Chapter Six
A Royal Pain
"Alright, let's just get this over with," Gohan sighed, tightening his gi sash around his waist and attempting to gulp down the lump that had appeared in his throat.
It was early the next morning, so early in fact, that the young saiyan had managed to avoid Goten's wake up call. After digging out the gi that Piccolo had materialised for him for his birthday; the usual deep purple with red sash and red weighted wristbands, he had poured himself a measly bowl of cereal and took off towards Capsule Corp. for his first training session with Vegeta.
The teenager couldn't believe he had been subjected to such torture and was dreading spending the entire morning with the hot-tempered Prince. His mother had been less than sympathetic after Gohan had returned from his shower, and he had spent the rest of the day in his bedroom; texting Lime back and forth exclaiming just how unfair his life was.
Gohan had simply refused to give the other's a call to apologise, as his mother had suggested; he could do with less people poking their nose in. And as much as the young saiyan hated ignoring his friends, he needed some time to cool off.
Evidently, Piccolo thought the best way to do so was to spend his Sunday morning with the Prince of all Saiyan's.
Said Prince was positively beside himself; he stood proudly in front of Gohan with his arms crossed and his stance as wide as his shoulders. His obsidian eyes hadn't left him from the moment he had entered the gravity room, a wicked smirk playing on his lips.
Vegeta was dressed in a pair of dark grey jogging bottoms and a navy tank top; a pair of training boots adorning his feet. Trunks had been banned from the chamber of course, despite attempting to force his way in several times after he had sensed Gohan's ki. But a part of him wished the little saiyan was here, maybe Vegeta wouldn't be so hard on him? The teen shook his head, that was a stupid thought.
"Don't tell me your not excited boy?" Vegeta gloated, "Saiyan blood runs in your veins after all, you must be itching for a fight."
Gohan scoffed, blowing a stray bang out of his eyes, "I thought we were training Vegeta, not fighting."
"There's a difference?" he grinned wickedly, and without warning came speeding full force at the young saiyan.
Gohan squeaked, dodging out of the way just in time as Vegeta's swinging fist aimed for his face.
"I see your reflexes haven't been affected by your laziness," he mused, his gaze finding the halfling as he straightened up, "Must be all that rescuing cats from trees you do in your spare time."
Gohan opened his mouth in an angry retort when Vegeta launched himself at him again. The young saiyan ducked, as the prince's leg soared over his head, ruffling his hair from the wind it had caused. Gohan stepped back, as Vegeta didn't let up; continuing his onslaught with a barrage of punches that narrowly missed colliding with his body.
"You can't dodge me forever!" Vegeta shouted, startling the teenager and enabling the prince to land a hit directly onto his chin. The skin popped, spilling blood onto his chest as he toppled backwards, landing on his back with a loud clang.
The gravity room's titles were metallic and cold, and not at all comfy to fall on. Gohan held his sore chin as he sat upright, his eyes narrowing at the gloating saiyan.
"Pathetic," Vegeta snorted as the teenager clambered to his feet, "Although it does seem as though Piccolo has underestimated you."
A gust of wind picked up around them, as the full bloodied saiyan's ki began to spike. In a sudden flash of blue aura, Vegeta appeared in front of him and Gohan felt as though a sudden ton of bricks had been dropped onto his stomach. "You've gotten a lot softer," the prince spoke snidely, retracting his fist and allowing the halfling to drop to his knees.
Gohan gasped, his hands reaching around his middle in pain.
"Get up, brat," said Vegeta simply, "You're not even trying."
Gohan sighed in defeat, knowing that his stubbornness would only get him so far. Hopefully training with Vegeta would get Piccolo and the rest of the Z-fighter's off his back. All he had to do was get Vegeta to transform into an ascended super saiyan, which didn't sound too bad unless he said it out loud. But Gohan couldn't simply teach the Prince how to do it; he wasn't sure if he could do it anymore, never mind the level of absolute fury he had lost himself in when he had made the ascension. All he was riding on was the hope that if he could piss Vegeta off so much that he would transform, then he could get on with his normal life of going to school, seeing his best friend and doing his duty as a super-powered vigilante without getting arrested.
Marvellous, shouldn't be too hard.
Clambering steadily to his feet, the young saiyan slipped into his fighting stance; which was reminiscent of both Piccolo's and the Turtle School's style. His guard was low and short; having being the smallest of the Z-Fighter's for so long he had had to rely on speed and stealth in order to overcome the enemy. His knees bent slightly in preparation for Vegeta's next onslaught; his hands balled up into fists as he eyed the Prince.
