Where life abounds

by Memoir Angel

Rena and hiei seemed to be living happily ever after especially since Gokus return until they discover a new demon leader has arose and promises to avenge Tiguoros death. Meanwhile Rena stumbles across an amazing secret about the death of her best friend.

'Where Life Abounds'

Chapter 1: A Father's Reunion

"Come quick Rena! Hurry!"

"Hiei, come on!"

Rena and Hiei ran after Goten as fast as they could. As they got closer, Rena could see her brother, Gohan, and trunks standing by a ship with a taller black-haired man between them. She easily recognized who it was and ran faster towards the man she hadn't seen in thirteen years. He also recognized her as well, as he called out her name when she stopped right in front of him.

"Rena, I can't believe that's you! You grew up so fast. I'm sorry I couldn't have been here to watch you."

"Dad.." Rena began as her eyes watered, "...I-I I've missed you so much!"

Rena jumped up and hugged her father tight while she cried. He shed a few tears as he held his daughter close to him. Gohan and Trunks both smiled while Goten just stared at his father whom he had never met. When Goku realized this, he asked Rena,

"Hey, who's this little guy? I'm sorry but he looks way too young for you don't you think?"

"Dad, don't be silly. This is Goten, your son."

"Wha--?!?! You've got to be kidding! I didn't know Chi-Chi was ever pregnant."

"She was going to wait till after you defeated Cell to tell you so it would all be happy news but...you never came back."

"Geez... I didn't realize I was going to miss out on so much."

Goku bent down on his knee to look at his son for the first time.

"Well hey there little man. I'm Goku, it's great to meet you."

"D-D...ad?"

He took a few steps back...then a huge smile grew on his face as he jumped into his father's arms.

"Daddy!!!"

"Whoa, hey there your pretty tough!"

Rena smiled, "He's a spitten image of you."

"Yea it's amazing! Hey Goten, what do you think about going to tell Chi-Chi the big news?"

"Oh Daddy she will be so happy... but don't give her a heart attack. You know how she freaks out about things."

"Ha ha I see youve learned quickly. Well, lets go then."

"Um, Dad?"

"What's up Rena?"

"Well, there's someone else I want you to meet."

"Oh, I'm sorry, who is it?"

"Dad, this is Hiei. Hiei, this is...my father."

"Hiei huh? Well it's great to meet you."

"Um...you too...uh sir.."

"Dad, me and Hiei are a couple. We may even get married one day."

"What! Oh it's that kind of 'I want you meet Hiei'. I can't believe this. Have I really missed that many years? Last time I saw you, you didn't even like boys."

"Dad, the truth is that I am grown up and I love Hiei...but Dad... I haven't told anyone else about how serious we are, especially mom, so if you could please keep this between us."

"Of course honey. Hey Hiei, how about we get together sometime to get to know each other?"

"I-I...uh..(Rena nudged him say yes)...sure."

"Great! Well I'll see you guys later!"

With that, Goku left to see everyone else with Goten while Rena laughed at Hiei.

"Honey, he just wants to approve of you thats all. There's nothing to be worried about."

"Yea..right..."

Trunks came up to Rena. "Married huh? Well I'm happy for you, really."

"Thank you Trunks. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I wanted to tell you all when the time was right but I figured with my father being back I wouldn't get any other chance to really tell him, and since he doesn't even know Hiei it seemed fair to at least let him know how serious we were."

"Yo Rena! Congrats! I cant believe my little sis is all grown up and gonna be married."

"Geez, thanks Gohan. Speaking of married life, I bet you will be happy to get back to yours."

"Oh yea I cant wait. I only hope little Pan hasn't grown up too much since I've been gone."

"Gohan, I want to thank you again for going in my place under such short notice, and Trunks, I'm sorry for leaving you like that. But I must say that I'm glad I did for getting the love of my life back."

"Hey no prob. Well I'm off to see Videl and Pan. Later guys!"

"Its alright Rena. I'm glad to see that you're back to your usual self also."

"I've been really happy. I mean, I still think about Bre, but I think she would want me to be happy, so I am."

"I think so too. You deserve it."

"Do I really?" Rena snapped out of her thoughts quickly. She had been replaying the scene of the day her father came home in her head all morning long. For some reason, that was all she could think about, and she began to wonder if she really did deserve to be so happy when her best friend was dead. No, she thought, She would want me to be happy, I mean, I would want the same for her if I were in her shoes. She decided not to think about it too much since there was really nothing they could do right now. She also thought about how old Bre would be. Since Rena was 20, Bre would be 20 also, but Rena could never imagine her friend so old. She even wondered what she would look like… It was so odd that they couldn't wish Bre back. They were able to wish Goku back, but the Dragon told them he could not grant their wish to bring Bre back. This puzzled Rena very much, but still, she couldn't do anything about it at the moment. Right now, she was trying to focus on how she was going to tell her father. You see, when he came home, Rena had told him that Bre was at Marrons place for a couple months because she didn't want to ruin it for him. Fortunately for that situation, only after a week of being home, Goku was off again traveling around the world visiting his friends. He had been gone six months but today he was supposed to be coming home so everyone was excited; everyone, except Rena. She knew he would be upset but he did deserve to know. Goku still didn't know much of what was going on with Rena and Hiei either and he definitely didn't know that he was a demon. The only people who knew were herself, Trunks, and Vegeta; and that's how she planned to keep it. Rena had been in her room all morning long while Hiei was outside training with Trunks. She was glad that Trunks was being a friend to Hiei and that things weren't weird between the two. It seemed years had past since she met Hiei though. After a few more minutes she decided to head downstairs. She got dressed but when she opened the door to leave, Hiei was standing right in front of her. She would have screamed but he pulled her to him and kissed her before she could react. She still liked it, and he just smile at her.

"Well good morning to you too. I see your real chipper today."

"And I see you've finally decided to wake up."

"Hey every girl needs their beauty sleep."

"Unless they're already beautiful."

"Oh Hiei, your such a sweetie."

"I try. I try."

"Hehe, come on we should probably head over to mom's house. You know how she doesn't like us to be late."

"But you gotta admit, with her cooking, who would want to be? I mean I never knew human food could taste so good."

"As long as its human food; not humans."

"Yea yea I know. Lets go."

So, Hiei and Rena headed towards Chi-Chis house. She was preparing a huge dinner for Gokus return and everyone was invited. As they were walking, Rena sensed something following them. She looked at Hiei but he didn't seem to notice. They both kept walking but Rena could still feel something in the woods. Then, out of nowhere, something dark came charging at them from above with a shiny sword in his hand. Hiei quickly grabbed Rena and pushed her out of the way so the sword ended up landing right between them. The dark figure didn't seem to give up though; instead he went hand-to-hand combat with Hiei. Rena had fallen on the ground when Hiei pushed her but she finally got a hold of herself and grabbed the sword that lie beside her. Meanwhile, Hiei was still fighting the guy, mostly dodging his attacks but he got a few punches in, except no matter how many times he hit him, this guy kept coming back for more. That's when he spotted Rena and he knew what she was trying to do. The dark figure finally punched Hiei in the face, knocking him to the ground. Hiei then realized that the guy was actually a demon. The demon walked up to Hiei, thinking he had won, but suddenly Hiei jumped and Rena threw the sword at him. Hiei caught it and sliced the demon in two before he could even blink. Rena just sighed a sigh of relief as Hiei dropped the sword to the ground. He looked at Rena.

"Are you alright? Sorry for pushing you, I'm sure you could have gotten out of the way but it was just instinct."

"It's alright, I'm fine. Who was that? And why was he after you?"

"Actually I think he was after both of us." it was a demon; no doubt sent from the Demon world to kill us."

"But why? And who would send him."

"Well, think about it. To them, I betrayed my people. My fate is supposed to be a ruthless demon who kills anything in his way, but I'm not anymore and so they probably all hate me now."

"Oh...I'm sorry Hiei."

"Don't be. I don't need any of them anyway. Besides, I have you, though, that's what I'm concerned about. I think someone might know about you and I'm afraid they might some after you. Anyone else, I wouldn't be so worried, but demons don't play by the rules. They will use anything they see against you as long as they win. Be careful."

"Well, it's nothing I'm not used to...but I will be extra careful. I'm just wondering, who sent that guy?"

"I don't know. Since we killed Tiguoro, I don't know who's the new ruler now, but I'm going to try to contact Kurama and see what's going on."

"But what if he has turned against you too?"

"Well there's only one way to find out."

"Okay...but can you wait till after the dinner party? I don't want my father to get suspicious, and plus, you need to get to know him anyway."

"Alright, but just stick close to me for right now."

Hiei and Rena made it just in time before the party started. Goku was actually the last person to get there but Chi-Chi was just happy to see him again. Rena got to talk to him for a second before they started eating so she decided she would have to tell him about Bre.

"Wow, Rena, everyone's so different! Did you see Vegeta? He actually told me he was glad I was back. I don't know what you did to him but I definitely like it!"

"How did you know I did anything?"

"Trunks and Gohan told me. They said he acts like a true father now and that he trained you some. I'm so proud of you Rena; we're going to have to see how strong you are sometime. Hey I bet Bulmas ecstatic about Vegeta huh? I didn't get the chance to say hi when I came back the first time. Oh and what about Bre? Is she back from Krillins house yet? I went to see him and she wasn't there so I figured she came home. How's Vegeta treating her? I bet she's so happy now, I can't wait to see her..."

"Dad! Stop! Listen, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Bre is...she...there was an explosion...it was all my fault...and..."

"Rena...what are you saying...what do you mean 'explosion'?"

"She's dead! Some demon came looking for you, but then he went after me and Bre. He almost killed me but instead Bre sacrificed herself...I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

Rena started to cry as she fell to her knees. Gokus eyes watered and he couldn't seem to say anything. Bre was like a daughter to him. It was like...loosing your own child...he didn't know what to do but he tried to be strong for Rena. He knew how close they were and he felt bad for Rena. He could barely talk...

"How...long?"

"...Four years ago..."

'What...its been four years?!?!" Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I figured you would have seen her in snakes way."

"How strange...Rena I saw everyone that came through. She wasn't there."

"Do you think that since there was no body she was just a spirit?"

"Well...I guess... but I still cant believe I never knew..."

"I'm so sorry. I know she was important to you.."

"Hey, don't be sorry. Look, I should be apologizing. It seems like if I had been alive, none of this would have happened."

"It's been so hard you know, we get by, but its still so hard.."

"I know Rena. I'm sorry."

Goku hugged his daughter tightly and tried to comfort her. She couldn't see it, but he was more torn up than she realized. He had to be strong, though, and he knew it. After a while, Rena settled down and everyone started to eat. Everyone seemed a lot better now and Goku even got a couple of plate fulls in. As they were all eating, he thought of something.

"Hey guys, why don't we collect the dragon balls?"

"But why, we can't use them again until six months anyway." Gohan said.

"I know...but we can't let anyone else get a hold of them. If this world falls into chaos again, we need the dragon balls on our side. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt again."

Vegeta spoke up, "You sound like the end of the world is coming. Is there something we don't know?"

"No, I just think it would be wise, especially since we only have one wish."

"Actually there are three. When Dende came to power and created the dragon balls, he made them with three wishes so it would be easier for us." Trunks said.

"What! Then what did you guys do with the other two wishes?"

"Nothing. We only wanted to wish you back."

"THEN WHY COULDNT YOU HAVE WISHED BRE BACK, DARN IT!!!"

Goku slammed his fist on the table almost breaking it in two. Everyone just sat in his or her seat, not moving a muscle. Rena finally spoke up,

"...We did, I mean, we tried."

Gohan explained to Goku, "That was our first wish, Dad, but the Dragon said he couldn't grant out wish. We asked why but that's all he would say."

"...Really?"

"I hope you know youre not the only who cares about her." Vegeta said quietly.

"Oh.." Goku realized how sad Vegeta looked. "...I'm sorry guys. I guess all you feel just as bad as I do. Its just harder for me because I just found out."

"Dad, no one's over it, but we have to move on with our lives. I think I would know, loosing you at seven and then seven years later loosing my best friend. You just learn to remorse without showing it."

Bulma smiled at Goku, "Thanks for caring though, we all miss her, but listen, as we have concluded, it was no ones fault alright? No one could have stopped it and that's just how it is."

"Alright. I know your what saying and I will try not to think about it."

"Hungy!" little Pan was tugging at her mom for food. She put her in her lap and gave her a fry.

"Be thankful you have no idea what's going on."

Everyone quietly finished eating, and they were all glad to go outside and get some fresh air. While the kids played, the adults talked, and others just playing around; the tension had risen a bit from earlier which Rena was very thankful. She and Hiei walked up to Goku and Vegeta to join in conversation.

"Well look who it is. Finally decided to stop ignoring everyone besides Hiei?" Vegeta smirked.

"Hi Vegeta, sorry I haven't come by lately."

Goku looked very shocked, "Wow...I just cant imagine you ever saying that to Vegeta. What did you do to this guy?"

"I have undeniable proof that all tough guys are just big softies on the inside. And I mean ALL." (She nudged Hiei.)

"Yea, well listen good Goku; just cause I like your daughter doesn't mean I changed my opinion about you."

"Darn...and I was hoping you would help me find the dragon balls."

"You really want to find them?"

"I still think its good idea, you know, just in case."

Hiei and Rena realized that this would be one boring conversation, so they tried to sneak off, until Vegeta nudged Hiei in the arm while he joked,

"Well hey, if you wanna find them that bad, we should take Hiei along, you know with all his eyes you could find them in a week."

"What are you talking about all his eyes...what, are they like 'invisible' and only open at night or something? Ha ha I didn't you were funny too, Vegeta."

"Not at night stupid, you know, when he turns into his de..."

Rena jumped up and put her hand over Vegetas mouth,

"H-His d-differ..ent st-yle. Like, when we go Sayian, uh...he has the ability to sharpen his...um...senses like a...power up! Yea..yea that's good."

Hiei didn't know what to say, Rena laughed nervously, while Goku was totally confused.

"Um...okay? ...different style...sure... I guess that's normal."

Vegeta whispered in Rena's ear while Goku was still contemplating,

(I take it someone hasn't told their father that her future husband is a demon!)

(Shh, you know I can't tell him right now. He just found that Bre was killed by a demon. If I told him, he would try to kill Hiei and forbid me to see him. I want my father to like him and when the time is right, I will tell him, okay? But for now, please don't say anything.)

(Yea yea okay, but if he finds out, I never knew got it? He would probably try to kill me too.)

(Alright. Thanks Vegeta.)

(Oh when did I become so soft...)

Goku finally started to come back to his senses, and Rena was about leave with Hiei until he spoke up.

"Yo, Hiei, now seems like a perfect time don't you think?"

"...Perfect time...for what?"

"You know, remember when we met and I said we should hang out so we could get to know each other?"

"Oh..yea...I remember."

"Well, what do you say? Come on, I'm sure you can be away from Rena for one night right? I promise not to keep you long."

"Uh...sure."

"Great! Well, we'll see you guys later!"

With that, Goku and Hiei walked off, leaving a very worried Rena.

"You think he knows?"

"Rena, this is your dad were talking about. He couldn't figure it out even if he saw it himself."

"Well I wouldn't have to worry at all if you hadn't of said anything!"

"Hey how was I supposed to know? You told me you wouldn't keep anything from your father."

"Yea as long as it doesn't involve taking anyone's life!"

"Well, you gotta warn me about these things okay?"

"Alright, alright. Look, I'm going to bed. Today has been an uneventful day and I need some rest so I will see you later, okay? Oh and will you please tell Hiei where I'll be?"

"Sure. Later."

So Rena headed home and, eventually, everyone else started to leave. Goku and Hiei were the only ones left. He had brought Hiei to the edge of a cliff with a stream many feet below so they could talk privately.

"So, I know I'm not good at being a 'good' father, and all I ever do is fight, but this is my little girl and I just want to make sure that your going to take care of her. And...because I know.."

"Ugh...you know?"

"Yes. And I don't think everyone else appreciates you keeping it from them."

"So are you going to tell me to stay away from your daughter now?"

