Hey everybody, I'm terribly sorry for the delay with this chapter. I've been completely buried in readings on history and I've been trying to complete a hundred things at once, but as a result my story has had to take a step back while I get in the habit of school.
But anyways, I've finally got chapter 21 up and posted now, so I really hope that all of you enjoy it and I beg that I get some reviews. lol I worked hard on this story so I would really love to hear what people think of this chapter.
I tried t be as detailed as possible for this chapter and I do hope you all enjoy it, if you don't, then shoot me a review and let me know why! Anyways, here it is ladies and gentlemen…enjoy!!
~*~
Chapter 21: What Happened?
"Talking"
'Thinking'
An older man along with two other officers barged through the hospital doors and quickly walked up to the head information desk.
The older man quickly flashed his badge to the surprised receptionist, "I demand to speak with the surviving Satan right this minute" he said as the nurse gave him a dumbfounded look.
"I don't know where they are" she said nervously as the chief gave the receptionist a glare.
"Find someone who does" he yelled as he slammed his fist onto the front desk.
The nurse nodded as she picked up a phone and started punching numbers, "Kayla page line 426, Kayla page line 426" she said as it echoed throughout the building.
Moments later the phone in front of the receptionist gave two quick rings, "Kayla?" she questioned as she picked it up. "The cops are here to speak with the surviving Satan, where should I send them?" she asked as she eyed the impatient chief and his two comrades.
"Alright, thanks" she said quietly as she hung up the phone. "She said that if you go up to the fourth floor, she'll meet you in the private waiting room" she said weakly as she chief gave her an annoyed look and nodded his head.
"Thanks" he said gruffly as he motioned for his two comrades to follow him and made his way towards the elevator.
~*~ Elsewhere~*~
"Alright guys, if the police ask why you were here you can't and I mean absolutely can't mention that you saw Videl. In fact don't even mention that you know she's alive. I can get fired and thrown in jail for what I did earlier so I ask that you please keep it a secret amongst yourselves" Videls nurse said as she watched the group settled back down into the waiting room chairs.
"We really do appreciate your hospitality" Aaliyah said as she held onto Yamcha's hand tightly and offered a grateful smile.
"I was happy to do it" the nurse said as she returned the smile.
"I know that you're Videls nurse…but could you at least tell us your name? I feel awful not being able to call you by name" Chi Chi said with a frown as the young African American nurse allowed her smile to broaden.
"Kayla. My name is Kayla and I'm pleased to make you acquaintance" she said as she heard a loud beeping noise, letting her know that someone had arrived in the elevator. She heaved a sigh, "and now things get fun" she muttered as she put a smile on her face and greeted the three officers who walked out of the elevator.
"Hello officers, how may I help you today?" she said with her fake smile still plastered on her face.
"Are you Kayla?" The older officer asked, disregarding her question.
"The one and only…and you are?" she questioned as she put her hands on her hips; she could tell right off the bat that this officer was going to try and give her a hassle.
"I'm police chief Connell. I demand you take me to the patient now" the chief said gruffly as he gave Gohan's family and friends a suspicious look.
"I must warn you sir, the patient is on morphine for pain for injuries and it's not likely that they'll be completely coherent" Kayla said as she attempted to stand her ground against the three men.
"What room?" the chief demanded.
"She's in room 4112, but-" she didn't have a chance to say another word as the three men pushed passed her and moved quickly through the hallways.
Kayla quickly regained her composure as she followed them and stood in front of them, "Videl is not in great condition, she needs her rest. Please let me see if she feels up to talking, or if she's even awake" she pleaded only to have it fall on deaf ears as the chief push past her with his men.
"Please, let me check on her stats first" she pleaded as the chief stopped in mid stride and glared at the young woman.
Kayla lowered her dark eyes as she pushed a strand of straight dark hair out of her face, "let me see if she's coherent before you start bombarding her with questions" she pleaded as she gave the three men a glare of her own.
"Hercule is dead. The man who saved the world, out hero is dead and the only person who knows why is lying in the hospital room that you're preventing us from reaching. I will warm you Miss Kayla, if you continue to interfere with our investigation I will have you arrested for impeding an ongoing investigation" the chief threatened as he stepped towards her and puffed out his chest to prove how serious he was.
"I'm just as saddened as you are about the death of Hercule, but Videl is a hero as well and tormenting her when she's not in the correct mental state is only going to make matters worse. You have to let her talk when she's ready or she'll never be comfortable talking about it. Sir you need to understand she's been through a traumatic event and she was mere inches from death when we received her. Please let me see how she is" Kayla pleaded as the three men stared blankly at her.
"No" the chief said as he pushed passed the nurse and quickly approached Videl's hospital room. With a loud bang he roughly pushed the door open and was surprised to see Saiyaman was in the room, he dismissed that thought and quickly realized why he was there. He marched over to Videl and noticed that the morphine appeared to be having an effect on her so he took when he felt was the best course of action.
"Videl, what happened" he snapped loudly in an attempt to startle her out of her drug induced daze.
Videl jumped in surprise as her eyes snapped open and she attempted to sit up quickly. She inhaled sharply and yelled as a sharp pain shot through her body at the sudden movement and quickly forced her back into the spot beside Gohan.
"Sir, that was incredibly uncalled for" Gohan said in his Saiyaman voice as he sent a glare to the police chief.
"Why are you even in this room?" Chief Connell asked sharply as he sent a glare towards Kayla.
