A/N: I know, I know, I'm sorry for the long wait. But I don't regret having taken my time, guys. I'm very happy with this chapter and it ha a lot to do with me having put so much time and thought in it, so that it was good and made you all proud.
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Sailor Ronin Usa-Chan for finally updating her story "Ai no Hikari" (go Girl!), to Tenshi no Nozomi for being tolerant with me, to semisweet so that she gets her lazy self to update "Difficult Predicament" D, to Phedre no Delaunay for her terrific story and giving me her support and so many cookies , to Heroine of the Valley or being such an amazing writer, to Yami Nocturna for accepting my 'Silver Trio' challenge and to cardcaptor eternity for trying to pick up on the reason's behind Juno's attack in "Paths Crossing".
Note to beginners: Please don't ask questions till you've finished "Paths Crossing" also. Both that story and this one can't be fully understood or enjoyed if you don't read the two of them.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sailor Moon or DB/Z/GT, and this type of writing isn't profitable.
CHAPTER FOUR
Meanwhile, back at home…
Hundreds of years into the future – Gates of Time
The Kingdom of the Underworld, also known as Hades, was said to be located within the last planet of the Solar System, the cold and distant Pluto. However, many detractors refused this idea and stated the Unseen Realm wasn't a physical place but a whole different, spiritual whereabouts that, to most people, could only be reached in death.
By that time the earth-raised sukiyaki had already discovered, long ago, how this place and Other World were inextricably connected: the Underworld was one of the many planes within Other World. He had come to understand that the Land of the Dead was not exactly or just a separate universe, but a fourth dimension of the current one, composed of an infinite variety of subaltern planes connected to one another and each of which had many different paths of both-ways connection with this universe.
Earth was connected to the Dream Realm, Golden Kingdom or Elysium, which was in the centre of the Elysian Fields. The Elysian Fields were in turn a part of the Underworld, along with the Asphodel Fields and, last, the Tartarus; a relatively small part of which he had come to know in the past as HFIL or 'Home for Infinite Losers' (where the souls of most evil mortal villains resided); baptized with that humoristic nickname by a couple of naughty Kai-oh-'samas'.
While those heroic blessed were sent to the Elysium Paradise and those impious and evil to the Tartarus and HFIL, between Elysium and the Tartarus where the Fields of Asphodel, the Purgatory, where the souls of those neither virtuous nor evil returned and the shades of heroes often wandered among lesser spirits. It was the Asphodel, finally, where the Kais mostly roamed, and the place where the souls of the dead first arrived, the plane mostly known as Other World, and at the centre of the this three superior planes Elysium, Tartarus and Asphodel were located the Sacred Time Gates of Kronos, which provided a direct access not only to the time stream but to Charon Castle on planet Pluto, and a portal to Zero Star Sagittarius and the Galaxy Cauldron …
… That way, creation and destruction were unbreakably connected; death to life… and life to death. Light to darkness, and darkness towards light. The fourth dimension that consisted of Other World was made of that which was the only barrier between them…
…Other Word, the fourth dimension, was eternity.
Time itself.
But he already knew this.
He walked soundlessly through the sombre hall till he reached a silent, misty space outdoors and saw her silhouette blurred within the fog. She was sitting on a throne made of pure diamond, and the Time Portal was a good ten meters in front of her.
It was no longer the fancy ivory doors she once knew when she was fifteen, but an incredibly high and wide arch that would make any average-tall mortal feel like a bug about to be squashed by the shoe sole of a giant. And as if that hadn't been enough, there were the Twin Sphinxes. Enormous statues of two female-faced winged lions standing each at one side of the arch and opposite their partner, facing one another. They never moved, never blinked, and looked harmless, like made of lifeless white marble.
However, Goku knew they were much alive. He did not feel their monstrous Ki signatures, in fact he couldn't sense any life forces in them whatsoever, but he didn't need that to be certain these colossal beings were a far cry from inanimate. He knew they were the Time Gates' new and true guardians.
Sailor Galaxia had said once that such an ancient temple, which existed since before the beginning of life, couldn't ever possibly be protected by any mere mortal, whether it be Sailor Soldier or Planetary Keeper. Hence the everlasting, ever silent and immutable Twin Sphinxes, even though now for the first time visible, had always been the true incessant and 'unseen' guardians of Time.
According to the Valkyrie, it had been preposterous and in her opinion arrogant of the Plutonian Royal House to believe themselves capable of performing such a task. Serenity had been ticked off and rebutted right back that it that been a charge bestowed on the ancestor of Setsuna by Selene herself, and then she very subtly asked Galaxia whether she truly reckoned herself qualified to question the Elder Goddess she was bound to serve.
Needless to say, Galaxia didn't dare to, and she felt guilt was over her the moment she realized she had inadvertently angered her dear friend (and said Deity's descendant).
