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Last Chapter: Goten and Trunks find out about Gohan. Videl agrees to take up training under 'Master' Gohan.
Written by the somewhat infamous Goku's Daughter
Chapter Four: UndyingUndying:
: not dying : IMMORTAL, PERPETUAL
--Merriam-Webster Online
Bulma walked into her lab with a soft hum escaping her lips. She was finishing up the touches to her lab report for the meeting held at Capsule Corporation tomorrow. It was an annual gathering of world-renowned scientists, especially those of great discoveries. Sometimes the conferences were held so a special auction or selling could take place. In the beginning the scientists would meet, exchange greetings and pleasantries. Then later on, they sell what invention he or she had recently developed over the year. At times, some scientists were too busy to attend such functions that they have a representative take their place. People of high-class and of the wealthy would be the other half who would attend because they're the individuals who can afford whatever these scientists were selling, which were mostly new and are not opened to the market yet. Or they were a newer version; which would make them rare. It amazed Bulma sometimes how much these snotty rich folk would spend on something that's not available to the public, regardless if it's actually worth buying or not. Nevertheless, it was fun to see how imaginative and creative some of these scientists were. As for Bulma, she was going to introduce her newest model car.
The car had the most aerodynamic style of the many cars that Bulma had seen before. She had a vision of a car that not only looked good but traveled at lightning speed. The body kit had been welded and crafted by Bulma's own hands. The spoiler, 17" inch rims and deafening exhaust were all signature trademarks of her amazing work. She didn't just want people to pass her by and assume the car was another one of those souped-up shit boxes every teenager in the country drove. No. She wanted people to notice her work and her discovery of NOS fueled cars. Not anyone could drive this car; it would take a special someone to master the speed it possessed. With NOS fueling the car, there was no need for gasoline or a vagor system. She ditched her plan to insert a Detroit motor; instead she installed 4 piston rings and 12" inch valve pipes. She twisted the chasey so it could withhold the speed the car was designed for. She did not want the car to weigh a ton so she diminished the thought of a parachute and invented a new air brake system specifically for the car. The engine was constructed of new metal; one which weighed less than the entire car. Bulma had discovered the metal while mixing elements, thus calling her car Element Eighty. The interior and windows were a solid black. The decals on her car were naturally drawn and painted on by her. A dragon covered both the fenders and the sides. The finishing touch: Element Eighty powder-coated on the front hood. She wanted to sell the car for more than four hundred seventy-five grand. It had taken her a long time to construct the machine and cost her a lot of coin.
Bulma laughed to herself softly. No one would be able to beat what she had done to a simple car. She laughed again while she opened some white draws, looking for a screwdriver. Unexpectedly, the blue-haired woman found the dragon radar; it was blinking. Curious, Bulma picked it up and held it close to examine the reading.
Out loud, she commented her findings. "That's weird. One of the balls is moving really close to this one. It wasn't like this yesterday." Bulma wasn't a dragonball guard or anything; she just felt the need to check on them, occasionally. "It's just two though." She wondered how many people knew of the dragonballs. Only a selected few did, and as far as she was concerned none of them tried to use them, not even Goku. He insisted that he did not need the dragonballs to find Gohan because using a wish on something that Goku could do himself may be considered abusing the dragon's power. Bulma suddenly frowned, her thinking expanding. Or it could be that Goku didn't want to be wrong about Gohan being alive. Goku did not want to be hurt further. No parent would want to be told that his or her child is long deceased. Not even a man who still had deep, unanswered questions and upsetting regrets.
Bulma's frown deepened. Whoever was gathering these balls couldn't possibly know what the dragonballs could do once all seven were united, she reasoned. Maybe they just thought the dragonballs looked pretty and decided to collect them. Her frown gradually morphed into a crooked smile. "Yeah, maybe." And just like that, she shrugged it off. For now.
Videl walked behind Gohan at least one meter as he was giving her a little tour of her new 'castle'. She was quite amazed with the size of the house. However, the décor wasn't impressive; it was bland and boring. She only took one step outside of Gohan's room and figured that much. The lights that fitted inside the ceiling were satisfactory, but the walls were bare and plain. Her eyes narrowed slightly. As she noted before, almost everything seemed empty.
Then came that same wooden hallway where Videl pondered about whether to take a left or right the other night. She glanced right and saw an empty wall—a dead end. Silently she thanked her instincts that she chose left.