Vegeta had no real stance to speak of; instead, he stood stoic and unwavering, which was just as intimidating. Even though the deal was that they were supposed to be helping each other, Gohan couldn't help but feel that this 'training' had been a little one sided so far.
"Well come on," Vegeta growled, "No one's going to ascend any time soon if you keep gawking at me like a blithering idiot! Fight me!"
Gohan gritted his teeth, allowing ki to flood from the pit of his stomach out towards his extremities. Like a fire, his white aura ignited around him before he kicked off from the ground and careened towards the Prince; drawing his fist back before launching it towards his cheek.
The punch all but grazed him, as Vegeta managed to phase out; his own aura blazing before bringing up his knee to Gohan's ribs. The young saiyan caught it just in time, using it as a tool to propel himself above his elder and stretching out his palm, blasting a white hot ball of ki towards him.
Vegeta batted it away viciously, sending it spiralling behind him where it exploded; scorching the tiled walls. Then, as the smoke subsided; he was in the air, delivering a hammer fist to Gohan's head which made a sickening thud when it collided.
Dropping a few feet, Gohan growled; and ignoring the dizziness, powered up a little more before blasting towards the Prince.
"No super saiyan's boy!" Vegeta yelled, blocking the teenager's attack with his forearm.
Gohan was seething; he didn't understand how Vegeta expected to ascend under these conditions. On his orders, they were both in their base forms and without the gravity simulator even turned on; just what was he trying to achieve?
The teen attacked again, delivering a spinning kick to Vegeta's side; but to his despair, the Prince caught it, wrapping his arm around his thigh in a crippling hold. Gohan yelped in pain, as Vegeta squeezed hard on the appendage. "Too slow!"
"Too stupid!" Gohan yelled back, twisting himself around and raising his other leg to connect his boot with Vegeta's face.
To the young saiyan's relief, the Prince released him before being knocked back a few feet. Panting heavily, Gohan mentally cursed himself for letting himself slip a little; he hadn't trained with anyone properly for years. A few spars at Capsule Corp. barbecues certainly didn't count.
But Vegeta, true to form, didn't ease up; he was upon Gohan before he could even blink. His knee roughly embedded itself into his gut, lifting him into the air before Vegeta followed up his attack with an elbow strike to the teen's spine.
Slamming to the ground on his hands and knees; the young saiyan gritted his teeth, looking up to find the Prince still circling above him. With a battle cry, Gohan launched himself into the air towards him; unleashing his fists upon his elder's torso.
"You're letting your anger blind you," Vegeta snarled, grabbing Gohan's incoming fist before delivering his own to his ribcage. "THINK! Don't let your years of battle be wasted!"
"I'm wasting my bleeding time here!" Gohan puffed angrily; blocking Vegeta's shin, "What the bleeding hell are you trying to pull?!"
The saiyan didn't answer; instead, he grasped both of the teenager's wrists and snapped his head forward so that their skulls connected; sending Gohan flying backwards so that he smacked roughly against the opposite wall of the chamber.
"See!" Gohan coughed, spitting a mixture of blood and saliva onto the ground, "You're just doing this for your own amusement; what do you get off bullying me?!"
"What are you five?" Vegeta scoffed, earning himself a glare from the halfling, "This is for your benefit as well as mine so stop whinging and let's get back to work."
"Can't I just tell you how to become a super saiyan two and be on my way?" he pleaded hopelessly.
Vegeta's lips twitched at the name the Z-Fighter's had dubbed the ascended transformation, "Oh and you think you could do that do you?"
"Well I-"
"Listen up brat," he said suddenly, "You are not here to teach me anything. I am the Prince of all Saiyan's, I will not be lectured by some low class half-breed."
Gohan floated from where he had crashed; his arms across his chest as he silently fumed.
"Piccolo and I are fed up with your damned attitude and your complete disregard for the power you wield; that is why you are here," Vegeta continued, "As for me, not only do I get a kick out of beating one of Kakarot's idiotic spawn; I get to push him to release that power and show me the trigger to achieving the next level that I'm so desperately close to."
Gohan blinked; he didn't know that Vegeta was so close to achieving the ascension, and with a heavy feeling did he realise that he would find out all too soon.
"So boy, are you ready for the next round?"
Gohan sighed as he got back into his stance. Honestly, he wasn't so sure he was.
xxxx
The weeks of June slipped by in a haze, a long drought was affecting the majority of the land and the high rising sun did nothing to ease the hottest days that they had faced in decades. Gohan was particularly agitated by the heat, as he and Vegeta's training had continued regardless; and just last week did the Prince get so angry with him did he blast the young saiyan into the air vent; knocking out the air conditioning to the gravity chamber.
