A Story To Remember
Chapter 19: Food Fight, Future, and Fashion (Part A)
CAPSULE CORP KITCHEN
Ami sighed, rubbing her sore eyes. Pouring herself a glass of water, she adjusted her glasses and yawned. Lita shuffled in, looking tired and annoyed, followed my Mina who didn't look any better.
"I don't know why I'm so tired today..." Mina moaned, going to the fridge and eyeing the contents.
"I do..We keep waking up too early." Lita mumbled.
Ami laughed, "It's almost 1 in the afternoon. I hardly call that getting up early."
Mina took a soda from the fridge and set it on the counter, staring at it as if unsure how to open it, "I do..."
Chi-Chi smiled as she entered the kitchen, looking cheerful and eager, "Hello girls, you're finally up."
"Unnnng..." Lita and Mina mumbled simultaneously.
Ami shook her head and gather her things, shuffling her papers and organizing her notes.
"I have to meet Bulma in the lab, I'll see you guys later." Ami said before slipping out the door.
Chi-Chi nodded and cracked her knuckles. She stretched a bit before tying her apron strings tighter.
"Another day, another meal. Why don't you help me make lunch Lita? I've been waiting for you to get up and help me."
Lita stifled a yawn and nodded.
Mina watched in amazement as Chi-Chi turned on burner after burner, rifling through cupboards and drawers for things to cook.
"How can you have so much...stamina?" Mina muttered.
"It comes from raising a young boy." Chi-Chi said without turning around, literally leaving Lita in the dust.
Mina shook her head, "I'm gonna go hang out with Rei."
Chi-Chi laughed, "Young girl still."
*******************************
A rush of warm, dry air ruffled Rini's blankets; filling the bedroom with a fresh, clean scent. Shuddering despite the warmth, Rini woke to find Serena opening the windows and pulling back the curtains. The sun was high in the sky and the sudden brightness that filled the room made Rini squint.
"Hey you, wake up. We've both been sleeping long enough." Serena said smiling.
Rini groaned pulling the blankets over her head, "Go awaaaaay."
"Come on Rini, you have to get up sometime, and it may as well be now." Serena said sternly, hands on her hips.
"You sound like my mom." Rini muttered, getting up slowly.
"Well, that's a good thing I guess!" Serena laughed.
Rini shrugged and stretched, pulling the band out of her ponytail and letting her long, long obsidian hair tumble down her back.
"I'm going to go take a shower now, I guess. What time did you say it was?"
Serena picked up her CCPC watch from her vanity, "About 1:30."
"Good...the guys will probably be back for lunch...unless they're already had it. I need to talk to trunks anyway......" Rini mumbled to herself.
"By the way......Are you feeling any better?" Serena asked, her eyes catching the ends of an envelope tucked into Rini's pillow.
"What? Oh yes...I'm feeling much better. Thank you." Rini replied, startled out of her thoughts.
Serena nodded, heading towards the door. "I'm glad....Soo...I'm gonna head downstairs, ok? I'll see you in a few right?"
"Yeah yeah, no need to get overprotective woman." Rini said, waving over her shoulder.
Serena shook her head and left closing the door quietly. Sighing, Rini went over to Serena's vanity, running her hands over the warm, cherry wood, imagining her mother's vanity in the future, intricately carved with the symbols of the royal houses of the Golden Alliance.
Once again, warm tears pricked her eyes, threatening to fall if left unchecked. Taking three deep, deep breathes, Rini steadied herself, pressing her fingertips to the crescent moon symbol underneath her dark bangs. She felt the warm throbbing of her power and blood and sighed, calming down.
"Surio...nanakaoyeiru yobedi..." Rini whispered the Calrian spell of calming, feeling her blood slow with her heart rate. Her eyes flashed blue...then purple then returned to their normal black.
"Should you be spelling here?"
Rini spun around, "Do you always have to surprise me like that?" she growled disdainfully, crossing her arms over her chest. She sniffed at the tattered clothes her brother was wearing.
"Hey, just being me." Trunks smirked.
"Oh shut up. I got your note by the way." Rini said, "It's not like you to come crawling back for forgiveness."
"I didn't want you mad at me BABY sister. Besides, we're going to be fighting together, we should at least get along while we're here."
"I agree...although hesitantly..."
Trunks sighed, "Never satisfied are you?"
"Almost never." Rini grinned.
"Well...how about if tonight, after we all meet Bulma, you and I have a special sparring session?" Trunks asked.
Rini clapped her hands, half jumping with eagerness, "Alright! Definitely!"
"I won't go easy on you."
"Oh...don't worry about that...I won't go easy on you either." Rini smirked, "Now! OUT!"
Trunks jumped back from the doorway, startled, "W-what?"
"I need to take a shower sooo OUT!" Rini said, throwing a pillow at him.
Trunks caught it laughing, "Yeah, yeah, I'm going." He tossed the pillow back to Rini...(AKA...hard enough to knock the wind out of a human) before leaving.
Sighing, Rini put a hand on her hip and thought carefully for a moment. She moved to sit on Serena's bed and ran a hand through her hair. She snapped her fingers and her Luna ball appeared. Smiling, she hugged her friend and useful toy tightly.
"Alright Luna P, I need some clothes. Unlike Trunks, I will not wear spandex, even if it is useful when sparing."
Rini held her Luna ball expertly, holding it high above her head. The usual explosion and pink smoke cleared away to reveal a small backpack with her name stitched in gold thread on the side.
"Good work, Luna P." Rini smiled, already rifling through the pack. Snapping her fingers again, her Luna ball disappeared once more.
