Insertion Part 90 A break in training. +++++++++++++++++++ Trunks smirked as he walked in front of the Senshi and Nabiki Tendo. The girls were all standing in line in front of him. They had just emerged from the room and he looked somewhat trampled after they're escape. However, a simple call of 'formation' had halted their mad dash. "Well ladies, I have a few things to tell you before I release you for the next few days." The girls stared forward at attention. "For starters, congratulations on completing the training, in three days you will return for some more technical training, you'll learn to operate the star fighters I've had Washuu building for us." This actually got a surprised reaction from the group. "We'll be facing the old navy of the Moon Kingdom when we return as you know. The Juraians will be supporting us, but only three cruisers will accompany us back to Earth. This fight is ours ladies." "A squad of star fighters and three cruisers against the Moon Kingdom's armada?" said Rei dumbly. "That's right, we'll be well equipped to deal with it, and that was part of the reason I've been training you so hard. Once that threat is gone, there's still the forces on Earth to deal with," replied the boy simply. "The training room was at about twenty times the Earth's gravity during the last leg of your training as well. I think I should warn you about that before I set you loose on Jurai. You're much stronger physically than you were when you entered, and I'm betting you don't know just how strong you are. Be careful ladies." "More training?" muttered Usagi fearfully. "You have three days, enjoy your leave ladies," replied the boy as he turned away from them. "Twenty times the Earth's gravity?" muttered Makoto dumbly. "It would seem that we need to gauge our strength, in order to not cause damage," said Ami calmly. "Well, where are we going?" said Rei as she looked at her companions for a moment. ++++++++++++++++++++ Makoto Kino sat at a bar brooding. She had a drink in her hand as she stared forward in her senshi uniform. "I never expected anything like this..." she muttered to herself as she watched her own reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She could see that she was much more muscular, but it wasn't that bad really. She was firmer, all of them were, and they lost a little bit of chest, barely noticeable to anyone who didn't know them well. Otherwise they didn't look that different, it was the look in their eyes that haunted her. She and the rest of the senshi now had haunted and far away looks about them. They had seen and done things that they would probably never come completely to terms with. Ami was the most changed, her friendly and shy demeanor torn to shreds, and replaced with a cold calculating mask of ice. It suited her powers really, but was very unnerving for all who had known her in the past. Usagi had been alienated from the group. Yet she was still one of them somehow, it was obvious that she didn't really like any of them much anymore. She seemed to think it was her duty to work with them, and she did care about their welfare. She'd proven it several times over while in training, saving all of them more than once. Rei had actually calmed because of the training. Her temper was still there, but it was much more subdued than it had been. Minako didn't appear to change much outwardly, but she'd seen the haunted looks on the girl's face when she had thought she was alone. Her eye wandered around the men in the room with a strange glint to it, a little more intense than it had been before. She hadn't known Nabiki all that long before the training. Now she could barely recall what life was like without her. The girl was always keeping her emotions away, but now she seemed more in command than she ever had before. She had taken to her authority rather well actually, and was now probably the most responsible member of the team. As for herself, well, she was never quite this introspective before. She snorted a chuckle out and sipped at the hard liquor in her hand for a moment. "You all right lady?" asked the bartender as he walked over towards her for a moment. "Naw, I'm not," she responded calmly as she glanced at the man. A brief flash of memory, of the beach where they had fought along side hundreds of other soldiers in a bloody and costly battle flashed in her mind as she stared at the man for a moment. His horrified face lying dead on the ground. She stared at him for a moment and he grew uncomfortable. "No. No way..." she muttered under her breath as she stood up and turned away from the bar. "It can't be." She staggered over to where the rest of the group was sitting. They had taken a large table near the back of the room and were all sitting around quietly. Usagi had her own booth nearby; Nabiki was sitting on her own as well, in the next booth. Ami noticed the look on the girl's face and turned to look at her emotionlessly. "So, you noticed it as well did you?" She turned to look into the crowd. "What?" muttered Makoto dumbly as she stared at the girl. "I shot him in the face," replied the girl as she pointed at someone sitting nearby. "Him, I stabbed with a rather large shard of ice, and the one next to him, was blown in half." Makoto stared around the room, there were a lot of faces she didn't recognize. Mixed in where a few that would haunt her dreams forever. Those she'd killed or witnessed dying at the hands of her friends. "Unreal," muttered Minako as she sucked in a quick breath of air. Apparently, she had just noticed it as well. "I get the feeling, we'll be noticing this over the next few days no matter where we go," said Rei as she looked up from her drink. "Probably until we leave this planet." Nabiki walked over to them and sat down. "I just got hit on by a man I castrated once. That was an interesting experience," she said as she downed half her drink in a single gulp. "Castrated?" muttered Minako in horror. "The grenade didn't kill him, he bled to death," replied the girl with a small shrug. It was clear she was very disturbed by it though. "This is too weird," muttered Makoto as she looked down at the half empty glass in her hands. +++++++++++++++++++ Trunks stood before the Emperor of Jurai with a smirk on his face. "So, you have returned, and turned those senshi into soldiers?" asked the man in a patronizing tone. "Each one, individually, could probably kill half the people on this planet," replied the boy calmly. "As a group, not even you could stop them." Azusa frowned at this. "In any case, once the final leg of our training is completed, we'll be returning to Earth. Lord Tenchi and Yosho will probably return with the cruisers. It would be best if they were in command of the Juraians in this operation. I don't trust someone who has no real interests to protect in this." Azusa looked