Unknown Realms
Chapter 10- The Start of a Prophecy
It had been about four weeks since the Z-gang had started training for this new enemy. The Sons sat around the table for breakfast, devouring every last speck of food in sight. Hotiku munched on a slice of toast eating regularly, unlike the Saiya-jins around her. She was visiting her old home, but only for her mother and sister. A couple of weeks back she and Gohan had gotten in an argument and he said that as long as she lived under his roof, she would abide by his rules; so she moved out and into Capsule Corp. where they welcomed her, even Vegita. Meanwhile, Hotiku and Gohan were desperately trying to not end up in another dispute.
"Gohan, will you please pass me the paper?" she asked, over sweetly.
"Here you go, Taylor," he handed it to her. Hotiku smiled, even after everything that had happened, he still called her Taylor. She sloppily searched through the newspaper.
"Aha! Found it," she cried triumphantly, tearing a page out and rolling it up, sticking it in her back pocket.
"Nani? Found what?" Goten asked through a mouth full of food.
"I'll be back," she started reaching for a set of keys, but then remembered that it was the sole reason for started the fight with Gohan. He didn't want her riding the motorcycle for several reasons. One, she was under age. Two, she refused to wear a helmet; and three, he thought she didn't even know how to ride it. So she reached for her roller blades instead. Goten shrugged and finished up his breakfast, leaning back on his chair and patting his stomach contently.
~*~
Hotiku was weaving through the people on the street. She stopped in front of a theatre and skated in. She looked around; a lot of girls and guys were scattered around, stretching their limbs. She quickly sneaked into the bathroom, after signing up, to change her clothes.
Okay, you haven't done this in a while, but that's okay! Relax, you can do this… but all those people out there look so professional and experienced, she thought, walking out of the bathroom, why did I even come here, I can't—
"Number 13, you're up," an attendant interrupted her thoughts. Hotiku tensed up and followed the woman. She shook her head to clear her nervousness and plastered a smile on her face. She walked to the center of the stage and waited for her instructions.
~*~
Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Hotiku left the studio and made her way home. She walked into the foyer of Capsule Corp. nearly crashing into Trunks in her attempt to run upstairs.
"Hey, Hotti! Where ya been all day?" He asked, but before she could answer him, he noticed something… different about her. "Uh, Hotiku?" he looked at her questionably.
"Nani? What is it?" she returned the look.
"Why are you wearing that… thing?" he looked at her outfit, a black body suit and white nylon stockings. Suddenly, she realized that in her rush to leave the dance studio, she neglected to change into her regular clothes. She searched her mind for an excuse; all the while heat was quickly rushing to her cheeks.
"It's a costume, for the school play," she said matter-o-factly, "I was just trying it on."
"Outside?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's an outdoor play, ya know," she covered up.
"Okay, but you're not going to train in that thing are you?"
"No, I was just going to go change," she forced her laughter.
"Okay then, I'll meet you here in ten minutes," he walked away shaking his head in confusion.
"Oh, thank gawd it wasn't his mom," she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Nani?" Trunks turned around.
"I said… 'Thank gawd there wasn't a bomb?'" she smiled.
"You're crazy you know that?" Trunks teased.
"I know," she chuckled. Not a second after he left, she ran upstairs to change.
~*~
"Hotti, come on!" Trunks yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
"I just had a thought," she said from behind him, startling him and causing him to jump ten feet in the air.
"You know, I regret Goku-san ever teaching you that teleportation move," he huffed.
"You're just jealous," she stuck her tongue out at him, "now listen, let's ditch Vegita and go to the beach!"
"You really are crazy! Dad would kill us! Besides, w-we have to train," he walked past her.
"Ugh, have I taught you nothing about rebelling?!" she followed him. "Come on, you know you want to," she persisted.
"Alright, alright, alright!" he gave in.
"Yes! This is going to be so great! We can go swimming, oh Goten's coming too, and have a volleyball tournament, and visit the boardwalk, and-" she was cut off by Trunks.
"Wait, wait. Goten's coming?"
"Well yeah, just in case you couldn't come that way I wouldn't be alone," she blinked. Trunks opened his mouth to protest, but Hotiku beat him to it.
"No time to talk, go get your stuff and we'll be on our way, oh and get some of those ki scramblers so Vegita doesn't find us," she smiled as he quickly made his way up the stairs, muttering something incoherent.
~*~
"Ready?" Hotiku whispered. They had all already changed into their bathing suits and had secured a ki scrambler on their temples. They were now standing in the foyer of Capsule Corp.
"Ready," both Trunks and Goten nodded. In the blink of an eye, they had teleported out of the house and onto an isolated area of the beach.
"Yatta! We made it out!" Goten jumped in joy. "We're free!"
"Hey!" Hotiku said loudly, getting their attention. "Race ya to the water," she said mischievously before they all took off in a mad dash towards the ocean. They stopped when it was about several feet deep.
"Ha! I win," Trunks said triumphantly earning a splash from Hotiku. "Hey!" He splashed her back, in which she ducked under water and Goten was the one who got splashed. This quickly turned into a war between the trio, every man… er woman… or alien for themselves.
"Ew! Salt water!" Hotiku spit the water that had splashed into her mouth. Holding her fist together she swung them around sending a large wave of water towards the both of them. Sputtering, the boys both turned on her.
"Ha! You don't mess with us!" Goten cried.
"Especially in a water fight!" Trunks added.
"Oh yeah?" she challenged and promptly pounced on Trunks' back and pushing him underwater. Goten burst into fits of laughter as Trunks' hands could be seen splashing above the water. "Whoa," was all Hotiku managed to say as she was pulled under along with Trunks, which resulted only in making Goten laugh even more. He managed to grab her from behind and flew up out of the water.
"Yeah," Trunks received her challenge. Coughing, she tried to release his grasp, but only caused him to tighten his grip around her.
"Hey, no fair! Let go," she managed to free her arms and was now pushing at his arms.
"No way, not until you admit we rule," he snickered.
"Ugh, never," she looked back at him, "Goten, make him let go!" She pleaded with him. He only crossed his arms and smirked. "Goten!" she looked at him in disbelief.
"Admit it!" he chose to be on Trunks side.
"I don't believe this!" she huffed.
"If you don't admit it, I'll never let you go," Trunks smirked.
"Well, then I guess I'm not going anywhere then," she smirked back, knowing exactly what he was going to do, which made him tighten his grasp around her waist as expected. "Ow! Trunks! I can't breathe!" she lied, making a pained face to prove her point.
"Gomen, Hotti!" he quickly loosened his grasp and set her down on the shore, only to have her run off.
"Haha, sucker!" she blew a raspberry at him.
"Why that little—" They both got up to chase after her. She abruptly stopped and looked off into the distance, further down the shore.
"Hotiku, what is it?" Goten asked her.
"They're so happy," she mumbled. They looked in the direction she was staring at to see two kids playing in the sand, grins on their faces. "What are they doing?" she asked.
"They're building a sand castle. Hotiku, have you never done this?" Trunks asked in disbelief.
"I've never seen anything like that before," she continued to admire the small towers they were making.
"Come on," Trunks pulled her by her arm.
"Where are we going?" she asked, tearing her gaze away from the kids. Before he answered her question, he sat her down in the wet sand. "Trunks, wha-"
"Shh, don't talk, just build," he sat in front of her.
"But-" she gave him a distressed look. Goten placed his hands on her shoulders behind her. She looked back at him, receiving an assuring look.
I don't know how to do this… she placed her hands on the sand and slowly gathered it in a pile. "I can't do this," she shook her head.
"Wimp," Goten said. Hotiku scoffed and threw a handful of sand at him, over her shoulder.
"Come on, we'll help you," Trunks placed his hand over hers'. She sighed and looked at them.
"You guys are really aggravating, you know that?"
"We know."
~*~
Miyako moaned as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Ginger, remind me never to sleep in those barracks again!"
"No problem," the brunette said cheerfully. Opening the door of the space ship, they found that they had landed on an abandoned beach.
"I don't get it, why would Hotiku be in such a deserted inhabitants?" Taga asked, looking around.
"Well, we'll just have to find out, now won't we?" Miyako replied. Suddenly, the roaring of an engine was heard from behind them and stopped next to them. Inside the jeep, Transwarp sat in the driver's seat and Zack standing in the passenger's.
"Miyako, Celeste, you're with us. You too, Taga; the rest of you follow close, but not too close. She's not alone, we might have to fight them off. Be prepared, be cautious; expect the unexpected. And above all, watch each others' backs." Zack ordered as the three soldiers hopped into the jeep.
"Let's get this party started," Transwarp smirked and drove down the ramp and across the sand at top speed.
