Chapter Seven
Golden Fever
xxxx
By Gohan's calculations, the world had officially gone mad. The media weren't helping of course, and after seeing The Gold Fighter rescue both a little girl and Videl Satan from a burning collapsing building, well he had gone from being nothing but a meddling kid to an outright superhero in little more than twenty-four hours.
News reports had blown up with eye witnesses and snapshots of the scene that had took place on the industrial estate. The most memorable one was of Gohan blasting apart the water tower whilst holding Videl and Maddie, his aura ignited around him, his hair blowing backwards from the force the impact had made, the blue hue of ki contrasting brilliantly with the amber glare of the fire; it had quickly made its way onto posters and the internet, and was the current 'image' of the golden haired teenager.
Of course, Mister Satan had spoken out about the ordeal; branding him a show off and a trickster, also stating he should - "…keep his grubby paws away from my daughter! I saw the way he was holding onto her! Filthy boy! I'll rip his skinny little arms off!" yet said daughter had refused to comment on the situation to Gohan's surprise. Although it seemed Videl was very friendly with the police, she never did interviews and walked away from the press when they said anything too personal.
One of the things to come out from the media frenzy was the love story they had concocted around him and the champ's daughter. Even though the notion was completely ridiculous, he couldn't help but tease her about it, which positively infuriated the girl; possibly more so that the sudden rush of love that the public had for his alter ego.
Soon enough, July was upon them; as was the small gathering at Kame House that Krillin had organised for Marron's second birthday. Gohan hadn't visited the small house amongst the southern isles for a while, and had been ordered by his mother to pack his swimming shorts and suntan lotion as the scorching sun would be relentless.
It was the hottest day of the year, and the young saiyan was rather looking forward to an afternoon off in the sun. He hadn't spoken much to Krillin and the other's since the argument a few weeks ago; if he could call it that, it was more Gohan just yelling at them. Still, Krillin had called that morning to see if his mother wouldn't mind bringing more food to cater for the Saiyan's, and had seemed quite cheery over the phone.
With his bag packed and sunglasses on, the young saiyan was all ready to go; before a final check of his appearance in the mirror of course. He could hear his mother yelling at her son's to hurry up from downstairs; which was unusual for Goten, he was usually the first out the door as soon as he learned he would be spending the day with Trunks.
Rolling his eyes at his mother's exasperated cries, he decided to fetch his little brother himself. Goten's bedroom was the one opposite his, and had been previously used as an extra study room for Gohan before his birth. Kami knows why Gohan needed a room besides his own to study in, but his mother was a bit of a nutcase.
He knocked the door; something that Goten had yet to learn much to Gohan's chargin. That kid wouldn't know what privacy if it bit him in the nose.
"Goten?" Gohan called when he received no answer.
"Goten! Come on let's go! We're going to be late!" he said again with mild annoyance. He frowned, when he could hear small bursts of laughter and odd noises coming from behind the door.
"Goten?" Gohan said tentatively, grasping the doorknob and twisting it open.
And it was then did the young saiyan realise just how far the golden fighter fever had gotten.
There his little brother was, his eyes alight with glee as he sat amongst his messy bedroom. Toys, books and clothes were strewn everywhere, his bed unmade and the sheets spilling from the mattress and onto the floor. He would have never have gotten away with this chaos when he was Goten's age. Still his mother had either turned a blind eye or given up, Goten's room hadn't been tidy since he had learned to walk. It was painted a cool duck egg blue colour, with several shelves holding family photographs and books lining the walls. Although Goten had further decorated it with his own scribbles that Chi-Chi had failed to scrub off.
Goten, oblivious to the fact that he was sat in a pigsty and still not dressed for the day; was busy playing with his action figures, one that Gohan hadn't seen before. He had endlessly been subjected to running around the garden with his sibling and Superman, Batman, Ironman and Co.; he secretly enjoyed it, but would never admit it out loud.