A panicked look came over Kayla's face as she attempted to come up with an excuse, but was quickly interrupted by Gohan speaking, "She had nothing to do with it, it's my fault" he stated sternly.
"I wanted him here" Videl slurred as she tried to focus her eyes on the chief.
"He shouldn't be here" The chief stated as he glared at Saiyaman.
"Sir, with all due respect Saiyaman has saved so many lives in this city, yours included. If the man wanted to make sure his fellow crime fighter was alright, and wanted to comfort her while she's alone in her time of need, I do not object" Kayla stated as she glared at the back of the chiefs balding head, already holding a strong dislike for the older man.
"It doesn't matter" he stated as he shook his head and stepped closer towards Videl and studied her condition. "What happened Videl?" he questioned as he roughly shook her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of her drug induced haze.
Videl yelled in pain as she winced at the force the chief applied to her. Saiyaman quickly stood up and pushed the chief away and sent him the biggest glare he could muster. "Sir, don't you dare touch her again" he seethed as the Chief gave the super hero a surprised look.
"Don't you touch-"he was cut off as Kayla came up and roughly pulled him away from the hospital bed.
"Sir, you will leave this room right now. I will not have you forcefully harassing my patient on my time. You may be the police chief, but I will have you arrested as we have three witnesses here to see how you're handling this situation" she stated as she pulled her hand away from his shoulder.
"I want him to leave" Videl muttered as she tugged gently on Gohans tunic, drawing his attention.
Gohan moved closer to Videl and embraced her gently as she groaned in pain from being roughly shaken.
"I…I'm sorry, that was completely unprofessional" Chief Connell stated as he looked down at his feet in slight shame. "The loss of your father is just so hard to swallow… we want to get the guy who did this as soon as possible and prosecute him to the max" he stated, he quickly sent an apologetic gaze to Videl then kept his eyes down knowing he was on the receiving end of a few glares.
"I don't think Videl is in the condition to talk now, she needs her rest in order for her body to heal properly" Kayla said as she watched the affectionate exchange between Gohan and Videl.
"Videl, may we please talk to you about the events that took place the other night?" the chief asked calmly as he noticed the dazed and slightly uncomfortable look that came across Videls face.
Videl slowly shook her head back in forth in rejection, "I don't want to talk about it" she muttered drowsily, her body desperately wanting to drift to sleep.
The chief heaved a sigh, "we'll come back in an hour or so, but we expect to talk about what happened then. I will leave these crime scene photos here, I beg that you show them to her when she's awake to jostle her memory" he stated, attempting to keep a calm demeanour in such a difficult time as he threw the case file on the counter by the nurse.
"Chief, when should we let the public know?" One of the two accompanying officers asked as silence took over the room.
"Why don't you go and announce it to the public, let them mourn the loss of their hero" Kayla stated solemnly as Gohan sent another glare towards the chief.
The chief nodded numbly as he took his hat off and wiped his brow then placed it back on his head. "Let's go boys, we've got to drop a bomb on the city" he said solemnly as he took a few steps away from the bed. The chief paused as he turned and shot Kayla and Gohan a look, "if either of you show those photos to the public…I will hunt you both down and shoot you" he stated as he turned to the two other men nodded and quietly followed the chief out of the room.
"What a pleasure he is" Kayla muttered as she heard the door shut quietly as the three men exited the room. "Does he not know that you can stop bullets somehow?" she mused as Gohan shook his head gently.
"Beats me" he muttered as he sighed in relief now that the chief was gone.
"I'm sleepy" Videl slurred as she gently rubbed her eyes in an attempt to stay awake.
"I know hun" he said quietly as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I thought you were going to throw him through a wall when I saw him shake her" Kayla said with a smile as she pulled out her pen and grabbed Videl's chart and started writing down her stats.
"I almost did" Gohan muttered as he took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes.
"She's a lucky girl you know?" Kayla said with a smile as she watched the two teens.
"She is, she's a fighter that's for sure" Gohan said as he smiled at Videl's sleeping form as he pulled the bandana off his head allowing his gravity defying hair to stand up once again.
Kayla shook her head and smiled as she once again pushed a stray hair behind her ear. "That's not how I mean, she's lucky to have you. I can see why she'd be interested in you; not only are you very attractive, but you're so sweet to her, it's almost unbelievable" she said with a smile as she watched Gohan blush.
"Thank you" he whispered as he tried to hide his blush.
Kayla giggled a little as she watched his reaction to her comment, "no problem. Anyways, I'll let you be alone with her…I'll be in again in about an hour. I'll let your family know what's going on and they can come back in after the chief has gotten to question Videl, then once he's gone he'll be gone for good" she stated as she received a smile.
"Thank you, I really do appreciate everything that you've done for my family and I" he said as he stood up and reached his hand out towards her. "I feel that I can really trust me with my real identity…my name is Gohan" he said quietly in case someone was on the other side of the door.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Gohan, I'm Kayla" she said as she grasped his hand with hers and shook it gently. "I promise you, I won't tell a soul about your identity. Your secret is safe with me" she said with a smile before the two of them withdrew their hands.
"I really would appreciate that…it was kind of an accident that I revealed my identity in the first place" he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"I figured as much…you sat for an awfully long time in the waiting room in the costume, I didn't expect you just to take it off the heck of it" she said with a laugh.
"I kind of went to blow off some steam when my dad came to get me and I destroyed part of my costume in the process" he said with a small laugh, feeling comfortable in front of the young nurse.
"It's completely understandable. I feel awful that we had to put you through that kind of uncertainty, but I had no other choice" she said as she gave him an apologetic look.
