Halcyon Days of High School

by Jrhall2

Following Majin Buu's defeat, Gohan and Videl are reunited at last and decide not to waste any more time. After a dual confession that leaves them both terribly embarrassed, the young couple sets out to enjoy their time together, learn more about each other, and forge their path in life. Where will their love lead them in these peaceful times? (M rating for later chapters).

16. What Would I Do Without You?

Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! I have a bit to say at the end of the chapter this time so I'll keep this short and sweet. Thank you all so very much for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing, and all your support in general - it really makes me so happy to see and I'm thrilled this little story has reached so many people and made a good impression! I'm so excited to keep writing and carry this story through to its conclusion and I hope you'll all stick around for the ride. But without further ado, please enjoy the new chapter!

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Chapter XVI – What Would I Do Without You?

"So they just…weren't there?"

Erasa's face fell as Videl recounted hers and Gohan's attempt to dismantle the Black Gloves directly a few hours prior. Gohan had watched her fight down the white-hot fury that had overwhelmed her back in the cabin a few hours prior with remarkable effort, but she was calm again at last. Well, mostly.

"Yeah," she answered, pursing her lips and sighing. "Those bastards would all be locked up by now if we'd found the right place. Somehow they figured out Bulma was tracking them with that transmitter."

"These are some serious guys then, huh? Not just a bunch of street thugs on a power trip," Sharpner mused.

He had been released from the hospital upon the confirmation that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him, a fact that had confused several nurses and doctors. With no reason to keep him, they sent him home with Erasa. They had messaged both of them, curious where they should meet up. Gohan had seen their text first and asked them to meet at Videl's favorite Okonomiyaki restaurant; sure, she wasn't kicking tables across the room anymore, but today had obviously taken a pretty big toll on her. Maybe her favorite food would help her feel just a bit calmer. When she had asked why they had wanted to come here of all places, Sharpner merely told her it was Gohan's idea. The look of love and warmth she gave him could have melted even the coldest of ice.

"Yeah, we never expected them to go this far," Gohan admitted, scowling at the table they all sat around.

"I'm sorry we put you in danger," Videl said suddenly, her eyes wrought with pain and guilt. Erasa looked at her with wide, concerned eyes.

"Vi, please don't think you have to apologize to us! You didn't do anything wrong at all, either of you! You protected innocent people from those goons and they took things further than anybody thought they would; that's not your fault."

"But…if they found out who we were…it would have put you and Sharpner in real danger. All because you're our friends…"

"I'd rather be your friend and be in danger than abandon you like a coward," she said, a steely look of determination on her face. Videl seemed to be taken aback and words failed her. Sharpner just chuckled and grinned at them.

"I'd never abandon you either. Nobody asked me to do what I did earlier today; I did it because you guys are my best friends. I didn't want to see that scum get their hands on either of you. I knew I could trust you. All I had to do was distract them and I knew you'd both be free to put an end to it."

Erasa turned her hard look to her boyfriend and frowned. "You were right in the end, but that was so stupid to put yourself in that kind of danger!" Sharpner held his hands in front of himself, grimacing.

"Easy E, I know. It was stupid. But I what else could I have done? We needed some kind of out that didn't betray who they really were." Erasa chewed her lip.

"I know…just don't ever scare me like that again, okay?" Her voice was soft and pained. Sharpner gave her a sober nod.

"I promise I won't. Unless it's to save you from something."

"Hey…"

"You gotta let me have at least that! Otherwise, how can I call myself your boyfriend?" Erasa finally let a smile grace her lips.

"Okay, okay, you've got me there! I can live with that."

"Thanks for bailing us out earlier Sharpner," Gohan added, smiling at him. The boxer just smirked and threw him a wink.

"We're already even; you saved my ass out on that field earlier. Thanks for that."

"Any time. What else are friends for?"

"I'm just glad we got to you in time," Videl admitted, shuddering a bit. Gohan took her hand and squeezed, earning a gentle smile from her.

"Not as glad as I am," Sharpner joked, a toothy grin spreading across his face. At last, some of the tension in the air started to dissolve as they all laughed at his joke. If he was going to make light of the situation, then maybe they should all follow his example and lighten up too.

"So Vi, I have to ask," Erasa continued once things had calmed again, "what's this big mysterious plan of yours? You just said you knew how you'd still find the Black Gloves tonight." Videl's eyes flashed with certainty.

"I'll tell you the details later, just in case anyone can overhear us. But remember the story we told you about the guy that almost killed me?" Erasa's face darkened immediately.

"Yeah, I remember. The guy that," she trailed off, glancing around before lowering her voice to a whisper, "Gohan took care of, right? He's still unconscious in the hospital though, isn't he?" Videl simply nodded.

"Yeah, he is. And he deserves it. But I need that slime's help if we're gonna put an end to all this."

"I can live with just that much for now. You have to tell me what's going on after dinner though, okay?" she asked, smiling enticingly at her best friend. Videl grinned at her tenacity.

"I will."

About that time, one of the servers arrived with their okonomiyaki and the four began eating right away. They were all starving after the excitement and panic that had come with the day. The sun had only just set, too; it was barely even night but Gohan couldn't remember the last time he felt so mentally worn out. Worrying about people other than himself was always more stressful than when he was alone but worrying about people he cared for was stressful in an incomparable way. He hadn't felt it since Majin Buu back in May and the months of peace had dulled his tolerance for it.

As dinner went along, it became increasingly obvious to him that his little scheme had worked wonderfully; Videl's face was considerably brighter than it had been since that morning and she was relaxing and unwinding at last. He was so glad; she had a tendency to shoulder burdens all by herself, even when he convinced her to share with him. He knew she felt solely responsible for the incident earlier that day, despite the fact that they had been hunting a Saiyan this whole time. But maybe this little moment of peace and joy would help her feel a bit better after the stress of the day.

Eventually, they all finished their okonomiyaki and, after paying and collecting their things, the four walked outside again. They were in the middle of downtown Satan City but it was fairly deserted tonight. News of the Orange Star attack had spread across the city, unsurprisingly, and many people were afraid to leave their homes at the moment. It didn't help ease anyone's fears that the city had closed all schools for the remainder of the week, through to the next Monday. Despite Kaneki's assurance that all involved in the attack had been taken into police custody, to look around the once-busy heart of the metropolis was akin to gazing upon a ghost town. Phantoms danced on the wind and whispers echoed around the streets, but nothing more.

That did mean they were free to discuss things of a more sensitive nature, something that wasn't lost on Erasa. "So, tell me your plan Vi!"

Videl, in good spirits once more, giggled at her friend's persistence. "Okay, I did promise. Well, I asked Gohan for a Senzu Bean earlier and then I called the Chief. He has two guards stationed at Juzai's hospital room at all times, just in case he wakes up again. He's not much danger without those gloves but he was easily the strongest of the Black Gloves, so Kaneki hasn't wanted to take any chances.

"So I asked the Chief if he'd swap the two guards with me and Gohan for a little while tonight, to get them out of the way. That way, we can get into his room without having to deal with the guards ourselves and we can keep the room secured under the guise that we're the replacement guards for a little while."

"And the Chief went for this?" she asked, incredulous. Videl laughed in response.

"Not without some convincing. But I got him to trust me in the end."

"But why do all that?" Erasa asked, her brow furrowed.

"Because I'm going to wake him up." The blonde's mouth fell open in surprise.

"How? Why?"

"I'm going to crush that bean and sprinkle it into an IV bag. Once it's finished, he'll be good as new. Except his arm…I think. Gohan," she called, turning her head over her shoulder and gazing at him. "Senzu Beans can't regrow missing limbs, right?"

"Not that I've ever seen," he admitted. The Beans were still something of a mystery to him as well, though he had a pretty good handle on their capabilities at this point.

"Thanks!" She turned back to Erasa and continued, her eyes set and her face solemn. "I don't want to give that bastard a second chance. He doesn't deserve it. But he was different from the others. He was stronger, he resonated with the gloves, he had direct orders from their boss. I honestly wouldn't be a bit surprised if most of their members didn't actually know the location of the base. But Juzai? He'll know. So I'm waking him up and I'll drag that information out of him."

"What if he doesn't give it to you?" Videl frowned.

"Then I'll make him."

"Don't do anything you can't take back, Vi…"

"I won't, don't worry. I have Gohan to keep me in check too!"

The girls kept chatting together after that and Gohan found his mind wandering as he strolled along behind them. Waking up Juzai wasn't his favorite idea either. When Videl had proposed it, he hadn't been the biggest fan, even if he understood why she wanted to. The good news was Videl was far stronger than he was now, especially without those gloves. If he ever tried anything, she would run circles around him before introducing him forcefully to the ground. But still…

"Hey Gohan," came Sharpner's voice from next to him, a bit quieter than usual. Snapping out of his reverie, the young Saiyan turned his head and smiled.

"Yeah, what's up Sharpner?"

