A/N: Thank you for reading and letting me know what you think. Also, thanks for the favorites. I'm glad most of you seemed to enjoy the Hercule training because I had a lot of fun writing that. I don't have much else to say, so, on to the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball or DBZ.
Chapter 11.
"…I met somebody who needs our help." Zangya stepped out of the way, revealing someone who Gohan recognized very well indeed.
"Android 18!?"
"Gohan!?"
Gohan stood there in his sweat bottoms and t-shirt and stared out his bedroom window at the blonde android. He hadn't seen her since she called Krillin a "bonehead" on the lookout. How did she know Zangya? And why was she here?
18 was feeling rather uncomfortable. She would never have guessed that the person her new friend Zangya was taking her to was Gokus' kid. How was he supposed to help? Even if he could, why would he help? Her and her brother tried to kill his father, after all.
Zangya looked from Gohan to 18 and back again. "You two know each other?" She asked in surprise. Gohan had talked about his friends several times, but nobody matching 18s' description had ever been brought up.
Gohan scratched his cheek. "Well, kind of. We're more like…" Gohan struggled to find the right words. "Passing acquaintances? Yeah, that works." He nodded to himself satisfied with the description, then turned back to Zangya. "But what are you doing here this late? You know I have school tomorrow. And how do you know her anyway?"
Zangya related, with great pride, how she had seen 18 surrounded by a bunch of guys with guns and uniforms and how she intervened. She also told Gohan about the fair and how much fun they'd had together. When she finished, she looked at Gohan with a "Praise me!" expression on her face. He didn't have the heart to tell her that her first attempt at heroism was actually illegal.
"Errr… Well, I'm glad that you're trying to help people Zangya." Gohan said.
Zangya was a bit disappointed. She was hoping for him to say something more along the lines of "Wow, your incredible Zangya!" Or even "That was a brave thing you did. Let's go celebrate with some cake!" Any scenario that ended with cake was always favorable.
Oh well. she mentally shrugged. There was a more important reason for coming here anyway.
"Gohan, 18 is looking for her brother. Apparently, they got separated a while back. She's been looking all over for him to make sure that he's ok. She's really worried about him and I thought you might have an idea on how to find him."
Gohans' eyes went wide. "Wait, what!? Why would I know how to find android 17?" He turned to 18. "And why are you bothering to look for him anyway? We both know you guys can take care of yourselves. Besides, it's been like a year. Shouldn't you have been able to find him by now?" He asked with a hint of suspicion.
Gohan really had no opinion of the androids one way or another. He hadn't ever met 17 and he had only ever seen 18 twice before now. He hadn't heard of them wreaking havoc or anything like that, but 18 coming to him for help seemed highly suspicious. For all he knew, this could be some revenge scheme of the red ribbon army. True, 17 and 18 were victims of Cell, but that didn't automatically make them trustworthy. The fact that she had been surrounded by policemen when Zangya met her didn't help her case much in Gohans' eyes.
Zangya looked troubled. She really hadn't thought of how Gohan would be able to help find 18s brother. She just knew he would be able to help. But the way he was looking at 18, it didn't look like Gohan even wanted to help. And what was with all this "android" business?
"Coming here was a waste of time." 18 flipped her hair and took off. She didn't know why she got her hopes up when Zangya said she knew someone who could find her brother. Maybe she should have explained to the kid that she really just wanted to make sure that he was alive. She had no idea if the dragon balls actually brought 17 back at all, since he wasn't technically killed by Cell. "Tch, whatever. I don't have to explain myself to anyone. Especially not some kid." She mumbled as she was flying away.
Zangya yelled after her new friend. "Wait, 18! Come back!" She was about to chase after her when Gohan stopped her.
"Zangya wait!" he hopped out of his window. "I don't know what android 18 is planning, but I don't think you should trust her."
Zangya reeled back in shock. "What? Why not?" Gohan was acting very unGohan-like. "And why do you keep calling her an android?"
"I called her an android because that's what she is." Gohan explained. "It sounds like she didn't even tell you that. That's a little suspect, don't you think?"
Zangya thought about it before replying. "Well, no not really. I mean, I didn't tell her I was an alien. Why should she tell me that she was a robot?"
Gohan had to admit, this was a fair point. After all, he didn't go around introducing himself as "Gohan the half saiyan".
