The Vegeta Chronicles

by Demod20

What if Vegeta was the hero who killed Cell at his most powerful? What if 17 & 18 were given bigger roles in future Arcs? What if Tien Shinhan and other long forgotten characters were suddenly important? This is the series in which those characters get those big roles, and where the DBZ series is retold through their eyes and their perspective. This is...the Vegeta Chronicles!

14. Enter the Mercinator

THE VEGETA CHRONICLES

---

Chapter 14 - Enter the Mercinator

---

"W-What's up with this guy? How does Gohan know him?" Videl thought with trepidation, as she peered past Gohan's insistently protective gait. The man decked in black had a malicious gaze set upon him, and didn't seem to come for pleasantries. Then who was he? Is he planning to hurt Gohan, in the middle of the city? She couldn't be sure, so she kept quiet so as not to antagonize him, and see what he wanted.

"You sound surprised to see me," Tao spoke lowly with a dark chuckle, as his gleaming red eyes scanned both of them methodically, "its not as if you dealt any damage. My hasty retreat was merely a simple tactical withdraw, so I may better re-equip myself to handle someone of your caliber."

Gohan could feel that the ex-mercenary wasn't bluffing. From the attributed new wardrobe and the removal of last gen cybernetic tech seemed to indicate he got a new employer. But he knew that this was far from a business endeavor, mercenary work or not. Tao was out for blood, and with his father no longer around, he'd be the best substitute to satiate his sick desire for slaughter.

With a sudden inhale, Gohan finally worked up the nerve to ask the obvious question, "Why are you back, Tao?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you, Saiyan filth, or are you that naive?" Tao spoke with a dark chuckle of incredulity, raising his right up towards Gohan with emphasis, "I'm here to...take your life," with that said, his fist clenched, creating an intimidating crinkle of leather against artificial flesh as his smile widened, "as recompense for the humiliation your father and you have made to me endure. Surely you didn't expect I would disappear forever, right?"

Tightening his fists, Gohan now realized what kind of man this Tao was. He realized that the stories his father and friends talked about were true, and what kind of treacherous monster he was and still is. He knew a wake-up call was in order, and make sure he wouldn't come back to hurt anyone else. Especially those less equipped to handle him...

"I kind of did, but I guess that was just hopeful thinking on my part," Gohan spoke with a snarl, his eyes glaring at the red-eyed man who stood before him and Videl, bathed in an aura of murderous intent, "but I guess you can't accept mercy well, can you? You have to push your luck don't you?"

With a diabolical cackle, Tao cracked his knuckles, baring them for use as he slowly walked towards the son and protege of Son Goku, "Notions such as mercy and defense are for the weak. Martial arts was created to annihilate your enemy, whether he be armed or have the strength of ten men. Combined with the most cutting equipment modern technology can offer, you can turn the weakest of men into unstoppable killing machines. At the level I'm at, I'm prepared to give up my life to use this newfound power to annihilate you and your wretched band of heroes!"

"You think I'm going to sit back and let that happen?!" Videl stepped around Gohan, almost succeeding to get within arm's reach of the ex-mercenary, before her arm was grasped by Gohan's left hand. Turning around, she began to protest, "let go of me-!"

"Stand back, Videl," Gohan's eyes, bore a serious edge to them that held no sense of jest or nonchalant attitude like he normally did. This was a side that Videl had yet to see up until now, "Tao's a monster and doesn't fight like ordinary people. Stand back and I'll take care of him. It should only take a few minutes."

Videl's gaze wavered, between the barbarous entity standing but a few meters away, and the young man whom held her arm insistently. She could see the figurative sparks fly between the two heated gazes, and she realized that she had no place in this fight. Not yet, anyways.

"I got it," Videl spoke tersely, but with understanding, causing her escort to let go of her arm and walk away to the Tao's left flank.

After stopping a good few meters away, Gohan spread his feet to face Tao, rearing his arms back, methodically gathering his energy and bringing it to the surface.

It seemed to take forever in the eyes of his enemy, and Videl simply stared on intently, wanting to see Gohan fight seriously in comparison to his battle against Trunks. She wanted to see him fight a villain, and his own passion and skill put truly to the test against an unknown force. For some reason, instead of being frightened, she felt her blood pump faster and her heart beat louder than ever before.

"You going to take all day, boy?" Tao asked with a chuckle, as his eyes saw the slow build-up of energy down to a thermal and x-ray level, "if you waste my time, I might get testy..."

"Patience, Tao. Do you really like the idea of all the buildings around you hailing glass from the force of energy I'm unleashing from my pores?" Gohan asked rhetorically, causing the aged martial artist to narrow his brows heatedly at his direction. Those brows widened as bioelectric tendrils discharging around Gohan's being. A blistering blue-white fire seemed to flow outwards, before streaking in a vertical manner, in sync with Gohan's growl. Within an instant, Gohan unleashed an audible yell, as his body roared with the aura of a silver-blue hue, sending dozens of crackling tendrils across his skin and clothes, causing his slightly arced bangs to become fully erect, coiling with the same energy that wrapped and crackled around his whole body.

Videl's eyes widened as she saw the voluminous bonfire of blue-white Ki thrust up into the sky, with Gohan's screaming form from its source. Despite the ferocity of the energy she felt tingling through the air, she could feel a distinct calm and soothing sensation to it. It resembled the sensation she felt when she laid upon his back, but with a far more controlled effort placed behind it. Despite the upright black bangs, she didn't see a golden hue to any of the locks. What form was this?

"So, you're going easy on me, eh?" Tao asked with incredulity, his eyes filtering the static and gave him a good estimate of his opponent's level of Ki output, "that's only half the power of your Super Saiyan form. What exactly is this Half-Assed transformation?!"

"So, he has been spying on me," Gohan thought with a slight twitch to his eyes, but held nothing but a stoic glare to meet Tao's slightly confused stare, "I wonder just how much intel he's gotten on all of us. Whoever he's working for must've given him enhanced sensory equipment that makes Dr. Gero's tech antique, or maybe just renovated accordingly. Maybe this fight will reveal a little more about where he's got this new body of his..."

"You certainly know a lot about Super Saiyan powers, don't you?" Gohan spoke rhetorically, even as his aura bristled his clothes and hair, allowing himself to smile as he explained, "this is a twenty five times multiplied burst of power, rather than a fifty times multiplied burst. Its controlled to such an extent that I can direct all of the excess energy upwards and keep it from destroying a delicate environment, unlike a full transformation. As for the name, well, I think at one point when I went berserk as a kid, this was less refined and beautiful. You may think of it as a...False Super Saiyan form."

With a snarl, Tao growled out as he settled into a stance, "You're insulting me, aren't you? You don't think I can take you on with a fraction of your full power?! I'll make you regret...underestimating me!"

Tao's feet left the ground, as did Gohan's, leaving but two indented footprints in their wake. Videl's eyes managed to comprehend it, but only a moment too late, as the two reappeared within an instant.

Gohan found his fist grasped into the gloved hand of the cybernetic martial artist, held back with barely any shown effort on his enemy's part. A grin worked its way on Tao's face, as if proving his point.

"Wipe that smirk off your face!" Gohan shouted out angrily, swiftly moving his other hand around with his body, grappling the extended wrist that held his fist captive, leaping over and around Tao's backside. This brought him into an uncomfortable angle, allowing Gohan to hurtle Tao towards the dockside, away from the cityscape, sending a gust of wind as Tao's coat-covered body tore a rift through the airspace from the force of the throw.

Gohan took off with a burst of super-sped sprinting, somersaulting over the drop-off the road had before skidding across the sidewalk observing the sunset water.

There, Tao had landed gracefully upon the water's surface, arms clasped behind himself and grinning expectantly at Gohan.

The sheer sight of his arrogant posture lit a rare burst of rage within him, causing him to growl gutturally. Rearing back his arms, he quickly began to gather a condensed amount of Ki, causing it to hum and glow vibrantly with every passing second.

"KA...ME...HA...ME...HA...BURST!" Gohan shouted out, as he unleashed an enlarged sphere of blue-white energy forward, discharging nearly a dozen smaller Kamehamehas, all of them flying towards Tao with incredible velocity and concussive force.

Tao's eyes lit up an intricate HUD display, all with a crimson tint to observe the world before him. Yellow reticles lit up around each of the energy signatures, determining their speed, force, and approximate trajectory. With a dark smile, Tao allowed the cluster of Kamehamehas to close in on him, waiting until they were nearly touching his clothes. Then, he moved!

