Before we start chapter 5, I just want to thank you all for the support that you've shown this story so far! It means a lot to me! :) On that note, please enjoy this lovely chapter!

Chapter 5: Gotta Love Androids

Videl stared out at the street then looked up at the sky. "No more androids seem to be flying anywhere near. Now would be a good time to get out of here!"

I hopped over the little metal fence thing that separated the outside of the restaurant from the street. "Okay. Do you think it'd be safe to be in the air?"

Now she hopped over the fence and landed gracefully beside me. "What do you mean? Does it look like I have a helicopter with me or something?!"

"Well, do you have anything in your purse?" I asked uncertainly.

"In my purse?!" she exclaimed. "Do you just expect me to have a little airplane that can grow to the size of a full-functioning aircraft? We need to get out of here! There is no more time for joking around!"

I looked around nervously. "I'm sorry. I just thought that I remembered-" Then I stopped myself before I said anymore.

Suddenly, she wasn't so angry at me for suggesting she had a mini-flying machine. She was now more in a frantic state of excitement. "What! What! Tell me what you remembered! Is it going to be something that will help us?!"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't know what I thought that I remembered. This universe is just so different than mine..."

"Great," she replied sarcastically, the excitement draining from her body. "Now we're wasting even more time. You can get all sentimental about your old world when we get to my house. You said yourself that we need to leave! So let's go! We need to make a run for it before another android comes!"

"Uh-oh!" I blurted, pointing to an odd-looking object, flying just a little above the street in the distance. This android was different though. It was going at a much slower pace as if it were looking for something. "I think it's a little too late to go anywhere now. And I think this one is scanning for criminals!"

Videl stomped the ground out of anger. "Good job! We've wasted lots of time, and now another android is coming! We just need to hope that that thing does not recognize you! Right now, we need to focus on blending in..."

"I have an idea, but you can't freak out, okay?!" I asked, dead-serious. She nodded quickly.

I quickly pressed my lips against hers and began to kiss her. I knew she wouldn't take it well, but she just had to trust me! I would never use this as an opportunity to take advantage of her, I just genuinely thought that this might work. I felt a sense of familiarity when I kissed her though. It felt like I've kissed her before.

But immediately after I kissed her, she jumped away quickly. "What are you doing?! I thought you said-"

I grabbed her arm and pulled her close to me again. "Just trust me! I'll explain later!" I hissed quickly before I kissed her some more.

This time she gave in and actually kissed me back. We were positioned perpendicular to the fence behind me and to the street in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the slow-moving android draw closer and closer. If we could keep this up for just a few more moments, then maybe-

"I have round two dishes!" I heard Gloria say as the restaurant door behind me opened. "Hey! Where'd you guys go?"

Videl was trying to pull away, perhaps to say something to Gloria, but I held her face with my hand as a sign that we had to still keep this up. She kicked my foot, and I flinched a little, but I pressed my palm harder against her cheek. Just. Hold. On.

"Oh!" Gloria exclaimed. "There you guys are! Ohhh. Um, well, uh...is this money for paying?"

Videl pushed my hand off of her face and broke away. "We're done eating! He decided that he didn't want all the food after all! And yes, that money is to pay for the meal! Go back to serving someone else now!"

Oh no! The android was practically right in front of us now! This was not the time for her to ruin my plan by having a conversation with someone else! It was a little bit forceful, but I grabbed her face and kissed her for the third time. Still, she put up with it for a few more moments. Then, the android had passed us, and we were out of its view.

This time I pulled away, a little bit breathlessly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do anything that would make you uncomfortable, but it was a last-minute plan! I had to improvise a little!"

"You need to learn how to improvise without having your face right on top of mine!" she shouted loudly, touching her lips. All things considered, she didn't seem too angry when she yelled, and she even seemed to be blushing a little.