"It's alright, thank you for letting me stay with her now" he said with a smile as Videl once again grabbed Gohans hand gently.
"Gohan….I'm sheepy…" Videl muttered as she desperately struggled to stay awake.
"I'll leave you two be" she said with a smile as Gohan returned the smile.
Gohan sat down beside her once on the bed and held her small hand in his, "go to sleep sweetie" he said quietly as he ran his fingers gently through her hair. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently as he continued to stroke her soft hair.
"I love you" she said quietly as her breathing slowly became shallow and she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you too" he said quietly with a smile on his face as Videl slowly curled up against him. Gohan stared at Videls sleeping form as he continued to stroke her hair, watching her breathing to make sure that she didn't stop.
He felt curiosity getting the better of him and reached over and grabbed the file folder and grabbed the photos and started to look through them. There was a picture of a very blood bathtub as well as a face imprint on a wall in blood. He noticed a lot of them bad bloody areas in each room he finally landed on the final few pictures. There was a picture of Hercule laying with his eyes open slightly, staring blankly into the ceiling above him as his body had atleast four bullet wounds in his body. The next picture was of Videl from when they had thought she was dead, she lay in a small pool of her own blood, her body looked completely broken and mangled, her eyes shut and her skin looked ashen.
'I want to know who did this to her' he thought to himself as he continued to stare at her battered picture, then rested his eyes on her sleeping form. 'My poor girl, I will kill whoever did this to her' he thought angrily to himself as he did everything he could to stop himself from going super saiyan right there.
He took a deep breath, "Videl, I hope you tell me what happened soon" he whispered as he closed his eyes and attempted to take a small nap from his place on Videl's hospital bed.
~*~ Meanwhile~*~
Kayla walked back down the hallway and headed back toward the private waiting room where Gohans family and friend were.
She walked into the room and received a smile from most of the inhabitants as she slumped into a chair beside Goten.
"That chief…is an ass" she said as she rubbed her eyes, "I'm sorry for my language" she said sheepishly realizing that there were two children in the room.
"Don't worry, these two have heard far worse from him" Bulma said with a smile as she pointed her thumb towards Vegeta to emphasize her point.
"Please, you swear far more then I do now that you're pregnant" Vegeta stated as he rolled his eyes at his wife.
"I can't help it, you can" she stated as she playfully slapped his arm.
"How'd it go with the chief?" Aaliyah asked as she lifted her head up from Yamcha's shoulder.
"That man is so pigheaded. I tried to reason with him and pleaded to let me check Videl's state before he went in there, but instead he barged right in, got mad at Gohan for being there, the shook Videl to try and snap her out her drowsiness. She's on morphine, the poor girl can't help it" she said as a few of the looked at her with their mouths open.
"He told you his name?" Chi Chi asked hesitantly.
Kayla nodded, "I promise you I won't tell a soul about his identity, I figured he did it accidently. I think his work in the city is so incredibly and that he does it so selflessly…he deserves the privacy. I was flattered that he introduced himself to me by his first name so I didn't have to keep calling him Saiyaman" she said with a smile as Chi Chi nodded in response.
"Excuse me?" a small vice asked form beside Kayla.
"What can I do for you?" she said with a smile as she was greeted by the smiling face of Goten.
"Thank you for helping Videl…she's like my big sister, I was really scared that she was dead" he said, a sad look coming across his face at the thought of Videl being dead.
"I'm happy to help, Videl is an incredibly woman, I was honoured to be her head nurse and the one in charge of her" she said with a smile as Goten gave her a smile.
"Thank you for letting us see her…I had really wanted to make sure she was ok. Gohan was really sad about not knowing how she was…he's the strongest person I know…I don't like seeing him cry" he stated solemnly as Kayla put an arm around his shoulder.
"I can understand how hard that must have been on him, but he's lucky to have such a sweetheart of a little brother like you. I'm sure he was very grateful to have you there for him in his time of need" she said as she earned a blush from Goten as he nodded sheepishly. "I think he's incredibly lucky to have all of you here for him… I can't imagine what it would be like to attempt to go through something like that by himself." She stated as she received a few nods.
"You're a very kind person" Goku said as he watched Kayla blush in response.
"Thank you" she said shyly as Goku gave her his traditional smile.
"No I'm serious; I don't generally meet someone with that kind of kindness outside our little group. It's a very rare find so it's a wonderful trait that you have" he said as her blush deepened.
"You guys are a breath of fresh air, even when people know the status of their relative, they'll get angry at me if their situation is critical even if it's something beyond my control like cancer or something" she said as she sunk into the chair and attempted to relax.
"You look exhausted hun; maybe you should try and take a nap?" Bulma suggested as she watched Kayla closed her eyes and inhale deeply.
"It's tempting, but I want to make sure I'm awake when his royal pain walks back into the hospital" Kayla muttered as she covered a yawn.
"But…Vegeta's still here" Goku added innocently as Vegeta sent him a glare.
"Sweetie I think she was talking about the police chief" Chi Chi said as she hid a giggle.
"Miss Kayla?" Goten questioned as he gently poked her arm.
"Yes?" she replied as she smiled at how cute and innocent Goten was.
"When do you think we can take Videl home?" He questioned sadly, "I miss home" he said as a crestfallen look came over his face.
"I'm hope that she'll be able to go home within the next few days…maybe tomorrow is she progresses well. But she'll defiantly have to take it easy and can't be up and about for awhile" she said as Aaliyah have a light laugh.