"The things you can do…is it possible to learn them?" Gohan felt his eyes widen and his mouth fall agape. That had been unexpected. Sharpner grinned and chuckled. "Sorry, that was pretty out of left field, huh? I just ask because…well, today kinda…opened my eyes a bit, I guess."

"What to?"

"To how weak I really am. What I did earlier was all I really could do: be a distraction. If E had been in danger, I couldn't have protected her. All I could've done is throw myself in front of her and take an attack that was meant for her if it came down to it. But even just one of those and I was down for the count. So I wouldn't have been any good in a situation like that anyway…"

"You shouldn't beat yourself up for that," Gohan offered him. "They were using technology to make themselves stronger than anything you're used to dealing with. I know what you're feeling, though. A long time ago, I felt entirely powerless more often than not. I was in over my head in a lot of situations and I couldn't protect the people I cared about." Sharpner was watching him seriously, something he wasn't entirely used to seeing on his friend's face.

"So what'd you do?"

"I got stronger. It took a long time. The first time I was ever able to protect the people I loved was during the Cell Games. Before that, I was just a weak kid who had to watch his friends and family fight for him."

"And that's when you learned to use your powers, right? That thing you do with the golden hair? The flying, the laser beams, the teleporting. You learned that in that other dimension you told us about, yeah?" Gohan gave him a light smile.

"Parts of it, yeah. I'd been doing other parts since I was four so I didn't have to learn it all at once. It was still very difficult, though."

"Even if it takes a while…is it something I might be able to do someday?" He was really set on this. He wanted to protect Erasa, protect his friends. Which ultimately made the answer feel more unsavory to Gohan.

"Maybe," he began gently. Sharpner kept his emotions in check; he couldn't tell if the boxer was hopeful or disappointed. "It's extremely difficult for a normal human to learn this kind of stuff. I know a few but they're far from what you'd expect to see normally. They've also been training with these kind of abilities for decades now."

"So the short answer is 'no,' huh?" Gohan gave him a somber smile.

"They very short answer, yeah."

"Is there a longer answer?"

"There is: 'not yet.'"

"Not yet?" he echoed, curious now. Gohan grinned at him.

"People like Videl aren't the rule; she's very much the exception. But because she's studied martial arts her whole life, it was a lot easier for her to draw out the energy she needs to use those abilities and powers. You're very strong and very in shape, but this energy requires you to push your entire being to its very limits."

"So I'm not strong enough yet?" he asked, a bit confused. Gohan shook his head.

"You're plenty strong physically. But you also need to push yourself emotionally. Spiritually. Mentally. And once you find that harmony within yourself, that's when you start to be able to draw out the energy Videl and I use from within yourself. It's called 'ki' and it's what allows us to do everything you mentioned before."

"So I don't have ki yet?" Gohan shook his head.

"You do, just not enough. Sorry, it's a bit confusing. Which is why I said 'not yet.' See, one of the things I really want to do in college is apply what I know and understand about ki to people in general and maybe make it a much more public concept than it is right now. If there were clear and simple ways to help people strengthen their ki, I think that would be amazing and it could change the entire world for the better!"

"That sounds pretty amazing, Gohan. So your 'not yet' hinges on you figuring out how to dumb it down for people in general then?"

"Something like that." Sharpner grinned and laughed.

"I guess I can be patient enough to wait till the expert irons it out! But until then, I'm gonna have to rely on you to keep E safe from guys like the ones today, deal?"

"Deal. And I promise, the moment you're ready for it, I'd be happy to give you some private ki training the way I do with Videl."

"Hell yeah, I'll look forward to it man!"

"Hey," Videl's voice interrupted. She was glancing over her shoulder, grinning. "You better not hold his hands the way you hold mine when you demonstrate things! I'll start getting jealous!"

"A teacher's gotta do what a teacher's gotta do, right?" Sharpner shot back, grinning at her. "I promise I won't take your man from you, though."

"Like you could!"

"Hey, hey," Gohan interjected, waving his hands. They looked at him curiously, maybe a bit worried that they'd gone too far, but a second later he just grinned himself. "There's plenty of me to go around, you don't have to fight!"

Erasa was the first to burst out laughing, followed very quickly by everyone else. Videl's eyes shimmered like the stars themselves were twinkling in them and it made Gohan just laugh and smile even more. Their mirth echoed off the deserted streets and through the night, a pinpoint of joy after an otherwise bleak day. And soon, these kinds of moments would be back for everyone in the city, not just them. But they had a little work to do first. And that started with a trip back to Satan City Hospital.

---

It had taken some work, but Videl had gotten exactly what she wanted. Chief Kaneki, though reluctant at first, had agreed to her plan when she'd promised him if he did this, they would hand him the remainder of the Black Gloves tomorrow. To that end, the Chief had called his two stationed guards and told them that the Saiya Squad had offered to help out since the department was so overwhelmed from the Orange Star attack earlier. They were to go on their dinner breaks while Great Saiyaman No. 1 and No. 2 watched Juzai, just in case.

Upon their arrival, the two guards were ecstatic, not just for dinner, but to be able to meet the real Saiya Squad themselves. They hammed it up and made sure the two guards had nothing but good things to say about them – especially since they were about to do something of…questionable legality. The two men set out to grab dinner and said they'd be back in an hour.

Finally in position, Videl took note of their surroundings. They were in their full costumes so no one knew who they were. The nurse on call had just finished her rounds right before the guards had taken off. It was late enough that there were no more guests or checkups to interfere. Things had lined up perfectly for what she wanted to do. But she'd have to be careful. She didn't want to draw attention to them.

"Okay, I'll go get phase one taken care of," she whispered.

"Great. I'll watch the doorway and cover you. The nurse said the IV needs to be replaced in a few minutes so make sure you're outta there before then."

"I will. Be right back, Love." Opening the dimly lit room, she entered and closed the door behind her, the last sight from the hallway being Gohan's broad back as he positioned himself right across the doorway.

The suite was relatively small, a private room that played host to numerous machines and pieces of medical equipment that she could only vaguely guess as to their purposes. Juzai himself was lying unconscious in the bed, several wires and tubes connected to him and an oxygen mask over his face. His vitals seemed fairly stable from what little she could tell. His arm was still missing, of course, the biggest sign that Gohan had nearly killed him back in June. She suspected the other issues Kaneki had mentioned were still lingering but the Senzu would heal all that up very soon.

Checking around the room and drawing the blinds closed, she pressed her watch and the Saiyaman suit vanished, leaving her in her usual school attire. She didn't want to risk tripping and causing a scene. Stepping carefully over wires and around large metal boxes, she made her way to the IV hook where one bag was just about empty, a replacement waiting right next to it. Excellent.

Grabbing a pair of medical gloves from a nearby box and putting them on, she unclipped the extra bag and found that they had prepared it by cutting a slit along the top. Good; she hadn't been sure what she would have done if they had used a tube to fill it. Crushing the Senzu Bean into an incredibly fine powder, she poured it into the bag before replacing it on the stand. If the nurse looked too carefully, she might notice the flakes of Senzu dust, but with how dimly lit the room was, she'd have to be searching for it pretty deliberately. This was the best Videl could do for now. She just had to hope it worked.

Disposing of the gloves, she donned her Saiyaman suit once more before carefully sliding the door open and tapping Gohan's shoulder. He slid over and she slipped back into the hallway, easing the door closed as if nothing had ever happened.

"All good?" he asked her.

"Yeah, it's all ready. All we need now is for the nurse to swap the IVs and then I'll go wait with him. He'll be awake pretty soon after that, yeah?" Gohan considered her for a moment before giving a thoughtful nod.

"I think so. I've honestly never seen a Senzu used in quite this way before, but the general principal is the same. As soon as it enters his body, it should start healing him…much as he doesn't deserve it…" Videl reached out and took his hand.

"I know. I hate that we have to resort to this too. But if he can give us the Black Gloves and we can make sure Sharpner and Erasa are safe from now on, I'm willing to make that trade." He nodded firmly.

"I am too. Don't worry, I'm not getting cold feet."

"I never doubted you for a second!"

About that time, the nurse on duty came up to them and explained that she was going to swap the IV out. Gohan assured her they were here if she needed help for any reason but she just laughed and thanked them. Juzai had been in a coma for four months now; there was very little chance she'd need backup. If only she knew how soon that would be coming to an end…

The few minutes the nurse was in the room were some of the longest of Videl's life. If she noticed the Senzu dust in the bag, her plan was shot. It was the only lead they still had. Reed didn't know where the base was. Bulma's tracker had been discovered and used against them. And they had zeroed in on Orange Star High School as their location. They couldn't afford any more missteps. This had to work. For the safety of their friends and classmates.

Finally, the nurse left the suite again, thanking them for guarding the patient before disappearing down the hallway. Once she was out of sight, Videl let out a heavy sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding onto. It had worked.

"Looks like all that's left is to get in there and get some information out of him once he wakes up," Gohan mused. A thought had occurred to Videl, though, one that left her feeling a bit guilty. She knew she had to propose it, though.

