Chapter 11; Fiery Angel
After some late negotiations, the guardians agreed to meet with the rest of the Z team. Once Mori arrived and the battles began, the two groups would obviously come in contact, even if the Z fighters could do nothing; best to try and put them on positive terms, in Andre's opinion. So, they all decided to go to the city for the party. The plan was, Goku and Piccolo would show up first, in attempt to "prepare" the others for what to expect, while Gohan, Chi-Chi, and the guardians arrived later on. This way, the guardians could have a chance and experience West City first-hand; it was normally against the rules for guardians to indulge in ideas of their planet's dominant species unless there was global crisis, but training Gohan and the others required staying by them at all times. It would be the guardians' own little lesson/adventure.
However…
"You four are not going out into the city dressed like that." Chi-Chi cast a look at Gohan's teacher. It was about eight o'clock in the morning. The guardians came early so Goku could drive them to the city; flying would cause too much confusion with the public. Andre was reading a magazine on the couch, Danielle having a cup of tea next to him. Brian and Piccolo were sparring outside. Chris was talking with Gohan and his mother. Goku was still asleep.
In Gohan's opinion, she was right; at the least, Chris' robe and Andre's tunic would not pass through the city without acting as some kind of attention-grabber. Brian and Danielle would be a less noticeable, but Chris and Andre would change that; once they attracted the eyes, the whole group would under the attention of the city's citizens as the 'weird tourists'.
Chris looked down at himself. "And what do you propose we do? It's not like we have many varieties of clothing hanging around. We always wear these clothes. What are we suppose to wear?" Immediately, he regretted saying that, seeing both the shining gleam in Chi-Chi's eyes, and the desperate, 'you-poor-soul' look from Gohan. The fire guardian gulped.
"I am so glad you asked!" Merrily, she ran into the kitchen and quickly returned with about four or five shopping bags. "Last night, I thought this problem might come up, so I took the liberty of buying you all some clothes!"
Andre almost tore the magazine he was reading in half, having caught Chi-Chi's exclamation. "Excuse me?"
"You all look about a year older than Gohan in these forms, so I bought clothes about a size or two larger than what I would buy Gohan. I don't really mind, it gave me the perfect reason to go on a shopping spree!" The woman seemed positively giddy. As in high-school girl giddy.
Smiling, Danielle put down her tea, and walked over to the bags. "Thank you very much Chi-Chi. That was very generous of you. Wasn't it guys?"
Andre and Chris sweatdropped. "Oh yes, very generous." They turned to each other, saying it at the same time. Suddenly, their mind gems appeared. //I'm not gonna like this.//
And right they were. One half hour later, Andre stood in the living room wearing a pair of blue jean shorts, a red tee-shirt, and white tennis shoes. He carried a look of discomfort. "This feels weird. Do all humans dress like this?"
"Yes." Gohan looked around, in his traditional white shirt and black pants. He, Chi-Chi, and now Goku, waited in the living room for the others to finish changing. "Wasn't Brian here a minute ago?" Suddenly, a ripping sound came from the bathroom. The earth guardian stepped out in blue jeans, a blue tee-shirt, and a green over shirt. Apparently, he had to tear a hole in the back of his jeans to make room for his tail, which he wrapped around himself to pose as a belt. The demi-saiyin sweatdropped.
Next, Chris came in from changing in Gohan's room. He had on a pair of black pants and boots, but he held his gray shirt in his hand, exposing his bare chest. He was rubbing one of his wings with the other hand, as if it was sore. "I can't put this thing on! My wings keep getting stuck underneath, and I can leave them out or everyone will see."
Chi-Chi snapped her fingers, and reached into another bag. "I almost forgot. I bought something for that. Fold up your wings, and put this on; you should have room." She pulled out a long dark trench coat. His wings pressed against his back, just touching the ground, and he put on the coat. Thankfully, no bulge on the back could be seen.
