Hooray! We actually made it to chapter 6! Thank you all so much for all of the wonderful support you have given me! It means so much to me! It really does! :D

Chapter 6: Theories

A blue-haired woman gradually took a deep breath in and out. She was about to say something important. "It's because my dad helped him design it."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "But why?!"

She shrugged and made a face. "I don't know! I'm not my father! And Dad didn't know that he was helping an evil man! I still don't know why he would think that there's nothing suspicious about designing something that will erase someone's memory though..."

"But we still don't know for sure if he'll actually even use it," I reminded her.

"It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to assumptions like this," she told me. "We need for you to be prepared for anything. He's obviously up to no good, and you cannot rush and try to take him head on immediately! He is going to have you right where he wants you, so you'll have to be extra cautious."

I gave her a reassuring grin. "I can handle myself! This'll be no big deal! And with this nifty bracelet you'll give me, even if he does erase my memory, I'll be perfectly fine!"

She frowned. "We can only assume that this is what that man is up to, but we won't really know unless you go there for yourself. I don't like it though." She sighed. "Gohan. I'm not sure you should be doing this."

I woke up from my memory-dream. Where this one had ended, my last one began. I looked around the room I was in. It was dark except for a lamp sitting on one of the dressers that was turned on. I could tell that this was the guest room in Videl's house that I'd been using though. I wondered if she carried me all the way here herself.

I glanced over at the chair that Videl was sitting in from when I had passed out and woken up the last time. She was sitting in it once again. Upon closer examination, I realized that she wasn't just sitting there, but she was actually sleeping there. What time was it anyway?

The clock on the wall said that it was 1:24...am. This was great. I stayed unconscious all the way through dinner! Did Videl stay here during that time as well? I looked back over to where she rested and smiled. She was really cute when she was sleeping, and now that I knew that I was dating her, I wasn't afraid to admit that either. Her head was tilted and her face was calm. She had no worries.

I had worries though. I had lots of worries. Why was I a wanted man to begin with? And were they really mistaking me for another me? Because it seemed an awful lot like they really wanted this me. As in me me! They said they erased my memories on purpose. That made me question if there even was another me, and if I was wrong about my theory of another universe all along.

They wiped my memory though! I would never know the truth unless I confronted the man who did this myself! Not that I knew who that was... I really just wanted to run outside and yell for the androids to come find me. Let them take me to their boss! At least I would know what's going on!

"You cannot rush and try to take him head on..." the blue-headed lady's voice echoed through my mind. I groaned. It was good to have another memory without having to try to think about it for myself and hurt my head, but I didn't like hearing this lady's voice in my head, giving me advice like she was my conscience or something. I did get some useful information though.

Let's see... That blue-haired woman was the one who gave me that bracelet. Her dad helped an evil man design something to erase memories. I was warned not to rush in and take him head on.

A thought occurred to me. If she was warning me about this man who could potentially erase my memory, does that mean that I did exactly what she told me not to do and rushed to take him head on? This could easily explain how my memory managed to get erased. But did I not put up a fight?!

I clenched my fists. There was too much that I still didn't know. But she gave me that bracelet. In my memory, I said that even if he did erase my memory, I would be fine as long as I had the bracelet. What did that even mean?! Earlier Videl and I discussed that maybe it reacted to a trigger of some sort and allowed me to travel to another universe. Maybe we were right, and this was my ticket home.

I sat up from where I was sitting in bed a little bit taller. I leaned over to where Videl peacefully slept and softly tapped her shoulder. I hated to wake her up, but I really needed to talk to her.

All she did was shift a little in the position she was in. I leaned in closer to her and said in a quiet, sing-songy voice, "Vid-eh-el! Wake uh-up!"

She moved some more and let some air out through her nose. "Hmm?"

"You snooze, you lose!" I taunted her quietly.

"I don't wanna lose," she said sleepily. Then she opened her eyes wide and sat straight up. "I'm sorry, Gohan! I didn't mean to fall asleep! I was watching you to make sure you were okay and then it got really late, and I..."

