Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Gold Fighter Returns
xxxx
"It's freezing as hell down here!"
"Well, I think that's the whole point."
"Shut up Gohan," Videl glared, hugging her arms to her in an attempt to warm herself as they flew.
"I'd give you my robe but uh," Gohan started, looking down at his ripped and bloodied attire.
"I'll pass," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste, "That broken rib looks nasty, couldn't you have asked Dende to heal you before we came here?"
He looked at her sheepishly, "Suppose I forgot."
"Forgot?" She spouted, her eyes widening, "How could you forget that you have half your ribcage sticking out of you?"
"Think it's because I'm dead, I don't feel the pain as much really," he replied, pointing up a his halo, "And besides, I've had worse."
"Worse?!"
"Well, someone broke my neck in a fight once," he shrugged.
Videl stared.
"Aha!" Gohan said suddenly, catching sight of a large group of hellions that were watching the battle against Majin Buu on an enormous crystal ball.
The rules of death were rather annoying, as he was unable to sense Babidi anywhere. Apparently, it had been ruled eons ago to prevent bad guys Ki being detected when dead, as it caused too much trouble with good guys wanting to get revenge once they passed over to Otherworld. Hence, Gohan was going to have to try a different method of finding out Babidi's whereabouts.
The teenager swooped low, startling the crowd as he landed right in the middle of them, placing Videl down gently on the ground.
"Right, any of you greasy git's want to tell me where Babidi is?" He said loudly, causing the group to stare wide eyed at him.
He recognised some of them, quite a number were dressed in the armour worn by Frieza's soldiers, though he couldn't put names to faces if he tried. There was a large group standing to the back of the crowd, and Gohan could just about make out masses of spikey black hair and similar armour.
Most of the Loser's wisely cowered away from him, having more than likely seen his battle with Majin Buu unfold. Though of course, there was always one that was too stupid and brave enough to challenge him.
"Well, well, well," a dark chuckle emerged from the shadows, "If it isn't Gohan, my how you've grown."
Terror, adrenaline and fury hit him like a brick wall all at once. The silhouette was all too prominent against the blood red sky. First, the teenager recognised the voice, the cool confident tone which haunted his nightmares and darkest moments. Next, the pointed edges of his skull and the sharp wings that protruded out from his humanoid form. Then there was that familiar sound, that familiar squeaking sound of the bio-android walking forwards, allowing his green and black exoskeleton to be seen perfectly in the light. Pink eyes locked onto his onyx, sending shivers running down his spine to the tip of his tail. Videl immediately gripped onto his bicep, her mouth agape in horror.
"I-It's Cell," she whispered, but Gohan did not react to the statement. His gaze was fixed firmly ahead of him, attempting to give the beast the foulest glare he had given anyone in his life.
Cell grinned wickedly at the sight of them, "And here you are Gohan, coming to HFIL so willingly. How very foolish."
"Foolish for you to even dare to show yourself," spat Gohan, his tail twitching angrily as he pulled his lips into a smirk, "How's death treating you by the way?"
The bio-android seemed to relish in his words, "I should be asking you the same, though I doubt the Kai's would think you were so deserving of that halo and garb if they knew of your monstrous ways."
He felt Videl fidget slightly beside him, as he glared daggers at Cell, "They sensed our fight, they know what happened."
"Oh but do they?" Cell quirked disbelievingly, "and they still believe you're a suitable poster boy after killing your own father?"
Gohan remained silent, though his lack of response caused Videl to inhale a sharp intake of breath.
Unfortunately, Cell noticed.
"Ah whose this? I don't believe we've been introduced," he chimed, pink orbs flickering over to the girl, "Oh don't tell me Gohan! Don't tell me that your little girlfriend here doesn't know that you're a murderer! Oh yes girl, he may have destroyed me, but what he did to his father was far worse!"
"Shut up!" The young saiyan snarled, his Ki spiking dangerously.
Cell cocked his head towards him in interest, "Touched a nerve have I Gohan?"
Gohan's white aura burst to life around him, causing the majority of the hellions to scream in terror at his tremendous energy that swept the planes. Videl jumped back, just as a crackle of lightening rippled over his chest.
"I'm not here to kick your ass again Cell," the teenager growled menacingly, "All I want to know is where Babidi is."