"Hey Ichi-gō, I was thinking…it might be better if you wait out here and guard the door while I interrogate him." She could see the surprise on his face.

"Sure, I don't mind. How come though?"

"Well, if he wakes up and you're the first thing he sees, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts screaming or trying to escape. You probably left a pretty traumatic impression on him." Gohan grimaced and hung his head.

"Y-yeah…you're probably right."

"The nurse also might come back if she sees his vitals change when he wakes up…I don't know how busy she is tonight but there's a chance. If she does, I might need you to keep her out of the room until I finish up…"

"Yeah, that's a good point, I hadn't even thought of that. Okay, I'll leave the interrogation to you! I'll make sure no one disturbs you, okay?"

"Thanks Darling," she said, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. He gave her a quick hug before she turned to enter the room.

"Be careful. I know you're way stronger than him now, but I don't ever want that monster getting his hands on you again." Videl turned back and nodded confidently.

"Don't worry, he'll never have the chance. I'll be careful. And I'll call you if I need you; you're right here after all!"

"Always."

"I've never doubted that for a second, either. I'll be back…with the location of the Black Gloves' base."

"I know you will, Angel." And with his words of encouragement at her back, Videl entered the suite once more, easing the door closed behind her.

She removed her Saiyaman suit again and sat down in a nearby chair. There was no real point in disguising herself with Juzai; he already knew who she was from when he'd unmasked her back in June. She watched and waited for the Senzu to take effect, but the next several minutes seemed to drag on like she was staring at the clock in school waiting for her most boring class to end. Couldn't just one bit of the crushed bean have zapped him back to life? It only worked that way when they ate the beans because they ingested the whole thing at once, though. She needed to be patient for a little longer.

And soon her patience was rewarded. A subtle groaning sounded from the bed and Juzai slowly started to move under the blankets. It was slow, the healing process, but it was working. It wouldn't be long now. A few minutes later, the man's hollow eyes opened and he tried to speak, but stopped short as he noticed the oxygen mask on his face. He tried to reach up and grab it but seemed stunned to find that he could only move his left arm.

"Need some help?" Videl said quietly from the side of the room. His head snapped to her and recognition flashed across his eyes. It seemed he couldn't quite decide if he was fearful or angry.

Rising to her feet, she crossed the short distance to his bed and removed the mask from his face, placing it next to him. He opened his mouth to speak and she was surprised to find that all his teeth were back in place already. The same had been true of her back during the Tenkaichi Budōkai, but she had eaten the whole bean. Maybe more of it was in his system now than she'd realized.

"You…what are you doing here?" he croaked, his hoarse voice barely able to speak. He hadn't used it in months after all; it would take some time to warm up.

"I need information and you're the only one I can think of who has it."

"Why the hell would I help you?"

"Because I basically just brought you back to life."

"What?" His eyes were hard but there was a flicker of curiosity behind them as well. She decided to offer what she knew in hopes that he'd be more amicable.

"You've been in a coma for four months, Juzai," she revealed, watching as the man's face warped in shock and horror. She held her phone up and showed him the date, waiting until realization flashed across his eyes. "After what my partner did to you, you were probably only still conscious at the end from the adrenaline. You're at Satan City Hospital right now and you've been unconscious here since June; it's mid-October now."

"Why am I awake now then? Did you do something?"

"Like I said, I brought you back to life. I put something in your IV to heal you up. As soon as that bag is completely gone, you'll be good as new again. Well, except your arm. I can't fix that."

"What…did you put in that IV?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing.

"Magic bean dust."

"Are you screwing with me?"

"Nope; I'm dead serious. I've had them a few times. They actually just work like magic and completely restore your health. I couldn't feed it to you though so I had to crush it up and put it in the IV for you. It'll take a little longer, but the end result will still be the same."

"And how did you manage that?" Videl fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Look, we can sit here and play twenty questions later. Right now, I need some information. And I need it before the nurse realizes her four-month coma patient is awake. So let's move on." Juzai scowled at her.

"So you woke me up from a coma and now you think I'll help you, is that it?" Videl glowered down at him.

"I woke you from a coma and saved your sorry life from my partner back in June. Or have you forgotten? You'd be dead and gone right now if it wasn't for me. So that's twice you owe me." The man looked like he wanted to argue but couldn't find the right words to do it. She did have a point, after all.

"What do you want from me? Must be important if you went to the trouble of waking up someone whose guts you should hate." Videl laughed derisively.

"Oh, trust me; I do hate your guts. If I had any other way to get what I want, I'd have left you here to rot. You tried to kill me and give my partner to your twisted boss so he could be a test subject. No amount of time will ever make me forget that."

"Your partner…you called him 'Gohan,' right?" Videl sighed hard and did roll her eyes this time.

"Guess that little secret's out. Yeah, that's his name. And if you're smart, nobody else will ever find out that you know it."

"What's to stop me from ratting the two of you out the second someone questions me?" Videl's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Well, he's standing right outside that door for one." Juzai's eyes instantly filled with terror and he jerked his head to the entrance, his heart rate spiking on the nearby monitor. That little experiment had worked nicely; he was clearly terrified of Gohan still. She might be able to use that to get what she wanted after all.

"Don't worry; he won't be coming in here; he hates your guts even more than I do. So just relax and let's continue our little chat, shall we?" Juzai reluctantly leaned back into his pillow and slowly his heart rate calmed back down.

"Guess I oughta be careful what I say then, huh?" he asked flippantly. His voice was growing somewhat in strength and his attitude was returning, just the way she remembered it.

"Yeah, you should. He's not the only one capable of tearing you to pieces anymore."

"What, you?"

"Yep. I'm a whole lot stronger now than I was back in June." Juzai snorted.

"Uh huh, sure. Last time we fought I had you down in a matter of seconds when I started trying. What's so different now?"

"I've been training for four months with a brilliant teacher. You'd be lucky if you even grazed me with your fist this time."

"Is that right?" His cold eyes bored into hers but she stared him down, letting the hatred she felt for him boil to the surface.

"Wanna press your luck and find out?" He sighed and let slip a short chuckle.

"Nah; I'm proud, not stupid. You probably are stronger than back in June. And even if you weren't, that partner of yours could literally rip me to shreds if I did anything to you again. If you really did just wake me from a four-month-long coma, I should probably be a little more careful with my life than that." Videl felt a smirk cross her lips.

"You're smarter than I thought. We're wasting time though. I need you to tell me where the Black Gloves' base is."

"…'Black Gloves?'"

"It's the name we've given your organization. We had nothing to call you so we just picked based off the gloves you all use."

"Heh. Not bad. You got decent naming sense. It's not the right name, but it's not bad."

"What is the right name?"

"Doesn't matter. If you haven't heard it yet, why spoil the surprise? Besides, it doesn't change what you want."

"You're right; let's forget the name. Give me the base."

"Afraid I can't do that." Her eyes flashed again and she stared hard at him.

"And why not?"

"The Boss was good to me. I can't just go and betray him at the drop of a hat."

"How about for someone you owe two enormous favors to?"

"Even still. The Boss brought me out of a tough time. He gave me power when I was weak. Gave me a direction when I was lost. Gave me something to live for when I had nothing." Videl scoffed without realizing it.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all fine and good. Quit stalling; give me the base, now."

"You're such a great listener, you know that? I still can't give you the base though."

"You sure about that?" Juzai grinned darkly at her.

"Look, I know all about you two superhero freaks. You aren't gonna have your partner come in here and rip me apart in a hospital. That'd ruin the whole 'Great Saiyaman' image. Then what would the point of all this be?"

"The point, you arrogant jackass," she spat, stepping closer and glowering at him, "is that your friends attacked my school today. They endangered hundreds of innocent students, some of them being my best friends in the world. They hurt someone who's like a brother to me. They brought that Ki Suppressor onto our campus in an effort to try to flush us out and they didn't care who they hurt to do it. So I'm putting an end to this before they really do something that can't be taken back."

"Huh. They did all that?"

"Do I look like I'm lying?"

"Nah, just didn't figure they were coordinated enough for that. The Boss, me, and one other were the brains. I didn't figure the rest of that lot could actually stick well enough to a plan without me in the field."

"So you're impressed then?" she spat.

"Look, I'm not big into the idea of threatening schools. But if the Boss had told me to do it, I'd have done it. So you're not gonna get what you want with an appeal to my better nature or something like that."

"Who is this 'Boss?'"
"Come on; you really think I'd give you him if I won't give you the base?"

"Oh, you'll give me the base."

"We've already gone through this; there's no way he's gonna come threaten me again. It's bad for business."

"Fine. I'll do it."

She pointed her hand at Juzai and watched as he rolled his eyes. But she had been working on her ki blast generation. She still couldn't create real attacks, but she was able to focus her ki in her palm, just like when Gohan had first taught her to fly. The small golden light shimmered to life in her hand and Juzai's eyes widened immediately.

"You sure you don't want to tell me?" His face had gone pale despite the fact that Senzu dust was still making its way into his system and healing him entirely. That was fear.

