fate36

Hey everyone, what's up? I know all of my fans are probably dying of a heartattack right now because I finally updated after such a long time of inactivity. Well, I'm here to say that it's not my fault. I've had a busy life lately...especially with my computer programming class. I hate C language...anyway, as a result of that stupid class, I spend nearly all of my time in the computer lab, writing up programs. The rest of my time I spend going to other classes, doing my homework, and trying to maintain a social life. I'm sorry I haven't had much time to write lately...but life got in the way. But, I'm here to say that I'm back! And I'm now into the story again. Expect the next chapter out in about a couple of weeks, but don't blame me if it doesn't come out until after the 15th of December. Well, I shall detain you no longer from my story. And I'm not going to bother with a disclaimer right now. You all know the drill...

Videl watched as the door shut in front of her, separating herself from Gohan for 24 hours. Immediately, she felt something missing, a void growing inside of her, a void that was Gohan’s absence. She drew in a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was either cold or trying to protect herself from an unknown enemy. Goku watched as Videl felt her separation from Gohan and he looked at her with sympathy. Walking over to her, he put a hand on her shoulder.

“You feel it, don’t you, Videl?” he said and Videl nodded. “Don’t worry,” he continued, “It’s a normal thing that bond mates feel. The separation between bond mates is never easy.” Videl looked up at him, strength resonating in her eyes, determined not to be beaten by the pain of separation.

“But, why does it feel different?” Videl asked, “Gohan and I have been apart for quite some time after we bonded and it never felt like this.” Goku smiled once again, this time knowingly.

“That’s because Gohan’s in the Room of Spirit and Time. It’s like a separate dimension. Instead of being separated by distance, the two of you are separated by different dimensions. It’s like he doesn’t even exist in this world anymore,” Goku said softly. Videl looked up at Goku with curiosity.

“Because it’s what I felt when I went into that room. I felt like Chi-Chi didn’t even exist anymore, like she was dead and had left me alive. That’s why I know what it feels like.” Videl sighed at Goku’s words and nodded in understanding, her gaze drifting back to the door of the Room of Spirit and Time.

“I don’t know if ‘supposed to’ is the right way to put it, but it the separation feels painful anyway,” Goku said gently. Goku’s words did nothing to soothe Videl’s troubled soul; all she knew was that it felt like Gohan was dead and that her life was going to end. Goku noticed Videl’s attitude and lightly squeezed her shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get back to your house. We’ll find something to distract you while Gohan’s in there for the day. Hopefully, time will fly for you if I can distract you right,” Goku said, his smile reappearing on his face. Videl, for the first time in several minutes, since Gohan was shut away inside the Room of Spirit and Time, smiled up at Goku, her smile resembling her devilish name.

“I know something we can do to distract me,” Videl said, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. Goku didn’t trust the look in her eyes; it was a look that was very reminiscent of Chi-Chi when she had an idea up her sleeve.

“You can train me for the rest of today and for part of tomorrow. That’ll definitely take my mind off of Gohan’s absence,” Videl said, her voice convincing. Goku wasn’t sure what to do.

“Well, let’s get home, then,” Videl said. Goku continued on grinning as he grabbed her wrist with one hand, his other hand rising up to his forehead to press two fingers against it. Sensing the ki of his friends, Goku tossed Videl a quick smile before disappearing from Kami’s Lookout, leaving Mr. Popo and Dende behind.

Videl held up her hand, signaling to Goku that it was time for them to take a break, as she stood, hunched over, one hand resting on her knee as she struggled to catch her breath from her rigorous training with Goku.

< I didn’t know that training with Goku was going to be this hard? How did Gohan survive it? > Videl asked herself as she forced her breathing to slow. Then, suddenly, the answer hit her hard.

Goku said to himself as he waited patiently for Videl to take a breather. After several minutes of trying to catch her breath, Videl straightened and looked at the smiling Goku, her weariness shining in her eyes.

“Yeah, I think that you’ve had enough today. Honestly, I’m surprised that you’ve lasted as long as you have. You have a lot of strength, Videl,” Goku said appraisingly. Videl smiled.

