Authors : Debs-Dragon and Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : We don't own them, we only borrow the characters once in a while to play with but we always return them unharmed…ok, well most of the time anyways.

A/N : I'll let you know if I come up with anything…honest.

Eternal Journey

Chapter 4.

By Debs-dragon.


Trunks looked at the box that Goten had with renewed interest. "What for?" he asked. "How the heck should I know?" retorted Goten, "I happened to see him put it in his bedside draw and when I asked him what it was he wouldn't tell me." "So how come you have it now then?" said Trunks. "Well I waited till he was busy and went to take a look at what he was hiding, then just as I got it out of the drawer he came back to the room. So I slipped it in my pocket." Trunk's eyes opened wide with this new revelation, "Wow" was all he managed to say.

Gohan came back into the room and spotting Goten called his little brother to hurry up as they needed to get back home. "Call you later Bulma & see how she's doing?" said Gohan nodding his head towards the still unconscious form on the couch. "Yes, okay." replied Bulma rather absently.

"Come on Goten, we better get home or mom with be having kittens worrying about us." said Gohan. Trunks giggled, "If she does, can I have one instead of a puppy?" Goten looked at his partner in crime and laughed out loud, "Sure you can, but I get first pick." Gohan rolled his eyes and catching Goten by the scruff of his neck made his way out of the golden dome of the Capsule Corp house. "See ya later." he shouted and levitated into the air before letting his brother go. "Race you!" yelled Goten and before Gohan could gather his wits Goten was streaking across the sky towards home.

Gohan followed at a more leisurely pace, a thousand questions were burning through his brain, none of which could be answered until the young alien girl awoke from her place of dreams. Then his mind switched tack and he thought about Videl. Boy did he have some things to talk to her about tonight. He had been planning this evening for some time now and wanted everything to be just perfect. He glanced at his watch and jolted to see how much time had passed, he was due to pick Videl up in 3 hours and he still had his chores to finish and get ready. He groaned. The mess... what about the mess? He dimly remembered that they still had the blue ink & feathers to clean up. In their haste to get to the crashed ship they had completely forgotten about the joke and resulting mess from it. Gohan shuddered at the thought of Chi chi's reaction and nearly turned around to fly back to Bulma's on the off chance that she could hide him until his mothers urge for blood had passed.

Then a chuckle passed his lips. Goten should be home by now and with any luck born the brunt of their mothers anger, which meant he shouldn't cop as much as originally thought. This cheered him up a little and along with the warm thoughts of Videl and his impending evening he increased his speed to get home quicker.

He could hear the shrill voice of his mother long before he reached their home and knew that Goten was copping an earbashing and a half. Still he deserved it sometimes, Gohan reminded himself and thought back over times too numerous to count when his younger sibling had pulled various stunts. As he landed and made his way inside so a sheepish looking Goten passed by carrying a bucket and cloth. Gohan raised an eyebrow, Goten nodded towards the kitchen and then disappeared to clean up the mess from earlier. Gohan took a deep breath then faced his mother.

After the torrent slowed to a trickle and finished with the customary "I thought that at your age you could be responsible enough to watch over 2 youngsters" bit, Gohan sighed and went to finish his chores. As he passed Goten who had nearly got the walls clean he couldn't help but smile. His little brother might be a bundle of mischief and a pain in the ass at times but underneath beat a heart of gold and Gohan loved his brother deeply. This was however all to change in a matter of minutes.

Gohan finished his chores in record time and went for his shower. Goten having cleaned up as best he could was reclining on his bed reading a comic when there came the most un-nerving noise from Gohan's room. Goten sat bolt upright on his bed and trembled. The ring! He had forgotten all about the ring! "Goten???" came the slow call. "Eeeep" thought Goten as he rummaged around in his pockets but coming up empty handed, "I'm dead". He contemplated just how much time he had left on this earth before Gohan ripped him apart when his brother appeared in the doorway. Gohan's eyes betrayed the anger that was building inside, Goten scooted back up the bed till he was pushed against the wall. Gohan's voice was low as he spoke, "You wouldn't by chance happen to know where the box that I put in my drawer went to would you?" "I swear I was going to put it back, I only meant to have a quick look but then the ship, and you, and the feathers and....." Goten trailed off miserably realizing he was babbling.

Gohan looked at his brother and swallowed. "So where is it?" he asked. "Ummm... That's just it. I don't know." whispered Goten. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS!!" yelled Gohan. "It took me ages to save up enough money to buy that ring." Goten hung his head. Boy was he having a bad day. "I'm s…s...sorry Gohan" he managed to say at last and a big fat tear slid down his cheek. Gohan felt bad seeing his younger brother cry but he was still mad at him for touching property that didn't belong to him. Chi chi hearing the raised voices came to investigate. Once explanations had been given she was also angry at Goten for taking his brothers things without permission.

