Syndrome
DISCLAIMER: I do *not* own DBZ (Hee hee…. Yet… *thinks about plan to take over FUNimation and grins*) or any other licensed stuff (Pop-tarts, the Weather Channel, etc.). Think about it: If I owned it, I'd be too busy counting my money than to write useless stories about an animated TV show! So DON'T SUE ME!
. : : Chapter 12 : Halloweenies : : .
"Trunks, Trunks, do we have enough candy?" Chloe bustled about the kitchen in a frenzy, trying to prepare for the onslaught of trick-or-treaters yet to come. She was dressed as a lawyer this year (since she couldn't think of anything else) and had her hair pinned back in a neat bun. She was wearing a business dress and had a pair of fake glasses perched low on her nose. Her "briefcase" was on the table in the dining room. "Oh my gosh, the first kid!!" she screamed suddenly, pointing out the window at… nothing.
"Calm down, Chloe, you're over-reacting," Trunks said. The pretend fireman put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "Just calm down. Everything's fine."
"But I don't know if we have enough candy!" she moaned. "What if there's been an unforeseen elevation in the amount of trick-or-treaters this year?"
"Just chill, Chloe, we've got enough. I hope," he added, more to himself than anyone else.
"Trunks Briefs, did you forget to pick up some more like I asked you to!?"
"…No," Trunks said finally. Suddenly the doorbell rang, interrupting Chloe's angry fit before it had started.
"THEY'RE HERE!" she shrieked.
"Nope, just us," Goten said as he walked through the doorway. He was wearing a cowboy outfit, complete with spurs and all. There was a badge on his chest as well- obviously a country-western sheriff. Trunks smiled.
"Hiya, Goten! Nice outfit."
"Yeah, you, too," Goten said with a sneer.
"Hey!" Adrienne laughed.
"C'mon, guys. Remember, it's Halloween!" Adrienne was dressed as a jester this year.
"Yeah, so?" Trunks subconsciously grabbed a piece of candy from the bowl by the door and was about to pop it in his mouth when Chloe slapped his hand. "Ow! Hey!"
"No eating the candy!" she snapped. "We need as much as we can get for the children!" Trunks sighed.
"Don't worry, Chloe, I brought some just in case," Adrienne said with a smile. Chloe breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! I thought for sure we'd run out," she said with a glare at Trunks.
"Hey, what'd I do??" Chloe sighed in exasperation.
"Men!" she muttered. "Here, I'll take the candy," she said, taking the bag from Adrienne. "Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Goku are all in the living room, finishing the decorations."
"Where's Dad?" Adrienne asked. Chloe and Trunks shrugged.
"Not sure," Trunks replied. "Disappeared about fifteen minutes ago."
"Wonder where he went…" Adrienne said thoughtfully. Trunks shrugged.
"You know Dad."
"BOO!"
"AAAAAAAAH!" The four of them whirled around and ran into the living room upon hearing Goku scream. "Jeez, Vegeta, don't *do* that!" he said angrily. Vegeta, meanwhile, was laughing his head off.
"You should have seen the look on your face!" he exclaimed, pointing at his slightly ticked-off rival. "It was *hilarious*! Kami, I love Halloween!" Goku put his hands on his hips.
"It wasn't funny to me," he mumbled.
"Hey, Dad," Goten said cheerfully. "Cool costume." Goku looked down at his classic wizard's robes, complete with hat, staff, and beard.
"Oh, thanks, Goten!" Bulma the witch put down her bag of orange balloons and hugged her daughter and son-in-law.
"Good to see you," she said. "Nice outfits." Bulma tapped one of the bells on Adrienne's hat. "Cute."
"Yeah, that's a cute idea!" Chi-Chi the nurse said sweetly.
"Erm, thanks," Adrienne said.
"Personally, I like Dad's," Trunks said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Too bad I didn't think of it." Vegeta was wearing a long white trench coat with black shoes and pants underneath. A pair of green-tinted goggles sat perched in his white-streaked hair, and instead of his usual white gloves, he was wearing black ones.
"You wouldn't look as good," Vegeta said haughtily. "Mad scientist just isn't you."
"Actually, I agree," Chloe said. "I like your hair the way it is." She ran her fingers through his hair lovingly. Trunks blushed and jerked away.
"Chloe!"
"What?" Trunks growled.
"Women," he muttered. Goten snickered, causing his mother to hit him in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"You're lucky I left my frying pan at home, Son Goten!" she shouted.
"No kidding," Goku said. Chi-Chi glared at him. "What?! What'd I say??" Before Chi-Chi could answer, the doorbell rang again.
"Trick-or-treaters!" Chloe shrieked. She ran to the doorway before anyone could stop her. She picked up the bowl of candy, straightened her hair, and opened the door. "Oh, Rienna, Aedan! Hi! Come on in!" Aedan, who was dressed as a cop, came in the doorway first.
"Hi, Chloe," he said, giving her a hug. "Nice decorations. Have you guys rearranged the furniture?"
"Yeah, a little," she answered. "But enough about that. Where're my babies?" she asked in a super-sweet tone.
"Right here, Grandma," Rienna said with a laugh. She was holding a little girl about a year-old in her arms. She had Rienna's purple hair, and her father's green eyes: this year she was a panda. Chloe took the smiling little girl and hugged her.
"How's Grandma's only granddaughter?" she asked her. The baby laughed and batted at Chloe's glasses.
"Sierra's fine," Aedan said with a laugh. "Lively as ever, that's for sure."
"If not more," Rienna said with a sigh.
"Grandma, Grandma!" Chloe looked down at a little boy with jet-black hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed as his favorite Disney character- Woody from Toy Story. "Happy Halloween!" he said with a grin.
"Happy Halloween, Matt," Chloe said with a smile. A shuffling noise behind them caught everyone's attention. Suddenly, Matt left his grandmother and ran into the waiting arms of Trunks.
"Grandpa!!" he squealed. Trunks laughed and picked him up.
"Heya, kiddo!" he said. "Nice outfit. Buzz, right?" he asked, with a wink at Chloe.
"No, Grandpa!" Matt said, a bit putout that his Grandfather didn't know who he was. "I'm Woody, not that stupid space ranger!"
"Oh, I see," Trunks said. "Sorry, my mistake."
"That's ok, you'll get it eventually," Matt said with a smile. Trunks laughed.
"Let's hope so."
"Hi, Matt," Chi-Chi said suddenly.
"Hi, Miss Chi-Chi!" Matt said politely. He was really fond of Chi-Chi, and thought of her as a third grandmother. "Hi, Mr. Goku!"
"Hey, Matt!" Goku said with a grin. "Nice hat."
"Thanks!"
"Well, look, you match me!" Goten said. "I'm a sheriff, too!"
"Hey, cool, Uncle Goten!" Sure, Goten was his great-uncle. But did he care? Nah. "And Aunt Adrienne!" His grin grew when he saw Vegeta and Bulma. "Wow! Great-Grandpa and Grandma are here too! Awesome!" He hopped out of Trunks' arms and ran to Vegeta, hugging his legs. Vegeta smiled.
"Hi."
"That's a neat costume, Grandpa," Matt told him. "I like the funny glasses."
"Those are goggles, Matt," Aedan said.
"Cool! Can I get some?" Rienna laughed.
"Maybe later." Matt sighed.
"Ok…"
"Hey, why don't you help us with the decorations?" Bulma asked. "You can help me blow up balloons!"
"Ok!" Matt said. Taking her hand, the two of them went back to the living room. Goku followed.
"So, how's my girl?" Trunks asked, taking Sierra from his wife and holding her up in the air. Sierra giggled and clapped her hands together. "Good," he said with a smile.
"Good to see you, Trunks," Aedan said.
"Yeah, you too, Aedan."
"It's good to see both of you," Chloe said, hugging her daughter.
"Nice outfit, Mom," Rienna said. "I like your hair that way."
"Oh, thank you!" Chloe said. "Which, by the way… where's *your* costume?"
"Oh, uh, it's right here!" Rienna said, holding up a plastic bag.
"Why aren't you wearing it?"
"Uh… because… uh… I didn't want to… get cold! Yeah, that's it!" she said with a laugh. "Heard it's gonna drop tonight."
"Oh… Well, what are you?"
"I'm… uh… it's a surprise!" she explained. Aedan laughed.
"What?" Chloe asked. "Do you know something I don't?"
"Suppose so," Aedan said with a shrug.
"Oh, and, we, uh, brought candy!" Rienna said, hoping for a change of subject.
"Oh, good, more candy!" Chloe said, clapping her hands together in delight. "We can always use more candy, right, Trunks?" Trunks was busy playing airplane with his granddaughter.
"Huh?"
"…Nothing, Trunks," Chloe said with a sigh. Just then, the doorbell rang again. "Trick-or-treaters!" Chloe and Rienna both reached the door at the same time. Chloe opened it and gasped.
"Trick-or-Treat!" two (adult) male voices chorused. Standing in the doorway were two very large (and very… demented) beavers.
"Hi, Mom!" said the 'blonde' one. "It's me, Brian!"
"Brian?" Chloe asked. "Then that must be… Jamie?"
"Hi, Aunt Chloe!" Jamie answered with a grin (though you couldn't see it).
"…What are you?" Chloe asked finally. Brian and Jamie gasped.
"Mom, you don't *know*??"
"I'm ashamed to call you my aunt!" Jamie cried (though he was only joking).
"…I'm sorry, should I know why my son and my nephew, who are grown up and have families of their own, are dressed as two large cartoon *beavers*??"
"…Oh, I get it now!" Rienna exclaimed suddenly. She laughed. "I'm surprised Alex and Krystal let you get away with it!"
"We couldn't talk them out of it," two female voices said dully.
"Oh, sorry, girls!" Chloe exclaimed. "Here, come on in!"
"Thanks," Krystal answered from behind the big brown beaver that was her husband. In filed two beavers, a French maid (Krystal) carrying a little red dinosaur, an Anastasia look-alike (Alex), a lion, a black-belt, and Heero Yuy.
"Wow, the whole crew!" Goten exclaimed. Trunks jumped when he saw the dinosaur. He sighed with relief when it finally hit him that it was NOT Deho.
"What a cute outfit!" Chloe exclaimed. "It looks just like your little dinosaur, Adrienne!"
"Yeah, it does look like Deho, doesn't it, Trunks?" Trunks muttered something under his breath and didn't respond.
"Is that Amanda under there, then?" Rienna asked.
"Sure is," Krystal said. She pulled back the dinosaur's hood to reveal a little girl with brown hair. She was about a year old.
"Hi, Amanda," Rienna said, playing with her cousin's baby. "Aw, aren't you so sweet?"
"Grrrrrrr!!" the lion growled, patting its paws at Aedan's legs. "I'm gonna eat you!"
"Oh no! Don't eat me, Mr. Lion!" Aedan exclaimed. "I have a wife and two children!"
"Uncle Aedan, it's me, Brandon!" the lion exclaimed, suddenly, taking off its head. Inside the lion suit was a little boy with lavender hair.
"Hey, you're right! You *are* Brandon!"
"Yeah, who'd you think I was?" he asked haughtily. Alex shot her son a look.
"Brandon, watch your mouth."
"Sorry, Mommy," he said.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, like my costume?" the black-belt asked, hopping around Goten legs. The little boy had brown hair, like his sister.
"Sure do, John," Goten said with a smile. "Looks good on you." Suddenly, Trunks felt something like cold metal poking around inside his ear. He jumped, and a little high-pitched giggle erupted from behind him.
"Devin!" Alex said, her hands on her hips. "What have I told you about that gun?" The little brown-haired boy shuffled his feet.
"Sorry, Grandpa," Devin said slowly.
"That's ok, Squirt," Trunks said, ruffling his hair. Devin giggled again and hopped off the table. The little Heero Yuy-worshiper walked over to his mother.
"I still get candy, right?" he asked in his most pathetic sounding voice. Alex smiled.
"Of course." Devin grinned. "But don't let me catch you doing that again!" Devin nodded.
"Yes, Mommy." Goku chose that moment to walk into the room. He nearly screamed when he saw the two gigantic beavers standing before him.
"What are you guys?!" he exclaimed. Jamie and Brian looked at each other.
"Another un-believer," Brian said.
"I can't believe it," Jamie agreed. Trunks laughed.
"Don't be so shocked, guys. Not everybody likes that show."
"HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE IT?!" they demanded together.
"So, what are you, already?" Chloe asked impatiently. Brian pointed to himself.
"I'm Norbert…" Jamie pointed to himself as well.
"And I'm Dag…"
"And we're the… ANGRY BEAVERS!" Everyone stood silent for a moment.
"…the what?" Goku asked.
"The Angry Beavers! Jeez, don't you guys watch TV?!" Brian exclaimed.
"Uh… no, not much." Brian rolled his eyes.
"Poor deprived soul…" Jamie said sadly.
"Oh, for goodness sake, it's a cartoon!" Krystal exclaimed. "Give it a rest!"
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were worshipping the darn things!" Alex shouted. Sierra, now in her father's arms, began to cry.
"Oh, Sierra, don't cry," Aedan moaned. Rienna took her from him and started to bounce her.
"Hey, Ri, where's your costume?" Brian asked suddenly.
"It's… uh… in the bag."
"Why aren't you wearing it?"
"'Cause I want it to be a surprise!" Rienna snapped. "Now leave me alone so I can get my baby to sleep!"
"Ok, ok, jeez! Sorry for wondering why my sister is trying to destroy the very heart and soul of Halloween."
"Now see here, Brian-"
"Ok, ok, enough, you two," Chloe said. "Here, Ri, let me take her." Rienna nodded and handed her daughter over. Immediately, the little girl stopped crying and looked up at her grandmother with a confused expression on her face.
"Well isn't that something?" Goku asked with a laugh.
"Hey, Chloe, maybe we should move in with you," Aedan said with a grin.
"Oh, goodness no, Aedan!" Chloe exclaimed. "No offense, but it's been rather quiet since Rienna and Brian moved out. I wouldn't trade it for anything!"
"Not even Sierra, your *only* granddaughter- with her deep blue eyes and silky purple hair and innocent sweet smile- whom you love with all your heart and would steal from her mother in an instant?" Rienna asked. Chloe smiled and looked at Sierra, who was now laughing and batting at her glasses again.
"Well… I'd have to think about it," she said finally. She tickled Sierra's stomach, causing the infant to giggle. Right on cue, the doorbell rang for about the fifth time that evening. "Oh, that must be the trick-or-treaters! Trunks, grab the candy and answer the door!"
"What? Me? No, hostess is *your* job," Trunks answered defiantly. Chloe shot him a look that made him shudder. "Ok, ok!" The doorbell rang again as he grabbed the candy bowl and opened the door. "Uh… can I help you?" An important looking young man in a black suit and tie (with sunglasses, too) was standing in the doorway. He flashed a badge and stepped into the doorway.
"FBI, Mr. Briefs. We received a call saying there were two suspicious and extremely *large* beavers prowling the area. They were said to have entered the premises." Jamie put his hands on his hips.
"Ok, Darrin, cut it out." Darrin laughed and propped his glasses on his head.
"How long did it take you?"
"Not long."
