(The very next day)
If there was one thing Bulma Briefs could say without the slightest bit of hesitation, it is that Capsule Corp's had its fair share of hard times. When it wasn't dealing with economic hardships, lawsuits, or disputes within the family, she was attempting to corral the shenanigans of the Z-fighters into a controlled state. While being the primary backer and close friend to a group of the most powerful group of super heroes on the planet had its share of benefits, such as personalized life insurance, safety and the thrill of adventure, it also had an equal balance of detriments. This included having to repair the damages made by her husband and son around the house and facing off against perils she did not agree to or expect.
However, while all of these had been merely inconveniences on her in the past, the situation she was currently faced with was most definitely not. Despite having pulled an all-nighter, the blue-haired woman didn't voice a single complaint as she went about checking the machines that were hooked up to their patient. Lab coat worn tightly around her shoulders and eyes focused completely on her monitor, the mother typed some keys into the program before then checking the feedback. Upon which she then looked down at the bed, where she saw Son Gohan lying unconscious, with two sets of IV and wires plugged into his arm, and an oxygen mask fastened to his face.
Needless to say, he looked to be in a seriously rough state. Aside from all the electronics and medical equipment plugged up to his frame, the boy was still sweating up a storm, his breathing was still coming out raggedly, and his right hand was also gripping his chest tightly, even though he was unconscious. There was not much Bulma could do about that, except make the boy as comfortable as possible, while she and the facility's doctors and physicians ran him through their procedures.
Because the heart virus was such a temperamental case and their study on it has been one of their top priorities since the events of seven years ago, you can understand the lengths that they'd had to go through to ensure his condition was stable.
As it turns out, the news of Gohan falling ill hadn't just been confined to his school. Not only was Bulma and Videl present in the room, but so were Vegeta and Trunks, both of whom had been torn away from their training sessions out of concern for the teenager's wellbeing, Chi-Chi, Goten, Piccolo, Zangya, Paprika, Lime and Erasa, the latter two had flown in from Satan City to see their friend.
This is not even counting Android 16, who was quietly standing against the back wall like a glorified robot sentry, blending in with the rest of the equipment.
While Piccolo and Paprika stood over by the entrance alongside the Prince of all Saiyans, looking upon the bed with seriousness in their eyes and worry in their hearts, the rest of the teenager's friends and family were sitting close by, waiting patiently for their companion to make her final diagnosis.
Since Bulma's primary field was in engineering and not medicine, she had another doctor with her overseeing the demi-Saiyan's status. The blue haired scientist made extra certain that she was in active communication with the man at all times.
All the events of the past several hours eventually led them here. Once the doctor was done checking the boy's condition through the machines, he spoke with his superior one last time and dismissed himself from the room. He passed the Z-fighters with a single, respectful nod of his head, before stepping through the door and disappearing down the hall, allowing the warriors to turn their attention to the woman in charge of the computers.
"Well… the good news is that his condition is finally stable," Bulma said, rolling around in her office chair to look across at her friends. When she saw relief pass over each of their faces, most notably across Chi-Chi and Videl's, the blue haired woman then took on a more calmed expression and gestured towards the Saiyan lying underneath the sheets. "Doctor Yusa said that once the debilitating effects of the virus wear off and he finally regains consciousness, Gohan will be as right as rain."
"Oh… that's good," Chi-Chi sighed, placing a heavy hand over her chest and looking down at her son's bed with red, shimmering eyes and a small smile on her lips. It was quite obvious that she'd been crying beforehand and, having managed to calm down with the help of her friends and family, was able to remain in the room without causing a ruckus. This was good for her son, who she knew needed all the rest he could possibly get in his current state. "Thank the Kais."
It was after hearing this that the Namekian standing over by the wall then narrowed his eyes upon the scientist and addressed her with a glare, "And? What's the bad news?"
Looking in Piccolo's direction, Bulma took a deep breath and a solemn expression became reflected in her gaze. "The bad news is that it's going to be a long haul." Typing into the keypad next to her, the woman then produced what looked like a set of complex molecular models and bacteria onto the screen next to her. "The viral strain that Gohan's been infected with is causing violent irregularities in his cardiac cycle, affecting the aortic and pulmonary valves, as well as the right atrium in his heart. His body attempted to expel the virus, but the infection spread so quickly that it shut down his immune system. The pain caused by the stress in his heart muscles was so intense that it put his body into shock."
"That much is to be expected," Vegeta spoke up from his post as he looked over the concerned faces of his compatriots. "The virus that attacked Kakarot put him out of commission for several days… leaving the rest of us to try and clean up his mess." He then looked away with a huff, "I just can't believe something as insignificant as a germ can affect warriors as strong as him and his son."