Deciding on a silver sweater and blue jeans, she pulled them out of the pack, only to be surprised when a gold locket fell out of the pocket. Picking it up, she pried the lid of the star open with her fingernail.
"Oh...my..." Rini gasped, staring at the small picture of her mother and father on their wedding day. The Neo-Queen sitting upon the Saiya-Jin prince's lap, her head nestled on his shoulder, his arms around her lovingly.
Being just a young girl, before the war had started, Rini had found the picture in an album and had cut it small, placing it in the locket Trunks had given her for a birthday present. However, during the first attack on the palace, she had lost it.
'One of the servants must have found it and put it into the pockets of my jeans...' Rini thought.
Staring at the picture, she thought of Serena and Vegeta in this time. Her future mother...tentative and shy...unsure and seemingly afraid of her future father...and was Vegeta any better? Rini took a few more deep breaths, trying to call up images of the times before the war started, when everyone was so happy.
But now...what kind of future was there? Her father......constantly away and battling with the Z-Senshi and Sailor Senshi...When he did come home it was only to see his mother which didn't help since they fought loudly.....or with Trunks
Rini shook the memories form her head, reminding herself that that was the reason she had come to the past. Grabbing her clothes she stomped out of her room, walking briskly to the bathroom to shower.
*****************************
Chi-Chi stood by the dining room table like an avenging angel, the fire of pride burning in her eyes. With Lita, she had cooked the food perfectly...set the table perfectly...A ladle in hand, she crossed her arms and made sure every dish and bowl had it's own coaster and every person had a placemat, thankful that Bulma's dining room table was so big.
Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed a two shadows slipping in through the other door to the dining room and tiptoeing towards the table...She glared, her eyes scrutinizing the heights of the shadows.
"YOU TWO!"
*WHAAAAACK*
Goku whimpered and Krillin gasped, clutching his heart.
Chi-Chi glared at the two, "THEIVES! OUT!" She growled, her eyes blazing fire, her ki crakling. Her metal-ended ladle was impaled in the wall two inches above Krillin's head.
"B-but Chi-Chi..."
"Don't you but Chi-Chi me, you'll just HAVE to wait Goku." With that, Chi-Chi turned around.
Dejectedly, the two senshi trudged back out the door.
"Did you get anything?!" Yamucha asked.
Goku shook his head.
"Oh Dad, sometimes I just wonder." Gohan said, shaking his head.
Piccolo mumbled something about Goku's need for food being way beyond normal...a mumble agreed to by the Dark Prince who stood, arms crossed next to him.
Loud talking and rustling on the stairs caught the guys attention as the girls made their way downstairs and well as Ami and Bulma from the lab and Mina and Rei from the living room.
Rini poked Trunks, who was standing next to Yamucha, in the back, "You're all sweaty."
Trunks shrugged, silently noticing the locket around her neck.
"Yeah, well, I'm fresh and cleaaaan." Rini taunted holding out her hand, revealing smooth clean skin.
Trunks rolled his eyes, "You're so childish."
"So? I'm just trying to have fun. Besides...if Serena agrees...we'll be going back to the Sailor Senshi's dimension...to fight. We may never get another chance you know. Why do you think Chi-Chi went all out and cooked this big lunch? Like any of us are gonna be eating tonight..." Rini lowered her voice to a whisper.
Trunks ran a gloved hand through his lavender hair and smiled at his sister, "Calm down, or you're gonna work yourself up for no reason. Just enjoy time now alright?"
Rini shrugged, "Yeah yeah, so says the big brother."
Serena watched her two future children with wonder and fascination...and yes...pride. She nearly jumped as a soft hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up into Mirai's now sad brown eyes.
"They are very beautiful children..." Mirai whispered in her ear.
Serena blushed, "Tha-thank you?"
Mirai smiled and walked over to Madison, putting an arm around her waist, rubbing her pale skin. Madison smiled a slow, gentle smile.
Chi-Chi checked her watch, "Your lunch is served ladies and gentlemen."
"Alright!"
"Finally!"
"I'm soo...hungry..."
"When aren't you?"
"Hmmm...almost never......"
"It's like...2:30...isn't it a little late for lunch?"
Chi-Chi glared at Mina as she walked in, rapping her on the head with her ladle (which she had retrieved from the wall.)
Rei laughed and sighed as the wonderful scent of the food hit her. She took her seat, which was surprisingly marked with her name in big red letters on the back of her chair. Taking her place she assessed the room and who was sitting next to whom.
Starting at the head of the table was Chi-Chi who wasn't sitting, but was standing with Hotaru who whispered into her ear. Chi-Chi nodded and walked over to the table, casually changing the places of two people.
Re regarded this carefully and giggled to herself at the situation that resulted.
From Chi-Chi, to her right, was Goku, then Mina, Tien, Chow-Tsu, Yamucha, Bulma, Lita, Krillin, Amara, Michelle, Ami, herself (Rei), then Piccolo (who looked very uncomfortable), Gohan was next, Rini, Vegeta, Serena, Trunks, Madison, Mirai, and finally Hotaru who sat to Chi-Chi's left.
Chi-Chi nodded that it was now appropriate to eat and the sounds of food being shoveled onto plates and into mouths was nothing short of deafening.
"Trunks give me the rice!"
"Wait till I'm done."
"Ow! Dad, that's MY plate!"
"Chi-Chi and Lita have really outdone themselves, I think."
"I agree."
"Thank you."
"Yes thank you, I'm glad you're all enjoy-GOKU please chew your food, you'll choke!"
"Nosh I wilth nock...ah...ACCCCCK!!"
