Lesson #4: The Power of Life and Death

Videl awoke early the next morning as the first rays of sunshine crept through the trees and glittered on the calm lake. She got into a sitting position and stretched the muscles in her back. Videl turned her head to where the sleeping Gohan should have been, only to find that he had already woken and had gone off somewhere. In his place was a pair of bright red apples just sitting there with a message written in the dirt, Relax.

Cautiously, Videl reached down and picked one of them up before taking a bite. She smiled as the juices flowed down her throat and quenched both her thirst and her hunger. Realising that she had a lesson to get to, Videl jumped to her feet, picked up the remaining apple and began walking towards the designated area, completely forgetting the message which she had been inscribed before her.

After twenty minutes of solid walking, Videl emerged from the forest into the clearing where they had all gone their own way the day before. Videl wasn't surprised to see that she was the only one there; most people normally wouldn't wake up for another half an hour or so back in the city. The fact that she didn't know how deep into the woods they were staying didn't help either. Only ten minutes had passed before the first of the groups started to arrive being led by none other than Sharpner.

Immediately he rushed up and put one arm around her shoulder. "Videl babe, where were you last night? You know there's always room next to me," said Sharpner trying to be as smooth as possible. However it had the opposite effect. A twitch of the eyebrow and a sharp elbow to the gut had Sharpner on his knees clutching at his stomach.

"Alright," said Bulma as she emerged from the wilderness with a black haired woman by her side. "How many of you guys went without anything to eat last night?" Awkwardly, out of the twenty students which had arrived a dozen of them raised their hands, including the wounded Sharpner. Videl swore that she heard the word 'Figures' emerge from Bulma's mouth. "You're in luck then because this lovely lady here has kindly donated her time and effort to make you a meal which will keep you alive for a little longer. Remember to thank Chi-Chi dearly for what she is about to give you."

Chi-Chi smiled and threw a capsule to the ground after clicking the top of it. A cloud of smoke burst forth before a spread of food fit for a king emerged in its place. Saliva drooled from the students' lips as they charged forth hoping to get their piece of the feast. Students who were still to come had obviously smelt the delights from a mile away and raced into the clearing.

Videl tore away at some chicken and gratefully filled her stomach with everything she could get her hands on. While the fish from the night before and the apples this morning were good and filling at the time they were nothing compared to the amount laid before her. This food was also cooked to perfection and Videl realised she had never tasted nor would she likely ever taste anything this good again.

Within minutes all the food had been eaten without a scrap left over. Goten came charging out of the wilderness at a speed which Videl could hardly make out, he seemed like a blur. He looked like he was about to pout when he saw that all of the food was eaten. Chi-Chi seemed to notice. "Don't worry son, you'll get some later," she said.

Before Videl could speak up about this woman being the mother of both Goten and Gohan someone else spoke up. "THAT LITTLE BASTARD IS YOUR SON!"

Videl turned her head to see the words escape Sharpner's lips. The smooth outline of his face could now be seen indented into the harsh metal of a frying pan. Videl couldn't believe her eyes, just where had that frying pan come from. She faced towards Bulma to see a very angry Chi-Chi still in position from her throw. "DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF MY SON!" she screeched. She stomped over and the crowd split as she Chi-Chi walked towards the unconscious Sharpner.

With a firm grasp she tore the frying pan from Sharpner's face and with remarkable strength pushed it back into its original shape. Videl was stunned, this woman bent solid metal with relative ease. These people just get weirder and weirder, Videl thought. If that's Gohan's mother no wonder my glare didn't work if you get a frying pan to the back of the head each time you do something out of turn. Maybe I should change my tactics.

"Your teacher of the day will be Master Roshi," said Bulma. "Show him some respect and me might let you walk out of here alive." Videl noticed there was a devious little smirk on Bulma's lips as she and Chi-Chi turned and walked away with Goten bouncing behind them. A few minutes passed before Master Roshi walked it to the students who, after watching yesterdays failed attempts by Sharpner, were paying expert attention.

Roshi took his stance in front of the students and gestured for them to sit down on the ground which they did so willingly. From out of his pocket he pulled a tiny seed and placed it on the soil. "Now," he said as he took a steady stance. "What do any of you know about chi?"