"Whether you are a Saiyan or human, the organs of both species are exactly identical to one another, meaning that the virus's affects on either body yield the same results. I know this because my father and I have been studying your biology for years now," Bulma informed, looking at the worried expressions of her friends anxiously. "Just like with Goku, the next few days are going to be incredibly rough for Gohan. He'll be having nightmares for the first couple of nights during the early stages of the disease, but will peter out when the antibiotics start taking effect. We just need to make sure we move him every few hours and ensure he receives the right amount of vitamins and supplements to hasten the recovery process."
Swallowing nervously, Erasa then tore her teary eyes away from the boy on the bed and looked up at the world famous scientist uneasily. "H-How exactly are you going to give him the medicine if he's unconscious?"
The blue haired woman reached up and tapped the IV feed next to her and the bottle of purple solution that it was attached to. "Through this. The antiviral serum is set on an automatic drip sequence to inject the solution directly into his veins every five hours. This way we'll be able to not only destroy the virus completely, but nullify the sediment gathering in his heart much faster than he would through ingesting the medicine. It will also assist his body in building up a strong enough immunity to the disease, as well as all other subsequent viral strains. After all, Saiyan biology allows members of their race to adapt and develop powerful antibacterial defenses and antibodies against any unwanted visitors, meaning the same infection won't work on them twice."
It was from the woman's little lecture that Lime picked up on something and, looking over at her, raised an eyebrow, "You mentioned a sediment? What exactly did you mean by that?"
Hesitant at first, the scientist then reached over to the desk and, grabbing up a vial, held it out in front of her. "I acquired this sample from my studies on the heart virus. The doctors over at the nearby hospital pumped this out of a patient's arteries surrounding his heart. They say that it's this build-up of viscous fluid that is causing the patient's random cardiac cycle failures and excruciating chest pains."
Chi-Chi almost fainted when she saw the black, sludge like substance swirling about inside the glass beaker being held up by her friend, which simultaneously elicited cringing expressions from Paprika and Vegeta respectively. Hell, the stuff that was sitting at the bottom of the cup almost looked like the tar you'd find in a swamp out in the countryside, something that definitely didn't instill any warm feelings in the Z-fighters' chests. In fact, it actually made them feel sick and nauseous looking at it, which was why Bulma was quick to hide the beaker well out of sight.
Once she slipped the vial back onto the rack and rotated it around, the woman then rose from her seat and, slipping her hands into her pockets, looked down at the boy lying restlessly under the sheets. "Well… we've done all we can. The rest is up to him now. I also contacted our company branch over in Satan City to dispatch a team over to Orange Star Highschool to vaccinate all of the students and teachers. Just in case the strain is contagious, no one else will get infected and we'll be able to eliminate the virus where it stands." She then turned her attention to the people in front of her and smiled. "I also recommend that the rest of you take the medicine as well… since all of you have been close to Gohan at the time he got it."
"It's for the best," Paprika murmured from where she was standing, gazing across at Gohan's bed with her unchanging expression. Upon seeing him shift underneath the covers, sweat dripping down his face with the machines relaying back to them his condition, the white haired Makyan couldn't help but narrow her eyes and clench her fingers around her arm in discomfort.
It was obvious from her current expression that she did not approve of the sight, despite it involving the person she viewed as both an enemy and rival.
"I guess even the mightiest warrior can be brought down by something as trivial as a flu," the woman thought, at the same time looking on as Bulma moved away from the bed to stand further off to the side.
This signaled the Z-fighters closest to the demi-Saiyan to move forward. While Videl held her place sitting directly beside the boy's bed, hands on the edge and her terrified eyes fixated fully upon his form, Erasa and Lime also shuffled in closer, while Chi-Chi and Goten edged over to where Bulma had previously been positioned. As soon as she was within arm's reach of her oldest son, the mother's expression broke down and tears began pouring out of her eyes. In a single stroke, she reached forward and placed a hand upon her son's arm, at the same time the droplets of water fell from her cheeks to land on his sheet.
"Gohan… my baby…" she whispered under her breath, her words drawing the attention of her youngest child up to her. Before she got too carried away, the mother brought out a handkerchief and quickly wiped her face down.
Standing beside Chi-Chi, Goten at first didn't know how to respond when he saw his mother begin to sob and sniffle. However, understanding that it as his big brother that was currently underneath the covers and out of commission, the child wisely chose to comfort his parent and, reaching up, gripped the sleeve of her kimono. The mother responded by taking her youngest child's hand and squeezing it gently, prompting Goten to move over to hug her.
"Is… Is Gohan going to be alright?" the child stammered, simultaneously trying to hold back his own tears.