Serena laughed as Chi-Chi got up and pounded Goku hard on the back and Gohan handed his father a glass of water to drink. Rini giggled, leaning forward to smile at Serena.
"Yuum...I love fried calamari!"
"Well, why don't you let some other people try it."
"No! Get your hands...OW!"
Lita growled, "I cooked it!"
"I'm EATIN it though!"
"I can't believe I'm sitting here......"
Michelle took a small bite of her rice; "Saiya-Jins seem to have the most amazing effect at a table."
"I know...they eat so much that everyone else has to scramble to grab their food before they take it all...Plus defending what you've got on your own plate from them!" Amara said, laughing.
Michelle silenced Amara with a glare, motioning quietly to Serena and Vegeta.
Amara blushed, "Ohhh..."
Michelle shook her head and turned back to her plate, "Oh! My rice!"
Goku waved innocently, "Didn't think you were gonnash heat rat." He began chowing down in the middle of his sentence.
Gohan smiled a bit embarrassedly and passed the bowl of rice to Michelle, "Sorry about that."
Michelle smiled.
"Wow. Goku's really something." Serena said, giggling.
"And you don't eat a lot too?" Rei mumbled.
"WHAT?!?"
Luna bounded down the stairs and into the dining room, followed by Artemis. She jumped on Serena's shoulder and purred.
"You want something Luna?" Serena asked, scratching her head.
"I don't know, wouldn't you rather have it?" Luna produced a very old wrinkled paper of a picture she had once drawn in pink of Sailor Moon...practically bursting out of her fuku!
Serena gasped, "YOU STILL HAVE THAT?!"
Artemis grinned, "I found it.."
Mina laughed and beckoned to her cat.
"We were just sitting on the stairs listening to the conversation when Artemis wondered where that picture was. I think it's a wonderful picture, eh Sailor Porker? Of when you thought you were fat?!" Luna laughed heartily.
"HEY! I've seen that picture!" Trunks exclaimed, "I remember...my mother, the Neo-Queen, telling me about it. Luna gave it to Vege...my father...and he had it framed and gave it to my mother when she was 6 months pregnant with Rini!"
Trunks gasped bursting into laughter along with the rest of the group. Even Madison broke into fits of laughter, color rising in her pale cheeks.
Serena shoved her chair back and grabbed Luna by the scruff of her neck, "YOU! How could you??!?!?"
"Hey! I haven't done it YET!" Luna meowed!
Serena plopped Luna down in the shrimp bowl and turned to Vegeta, "AND YOU!"
"Damn woman! It hasn't even happened yet!" Vegeta growled.
"Well Vegetable Head, it won't ever happen!" Serena growled, shoving Vegeta's face into his bowl.
Rini screamed with laughter, her sides bursting, she pounded her fist on the table, knocking over Trunks' bowl of soup onto his lap!
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIII......."
"NO SWEARING!" Chi-Chi growled loudly.
Vegeta stood up, scraping the food off his face. Grabbing the closet thing to him, he dumped it over Serena, which happened to be a large jug of soda.
Serena screamed at the cold, bumping into Amara's chair, upsetting Amara's glass of water onto Michelle's shirt.
"Ooops..."
"Amara, please be careful." Michelle sighed, wiping at her aqua sweater.
Gohan and Krillin crawled under the table, laughing loud and long. Rei shook her head laughing as Mina fell out of her chair, her long legs kicking Piccolo's chair over.
"S-s-sorry." Mina gasped through her laughter.
Piccolo growled something about foolish humans and stood...accidentally stepping on Artemis's tail. The white cat howled, tears filling his eyes and shot across the table, his claw catching on the table cloth, spilling food and knocking people over.
The whole group was laughing and shouting and throwing food, stepping on friends and slipping and falling on spills and the now slick carpet. Such was the fate of Serena to slip and fall onto the Dark Prince, both of them plummeting, suddenly unaware of the carnage around them.
Serena stared down at Vegeta, her hair slick and sticky with soda and her shirt stained. She suddenly became aware that her shirt was wet as well and clinging. Vegeta smirked as if sensing her thoughts. He slid up, pushing himself to a sitting position.
"You look good."
Serena stared at him, "Are you crazy?" She pulled at the sticky strands of blonde hair, fumbling with her ondangos and pulling them out.
Vegeta glared at her, "I suppose that depends on who's asking."
Serena shrugged, "I didn't mean to offend you." She said, spreading her hands apart. She smiled, her eyes sparkling.
It was strange...suddenly Serena didn't feel at all scared...or embarrassed, or even shy sitting next to Vegeta now. Even now, as Vegeta watched her carefully, ever few moments ducking the flying food, she kept her gaze level with his, staring him down.
Suddenly she reached out, gently pulling a slice of potato from Vegeta's face, giggling. Vegeta glared at the young woman and pulled of one glove. He reached forwad and wiped a streak of jelly from her cheek, noting how Serena leaned forward into his hand.
"AWWWWWW!!!!!"
Serena looked up to find Mina looking down at her, grinning from ear to ear...along with everyone else!
Rei grinned, absently licking the bits of shrimp scampi from her hand.
Serena blushed, wondering why she hadn't noticed when the food fight had ended. Vegeta scowled and stood, followed by Serena.
"What are you staring at, bakas?" Vegeta growled menacingly.
Hotaru smiled, "Absolutely nothing, Vegeta-Sama. Perhaps we should clean up this mess?" She swept a sticky strand of black hair away from her eyes.
Everyone quickly agreed, moving away from the seething prince. Rini locked eyes with her father, a slow smile spreading over her face.
