Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or its related characters. All is the property of FUNamation, Studio Toei, Fuji TV, and Toriyama Akira. I'm just borrowing them for some light-heated entertainment. Same disclaimer applies for Sailor Moon and related characters.

Space Opera

Chapter Nine: Ten Years Ago

Nappa felt uncomfortable allowing the Princess, er no, Queen -she was his Queen now- allowing the Queen to pilot the ship. Piloting was not the job of the Elite Class -er, Ruling Class, she was not a fighter. It was a Third Class job, or even something that could be delegated to a non-Saiyan servant.

But Princess- Queen Bulma insisted that since it was her own ship, of her own design, and they were going to her family's home, on her native planet, that she would do all the flying. The Prince- King! He was King now. The King warned Nappa that it was pointless to argue once she decided on something. Bulma would dig her heels in, set her teeth and refuse to give an inch. No compromises. No backing down. It was either go along with her or get out of the way! The woman was as stubborn as any Saiyan female. No wonder the Prince- King had chosen her for a mate.

Nappa watched the blue sphere of Earth grow larger in the ship's -it was more of a shuttle really- in the shuttle's main bridge- cockpit, really- viewport and debated making one final offer to her Majesty to take them in for her.

The Queen must have sensed the direction his thoughts were heading, or else realized that he hadn't mentioned it for several hours now and so was overdue to fuss again. Either way, she beat him to it. "If you want to feel useful, you can go check on my son and makes sure he's sitting down and strapped in. I haven't yet smoothed out all the kinks in the landing process and I don't want him bouncing around the cabin."

Feel useful indeed! The House of Nappa had been mentors and caretakers to the Heirs of the House Vegeta since long before the Saiyan Empire even knew what Earth was, never mind since an Earth-woman became their Queen. But he offered a respectful bow to her turned back all the same, saluting the Queen with his fist over his heart, and exited the cockpit. Nappa didn't want the Prince bouncing around the shuttle either. Not because he feared the little hansaiya would be hurt, but because he knew he would get an earful if the little hansaiya damaged the ship in any way.

He found the Prince gazing out one of the small round porthole-style windows that lined the shuttle's port and starboard sides. His lavender tail swishing back and forth in excitement, his blue eyes wide as he gazed down at his mother's home. This would not be the first time the Prince visited the Earth, the little hansaiya was actually born there. But, in his young life of only eight standard Imperial years, the Prince only set foot on the planet's surface no more than twice before. Both times, he would have been to young to remember. So, while the sight of Earth coming into view wasn't knew, it was knew to him.

Nappa sighed at having to pull the child away from his window. But he had an order to carry out. His first clear and specific order since leaving Vegeta-sei with the new Queen and her son.

New Queen… New…

That was the reason for this little excursion in the first place. The Prince -now the King- finally made his bid for power, challenging his father, defeating him, and claiming the throne as his prize. Now just came the matter of solidifying that claim. There was no more dangerous time in a King's life than the first few weeks, or even months, after his ascension to the throne. That was when other strong warriors came out of the woodwork, remembering that the throne was passed through trial by battle, and not necessarily through blood relations. The new King Vegeta wanted his weak human mate and young hansaiya offspring off plant and away from Vegeta-sei while he suppressed any would-be usurpers.

So, here they were, approaching Earth. Here he was, Nappa, Elite Warrior, First Class, Second Degree, Councilor to the late King Vegeta XIII, mentor to the current King Vegeta XIV, and he was babysitting. Babysitting! True, he was babysitting the new Heir, Prince Vegeta XV, he was looking after the new future king, dress it up however you like. But a nursemaid was still a nursemaid. He was a warrior! Sure, he was also the young Prince's mentor, just as he'd been the boy's father's mentor before him. But that was a duty limited to the training circle. It did not traditionally include field trips, vacations, bedtimes, picnics, or seat belts. Those were things for the woman to do!

The woman who was currently piloting the shuttle instead of him.

Nappa picked the Prince up by his underarms and carried him over to the nearest chair with a crash harness. "We're almost there, Your Highness." He informed the little boy, cringing inwardly at the need to state the obvious when dealing with children. "Your mother wishes you sit down and strap in."

"But I wanna watch the landing!" Protested the Prince, glaring up at the older man imperiously. Those eyes, a clear summer-sky blue, were not Saiyan eyes, the color had been inherited from his human mother. But that look. That imperious glare that demanded obedience, that was his father's look. Only eight years old and the Prince was already showing the markers of a true Saiyan King.

But he wasn't King yet and Nappa was not in the habit of indulging the whims of children. "But your mother wishes you to sit." He informed the boy. "And for now, your mother outranks you, little Prince."

He pulled the crash-harness over the young hansaiya's shoulders, fastening the double straps to a third belt that went over the lap and tightening the straps to make sure they were secure and the opposing forces of Earth's gravity and the ship's internal gravity wouldn't pull him from his seat and send him tumbling through the cabin.

"Then you have to wear a seatbelt too!" The Prince commanded, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. "Don't treat me any different just because I'm a kid! I'm an Elite warrior too!"