Videl looked ahead. Eight strides away she would have found another door perfectly aligned with the door to Gohan's room. She stared at it and wondered why she never saw it that night. There weren't many lights around it and maybe that was the cause. She continued to stare, wondering, until Gohan noticed and spoke up.
"That's a training room," he said, pointing at the door. "I don't like to attract so much attention to it." That was all he said before turning left, heading the same direction as Videl did the night before. She had no choice but to follow him, dissatisfied.
Videl noticed how everything looked a bit different in the day. Soon she figured why she never saw Gohan in their third encounter.
From a far distance she saw it. It was almost thirty steps away, but at the pace that she started to run at it, it seemed that it'd only take five seconds to reach it. Videl recognized that the thing was a transporter, first made by Capsule Corporation. But this one… it looked different. There was only one model that Capsule Corporation created—so the only explanation would be that this was a copy.
"Where does that lead too?" Videl asked, pointing to the transporter as she neared closer and closer to it.
"To the other side of the house on the main floor." His answer was plain and honest. There was another next to it. He pointed to it, saying, "That one leads to the second floor."
Videl nodded slowly and never really noticed how cooperative Gohan was being. She took in a deep breath and turned back at him. Suddenly her head suddenly jerked to the side, recognizing something vaguely familiar. Those three doors. She remembered that she took one of them when she was running from her supposed 'servants'. She smiled for once (in a long while) from the memory, wondering what happened to the map.
Videl did not consider Gohan when she immediately went to the first room. She pushed the door gently and was half surprised when she did not find that map. The red light that surrounded it wasn't there either. She frowned and looked around. The panes of the two windows were painted in a deep, scarlet colour. The walls failed to correspond to that dark blood red colour. Instead, it was orange. Orange? Of all colours, dark orange? But at least the room was small compared to Gohan's room. It seemed to be a quarter of the size. Videl tilted her head to the side and looked around. Nothing occupied the room. Absolutely nothing.
Videl turned to the door and bit on her lower lip. Gohan stood at the door with his arms out and hands on the sides of the doorway, waiting for her with a frown.
"The next two rooms look like this except the walls are black and…they're filled with…garbage."
Videl walked to her abductor, beginning to follow him again. She didn't know why but she believed his plausible answer. Men were pigs and maybe Gohan chose those two rooms too fill his junk with.
"The floor below us is pretty much the same. You can access the training room from any level. You can find a library down there, additionally to a recreation room. Basically there are just more rooms. Some are empty and some are for the androids," he explained while they walked.
Gohan headed to that same transporter that Videl spotted moments ago. At first she thought that Gohan was going to use it but he instead took a sharp right and headed straight until he met with a long counter. He brought her to a kitchen.
"You have a kitchen upstairs?" Videl asked.
"I have a bigger one on the main floor. This one is for when I get hungry at night and need something to eat."
Videl narrowed her eyes and was going to interrogate him on his appetite if she didn't hear her stomach growl.
He snorted. "See you're lucky that I have food upstairs," Gohan said, walking to the fridge. Everything seemed modern as Gohan appeared to be prodigal with his money. She took three steps, finding four black stools by the black and gold marbled counter. Videl sat down, tapping her nails repeatedly to a tune. She finally realized how hungry she was as she felt and heard the borborygmus.
"What do you want to eat?" Gohan asked, sticking his head in the fridge.
Videl frowned, shifting in her seat. "You're going to cook?" She sounded surprised.
Gohan moved away from the fridge to stare at her. "No, my servants will." Silently, he walked to that same counter that Videl was sitting at. "Watch this." He slammed his fist on the marble two times within a heartbeat. In only a second a red button flipped on top from the inside. "Press it," he commanded with a string of superiority in his voice.
Videl gave him a rebellious, harsh look before showing any facial expression of hesitance. She almost rolled her eyes before pressing on the button, waiting. It only took five seconds for Christina and Salina to appear with a smile on their faces. They didn't seem to be angry with Videl (much to Videl's relief), although their facial emotions did look a bit empty and forced. It was more artificial than anything else.
"What do you want to eat?" Gohan asked again, the tone of authority still vaguely present.
