Hi. Back with another chappie. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Beyonce's Sweet Dream was stuck in my head for a while so excuse the themes, however vague that are in this chapter. I don't own DBZ.
Last Time...
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Erasa teased, trying to fight the tears that were welling in her eyes.
Sharpner couldn't help but smile. "Not now. I mean I don't have a ring or anything. But I will. Are you ok with that?"
Erasa giggled. "Of course silly. I love you," she responded before kissing him softly. She pulled away from him and looked him in the eye seriously. "You do know that there's no way in hell you're getting six kids."
A Beautiful Nightmare...
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The night was dark. Tall buildings formed a large grid below him and nearly every one of them was aflame. Terrified screams rose from the ground twenty feet below him yet he didn't care. All he could see was the moon. The full moon lay large across the star littered sky, casting a soft yet eerie glow over the dismal scene below it. He beat his four foot fists against his chest, howling non-sensically at the moon. He followed it blindly, not paying attention to the cars, buildings, people he trampled underfoot in the process. Yet it seemed that with every step he took, the moon was moving farther away. Determined, he trudged on.
He flinched as he felt something sear his shoulder. Looking down for the first time, he saw the destruction. The destruction he had caused. He saw Vegeta yelling at him. Yet, he couldn't understand what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a foreign language. It wasn't Saiyan. He knew that language. Neither was it human. He kept gesturing at him and at the ground. With his advanced eyesight, he could see everything on the ground clearly, despite his high altitude. It was then that he saw it: his father, lying dead, his body covering those of his mother and little brother. Mirai lay dead with the bodies of Lime, Bulma and Chibi Trunks nearby. Krillen, 18, Tien, Launch, Yamcha and Piccolo were missing limbs. Sharpner and Erasa lay barely breathing. Little Marron and Kiara hugged each other, a steel pole penetrating both their bodies. Videl…she lay on the ground, her arms and legs bent at odd angles.
He was appalled by the sight in front of him, angry, remorseful, yet his body was not. It was like he wasn't in control of his body; like he was a miniscule thought in the vast abyss of his mind. He was like an onlooker, a prisoner in his own body. He screamed in protest as his body picked up Vegeta and began squeezing the life out of him. He flinched and squirmed as he felt and heard the proud warrior's bones break. What scared him the most is that his body was enjoying every second of it.
"Monster," he heard Vegeta choke out before his body fell limp.
Suddenly he was in control again. He looked down in his hands and saw Vegeta's dead body. His lifeless black eyes stared at him, somehow still maintaining their accusatory glare. He could feel Vegeta's damp sticky blood coating his furry forearms. Anguish flooded his veins. He had killed everyone he had ever called a friend. He had killed the only person he had ever loved, Videl. He killed the little girl who looked up to him like a father. Vegeta was right. He was a monster. In the only gentle act he had committed that day, he buried them all. Then he left. He walked back to his mountain home only to find it in ruins. It was then that the enormity of what he had done hit him. He fell to his knees and looked up at the moon, pouring out all his grief in a mournful scream.
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His eyes snapped open only to meet Videl's concerned ones. He sat up tentatively and averted his gaze, realizing he had been dreaming. Yet it had felt so real, he couldn't bring himself to look at Videl. Instead he stared at the ground as Videl took a seat in front of him.
They sat in silence for a while before Videl spoke up. "You had a nightmare," she stated rather than asked.
Gohan grimaced and nodded. "It's nothing," he deflected. "You don't have to worry about it."
"I don't have to but I will anyway," Videl insisted.
Gohan scowled. "Videl, I really don't want to talk about it right now," he said quietly. He knew that she didn't really want to pry; she just wanted to make sure he was ok. "I'm fine."
Videl lifted his chin and looked him in the eyes, seeing the anguish that dominated his onyx orbs. "No, you're not," she answered. "Tell me you don't want to talk about it, but don't lie to me and tell me you're fine."
"You're right," Gohan responded, not in the mood to argue with her. "I'm sorry."
"What happened to you last night?" Videl asked.
Gohan tore his face away from her grip again, looking back at the floor. He did not want to have this conversation right now. "I transformed," he answered evasively.
"Why didn't you tell me about this transformation of yours?" Videl asked, trying and failing to keep the anger and betrayal from her voice.
"I didn't want to worry you and I never thought my tail would grow back again. I thought I was too old." Gohan responded.
"Why did you run?" she asked.
"Because I would have hurt you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had hurt you," Gohan responded, still not meeting her eyes.
"No you wouldn't have. I trust you not to hurt me," Videl answered.
"You shouldn't. I nearly killed Vegeta and hurt my dad. You would have been dead in a heartbeat," Gohan responded monotonously.
Videl took offense at him basically calling her weak. But she knew now that she was like an ant compared to Gohan and his friends. She swallowed her pride and said, "I thought you loved me."
"I do. That's why I had to leave you. I'm getting rid of it," Gohan responded in the same emotionless tone.
"Your tail? Why? Wouldn't it hurt?" Videl asked.
"Because it turns me into a mindless monster!" Gohan yelled, tears beginning to flood his eyes as he remembered his dream. "That's what I dreamed about. I killed everyone! You! My parents! My little brother! All my friends! And I couldn't do a damn thing to stop myself! That's why I didn't want to tell you! I'm a monster and you shouldn't want to be with me!"