"Miyako, there are weapons back there, distribute them and make sure they've been prepped," Zack said from the front seat.
"Alright, line up ladies and gentlemen," Miyako said, while she quickly started arming and putting together the various weapons, "we've got energy gauntlets, EMP crossbows and even the newly developed electrical gloves. That's right, you heard me, electrical gloves. Come and get 'em while they're hot!" she tossed every one of them each of the weapons, but left herself without a crossbow.
"What about you, Miyako?" Celeste asked.
"Little kids and pregnant ladies, back up, because I, the great Miyako, have," she sheathed a sword from its carrying case, "Faith, the ultimate sword. She's a genuine, one of a kind, made by the one and only Hephaestus himself, and powered by the almighty Minerva." She showed it off proudly, turning it from side to side as it gleamed in the sunlight.
"Where'd you get that?!" Transwarp asked, looking at her from the rear-view mirror.
"Swiped it from the Ancients," she smirked.
"Nice, very nice," Zack complimented her, and then proceeded to look straight ahead.
~*~
Standing up, the trio made their way to a few huts to change into regular clothes.
I'm feeling something… like a presence… must be that fluid still running around in my veins that Sheik injected me with. Hotiku thought, adjusting her hat and walked out wearing a black frock, white tank top and black shorts.
~*~
Miyako opened her eyes and looked at Zack, who nodded towards her.
She feels us, looks like the disillusionment hasn't taken away her powers and strength completely, Miyako thought.
That's good, we'll have time to build her up, and you can finally give her the remedy dosages, Zack spoke to her through their shared telepathy.
Of course, she replied.
~*~
The three teens had been walking around the boardwalk for a few minutes, when Hotiku stopped dead in her tracks.
"What is it?" Goten asked. Not saying a word, she grabbed Trunks wrist and dragged him to a small booth.
"What are you doing!?" he asked.
"Getting your ear pierced, duh," she said proudly.
"Nani!?" he looked back at her. "I don't want my ear pierced!"
"Come on, I have to repay you somehow!" she placed her hands on her hips.
"So buy me a meal, but I am not getting my ear pierced!" he jumped up and ran back to the isolated area of the beach. Goten and Hotiku quickly followed him, so that they wouldn't be separated. Finally catching up to him, Hotiku looked over at the purple-haired boy.
"Wuss."
~*~
"There they are," he pointed towards the three teens.
"Alright everyone, stay sharp and hold on," said Transwarp as he swiftly maneuvered the jeep towards the trio.
~*~
Hotiku wrapped her arms around Trunks neck, and embraced him. "Thank you, Trunks," she said sincerely. Suddenly, she pushed herself off of him in fear, keeping her eyes locked on the figures behind him. Trunks turned around to see who or what it was, only to coil back in fear as well.
"T-t-tousan!" All three stammered. Standing there menacingly, Vegita and Gohan had their hands planted firmly on either one of Goku's shoulders. Gohan let go of his father as Vegita and Goku teleported behind Hotiku and grabbed her arms before teleporting by the shore. Goku let go of them both and teleported back to Trunks and Goten.
"Ow! Let go!" Hotiku wriggled out of Vegita's grasp only to receive a sharp slap from him. She looked back at him, holding her cheek.
"A ship just landed, and I'm guessing its your little guardian friends," he spat.
"So?" she glared at him with murderous eyes.
"So, what if it had been the enemy?!" he spat. "You tore both the brats away from training and you wouldn't have been prepared to take him on!" Vegita levitated and started to fly away.
"Well, then we would have been exhausted from training," she muttered as she watched his retreating form, when she realized she had to walk all the way back to them.
~*~
Only a few meters away from them, they witnessed the three males suddenly appear.
Great, now there are more of them, Miyako thought.
Doesn't matter, we've got them outnumbered, Zack replied.
"We're going in," Transwarp said as he quickly swerved the car, inches away from the targets. Moving with the jeep's momentum, Celeste, Taga and Zack jumped out of the vehicle and surrounded them, aiming their weapons towards them. Miyako stayed in the back of the jeep hidden. Not long after they had hopped out, Cedric and Astria blurred into sight and surrounded the open areas around them.
"Don't move!" Zack aimed his palms, covered with the electrical gloves, at Trunks. Small thunderbolts crackled around his fingers as he held his hands firmly. The saiya-jin males froze in place, confused at what was going on. Meanwhile, Zack had subtly motioned to Transwarp to take his cover, in which he rapidly shot up into the sky and hid behind the large palm tree leaves, along with Ginger.
"Who are you?" Gohan asked.
"We're asking the questions," Celeste hissed.
"Where is she?" Zack interrogated, very aware that they knew whom he was talking about, which they did.
Goten immediately glared at him, "you're not taking Hotiku," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Miyako stood up in the back of the jeep and blurred behind him and jumped on his back, placing him in a headlock.
"Don't underestimate us, boy," she growled. Goten promptly flipped her over him, causing her to release a wire from her gauntlet, hooking it to a tree as she swung around and planted her feet on his chest, sending him to the ground. She straddled his waist as the wire recoiled back, aiming her gauntlet at his throat. He made a move to get up, tempting her. "Ah, ah," she warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Why not?" he glared.
"Because this puppy's loaded with my energy, just waiting for me to release it," she clocked a component of the gauntlet as if it were a gun. Evidently, it was enough to keep Goten under control, but still keeping his guard up.
"We're not going down without a fight," Vegita scowled.
"Looking forward to it," said Miyako, keeping her eyes on Goten. "Go," she ordered, causing Zack to pull his gauntlet, releasing his wire and sped off towards Hotiku.
"So… comfy?" Goten snickered as Miyako growled at him and charged her gauntlet as it made a high pitched electronic whirring sound.
~*~
Hotiku stormed off back towards the group, completely oblivious to what was happening.
"Stupid, no good, tailless, son of a…" she muttered under her breathe, but didn't have time to continue, or react, as she was grabbed from behind. Hiding her surprise, she flipped her assailant over her. She looked up to see a blonde-haired boy and screamed the moment she recognized him.
"I take it you remember me."
~*~
Hearing Hotiku's scream, Trunks took a step to go after her.
"Freeze," Taga threatened.
"Screw this," he growled, "I'm not letting you take her from us!" As if on cue, Zack reappeared with Hotiku on his back; she was grinning.
"Found a mate already?" Hotiku smirked at Miyako, causing Goten to blush furiously.
"Not likely," she snorted, getting up. She launched herself at Hotiku as she received an embrace.
"What the hell took you guys so long?!" she complained.
"Taga here decided to go Haven sliding," Cedric nodded his head towards Taga, who along with the fire haired boy, Celeste and Astria still had their weapons aimed at them.
"Ugh, at ease," Hotiku waved her hand at them, immediately resulting in them dropping their weapons.
"Don't tell me that you of all people are a commander," Vegita growled.
"That's Sergeant to you, Sarge for short," Hotiku beamed.
"Ha! You couldn't lead if your life depended on it. Of course, I guess it's easy to command these weaklings," he motioned to the guardians.
"I don't like this one," Miyako disapproved, "he's too much of an asshole."
"Don't worry, this is his good mood," Hotiku snickered.
"I'm going to obliterate you two," he snapped. Miyako scoffed and waved her hand at him, immediately freezing him in the position he had been.
"Ah, much better," she chuckled.
"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?!" Trunks yelled.
"Oh yeah, you guys are still here, I forgot," Hotiku smirked, earning a glare from him. "These," she motioned her arm towards the new arrivals, "are my fellow guardians… although a few of you are missing," she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no we're not," said a male voice behind her, causing her to jump. She turned around to look at who the voice belonged to only to throw her arms around his neck.
"Transwarp! Kami-sama, I can't believe you're here!"
"Who the hell is Kami-sama?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Who the hell are you?" Trunks eyed him.
"Oh Trunks, don't be so jealous," Hotiku said, "This is my brother." Miyako snapped her fingers, 'unfreezing' Vegita from his position causing him to stumble forward slightly. He muttered something under his breath about taking advantage of royalty.
"So sorry to drift from the reunion, but we have a mission to accomplish. Hotiku did you get the message?" Zack asked.
"Hai, so who is this guy who's supposedly coming anyway?" she asked. Miyako and Zack looked at each other nervously. "Nani? Guys, who is it?"
Miyako said something incoherent under her breath before inhaling deeply, "It's Saige."
Hotiku froze, she couldn't believe it, Saige? She couldn't remember how many times she had battled with him, refusing him. Every time, she would give him a chance to quit chasing after her and return with them to protect their princess. He would never agree to and they ended up tearing each other apart, the battle would only end if they were both knocked out or one of the guardians intervened and caused Saige to retreat.
