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The Promises We Keep – Beast Within
The Sequel to A Disturbed Savior.
For those who have not read A Disturbed Savior, to understand this Story even in the least, you must read A Disturbed Savior first. If not, then w/e, have fun understanding your out of the usual Gohan and Videl
I can't and won't promise anything this time around.
It's DBZ, I obviously don't own shit.
I wanna tear this place apart tonight. And have you thank me for my rage
With all the energy in her body, Videl pushed forward her arms and screamed out to brisk mountain air, but like her previous attempts before, nothing came of it.
"Damn! It's not working! I thought you said this was going to be easy Goten. I'm doing it exactly as you showed me" Videl complained, holding her arms above her head while she tried to catch her breath.
"Well it is. I dunno why you can't do it. You must be pretty weak, hehe." the younger saiyan told her. He didn't mean for it to be rude, he was but a child. It couldn't be helped.
"What? Weak?! Why you- you're just freakishly strong because you're a Saiyan. You defy the basic rules of everything!"
"Haha, yeah. I guess I do."
"So how am I supposed to figure this out then? I know there's a way to do it, I've seen it. But why can't I do it?" Videl voiced, clearly frustrated as she'd been trying to figure out the damned technique for days while her boyfriend was deep into his own training regimen.
Gohan had made it clear that he wasn't going to teach her any 'dangerous' techniques that she could use to injure herself or others with. He may have been able to blow up entire world's at a whim, but that didn't mean he had to pass on how to do it. In his eyes it wasn't his technique to pass down anyways.
After all the ridiculous ways Gohan 'trained' her, Videl wasn't surprised when he denied to share the secret with her. Instead she told herself that she would accomplish the feat in spite of him. She would prove once and for all that could stand with the rest of Earth's Mightiest. She would prove not just to him, but to herself that she wasn't just the daughter of Hercule. Videl was on a mission.
She'd trained for days with Goten trying to get the hang of levitating before throwing the idea out the door. It just wasn't happening, so they moved on to using her ki. Goten though wasn't at all a good teacher. He was, and understandably, too childish for the task. He could only vaguely repeat what he would do. To the ears of a normal human though, it was basically telling a newborn child to speak.
Gohan had grown tired of it. Videl was determined to fire an energy blast and likely wouldn't stop until she dropped dead. He eventually started paying more attention to their routine and took notice of all her mistakes.
Her form was off. She wasn't focused enough. She was trying way too hard to force her body to bypass its normal limitations. Gohan couldn't bare witness to it any longer, he had to intervene. With a booming crash back down to Earth, Gohan stepped out of the dust and approached the duo.
"You're doing it all wrong. Relax!" He said with a firm voice before stopping inches from Videl's face.
"I am relaxed." she gritted through her teeth.
"My ass you are. You're stiff as a board. Vegeta can probably feel your frustration from the city. You've got everything wrong. It's embarrassing." Gohan insulted. If he was going to get involved, she knew he wouldn't sugar coat anything. She liked that about him, but also wanted to punch him in the face for not being compassionate.
"Well maybe I'd be a little more relaxed if someone could take a few seconds out of their clearly busy schedule to help his girlfriend out." Sarcasm was practically falling off her tongue.
He found her attitude humorous. Videl knew well what exactly she was getting into when they began.
"You asked for training, didn't you? That's what you got. Goten is a capable person to teach someone of your strength." Gohan knew he may have been stretching the truth.
"Strength wise, yes. Mentally, not even close! No offense Goten." Videl apologized.
"Haha what?" the younger saiyan wasn't paying the couple any attention as he flew around like a bird flying south for the first time.
"Whatever. You gonna give me everything you've got?"
From that moment on Videl listened to every minute instruction Gohan gave her. From the way she should stand to the position of her hands. He had her standing completely still for ten minutes in silence before speaking another word.
"Now you've got to stay relaxed. Keep your eyes closed, but don't glue them shut. Using your ki is a spiritual output of your physical strength. But that doesn't mean you're spiritually strong just because you're physically fit. Your dad is a good example. About as fit as a normal human being can be, but he's not at all in touch with his inner self. It's literally a mind over matter sort of deal. Got it?"
"I got it, I think."
"Good. Now stay calm and loose. It's all in your head. You've been trying to force it out the entire time, that's just going to backfire on you in the end. Doing it that way will just exhaust all your strength and you'll fall flat."
Videl listened to his voice, a rare change that he was being sincere and sort of, nice. It helped keep her in a calm state of mind knowing he was putting in an honest effort. She listened as he instructed to let go of any and all thoughts.
She took in long, deep breaths and listened to the sound of the oxygen leaving her body. It was a new sensation for someone who was always living in the now and jumping into new things. She could feel the presence of an energy source inside of her, but until now it felt like it was behind lock and key. That key had been locked until now.
