Success, Failure and the Selling Price of Honor

DBZ characters owned by Toei Animation and Akira Toriyama. Story is for the pleasure of fans, no infringement intended.

"You don't mind?"

Videl rolled her eyes and set Gohan with a look even as they moved through the sky. "Gohan, you should know me by now. If it bothered me, I would have told you." She paused, pursed her lips. "Unless you think I'm a liar?"

Nervous but not as nervous as her tone might have indicated he should have been, Gohan smiled. "No. I don't think you are. I just know that going on chores for my Mom probably wasn't what you had in mind when you came out here."

"Aw, I like seeing what you guys do!" She meant that too. "You still haven't even shown me half of this mountain." Looking down, she watched the green and blue and all other colors flow beneath her. She could make out small little paths but overall, there was not a lot in way of civilation out here and she liked it that way. There was a peace to it, a serenity that she missed in the city.

Pretty easy to see why Gohan's family liked it out here.

"I've lived here my whole life, Videl." He told her simply as they began to descend on a small clearing below. "_I_ haven't seen the whole mountain. That's what makes it fun. New things every time you go out. Goten and I ran into a whole cave system the other day that even Dad didn't know about."

That seemed like stories she would read in fairy tales. Yet, it was real. "You'll show that to me, too?"

"Sure, if you want. Soon as we get this stuff back to Mom."

Videl took a gander around. It really wasn't much to look at. A simple clearing amid a small village. Lots of little shops set up that really weren't more than stands. It looked barely bigger than lemonade stand toys she would play with as a little girl. But they were very much the livelihood of these people.

"Ah, Gohan! There you are!"

Turning, baskets upon baskets of vegetables piled high on his shoulders, Gohan beamed as the elder man approached. "Hi, Sir, sorry we're a little late. But we have a lot of vegetables for you this week!"

Leaning on his cane, the man laughed out loud, "Oh, I can see that. And a visitor with you too!" He gestured to Videl who set down her own stacks of baskets. "Miss Videl, isn't it?"

"Yes, Sir." She responded. "Figured I'd help Gohan drop them off."

"Kind of you, kind of you." Reaching into his jacket, the man retrieved an envelope, counted through it and handed it over to Gohan. "There you go, Son. As agreed with your mother."

Bowing low, Gohan picked up his baskets again, "Thank you Sir. I can load them in the truck for you!"

"Thank you!" He smiled, "It's where it always is."

"Great. C'mon Videl. This'll be quick."

Picking up her own stack, she followed Gohan, marveling at how easy it was to lift and carry over ten baskets packed to the brim with food. Gohan's training had certainly done something to her and she relished in it. It was something she never dreamed would be possible.

Still, for all this food, that seemed like an awfully small amount. Though, maybe she wasn't a real good judge of it. She was smart enough to know that she had grown up quite privileged. Even before the Cell Games, her father had made a career out of being a wrestler and martial artist and they lived, well, quite comfortably.

It was after Cell though that she really began to experience what she would call true luxury. The interviews, the large mansions, the cars, the ability to literally walk in absolutely any store and just point to what she wanted and know her father's tab could cover it.

That had been bothering her lately.

She had started to suspect, when she saw the ability Gohan had, but then she had asked him, right before he rushed off to fight Buu. Had asked him about the Cell Games. She remembered watching it on her television in the mansion, waiting for her father to return. He would be victorious, he had promised. After all, wasn't he always?

The other people who had shown up to fight, she remembered thinking all kinds of horrible things of them. How dare they show up and try to make her father seem foolish? How dare they show up when this wasn't a game!

Oh, irony, thou had a mighty sting.

When the visual had gone out, she had been stuck there, wondering, until the news plowed over the airwaves: Mr. Satan Triumphant! Cell has Fallen!

She'd only been a little girl then, a preteen that still thought her father had set the stars in the sky and set the turning of the world in place. Who was she to argue with it? She had just rushed him with a hug when he came home and that was that. That was the truth of the matter.

Except it wasn't.

Rising into the air, Videl followed Gohan a village over. This one looked a bit more civilized than the last one. There was some electricity and even a few cars here and there. The streets were still more dirt than anything but it was more like what Videl knew.

"Miss!" Gohan called out though Videl didn't quite catch who he was trying to grab the attention from. Every time she came up here, she was experiencing something different and this, just like the last village, made a deep feeling of guilt sink in her gut.

Gohan and his family went to these villages and bartered…bartered like they were centuries in the past…just to try and make ends meet. Whereas she had grown up and never wanted for anything. By the time Gohan came back, looking more than a little flustered, that sinking feeling had turned into a boiling mass.

Videl beat him to the air that time but it didn't take him long to catch up.