"Saige?" She whispered. "But… but I thought it was over. Why won't he just give up and leave me alone?!" She growled.
"Honey, I'm afraid there's more," Miyako swallowed hard. "Saige has been captured by Rain, he's coming not only for you, but for your knowledge of the whereabouts of Princess Cassidy as well."
"No… we're not going to let him," she snapped her head up, "with my knowledge of where the princess is, he'll be able to find her and gain her power. With it, Rain will be able to jump through dimensions and conquer each and every one of them. We'll train, we'll fight, and we'll win."
"Sorry to interrupt the speech, but what the hell are you guys talking about?" Gohan asked.
"Gomen guys, but this is top secret information, only the guardians are able to access it and y—" Taga started.
"Oh drop the perfect soldier act, Taga," Miyako snapped.
"Yes, ma'am."
"That wasn't an order!" she growled.
"Ma'am, sorry, ma'am," he saluted her.
"For god's sake, stop calling me ma'am!!" she slapped the back of his head causing Goten to snicker.
"Yes, ma—er Miyako," he crossed his arms, finally satisfying her.
"Anyway! Here's the dealio," Celeste started, "This guy Saige, right, he's after Hotiku, wants her, literally, like that; By now you know that she's from another planet. She's the only one who knows the location of Princess Cassidy. She has a power which allows her to slip her mind and spirit into other realms, aka dimensions; Rain wants this power to literally conquer the universe, and with his power and hers', he'll be able to, that's just about the gist of it."
"Oh… so that's it," Goten blinked.
"Don't worry, honey, you'll catch up," Miyako winked at him.
"We better get going, we should train as much as po—" Hotiku quickly grasped Transwarp's arm as she held her forehead, her face twisted in pain.
"She's goin' in," he warned.
"Miyako!" Zack snapped his head towards her. She quickly pulled two small devises out of her pocket and pressed one on her temple and the other on her neck. A few seconds passed and she slowly opened her eyes.
"It… it worked," she breathed.
"Of course it worked, I invented it," Miyako beamed.
"See Trunks, I told you she would find a way to stop this hideous disorder," Hotiku stood up as Miyako removed the devices.
"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes.
"Hmm," Miyako held her chin and walked around him.
"What are you doing?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"You picked a good one," Miyako winked at Hotiku.
"Oh yeah," she walked over to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing him to jump back in shock, his face a nice shade of crimson.
"Have you lost your mind? What was that for?" Trunks blinked. She only chuckled in response, and rested her arm on Goten's shoulder.
"So I could be entertained," she finally said as she glanced over to her brother and witnessed as he menacingly walked towards Trunks.
"Listen, pretty boy, you don't come near my sister. You don't touch her, you don't even breathe on her, or you'll live to regret it," he growled at him.
"Uh… right?" he raised an eyebrow.
"That wasn't a request, that's an order," he hissed.
"I don't have to listen to you! I'm not one of your loser soldiers!" Trunks yelled.
"Loser?! Who are you calling a loser?!" All the guardians, but Miyako, Hotiku and Zack, yelled.
"This is great," Hotiku laughed.
"Eh… well, not loser… per say," he panicked.
"Hey!" they all turned around, looking at Vegita.
"Do you all mind? We've got an enemy to prepare for," Gohan crossed his arms.
"Not only that, but you three," Vegita pointed to Trunks, Hotiku and Goten, "stole a few of the woman's inventions!" he snapped, making them immediately pull off the devices on their temples.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Astria yawned. "I'm bored, we need some action around here."
"You're right," Hotiku managed to stifle her giggles, "who's up for tag?"
"Tag?" Goku perked up as the other's sweatdropped.
"Yeah, like this," she jumped behind Zack and slapped him on the back, then did the same with the others as well, "you're it!"
"Get her!" Zack shouted and proceeded to lead the 'war' against the one-woman army.
"Nya, nya," she stuck her tongue out at them and jumped into the trees. As she jumped down to the ground, kicking up sand, the others followed her in sync as in a domino-like effect. Just as Hotiku touched down, she was immediately swept off her feet and thrown over Zack's shoulder.
"Whoa! Hey, no fair, you guys got faster…" she whined.
"Aren't you going to stop them so they don't take her away from us?" Goten leaned over and whispered in Trunks' ear.
"No… look at her," he nodded his head subtly, "she's so happy." Goten looked over and sure enough Hotiku was as cheerful as ever. Laughing as Zack swung her back onto her feet. She looked at him sideways before poking him in his side causing him to jump slightly, again having her laugh again.
"You're right… but still, I don't want her to leave," he sighed.
"I know what you mean… I think I have a plan," he smirked and walked over to them.
"Hotiku, can I talk to you for a sec.?" He asked.
"Sure…" she didn't move from her spot, the other guardians watching him intently.
"Uh… alone," he scratched his head.
"Huh uh, pretty boy," Miyako huffed, "you got something to say to 'er, you say it here."
"Hai," Zack said firmly. Trunks sighed, and crossed his arms.
"You guys don't have to take her from here, she's made a home here, it wouldn't be right," he started, but he was quickly interrupted by Zack.
"That's were you're wrong, she, Miyako and I live on the move, we can't risk staying in one place for too long. She's used to it and so are we, we have to keep running or they'll find us and take us back," he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I already know that, she told me," he growled, pointed to Hotiku.
"Trunks," she whispered harshly.
"You told him?" Miyako looked at her, she dropped her head to look at the ground.
"I told them all," she muttered.
"How stupid can you be?" Zack growled. "You have a responsibility to keep yours and our pasts as much a secret as possible! What if this information gets leaked out and the Riena officers become aware?! They'll be able to track our location anywhere now! You have rules and specific duties! You have responsi—"
"Responsibility?!" She snapped her head up to look at him, "Screw the responsibility, Zack! I can't take it anymore, we've been running our whole lives, me most of all! I'm never going to be able to have a nice normal life because of that damn operation and this damn thing that I can't even control! We can't even stay together for more than a few days because of them!"
"What the hell do you mean 'you most of all'?! I'm the one who has to make up for all your screw ups and mistakes, I have to clean up after you!" Zack yelled at her.
"Oh shut up, Zack. Leave her alone, you know she has that condition, and her seizures are the worst because of it!" Miyako spat.
"Miyako!" Hotiku yelled, her face red with both anger and embarrassment.
"What seizures?!" Trunks asked. "You didn't tell me about those!"
"I couldn't, because this bakayarou," she pointed to Zack, "was all on my case about 'responsibility' and all that crap," she mimicked him.
"It's a good thing she didn't," Zack turned on him, "you would have probably made a huge scene of it and brought out the attention of Riena!"
"What the hell is your problem!? This isn't a damn conspiracy!" he snapped.
"That's what you think! You have it easy compared to us!"
"How can you say that!? You don't even know him!" Miyako screamed.
"I can tell by his behavior," he said low and dangerous.
"Behavior my ass, you're just jealous because I know her better than you do!"
"That's bull shit, straight up bull, I grew up with her!"
"Yeah and then abandoned her because you were too scared of the 'scary scientists' that you ran away with your tail between your legs!" Trunks spat.
"Those scientists put us through hell and you don't know jack abo-"
"Both of you just shut UP!!" Both males were sent crashing towards opposite trees as Hotiku screamed at the top of her lungs. She gasped, realizing what she just did. "Oh my gawd."
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Miyako embraced her, trying to sooth her.
"What the hell is going on?" she sobbed.
It's happening, Zack, Miyako thought.
Ya damn right it's happening, and fast, that hurt like a bitch! He replied.
Hotiku stopped crying suddenly, "Did you guys just say something?"
Miyako looked down at her, "Nani? You heard us? Shit, this can't be good, it's happening too fast!"
"What's happening? What's going on?" Goku asked, finally speaking up.
"She has to come with Zack and I," Miyako said quickly as she grasped Hotiku's right arm and held it up, examining her wrist, "we have to train her to use her renewing pow—" she stopped in mid-speech as her eyes widened in shock. "Zack!!"
"Nani?" he walked over wearily as Miyako showed him her wrist.
"Look," she pointed at it.
"Guys… itai, that hurts!" Hotiku twisted around.
"They're reappearing," he mumbled.
"What's reappearing?! Will somebody fill me in?! You guys are scaring me!"
"Hotiku do you remember what these mean?" Zack gently held her wrist, showing her three small dots in a triangle position, they were faint but they were there.
"Uh, they're birth marks?" she guessed.
"Iie, these indicate the level of your Toria-jin powers. You and Miyako share several types of them far greater than any others, another reason for you two being guardians, but because of your disillusionment both your psychic and physical power have been disappearing and lowering," he explained.