slightly miffed and impressed at the same time. "I see." "It would be best if Lady Ayeka did not return with us. Ryoko will probably accompany Tenchi, but the princess is not strong enough to be of much use. It would put her in harms way needlessly if she came along." The man arched his eyebrow at this but didn't reply. "The Galaxy Police probably won't have much interest either, this is an internal struggle," continued the boy as he paced back and forth. "You'd like to keep it that way?" said Azusa as he chuckled slightly. "It's out of their jurisdiction," replied the boy with a small shrug. "I see, so you are going to leave within a few days?" Trunks nodded at him and turned away. "We'll begin the training in three days. After that, we'll be out of your hair." He walked towards the door, not bothering to be dismissed. The few nobles that had witnessed this grumbled irritably, but didn't speak out any longer; at least not until Trunks had left. "The boy is disrespectful, he's dangerous." Azusa glanced at the man who had said this too him. "He has saved Jurai from destruction, he made no attempt to take the throne despite the fact that he could have easily. The Juraian Royal family was at his mercy. I trust him more than I trust you. I can tolerate a little disrespect from someone like him." The man looked enraged by this, but sat down silently. +++++++++++++++++++ "Tsunami," Trunks stared at the great space tree for a long moment. It towered over him as he stared up at it. He'd been able to sneak into the complex that housed the mighty tree easily enough. He and Hotaru had not been completely idle in their time in the room with the Senshi. They had their own training to see too, well out of sight of the Senshi. It was really the true purpose of making Nabiki the ranking member of the group. He reached forward and touched the tree with his palm. "Tsunami, I want to speak with you." The woman appeared behind him with a small frown on her face. He didn't even turn to face her as he took his palm off the tree. "What is it that you desire?" she asked diplomatically. "I want to find out about Keiichi Morisato. I want to know what happened to him, is he dead?" The goddess cocked her eyebrow slightly at this. "That is not too difficult." "I know, I wouldn't have bothered asking you if it was," replied the boy with a small shrug. "If he's not dead, I'd like you to contact Urd for me. I want to know if they find him, and when they do, I want to know what happened to him." Tsunami frowned a little at this. "If I might ask, why do you care for this mortal's life?" "Because if he dies, I will lose three very powerful allies," replied the boy as he smirked at her. "If Keiichi is sent to heaven, then Belldandy will have to follow. That means Urd and Skuld will go as well, having lost any personal interest in Earth." Tsunami nodded at this. "I see, I understand. I shall see what I can discover. I do not believe that the trio have found him yet." "That bothers me a bit, it would have to be a pretty strong force to hide him from their magic," commented Trunks. "This is true as well," said the Goddess with a short nod. She vanished and left him alone. "I get the feeling, if he isn't dead, there's another force at work here besides my evil self and those Youma." "Brilliant deduction Holmes!" snapped Dan. "Another force?" muttered Ranma in confusion. "That's right," said Carrot as he chuckled to himself. "Kinda makes me wonder what it is though. Is it friendly or not?" "I hope so," muttered Pissant fearfully. "Well, I guess we'll find out sooner or later," muttered Carrot with a small shrug. "Right, whether we like it or not," agreed Dan. "Well, we've screwed up the Senshi pretty good," commented Carrot lazily. Pissant tried to make them hold their breath in order to express his displeasure at this comment. They overpowered him easily though and he gave up. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do to them at all!" "What the hell where you thinking?" snapped Ranma at Carrot and Dan. "Hey, you were laughing just as hard as I was when they started blowing each other up," snorted Carrot. "Don't even think of pinning this on me. The Drill Sargent was Dan's idea anyway. It would have been more fun to do it ourselves." "Well, I suppose so. It was kind of fun to kick around Hotaru a bit too," said Dan with a small shrug. "Too bad she's older than us now though." "Gah! Don't say that, once was enough don't ya think? We should find someone else!" snapped Carrot. "Isn't that cheating?" muttered Pissant in confusion. Carrot slapped himself in the face. "Thanks," muttered Ranma. "I hate to say it, but we haven't gotten any in a while." "Well, we're like ten years old. That's normal. I'd be more disturbed if we had gotten some," commented Carrot. "Since when are you worried about that? You cry for a week every time we find some girl who wants to have a good time anyway." "Well, I kinda...got used to it ya know?" muttered Ranma sheepishly. "Besides, it ain't like we gotta worry about that whiny tomboy chick anymore." Carrot sighed. "Ah, I can hear the sound of us getting slapped for that comment resounding across the heavens now." +++++++++++++++++++ In the office of L-sama, the Lord of All sneezed as he rubbed his cheek in irritation. +++++++++++++++++++ Meanwhile, back on Earth... Trunks frowned as Gohan smiled cheerfully as the group overlooked the village below them. "Hey, still looks the same," said Gohan cheerfully. "It doesn't," snapped Trunks irritably. "Sure it does, why, it looks just like it did that summer we came to visit the elder and..." "All this is burned down in the future moron," grumbled Trunks. "Oh, well I guess they did a good job rebuilding it," said Gohan with a small shrug. "Hey Ghoul, you comin?" "Why does he keep calling me that?" muttered Akane irritably as she glanced at Cologne. The elder had other things on her mind though. "Burned to the ground? Hold! What do you mean burned to the ground?!" Shampoo had a cute frown on her face at that moment, not quite understanding what was going on. "Oh, all this is destroyed when the starships come," said Trunks with a small shrug. "Actually, casualties aren't too bad around here. He'll be more interested in cities and such at first." "Starships?!" cried Cologne angrily. "What foolishness is this?!" "What's not to believe? He already flat out told you he wasn't human," said Gohan as he stared at her for a moment. Cologne simply stared at him. "I..." Ranma had said something along those lines to her before. She just hadn't thought too hard on it at the time. "Space travel on such a level? I never imagined I would see it." "Yeah, kinda neat isn't it?" agreed Gohan cheerfully. "Where are we? Where are you taking me?" muttered Keiichi fearfully as he glanced around the group. He looked tired and