fate 27

Gohan flew through the air, subconsciously navigating his way towards Videl's house through the air, simply heading towards the source of her ki. In the forefront of his mind, he was wondering what he was going to say to Videl.

< Where do I start? Do I start when Raditz came? No, that won't do. I should briefly explain dad's life and how he met everyone, but only briefly. Besides, I really don't know all that much about it anyway, just the basics. But, does she need to know that? Should I just tell her the whole story, starting with dad's arrival on Earth or should I only tell her about the things that I know? I really wish I knew, > Gohan said to himself, his thoughts moving in circles.

He landed about a 5 minutes away from Videl's house in order to not be seen flying by her and took his time in walking to Videl's house, looking up at the sun, which was shining brightly in the sky. Gohan felt his mood lighten up a bit at the sight of the nice day. He loved it when the weather outside was nice. It reminded him of when he would sneak out of the house when he was supposed to be studying and go and play outside with Icarus.

Eventually, Gohan found himself standing in front of Videl's house. He gulped, suddenly getting nervous; was he ready to reveal everything about himself? He drew in a deep breath, telling himself that he could to it, that he had prepared all week for it. Feeling confident enough, Gohan pressed on. He walked through the main gate and over to the front door, knocking on it. He stood there, his hands in his pockets, as he waited for someone to answer the door, rocking back and forth on his feet slightly.

The door started to open and Gohan, expecting one of the butlers to answer it, was surprised when he saw Videl standing there as well. Videl smiled at him as she spotted him standing on the doorstep.

"Good, you're on time," Videl said, walking out and closing the door behind her. Gohan looked down at her with a confused, curious look on his face.

"So, your dad pretty much left you alone for 5 months, right?" Gohan asked, surprised that Mr. Satan would do that. Videl nodded at Gohan's words.

"Yeah, that's right. This isn't the first time he's done this, Gohan. And besides, I can take care of myself. It's no problem." Gohan shrugged, letting go of the subject.

"Oh well, whatever you say," Gohan said, looking down at Videl, an expedient expression on his face, "So, where are we going to talk, Videl?" Gohan asked.

"Well, I was thinking Satan City Park. There's a nice, quiet, secluded area that we could talk in where we wouldn't be interrupted." Gohan smiled, relieved that there would be little chance of them being overheard.

"That would be perfect," he said quietly, "Secluded is exactly what I wanted." He stepped aside and motioned for her to begin walking with a slight bow and an elaborate arm gesture.

"Show me the way," Gohan said. Videl began walking and Gohan stepped besides her, walking along with her. The trip over to the park was relatively quiet, both of them too wrapped up in their own thoughts for actual conversation. Videl looked over at Gohan, a bright, shining excitement in her eyes.

< I can't believe he's going to tell me! I've waited so long to find out; I want to know what about his story made him wait so long. I mean, it can't be that bad, can it? > Videl thought, studying the look on Gohan's face.

< He looks so serious, so pensive. What can you be thinking about, Gohan? > Videl asked him mentally, knowing he couldn't hear her, but not caring as she did so. Gohan, at the moment, was going through all of his memories, dredging all of them up and reviewing them.

< Sometimes I wish my memory weren't so good. Like with Frieza and Cell. Everything that happened against them is crystal clear, too crystal clear. I'll never be able to forget...even if I tried, > Gohan said to himself as they walked. Finally, they arrived at the park, Videl getting more excited and Gohan becoming increasingly nervous. Videl expertly led them through the park, maneuvering them through, across, and past trees, bushes, and paths until she suddenly stopped. Gohan looked around to find them in a little enclave, surrounded by trees and bushes on almost all sides. The only holes in the enclosure were at the top where there were no trees and the small path that led into it.

"This is my thinking spot," Videl said, sitting down on the ground, "I come here to get away from a lot of things. I've never been found here, so I don't think that many people know about it. If you wanted privacy to talk, this is the best place to go." Gohan smiled and sat down on the ground, facing her.

"It's perfect," he said reassuringly, looking ahead at Videl. He smiled gently at the way the sunlight played on her skin through the trees, patches of it darkening her skin and shifting gently as the sun blew through the leaves. He looked at her for a good, long while, Videl becoming nervous under his scrutiny. She cleared her throat and looked him in the eye.

"So, are you going to tell me the story or am I going to have to guess my way though it?" Videl asked, clearly getting annoyed the more Gohan stalled...or seemed to. Gohan nodded.