"What? No no I thinks it's really sweet. But you can't just ask her to marry you, you need a ring..oh and it has to be in a real romantic place."

"I-I...um...(phew) uh...have I told you I'm new at this?"

"Hey its alright. We can find a ring together, How's that?"

"Um...sure"

"Great! So...you just better keep her safe alright?"

"Sure thing...sir."

"Good. That's what I want to hear."

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Rena was walking home quietly thinking about the day. She didn't like keeping something like that from her father but she knew that he wasn't ready to hear it yet. She didn't get too far in her thoughts, though, because all of the sudden a swarm of Demon insects came diving after her. She shot out a ball of energy, killing most of them, but as the rest of the insects hit the ground, they transformed into actual demons! They all charged at Rena at the same time, as she got ready to attack. She threw punches and kicks and gave all she had fighting off the creatures. She got some of them, but then she realized there were too many as they all piled on top of her. The Demons, thinking they had won, were about to start feeding off her flesh until they heard a huge yell, and the biggest light came out from under them. Then, a huge energy came from the light sending all the demons off Rena. She had gone Super-Sayian and was ready to kill them all. She gained incredible speed as she went slaying each demon, one at a time. When she finally killed all of them, she went to her regular state and sat on the ground, trying to regain her breath. She had let her guard down, and didn't sense the four Demons creeping up behind her. They all grabbed her at once and tried to hold her down. She screamed and tried to brake free.

"Get off me! Let me go!"

Meanwhile, Hiei and Goku had felt the huge energy coming from the woods. Goku looked at Hiei.

"What do you think that was?"

"I don't know...wait!"

That's when Hiei heard the scream from Rena. He had incredible hearing to match his speed so Goku couldn't hear anything.

"Uh.. listen Goku...I gotta go! Nice talking to you!"

With that, Hiei ran off as fast as he could. Goku just yelled after him.

"Wait! Where are you going? What's going on?"

Hiei finally reached the woods, where he saw the demons holding Rena down. She struggled to get free, but they had tied her with a special demon rope. She had tried to beat them with everything Vegeta had taught her, but they were just too strong and all she could do was yell at them.

"I said let me go! Someone...HELP!"

"Let her go! NOW!"

Hiei ran as fast as he could as he took off his white bandanna and began to transform into a demon. The other demons just smirked as they grew their insect wings and started fly off with Rena. That's when she noticed Hiei and began to yell for him.

"Hiei!"

"Rena! NOOO!"

He didn't want to risk shooting anything at them because they would probably use Rena as a shield. He just looked at the sky till they were out of sight, for he knew where they were taking her and he knew was he was going to have to do. Goku finally caught up with Hiei and was looking for him, when he spotted a green, three-eyed Demon a little ways in front of him. Hiei was on the ground cursing the other demons.

"Darn you! Why couldn't you have taken me? Why did yo..."

"Hey you! What the heck do you think your doing here?!?"

Just great, Hiei thought. Goku began to run towards Hiei, but he just got up and ran the other way. Goku ran even faster after him trying to stop him. Hiei knew this would never end so he tried talking to Goku to calm him.

"Listen!" He yelled out "We are on the same side!"

"No demon of this world is on the same side as me!"

That's when Goku noticed the white bandanna in front of him, What?...this is Hieis...but that can't be Hiei?..., he looked up but Hiei was gone. He stood there for a second, contemplating the thought. Something's going on...

Chapter 2: A Deception

A Certain blue-haired girl was walking along the streets of a small town waiting for an important phone call. She was busy thinking about the last four years of her life. Four years ago, she awoke in a hospital bed with not even the slightest memory of how she got there. A young man by the name of Zain was standing beside her, claiming that he had found her in the woods hurt very bad and had brought her to the hospital. He also told her that she had been in a coma for the last three months so that's why she couldn't remember anything. He was a tough looking man, yet his words spoke softly and kindly to her and she was drawn to his explicit valor for watching over her all that time. She had no idea where to go from there, but Zain offered to take her with him, and she couldn't resist the urge as she gladly said yes. She was supposed to meet up with him today and he had told her to wait for his call, but after about thirty more minutes, when he did not call, she decided to head home.

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Meanwhile, up in Demon world, they had put Rena in one of their jail cells and sealed it with a laser so she wouldn't try to get out. It had taken forever, it seemed, just to get there and then all they did was stick her in some dirty, rotten place filled with the stench of dead humans. I wonder... she thought, what they plan on doing to me? Her mind suddenly became filled with fear as she realized she was surrounded by thousands of dead humans.

"I don't want to die like this!" she yelled out.

One of the guards standing there heard her and began to explain,

"Don't worry princess, you won't die like that. We have a need for you, you see."

"A need? What do you need from me? I can't possibly help you in any way. Besides, I would never help you."

"Oh but you already have."

"What?"

"You see, there's a certain demon among us who has turned treacherous, and we needed a way to lure him here so we can kill him."

"U-uh you mean Hiei! Noo... I should have known. B-but I'm sure he knows that, and he would never fall for that trap."

"You don't seem to understand how dangerous it is for a human just to be here. There are thousands of demons outside this door, just waiting for me to leave so they can get in and eat you."

"What! Your n-not serious...are you?"

"Yes, and Hiei knows this which means he will come for you no matter what because we all know that he loves you."

"I can't believe you're doing that! You can't use me!...I don't want to be the reason he dies! I could never forgive myself!"

"Well then, fortunately you wont have to. We need you right now so I have to keep you alive, but the king never said anything about protecting you after we've got Hiei."

"What do you mean.."

"Well its my job to get rid of you then...so lets see, I could let all these demons in the cell to eat you, I could have you hung, tortured, drowned, you know, the usual. It just depends on what kind of mood I'm in and how much blood I wanna see."

Rena couldn't say a word; she just gasped and put her hand over her mouth and backed up slowly to a corner in the room where she sat with her knees against her chest. Fear took over as she began to shake and started to loose her breath. The guard just laughed at her while he walked away. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to die like that and it scared her so much, she began to cry. The only words she could say were like a whimper and she repeated them over and over again. "Hiei...I need you...help me...please..."

Goku had gone to Hieis house to find Rena but was very surprised that she wasn't there. Hiei was nowhere to be found either and he started to get worried. Trunks and Gohan said they had not seen her, also. No one had seen them, but he thought that maybe they just wanted to get away for a day or so. Vegeta, knowing that Hiei was a demon and the risk involved, got concerned and went out looking for them on his own.

Hiei was just making it to the demon gate when he saw Kurama coming out. He and Kurama were old friends and they were both very shocked to see each other. Kurama, being the calm one, spoke first.

"Hiei, I'm shocked, why would you be coming to the demon world?"

"Should I not be? And besides, why are you coming from it?"

"Please, we all know about the girl and your allegiance to the humans now. And, I was here because I needed some medicine for my mother. She's not doing very well, and I must say that our medicine is much more advanced. You know, I'm happy for you, to be able to experience love and all those things I never thought would happen to you. Just know, you don't have to worry about loosing this friend."

"Oh..well uh..thanks.."

"You don't have to be embarrassed, you know."

"Its not that...Rena is...they kidnapped her...I hope I'm not too late..."

"Oh my..well I'm not surprised, but I am sorry. I would like to assist you but I must tend to my mother. Though, when I am done, I shall help you any way I can."

"Thanks. Well I'm off."

"Goodbye, Hiei."

Hiei hurried off and ran till he finally reached his home world and began to search for Rena. Many demons saw him and were very shocked. Some ran and hid, out of fear, while others tried to fight him. He quickly disposed of them as he made his way up to where the king lived. They were expecting him and had already come outside to meet him. Hiei stood alone on one side and the king stood with two soldiers beside him on the other. Hiei called out to him.

"Where's the rest of your army? You couldn't even show me a little respect? I know that if I attacked you right now, your two men would be no threat to me so why are the rest even hiding?"

"No, no you have me all wrong. I want to negotiate with you, not start a war. Now, what is it that you came here for?"

"Don't mock me! You know why I came. Where is Rena? You better not have hurt her!"

"Please calm down. I would never...listen, let me introduce myself. I am King Braska, descendant of Tiguoro. All you see here is mine. So tell me, what will you give for her?"

"How about your life?"

"A little feisty, I see. There's no need for aggressive negotiations. I just wanted to see you come here."

"I don't have time for this! Where is she?!"

"Now now, she's right over there."

As Hiei turned his head, he saw two guards come around the corner with Rena in their arms. They had only cuffed her hands but she was filled with so much fear that she couldn't resist. The guard knew she would be weak which is why he told her all those things in the cell to make it easier for them. Rena looked up and saw Hiei and she called out to him with tears falling from her eyes.

"Hiei! You came! Please help me..I don't want to be scared anymore!"

The guard spoke up, "Hey, this don't concern you so shut it!"

He held a sword to her neck to make sure she would stay quiet. Rena just swallowed and held her breath.

"I swear, if you lay a finger on her I'll..."

"Shut up you fool!" The King suddenly displayed a more aggressive attitude as he spoke to Hiei, "I wouldn't be demanding anything from us right now when your girlfriend's one slice away from being my dinner tonight."

"What do you want?"

"There is a wizard who lives on earth with mysterious power. Its beyond belief and we would much like to woo him to our side or at least find the source of his power. You see, we are very interested yet we have been unable to locate him; but with a Jagan eye, I'm sure we could find it in no time.."

"No way! You just want to kill him like everyone else!"

"Have you forgotten that your not in a position to tell me no?"

He pointed to Rena and the guard holding her bent her over a large barrel and held the sword right up against her neck.

"Do it!...or we'll slice her throat and make you drink her blood!"

"...Alright...Just don't hurt her!"

"Good boy, now, do we have a deal?"

"...Fine..."

"Good. Shake?"

The King held out his hand. Hiei slowly went to shake it but when he did, two guards jumped out of nowhere and placed a large device on his wrist. The device turned on and suddenly Hiei felt very weak and he could barely stand.

"What have you done to me!?!"

"Do you like it? I call it the demonic drainer. When programmed, it drains all of your demonic energy and leaves you helpless like a mere human. Oh, and the best part, I'm the only one who can take it off. Guards! Put the other one on and tie his hands behind him. Make sure he can't get loose!"

"Yes sir!"

"Why are you doing this? I thought we had a deal?"

"We do. Your still going to help us, I just changed my mind on how."

"What are you talking about?"

"The man I want you to find...his name is Kakorot. Perhaps you've heard of him?"

"You said he was a wizard!"

"So you have?...Well...I lied."

"...No…"

"Ha ha ha, let me inform you on something. Tiguoro told me all about you. How you were supposed to take over for him and rule this whole planet. I was a little jealous that he didn't ask me but then he said that if you never made the cut, I would be the new ruler and that if you weren't already dead, I was to kill you."

"Then why don't you kill me already?"

"Because we still need you. You see, your going to lead us straight to where Kakorot lives so we can kill him first."

"U-ughhh...Darn you..."

"NO!" Rena yelled out loud. "You can't kill my father!"

Rena gasped and closed her mouth quickly. She had not meant to say that he was her father.

"What's this? Kakorot is your father? Oh this is so perfect! But you know, I heard that Kakorot doesn't really like demons...unless...let me guess...he doesn't know that Hiei is a demon right? Well then, I'll have to fix that."

"Uh...good job Rena.."

"...Sorry...Hiei I didn't mean to..."

"Hey shut up!" The guard holding Rena kicked her in the stomach.

"Stop! ...just stop...I'll help you...just don't hurt her anymore."

"Fine. Guards! Take her to the village and let her go."

"Sir!"

"What! You cant do that! You said you wouldn't hurt her! Those demons will kill her for sure!"

"You said for me not to hurt her...but you said nothing about anyone else."

"I can't believe you...I will kill you! I swear..."

"Ha ha ha, I love being king! Lets go men, oh, and lock Hiei up for me."

Rena called out to Hiei as they took her away.

"Hiei! Don't you let them kill my father! Don't you dare!..."

They took Hiei away and brought Rena back to her cell. She looked at the guard with a puzzled face.

"But I thought the Braska said to..."

"Just go in there for now. I'll deal with you later."

Hiei sat locked up all night thinking about Rena. He hated himself for ever letting her get kidnapped in the first place. A tear fell down his cheek as he wished he could hold her in his arms. Morning would come early, but slow. Hiei dreadfully waited for Braska to come get him.

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Rena sat alone, terrified to move. She had tried to get some rest all night and she was beginning to fall asleep when the guard came and banged on her cage.

"Hey you! Get up, were going for a little walk."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Boss wants me to kill ya before he takes Hiei with him to find your father. So come on, you heard me, get up!"

"But I-I.."

"Don't you talk back to me!"

The guard got frustrated and threw the cell door open. He was about to walk up to her when a long sword was heard being thrown and thrust into something. Rena had her eyes closed when she heard it, but as she looked up, she could see something shiny start to show through the guards belly. She then realized it was a sword, as it became more visible and cut through his skin. Rena could see a dark shadow coming around the corner and at first, she thought it was the demons coming for her but as the figure got closer, she realized it was just one man. He walked up to her slowly and held out his hand to help her up. She was still suspicious and hesitated to grab it.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"Well I would think that's obvious, to help you of course."

"But who are you? And why would you want to help me? You don't even know me."

"Oh but I do...I have been watching you for quite some time now."

"Let me guess...your some demon that just wants to eat me. Fine then, go ahead just don't make me wait any longer."

"No, you have me all wrong. You see, sometimes there are people in this world who are really just out to help others."

"Then why have you been watching me?"

"Because I'm amazed at your power, for a girl anyway. I haven't seen anyone with incredible strength like that besides my assistant and me. Come to think of it, you remind me so much of her. She's just like you, and I am sure you will get along great with her."

"What are you talking about? Get along with who? I just want to go home, not meet anymore freaks."

"Listen, I didn't want to have to resort to this but...:"

"What are you doing!"

The man grabbed Rena and punched her in the stomach to knock her out. He then threw her over his shoulder and began walking away.

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Bright light shown through the window of an old cellar and the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Hieis heart began to pound fast as he heard them getting closer. Braska stopped in front of the gate and opened it.

"Alright you filthy scum, time to get to work."

"I hope you don't think you really won this."

"Just shut up and listen. You are going to lead us to Kakorot and then I will slay him. Simple enough?"

"Whatever.."

"Oh...and one more thing...I want you to transform into your demon self so Kakorot can see who you really are."

"What? Why you..."

"And don't give me any crap about how I took all your power so you can't. I am a demon myself so I know you transform without really being any stronger."

"Grrrr."

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Rena awoke in a small room surrounded by test experiments. It was quiet and cold but Rena could sense people around. A young girl walked by the room and noticed that Rena was up.

"Hey Zain, She's awake!"

She walked up to Rena's bedside and looked at her very funny.

"Hmm...you look familiar...but I don't know..."

"B-Bre..!"

Rena looked straight into the face of a blue-haired girl with a red suit on and a red headband in her hair. The girl looked just about Rena's age and...in fact...she looked just like an older Bre!"

"Um no...not Bre...Sorry."

Then Rena noticed a bracelet around the girl's wrist. It was the exact bracelet that she had given to Bre when they were younger. But where was that ring Bulma had given her? …and if she wasn't Bre...then who was she?"

"Who...who are you?"

"Me? The names Fae. Don't forget it!"

Chapter 3: An Unbelievable Secret

Vegeta crept quietly through the woods when he heard a group of people coming. He could feel that they had incredible power so he hid behind a tree and lowered his energy level. As the group got closer, Vegeta realized they were a bunch of demons but then he noticed a certain green, three eyed demon in the front, leading them. He quickly recognized him as Hiei, but he couldn't figure out why Hiei would be with them. As he was about to confront them, the man with the cape behind Hiei spoke up,

"Hey, how much farther is this place? We've been walking forever."

"...About ten more miles."

"Good. I want to kill him and get this over with quickly. Understand?"

"Whatever."

Vegeta stood contemplating what he had just heard. The only thing ahead were his house and Gokus, but why would Hiei be taking a bunch of demons there? And who are they trying to kill? Vegeta got very worried, so he decided to wait a bit and then follow them.

