AN: Sorry about the delayed update everyone. A combination of my lemon attempt, Mass Effect 3 release, and the difficulty of writing this chapter, it took longer than I had hoped. I'm attempting to grow as a writer and thus decided to try things out of my comfort zone, as will be seen in this chapter. Without further ado, the chapter! (After a disclaimer)
AN: April 2nd 2012: I've gotten a lot of response with my blur concept and I've decided not to redo this chapter, but rather take have Gohan go through a similar learning experience as me and test it first, before coming up with something else. (Also I hate simple Retcons)
Disclaimer: Do not own DBZ. This fic is rated Mature. Graphic violence and an attempted-rape present in this chapter. Huge thanks to Ijustwokeup for once again beta-ing my work. Also a thanks goes out to gue22 for helping me with the mature scene.
Eating his lunch with his newfound friends, Gohan, was contemplating his visit to Bulma earlier that morning. It had taken a week's worth of contemplation before he had decided to approach and take the scientist up on her offer to help. He had the power and ability to make a positive difference—was there any better way to honour the sacrifice of both his father and Hercule?
Bound tightly by Cell's energy, Gohan felt himself unable to exert enough power to break free. If he hadn't been so stupid, so cocky, they wouldn't be in this position right now!
Floating above him, Cell grinned in triumph, "It's over Gohan. Like that, even an ant could kill you. You're not even worth my time anymore."
The android briefly paused, observing the nearby scenery. Finding a large piece of boulder, he threw it into the air high above the half-Saiyan before blasting it into smaller, sharp segments.
As a sadistic grin grew on his face, Cell relished in his victory, "Your death is certain. If I'm lucky, it'll be slow and painful," he shrugged casually, "But if you're lucky the first impact will crush your skull."
With a small wave, the android took to the air, finding a new target for his amusement. On the ground, Gohan watched as his death approaching, his energy and muscles completely restrained. He closed his eyes, painfully aware of his failure.
He was so pathetic. Cell didn't even think to care enough to finish him off with his own hands—
"Gohan!" Videl called out, snapping him out of his trip down memory lane. Waving a worried hand in front of his face, she asked him, "Everything ok? You look really serious right now."
"Uh yeah, sorry about that," he replied sheepishly before rubbing the back of his neck, "I was just thinking."
"About what?" Erasa asked questioningly, shamelessly taking the opportunity to shimmy closer to Gohan.
Sharpener put down his sandwich with a good-natured laugh, "He was probably thinking about what he's going to have for dinner. "
"No he wasn't!" the female blonde defended Gohan instantly. Sticking out her tongue out briefly at the other blonde, Erasa turned to Gohan, "You weren't thinking about food where you?"
Not wanting to reveal what he was really thinking about, Gohan pretended to be sheepish, "Actually… I kinda was."
His reply made Sharpener laugh harder before slapping Gohan's back good naturedly. Erasa frowned, slightly put out that she had been wrong. Videl however, hadn't been fooled that easily. Yeah right. Gohan does enjoy food, but that look on his face… It was something important.
She didn't push the issue though. She understood that sometimes there were things better left private. But there was something else about Gohan she wasn't going to leave alone. It had been nagging at her for a few days now; she had demonstrated considerable restraint by not interrogating him in front of her friends. She just needed to catch him alone when he couldn't weasel his way out. The 439 mountain area is 5 hours out! Something is very wrong with his story.
"So did you hear about the Black Demon again?" Erasa asked excitedly, snapping Videl back to the conversation.
Sharpener frowned slightly, disapproving of her enthusiasm over the topic, "So another few criminals turned up barely alive in front of the station again?"
"Yeah, they confessed to attempting a robbery and everything," the female blonde responded, obviously happy the streets were somewhat safer at night.
Gohan frowned, disagreeing with the Black Demon's excessive use of force, "They've been hospitalized for long-term care haven't they? I can't imagine any robber deserving that."
Sharpener nodded slightly in agreement. It was nice that the nights were somewhat safer, but some of the Black Demon's more recent victims had been maimed for life. Admittedly some of the crooks deserved it, like the attempted rapists, but sometimes people were driven to desperate means by desperate times. The Black Demon was merciless regardless.