Cell's eyes widened momentarily, before that ever sadistic smirk grew wider, "And you think I'm going to hand that information over so willingly?"
"The little brat doesn't seem to understand who he's talking to," came an amused voice from behind Cell.
Gohan's features grew fierce, as non other than Frieza stepped out from the shadows, accompanied by King Cold, Cooler and Ize.
"He gave my warriors a lot of lip," Lady Ize said scathingly, "I think it's about time we returned the favour."
Gohan's ear's perked up, as he was suddenly surrounded. Familiar faces from his childhood nightmares stared out menacingly at him. The deceased members of The Ginyu Force, Cooler's gang, The Crusher Cops, Garlic Junior's minions, Dabura, Lycorn and Dodoma all desperate to have a piece of the young saiyan. Odd, he didn't see Checha anywhere.
"Gohan," Videl whispered worriedly, "What is going on?"
"Let's just say I pissed a lot of people off when I was younger," he replied, his tail swishing behind him.
The Satan girl scoffed, "Just when you were younger?"
Gohan shot her a glare, before grinning, "Fancy a good work out?"
Her eyes widened slightly, before he pointed in the direction of some quivering members of Frieza's army, "I think you can handle those bozo's."
"What, really?" she asked sceptically, though a hint of excitement was evident in her eyes.
"Come off it, I saw your fight with Spopovich," he said with a cheeky grin, "and I have to say Videl, damn."
"Damn?"
"Damn."
Videl smirked up at him, her cheeks dusted lightly crimson.
"When you've quite finished," Cell cut across them with an air of mild annoyance, "I'd like to finally wipe you from the planes of existence."
Gohan's onyx eyes hardened, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Aw Cell, I feel exactly the same way about you too."
xxxx
Cell screamed, the desperation in his light pink eyes evident as his body disintegrated, exploding in a shower of smoke. Gohan smirked, looking proudly over at Videl who was sat on a nearby boulder resting her chin on her hand in a bored manner.
"You know," she sighed, "As fun as it was watching you the first fifty times you did that, don't you think it's about time you stopped?"
The young saiyan pouted, as Cell's body suddenly materialised, and no sooner did he gasp for air did he disappear again in a blinding flash - courtesy of Gohan's outstretched palm. He had forgotten that his father had once told him that bad guys were able to keep their bodies too, only, if they were destroyed, they would come back in order to suffer for their crimes for all eternity in HFIL.
"Aw come on Videl, just one more?" he pleaded, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
She scoffed, turning away from him and nudging an unconscious Frieza with her boot. The rest of hell's infinite loser's were in a similar state, and Gohan was rather proud that she managed to knock out at least ten members of Frieza's army, along with a few minions.
It didn't take long for the young saiyan to clean up the remaining hellions, but not before getting information out of a squealing King Cold as to Babidi's whereabouts.
"Fine, one more!" said Videl, rolling her eyes as he positively bounced with glee, "but then we are leaving!"
Gohan grinned wickedly at her, as a furious Cell appeared in front of him. He was ungracefully foaming at the mouth, seething, his eyes wide and feral as he made to lunge at the halfling.
"Y-YOU! YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BR-!"
BOOM
"Ah, now that's what I call therapy," Gohan sighed fondly, the satisfying sight of Cell being blown to dust reflected in his onyx orbs.
"Are you done?" Videl asked haughtily.
"Oh alright," he huffed at the stern look on her face, "Let's go get the stupid wizard."
The two teen's walked slowly, following the directions that King Cold had reluctantly given them. Apparently, Babidi was seeking shelter in a nearby cave, terrified that Ize or Majin Buu would come after him.
Gohan was busy taking in his surroundings, when he caught Videl staring at him oddly.
"What?"
The girl bit her lip hesitantly, "It's just, what Cell said back there, about your dad…"
"If you're wondering whether it's true or not, then the answer is yes, I killed my father," he said bitterly, not looking at her.
"But I don't understand," she pressed, "When your mum and everyone were telling me about what happened at The Cell Games, they said that your dad died sacrificing himself."
"Exactly," Gohan stated, "he had to sacrifice himself in order to cover for my stupid mistake. I let my power go to my head, I got cocky and Cell was just seconds from blowing up the planet before Dad managed to take him away from Earth. He died protecting me."
