Chapter 16

Evening in Satan City was already coming around and taking its place as the sun had set and the weather became cool and crisp. Nearly everyone was seated at the dining table in the Satan household enjoying a delicious dinner and just having an enjoyable time before their day ended. Goten had finished his dinner pretty fast and was spending a good chunk of time outside in the yards playing with Bee. The occupants at the table consisted of Gohan, Videl, Hercule, Sharpener, Erasa and Buu. With Mr. Satan's consent, the young couple invited their two classmates over for dinner not just because they wanted to have a good time with them but also to talk about… something important.

Empty glass cups, plates and bowls were stacked up in a huge pile as food was passed around the group. The leftovers were packed in the fridge just in case Goten wanted any more during the night.

"Mmmm… this is yummy!" Erasa complimented as she stuffed some ramen in her mouth. "It's so much better than the food I have at home!"

"Same here," Sharpener praised, taking a sip of his cocktail drink. "This is so delicious!"

"Well, our cooks certainly did a fine job with the food this evening." Mr. Satan said as he took a bite of his sushi roll.

"Goten loved it so much that he had so many rounds." Gohan grinned as he thought of how his brother stuffed the food in his mouth with no proper manners before he headed out the door to play with Bee.

"It's great to just have you guys around for an amazing dinner." Videl smiled at her best friends as she was finishing the lasagna on her plate. "You guys should come over more often."

"We certainly will," Erasa reassured, taking a napkin and wiping her mouth with it. "Once we're not needed at home so much."

"Buu loves all this food!"

Gohan's attention went elsewhere as he stared out a window which gave him a good view of the big yards outside. He easily caught sight of his little brother playing a game of catch with Bee. The boy tossed a frisbee at the labrador dog who caught it with his sharp teeth. They were at it for a while before they eventually stopped. Goten went over to pet Bee who was wagging his tail repeatedly. He started to run away, and Bee chased after him. They went around in circles until Goten accidentally tripped and as he was staggering back up, the canine pounced on him, licking his face.

It brought an instant smile to Gohan's face, seeing just how joyful his brother had been since they moved here for the time being. Since coming here, he had made it his mission to see his brother content no matter what. Even going as far as to pack all leftovers for him and telling him that he could stop by his bedroom during the night if he ever needed to talk.

"Awww, look at him," Erasa cooed as she too was staring out the window, observing the small boy. She rested her face against her palms like she were daydreaming. "Your brother is sooooo cute Gohan!"

"It's great seeing him as a happy little child after everything he's been through," Sharpener remarked as he watched Goten stand back up and chase Bee around the yard.

"He's such an active kid, it's surprising." Mr. Satan commented with a smile. "And Bee seems to really love him!"

"The fact that he's enjoying himself is enough to make me happy for the rest of the day." Gohan said while he watched them play together without anything stopping them. "He's so full of life, I could watch him go for hours."

"Buu thinks he deserves to be happy!"

Tears welled in Videl's eyes. "You're such a great big brother, you know that? Always looking after him."

Gohan glanced back at his girlfriend with a smile before he looked back at the window. "I know…"

Everyone watched them for a bit until they all decided to gather their plates after supper. "So… ummm… not to bring the mood down but… what did you manage to find last night?" Erasa asked her friend.

"That's… another reason why we invited you two here." Gohan admitted. "So we could share my findings with you."

"It's okay brains." Sharpener said as he shrugged it off. "Tell us, what did you find?"

Gohan shoved his plates away and drummed his fingers against the dining table. "I followed Chichi to her lawyer's place and thankfully, I didn't get caught in the process. I hid somewhere safe and recorded their entire conversation. They plan on using drugs to frame my dad and Chichi thought of this crazy idea of injuring herself with a knife and making my dad look like the culprit. Not only that, but her lawyer plans on creating fake pictures, audio files and text messages containing information which will make him out to be an abusive spouse and father."

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Sharpener shrieked, jumping back in his seat as if in fright.

