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Gru waded waist deep in the cool water. Trunks swept the water closely behind Gru, hoping that the dragon ball would be somewhere under foot. He clenched the radar rightly in his sweating hands.

"According to this, we should be right on top of it."

He turned to look for the two girls in the distance, reluctant to allow them out of his sight although they were each just a little older than him. He saw their silhouettes against the blue water on the horizon.

"Thank you for getting me in at the compound"

"Welcome.", Gru muttered, " You ready to go home huh?"

"You could say that.", Trunks managed distractedly. His eyes were peeled, looking after the two girls in the distance without a second thought until…

His father's voice was ever present in his mind. You better look after your sister. Trunks had heard that phrase more than he could fathom or guess since her birth. Even before she had made her appearance in the Brief household, Trunks was to look after his mother in his father's absence.

Bra bounced to the front door. The key chains on her green back pack echoed through the kitchen. Trunks followed behind her with a sleepy yawn. He stuffed his hands in his pockets after he threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Vegeta savored his morning cup of plain black coffee in silence.

"I wish I was half as excited about school as you are.", Trunks slurred.

"I have a gymnastics meeting after school today!", Bra answered as she jumped up and down.

Trunks scooped her up in his arms and opened the front door, ready to blast off into the sky.

"Oh wait!"

Bra squirmed out of her brother's grip. She ran to her father at the kitchen table. Vegeta had cast his cup to the side as if he was waiting for her to return. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Bye daddy, I love you."

"Bye-bye princess."

Bra trotted back to her brother's arms. Trunks waited for a few words to part Vegeta's lips. He knew that they would never come; this hope was renewed and crushed every day. Sour bile collected on his tongue.

"Look after your sister boy."

'Is that all I am? Just the boy', he thought.

He was certain that he was nothing but weak, a disappointment in his father's eyes. He was always told by his father that he lacked self-control. He couldn't help but smile at the kindergartener wrapped in his arms, but resentment still held the throne of his heart… He told himself anyway

"So who is this Halo that you worked for?", Trunks sighed as he loathed his ingrained watchful eyes.

" Rhuebo's sociate."

"What did you do for him, Gru?"

"Telligence for the galactic counsel for years till I became experiment myself…"

"You were a spy…", Trunks concluded aloud with excitement. He was not stricken with disbelief. The fact that appearances can be deceiving was enchanting to Trunks but Gru's beady black eyes welcomed anything but trust.

"So you and Gru gathered almost all the dragon balls by yourself…", she said skeptically.

"Stell, you have no idea. We were always on the verge of getting caught. Thank you by the way for being understanding about keeping our little secret. I feel so bad about it though. It was just a freak accident. Boom he was there!", KJ remarked as they waded through the shallow water. She followed Trunks with her eyes.

"It's so weird seeing him like that…One day he's gone then the next he's back.", Estella remarked, shaking her head.

"Do you remember when your mom used to bring us here to the reefs all the time?", KJ said with a smile trying to change the subject. She wondered how far sound carried over these open waters.

"Yes", she giggled, "Do you remember when I got stung by a jelly fish."

"Your dad was so pissed at us for wondering off!"

KJ wished that she could take those words back, even if that meant painfully reabsorbing them somehow. Estella's expression fell, like the lapping waves of the coral reef. She wrapped the green cloak tightly around her waist, but was careful not to dip its edges in the water. The bottom of its short sleeves hung loose, well onto her ribs, exposing her white tank top below. Goose bumps raised on her thighs just below the cut of her denim shorts. A few small fish passed through her shadow in the shallow water. She buried her nose into the shoulder of the cloak that matched her eyes and breathed it in.

"I'm so sorry Estella.", KJ said as they froze in the teal water.

"It's all right…"

"I want you to know that I wouldn't blame you if you were angry at me."

"For what?"

Her voice was still.

"He would still be here if you know- he hadn't of tried to help me… I wasn't fast enough to get away."

"I don't blame you. I know it's not your fault. Besides, there wouldn't have been another girl in the house if we hadn't of had to come live with you!", she teased with a wink trying to lighten the mood.

KJ feigned a smile, hoping to return to the task at hand. She prayed that the dragon ball would stand out in the blue water, but the vividly colorful reef proved to be good camouflage. Tears pooled on the brims of her dark blue eyes. She forbade them from spilling over. Her will power was strong, but she could only keep them at bay for so long. Her eyes traced the outline of Estella's long shadow in the water.

KJ studied the shadows underneath her tired green eyes. Estella looked out the window their entire journey. They both hopped out of the hover craft without making a sound. The thirty minute flight passed without a word being spoken between the four passengers.

"You girls will have to share a room for a while", the pilot said, "Just think of it like a long sleep over."

His eyes darted away from the mirror over head, looking over his shoulder at the third passenger sitting in the back.

"You'll just have to share a bed with me for a while…",he added with a sigh, "I think I may have some clothes that will fit you. Maybe…"

"Thankyou"

It was the only reply that he received, a gracious yet solemn groan of burden.

The ship entered the craft bay, bobbing along in the streaming air. The doors lifted open and they trickled out one by one. Estella held KJ's arm, attached at her shoulder. The oldest traveler opened the door leading them out of the concrete room. The last passenger lumbered off of the craft with a backpack and two other bags in tow.

"Welcome. This is your home now.", he said holding the door open with his keys in hand.

"Please don't be shy; I bet you're starving. Please help yourself to anything in our kitchen. I'm aware that a lot has changed for you both in a few weeks. Make yourselves comfortable.", he finished as he slipped his brown leather gloves off.

"Thank You, uncle.", a coarse voice called in the dark.

KJ broke from her trance when an orange fish fluttered between her legs in the calve high water.

"Estella… I'm sorry. I just have to ask.", she said shaking her head.

