CHAPTER 2:

Holdings are in Texas, and His Name is Diamond Joe

The sun had been on the low, setting down; the difference between temperature and altitude, burning a hole in the eyes, drilling a truck to the back of the head. The air was thin and then sun was masked, sad behind long leggy stretches of gray clouds. Time was immaterial and long forgotten like patina'd notes of some strange relative to the heart, but foreign now, irrelevant now.

Neither was ached or burdened by the luggage- it was just this pollen spell of sleep that was ringing in the marrow and the skin. Getting lost hadn't helped much, either. Their eyes strained a bit to see through the mist of sleep, and itching and dried by the fast wind. Dry-eyed tears passed Goku by in a zip. "Man,...what time is it?" he asked, out of shoulder shaky tones. He was careful and semi-uncomfortable the whole trip; he knew Vegeta would be irritated if he tried to talk to him, and so kept thoughts to himself.

"I don't know. Why don't you get a watch?" Vegeta answered like a sting, looking straight ahead, trying to move some hair from his eyes.

Goku's mouth twitched- or was it turned- in dissatisfaction, puzzlement- he did expect that to be the answer, after all. He paused- then shouted over a plane, "I just don't wanna be late for check-in time, ya know? Bulma said they'd cancel our reservation! That would totally blow, huh?"

Vegeta said nothing; just ignored the chalky statements, they were smoke through his ears, garbage to his brain, just discarded. He was trying to ignore that this was Kakarot he was speaking to, tried to push it from his mind. His blood and bones were cooling with this persistent wind...but his mind and his expression was in smoke. He looked down to the land for a moment; then back up to the sky.

Goku looked to the radar. There was not even an indication yet, no blips or Christmas lights. His heart threatened to grow heavy malevolently, but he ignored its tired pressing and pushed on. They picked up the space...

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Then the sun was on the set, lowdown, and then the night like black and glowing white off of shady forms below.

"It's close, just a little bit more, actually," Goku informed Vegeta, his voice raspy with sleep and thirst.

Vegeta was so tired and almost tight on sleep that he let his head fall in a nod where he would normally ignore the words and the implications. It was cold out; he felt that way a lonesome traveler feels constantly.

It was minutes later that they touched down, in a world of fish, lilies, and lights, convex and mirror-like in its glow flow and splendor. It was like a guitar shot and wail burning through the senses. Goku was looking wide-eyed at the lights through the cold and the magic of the place, singing like fire, and he wasn't surprised to see people were looking back at him wide-eyed, because he usually got those looks when he touched down, anyway. Vegeta felt pretty much at home, but with a celestial jungle of sound and feeling shuffling him past like it did in the cities; they looked around. This should be where it was, according to the radar- on this street...Goku looked up at the tall building they were in front of, slinging his dark blue duffle bag forward. He saw different signs- in a weird sort of glowing writing- but they were in front of what looked like a restaurant. "This can't be it!" he said out loud, gave a cry, sort of, his voice slipping from tiredness and desperation for to sit.

Vegeta's eyes flashed quickly, running over the signs and words and things before him like they were cursory obstacles. People hustled by them. He whirled around, looking with tired dagger eyes. "There! It's across the street," he said, pointing to a New-York style building with a brick facade, lights golden and clean from inside and lights like pillars of water from outdoor lamps- he said it with urgency, but talked as though to himself. Goku looked in that direction and grinned. They hurried across the street, bustling with their bags, no regard for crosswalks but headed straight across, cut across a blur of people and cars. Dodging traffic...they busted straight through the doors, and into the hotel.

It was like a dream, how clean and silent this was. Goku asked Vegeta a question about his bags but only got a muffled reply, incoherent. It wasn't that important anyway...The man at the desk looked at them questioningly- they looked urgent as fugitives.

"Where's the check in?" Goku asked, loudly and confused- almost a little too loudly. Staff looked at him as though jolted. He finally saw the front desk, after turning around, like a pinwheel, looking for it. "Oh! Here!" He grinned, but the grin was cracked.

The man looked at them, taken aback- they didn't look like pampered, primmed customers- they looked road-weary, with pale faces and reddened eyes, expressions sunken in and pressured by discomfort, cold sweat on their necks and faces- wild hair. And strange outfits, he'd seen his share, but those were all strange within reason..."Hey, Sir, I have a reservation under Son?" Goku said, with his usual tone of casual kindness, comfortably dumping his bag on the desk next to a check-in log.

The man considered that they may be lying, but his confirmation should do, anyway. "Of course. Room for two, yes?" he asked, typing something in on the desk computer.

"Yeah," Goku answered, shuffling around through his duffle bag haphazardly- moving things aside recklessly, without any sense of order...another employee crept behind the desk curiously to watch what was going on with the two strangers...Goku quit looking in the bag and looked on his person- oh yeah, he kept it tied up to his belt. Chi-Chi told him to always have it on him...he flipped it out triumphantly. "Okay! See, here it is," Goku said, bright star snuffed out a bit as he waved the confirmation papers in his hand wildly. Vegeta leaned on the counter, energy sucked by the light and the people.

The desk man took it as concierges and maids watched oddly from behind the desk, not really subtly, either. He glanced over it. "Alright, thank you," he said, with something weird in his voice- maybe like some askance opinion, a deliberate distance. He shuffled around for a moment..."And here...is your key," he said, handing Goku the key. Goku turned it over and looked at it curiously, with a set of eyes that was funny in its focus. He got his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and threw the confirmation paper in it.

There was an awkward mishmash of movements for a moment as the employees scrambled for something to do. "I'll help you with your bags, Sirs," the young concierge said, brown-nosing and false smiles, smiling as though to hide that he had just been staring at them.

"We're okay! Thanks anyway!" Goku answered, following Vegeta as he walked toward the gold elevator. The employees stood wide-eyed, looking at them with a mix of awe and disbelief.

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The elevator had a tinny bell that filled the awkward silence. A man with a tight posture was standing in the elevator with them; he got off a floor before them- then it was back to the tensity of each other's company. The ride up the floors was smooth like some kind of gold cream. Their floor rung up.

They got out quickly and went down silent, eerie halls- anonymous and private, seeming to be a zone where men knew nobody. The feeling of the air was sterile and quiet. They walked down a little. "...Yep! 203! This must be it!" Goku said chipperly, flashing the card key- if only to remedy the silence for himself. He fumbled with the key but managed to get it in, just as Vegeta's tight patience was beginning to itch. The door opened a portal. "Home sweet home!" Goku chimed to the dark, as they began to move into the soundless, person-less room. Vegeta moved past him and threw his bags on the nearest bed. Goku set about opening a light. "Oh my Gatos," Goku sighed heavily, dumping his things where he could.