"That will drive her nuts, I swear the only time she's still is when she's sleeping" Aaliyah said with a smile.
"All she does in the house is dance or sing at the house, then she usually gets someone else singing or dancing with her" Chi Chi said as she laughed a little at how she'd often get Goku or Goten singing with her.
"So…she lives with you?" Kayla questioned with an eyebrow arched in amusement.
"She does live with us…under special circumstances" Chi Chi said in an uneasy tone.
"I respect that. I think it's wonderful that you're here for her and that you've taken her in during her time of need" Kayla said with a smile.
"She's like a daughter to us" Goku said with a grin, "she and Gohan are going to be together for awhile".
"You guys are so awesome to talk to" Kayla commented, her eyes danced with amusement.
"Hey I think they're announcing about Hercule" Krillin commented as he noticed the TV flash with 'news flash'.
Kayla stood up and turned up the TV and allowed the broadcast to be heard clearly.
A bubbly blonde appeared on the screen with the hospital in view behind her. "Thanks Tom, we now have word the Police Chief Connell is about to announce recent findings on the Satan shooting case, maybe we'll find out which life was unfortunately lost" she said as everyone behind her went nuts as the chief walked up to a prepared podium in front of the hospital.
"Chief Connell, a comment please" reporters shouted as cameras focused on the police chief.
The chief appeared to take a shaky breath in as he cleared his throat and motioned for the throng of reporters to quiet down. "I would like to get through this uninterrupted. It is my great displeasure to announce that the Satan who was shot…was Hercule himself" he stated solemnly as outbursts of comments and surprised gasps went through the many reporters.
"Please, please calm down. My men and I are going to work round the clock until we get the bastard who killed Mr. Satan. He was a wonderful man, and a hero to all and we won't stop until this case is solved" he aside as many reporters started shouting out question.
"Chief that means Videl is the survivor, what's her condition" a reported yelled out as the Chief nodded his head.
"Videl has sustained a large amount of injuries, but she remains true to her blood lines and fought through her near death experience. We are happy to announce that Videl is in a stable condition. I'm sorry, no more questions" the chief said as he gave a small wave and slowly walked back into the hospital.
"Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen; our world hero was murdered in his home just the other night. Investigations are ongoing and Videl is in stable condition. Stay tuned to Channel 26 news for the most up to date information on the Satan shooting, back to you Tom" the blond said as he turned back to a young man with a brown moustache.
"Thank you Carla, we are all saddened by the news. In other sad news…" the man went on as Kayla turned the volume back down on the TV.
"Our hospital is going to get bombarded with calls" Kayla said as she pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to relieve her headache.
"If he's done with the news broadcast, does that mean he'll be going back up to interview Videl?" Aaliyah asked, worried about her daughters mental stability after such a traumatic event.
"Well, it has been a little over an hour, so I'd imagine he'll be barging up soon" she said as she checked her watch and heaved a sigh. "I better go warn Videl and Gohan" she said as she stood up and offered a smile and wave to the group.
As she was about to leave the room she was stopped by a voice. "Oh Kayla…I know this may seem inappropriate, but could I ask a huge favour?" Chi Chi asked a mysterious glint in her eyes.
"Sure?" she replied hesitantly as she arched an eyebrow.
Chi Chi started to rummage through her purse then pulled out a small black bag and held it in triumph, she gave a big grin to Kayla, "they'll be doing something cute, I can feel it…can you take a picture for me? I'm making a book for them" she said as she walked over to Kayla and handed her the small camera.
Kayla gave a laugh, she was more than humoured by the older woman's request, "sure, I'll see what I can do for you" she said with a smile as she took the camera from Chi Chi and received a nod in thanks. She then gave the group a wave and turned and began to navigate her way down the hallways to Videl's private room.
She quietly stepped into the room and made sure to shut the door without making a peep. She turned around and smile, 'wow his mother as right' she thought to herself as she saw the two sleeping teenagers.
Videl had moved over enough for Gohan to lie on the bed and she had her face buried into Gohans chest. Gohan had one are loosely around Videls waist and the other was wrapped around with his hand resting gently on her head.
She smiled as she watched them; they looked so at peace with each other, so content just to be in each other's arms.
'Wow, his mother was right' she thought with a smile as she pulled out the camera and zoomed in to get a picture of the sleeping camera. She watched as the camera flashed and smiled at the picture that she had taken and gently set the camera down on the counter.
She then picked up Videl's chart and started writing down her stats when she noticed her start to stir. "Have a nice sleep?' she questioned with a smile as she watched Videl's eyes adjust in the room.
"I did actually" she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes and noticed she was curled up with Gohan.
"I didn't mean to disturb you, but I did want to let you know that the chief broke the news of your father to the world so don't be surprised if he comes back up here soon" she said with a sad smile, feeling empathetic for the girl.
"I felt like waking up anyways, and thanks for the warning" Videl replied, offering a torn look.
"You may want to give him a heads up too" she said with an amused look as she noticed was still oblivious to the conversation.
"He revealed himself to you?' Videl questioned groggily in surprise.
"Ha, he didn't do it intentionally, he said he went to blow off steam and destroyed part of his costume and got so caught up in things he didn't notice it was gone. But he said he was grateful for everything I've gone so he told me his name. He's a real keeper you know" she said with a smile as Videl blushed.
"He is…but I should wake him" she said as she started to gently nudge him, and then tried doing it a little more forcefully but to no avail.
"Wow, sleeps like a rock eh?" Kayla asked, amused at how heavy a sleeper Gohan was.
