"Wow, so this is the lookout, huh?" Rei said aloud, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight that surrounded her as she glanced around the beautiful sanctuary.
"It's SO high up!" squealed Serena, gripping onto Darien's arm nervously. She didn't like heights very much.
"Scared, Meatball head?" Darien teased lightly with a sweet smile, gripping Serena's hand with his own as he pocketed his newly re-capsuled hover car. Serena chose not to respond verbally and preferred to simply scrunch up her face in a cutely irritated manner, before turning her head away from him proudly.
With a mischievous glance to Serena's behaviour, Jadeite grinned before dramatically proclaiming with mock-fear, "Oh the horror! What would we do if someone were to fall?" he quickly clung to Rei, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Maybe we should pair up to keep each other safe?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the fiery princess and her eyes narrowed before she clenched her fists and blazed with fury.
The intensity of her speed and force acted as a well-pronounced demonstration of all the training and effort the Solider of Fire had put into her recent sessions with Nailah. She gripped Jadeites slack hold on her and flipped him easily over her shoulders, landing him dizzily on the ground before her – a small frame of cracked stones now surrounding him.
"Hmph." she glared at him before turning her back to him and flipping her long purple tinted hair off her shoulder in a proud manner, "Don't. Touch. Me." She warned with venom dripping on her every word.
The entire group seemed to stare at the scene with surprise and shock, before Amara was the first to crack up with laughter. Her personal distaste for the Shitennou was restrained by her Princess' faith in them, but that didn't seem to stop her immediate guard from creatively expressing their distaste. Nephrite seemed to struggle to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth betraying his better judgement and curving upwards.
Kunzite rolled his eyes, while Zoicite seemed to sigh; both responding in a manner that implied this behaviour was nothing new to them. Zoicite walked over and roughly pulled Jadeite to his feet. "Can't you ever get along with her?" he hissed, but Jadeite seemed to ignore his companions' complaints and stared dreamily after his attacker.
"What a woman." He sighed quietly and Zoicite noticeably rolled his stunning green eyes, while the remaining group struggled to stifle their laughter.
"Oh dear, do you think they'll notice?" Amy wondered quietly, eyeing the cracked stone around Jadeites' feet with a small frown. She had never seen such stone before and it appeared much tougher than she expected. Knowing the strength of her fellow soldiers' human form, the force of her attack should have had more of an impact than just a few cracked tiles.
"Was that really necessary, Rei?" Lita questioned, not bothering to hide her grin, but Rei simply turned her head away with a proud air. Lita resisted the urge to roll her eyes before she returned to scanning her surroundings with a sigh, "To think, this place was above Earth all along and we had no idea?"
"It's not something designed to be spotted from Earth." Nephrite commented at Lita's side, admiring her beautiful eyes when she wasn't paying attention to him.
"Such a strange place; I wonder what kind of stone this is..." Amy commented to herself, kneeling down and curiously analysing the now-broken tiles of The Lookout with amazement. "It doesn't seem to be anything I've ever seen before."
"It's sacred stone." A voice answered her, making her jump slightly and look for the source; confused when she couldn't find it immediately.
"It's good to see you again, Prince Endymion. And wonderful to finally meet you Princess!" greeted a stout and plump looking creature; his body was pure black and he wore a turban atop his head, as well as a small waistcoat around his bare torso and white Arabian-style slacks. He bowed lowly to Darien and Serena, who stared at him in surprise. Amy looked over curiously, recognising the same voice that had answered her question earlier and all the eyes of the Scouts and Shitennou were drawn to the creature before them.
There was a moment of surprised silence, before-
"AHHHHH!" Serena screamed, leaping behind Darien and peering from around him. Her eyes were wide and doe-like as she stared. The Scouts immediately leapt into action, taking protective stances in front of Darien and Serena and eyeing the creature before them with apprehensive awareness. Serena's fear was not something to be taken lightly in their eyes.
"Oh my!" Mr. Popo seemed to say, sounding impressed but unaffected by the army of Scouts now facing him.
"Serena!" Darien scolded quietly, frowning at his girlfriends' rude behaviour before turning to the Scouts. "Girls, this is completely unnecessary."
The Shitennou remained frozen to their original positions, surprised at the speed of the Scouts reflexive responses. Trista and Hotaru seemed to be the only two Scouts who remained unmoved and comfortable in the presence of this new being.
"What?! Look at him! What do you expect me to do?" Serena squeaked from her sheltered position and Darien couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Mr. Popo simply chuckled. "My apologies Princess," He bowed again, "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Who are you?" Amara asked, frowning and eyeing the creature before her untrustingly. Only a quick glance to the unmoved Trista and Hotaru made her second-guess her protective judgement.