With these thoughts in his mind the Legendary Chosen Avenger of the Saiyajin stepped up near the Senshi of Silver and his muscled massive arms embraced her from behind.
"Mitt Hengivenhet, jeg deg save", he told her in Saiya-go.
Which meant: 'My Love, I've missed you' in the saiyajins' old esoteric language that Bardock had taught him so long ago. Serenity's lips twisted in a delighted smile while her eyes warmed with affection.
"Kukoi! You surprised me," She turned to smile warmly up at him. "How did you know I was here? Did you ask Luna?"
Goku's coal back orbs, which were down and focused on her, gained a deep meaningful shine.
"You know that I always know where you are" he trailed off softly, and stared at her, again, that way so… like he never got tired of seeing her face.
She had once jokingly proposed he take a more permanent picture, and they had both laughed, till he said he didn't think he needed it 'cause he didn't plan on going anywhere away from her anytime soon.
She, of course, had been awed and rendered speechless due to her heart beating too fast…
"Ja"
… Just like now.
She had only managed to utter a single 'yes' in his, ─their─ special language. What was it with this multifaceted life mate of hers that always made her feel words would only ruin their moment?
She had used to be a bit more talkative with Endymion, she remembered.
Yet, with Goku, it was often as if words were a daily conventional routine, instead of a relevant necessity. Truth was, they didn't need them so much for communication.
Not since his unknown psychic saiyajin traits had reached out to her lunarian psychic traits through the Gungnir and established the most perfect bondage of feelings and thoughts, in a level of empathy that even overcame the old lunarian standards. She could bet it'd be the same regarding saiyajin parameters.
Humans, however, had never cultivated a very high level of telepathy or any other of the non-basic sensory senses, thus Endymion and her had not been able to be that greatly and thoroughly in tune with each other. The love was still there, as strong as ever, but their capability for communication had sometimes taken some bit of effort on both sides. Then later on, when Serenity had reincarnated as a human being, her old lunarian senses, though not erased, had quite diminished, in such a way that Usagi and Mamoru had finally the same usual problems of communication of every ordinary human couple.
Which had lead in turn to the series of mishaps they had to go through, like being unable to recognize one another in a more conscious level when they first met, therefore their incomprehensible secret attraction had manifested in a hysteric rivalry, and some time later that one time of their break up which had brought so much suffering to both.
She knew that due to that Goku had also had his own fair share of arguments and differences with his previous wife. With him being a saiyan, though, his psychic senses complemented hers better; hence there weren't as many misunderstandings between the two…
"Usagi, what is it? You've suddenly spaced out on me" Goku's voice interrupted her musings.
The tone in his voice and the small amused smile on his lips told her that even though he still couldn't know her exact thoughts, he already had a good approximated guess of what she had been reflecting, that somewhere along the road she had been thinking of him.
It wasn't often that Goku would actually look smug, but when it happened she would feel as if she lay naked before her ever perceptive husband.
'Haven't you ever heard of mind privacy?' she thought to him, in mock irritation 'Keep your psychic eaves-dropping to yourself!' she emit a mock indignant huff.
He grinned. 'You know I can't help it'
She playfully stuck her tongue out at him. Talk about maturity; it always went down the tube whenever they both were in a light mood together. Goku just couldn't resist her pouty face and he kissed her.
"Mhm mhmmmmmmm……." was all he got from her lips tightly against his.
'You cheat' she accused half heartedly.
'And you like it' he mentally rebutted.
'I hate you' she thought stubbornly.
'No you don't. You know you love me'
'Narcissistic saiyan' she added and heard him chuckle in her mind.
'Yet I know I drive you crazy…'
'Hn. You got that right'.
'Admit it. You can't live without lovely me'
'Uh hum. Now shut up and kiss me'
'…Isn't that what I'm doing?'
'Mhm, yeah. But you forgot the "shut up" part'
'Oh…'
'Yep'
'Well.sigh you know I'm not perfect'
'Grrr…'
She heard him chuckle in her mind again, louder. 'Here, kitty, kitty!'
Usagi mentally swore in Lunarian, Goku laughed through his teeth and continued kissing her.
'Kukoi…'
'…'
'Kukoi-chan'
'..Mhm..?'
'Air… Need it… dying…'
That got him to let go of her sweet mouth. When he looked at her, Usagi was slightly purple.
"Du Smake lekker…," he said, licking his lips "Kunnskap? Deilig?"
She blushed, a deep pink rose colour. He had just said: 'You taste delicious. Did you know that, my beautiful?'
"Kukoi…" she whispered, breathless. "GoKu – koibito".
Which meant 'Goku, my beloved' in Japanese, the language both had spoken when in their respective planets… It seemed another thing the second Earth, which was Goku's planet, Chikyuu, had inherited from the first, meaning Usagi's planet was some of the languages of their human population.
