Fated
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Dragon Ball Z
A/N: Now this is a long chapter! It's my longest yet!! I decided to give ya'll some Videl-Kicking-Ass action!! That and some Trunks-Getting-His-Ass-Kicked action too… poor guy :( but it has to happen for now… don't worry, it'll all get better :). By the way, this chapter was inspired by Eisbrecher's "Wie tief" and Madonna's (Feat. Justin Timberlake) "4 Minutes" you'll see why as you read lol
Linbug: Hahaha I won't tell! By the way, Trunks is a full prince, "demi" being the same as "semi" is a prefix meaning "half" - it would imply that he's half a prince which he's not :P understandable mistake though.
G. Login: Lol yeah this Gohan is not as naïve :D
Aaron Leach: Thank you, we'll see.
Naruto Rasengan Master: Oh I do love me my cliff-hangers lol what's a good story without a bit of suspense??
Mirai Gensao: Why thank ya! I'll try :)
Neko Gohan: Haha well, you'll see soon enough what I have in store here ;)
NOTE: I had to change the last scene before it shifts back to Videl... The next chapter will explain more.
--
Gohan watched in silent awe as his student fought with everything he had as a Super-Saiyan. 'He did it… he actually did it! Man! I'm so proud!!' Gohan thought but his near-paternal pride was squashed when he realized what it had to have taken to bring him to that level, to break the barrier he had had… Gohan's death… 'Seeing me "dead" must have triggered it… oh gosh I'm so sorry little bro… damn! That means if I try something and show myself I might wreck any progress he's made… Damnit!' Gohan thought, clenching his fists. 'That means I'll have to stay hidden from him… ugh…' Gohan did not like the idea but he felt for Trunks' sake it was best that he went undiscovered.
Gohan sighed and continued to mask his Ki. When he had arrived Gohan hid his Ki so he would not be detected and had found Trunks staring down the androids with a determination he had never seen in the boy. Then, to Gohan's great surprise, Trunks had screamed and powered-up to a Super-Saiyan and shortly began attacking the androids. Gohan watched, terrified for the boy's safety as he fought and lost. Trunks fell to the ground and was approached by the androids. 'No! Leave him alone…' Gohan growled inwardly, trying with all his might to resist revealing himself.
Gohan watched in horror as they continued to toy with him, batting him around like he was nothing but a rag doll to be tossed around. Trunks stood shakily and tried sending energy blasts at them but the androids laughed at his attempts and slapped the enerrgy away like annoying insects. "You're gunna have to try a lot harder than that kid!" Seventeen mocked.
Eighteen appeared behind Trunks and slammed her fist into the back of his head, sending him flying toward Seventeen. "Batter up!" Eighteen called to her brother who grinned and with two fists held together swung at Trunks' head. Trunks screamed in pain and terror as he flew against a pile of cars. The androids laughed once more as Trunks unsteadily rose to his feat, wavering and coughing violently.
"Tell you what kid... we think you're pretty amusing but you really suck! We'll give you a chance to get better..." Seventeen offered, narrowing his eyes and grinning evilly. Eighteen scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I think we should just finish him off now." She muttered, enjoying the fear in the boy's eyes.
"Patience sister... I want to see what this kid can do..." Seventeen answered and tilted his head to the side. "Well?" He called to Trunks. Trunks shook with fury and terror but could not help taking the androids offer and nodded before blasting off. Eighteen scoffed again and followed her brother through the wrecked city.
"This is a waste of time - that kid will never be as good as us." She growled and scowled at her brother. Seventeen laughed and nodded.
"Yeah I know... but it'll certainly give us something to do for a while hm? He might be some fun to mess with!" The male android said and they both laughed as they disappeared from view. Gohan shook with rage and wanted badly to charge at the androids and beat them to a pulp... but he knew he could not and he did not want to risk death now.
Meanwhile, back at the refuge Videl paced relentlessly in her quarters; she had returned home shortly after explaining to a distraught Chichi that Gohan had left for an "errand". Of course Chichi could see right through Videl's lie, knowing her son all too well, but said nothing, just turned to the window and stared off into space.