Bulma made the excuse of being too pregnant to care or in fact, do anything about it, and so the saiyan males were subjected to training in nothing but their underwear; something that Yamcha was beside himself with when he had walked in on them training one day.
Gohan was exhausted; he was ordered to spend every day after school with Vegeta, after going to school, enduring Shu and finishing his homework of course. He and Lime had barely spent any time together, which was frustrating the hormone fuelled teen to no end. He had taken to the streets of Satan City at night as The Gold Fighter; unless there was a catastrophe in the middle of the day of course.
Being tired and irritable did nothing for his vigilante appearances; he was just as reckless and rude as ever. During one of his appearances, he had saved a bus load of primary school children from veering off a cliff face. Once they were out safely and being interviewed by a group of excitable paparazzi, Gohan had yawned loudly, stretching out his arms in succession and leaning on the bus; sending it crashing to the rocks below and leaving several dozen children stranded. It was safe to say that the public still hadn't warmed up to him just yet, and neither had Videl Satan.
His body was starting to take the toll of his ruthless endeavour too, as he had started to turn up at school with cuts and bruises everywhere; something that Shu was particularly quick in pointing out, calling him every name under the sun along with snide remarks about his father.
Which was why, after another long evening with Vegeta, was Gohan sat atop The Lookout, allowing Dende to heal him so that he would receive less ridicule from Shu. That, and his mother was making him want to tear his ears off every time he came home with a black eye. Dende, thankfully, took time out of his studies to botch him up; they both didn't want to keep pestering Korin for senzu beans.
Gohan sighed gratefully as the warmth of Dende's healing powers pulsated in waves over his torso. His shirt, ripped as it was had been discarded; his long hair drenched with sweat, his gi bottoms were also torn in places and well as a scorch marks and cuts littering his body. The young Namekian stuck his tongue to the side of his mouth in concentration, focusing on a deep gash in his side that Vegeta had awarded him with just before he passed out.
Dende made a short noise of disapproval, scooting over to inspect his ribs.
"You should have seen the other bloke," Gohan joked, causing his friend to frown in distaste.
"Honestly, I can't deal with the stupidity of you saiyan's right now," said Dende, Gohan having had explained the whole ascension complex Vegeta had to him days ago.
"Oi!" the teenager protested, "Don't forget it was a Namekian that forced me into this - OW!"
"Stay still," his friend tutted, his fingers brushing the sensitive scarring of his left arm, "How many times do I have to tell you to go easy on it?"
"Try telling that to Vegeta when he's got it in an arm bar," Gohan scoffed, "He says it's a weakness. Bloody typical of him when I injured it protecting the ungrateful git- OW! Watch it!"
The young Namekian ignored his protests as he straightened out the appendage, the prickly feeling running up and down the bones and muscles; causing the young saiyan to wince in pain.
"Oh stop it," Dende chuckled, noticing how tense the teenager was, "I'm not even doing that part now. Now please stay still, I need to heal your ribs, two of them are cracked."
"Alright, alright," Gohan sighed, sitting back a little.
The two friends sat in silence, thankfully, it wasn't as warm up on The Lookout as it was on the Earth below, and Gohan found himself relishing in the cool breeze that swept over him, the soothing hum of Dende's power filling the air.
The halfling had just taken to admiring the butterflies in Mr. Popo's garden when Dende cleared his throat, "Um, Gohan?"
"Hmm?" The young saiyan quirked, his gaze fixated on a sapphire blue butterfly that had just landed on a nearby Linden tree.
"Well its just, there's something on my mind," Dende mustered, still healing.
Sensing the nervous tone in his friends voice, Gohan looked towards him, "What is it?"
Dende retracted his hands, the warmth suddenly leaving him. The young Namekian bit his lip, and looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Gohan was suddenly concerned, "Dende, what's the matter?"
"Well," he started, twiddling his thumbs, "As you know that with being Earth's guardian comes great responsibilities; I have to learn everything from the way the plants grow to the way humans…work."
The young saiyan stared at him with a curious expression, having no clue what he was talking about.
Dende let out a slow breath, "Recently, I have been reading up on human relationships…"
Gohan bit his lip to keep himself from laughing, he could imagine a disgruntled Piccolo throwing a book at him and commanding he study the birds and the bees. Namekian's came from eggs after all, and they would simply just hatch more if they wanted more Namekian's. There were no kinds of intimate relationships between them unlike here on Earth as far as he knew, poor Dende.
"So, what do you want to know?" asked Gohan, he couldn't imagine Piccolo helping in any way, shape or form if the young guardian had a question that was that way inclined.
