Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ but I do own Mara.
Meeting the Enemy
Chapter 2: Forgetting My Past and Your Future
"I think she's waking up!"
The words sounded fuzzy and distant to her ears. As she slowly opened her eyes, being blinded by the bright sun, her head throbbed. The first things she noticed when she was able to use her senses was the salty smell of the sea and the gentle lapping of waves against a beach.
"Oh my God, are those cat ears. and a tail!!" Gasped a short, scrawny, old man with a turtle shell on his back.
"You know what, I think they are!" Whispered a fat, little pig next to him.
"Where am I?" She mumbled, trying to blink away the blurry vision as she sat up.
A little black cat floated out from behind the pig, "You're on Roshi Island."
"How did I get here?"
"Uh, you fell from the sky." The old man scratched his baldhead.
The girl tried to stand up, testing her legs, "What are you talking about, and who are you?!"
The cat smiled, "I am Puar. This is Master Roshi and Oolong."
Smiling, the pig stepped up beside the cat, "Um, you sort of fell from the sky in a big yellow machine. But somehow, you got out before it hit the water. Luckily, Eighteen saved you from drowning!"
"Who is this Eighteen person?" She wobbled about the beach trying out her legs.
"The better question is; who are you?" A tall woman with short, blond hair came out of the only house on the Island.
Behind her, a short man with straight black hair followed her. To the cat- like girl, he looked familiar. A girl, maybe around fourteen or fifteen years of age, followed him.
"I-I-I- I don't know."
Master Roshi walked over and looked up at her. She looked down at him. In his hand, he held a staff a few inches taller than him. Reaching up, he placed it against her forehead. The girl's eyes glazed over as he read her mind.
"Empty." He whispered as he searched her head for any information, "She's got amnesia. A really bad case of it."
"Oh! Mom! I just got a great idea!" The teenage girl grinned, jumping up and down, "Let's adopt her as my sister! Please!!!"
The short man smiled up at the blond haired woman, "That's a great idea! Please honey!"
She sighed, "You'll both owe me BIGTIME!"
"YEA!!" The short man and his daughter shouted, running forward and grabbing the girl in a big hug.
Their eyes sparkled, "We get to name her!!"
"Name me?!" The cat-girl shouted, backing away into the surf.
Eighteen held her head as her husband and daughter sat down to think about possible names. Master Roshi, Oolong and Puar stared at the thinking pair. Meanwhile, the name-less girl stood with the waves washing against her feet. Suddenly, a tingling sensation shot down her spine. Hissing, the girl ran forward and ducked behind Eighteen.
"What's wrong with her?" Puar floated up to get a good look at the girl.
The name-less one was crouching behind Eighteen, peering around her legs. Sticking out straight and puffy-like, her long white tail was very visible. Everyone was staring at her as she looked off at the horizon.
"Maybe. nah, it's impossible." The short man stood up and followed her gaze.
"Krillen, what's impossible?" Master Roshi and everyone else turned to look at the horizon.
Five dots, some were yellow and some were blue, appeared at the horizon. All were streaking towards Roshi Island.
The black haired man shaded his eyes, "Could she have actually been able to sense them before we could?"
Soon, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten were standing on the beach. Goten and Trunks were talking to Krillen's daughter Maron. The adults were talking about the girl from the sky. She, meanwhile, was sitting near the lapping waves, poking at a crab with a stick. When three shadows covered the crab and it scuttled away, she looked up.
Goten and Trunks knelt down and looked her in the face. She leaned away from them, "Um, Can I help you?"
They continued to stare at her. Slowly she got up and walked away. The two boys followed her. So she started walking faster. Immediately they sped up. Not long after, she was running around the edge of the island on all fours and they were flying after her. That is until Eighteen got irritated. It took Vegeta and Goku three hours to track down the boys and drag them out of the ocean.
Later that night (after midnight), the phone Bulma had installed on the island rang. Instead of picking it up, Krillen let the answering machine pick it up.
"PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE YOU IDIOTS!! I KNOW YOUR THERE!!!" Bulma's voice shook the windows.
Groggily, Master Roshi put the phone and speaker, "It's three in the morning! Why are you calling so late?!"
Cooling down now that someone had picked up the phone, she spoke quickly, "I need to talk to Krillen, Eighteen or Maron right away!"
"This late at night! I think not," He pulled the pillow over his baldhead.
Bulma's voice began to rise again, "But I've got the PERFECT name for their new daughter and I'm sure she wants a name a.s.a.p!"