"Wh-What?!" Gohan's eyes widened with disbelief, as he watched Tao leap up with enough force to leave an indentation within the water's surface below, allowing the dozen missiles of Ki to fly right past where he was. But Gohan didn't allow his confusion to mar his concentration for long. With a precise twist on the large sphere that generated the Kamehameha Burst, all of the missiles arched gracefully upwards, spiraling towards the airborne Tao and home in on his location.

Even still, Tao twisted his body around, somersaulting and diving in between the spiraling guided energy missiles. Always a hair's breath away, Tao seemed totally at ease, and kept his arms behind his back as he grinned confidently. It almost looked like an airborne dancer, moving in and out of reach with the deadly beams of remote-controlled energy. It truly was an amazing and terrifying thing for Gohan to witness, only furthering the swelling knot of frustration building within his gut.

He had to finish him, and do it now!

Pulling one hand away from the sphere of control for his Kamehameha Burst's missiles, he leveled a single hand upwards. A golden light began to gather at the edge of his fingertips, pulsating from his palm, as he concentrated it and slowly poured energy into its epicenter. With a twist on the Kamehameha Burst sphere, the dozen energy missiles began forcefully colliding into each other.

To Tao's surprise, the energies began to ignite off each other, exploding violently and tearing apart the air pockets around him. This forced Tao to fly downwards, evading the voluminous wave of blue energy that expanded outwards above the dock's skyline. What came towards him, was something he didn't expect so soon.

"MASENKO WAVE!" Gohan shouted out, as he unleashed a wide blast of golden energy, fired from one hand and intending on catching Tao with his back to the flowing Kamehameha explosion above him.

KRAK-KOOM! When the two waves, one blue and one golden, met at the center, Tao was caught within the overlapping curtains of destructive energy. The melding of colors gave birth to a deafening magenta-tinted explosion, sending a blistering wind that shook and vibrated the cityscape for a good kilometer, while pushing away the waves just beneath its fiery maw.

Lowering his hand, Gohan narrowed his eyes, trying to feel Tao's energy. For a few moments the roiling sphere of magenta light kept him from fully sensing what lied within. Then, he found his signature, causing his mouth to curl into a bared snarl, "You've got to be kidding me!"

A sudden thunderclap brought forth such a sudden concussive wave of omnidirectional kinetic force, that the aura of magenta energy nullified completely. Hovering above Gohan, bathed in an aura of crimson-orange light, Tao chuckled with his arms crossed in front of his matte black chest, as he stared down at his opponent, looking as if he was completely unharmed.

"I told you, Gohan, didn't I?" Tao suddenly spoke from behind him, causing the boy's eyes to widen with shock, his eyes having been caught gazing at a flickering afterimage, as he could clearly feel his presence behind him as he spoke, "I told you not to underestimate me. At this level, it truly is child's play to take you down. Really, you should follow advice from your elders more often."

"Don't give me that bu-OOOOH!" Gohan began to retort, twisting on his heels to swing a fist to hammer strike his enemy's head, only to find his side hit with a wind-breaking spinning kick. This forced him to tumble head over heels, until he found his face slammed into an outstretched arm, causing him to gasp in pain, before his face was grappled and the back of his head thrust into the dock sidewalk, creating an enormous fissure of uproared concrete and water.

"I've always hated that about your father. Such an insignificant brat, thinking he can take on the world's problems on his shoulders, without ever thinking of the livelihoods people like me make. I'd snap his neck in his sleep for his insolence, if it wasn't for that damned Cell doing that for me! Ah well," Tao chuckled as he continued to ground the young Saiyan's head into the submerging crater bordering the dockside, "I guess I'll settle with you, before I go after your lovely mother-"

The dam of control that Gohan had was let loose when he heard Tao's words, dripping with disdain and despicable malicious intent. The idea of this monster, whom insulted his father, wanted to go after his mother next...he wouldn't stand for it!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAH!" Unleashing the rest of Super Saiyan power to the surface with a deafening scream, Tao's hand was forced off Gohan's face, as he felt himself blown off by the point blank Kiai and the roaring fissure of golden energy that surfaced from the boy's body. Jettisoning from the crater, leaving a wake of debris and water to hover around him as he briefly glared at the off balance Tao, he roared out with pure hatred towards the man, holding nothing back, "I'LL KILL YOU BEFORE I LET YOU TOUCH MY FAMILY!"

VOOM! With a blinding flash of light, Gohan zoomed into Tao's midst, landing a solid punch against the diabolical martial artist's jaw, causing him to pinwheel across the coast of South City. His body skidded across the water's surface, spinning around before landing on his feet upon a distant cliffside, rebounding off its surface to fly back towards the charging Gohan.

When Gohan threw a punch, Tao spun to the side, slamming an elbow strike onto his crown with a orange flashing crack of force.

Even as he fell, Gohan reached down and grappled Tao's right ankle, pulling himself around and outside of the cyborg's reach, before delivering a left snap kick to the back of his head.

As he bent forward, Gohan pivoted around to grapple his other ankle and righted his body to be vertically upside down and parallel to Tao, swinging both knees repeatedly into the man's backside, creating a series of golden flashes from the thunderous impacts his body made against Tao's. Despite this, Tao managed curl his legs and flip Gohan away from his backside, and land a double palm-heel strike on his gut, propelling him away with a powerful thrust.

"Agh!" Gohan felt blood and saliva fly out of his mouth, as the breath briefly left his lung from Tao's strike. Even as he felt himself draw close to the water's surface, he could already feel Tao at his backside, lariating his spine, and halting his descent into the bay's surface. Fueled by rage and determination, Gohan righted himself and charged through a knife-hand swipe across his cheek, forgetting the fact it gave him a shallow cut, and began hammering a series of jabs into his chest, aiming to break him into pieces.

Despite the flurry of punches, whether they were parried or managed to make it through, it didn't seem like Tao was affected in the least. As if he had no sense of pain or injury, and that all the damage was being nullified by something. Throughout their barest encounters, he began to realize what he hit wasn't bones and flesh, but more like an ablative plating interweaved with artificial tissue. Something was breaking the full force of his attacks, even as a Super Saiyan!

A sudden knife-hand jab broke through, striking a bundle of nerves in Gohan's upper torso area, causing him to suddenly buckle over in pain. The fact his state was enhancing all of his senses didn't help the fact he was gasping for air, barely hovering over the water as Tao maliciously glared down at him.

"Super Saiyans. You all think you're something in this world because you can engulf yourself in a godly aura of golden energy and make yourselves look as deifyingly embodied with power like the Olympians of Greece," Tao spoke scornfully, twisting his hips around to land a kick against Gohan's jaw, sending him rolling across the dock's waters before skidding through the asphalt street. Before he could halt, Tao landed atop him, crushing him further into the ground while issuing a pain-filled yell, "your father, Vegeta, that boy Trunks, and you. You all think you're better than the rest of the world cause you have some noble ideals and a power that many would kill to get! Now look where that's gotten you!"

A series of painful slaps were heard as Tao cracked his hand painfully back and forth across Gohan's face, as he held him up by the collar of his orange gi.

"I loathe the day your ilk ever stepped foot on this planet, barbaric monkey trash!" Tao yelled as he continued to pummel Gohan's figure. Each punch created a blast of kinetic force that shattered glass, cracked the asphalt covered earth, and billowed across the air with blistering intensity.

Then, Gohan punched back.

CRACK! The punch was enough that Tao winced with pain and his heels skidded back, within the wake of a ear-splitting shockwave and a flash of yellow energy. Even as he felt blood drip from his lips, his red eyes widened as he saw Gohan's body engulf with an even brighter and more intense aura, his eyes glaring daggers towards Tao.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Tao!" Gohan shouted out at the ex-merc, his fists balled up tightly, and his body shaking with the bristling golden aura that glowed wide and fiercely around him, tearing apart the landscape around him, "back off, or I WILL kill you!"

Tao, for a moment, hesitated.

Never before had he ever sensed the desire to harm, let alone kill, from Goku or Gohan. The prior, as a child, was only ever compulsed to fight him when he endangered his friends and killed them before his eyes. The only reason Gohan spared him was due to his nonchalant attitude towards him, never feeling that he was a threat. But now...he could see the promise of destruction in the boy's eyes, threatening and promising retribution should he not take the opportunity to flee.

"Never again!" Tao reminded himself mentally, gripping his fists tightly of his own volition, as he snarled at the child set before him, as a blistering aura of crimson-orange engulfed his own being, shouting back in retort, "I will never flee from the likes of you ever again, Saiyan scum!"

The two warriors locked angered glares. Gone was the sense of gleeful or arrogant confidence. There was nothing but the drive to annihilate one another, as their auras engulfed their bodies violently and vibrantly, tearing apart the landscape around them.

