Chapter 3: Forest full of children
-Rini's POV-
I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. Right after the blast hit 3 kids came running out of the forest like it never hit. After a while more kids/teens came out, most were teens about 12-18 at the least. "Kids living among the forest?" Trunks asked. "Maybe this is why there's a barrier" said Goten. "But how could a bunch of mere children put up such a strong shield?" Vegeta said. "Yeah its not like they're magical… are they?" Gohan asked. Just as he finished speaking one of the younger girls took off something from her head and it turned into a bow and arrow while another brought out her knife and an older boy took out his sword. "Whoa these guys mean business!" Trunks said in shock. "They think we're here to kill them." I said quietly. "Well then we have to tell them we mean no harm." said Goku softly landing on the ground. "Hello, my name is goku and we're not here to hurt you people," he said kindly, "we were just here looking for something we need." he continued. Most of the people looked confused and lowered their weapons. The one with the bow and arrows looked scared. "We don't want any trouble. We were just looking for these" Goku said showing them the 5 star ball. "This device we have" he said showing the radar, "says it's in directly in the forest." "NO!" the young girl with the bow and arrows shouted. Everyone looked shocked for a moment, before the other girl said "You heard her. We aren't giving it to you." "Look kid we need this to save us all from dying!" Vegeta said raging with anger. "He's right. If one of these get into the wrong hands we'll be doomed" said Goku. "Why should we believe you?" asked the boy. "Because we have proof" I said slightly annoyed now. "You see if you gather all of these balls, an eternal dragon appears from the balls and grants one wish. Anyone could wish for anything as long as it doesn't exceed the dragon's power. So that's why we're gathering them to keep them away from negative use" explained Gohan. "Yeah and believe it or not there is already a bunch of bad guys gathered near the city" Goten added. "So please if you have one of these help us. If these enemies get near the balls they'll wish for immortality and try to take over the universe" Goku finished. The kids seemed to be in thought when the young girl said "No, my grandpa told me never to give it to anyone". Goku smiled and knelt down to reach the girls eye level. "When I was a kid even younger than you my grandfather gave me a dragon ball too and I never let anyone touch it either. Until one of my friends told me what it could do and how dangerous it would be if any of these got into the wrong hands. She even took me on an adventure to find the rest and I understood the importance of it's safety" Goku finished and stood up. "I understand and respect what you feel about the dragon ball as I myself once guarded my grandpa's prize possession" He said. The girl looked up at him in awe and after a split second ran back into the forest, which left a confusion. "I think you scared her, Kakarot" Vegeta laughed. "Well I tried my best not to be scary" said Goku putting his right hand on the back of his head. "Let me try dad" Goten said stepping up to explain the situation but just as he was about to say something the girl came back. In her hand was…..the 2 star ball! "I guess it worked after all!" I said grinning. The girl stood in front of Goku holding the ball. "Even though my grandfather told me never to give this ball to anyone I have decided on a deal" the girl said. "Wait Elei" said the other girl, "May Percy and I know this deal before you hand it out?". Elei then proceeded to say the deal out loud. "I decided if you let me go to this 'hunt', you speak of, with you I will temporarily give it to you for it's safekeeping" she said. "What are you doing Elei?!" said the girl. "It's my decision, Annabeth. I'm not letting Zeus's ball out of sight" she said firmly. "Elei, Be reasonable! Zeus won't be happy if he found out that it's not in Camp Half-Blood anymore!," Annabeth argued with Elei, "and it's too dangerous out there! Especially with these people! Heck, we don't even know if they are human! Because humans can't fly!" Annabeth finished. "Annabeth, listen to me. Number one, Zeus gave it to me, not you, which means he trusts me and my decisions. Number two, I deserve a chance to outside Camp too, just like you! Number three, I'm 13 years old and great at every subject they teach here!" Elei reasoned and argued back. Elei closed her eyes and took a deep breath and said "I'm going with them and I'm doing it as a quest. So if you'll excuse me I have prophecy to hear," she told everyone in this 'Camp', then turning to us she said "I'll be back. Please wait." Then she took off.