"Toria-jin?!" Vegita yelled. "That weakling squirt is a Toria-jin!?" He asked in disbelief.
"We all are," Blade said through clenched teeth.
"Shut it up, the lot of ya's!!" Hotiku yelled, "I'm trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me!"
"There's nothing wrong with you, hun," Ginger spoke softly, "your powers are simply coming back to you now that Miyako has administered the first remedy."
"The only thing we can't figure out is why it's happening so fast. You're already able to open the communication link between the four of us and your telekinesis is kicking in," Miyako stated.
"But I only heard you and Zack, who's the fourth?" Hotiku asked.
"The fourth is Saige," Zack muttered.
"We were all psychically connected through the enhancement, it reacted to our Toria-jin powers," Miyako said.
"You think the remedy is having a chemical reaction to the serum Sheik injected into her?" Zack asked asked.
"Could be, we need more info on it, we heard you think about that," Miyako replied.
"Kami-sama, she's like a freakin' genius!" Goten whispered to Trunks.
"We can't waste anymore time," Cedric spoke up.
"Hai, we have to take her back asap," Astria agreed.
"Peace, we out," Celeste said.
"It's been nice knowin' ya's, but it's time we blew this joint," Miyako blew a kiss to them and turned around to leave.
"See ya," Zack saluted them sloppily and walked off, dragging Hotiku with them.
"Leave? Now? But I can't go!" she protested.
"Wait!" Trunks yelled, catching all of their attention. "Like I started saying before, she doesn't have to leave… none of you do, you can stay with us at Capsule Corps."
"Capsule what?" Miyako raised an eyebrow.
"It's my home, I live with the Briefs," Hotiku explained.
"There are nine of us, including Hotiku. You'd have to find appropriate accommodations for us all," Zack raised his voice.
"We'll be able to give each of you your own room and still have extras," Trunks replied.
"They have to be sanitary and dressed for each of us," Blade fought.
"Already taken care of," he smirked, looking very much like his father.
"Are you prepared to feed all of us with sufficient nutrition?" Celeste asked.
"With seconds to go around."
"You're efficient, I like that," Blade complimented him, raising an eyebrow.
"Then it's settled, we move in, train and prepare for Saige," Zack stated.
"We'll need time to gather our belongings from the ship," Miyako said, "then we'll be on our way."
"Take your time," Goten waved before they all blurred out of sight and back with their arms full of baggage in the blink of an eye.
Miyako walked passed Goten, "taking your time awards you a slow painful death," she smirked as he swallowed hard.
"H-hai," he replied shakily.
"Well, then shall we?" Taga suggested.
"We shall," Zack said.
Hotiku walked up to Trunks and leaned on his shoulder, "oh you are going to regret this the second you realize the mess nine Toria-jins put together can do," she chuckled and walked off.
~*~
The large group of teens walked in the front door of Capsule Corps. followed by the three male adults.
"Gosh, Vegita," Goku patted his back, "I hope you can handle all of them."
"This pathetic bunch of weaklings? No problem," he snorted. Not a moment after he had said this, crashes were heard from inside followed by loud music and conversation.
"Hey check out this stereo!" Miyako pressed several buttons rapidly and tuned it to a good radio station.
"Hey, that sounds great!" Astria cheered.
"Hotti? You guys have a pool right?" she asked.
"Hai, it's huge! You should see it!" she replied.
"Let's go water dance!" she suggested joyfully.
"Water what?" Goten asked.
"Water dance, it's where we… wait a minute. Dance? Oh, shit!" Hotiku yelled, and quickly ran off in search of Bulma, followed by Trunks, Goten and Miyako. "Where are you?! Bulma!"
"What is it?" she ran down the stairs.
"Did someone call asking for me?" she asked in a panic.
"No, hun, not today."
"Aw, man… when are they gonna call?" she asked herself.
"Care to explain?" Trunks asked.
"Uh… you remember that costume I was trying on?" she asked, laughing nervously.
"Hai."
"Well, it wasn't a costume, it was a dance uniform. I went to an audition to see if I could get in, they were supposed to call to say if I made it or not," she said.
"That skimpy thing was a dance uniform?! Oh man!" he burst out laughing. "At first I thought you were in some kind of street mime!"
"WHAT?!" she screeched. "What'd ya mean a mime?! Have you looked in a mirror lately, you look like some freak clown!"
"Hey!"
"Wasn't your hair pinkish when you were a kid?" she spat.
"N-n-nani?!" he stammered.
"Humph, not much has changed," she snorted.
"You're so dead!" he yelled before charging at her.
"Uh-oh," she quickly jumped away from his reach as he made an attempt to grab her. Hotiku quickly ran out of the room and into the large living area.
"Get back here and fight like a man! I mean…" he quickly tried to correct himself but instead launched at her again.
"Whoa!" she barely dodged and jumped up to the ceiling. Unfortunately for her, another one of her powers kicked in and she stuck to the ceiling! "Ah! I can't get down! Miyako!"
"Flip over and crawl to the wall! You won't fall, you can stick to it," she instructed.
"Are you sure?" she flipped on her stomach.
"Hai." Hotiku started to crawl but when she was about half way to the wall, her power left her and she plummeted to the ground.
"Ah!" she screamed, as Trunks blurred under her and caught her body before she hit the ground. "Arigatou… I thought you said I wouldn't fall!"
"Heh, heh… oops?" Miyako laughed nervously. Hotiku was just about to argue with her when she heard Vegita yelling.
"Yes, that brat Hotiku is here! She's flirting with my son!" he yelled.
Hotiku gasped, "the phone!" She immediately jumped out of Trunks' arms and ran towards Vegita. She snatched the cordless phone from his grasp.
"Hello, this is Hotiku, I'm sorry my friend's dad is drunk. I think he had a little too much scotch," she covered up. Vegita was about to protest when Miyako glared at him.
"Say one word, and I'll freeze you again," she warned. Vegita grumbled and walked off.
"Uh huh? Yes, I understand, I have to work tomorrow," Hotiku said, "have a nice day." She hung up the phone and turned around to look at them all. "That was the restaurant, not the studio, I have to work tomorrow," she sighed, and plopped down on the couch.
~*~
By now, the entire group of guardians had gathered in the living area and was crowded around the couches, with the phone sitting on the table in front of Hotiku. Suddenly, the phone rang and she immediately picked it up.
"Moshi, moshi… yes this is Hotiku, uh huh… okay… alright, really? Okay, that's fine, thank you." She hung up, and sat on the edge of her seat silently.
"Well?" Trunks urged her to tell them the answer. After a long pause, she finally spoke up.
"I made it!" she jumped.
"Oh my gawd, that's incredible!" Miyako hugged her.
"I know! And the best part is they want me to be their lead dancer!" she said excitedly.
Miyako squealed, "This is perfect! Now I have an excuse to go out shopping!"
"Congratulations, Hotti," Trunks embraced her.
"Thanks, promise you'll come to my shows?" she asked.
"I wouldn't miss them for the world, I'll be at every one of them," he smiled. Hotiku smiled back and hugged him again.
"Arigatou, Trunks-kun," she whispered.
"Come on! Quit flirting with your mate," Miyako grabbed her wrist.
"He's not my mate!" She yelled, blushing furiously. "Itai, Miyako that hurts!" she tried to pull from her grasp.
"Oops, wrong wrist," she let go of her hand.
"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically.
"Now, before we go shopping, we're going to do at least one round of build up," she said firmly. Every single one of the guardians, save Miyako and Transwarp, complained negatively.
"Mi-chan, no, please Kami no," Hotiku whined.
"Kora! It'll build up your endurance and their natural reflexes!" she stated.
"Oh, alright," she huffed, "but only one round!"
"You heard the girl, circle her!" Miyako commanded. Five of the guardians stood in a circle around Hotiku. "You too, Zack," she scolded.
"Do I have to?" he said, his voice low.
"Yes," she stated firmly, making him stand next to Celeste in the circle.
"Alright let's get this over with…" Hotiku lifted her left hand.
"And no bracing yourself!" Transwarp stated.
"Easy for you to say," Hotiku muttered and suddenly spun around, her left hand slapping the six guardians across the face. Goten winced at the pain that they were going through as they all, including Hotiku, cried out in pain.
"What was the point of that?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Like she said, raises my endurance and their natural reflexes," Hotiku winced as she held her wrist.
"Why your endurance?" he asked.
"My left wrist…" she stood up, recovering from the blows, "is my weak spot, hurts like a bitch."
"Now that that's done, it's shopping time! I've never been to a mall on Earth! What are they like?" Miyako asked.
"For the love of Kami, someone save me," Hotiku whimpered as Miyako dragged her out the door.