"Ugh!" Vegeta let out, threw himself sideways on the bed- feeling disgusting, like smoke and smog was itching on his face, in his eyes- and with an aching chant for rest, a dull song. He lay motionless for a quick moment- but dragged himself up to wash up. Kakarot was making some kind of inane noise...he splashed water over his face, trying to forget about some things he was thinking...then went back into the room. Kakarot looked at him with that stupid expression of conversation as though he were about to say something, but he looked away and went to bed. He wanted to shower, but fuck it for today.

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Shit, Goku was looking through the fridge, a mad rummaging- moving aside little bottles of water and piles of packaged mints- where was the food?...he could feel his own stomach, an empty sick pit, cold circular wrongway turning. A sick salt came up into his throat. "Oomf," he sighed, sitting back- like he'd been knocked down by the force of his hunger. He swallowed hard to get rid of that salty feeling...

He inhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair in flustered defeat. He stood up, wondering why Chi-Chi hadn't packed any snacks for him,...but the thought was brief. He moved quietly to make his way out the door, picking up the card key on the way from the chair he'd tossed it on- pulled on his undershirt. Silence and sleep- sun just falling up like a gem through the white curtains- he moved in tandem with these things. He was just about to close the door, when he remembered that ghost, money- rushed back in, trying to forget his stomach with the mechanics of a persistent jog- money in fist, rushed to the elevator. A man and woman with big bags were waiting in lay of love at the elevator, stopping a hurried tense conversation as a third party came. Goku bit his fingernail, watching the elevator.

"Man, this is taking forever!" he said out loud, in wonderment, and rushed to the stairs. The couple looked at each other as he ran down the hall into oblivion, resumed kissing when they saw the door to the stairs flapped like a turning fan.

He skipped most of the stairs, jumping down each flight like a mix of a feather and a madman and an electric OD lightbulb...he couldn't wait to find some store where he could just eat himself into a mindless oblivion- the thought crossed his mind...too much. He could control his appetite, only for so long, though.

He exhaled sharply, a triumph sound, when he reached the last door...bullcharged right through it, into the cream lobby. Couple of people were bustling, maids were hustling with curses on their breaths, the desk man busy with the phone...wind outside by the look of some girl's hair.

And through the straight slat glass doors, out onto those pearl gray streets where noise was dim in the mix. From the sidewalk breathed a hint of warmth after the winter- the first green baby breaths of the soil. The nipping cold was still there, but it was a breezy thing, something he felt but not hardcore to the brain. Some girl smiled at him as he floundered the streets- he just smiled back...It felt nice, to be in a new place- a heady mix of misdirection and magic in being lost.

He rounded the corner, eyes up and twisting his ring absentmindedly. He saw a woman in a fuzzy hat eating a handroll as she fluttered out of a pressure door. He could probably get something decent in here- the sign above was fast and skimming, seemed to glow- he walked in, saw it similar to those convenience stores in West City, with their generic, still-standing racks of items...he passed by aisles of magazines with inviting girls on the cover, action figures with stuck expressions of shock and anger...racks of music. At the back there was the food- it was always that way- he sighed in relief as he came to that sterile back, food racked up and hung.

This store sure did have a lot- he looked around to see if anyone was as surprised as him- but nobody was, everybody seemed reticently unfazed. He looked through the selection, grabbing whatever he though would taste good- boxes of tempura, handrolls, cold flickering rainbows of sushi, rice balls. Jeez. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed to himself.

An older woman looked at him curiously. "It's a great selection," he laughed nervously, and she smiled an all-knowing smile, very mysterious.

He'd probably go back to the hotel and start out breakfast there. He carried boxes and boxes of food to the young boy at the register. "Would you...like a bag?" the boy asked, trying to seem like he didn't think anything at all of all the food Goku was buying.

"Okay," Goku answered, fiddling with his money.

Then in a happy flash, came out of the store with bags in his hand and a satisfied look on his face- apart from the rueful dog expression of hunger before. He rebounded the corner, wondering passingly if he knew the way back home. Didn't really matter, for he could sniff his way around, would find it eventually...

He passed a man with whitebleach hair, almost bumped into him with scattered thoughts, when he heard an awkward and fearsome sound from somewhere nearby. People's heads turned up and looked, but their faces were only either surprised or unfazed. He stopped short- knowing that kind of sound could only mean a dog's fear, and some kind of trouble. Without thinking twice, he ran in its direction- bags still in hand, slightly left- as the screaming rang on.

Somewhere near an alley he knew he'd never get there in time at this pace- with this sea of walrus people- and so he touched off the ground, moving high near the roofs of buildings, hoping he'd spot something from this distance. He saw people pointing to him with a mix of awe and crazy stun, and he rushed off, trying to pinpoint which island was making this sound in this thick sea of people.

He neared the scene- he could tell because people were running, yelling things like "Police!...Police!..." and talking hurriedly on phones to a rapid beat of frantic fury. He heard ripping sounds; a shrill voice on the air, riding with the traffic- and some terse statements by a girl, the rapping of feet and the shock gut sound of fighting and blows. The screaming lessened a bit, but only into shocked crying out...he touched down, near a man with brown hair and a briefcase.

The man stopped, moving awkwardly, like he'd been jolted, when Goku touched down in front of him. He looked into the sky, looking for an answer- maybe a rescue cable or something, maybe this guy was with SWAT- he didn't know, couldn't tell because his own thoughts were flustered. "Hey! Am I near?" Goku asked, urgently- with that chopped up speech you use when there's not much time.

The man nodded eagerly, pointing behind him. "Yes, it's there, hurry Sir," assuming he was from a special rescue force- he was wearing blue, after all...

"Okay," Goku answered, half-blindly, running past him. The sounds were drowned out, muffled by new sounds...Goku ran to an area that was spotless, free of people- like they had scattered. He looked around frankly- there was a woman, holding her purse and crying with a shocked expression- there was a man near her calling somebody on a cell phone...but no aggressor in sight.

A man with a baseball cap was watching, and the picture would have been perfected with a huge bucket of popcorn lazy in his hand. Goku looked at him- he was smiling. "Hey, uh, what happened here? Am I too late...?" Goku asked, puzzled, moving toward the man.

The guy nodded with a dogged smile- thinking that Goku was a spectator like himself. "Man, you shoulda seen it! It was fuckin' awesome!"

Goku cocked his head, confused. "Awesome? What happened?" he asked, shocked at the man's easygoing tone.