Well, he wasn't quite an Elite warrior yet. He was still just a pup in training who's bark was worse than his bite. But Nappa knew that was just a matter of time -time and maturity. After all, not only was he a hansaiya, a half-Saiyan half-human hybrid and therefore had a greater potential for power, but he was also the King's son. A direct male-line decedent of the Legendary. Given enough time and the proper training, the little Prince could be more than just an Elite. The late King Vegeta XIII theorized that the hansaiya might produce the next Legendary, and the current King was confident that it would be his son!

And Nappa was the boy's mentor. He would be mentor to the second coming of the Legendary!

But not yet. RIght now, the Prince was just a pint-sized purple prat.

Nappa weighed his options. Sit down in the seat next to his charge and strap the crash harness on, or else go back into the cockpit with the Queen, sit down and strap a crash harness around himself there. Neither option allowed him to do anything useful. Both options required him to sit and do nothing. The question then became, who's company could he put up with most easily? The Queen, he knew, would mostly ignore him, being to focused on landing seven-hundred metric tons of space-fairing metal on the landing pad constructed specifically for her ship on the Capsule Corp compound. But at the same time, the Queen's piloting skills were notorious and infamous through out the Fleet as being -in a word- 'death-defying'. Did he really want a front row seat for that?

Sighing, Nappa chose the one that, while still trying to his nerves, would take fewer years off his life. He sat down in the seat next to the Prince, maneuvering his bulky body into the average human sized seat, and strapped his own crash harness around himself. He was the boy's mentor, so Nappa told himself he was leading by example rather than giving into the child's whims. "Your mother wouldn't want me bouncing around the ship either."

The shuttle landed in a private cradle-type hangar located on the Capsule Corporation compound and the Prince could not get off the ship and out into the fresh air fast enough.

His grandparents met them at the hangar door. They both gave his mother great big hugs and commented on how well she looked. To the Prince, his grandmother bent down and pinched his cheeks, remarking on how tall he was getting and how handsome he looked. His grandfather picked him up, settling the Prince on his hip and carried the boy as they all went inside.

The adults all sat around the kitchen table, except for Nappa who leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. The Prince wriggled out of his grandfather's hold and trotted over to mimic his mentor. Leaning against the lower cupboards and crossing his arms over his chest. His grandmother seemed to think this was very cute and rushed to get a camera before either of them thought to move. Nappa scowled at her, his glare deepening with every click of the shutter, but he said nothing. The Prince, on the other hand, loved the attention. It was nice to be showered with praise for doing practically nothing and not having to work for even the slightest bit of approval, let alone complements and praise.

When Grammy was done with her photo-shoot, she sat back down at the kitchen table and talk quickly turned to the Prince's father and his new ascension to the throne and he quickly grew board.

They were all talking quietly and soberly, as if something terrible had happened. Grandfather King Vegeta told him Earthlings couldn't understand some Saiyan traditions, not even his mother whom had lived on Vegeta-sei for many years now. The Prince knew that for his father to become the next King, he had to challenge Grandfather King Vegeta to a fight and he had to win. After he won, he couldn't have the old King still running around the Empire, so Papa ended his life. Grandfather said it was an honorable way to die, and that he would be happy because it meant he was leaving the Empire in the care of someone strong. There was no reason for Mama to be a quiet and somber. It wasn't like one of her spaceships was destroyed.

The Prince wanted to go outside and play.

On Vegeta-sei a great majority of his time was spent in the training circle with Nappa. Occasionally, Papa would join them and those were rare and wonderful times when he got to actually spar with his father. But when not in training or being tested by his father, the Prince's life was very dull. Beyond combat training, he spent long evenings being tutored in mathematics, physics, economics, history, military strategy, and political theory. When not sparring with Nappa or at the mercy of dry scholars, he learned engineering, mechanics, and programming from his mother. All of that left absolutely no time to play with other boys his own age. …Not that there were many other eight-year-olds running around the Imperial Palace for him to play with.

But here on Earth, here in West City there had to be lots of kids his own age!

He wanted to go out and play. When were the grown-ups gonna finish their boring and stupid talking so he could go outside? The Prince waited a little bit longer until his patients finally gave out and he walked back up for his mother. Tugging on the sleeve of her sweatshirt, he said, "I wanna go outside."

"In a minute, honey." She said, prying his much stronger fingers out of the material of her sleeve.

The Prince glared up at her. For now, she outranked him, Nappa said. She would continue to outrank him until he came of age. The little Prince brushed his hair out of his face and huffed in annoyance. His parents -and sometimes Nappa- were the only people in the Empire who didn't jump at his commands. They were the only one who could override his commands. They were the only ones that could deny his demands. The Prince crossed his arms over his chest in indignation. It wasn't like he was asking to skip training. Tomorrow he would enter the training circle with Nappa first thing in the morning before the sun rose, just like he did every day back on Vegeta-sei. Was it really so much to ask to go outside and find some kids his own age to play with before bed?

Maybe if he tried again. "Mama, I wanna go outside and play."

"Not right now, Vegeta-chan." She used his Saiyan name because Nappa was there. Mama said that 'Trunks' was supposed to be a secret name, only her, Papa, Grammy, Gramps, and Grandfather were supposed to know it.