"Videl?" The concern in his voice was intoxicating. "Sorry, we had to stop, that should be it…"

"That's not it, Gohan." Her tone was reduced, painting the wind in small wisps. "I just…this is all so alien to me."

He winced, rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry…if you wanna go home early, I get it.."

"It's not that!" She screamed then yelped when her ki sent her shooting upwards, in a wild angle. "Ah! Gohan!"

Almost before she even finished saying his name, his hand was grasping her wrist, pulling her to a stop. "Whoa, easy. Ki is finiky. It'll do weird things if you're not used to it. 'Specially since you're still getting the hang of it…"

"Would have been nice to know!" But the poison quickly flooded out of her voice. "Was it because I got mad?"

"Emotions can do that. It's more because you lost focus than because you got mad." His face clouded, though only a bit. He was very good at covering it up. "I've gotten pretty good at understanding mad. You can still fly if you're mad. Just have to be able to focus too."

She gathered herself, re-centered as he had taught her and after a moment, "You can let go Gohan."

He paused but did as she asked, withdrawing slowly once it was clear she was capable of maintaining her flight alone. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just…I want to still have dinner with your family. I never meant I didn't want that, I just meant that this feel so weird to me. Have you guys always bartered and done things like that? I just…I guess I can't fathom it."

"Well, it's always been a way of life for us." Gohan smiled. "The farming thing is more new. When I was a kid, Dad would go do labor to get us food and linen and stuff like that. The garden and farm has made it easier in a way."

"But…is it enough?"

Gohan shrugged, "We make do, Videl. If things get scarce, you just go without. We know how to live off the land if we have to."

But you shouldn't _have_ to…after everything ALL of you have done?

"Dad can do odd jobs easier than me or Goten can. Not a lot of people want to let a kid or a teenager take on work...even if we do it well. So, he can help bring home some extra money now. I think Dad's glad for the farm though so he doesn't have to do that as much. Takes training time away." Gohan laughed, grinned at that. "It's so nice to have him back so we can do that again!"

Videl went quiet after that. She was beating around the bush, avoiding the topic and that definitely wasn't her style. But the longer she did so, the larger and more intense that feeling deep in her gut became.

"Gohan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do…do you resent my dad? For what he did?"

The boy jerked in surprise. "What? Why? I mean—"

"Truthfully. I know he's my dad and you are always worrying about not hurting my feelings or anything but I wanna know. Did you ever resent my dad for what he did after Cell?"

There, she'd said it. She wanted, no, she needed to know. Her opinion, despite the face she put on, was not really important here. It was Gohan…his family…most impacted. She needed to know how much.

Gohan was quiet, contemplative. Videl almost wished he would have just started denying again, even if it was a lie. Seeing him flying with such a serious look to his face was unnerving. Yet, she couldn't exactly complain. She'd asked for the truth.

"…Sometimes." Gohan finally said, softly. "I mean, it was a lot of different things. Never was the fame. You know me, I'm not someone that chases publicity."

"I think you're allergic to it." She countered and he gave her a small grin of response.

"This is why you were asking so much about our lifestyle, huh? This been bothering you for a bit?"

She shrugged. "A little. Maybe more than a little. Especially after Buu and…well, I just want to know. Did what he did…" She sighed. "Did it hurt you guys?"

"Videl…"

"I mean it, Gohan. No sugar coating. No sparing my feelings because he's my dad. Just tell me!"

"…well, it didn't help. After Dad died, we had to really work to make ends meet. I did what I could; that's why I started high school so late. I was trying to grow crops and help Mom do labor to buy extra baby stuff for Goten and then later for the supplies when we both were hitting growth spurts…" He shook his head. "It was hard, I won't lie. Much as I didn't want the publicity, the money would have helped Mom."

His eyes softened. "That was the worst of it. I hate seeing Mom so stressed out. She worries too much anyway but when it came to things me and Goten needed, she never stopped fighting for it. I had to stop her a few times because she was working so late and so hard." He eyed Videl. "So, honestly? Yeah, a little bit. But, it wasn't the money really. I mean, it was but…it was the words."

"The words?"

"Him calling my dad and the others fakes, frauds." Gohan wrapped his arms tight, as if restraining himself. "I'll admit Videl, that still gets me riled up. Because they bled and sweat and died for the strength they have and all they ever wanted to do was help people with it, to improve themselves. So…when your dad got all this publicity and he called them frauds…it made me mad." He went quiet, an eerie kind of quiet. Where you could almost hear the thoughts that weren't said. "And me beating Cell. Well, I mean, yeah, I was proud of it. Not really because of what Cell was but…the strength I had then. My dad and I made that together. It was his last gift to me, in a way. It was a reminder of what we had, the memories we made." That coldness was back, the slight darkness to his voice. "And he…called it false."