"Look, all I'm saying is that she and her brother have a bit of a history for getting into trouble. I'm glad your trying to make friends, but if you get mixed up with her, you might land into trouble yourself. She and her brother were part of this organization called the red ribbon army. It was filled with really bad people and they had it out for my family. It doesn't make sense that she would come to me for help. I think she's using you to get to me or something like that." Gohan tried his best to explain the facts to Zangya. He didn't want her mixed up with the wrong people.
Zangya looked down, her orange bangs covering her eyes. "I can't believe it." she said quietly.
Gohan felt sorry for her and tried to comfort her. "It's ok Zangya, you didn't do anything wrong."
"No," Zangya looked up and her eyes were filled with fury. "I can't believe you!"
"What? Me?"
"Yes, you! What happened to all your talk about helping people?"
"This is different." Gohan tried to explain himself.
"No! It's no different from you helping the buffoon, or me, or any of the strangers you save as the Gold fighter! All she wants is to see her brother again! To see if he's alive and well!" Zangya was really heated.
"But why would she come to me for help?" Gohan questioned.
"She didn't. I brought her here because I know you can do anything. You're smart and resourceful and, above all, you care about others. Or at least I thought you did. But instead of helping my friend, you question her reasoning for wanting to find her family. Then you tell her she should have found him already. How would you feel if Goten went missing and you had no idea where to look? You would be devastated, because he's your baby brother. I know you wouldn't rest until you exhausted every avenue in finding him. Then you find a lead, and someone mocks you for not being able to find him. Well, that's just what's happening to 18. She came to you for help and what do you do? You make her feel unwanted, and then you tell me I shouldn't be friends with her. Why? Because she was part of some silly army."
"The red ribbon army was pretty terrible, Zangya." Gohan said weakly. Her comment about Gohan was making him rethink his theory.
"Oh? More terrible than a band of space pirates that could destroy an entire galaxy if they wanted to? Because guess what Gohan, that's the crowd I used to run with before someone befriended me. So maybe you shouldn't hang around me anymore! I wouldn't want you getting mixed up in any kind of trouble. Especially not with your precious schooling and your little hero game." She turned away, whipping Gohan with her hair as she did so.
"Zangya…" He tried, but was cut off.
"The Gohan I know wouldn't ask questions about helping someone. The Gohan I know would jump in front of an energy blast just to save someone, who only moments ago tried to kill him. Maybe I don't know you as well as I thought I did."
Leaving Gohan feeling incredibly guilty and ashamed, she took off at full speed to catch up to 18.
Gohan sighed "She's right. Maybe I'm becoming too much like Mr. Piccolo."
Break
Zangya was flying as fast as she could to catch up with 18. When she saw her up ahead, she called out to her.
"18! Hey, 18!"
The Blonde looked back and stopped. "What do you want?" The way she spoke wasn't sharp or angry. What She heard in her voice was something the Hera-seijin had heard, all to often, in her own voice. Loneliness.
She stopped flying next to the blonde. "I wanted to help you find your brother." She said, as if it was obvious.
18 looked at the blue girl skeptically. "Why?"
"Because, if what I understand about Earths' culture is correct, friends help each other." Zangya answered with a smile.
"You think we're friends?" 18 asked.
Suddenly Zangya wasn't so sure of herself. "Um, well… Aren't we?" she asked hopefully.
18 just floated there silently. Zangya was starting to feel stupid. Maybe they weren't friends. She put on an expression that masked her emotions and continued. "Ahem… Well, it doesn't matter. I'm helping because I want to help."
"So do I!" Both girls turned to the new voice. It was Gohan, still in his sweat bottoms and t-shirt. He stopped a few feet away from them and looked at the blue girl. "You were right Zangya. I'm sorry." He tried to apologize but the Hera-seijin was still upset with him.
"Hmph!" She huffed, turning her face away.
Gohan was a little put out but, turned to the other woman. "I'm sorry to you as well, 18." 18 looked indifferent. "I thought of a way we can find your brother." He continued and this time 18s' eyes widened.
"Wait, really?"
"Well, it's an idea anyway…" he said with less confidence under the scrutiny of the older woman.
The blonde kept staring and Gohan took this as a sign to go on.
"Well, Master Roshis' sister is a fortune teller. I bet if we asked her, she could locate 17, no sweat."
18 rolled her eyes. "Really? A fortune teller? That's what you've come up with?"