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Rena sat alone, once again, trying to figure out what she was doing here. The girl who revealed herself as Fae had just left the room without a single word besides her name and Rena had been sitting there for almost thirty minutes. She decided to make an escape. She knew that Hiei was headed to her house to kill her father and she couldn't loose him again. She began to walk out of the room but as she reached the door, Zain came walking in and asked her to sit down.

"Please. Have a seat."

"Just tell me what you want. I don't have time for games."

"Alright. Fae and I are working on a project to find the answer to immortality...but our experiments seem to get us nowhere and we cannot just wish for it. Unless, we had the ability to make a wish...like say...a dragon ball?"

"What? But how do you know about the dragonba..."

"Please, we are not idiots. I told you I've been watching you and I heard you say something about how the Dragon Ball grants wishes. Now, I want to know where I can find this Dragon Ball.."

"Don't you mean Dragon balls? And besides, I don't even know where they are."

"You mean there's more than one?"

"Oh..uh..no of course not. I didn't realize what you were talking about. Yep, only one Dragon Ball.."

"I don't have time for this! Where is it?"

"I told you already, I don't know."

"Don't lie to me.."

"I don't! That's why it's a Dragon Ball. Only the toughest and smartest are to be able to find it."

"Ugh..fine then...you will find it and bring it to me."

"Excuse me? I am not your slave and I won't be bringing anything to you."

"How dare you!"

Braska jumped up at Rena, but before he could do anything, she punched him in the face so hard that he fell to the ground.

"I will not be made to obey out of fear!"

With that, Rena ran out of the room to try and find an escape. Braska yelled behind her for Fae.

"Fae! Get it here now!"

Fae came running into the room.

"Braska! What happened? Where's the girl?...wait...you don't mean that she..."

"Just go after her already!"

"Right."

Rena couldn't seem to find her way around the place so she finally shot a hole in a glass window and jumped out. She was about to fly away when Fae jumped out of the window behind her and tackled Rena. They both fell to the ground attacking each other. Rena had her work cut out for her just trying to block while Fae threw everything she had at her.

"How dare you hurt Zain!"

Rena couldn't help but start to loose her focus as she once again saw how Fae looked just like Bre. Could it really be possible that Bre survived? But then why didn't she see her until now? Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when Fae kicked her in stomach, sending her back a few feet.

"Listen!" Rena called out. "Is Fae your real name? Does then name Bre sound familiar to you at all?"

"What are you talking about? My name is Fae. I work with Zain and I kill anyone who gets in our way, got it?"

"W-wait! Look at your wrist. You see that bracelet? Don't you ever wonder where you got it?"

"Well...I.."

"Look. See I have the same one on my wrist. When I was younger, my best friend Bre gave it to me shortly before she was killed. Except now, I don't think she was killed, just forgotten. Do you remember any of that?"

"I-I I don't remember where I got it! Don't ask me things like that!

"Who's out there?!?"

A Man's voice came yelling from behind them. Rena started to run off but Fae began to yell at her.

"Don't you run away from me!!! I'm going to kill you, you hear me!!!"

Fae started running after her, but then a man stepped out from behind a tree and stood in front of Rena. Fae stopped running because she started to feel uneasy when she looked at the man. Instead, she turned around and began to run off.

"I'll...I'll get you later!!! You won't be so lucky next time!!!"

"...Phew..."

Rena breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the man, who was just Vegeta.

"Hey. I've been out looking for you. I heard a thump and then a bunch of yelling so I came to see what was up. So...who was that?...You know, it might sound silly...but that girl...she reminds so much of Bre."

"Vegeta...do you think it's possible that Bre could have survived?"

"Well I wouldn't think so...Rena, I know that's not Bre, I was just saying that she looked like her."

"Oh...right..." (Rena didn't want to press the matter since Vegeta still felt bad about the whole thing.)

"Rena, where have you been? Gokus been worried sick the past two days."

"Oh my Gosh! Hiei! I almost forgot! Vegeta, we have to hurry or they'll kill my father."

"What?"

"Just come on!"

Rena jumped up and began to fly off. Vegeta flew after her and began to talk to her.

"Rena, what are you talking about? Is that who Hiei and those others demons are supposed to kill?"

"What? How did you know?"

"Well, I was looking for you when I heard them coming and so I hid behind a tree, where I heard them talking about going to kill someone."

"Then you should have followed them!"

"Well I didn't know who they were talking about? What the heck happened while you were gone?"

"Some demons kidnapped me and brought me to the demon world. They were trying to use me to lure Hiei there because they want to kill him. So, he came to rescue me and made a deal with the king but the king broke it and put these cuffs on Hiei that drained all his power and then he made Hiei lead them to my father's house. They said that if he didn't...they would kill me.."

"So he's doing it for you then."

"Yes. Except he doesn't know that I escaped last night. That girl you saw, the man that she's with helped me escape, but only because he wanted me to find a Dragon Ball for him. I was trying to escape from them when you showed up."

"I see. Lets hurry then, maybe we won't be too late."

"Hopefully...They're going to tell my father that Hiei is a demon..."

"How did they know Goku wasn't aware and that he would be upset?"

"Well I kind of...I didn't mean too..."

"It's alright, I get it. Look, just don't worry about it; everything's going to be all right. Your dad is way more tough than that anyway."

"Let's hope..."

Rena and Vegeta flew as fast as they could to Gokus house. Meanwhile, Hiei and the others were just arriving. Braska stopped about half a mile from the house.

"Is that the place, up ahead?"

"...Yea..."

"Finally. All right men, stay hidden and let me and Hiei handle this. I shall call you if I need you."

"Yes Sir!"

"And now...after you, Hiei."

Hiei stopped walking and looked at the ground. Braska hit him in the back and whispered in his ear.(Your girlfriend isn't dead yet...my men are waiting for my call on whether or not to let her go. Be a good boy and I might let you see her before we kill you.)

Braska fiddled with the device on Hieis wrist and let his hands free so he could attack and gave him just enough power to defend himself. Hiei started walking again. As they got closer, Hiei could see Goku outside, sitting under a tree. He took a deep breath and hoped that Goku wouldn't be too mad at him. Braska and Hiei stopped a few feet in front of Goku. As it turned out, Goku was actually sleeping. When he woke up from the noise and saw them standing there, he jumped up. Braska had been prepared, though, and punched Goku in the face, knocking him down. Goku grunted as he rubbed his nose. Hiei could see the look of disgust on his face and that's when Goku recognized Hiei.

"Hey, your that demon I chased the other night! What do you want now?"

"Your life." Braska spoke up.

"Huh? Who are you guys?"

"Let me introduce myself, I am King Braska of the demon world. This, here, is my right hand man, Hiei."

"Wha...Hiei!?!"

"Yea, you know, that stud your daughter is in love with. Go ahead, Hiei, show him."

Hiei turned back into his normal self. All Goku could see now was his third eye on his forehead.

"You mean...all this time...you were a..."

"Demon! Ha ha yes he was. In fact, I made a little deal with him so he would lead me to you. You see, I'm finishing the work of my distant cousin Tiguoro. His dream was to defeat you but he did not live long enough to fulfill it, thanks to your daughter, so Hiei here pretended to love her so he could get to you. Are we demons geniuses or not?"

"Why you...I can't believe you would do that to her, Hiei! How could you be so heartless?"

Hiei just closed his eyes and put his head down. Braska hit him again in the back.

"Well, answer him! We would all like to know, Hiei."

"Because I...I-I can't take it anymore! I will not sit by and let you ruin my li..."

Hiei stopped talking when Braska held up a device to call his men. He could see the message already on the radio, and Braskas finger over the button to send it. Hiei just growled and shut his mouth.

"You were saying?"

"Because, demons don't have hearts to begin with. I don't care about anyone else but myself; that's the only person that matters to me."

"And there you have it, Now Goku, what do you say we get this over with? Just me and you against each other."

"I...just...don't believe it...all this time Rena thought...!!!...Oh my gosh Rena! Where is she?!"

"She's back home, safe and sound...for now."

"Darn you...You better not have hurt her."

"Well I guess you'll have to fight me to find out."

"I guess I will. How about I kill you first...and then Hiei!"

"Well it looks like I'm not the only one who wants him dead."

"No daughter of mine will ever marry a demon! Bre was like a daughter to me and she was Rena's best friend...and some demon just decides to kill her for fun. Even if he were good, I won't allow anyone to cause my daughter more pain!"

"Wait...are you referring to Tiguoro?"

"I don't know his name...and I don't care either."

"But you do care that Tiguoro sent Hiei to kill you and Rena right?"

"What the...! You know the demon that killed Bre?!? Why you little...I'm gonna kill you after I finish off Braska here got it?"

Hiei didn't say one word...he couldn't say anything. True, he did know Tiguoro but he had no idea that the Sayian he was after was Rena's father and that Tiguoro was the one who killed Bre. Braska was now getting in his attacking position.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Bring it on!"

Hiei began to feel faint and backed up slowly. He started to breath really hard as he watched Goku and Braska begin to fight. He was hurting for Rena and he wished that he could see her one more time. Braska and Goku began to power up and then charged at each other. Their hands clenched together as they tried to push the other one back. Physically, Goku was stronger, but Braska had incredible speed, which seemed to keep him on top of things. As they pushed harder and harder, their power grew stronger and it got so great that a huge explosion came from between them. At first, Hiei could only see smoke, but when it finally cleared; he saw Goku and Braska in the air fighting. Their power and speed were so evenly matched that all he could see was flashes of light as they went from place to place. Goku was on the defense now, trying to block all of Braskas attacks. Goku finally stopped blocking just in time for Braska to hit him in the face, except, like wise, Goku had punched Braska in the stomach. They both stopped for a second, until Goku shot out a huge energy blast at Braska. It knocked him to the ground where he landed sliding on his feet. He put his hand down to stop himself and immediately jumped back up at Goku. They both started fighting hand to hand again. About this time, Rena and Vegeta were getting close her house. They both saw Goku and Braska fighting in the distance and Rena immediately looked for Hiei. She could see something on the ground so she headed in that direction. Braska and Goku were still trying to hit each other, so Braska put his fingers together to form a rectangle and yelled out, "Solar flare!" Goku was immediately blinded and he couldn't concentrate on where Braska was. Braska came from behind and kicked him in the back. He then went under him and shot an energy blast that sent him flying in the air. Then, he got above Goku and smashed his elbow in his back that sent to the ground. Goku laid on the ground groaning. Hiei could see Braska coming from above him with a sword in his hand. He was going to try and kill Goku the easy way by cheating. Hiei yelled out at Goku.

"Goku!! Get out of the way!! TURN OVER NOW!!"

And right as Braska came down on Goku, he turned over on his side and barely escaped with a minor cut in his side. Braska yelled at Hiei.

"That's it! Rena's dead, you hear me!"

He pushed a button on his radio and after about 30 seconds, a voice came over it saying, "Sir, we disposed of her a couple hours ago!"

"Excellent!" Braska called back.

"What? NO! You lied to me this whole time?!?" Hiei yelled. Goku looked at him confused.

"What do you care?! That was my daughter! I swear I'll kill you Braska. And you too, Hiei, for getting her into this mess!"

"But, Goku, listen to me! It's not what you think! I told you I'm on your side, Braska made me do it!"

"No. Demon or human, you make your own choices."

"You don't understand, he was going to kill Rena!"

"WAS! What do you think he already did!?!"

"I-I, I swear didn't know..."

"It doesn't matter who's side your on! I would never allow my daughter to be with a demon!"

"Oh get over it!" Braska stood in front of Goku. "Now, where were we?"

Goku and Braska jumped back in action again. This time, Goku was furious at him for killing Rena and charged at Braska. Hiei was just standing there thinking about Rena. He fell to the ground and a tear fell from his eye. Above, Goku was beginning to get the upper hand in battle. He had hit Braska a few times and Braska was starting to loose his nerve. He noticed the sword below him and swooped down to get it. He then began to swing it at Goku in all different directions while still throwing kicks at him. His speed was incredible but Goku was able to escape with just a few minor scratches.

Meanwhile, Rena was just landing where Hiei was. She hid behind a tree and whispered Hieis name,

"Who's there?!"

Hiei jumped up and looked at the tree.

"Show yourself!"

"Hiei, shh! Or my dad will hear you!"

"..Rena..?"

Rena came out from behind the tree. Hiei couldn't believe what he was seeing, but there was Rena standing in front of him. He ran up to her and kissed her while he cradled her in his arms.

"Hey hey, its alright. I'm fine."

"But Braska said they already killed you."

"What? I escaped last night. A man named Zain rescued me…only to make a bargain, but don't worry no one hurt me."

"Oh thank goodness. Except now, we have a bigger problem. Your father thinks I'm the traitor who turned him in and got you killed."

"Oh no! Braska didn't..."

"Rena, he is so mad..."

"Its all my fault...if I had kept my mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened."

"Don t worry about it. He would have found out eventually...so what are we gonna do?"

"I'll explain it to him."

Goku noticed Rena and Vegeta down below, and he immediately stopped fighting. Braska noticed too and also stopped. They were both stunned at the fact that Rena was alive. Goku was glad, but Braska was furious. Goku also noticed her in Hieis arms and got upset.

"Rena! You're...your alive! Get away from him! Don't you listen to a word that demon says!"

Rena mumbled to Hiei,

"Sounds like he's a little bit more than just mad. What did you do?"

"I had to act like I didn't care about you because Braska said he would kill you if I didn't. ...If I had only known that you weren't even there..."

"Don't blame yourself. We can fix this."

Goku came flying down in between Rena and Hiei.

"Rena, listen to me, he's a liar! He doesn't love you! I'm sorry I have to tell you this but...he's a demon...a cold hearted demon who never deserved to live."

"No Goku, I just didn't want Braska to hurt your daughter. It was all a fake, I really do love her."

"It's true dad...I know he's a demon. I've known that since we've been together."

"WHAT!?! YOU KNEW HE WAS A DEMON AND YOU STILL WENT OUT WITH HIM? HOW DARE YOU BETRAY THE SAYIANS LIKE THAT!"

"I didn't betray anyone, dad, he isn't bad like the rest of them. He's changed, and he does really love me."

"Yea well...do you also know that he knows the demon that killed Bre?! Huh?!"

"Yes father, Tiguoro was there when Hiei told me."

"What the heck is going on here?!? Have you gone crazy?!?"

"Dad, listen, Hiei really didn't know...Tiguoro tried to kill me too...in fact he tried to make Hiei do it but he wouldn't because he does care about me and that's what really matters."

"Rena, it doesn't matter! You know the rules; a Sayian can't marry a demon. It would completely destroy our race."

"What race!? There's only ours and Vegetas family left! After us, there won't be a race anyway. Even if I married a human, my child would still only be half Sayian."

"I...I don't care! Half human is better than half demon! I said you can't marry him and that's final! Demons and Sayians don't mix! They're heartless and ruthless and don't care about anyone but themselves. I will not bring that into this family."

"YOU CANT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"

Rena could see the hurt in Hieis eyes. He turned and looked at Rena.

"...He's right..."

"Wha..? Hiei?"

"I should have known it would never work out."

"You...you can't be serious..."

"It's exactly what you told me before, and your father just reassured me. Demons and Sayians don't mix...that's just how it is. As long as we're together, conflict will continue."

"What?! What's gotten into you? You know I can't live without you."

"It's called love, and I believe you did just fine before you met me. Look, because I love you, I want you and your family to be happy, and therefore, we can't be together. It's the only way to end all this."

"Hiei! Watch out!"

"Ahhh!"

Braska was behind Hiei. He had his hand held out and the number on the devices on Hieis wrist went to zero. Hiei fell to the ground. Braska grabbed him by the shirt and began to punch and kick him while he laughed at him.

"I told you, no one double crosses me!"

"See, father, they were using him! You can't kill a man for being forced to do something."

"Fine. I will not kill you, Hiei, but I never...and I mean NEVER want to see you around here again!"

"Daddy no!"