A surprising amount of life was finally reachable and it felt like there was a bright sun shining inside. All she needed to do now was tap into. But it wasn't so easily controlled. Videl could feel the light, but it was still a hard concept to grasp. It didn't come natural to her like it did Gohan and the others. She was just a normal human being, she wasn't special like everyone else.
"No. You're doing it again. Stop trying to feel for it. Just let it move around. Untapped potential is like a lost child trying to find its parents.. They're not going to cooperate and it's going to be anxious and a bit frantic, but it's not wrong for doing so. But once they find their mom and dad they calm down and ready to be reasoned with. That's what your ki is like right now. It's scared! And it should be. You've been pushing it and trying to make it do what you want it to while it's trying to find it's home."
Gohan's explanation, as strange as it may have sounded, made a lot of sense to her. Videl relaxed her grip and let go of her tension, letting the light inside scatter. It felt warm and comforting. She was beginning to pay attention to the small things like the wind beneath her feet and the sun shining down on her.
"Good good. Now you seem to be getting it. Now that it's beginning to settle, try to communicate with it. Sounds strange but I mean exactly what I'm saying. I want to you tell your energy to do what you want. Start off by gathering into a single spot. Try to push it into your feet." Gohan softly explained. This was becoming more of an intimate interaction than he'd planned. He didn't predict he would get so invested.
Videl thought he sounded cooky when he said to speak to her ki, but at this point she'd try anything.
'Ok energy. Sorry for trying to force you out. Now that we're all settled I'm going to take charge. Feet. Go to my feet.' Videl told herself while making downward pushing gestures with her hands.
"Just let it flow. Don't force it. You can't force it. Feel it. Become one with it."
'I hear you dumb ass, but it's not working.'
"You're losing focus." He rolled his eyes and shook his head."
"I'm losing focus because you keep on talking! You're not making this easy you know? This isn't normal training! It's not like I just do a thousand push ups and day and just fly! Maybe if you helped me from the beginning I might have made some progress by now. Instead I'm still stuck at step 1!" Videl screamed at him from eye level. She was hovering over him and continuing to scream, unaware of her state of being.
Gohan stood silent and allowed her to let her anger out on him. He would wait until she had calmed down before pointing out her achievement. Videl still had a long way to go before she had proper control.
The moment had passed as had her tantrum. She had both feet back on the ground and was back to looking up. She held a finger outward, gesturing him to stay silent while she played it back in her head. She huffed out a breath and cracked a smile.
Gohan allowed his mate a few minutes to catch some fresh air and clear her mind, he promised the next step wasn't going to be so easy.
When Videl was finally settled back into her zone, Gohan began going over the next set of instructions. He had her perform the basic arm movements, just as he learned more than a decade ago.
She practiced until she could barely lift her arms above her head. Sweat was dripping down her face before she realized it. All the while Gohan stood off with his arms crossed, his stare never breaking.
"Relax!" Gohan commanded. Videl gladly obeyed, gently falling to her knees. "It's time to try the real thing."
Videl went wide eyed and felt butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous yet excited. It was finally going to happen. All her energy was spent, but she wanted this! This was what she trained for. She wouldn't let a little fatigue stop her.
Videl pushed herself up off the ground and steadied herself on her feet. It felt as if her legs had turned to jello the way they were shaking. She couldn't tell if it was the nerves or her body giving out.
Videl remembered the first thing Gohan told her was to calm herself down and loosen up. She ripped off her gloves and undid her boots, kicking them off in Gohan's direction. If she was going to loosen up, her feet were going to have to stop burning like she was standing on hot coals.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded and took her position, spreading her legs and bending her knees.
Videl closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind whistling past her ear. It was strange, she'd never paid such close attention to the smallest, yet vital details of the world around her. Goosebumps popped up on her arms while she attempted to calm down.
"Now this is going to be a lot different than levitating, ok? It's a lot harder to manifest a physical form of your ki than it is to push it under your feet to float. First and foremost, what you're about to do isn't about causing someone else pain or destroying something. It's about protecting yourself, got it?! We use our power to protect ourselves and our loved ones, we don't fight to hurt."
Videl nodded in acknowledgment. She was a bit stunned that Gohan had that sort of speech in him. She wondered where that came from. She'd prod later.
"Now just like before you have to let the energy in your body flow freely. Once it's loose, you have to gather into your core like it was a little ball. You'll know when you've got it down. You'll feel a little pressure in your stomach. Don't be afraid of it, embrace it. You have to lift it up and like you did with your feet, gather it into your arms. But don't push it, you have to stay in control, ok? Whenever you're ready."
Videl loosed up and bent her knees. She held her hands like she'd seen Gohan and Goten perform, with her right hovering over the left, her elbow almost to the adjacent with the middle of her back.