"Of course, how rude of me; I am Mr. Popo. I am the genie of The Lookout and assistant to the Earth's Guardian, Dende." he smiled kindly and Darien observed the genie before him with a curious frown, while the Scouts seemed to visibly relax.
"Have we met before?" Darien asked curiously, feeling a strange familiarity with the being before him. Before Mr. Popo had a chance to respond, however, Serena seemed to appear out of her hiding place, startling her surrounding guard with her suddenly movement; her hyperactive mood swings never ceased to amaze them.
"Wow! A genie? For real?" Serena squeaked excitedly. Suddenly more comfortable around him, Serena seemed to appear at Mr. Popo's side within the blink of an eye; bent forward with her hands resting on her knees, while her eyes shined with child-like curiously, making Darien smile in spite of everything. Serena's head tilted to one-side in wonder and she pouted with a small frown. "You don't look like a genie!" she commented, almost to herself, in thought. She folded her hands behind on her head and scrunched her nose, straightening up and frowning as she considered this revelation.
"Serena." Rei scolded quietly, closing her eyes as she held the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. She sighed, as though praying for patience.
"What did you expect?" laughed Mina, "Some big blue guy in a lamp, coming out, singing songs and offering you 3 wishes?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I guess I was thinking more along the lines of Aladdin!" Serena laughed embarrassedly, scratching the back of her head and taking her place at Darien's side once more.
"I am sorry to disappoint you Princess." chuckled Mr. Popo.
"Hey, don't sweat it!" Serena waved off easily. "As long as I still get three wishes and a magic carpet ride!" she winked with a giggle, shaking her finger at him knowingly.
"I'm not quite sure about the wishes," Mr. Popo responded with quite serious wonder, "that would depend on whether or not you were able to gather all the Dragon Balls. Though Shenron will only grant two wishes, not three. But I do have a magic carpet I am sure you would not be disappointed by."
"NO WAY!" she squealed excitedly, "You actually have one of those?"
"Of course, what kind of genie would I be if I didn't?"
"Wait, what're Dragon Balls?" Kunzite cut in with a frown.
"Who's Shenron?" continued Nephrite. But their words were drowned out by that of the excitable Moon Princess.
Serena squealed and jumped up and down, grabbing Darien's arm in her thrill. He was knocked slightly off balance at the force of her enthusiasm but regained his composure soon enough.
"Can we go for a ride? Please please please?" she begged Mr. Popo and then turned her eyes to Darien with a pleading look; asking his permission as well. He looked helplessly into her shimmering blue eyes and was very close to giving in. He couldn't stand to see her sad, after all.
"Kitten, now may not be the time for that kind of thing." laughed Amara, affectionately addressing her Princess and saving Darien the horror of having to say no. Darien momentarily scowled jealously at Amara's pet name for his girlfriend, before he quickly returned his attention to Serena. The scowl didn't escape the notice of the furious Solider of the Sky, who simply smirked in response before casually resting her arm around the waist of her partner, Michelle.
"We're here on a mission, Serena. There'll be time for carpet flying later!" growled Rei, her fists clenching as she looked disapprovingly at her supposed leader.
"Oh... Yeah. I forgot about that!" Serena laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head once more before flinging herself onto Darien's arm and smiling sweetly at Mr. Popo.
"Relax, Red." Jadeite teased, grinning triumphantly as a light blush crept onto her beautiful face at the use of her ancient pet name. It disappeared as quickly as it came. "You need to learn to loosen up once in a while." He continued with a cheeky wink at her, a bright and cheerful grin still gracing his handsome face.
She turned her ferocious eyes onto him and they narrowed suspiciously, only succeeding to make his grin wider. "We don't have time to be relaxing!" she hissed, "We need to figure out what we're going to do about Nikiko and Gohan! And don't call me Red!" she added on threateningly.
"But I've always called you Red." He continued with a mock expression of hurt, placing his hand against his heart. "That hurts me, Red! After all, you have always been a rather fiery one. I was just being affectionate." He put emphasis on her element of power, the same as his own and his grin broadened as he saw the fury spike.
"LISTEN YOU-" Rei began, but her mouth was quickly covered by the delicate hands of none other than Amy Mizuno. Her arms were quickly restrained by the powerful grip of Lita Kino, while the remainder of the group seemed to stare at the scene with amazement.
"Oh c'mon! I'm sure I could handle her. What's she gonna do? Burn me?" Jadeite continued to tease with a wide grin and mischief shining in his eyes, laughing out loud when Rei seemed to struggle even harder against her friends; her vicious and venomous words being muffled against Amy's hands.