Videl allowed a smirk to come onto her lips, "there's a trick to it with him…watch this" she said as she took a deep breath in and smiled some more. "I guess I'm just going to have to throw all this food out since Gohan is asleep" she said loudly. As soon as those words left her lips Gohan sprung back to life.
"Did someone say there was food for me?" He questioned from his spot, now on the floor.
"How…how'd you know that would work?' Kayla asked as she cocked an eyebrow.
"When they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach…they were dead on with Gohans family. This boy thinks with his stomach" she said with a quiet laugh as she watched Gohan blush.
Before Gohan could reply they heard a knock on the door. "It's me Chief Connell, may I come in and interview the victim?" the chief asked from behind the door.
Kayla turned to the two teens and watched as Gohan frantically out his disguise back on and nodded that he was good now. Kayla walked to the door and allowed the chief back into the room.
"Miss Vide, I'm very sorry for you loss, but we need to question you one what happened in order to get to the bottom of this and catch this guy" the chief said as he took his hat off in an effort to show his respect.
"I…can I tell it to Saiyaman?" she asked quietly as he eyes turned to stare at his bed.
"What?' the chief questioned in confusion.
"I want to tell Saiyaman…then he can tell you. I only want to tell him" she said quietly, her eyes now welling up with unshed tears.
"I don't see why that couldn't work" Kayla added as the chief gave a skeptical look.
"Ok…I'll respect your wishes. But Saiyaman I want very last detail, don't screw up and make me have to question her myself" she chief said, surprisingly compliant to Videls wishes. "You've got an hour to get the story out" he said as he nodded and left the room.
"Wow…I'm surprised he agreed to that" Kayla said in bewilderment.
"No kidding" Gohan said, his mouth still open in surprise.
"Well…I'll leave you two to talk. Here," she said as she grabbed a box of tissues and placed it on the cart beside Videls bed, "just in case you need it hun" she said with a weak smile as she left the room and closed the door behind her allowed the two teens to talk about the traumatic event in privacy.
"Alright Videl…what happened?" Gohan questioned gently as he watched a stray tear fall down Videl's cheek.
He leaned forward and gently wiped the tear from her cheek, "look sweetie, I know you don't want t talk about it, but you've got to" Gohan said softly as he held her shaking form.
She inhaled a shaky deep breath, "alright, I think I can do this" she said quietly as she cleared her throat and quickly wiped her eyes, being mindful of her swollen eye. "Ok, you remember where I left off right? How I had been chased in the park and knocked unconscious with chloroform?" she questioned as she received a not from him. "Ok, I'm going to continue on…I'm going to ask that you don't interrupt me, or else I don't think I'll be able to finish" she once again received a nod and then continued with her story
**Authors note: Alright, I'm gonna write it as if you're witnessing it…it's just easier that way instead of having her sit there and just talk. K? Back to the story!!***
~*~ *~*~*~
Videl felt her heavy eyes slowly opening, 'where am I?' she thought to herself in her disoriented state. She attempted to allow her eyes to adjust to the room, but felt they were more spinning then anything. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, this is when she noticed her breathing was limited through her mouth. Come to think of it…something was tied rather tightly around her mouth, forcing cloth in her mouth.
Videl felt her sense come back to her with a jolt, she realized her legs were tied together at the ankles and her hands were tied tightly behind her back while she was gagged. She also noticed she was sleeping on a rather plush bed, something, just seemed so distant, but so familiar about it.
She looked around the room and quickly noticed that she was back in her bedroom from when she lived in her father's mansion. She studied the dimly lit room and noticed that the room was as she had left it over a year ago, only the windows had heavy curtains covering them.
Her eyes widened as she heard footsteps echoing in the hallway, no doubt coming closer to the bedroom that held her captive. She started to move and try and shake her bindings loose but was unsuccessful. She heard the steps just outside her door and felt her movements getting more frantic as she desperately tried to free herself, but once again, to no avail.
She tried to calm her breathing as she heard the door handle twist and open the door. Heavy footsteps entered the room and slammed the door shut quickly behind them. Videl squinted her eyes to try and see who it was, but the figure was obscured by the shadows.
The man stepped forward and delivers a sharp slap to Videls face, "You stupid bitch" the man yelled.
Videls eyes opened wide both in fear and shock as realization dawned on her as to who the man was. She began to shake unconsciously as her body was racked with fear.
"You made me look like a fool to the world, you went and slept around with that stupid skinny kid and you even tried to play innocent. This is the end for you, you stupid whore" Hercule spat as he roughly grabbed Videl's face and forced her widened eyes to look at him.
He roughly pulled the gag off of Videls mouth. Videl parted her lips as she attempted to formulate words but was struck with fear and couldn't formulate a sentence. Then her eye was struck by Hercule's fist, a scream of pain came from her lips, but was silenced by a hard slap.
Videl clamped her mouth shut quickly, a copper taste filled her mouth, and she knew her lip was bleeding. She looked up, she could feel her one eye beginning to swell, but dismissed it quickly as she stared into her father's eyes.
Hercule looked at her expectantly; he shoved her back against the bed and watched as she struggled to set up. He stared at her, almost as if he was trying to bate her into talking so he could deliver another slap to the face. Videl swallowed the blood that was in her mouth, "You're right" she said quietly, wincing as she expected to receive another blow but was surprised when that hit never came. "I have embarrassed you; you were just trying to look out for me. I was wrong to act the way I acted. I'm so sorry daddy, I want to live with you again" she said pitifully, trying to coax her father into calming down.