'So that's how it is in the past......'
*****************************
"So......do you think we'll go?" Trunks asked. He gripped the wood of the porch hard, staring hard into the sun. His sword lay across the table in back of him, sheathed, but sharpened. A strong wind blew, warm and silvery, sweeping through the young teen's hair.
Rini sighed into the wind, gathering to her and hugging it tightly. Breathing deeply, she let the breeze go and stared up at her brother from her sitting position at the table, the setting sun outlining him in bronze and red.
"Mother has courage...great courage even now, in the past. Father never lied." Rini whispered, staring at the small object next to her brother's sword......remembering.
FLASHBACK
"You mean it Pluto!? I can go with my brother?!"
"Now Rini, please, this is serious, you must not treat this like a game." Pluto said solemnly, gripping her staff.
Rini sighed and nodded, "Yes I know." She rubbed her bare arms, the cool mist of the Time Gates settling on her skin.
Pluto held up her hand a bright light appeared, flickering with power. She nodded in Rini's direction. Shielding her eyes, Rini reached into the light, grasping firmly onto the object within, despite the waves of heat emitting from it. Finally the light dissipated and Rini stared down at the object in her hand.
"It is the Dagger of Kaihou. Its power is great and mysterious. You must never use it, Princess."
Rini stared at Pluto, mainly because Pluto never called her Princess unless she was extremely serious.
"If I'm not supposed to use it...why give it to me?"
"There is another...who will wield it when the time comes." Pluto said softly.
END FLASHBACK
"Another..." Rini had no idea who she could possibly mean. She eyed the dagger. It was sheathed in a light brown scabbard, plain, but for a scrawled inscription in gold in a language Rini had never seen before, but Pluto knew. But if you were smart, you would know it wasn't any ordinary dagger. It's hilt showed shiny and obsidian, a single cream blue stone set in its center. It was a very sharp dagger as well, sharpened to a point and despite it's silver finished, it shone gold in any light.
But most convincing of all was the inscription itself. It changed. Rini knew it seemed wrong but it honestly changed. The first time she had seen the dagger, the inscription read, "The Circle of Three saw Me, but 'twas for the Queen, who now walks in death, was I made," Which Pluto had translated.
But Rini had studied the inscription carefully and she was absolutely sure that the symbols had changed. She stared at the scabbard closely, leaning sideways to get a closer look, so close in fact that she felt her eyes tear up and her vision start to blur.........
"There!" Rini whispered, now oblivious to her brother. She had seen it. She had watched the gold inscription blur and reform on the hilt. The smallest movements, but it had happened...The message was shorter now.
A cold hand on the back of her neck brought her out of her observations. She turned to look up at Mirai and her brother, staring at her with worry in their eyes.
"Rini, are you...alright?" Trunks asked, fingering his sword carefully.
"I...I...oh...I'm sorry...we need to go to the lab now, right?"
"Right." Mirai said, a smile in her eyes for the first time in a long while. Suddenly her eyes fell on the dagger, "What...is this?"
Rini jumped up immediately, snatching the dagger from the table, "Something from Pluto."
"May I see it?"
Rini glanced furtively at Trunks, but he nodded. She sighed and relinquished the dagger to Mirai, who looked it over carefully.
"The Circle of Three saw Me, the Daughter will wield Me." Mirai read.
"You, you know this language?!" Rini gasped.
"No! I...Yes...no...I don't know?" Mirai whispered frantically, growing pale.
"Hey you three! Are you coming? We've got plans to make!" Lita called from the glass doors.
"Yes! We'll be right there." Rini called back, snatching the dagger back, "We'll talk later maybe, Mirai......"
*************************
As soon as she was sure that everyone was inside, Bulma closed the door to the laboratory and locked it. With a sigh she shucked her lab coat, unbuttoning the first button of her white sleeveless. Through the window above the supercomputer, Bulma could see the last slivers of sunlight.
Rini sighed, prancing from left to right on the balls of her feet, anxious. Serena rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled, there was no time for such antics, not anymore.
Bulma waved everyone's attention to where she stood at the front of the room, "I know you all are aware of why we are here. Tomorrow night marks the 3rd quarter moon. And, if Mirai's vision will, no doubt, hold true, then we must be at Suta-Raito Park to find this, potential rip, shall we call it, to Serena's world. Now...I'm all right with it. I have settled things with my parents and CCPC. But..."
Ami nodded, "Serena..."
"Yes?" She replied.
"None of us want to see you get hurt. You will be the main focus of our power as we try to force the rip open into a portal to our world. It is dangerous......"
Serena nodded, "I know this...but we've come this far already...and besides, I could not forsake anyone in this dimension or ours or anyone's by not fighting. I am in favor of this plan. We must defeat the Dark Lord, and now is our chance. We will go to him." Serena said solemnly.
Rini smiled and slowly reached for her future mother's hand, squeezing it gently.
"Then we are all agreed? Tomorrow...we will all go to the park to find this rip?" Bulma asked.
"Yes. All of us." Mirai said strongly.
"I will go as well." Madison said, her voice clear and level for the first time since Darkflake's attack.
"But...Madison......"
"I will not be left behind. No matter what." Madison said, crossing her arm, navy blue eyes flashing like a starlit sky.
Mirai sighed, hiding a smile, "Alright then. As long as you feel well enough."
Madison smiled, "Of course."
Bulma nodded, "Well then, we are all in agreement. I suggest that those needing to care of any last business do it tonight and tomorrow morning. This is the last chance to train...get ready...pack? Hmm, I guess......that's all."
And suddenly...there was nothing more to say...