Her chant began at a whisper, growing louder with each syllable until she stopped at the final part.
'You've got this Videl. Focus!'
Videl held steady for what felt like an eternity, her hands completely still as she remained focused as an eagle stalking its prey.
Videl thought that at this point she should have felt something, anything! There was no glowing ball of energy between her hands, she wasn't glowing nor was the ground beneath her feet trembling. Was she somehow doing it wrong?
No! Impossible! She couldn't be pessimistic after have gotten so far. She let go of the energy she built up and loosened back up before repeating the steps.
"One more try and then we call it a day." Gohan declared.
Videl agreed. This time she would let her body move on its own. The basic mechanics just weren't working for her. Then again she wasn't normal, not in any way possible. This wasn't going to happen if she continued to act like she was. Videl had to take matters into her own hands.
She didn't know why, but instead of the usual right over left, her arms moved in a clockwise motion with her right arm starting above her head while her left began below her waist until they came full circle. She pulled her hands in close and once again uttered the attack.
"Ka-Me!" She paused. "Ha-Me!" She roared, her voice cutting through the air. This was it, her time had come. With one last push, Videl forced her body beyond it's normal human limitations.
~!~
A glowing ball of light like that of a blue sun had appeared in the hands of the damsel in the sky. She stared down at her opponent with the wrath of God in her eyes. She was putting every last bit of energy she had into one last attack. This was her last shot at winning the fight, her final trump card. She had hoped not to have to use it. She was warned of the repercussions many times over of what could and likely would happen.
She blocked out all the warnings and instead put her heart into her fists. Her pride as a martial artist, a warrior, and her namesake were all at risk. She was leaning against the corner with no where else to run, and she was glad. Because you never put a rabid animal in a corner!
With a mighty roar the ball of light exploded from her palms and shot outward like a laser toward the demon chasing after her.
His eyes lit up in fear. He braced himself and crossed his arms in front of his face as he planned to take the blast head on. It struck and he could feel the immediate pressure like a tank was forcing him down. He tried to combat it and push back but couldn't. Her will was greater than his!
"Oh my! Folks we are witnessing perhaps one of the greatest matches in the history of this tournament! Do my eyes deceive me!? We just witnessed for the first time in over twenty years the technique made famous by The Great Turtle Hermit himself. I remember it like it was yesterday! The last time this attack was used on these grounds, well, there was no longer a ground to speak of! Incredible!"
The crowd cheered to the announcers invigorating monologue. They grew louder and louder as the bald headed freak of nature was forced back down to the stadium. It couldn't push him any further and eventually the light exploded into raw energy! The cloud of dust covered the area surrounding his body.
"Holy-wow! Folks I don't know about you, but after seeing that, I might start to feel bad for Spopovitch. It takes a lot of grit to take one of those head on and come out unscathed! We'll just have to wait for the smoke to pass and see if he has what it takes!"
'Shit. That's definitely not putting down a guy like him. At most that just bought me a few seconds. I should have saved that for a better shot at pushing him out of the ring. Hopefully this'll make him a little more cautious.'
Videl was breathing heavy as she slowly floated down to the ring holding her chest. She'd never felt her heart beating as fast as it was at that moment. Gohan warned her that using the attack would drain a significant amount of energy. In this case she was already dipping into her reserve tank. It was taking all she could just to stand up. She didn't know how she was going to continue to fight.
The smoke around the monster with the "M" on his forehead had dispersed. He came out of the attack almost unharmed, barring a couple of new scratches on his arms and some bloodshed. He sickeningly licked it up like it was some sort of treat. He disgusted the crowd with that act.
He grinned devilishly from ear to ear as he looked upon his prey, weak and fragile, barely capable of standing. He planted one foot behind him and pushed off into a sprint. His blood lust was on the rise, his hunger for more could not be satiated by just the tiny girl in front of him. He needed more!
Spopovitch reared his veiny arm back and threw a violent right hook at the Satan girl. She couldn't do anymore than throw her arms in front of her, it was all she could do to protect herself.
His punches were still so heavy and powerful. Videl was pushed to the edge. She planted her feet down as hard as she could to keep herself within the boundaries. She was able to stop herself just before falling out of the ring.
"Oh wow! Incredible! Not only was Spopovitch able to take on Videl's Kamehameha Wave head on, but he recovered quickly enough to catch her off guard and take over the fight once again! It doesn't look good for the sparky young fighter. It doesn't look like there's much left in her tank!"
Videl couldn't have said it better herself. She tried to catch her breath before the next attack came. She had to figure out a way to push him out of bounds. She couldn't find another way out of this hell brawl. She was smaller than him, she thought that maybe she could use that to her advantage, maybe trip him up.