"Whether they deserve it or not is not the point," Videl countered, surprising the other three. Except for Gohan, none of them had an idea what her opinion on the matter was, "There's no question that it's limiting future crimes."
Erasa simply looked confused at the statement while the two boys were contemplative. A moment later Gohan spoke up, "I don't think the ends justify the means in this case."
The female fighter was about to argue, but Sharpener beat her to the punch, "I don't know Gohan. The injuries may be a bit much, but you don't know what it's like to live in the neighbourhoods the Black Demon appears in. They've gotten a lot better recently."
Gohan shook his head, his demeanour unusually serious, "I still don't like it. There has to be a better way."
"There probably is," the blonde responded, shrugging his shoulders, "But right now we have the Black Demon. And it's helping."
"Sometimes force is the only thing people understand," Videl explained to Gohan. Noticing his obvious disagreement, she continued, "That or fear."
Unable to withhold her irritation any longer, Erasa burst out, "We're having lunch here, not philosophy class!"
She elicited three mumbled 'sorry's' from her friends before she took a deep breath and continued, "Let's just talk about something else."
Wanting to quickly appease the blonde, Gohan tried to think of a new topic. Looking around for inspiration, he spotted something interesting sitting beside Videl's lunch box.
Pointing it out, he asked, "Is that a Yo-Yo, Videl?"
The girl's expression flickered for a moment. Both blondes gave her a knowing look, but by then Videl had a small smile back on her face, "Yeah. It was a present from my dad."
"Oh, sorry," Gohan apologized, "I didn't realize."
"Don't worry about it," the fighter's smile softened, "Want to give it a try?"
While Gohan nodded, Sharpener watched on in disbelief. Videl was often a very reserved individual, her emotional barriers preventing her from connecting to others easily. Here she was enjoying her time with someone relatively new to her life. Quashing his unreasonable jealousy, Sharpener shook his head; Videl wasn't his and she could only benefit from another friend. It was no one's fault his feelings for the fighter ran deeper than the others knew.
Erasa however, was oblivious to the hidden significance of Videl's gesture. Instead, she huffed out in annoyance, "You never let me try that Yo-Yo before. I've asked a few times too!"
"It's because you'd probably drop it, or lose it somehow!" Sharpener laughed, trying to distract himself from his inner turmoil.
"I would not!" exclaimed the female indignantly.
The others laughed heartily before the lunch bell cut them short. Getting up reluctantly, the four made their way back inside.
Sighing, Videl commented, "That lunch went by so fast."
Gohan couldn't help but agree. But I don't remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much. I'm glad I ended up going to school.
.
At the end of the day, Gohan was putting his textbooks back into his locker, having long covered the material at home. Closing his locker door, he noticed Erasa approaching him with a peculiar look on her face.
"Hey Erasa! What's up?" he asked cheerily.
The blonde's demeanour was much shier than normal—she acted like a regular person, "I was actually hoping to ask you something."
"Sure, is everything ok?" Gohan asked worriedly. His friend's unusual demeanour hadn't completely escaped him.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd be cool to hang out this Saturday, maybe catch a movie you know? Get to know each other better?" Erasa asked in an even tone.
Gohan was slightly befuddled by her question, "Yeah of course. Why wouldn't I want to get to know you better?"
"Great!" Erasa exclaimed, her cheery look returning instantly. With a giddy bounce and a clap of her hands, she pecked Gohan lightly on the cheek, "It's a date! I'll give you a call tonight!"
As the blonde scampered off, the half-Saiyan was frozen in shock. Wha—huh? Did she just say a date?
"Crap, crap, crap, crap," with every repetition, Gohan lightly banged his head against the locker. Unfortunately lightly for him, it still dented the door. He moaned softly, "I don't know the first thing about dating."
Little did he know, his next headache was only a few steps away from him, watching with mild amusement at his predicament. Videl's stomach churned uncomfortably when Erasa had asked Gohan out, but the feeling quickly subsided when she saw his reaction. He's such a dummy. She shook her head. Don't forget why you're here, Videl. Something is off about his story and it's time you found out why.
