Chapter 6 : Brief Moments of Pleasure or Eternity of Happiness
Author's Note : Party Streamers every where, characters from various anime lay drunken, or just plain exhausted, on the floor. YEAAAAA! IT'S LARK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY! Happy birthday to me. PLEASE REVIEW since it is my birthday and all. On with the story.
Basic Disclaimers : I, Lark57, do not own DragonBall Z or Sailor Moon. I sit up in my room, praying every night that I did but it never seems to work, so drat, I don't own anything.
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Hotaru lay in her bed in somewhat of a dream state. She felt stronger than before. Maybe I can go get another snack, she thought wistfully, or Goten is here and he can get it for me, she added and raised her head ever so slightly to look around the room. Hmm, he must be in the bathroom or something, she assumed but then searched around the apartment for his thoughts and found there were none.
MICHELLE! Hotaru screamed in thought being that she was too weak to do it out loud. The mermaid came running into the room quickly, looking around for some great threat.
"Why'd you wake me up?" Michelle whined, rubbing her eyes. She had been having this great dream about her and Trunks.
"Where are Goten and Trunks?" Hotaru asked urgently.
"I don't know," Michelle realized, "Maybe they went out to get something to eat."
"And just not tell either of us," Hotaru countered. "You think maybe Darien came and took them."
"Maybe," the other goddess agreed but she hoped it wasn't true. "If he did I hope they don't try to fight him."
"You're starting to hurt my feelings when you say that," Goten said quietly as he appeared in the door way with Trunks standing silently next to him, the last dragonball in the crook of his shoulder.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Michelle exclaimed. "You scared us half to death."
"We just went to get the last dragon ball. As a present sort of," Trunks explained plainly, his voice lacking the usually thoughtful tone.
"I thought we had agreed that you two would take us to the location of the last dragon ball then we would get it ourselves," Hotaru remembered, still lying in bed but slowly feeling energy come back to her as she realized that not everything was as it should be. I know Darien did something, Hotaru informed Michelle and could tell that the girl agreed. Be careful.
"But now that you have all the dragonballs you can revive the 4 planets," Goten said simply, walking towards the bed so that he could help Hotaru up. The vampire willed herself not to shudder when she felt the familiar heat make her skin prickle. This was defently not the Goten she loved. Michelle rested her hand on the vampire's and kept the heat at bay so that whoever was controlling Trunks and Goten would still think that the goddesses were clue less.
"Let's go onto the beach," Trunks suggested, "That should be a big enough area."
"Okay," the girls agreed and followed the Sayians out of the apartment where it was a little past midnight, storm clouds making dark splotches in the sky.
"Would you look at that," Goten thought aloud, his voice taking on an uncharacteristic evil tinge, "it's a full moon."
"That can't be right," Michelle squeaked, "The moon cycle only started last week."
"Michelle," Hotaru said, looking up at the sky, a rare look of surprise on her face coming through the usual mask, "Look."
The mermaid looked up and saw the clouded moon which would soon be shining light on to her magiced skin. When that happen she would resort back to her true form of a mermaid. But it's too early for the full moon, she told herself again and again then the laughing image of King Darien and his wife Sereana, goddess of the moon, appeared in her head.
"He got her to move the phases forward," Michelle realized out loud and Hotaru nodded in agreement. Trunks and Goten only stood there, the bag of Dragonballs and a small thing wrapped in velvet on the groud next to them.
"Well then we should get started just in case Darien decides to attack," Goten said easily and began to lay the orbs in the chronological order in a circle around Hotaru and Michelle.
[A/N-I know that the Guardian of the Earth is suppose to this part, aka Dende, but it would be kinda of weird if he just popped up, wouldn't it?]
Somehow Michelle, who was preparing for the excruciating pain that came with the change knew exactly what to say to bring the Dragon forth. She opened her mouth to speak when Hotaru yelled her name.