Rena tried to run to Hiei but Goku grabbed her and held her back. Braska took Hiei and grinned at Goku.

"We'll finish this later."

He threw down a smoke bomb and it made a popping sound. Rena just yelled for Hiei as she tried to get free.

"NOOOO!! Hiei!"

When the smoke cleared, all Rena and Goku could see was dust. Braska and Hiei were nowhere to be seen.

"He...he took him back to demon world...He's gonna kill him! You can't let him die!"

"Rena! Listen to me. If you go after him, me and the rest of your family will disown you forever, do you hear me? I will not help you if you get stuck in rut again!"

Goku let go and put her down. Rena just snapped back at him.

"Help me!? When have you ever helped me anyway? You have been dead for more than half my life, you don't even know me anymore!"

Rena just stared at her father with tears in her eyes. She finally ran off towards home, crying.

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Rena sat in her bed with her face in her hands. She had sat like that throughout the whole night and she could feel that it was morning now. She wouldn't talk to anyone, especially her dad, and she just couldn't stop crying. She knew Hiei was in danger but she didn't know how to get to the demon world without a demon there to open the portal and it made her feel worse that he would die while she was sitting at home moping. Then, she began to think about that Fae girl. If Bre was alive, then why didn't she see her before? But it seemed so possible...if Tiguoro survived, then Bre could have to. They were standing right next to each other so how could only one survive? But she just couldn't believe that she had spent all these years feeling so bad when Bre was alive this whole time. Wait, she thought, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to think this through first before I conclude anything. She decided to face her again and get some answers. Before she could do anything, her door flew open wide and Trunks barged in the room.

"Rena! I have it! The proof! It's right here...Rena?"

He noticed she had been crying so he stopped.

"Are you alright, Rena? What happened?"

"I...It's nothing...I don't want to talk about it."

"You sure?"

"Yea, don't worry about it, I'll be just fine. So...where's the proof...and what's it for?"

"...Okay so I don't actually have material proof in my hand, but I can still prove it to you."

"Prove what?"

"Huh? Oh yea! I didn't tell you. Bre, I can prove that she's still alive!"

"How?"

"Me and Gohan have been thinking about this a lot and we finally realized. No one in the history of time has ever asked the great dragon to wish someone back and him tell them no, unless (1), they didn't want to come back, which he would have told us that. Or (2), they weren't really dead. The dragon can't say no, which means that Bre has to be alive...somewhere."

"Trunks...I haven't told anyone yet but...I think she is alive too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I met this girl. She has blue hair and looks just like Bre if she were older. The only thing is, she claims to be a girl named Fae."

"Yea but that can't prove that it's really Bre."

"That's just it, I would have let it go, but then I noticed a bracelet around her wrist. Trunks, it's just like the one I made for her. You see we both made each other one from scratch when we were thirteen. There is no possible way that someone else could have randomly put together those jewels in the exact order that I did. And, when I asked her, she got all nervous, and said that she could remember where she got it. So I'm thinking...she is alive...she just doesn't remember anything so that's why she hasn't come looking for us."

"I-I don't believe it! I was right...I was really right...Bre really isn't dead...She's alive!"

Chapter 4: Lost memories

...Dark...

...Still...

...Time seemed to have stopped forever...

"Am I dead?" (Bites down on finger till it bleeds.) "Nope...still alive.." Everything around was as black as night. Suddenly, a clamor of noise broke out and light began pouring into the room. The one hope inside of Hiei faded as he read the eyes of the one standing in front of him like a voice speaking, and he could see that the end was near...(Bites down on finger till it bleeds.) Everything around was as black as night. Suddenly, a clamor of noise broke out and light began pouring into the room. The one hope inside of Hiei faded as he read the eyes of the one standing in front of him like a voice speaking, and he could see that the end was near...

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Everything was dark...a tall creature stands in the middle of it laughing. A girl stands in the light protected by its warmth and brightness. Then, the creature reveals himself to be a demon and he begins charging at the girl in the light. She is no longer protected and the demon tries to attack her...and with his sword inches from her heart...

"Ahh! Noo!"

Rena jumped out of bed shaking. She sat on the floor, still breathing hard and tried to calm herself down. Another nightmare...they seem to be getting more frequent. At least once a month or so, Rena would dream about the day Tiguoro tried to kill her. She knew that he was dead but the sound of his voice...and that single gun shot...she could never forget it. Fortunately, a knock came at her door and she was snapped from her thoughts. Trunks was at her door waiting for them to go out and look for Bre.

"Come in."

Trunks walked in and looked down at her.

"Hey are you alright? I thought I heard a scream...was that you?"

"Oh...yea I'm Fine...just a bad dream."

"Well, okay. Are you ready?"

"Yea sure. Just give me a minute to get dressed."

Rena and Trunks were out walking, searching for the girl they believed to be Bre. Rena suddenly stopped in her tracks because she just thought of something...Hiei!

"Oh my gosh I completely forgot!"

"What's wrong? Forgot what?!"

Rena just ignored him and stood there, lost in thought. She couldn't believe she forgot about Hiei. The night before, she didn't even sleep because she was so worried about what they would do to him; but last night, she didn't even think a single thing about him. She slept quite well too...except for that nightmare...Then, things started to get fuzzy. She had to think about it for a second to remember where he was, and then she couldn't remember how to get there anymore. Trunks was getting nervous because Rena wasn't replying to him. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Rena! What's going on?! Why won't you answer me?"

"Huh? What? Oh, Trunks I'm so sorry...I just have so much going on right now..."

"Does this have anything to do with Hiei? We don't have to find Fae right now."

"I...no I'm fine. There's nothing I can do about it anyway so we might as well keep looking."

"Alright, but if you need to take a break..."

"I know...thanks."

At Rena's house, Goku was still steamed at Rena and Hiei. He might have actually tried to kill him if Rena hadn't of said that Hiei really didn't know, but being the nice guy that he was, he would just let him go and the demons could deal with him as they pleased. It wasn't so much the fact that Hiei was a demon, but that nobody bothered to tell him. This is very important info that you should tell your father if you plan on marrying the guy your with. Actually, at the moment, he was busy yelling at Vegeta for not telling him either.

"Vegeta! Did you know about this?"

"Well, I..."

"Oh so your in on it too? Why couldn't anyone have just told me?!"

"Are you trying to say that if Rena had told you as soon as you came back, especially once you found out about Bre that you would have been okay with it?"

"I don't know...she just always told me everything...and demons are still the most vile of creatures. Do you really want that influence in our family?"

"Listen, First off, Rena is NOT a little girl anymore. She's twenty years old and she can make her own decisions. You weren't here for her when she did need you so you can't expect for her to need you now. And secondly, I know all that happened. There were some not so great moments with Hiei but overall, he fell head over heels for your little girl and he gave up all he could have had to be with her. You have to give him a little credit before you judge him."

"I just...feel so bad about Bre. No offense, but she died with a broken heart. The two good things she ever had in her life were me and Rena, and it just hurts so bad that it had to end like that all because of another heartless demon."

"Nobody feels more worse about than I do..."

"Huh?"

Goku noticed Vegetas face turn red as he turned his head. He was truly sorry for being such a cruel dad and he wished, more than anyone else, that he could have just five minutes with Bre to tell her that he loved her. Goku felt sorry for Vegeta.

"Listen, I'm sorry. Maybe I over reacted..."

"Over reacted is probably an understatement. You left Rena with no one but Bre; then Bre left her and Rena was forced to find someone else to confide in. She wasn't looking for love, but Hiei and her had this connection and their pasts were so much alike. She taught him how to be human and he taught her how to overcome her grief. If you can't accept that, then you never should have stayed in Snakes Way to begin with."

With that, Vegeta walked off leaving Goku to contemplate on what he said.

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How to make life end: Seemed like such a cruel thought to have to think about, but Hiei wished more than anything that he could just kill himself right then and there. But no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He still had an inch of hope that he could see Rena one more time. Of course he was the one who told Rena that they should just end it. Darn it! He thought, why in the heck did I say that to her? My first and only love; the one who showed me what it truly meant to live, and there I went and told her that. Now, I will die, never being able to tell her that I really do love and want to be with her... if only I could just... He tried with what little strength he had to free himself but the cuffs that bound him were demon made, which meant they were going to be very hard to brake. The only good thing about demons is that they were much more advanced than the humans in their technology and medicine. Though, at the moment, Hiei wished they weren't so he could get free.

"You there!"

Hiei had been so lost in thought that he didn't notice the guard walk up to his cell.

"Come with me."

He opened the door and Hiei followed. The guard led Hiei to a building that he soon became acquainted with as the King's palace. Braska sat on his throne waiting for Hiei.

"Well, it took you long enough! I've been thinking long and hard about how I'm going to kill you..."

"I'm sure it was just so difficult..."

"It was because, you see, I wanted the most horrid execution process we have done to you."

"Gee thanks."

"Ha ha! You are about to see just who's in charge here. You hear that Tiguoro!? I'm going to fulfill your request as you never could!"

"..."

"Take him to the rack!"

"What?! The rack...but I..."

Hiei began to sweat as he thought about it. The rack was the most cruel torture demon world could offer. It was a huge circle with ropes on each corner. A person would stand in the middle with the ropes tied around his wrists and ankles, and then another would turn a knob on the side that pulled the ropes tighter. In the older days, demons used this tool to play games to see which demon could stretch the longest before their limbs ripped off. Now, they use it as a torture device to kill humans and convicted demons. Even still, this was the last thing Hiei had expected to destroy his life. He had watched many humans and demons being executed on that, and most of them, he had put there himself.

"Ha ha ha, Do it!…no wait."

The guard holding Hiei stopped.

"I want you to take him somewhere else first."

"What do you desire sir?"

"Take him to...actually I want to do it myself."

"Yes sir."

Braska took Hiei from the guard and brought him to a small, empty room. He threw Hiei in there and walked out. Hiei sat on the ground wondering what Braska was up to. Whatever it was though, he knew it couldn't be good. After a few minutes, a demon walked in the room with a grim look on his face and that's when Hiei realized what was going on. The demon punched him in the face, and continued to punch and kick until he was satisfied with himself. Then, the demon left and Braska waked back in.

"How was that torture?"

Hiei couldn't say anything, mostly because of all the blood coming from his mouth.

"Well, I would have killed you by now, but theres a long line of demons outside this door and they told me that they had to get in their fare share of torture before I did so. Of course, the only rule is that they cant kill you."

Hiei looked up, and realized that one of the walls had become clear, revealing the demons and their bloodthirsty looks.

"There, now one of them can beat you up while we all get to watch. Isn't this just so much fun?!

"You're going to regret this.."

" Ha Ha Ha! ..Unlikely."

Demon after demon, punch after punch; Hiei took it all. All of the demons gave their all to hurt Hiei, except for that one red haired demon who just whispered something in Hieis ear; but he wasn't a threat anyway. Braska thought that he would have to stop some of the demons because they might end up killing Hiei before they got to the good torture, but Hiei simply refused to die. Though Hiei knew that he would eventually die that day, as long as he was alive he could think about Rena; and that was all the comfort he needed.

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Meanwhile, Rena showed Trunks the place where Fae and Zain were at. It had taken them almost an hour because Rena kept forgetting where she was going. Trunks figured it was just cause she had so much on her mind. When they reached the place, no one was to be found. The house was vacant, including the lab Rena had seen earlier.

"They must have known that I would come back with others."

"Are you sure this is the place? I mean, you did get lost quite a few times."

"I know, I can't seem to focus on anything. There's something I'm supposed to remember..."

"...Hiei?"

"Oh darn it! I did it again! Why do I keep forgetting?"

"Look, you obviously don't want to talk about it, and that's fine with me but if it's worrying you that much you should probably take a break."

"I...cant remember...how to get there..."

"Huh?"

"I can't let him die like that!"

"Rena, what are you talking about?!"

"Ugh...Sorry...I keep doing that don't I?"

"Is everything alright with Hiei?"

"I...don't have time to explain. We need to hurry and find Fae though so I can get back to other matters."

"Well, I think we're kind of stuck, unless you know where they might have gone."

"...Oh! I just thought of something! Why don't we go look at the site where Bre died?"

"But it's been four years...you think we could find anything?"

"No one has touched the site of the explosion. I heard that because the building was a reactor, the ground around it is poisonous, but you know it wouldn't affect us."

"I just don't know..."

"Okay how about you stay around here and keep searching for Fae while I go look around at the reactor."

"You sure you'll be okay?"

"Yea, I could use the time by myself to think anyway. I'll meet up with you at your house when I'm done."

"Alright. Be careful."

"I will."

So Rena went to the dreadful place where it all started. As soon as she laid foot on the ground, chills went up and down her spine. The more she walked around, the more she began to feel like it was a mistake to come. Her mind kept going back to the haunting memory she always tried to keep secluded from her thoughts.

"He's right behind us!"

"At least if one of us survives then…"

"Bre! No! I wont heave you… I can't! "

"You were the best friend I ever had…"

"No!"

She then fell to her knees; sweat dripping her face.

"Stop it!" Get a grip, she thought, you have to focus on getting Bre back! …but Hiei… By now, she had a splitting headache and it was at that moment, she was somehow able to push all her thoughts of Hiei out of her mind and could finally focus on helping her friend. After a few minutes, the headache died down and Rena began her search again. She walked around until she reached the spot where it all started. Even if there was nothing left, she could never forget the place, the spot that changed her life forever. She sat down on some grass to think. What in the world would still be here after four years anyway? She brushed her hand through the grass until she came across something hard.. She looked down and saw something shiny by her hand. She picked it up and began to observe it, but it didn't take very long to figure out what it was. It was none other than a ring; in fact, it was the exact ring that Bulma had given to Bre!

"What the heck!? How in the world is this ring still here?! Surly people have picked up the trash and mowed the grass.."

But yet, there it was: all that she had left of her friend, lying in the palm of her hand. She noticed it was somewhat discolored and disfigured. She decided to take it to Bulma to see if she could fix it.

About this time, Trunks returned to his house to wait for Rena. After a few minutes, he saw her walking towards him.

"Rena! I'm so relieved to see you!"

"What? I said I would be fine didn't I?"

"I know, but you were really starting to scare me earlier with the Hiei thing."

"Huh? Hiei...I feel like I know that name.."

"Well duh! I mean I would hope so."

"Wait… I should?"

"Rena? Your doing it again...What's going on with you?"

"I'm sorry...I don't know really. I keep getting this splitting headache when I concentrate on something and then it will go away and I wont remember what it was.."

"You wanna take a break? I didn't find anything.."

"Oh! I almost forgot! I found Bres ring! It was right there in the grass.."

"No way...you sure?"

"Yea its right...oh where did I put it? Here! Look!"

"I don't believe it.. that's it alright."

"Yea it's a little beat up but I'm sure your mom could spruce it up a bit."

"No doubt. Lets hurry."

Rena nodded and then followed Trunks into his house though, she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something...or someone. Perhaps a three-eyed someone?..

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"Great job of letting her get away!"

"Like you were much of a help!"

Zain and Fae were hiding in a cave discussing the uneventful day yesterday.

"Look, we don't need to fight...we just need to get our hands on those Dragon balls."

"Dragon ballS?"

"Well, from Rena's expression, I gathered that there are more than one. We already don't know how to find one, let alone who knows how many others we have to find."

"Alright. I have another plan. I'll go find the girl and make her tell us since our first one has not come in to action yet."

"Fine, but don't fail me this time you hear?"

"Right."

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Rena and Trunks sat on a couch, while Bulma worked on fixing the ring. She walked into the room where they were, amazed.

"I still can't believe you guys found this! Its...its kind of nice to know we have a little something left of her now.."

Rena moved slightly,

"..Yea.."

Trunks spoke up for her,

"Yea well it was Rena's idea to go there, and she found it so it's all thanks to her."

"Well, either way, I'm glad. So tell me, why do you guys want this fixed so quickly?"

"I...um.."

"Uh...its just that it's so important to Rena...you know how bad she's always felt."

"Oh, well okay. It looks like I'll be able to shine it back to health and with a little heat, I can fix the shape too."

"That's great news. Thanks Mom."