worn out, the others were all much stronger than he was, and had a great deal more endurance. Only the fact that he was excused from carrying any supplies had enabled him to keep up at all. "Why am I here?" Trunks blinked and looked at him for a moment. "You're here so you stay alive. If you die, those goddesses with you have to return to heaven. That's not a good thing with what's coming this way." "You still haven't explained that," commented Jadeite as he and the other generals appeared around the group. They had just returned from scouting ahead. "These defenses are a joke," commented Nephrite lazily. "There's only about five people patrolling the area right now." "He's right," agreed Kunzite. "The area is only defended to the south, the northern area is wide open to anyone who wishes to enter." Akane rolled her eyes at this. "So what? We aren't trying to invade them." Cologne looked somewhat irritated by this. "I leave for a few months, and everything goes to hell? I am going to have a long discussion with some colleagues of mine in the near future." "Right, can we just go now? I'm tired!" whined Keiichi. "Well, we can't just stand here all night," agreed Gohan. "Cologne should be able to get us in without too much hassle too." "Why come here though?" asked the Elder as she watched them. "Because we know it's safe here. Ranma won't mess with the Amazon's yet. He's got other plans for you, once you're out of the way that is." Trunks looked at the old woman for a moment and gauged her reaction. Cologne didn't even blink. "I see. Would you divulge this information to me?" "No," replied Trunks before Gohan could respond. "If it doesn't happen anyway, it won't matter if you know about it or not." "You're awfully distrusting," said Cologne with a small shake of her head. "Think I don't know what you're planning for us down there? A couple of strong guys like us just waltzing into the village? Right, I know about you and your laws. Of course I'm cautious, I don't trust you." Cologne narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and sighed. "Saw through me that easily did you?" "You were awfully enthusiastic about us coming here," said Gohan with a small shrug. "Seemed a bit odd to me anyway. What with us kidnapping you, and your great granddaughter from your home that way." "Can't fault an old woman for trying can you?" replied the hag cheerfully. "No, but we already know our future here," said Trunks calmly. "Nothing you can do will change that." The boy glanced back at Akane for a moment. "Sensei, you should be careful here. You're strong, but fighting with these women here is a bad idea. Please be careful." The girl nodded dumbly at this. "Why do you keep calling me that?" The pair looked at each other and shrugged. "Cause that's who you are to us," replied Trunks. "Yeah. You'll always be an old bat too me!" replied Gohan cheerfully. Akane blinked and looked at the pair for a moment. She was the heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts after all. It was the only possible connection she could think of. Cologne hopped forward. "Come, we should be there before nightfall." "We should be there in about five minutes," corrected Gohan. "It's just up ahead, sheesh." Cologne rolled her eyes; the boy had no flair for drama obviously. ++++++++++++++++++++ Chibi-Usa was lying on the floor in pain, her father standing over her with a malevolent grin on his face as he stared down at her. "Weak. You can barely stand, much less fight. This is truly pathetic." A golden aura formed around the woman as she glared at him angrily. "I am not weak!" "Then why am I not the one on the ground? I was going easy on you spore." The girl growled at this. "You would never go easy on me." "Bah. You're only on the edge of your second transformation, I've mastered mine, and I am pushing through to the next level. When he returns, I will destroy him utterly." "Still hanging around here are you?" said a calm voice from behind the pair. Ranma turned to look at the intruder with a smirk on his face. "As it were, yes." "You're wasting time," said the small boy who simply stood watching them. He looked to be about eight, and had short black hair and a black schoolboy uniform on. "I'm making sure," replied Ranma coldly as he turned away. "If it amuses you, go ahead," replied the boy calmly as he smiled slightly. "Your mother is looking for you." "Let her," replied Ranma with a snort. "I've got no time to waste on childish plots and foolish tactics. I'm preparing for the real battle, she can sit on the sidelines while I do what she failed in." "Our plans are almost complete," said the boy. "Good, I'll rest easier when everyone who can oppose us is dead," replied Ranma icily. "Not a moment before." The boy nodded and turned away. "Good, I like that. Tochi is lax as of late, and Ekitai has gone silent." "I warned you about that," replied Ranma coldly. "We should have all gone, he is the greatest threat to us." The boy smirked, his back was still turned to them, but Ranma could still tell. "So you did. I'll remember that in the future. The ships will arrive within a month or so. Once they are here, we will have this planet within a week." "That's your end, my end is still alive, on Jurai," replied Ranma coldly. "Get up Spore, resting is over." The woman glared at him and staggered to her feet. The golden aura burning around her was the only thing that gave her the strength to do so. The boy walked towards the exit and sighed. "He's growing strong, perhaps too much for my liking. Still, I will need him for a time." He frowned and left the room. "Kuroi doesn't like me training this much," commented Ranma as he took his attention off his daughter. "What?" muttered Chibi-Usa irritably. "He's beginning to see me as a threat to his power, true, but dangerous for us," said the boy as he frowned deeply. "It would be wise, for both of us to keep an eye on him." +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Trunks frowned slightly as he found himself surrounded by a large group of armed women. Fortunately, they seemed somewhat friendly. "Um, Hi," said Gohan as he waved at them. "Are they going to kill us?" muttered Keiichi fearfully as he clung to Akane Tendo's back. The girl looked somewhat annoyed at this, but refrained from speaking. She wasn't wearing her black suit at the moment, rather a durable bodysuit of the same color with several large pockets for equipment sewn into it. Her eyebrow twitched slightly from behind her shades, but she didn't move to strike the cowering boy. The generals snickered in amusement at the scene behind her, irritating her further. Cologne and Shampoo moved up to the girls. "You!" said one of the guards in Chinese. Akane frowned and put her finger up to her ear, making a slight adjustment to the tiny device inside. "The translators