Fated

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Dragon Ball Z

A/N: So the people who don't like to read lemons didn't have to wait so long I decided to update quicker than normal :) aren't I just the best? lol Enjoy!

H-bomber: I take it you weren't expecting that? Lol thanks anyway :P

Princesa de la Luna: Hehe thank you very much, I'll try.

Coolness: Lawl! My heart is too sappy to do that but... who knows, I tend to be wicked sometimes, who knows I might surprise everyone by making bombs drop and kills everyone and everything!! You'll just have to wait and see what my twisted mind does!! ;)

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Lack of windows in an underground room made it difficult to tell what time it was and so Videl was glad for her alarm. As she sat up and winced slightly from the dull pain between her legs, remind her of the night's events. She had no idea Gohan had such aptitude for learning new things and excelling at them quickly… he showed her just how well he caught on last night… and all with one arm too! Videl knew he was holding himself back from crushing her and she was very grateful for his amazing show of willpower. Videl sleepily glanced over to see Gohan slouched over the side of his bed. "Gohan?" Videl questioned and watched him stand, fully dressed in his old clothes.

Gohan paused, chewing on his cheek and wondering how he would explain his decision to confront the androids again in a way that wouldn't upset her too much… he could not. "I… meant to thank you for washing them…" Gohan said, gesturing to his clothes, truly thankful as he turned to gaze at her. Videl saw his eyes darkened and she realized she was sitting up with nothing covering her chest; she blushed ruby-red and grabbed her shirt from the ground, sliding it over her head in a hurry all the while scowling at Gohan's laugh.

"You're welcome." She grumbled and then glanced at him again. Gohan clutched his fist and flexed his arm, gazing at one of the sword racks the rebels had and then staring at his hand in thought. Videl finished dressing and made her way to him.

"Gohan… what are you thinking?" Videl asked worriedly, she had come to know his expressions pretty well in the past month and did not like the look of hard determination in his eyes. Gohan turned his attention to her again and smiled sadly. "What are you doing?" She asked quickly, moving toward him.

"Protecting those who I care deeply about… I have to go out there Videl… it's what I was meant to do." Gohan said gravely. Videl's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, grabbing his arm as he began to walk off, halting his steps.

"No! Please don't go! You don't have to! Others can fight… please just stay a little longer? I… I don't want you to die…" Videl pleaded, feeling tears slide down her cheeks again and not caring if her tough act was spoiled so many times in front of this man. Gohan sighed heavily and turned back to look at her, his hard expression softening and his heart twisting at the sight of her grief.

He caressed her cheek with his thumb softly. "Videl…" He tried to reason but she would not have it.

"No!" Videl pulled away slightly, trying to ignore the hurt look that crossed his face as she felt a lump in her throat at the thought of him going off again and dying. "Please Gohan! What makes you think you can fight them again and win this time?"

"I have to try." Gohan said in an eerily calm way, resolute to his self-appointed mission. Videl shook her head violently and glared.

"No! You don't! You don't have to do this! You'll d-die…" She had to find a way to keep him from dying... "Look, at least let me give you something to help you… that way at least maybe you'll have a minimal chance…" Videl said, her voice cracking with anguish. Gohan felt horrible for the reality of the situation but… her offer intrigued him, he tilted his head to the side curiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Videl sighed in relief and misery… why was he so willing to commit suicide? Videl motioned for him to follow and together the two made their way down the halls of the underground refugee camp. Gohan glanced sadly at the families huddled closely together and the depressed look of men too old, too beaten down or too wounded who could no longer defend their families… Gohan frowned inwardly – that would not happen to him…

"The scientists here have been trying a new regenerative serum on dogs who lost limbs and it's been working flawlessly on them… they were going to start testing it on humans but no one has volunteered so far… if… if you really want to get yourself killed than at least let them test it on you… maybe it will restore your body… before you ruin it again." Videl almost growled, scowling and refusing to look at him now, inwardly cursing him for being so stubborn and determined.

Gohan said nothing, he just followed her. He knew she could not understand his drive to fight but he also knew that she acted the way she did for him because she cared for him. He smiled despite the situation and wrapped his arm around Videl as they walked. Videl jumped slightly but could not help leaning against his embrace, letting him almost carry her along.