"You're not gonna do it. You're a coward."

Videl stepped forward quickly and seized his hospital gown, drawing her hand back to her shoulder and forcing more ki into her palm. His blustering vanished in a second and abject terror replaced the smug certainty that had filled his once-hollow eyes moments before.

"Try me, you bastard. I still hate you; I won't lose a bit of sleep if you're gone. And the thing is, my partner can keep being Saiyaman and nobody will know what happened to you. I'll leave out that window and the story will be that a mystery assassin from the Black Gloves managed to sneak in and eliminate their former member who probably knew too much. My plan's pretty well thought out, don't you think? Do you still think I'm too much of a coward to do it? You sure you wanna roll those dice?"

She was bluffing. Hard. It was the most brazen lie she'd ever told. Even just threatening to kill him made her blood run cold. The idea of taking a human life by her own hands was terrifying. She had felt it for a moment at the tournament when she thought she had killed Spopovich by accident. It was enough to make her sick.

The truth, however, was that she couldn't actually kill him with a ki blast even if she wanted to. It was a feint, of course. And she just hoped he didn't know enough about natural ki to see through it the way Gohan or his friends might. The terror in his eyes didn't abate and she knew she had to push him just a bit further before he broke down.

"Fine. I should've known better than to waste a magic bean on someone like you anyway. I guess I'll just have to try any of the losers we took in over the last few months. Hope you said goodbye to anyone who might care to hear from you before all this because you won't be back."

He hadn't broken yet. She had to commit. She couldn't back down now; he'd know she had been lying. He had to break before she followed through on her dry threat. Right now.

'Break, damn you!'

She drew her hand back and let her ki shine a bit brighter before starting to slowly move her arm forward. If she just hit him in the face, it was all over. But she had to play the bluff through to the end. This was her last chance.

'Break!' Her arm shot forward forcefully. She braced herself for an impact.

"Wait!"

Videl stopped immediately, inches from the man's face. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his pupils were dilated. She could see him shaking, here the quick beeping from the machine nearby as his heartrate increased significantly. It had worked, though. She dispelled the ki in her hand and stepped back, releasing him. She was shaking herself and didn't want him to notice how rattled she really was.

"You ready to talk?" she demanded, keeping her voice cold and steady.

"…fine. I'll tell you what you wanna know…"

"Good. I knew you were smarter than that."

"You're crazy."

"I'll do anything to protect my friends from harm, especially after you tried to kill me back in June. Don't try taking the high road now."

"Guess you're right. I'm hardly in a position to judge your actions, am I?" he managed, a spark of his usual flippant personality returning. Videl woke her watch and pulled up the map, turning her wrist to face Juzai.

"Tell me where to move from here. Which direction?"

"…northeast. It's in a mountain range about fifty miles outside the city."

"That far?"

"Yeah. It's a pretty remote location."

"If you're lying to me, I swear-"

"I'm not lying. If you go there and it's not what I promised, come back and kill me." Videl studied him hard for several long moment. For as terrified as he'd been just moment before, he wouldn't have said something like that if there was even the slightest possibility that she really would.

"Fine. I'll believe you for now." She scrolled until she found a large mountain range on her map. "Here?"

"Yeah." She zoomed in.

"Now where?"

Slowly, he guided her map until she found the exact location she was looking for. "That's it. It's an underground compound…the entrance is hidden in a cave. Actually, there's a few entrances, but I only know the one."

"And you're positive this is it?"

"Yeah…I followed my own map there a lot at the beginning before I knew where to go by heart." She pinned the location on her map before closing the screen and turning towards him, staring hard into his eyes.

"If you've lied to me Juzai…" The man shook his head slowly.

"I'm not lying. I know when I'm beat. I'd rather be alive and a traitor than dead and loyal."

"And you called me a coward earlier."

"Heh. Guess I did. Maybe I have us backwards. You're the cold one and I'm the coward now." Videl felt her heart sink despite her best efforts. Was she cold? Heartless? She had often wondered if she had been once upon a time…maybe he was right…

"Shut up," she spat, but the venom from earlier was gone now.

"Is that all you want, 'Great Saiyaman No. 2?'" She paused for a long moment.

"Not quite."

"There's more?"

"Only a word of caution: tell no one who we really are." Juzai grinned a bit.

"Now why would I do that? That's gotta be some kind of get outta jail free card, right?"

"Funny you'd think that when I'm your get out of jail free card."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell the Chief that you gave us the Black Gloves' base and everyone in it. You'll get a reduced sentence, maybe even your freedom if I have your promise that our identities stay with you."

"…go on."

"Once you're free, you disappear. Leave here and go someplace new. And don't ever let anyone know that you found out who the Great Saiyaman is, either of us. Because if you do…we'll know. There's only one person who could sell us out like that and it's you. So be very careful Juzai." Her hard eyes bored into his and he let out a sigh at last.

"…fine. I'll agree to that. If you keep me outta prison."

"I can make that happen."

"Sounds like we have an agreement then."

"Sure does. Don't screw this up for yourself; go live a long life somewhere far away from us and don't ever cross our paths again. Got it?"

"Sure. Got it."

"Great." Videl clicked the button on her watch and her Saiyaman suit reappeared. "Thanks for the information. Let's never meet again."

Videl spun on her heel and walked towards the door, satisfied that she'd done what she had to do to protect her friends. But as she reached the door, Juzai's now-stronger voice rang out.

"Hey, Videl. You got guts. You hold up your end of the deal…and I'll never say a word to anyone." There was a hint of begrudging respect in his voice. She knew that tone well; it was the same tone she'd used with Sharpner initially and even Gohan when they'd first met.

"I'll keep my end of the bargain, don't worry; I never go back on my word."

And with that, Videl left the suite, eager to be away from him and back with her Gohan.

---

Once Gohan had taken Videl back home, they found Mr. Satan waiting for them, predictably nervous, though not panicked. He was thrilled to see Videl in one piece and pulled her into a gargantuan hug that she resisted for a moment before giving in and letting him do it. It was sweet and wonderful to see how much he cared about her, Gohan thought.

Evidently, Buu had been watching television as usual when a breaking news broadcast had interrupted the program, detailing the attack on Orange Star. While Mr. Satan was convinced that nothing would harm his Videl as long as Gohan was with her, he was still anxious. Buu hadn't fully understood the nuance of the situation but he had been relaxed as ever. Nobody would beat the two of them, he had chortled before bouncing off to play with Bee.

Now, with the latest recounting of the day done, Mr. Satan nodded with a grave expression on his face. "That does sound like trouble. Who are these punks? How dare they attack my daughter and her boyfriend at their school!"

"We still don't know exactly who they are, but thanks to Videl we know where," Gohan told him, a soft smile on his face. The older man swelled up with pride.

"You're a regular sleuth, just like your old man!"

"You enjoy mysteries?" Gohan asked him as Videl rolled her eyes. Mr. Satan chuckled and gave a sheepish grin.

"No, not really. If anything, Miguel was the one who was into mysteries and detective work and that sort of stuff. Videl takes a lot after her mother in that way."

"She really was a fan of stories and TV shows like that," Videl agreed, a fond smile gracing her pink lips at the memory.

"Well now that you've solved the mystery, what's next?" Mr. Satan asked.

"We're taking them down. Tomorrow." Videl's voice was unfaltering.

"I know you're becoming strong in ways I can only dream of, but be careful, okay Sweetpea?" She smiled at her father.

"I will be Papa, I promise. And Gohan will be with me; he'll never let me be hurt."

"Absolutely not," he agreed, nodding with certainty. Mr. Satan was much calmer now, his smile relaxed and his eyes twinkling.

"You know, I wasn't so sure about you when we first met at the tournament Gohan, but these days I can't even imagine the two of you not being together. I'm glad my little princess has someone to treat her right." Videl blushed a little at his words.
"Papa, you're embarrassing me!" she chided him, but the wide smile on her face only served to prove how happy those words made her.

"Buu think Videl and Gohan great pair too!" The pink giant bounced into the room, carrying Bee in one hand and a bag of potato chips in the other, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Thanks Buu!" Videl sang before a thought occurred to her. "Hey, this is a bit unrelated, but I wanted to ask – you don't suppose those guys could paralyze you with that machine of theirs, do you? Erasa made a good point earlier; if they figure out who we are, then our friends and family are in danger. I just wouldn't want anything bad to happen while I'm not here if things got out of hand…"

Gohan reached out and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly while Buu tilted his head and considered her. "Buu no think so. You told Buu machine works on Saiyans and humans, but neither will hurt Buu. If anyone threatens Mr. Satan or Videl, Buu protect them!"

"Thanks Buu, you're the best," Mr. Satan told him with a wide grin. He went for a potato chip but Buu turned away, moving the bag out of his reach.

"What about your family Gohan? Between you, your dad, and Goten, I figure you're all safe no matter what." Videl eyed him nervously, several worst-case scenarios playing out behind her eyes.