"…Renity…" Goku whispered back, and looked at her meaningfully. Usagi had to smile to herself.
Apart from their bond, she could also always tell his emotions by the way he called her. Usually, when he was more solemn and serious, he would refer to her as 'Serenity', or 'Renity' for short. Other times, when he was extremely joyful and playful he would call her 'Yellow', saying the gold in her hair was the sun that would shine over his life. And others, when he was needy and wanting her near him as mush as possible (which would often lead to some intimacy) he would either address her as "Deilig" (which in saiya-go meant 'Delicious', 'Lovely' and 'Beautiful' all at once), or whisper the name 'Serena' huskily in her ear making her give a silly giggle.
But it was when he would simply say 'Usagi' that she would feel melting like butter… It wasn't so much the name as much as the way he pronounced it sometimes… so slowly, so softly. She didn't know why that particular tone would always make her tremble to the core in a delicious shiver, happy butterflies fluttering in her belly. Perhaps it had to do with her knowing those times that his attention was focused solely on her, with intensity he rarely gave anything or anyone else. It was the awareness of having such a strong, passionate, caring, beautiful and golden hearted male showing the entire depth of his feelings for her, keeping her safe and behaving as if no other woman in the world existed…
Well, she had to admit that brought a warm pleasure to spread over her entire body faster than emptying a whole box of chocolates by herself.
"Renity" Goku started once again "How about if we go back to the Palace now? You know the others are starting to worry about you"
Serenity, or 'Usagi', just sighed. She knew he was probably talking mainly about Luna, who with the years had become quite the over – protective maniac. The rest were probably quite busy keeping the Demonic Duo from terrorizing the kitchens, which was quite the hard task, if not impossible.
She slowly shook her head. "I wanna stay here… where I can see her".
Goku frowned and crouched down beside her.
"Love, staring at the Gates so much is not gonna make Hikari be back home any sooner" he put a hand on her shoulder "Come home, baby"
"But" she said anxiously "what about─"
"Dianna's there, and I am there too to take care of her, remember?" he answered reassuringly, with an amused grin "Don't worry so much"
Serenity nodded and sighed, then lowered her eyes.
"I know, it's just" she trailed off, not sure how to continue.
What words could ever express the fear that always bit at her heart, every time she looked at her daughter and remembered what had been ChibiUsa's fate?
"Usagi… please don't do this to yourself" she heard him murmur, and knew he had already picked up on what was troubling her "Chaos is no longer, and our little girl's not a child anymore. Trust me, she's gonna be alright… You have to come back home with me and eat a real meal. The girls are preparing a special breakfast just or you".
He waited for her to lift her gaze and added "I prmised them I would bring you with me. They're gonna be awfully disappointed if you don't show up…"
"Goku…" Usagi started.
"You've been here for hours" he insisted "It's time you go get some rest. Come home now, baby, please"
She couldn't just ignore the pleading tone in his voice, and already knew she was going to give in to his wishes… Her husband was so caring, so loving, he just couldn't refuse to humour him.
"Alright"
At this single word her mate's face turned into a full fledged goofy grin and he stood up to offer her a hand and help her up her seat.
When she saw the relief on her mate's face, she knew she had made the right decision.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
As Goku and Serenity left the Asphodel Fields behind, two shadowy figures hidden behind some bushes watched them enter the Elysium.
"Kid, why exactly are we spying on Goku-sensei and Aunt Rena?" asked the bored-looking Saiyan Prince look-alike.
"Shh! Keep your Ki suppressed, Geta-chan" whispered the other friend with the crazy-spikes hairdo and bandana.
Vegeta Junior was now definitely not pleased.
"Don't call me that!" he growled, "And that's what I'm doing, in case you didn't realize"
"Shhhhh! Keep QUIET!" 'Kid' hissed loudly, causing 'Geta' to roll his eyes and cross his arms over his chest, very much like a certain royal and close ancestor of his.
"Honestly, 'Duster'─"
He was interrupted mid-speech by Goku Junior's sudden gleeful outburst. He sighed in exasperation and turned towards the other to inquire the cause of that free show of childishness.
"What now?"
Goku Jr., a.k.a 'Junior' or "G.J." as everyone called him (with the exception of Geta) rubbed his hands in excitement.
"Great-Granddad is taking Sagi-'Kaasan back to the Palace… Great! Now the coast is clear."
"Yeepy" Vegeta said sarcastically "So what?"
"Gee, you're dense Vegeta-chan"
The princely one snarled sinisterly. "Watch it, brat".
However, Junior only ignored him.
"They're going back to Crystal Tokyo. With Sagi -'Kaasan back in the Royal Palace, the Time Gates are free for us to use. Don't you wanna see what Imouto-chan's doing?"