"I've got a good grasp on the basics," Dende replied, "But something has been bothering me."
"Oh?" he pressed, stifling a giggle.
His friend nodded, before turning to the halfling, "I've read how marriages work, as a union between two people; I've seen that they usually get a house together and stay in the same bed but…"
"But what? Great Kami, spit it out Dende," Gohan urged in an exasperated tone.
Suddenly, the guardian slapped his hands over his eyes; "I'm so sorry Gohan! I didn't mean to look!"
The young saiyan blinked, taken aback, "Look at what? What the bloody hell are you on about?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Dende cried, peaking out from between his fingers, "It was the night you disappeared after that attack in Satan City and Piccolo was really worried, he's been teaching me how to watch certain people from up here so I thought I'd try it out to find you but - oh no!"
Gohan's throat ran dry, "What did you see?"
The young Namekian slipped his hands away from his face, a bright purple blush had crept onto his cheeks. "Well, I didn't really know at first, but blimey Gohan I didn't realise you were that close with that girl!"
If the halfling wasn't completely mortified, he would have found the fact that the Guardian of Earth had swore utterly hilarious. "You were spying on me?!" he roared, blushing just as much as his friend.
"No not spying!" he protested, tugging at the neck of his garb, "I was just looking for you a-and then, and then I-I saw you in b-bed!" His breathing was rapid, looking completely panic stricken, "and y-you were, YOU WERE HAVING S-"
Gohan was incredibly thankful that his friend had healed his ribs, as it would have made shutting him up a lot more difficult. "Be quiet!" The young saiyan growled in a low voice, his hands slapping over Dende's mouth, "Don't you realise how big Piccolo's ears are by now?!
Dende, who was completely startled by the halfling launching himself at him, gave a muffled shriek underneath his palms. "Now, I'm going to release you," Gohan said calmly, "no shouting, alright?"
Dende nodded furiously, allowing the young saiyan to retract his hands.
"S-sorry," the guardian blushed, "I was just a bit shocked by it all. I mean, I never expected to see-."
"Yes alright Dende," Gohan fumed, folding his arms across his chest, "Serves you right for snooping."
The young Namekian hung his head in shame.
"You can't tell anyone either," said Gohan.
"W-what?" Dende gasped, snapping his gaze towards him, "Like a secret?"
"Yes a secret Dende," the halfling spat, "Meaning your not allowed to go running your mouth to anyone."
"But Guardian's aren't supposed to have secrets!" he panicked.
"Well tough luck, now you have this one!" Gohan snapped back, engulfing the pair in silence.
"I am truly sorry Gohan," mustered Dende, "I really didn't mean to."
"Sorry for traumatising you," Gohan chuckled nervously, "Just please try not to do it again, alright?"
Dende smiled, "Oh trust me, I'm already trying to find out a way where I never have to see anything like that again."
The two teens shared a look, before erupting into laughter, the sound echoing over the sanctuary. Piccolo and Mr. Popo were safely tucked away indoors, the former more than likely deep in meditation and the latter cooking. Gohan drooled as he caught the scent of food from the temple, Mr. Popo could nearly rival his mother with his culinary efforts; but then again he had hundreds upon hundreds of years of practice. He hoped they would offer to have him stay for dinner before he had to go home.
"Seriously though Gohan," Dende started after both boys had calmed down, "Do you like her? Lime? You must do as I only read about people who were married doing that sort of thing."
"Well yeah, of course I like her," said Gohan, feeling a little embarrassed, "and you don't have to be married to do stuff like that Dende."
"I thought as much," he replied knowingly, "But why do it when its not for procreation?"
"It feels…well, you do it when-" the halfling failed, his eyes darting around him. Not sure really how to explain it, he leaned over to his friend and whispered into his ear. Once he had finished, Gohan drew back with a smirk and Dende looked at him with a wide eyed expression.
"Wow," the young Namekian breathed, "Weirdly, I feel as though I'm missing out."
"I know right," said Gohan with a wicked smile.
Dende clapped a hand to his mouth, failing to hide his excitable giggle. "It really is remarkable, you've got to tell me more about it! For my er, studies of course."
The young saiyan had never seen his friend so giddy, so decided to humour him; "Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Well," Dende said thoughtfully, "There was the thing she was doing when you were out in the cornfield's together, how does that work?"