---

"There there, mommy's got you," Chi-Chi spoke softly, picking up a crying Goten from the crib and cradling her in her arms. She had been enjoying a nice, sunny and peaceful day, with her child resting in her bed, until she abruptly awoke with tears in her eyes. As she rocked her child, she walked towards the kitchen, the TV running through its normal forecast and news as she began setting the microwave ready to warm a fresh bottle of milk.

As she did so, she couldn't help notice a sudden abrupt change in the programming, causing her to intently watch the old television from across the room, as she rocked her blubbering child.

"We interrupt our news with an important update! Not but a few minutes ago, South City has become a battlefield for another Meta-Level conflict. While our news choppers have been keeping a distance from the actual conflict, it IS confirmed that one of the alleged Z Warriors, a Super Saiyan, is in combat with an unknown entity, identified as a man in black. Thankfully, most of the residents have moved back to the main residential areas and away from the current dockside area, making most of the collateral damage uninvolved with the citizens of South City. Now all we can do is pray, and hope that the fight ends before it escalates further..."

As the sound of the microwave finished beeping, announcing the milk being done Chi-Chi's eyes blinked towards the open window. As she retrieved the bottle of milk, feeding it to her baby daughter, she walked over to the open fresh air and allowed the wind to caress her hair, having let it down earlier that day. She desperately hoped the feeling she had knotted within her gut wasn't right, and that fighter was her son.

Sighing, she could only rock her child as she gazed longingly out the window for her first born, wherever he may be.

"Wherever you are, Gohan, just let me know you're okay, alright? Your mother loves you very much, and she wants you to come back in one piece. For both Goten and I, please be safe," She spoke aloud, even as a tear snaked down her face, as she sadly smiled at the horizon, before turning away, hoping for the best.

---

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! Videl's eyes widened as she saw the air alight with the two fighters' auras, as they repeatedly struck and clashed into each other sporadically within the air. One belonging to the virtuous and pure-hearted Gohan. The other, belonged to this monster from the past, named Tao. Each of them looked evenly matched, the thought giving birth to fear that constantly swelled up within her chest at witnessing such powers hellbent on destroying each other.

"Gohan..." Videl could only whisper, as she continued to try and keep track of his form, moving with incredible speed and velocity, leaving afterimages across the sky along with Tao, as they struck each other. The cacophony of ballooning eruptions of air pressure and shockwaves continued to tear across the airspace of South City, bombarding the structures and landscape below with blistering gale winds that continued to flourish in and around its foundations.

The fact that they felt like titans to her nerves caused her to shake both in trepidation and frustration. Was she capable of doing anything to help, anything at all? The question weighed heavily on her mind, even as she saw them crash a good twenty meters in the middle of the city, creating another flash of light as an enormous ball of fire erupted from the two's collision at ground level.

---

"You can't win this!" Tao shouted aloud, his jaw leaking blood, but for the most part looked mostly intact. Even as he continued to hammer Gohan's body, whatever material his body was now composited with was absorbing each and every blow. He smiled, knowing that the limitations of Gohan's durability was starting to buckle and his unleashing of his Super Saiyan's full power wasn't enough.

Gohan's arms sported a number of gashes and bruises, just like a great deal underneath his tearing gi, his own jaw bleeding as he sported a large bruise below his left half of his lip. Despite this, the intensity of his glare didn't waver, and the ferocity of his attacks continued to throw its all at Tao, determined to find some weakness to Tao's body.

"I will find a way!" Gohan shouted back in protest, even as his face is decked by a haymaker courtesy of Tao, "you're a man that never respected honest work and true guts. You're a coward, relying on dirty tricks and dishonest tactics to win your way to your next paycheck. You're no man deserving of victory, especially against me!"

Tao snarled aloud, as he threw a number of jabs, haymakers, and kicks against Gohan's mostly prone body, his glaring red eyes never once leaving the young man's body that he wanted to tear in half.

It wasn't until that Gohan's body began absorbing the blows, and a distinct crack of golden light began to erupt, that he realized something was wrong. Within a moment, he realized too late when Gohan's left hand grabbed an incoming punch, grappling it with bone-crushing force. His eyes began to give him an incredible rise of power, and Gohan's eyes locked onto his with a murderous glare.

"You want to see my full power, Tao? Well here it is!" Gohan shouted out as his aura intensified, and began to blind Tao's enhanced optics as his power engulfed the area around him.

---

The Namekian ex-Guardian of Earth was training, as usual. His body, constantly cycling the energy in and out of his weighted clothing, along with the necessary absorption of sunlight, constantly put his body through its paces and nourished his body. His concentration was locked on his actions, not bothering to focus his senses or his perception of the planet below.

That is, until he felt Gohan's sudden power spike.

"G-Gohan!" Piccolo's eyes widened with alarm and shock. Not only could he hear the deafening scream beyond the horizon, thousands of meters below the sky, but he could feel the defining pressure and sensation of his maximum power breaching the surface. The power of a Super Saiyan 2. For him to have to resort to such a measure, caused Piccolo to stand at attention.

Dende himself rushed out into the Lookout's courtyard, along with Mr. Popo, looking quite worried about what he himself sensed.

"Mr. Piccolo! D-Did you just feel what I-"

"About Gohan, yeah," Piccolo nodded, his cloak flourishing within the high altitude's wind, as his brow sweat slightly from what he was feeling. With a knitting of his brows inwardly, he concentrated on his incredible sense of hearing, in sync with his fluent sense of the energy he had a lock on, to understand what was going on, "it seems like an old nemesis decided to pick a fight with Gohan. Its surprising that he's giving him a run for his money, but it seems like its going to be over soon..."

"S-Shouldn't we go help him?" Dende asked with an earnest tone of worry for his friend.

"Now, Dende. Whatever conflict Gohan is locked within, we should leave it up to him," Mr. Popo advised Dende, consoling him with a pat to his back.

With a sign of him clenching his staff, Dende could only nod with understanding.

"Besides, if there's an enemy that Gohan can't take care of himself, then the only other person out there right now that can would be Vegeta. I'd rather wait and see how this plays out before making any decision," Piccolo spoke honestly, his hands relaxing their grip, though he didn't resume his squatted stance, "but I will step in if his life becomes in danger. You can guarantee that!"

---

"Gohan?" Vegeta's eyes widened, his hand grabbing a sport's drink from the fridge, having witnessed the power emanating within the horizon. From what it felt like as he concentrated, it was due south, close to the coast, "what the Hell is going on?!"

Walking quickly over to the Living room, the heir to the Saiyan throne turned on the TV with the remote before reclining on the couch, only having to wait a second to see what the newscast was about.

"We're getting Live feeds here. I'm not joking, one of the Z Warriors is one of those golden haired fighters, and is currently unleashing a huge source of energy and light. Its playing havoc with our equipment, but from the farthest cameras, it looks like a pillar of golden fire is soaring into the sky, causing the sky to be filled with clouds, which is now issuing a storm on what was supposed to be a clear night sky...!"

"HA! Nice one," Vegeta chuckled as he uncapped the bottle of blue flavored liquid contents, gulping it down before smiling with dark humor, "whoever pissed Kakarot's pup off is going to be in for a rude awakening. I guarantee you I'd not like to be on the receiving end for what he's about to unleash."

---

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gohan's voice shouted out, all the while holding Tao's fist within a vice grip. The force of the Kiai unleashed from his wafting golden energy singed Tao's skin, while distorting his vision. Even as his aura quieted down, a constant crackling of bio-electricity danced around Gohan's intensified golden hair, and flowed across his skin and torn clothes.

This was the true moment that Tao's fear showed through his rage contorted face.

"This is the end, Tao!" Gohan shouted out with fury, turning around on his heels and throwing up into the air.

Tao couldn't control his ascent, his body flying at angle, almost like a spear, towards the upper atmosphere. With a swift ejection of Ki from his body's mechanisms, he managed to halt after a good few seconds, but was only greeted by a downwards kick by a sudden materialized Gohan. It struck his back with enough force to crack the hidden, intricate ablative armor within his body. Seeing the damage warnings caused him to yell out with alarm.

"N-No! This can't be! Doctor Halo said the MK I Kinetic Armor was supposed to absorb enough damage from impacts and explosions to nullify completely! Why isn't it working?!" Tao thought with widened eyes of incredulous disbelief.

Before he could finish his thoughts, Gohan was already upon him. Every action he made, even the hyper-sped analysis software built within his ocular sensors, seemed to move in slow motion. Gohan's hand was enraptured with a thick gout of bio-electrical energy, moving forth with intensity to seem to appear as if it was a condensed fissure of lightning.