She threw the idea out quickly as she had to jump away from the oncoming attack. She tucked and rolled under his flying kick and thrust one of her own while he had his back turned. It unfortunately never hit it's mark. Instead she saw her worst nightmare come true.
He squeezed down tightly on her ankle before flinging her down to the ground. The match had ended his mind a long time ago. It was simply just a game to him as he dug his foot into her abdomen over and over again.
Videl yelped and screamed in agony. She cried out for help, but none would come. The loud cheers of the crowd had turned into boos and cries for help. The pain of one girl could be felt throughout the stadium of thousands while she continued to helplessly defend herself against an onslaught from the monster of a man.
Spopovitch ignored the cries and yelps and screams of pain and agony. He continued to put his everything into his fists. He was going to make her beg for her life as he slowly took her freedom away. The limp body before him no longer belonged to that of a prized fighter, no, to him it was closer to that of a bag of meat.
He was going to drain every last drop of blood. He was practically frothing at the mouth as blood continued to splatter from the tiny morsel below him.
"AHH!" Videl cried out. The extent of her pain no longer measurable on a scale. She was more than just in pain though. She was scared for her life. She shut her eyes while her body took the beating of its life. She no longer had the strength to move. It was looking like this was the end of the line for her. Her opponent didn't seem to care for the rules of the tournament.
"Oh my! Poor Videl! As hard as this is to watch, Spopovitch is abiding by the tournament rules as he's only using his fists and feet. I'm not too sure where this ranks with torture, but if anyone in the stadium is squeamish at all I suggest looking away from the fight! Oh please may this horrible fight end soon! I don't know how much more she can take!"
Beyond the crowd, there was a group of fighters on the sidelines that were just as angry and ready to pounce at any moment. One in particular had his death glare placed directly on Spopovitch's forehead. Unbeknownst to the majority, there was someone who was able to hear the silent pleas of the girl in the ring as her body continued to take the full force of the demon's wrath.
'Please! Somebody help me! Please! Anybody! I don't know how much more I can take! Please someone!'
With every cry for help, another tiny spark of lightning danced about his body, ready to explode in a fit of anger. His blood was boiling. What was he supposed to do? Sit there and do nothing while she continued to get the life beaten out of her?
"No Gohan! Calm down! You can't go out there. You mustn't interfere. You have to let this play out, for yours and her sake."
What? Was he being serious? Did he mean that? Were they watching the same match? As much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn't. It was impossible! How do you ignore cries for help when it's coming from someone you care about?
'Help me! Gohan please if you can hear me I need you! Please just fucking help me! I can't take this anymore! It hurts so much but I can't scream out loud! I pray to God that you can hear me.'
He couldn't take much more of this torture. His mate was calling him to help and he was supposed to just stand there and ignore it? Fuck that! He let his anger take over. The streaks of lightning stopped dancing.
No one but a select few in the crowd could comprehend how another fighter suddenly appeared in the ring while the bald headed brute was knocked out of it.
The pounding stopped! It was finally over! By some grace of God Videl was finally able to take a breath without having it beaten out of her. Tears continued to drip down her face and onto the gravel. She tried opening her eyes to see who it was that saved her, but she had a good guess who it was anyways.
He was wrapped in a magnificent golden glow with bolts of lightning dancing around him. She could feel his anger boiling with every passing second. Her savior bent down on one knee and picked her up and held her in his arms bridal style. He placed his head against hers and closed his eyes.
'I'm sorry Videl. I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I won't let anything like that ever happen to you again. I promise.'
Gohan gently laid his girlfriend down on the grassy a safe distance away from what was going to become the new battlefield.
"I'll be right back." He whispered before leaving her.
With every step his aura grew stronger and louder. The Super Saiyan looked upon Spopovitch, stuck in the stadium wall with the anger of a thousand gods in his eyes. Gohan held out his right hand in front of the bloodthirsty villain and began to count down.
"Three." He heard screams from his friends telling him to stop, yet none came to do it themselves.
"Two." Spopovitch was practically daring him to fire away with the sickening grin of his.
A glowing ball of light began to flicker in the golden warrior's palm. Once more the peanut gallery was pleading for him to not go through with it. To just let it go. But how would they feel if it was their significant other in the position Videl was in? Would they not be doing the same exact thing he was? He was positive Vegeta in the least would put a new hole in his enemy's body, if there was a body left to speak of.
"Any last words?" The "M" marked fighter simply laughed the threat off like it was a joke.
"One."
A/N: I honestly can't even begin to apologize or explain not writing this story. I honestly can't. All I'd like to say is that this was all written in one session. It's un-beta'd and it's exactly how I've wanted it to be for the past couple years. I hope that some of you are still interested in reading this story. Again sorry for the absence.

