Chapter 10 Trail Troubles
The next day Goten could be seen walking through the same forested area where he met Note yesterday and she hadn't left Goten's mind since. "Oh man I can't wait to see Note again, she's so nice, so friendly...her hair was really lushly... and her but-dah!" Goten exclaimed stopping himself right as his mind started drifting towards lewd thoughts his mother always told him were inappropriate. "Oops, tee hee! I wasn't trying to spook ya there dude sorry" Note giggly apologized suddenly revealing her nearby presence to Goten. "Doh! Uhh hey Note! Heh heh didn't see you there...uhhh you hear anything else I said?" Goten jumped up startled now sweating slightly scratching the back of his head nervously. "No, I only heard your funny yelp ha ha! Was it something bad?" Note laughing asking curiously turning her head a bit to the side. "Oh no- uhh not-not too bad" Goten stutteringly replied desperately hoping that Note believed him and that she wasn't trick questioning him and really did hear him when he was openly thinking about her. "Well then why are you so sniff? Loosen up dude, it'll due wonders for your health" Note suggested sweetly giving Goten a playful noogie to the top of his head. "Ha ha ok, whatever you say my lady, now shall we commence with our troll through these picturesque woods my dear" Goten asked very elegantly taking on a suave gentlemen's voice border lining a knight with some of his advanced vocabulary leaking through with a wistful smile on his face. Note stood frozen like a statue stupefied by Goten's performance before barely holding back a big laugh before she too donned a smirk. "That's not exactly loosening up but it's cute as heck. And here I thought you were a wild boy with no care for grace, or memorizing a dictionary, where'd you learn that fancy tongue?" Note questioned teasingly. Goten's smooth expression instantly faltered shooting up to a slightly panicked and worried one upon realizing he'd inadvertently let some of the intelligence he gained from being with Zach slip through. The boy didn't know if telling Note about Zach would count as him telling somebody about The Empire and he also didn't know if Xavier was watching him or not. "Uh that was my mom's doing...she was strict in teaching me quote on quote proper gentleman's behavior and my education in general so yeah, I know alot of words ha ha..." Goten explained himself praying in his mind that Note buys his explanation. "Ahh I see, well, yes my darling we may indeed begin our stroll so the dastardly bears that roam them do not smite us" Note confirmed taking on the same medieval tone of voice playing along with the act Goten was going for. Now Goten was the stupefied one starring at Note in slight surprise before both bursted out laughing at their antics.
The two youngsters leisurely walked through the thick forest not having a care in the world as they explored the sights. They came across beds of flowers stopping to smell their various aromas. Many kinds of bugs and other tiny creatures crawled or landed on their fingers as they hung them out both marveling at their freaky yet eye catching appearances. Fish in the river and birds in the sky danced sometimes intertwining at low heights which the two found soothing and relaxing trying to whistle the same tune. At some point when they reached a clearing the cute couple began to play a game of tag chasing each other around Goten doing his best to curb his otherworldly powers as to not immediately catch Note and win every turn. "Tag! Your it!" Goten exclaimed joyfully as he just lightly tapped Note's back and then quickly turned to run in the opposite direction. "Dang dude you catch me so fast!" Note remarked in amazement before she gained a mischievous look and crouched down slightly before leaping forward zigzagging up the trees with impressive acrobatic skills until she was on the leafy tops concealing herself from Goten. The boy was too busy laughing and running to notice or sense Note's sneaky strategy. "Gotcha!" Note yelled in triumph as she jumped down from the tree tops landing onto Goten making the two roll on the ground until they stop in the middle of a dirt trail. "Though I got some skills myself" Note said playfully cocky. Both laughed out of sheer joy of the fun they were having as they picked themselves off the ground. Right as they straightened themselves out however they began to hear a noise in the distance that was steadily growing louder. Eventually the two spotted the source of the noise, a gang of about twenty bikers riding on motorcycles while shouting out randomly in exhilaration. "Um Note, you seen these guys here often?" Goten asked Note. "Nope, first time I've ever seen those fellas around these parts, they look like they're having though!" Note answered confused but unbothered getting excited just by seeing the biker's excitement. The rough gruff appearance of the bikers became apparent as they rode on closer many sporting clothing with skulls, flames and dragons with random patches of spiky metal. It was then that the biker in the front, most likely the leader took notice of the two children with a nasty grin and hand signaled his crew with a circle drawing and then a stop signal. Responding, the men broke their previous formation and encircled the young pair who were left blinded and coughing from the dust kicked up by the motorcycles. When the dust settled and the kids could breathe properly again they witnessed the leader looking biker step one foot off his bike before looking at the couple in the eyes as were all the bikers who were all giving the couple sinister lusty looks and letting out noises like whistling and meowing. "Well looky what we have here gentlemen, hello cuties" a biker bearing a dragon tattoo around his eye said in a fake sounding voice of concern. Goten darted his gaze at all the bikers feeling some apprehension from the bikers due to their facial expressions and tone, he could tell they weren't exactly the nicest people to be around. "Hi!" Note cheerfully greeted back oblivious to the ominous