Videl didn't know if she should trust androids with her food, but her stomach was rumbling so loudly. She could feel the acid eating away in her insides—and her famish was at the point where it was getting painful. "I want four bowls of rice with…shrimp and sweet and sour chicken." She then regretted saying that. It wasn't the choice of food that she selected. It was what she could have used her hunger for. Go on hunger strike.
"Make it twenty five," came Gohan's voice. He made his way back to the suburban part of the kitchen and sat down on a black leather stool beside Videl. He watched her expression carefully as it changed from hesitation to amazement and then finally to confusion.
Those androids moved really fast in the kitchen and Gohan deliberately programmed them with this attribute. He wasn't sure why he made them to be strong, but when it came to making them his servants, he made sure that they were able to fulfill his needs. One of them was to make good, tasting dishes as soon as possible.
"Remember they're not humans," he said momentarily as a bowl of rice with chop sticks found its way in front of Videl. Soon she was eating and was surprised how good it was.
"Woah, even my cooks don't make good food as this." she remarked while chewing on her food.
Gohan didn't say anything.
When Videl received her second bowl of rice she glanced at Gohan. Her eyes gradually bugged out when she witnessed his feral-like eating habit. His chewing was so rapid and quick that he finished a bowl in ten seconds. His pace didn't stop when he ate on a chicken leg. He'd just crush on the bones and then spit them out into another bowl that he ate out of previously.
Videl didn't say anything at first, not until she finished her fourth serving. When she asked for a tall glass of coke, she was disappointed. Gohan had no pop or soda in his house. So Videl settled with water, not like she had a big problem with that. When Videl got her beverage, she began to slowly sip on her drink, making sure to make annoying noises while doing so. She turned to Gohan and watched him. Satisfied that he was ignoring her, she could tell it was annoying him despite the fact he wasn't saying anything. He repressed his feelings, but she just could feel his hate ooze towards her at that moment.
Videl faced one of the servants, Christina, and politely asked for ice in her drink with a forced smile. It took less than ten seconds to get what she asked for and she expressed her gratitude with a small, "Thanks". By the time Videl turned to the side to face Gohan, he was on his eighteenth bowl. Quickly Videl drank the water, making sure that the ice was inside her mouth. Then slowly she began to crush the cubes, continuing her presentation of annoyance. This time Gohan paid attention to her, and by the look on his face, that noise was on beginning to get on his nerves.
"You'd think that the 'Champ's' daughter would have manners?"
Videl stopped chewing (and allowed her mouth and brain to warm up), almost sneering at him. "You'd think that you would have manners when eating?"
He gulped down his glass of water before responding. "Saiyans have great appetites."
Videl began to chew on the ice again, turning to the counter. "Is there anything else that I need to know about…Saiyans?"
Gohan rested his arms on the cool counter and looked at his tail. It was beginning to unravel from his waist. "Actually, yes." He watched his tail wonder to Videl's wrist. It played with Videl's arm, stroking it up and down and eventually coiling itself around her wrist. "My tail can have a life of its own sometimes." While his tail did such an act, Gohan's face held no emotions.
"I can see." Hercule's daughter stared down at Gohan's brown furry appendage, gulping down the crushed ice. Her look suggested that she wasn't disgusted or horrified. She didn't know why but it fascinated her. It reminded her of monkeys—and monkeys are talented animals, sometimes cute even. But this was Gohan. He was not fascinating, talented, and he kidnapping her heavily clouded her vision to classify him to be cute.
"My tail can also allow me to transform."
"Transform?" She was almost afraid to ask.
"I was warned that if I look up into the moon, I'll transform into an Ape-beast," Gohan vaguely explained.
Videl rolled her eyes and then her stare went to him. She temporary forgot about the tail. "Yeah right," she began with unbelievingly. "Let me guess, you'll go on a wild rampage and destroy everything."
Gohan finally took a good look at her face. She seemed a little confused and frustrated but more than anything else; she didn't want to accept anything that was going on. He could tell she was just playing on and hopefully she will return home and wake up from this nightmare. Gohan tilted his head to the side and made a small smirk. "You don't believe me, do you? Next time when the moon is out I should go out and transform. But I might kill you if I do that."
She almost laughed. "Well we might get what we both want, now won't we."
"No, you will," he pointed out.
She did a half eye roll and began to unwrap Gohan's tail from her wrist. Surprisingly it had a good grip. Deciding a good method to get it off, she quickly (and intensely) grabbed onto it and pulled as if it was glue. Then she saw the look on Gohan's face.