"I can't believe it…" Erasa trembled, her hands shaking.

"What in the world…" Mr. Satan said, shocked and afraid. "She's doing all this just to frame Goku and win custody of Goten?"

"Buu thinks she's crazy!"

"I wish we could say it's false, but it's not," Videl mumbled.

"There's more," Gohan continued to explain. "I also found out the identity of 'Lawyer Nikushimi'." His hand tightened on his drinking cup as rage filled his entire being. "I wish all of this was one big lie, but it's not. He's not really a lawyer, but he…" His voice started to shake as it was still difficult to believe. Videl grasped his hand for support, and he gave her a brief smile of appreciation before turning his attention back to the group. "…he actually used to be a member of the Red Ribbon Army."

Sharpener was finishing up the rest of his cocktail and when he heard this, he spit out his drink across the dining table. "EXCUSE ME-!?"

Erasa held a tiny plate in her hands which she accidentally dropped to the floor, shattering it to pieces. Her hands were shaking as she struggled to get her thoughts across, fear etched all over her face. "W-What… what did you say!? Did you just say…"

"he's… he's a member of the Red Ribbon Army!?" Mr. Satan stuttered, finishing Erasa's sentence. Him and Buu exchanged fearful glances at each other then back at Gohan. They paid no attention to the shattered glass pieces on the floor.

Gohan slowly nodded, finding their reactions unsurprising. "Yep… he was. And his name isn't really Nikushimi. His real name is General White."

"Oh dear god…" Erasa trembled in her seat, grabbing fistfuls of her hair as if they were doomed. "If he's a member of the Red Ribbon Army of all organizations, then could he…"

Sharpener didn't hesitate to finish that. "Could he be planning to take over the world at some point!?"

Neither of them could speak out of extreme fear as the news just came as a total shock to them. The most famous lawyer turning out to be a former member of the RRA? This was totally insane.

"Well…" Videl started to say. "General White said in the recording that he just wants to get rid of Goku. That's it."

"Buu… Buu don't know what to say…"

"I can't believe he kept up this lie for so long…" Mr. Satan stumbled.

"Once the whole world learns of his true identity, it's over for him." Videl reassured.

Just as they were struggling to process this information, it seemed like Gohan had more to say. "You're not going to believe this but… General White also has a connection to my dad." He said out of the blue.

"HUH!?" Erasa shrieked.

"What the hell!?" Sharpener yelped.

"B-But how?" Mr. Satan asked in surprise.

"Buu wants to know how!"

Gohan didn't intend to mention everything he heard. Luckily, he only needed to mention the most important stuff. "Years ago, my dad came to this place called Jingle Village while General White had the residents enslaved. He was a kid at the time of his arrival and fought real hard against the other RRA members until he encountered General White. After their brutal fight, he was presumed dead but he survived and now wants revenge against my dad for the RRA's downfall years ago. So that's why he's helping Chichi and representing her in court as her 'lawyer.'

"No way… that's impossible…" Mr. Satan stuttered.

"I just can't believe any of this…" Erasa mumbled, then she became serious. "This is crazy… Gohan, you need to tell your dad about this!"

"For sure Gohan." Sharpener followed up. "Your dad needs to know that his wife and old enemy are plotting against him. It's insane!"

He knew they had a point. "You guys are right. My dad deserves to know all this. And I plan to tell him when-"

He was cut off as soon as he heard a pinging sound coming from his phone, and he knew that someone had just sent him a text message. "Hold on a sec." Gohan fished out his phone and saw that it was Bulma who just texted him. He typed in the password and tapped on the chat bubble to see her message.

Bulma:

Hi Gohan, just letting you know that the reunion party starts tomorrow at 1:00pm. Make sure you let Videl, Mr. Satan, Buu and Goten know about it, okay?

"What's up?" Videl asked, curious. "Who messaged you?"

Gohan looked up at everyone excitedly, holding his phone up in the air for them all to see the message. "Guys, look! Bulma just told me the party starts tomorrow at one so we should all be there on time!"