Gohan raised his hands defensively. "I know it sounds fishy, but she actually can tell the future. She can also find things with her crystal ball. She's never been wrong before and I think, if you really want to find your brother, then it's worth a shot."
18 thought about that. What do I have to lose? "Ok kid, where is this fortune teller?"
Gohan grinned. "Just follow me! We should be there by morning."
Zangya turned to look at him. "Won't that get in the way of school?" she asked mockingly.
The boy chuckled. "Hehe. Yeah, I guess it will. That's ok though, I'm pretty far ahead. One day won't matter much." Then he took off and the two ladies followed him.
Zangya and 18 were flying side by side. For a long time, nothing but silence permeated the air. Finally, 18 spoke.
"We are."
Zangya looked at the blonde in confusion. "Are what?"
"Friends." 18 clarified. "You asked if we were friends. We are."
"Oh." Zangya wasn't sure what to say. "Good."
Break
"So, what's it like being an android?" Asked Zangya.
"Actually, I'm a cyborg, not an android. I was originally human."
"Oh… Well, what's that like?"
18 shrugged. "It's ok, I guess. There are definitely some advantages, like super powers. I can't grow my hair out though, so it limits what I can do with it." she looked with envy at Zangyas voluminous locks.
"I think that style looks great on you."
"Thanks, though I would kill for curls like yours."
Amazing! Thought Gohan. One's an android, er, cyborg, and the other's an alien. We're flying over a desert, and they're still having girl talk.
As he was thinking this, he spotted his destination. "Alright, everyone. We're here." He started his descent toward a giant building. Zangya and 18 followed his lead. When they landed, a pink ghost with a rice paddy hat approached them.
"Good morning and welcome to Fortune teller Babas!" The ghost spoke in a high-pitched voice. "Are you here for an appointment?"
"I didn't think we needed an appointment." Said a bewildered Gohan. "Baba's an old friend of my dad's so…"
"Yes, yes Fortune teller Baba has helped many people in the past." The Ghost said rather snobbishly. "If you don't have an appointment, you'll just have to wait in line like everyone else." It gestured to a huge line, about a mile long.
"Now, how did I miss that?" Gohan wondered out loud. "Man, that's going to take forever to get through." He was severely disappointed.
Luckily, 18 was more than used to dealing with lines.
"Watch and learn kid." She said as she started for the front of the line.
"Wait, 18, what are you going to do?" Gohan asked suspiciously.
"What every woman does." She smiled back at him. "I'm going to use my wiles."
She sauntered over to the first person standing in line and said something that Gohan couldn't hear. The man she was talking to, a huge, hulking, ugly thing, shouted angrily back at her.
"NO WAY! I'M NOT LETTING YOU HAVE MY PLACE! I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE FOR DAYS!"
18 smiled and said something else, while pointing to a mountain off in the distance. Then she fired a ki blast and the mountain exploded. The man who yelled at her, along with every other member of the line, gaped at the scene they had just witnessed. As one, they all took 3 steps back, while the man at the front bowed down and started groveling at her feet. 18 smiled, turned to look at Gohan and Zangya, and beckoned them over.
When they approached her, Gohan gave her a disapproving look.
18 flipped her hair. "What? I never said the wiles were feminine."
When they all took their place in line the Ghost came up to them and sighed. Someone always had to make a show.
"Alright then, right this way." It started floating towards the buildings entry way and the 3 followed. "How will you be paying for Lady Babas' services?"
Gohan looked embarrassed. He was pretty sure that Zangya didn't have any money and he certainly didn't think he had enough for Babas services. Slightly nervous he asked "Um, how much is the service normally?"
"10 million zeni."
Gohan gulped. He definitely didn't have that kind of money in his pajamas. 18 was just thinking if it was possible to kill a ghost, when it spoke again.
"Of course, for those who do not have the funds, we have an alternative method."
"Oh, perfect!" Gohan exclaimed, relieved that they hadn't come all this way for nothing. "What do we have to do?"
The Ghost giggled wickedly. "Oh, I wouldn't be too excited if I were you. The task is to fight 5 incredibly fierce warriors who…"
"We'll take that way please!" Gohan said with a huge smile on his face.
The Ghost sweat-dropped, or ecto-dropped. "Don't you want to know who your fighting?"
"It doesn't matter." He turned to 18 and Zangya. "Are you two ok with this?"