For a moment, he looked like he was in great pain, ready to yell or beat her. Videl pulled on it even harder to see it again. Call her sadistic, but she wanted to hear him scream. It took her two minutes to see that Gohan would not submit.
"Don't pull on it," he said breathlessly, doing a good job to repress the pain. He was close being immune to pain if someone grabbed hold of his tail, but Videl totally caught him surprised. "That's my weakness." He snarled and stared at her, and she could feel the hate once again. It was worse this time but there was a part of her that wanted to laugh. Fortunately for the young woman, he didn't dare resort to violence to tame her.
Videl was definitely tempted to disobey him but she saw the icy, odious look in his eyes. They threatened her enough to stop; the intimidation was quite fierce after all. She knew he could really hurt her if he wanted to. When she slowly let go, she realized something else important.
Her lips almost closed together tightly but she never took her eyes away from her abductor. "Why did you tell me all this?"
"If you're going to live with me, you should know these things." He simply shrugged with an air of insouciance.
Videl opened her mouth to say something else but she stopped herself. Her lashes lowered as she looked down at herself. "You know I really hate what I'm wearing." The dress was getting to her badly.
"Why is that?"
"I don't want to sound ungrateful," she started sarcastically, "but I hate wearing dresses like these, especially for no reason. Don't you have other clothes for me," she paused and smelled herself. Her nose wrinkled up. "Or can I at least take a bath?" When she thought about it, the last time she showered was in days.
Gohan turned to face her, leaning against the counter. "Yeah, I guess you can. But there's no point. I still want to fight you."
Videl just gave him a stern "I-don't-care" look.
Again, Gohan shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine. I guess you can wear my clothes until tomorrow morning."
"And the shower?"
"In my room there's a sliding door. Once you go through you'll find a room with sinks, kind of like a semi-foyer for a bathroom. From there, there are two other doors. One leads to the toilet, shower and bath. The second main door leads to a sauna."
She blinked. Twice. "Sauna?" Videl almost laughed.
Gohan's face hardened. "Yeah. It came with the house," he simply explained.
Videl rose from her seat and looked around. "Aren't there other bathrooms here?"
"Yeah," he paused, in some short reverie. "But it's not as fine as the one in my room. There's also no lock to the door."
The girl breathed in heavily with closed eyes and exhaled with a frown on her face. She rested her hands on her hips, gathering determination. "Fine. I'm going to take one now." She turned away from him and started to walk away. She stopped, however, when she could feel his stare on her. Angry, Videl turned around. "What?"
Gohan gave her a wicked smirk, one meant to get a rise out of her. "You know… I can break locks?"
Videl gritted her teeth. "You know… I can ram my foot up your ass?" she countered with equal threat in her voice. Even till now her spirit remained.
At that moment Gohan received another large glass of water. He gulped it down and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Videl turned around and stomped towards his room.
"Don't be a pervert Gohan!" she yelled as she walked through the halls. "If you do, my threat still stands. My foot… up your ass!" Surprisingly she remembered the house layout pretty well. After all, Satan's Mansion was huge like this.
Gohan smirked while shaking his head. "Clothes will be on the bed. Meet me in the training room." When he didn't hear anything after that, he asked for another drink.
Videl faced what she supposed was the sliding door that Gohan mentioned earlier. She didn't notice it before because she never expected it to blend in with the walls. It did take her ten minutes to find it and that was only because she was randomly running her right hand fingers on the wall until she felt a lump—or something slid open. Videl did not hesitate to enter.
It was nice to see the lights automatically illuminate when her right foot touched the cold white marbled floor. Thankfully, his washroom wasn't narrow. It was actually appealing and clean. She figured Gohan's servants took care of the cleanliness. "Hmm…" She looked more closely.
The area was pretty big and decorated more nicely than the bedroom. Videl actually admitted that the white-goldish marble along the wall was…pleasant in colour coordination. The pearl-like counters were also satisfying. "Not bad," she murmured.