Mr. Satan felt relieved to hear the news. "Sounds great. I was thinking that maybe she forgot about it or something." He then turned to his pink friend with a huge smile, gripping his shoulders. "Buu, make sure you're ready for a big party tomorrow. I'm certain there's going to be lots of food and candy there!"

"Buu can't wait! Buu loves food! Buu loves candy!"

"That's great," Videl said in relief. "We finally know what time the party is going to start. Now I have to start looking through my closet for something suitable to wear. If only I knew earlier, then I would have gone shopping for a new outfit."

All this left Erasa and Sharpener confused, as the topic suddenly shifted from the current predicament to a party. Both knew that they were missing something.

Erasa just blinked at the sudden news. "Wait, wait, wait… party?"

Sharpener felt as if time had briefly stopped. "There's going to be a party?"

With both of his classmates and best friends not having a clue what was going on, Gohan knew he had to give them answers. He lowered his hand and began to explain, "Bulma is throwing a party at Capsule Corp tomorrow afternoon. We actually knew about it for a while, but it was just now that she let me know the date."

Sharpener slowly turned his head to his blonde friend. "…isn't tomorrow the weekend Erasa?"

"Y-Yeah, it is so there's no school…" Erasa then started to feel this sudden urge to attend this party, being that she was a huge party person and didn't want an opportunity like this to go to waste. "Can Sharpener and I come?" She asked, putting on a puppy dog face in an effort to make him consent. "Pretty please?"

"Yeah, can we!? We're pretty much done with all our homework and we don't have any tests to study for next week! Plus, I just like giving it my all at a party!" Sharpener chimed in, eyes begging his friend to say yes.

Gohan chuckled. "Alright, I'll ask Bulma if you two can come."

"YES! Ohmygod, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Erasa squealed like it was the best thing ever and started to do a happy dance while still seated in her chair.

"I can bring my electric guitar. I've been practicing for quite a while and I think I'm pretty good now," Sharpener said, causing Erasa to stop dancing.

"Great idea!" Erasa agreed. "And I play the piano pretty well. I can bring mine to the party! Oh, and I have an idea! With the two of us together, we can form a band!"

Sharpener grinned. "I like that idea. Our band can be called…" He started to think of possible names and then he snapped his fingers. "…the Orange Star Band!"

Erasa stared at him in open mouthed excitement. "You're a genius, Sharpener!"

The two high-fived each other as they came to an agreement. Then they started to discuss possible songs to play at the party. There were so many options to choose from, but all they knew was that they were going to have a fun time.

"Wait a minute…" Erasa cut her friend off just as he was about to say something, feeling as if something was amiss. "Sharpener, don't we need a singer for our band?"

"I suppose we need one." Sharpener said in agreement as he folded his arms in deep thought. "Our band won't be complete without a singer. But who is going to sing for us?"

Erasa looked up at the dining room ceiling, thinking of who the band's singer could be. "Hmmm… let's see… how about… Angela!"

Gohan was busy writing back to Bulma when he heard that name being mentioned out of the blue. He looked back at his female friend in horror. "ANGELA!?"

"Yes, her. She loves partying and she loves to sing too!"

"That's a great idea Erasa!" Sharpener praised his friend for her quick thinking. "Angela will be thrilled to come!"

The blonde took out her phone. "Great! I'll text her right now!"

"A-Are you sure?" Gohan couldn't say he was thrilled about seeing that girl since the last time he ever heard from her, she blackmailed him into going on a date with her. That was the worst experience of his life and now she was coming to the party? The thought of seeing her again after what she put him through was horrifying.

"Yes, I'm sure." Erasa said happily, not even noticing how scared her friend was. "I know she'll put on a wonderful performance!"

Erasa starts to text Angela and gets an instant response from her. "Nice! Angela says she'll come and be the singer for our Orange Star Band! Isn't that great, Sharpener?"

