(That afternoon)
The rest of that day saw Gohan's group short one person. Though Touya questioned the other two why Erasa had suddenly decided to sit in a different row to them that day, the demi-Saiyan said that things were 'complicated' between them, whereas the tomboy had chosen to remain quiet on the subject. In the end, the mood up in that middle row stayed cold and choppy for the entire duration of third period. When the hour eventually ticked over to quitting time and the end of school bell rang throughout the entire complex, the entire populace inside the institute spilled out of the classrooms and back out into the city streets.
Like with every other day since the start of term, Videl's group waited for the majority of the students to file out so that they could avoid the bulk of the traffic. It was as soon as the river of bodies was at its thinnest that she, Gohan and Touya took their time to collect their stuff, before joining their peers out on the main road. Though it took them a few minutes, the trio eventually found themselves outside the gate and on the footpath. Once there, the brown haired sportsman threw a smile at the couple behind him before gesturing a little ways down the road, where his girlfriend Yukie could be seen standing with her white bag slung over her shoulder and waiting patiently for him.
"I'll be heading off now guys. See you tomorrow," the teen waved.
"Yeah. See yah, man," Gohan responded in kind, seconds before he and Videl watched the man turn around and jog down the footpath to meet up with his other half.
The pair smiled when they saw them reunite. But while the demi-Saiyan was caught up in seeing his friend off his girlfriend's attention suddenly snapped to the footpath on the other side of the road. It was there, strolling down the street with her head down and her hand gripping the strap of her bag, Videl saw Erasa making her long, lonely trip home, ignoring the other students passing her by and absently dodging the rest of the civilian traffic along the way.
Blinking in surprise, the raven haired girl's expression then steeled before she turned to look up at her partner. "I have to quickly go pick up something before heading home. I'll catch up with you on Scape tonight, okay?"
Returning his girlfriend's statement with a surprised look, the hybrid then nodded in understanding. "Oh. A-Alright. Do you need me to come with you?" Gohan asked before suddenly seeing his colleague in crime fighting dash across the tarmac.
Making sure there were no cars, Videl took a moment to turn around and jog backwards so that she could wave to her boyfriend. "Don't worry! I'll be fine!" With a hasty grin, she then skipped back around and sprinted away, leaving the young Saiyan behind with his hand awkwardly rising into the air to wave back at her.
Seeing the raven haired girl disappear around the corner impelled the half-blooded warrior to lower his hand and adjust his pack. Wondering what could be so important to drag his girlfriend away so suddenly, the spiky haired teen figured that Videl had to take care of business related to her and to her alone. If she'd needed his help in any way, then she would have asked for it beforehand. So, reasoning that his classmate and friend of many years had a handle on it, Gohan checked his watch, assessed the time, then gripped the strap of his backpack and vanished in a flash of golden light.
By the time the young Saiyan took flight back to his place, Erasa was already halfway down the main road around the bend. A miserable look drawn on her face as she crossed another set of lights, the girl was just about to pass by a flight of steps leading up to one of the city's monorail stations. It was here, beside an empty park and bench with a line of soda machines standing beside her that the girl then heard a series of rushing footsteps approaching. Turning around in panic, thinking she was about to be attacked, the blonde then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was Videl jogging towards her.
Slowing to a stop, the city's poster girl brushed back some locks of stray hair and smiled at her friend. "Yo."
"V-Videl? Wha-… What are you doing?"
"I'm following you home, of course," the raven haired teen exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips and shooting her friend a sly smirk. "What? Doesn't your best friend of many years have permission to stalk you wherever you go around the city?"
Finding her friend's words a little bit off, the surprised blonde's expression then became serious as she turned to confront her pursuer. Despite being known for being the most cheerful and harmless person in the school, in that one moment, the future reporter appeared quite intimidating. "Alright… cut the crap. Why are you really here?"
Sensing hostility growing in her voice, Videl's smile disappeared and a serious look set across her face. "You really want to know?" Shifting her weight to one side and folding her arms over her chest, the raven haired hero of the capital decided to skip all idle pretenses and went straight to business. "I heard what you said to Gohan back during lunch time when you decided to run off to see your teacher." When she saw the blonde's expression switch to one of shock, the tomboy knew right away that she landed right on the mark. "Remember… back in the corridor?"
Eyes widening, Erasa's gaze then snapped away and she cursed inwardly at being found out. After several seconds of trying to figure a way out of this, her attention then switched back to the crime fighter and the blonde sucked it up. "V-Videl… I… I didn't mean…" Gritting her teeth when she realized that was the wrong thing to lead off on, the blonde restarted her response. "You and Gohan are the two closest people in my life next to my own family. I didn't mean to fall in love with him. It just sort of… happened."