"I'm going to tell you, just give me a moment to decide where to start." Videl was silent as she watched Gohan work through his problem, the debate playing out on his face. Finally, he sighed.

"Ok, I've decided to begin. Now, how much of this you're going to believe I don't know, but I've decided to start from the beginning. And when I mean beginning, I mean before I was born. I think that in order to understand somewhat of how I know the people I know and how everyone came together, that I'm going to have to briefly explain my father and his past." Gohan drew in a deep breath and began, Videl hanging off his every word.

"It all started 37 years ago, on a mountain in the middle of the woods. One day, an old man was walking around and happened to find a small baby, seemingly stranded in the middle of the woods. Not finding his parents anywhere, the old man decided to take in the baby as his own and raised it as his grandson. The old man's name was Son Gohan, my namesake, and the little baby was my father, who was named Goku by Son Gohan.

"Now, you see, my father wasn't the most normal baby. He was a very violent and misbehaved child. He scorned the kindness that Son Gohan displayed and did everything in his power to make Son Gohan's life miserable. He was also incredibly strong for a child his age, showing strength that a baby shouldn't have been able to possess. But, that wasn't the only unusual thing about my father."

"No, you see, my father had a-" Gohan was cut off by a large ki blast that landed next to him and Videl. Surprised and shocked that he hadn't sensed the person coming earlier, Gohan looked up into the air to see a guy, about Gohan's age or so, with long blonde hair floating above him and Videl. He had a gloating smile on his face as he realized that he had gotten Gohan's attention, his outstretched palm facing the ground. Videl was looking up as well, marveling at how the man could be floating in the middle of the air, wanting to know how that was physically possible.

They both speechlessly watched as another ball of ki gathered in front of his palm and sent it off towards them. When Gohan realized that it was heading for the two of them, he quickly grabbed Videl around her waist and left the enclave, moving quickly to stand several yards away, dodging the blast.

Videl, who had her eyes closed, prepared to take the hit, opened her eyes when she realized that it hadn't hit them. She opened her eyes to find that she and Gohan were no longer in the small enclosure, but that they were far away from it. Videl was shocked; how had they moved so fast in only a second? She turned to Gohan, who still had his arm around her waist, to see him glaring at the man who fired the ki blast at them. Gohan looked ready to kill, a looked that scared Videl with its intensity, as the man slowly lowered himself to the ground, his feet resting lightly against the Earth.

"So, what's your name this time?" Gohan asked, his coal black eyes boring into the emerald green ones of the enemy. The new henchman sent by Milena only smiled at Gohan, not saying a word. Gohan took a few steps back, gently pushing Videl aside, and assuming a fighting stance; he didn't like this one.

< There's something about him that I just don't like...it's his attitude; he's just too calm. It's unnerving. It's like he's not afraid of anything or that he just doesn't care at all, > Gohan thought, watching as the enemy powered up a new attack: a huge, blinding ball of ki that was about as tall as Gohan was. When it was ready, it was sent at Gohan with incredible speed.

< Wow, he's fast, > Gohan thought as the ki blast raced for him. Videl watched, frozen, as the huge ball of ki approached Gohan. She wanted to cry out his name, tell him to run, but her voice wasn't working; she could only watch. Just as the ball hit Gohan, Gohan used his arm to deflect the blast, sending it up into the air and out to space. Videl was shocked.

< His arm...it moved so fast! One minute it's by his side and, the next, it's up in the air. How did he do that? > Videl asked. Unfortunately for Gohan, the ki blast was just something to distract Gohan as the enemy advanced. Before Gohan even knew what was going on, he found himself being pummeled by the enemy, multiple blows hitting him in the face and the stomach. It didn't take long for Gohan to start defending himself.

With a yell, Gohan straightened his body and brought out his pure energy, sending the enemy flying through the air. The enemy hit a tree, his body slamming into it and cracking the wood. His body slid to the ground and immediately got back up again. Gohan resumed a fighting stance, determined not to let him get past again. It was him being careless and he felt ashamed; Piccolo had taught him better than that. That's when Gohan felt something warm on his face. Bringing up a hand to the corner of his mouth, he pulled it away to see blood on it, the look on his face shocked and disappointed; he really had been careless.

"So," the enemy said, his first words spoken with an incredibly soft-spoken voice, "I see you have some fight in you after all. I was afraid that this was going to be all too easy." Gohan growled and refocused on the enemy in front of him.