"Hey Gohan," Videl called out before his locker door was damaged beyond use.
Surprised, the teen sprang straight up, noticing her, "Videl! How's it going?"
"Better than with you," she replied, indicating his dented locker door with her head. Wow he's got a skull of steel.
"Uh…" Gohan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I just kind of got blind-sided."
Videl smiled, "Erasa does that a lot. So, figured out what you're going to do for your date?"
Gohan visibly slumped before bemoaning, "I've never been on a date before. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."
"Don't worry about it, Erasa knows what she wants. You'll do fine," the female assured. Her desire to help was purely an attempt to butter him up. She swore.
"I hope so," Gohan sighed before standing up slowly, "Did you want something?"
After a brief pause, he added jokingly, "Did you want a date too?"
"No!" Videl exclaimed in her usual gruff manner. The male however was too caught up in his dilemma to properly notice her slight blush.
"Good. I'd probably botch it up," he replied with a self-depreciating tone. Curious, Gohan asked, "Why are you here then Videl?"
Get a hold of yourself Videl! She could steel her emotions when she needed to be cold. Finding her inner core, she gathered her resolve. With an authoritative air, Videl poked Gohan viciously in the chest, pushing him against some lockers.
"You're going to tell me how you travel 1000 miles to and from school everyday," she commanded.
"Uh, uh, uh… what are you talking about Videl?" Gohan stalled, stammering in his panic. Think Gohan, think!
"I mean, I looked up the 439 Mountain Area, it's 500 miles away!" putting her hands on her hips, Videl continued, "Did you really expect us to believe you travel that far everyday? I really don't like being lied to you know."
"I uhh…." Bingo! "I've got a new prototype hoverjet."
Videl quirked an interested eyebrow, "Oh really!"
"Oh yeah! Bulma gave it to me as a birthday gift!" Gohan quickly explained, glad he had come up with a plausible explanation.
Videl on the other hand was flabbergasted, "You know the Bulma Briefs on a first name basis?"
"Oh yeah, look at the time!" the male feigned a look at his wrist, before dashing off, "I promised I'd meet her after school! I'll catch you tomorrow Videl!"
Too shocked at first with her discovery, the female fighter just watched Gohan disappear around the corner. A moment later, a mental picture clicked into her mind. Gohan wasn't even wearing a watch! Grrr… that Gohan is asking for a world of pain.
Observing the nearly empty hall, Videl smirked. I'll figure you out Gohan Son. Just you wait.
.
Ten minutes later, a slightly calmer half-Saiyan touched down at Capsule Corps. Making his way inside, Gohan looked for Bulma, in hopes that she had the solution to his hero problem. Seeing her inside her private workroom, he gave a soft knock at the door.
"Hi Bulma," Gohan greeted, slightly nervous.
"So kiddo, how did school go?" Bulma asked cheerful, looking up from her worktable.
"It went well, there's this girl and-" he began, not sure how to explain his situation.
"A girl you met at school?" Bulma shrieked ecstatic. She jumped up and gave Gohan a big hug, "Tell me all about her!"
"Uh, huh? I've met a few girls at school," the half-Saiyan stated slightly confused, scratching the back of his head.
"Which girl?" Bulma smirked before giving Gohan a light smack, "How many girls do you have? You dog, you."
Finally cluing in, Gohan backed up against the wall waving his hands in front of him, "No, no. It's not like that! I'm only going on a date with one of them!"
"So she's the one you wanted to tell me about?" the scientist assumed, "Need advice for your date?"
Gohan shook his head in disagreement, "I wasn't going to mention her actually. I just came here to pick up my hero costume."
Bulma looked slightly sad for a moment before a light-bulb went off over her head. She reached down and she picked up a watch off the workshop table, "This superhero costume?"
The half Saiyan's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped, "Does that do what I think it does?"
"Try it on," Bulma grinned at his obvious enthusiasm.