When it struck his chest, he heard something pop, before his whole body became alight with electrical fury, and his chest bled out, as his chestplate became cracked and dented. What's worse, is that he felt himself being carried by the current of energy, thrusting him into the horizon almost too fast for his senses or instruments to calculate. The only solace he had was that his strikes didn't continue, and he allowed himself to be carried far away.

"Damn you, Son Gohan!" He thought as his body soon carried off towards setting Sun's horizon.

---

"I-Is it over?" Videl whispered aloud, coughing slightly from the kicked up dust formed from the debris-ridden battlefield. When she looked around, she could tell Gohan did his best to avert his fighting from the populated areas, but it didn't save anything on property damage. Buildings were crushed, smashed, or had their windows shattered.

"It will be," Gohan suddenly spoke, appearing right next to her within a heartbeat.

This caused her to briefly squeak in surprise, taking a few steps back before fully seeing the state he was in. His body had sustained significant amount of beatings, part of his upper half of his Gi being torn and shredded in several areas, revealing purple swellings and discolorations, showing signs of bludgeoning and impacts from Tao's attacks. Even his arms were covered by scratches and cuts, the most noticeable being his his lower left lip being bruised and his right cheek being cut.

But the way he breathed, and the sound of his stoic voice, he might as well not been wounded at all, in Videl's eyes.

"How do you know that? You just hit him-" Videl began to say, before Gohan's eyes closed, interrupting her.

"With enough force to make him do a nearly complete lap across the planet. He is slowing down, but he won't be landing anywhere around here. He'll probably be landing on one of the islands east of here," he spoke with certainty, making a full analysis with his enhanced senses and the energy he perceptively locked onto that flew around the world with incredible force.

"Whoa...you hit him that hard, huh?" Videl could only stare with amazement, truly struck in awe by how truly powerful Gohan was. He was still a boy, one with ideals and innocence about him that made him seem like anyone else. But the way he held himself. The composure he retained while even sustaining so many injuries, and focusing on his enemy, he might as well been a veteran five times his age.

"As hard as I could," Gohan said with a wry grin, as he looked in the opposite direction of the set Sun, and across the cityscape towards the ocean. With a brief, deep inhale, barely heard behind the constant thrumming of his power that crackled and vibrantly glowed across his whole outline, he spoke in a quiet tone, "please stay here. I don't want you to see...what I am about to do to him."

Videl could feel her breath catch at her throat. She wasn't sure if he was going to follow-up with what he swore to Tao, with the intention to kill. She thought it was an act, and that he wouldn't ever take a life, unless he was forced to. For as long as she known him and what she heard about him, he never took a life, even when in self defense. The fact he was going to do it almost felt wrong.

Almost, being the word. The man sought him out, with nothing but malicious intent, and Gohan tried to keep from fighting him. If the man had been this stubborn now, and he left him alone, he'd probably come back more prepared than the last time.

"Gohan, you know I-" Videl tried to argue, but before she realized it, Gohan had vanished. He left to take care of the man who tried to harm the ones he loved and kill him in cold blood.

Tightening her fists, Videl felt her energy rise to the surface, coating her in a aura of transparent silver light. With a sudden leap, she rose into the air, before flying eastward, locking onto Gohan's definite signature of frighteningly high energy.

She knew he had an obligation to protect everyone he cared about. But, she knew that her obligation was to protect him. If not from others, than from himself.

---

Gohan soared across the ocean, looking for Tao.

He was intent on ending the life of this miserable creature that he's evolved into. He was looking for death, now that he had no desire to run away anymore. The idea of letting him run loose, only to kill one of his friends outside of his reach, caused the anger within him to boil even hotter. He knew Videl would just get in the way of what needed to be done.

He hesitated with Cell, and that costed his father's life. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice!

Finally, he saw an island, about a couple kilometers wide and a handful more long. It was desolate and isolated, thankfully was devoid of any habitable lifeforms. As he turned he saw a large crater right within its epicenter, having cleared what few trees and shrubbery there was on it. As he drew near, he crossed his arms, seeing the body of his enemy contorted within the smoldering crater, almost without any energy output at all left. He was now nothing more than a machine, with little biology left him in, only there to spur on genuine hate towards him.

In Gohan's mind, this would be a mercy killing.

With a wry smile, Gohan shouted down to his visible form, "Mind lying down there so I can step on your neck?"

The response, wasn't close to what he was hoping for.

CRACK! Gohan suddenly felt a fist wedge into his lower back, purposely and accurately aimed at something along the base of his spine. While the force didn't instill too much pain, nerve cluster or not, what happened to him caused the blood to drain from his face with realization. His aura became less fierce, and he could feel the nigh limitless energy reserves of his Super Saiyan 2 dissipate and then slip away. Somehow, Tao had managed to seal his ultimate power!

With a dark chuckle, Tao retracted his fist from Gohan's back, as his horrified face came to sideglance him with shock, "I should be asking you the same thing, boy."

"You bast-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Gohan began to say, turning to face him, before feeling an unsettling kick to his chest force the wind out of his lungs. Pinwheeling downwards, he landed right next to the crater of which his enemy supposedly landed on.

Wincing, he looked over and saw it flickering, noticing a small box lying on top of the ashen layered earth.

"H-Hologram box?" Gohan asked with incredulity.

"You hurt me pretty bad, I'll give you credit on that, Saiyan brat," Tao spoke aloud from above, evidence to his words by torn shirt and the apparently dented armor wrapped around his cybernetic armor, still crackling from the impact. Even part of his face's tissue had been torn off around his eyes, showing marred metallic skeletal outlines, with his left eye looking more like a machine's than a demon's now, "but thankfully my equipment remained intact. I cloaked my body's energy the moment I hit the crater. After a few seconds of setting it up, you never saw me circling around to your blindspot. Thank you, for being so confident in the damage that your punch had, believing it could incapacitate me long enough for your execution."

"I'm...far...from...done...yet!" Gohan growled out, pushing himself upwards with effort, uttering a pained growl as clenched his own chest with his left hand, gasping for air, finding new blood dripping out of his mouth and washing his mouth from the injury he sustained.

"Oh, I believe you are," Tao chuckled darkly, raising a finger upwards, beginning to charge an orange sphere that gradually began to increase in mass, culminating in a large amount of energy, "now do me a favor and let this hit you. I rather this be the last time I have to use this technique and have it fail to kill the target."

"Your life ends here, Tao!" Gohan shouted out, clasping his wrists back to his hip, swiftly gathering as much energy as he could spare, while keeping what he could on reserve.

This was it. All or nothing. He knew if he didn't make this work, he'd be annihilated with the island, and nothing would stop him from hurting his mom, his sister, Videl. Everyone he cared about was on the line. He had to kill him now!

"KA...ME...HA...ME...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan shouted aloud as he thrust his palms out, discharging a narrow, pillar-sized Kamehameha directly towards Tao's body.

"Dodon Ray!" Tao responded with a shout of his own, discharging an equally sized beam of orange-white light, slamming into the Kamehameha, sending a powerful impact wave to shake the island below and kick up a huge wave behind Tao and in front of the island. The beams clashed, grinding against each other, trying to overpower each other, to reach the caster's body beyond it.

Then, the orange ray advanced, and then cut through the Kamehameha effortlessly, until it slammed directly atop Gohan's body and created an enormous explosion, consuming nearly half a mile of the island's gait.

Tao sneered with satisfaction, as his eyes tried to scan the area for life.

Suddenly, he saw the golden aura, still thrumming and Gohan still hovering above the water-sunk crater the island recently attained. His upper half of his gi had been completely blown away, his skin marred with burns and scratches, but somehow, he managed to repel the blast with the palms of his hands, both of which were blackened and burned much moreso than the rest of his body.

"I'm going to make you regret that!" Tao snarled, his body charging downwards moving too fast for Gohan's wounded frame to react. A powerful haymaker forced him to spin around in a pinwheel motion, before his ankle was grabbed harshly. Moving towards the rest of the intact island, he slammed his body against several trees, cleaving them cleanly with his durable body, before following-up with a downwards slam into the island repeatedly.

Each painful crunching motion ushered more blood and saliva from his mouth. It felt as if his entire body hurt all over, and he could barely muster enough energy to even flail his arms in protest. But to Tao's best efforts, it seemed that Gohan refused to relinquish the aura of his Super Saiyan form, and release the waning energy reserves that kept him alive.

Letting go of his ankle, Tao let the Super Saiyan catch his wind as he prepared another Dodon Ray. This time, he'd make sure it'd be suited to penetrate his durable body, and pierce his heart. As the sparks of orange bio-electricity emitted from his finger tip, he chuckled darkly with satisfaction, finally going to reclaim his dignity and gain the revenge he desperately dreamed of against the boy and his father.