"Had me fooled," Trunks said with a sheepish grin. Jamie peered past his brother-in-law and out the door.
"Is Leah here?" he asked.
"Sure am!" Leah said. She walked into the foyer, followed by their two kids, Rick (2) and Autumn (4). Leah was dressed as a flamenco dancer, and the children were dressed as a Chinese doll- and Saiyaman??
"That's a cute outfit, Autumn," Rienna said.
"Thanks, Aunt Rienna," she said with a smile. "Mommy helped me."
"I bet she did!" Rienna answered.
"I am the Great Saiyaman!!" Rick yelled suddenly, jumping in front of his parents and landing in a (cute) battle pose. Darrin laughed.
"Not quite, squirt, but ok," he said.
"He insisted on being Saiyaman," Leah explained. "He's obsessed with him. Every other word is 'Saiyaman' these days."
"Saiyaman was one of his first words," Darrin said with a sigh.
"You let him watch too much TV, Leah," Aedan told her. Leah sighed and nodded.
"One episode is one too many," Darrin agreed.
"Saiyaman! Saiyaman!" Cute little black-haired Rick hopped around the group of adults standing there. "Saiyaman!"
"Calm down, Rick," Leah told him. Rick was only two, but he knew all of Saiyaman's lines by heart. "It's not on, yet." She turned to Trunks and Chloe. "You don't mind if we let him watch it, do you?" Chloe shook her head.
"Not at all! Go right ahead!"
"Yeah," Trunks said with a sneer, "anything to keep him quiet." Chloe elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! I was just kidding!" He crossed his arms. "Fine. I'll go get Goten," he said huffily. He stormed off into the living room. "Yo, Goten!" Chloe stared after him angrily.
"Same as ever, I see," Darrin said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
"Yeah, you might could say that," Chloe said with a sigh.
Soon, Krillin and his family (including Marron's own), and Bra and her family, along with Gohan and his line had reached the house as well. The costumes went as follows:
Krillin- red M&M
Eighteen- sorceress
Marron- Catwoman
Justin (her husband)- butler
Bridgett (15)- princess
Bra- a "bunny"
Chris (her husband)- Dracula
Melissa (17)- ballerina
Ashley (15)- princess ("Hey, we have the same costume!" "Cool!")
Gohan- knight
Videl- Chinese doll
Pan- pirate (complete with eye patch)
Jason (her husband)- the Flash
Josh (16)- skeleton
Vegeta had disappeared quite some time ago, and Goku always had someone walk ahead of him around corners because of it. But eventually, our loveable old Saiyan let his guard down. Vegeta never showed up to scare him.
"BOO!" …Until now.
"VEGETA! DON'T DO THAT!" Goku screeched.
"But it's so much fun!" Vegeta exclaimed. He stopped for a minute. "Wait a minute… since when do I listen to you?!"
"Uh…" Goku nodded. "Good point." Goku shrugged. "So where have you been all this time?"
"Around," Vegeta said, eyeing Goku carefully. "What's it to you?"
"Oh, just wondering, since you keep disappearing," Goku said with a shrug.
"Tch." Vegeta crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Whatever."
"Fine, suit yourself," Goku said.
"I intend to, Kakarott," Vegeta muttered.
"What?"
"NOTHING! Now leave me alone!"
"Fine, Vegeta. Have it your way." Goku walked away down the hall.
"Oh, wait, Kakarott!" Vegeta called.
"Yeah?" Goku turned around and found himself face-to-face with a huge, hairy green monster.
"BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!" Goku screamed and ran off down the hall.
"MOOOOOOOOONNNNNNSTEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" Vegeta chuckled and put away his mask.
"Kami, I love Halloween."
Soon, those candy-hoarding trick-or-treaters were arriving, expecting something sweet in return for the words, "Trick or treat!" , and always hoping that someone would be kind enough to give them an extra piece or two. …They came to the right house.
Chloe was generous enough with the candy, and soon sent Trunks to the "storeroom" (AKA kitchen cabinet) for another capsule full (courtesy of Bulma).
"Why do I have to do all the work?" Trunks muttered to himself as he begrudgingly went to fetch more candy. "If it's not one thing, it's another! Can't even rest on a holiday!" So engrossed in his own thoughts, Trunks wasn't looking where he was going, and ran into the doorframe leading to the kitchen. "Ouch!" Trunks muttered something under his breath and rubbed his forehead, then continued into the kitchen. There he found Chi-Chi, filling a baby bottle with water.
"Oh, hi, Trunks!" she said cheerfully. "What are you up to?"
"Chloe sent me for candy. Supplies are running low on the front," he said dully.
"Ah," Chi-Chi said. She nodded. "Halloween's busy down here."
"Well, yeah, I guess you wouldn't get many trick-or-treaters on a mountain," Trunks said. He knelt down and fished through one of the cabinets. "Why, what are you doing?"
"Baby-sitting," she said. Her voice changed from her normal sweet tone to a dreamier, smooth one. "It's just like my boys are little again, except they're not all boys." She thought for a minute. "And there's more than one." Trunks laughed and stood up, having found his quarry.
"Well, if you need any help, let somebody know. We'll find somebody to take over."
"Oh, alright, Trunks," Chi-Chi said sweetly. "I don't think I'll need it, but thank you for the offer!"
"No problem, Chi-Chi," he answered. "Well, gotta go. Chloe's waiting."
"Trunks, did you find that candy yet??" Trunks sighed.
"See what I mean?"
"That's alright, dear, we've all been there at some point." Trunks smiled.
"Yeah, guess so. See ya, Chi-Chi!" He waved and walked out the door.
"Found the candy, Chloe!" Trunks called.
"Oh, good!" she said. Chloe snatched it from him and set it on the table after pushing the button. It soon popped open and spilled out several pounds of candy. "Wow, this should last us a while!" Trunks crossed his arms.
"What, no thank you?"
"Well, I had to threaten you to get you to do it in the first place!" she exclaimed. She walked over and hugged him. "But thanks anyway." Trunks smiled.
"You're welcome." Someone cleared their throat behind them. They both turned around and found themselves faced by a queen, Buzz Lightyear, and Emperor Zurg.
"Jessie, you made it!" Chloe exclaimed. She threw her arms around her friend and squeezed her.
"Sure we did, Chloe! Wouldn't miss it!"
"Good to see you," Trunks said. "Weren't sure if you were gonna show up or not."
"Well, we thought about it, and decided we didn't have anything better to do," Ruben said with a laugh.
"Oh, that's how it is, is it? We're a last resort, are we?"
"Oh, c'mon, Trunks, you know we didn't mean that!" Buzz Lightyear exclaimed.
"I know, Jeremy," Trunks said with a wink. "I'm not stupid."
"Not as stupid as you look, anyway," Chloe said. Trunks frowned.
"Hey!"
"Hey, Mom, do you have that candy ye-" Rienna stopped short when she entered the room. "Jessica, Ruben, Jeremy! You made it!" she cried happily.
"Of course, dear!" Jessica answered. She hugged her daughter-in-law and smiled. "Couldn't pass up an opportunity to see you!" After another round of hugs, Rienna motioned for them to follow her.
"C'mon, Aedan's playing with the kids in the living room," she said.
"Cool!" Jeremy exclaimed. "But Rienna, where's your costume?"
"Hey, yeah," Ruben said. "Or are you going for the casual teen look this year?" Rienna shook her head.
"No, it's a, uh, surprise! I'm waiting for the party to start! Wouldn't want something to happen to it."
"Oh, good idea," Jessica said. She shrugged. "Wish I'd thought of that. Oh well!" she said. "That's ok. Now take me to my grandkids!"
"More trick-or-treaters!" Chi-Chi called. "You ready, Goku?"
"Sure!" Goku hopped off the couch where he'd been watching the kids with Jessica and grabbed the bowl of candy by the door. Immediately, the doorbell rang. "Hi, kids!" he said happily.
"Trick-or-treat!" they chorused. They all held up their bags expectantly.
"Wow, what a bunch of neat costumes!" Goku exclaimed. He reached into the bowl and dished out the candy. "Before you go, you want to see some magic? Ol' Goku the Wizard's got a few tricks up his sleeve!" The kids looked at each other and shrugged. What could it hurt?
"Sure," said the oldest.
"Cool! Ok, now stand back," he said. "Hocus pocus!" A small ball of light floated in the wizard's hand. The children oohed and ahhed at the pretty ball of gold. "Anyone want to hold it?"
"Ooh, ooh, me!"
"No, me!"
"Me first! I'm the smallest!"
"But I'm the oldest!"
"Ok, ok, calm down, everybody can hold it!" Goku exclaimed. "Tell you what…" Chi-Chi chuckled to herself. That Goku!
"Hey, Chi-Chi?" Rienna asked as she walked into the room.
"Hm?"
"You haven't seen my costume, have you?" Chi-Chi shook her head.
"No. Well, actually, come to think of it, I think Aedan moved it into the closet with your coat so your mother and Bulma could finish decorating the dining room," she replied.
"Ok, thanks!"
"Why, are you going to go change?"
"Um… yeah!" Rienna laughed. "Sure. The party's gonna start soon anyway." She walked briskly out the door. Chi-Chi shook her head.
"Wonder what all the fuss is about…"
"Hi, Mom," Aedan said as he sat down next to her in the living room.
"Oh, hi Aedan!" Jessica said cheerfully. "How's my oldest son doing?"
"Huh? Oh, great," he answered with a smile. "Say, haven't seen Ri, have you?"
"Well, no, but I heard she went to change upstairs." Aedan laughed. "What's so funny?"
"What? Oh, nothing," he said with a grin. "Nothing at all…" Aedan laughed again and shook his head, stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and walked out of the room, chuckling to himself.
"…" Jessica looked down at the kids playing tic-tac-toe on the floor. "I wonder…"
"There, that's the last one!" Chloe declared. She stepped back to marvel at her masterpiece. "I think it looks nice."
"It's perfect!" Bulma exclaimed. "The whole house is perfect!"
"It's just a bunch of balloons to me," Krillin said.
"But it's perfect! Look, there's an even number of orange and black, and they're in a completely symmetrical bunch-"
"Whatever you say, Chloe," he said. He didn't see what was so great about it. Sure, it looked nice, but perfect? Perfect was too strong a word for anything. Krillin shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to walk out the door. He stopped when he almost ran into Trunks. "Oh, hey-"
"Shhh!!" Trunks hissed. He pointed to something in his hand. Krillin grinned and nodded. Slowly, Trunks floated up to the ceiling above the two woman, took the string in his hand, and lowered the fake spider into their midst.
The two of them seemed to notice the spider at the same time, and shrieked in unison.
"SPIDER!" "EEEEEEEK!" Chloe took a step back, grabbed the daily newspaper, and started to swat it, and, at the same time, tried not to get too close.
"GET IT AWAY,GET IT AWAY!!" she screamed. Trunks dropped the string and let the spider fall to the ground, where Bulma took to stomping it.
"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!!!" she shouted. Together, the two of them beat the poor spider into pieces. Finally, Trunks couldn't contain himself any longer and burst into fits of laughter.
"Oh- my- GOSH, you- you should- should have- seen- your- your FACE!!" he cried. "Oh, my side! I'm gonna- gonna split- in TWO!!" Chloe put her hands on her hips and glared daggers at her husband.
"I hope you *do* split in two, Trunks Briefs!!" she shouted. "At least then I won't have to put up with your childish pranks!"
"You are *grounded*, mister!" Bulma yelled.
"But Mom, I don't live in your house anymore!" Trunks protested. "You can't *ground* me!"
"No, but I can," Chloe said. "And 'you are grounded, mister!'"
"Way to go, Trunks," Krillin said with a sneer. Trunks chose to ignore him, and floated down to the ground.
"Aw, Chloe, I didn't mean anything by it!" he said. "C'mon, it's Halloween!"
"I don't *care* if it's Halloween, that was a dirty, immature-"
"Aw, Chloe!"
"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!!" Trunks closed his mouth and stared at her with his pitiful blue eyes. "And don't give me that look!!" Trunks pouted even more. "I'm warning you, Trunks!"
"Please please please please *please* forgive me?" he asked in his sweetest, sappiest tone. Chloe looked at him, then Bulma (who was still seething), to Krillin, and back to Trunks. Her expression softened a little. "I'm really really *really* sorry!"
"Well…" She heard Bulma gasp beside her. "It *is* Halloween…" Trunks kept up his pitiful look and nodded. "And it *was* kinda funny… Oh, alright! Just stop it with the face already!" Trunks grinned.
"This is why I love you!" He hugged her, kissed her cheek, and ran off. "Bye!"
"You guys seen Ri? She disappeared a while ago," Brian said. He popped a piece of candy into his mouth and threw the wrapper in the trash.
"Yeah, she went to go change," Aedan told them.
"Ah!"
"Speaking of whom," Krystal said, nodding to the stairs, "here she comes."
A fairy in a dusty red outfit and pale pink wings "fluttered" down the stairs. The whole outfit sparkled, even the cherry blossom in her hair. She reached the landing, and, looking both ways first, dashed off to the living room. Norbert the beaver stopped her on the way.
"Oh, Brian!" Rienna exclaimed. "Hi!"
"Nice outfit, Tinkerbell," he said. Rienna put her hands on her hips.
"See, I knew this would happen! I *knew* it! I should have stayed home!"
"Aw, c'mon, Ri, just having a little fun," Brian said. "Lighten up!"
"I think it's cute!" Krystal said. Alex nodded.
"Yeah! The red looks nice!"
"I think it's the funniest thing I've ever seen," Jamie said with a laugh "But it looks nice." Rienna crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her right foot.
"I don't believe you."
"Aw, jeez, Ri, chill out!"
"I think she's a cute little fairy," Aedan said. His arms were crossed and he was leaning in the doorframe. There was a small smirk on his face. Rienna blushed a little and put her hands on her hips.
"You're impossible!" she declared. With that, Rienna stormed off into the living room to check on her children. Aedan laughed.
"Yeah. We're the perfect match," he muttered. Brian laughed.
"You're telling me."
"Oh, hiya, Rienna!" Jessica said cheerfully. "I like your costume!"
"Hn." Rienna crossed her arms and flopped down on the couch.
"What's wrong, dear?"
"Nothing."
"Mommy!" Matt ran up to her and plopped down in her lap. "Neato costume!" Rienna laughed.
"Thanks, Matt. You seem to be the only one who thinks so." Jessica cleared her throat. "Oh, and Grandma."
"Is that what this is all about?" Jessica asked.
"…Yeah, I guess so," Rienna admitted finally. "I knew Brian would be the one to say something! I knew it!"
"Aw, c'mon, Ri, I didn't mean it!" Rienna swiveled in her seat to face him. "Honest!"
"Yeah, right."
"No, really! Hey, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, ok?" Rienna sighed and nodded.
"I know…" She smiled. "Thanks, Brian."
"Sure."
"Hey, guys, the party's gonna start in a few minutes!" Trunks called into the living room. Suddenly, his head popped in the doorway. "So you might want to start- Oh, you changed!" Rienna blushed.
