A Special Training XX
Disclaimer: The copyrighted characters do not belong to me,
and I make no money from this.
Usagi
opened her broach, without letting the other Sailor's get a good look at its
new design. The perfect silver crystal inside shone brightly, and she stared at
it intently, channeling the power into Pluto.
"How are
you doing?" asked Pluto, seeing the strain on her Princess' face.
"Fine," she
grunted back, and started to power up. Everyone stepped back at the ground
underneath her cracked and splintered, shards of rock being tossed into the
air. Her crescent moon appeared, and ghostly silver light shone around her.
Gesturing
with the staff, Pluto opened the time gate, and they jumped through. Trunks
followed, like he was having a hard time making himself go, with Gohan
following him. Piccolo was the last, giving her a lingering look before
stepping through the portal.
Pluto
watched at her Princess and the Namek exchanged a look, and felt very proud.
Then it was
their turn, and they walked into a different earth.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hell was
the first word that sprang into Usagi's mind.
Even the
devastation that Wiseman had caused was nothing compared to this. A twisting feeling
was in her stomach, one that she was pretty sure wasn't morning sickness. Rage,
then hatred bled into her heart, sullying what was once pure. She could
understand Trunks so well now.
"Where are
they?" she asked faintly, looking over at Trunks. The other Sailors were
covering their mouths, or crying, or throwing up.
He had
closed his eyes, and swallowed visibly.
"You aren't
fighting them," he said, blue eyes turned to ice.
"I will
punish them," she said flatly, anger turning her eyes red. Blood red. Eclipse
red.
"Not
today," said Piccolo, from behind her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and
she turned to face him, and he recoiled.
It was
carefully blank, but rage showed in her every line. It was the type of rage
that had created Super Saiya-jins, and it was what had made him choose to bond
to Kami. He suddenly afraid for the baby.
"Don't," he
said softly, feeling her muscles tense for a flight to find the Androids. Then
Pluto came over, and she stood in front of her Queen.
"You
promised, your majesty."
Taking a
shaky breath, Usagi breathed out, and looked at her friends. They were right.
Now was not the time. Trunks gestured, and they started walking towards capsule
corp.
"What was
that about?" asked Piccolo, dropping back to speak with the Keeper of Time.
"Usagi, no
matter how she might have changed, is protector of the earth, the entire solar
system, even. Seeing any planet that bears that name in ruins, like this, is
going to awaken things inside her that are better left sleeping. The moon… has
many aspects. She is about to take on the guise of the Mother, part of the full
moon. It was representative of a woman in her full bloom of power and beauty,
bearing her first child. The other aspects are different. She had been the
Maiden, the Moon as it waxes. There are two others, considered the darker,
harsher aspects. They are the Crone-"
"And the
warrior, the Eclipse," Piccolo finished. Pluto looked startled, then nodded.
Piccolo
said nothing more, and caught up with Usagi.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Trunks?"
said a voice, inside the building. Usagi recognized it…
Bulma
emerged, wiping her hands absently on a grease-stained rag, her blue hair in a
bun, looking at the people in front of her building.
"Trunks?"
she asked again, this time confused. Usagi couldn't help herself. Here was her
friend, or almost friend, looking like worn paper. She had aged well, but
despair takes it toll on anyone.
She ran
over, and enveloped the older woman in a hug.
"Who?"
"I'm sorry,
Bulma-san, but seeing you like this, after I knew you in the other time-"
"I'm sorry,
mother, this is Usagi, she's a friend of mine," Trunks interrupted, and gave
his mother a hug as well. She smiled at him, and returned it.
"Oh, your
friend, huh? Like, say, a girlfriend?" she said, and winked, then she noticed
the slight bulge in Usagi's middle.
"No,"
Trunks sighed, and gave her a puppy eyed look. "She's taken, and that's part of
the reason we are here."