Despite the teenager's firm knowledge of Goten's figurines, he didn't recognise the one that the boy had grasped tightly in his hand, swooping it high and low, blowing out his cheeks to make loud whooshing noises. That is, until Goten exclaimed, "Do dooo doo doooooooo! I am The Gold Fighter! You will never stop me! Ha ha!"
"Goten, where did you get that?" Gohan sweated, praying Bulma had manufactured one for some kind of sick joke. The figurine was exactly like him; standing about eight inches tall, the super saiyan hair was unmistakable, including the black bodice and navy armoured chest plate. The tiny visor covered the majority of the face, just like his did; and even had his lean muscle, unlike the usual bulky figures Goten owned.
The three year old grinned wildly, noticing his elder brother's presence, "Grandpa Ox brought it for me! Cool huh?"
"Er…" he mustered hopelessly, as Goten continued to zoom his mini alter ego around. He sighed, of course their grandfather brought it, he couldn't see Chi-Chi allowing it in the house. "Please tell me he brought it from a special shop somewhere deep in the mountains and that they're really really rare."
"Nope!" said Goten happily, "From the supermarket in East City! They're everywhere Gohan! Trunks has one too! I even asked Grandpa if I could get Marron one for her birthday."
"Thats…nice."
Goten grinned, "He even talks Gohan!"
"Of course he does," Gohan drawled as the young boy stood up, pressing a little button on the figure's back.
"Stop thieves!" the mini super saiyan shouted in what the teen thought was an awful imitation of his voice.
"How original," scoffed the halfling, "does he say anything else?"
"Oh yeah!" Goten babbled excitedly, "Listen!"
"I will roundhouse kick you in the face!"
"Whatever your reaching for better be a sandwich, because you're gonna have to it eat!"
"Drop your weapon, else I'll stick it up your arse and turn you into a lollipop!"
"That one's my favourite," Goten grinned, cuddling the figurine to his chest.
Gohan sighed, "Thought as much."
xxxx
When the family of three finally arrived at Kame House, the rest of the Z-gang were already there. The summer sun certainly had everyone in a good mood, the atmosphere relaxing and inviting. The party had moved outside; Ox-King was setting up the barbecue whilst everyone else relaxed on the beach. Goten, Trunks and Marron were running around the sand with their Gold Fighter figurines, much to Gohan's dismay and the Z-Fighter's amusement. His mother was unpacking sandwiches on a picnic blanket with Puar and Launch, Yamcha and Krillin were sat at the table drinking beer whilst Eighteen and Bulma watched the children play.
Tien and Chaiozu were chatting with Ox-King next to the fire pit whilst Piccolo meditated in the shade beside them. Vegeta had also been forced along, and was currently brooding up the side of the house. A television had been run through to the beach; where Roshi, Oolong and Turtle were watching their favourite programme, their eyes glued to the screen.
"One, two, three and four! Come on girls work it!"
Gohan snorted as he settled himself one of the deck chairs; like everyone else, he was donned in his swimming trunks, allowing the warm sun to beat against his skin. He closed his eyes beneath his sunglasses, inhaling the sea air and listening the waves wash against the shore.
"Yeah thats it ladies!" Master Roshi gawped, the scantily dressed women raising their legs high into the air, "Show me what you've got!"
"Honestly, and at a two year old's birthday party," Chi-Chi tutted, shooting the three a glare.
"Oh don't be like that Chi-Chi!" Roshi grinned, tearing his gaze away from the television, "You need to relax; wind down, trade in that one piece your wearing for a skimpy little two piece-"
CLANG
Gohan was thankful she had brought her trusty frying pan; Yamcha's comments about his mother's attire was already enough to make him shudder.
Though much to Gohan's delight, the gang were giving him a wide birth; although his outburst hadn't been mentioned, he felt as though it was a little strained between them. Only Vegeta had let a snide comment escape his lips about their training, to which the teen had told him to stuff it; using much more colourful phrasing.