"And you blame yourself for him deciding to stay dead, don't you?"
The young saiyan stopped dead in his tracks. "Who told you that?" he said sternly, eyeing her.
Videl sighed, surprising him by taking his hand in hers, "No one told me Gohan, it's just plain to see. The way you avoid him, the way you speak to him when you do actually acknowledge him, and how you reacted when he came to join in the fight."
He said nothing, focussing more on how tightly her soft hand gripped onto his calloused one.
"I know you've probably heard this a million times," she continued, her eyes not leaving him, "But you shouldn't blame yourself. You can't do it to yourself. Bloody hell Gohan you were just a little boy when you fought Cell! No offence, but can you imagine Goten and Trunks making any sound strategic decisions in a fight?"
This time, Gohan snorted, "They'd probably think it was all a big game. Probably think it now actually."
"See?" she quirked, "I know I haven't known your friends very long Gohan, but hell, from an outsider looking in, you can see how much they all care about you. Your dad is absolute in awe of you, and as much as I can't imagine someone sending in their kid to fight a monster like Cell, I can't help but think that he made the right decision eh? You did save the world after all Gold Fighter."
A small smile tugged at his lips, before he faltered almost immediately, "I know, but I couldn't do it to Gokuto, I couldn't just leave him to grow up without me either. I-I couldn't think of anything worse."
"Don't you think that's how your dad's feeling right now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "He probably feels like the worst person in the world. And I'm not saying I'm completely on his side, but maybe you should forgive him. It would make the both of you feel better."
"Yeah, maybe," he replied glumly, avoiding her gaze again, "It's just hard."
"I know," Videl sympathised, giving his hand a little squeeze, "Believe me, it's hard to understand parent's decisions sometimes. But they are only human after all, or well, saiyan in your case."
He smiled back at her, before a thought popped into his mind, "Are you going to forgive your dad?"
"Maybe, eventually," she said, her eyebrows knitting together, "It's going to take a lot of explaining and a lot of new training clothes though."
Gohan chuckled, "If I were you, I'd ask for a car or a mansion."
"Hm," she replied thoughtfully, resuming their walk, "I like your style."
"Woah! Those are the biggest balls I've ever seen!"
The teenager's jumped, started by the sudden girlish voice ringing around them.
"Lime?!" Gohan gaped, looking above him in bewilderment.
"Sorry Gohan, it's Dende!" came the young Namekian's voice soon after, he sounded rather flustered at the girl's exclamation, "I'm just contacting you to let you know that we've gathered the dragonballs and are about to summon Porunga."
"That's brilliant Dende!" the halfling grinned, "Is Gokuto alright?"
"He's just fine!" Dende replied happily, "Although he keeps asking Lime why there are so many Piccolo's. There's not been an egg hatching for a while, so everyone's pretty tall here at the moment!"
Gohan laughed, relieved to hear that the little boy was doing well, the whole ordeal must have been pretty traumatising. They would need a serious duvet day with a lot of sugary snacks and cartoons when this was over.
"Hurry the hell up!" yelled Lime suddenly, "I want to see me a dragon!"
"S-sorry Lime!" Dende stammered hurriedly, "Gohan, the first wish I'm going to make is to wish all those killed by Buu back to life, and I'm not going to lie to you, you're going to feel a little strange…"
Gohan blinked, "What do you-?"
"Porunga! Please restore Planet Earth, and all those that have been killed today by Babidi, Buu and their evil magic! Except for the really really bad ones!"
"Eek!" He couldn't stop the shriek that emitted from his lips, as he felt an odd tingling sensation overcome him. Blood rushed loudly in his ears as a dull thud reverberated in his chest. He felt dizzy, as his heart began to beat once more, the halo disappearing from above his head. Then suddenly, his whole body shuddered, hurting a lot more now that he was alive, the pain from his ribs radiating through his chest and back.
"T-thanks Dende," Gohan shuddered.
"You're welcome, now please hurry up and find Babidi and get a senzu bean!"
"Are you alright?" Videl asked, concern flashing through her eyes as she made to steady him.
"Y-yeah," said Gohan, recovering from the sudden shock to his system and standing up to full height.
"Good," she replied, "It almost seems unnatural to see you hurt."