It was at hearing this that Videl's expression slowly changed to a more deflated one, a complete difference from the unshaken contours of before. She then nodded her head in acknowledgement of her friend's reply and lowered her head, "Yeah. Gohan has that kind of effect on people."
Looking her childhood friend dead in the eye, the journalist in training continued her tirade. "I mean, how could I not? He's smart, strong, kind, generous, fun-loving, down to earth, and between you and me, he's without a doubt the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on." When she saw Videl raise an eyebrow at the enthusiasm she uttered that last bit with, the blonde clenched her hands tightly and stepped towards the crime fighter in a pleading manner. "But he's your boyfriend… and you're his girlfriend. I don't want to get between the two of you and break you guys up, and even if I did there's no way I would be able to. He loves you too damn much." She then looked away shamefacedly. "About as much as I love him…"
Her expression reflecting her downtrodden reaction to the girl's confessions, Videl clutched her own arms tensely and looked down at her feet for but a moment. Once she'd processed everything the blonde had told her, the tomboy then looked up at her friend and spoke. "Erasa…" When she saw the blonde's gaze switch to her, the raven haired girl's eyes wavered as she looked upon her with warmth and fondness. "I treasure you as a friend just as much as I love Gohan and… I know in his heart… that he cherishes you just as much as I do. Sure that sounds cheesy as hell, but knowing exactly the kind of person that he is, I know that the last thing he would want to happen is to lose a person who has become so close to him… someone who has touched his life in so many ways and respects just as much as he does everybody else. He would go to the ends of the world to protect those he cares about… and for that I am certain."
Staring at her friend silently as her mind stewed over her words, the blonde swallowed nervously and, turning to face her classmate head on, spoke in a raspy voice, "But Videl… even if that's true… aren't you worried about my feelings towards him?" She then shook her head in bewilderment. "Aren't you… afraid that I would just end up getting in the way of you two? Because I'm gonna be completely honest with you… even if I was to try to go back to the way things were between us… I don't think I'd be able to look him straight in the eye knowing how much I like him." She then brought her hands together and locked her fingers anxiously. "If you two weren't already together, I would definitely still be trying to go after him…"
Looking her friend in the eye, Videl allowed a small smile to grace her lips and rested her weight on her right leg. "You really like him that much?" When she saw Erasa nod her head vigorously, the raven haired fighter chuckled and brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. It was a gesture that had the blonde raise an eyebrow at her strange reply. "It's funny, you know… ever since Gohan and I became boyfriend and girlfriend, almost every single girl around us who's become close friends with him, suddenly wants to have a piece of him. Lime… Zangya… Kana… I'm telling you, the amount of attention he's receiving is mindboggling." When she saw the surprised blink her friend gave, the tomboy placed her hands on her hips and smirked. "What's more, every single one of the girls who's made a move on him so far likes him just as much as you do. Even though we're officially a couple, it's suddenly gotten so much harder to try and keep him all to myself. At the rate this is going… I don't think any of our friendships are going to last for very long. Things are going to get ugly."
The wide-eyed blonde's mouth opened in confusion. "Videl…?"
Taking a deep breath, the raven haired crime fighter then looked towards the sky and took on a noticeably distant stare. "You know, one of the girls who said that they're also in love with Gohan had a very interesting proposition. Since she comes from a society that allows life partners to take on multiple mates and not just one… she suggested to all of us that we share him."
This particular news had Erasa's eyes widen in shock and her face turn bright red. "Sh-Sh-Sh-Share him?"
Seeing the expression appear on her classmate's face brought a look of amusement to the crime fighter's, which was quickly followed by a lighthearted laugh. "I know. I had the exact same reaction… well… at least I think I did. It's all still a bit of a blur to me." Videl then shook her head to rid herself of that memory and held a hand out to her friend. "But as much as I hated the idea, after hearing how much you care about Gohan and seeing how broken up you were after your confession to him… I'm starting to think that maybe giving that sharing concept a try wouldn't be such a bad idea. I mean, he is an alien… and a ridiculously hot alien at that… and a lot of the rules that apply to us certainly don't apply to him or his friends." She then crossed her arms and looked at her friend, who was still in a bit of a bumbling mess. "The point is… I don't want to lose a good friend over such a senseless squabble… or any of my friends for that matter… especially someone I've cherished since primary school."
Staring across at the raven haired girl in bewilderment for a few moments, the blonde girl then bit her bottom lip and stepped towards the crime fighter wistfully. "You… Videl…I…"
The girl's hand then shot up quickly. "I said I'd think about it. That doesn't mean I'm completely sold on the idea." She then grinned across at her warmly. "What I want is to try and resolve this thing so that I don't have to see my friend go home in tears and never have to speak with her again. I'm certain Gohan doesn't want to see that happen either. So let's just… give the matter some time and we'll see how this works out in the end, okay?" Inwardly she admitted the whole thing might turn out to be a lot of fun.