Maron was at the phone in a second, "Tell me, now!"
If the blue haired genius woman had been there, they would have seen the biggest smile ever, "Neko."
Oolong sat up on the couch, "Doesn't that mean cat (or something like that) in Japanese?"
"Well, she's a cat-girl! What did you expect?" She growled at the pig, "Where is she anyways?"
Puar floated up from her basket by the window, "For some weird reason, she wanted to sleep outside."
"Alright then, well all the girls and guys and me are going to drop by tomorrow to see your new sister. See you, Maron." Bulma hung up.
Maron leaned out the window and shouted to her sister, "We've got a name for you! How about Neko?"
"Love it!"
"Great! Good night!"
At around 10 in the morning, everyone was woken up when loud voices and bangs on the door jarred them from their beds. Krillen threw open the door to find all the Z Senchi and their families standing on the beach. Those in the house came out and yelled at everyone for waking them up so early.
That's when they all realized the cat girl was gone.
All the people who could fly took flight and went to search the world for her. The people who couldn't fly went inside the house to chat because they were sure that their family members would find her. Never did they expect what would happen next.
Goten and Trunks flew over the ocean, searching for the Ki of Neko.
"What makes you so sure she tried to swim away?" The black-haired teenage boy looked at his friend.
"Remember yesterday when Maron said that her 'sister' had fallen from the sky in a big machine and it sunk to the bottom of the ocean?" Trunks stopped and hovered above the water, "Well, maybe Neko decided to go looking for it."
Suddenly, both boys fired energy blasts at the air in front of them. A man phased into their plane and dodged the attacks.
"Nice shots. But if there are two of you, you should always have one person shoot first and when your opponent dodges it, the next person catches them off guard."
The boys nearly fell into the sea with surprise as they realized that they had just tried to attack Goku.
Struggling to keep in the air, Trunks floated forward and looking over the older Saiyan, "You look different since I saw you ten minutes ago on the Island. did you change your clothes?"
Tears filled Goku's eyes as he grabbed both of them into a big hug, "I'm so glad that both of you are alive!"
Gasping for air, the black-haired teen pushed away, "You saw us just a little while ago, of course we're alive."
"Actually," Goku let go of the purple-haired teenager; "I didn't see you on the Island because I wasn't on the Island. I'll explain everything, but we've got to go back to meet with the other's first."
Confused at what Goku was talking about, the two teenage half-Saiyan boys followed him back to the Island. There, they waited for every one to return before he explained everything.
"YOUR FROM THE FUTURE?!" Chichi grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth, "ALL THIS TIME YOU'VE BEEN FROM THE FUTURE?!?!?!"
"Please stop that," Future Goku sighed picking her up by the shoulders and moving her away, "I just got to this time line."
Krillen paced around the room, "If you're here, then where is our Goku?"
"Since when did I belong to you?" Kakkarot opened the front door.
He stopped cold and stared at the other Goku as the door slammed shut behind him. The future version of himself stood up and faced him. The two Saiyans stared at each other for a few minutes before Gohan broke the tension in the room.
"Dad, this is Future you. All problems solved," He smiled.
The Future Goku shook his head, "Wrong Gohan. All problems are far from solved. I came to the past because I followed someone here. Her name is Mara, and in the future, she killed all of you."
"Kind of like what the androids did (no offence Eighteen)," Master Roshi took a sip of his tea, "What does 'Mara' look like?"
He shrugged, "Short blue hair, green eyes, sharp nails and elf-like ears. That's all I can remember."
"Speaking of remembering. I just remember we still haven't found Neko!" Maron gasped, jumping up.
Chichi jumped away from the closet when someone started to bang on the door, "I'm locked in the closet!! LET ME OUT!!!"
Yamcha twisted and pulled the doorknob, "It's locked from the inside and outside."
"Then break the stupid door down!!" Neko's muffled voice shouted from the closet.
Piccolo sighed, "I don't think Eighteen wants us breaking any more parts of her house."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Flash back to last week:
"DID YOU HAVE TO BLOW A TEN FOOT HOLE IN MY KITCHEN CEILING?!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neko banged on the door some more, "It doesn't matter if you break the door down! We'll need to replace it anyways because I was using it as a scratching post!!"
"You what?!" Eighteen dug her fingers into the edges of the door and pulled it off its hinges and threw it to the ground. Sure enough scratch marks covered the entire other side of the (now broken) door.