“Yeah, well for all of my strength, I’m still not as strong as you nor will I ever be,” Videl said, her breathing under control at last. Goku appeared to be considering Videl’s words for a brief moment before he spoke.

“You have a point there; you won’t be as strong as I am. You just don’t have Saiya-jin blood in you. But, you can become stronger. Much stronger. If you want to, that is,” Goku spoke calmly without a hint of condescension in his voice.

“I do,” Videl said, her words erupting from her mouth, “I want to be stronger. I want to be able to take care of myself. From the guys I’ve seen Gohan and your friends fight, I wouldn’t be able to hold my own for a second and I want to be able to. I want to be able to move so fast that the human eye can’t normally see me and I want to be able to control my ki.” Goku smiled slightly.

“Well, if you want, I could take you in as my student. But, if you do decide to say yes, then I’m sure you already know from Gohan that I’m a hard teacher. I push hard and I bring you to your limits. Just because you’re Gohan’s mate doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you, Videl?” Videl nodded her head vigorously.

“Then it’s settled then. You will become my student,” Goku finalized. The look on Videl’s face suddenly turned sheepish as she looked down at her feet. Goku’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Well,” Videl started, “if you don’t mind, do you think that Gohan could teach me a few things as well? There are things, attacks basically, that I want to learn from him that you couldn’t teach me. Would mind if he taught me as well, Goku?” Goku grinned.

“Sure, I don’t mind. But you’ll have to ask him to teach you yourself. Though there’s no way he’ll say no. He’d do anything for you and you know it.” Videl nodded in understanding; she knew that Gohan would do anything for her and she would do anything for him as well. Videl sighed slightly and opened her mouth to speak, something about when to start training, when a loud, rumbling noise sounded across the roof of her house.

“Goku, you’re always hungry,” Videl said, pointing out the well-known fact that Goku had a bottomless pit for a stomach. There was a slight pause in Goku’s laughter as he thought about what Videl said.

“Yeah, I’ve realized that already. I remember when I first saw Gohan eat. We went out for pizza with some friends and he devoured 4 extra large pizzas by himself,” Videl said, remembering back when she first started to get to know Gohan, way before she knew anything about his alien heritage. Goku smirked.

“Yes I do. I don’t know how your mom has all of the money to buy food for you, Gohan, and Goten. It just boggles the mind at how much food she has bought in her life,” Videl said, half wondering out loud.

“The Tenkaichi Budoukai,” Goku said again, “It’s where I won all of the money that Chi-Chi uses to support our family. Otherwise, we would have never gotten along without it. I won second place two tournaments in a row and the third one I fought in I won. That’s a total of 20 million Zeni. Needless to say, I think it’s lasted my family quite sometime.” Videl nodded her head.

“I can see that,” she said, “You’d need all of that money to support the amount of food that you guys eat.” Suddenly, Videl’s stomach growled as well, signaling the fact that it was time for Videl to eat as well. Goku raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Hey, do you wanna go and get something to eat? It’s on me!” Videl said, a smile on her face. She always liked going out to eat; even though she had really good food at home, there was something about eating food that real people had made that Videl would never get enough of. Goku smiled; he liked to eat wherever and whenever.

It was a couple of hours later before Goku was completely stuffed. Videl paid for the food before the two walked out of the restaurant, Goku with a very content look on his face and Videl looking blown away.

“Well, that’s because Gohan really doesn’t know that either. In fact, I didn’t know that was a fact about Saiya-jins. All I knew was that after I ate, I was always at my strongest while all of my friends, who are human, had to wait for their food to digest. It wasn’t until Vegeta told me that it was a fact about Saiya-jins did I know. Part of Gohan probably knows it instinctually, but he doesn’t know it consciously.” Once again, Videl raised an eyebrow.

“You know, from impressions I’ve gotten from your fellow Z-Senshi, you didn’t seem to me like a smart guy. But, from the way you’re talking to me, it sounds like you’re smarter than everyone pegs you to be.” Goku smiled at that statement.