are working." "Good," replied Jadeite with a small shrug. The group had avoided populated areas for the most part on the trip to the village, but he had known his was working for several days. All of the men had worn them throughout the trip, and they had taken a train to get to the village at one point in order to speed things along. Akane hadn't seen the need to wear hers, as she didn't speak with anyone outside the group. Zoicite and Kunzite had taken care of any dealings with the locals, with Cologne's help of course. Shampoo had also been enlisted to buy food once or twice as well. Keiichi looked up at her in confusion and Jadeite grabbed his head forcibly. The boy muttered in panic, but didn't try to stop the man as he shoved something in his ear. "Shut up and pay attention." The boy nodded at this and seemed to relax a bit more as he was released. "Hey, that's pretty neat," said Gohan in excellent Chinese. "Whatever, it's up to you now old woman," snorted Trunks irritably. "Yes, so it seems," commented Cologne lazily. "I see Fu Shin hasn't taken the opportunity to lord over the village lightly. That old fool, she's as stupid as she is clumsy. Only her age has allowed her as much respect as she has now." "I'll remember that," commented Nephrite with a small snort. "What?" cried one of the girls in the group. "You dare!?" She started to move forward, but a gnarled old staff held her at bay easily. "These men are under my protection for the time being. That may change soon, but until then, you will leave them be." Cologne's tone left no room for argument. She turned to look at the man. "Be careful what you say here. You seem to have insulted her granddaughter." "And you didn't?" replied the man casually. "Information is always an asset. It would be foolish of me to disregard the opinions of others so blatantly, especially political figures like yourself and this Fu Shin seem to be." Cologne offered him a wry grin. "You're smarter than you seem." "Ranma didn't carry us to our positions. We earned them ourselves a thousand years before your ancestors were born," replied Kunzute coldly. "In any case, we are being rather rude to our hosts." "It's understandable, given our guides' reluctance to part with any of their intuition about our future," said Cologne calmly. "None of us is very certain about why we have come here. Although I do admit, it is favorable to myself to be in my own 'back yard' so to speak for this." "Ouch," commented Gohan. "Look, we told you, if we tell you too much, it might disrupt things more than needed. That's bad. This situation is unpredictable enough as it is." "He's right, Pluto-sama gave us strict instructions about what we let slip," said Trunks with a firm nod. "Pluto-sama?" said Gohan as he stared at his companion for a moment. "Not one word," grumbled Trunks irritably. "In any case, the village will be most interested to meet this group," said Cologne as she sighed and started to hop forward. "Follow me please." Trunks and Gohan shrugged their shoulders and walked after her, followed by the rest of the group. +++++++++++++++++ "Nice place you got here," commented Gohan cheerfully. "Stop embarrassing me," grumbled Trunks. Cologne was sitting with the two teens with a number of withered looking old women around them. The others were outside the room, as only those with business could enter the chamber of elders; especially the males in the group. "What business do you have with the Amazons?" asked Cologne formally. Trunks snorted. "No real business, we needed to be out of Japan for a time, this was just a convenient place to go really. It's out of the way, far enough to make him following us inconvenient, and well guarded." "Why do you need to be away from Japan?" asked one of the other elders suspiciously. "Because Ranma Saotome is an insane monster, who will destroy any who oppose him. Here, we're out of his reach for the time being," replied Trunks. Cologne sighed at this. "What good will this do you? Sooner or later, he will be able to reach this far. If what you claim is true." Gohan frowned at this. "We don't have to do anything. Help is already on the way, from the planet Jurai. The Sailor Senshi are there training, once they return with their allies, they will eliminate the threat in Japan." There were muttered whispers and gasps within the chamber. Cologne narrowed her eyes at the boys in front of her and slowly stood up. "Senshi? Alive?! This cannot be!" Gohan and Trunks looked at each other for a moment. This was obviously something they were not expecting. "Ah, but it is Ku Lon." All of the elders were on their feet as a new person walked out from the shadows. Another was at her side, a girl with long violet hair. Both of them had rather smug grins on their faces. "Demon!" cried Cologne. "Wait, you mean she didn't know about the Senshi?" muttered Gohan as he looked at Trunks for a moment. "That's crazy, they've been all over the news. Besides, she's met Usagi I think." "News?" muttered one of the elders. "Serenity has been reborn," said Pluto as she walked between the two boys and glared directly at Cologne. She smiled at the woman's glare. "The daughter of the woman who banished your people to this desolate area of the world in a time before history even started." "Our people remember that insult!" snapped Cologne hatefully. Tsuki was at her mother's side, holding a small metal object in her hands. "Mother..." she muttered tensely. "They won't attack us, they know our power," said Pluto calmly. "They command the elements themselves, but we hold the power of entire worlds. Most of the magic they could have used to oppose us, died a thousand years ago. Lost arts to them now." "Thanks to your meddling no doubt," growled Cologne. "Perhaps," said Pluto as she smiled at her. "Serenity has no memory of your foolish treachery though. This is your chance at redemption." "Redemption?" growled Cologne angrily. "Push aside your anger elder, if only for a moment. Serenity will rule this world, this entire system, once again. Your people were outcasts, because of your ancestors' mistakes, now you can be welcomed back once again, with open arms. If you will only do one thing." Cologne didn't look impressed; the two teens that stood around the Senshi of Pluto and her ward stepped back slightly away from her. "What might that be?" asked the old woman hatefully. "Save yourselves, and this entire world," replied Pluto calmly. "This is not time for blood feuds or petty age old punishments. Your ancestors betrayed their own Queen to Beryl, giving her the keys that she later used to bring down a dynasty that had lasted for thousands of years, and sealing her own fate. It is ironic that you survived this, thrived, and are now on the brink of extinction yourselves. However, now a new threat will destroy all that you know