"Don't worry about it," I told her comfortingly. "I'm fine! You don't need to stay in here with me, you know."

She looked away. "I know. You just really freak me out when your head starts hurting and when you pass out and stuff. I don't want you to die! I've gotten kinda fond of...having you around."

I smiled at her. "I'm not going to die! Hopefully, I'll be able to fix everything real soon. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay," she said. "It's...1:30 in the morning, so this better be good."

I nodded. "It is. You see, I woke up from this memory-dream thing just barely. I also had one of these last time I passed out too, but this one is actually really relevant." I went on to tell her about eveything that happened in the memory.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't know what to tell you. It does sound like you managed to get abducted by that dude earlier though. Were you an idiot and rushed to fight him like the woman specifically told you not to do?"

"Well..." I said, drawing it out. "I guess we'll never really know now, will we? Anyway, I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm half-tempted to let the androids just take me back to their boss."

Videl shook her head violently. "No way! He stole your memories before, what's gonna stop him from doing it again?"

I stopped for a moment to think. "You're right. I need to be prepared. I don't know where to go from here."

"What about the bracelet?" she reminded me.

I placed my hand in my pocket and pulled it out. "What should we do with it? If we're right about it opening up a gateway to another world, then we're also right about it needing a trigger. What's going to trigger it?"

"Earlier you said something about a magnet, right? Maybe it gets triggered by sticking it to something metal," she suggested.

I nodded. "Maybe. Is there any metal around here that a magnet can stick to?"

Videl looked around the room. "Hmm... I don't know about in this room specifically, but I know that our refrigerator will work!"

My face filled up with a wide grin. "Awesome! I'm well-rested now, but I haven't had something to eat in ages!"

She nearly fell out of her chair. "Gohan! Focus! There are more important things than your appetite right now!"

"I was just saying that if we were already going to the fridge, we might as well get something to eat!" I shuffled my way out from under the covers and out of the bed. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really," she replied. "You had me so worried for a while, especially when you didn't wake up, that food wasn't my priority."

I felt my tummy rumble desperately. "Well, when I'm worried, food does become my priority! It helps me relax. It's like...meditation...or medication. They sound similar and they both make you feel better!"

She just shook her head and walked over to the door. "You're such a dork! Now come on! Let's go quietly, so we don't wake anyone up!"

We snuck around the house, which was hard enough to navigate with the lights on, but with the lights off, I was amazed that Videl didn't get lost. Not to mention it was extremely creepy... I felt like I was in a horror movie. Skulking around a large house in the dark...something was going to jump out at us at any moment!

Somehow, we managed to make it into the Satans' enormous kitchen and to their fridge. Thankfully, we turned on one of the kitchen lights, so it wasn't as creepy, but everything was still dimly lit. Dim enough that something was surely lurking in the shadows and would jump-scare us any second now...

"Are you going to try to connect the bracelet to the fridge?" Videl asked impatiently as I stood there and did nothing.

I looked over at her. "Yeah...I guess. What if this works? What if I go back to my universe still without most of my memory?!"

She suddenly didn't seem so eager about me placing the bracelet on the fridge. "Well, I guess they'll have to re-educate you about your life."

"I guess so." I tried to procrastinate it a little longer. "But what about the people who are looking for me here? What are they going to do if I'm not even around anymore? What if they come for you?!"

She balled her hands into fists and swung one through the air. "See? I can take care of myself! You saw how I took out that one android! You don't need to worry." She sighed and looked me in my eyes. "It's probably for the better if you go back to your world. Go back to your Videl. She probably needs you more than I do."

She was really tugging on my heart strings right now. I touched her face and rubbed her cheekbone with my thumb, using the hand that wasn't holding the bracelet. "Okay. Just...be careful."

It was the moment of truth. Time to return to my home.

Time to connect the magnet with the fridge.

Time to...procrastinate this as long as I could because, to be frank, I was a little bit scared of whatever was going to happen. I wasn't quite ready to go back home.