Across the way, Mr. Satan was sneaking around to Buu's other side and trying to grab a chip again. His fingers almost brushed the bag before Buu turned deliberately away again, taunting him and sticking out his tongue with a loud laugh. Mr. Satan's brow furrowed as her considered the best way to get the jump on his friend.

"Yeah, between the three of us, we'll be just fine. She may not act like it anymore, but my mom was an amazing fighter herself once. Honestly, I think even if they managed to paralyze all of us Saiyans, she'd still take them down by herself!"

"Wow, that's awesome! I knew you'd mentioned that before, but I wasn't sure how much she still trained or practiced."

"Not much, honestly. But she was the one who kept training with Goten so he didn't get out of practice once I started school!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah!"

Bee was barking and wagging his tail merrily as Buu quickly turned away and protected his potato chips from each and every one of Mr. Satan's advances. The older man was growing more and more annoyed by his inability to get the snacks away from Buu and he went for a last-ditch effort.

"Buu, look! Candy!"

"Candy!?"

Mr. Satan finally managed to snag a handful of chips while Buu was distracted. Once he realized it, the pink giant turned back and pouted as he saw his friend place the snacks in his mouth, offering him a triumphant thumbs up.

"No fair! Mr. Satan cheated!"

"Ahahaha! You gotta be on the lookout for every underhanded tactic during a real battle of wits!"

"Hm. Buu win next time then."

"How're you gonna beat me when I can distract you so easily?" he cried out, grandstanding a bit. Buu just laughed.

"Like this!"

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Buu opened his mouth wide and shoved the actual bag and all the chips into his mouth before munching it all at once. Mr. Satan's mouth fell open and Gohan couldn't help but snort in amusement. Next to him, Videl cracked up, her delightful, gorgeous laughter ringing through the air like wind chimes on a spring day. He had to admit, though it was still a bit strange to see Buu act like part of the family at times, he certainly brought more joy to their lives than Gohan ever could have imagined back in May.

After unwinding with them for a bit longer, Gohan decided he should probably get home and make sure his mom wasn't too worried. After saying goodbye to Mr. Satan and Buu (and, of course, petting Bee), Gohan headed outside with Videl. She stepped out onto the porch behind him before easing the door closed. They were finally alone once more.

"How're you feeling Doll? I know today was a rough day."

"I'm…I'm okay, I think. I'm worried about how this might affect Sharpner and Erasa still. But they won't have to worry about being caught up in all this anymore; we'll put an end to it tomorrow. And once we do, we won't have to worry about the Black Gloves ever again." Gohan nodded firmly, a light smile on his face.

"Exactly. Try to get a good night's sleep tonight, okay? It's been a long day. I'll call you once I'm home to let you know I'm safe."

"Please do…uh…Gohan?" she began somewhat hesitantly.

"Everything alright?"

"Um…can I ask you something?" He got the sense that she was a little perturbed. Her face had fallen and her eyes were downcast.

"You can ask me anything, always. What's going on?" She took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"When I was talking to Juzai earlier…I had to threaten him. I…I bluffed; I gathered my ki in my hand and made it seem like I would blast him if he didn't give me the base. You and I both know I couldn't really do it even if I actually wanted to but…I dunno, even just threatening to kill him made me feel pretty awful."

Gohan wrapped his arms tightly around her before the last word fully left her mouth. She made a small sound of surprise but settled into his embrace quickly, her eyes closing and her head leaning against his chest. It felt like they hadn't spent any time alone for quite a while, especially compared to how long this particular day had dragged on.

"I'm sorry you had to go that far, Angel."

"It's okay…actually, there's more. After he gave in, he said…I was crazy. That he was the coward and I was the cold one now. Do you…think I'm cold?" Gohan took her face in his hands and kissed her nose lightly.

"Not even a little bit. Not even your nose! Seriously, you're the kindest, most selfless person I know."

"Did you…ever think I was cold? You know, back in the beginning?" Her eyes were swimming with worry and guilt.

"Of course not. You've been sweet and wonderful to me ever since we started dating."

"What about before that? I know I used to be a lot less likeable…" She averted her gaze and shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey, look at me Videl," he told her gently, letting his hands fall to her shoulders. Reluctantly, she met his gaze once more. "When we first met, we butted heads a bit from our situations, but I never thought you were cold. Suspicious of me, sure! But never cold. I saw the way you threw yourself into dangerous situations to save innocent people almost every day. I saw the way you were with Erasa. Heck, you were really concerned about me too that morning I got ambushed and didn't fight back so I didn't give myself away. So no, I don't think you've ever been cold. I do think you've come out of your shell around people a lot more though!"

"You remember all that?" she asked, finally smiling a bit.

"I remember everything about you."

"Papa's right – I really am the luckiest girl in the world to have you." Gohan felt himself blush in a way he hadn't in a little while. It was nice to feel her undivided attention focused on him, her sweet, warm words washing over him.

"And I'm the luckiest guy to have you. Make me a promise?"

"Sure."

"Don't let Juzai's words rattle you. He's nothing; he doesn't know you. I know you and I'm telling you you're not cold and you're not crazy either. You did what you had to do to protect your friends and family. That's all. I'd have done the exact same thing." At long last, a serene smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Sweetheart. I guess I just started worrying and overthinking a bit."

"It's okay; I do it too!"

"One more thing for us to work on together, huh?"

She floated upwards and kissed him softly, the crushing stress and tension of the day evaporating fully at long last as he felt that familiar electric feeling course through his body. She had such a way of making him centered and calm. And happy. Elated, really. After a few seconds, Videl touched back down and smiled up at him, her eyes shimmering with starlight once more.

Her good mood fully restored, she nestled into Gohan's embrace for several more long moments. "After this is all over, we seriously need to spend a day just cuddling and unwinding together."

"I'll take you up on that any time. We've had our hands full with these people for way too long."

"Once we find their base tomorrow, though, it's all over."

"You've got that right. Hope they weren't planning any more missions because today was their last one."

Videl met his gaze and they shared a look of steely determination. They had the location of the base. They had the support of Chief Kaneki and the police. And, most importantly, they had every reason to take the fight straight to them. They had gone too far today, threatening the people they cared about.

Tomorrow would be the end of the Black Gloves.

---

"Enter."

The sliding chrome doors parted and Koyo walked into his office, a concerned look on his face. "Uh…sorry to interrupt, Boss."

"It is of no concern. I take it you come bearing bad news?" The man grimaced and nodded slowly.

"Y-yeah. I finished my sweep of the school really early this morning. There's no clue or sign of who Saiyaman and his partner are. I mean, they had to have been in the school, right? But with everyone else in prison already, I can't really figure anything out. We're no closer to finding them than we were before yesterday's mission…"

A deep frown creased his brow. Yet another setback. Another failure. "How many can we count amongst our numbers now? Yesterday's mission consisted of thirty men and they have all been taken into custody. Do we have enough manpower to proceed with anything more at the moment?" Koyo shifted nervously.

"Not really, Boss. We have maybe ten men fully prepared and ready to go but the other bunch are in training still. They can't even use the Manifest Gloves properly just yet…"

"So we are, unfortunately, at a loss for the moment. So be it. It gives us time to reevaluate. The Paralyzer no longer functions the way it should, despite my best efforts to increase its performance. Though I do think we gained some valuable insight into the Great Saiyaman and his partner from yesterday's mission."

"What's that?"

"We were correct: they do attend public school in some capacity. The fact that it took them as long as it did to respond to the situation means they were caught unaware in the middle of the day. Our original hypothesis as to why they only arrived to aid the police in the afternoons and evenings was, more likely than not, accurate."

"So once we're prepared, we can hit 'em again?"

"We may need to be a bit more…delicate next time. A thirty-man takeover of a public high school is a costly mission to allocate manpower for. And with our track record of less than ideal results, perhaps we need to change the way we approach these missions. Smaller, more skilled groups might be to our benefit where Saiyaman and his partner are concerned." Koyo nodded.

"Understood. I'll update the training regimen for the new recruits. I'll have small groups start specializing in certain skillsets so we can use them in dedicated roles going forward."

"Excellent. I believe that might be to our benefit. We have failed far too many times as it is. If we do not find a way to succeed, I fear our ultimate goal will be a failure, too."

"Shall I get to it right away?" He nodded firmly.

"Yes. Please take care of the recruits and I shall devise our next course of action. There is still a chance we might yet succeed."

"Right away, Boss!" Koyo turned and left the room, the sliding doors whirring closed and plunging the office into its familiar muted light.

How did his men keep losing? Surely there was something he was missing. Evidently, Juzai and Yu had managed to paralyze the Great Saiyaman but not his partner. That meant he was a Saiyan; there was no doubt about that. But then why had the Paralyzer not succeeded in a similar fashion during the most recent bank robbery?

