Chapter 12 - Aftermath
An intensely furious gaze burned into the two figures before her. Krillin looked mildly uncomfortable underneath the scrutiny of Videl. 18, on the other hand, looked rather nonplussed by the attempted intimidation.
Sharpner was resting inside the small hut on the island. There was nothing but ocean all the way to the horizon and beyond in every direction, and the blonde wasn't great out at sea, especially after a day as shocking as it had been for the two of them.
On the other hand, Videl didn't have the same nauseous feeling being stranded out here, and while her chopper wasn't in the best condition after a few scrapes in the terrorist attack, she knew how to get it running fine when it was time to get out. And until she had a moment to do so…
"I'm expecting some answers, considering how you practically kidnapped the two of us and took off to some remote island" Videl growled. "Don't make me hurt you to get them!"
18 arched an eyebrow at the demanding woman standing before them. "You'd think someone who just got rescued from complete destruction would be more thankful and less pushy" she commented.
Krillin chuckled nervously. "If you saw her on the force, you'd think otherwise" he said.
Videl narrowed her eyes at the shorter of the two. "Hey, don't think I forgot that a trickster like you managed to work your way into the police department" she threatened. "I'm not sure what you're playing at but-"
She was interrupted by a long drawn out and exaggerated groan, courtesy of Krillin. "Just like her father in that regard…" he muttered. "Everything's a trick…"
"At least the old buffoon's only got a public facade on that front now" 18 commented. "It was unbearable back when he actually believed those claims."
Videl huffed. "You know, it's rude to speak like I'm not here."
"And it's also rude to demand things of your elders" 18 commented, a dangerous edge to her voice. While quiet, her tone caused warning alarms to go off in her head.
Videl was slightly put off by the woman's adamant posture, her surprise softening her glare, the ring of truth in it making her feel slightly meek in comparison. Still, her pride wasn't going to let her exterior fall without a fight.
"I'll stop demanding when you start filling me in" she said, working an edge of her own into her voice. "You snatched me up and carried me to some far away location, without warning. I would think that earns me a few questions from you two."
Krillin sighed. "You know, 18, I don't think she's gonna drop this any time soon" he said. "Should we just give her a few answers?"
18 looked down at her husband. "You really want to clue her in? I'm pretty sure 'our friend' wouldn't be the happiest with that." Her tone was an obvious nod at Gohan. "I'm pretty sure we were vacating the place for that reason."
Krillin smiled. "I'm sure we can manage around that" he said, sounding as if his mind was set, much to the chagrin of his wife. He looked back at the young raven-haired woman. "We have time for a few questions, I guess. But-" he warned her as her face began to look rather accomplished, "-there are a few topics that we're keeping close to the vest here, so if it's one of those, you aren't getting it out of us."
Her face dropped slightly, but it was still blatantly obvious how hungry she was for information. There was hardly any form of delay as she nodded. "I can work with that" she agreed.
18 sighed. "I'll leave her to you. I'm going to check up on her friend, and Marron" she said plainly.
She began striding through the sand as Krillin nodded his response. "Sure thing, babe" he smiled. With a glance to the sky, Krillin sat down in the sand, cross-legged, gesturing to Videl to do the same. Once she got situated, he locked eyes with her. "Alright, the first thing I think you should know is that the battle that was going on back in Satan City is over. We just want the dust to settle a bit before we send you guys back over."
Videl blinked, before scowling. "What? How could you possibly know that it's over?" she asked. "You haven't been on a phone or anything to know something like that."
Krillin rapped the side of his head smartly. "I'm not sure that my 'dirty tricks' would be something you'd be able to understand" he said, voice a little less warm this time.
A feeling of abashment began creeping up inside Videl, as she broke her gaze with Krillin. "I'm sorry about that…" she admitted. "I didn't, I mean, I was thinking-"
"Rethinking this whole thing, whether or not it's just a trick?" Krillin guessed, earning a shocked look from the girl. "I'm pretty good at reading people, and you looked conflicted about something, pretty severely."
"You could say that…" she grumbled. Glancing back up, she steeled herself. "Alright, you said you'd answer some questions, and judging by what I've seen, you're one of the best people to answer the first one."
Krillin kept silent as she took in a breath. "Is it really a trick?"
Mt. Paozu
Vegeta grit his teeth as the frigid mountain air blew into his wounds. He was a warrior, but that didn't mean it didn't sting like hell!
He hadn't often made a visit to the home Kakarot's family had out in the wilderness. He'd never had much occasion to, either, except for the one time where Trunks had refused to come home at the assigned time. He never arrived any later than ten minutes early after that.
He was tracking the energy signatures of the other members in the little family that clown had reared. Trunks' friend and Kakarot's mate stood out like sore thumbs when the rest of the energy in the area was minimum-level wildlife. At least, besides the dead weight he was carting through the air.
Gohan hadn't stirred since the two had left the city, save for the extra appendage that he had gained during the fight, which twitched around relentlessly through the flight. If it hadn't been for his self restraint and knowledge of that particular piece of Saiyan anatomy, he would have ripped it out the first time it slapped against his forearm.
"This boy is going to have to gain some motorory function over his tail before too long" Vegeta scowled. "As it is, he has about as much as a newborn."
There were signs of smoke rising from the trees ahead, catching Vegeta's eye. "It's about time" he muttered. As he floated over the last of the foliage, a rather large clearing came into view, the hut-like structure sticking out amongst the nature like a beacon. The area was relatively clear, the wildlife mostly scattered some distance away.