Description

The Promises We Keep – Beast Within
The Sequel to A Disturbed Savior.
For those who have not read A Disturbed Savior, to understand this Story even in the least, you must read A Disturbed Savior first. If not, then w/e, have fun understanding your out of the usual Gohan and Videl
I can't and won't promise anything this time around.
It's DBZ, I obviously don't own shit.
I wanna tear this place apart tonight. And have you thank me for my rage
With all the energy in her body, Videl pushed forward her arms and screamed out to brisk mountain air, but like her previous attempts before, nothing came of it.
"Damn! It's not working! I thought you said this was going to be easy Goten. I'm doing it exactly as you showed me" Videl complained, holding her arms above her head while she tried to catch her breath.
"Well it is. I dunno why you can't do it. You must be pretty weak, hehe." the younger saiyan told her. He didn't mean for it to be rude, he was but a child. It couldn't be helped.
"What? Weak?! Why you- you're just freakishly strong because you're a Saiyan. You defy the basic rules of everything!"
"Haha, yeah. I guess I do."
"So how am I supposed to figure this out then? I know there's a way to do it, I've seen it. But why can't I do it?" Videl voiced, clearly frustrated as she'd been trying to figure out the damned technique for days while her boyfriend was deep into his own training regimen.
Gohan had made it clear that he wasn't going to teach her any 'dangerous' techniques that she could use to injure herself or others with. He may have been able to blow up entire world's at a whim, but that didn't mean he had to pass on how to do it. In his eyes it wasn't his technique to pass down anyways.
After all the ridiculous ways Gohan 'trained' her, Videl wasn't surprised when he denied to share the secret with her. Instead she told herself that she would accomplish the feat in spite of him. She would prove once and for all that could stand with the rest of Earth's Mightiest. She would prove not just to him, but to herself that she wasn't just the daughter of Hercule. Videl was on a mission.
She'd trained for days with Goten trying to get the hang of levitating before throwing the idea out the door. It just wasn't happening, so they moved on to using her ki. Goten though wasn't at all a good teacher. He was, and understandably, too childish for the task. He could only vaguely repeat what he would do. To the ears of a normal human though, it was basically telling a newborn child to speak.
Gohan had grown tired of it. Videl was determined to fire an energy blast and likely wouldn't stop until she dropped dead. He eventually started paying more attention to their routine and took notice of all her mistakes.
Her form was off. She wasn't focused enough. She was trying way too hard to force her body to bypass its normal limitations. Gohan couldn't bare witness to it any longer, he had to intervene. With a booming crash back down to Earth, Gohan stepped out of the dust and approached the duo.
"You're doing it all wrong. Relax!" He said with a firm voice before stopping inches from Videl's face.
"I am relaxed." she gritted through her teeth.
"My ass you are. You're stiff as a board. Vegeta can probably feel your frustration from the city. You've got everything wrong. It's embarrassing." Gohan insulted. If he was going to get involved, she knew he wouldn't sugar coat anything. She liked that about him, but also wanted to punch him in the face for not being compassionate.
"Well maybe I'd be a little more relaxed if someone could take a few seconds out of their clearly busy schedule to help his girlfriend out." Sarcasm was practically falling off her tongue.
He found her attitude humorous. Videl knew well what exactly she was getting into when they began.
"You asked for training, didn't you? That's what you got. Goten is a capable person to teach someone of your strength." Gohan knew he may have been stretching the truth.
"Strength wise, yes. Mentally, not even close! No offense Goten." Videl apologized.
"Haha what?" the younger saiyan wasn't paying the couple any attention as he flew around like a bird flying south for the first time.
"Whatever. You gonna give me everything you've got?"
From that moment on Videl listened to every minute instruction Gohan gave her. From the way she should stand to the position of her hands. He had her standing completely still for ten minutes in silence before speaking another word.
"Now you've got to stay relaxed. Keep your eyes closed, but don't glue them shut. Using your ki is a spiritual output of your physical strength. But that doesn't mean you're spiritually strong just because you're physically fit. Your dad is a good example. About as fit as a normal human being can be, but he's not at all in touch with his inner self. It's literally a mind over matter sort of deal. Got it?"
"I got it, I think."
"Good. Now stay calm and loose. It's all in your head. You've been trying to force it out the entire time, that's just going to backfire on you in the end. Doing it that way will just exhaust all your strength and you'll fall flat."
Videl listened to his voice, a rare change that he was being sincere and sort of, nice. It helped keep her in a calm state of mind knowing he was putting in an honest effort. She listened as he instructed to let go of any and all thoughts.
She took in long, deep breaths and listened to the sound of the oxygen leaving her body. It was a new sensation for someone who was always living in the now and jumping into new things. She could feel the presence of an energy source inside of her, but until now it felt like it was behind lock and key. That key had been locked until now.