"Well it's -" Gohan stopped sort, positively seething at the young Guardian, "Wait a minute, JUST HOW LONG WERE YOU WATCHING US FOR YOU BLOODY PERVERT?!"
xxxx
Gohan didn't visit The Lookout for the rest of the week, and as consequence had to rely solely on botching himself up with home-remedies after his gruelling training sessions with Vegeta. Even though he had repeatedly told the prince specifically not to touch his face, he didn't listen; nor did he care, meaning that Gohan had to go to school looking as though he had been hit in the face with a sledgehammer. His peers didn't ask too many questions, the Son family were well known in the village for their martial arts background. However, this didn't ease Gohan's annoyance towards the situation.
It was a dull Tuesday afternoon, and the young saiyan was sat lying with his head in his arms; ignoring Lime's constant elbowing in an attempt to get him to stay awake. Luckily for them it was a Shu free day, and the two teenager's had managed to find a space at the back of the class. It was another 'read in silence' sort of lesson with Paisley, and Gohan had taken this opportunity to nod off, leaving Lime to cover for him incase he snored.
He had hoped that with each training session, his stamina would improve and he would at least be able to spend one whole lesson without falling to sleep. But to the halfling's dismay, his busy schedule was taking its toll and his concentration was being effected; thus he was currently sporting a rather nasty cut above his eyebrow.
He had attempted to cover the wound with steristrips, although it could still be seen from beneath his spikey fringe. He was getting increasing fed up with Vegeta going full throttle at him every time they trained; and he didn't feel like he was improving at all. It was as if Piccolo was pawning him off as the elder saiyan's new punching bag.
Just as he was starting to get comfortable, he heard a faint beeping sound coming from his wrist. It beeped a few times, before Lime forcibly kicked him in the shin and caused him to sit up abruptly. Several students had turned their heads towards him as Gohan fumbled with his watch in an attempt to silence it.
Bulma had recently installed a brand new communication system in his Gold Fighter costume, that caused his watch to notify him if a big emergency was taking place; even if he were hundreds of miles away and not just in the same area.
Gohan waited for his peers to turn back around, before he held the small speaker to his ear and listened to the transmission. "Attention all units! A fire is currently raging in the old warehouse on the corner of Herc Street and Eastern Avenue; its spreading to the flats next door! Several casualties have already been pulled from the destruction, evacuation is in situ! We need urgent back up!"
The young saiyan blinked, Herc Street and Eastern Avenue sat at the heart of Satan City; part of the industrial estate that was near to the city's main gas works, if that went up then a lot of people would be killed. He needed to get out of school, but he wasn't sure Bulma would be too happy about covering for him again.
With an idea springing to mind, Gohan stood up suddenly, his chair scraping on the wooden floor. "Sir! I don't feel very well!" he said loudly.
Every pair of eyes were upon him in an instant, including Paisley's, who eyed him from behind his spectacles. "Not feeling very well Mister Son?" he said, studying him disbelievingly.
"No Sir, not very well at all," said the teenager, clutching his stomach, "I think I need to go to the nurse."
Catching on, Lime stood up, clapping a hand over his forehead, "Oh Gohan! I think you're getting a fever!"
"Who said that?" Gohan said in a weak voice, swaying on the spot and half closing his eyes, "Mummy, is that you? Why is everything getting dark?"
Several of the class snickered.
Paisley sighed in distain, "Very well Mister Son, if it's that bad, you may go."
The young halfling sighed in relief, grabbing his bag from the floor.
"Be careful," Lime whispered, before he gave her a winning smile and bolted from the room.
Gohan reached Satan City in just under five minutes; having had transformed mid air, his long golden locks flowed behind him in rapid motion as he arrived at the scene. He could spot the billowing towers of smoke from miles away, and sure enough did he come to find that the entire warehouse was engulfed in flames.
The air was hot and humid, and was filled with the screams and shouts of the people gathered on the pavement below. They were being pushed back by fire officer's and police, who had placed barriers around the perimeter in an attempt to tame them. Fire engines were dotted around in front of the blazing building, their hoses blasting streams of water into the roaring flames.
But as the transmission said, the blaze had spread; and the complex of flats next to the warehouse was alight, engulfed in a gold and amber hue. Ambulance sirens reached his ears, and Gohan noticed several people being dragged from the building; though, with a heavy heart, he couldn't make out whether they were dead or alive.
It was an odd place to build living accommodation in such an industrial part of the city; steel works and small mechanic shops surrounding it. Then again, it was at the 'rougher' end of the city, and he guessed that renting a flat out there must have been pretty cheap for a tourist town.
Gohan's green eyes darted about him from beneath his visor; trying to figure out a way to put out the blaze. A gust of ki was not enough to put out a fire of that scale, and a Kamehameha wave was too much; people were still inside the building and could get hurt if he released something like that.