Then, just as suddenly, Gohan was shaking his head, giving that weird, awkward smile that was equal parts embarrassing and adorable. Laughing, a bit, he said, "I almost considered confronting him about it when I was a hormonal teenager still grieving his father but Mom talked me out of it. Said that…" He trailed off, "Well, it doesn't matter what she told me."

Videl turned as she flew. "But it does, Gohan. What did she say?" There was an importance in that, she could feel it. "Gohan!"

The boy did not answer her. "C'mon. Twenty zennie says you can smell Mom cooking from the bamboo forest."

OOO

Her eyes were intense, focused and unrelenting. It wasn't an unusual look for her but it was certainly quite out of the ordinary to have it directed at HIM. After all, as annoyed as she would get over time with his public appearances, his television interviews and all the attention that gathered, she always looked at him with a sense of pride.

That look was gone now, replaced with what he could only describe as utter betrayal.

"Videl? Sweetie? I don't mind you wantin' to train with your ol' man but—"

The punching bags that he had put up that morning hit the ground at his feet.

From where his daughter had thrown them.

Single handedly.

"Not train." There was a tenseness to her voice, almost like a poison that dripped off her every word. "I talked to Gohan yesterday, Papa. Him and his whole family. They let me stay the night and show me how they live."

Mr. Satan rubbed the back of his neck, a wee bit more nervous now than he was comfortable admitting. "I knew ya said you weren't gonna be home 'til this afternoon. Wish you'd told me that you were gonna be with a boy. But—I guess Gohan's a nice kid. How are they doing? Especially after that fiasco with Buu and—"

A third bag fell at his feet and his daughter approached, hovered above it, no contact with the ground at all, her hair a mess about her head as if propelled by something he could not see.

"You hold the Title of Killer of Cell, Papa. Show me."

He blinked, looked from the ground to up at her, "Videl?"

"You're the 'World Savior' remember?" She spoke with deep resentment to her tone. "So show me. Tell me what you did. Show me what you did that no one else could do. Show me how you killed him!"

Mr. Satan swallowed, heavily. "Sweetie, I've told you before that—"

"Yeah, you told me that it was too much for me to take. You told me that you might hurt me." She jumped down, landed on the ground and lifted the bag she'd tossed at his feet. "I'm not that same little girl anymore."

She dug her nails into the bag and in one straight movement, tore it clean in half, letting the sand spill all over her feet and the canvas pieces fall to the side. "See? Me not being strong enough to take it means absolutely nothing."

"Aw, Sweetie, it's not that—"

"No." She growled practically, reminding the man deeply of his late wife when she was riled. "No? It's because you don't have ANYTHING to show me." She ground her teeth, rolled her hands into tight fists. "Because you didn't kill him, did you?"

"Videl," he began, hands up. "It's more complicated than that, I—"

In a surge of ki, she shot to the air, hovering far above him. "No?! No, it's not complicated Papa. It's not complicated at all! You didn't kill him. You didn't kill him! When he threw you aside, that was ALL you did!"

He wasn't…afraid per say…but seeing her like that, hovering there like he had seen Goku, Vegeta, Buu, so many others do, he wasn't sure what to make of it. So, he stood there, half hunched to the ground, staring at her.

"And all those people that showed up to fight. All the people you called false. All the people you called fake. All those moves you called tricks…" She circled around him, never setting one foot on the ground, letting her hands light up with an orb of ki each. "Does that make ME false? Does that make ME fake? Am _I_ using tricks? Am I?!"

Tossing out her left hand, the wall exploded, bricks, insulation and dust scattering into the air like bugs fleeing water. Mr. Satan yelped, hands up to his face even as he turned a stunned eye back to his daughter.

"Videl, how did you learn that?!"

"So…you CAN learn it." She narrowed her eyes. "It's not just a 'silly illusion,' or 'smoke and mirrors'" she imitated her father's deep baritone quite well. "It's very real. And you KNOW it."

After a moment more hesitation, Mr. Satan gradually nodded. "I…mighta exaggerated the tricks part, a little bit."

"MIGHT?!" Her face was red. "MIGHT? Papa, you called it FAKE! That's not exaggeration!"

He trembled a bit. "…okay, okay, yes, I lied 'bout that. I didn't know what to think of it when I saw it, Sweetie."

"But you KNEW it wasn't fake, whatever it was." The anger was still there but more than that, there was sadness, a deep kind of sadness that he had never heard from her before. "Did you think I would think less of you? Is that why you lied?" She rose a little higher, "Is that why you took Gohan's greatest accomplishment away from him?!" Her voice rose an octave. "That was his father's last gift to him and you STOLE it!"

Oh….she knew.

"Videl, I…well, well, can you come down here so we can talk? Please?" There was a pleading in his voice that reached her, despite her rage and she let her ki drop so that she fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"Better?" She asked.