"That's enough Jadeite!" Kunzite scolded, slapping his friend around the head and ignoring the protesting cry of pain and complaint. By enforcing his superior position of power, Kunzite emitted a small wave of energy against Jadeite. Immediately, the young general fell silent; though he continued to rub the back of his head and pouted playfully while his eyes continued to shine with mischief.
"Oh dear, are they always like this?" Mr. Popo questioned curiously.
"Well, Serena and Rei are a lot worse." Mina admitted with a laugh.
"HEY!" Serena protested, making Mina reflexively duck and raise her hands over her head in defence.
"Has Piccolo already arrived?" Darien questioned, frowning curiously and drawing attention back to the matter at hand.
"Yes, he is inside tending to the Nikoten Princess." Mr. Popo answered.
"What about Vegeta?" Mina asked curiously, remembering the Saiyan Prince left first.
"He's in the training room."
"Obviously." Amara rolled her eyes at this A-typical behaviour.
"Can we meet the Guardian? ...Dende?" Darien continued, looking curiously at the small genie before him but smiling kindly all the same.
"Oh yes, he'll be along with Piccolo shortly." smiled the short and plump genie of The Lookout, "Would you like something to eat while you wait?" he offered kindly.
"YAY FOOD!" Serena cheered and then, with wide eyes and a blush creeping on her face, she quickly calmed down and her hands covered her mouth. The entire group burst into laughter.
If there was one thing they could count on, no matter what situation, it was that Serena's enthusiasm for food would never waver.
"Can we trust him?" Amara questioned to Trista and Hotaru, the wiser of the Outer Scouts, while the rest of the group seemed to follow Mr. Popo without a second thought. Together, the Sailors of Pluto and Saturn nodded and smiled as they followed him through to one of the many dining areas.
As they sat together, patiently waiting for the Guardian of Earth to make an appearance to its' Prince, Princess and their respective courts, Serena seemed blissfully unaware of the tension and munched away at the many treats Mr. Popo laid before her. The only person who seemed to playfully match her enthusiasm was Jadeite, while the others dined at a more reasonable pace.
Mr. Popo chuckled at the young Princess, extremely pleased to have such pleasant company. And he told them this.
"My, it's wonderful to have guests at The Lookout once more." He chuckled, "I haven't needed to make so much since Gohan's last visit."
"Sorry if we're imposing." Michelle apologised gracefully and musically, sipping her tea.
"Not at all." smiled Mr. Popo.
"Gohan was here?" Amara suddenly questioned, always alert.
"Yes, he was here a few months ago training with Vegeta and Piccolo." Mr. Popo sighed as he continued to recall the memory, "He was most displeased with his progress after a battle with Vegeta and flew away. I haven't seen him since, though we know that he was brainwashed shortly after, so it's not really his fault."
"That was when we found him and brought him to the Temple." Michelle supplied, meeting Amara's eyes with a nod.
"Does he come here often?" Darien questioned curiously, trying to figure out the young Saiyan.
"I suppose you could say that." smiled the genie, "He and Dende are very close. Though his visits grew less frequent over the passing months, I suspect that is more ChiChi's doing than his own."
"So, he just kind of found The Lookout one day and became friends with Dende?" Rei questioned, frowning curiously as she tried to figure out this mystery.
"No, his father knew of The Lookout years ago. When Goku was just a boy, he came to Korin's Tower in order to train from Master Korin. Upon seeing the potential he held, Korin then sent Goku here to train with our previous Guardian, Kami." Mr. Popo explained, and then went on to entertain his guests with the surprising story of Goku's youthful adventures. Upon mentioning Gohan's adventure to Namek, where he met Dende, Mina spat her juice quite ungracefully in Lita's face.
"Wait! You mean to tell me that the Guardian of the EARTH is an ALIEN?!" she gasped, eyes wide before she saw Lita's unamused expression. Mina laughed in embarrassment and picked up a napkin, dabbing away the droplets of juice.
"Give me that!" Lita hissed irritably, snatching the napkin from Mina's grasp and wiping her face and hair dry. There was a chorus of giggles and snorts, as the team seemed to collectively be trying to hold in their laughter – except Jadeite, he just let it rip and earned a powerful death glare from Lita. Out of loyalty to his love, Nephrite smacked Jadeite on the back of his head, knocking the blonde warrior forwards slightly as he cried out in pain and protest.
"Why yes." Mr. Popo said in response to Mina's outburst, ignoring the small scuffle that was beginning to ensue. "As are the majority of you. The only true human protectors of Earth are Prince Endymion and the Shitennou."
"Did you just call me an alien?!" Mina shrieked, taking serious offence to the statement.