Chapter 19: Food Fight, Future, and Fashion (Part A)
CAPSULE CORP KITCHEN
Ami sighed, rubbing her sore eyes. Pouring herself a glass of water, she adjusted her glasses and yawned. Lita shuffled in, looking tired and annoyed, followed my Mina who didn't look any better.
"I don't know why I'm so tired today..." Mina moaned, going to the fridge and eyeing the contents.
"I do..We keep waking up too early." Lita mumbled.
Ami laughed, "It's almost 1 in the afternoon. I hardly call that getting up early."
Mina took a soda from the fridge and set it on the counter, staring at it as if unsure how to open it, "I do..."
Chi-Chi smiled as she entered the kitchen, looking cheerful and eager, "Hello girls, you're finally up."
"Unnnng..." Lita and Mina mumbled simultaneously.
Ami shook her head and gather her things, shuffling her papers and organizing her notes.
"I have to meet Bulma in the lab, I'll see you guys later." Ami said before slipping out the door.
Chi-Chi nodded and cracked her knuckles. She stretched a bit before tying her apron strings tighter.
"Another day, another meal. Why don't you help me make lunch Lita? I've been waiting for you to get up and help me."
Lita stifled a yawn and nodded.
Mina watched in amazement as Chi-Chi turned on burner after burner, rifling through cupboards and drawers for things to cook.
"How can you have so much...stamina?" Mina muttered.
"It comes from raising a young boy." Chi-Chi said without turning around, literally leaving Lita in the dust.
Mina shook her head, "I'm gonna go hang out with Rei."
Chi-Chi laughed, "Young girl still."
*******************************
A rush of warm, dry air ruffled Rini's blankets; filling the bedroom with a fresh, clean scent. Shuddering despite the warmth, Rini woke to find Serena opening the windows and pulling back the curtains. The sun was high in the sky and the sudden brightness that filled the room made Rini squint.
"Hey you, wake up. We've both been sleeping long enough." Serena said smiling.
Rini groaned pulling the blankets over her head, "Go awaaaaay."
"Come on Rini, you have to get up sometime, and it may as well be now." Serena said sternly, hands on her hips.
"You sound like my mom." Rini muttered, getting up slowly.
"Well, that's a good thing I guess!" Serena laughed.
Rini shrugged and stretched, pulling the band out of her ponytail and letting her long, long obsidian hair tumble down her back.
"I'm going to go take a shower now, I guess. What time did you say it was?"
Serena picked up her CCPC watch from her vanity, "About 1:30."
"Good...the guys will probably be back for lunch...unless they're already had it. I need to talk to trunks anyway......" Rini mumbled to herself.
"By the way......Are you feeling any better?" Serena asked, her eyes catching the ends of an envelope tucked into Rini's pillow.
"What? Oh yes...I'm feeling much better. Thank you." Rini replied, startled out of her thoughts.
Serena nodded, heading towards the door. "I'm glad....Soo...I'm gonna head downstairs, ok? I'll see you in a few right?"
"Yeah yeah, no need to get overprotective woman." Rini said, waving over her shoulder.
Serena shook her head and left closing the door quietly. Sighing, Rini went over to Serena's vanity, running her hands over the warm, cherry wood, imagining her mother's vanity in the future, intricately carved with the symbols of the royal houses of the Golden Alliance.
Once again, warm tears pricked her eyes, threatening to fall if left unchecked. Taking three deep, deep breathes, Rini steadied herself, pressing her fingertips to the crescent moon symbol underneath her dark bangs. She felt the warm throbbing of her power and blood and sighed, calming down.
"Surio...nanakaoyeiru yobedi..." Rini whispered the Calrian spell of calming, feeling her blood slow with her heart rate. Her eyes flashed blue...then purple then returned to their normal black.
"Should you be spelling here?"
Rini spun around, "Do you always have to surprise me like that?" she growled disdainfully, crossing her arms over her chest. She sniffed at the tattered clothes her brother was wearing.
"Hey, just being me." Trunks smirked.
"Oh shut up. I got your note by the way." Rini said, "It's not like you to come crawling back for forgiveness."
"I didn't want you mad at me BABY sister. Besides, we're going to be fighting together, we should at least get along while we're here."
"I agree...although hesitantly..."
Trunks sighed, "Never satisfied are you?"
"Almost never." Rini grinned.
"Well...how about if tonight, after we all meet Bulma, you and I have a special sparring session?" Trunks asked.
Rini clapped her hands, half jumping with eagerness, "Alright! Definitely!"
"I won't go easy on you."
"Oh...don't worry about that...I won't go easy on you either." Rini smirked, "Now! OUT!"
Trunks jumped back from the doorway, startled, "W-what?"
"I need to take a shower sooo OUT!" Rini said, throwing a pillow at him.
Trunks caught it laughing, "Yeah, yeah, I'm going." He tossed the pillow back to Rini...(AKA...hard enough to knock the wind out of a human) before leaving.
Sighing, Rini put a hand on her hip and thought carefully for a moment. She moved to sit on Serena's bed and ran a hand through her hair. She snapped her fingers and her Luna ball appeared. Smiling, she hugged her friend and useful toy tightly.
"Alright Luna P, I need some clothes. Unlike Trunks, I will not wear spandex, even if it is useful when sparing."
Rini held her Luna ball expertly, holding it high above her head. The usual explosion and pink smoke cleared away to reveal a small backpack with her name stitched in gold thread on the side.
"Good work, Luna P." Rini smiled, already rifling through the pack. Snapping her fingers again, her Luna ball disappeared once more.