"I see…" she had said. Videl apologized and bid the older woman goodbye, then sped off home to try to distract herself.
"He better come back… if he doesn't die by the androids I'll make sure I kill him!" Videl muttered to herself angrily. Suddenly Harold appeared at Videl's open door with a wide-eyed, panicked expression.
"Where is Gohan?" The frantic man asked. Videl blinked in surprise by the exigency in Harold's voice and pointed at the far wall, in the directed on the city.
"He's on a suicide mission…" Videl spat, her rage was not directed at Harold but at the thought of Gohan dying pointlessly.
"Damn! We really could have used his help!" Harold whined and let himself in. "Miss Videl, I'm sorry I haven't relied on you for anything important lately, with the arrival of Gohan and his… abilities… we didn't think it was worth the life of our once hero's daughter to die irrationally but… now that he's gone I'm afraid you're our only hope…" the man admitted, hating himself for what he was about to ask of her.
"What's the matter sir?" Videl asked worriedly. Harold only spoke this formally when there was serious danger, whether it was the androids or some terrorist activity.
"We have… there was an explosion early this morning in the basement area of this base… we sent men down to investigate and only one of them returned, badly burned, caused by a leak in radioactive fluid stored below ground… he said he had found a bomb rigged to a power generator… it seems terrorist have struck us again… the other refugee camps must really be running low on supplies for this rate of assaults to be occurring… Videl… we need you to go down there and disarm the bomb, once that is done don't try to take on the men alone, we don't know how many are down there and we don't want to put you in any more danger than you will be in already…" Harold explained, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief.
Videl raised her eyebrow and crossed her arm. "You don't even have to ask, of course I'll help." She scoffed.
"Oh thank God! Okay, come with me, the scientist have special gear for you to get passed the radioactive areas and a communicator so they can talk you through disarming the bomb." Harold said as he and Videl jogged down the halls, dodging people and crates with supplies.
When Videl and Harold arrived, the scientists were already waiting for her. They hurriedly rushed over and began suiting her up while explaining how things would go. "Miss Videl, with this suit and head covering you will be protected by the radioactivity. Here, this is the communicator you'll use to contact us when you found the bomb – don't touch it before letting us know!" The young scientist said, handing Videl the small walkie-talkie looking radio.
"Uh… yeah." Videl said as she finished suiting up for her mission.
"Now remember, you have four minutes to disarm the bomb and get yourself out of there… don't go trying to play the hero, we know you're the daughter of mister Satan but like I said to Gohan a week ago, you are not bullet proof." Harold pressed as he watched Videl strap her communicator to her belt.
"Don't worry sir; I'll take care of the problem." Videl bid them goodbye and ran off toward the flight of stairs.
"BE CAREFUL! DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING THAT GLOWS GREEN!" One scientist yelled as the door to the stairwell closed. "I hope she heard that…" he muttered and Harold nodded in agreement. Videl ran down the stairs as fast as she could, when she arrived at the basement door and opened it she found a grinning terrorist already there waiting for her.
"What're you smiling at?" Videl scoffed and before the terrorist knew what hit him Videl's foot connected with his face and he went flying against a wall. "That's what I thought." Videl muttered with a smug smirk at the now unconscious man. After tying the man up Videl continued further down. She made it to a generator room and groaned when it was not the right one, however, there were two armed men already there who fired as soon as they saw her. Videl jerked back outside and away from the entrance as bullets went flying.
As soon as Videl heard the familiar sound of weapons running out of ammo she rushed in; she dodged fists and feet as she rammed her foot into a man's calf, effectively breaking and twisting the man's leg. The man howled in pain as he dropped to the floor but had no time to recover as Videl's foot flew at the man's jaw, sending him flying back and further twisting his leg.