The man nodded and smiled. "Well, that lady was being robbed," he said, nodding toward her, "And then she was all screaming- I came out of the music store wondering what was going on- people ran all crazy, looking for this, calling for that- then, like out of nowhere- one of the Sailor Scouts came! And you know how it goes from there...man she made quick meat out of him, dude. She was-"

Goku paused. "What's a Sailor Scout?" he asked, genially.

The man balked, but his expression smeared over. "Oh, you're from out of town! I get it- hey, they're this group of crimefighters in the city. They take out all the bad guys, man- class A superheros." He paused to scratch his chin in thought. "I think it was- uhmm. Which one wears orange. Mars? Yeah, that's it, Sailor Mars, with the orange suit," he nodded. "She's got a pair of legs, man. Too bad you didn't get to see it!"

Goku paused, looking at the shocked woman, sobbing into her sleeve. "Hmm. I guess it's all okay, then, huh?" he asked absently.

"Yep, but I'm sure the police'll be here soon enough," he said, over his dark glasses, "In which case I'm totally fuckin' stuck to this spot. This city's like an action movie, man. Arnold fucking Schwarzenegger."

Goku nodded, wondering about these crimefighters. Maybe they were like Super Man. Maybe they were like Mr. Satan. He said a short goodbye to the man and began to make his way to the hotel.

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His hair was still wet; he ran a hand through it, feeling over through the cool damp. He moved things around arbitrarily- looking for some fake sugar...The phone had rung once or twice this morning; he hadn't picked it up though he knew who it was. His ears perked when he heard the click of the lock and the squeal of the door opening, and his eyes flashed to the door to make sure it was only Kakarot...

Kakarot had that usual look on his face, carrying two plastic bags. "Gee, it's hot in here!" he exclaimed cheerfully, looking around the room. "Morning Sleeping Beauty!" he said with a crooked smile.

"Morning you beast," Vegeta answered, coolly through the side of his mouth, finally finding some pink packets behind the coffee machine.

Kakarot moved roughly to the chair and threw his food down on the table- he seemed to be following something he'd only just gotten around to. He looked curiously up at Vegeta through a mouthful of food. "Hey Vegeta," he asked, "Watchya drinkin?"

"Swallow before you talk!" Vegeta snapped, frowning at the sound of Kakarot's muffled words.

Kakarot swallowed loudly, maybe a bit mockingly. Vegeta looked at him with lightning eyes. He smiled sheepishly. "Watchya drinkin', anyway?"

"Coffee," Vegeta answered, terse and rough, walking with his cup over to his bed- more like slinking over, anyway, with his usual mannerisms...

Kakarot vacuumed up some food- Vegeta sat on his bed, back facing him. "Hey Vegeta," Kakarot said, with the tone that he used when he thought something was necessary- so that he wouldn't annoy Vegeta. "I heard about some crimefighters who live in this city."

"What, you just heard of police?" Vegeta asked over his shoulder, seriously thinking that.

Kakarot laughed a little, but not with his grand mirth. "Nah, I mean like superheros, that kind of thing!" he answered.

Vegeta turned the idea over in his mind, but disregarded it quickly, thinking it meaningless, and refusing the idea partially because it came from Kakarot. "Think we should check it out?" Kakarot asked earnestly.

Vegeta's mind rung with thoughts. How could- it was the difference between Kakarot and Goku- how could someone be so professionally an aberration- a difficulty- stupidity? How could one person so stunningly irritate him? He glanced at the things on the foot of the bed like a smokestack. "Do whatever you like, Kakarot- I don't care," he said, and he meant it.

Silence from Kakarot- settled muffled into dejected quiet, aside from the plastic rustling of movement at the table. Vegeta's fingers moved, a nervous tick, without his warranting; he smoothed back his hair and looked not so far into nearby and the lightning of thought.

The phone rung and sent a bullet of heat clear through his senses. He chose to ignore its significance, what it meant, that shock of warmth in familiar feeling- took a long gulp of his coffee, flame in throat. The chime was harkening. Gel in heart, ghost shivers. He heard Kakarot move to pick up the phone. "Hello?...Oh, hi, Bulma!" He took another long gulp, this time around seeming a last attempt. His eyes looked down, seemed to look down a tunnel of blackness inside himself.

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Along the beach there was a scientist he must be suffering with the sand and frost that whispered off the water in a death cold time like this. Bulma mentioned his name to Goku, told him in her usual dogged tone that they should visit him so they could see if he knew anything about a comet heading toward Tokyo. Goku took notes diligently. She also asked if Vegeta was around, with a tone of odd curiosity that was hidden beneath layers of subtle tricking words. Goku said yes; she didn't harp on the matter.

Sundown, sleep like dew even in the tight clutch of the city lights, then waking up after sunrise...on the foreign powder morning, like waking up to an unknown view, Goku suggested they check out the observatory, or sleuth the city looking for answers in its nooks. Vegeta made some half-agreement and started getting ready while Goku waited, sitting on the bed, skimming over travel brochures with half-interest.

Goku stirred, moving forward a bit on the bed, covered in sun and yet still that sterile stationary scent. "Hey, Vegeta," Goku called slyly, as Vegeta walked by with shaving cream on his face, moving low and looking for his razor.

"What?" he answered, moving some spilled things from his bags aside, backhanding them like they meant nothing.

Goku raised his eyebrows and slapped on a silly grin. "Apparently the room we're staying in offers an 'intimate atmosphere'," he read, like it was some kind of secret. He smiled to himself, holding back a laugh and expecting some kinda snappy bark from Vegeta.

There was a short pause. Goku's eyes flicked up to Vegeta. He had his razor in hand, but seemed to stop short- seemed to be looking at something. "Kakarot."

It seemed as though there was something wrong. "Yeah?" Goku asked, sitting up.

"Can I see that?" Vegeta asked calmly, holding out his hand.

"Uh sure," Goku answered, handing him the brochure.

Vegeta took it, looked down at it softly, and without an expression ripped it in half- "Hey!" Goku cried, as Vegeta moved to the window, and with a flick of the wrist threw the torn glossy pieces out into the breeze, out to the dumpster pale beige alley below. "Next time," Vegeta warned, sharply, his flame eyes focused on Kakarot, "Don't bother me with your inanities!"

Goku sat up in protest, turning to Vegeta as he walked by. "Hey, now, come on, you don't have to be such a-!" he started, in a strong voice of objection, but was cut off by the affected slamming of the bathroom door. He stopped himself short, confused and irritated at how Vegeta could be so difficult- but in the midst of feeling the heat of anger, he cooled, collapsed into laughter, falling over on the bed and clutching his empty pit stomach.