on this world if you do not act quickly." "Please, get to the point," growled one of the elders hatefully. "Then leave at once!" Pluto's expression never changed. "Your bitterness will be the destruction of your own people. The reason these two had to be silent as to the fate of your people was simple. I wanted to give you a choice, before you went into the arms of the devil willingly. If you follow him, you will be destroyed." "This devil sounds more appealing by the moment monster," growled Cologne. "Really? I assumed you would say as much. Allow me to show you what you will be facing, if you choose to oppose us." Pluto arched her eyebrow slightly as she looked at the two boys. "Transform please." "Huh?" said the pair in unison. They had been edging for the door, hoping to escape the tension of the room. "Just do it," muttered Tsuki irritably. She was giving Pluto odd glances as the woman spoke to the elders from time to time, and seemed distracted. "Okay," said Gohan cheerfully as he smirked at her. "Great," mumbled Trunks to himself as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. A golden light filled the room suddenly, waves of power poured from the teens as they stood there. Nothing but their aura's had turned golden as of yet, but the power was growing stronger by the moment. They seemed relaxed so far, but it was becoming obvious that something powerful was building up by the way they were starting to sweat. "Enough!" cried Cologne suddenly as the wall behind her cracked. The floor had started to shake and several of the elders were on the floor at this point. The pair stopped building energy and relaxed. Pluto looked at the old woman calmly. "What you just felt, was less than a tenth of their power. The ones training on the planet Jurai, are a hundred times stronger than this." There were several whispers within the chamber once again. Hateful glares and interested smiles mixed together amongst the council. "Great, some of them are ready to kill us, and some of them are ready to make us call them Grandma," muttered Trunks irritably. Gohan was looking at Pluto and her daughter, not really paying attention too much else. "What a mess," grumbled Trunks. "At least we know which side they pick," whispered Gohan. "Man, they never told us about any of this mess." "It seems you leave us little choice," said Cologne with a heavy sigh. "There is always a choice elder, you have merely chosen the correct one," replied Setsuna as she turned to leave. "Come Tsuki, it is best that we not remain here." "Aw man," grumbled Gohan in disappointment. The pair found themselves under the glare of every old woman in the room. They were also alone now, as the two senshi vanished into their portal. "Think they're mad at us?" asked Trunks as he looked at his companion. Cologne cleared her throat. "Had I known about this, you'd have never set foot inside my village." The pair looked at the ground sheepishly. "However, it seems we have no choice but to accept you for the moment." "We didn't know about this either," grumbled Gohan. "Silence!" snapped Cologne as she belted him on the top of his head with her cane. "Do you have any idea what you have brought upon my village?" "Not really, no," said Trunks. "Shut up!" cried Cologne as she repeated the act on the second boy. "This is a disaster worse than the revival of the Phoenix King! What have you done to us?" The pair looked at the ground, not wanting to make her any more upset by answering. She bopped them both again. "Answer me fools!" "But you said..." started Gohan. "Don't speak idiot!" cried Cologne as she promptly gave him another sound rap on his skull. ++++++++++++++++++++++ Keiichi frowned as he found himself standing alone in the middle of the village. Akane and her companions were currently setting up a campsite just outside the edge of the village. He'd decided to go with the two kidnappers after they'd basically shooed him away. Unfortunately, the pair had been called into a private meeting. Now he was alone, and surrounded by women who were all looking at him. "He's one of those who came earlier today. I hear they are strong fighters," said one of the nearby females to her companion. "What?" he said as he stared at her. One of the women walked up to him with a firm looking frown on her face. "You! I challenge you!" Keiichi blinked. "I have heard they are very strong, I shall challenge him as well," said another amazon. The first looked annoyed by this, but didn't argue as she hefted a long pole up into a combat stance. "Um. Wait a minute," started Keiichi. +++++++++++++++++++ "Stupid backwater..." grumbled Akane as she glared at the tents they would be using as lodging. "It's not so bad," said Jadeite. The tents looked more like small plastic lodgings, with a lot of electronic equipment protruding from them. There were four total and they looked quite comfortable. Jadeite cocked his head slightly. "Did you just hear someone scream?" "Huh?" said Nephrite. "Naw, must have been some animal or something." ++++++++++++++++++++ Trunks smirked as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing his martial arts uniform again. The orange tunic with the horse symbol on the right chest. There was another ball that evening, and he decided to attend, for lack of anything better to do. He hadn't seen much of Yosho or Washuu since he'd emerged from the time chamber. "Damn, we're a sexy bitch," said Carrot cheerfully as they looked themselves over. "We need water to be a bitch, but we are impossibly sexy aren't we?" commented Dan. "We've been remarkably dry lately," commented Pissant. "Well, the fact that we stay indoors mostly, coupled with the fact that we've been in a room where we control every aspect of everything probably helped," commented Carrot. Ranma sighed as he looked at himself. "Why do we gotta go to this stupid party anyway?" "Well, for starters, I wanna talk with Yosho and Washuu, they'll both be there," said Carrot. "Secondly, we don't have anything better to do, we might as well have some fun at Azusa's expense." "Besides, I want to see how the girls are holding up, they'll be there as well," said Dan. "I'm kind of worried about how they'll react to a crowd like that. I haven't heard any reports of random killings, or stuff exploding without reason, but I'm still a little worried." "Maybe we went too far?" muttered Pissant. "Maybe we did, there's nothing we can do now," said Carrot calmly. "In any case, they seem to keep each other relatively stable. Nabiki's level head helps a bit too. They don't question her in the slightest anymore." "Is that a good thing?" muttered Ranma as he thought about a few things the girl had done in the past. "I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if they'll even go through with Crystal Tokyo or not, even if they do, I doubt if it will