Nodding, he sat on one of the bags she had thrown and while she did not sit, she stayed to the ground which was something. "I was hopin' you'd never find out. Just grow up thinking your Papa had saved the world.."

"And for the longest time, I did." She responded, folding her arms. "But calling an apple blue doesn't turn it blue. You _didn't_ save the world. Gohan did. Didn't he?"

"I had a part in it—"

"Papa!" Her voice rose again, in frustration, irritation, desperation.

"…no, I didn't kill Cell." It felt so odd to say it out loud. He'd grown so accustomed to introducing himself as 'the Champ, the Savior of the Cell Games' that saying it out loud, even to his daughter, felt wrong. "The little boy with that group of fighters killed him."

"Gohan." She added. "His name is Gohan. And his father's name is Goku. And THEIR names are Tienshinhan, Yamcha, Krillin, Vegeta and Piccolo."

"Sweetie…"

"You've called them fakes for so long I know it's weird but they HAVE names and they EARNED those names to be known." She narrowed her eyes. "They earned every speck of recognition that YOU practically bathe in Papa! And they never asked for any of it!" Her voice finally caught, despite her attempts to not let it. "Why?" Emotion welled up in her throat. "Why would you do that? Why would you take something so important from someone? You didn't earn it. You didn't earn ANY of it." She gestured around her, wildly. "We didn't earn ANY of this!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I was a Champ before the Cell Games-"

"And you know as well as I do that we wouldn't be where we are now without the Cell Games. It makes me sick, Papa. You had to…" She trembled, visibly. "You stole something from Gohan so we could go from rich to MORE rich?!" She paced, unclenched and reclenching her fists. "Do you KNOW what that would have done for them? Do you know that they sometimes have to choose between food and keeping heat on? Do you know that Gohan has gone through birthdays with not even one present so that Goten WILL have one? Do you know that ChiChi has fallen asleep hungry so her boys didn't have to be?! Did you consider ANY of that?!"

"I did it for you, sweetie! I didn't want you to think your Papa couldn't protect you! I didn't want you to think that I was a loser!" He stood up, eyed her. "I did it so that I could give you everything! Because you deserve everything." He met her eyes, complete desperation in his eyes. "I did it for you!"

She stood there, staring at him. He looked so different. When she was younger, he always had a frame of utter and complete confidence. Now, he was crumbled before her, as if pleading for his life and she felt a sense of…well, not disgust but…something similar. The only thing akin that she could imagine was watching a God turn mortal before your eyes. Watching a pedestal that you had gazed upon with so much affection since before you could remember turn to dust and crumble away to poor stones.

"No, you didn't." She corrected him, after a moment. "Maybe some of it was for me…but there wasn't anything I wanted that you couldn't have already given me. Maybe you've lied to yourself so much that you can't tell the difference but I've seen your face Papa when you do your interviews, do your performances. The crowd, the love of the people…you eat that up. You've convinced yourself that you _need_ it. Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't." She licked the dryness from her lips. "Tell me now that if I asked you to surrender the fame but not the money that you wouldn't crumble and beg me no."

Mr. Satan looked at her, "Videl, I—"

"Tell me." Maybe she should have felt bad but all she could feel was that she had been conned, had been deceived, that she had been betrayed. This was her father, the man she had always been able to lean on. But as she asked him all these things, saw his built up walls tumble away to the wind, all she could feel was that every fancy dinner she had eaten had been one less birthday present for Goten. Every time she was showered with privileges was one more trial ChiChi had to fight through to give her sons beyond the bare minimum. And every time her father called the 'others' at the Cell Games 'pretenders' was a knife to Gohan's heart. "But…you can't tell me that, can you? Cause you know you need it."

Swallowing, he reached out, took hold of her hands, "Sweetie, it's become so ingrained, I couldn't come clean now. And I…I…"

"And you still don't want to." She finished. "You know it's the right thing to do but you cling to it so much you can't do it." Shaking her head, she said, "Papa, you helped save us with Buu and I'm so proud of you for that." Looking up, she said, "But it doesn't make all of this suddenly okay. It never will."

"Sweetie, I love you, you know that—"

She withdrew from his grip. "I know. And I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore. I don't know if I ever will again. You could have been a success on your own. You could have come back from the Cell Games a failure and I would have still loved you. I would have still looked at you with nothing but pride. But…fame and money. That was the selling point for your honor." She turned her face away, held her hands up so that he couldn't see the tears that were very much leaking out of her eyes. "And you can't buy it back."

Turning on her heels, she walked out of the room and did not look back once.

OOO

"Videl?"

The young woman turned, smiled. "Oh…Goku. Am I on your property? Gohan was kinda vague on where it started and stopped…"

"Eh, you're fine," He stepped out from the trees. "I just investigate if I feel a ki out here this late that isn't animal. Usually that means bad stuff happening." He stopped, laughed out loud. "Sure am glad that it's you!"