Sniffling and holding her handkerchief up to her eye, Chi-Chi nodded affirmatively. "Yes. Of course he will, Goten. He… He's just resting now."
"O-Okay," the youngster murmured, while also holding back his own sob as his grip tightened around his mother's leg. "I… I really hope we wakes up soon. He promised… to play with me and Icarus when he got back from school."
While Goten leaned into his mother's leg and wiped away the moisture accumulating in his eyes into the fabric of her dress, Trunks, who'd also come to stand closer to Gohan's bed, looked at his friend worriedly. Summoning whatever hope and positive feelings that he could, he reached over and patted his playmate on the shoulder, and glanced across at the teenager he too viewed as an older sibling.
They were only some of the few. Videl on the other hand had also become overcome with emotion, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists around the sheets of Gohan's bed. When she reached forward and took his hand in hers, the raven haired girl couldn't help but allow a few sobs to break through her tough exterior, resulting in a stream of tears. "G-Gohan." She then leaned forward, looking as though she was about to fall out.
However, thanks to the timely interference of Erasa, who took her friend by the shoulders in a hug, she was quickly shaken out of it.
Looking across at her blonde friend, the crime fighter of Satan City saw the teen smile back at her and nod. "It's okay, Videl. Gohan will be okay. I know he will."
"He's the strongest in the whole universe. There… There's no way he'll let something like this stop him," Lime also spoke up with a slight stammer, voicing her support of the demi-Saiyan in question.
Sniffing a couple of times to clear her nose, the raven haired fighter took a deep breath and let it out. When the feelings of her classmates' words of confidence and hope finally flooded into her, the girl felt warmth return to her heart and she smiled back at her friends. "Yeah. You're right. There's no way he can be beaten by something like this." Quickly turning back to her boyfriend's cot, Videl's expression fixed upon him, and when she squeezed his hand comfortingly, she swore she felt him squeeze back in kind. "The man is as stubborn as a mule and a million times stronger. There isn't a virus or an enemy in the world that can bring him down."
She knew her two best girl friends in school were doing their best to cheer her up. It would be nothing short of disservice to them and towards the boy she cherished with all her heart to simply shrug off their gestures of reassurance now. She was not that kind of person.
If there was anything Gohan had reinforced inside of her over the years, it was the will to never give up. That was something she knew she couldn't do. So as she sat there beside the bed, with Erasa's arms around her, she slipped her other hand around the one she was already holding out to cup her boyfriend's hand. From that point onwards, Videl began to pray and mentally pass on her strength to the demi-Saiyan in an effort to support him.
Chi-Chi, noticing the girls huddled around the side of Gohan's sleeping area across from her, beamed and placed a hand over her chest. Their actions of good will and bearing also drew a slight smile from Piccolo, who returned to his serious stare shortly thereafter in favor of quietly watching the scene with Paprika as backup.
Vegeta would've been a part of that pairing too. However, while he was watching and listening to the teenagers fussing over the teen's state, he quickly noticed Zangya off to his left and the foibles currently enveloping her form. Normally he wouldn't have paid the orange haired woman any mind, figuring she could take care of herself. Unfortunately from his point of view, he was unable to ignore the sudden energy spike he sensed coming from the Hera or cutout the sound of muscles popping when the woman's fists clenched tightly at her sides.
When his glare fell upon her back, the Saiyan Prince saw that Zangya was trembling and staring down at Gohan's bed with a hard look in her eye. This wasn't out of any spite towards the girls crowding around the teen's resting area or anything related to their proximity. However, what Vegeta sensed emanating off of the woman was almost palpable and had him narrow his gaze upon the alien when he saw the look on the side of her face.
Though her expression showcased a stoic visage, in her eyes he saw the unmistakable signs of unshed tears reflecting pain, grief, anger, and fear.
Not wanting to address this openly in the presence of the others, the flame haired Saiyan simply remained where he was, arms folded across his chest and his attention fixed upon Gohan's bedspread.
The demi-Saiyan shifted underneath the sheets, his breathing ragged and brow creased in agony. When the boy gasped through his oxygen mask and his lips emitted a groan of discomfort, Videl quickly reached forward and placed her hand upon his forehead. The sudden contact of her skin against his suddenly seemed to ease his pains and, after stroking it a couple of times, his expression quickly relaxed.
Seeing the stricken boy respond to her gesture brought a smile to the crime fighter's face, whose eyes glowed as she gazed upon his sleeping mug.
"It'll be okay, Gohan. I'm here for you," she whispered.
For the past seven years the boy had risked life and limb to protect his family and friends, all in an effort to keep them safe. Well… now it was Videl's chance to return the favor.
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