Videl heard the sickening snap of bone as she dodged the other man's swipe of his fist. Videl ducked and landed an upper-cut in the man's stomach; she did not stop there however as she jumped up and kicked him across the face. The man fell on top of the other, now both unconscious, and let slip what looked like a detonator from his free hand.
Videl picked the device up and kicked the men again for good measure, then proceeded to tie them up. As she continued to run she "accidentally" let the detonator drop into a pool of green-glowing, foul-smelling liquid that she was sure would not be good for the device. 'I wonder how Gohan is doing… is he even still alive? Or have the androids killed him…' Videl thought and felt as though a spike was stabbing her heart at the very thought of him dying.
But this was no time to think of that stubborn man. Videl ran as fast as she could - ignoring the burning in her lungs as she did so - she jumped over puddles of radioactive goop and dodged falling debris. She checked her watch again, less than three minutes and she still hadn't found the bomb. "Crap…" Videl muttered as three goons stepped out of the wreckage with guns loaded and pointed at her, sinister grins twisting their ugly mugs. "I don't have time for this…" Videl snarled and charged the men head on, floating into the air to dodge a barrage of weapons fire. 'Good thing I learned how to fly…'
The men blinked in shock when Videl suddenly appeared before them from above and kicked them each in the head. To her great relief Videl found the right generator room and rushed in after tying the men up. She found two more terrorists already dead in a puddle of radioactive group and grimaced at the site of their fleshless faces. 'Damn… that stuff must really burn…' she thought as she crouched by the bomb and un-strapped her radio.
"Videl here, I found the bomb and I think I took care of all the terrorists, there were only eight men… I think the radioactive stuff must have messed with their heads because they did not move as quick as other criminal scum I've come across… anyway, what do I do now?" Videl asked quickly, squirming uncomfortable as she felt the heat from the puddle of slime nearby.
"Videl! We're relieved to hear from you! For a moment we didn't think you made it! Good job, okay listen up… we need you to tell us exactly what the bomb looks like and if there's any way to remove the protective covering hiding the wires without setting it off…" A scientist said. Videl studied the bomb and titled her head to the side curiously.
"Uh, well… it looks like a big chunk of white play-dough with a small gadget attached to it… the device has red, blue, and yellow wires sticking out of it's sides and are connected to another piece behind it…" Videl explained.
"Oh God it's C4… okay listen, where the wires cross, is first red wire above the blue or below it?" The scientist asked. Videl frowned and looked closer.
"The red wire is above the blue…" Videl answered, sweating visibly as the time on the bomb showed 1:43.
"Okay, pull out the wire-clipper we gave you and cut the red wire… be careful not to cut the blue or white wire!" The scientist urged and waiting anxiously. Videl pulled the clipper out and moved closer to the bomb; with shaky hands she brought the clipper up and held it over the red wire.
"I hope this works…" Videl muttered and shut her eyes tight as the red wire was cut. When she did not feel her body explode and when she opened her eyes and saw that she was still sitting in the generator room she sighed in relief; she looked over at the clock and saw that it had stopped. Videl stood and stumbled out of the room.
When she finally made it back up Harold and the scientist were sitting eagerly by the radio. "Hey guys…" Videl said as she approached them. One scientist stood up and held his hand up to stop her.
"Wait right there, we're really relieved to see you but don't approach any closer… you see that room over there? Go in there, strip down and stand in the middle. It's a decontamination room. Place the clothes and suit in the hatch by the far left wall and close it tightly." The scientist explained. Videl nodded and headed where she was told and closed the heavy door behind her. Videl blinked when the darkness that had wrapped around her when she shut the door suddenly vanished as white lights illuminated the room seconds later.
Videl stripped out of the suit and pulled the head-covering off; she then stripped out of her clothes and after depositing them into the place she was told, she stood in the center, glancing up at the closed ventilation shaft. Videl swallowed nervously when it suddenly slid open and spoke descended from it, wrapping around her body; she held her breath irrationally but heard a voice from an radio at one of the corners of the room.
