A/N This chapter, though short, is important to the main plot. Happy reading :)

Videl spent her Saturday in the library. Instead of studying for her midterms, she was researching tabloids. As nauseating as the work was, it had to be done. She tracked down her photos first to see what other tabloids picked them up. From the looks of it, only one tabloid put her on the front page. She skimmed through other tabloids to see if she was an inside read, only to find none. Celebrity Citings was the only tabloid she saw herself in, but she wasn't sure if other tabloids were offered the photos. It was a good start, but she wasn't sure if it was good news.

In order to do undercover work, she needed an undercover story. She named herself Pepper, a young tabloid writer looking for sources. There was very little media of her at her current age, so the chances of someone recognizing her voice over the phone was low. However, she worked on imitating an East City accent to be safe. It wasn't hard considering she studied the way Gohan talked, which was slightly different from West City residents.

She wasn't dumb enough to use her own phone in making calls, but she'd use it as a callback number. Her cell was broken anyway and the voicemail was automated. No one would know it was her if they called back. University dorms offered conversation rooms. They were usually on the top floor, and were small, private rooms with a comfy chair, a landline, and a phonebook. As convenient as they were, she couldn't use them either. They were all connected to the University's main line, all with numbers similar to the main administration office. It would be too traceable. It left her with no choice but to get off campus, to a nearby pay phone.

With all of her weekend research, she waited until Tuesday to make her calls. Videl discreetly made her way off campus, telling no one of her whereabouts, and making sure she wasn't followed. She locked herself in a nearby phone booth, constantly on the lookout for predators or paparazzi. Funnily enough, either one could strike during the day.

While there weren't many tabloids in circulation, there were at least three popular tabloids releasing weekly issues: The A-List Insider, The Daily Scoop, and Celebrity Citings. She pulled the list of numbers she wrote down from her pocket. She decided to call The A-List and The Scoop first, to ensure they had no contact with her photos. The Daily Scoop, located in East City, confirmed no contact with her photos. The A-List Insider, located in North City, also confirmed no contact with her photos. This only left Celebrity Citings, which was located in West City, and the closest city to campus. It didn't prove much, other than Celebrity Citings receiving the photos due to proximity. This meant her mole was in proximity as well.

Videl dialed the Celebrity Citings office, listening to the ring tone until someone answered.

"Thank you for calling Celebrity Citings, this is Chai."

"Good afternoon Chai. This is Pepper, I work with The Daily Scoop in East City. I just wanted to know if your Editor & Chief had time to talk about their latest issue."

"Mr. Lamb is a very busy man. I can put you through, but only if he's able to answer."

"I can wait. If he's busy I can call back at a better time."

"Hold please."

She waited over the phone in silence, and moments later, Chai returned to the phone."Mr. Lamb is available but he has a staff meeting soon. He won't be able to talk long."

"I don't need much. Just a couple of minutes."

"I'll transfer your call. Hold please."

Instead of silence, Videl heard the ring tone again. After one ring the phone was answered.

"C.C's Editor and Chief Lamb, don't waste my time."

"Good afternoon Mr. Lamb. My name is Pepper. I'm from The Scoop in East City. We saw your recent issue of the Satan girl on the cover."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well it's definitely crushing our current issue, I can tell you that. My boss wanted me to reach out to congratulate you on the success."

"You East City people are real pushovers. Of course we were gonna beat you this week, your people haven't even heard of 'em. I'm surprised you even know about the Champ in a backwards city like that. But then again, it was you all that ran the story calling Satan City 'Cult City.' "He laughed at his own words."Gotta admit that was a good one, but everything after that, is pretty flaccid."

Just talking to this dirt bag was getting her angry. She gripped the phone tightly as she spoke. "Cult City was before my internship at The Scoop, but I remember the issue. How'd you get the photos of the girl? Intern on campus?"

"Please, I wouldn't even waste an intern's time in that cesspool. Got 'em from some freelance people nearby campus. Decent work. Decent enough to pass her off as a whore and a junky to the public."

Videl could have hung up then and there, but she had to press on. "Are you going to keep them as your source?"

"Only if they pull a hook, line, and sinker. The whore and junky set up was good, but now we need something big, like a pimp boyfriend or a bun in the oven. I can smell the Zeni now."He laughed again at his own words."The Sire may not make me a millionaire, but he'll definitely get me that new model hovercraft Capsule Corp just dropped."