Having explored the theory of Bulma Briefs creating a countermeasure quite thoroughly, he was now convinced that was exactly the case. She was a brilliant mind; few could ever hope to rival her, much less surpass her. Though his intellect when it came to ki science was superior, her adaptability and resourcefulness seemed more difficult to overcome than he had originally expected.

First there had been the tracker in the transmitter Reed had sent to him. He harbored no animosity towards Reed; the police had backed him into a corner and he had used the only means he had at his disposal to avoid incarceration. It was a decision to prioritize oneself over anything else. Survival. He could find no fault with that. In fact, he would reward Reed for doing his job expertly and flawlessly, as promised. Though he could no longer rely on the man going forward, of course.

Finding that tracker had been a stroke of good fortune, though. If he had been less prepared for a scheme like that, the Saiyaman duo likely would have been on his doorstep many weeks ago. As it stood, it was likely they had attempted to find their base yesterday following the Orange Star attack. Luckily, they would only find a deserted little cabin out in the wilderness. Not even a temporary base he had once used. A useless decoy. Nothing more.

Now, however, he was starting to realize just how outclassed he was. If Bulma Briefs had indeed circumvented the Paralyzer and nothing he could do would change that fact, then his goals had been set back a nearly unfathomable degree. If he could no longer paralyze Saiyans, then he would never take revenge on Son Goku. And without that, he could never fulfill his true intentions. Perhaps he could attempt discerning a countermeasure of his own. If he managed a way to prevent his own Paralyzer from working, he may be able to develop a work around in response. Though it was a roll of the proverbial dice whether his own countermeasure would function the same way Bulma Briefs's did. In fact, the odds of him mirroring her own design by luck were infinitesimally small. Miniscule in a way he could not hinge his entire operation on. Then what was his next step…?

A rocking sensation suddenly caused the room to sway around him. That was strange…an earthquake, perhaps? It was a rare phenomenon in this part of the world, but not impossible. Writing it off as a simple tectonic shift, he returned his gaze to the monitor before him. If only he could figure out Bulma Briefs's solution to his Paralyzer…

"Boss!" The intercom on his desk went off. He sighed and resisted the urge to scoff. Why could no one do anything without his input? He pressed the button and spoke into it.

"Yes? Is something the matter?"

"We're under attack, Boss! It's them! The Saiya Squad!"

---

Videl and Gohan had found the base with surprising ease. Juzai hadn't led them astray and Gohan had sensed a handful of ki signatures within the underground bunker situated within the mountain. It had been incredibly easy for him to blast the door off its hinges and allow them entry to the base and now the Black Gloves were the ones caught off guard and scrambling. Videl had to admit it was exceedingly satisfying to be the ones on the offensive this time. They sped down a long corridor towards the location where Gohan felt a few ki signatures gathering.

"Ni-gō, after this group let's split up and corner the boss! If he gets away, there's a chance this doesn't end here! There are supposed to be several entrances to this place, right?"

"That's what he said, yeah! I agree; let's take out this room up ahead and then we can break!"

"Ready?"

"Yep!"

Gohan launched a searing blast at the next entry way, blowing the chrome doors inward violently. A few muffled cries sounded and, as they flew through the smoke, Videl noticed a few of the Black Gloves were trapped beneath the doors, unconscious. That hadn't exactly been their plan, but it was effective, nonetheless.

There were four men left on their feet, all of them terrified to be face to face with their enemies. Videl wasted no time in setting upon one of them, dancing around him before delivering a powerful kick to him and launching him clean across the room. A second one shot a ki blast at her but she deflected it automatically, grinning as she realized just how effortless the motion had become for her. She shot across the room like a rocket and delivered a blistering string of attacks that leveled him in seconds.

Gohan had dispatched the other two, unsurprisingly, and now the room was quiet, save for an alarm blaring in the distance. "Let's flush out the boss!" she called. Gohan nodded.

"Be careful! If you need me, pulse your ki three times!"

"I will!"

Each choosing a hallway to call their own, Videl hurried through the compound. The walls were all made of the same chrome material the doors were. There were no windows into the offshoots from the hall and she was constantly guessing where anything was. If she keyed in on her senses, she could just barely make out the signatures of the regular humans that were still inside the base. She was surprised by how well she could sense Gohan though; he was pretty far away but his presence was a vibrant and noticeable as ever. Maybe she was getting better at this, too.

Leaping through a door, she took two more men by surprise. They were in what appeared to be a cafeteria eating lunch and Videl wasted no time in introducing them rather viciously to all the tables in the room. After they were taken care of, she scanned the area but found it was another dead end. Returning to the hallway, she flew off again, searching for anything that might look like their boss's room.

'Damn…it all looks the same. Where is he?'

Videl was becoming more and more annoyed as she opened doors to empty rooms, dead ends, and more groups of lackeys. They were easy enough to take down but every time she had to stop and fight was time she was wasting. If they didn't corner him now, the boss might escape. If he did, this wasn't over. He didn't know who they were just yet, but she wasn't about to wait around until he figured it out. He was already too smart for his own good.

Just as she was about to give up on her section of the base, Videl felt a small ki signature somewhere below her. That wasn't Gohan; it was one of them. There was still a place she hadn't found yet. Trying her best to follow it, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself. It was moving away from her. But there was nothing but a wall behind her. That meant there was a passage somewhere ahead that led lower into the base, right? It was worth searching for.

Hurrying off again, Videl's sharp eyes scanned the walls, looking for some kind of door she hadn't found yet. Every entryway stood ajar already from her previous searching and there was nothing she'd missed.

'Where is it? Where…?'

Finally, she found a small hallway that led to a dead end. There was nothing there…but it looked awfully suspicious. No other alcove existed without a doorway at the end of it except this one. Maybe it was a hidden entrance. If this person was a student of Dr. Gero the way Bulma and Eighteen had theorized, it wasn't beyond reason that there were hidden passageways in this place, not after Gohan had told her about the secret lab Cell had been in.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Videl knocked on the wall. It felt and sounded normal. She continued until she found a spot that sounded particularly hollow. Suppressing a satisfied smirk, she pushed on the wall until she felt something give. In a second, the wall rotated, revealing a hidden staircase behind the otherwise-inconspicuous dead end. Now she let herself smirk. All those detective novels and movies with Mama growing up had paid off after all.

Racing down the stairs, she emerged into another long hallway, this one without any doors attached to it. Flying as quickly as she could, she rounded a corner and saw a singular door standing ajar. Glancing within it, she noted an enormous lab area with a small offshoot containing an office. That looked an awful lot like someplace the boss might work, especially if he was the one developing the Ki Suppressor and the gloves.

Reaching out with her senses, she felt the small presence still moving away from her, though she had made considerable progress in catching up. That must be him. Videl pulsed her ki three times to call Gohan before blasting off again, rushing towards the signal as quickly as she could. After a few more twists and turns, her eyes finally fell on someone.

Actually, she realized with surprise, there were two someones. Perhaps she wasn't as adept as sensing ki as she'd thought she was. Oh well, she still had them cornered at last. "Stop right there!" she shouted.

The two men glanced over their shoulder and Videl took in their appearances. One was fairly nondescript – a shorter man with decent muscle mass wearing a tank-top and what appeared to be gym shorts. No, he wasn't the one of interest. It was the other man that made her look more carefully.

This man was tall and lanky, about Gohan's height. His solid black slacks and button-down were offset by a sparkling white lab coat that he wore over top. Even though they were indoors, sunglasses adorned his face. Most importantly, though, he had very long black hair, tied back in a ponytail that nearly reached his calves. Exactly the same description they had heard from Reed. This was the boss. She had found him at last.

"So you're the one in charge," she shot at him. He couldn't see her eyes but the fierce glare on her face was obvious from her frown alone. The man brushed his hair to the side and offered her a polite bow.

"Welcome, Great Saiyaman No. 2. I hope you might forgive the lack of hospitality; I was not made aware that I would be entertaining guests today, you see." His voice was smooth and deep, almost a little too suave for the kind of person she knew him to be. Though, there had to be some reason people kept flocking to him and his organization. Perhaps he was just that charismatic.

"What are you talking about?" she replied, flashing a half-grin at him. "We had a very warm welcome from your boys upstairs. Seems like we caught them before the surprise party was prepared though; sorry about that."

"What the hell do you want?" the shorter man shouted all at once, pointing his gloved hand at her. She snapped into a combat stance but taller man raised his hand.

"Now, now, Koyo, there is no need to get agitated. Thus far our friend here has only wanted to converse with us. We can spare her that luxury for a few moments more." Reluctantly, the stout man stepped back, though he never fully lowered his arm.

"How cordial of you." This was fine; the more time he wasted, the closer Gohan would be to joining her and trapping them entirely. It was a big compound and she had to hope Gohan would find the hidden stairway quickly, though. She had left the entry open, of course, but it would still take him several minutes to find her in all likeliness. She would keep him talking just in case he was more slippery than she thought. She couldn't afford to let him get away.

"I pride myself on my manners, after all." His sickeningly smooth voice seemed to wash over the entire hallway around her.