Deciding on a silver sweater and blue jeans, she pulled them out of the pack, only to be surprised when a gold locket fell out of the pocket. Picking it up, she pried the lid of the star open with her fingernail.
"Oh...my..." Rini gasped, staring at the small picture of her mother and father on their wedding day. The Neo-Queen sitting upon the Saiya-Jin prince's lap, her head nestled on his shoulder, his arms around her lovingly.
Being just a young girl, before the war had started, Rini had found the picture in an album and had cut it small, placing it in the locket Trunks had given her for a birthday present. However, during the first attack on the palace, she had lost it.
'One of the servants must have found it and put it into the pockets of my jeans...' Rini thought.
Staring at the picture, she thought of Serena and Vegeta in this time. Her future mother...tentative and shy...unsure and seemingly afraid of her future father...and was Vegeta any better? Rini took a few more deep breaths, trying to call up images of the times before the war started, when everyone was so happy.
But now...what kind of future was there? Her father......constantly away and battling with the Z-Senshi and Sailor Senshi...When he did come home it was only to see his mother which didn't help since they fought loudly.....or with Trunks
Rini shook the memories form her head, reminding herself that that was the reason she had come to the past. Grabbing her clothes she stomped out of her room, walking briskly to the bathroom to shower.
*****************************
Chi-Chi stood by the dining room table like an avenging angel, the fire of pride burning in her eyes. With Lita, she had cooked the food perfectly...set the table perfectly...A ladle in hand, she crossed her arms and made sure every dish and bowl had it's own coaster and every person had a placemat, thankful that Bulma's dining room table was so big.
Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed a two shadows slipping in through the other door to the dining room and tiptoeing towards the table...She glared, her eyes scrutinizing the heights of the shadows.
"YOU TWO!"
*WHAAAAACK*
Goku whimpered and Krillin gasped, clutching his heart.
Chi-Chi glared at the two, "THEIVES! OUT!" She growled, her eyes blazing fire, her ki crakling. Her metal-ended ladle was impaled in the wall two inches above Krillin's head.
"B-but Chi-Chi..."
"Don't you but Chi-Chi me, you'll just HAVE to wait Goku." With that, Chi-Chi turned around.
Dejectedly, the two senshi trudged back out the door.
"Did you get anything?!" Yamucha asked.
Goku shook his head.
"Oh Dad, sometimes I just wonder." Gohan said, shaking his head.
Piccolo mumbled something about Goku's need for food being way beyond normal...a mumble agreed to by the Dark Prince who stood, arms crossed next to him.
Loud talking and rustling on the stairs caught the guys attention as the girls made their way downstairs and well as Ami and Bulma from the lab and Mina and Rei from the living room.
Rini poked Trunks, who was standing next to Yamucha, in the back, "You're all sweaty."
Trunks shrugged, silently noticing the locket around her neck.
"Yeah, well, I'm fresh and cleaaaan." Rini taunted holding out her hand, revealing smooth clean skin.
Trunks rolled his eyes, "You're so childish."
"So? I'm just trying to have fun. Besides...if Serena agrees...we'll be going back to the Sailor Senshi's dimension...to fight. We may never get another chance you know. Why do you think Chi-Chi went all out and cooked this big lunch? Like any of us are gonna be eating tonight..." Rini lowered her voice to a whisper.
Trunks ran a gloved hand through his lavender hair and smiled at his sister, "Calm down, or you're gonna work yourself up for no reason. Just enjoy time now alright?"
Rini shrugged, "Yeah yeah, so says the big brother."
Serena watched her two future children with wonder and fascination...and yes...pride. She nearly jumped as a soft hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up into Mirai's now sad brown eyes.
"They are very beautiful children..." Mirai whispered in her ear.
Serena blushed, "Tha-thank you?"
Mirai smiled and walked over to Madison, putting an arm around her waist, rubbing her pale skin. Madison smiled a slow, gentle smile.
Chi-Chi checked her watch, "Your lunch is served ladies and gentlemen."
"Alright!"
"Finally!"
"I'm soo...hungry..."
"When aren't you?"
"Hmmm...almost never......"
"It's like...2:30...isn't it a little late for lunch?"
Chi-Chi glared at Mina as she walked in, rapping her on the head with her ladle (which she had retrieved from the wall.)
Rei laughed and sighed as the wonderful scent of the food hit her. She took her seat, which was surprisingly marked with her name in big red letters on the back of her chair. Taking her place she assessed the room and who was sitting next to whom.
Starting at the head of the table was Chi-Chi who wasn't sitting, but was standing with Hotaru who whispered into her ear. Chi-Chi nodded and walked over to the table, casually changing the places of two people.
Re regarded this carefully and giggled to herself at the situation that resulted.
From Chi-Chi, to her right, was Goku, then Mina, Tien, Chow-Tsu, Yamucha, Bulma, Lita, Krillin, Amara, Michelle, Ami, herself (Rei), then Piccolo (who looked very uncomfortable), Gohan was next, Rini, Vegeta, Serena, Trunks, Madison, Mirai, and finally Hotaru who sat to Chi-Chi's left.
Chi-Chi nodded that it was now appropriate to eat and the sounds of food being shoveled onto plates and into mouths was nothing short of deafening.
"Trunks give me the rice!"
"Wait till I'm done."
"Ow! Dad, that's MY plate!"
"Chi-Chi and Lita have really outdone themselves, I think."
"I agree."
"Thank you."
"Yes thank you, I'm glad you're all enjoy-GOKU please chew your food, you'll choke!"
"Nosh I wilth nock...ah...ACCCCCK!!"