"Any last words, Son Gohan?" Tao asked with a cackle.

"I wonder...how cowards...are treated in Hell..." Gohan asked rhetorically, a smile briefly stretched across his lips, as he glared at his enemy, "cause I'm pretty sure the guys...that...my dad saw die...would chew you up...for breakfast!"

"Why you little-!" Tao began to snarl out, the energy crackling with instability as he pointed it at him with an angry half-finished retort.

But it wasn't exactly whom he expected to interrupt him.

Within the horizon, something sped past the sound barrier, and was completely engulfed in white flames. It looked as if a shooting star had been launched, and was directly locked in on the standing man's body.

When it struck his chest, the energy briefly shimmered, revealing the tensed and glaring form of Videl herself!

What Gohan witnessed caused his mind to flashback, remembering a time when he was but a child. He remembered when he saw his father pinned to the ground, in pain, crying out in agony as his uncle intended on murdering him for his kindness and mercy. He ripped through his prison, and slammed his small head into the barbarous man's breastplate.

He couldn't help but feel nostalgic, and realize the desire he had to fight. It wasn't to kill the man hurting his dad. It was to protect the one he loved from the evil man hurting him. Shame overcame him, as he realized his intent, and his eyes snapped back to the present.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" Tao felt himself utter out in pain and agony, as Videl's raw force, packing enough penetrative power due to the speed she flew at, shattered the armor over his torso, and ripped through his body, blasting out through the other portion of his damaged plating on his back. The shockwave sent the ex-merc off his feet, tumbling a few meters, and caused Gohan to tumble head over heels a meter himself.

Sorely, he picked himself up onto his haunches, and saw a stumbling teenaged girl walk towards her. Her brow was caked with soot, and her clothes had been marred by the contact with spearing through the man's body. She was panting, obviously having put everything she had in reaching him and slamming into the villain standing over him.

"Are you okay, Gohan?" Videl asked, her eyes welling with tears, and her voice quivering with worry.

Gohan couldn't help but find himself at a lost for words, even hesitation to answer her. He came with the clear intent of executing a man, possibly a helpless one had he not proved as durable as he thought. If she came here now, to see him being the one standing over Tao's fallen body, what would she have done instead?

Bowing his head, he shakily replied, "Y-Yeah...I'm...fine. Just a little tired-"

"Good," Videl responded curtly.

SLAP! Before Gohan realized what happened, Videl had slapped him across his face, causing it to sting, despite the power still keeping him protected and alive this long. When he blinked as he reached up to his swelling left cheek, he turned to regard her with confusion, before her angry eyes overflowed with tears.

"Never take off like that again, especially with the intent of killing a man in cold blood!" Videl rebuked him loudly, huffing and puffing as her face became reddened with tears that continued to be shed, "did you ever think what I would've felt if I saw you, or knew that you executed someone, perhaps could've been helpless before you?! Do you know what kind of person you could turn into if you allowed yourself to kill someone out of hate?! It turns you into something foul, unpleasant, and cold! I...I don't want the warm, kind-hearted, loving Gohan I know stoop that level, ever!"

Gohan looked down in true shame. Squatting before the person he possibly cherished more than his own family, he couldn't shake off the guilt of having almost let her down in the worst possible way. Its true, when his dad fought, he fought to protect others and to keep villains from continuing their misbegotten ways. When he was told by 16 to let go of his restraint, it was to protect others, not killing Cell to prove a point.

In the end, he looked forward to the end of the fight just as much as his would-be killer did.

"I'm sorry, Videl. I...I was so wrapped up in my own fear, so angry, that I didn't think of the consequences," Gohan humbly apologized to her, with his head bowed, not daring to look her in the eyes, "I hope this doesn't mean-"

"Oh shut up!" Videl whispered, as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close, "just...know that I forgive you, and that I'm glad you're okay."

"Okay," Gohan spoke with relief, as a smile worked its way up to his face, letting his aura slowly diminish, leaving only golden bangs. Within a few seconds, he would totally release his power, so he could just spend a few moments of solitude-

"Such touching moments...truly wants to make me vomit," sickening words suddenly caused the young embracing couple to pale and their blood to go cold. They both looked over and saw Tao on his feet, his left hand ineffectively trying to cover up the obvious cybernetic and artificial insides that dripped and crackled within the gaping hole that he now sported. All that was left was nothing but an animalistic drive to kill, and nothing else, "that is, if my insides were still intact!"

SHINK! A blade extended from the shredded sleeve within a compartment on his right arm, allowing him to move in close so he could deliver the kill effectively.

"You're lucky my armor was damaged and my sensors were on the fritz, wench, cause that little stunt wouldn't have worked! Now, if you'd be so kind as to lie there helplessly," Tao cackled maniacally, as he smiled with fluids and blood flowing down his lips as he stood over them, "and...DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!"

Within an instant, Gohan pulled Videl around to lie on her back, as he looked over his shoulder, using his backside as a shield to dampen the incoming slash from the treacherous, seemingly unstoppable Tao.

But the slash didn't come.

Instead, a large, trench coat enraptured form landed without warning only a meter away from the to-be killer and the two young adults.

The two teenagers didn't recognize him, but could feel a defining dark, cold aura hanging about him. As if any attempt to sense anything about him became numbed, and dulled. Making his next words all the more intimidating and authoritative, "Tao, what are you doing here?"

"T-Trench?!" Tao's eyes locked onto the opaque-shades, as his own body felt cold being so close to him while being caught within the delicate act of claiming his desired vengeance, "w-what are you-?!"

"Your mission was reconnaissance, not assassination. If you could call assaulting a Saiyan in the middle of a city worth the notion of subtly deserving of the term," He spoke with disdain and disappointment, his right hand unpocketing as he turned to face him fully.

Gohan's eyes widened at just how big the man was. Standing almost seven feet tall, the man must have been solidly composed of muscle, as his black fatigues hiding his body clearly showed the outline of his enlarged muscles, barely contained by the enormous coat that he wore over his broad shoulders, overlapping with his billow-cuffed black slacks and boots.

"S-Sir, if you'd allow me to explain, I can-" Tao tried to convince his employer and superior his position, but he never got the chance to.

"Your usefulness is at a end, Tao," Trench spoke as he walked a few steps towards the cybernetic, disemboweled crony of his, "you're relieved of command, permanently."

It happened too fast for even Gohan's eyes to see. Before Tao could even utter another word of retaliation, what little was left of his midriff was sliced in half, causing his body to split into two halves, falling in two directions. Steam rolled up from where the point of severance was made, showing instant decay of organic tissue with whatever caused the cut in the first place, releasing a nauseous scent in the air.

"T-Trench...pl-please...I..." Tao struggled to raise a hand towards his imminent executioner, whom raised a boot over his head.

Without a second's hesitation, Trench crushed Tao's metal-lined skull, releasing a spastic sparking sound in sync with a wet splash of what passed as artificial and organic brain matter. The arm that reached towards its killer fell limply onto the ground, causing both halves to cease functioning and movement altogether, lying still and inactive.

Tao, the Mercenary, was dead.

Gohan breathed shaky, hesitant breaths, as Trench's body was mere inches away from his extended legs. The sensation felt like his skin was growing cold, and the sudden slowing of circulation to the limb most proximate to him. It was chilling, both figurative and literal, to be even close to this being. What exactly was this man, and why did he kill Tao, seeing he obviously worked for him? He wished he could muster up the nerve to ask, even challenge him for killing someone right in front of him, but he didn't have the will or the strength to move to stop someone like that.

Trench then looked down at Gohan and Videl's shaking forms, both of them looking as if they were looking at the grim reaper itself.

"Do not misunderstand my intentions, Son Gohan. I only came here to ferret out effective discipline to those who disobey directives and orders. Your death may have not been the mission, but it certainly wouldn't have hindered our goals if it came to pass," Trench spoke directly to the young boy, not even batting an eye at the girl he hunched over protectively.

Videl, however, seemed to take initiative and ask an obvious question, "Then why did you keep that guy from killing us?"

"Simple. Allowing him the satisfaction of gaining his vengeance would've been a disgrace upon my part, for he wasn't given any such order enabling him to do such a blatantly public act," Trench responded coolly.

Gohan swallowed a lump of fear down his throat, as he locked his eyes upon Trench's shade-covered orbs, "Then what is your agenda, Trench?"