I let out a sigh. "Let me explain. It seemed to me that this android was some sort of a scouter-android or something. It must've been looking for criminals like I said earlier. I figured that if it saw me we would be in big trouble, right? And it was too late to go anywhere, right? So I was trying to block both of our faces by putting them right up against each other; a kiss.

"If it saw my face, it would be game over for sure. Nothing probably would have happened if it saw yours, but I was worried that it still could have also seen me somehow, and I didn't want to put you in any danger by it linking you to me. Then we would both be in trouble. That's when I realized we could block each other's faces by kissing! Do you understand?"

Videl was neither amused or impressed. "Really? That was what went through your head?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "It was a pretty brilliant idea for thinking on the spot, wouldn't you agree?"

She shook her head. "No! I don't agree! You just wanted to kiss me! Admit it!"

"What?!" I exclaimed. "I did not! I just needed a plan that would keep us safe!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, genius. Did you ever think about just facing the other direction? Both of us facing the other direction?!"

I was at a loss of words. I really wasn't planning on kissing her today, or at all! She was pretty, and I did have this uncanny connection to her, but that didn't mean I wanted to kiss her! That was just genuinely what went through my head! But maybe I did want to...no! Stop it!

"Look! I'm sorry that I didn't think it through anymore! I just did the first thing that came to mind-"

"And the first thing that came to your mind was to kiss me?!" Videl exclaimed.

This was not going well. "Well, it is when your face is that close to mine!" I took a deep breath in, hoping that my cheeks weren't too red. "It doesn't matter now. It was what I came up with, and it worked, didn't it?"

She wasn't meeting my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just stop talking about it."

"We should probably be leaving now, shouldn't we?" I asked. "So we don't have to avoid another android again."

She stared at the ground. "Yeah. Let's go. Let's just go."

We began to quickly cross the street when I noticed something weird in the distance in the direction where the android had flown. "Is that- Is that another android?"

We made it across the street, but we both stopped to stare at what appeared to be an android. Videl narrowed her eyes and looked in the distance. "That's weird. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere..."

"Wait!" I blurted. "I think that might be the same one that passed us when we were kissing! Why would it just stop in the middle of the street like that?"

She shrugged. "Maybe it found a criminal. Let's just go to my house before another one comes!"

It was a stupid thing for me to do, but I darted back out into the street. Thankfully, this was a road that didn't seem to attract a lot of traffic. I watched the android just sit there and do absolutely nothing.

"Gohan! You can't just stand in the middle of the street!" Videl shouted from the sidewalk. "I'm beginning to think you've lost your mind!"

I looked over at her and laughed a little. "I must have since I don't remember very much!"

"Gohan..." she groaned. "This isn't time to be funny. We need to go home!"

"But look!" I said, gesturing to the direction of the android. I still was facing Videl. "It's just standing there like it's broken! Do you think they run on batteries...?"

"GOHAN MOVE, YOU IDIOT!" she screamed. "RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" Is it another android?!

I looked behind me and saw a car that was speeding down the side of the street that I was on. The car was obviously not going to stop either, so I jumped high in the air and let it zoom past me underneath.

Videl was screaming with her eyes covered throughout it all. I paid her little attention as I turned around and watched the same car head toward the android. But acting quickly, the android jumped in the air and landed gracefully back on the ground. So its batteries were not depleted...if it even used any.

"GOHAN!" the teenage girl shouted from somewhere beneath me. My attention was immediately taken away from the android, and I looked down at her. I looked down...? She's...below me?

"HOW ARE YOU FLYING?!" she screamed. "IS THIS SOME SORT OF TRICK?! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

I dropped down to the ground and stood next to her. "Sorry, Videl. I didn't realize I was even doing it. I guess I can fly, but the more important thing right now is-"

"The android," she said, completing my thought.

I nodded. "Right. The android. When the car was-"

"No!" she interrupted me. "I mean, look at the android!"