"Yeah…"
"Looks cute," Trunks said with a wink. Rienna frowned. "Anyway, might want to clean up the kids' toys, Chloe wants everybody in here for a while."
"Ok, thanks, Trunks," Jessica said. "Ok kids, time to clean up!" They all (well, the ones that could speak) whined. "No complaining! You heard what he said! Everybody'll be in here soon, and we have to make room!"
"Ok…" Slowly the children began to pick up their toys and put them away.
"Good job! You guys are regular little house-keepers!" Rienna laughed.
"I wouldn't count on it," Brian said.
Chloe cleared her throat. "Can I have everyone's attention?" The whole group didn't seem to hear her and continued chit-chatting. "Hello? Hey, listen up!"
"YO, SHUT UP, CHLOE'S TRYING TO TALK!" Everyone stopped talking and looked up at Trunks and Chloe.
"Thanks, Trunks," she said. Trunks just nodded in response. "Well, as you know, we're all gathered here for the Third Annual Z-Halloween Party!" A chorus of cheers and whistling followed. "Trunks and I were happy to host this year-" Chloe was interrupted by a quick round of applause. "Thanks. Anyway, we just wanted to tell you guys to have fun, and have a happy Halloween!" Another round of applause followed it. "Oh, and guys?" The applause died down with curiosity. "Take it easy on the candy. We all know what happened *last* time…" Several nods of approval and painful glances were exchanged, along with low murmuring and a few giggles. "Right… so, besides that, enjoy yourselves however you like!" Chloe looked at her husband. "That's everything, right?" Trunks shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess so." Chloe smiled and turned back to her audience.
"Ok, that's it! Let the party begin!" With a grin, Goku got up and punched the stereo's on-button (not literally), and the house filled with music.
"Hey, I know this song…" Brian said thoughtfully.
"Oh, shut up and dance with me!" Alex exclaimed. Brian sweat-dropped.
"Wait, but Alex! I can't dance!" Alex laughed and grabbed his hand.
"Then I'll teach you!" Brian groaned as his wife dragged him onto the floor.
*I'm not getting out of this…* Jamie laughed.
"Way to go, Brian!" he called.
"Shut up!" Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Jeremy walked up beside Leah and sat down next to her.
"Hiya, Leah!" he said cheerfully. "Long time no see!"
"Jeremy, hi!" Leah exclaimed. She hugged him. "I didn't know you were here! Glad you could make it!"
"Yeah, me too. I was pretty mad when I found out I'd missed the last two years'." Leah smiled.
"Yeah, I was, too!" She laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just remember you as a kid," she said. Jeremy blushed.
"Oh." He cleared his throat. "Well, I, uh, just wanted to say hi! Oh, and nice costume! You look really nice!"
"Oh, thank you! That's so sweet!" Leah hugged him again. "See you later, then!"
"Y-yeah, see ya!" Jeremy stood up and quickly walked out of the room. Leah laughed. She often had that effect on guys. Darrin walked over and sat down where Jeremy had been.
"What's so funny?" he asked. Leah shook her head.
"Jeremy," she said. "He told me I looked nice, and I hugged him." Darrin stiffened. "I guess I embarrassed him; he ran off in a hurry." Darrin frowned.
"He's at it again, huh?" he asked sourly.
"At what again?" Leah thought for a minute. "Darrin, are you jealous?!" At first he didn't answer.
"…Maybe." Leah gasped. Then she laughed.
"You're jealous! Of a sixteen-year-old!" Darrin frowned and crossed his arms.
"I don't think it's funny," he said.
"Oh, but it is!" Leah protested. "You're jealous of Jeremy Kinamora, a kid we've known since he was six! You're, what, 17 years older than him?" Darrin blushed a little but didn't answer. "That's rich!" Leah finally calmed her giggles and hugged him. "Oh, Darrin, why didn't you say something?"
"Because I knew you'd do this," he answered.
"Aw, Darrin!" Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "You don't have to be jealous of anybody, 'cause I'll always love…?"
"…Me." Leah nodded.
"Yes, you." She kissed his cheek again. "Always. Ok?"
"Ok…" Leah smiled.
"Good." She grinned and cocked her head at him. "Wanna dance?" Darrin smiled.
"Sure."
Brian had finally escaped the dance floor and was hanging out with Aedan, Rienna, and Trunks around the bar that stretched into the living room from the kitchen. "Jeez, I am *never* doing that again," Brian said with a sigh.
"I think you did pretty well," Aedan said with a smirk.
"Yeah,? I don't see *you* two out there!" Brian retorted.
"Nah, I don't dance," he answered. Brian crossed his arms.
"Well neither do *I*!"
"Well, I haven't *asked* him to dance," Rienna told him.
"Aw, why not? Darrin and Leah are," Trunks pointed out. "We need *all* the cute couples on the floor!" Rienna growled at her father.
"Dad!"
"What?" he asked with a grin. Rienna chose to ignore him.
"Well, anyway, I don't want to, and if I did, Aedan wouldn't be able to stop me!" Aedan laughed.
"Yeah, right! Sure, Ri. It's *you* that can't stop *me*!" he said. Aedan grinned. "You can't resist me!"
"Don't flatter yourself," Rienna answered coolly. She took a sip of her soda can and stared at him. Aedan frowned.
"Hey!" Brian laughed.
"The irresistible has been resisted!" he chuckled. "What irony!" Aedan scoffed and ignored his brother-in-law.
"There you go, poetry," Trunks said. Rienna snorted into her drink. "Hey, you ok?" She laughed.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You know, I'm kinda thirsty, too," Aedan said. He snaked his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to snatch her soda, but she scooted it out of his reach.
"Nice try, Mr. Irresistible. Get your own soda." Aedan pouted.
"I don't know where they are."
"Go find them."
"Aw, Ri, that's harsh!" he said. "Can't you get me one? Please??" Rienna rolled her eyes.
"Alright, alright, if it'll stop your whining!" She stood up and left the room.
"Hey, bring me one too, will ya?" Trunks called. They heard her sigh in frustration and kick something across the floor. "…Never mind."
"I'll get it, Dad!" Brian said with sudden eagerness. He hopped out of his seat and ran after his sister. "Hey, Ri, wait for me!"
"Ri, Ri, I've got a plan!" Rienna unclenched her fists and turned around.
"What, Brian?" she snapped.
"I know how to get back at Aedan!" This definitely sparked her interest.
"…How?" Brian grinned.
"C'mon, I'll tell you."
"Here're your drinks!" Rienna said cheerfully. "Hey, where'd they go?"
"Oh, hey, you're back!" Aedan said. He and Trunks got up off the couch and took their seats at the bar again. Rienna handed them their cans and sat back to watch the fun. Brian followed her example and stood next to her, both a safe distance away from the bar. "Thanks, Ri!" Aedan said.
"You're welcome," she said sweetly.
"Yeah, thanks!" Trunks said. He lifted his glass in a toast. "To a happy Halloween!" They all lifted their cans.
"Happy Halloween!" they chorused. Then Aedan opened his can. …Nothing happened. Brian and Rienna's eyes widened, and their faces paled to the utmost extent. They looked at each other in horror, then back at Trunks, who was about to open his can.
"No, Dad, wait!"
"Dad, don't open that-" BOOM! The soda can exploded, sending the carbonated liquid everywhere- especially on Trunks. "…can." Trunks' eyes narrowed, and he slowly set the can (or what was left of it) on the counter and started to drum his fingers on the bar. The soda slid down his hat and dripped from the rim and onto the bar. He looked from one child to the other. As one person, the siblings pointed to each other with wide eyes. Trunks sighed.
"Ok… anyone care to explain this?"
"LOOK WHAT YOU DID, RI! I TOLD YOU NOT TO GIVE HIM THAT ONE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MIXED THEM UP!"
"ME?! I GAVE THEM TO THEM JUST LIKE YOU TOLD ME! *YOU* WERE THE ONE THAT SWITCHED THEM! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"MY FAULT?! WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"
"YOURS, YOU IDIOT!"
"SO WHAT?! IF YOU WEREN'T SO KEEN ON GETTING BACK AT *YOUR* HUSBAND, THIS NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"
"QUIET!" Trunks screeched. His children looked at him, then back at each other. "Now, one at a time, you're going to tell me what just happened."
"Well I was mad at Aedan and went to go get the drinks when Brian comes along and suggests we get back at him by making his soda explode on him but that moron switched the drinks so you got the rigged one and Daddy I'm so *sorry*!!" Rienna exclaimed all in one breath.
"Suck-up," Brian muttered.
"Wait, so you mean that was meant for me?" Aedan asked. Both Brian and Rienna nodded. "That's cruel, guys."
"We know, we're sorry," they chorused.
"Yeah, to both of you," Brian said, shooting his father a hopeful glance.
"Who's the suck-up now?" Rienna muttered.
"Shut up," Brian snapped.
"Hey, don't tell her to shut up!" Aedan exclaimed. "Only I can do that!" Rienna opened her mouth to say something, but Aedan stopped her. "Rienna, shut up." She gasped.
"But-"
"Hey, hey, hey, nobody tells anybody to shut up here except *me*." Trunks said. "So all three of you, shut up!" The three of them put their hands on their hips and glared at him. "And don't give me that look!"
At that point, Chloe came rushing into the room. 'Oh my gosh, what happened in here?! I heard an explosion while I was checking something upstairs and I came as soon as I could- and why are you dripping wet, Trunks?! Look, you're getting it all over my floor!" Trunks' eye began to twitch.
"I am wet because my children BOOBY-TRAPPED MY SODA!!" he screamed. With that, he stormed off to dry out his costume. Everyone stared after him as he stomped up the stairs, muttering incoherently. Chloe looked at her two children and sighed.
"Well, it wasn't *my* fault," Brian said, crossing his arms. Rienna glared at him and slapped the back of his head. "Ow!"
Soon, another swarm of trick-or-treaters appeared on the Briefs' lawn, and the Angry Beavers were assigned to door duty. Well, Brian had been (as punishment for the soda-can incident), and Jamie, being the loyal friend he is, decided to help him out. Besides that, Brian had one other comfort- Rienna had the next shift.
The doorbell rang for about the fiftieth time that night, and "Dag" AKA Jamie opened it. A little eight-year-old kid immediately tackled him.
"OHMYGOSHIT'SDAGICAN'TBELIEVEIT!" the little Batman squealed. "This must be my lucky day! Can I have your autograph, Mr. Dag? Huh, huh??" Jamie sat up and smiled.
"Uh, yeah, sure, kid…" he said. "Lemme get up first." Brian helped him up, and Jamie grabbed a pad and pencil from the desk beside the door. "What's your name?"
"Jamie!" Brian coughed and tried not to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Little Jamie asked.
"Nothing, we just, uh, know another Jamie," Brian explained.
"Oh, really?! Cool! Where is he? Is he here?!"
"Yeah, uh, he's… busy right now," Jamie said.
"Oh… ok!" Chibi Jamie smiled as "Dag" handed him his autograph. "Thanks, Mr. Dag!" He threw his arms around him.
"Uh… you're welcome." Little Batman ran out the door, clutching his precious piece of paper.
"Brian, Brian, I know where the Angry Beavers live!!" he shouted. Brian burst into laughter.
"Did he say Brian?!" he asked. Jamie ignored him.
"Hey, kid- Jamie! Don't you want your candy?" Little Jamie was already gone and walking down the sidewalk to the next house with "Robin." Jamie sighed. "Guess not… Oh well!" Jamie shrugged and tossed Brian a Kit-Kat. "Candy?"
Gohan looked down and almost fainted. He had seen that outfit before- the bright orange helmet, the red cape, the green shirt, the black spandex… But it had shrunken! Gohan rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was imagining things. He looked again. Still there.
"I am the Great Saiyaman!" the little chibi yelled. He giggled and ran off towards the door and ended up hitting the frame instead. "Ow!" Gohan sighed. Yep. He definitely wasn't imagining things.
"Hey, where'd you get the outfit?" Gohan asked him. The chibi stood up and pointed at Leah.
"Mommy!" he said. Gohan bent over and looked into his eyes.
"Rick?"
"UNCLE GO-AN!" Rick squealed. He threw his arms around his great-uncle's neck and held on tight. Gohan sweat dropped and stood up, holding the little boy.
"Hiya, Rick," he said. "You like Saiyaman, huh?"
"YEP!" he answered, nodding and grinning the whole time.
"How do you know about Saiyaman?"
"The Great Saiyaman Show!" Rick chirped.
"Do they still *air* that?!" Gohan exclaimed. "What channel?!"
"Mm…" Rick cocked his head, and thought for a minute. The more he thought, the more his face scrunched up, until it started to turn red. Poor child looked constipated.
"Hey, you ok, Rick?" Rick started to bounce up and down. He was furious with himself. Why couldn't he remember? Finally, he shrugged. Oh well, it would come to him. Then he got another idea.
"Time?"
"Time? Uh…" Gohan looked at the clock on the wall. "7:30."
"SAIYAMAN!" Rick screeched. He hopped out of his uncle's arms and ran off to the living room.
"Hey, Rick, wait for me!" Gohan whined. "I wanna watch it, too!"
It was quiet. *Too* quiet. Perhaps the woman had given up chase and decided he wasn't going to dance after all…nah. But something was missing and he couldn't quite place a finger on *what* it was… Vegeta drummed his fingers on his crossed arms. Blast the effects of aging! Aggravating memory-loss…
"RAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!" Vegeta looked down at the lion.
"Thank you, Brandon," Vegeta said. He grinned. "You helped me remember my duty…"
"FBI, *freeze*!" Brandon, Devin, and Matthew froze in their tracks as Darrin approached them menacingly. "Let me see your bag!" The three boys nodded quickly and held out their candy bags. Darrin pulled up his sunglasses and winked. "Just kidding," he said with a grin. The three of them sighed in relief and ran off down the hall. Darrin laughed as they retreated down the hallway.
"You shouldn't scare them like that, Darrin," Leah told him. "They won't trust you anymore." Darrin laughed again.
"Yeah, maybe so. But I've never *done* anything to them, have I?" Leah sighed and shook her head.
"No…"
"Then we've got nothing to worry about!" Darrin told her. Leah sighed again.
"Fine, Darrin, believe what you want!" The doorbell rang, and they heard the door open.
"Trick-or-treat!" squeaked a little white dog.
"Happy Halloween!" Rienna said cheerfully. "Nice costume!"
"Thanks! My mommy made it for me!" the dog replied.
"Okay, Ri, we finally got her to sleep!" Aedan said. He walked into view of the doorway.
"Mr. Aedan?!" The little dog ran into the house and hugged him. "Wow! I didn't know you lived here!" Aedan stared down at the dog for a moment. Then recognition swept over him. The little boy was in his kindergarten class.
"Hiya, Trevor!" Aedan said. "Actually, I don't live here. I'm just helping."
"Oh!" Trevor stood back and looked around. He spotted Rienna and smiled. "Is that your wife?"
"Sure is," Aedan said. Trevor grinned and leaned closer to Aedan, who bent down so the child could whisper in his ear.
"She's pretty," he said. Aedan laughed.
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" he said. Rienna cocked her head curiously at him. Leah chose that moment to walk through the door. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her. Trevor smiled again, and leaned closer to his teacher again.