"We?" asked
Mirai Bulma and then noticed the others on her lawn. A large group of girls,
two of which were looking at Trunks like a side of beef, another wistfully, (I
might be able to work with that one) and-
"GOHAN!"
she shrieked, seeing the boy. He looked just like he had at eleven. Tears
streaming down her face, she ran to him, and hugged him hard. Picking the
surprised boy up, she looked teary eyed at Trunks.
"You did
it? You saved the other time line?"
"Yes," she
heard another familiar, now fondly remembered voice answer. "You should be
proud of your son, Bulma."
Then she
saw Piccolo. To everyone's shock, as well as her own, she went over and kissed
the large green Namek on the cheek.
Then she
noticed another aspect of the group dynamic.
Piccolo was
standing very close to Usagi, the blond fighter. She had never seen Piccolo act
that way around anyone, and suspicions went off in her head. There were another
obvious couple- two women in the background, although they looked like they
were guarding Usagi.
Strange,
she didn't look like she needed much protecting.
"You said
there was a reason that you are all here," Bulma said, suddenly all business.
Trunks
nodded again. "Usagi came from another universe, because she heard Kami ask for
help against the Androids, and Cell. She came to the other Universe, and ended
up dying there. She went home after she was wished back, along with me." Here
Bulma gasped, and immediately did as all mothers would, and inspected him all
over.
Trunks put
up with it, because she had been doing this ever since he had been able to
fight.
"She went
home," he went on," but Piccolo," he looked over at the green giant, who was
both blushing and scowling," was so lovesick that that universe's Bulma decided
to use the technology from the time machine to open a portal to Usagi's
universe. We got there, and found her, and found out that she was pregnant-"
Bulma had
heard enough. She passed out cold.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When she
woke up she was in her lab- on one of the tables. Usagi was careful not to
touch anything, but Ami was in her element, commenting on the genius of the
person who had made such things, and raptly taking it all in.
Bulma
smiled to herself as she saw the glance Trunks made at her. Oh, yes, there was
definitely potential there.
Usagi
apparently saw it too, and grinned, her eyes meeting Bulma's, and she nearly
laughed aloud. There was a kindred spirit, at least in the matchmaking
department.
"What was
it that you were needing my help for?" Bulma asked, dispensing with the
preliminaries.
"We were
needing someone who knew something about human/alien crossbreeds," Usagi
stated, looking at Bulma. "I had volunteered to help with Trunks get rid of the
androids, they should be no problem now, but-"
Ami took
over," we are afraid of the risk involved with this pregnancy. So far as we
know, there has never been a human, or should I say, lunarian, hybrid with a
Namek, before."
"Considering
that the Piccolo I knew was asexual, I should say not."
There was a
sigh from a corner, and her eyes were drawn to Piccolo, who had been standing
rock still.
"Don't ask;
it's a long story."
Bulma
nodded. She continued. "What tests have you done? How far along are you?"
Ami pulled
out her computer, and in it had all the information at the time.
"Wow,"
Bulma said, looking at the computer. Oh yes, if Trunks didn't marry her, she
would have to disown him.
"So far, it
looks like the major problems will be the eggshell. I think we should try to
find some way to dissolve it, and have the baby normally. Um…" she pursed her
lips, and looked over the data again. "I also think we should get you on
different vitamins and minerals as soon as possible. Pregnancy takes a lot of
reserves out of a woman, and you will want to start eating a lot more."
Usagi
looked sick at that. She hadn't been hungry, just very thirsty, recently, and
the thought of eating a lot, made her feel even worse.
"You'll
need it. You are looking rather wasted."
She did.
Usagi, had, in the last few days, had gone from the prime of health, to looking
sallow and wan.
"And
Piccolo-"
The giant
Namek had been about to go and find food, but stopped when Bulma said his name.