Goku clapped his hands. "Well, that's everyone except Danielle. Speaking of which, where is she?"
"Right here. I'm sorry; Chi-Chi gave me two outfits to try, and I had trouble deciding." Chris, Brian, and Andre turned in the direction of Goku and Chi-Chi's bedroom, where the voice came from. And respectively, all three jaws hit the floor.
It was such a shock to see Danielle in something other than her green dress. Here, she wore a tight white sundress, and white platform shoes. Her braids were held back by a light blue scrunchie.
Chi-Chi was positively beaming. "Oh Danielle, you look so beautiful! I always wanted a daughter, and this is why." Her eyes in sparkles, she hardly noticed the strange looks she got from everyone else. When she did, she sweatdropped. "Um… Yes, well, we should get going. Come along everyone."
Outside, Piccolo waited by the car. The five teenagers tried miserably to keep themselves from laughing. He was wearing what Goku wore during his driving test four years previous; orange shirt with triangles, and blue jeans, though also including a black cap. "Not a word from any of you."
"Sure, sure," Brian chuckled. Of course, this stopped shortly when the group observed the Son family car.
A five-person car, with eight passengers.
In the end, Chi-Chi had to wedge between the two front seats, and four guardians plus Gohan had to make do in the back.
"Chris, get your wing out of my face!"
"Andre, you're sitting on my tail!"
"Ack! Danielle, you're hair is in my mouth!"
"Who's pulling on my dress?"
"THAT'S IT! NOT ANOTHER WORD TILL WE GET TO THE CITY," Chi-Chi screamed. The five nodded slowly. Chris went pale. //Yikes. You know, Gohan's mom would make a great Z-fighter, even without training. She can do fine with her screaming alone.//
"We'll see you two in about a half hour," Chi-Chi yelled as Goku and Piccolo drove off toward Capsule Corp. Turning around, she smiled at how nervous the four guardians looked, glancing from one building to another. To her, they really did look like tourists.
"Okay everyone, we can go through the marketplace from here, and that leads strait to the industrial part of the city. That's where Capsule Corp is." Signaling to the others, Gohan and his mother led the guardians through the street.
In the marketplace, the four were dumbfounded. Despite all their time watching over Earth, this was the first time they could reap the benefits of their work; see what the people they helped develop created. After Gohan finished explaining the concept of currency, and Chi-Chi let them borrow some money, they browsed through all the different shops, finding all sorts of things to their interest.
Danielle looked about through the art store. Andre waited for her near the entrance. She came across a set of paints and brushes that she liked; most of the ones she had were really old. She checked the price on the sign over the aisle; 2,000 yen, easy. She picked the set and went too the counter. "Excuse me sir, I'd like to purchase this please."
The cashier looked at the set. "Of course. That will be 5,000 yen."
"5,000?" She looked back. "But the sign says 2,000."
The cashier hid a devious smile. "Well, we need to change that sign. It's out of date."
Danielle seemed not to notice. Oh, alright then." As she reached for her money, Andre stepped up to the counter. He didn't fall for the cashier's trick. "Here sir," he sneered. "How about I fix that sign for you?" With that, he tossed a waterball at the sign, knocking it off and drenching half the store.
His eyes went wide. "Of course, my apologies miss. 2,000 yen." As Andre put down the money, he pulled Danielle out of the shop. She seemed quite confused. "Andre, why-"
"That guy tried to rip you off, Danielle!" Andre was really peeved off. "Surprisingly, not all people can be so trusting. You have to watch yourself."
"I'm sorry…" Embarrassed, she followed Andre down the street where the other had gone; the book store. Brian waited outside with a soccer ball he bought at the sporting goods store. "A soccer ball?"
"I hear athletics are very exciting." He smiled. Inside, Chi-Chi flipped through a cooking magazine. Gohan and Chris were looking through the horror section. Gohan had a book of Edgar Allen Poe poems, and Chris carried a stack of books by Anne Rice, Christopher Rice, and Dean Koontz.