As he approached, he dropped down to the ground, taking his final few steps on the turf before reaching the door. He reached out with his free hand and rapped on the door, the noise echoing across the landscape. He waited for Kakarot's mate to come to the door, not inviting himself in. He had learned of the female's 'violent tendencies,' and did not want to find himself of the receiving end of them.
Of course, holding the limp, apparently lifeless body of her spawn probably wasn't doing him any favors towards that goal, a thought that crossed his mind a moment too late, as the door swung open and a shriek rang across the landscape, and deep inside Vegeta's head. He growled, clutching one of his sensitive ears. "Kami, keep it below a high C!" he roared.
Otherworld
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
"Either Janemba's back, or Goku worked his appetite up fighting him" Pikkon noted with a touch of amusement in his voice.
Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, chuckling. "What can I say, a good workout makes me hungry."
"Goku, you're ALWAYS hungry" King Kai said. "You're dead, you shouldn't hardly need to eat at all, it's not like you have a physical body to keep running anymore, just your spirit form."
"Yeah, I know, though technically I did have a physical body for a bit there-" Goku began to say.
"-for all of two minutes, most of which you spent in a fused state that took your body out of the equation" Piccolo interjected.
Goku crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Piccolo. "Fine, I'm just hungry then" he admitted. He looked at King Kai hopefully. "Do you think that Grand Kai can hook us up with those vendors he hired for the Otherworld Tournament?" he asked.
King Kai snorted. "Goku, never change" he chuckled. "Well, maybe get a bit more responsible. You still owe me a plan-"
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING OUT THERE?!" a mighty bellow rattled the floor, sheer volume and ferocity striking all the warriors present shock-still.
Goku gulped and turned towards the source of the roar. "Was that… Yemma?"
"IN ALL MY MILLENNIA AS GUARDIAN OF THE CHECK IN STATION, I HAVE NEVER WITNESSED SUCH INCOMPETENCE!" Yemma roared again. "YOU HAD A SINGLE JOB TO DO, TO CART AWAY ALL OF THE COLLECTED EVIL ENERGY, AND YOU FAILED TO DO EVEN THAT!"
A trickle of sweat rolled down King Kai's face. "This isn't good. Yemma has a bit of a temper, but he never lets loose like this."
"Who do you think he's yelling at?" Goku asked.
"From the sound of it, probably one of the workers who were tending to the Soul Cleansing Machine when it had its meltdown" Pikkon reasoned. "We should probably stay clear of- GOKU, where are you going?!"
Goku had taken off down towards Yemma's office, jogging at a brisk pace down the hall. "Goku! Ugh…" Pikkon facepalmed.
"When he gets something in his mind, you can't really stop him" Piccolo said slowly. "He usually has a good instinct about it. I don't know what he hopes to accomplish by getting mixed up in this, though."
"Oh well, when in doubt, steer clear of Goku so you don't get hit in the crossfire" King Kai chuckled.
Dabura, who had been standing silent by the sidelines during this time, glanced oddly at the Kai. "You have a rich sense of humor" he noted, in a slightly put off voice.
"YOU SINGLE HANDEDLY ALMOST CAUSED THE DOWNFALL OF NOT ONLY THE UNIVERSE, BUT PERHAPS THE ENTIRETY OF THE DIMENSION!" Yemma boomed out again, causing all present parties to flinch.
Goku winced as the noise assailed his senses, as he had a stronger sense of sound, and a much closer proximity to the source, but he kept jogging. "YOU WOULD THINK THAT WHEN DEALING WITH A THREAT TO THE UNIVERSE, EVEN YOU COULD SHOULDER SOME RESPONSIBILITY!"
Goku burst into the main hall, and stopped short when he saw the scene before him. "Hey, you were the ogre that was there!" he realized.
Yemma's gaze was thunderous as he looked down on the young ogre, red skinned with brown hair, and wearing a green jacket. His gaze shifted to Goku as he entered the room. "Goku, I'd appreciate it if you left us to finish this up before you return" he said, voice low and restrained.
He looked up at Yemma. "But why are you chewing him out?" Goku asked. "I mean, isn't he the victim? Janemba used him to get a physical body, right?"
"This buffoon is the reason Janemba had a chance to be born in the first place" Yemma glowered, turning back to the ogre in question. "You incompetency in handling a situation as dire as that of wringing out the soul of MAJIN BUU is a sign that you are not fit to work in this station."
The ogre looked down at his feet, shame and fear lining his face. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. King Yemma, sir" he said shakily. "I promise, it won't h-happen again."
"That is correct, it will not" Yemma said, his voice holding a dangerous edge. "As of now, you are officially relieved of your duties as an ogre in the Check-In Station." He held out his hand as the ogre's face jerked to Yemma's, shocked. "I am sorry, but you are now to be banished from Otherworld until such time as it is fit for you to return!"
The young ogre didn't even have the chance to protest or respond. He was enveloped in a blinding light, and within an instant, had vanished from his spot in Yemma's court, completely gone.
Goku blanched at the sentence. "Well jeez, Yemma, don't you think that was a little harsh?" he asked.
Yemma sighed and reclined in his chair, closing his eyes. "Part of being in a leadership position is doling out the punishments necessary to keep your unit running" he said, anger having abated mostly from his voice. "Saike is perhaps not responsible for the meltdown of the Soul Cleaning Machine. No, that was on all of us. Buu's spirit was stronger than we could comprehend. However, he slacked in his task of removing the evil energy from prior buildups from the area." He opened his eyes and looked back down at Goku. "If he had done his job, sure, Buu's essense may have escaped, but it wouldn't have a tether like that dark buildup to latch onto and form something dangerous from."