"No problem honey. I don't think anyone would mind. Well, I guess I'll get started. Call you when Im done."

Bulma left the room, and then a knock came at the door. Trunks got up first to answer it with Rena trudging behind. When he opened the door, there stood a girl probably Rena's age, with long blonde hair tied down at the bottom like pigtails. She wore a pink dress and a pink hat, and had a smile that could light up any room. Rena immediately recognized her and the two met up in friendly hug. Trunks just kind of stared at the other blonde, eyes opened wide.

"Oh Marron, its so great to see you!"

"You too, Rena! Gosh, it's been so long!"

"Too long.. So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was kind of missing everyone and I wanted to meet this guy you were telling me about."

"What guy?"

"You know, the guy that you wanna marry?!"

"Oh...him...um...uh Trunks?"

Trunks realized that Rena couldn't remember Hieis name so he joined in to help.

"Hiei is his name. Great guy too. He's not with us at the moment."

"Oh, well how sweet. Rena, you always were the lucky one."

"Oh I don't know.."

"Now who is this though? I don't think I've met him before."

"You mean Trunks? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you two didn't know each other. We were really young when yall met the first time I think. But anywho, Marron, this is Trunks; and Trunks, this is Marron."

Marron shook Trunk's hand and smiled while she spoke,

"It's great to meet you...again. Hehe."

"Yea...it really is. Sorry I don't remember you."

"Oh its okay. We shouldn't dwell on the past. What matters is that we got to meet again, right?"

"Yea.."

Trunk's face turned red and Marron just smiled and turned her head. Rena laughed to herself from watching the two's actions. She could tell they were both interested in each other. Finally, Marron turned to Rena.

"Hey Rena, I also wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot for it."

"Well, when your dad came to visit Krillin, he asked me how Bre was. I didn't know why he would ask that so I just told him she was at home. I was curious why he asked that."

"Well...when he first got home, I had told him she was at your house because it was too soon to let him know. Sorry to put you on the spot like that."

"Oh, no it's fine, but does he still not know?"

"No, I told him when he got back."

"Oh, okay. How did he take it?"

"Not so good. He wasn't very happy that I waited so long to tell him either."

"The best sister anyone could have."

Trunks had spoken up.

"What? She was your sister? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"Nah, don't be. I'm alright, really."

"Oh...okay...how about you, Rena?"

"I'm dealing...it will be forever before I'm completely over it."

"We'll get through, Rena. I just know it!"

"Thanks. I know."

"But enough about that, I want to meet this hunk of guy your gonna tie the knot with."

"What? You wanna...meet him?"

"Yea! Where is he?"

"He's uh.."

Rena looked at Trunks again and he knew what she was asking so he spoke for her once again.

"Not here. He went to visit a cousin that is sick right now; you know, incase he were to die before these two finally get married."

"Married?" Rena had whispered in Trunk's ear. He just nudged her whispered back, ("Shh. Don't worry about it." ) ("Okay, whatever.")

Rena had whispered in Trunk's ear. He just nudged her whispered back, (

"Oh, I see...when will he be back?"

"Well, he's been gone a few days so he should be back soon."

"Is there a reason why Rena can't tell me this?"

Trunks looked at Rena, and she quickly spoke up,

"Oh, uh sorry. I just have so much stuff I'm trying to do that I forget sometimes."

"Right...well I'm gonna go see everyone else. It was great meeting you, Trunks."

"You too, Marron."

Rena waved bye,

"Take care."

Trunks turned to Rena,

"What am I gonna do with you?"

"Sorry. I just can't focus on anything. ..Hiei...that names so familiar but its so fuzzy, I just don't know...what's wrong with me!?"

"I'm sure it's just you being focused on helping Bre. So, we'll get her back and then if your still acting like this, I'll get some help okay?"

"..Alright...your so nice to me, Trunks. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Chapter 5: A forgotten past, rediscovered

Alone in her room, Rena sat, thinking about everything that was going on. It was so frustrating for her to have to sit there when they still hadn't found Bre and she couldn't seem to remember what she was doing before her search for Bre. At the moment, she was just sitting there, waiting for Trunks to call. He had insisted on them taking a break so Rena could clear her mind. As she was thinking, a knock came on the door. Rena didn't answer, but quietly stared at the door- she already knew who it was. The door slowly opened, and her father walked in the room. Seconds before, Rena was not anticipating talking to her father again, but suddenly, she forgot why she was so angry with him. All she knew was that she was. Not really knowing what to do, and keeping her focus on Bre, Rena kept her expression; hoping he would go away. But Goku was determined and he started to speak.

"Look, Rena, I know that you are mad at me and the last thing you want right now is to even look at me, but you have to understand why I did what I did. I'm just trying to protect you, honey. You have to understand that."

"I don't have time for this, dad. There are more important things I need to tend to. Now, if you'll excuse me.."

"Rena, wait! I know he's a good man, but I can't have that race intertwined with our family."

Rena put her hands against her head,

"What?"

"And you can love him all you want but that doesn't change who he is and who he's been in the past."

"Just go away!"

"You have to listen to me, Rena. I just want to make sure that you really know what your doing and frankly, I don't think you do."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Silence fell upon the two for only seconds until a soft chime was heard from across the room. Rena recognized the noise as her phone and quickly walked over to her bed to pick it up. She answered it, but all Goku heard her say was, "I'll be right there." She then hung it up and began to walk out of the room. She looked up at Goku once more with a confused look on her face. Goku was puzzled by her actions earlier and her expressions now, but Rena spoke up first.

"Just leave me alone...whoever you are!"

Rena then ran out of the room before Goku could answer. When she got outside, Trunks was waiting for her at the door. He had called to say that he had something to show her.

"I'm glad you called when you did, I was arguing with someone that I knew, but after I hung up the phone, I forgot who it was."

"Was he tall with black hair and wore an orange outfit?"

"Actually, yea."

"Great, now you're forgetting your own father.."

"Father? Trunks, if I keep this up I might forget who you are. What will I do then?"

"Lets not worry about that right now. I promise we'll figure out what's going on with you okay? But first, let me show you what I have for you."

"You mean it's for me? What is it?"

"After hours of molding, shining, and sprucing; my mom was able to get Bres ring back to normal."

"Well, that's great but.."

"And she wants you to have it."

"What?! I could never...that's sacred to your family, Trunks."

"It may be, but you were her best friend. She confided in you and if anyone deserves to have something of hers, it should be you."

"But I.."

"We all insist, Rena. My mom or dad wouldn't accept it if you tried to give it back anyway. Please take it, I think it will help."

"Help what?"

"Help you cope. I know you try to hide the pain that you still feel everyday. Maybe this will help you. When you look at it, you can think of all the good times yall had together and her loss won't be so bad anymore. You know it's because I want to help you."

"I know...I just...will this even fit me?"

"Just your size."

"Trunks, you really shouldn't have, but thanks. I'll wear it proudly, and never take it off."

"Good. Now, I've been looking up places on the map, and I think our best bet for finding Bre would be so search all the caves and empty buildings. I know it's a stretch, but we have to start somewhere or we'll never find her."

"Alright. Sounds good to me. Lets get started."

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All he could see was dark. After a few more seconds, light broke through with a slight blur still intact. The vision then returned to normal and Hiei could visibly see the vile creatures standing in front of him. But even that feeling was nothing compared to the invigorated stretch of pain as he then realized where he was. Hands strung up with feet below, Hieis small world crashed and he knew that his life would be ending within a few short minutes; and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't really blame Rena for not coming to his rescue, like he came to hers. In fact, he almost wished she wouldn't come for he knew that she couldn't save him by herself. But still, he longed for her soothing voice, her soft touch against his face, and the brush of her kiss...against his lips. His bittersweet emotions were playing so many games with him right now, but his thoughts did not get very far for Braska soon appeared in front of the other demons, apparently eager to continue with Hieis execution.

"Oh good you're awake. I thought the beating might have been too much for you. Its already nightfall, and we had to bring out the spotlights. I would have just hated to have had to wait till tomorrow for you to rest so I could kill you."

"Does it really matter where I die as long as it happens?"

"Well of course, I like slow deaths and I want yours to be the slowest one of them all. You are going to suffer greatly for what you did to my cousin. And now, lets not waste time. Shall we?"

Braska walked over to the side of the rack that Hiei was now in and put his hand on the wheel. Hieis limbs had already been stretched enough, and he could even survive the beating, but now the real torture would begin. Braska started to turn the wheel and Hiei could feel the ropes only pull tighter. He groaned in pain while Braska just laughed.

"You know, I was afraid that if you died I would have to revive you so I could still kill you on the rack."

"Aren't you just so kind?"

"Look, I don't want much, just a little fun in my life. How about we play a game? I ask you questions and you answer correctly to the best of your ability. If you answer right, I will not turn the wheel but just a tad; but if you answer wrong, I get to turn it as much as I want."

"What's the point if, either way, you still win?"

"Because this game isn't for you, its for my enjoyment only."

"Yea, shove it."

"You won't be talking soon!"

Without warning, Braska turned the wheel; so sharp and sudden, Hiei shrieked with pain.

"Ahhhhhhh!!! ..you ugh...you fool...I swear I'll kill you...somehow.."

"Aww and I haven't even asked the first question. Now, tell me something. Why did you give up everything, your own right to the throne, to be with a mere human girl?"

"Because.. I didn't want to be the kind of insufficient, self centered, heartless ruler that your troubled soul has so come to love."

"I know you think you've seen the light, but really you have just turned from it. Your destiny lies far beyond pretty houses with picket fences; it's just too bad that you aren't going to live long enough to see that."

"Too bad you won't live long enough to kill anyone else.."

"Oh really?"

Braska, determined to prove Hiei wrong, shot a blast from his hand at one of the human slaves, which killed him immediately.

"You were saying?"

"You creep!"

"I'm a what?"

Braska turns the wheel.

"He didn't deserve i...AHHH!"

"Go ahead, keep talking."

(Turns it again)

"AHHHHH!!!...your wicked...ugh...hateful...oh gosh...MAKE IT STOP!!!

"Oh I love it when they hit the braking point! Everyone, be sure to watch him now."

He keeps turning wheel, slowly but surely, and you can almost hear Hieis bones cracking.

"Can't...can't take it anymore...the pain...it won't stop...no..NOOOO! AHHHH! NO MORE!"

"Oh its so juicy! I absolutely adore it! Okay okay, I'll give you a break. Now, maybe you will learn to respect me yet before you have to die."

"I'll never.."

With drops of sweat pouring off Hieis face, breathing was becoming extremely difficult and his heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would burst any minute. He felt faint and could no longer feel any of his limbs except for the excruciating tugging feeling at the ends. His life was down to nothing, it didn't matter anymore whether he got to see Rena one last time or hold her in his arms; he just wanted it to be over. No pain could compare to what he was feeling right now. Even Tiguoros torture was nothing like this. He looked down at Braska with a pleading look on his face. Braska knew what Hiei wanted, and he was more than willing to grant his request. But he could never be satisfied and so he made one more threat.

"Now I know that you want me to hurry up and kill you, but I have one last thing to leave you with before I do."

Hieis eyes met with Braskas once more and the words Hiei feared most were about to become spoken. He could only watch in horror at Braskas plans..

"Lets talk about what's going to happen to your girlfriend."

Hieis heart sank even deeper, and a tear fell down his cheek. Soon after, another fell, and before he could stop it, he was crying. Oh how just a picture of Rena could soothe his pain right now. But never again would he see her; and the thoughts of what Braska would do to her just killed him. Tears still falling, he wasn't sobbing, but it was just enough to spark more joy in Braskas speech.

"I can't just let her go, Hiei. She has witnessed too much. I cannot risk having her bring reinforcements here and us end up in this big war for power. No, it should not be like that because I am already in power; no need to fight for it. I will just handle it by killing her. Or...I could bring her here as a slave...she could serve just me...do anything I asked. I've always been a loner, but who knows, things can change; especially when you've got a gorgeous woman packing around your palace...and like said, she would do anything for me.."

"What?! Don't you dare say things like that about her! Oh I swear if you lay one filthy finger of yours on her, I will find a way to haunt you the rest of your life! She's better off dead than with a man like you!"

"Oh fine then, but you called it. I shall kill her tomorrow at sunrise. I'll let her know you wanted her dead too."

"That's not what I meant...why can't you just leave her alone. You know she's afraid of this place, that's why she isn't here. She won't be a bother to you."

"Yes I know, but that would be too noble, and I can't have that said about me, sorry."

"..Just kill me already.."

"Gladly."

Braska grabbed the wheel once more and turned it ever so slowly, making sure Hiei would suffer in his last few moments. Hiei just yelled in pain as he felt his bones cracking. Then, he felt them snap. All that was left was for them to rip off and then he would bleed to death; or get eaten by the other demons. Of course, he had already lost much blood from the beatings before, and the continuing flow that came from his mouth every time the ropes pulled tighter didn't help. Now, he was simply seconds away from death, and he gladly welcomed it. The crowds had been cheering the whole time, but now they got quiet to witness hearing that final piece snap. Almost like you could hear a drum beating in the background, everyone held their breath; and then Hieis scream stopped immediately and the lights suddenly went out. The demons thought it was part of the show and they all began to cheer again. Through all the commotion, Braska was making his way onto the platform to address the people.

"What the heck is going on? Get these lights back on right now!!"

Eventually, the demons realized what had happened and they waiting for the lights to find out what had become of Hiei. Was he dead? Did his body break in two? No one could see a thing. After a few moments, the lights came back on, and everyone immediately stared at the platform; but when they all looked, no one could believe what they saw. Precisely for the fact that they saw absolutely...nothing. Only ropes were seen dangling above, but not a trace of Hiei was found. What had become of the famed three-eyed demon?

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"Rena, weve searched every cave, they just arent here anymore.."

"Don't give up yet, Trunks...shes got to be here!"

"Well Im all out of ideas. What else is there to do?!"

"I-I..I don't know...but she just cant be gone!...not after all these years Ive suffered.. I cant handle it much longer. All the guilt built inside of me...its all my fault! I will not loose her again!"

"Rena calm down! Look, Im sorry, I want to see her again too. I just don't want us to get our hopes up for nothing. This girl could really be someone who just looks like her."

"Ive known her too long to mistake someone else for her. Sometimes good things can happen, Trunks. If you don't believe me Ill find her myself, alright?"

"That's not what Im saying! Look, well keep searching alright? If you really believe shes alive, then I do too."

"Wait...what? And you are?"

"Oh no...Rena don't do this to me now...I need you to help me find Bre!"

"Bre.. that's who Im looking for.."

"Ok listen, my name is Trunks. I am Bres older brother."

"I-I think I know you.."

"You do. You just cant remember me right now, but as long as you still know Bre, were going to keep looking for her ok?"

"Alright. If you say so."

"Hey! Rena, Trunks! Ive been looking all over for you guys."

"Vegeta? Whats up?"

"Well, actually Ive been looking for Rena. I need to talk to her."

"Im Rena."

"Yea, that's why I need to talk to you...about Hiei."

"Hiei? Theres that name again..."

"You know, Hiei! The guy whos going to be killed if we don't help him...if he isn't already dead.."

"..Hes gonna die?"

"What?! Hiei!? When the heck did this happen?"

"Ok, I understand Trunks not knowing whats going on, but why are you acting this way, Rena?"

"Am I supposed to be acting different?"

"Rena, this is no time for games! Don't you care about whats going to happen to him!?"

"Vegeta!"

"What, Trunks?! This is a very important matter!"

"Yea, and Im sure Rena would be more than willing to comply if she could remember who Hiei was!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen, Renas been having problems remembering people. First it was Hiei, then her dad, and now shes forgetting me. You cant patronize her. Its not her fault."

"Oh...sorry Rena. Do you know why this is happening?"

"I don't even know who you people are, let alone whats going on."

Listen, dad. She's not going to remember who you are. Im trying to figure that out right now, that's why we're out here. This way, more people won't get involved. Now tell me, what's going on with Hiei? She mentioned something, but when I asked, she wouldn't tell me."