"Yes?", Estella drew out her question with a quirked brow.

"What was it all like, after they took you that is?"

KJ paused and looked at the tall girl with her shimmering blue eyes.

"What exactly happened to you on that ship? Did any of them… you know?"

Her voice cracked with anxiety and she picked at her nails. Stella wasn't sure if KJ's grim expression spoke of disgust or resentment. She felt a strange rise in her spirit at the unusual nervous ticks of the usually confident sixteen year old.

"Are you asking what I think you're eluding to?", Estella wanted to know.

"Yeah…"

"No. That didn't happen thank God. All the way anyway…"

Estella delved into her mind. She sighed because she didn't have to go too deep to remember.

"It's been far too long since you've danced for me?", Captain Halo asked as he adjusted his breast plate.

"Oh, tsk tsk. That's too bad…", she relayed as she wrapped the grey sash around his neck and crawled onto his lap.

"It is", he lulled. She held her breath to avoid the repulsive smell of his iron masked face.

"So, tell me about Earth…", she replied as casually as possible as she continued to dance.

"You know I keep my secrets. I'm paying enough for you! Nearly 15 Alari, double what a normal 'entertainer' would cost! When the debt is complete I will take you there with me when I go back."

Stella's face contorted at the thought that emerged in her mind. She just had to ask.

"KJ, what happened to you two on that ship? I heard rumors that-"

"You heard what?",

KJ's voice was stern and bitter. Estella stopped in her tracks, examining the odd behavior.

"I know this is weird. I get that. You can tell me. I won't think any differently of you."

KJ's frown only deepened, and she dropped her hands to her sides.

"Kira… I love you like my sister. I just want to know if it's true."

"I wasn't willing"

KJ hung her head as if she tried to hide the obvious. Her nose betrayed her, suspiciously turning red, and her pain spilled from her eyes. She trudged away , wading out in the deeper water. She did not look back at Estella. For a few moments all that could be heard, was the sound of water rushing around their legs.

"Kira!"

"I got it! I got it!", KJ hollered as she chased the flash of orange in the teal wave.

"Kira!"

"I heard you the first time!", she yelled as she scrambled in the water

"Look up you dummy!", Estella clenched her trembling fists by her sides.

KJ slowly raised her head from the shimmering treasure that evaded her in the deep. She did not have to see the face underneath the red cloak to see who hovered over her. Her fingers trembled as she began to back away. Estella's feet sunk into the sand, like a heavy stone. She was immovable, stuck as she saw the centurion's face.

"You never come this far outside of the city…", KJ whispered as she marveled at the perplexity high above their heads.

His glow was other worldly. His dark skin was as translucent as paper. Static did not bound around his body like that night in the crumbled tower. He strutted in the air to and fro as if the sky itself belonged to him. They were in his dominion, not the other way around. Two halos of gold peered down at her from beneath the hood. Dusky fingerprints smeared the dragon ball as he rolled it in his large hand. KJ cringed at the thought of his filthy fingernails scrubbing the surface of the ball. To her it was as repulsive as nails on a chalk board. The glimmering light off of the ball nearly blinded her, but she was longer fooled by its reflection in the water.

"Run! Run Estella!", KJ yelled as she dashed through the water, lifting her knees as high as she could.

"I can't", Estella whimpered as stray tears rolled down her cheek.

The tall figure slowly crossed his arms across his lean back. He sloped toward the ground, poising one leg to touch down in the water. KJ's feverish pace was nothing but a leisurely glide to him. He dipped into the water and waded behind KJ. Sand flew from her heels as her feet left the water's edge. She ran on the white sand as fast as her thin legs could carry her. She tried to take off into the air, but her ki failed her, gliding no higher than her knees. His calloused hand wrapped around her wrist. KJ relinquished her weight against her arm, trying to pry his grip away with her other hand. Even a stiff kick to the chest was not enough to earn her release.

"Leave her alone!", Estella growled as she elbowed the stranger's collar bone.

His dark eyes narrowed as he shoved Estella to the ground with a push of his fingertips. He turned his attention again to KJ, then he whipped his head around to the girl sitting on the ground as if he had forgotten something. He allowed KJ to slip from his burning clutch, turning his back to her. He bent over Estella's fallen form. His right hand fell from his waist as he looked her over from head to toe. She remained still in the sand, paralyzed from his piercing gaze. His hand was mere inches from her face.

"DAD!"

KJ cried out instinctively, unable to restrain herself any further when she saw Trunks charging toward them through the sand. It was like a memory playing itself over and over again in her head, in stop motion frame. This scene was all too familiar to her. He rammed his shoulder into the taller man's gut, tackling him into the ocean. He paused when he saw the dragon ball fly through the air just at the sand's edge. He thought about releasing his grip from his struggling enemy. The thought of KJ gasping in the sand cause him to dig his fingers deeper into the stranger's burning hot flesh. His knuckles ached as they hit the hard skull of the person underneath him. The stranger simply straightened his neck and stared after each blow. A whirring charge crossed his confused ears. He paused, looking at the grimacing face beneath the salt water. Bubbles expanded on the surface of the water; Trunks could have sworn that he heard him scream from below. Trunks felt weak as if the life was being sucked from his bones. Trunks was drawn into the hollow empty eyes that were in shifting water below. Did those eyes belong to the stranger, or were they a reflection of his own blue eyes in the water? An explosion of energy blasted him off of his opponent and through the air. His body flopped onto the powdery sand. KJ and Estella ran to his lifeless form while keeping one eye focused on the crashing waves. Gru ran across the shoreline, wasting no time to meet them. He tugged Trunks along in the sand by the shoulders of his black shirt.

"Wat are you doing? Move him out of da way!", he ordered the shocked girls as he struggled to pull the teenager's form through the sand.