"And yet you have me at a loss; you know my name but I don't know yours." Maybe she could get some information out of him in the meantime.

"Alas, I do not know your real name either, unless 'Great Saiyaman No. 2' is actually what your parents decided to call you at birth. So if we're only using titles, you may call me 'Boss' the way everyone else does."

"You're not my boss, though; it hardly seems fair that that's the title you go with."

"Though you are correct, shamefully I can offer you no other at the moment. I am afraid 'Boss' will have to suffice." Videl never let her guard drop, eyeing both of them suspiciously. The man he had referred to as Koyo seemed twitchy still. And Gohan, though closing in, was still a fair distance away.

"I guess I'll just have to live with it. But it looks like this is the end of the line, Boss. I'm not gonna let you get away. So before I turn you over to the Satan City Police Department, why don't you answer a few of my questions? Things the general public won't really know about." Boss raised an eyebrow, the hint of a bemused smile appearing on his lips.

"So there are things even the police are ignorant of. I would assume you are referring to the existence of Saiyans, if I were to hazard a guess."

"That's right. How did you learn about them?"

"My father told me of their existences."

"Who was your father?"

"My, how forward of you. We barely know what to refer to one another as."

"Enough sass. Start talking." Boss chuckled lightly.

"From all accounts of your personality, you are exactly as tenacious and unfaltering as I have been informed. A compromise, then: I will not tell you my father's name, but I will tell you the genesis of my mission."

"Fine, I can live with that for now." At least he was giving her something.

"My father lost everything because of the Saiyans, one in particular. Son Goku took everything from him. I assume you are familiar with that name?" Videl's face had contorted in surprise as he had spoken. Goku? She knew he had many enemies, but when had he taken everything from someone? Goku didn't have a violent, destructive past the way Vegeta did…

"I am, yeah."

"Unsurprising, given your knowledge of Saiyans in general. If my hypothesis is correct, the original Great Saiyaman is a Saiyan himself. Regardless, though, my father lost everything because of Son Goku. So it is my life's goal to exact vengeance upon him."

"What kind of vengeance?"

"I must end his life, of course." Videl scoffed.

"And you think your little group of street-thugs-turned-organized-failures can overcome Son Goku's strength? The man who killed Majin Buu?" Boss seemed at a loss for several seconds.

"Majin…Buu…? It makes little difference what entities he has overcome, to be quite honest with you. As long as I could trap him within my Paralyzer, he can be killed like any other being as his ki will no longer protect him. Unfortunately, you and your partner have proven that my design still has several flaws to be ironed out as of late." Videl was notably thrown off. He didn't seem to recognize Buu's name. How was that possible? But more importantly…

"So, you really were testing your machine to see if it was ready for Goku. Unfortunate that you'll never get the chance to use it on him."

"Oh I would hesitate to go quite that far."

"Why's that?"

As if he had been waiting for a signal, Koyo fired a dark ki blast at her, crying out as he did so. Boss turned on his heel and prepared to hurry away but Videl had been more than prepared for an ambush. She slapped the blast with the back of her hand, reflecting it directly at Koyo. He swore loudly but couldn't move in time and the black energy collided with his torso, sending him careening through the air and skidding to a stop several yards away.

Boss had started running during the commotion and Videl blasted off, shooting down the hallway and closing the gap between them in seconds. "Oh no you don't!" she cried out, throwing a powerful kick towards his side.

If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed what happened next. Boss spun gracefully on his heel, planting his feet again and raising his arm, catching her kick as if he had been waiting for it. He repelled her and leapt backwards, skidding to a halt with ten yards between them now. Videl was stunned. Not only had he moved a lot faster than she'd thought him capable, he had also blocked one of her more powerful kicks. He wasn't just a normal lab nerd after all.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "You're not normal, not if you can block a kick of that magnitude the way you just did." Boss laughed, a smarmy, confident laugh that got her hackles raised.

"I suppose the cat is out of the bag now. You are correct; I am not simply a normal inventor. Alas, I see your partner is fast approaching our location so I must make my exit. Apologies for ending our conversation so abruptly, Ni-gō."

Videl ground her teeth; the implication that he had been listening in on them from the beginning was nothing more than an annoyance at this point, but she bristled at the thought of anyone else calling her by one of the unique names Gohan used for her, even her Saiyaman alias. He turned quickly and gave her a wave before preparing to make a run for it again.

"I already said you're not getting away!" she roared, blasting forward. She'd had just about enough of his arrogance. It was time to put an end to the Black Gloves and their precious Boss, right here, right now.

"I suppose we have to do this the hard way, then," he sighed, squaring his shoulders and turning to face her once more.

Videl was closing in on him quickly; there was no chance he evaded her. Her mind ground to a screeching halt, though, when he raised his hand and fired a yellow blast of energy at her. 'It's not artificial!'

Caught off guard, Videl threw her arms in front of her and focused her aura in them like she'd been taught, taking the brunt of the blast easily enough. The cloud of energy that obscured her vision was dissipating quickly and he wouldn't be able to put much meaningful distance between them in the few seconds it would take to have her vision back. Which is why it was all the more surprisingly when she discovered that he wasn't trying to put distance between them at all. He had closed it.

Boss appeared through the golden cloud and took a swing at her. She blocked the attack with some difficulty. She wasn't fighting at her full strength but it was clear from that punch alone that he was considerably stronger than the rest of the Black Gloves. She had to take this seriously. She blocked a surprisingly powerful kick from the man and slid several yards back, preparing to raise her aura as high as she could and put an end to this. Suddenly, Boss's eyes flashed down the hallway behind her.

"I do hope we can continue this some other time!" He pointed his hand at the ceiling and fired another ki blast, this one fast and precise. It caused him no harm to do so. He was in complete control of the energy. She couldn't even do that.

Was he trying to cause a distraction or block her path? Either way, she could still take him down. She was just a second too slow though in moving and, hearing something snap, glanced up just in time to see several large chunks of ceiling caving in on her. Screwing her eyes shut and bracing for a painful impact, Videl raised her energy as high as she could and hoped for the best. Perhaps with her ki this high, the pieces of metal and glass that were about to rain atop her wouldn't do that much damage.

Whatever impact she had braced for never came, however. In less than a second, she felt a familiar embrace engulf her, rushing her out of the way before she felt a thing. Her stomach lurched as she was pulled backwards faster than she could fathom and, an instant later, the hallway was filled with the screaming sound of metal on metal and the shattering of glass fixtures.

Once the chaos had subsided, she opened her eyes. Of course, it was Gohan who had saved her from the debris. Glancing over her shoulder, she found the hallway entirely caved in. She wouldn't have just been a little bruised from taking that impact…though it wouldn't have killed her, certainly. Still, there was a barrier between themselves and Boss now.

"Was that him? The leader?" Gohan asked hurriedly. She nodded.

"Yeah, that's him."

"I couldn't sense him until he fired that first blast at you. Who is he?" His face was perturbed and Videl honestly wasn't sure how to answer.

"I don't know, but if you go after him, maybe you can stop him from getting away! I'm fine!" He chewed his lip for a moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! I promise I'm okay! I'll wrap things up here, you go after Boss! That's why we're here!" He seemed to snap back into mission mode at her words.

"You're right, I'm on it! Be right back!"

Gohan stepped in front of Videl and fired an incredible ki wave down the hallway, disintegrating the pile of debris that had barred their path. Shooting forward so fast it nearly knocked Videl off her feet, she watched as his red cape vanished down the long hallway before turning another corner. She smiled as she watched him disappear from sight; Gohan would get him. There was no way Boss could take her hero by surprise.

She turned back towards the corridor she had come down, walking to Koyo and stopping next to him, pressing a familiar button on her watch. A few seconds later, Chief Kaneki's voice sounded through the small speaker.

"Ah, Great Saiyaman No. 2, I was wondering when I'd hear from you. We're in position; is it all clear to enter the compound?" Videl smiled. It hadn't gone off without a hitch, but their plan had worked out quite well in the end.

"Almost. I'm heading back to the main entrance right now; I'll lead you through the base just in case there are one or two we missed, but I don't think we'll have any more trouble from the Black Gloves."

"Excellent to hear! We'll await your return by the entrance and prepare to take the remainder of the group into custody."

This was it – the end of the Black Gloves. All that still remained was to cuff and subdue the last members of the group and wait for Gohan to return with Boss. After that, things could finally calm down again. It had been a long road getting here, but it looked like things were finally over.

Life was never quite that simple though, was it…?

---

"I'm sorry I couldn't find him," Gohan managed softly, hanging his head in shame.

"It's okay; it's not your fault. We underestimated him," Videl comforted him, placing a hand gently on his arm.

They were still inside the Black Gloves' compound. Kaneki and the police had removed every remaining member of the group and packed them up inside squad cars. Now, they were taking as much as they could from the base itself, intent on bringing it back to the city and learning as much about the organization as possible.