His face had appeared to soften momentarily as if he had accepted her apology, but his face quickly hardened as he kicked Videl hard, hitting her in the arm with his heavy boot. She screamed in pain then caught herself quickly. Screaming always made things worse.
"I almost believed you there" he said as he chuckled lightly. He grabbed Videl roughly by the throat and held her a few inches off the ground, allowing her feet to dangle as he gripped tightly to the flesh of her throat.
"No…you've embarrassed me beyond repair, you went too far this time" he seethed as he watched Videl struggle to breath. As a look of panic came across Videl's eyes he gave a smirk. "Scared are we?" he questioned, laughing as she struggled against his grip.
Videl struggled in a fruitless attempt to free herself. Her arms and legs were both bound together, effectively limiting what she could do to fight back. Thoughts raced through her mind as she felt his grip tighten on her throat and felt her world slowly growing hazy.
Just as she was about to black out she felt herself roughly being shoved against the wall, cringing as she felt her head dent the wall behind her, with that final flash of pain, she passed out.
Hercule watched as Videls eyes slowly rolled into the back of her head, smirking in satisfaction, he then roughly slammed her into the wall again for good measure then allowed her limp body to drop onto the floor.
He walked away from her body, casting a quick glance back to see if she was faking it and then shut the door behind him.
Videl felt her heavy eyes open about half an hour later. She attempted to push herself up but felt it impossible as her limbs were still tied up. She pushed herself up against the wall and sat there, her body ached more then she had ever experience before and her head was absolutely throbbing.
She looked around her dim room and as her eyes focused she felt her head continue to throb harder and harder until she suddenly felt a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She frantically looked around the room and saw a large bowl in her room, probably from popcorn she had over a year ago. 'I'm going to be sick' she thought as she quickly shuffled her way over and threw up in the bowl.
She looked up at the wall and noticed a thin blood trail trickling down the wall, then lifted her head up from its spot on the ground and noticed thick red blood had been oozing onto the pale carpet. 'I bet I have a concussion' she thought to herself as she held her breath and noticed that the door was being opened again.
Hercule stormed into the room and looked around and noticed Videl laying on the ground close to her bed. "I see you're up…and trying to escape. Well don't worry you won't be around much longer to have anything to escape from" he muttered as he kicked Videl so she rolled over onto her stomach.
He leaned down and then picked Videl up by her wrists. Videl could feel one of her wrists twisting ore then the other one and felt a sharp pain shoot through one of her wrists, and the pain only continued to get worse as Hercule supported all her weight on her wrist.
She bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from screaming in pain. Thoughts screamed in her mind; she hoped and prayed that Gohan would magically appear and save her from Hercule, she wished she could fight back. She could feel her energy draining quickly, Hercule was definitely determined to end it this time and make sure she never interfered in his life again.
Videl felt as though she was going to drift out of consciousness again, she felt so drained by everything that was going on, she almost welcomed the eternal darkness Hercule was pushing her towards. She noticed him bringing her into the bathroom.
Before she could attempt to come up with a reason as to why she would have been brought here, she was roughly thrown into the large bath tub, landing right on top of her knee.
She winced in pain feeling her knee swell up right on impact with the tub. She looked up at Hercule and noticed an evil glint in his eyes.
Hercule smirked as he noticed the fear in Videls eyes, he reached behind him and pulled out a large jagged knife from his belt and held it in front of Videl.
Videls eyes widened in fear as she felt Hercule slowly drag the dull side of the knife along Videls neck. "Isn't it strange" he started as he brought the knife back up to him and sat on the edge of the bathtub, now playing with the sharp point of the knife. "How something as common as a knife, can strike so much fear into the eyes of the 'fearless' Videl" he said, letting out a chuckle at the thought.
"This ends now" he said with a smirk as he put the jagged blade against the skin of her neck, watching tears erupt from her eyes in fear.
Just as Hercule pressed the hard jagged metal against her throat, a loud noise came from downstairs. Luck was on Videl's side, someone was ringing the door bell.
Hercule sent the bathroom door a glare as he turned his attention to Videl. "You make so much as a peep, I will torture you till you die; slowly and painfully" he threatened as he walked out of the bathroom, knife in hand.
"Who is it?" Hercule screamed as he walked out of the bathroom and quickly made his way downstairs.
"You Chinese food is here sir" came through an intercom.
~*~ Meanwhile~*~
Videl looked frantically around the bathroom, now was her change to attempt to escape. She looked around and all she could find was a razor. She scooted over in the tub and lifted herself up, biting her lip as pain coursed through her body.
She grabbed the disposable razor and frantically attempted to break the flimsy plastic that was behind her back. She eyed the door, listening for the returning steps of her father.
She smiled despite her fear as she felt the flimsy plastic give way and quickly grabbed one of the razors and turned it in an attempt to cut her bindings.
She silenced her screams, tears streamed down her face as her hands and wrists were cut from the blade as she blindly attempted to set herself free. Her eyes then widened in surprise, it worked. She pulled her now free hands over her head, blood drops and smears were all over the bathtub. She quickly grabbed another razor and started cutting the bindings that were around her ankles.
She laughed lightly; she knew this was an odd situation to be laughing but my some stroke of luck she had managed to free herself, she now stood a fighting chance at survival; she would see Gohan again and wouldn't allow this man to continue to destroy her.
She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and face, smearing blood all over her face in the process and quickly stood up, trying to figure out what she should do. She stepped out of the bath tub and slipped as pain in her swollen knee made it hard to support weight.