Falling over, Neko crawled out of the closet, her fists red from beating on the door. Looking up, she saw that all the people in the room were staring down at her. Slowly she stood up and looked around at all the people.
Then she focused on Goku and his future self, "Are you two twins?"
Goku shook his head, "No, he's from the future and came to warn us about some one who killed all of them," He gestured at the rest of the Z Senchi, "and the she traveled back to our time."
"You wouldn't happen to be her, now would you?" Future Goku stepped towards her.
"Owie," Goten whimpered as she clawed her way up her back and onto the top of his head.
She hissed at the future Kakkarot, "I don't like you. You smell like evil."
The half-Saiyan swayed under Neko's weight, "Get off of my head!"
"I smell evil?" The pureblood blinked.
Tien reached up and pulled the half-cat off of Goten, "She looks nothing like the girl you described Goku. I mean, your killer had shoulder length blue hair. Neko has red hair down to her butt. She couldn't have killed the future us, she doesn't have the power to do that,"
"Where did she come from? I sure as heck don't remember Krillen and Eighteen having another kid," Future Goku leaned on the back of the couch, "Let alone the fact that she looks like a cat."
Eighteen signed, "I pulled her from the ocean after she fell from the sky in some sort of machine. The machine sunk before I could get it. And now she has amnesia."
"Alright then, I'd keep an eye on her if I were you," Future Goku headed for the front door, "I'm going to stay here in your time line for a while. I'm not going back until I catch and kill Mara."
Vegeta stared out the window at Future Goku as he flew away, "Why didn't he just instant transmit to the New Namek and use the dragonballs there to wish the future us back to life?"
Goku looked at Neko as she sat in a corner with her head in her knees, "I remember how much hate I was filled with when Frieza killed all the Namekians and Krillen. There's no doubt that future me was so angry and hateful towards Mara that he forgot all about New Namek and focused on finding and killing her."
"Just the thought of Goku going on a revenge rampage sends shivers down my spine," Bulma shivered.
Neko mumbled, "He smells evil."
Maron knelt down beside her adopted sister, "Why, why does he smell evil?"
"Because he's out to kill," She looked up and they saw that she was crying, "Killing is wrong, even if it's someone who killed before. Life is precious and we shouldn't waist it. No matter who you are, when you've decided your going to kill someone. you're pulled over to the dark side."
Every one leaned in to hear better as she continued, "It wasn't technically I smell, but a sense. I sensed the evil, the anger, the hate he has for Mara because she killed his friends and family."
"I think you've been locked in the closet for too long," Oolong laughed, "Maybe next time you should try a padded room."
Bulma dropkicked the pig out the window, "This is no time for laughing matters! A psychotic girl, capable of killing all of you (twelve years in the future where you're probably a lot stronger than you are now), is on the loose. We need to find her and stop her before she kills anyone else."
For the next few days, the Z Senchi spent everyone waking hour scouring the planet for Mara. Occasionally, one of them would bump into the Future Goku and fill him out about what they've found (which was absolutely diddly squat). Everyday though, they would drop in at Roshi Island and visit Neko to see how she was doing. Apparently, her meeting with Future Goku had traumatized her a bit.
Goten and Trunks visited more than three times daily, each time arriving with little trinkets and toys for Neko and Maron to amuse their selves with. Plus, everyone found out that when the cat-girl is depressed or traumatized, she cooks. She cooks a lot and a lot of good, yummy food. And thanks to the voracious appetite of the Saiyans, there was always room in the fridge for more food.
Being as quiet as she was, Neko was able to observe the people around her. She noticed how much of a pervert Master Roshi was (Oolong too), that Trunks and Maron seemed kind of close, and how very cute (and naïve) Goten was. Nobody seemed to see that she baked extra sweet goodies for him, and always had a whole cake saved just for him. IF they did notice, no one ever said a word.
Weeks later, there was still no clues to finding Mara's whereabouts. Having another girl closer to her age around the house was fun for Maron. She'd spend hours talking about the past, present and future to the cat-girl. Neko didn't seem to mind. Actually, she looked quite happy to have someone talk to her so much.
It had been to months that Neko had been on Roshi Island. Everyone was used to her and couldn't even imagine what the house would be like if she was gone. Trunks, who noticed how Goten seemed to be oblivious to how much attention Neko gave him, decided to confront his rather stupid friend.
"Goten, I need to talk to you about something," He grabbed his friend's arm and led him out onto the balcony of his bedroom at capsule corp.
"Be right back!" Goten shouted over his shoulder to Maron, Bura, Pan and Neko (they had finally gotten her off the Island).