I did as she said so. "Oh no. It's- It's looking this way! It must have spun around in the air when it jumped so that it could face us! Maybe it won't notice us..."

"We're the only two humans standing in the middle of an empty street, what do you think?"

"Maybe it will just think of us as two ordinary civilians..."

"It's moving closer, Gohan!"

"Maybe it's just lost and needs to ask for directions..."

She seemed to be a little annoyed. "Your excuses are getting lamer and lamer. Now seriously, what should we do?"

The android walked slowly toward us some more. The closer it got, the better view I had of it. I realized that it strongly resembled a human man. "Just don't act guilty and don't panic. It only wants criminals, right?"

Vide's face lit up, and she actually seemed a bit comforted. "You're right! It's only looking for criminals! The you in this world was once a wanted criminal, but it's possible that he has paid for his crimes by now! Maybe you're off the hook, and we're really just overreacting! It probably doesn't even want you after all!"

"Target acquired," the android said, now running up to us.

"Never mind!" she yelled.

I looked her dead in the eyes. "You need to stay out of this!"

"But I can fight!" she argued. "Let me help you!"

I shook my head. The android stood right in front of us now. "No, Videl. Not now. Go home!"

"But-"

"I SAID GO HOME!" I yelled with great frustration. I wasn't sure what was about to go down with this android, but I couldn't forgive myself if I let something happen to Videl. I had such a strong connection to her, and I could tell that I knew her in my universe. This Videl wasn't from my universe, but I still felt...something about her. I knew her really well. And I still didn't know why.

She ran off to the sidewalk. "I don't care what you say! I am not going home! I'm not leaving you alone!"

"Awww..." the android said. His voice was very rusty and gravelly. "Did you get a girlfriend while you were gone?"

I took a fighting stance without even thinking about it. "What do you mean while I was gone?"

He gave an ugly laugh and a creepy smile that didn't meet his cold, blue eyes. "That's right! You can't remember anything, can you?"

I dropped my guard. "How did you know-"

He kicked my stomach, and I flew back through the air many meters away. "I was given specific orders not to kill you, but they never said I couldn't hurt you!" He laughed some more.

I staggered to my feet. "Who is giving you these orders? What do you want with me?!"

He walked over to me, and I took my stance once again. I wasn't going to drop my guard this time when he spoke. "You'll find out soon enough when you come with me, you little punk!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" I spat. "I don't want to harm you, but I will if I have to! Now tell me what's going on! Why can't I remember anything?!"

He grinned. "Because we erased your memory!"

I furrowed my brows. Someone purposely erased my memory? Then maybe my theory about alternate universes was wrong. Maybe I was from this world. Or maybe I wasn't, and they didn't want me to know. It was too hard to tell. "Just tell me what you want with me! Why did you erase my memory?!"

The android was getting obviously impatient. "You are more stubborn than the last guy! If it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you something before I drain most of your life and take you back, barely breathing. You escaped, and I was ordered to find you and bring you back alive. That's all I will tell you."

"But who was 'the last guy' that you mentioned earlier? And who are you bringing me to?" I demanded.

He stomped the ground so hard that an impression was made in the road. "I probably shouldn't have even told you that, so you're lucky! If I tell you anymore they'll have to clear your memory again, and we'd be risking doing everything all over!"

I could tell that I wouldn't be getting anymore information out of him anymore, so I quickly punched him hard in his stomach without any warning and sent him flying backward this time. I was amazed at my strength. The android was huge, yet within an instant he was down.

"Gohan!" Videl yelled from the sidewalk. "He's not done yet! I can still see him moving!"

I ran up to where the android was. Suddenly, he sprung up with a few scratches on his face, probably from sliding on the concrete, and started laughing. "That's quite a punch you've got there, kid! Too bad it has to end right here!"

I smirked a little. "Don't wory. I'm not finished yet."