Videl glanced to the side and looked into the wide, lengthy mirror covering most of the wall to her right. This was the first time in a while that she actually had a good look at herself. She was almost horrified how different she looked in the dress. She wasn't sure if it was a good different, or a bad one. Her body was shaped nicely in it, she admitted, but was it for herself, or for Gohan's fantasy? She shuddered. Next, she noticed her hair. It was in mess! It was so tangled that she had to be concerned with it at this point. Finally, the odd part came. Videl noticed how her eyes lost its shimmer. It was dull, holding no light. In addition, her skin looked so pale and dull and felt rough in texture. Videl knew how bad she needed to take a bath. Quickly she locked the door and headed to the second door.
When Videl walked into the room, she immediately looked for a towel. She was thankful when she spotted a stack of them on the side of the room. Truthfully, Videl wasn't surprised that most of them were black. Dismissing the thought with a shake of her head, Videl grabbed two. Her attention went on the Jacuzzi as she put the towels on the side. She turned the knobs of the machine and waited until it was filled at a nice, warm temperature.
Now this is where she slowed down. Undressing here made Videl uneasy. The room was huge and there could be cameras around. Videl shuddered and felt the tears film her eyes once again. "Damn you Gohan," she hissed while peeling down her top half of the dress. When her chest was uncovered she flinched as if there were perverted eyes watching her; it was stinging her. Videl forced herself to continue.
It took her ten minutes to finally get into the hot water and a semi-smile on her face proved that she was feeling a little better. The discrete warmth from the water melted her, helping her heal and relax. For the first ten minutes she relished the water through her hair to toes. She savoured how the liquid made her forget what was going on with her life—or what little she had left.
A soft groan escaped her lips before she scratched her head. Realizing that she did not use any shampoo or soap she looked to the side and searched. On her right, against the marble wall, there was a rack holding three items. A bar of soap was the first to be noticed. The second was a bottle of shampoo. It was for normal hair and had no specific or popular name brand; just ordinary and mundane. The third was on a higher shelf. She had to reach higher to obtain the bottle. Quickly she read the label, figuring that was like a special antiseptic soap, specialized to clean wounds and cuts. Videl shrugged and continued to read, almost laughing when it was scented lavender. In spite of this, she stopped when she felt how heavy it was. It seemed like Gohan didn't use much of it, or it was a new bottle. Whatever the case was, Videl made sure she was going to use a lot it. No, that wouldn't be right. She was going to waste it. Videl chuckled wickedly to herself as she poured the substance into the water.
"Ah shit," she suddenly said, flinching back a bit.
It looked like Videl forgot that she still had wounds on her body from some previous bouts…
And yes, it burned like a bi—er—a lot.
After that life-changing incident in the attic, Goten and Trunks decided to go outside, rather than to stay with a pained Goku and Chichi. Silently both children flew to their destination, relishing the air blowing on their faces.
"Hey, Trunks, do you believe that I have a brother?" Goten suddenly asked, interrupting the silence.
Trunks's eyes darted on his best friend and then to the open blue canvas—the sky. "Yeah I guess I do. We saw pictures. Why would your dad lie about something like that?"
The younger boy nodded. "Dad is too nice to do something bad like that…" Goten said just above a whisper.
"Well then your uncle must have gotten all the evil in the family to have kidnapped your brother," Trunks noted out loud, not putting his eyes on his troubled friend.
Goten kept silent for a little while, pondering on something. "Hey Trunks," he began.
"What?"
"If you were my brother and if I had a son, would you steal him away from me?" he asked with innocence.
Trunks frowned. Now that was a stupid question. "No Goten, I wouldn't take your son," he paused, in some kind of reverie. "Unless…"
"Unless what?"
Trunks shrugged. "Unless I was jealous maybe?"
Goten smiled a bit. "Why would my uncle be jealous of dad?"
"Maybe your dad had something what your uncle wanted."
"Gohan?"
Trunks nodded with a slight smirk on his face. "That's right!"
"But why Gohan? He was only a small kid!" Goten pleaded, trying to find a better excuse, a plausible reason.
Trunks crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "I'm not sure what was so special with Gohan… but I bet my dad would know why!"
"Uncle Vegeta?"
Trunks nodded. "Of course. He's the Prince of Saiyans you know. It would be kind of crazy if he made an order to recruit all Saiyans and start over; but forgot about it because he made the command when he was only a kid."
Goten raised an eyebrow. "Then why would you want to ask him about it. He might remember."
Trunks smirked at the naïve boy, looking up at the sky with a slight disappointed shake of his head. "Who cares? I'll benefit from it. After all I am royalty."