Then, though he'd pulled that joke, sufficed to irritate Vegeta with that little prank, he had to sit there bored and hungry for twenty more minutes- counting by the invisible threads of thought, clockhand going backward, only distracted by the arbitrary sound of water running from behind that locked door. A slash of light hit the floor when the door opened. They left the room with only Kakarot's informative mutterings trailing on the scene behind them.

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Wintry, outside; the street wound up in powder white and the gray of steel and trains, the tar dark gray that wound up and filled out the skeleton with flesh, roseing and delicately living. There was this freight train romance to the streets that rose up in the swirling mist from under spinning tires, spun in the air, off to the cold gray sky. Today was colored white and gray. Vegeta could feel those first reverie wet drops on his nose like a sudden touch, and looked up to the sky with quick fleeting eyes- it began to snow, dust and talcum. A breath of ice caressed his skin as though it were a good thing- he should have brought a jacket, dem feckin' cold...that hard hearted touch, as though it were gentle...

They checked shit out by air, above those gloomy romance streets...it was a feeling of impending gloom, that stuffy feeling of privacy lost, whenever that bad sense of power hit them from far off, not too far off, in black space. There were no concrete foundations- every feeling slipped off the changing turf of intuition, malleable grounds. The only fact was their sensing power coming straight to Tokyo- like the pinnacle force of an onyx spear, it was heady destiny that was funneling down from out there, and it could only have dreadful affirmation in that quick exchange of the heavy glance- when eyes when lightning behind them connected and confirmed a truth made of iron, like a wall.

Sometimes to feel it was uncomfortable, and they would have to distract themselves to keep a clear head. "How long do you think it'll be, at that rate?" Goku asked Vegeta, a casual throwback, spinning around once like a torpedo, sailing past a pretending green park.

"I don't know. Days," Vegeta huffed back, in a voice like choking on smoke. His eyes, cool and cloudy, rested on the dark sea to the left. He had this feeling about the ocean- that something was residing there, building beneath the waves, some kind of giant crustacean whose skin was the same as the ocean floor. It wasn't as material, tangible, as sensing a power level, it was just this feeling he had that rose in him when he looked to the shore.

Goku moved with ease like he slept on the clouds. "Hmm. I wish we could get some kind of starting point," he said, lazy and fussy all at once- his tone picked up that broad feeling of a smile it usually had. "It's frustrating that I know about it but I don't know...enough, anyway."

"Well, I don't see why you should do your useless crying to me," Vegeta snapped back, roughly, taking a hesitant hand to smooth back his hair. "What good is it to say it?"

Goku sighed and focused happy eyes elsewhere- he was used to Vegeta's way of talking, after all, and the awkward abrasive of Vegeta's words wasn't surprising to him that much. He let out a loud exhalation. "Man, am I hungry!" he said over the turning sounds of life. He eyed Vegeta subtly. "Don't you just wish you could be sitting down right in front of a huge meal right now?...Bah, I sure do."

Vegeta's silence was taut and veiled but it was brief. "No- unlike you, I can't waste any time lazing around," he spat, like the words were thick with blood. He couldn't- at every moment he felt that gloomy hand of time descending upon him, creeping up behind him. But then his mind rang with a familiar sensation, and a gut feeling wrenched up to his throat, the feeling of a trembling black sickeness- then why, in all of it, was Kakarot still stronger?, the feeling asked. He didn't know. His words were just wisps of smoke that gave way and cleared the path for distraction- fake. He turned himself upside-down and pushed on faster, trying to distract himself from thinking that way. His eyes fell on the sky, quickly and hazily, as though it was a stranger.

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They decided there was nothing much else to look for, and that scientist would have to wait for later- maybe tomorrow. Goku scratched his head tersely and then swept his hand back lowdown near his hip, in a movement that fell like night and deathbed light- a kind of movement that made ya see why girls liked him. "Hey- uh, Vegeta- you uhm, remember the way back to the hotel?" he asked, timidly, his voice small over the passing wind, adding a nervous laugh.

Vegeta's quick eyes flickered to Kakarot. "You idiot, how am I supposed to know?!" he bayed over stretches of blue and cool.

"Sorry! I forgot," Goku laughed, sucking in air.

Vegeta began to descend over the park, breathing cheap and scanning over the land. Goku blinked at his form, lowering rapidly through breaking clouds, but he followed him down. "Hey- uh, are you going to ask for directions?" Goku asked, with a tone that was earnest- like he was unsure of the plan, but was pretty accepting that it would work.

"No-- I'm getting a cab," Vegeta answered cold, fog, and smoke, the words disjointed. Goku nodded, letting out a breathy "oh," as they cut through cold air. The snow was sifting down again, slow and delicate, but its touch made Goku shiver to the bone, made the hair on his neck stiffen. His teeth chattered involuntarily- he noticed the snow wasn't sticking, that the grass was still that early-spring patched up pastel green- but man, it was shivering, too. He followed Vegeta's shaky path down until they touched down in some cool bushes, beyond the eye of anyone who didn't care.

Sticks and stones, the passing events of strolling people on the winding paths- they began out of the park to get on that gloomy high sidewalk. They walked along, picked stems out of the bunch, and went by appearing to people like strange memories. They did look different, for sure...Kakarot got a friendly smile once in a while, teasing smile, and Vegeta got the call of cat's eyes that were feminine perfume in the dark, but neither paid much attention. Sometimes a glance, sometimes just a rush by. "Oh my Gatos," Kakarot breathed out loud, following a churning crying noise from the pit of his stomach.

Hailing a cab turned into a series of subconscious images that Vegeta quickly forgot, mixed in with this snow...it shouldn't be snowing, after all. But it didn't matter. They got into the spinning cab as it kicked up its heels to the beat of the slick street. They shuffled in. "The Shiba Park Hotel," Vegeta said as he got in, the words tossed casually up to the driver.

The car started off smooth. Trees and people rushed by, as though in a tunnel of wind. Goku and Vegeta spent the ride quietly, staring out opposite windows, thinking opposite thoughts- Goku with quiet friendly eyes looking at the wonder of the people and the city, and in the back of his mind, about what he'd like to eat, and Vegeta thinking usual pressing thoughts and observing...the driver struck up a short conversation with Goku, and Vegeta ignored the congenial words.

From parks and houses, sitting familiar and lost on them, to big buildings- shining windows, the bustle of a modern square. As the peace of the lazy suburbs passed out of mind and the glow of the city began, there was a dark glow that began to buzz in their minds- Vegeta gave Kakarot a quick glance, and Kakarot's eyes were the same. There was something nearby- traffic was held up in front of them, and the taxi slowed to a crawl, but there was something close- it was a jumbled, tossed together amalgam of high and low power levels, of energies scattered and then compressed to focus.