Eagerly reaching forward, Gohan relieved the blue-haired scientist of the watch. Studying the design carefully, the teen was pleased with what he saw. He happily clasped the watch over his wrist after his brief examination. Taking a deep breath, the half-Saiyan stood in front of the mirror before pressing the big red button on the side of the watch.
"Hello sexy," a robotic, yet definitely feminine voice spoke out.
Gohan face-planted as Bulma laughed loudly. Once he got up, she explained with a chuckle, "I thought it'd be funny to give it a female voice."
"Was that greeting really necessary?" Gohan demanded, a little spittle flying in all directions, illustrating his clear indignation.
"Yes," Bulma replied, seeing his expression before adding, "Don't worry you just toggled the silent function."
"So, the big red button isn't to make my costume appear?" Gohan asked the scientist incredulously.
"Heh, maybe I should have swapped the buttons in hindsight," she admitted, somewhat sheepish, "The smaller green button makes your costume appear."
"Oh really?" Gohan deadpanned, obviously less amused with the situation.
Quick to anger, Bulma placed her hands on her hips in a disapproving fashion. Noticing the potential danger of his sarcasm, Gohan quickly pressed the small green button. A split second later, a dark violet gi materialized, replacing his clothes which had just vanished. Pleasantly surprised, the half-Saiyan realized it was larger version of the gi Piccolo had given him, cape and all.
Quite satisfied with the outfit, he turned to thank his friend when he noticed she had turned her head and was blushing slightly.
"What's wrong Bulma?" he asked curiously.
"There's just some bugs that need to be worked around," she explained, cautiously turning back around before sighing in relief.
Gohan scratched his head, "We need to figure out something for my head, but I wouldn't really call that a bug."
"There is a… uh, a small time lag, between when your clothes disappear and your new ones appear," Bulma explained, motioning awkwardly at the teen's body.
"What is that supposed to—YIKES!" Gohan exclaimed, covering his clothed crotch. He hesitantly followed up with a question, "Did you uh?..."
Bulma smirked, nodding in response to his question, "You know Gohan, I helped Chi-Chi raise you. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
Trying to avoid thinking of all the implications, Gohan returned his attention to a small concern of his, "I still need something for my head."
"I've actually been giving that quite a bit of thought," the scientist replied, taking on a more serious demeanour, "Actually your name gave me a great idea."
"You mean the Golden Blur?" the teen asked curious.
Bulma nodded, "You move fast enough that you can't be seen by most people or appear as a blur. I was wondering if you could move your head just fast enough to blur it. Power up then slowly move your head slightly side to side and speed it up. If you do it right, regular people should only see a blur. I'll tell you what a good speed is."
"Are you sure this is going to work Bulma?" Gohan asked. Although sceptical, he began to move his head side to side, slowly obscuring his facial features beyond recognition.
"Better… better… there!" the female exclaimed, still able to see the teen, but completely unable establish anything above the shoulders but a wide blur. Admittedly, it gave her the impression Gohan's head was slightly wider than it was, but he appeared humanoid with a blur for a face.
"Uh Bulma, you forgot to account for something," the teen stopped vibrating his head. He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
She sighed at his meek demeanour; it was unbefitting of him, "What is it Gohan?"
"The Doppler Effect. You sounded a bit funny when your voice kept oscillating pitches like that," Gohan explained, the scientist in him taking over, "Actually, I imagine I'd sound a bit funny too if I tried to talk doing that."
Bulma didn't see the problem. In fact it was perfect and she told him so, "It'd disguise your voice too. If you can put up with slightly distorted hearing, your vision can easily compensate. I'm sure with enough practice you'd get used to it."
"I guess that does make some sense," Gohan reluctantly agreed, acknowledging the merit in her argument. But then something occurred to him, "How would I practice? You're the only one who knows about me, but would see my features blur properly."
"Well, obviously you need to go save some people hero!" Bulma explained, while shooing Gohan out the front door, "You'll have lots of leeway. With your speed and regular human's vision, as long as you go even a little fast, your face should blur. Worst case scenario, you go a little too fast and you appear headless."
"Because people would react well to being saved by a headless body," he muttered sarcastically, careful to keep the comment under his breath. He slowly took to the air, thankful, but not completely happy, with Bulma's help.