"Some guy brought him back to the demon world claiming he was going to kill him. And I fear that if he does, he will come after Rena next."

"Oh gosh. We need to help him."

"I know, except Renas the only one who knows how to get to the demon world."

"You mean theres a whole other planet out there? This gets more confusing everyday..."

"Im sorry, you guys, that I cant help."

"Don't sweat it. Vegeta, you need to do whatever you can to help Hiei. He cant be the only demon who lives on earth. Find someone else and make a deal with them to lead you to their planet. We might have a chance..."

"I suppose I can try. You watch out for Rena you hear me?"

"I will."

"Alright. Check you later."

"Im so glad I have such nice friends to look out for me."

"Anything for you, Rena. Now, lets keep searching."

"Right."

Vegeta went to search for a way to help Hiei, while Rena and Trunks continued their search. They had only walked a few miles when a familiar voice was heard from behind them.

"Hey you two! I don't appreciate being followed!"

Renas eyes widened as she recognized the girl.

"Trunks, its her..."

"I know."

"Alright, you both better have come prepared. Im a busy woman and I don't have time for your silly games. You will tell me where the dragon balls are, or pay severely!"

"Wait! Look, we just want to talk."

"Fine then. Payment here we come!"

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A young fire demon awoke in the middle of a forest. He found himself leaning against a tree, covered in blood. A figure appeared from behind the tree and approached him. Hieis vision was blurry so he couldn't make out who it was, but when the figure spoke; a sigh of relief quickly came upon him.

"Oh Hiei, Im glad your finally awake!"

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple hours. I carried you as far as I could, but even I needed to rest after a while."

"What was the point of that? Im going to die anyway."

"Don't say things like that, Hiei. Youll be just fine. I gave you some of my healing herbs right before you passed out; otherwise you would have died a long time ago."

"But I.. It should be over...I should be dead! Why would you risk something like that?"

"Because there is a beautiful girl in this world who would be miserable for the rest of her life if you didn't come back."

"But I told her it was over right before I left. Why do you think she didn't come to rescue me?!"

"For those reasons, I do not know why, but I do know that she didn't believe you truly meant that."

"I cant move anything..."

"That's probably because every bone in your body is broken right now."

"..How did you do it?"

"Well, thankfully your execution was at night, or else I don't know what I would have done. All I had to do was wipe out the men holding the spot lights and cut them off in time, whish ended up being perfect."

"Thanks, but Im sure I would have found a way out."

"Stubborn to the death arent you?"

"Hehe. Alright, thanks Kurama."

"Although...you did have me worried for a moment. I don't think Ive ever seen you in so much pain. Braska must really hate you for killing Tiguoro."

"Braska...darn him! He was so close to killing me...so close to hurting Rena. I cant handle too many more of these 'close calls'."

"Your in good hands, Hiei. But its time we start moving again. The first thing Braskas going to do is look for you, and he wont stop until your dead. Lets just hope he doesn't find Rena before we can get to her.."

"Oh Rena...please stay safe..."

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"Ill give you one more chance. Find me those Dragon balls or die!"

"Wait! Fae, I really don't think you want to do this."

"Oh I really think I do."

"This isn't like you! Your name is Bre. You are my best friend, and you're his sister...I think. (pointing to Trunks) Vegeta and Bulma are your parents. You are a Sayian and you love to fight. I know all about you, Bre. Please come back home." Whoa, she thought. All that just hit me at one time. How is it I can remember everything about her, but no one else?

"Well, your right about one thing, I do love to fight which is why Im gonna kick your butts!"

"I don't think this is working.." Said Trunks.

"I know...how can I get through to her. Shes being stubborn as always."

"Rena, I still cant believe shes been alive all these years."

"I feel so stupid now. I should have gone back to where the explosion took place. I should have made sure she was really gone. How could I have been so dumb?!"

"Hey you two! Shut up and fight me already!"

"Your not dumb, Rena. No one thought it was possible that she could have survived. Lets just focus on getting her back."

"Right."

Rena and Trunks got prepared to fight. They secretly made a plan to just try and hold Bre down long enough for her to remember. This, unfortunately, gave the girl the upper hand in battle because Trunks and Rena would refuse to fight her.

"Finally! Man you two are slow!"

"Listen, we are not going to fight you. Even if you did kill us, it would not help you find the Dragon balls, so why do you insist?"

"Because when Im through with you, youll be wishing you had told me when you had the chance. Aghhh!!!"

The girl known as Fae began to charge up. Rena and Trunks were taken back at the girls incredible power flowing out of her. She charged at both of them immediately, hitting Rena first; then Trunks. They were both knocked to the ground so fast that they barely saw it coming.

"HA! And that's just for starters!"

Rena whispered to Trunks, (Alright, Trunks, we better get this plan in motion before she really does some damage.) (Right.)

Fae began her attack again, but, this time, Rena and Trunks both blocked it. At this, Rena took her chance to trap the girl in a force field. She raised her hands and electricity began to form at the ends. She shot them in the direction of the girl which, in turn, trapped her in an electric current of Renas power. Fae struggled to get out, but when she touched the walls, it would electrocute her.

"Darn you fools!"

"Listen to me, Fae! I don't want to hurt you. Whatever Zain did, whatever he told you; it was all a lie! The bracelet, Bre...think of the bracelet! When I asked you, you could not tell me where you got it. You know why? Because I gave it to you."

"Just shut up already!"

"Don't you ever wonder who your parents are? If you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I said leave me alone!!!"

Faes anger rose so quickly, she began to brake the barrier. Rena held onto the power as long as she could, but it wasn't enough. The girl finally broke free with such force, that it sent Rena flying into a tree. Rena sat there trying to regain her breath. Trunks just called out to Rena to make sure she was okay, then he tried to approach the girl from a different angle.

"Fae, tell me, why do you want the Dragon balls?"

"Immortality. To live forever. We could accomplish so much with our lives if we didn't have to worry about dying."

"I understand wanting to live, but for the reasons you speak of, Im not so sure that is safe."

"Were not murderers! We are scientists, finding the un-answered questions of life."

"Kill once, and you become a murderer."

"Oh, shove it! I don't care if I have to kill a human to get what I want, its just not something we make a living from."

"I don't believe you and Zain are evil, just confused. I don't think you quite understand the essence of life. Some questions were made to be un-answered."

"That doesn't mean we cant try! I grow weary of your speech, foolish one. Are you ready to be destroyed?"

Trunks just growled under his breath. I cant get her to realize the truth... Rena was getting back on her feet, and they both prepared to fight Fae again. The girl was more furious than ever, and she began to shoot energy blasts at Trunks and Rena. They came all at once and the two had to jump in all different directions. A couple finally hit Trunks and threw him on the ground. Rena barely managed to dodge them. Trunks struggled to get up.

"Man shes gotten a lot stronger.."

"That's cause shes driving off her anger. If we don't find a way to calm her down, shell kill us both!"

Fae said nothing but simply charged at them again. This time, she tried hand-to-hand combat as she began to throw everything she had at Rena. Rena just put her arms in front of her face and tried to avoid a direct hit. Then Fae kicked Rena in the stomach which sent her flying. But Fae wasted no time, and appeared behind her only to slam her elbow in her back. Rena fell hard on the ground, causing smoke to go everywhere. Trunks just called out to Rena,

"Rena! Are you alright?!"

He began to run over there, but Fae stepped in his way and punched him in the face. He was taken back at this, and Fae continued to punch him with the same cruelty she showed Rena. Rena struggled to get up this time, but found she was becoming weaker by the minute. Not just because of Fae, but almost like that headache of hers was returning once again, and causing her to loose focus. Once Fae was finished with Trunks, she threw him down and walked in front of both of them.

"You guys had enough yet?"

Rena put her hand out towards the girl.

"Please listen to me, weve don't nothing to hurt you. Should that not say anything to you? If you would just let me explain..."

"I don't have to let you explain anything! I call the shots around here, and if you wont give me what I want, Ill give you something to explain about!"

Fae stood in an familiar position that Rena had seen before. She stood kind of to the side and held her hands like she was holding ball. Then, energy began to gather within her hands and Rena suddenly realized what she was about to do.

"Trunks! Look out! it's the..."

"I know!"

They both shielded themselves as Fae began to chant,

"Ka--meh--hah--meh--"

"This cant be it!"

"HAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

The ball of energy was enormous and she shot it at Rena and Trunks. This was the trade mark attack of Goku, no doubt which she had learned from him. It could wipe out an entire city with the proper strength. Surely Rena and Trunks couldn't have survived such a direct blow. Fae waited for the explosion to be over and the smoke to die down to see what had become of the duo. When she could finally see, rocks were scattered everywhere. No sign of Rena could be seen, and Trunks body was lying on the ground, beaten up and bloody. After a few minutes, a rock moved and revealed Rena kneeling under it. Her clothes were torn and her body was beaten up as well. A few drops of blood came from her mouth and she held onto her arm tightly. A look of disappointment came across Faes face.

"Darn it, I thought for sure that blast would wipe you both out. Hmm oh well, at least I got one. Looks like your friends down for the count, so Ill just kill you the old fashioned way."

"Trunks? Where are you? Oh my gosh, no! Trunks!"

"Oh I doubt he can help you now."

"Don't do this..."

"It will only hurt for a minute."

"Please...just listen...there was an accident...a demon...I thought he killed you and..."

"What?"

"If you would just let me..."

"I-I order you to stop!"

"The ring!"

"What are saying now? I don't have time to listen to your story."

"Just put it on."

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Fae had gotten close to Rena to kill her, so Rena grabbed her hand and slipped the ring on Faes finger. She made sure to place it on the exact finger it was on right before she died. Fae backed away and went to grab the ring to take it off, but then a huge light emerged from it and surrounded Fae. She could see flash backs of a young girls life. She saw this blue-haired girl as a baby with a loving mother and older brother. Then she saw a mean man who mistreated the little girl as she got older. There was a nice man too, who always comforted the girl when she was upset. Then, there was another little girl who played with the blue-haired one. They were always together as they grew older throughout every scene she saw played. But the last scene was about a factory. A demon was chasing the two girls and they were separated. Then, the one dark headed girl was being choked by the demon. She saw the blue-haired girl come to the rescue. She could see they were yelling at each other, then the dark haired one was pushed outside. She could then hear of few of their last lines repeated through her head.

"He's right behind us!"

"At least if one of us survives then…"

"Bre! No! I wont heave you… I can't! "

"You were the best friend I ever had…"

"No!"

The demon disappears right before the other attacks and then a light comes and a huge explosion shoots at her from all angles. Fire and smoke is everywhere and she hears someone screaming in the flames.

The flashed back suddenly disappeared and Fae fell to the ground screaming. Trunks was beginning to get up when he noticed Faes actions.

"Oh my gosh that girl is me! That girl was right! All this time she was right...Im about to kill my best friend! What happened to me!?!"

She looked at Rena with tear filled eyes. This girl that she has been trying to kill was really her best friend. And now, she looked so pitiful. How could she ever forgive her.

"What have I done?!!?"

Bre began to run off crying while Rena cried out for her.

"Bre! Wait!"

Trunks got up and knelt beside Rena.

"Its going to be okay now, Rena. Ive got you."

"But what about Bre?"

"She knows who she really is. We just need to give her some time to accept it now."

"..We really did it...shes really alive! Oh Trunks! Im so glad youre alright as well."

Rena reached up and hugged him, crying. He comforted her and then realized that she had fainted. He picked her up bridal style and started towards home.

Rena awoke early the next morning in a room unbeknownst to her. She sat up in bed, but realized her right arm was very sore. She could not remember anything that had happened yesterday. In fact, she couldn't even remember her own name! A few things in the room she thought were familiar to her, but as far as pictures of people, she was clueless. One image remained in her mind, though. It was of a boy with purple hair. He seemed kind and gentle and about her age. She couldn't stop seeing the image so she set out to search for the boy. As she exited the home she had found herself in, she spotted a young, blonde headed girl walking towards her.

"Well hello there, Rena. Just the person I wanted to see."

"Rena? Oh is that my name?"

"Of course it is silly."

"Oh thank you! Ive been wondering that ever since I woke up."

"Umm okay...is everything alright?"

"Oh yea, just peachy!"

"Peachy?...strange..."

"Okay, now that Ive got that settled, on to bigger matters. Im looking for this guy. He has purple hair and...well...yep that's about all I know."

"Are you referring to Trunks?"

"Trunks...you mean like a pair of underwear? Or is this something you put clothes in? And what does that have to do with who Im looking for?"

"Okay Rena, I think you need some rest. Yea, a nice little nap should do the trick."

"But I need to find that boy."

"Look, your in no condition to..."

"Marron? Rena? Whats going on? Rena, you should be resting still."

Trunks had come around the corner and was standing there, facing the girls. Rena almost immediately recognized him, and began to shout,

"Hey, your that guy! Ive been looking for you!"

Marron just rolled her eyes at the poor girl and explained to Trunks.

"It would seem our friend here has lost a little more than just some blood from yesterday."

"She hasn't completely forgotten everything has she?"

Rena sat on the ground and began to think.

"Hmm, I feel like Im supposed to be doing something right now."

"Forgotten? Well that would explain a lot about why she was acting so weird the other day.."

"Yea, sorry about that. Darn it, and we were in the middle of something too!"

Rena jumped back up at Trunks comment.

"I knew it!"

"...I could help."

"Huh? Oh, well that's a very nice offer, Marron, but this is kind of personal. Its an old friend of ours weve been looking for."

Rena spiritedly let out another comment, though seeming somewhat...ignored.

"Of course! We were looking for someone! I just knew I needed to be doing something!"

"Oh...I see..."

"Its not like that, Marron. I just don't want to put you in any danger."

This time, Rena noticed that no one was listening so she got up in trunks face to try and get his attention that way.

"Hello! Trunks, are you listening to me?! Lets go find that girl!"

"No way! You need to stay here and...wait a second...you just said my name, and how do you know that's its a girl weve been looking for?"

"Well Im not an idiot who just forgets things over night! I dunno, I just remember some girl...now lets hurry!"

"You think your problem may just be selective memory?"

"Selective memory? Whats that?"

"Ugh...never mind."

Marron saw they were busy so she turned to head home.

"Well I hope you find that girl your looking for."

With that, she began to walk away.

"Marron...its nothing against you...really."

She turned around once more,

"..Its okay, I understand...really."

And then began to walk away again.

"Seriously, Rena, what am I going to do with you?"

"What? Its not like theres something wrong with me."

"Sure..."

So Rena and Trunks wandered off into the forest yet again, though, Trunks felt way too uneasy having Rena tag along this time.

Chapter 6: Pieces of a puzzle finally coming together

Hiei laid in a bed feeling quite miserable. His condition seemed to be getting worse, and Kurama couldn't figure out why. It was becoming clear to him that the battle was just beginning. Mentally, Hiei was fine; but his body was so torn that his broken bones could not heal properly.

"I don't understand why my healing herbs are not working. I just don't know what else to do, Hiei. I cant take you to a hospital because we cant let anyone know that we are demons, but its going to take a very long time if you ever plan on getting out of that bed again."

"Time isn't necessisarily something we have."

"I know. Im working on that."

"Well never make it time..."

"Unless someone knows how to work miracles, Im not sure well make it at all. With your condition as bad as it is, and Braska being right on our tail..."

"Im that bad huh?"

"Im sorry. I don't mean to be doubtful in your recovery, but you must realize our chances are slim."

"A miracle...right now seems like the perfect time to have a sensu bean. If only Rena were here..."

"Sensu beans? I don't believe Im familiar with that kind of plant."

"Renas ancestors grew them on their planet. They are a type of healing herb that can bring even your lowest energy level to top strength in just seconds."

"Thats right, I forgot she was a Sayian. Intriguing...a bean that can heal anything."

"Anything but death. Its taken by the mouth."

"Are there any left?"

"Well, Rena had a few of them, but that was a while back. Listen, don't worry about me. You go and find Rena and make sure she stays safe. Protect her until Braska is dead. That's all I ask of you."

"Don't say things like that. Im going to find a way to help you, Hiei."

