Title: Off the Beaten Path
Author: Ms Videl Son (aka, megaminoeien on DA)
Rating: PG – Due to the large number of authors participating in this event, rating is subject to change at any time.
Disclaimer: None of the authors taking part in this Round Robin claim to own Dragonball/Z/GT.
Summary: Round Robin. Gohan and Videl get lost in the woods, and Videl doesn't know about Gohan's powers! What's a demi-Saiyan to do? (donated by texaspeach)
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Chapter Two
"N-No! VIDEL!" Gohan shouted, staring in horror at the small form that gravity quickly pulled away from him. The river below seemed to be dragging the girl towards it, its swirling waters opening wide to swallow her whole. Videl's brave rescue attempt was almost certainly going to end her life!
Gohan, who still clung to the underside of the bridge, shook off his initial shock and called forth his chi. Supercharging it so that he could make up for the time and space that spanned between them, the demi-Saiyan propelled himself onward at top speed, his arms outstretched in front of him to the victim of his cowardly folly. If only he'd pulled himself up sooner...made up some dumb excuse for why he hadn't fallen to his death quicker...Videl wouldn't be about to –
"No," Gohan reprimanded himself verbally. This wasn't over; Videl wasn't gone yet. He could still catch her, he had to!
Unfortunately, the female champion of justice had quite a head start on him; she was already only a few yards away from the water's surface. In less than a minute, she would collide with the hard coldness and everything would go black for her.
Gohan delved deep inside himself and released some of the dormant power he knew (and feared) rested within his soul. It lazily uncoiled itself, a sleepy dragon with a hunger for power, and the boy forced it into action; utilizing the warm red chi to his full advantage, Gohan turned his speed up another ten notches and swooped to the rescue.
His arms encircled his surprised classmate less than a second later and pulled her back flat against his heaving chest. The surface of the river was coming – impact was imminent – and his body was out of control! Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to pull up fast enough to avoid hitting the water altogether, Gohan rolled their tangled bodies in mid air so that his back would hit first.
He had just enough time to squeeze his eyes shut and steel himself for impact before –
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Videl burst out of the river, sputtering and coughing out the ice-cold water that had infiltrated her lungs. It spewed from her mouth in torrents, but more kept coming up as she struggled to stay afloat on the fast-moving current.
"G-Gohan!" she called, hacking as more river water came flowing into her mouth. She spit it out as she swiveled her head around, searching for her classmate. She couldn't see him anywhere. "GOHAN!"
There! He was just downriver from her, bobbing up and down like an apple at a fair. He looked unconscious, or close to it; pretty soon, he'd sink to the bottom of the river and drown there.
After filling her lungs with as much air as she could, Videl took the plunge again and ducked beneath the water's surface. She forced her tired muscles to work at full capacity and propelled herself through the freezing liquid like a missile. Luckily, the current was with her so her progress went unimpeded by the river; if anything, it pushed her forward toward her destination with greater speed.
Videl kept her eyes open beneath the murky surface, her attention focused entirely on Gohan. He was only a few feet away – nearly close enough to touch –
Though his fingers slipped from hers several times, Videl managed to get a firm grasp on him finally and pulled him toward her. It was then that she breached the layer of water between her and the sunlight, bursting into the fresh mountain air with a twisting pain in her chest. Gohan's face was barely above water, but he was still breathing; that was definitely a good sign.
After reaffirming her grip on the boy, Videl kicked out her aching legs and began to move them towards shore. It was only a few yards, but felt so far away...with Gohan weighing her down, it would be nearly impossible to...
"No," Videl snipped at herself through gritted teeth. They were both making it out of this stupid field trip alive, damn it! And then she'd petition the county for more bridge funding...
Videl called on every last shred of energy within her body and started anew, dragging herself and her burden towards the mossy shore.
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Gohan slowly drifted back into reality, finding no energy to fight the oncoming onslaught of consciousness. The dragon had invaded his dreams again, taunting him for weakness and laughing at his expense. 'A failure,' the crimson beast had called him. 'Pathetic.'
The demi-Saiyan wiped the dream memories from his mind and focused his attention on peeling apart his sticky eyelids. Light infiltrated the crack he'd made, causing him to flinch and squeeze it closed. He was getting a migraine, he could tell already.
"Nnm..."
The soft moan – a girl's timbre – captured his wavering attention and Gohan suddenly remembered why he had been unconscious in the first place. With less hesitation this time, he opened his eyes and took in the view.
Videl's slumbering face was the first thing that appeared to his tired eyes. She was no more than a foot away, her cheek flat against the silty soil beneath her, and wet tendrils of dark hair clinging to her neck and forehead. Her pigtails were gone (presumably undone by the struggle in the river) so it coiled in thick ropes around her. She glistened in the bright spring sunlight.
Gohan didn't know he was reaching out to her until his fingers made contact with her face. The tips ghosted over her cheek, smearing water droplets and disturbing the fine hairs that clung there. Her breath puffed steadily against his palm, ensuring him that her moan hadn't been a dream; she was alive.
Almost as if reaffirming his discovery one more time, Videl opened her eyes.
Gohan jerked his hand back, more than embarrassed at being caught by her piercing blue stare. It was half-lidded, drooping even, but she was clearly fighting to keep her eyes open.
"I...," she began, pausing to blink at him. "Didn't know you could fly."
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Beta'd by Ms. Videl Son (aka, megaminoeien on DA).