be the same." "I'm worried about Usagi," muttered Pissant. "She seems to be taking all of this rather well," said Carrot with a small shrug. "What happened to her was definitely unexpected. I didn't think the Senshi had it in them. Nabiki maybe, but not those girls. They were willing to die for her, and then..." "Their loyalties might have changed, that could have an effect on the future," said Dan with a heavy sigh. "Thinking we might have caused a civil war?" said Carrot as he turned them towards the door. "It's possible," commented Dan. "Ami or one of the others might decide that they'd make a better ruler than Usagi." "That's possible, any reason you singled out Ami?" asked Carrot. "She's the most different," said Ranma as he forced a slightly guilty blush to form on their face. "Well, I doubt if her soul died, as Usagi put it," commented Carrot. "She's definitely changed, and shut down her emotions, but they're still there. You saw how she reacted to that little girl." "I think they work well together," said Dan. "Things might change once the climate becomes more political. A war is easier to pick sides on," said Carrot. "So, we basically don't know what the future is gonna be like again," said Ranma with a small sigh. "Relax Saotome, we can always play mediator," said Carrot cheerfully. "I doubt if we'll need too. They might surprise you." "They also might surprise you," said Dan calmly. "Come on, we should go. It's only fashionably late if we get there before the party is over." +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Azusa sat with his two wives on either side of him. He frowned at the doorway as the last ball in honor of the barely averted destruction of Jurai went on before him. "He's late." Misaki frowned at him slightly. "Maybe we should have had more food?" Funaho sighed "He seems to enjoy being late, but he enjoys teasing you too much to pass up an opportunity like this one." Azusa growled slightly at this, the woman actually looked somewhat amused by this. "Perhaps." "Speak of the devil," said Funaho with her smirk fading slightly. The boy strolled into the room with a somewhat bored looking frown on his face as he glanced around. No one seemed to notice him enter, or cared that much really. A few of the partygoers moved out of his path as he strolled up to the throne. "A final party, celebrating our leaving your presence?" he asked as he smirked at Azusa. "Something like that," said the man with a nod. His face was unreadable. Trunks glanced around the room and noticed Ryoko and Tenchi standing beside Ayeka. The trio were discussing something politely, even Ryoko was doing a good job of not angering the princess so far. He noticed Tenchi looked slightly uncomfortable. "I wonder if anyone ever bothered to tell him he can have more than one wife?" "Doubtful," chuckled Azusa lazily. "It will be expected of him, if he is to remain in contact with Jurai." "I'd tell him, but this is too much fun to watch," said Trunks cheerfully as he eyed the trio for a moment. His gaze flicked over to the senshi next. They were standing in a group, wearing dress military uniforms. None of them looked particularly interested in the party, but they conversed amongst each other. "I haven't seen Yosho in a while, is he here?" asked Trunks as he glanced up at the emperor. "I get the feeling he's been avoiding me, and his grandson." Azusa smirked at this. "Just figured that out did you?" Trunks arched his eyebrow in surprise and frowned. "I've been busy." "Actually, I believe he will speak with you before you leave, he's outside at the moment. The boy has been oddly...introspective as of late." "There's a lot of that going around, excuse me," said Trunks as he turned away from the man and walked towards the doors. ++++++++++++++++++ "I'm starting to hate these gatherings," grumbled Nabiki as she brushed her dark green jacket down slightly. They were all wearing the same uniform. A green jacket with various medals hanging from their chests, with a black skirt and dark hoes. Their shoes were highly polished, with only Rei opting for high heels. The others wore flat-soled shoes of a similar design. "It's not so bad," said Minako as she smirked at one of the young servants who walked by carrying a tray of drinks. He didn't seem to notice her, but her hungry gaze fixed on him anyway. "Tsukino is more silent than usual," commented Makoto. "I just don't have much to say Kino," replied the girl as she continued to watch the dancers in the middle of the room calmly. There was no heat in the exchange at all really. "Should we leave?" asked Rei. Ami glanced up at the longhaired girl for a moment nursing a drink against the wall. She didn't respond, nor did she look like she cared too. "No, this is very political," said Nabiki as she smiled at them for a moment. "We should be mingling, there are a lot of connections to be had in this crowd." "Why aren't we?" asked Usagi as she returned the cool gaze of her superior. "Because I was gauging everyone, to see who looked like they might be the most beneficial to us. There are a lot of people bowing and scraping around that one," she pointed out a balding man with a stern face who strolled by the crowd unmolested. "Minako is eyeing the drink boy, but he's actually security in disguise." "I'd noticed that," commented Minako lazily. Everyone looked slightly surprised at this announcement, but Nabiki continued anyway. "Approaching the emperor would be foolish and a waste of time. He doesn't seem to care for us much. However, that group over there is high class, probably pretty high ranking nobles. It might be wise to test the waters by mingling a little bit. Ladies, I think we should disperse. Ami, you can hang back if you want." She glanced at the girl who was still resting against the wall. "As you wish," replied the girl quietly as she closed her eyes and hung her head down appearing to doze off again. "I'm gonna go see how tight security is," said Minako cheerfully. Usagi walked in front of her, not bothering to hide it as she rolled her eyes and vanished into the crowd with the others. