Chapter 13: Tremors

Nappa could hardly believe his sheer luck, when Kari had broke the news to him, of all people, just hours earlier. The mate of Raditz barely ever spoke to him. Infact she hardly even acknowledged his very existence. But now she felt he should know foremost about the very important Elite trial, and that he was going to be part of it. The Saiyan had licked his thick lips, and tweaked his fine moustache, when the names of the competitors had been revealed to him.

"Kakarot's brat?" He'd exclaimed, followed by loud and rollicking laughter that almost made him roll over like a dog. There had been another name, one he barely recognised but knew to be an opponent who would not be worth his time. No, he would dispose of the Elite-wannabe first, and then savour the half-breed for last. Finally he could teach the boy what being a true Saiyan really meant.

"You may have the human onna too," Kari truly did know how to save the best until last. "If you win, that is."

"Of course I will win!" He laughed again, and loudly ventured out onto the surface of the snow-covered planet in a blast of laughter and light red ki.

"Oh I'm sure you will," Kari had grinned, closing the hatch behind him with an ironic grin plastered over her face.

It was a strange feeling to wake up to something you never could've anticipated. Videl very consciously knew that she'd fallen asleep surrounded by everything Gohan; the Saiyan had even invaded her dreams with his mocking words and boyish laughter, as they'd sparred and wrestled. She had beat him of course; wiped the smirk finally off his face, and then soared over the clouds with her victorious laughter. Yet it wasn't his warmth that she slowly roused to. No, it was an unexplained shivering of her numb limbs, and the chattering of her teeth that greeted her arrival within a strange, new world. At least she hadn't just been abandoned on the icy floor like usual, as she found her body surrounded entirely by the soft cushioning of a raised, oval structure. Like an egg really, as though she'd just been hatched to a new life in this incredibly cold place. The spaceship was nothing compared to these temperatures, and it almost felt exactly like her ski-lodge did before the fires were lit and the generator activated. Only then, she'd been wearing heavy woollen layers, not a simple bodysuit. Taking a deep breath, she tried to move with pure dedication, and managed to slowly roll and lift herself to face the opening gap at the bottom of the confined eggshell. With more panted struggles, Videl slid herself down the length of the strange bed, until her feet touched the solid floor beneath it. Apparently she was raised at only waist level, so she finished climbing out, and stumbled slightly before finding her balance.

"Phew." Instinctively, she began rubbing her hands over her frozen and numb arms while exploring her new location with lightly blurred eyes. It looked like an old, abandoned laboratory; strange, alien apparatus and machinery, littered with thick layers of dust and what looked like either jagged rocks of sharp icicles that hung from the low, curved dome ceiling. Something hummed with creaking moans and vibrations beneath her, which she assumed and hoped to be a generator of some sort. Hopefully some proper heat would be kicking in soon.

"Where the hell am I now?" She asked herself, wincing as she rubbed a hand over her aching, cramped neck. More importantly, why was she here? Was this the Saiyan's home planet? Had she been drugged again and taken here until the trial? It all didn't make sense; surely she would've been told what was happening?

"Kari," she spat the name in revealed hatred, as naturally she gave the blame to the woman who claimed to own her. An armoured Saiyan chest plate rested against the bed, which she almost stumbled over and certainly stubbed her boot-clad toes on. Was she expected to wear that thing? The thought alone of resembling the monkeys any further, brought a scowl to her un-nerved features.

"SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" Instincts made her scream up at the ceiling, as if someone could hear her up there. Her voice merely echoed across the walls, and spurred a faint rumbling at her feet. "SOMEONE! HELLOOO?… ANY…One?"

Her resolve shrunk with a cold shiver that travelled up her spine. How was she expected to survive in such cold conditions? Typical, un-caring Saiyans and their stupid, thick skin. Thick skulls too! Infuriated by her situation, Videl kicked the side of the eggshell bed… then hopped around at the pain she'd inflicted upon herself.

"Kame-damn-it!" But above all else; where was Gohan? The damn Saiyan who'd brought her on the ship in the first place, and now he'd let Kari abandon her here? Videl growled under her breath, muttering to herself. 'I didn't let you sleep next to me for this! Such a jerk.' Although part of her wondered if maybe, just maybe, he might've tried to stop all this. Or, had he hidden her? Had the trial gone wrong? Another rumbled vibration at her feet, interrupted her sporadic thoughts, and her attention moved to finding out where exactly she was. As she timidly inspected the strange mechanics that littered the tables and stood on raised platforms, it occurred to Videl that it all reflected human theories on alien technology. Picking up a solid and rather heavy box, she tilted it round to find it was nothing more than a perfect cube of metal. But something stuck out among the layers of grey particles and thin ice; and she only needed to wipe her hand over it to reveal her suspicions. It was a logo; a simple circle in black, that surrounded two interwoven 'C' letters.