"There's something I need to do first," I told Videl as I looked deeply into her eyes, still with my hand on her face. The dim lighting was not so creepy anymore, but romantic instead.

She placed her hand on top of mine and got real quiet. "What is it, Gohan?"

I stepped even closer to her. "I, uh, never ate anything from the fridge like I was planning on!"

She nearly fell over and stepped away from me, with a twitch in her right eye. "That is what you need to do? Eat?!"

I gave a cheesy smile. She was totally expecting something romantic, but I really did just need to eat. I set the bracelet down on one of the counters temporarily and opened the large refrigerator doors, illuminating the room with such a glorious light.

Grabbing as much as I could with both hands, I brought it over to one of the counters and began to dig in. A lot of times I wasn't even sure what I was eating, but anything tasted good at this point. I went back for seconds and thirds and fourths until I was practically scavenging the fridge for food.

Videl looked at me impatiently. "Now that you've drained all of our food supplies, are you going to leave?"

"Aw! Are you really that ready for me to go home?" I asked.

She looked at the ground. "You'd have to go back eventually, so it may as well be now. I don't want to be the one holding you back. This isn't where you belong."

I sighed. "I know. I'll...see you in my world, I guess."

Now it really was time to open the portal to my universe. With a deep breath, and a full stomach, I grabbed the bracelet off of the counter and held it near the fridge. The thing was definitely magnetic because once it was even close to the doors, it was immediately pulled in. And...

Nothing happened.

Videl and I shared a blank look. "Maybe you did it wrong. Let me try."

With a large amount of force, she managed to rip the magnet off of the refrigerator doors and reattached it. Still, nothing happened. The only thing that we had confirmed so far was that the bracelet was definitely magnetic. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen or why it would be magnetic if it wasn't to return me home.

This time I pulled it back off and looked at it. "Maybe...we've been wrong about all of this. Maybe it doesn't open a portal to an alternate universe. Maybe there isn't even an alternate universe!"

"I've got it!" she suddenly exclaimed, getting an idea. "How about you try putting it on?"

"That's great!" I cheered a little too loudly. I glanced around the kitchen. No one was there thankfully.

I placed my hand through the bracelet. Nothing. I placed my bracelet-hand on the fridge. Nothing again. I tried the same thing, but with my other hand this time. Once again, nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing seemed to work!

"Well..." Videl said. "Looks like that didn't work."

"On the bright side," I told her, "you won't have to say goodbye to me!"

She sighed loudly. "Why would you be given this bracelet that could supposedly help you if it doesn't even do anything?!"

I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly. "I don't know... Wait a minute! I said that it would help me even if he erases my memory, right? So maybe, it's a device that'll help me remember things!"

"WHAT'S ALL THE RUCKUS?!" a man's voice boomed out of nowhere.

Both me and Videl jumped high in the air and let out a shriek. I knew someone was going to pop out of no where! I knew it! I knew it! I was still a little scared to turn around and see who it was though.

"Daddy!" Videl suddenly exclaimed. I let out a sigh of relief.

"What's goin' on here, sweetie?" he asked her a little more gently. Not so gently, he added, "And who's the boy?"

I straightened up and walked over to the bushy-haired man. "Hello, sir. My name is Gohan."

"Gohan..." he said slowly. "Why do I know that name...?"

Videl walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Because he is the guy that I told you about earlier! The one I won off of the game show..." He barely seemed to remember. "He's the one who got hurt, and I told you that he was resting in one of our guest bedrooms!"

"Oh! Him!" he finally realized. "Well what are you two doin' up so late? Hmm?!"

"He needed a snack, and I had to help him find the kitchen," Videl covered for me. I was glad that she was a good liar because I was not.

"Hmph." The noise he made was somewhat of a grunt. "Fine. Just go back to bed. It's late. And I don't want this injured boy distracting you from your training, okay Videl?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, Father."

Mr. Satan walked out of the kitchen as us two teenagers exited a different way and climbed the stairs to go to our bedrooms. Before we separated, Videl just stood in front of me and stared, long and hard. I wasn't sure what she was doing, so I stared back.