Chapter 10- The Start of a Prophecy
It had been about four weeks since the Z-gang had started training for this new enemy. The Sons sat around the table for breakfast, devouring every last speck of food in sight. Hotiku munched on a slice of toast eating regularly, unlike the Saiya-jins around her. She was visiting her old home, but only for her mother and sister. A couple of weeks back she and Gohan had gotten in an argument and he said that as long as she lived under his roof, she would abide by his rules; so she moved out and into Capsule Corp. where they welcomed her, even Vegita. Meanwhile, Hotiku and Gohan were desperately trying to not end up in another dispute.
"Gohan, will you please pass me the paper?" she asked, over sweetly.
"Here you go, Taylor," he handed it to her. Hotiku smiled, even after everything that had happened, he still called her Taylor. She sloppily searched through the newspaper.
"Aha! Found it," she cried triumphantly, tearing a page out and rolling it up, sticking it in her back pocket.
"Nani? Found what?" Goten asked through a mouth full of food.
"I'll be back," she started reaching for a set of keys, but then remembered that it was the sole reason for started the fight with Gohan. He didn't want her riding the motorcycle for several reasons. One, she was under age. Two, she refused to wear a helmet; and three, he thought she didn't even know how to ride it. So she reached for her roller blades instead. Goten shrugged and finished up his breakfast, leaning back on his chair and patting his stomach contently.
~*~
Hotiku was weaving through the people on the street. She stopped in front of a theatre and skated in. She looked around; a lot of girls and guys were scattered around, stretching their limbs. She quickly sneaked into the bathroom, after signing up, to change her clothes.
Okay, you haven't done this in a while, but that's okay! Relax, you can do this… but all those people out there look so professional and experienced, she thought, walking out of the bathroom, why did I even come here, I can't—
"Number 13, you're up," an attendant interrupted her thoughts. Hotiku tensed up and followed the woman. She shook her head to clear her nervousness and plastered a smile on her face. She walked to the center of the stage and waited for her instructions.
~*~
Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Hotiku left the studio and made her way home. She walked into the foyer of Capsule Corp. nearly crashing into Trunks in her attempt to run upstairs.
"Hey, Hotti! Where ya been all day?" He asked, but before she could answer him, he noticed something… different about her. "Uh, Hotiku?" he looked at her questionably.
"Nani? What is it?" she returned the look.
"Why are you wearing that… thing?" he looked at her outfit, a black body suit and white nylon stockings. Suddenly, she realized that in her rush to leave the dance studio, she neglected to change into her regular clothes. She searched her mind for an excuse; all the while heat was quickly rushing to her cheeks.
"It's a costume, for the school play," she said matter-o-factly, "I was just trying it on."
"Outside?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's an outdoor play, ya know," she covered up.
"Okay, but you're not going to train in that thing are you?"
"No, I was just going to go change," she forced her laughter.
"Okay then, I'll meet you here in ten minutes," he walked away shaking his head in confusion.
"Oh, thank gawd it wasn't his mom," she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Nani?" Trunks turned around.
"I said… 'Thank gawd there wasn't a bomb?'" she smiled.
"You're crazy you know that?" Trunks teased.
"I know," she chuckled. Not a second after he left, she ran upstairs to change.
~*~
"Hotti, come on!" Trunks yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
"I just had a thought," she said from behind him, startling him and causing him to jump ten feet in the air.
"You know, I regret Goku-san ever teaching you that teleportation move," he huffed.
"You're just jealous," she stuck her tongue out at him, "now listen, let's ditch Vegita and go to the beach!"
"You really are crazy! Dad would kill us! Besides, w-we have to train," he walked past her.
"Ugh, have I taught you nothing about rebelling?!" she followed him. "Come on, you know you want to," she persisted.
"Alright, alright, alright!" he gave in.
"Yes! This is going to be so great! We can go swimming, oh Goten's coming too, and have a volleyball tournament, and visit the boardwalk, and-" she was cut off by Trunks.
"Wait, wait. Goten's coming?"
"Well yeah, just in case you couldn't come that way I wouldn't be alone," she blinked. Trunks opened his mouth to protest, but Hotiku beat him to it.
"No time to talk, go get your stuff and we'll be on our way, oh and get some of those ki scramblers so Vegita doesn't find us," she smiled as he quickly made his way up the stairs, muttering something incoherent.
~*~
"Ready?" Hotiku whispered. They had all already changed into their bathing suits and had secured a ki scrambler on their temples. They were now standing in the foyer of Capsule Corp.
"Ready," both Trunks and Goten nodded. In the blink of an eye, they had teleported out of the house and onto an isolated area of the beach.
"Yatta! We made it out!" Goten jumped in joy. "We're free!"
"Hey!" Hotiku said loudly, getting their attention. "Race ya to the water," she said mischievously before they all took off in a mad dash towards the ocean. They stopped when it was about several feet deep.
"Ha! I win," Trunks said triumphantly earning a splash from Hotiku. "Hey!" He splashed her back, in which she ducked under water and Goten was the one who got splashed. This quickly turned into a war between the trio, every man… er woman… or alien for themselves.
"Ew! Salt water!" Hotiku spit the water that had splashed into her mouth. Holding her fist together she swung them around sending a large wave of water towards the both of them. Sputtering, the boys both turned on her.
"Ha! You don't mess with us!" Goten cried.
"Especially in a water fight!" Trunks added.
"Oh yeah?" she challenged and promptly pounced on Trunks' back and pushing him underwater. Goten burst into fits of laughter as Trunks' hands could be seen splashing above the water. "Whoa," was all Hotiku managed to say as she was pulled under along with Trunks, which resulted only in making Goten laugh even more. He managed to grab her from behind and flew up out of the water.
"Yeah," Trunks received her challenge. Coughing, she tried to release his grasp, but only caused him to tighten his grip around her.
"Hey, no fair! Let go," she managed to free her arms and was now pushing at his arms.
"No way, not until you admit we rule," he snickered.
"Ugh, never," she looked back at him, "Goten, make him let go!" She pleaded with him. He only crossed his arms and smirked. "Goten!" she looked at him in disbelief.
"Admit it!" he chose to be on Trunks side.
"I don't believe this!" she huffed.
"If you don't admit it, I'll never let you go," Trunks smirked.
"Well, then I guess I'm not going anywhere then," she smirked back, knowing exactly what he was going to do, which made him tighten his grasp around her waist as expected. "Ow! Trunks! I can't breathe!" she lied, making a pained face to prove her point.
"Gomen, Hotti!" he quickly loosened his grasp and set her down on the shore, only to have her run off.
"Haha, sucker!" she blew a raspberry at him.
"Why that little—" They both got up to chase after her. She abruptly stopped and looked off into the distance, further down the shore.
"Hotiku, what is it?" Goten asked her.
"They're so happy," she mumbled. They looked in the direction she was staring at to see two kids playing in the sand, grins on their faces. "What are they doing?" she asked.
"They're building a sand castle. Hotiku, have you never done this?" Trunks asked in disbelief.
"I've never seen anything like that before," she continued to admire the small towers they were making.
"Come on," Trunks pulled her by her arm.
"Where are we going?" she asked, tearing her gaze away from the kids. Before he answered her question, he sat her down in the wet sand. "Trunks, wha-"
"Shh, don't talk, just build," he sat in front of her.
"But-" she gave him a distressed look. Goten placed his hands on her shoulders behind her. She looked back at him, receiving an assuring look.
I don't know how to do this… she placed her hands on the sand and slowly gathered it in a pile. "I can't do this," she shook her head.
"Wimp," Goten said. Hotiku scoffed and threw a handful of sand at him, over her shoulder.
"Come on, we'll help you," Trunks placed his hand over hers'. She sighed and looked at them.
"You guys are really aggravating, you know that?"
"We know."
~*~
Miyako moaned as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Ginger, remind me never to sleep in those barracks again!"
"No problem," the brunette said cheerfully. Opening the door of the space ship, they found that they had landed on an abandoned beach.
"I don't get it, why would Hotiku be in such a deserted inhabitants?" Taga asked, looking around.
"Well, we'll just have to find out, now won't we?" Miyako replied. Suddenly, the roaring of an engine was heard from behind them and stopped next to them. Inside the jeep, Transwarp sat in the driver's seat and Zack standing in the passenger's.
"Miyako, Celeste, you're with us. You too, Taga; the rest of you follow close, but not too close. She's not alone, we might have to fight them off. Be prepared, be cautious; expect the unexpected. And above all, watch each others' backs." Zack ordered as the three soldiers hopped into the jeep.
"Let's get this party started," Transwarp smirked and drove down the ramp and across the sand at top speed.