"She's pretty, too," he said. Again, Aedan laughed.
"You should meet the rest of the family," he said. Trevor cocked his head. "Never mind," Aedan said. He shook his head. Then he picked a few pieces of candy out of the bowl and dropped them in Trevor's bag. "There, there's a few Reese's for you. I know how you like 'em," Aedan said with a grin. Trevor beamed up at him.
"Gee, thanks, Mr. Aedan!" Trevor hugged him again and ran out the door. He turned around halfway down the sidewalk and waved. "Bye!" Aedan waved back.
"Bye!"
"So what'd he say?" Rienna asked as she shut the door.
"Oh, nothing," Aedan said innocently.
"C'mon, Aedan, what'd he say?" Leah asked. Aedan took to whistling and strolled into the kitchen. "Hey, c'mon!"
"Oh, aren't you gonna tell us?" Aedan turned around and smirked at them.
"Maaaaaybe," he said. "Maybe not."
"Oh, c'mon, Aedan! Just tell us what the kid said!" Leah said.
"Maybe later," he said, his smirk widening a little. Rienna put her hands on her hips.
"Men!" Leah nodded.
"Uh huh."
"Where is he!?" Zurg exclaimed. He had his gun-arm held out in front of him menacingly, and turned this way and that.
"Who ya looking for, Ruben?" Trunks asked.
"It's Emperor Zurg, to you!" Zurg declared. "And I'm looking for HIM."
"Him who?" Trunks repeated.
"My arch-enemy, destroyer of my hopes and spoiler of my dreams!" Trunks quirked an eyebrow at him. Maybe this Zurg stuff had gone to his head. Trunks shrugged. Oh well, not his problem. He waited for "Zurg" to finish his speech.
"Defender of all things cute and cuddly! Upholder of justice and all that goodie-goodie stuff! BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!"
"Oh, Jeremy?" Trunks asked. "Saw him upstairs a minute ago. Went to the bathroom, I think." Zurg nodded at him.
"Oh, thanks. I shall remember this and lessen your punishment when I am supreme ruler of this planet!" With flap of his cape, he was gone. Trunks rolled his eyes. So maybe this *was* his problem.
Jeremy whistled a tune as he walked out of the bathroom and headed for the stairs. This Halloween party was pretty fun!
"A *ha*!" Jeremy whirled around and gasped.
"Zurg!" Zurg laughed.
"Yes, Buzz, it is I, Evil Emperor Zurg! And after long… minutes of searching, I have finally found you!" Buzz went into his fighting stance as Zurg laughed again. "I have waited so long for this! The day… that I finally *destroy* you!"
"Not today, Zurg!" Buzz declared. He ran off down the stairs as fast as he could. Zurg gasped.
"Hey, get back here!" Zurg cocked his gun and ran off after him.
"Buzz Lightyear to Star Command. Come in, Star Command!" Jeremy whispered into his "com-link." "I've just had a run in with Zurg himself. Requesting backup. I repeat, requesting back-up!"
"You can't hide forever, Lightyear!" Buzz forced himself against the wall as Zurg walked into the room. "I'll find you! And when I do, I'll blast you to pieces! So why not come out now and make this easy on me- you'll die anyway." Buzz charged his laser and jumped out from behind the wall.
"Not if you die first!" he yelled. He shot at Zurg a couple of times with his "laser" (thin, NERF darts) and dove behind the couch. Zurg laughed.
"Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!" he said, shaking his head. "Is it just me, or are you getting a little *rusty*!?" Zurg appeared behind the couch and shot Buzz in the shoulder with his gun-arm (large, yellow NERF balls). Buzz cried out in pain and glared up at Zurg.
"I'll never give in!" he shouted.
"Oh, grow up!" Buzz and Zurg relaxed and looked up at Jessica. Standing next to her were Aedan (who was laughing), Rienna (also laughing), Trunks (a bit freaked out at the moment), and Bulma (snapping pictures like crazy). Jessica put her hands on her hips. "You're a little old to be playing 'Buzz Lightyear', aren't you?" Both her boys shuffled their feet and muttered I-guess-so's. "That's what I thought! And besides, what have I told you about playing in the house?" More shuffling and muted Not-to-do-it's. "Uh huh." Jessica shook her head. "I just don't understand you two."
"But Mom, it's so much fun!" Jeremy protested.
"I'm sure it is, dear," his mother replied. "Now you two go find something else to do!" Both of them shuffled off, muttering "Yes, Ma'am" as they went.
"So… they do that *all* the time," Trunks said finally.
"Not all, but you get the idea," Jessica answered. Trunks smirked at her.
"I knew your boys were crazy, but now I'm a bit scared for Rienna's safety," he said. Aedan started to pout.
"Dad!" Rienna scolded him between giggles. Trunks ignored her and continued.
"Well, actually, I was worried to begin with, but now I'm not so sure *anyone's* safe."
"Dad! Cut it out!" Rienna told him. She was trying her hardest to control her fits of giggles. Aedan was turning redder by the second. His ears were bright fire-engine red. "Look, you're embarrassing Aedan!" Aedan's cheeks flushed.
"N-no he's not!" he protested.
"Oh, well, if you say so," Ri said, a knowing look on her face.
"Ha! Caught you in the act, Vegeta!"
"Huh?" The five of them turned around and saw Goku standing triumphantly in the hallway.
"I knew you'd be around that corner! You can't fool me!" he was saying. There wasn't an answer for a minute, then…
"Kakarott?"
"Yeah, Vegeta?"
"…BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!" Goku screamed and ran off in the other direction. Vegeta put his mask away and stared after his rival. Somehow, that hadn't been as satisfying as it had once been. He sighed. But wait, there was still the… Vegeta smirked his patented Prince of Saiyans smirk and walked off to the basement.
Bulma frowned. "Uh oh, what's he up to now?" she wondered aloud. Trunks shrugged.
"With Dad, you never quite know."
Ding-dong! "Got it!" Leah said. She grabbed the bowl and opened the door as Rienna rushed to help her. "Oh, hi there!" she said. A little girl dressed as a ballerina was standing in the doorway, her hand held by who the girls assumed to be her older brother. "Aren't you the cutest thing! You know, I took ballet when I was little!" The shy little girl said nothing.
"Yeah," Rienna said. "Leah here likes to dance a lot! Do you like to dance?" The ballerina nodded and didn't look up. "Well, that's great!" Leah knelt down next to her and showed her the bowl of candy.
"Tell you what, since I don't know what you like, I'll let you pick it out!" The little girl's face lit up, and she rushed to the bowl, picked through the candy, and placed three pieces in her bag.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"You are very welcome!" Leah told her with a smile. She stood up and placed the bowl back on the table. It was then that she noticed the older boy was watching her and her cousin. "Oh, hi there! You want some candy, too? We have plenty!" The boy blushed.
"C'mon, Lisa, we gotta go!" he said. He picked her up and walked briskly down the sidewalk.
"Huh… wonder what that was all about?" Leah said. Rienna shrugged and closed the door.
It wasn't long before the soda began to run out. I mean, come on- Wal*Mart only has so many 12-packs.
"Guys, I think we're running low in the liquid department," Gohan said. He held the cooler open for everyone to see- all that was left was ice.
"Oh dear," Chloe said. "Now what are we going to do?"
"Not to worry! Prince Vegeta has everything under control!" This, of course, got everyone's attention, and they swiveled in their seats to watch Vegeta as he carried a large bowl of punch from the basement to the dining room. Everyone followed, curious. Since when did Vegeta know how to make punch?
Once in the dining room, Vegeta then proceeded to fill the plastic cups he'd found while he was downstairs.
"Uh, Vegeta, what are you doing?" Goku asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Kakarott!?" Vegeta snapped. "You want something to drink or not?"
"I bet he spiked it," Krillin said. Vegeta sent the little M&M a dirty look and continued to fill the glasses.
*Not all of it…* Inwardly, Vegeta laughed a menacing laugh. It was hard to keep a straight face on the outside. "Who wants a taste?" he asked finally. Everyone was rather hesitant.
"I'll go first," Bulma said finally. "That way, if anything happens, you are all spared whatever horror would have befallen you-" Vegeta glared at his mate with renewed distaste. He'd forgotten how much she annoyed him. "-and I will have all the more reason to punish him." Yes, he definitely detested her. But instead of giving her a reason to detest him back, he handed her a glass and watched as she took the first sip.
"Hey, this is pretty good!" she exclaimed. She smiled at her husband. "I didn't know you were so talented!"
"What do you expect from the Saiyan Prince?" Vegeta asked haughtily. "And there's nothing wrong with the punch!" he added to everyone else. *Well, not all…* Vegeta smiled and handed Goku a glass. "Normally I wouldn't even consider you worthy to *touch* the glass containing my punch, but I want you to witness this for yourself," he explained, taking his own glass. "Even a third-class baka such as yourself needs to know the truth." Goku smiled.
"Gee, thanks, Vegeta!" he said cheerfully. He set it down on the table. "Can I see yours for a minute?" Vegeta eyed him suspiciously.
"Why?"
"I wanna show you a trick!" Vegeta rolled his eyes and thrust his glass into his hand.
"Make it quick, Kakarott."
"Don't worry, it'll only take a second!" Goku assured him. He set the glasses down next to each other. Suddenly, he placed both hands on them, and scrambled their positions so fast even Vegeta was hard put to watch them.
"What are you doing!?" he demanded.
"Guess which one's yours!" Goku said. Vegeta growled.
"I don't have time for this, Kakarott!"
"C'mon, just guess!" Vegeta thrust his finger at the right one.
"That one, then, if it will make you shut up."
"Hey, you're right! Good eye, Vegeta!" Vegeta scoffed.
"You can't expect anything else from *me*." With that, he snatched his glass and stormed off.
Later, when Vegeta was alone, leaning against the doorframe in the shadows and watching everyone else party in disgust, he felt something pulling on his pants.
"What?!" he hissed. He looked down, expecting a child, and was surprised when he didn't find one. "Oh, it's you." Vegeta watched as the little red creature at his feet explained his story.
He pointed to a bottle about as big as he was, and then to Vegeta's cup, and then pointed to the rest of the group and looked up hopefully at Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince smirked, stooped down, and picked up the bottle and the creature.
"Good work… Deho, I think it is." Deho the dinosaur nodded fervently. "Good work. Very good." Deho cheered a little dinosaur cheer. Vegeta smirked at him. "You know, for a demon that's plagued me for the last 40 years or so, you're not so bad. Well, actually, you are!" Vegeta laughed evilly.
Deho soon joined him, though he really didn't understand what was so funny. All he knew was that, maybe, just maybe, Vegeta was starting to like him.
"You know, this punch isn't half bad!" Goten said. He held up his glass. "Here's to Vegeta!"
"What are you, nuts?!" Bulma exclaimed. "Give him any credit and you'll over-inflate his already over-sized head!"
"I dunno, Bulma, I think he deserves the credit on this one," Goku said.
"Wonder how hard he had to restrain himself from poisoning us all," Krillin mumbled. Eighteen put her hands on her hips.
"Krillin, now I know Vegeta's not exactly the nicest man on earth, but he wouldn't poison us!"
"Not anymore, anyway," Bulma said, taking a sip of her punch.
"Quiet, you guys, I think he can hear you!" Goku said.
"So let him listen!" Bulma said. "Serves him right for eavesdropping!"
"Well, I'm with Eighteen," Trunks said.
"Yeah, me too!" Leah said. Rienna, Jamie, Brian, Aedan, and Darrin nodded in agreement.
"You guys are too hard on him," Darrin said. "He's really a nice guy!"
"Yeah, I have to agree with you there, Darrin," Gohan said. "Deep down, he loves us all."
Over in his corner, Vegeta laughed. *Yeah, right,* he thought. He smirked at them from the shadows. *Wait 'til that punch kicks in…* Suddenly, Vegeta felt rather dizzy. He put his hand to his head. His temples were throbbing, and his vision started to blur. What was happening? Immediately, his mind went back to Goku's trick earlier.
*Curse that Kakarott! He switched them!* Vegeta fell to his knees. *When I get my hands on that third-class…* He never got to finish his thought. Vegeta fell face-forward on the floor, unconscious.
"You know," Aedan said suddenly. "I'm not feeling too good all of a sudden." Rienna frowned and put her hand to his forehead.
"You're not running a fever…"
"No, it's not that. I just feel really dizzy…" Aedan put his hand on his head. "And I have this horrible headache."
"Yeah," Darrin said, "me too."
"Uh oh," Chloe said. "Must be a bug going around."
"I don't feel too good, either," Goten admitted. Adrienne groaned.
"Not you, too!" Goten nodded as his wife slid out of focus.
"Adrienne, sit still!" She frowned.
"I am sitting still!" she protested. Goten frowned.
"Really?" Without warning, he passed out on the couch. Adrienne jumped up in surprise.
"Goten!" she cried. Aedan and Darrin soon followed suit.
"Oh my gosh!" Leah exclaimed. "Chloe, can you do anything?" Chloe shook her head.
"Not until I know what they've got." She looked up at Rienna. "You said Aedan *wasn't* running a fever?" Rienna nodded.
"Yeah."
"Hm…. Headache, dizziness, blurred vision…" Chloe thought for a moment. "Only thing I can think of is… oh, but that's silly!"
"What?" Bulma asked.
"Well…" Chloe said. She looked up at them all. "They're drunk." Needless to say, this caused quite a stir.
"Drunk!?" Leah exclaimed. "Darrin, drunk!? *My* Darrin!?"
"Vegeta!" Krillin exclaimed. "Vegeta's behind this, I know it!"
"Calm down, Krillin," Gohan said. "Let's find him and ask him ourselves."
"Good idea, Gohan," Bulma said. She set her glass down on the table and stood up. "Let's find that wretched husband of mine!"
When they found Vegeta, he was face-down on the carpet, halfway in the hall, halfway in the room.
"Just as I suspected!" Krillin declared, holding up a little bottle of liquor. "He spiked it!" He gloated at his wife. "I told you, I told you!" Eighteen rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"Question is, how did Vegeta pass out?" she asked.
"Well, it's obvious it had something to do with this…" Bulma said, taking the bottle from Krillin. Trunks smirked at his unconscious father.
"Maybe he just hit the bottle a bit too heavily," he said. Chloe frowned and hit him in the back of the head. "Ow!" Trunks rubbed the back of his head and growled. "Jeez, what'd you do that for?!" Chloe ignored her angry husband and sighed.
"Well, no matter what happened, he's out like a light," she said. Chi-Chi nodded.
"Yes," she said. "We won't be getting anything out of him too soon." Suddenly, Goku spoke up.
"Uh… well… I think I know what happened to Vegeta…" he said slowly.
"Well, tell us, Goku!" Brian said.
"Well… earlier when he was handing out the punch, I switched our glasses around and made him guess which was his."
"…And you mixed them up," Bulma said. Goku nodded, causing her to sigh. "Vegeta, Vegeta, will you ever learn?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know this would happen! I didn't switch them on purpose!" Bulma smiled.