Serena laughed as Chi-Chi got up and pounded Goku hard on the back and Gohan handed his father a glass of water to drink. Rini giggled, leaning forward to smile at Serena.
"Yuum...I love fried calamari!"
"Well, why don't you let some other people try it."
"No! Get your hands...OW!"
Lita growled, "I cooked it!"
"I'm EATIN it though!"
"I can't believe I'm sitting here......"
Michelle took a small bite of her rice; "Saiya-Jins seem to have the most amazing effect at a table."
"I know...they eat so much that everyone else has to scramble to grab their food before they take it all...Plus defending what you've got on your own plate from them!" Amara said, laughing.
Michelle silenced Amara with a glare, motioning quietly to Serena and Vegeta.
Amara blushed, "Ohhh..."
Michelle shook her head and turned back to her plate, "Oh! My rice!"
Goku waved innocently, "Didn't think you were gonnash heat rat." He began chowing down in the middle of his sentence.
Gohan smiled a bit embarrassedly and passed the bowl of rice to Michelle, "Sorry about that."
Michelle smiled.
"Wow. Goku's really something." Serena said, giggling.
"And you don't eat a lot too?" Rei mumbled.
"WHAT?!?"
Luna bounded down the stairs and into the dining room, followed by Artemis. She jumped on Serena's shoulder and purred.
"You want something Luna?" Serena asked, scratching her head.
"I don't know, wouldn't you rather have it?" Luna produced a very old wrinkled paper of a picture she had once drawn in pink of Sailor Moon...practically bursting out of her fuku!
Serena gasped, "YOU STILL HAVE THAT?!"
Artemis grinned, "I found it.."
Mina laughed and beckoned to her cat.
"We were just sitting on the stairs listening to the conversation when Artemis wondered where that picture was. I think it's a wonderful picture, eh Sailor Porker? Of when you thought you were fat?!" Luna laughed heartily.
"HEY! I've seen that picture!" Trunks exclaimed, "I remember...my mother, the Neo-Queen, telling me about it. Luna gave it to Vege...my father...and he had it framed and gave it to my mother when she was 6 months pregnant with Rini!"
Trunks gasped bursting into laughter along with the rest of the group. Even Madison broke into fits of laughter, color rising in her pale cheeks.
Serena shoved her chair back and grabbed Luna by the scruff of her neck, "YOU! How could you??!?!?"
"Hey! I haven't done it YET!" Luna meowed!
Serena plopped Luna down in the shrimp bowl and turned to Vegeta, "AND YOU!"
"Damn woman! It hasn't even happened yet!" Vegeta growled.
"Well Vegetable Head, it won't ever happen!" Serena growled, shoving Vegeta's face into his bowl.
Rini screamed with laughter, her sides bursting, she pounded her fist on the table, knocking over Trunks' bowl of soup onto his lap!
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIII......."
"NO SWEARING!" Chi-Chi growled loudly.
Vegeta stood up, scraping the food off his face. Grabbing the closet thing to him, he dumped it over Serena, which happened to be a large jug of soda.
Serena screamed at the cold, bumping into Amara's chair, upsetting Amara's glass of water onto Michelle's shirt.
"Ooops..."
"Amara, please be careful." Michelle sighed, wiping at her aqua sweater.
Gohan and Krillin crawled under the table, laughing loud and long. Rei shook her head laughing as Mina fell out of her chair, her long legs kicking Piccolo's chair over.
"S-s-sorry." Mina gasped through her laughter.
Piccolo growled something about foolish humans and stood...accidentally stepping on Artemis's tail. The white cat howled, tears filling his eyes and shot across the table, his claw catching on the table cloth, spilling food and knocking people over.
The whole group was laughing and shouting and throwing food, stepping on friends and slipping and falling on spills and the now slick carpet. Such was the fate of Serena to slip and fall onto the Dark Prince, both of them plummeting, suddenly unaware of the carnage around them.
Serena stared down at Vegeta, her hair slick and sticky with soda and her shirt stained. She suddenly became aware that her shirt was wet as well and clinging. Vegeta smirked as if sensing her thoughts. He slid up, pushing himself to a sitting position.
"You look good."
Serena stared at him, "Are you crazy?" She pulled at the sticky strands of blonde hair, fumbling with her ondangos and pulling them out.
Vegeta glared at her, "I suppose that depends on who's asking."
Serena shrugged, "I didn't mean to offend you." She said, spreading her hands apart. She smiled, her eyes sparkling.
It was strange...suddenly Serena didn't feel at all scared...or embarrassed, or even shy sitting next to Vegeta now. Even now, as Vegeta watched her carefully, ever few moments ducking the flying food, she kept her gaze level with his, staring him down.
Suddenly she reached out, gently pulling a slice of potato from Vegeta's face, giggling. Vegeta glared at the young woman and pulled of one glove. He reached forwad and wiped a streak of jelly from her cheek, noting how Serena leaned forward into his hand.
"AWWWWWW!!!!!"
Serena looked up to find Mina looking down at her, grinning from ear to ear...along with everyone else!
Rei grinned, absently licking the bits of shrimp scampi from her hand.
Serena blushed, wondering why she hadn't noticed when the food fight had ended. Vegeta scowled and stood, followed by Serena.
"What are you staring at, bakas?" Vegeta growled menacingly.
Hotaru smiled, "Absolutely nothing, Vegeta-Sama. Perhaps we should clean up this mess?" She swept a sticky strand of black hair away from her eyes.
Everyone quickly agreed, moving away from the seething prince. Rini locked eyes with her father, a slow smile spreading over her face.