"Hold up Gohan! I forgot to tell you something!" the scientist cried out, stopping him before he left out the window.
"What is it Bulma?" he asked.
"You never wondered why there needed to be a silence function to begin with?" Bulma demanded, slightly disappointed before continuing, "I've programmed the watch to feed you police reports. It automatically scans their system and if anything serious like that bank robbery occurs, the watch will let you know."
"That's amazing!" Gohan replied ecstatic, but his energy lowered as he thought, "But I want to help whenever and whoever I can."
"Who do you take me for?" Bulma smirked, before explaining, "In silent mode you'll get a small vibration for big things. But in normal mode, the watch will let you know about anything. I figured when you told Chi-Chi, you didn't want her to know you were missing school for things the police could handle on their own."
"Thanks Bulma, this is amazing!" the excited demi-Saiyan gave her a large huge.
He ignored her mutter, "Now he hugs me."
After breaking the hug, Bulma indicated to the window Gohan had been leaving through earlier, "Come on Blur, let's see what you can do!"
"Ay ay ma'am!" the male mocked a salute, before ducking a playful swipe at his head. He ran quickly towards the open window before launching himself into the air. He gave a small wave over his shoulder, "Thanks again Bulma!"
Watching Gohan fly off, the female scientist remembered something at the last moment and called out, "I'll have a fix for the brief nudity tomorrow! Drop by for it!"
The half-Saiyan almost fell out of the air, but caught himself just in time. He'd already been embarrassed enough today.
.
Roughly an hour later, a young woman was fighting for her life. She had been walking home through a seedy part of town when a large man had pulled her into the alleyway. Suddenly thrown to the ground, her nose was assaulted by the fowl stench the in air. She wretched slightly before she stood up, intent on getting away. Trying to escape, the woman ran past the man, only to be thrown back onto the floor. Repeatedly.
Blood pounding in her ears, the woman continued to desperately try for escape from the darkening alley. The adrenaline surging through her bloodstream did nothing to dampen the terror. In fact, it only added on to his overwhelming presence in the alley. Every breath he took, every hand he swung, and every lecherous grin he smiled: her heightened senses perceived everything, making his large frame all the more imposing.
Finally exhausted and short on breath, the woman collapsed against the wall, unable to push past the man to her freedom. The exit taunted her from but only a few meters away. A mantra of Oh god no, oh god no, oh god no, repeated through her mind as she watched the horrid man smile in victory.
"Come on now sweetheart, what do you expect when you wear something like that in a place like this?" the man intoned, slowly walking towards the cowering woman. He took in her torn clothes, focusing on her exposed skin, before trapping her against the back alley wall.
"Please, just get away from me," the woman's voice had already cracked earlier. They were in a relatively isolated part of town and no one had heard her screams. She'd already given up hope of help arriving and at this point just wanted the pain to stop, "Please…"
The man paused, obviously relishing his dominant position, "Depends what you have to offer."
He gave her a leery look over as his intent was obvious. The woman shuddered, wishing herself anywhere but here. Even being with her wretched ex-boyfriend was better than this. She was under no false-pretense that she would escape—still, she would make sure he regretted thinking of her as an easy target.
"Ok, I'll do what you want," it was as if the spirit had left her body. She allowed her voice to drop to a soft monotone, "Just don't hurt me."
The sadistic grin on the man's face widened. He slowly unzipped his pants before pulling them down. A bout of nausea hit the woman, both from the sight to come and the horrid smell emanating from his crotch. Shoving his pants to just below his groin, he whipped his rigid member out. It seemed to possess a mind of its own, flexing and pulsing irregularly, beckoning the woman forwards.
"Suck it bitch," he commanded.
The woman nearly blanched. She suppressed her rising disgust along with the bile in her throat with sheer force of will. Fooling her tormentor with a meek demeanour, she took him into her mouth, nearly gagging at his flavour, and cupped his scrotum with her free hand.