Trunks shut the balcony's glass door, "She likes you!"
"Huh?"
Sighing, Trunks shook his head, "It's been clear from day one, Goten. Neko has a HUGE crush on you!"
"She does?" Goten looked back through the glass doors at the three girls.
"Yes she does! Every time we went to Roshi Island she'd always have some sort of special treat for you," Trunks leaned on the rail of the balcony, "And she's always listening to you and looking at you. Don't tell me you've never noticed."
He grinned sheepishly, "Alright then, I won't tell you."
Trunks' eye twitched, "You have got to be the most densest man o-"
CRACK
"LOOK OUT!"
Both boys ducked as a baseball, flying over 100 mph, came zooming past. Goku and Vegeta (having given up on the search for Mara like most of the other Z Senchi) had gotten bored and decided to play baseball. Unfortunately, anybody within a 100-mile radius was not safe while they played this happy little game.
"No!" Goten gasped as it crashed through the balcony doors and beaned Neko on the back of the head. We all know how much it hurts to get hit with a baseball when a human hits or throws it. No I want you all to imagine how much it would hurt if a baseball going over 100-mph, hit by one of the strongest beings in the universe, hit you in the back of the head. Yes, it would hurt that much (and maybe even more).
Maron, Bura and Pan screamed at the top of their lungs and Neko fell forward, unconscious. Goku and Vegeta flew up to the balcony and followed Trunks and Goten into the room. Picking her up, Goku rushed Neko down stairs to the medical room Bulma had installed (since Vegeta tended to hurt himself a lot in the gravity chamber).
"Will she be OK?" Maron cried as Bulma hooked Neko up to a whole bunch of machines and started taking some tests.
Trunks dropped a hand on Maron's shoulder; "Don't worry, if there's something wrong, my mom will find it."
Somewhere in Africa, Future Goku whipped his head around and looked in the exact same direction Capsule Corp was in. A little blip of Ki had caught his attention, a very familiar Ki. Quickly he instant transmitted straight to the home of the capsule (a handy dandy little storage device thingy.).
"What happened?!" He asked as everyone turned to look at him.
Goten pointed a finger at Vegeta, "He hit a baseball and it hit Neko in the head."
"I knew it had something to do with her!" Future Goku gently moved Bulma out of the way to get a better look at Neko.
Nothing about her looked different, besides the fact that she was frowning while she was unconscious. That's when he got the idea. The idea that would help him prove his theory that Neko was in fact Mara.
"Where is Eighteen?" He turned to the rest of the group.
Krillen scratched his head, "I think she's at Roshi Island. Why?"
"Nothing of great importance. Just need to ask her a question," Future Goku waved goodbye as he instant transmitted away.
Just as he left, Neko woke up. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her head. Then she lowered her hand and looked at them, she looked at her tail and reached up to touch the ears and whiskers.
"Oh great, I'm back to this stupid form," She sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and looked up at the group of people, "Um, do I know you?"
Future Goku and Eighteen flew off the Island to where she thought Neko and the machine had fallen the day Neko became part of the family.
"This is it. I think," Eighteen hovered above the water, "Twenty three meters from the Island, if my calculations are correct."
Nodding, Goku thanked her and dove into the water. Instead of actually swimming like a normal person, he shot through the water using his flying skills (just like he would in the air). Keeping his eyes open, even though it stung a lot, he swam-flew straight down to the bottom of the ocean.
::A fish probably ate it or something. There is definitely a slim chance of me.. Actually. FOUND IT!!!::
He quickly grabbed the little capsule off of a sea sponge and instant transmitted himself to Capsule Corp's front lawn. Even though he should have dried off because the salt water would start to make his skin itch real soon, he pushed in the top of the capsule and tossed it across the grass. Sure enough, the time machine Mara had stolen appeared in a puff of smoke.
"I knew it!! She's a rotten shape shifter!" Future Goku smiled at his success as he turned Super Saiyan and faced the house.
Neko came bolting out the front door, Maron and the others hot on her trail.
"Neko?! What's wrong?!"
WHAM
She plowed right into Super Saiyan Future Goku.
"Hello. Mara," He grabbed her shoulders as she looked up at him.
The group stopped cold as what he had said sunk in.
Note: Ok, I'm leaving it at that because I'm tired of this chapter. I'm working on the next soon. Yes, this one isn't as gory as the last one, and there is no death, but I felt more like writing some funny stuff. well, I think it's funny at least. Please R&R!!
