Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon. Dragonball Z and all of its characters belong to Akira Toriyama. Sailor Moon and all of its characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Author's Notes: I have worked hard on this chapter and I hope you guys like it. School seems to have slowed down so I have started working more on this thing and another fic that I'm starting up. To everyone who has been asking about when Rei/17 would come in I dedicate this chapter to you. Hotaru and Trunks will start taking a backseat so that I can work more on our favorite raven-haired couple after this chapter.

I would also like to think the TWO people that reviewed my last chapter.

Thank you guys!

Altered Destinies

By: Kynthia

Part 7

Rei walked in the back of the group as they followed Trunks into Capsule Corp. He led the way carrying the still unconscious Hotaru. Usagi and Ami were walking on either side of him asking various questions and Makoto followed close behind them carrying Minako. Rei brought up the rear.

First thing that would happen was they would have to meet Ms. Bulma Briefs, Trunks's mother. The woman was going to let them live in her house after all, although Rei had to admit to a certain amount of cynicism on her part on whether or not they would actually be able to stay.

Trunks had flown ahead to warn his mom that company would be coming and to get a capsule car so he wouldn't have to make separate trips to get everyone there. Rei was still surprised whenever she remembered seeing the young man hover into the air before shooting off. 'How does he do that?!'

"Trunks! What happened?!"

Rei's head shot up. A woman with blue hair pulled back into a loose ponytail was shooing Trunks and Makoto into a back room.

*~*~*

Trunks stood in the lab's doorway and watched as his mother hovered over the two unconscious forms on the tables. The other girls stood next to him trying to see around each other at what was happening.

"What have her symptoms been?" asked Bulma as she shined a small light into one of Minako's half lidded eyes.

"At first all she had was minor sneezing and a slight fever. We assumed it was a cold so we had her stay inside whenever possible and kept extra water around so she could get plenty of fluids. It didn't help though and her fever just got worse until she would have black outs," Ami paused briefly in her explanation.

Bulma looked at the short blue haired girl surprised before grinning, "I take it you're their resident doctor."

Ami blushed, "Um. Something like that Ms. Briefs."

"She's the only one of us that was reading medical books at age 5 is all," added Makoto wryly.

"Well then. Having two geniuses will definitely help speed up your friend's recovery," exclaimed Bulma motioning the other girl into the lab to help. "Oh and I want you guys to call me Bulma."

Trunks continued to watch the two women work for a few minutes before he made up his mind about something, 'Looks like mom just got the daughter she always wanted.'

*~*~*

Hotaru's head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. She lay where she was with her eyes closed trying to rid herself of her foggy state of mind for a few moments. She considered sitting up but changed her mind when just turning her head sent her falling back dizzily.

'Where am I?' She felt a cool surface under her fingertips and there was cool air blowing on her face. This couldn't be the stuffy room she shared with the others and she obviously wasn't outside. Think girl. Think. What had she done to cause her to pass her out this time?

She tried to shift her weight involuntarily and let a groan escape. 'Great. If I'm a hostage I just let my kidnappers know I'm waking up.' Hotaru felt a brief stab of fear shoot through her when she heard footsteps approaching her side.

"Hotaru?" said a soft voice. She could hear the worry that was laced into that one word and allowed herself to relax.

Slowly she blinked her eyes and immediately shut them when the glaring of the overhead lights sent a shaft of pain through her head. Blinking carefully she looked up to the person leaning over her. She blinked one more time from surprise alone. 'Oh, now I remember.'

Looking down at her was one of the most beautiful boys she had ever seen. He had lavender colored hair that was falling into his face and his blue eyes were looking her over worriedly. Seeing his apparent scrutiny she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Uh. Hi," she said weakly.

"Trunks move. I need to get a look at her." Hotaru's view was immediately removed and replaced with a woman wearing a lab coat with blue hair in a ponytail. "Hotaru right?" Hotaru nodded weakly. "Well, your friends explained to me about your powers and that this will usually happen if you overdo yourself so I'm just going to check your vitals before I decide whether or not you should be up and around. OK?"

Hotaru merely nodded again as a response. "I'm Bulma by the way." As the strange woman began to check Hotaru's pulse she nodded behind her and began to speak, "The guy back there is Trunks. You'll have to excuse his manners for not introducing himself sooner. He gets it from his father. I'd be worried but he takes enough after me to even it out."