"Find Vegeta...tell him whats going on...he can help..you..."

"No...Hiei!"

"Just...go..."

"Ill be back for you, Hiei. Don't you die on me just yet."

So Kurama set out to look for Vegeta.

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Zain was busily working in his lab when a familiar, yet stern voice was heard from behind him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh? Oh Fae, I didn't even hear you come in. Did your plan work?"

"Answer me!"

"Tell you what?"

"You knew all along didn't you?"

"Fae, what are you talking about?"

"The coma! How I was supposedly knocked out. What about my life before that? You said I had no family left!"

"Well as far as I know.."

"Don't you lie to me, Zain! You wanted me to kill that girl because you knew she was my friend didn't you!?"

"What? How was I supposed to know that?"

"Oh yea, well what about that boy with her? Did you know that he was my brother?!"

"I couldn't get anyone else!"

"What!?"

"I-I uh I mean.."

"What the heck are you saying? Oh I swear, you better tell me the truth right now!"

"I wanted to try out something I had recently invented and you were the perfect subject. I found out your mom was a scientist so I figured you were smart like her. I injected you with a serum that permanlty damaged the memory in your brain, basically putting you in a coma, that way I could see if it worked and I could get a partner out of it."

"So Im just a puppet for your mere pleasure? Why would you even invent something like that?"

"You have to make the disease yourself before you can find a cure."

"And if it had killed me?

"You were about to die anyway."

"How could you do that to me?! I trusted you with everything!"

"Look, Im sorry I lied to you, Fae."

"My name is Bre!"

"Yes I know. I told you that your name was Fae to make sure you wouldn't stumble across your family."

"Your despicable! I cant believe you've been lying to me all this time!"

"It was the only way you would have come with me."

"Don't you care about the life I had before that?"

"Your past doesn't concern me. Its all about the future. Think of how much we could accomplish together."

"We? There is no 'we'. Its over Zain! Im leaving!"

"Leave and go where? A few more days and your friend wont even know you exist."

"Wait a minute...we did the same thing to her! But you said it was only temporary."

"If you give her the serum in time it is."

"So if you don't heal her shell stay that way forever?"

"That was my plan all along."

"You creep! Im going to cure her then."

"And just how do you think youre going to do that?"

"My mom is a scientist remember? Well find a way."

"Fae! If you leave me, you will become my enemy."

"Well then, you better add my name to your list."

"Fae...Fae!"

Bre turned to walk out the door.

"And for the last time, its Bre."

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Meanwhile, Kurama was busy searching for Vegeta; but so far he had had no luck. Of course, he had no idea what the man looked like, so it wasn't very easy. He could only follow strong power levels and hope it belonged to a certain Sayian. But fate wasn't seeming to smile on him that day and soon, he would be forced to return. He was about to give up when he sensed a super strong power level coming in his direction. He quickly hid his and hid behind a tree. The man walked to about where he was and then stopped. Then, he leaned against a tree and tried to regain his breath. that's when Kurama noticed that the man looked like he had just come from a fight. He was short, with spiky, jet black hair; and a look on his face that made you want to stay away. And Kurama was about to do just that when the man suddenly whispered.

"Darn you...Braksa."

Surly this man wasn't a demon, but then how else would he know who that was? Unless... Kurama quickly stepped from behind the tree and approached the man.

"Excuse me."

"Huh? What do you want? Im busy right now."

"Im sorry, but I coudnt help but overhear you say the name Braska."

"Yea, so whats your point?"

"Well, you wouldn't happen to be talking about the ruler of the demon planet Jargon, would you?"

"What? How would you know? Who are you?"

"My name is Kurama. That's where I live."

"So youre a demon then?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Ive been looking everywhere for a demon!"

"You have? And what would a human like you want with a demon?"

"A deal."

"I see. Go on."

"If you show me how to get to your planet, I will give you anything you wish in return."

"Why would you want to go there? You do know of our demon reputation don't you? Understand that its very dangerous for a human to just step into our world."

"Let me explain something to you: I am not a human, for starters. I am a Sayian Jin. I know how much our race is hated among you demons, but I really need to go there. A man was brought there a few days ago to be executed. Has the deed been carried out already?"

"Well the execution has happened, yes."

"So Im too late? I cant be...He cant be dead!"

"Calm down. Let me ask you something, Sayian. Is your name Vegeta?"

"How, how did you know that?"

"Ive been everywhere looking for a Sayian, in particular, you."

"Well what a coincidence. Whats a demon like you want with a Sayian?"

"Hiei sent me."

"What? You mean he isn't dead!? But you just said that they..."

"I said they continued with the execution, and they did till the very end; but never fear, he is not dead yet."

"Why do you say it like that? Your not holding him for ransom are you? Ill kick your butt if you think you have the right to hurt him."

"Uh..I think you misunderstood me. Me and Hiei have been friends for years. He sent me to find you because he said you could help him."

"Help him with what?"

"He said something about a sensu bean."

"A sensu bean? Why would he need that?"

"Because hes going to die unless you can do something. Remember how I said they carried out with the execution? He would have died then had I not intervened. Ive done all I can."

"Oh my gosh! Im sure someone has one. Ill get one as fast as I can."

"Please hurry, Vegeta. He fades as we speak. Were located at his house just so you know."

"Right."

Vegeta quickly flew to Goku and asked if he had any sensu beans. Thankfully, there was one left that he had, and he gave it to Vegeta without asking why. Vegeta then flew to where Hiei and Kurama were staying, hoping he wasn't too late.

Kurama sat beside Hiei, watching him suffer. His whole body shook and the only sound he could make was the continuing grunting with every shriek of pain he experienced. Kurama began to really worry that Hiei wouldn't make it, but just then, Vegeta rushed through the door. He ran up to Hiei and also watched at how pitiful the guy looked. It almost made him cringe seeing him like this; all beat up with blood everywhere. It was so mesmerizing that Kurama had to actually snap Vegeta out of his thoughts .

"Vegeta, did you get the bean?"

"Oh, yes of course."

"Thank goodness. Any longer and Im afraid our friend wouldn't have survived."

"Im not going to let him die so easily. Here. Put this in his mouth. Make sure he chews it."

"Right. Hiei, I need you to chew this for me okay?"

"Cant ...no...Rena!"

"Just try for me, please."

Vegeta and Kurama watched as Hiei took the bean and tried to chew it. He barely had enough strenght to open his mouth, and the two just prayed it would work. He slowly chewed it, then swallowed. They watched more intensely at what would happen next. A few moments passed and Hiei did nothing. In fact, he was completely motionless. Kurama Vegeta got a cold sweat as they slowly crept up to Hieis bedside. Right they reached to look at Hiei, a huge light emerged from him like great power. It almost swept them off their feet, and they couldn't see anything. Finally, when the light died down and their eyes readjusted, they saw Hiei standing where it was. He looked better than ever, and simply smiled as he looked at the two.

"Man I love those things!"

Kurama smiled back and shook his head,

"Im glad to see that your going to be alright."

Vegeta just wiped the sweat from his face and gave a sigh of relief,

"You are one lucky guy, you know that?"

The three just laughed for a minute and then died down. Kurama quickly spoke up,

"Well I hate to brake up the moment, but weve got to keep moving or Braska will find us for sure."

Vegeta now showed a more serious look,

"Hes already here."

"Youve seen him?"

"I fought with him right before you showed up."

"That's why you said his name."

"Yea, that guys pretty tough."

Hiei spoke up,

"Well, what happened?"

"He just showed up out of no where so I tried to stop him, but he just knocked me down like I was nothing."

"Sounds like him."

"Well, Kuramas right, you two need to keep moving."

"Right. Oh, and thanks, Vegeta. I couldn't have survived without you."

"Well, I think I know a young, pretty blonde who would kill me if I let you die."

"Oh, Rena! I almost forgot! Where is she? Is she alright?"

"Shes fine. Trunks is with her right now, watching out for her."

"I have to go see her. She thinks I don't love her. What if she doesn't love me anymore? Come on, lets go!"

"Hiei, wait! Theres something I need to..."

"...And hes gone.."

"What am I gonna do with him?"

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Trunks and Rena were sitting in a restaurant, eating. It had been quite difficult to order because Rena couldn't remember what she liked. In the end, Trunks had ordered for her, and they both enjoyed their food. When they finished, Trunks had asked to be excused so Rena said she would wait outside. As she waited, she watched the unfamiliar cars and faces of people she didn't recognize. The wait grew tiresome and she was about to go back inside when she felt a tingle. The feeling shocked her at first but then she felt like she could feel the presence of someone. She saw a dark figure in the distance, almost as if it was charging at her full speed. As the figure got closer, she recognized it as a man, but before she could make out who it was...

"Rena! It is you!"

Hiei ran up to her and put his arms around her. He went to kiss her but she pushed him off her.

"Whoa There! Uh, in my country we just shake hands."

"But...what do you...Rena?"

"Um, yea, last time I checked."

"No, what I mean is.."

"Now I remember who you are! Hmm...its he...heo...hue...Huei!"

"...Hiei."

"Yea that's what I meant."

"Rena, it's only been three days...why are you acting like this? We're a couple, we live together remember? ."

"I prefer the word 'were'. We were a couple."

"I know...I'm real sorry about that...I was just trying to calm your dad down before he did something really bad."

"My dad?"

"It was a rash decision...I should have never said it. I do still love you...always will."

"Um, yea that's nice...look, I know we a little fling going on for a while but we came to an agreement remember? ...I do believe that was your idea also."

"Forget what I said. You know I didn't mean it!"

"Hey, I felt bad about it too, at first. But, I'm over it now so I forgive you. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm trying to look for...oh who was it again...wait what am I doing? ...oh yea that girl! Later!"

"Wait, am I missing something?"

"Your brain obviously."

"What happened to you? I don't understand.."

"Ugh do I have to spell it out for you? Okay, you hurt me and I don't love you anymore. Capiche?"

"But, Rena, I said I was sorry. You know I can't live without you. I want to marry you!"

"What?! Look, if you don't leave me alone I'll...call the police or something."

"Call the police? Who are the Police? What kind of threat is that?"

"Why you stupid little..."

Rena jumped up and punched hiei in the face. The punch literally knocked him on the ground. Rena was amazed by her power.

"Whoa! Have I always been this strong? Looks like I won't need the police after all. Like I said, stay away from me."

"Rena! NO!"

Rena began to walk away while Hiei sat on the ground with his arm stretched out in front of him. She walked up to Trunks, who was just coming out of the store.

"Hey Trunks, why do all these people that I don't know keep walking up to me, telling me the most craziest of things?"

"What do you mean? There was only Vegeta and Goku right? Was there someone else?"

"Yea, some Huei guy told me that he was in love with me so I just played along, pretending that I knew what he was talking about and told him that I don't love him anymore."

"Please don't tell me you're talking about Hiei?"

"Yea that's the guy!"

"Oh no..."

"He said we were a couple and we lived together. I remember meeting some Huei..err Hiei guy a while ago but I don't remember that."

"I think what's happening is that your confusing your real memories with made up ones."

"But I'm not making this up!"

"What I mean is, you remember a guy named Hiei, but you don't remember being in love with him. Though, I still don't get why you're forgetting everything suddenly."

"I was really in love with him?"

"Come on. We need to find him and explain what's going on with you."

"But I punched him in the face and told him to stay away from me."

"Great..."

"Speaking of which, you should have seen how hard I hit him. I was so strong, it was amazing!"

"Of course, Rena, your a Sayian Jin."

"A SayJin?"

"Sure, Rena."

"...Rena? Oh yea that's me."

"Ugh, come on, where did you leave him?"

"Hmm...over there. I think."

Rena led Trunks to where Hiei was but there was no sign of him now. Trunks began calling out his name.

"Hiei! Where are you?!"

"Why are you calling out his name?"

"Hiei! Oh where did he go?"

"Hello?"

"Rena, whether you believe me or not, you were in love with this guy and he loved you. If he really believed what you said, you probably broke his heart."

"Oh, please. Hey, aren't we supposed to be doing something else."

"Well, we were looking for Bre. I just wish I could find Hiei and let him know what's going on."

"Okay whatever."

"Look, we need to get you home."

"Why?"

"Cause it's not safe for you to be out like this with your memory loss."

"What are you talking about? I don't even know where my house is."

"My point exactly."

"Fine."

Trunks brought Rena home and explained the situation to her dad. Goku gladly offered to watch her since he realized that this was probably the only way Rena would talk to him again. He showed her room where she was amazed to have such a clean and nice room. (Of course, she was never really there.) Trunks left to look for Bre again. He was walking past his house, looking through a window; and was so lost in thought that he almost ran into the blonde walking in front of him. He gasped as he caught her in his arms just in time.

"Oh! Marron!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you."

"No, It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh...okay." (Her cheeks turned beat red) "So uh what are you doing?"

"Well I was just...(Trunks then got an idea) Marron!...would you please help me?"

Rena sat on her bed with her father flipping through an old photo album of hers.

"I can't believe this is mine! I didn't know I knew so many people!"

"Yep. You made this when you were young and have added pictures throughout your life."

"Lets see...who is that green guy with the antlers?"

"Actually there more like antennas...and his name is Piccolo."

"Piccolo? He's a flute?"

"I thought you lost your memory, not your brain."

"Is that a fat joke!?"

"What? What does that even mean!?"

"I dunno. I heard someone else say it."

Why don't we keep looking at the pictures."

"Okay."

"See, here's a picture of our family. That's me, your mom, you, and Gohan."

"Wow."

"That's Krillin and his wife 18. Then there's Marron, which you have already met."

"...His wife's name is a number?..."

"Uh, lets not get started on that again. This page is Vegetas family...and this page is of you and..."

"Hey...it's that Huei guy again..."

"...Huei?"

"Sorry, I keep forgetting. I mean Hiei."

"What do you mean again?"

"Oh, well I saw him, but I kind of blew him off. I didn't know till Trunks told me that we were like practically engaged. And I guess from these pictures, he was telling the truth."

"I didn't know you had pictures of you and him in here. So he's alive...I'm glad. Maybe I was too hard on the guy..."

"Yea well, I wish I had known then that we were so close."

"I guess I never realized...I wonder if it's too late to say I'm sorry?.."

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Meanwhile, Braska was in desperate search for Hiei. He knew exactly where Goku lived but his mind only wanted to see Hieis death right now. Vegeta and Kurama were also looking for him hoping to tell him of Rena and remind him of Braskas death warrant.

Trunks and Marron had temporarily stopped their search for Bre realizing that they wouldn't get anywhere until she wanted to be found. Marron still couldn't believe Bre was alive but she was glad anyway. She was currently inside taking a break from their search. Trunks was sitting under a tree trying to rest as well when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. Zain was standing in front of him with an unusual grin on his face.

"Who are you?" Trunks called out.

"The names Zain."

"Youre that guy with Bre right?"

"Well I was, yes. Im not sure where she has run off to though I thought she had decided to help Rena."

"I wish that were true. We have been searching for her forever now."

"Yes, well, that's great but not why I came. Bre no longer means anything to me. I now have a new plan."

"You shouldn't use people like that. She trusted you."

"She was an excellent partner but I don't need someone who cant make up their mind on whom they will pledge their loyalty. I gave her a choice and she chose her friends over fame and fortune."

"It doesn't have to be like that. We could all be friends and yall could still work together."

"Sorry but not how I roll. Friends only make you weaker. I don't have time to care for everyone else but myself. Shes foolish if you ask me."

"Youre the foolish one! Do you really think that stuff is important? And just how do you plan to achieve that anyway coming here?"

"Well that's why I came; because I need your help. I want to make a deal with you."

"What sort of deal? Agreements with people like you usually end up against us."

"Well I assure you youll want to make this one. I will cure Renas condition if you bring me the dragon balls."

"The dragon balls? What do you want with them?"

"Those are reasons of my own that do not concern you. The point is, your friends condition will become permanent unless she receives the antidote that only I have."

"How can I trust what youre saying to be true?"

"Because I have the antidote right here in my pocket. Besides, its not like I want world dominance or anything, and whether you cure Rena won't put a veil on my sunny day. Look, I am not your enemy, I'm simply a scientist trying to make his way in this world."