Meeting the Enemy
Chapter 2: Forgetting My Past and Your Future
"I think she's waking up!"
The words sounded fuzzy and distant to her ears. As she slowly opened her eyes, being blinded by the bright sun, her head throbbed. The first things she noticed when she was able to use her senses was the salty smell of the sea and the gentle lapping of waves against a beach.
"Oh my God, are those cat ears. and a tail!!" Gasped a short, scrawny, old man with a turtle shell on his back.
"You know what, I think they are!" Whispered a fat, little pig next to him.
"Where am I?" She mumbled, trying to blink away the blurry vision as she sat up.
A little black cat floated out from behind the pig, "You're on Roshi Island."
"How did I get here?"
"Uh, you fell from the sky." The old man scratched his baldhead.
The girl tried to stand up, testing her legs, "What are you talking about, and who are you?!"
The cat smiled, "I am Puar. This is Master Roshi and Oolong."
Smiling, the pig stepped up beside the cat, "Um, you sort of fell from the sky in a big yellow machine. But somehow, you got out before it hit the water. Luckily, Eighteen saved you from drowning!"
"Who is this Eighteen person?" She wobbled about the beach trying out her legs.
"The better question is; who are you?" A tall woman with short, blond hair came out of the only house on the Island.
Behind her, a short man with straight black hair followed her. To the cat- like girl, he looked familiar. A girl, maybe around fourteen or fifteen years of age, followed him.
"I-I-I- I don't know."
Master Roshi walked over and looked up at her. She looked down at him. In his hand, he held a staff a few inches taller than him. Reaching up, he placed it against her forehead. The girl's eyes glazed over as he read her mind.
"Empty." He whispered as he searched her head for any information, "She's got amnesia. A really bad case of it."
"Oh! Mom! I just got a great idea!" The teenage girl grinned, jumping up and down, "Let's adopt her as my sister! Please!!!"
The short man smiled up at the blond haired woman, "That's a great idea! Please honey!"
She sighed, "You'll both owe me BIGTIME!"
"YEA!!" The short man and his daughter shouted, running forward and grabbing the girl in a big hug.
Their eyes sparkled, "We get to name her!!"
"Name me?!" The cat-girl shouted, backing away into the surf.
Eighteen held her head as her husband and daughter sat down to think about possible names. Master Roshi, Oolong and Puar stared at the thinking pair. Meanwhile, the name-less girl stood with the waves washing against her feet. Suddenly, a tingling sensation shot down her spine. Hissing, the girl ran forward and ducked behind Eighteen.
"What's wrong with her?" Puar floated up to get a good look at the girl.
The name-less one was crouching behind Eighteen, peering around her legs. Sticking out straight and puffy-like, her long white tail was very visible. Everyone was staring at her as she looked off at the horizon.
"Maybe. nah, it's impossible." The short man stood up and followed her gaze.
"Krillen, what's impossible?" Master Roshi and everyone else turned to look at the horizon.
Five dots, some were yellow and some were blue, appeared at the horizon. All were streaking towards Roshi Island.
The black haired man shaded his eyes, "Could she have actually been able to sense them before we could?"
Soon, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten were standing on the beach. Goten and Trunks were talking to Krillen's daughter Maron. The adults were talking about the girl from the sky. She, meanwhile, was sitting near the lapping waves, poking at a crab with a stick. When three shadows covered the crab and it scuttled away, she looked up.
Goten and Trunks knelt down and looked her in the face. She leaned away from them, "Um, Can I help you?"
They continued to stare at her. Slowly she got up and walked away. The two boys followed her. So she started walking faster. Immediately they sped up. Not long after, she was running around the edge of the island on all fours and they were flying after her. That is until Eighteen got irritated. It took Vegeta and Goku three hours to track down the boys and drag them out of the ocean.
Later that night (after midnight), the phone Bulma had installed on the island rang. Instead of picking it up, Krillen let the answering machine pick it up.
"PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE YOU IDIOTS!! I KNOW YOUR THERE!!!" Bulma's voice shook the windows.
Groggily, Master Roshi put the phone and speaker, "It's three in the morning! Why are you calling so late?!"
Cooling down now that someone had picked up the phone, she spoke quickly, "I need to talk to Krillen, Eighteen or Maron right away!"
"This late at night! I think not," He pulled the pillow over his baldhead.
Bulma's voice began to rise again, "But I've got the PERFECT name for their new daughter and I'm sure she wants a name a.s.a.p!"