Videl pressed the phone between her ear and cheek to pull her notepad and pen out. "'The Sire?'" She asked, writing it down. "That's the name of your source?"

"That's what his handlers called him. Must be a real hoot with a nickname like that."

Videl wrote again. Handlers? Sounded like a group effort to her. Maybe even more than one paparazzi plant. "Sounds like you're on your way to a new hovercraft then. Do you have anything else on the handlers? If they visit East City, we'd like to know."

"Their faces were covered. You couldn't steal my source even if you tried, Miss. But, since you sound cute, I'll give you a breadcrumb: One of 'em had a dopey voice, and the other one had bedroom eyes. I'm sure half of your people are like that in the city, so good luck finding the hay straw in the needle stack. Now are we done here? You're starting to waste my time."

"My apologies, sir. Thank you for your time, I know it's extremely valuable to you."

"Yeah whatever. Just don't call back unless you're beggin' to be in bed with me."

With that the phone line clicked, and the dial tone returned.

Videl charted out her findings on paper. She made her connections with red marker, mapping out The Sire, his handlers, and Celebrity Citings as his target tabloid.

There was a knock at her door.

"I'm busy." She called, not looking away from her charting.

She heard the door push open, and her eyes rolled in annoyance. Videl turned around, and her face of annoyance turned into a face of relief. "Oh, it's just you."

Gohan laughed slightly as he closed the door and crossed the room to greet her. "'Just me?' At least people know where I am. I've been looking for you all day." He said and gave her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

Videl closed her eyes at the gentle gesture. "Sorry, I've been busy."

Gohan looked at her strangely. "You were busy this weekend. You're busy on your free day. What exactly are you busy with?"

"I don't wanna worry you."

"I'm worried now, I'd be less worried if you told me."

With a sigh, Videl pulled the tabloid from her desk drawer and handed it to Gohan.

Gohan looked over the tabloid, shaking his head slightly. "Classy headline." He spoke, handing her back the tabloid.

"I've been busy trying to figure out who leaked these photos. I've been working like crazy trying to find them. I don't know if they have more photos of me, or of you."

"Why didn't you just hire a private investigator to find out for you? It's taking a lot of your time, and you have midterms to study for."

Videl scoffed as she tossed the tabloid down. "And let them have all the fun? No way, I'm working this case myself."

Gohan chuckled. "You even sound like a detective. What have you got so far?"

Videl beckoned him over to her desk. "I've mapped out everything I've found so far. I called around to see if anyone else had these pictures, and no one but Celebrity Citings had them. Meaning they only went to them because they're close to West City."

"And West City is close to us."

"Right. So they're working off of proximity. I talked to the C.C's Editor and Chief and he gave me more than I thought." She began pointing to her chart to explain. "C.C got my photos from someone named 'The Sire.' But The Sire didn't deliver them, his handlers did."

"There's more than one person taking pictures of you?"

"I think so. He said the handlers' faces were covered, but he told me one had a dopey voice, and the other one had bedroom eyes."

Gohan nodded in understanding. "Okay, so the handlers are a male and female, working for someone who they call 'The Sire.' What else have you got?"

"Well, I kinda hit a wall. As much as he gave me I feel like I got nowhere. Dopey voice and bedroom eyes are oddly specific characteristics, but I'm not gonna go around listening to boys talk and staring girls in their eyes."

Gohan stared at her map a little longer. "Maybe it's not two students you're looking for."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if the Editor & Chief described one handler from the sound of their voice, then they must talk a lot, and if he described the other handler by their eyes, then maybe they didn't talk at all."

"But what does that have to do with them not being students?"

Gohan shrugged. "Some students can be aloof and quiet. Make their way around campus without being noticed, all while observing everything around them. While people that work for the University—"

"Greet and converse with all the students, regardless if they talk back." Cooks and servers in the dining hall always greeted students and asked about their day. Custodians always spoke in passing. Guidance counselors constantly kept in contact with students. Even the record clerks in the registration office could be nice from time to time.

Gohan nodded as he pointed to her map. "Right. So maybe Dopey Voice is posing as a staff member. It would be hard for them to get photos, but easy to update on whereabouts through casual conversation. Which leaves Bedroom Eyes to take the pictures quietly and discreetly."

Videl smirked as she updated her evidence map. "You've got pretty decent deduction skills Gohan." One staff member, and one student. It at least narrows down one of the handlers' suspect pools. She could focus on staff members that have a particular interest in her, but no one stood out in her mind.