"It is!"

Videl started to clap her hands as she was happy for her two friends, but unaware of her boyfriend's displeasure about the whole thing. "Great! Now you guys have a singer for your band!"

Now Gohan didn't even know how he was going to enjoy the party with 'her' around. "S-Sounds awesome…" Then he internally thought, 'Why is this happening to me? Of all the people they could have chosen as a singer, they had to invite ANGELA of all people. I can't stomach the thought of speaking to her, so I guess I'll just have to avoid her at all costs.'

Erasa stretched her arms. "Now that's settled, I've got to go home and prepare for the party. You said it starts at one o'clock tomorrow, right Gohan?"

Gohan faked a smile as he replied, "Yes, it does." He typed up a quick message to Bulma and asked her for permission for 'three' of his friends to show up at the party. She responded instantly and was on board with them coming. Even though he wasn't too happy about it, what choice did he have in the matter? None.

"I've got to get going too." Sharpener said as he stood up from his chair and grabbed his backpack.

Everyone soon vacated from the dining table. Just as they were about to head for the front door Videl, Mr. Satan, Sharpener, Gohan, and Buu looked down and noticed the shattered glass pieces on the floor near where the blonde girl sat. "What the…" Mr. Satan said in shock, having not noticed that before.

Erasa gazed down at the floor and winced, then looked back up at everyone sheepishly, especially at her best friend and Hercule. "I'm so sorry about that you two, I-I was just so shocked about the current news that I just… it just happened. I'm so sorry if you want I could-"

Mr. Satan shrugged it off. "You don't have to apologize. We can easily replace that."

Videl wasn't bothered by it either, she completely understood. "You just go home and prepare for tomorrow."

Erasa looked relieved as she held her backpack over her shoulder. "Alright, thanks for inviting us over for dinner!"

"Yeah," Sharpener praised. "Dinner was awesome!"

Mr. Satan waved it off. "We're happy to have you two around whenever."

"Hey Videl, in case you can't find anything good in your wardrobe, I can bring you something from my house before the party starts. I have tons of outfits which may fit you." Erasa offered.

"No thanks," Videl turned down the offer. "I'm pretty sure I can find something."

With that being said, they all headed to the front door. Hercule did the honours of opening the door for them. Just before they left, Sharpener and Erasa bid their final farewells to the group and left the residence. Gohan waved at them and then looked up at the sky in realization. "Goten is still playing in the yard. He has to come back inside before it's too late! I'll be right back!"

"Be sure to bring back Bee as well!" Mr. Satan yelled out.

"I will!"

Gohan then ran towards the back of the residence and towards the yards to retrieve his brother and the labrador dog. Videl, Mr. Satan and Buu went back inside to handle the dirty dishes after their huge dinner and after that, they would need a long rest for tomorrow.

"There you go, hon." Goku released his partner as they were finally back at their house in Jingle Village, right behind the front entrance. While leaving Korin's Sacred Land, they came to an agreement that he would fly back home, so he wasted no time in lifting his girlfriend up and shooting off into the skies. Both were talking about their pleasant experience nonstop the entire time back home.

Suno landed on the doorstep as her boyfriend let go of her waist, while her lips curled into a bright smile. "I have to say, I really enjoyed myself back there. You were right, Upa and his family are really nice people. Thanks for bringing me along."

"It's no problem. And some other time, I can take you to meet Korin and Yajirobe too." Goku returned her pretty smile as he raised a hand to the front door, ready to knock on it. "We shouldn't be out here for too long in case there's a snowstorm."

Suno took a quick glimpse back. From the looks of it there didn't appear to be any signs of one coming, but her boyfriend did have a point as the village had unexpected snowstorms in the past. "You're right."

Just as he was about to knock, a vibrating sound was heard from inside Goku's pocket, causing him to retract his hand from the door. "Oh, that's my phone!" He said in realization while he pulled out the device to see who had messaged him. His face brightened when he saw who it was. "It's Bulma!"