Maron was at the phone in a second, "Tell me, now!"
If the blue haired genius woman had been there, they would have seen the biggest smile ever, "Neko."
Oolong sat up on the couch, "Doesn't that mean cat (or something like that) in Japanese?"
"Well, she's a cat-girl! What did you expect?" She growled at the pig, "Where is she anyways?"
Puar floated up from her basket by the window, "For some weird reason, she wanted to sleep outside."
"Alright then, well all the girls and guys and me are going to drop by tomorrow to see your new sister. See you, Maron." Bulma hung up.
Maron leaned out the window and shouted to her sister, "We've got a name for you! How about Neko?"
"Love it!"
"Great! Good night!"
At around 10 in the morning, everyone was woken up when loud voices and bangs on the door jarred them from their beds. Krillen threw open the door to find all the Z Senchi and their families standing on the beach. Those in the house came out and yelled at everyone for waking them up so early.
That's when they all realized the cat girl was gone.
All the people who could fly took flight and went to search the world for her. The people who couldn't fly went inside the house to chat because they were sure that their family members would find her. Never did they expect what would happen next.
Goten and Trunks flew over the ocean, searching for the Ki of Neko.
"What makes you so sure she tried to swim away?" The black-haired teenage boy looked at his friend.
"Remember yesterday when Maron said that her 'sister' had fallen from the sky in a big machine and it sunk to the bottom of the ocean?" Trunks stopped and hovered above the water, "Well, maybe Neko decided to go looking for it."
Suddenly, both boys fired energy blasts at the air in front of them. A man phased into their plane and dodged the attacks.
"Nice shots. But if there are two of you, you should always have one person shoot first and when your opponent dodges it, the next person catches them off guard."
The boys nearly fell into the sea with surprise as they realized that they had just tried to attack Goku.
Struggling to keep in the air, Trunks floated forward and looking over the older Saiyan, "You look different since I saw you ten minutes ago on the Island. did you change your clothes?"
Tears filled Goku's eyes as he grabbed both of them into a big hug, "I'm so glad that both of you are alive!"
Gasping for air, the black-haired teen pushed away, "You saw us just a little while ago, of course we're alive."
"Actually," Goku let go of the purple-haired teenager; "I didn't see you on the Island because I wasn't on the Island. I'll explain everything, but we've got to go back to meet with the other's first."
Confused at what Goku was talking about, the two teenage half-Saiyan boys followed him back to the Island. There, they waited for every one to return before he explained everything.
"YOUR FROM THE FUTURE?!" Chichi grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth, "ALL THIS TIME YOU'VE BEEN FROM THE FUTURE?!?!?!"
"Please stop that," Future Goku sighed picking her up by the shoulders and moving her away, "I just got to this time line."
Krillen paced around the room, "If you're here, then where is our Goku?"
"Since when did I belong to you?" Kakkarot opened the front door.
He stopped cold and stared at the other Goku as the door slammed shut behind him. The future version of himself stood up and faced him. The two Saiyans stared at each other for a few minutes before Gohan broke the tension in the room.
"Dad, this is Future you. All problems solved," He smiled.
The Future Goku shook his head, "Wrong Gohan. All problems are far from solved. I came to the past because I followed someone here. Her name is Mara, and in the future, she killed all of you."
"Kind of like what the androids did (no offence Eighteen)," Master Roshi took a sip of his tea, "What does 'Mara' look like?"
He shrugged, "Short blue hair, green eyes, sharp nails and elf-like ears. That's all I can remember."
"Speaking of remembering. I just remember we still haven't found Neko!" Maron gasped, jumping up.
Chichi jumped away from the closet when someone started to bang on the door, "I'm locked in the closet!! LET ME OUT!!!"
Yamcha twisted and pulled the doorknob, "It's locked from the inside and outside."
"Then break the stupid door down!!" Neko's muffled voice shouted from the closet.
Piccolo sighed, "I don't think Eighteen wants us breaking any more parts of her house."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Flash back to last week:
"DID YOU HAVE TO BLOW A TEN FOOT HOLE IN MY KITCHEN CEILING?!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neko banged on the door some more, "It doesn't matter if you break the door down! We'll need to replace it anyways because I was using it as a scratching post!!"
"You what?!" Eighteen dug her fingers into the edges of the door and pulled it off its hinges and threw it to the ground. Sure enough scratch marks covered the entire other side of the (now broken) door.