It must have been over an hour since Videl had been soaking in the Jacuzzi. By the prune-like texture of her skin and the cool temperature of the water, she finally decided it was time to get out. Carefully, she raised herself and wrapped her body with one the towels. Next she turned back and unplug the tub, watching the water go down the drain. Slowly she stepped back and dropped her upper body forward so she was able to wrap her hair up into a turban with the other black towel. Videl then walked out of the door and looked back into that mirror.
At least now her skin looked much cleaner and had some sort of glow to it. However, her eyes… it was still dull and almost lifeless with a transparent gloss to it. It was worth concerning. Videl shook her head softly and walked out of the massive bathroom, expecting to find clothes there on the bed.
And she was right—but still she was startled. On the bed were her panties, her sports bra and her matching shorts. Her eye twitched twice. The first was from thinking how Gohan stole these and the second was from pondering if Gohan actually believed that she was just going to wear that? She furiously turned around and looked for his closet—if he had one. Her uncoloured lips were bitten on while she repeatedly wondered where his clothes were. She laughed oddly and murmured, "He probably wears the same thing everyday." Her nose wrinkled up as a soft "Eww," escaped from her mouth.
Reverting back to a serious person, Videl began walking around the room, carefully inspecting the wall. The only sliding door seemed to lead to the damn washroom. She sighed and entered once again. Maybe, if she were lucky, she would find a hidden closet.
Videl ended up staring into the same mirror again. When she thought ten minutes past she unraveled her towel turban. Her head shook violently, freely, so her hair was left a bit wavier than usual. Upon inspecting herself, she soon saw something that she was never able to perceive before. From the reflection behind her, on the wall there was a soft white outline of a rectangle—but one of the sides were missing. Curiously Videl turned around and approached it. She put her fingers over the outline, not feeling any difference in the texture or an indication that it was a door. Frustrated, Videl pounded her fist in the three-sided outline and turned around. When she heard something roll, she twisted back to look at it. There was an opening. Videl smiled a bit and entered, hoping it wasn't the sauna.
The moment she stepped inside, four lights from each corner of the reasonable, medium-sized room lit up. Her blue eyes scanned the room. Half of it was empty. Half of it was full with furniture and clothes.
Her eyes lit up for only a moment when she saw the dresser and racks full of clothes. Immediately she went searching through Gohan's clothes. She found his black boxers, his black sleeveless shirts, and his black socks. Videl wasn't satisfied until she found a big t-shirt. It was white and it would go "just great" with her black shorts. Half content, she grabbed the shirt and headed back to the bed…
Gohan wouldn't mind her borrowing (and maybe ruining) his things.
Gohan was changed into his light training costume which consisted of a black sleeveless shirt, which showed off his muscular arms, and wore a dark black gi pants. He twisted his neck twice on each side, resulting in two snapping sounds. Next he stretched lightly, and then began simple exercises: creating deadly ki balls and throwing them into the training room so it can bounce off the walls and potentially knock out their creator. Gohan had done this at least ten times and was left untouched before Videl entered the room. To his surprise her wavy hair was still wet and she was in his t-shirt. At first he didn't say anything because he really didn't care. He wasn't fond of white. "You took long enough," Gohan said in an icy tone, staring at Videl as she neared him.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm new here," Videl said and then quickly added, "And plus I am a girl."
At that Gohan had an urge to chuckle. "Alright, what do you want to learn first?" His eyes narrowed down to slits as he carefully looked at her face. Her eyes were red, glassy and puffy. She had been crying… again.
"I thought you wanted to fight me," Videl said sourly. At those words 'fight me' she lowered her voice to a pitch of a man to mock Gohan.
"With your hair, opened and wet?" Gohan asked back, also making fun of her that she was a girl. Not like that was a bad thing to him.
Slowly Videl frowned as she coiled her hair into a bun. "Now it isn't opened." She paused and carefully looked at him. "Why do I have a feeling that you don't want to fight me?"
His right shoulder rolled in a circular manner to stretch it out. "It isn't that I don't want to fight you. I just want to bring out your full potential before having another fight with you. That way it'll be more interesting for me."
"Glad to be one of your musings."
He made a dry snicker at that. "So do you want to learn how to generate ki or what?"
Videl's blue eyes narrowed down with a deepening frown. "Does it look like I have a choice?"