"But I wanna find some other kids to play with!" He insisted. His mother was always telling his father that humans needed other kids to play with. He overheard them several times. Something called 'social development' -whatever that was. Papa said Saiyans didn't need such things. It was a human weakness. Maybe it was. The Prince didn't want to be weak. But at the same time, he also didn't want to spend all his time with Mama, and tutors, and Nappa. Training was exciting, and machines were fun, but books were a slow torture. He wanted to see what it was like to spend time with people his own age just once. Even if it did make his father mad. Lots of things made Papa mad. Really, there wasn't much point in worrying over it.

The Queen sighed, looking up from her son to his mentor, she said, "Nappa, would you mind taking Vegeta-chan out to the park for a couple of hours? There's a public park a few block down 8th street."

"Of course, Your Majesty." He gave a shallow bow and the Prince could see his mentor was not happy about the task.

"And change into some civilian clothes, please." She added. "A warrior in full armor walking around town tends to make people nervous."

So, that was what lead the Prince to the sandbox in the public part. Nappa standing on the edge of the sandbox, his large form still managing to look out of place even with the normal Earthling clothing. Or maybe it was the fact that he was wearing a full suit and tie in a public park. Or maybe it was the scouter he still wore over his ear, because he refused to go anywhere without it.

But whatever. The Prince didn't care about Nappa. He was finally in a place to find kids his own age to play with.

…And he had already found some.

The game was called 'King of the Mountain' -a fitting game for a Prince, he thought. The 'mountain' was the top of the slide. There were two ways to get to the top, up the slide and up the ladder. Whoever was at the top was the 'King'. The objective of the game was to stay at the top while other kids tried to pull you off or push you down the slide. The longer you stayed at the top, the longer you were the King. Basically, it was a war game. That was something the Prince knew well.

He strode put to the slide with bold conference. He could dethrone the kid at the top easily.

Brushed past two other kids, the Prince climbed the stairs slowly. There was another boy climbing up the slide on the other side, the current King of the Mountain's attention was focussed on the one on the slide, he wouldn't notice Trunks until it was to late. That is, he wouldn't have if it wasn't for the two kids he squeezed past.

A girl and boy. They both let out loud exclamations of "Hey!"

"No pushing!" Said the girl.

"What's your problem?" Asked the boy.

The Prince turned around to glare at them. No one talked like that to him, he was the Prince! The Heir to his Grandfather's Empire. A direct male-line decedent of the Legendary. No one dared disrespect him, except his father.

"Who do you think you are?" The girl asked.

"Prince Vegeta." He said flatly. It should have been obvious by the lavender tail. But then, he'd noticed that some people failed to recognize a Saiyan out of armor, even if their tail was perfectly visible.

The two children blinked at him for a moment or two. …Then burst out laughing.

"Yeah right!" The boy scoffed.

The Prince was not pleased by their skepticism and mocking tones. "I am Prince Vegeta!"

"If you're Prince Vegeta, then what are you doing here?" The girl asked. "Why aren't you in a big castle somewhere with a bunch of servants and stuff?"

"I'm visiting my mother's estate." The Prince explained, not liking the fact that he was having to explain himself to these two. The Prince of the Saiyans did not explain himself. The Prince was above such things! Or, at least, the Prince should be. If only plebeian idiots like these didn't question him.

"Pff. Yeah right." The boy said again. "You're not Prince Vegeta. You're a liar."

Now the Prince was mad. He told them who he was and not only were they questioning his claim, but also choosing not to believe what he told them. Now they flat out called him a liar. That was the last straw. He had to teach these worms the proper respect!

Flaring his ki, the Prince levitated a few inches into the air. Uncoiling his lavender tail from around his wait and waggling it in their faces. Even idiots like them should know that Prince Vegeta XV was the only Saiyan with a lavender tail. He gathered his ki into one hand. At least, in the last seconds before they died, they would know who it was who killed them and why. "I am so Prince Vegeta." He said. "And you just called your Prince a liar. Make peace with your-"

He was cut off rather abruptly by a large hand closing around his tail and squeezing hard.

The Prince collapsed to the ground, as the sensitive nerve was pinched, paralyzing him instantly. The tail could be a Saiyans greatest strength during a full moon. But any other time it was their greatest weakness. That was why all Saiyan warriors were taught from a very early age to always wrap it around their waists where it would be held tight to their bodies and harder for an enemy to grab.

The Prince glared up at Nappa. His mentor holding firmly to the lavender tail as he asked, "What in the name of Yasai is going on here?"

"Let go of me, Nappa!" The Prince snapped. "And don't interfere!"

To the Prince's greater vexation, Nappa did not let go of his tail. Instead, he turned his attention to the other two children and repeated. "What's going on here?"

The children shivered and hugged each other, startled and slightly afraid. Nappa was big, even for a grown-up, and he was giving his full and critical attention to two human children whom had probably never seen a real Saiyan before, let alone been faced with a scolding from one.

"He- he said he was Prince Vegeta." The girl answered. "We didn't believe him and then he- he flew and made his hand glow. Is he- is he really a Saiyan? I thought all Saiyans had black hair. He can't really be Prince Vegeta! He-"

"I am Prince Vegeta!"

The girl began to cry. The for the first time the boy began to look scared.

Nappa sighed. Still holing onto the Prince's tail, he grabbed the collar of his shirt with the other hand and hoisted the boy up onto this shoulder, carrying him like a sack of rice. "Come along, Your Highness." He said. "I think you've had enough 'social development' for one day."