"What?" Michelle asked, opening her eyes and horrified to see Hotaru holding Trunks' wrist which held a glimmering knife. "Trunks?" she asked in wonderment.
"You don't deserve your planet back you wench," he sneered, trying to struggle against Hotaru's iron grip. "Bitch, would you let go of me," he demanded. Suddenly the powered up Goten ran up and brought his hand down hard on Hotaru's wrist.
"SHIT," Hotaru cursed as her bone cracked in about a million places and her skin burned from Goten's energy. "What have you done to them Darien?"
"Hotaru!" Michelle alerted her and the vampire looked down angryily as she saw Michelle changing back into a mermaid, a few yards or so from the beach.
"Say it now Michelle, evoke the dragon, I'll hold them off," Hotaru ordered and began carefully fighting Trunks and Goten. She never wanted to hurt either of them but if they didn't stop interfering she would have to do something.
"Dragon Shenlong, I, mere Goddess Michelle of Neptune, evoke thee to call upon your awesome and radical powers!" the mermaid called out into the dark night. Lights in apartments went on and people popped out, demanding that the teenagers stop their theatrics and making obscene gestures. Michelle paused in her spell to purr a sweet melody, making the spectators wander back into their beds.
"Dragon Shenlong," Hotaru interrupted in midst of fighting, "I, humble Mistress Hotaru of Saturn, beg thee to give us a lead way into your fierce stream of power!" There was a strike of lighting that blasted apart one of the islands in the murky water but Hotaru was unsure whether it was the power of the dragon or a normal thunder storm because it began to rain hard on the scene. Then a magnificent emerald green dragon snaked through the sky, and stared at the preoccupied girls.
"I am the dragon Shenlong and I have heard the pleas of the goddesses, what is it that you wish of me?" the absolute power asked.
"We request the return of the planets Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, including the people and creatures that died that night," Michelle informed the dragon, ignoring the pain of her emerging tail.
"It has been done," the dragon announced and disappeared as quickly as he had come. However the rain still remained.
"We win Darien, now release Trunks and Goten from whatever spell you have them under," Michelle said, now in her full mermaid form and pretty much helpless on land.
"No," a voice objected like a small child from the sky.
"Darien, the planets have returned, there is no reason that the two boys should be involved anymore," Hotaru said evenly, small scratches and burns healing instantly on her face from the Sayians' attacks.
"It's the knife that is casting the spell, not me. If you let them kill you then the spell will be broken and they can go back to their original and uneventful lives," the King explained.
Hotaru looked down at Michelle who had already made her decision. "Hotaru, we have lived our lives, we have seen all there is to see, Trunks and Goten are still young, they have so much more that they are destined for." Hotaru nodded solemnly in agreement and put down her arms, making her and Michelle easy targets.
Trunks and Goten paused for a second and Hotaru hoped that maybe they had broken through the spell of the dagger. However when she searched their minds she saw that they were only deciding whether it was a trick or not. "No it is not a trick, we would much rather die for you then live with your deaths shadowing our souls," she informed them sincerely.
The two Sayians smiled wickedly. Goten, who was now the welder of the knife stepped forward and slid it slowly into Hotaru's rib cage, making sure she felt every moment of the pain. She could feel her bloody tears slip down her already wet face as the rain became harder. "I still and will always love you Son Goten," she said before slipping off the point of the knife into a heap. Something told the boy to finish the job completely and he continued to slash the entire body of the once beautiful goddess until she was nothing but a pile of mangled flesh and watery blood.
Michelle lay there sobbing as her confidant fell next to her. I never imagined love would be the death of you Hotaru, she thought and hoped that the telepathic vampire could still hear her.
Trunks said nothing as he took the knife from Goten and crouched to the level of the mermaid. He looked into her eyes and Michelle tried to look upon him as a minion of Darien, friend of the killer or Hotaru, but she couldn't. Trunks would always be her lover and her friend, no matter what he did consciously or not.