Falling over, Neko crawled out of the closet, her fists red from beating on the door. Looking up, she saw that all the people in the room were staring down at her. Slowly she stood up and looked around at all the people.
Then she focused on Goku and his future self, "Are you two twins?"
Goku shook his head, "No, he's from the future and came to warn us about some one who killed all of them," He gestured at the rest of the Z Senchi, "and the she traveled back to our time."
"You wouldn't happen to be her, now would you?" Future Goku stepped towards her.
"Owie," Goten whimpered as she clawed her way up her back and onto the top of his head.
She hissed at the future Kakkarot, "I don't like you. You smell like evil."
The half-Saiyan swayed under Neko's weight, "Get off of my head!"
"I smell evil?" The pureblood blinked.
Tien reached up and pulled the half-cat off of Goten, "She looks nothing like the girl you described Goku. I mean, your killer had shoulder length blue hair. Neko has red hair down to her butt. She couldn't have killed the future us, she doesn't have the power to do that,"
"Where did she come from? I sure as heck don't remember Krillen and Eighteen having another kid," Future Goku leaned on the back of the couch, "Let alone the fact that she looks like a cat."
Eighteen signed, "I pulled her from the ocean after she fell from the sky in some sort of machine. The machine sunk before I could get it. And now she has amnesia."
"Alright then, I'd keep an eye on her if I were you," Future Goku headed for the front door, "I'm going to stay here in your time line for a while. I'm not going back until I catch and kill Mara."
Vegeta stared out the window at Future Goku as he flew away, "Why didn't he just instant transmit to the New Namek and use the dragonballs there to wish the future us back to life?"
Goku looked at Neko as she sat in a corner with her head in her knees, "I remember how much hate I was filled with when Frieza killed all the Namekians and Krillen. There's no doubt that future me was so angry and hateful towards Mara that he forgot all about New Namek and focused on finding and killing her."
"Just the thought of Goku going on a revenge rampage sends shivers down my spine," Bulma shivered.
Neko mumbled, "He smells evil."
Maron knelt down beside her adopted sister, "Why, why does he smell evil?"
"Because he's out to kill," She looked up and they saw that she was crying, "Killing is wrong, even if it's someone who killed before. Life is precious and we shouldn't waist it. No matter who you are, when you've decided your going to kill someone. you're pulled over to the dark side."
Every one leaned in to hear better as she continued, "It wasn't technically I smell, but a sense. I sensed the evil, the anger, the hate he has for Mara because she killed his friends and family."
"I think you've been locked in the closet for too long," Oolong laughed, "Maybe next time you should try a padded room."
Bulma dropkicked the pig out the window, "This is no time for laughing matters! A psychotic girl, capable of killing all of you (twelve years in the future where you're probably a lot stronger than you are now), is on the loose. We need to find her and stop her before she kills anyone else."
For the next few days, the Z Senchi spent everyone waking hour scouring the planet for Mara. Occasionally, one of them would bump into the Future Goku and fill him out about what they've found (which was absolutely diddly squat). Everyday though, they would drop in at Roshi Island and visit Neko to see how she was doing. Apparently, her meeting with Future Goku had traumatized her a bit.
Goten and Trunks visited more than three times daily, each time arriving with little trinkets and toys for Neko and Maron to amuse their selves with. Plus, everyone found out that when the cat-girl is depressed or traumatized, she cooks. She cooks a lot and a lot of good, yummy food. And thanks to the voracious appetite of the Saiyans, there was always room in the fridge for more food.
Being as quiet as she was, Neko was able to observe the people around her. She noticed how much of a pervert Master Roshi was (Oolong too), that Trunks and Maron seemed kind of close, and how very cute (and naïve) Goten was. Nobody seemed to see that she baked extra sweet goodies for him, and always had a whole cake saved just for him. IF they did notice, no one ever said a word.
Weeks later, there was still no clues to finding Mara's whereabouts. Having another girl closer to her age around the house was fun for Maron. She'd spend hours talking about the past, present and future to the cat-girl. Neko didn't seem to mind. Actually, she looked quite happy to have someone talk to her so much.
It had been to months that Neko had been on Roshi Island. Everyone was used to her and couldn't even imagine what the house would be like if she was gone. Trunks, who noticed how Goten seemed to be oblivious to how much attention Neko gave him, decided to confront his rather stupid friend.
"Goten, I need to talk to you about something," He grabbed his friend's arm and led him out onto the balcony of his bedroom at capsule corp.
"Be right back!" Goten shouted over his shoulder to Maron, Bura, Pan and Neko (they had finally gotten her off the Island).