"Well it is true Mina." Amy concurred, placing her hand over her friends in a calming manner. "You are, by blood, Vensuvian. Darien and his guards are the only ones who truly originate from Earth."
"Hey, you forgot about Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu. Not to mention that Gohan, Trunks and Goten are half human." added a cheerful new voice from the doorway.
The group turned curiously, to find the source of this new voice and all except Trista and Hotaru seemed to stare in surprise. Before them, appeared a younger and friendly version of Piccolo, draped in white robes with a velvet vest-jacket and an aged wooden staff clasped in his left hand. He smiled at the group and seemed unperturbed, despite the shocked expressions of the group.
"Wow, now that is an alien."
Nephrite and Kunzite immediately turned their hands towards Jadeite in a reflexive punishment.
"IT WASN'T ME!" Jadeite shouted in defence, raising his hands over his hand and curling into a small defensive ball. "NOT THE FACE! PLEASE NOT THE FACE!" he yelped.
Their movements halted and Zoicite seemed to blush slightly and laughed nervously, "Sorry, I suppose that was quite rude of me."
Nephrite and Kunzite seemed to simply roll their eyes in exasperation.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU HIT HIM!?" Jadeite whined, gesturing to Zoitcite. "He was being WAY more offensive than I was! Geez... Double standards." He seemed to grumble the last few words to himself in a playful show of irritation, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head away until-
"ARGH!" he cried out, holding a hand to his head and glaring at Nephrite, who simply smirked in return. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"Just in case." Nephrite responded nonchalantly and his smirk simply broadened when Jadeite continued to glare at him. If looks could kill...
While the surrounding group seemed unsure how to deal with Jadeite and Nephrites' friendly behaviour, the newest member to their company openly laughed. Smiling brightly, he grinned at the group.
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Dende, the Guardian of the Earth." He bowed respectfully towards Serena and Darien. "Though it was before my time, I have heard wonders of your greatness and have watched many of your battles against evil from my post. I am honoured to be in your presence, Your Highnesses."
Serena and Darien seemed fairly stunned at their humble welcome.
"Uhh..." Serena seemed to begin, none too cleverly.
"HEY! What about us?" Mina protested, frowning indignantly.
"We helped her battles against evil!" Lita continued in the same indignant manner.
"Meatball brains would've been barbeque if it wasn't for us saving her hide all the time!" Rei added.
Darien cleared his throat rather obviously at this statement and raised an eyebrow at Rei, openly questioning her statement with a single look. She blushed slightly in response and looked away.
"I thought so." Darien responded with a smirk.
Serena questioned their interaction with the same intelligent depth as she had done earlier, "Huh?"
"Don't worry Serena," Amy smiled, "Darien was simply making it clear that he is the one who saves your...uh... hide in our battles."
Darien's eyes widened as Serena stared at Amy in an almost horrified manner; he knew her build up and winced just at the thought of it.
"Oh come on! I've gotten a lot better than I used to be!" Serena whined, "You guys aren't ALWAYS jumping in to save me!" She seemed almost tearful now, "You think SO little of me!" And here come the waterworks, "I TRY SO HARD AND I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW IT'S NOT EASY BEING THE LEADER AND SAILOR MOON AND A PRINCESS AND TRYING TO DO WELL IN SCHOOL-"
"But you don't do well in-" Mina tried to cut in and tease, with a sunny and bright smile.
"THAT'S NOT MY FAULT! SCHOOL HATES ME! AND I REALLY DO TRY BUT IT'S JUST SO HARD! WAHHHHHHHH!" Serena whined and cried and the surrounding group cringed.
"Please, PLEASE be quiet!"
Serena's crying immediately stopped and she sniffed, staring tearfully at the voice that had silenced her.
Dende held his head, his eyes closed and he tried desperately to get rid of the pounding in his head. He released a deep sigh before he spoke.
"My apologies Princess, we Namekians have VERY sensitive hearing. Your crying was...uh..." Dende tried to explain, thinking of the most polite way to say-
"Loud and annoying?" Jadeite quipped before reflexively shielding himself and clenching his eyes shut in preparation of pain. After a few moments of nothing, he peeked through one eye and then relaxed his stance; though slightly confused, he dared not question their lack of response. Probably because he was right.
"Cool the waterworks Serena." Rei scolded, frowning. "You're embarrassing yourself."
Serena's lip began to quiver so Darien swiftly intervened, "It's great to finally meet you Dende! But you don't need to keep addressing us as Prince or Princess, just Darien and Serena is fine. Why don't you join us?" He offered; getting to his feet and gesturing Dende his chair but the Guardian shook his head with a smile.
"No thanks; Namekian's don't eat food. We only drink water to survive." Smiled the young guardian.