Gohan grinned. "I may not be into criminal justice, but I love a good mystery."

The next day, Wednesday, Chiaotzu pushed the door open to his dorm room, finding Dende already inside studying at his desk. Dende looked back at his roommate, surprised to see him. "You're back early from class."

"I skipped, I'll ask Sahir for his notes."

Dende shook his head as he turned back to his work. 'Of course he skipped.' He thought to himself.

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"What did you mean by that?"

Dende looked at his roommate strangely. "By what? I didn't say anything."

Now Chiaotzu was looking at his roommate strangely. He shook his head. "Nothing. I thought you said something." He said hanging his backpack on the back of his desk chair. "I skipped because today was a review day. I wasn't sticking around for something I could have done myself."

Dende shrugged. "That makes sense. How was your day?"

"It was alright. My body is still a little sore from being sick, but it wasn't bad. How about you?"

"A little strange actually. I had my dreams this morning, so I'm in a bit of a fog."

"Like your bad dreams?"

Dende shook his head. "They weren't bad, they were oddly peaceful. I was in this…place. It was surrounded by sky, I couldn't see any land at all. There were long flower beds and palm trees planted in between. The ground was made of this beautiful white tiling, and there was the most beautiful palace I've ever seen, sitting in the sky. I thought maybe it was a temple, or a shrine. I wasn't sure what it was, but I've never seen anything like it. When I got close to the temple, I saw this…stick. Well, it was bigger than a stick, it was like, a shepherd's crook, or maybe like a…"

"Like a staff?"

"Yes! That's exactly what it was. It was a staff, leaning against the door frame of this temple. When I reached to grab it, I woke up."

Chiaotzu shrugged. "Sounds like Heaven to me. Palm trees, a huge palace, and nothing but sky surrounding you? If it's a real place I'd definitely plan my next vacation there."

Dende sat back in his chair. "Every time I have a dream now, I think back to what Erasa said about past lives, and recurring dreams. Do you ever have recurring dreams, Chiaotzu?"

"I dream about Tien a lot, but I don't think they're recurring…Well except the bad ones."

"The bad ones?"

Chiaotzu sat at his desk chair. "There are dreams where I see Tien fighting monsters, but they kill him. And when they kill him, I try to avenge his death, but I die too…I used to wake up crying from them, but Tien would always make me feel better. We'd have a midnight snack and I'd go back to sleep." He looked up at his roommate. "I've never told anyone about those dreams."

"Have you had them recently?"

"Once or twice since I've started school. I had another when I was sick, but I thought it was just the medicine giving me night terrors."

Dende stood from his desk. "Will you let me know if you have more dreams like that? I'm going to go see Gohan."

"For what?"

"To see what he dreams about."

...

Gohan sat quietly in his room, reading from the Book of Kami. He'd continue his midterm studying later this evening in the library, but for now, he could read something a little more entertaining. When he heard a knock on his door, he stood to answer it, surprised to see his Sunday friend, on a Wednesday. "Hey, everything okay?" He asked first.

"I'm fine. May I come in?"

"Of course." He spoke and stepped aside for him to come in. "It's not that I'm not excited to see you, I'm just surprised by the visit in the middle of the week."

Dende stepped into the room, taking the seat that Gohan offered him. "I know, I don't mean to alarm you, I'm just doing a bit of investigating."

"Oh you too, huh? I was just playing detective with Videl yesterday."

Dende looked at his friend. "Is something wrong with Videl?"

"She's fine, just something involving a tabloid. What are you investigating?"

"Dreams. I wanted to ask you if you've had any recurring dreams or dreams that stand out…I had a dream about a palace in the sky. With palm trees, and a white tiled floor, and flowers, and a staff, and—"

"It sounds like the Guardian's Lookout."

Dende looked up at his friend. "What?"

"You know, in the Book of Kami." Gohan went to his desk and flipped back a few pages in his book. "Here it is:'And beyond the Wonder Cat's temple, stood an even greater temple. The Temple of God, the Temple Above the Clouds, the Guardian's Lookout. The white tiles reflected the purity of the Guardian. The flower beds, full of wonder and life, were carefully sought after the Guardian's Assistant. Tall palm trees flowed quietly in the space, but the sound of the wind was not heard. On the pure white tiles stood a temple, fit for a Guardian, fit for a God. For it is the home that the Guardian dwells in, watching over the planet he guards.'"