Trunks shut the balcony's glass door, "She likes you!"
"Huh?"
Sighing, Trunks shook his head, "It's been clear from day one, Goten. Neko has a HUGE crush on you!"
"She does?" Goten looked back through the glass doors at the three girls.
"Yes she does! Every time we went to Roshi Island she'd always have some sort of special treat for you," Trunks leaned on the rail of the balcony, "And she's always listening to you and looking at you. Don't tell me you've never noticed."
He grinned sheepishly, "Alright then, I won't tell you."
Trunks' eye twitched, "You have got to be the most densest man o-"
CRACK
"LOOK OUT!"
Both boys ducked as a baseball, flying over 100 mph, came zooming past. Goku and Vegeta (having given up on the search for Mara like most of the other Z Senchi) had gotten bored and decided to play baseball. Unfortunately, anybody within a 100-mile radius was not safe while they played this happy little game.
"No!" Goten gasped as it crashed through the balcony doors and beaned Neko on the back of the head. We all know how much it hurts to get hit with a baseball when a human hits or throws it. No I want you all to imagine how much it would hurt if a baseball going over 100-mph, hit by one of the strongest beings in the universe, hit you in the back of the head. Yes, it would hurt that much (and maybe even more).
Maron, Bura and Pan screamed at the top of their lungs and Neko fell forward, unconscious. Goku and Vegeta flew up to the balcony and followed Trunks and Goten into the room. Picking her up, Goku rushed Neko down stairs to the medical room Bulma had installed (since Vegeta tended to hurt himself a lot in the gravity chamber).
"Will she be OK?" Maron cried as Bulma hooked Neko up to a whole bunch of machines and started taking some tests.
Trunks dropped a hand on Maron's shoulder; "Don't worry, if there's something wrong, my mom will find it."
Somewhere in Africa, Future Goku whipped his head around and looked in the exact same direction Capsule Corp was in. A little blip of Ki had caught his attention, a very familiar Ki. Quickly he instant transmitted straight to the home of the capsule (a handy dandy little storage device thingy.).
"What happened?!" He asked as everyone turned to look at him.
Goten pointed a finger at Vegeta, "He hit a baseball and it hit Neko in the head."
"I knew it had something to do with her!" Future Goku gently moved Bulma out of the way to get a better look at Neko.
Nothing about her looked different, besides the fact that she was frowning while she was unconscious. That's when he got the idea. The idea that would help him prove his theory that Neko was in fact Mara.
"Where is Eighteen?" He turned to the rest of the group.
Krillen scratched his head, "I think she's at Roshi Island. Why?"
"Nothing of great importance. Just need to ask her a question," Future Goku waved goodbye as he instant transmitted away.
Just as he left, Neko woke up. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her head. Then she lowered her hand and looked at them, she looked at her tail and reached up to touch the ears and whiskers.
"Oh great, I'm back to this stupid form," She sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and looked up at the group of people, "Um, do I know you?"
Future Goku and Eighteen flew off the Island to where she thought Neko and the machine had fallen the day Neko became part of the family.
"This is it. I think," Eighteen hovered above the water, "Twenty three meters from the Island, if my calculations are correct."
Nodding, Goku thanked her and dove into the water. Instead of actually swimming like a normal person, he shot through the water using his flying skills (just like he would in the air). Keeping his eyes open, even though it stung a lot, he swam-flew straight down to the bottom of the ocean.
::A fish probably ate it or something. There is definitely a slim chance of me.. Actually. FOUND IT!!!::
He quickly grabbed the little capsule off of a sea sponge and instant transmitted himself to Capsule Corp's front lawn. Even though he should have dried off because the salt water would start to make his skin itch real soon, he pushed in the top of the capsule and tossed it across the grass. Sure enough, the time machine Mara had stolen appeared in a puff of smoke.
"I knew it!! She's a rotten shape shifter!" Future Goku smiled at his success as he turned Super Saiyan and faced the house.
Neko came bolting out the front door, Maron and the others hot on her trail.
"Neko?! What's wrong?!"
WHAM
She plowed right into Super Saiyan Future Goku.
"Hello. Mara," He grabbed her shoulders as she looked up at him.
The group stopped cold as what he had said sunk in.
Note: Ok, I'm leaving it at that because I'm tired of this chapter. I'm working on the next soon. Yes, this one isn't as gory as the last one, and there is no death, but I felt more like writing some funny stuff. well, I think it's funny at least. Please R&R!!