A small smile graced his face. "The only upside I can manage to see from this whole fiasco is that your wish had a chance to be granted."
Goku looked confused. "My wish?" he wondered. "...Oh, my wish!"
"Your technique worked quite well in eradicating the evil essence" Yemma stated. "Perhaps such a small thing wasn't worth the potential eradication of this entire reality, but it's a silver lining nonetheless."
Goku felt the slightest bit giddy, even as exhausted as he was. "So does that mean he's already reborn?!" he asked excitedly.
Yemma waved him down. "Calm down, Goku, you never know when a reincarnation will take root, or where it will happen. For all you know, he could be reborn as an Arcosian halfway across the universe. However…" he continued upon seeing Goku's face drop, "considering the fact that his soul was cleansed on Earth, I say the odds of him being reborn there are considerably higher."
Goku's smile returned almost instantaneously, and bigger than ever. Yemma chuckled. "You're quite easy to please, you know that?" he commented.
"Yup" Goku said shamelessly.
Yemma chuckled again as his business face slipped back on. "Alright, Goku, I have a lot of work to do, a lot of damage to recover from now. I'll need you to head back to Grand Kai's world, however, before you go, can you visit the holding cells Hell's denizens are staying in and bring Zangya to me?"
'Uh, Zangya?" Goku asked.
"A female with blue skin and poofy orange hair" Yemma described. "A member of Bojack's space pirate group, or should I say, a former member. I'd say that what she did earlier warrants a relocation on her behalf."
"What did she do?" Goku asked.
"She made sure your son survived long enough for Janemba to even get there."
Kame House
"You sound like you already know the answer to that question, Videl" Krillin said slowly.
Simple words, yet they resonated towards her core. He was right, her heart knew the answer, but nonetheless, she needed to hear the confirmation. "Just tell me" Videl said in her usual boosy tone, though the demanding part was slightly lessened.
Krillin sighed. "Well, Videl, I'm not sure what you want me to say. My answer? Yes. But then again, the fact that you still check if it's a 'trick' make me worry how you'll accept my stance." He shrugged. "Then again, I caught some of your attitude on the force. I doubt you'll take me at my word, and all of you have managed to put off anything we do as a trick this far along, why should I think it changed?"
"I-"
"Krillin, things seem to have settled" a cold voice called over. She turned around and the tall thin woman, 18, if she recalled correctly (an odd name for a person), was standing in the doorway. Behind her, inside the house, Sharpner was up and stretching. "City should be clear, and it feels stable enough by now."
"Already? That was fast" Krillin said, slightly shocked. "You would think that things would be a little unstable for a little longer after a literal reality rend."
"I'm not sure, but the Earth's energy is stable enough for now. The city shouldn't be in danger any longer" 18 said.
"Excuse me? Reality rend? The Earth's energy?" Videl asked. "What are you guys even talking about?"
18 glanced at Videl, then back towards her husband. "Krillin, did you explain everything already?" she asked.
"Heh, well, to be fair, 18, we've only had a minute or two out here" he noted. "I mean, we didn't think we'd be going back for hours, after all."
18 sighed. "Fair enough. Videl, we'll answer what you've got later, but for now, it's time we get you back." She cocked her head to the side. "After all, we don't want to incite a panic when one of the most influential children on the plan disappears after an apparent 'terrorist attack,' do we?"
"Damn, that's a good point" Videl begrudgingly admitted. If the people didn't notice her absence themselves, then her father probably would. Either way, there would probably be a panic, accusations, and all sorts of other fun stuff to deal with. Even if it was only for a little bit (she doubted she'd still be on that island by the time the afternoon rolled around) after the situation today, they didn't need anything else, even temporarily.
She let out a sigh, bringing a faint victorious shine to 18's eyes. "Krillin, grab her friend. Make sure he's not retching anymore either, it's a twenty minute flight back to Satan City and I assume you don't need him puking on you on the way?"
"Heh, good point. How about you guys take off, and I'll catch up?" Krillin asked. "Besides, I need to thank Roshi before we take off anyways, since we don't live here anymore, it was nice of him to let us take refuge."
18 shrugged. "Sure, whatever, just don't lag behind too far" she said before turning back to the daughter of Satan. "Climb on."
"But wait, I still haven't-"
"No buts, we're getting you back" 18 cut her off, turning around.
Videl looked mildly pissed at getting cut off like that, but she climbed onto 18's back without another word. The platinum blonde turned to look back at her. "I'm assuming I know where you live. And the other kid can direct my husband to where he needs to go?" When she got a nod in response, 18 looked satisfied. "Alright, hold on. I don't plan to go fishing today."
Videl's grip tightened instinctively as the nearby air became supercharged, making her skin tingle, and there was a rush of wind as the two blasted skyward, into the murky cloud layer. The cold air slapped her face, and she tightened further as the g-forces tugged at her.
It wasn't until a few moments later that the cold and the wind left, leaving the flight much warmer and less turbulent. As they ascended past the clouds, and left the stormy lower world behind, the clear air higher up surrounded them.
"There are no wires" 18 told her.
Videl flinched, not expecting any sort of conversation. After all, the blonde woman didn't look like the sociable type. "What?" she asked.
"I said that there aren't any wires" she repeated. "Your family's always going on about tricks, right? Go ahead and check for wires if you want, if you want your proof."