It was certainly nice to see a friendly face. "I won't stay long, I promise."

"Videl—" Goku shook his head, flopped down on the ground next to her, "I tol' you it's fine. Bit weird for you to be out here this late though. Som'thing wrong?"

She supposed that she should have expected as much. Goku was a father.

"I just needed to get away from home for tonight."

"Oh…well, you can crash at our place if you want. I can fix the guest futon up for you."

She smiled at him; he automatically offered. It was easy to tell where Gohan got his heart from. Goten too actually. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Eh, ain't no bother. 'Sides, it'll make Gohan really happy in the morning!"

Well, hard to argue with that kind of image. "..thanks."

"No problem. You're always welcome here." He lay a hand on her shoulder. "So, now that you know you won't be sleepin' out here, you wanna tell me what's going on? I may not know you real well yet but don't seem your style."

No argument there. "I talked to my dad tonight. About Cell."

"Oh? What happened?" No judgment, just an open listening ear.

"He admitted it. Admitted what I had figured out. That he took the credit. That he knew you guys were really behind it all and he took the credit anyway." She ground her teeth so tight that she felt they might crack. "What am I supposed to do with that, Goku?"

She turned to him, suddenly desperate for some kind of guidance. Any kind. "He's my father! My Papa. I love him. I still love him so much. But what he did…what he CONTINUES to do. It's not right! I used to look to him for what to do, what to be, how I should act, what I should aim for! But…but…he's not the man I thought he was." She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "He sold his honor for money and fame and I don't know where MY honor lies now. I'm Mr. Satan's daughter and that no longer makes me proud!"

A warm presence passed through her and it took her a moment to realize Goku had wrapped her in a tight hug. After a moment delay, she clung to the Saiyan's gi tight as she could and wept. Openly.

"What do I do now? What do I do now?!" She caught her breath a moment. "I don't know what to do."

Goku's hand went to her hair and ran through it softly. "Videl, look at me."

She did, quickly rubbed at her cheeks. Goku gently tapped her fingers. "Uh uh. I don't scold my boys when they cry and I ain't gonna scold you neither."

She nodded, though she still wiped a bit of it from her cheeks.

"Your dad helped save the world from Buu but you're right; he ain't always done the right thing. I dunno why he did the things he did—never understood the appeal of fame myself. But it's done. You callin' him out took a lot of guts, Videl."

She blinked. "It did?"

"Well, sure. Like you said, he's your Papa. Hard as it is for a Dad to hear he failed something, even harder for a kiddo to realize it." He smiled at her. "And that in itself oughta answer your question."

"Huh? What do you mean?" She swallowed, forcing her voice to stabilize a bit. "He still did all these things and –"

"Yeah, HE did. Not you." Goku clarified. "Honor ain't blood bound, kiddo."

She considered. "But he's my father…"

"Whatcha think honor is, Videl?" Goku's inquiry was simple, warm, inviting.

"Honor? I…well, it means that you do the right thing. It means that no matter what it costs YOU, you have to stand by what's right."

"Oh. So, kinda like a girl that chooses to help people instead of staying in class 'cause she knows she can make a difference. So pushing a boy that sometimes needs a little encouragement towards what he can really do." Goku reached out and pushed one of her stray hairs from her wet cheeks. "Or a spunky gal that refused to believe someone was dead because she knew that boy way too well."

Videl felt her heart lighten if just a bit. Whether it was the words, who said them, the tone or maybe so wild mix of it all, she didn't know.

"Or confronting her own father on what she knew was right, despite how much it hurt her? No matter how much it tore apart what SHE knew to be her life, she was still going to do it, 'cause it was right." Goku's smile seemed to shimmer under the moonlight and it was a warmth that was tangible and made her feel welcomed, supported. Encouraged.

"THAT'S honor, Videl. And you got plenty of it." He pulled her close again, gave her a side hug, "Maybe your Dad made some bad mistakes. Maybe some really big ones. That's the thing 'bout honor though. Just 'bout the only thing you can sell but still earn back." He ruffled her hair, as he did his own boys' hair so many times. "Your dad made a big step with Buu. Maybe it don't undo what he did but it tells me that he got the heart to do it. Who knows? Maybe you just gave him the gumption to do it the rest of the way. Some people just need a little extra time to figure it out."

She hoped that was the case. Oh, if it could be…

"But no matter what he chooses to do…Videl gets to build her own path and she's got honor to put a whole buncha people to shame." He grinned at her, gently thumbed her nose. "And just like my boys, I dunno how to lie."

She reveled in that a moment. Honor was something you built yourself and while she did not see herself anywhere near what this family had done—and she truly believed that she could work every day the rest of her life and not come close—the prospect that she was not tied to what her father had done but rather…she made her own honor, she showed her own honor. She could still love her father and still find fault in what he did but she was not bound to that same fate.