"Ah, I can't look this good all the time Satan," he grinned, causing her to roll her eyes at him.
They walked in silence for a while, passing through the desolate planes of HFIL. As they drew deeper beyond the spikey mountains, it grew colder, even though the breeze had seemingly disappeared some time ago. There were various nooks and cranny's situated throughout the rocks, yet there was still no sign of Babidi.
"So which one do you want to be?" Gohan mused, waltzing into yet another cave, "Good cop or bad cop?"
Videl eyed him in amusement, "I prefer the bad cop, bad cop routine."
The teen saiyan grinned wickedly, "Right you are Satan."
"Y-You!" A sudden cry pulled the teens away from each other's gaze, as Babidi's voice cut through the air. Gohan and Videl had unknowingly stumbled upon the wizard's hiding place, deep within one of the mountainous crevices. Babidi looked like a deer caught in headlights, his back pushed against the hard wall of the cave, his beady eyes wide as he stared at Gohan.
He trembled, swallowing the lump in his throat as he addressed the halfling, "I should have known you were a brat of the Kai's! Troublesome little fool!"
"Cut the shit Babidi," Gohan growled, glowering at the trembling wizard, "Here's how this is going to work. You're going to come with us and cast that spell on Buu you used to control him. Then, my dad is going to destroy that monstrosity and you're going to go back down to HFIL quietly like a good little wizard and spend the rest of your afterlife suffering for your crimes."
Babidi looked aghast, opening his mouth to speak when the teenager cut across him.
"You're going to do this without complaining, no tricks or any funny business," said Gohan, "Or else believe me, I will keep disintegrating you until I get bored, am I clear?"
"And trust me, he doesn't get bored easily," chimed Videl, glaring at the wizard.
"B-but," Babidi mustered weakly.
"Do you hear defiance Videl?" quirked Gohan.
The Satan girl smirked, "Why yes Gohan, I think I did."
"No please!" Babidi squeaked desperately, as the young saiyan took a step towards him, "Alright, you win, I-I'll do it but I don't know how long it will work for."
"What do you mean?" Videl growled, "Spit it out wizard."
"My father was much more powerful than I," Babidi explained rather reluctantly, "The spell that he put on Buu lasted for decades before it wore off. I thought that mine would last longer, but as you have seen it wasn't very effective. Damn it all… my father would have succeeded thousands of years ago if it weren't for that saiyan!"
"Enough talk Babidi," spat Gohan, "are you going to do the spell or not?"
"Silence brat!" The wizard snapped, "Do you know just who you're talking to?! I am the great wizard Babidi! I will not be ordered around by a mere child!"
The teenager snorted, "Seems like you don't have much of a choice."
"You out of all people know he must be stopped," interrupted Videl, "Neither you or your father could control Buu, there won't be anything left!"
The wizard stared at the girl, his anger wavering. Slowly, he sighed, "I suppose you're right young lady. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it would feel good to get revenge on Ize for stabbing me in the back! Majin Buu will never belong to her or her minions again!"
"Great!" Gohan beamed, "Can you do it now?"
Babidi hesitated for a moment, "It is very complex magic. I would need an opportune moment to make sure the spell is successful. Buu needs to be still, and in a somewhat subdued state for it to work."
The young saiyan winced, he wasn't sure that they could get Buu to stay still for long, not with the furious state he was in. Without wasting anymore time, Gohan cocked his head up towards the sky, "Supreme Kai? Supreme Kai, can you hear me?!"
There was silence for a few moments, causing the teen to share a worried glance with Videl. Yet to his relief, it didn't take much longer for the God to answer his call.
"Sorry Gohan, it's a bit hectic up here!" came the Kai's voice, his tone hurried and rather frantic, "Have you found Babidi?"
"Yep!" The teenager smiled, "And he's more than willing to help us! But he says we need to make sure that Buu is subdued to make the spell work. After that, he can weaken him and Dad can throw the spirit bomb!"
The Kai paused hesitantly, "Ah, I see. Well, there seems to be a slight problem with the spirit bomb after all."
Gohan's heart sank, "What?"
"Goku can't summon enough energy from Earth. You see, he can't just take that amount of energy, the earthlings have to be willing to give it up. He has tried to speak with them telepathically, but they aren't listening! And I must say, they've been a lot more reluctant after Vegeta tried to er … help."