"What! You don't eat? Not even ice cream or cake or chocolate? Oh, that's so sad!" Serena said; sounding quite genuinely depressed at the idea of someone never eating.
"Wow meatball head, you sure sound healthy." Rei commented with a sly grin and Serena simply blushed in embarrassment as she realised her words.
Laughing past her awkwardness, Serena turned her shining cerulean eyes to Dende, who seemed slightly started at her sudden focus. He was still inexperienced in her legendary mood swings. "Is Nailah alright? We need to speak with her."
"She's resting." Dende responded, his smile dropping to a troubled frown and he looked down sadly, as though he were in trouble with the beautiful Moon Princess, "Unfortunately I wasn't able to heal her. Whatever is poisoning her, it's too strong for my powers right now. But it seems to be fading on its' own." His eyes clenched shut and he spoke with confident determination, almost as though he wished to prove himself to the powerful warriors before him. "Forgive me! I'm sorry that I couldn't heal her, but I'll keep trying until she's well again! I just want to be able to help." He finished quietly and was startled to feel a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't even sensed her movement, but he looked up and met the eyes of the petite Moon Princess. She smiled at him gently and her gaze was immensely comforting to him.
"Dende, don't worry. You've done your best, but her poison is beyond our knowledge and understanding. If it's magical, then I doubt your powers would be of much use." She comforted, "You've done your best and that's all we can ask of you. You've welcomed us into your home and we're thankful to have you, as our planets' Guardian, watching over us." Serena smiled gently, feeling the warmth of her powers spreading through her and reaching out to the troubled Guardian.
"I just wish I could do more to help." Dende sighed, somehow feeling as though he were more relaxed than he ought to be.
"Well, actually, we do need your help." Darien added gently, his deep voice just as kind as Serena's. He had remained in his seat and seemed to be observing the scene before him with a penetratingly analytical gaze. He rested his elbows on the table with his fingers laced together and his lips leant comfortably against them. There was a tense moment of silence before Darien lowered his hands to the table and spoke again, with all dominance and commanding of one who was truly born and bred to lead.
"Before Gohan was captured, his father had advised us to gather the Dragon Balls together in case we needed them."
"Yes, you'd need the Dragon Radar from Bulma to find them." Dende suggested and Darien nodded in understanding, recalling the device.
"I think Gohan had the...uh, 'Dragon Radar' before he was brainwashed by Nikiko-"
"How did that even happen?" Rei questioned with a frown.
"Yeah, I don't remember her getting anywhere near him to-" Lita seemed to continue, but they immediately fell silent at the look Darien sent their way. He continued as though there had been no interruptions.
"So, now, we need a new way of finding the Dragon Balls and, if I'm assuming correctly, the wishes they grant will help us restore all the souls that we've lost over the last few months to Nikiko?" Dende nodded and Darien continued, with a bit more encouragement shining in his eyes, "And we'll be able to restore the lives that were lost in the battle against Gohan, without putting our own lives at risk by abusing the power of our Crystals?"
Again Dende nodded and a quiet gasp escaped that Scouts. Trista's eyes sparkled with pride as she observed the intelligence and defining leadership of the future King, his royal lineage shining through his words and behaviour.
"Yes. We've used the Dragon Balls to do just that many times before." Dende affirmed with a nod.
"Wait wait wait! What ARE the Dragon Balls you're all talking about?" Jadeite questioned with a confused frown. For once, his fellow Shitennou seemed to agree with his interruption and patiently awaited an explanation. Darien looked at them in surprise before nodding, realising that his recently revived Guardians didn't have the background knowledge of the situation like the rest of them did. He looked to Dende, expectantly, for the answer.
"They're seven magical orange balls." Dende explained, "They all have a red star in the middle, but each ball has a different number of stars. When you gather them together, you can summon the magical dragon, Shenron. He then grants you two wishes, which can be anything you want that's within his power." He looked down darkly, frowning with a slightly troubled expression. "I'm not sure where the Dragon Balls are right now. They turn to stone after they've been used, and are spread across the world."
"Then how are we supposed to find them?! They could be any random rock!" Mina exclaimed, letting her head drop to the table as she considered the impossibility of their task.
"Hmph." The deep voice of Vegeta grunted as he swaggered proudly into the kitchen, helping himself to the forgotten meal that lay before them. "Idiots," he continued, "the Dragon Balls are reactivated 12 months after they've granted our wishes. As far as we know, they haven't been activated in over 4 years, so they'll be an easy find."
"Weren't you listening?" Rei snapped, glaring at Vegeta's rude and proud behaviour. "Gohan has the Dragon Radar. We have no way of finding the Dragon Balls! They could be anywhere across the globe and, for all we know, Nikiko might already have them!"