“Yeah, well, I act naïve because it helps me understand people better. Because they think I can’t understand, they don’t bother hiding much from me,” Goku said as the two of them walked down the sidewalk, relaxing after the big meal both of them had just consumed.

The two of them leisurely walked down the street, enjoying the aftermath of the meal, when a sudden and familiar feeling pricked the back of Goku’s mind. His jovial look turning into a scowl, he froze, his eyes darting about the street. Videl noticed Goku’s lack of movement and stopped walking, turning around to look at Goku.

“I sense something. Something bad and something strong. I don’t know what it is. I’m assuming it’s living because I can sense its ki and it’s pretty strong, whatever it is. This doesn’t look good,” Goku said, his voice hushed as he spoke. Videl felt chills run up her spine; she knew what it was.

“I wouldn’t bet against it,” Goku said gravely, his whole body tensing as he prepared for the arrival of the enemy. Videl and Goku stood silent in the street, people passing them and giving them weird looks, but Goku and Videl ignored them. Goku was focused on the rapidly approaching source of ki and Videl watched Goku intensely, automatically looking towards Goku for protection.

She knew that if Goku was this worked up over an enemy, that it had to be strong. For one of the first times, Videl was truly scared about their new opponent. What bothered her about the whole situation is that she couldn’t detect the enemy’s approach. She had no sense for detecting ki and she suddenly wished that she did.

Videl said to herself absently. Out of the corner of her eye, Videl spotted something. She turned to look at what it was and knew almost immediately what it was. He (it was male) flew through the sky, landing on the ground in front of Goku and Videl with a huge crash, causing the surrounding people to back away in confusion and fear.

The man, standing at about 7 feet tall, had tall, spiky brown hair that resembled Goku’s, and was wearing the most malicious smile Videl had ever seen on anybody before. His large black cape was billowing around him, his ki causing it to do so, and he flung it aside, revealing his great hulking form. Goku’s eyes widened as his opponent’s ki increased as a result of removing his cape.

“Well, looks like I’ll have to get through you to get to her. I really don’t want to hurt you, but if I must to fulfill my Queen’s wishes, then so be it.” The enemy, without warning, lunged for Goku. Goku barely had enough time to transform into his Super Saiya-jin form, the only form that would give him enough power to even stand up to his opponent. The enemy threw a punch at Goku and Goku brought up his arm to block it, holding the enemy at bay. The enemy smirked, obviously amused by Goku’s move.

“I wonder how you like this,” the enemy said before launching the ki blast at Goku. Goku brought up a ki shield, causing the blast to diffuse as soon as it hit the shield. Goku smirked as he lowered his shield.

“I didn’t know it was going to be this kind of fight,” Goku said before he powered up again, knowing that he had to in order to have a chance at winning. The air crackled around him, as if thousands of lighting bolts were surging around him, and his muscles grew bulging with his increased power.

Goku felt himself push through the familiar barrier and knew from the power he was feeling surge through his veins that he had achieved the second stage of the Super Saiya-jin form, a stage that he had achieved while in the afterlife. After about 4 years of intensive training in the Otherworld, Goku had finally achieved a level that his son had achieved before him. The enemy showed no change in his demeanor.

“Well, I see that your ki has increased,” he said, noting Goku’s change to the second stage of a Super Saiya-jin, “Though it won’t make any difference.” Goku’s eyes widened. The enemy could sense his ki? Goku growled and resumed a fighting stance, Videl several feet behind him.

“Videl, get away from here!” Goku yelled over his shoulder. Videl ignored his words, too frozen in shock to move, and Goku didn’t have time to reiterate his words before a volley of ki blasts flew after him. Goku barely had time to even dodge.

Goku raced across the city street, struggling to dodge the blasts that the enemy threw at him. He constantly looked around, making sure that the ki blasts didn’t hit Videl when he dodged them. Sure, the dodged ki blasts were ruining the surrounding buildings, but at least they weren’t harming Videl. So far, Goku had been lucky and hadn’t hurt anybody. Then, his luck changed.