"Nothing with me is ever easy," Gohan said, "Just keep fighting me and you'll figure that out soon enough." The enemy simply smirked before charging Gohan again, starting an actual battle. Punches, blocks, and kicks were executed so fast that Videl almost couldn't see them. Little did she know that Gohan wasn't even fighting at full power.

< I can't believe how good he is. I can hardly see him move. It's absolutely amazing! > Videl thought numbly, her eyes fully focused on the two battling it out in front of her. Gohan was trying his best to not show too much of his power in front of Videl; he wanted her to find out about it from him telling her first.

As he concentrated on keeping his power down, he gave the enemy the opportunity to grab his shoulders and yank him forward, Gohan's body bending at the waist. With a sudden jerk, Gohan found a knee being planted none so gently in his stomach. Gohan grunted at the impact and straightened up to deliver a hard punch, one that knocked the enemy through the air a second time. The enemy hit the ground and slid on his back for several feet before standing up again, wiping the blood off of his face.

"Now that's more like it," he said, "But I don't have all day to fight with you." The enemy rushed again, but not towards Gohan. Moving to stand next to Videl, the enemy smiled down at her. Videl looked up at him, a shocked look on her face, and he punched her in the face before she could do anything about it, knocking her out. Videl's unconscious body slid to the ground in a heap, a heap that the enemy picked up and slung over his shoulder. Gohan was shocked; he hadn't seen that one coming and if he didn't act fast, then Milena was going to get Videl.

"Well, I got what I wanted," he said, "It's been fun." He was about to leave when, suddenly, Gohan turned into a Super Saiya-jin and moved over to him faster than he could see. Suddenly, the enemy found himself without Videl slung over his shoulder and realized that Gohan had her instead.

< What? How did he do that? I had her! > he thought, his mind racing though just how Gohan could have gotten Videl. Gohan, his now cold, turquoise eyes focused on the enemy, put Videl down on the ground carefully. A small, malicious smile appeared on Gohan's face as he lifted his hand, his palm facing the enemy. Suddenly, a large ki blast formed in his hand and was released, hurling towards the enemy at a speed that he couldn't see. The enemy didn't even have time to scream before there was a loud explosion as the ki blast impacted with his body, destroying him immediately. Gohan harrumphed, looking at the smoking area where his blast exploded.

"They'll need to send out stronger guys if they want to get me," Gohan said, letting the Super Saiya-jin transformation fade away. He looked down at Videl's unconscious form, his face reflecting his disappointment in himself.

"Still," he sighed, "he almost got her. How could I have been so careless? What is it with me today?" Gohan moved over to her and bent over to pick her up, slowly straightening his body to a standing position with Videl now cradled in his arms. Using his ki to push him up into the air, he flew the short distance to Videl's house, entering it carefully, not wanting to jar Videl's unconscious form. He flew up to Videl's room, pushing the slightly open door with his hip, and set Videl down on her bed. It was after he set her down that he realized he was shaking. He sank to his knees beside her bed, his eyes staring blankly into space, the look on his face disbelieving.

< I can't believe that I almost lost her, > Gohan thought, his mental voice a whisper. He looked back up to the sleeping beauty before him, like he was seeing her for the first time. Pulling himself closer to the edge of the bed, he leaned over and looked down at Videl, a tender, peaceful look on his face. Gently, he brought up a hand and caressed her cheek, marveling that the enemy's punch hadn't caused a mark on her beautiful face. A fierce wave of protectiveness swept over Gohan and he realized that he would give up his life for her.

< I would give up everything for her and I would do it without a second thought. I've never felt like this about anyone before, > Gohan thought, rising to his feet to sit on the edge of the bed. Leaning over, he planted a sweet kiss on her forehead, brushing the hair that had gotten loose from her face.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Videl, I promise I won't," he whispered. He didn't know how long he sat there, just looking at her while she slept, watching over her to make sure nothing happened to her. He was abruptly brought out of his vigil by a light rapping on the window. His body tensed; he wasn't going to take any chances this time.

< It could be someone after Videl, > Gohan thought as he lifted his head to look at the window. Relief flooded through him as he saw Piccolo on the other side of the window. Getting up from the bed, he walked over to the balcony and opened the doors, walking outside so he could talk to Piccolo.

"That's a stupid question, Gohan. You should know the answer to that already. I followed your ki, that's how I found you. I'm here for something important, so I don't have time to chat." Piccolo paused and looked down at Gohan, his face solidified into an incredibly serious look.