She was his daughter but she was Videl.

It gave her a sense of peace.

"..thank you."

Goku wrapped an arm around her, "No problem. Now, c'mon. If there's any cure after a whole storm of emotions, it's my Chi's hot chocolate."

OOO

Mr. Satan could not remember the last time he had difficulty sleeping. It usually came pretty easy for him. After all, he was surrounded by servants, by an entire city that loved him. He had more money than he could ever hope to spend and he had a daughter that—

I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore.

That hurt. That hurt more than anything else he could name. Being shot, being knocked out by Cell, thinking he was going to die with Buu…nothing else came close to the kind of pain that gave him. Videl was his life, she was his Princess and he always tried to treat her like one, even though she was hardly the dainty type. She was a Princess that needed no protector.

His name is Gohan. And his father's name is Goku. And THEIR names are Tienshinhan, Yamcha, Krillin, Vegeta and Piccolo You've called them fakes for so long I know it's weird but they HAVE names and they EARNED those names to be known.

Opening his eyes, staring at the ceiling, he took a deep inhale. He knew the names. Having been a world champion, he knew those names. It was nearly impossible not to. Well, Gohan was still a new one to him but the others, they all had made such monuments of themselves among the martial arts' world.

Yes, he knew their names.

But you KNEW it wasn't fake, whatever it was.

He hadn't wanted to believe it. The only reason he rose as high as he had in the martial arts world was because the old masters, the ones that had done such amazing feats had all but retired from the arena. He could tell that the Announcer, despite what passion he poured into his job, was never wowed by his feats.

But when he saw what those fighters were capable of, it was quite clear that he was to be left behind in the dust. Everything he had built up, the small little fortune he had gathered about himself was going to crumble when this battle was over. The 'mighty Mr. Satan' was going to become obsolete.

So when the cameras failed and the fighters just left without any attempt to approach what was left of the press (though maybe they didn't notice them—it would be hard to, in the aftermath), well, he had seen an opportunity and had seized it.

Do you KNOW what that would have done for them? Do you know that they sometimes have to choose between food and keeping heat on? Do you know that Gohan has gone through birthdays with not even one present so that Goten WILL have one? Do you know that ChiChi has fallen asleep hungry so her boys didn't have to be?! Did you consider ANY of that?!

He hadn't considered any of that. Never even entered his head. It seemed so insignificant but now that Videl had brought it up, he did take the time to ponder it. He and Videl had not been hurting before the Cell Games and while he had so much more money now than he ever dreamed of having, they would have survived quite comfortably without it.

That was his father's last gift to him and you STOLE it

More than anything, that haunted his thoughts as he turned in his sheets again. He'd seen a halo over the shorter man in the battle with Buu and that had confused him. Videl had said Gohan's father was dead, from what he remembered, but when he arrived to fight Buu, he sure seemed alive to him but he knew better than to doubt his daughter's words. Not when they were so full of passion.

The prospect that he took something so valuable bothered him more than he thought it should have.

I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore.

I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore.

I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore.

Mr. Satan buried his face into his pillows and he gave into the tears. He couldn't undo what he did. There was simply no way. So much of what he had supposedly done was too ingrained into the world now. If he came clean now, if he was even believed, it would mean his lifestyle would be wrecked and that meant Videl's too. It meant he might lose everything for fraud, it meant so many things.

I love you too, Papa. But…I can't say I respect you anymore.

But…he didn't know what was the worse fate.

OOO

"Hey, Big Sister Videl is here! Morning!"

The pouncing of a smaller figure onto her stomach brought Videl fully awake and she struck out with a firm left hook. Whatever had landed on her lap gave out a yelp of surprise followed by, "Hey! You didn't have to hit me—"

"Goten, you know better than to jump on guests—Gohan, there's a lady here! Go put on your clothes!"

Okay, so that brought her full awake and she sat up, just barely catching the boxered behind of a very blushing Gohan darting back down the hall. Her face may have colored a bit more than it normally was in the morning. Looking down, she spied the smaller form of Goten, still dressed in his pajamas.

"Didn't know you were here!" He grinned before ChiChi made her appearance, "Mom, Videl is here!"

"Yes, yes, she is and you best go get dressed. She's our guest!"

Goten ran off down the hall after his brother like fire was on his heels. ChiChi shook her head after him and turned to the young girl. Given they did not have a lot of spare room, setting up the futon in the living room had made the most sense. But then, they did still have a home full of boys. "I'm sorry, Videl."

The girl shook her head and smiled, "It's okay. I kinda liked it."