"No, Goku, it's not your fault. It was meant for you, so you actually did yourself a favor. Besides," she added, with a glance at her husband on the floor, "he deserves it." She looked down at him in disgust and fought back the urge to kick him while he 'slept'. "Old fool."
"He'll never change," Gohan said with a sigh. Several in the group nodded and muttered various agreements.
"Well," Bulma said finally. "Let's move this dimwit to the couch. Wouldn't want someone tripping over him, would we?"
Before anyone laid a finger on him, a scream came from the living room.
"Rienna!" Trunks exclaimed. He, Brian, and Ruben rushed into the room. Rienna had jumped up off the couch and was breathing heavily. She had her hands on her hips.
"Jeez, Aedan! Don't scare me like that!" she told him. Aedan just laughed and sat up with a huge grin on his face. "And wipe that grin off your face! It's creepy!" Again, Aedan laughed- a high-pitched, maniacal laugh. Rienna glared at him. "You can cut that out, too!"
In response, her husband stood up, laughed again, and ran off, yelling something about "candy inspection." Rienna cocked her head.
"Certainly strange…"
"You're telling me," Trunks said. "But, under the circumstances…"
"What circumstances?"
"Well… let's just say your grandfather *did* have a hand in this…" Trunks answered finally.
"Grandpa spiked his punch?!" Leah exclaimed. "I don't believe it!"
"Oh, I don't doubt it," Adrienne said sourly. "But to Goten…! Kami, I thought he'd gotten over that!"
"I can't see why he'd do it to anyone," Rienna said. "Except to Goku. No offense to him, I mean." Trunks shrugged.
"Dad is Dad. We'll never understand him."
"I think he likes being misunderstood," Brian said. Trunks shrugged.
"Who knows?" He turned to Rienna. "But, you, uh, might wanna go catch your husband. No telling what he's up to." Rienna nodded and stood up.
"I hate to find out what 'candy inspection' means the hard way." Trunks laughed in response, and his daughter ran off. Ruben sighed.
"Maybe I should go help her," he said. Trunks nodded.
"Yeah. Aedan's pretty strong when he wants to be. Not saying he's violent, but, well, he *is* drunk…" At that, Adrienne's and Leah's faces paled.
"Oh Kami…" they said at the same time.
"Dende, if you let *anything* happen tonight…" Adrienne muttered under her breath.
Up at the Lookout, Dende laughed. "You owe me for those piña coladas you destroyed last month!" He took a sip of the one in his hand and laughed again. "You're on your own, Son Adrienne!"
"Say, Adrienne… Didn't you blow up his stash of piña coladas last time we were there?" Krillin asked. Adrienne sweat-dropped.
"Oh Kami…"
"*Someone's* on Kami's bad side," Trunks asked, a sly tone to his voice. At that point, Goku and Gohan hauled Vegeta in and laid him in a large armchair. Adrienne mumbled something and glared at him. Beside her, Goten stirred, and she forgot Vegeta for a moment and turned to her husband.
"Goten!" she said. "Goten, wake up!" Goten groaned and sat up.
"What in tarnation…?" Weary-eyed, he looked around at everyone and cocked his head. "Who in the san hills are you people?" Adrienne frowned.
"Ok, Goten, quit playing around! And get rid of that *ridiculous* accent!"
"What accent? *You're* the one with the accent!" he said, putting his hands on his hips. "And my name's not Goten! It's Dan!" Adrienne narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, please!" she exclaimed. "You expect me to please that you've lost your memory and think you're a cowboy!?" Dan stared at her for a minute.
"Yes." Adrienne sighed. "And I'm not just a cowboy! I'm a real sheriff!" He pointed to the cheep badge from the Dollar Store on his vest. "See?" Adrienne frowned.
"You're serious about this, aren't you?" He nodded in response. Adrienne growled and stood up, glaring at her father. She quickly decided that now was as good as any, and lunged at him. Luckily for Vegeta, Goku was there to stop her. "Lemme go! I'm gonna kill him!!"
"Come on, Adrienne, you don't want to kill him," Goku told her.
"Well, maybe not kill him, but hurt him really really *bad*!" she growled.
"No, Adrienne," Bulma said in her normal reprimanding fashion. "You're not going to kill him." She glared at Vegeta, who was still unconscious. "I'm going to!"
"Excuse me," Goten said, "but no one's killing anyone while I'm around!" He walked up to Bulma and Adrienne. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to place you two under arrest for attempted murder!" Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please, Goten!" she said.
"It's not Goten!" he shrieked. "My name is Dan!" Trunks couldn't help but snicker. Chi-Chi, however, took quite a different approach.
"What has that man done to my baby?!" she cried. She started sobbing and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Goten!" Goten sweat-dropped.
"Look, ma'am, I'm not your kid…"
"OH!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "You don't even remember your own mother!! Oh, Goten!" She sat back and stroked his hair. "Don't worry, sweetie, Mommy has everything under control!" Goten sweat-dropped again.
"Uh…" Chi-Chi ignored her obviously bewildered son and turned on Vegeta, rolling up her sleeves in familiar Chi-Chi fashion.
"Now, Chi-Chi," Goku started.
"Don't you 'now Chi-Chi' me, Son Goku! Get out of the way, or I'll MAKE you!" Goku cringed at the thought and pulled Adrienne away from Vegeta. Before the enraged female could lay a hand on him, however, he groaned and sat up.
"Oh, my head…" He looked around, and wondered why everyone was giving him the evil eye. "…What?!"
"You know good and well what, Vegeta!" Chi-Chi shrieked. She thrust a finger at Goten. "Look what you did to my baby!" But Vegeta wasn't paying attention.
"Hmm… what was I doing earlier…?" He pondered this for a while. "…OH! I know, now!" He rubbed his hands together devilishly. "EXPERIMENTATION!" Everyone looked at him funny.
"…What?" Bulma asked. Vegeta just laughed an evil little laugh and ran off to the basement before anyone could stop him, locking the door behind him. Bulma ran after him and beat on the door.
"Vegeta, you open this door this *instant*!" No response. "Vegeta, I'm warning you! You open this door, or it's the couch for a month!" …Still no response. "Don't make me disable the Gravity Room, too!" Surprisingly, this didn't gather a response either. "…Well, gee, that's odd," she said finally. "That one *always* works…"
"May I suggest that… well, perhaps he's not in his right mind at the moment…" Jessica said. She nodded to the bottle they had discovered in the hallway. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Still…" Krystal said. "What did he mean by 'experimentation'?" Suddenly, an explosion rocked the house. It'd come from downstairs, where a stream of extremely high-pitched and gleeful laughter was also coming from.
"……" Bulma, Trunks, and Chloe rushed over to the basement door.
"DAD, OPEN UP!"
"VEGETA, YOU OPEN THIS DOOR!"
"YOU CAN'T BLOW UP MY BASEMENT!!"
While the three of them were pounding on the door and shouting, Darrin woke up with a scream.
"THE APOCALYPSE! THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING!" he screeched. Leah put her hand on his shoulder.
"Darrin, it's ok! There is no apocalypse!"
"IT'S COMING, I TELL YOU! THE END OF THE WORLD IS AT HAND!" He stood up. "I have to warn everyone!"
"No, Darrin, it's ok-"
"THERE IS NO HOPE! THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING! APOCALYPSE!!" With that, he ran off.
"Wait, Darrin!" Leah stood up and ran off after him. Bulma sighed in frustration.
"Can't you blast it down, Trunks?" He sweat-dropped and scratched the back of his head.
"Heh, well, uh, you see, it's funny you should ask that…" he said.
"Oh, for Kami's sake, Trunks, can you or can you not!?"
"Well, remember when we asked for that blast-proof door…?" he asked. Bulma put her hands on her hips.
"I wondered what you did with that!"
"Yeah…"
"We put it up so we could escape from the kids once and a while," Chloe explained. "The basement and the bathroom were all we had!" Bulma laughed.
"Be glad you had *that*."
"Chemicals, chemicals!" Vegeta sang to himself as he searched through his son's kitchen cabinets. "I love chemicals!" He laughed. "They make things go BOOM!"
"Vegeta!" Vegeta stood up with a start, hitting his head on the underside of the counter. He muttered something and appeared from under the counter, rubbing his head and cursing.
"What!?" he snapped. Gohan stared at him. His costume was singed in places, as was his hair.
"When did you come out of the basement?" he asked.
"A minute ago," he said plainly. Vegeta went back to fishing through the cabinets, humming his Chemicals song.
"…How did you get up here?" Vegeta shrugged and kept searching.
"…A *ha*!" he said finally. He pulled out a few aerosol cans and household cleaners and shut the cabinet with his foot. "*If* you'll excuse me, I have chemicals to mix!" he declared. Before Gohan could stop him, he fazed out and disappeared.
"Hey!"
"Hi, Daddy!" Matt said cheerfully. Aedan smiled back at his son deviously.
"Hiya, Matt!" he answered. "Can I see your bag of candy? I need to inspect it." Matt groaned.
"Daddy! You do that *every* year!" he whined.
"Matt, we've been through this before." Matt groaned again.
"Ok…" The little boy ran off to find his bag of candy, and soon came back with it. "Here," he said sorely.
"Thanks." Aedan picked through it and suddenly pulled out a Reese's peanut butter cup. "A *ha*!" he declared. "*This* piece of candy looks questionable!"
"…It looks the same to me," Matt said.
"Hmm…" After looking the candy over, Aedan unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth. "I was wrong! Good piece!"
"DADDY!" Matt exclaimed. "My Reese's!" Aedan grinned and swallowed the sugary goodness.
"Sorry, kiddo, my mistake." He picked up the bag again. "Now let's see…"
"I saw that, Aedan Kinamora!" Aedan looked up at his wife.
"Hm?" he asked. "Saw what?"
"You know WHAT!" Rienna shouted. "You are drunk and you are stealing my child's candy!"
"Hey, he's my kid, too," Aedan said.
"EXACTLY!" Aedan cocked his head.
"I don't get it." Rienna's eyes flashed and she grabbed her husband by the ear. "Owowowowowowoowowowow!!!"
"You're coming with me until whatever Grandpa gave you wears off!" she declared. "And not a minute sooner!"
"Ow! Hey, leggo!" Rienna allowed her eyes to flash green as she stared him down. To Aedan, she had suddenly grown so much taller. He conveniently forgot that he could go Super, too (in his, erm, state), and whimpered as she continued to stare into his eyes angrily.
"Good! Now come on!" She let go of his ear and marched off to the living room. He followed behind her meekly.
Meanwhile, Leah had also found Darrin and dragged him back to the living room.
"But the apocalypse!" he protested. "I have to warn everyone!"
"Darrin!" she yelled. Leah cleared her throat. "Darrin," she said, more calmly this time. "There is no apocalypse."
"But-"
"Trust me on this one." Darrin stared at her, and she stared back determinedly. He sighed when he realized he couldn't win and slumped on the couch, downhearted.
"I'm telling you, I'm not who you think I am!" Goten protested.
"And I'm telling you you are!" Adrienne told him. "You're my husband, Son Goten!"
"My name is Dan!" he shouted. Adrienne fought back the urge to hit him in the back of the head. She had to remember, this wasn't his fault. She shot an angry glance at the basement door that Trunks was currently searching for the key to, then looked back at Goten. She took a deep breath.
"Ok, tell me who you think you are."
"Well, my name is Dan, and I'm a sheriff!" he said happily.
"…And?"
"And… I have a horse?"
"Where is your horse?"
"I dunno, lost her a couple days ago in an Indian raid."
"Uh huh… so do you have a last name?"
"………………………………… Well, I'm sure I do, I just can't think of it right now!" Adrienne rolled her eyes.
"Right…" At that moment, Rienna walked into the room and pointed to the couch. Aedan followed her and sat down next to Adrienne obediently. She looked at her niece in curiosity.
"Don't even ask," Rienna said. She sat down on the arm of the couch next to Aedan and sighed. Aedan scooted a little closer to Adrienne, earning Rienna another curious glance. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt you!" Rienna told him. Aedan nodded and scooted back into his original position. Rienna sighed again.
"I need a nice tall glass of lemonade right about now," she said. She leaned back on the couch and took a deep breath. "Grandpa come up yet?"
"Well, Gohan spotted him in the kitchen, but he got away…" Adrienne said. Rienna sighed.
"Of course." Suddenly, another explosion rocked the house, followed by more laughter.
"Darn it! Chloe, where's that key?!" Chloe sighed.
"I dunno, Trunks," she called back. "Did you try the kitchen?"
"Did you try the kitchen?" Trunks repeated sassily. "Of course I tried the kitchen! What does she think I am, stupid?" He kicked an empty Pepsi 12-pack box across the floor and stomped off to some other room.
"Sometimes," Chloe muttered. Bulma laughed.
"I don't blame you."
"I wondered where we got the 'kicking-things-when-we're-angry' gene," Brian said with a glance at his sister. Rienna put her hands on her hips.
"What's that supposed to mean, Brian!?"
"Well, I think that comes from both of us," Chloe said with a smile.
"You two were meant for each other," Ruben said sweetly. "Altogether now!" He and his wife looked at each other with a smile.
"Aww!" Chloe grinned back at them.
"I know. It's so sad…" she said. "How did I, of all the other girls in the world, get picked to be *his* wife?"
"How unfortunate," Jeremy said with a grin. Jessica shot him a "shut-up-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you" look. "What?! I was agreeing with her!" Jessica's stare intensified. "Hey, you know Trunks is like another dad to me! Give me a break! I was kidding!"
"That's enough, Jeremy," Ruben said.
"But Dad-"
"Jeremy." Jeremy sighed.
"That's ok, Jeremy," Chloe said. "I appreciate the effort."
"It's ok, Jeremy," Leah said kindly. She patted him on the head, causing the boy to blush.
Trunks chose that moment to walk into the living room, defeated and looking very disgruntled.
"That's it," he said. "I've looked everywhere, and I can't find it!"
"I guess we'll just have to wait until he comes up of his own free will, then," Chloe said.
"Do you know how long that will take?!" he exclaimed.
"Uh… no," she said. Trunks sighed and collapsed on the floor next to her chair.
"We're all doomed."
"See, he believes in the apocalypse, too!" Darrin shouted. Leah shot him a look, and he frowned and crossed his arms. Suddenly, Adrienne sighed, stood up, and disappeared. Goten jumped off the couch in surprise.
"Hey, where in tarnation did she disappear to!?" he exclaimed.
"I dunno, Goten," Trunks said dully.
"It's Dan!"
"Fine, fine, Dan, whatever." He stood up. "Guess I'll try the doorknob again. Anyone got a hairpin?" Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled one out of her hair.
"Here, Trunks," she said. "It's sad when you have to pick the lock on your own door." Trunks muttered something and went off to pick the lock. He stuck in the pin and was jiggling it around when suddenly the door swung open and hit him in the face, knocking him backwards and onto the floor. He dropped the pin and covered his face. "Ow!" He glared up at the intruder. "Adrienne! You did that on purpose!" he whined. Adrienne smirked.
"So what if I did?" She pulled a squirming Vegeta out from behind her, holding him up by his trench coat. "Looking for this?"
"Lemme go!" Vegeta shouted, twisting and turning to break out of her grasp.