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Trunks smirked as he stood in front of Washuu and Yosho. The pair were outside, watching the sky together, basically enjoying being old. "Heh. I knew you old geezers would get tired of all that activity in there." Yosho blinked, he looked to be in his twenties at the moment. Washuu glared at him in irritation. "Jeez, it's way to easy to push people's buttons around here," commented Trunks lazily as he walked up to them. "How's the project going?" he looked directly at Washuu as he said this. "It's finished," replied the woman calmly. "Ready to go any time you are." "Good," said Trunks cheerfully. "I guess we're finally even...well, not really. You can never make up for what you did to me with Mihoshi." She smiled at this and shook her head. "I actually just got out a little earlier today. I finished up a week early, so I took a little break before coming out." "Must have been nice," said Trunks cheerfully. "We'll be going back to the room tomorrow morning. This is sort of a last fling for the girls." The redhead nodded. "After we get out again?" "Most likely we'll take a day to rest, and then return to Earth," said Trunks with a small shrug. "No big deal really." The woman nodded at this and smiled. "Well, I've had enough fun for one night. I'll leave you boys alone." She turned away and left. As soon as she was out of sight, Trunks's face was serious once again. "So, you wanted to speak with me about something?" Yosho didn't look surprised in the slightest. "There is a lot on my mind. Concerning Tenchi mostly, and what he has become." "He still uses his art you know, I didn't train any of his forms out of him," said Trunks. "My training focused more on sharpening what he already knew, but mostly on making him more powerful above all else." "I had noticed, he has lost some of the philosophies of my school though. Not overly bad per say, but that is not what bothers me." Trunks arched his eyebrow at this. "Eh?" "The boy is stronger than I could ever hope to be," said Yosho. "I'm not sure if that was your doing or not, but his power is greater than I imagined it could be. That...disturbs me." "That you didn't think he could be that strong, or that he has become that strong?" "I am not certain," replied Yosho calmly. "I don't know what to say, or do with the boy now. He is my superior in power, he is also of my blood. He may choose to remain on Jurai after all this ends, but I will return home." "Hmmm," said Trunks with a small nod. "Little Tenchi is growing up and becoming a man, that's what's bothering you." "In a round about way, yes," said Yosho with a slightly wistful smile on his face. "I've got three daughters, one from the future who's trying to kill me, one who, as you know, is already grown into a woman of her own, and one who's mother hates me so much, that she hid who I was from her for more than ten thousand years. I've never gotten the chance to really raise my own child. I envy you Yosho." The old man glanced down at the boy's serious expression for a moment. "I am sorry." "Maybe, in the future, I'll get the chance. I'll probably be around for a while if I live through all of this." "Yes, this part of a child's life is always hard. Tenchi is growing into his own man, and I can do little more for him." "I doubt that," chuckled Trunks as he glanced up at the man. "Compared to me, you're a model parent. If I picked up fiancees as easily as I did daughters, my life would have been much simpler." "That's an odd comment," replied Yosho. "I suppose it is, I got to see what my life was supposed to have been like once. What I got was a whole lot different." Yosho didn't look completely satisfied with the answer, but brushed it off anyway. "It seems we are both fated to become old men in young bodies." "It's not so bad, beats the heck out of arthritis," replied Trunks as he smirked at the man. "If my luck keeps going as it has been, I'll never need Viagra. Speaking of which...how was Minako anyway?" Yosho glanced down at the boy with shock openly expressed on his face. "What?" "Come on you old codger! I know where she was all day yesterday! Your room is just down the hall from mine," said the boy as he winked at him. The man blushed heavily. "I...um..." "You pervert, she's fifteen," said Trunks as he elbowed the man in his ribs. The man grabbed the boy by his shoulders. "What?!!" "Ya didn't know?" muttered Trunks in confusion. "She told me she was..." muttered Yosho as he shook the boy by his shoulders. "Man, I can't believe you fell for that," muttered Trunks lamely. "But she was so...experienced..." muttered Yosho as he found himself sitting on the grass with an awed expression on his face. "Eh, kids today," replied Trunks as he patted the man on his shoulder. Yosho clutched the boy's leg. "Are you certain?" "Yosho, I'm sorry about what happened, but if you don't get your hands away from that area of my body. I'm going to rip your head off, both of them." The man realized what he was doing and quickly jumped away. "I apologize." "Whatever, don't worry about it. Minako is kind of a slut, I saw her eyeing the drink server in the party a minute ago. Kinda feel sorry for him, she actually tried to sleep with Fuller at one point." "Fuller?" muttered Yosho. "The training program I created for them. Luckily, I didn't include full functionality in his program. She shorted him out pretty badly for about an hour though." "I begin to understand," muttered the man as he slumped his shoulders. "Look at it this way, at least you don't have to worry about any sort of commitment this way. It was just a good time and all." Trunks smiled at him cheerfully and pat him on the back. Yosho sighed. "I suppose so." +++++++++++++++++++++++ Minako smiled at the man who she now had cornered in the back of the room. "I said, I want to see how tight security is." She touched her finger against his chest. "You're security aren't you? Well, how tight is it?" The man stammered at her dumbly. "I...uhhh..." "Don't worry, you can trust me. I want to hear all about it," said the girl as she winked at him. The unfortunate young man was desperately searching for an escape from this situation. "I've got to get back to work. I'll get in trouble if I'm missed!" He tried to step around her, but she kept moving in front of him. "I'm sure Azusa won't mind if I borrow you for the night. I'll explain things to him. I'm sure he'd want me to feel secure after all..." "Look, it's getting late..." stammered the man as he looked at his watch and glanced over her shoulder nervously. "You're right, I should be getting back to my room. Why don't you keep me safe on the way there?" The man frowned at her suddenly and his expression darkened. "Damn." Minako blinked at this and glanced over her shoulder. "Huh?" Azusa was standing up from his throne and heading for the door. "Sorry lady. Love to take you up on your offer, but I've got places to be," said the boy as he smirked at Minako. "What the?" said the senshi as she noticed him drop his tray and step back. Before she knew what hit her, she was sent onto her back by a surprisingly strong kick. "What's going on?" Something clicked in her mind as she saw him rush towards the emperor, not even registering with the guests really. The towering man hadn't noticed yet, and he was a good distance away from any guards. "Assassin!" muttered Minako. She pouted quite cutely. "No! He's so cute, and now I have to kill him!?" It all happened within a split second, she noticed Ami rushing towards the man from the side, the