The other children could only stare as Nappa, still holding the Prince, jumped into the air and flew away.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Majesty, but the Prince cannot 'play' with normal humans. They are to weak. He would destroy them in a moment."

The Prince crouched just outside the sitting room, concealed behind the wall that separated the room from the corridor. He was pretty sure this was one of those conversations about him that he wasn't actually supposed to be listening to, so he stayed hidden. If someone discovered him, he would say he was practicing the stealth techniques Nappa had only just started teaching him.

"Well, then you should be teaching him how to control himself." Bulma snapped back. "My son may be a Saiyan Prince, but he's also just a kid, and kids need to play!"

Watching from the hallway, the Prince saw Nappa open his mouth to say something, then quickly closed it again. His mother was the Queen now and while Nappa was a trusted confidant of the Royal Family, he could not directly appose them. At least, not without suffering severe punishment for insubordination from his father once they got back to Vegeta-sei. The Prince smiled, his mother was on his side, which meant he could still go outside and play again and there was nothing Nappa could say against it.

The Queen sighed. "Tomorrow I'll call Chichi. Her younger son it about Vegeta-chan's age. Maybe they can play together."

Nappa tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Chichi… I don't recognize the name, but if her brat is a hansaiya like the Prince, it would be a wise decision. It would also be nice for the Prince to have a sparing partner his own age. It would also help me measure his progress against one of his own kind. I think the King would approve."

Placing her hands on her hips, the Queen gave a huff. "Honestly, you Saiyans. All you can ever think about is fighting and training to fight. Its a wonder Vegeta ever managed to find the time to make a son with me in the first place."

Tactfully, Nappa said nothing to that comment. Instead, he gave a bow of respect, saluting with his fist over his heart and exited the sitting room. That was the Prince's cue to leave as well. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping on the grown-ups. He was gonna get a playmate his own age! That was all that mattered.

Chichi loved the idea of letting the boys play together. There weren't very many hansaiya around their age and so while the Prince was on Earth, it would be beneficial to both boys to spend time together. Goten, apparently, had trouble playing with normal children do to his Saiyan strength and often had to spend recess confined to the classroom with the teacher rather than outside where he could inadvertently injure one of his classmates.

The only drawback was that it was the middle of the week and Chichi didn't want her young son up late on a school night. So, the playdate with the Prince would have to wait until the weekend.

The Prince hated waiting.

He didn't know who this 'Goten' was. He'd never heard of him before. But if he could play with him, then he wanted to play with him now. He didn't want to wait three days until the weekend. But, his mother out-ranked him and his mother told him to respect Chichi's wishes and wait. Hmph! No one told his father to wait! But the Prince didn't have any choice, so, for the first day at least, he behaved himself and waited. He went an entire twenty-four hours without pestering his mother, grandparents, or Nappa about going to Mount Paozu to meet Goten.

But by the second day, his patience was already wearing thin and the nagging began.

He whined during training excursuses with Nappa. He continuously asked his mother how much longer when looking over circuitry in her lab. He even asked his Grammy if she could show him on a map where on Earth Mount Paozu was so he could just fly there himself. That little inquiry got him a time out and a lecture on patience and respect. Just because he had private tutors and his schedule was relatively fluid because of it did not mean that he could go bothering other people in their daily lives. Goten went to public school, and so lived around the school's schedule.

By the third day, the Prince had no patience left to speak of.

He gritted his teeth through training exercises with Nappa, then after lunch excused himself from the table, saying he wanted to try wrangling some of the dinosaurs in the terrarium. Grammy reminded him not to hurt the poor dears. They might be ten times his size, but he was far more likely to hurt them than they were to hurt him, so be nice. (The Prince had already broken one of the pterodactyl's teeth the last time he tried roughhousing with them.) He promised Grammy he would be gentle and play nice as he left the table, heading in the general direction of the terrarium.

But the moment he was out of sight, the Prince changed direction, heading away from the terrarium and out of the building. Jumping over the wall, he slunk off of and away from the Capsule Corporation property.

Following the same path he and Nappa had flown a few days prior, the Prince found the same park. This time, he did not head to the slide, however. He didn't see the same children there from before there, but he decided that the slide -and by extension, everything else in the sandbox- was beneath him. He was a Prince, after all. A direct male-line descendant of the Legendary. He did not compete with commoners over climbing equipment.

Instead, he turned towards the ball courts where the bigger kids played.

There were two games going on at the time. One basketball match, three-on-three, full court match. The other, a handball match on the far court, using the side of a building and ignoring the lines that had actually been painted for basketball. The Prince he would not interrupt a game. It was best to start a fresh match. For that he'd have to wait.

The Prince hated waiting.

He cast his eyes around, searching for someone whom was likewise unengaged. Perhaps they could start a game of their own without having to wait for the others to finish. There was a third court free. What were the rules of this game again? Was this the one where you had to get the ball in the hoop without using your hands or feet? No, that couldn't be right because the kids paling the three-on-three match were using their hands. Then, was this the one where the losers were sacrificed to their gods? Hm. The Prince was certain he could kill his shamed and defeated opponents after he won the match, but he didn't know the proper rituals to make his kills an offering. His tutors didn't teach him useless things like that at the Imperial Palace. Maybe it would be safer not to kill them after he won. That would work out better anyway, because then he could play with them again some time.