"Geez, you read more than I do," Gohan commented. They checked their books, and meet the others outside. Reassembled, they continued down the street.
As they walked, Danielle noticed two men, about at least 20 years old, staring oddly at her. Also, they seemed to be watching Chi-Chi as well. Odd, she thought. When the group passed them, they started to go. Coincidentally (or it seemed so to her), it was in the same direction as she and her friends were going. Soon, they crossed the street too, apparently to the café Danielle had passed. When they reached the side of the street, they turned away from the café and-
"Hey! What's up, little ladies?" The group tuned behind them to two teens, staggering and looking with hazed eyes; they were clearly drunk. Evidence showed in their slurred speech. The one on the left grinned with his yellow teeth. "How's about a little excitement, beauty?"
Immediately, Danielle and Chi-Chi realized the threat, with the others not far behind. They made an about face. "Buzz off, pervs." The venom in Chi-Chi's voice rang clear.
Now the right one flashed his sick smile. "Oh, zo youze like too play rough, huuh? Alrig, I like a challangge." Quickly, he lunged for Danielle, while the left guy tried to push past Chris to Chi-Chi; however, with a quick wind blast and punch, the two were thrown back. As they tried to get back up, Chris stepped forward.
"Leave. Now." He reached under his coat, to conjure a fireball without causing suspicion. On seeing this, the two freaked.
"Dude, he's ga a gun!" Tripping over themselves, the bums ran off, knocking over others with them. Chris sweatdropped.
"That was… a lot easier than I thought." As they slowly turned and left, Danielle couldn't help thinking, How unusual. From across the street, they seemed slightly older.
Sitting on the living room floor, five-year-old Cherry was playing on the living room floor with her kitten, Mata. Mata was a half-Himalayan, half-Siamese. She was a gift from her father before he died. In the kitchen, her mother was talking on the phone. They lived together on the twelfth-floor of their apartment building.
Cherry received her name from her long, bright red hair. Her gray-blue eyes sparked with their typical youthful innocence, above her light freckles. In her hair was a bright red geranium from her mother's box garden on the windowsill. A bubbly laugh escaped her lips as Mata rolled on to her back and whisked her tail through the air. The cat had a blend of white and brown fur, with black fur on her tail, nose, ears, and on spot between her eyes
"I bet you're hungry, huh Mata? Hold on, I'll get you some ham, you like that," Cherry said in her sweet tone. Quickly, she hopped on her feet and ran to the fridge. As she rummaged through the meat drawer, Mata climbed over the couch to the window. She started to bat her paw against the screen on the window.
"Mata! You mommy doesn't like when you do that." Back from the kitchen, Cherry sat on the back of the couch and picked up the tiny cat. In her arms, the cat nibbled on the ham. The little girl leaned against the screen, looking at the tall buildings of the city, and the people below. She missed living in the country, but her mom got a transfer as a news anchor for ZTV. Her daddy had been an anchor for another news station…
She closed her eyes. Before he was killed about a month ago. Not by Cell, but from grief after the creature killed his wife. If he had only waited a little longer, when her mommy came back with the other victims, it wouldn't have happened. A tear slipped from her eye.
However, the sadness turned to shock as the screen on the window gave way.
Chris and the group suddenly heard a series of screaming coming from down a corner. Curious, they turned the street to people through the street pointing upward. A little girl was about to fall from about nine stories, her shirt caught on a banner pole. She was crying, and apparently clutching something against her chest.
"Oh my god! We have to do something." Gohan ran forward and started to charge up. Brian caught him by the back of his shirt.
"Don't be a fool! We can't just charge in public! You don't see Chris or the rest of us charging in to save her. We'll have to try and catch her-" It was then he realized that Chris was no longer with them. I had to open my big mouth.
In an alley near the group, Christopher slipped the trench coat off his back, and stretched his wings. He quickly bended his legs, and shot up along the side of the building. An inch from the mass of glass and steel, he launched himself from the canyon of the two buildings, now overlooking the street. He eyed the girl, turned to her direction, and plummeted at the ground below her.