The smell of breakfast cooking before too long took care of much more conversation. It surprised her how fast all three Son males could wash and dress when there was a promise of food. But, given the food that she had tasted of ChiChi's (Goku had been right about her hot chocolate) maybe that was to be expected.

The vast amount though…Videl wasn't sure how the table could hold it all!

But hold it, the table did and despite eating so fast and ravenously that surely some silverwear must have been sacrificed, all three of the Saiyans were quite friendly and welcoming to her. It was a rather homey atmosphere.

That was until the radio which was not too far away chimed in with 'Mr. Satan will be making a special appearance of utmost importance! Citizens, make sure to chime in to here from our World Savior on your base channel in the next few moments!"

Videl groaned and rubbed her temples, even as Goten rushed to turn the television on. ChiChi called after him to 'finish your plate first' but Goten was already to the small television in the living room, fiddling with the knobs.

Gohan, catching Videl's look, called after him, "Goten, wait!"

"But it's Videl's Papa." He protested as he turned the knob to the main station and the image flickered to life. "It must be important! It's way too early for the usual stuff!"

Any other protests fell on deaf ears when Mr. Satan walked onto the very familiar stage, though he lacked his usual bositrous fare. Instead, he waited for the cheering to die down before stating, "I know you all love Mr. Satan so you best listen real good to what I have to say. It's high time SOMEONE said it."

He lifted his arms high, as he usually did. "Mr. Satan is not the ONLY person you ought to be remembering! Everyone always is talkin' about me but what about the others. The others that have just as much right to your cheers as I do!"

Videl blinked, stared, fixated her eyes.

"Even Mr. Satan makes mistakes. I used to not understand what some of these folks did but I'm here right now to tell you all-they ain't no tricks! Nothing but raw talent in these folks and you owe them more than I got the time to tell you. But if you respect Mr. Satan, you needa remember these names!"

He paused, if only a moment.

"Yamcha. Krillin. Piccolo and no, he ain't the same Piccolo you're thinkin' of! Vegeta. Tienshinhan. Son Goku. Son Gohan."

By now the entire room was quiet.

"These folks were ALL there when Cell died. Mr. Satan would not be where he is right now without them! I used to think it was all just tricks but that ain't true. Even Mr. Satan can learn! And I can't say that they weren't a big ol' help to taking down Cell. Especially that Gohan and Goku. I can't tell you how much they helped me out! I've been ignorin' it for too long but no more! If you give Mr. Satan respect, then you owe it to them too! Mr. Satan says YOU need to remember those names!"

The presenter inquired, "Mr. Satan, why the sudden pressure now to call attention to your helpers?"

"Exactly that! How many of you even knew Mr. Satan HAD helpers? None of you, that's what. And because all these folks got a lot more honor than most of all of us combined, they weren't gonna call for it themselves. But that ain't right! Like Mr. Satan always says 'working hard brings results!' But sometimes, we need people to help us get there! Or to tell us things we don't want to hear! So, Mr. Satan says if you want to honor me, you honor them!"

Then, just like that, he walked off the stage. Ignored the reporters, ignored the cameras. Just said his piece and was gone.

Videl blinked and turned to eye Goku in particular. The Saiyan gave her a simple smile, a slight tilt of the head.

"What did I tell ya?"

"…it's a start." She said, warmth something similar to what she used to feel when she looked at her father returned to her. Not as strong, not as powerful. But it was there. He wasn't the God she grew up viewing him as. He was flawed, deeply, but he was…good.

"Thank you, Papa…"

OOO

"ChiChi?"

The human woman turned as Goku walked into the room. The house was low lit and the boys were asleep so it was odd for her to still be up. Though, as he was learning since his return, she sometimes stayed up late into the night, anxiety eating through her.

Sure enough, she was sitting on the couch, flipped through the many envelopes that they had received. They didn't get a lot of mail out in the mountains so it was only ever one thing—bills. As self-sufficient as they tried to be, there were certain things they couldn't grow. Though, lately, Goku had been talking with Gohan about ways to fix that.

"I'm fine, Goku."

Scoffing, poking out his lower lip, Goku argued. "You are not. You can't lie either."

Looking up, she rubbed at her eyes. "No, I can't. Guess I should be grateful since our boys can't either."

"What is it, Chi? We got a lot from the harvest, didn't we? Gohan and Videl brought it back…"

"We did." She admitted. "But they aren't paying as much for the vegetables anymore. Can't afford to, they say. But anythin' is better than nothing." She waved the three envelopes in her hand. "Goku, I know we used to get these bills 'fore the Cell Games but they just grow over the years. The electricity—"

"Gohan and I think we might can make a windmill for that, Chi!" He grinned, "I bet the others would come help if we needed them too. But Gohan's a smart boy. Bulma could give us some tips on gettin' it to work right."