He had been maneuvered so that his back was towards Videl, standing not 10 feet away from her. The enemy thought to get rid of Goku by firing a fairly sized ki blast at him, knowing that Goku wouldn’t harm Videl seeing as he was fighting to protect her. Unfortunately for Goku, when the ki blast was thrown at him, he wasn’t thinking fast enough. He dodged out of the way, allowing the ki blast to whir past him and straight for Videl.

“NO!!” the enemy cried out, seeing that it was headed towards the one thing he was trying to obtain and knowing it was too late to retract the ki blast. Goku turned around and, suddenly, time was moving in slow motion. He knew there was no way he could save Videl; he could only watch. It was almost as if the ki blast were moving through a thick veil of molasses.

He saw it make its way towards Videl and his eyes widened as it cut through her stomach, going through as if her flesh were made out of warm butter and it was a knife. The ki blast tore through Videl’s back and exploded into the building behind her. Videl looked down slowly at the gaping hole in her stomach, her eyes wide with shock, before she slid to the ground like a rag doll, lying in a pool of her own blood, her severed organs exposed.

Goku said to himself, his thoughts screaming inside of his head as his ki grew steadily in power, his anger allowing his ki to reach new boundaries. Goku was going through a transformation. But his transformation went unnoticed by the enemy, who was still with shock and horror.

the hulking man thought as his still outstretched hand trembled with fear and anticipated pain. A loud cry brought him out of his stupor as he looked over at Goku. Pure golden ki exploded from Goku in a surge of anger, radiating outwards, blowing everything away with its sheer force.

The enemy watched, spellbound, as Goku’s spiky blonde hair grew in length, practically reaching his knees, and his body grew, his muscles expanding as his ki increased dramatically. Suddenly, the enemy realized that it wasn’t Queen Milena he needed to fear; it was the golden warrior in front of him. He stumbled backwards as Goku began to approach him, walking slowly, as if purposely drawing out the enemy’s torture.

Somewhere in the back of Goku’s mind, he knew he had reached a new level of a Super Saiya-jin, a level never witnessed before. But that fact was completely ignored by Goku as he advanced on the man that could ruin everything Goku held dear to him.

The death of Videl would not only harm Gohan, but all of his family and the Z-senshi. If Videl died, Gohan would die. Gohan was a beloved member of the Z-senshi and most would never get over his death, especially Chi-Chi and little Goten, who looked up to Gohan as more than a big brother. Goku knew he still had a chance to save Videl, but he intended on avenging her first.

With a sudden burst of speed, Goku moved faster than the enemy could see, suddenly appearing in front of the cowering man. Goku grabbed the man’s wrist and squeezed hard, shattering the bones in his hand. The enemy screamed out in pain as his hand and wrist were turned to mush and he struggled to keep his eyes open, only to look into Goku’s fierce and unyielding ones.

“You’ve endangered the lives of my family and friends with your foolish mistake. Don’t think for one second I’ll let you live for what you’ve done. You’ve already sealed your fate,” Goku said, his voice cold, yet impassioned. The enemy nearly passed out, but didn’t as Goku raised his other hand, holding it in front of the enemy’s heart. There were no words needed; the enemy knew what was happening. This was the price of his failure.

With a yell, Goku shot a powerful ki blast straight through his enemy’s heart, causing the bigger man to explode from the sheer force of the power that Goku released. The explosion left no mark on Goku, who almost immediately forgot about the man, setting his focus solely on Videl. Goku rushed over to her and knelt on the ground, looking down at the bleeding girl with sadness and worry in his eyes, the cold anger gone.

Goku could see that she was barely holding on to life from the way her chest rose in shallow breaths. Goku looked down at her stomach to inspect the wound, but found that the bloody shirt was in the way. Without a second thought, Goku ripped her shirt down the middle to inspect the wound, revealing the gaping hole.

Goku almost cried when he the state she was in. Her skin had gone a pale, ashen gray from the loss of blood and Goku knew that she didn’t have much time left. Inspecting Videl once more, laying a hand on her arm, he saw something that caught his eye: a simple, square-cut garnet hanging on a silver chain. Goku smiled tenderly, remembering Gohan telling him about the necklace he had found for Videl, and it warmed his heart that she still wore it.