"Capsule Corp?" She blinked in confused realisation, then swallowed back to bite her lip in thought. "What are they doing here?" Hands groped at other objects, finding more strange logos for what she realised could only be salvaged objects. Now she remembered, how Gohan had compared his race to pirates. Had the Saiyans stolen capsule corp's research? It certainly explained why their technology was so advanced. No one built anything like the famous Brief's dynasty had. It had all been on her economics class research project. How the forefather had suffered a heart attack, and with the company heir missing, the entire business had been bought out entirely by their Red Ribbon rival.

The floor rumbled again, shaking almost the entire room, causing tabletops to gradually shatter with the unpredicted tremors. The heavy box slipped from Videl's inspecting grasp, strangely shattering into a million pieces like it were glass, as she clutched at the table for balance and support. This time, it wasn't just a simple rumble; the tremors continued to grow in strength, as if something was gradually approaching her from below her very feet. Quickly moving across the floor, hands grabbed at supporting surfaces, while her whole body ducked or moved aside from descending 'ice shards'. She approached two sets of stairs; one that continued going down, and another that went straight up. No guesses as to which was the safer direction, as she ran up the stone steps that begun to circle round, and round. The passageway grew darker, and darker, and she barely saw the 'wall' that blocked her further ascent. Palms pressed against the surface, pushing with panicked pants and determined breaths.

"LET ME OUT!" She screamed to no avail, until her digits found a single button that when pressed, made the command self-achieved. Videl tripped forwards over both her own feet and the greater quake, falling flat against fresh, knee-deep snow with an immediate shivering shock on impact. Perhaps she was better off inside, she thought to herself, while slowly scrambling up to her knees. At least she found that the bodysuit was entirely waterproof, as she found her feet again, and waded forwards with crunching sounds. Apparently she was high up; the air was thick and heavy to breathe, and the sky a blinding bright mixture of clear, white and light grey clouds. Turning back, she found her suspicions confirmed, as a tall cliff-face of white marble, stretched high above her. It hadn't been ice then, hanging from the cavern ceiling. It was rock. The little mental revelation was cut short though, as new tremors shook her back down to her rear, and at long last, the creator of the disruptions burst forth in an explosion of rock and snow. Cerulean eyes opened wide, as she scrambled backwards away from the grey, worm-like creature that emitted an ear-piercing screech. Four, sharpened feelers and a spread of equally spaced teeth in the abyss of a gaping mouth, opened wide to the heavens. A vaguely twenty foot long body launched itself out from the ground, and coiled itself around the width of the cliff like a snake. The creature's thick girth and padded body seemed endless, and definitely more than able to swallow the stunned human whole as just an appetizer. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to shout…

"Definitely a bad idea!" Videl scolded herself with a hissed breath, as she ran towards the cavern hatch. Of course, the native mountain wurm had other plans, as it launched itself at the human target. In a burst of panic, her ki soared, and propelled her body suddenly upwards to barely skim past the head of the beast.

'Happy thoughts!' She told herself light-heartedly, as she tried to gain control over her spinning body. Flight in the Saiyan's pod had been constricted to say the least, but now she had all this air space and very little practice in how to manoeuvre herself. No time like the present to learn though, as the screaming wurm's tail suddenly crashed against her back. Videl soared back to the mountain, instinctively launching a ki blast directly forwards. The force launched her back in the air, bouncing her backwards and evading where the predicting wurm instantly struck beneath her. It may have no limbs, but she'd underestimated its' speed, as it used the flexible body to twist and curl. She just about managed to turn around in time to grab onto the tail that was smashing against her again. As it again collided with her front this time, she was relentlessly forced against the snow under the crushing weight. It lifted, crushing her again, and then shifted to repeat the process. Videl rolled, barely avoiding the attack, but could do nothing else except lay there with defensive arms raised, as the wurm reared back, and launched its' head forwards for the final, devouring blow…

A sudden bright light that screamed pure and powerful energy, soon put an end to that idea. The wurm coiled back in a screeching protest, and Videl lifted her gaze to her saviour, floating high above her without another energy blast powering up with an arm raised above his head. He launched the finishing attack like a baseball, though it was infact a sharp ki-blade that cut through the air, and sliced straight through the creature's midriff in one, clean stroke. In wretched and loud shrieks, the parted top half fell down the mountain slopes, while the tail flicked and bounced, before laying almost completely still save for the odd, sporadic twitches, within a patch of deep, purple dyed snow.