Hotaru glanced around her to see the lavender haired boy or Trunks as it turned out. He nodded at her in recognition but still looked worried. 'He can't be worried for me could he?' she asked herself incredulously.

The woman named Bulma continued to speak but Hotaru continued to look at Trunks until something the older woman said caught her attention. "Stay?" she asked surprised.

"Yep kiddo. Trunks and I have invited your friends and you to stay here with us. Kami knows we have enough rooms that no one is using."

A million thoughts raced through Hotaru's mind at that moment. They would no longer have to move every couple of weeks. They would be safe. They wouldn't be in constant danger. They would have food. Wait a minute! Stay here with BOTH of them! Hotaru felt her gaze return to Trunks and her eyes widened as her blush returned with a vengeance.

*~*~*

Rei walked out of the lab with Usagi, Makoto, Hotaru, and Trunks after Bulma had told them Hotaru was recovered but should rest. Watching Trunks and Hotaru steal glances at each other she wondered if either of them had heard a single word that Bulma had said. Ami was still in the lab talking with Bulma and going over possible treatments for Minako.

They were heading to another wing of the house so Trunks could show them the rooms they could choose from. Rei's head was still spinning. This place was huge! 'I'm going to get lost whenever I step out of my room,' she thought as she watched the way they took carefully, hoping she would be able to recognize the way later.

They stopped in yet another hallway lined with doors.

"No one is staying in the rooms in this hallway so you can choose any room you want," Trunks said. "My room is in that direction in case you need anything," he added pointing down the hall to their right.

The girls said their thanks and went through the rooms to find their own. They had each found a room in less than 5 minutes. None of the rooms had too many differences so there was no reason to be too picky about it and none of them had much in the way of possessions so there was no reason to fuss over closet size either.

Feeling hungry the others went down to the kitchen while Rei feigned sleepiness and stayed in her new room. Collapsing onto the bed Rei let relax into the mattress. It had been far to long since she had slept in a real bed. Sighing she rolled over onto her side to look out the window. The curtains were open so she had quite the view of the sky beyond. Luckily with the way she was laying she couldn't see anything but the sky. No collapsing buildings and no cracked streets to mar the view. The sky was a pretty pale blue and there were a few white, fluffy clouds in the sky. It gave no hint whatsoever of the destruction that it looked down on daily. Rei rolled back over onto her back and trailed her gaze along the ceiling.

She needed to think. She needed a way to find her pendant and get it back. She still remembered around where she must have lost it. The battle that had taken place over head had made sure she wouldn't forget that place. She knew the others wouldn't let her go out by herself but she didn't want them wandering around there with her either. It would be too dangerous for them to put themselves in danger just for her. She didn't feel like she knew Trunks and Bulma well enough yet to ask for their help. 'I'll have to sneak out and do it by myself when no one will notice.'

*~*~*

Sitting at the table in the kitchen Hotaru looked around with interest, doing her best not to look over at her companion. Not that it mattered if she looked now or not. She had sat gawking at him enough while he ate. 'How can one person eat that much?!' Trunks could really put it away. Hotaru was still working on her first sandwich. Makoto had eaten and left to take sandwiches to Bulma and Ami. Usagi had gone to explore their new home. Now she was alone with him and utterly terrified.

Hotaru had no experience with boys. She had never really been around them since hitting her teens.

"How were you able to heal me earlier?" the sudden question made Hotaru whip her head around in surprise.

'What do I tell him?' she thought. She wasn't that sure how much the others had told these strangers yet and didn't want to give anything away. Deciding that since no one had pulled her aside to warn her not to say anything they probably already knew and it wouldn't really matter what she said now. For some reason she felt like she could trust Trunks anyway.

"I'm not totally sure myself," Hotaru started. "I was born with the ability."

"Were either of your parents able to do it too?" asked Trunks, suddenly curious.

"My father wasn't and he never said anything about my mother being able to," answered Hotaru. She sat looking sadly at the table for a moment.

Trunks realizing this probably wasn't a subject he needed to be getting on hurried to think of something else to say. "How long have you known the other girls?"

"Since I was eight," she answered quietly. She felt like she should try to explain. "When my dad passed away I went to live with an aunt and then the androids attacked. I eventually ended up at Rei's grandfather's temple."