"There might be side affects but if it works… you'll have your arm back." Videl explained as they reached a solid steel doorway that seemed to be forcibly carved into the rocks. "Here we are…" Videl said, pulling a card out of her pocket and flashing it over a sensor. "Since I'm the daughter of "The Great Hercule" I have special privileges…" Videl said with an almost sly smile and led Gohan in.

"Ah! Miss Satan! How can we help you? Is this… is this the man you found a month ago? The man you haven't left the side of?" The scientist teased with a knowing smile. Videl blushed and sputtered while Gohan rested his hand on her shoulder and smirked.

"That would be right." Gohan answered, smiling innocently at Videl who glared half-heartedly at him and playfully smacked his only arm. Gohan chuckled and glanced down at the man who looked him over. The scientist almost cowered at the site of Gohan but relaxed when he saw the warmth and kindness in Gohan's eyes.

"Goodness… you're a big one…" The much shorter man muttered and his eyes traveled his shoulders, his stare lingered on Gohan's armless side. "You wouldn't happen to be a volunteer for our experiment would you?!" The scientist asked.

"Dr. Rollins! Don't harass the boy!" Another scientist scolded as he walked in from another room. "Hello son, my name is Dr. Calvin, leader of the "experiment" as he put it." Dr. Calvin said, gesturing to Dr. Rollins who had the good graces of giving Gohan a sheepish and apologetic smile. After shaking hands with him and noticing the strength he had in that one hand Dr. Calvin scratched his short, neatly trimmed white beard and furrowed his thick eyebrows as he scrutinized Gohan.

"Um… well, I guess I am here for the treatment…" Gohan said, resisting the urge to squirm under the older man's scrutiny like he would have done years ago. Dr. Calvin had an air of wisdom and intellect that surprised Gohan - it reminded him of an old friend. Dr. Calvin smiled warmly and nodded, gesturing for Gohan to have a seat in what looked like a dentist chair. Gohan shrugged and sat down, jumping slightly when Dr. Rollins pressed a button to make the chair suddenly recline with a jolt.

While Dr. Rollins strapped Gohan to the chair Dr. Calvin went over to a wall lined with computers and other gadgets to a section with a glass door to retrieve a vile. In the vile there was a liquid that seemed to glow a strange mix of neon blue and purple. "We collected the blood of a strange green man who seemed to be able to regenerate limbs… of course we had initially tried to save him from death but he refused to be helped… he was a stubborn one… before he died he allowed us to examine his blood for this purpose…" Dr. Calvin took off and wiped dust off his glasses and placed them back on before continuing.

"He must have known it would help us… he was gruff but seemed to have a kind heart… take comfort in the fact that you will have the essence of a hero in your blood. Now keep in mind that the blood is only part of the serum… it's not exactly blood - just the regenerative qualities." The scientist finished, trying to keep Gohan from freaking out, not knowing that very few things bothered him.

Gohan felt a lump form in his throat. That blood… it was Piccolo's… Gohan nodded and settled in the chair. Dr. Rollins finished filling a syringe with the serum and placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "I'm going to have to ask you to turn your head… the quickest way for the serum to work is by inserting it directly into your jugular vein… don't worry, I have a solution here that will help coagulate your blood and quick enough to stop you from bleeding to death… it's just a prick of a needle but we don't want to take any chances." He said, showing Gohan a cotton ball with strange, dark orange gel on it. Gohan, unlike his father who was terrified of needles, was unfazed and turned his head willingly.

"Why not the shoulder where I lost the arm?" Gohan asked as Dr. Rollins sterilized the needle.

"Because the quickest way for your body to process it is through the largest vein; don't worry, the neck is plenty close to the spot of detachment." Dr. Calvin explained.