"Miyako, there are weapons back there, distribute them and make sure they've been prepped," Zack said from the front seat.
"Alright, line up ladies and gentlemen," Miyako said, while she quickly started arming and putting together the various weapons, "we've got energy gauntlets, EMP crossbows and even the newly developed electrical gloves. That's right, you heard me, electrical gloves. Come and get 'em while they're hot!" she tossed every one of them each of the weapons, but left herself without a crossbow.
"What about you, Miyako?" Celeste asked.
"Little kids and pregnant ladies, back up, because I, the great Miyako, have," she sheathed a sword from its carrying case, "Faith, the ultimate sword. She's a genuine, one of a kind, made by the one and only Hephaestus himself, and powered by the almighty Minerva." She showed it off proudly, turning it from side to side as it gleamed in the sunlight.
"Where'd you get that?!" Transwarp asked, looking at her from the rear-view mirror.
"Swiped it from the Ancients," she smirked.
"Nice, very nice," Zack complimented her, and then proceeded to look straight ahead.
~*~
Standing up, the trio made their way to a few huts to change into regular clothes.
I'm feeling something… like a presence… must be that fluid still running around in my veins that Sheik injected me with. Hotiku thought, adjusting her hat and walked out wearing a black frock, white tank top and black shorts.
~*~
Miyako opened her eyes and looked at Zack, who nodded towards her.
She feels us, looks like the disillusionment hasn't taken away her powers and strength completely, Miyako thought.
That's good, we'll have time to build her up, and you can finally give her the remedy dosages, Zack spoke to her through their shared telepathy.
Of course, she replied.
~*~
The three teens had been walking around the boardwalk for a few minutes, when Hotiku stopped dead in her tracks.
"What is it?" Goten asked. Not saying a word, she grabbed Trunks wrist and dragged him to a small booth.
"What are you doing!?" he asked.
"Getting your ear pierced, duh," she said proudly.
"Nani!?" he looked back at her. "I don't want my ear pierced!"
"Come on, I have to repay you somehow!" she placed her hands on her hips.
"So buy me a meal, but I am not getting my ear pierced!" he jumped up and ran back to the isolated area of the beach. Goten and Hotiku quickly followed him, so that they wouldn't be separated. Finally catching up to him, Hotiku looked over at the purple-haired boy.
"Wuss."
~*~
"There they are," he pointed towards the three teens.
"Alright everyone, stay sharp and hold on," said Transwarp as he swiftly maneuvered the jeep towards the trio.
~*~
Hotiku wrapped her arms around Trunks neck, and embraced him. "Thank you, Trunks," she said sincerely. Suddenly, she pushed herself off of him in fear, keeping her eyes locked on the figures behind him. Trunks turned around to see who or what it was, only to coil back in fear as well.
"T-t-tousan!" All three stammered. Standing there menacingly, Vegita and Gohan had their hands planted firmly on either one of Goku's shoulders. Gohan let go of his father as Vegita and Goku teleported behind Hotiku and grabbed her arms before teleporting by the shore. Goku let go of them both and teleported back to Trunks and Goten.
"Ow! Let go!" Hotiku wriggled out of Vegita's grasp only to receive a sharp slap from him. She looked back at him, holding her cheek.
"A ship just landed, and I'm guessing its your little guardian friends," he spat.
"So?" she glared at him with murderous eyes.
"So, what if it had been the enemy?!" he spat. "You tore both the brats away from training and you wouldn't have been prepared to take him on!" Vegita levitated and started to fly away.
"Well, then we would have been exhausted from training," she muttered as she watched his retreating form, when she realized she had to walk all the way back to them.
~*~
Only a few meters away from them, they witnessed the three males suddenly appear.
Great, now there are more of them, Miyako thought.
Doesn't matter, we've got them outnumbered, Zack replied.
"We're going in," Transwarp said as he quickly swerved the car, inches away from the targets. Moving with the jeep's momentum, Celeste, Taga and Zack jumped out of the vehicle and surrounded them, aiming their weapons towards them. Miyako stayed in the back of the jeep hidden. Not long after they had hopped out, Cedric and Astria blurred into sight and surrounded the open areas around them.
"Don't move!" Zack aimed his palms, covered with the electrical gloves, at Trunks. Small thunderbolts crackled around his fingers as he held his hands firmly. The saiya-jin males froze in place, confused at what was going on. Meanwhile, Zack had subtly motioned to Transwarp to take his cover, in which he rapidly shot up into the sky and hid behind the large palm tree leaves, along with Ginger.
"Who are you?" Gohan asked.
"We're asking the questions," Celeste hissed.
"Where is she?" Zack interrogated, very aware that they knew whom he was talking about, which they did.
Goten immediately glared at him, "you're not taking Hotiku," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Miyako stood up in the back of the jeep and blurred behind him and jumped on his back, placing him in a headlock.
"Don't underestimate us, boy," she growled. Goten promptly flipped her over him, causing her to release a wire from her gauntlet, hooking it to a tree as she swung around and planted her feet on his chest, sending him to the ground. She straddled his waist as the wire recoiled back, aiming her gauntlet at his throat. He made a move to get up, tempting her. "Ah, ah," she warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Why not?" he glared.
"Because this puppy's loaded with my energy, just waiting for me to release it," she clocked a component of the gauntlet as if it were a gun. Evidently, it was enough to keep Goten under control, but still keeping his guard up.
"We're not going down without a fight," Vegita scowled.
"Looking forward to it," said Miyako, keeping her eyes on Goten. "Go," she ordered, causing Zack to pull his gauntlet, releasing his wire and sped off towards Hotiku.
"So… comfy?" Goten snickered as Miyako growled at him and charged her gauntlet as it made a high pitched electronic whirring sound.
~*~
Hotiku stormed off back towards the group, completely oblivious to what was happening.
"Stupid, no good, tailless, son of a…" she muttered under her breathe, but didn't have time to continue, or react, as she was grabbed from behind. Hiding her surprise, she flipped her assailant over her. She looked up to see a blonde-haired boy and screamed the moment she recognized him.
"I take it you remember me."
~*~
Hearing Hotiku's scream, Trunks took a step to go after her.
"Freeze," Taga threatened.
"Screw this," he growled, "I'm not letting you take her from us!" As if on cue, Zack reappeared with Hotiku on his back; she was grinning.
"Found a mate already?" Hotiku smirked at Miyako, causing Goten to blush furiously.
"Not likely," she snorted, getting up. She launched herself at Hotiku as she received an embrace.
"What the hell took you guys so long?!" she complained.
"Taga here decided to go Haven sliding," Cedric nodded his head towards Taga, who along with the fire haired boy, Celeste and Astria still had their weapons aimed at them.
"Ugh, at ease," Hotiku waved her hand at them, immediately resulting in them dropping their weapons.
"Don't tell me that you of all people are a commander," Vegita growled.
"That's Sergeant to you, Sarge for short," Hotiku beamed.
"Ha! You couldn't lead if your life depended on it. Of course, I guess it's easy to command these weaklings," he motioned to the guardians.
"I don't like this one," Miyako disapproved, "he's too much of an asshole."
"Don't worry, this is his good mood," Hotiku snickered.
"I'm going to obliterate you two," he snapped. Miyako scoffed and waved her hand at him, immediately freezing him in the position he had been.
"Ah, much better," she chuckled.
"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?!" Trunks yelled.
"Oh yeah, you guys are still here, I forgot," Hotiku smirked, earning a glare from him. "These," she motioned her arm towards the new arrivals, "are my fellow guardians… although a few of you are missing," she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no we're not," said a male voice behind her, causing her to jump. She turned around to look at who the voice belonged to only to throw her arms around his neck.
"Transwarp! Kami-sama, I can't believe you're here!"
"Who the hell is Kami-sama?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Who the hell are you?" Trunks eyed him.
"Oh Trunks, don't be so jealous," Hotiku said, "This is my brother." Miyako snapped her fingers, 'unfreezing' Vegita from his position causing him to stumble forward slightly. He muttered something under his breath about taking advantage of royalty.
"So sorry to drift from the reunion, but we have a mission to accomplish. Hotiku did you get the message?" Zack asked.
"Hai, so who is this guy who's supposedly coming anyway?" she asked. Miyako and Zack looked at each other nervously. "Nani? Guys, who is it?"
Miyako said something incoherent under her breath before inhaling deeply, "It's Saige."
Hotiku froze, she couldn't believe it, Saige? She couldn't remember how many times she had battled with him, refusing him. Every time, she would give him a chance to quit chasing after her and return with them to protect their princess. He would never agree to and they ended up tearing each other apart, the battle would only end if they were both knocked out or one of the guardians intervened and caused Saige to retreat.