Gohan was frustrated. He had never seen Boss again after he had saved Videl from the falling ceiling. There had been a few long, straight hallways between them and the back exit, but he was nowhere within the walls of the compound. How had he moved that fast? And, more perturbing, he couldn't sense the man. He had flown around the mountain after emerging outside and felt around as precisely as he could manage, but he never locked onto him again. In fact, he could only feel Boss's energy signature when he fired ki blasts. And they weren't the same artificial ki blasts that the gloves generated, either. Who was he? Why was he that adept at suppressing his own ki signature and where had he learned such control?

There was also the fact that he wanted to kill Gohan's father. While this wasn't the first (or second, or third) time someone had a grudge against Goku so potent they wanted to end his life, it was the first time in his memory that they had played their hand so subtly. Usually it was beings like Vegeta and Frieza, blustering and grandstanding about how they would end his life and use him as a stepping stone for greater power. But this time, things felt different. Maybe something in Boss's computer would give them some greater insight.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to stop him," Videl whispered at last, badly frustrated as she looked back on the confrontation. Gohan shook his head, squeezing her shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault either. Like you said, we underestimated him. And you fought well. You were taken by surprise by an enemy who's clearly a lot stronger than we realized and you held your own even when he had the initiative. That's amazing when you consider where we started back in June!" She allowed a tiny smile to grace her pink lips.

"Thank you. I'm actually pretty happy that I reacted as well as I did, especially to the ki blasts. But I should have been fighting at full power after he blocked my first kick. That should have been enough to tell me he was dangerous enough to take seriously…"

"It's hard to know when to hold back and when not to, especially when you're not fighting a world ending monster like Buu or Cell. You were afraid if you overdid it, you might seriously injure him before we could learn anything from him, right?" She sighed heavily.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. But if I'd just done it anyway, he wouldn't have escaped…"

"Don't beat yourself up, okay? We were on the backfoot this time, but next time we meet him, we'll know not to underestimate him." Videl raised her face to his.

"You really think we'll find him again?"

"Absolutely. If his goal is to kill my dad, he won't go far. Sometimes these people lay in wait for a long time, but they always come out of hiding eventually. Something about that smile of his probably drives them crazy," he grinned, trying to lighten the mood. Videl laughed lightly.

"Guess we'd better keep training then so I can have a second shot at him next time."

"You'll get more than a second shot; next time we meet, you'll be the one to beat him. I'm sure of it." Videl smiled a bit more widely.

"What would I do without you? Speaking of, thank you for saving me when the ceiling collapsed earlier."

"Always. I'm glad I got there in time. Something like that wouldn't have hurt you that badly, but I hate seeing you in any kind of pain; you know that."

"I know. I feel the same way about you. But at least for today, neither of us got hurt. And maybe we didn't get Boss, but we did put an end to the rest of the Black Gloves and took their base! That's worth something! He won't be attacking high schools anymore with no more personnel left." Gohan grinned at her.

"You've got that right! And even if he is stronger, Boss won't be able to take us both down. He's still backed into a corner at this point. We'll just wait for him to resurface and keep an eye on things until he does. This is basically over."

"I think so too."

"Saiya Squad," came the familiar voice of Chief Kaneki. The older man entered the main lobby they were waiting in with a giant grin on his face. "I've been looking for you! We've completed our sweep of the compound. Every member of the Black Gloves has been taken into custody and all useful items and materials have been removed from the base as planned. I must say, even without their leader, this raid operation of yours worked out exceedingly well!"

"Thanks Chief, it was my partner's idea and I think it turned out great too," Gohan said, smiling over towards Videl. All in all, it had turned out quite well. "So, we're all done with this compound then?"

"I certainly think so! You mentioned earlier that there was a final part of the plan you'd tell me later. What are you two scheming?" he asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Videl laughed.

"We're gonna blow this place up." His mouth fell open.

"Um…is that wise?"

"The way we see it," she continued, clearly tickled by his reaction, "if this is where Boss was developing things like the paralyzer and the gloves, then destroying it limits his ability to produce those things pretty heavily. He could always come back here after we left, but if we blast it to smithereens, then he's out of a base and a lab." Kaneki managed to recompose himself before nodding.

"I see. That does make sense. I simply ask that you wait until the police force is far enough away that they won't see it. I'm not sure I could explain to the others that their allies in crime fighting are actually strong enough to nuke a site from orbit." The grizzled chief began laughing merrily. He was usually far more serious; their success today must have put him in an exceptionally good mood.

"It's a promise," Gohan agreed, nodding firmly.

"Oh, Chief?" Videl began, earning his twinkling gaze. "About what we discussed last night regarding Juzai."

"Right," Kaneki said, his face souring a bit. "As much as I hate letting that beast of a man walk free…he gave us this base on a silver platter and was the reason we were able to pull off this plan of yours today. I'll work on eliminating his sentence. It probably won't happen right away, but rest assured that he should be out of the system and free come November." Videl nodded, offering him a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you Chief. I'm sorry I had to make that promise without your knowledge." He shook his head.

"Think nothing of it. You have excellent detective's intuition; I'd have done the same thing myself if it meant putting an end to all this. Now! I'll get everyone back to Satan City and we'll start going through the items we've seized today. Once it's all organized, might I ask the two of you and Bulma to drop by and take a look at the information? It'll probably mean more to you than to us." Gohan felt his heart lighten. Maybe they could track down their lost leader after all. It was possible there was some telling personal information in those files.

"We'd be happy to," he assured Kaneki. "Just let us know when you're ready and we'll be there."

The three left the compound and, once the Chief had completed his head count, the Satan City Police returned to their cars and disappeared towards the horizon, the remainder of the Black Gloves packed away neatly for the ride.

"Not bad for a plan we concocted just last night," Videl sang, smiling over at Gohan. He chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.

"It was your plan, Angel, you deserve all the credit here! Kaneki's right, by the way; you'll make an amazing detective someday!" An adorable pink blush bloomed to life across Videl's cheeks and she rested her head on his shoulder, taking his gloved hand in hers.

"I love you. Thank you for always being here for me, Darling."

"I always will be. And thank you for the same. I love you too." After a long, comfortable silence, Gohan drew a deep breath and grinned down at her. "All right! Shall we wrap this up? I don't sense anyone left in the base and the police have gotta be far enough away by now." Videl smirked.

"Let's do it! I can't wait to see this, it's gonna be so satisfying."

Gohan and Videl lifted off into the air, rising high up into the sky and moving back a fair distance. He asked Videl to back away just a bit more but she insisted on staying close, wanting to feel the way he used his ki to generate such a powerful blast that he could annihilate the entire compound at once. He couldn't bring himself to turn her down.

"Here goes!" he called out.

"I'm ready!"

Lifting his hands, he focused on the mountainside and drew in a deep breath. Letting out a loud roar, a massive wave of golden energy exploded from his palms, slamming into the compound seconds later. A massive explosion rocked the earth and, after the tremendous flash of light that accompanied the attack, they saw billowing black smoke erupting from what used to be the Black Gloves' base.

"That was incredible! Looks like a success to me!" Videl cried out, her voice excited and amazed.

"Sure does! We can come back some other time to be sure we really got it all, but I doubt anything survived that. Mission accomplished!"

"Mission accomplished!" Videl echoed, giving him an animated thumbs up. They broke into laughter together, the lightest they'd felt since the attack on Orange Star the previous day. Sure, Boss had escaped, but he'd resurface eventually. He had no manpower, no base, and no way to actually achieve his goals. Once he reappeared, they'd take him down and put the final cherry on top of the proverbial sundae.

"Now," she continued, smiling widely at him, "what do you say we head home? It's been a long twenty-four hours and I just want to relax and cuddle with you." Gohan felt a big, goofy smile creep across his own face.

"That sounds like heaven to me, 'Del. Lead the way!"

---

12/30/2022

---

Post-Chapter Note: So that's that! The end of the Black Gloves, after all this time. Though not the end of Boss. Only time will tell what happens in the next several chapters because we're not to the finish line just yet!

I was a bit torn on whether or not I wanted to include the "Buu plays keep away with Mr. Satan" bit in the middle but honestly I felt like the tone had been too much on the serious side for just a bit too long. In the anime, even at its most serious, there are little moments of levity and hilarity (or stupidity) that break up those more intense arcs and stories, so I tried to emulate that here a bit. I'm not sure how well it really worked, but I hope it was at least a funny little scenario to imagine for a few seconds!

Also, it's so much fun to be able to write Videl slowly turning into the kind of fighter I think she always should have become - the official media did her so wrong :( It's a ton of fun to think about this "what-if" scenario where Videl essentially becomes a Z Warrior though. She's not fully there yet, of course, but this story won't end with her skills or future being up in the air, I'll guarantee you that!

Next time, things will slow down again and we'll get some more fluffy, fun times for everyone! But I hope you enjoyed this little foray into the more serious tonal shifts Dragonball can be known for from time to time and I hope I did it well enough to keep you invested throughout this mini-arc. Thank you again so much for reading and I'll see you all again next week! Happy New Year!