"What's that?" Goku asked, almost to himself, leaning up seriously on the back of the driver's seat to try and see up ahead, past the madding crowd. His eyes flicked back to Vegeta. "A fight, ya?"

Vegeta leaned forward similarly, elbows on his knees. "Seems so," he answered tensely.

The driver stopped to an almost unbearable halt. "Aww, man, what's the holdup?" Goku cried in frustration, wanting to get to the fight.

"The holdup is what we're sensing you idiot," Vegeta grumbled, trying to ignore his blood building up as he sat like a duck on the water.

Goku gave him a sheepish smile and turned to the driver, said, "Hey, what's the matter up there?"

"Seems like an accident," the driver said tentatively, from the corner of his mouth.

"Dammit,-- is there any way around it?" Vegeta asked, like a command, fidgeting under the pressure. He felt a drop in energy- something had been finished like smoke on water. Someone innocent? someone with bloody hands? His thoughts halted as the car pushed on ahead of the light.

They could see and feel the forms of energy ahead- Goku's eyes shot open wide when he saw still-halted people, cars, cased in ice- "What the--?" he gaped, almost leaping back to the back seat to lean over Vegeta to see what was going on, in a leapfrog movement that hurled his body over the seat and straight over Vegeta.

"Get off me Kakarot!" Vegeta barked, pushing Goku off him with a hurried, flashy movement.

"Hey-I-can't-see!!" Goku whined, a cross between a drawl and urgency, pushing Vegeta back into the seat so he could see, but not too much.

Vegeta's senses turned bright red and his mind was shot like lightning. He shoved Kakarot into the back of the passenger seat, and Kakarot let out a surprised "oof!" as he slammed into the seat. "Fine you moron! Stay here but DON'T- touch- me!" he yelled, his voice hoarse, and snapped his eyes back to the sidewalk. There were...two girls and one woman who looked made of snow- only differentiating in the slopes of her carved features. One girl had shock pink hair, a child- the other long blonde hair, tied up- before they got a chance to clearly see them fighting, the cab wheeled by at a new picked up speed, passing the scene as the blonde girl's posture bucked up, her arm outstretched as though she were to fight the other one...Vegeta and Goku's eyes looked back to her as she- but then there was no more, it was too far.

"Hey stop!" Goku pleaded, turning wiry to the driver.

The driver shook his head. "No, I can't, let the Sailor Scouts take care of it- look somebody's calling the cops," he pointed out, nodding toward a frantic woman standing across the street.

Goku simmered down, realizing the cab driver wouldn't stop- relaxed in his place leaning over Vegeta. More girls were fighting up ahead, clearing out of the street in time for a passing car. A girl sending out a beam of sharp, cutting light- her blonde hair moved behind her like wind passed through it as she shot it out of her finger, extended like a gun. Chi? That was some gun..."Hey, look!" he almost yelled, stumbling so that he could point to the girl.

"Get the fuck off me!" Vegeta exclaimed, vaguely stressed.

Goku paid no attention and looked over the girls in wonder. The one who had just shot that razor light- she was wearing orange, near a tall girl with a big frame in green- a girl in blue trapping a white creature in a net of slow bubbles. "Hey, that's pretty amazing!" Goku laughed like a child. Nearby there was a girl whose face he couldn't see- with a long stream of fire-black hair that gave off glaring brown hues in the bright winter sun. Her hair was shining, was like a death gun, could blind passers-by with its shocking color, the way it threw off drops of sun. It looked like fire. The cab rolled by, the people becoming smaller, and the effect of the cliffhanger setting in.

Goku bounced off place and back into his seat. "Wow, that's pretty cool," he let out. His eyes settled and then flashed curiously to Vegeta, sitting silent in his own place. "-I think those are the girls I was talking about."

Vegeta said nothing. Goku sighed pleasantly and started again, in his usual amiable ramble. "You know, I think we should check it out- try to see if we can't team up or something," he said, as though he were confiding it to Vegeta. He laughed to himself. "After all, more is better than less, as we know it, huh?" Vegeta was silent again. Goku wondered fleetingly why Vegeta never answered him. He leaned back in his seat. "I mentioned it to Bulma anyway, and she said we should- just in case, ya know?" He closed his eyes as if to sleep and leaned his chin down. Sometimes, it felt like he was talking to himself...

It wasn't as though the sun was setting just yet- but it seemed like those lights, like Christmas fish in the ocean, were beginning to come out like dew, and the feeling of the night was breathing up even without its drape. It was another five minutes to the hotel...Goku's stomach roared even over the sounds of traffic and the news report radio that mumbled jumbled conversations low like ocean surf. God was he hungry! He hadn't eaten all day...

The dark blue was draped in a copper tone, and the sun would be setting soon. Vegeta sorted out the fare and got out after Kakarot, to find him beginning to walk down the sidewalk, away from the hotel. "What are you doing?" Vegeta asked gruffly, semi-following him with a step like black leather.

Goku turned around swiftly, and gave a windy smile. "Oh, I'mma- go get something to eat," he answered, gesturing confusedly to the open road. The cab cut by, kicking up moisture, making a sound like a razor.

A mist fell on Vegeta as it sped through the wet street. It sent a cool whisper like death up his bones. "There are restaurants inside the hotel," he replied, like it was the solution, and began to walk to the gold-lit doors.

"Oh for serious! Man! I'm psyched!" Goku bubbled, running to follow Vegeta with a laugh. He eyed him confidently and seemed to smile. Vegeta's eyes seemed a mix of determined, and yet with effort, empty of thought- just filled with greyscale intuition. "Say- are you gonna eat with me?" Goku asked slyly. "And here I was, thinking you hated me." He smiled sheepishly.

"Don't flatter yourself," Vegeta answered curtly. The doors swung open...

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The next morning was white blinds through a city- that feeling of gum you get waking up, and always that empty sound of a hotel room. They went downstairs to have a silent breakfast, then headed out for to find the scientist.

Their story was that they were Chet Atkins and Dr. Baker from Houston, Texas and they had just been alerted of a huge comet and, as they were touring in Tokyo for the East-Meets-West Rodeo, they took this chance to use the scientist's findings, as the comet was nearby. Rehearsing it to himself Goku fucked the words, couldn't remember that they were from Texas, laughed every time he introduced himself as "Doctor-" he'd say, "...Atkins, and I'm Doctor-" but it would end there in a violent flurry of pig laughs, then apologies to Vegeta, who was expected to listen to the half-speech every time Goku felt to say it, just to "get his lines right."