The tantalising aroma of charcoaled meats wafted through the air, as well as the laughter from the three youngsters. He didn't really mind that no one was paying attention to him; no fighting, no teasing and certainly no 'let me tell you the story of your dead father when'. The young saiyan sighed deeply, basking in the sun and enjoying the current solitude he found himself in. Sleep began to overcome him; he was so tired, worries of training and school slipping to the back of his mind.
"CANNON BALL!"
SPLASH
Gohan was rudely awakened by a loud shriek, followed by what felt like a ton of water being poured over his head. Coughing and spluttering, and attempting to expel the large amount of sea water he had inhaled, he turned; his murderous glare settling on two little half saiyan's.
"Uh oh," said Trunks as he and Goten floated in the water.
Sodden, and ignoring little Marron's giggles from the shore, Gohan roared; "YOU LITTLE BERKS! YOU HAD BETTER START SWIMMING!"
"ARGH!" The troublesome duo screamed, before the peeved teenager dived into the ocean after them, oblivious to his mother's irate shouts and raucous laughter from the gang.
He caught up to them quickly, colliding into them underwater and attempting to grab hold of them. But their little limbs were too slippery, and the salty water had got into his eyes. It had turned into a whirlpool of halfling's; and Gohan was getting increasingly fed up with having Trunks' foot wedged into his ribs. Powering up with an almighty blast of water, the young saiyan erupted into his super saiyan form, blowing the two youngster's out of the ocean.
With a growl, Gohan blasted up towards them; when he suddenly felt an unpleasant draft down below.
Trunks and Goten snickered as the teenager stopped midair; the purple haired prince holding up a pair of familiar looking swimming shorts in his hand.
"You snooze you loose Gohan!" Trunks grinned maliciously.
Goten giggled, "You were right Twrunks he did fall for it!"
"You little-!" Gohan spluttered angrily, before a shout came from the beach.
"Oi Gohan! Is that The Gold Fighter's secret weapon?! Blimey, how'd you manage to hide that thing?!"
The young saiyan yelped at Krillin's words, throwing his hands in front of himself and shooting a glare towards the beach. Every male in the vicinity was roaring their heads off, including his grandfather; whilst Eighteen had slapped a hand over Marron's eyes. His mother and Piccolo looked positively forlorn, he couldn't even look Bulma and Launch in the eye.
Snatching his shorts back from a distracted Trunks and Goten, Gohan landed back on the sandy beach to light chortling escaping his so called 'friends'.
"Shut up!" he yelled hotly, his shorts covering his modesty. With that, he waltzed up to the patio doors and swung it open, leaving the Z-gang laughing all the more behind him.
The teenager felt like holing himself up in the spare bedroom for the rest of the evening; that is, until Oolong had managed to coax him down, as well as his rumbling stomach. Unfortunately for Gohan, the gang had started to loosen up towards him again, and were quick to to remind him that he had subsequently flashed the entire beach.
"Hey Gohan, seriously mate good for you!"
"Piss off Yamcha," the halfling growled, making his way to the buffet table.
He was in a good mood; he relented, piling his plate ridiculously high with food and sitting a few feet away from everyone else in front of the roaring fire. But of course Gohan felt as though he could never get any peace. He was more embarrassed that he had managed to give Bulma, Eighteen and Launch a good eyeful.
The bonfire was casting shadows amongst them, the sun beginning to set and the tide steadily going out away from the beach. Gohan had been silent for the past half an hour, only half listening to the conversation around him. He was bored, and had already changed back into his normal clothes of jeans and a t-shirt, and was about to use the excuse of needing the loo for the fourth time when his phone chimed from in between his crossed legs.
'OMG you have to get over here now!' The text message read, 'I've got something to show you!'
It was from Lime, and the phrasing of such a message caused the halfling to smirk, 'Please tell me it's a nipple piercing.' He replied, and a second later chimed the girl's reply.
'Why don't you come and find out? ;)'
Grinning to himself, Gohan stood up suddenly, catching the eye of the group, "I've got to go!"
Several of the gang exchanged glances as the teen gathered his things.