My fist was going to meet with his face, but he was prepared to stop me this time. He grabbed my wrist, and before I could make another move, something strange began to happen. I felt my energy begin to seep out of my body. It was as if he was absorbing it.

"I'll tell you something before I drain most of your life," his words from earlier rang in my ears. That was it. That was exactly what he was doing. He was absorbing my energy to drain my life. But now that I realized that, it was too late to do anything; I was too weak.

"What are you doing?!" Videl shouted at me. "Why aren't you trying to beat him up?! You got him earlier! Why are you guys just standing there?!"

I looked over at her. "I can't do anything. He's draining my energy. I'm so physically...worn..." It was even becoming kind of hard to keep my consciousness, but I did everything I could to get him to let me go.

I tried talking to him, using every last bit of my will that I had. "This is how a coward wins! You're not even fighting me, you big piece of scrap metal! Put me down, and I'll give you a real fight! I could easily beat you if you weren't draining my energy! You're really not all that tough!"

He laughed and swung me from side to side by my arms. "Look at this! I'm in complete control of you! You can't put up a fight! Not in this condition! You're practically a lifeless doll!"

Suddenly, Videl jumped out from nowhere and kicked the android's head clean off his body. Both me and the rest of his body fell to the ground. She wasn't finished though. She walked to where his head rolled and crushed it underneath her foot, stomping hard on it. Then she came back to where I was and freed me from the death grip that I was still in.

She helped me to my feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said though I had little energy to stand. "What you did was amazing though!"

She smirked. "Aren't you glad that I didn't 'go home' and 'stay out of it?'"

I gave a small laugh. "Yeah. I guess so. Thanks, by the way."

Her smirk widened into a smile. "It was nothing. I just didn't want anything to happen to you... I didn't know where they were going to take you, but I didn't like the sound of it!"

I nodded, and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. The android's headless body was standing up again! I didn't know what else to do, so I took some of the little energy I had and blasted him. The body blew up into little pieces.

"What did you just do?!" Videl asked quickly. "First you can fly and now you can fire hand-canons! Are you an android too?!"

I laughed at her remark. "No! It's just something I know how to do!"

"But how is that even possible?" she asked with amazement.

I thought about it for a second. How did I know how to do that? I reached for a memory. This was a bad idea. I had even less energy now than I did a second ago, and I was making my temples start to hurt again.

"You just have to use your energy... It's not hard..."

She recognized that I was struggling with one of my headaches. "Just relax."

"We need to get out of the street," I managed to say through the sheering pain.

I slowly walked across the street to the sidewalk where Videl was standing earlier then fell to my knees. She was right at my side. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me anything if it's going to make you get all hurt, you know!"

I held my head with my hands in agony. "I know. You deserve an answer though. And I don't like the feeling of not knowing stuff!"

She started laughing softly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you should have to suffer! I thought you were going to die for a second!"

The pain was beginning to subside. "Well, we're not completely in the clear. Another android might come. I have very little energy. I really just need to rest somewhere safe. Let's go home. To your home, I mean."

She helped me stand up again. "Are you going to be able to walk?"

"I should be fine," I told her. I took a few steps and nearly fell back down. "Or maybe..."

Videl grabbed my left arm and placed it around her shoulders. Then she wrapped her right arm around my waist. Thanks to this new support she offered me, I was now able to walk a little better. We were slow, but it was faster than staying put where we were earlier.

"Just a little longer, and then we'll be there," she said softly.

I smiled as we walked together some more. "So you're not mad about me kissing you earlier?"

She rolled her eyes. "I could just drop you and leave you here on the sidewalk."

"You didn't answer my question," I reminded her.

"Stupid boy," she muttered. "No. I'm not mad. I really wasn't even all that mad when you kissed me earlier actually. I mean, I was mad, but it was mainly because you caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting it, and then you started making all these weird excuses!"

"I was not making excuses!" I told her. "That was genuinely part of my plan!"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. If you wanted to kiss me, you should have just done it another time!"