"I would
like to see how you are taking all this. Nameks aren't territorial, but they
are very protective. I'm not sure it's all cultural, either. You took in Gohan,
and while you trained him hard, you always treated him like your offspring,
matching what I learned from Dende. There is a practice of fostering that your
people have- Well, you are going to be very broody around Usagi. Usagi, prepare
to be watched day and night by a very large Namekian guard dog. The community
would gather to protect the Namek young, before and after hatching. I wish there
were still people who cared about scientific papers," she said to herself.
"This one would be so awesome to write!"
Usagi then
let out a huge yawn. Before she could say anything, Piccolo was picking her up
and taking her to bed. Bulma chuckled.
"I hope
that girl knows what she is in for!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~
"Piccolo, I
can walk by myself," Usagi said, sounding grumpy.
"You are
tired, and you need to eat."
"Piccolo,
just because Bulma said that you would be protective doesn't mean that you have
to take her this seriously!"
"I'm doing
this because I love you, and I know how stubborn you can be," he said, annoyed.
"The baby might get hurt if you ignore your body. I won't allow that!"
"Won't allow?"
"I love
you," he said again, and kissed her gently. Usagi relaxed them, and giggled.
"I trade a
stupid human for you. I don't know if I got the better end of the bargain," she
joked, and Piccolo looked hurt.
"What?" she
asked, and saw that he quickly masked what he felt.
"Piccolo, I
never felt much for Mamoru," she whispered, suddenly realizing what she had
said. "All I felt for him was a remnant of a thousand years ago. It was puppy
love, a child's crush. I got something much better when I found you," she said,
and suddenly kissed his nose in a teasing way. "And, by the way, even if we
don't get married, I am never, ever letting you go. You try to run, you will
have a mad stalker on your tail in this life, and the next, and next!"
She could
feel Piccolo trembling at that statement. He brushed her hair out of her face,
and looked at her in wonder at the precious gift she had given him.
She
snuggled into his chest. Okay, I do like it when he gets protective…
Particularly because I think I am going to freak out about this whole pregnancy
thing.
Like most
new mothers, she was terrified, but training had taught her how to hide it.
That didn't stop her from thinking, and she had envisioned all sorts of things
that could go wrong.
Raging maternal
instincts had also combined with her protector's instincts, and would those
androids be sorry… You don't mess with a female protecting her cubs.
Particularly this one.
`*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Eat,"
ordered Piccolo, and Usagi grimaced. He had carried her to the kitchen, and she
was trying to eat some cheese. While she had been picking at that, Piccolo had
brought her various vegetables and fruits, and she had nearly choked at the sheer
volume.
"I can't
eat all that! I'll explode!"
He kept his
gaze locked on her, and she hesitantly started in. Her old appetite began to
return, and she dug in with more gusto.
Piccolo
sighed with relief.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So, where
is everyone staying?" asked Trunks, as he escorted the Sailor Senshi around. He
had taken half to find rooms, while Bulma had taken the other half. They had
been discussing what they would do the next day. He was happy to hear them
discussing various types of relief efforts. From what he had seen, they could
at least defend themselves against any humans that might attack them. They
might be able to keep the androids at bay, if they were in a group.
"Well,
Trunks, where is your room?" asked Minako, who was stranding by Makoto. Trunks
wondered why he hadn't tried to get the Outers. But then, he had seen the look
that Haruka had given his mother. He was happy he only had to deal with girls.
"Not here,"
he answered, and left them there. He was very happy when he ran into Ami, who
was still talking animatedly with his mother.
"Save me!"
he yelled, and dived behind her.
"Trunks?"
they both asked, and face vaulted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Piccolo,
are you going to carry me to bed?" Usagi asked playfully. She put her arms out.
Piccolo
looked her up and down. "Your legs are working fine."
She pouted.
"All right then," she said, brightening, "I'll carry you to bed!"
"WHAT?"
Piccolo was
suddenly being carried in the small arms of his lover, who was kissing him
enthusiastically. He submitted, and allowed her to continue, even though he had
vague worries about how this might effect-
Then, he
really didn't care anymore.
To be continued.