"Where on Earth are you going?" his mother enquired.
"Oh, you know, to do Gold Fighter stuff," he lied, tossing his duffle bag over his shoulder.
Bulma frowned, "But your watch didn't make a sound."
"It didn't?!" The teenager gasped in mock disbelief, "Wow, I must be psychic or something!"
"Gohan…" Piccolo's stern voice cut through the air.
"Can't stay and chat Mr. Piccolo, people dying and all," he grinned wickedly.
"Gohan if this is about earlier," Krillin piped up guiltily, "We didn't mean -"
The teenager scoffed, "I'm already over it, and anyway, I think you'll all agree that I have nothing to be ashamed of."
Leaving them in a stunned silence, Gohan gave the gang mock salute, "See you later!"
"SON GOHAN YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" his mother yelled as his white aura built up around him and he blasted into the sky.
As Gohan flew over Chazke Village, he was thoroughly disappointed to find that Lime's ki was nowhere near her bedroom. Instead, he found it hovering within Mister Lao's garage around the back of the house, which was unusual. It was more of a converted wooden shed, in which he stored tools and other miscellaneous items. Gohan had only been in there once to fetch the lawnmower.
But when he pushed open the rickety door, he was surprised to find his best friend in the middle of the garage, standing proudly next to the saddest looking motorcycle he had ever seen. It looked as though it had once been light blue in colour; although it was difficult to tell from the rust. One wheel was completely flat whilst the other tire was missing altogether. The seat was worn and the stuffing bursting from the leather, the handle bars caked in rust and dirt. There was no licence plate and the silver exhaust cylinders were covered in mud.
"Isn't it amazing?!" Lime beamed, leaning on one of the handles, "My Dad gave it to me as an early birthday present!"
Lime was the eldest in their year, and would be turning sixteen at the beginning of September.
"Your Dad?" Gohan blinked, "Since when did he remember your birthday?"
The red head ignored him, instead patted the worn leather seat lovingly, "Apparently thats why he's been ringing the house lately. He brought it over whilst I was out cropping the fields! He was going to wait till I finished but he had to get back to work."
Gohan snorted, "Back to being a thieving git you mean."
"Oh come on Gohan be nice," Lime grinned, "Its the first present I've ever had from them for as long as I can remember! And before you ask; no, he didn't nick it, it used to be his when he was my age."
The young saiyan sighed, walking over to the bike and inspecting it, "And will you be pushing it around? Because I doubt it'll even start."
The girl frowned, whacking him over the head, "That's where you come in smart arse. You're going to help me fix it!"
"Since when did I get roped into this?" he scoffed, rubbing his skull.
"Since you're my best friend and are a mega boy genius," she stated.
Gohan smirked, "Don't forget dashing and handsome."
"I swear, since you've become loved by all you've become unbearably arrogant," Lime said, rolling her eyes. "So what do you reckon? Can you fix it up?"
The young saiyan paced around the bike, eyeing it up and down thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think I can do something with it, might have to pinch a few things off Bulma though."
"Yes!" Lime squealed excitedly, wrapping her arms around his neck, "This is going to be ace! Think of all the fun we'll have!"
"You mean all the trouble we'll get into," he smiled, his arms encircling her waist.
She giggled, nuzzling his nose with hers, "Would you have it any other way?"
"Hmm," Gohan thought for a moment, before pressing his lips firmly against hers.
"Well that's one way," she murmured into the kiss.
To Gohan's annoyance, their snogging session was shortly cut off by a loud buzzing coming from his pocket. Sighing, he took out his phone and pressed the cancel button before shoving it back into his jeans.
"Your Mum?" asked Lime with a small smile.
"Who else?" he said glumly, "I kind of skipped out of Marron's birthday party."
Lime's eyes widened, "You did? Oh Gohan I feel awful for dragging you out, I completely forgot you were there I was so excited! You should go back!"
"Nah," said Gohan, shaking his head, "You were much more important."
The girl gave him a wicked smile, before turning on her heel and grasping the handles of the bike.