People moved around them like they were slick with morning dew. Utensils and murmured conversation, back-of-the-mind shadows moving like a dream. Goku watched people with appreciation, observing them happily. But at their table, it was silence- Vegeta had picked up a newspaper and was sort of skimming things, but more just looking at the pictures and filling in the blanks. Goku tried to pretend it didn't matter that they didn't talk and was eating all the things he'd picked out, childlike in his deliberation.

After breakfast they went out to get a cab- onto the cold street. Bulma'd be sending those jackets, but Goku's bones would burn and diminish to dust, disintegrate in this burning cold before they would come. He looked at Vegeta, wondering if he was cold. Didn't seem to be. Seemed to be made of fleeced blood. Then again, he was wearing that blue sweater- jeezis, these were the consequences underpacking!...he shattered to the bone.

Vegeta was taking his time getting a cab- letting some pass by, occasionally stepping forward. Goku in the desperate cold let out a loud whistle, waved his hands like a moron to feel like he was doing something, then Vegeta got a cab and they got in like outlaws.

Something in the sun was like a sleeping potion, it made the air heavy. The sun lit up dust floating in the cab, and the driver was silent as a statue. Vegeta told him the address, or the location, whichever. The two of them fell between sleeping in the back like bummed kids.

The cab whirled through the suburbs quick. Goku shook from sleep and looked out the window, veiled by golden sun. Trees looked like clouds and the sidewalks were lined in yellow but also vague and empty- sleepy peace. The car muttered slowly by a corner property, purring slow behind a landscaping truck, people in back...place had tall steps, gazillions of fuckin' steps, what a chore it must be to walk up those every day...a figure came down them delicate in shadowy motions, a girl with long black hair- wearing light pants, a dark orange sweater...he glanced curiously. She lifted the lid off a garbage can by the curb, dumped something in with a marked effort...turned around. She had this determined look that was strange- this look like fire, but also something else that was less bold. Her hair was very pretty- it hung behind her, seemed to flow and envy, black and shining, glittering in the winter sun: like a slow burning flame, onyx, like ink.

He'd seen that hair before...he sat up groggily, leaning against the door. Oh-! That was one of those girls! He opened his mouth as though to say something, as though she could hear- but she just turned and started in, that great hair flashing brightly. He settled back in his chair and stared at the back of the driver's seat. The landscaping truck turned up the left lane. The car began to sail again, and past the houses- traveling maybe two blocks.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku started, seemingly from out of nowhere. They passed by a school that was just letting out, kids hungry for the air.

"What is it?" Vegeta grunted through half-sleep.

Goku paused tentatively, sort of sleepy himself. He looked out the window at the block they were whirling by, without even a tear to shed on the passing company. "I think I saw one of those girls back there," he said tentatively.

Vegeta paused- seemed short and glossed over, like he was trying to remember. "What girls?" he asked shortly.

"Those uh- those crimefighting girls," Goku answered, scratching his head.

Vegeta made a quick movement, turning around to look out the back window. "...How far back?" he asked, trying to break heavy sleep. He shook the headache off his head, didn't seem to succeed with that.

Goku paused- he thought for a moment. "Like, four blocks or so back," he answered; then watched a corner flush by. "Five."

Vegeta's eyes flashed and he slowly turned to look out the back window. "You fucking moron," he said, voice cracking, "Are you a fool? Why didn't you say anything you imbecile?!"

"Uh- I don't really know- hey Sir could you turn around for us?" Goku asked up front, doing his best to dodge the barrage of names Vegeta hurled to him, like dodging paintballs.

"Wha? Where, though?" the driver asked as though asking the plan from a child. His hands spun out a u-turn at the next corner.

Goku paused, then finished up that silence with a strange gesture, motion with his hands. "That uhm. That big corner property- it was three blocks- uhm four- back, and it had very big steps-"

"Oh the shrine?"

Goku caught the driver's coffee eye through the window and let out a big sunny side-up laugh. "Well, I guess we'll see! Take us there," he answered, as though to strike up the orchestra. The car didn't even stop once; but there weren't any expectations whirling around in this sunny air. Goku didn't know what the anticipate; Vegeta had vague predictions, but they were only flashes of light that would shape the character of the meeting.

And then after it, they were stuck- a disheartening gesture and the flicker of mistrustful eyes laid down an impression that wasn't too good for the future. Goku knew they would try to face it anyway- but the obstacle of others was a challenge he knew too well, and it could damage any plans you had for sunshine. He wondered at them, and wondered what sort of trouble their conclusions could present.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Luna wasn't here. Luna was gone in these days, and even when she was there it was hardly being there- she seemed to be living inside her own eyes. Usagi was lost without Luna; not completely, but Luna's guiding hand was a comfort for her to fall back on.

The girls walked on the streets of Tokyo, looking not any different from citizens around them; Usagi had a box of hot chocolates from the street, listened to the girl's conversations.

"You know- it's really friggin' hard to concentrate on exams when I have to worry about a comet, my effing rent, beings from outer space,...I don't know." Makoto's voice grinded in stress, her hair blew across her face from the harsh wind.

"Tell Luna to stop being in love already," Chibiusa whined in a heavy drawl.

Usagi nodded approvingly and popped another chocolate into her mouth. Rei's eyes became stolid. "I keep sensing things- like I keep having this weird flashes of images, but nothing ever happens, and it's so vague," she said. "All these distractions, they make it hard..." The words were said as though she could only feel them with the tip of her tongue.

"What's up, Mako? Something the matter with your rent?" Usagi asked, concerned.

Makoto's eyes paused; she looked to find words to say, looked to the side in shade. "Nah, nothing out of the usual- but I just- it's hard to juggle it all, is what I'm saying," she answered, looking curiously to Usagi.

"You're telling me- my mom keeps nagging me to get a job, clean my room, study- I'm like...Ma, I can't fight crime and get a job, too!" Minako slurred, sloppily.

Rei rolled her violet eyes. "And yet, Makoto can do it," she replied.

Minako laughed nervously. "Well, y'know, Makoto's so tough- and I'm- well-"

"Is 'not' the word you're looking for?" Rei grumbled.

Minako looked around for some kind of support to lean on, under Rei's hot gaze- she looked to Usagi. "Well, you see," she began, matter of factly, leaning on Usagi, (while Usagi glanced suspiciously at her) "Me and Usagi, we're- well we're not like Ami, who's so smart and who has an understanding ma- or Makoto, who uhm is so able to support herself and so naturally tough, and well-endowed so that she can get a job- and certainly not like you, Rei, in that we're not able to deceive ourselves and be totally in denial like you-"

"You moron!" Rei yelled, the side of her hand landing a dull blow on the back of Minako's neck. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth gave the hint of a pout. "That's so- that has nothing to do with anything! And how am I in denial?!"