I mean, this was her best friend and her boyfriend she was talking about, the latter of whom arguably being one of the most good-looking and selfless guys in the world. What was there not to like?
Gulping nervously, Erasa then nodded her head dumbly and, after taking a deep breath, allowed a small smile to reappear on her face. "A-Alright. We'll do that." Taking a few steps back, the blonde then started to turn around until a sudden thought came to her head. Sparing a quick look back at the tomboy, the girl in the green top then blushed and rubbed her hands together nervously. "Just… for the record…" Erasa then smiled in a shy manner, "I don't think sharing Gohan with you would be such a bad idea. I… think you're really cute as well, V."
Realizing exactly where that line of speak was going caused Videl to blush and wave a hand at the blonde, "Oh, get out of here, you horn dog!" This shout had Erasa giggle and continue down the empty road on her accord, all the while the raven haired fighter pointed after her warningly. "I said I'd think about it! You hear me? I'd think about it!"
Laughing a little as she began to walk, the blonde stuck her tongue out at her classmate. "Don't go thinking about it for too long, okay, because I'm getting impatient!"
Videl rolled her eyes, "Oh, suddenly you're sounding so confident. Now do you see what happens when I give you an inch?" Seeing the teen wave goodbye from a few yards away had the crime fighter sigh and wave after her as well. After trading one last smile with each other, the raven haired beauty then began to back away and set her own sights for home.
But then, just as Erasa turned her attention to the footpath ahead of her, she then stopped when she noticed something off about the air.
Able to see clearly down the street, with cars and people moving around in the background like the backdrop of a movie, she also noticed a peculiar shimmer breaking up the air just a couple feet in front of her. It was almost like rays of sunlight were refracting through a pane of glass that was moving, which had the blonde take a back step to see if she wasn't tripping.
It was only after taking that small step the blonde received the shock of her life when she unexpectedly felt a powerful grip around her neck before she was lifted off the ground by an unseen force. The sudden jerk caused her to drop her bag and let out a strangled gasp in fright as her windpipe was practically blocked by the invisible hand.
Seeing her friend suddenly get lifted off the floor had Videl recoil in disbelief. When she realized the girl was in trouble, the crime fighter quickly dropped into a fighting stance and glared ahead at the collection of air on the other side of the floating blonde. At the same time the champion of Satan City's police force took aim with her hand and focused her hardest glare on the ghost that'd taken her classmate captive.
Initially baffled by what was going on, Erasa then watched in horror as the invisible gleam in front of her faded and, in a scene taken straight out of the movie Predator, a massive armored figure suddenly appeared out of thin air; the large fingers of its right hand wrapped firmly around the girl's neck. His cloak disappearing in a blue flicker of pixels, a large mecha about the same height as Piccolo, with green and black army paint, leered at the girl through its four, yellow optical sensors.
The moment the invisibility lifted, the helmet opened up and revealed a dark skinned, scarred male adult in his early thirties, glaring threateningly at the blonde teenager.
"You will come with me," he hissed.
With Erasa clawing and kicking uselessly at the suit's massive arm, Videl cautiously eased off of the footpath and onto the road so that she could get a clear shot at the mech's pilot. However, due to the manner in which he was holding the girl in front of him, being able to shoot the prick without hitting her friend seemed like it was going to be impossible.
Almost immediately, a nervous sweat broke out on the crime fighter's face. Not only did she have a hostage situation unfolding directly in front of her, but for some odd reason she just could not fathom, she was unable to sense the man's presence at all. His ki signature was being blocked by that weird armor he was wearing.
Just who the hell was this guy?
Knowing that this wasn't the time to be asking petty questions, Videl began to focus her energy into her palms and widened her stance. "Why don't we put the girl down and talk about this woman to freak?" she called out to the unknown assailant, her hand held steady and crosshairs locked onto his face.
Eyes snapping towards the teenager curiously, Vulcan then saw the girl he recognized immediately as Hercule Satan's daughter, edge across the main road and ready herself for a fight. After considering her words and looking down at the blonde in his hand, a smirk then formed on his face and he nodded to the city's defender conceitedly. "As you wish." Helmet visor snapping back across his face, he then tossed the blonde girl aside and lunged for the tomboy.
Almost instantly Videl opened up on the mecha with a rapid fire chain of golden ki blasts, which shot towards the creep from both her hands at light speed. However, the moment her attacks struck the man's armor, instead of taking chunks of metal out of it or disintegrating the mecha outright, the beams either bounced uselessly off of the tough shell or got absorbed by the strange plating.