"So how come your Dad is trying to get back into your life all of a sudden?" asked Gohan, moving closer to her.
Lime shrugged, "Dunno, suppose he must feel bad for not being there for me my whole life."
"Sounds like he's having a midlife crisis if you ask me," he scorned.
"Nobody asked you," she frowned, hitting him playfully in the chest, "Granddad says I shouldn't bother with him, but I dunno; he did give me a pretty bike."
Gohan gave her a pointed look.
"It will be pretty," she pressed, "After you've worked your magic of course."
"I'll try my best," he chuckled, before a thought crossed his mind, "But all I'm saying is just be careful Lime, I don't want you to get hurt by your parents again."
"Ah thats all in the past," Lime smiled, waving him off, "I'm a big girl now, I can handle it."
Gohan smiled back. He certainly hoped so; they were both a mess right after the Cell Games, he wasn't sure that either of them could go through that rejection again.
"Now that you've finished with your lecturing, blondie," Lime grinned, taking her hands off the motorcycle and smoothing them over his chest and shoulders; "Hows about you turn off that phone of yours and bolt those doors so Gramps doesn't barge in, or do you have something to say about that too?"
Gohan smirked, acting out the motion of zipping his lips, locking them and throwing away the key.
xxxx
Gohan was very glad to find an excuse to spending more time with Lime; especially seen as his mother was still going mental about him leaving Marron's party. In all honesty, he didn't really see the problem; Marron was already in bed by the time he had left. He had had numerous texts from Krillin and Yamcha asking him to come round; worried that they had upset him in some way. Gohan and simply replied that if they had a problem with the size of his down below's, then they should seriously consider taking their own John Thomas' to see a plastic surgeon.
They hadn't messaged him since.
Luckily for him, Bulma hadn't mentioned anything about the ordeal when he had gone over to ask for some equipment to fix up Lime's motorcycle; although she did have an amused glint in her eye when she answered the door to him.
Apart from school, Gohan had spent the past week at the Lao's in front of the old shed; the scorching sun beating down on him as he laid under the rusty bike. There was a lot of work to do to the engine it seemed, and Gohan had practically constructed a new one out of the old parts; something that Mister Lao was particularly enthralled by.
Lime didn't pretend to know anything about the mechanics of it all, but that didn't stop her from laying out in the sunshine with Gohan; sipping on lemonade as she relaxed in her bikini top and denim shorts. The redhead threw a suggestive comment or two at him as he basted under the heat, taking off his shirt when it got too oiled and sweaty.
It seemed they had gotten all the more closer recently, and Gohan was in his element. Everything was going great; that was until the next training session with Vegeta.
"Pathetic!"
Gohan panted from where he had dropped out of his transformation, sweat poured from his brow and intermingled with the blood from a nasty graze on his cheek. Spitting out a mouthful of blood and saliva onto the ground, the teenager looked up at the seething super saiyan in front of him.
In recent weeks, he could feel himself getting back up to speed and Vegeta and Piccolo could see it too. Gohan was able to evade Vegeta's attacks much easier, his stamina was improving and he was turning up to school with a lot less bruising. He was making so much progress, that Vegeta had decided to step up their training, and move from their base form to their super saiyan form. Unfortunately for Gohan, the sudden jump was too much for him to handle, and the gaps in his training were starting to show.
"You're worse in your super saiyan form than you are in base!" The prince growled, "How does that even happen?!"
Gohan shrugged, clambering shakily to his feet and wiping more blood from his lip. His head was pounding from where Vegeta had struck him, and he was starting to feel sick.
"I-I think I need a break," said Gohan tiredly, "I think I've got a concussion."
Vegeta was so shocked that he lost his transformation; his golden hair returning to its usual black. "A break! A BREAK?! This is exactly where you have been slacking boy! When it all gets too tough for you, you go for a nap, well let me tell you this brat, there are no time for breaks in battle!"