"I've come down here to offer to train you again, Gohan. But, before you answer, I should explain the training. Do you remember when you told us about that mental attack you used that totally exhausted you out?" Gohan nodded, so Piccolo continued.

"Well, I was thinking about it and I realized that it could be of great use in battle. The only problem with it is that it tires you out too quickly to be of any real use against a good number of people. I could teach you how to build up your mental strength so that you could use the new power in battle." Gohan thought about what Piccolo was saying, thinking about how useful the attack could be if he could control it.

"I could teach you everything you need to know in three weeks. A lot of this training consists of things that you can do on your own. I just have to get you started and, from there, you should be able do the rest of it on your own." Gohan nodded.

"All right, that sounds fine with me. But you better go on to Kami's Lookout without me for the moment. There are a few things I have to take care of. I'm sure you felt the enemy attack, didn't you?" Gohan asked and Piccolo gave a nod of his head.

"Well, they're getting better at it. I don't think it's wise to leave Videl by herself anymore. I think we should have someone closely guarding her at all times, which means she at least has to know that her life is in danger. So, I'm going to call up Krillin and Yamcha to come and protect her."

"Because, Videl's already met Krillin, so she knows he's a friend of mine, and Yamcha because he's human and human-looking. I'd call up Tien, but the whole third eye thing might freak her out. And I'd call up Vegeta to come, but I don't trust him not to spill about my Saiya-jin heritage. I'm determined that the only one to tell her about who and what I am is going to be me. I know that Krillin and Yamcha won't say anything and that they'll do a fine job of protecting Videl while I'm gone." Piccolo gave a small smile in approval of Gohan's logic.

"Alright, I'll be on my way when Krillin and Yamcha arrive, ok?" Piccolo nodded in acknowledgement and took off, blasting off towards Kami's Lookout, a faint ki trail being left in his wake. Gohan watched Piccolo go before turning around and walking back into Videl's room, closing the balcony doors behind her. He walked back over to the bed where Videl was lying; she hadn't moved an inch while Gohan had been talking to Piccolo. Giving Videl one last lingering look, Gohan turned around and picked up the phone that was on Videl's bedside table, punching in Krillin's number. It rang several times before someone finally picked it up.

"Ok! Hold on a moment." Gohan heard the phone being set down on a hard surface and there was silence for a few moments before the phone was picked up again.

"She's fine. She was just knocked out by an enemy that attacked the two of us today. Look, I need you to stay at Videl's house for a few weeks with Yamcha while I go and train with Piccolo. Piccolo is going to teach me to use my mental powers and Videl now needs to be closely guarded. She will, of course, know that you and Yamcha are there and she'll know that her life's in danger, but nothing more than that." Krillin nodded.

"I'll stay here until you or Yamcha get here. Just follow the source of my ki, ok? That's exactly where you need to be. And, just in case you can't follow it, I'll raise it a little so you can."

"Thanks Krillin. I have to go and call Yamcha. I'll see you when you get here." With that, both of them hung up the phone, Gohan immediately picking it up again to call Yamcha's number. It only rung twice before Yamcha picked up the phone.

"Hey Yamcha, this is Gohan. Do you have a minute?" Yamcha noticed the serious tone of voice that Gohan was using and immediately came to attention.

"Yeah, what is it? Is something wrong?" Gohan relayed the same information to Yamcha that he did earlier to Krillin and asked him to come and stay. Yamcha agreed and said he would be right there. Gohan sighed as he hung up the phone for a second time, looking back over at Videl, who was still unconscious. She was sleeping peacefully, it looked, her entire body relaxed. Taking in a deep breath, Gohan knew he wouldn't get a chance to talk to her before he left.

Quickly deciding on the best course of action, he walked over to her desk and picked up a piece of paper and a pen; he was going to write her a letter. He sat down at her desk and began to write, explaining briefly what the situation was. He must have gone through 5 pieces of paper just trying to get the words right.

As he was finishing up the letter, there was a knock on the window. Expecting it to be either Yamcha or Krillin, Gohan wasn't disappointed. Standing there, a small bag in hand, was Yamcha. He walked over to the balcony doors and let Yamcha in, who immediately followed Gohan into the room.

"Oh, this is Videl's room," Gohan stated. Yamcha chose not to say anything and walked around the room, noticing that Videl was still unconscious on her bed.