"Saige?" She whispered. "But… but I thought it was over. Why won't he just give up and leave me alone?!" She growled.
"Honey, I'm afraid there's more," Miyako swallowed hard. "Saige has been captured by Rain, he's coming not only for you, but for your knowledge of the whereabouts of Princess Cassidy as well."
"No… we're not going to let him," she snapped her head up, "with my knowledge of where the princess is, he'll be able to find her and gain her power. With it, Rain will be able to jump through dimensions and conquer each and every one of them. We'll train, we'll fight, and we'll win."
"Sorry to interrupt the speech, but what the hell are you guys talking about?" Gohan asked.
"Gomen guys, but this is top secret information, only the guardians are able to access it and y—" Taga started.
"Oh drop the perfect soldier act, Taga," Miyako snapped.
"Yes, ma'am."
"That wasn't an order!" she growled.
"Ma'am, sorry, ma'am," he saluted her.
"For god's sake, stop calling me ma'am!!" she slapped the back of his head causing Goten to snicker.
"Yes, ma—er Miyako," he crossed his arms, finally satisfying her.
"Anyway! Here's the dealio," Celeste started, "This guy Saige, right, he's after Hotiku, wants her, literally, like that; By now you know that she's from another planet. She's the only one who knows the location of Princess Cassidy. She has a power which allows her to slip her mind and spirit into other realms, aka dimensions; Rain wants this power to literally conquer the universe, and with his power and hers', he'll be able to, that's just about the gist of it."
"Oh… so that's it," Goten blinked.
"Don't worry, honey, you'll catch up," Miyako winked at him.
"We better get going, we should train as much as po—" Hotiku quickly grasped Transwarp's arm as she held her forehead, her face twisted in pain.
"She's goin' in," he warned.
"Miyako!" Zack snapped his head towards her. She quickly pulled two small devises out of her pocket and pressed one on her temple and the other on her neck. A few seconds passed and she slowly opened her eyes.
"It… it worked," she breathed.
"Of course it worked, I invented it," Miyako beamed.
"See Trunks, I told you she would find a way to stop this hideous disorder," Hotiku stood up as Miyako removed the devices.
"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes.
"Hmm," Miyako held her chin and walked around him.
"What are you doing?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"You picked a good one," Miyako winked at Hotiku.
"Oh yeah," she walked over to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing him to jump back in shock, his face a nice shade of crimson.
"Have you lost your mind? What was that for?" Trunks blinked. She only chuckled in response, and rested her arm on Goten's shoulder.
"So I could be entertained," she finally said as she glanced over to her brother and witnessed as he menacingly walked towards Trunks.
"Listen, pretty boy, you don't come near my sister. You don't touch her, you don't even breathe on her, or you'll live to regret it," he growled at him.
"Uh… right?" he raised an eyebrow.
"That wasn't a request, that's an order," he hissed.
"I don't have to listen to you! I'm not one of your loser soldiers!" Trunks yelled.
"Loser?! Who are you calling a loser?!" All the guardians, but Miyako, Hotiku and Zack, yelled.
"This is great," Hotiku laughed.
"Eh… well, not loser… per say," he panicked.
"Hey!" they all turned around, looking at Vegita.
"Do you all mind? We've got an enemy to prepare for," Gohan crossed his arms.
"Not only that, but you three," Vegita pointed to Trunks, Hotiku and Goten, "stole a few of the woman's inventions!" he snapped, making them immediately pull off the devices on their temples.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Astria yawned. "I'm bored, we need some action around here."
"You're right," Hotiku managed to stifle her giggles, "who's up for tag?"
"Tag?" Goku perked up as the other's sweatdropped.
"Yeah, like this," she jumped behind Zack and slapped him on the back, then did the same with the others as well, "you're it!"
"Get her!" Zack shouted and proceeded to lead the 'war' against the one-woman army.
"Nya, nya," she stuck her tongue out at them and jumped into the trees. As she jumped down to the ground, kicking up sand, the others followed her in sync as in a domino-like effect. Just as Hotiku touched down, she was immediately swept off her feet and thrown over Zack's shoulder.
"Whoa! Hey, no fair, you guys got faster…" she whined.
"Aren't you going to stop them so they don't take her away from us?" Goten leaned over and whispered in Trunks' ear.
"No… look at her," he nodded his head subtly, "she's so happy." Goten looked over and sure enough Hotiku was as cheerful as ever. Laughing as Zack swung her back onto her feet. She looked at him sideways before poking him in his side causing him to jump slightly, again having her laugh again.
"You're right… but still, I don't want her to leave," he sighed.
"I know what you mean… I think I have a plan," he smirked and walked over to them.
"Hotiku, can I talk to you for a sec.?" He asked.
"Sure…" she didn't move from her spot, the other guardians watching him intently.
"Uh… alone," he scratched his head.
"Huh uh, pretty boy," Miyako huffed, "you got something to say to 'er, you say it here."
"Hai," Zack said firmly. Trunks sighed, and crossed his arms.
"You guys don't have to take her from here, she's made a home here, it wouldn't be right," he started, but he was quickly interrupted by Zack.
"That's were you're wrong, she, Miyako and I live on the move, we can't risk staying in one place for too long. She's used to it and so are we, we have to keep running or they'll find us and take us back," he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I already know that, she told me," he growled, pointed to Hotiku.
"Trunks," she whispered harshly.
"You told him?" Miyako looked at her, she dropped her head to look at the ground.
"I told them all," she muttered.
"How stupid can you be?" Zack growled. "You have a responsibility to keep yours and our pasts as much a secret as possible! What if this information gets leaked out and the Riena officers become aware?! They'll be able to track our location anywhere now! You have rules and specific duties! You have responsi—"
"Responsibility?!" She snapped her head up to look at him, "Screw the responsibility, Zack! I can't take it anymore, we've been running our whole lives, me most of all! I'm never going to be able to have a nice normal life because of that damn operation and this damn thing that I can't even control! We can't even stay together for more than a few days because of them!"
"What the hell do you mean 'you most of all'?! I'm the one who has to make up for all your screw ups and mistakes, I have to clean up after you!" Zack yelled at her.
"Oh shut up, Zack. Leave her alone, you know she has that condition, and her seizures are the worst because of it!" Miyako spat.
"Miyako!" Hotiku yelled, her face red with both anger and embarrassment.
"What seizures?!" Trunks asked. "You didn't tell me about those!"
"I couldn't, because this bakayarou," she pointed to Zack, "was all on my case about 'responsibility' and all that crap," she mimicked him.
"It's a good thing she didn't," Zack turned on him, "you would have probably made a huge scene of it and brought out the attention of Riena!"
"What the hell is your problem!? This isn't a damn conspiracy!" he snapped.
"That's what you think! You have it easy compared to us!"
"How can you say that!? You don't even know him!" Miyako screamed.
"I can tell by his behavior," he said low and dangerous.
"Behavior my ass, you're just jealous because I know her better than you do!"
"That's bull shit, straight up bull, I grew up with her!"
"Yeah and then abandoned her because you were too scared of the 'scary scientists' that you ran away with your tail between your legs!" Trunks spat.
"Those scientists put us through hell and you don't know jack abo-"
"Both of you just shut UP!!" Both males were sent crashing towards opposite trees as Hotiku screamed at the top of her lungs. She gasped, realizing what she just did. "Oh my gawd."
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Miyako embraced her, trying to sooth her.
"What the hell is going on?" she sobbed.
It's happening, Zack, Miyako thought.
Ya damn right it's happening, and fast, that hurt like a bitch! He replied.
Hotiku stopped crying suddenly, "Did you guys just say something?"
Miyako looked down at her, "Nani? You heard us? Shit, this can't be good, it's happening too fast!"
"What's happening? What's going on?" Goku asked, finally speaking up.
"She has to come with Zack and I," Miyako said quickly as she grasped Hotiku's right arm and held it up, examining her wrist, "we have to train her to use her renewing pow—" she stopped in mid-speech as her eyes widened in shock. "Zack!!"
"Nani?" he walked over wearily as Miyako showed him her wrist.
"Look," she pointed at it.
"Guys… itai, that hurts!" Hotiku twisted around.
"They're reappearing," he mumbled.
"What's reappearing?! Will somebody fill me in?! You guys are scaring me!"
"Hotiku do you remember what these mean?" Zack gently held her wrist, showing her three small dots in a triangle position, they were faint but they were there.
"Uh, they're birth marks?" she guessed.
"Iie, these indicate the level of your Toria-jin powers. You and Miyako share several types of them far greater than any others, another reason for you two being guardians, but because of your disillusionment both your psychic and physical power have been disappearing and lowering," he explained.