"We would have known if Shenron had been revived." Vegeta growled, "And that pathetic excuse for Saiyan offspring is not the only being on this planet with a Dragon Radar."
"He's right." Dende nodded, "Bulma will probably have another Dragon Radar we can use. Or she'll probably be able to build one easily." He smiled and Darien nodded thoughtfully before he continued speaking.
"When will we be able to speak to Nailah?" he questioned again, "We need to find out what we can about Nikiko from her."
"Hey, that's right!" Serena suddenly added, her eyes widening as she recalled their battle. "Nailah and Nikiko are sisters!"
"WHAT!" gasped Mina, Lita, Rei and Amy; the only members of the group who hadn't been present to witness the siblings' battle.
"No wonder they looked the same!" Rei mumbled to herself in disbelief.
"Yeah, but why wouldn't she tell us something like that?" frowned Mina, "You'd think that might be kinda important!"
"Not necessarily." Amy argued thoughtfully, "She might have asked for our help because she can't face battling against her own sister."
"Not from the way I saw it. They looked ready to kill each other if they had the chance." Serena disagreed sadly, hurt at the idea of two siblings so set against each other.
"But then, why does she need our help if she knew Nikiko was her sister?" Lita frowned, tapping her chin in thought.
"Yes, I was wondering about that too. I have a feeling it might have something to do with their negated ki blasts." Amy added thoughtfully, "She never had that effect with her attacks when we were training."
"I think we just need to wait until we can ask her all of our questions." Darien concluded.
"I'll tell you what I can." Groaned a weak voice from the doorway as Nailah entered, looking exhausted and wincing with pain. Though, the dark lines of poison-filled veins seemed less prominent than they were a couple hours earlier. "But don't expect me to tell you everything." Nailah warned; her deep amber eyes shone with determination and fierce decision.
"You'll tell us what we want to know!" Amara spat darkly, narrowing her eyes at Nailah's weak form but, when Michelle gripped her hand and Darien shot the Solider of the Sky a look of warning, she forced herself into control her temper. Her sharp eyes continued to glare acidly at the weakened Nikojin.
Nailah, however, simply narrowed her eyes at the fierce warrior before turning her head away and ignoring her.
"What do you want to know?" she growled, limping to a seat that Mr. Popo had kindly brought out for her.
After a moments silence amongst the group, Darien spoke, "You said that Nikiko attacked your planet and that it's now under her control. But, now we know that she's your sister." He began, watching Nailah carefully. But her reaction remained stoic, "We want to know what happened." he gently requested.
Nailah sighed and closed her eyes, as though she were praying for patience, before she spoke in a calm and collected manner. "Does it really make any difference whether she is my sister or not?" She turned her hard gaze directly on the future King of the Earth, "Her infection has spread throughout my people; HER people. She has spread the darkness in the purest of hearts and her damn Shadow Senshi are more powerful than I remember." She spat fiercely.
She blinked and realised her tone had become harsh, despite her efforts to remain controlled. With a deep breath, she tried to level her tone once more. "The affairs of my planet are none of your concern-"
"You've made them our concern. So cut the crap!" Amara spat venomously.
"Amara!" Michelle scolded, frowning furiously.
"I've had enough of her rubbish!" the furious Solider of the Sky defended.
"She's got a point." Darien commented gently, the frown on his mature face spoke of wisdom beyond his years. "You have lead a dangerous enemy to our world; an enemy whom we may never have encountered if you hadn't fled to Earth." Nailah's eyes narrowed at these words and her tail twitched left and right, but the future King continued nonetheless. "You have forced your affairs upon our planet by seeking out our help and our people have suffered in the process, despite our best efforts to prevent it. Gracing us with a full understanding of the situation is the least you can do."
"I have been training you and preparing you, to the best of my knowledge, to fight these monsters-" Nailah began in a fearsome and impatient hiss, his fists clenching and her eyes narrowing as she glared at the Earth's Prince.
"Training and preparation that would have been unnecessary, if they hadn't been drawn to our planet by your energy to begin with." Darien cut across quite smoothly, frowning and asserting his dominance as a leader. That lack of ferocity and the patient volume in his voice seemed to only enhance the effect of his words, as Nailah fell silent. Glaring as her tail continued to twitch.
"You think that I, alone, was the one who lead her here?" Nailah spat in response, "I don't doubt that the power of your Crystals would have caught her attention eventually. By that time, she may have been even more powerful than she is now, with an even more powerful army of infected creatures under her control! My presence puts you in the best position to fight against her!"