signs of trouble. "Um hello, you might you guys be if you don't mind me asking?" Goten inquired the men cautiously. "Not at all kiddo, we're The Radical Dragon Crew! The toughest biker gang in North City" The leader biker responded proudly in a somewhat dark tone of voice. "Neatito! What do you guys doing way out here?" Note enthusiastically asks the crew intrigued while Goten's look of unease intensifies. "Well we were heading out to our favorite bar to have some "special fun" with some girls we know" one biker replied. "But now we're thinking we don't need to go out that far to have our good time" another biker added narrowing his eyes sinisterly licking his tongue across his lips. "And why exactly are you guys thinking that?" Goten questioned getting more tense and suspicious of the biker's intentions, the emotions he was feeling making his recently regrown tail stick up stiffly which didn't go unnoticed. "Hey boys get a load of this! This kid's got a tail!" A biker pointed out making the rest see it and have reactions ranging from mildly amused to laughing their lungs out. "Stop laughing at me! It's a heredit-OW!" Goten yelped in pain when one of the bikers reached over grabbed his tail and yanked it. "Goten? What's the matter?" Note asked concerned seeing Goten in pain. "Ack! My tail! Ahh! Please let it go!" Goten pleaded falling to the ground in agony as the pain in his rear grew worse and worse and a feeling of weakness spreading throughout his entire body. "Woah guys! The kid's tail is real and apparently he literally can't stand it when it's pulled! Ha ha ha!" The biker poked fun at Goten's expense as he gripped the tail tighter and laughed making the rest of the pack laugh too. "Hey! Cut it out! Your hurting him!" Note shouted angrily at the bikers. "Yeah, we can see that sweetheart and it's hilarious, but I'll tell you what, you show us your knockers and we'll let your boyfriend go" the leader biker proposed to Note with a face that screamed lust right as another biker took Goten's tail and started spinning him around like a rag doll which nearly made the Demi saiyan faint. "I don't have any doors for you to knock on! Just put Goten down!" Note rebuked more forcefully misunderstanding what the leader meant by knockers and just wanting to stop Goten's torment. The leader gained an angered expression as he drew a knife from his jeans and aimed it at Note centimeters away from her nose. "Ok let me rephrase that miss, let us see your goods willingly and we won't have to get rough and make you, get the picture?" The leader threatened menacingly. Even with being heavily weakened and in pain Goten heard and witnessed the threat taking place, causing rage to build within him and with that rage came the Goblin's voice which was screaming in his head "kill him! Kill them all! Make them see hell before they die!". Note and the leader biker stare each other down for what seems like eternity. Getting frustrated with Note's stubbornness the leader mentally decides enough is enough and pulls his knifed hand back a bit to stab her. He lunges the knife right at her only to his shock and everyone else's surprise catches the knife clapping in with her two bare hands. Once he got over his shock the leader tried to either try and finish stabbing Note or pull it back to free it from Note's clapped grasp but found that he couldn't. In spite of exerting a bit of effort shaking slightly from the biker's attempts Note's expression morphed into a smirk. She then yanks the rest of the knife from the leader while performing a backflip. Flipping herself back up she flung the knife right onto the engine of the leader's motorcycle. "Ah! You little shit!" The leader biker yelled enraged at his ride being ruined. "Oopses daisies, sorry mister, didn't mean to mess up your ride" Note apologized in a fake remorseful voice walking closer to the leader before she regained her sly smirk and said "don't worry I'll give you a lift!" as she grabs the leader's bike and almost effortlessly lifts it and the leader sitting on it up off the ground to above her head. Note then swing throws the occupied motorcycle at the three bikers closest to her wrecking their own bikes and knocking the four bikers all around. Taking advantage of his assaulters's stunned states, Goten slides his tail out of their hands and in seconds he feels his strength returning and the pain subsiding. "Haee ha!" Note calls out as she leaps upwards to deliver a kick to another biker kicking him into several others. One biker tried to sneak up to grab her but she sensed him coming and punched him in his stomach disorienting him long enough for her to grab his arm and throw him into the ground while performing a somersault. "Ha! Figures you lunkheads aren't so tough when have to pick on kids to get your kicks! Bla la la la!" Note exclaimed in exuberant confidence sticking her tongue out making the classic mocking noise. "Don't matter too much if you have lead in your head bitch!" A biker retorted right as he pulled out a pistol gun from his pockets. Note gasped and froze in shock and fear at the sight of the armed weapon heightened seconds later when she heard the click signifying that the safety was off. "No!" Goten roared in fury rising to his feet, zipping to right in front of the gun, grabbed it and crushed it into a pile of tiny metal pieces. The flabbergasted biker was then wracked in the head by Goten's fist sending him hurtling into a nearby tree. "Wow! Goten that was incredible!" Note cheered for Goten blown away by what he just did. Goten's anger sunk down replaced by a blushed smile from Note's comment on him. His rage bubbled back up however when the sound of gun firing and a bullet thankfully missing was heard. Both youngsters looked to see yet another biker with a freshly fired gun aimed at them and the remaining fourteen arming themselves with weapons like other guns, bats, and knives. Not thinking about hiding his power, Goten charged up ki in both his hands and fired them at the bikers with guns blasting them away. He then rushed forward and rammed