"This isn't going to find the ring." said Chi Chi. "I suggest we calm down and think. Now Goten when was the last time you recall having the ring in your pocket?" "Ummm. I showed it to Trunks then put it back before we flew home." said Goten, his face screwed up with concentration. "Oh great!" muttered Gohan. "At the speed he was going it could be anywhere between here & Bulma's!" Chi Chi put a calming hand on her eldest's arm. "I remember feeling it in my pocket when I was carrying the bucket 'cause the bucket pushed against it and it hurt my leg." offered Goten. "Then what did you do? Where did you go?" asked Gohan impatiently, time was ticking by. "Ummm, I don't remember feeling it when I put my hanky back after blowing my nose." he said, his eyes hopeful. "Where did you blow your nose?" asked Gohan.
"In the hanky" silly giggled Goten. Gohan frowned, "Sorry." said Goten realizing that his brother wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Ummm, I was out in the garden 'cause I had just emptied the bucket...." Goten trailed off as Gohan jumped up and ran outside.

The three searched in vain for almost an hour before a shout of triumph came from Chi Chi. "I've found it!" she called banishing a small black box high. "Thanks mom" said Gohan as he took the box and opened it to make sure that its precious contents were still there. Chi Chi smiled at her son then gasped as she saw the elegant yet simple beauty of the ring nestled inside its cocoon.

"I had better go, I'm late as it is." he said and giving Chi Chi a quick peck on the cheek turned to fly off when a tug to his trousers stopped him. He looked down into the sad coal black depths of a little boys eyes. "I am sorry Gohan. I really didn't mean to take the ring..." he mumbled miserably. Gohan squatted down on his haunches and looked at his little brother. "Hey, Its okay tiger. Just make sure you don't do anything silly like this again will you? Next time we may not be so lucky." Gohan reached up and wiped the tears from his brothers eyes and Goten enveloped him in a bear hug. "Okay... okay..." laughed Gohan, "I really have to go" and he gently pulled Goten from around his neck before taking to the sky patting his coat pocket, feeling the ring nestled safely there.

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Bulma picked up the basin and towel that was now tinged with red and left the room. She had cleaned up the young girl as best she could. Fortunately there wasn't too much damage. A couple of cracked ribs, a sprained wrist, concussion no doubt from the blow to the head and several cuts & scrapes. It would take time but the body would heal. The spirit?.... well that was an entirely different story. Bulma sighed. The girl seemed to be around the same age as Trunks & Goten, maybe a year or two younger. Her body was similar in structure that she could tell to humans and saiya-jins. But the hair. The hair was the most unusual thing she had ever seen. Exotic was an understatement. Its silver black strands were so soft & silky to the touch. It was strong yet vulnerable coming to the mid back of its owners frame. As it moved under the light so it seemed to shimmer, reminding Bulma of the moonlight upon a pond.

Another unusual thing Bulma noticed was the girls shoulder blades. They seemed to be slightly bigger and bulged out a bit more than seemed necessary. Oh well, the questions she had would have to wait until the girl came around. The best thing for her now was to rest. Bulma closed the door and turning around walked right into Vegeta. Vegeta caught the bowl before it hit the floor. "Oh Kami, Vegeta!" hissed Bulma. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" Vegeta ignored Bulma's mouth, instead opting for a question himself. "How is the alien?" he asked. Bulma, taken aback slightly by Vegeta's question, took a moment to reply. "Well she's resting comfortably. Still unconscious, but none of the injuries are life threatening." "Good." said Vegeta then thrusting the bowl at Bulma he proceeded to stalk off. "I want my dinner as soon as I have my shower." he called over his shoulder. Bulma stood fuming for a moment. "Why yes oh mighty prince." she called after him the words tinged with sarcasm and then she began to wonder why he was interested in the aliens state of health.
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Gohan fiddled nervously with his tie. They had enjoyed a lovely dinner and were now into their deserts and so far all he had managed to do was make small talk. Videl seemed pre occupied as well which made him even more uncomfortable. He had apologized for being late for their date and once he had explained about the space ship & the young girl Videl had forgiven him. She seemed quite interested in what had happened and made Gohan promise to take her out to the crash site as well as to Bulma's to visit the alien.

Finally as Videl put down her spoon Gohan cleared his throat. "Its now or never." he said to himself. He ran his finger around the collar of his shirt and licked his dry lips. "Err.... Videl?" he asked quietly. She turned and looked at him expectantly. "I umm... That is..... I want to...... Oh I ..... Do you think............." Gohan stumbled along trying to fine the words. Videl put her hand over his and gazed into his obsidian depths. He returned the gentle gaze putting in as much of the love that he felt as he could. " Videl...... Would you marry me?"........

Oh, again, aren't you so glad that chapter 5 is also already completed? Review if you like, heck even review if you don't like! We'd like to know if there is someplace that we can improve this little story of ours or not. Thanks!