"Why are you-" Videl began to ask.
"I could tell Krillin didn't have the time to give you any of the answers you wanted" she stated simply. "And with normal people, they need to feel something before they'll believe it. I hazard a guess that you're the same way." Her tone changed subtly. "Besides, if we're gonna keep you from bothering us again, we're best off giving you some answers now so you aren't hounding us for more."
Videl frowned slightly at the accusation that she would do it, but allowed a small blush to grave her face as she realized the likelihood of her tracking them down later. Keeping a tight grip on her only anchor, she moved her other hand, and quickly waved it over, meeting no resistance.
"I honestly don't know how your father considered wires a viable reason for explaining flight" 18 commented as Videl sat back down. "I mean, does he expect everyone who does this to have some sort of silent invisible hovercraft that the wires are hanging from? I'm not sure how, but people seem to eat it up."
She waved her hands out to the side. "Also, there isn't exactly a lot of room to put any sort of fuel source for his backup excuse of hovertech." She lowered her arms. "Honestly, that man gave me more than a few migraines over those last seven years… I swear, I'm not sure how most of the planet buys into his reasoning, but it doesn't give me much hope for the human race."
There was a twinge of annoyance inside of Videl as she heard 18 essentially call the majority of the planet idiots. "Hey, we aren't-"
"Gullible?" 18 cut her off again. "Let me ask you something. If you hadn't been but twenty feet away from what you saw today, would you have even questioned the world you knew in the slightest? If everything was a trick?"
The word 'trick' was punctuated with the blonde raising an arm and launching a small, yet heated blast down through the clouds and into the briny turf. An explosion launched the water almost as high up as they were, to the point where the mist grazed past Videl's side. The cold eyes of 18 turned to lock with the shocked ones of Videl. "Not everything is always as it seems, no matter how obvious it appears. You don't need to answer the question I asked, but think about it."
18 turned her head back forward as their pace picked up a little. "I hope that's enough to convince you to not hound us for more. We don't stay out of the public eye for kicks, after all."
Videl snapped out of her stupor. Grounding herself, she nodded, though 18 couldn't see. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry. Thank you, uh… do you go by anything other than 18?"
"Little bit of an odd name, huh?" 18 asked. "I used to go by Lazuli, but that was a lifetime ago. I'm just 18 now."
"Kind of an odd option to change your name to" Videl noted. "Well, thank you, 18, I appreciate you giving me some of those answers."
"Just keep from making this some huge public deal and we'll call it even" 18 said. "And hold on, we're getting close to Satan City."
Her brow furrowed. "How can we already be so close? I mean, Satan City isn't close to any ocean I know of… just how fast were we flying?" Her doubts were laid to rest as the cloud layer ahead broke briefly and she saw a glimpse of a distant building. Their flight descended through the clouds, and as they emerged beneath, they got a much clearer look.
And Videl's chest was seized tight. "W-what happened here?"
The outskirts of the city looked almost pristine, and from a normal perspective, the city would probably appear normal, minus the lack of any people. But from their bird's eye perspective, the majority of the city was at her scrutiny.
Like the outskirts, working their way in, most of the buildings were fairly good, maybe with some chunks missing, but relatively small damage. But nearing the city center, well, it was unrecognizable. At least three blocks of space looked like they were all but completely reduced to rubble, frail remnants of once powerful structures remaining. Entire sections of buildings, in a straight line radiating out from the destruction, were in a similar state, as if a massive wrecking ball had been swung through.
Outside of the city center and the surrounding area, the damage was quite minimal, but the sheer destruction caused in that one location…
"It was a pretty big fight, something like this was bound to happen" 18 said, shaking her out of her shock. "You should consider yourself lucky it's only this bad. Sometimes, the destruction from battles like these are almost bad enough to level cities entirely, and the surrounding areas."
"Like with Cell…" Videl murmured.
"You've got it" 18 affirmed. They began to descend lower, and Videl recognized the shimmering gates of the Satan Manor quite a ways away, well off from the central destruction of the city. She glanced over her shoulder as they lowered. "Your friend will be here in just a moment."
Videl followed 18's gaze, but saw nothing. "How do you know?" she asked.
"A woman always does" 18 said, her neutral tone keeping Videl from guessing whether or not she was joking.
The pair set down on the ground rather lightly, and Videl clambered off. She was a little off balance for a moment, from the altitude change, but she was adapting back rather quickly. She took a glance at the mansion, and it seemed rather devoid of life. She hoped that the staff managed to escape the city during the chaos…
Which also brought up the question, where did the entire city leave to? Mass crowds of people would probably have stuck out like sore thumbs…
Her thought process was interrupted when Krillin and Sharpner touched down right before them with hardly a sound, admittedly causing her to jump a bit. Sharpner hopped down from the man almost half his size who carried him, looking still a bit spooked, but overall doing well.
Krillin looked up. "Things really seem to have calmed down fast around here, eh 18?" He wiped his brow. "Things looked a little dicey there, we got off of this one pretty easy." He looked over at the duo of teenagers. "Things should be safe for now, so we'll leave you two to it. After all, we've got to go back and get our daughter."
18 seemed to be looking around, intently, as if listening for a sound. How tense she looked probed Videl to high alert, her stance reminiscent of looking for a hidden enemy. But instead, she settled in a direction and relaxed. "It seems like most of the city took refuge to the west" she said. "They should start making their way back soon. I think everyone managed to get out alright. If there were any casualties, they were minimal."