Gohan braced himself for the injection as he felt the scientist's hand hold his head to the side and felt the cold needle against his flesh. Videl watched, also unfazed by needles and blood and winced in sympathy when the scientist injected the needle. She watched as Gohan's fist clutched the arm rest and heard a crack as he crushed it in his grip. "There now, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Dr. Rollins said, pressing the cotton ball on Gohan's neck as he retrieved the needle. "This will take a full day to take affect… I suggest you go to your room now and lay down as quick as possible… we are unsure of the side affects that this could have on humans as this is the first time we tried it on one but what we do know from our tests on dogs is that you will experience pain… forgive me for not warning you before hand." Dr. Rollins said - trying to ignore the annoyed look he received from Dr. Calvin.

"That's fine… I can take pain." Gohan said cynically and let the scientist place a bandage on his neck. Gohan stood and let Videl take his hand, leading him out of the lab.

"Let us know if it worked or not…" Dr. Calvin said as the door shut behind the couple. 'I'm afraid this pain will be more than you're used to…' The scientist thought as he cleaned his equipment. Gohan winced slightly as the serum burned its way through his veins and glanced down at Videl who had been quiet ever since they entered the lab.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked in concern. Videl smiled at him and shook her head as they walked into Gohan's small living quarters.

"Nothing... but please do as the doctors suggested… I'm worried what it might-" Gohan stopped her words by leaning over and capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Videl melted in the kiss and let him silence her; normally it would have angered her if a man tried that on her, just to stop her from speaking but for some reason she simply could not think that way about Gohan, he was not trying to belittle her, he was trying to protect her.

"Okay Videl… I'll do as they suggested." Gohan relented, smiling at her dazed look and running his thumb gently down her cheek in an affectionate gesture. Gohan lay down on his bed, wincing when he strained his still sore ribs with the movement.

"Take your shirt off…" Videl instructed, ignoring the raised eyebrow and cocky smirk she received from her broad-shouldered friend. Somehow the smug and suggestive look suited Gohan too well "Don't… Don't look at me that way… you know I'm just making sure that-"

"Videl! I understand! Relax!" Gohan laughed as Videl stuttered, trying to explain herself. Videl scowled and crossed her arms, giving him a glare when he wouldn't stop laughing. Suddenly, Gohan stopped laughing abruptly and his eyes widened. "What…" Gohan strained to speak but pain began to rapidly build within him, burning him from the inside out. "Oh God!" he cried as he writhed on the bed. Videl rushed to his side and took his hand, clutching it tightly as he arched his back and his skin began to turn red.

"Gohan?" Videl said softly, "J-Just try to relax okay?" she said weakly, knowing words could not ease the pain Gohan was in.

"Guh...Ugh…AGGH!" Gohan clenched the sheets with his hand and arched his back; Videl could see veins popping up, especially around his neck and armless side and his skin began to turn an angry red. Sweat coated him and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood so that he would not scream. Videl ran to the bathroom where the same bowl she and clean rag she had used to soothe Gohan's when she first met him and he was in pain and filled the bowl with cold water.

Gohan panted and groaned in pain, "My arm! It hurts!!" He cried out incoherently. "M-My left arm! ARGH!" Videl looked over but he still had no arm there, what on earth was he talking about?

'It's… it's working!' Videl thought in realization and resisted the urge to grin, knowing it would not help Gohan to see her happy when he was in the state he was in.

Videl stayed by Gohan's side the entire night as he struggled through his pain. Before they knew it morning had come and they had fallen asleep. Videl lay beside Gohan and as her eyes fluttered open she felt relief when Gohan appeared to finally be sleeping peacefully. She sighed and closed her eyes again, snuggling to his side; her eyes snapped open when she felt his arm wrap around her in his sleep but… she was laying by his armless side… She looked over and felt her heart soar – the serum had worked…

"Gohan! Wake up!" Videl cried happily, not waiting for Gohan to ask what was wrong as he sat up completely alert and looked around worriedly. "Your arm!" she said. "No your other arm!" She said and smiled softly when he slowly turned to his left side and gasped. Gohan's eyes lit up and he grinned, pulling Videl off the bed as he stood and spinning her around in his arms, laughing joyously.

Neither he nor Videl were aware of the patch of fur slowly growing on Gohan's back………

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End A/N: Woot, 'nother chapter done! Well there you have it! I wonder what's up with Gohan now? Was another side affect that he gets furry?? …or is there something else happening?? Read and review please!!