"How'd you get down there?" Chloe asked.
"Instant-transmit," she said plainly.
"Why didn't you do that in the first place and save me the trouble of looking for the key!?" Trunks exclaimed. Adrienne scoffed.
"I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out."
"Liar." Adrienne's eyes flashed.
"Shut up, Trunks!"
"Adrienne, bring him over here," Bulma said. Adrienne nodded and dragged Vegeta over to the couch. He was still squirming.
"Where are you taking me?! Put me down!" Adrienne did as she was told and set him on the couch next to Bulma. He glared up at Adrienne.
"Ok, Vegeta, you've got some explaining to do!" Bulma said. He looked up at her innocently.
"Hm?"
"First of all, when we get home, you are *grounded*! No TV, no video games, and especially no Gravity Room! For months!" Vegeta stared at her obliviously as she continued. "Second of all: what were you doing with a bottle of alcohol!? Do you know the extent of what you've done?! Aedan's been stealing candy from the children, Darrin's scared into thinking the apocalypse is upon us, and Goten thinks he's a country-western sheriff! Not to mention what you've done to yourself! Are you even *listening* to me!?"
"Blah blahblah, blah blah TV, blah blahblah blah blah, Gravity Room. Blah blahblahblah blah, blahblah blah blahblah alcohol…" Vegeta's eyes glazed over and he stared at Bulma with unseeing eyes. People always had to drag things out. Why couldn't the woman just say what she wanted to say and get it over with?!
Suddenly Vegeta felt compelled to hug something. He wasn't sure why, but something inside of him was urging him to wrap his arms around something, anything, and squeeze as hard as he could. Vegeta fought the urge as long as possible, but ultimately, he couldn't resist.
"You've not been listening to a word I've said this whole time, have you!? Why I oughtta-" Bulma stopped short when she caught Vegeta's gaze. He was staring at her with a dreamy look on his face, and he was actually, for real, smiling. "…What?" Vegeta burst into a grin and wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you!" he said sweetly. Bulma stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Oh… my… gosh… Kami help us all!" she screamed.
"Daddy, where have you gone!?" Adrienne cried.
"What'd I tell you?" Trunks asked "We're all doomed."
"The apocalypse! The apocalypse is coming!" Darrin screamed. "Save the women and children!" He picked Leah up and carried her off.
"Darrin! Put me down!"
"Doomed, doomed!" Trunks chanted. He laughed. "We're all *doomed*!"
"I think Trunks has had a bit too much to drink," Ruben said.
"I think this party has gone on long enough," Eighteen said. "C'mon, Krillin, we're leaving."
"Oh, Eighteen! Just when it was getting good!" Krillin whined. Eighteen shot him a dirty look. "Coming, dearest!"
"I think we should go, too," Bra said. She stood up. "Uh, thanks for inviting us, onii-san!" she told Trunks. He waved her off.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya at Christmas." Bra frowned and put her hands on her hips.
"*Well* then!" She turned on her heal and stormed out of the room. "C'mon, Chris, we're leaving!"
"We're gonna go too," Marron said. "We'll see you guys later!"
"Bye!" Chloe said. "Thanks for coming!"
"Thanks for having us!" Marron answered. Krillin's, Marron's, and Bra's families left the room, grabbed their children (and their coats) and left.
"We should go, too," Gohan said. Adrienne grabbed his arm.
"Oh, no you don't, Gohan! There is no way in HFIL you're leaving me with your brother still thinking he's a cowboy!"
"Sheriff!" Goten shouted angrily. "SHER-IFF!!" Adrienne quirked an eyebrow at Gohan, who sighed.
"Ok, ok…" he said. "But only for Goten!"
"Dan!" he shouted.
"For Dan, then," Gohan said with a sigh.
"About time," Goten said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Gosh, I'm mighty tired."
"Yeah, me too," Aedan admitted. He yawned and leaned back against the couch.
"Well, you two just rest," Chloe said. "Kami knows you need it."
"I'm going to go find Darrin and Leah," Jamie said. "She didn't look too happy when he carried her off…"
"I'll come, too," Brian said. "I need a distraction."
"Cool! C'mon, then, let's go," Jamie said. Both beavers stood up and walked out of the room.
Meanwhile, Dan the cowboy ("SHERIFF!") sat down next to Aedan and propped his boots up on the table. He pulled his hat down over his eyes, folded his hands behind his head, and went to sleep. Adrienne sighed and gently pulled his hat off. She ran her fingers through his hair and sighed again.
"Oh, Goten…"
"Gee, I don't see 'em, Brian," Jamie said.
"Well, keep looking," Brian replied. "They've gotta be around here somewhere."
"Not *necessarily*," Jamie told him. Brian shook his head.
"Don't even joke like that, Jamie."
"Yeah, guess so." The two of them kept walking until they came to the family room, where a nice cozy fire was blazing in the corner. A playpen was in the opposite corner, and there were several children's toys lying on the floor. In the big green armchair, Darrin was sitting with his arms around Leah. They were both squeezed in-between the two armrests. Leah had her head on Darrin's shoulder, and Darrin was snuggling up to her, a small smile on his face.
"…Well, guess we found them," Jamie said finally.
"Yeah, guess we did…" Brian smirked. "Too bad I made Alex keep her camera at home." Jamie laughed.
"Brian, that's mean!" The two of them left the room quietly, discussing a woman's need for a camera- for everything.
Aedan woke up to find that Rienna had dozed off and slipped into the small space between him and the armrest of the couch where she had previously been sitting. He smiled and played with the flower in her hair. She yawned and sat up.
"Welcome back," he said. She grinned at him.
"I should say the same to you," she answered. Aedan cocked his head at her. "You don't remember?" Her husband shook his head. "Then I won't tell you." She yawned again. "Where's Leah?"
"Not sure," Aedan answered. "She and Darrin haven't some back yet." Rienna quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Really…"
"Yeah. But Jamie and Brian went off to find them. They should be ok." Rienna laughed. "What?"
"Nothing," Rienna replied. "Just thinking…" She sat up properly and looked around the room. Then she smirked at Adrienne and Goten at the other end of the couch: both of them were asleep, Goten with his arm around Adrienne's shoulders.
"Aw, how cute," she said with a sneer, proving that she *somehow* had to be related to Vegeta. "Auntie Adrienne and Uncle Goten, asleep on the couch. It's so cute I could cry!" She laughed, and Aedan couldn't hold back the temptation to question his wife's sanity. "Where's Grandma's camera? I *need* this!" With that, she hopped up and ran off to find Bulma. Aedan got up to follow her.
"Well, she's definitely her father's daughter," he said with a sigh.
"Is that Mommy?" Autumn asked. She, Devin, Brandon, John, and Matt had finally sneaked past the adults and into the living room where they'd been playing before Chi-Chi ushered them upstairs for a nap. Sierra, Rick, and Amanda were too young, so the older children had left them to sleep by themselves.
The four oldest peered curiously at the two sleeping adults in the armchair. Devin, meanwhile, was trying to climb up on the arm. "What are they doing?" John asked.
"They're sleeping, duh!" Brandon told his cousin. "Isn't it *obvious*?"
"Yeah," John said, a little hurt at his remark, "but why are they sleeping *there*?"
"Well, that's a totally different question," Brandon said, crossing his arms.
"It's kinda funny," Matt said with a laugh. He pointed at Darrin, who was smiling and holding Leah close. "Look at your dad!"
"Maybe it's an adult thing?" John asked. Autumn, Brandon, and Matt shrugged.
"Can't see!" Devin whined. The other four ignored him.
"Maybe you're right, John," Autumn said. "Maybe it *is* an adult thing…"
"Can't *see*!" Brandon sighed and turned to his brother.
"Well what do you want- Devin, don't!"
"I wanna see!" Devin said defiantly. He jumped up, grabbed the arm of the chair, and tried to pull himself up. In his struggle, he stepped on the lever to extend the footrest and the chair flattened out with a whoosh. It shifted under his weight, and the little 3-year-old hit the floor with a thud. The four other children were hit backwards by the footrest.
In the same instant, Darrin and Leah work with a start. Darrin jumped out of the chair in surprise.
"What the heck!?" he exclaimed. Then he saw the five wide-eyed, guilty-looking children on the floor. His eyes went back to their normal size as his heart-rate slowed. "Hello, kids."
"Hi, Uncle Darrin/Hi, Daddy," they answered slowly. Before they could say anything more, Leah sat forward and pushed the footrest back into place. She sighed.
"That was quite a rush," she said, a small smile on her face.
"Hi, Mommy," Autumn said.
"Oh, hi, Autumn!" Leah said. She narrowed her eyes. "I thought Chi-Chi sent you to bed."
"Well, uh, Aunt Leah," John said.
"I was trying to stop them!" Brandon exclaimed. "Honest, I was!"
"Were not!" Matt shouted angrily. Brandon glared at him.
"Liar!" he shouted back.
"Guys, guys!" Leah exclaimed. "Take it easy!"
"Tell him to stop lying!" Matt said, pointing at his cousin.
"Tell *him* to stop lying!" Brandon said, following his example.
"I wasn't lying, you were!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!"
"Nuh *uh*!"
"Yeah *huh*!"
"Guys!" Darrin shouted. They both stop and looked up at him innocently.
"What?" they asked in unison. Darrin sighed and shook his head.
"Let's just forget this happened and all go back to bed?" he asked.
"But we don't wanna!" the children whined.
"You can't make us, Aunt Leah!" Brandon exclaimed. He hugged her leg. "Don't make us go!"
"Yeah! We wanna stay up with you guys!" Matt exclaimed. Autumn and John nodded.
"Yeah!" Devin said. He wasn't quite sure why he agreed with them, but it was his "obligation as a little brother to agree with the big brother," or so Brandon said. Whatever an obligation was. And in all honesty, Brandon didn't know, either; he just knew his mom said that word to his dad to get him to do stuff. So far, it'd worked on little Devin, too.
Leah shook her head. "You really should be in bed," she said. They groaned in response. "But, if you go ask your parents-"
"Yay!" Before she could finish her sentence, they'd hugged her and ran off.
"Thanks, Mommy!" Autumn called.
"Thanks, Aunt Leah!" John, Brandon, and Matt yelled.
"Wait for me!" Devin cried. "Brandon!"
"Vegeta, as much as I love the attention… Would you get off of me already?!" Bulma glared at her husband, who still had his arms wrapped around her. He stared up at her with large, hurting eyes, and his bottom lip started to quiver.
"But… but…"
"Off!" she ordered. "Now!" Vegeta sniffed and his eyes started to water.
"You don't like me anymore!" he wailed. Vegeta burst into tears. "You hate me, don't you?!" Bulma, surprised at his sudden change in behavior, tried to comfort him.
"No, Vegeta, it's not like that-"
"You're such a meanie!" he cried. Vegeta stood up and ran from the room, crying his eyes out. Bulma sighed. She kinda felt for the guy: she *had* been a bit harsh. But then again, he *had* been clinging to her for the last half hour… Bulma sighed in frustration.
"I hate to say this, but I want the old Vegeta back…" She stood up determinedly and stomped off after him. "Vegeta, come back!"
Rienna walked back into the living room, looking very disappointed. Aedan followed, a big grin on his face.
"Couldn't find her, eh, Ri?" he chided. "Couldn't find her camera?"
"Shut up, Aedan!" Rienna snapped. "I'd like to see *you* do better!" Aedan grinned.
"Ok!" He stood up and walked back to the door they'd just come through. "Hey, Bulma!"
"Not now, I'm busy!!!" she shouted back. She sounded like she was on the brink of loosing her mind in the near future.
"Where's your camera?"
"In my purse on the dining room table, where else!?"
"Thanks!" Aedan walked into the dining room, found Bulma's purse, pulled out the camera, and walked back into the living room, a triumphant look on his face. He grinned at his wife and waved the camera around a little.
"Oh shut up." She stood up, snatched the camera from him, and took a few pictures of her aunt and uncle. She smiled. "There, that should do it. Can't wait 'til they're developed." Rienna rubbed her hands together maniacally. "I can't *wait* to see the look on Adrienne's face!" Aedan cleared his throat, earning him another glare. "Thanks," she said sourly. Aedan grinned at her.
"You're welcome!" he said in a sing-song tone. He left to put the camera back when a little chibi Aedan ran into the room.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Rienna looked down at her son.
"Matt?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Matt laughed a little nervously.
"Yeah, but Aunt Leah said I had to ask you if I could stay up!" Rienna stared down at him with all of her maternal authority.
"And?"
"…So can I?"
"You need to get some sleep," she answered. Matt groaned. "But, since it's Halloween…" Matt gasped.
"Really? You mean it?!" Rienna smiled and nodded.
"But just this once!" Matt's face broke into a smile, and he hugged his mother.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed. He ran over to Aedan, who was just coming from the dining room, and hugged him as well. "Thanks, Daddy!"
"Uh, you're welcome…?" Aedan said uncertainly, as his son ran off to join the others. "Hey," he called suddenly, "shouldn't you be in bed?"
"C'mon, let's go see what they're up to," Rienna said, taking his hand and leading him from the room. "No telling what they're capable of. Especially since he's half yours."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Vegeta, come back!" Bulma whined. "I'm sorry, ok?!"
"What's the matter, Bulma?" Videl asked. Bulma sighed.
"I can't find Vegeta anywhere!" she exclaimed. "He ran off when I told him to get off of me, and I haven't seen him since."
"Ah." Videl smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere."
"BOO!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
"Oh, darn it, it's just *you*!"
"Told ya," Videl said with a smile. Bulma smiled back at her and ran off to retrieve her husband.
Adrienne sighed. *I wonder if Goten will ever go back to normal…* she thought. *Well, if all else fails, we can gather the Dragonballs and wish he was…* Her train of thought was interrupted as Goten stirred beside her. She smiled, and hoped for the best.
"Hi," she said softly. "Feeling better, Dan?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Goten answered. "Terrible headache, though…" Then it hit him. "Did you just call me Dan?" Adrienne smiled and hugged him.
"You're back!" she cheered. "About time!"
"Back?" he asked. "Where did I go?"
"Texas, by the sound of it, but you took me to HFIL and back!" she answered with a laugh. "You had me worried for a while, there!"
"Texas? HFIL?" Goten shook his head. "You're going to have to explain this to me…" Adrienne nodded.
"Sure. Right after I kill Dad." Goten sweat-dropped.
"What did he do now?" he whined.
"Three words," Adrienne said. "Alcohol, punch, insanity." Goten sweat-dropped again.
"Kami only knows…"
"Darn! It's just *you*," Vegeta said with disdain. Gohan crossed his arms with a clink.
"That's not funny, Vegeta!" he said crossly. "I nearly jumped out of my armor!"
"Too bad you didn't," Vegeta said with a sneer. "Especially with your mate around." Under his helmet, Gohan turned a deep shade of crimson. "Am I right, Kakabrat?"
"Vegeta, there you are!" Bulma stomped up to him and stared into his eyes defiantly. "I have been looking all over for you! Where have you been!?"
"Around," Vegeta said calmly. "What do you care?" Bulma glared at him.