Seeming satisfied with themselves, Krillin and 18 began floating back into the air, jarring the pair with how effortless they looked. "Wait, how do you guys do that?" Sharpner blurted.
"Ask Videl, I debriefed her" 18 said plainly. "And please, try not to need any more rescuing until the next major catastrophe."
The pair had zipped back into the sky before either of them could even formulate a response. A gust of wind nearly blew them off their feet as the vanished into the sky, heading back the way they came.
Sharpner patted himself on the cheek. "No, I'm awake. That means we really just flew here on the backs of a policeman and his wife… whoa."
The city was silent, an unusual experience. Even in the inactive hours of night, there was usually some sound, but now, there was nothing but the wind blowing through the empty streets.
Perhaps it was this lack of any other distracting stimulus that let it click in Videl's head. What correlation had been bugging her that she had been missing.
"So, Videl, what do you think we should…" Sharpner began to ask, stopping himself short as he caught a glimpse of Videl's face, which was stormy enough to probably even make Cell himself flinch back a bit. "Uh… Videl?"
She looked up at him, anger not leaving her eyes. "Let's wait around here for a while, Sharpner" she said. "I don't want to miss my father when he comes back." Her gaze darkened. "I need to have a few words with him."
"Damnit, kid, I thought your mind was stronger than that!"
Gohan's eyes snapped open, his breath catching fast. The voice had been so loud in his head, it might have come from right next to him.
"Damnit, brat, took you long enough to wake up."
Gohan jumped again as he looked over to the origin of the voice, and stopped in shock when the least likely person he ever expected to find in his room was sitting across from him. "V-Vegeta?!" he asked.
"I hope you didn't hit your head hard enough so that you forgot someone you've known since I came to this planet" Vegeta said, face remaining impassive.
There was a stiff pain as Gohan shifted, and looked down to bandages binding his left arm. He looked back up in surprise. "No, but, I mean, what are you doing in my room?" Gohan spluttered.
A world-class eye roll was his response. "Honestly, do you think I don't have better things to do?" he asked. "Repairing a totaled gravity chamber comes to mind." Gohan flinched slightly at the directed blame in Vegeta's tone. The prince followed up with a low sigh, however, and looked at Gohan more seriously. "However, there's a certain event of the battle that I need to cover with you."
Vegeta jerked his thumb in the direction of Gohan's hips, prompting the young demi saiyan to look down. The sight he was greeted with surprised him, though he remembered it almost immediately. His furry brown tail undulating slowly behind him.
Gohan gulped slightly, the appendage feeling so alien to him. He sat up and concentrated on it, trying to will it to curl around to his front, but he couldn't get the tail to do more than twitch vaguely in the direction he wanted to move it.
"Your muscles aren't trained there" Vegeta's voice called him out of his focus. He glanced over as the prince followed his tail. "It takes some practice to get much motor control over a Saiyan's tail."
Letting this digest, Gohan abandoned attempting to move it through will, and simply pulled it around, a powerful tingle running through his body as he held it directly.
Vegeta sighed again, and leaned back. "You're the first Saiyan in a while to have their tail. Your father lost his long before we even arrived on this world. Mine was cut off shortly after I myself arrived. And by the time your younger brother and my son were born without them, mine and Kakarot's bodies having adapted to being tailless for long enough that it affected our offspring. So, I figured it was only my duty to instruct you."
"Instruct me?" Gohan asked.
"You're supposed to be smart, brat, yes, instruct you" Vegeta grumbled. "I should at least let you know the basics of your tail so you can adapt, unless you want it cut off again." He grimaced. "But I warn you, having it severed when you are young is a far less painful experience than it is when you've matured more."
Gohan gulped and looked down again. As alien as his tail was to him, there was no denying that it was a part of him. He could feel every nerve, muscle, all of it, all attached to him. And quite honestly, he wasn't hot on the idea of having another kienzan slice through it.
"I figured as much" Vegeta said, reading Gohan's expression. "Now, what do you know of your tail, brat?"
Locking eyes with the prince, Gohan recited what he had told Turles he knew when the other Saiyan had asked. "Well, they house some of a Saiyan's power, they're weak points, and have something about them that makes them respond to blutz waves for Great Ape transformations, right?" He paused. "And they also have some sort of hormone glands inside them."
"Better answers that I could have expected" Vegeta admitted. "It's true, if a Saiyan regains their tail, they will be slightly more powerful than they were without it. Tails can also serve as weak points due to the sensitive nerve endings there, the ones that respond to blutz waves. But you can train to rid yourself of that weakness, as your father discovered with me." He looked at Gohan again. "Of course, you realize you'll have to be very careful on nights of the full moon now, it would be troublesome at this point for you to gain any sort of control over your Oozaru form. And yes, a Saiyan's primary hormone secretion is in their tails."
"That's more than likely the reason you half breeds came out so calm. I'm sure you can tell, natural Saiyans have natural battle lust. The other two never had that input to their bodies, and you lost it before you were mature enough for it to really start producing for you." He scowled slightly. "It didn't help that your human half was also working against your Saiyan one."
Gohan paled slightly as a thought struck him. "Wait, that doesn't mean I'm going to become-"
"Like a proper Saiyan?" Vegeta asked. "No, I wouldn't go that far. Hormones only work so much against one's personality, and you have trouble hurting a butterfly unless it's a threat to humanity" he added with a scoff. "You may have some slightly Saiyan tendencies, but I wouldn't worry about that. You're far too soft to act remotely like you should."