"'I'm Rei and there's nothing really bad about what we're dealing with'," Minako imitated in a grungy, manly voice. She grinned evilly. "That's how you're in denial, see?"

Usagi stifled a laugh behind one of her pastries and Makoto bit her lip; Ami let out a soft chuckle. Chibiusa wondered why everyone older than her was so immature, in her own semi-adult viewpoint. "Why me, anyhow?" Usagi interrupted thoughtfully. "Why is it I'm always the post to lean on? That's not fair!"

"Oh shut up, meatball brain," Rei hissed, "You think everything's about you!"

"You jerk!" Usagi answered, as though her feelings were really actually hurt.

Minako laughed. "But really Rei, you're so fucking in denial that you can't even see it. That's how you know you're in denial!" Rei steamed, but reconsidered hitting her again. Because it just might make her stupider.

"You and your mouth!" Makoto chided.

In between the words and the sounds there had been some cacophony sounding ahead- noises that howled out of disorganization, and fear of. The girls had only vaguely picked up on it, but as they came ahead, it was clear something was wrong- at first it seemed maybe like a traffic jam, some sort of ruckus about one of those everyday city things- but there were scratchy voices sounding scared, and those were the noises that tipped the balance.

Usagi's blue baby eyes looked up ahead, as though she doubted that scene in front of her. "Hey, is there something happening up there?" she asked, pointing, shoving the box of chocolates under one arm.

"I don't know," Rei answered, quick to lead and always first in line, "It just sounded like some regular thing at first...but somebody's- let's just wait and see." The girls gave a tacit, intangible nod- a nod to waiting, but then through that, they saw a blast of snow shoot up from the sidewalk, and alarmed eyes reconsidered it.

Usagi began to run ahead. "I think-" she began, running toward it.

"Hey dummy, you gonna put down your box or are you gonna try and fight with it?" Rei barked, from behind.

Usagi stopped and looked at it like it was a child as the looming overpass shaded her figure. She could...nah, she couldn't. She ran ahead with it still under her arm.

"That moron!" she heard Rei's voice shrill in disbelief, even as she and the others tried to catch up.

"Oh God," Minako said, suddenly next to Usagi- able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, "I think it's another one of those annoying snow women." She let out a grueling, agitated sigh. Usagi looked at her, wondering how she could know; Minako pointed ahead. Usagi's eyes darted, and saw a blast of snow and ice wrap its spider cold veins around the corner of a building.

"I think you're right," Usagi said flatly. Her eyes flattened at the prospect. Another exciting battle with a screeching monster. Great. But her annoyance was overtaken by the overwhelming sensation of dangerous urgency tingling in her nerves- she saw a moving form, suddenly stop its blood, and be enraptured in the blue cold. By now half the crowd would be have their motions stopped by the cold...

A woman running away from the scene with a confused-eyed child bumped into Usagi, her side hitting Usagi's little frame like the dull sideswipe of a truck- she stumbled back, but Minako broke her fall. "That's so rude," Minako yelled back at the woman, "I hope you can sleep at night knowing you just broke her leg!"

"Hey watch it!" she heard Makoto yell from behind.

"It's okay, she was running away," Usagi answered, harried, trying to be civil even in her annoyance.

She heard flashes and commands behind her- the others were getting made-up to fight already. Usagi didn't even remember that she should transform- completely forgot about it in the mist of her urgent thoughts. Her instincts were so hotly intent on getting there that she forgot about all those practical little things.

City scenes and dead trees passed by in a whirl; cars screeched and rattled and hummed down the slick streets, trying to find a way out, drivers intent on getting home and out of this mess. Minako bounded across the street, over a purple ricer, and hurried to the chaos that was just in front of her. Usagi ran across, almost getting hit by a sedan whose driver probably had a heart attack when she bounded clumsily to the other side. Aneurysm gasps were heard behind her- Rei almost shot out of the group to help her, but when she saw Usagi get across safely, scuffling like a baby rabbit, blind to the trouble she'd almost gotten herself into, her blood rose to a boil and she became hot and angry instead of worried. Usagi looked so small and strange, running across the street in such a hurry...

By the time she'd gotten there Minako was letting out blinding metal whips and chains across the snow woman's body, chipping dents in its body, trying to either ensnare it or whittle it down; but the snow woman recognized a pattern, and began to dodge her chain like it was a game. She saw Usagi, standing defiantly with her box of chocolates, like she was ready to fight, and rushed toward her, ducked the chain like a hawk, her eyes were hungry and grinning like a maniac's, and she was looking forward to encasing the girl in ice. Usagi was taken aback, and fear making her stupid and comic, she stepped back, stumbled to avoid it.

Minako followed the snow woman's trail, but her eyes went on red alert when she saw it swooping down toward Usagi. In a clumsy yet determined motion, she flicked the chain, managed to whip the thing across the back and dent it considerably. A shriek like the night was being attacked, and the snow woman tried to pursue her path, but Minako flogged her insistently, and finally caught her in a trap, swirling the chain around the things- uhm, legs, or whatever they were. "Usagi! Go- do it!" Minako said, thrifty on words.

Usagi nodded, thanking Minako with a profuse heart on the inside, and then hitched up the box of chocolates to get her brooch out. "Moon--ah--Cosmic--Power--Make Up!" she commanded, a little distracted by the movement of the chain.

What seemed like eons of pink and light to her was really only a strange, lit up second for outside eyes; she brought her left hand up to one of the buns on top of her head, just to make sure. Minako's harried eyes shot to Usagi a little semi-worried. Usagi coughed from the cold and began, "Stop right the-"

"Sailor Moon, come on!" Minako interrupted, her chain beginning to show signs of stress as the snow woman wriggled and fought its grasp. Minako needed a finishing blow before the chain's hold broke.

"Oh, okay," Usagi answered. She brought her free hand up to grab her tiara- the Moon Spiral was not as convenient, nor was it practical at the moment- didn't have that quick-fix-me up, handy action that the tiara had. Saying those words over to herself, she lifted it off carefully. Its clear, defined lines vanished- it shot up light in her hand, glowed and turned with bright firefly auras. She wondered where the others were, a fleeting thought, as she aimed carefully, trying to concentrate over Minako's grunts and exclamations. She brought the tiara at an angle behind her back, and then with a side swipe, a flick of the wrist, released it, and watched uneasily as it wandered, meandered, down its path...

She watched it, and then a feeling of dread came over her when she saw...