"What do I care? What do I care?!? Listen here, buster, *you* ran off, bawling your beady little Saiyan eyes out, and when I come looking for you, you disappear! And now you're asking why I care!?" Vegeta's eyes hardened.
"Wait a minute- bawling? Me?" He laughed coldly. "You have *got* to be joking." Bulma just glared at him. Vegeta laughed again. "Stop hallucinating, woman!"
"I am not hallucinating, Vegeta!!" Bulma screeched.
"Tch. Whatever." Bulma's clenched fists started to shake in her rage.
"Don't you whatever me, buddy! Prince or no prince, you are out of line! I am not hallucinating, and even if I were, you disappeared all the same and I do not appreciate it!"
"And I would care because…?" Bulma ignored him and continued.
"Besides that, I still have a bone or two to pick with you! Like what were you *thinking*?! Do you know what kind of crap I've had to put up with for the last two hours!?"
"No."
"Exactly!" she screamed. "Now you find Darrin, Goten, and Aedan, and you apologize! And *then* you will go into the basement and clean up whatever mess you made while you were down there!" Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"Woman, I haven't been in that basement since the brat moved in here!" Bulma laughed icily.
"That's what you think." Vegeta muttered something about incompetence and crossed his arms.
"After you're done with that, I want a full explanation of what went on tonight- every little detail! You will not leave anything out, because if I find out- and I *will* find out- that you lied to me, you'll be sorry!" Bulma emphasized the "you'll be sorry" by screaming it in his ear (which the Saiyan Prince did not appreciate in the least). "As of now, you are already grounded for a month, and will be sleeping on the couch for *two*!"
Inwardly, Vegeta groaned. Great, just what he needed right now. "Do not make me increase your already-escalating punishment! Do I make myself clear!?" Vegeta didn't answer. "Do I!?"
"Yes, now shut up already!" he shouted angrily. "If I have to listen to one more of your lectures, I'm going to blow myself up and take the world with me!!" He stomped off in a huff, pushing Gohan out of the way and into the wall (*clinkbang* "Ow!") as he went.
Gohan rubbed his shoulder, realized that wasn't working well because of his armor, and shrugged it off. "That was certainly interesting," he said. Bulma just rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Whee! Do it again, Daddy!"
"No, Matt, it's my turn!"
"I wanna play, too!"
"Kids, kids! One at a time!" Rienna exclaimed with a laugh. "Aedan only has two arms!"
"Yeah!" Aedan agreed.
"But I wanna be a plane!" the four of them whined.
"Ok, time out!" Aedan said. "Let's not do plane for a while, ok?"
"Awww…!"
"No whining! Be glad you got a chance!" Rienna told them. They all groaned, shuffled into a little circle, and plopped down on the ground, disappointed.
"Now what are we gonna do?" Brandon asked miserably.
"I don't know, Brandon," Autumn said. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know," he answered. He turned to John. "What do you want to do?" John shrugged.
"I don't know," he said. "What do you want to do?"
"Don't know… what do *you* want to do?"
"I asked you first!" John exclaimed.
"Nuh uh! I asked *you* first!" Brian protested.
"Guys, don't fight!" Autumn told them.
"Bang bang! You're dead!"
"Huh?" The four older children turned around and found Devin pointing his gun at Aedan menacingly, a huge grin on his face.
"Oh no! You *got* me!" Aedan exclaimed, putting his hand to his chest. He fell to his knees. "Everything's… going black…" With that, he "fainted" on the ground. Rienna snickered over in her chair by the TV. Devin frowned, walked over to Aedan, and prodded him with his gun.
"Uncle Aedan?" he asked uncertainly. "Hey, get up! I didn't really shoot you!" Aedan sat up.
"You didn't?" He felt his chest where the "bullet" had hit. "Huh… guess you're right! I'm alive!" Devin giggled.
"You're silly!"
"I could have told you that, Devin," Rienna said with a smile.
"Hey!" At that moment, Leah and Darrin walked into the room. Devin grinned and jumped out in front of him, gun outstretched.
"Bang bang!" he yelled. Darrin gasped, staggered back a little, and stared at him in shock.
"You… you shot me!" Devin giggled in response, and Darrin sank to his knees. He looked up at Leah, then at Devin. "How… how could you? I had so much left to live for…!" Devin giggled again as Darrin started to sway. "My heart… I can feel it, beating it's last… Everything is fading… the room's growing dark…" He looked up at Leah with a sad expression, and kissed her hand. "Farewell, my love…" With that, he fell to the ground, lifeless. Autumn jumped up in surprise.
"Daddy!!" she cried. She ran over to him. Then she put her hands on her hips and glared at Devin. "Look what you did, Devin!" Leah had to laugh.
"It's okay, Autumn," she told her. "Daddy's not dead. Look!" Autumn looked down at her father. His fingers were twitching slightly.
"Daddy!" Autumn jumped on his back, laughing. Darrin "woke up" with a grunt and craned his neck around to smile at her.
"Hey, kiddo!" She laughed again and wrapped her arms around his neck. Darrin sat up, boosted her higher up on his back, and stood up.
"Piggy back!" Autumn exclaimed happily.
"No fair!" Brandon said, crossing his arms. "I want a piggy back ride!" Before anyone could answer, a soft wailing drifted into the room from upstairs.
"Uh oh," Rienna said. "Somebody's not happy…" Leah groaned.
"I'll be right back," she said. With that, she left. As she did, Trunks walked into the room, yawning. Chloe followed.
"Oh, there you guys are!" Chloe exclaimed. "We've been looking all over!"
"Obviously weren't looking very hard," Rienna said with a smile. "We've been in here for the last half hour."
"Really? But I could have sworn I was just in here…" Trunks laughed.
"Old age, Chloe," he said. "It's getting to you." Chloe frowned.
"Watch it, buddy! I can ground you in a heart-beat!"
"Ground him? From what?" Rienna asked.
"Any number of things," Chloe said matter-of-factly. Trunks frowned.
"Meanie."
"There there, it's ok…" Leah walked into the room, holding Rick, who was now without his cape or helmet. He was sobbing slightly and sniffling.
"Aww, hey there, Rick," Darrin said sympathetically. He rubbed his son's back and smiled at him. "It's ok."
"What happened?" Aedan asked.
"Bad dream," Leah answered. She stroked Rick's black hair and sighed. "It's ok, Rick." Slowly, the little boy calmed down, and he leaned against his mother, more relaxed. "There we go…"
"Has anyone seen Vegeta!?" Bulma stormed into the room, looking very enraged.
"Uh, no," Aedan answered.
"Sorry, Grandma," Rienna said.
"Ooh, that man is pushing it this time!" she exclaimed. Bulma turned on her heel and stormed out. "When I get my hands on him, I'm going to…" Ruben, Jessica, Jeremy, Krystal, Jamie, Alex, and Brian walked in as she walked out.
"Wonder what he did this time," Ruben said thoughtfully.
"*Besides* spiking the punch, dear?" Jessica asked with a smile. Ruben sweat-dropped.
"Oh, yeah, that might be it…" he said with a laugh. Rienna sighed.
"Well, I'm going to go check on Sierra," she said. Krystal nodded.
"I'll come with you." The two girls left, and soon returned with Sierra and Amanda. Aedan and Jamie smiled
"There's my girl!" they said in unison. The two fathers looked at each other and laughed. A sudden scream shattered the mood, and they all snapped to attention.
"Was that Vegeta?" Goku asked. In answer, Vegeta ran into the room in a frenzy. He dove behind the couch and peered over it, his fingers trembling.
"Guess that answers your question, eh, Goku?" Trunks asked with a smirk. Goku nodded.
"Guess so…" He walked over to the couch and looked down at Vegeta curiously. "Gee, Vegeta, what's the matter?"
"Little… green… red… no, blue… hundreds of them… hallway…" Vegeta squeaked softly.
"What are you talking about, Vegeta?" Chi-Chi asked. He lifted a shaky finger and pointed into the hall.
"Demons," he hissed.
"Oh, come now, Vegeta, there's no such thing!" Chloe said. "Especially not in my house!"
"Not anymore, anyway," Trunks said with a smirk in his kids' direction.
"Dad!" Brian and Rienna exclaimed together.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot: they're back." Brian and Rienna growled, and those little anime veins popped up on their foreheads. Trunks just grinned at them- until Chloe hit him in the back of the head. "Ow! Jeez! You're gonna give me brain damage!"
"Too late," Chloe said with a sweet smile. Everyone (excepting Trunks and Vegeta) laughed.
"I'm serious!" Vegeta exclaimed, jumping up from his place behind the couch. "A whole army of them, marching the halls!" Suddenly, he gasped, and disappeared. Somewhere down the hall, Bulma screamed.
"Vegeta, put me down!" With that, both of them were back in the living room. Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Alright, Vegeta, you explain to me what this is all about and you do it *now*!" Before the Saiyan Prince could answer, a low humming noise came drifting down the hallway. Trunks froze.
"I know that sound…" he whispered. Chloe looked at him curiously as the noise started to grow. Pretty soon, you could even make out the tune. It was a bit on the childish side: a catchy marching song. There was obviously more than one voice, too; about 20 by the sound of it.
"Why does that song sound so familiar?" Goten asked himself.
"Trunks, are you alright?" Chloe asked. "Your face is pale…" Trunks didn't answer.
And then the army invaded.
A small army of tiny dinosaurs marched into the room, singing their little marching song. There were 20 of them exactly- Deho; his wife, Nira; their six children, Sarah, Forest, Lummi, Kao, Mai, and Ice; their spouses (Sal, Acia, Kasu, Reaf, Aila, and Dai respectively); and *their* children (six altogether). They were all different colors, too.
Deho squealed and ran to Trunks as soon as he laid eyes on him (which was as soon as he entered the room), interrupting the march of the Mini-saurs. Trunks paled even more (if that was possible at this point) and jumped up on the couch, where Deho couldn't reach him. He stuck his tongue out at the little dinosaur and laughed.
"Ha! Can't get me up here!" Deho frowned, put his hands on his hips, and turned around. He whistled to his multi-colored, three-generation family, and they hurried over to him. Trunks watched them curiously as they began to climb on top of each other. Chloe had to laugh- her husband wasn't very bright. In fact, they were about halfway up the couch when he realized what was going on. With a squeak, he jumped off the couch and ran behind Chloe.
"Don't let him get me!" he whined. Deho whimpered in response.
"Aw, Trunks, you hurt his feelings," Chloe said. She crouched down and offered her hand to Deho. "C'mere, little guy!" Deho squeaked with happiness, and ran up onto her hand. To Trunks' horror, Chloe stood up, grinned, and turned around, smirking at him. "So… you mean to tell me that a fifty-year-old Super Saiyan is afraid of *this*?"
"You don't understand!" Trunks protested.
"You're right, I don't," Chloe said with a smile. She turned back to Deho and poked his belly, causing the little dinosaur to giggle. "Well *I* think he's cute!" she said.
"Of course you do," Trunks said sourly. "He didn't crawl into your bed and attack you when you were four!!"
"He didn't attack you, Trunks," Adrienne said, rolling her eyes. She walked over to Chloe and peered down at Deho with a smile. "Hiya, Deho!" Deho squeaked and hopped onto her hat. Adrienne laughed.
"So this is all of Deho's family…" Bulma said thoughtfully. "I wondered what happened to the cute little things."
"Deho's not a thing, Mom," Adrienne said. Bulma shot her a look.
"You know what I mean, Adrienne." Adrienne rolled her eyes again and sat down on the couch. She smiled down at each of the dinosaurs in turn.
"Hi, guys!" she said cheerfully. "Long time no see!"
"Yeah, it's been a while since we had all of them together," Leah said. She smiled as Lummi (white), Kasu(red), and a little orange one ran over to her. Darrin picked them up and handed them to Leah, since she still had Rick in her arms. "Hi!" she said. She nodded at the little one. "How's little Nemo?" Nemo squeaked and hugged her thumb as well as he could. She laughed.
Rick laughed, too; Nemo was considered his and Autumn's at the house. Kao (black), Reaf (coral), and another baby Mini-saur (navy blue) ran over to Darrin just as Autumn, Matt, Brandon, John, and Devin ran into the room. They had left just before the dinosaurs had arrived to retrieve their candy bags, and had just returned. Autumn gasped.
"Hey, look guys, it's Deho's family!" she told the other four. Darrin smiled, picked up the three at his feet, and handed them to Autumn. She grinned at them. "Hiya!" The three of them squeaked in response. Leah smiled, put Rick on the floor, and laid the dinosaurs down next to him.
"Lunar!" Rick whined. The navy Mini-saur in Autumn's hands jumped down and ran to him. Rick squealed with delight and picked her up. "Lunar!" Lunar nuzzled his cheek and made a content-sounding noise.
"Cute little things," Chi-Chi said.
"Yeah," Goku said. He pouted and crossed his arms. "And you wouldn't let me keep one!" he whined.
"We do not need another pet, Son Goku!" she snapped. "Remember what happened *last* time I let you have one?!"
"But he only knocked the shelf off!" Goku protested. "I fixed it, remember?" Chi-Chi gave her husband a look, and he groaned and shut his mouth.
"I don't see Mai," Rienna said. Presently, a little purple dinosaur popped up on her shoulder. "Mai!" Sierra giggled and clapped her hands together with delight. Mai squeaked as another dinosaur (this time red orange in color) popped his head above her shoulder as well. "And Dai, too!" Rienna looked around on the floor. "But where's Sadie?"
An amber baby Mini-saur climbed up on Aedan's hat and peered over the rim at him. Aedan smiled. "I think I found her."
Meanwhile, a light blue, a yellow, and a red Mini-saur had climbed up on the table next to Jamie and were peering at him expectantly. Jamie felt someone tugging on his tail (costume) and turned around. "Huh? What is it, John?" John pointed to the dinosaurs on the table.
"I think they want you to pick them up." Jamie turned around, looked down at the three expectant creatures, and laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ice! Didn't see you! C'mere, buddy!" Ice (the light blue one), his wife, Aila (yellow), and their son, Dao (red) jumped up on his stomach, climbed up the synthetic fur, and perched themselves on his shoulder. Krystal walked over to her two boys with a smile, and Amanda laughed and tickled Dao's stomach.
"Bra already left, didn't she?" Adrienne asked suddenly.
"Yeah, why?" Gohan answered.
"Well, they left Sarah, Sal, and Dake," she said, gesturing to a pink, a blue, and a lavender Mini-saur.
"Oh dear," Chi-Chi said.
"No, I thought I heard her say they were staying with you for a while," Videl said.
"Really? Funny, she never told *me* about it." Adrienne clinched her fists. "She always does that to me!" Pan laughed.
"Must be a sister thing," she said.
"No, it's a dumb-blonde-at-heart thing," Trunks said. Now that Deho was a safe distance away, he had calmed down some.
"You're lucky Eighteen's not around, Trunks," Goten said with a laugh.
"Yeah? What's she gonna do?" Chloe hit him in the back of the head. "Ow! Not again! What'd I do now!?"
"My mother was blonde, thank you!"
"Well, you can be blonde, and not be a *dumb* blonde," Trunks answered, rubbing the back of his head. He noted that she'd actually hit him harder than usual.