While it was meant as a backhanded insult coming from Vegeta, Gohan could breathe easier with that knowledge. "Thanks Vegeta" Gohan said graciously.
"Tch, it's only my duty, I don't need your thanks" Vegeta huffed, standing up. He gave Gohan a once over, and locked eyes with him. "All I can say is that you'd better train it if you're going to keep it. As I recall, even your uncle, as trained as he was, had a major weak spot with his tail. While it gives you power, it also makes you vulnerable until you take the necessary steps." He took a thoughtful post for a moment. "As I recall, the best way to train your tail, besides normal exercise, is to expose it to physical stimulus until the severity of the reaction to it begins to fade."
"What kind of stimulus?" Gohan asked.
With a smirk, Vegeta answered. "Grab it and squeeze as hard as you can. The more often you can do it and the more pain you get from it, the faster your tail will adapt."
Gohan blanched slightly at the rather painful sounding method, even if it made sense, like building up an immunity to a toxin over time by ingesting non lethal doses. Getting over his discomfort at the thought, he nodded. "Alright, thanks Vegeta."
"I already told you I don't require your thanks" Vegeta barked back, making for the window to Gohan's bedroom. He stepped onto the sill, and stopped momentarily. "You are welcome, however."
And with that, the prince took off, force of his launch scattering papers from his desk across his room. He sighed at the mess, but at the same time, didn't figure much less. He laid back down, trying to ignore the pain in his left arm. The limb was still mostly unresponsive, and if the empty feeling in his shoulder was any sign, he likely still had a clean pierce wound right through it.
"You know, I've rarely ever hurt my right arm" Gohan thought. "But my left arm sure has been a glutton for punishment." Whatever piercing attack Janemba had managed, with those energy darts, it cleaved right through the bone, muscles and ligaments in its way. He had a few more minor wounds down his legs, but nothing beyond some basic flesh wounds. They hurt, but didn't impact his ability to function at all.
His door suddenly burst open, and he jumped in shock, much to the discontent of his arm. A fuzzy orange bullet shot into his chest, and his mom following close behind. What little breath he had taken was squeezed out of him by the tag team, his brother bawling while his mother fretted over him.
"Can't… breath…" he wheezed out, which gave him a little space, but not a lot. He tried to regain his breath, but it was long and hard work to do so. He was still a little groggy and processing Vegeta's advice on his new… attachment, so it all passed like a blur to him, Chi Chi working rapidly to change his bandages while Goten cried about how worried he was. Considering what kind of shape he was in now, he probably didn't look great when he first got back.
However, his mind was wandering. Between the foggy haze of his exhaustion and the influx of new information, there was something he couldn't get off his mind…
"Damnit, kid, I thought your mind was stronger than that!"
"Where have I heard that voice?" Gohan wondered. It sounded so vaguely familiar, yet he had no idea from where. It was almost like, well, his dad's voice, except deeper and with a gruff edge to it.
He was snapped out of his thoughts, when his name was called loudly. He glanced over at his mother, who was looking at him worriedly. "Huh?" he asked. "Sorry, what Mom?"
"Honey, are you feeling okay?" Chi Chi asked. "I've been talking to you for a while now."
Gohan scratched his head with his good arm. "Heh, sorry Mom, I'm just thinking, and a bit tired."
Chi Chi gave him the firm, motherly once over. "Well, I was wondering how long you were thinking it would take until you could fly."
Gohan raised his eyebrows at the odd question. "Until I can fly?" he asked. "I mean, probably tomorrow, if I can rest enough to just get some energy back, it doesn't take much to float. Why?"
She stood up and crossed her arms. "Well, I was thinking, your friend Dende, he could fix you up. I mean, you and the rest of you who fought Buu used up your Senzu Beans, right?" When she got a nod, she continued. "So, I'm sure your friend could spare some time from his duties to fix you up really quick. It doesn't make sense to leave you like this when he can help."
Gohan recognized the reason she was asking if he could fly now. Goten couldn't reasonably carry Gohan all that way, and his mom wasn't able to fly. Only he could get himself there and back, and it was a pretty good idea. But before he could voice a response, they were all cut off by a new voice.
"I'm afraid that will not be possible for now."
The trio jumped in shock as their eyes darted to the window, where Mr. Popo had managed to sneak up on them. He was floating on his magic carpet, peering in at them.
"I was on my way once I sensed Vegeta leave, I apologize for startling you" Mr. Popo said sincerely. At least, Gohan thought it was sincerely. Popo didn't speak with more than one tone, really.
"Uh, no problem" Gohan managed, heart racing a little. "What are you doing here."
"And what do you mean it won't be possible?" Chi Chi asked, an air of cool anger around her. "Gohan's friend has fixed people in seconds before, hasn't he?"
"I came here on Dende's behalf" Popo said. "He asked me to check on you, now that the battle is over." He placed his hands behind his back. "Unfortunately, he cannot be helping with the aftermath. He is otherwise occupied at the moment."
"With what?" Gohan asked, the aura of his mother becoming tangible.
"The villain that showed up really did a number on this world" he explained. "Right now, the dimensional walls are very brittle and unstable." His face morphed into the simplest of frowns. "We don't know the exact status, but Dende is using his abilities as Kami to hold the earth's barriers intact, otherwise, we may end up in a situation not unlike what Majin Buu attempted when he fought the fusion of your father and Vegeta."
The memory was vague, but Gohan remembered a vague attempt by Buu, where he had tried to shatter the dimensional barriers, crushing their reality between alternate ones. His stomach knotted slightly at the thought that right now, their world could be directly underneath a press, waiting to fall down and flatten them.