~*~ Elsewhere~*~
Hercule had just paid for the Chinese food and was looking through the contents of his bag. He picked up a box to smell its content when he then heard a loud banging noise coming from upstairs.
He stared at the ceiling in surprise then realized his daughter wouldn't quit that easily. He dropped the box of food and made a dash for the bathroom, knife in hand.
He made his way to the hallway and slowed his pace, making it difficult to hear his heavy footsteps.
He stepped opened the door and noticed that the shower curtain had been closed. He arched an eyebrow in confusion and then reached out and quickly pulled the shower curtain and was surprised to find an empty bathtubs, with blood smeared all over it.
His surprise quickly turned to anger but before he could scream he heard a scream himself. He turned around and had a hair dryer quickly smash into his face.
Videl screamed as she put all her strength into smashing the hair dryer into Hercules face. She noticed he was stunned by it and quickly took the opportunity to run in an attempt to get outside. She heard an angry growl behind her and knew that Hercule was right in her heels. She could feel Hercule attempting to stab her but he only succeeded in scratching her back.
She screamed in fear, adrenaline coursing through her body, not even feeling the pain that was threatening to knock her out. She ran as quickly as her legs would carry her down the hallway, not daring to look back; she could tell by the heavy breathing behind her that Hercule was hot on her heels.
She heard him growl again as he attempted to stab her, she screamed in response, tears starting to make their way down her battered face. As she ran down the long hallways, she desperately tried to slow him down, knocking things such as vases or mini statues of Hercule down, but it only seemed to make him angrier
She stared up ahead and noticed that the hallway was turning; in Videls mind this could be both a good thing and a bad thing. It was a good thing because it meant she wasn't too far from the door and her freedom; however it was a bad thing because it meant she'd have to slow down to take the corner.
She was jarred out of her thoughts as she felt the knife go whizzing beside her head and insert itself into the wall. A growl of frustration left Hercules lips as he noticed he missed his shot, now he was weapon less.
Videl screamed in terror again as she came up to the corner, her feet slid on the slick marble tile, as she smacked against the wall, leaving a bloody imprint from where she hit. Unfortunately when she felt, her ankle twisted the wrong wall leaving her to fall to the ground in pain. She saw Hercule coming at her and in a split second she rolled over and watched as Hercule launched his fist into the wall.
That was exactly what she needed, as Hercule attempted to pull his fist out of the wall, Videl quickly went back to her feet and started running again. With each stride she took, she felt herself growing weaker and weaker. Her injured joints were too swollen to continue her original pace and her original adrenaline rush was slowly wearing off leaving Videl to feel the full effects of what she's endured in this time frame from when she was kidnapped.
She heard his heavy footsteps coming quickly behind her as she made her way down the stairs as quickly as her mangled body could manage. 'How can I defend myself?' she thought frantically as she attempted to open the door, but noticed that her father had added a few more locks while she was gone, one of them being a lock and key. She couldn't get out of her house and there was no way she had the energy to make it to the back door.
She thought about grabbing a knife from the kitchen, but knew Hercule would be able to easily over power her and stab her as a result. What could she use, her mind desperately tried to come up with some method of defence. She saw a phone on a side table and quickly raced over and grabbed it, pressing 911 as hard as she could.
"We're sorry, but your phone has been disconnected as per your request, please call the operator" a mechanical voice said over the phone.
Videl screamed in frustrations, her father had though ahead, much more far ahead then she had anticipated. She looked to the other side of the room and noticed a number of bags packed as if Hercule was going to go on vacation. She realized then that he had been planning on murdering her and fleeing the country.
"You stupid bitch!" echoed through the hallways, "what I get my hands on you I'm going to strangle you…then I'm going to cut your throat just for good measure" Hercule seethed as he attempted to locate Videl, the voice sounding dangerously close to where she was at the moment.
The words 'kill you' rang in Videl's head, suddenly she had an idea and she hoped her father hadn't changed the location of things in her house.
Videl started running again towards a barely used den, being careful to stay out of Hercules sight along the way; his heavy steps still close on her trail. She ran into the room and saw a dusty, old china hutch and started to frantically rummage through its contents. She made sure she was careful not to break anything.
She felt a smile come to her lips through her fearful tears as her hand landed on something cold and hard. It was still there…she stood a chance, her father kept the gun.
She grabbed it in her hands and turned to make her way out of the house, but as soon as she turned she felt something grip tightly on to her neck and the gun was sent flying into the corner of the room. Videl desperately tried to breath but Hercule had both of his hands wrapped tightly around her neck, lifting her off the floor.
Videl desperately tried to pry his hands from her throat but failed, she was beginning to become frantic; she was going to die shortly and she knew it.
"You thought you could get away…thought you'd win. I got news for you sweetheart…I never lose!" Hercule screamed through his heavy pants as he tightened his grip on her throat even more.
Videl could feel herself losing consciousness; she knew she'd be dead in less than a minute unless she could think of something fast. Then it hit her and she simply acted on impulse; Videl mustered up all the strength she could and sent a hard kick right between Hercules legs.
Hercule gasped in pain as he dropped Videl to the ground and quickly moved both hands between his legs in an attempt to provide comfort for his swelling boys.
Videl gently grasped her throat in an attempt to catch her breath. She realized she had stunned Hercule and she now had the break she had been hoping and praying for. She quickly scrambled to her feet and grabbed the gun and held it tightly in her shaking hands.