"Really? Could have fooled me..."

"Well, do we have a deal? Or can you live with the fact that Rena will never know your name again?"

"…Fine. It's a deal, though I have a feeling I'm going to regret this…"

"Nonsense. Can we meet back here in a week?"

"If I can find Hiei and convince him to help me…"

"Great Ill be waiting."

With that, he was off. Trunks sat back down rubbing his head.

"This is madness…"

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Hiei wandered about in some lonely woods trying to recuperate from the days events. He had been running since his last encounter with Rena and was feeling very weak. And of course, Rena didn't help the situation either. it has only been a few days and she acts like I never even existed, he thought, I know what I said before I left but I was only trying to protect her. She knows how much I love her why would she do tha--

"Well well well, look what I found. Its a dead guy walking around. Let me put you out of your misery."

Hiei turned around to face Braska standing only a few feet away.

"You know I could have sworn you were as good as dead. That I had won the battle."

"Well I guess its just not meant to be. Why don't you give up already and go home. Demons like you don't belong here."

"Demons like us, you mean."

"Im not like you anymore."

"Oh but you fail to realize that, in fact, you still are. You have always been. Its in your blood."

"I want nothing to do with you demons. Your way of life is growing old. You don't have to kill everyone you meet."

"We have done this for centuries. You pledged your allegiance to Tiguoro and now you must pledge it to me!"

"And just what if I don't?!"

"Then you will die!!"

Braska jumped at Hiei and tackled him to the ground. He punched him in the face and took out a knife from his pocket. He then lunged it at Hieis heart but Hiei stopped it with his hand. They struggled for a few seconds trying to gain advantage over the situation, but because Hiei was already weak, Braska had it most. Hiei clasped his other hand around the edge of the blade making it bleed. He used all his strength to hold it back but Braska just gave an evil smirk knowing he had it made. As the blade came nearer, Hiei realized he wouldn't be able to escape death twice; but his end couldn't be this simple could it?

Just a few more inches…

"Hey! Let him go!"

Braska turned his head to look just long enough for Vegeta to shoot a blast at the blade and knock it out of his hand. It distracted him a few more moments giving Hiei the chance to kick him off. As they both stood and looked, Vegeta and Kurama were standing a few feet off, ready to attack. Braska just laughed in response.

"Ha. Kurama, I didn't know you felt that way. Guess Ill have to add you to my list. Besides, I can easily defeat you two."

"What about three?"

Trunks stood on the other side of them also ready to fight.

"No big. It would be a good exercise."

"What about four?"

This time, all eyes turned, amazed, to see Goku now standing with them as well. Braska started to sweat as he laughed nervously.

"Whatever, I can still kill Hiei before you all can blink!"

Braska grabbed the blade off the ground and jumped at an unguarded Hiei, once more, attempting to end it right there; but Goku used his instant transmission and appeared in front of Braska. He knocked the blade out of his hand and kicked him to the ground.

"Now, Ill ask you once more, are you sure you want to take all five of us on at once? You couldn't even defeat just be by myself."

"Ill take a rain check."

With that, Braska threw down another smoke bomb and disappeared in its fumes. Hiei sat down on the ground from exhaustion and relief. Goku sat down beside him while the others followed. Hiei just eyed Goku curiously.

"You…you saved me…why?"

"I was hoping to make up for the way I treated you earlier. I didn't fully understand the situation. If I had known the whole story…if I had realized it was really to save Renas life, I…"

"Don't worry about it. I know its hard getting along with demons' especially when youve had one kill someone close to you."

"I wish I could have made him pay…"

"Not just you, either. Rena suffered enough as well, and Tiguoro…he killed my parents when I was just a child. They were good people and they never wanted me to be like them…so, he killed them and made me watch. Then he lied to me and said that you had killed them. He took me for ten years and trained me because he said the only way I could avenge my parents was to kill you. If I had only known he just wanted me to kill you because he wasn't strong enough to do the job himself…"

"I had no idea he even knew who I was…especially since I was dead. I cant believe your own race would have done that to you."

"I know it was a terrible thing for him to do, but if he hadn't, I would have never met your daughter. Goku, I know seeing her with a demon is hard for you, but after everything that's happened, Im really not like them at all. Im not asking you to accept it, but just to give me one chance to prove how much I love her. Though I don't how Ill do that now since you've convinced her to leave me…"

"Me? I didn't say anything-- oh! You don't know do you?"

"Know what?"

"What happened to her."

"Well what DID happen to her?!"

"It would seem she is experiencing some temporary memory loss…well I hope its temporary…"

"So she cant remember anyone?"

"No not really…except for Trunks."

"Right…of all people he would be the one shed remember. Guess that explains a lot…"

"Im sorry for your trouble, Hiei. Trunks exclaimed. "Know, though, that you were all she could think about, even after she couldnt remember your name."

"Yea that's why she punched me and told me to stay away from her…"

"Yea about that, I tried to find you, but you must have ran pretty quickly. I think she did feel bad afterwards, though."

"Well, where is she now?"

"At home. An old friend of hers came to visit during this whole thing so shes watching over her."

"Why is this even happening to her?"

"Zain."

"Who?" Goku asked.

"Wait." said Hiei. "Rena told me about him. Hes the one who saved her from the demon world."

"Well that would explain how she got in the middle of me and Braskas fight." said Goku.

"Yea, well hes also the one who poisoned her."

"I knew he was no good." Mumbled Hiei.

"He told me her condition will become permanent if she doesn't get the antidote in time. I had to make a deal with him to get it."

"Why would he offer to heal her after he went through the trouble of poisoning her?"

"Experimenting mostly, but also because he wants something more precious…the Dragon balls."

"What? Why? You know we cant risk that." Goku said.

"He really doesn't want to harm anyone. He just wants to be the best scientist."

"He could wish for anything and all he wants is to be smart?"

"I really don't think hes an evil tyrant."

"Sounds to good to be true."

"Listen, all we have to do is just get them for him. He doesn't know about the password so well give them to him, hell cure Rena, and that will be the end of that."

"Is it really that simple?"

"Just please come with me to find them. It will go much faster with your Jagan eye…especially since we only have a week."

"His Jagan eye?" Goku inquired. "Is that the thing on your forehead?"

Hiei didn't answer because he didn't want to freak Goku out so Trunks did for him.

"Hiei has three eyes. His third one is a special eye that allows him to locate almost anything."

"I see. That's what Vegeta meant that night. And Rena covered for you too! Guess that explains the weirdness…"

"Im sorry you found out like you did. Rena wanted to tell you the truth everyday but she was trying to avoid the exact thing that happened. Now its just one huge mess…"

"I can understand. I did blow up pretty big. I guess its just hard letting her go. I have to remember she hasn't had me in thirteen years and the scary part it, shes gotten used to it."

"Well I assure you that she was more than ecstatic to have you home. You will always have a place in her heart no matter where she is."

"Yea I know. Im getting more used to it everyday. These things just take time that's all."

A huge grin appeared on Hieis face as his hope began to restore. He was determined to win Rena back no matter what.

Chapter 7: So little time, so much to do

Trunks and Hiei had set out to search for the dragon balls. Kurama left temporarily to check on his mother. Goku and Vegeta returned home to watch over Rena with Marron. Goku also kept an eye out for Braska too, incase he decided to cause more damage. Everyone was at chi-chis house right now, except for Bulma who was busily working in her lab trying to find a cure for Rena. She was studying a book when she heard a knock at the door. She ran to answer it and when she opened the door, there stood a young girl about Renas age wearing faded blue jeans and a truckers hat. There was also a familiarity about the girl that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but she was somewhat shocked at the girls rugged look and proceeded to ask if she needed help.

"Hello. May I help you?"

"Actually I came to help you. Im a…an old friend of Renas from a while back, and I heard about her condition. I am also a scientist and my partner and I, that I was recently with, came up with a serum that can cure her problem. Unfortunately, we parted ways and he kept all the antidotes but I do have the ability to make it again if I had a lab to do so."

"So you want me to let you use my lab and make a serum that will cure Rena completely?"

"Yes. I can bring back all her memories of her past. The only things she may not remember would be the point where she lost her memory in the first place."

"How do I know that you really want to help?"

"Because I had the same thing done to me. You see, if she is not cured within the next few days, her condition will become permanent and she will forget everything and never remember a bit of her past again. Its like being in a coma. Shes in the stage of still being in one and if she is not cured, she will 'wake up' so to speak and forget everything. Like I said, the same thing was done to me except I didn't receive the serum so I don't remember anything from about four years ago. All I know is that we were close friends and I wont let the same thing happen to her."

"You…you never told me your name."

"Its…Fae."

"Oh…I see. You just remind me of someone that's all."

"Oh. Who?"

"Well, I lost my daughter about four years ago. You look a lot like her, and when you said you knew Rena…well I just thought since her best friend was Bre that…oh what am I saying, she couldn't be alive. I just have to let it go. I guess a part of me will always believe shes still alive…somewhere…"

"Maybe she is. Maybe the factory explosion was only meant to look like an accident, but really she was saved. Maybe she forgot who she was, but through an enduring friend that refused to believe she was dead, she found out that she had a family and friends that missed her so much. Maybe…maybe she is standing right here on your doorstep."

"Wait, how do you know about the factory explosio-- Bre? Could that really be you? That…that's impossible…is it?"

"If you are Bulma then you are the woman who is my mother. Rena said you made this ring for me. When she put it on my finger, something inside me started clicking and I realized, I had a whole other life before the accident."

"That ring. Where did you get it?!?! Oh my god…I cant believe it…your really alive! All this time…Bre!"

Bulma threw her arms around her long lost daughter, embracing her with tears streaming from her face. Bre shed a few tears too, realizing how she was so loved. In some miracle, she could remember bits and pieces of her life the longer she held onto her mom. She could feel how much her mother truly cared for her. Then, she felt her brother Trunks. He had been just as determined as Rena to find her. She felt so safe, but then she could feel her father. She didn't know what he looked like or anything about him, but when she thought of him, she felt uneasy. She had the feeling he never cared too much for her. As their embrace finally ended and Bulma calmed downed, Bre asked her,

"Will father be happy to see me?"

"Of course he will. Why do you say that?"

"I get the feeling he never liked me."

"But that was then. He realized how much he lost when you…well you know…hes a changed man now because of you. Bre, what happened to you? Where have you been?"

"Well, after I was knocked out from the explosion, a man found me and brought me to the hospital and they said I went into a coma. What I didn't know was that he really poisoned me with same thing that he used on Rena which actually sent me into the coma. He did it on purpose so that when I woke up, I wouldn't remember anything and he could convince me to go with him. I found out later that he just wanted a partner in science because he knew that you were one so I would be too. It didn't seem to bother him that I had family missing me. In fact, he told me that you all were dead. Well anyways, that's when Rena and Trunks got hot on my trail thinking I had to be alive so to make a long story short, when Rena put the ring on me, it was almost like I could feel all of you and I don't know, I realized what she was saying was true. So I parted ways with my partner and he has all the serums, but Rena still has hope if we give her one in time."

"I…I cant believe it…I knew you should have survived. It just never seemed right that you were gone. I cant believe that creep did that to you! He caused us a lot of pain. So…you honestly don't remember anything before four years ago?"

"Bits and pieces, but mostly…no. Im sorry…I knew that you were my mother at least. And I can learn. Rena will show me. Were best friends right?"

"Rena! We need to work on that serum. Bre, even if you didn't want to be here I would find a way to make you stay. Well catch you up on everything in no time. But in the meantime, you can explain the rest while we work okay? And then Ill tell you whats going on to get you prepared to meet everyone else."

"It sounds perfect. I have one request though, please don't reveal my identity to anyone else until this whole thing is over. Id like to focus on helping Rena right now, and then well see."

"It's a deal."

"Thanks."

So Bre and Bulma went to work on healing their beloved friend, and catching up on the past. But time was running out, and Zain was expecting his dragon balls soon. Will their wits be enough to heal Rena before they have to hand over the Dragonballs?

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Trunks and Hiei marched solemnly through some woods searching for the three star Dragon ball. So far, they had only been capable of finding two and it was already Wednesday. Hiei couldn't seem to focus properly on his mission for he kept thinking back to Rena. Trunks had been aware of this for some time now and finally spoke his concern.

"Hiei. I know that you are worried about Rena but right now we need to focus on getting the Dragon balls. I took you with me because I know that we could have found them all by now; but that was with your help. I cant do this alone. don't you want to be with Rena?"

"Maybe Im making a mistake…"

"Huh?"

"It just never works out between us. Something always comes along and ruins us. She doesn't even know me anymore, I mean, youre the only she remembered for crying out loud!"

"Hiei. I think youre taking this a little too far."

"Or maybe Im just seeing whats meant to be. I mean lets face it, you had her first. She liked you before I came along."

"But the difference is that you didn't try to steal her from anyone. You didn't even want her, but somehow you two connect and that's what makes yall so special. That's what proves its not a mistake."

"Well…I guess so…"

"Look, there were other reasons behind all this. Rena and I were searching for her best friend Bre when it all started happening…"

"You mean her dead best friend?"

"Yes, well, that's the biggest shock…she isn't dead…"

"What?!? Rena was distraught over her death. I remember her telling me all the stories of their childhood. I cant believe she survived what Tiguoro did to her."

"Think about it, from what I gathered before he died, Tiguoro didn't bother wasting his time on those weaker than him. He was trying to get to Rena, not Bre' I think that he really didn't want to kill her. Unfortunately, she was hurt pretty bad and some man found her and sheltered her and then took her with him."

"Yea, but didn't she want to come back home?"

"The man who found her was Zain. And Im sure that you have already guessed, he did the same thing to her that's happening to Rena; except Bres condition has now become permanent."

"I see. Wow, that changes a lot. Did you ever find her?"

"Even after Rena forgot everything, she still had a strong desire to find Bre, though she couldn't remember who we had been searching for. So, we finally did find her and somehow when Rena put her ring on Bre, it was like she saw her whole past and from that, she stopped her tyrant of trying to kill us and ran off."

"Poor Rena having to endure that torture…Im glad yall finally convinced her."

"Yea, the only problem is, we havent seen her since. I just hope she comes home soon. I took for granite having a lil sis, and her father would give anything right now to have her back again."

"I remember Rena telling me…sorry for being so winy earlier. It feels like the last week of life was decades ago. I havent been able to shake off Braska yet either."

"I heard what happened to you…probably the worst torture I have ever heard of someone enduring. I dunno how you survived that. You must have wanted to see Rena again really bad. No offense, but that's some pretty messed up planet dude."

"I only regret that I used to be a part of it."

"Don't. If that were the case then we would have had to disown Vegeta a long time ago for the things hes done. I mean his lifes ambition used to be Gokus death you know. People make mistakes, but they can learn to change. Sometimes it takes the death of your daughter, other times it takes a simple girl looking for a friend."

"Interesting, I didn't know that. I know…your right. Well, guess we should get to work huh? Ill try harder to concentrate. Don't worry, I can have all these babies found within minutes."

"Youre that good huh?"

"Watch and Learn."

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Bulma and Bre worked restlessly to find a cure but to no avail for their efforts proved useless and their hope began to fail them. Bre buried her face in her hands and cried softly.

"Just think whats gonna happen if we cant cure her!"

"We cant give up yet. If we had to we could just teach her who everyone is again like Im doing to you."

"But shes lost everything! At least when she put that ring on me I saw a little part of who I am, but she doesn't know anything. Shes like a little child again!"

"Oh honey…"

"Its all my fault! If I had just listened to her! I should have never convinced Zain to come here…"

"Bre, you didn't know any better. Look, why don't we take a brake and maybe well come back later and be able to wip something up."

"No. I cant leave here until I find her a cure. Im the one who poisoned her, Mom, and Im going to undo it."

Bre! You are over-working yourself. If we don't rest now, we could make a mistake that could cost us dearly."

"…Your right. Theres no harm in taking a little brake. We still have a couple days left…"

"Good, now lets go. I think its time you meet your father."