Of course, that was assuming he found anyone to play with at all.

Those big kids not involved in the games seemed to be otherwise engaged talking to other big kids and not interested in playing.

Maybe his father was right. Maybe he didn't need 'social development' like the humans did. After all, he was having a hard enough time just finding someone to play with. Who would have thought playing like the human children did would be so difficult!?

He was about ready to give up and go back to his mother's home when he saw a girl a little younger than himself, sitting alone. Under a tree on the lawn, not far from the ball courts, but not close enough to imply that she was waiting to play. She did, however, have a ball of her own. A large black ball with wide cat-like eyes painted on it. It had cat-like ears to, which was weird since it was a ball. Balls were supposed to be smooth, perfect spheres. They weren't supposed to have ears, or whiskers, or antenna. It would inter fear their their ability to roll, or bounce, or do whatever it was the game required you to do with a ball.

The Prince was curious.

Turing away from the ball courts, he trotted across the lawn to the girl. She looked younger than him, but not by much, maybe only two years. Wearing an all blue sailor-style school uniform and black mary-jane shoes. Her bright pink hair was pulled up into two oddly shaped buns. Round, but also pointed at the top, with the rest of her thick pink hair fluffing out to frame her face. It gave the odd illusion that she had rabbit ears.

The Prince paused when she turned in his direction, wondering what to say. He had already resolved not to tell her that he was Prince Vegeta. It had not impressed the other children from the other day and he had a feeling that it would be much the same no matter who he was talking to. So, no telling anyone that he was the Prince. But he couldn't use the name Trunks, either. It was a secret name that only his parents (and grandparents) were allowed to know. Maybe… he could use his Gramps' name?

The girl, however, saved him the trouble of wondering how to introduce himself. She spoke first. "Hi."

...

"Hi." The boy replied awkwardly, as if unsure what to say. He looked to be maybe a year or two older than Small Lady, with short lavender hair she thought looked very pretty. She wouldn't tell him that, however, boys seemed to get upset whenever they were called 'pretty'. Wearing denim overalls over a lime green T-shirt and sneakers. …And for some reason, a fluffy belt or sash around his waist that was the same shade of lavender as his hair.

"Are you here alone too?" She asked, hugging Luna-P to her chest.

Small Lady was feeling an odd mingling of shy boldness. Shy because she was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people, but bold because she finally did something she'd been thinking of doing for some time now -run away from home. Nobody at home really wanted her there, anyway. Her Mama and Papa never seemed to have time for her, the Senshi thought she was a nuisance, always telling her to keep out of the way and not get underfoot. Her only real friend was Plu. But Plu was stuck guarding her Door and couldn't leave it to play with Small Lady, not even for a moment. So, she here she was. She ran away to Earth, her father's former planet before he married her mother.

"Yeah." The boy replied, his awkwardness seeming to relax slightly.

She smiled at him, shifting Luna-P to one arm, Small Lady extended her now free hand for him to shake. "I'm Us-" She cut herself off rather abruptly, not wanting to risk anyone finding her -not that she thought they would even be looking- it was probably best not to five her real name. "Uh…Rabbit. Wanna play?"

"Rabbit." He said, taking her hand and giving it one quick shake. "I'm… Briefs."

Small Lady couldn't help the very unladylike snort that escaped her. "Briefs? That's a funny name! Doesn't that mean underwear?"

Briefs was suddenly incensed. "Yeah, well you're name's Rabbit! What kind of a name is that?"

"Rabbits are cute!" She defended.

"T'ch, whatever." Briefs scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest imperiously. Jeez, the attitude. But maybe it was a little deserved, after all, Small Lady didn't really have to call him underwear. Didn't they always say to treat people nicely and they'll treat you nicely. She was mean first. So, his snippiness was understandable. But Briefs seemed to let it go rather quickly, pointing instead to Luna-P, he asked, "What's that?"

Small Lady smiled, glad to move past the little bump in their meeting. "This is Luna-P."

"Does it do anything?" He asked.

"Watch this." She smiled. She threw the Luna-P into the air and shouted, "Transform!"

There was a poof sound and small puff of white mist that accompanied all of Luna-P's transformations, and when she came back down again, the cat-faced ball was replaced by a bright pink umbrella. Small Lady caught it, opening the umbrella with a loutish and smiled at Briefs.

His blue eyes widened with interest. "Cool! So, is it like a Hoi Poi capsule?"

"I don't know what that is." She informed him truthfully. They had nothing by that name in Silver Millennium. She didn't know what Hoi Poi capsules were or what they did. "But she can do more." And Small Lady threw the umbrella into the air, once again shouting, "Transform!"

Another poof, another puff, and this time when Luna-P came down, she was a mirror.

Briefs leaned over, scrutinizing his reflection in the mirror. "Can it turn into anything not-girly?"

"'Not girly'?" Small Lady repeated, feeling insulted. She thought the things that Luna-P turned into were cute -and useful too. But then, he didn't know the special things that could be done with a Luna-P mirror or umbrella. Boys didn't usually like to play with mirrors anyway. Boys played with bugs, or in mud, or other such dirty things that Small Lady had no fast for. But maybe they could compromise. "What do you mean?"