into two more bikers leaving them injured but not down. This wouldn't last long though as Note joined in the fray, making her hands take on a chopping positions and with her masterful acrobatics struck the necks of the two bikers Goten injured. More bikers tried attacking her only for her to gracefully maneuver around their attacks even a couple bullets fired and skillfully hit their weak points on their bodies leaving them vulnerable to Goten's more brutish attacks. Eventually all the bikers were left either moaning in agony or their injuries or only mildly bruised but scared stiff of the two children. "These kids are freaks of nature! Let's get out of here!" One biker screamed in terror most of his brethren agreeing either running with their feet or frantically getting back on their motorcycles racing away. "Wahoo! We sure showed those guys Goten!" Note joyfully celebrated jumping up and down at the pair's victory. "Almost, there's still him..." Goten reminded Note looking in another direction with a slight growl to his voice. Note confused turned around and saw that Goten was right, the leader biker was still there though he was quaking with fear and bleeding a little at the top of his forehead. "Oh well, that's alright, he looks like he's learned his less..." Note's reassurance came to a halt when she turned to look at Goten and immediately noticed the very dark look we was giving the leader as well as his hands starting to bleed because he was clenching them so tightly. "Woah...Goten...ar-are you ok?" Note hesitantly probed Goten simultaneously worried for him yet also frightened by the emotions and dark side he was emitting right now. Meanwhile to Goten the world turned red and he heard the goblin inside tell him "make him hurt, really bad hurt" and for once he wasn't fighting against it. Goten marched over to the cowering leader. "H-hey ki-kid look I'm sorry, very sorry, ple-please let m-me go! I'll never to-touch her again, o-ok?!" The leader stutteringly pleaded desperate to get out of this predicament of his own making. "No!!" Goten horrifically screeched out right before he violently scratched one of the leader's eyes, enough that it was punctured, bleeding and no longer useful. "Ahhhh!" The leader screamed in agony holding his damaged eye with both hands. Note gasped and covered her mouth in shock of the action. The crazed boy eyes now bloodshot with rage growled like a rapid animal, zoomed to right next to the leader and then cubbed his hands together near his stomach quickly charging up greenish ki and firing it sending the leader crashing through several trees and the ground creating a small trench. Before the biker had any chance to simply stand up Goten lunged himself onto him standing on his chest. "Ack! P...please...ahhh...have...mercy..." the leader begged weakly to hopefully persuade the deranged child to let him go. Goten's bloodshot eyes looked at the leader with burning fury and then it morphed into an insane sadistic look of glee. "You've lost your right for mercy" Goten said in a raspy demonic tone, the goblin was fully at the wheel. The leader's eyes shrank with horror and terror upon those words alongside that voice. Goten took one of his hands grabbing onto the leader's hair and preparing another assault with the other. He didn't know what he was gonna do, all he knew was that it was going to be fun and he grinned wildly in predatory anticipation. "Goten stop!" Note yelled out tearfully at Goten wanting him to snap out of his insanity. And it worked, the second Note's plea hit Goten's ears it was like a switch went off in his head and his murderous goblin persona disappeared back into the recesses of his mind. Goten looked at the man again and upon seeing the damage he inflicted on him hurriedly let go of his hair and jumped off his chest allowing him to stand up. The biker leader and Goten stared at each other with identical looks of fear and confusion breathing heavily with Goten shaking still recuperating from his mental breakdown. "Just go!" Note shouted at the biker leader reminding him that he needed to flee. The biker leader broke out of his scared trance and ran away screaming. Goten took in some deep breaths easing his shaking looking up at Note once he felt he was in control of himself. She was staring at him with terror watery eyes. "Oh no, she saw me as...that, she's scared of me now. The boy became filled with immense sadness and regret but also understanding, after seeing him fly off the handle like that there's no way Note wouldn't now be afraid of him. The realization hurt Goten more deeply than he thought but nevertheless he figured it was best he'd leave now and let her go hopefully to forget about him and the goblin. After coming to the sorrowful conclusion he turned away and began to walk away. His departure cut short however by Note running up and hugging him firmly yet affectionately. "Don't go" Note whimpered tightening her grip on Goten putting her head down on his neck. Goten was left without words at the unexpected moment. She clearly had seen him when he was...dangerous and yet she was hugging him and asking him to stay, why? "Are you ok Goten?" Note asked Goten rubbing his cheeks with her hand as their teary eyes met. "I... I'm" Goten tried to appear strong, he always had to act strong in front of just about everyone either because they couldn't know his struggles or they beat him for being weak. However looking into Note's sparkling eyes that exuded care, love and understanding his tough front faltered. He felt safe, seen and loved, finally feeling like he could let his turmoil out for the first time since before Zach was murdered. Tears flowed out his eyes as he let out all his suppressed anguish burying his face into Note's chest. The two held their embrace for an hour, Note letting Goten cry out his feelings until he was all good and they walked to another area to wake up their sleeping legs and discuss what happened. How will Note deal with the revelation that Goten has a split personality and will she learn the cause of his mental illness?