Hercule looked up and noticed that Videl had a gun pointed at him; he laughed a little, as he took in a deep breath and stood up straight despite his pain. "You don't have the nerve to do it you stupid bitch" he said with a smile as he watched Videls hands shake with fear.
"Don't move, I swear to god" she screamed as she took in a deep inhale, her lip started to bleed again resulting in a small trail of blood going down her face. "Why are you doing this?" she questioned as she attempted to calm herself, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks.
"You embarrassed me, all you had to do was stay here and attempt to behave, but no, you had to go off with that scrawny kid. You're a disobedient bitch and you will pay for your insolent" He seethed as he narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.
"Don't take another step, I will shoot" she screamed again, tremors of fear coursing through her body as a new way of adrenalin coursed through her body.
"I'll kill you ,you stupid bitch!" he yelled as he grabbed a lamp and charged at Videl.
Before Videl knew what had happened, a bullet fired from her gun and hit Hercule in the shoulder. She watched him scream in pain and drop the lamp on the ground, watching it break into a million little pieces.
"You're pathetic, you fat ass whore" he muttered through clenched teeth as he gripped his shoulder to try and stop the bleeding.
Videl felt tears start pouring down her face as she let another scream leave her lips as her finger pulled the trigger again, and again, and again until she had emptied all the bullets into Hercule. As she shot she watched as his body jerked back after each impact with a bullet until he finally fell backwards onto the ground.
Her body shook in terror as her hand fell limply to the side of her and the gun dropped to the floor with a soft thud. Her mind was telling her to check to make sure Hercule was dead, but her body wouldn't agree. She felt as though something had sucked the life right out of her, she knew her body was willing to give into an eternal oblivion. She felt her eye lips grow heavy as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. With all of her energy gone from her beaten and mangled body, she fell unconscious, unknowing if she would ever wake or not again.
~*~ Present time~*~
Videl felt her whole body shake as she replayed the images through her head again; hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at her hands blankly.
"I'm the one who killed him" she said quietly, her tone of voice seemed confused, as if she were unsure of what to make of the whole event
"If you didn't kill him, he would have killed you. You did what anyone in your situation would do" Gohan said as he held her tightly in a hug. He felt Videls body shake as he held her tightly, her sobs becoming louder and louder as he spoke. He knew that there was no way he could just make this emotional terror leave her so he did his best to comfort her in her time of need.
"I'm a criminal" she breathed out as she gripped tightly onto Gohans shirt.
"You are a victim. You're a hero, you're not a criminal. He was going to kill you Videl…look at the state you're in! He would have continued to come after you until he killed you. You protected yourself" he said quietly, trying to keep his tone at a comforting one.
"I thought I was going to die" she whispered, wiping tears from her face.
"You were meant to be the one to live…you had a will to live; a reason to live" he whispered gently as he rubbed her back gently. "Just cry sweetie…let it out" he whispered as she continued to cry.
"I thought I was never going to see you again" she whispered, her body felt drained, both from the morphine starting to kick in, as well as the motional terror she just realized.
"You're not getting away from me that easily" he whispered laughing gently in an attempt to lighten her mood. "I would bring you back" he whispered as he gently lay down on the bed, bring her down with him.
"Do you think the world will be made at me?" Videl whispered back, as she attempting to stop her tears.
"I think, if there are smart people working on this case that they'll look at the evidence presented to them and know that Hercule was the one who planned everything and had intended on killing you and leaving down. You are completely innocent in this honey" he whispered as he felt her nod her head into her chest.
"I think you should try and sleep, you're safe now and I promise I won't let anyone harm you again" he said as he felt her nod her head gently.
Gohan ran his fingers through Videl's hair as he felt herself slowly giving into sleep. His mind reeled at everything she had just told him; he couldn't even imagine what it would be like to go through that and have your father be the one to go through with it. He was however, incredibly grateful for the fact that she was the fighter she was and how she managed to endure so much that day.
He felt Videl now lay sound asleep beside him, he was grateful for the fact he was alive, and was going to do anything in his power to help her overcome this. He gave her credit; it took a lot of courage to talk about what she went through that day she he would have to repeat it in great detail to the police so they wouldn't have to question her again.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the hospital room's door. He looked up as he watched Kayla peek her head in and give him a gentle smile, "hey sorry to interrupt but the police want to speak t you about what went on" she said as she watched Gohan cast his eyes downwards at Videls sleeping figured.
"I'll be right out…she's been through a lot we'll let her sleep" he said solemnly as he gently moved Videl off of him and let her rest gently on the bed.
"Was it hard for her to get through everything?" Kayla asked as she came over with her clip boar and started writing Videl's vitals down.
"She seemed to have trouble getting through it, but she managed. I was actually pretty surprised when I heard what had happened myself…she went through more than anyone is giving her credit for surviving" he said as he put his bandana back on and put his sunglasses on. He heaved a big sigh, "alright, let's get this over with" he said as Kayla offered a weak smile and led him out of the room towards where the police were waiting.
~*~
Alright, that's chapter 21 guys! Once again I'm very, very sorry for the delay but I have been completely swamped with reading so my next chapter will probably once again be delayed, 2, maybe three weeks. I will try and speed it up, but I've got an awful lot of reading to do and assignments and tests are starting to come up as well.
Please let me know what you think, I love hearing from all of you and I welcome your reviews.
This was my first attempt at trying to write a suspenseful and gripping story, so let me know how you think I did or what you think I need you to improve on.
Hope you enjoyed it! Read and review guys!!