"Like a sword." Briefs supplied. "Or a spear or something. Ya know, something you can fight with."

She blinked back at him. "'Something you can fight with'? But, you can fight with umbrellas and mirrors."

Briefs scoffed. "How would you use them in a fight?"

"Oh, well…" In truth, Small Lady had never tried before. Not with umbrellas or mirrors specifically. But Neptune used her mirror all the time. It couldn't be all that difficult if she used it that often. So, she said, "I'll show you! Um, what should I aim at?"

Briefs cast his eyes about the park. It was late afternoon, most of the kids their own age were being dragged off by their parents for home and dinner, then bed. The older kids were still playing on the ball courts. Taking Small Lady by the hand, he pulled her away from the big kids and over to the sandbox. Someone had constructed a sorry excuse of a 'sand castle' there. It was little more than a large pile of sand with a flag made of a juice straw and candy wrapper. But it had long since been abandoned by its architects. It would do.

Pointing at the pile of sand, he said, "This will be your opponent."

That was rather dramatic phrasing, calling it an 'opponent' instead of a 'target'. It wasn't like the sandcastle was gonna suddenly jump up and bite her back. But she nodded, "Okay." anyway.

Holding up the Luna-P mirror with the reflective glass facing the mound, she waited for the words to come to her. That was how her mother explained it to her. Back when she was Sailor Moon, whenever she received a new weapon, the words and knowledge of how to use it came to her naturally. It was the same thing with the other Senshi. Nobody taught Mercury the Aqua Rhapsody, or Mars the Burning Mandala. They just knew them. But nothing came to Small Lady's mind. Fearing Briefs would become impatient if she took to long, she said the first thing she could think of that seemed applicable.

"Moon Reflection!"

Nothing happened.

In all honesty, Small Lady hadn't expected anything to happen, but she was still embarrassed. Especially when Briefs crossed his arms in disappointment and scoffed.

She turned to him, defensive. "Oh yeah! Well, lets see you do something cool then!"

"Fine." He nodded imperiously. "Move."

He faced the mound, back strait but shoulders relaxed, and exhaled. At first, Small Lady had no idea what he was doing, standing and breathing was even less cool than her failed attempt at using a magic mirror. Then, Briefs raised one hand and it was now glowing with a oddly mesmerizing blue light. He didn't say anything, not magic saying, no power words, he just exhaled louder with a sharp "Ha!" and the light shot from his hand strait at the pile of sand and blew it up like a firework.

Small Lady shielded her eyes to keep falling sand and molten glass out of them. But the moment the debris stopped falling, she clapped her hands happily. "That was so cool, Briefs! I didn't know you could do stuff like that! And you didn't even have to call out any power words to do it. Do more! Do more!"

He smiled at her, apparently pleased that he had managed to impress her. "Lets build another target. A bigger one this time."

"Okay!"

They both got on their knees in the sandbox, a bit of a ways away from the crater of his first blast, and began piling sand on top of sand. Briefs didn't care much what it looked like, he was going to blow it up anyway, he just wanted it to be big enough to be impressive. But Small Lady insisted on smoothing out the sides, and sculpted the base to look like it had been built instead of piled. When it was big enough, she also added a new flag on top. A stick and a leaf.

"All done~!" She smiled.

"Stand back."

This time, he used two separate blasts of equal strength. One from each hand. Releasing the balls of blue light at the same moment and curving the waves around so that they hit the castle on opposite sides. This caused the sand to splash up in a sort of fan pattern. The intensity of his ki melted the sand, turning it to glass and when his power was diffused, it cooled enough to stay in its fan-like shape.

"Wow, how pretty!" Small Lady was impressed. She walked up to the glassy sand-monolith, her ruby eyes wide with interest. She ran a hand over the jagged edge… and instantly regretted it. It might be pretty and glassy, but it was by no means smooth and she cut herself. A tiny splinter-shard breaking off in the pad of her finger. Suddenly, she didn't like the giant glass fan anymore. "Ouch! It cut me!"

"Idiot." Briefs just shook his head as he closed the small distance between them. He took her now bleeding hand in his. "What did you expect to happen? You humans are so weak, even something as simple as a shard of glass can hurt you."

He lowered his mouth to the cut and sucked. He wasn't sucking her blood -although, there was that too- he was trying to suck out the tiny splinter-like shard that had cut her and gotten stuck in her finger. Trying to squeeze it out by pinching or pull it out with their nails could cause more damage.

Small Lady flushed at the action. Minus the fact that she was slightly bleeding and in pain, the moment almost felt like a Prince kissing her hand. She tried to hide her blush behind bravado. "Oh-oh yeah! Well, what are you then? If you're not human!"

Briefs lifted his lips from her hand and spit out the shard. Wiping his mouth with the back of his own hand, he said, "I'm a Saiyan. Duh! See my tail?"

That fuzzy lavender belt of his suddenly uncoiled itself from around Briefs' waist and waggled in front of Small Lady's face. Then, it withdrew, once again wrapping itself firmly around his waist where she was sure that she'd never be able to grab it even if she tried.

"Oh my gosh! You have a tail!"

"'Course I have a tail. All Saiyans have tails." He informed her as if this was information she should have already known.