The glowing tiara whooshed by the monster and broke directly through the chain, cutting it like a razor, breaking through its light, and then hurling back to her. The links of light were released from each other, and Usagi's eyes widened, her expression dropped, her heart grew into a completely nervous frenzy- it just sailed right on through, and the mark was so obvious and clear that it made it look like she was aiming for the chain- it was like- it was so, just, clear. The other side of the light chain fell and vanished, and the side Minako held was suspended in the air. Usagi's eyes blinked incredulously.

Minako looked in disbelief for a moment, at the chain that was held in the air, and the pieces that had broke off. Her mouth held open for a moment. "Oh my God!- You fucking broke my goddamn fucking chain!" she yelled, in disbelief, beside herself, staring at the chain.

"I'm- oh God- I'm so sorry!" Usagi laughed, not believing what had just happened.

The snow woman whirled around, spun a bit, backed up, seemed to be only now feeling that she was freed and could move. She set an angry glance to Minako that in her hatred looked a bit like envy, and swished toward her deftly. Usagi groped for her tiara, so that she might send it flying toward the snow woman- hurriedly she did, but as it sailed through the air the snow woman had overtaken Minako, had blocked the possibility of any movement on Minako's part, and pinned her done, blew an icy breath around her frame. Usagi in a mix of fright and desperation whirled around, looked for Rei and the others...somewhere down the last street, she saw a group of men in uniform holding them back, as Rei shouted angrily, and Makoto pleaded desperately, and Ami shook her head, looking over the policeman's shoulder to see what was going on. Chibiusa was trying to squeeze past- she could see her pink hair from a mile away-, but a policewoman kept her firmly in place, seemed to be lecturing her.

Usagi looked frantically back to Minako, only to find her pinned to her spot by darts of ice- gelled over, she looked to Usagi with worry. "Sailor Moon! Watch out!" she yelled, though the snow woman wasn't coming toward her, trying to struggle out of the ice.

Usagi's blood rose to her head and she was even feeling dizzy, that strange hot feeling you get in times of danger, when the circumstances are closing in on you and it's up to you to change the setting. The snow dancer was suspended in the air, shooting a series of icy beams toward her- Usagi ran scared, like she was out of her mind, running a weird pattern through the snow and beams. She slipped once, her boot heel scuffing, but she got up just as quick and started a mad run again. She sent her tiara at the snow woman, but she was too deft; she knew what to dodge and how to dodge it. Usagi gave up on the tiara and focused on fucking running. The snow woman seemed dissatisfied; she looked with a featureless pout to the shining windows of the building to her left, where a man with glasses was gaping in terror. She iced that window, took care of that; and while she wasn't looking irritatedly at Usagi, she took the opportunity to whip out the Moon Rod and sent a flurry of death hearts at her.

She went through those movements, but just as she was letting it out, the snow woman glanced at her- swooped down in a movement that said, "oh no you fucking di'n't", and rushed at Usagi with such a disheartening crazy movement that Usagi was distracted and backed up, without even finishing the attack. She heard Minako inhale a gasp, in wonder and shock, and the snow woman came down on her and she almost seized her with a claw of a hand, and she heard Rei shout, "US- Sailor Moon!" in a way that was sure to surprise everyone around her, and Usagi clutched her box of chocolates tightly as though it would help to ease the situation-- and seemed to close her eyes, shut tight-

Then to cut through the sensations, to cut through that span of scene that seemed so set and flashing with primary colors bounding from the grooves, a shriek from the snow woman; sounded like something had come upon her from out of the night, from the peripherals. Usagi opened one eye slowly, her expression small and surprised, like a little girl's. The snow woman let out a guttural cry as if she was choking on the muscle of her own throat. She saw an arm strung like a flash, a fleck, of paint over the monster's neck; saw the white pressure rise into the skin as the grip was tighter. The snow woman's hands shot up clumsily to try and pry the arm off, and behind her a man with familiar hair jostled in surprise- familiar voices, but then again, sound had seemed to cease, seemed to be sucked up and blotted out by the color of the forms and the white light of the winter sun.

The snow woman's features were twisted in despair; absentmindedly Usagi brushed something off her skirt, and watched as a ball- or a disc- of light and energy, raw in its look, shot from below. It was thrown at an angle, shot up like a frisbee, and in a flash and a burst it slyly chopped off the snow woman's lower half, fuckin' slicing it at an angle, like you would cut asparagus. Usagi's surprised baby eyes flashed to the sidewalk, and she looked for the source of it. She saw a man- oh hey one of those guys!...that one, Vegeta- he was standing, sort of cagily, like he was on an odd balance, looking up with urgency at the snow woman.

The snow woman shrieked some more, in wounded pride and surprise, and as her lower half fell to the ground it shook off snow dust that fell like powder on Usagi's nose, and she white flakes fall on Vegeta's hair. She stood up, slowly, a little shakily, and looked up to the woman; she looked with anger at whoever was holding her- Usagi was thinking it was maybe Goku, but her thoughts were vague and running away from her in the excitement, anyway, she couldn't get them down- and then with fire eyes, sunk her icy teeth into his wrist. "OWCH!" Usagi heard him whine, and in surprise he let go.

The monster raged, seemed to swim through the air with the crazy twists and turns of a mad dragon, and looked at Goku with hate. His form was tentative in the air; then the snow woman made a move at him, tried to push him or hit him or something like that, and he dodged it, moving toward the ground so he could land on the sidewalk. And it seemed as though at the moment his feet touched the ground, he whirled around and his hand glowed, seemed to throw off a frosted light- the snow woman looked for him, then sent killing eyes on him- but he made a movement like death itself, a short and quick movement of his arm, sparing nothing, a quick and tense movement that was bold and necessary...and from his hand a ball of light, blue in color, was tossed at the snow woman. She had no time to react; no luck today. With a weird spaceship noise it made impact, then light flashed; and then disintegration.

Light flashed, energy busted. With another deft movement- the movement of a desperate man- Goku turned to Usagi, and something strange was in his expression- his urgent eyes seemed to say to her, "And now? Do you trust us?" Usagi stared back dumbly, the ice began to melt.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

A/N: Okay, well, notes; one, I keep calling it a "snow woman" or a "monster" because Im pretty sure they havent found out its name already. Like. You cant go up to somebody in the street and go, "Oh my God! Joe William DePaolo, how are you?" Shit dont happen that way, neh? Also I dont know what the names of those things Usagis eating are. Also I had her use the tiara attack because I think its stupid to only have one attack. And I didnt say "moon tiara action" because like. I dont know. Its kind of redundant and corny and superheroish.

So? Can anyone guess the secret pairing?

Thanks for reading!