"I will miss you," Michelle said to him as if she didn't think she would die that moment. "I'll miss dancing and kissing, and watching you have staring contests with penguins in -100 degrees weather," she remembered. It had been only a few hours ago but now the Sayian looked on her with hatred and scorn.
"I will miss you," Trunks struggled, making Michelle's eye widen. Maybe Trunks has broken through it.
"Don't be silly goddess," the voice of Darien said again, "It's is only a temporary glitch, that Demi Sayian apparently doesn't love you enough to break the spell of the knife, the power is just too strong."
Then an unexpected voice of who Michelle guessed what the captured Son Goku popped into the conversation. "Don't believe him Michelle. The power is only as strong as the love Trunks has for you and if he can't break through he must really care about you."
"Thank you," Michelle whispered and looked back upon Trunks who still seemed to be arguing with himself, "It's all right Trunks, you don't have to fight."
"But, but," Trunks objected, "you did it for me."
"I know and your debt has already been repaid," Michelle told him, took the sword from his hand and stabbed it into her own heart. The golden blood seeped out of the wound as Trunks stared in horror.
The spell of the Devil's Heart ended. Trunks was still frozen in his squat, staring at the mermaid who was now lifeless on the ground. Goten went into a hysteria, shuddering in oblivion of his evil doings. He sat on the ground next to his destorted lover and began rocking back and forth, unable to face the fact that Hotaru was dead.
"Are you just going to sit there," the confidant giving voice of Goku wondered, trying to reach the crushed fighters. "Are you just going to let Darien get away with their death and your deception?"
"You heard Michelle and Hotaru, Dad," Goten reminded him, "We're no match for King Darien."
"Does that mean that you're not going to try?" Goku contradicted, trying to find some shroud of confidence and want of revenge.
Trunks sat, still stiff, listening to what his father's 'friend' was trying to tell them. "He's right Goten, we should at least try to fight."
"Even if we loose?" Goten ask, his fear apparently clear. Hotaru had been the strongest person he had known next to his father and now she was dead indirectly by the hands of Darien. The god now truly scared the boy.
"Yeah, Michelle and Hotaru would have done it for us," Trunks said which convinced Goten.
"There's my boy," Goku said from the sky and brought the two kid fighters up to his world where Darien was waiting .
"I see Goku was able to draw you to your death," he observed when the Sayians began to power up. "There is really no reason to do that, there's no way to win, even with your puny half Sayian energy."
"We can try though," Trunks shot back, his eyes bright green and full with revenge.
"Be my guests," Darien said, holding his arms wide open, inviting them to take the first shot.
Goten looked at the open shirt and then remembered that he still clasp the Devil's Heart in his hand. He glanced over at Trunks subtle then signaled that they did have some what of a weapon.
"Are you going to try or not?" Darien said with slight impatience in his voice. Goten nodded swiftly and threw the dagger towards Darien's chest. "Clever," the King complemented as he caught the knife inches from his chest by the carved handle, "but not enough."
Then like lighting the god had Trunks by his neck and using one hand to crack all the bones in his neck. Trunks didn't scream in fear of disarranging his throat bones but tears poured down his face as he felt his life slipping away.
"NO TRUNKS!" Goten object and ran towards the evil Darien but the king held the boy away with his other hand while finishing the job slowly. Goten used instant transmission to move from position to position but Darien easily stopped him there too. The boy looked at his long time friend then down to Earth where Michelle and Hotaru's bodies were still been drenched by the rain. "Help me," he pleaded to no one in particular and never expected anyone to answer.
"I suppose we could," a tall masculine girl with short blonde hair said. She wore a tight white shirt, a tan nylon skirt and held a long golden hilted saber in her right hand.
"Where did you come from?!" Darien exclaimed, distracted enough to drop the practically lifeless Trunks. Goten rushed to his friend and dragged him away from the feuding gods.
"Jupiter. We heard that two of our friends were killed by the King of the Earth," another tall and elegant woman said, her voice as regal as her look. She dressed in a pair of dark grey pants, a midnight blue halter top and long hooded coat. "You of course know the punishment for killing another planet god."