Suddenly, something glinted in the corner of his eye. He turned, spotting a large water tower atop the block of flats, its contents were surely enough to put out the fire before it spread any further. He looked towards the ground, where firefighters could only reach so far with their hose's; there was no way they could reach the top, the complex must have been about forty stories high.
A loud crack shook him out of his thoughts, followed by a scream as the steel roof of the warehouse started to twist and crumble under the heat. Quickly, the young saiyan made his decision and swooped down to the ground, landing in front of a flabbergasted fire officer.
"Blimey! It's The Gold Fighter!" one man shouted from the crowd, although he could barely be heard over the commotion.
"Sir, you need to get your team into the building," Gohan said in a calm voice, "Concentrate on getting these people out and I'll handle the fire."
"W-what?!" The man spluttered, "Just who do you think you are kid? This is no place for a vigilante! This is real stuff here and you could get hurt!"
"Look," the teenager explained, "There's a large water tower on the roof, there's no way that your firefighter's can reach it in time before the building collapses; or worse, it spreads to the gas works."
The fire officer blinked in disbelief, yet there was utter helplessness in his eyes. The fire was too big, people were going to die. The man gulped, his eyes studying the teenager, "How on earth do you expect to-?!"
"Trust me, Sir," said Gohan, "I know what I'm doing."
Before the dumbstruck man could reply; the young saiyan was suddenly surrounded. The police had abandoned their posts at the barricades, and had their guns pointed at him.
"Stand back Rodney," the man who looked like the Sargent due to the insignia on his sleeves said to the fire officer, "That there's The Gold Fighter, he could be dangerous."
Gohan sighed; he really didn't have time for this.
"Thank you Sargent, I'm perfectly aware of who he is," said Rodney, with a smile; surprising the teen, "But right now we have a more pressing problem on our hands, and The Gold Fighter wants to help."
"Surely you can't be serious?!" The Sargent gaped.
"Oh completely," Rodney stated, turning to the golden haired boy, "You said you know what you're doing right son? You sure you can handle it?"
"Believe me Sir, I've handled a lot worse," Gohan grinned, and with an approving nod from the man, he shot into the air; ignoring the desperate shouts from the police behind him. The frightened crowd gasped, as they watched The Gold Fighter soar high above the flames, causing them to flicker backwards from the impact of his aura.
The halfling stopped above the complex just to see, with relief, the majority of firefighters retreating to help pull more people from the building. All Gohan needed to do was make sure that everyone was out safely before he released the water, he wouldn't want to drown anyone either.
He was poised, waiting; when his hair suddenly flew in front of his face from a gust created by a familiar yellow helicopter.
Gohan face-palmed. First bullets, now fire? Just what does this girl think she was made of?
"I've spotted the water tower Sarge," Videl spoke into her wrist watch; she was standing on the edge of the open door as it hovered over the complex; ready to jump. "I'm going in."
With an almighty leap, the Satan girl landed effortlessly on the rooftop and raced towards the tower.
Gohan swore under his breath, landing behind her in one fowl swoop. "Stealing my ideas now are we Miss Satan? My, I never thought you'd stoop so low."
Videl jumped at the sound of his voice, spinning around on her heel with fury in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
She was already sweating from the heat, a light sheen evident on her forehead and neck. Gohan wasn't feeling it as badly, even though the smoke was making it a bit difficult to breathe; training in the wild fluctuating temperatures of The Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a year certainly had its benefits.
Without waiting for Gohan's answer, the girl snarled, "And what are you even doing here anyway? Honestly you're like some kind of stalker! You're always following me!"
Gohan gaped at her, before smirking, "Well maybe I wouldn't have to follow you if you were actually any good at saving people."
He had never thought he had seen Videl so angry, "It was fine! Everything was fine until you decided to come here! No one likes that you're here! No one wants you here! And you're not helping!"
"Okay, first of all," he started, holding up a finger, "If everything was fine before I showed up, how do you explain the growing crime rate in the city?"
Videl glared at him.
"And second," said Gohan, holding up another finger, "I am helping, Rodder's himself asked me to come up here and sort it for him, so looks like your other theory of no one wanting me here is wrong too."
"Who the ruddy hell is Rodder's?" she seethed.
"Rodney," stated Gohan simply, "The fire officer. Nice bloke, might ask him if he wants to go for a pint after I've saved everyone."
"You're lying." she gaped.
"And why would I do that?" he grinned, "You can go ask him if you want, be really helpful if you got out of my way while you're at it."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Videl roared, her voice cracking under the thick air, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to put out this fire, get the rest of these people to safety and then unmask you to expose you for the prat you are!"
Gohan snorted, "Good luck with that."