"I thought that this was going to work," she whispered.

"I guess we were wrong, but I have a new theory now. We can test it out in the morning," I told her.

She folded her arms across her chest anxiously. "Gohan, I...I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you too. Goodnight."

I walked back inside of my bedroom and flopped down on the bed. At least I could get more sleep now. Something burned in the back of my mind. And idea or a memory of some sort. I wanted to think about it, but after I had finally hit the bed, my tiredness was catching up to me again. Any memories about my life could wait until the morning. The real morning.

...

I woke up at 8:30 today, kind of disappointed that didn't have another memory dream. I guess I technically already had one earlier today though, so it shouldn't have been too surprising. After wearing my same old clothes yet another day in a row, I headed downstairs and straight for the kitchen.

I disregarded the fridge because I left it practically empty last night, and I headed straight for the cabinets and the pantry. After eating some dry foods and felt satisfied with my breakfast, I walked over to where I remembered Videl's training room to have been.

I knocked carefully before entering slowly. "Videl? So, um-"

"You're awake. Awesome," she said as she was doing some stretching.

"You don't sound so enthusiastic," I commented. "Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

She shook her head. "No. Just a little stressed out and anxious about you leaving. That's all. It's okay though, we're working through it, right? Last night you said you had a new theory about the bracelet that you wanted to test out, correct?"

I kind of wished she ran into my embrace and wrapped her arms around me tightly, begging for me to stay. I wished that she would admit to liking my presence more openly, but she didn't today. Earlier she said she had gotten kind of fond of having me around, and that was good enough, I guess.

"Oh, um, yeah," I said a little distractedly. "I have an idea." I couldn't focus on my new theory when she was in a such an odd and distant state of mind. "Do you not want me to stay?" I felt silly asking that, but it had truly been bothering me.

She stretched down to her toes. "Stop acting like a child, Gohan. Of course I want you to stay, but we both know that you don't belong here. The longer you stay, the more I'll get attached to you, and the harder your departure will be on the both of us.

"I want you to stay, but I also want you to go to where you're supposed to be. But if you really think about it, I've only known you for a few days, and you've known me for much longer. While I will admit that I have developed some sort of feelings for you, I think we can both agree that it will be harder for you when you leave leave than it will be for me."

"Oh. Okay," I said softly. "I'm sorry. There's just so much doubt and worry, running through my head right now, that's all."

She sighed and stopped her stretching completely. "I wouldn't know what exactly is running through your head, even if you tried to explain it to me. But I do know this: In your world there is a Videl who cares for you just as much as you do for her. More than I do. I've gone this far in life without you, and although I have enjoyed your company lately more than I'd like to admit, I don't need you like she does."

Her words kind of tore me a part. I didn't know the Videl from that world as much as I knew this Videl at the moment. She was right though. I wouldn't really be losing her once I returned to my timeline/universe. I would simply be returning to her. That needed to be my priorty right now.

"So what was this idea that you came up with?" she asked.

I nodded and pushed aside my feelings for now. Prioritize. "Well, I remember from my dream that I said that by having this bracelet, it wouldn't matter if my memories were erased. Doesn't that make it sound like I can get them back? I was thinking that I could use this bracelet by-"

A knock on the door startled me, and Videl groaned. Patrick entered the training room. "Miss Satan, someone is at the front door."

"Have my father deal with it."

"Your father is at a conference right now."

"Of course he is. Fine. I'll go and talk to them." She began to walk out of the room and just as I was trying to follow her, she pushed me back in. In a low voice she whispered, "You're a wanted man right now. We don't know who would recognize you. Maybe it'd be best if I handled this alone."

She exited the room, and although she wanted me to stay behind, I still snuck out and followed her quietly. I hid from whoever was at the door's view and listened to the conversation. I was expecting it to be a salesperson, but this guy definitely wasn't.