The man stared back silently, almost as if he was going to deny Gohan the answer. Turning on his heels, he picked up the headless torso and pair of legs that used to be Tao, and flung them over his right shoulder. Returning the gaze over his left side, Trench spoke with a foreboding tone, "The only thing you should know is that we've been a part of this world almost as long as civilizations have been in existence. Only now do we possess the strength to deliver direct and effective retribution against those who disrupt our plans. Make note to tell that to your fellow band of vigilantes, the next time you see them, Son Gohan. Your day of reckoning will be upon you, sooner than you think."

And within the blink of an eye, the large man disappeared, taking any evidence of his appearance with him.

---

The breath of relief leaving both Gohan and Videl came almost instantaneously, as if they were holding back something with great trepidation, foreign to them both. What caused them to fear that man so much, by just a fleeting encounter? Was it the act of him precisely and effectively murdering an associate of his that's been vowing for their blood so callously? Or was it that unnerving cold aura he seemed to project, being around anything that was even close to him?

Whatever it was, it allowed Gohan to roll off Videl with an exaggerated sigh, whispering aloud, "Thank goodness...that's over...whew..."

"You act more tired than you do sore," Videl pouted her lips with a roll of her eyes, looking at the wounded frame of Gohan de-power back to normalcy, his raven locks relaxing and his eyes returning to onyx eyes returning back to their innocent gleam, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh yeah, never better," Gohan chuckled wearily, a smile stretching on his face as he closed his eyes, "Tao may have been no Cell or Bojack, but he was certainly a tough guy. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't hit him with my full power, there'd been no way to slow him down."

"Well you won in the end," Videl spoke with a smirk, as she flexed her right arm in emphasis as she winked at him, "with a little help from yours truly."

"You sure did," Gohan said with a smile of appreciation, his eyes looking into hers with relief, "I can't believe your speed-up maneuver you used packed so much punch. Maybe it has to do with something about the condensation of energy and the speed. If I hadn't seen your aura wavered upon impact, I could have sworn you were like a comet or a shooting star."

"Maybe I should name this epic technique. How does Soaring Comet sound?" Videl asked with a giggle, enjoying herself with how much she improved within the last nine months of training.

"Sounds great. Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to perfect it to a point where you can build up that speed without needing time to work up the momentum. Could be a nice sneak attack, you know?" Gohan suggested with a wink of his own.

"Glad you had so much faith in me, dear master," Videl stood up, giving a mock curtsy to Gohan with a laugh.

Sitting upright, Gohan groaned as he stood up, now feeling the full extent of his injuries catch up to him, "I wouldn't call me master, let alone teacher. I don't exactly teach as good as Trunks, let alone set a good example like him."

"But you've showed me a lot, and taught me things I've never even dreamed of. By the last month Trunks was here, I'm pretty sure you were doing the majority of the explanations, while you trained right next to me. It helped me a lot more than you believe, mister," Videl shook a finger at him in a feigned, chiding tone.

Spinning his upper body side to side, Gohan couldn't help but smile appreciatively at Videl, "It means alot to hear that, Videl."

"Well, you know, I have yet to thank you for protecting me," Videl smiled with a flush of warmth spreading across her cheeks, walking towards him while twisting her right pigtail around her right forefinger, "and for the wonderful day we spent together at South City."

Gohan felt his cheeks flush as he saw Videl walk closer and closer, her words making even his ears turn pink with bashfulness. Closing his eyes, he tried to laugh it off like his dad would when he was embarrassed, scratching the back of his head as he responded, "Oh well, that was nothing really! I'm just glad you had a good tim-MMMM?!"

When Gohan's eyes opened, he found Videl's lips had latched onto his, kissing him deeply as her arms wrapped around his neck. For a few moments, there was confusion and alarm, having never had anyone be this close he liked, let alone kiss him!

But then, he felt the butterflies in his stomach finally take flight, and a feeling of utter relief and happiness glowed within his core. The Saiyan boy's skin tingled and an enjoyable warmth spread from his stomach all the way to his toes and fingertips, giving him the most wonderful sensation of pure joy within his young body. His eyes slowly closed, as he began to deepen the kiss, wrapping his arms around her back to hold her closer.

As the light from the horizon eclipsed into darkness, Gohan and Videl treasured this one special moment they had together. With both of them entwined, they couldn't have felt better, after all they went through that day.

---

A few hours later...

After spending some time alone, cuddled on the battle-scarred island on their backs stargazing, Videl thought it was time that someone took a look at his injuries. Fine or not, she didn't want see her man covered in blood and bruises. She thought it looked quite unbecoming for such a strong fighter such as him. With only a minute of banter, Gohan finally relented, and decided to leave the island behind.

Despite all they went through, Gohan insisted on carrying Videl up to the Lookout. Knowing the current impassive nature Vegeta would've had, as well as the lack of proper medical facilities for a quick recuperation at Capsule Corp, he knew that Dende could heal himself with ease and at a much faster rate than any magical beans Korin had to offer.

Throughout their flight, Gohan held Videl in the insistent bridal style, her arms comfortably wrapped around his neck while her eyes never left Gohan's smiling face. Who knew that throughout all the trouble they faced with Tao that their day would end on such a happy note? It was something to take comfort in, having already dealt with more than enough hardship the two of them could stand for one day.

"There it is!" Gohan spoke happily, his eyes meeting Videl's to direct her attention at the floating structure, hovering high within the sky.

It was Videl's first time laying her eyes on it. She couldn't help but gape at its intricate design of the underside of the magnificent, ancient, and gleaming fortress of solitude that hung within the lower atmosphere of Earth. She wondered how long it was there, and if it was one of the few hidden wonders that humanity had yet to discover on the planet.

When they climbed higher, the young human martial artist could only gasp as she saw marvelously constructed top portion of the hideout. Glistening white tiles enamored its surface, giving it a polished and well kempt appearance. Semi-circle aligned layouts of pine trees circled around the outside of the Lookout's surface, with a row of parallel aligned palm trees leading up to the entrance of a golden and alabaster trio of towers, sitting upon a golden cylinder shaped structure. Pointing in three directions were scarlet, sun-roofed entrances leading up to the main structure.

"Neat, huh?" Gohan asked with a grin, shaking Videl out of her stupor of observing the surface of the structure's top.

"I-I...I've never seen anything so beautiful before," Videl uttered with amazement and wonder, truly thrilled to see something like this in person.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction when I came up here too," Gohan said with agreement, as they began to hover over the legendary, archaic Lookout, just taking in the night christened sight.

It wasn't long, until they spotted Piccolo's turban and cape donned person exiting the front entrance along with Dende and Mr. Popo, all of them coming out to greet them.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan spoke aloud with excitement, quickly descending to the Lookout's ground, right before his first true mentor and teacher of martial arts.

"I see you're still alive," Piccolo spoke with a wry grin on his face, his eyes knowingly looked over Gohan's person, "but it looks like you went through one Hell of a workout, didn't you?"

"Yeah, you could say that, haha!" Gohan chuckled with acknowledgement, scratching the back of his head as he set Videl onto her feet.

"Who was the guy unlucky enough to piss you off?" Piccolo asked curiously, not having truly deciphered if everything he heard and sensed from the battle after Gohan's rage exploded was true or not, "it sounded like he knew you."

"It was Tao," Gohan answered with a more level tone, his eyes stared seriously at his aghast mentor, "the guy was just about as strong as Cell was at his Perfect Form, but not much more than that. It was freaky. He could raise his energy and still use Ki techniques, but he could conceal it well enough he might as well have been an Android. He relied too much on dirty tricks and tech to give him an advantage over me, so he let his guard down, leaving him open for a sneak attack by Videl."

"Wait a minute!" Piccolo gasped aloud in shock, looking over at Videl's athletic, yet petite form with near disbelief, "you're saying she's the one who took the guy you had trouble with down?!"

"That's right," Videl made a peace sign towards Piccolo, smiling gleefully in admission, "he may have softened the guy up, but I was the one to really take him down a notch or two."

"Wow...I've noticed you increased in strength, but I couldn't have imagined that you would be the one to put someone down that even Gohan couldn't put in his place," Piccolo spoke with amazement, a bead of sweat crawling down his green scalp with nervousness. He could sense the progress she was making, and was in awe how much the teachings she's taken to heart from both Trunks and Gohan's tutelage. But with a sigh, he asked knowingly with a serious tone with finality, "but, you're not the one who killed Tao, are you?"

"Uh...um...no," Videl lowered her hand, her eyes blinking widely with shock, "how...did you...?"

"I could feel the fight when Gohan's power skyrocketed, even from here. I was able to keep a good track of it, combining my sense of hearing with what I felt of the energies being projected and utilized at the battle's zenith. However, I did sense another power, one far greater and very dark that came onto the island where you saw him die," Piccolo explained, striking Videl speechless with how knowledgeable he was on the situation, while causing Gohan's smile to fade to a serious grimace.