She smiled, warmth in her eyes. That was her Goku and her Gohan, always so full of optimism. Goten had taken after both of them. "I hope you can. That would help a lot. But we still have the bills for now." She held up the second one. "And the bill for the linens and stuff I use to make the clothes. Especially the material for your gis." She glared, if only a bit, at the small holes she noticed even now in Goku's top.

The Saiyan had the decency to look guilty. "Sorry…"

Shaking her head, she reached up and gently tousled his hair, "Aw, Goku, I know. I know. Maybe we'll need to go do some chores for the company again. I know it cuts into your training but it might help us reduce the cost."

"I can do that. Or maybe Goten and Gohan can help. You know they want to."

"I know, I know!" Here, she felt the most ashamed. "But they shouldn't have to. But…I know they'll help. Ask them tomorrow."

"And that one?" Goku pointed to the third one sitting in her lap. "Is that the grocery bill?" He winced. "Wish I knew how to grow rice, Chi."

"It is. And it's okay, Goku. We can't grow or produce EVERYTHING." She took a deep breath. She had her Goku back. She had her boys back. The world was safe. Everything else was just, well, superfluous. "We'll figure it out. It's easier now that you're here."

Goku grinned and hugged her tight from behind even as she took out a pad of paper and began to pop open the envelopes. "I'm glad to be home too—"

"WHAT?!"

Goku jumped back involuntarily. His Saiyan ears rang for a long moment and he rubbed them frantically. One downside to having enhanced senses. If he didn't have enough warning to prepare them, they hurt. "What is it, Chi?"

"This can't be right…" She was scanning their first of their bills, flipping it back and forward, turning on the lamp nearby before covering her mouth. "The boys. Did I wake the boys?"

Goku paused, focused and then shook his head, "They're still out cold, ChiChi. They worked that field hard today and then Videl came by and they ran all over this mountain." Warmt flooded his eyes. "She and her dad seemed to have reached…well, I dunno but they're gettin' along. Guess that gesture of his really meant something to her. But she likes to see Gohan." Goku gave a sly grin. "Gohan's really bad at hiding he likes to see her too. But Goten likes to run them both ragged. Videl looked like she'd drop on the way home and Gohan wasn't much better. They'd probably sleep through anything right now…what's wrong?"

She passed the notice to Goku before all but tearing the other envelopes apart. Goku blinked then glanced down at the paper. It was the same company he remembered from before his death. Paouz Power, provided power to pretty much anyone up here that had any form of electricity.

Seemed like their usual bill, near as he could figure, maybe a little higher than normal, but instead of their usual numbers under 'Amount Owed' he saw "0 zennie" and across the top of the paper, in bright red was "PrePaid in Full Indefinitely"

"ChiChi? What's 'indefinitely?'"

"Means forever Goku." She turned and handed the second bill to him. "This one too!" Sure enough, Goku saw the same thing on this one: 'Amount Owed 0 Zennie' and across the top 'PrePaid in Full Indefinitely.'

Goku stared at her.

She was staring at the third envelope, hands shaking, as she slowly pried open the sides and removed the invoice for their last trip to the market. While they occasionally went in person to pick up little things, with as much as they all ate, it made more sense to order rice, meat that they couldn't catch here and other necessities in bulk. It certainly ate up the bulk of their money.

But…

Amount Owed: 0 Zennie

PrePaid in Full Indefinitely

Goku scatched his head, "How did that happen Chi?"

"I don't know! We don't even have the money NOW to pay it all, let alone to pay it early, I—" She trailed off, noticing a fourth envelope that she had dropped. Snatching it up as if it would catch aflame, she practically shredded it opening it.

Inside, she found a very formal letter with the seal of the King in the upper corner.

"What's it say, ChiChi?" Goku leaned over her shoulder. "It's written in that weird fancy script."

ChiChi took a breath and read aloud, though her voice was catching:

"Dear Son Family,

My sincerest apologies for the oversight. I have been informed by Mr. Satan that you have been unfairly charged for the past seven years; this type of egregious error has never happened before but I assure you, it has been corrected. All the required departments have made the necessary adjustments for the future. Please inform them individually if you still wish to receive an invoice. You should expect reimbursement checks to be arriving shortly. Once again, I apologize for the unprecedented stress this must have caused you. Mr. Satan mentioned that it must have been an oversight and for your records, I have provided the justification below. Take care and we remain in your debt,

King Furry

Just below the short letter, written in sharp penmanship with the King's Seal was:

"Reimbursement of debt arranged by Mark, stage name Mr. Satan, with the message: 'I can't undo what I did. I owe my daughter's life to you, my livelihood and more than I can ever begin to mention. It's a debt I brought upon myself at the price of my honor. I can't take it back. But I can make right what I can.'

All expenses: past, present and future, paid in full May 26, 767 by a young boy's bravery and a father's sacrifice.