"Have you seen this man before?" he asked. Upon better examination from where I was hiding in the distance behind a table, I realized that the "man" was an android, and he was holding up the same wanted poster of me that Videl had.

"That man?" Videl asked slowly. She gave it some time to think about it. I worried that she was going to turn me in. "No. I don't know who that guy is."

I exhaled a ginormous silent sigh of relief, but all too soon because Patirck, who stood next to her, spoke up asking, "Isn't that the injured young man who's staying here?"

She laughed, and I could sense it was filled with nervous energy. "Really? You think that?! I guess I can see the resemblance to my friend. No, that's not him. This guy is a wanted criminal. Why would I be friends with a criminal?"

She didn't seem to have convinced Patrick, but the android was fairly believing. "Okay. If you do see this man, report him immediately. He is an extremely dangerous criminal, and it is in your best interest to keep him off of the streets. It's been rumored that he is somewhere in this vicinty, so keep your eyes open. Goodbye."

Just as he turned around, Videl stopped him and called out, "Wait!" She let out a breath. "You said that this man was dangerous. What exactly did he do?"

The android grunted. "A lot. Horrible things. A young lady like you shouldn't want to know. Now I need to continue the search. Goodbye."

The android man walked away as Videl shut the door. She let out a sigh of relief as I came out from hiding. I gave a sigh of relief of my own. "That was close."

Eyes widened, she nodded slowly. "Too close. Way too close. And you were supposed to stay behind!"

I had completely forgotten about Patrick the butler until he spoke up. "So this young man is who they are searching for?"

The teen girl and I shared a glance, then I tried to give Patrick my best smile. "Yes, but I promise I am not actually a criminal!"

He furrowed his bushy grey brows. "Miss Videl? Is he telling the truth? Who is he really?"

She nervously shuffled her feet a little. "He's a good friend of mine who has been framed for something that he didn't do."

"Didn't you ask the android that crime he had committed? So you do not even know what he's framed for?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then how do you know that he's telling the truth? How can you be certain that he isn't a criminal?"

I had to put all my faith in Videl and that she would know what to say because I was at a loss for words. "You just have to trust me, Patrick. It's kind of complicated, but I believe with all my heart that Gohan is not a criminal!" She took in a deep breath and puffed out her chest a little. "I am the daughter of Hercule Satan! I know what's best for everyone!"

He considered her words for a few moments before deciding what to say next. "Fine. Miss Satan, I'll trust what you say." The words were cold and cut off too short, as if he were forcing himself to say them.

She then dismissed Patrick, and we stood in the entrance by the door together. She sighed. "I hope that we can get everything sorted out soon. This whole situation is stressing me out."

"Me too," I quickly agreed. A new thought suddenly came to mind. "Wait a second! The androids are trying to take me to their boss, right? We don't know who that person is, but you might know what company or corporation or whatever they are tied to, right? Since they supposedly protect the city."

Her face suddenly lit up. "You're right! Why didn't I think of this earlier? The Red Ribbon Army created and controls all of the androids. I thought that they were all about helping keep us safe, but I'm really beginning to question that now."

"Red Ribbon Army," I said aloud. I felt a sense of familiarity, but when I tried to remember specifics, all I got was a headache and a bad feeling in my gut. "They're definitely not good. I...can't remember details, but I have a bad feeling about them."

She made a face as she tried to remember details on her own. "I can't remember who the CEO of the army is, but I know I've heard his name before. That man must be the one issuing all these orders to capture you. He's the person that the android we destroyed is taking you to."

After a moment's silence, she lit up like a lightbulb. "I know someone who might know who he is though! Follow me, I need to make a phone call."

We ran around the house, searching for the nearest phone. Videl found one in an office area nearby. At first we couldn't make a phone call because the line was in use, but it quickly became available again. As if she were trying to meet a deadline, she rushed to punch in a few numbers. "Hi, it's Videl. Is Sharpener there?"

She beckoned me over and put the phone on a table after placing it on speakerphone. A man's voice emanated from the device. "Videl? You finally agreeing to go on that date with me?"