Both of them just shrugged.
"Ok! Lead the way please."
The three warriors were led to an arena just outside.
"Be careful of your first opponent." Warned the ghost gleefully. "I'm afraid his bite is much worse than his bark. Teehee."
"Alright, I'll go first!" Gohan hopped up onto the stadium but was immediately pulled down rather hard.
"I don't think so rice ball. I'm going first." Zangya didn't really care about fighting first, but she was still annoyed at Gohan, so she wanted to annoy him right back. 18 didn't really care who fought, so she just folded her arms and watched.
The blue girl walked calmly on the stage and a gong sounded. A bat fluttered out and, in a cloud of smoke, transformed into a blue skinned vampire with boxing gloves. He landed in the arena and started doing a strange dance.
"Has the match started?" Zangya asked the Ghost.
"Oh yes, Fang's a very special fighter. He…"
But as soon as she said yes, Zangya jumped at the vampire and hit him so hard he became a twinkle in the distance.
"Next please." The blue girl said with some impatience.
The Ghost was stunned, but recovered quickly.
"Er, yes, of course… But you see, the opponent is already in the ring with you. He…"
"Found him." And she did a round house kick on thin air, which turned out to be the invisible man. The only evidence that he had been knocked out of the arena was the fact that you could see splashes as he skipped across the nearby lake.
"WHAT THE HIFL!" The Ghost screamed. And how long have we had that lake?
"Hurry and bring out the next opponent." Zangya ordered. "Or can we go see the fortune teller already?"
The ghost cowered under blue womans' stare.
"Alright, alright." It waved it's arms in front of itself. "The next opponent is just through this entryway."
They were led into, what the ghost called, "the Devils toilet."
"Now, cower foolish mortals," the Ghost taunted. "As all your worst nightmares come true! Born over 800 years ago, he is a man who cannot die! He once ruled a great kingdom in the desert but now he fights for lady Baba."
Through the ghosts' introduction, a sarcophagus appeared and was slowly opening.
Instead of terrified, Gohan looked excited.
"Oh wow! That looks like an artifact from the upper kingdom era! Hey, Zangya! Can I fight next? Please?" Gohan was literally begging his friend.
"Um, ok, but why?" she asked, confused by his excitement.
"The upper kingdom was one of the greatest civilizations, before suddenly disappearing mysteriously hundreds of years ago." He explained giddily. "If this next fighter is one of the remnants of that people, think of all the knowledge he could possess!"
Zangya looked at him like he was insane. "So, you want to fight him so you can quiz him?"
"Yeah huh!" Gohan nodded with bright eyes.
"Oookay. Be my guest rice ball."
Gohan jumped onto the bridge suspended over a vat of bubbling acid. The sarcophagus lid had finally opened all the way to reveal a man, wrapped from head to foot in bandages. He opened his eyes and stared menacingly at Gohan.
"So," he rumbled, "I awaken from my slumber to face a mere child?"
"Mr. Mummy? My name is Gohan and I would be honored if you would answer a few questions for a report I'm doing."
The mummy looked at Gohan with a half open mouth, then to the ghost, then back to Gohan.
"What?"
"Well," said Gohan. "We're studying your kingdom in social studies and I've already read every book on the upper kingdom I could find, but to have an actual resident let me interview them would be a guaranteed A+."
The mummy looked furious. "What is this!? I am a fighter, not a teacher! But I may answer your questions if you can hit me you brat!" He taunted the boy, confident that he would never be able to touch him, but as soon as he said that gohan appeared in front of him, making him step back in shock. Gohan knew how fragile mummies were, so he decided a light tap should suffice, then he could ask the questions. Unfortunately, Gohan was still not perfect at controlling his strength.
His "light" tap was just strong enough to cause the mummy to go tumbling into the acid below, making a huge splash.
"Noooooo!" Gohan yelled.
"Oh, don't worry, we can always fish him out later." Said the ghost, who was exasperated by the strength of these challengers, though not really surprised anymore.
"No, you don't understand!" wailed Gohan. "He was supposed to answer questions for my report!" streams of tears were comically sliding down his face.
"Riiiight…" The ghost rolled its eyes. "Anyway, your next opponent is Spike the devil man." It had given up on the ominous announcing bit.
Gohan stood up to face his opponent, though he was still upset.