'So that's how it is in the past......'
*****************************
"So......do you think we'll go?" Trunks asked. He gripped the wood of the porch hard, staring hard into the sun. His sword lay across the table in back of him, sheathed, but sharpened. A strong wind blew, warm and silvery, sweeping through the young teen's hair.
Rini sighed into the wind, gathering to her and hugging it tightly. Breathing deeply, she let the breeze go and stared up at her brother from her sitting position at the table, the setting sun outlining him in bronze and red.
"Mother has courage...great courage even now, in the past. Father never lied." Rini whispered, staring at the small object next to her brother's sword......remembering.
FLASHBACK
"You mean it Pluto!? I can go with my brother?!"
"Now Rini, please, this is serious, you must not treat this like a game." Pluto said solemnly, gripping her staff.
Rini sighed and nodded, "Yes I know." She rubbed her bare arms, the cool mist of the Time Gates settling on her skin.
Pluto held up her hand a bright light appeared, flickering with power. She nodded in Rini's direction. Shielding her eyes, Rini reached into the light, grasping firmly onto the object within, despite the waves of heat emitting from it. Finally the light dissipated and Rini stared down at the object in her hand.
"It is the Dagger of Kaihou. Its power is great and mysterious. You must never use it, Princess."
Rini stared at Pluto, mainly because Pluto never called her Princess unless she was extremely serious.
"If I'm not supposed to use it...why give it to me?"
"There is another...who will wield it when the time comes." Pluto said softly.
END FLASHBACK
"Another..." Rini had no idea who she could possibly mean. She eyed the dagger. It was sheathed in a light brown scabbard, plain, but for a scrawled inscription in gold in a language Rini had never seen before, but Pluto knew. But if you were smart, you would know it wasn't any ordinary dagger. It's hilt showed shiny and obsidian, a single cream blue stone set in its center. It was a very sharp dagger as well, sharpened to a point and despite it's silver finished, it shone gold in any light.
But most convincing of all was the inscription itself. It changed. Rini knew it seemed wrong but it honestly changed. The first time she had seen the dagger, the inscription read, "The Circle of Three saw Me, but 'twas for the Queen, who now walks in death, was I made," Which Pluto had translated.
But Rini had studied the inscription carefully and she was absolutely sure that the symbols had changed. She stared at the scabbard closely, leaning sideways to get a closer look, so close in fact that she felt her eyes tear up and her vision start to blur.........
"There!" Rini whispered, now oblivious to her brother. She had seen it. She had watched the gold inscription blur and reform on the hilt. The smallest movements, but it had happened...The message was shorter now.
A cold hand on the back of her neck brought her out of her observations. She turned to look up at Mirai and her brother, staring at her with worry in their eyes.
"Rini, are you...alright?" Trunks asked, fingering his sword carefully.
"I...I...oh...I'm sorry...we need to go to the lab now, right?"
"Right." Mirai said, a smile in her eyes for the first time in a long while. Suddenly her eyes fell on the dagger, "What...is this?"
Rini jumped up immediately, snatching the dagger from the table, "Something from Pluto."
"May I see it?"
Rini glanced furtively at Trunks, but he nodded. She sighed and relinquished the dagger to Mirai, who looked it over carefully.
"The Circle of Three saw Me, the Daughter will wield Me." Mirai read.
"You, you know this language?!" Rini gasped.
"No! I...Yes...no...I don't know?" Mirai whispered frantically, growing pale.
"Hey you three! Are you coming? We've got plans to make!" Lita called from the glass doors.
"Yes! We'll be right there." Rini called back, snatching the dagger back, "We'll talk later maybe, Mirai......"
*************************
As soon as she was sure that everyone was inside, Bulma closed the door to the laboratory and locked it. With a sigh she shucked her lab coat, unbuttoning the first button of her white sleeveless. Through the window above the supercomputer, Bulma could see the last slivers of sunlight.
Rini sighed, prancing from left to right on the balls of her feet, anxious. Serena rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled, there was no time for such antics, not anymore.
Bulma waved everyone's attention to where she stood at the front of the room, "I know you all are aware of why we are here. Tomorrow night marks the 3rd quarter moon. And, if Mirai's vision will, no doubt, hold true, then we must be at Suta-Raito Park to find this, potential rip, shall we call it, to Serena's world. Now...I'm all right with it. I have settled things with my parents and CCPC. But..."
Ami nodded, "Serena..."
"Yes?" She replied.
"None of us want to see you get hurt. You will be the main focus of our power as we try to force the rip open into a portal to our world. It is dangerous......"
Serena nodded, "I know this...but we've come this far already...and besides, I could not forsake anyone in this dimension or ours or anyone's by not fighting. I am in favor of this plan. We must defeat the Dark Lord, and now is our chance. We will go to him." Serena said solemnly.
Rini smiled and slowly reached for her future mother's hand, squeezing it gently.
"Then we are all agreed? Tomorrow...we will all go to the park to find this rip?" Bulma asked.
"Yes. All of us." Mirai said strongly.
"I will go as well." Madison said, her voice clear and level for the first time since Darkflake's attack.
"But...Madison......"
"I will not be left behind. No matter what." Madison said, crossing her arm, navy blue eyes flashing like a starlit sky.
Mirai sighed, hiding a smile, "Alright then. As long as you feel well enough."
Madison smiled, "Of course."
Bulma nodded, "Well then, we are all in agreement. I suggest that those needing to care of any last business do it tonight and tomorrow morning. This is the last chance to train...get ready...pack? Hmm, I guess......that's all."
And suddenly...there was nothing more to say...