Then, his determination set in; he needed to get her healed and fast. Placing two fingers to his forehead, he concentrated on Dende’s ki, knowing that he was the only person who could help Videl now. With a flash, Goku and Videl disappeared from the city street, only to reappear at Kami’s Lookout. Goku spotted Dende rushing for them immediately, a worried look on his face.

Dende knelt down to Videl and placed his hands on her shoulders, his healing power coursing over her body, repairing damaged tissue and organs. Goku wondered how Dende knew what was going on and, as if Dende was reading his mind, the young guardian answered his question absently.

“I could feel what was happening down there, Goku, almost like I could see it. I knew Videl was gravely injured and I prepared for your arrival,” Dende said, the glow of his healing powers still covering Videl’s body like a blanket. Goku stood, knowing that if anything, he was only getting in Dende’s way, and began to move away.

“I’m going down to Korrin to get a couple of Senzu beans. She’ll need one to replenish the energy that was taken out of her from the blast.” Dende nodded at Goku’s words and continued to heal Videl. Goku took off into the air, flying downwards to Korrin’s Tower. It was seconds later that Goku landed in the tower. He looked around for signs of the small cat, but found none. Moments after Goku’s arrival, as if to put Goku at ease, Korrin walked up the stairs and looked appropriately shocked at Goku’s appearance.

“What happened to you? Your ki is that of a Super Saiya-jin, but your looks aren’t. What’s going on?” he asked, trying to understand the strange and foreign transformation that Goku had gone through to look the way he did.

“I’ve reached a new level, Korrin. This is a new stage of a Super Saiya-jin, the third level. I could feel myself reaching it as I trained in the Otherworld. I was almost there and today’s events pushed me over the threshold. But, I don’t have time to chat, Korrin. I need a couple of Senzu beans.” Korrin looked worried at Goku’s words.

“Yes. Videl was hurt badly today. Dende is healing her right now and I figured she could use a Senzu bean to restore the energy she lost when she was hit.” Korrin nodded in understanding.

“Yes, mates. It’s nothing that happens between earthlings, but between Saiya-jins. Except, Vegeta, Gohan and I have seemed to prove the Saiya-jins can mate outside their species. But, a Saiya-jin’s mate is the person that will stay with them for the rest of their life, like a spouse. Except for Saiya-jins, bonding is permanent if a Saiya-jin is bonded to the right person. Gohan and Videl bonded a while back; they’re going to be together for the rest of their lives…or I would hope so, anyway.” Korrin smiled.

“For myself. I can already tell you that my transformation into this stage has wasted a lot of energy. Just the sheer action of transforming into this stage was exhausting. Maintaining it doesn’t take a lot of energy, but I’m low on it right now. I need a Senzu bean to restore the energy I lost transforming,” Goku explained. Korrin gave a small nod of understanding before walking past Goku.

“I’ll be right back with your Senzu beans. I’ve been growing them a lot lately. Your son has asked me to keep growing a constant supply just in case anything should happen. I’m surprised none of you older Z-senshi thought of that before. Gohan’s a smart young man, Goku. You should be proud of him,” Korrin said, his voice growing soft. Goku smiled at the words.

“Yes, I am proud of him, very proud.” With that, Korrin walked deeper into his tower, fetching the Senzu beans that Goku had asked for. Moments later, Korrin returned, the two Senzu beans in the custom, small brown bag.

“Thanks Korrin. Take care,” Goku said before raising himself into the air, flying up towards Kami’s Lookout. When he reached there, he found Videl sitting up on the ground, Dende kneeling beside her. Goku rushed over to her and knelt down as well, knowing full well that Videl was probably still very weak. Videl turned to look at him as he settled down next to her and her eyes widened at the sight of his new form.

“I figured that after that wound you received that you should eat one to replenish your energy…just in case,” Goku said, a sly grin forming on his face, “I have a feeling that once Gohan comes out of that room, you’re going to need all the energy you can get.” Videl blushed at Goku’s words.