Out of the same doorway that the mummy appeared, there walked a tall, blue man, in a blue spandex suit with horns and wings.
"Finally, mortals strong enough to face me." He drawled. "Though, it's a shame this battle will be your last."
He lunged at Gohan and started a quick combination of punches and kicks. Gohan stood there taking it, not even flinching. "Hey, come on, stop fooling around. Let's get this fight started already." The preteen said, thinking the whole onslaught was a joke.
The devilman jumped back and was breathing hard. "Well, aren't you a tough little brat." Spike was still trying to maintain his superiority. "Well, I've got just the thing for you. DEVILMITE BEAM!" The devil man pointed his forefingers on each hand at Gohan and a violet spiraling beam made its way toward the young fighter.
The ghost floated next to 18 and Zangya. "I'm sorry to say this, but your friend is done for."
Zangya looked at the pink floating blob. "What are you talking about?"
"Teeheehee. You see, that is an attack that targets the evil in a persons' heart, and expands it till it literally explodes." The Ghost was a little too happy for Zangyas taste.
"So, all this technique does is use the evil in a person to destroy them?" she asked the specter.
"Precisely! Teeheeheehee!"
"Oh, well that's ok then."
The ghost stopped laughing. "Pardon?"
"I said, it's not a problem. That guy doesn't have an evil bone in his body." She smiled at the young fighter. She couldn't stay annoyed at him for long.
As the light enveloped Gohan, his opponent laughed.
"HAHAHA! Now I have you! EVIL EXPLODE!"
The light dissipated around Gohan and the devilman looked expectantly.
Gohan looked himself over. "I'm sorry, was something supposed to ha…" Before Gohan could finish his question, a strange feeling washed over him. He doubled over and clutched his head. "GYAAAA!"
Zangya, and even 18, looked on in concern. "What's going on?"
The ghost gloated. "I tooold youuu."
Gohan was screaming as the devilman cheered for his victory. "YES! YES! YES! Succumb to your evil and be destroyed!"
An internal battle was happening inside Gohan. Zangya was absolutely correct in her statement about Gohan being absent of evil. However, something else was lurking deep within the half-saiyan warrior. Something dark and powerful. The Devilmite beam confused it for evil and tried to bring it out. This long dormant darkness, which was in stark contrast to the boys natural state, caused Gohan, who was trying to keep it from growing, untold pain. The young man screamed in agony as he fell to his knees.
"Wait a minute?" Spike said to himself. "He should be dead by now. Somethings off." He was about to recast his attack when Gohan abruptly stopped screaming.
The spectators all looked at Gohan with differing expressions. For Zangya and 18, it was worry. For Spike, caution, and the ghost was watching with intense curiosity.
The boy was emanating a dark aura. He stood up and he wore a cruel smile on his face and his eyes where no longer their usual onyx coloring. Instead, the whites of his eyes turned black and his irises were blood-red. He looked at the Devilman for a moment and tilted his head slightly to the side. A feral grin appeared on his features. Spike felt a rush of fear and stepped back only to hit something solid. He turned around to see the boy had somehow got behind him.
Spike tried running away, but before he could, Gohans' hand latched onto the devilmans' throat and squeezed, just hard enough to not kill him.
"Wait, Please… I surrender." He managed to get out before the hand clenched tighter around his throat. Gohan seemed not to register his words because he kept squeezing. While maintaining his grip, with his free hand he started crushing the devilmans bones, one by one, starting with the fingers. With each new break, Spike gurgled in pain.
Zangya had seen Gohan fight when he was serious, and it was terrifying. The way he handled BoJack was a testament to how brutal he could be. Brutal, but not cruel. This, though, was something else entirely. It was as if some demon had possessed Gohans' body and was exercising every ounce of sadism it could muster. It scared her. This wasn't Gohan. Gohan would never, could never, cause pain with that kind of smile on his face. She didn't like this. She wanted Gohan back. before she knew what she was doing, she cried out.
"GOHAAAAN!"
Something about that voice caught the boys' attention. It was familiar. It didn't register as an enemy, more like… a friend? For some reason it was upset. Why was his friend upset?
Gohan felt pain in his head and released his grip on Spike. He staggered around Clutching his head, until he gave a mighty shout.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
His dark aura disappeared and he fell straight to his back.
Zangya sped towards her fallen friend and knelt down while cradling his head in her lap.