Suno stood on her toes in an attempt to see the text. "What did she say to you?"

"Let's see…" Goku mused as his friend's chat bubble showed up on the top of his screen. "it's about the party." He started to read it out loud for his partner.

Bulma:

Hey Goku, just wanted to let you know that the party starts tomorrow at 1:00pm. I hope you and your two friends can make it.

"Nice." Suno stood back a bit, face lightening up in excitement like a child. "Now we know the time!"

Goku's thumbs hovered over the keyboard, ready to reply back to his childhood friend. It took only a few seconds to come up with a suitable response.

Goku:

Sounds great, thanks for letting me know! My friends and I will definitely be there!

A thumbs up emoji appeared on his screen, as an indication that she understood. He pocketed his cell-phone and addressed his girlfriend with an even brighter smile than before. "Bulma said she'll be expecting us. Now we've got to extend the invitation to Eighter."

Suno raised a hand to the wooden door. "He's going to be thrilled for sure." Then she tapped her knuckles against the door, giving it a few light knocks. Both stood outside in the cold waiting with patience as they heard faint footsteps approaching the entrance.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing their android friend Eighter. He looked glad to see that they were back home in one piece. "Goku, Suno! You've returned, come inside!" The android moved out of the way and allowed them both to come inside. As soon as they were back inside the cozy home, he closed the door. All the lights had been turned off so the three were shrouded in total darkness.

"How was your time?" Eighter asked while lighting up a small candle and setting it on a nearby table. It wasn't enough to illuminate the whole room, but it was enough for them to be in view of each other.

"It was great." Just as she used to do as a small child, Suno threw herself at her android friend, clinging onto him tightly. "Were you waiting for us to get back?"

"Yes," Eighter calmly said as he smiled down at her. "Your parents are sleeping but they told me to make sure you two are fed if you're still hungry."

"Thanks for the offer, but we're full. We ate quite a lot while we were out." Goku rejected the offer for food as his girlfriend slipped away from Eighter. They exchanged knowing glances before he continued, "Hey Eighter… how would you like to come with us to a party tomorrow?"

Eighter looked surprised to hear the invitation. "A party?"

"Yeah. My friend Bulma is throwing a reunion party at her place in West City, but she gave me permission to bring both you and Suno along with me. How about it? Would you like to come?"

"It'll be a lot of fun, we promise." Suno urged. "You should come, it'll give you a little break."

"Are you sure? I really don't want to intrude…" Eighter said reluctantly.

"You won't be intruding." Suno interjected. "There'll be lots of entertaining stuff to do there!"

Eighter still looked a little hesitant. "I don't know…"

Seeing that the android was still a little reluctant at the idea, Goku decided to try one more thing he hoped would make him consent. "You remember when I was telling my story and I mentioned Eighteen?" The Saiyan continued once he saw him nod slightly. "She's another android just like you and I think it would be great if you two got to know each other. Not to mention, she's married to Krillin and they have a daughter together. Eighteen will be attending the party along with her family and I think getting to know her and the rest of my friends will be worth your time, I promise."

Both Goku and Suno waited patiently with their fingers crossed and with a small glint of hope in their eyes as they waited for him to come to a decision. He finally yielded, as a relenting smile was soon visible on his face. "Okay if you say so, I'll come to the party with you two."

A wide grin spread across Goku's face. Had it not been so late at night, he would have been jumping around the house in triumph. "Great! Bulma messaged me just now and told me that the party starts at one o'clock tomorrow so we should get ready on time!"

Eighter didn't show any surprise at his Saiyan friend's reaction, as he knew that it meant the world to him that he and Suno were there. "I'll be up before then."

"Awesome." Suno cut in, pleased at hearing his response. "We should go to sleep now and wake up early."

Goku agreed with her, "You're right."

With that being agreed upon, the candle nearby had been put out as the three of them headed off to their respective rooms in order to get enough rest for what they knew would be a blast of a party tomorrow.