6 minutes later Elei came back. "Great then!" said Goku. "Don't worry we'll keep her safe" he said with a smile. "Kakarot you're really bringing a mere child with us? This could be dangerous" Vegeta said concerned. "Hey don't worry she could even be of our help" Goku said turning to Vegeta. Slowly Elei crossed the barrier. "Well, great then!" said Goten stepping up. "Hi my name's Goten. You must be Elei?" he said lending out a hand. Elei giggled and said "My name isn't Elei, it's a nickname, though you have no right to call me that! My name is Electra Lights and I am not a mere child, but I wish I was." Electra said the last part mostly to Vegeta. Vegeta turned his head away in a sassy motion saying "hm". Electra then took Goten's hand in a firm but soft handshake. I finally took the courage and walked up to Electra. "Hi my name's Rini and I guess welcome to the group?" I said with a smile. "Um…," she started awkwardly, "thanks…" she finished. I felt the awkward and slowly stepped back. Trunks introduced himself next. "Hi! I'm Trunks and please don't mind my father he's always like that" he said. "That's enough, Trunks" Vegeta half yelled. I looked at Electra and I could tell she was holding in a laugh. Then after she got control over her laughter she just nodded. Gohan came up and said "Hey, I'm Gohan, Goten's older brother". "Cool!" she said. I could tell she was starting to feel awkward because of all these people saying 'Hello' and the same thing practically over and over again. "Well I already introduced myself let's get going" Goku said. But before he could take off I realized something. "Hey wait Goku! Electra can't fly" I said. "Oh yeah almost forgot about that" he said rubbing the back of his head. "Someone needs to carry her i guess." I suggested. "I'll do it. "Gohan suggested. "Ok then" Goku said. "Wait Gohan," said Goten, "Let me" Goten stopped him. "You sure bro?" Gohan asked. "I'm positive." he replied. Before Electra could protest Goten scooped her up bridal style. "Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Electra gasped. "Whoa there. Is everything ok?" asked Goten. "I-I don't want to fly" she replied while he slowly put her down. "I'm afraid of heights" she explained. "Oh, I guess we'll have to continue on foot then" Goku said. "What!?" Vegeta yelled. "You cowards can waste all your time you want, I'm leaving" and with a rage he was gone. "I could call my dad and he can give us a ride." Electra suggested. This made Vegeta stop midway. "Are you crazy?," he said "Driving takes way too long and we don't all that time!" he yelled. Electra laughed. "You don't understand. He can drive us where we want to go in the speed of light, I mean he is the Sun god. Everyone including me got confused. "Look kid we don't have time for your imagination" Vegeta snapped. "You don't believe me do you? Fine then! I'll prove it! But before anything," she turned to me, "Rini promise me you will ignore my dad when he flirts with you? Please?" she asked me. "I..uh...ok? uh" I said slightly red in the face. "Excuse me?" Trunks barged in, "Tell your made-up dad no to flirt with my Girlfriend! Or else-" before Trunks could finish Electra cut him off. "Apollo is not made up! I'll tell you everything when we're in the car!" she said with an angry tone. Then she very quickly changed her tone back to normal, "Alright, there's a cliff very nearby. we have to go there first." she informed us. "Ok then" Goku answered. "Lead the way" Goten said. Then Electra closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating on something. Suddenly there was a ray of sunlight in the dark forest. "Wow" I said amazed. "Did you do that?" Gohan asked. "Yes. It will show the way." she said with no emotion on her face. It seemed like after 20 minutes of walking, we finally reached the so called cliff. "You might want to close your eyes when I tell you to," Electra warned us. "Why?" Goten asked. "Because, like I said, my dad is the Sun god and last time I checked the sun was bright. So unless you want to be permanently blind, I suggest you look away and cover your eyes," she said sassily. Then she closed her eyes like before and concentrated. Next she opened her eyes and said "Close your eyes now and look away." I did as she said. I couldn't see anything but I could feel a huge amount of godly power coming our way. I knew the others probably felt it too. The power grew stronger as it came closer and I could feel the heat of the sun rise. 'No wonder they call him the Sun God' I thought. I awaited Electra's commands as to what to do next. "DAD!" Electar yelled. I guess that was our cue to open our eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw the hottest 17 year old I have ever seen, even hotter than those Tumblr Boys. How can he be the
father of this girl when shes about 13?Oh my god! What will Trunks say if he found out? "Hey sweety!" he said to me. "DAD! SHE'S MY FRIEND! STOP IT!" Electra screamed. "And she already has a boyfriend, who happens to be right here by her side!" Trunks said grabbing my hand. This made my face turn red. "Exactly! No wonder Aunt Artemis doesn't ask for a ride from you. You flirt wayyyyy too much with females!" she pointed out. His smile fell. "So, you said these people were your friends," Apollo asked. Electra nodded. "Then why are friends with old people?" he said pointing his face to Vegeta, Goku and Gohan. Electra opened her mouth to protest but closed it again. She opened it again and said "Touché." I couldn't help but laugh. "Hey I'm not old...am I?" Gohan asked confused. "You have a daughter Gohan. People with children are considered old" I said. "She's right" Goten said. "I told you, you are old" he finished. "Enough!" Vegeta said. "We should go on with the plan and gather the dragon balls" he said. "Yeah your moms are gonna be worried if we don't hurry" Goku said. Electra frowned at that comment. "Are you ok?" Goten asked. "Why should I not be?" she said with a big smile on her face that covered the sadness. I could tell that smile was fake. Goten seemed a little confused. "Dad my friends need a small lift," she continued, "We are kind of going on a hunt for these magical balls like the one grandpa gave me" she finished. "You mean Zeus, right?" he asked. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you something. Can you help me explain to them that I am not a normal little girl?" she glared at Vegeta as she said 'Little girl'. "Uh, sure" her father replied. "You see fellows, I am Apollo. The Sun God and she one of my many daughters and sons. We're like a big godly family where Zeus, the God of the Skies and Thunder, is her grandpa and Hera her grandma and there are other gods who hooked up with mortal people and have children. These children are called Demigods and they possess special powers inherited from their godly parents. So ya see she ain't no normal child. Happy?" he finished, turning to Electra. "You could've done better, but at least you didn't say it in a haiku." Electra replied. "So you're saying that you and so many others are gods like the guardians of earth?" Goku asked. "Basically" Apollo answered. "Wow I didn't know the planet had so many guardians! Makes the whole point of us trying to protect it seem unnecessary" he said laughing. "We do appreciate your help" Apollo said, "We've seen you beat enemies before while overlooking the earth." "Well thanks!" Gohan said. "Now are we going to go find the balls or what?" Vegeta said going impatient. "Right" Goku replied. "Alright hop in, then!" Apollo told us
~end of chapter 3~