"Gohan! GOHAN! Please, wake up! Gohan answer me!" she pleaded.
18 stood next to her watching the scene. She really had no idea what to do with herself.
Finally, Gohans' eyes fluttered open. Eyes that were their normal coloring. He blinked several times before speaking.
"Zangya?"
Upon hearing his voice, she pulled him into a tight hug. "Gohan! I'm so glad you're alright! What the Hera happened?"
Gohan looked confused. "I… I don't really know. One minute I was surrounded by that devil guys purple beam and the next I'm in your lap." Gohan stood up, or tried to, but Zangya held him tight in her embrace. He looked around and saw Spike lying on the ground a few feet away. "What happened to him?"
"What happened, young man, is you beat him." The voice that spoke belonged to an elderly woman. Gohan, Zangya and 18 looked around and saw a squat, pink haired woman, with a witches' hat and robe, riding a crystal ball.
"Hey, Baba! Long time no see!" Gohan smiled at the old woman.
"Yes, we last met at Gokus' funeral I believe. Your father is doing very well in other world by the way." She told him.
"Really!? That's good to hear." Gohan was always grateful to hear about his dad.
"But I know that you haven't come all this way just to relive the past. You want to know about the future." She raised one wrinkly eyebrow. "But you know you didn't need to fight my men to see me. I would have answered your question for free. After all you and your father have done for the earth, it's the least I can do."
The three warriors looked at the pink ghost who looked nervous. "Ehehe. Standard procedure?" it shrugged.
"Ahem, yes well. since you bested my warriors anyway, I will forgo the final fight and answer any question you have." Baba stated in a businesslike manner.
"Well, we wanted to know about 18s' brother." Said Zangya.
"Oh, is that all? Well, that is a very simple matter." She hopped off her ball and started waving her hands over it. "Crystal ball, don't be mean, show us cyborg 17!" her ball lit up and an image appeared. "Ah, here he is. Looks rather happy to me. Take a look for yourselves."
18, Zangya and Gohan peered at the ball. The image it showed was of 17, walking hand in hand with a pretty girl, with long flowing hair and flower behind her ear. They were in a wide-open field that looked perfect for a picnic.
Zangya was the first to speak. "We did it 18! We found your brother!" She was incredibly excited that they succeeded in their mission. "Wait, that is him, right?"
18 smiled. "Yeah, that's him." Then she turned around and started walking away.
"Hey, wait! Don't you want to know where he is?" Zangya asked in disbelief. They had come all this way and now she was just leaving?
"There's no need." 18 replied. "He's alive and he's happy. That's all I wanted to know."
Zangya was a little put out but then Gohan spoke.
"Well, at least we had fun." He laughed. "Thanks Baba. Zangya, could you let go of me please?" Zangya blushed. She had not been aware that she was still clinging onto Gohan the entire time. She finally let him go, which reminded her of the reason he was in her arms to begin with.
"Wait, are you sure you're ok Gohan? I mean, it isn't normal for people to go berserk and then not remember it. Maybe we should ask about that?" Zangya asked, concerned.
"Nah, that's ok. Piccolo says it happened all the time when I was little. I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably a saiyan thing." Gohan waved off her concern casually. He started walking toward the exit when Baba interjected.
"Beware, young man. You have more than just saiyan blood in you." The old witch said ominously.
Gohan looked confused. "Well, yeah. I know I have earth blood too." Then he walked through the door.
Zangya eyed Baba and said. "You weren't talking about his human blood, were you?"
"You will see, my dear, all in good time." Baba liked to keep a little mystery in the lives of her clients.
Zangya was still concerned about her statement but decided to follow Gohan and 18 outside.
Break
Flying back to mount Poazu, everyone was quiet, albeit, for different reasons.
18 was content. After a year, she had found out for certain that her brother was alive, and looked happier than he ever had before. She didn't need to know exactly were he was to know he was in a better spot than either one had ever been in. She was truly happy for him and she knew she would meet him again someday.
Gohan was terrified. He had missed a full day of school and he knew his mother was going to be ticked. He couldn't blame her, but still, Chichis' wrath was never something you wanted to be on the wrong end of. No matter how powerful you were.
Zangya kept shooting curious looks at Gohan. What had happened back there? Gohan said it was normal for him to lose control, but something in her gut told her that this was anything but normal. Baba seemed to think so too, no matter how cryptic she was being.