"Yeah," Goten said. "And you can be a dumb blonde without actually being blonde."
"Like Bra," Trunks said.
"Exactly!" Bulma put her hands on her hips.
"You'd better stop talking about your sister behind her back!" she said warningly.
"Alright, alright," Trunks said dully. "Jeez…"
"Well, it's getting kinda late," Gohan said, glancing at the clock on the wall (since he couldn't quite get to his watch…). "I think we'll take our three home." Three Mini-saurs jumped up onto his armor with a ping and started to slide down its slippery surface. "Whoa, there, guys! You'd better stay with Videl." Videl scooped them up and put them on her shoulder. Pan walked over to them and stroked each one gently.
"Bye, guys," she said cheerfully. "Sure do miss you!"
"Bye, Forrest, Acia, Wufoi!" Adrienne called. The green, blue, and teal Mini-saurs squeaked and waved as Gohan and Videl left.
"Bye, Gohan!" Chi-Chi called. "Drive carefully!"
"Mom, you've been telling me that for years, and I have yet to get in a car accident!" Gohan called. The front door opened and shut.
"We should probably get going too," Pan said. "Jason! Josh! Let's go!"
"K, Mom!" Josh called. He and his father walked into the room.
"Bye, everyone!" Pan said. "It was good to see you again!"
"Just wait until the Christmas party!" Chloe said with a laugh.
"Which we are *not* hosting," Trunks said. Chloe elbowed him. "Ow! I was kidding! Jeez, if you're not hitting me in the head, you're poking my ribs! Can't a guy get a break once in a while!?"" Pan laughed.
"Well, we'll see," she said. "Thanks for having us over."
"No problem!" Chloe said. Pan turned to her son.
"Got your candy?"
"Check!"
"Coat?"
"Check!"
"Ok, tell everyone good-bye!"
"Mom, I'm 16!" Josh protested. "Give me a break!" He waved to the group in the living room. "Bye, guys!" He grinned at Jeremy. "And you need to practice!"
"Hey, come December, I'll be the best, you'll see!" Jeremy answered.
"You wanna bet?"
"Yeah!"
"How much?"
"Hey, no gambling!" Jason said. "Not with your mother around, anyway." Pan frowned. "Kidding!"
"Ok, let's go!" she said. "Move it!" The three of them filed out. "Bye guys! Take care!"
"You too!" Chloe called.
"We should get going, too," Ruben said. He yawned. "This costume's not very comfortable after a couple hours."
"Yeah, my helmet's scratchy," Jeremy admitted.
"What did I tell you?" Jessica asked. "I warned you, didn't I?" Both her boys groaned.
"Yes, Jessie/Yes, Mom," they answered.
"I guess we'll see you guys later, then," Rienna said.
"See ya, little bro!" Aedan said cheerfully.
"Ya, bye, Aedan!" Jeremy answered.
"Hey, Matt, go say bye to Uncle Remy," Aedan told him. Matt ran to his uncle and hugged him.
"Bye, Uncle Jeremy!" he said.
"See ya, squirt," Jeremy answered. Jeremy gave Rienna a hug, too. "Bye, Sis." Rienna smiled.
"Bye, little brother."
"Ok, ok, that's enough," Ruben said with a laugh. "It's not like you won't see them again in a couple weeks, anyway."
"Oh yeah, Thanksgiving!"
"Oh my goodness, Thanksgiving already?!" Jessica exclaimed. "And then Christmas! Oh dear, what am I going to do!?" Trunks laughed.
"Take it easy, Jess. You've got time left."
"Oh, I hope so…"
"Well, we better leave you guys alone," Ruben said. "See you in November!"
"Yeah, see ya!" The Kinamoras walked out.
"Oh, hey Dad, I have an idea!" Jeremy was saying.
"What?"
"I can drive home!" Jessica laughed.
"Maybe another time."
"Aw, man!" Rienna and Aedan laughed and shook their heads. Rienna yawned and sat down in a chair.
"Well, I guess that leaves just us, then," Jamie said. "Close family only."
"Actually, we all should be leaving, and giving Trunks and Chloe a break!" Alex said.
"Yes!" Trunks said (perhaps a little too eagerly).
"No, no, no!" Chloe protested, giving Trunks an evil look. "It's alright! We're in no rush!"
"Speak for yourself," Trunks muttered.
"I heard that, Trunks!" Trunks rolled his eyes.
"'I heard that, Trunks,'" he repeated. Chloe fought back the urge to hit him really, *really* hard.
"Oh, go ahead," Bulma said, as if she could read her daughter-in-law's mind. "He's got it coming." Chloe shook her head.
"No… I have something much more… evil, planned," she said with a grin. Bulma grinned back at her.
"Ah, *that* plan," she answered. Chloe nodded, and both woman laughed. It sent chills down even Vegeta's back.
"Trunks?" Goten asked softly.
"Yeah, Goten?"
"…You are *so* dead." Brian put his hand on his shoulder.
"Been nice knowing you, Dad," he said with a sigh. Trunks frowned.
"Oh, come *on*!" he exclaimed. "What could she *possibly* do to me!?" Brian shook his head.
"A non-believer… how sad… my own father…"
"Is there something you know that I don't!?"
"Obviously," Chloe said with a smirk. Trunks shuddered. That look… it was enough to make a grown man cry. He thought over begging for mercy, but quickly dismissed the idea.
"You're just trying to freak me out," he said finally.
"Don't say we didn't warn you," Goku said.
"…Well, with those wonderful closing statements, the Third Annual Z-Halloween Party has come to a close!" Adrienne announced. Everyone groaned.
"Oh, c'mon! It's not that late!"
"So soon?"
"But it's not even midnight yet!"
"Vegeta!"
"What!?"
"Well, we have certain little ones who need to be in bed," Chi-Chi answered. She nodded to the couch, where Krystal and Amanda were sound asleep. In the arm chair next to them, Rienna and Sierra were, too. Both girls were laying on their stomachs with their heads on their mother's shoulder. Their costumes' heads were hanging freely down their backs. Aedan laughed.
"Wow, she must be really tired… she was standing up and laughing a minute ago!"
"Aw, how cute!" Leah said. On the floor at her feet, Rick yawned. "Aw, Rick's sleepy, too!" Rick shook his head groggily.
"No," he said slowly. He yawned again. "Awake." Leah smiled and scooped him up. He laid his head on her shoulder.
"C'mon, you, time for bed," she told him. "Darrin, would you get Autumn?" He nodded.
"Sure." He walked out of the room. "Autumn! C'mon, we're leaving!" Alex yawned.
"We should go, too," she said. She yawned again, and sighed. "Well, c'mon, let's go get the boys." Brian laughed.
"Easier said than done," he answered.
"Well, we'll go ahead and get out of your hair," Goku said.
"That's ok, the only one that's gotten me riled up is Trunks," Chloe answered with a grin. Goku just sighed and shook his head.
"You have my sympathy," Chi-Chi said.
"Me or Trunks?" Chloe asked. Trunks crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath. Goku and Chi-Chi laughed.
"Both," they answered in unison. Chloe laughed.
"Well, thanks. I'm going to need all the sympathy I can get." She hugged them both. "Thanks for coming!"
"You're very welcome," Goku said in his usual happy tone. "See ya next year!"
"Bye!" The couple left. On the couch, Krystal yawned, and her eyes flickered open.
"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.
"10:30," Jamie answered.
"Really? We should probably head home, then…"
"Yeah, I'm going to go get John."
"Oh… alright," she said. Jamie smiled and left the room. Krystal sat up and shifted Amanda so that she was cradled in her mother's arms on her back. She smiled down on her.
" Well, I guess I'll go get Matt, too," Aedan said finally. "No use waking Ri up now, if we're not ready to go."
"Good idea," Bulma said. Aedan smiled and walked out to find his son just as Darrin, Alex, and Brian came back with their children.
"We're good to go," Brian announced.
"Have you got everything?" Chloe asked. Alex nodded.
"Yeah, and if we don't," Brian said with a grin, "we know where you live!"
"Unfortunately," Trunks muttered. He instinctively ducked, and Chloe missed by mere millimeters. Trunks sat back up and spit his tongue out at her. "Ha, missed!" Chloe smacked him across the face. Trunks' hand flew to his cheek. "Owowowowow!" he whined. "That hurt!"
"Serves you right," Chloe said crossly. She tried her best to look cheerful, though inside she had had *quite* enough of Trunks' antics. "Well, we'll see you later, then," she said. She hugged her son and daughter-in-law. "Drive carefully!"
"Will do!" Brian answered.
"Especially since *I* am driving…?" Alex said. Brian groaned.
"Oh, c'mon, Alex! Please? It's Halloween!" Alex sighed.
"Fine."
"Yes!"
"We'll be going, too," Leah said. Darrin nodded.
"Work tomorrow," he answered.
"Oh, alright. Good night!" Chloe said cheerfully.
"Night, Aunt Chloe," Leah answered. "Thanks for inviting us!"
"How could I do otherwise?" Trunks, not wanting another slap in the face, kept his mouth (and his comments) to himself.
"Bye," he said instead.
"See ya, Uncle Trunks!" Leah answered. He waved back.
"See ya at Christmas!"
With that, Leah and Brian's families left together. Jamie came back, holding a very groggy John. Aedan followed, carrying Matt.
"Time to go," Jamie told his wife. She nodded and stood, careful not to wake her sleeping child. "Bye, everyone!" he said cheerfully. "It's been fun!" Krystal waved as she left the room.
"Bye!" she said. Then she turned and walked out the door, allowing her husband to deliver the good-byes.
"Well, we appreciate you hosting this, Aunt Chloe," he said. She smiled and nodded.
"Anytime!" Beside her, Trunks crossed his arms.
"Hmph."
"Well, anyway, I gotta go," Jamie said. "Kids to get in bed, ya know."
"Bye, Jamie!"
"Bye!" Jamie and John left, the boy's bag of candy hanging in his left hand.
Aedan leaned over Rienna and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Hey," he whispered. "Wake up. Time to go."
"Hm?" Rienna's eyes flickered open, and she stared up at him with a smile. "Hey."
"Hi. Listen, it's about 10:30; I figured we'd better go." Rienna took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright." She stood up, still holding Sierra, and yawned. "Guess I'll just sleep in the car," she added wistfully. Aedan smiled, and turned to the rest of the group.
"Ok, well, I guess we'll be leaving," he said.
"Bye, Daddy," Rienna said sweetly.
"See ya, Ri," he answered. He smiled at her. "Hey Aedan."
"Yeah?"
"Take care of my girls." Aedan smiled.
"Sure thing."
Bulma and Vegeta were the last to leave: Bulma feeling a bit guilty about leaving Chloe to clean up herself (since she *knew* Trunks wouldn't help), and Vegeta… well, because it wasn't late enough! But Chloe had finally persuaded them to leave, and now the house was empty. It was Trunks… and her. Chloe sighed.
"Well, guess it's over," she said. Trunks sighed.
"Yep."
"Guess we have to clean up," Chloe said. Trunks yawned.
"Guess so," he said. Chloe grinned, and waited for him to notice. "…What?"
"As your punishment…" she started. Trunks groaned. He knew what was coming next. "I want you to pick up every napkin, balloon piece, *and* candy wrapper in the entire house!" Trunks groaned again. So *this* was what everyone was talking about. "Then I want you to vacuum them all, just in case you miss something. I don't want to see a single crumb on the floor! Every room in this house is to be spotless, do I make myself clear?" Trunks sighed.
"Yes *ma'am*," he answered dully.
"Good!" Chloe said happily. Trunks sighed and headed for the kitchen closet, where they kept all their brooms, mops, etc. "Where are you going?"
"To clean up," he answered. "Don't you want me to?"
"Yes," she answered. Chloe sauntered up to him, a seductive glint in her eyes. "But not now," she said. She leaned closer and stared up into his bright, blue eyes. "It's a bit late, don't you think?"
"W-well, well yeah, b-but-" he stuttered.
"Come on, let's go find something fun to do!" Chloe said. Trunks' eyebrows rose as high as they would go.
"You're serious?" Chloe smirked at him.
"Would I lie to you?" she whispered, leaning so close to him that their noses touched. Trunks smiled and leaned a little closer, about to kiss her, when she dodged him, pecked him on the cheek, and ran off up the stairs teasingly. Once at the top, she put her hands on her hips and smirked at him. "You want me," she said, cocking her head at him playfully, "come and get me!" Trunks' face broke into an evil grin.
"If you say so."
. : : THE END : : .
( ( Saiyan | Pride – Saiyan | Blood – Saiyan | Power ) )
- DBZ Forever -
CREDITS:
Thanks to:
Autumn Nicole: Loving sister and awesome co-write, wonderful idea vault… Not to mention the UNDYING *couchhackcough* support. Where would I be without you!?
Akira Toriyama: For making DBZ. Dude. You. ROCK. *grin*
Chibi: For adding me to your favorites! That really cheered me up, ya know! Made me feel appreciated! (Gee… I wish OTHER PEOPLE WOULD DO THAT… *hint hint*) Thanks for the support!
Princess of all Vegetables: Girl, you rock! Thanks for all the reviews! I love you lots!! *grins* BTW… Not only were there lots of 'em, but those reviews… were… how shall I say it… INTERESTING. XD Thanks for the laughs! Those really made my day.
Fanfiction.Net: For letting me post this. Sure, you crash, and won't let me log-in, or won't let me review, or something equally STUPID because the site is "busy," but I keep coming back, don't I? Well?! *ahem* Right. Well… anyway… Thanks! ^_^ Couldn't do it without ya!
My parents: For putting up with me all this time. Thanks a lot! (Don't worry, I'll be out of the house in a few more years… heheh…)
God: For… EVERYTHING!! ^______^ Even my next breath is a gift from You.
Chrono Cross: For blessing me with this SONG IN MY HEAD!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Me:
For not ditching it even when I didn't feel like writing. Thanks, Me!
(ME): You're welcome. *voice echoes*
*blink blinkblink*………Dude, how weird is that?
And thanks for anyone deserving of thanks that I did not mention because I either forgot your name, never knew it in the first place, or don't know you at all!! Ha ha! You're not forgotten for lack of love, but rather… lack of brain capacity. XD
THANK YOU AND GOOD *NIGHT*!!
Erelyn Tsunami
Closing Comments:
Oh. My. GOSH. It's... it's finished. Syndrome... It's finally over... ........Now that it comes to it... WHAT AM I GONNA DO NOW?!?! *cries* I have nothing left!! No more Syndrome! NO MORE!! Do you HEAR ME?! WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!
Rienna: Aw, c'mon, it's not that bad. You can always write that Chloe/Trunks fic.
Trunks: WHAT?!
Chloe: *laughs*
....*sniff* I guess I could... *sniffsniff*
Rienna: Or that one about the Dragonballs! You know where they- oh, wait, can't give that away, can I?
No, you can't.
Rienna: Rats.
Well... It's been fun, anyway. No matter what I do now.
Rienna: We're gonna miss you! *sniff*
*Both burst into tears and hug*
Trunks: Women.
Chloe: *glare* *smacks him- HARD*
Trunks: OW! _'