Videl immediately wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as he finally broke down. She rubbed his back and whispered soothing words in his ear as his body wracked with sobs. Her heart broke for him. All traces of anger she had felt for him not telling her everything vanished. Why couldn't he just accept that she loved him, no matter who or what he was? She would admit that she was scared. But she wasn't going to leave him. She needed him and he needed her. Nothing was going to change that.
As his sobs slowed, she leaned in and kissed him softly. His salty tears mixed with the natural taste of his lips. He didn't respond but he didn't pull away either. Videl guessed that was a good sign. At least he wasn't resisting her.
"When we get back you should leave me alone. I'll transfer to another school. It's not fair for you to have to deal with this," Gohan said dejectedly.
Videl reeled back in anger. Guess he didn't get the memo. I'll fix that in no time! She slapped him in the face, causing him to hold his cheek and look her in the eyes in bewilderment. "You will not go anywhere! What's not fair is that you're deciding for me. Don't I get a say in the matter? I'm not leaving you! No matter what you say! I don't care if you transform into a giant lizard and start terrorizing cities. You are going to learn to control it and I'm going to be with you every step of the way. You said your tail is a part of you. Don't let it beat you." Videl yelled at him.
For the first time that morning Gohan gave a hint of a smile. "Ok," he said. He was going to give it a try. Right then his stomach growled. Gohan gave a sheepish smile. "I guess I'm a bit hungry," he grinned, rubbing his stomach.
Videl just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Go on," she said. She was glad he was ok.
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Later that evening, Gohan, Videl and Kiara sat around the fire, Kiara taking up her favorite position in Gohan's lap. They had been training all day and they were all tired out. However, Kiara was adamant that Gohan tell her a bedtime story. She loved the feel of his chest rumbling behind her as he spoke and his soothing voice chased away all her nightmares. She snuggled deep into his warm chest and listened as he related his tale.
"Once upon a time, there was a prince who lived in a land not so far from here. His name was Damien and he lived with his little brother, Nathan, his father, Sergei and his mother Natalia. One day, Damien played a trick on his father and as punishment, he sent him to a prison for rebellious young people. The prison was called high school," Gohan began.
Kiara looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "High school? You couldn't come up with a name better than that?" she asked.
Gohan rolled his eyes. "Ok, how about… The Dungeon," he supplied, glaring at Videl who was quietly giggling.
"Corny, but I'll accept it," Kiara responded, resuming her position.
Gohan shook his head at the sassy child in his arms before continuing, "Anyway, when he got to the Dungeon, he was hated by everyone except for a nice girl named Emily. She had shirt blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was really happy and nice to him but she talked…a lot. Damien liked her anyway and they quickly became friends. Later that day, Damien had to pass a test set up by the other prisoners. You see, the way the Dungeon worked was that every newcomer had to pass a test to determine which rank they were in. You were either a fourth class, which was the lowest class, third class, which was slightly better than the lowest class, second class, or elite. The test was one of physical skill and no one thought he would be able to pass it. You see, the prince was smart and everyone knew that but everyone also thought that because he was smart, he was weak too."
"Well that's pretty dumb of them. Of course you can be smart and strong at the same time," Kiara answered, to the guilt of Videl. Even a four-year-old could see the fault in their logic. She guessed they were pretty dumb back then.
"Basically, the prince had to stand in front of all the other prisoners and dodge all the arrows they shot his way. He prepared himself, knowing he could pass the test, but not wanting to show off too much. When the first arrow whizzed past him he dodged to the left, the next one made him dodge to the right. Another one came from below and forced him to jump and yet another came from above and made him duck. Finally, the last one came and it was too fast for him to dodge it. He panicked for a second. What was he supposed to do? He knew he couldn't let it hit him because the arrow was poisoned, but he couldn't move too fast either so that the other prisoners would be suspicious of him. He caught it instead, inches from his face. He looked up at the person who fired it and saw a beautiful girl with waist length, black hair and goregeous blue eyes…" Gohan ended.
Kiara looked up at him as he concluded; her eyes and mouth wide open, completely mesmerized. "What happened next, what was her name?" she asked.
Gohan smiled. "You'll find that out tomorrow. I'll tell you a bit of the story every night until we get to the end ok?" he proposed.
"Why can't you tell me all of it now?" Kiara demanded with a pout.
"Because then, you won't have a story for any other night," Gohan responded patiently.
Kiara looked down and played with the tip of Gohan's tail which had settled in her lap. "Ok," she whispered in defeat. "I'll go to sleep now."
In ten minutes, Gohan was tucking the little girl into her sleeping bag. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead before tunring to join Videl in their sleeping bag. He gave her a soft kiss goodnight before spooning her against him.
Videl snuggled back into his arms. "So are you going to make an embellished account of our life story, her bedtime stories from now on?" she asked with a giggle.
"Well, as long as we're still alive, this story will never end," Gohan responded with a yawn, kissing her on the forehead.
"Goodnight Gohan. I love you," Videl said.
"Love you too Videl," Gohan answered. "Sweet dreams."
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I know it's short but review please?