Firm hands lifted the stunned human, bringing her to her feet, only to be dragged back through the cavern door and down the flight of stairs in echoed seconds. She came back to her senses half way down, pulling her wrists free from the tight grip around them, from chilled hands that lacked their usual warmth. For a bated breath, the two humanoids just stood staring at one another, until Videl broke the silence with a sudden, unexpected embrace.

"I thought I was a goner," she mumbled against the hard rock of Saiyan armour. To say Gohan was surprised by the way her arms flung around him as opposed to the ranting and raving of her tongue, was an understatement. It would be so easy to just lace his arm around her back, and hold her there for a peaceful moment. But that was too easy, and the planet didn't forgive carelessness. Instead, his hands found her shoulders, and a light shove pushed her back to witness his scolding, gravelled voice.

"Why did you leave this place?" Videl winced at his icy reception, shoulders tensing in defense against the barrage of words. "Didn't you sense how dangerous it was out there? Have you learnt nothing?"

"I don't even know where out there is!" She snapped back without fail, lifting her chin lightly for her offensive manoeuvre. "Why don't you try waking up some strange place next time, see how you like it!"

Breathing a growl at her risen temperament to meet the challenge of his own, Gohan snapped his head to the side, letting his dark eyes survey the interior of the cavern. Kari had been right, it was well concealed. In fact, he still would've just flown straight past the bland mountain, if it hadn't been for the native wurm trying to make a meal out of the very person he was looking for.

"You know, a 'nice to see you' would be nice. Are you even going to tell me what the hell that huge… worm thing was? And why did -"

"We're on Gelidus," he cut in without fail, answering her question in his matter-of-fact voice. "We've been granted the Elite Trial."

"Oh! That's," her beaming smile instantly faded, to be replaced by wide eyes. She knew vaguely what the trial meant, when he'd explained to her what an Elite was and how their military rankings worked. But there was just one, rather obvious problem. "Wait… Did you say, we? But -"

His ignorance came with the sudden, interruptive inspection of her, as calloused hands roughly held her face a moment, turning it from left to right, as if checking for marks.

"I'm fine!" She protested to little avail, as he suddenly rather oddly spun her from the shoulders, lifted the back of her top, and pressed his fingertips searchingly over the bare skin at the base of her spine. "What are you -"

"There's no scar," he finally exclaimed in quiet astonishment, as though she was suddenly missing a vital limb.

"Gohan," she gained his attention with the sheer, awkward use of his name. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't have anyscars anymore!"

Of course. The rejuvenation chamber, how could he be so stupid? She should've been covered in plenty of marks, but the replenishing liquids had reacted to her skin beyond his calculations. This time, Videl spun herself to face him, eyeing him with the despair of her complete and utter confusion.

"So there was a scar," he subtly questioned, pressing his fingertips against the mark again. She grit her teeth at the pressure he placed against what she could only explain to be a sensitive erogenous area, and slowly corrected him.

"No, but there was a birthmark…r-right… Ow! Stop poking at me!" Reaching behind her with her own hand, she swatted his hand away, and felt at her back, to find that he'd been poking around the exact position where she remembered the mark to be. "What is all of this?" She shakily asked, not liking the way he backed up slightly, staring at her as if she'd just grown an extra pair of eyes. "Why are you being so -"

"We don't have time to waste with our tongues," he sharply responded, as he moved towards the eggshell bed, and stooped to retrieve the armour resting there. In several blinks, he was storming back to her again. "Lift your arms up," he commanded, giving Videl little time to co-operate as the armour shell was pressed firmly against her chest.

"It's heavy," she protested, as the Saiyan snapped the back in place, locked the clasps, and secured the arm straps roughly. The armour ended just above her tailbone at the back, covering her spine and dipping lower at the front to protect vital organs down to her gut. For once she was thankful for her small breasts, which fit securely in the padded inner-layer of moulded, rock solid cups, without too much pressure against her chest.

"Yes," he countered in odd agreement. "It is. And it's going to protect you next time you decide to walk headfirst onto dangerous ground like a complete baka." Curiously, she brushed a hand over the smooth yet hard texture, wobbling slightly as his supportive hand left her shoulders. How on Earth did those Saiyans move in these things?