The teenager rolled his eyes, "I have been in battles incase you haven't noticed, I know how it works. What, you think Cell destroyed himself did you?"
"He did once," Vegeta said in a dark tone, "When you were busy fooling around and not finishing the job like your father told you to. You were sloppy then, and you're sloppy now."
Gohan gaped, his anger rising; suddenly, he didn't feel so sick any more, "Oh like you can talk, you're too blinded by your arrogant pride to realise the repercussions of your actions in a fight!"
"I've learned from my mistakes," the prince replied dangerously, "I see you still haven't learned from yours. Just how long are you planning on pining over Kakarot to avoid releasing your true power?"
"You're a real prick, you know that?" Gohan seethed, spinning on his heel and walking towards the gravity chamber door.
"Watch your language boy, what would your father say if he heard you speaking like that? I'd bet he'd be just as disappointed as I am."
Gohan halted in his tracks, his heart pounding heavily in his ears, "What did you say?"
"Don't tell me your insufferable weakness has affected your hearing too," coaxed Vegeta, "Honestly, I'm beginning to envy Kakarot in the afterlife, I know I wouldn't want to waste a wish on having to deal with the weakling you've become."
Gohan snapped, he was shaking with anger. He was fed up with Vegeta always putting him down, despite what he had achieved so far. He was fed up with the fact that this was Piccolo's idea, and all he had done was stood by and watched as the prince had beat him to the ground. He already was fed up with Shu spouting rubbish about his father; and what's more, he didn't need Vegeta telling him what a disappointment he had become. Gohan already knew that, that's the reason why his father didn't want to come back!
The gravity room lights began to surge, as Gohan's energy began to spike, his eyes flashing green as new found power began to emit from his being. A golden aura engulfed his frame as his long hair changed to gold, then black, then gold again.
Thoughts of his father whirred around his mind, the image of the man saying goodbye for the last time, the pure agony Gohan felt as he disappeared with the bugling semi-perfect Cell, never to be seen again. He had left Gohan all alone. His mother didn't understand, Piccolo didn't understand, and worst of all, his father didn't understand how much he needed him.
His power exploded and his aura cracked, bolts of electricity snapped and licked at his aura as his long hair spiked even further, leaving a stubborn bang wavering over his face. Gohan yelled, as the energy flooded his body, his veins pulsated with pure rage, the muscles in his left arm burned and ached but he had to let it come forth, he couldn't contain it anymore.
The last thing he heard was Vegeta's sudden roar, before everything went black.
xxxx
The first thing Gohan noticed when he awoke, was just how much pain he was in. He slowly creaked open his eyelids, only to be greeted with a bright white ceiling, that is, until a frantic pair of blue eyes suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Argh!" the teenager yelped, sitting upright in the bed he was in, "Ow! Ow ow ow, bollocks, fuck, shit, ow!"
"Are you finished?" Bulma chuckled, as Gohan winced in pain.
Composing himself, the young saiyan noticed that he was in the medical unit at Capsule Corp. It was small and relatively simple, with only four beds and some cabinets lining the white washed walls. Usually, it would only be used if there was any lab or factory related injuries for the employees, but since Gohan had started training with Vegeta, he had ended up in the unit a lot more times than he would have cared to admit.
With his eyes darting around the room, he suddenly realised that Bulma was accompanied by the rest of the Z-Fighters; Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo and Chaiozu, all of them wearing expressions of concern, worry and was that, excitement?
Confused, Gohan scratched his head, only just realising that he had a bandage wrapped around it. "Okay, what the hell happened, and why are you lot here?"
"Gohan," Piccolo spoke, "Don't you remember what happened?"
The teenager thought for a moment, but couldn't for the life of him remember anything past Vegeta yelling at him. He couldn't even remember what he said.
"Kid, you ascended," his mentor informed him after Gohan merely shrugged in his direction.
"Ascended?" Gohan croaked, "You mean -?"
"You went super saiyan two mate!" Yamcha exclaimed excitedly.
Tien nodded, smiling, "We felt it all the way from the North, we thought some elite alien army was attacking the Earth or something."