With that Geta immediately snapped back to attention.
"You mean that we go see Hikari?" at Junior's nod his charcoal eyes widened slightly "Are you crazy! We can not go where she is right now!"
"Aw, why not?" the Goku look-alike pouted.
"You're kidding, right Kid?" his friend growled, unaffected "We can't just, go there! Think about what would happen"
Goku Jr. first looked blankly, then frowned at him.
"What, you're afraid that G-Granddad, Sagi-'Kaasan and Luna-san find out? Yeah, I know they don't want anyone else to go, but it can be our secret. We'll just tell them that we're going back to Chikyuu… They don't have to find out, you know!"
Vegeta slapped his forehead 'Lord of Fury, give me patience'
"Don't make me smack you, Kid. Use your brain and actually think about what you're suggesting"
Junior looked surprised.
"Why not, Vegeta?"
The princely boy for a while just looked at his clueless partner disbelievingly, dumbfounded. Then he exploded.
"Because we FRIKIN' LOOK like our great-great-grandparents, you IDIOT!" he finally burst out snappishly "We even have their same names! Don't you think they'll notice that, you dimwit?"
He paused to catch his breath, and Goku took his chance to but in, hands raised "Okay, okay! No need to yell at me!" and Vegeta just snorted, resigned.
"But look, Geta, they don't have to know we're there either!" G.J. proposed hurriedly "No one else besides Imouto, we'll only let her know we're there, in case she needs us"
"Very well, I suppose we could do that" Geta conceded at last in defeat.
'Anything if it means Duster here will stop saying nonsense'
"But how do you suggest we get to the Time Gates?" he continued "In case you don't remember, I remind you that only Rena-sama, Goku-sensei and perhaps Sailor Ceres have access to that place, at least that we know of… and they aren't likely gonna take us there once they suspect this little ruse…"
"Ah, but I'd already thought of that" Junior responded with the air of someone that has a hidden card under his sleeve, "We could use the Plutonian Time Staff. Remember Sagi-'Kaasan had it modified so that any of us could use it, in case of an emergency? She said we couldn't launch a Dead Scream or any other Pluto attack with it, but that it would still take us to the Gates if we asked"
Geta seemed deep in thought.
"Yes, you're right. I recall she said we use it with 'responsibility'" he added pointedly "But how would we borrow it from Aunt Rena? She will ask what we want it for, that's for sure"
That was when G. J. grinned madly "We woudn't have to ask her, Geta, cause she doesn't have it! She doesn't really need it to get to the Gates, right? She has the Cosmos Staff. So she gave the Pluto Staff to CereCere-neechan, I overheard when she charged her with it"
Geta laughed. "You and you're eaves-dropping. I don't think Ceres-sempai would give us the staff either, though. Any other good ideas?"
"I wasn't eaves-dropping, I just happened to pass by when they were talking!" Junior complained offended "Anyway, I don't say we ask her… I say we take the Time Staff from her room. She never uses it, does she? Therefore she won't notice."
"Are you saying we sneak into her room? You're going to do that, Smarty. I won't risk getting my hair chopped by some rabid female."
"Aw, please, Geta-chan! You know I can't do it without your help!" G.J. pleaded.
Vegeta Jr. scowled. "Ah, alright, alright, cease your snivelling, Kid! You're starting to give me a headache!"
"Does that mean you'll help?" cried the other, hopeful.
"Argh, whatever; I will. Anything to stop your whining, 'Duster Head' Ómihelp me, you are noisy." He protested massaging his temple.
"So when are we gonna do this?"
"We're not gonna rush" Geta said thoughtfully "We're gonna wait for a good chance when they get distracted"
END TO THE 4RTH CHAPTER
A/N: Oh my, Goku and Vegeta Jr. in the past! The very idea sounds scary… Will they make it?
Man that took a long to write! Sorry for the long wait, once again, but I hope you'll find this chapter satisfying. The language that Goku speaks, "Saiya-go" is bsed on a REAL foreign language. I don't speak it and had to use an online dictionary, so most probably translations were less than bad. But I hope you're willing to bear with me on that, 'cause I had a very IMPORTANT REASON to include dialogues in that particular language.
On the other hand, for those who aren't that familiar with the Japanese words, here are the translations (Goku Koi/Koibito Goku beloved, 'Sagi 'Kaasan Usagi-mama, Goku-sensei Master Goku as in 'teacher', Ceres-sempai upperclassman Ceres, CereCere-neechan older sister CereCere, Hikari-Imouto little sister Hikari, Rena-sama Her Majesty Rena, Hime Princess)
If you're wondering, I don't think I'll quit using Japanese expressions: most of these are widely known anyway, and using them is my little tribute to the origin of the creators of SM and DBZ, in other words Japan.
Anyway, now that you've read, please review. You know you want to. ;-)
JAY