My heart began to race, and I wondered if I heard her correctly. "You actually would let me kiss you? Not that I necessarily would! I really wasn't kissing you to kiss you. I was kissing you because my plan actually was to hide from the android by doing that. I mean, why would I decide to kiss you with the android so close anyway?"

Her cheeks got flushed. "I didn't mean that you could kiss me, I-" She looked at her feet as she stopped herself from saying anymore. "You have a point though. If you wanted to kiss me to really kiss me, you would have done it at a better time and place."

"Exactly! But you never believe me!" I exclaimed. My body didn't want me to get so excited though, and I felt my fatigue again. "I was just trying to protect you...and me."

"That doesn't change the fact that it was a stupid plan though," Videl said.

I nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she told me quickly. We were almost to her house now.

"Why not?" I asked, looking at the big mansion we were approaching.

"Just because I was mad at you earlier and wasn't expecting it doesn't mean that I didn't like it," she explained with a small smile. "I just would have preferred for it not to have been a part of some stupid plan!"

Both of our cheeks were a little red now. "See! You liked it, and now you really do admit that you would let me kiss you!"

She looked away from me and stopped supporting me. We were on her property now, and thankfully I was able to catch my balance by grabbing onto a tree that was next to me. She was facing the other direction. "You just keep misinterpreting what I say!"

"No I'm not!" I shouted at her. "You're just embarrassed! That's why you keep contradicting yourself! You know exactly what you said! You totally want to kiss me again, don't you? You're just too afraid to admit it!"

"I am not afraid!" she yelled back, turning around to face me. "I am Videl Satan, and I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Oh really?" I asked, somehow knowing just how to tease her. I found the one thing she couldn't ignore. A challenge. "Prove it!"

"Fine!" She walked up to me and looked me dead in the eyes. "I may have enjoyed that kiss a little, and I wouldn't mind kissing you again under better circumstances and in a better place."

I looked at where we were. "How about under a tree?"

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers once again. It was a familiar sensation, and I wasn't just saying that because I had done it earlier today. It was familiar because I thought I had done it before. In my world. I thought about that, but it was a dumb decision because my head started hurting.

I pushed Videl away from me quickly and held my head with my hands. "I shouldn't have thought about that. Now I've ruined the kiss!"

"What happened?" she asked. "What did you remember?"

"Just the reason why I feel such a strong connection to you!"

"And what is it?"

"Because I've kissed you before today!" I told her, trying not to collapse on the ground. "Kissing you again made me think about that. In my universe, I think we are...dating."

"Really?" she asked with great curiosity. "Well, that explains why you weren't afraid to kiss me to begin with..."

I tried to say something else, but I was too weak to fight the pain anymore. I gave in and fell down once again. My vision went blurry. Then my vision went black.

...

(You know the drill: Somewhere else, in a dark room)

"Sir! Sir!"

"Grrrr... What is it now?!"

"Well, um, one of our androids is...gone. We lost his signal."

"What?! What happened?! Who did this?!"

"It's not clear, but it is quite possible that it was the boy. We grabbed what was left of the android, and it looks like the handy-work of someone who knows how to fight."

"What?! Can you at least pull up the footage? That stupid android should have everything documented through his eye cameras!"

"We would do that, but all that's left of him are pieces of his head. The storage for the footage is near where his stomach would be, so that's not exactly possible..."

"I KNOW WHERE HIS STORAGE IS!"

"Sorry, sir."

"But you have at least found part of his head! Where were they?"

"Right where his tracking signal went out. In front of some restaurant."

"Great. Send the androids to explore the area close to there. The boy is probably still somewhere in the vicinity."

"I'm beginning to think he's not worth it..."

"I'm beginning to think you're not worth it either! Shut up, and get back to work!"

Yay! Another eventful chapter, wouldn't you say? Thanks for reading! I would also love to see your support by you-know-whating!

-TOW