A surprising amount of life was finally reachable and it felt like there was a bright sun shining inside. All she needed to do now was tap into. But it wasn't so easily controlled. Videl could feel the light, but it was still a hard concept to grasp. It didn't come natural to her like it did Gohan and the others. She was just a normal human being, she wasn't special like everyone else.
"No. You're doing it again. Stop trying to feel for it. Just let it move around. Untapped potential is like a lost child trying to find its parents.. They're not going to cooperate and it's going to be anxious and a bit frantic, but it's not wrong for doing so. But once they find their mom and dad they calm down and ready to be reasoned with. That's what your ki is like right now. It's scared! And it should be. You've been pushing it and trying to make it do what you want it to while it's trying to find it's home."
Gohan's explanation, as strange as it may have sounded, made a lot of sense to her. Videl relaxed her grip and let go of her tension, letting the light inside scatter. It felt warm and comforting. She was beginning to pay attention to the small things like the wind beneath her feet and the sun shining down on her.
"Good good. Now you seem to be getting it. Now that it's beginning to settle, try to communicate with it. Sounds strange but I mean exactly what I'm saying. I want to you tell your energy to do what you want. Start off by gathering into a single spot. Try to push it into your feet." Gohan softly explained. This was becoming more of an intimate interaction than he'd planned. He didn't predict he would get so invested.
Videl thought he sounded cooky when he said to speak to her ki, but at this point she'd try anything.
'Ok energy. Sorry for trying to force you out. Now that we're all settled I'm going to take charge. Feet. Go to my feet.' Videl told herself while making downward pushing gestures with her hands.
"Just let it flow. Don't force it. You can't force it. Feel it. Become one with it."
'I hear you dumb ass, but it's not working.'
"You're losing focus." He rolled his eyes and shook his head."
"I'm losing focus because you keep on talking! You're not making this easy you know? This isn't normal training! It's not like I just do a thousand push ups and day and just fly! Maybe if you helped me from the beginning I might have made some progress by now. Instead I'm still stuck at step 1!" Videl screamed at him from eye level. She was hovering over him and continuing to scream, unaware of her state of being.
Gohan stood silent and allowed her to let her anger out on him. He would wait until she had calmed down before pointing out her achievement. Videl still had a long way to go before she had proper control.
The moment had passed as had her tantrum. She had both feet back on the ground and was back to looking up. She held a finger outward, gesturing him to stay silent while she played it back in her head. She huffed out a breath and cracked a smile.
Gohan allowed his mate a few minutes to catch some fresh air and clear her mind, he promised the next step wasn't going to be so easy.
When Videl was finally settled back into her zone, Gohan began going over the next set of instructions. He had her perform the basic arm movements, just as he learned more than a decade ago.
She practiced until she could barely lift her arms above her head. Sweat was dripping down her face before she realized it. All the while Gohan stood off with his arms crossed, his stare never breaking.
"Relax!" Gohan commanded. Videl gladly obeyed, gently falling to her knees. "It's time to try the real thing."
Videl went wide eyed and felt butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous yet excited. It was finally going to happen. All her energy was spent, but she wanted this! This was what she trained for. She wouldn't let a little fatigue stop her.
Videl pushed herself up off the ground and steadied herself on her feet. It felt as if her legs had turned to jello the way they were shaking. She couldn't tell if it was the nerves or her body giving out.
Videl remembered the first thing Gohan told her was to calm herself down and loosen up. She ripped off her gloves and undid her boots, kicking them off in Gohan's direction. If she was going to loosen up, her feet were going to have to stop burning like she was standing on hot coals.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded and took her position, spreading her legs and bending her knees.
Videl closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind whistling past her ear. It was strange, she'd never paid such close attention to the smallest, yet vital details of the world around her. Goosebumps popped up on her arms while she attempted to calm down.
"Now this is going to be a lot different than levitating, ok? It's a lot harder to manifest a physical form of your ki than it is to push it under your feet to float. First and foremost, what you're about to do isn't about causing someone else pain or destroying something. It's about protecting yourself, got it?! We use our power to protect ourselves and our loved ones, we don't fight to hurt."
Videl nodded in acknowledgment. She was a bit stunned that Gohan had that sort of speech in him. She wondered where that came from. She'd prod later.
"Now just like before you have to let the energy in your body flow freely. Once it's loose, you have to gather into your core like it was a little ball. You'll know when you've got it down. You'll feel a little pressure in your stomach. Don't be afraid of it, embrace it. You have to lift it up and like you did with your feet, gather it into your arms. But don't push it, you have to stay in control, ok? Whenever you're ready."
Videl loosed up and bent her knees. She held her hands like she'd seen Gohan and Goten perform, with her right hovering over the left, her elbow almost to the adjacent with the middle of her back.