"I don't know. Mr. Satan isn't here and Videl's still not up yet. You'll have to ask her when she wakes up." Yamcha's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Because, I'm counting on Videl to trust me. That and this letter. Once she reads this letter, hopefully she'll trust me enough to know that I'm telling the truth. Plus, she's already met Krillin so she'll know that you two know me. Trust me; everything here'll work out." Yamcha looked slightly taken aback by Gohan's confident attitude before shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess you're right," Yamcha said, "I mean, you know Videl better than I do, so it's your word against mine, I guess." At that moment, there was another knock at the window. Gohan, who was finishing up his letter, called out to Yamcha over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Yamcha said, walking over to the balcony and opening the door, letting Krillin in to the room as well. Finishing up the letter and folding it up, Gohan walked over to where Krillin and Yamcha were standing. Facing the two of them, he handed the letter to Krillin.

"Krillin, when she wakes up, can you give this to her? It'll explain everything...well, just what she needs to know, at any rate," Gohan said simply. Krillin nodded and took the piece of paper from Gohan's hand.

"Oh, and could you also call my mom and tell her that I'm off training with Piccolo for a few weeks? If you tell her that it's so I can protect Videl, she won't be angry." Yamcha smiled at Gohan's words.

"She'll let me do anything if it's in the protection of her 'future daughter-in-law'." Yamcha and Krillin looked at each other and smirked; Gohan may not be able to see it, but the probability of Gohan and Videl getting together was 100%. They just needed to be alerted to the others' feelings...

"Anyway," Gohan continued, "I need to be heading over to Kami's Lookout. I'll see you guys later. Take care of her for me, ok? And don't tell her anything." With that, Gohan raised two fingers to his forehead, concentrating on Dende's ki, before disappearing into thin air, leaving Yamcha and Krillin alone in Videl's room. Krillin sighed and pulled Videl's desk chair over to the bed.

"Well, all we can do for the moment is wait until she waits up." Yamcha nodded, also pulling up a chair from the opposite side of the bed.

"No way! I may have known her longer, but you're her husband's best friend. If anyone, you should call her. Besides, he asked YOU to do it, not me." She heard one of the voices sigh.

"I guess you're right. Gohan did ask me to do it. I guess I better call Chi-Chi and tell her that Gohan won't be home for a while." Gohan's name caught her attention and, with a groan, she began to push herself up into a sitting position.

"Oh, you're awake!" one of them exclaimed and Videl turned to see a guy with short, black hair and two scars on his face, one across his eye and the other on his left cheek. She recognized that face, but she didn't know from where...

"Well, my face hurts a bit, but...wait, what are you two doing here? And where's Gohan?" Krillin and Yamcha shot each other a look before Krillin held out a piece of paper for Videl to take.

"Here; this is from Gohan. It should explain everything." Videl took the piece of paper from Krillin's hand and opened it up, beginning to read the words on the page.

"Videl," it said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this in person, but I had to tell you somehow. I didn't have time to tell you before you woke up, so I decided to write down what I had to say. I'm sorry that I didn't get to finish telling you my story; I swear we'll finish it when I get back. But, your life is in danger, Videl. There are people who want to kill you and my friends and I are doing everything in our power to stop it.

"Please don't ask Krillin and Yamcha to explain what's going on; I've asked them not to tell you. I want to be the one who tells you about everything, so don't drag them into it. And don't drag the police or your father into this mess. They won't be able to do anything to help solve it. Please trust me when I say that your life is in danger and that only my friends and I can help you. If you have faith in me as your friend, then please have faith in the words on this page.

"Also, I'm asking for your benefit to have Krillin and Yamcha stay with you until I get back. I've gone off training with Piccolo for three weeks and I've asked them to stay with you. I've decided that with everything going on that you now need to be guarded closely, not just the 24-hour surveillance we've been doing for the past couple of months. Having Krillin and Yamcha around will be more than enough to help protect you until I get back. I'll see you when my training is finished, so take care until then. I still have to tell you my story.

"Keep yourself safe, Videl, and I hope that when I return, I'll find you still safe. Until then, Gohan." Videl put down the letter and stared at her bed cover. For some odd reason, even though she had no proof, she believed Gohan when he said that her life was in danger. A voice and a hand on her shoulder broke her out of her reverie. She turned to see Krillin looking down at her.

"I trust him," she whispered, looking back down at her bed, "I believe what he's saying." She turned and looked up at Krillin and Yamcha, her eyes completely trusting. Yamcha and Krillin smiled; part of them already knew what she was going to say next.