"Ahh but I did not kill them, the boys did," Darien said, pointing to Trunks and Goten. "So if you would be so kind as to take them away it would be much appreciated."
"Under your influence which is close enough for the rest of the court, even your wife," the blonde sneered happily.
"How do you purpose you are going to get me away from my planet?" Darien said, crossing his arms across his chest defiently.
"Like this," the other goddess said. She glared at Darien and slowly what seemed like black webbing began to collect around the cocky ruler and compress him into a pocket size ball.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I AM THE SUPREME RULER, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!!" Darien objected profusely, his voice getting smaller and smaller until it couldn't be heard at all.
"That should keep him until we send him into the Sun," the blonde said then walked over to the strapped down Goku. "It is nice to meet you Son Goku."
"Same to you Amara, I suppose you're faring better now?" Goten's father answered as if he talked to the Knight of Uranus everyday.
"Much better now that Lyra and Marlo [husband] are alive," she sighed and released Goku from his chair.
"Thanks, my butt was starting to fall asleep," Goku said, being his normal goofy self. "And you Sestuna, talking as much as ever?"
"Of course," the lady said quietly then it was silent and Goten guessed that she was using telepathy to say something else.
Goku broke the silence, "So I assume you also came to retrieve Michelle and Hotaru?"
"Yes, I heard that they've had the terrible experience of dying?" Amara mused. Goten couldn't figure out why the warrior wasn't more sad about her friends' demise.
"They're not dead, Goten," Sestuna informed him because she had apparently read his mind, "Not in our sense any how."
"What do you mean?" Trunks croaked but then was quiet again.
"You will see," Amara promised and picked him up with ease. She nodded to Goten to follow her down to Earth where the corpses remain. "Look," she said after setting Trunks down again. She touched Michelle's head and Sestuna touched Hotaru's. The mermaid's body began to glow a pale blue and slowly a body rose out of the remains. Trunks stared up from his comfortable seat and was astonished into another silence when Michelle looked back at him fondly. She was as beautiful as ever with a simple white dress that flowed down at her feet.
"My guardian angel?" Trunks guessed, his injury now effecting his state of mind.
Michelle chuckled which sound like chiming bells to the nearly dead Trunks. She lay her soft hand on his neck and a cool feel flooded through the boy's body, giving him back enough strength to stand and pull the mermaid into his arms.
"You will be my angel," Trunks promised and kissed the goddess' pale cheek lightly, leaving a sparkling blue design.
Michelle touched it and looked into the sapphire eyes which always enchanted her, "I will miss this."
"Standing in the rain?" Trunks joked.
Michelle laughed again then shook her head, "Being with you."
"Me too," Trunks agreed and held her as she cried into his chest, powdering him with blue glitter.
In the mean time Hotaru's pure form had also come forth, not a heavenly looking as Michelle's, but only because she was not radiating a white light.
"Mistress Hotaru," Goten said with a bow because he felt it was the right thing.
"King Goten," the dark girl in a black velvet cape stated with a mischievous smile.
"I suppose this is the end of our game?" he said regrettable, taking Hotaru back to the moment when they had first really met in the club and began their daring relationship.
"We won," Hotaru reminded him and moved closer to the boy, well more of a man now she suppose.
"Did we really?" Goten teased and wrapped the small shadow up in his wet body, "I'm glad."
"As am I," Hotaru agreed traced the lines on his face with her cold finger. She could feeling the nagging in her mind which was Sestuna telling her they had to leave. "Goodbye, maybe we can play again someday," she hoped and disappeared, only her shadow left to hold on to Goten before it was swept away by the wind.
++Some years later++
The Mistress of Saturn, Hotaru walked through the well worn hallways of her castle, thinking about life. Ironically only a few years after she had brought back the Outer Planets with the help of Michelle, Trunks and ...him, Adam had passed away because of a natural cause. Duo was 15 now, the age she had played on planet Earth when she had been stranded there and met him.