"Yeah, Tao knew him, and he seemed like his boss. I doubt he's the only one either," Gohan confirmed with an upraised hand, balling it into a tightened fist, "he calls himself Trench, and he's pure evil. He killed Tao without hesitation, and didn't have a single ounce of remorse. I could almost touch him and my body could feel cold just being near him. His aura makes Frieza look like a simple thug in comparison to what I feel from him."

"Its what I was afraid of," Piccolo spoke lowly with narrowed eyes, grimacing visibly in front of all the others, "a new enemy, huh? Obviously they had a hotshot who wanted to jump the gun and his boss didn't like that. There must be some sort of elaborate plan. To think that humans would be the real enemy, instead of off worlders, is something else entirely."

"Yeah, I know," Gohan nodded with affirmation, "these guys might be just as bad or worse than Doctor Gero."

With a sigh, Piccolo smiled with relief as his eyes met Gohan and Videl's, "At least you two made it out in one piece. Let Dende have a look at you before we get something for you to eat. We can discuss strategy when you're properly attended to."

"Of course," Popo nodded humbly, turning on his heels as he walked back to the Lookout, intending on setting up a reasonably sized meal. Piccolo may not eat, and Videl may just be a normal girl, but Gohan's appetite was in league with his father's. He knew a big spread would be in order to satisfy the young child of Goku if he was to be completely sated.

"Here," Dende offered, setting his walking stick down to approach Gohan, placing his hands over Gohan's right arm. Within but a few moments, most of Gohan's external and internal injuries were healed. A brief gasp emerged, as Dende's eyes widened as he felt a bundle of nerves that had been swollen near his spine. Concentrating harder, the orange glow heightened a bit, causing Gohan to feel a sharp tingling across his skin, before an audible pop in his back was heard, and a breath of air exhaled out of his mouth, "there! All the injuries, both external and internal have been healed."

"Thanks, Dende!" Gohan spoke thankfully, flexing his arms and twisting his body around, feeling all of the soreness vanish and his strength return to normal, "I feel as good as new!"

"Its been awhile since I've seen you hurt that bad. Its fortunate I've spent some time improving my medical skills during this brief time of peace we've had," Dende spoke informally with a smile, leaning down to pick his staff, and look back at them confidently with his free arm upraised, "Piccolo has taken some time to teach me when he hasn't been busy with his own training, on controlling my energy and building it up. Mr. Popo and I even take some time cleaning this place up, updating places that needed it, even had the Hyperbolic Time Chamber set up just before-...uh..."

When Dende paused, he began to sweat nervously. It was even at this point that Piccolo frowned at him, crossing his arms as he asked the young Namekian Guardian of Earth impatiently, "What?! Before what?!"

"Uh...well...you see...its been a little...occupied for awhile now, haha!" Dende laughed sheepishly, scratching his chin nervously as he felt two pairs of eyes stare intently, belonging to Gohan and Piccolo, while Videl stared dumbfounded at him.

"THE HELL ITS OCCUPIED!" Piccolo shouted at the top of his lungs, comically yelling at Dende who looked incredibly small in comparison to the mighty ex-Guardian, towering over him with balled fists sporting protruding veins along his knuckles, "YOU AND POPO TOLD ME THAT IT WAS UNDER MAINTENANCE, NOT BEING OCCUPIED! AND THAT WAS MONTHS AGO!"

"Well...you see...you were in deep meditation and...we discussed this privately and...well, it seemed like he really wanted to do it-!" Dende twiddled his thumbs needlessly, staring at his squirming feet while his staff leaned precariously against left shoulder.

"Why you little-!" Piccolo growled at Dende, balling his fist towards him before turning away with an angered huff, "you shouldn't have made a decision like that, not with how wet behind the ears you are at being a Guardian."

"Dende," Gohan's eyes widened, as he walked up to his friend and placed his hands on his shoulders, a look of alarm coming over him as his mind raced at the implications of what he heard, "is this true? Has one of my friends walked into the Chamber and hasn't come out for months?!"

"A-A-Almost exactly three months, to this day! In fact, he should be out any minute from now!" Dende spoke hopefully, though a hint of fear could be seen behind his eyes.

A voice suddenly coughed, and the two mutually aged boys looked over at a dryly staring Videl, propping her fists on her hips.

"Uh, not to be rude but can we back up please. What the heck is a Hyperbole Time Chamber?" Videl asked incredulously, not quite understanding what kind of structure they were referring to.

Piccolo however decided to cut in, turning to face all three children at once with arms crossed over his chest, "As the former Guardian of the Lookout, its best I should explain what it exactly is that you just misused, Dende, for the sake informal education for this sharp mind here. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber is an ancient dimension, having been tapped into by a door within this place. A solid rift, connected from this world to the other, where on this side time passes how we perceive it, but in there, time passes at a much slower rate. Temperatures fluctuate, gravity becomes denser, and its a pitch white blanket of endless space from the accommodations provided behind the doorway. Wander you far, and you may be helpless and trapped until you starve to death, forever to be forgotten. Train smart, and you can gain a year's training in a single day."

Videl's eyes nearly popped out she was so speechless. Time Chambers used for training? Aliens? Ki used into potent energy blasts? Cyborgs? Time Travelers? Was there nothing sane about this world she just discovered?!

"Videl, you okay?" Gohan asked out loud, waving a hand in front of her dazed face, bringing her back to the present.

Shaking her head, Videl furrowed her brows as she stared back up at Piccolo. Demanding to know more she continued to speak, "Okay, so you're saying that the chamber is just a title for what is another dimension where time is faster. What's to keep someone from accidentally staying there too long. After all, if time is altered, wouldn't your perception of time be shaken awry as well?"

"There's a calendar and a clock within the living quarters on the other side, so you can technically keep track of time the way it would be for you normally. This way when you're training, you can set a specific routine to gain R-&-R in between your regiment of discipline you set for yourself. Also, the amount of time you spend in there is purposely restricted by a timed lock from the outside. A specific alarm sounds at the exact amount of time goes off, and the door becomes unfastened on both sides," Piccolo then looked over at Dende, his eyes glaring at him before returning back to Videl, "but there's a catch to how long you can stay in there. Food stores within the quarters set up on the other side of the doorway can only be furnished and rationed effectively for a standard 2 years of stay, even for two people at a time. That is, if the training doesn't kill you first."

"S-Sounds extreme," Videl spoke aloud, gulping down a lump as she tried to digest the information.

"Its a nightmare unless you're prepared for the training of a lifetime. Its truly not an experience I wish to repeat often," Piccolo spoke truthfully, turning his eyes to once again glare back at Dende, "but the fact of the matter that someone has been on the other side more than two days, two years within the chamber, means its quite possible that whoever's inside the chamber may already be dead from the effort!"

"I...I'm sorry...but...I couldn't just turn him away..." Dende said aloud apologetically, raising his staff defensively up towards Piccolo and the others, as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Who was it then? Yamcha gotten cocky? Was it Tien? Krillin? Tell me, Dammit!" Piccolo snarled out, just about ready to slap the young Namekian across the face.

However, a distinct chime hit, sounding from within the Lookout that rang within the air.

"Butter and toast!" Popo cried out from within the kitchen, his voice echoing from within the hallowed structure, only lingering long enough to inform those outside something important, "also, the Chamber's timer has just went off."

"Great! Now we'll see who we need to resurrect this time around," Piccolo spoke with a growl, walking swiftly towards the Lookout's main structure, while Gohan and the others rushed to the doorway with great haste.

It didn't take long to reach the red colored door, within but a few seconds. Piccolo and the others stood before it, waiting to see if anything would happen. A lingering hope remained that whomever used the chamber didn't perish, and somehow against all the odds, managed to survive it. However, as the minutes lingered onwards, Piccolo hissed with annoyance and the others sighed with reluctant admission.

"Let's get the unlucky bastard off the floor before he begins to rot anymore than he has-" Piccolo began to say, until a defining creak of the door being opened from behind was heard.

All present gasped, as the door slowly opened and a white line shined past a shadow enraptured being. Large in mass, the being stood an even six and a half feet, taking one bare foot forward to step on the cool tile flooring of the semi-interior of the Lookout's structure. As the shadows left the entity, it was staggeringly apparent but almost unbelievable whom exited the chamber.

A bald headed man, with a long white beard that past between two pairs of substantially developed pectoral muscles, all the way to the top of a six pack of a vastly defined abdomen. A pair of unmistakable, if not worn-out sunglasses sat upon the bridge of an impressive nose, as a familiar white grin spread forth before those who saw him. With rippling muscles across the shirtless man, with little but torn slacks from the gi worn out after ages of use, the formerly decrepit man now looked as fit as a man in his prime.