"Then why did your attack have no affect?" Amy questioned boldly, uncharacteristically glaring at the Nikojin before her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nailah responded quickly and quietly, looking away as her tail twitched viciously.
"Your ki attacks negated one another. Why?" Zoicite elaborated calmly.
"Pssst." Jadeite whispered to Nephrite quite unsubtly behind his hand, despite his supposed best efforts. "What's ki?" he whisper-questioned.
Nephrite resisted the urge to roll his eyes and released an exasperated sigh, "You're an idiot." He muttered before responding, "It's another name for our energy attacks."
"Oh, why didn't he just say so?" Jadeite asked himself quietly; scrunching a face at the unnecessary jargon. The majority of his surrounding company chose to ignore him; though Amara openly rolled her eyes and Serena's lips quirked in amusement.
"Look, this is clearly getting us nowhere fast. Either you tell us what's going on, or we force you to tell us." Rei threatened, her patience wearing thin from the circling conversation.
"Now you're talking my language." Lita grinned menacingly, pounding her right fist into her left palm eagerly.
"Perhaps I can scan her and create a program to access her memories?" Amy suggested thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her chin.
"No way! That would take forever! I think Rei is thinking about this the right way now." Mina grinned, in a similarly sadistic style to her fellow Scouts.
Nailah's eyes seemed to widen slightly as she realised that they were, in fact, serious. She knew in her presently weakened state, she would be no match for one Scout, let alone so many.
"That's enough." A gentle, forgotten voice intervened.
Their heads turned to Serena, who was still stood beside Dende and had been observing the discussion quite thoughtfully. Darien seemed confused at her intrusion, knowing that his beloved was normally in agreement with him. She continued to speak with a gentle, but firm tone. "I don't think we should push her to tell us about something so painful." Her eyes were on Nailah, caring and sincerely sympathetic, "You're all asking her to tell us about her sister and her people turning against her. I think that's enough for us to know that we should do everything we can to help. And the only way we can do that, is if we focus on what we need to do: stopping Nikiko as soon as we can and getting Gohan back safe and sound."
The eyes of her companions, specifically those of Darien, Trista, and Hotaru, shone with pride. Though her maturity was shining through more regularly, Serena continued to take her friends by surprise during these moments. The shining determination in her eyes and the seriousness of her expression left no room for doubt or argument. Darien conceded to her will with a smile, demonstrating the importance of her opinions upon his decisions, as well as his trust in her.
With a dramatic sigh, Lita slumped back into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting cutely. "No fair." She complained and Serena smiled gently in response.
"She turned the man in to a mouse." Jadeite teased his friend quietly, with a mischievous grin. Darien rolled his eyes and smirked unashamedly at the General.
"Jealous?" Darien teased in return and Jadeite scowled.
"Immensely; do you remember how long it took to get her to LIKE me the first time around?" he whined, jabbing his thumb in Rei's direction before groaning and covering his face with his hands in a defeated motion. He continued to mumble some muffled complaints, which were easily ignored.
Lita and Mina smirked in Rei's direction, but she stubbornly rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, turning her head away proudly.
"So, after all that, what's our plan?" Hotaru prompted, speaking for the first time during their entire discussion.
"I'm guessing there's not even any point in asking for hints from you two?" Amara casually questioned.
Trista smiled sadly, "Unfortunately not, the timelines are very twisted and the slightest fault on our part could result in a change to the future we wish to create."
"Then why did you bring Hotaru back?" Mina frowned, not having been present for their initial arrival.
"Sailor Saturn of the present is still an infant, in the care of her father, Dr. Tomoe. It is not yet time for her to be taken from him to grow into her powers." Hotaru answered darkly, "But we've seen what fate is in store for the future, should we not have enough power to defeat Nikiko. This seemed like the best possible solution, according to Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion." Her youthful appearance mismatched against her many lifetimes of experience. She smiled sweetly, reminding the group of the Hotaru they had known, before her rebirth, less than a year ago. "I'm not going to be around for long. Two of the same being cannot be present in one timeline for extended periods of time. I will have to return to the future before I join you for the final battle."
"You won't be fighting with us?" Serena asked; the sadness and disappointment in her tone was evident. But Hotaru smiled and shook her head.
"I will join you for the final battle, Princess, but I won't be present for the in-between." She confirmed.
As the Sailor Scout of Death and Rebirth, she remembered each lifetime she had lived through since the beginning of time; just as Sailor Pluto had guarded the Gates of Time since the beginning, watching over the timelines and protecting them from abuse.
"What is with all this 'Princess' stuff?" Serena grumbled, earning a small giggle from the group. "You know I don't like formalities!" she whined.
"I think we're hitting a bit of a tangent here." Kunzite prompted, though his smile couldn't be hidden by his serious tone.