Small Lady did not know that. She was only vaguely aware of what Saiyans were. They were supposed to be these really strong warrior guys that had a big Empire and flew around space bullying other planets and people. …Right? But Briefs didn't seem anything like that. In fact, he didn't resemble anything like what Small Lady thought a Saiyan was. Learn something new every day, as the saying goes. So, all Saiyans had tails, huh.

"Its so cute!" She decided. "Can I pet it?"

"No." One flat, even syllable that left no room for argument.

"Aw, but why not?" Small Lady pouted, hoping to change his mind. It was so cute! Long and slender and covered in soft-looking lavender fur. She bet it would feel really good in her hands. And besides, didn't things with fur like being pet anyways? Luna, Artemis and Diana loved it when she stroked their fur! Or maybe Saiyans didn't like being treated like pets or animals in general. Did she just inadvertently insult him?

Briefs didn't answer her question. Instead he asked, "Do you wanna see me blow stuff up or not?"

"Okay…"

They passed some time like that. Both of them working together to pile on enough sand to make a good show, then Small Lady would stand back while Briefs blasted it. He showed her all the different techniques he was learning. Wide hitting waves, strait cutting beams, delayed attacks, rapid-fire attacks, etc. It got to the point where there was more glass and glass-dust in the sandbox then there was sand. At that point, Small Lady stopped helping pile the sand, she didn't want to cut herself again.

The late afternoon had turned to evening and the sun was dipping down low over the mountains, the moon just beginning to peak out from behind the cityscape. It was that lovely twilight time when the sky was a glorious shade of fiery orange and red that slowly faded to violet, blue and black as your eyes traveled from sunset to moonrise.

Small Lady watched Briefs pile on the shards of glass that were formerly sand. It wasn't a very pretty kind of glass. Certainly nothing that would be sold in a store. Foggy, slightly dirty looking with bubbles and other imperfections in them. But they reflected the light of the setting sun prettily and sort of reminded Rabbit of the crystal buildings of her home. She carefully -very carefully- picked up a large shard and held it up to her eyes for inspection.

"This reminds me a little of what we make buildings out of where I'm from." She said.

Briefs looked up from his nearly completed pile of glass and blinked at her curiously. Small Lady realized her mistake instantly. There probably wasn't anywhere on Earth where they made buildings out of glass or crystal. She didn't know much about the Saiyan Empire, but by the confused look that he was giving her, there wasn't anyplace that Briefs knew about that used crystal as a major construction material. Probably, most races didn't know how. It wasn't like metal or stone.

"Where are you from?" He asked.

Well, it looked like the jig was up. She supped she could lie and make up a place. But she didn't have to skill for something so elaborate, especially not so suddenly like this. She should have thought of something ahead of time. The moon had risen over the buildings now and was clearly visible over he tops of the skyscrapers. Small Lady lifted one hand and pointed to it. "There."

Briefs folioed her finger, loping directing into the glow of the full moon.

Then he began to change.

The moon filled his vision. Large, and round, and full. Small Lady could see it reflected clearly in his wide eyes, as if he were unable to look away. Then the change started.

A slight tingling behind his eyes that traveled down his spine to the base of his tail. At his tail the feeling changed. The tingling shifting to a tremor that resonated through his whole body, paralyzing him where he stood. He tried to fight the transformation, after all, his mother would be so mad if he smash-up her city. But this only caused him to shake violently which just made the transformation feeling worse. Fur sprouted on his face and down his neck. His hands grew larger. HIs feet burst from his sneakers. His whole body grew immeasurably fast, his clothing ripping under the strain and falling in tatters back to the ground.

"B-Briefs!?" Small Lady screamed, not understanding what had just happened. "What's going on!?"

But he didn't answer. He wasn't 'Briefs' anymore. Now he was a giant purple furred ape!

Small Lady had never seen a Yoma before. She'd only ever just heard boy them from her Mama and Mama's Senshi.

They were supposed to be people that were turned into beasts by negative energy. Small Lady didn't sense any negativity anywhere, but there was no other way to explain Briefs' sudden transformation into a monster. A giant monkey monster!

She didn't know what to do. She wasn't a Senshi. She had not Crystal Power. Not yet. Her Mama and Papa promised her she's awaken one day, but not any time soon. But not right now and right now was when she needed it, to help Briefs. Even if she couldn't transform, though, she still had to do something! She couldn't let him destroy the city!

Not able to do anything else, Small Lady grabbed Luna-P, throwing her up into the air she once again shouted, "Transform!" and when the cat-faced toy came down again, she wasn't a ball but an umbrella. Maybe she could hypnotize him into not hurting anyone. She just needed to get to a high enough place that she could twirl her umbrella level with his eyes. But they were in a park and the highest things around where trees and climbing equipment, and they only came up to around the giant ape's belly. What was she going to do?

Small Lady had to run and hop quickly to avoid betting stepped on by his massive purple foot. He smashed the playground equipment and ground the glass of the sandbox into a fine sparkly powder without even seeming to even notice.

"Briefs! Look over here!" She shouted, holding up her magical Luna-P umbrella and twirling it quickly. But whether he didn't notice her or just couldn't hear her from his hight, the monster-monkey didn't look down. He just continued to thrash the park and make his menacing way slowly to the building-line of the city proper. She couldn't let him reach the city! He'd turn it to dust just like he did the playground!