It hurt to think of the Son boy now, she could never say his name or think it at the fron of her mind. She wished to visit him, see how he had grown up. If she guessed correctly he would somewhere around the age of 29, probably still acting like the child she knew him as.
"Mother," Duo, the older and supposedly smarter teenage vampire, called out from the end of the hall, "Who's Goten?" He was dressed in the traditional black turtle neck and black jeans, making him look light a Calvin Kline model.
"What have I told you about reading my mind?" Hotaru sighed and sat on the convient window sill, staring out at the endless night.
"That you'll use vamp bane on me," Duo recited, playing along in their childhood game. "But Mother, who is he?"
"A boy," she said simply because anymore would have made her cry.
"You loved him," Duo observed from the look that appeared on her face.
"Yes," she admitted with struggle and expected Duo to run out of the corridor, but he stayed and watched her vigilantly, trying to figure something out.
"Why is he not here?" Duo finally wondered.
"Rules, your father," Hotaru explained shortly. "I did love your father at some point," she went on, "but when I met that boy my love for him grew and love for you father faded."
"I knew it," Duo informed her but then added, "because you acted so differently after you brought the planets back."
"That's how I know you are my son, always so smart," Hotaru said proudly and intertwined her hands with his. "So should I bring him here? Turn him?"
"I guess, it would be nice to have a father again," Duo murmured to himself. "What was he like?"
"He was a lot like your father only there was something special that I knew I would never see in anyone else," Hotaru recalled as she and her son walked down the stone covered way hand and hand. "I doubt he remembers me anymore though, it's been awhile since we went on our adventure and we only spent a week or two together."
"If you loved each other then I don't think it would matter whether you spent a day or a year together," Duo interjected, making Hotaru smile.
"I don't believe I want to find out whether he remembers me or not. I think our week was enough," Hotaru decided. She fooled herself once more and continued the trek down the dusty and aged hallway with her son.
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Michelle swam under water, searching eagerly for dinner that was hiding under some rock. It had been years since she had last seen Trunks and while she stayed young as ever he would be somewhere around 34 or 35. She suppose it was a sad ending to such a beautiful and blessed relationship but things wouldn't have worked.
But if you had truly loved him you would have made it work, her inner conciounce retorted and Michelle was almost too surprised to stop herself from running into a under water bolder.
I lie to myself, I know I loved Trunks with my heart and soul, more than my own life, Michelle argued with herself, taking a pause in her hunt to figure out the dilemma that had been aggravating her heart for the longest time, though she never had admitted it to herself until now.
What is really keeping you here? It is not your duty as Queen and there is no longer a law that keeps you from joining him, the mermaid wondered. Have I been staying away in fear that he has moved on to someone else, or have I just been lazy?
I should at least check on him, say hello, she decided and climbed out of water, skipping dinner. What luck for the fish. She quickly informed her confidante Ryan that she would be gone for a few days to planet Earth and to send a alert to Amara if anything went wrong.
Using her own endless magic, Michelle soon found herself standing on the white platform where Goku now ruled. "Hello," she called out.
"Hello, who's there?" a small black man creature asked, looked out from behind a plant. "Oh Divinity Michelle, it in my honor to meet you, King Goku is his quarters, I will get him for you."
"Thank you," Michelle said slowly, a little stressed about the whole situation. Soon enough Goku walked into the room, still a child at heart.
" 'Sup Michelle," he greeted.
"I came to see Trunks," the mermaid said quickly.
"Don't suppose Hotaru came with you?" Goku wondered, looking behind the queen.
"No, last time I saw her was at Adam's funeral a few years ago," Michelle confessed and Goku nodded in response.
"Well Trunks is celebrating his 1st wedding anniversary I believe but I sure he wouldn't mind if you popped in quickly," Goku informed her, stepping to the edge of the platform.