only one besides herself to realize what was happening. She grit her teeth in frustration and jumped into the air. "Venus Love Me Chainsaw!" The crowd of partygoers turned their gazes upwards as the girl initiated her attack. It was a loop of hearts that were linked together in a long oval shape. A high pitched whine filled the air as they began to move at an amazingly high rate of speed. Venus slashed down with her arm, and the giant chainsaw blade moved down with it, cutting the floor directly in front of him and stopping his forward motion. Ami skidded to a halt and pushed her hands forward. "Shabon Cage!" Rows of thick ice spikes shot up from the ground around the man in a circle, they curved towards each other connecting at the top, creating a prison that held the man in place. Ami looked at Minako for a moment. "You missed." "He's got a nice butt," said the girl with a shrug. "Besides, I saw you were coming from the side, so I only needed to slow him down a little. You didn't kill him either though." Ami snorted. "No, I did not. He needs to be tortured so that we can discover who sent him. Then he will be executed." Minako glanced through the icy bars at the man and sighed. He was cowering fearfully away from the pair. "Too bad, you're really good looking too. Oh! Hey! Look at that guy!" Her attention was diverted instantly as another young male came into view. Azusa walked up to the pair and frowned deeply. "It seems I owe you my thanks. I will take it from here." "Good, torture is messy business, I'd rather not deal with it if I don't have too," commented Nabiki as she walked up with the rest of the senshi around her. They were all alert now, and were glancing around the room for a possible accomplice. "Still, whoever did this probably has a lot of pull. I'll send some of my girls to make sure he doesn't escape before we can get some answers out of him tonight." "I think it can wait until tomorrow. It is late," said Azusa. "You won't have us around tomorrow," said Nabiki calmly. "Whoever sent him is likely to do something to make him clam up as well, it's even possible that he could be killed, or released before then. It's best that we do it now, just to make certain." "I will go, he will not escape," said Ami coldly. She narrowed her eyes at the man and frowned deeply. "Very well, I leave this in your hands. The Captain of the Royal Guard will handle the rest." Nabiki nodded and turned to face the man who the Emperor had indicated. "Hello." Two hours later, Ami Mizuno walked out of the dungeon with a stony expression on her face. She had some bloodstains on her collar and hands, and a name. One of the court as she suspected all along. It was fairly simple to extract the information from the man with her power over ice. Freezing various body parts off of someone tended to do wonders with loosening of lips. A few razor sharp needles and blades, and the will crumbled to dust. It was an oddly familiar feeling to do what she had done. Perhaps something related to her past in the Silver Millenium. The emperor's men had limited success with their own interrogation, and had accepted her offer to assist only a half-hour into the torture. She'd wash off the blood later, for at the moment, she had an order for execution in her hand, signed by the Captain of the Guard, and the Emperor himself. Having a license to kill was an oddly free feeling, while at the very same time restricting in the same manner. Duty, Honor, and responsibility weighed much more with such a freedom. Before, her kindness and feelings would have prevented her from doing what was necessary. Now, she had no such problems with her duty. When the next morning came, there was one less traitor in the Emperor's court. Apparently someone was rather upset with the man's decision to just give away the Earth without a fight. To even assist those who were taking it from them was apparently going too far. The information was easy enough to garner, he was not nearly as difficult to persuade as his assassin had been. Ami Mizuno walked into Nabiki Tendo's room and found the girl waiting quietly at a desk inside. "How did it go?" Ami handed over the paper silently and stepped back. "Mission, complete." "Very good," said Nabiki as she gave her a sort of predatory smile. "We've just gained an awful lot of respect here. That could help us in the future." Ami nodded. "If there is nothing else?" "Dismissed," replied the girl as she waved her hand casually. Ami glanced up at the clock as she left the room. She still had five hours to sleep, more than she had been expecting. "How fortunate," she commented to herself as she walked into her own room. ++++++++++++++++++++ George Lucas sat up in his cot aboard the Mikon Taka. Things had been quiet since the end of the whole Buu episode. It was rather relaxing, and he'd been able to fix everything onboard the ship. Which meant there was nothing to do anymore. "This is pretty boring," he muttered to himself with a small smile. Boring was good, it meant he wasn't being tormented. "I hope this lasts a while." He laid his head back and sighed in contentment. "Psst. Hey George," said a familiar voice from beside him. "Eh?" muttered the man as he turned his head. "GAH!" Trunks was grinning at him. "Time to go." "Go?" he muttered fearfully. He found himself being dragged off by his wrist. His belly hanging out over the exposed midsection of his spandex outfit. Still the same one he had worn during the Silver Millenium. Apparently he had several such outfits, and the male clothes the Juraians had sent him were largely ignored. "Jeez, you're still wearing those things? Get a grip man," muttered Trunks as he peered at the man for a moment. "Where are you taking me?" whimpered the man as he struggled futilely in the boy's iron grip. "It's time for training dumbass. You gotta show those stupid chicks how ta fly!" "It's six in the morning!" cried George. "Yeah, I let ya sleep in, come on. You'll get used to the time schedule in a day or two," muttered the boy as he led the man down the ramp of the ship. The girls were all standing in front of him at attention, and Washuu was beside them with a slightly dazed look about her. Hotaru smirked at the scene and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She turned away and walked back towards the palace. "She's not coming?" said Nabiki in surprise. "Nah," replied Trunks calmly. "We're going to be too busy for me to really train with her this time." The girl nodded and swallowed as Trunks opened the door to the room and shoved George inside. "You'd better not expect me to get up this early every day," mumbled Washuu irritably. "Come on," said the boy as he rolled his eyes and pushed her inside. The Senshi and Nabiki walked in after her, and he walked in last, closing the door behind him. ++++++++++++++++++++ TBC...