"What?!" The halfling cried, "How couldn't they? It's to save the universe for crying out loud!"
"Gohan, you can't honestly tell me that you would take orders from some strange voices up in the sky can you?"
"Seems like I'm doing a lot of that lately," he grumbled.
"I've got it!" Videl said suddenly, causing both him and Babidi to stare at her.
"Got what?" Gohan asked sceptically.
The girl rolled her eyes, "The earthling's just need someone they can trust to talk to them, someone they know. Your dad may be famous in the world of martial arts, but it's not like everyone on the planet knows who he is."
The young saiyan eyed the wicked smirk that suddenly graced her lips, "I don't like where this is going…"
"Oh come off it!" Videl practically beamed, "You know they would listen! You've seen how much they still admire him at the tournament today, even though he hadn't shown up in a while. But you know what, they still trust him, and after everything they aren't scared of the things he can do. He gives them hope, they believe in him just as much as they do my dad, and best of all I believe in him."
"So what do you say Gold Fighter?" she grinned up at him, "do you think you're ready for another spectacle?"
"Oh no, oh hell no, I'm not revealing myself again!" Gohan protested hotly, "And anyway, no one will believe a talking voice in the sky claiming to be The Gold Fighter!"
"Of course they won't!" said Videl, "But they'll believe it if they see you with their own eyes!"
"Well good luck with that," the teenager scoffed, "I haven't got any means of getting to Earth for a start, not to mention I don't have my suit, and I can't turn into a super saiyan anymore!"
Videl's eyes sparkled, "I'm sure we can find away around your little super saiyan problem, as long as The Supreme Kai can manage to pull himself away from the fight long enough to whizz us down to Earth."
"And what about him?" Gohan growled, pointing a finger at Babidi, "Incase you haven't noticed we've got another job to do!"
"Gohan, if I may, I can take you to Earth once you've brought Babidi to the Grand Kai's planet," came The Supreme Kai's reasoning, "I do believe that Videl might be right. The Gold Fighter seems to be rather popular back on Earth."
"You are an action figure after all," Videl chimed.
"I do recall Yamu wearing a pair of those nifty Gold Fighter AirGold trainers before I captured him," Babidi pointed out.
"You stay out of it!" Gohan snapped at the wizard, causing him to squeak in fright.
The young saiyan sighed, as Videl looked towards him expectantly, "Fine I'll do it, but we'll have to do something about my hair."
xxxx
He couldn't believe he was doing this.
Of course, it didn't take a stubborn girl such as Videl to find a way around every curve ball he threw at her. He wanted to save the world yes, and rid the universe of Majin Buu. But in all his years he would have never have thought he would have to dye his hair to do it.
It was ridiculous, Gohan thought, as he stood in a long queue in a chemist in the middle of West City, just how a simple box of hair bleach could be the key to Majin Buu's destruction.
He sighed, with the realisation of how his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was completely wasted. All that time training to become a super saiyan and he couldn't even do it any more. He was lightyears stronger than before yes, but something inside him was particularly irked that he had to now bleach his bloody hair to look like a super saiyan again.
Videl thought it was a genius idea. And although the teenager was impressed at her quick thinking, he couldn't help but berate her for making The Supreme Kai teleport them to Earth, back to the wasteland where he had originally fought Buu. Then, the teenager's had to travel to West City to get a new Gold Fighter watch from Capsule Corp., luckily, Bulma had created several back up's should the reckless teenager accidentally break his. Gohan had left Videl with his staff code and instructions on how to get to Bulma's private lab, whilst he went shopping in the city.
Now all he had to do was dye his hair and set the real plan in motion.
Just what was taking so long? He huffed angrily, craning his neck to look at the front of the tills, where a spotty adolescent was ringing through items at a snails pace.
The teenager growled, drawing even more attention to himself. He couldn't help but think that maybe this should have been Videl's task, the daughter of Mister Satan would surely be able to skip the queue. But no, according to Videl he had to get the proper shade of blonde, and he was more accustomed to the super saiyan hair do - he didn't even bloody care! Who would even be looking at him that closely?!