The moment he relaxed into her mouth, she revolted. She bit down with as much force as she could muster and gouged him with her nails with all her strength. Instantly, the man roared before sending her flying backwards with a furious backhand. Grabbing his mutilated genital region, he attempted to stem the flow of blood, but was only partially successful. Raising a bloody hand, the man gestured at the woman lying on the floor.
"You bitch!" the man screamed in a mixture of rage and agony. She smirked from the floor, obviously injured, but feeling a small victory in her act of vengeance. Spitting the man's blood from her mouth, the woman inspected the blood beneath her nails as well. It'd gone better than she had expected.
"Bitch, you fucked with the wrong guy," the man approached aggressively, "No one does that kind of shit to me and lives."
Her brief and bitter sweet victory quickly morphed back into a swirl of heavy emotion: horror, fear, anger, and worst of all, self-loathing. No, this fucker isn't going to hear me scream.
She deadened herself, numbing her body and mind for what was to come. The woman didn't move, her remaining fight consumed by her previous actions. Closing her eyes, the woman raised her arms over her head in a half-hearted attempt to defend herself, with no hope of rescue.
"What the fuck?" the man's voice drew her attention back, her eyes widening in surprise at what she saw. His arm was raised high in the air, only he couldn't bring it down. A man was gripping her assailant's arm in a vice-like grip, stopping its movement completely. A glowing, headless man.
If she could have screamed the woman would have. Instead, she panicked and fell back onto her already injured side, causing her to wince in pain. Noticing, Gohan slowed his head vibrations slightly.
"Sorry about that, do you see me now?" he inquired softly, unwilling to scare the woman any more. He managed to keep the anger from his voice, for her sake—just barely.
She nodded mutely. Despite the odd vibration of his voice, his concern was still clear; the presence of a head helped calm her somewhat, despite his blurred features. A rush of emotion she thought she'd never feel again overwhelmed her; she fought the urge to cry for her newfound relief and hope, unwilling to show her attacker any weakness. Her tormentor however, had no such reservations displaying his emotions and thus, roared in anger.
"I don't know what the fuck you are, but—" his tirade was cut short by a sharp pinch of pain at the back of his neck. His mouth foamed slightly as he collapsed in an undignified heap.
Watching her attacker fall limp and slam into the cement ground, the woman found herself paralyzed, unable to move as the golden figure approached her. When the man raised an arm, she flinched and shut her eyes instinctively. A moment later, she felt a warm cloth drape itself over her shoulders. Looking up, it was if the faceless man was examining her carefully, despite his lack of eyes. The woman was both surprised and thankful to find herself draped in his cloak.
"You looked cold," he explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of his face, "Oops."
Obviously noticing, the golden man's face obscured from view almost immediately. Seeing his features had been enough to restore some semblance of sanity to the woman's chaotic mind. For that brief moment, his genuine voice had been heard as well.
"What's your name?" her saviour asked, his voice retaking its foreign inflections. The sincere gentleness remained despite the change however.
"Soil, Soil Laen," she replied, trying to stand up. To her frustration, her arms and legs were shaking and did not respond to her demands. When she stumbled, the golden man instantly grabbed her arm in support. His soft yet firm grip and his reluctance to touch her didn't escape Soil's notice.
"Thank you, for everything," she looked up at his blur of a face, "What do I call you?"
A nervous distorted laugh sounded throughout the alley, "Uh, well, I suppose the media calls me the Golden Blur."
"Thank you… for being real," the woman whispered quietly as tears began to flow freely and unbidden down her face. Of all emotions, embarrassment overwhelmed Soil, confusing her, only adding to her distress.
Gohan pretended he didn't hear or see her pain, allowing her to grieve silently. He had no idea how to properly comfort the woman.
A few minutes later, feeling some of her energy return, Soil slowly walked over to the collapsed man on the floor. Fuelling all her rage, agony, and sorrow into her foot, she readied herself to deliver a strong kick to his head. A gentle hand grasped her hand.
"Don't do it," her saviour gently begged.
"You don't understand, all the things, I…" she tried to convey her tumultuous emotions in words, ultimately unsuccessful.