"More like just help me fall over easier." Ignoring her dry comment, he grabbed at her gloved wrist again, and pulled her with him as he re-ascended the stairs.

"I have to find you somewhere safer to hide out in. The wurm's mother won't be happy when she finds out she's missing one of her brood."

"You mean, that was just a …?.. Geez!"

"These particular wurms nest deep underground, or in the mountains. You must've somehow managed to disturb that ones nest."

They'd reached the hatch again, and Gohan flung the door open with a display of far too much strength than what was really needed. Before Videl could even attempt to walk outside again, the Saiyan swept her up, and flung her over his shoulder in a pure, cave-man manoeuvre. In conjunction with a hand gripping at her upper thigh precariously close to the globe of her rear, to steady her positioning, she soon felt the harsh thrashing of air against the back of her head, as the Saiyan hauled them both through the sky at intense speeds.

"Keep still," she barely heard him growl, as the ferocious, whistling winds tearing past her ears. It was hardly comfortable to simply lay there with his shoulder pressing the armour further against her gut. Especially when her bruised ribs from the seox-spar, were barely just healing.

"I can fly by myself you know!" The young woman shouted at the top of her lungs, hands clinging to the bottom of his own armour as he turned a sharp corner over mist-covered and snow-capped mountains. Even the air felt dangerous, as it tore against her skin like shards of ice, and Videl was sure her numb cheek was somehow cut.

Silence was Gohan's only answer, for he had seen her flying attempts and rated them to the equivalent of a five year old, if that. Luckily, he generally knew where he was going. A true Saiyan would know the basics of survival, and how knowing your surroundings was a part of the trial. Those who leapt headfirst into combat against their competitor, only faced defeat. One trial had lasted five months, as both competitors had forced a stalemate against each other. Neither would hunt the other down, meaning they each had to of built some form of shelter on the planet. While looking for Videl, he'd flown past the other side of the planet. Gelidus had gained its' name for the changeable cold weather, and half the planet was indeed completely covered in fields and mountains capped in constant ice and snow. That had been Frieza's haven, and the chosen battlefield for many competitors in the trials. But now, as Gohan descended down the turbulent and noisy drop of a wide, roaring waterfall, the still fidgeting and twisting Videl, could finally see how the clouds and damp mist parted to reveal a rainforest climate. Moving over the melted snow of the waterfall that funnelled into a deep river, they soared over dense trees of blue and purple foliage, that seemed to spread for miles until the skies darkened into overcast rain clouds across the far off horizon.

Descending lower through the gaps in the trees, Gohan finally permitted the Earthling to scramble off his shoulder, sliding down his front to be caught by one, supportive arm around the waist. Clinging to his shoulders, she watched as they lowered in perfectly, vertical sync, until his feet touched the ground, followed by her own. The crispy grass was not as lusciously green as it was on Earth, but adopted a transparent texture like shards of ice. Beneath it, even the soil reflected the alabaster white and grey of the marble mountains. Videl swallowed back as she caught her breath, relishing in the feeling of having her feet back on the ground, with the magnificence of the planet's surrounding flora. Above all else, the Saiyan still protectively held onto her waist, while he eyed the immediate area, and sniffed deeply. It was easier to pick up scents here, though the rainforest held its' own, overpowering fragrances. He could smell the dangerous plants with their poisonous tongues, and hear the scuttling of various insects in the tree trunks. But he could not smell another Saiyan lurking nearby, and that was all that mattered.

"Are you going to explain now?" Dark, sepia eyes descended to the windswept female, but in another dominating rush, he pulled her with him by the wrist, as he waded through the gaps between giant trees in clear urgency.

"You can blame Kari," he started in a dangerously low tone. His touch at her wrist still harboured the same, icy reception from before. As she stumbled, he only tugged harder, urging her to keep up with his quick pace. "And you can blame me, though I had little choice in any of this."

"Choice in what?" Videl just about managed to ask, before having to duck under an overhanging vine that she barely even saw with it's transparent colouring. Smacking it aside, she tugged against his arm, trying to slow him down. "Did you know this would happen?" Gohan abruptly paused at the accusation, and turned to face her with the flaring of his nostrils. The strange look in his eyes was almost as though someone had just turned a light bulb on in his skull.

"…Did you?"

"What? No! Of -"

"Isn't it convenient that you just, happened to be on Earth? That you survived long enough just to show up in the exact location I did?" He took a step towards her, thumb digging into her wrist, causing her to retreat back.