"It's good to have friends," Trunks said trying to lighten her mood.

"Yeah," Hotaru answered with a slight grin. She began to ask him questions about his family and life and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Hotaru started feeling far more at ease with the boy when they realized they had some things in common. They both had lost at least one parent and they each had one that had been a scientist. They both had weird abilities that most people wouldn't understand. Trunks chose to leave out the fact that he was half alien for the time being though.

*~*~*

When night finally fell Rei lay in bed awake for a few minutes waiting for the sounds on her hall to die down and giving the other residents in the house time to fall a sleep. She had managed to get a nap in during the day, luckily dream free, so she was hoping to stay wide awake while she was outside. She didn't want to be half asleep while walking through possible android territory.

Climbing out of bed she changed out of the nightgown Bulma had given her to sleep in and changed into her regular outfit of a red tank top, faded and ripped jeans, and tugged on her brown sleeveless jacket. She picked up her hiking boots and walking over to her bedroom door she peaked out to see if the coast was clear.

She had to sneak from her bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door without getting caught. Saying it was easier then doing it, but she got lucky for once and was able to pull it off. Bulma and Ami were too busy with their work in the lab so that they hadn't seen her slipping past the door.

After making it outside she slipped her shoes on and started off. Rei had watched the way they had taken in the car and knew how to get to the site of the android fight from earlier from Capsule Corp and hopefully find her necklace.

*~*~*

"She has no sense of humor," Seventeen grumbled to himself. He was walking around one of the cities he and his twin had destroyed since he had nothing better to do. Right now his sister was avoiding him like the plague since she was pissed off at him for putting the itching powder in her underwear drawer. He thought she was overreacting. He had found the entire incident quite amusing.

'This is so dull,' he thought to himself.

Suddenly his sensitive hearing picked up footsteps just a little ahead of him. Feeling like he had nothing to lose and he might as well go check it out he flew up a little ways into the air and went to where he had heard the sounds.

*~*~*

Rei cursed under her breath. It was very doubtful now whether or not she would find it and the chances were getting worse. She hadn't brought a flashlight because that would most likely catch the attention of someone she didn't want noticing her. So she had pretty much been reduced to depending on the moon and that wasn't helping much. She hadn't even known where she was until she had tripped over the spot where she and Makoto had been reduced to hiding during the android attack.

She glanced around and when something shiny caught her attention she hurried over to examine it. Her hope was short lived as she recognized the logo of a once popular soda company. Tossing the crumbled can rather forcibly into a pile of debris she cursed under her breath a little bit more as she bit back a scream of frustration. She began to look around a little more until something happened to fill her stomach with a feeling of cold terror.

"Now what did that can ever do to you?" came a smooth male voice from behind her.

Rei turned but all she could see was a figure standing in the shadows. She could barely make out the outline of their body. She glared at them with all the malice and anger she could manage, refusing to show just how scared she was.

"What do you want? Who are you?" she demanded.

After a pause that made Rei question whether or not he had just turned and left without letting her know she got an answer. "Oh nothing. Just looking for a bit of entertainment is all," he continued in that same smooth voice.

Rei straightened her back and held her head high, "If you're looking for entertainment you're not going to get it from me." She turned and stalked off. She managed to fight the urge to turn around and watch to see if he followed.

*~*~*

When she was gone Seventeen stepped out of the shadows. The moonlight reflected off his hair as he turned to watch where the girl had disappeared to.

Originally he had been trying to decide if he should just blast her or scare her and blast her. He had decided on the second and had landed and spoke up after being amused at her display of temper with the unfortunate can.

When she had turned and he had gotten a full view of her face he had been struck with the weirdest feeling of déjà vu. He then easily evaded her questioning as to who he was. Puzzling over why she should seem familiar he had hardly noticed when she had turned to leave. Now he was even more confused as to why he hadn't blasted her then.

'You don't know who she is,' his mind whispered. It's not like that had ever stopped him before.

'But you feel like you should know her,' his mind whispered again. That he had no answer to.

He went home deciding he didn't really care how ticked his sister was at the moment. Seventeen was now more confused then ever.

That night his dreams were consumed by the little girl that had cried for her father, a young woman who was no longer a little girl whose eyes flashed with anger, and the fiery bird that had protected both.

Author's Notes: Remember to review!