"Turns out it was just you," Chaiozu laughed.
Gohan blinked, "Y-you mean I did it?"
Krillin nodded frantically, "We got here right after you passed out."
A burst of laughter escaped the young saiyan, he didn't even realise he would feel so proud of himself, "Oh yeah! I did it! HA! Suck it Vegeta!"
"Certainly not brat."
Gohan winced as the gruff voice of the Prince came from beside him, he didn't notice that he was it the bed next to him, sporting his own bandage tied around his head. Apart from that Vegeta didn't look too bad, save the small cuts and bruises that littered his body.
"Er I -" Gohan sweated nervously, before Vegeta cut across him.
"Looks like I misjudged you," he said with a smirk, "You still had all that power in you after all."
"Speaking of all that power," Bulma interrupted her eyes narrowing at Gohan, "As much as I'm pleased for you and all kid, I'd just like to know - WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO REBUILD ANOTHER GRAVITY ROOM, BECAUSE THIS PREGNANT GIRL ISNT! I'VE GOT ENOUGH TO DO!"
The occupants of the room all clapped their hands over their ears, except for Vegeta, who looked particularly unfazed.
"I don't see how it is anyone else's problem but your's woman," he scoffed, "It was your puny machine that couldn't handle the boy's power. I think it's time you upgraded it, how do you expect it to cope once I achieve the transformation?"
"OH!" Bulma growled, turning to her husband, "AND JUST WHEN DO YOU EXPECT ME TO FIND THE TIME TO DO THAT WHEN I'M PREPARING TO GIVE BIRTH TO YOUR CHILD?!"
As the two most stubborn people Gohan knew continued their argument, he couldn't help but allow a feeling of hope overwhelm him. "Piccolo?" the teenager whispered to his mentor, "If the gravity room's broken, that means we can't train until its fixed, right?"
Piccolo all but gave a sniff of disapproval.
"What a shame," Gohan mocked, ignoring his aching limbs and scooting to the edge of his bed, "and I was really looking forward to it too, oh well-"
CRASH
Just as Gohan was about to leave, with the thought in mind to cut his evening at Capsule Corp. short to celebrate his achievement of proving Vegeta wrong with a visit to Lime's bedroom, did he attempt to put one foot on the floor and toppled over.
"Er, Gohan, you alright?" Krillin asked tentatively, the teen's sudden collapse causing Bulma and Vegeta's arguing to cease.
"Yep," Gohan said, a little muffled from were his face was kissing the floor, "Legs just haven't woken up yet."
With that, he clambered to his feet, but something was off, and as soon as he stood he completely lost his balance again and face planted the tiles.
"Ow what the-?!" Gohan yelled, grabbing onto a nearby cabinet to pull himself up. He stopped suddenly, when he realised everyone was giving him a wide eyed stare, "What?"
"Er, Gohan," Yamcha started, "I think you should look behind you."
"What is this, a pantomime?" the halfling seethed, deciding to humour them and look anyway. It took him a while to realise just what they were staring at, when something brown and furry waved in front of his face.
"ARGH!" Gohan cried, his sudden jump sending him crashing to the ground once more. "Shut up!" he roared, when everyone burst into laughter, "It's not funny!"
Apparently, they disagreed.
Gohan gaped, grabbing at the appendage that was most definitely attached, "M-my tail! But why did it grow back now? It hasn't grown back since I was like, eight!"
"A saiyan's tail is most likely to grow back when the body has reached prime hormonal compatibility into adolescence," Vegeta drawled from across the room.
"Meaning?" Gohan huffed in annoyance.
Vegeta smirked, "Meaning it can re-grow during puberty, brat."
"Fan-friggin-tastic," the teenager groaned, still holding onto his wagging tail as the Z-Fighter's continued to hysterics, even Piccolo was giving him an amused look.
Oh well, he mused as he sat hopelessly on the floor of the medical unit, at least he wouldn't have to train anytime soon.