Her chant began at a whisper, growing louder with each syllable until she stopped at the final part.
'You've got this Videl. Focus!'
Videl held steady for what felt like an eternity, her hands completely still as she remained focused as an eagle stalking its prey.
Videl thought that at this point she should have felt something, anything! There was no glowing ball of energy between her hands, she wasn't glowing nor was the ground beneath her feet trembling. Was she somehow doing it wrong?
No! Impossible! She couldn't be pessimistic after have gotten so far. She let go of the energy she built up and loosened back up before repeating the steps.
"One more try and then we call it a day." Gohan declared.
Videl agreed. This time she would let her body move on its own. The basic mechanics just weren't working for her. Then again she wasn't normal, not in any way possible. This wasn't going to happen if she continued to act like she was. Videl had to take matters into her own hands.
She didn't know why, but instead of the usual right over left, her arms moved in a clockwise motion with her right arm starting above her head while her left began below her waist until they came full circle. She pulled her hands in close and once again uttered the attack.
"Ka-Me!" She paused. "Ha-Me!" She roared, her voice cutting through the air. This was it, her time had come. With one last push, Videl forced her body beyond it's normal human limitations.
~!~
A glowing ball of light like that of a blue sun had appeared in the hands of the damsel in the sky. She stared down at her opponent with the wrath of God in her eyes. She was putting every last bit of energy she had into one last attack. This was her last shot at winning the fight, her final trump card. She had hoped not to have to use it. She was warned of the repercussions many times over of what could and likely would happen.
She blocked out all the warnings and instead put her heart into her fists. Her pride as a martial artist, a warrior, and her namesake were all at risk. She was leaning against the corner with no where else to run, and she was glad. Because you never put a rabid animal in a corner!
With a mighty roar the ball of light exploded from her palms and shot outward like a laser toward the demon chasing after her.
His eyes lit up in fear. He braced himself and crossed his arms in front of his face as he planned to take the blast head on. It struck and he could feel the immediate pressure like a tank was forcing him down. He tried to combat it and push back but couldn't. Her will was greater than his!
"Oh my! Folks we are witnessing perhaps one of the greatest matches in the history of this tournament! Do my eyes deceive me!? We just witnessed for the first time in over twenty years the technique made famous by The Great Turtle Hermit himself. I remember it like it was yesterday! The last time this attack was used on these grounds, well, there was no longer a ground to speak of! Incredible!"
The crowd cheered to the announcers invigorating monologue. They grew louder and louder as the bald headed freak of nature was forced back down to the stadium. It couldn't push him any further and eventually the light exploded into raw energy! The cloud of dust covered the area surrounding his body.
"Holy-wow! Folks I don't know about you, but after seeing that, I might start to feel bad for Spopovitch. It takes a lot of grit to take one of those head on and come out unscathed! We'll just have to wait for the smoke to pass and see if he has what it takes!"
'Shit. That's definitely not putting down a guy like him. At most that just bought me a few seconds. I should have saved that for a better shot at pushing him out of the ring. Hopefully this'll make him a little more cautious.'
Videl was breathing heavy as she slowly floated down to the ring holding her chest. She'd never felt her heart beating as fast as it was at that moment. Gohan warned her that using the attack would drain a significant amount of energy. In this case she was already dipping into her reserve tank. It was taking all she could just to stand up. She didn't know how she was going to continue to fight.
The smoke around the monster with the "M" on his forehead had dispersed. He came out of the attack almost unharmed, barring a couple of new scratches on his arms and some bloodshed. He sickeningly licked it up like it was some sort of treat. He disgusted the crowd with that act.
He grinned devilishly from ear to ear as he looked upon his prey, weak and fragile, barely capable of standing. He planted one foot behind him and pushed off into a sprint. His blood lust was on the rise, his hunger for more could not be satiated by just the tiny girl in front of him. He needed more!
Spopovitch reared his veiny arm back and threw a violent right hook at the Satan girl. She couldn't do anymore than throw her arms in front of her, it was all she could do to protect herself.
His punches were still so heavy and powerful. Videl was pushed to the edge. She planted her feet down as hard as she could to keep herself within the boundaries. She was able to stop herself just before falling out of the ring.
"Oh wow! Incredible! Not only was Spopovitch able to take on Videl's Kamehameha Wave head on, but he recovered quickly enough to catch her off guard and take over the fight once again! It doesn't look good for the sparky young fighter. It doesn't look like there's much left in her tank!"
Videl couldn't have said it better herself. She tried to catch her breath before the next attack came. She had to figure out a way to push him out of bounds. She couldn't find another way out of this hell brawl. She was smaller than him, she thought that maybe she could use that to her advantage, maybe trip him up.