"Hell everybody. It feels like its been quite a long time since I've been on the outside," He spoke in greeting, gazing across the darkly shrouded sky just beyond the sunroofs of the Lookout, "and much longer since I've seen darkness outside my shades...hmmmm. Can't believe I've actually grown a longing for night time."

"M-M-Master Roshi!" Gohan uttered aloud in total shock, blown away by what he saw.

"Oh, hey there young'n," Roshi spoke with a smile of recognition, waving at him as he bent down towards the now significantly shorter young man, "my, you haven't changed a bit."

"Hold on! THIS was the pervert who was trying to sneak peaks under skirts during Goten's birth, wasn't it?!" Videl spoke aghast, pointing with an accusatory manner, while trying to find recognition and similarity between the decrepit old man, and the incredibly fit middle aged fighter standing before her.

"Hmmm?" Roshi blinked a few times behind his shades, looking over at the girl who pointed at him, before fist-palming with recognition, "oh! You're the dashing little lady who's been training under that boy from the future and Gohan here."

"Her name is Videl," Gohan spoke sternly, putting himself between him and the older man as he stared back at him, "I don't care how strong you've become. I won't let you do ungentlemanly things to her, not on my watch!"

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Roshi laughed humorously, holding his developed midriff with his left hand as he chuckled aloud, to the point where he had to wipe away tears forming underneath his eyes, "I gave up that part of me before I entered the chamber, Gohan. I'm a changed man! This is the new Master Roshi, one of the strongest men alive once again!"

"About that," Piccolo interjected, as the two young adults processed what Roshi just meant, he gained the black-shade lensed eyes of Roshi to his own onyx ones, "I know you're strong, but exactly how the Hell did you survive on two years of rations over the past three months that have passed out here. If I understand correctly, that means, even if you rationed it smartly, you couldn't have lived off the rations for more than an extra year, if even that!"

"Hmmm, how best to explain," Master Roshi, cupped his chin, stroking his beard as he thought. After but a few seconds, he smiled, as he pointed towards his heart as he demonstrated, "you see, my Immortality never vanished, even after I died by the sacrifice I made through using the Evil Containment Wave. So after I started to run out of food, I began to concentrate, delve deep into my being and pull up the vast amounts of Life Energy dwelling within my spirit. After I've nearly reached my limits, I've succeeded into assimilating it as my nutrition and also, the source of my power. After that, the training became so much easier, and I had plenty of time to think of quite a few new techniques, stances, and even different methods of fighting. Pardon the pun, but I'm DYING to try it out and soon!"

"W-Which makes you how old, now?" Dende asked incredulously, not aware just how long the aged martial artist was until now.

"Oh...somewhere in the ballpark of...40,000 years, give or take a few decades," Master Roshi spoke with a sheepish chuckle, scratching his chin as he spoke to the four honestly.

Piccolo, Dende, Videl, and even Gohan all widened their eyes to humorous sizes and sweatdropped. The idea that Master Roshi survived on nothing but his indefinitely prolonged life force was maddening, near inconceivable. After the realization that he died using a magical technique, they all thought it was just a hoax that he was claiming to be Immortal. And yet, he stood before them, healthier and more fit than he's ever been. Perhaps there has been truth in his words of what he told them all, that he truly had done the impossible.

Then, a crazy idea popped into Gohan's head. He had come with the notion of possibly getting Piccolo to train Videl, but he knew his methods were a bit more extreme than Trunks and his own style of teaching. But with Master Roshi the way he is now, and also being a human himself, whom better to start training Videl in more advanced arts of combat and energy control than the man who started his own father's neverending cycle of martial arts training!

"Master Roshi!" Gohan asked him suddenly, bowing his head appropriately and humbly before him, as he asked with determination, "please take Videl as your disciple, so she may better herself, and learn more advanced martial arts and methods of controlling her energy!"

"No need to be that formal, kiddo!" Roshi shook his hand at Gohan insistently, chuckling warmly as he faced Videl with a kind smile, "so, you're the only one who's yet to be on par with these rising stars, former pupils of mine, is that right?"

"I guess you could say that," Videl spoke with a frown, not sure exactly what he was implying to her, but decided to shrug and go along with it.

"Let me place my hand-"

"WHAT?!" Videl asked with a comical shriek.

"-on your head, Videl," Roshi finished, placing his right hand ontop of her raven, pig-tailed head, causing her only to wince slightly before dumbly realizing what he meant.

Videl felt her whole body tingle, and her head spin slightly, as Roshi began to feel out her energy and determine her potential. After what seemed like hours, turned long silent minutes with nearly everyone holding their breath, Roshi finally ruffled her hair and retracted his hand with an enthusiastic smile on his aged, yet very much more youthful face.

"You have spirit, girl, and much more potential than I think you'd ever believe," Roshi spoke with a grin, nodding his head towards the girl's amazed filled eyes, as she stared up at the substantially larger and older martial artist. With an upraised fist, he clasped it within an open palm with a decisive maneuver, "right! Starting tomorrow you train with me!"

"R-Really?!" Videl spoke with a gasp, looking towards Gohan for affirmation whom smiled back approvingly, causing her to squeal with excitement, "sounds great!"

"Just to be clear, you're not the only one who's going to give you teachings," Piccolo spoke firmly, swinging his hand around in declaration, casting an intimidating stare down at Videl, "I'll also be teaching you. Even if the old man has grown a backbone in the thousands of years he's now lived, I doubt he has the raw grit to do what needs to be done. Starting tomorrow, you'll also start training with me! That is, if you have the guts to follow through?"

"I-I'll try my best," Videl bowed humbly to him, laughing hesitantly as she nervously looked at both intimidating men. One whom she knew as a pervert and now was an ancient warrior with unknown amount of power, as well as one of the truly strongest human martial artists. The other being a tall, turban-toting green skinned man that looked almost like a cross between an alien and a demon.

One thing was for certain. In the coming days, she'll have to bring all of her nerve, tenacity, and strength to the table if she wanted to last even one day, let alone a month with these respected fighters. After all, with the enemies that Gohan and the others have just made, she knew she'd have to bring her own strength to bear if she wanted to make a difference in the future!

---

A/N: And done! Finally got back on track to the days I want to update on. Feels good to do that :)

Anyways, there you have it, another Chapter under wraps for the Vegeta Chronicles and an exciting series of upcoming conflicts and changes that are just waiting to be exploited around the corner. We're in for an exciting ride, ladies and gents, and I hope you can hold on tight, cause its going to be as wild as sitting bareback on Shenron.

In regards to Master Roshi and the HTC, I'm pretty sure its going to be the center of debate, despite it being the last part of the Chapter. So, to clarify, I've done a fair amount of my homework on the HTC and its uses both in the Manga and the Anime. From what I can tell, there really is no limitation to how long you can stay within the Time Chamber, despite its supposition early on within its existence, or the number of people. It was more just a cautionary idea, if you devour all of the expired rations before it was time to get out, you'd probably starve to death.

Also, I want to give Master Roshi a much more defining and important role in the following chapters. Seeing as it took awhile for most of the Human Z Warriors to reach the levels they are now, even with the significant teachings they got from King Kai whom is supposedly one of the greatest martial artist "teachers" around, Roshi was at one point a force to be reckoned with.

Because it was never really experimented or delved upon within the series just the extent of Master Roshi's Immortality, bar the magical oriented deaths via Evil Containment Wave use and being turned into candy by Super Buu, we never really got to see Roshi die by any other means, let alone brutally beaten to a pulp. So by means of Immortality, Roshi is probably going to have a near limitless amount of Life Energy stored within his being, thus it made sense to me that if he could find a way to tap into it, he'd have a near unquantifiably high amount of energy to sustain himself for as long as he was in the HTC.

How much power does that give him in terms of actual firepower? Well, that's remaining to be seen in the coming chapters he'll participate in ;)

If you have anymore questions, PLEASE relay them through PM's, as if you are an Anonymous Reviewer, there's a good chance I can divulge sensitive information within the Author Notes of a Chapter Update (I'm talking to you, Coldblue XD) So please send me a PM, rather than issue questions within your Review. It'll make it much easier to answer questions as vaguely and as best as I can without spoiling things for the other viewers.

With that said, please review and comment of what you liked about the Chapter, what you're anticipating, and what you think I should perhaps do in future chapters involving the overall plot. Let me know and I'll try and see what I can do to make it happen ;)

Until then, I'll see you guys on the next, the Vegeta Chronicles chapter!