him out completely. They left East Fort quickly after that to ensure that Sharpner wouldn't be able to follow them. The whole time, Erasa had dreamt about how wonderful the reunion would be, the excitement of seeing reunited lovers being too much for her. However, their first stop was not what the poor girl expected.
Because of the sheltered lifestyle she had lived in for so long, Erasa was ill prepared for the carnage they found. Videl pitied her. But now wasn't the best time to comfort the poor girl. She needed to figure out her next course of action and for the time being, they would have to stay in New Central.
At least until they could predict Gohan's movements.
There it was; the cliff that hid a village of saiyans. The last time Gohan had seen it was when he was first brought here. It hadn't been on the best of terms but at least this time he was bearing a much welcomed gift.
Gohan had hit the jackpot with the information he stole. Looking through it on the way back, he saw the listings of launch sites, their defenses, number of shuttles stationed there and so much more. After the way the whole mission went in the city, he was half expecting to be coming back with half of what he had.
As the hidden door slid open, Gohan started to feel giddy. Not only was he productive in the mission, but he was going to see Trunks and Goten again. After that botched up mission at Cape Base, the two had been out of commission until they recovered. Knowing them, they were bouncing off the walls out of boredom.
Walking down the stairs and into the main cavern, the hustle and bustle of saiyan activity becoming evident, the group's mood brightened. It had been almost three weeks since they had last been here and feelings of homesickness had been running rampant. The moment they had enter the cavern, the whole group splintered, all of the saiyan warriors going to their families; leaving Gohan, Piccolo, and Raditz to present their mission's success. Gohan couldn't blame them. If he had loved ones to get to, he would've done the same thing. Unfortunately, he couldn't go off to find his younger companions just yet. First, he had to see Broly.
Heading towards the back, the people ignoring them like a common occurrence, the three requested a meeting with Broly and were almost immediately ushered into the small room. The familiar sight of Broly at his desk, the old politicians hovering in the back, met the three weary travelers.
A small smile playing on his lips, Broly greeted them. "I hope your mission was a success."
Returning with his own smile, Gohan nodded and placed the documents onto Broly's desk. Shuffling through the papers, Broly's smile began to widen. "Perfect. We got our site and shuttle."
Applause echoed in the room as the old men began clapping. Waving his hand to quiet them, Broly got a serious look about him. "Now for the next phase. We need volunteers to go to Earth. Gather the men. We'll announce the mission and get our volunteers."
However, before the messenger could leave the room, Piccolo stopped him. Puzzled looks came from all over the room. What was this green man up to? "What do you think you're doing?" one of the old men demanded.
Piccolo just remained silent, giving Gohan a look. Clearing his throat, Gohan began to speak. "You don't have to seek anyone to go. My own group would gladly take the mission."
Protest immediately roared throughout the office. Many of the protestors were questioning the allegiance of the four; others saying that only the people of the sanctuary should be sent and so on.
Broly just kept his eye on Gohan, studying him. As the protest continued to be waged around him, he just continued to watch. Finally, his voice tore through the chatter. "And why should we send you and your men?"
Gohan put on an impassive expression. "It's come to my attention that no one amongst the saiyans has any knowledge of the humans. Because of that, you wouldn't be able to exploit their weaknesses properly on Earth, a place where you can't afford to make a mistake. I can though. Not to mention I work more favorable around my comrades that I've fought with since this war started. Send the four of us and you'll stand the best chance of succeeding in this endeavor."
"And what if we need someone to exploit the humans here? You'd be in space or you might fail on the mission. We wouldn't be able to get this chance again," Broly countered.
Still retaining the impassive look, Gohan responded "But you wouldn't need to infiltrate human outposts. All you'd need to do is hold off the humans while we attack Earth. Like you said, we wouldn't get this chance again so why waste it on a trial run?"
Broly didn't reply. He just stared into space, lost in his thoughts. When no one thought he was going to say anything, he finally spoke. "You have a point young one. Fine, the mission's yours. The whole saiyan race is riding on this so you have no room to screw up. Understand?"
Nodding his head in confirmation, Gohan left the room, a satisfied Piccolo following him. Raditz watched in disbelief as his nephew announced his candidacy, won the job, and left the room in satisfaction. He had already lost too much of his family to this war; he wasn't going to stand by and see more of it destroyed. Storming out of the room and after Gohan, he managed to catch up to him not too far from the office and confronted the young saiyan. "What do you think you're doing?" Raditz shouted, gaining the attention of all the people in the vicinity. "What are you thinking? You're going to get you and your brother killed!"
Staring calmly at him, Gohan replied "I know what I'm doing. I'm gonna end this war with my own two hands."
"You have no idea what you're doing! Can't you see the seriousness of this?" Raditz countered.
"I can see the seriousness and I'm not going to sit back and wait for someone I've never met before to fail on the most crucial mission of this war. I'm going to ensure that the people here don't have to continue living in fear; to continue living in an overcrowded cave when they should be out on the surface, breathing in fresh air; where the children can be children and not refugees to something that they don't understand. Is that serious enough for you?"
Raditz was taken back. He had no idea that Gohan had been thinking about this. He couldn't deny that he was right but that didn't mean that he had to do it himself. All it took was just one man that could get the job done and it wasn't him. It had to be someone else, someone that Raditz didn't care about. Too much blood had been spilled on his family's account, too much of their own blood. There had to be some way to convince this hard headed youth that he didn't have to go.
Gohan shook his head. "I understand that you don't want me to go but who else can you see has the best chance at success? Nappa? Some other saiyan? It has to be me and no one else. I'm sorry." And with that, Gohan turned his back to his uncle and walked away, his will undeterred as Raditz could only look on in dismay.