Dende read over the verse again, nodding at the words. "This is exactly what I saw. This is what I dreamed about."

Gohan leaned against his desk. "What dream did you have that made you cry? That Sunday in the Worship Center, you were crying when you journaled. You said they were just dreams, but you haven't cried like that since you've had them."

"I've had them since, but I've gotten used to them. Basically, I'm on the planet with three suns. I witness my family's deaths, and before I am killed myself, I'm saved by two warriors. One of them is as young as I am…" He looked up at Gohan. "Do you have any pictures of yourself as a child, Gohan?"

Gohan shuffled through his desk, pulling out a small family photo album. "Mom let me take the photo album with me in case I got homesick. I'll look at it every now and then. I try not to show it to a lot of people though, I had this embarrassing bowl cut when I was a kid." He said as he flipped through the pages, stopping at the photo he just described. "There I am, in all of my bowl cut glory."

Dende observed the photo, his eyes widening as soon as he saw the child in his dreams. "It's you. You're the one that saves me in my dreams. I've dreamed about you almost all of my life, Gohan."

"But we've only just met this school year. How could we have met before?"

"It's like Erasa said about past lives. If people are meant to be in your life, you will find them again. In every universe, in every lifetime. We've found each other again, Gohan. Which means the first time," He pointed down to the book, "was here. In the Book of Kami. This is our story."

Gohan shook his head in disbelief. "Okay, let's really think about this. You're saying because you've seen me in your dreams as a child, you think that it is equivalent to what's in this book. Dende, I know we've read the same book, so I'm sure you understand that the themes of this book aren't normal. There's a wish granting dragon, people shoot beams from their hands, people come back from the dead in this book. There is no way that we could have lived this."

Dende pushed away from the desk to stand up. "Do you not believe me, or you just think I'm crazy?"

"No, I believe you I just—"

"You just think I'm crazy. Fantastic." He said, throwing his hands up. "I thought you would believe me—"

"I believed you before anyone else!" He yelled. "The day we met I knew you healed my arm. When I started reading the Book of Kami I knew you were I knew you were the Prophet, but you didn't believe yourself! I thought I was the crazy one, but you gaslit me!"

"I did not gaslight you!"

"Well you didn't own up to healing me! I wasn't going to keep believing it if you didn't!"

"Well I believe it now!" Dende could feel his eyes filling with tears. He couldn't believe how frustrated he was. He didn't care who believed him or not, but Gohan was an exception. He only wanted Gohan to believe him, and to know that he no longer believed him when he once did, was shattering.

Gohan softened at the tears in his friend's eyes. Why was it so easy to give in when Dende cried? He sighed and pulled out his handkerchief. Gohan went to dry the tears that rolled down his cheeks. "When I was little, I used to have dreams about space."

Dende leaned into his gentle touch. "Just space?"

"I was on a spaceship, with my dad's friends. We never landed anywhere, we just flew through space."

"Have you had any other dreams?"

Gohan was quiet as he tucked away the wet handkerchief. "After I met you, and before I started reading the Book of Kami, I had a dream that I was a kid, and I was surrounded by all of these people that looked like you. There was a dragon above me, and you were in front of me, as a small child. The dream is quiet almost like it's on mute. You're holding my hands, there's tears in your eyes, and the only thing I can hear in the entire dream is you saying 'I'll never forget you.'"

Dende sniffled. "So you believe me? You don't think I'm crazy?"

Gohan smirked. "Well you're a little crazy, but I believe you."

Dende found relief in his teasing. At least he finally believed him.

"What made you start believing?"

Dende sat down at his desk again, turning back to the Book of Kami. "Besides the dreams, there was someone I healed a few days ago. Angela, she's in the Gardening Club. She cut her hand on pruning scissors and I helped her. She called me an Angel. I didn't actually start believing I was an Angel, but I just thought, with a gift like this…what could I be?"

Gohan leaned down, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I told you, I believed you before you believed yourself. I just needed you to believe it too. The coincidences are too great to be just that. The stories in the Book of Kami are nearly parallel to our everyday lives. You are what Kami prophesied in the last chapter. You are more than an Angel, you are the next Guardian of Earth. You are more than a minister of a temple. You are a Prophet. You are The Prophet."

A/N Cheesy lil name drop at the end, but I said it was important lol Until next chapter!