Gohan looked over and noticed the troubled look on her face. Is she still mad at me? He wondered. "Hey, Zangya?"
Gohans' voice broke her train of thought. "Hm?"
"I just wanted to thank you for talking some sense into me like you did last night. I'm glad you made a friend like 18, she seems nice."
"Oh…" She hadn't expected him to thank her for yelling at him.
"So as a thankyoupology, how about we pick up some cake on the way home?"
She smiled and her eyes shone. The mystery of Gohan could wait. There was cake to be had!
"You got a deal rice ball!" Then she sped up to get to her cake.
"Hey, wait up!" Gohan yelled as he increased his speed as well.
18 watched the two go and mumbled to herself. "I want some cake too." And she too sped up after her new friends.
Break
"SON GOHAN! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" the unholy shriek of an angry mother could be heard for miles.
Gohan and Zangya had just walked into the Son house and were now cowering beneath the glare of the great and terrible Chichi.
"I GO TO WAKE YOU UP AND YOUR NOT IN YOUR ROOM, NO NOTE, NO "GOODBYE MOM"! AND THEN, TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, YOU DON'T EVEN SHOW UP TO SCHOOL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN LYING DEAD IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE!"
Zangya, who had not yet had much experience dealing with this side of Chichi, decided to come to her friends' defense.
"Actually Chichi, it was my fault. A friend needed help so I got Gohan out of bed last night and…"
"LAST NIGHT!? YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU TWO HAVE BEEN OUT ALL NIGHT!? AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT HUH!? WHAT COULD YOUR FRIEND POSSIBLY HAVE NEEDED THAT COULD DRAG YOU AND MY SON OUT OF BED AND MISS SCHOOL THE FOLLOWING DAY!?"
"Well, I…" But it was too late for Zangya to explain. Chichi had seen the cake box.
"OH, I SEE! YES, EATING CAKE IS DEFINITELY MORE IMPORTANT THAN SCHOOL, AND SOOOO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN LETTING YOUR MOTHER KNOW WHERE YOU WERE! MY MISTAKE, I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT'S WHERE YOU WERE, BECAUSE MY SON KNOWS THAT THE ONLY THING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS SAFETY AND HIS SCHOOLING, IS FRIGGIN CAKE!"
Chichi took a deep breath. "Fine, that's it. the two of you are grounded!" Zangya looked at Chichi in confusion.
"Don't give me that look young lady! You and Gohan are grounded! Meaning you stay in this house except for activities approved by me! No more training, no more hanging out, and no more CAKE!"
Zangya was horrified. "You can't ground me, I'm…"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE!?"
The wind from Chichis' yelling caused Zangyas hair to blow back and become even more frizzy than before.
"From now on, the 2 of you are on lockdown! Gohan leaves for school, Zangya… I haven't decided what you'll be allowed to do, but unless I say so, you both are staying put. Now stay in here and think about what you've done!" With that, the angry mother stomped toward her bedroom and slammed the door shut on the two.
Zangya was feeling miserable and confused. First of all, she didn't live here, so how was she supposed to be on lockdown? Did this mean she was moving in? She also really liked Chichi and hated that she was mad at her. She also was really looking forward to that cake, which she would now never get. She couldn't remember feeling worse. Then Gohan spoke up.
"You know? I've never seen her ground anyone but me before." He said with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey, I guess this makes you like one of the family!" Gohan smiled despite his grounded status.
Zangya thought about that. She had forgotten what it was like to be cared for. Was Chichi worried about her as well? A warm feeling spread through the blue girl at this thought.
One of the family. And Zangya smiled
End chapter.
A/N: Well, let me know what you think in the reviews. Gohans' initial mistrust of 18 comes from 2 things. 1 he has been spending a lot more time with Piccolo, who has been training him to be prepared for any eventuality. 2: He really doesn't know her at all. Let's not forget the fact that she did try to murder his dad. I'm glad his better nature won out in the end.
The more I write, the more I like the GohanxZangya pairing so that's what I'm going with for now (Sorry Videl. Maybe next fic. You did get the cannon after all). I won't do any serious relationship stuff till Gohan is a little older. I know 18 didn't do a lot in this chapter but she doesn't strike me as a "me first fighter". If the others wanted to do the fighting, she would sit back and let them. If anyone has any questions, just ask. Thanks again for reading.