As soon as the words left is mouth, the tiles below their feet shifted. The building had started to crumble from the intensity of the heat, the fire slowly destroying its foundations.
"Shit," Gohan swore, as a large crack appeared under his boot.
"We've got to get that water flowing!" Videl cried, realising the impending danger and running into the flames.
"Videl wait!" he yelled after her; as infuriating as the girl may have been, he still didn't want to see her get hurt.
The flames were wilder now; reaching above the rooftop and entrapping them. Various snaps and pop's could be heard below as windows shattered under the pressure. Gohan caught up to Videl in an instant, just as she began to turn the valve in front of the tank.
"Ouch!" she yelped, the metal hot under her palms.
"Here, let me," offered Gohan, scooting to the side of her.
"Get off!" she shouted, shoving him back.
"Stop being so effing stubborn!" Gohan growled, the smoke getting thicker, "We can't release the valve anyway until all the people are out!"
Videl gave him an enraged look, but said nothing; instead, she wiped her sweating brow with her forearm.
"Look, its too much for you," he sighed, "maybe you should-"
"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled, "You know nothing about me!"
"I know you're not fire proof!" he shot back, but couldn't help but notice the angry tears that had sprung up in her eyes.
Beep Beep.
Beep Beep.
Gohan's watch sounded, startling him a little. "Hello?" he asked uncertainly, half expecting it to be Bulma.
"Mister Gold Fighter? Er is that you?"
"Speaking," said Gohan, as Videl gave him a curious stare.
"Ah good, it seems you are receiving our frequencies," the voice spoke, it was the fire officer, "Rodney here, just letting you know that my team have scoured the building but only managed to get as far as the fourteenth floor before having to turn back. I don't think there'll be any survivors above that floor, we've done all we can."
"Thanks Sir."
"Wishing you and Miss Videl the best of luck. It's all your's son."
Without waiting for Videl to comment, Gohan powered up; his golden aura engulfing his frame and blowing away the licking flames, allowing the pair a clearer work space to release the valve.
Videl gasped as her hair whipped around her from the force, although it wasn't enough to send her skidding backwards. The girl held her position in front of the water tank, her eyes fixated on the glowing saiyan.
"Right, lets-" Gohan started, gripping onto the hot wheel of the valve before a piercing scream cut through over the roar of the flames. Videl seemed to notice it too, her eyes widening in horror.
"Mummy! Mummy help meeeee!" a small cry called out from below.
The young saiyan's heart sank; feeling for the ki belonging to the small child and discovering it a few feet below them. With his eyes darting to the girl next to him, he ordered; "Videl, stay here and get that valve open! I'll come back for you!"
Videl swallowed thickly, before nodding.
Shooting her a winning smile, Gohan ran to the edge of the roof; his aura protecting him from the flames as he went. In a swift movement; he dived, spiralling towards the small energy a couple of stories below. He panicked a little, as he took sight of the child clutching onto the edge of a balcony, which looked as though it was about to collapse any minute.
He stopped, floating in front of the balcony as the child took sight of him. It was a little girl, and she looked to be around Trunks' age. Her wispy blonde hair was covered in dirt and ash, as well as her polka dot dress that covered her tiny frame. Tears poured down her reddened cheeks; but she stopped as soon as she caught sight of the young super saiyan in front of her. Her big brown eyes looked at him in surprise and awe, as he held out a gloved hand towards her.
"Hi there," said Gohan, as she backed away from his hand, "What's your name?"
To Gohan's dismay, fear quickly replaced her awe; "My mummy says I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."
"Well I know, hows about I tell you my name and then you tell me yours, then we won't be strangers," he spoke carefully. One wrong move and the little girl could run back into the building, and debris had already started to crumble from around the window panes.
"I know who you are," she said boldly, "You're the goldie fighty man. And Mummy says you're not very nice! "
Gohan sighed, this wasn't going very well. "Look, can you keep a secret?"
As he predicted, the girl looked at him with a sudden interest.
Just as gullible as Goten; he thought, though she still seemed a little hostile towards the him. "Why don't I tell you my name, my real name and you won't have to be scared anymore."
She seemed hesitant, her chubby hands grasping onto the railings tightly. So Gohan did the only thing he could think of; and in a last ditch effort, pressed the button on his earpiece and allowed the visor to disappear from his face.
"Hi, I'm Gohan," he said with a small smile, floating a little closer towards her.
The girl looked at him curiously, before; to Gohan's relief, she broke out into a cheery grin; "You've got pwretty eyes."
"Well thank you," he grinned back, bowing to her comically and causing the girl to laugh, "Now may I ask the name of the fair young maiden?"