People were already staring at him, giving the garb clad saiyan a wide birth. He was sure they were more frightened of the state he was in, his robes torn and bloodied, cuts and bruises littering his body with a particularly nasty gash just above his left eyebrow. Not to mention the snapped white bone sticking out of his chest.
Glip. Glip.
Glip. Glip.
Went the tills, aggravating the young saiyan even more.
"Can we hurry this up?!" he barked, causing several in the queue to shrink away from him.
Glip. Glip.
He couldn't believe this, all of these people had just come back to life! What the bloody hell were they doing out shopping when such a tragedy had befallen the Earth?
Glip. Glip.
Gohan growled, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground as he tried to distract himself, his eyes scanning the instructions on the box in his hands -
Put on gloves provided
Pour peroxide and bleach into bowl, mix until smooth
Apply immediately
Huh, that doesn't seem too hard.
For dark brown to black hair, leave for approx. 45-60 minutes.
"Fuck!" The teenager fumed, as several people turned towards him and tutted. Gohan ignored them, slapping a hand over his face in utter despair. He didn't have sixty minutes!
Glip. Glip.
Surely he wouldn't have to go through the same palaver each time he had to don his alter ego?! It certainly would be an inconvenience. Maybe Bulma could build him a helmet or something to hide his black hair…
Nah, he'd look like a right tosser.
Sighing heavily, the young saiyan berated himself even more. What the hell was he doing? Standing in a queue like an absolute arse when all of his friends were getting beaten to a bloody pulp by an evil ancient monster? He only hoped that The Supreme Kai had managed to get Babidi to perform the spell without much fuss. The spell should be in motion now, he thought desperately, praying that his family and friends were managing to hold the monster off without him.
Glip. Glip.
"Oh sod this!" The teenager spat loudly, causing the occupants of the room to jump in fright as he leapt over barriers and made a break for the exit.
"STOP THEIF!" Security called after him, the alarm bells ringing relentlessly in his ears, but Gohan was too fast.
"Sorry!" he called over his shoulder before kicking off from the ground and blasting into the sky, "You'll thank me later! It's to save the world!"
Performing a loop de loop in mid air, the teenager quickly locked on to Videl's Ki that was already waiting for him within the grounds of Capsule Corp. Swooping low to greet her, Gohan grinned, holding up the box of dye in triumph.
"Good, I was wondering what was taking you so long," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him.
"There was a queue," he mustered sheepishly, rightly keeping the fact that he had indeed shoplifted a secret from her. She certainly didn't have to know that, he would rather her not be angry with him for something else.
"Did you get the watch?" he asked, breaking into a smile as she held it up towards him.
"It was difficult to find, believe me," she replied, handing it to him and watching him as he clipped it over his wrist, "Bulma has so many gadgets it's unreal! And it didn't help that some Capsule Corp. engineer almost caught me running off with it, think her name badge said her name was Iris or something…"
"So, you any good at dyeing hair?" He enquired swiftly, changing the subject.
As it turned out, Videl was rather good at hair dyeing, managing to get every inch of his dark roots, albeit there were a few times when the girl accidentally got some of the peroxide in his eyes. After a rather distressing rinse over the bathtub in one of the guest bathrooms of Capsule Corp., Gohan was finally ready, blowdrying his hair with a burst of Ki.
It had been a gruelling sixty minutes, yet the now golden haired teenager pressed the button on his watch, his black bodice replacing his garb and the black and silver cloak falling to his feet. Slowly, as the midnight visor snapped over his eyes, Gohan began to smirk at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
He never thought he would say it, but damn it felt good to be back.
"You finished admiring yourself yet?" Videl said from behind him with a roll of her eyes.
Gohan offered her a cheeky grin, having not missed the slight blush upon her cheeks, "That depends, have you?"
"Shut up," she growled, her cheeks reddening.
The teen saiyan chuckled, grabbing hold of her hand and leading her quickly out of the complex.
"Blimey! It's The Gold Fighter!" he heard someone shout as they escaped into the grounds. Videl yelped, as they came to a sudden halt, a thoughtful look overcoming the halfling as several Capsule Corp. employees hung their heads out of the windows in shock.
"Damn it, what now?" he mused aloud, struggling to think of the best way to address the entire world without wasting anymore time. It would have to be somewhere where the whole world would be able to see him, a big gathering of sorts would do, with camera crews and paparazzi available to spread the message.