"You understand the stakes" Popo noted. "We are unfamiliar with situations like these. The frail structure of our barriers may not result in anything catastrophic should they fail. They may not fail at all. It may take Dende hours to fix them, it may take him weeks, or even months."
Gohan let it sink in. "Well, we probably shouldn't bother him then."
"To avoid risking a worst case scenario, that would be wise" Popo nodded. "He sends his regards and his regrets at not being able to assist with your healing process. He does plan to let you know the moment he is available, however, it is not his wish to leave you to natural recovery when he has the ability to assist."
"I understand, Popo, tell Dende thanks, and good luck."
"I will, Gohan, and good luck yourself, with your healing."
The carpet levitated up past the window and out of sight, ever silent. With Popo's ki so low at the moment, and the lack of noise, it was no wonder that he was able to sneak up on him.
Gohan sighed and leaned back. "Well, it looks like Dende has his work cut out for him" he said, gauging his mom's reaction. She had mellowed out ever since the defeat of Buu, but she still had a tendency to get a little unreasonable where he was concerned.
Luckily for him (and Dende) she seemed to be understanding the rationale behind the situation. She set back to finishing his bandages in silence, which allowed Gohan to relax once again.
Though not completely…
"Damnit, kid, I thought your mind was stronger than that!"
"What was that voice?!"
Satan City
Tick, tock…
Videl paced back and forth along the floor.
Tick, tock…
Hercule cleared his throat uncomfortably, the tension in the air was tangible.
Tick, tock…
Videl stopped pacing, and looked up, her expression stormy, and locked eyes with her father. "Dad…" she said lowly.
Hercule looked nervously at his daughter. "Yes Pumpkin?" he asked.
"I have a couple questions for you" she said slowly. "I saw some things today… and I want answers from them." Her face hardened. "You know, one of those things? I saw one of my classmates die today, in a ball of fire that hit our school."
Hercule blanched. "Videl, I'm so sorry you had to see that-"
"I'm not done yet" Videl said sharply. "Later on, when I went into the city to fight the terrorists, you know what I saw?" Her father obviously had no clue, so she dropped the cryptics. "I saw that same classmate, fighting off a giant group of monsters. And you know what monster was at the front of the line? Cell!"
"W-what?!"Hercule asked, unfreezing. "But that can't be, Cell is gone, he's dead!"
"Not by your hands though, was he?" Videl engaged.
Hercule looked gobsmacked, as if Videl's question struck him physically. "Videl…" he began to say.
"I listened, you know" Videl continued. "Cell wanted to fight that classmate of ours. A guy named Gohan." Her father flinched when she mentioned the name of her… of Gohan. She didn't even know if she could call him a friend anymore. "Cell said he was going to fight him, but why? He said, and I quote, 'A chance to get revenge on you for destroying me.'"
Her father's eyes filled with despair, but she didn't care. "You lied" she said bluntly. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You lied about destroying Cell, you lied to the whole world." A painful burn formed behind her eyes. "You lied to me" she spat.
"Videl, listen, I-"
"Save it, Hercule" Videl said, refusing to even acknowledge him as her father anymore. "Just tell me one-"
"It was him."
Videl blinked, not expecting her father to have spoken again. "What?" she asked cooly.
"Gohan is the one who did it" Hercule confessed. "He… he took out that monster, and then disappeared. I mean, I didn't even know if he had survived until recently. And, the whole time, I couldn't believe what the tricks had done-"
"Tricks?" Videl asked.
Hercule gulped. "T-that's what I thought they were" he stuttered out. "At least, back then. I didn't know what to do when, well…"
"Enough" Videl said sharply. She wasn't appreciating the prickling feeling behind her eyes, so she wheeled away from her father. "I've heard enough." She began to walk away, fingering her pocket to locate her capsule. Satisfied that it was on her, she entered her room and pulled down a bag.
"I can't believe, all this time, he lied to ME!" Videl screamed internally. "The planet is one thing, but to his own daughter?!"
While she questioned her father's ability to sleep at night, she threw together a basic bag of necessities, packing it full and zipping it closed. Satisfied, she dragged it out and made her way back down through the entrance hall, once again passing her father.
Of course, the rather large suitcase didn't go unnoticed. "Uh, Videl, what are you doin-"
"I'm leaving" Videl said bluntly.
"L-Leav-"
"Yes, leaving" she snarled. "I don't know when or if I'm coming back, but I wouldn't wait up for me. The one thing I DO know is that I can't be under the same roof as a man who fed his daughter nothing but lies for a solid seven years." She turned around before he could say anything else. "Don't try to stop me."
Her father was struck dumb well enough that there was zero resistance on her exit. Digging in, Videl tossed her capsule on the ground, her jet copter expanding into reality with a plume of smoke. She chucked her bag in the back before jumping into the cockpit. Starting up the vehicle, she let the engine warm up briefly, giving herself a moment to boot up the communications system.
"Call Sharpner" Videl spoke clearly.
The response was the buzzing as the call attempted to connect. It only took two rings before the burst of static told the story. "Videl?" Sharpner's voice crackled through.
"Yeah, it's me. Where are you at?" she asked.
"I was on my way to check up on Erasa. I just got done with my folks, why?"
Videl pinched the bridge of her nose as the information she was processing ran through her mind. "I'm on my way out. How long until you get to Erasa's, do you think?"
"Probably about five minutes, as long as none of the streets are blocked off, why?" Sharpner asked.