"Uh, what's a tangent?" Jadeite whisper-questioned to Nephrite with a confused and slightly panicked expression.
"Definitely an idiot." Nephrite grumbled, hitting Jadeite on the back of his head – much to the amusement of the surrounding Scouts. "He means we're getting off topic." He responded
"Why couldn't he have just said that?" Jadeite whined.
"Alright alright!" Darien cut in, an amused smile gracing his handsome face. "That's enough. Kunzite is right. We need to sort out a plan of action. What are our objectives?"
"We need to find out where Gohan is." Amy prompted almost immediately, blushing slightly at the looks she received. It was almost as though she was incapable of NOT answering a question that she knew the answer to.
"Right and I suggest we look into gathering the Dragon Balls too; so they're ready when we need them." Darien nodded, a commanding and direct tone taking over his voice once more. Turning to direct his gaze to the newest additions to their team, Darien addressed Trista and Hotaru before he delegated tasks. "How long shall you both be joining us?"
"I cannot leave the Gates unattended for much longer. We're here only to ensure you're on the right path, then we shall take our leave and see you again when we are needed." Trista responded calmly, and the Prince nodded in understanding.
"Then this is how we'll do it." He turned his gaze on to the rest of his team, who seemed much more alert and eager, now that there seemed to be some form of action involved.
With confidence, Darien separated their group into pairs. Serena's immediate Scouts being guarded by their respective Shitennou, while Amara and Michelle preferred to work together, as did Darien and Serena. No one felt it would be necessary to split up the loving couples and, despite the Scouts protests, their pair allocation was final.
"We'll all first need to visit Capsule Corporation," Darien continued, surprising himself with his confident leadership, "so we can see if Bulma has any spare Dragon Radars."
"I doubt she'll have 6." Nephrite commented sceptically.
"Well she'll just have to make more then, won't she?" Mina patronised with a smug smirk when Nephrite scowled in her direction.
"Actually, I think we'll only need 5." Darien countered thoughtfully.
Nephrite looked puzzled, glanced around and counted the pairs once more before raising an eyebrow at his friend.
"I want Zoicite and Amy to work on designing a program to locate Gohan."
Nephrite seemed even more puzzled as he considered this notion, and Darien raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
"Why don't you just use your powers to locate his presence through the Earth?" Nephrite suggested, as if it was one of the most obvious things in the world.
Darien's eyes widened slightly in realisation when he recalled this forgotten power; immediately, he moved off his chair and knelt on the ground. Closing his eyes, he placed a hand on the floor and willed his powers to find his friend, recalling Gohan's specific ki-wave and searching. After a few moments, with a confused frown, Darien returned to his seat.
"It's strange. I couldn't even feel the Earth..." he murmured to himself.
Vegeta snorted with disbelief at this Prince's clear lack of intelligence, "That's because we're above the Earth right now, you half-wit."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Nephrite immediately leapt to his feet, his hands reflexively reaching for his sword. But he was suddenly surrounded by a golden line of glowing light and the eyes of his fellow guards widened.
Darien frowned darkly, his hand outstretched as he felt the power of the Golden Crystal pulsing through him. Never before could he remember using his powers in such a way, yet it felt second nature to him to access this hidden ability.
"That's not necessary, Nephrite." Darien controlled coolly, relaxing his hand so that his hold over his friend was released.
"Hmph." Vegeta smirked at the pathetic attempt of the weak little humans to supposedly harm him. "Besides," he continued smugly, earning a glare from the loyal Guardians of Endymion, "from what we know, Gohan isn't even on this planet right now."
"What?" the Scouts gasped, eyes widening in surprise.
"Where else could he be?" Serena yelped in surprise.
"How could you possibly know that?" Mina questioned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Vegeta rolled his eyes, their stupidity already beginning to annoy him.
"We can't sense his ki." Dende answered, when it seemed clear that Vegeta considered the question below him. "We can't know for sure, but it's more than likely that in such an out of control state of mind, Gohan wouldn't be worried about hiding his energy. So, since we can't sense him, it probably means he isn't on the planet."
"But, where else would he be?" Serena questioned with a puzzled frown.
Amy's shining azure eyes met with intense shades of amber, as Nailah looked up and, together, answered the now-obvious question.
"Nikota."
A/N: I know that this chapter is very conversation heavy, and not much actual plot movement, but it was important to get through! I'm not too happy with it myself, really, but I wanted to make sure I made a decent update tonight! I'm sorry for my late updates and I hope I'll be more regular, but I doubt it. Thank you for sticking with the story for so long, it really means a lot to me and I hope you're enjoying it! I'll try and update again soon!