"He has a wife? What's her name?" Michelle exclaimed, feeling a little less happy for coming.
"Hey, chill. After you left he was upset of course but he understood that you wouldn't be coming back so he tried to move on. I think marrying Foxy was only an escape but he claimed he really was in love again." He was silent, letting the information sink in but then he added, "If you want my opinion I think he did it to get Bra off his back about marriage. There always seems to be this distant look in his eyes, especially when he goes to the ocean, like he's looking for someone."
Michelle's eyes sparkled happily but then became downcast again. "I wouldn't want to be a home wrecker, even if it is not true love."
"I hear that Foxy is cheating on Trunks with their pool man," Goku snicker and wasn't surprised when Michelle left him to find her own way to where she knew Trunks would probably be.
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"I don't understand why you always want to come here, Trunksie," Foxy whined while Trunks stared silently at the water. Every once and a while he thought of killing Foxy but mostly he was focused on remembering Michelle.
"Just look at the beauty of it all Foxy," Trunks murmured.
"Yeah whatever," Foxy said and began playing with her golden ringlets that had cost Trunks a pretty penny to create.
Trunks sighed and looked back on the sea, listening for some sort of sign that Michelle would return to him and save him from the nightmare he was living in. He could hear Foxy talking but ignored her until he heard her mention Michelle.
"What did you say?" Trunks snapped when he turned around then was quiet. Standing next to Foxy was the ever gorgeous mermaid he had been waiting for so long.
"Hello Trunks," Michelle greeted lightly. "I was just talking to Foxy about her love of the pool."
"Or the man," Trunks joked bitterly and watched in enjoyment as his wife turned beet red.
"Well if you know then I suppose there's no reason I should stay with you," Foxy said quickly and walked away but not before yelling, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer."
"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" Trunks yelled after her then turned back to Michelle.
"I..." Michelle started but was stopped by Trunks' kiss and embrace.
"I missed you," he said in between kisses. Michelle started laughing uncontrollably. "What's so funny?"
"Everything," Michelle giggled and leaned her head into the crook of his shoulder.
"Okay," Trunks drawled, not really understanding. "So what now?"
"You could come back with me," Michelle suggested hesitatly. "Be a king."
"How would I survive?" Trunks wondered.
"I could change you into a merman," Michelle explained, looking for a hint of yes or no in the man's crystal eyes.
"There's nothing holding me back," Trunks said to himself then decided, "Of course I'll come."
"Really?" Michelle squealed and when Trunks nodded his head she jumped up in his strong arms and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. They traveled up to Goku's castle to inform him of Trunks' decision. The king was more than willing to allow one of his people to leave the planet permanently if that was what the Sayian really wanted.
Soon enough both Trunks and Michelle were swimming under water, the merman still getting use to his new body. This is how it will be for the rest of eternity, Trunks thought wistfully while he watched Michelle make turns in the clear water. An eternity of happiness.
++Time passes++
Goten woke with a start, sweat cool on his face. "Is someone there?" he called out.
Hotaru faded into a corner of shadows, watching sadly as her lover looked around for the intruder. She could only whisper her request to him now, since he was awake.
"Do you still want to come to the dark side my love?" she breathed ever so lightly. She could tell the Sayian had heard her but believed it was just a trick of his mind. Hotaru leaned on the wall and watched Goten fall asleep again next to his dark haired wife.
"I give him to you," the vampire said to the sleeping girl and for the second time cleared her image from Goten's mind. "I will always love you and maybe we can play again somday." She did not need to spend forever with him, the brief moment that they spent together would be enough. This time it really would be all she need to live on.
The vampire looked out to the window and could sense there was only an hour left in the Earth night. She looked upon her sleeping Sayian once more then faded into a shadow, leaving behind only a second long adventure in her immortal life.
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A/N-Okay, so that's the end. I know not all of you will approve of Hotaru and Goten not getting together but I have this thing about the endings being predictable, I can't stand it. So flame me if you want but I think it ended pretty well.