Videl kicked the brake off and took to the air, rising above the roof of the mansion looming behind her. "Wait there, I'll be swinging by too. I've got some things I need to tell you two."
*CLICK*
Kami's Lookout
The carpet floated silently through the still air. That was the thing about the lookout, there was almost never any breeze at this height. While Popo may have longed for one on some of the hotter days, it was rather peaceful for it.
The distant platform of the lookout was growing rapidly nearer as he made the vertical ascent. Among the serene blue, you wouldn't have known that the world was struggling to keep itself whole at the moment.
"Which is something that needs checking on" Popo thought as the carpet pulled level with the precipice. Stepping off, the carpet flew back towards the temple situated in the center, while Popo's attention was turned towards the edge, where a lone figure stood.
The slightest trace of a frown graced Popo's usually unchanging face. He looked so alone out there without Piccolo by his side. He stepped across the tiles, walking over to the young Namekian. As he neared, he took note of his posture. His head was hung slightly, his muscles tensed in concentration. He had a tight grip on the staff in his hands. While he didn't seem it, Dende housed much power as the Kami of the planet, and Popo could feel the exertion of that power increasingly as he neared.
"Why hello, Dende, how is the task?" he offered as he stepped up beside him.
Dende's eyes opened briefly as he glanced at Popo. "Heh, it's pretty tough" Dende muttered, chuckling under the strain. "H-How's Gohan?"
"He has come out of the situation better than we could have hoped" Popo said warmly. "He's not in the greatest shape, but he's far from permanent damage."
"That's good" Dende said as he closed his eyes in concentration. "I'm… nnn… I'm glad he's okay."
"...Dende, is something wrong?"
He didn't get an answer, which worried the caretaker. "Dende?"
"I… It doesn't feel right" Dende works out.
Popo cocked his head slightly. "The world's energy has been unnaturally altered, it is, of course, not supposed to feel-"
"No, I'm not talking about that, Mr. Popo" Dende said. "There's… something. There's something on the other side, trying to break through. Something that-"
Dende let out a small shout and fell to his knees. Popo's eyes widened in shock, and he rushed over to catch the guardian. Dende righted himself fast, sweat beading. He got back into stance, energy streaming outwards, but Dende's posture was obviously different.
"Something… that got through" Dende gasped.
Vegeta froze in the air as his senses went haywire. A faint ripple rushed through the air, and a distant energy signature entered his radar. With his injuries, it was a struggle to stay in the air when he wasn't moving, but all the same, he remained frozen in shock.
"What… How… How is…"
Vegeta cut off his train of thought as his energy flared back up, and he changed his course towards a distant, fading energy signature.
An explosion rocked the landscape as an object careened to the earth, cratering the surrounding area as fire caught around it. Trees fell as their leaves caught fire and the ground beneath them cracked and shattered.
The light of the flames caught brightly off of shards of glass that littered the ground, shards that were snuffed out as a scarred hand scraped over them.
From the wreckage of the object, a lone figure emerged crawling along the ground, panting with every motion's effort. There was a long moment where the figure stopped moving, before a defiant cry rang across the landscape, and a single, large blast of yellow energy pierced skyward, shimmering like a beacon, before it faded, and no more sounds came from the clearing.
The figure collapsed as the fire spread, glinting off of the metallic yellow body of the crashed object.
And scene.
This was a calmer chapter, mostly dealing with… Aftermath, as the title would suggest. Maybe not the plot relevance or dimension shattering fights we've seen so far, but I feel good with how it came out.
Not much to say, sorry for the break. School's getting near the end and family life ain't getting any easier, which isn't much of an excuse, but it is what it is. But I hope you enjoyed what I managed. Speaking of, got any guesses to what the heck happened at the end there? Okay, yeah, you probably do, I'm not much good with subtlety, but at least I tried.
Anyways, as usual, review answers before I sign off for good on this installment.
Pentaholic-Scomiche - I'm glad you enjoyed my battles so much! I've still got some work on the slice of life side, but I know I'm decent with my fight scenes, and it's always heartening to hear when people enjoy them.
Douggernaut - Managing to capture the essence properly? Well, that feels like a good achievement to me!
Kaflaful - yeah, but I wanted to do Fusion Reborn justice, sorry about how long it took. And Zangya was never gonna be a permanent edition to the story, though she may pop back in later. She's definitely getting more than just sent back to HFIL, as Yemma implied.
inFamousSlyMonkey - heh, you caught that, eh? I'm juggling whether or not that's gonna be a world building reference on my part, or something I invest time into creating, I haven't decided yet, but I'm sure you'll see down the line.
ILiekFishes - Buu was actually able to split and control individual bodies at one point during the Kid Buu fight, where he split into four and started beating up on Kid Buu. It also wasn't his own mind, it was just what Buu wanted to do, sending a piece of him with that goal while he kept distracting Janemba. Beyond that, I'm glad you enjoyed that. I'm a fan of world building, and Fusion Reborn is one of my personal favorites too!
MindForgedMan - you haven't been around DBZ long if you think power is everything. Anyways, besides that, I have reasons for doing what I did. Fusion Reborn was a setup to the future here.
Derraj - they knows of it for sure, but they never memorized the dance pattern
Anyways, that's about all for now. Hope you all enjoyed, feel free to drop one of your reviews (Dende knows I love them!) and maybe follow it if you want to keep up, but anyways, we're done here. I'll see you next time when we keep moving beyond the flaming wreckage of this battle!