Gohan neared closer to her until there was a small gap between them. He bared his teeth. His eyes thoroughly examined her face. "As much as you don't want to admit it, I know you want to learn and become stronger. I can see it."
Videl turned her body to the side with crossed arms. "How perceptive of you. And—" she halted, refraining from commenting on his body. The moment she walked in, she noticed his muscles. This time it was different. At the gym… they weren't as big, stimulated. Or maybe she just didn't really notice them. Whatever the case was, they were now distracting. Just great. She was stuck with an alien, who was a total jerk but had a damn chiseled body that can set anyone on fire. Videl just had to be strong—and avoid temptation. And then, she would win. "Uh, never mind."
Gohan never asked about her sudden silence. Training wasn't supposed to involve argumentative conversation. The half-Saiyan smirked at her before stepping back and forming a ki-ball in his hand. "Hey future-mate-of-mine," he taunted, expecting to receive a look of anger. "Catch!"
Thus, the training began.
"Sir, we found the second one."
Raditz looked up lazily yet expectantly at his servant. The Saiyan sat comfortably in a chair, resting for a moment in his own 'home'. He wouldn't officially call it home, no he'd never admit that, but this is where he felt safest—and most powerful. The building was one story above ground; however, there were at least three levels underground.
Underground. Dark. Cold.
It made his spine tingle the first time he found it, but he was glad that he did. It was well hidden and not known by many. Only Gohan and his servants knew of the location. Gohan did live here at one point, but when he entered the age of eighteen he moved to a bigger place. Raditz didn't mind because there were the underground tunnels to lead him back to his nephew.
"Good," Raditz replied simply, taking the object in his hand. His eyes wandered over it. Round, orange, and almost transparent. And finally it was in his possession.
"Master also sends greetings," the servant said, bowing his head.
Raditz murmured something incoherent before looking at his servant. Tall, strong…and not fully human. "Where are the rest of your comrades?"
"Master needs to upgrade their bodies," the non-human servant replied.
"Tell your master that I said thanks for," he paused, and held up the ball, "this… Tell him I thank him for helping me collect the third star dragonball."
The servant, who appeared to be male, wore a gi-like dark blue pants with a vest. He appeared to be a fighter and Raditz had no doubt in his mind that he was not someone to be taken lightly. With courtesy, the servant bowed, knowing his place.
"Also tell Gero that he'll have his money when Gohan sells the robots."
The servant nodded, knowing that Raditz was referring to his master. The master who respected Raditz, and had high ties with him. What he didn't know that both were using each other for their own desires.
Raditz needed Gero for his androids.
Gero needed Raditz's strength and intellect when it comes to fighting.
However, both of them needed Gohan the most to fulfill their utmost desire.
Gero and Raditz shared the same dream; that is why they learned to tolerate each other. It is why Gero shares his androids; and why Raditz allows Gohan to occasionally do Gero's work. As much as they didn't want to admit it, they needed each other to get what they wanted.
That, or they both had time to spare with really nothing to do. Evil company was always the best.
"I'll be searching for the rest of the dragonballs, sir," the android announced. From a safe and polite distance, the android bowed at the doorway, and then was out of sight a few moments later.
Raditz just sat there, caressing the orange, smooth, warm dragonball. "Two found. Only five more to go."
It took her six hours. Six hours to learn how to create ki-balls and how to levitate in the air. Also in six hours, she passed out into unconsciousness. Gohan didn't know if he should be impressed—or disappointed with her mental and physical fatigue.
Silently Gohan laid on her the bed and sat down beside her. As he did before, he watched her intensely. He didn't wipe the sweat off her face, nor did he move strands away from her eyes. He did not know what compelled him to do so—to abduct her, to be near her—which frightened him. Never in his life did he do something without reason. She was the first. And last.
Almost reluctantly Gohan got up and put on some clothes. He looked at his silver watch and was delighted that it was just evening. He decided it would be a good time to pay a visit to some fighting folk.
Before he left his home, he made an order to one of his servants: buy this month's issue of five of the most popular teen magazines; and obtain each featured product for Videl.
Like he said before, he would buy anything she wanted.
Though Videl claimed that it wouldn't grant her happiness, it'd definitely get her out his hair. Even if it would be for a while.
Kick. Block. Block. Punch. Jackhammer fist! Strike harder. Again. Retreat. And breathe.