Throwing her umbrella into the air, she once again transformed her Luna-P. The hypnosis idea wasn't working, it was time to try something else. This time, Luna-P became a large folding fan, almost as bit as Small Lady was, but it was light and easy to wield. Taking it in both hands, she swung the fan in a wide arch, creating a strong gust of magic wind that knocked the giant ape off his feet. Yes!

That got his attention. The monkey monster noticed her now. Looked right at her with a feral aggression that would have frozen the blood of a normal man. He climbed back to his feet and Small Lady quickly realized that maybe tackling an oversized gorilla monster wasn't the wisest course of action. At least not without backup. So, she did the only thing that seemed feasible in that moment. She ran. She ran like hell! Dodging and jumping from side to side, running in a zig-zag pattern to keep from being squished under his massive monkey feet.

This was scary. Small Lady heard the stories from her Mama, but she'd never actually fought a Yoma or other monster before.

She began to cry.

That was when she was saved. A red rose came sailing through the air. It streaked past her ear and impaled itself into the ape-monster's ankle. He went down instantly, howling in pain. Small Lady followed the path of the rose to see where it had come from, though she already knew he answer. Releaf flooded her whole being when she saw her Papa perched atop a bent lamppost, his dark cape fluttering in the slight breeze.

"The full moon might bring out the Beast in some," he said, "but i, Tuxedo Mask, will protect Small Beauties from their evil paws!"

"Papa!" Small Lady exclaimed.

He jumped down from his perch and wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up, he rested most of her weight on his hip. "Are you alright, my Small Lady?"

She had already been crying before he saved her, but that was from desperation. Now, she cried even harder. Because that was her friend laying on the ground and she had no idea how to help him. "Briefs!" She sobbed into her Papa's shoulder. "Papa, you have to do something to help Briefs. Somehow he turned into a Yoma! He was my friend and I don't know what to do!"

"A Yoma?" Endymion blinked at the little girl in his arms before turning his attention to the lavender weremonkey he had just subdued. "He's not a Yoma, Small Lady, just a Saiyan. Saiyans transform into apes when they look at the moon."

Small Lady looked up at her father, hopeful. "Like a werewolf?"

Endymion nodded.

"So, he'll be okay then? He'll turn back when the sun comes up?"

Again, the King nodded.

"Thank goodness!" She hugged her Papa tighter. This time, her tears were sobs of relief.

"But," continued Endymion, "we can't just leave him here like this. He might still hurt people in the city when he pulls my rose out."

Small Lady nodded. She may not be a Senshi yet. But she was still a protector of Love and Justice. She couldn't leave a monster loose in a city of innocent people, and she couldn't leave a friend in this state. "What should we do?"

"You will do nothing!"

Both Princess and King looked up in the sky, following the sound of the new voice. A man hovered there. A large man, wearing full armor. His head was completely baled, around his waits was wrapped a brown fuzzy tail -like Briefs' only a different color- and over his eyes he wore a rose-colored visor. Another Saiyan.

The large man landed mere inches from King Endymion, whom tightened his hold on his six-year-old daughter. The Saiyan reached out and grabbed the other man's lapel and remanded, "What did you do to him!?"

He was big and mean-looking. One of his large hands was about the size of Small Lady's head, his arm practically bursting with muscle. He could probably crush her father with just a flick of his wrist if he wanted to. Small Lady began to cry again.

But Endymion didn't balk. He met the Saiyan's eyes, glare for glare. "I only stunned him is all, Saiyan-san. He will be fine. Perhaps you should teach your son not to go out on a full moon and keep this from happening again."

"I am not his father." The man growled.

"Your charge, then." Endymion shrugged. "I was protecting my daughter. If you had been more vigilant in your duty as the boy's guardian, then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

The Saiyan did not look amused. He glared through his visor at the Moon King and Small Lady once again feared that he might snap her father in half. "You're Lunarian, aren't you." He said after a prolonged pause. "Mark my words, moon-brain, when the sun rises, if anything is found to be wrong with the brat or his soft-hearted human mother refuses to stop worrying, then my King will raise your little kingdom to the ground!"

"The boy will be just fine." Endymion smiled. "Although, I wonder if your King cares this much for all half-Saiyans or if this one is special. If he had hurt my daughter, our kingdom would erase your Empire from this galaxy, but we wouldn't go through the trouble for just any child in Silver Millennium. What makes this boy so special?"

The larger man snarled. "Get off our planet, Lunarian! Before I crush you and your spawn like the worms you are!"

There was nothing else to be done. The threat that Briefs in his weremonkey form presented had been neutralized and he was back in the hands of his caretaker. So, they left. King Endymion carrying Small Lady home in his arms. It had been a busy night, at this point, she didn't know why she was crying anymore. Just that her father carried her home in tears.

Clutching the material of his waistcoat, burying her face in his cravat, she whispered between sobs, "Will he really be okay, Papa?"

Endymion looked down at his daughter, regarding her for a moment before assuring her, "Yes, my Small Lady, your friend will be fine."

She nodded. But that didn't stop the tears. "I should apologize to him. He didn't tell me where he lives. I'll have to find him."