"If you're holding your breath, as is the case when everyone enters the first time – don't… you need to breathe in the gas, don't worry it's harmless to you but not to anything detrimental within you." A scientist mentioned. Videl steeled herself from her anxiety but did as she was told and began to breathe normally, grimacing slightly from the odd smell of the gas.
A few minutes later the gas seemed to stick to her and coat her skin, giving it an odd blue glow. "Okay Videl, the gas should have done it's job by now… there should be fresh clothing for you in a labeled cabinet to on the right side of the room." The scientist advised. Videl went over to the cabinet and pulled out light blue pants and shirt. She pulled them on and waited for the scientists to open the door; soon enough the door opened and she stepped out.
"Good job Videl! Forgive us – me for doubting you… we should have known those men didn't stand a chance against Hercule's daughter!" Harold said with a broad smile.
"Thanks… am I still needed or can I go rest?" Videl asked with a tired sigh. Harold's smile softened and he nodded.
"You can go now… thank you once again." Harold said softly and watched Videl nod with her own tired smile and head off. Once Videl reached her room she headed straight for the shower. A good half-hour later she walked out refreshed and in her own clean clothes. She stopped suddenly and felt tears weld in her eyes at the sight of Gohan standing there waiting for her.
Gohan smiled sheepishly and caught Videl when she all but threw herself into his arms. "You big jerk! I was really worried about you!!" Videl yelled and hit his chest as he held his arms around her. Gohan let her hit him, knowing he deserved it for scaring her like he did. Once Videl had calmed down Gohan explained to her how he had to leave… how he could not ignore the instincts to protect Trunks. Gohan then explained what had happened and how he decided it was best not to reveal himself to them yet.
Videl sighed sadly for Gohan's predicament; she knew well how much Gohan cared for this boy and his mother, how he would lay his life for the boy again if need be. After Gohan told her everything that transpired that day Videl told him her own little experience. "Wow… you took down eight full-grown, armed terrorists single-handedly?" Gohan said with his eyes wide in astonishment. "That's amazing! I knew you were thought and strong but I had no idea you could do that… you know, with the right kind of training you could become the strongest human on the planet."
Videl blushed at the compliments and shrugged modestly. "It was nothing… I just reacted like I always do when justice is on the line…" Videl answered. "Could I really become that strong though?" she asked excitedly. Gohan smiled down at her and nodded in affirmative.
"Yeah, I'd be happy to teach you a few things… but look, Videl… would you mind if I tagged along with you when you went out and stopped criminals? I need to do something until the right time when I can approach Bulma and Trunks…" Gohan asked, he had finally revealed the connection with Trunks and Bulma Briefs, much to Videl's surprise.
Videl grinned and smacked his arm playfully. "Of course! You'd be a huge help!" Videl said happily and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Besides, how can I say no to you?" She teased, smiling up at him affectionately. Gohan smiled back and suddenly realized that he would give anything to spend the rest of his life with this woman. He had come to realize before they even began dating that he was falling in love with her. And now, the love he felt for her had grown so much he thought at times that his heart was about to explode; his whole view of the world had changed when he met her and now he could not bear the thought of living without her.
"Videl?" Gohan began, scratching the back of his head nervously. "When this is all over…"
"Yes?" Videl prompted curiously.
"Would you…" Gohan looked up at her and took her hands in his. "Would you consider …marrying me?" he asked slowly, unsure of himself and hoping beyond hope that he reciprocated his affection. Gohan's heart soared when Videl's expression shone brightly enough to light the room as she beamed at him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Yes! Of course!" Videl said, feeling tears roll down her cheeks. Gohan sighed in relief, she had yet to say it but Gohan knew in his heart that Videl loved him… he cupped her cheeks and leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met in a slow, passionate kiss. As they finally resurfaced from loosing themselves with the other the couple laughed joyously and hugged each other tightly; they felt at that moment that no matter how cruel the world was they were the happiest they've ever been.
But… joy always is accompanied by suffering… the question was, when would one overpower the other?
--
End A/N: Woo! Videl kicked ass!! What a big surprise... those men didn't stand a chance!!