"No I don't, but if you remind me about what he almost did, I might not be able to restrain myself any longer," he replied. Only then did she notice the stiff hand at his side; it was such a stark contrast to the gentle hand reassuring her now. It was trembling, with ugly bulging veins randomly returning from tense muscles. There was also a steady drip of blood from his fist, forming a small pool of blood on the floor: his nails had obviously pierced his palm in several locations.
Even without seeing his face, she could suddenly feel his anger emanating off him in waves. His golden aura took on a sudden malicious feel, almost bringing Soil to her knees. The man in front of her was on a personal precipice, almost ready to commit murder on her behalf. A complete stranger. She couldn't let her saviour, her light, diminish himself even the slightest.
The woman relaxed her muscles slightly, though still unable to calm herself, "I'm not doing this for him you know. It's for you."
"Thank you," again, despite the strangeness of his voice, Soil could somehow still feel his relief and thankfulness. Why would he be thanking her?
"Do you have a cell phone?" he asked.
Nodding her head slightly in response, she handed the phone to him. He shook his head in an obvious sad manner, his face appearing once more, and motioned for her to call the police. With the police on the way, the woman hung up, looking at her mysterious saviour.
"Please don't leave me," she whispered, the adrenaline rush ebbing. She felt her body begin to slowly tremor.
"Didn't plan on it," his voice warmed her chilled body as a wave of relief crashed down upon her yet again.
How could someone experience such depravity and humanity within only a few moments of each other? Soil couldn't understand, but in his calming presence, it didn't matter. They talked about mundane things, simple things, anything to occupy her mind. In any other situation she would have been content. For now, she would settle for pleasantly numb.
Minutes later, the sound of sirens filled the air. Hearing them grow in intensity, both the Golden Blur and Soil stood up to prepare for the police's arrival. A second later, as police approached the entrance to the alley, Soil felt her saviour disappear in a small gust of wind. She looked around briefly, before settling her gaze on the approaching and concerned officer.
She whispered softly to the air, "Thank you."
.
Later that night, in the same area, screams echoed throughout another alleyway. Taking in the situation below, the Black Demon narrowed its eyes before leaping off the fire escape. With an ominous Thump! the Black Demon landed behind the two assailants. Everyone else in the alley froze stiff in response to the sound. Slowly and hesitantly, both would-be-muggers turned around before blanching at what they saw.
Before either could even make a move, the Black Demon struck at the man's arm holding on to the woman. The arm snapped, giving everyone the impression the man possessed a reverse-elbow. Screaming in horror, the man stared at his arm, before tumbling backwards. Unable to properly break his fall, the arm snapped further emitting a sickening Crack!
Horrified, the man looked at the mangled remains of his arm, the pain not yet registering. With a sudden wave of nausea, the man felt his dinner forcing its way up his gullet. He tried to withhold the bile with a stifled gurgle, but that was when the pain set all his nerves on fire. Overwhelmed, the last thing the man remembered was falling face first into a pool of his vomit.
The other criminal turned tail to run in an attempt to save himself. Stepping dispassionately over the other disgustingly dirty and crippled criminal, the Black Demon reach down to its belt and grabbed something in its hand. With a cold and calculated motion, the Demon threw the heavy weight with merciless precision. Straight as an arrow, the blunt force struck the fleeing mugger in the back, sending him careening into the nearby wall face-first. Try as he might, the criminal couldn't stop the grinding of his face across the bricks as he slid down the wall. Clawing desperately at the wall, the man realized why he couldn't stop his descent—he no longer feel his legs.
Grabbing the returning weapon out of the air, the Black Demon placed it back in its proper belt location. Taking in the two incapacitated criminals and cowering women, the Black Demon prepared to leave the scene. It took a few steps towards the end of the alley before the woman moved.
Click! The Demon recognized the sound; it was reminiscent of a gun being cocked. Curious, the Demon paused and cocked its head.
"Someone wants you dead," the supposed victim stated before commanding, "Turn around."
Miss Lavender was good at what she did.
AN: I apologize once again for the late update, but I hope it was worth it! Like I said, I'm not used to writing darker themes though I would like to, so let me know what you think, please review!