The daughter of the champ rolled her eyes. "No. I actually have a question for you. Is that okay?"

"Go for it."

"You applied for the Red Ribbon Army, right?"

"Yeah, I did. But they turned my application down. Said something about not wanting so many human soldiers..."

"Who is the CEO?"

"Well, a man by the name of Dr. Gero is in charge of everything, so I guess that means it's him. He's really pushing for a transition from humans to androids. He also happens to be the scientist who created them. Do you think that's why he likes them so much?"

As he finished talking, I felt a sense of familiarity from the name of the scientist. "Dr. Gero..." I let the name settle in my mouth as I tried to pull out what I could remember from my brain. It hurt, but something was definitely there.

I tried to search further in my mind, but I was interrupted by Sharpener's voice. "Was that another guy's voice? I don't recognize it! Who is it?"

She glanced over at me. "He's, uh, my cousin."

"I didn't know that you had a cousin."

"We're not all that close. Thanks for your help! Bye!"

"Wait! You never told me why you needed-"

She quickly clicked the phone as she hung up and sighed. Then she saw me holding my temples in pain. "Don't stress yourself out. I know you want to remember, but it's just better if you relax. We don't need you to pass out again! Just think, we're getting closer and closer to the bottom of this. Soon we'll get you back to normal."

I shook my head as I repeated Gero's name in my mind. I could only remember one thing. "I thought that Dr. Gero was dead."

"Maybe he is in your universe, but he could easily still be alive here. Remember?" She placed her arms on my shoulders comfortingly, but we were both really conflicted, and it showed.

I pulled her into a hug and drew in her scent. She always smelled so nice. I know I say this a lot, but she's fighter, so I always half-expect her to smell like sweat. I'm sure that I smell pretty bad whenever I fight or train. But I reminded myself that since she was a girl, it was basically impossible for her to stink.

She unwrapped her arms around me and stepped back. "I'm sorry if I've been a bit cold lately. I just keep reminding myself that I can't get too attached to you. Anyway, are you feeling better now? Your head, I mean?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down. Holding her in my arms was nice because it seemed to ease the pain. It brought a sense of familiarity without hurting me. I guess, it mainly distracted me from the pain as the aching died down. In any case, I actually was doing better now.

We walked out of the office, and she guided me through the house until she stopped at the entryway. "What do we do now? Should we try and find Gero?"

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "I never tested out my new theory about the bracelet! We should do that first. I don't really know if it'll work, but hopefully it'll help get my memories back and-"

I was cut off by a knock on the door. We shared a horrified glance then looked out of the glass-windowed door and recognized the man to be the android from earlier. He knocked again impatiently, and she shooed me away. Patrick came running into the room the same time that I hid behind the table from earlier.

"Open up immediately!" he yelled through the door.

Videl quickly flung it opened. "Hello, sir. Did you ever find that criminal you were looking for?"

He smirked. "Actually, yes. I know that you have been hiding your little 'friend' here. I also saw him run off, thanks to this door's window, so don't even try to lie to me."

Videl and Patrick looked at the table that I was hiding behind, and I stood up. I slowly made my way over to the android and felt as if I were walking over to my executioner right before my death. But my head wasn't hurting anymore, and I was feeling decent enough. There was no way I was going down without a fight.

...

(Why don't you guess?)

"We've got the boy now, sir."

"Great! Stream the live footage."

"Yes sir."

"This is perfect! Just look at how helpless he looks. How fantastic! It took long enough to get to this point though, so this better be worth it after all."

"Um, Dr. Gero, sir?"

"What now?"

"The boy's taking a fighting stance!"

"So?"

"He destroyed the last android, aren't you worried about this one?"

"It's not my favorite model, so I don't mind too much if it gets a little beaten up. But I suppose you're right... Have the others ready to move into that area. We cannot fail this time."

Alright! Chapter 6 is completed! The story is sort of coming to a close guys! I told you it was pretty short lol. I hope you all have been enjoying it so far! Sorry for such a late update! :)

-TOW