"Chi is the source in our body which generates power," said a male sitting in the middle of the class.

"That's only a myth," countered another student.

"A myth to some is reality to others," said Roshi as he tugged at something around his neck. Videl wondered what it was as a little red light flashed in random patterns. "How many of you have seen the footage of the Cell Games?"

Videl wasn't surprised to see every hand shoot up into the air. Although most of the footage had been destroyed the footage which still remained had been seen over the internet by most of the world's population.

"Now what would you say about the balls of light that Cell and those golden haired warriors produced from their hands?" asked Roshi. Several cries of 'Tricks' and 'Fake' could be heard among the rabble the students produced. "What if I were to tell you that all of that was real?"

Videl had to cover her ears from the amount of shouting from the true Satan believers. They were all silenced in an instance as a blue ball of light emerged from Roshi's hand and floated in his palm. As one the group leaned forward as to get a better look at this mysterious ball of light. With great control, Roshi pushed the ball slowly in and around the group, its warmth radiating to all those near it. It hovered in front of Videl and she felt compelled to reach out and touch it. However before she got a chance it zoomed off back to Roshi and sat once more in the palm of his hand.

There was utter silence, not even the wind blew as the students came to comprehend that everything they had been told over the past seven years from the man the city was built after was fake. Before they could dive too far into the topic Roshi interrupted.

"The energy you see before you is my Chi. Chi not only gives power and strength to its wielder but can be used as a weapon itself. Chi is not a generator of power but power in its purest form." Videl tried to remember every word that Roshi was saying, she believed that this was going to be the most important lesson of her life.

Roshi knelt on the ground and with his free hand pushed the seed he had dropped onto the ground before deep into the soil. Videl found herself and the rest of the group creeping forward trying to get a better view of what was going to happen. The ball of light vanished for a moment before Roshi put his palm onto where the seed had been planted. The crowd gasped as blue light seeped through Roshi's fingers. Roshi took his hand off and the students could see that where the seed had been planted a small plant had begun to grow.

"Everyone can have access to their Chi but depending on the individual it is harder to access," Roshi instructed. "Think of it as deep meditation where you are trying to find your centre. When you feel it you have the power of life and death in your hands." To demonstrate his point another blast of light emitted from his hand and the small plant burst into flames startling the students and causing some of the girls to scream in fear.

Videl watched the flames dance before her, she had just witnessed the life and death of a plant within moments and could only imagine what she could accomplish with that sort of power at her hands.

"The rest of the day you are going to spend in deep meditation trying to find your Chi," instructed Master Roshi. "Just sit and cup your hands together because that is where your Chi is going to come from. This may take a few hours or maybe even days to master but your strength will increase tenfold. Only once you have been able to bring out your Chi will you be permitted to leave this training area. That means the sooner you accomplish your goal the sooner you can eat your next meal."

Within seconds everyone had cupped their hands and begun the search for their Chi. Hours could have passed as Videl lost track of time. She could feel her energy but was unable to bring it out. A grunt of pain was heard but she put it out of her mind. Little did she know that the grunt of pain had come from Master Roshi who, per Bulma's orders, was forced to wear a shock collar which activated whenever he had perverted thoughts. A few screams of joy could be heard as people formed balls of energy within their palms. This drove Videl even more as she was determined to bring out her energy.

Her stomach began to growl as half of the class had completed their task and had gone back to their respective campsites. With each person who accessed their Chi Videl's fury grew. She didn't know what she was doing wrong and became even more frustrated. Suddenly she recalled something from that morning, Relax. Taking Gohan's advice the tension within her body dropped and suddenly she felt her veins flow with power. She opened her eyes to see a ball of golden light sitting calmly within her palms.

She jumped to her feet, happy with the success and she looked at those who remained and smiled as she saw Sharpner was still among those who remained. Videl was slightly shocked by the fact that Erasa was nowhere to be seen but didn't think about it too much, she had to go tell Gohan of her achievement. She rushed into the forest but not before Master Roshi took a quick glance at her breasts and 100 volts of electricity were shot into his neck.

I'm back but updates are likely to be slower than what has become expected of me because of assignments. Stay tuned there is more to come within the coming weeks. Please review.