Tien panted as all of his split forms returned to his body. He frowned, not sure why he was training. Maybe he thought it was one of his responsibilities to Earth. Maybe he believed he was born for the purpose of annihilating evil. Or perhaps he thought that he should be in his best shape—at the top of his game… even though there were some that could surpass his power, like Goku. Despite that reality, Tien still believed to be at his peak and for some reason he had this inking feeling deep down inside him that he should continue training. Perhaps it was because he felt there was great evil coming to the Earth or maybe it was just his imagination.
Whatever. Tien still trained. And that was the point.
The three-eyed man looked around him before splitting himself again. He had these weird feelings lately not because of braining. There was something else. He suddenly stopped, turning back quickly to try to sense anything near by. He did not know why, but he had a feeling that something… or someone was watching him. Tien waited and watched. Nothing. Nothing emerged from the cold mountains that surrounded him. Nothing created a sound instead of the constant pounding of his heart. As much as his senses did not find anything, his instincts—his gut feeling—still felt something.
"Maybe it's just a lost animal," Tien thought for a moment.
Yeah, it must be.
Who would come out here and observe Tien train while he displayed impressive skills such as the Solar Flare attack?
No. No one would.
Still, why would Tien care if someone were watching?
Mayhaps someone would steal his moves and possibly use it in the future against him.
Naw. No one would…
All three eyes looked around. "There's no one here," he reasoned. Any ki around him was low, low as an animal. Not an individual was here except for himself.
It was almost eleven when Hercule retired to his bedroom, tired and exhausted. With emotional and physical fatigue, he lazily stripped out of his clothes. The "Champ" wasn't too out his senses to notice a yellow envelope fall out of one his pockets. Hercule scrutinized at the object and picked it up.
"Red ink… weird," Herucle noted softly.
Slowly and with a soft sigh, Hercule opened the envelope. Then he read it. His eyes widened. Twice. No, make it five times. He just couldn't believe it. Hercule couldn't believe it all.
The paper was yellow, matching the colour of the envelope but was in a darker shade. The font colour was also a darker shade of red. But this didn't faze Hercule. The contents did.
Hercule read it out loud this time, to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Dear Satan Hercule,
"Greetings 'Champ'. The last time we tangoed someone was left with a nasty bruise. Now don't worry yourself with your daughter missing. She's safe. I won't hurt her. Just do yourself a favour and don't bother to look for her. Wherever you search, you will not find her. I don't want money. All I need is your daughter…" Hercule paused for a moment and his eyes immediately went to the bottom of the page.
"Maybe if you're nice you may be able to see her again, but not with those reporters and media around…"
Hercule's breath was caught in his throat. Someone kidnapped her! Someone was going to pay! Hercule snarled as his fingers trembled. "Videl—" His voice cracked. He re-read the letter again but this time there was a piece that stuck in his head. "Last time we tangoed someone was left with a nasty bruise". It took him only a moment to realize that this person, whoever it was, had fought him before.
And then it struck him.
The same guys who attacked him last month must have abducted Videl! The guy who tattooed a letter "R" permanently in his flesh! This was the only man powerful enough to do such a thing.
Hercule clutched his hand over his chest as he gasped. Following that was a loud thump from his body collapsing to the marble floor. "Videl…" he murmured. His body trembled, his voice cracked again. A loud scream bellowed out of his mouth before darkness took over.
Goku's Daughter's Note:
Merry Christmas everyone, even if I'm a couple days late. I was going to write a Christmas fic but I didn't have time. Surprisingly, I've been pretty busy during the holidays—parties, family gatherings, sleeping in, etcetera. I especially thank reviewers for the last chapter… You guys made me a very happy. Me happy… it's rare. A lot of the reviews I received amused and pleased me to no end. *hands out slices of ice cream cake to past reviewers* Next chapter, if you review, you have a choice of rum cake, my mom's special fruit cake (I know, it's nasty), or pineapple upside-down cake, which is sooo good. *rubs tummy and feels as if it'll explode*
Mel—every two weeks I'm updating with this.
Please, if you ask me a question, leave an email so I can respond, rather than doing it in the chapter. I'm trying to reply by e-mail.
Anyways, that's about it. I guess. Happy New Year everyone! Make sure you review, but I assure you next chapter will be great. Gohan does something really, really bad. *laughs like mad*
:-Goku's Daughter-:
Kiss kiss