"Maddie," she giggled, "My names not a secret, but I'll keep your's Mister Gohan."
"That's good to know," he smiled, silently wondering what was keeping Videl so long; he hoped she was alright, "Now why don't we find your Mummy? I'm sure she's very worried about you."
Maddie studied his outstretched palm once more, before slipping her hand into his and allowing him to pull her from the balcony. Just as he tucked her to his chest, the railings caved in; the weight of which causing the patio doors to crumble and sending an enormous crack running towards the roof.
Suddenly, a shriek sounded from above him and the young saiyan swore under his breath. "Hold on tight Maddie!" He barked, shifting the girl onto his shoulders and throwing his visor back down. Maddie squeaked with sheer delight as he careened into the air and hurtled towards the rooftop, her hands entwined into his hair.
As he reached the top of the crumbling complex, it didn't take him long to catch sight of Videl. To his horror, the girl was still struggling to release the valve; which had started to sink into the floor. True to her stubborn nature, she didn't move; even when Gohan realised the heavy water tank was about to collapse on top of her.
"Bollocks," he spat, gathering momentum and speeding towards her.
Videl's sapphire gaze snapped towards him as he shouted her name in desperation. The water tank creaked and quivered; and was just about to crush her when Gohan wrapped an arm around her waist and blasted into the air.
Without missing a beat, the young saiyan spun around, gathering a ball of blue ki in his palm and firing at the tank. "HAAA!" He cried, and with a sonic boom, the water tank exploded; sending its contents spilling over the entire complex, gushing through shattered windows and broken doors and dousing out the fire completely.
Gohan sighed, lowering himself and the two girls back towards the awaiting crowd. The building was still standing, to his relief, as water trickled lightly from it's windows and cracks. He excepted there to be utter pandemonium when he reached the ground, but as soon as his boots tapped upon the pavement, he was greeted with an unusual stunned silence.
The young saiyan looked towards them expectantly; when all of a sudden, a slow clapped sounded from somewhere near the barricades. Soon, another joined in and then another until an all out round of applause rang around the industrial park accompanied by a sudden roar of cheers and jovial laughter.
The noise had also caught Videl off guard, who was currently nestled against his chest. Her fingernails dug deep into his bodice and her eyes squeezed tightly shut; she looked up in shock and leaped from Gohan's strong arms. Gohan raised an eyebrow as she frowned, averting her gaze away from him.
"My baby!" a woman cried as she pushed her way forward from the crowds. She was a portly woman, with the same blonde wispy hair as Maddie; it had to be her mother. "Oh my goodness!" she sobbed, her eyes red and puffy and her dress covered in soot. She grabbed her from his shoulders, cradling her to her bosom. "Oh Maddie! It all happened so fast, I thought she was right behind me and- and you…"
She looked towards him in shock, "You saved her."
Gohan grinned, "Just trying to help ma'am."
"Mummy!" Maddie beamed, "It was so cool! Mister Goh-Gold Fighty Man flew us really really high up!"
"He did?" her mother chuckled, "Well isn't that marvellous!"
"Uh huh!" said Maddie, "I wanna be a superhero just like him when I grow up!"
The woman gave a small burst of laugher; and to Gohan's surprise, placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a large watery smile, "Thank you."
He blushed under her motherly gesture, ignoring the sudden influx of flashing lights from the paparazzi cameras. He was really hoping that his visor was hiding his crimson cheeks when a loud cough broke through the happy cheers.
"Stand aside madam," The police sergeant spoke, walking briskly behind him where Gohan felt cool metal clamp around his wrists.
"But Sergeant!" the woman started, as a collective gasp surrounded the scene, "You can't, he just saved my daughter's life!"
"I'm sorry Madam," he spoke gruffly, standing back from the now handcuffed super saiyan, "But rules are rules. This boy is still a wanted criminal."
"But-!" she protested, before Gohan cut across her.
"Don't worry ma'am," he said, "Like the sergeant said, rules are rules after all."
And before anyone could make a move, the halfling tugged on his restraints, causing them to shatter from the sheer force of his strength. Bringing up his now free hands, Gohan smirked, "I just never pay much attention to them."
With a triumphant wink, the young saiyan kicked off from the ground and shot into the sky; his golden energy streaking through the dark, smoke filled clouds. He made his way back towards the mountains he called home, taking time in his flight. He couldn't help but feel as though The Gold Fighter had had a successful outing, he and Videl had even managed to work together!
As the sun began to dip low over the horizon, the young saiyan smiled to himself, he was in a good mood, he was even willing to let the fact that a little girl called him a superhero instead of a vigilante.
Just this once.