She threw the idea out quickly as she had to jump away from the oncoming attack. She tucked and rolled under his flying kick and thrust one of her own while he had his back turned. It unfortunately never hit it's mark. Instead she saw her worst nightmare come true.
He squeezed down tightly on her ankle before flinging her down to the ground. The match had ended his mind a long time ago. It was simply just a game to him as he dug his foot into her abdomen over and over again.
Videl yelped and screamed in agony. She cried out for help, but none would come. The loud cheers of the crowd had turned into boos and cries for help. The pain of one girl could be felt throughout the stadium of thousands while she continued to helplessly defend herself against an onslaught from the monster of a man.
Spopovitch ignored the cries and yelps and screams of pain and agony. He continued to put his everything into his fists. He was going to make her beg for her life as he slowly took her freedom away. The limp body before him no longer belonged to that of a prized fighter, no, to him it was closer to that of a bag of meat.
He was going to drain every last drop of blood. He was practically frothing at the mouth as blood continued to splatter from the tiny morsel below him.
"AHH!" Videl cried out. The extent of her pain no longer measurable on a scale. She was more than just in pain though. She was scared for her life. She shut her eyes while her body took the beating of its life. She no longer had the strength to move. It was looking like this was the end of the line for her. Her opponent didn't seem to care for the rules of the tournament.
"Oh my! Poor Videl! As hard as this is to watch, Spopovitch is abiding by the tournament rules as he's only using his fists and feet. I'm not too sure where this ranks with torture, but if anyone in the stadium is squeamish at all I suggest looking away from the fight! Oh please may this horrible fight end soon! I don't know how much more she can take!"
Beyond the crowd, there was a group of fighters on the sidelines that were just as angry and ready to pounce at any moment. One in particular had his death glare placed directly on Spopovitch's forehead. Unbeknownst to the majority, there was someone who was able to hear the silent pleas of the girl in the ring as her body continued to take the full force of the demon's wrath.
'Please! Somebody help me! Please! Anybody! I don't know how much more I can take! Please someone!'
With every cry for help, another tiny spark of lightning danced about his body, ready to explode in a fit of anger. His blood was boiling. What was he supposed to do? Sit there and do nothing while she continued to get the life beaten out of her?
"No Gohan! Calm down! You can't go out there. You mustn't interfere. You have to let this play out, for yours and her sake."
What? Was he being serious? Did he mean that? Were they watching the same match? As much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn't. It was impossible! How do you ignore cries for help when it's coming from someone you care about?
'Help me! Gohan please if you can hear me I need you! Please just fucking help me! I can't take this anymore! It hurts so much but I can't scream out loud! I pray to God that you can hear me.'
He couldn't take much more of this torture. His mate was calling him to help and he was supposed to just stand there and ignore it? Fuck that! He let his anger take over. The streaks of lightning stopped dancing.
No one but a select few in the crowd could comprehend how another fighter suddenly appeared in the ring while the bald headed brute was knocked out of it.
The pounding stopped! It was finally over! By some grace of God Videl was finally able to take a breath without having it beaten out of her. Tears continued to drip down her face and onto the gravel. She tried opening her eyes to see who it was that saved her, but she had a good guess who it was anyways.
He was wrapped in a magnificent golden glow with bolts of lightning dancing around him. She could feel his anger boiling with every passing second. Her savior bent down on one knee and picked her up and held her in his arms bridal style. He placed his head against hers and closed his eyes.
'I'm sorry Videl. I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I won't let anything like that ever happen to you again. I promise.'
Gohan gently laid his girlfriend down on the grassy a safe distance away from what was going to become the new battlefield.
"I'll be right back." He whispered before leaving her.
With every step his aura grew stronger and louder. The Super Saiyan looked upon Spopovitch, stuck in the stadium wall with the anger of a thousand gods in his eyes. Gohan held out his right hand in front of the bloodthirsty villain and began to count down.
"Three." He heard screams from his friends telling him to stop, yet none came to do it themselves.
"Two." Spopovitch was practically daring him to fire away with the sickening grin of his.
A glowing ball of light began to flicker in the golden warrior's palm. Once more the peanut gallery was pleading for him to not go through with it. To just let it go. But how would they feel if it was their significant other in the position Videl was in? Would they not be doing the same exact thing he was? He was positive Vegeta in the least would put a new hole in his enemy's body, if there was a body left to speak of.
"Any last words?" The "M" marked fighter simply laughed the threat off like it was a joke.
"One."
A/N: I honestly can't even begin to apologize or explain not writing this story. I honestly can't. All I'd like to say is that this was all written in one session. It's un-beta'd and it's exactly how I've wanted it to be for the past couple years. I hope that some of you are still interested in reading this story. Again sorry for the absence.