Feeling the blasts ricochet off of his suit prompted Vulcan to duck his head and, as he jogged towards his target, he reactivated his cloak. In just a few milliseconds, the hulking metal frame thundering towards the Z-fighter turned invisible and vanished into thin air. When Videl saw her last ki blast shoot down the street and hit nothing, her expression instantly became one of alarm and frustration.
Backing away slowly, the girl narrowed her eyes and attempted to spot any telltale traces of her target. Since she couldn't feel the guy's presence at all, she had to rely on her other senses to do the work. However, in spite of the armor's supposed weight and size, the tomboy couldn't detect even a single sliver of her opponent. It had her and all of the civilians who were watching the events from the pavement scratching their heads in confusion.
At first Videl had no idea where her opponent was. But then, just as she was thinking he'd taken off, she heard a sharp hiss and an electronic humming noise appear behind her, and spun around. Thrusting her right hand forward, she attempted to fire a blast at her invisible opponent, only to have her wrist grabbed and her palm pointed upwards, resulting in her missing with her ki blast. Attempting to pull free, the teen then saw her opponent reappear out of thin air holding her arm with his left and holding a red beam sword shaped like a machete in the other.
Eyes widening in fright, Videl slammed a kick into the mech's forward leg, hoping to crumple it like aluminum. But her blow, despite its tank crushing strength, bounced off of the durable limb like it was nothing, leaving it completely unscathed. Stunned, the girl then jumped back at the last second and slammed both her feet into the suit's chest, yanking her arm out of his grip and avoiding the upward swing of the mech's blade… or at least most of it.
In the end, the tip of the laser weapon sliced into her chest, sending a spray of blood into the air and knocking the strong girl to the ground.
As soon as her back hit the tarmac and began to slide, the raven haired fighter put both fingers to her forehead and, with a quick power up, aimed them at the armored suit with a yell. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" A pink corkscrew beam then shot out from her fingertips, striking the approaching mech in the chest with a deafening thunderclap. However, instead of drilling straight through the armored warrior and leaving a big hole in its chest, the beam suddenly got absorbed into the suit, the gaps of which lit up with a golden glow as it literally sucked in all of the energy powering the attack.
Once Videl was done firing, the flash of light produced by her attack faded to reveal that the robot was still standing without a single scratch. The sight of its untouched front had the wounded girl's eyes widen in shock.
"What the fuck?"
A metallic chuckle left the mech's lips as it stomped towards her. "Thanks for the power up." As soon as he was close enough, Vulcan raised his energy sword and prepared to run it through the teen to finish her off. The sight of the weapon had Videl raise her arms in defense and prepare to move.
But then, just as the armored warrior was swinging down in a stabbing motion, Erasa suddenly jumped in front of him. "STOP!" Arms out, the blonde stepped directly into the path of the blade, which immediately ceased momentum and had to the mechanized soldier glaring down at the teen in surprise.
Seeing her friend movie in between her and her opponent caused Videl to look up in bewilderment. "Erasa! What are you doing? Get out of here!" she shouted, waving for her classmate to run.
Ignoring her friend's call and knowing exactly what would happen if she did move, the brave blonde lowered her arms and glared right back at the intimidating cyborg in front of her, "I'll come quietly if you let her live."
Hearing her concession loud and clear, the mechanical man retracted his blade and sheathed it into the side holster of his leg plate. Straightening up, Vulcan then stomped forward, grabbed the girl by the stomach with his whole hand and, holding her lightly in his grip, proceeded to walk down the street. Passing by the fallen Videl, who was still struggling to get back to her feet due to the deep flesh wound across her front, the hulking machine stopped and glared down at her. When he saw the raven haired teen look back up at him with a fierce expression, the pilot frowned behind his helmet.
"Nine o'clock, tomorrow morning. The Plaza. If you want to see the girl again in one piece, tell him to come alone." It was a warning that had the Champ's daughter frown and spit at his feet.
Message given, the civilians watching from the sidelines then watched fearfully as the mech, with his blonde captive in tow, activated his jetpack and, with a loud roar of its engines, took off into the sky and shot towards the horizon faster than a bullet. In a matter of moments, he was gone, and so was Erasa's ki signature.
Crying out as she gripped the wound across her chest, Videl rolled onto her side and, bringing her wrist watch around, pressed the quick-dial button on the side of the face.
Under any normal circumstances she would've called the cops. However, in this case, ordinary backup wasn't going to cut it. So, knowing exactly who she had to call, she brought the communicator up to her lips and, with a strained voice, spoke into it as calmly as she could.
"Gohan… Erasa's been kidnapped…"
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