That was when it hit him, the tournament of course! Stretching out his senses, he found that the vast majority of earth's population were situated on the tiny isle of Papaya, and there was sure to be news reporters around from every major television channel, especially given the dramatic events that had recently transpired.
The young saiyan was busy having a mini celebration at his genius, and was about to relay his plan to Videl, when a sudden roar entered his mind -
"BRAT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Gohan immediately felt dizzy, bells ringing in his head, as Videl looked towards him in confusion, "Ow Vegeta!"
"Well?" the prince seethed, "Aren't you supposed to be convincing the blasted earthling's to give up their energy?! You've wasted enough time as it is!"
"But I had to wait sixty minutes for the bleach to work!" he protested, lifting his head towards the sky.
"And you spent an extra twenty admiring yourself!"
"Well we had to check we'd gotten all the roots," the teenager huffed, folding his arms across his chest.
"Enough wasting time!" Vegeta roared, "Buu is -!"
Suddenly, he cut off.
"Vegeta?" Gohan mused aloud, "Vegeeeeeeeeta?"
Bollocks.
"That didn't sound good," Videl said worriedly.
"Yeah," the teen winced, shaking himself out of his thoughts and grasping the girl tightly around the waist, "Come on, there's no more time to loose, we've got to get to the tournament!"
"Oh no you don't!" she yelped suddenly, pushing his hands away, "There's no way I'm flying with you again!"
He gave her an apologetic look, Videl had screamed at him all the way from the wastelands as he fired them as quickly as he could towards West City. Her cheeks were still tear stained from how much her eyes had watered, her hair had fallen out of her pigtails, the ebony locks frizzy and wild from the flight.
"Alright, well you stay here and I'll-"
"No way! I'm coming with you!" She protested hotly, "Hasn't Bulma got a spare jet copter or something lying around?"
Gohan sighed, in all honesty, he could just fly off and leave her, but she would be furious with him for abandoning her. There was no way a jet copter would be fast enough. He racked his brains, biting his lip in thought when an idea popped into his mind.
Videl looked towards him in confusion as the young saiyan put his thumb and forefinger into his mouth, letting out a high pitched whistle that echoed over the grounds of Capsule Corp.
"What are you-?" Videl started, but she was cut short by an almighty roar that echoed over the entirety of the city.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, as the large purple dragon landed softly on the grass beside Gohan, purring deeply at the sight of him.
"I-is that a dragon?" the girl gaped, as the young saiyan scratched Icarus affectionately on the snout.
Gohan scoffed, "Of all the things you've seen today and you're shocked at a dragon?"
Videl blinked, "You know what, fair point."
"Right," the halfling informed her, "Icarus is a bit more gentle in his flight than I am, so you should have no problem. Get on."
"W-what?" she choked, as the large dragon suddenly caught sight of her.
Icarus sniffed at the air, a low growl reverberating in his chest as smoke started to emit from his nostrils. His large pale yellow eyes surveyed the Satan girl as she took a step forwards, causing him to growl even more.
"Woah, woah boy," Gohan cooed, "This is Videl, she's a friend. Be nice alright? We need to get to the tournament as quickly as possible."
The dragon gave a snort of disapproval, causing Videl to glare at him.
"I don't think he likes me," she observed in annoyance.
"Don't be daft, he just isn't used to you yet," he offered, giving Icarus a stern look, "You'll look after her now, won't you boy?"
Slowly, Icarus obeyed his master, lowering himself further to the ground so that Videl could climb onto his back more easily. Though he still didn't look happy about the new guest.
"See he's fine!" Gohan exclaimed, turning towards Videl, "Now get on the dragon."
"I never thought I'd hear that sentence come out of a person's mouth," she said dumbly.
The teenager sighed, "I'm going to have to give you some flying lessons after all this is over."
"You'd better make that a promise Son Gohan," she glared as she clambered clumsily onto Icarus' back.
The purple dragon let out a low growl, as the girl held tightly onto the spikes on his spine.
"Ready?" Gohan asked with a small smile.
Videl gulped, but she didn't have time to answer as Icarus opened his large wingspan and took off into the clouds. The girl screamed loudly, causing the young saiyan to roll his eyes before he kicked off from the ground and fired himself into the air after them.