“Then you don’t know Saiya-jins very well. He’s been in that room for a almost a year now, lacking his mate who he hasn’t spent enough time with. Trust me, you’re going to want to eat the Senzu bean,” Goku said, proffering the bean. Videl took a glance at it before taking it from Goku’s hand, putting it into her mouth and chewing it briefly before swallowing. She grimaced slightly as it slid down her throat.

“Yeah, but they get the job done. I can put up with the bad taste if it restores all of my energy. Speaking of which…” Goku said, trailing off as he dumped the other Senzu bean into his hand, putting the small green piece of food into his mouth. Videl watched as Goku’s muscles bulged for a brief second before settling down; she knew it was Goku’s full power returning.

“No, I wasn’t injured. It’s just that transforming into this new level was very exhausting. It’s the initial breakthrough into a new level that’s the hard thing. Maintaining it is a lot easier. Anyway, enough about me. How are you feeling?” Goku asked. Videl grew pensive, looking down at her lap.

“I know, Videl. You had me scared there for a second. If you had died, odds are I’d be losing one of my sons shortly after,” Goku said softly, “If you had died, Videl, Gohan wouldn’t have lasted too long without you. Gohan is the hope of the universe; he’s too important to lose. And the fact that his existence rides on yours makes you all the more important to the sake and safety of the universe. Do you understand?” Videl nodded slowly.

“Yes, I understand. I may not like that responsibility, but I wouldn’t trade Gohan for anything, Goku. I love him,” Videl said, tears forming in her eyes. Goku smiled gently, looking down at his daughter-in-law. While Gohan and Videl weren’t officially married by law, the bond they shared ensured Goku’s position as Videl’s father-in-law.

“Well,” Goku said, removing his hand from Videl’s shoulder, “I think I’m going to go home. Would you like to go with me or would you rather stay here and wait for Gohan to come out of the Room of Spirit and Time?” Videl looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

“It’s all in a good day’s work,” Goku joked, locking on the ki of his wife, discovering that the rest of the Z-senshi were all in the same area. With a small wave at Videl, he disappeared, leaving Kami’s Lookout behind and reappearing in the living room of Videl’s estate. The moment he appeared in the room, everyone bombarded him with questions.

“Goku, what happened out there?” Krillin said, “We could all feel the huge amounts of ki and we were going to go help you, but Piccolo said to wait…” Krillin trailed off as he, and the rest of the Z-senshi, got a good look at Goku.

“Yes, it’s really me,” Goku said, “I reached a new level today, the third level of a Super Saiya-jin. It’s kind of a long story, but, basically, I was reaching this threshold while training in the Otherworld and when Videl was mortally wounded today, I was pushed over the edge. I just snapped, like I did when I first transformed into a Super Saiya-jin.” Everyone looked at Goku with awe and a little fear…everyone except for Vegeta, who was staring at Goku enviously.

Vegeta thought to himself, mentally sneering, but, at the same time, reveling in the discovery of a new level for him to reach. It gave him something to work for and he had lacked something to work for in his life for a long time. Chi-Chi, only slightly daunted by Goku’s appearance, walked over to him and held one of his hands in both of hers.

“Goku, honey, where’s Videl?” she asked. Goku looked down at his tiny wife and detransformed completely, his hair returning to its normal length and color. Before answering his question, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

“Well,” Bulma said, “Now all we can do for the moment is wait for Gohan and Bardock to come out of the Room of Spirit and Time, and for them to bring Videl with them.” The rest agreed and the group separated, intent on doing their own thing while waiting for the others to return.

Meanwhile, up on Kami’s Lookout, wearing a new shirt that Mr. Popo had somehow managed to produce, Videl said on the ground in front of the door to the room Gohan was in, waiting impatiently for him to come out.

Videl thought as if trying to reach Gohan telepathically. Videl sighed and leaned against a tall column, closing her eyes, intent on catching a little sleep while waiting for Gohan to emerge from the Room of Spirit and Time.