The screams on the ground drastically increased as the girl's shirt tore from the pole. As she fell, Cherry opened her eyes to the sky. She saw a flash of gold, two in fact. It came closer, showing a determined face and a pair of wings.
Daddy?
Chris flapped his wings again, bringing him right up to the girl. He reached out to Cherry and pulled her into his arms. The ground coming closer, Chris spread his wings, and from them, released a surge of heat. They slowed to the ground and lightly fell. With the girl's small arms wrapped around his neck, he looked up.
The girl's apartment was across from the ZTV news office.
//Crap.// He even heard the other guardians' voices in his head agreeing. A crowd of news reporters, cameramen, and residents gathered on the streets. All sound died until a woman's scream erupted through the air. The girl's mother.
"Cherry! Cherry!" At the voice, the bundle in his arms opened her eyes. Another pair of eyes emerged from under her arms, revealing a small cat. The girl stared wide-eyed at the hazel eyes and mouthed something before her before being whisked away to her mother. She ran her fingers through Cherry's hair, checking for injures. Only afterward did they stare at Chris and his giant wings.
"What are you?" she screamed. Chris nervously rubbed his arm nervously, looking around the crowd. Shocked and fearful faces met him. He couldn't just fly away now; without an explanation, he might cause a panic. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone beat him to it.
"It's an angel, mommy!" Everyone turned to Cherry, who broke from her mother's grip. Stepping forward, she smiled. "You don't need to hide it. It's not a bad thing." She turned to her mother. "He came from heaven on his golden wings to save me."
Of all the stories Chris had planned to make up, that was the last one he expected to hear. Wow. Awfully deep, for one her age. Well, works for me. The girl walked up to him, dragging her mother, and bowed. "Thank you for saving us. By the way, I'm Cherry, and this is Mata." From in the girl's arms, the kitten meowed at him. In return, the guardian smiled, kneeled, and stroked Mata's chin.
"Well, just be more careful next time Cherry. I'd hate to see a cute little girl like you get hurt." Standing up, he turned and walked down the street. As the crowd parted, he could definitely tell their opinions toward him were positive. Through the crowd, he could see the others hiding in an alley.
Cherry waved behind him, and felt the geranium in her hair. Taking it from her hair, she glanced from it to the boy. Making her decision, she ran to him. "Wait, Mr. Angel!" That obviously surprised him, because Chris stopped and turned to her, looking shocked.
She blushed, and held out the flower. "For you. I think red is a good color for you…" As he kneeled, she slipped it behind his ear. Then, she fingered for him to lean in closer. This time she sounded serious, yet shy. "My daddy passed away. When I go to heaven, do you think I can find you, and you can help me find him? I imagine it's a big place."
Stroking the flower with his fingers, Chris' eyes went wide. This little girl was not afraid of death, even after the death of a loved one. His eyes misted over. "Of course. You be a good little girl, and I'll be happy to find him with you." She smiled, and kissed his forehead. After that, she ran back to her mother. Chris smiled after her.
Remembering his situation, he folded his wings over himself and released his energy lightly. In a flash of red light, he launched into the air, over the crowd. Thank Dende most people never look up. As he descended into the alley, he was met with comments such as "That was so sweet", "That was so stupid", or "Trying to be the hero, huh?"
Danielle looked into Chris' hand. "Where'd you get that flower?"
Raising the flower, he made a motion to rub his temples; in reality, he was wiping his eyes. "A friend; From a friend."
Andre rolled his eyes. You always had a soft spot for innocence.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait with the last chapter. I was in Arizona for a week. This chapter went by really easy; I had it in my mind before the story began. That's how I work; the major events are here, connecting them is the problem. Also, I apologize for not having the reunion yet; that will be next chapter. I hope everyone liked this one though. Thanks!