"Toria-jin?!" Vegita yelled. "That weakling squirt is a Toria-jin!?" He asked in disbelief.
"We all are," Blade said through clenched teeth.
"Shut it up, the lot of ya's!!" Hotiku yelled, "I'm trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me!"
"There's nothing wrong with you, hun," Ginger spoke softly, "your powers are simply coming back to you now that Miyako has administered the first remedy."
"The only thing we can't figure out is why it's happening so fast. You're already able to open the communication link between the four of us and your telekinesis is kicking in," Miyako stated.
"But I only heard you and Zack, who's the fourth?" Hotiku asked.
"The fourth is Saige," Zack muttered.
"We were all psychically connected through the enhancement, it reacted to our Toria-jin powers," Miyako said.
"You think the remedy is having a chemical reaction to the serum Sheik injected into her?" Zack asked asked.
"Could be, we need more info on it, we heard you think about that," Miyako replied.
"Kami-sama, she's like a freakin' genius!" Goten whispered to Trunks.
"We can't waste anymore time," Cedric spoke up.
"Hai, we have to take her back asap," Astria agreed.
"Peace, we out," Celeste said.
"It's been nice knowin' ya's, but it's time we blew this joint," Miyako blew a kiss to them and turned around to leave.
"See ya," Zack saluted them sloppily and walked off, dragging Hotiku with them.
"Leave? Now? But I can't go!" she protested.
"Wait!" Trunks yelled, catching all of their attention. "Like I started saying before, she doesn't have to leave… none of you do, you can stay with us at Capsule Corps."
"Capsule what?" Miyako raised an eyebrow.
"It's my home, I live with the Briefs," Hotiku explained.
"There are nine of us, including Hotiku. You'd have to find appropriate accommodations for us all," Zack raised his voice.
"We'll be able to give each of you your own room and still have extras," Trunks replied.
"They have to be sanitary and dressed for each of us," Blade fought.
"Already taken care of," he smirked, looking very much like his father.
"Are you prepared to feed all of us with sufficient nutrition?" Celeste asked.
"With seconds to go around."
"You're efficient, I like that," Blade complimented him, raising an eyebrow.
"Then it's settled, we move in, train and prepare for Saige," Zack stated.
"We'll need time to gather our belongings from the ship," Miyako said, "then we'll be on our way."
"Take your time," Goten waved before they all blurred out of sight and back with their arms full of baggage in the blink of an eye.
Miyako walked passed Goten, "taking your time awards you a slow painful death," she smirked as he swallowed hard.
"H-hai," he replied shakily.
"Well, then shall we?" Taga suggested.
"We shall," Zack said.
Hotiku walked up to Trunks and leaned on his shoulder, "oh you are going to regret this the second you realize the mess nine Toria-jins put together can do," she chuckled and walked off.
~*~
The large group of teens walked in the front door of Capsule Corps. followed by the three male adults.
"Gosh, Vegita," Goku patted his back, "I hope you can handle all of them."
"This pathetic bunch of weaklings? No problem," he snorted. Not a moment after he had said this, crashes were heard from inside followed by loud music and conversation.
"Hey check out this stereo!" Miyako pressed several buttons rapidly and tuned it to a good radio station.
"Hey, that sounds great!" Astria cheered.
"Hotti? You guys have a pool right?" she asked.
"Hai, it's huge! You should see it!" she replied.
"Let's go water dance!" she suggested joyfully.
"Water what?" Goten asked.
"Water dance, it's where we… wait a minute. Dance? Oh, shit!" Hotiku yelled, and quickly ran off in search of Bulma, followed by Trunks, Goten and Miyako. "Where are you?! Bulma!"
"What is it?" she ran down the stairs.
"Did someone call asking for me?" she asked in a panic.
"No, hun, not today."
"Aw, man… when are they gonna call?" she asked herself.
"Care to explain?" Trunks asked.
"Uh… you remember that costume I was trying on?" she asked, laughing nervously.
"Hai."
"Well, it wasn't a costume, it was a dance uniform. I went to an audition to see if I could get in, they were supposed to call to say if I made it or not," she said.
"That skimpy thing was a dance uniform?! Oh man!" he burst out laughing. "At first I thought you were in some kind of street mime!"
"WHAT?!" she screeched. "What'd ya mean a mime?! Have you looked in a mirror lately, you look like some freak clown!"
"Hey!"
"Wasn't your hair pinkish when you were a kid?" she spat.
"N-n-nani?!" he stammered.
"Humph, not much has changed," she snorted.
"You're so dead!" he yelled before charging at her.
"Uh-oh," she quickly jumped away from his reach as he made an attempt to grab her. Hotiku quickly ran out of the room and into the large living area.
"Get back here and fight like a man! I mean…" he quickly tried to correct himself but instead launched at her again.
"Whoa!" she barely dodged and jumped up to the ceiling. Unfortunately for her, another one of her powers kicked in and she stuck to the ceiling! "Ah! I can't get down! Miyako!"
"Flip over and crawl to the wall! You won't fall, you can stick to it," she instructed.
"Are you sure?" she flipped on her stomach.
"Hai." Hotiku started to crawl but when she was about half way to the wall, her power left her and she plummeted to the ground.
"Ah!" she screamed, as Trunks blurred under her and caught her body before she hit the ground. "Arigatou… I thought you said I wouldn't fall!"
"Heh, heh… oops?" Miyako laughed nervously. Hotiku was just about to argue with her when she heard Vegita yelling.
"Yes, that brat Hotiku is here! She's flirting with my son!" he yelled.
Hotiku gasped, "the phone!" She immediately jumped out of Trunks' arms and ran towards Vegita. She snatched the cordless phone from his grasp.
"Hello, this is Hotiku, I'm sorry my friend's dad is drunk. I think he had a little too much scotch," she covered up. Vegita was about to protest when Miyako glared at him.
"Say one word, and I'll freeze you again," she warned. Vegita grumbled and walked off.
"Uh huh? Yes, I understand, I have to work tomorrow," Hotiku said, "have a nice day." She hung up the phone and turned around to look at them all. "That was the restaurant, not the studio, I have to work tomorrow," she sighed, and plopped down on the couch.
~*~
By now, the entire group of guardians had gathered in the living area and was crowded around the couches, with the phone sitting on the table in front of Hotiku. Suddenly, the phone rang and she immediately picked it up.
"Moshi, moshi… yes this is Hotiku, uh huh… okay… alright, really? Okay, that's fine, thank you." She hung up, and sat on the edge of her seat silently.
"Well?" Trunks urged her to tell them the answer. After a long pause, she finally spoke up.
"I made it!" she jumped.
"Oh my gawd, that's incredible!" Miyako hugged her.
"I know! And the best part is they want me to be their lead dancer!" she said excitedly.
Miyako squealed, "This is perfect! Now I have an excuse to go out shopping!"
"Congratulations, Hotti," Trunks embraced her.
"Thanks, promise you'll come to my shows?" she asked.
"I wouldn't miss them for the world, I'll be at every one of them," he smiled. Hotiku smiled back and hugged him again.
"Arigatou, Trunks-kun," she whispered.
"Come on! Quit flirting with your mate," Miyako grabbed her wrist.
"He's not my mate!" She yelled, blushing furiously. "Itai, Miyako that hurts!" she tried to pull from her grasp.
"Oops, wrong wrist," she let go of her hand.
"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically.
"Now, before we go shopping, we're going to do at least one round of build up," she said firmly. Every single one of the guardians, save Miyako and Transwarp, complained negatively.
"Mi-chan, no, please Kami no," Hotiku whined.
"Kora! It'll build up your endurance and their natural reflexes!" she stated.
"Oh, alright," she huffed, "but only one round!"
"You heard the girl, circle her!" Miyako commanded. Five of the guardians stood in a circle around Hotiku. "You too, Zack," she scolded.
"Do I have to?" he said, his voice low.
"Yes," she stated firmly, making him stand next to Celeste in the circle.
"Alright let's get this over with…" Hotiku lifted her left hand.
"And no bracing yourself!" Transwarp stated.
"Easy for you to say," Hotiku muttered and suddenly spun around, her left hand slapping the six guardians across the face. Goten winced at the pain that they were going through as they all, including Hotiku, cried out in pain.
"What was the point of that?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Like she said, raises my endurance and their natural reflexes," Hotiku winced as she held her wrist.
"Why your endurance?" he asked.
"My left wrist…" she stood up, recovering from the blows, "is my weak spot, hurts like a bitch."
"Now that that's done, it's shopping time! I've never been to a mall on Earth! What are they like?" Miyako asked.
"For the love of Kami, someone save me," Hotiku whimpered as Miyako dragged her out the door.