"Ow! Why are you -"

"Why would a human family happily take you into their care? Didn't they think it was odd to find you in an alien craft?" He squeezed harder against the vein, prompting a pained winch while he continued to advance, backing her up against a wide and ancient tree.

"Gohan, listen to me! I don't know what you're tal -"

"Only to fit so perfectly within their culture. To forget who you are and -"

Her interruption came as a shock to him for once, as the cold sting of her palm swept across his cheek. Videl had never slapped a man in her life, and would've preferred to punch him honestly, but he was talking nonsense and hurting her at the same time. Finally, he released her wrists, and raised one hand to touch against the light mark on his cheek. On the contrary, he had been slapped before, and the bitter irony brought equally bitter words from his lips.

"Like mother, like daughter."

She'd heard more than enough, but at least now he'd shut up, and she was able to lift her palms more gently to either side of his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. If it was one thing she'd learnt, it was that these Saiyans needed eye contact. Hers were filled with genuine concern and perplexity, yet the cerulean battled against the dilated pupils within burnt sepia, until she knew she had his totally devoted concentration and calmer focus.

"It's me. Videl. Remember?" The softness of her voice matched her touch, brought a shaky breath from his lips that warmed the tip of her nose, as his face came closer. "Oh Kame… Did they brainwash you or something? Or…m-maybe they…" She trailed off, removing her hands from his face, to quickly inspect his arms. The hurried trailing of her fingertips over the muscular curves, was for the sole purpose of searching for the tell-tale dot of a needle prick.

"No," he quietly answered in another, almost nervous breath against her cheek. As Gohan tilted his forehead to touch her own, firm hands gripped at her hips and waist, forcing her feminine softness against hardened muscles. While she tensed to the sudden action and abrupt change in his overall temperament, all he could think about, was how he would ever tell her the truth. How could he tell her, she wasn't who she thought she was? She wasn't just Videl, at least, not the version she'd been raised to think she was. Exhaling a frustrated breath sounded briefly by his hoarse voice, he tipped his nose to the dip at her neck, and deeply inhaled the slightly moist scent. What did it matter, when she smelt as she always had? Why should it matter, when to him, she was perfect.

"Apologies," he finally uttered against her skin, feeling the hastened pulse at her vital vein. To Videl's own surprise, she hadn't fought very hard against the sudden embrace, or the continued intimacy of his sheer, male closeness against her. It felt like he'd come back to her again, and with that came the fluttering and twisting of her lower abdomen as his missing warmth engulfed her. But the odd word that escaped him and vibrated against her neck, kicked her off cloud nine, and back down to the awkward reality. He pulled back; one hand finding her shoulder, and the other resting between their now parted bodies, to lift her chin with one finger.

"It's… the trial," he started, seeming to consider his words very carefully. "The climate here it… effects my… senses. And judgement."

"Alright," she barely managed to speak past her relief, and was mostly glad to finally hear something coherent from him again. "If you say so but… You're scaring me. Those… things you were saying. It was like -"

"We've been still for too long," he immediately cut in, not wanting her to think about what he'd said. Not now. "I will explain, but you have to trust me." His hand claimed hers again, but this time their palms met, and he intertwined his fingers with her own. "We're not alone."

Videl nodded, squeezing against his palm to show she understood. Needing no further encouragement, the Saiyan took the lead again, leading her through the alien foliage at a hasty pace, being careful to help her over the harshly raised ground, or under the hanging web-like vines. For a while, things felt like they were getting better. There was a comfortable silence between them, and a sharing of trust as she relied on his senses, and he relied on her ability to follow without question. Gohan knew that they would both be easier to sense away from the frozen wastelands, despite his lowered ki. But he also believed in his ability to bait out the opponent, and hopefully overwhelm them, or maybe even sense them first. With the Earthling to protect, it was better than blinding himself in the preferred battlefield of snow. He would just have to accept the pride-biting loss of a challenge, in exchange for repaying his debt.

Sooner than he expected, his plan took form. Two power levels suddenly sparked above him, and with quick instincts, he spun. Videl barely had time to inhale her next breath, as a hand closed over her mouth, and she was harshly pulled against the sudden perfect stillness, of the protective Saiyan. She felt how his chest heaved once; how he held a deep breath and planted his feet firmly. Trying to copy his positioning, her eyes flickered left and right, searching for whatever had startled him. But there was nothing, only the shadows between the trees. The came as she was suddenly just half thrown and half tossed aside, while Gohan stubbornly held his position, to embrace the full impact of the sudden, incoming blast…

To be Continued…