Chapter 6 With that accomplished, Goku turned to Sailor Mercury.

"Are you okay?" He knelt beside her.

Mercury was caught off guard by his kind words, "Y-yes, I will be. I hurt my leg when I fell, I'll just need some time to heal.

"Can you stand?" Goku's tone was extremely gentle.

"I-I don't know. I haven't really tried yet," Mercury told him truthfully.

Goku just smiled and spoke softly, "Here, I'll help you. If your willing to try, that is."

"O-okay."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. Sailor Mercury attempted to get up but fell back. Goku placed an arm around her shoulders and practically lifted her up the next time she tried. Mercury didn't put much weight on her right leg, which made it difficult for her to walk.

"You might want to get a doctor to look at that," Goku advised.

Sailor Mercury blushed as Goku helped her, "I probably just twisted it, or something. Really, it's nothing too serious."

The pair passed Vegeta on the way out. "You are one very interesting man, Goku," he mumbled.

Goku only smiled. Vegeta followed Sailor Mercury out the door, just as the jeweler started to come-to. Outside, people were attempting to free Sailor Moon of her restraints, but no one could get her out. Even Luna was trying in her own ways.

"Mercury! Thank goodness!" Sailor Moon exclaimed breathlessly. "Do ya think you could give me a hand here?"

Sailor Mercury looked at the ground, "Sorry, Sailor Moon, but I don't think I can be of much help. You could try, Mr. Goku."

"What!?" Sailor Moon almost fell over.

Goku didn't seem to notice, "All right, I can try. Do you think you can stand on your own for a while?"

Mercury looked him straight in the eye, "I can try."

Goku nodded, and slowly eased away from her. When he knew she was standing fine, he went to help Sailor Moon.

Placing both hands on one band, he instructed, "Don't move, I could hurt you accidentally if you do."

Focusing his energy, Goku made the part of the band between his hands glow hotly. At the center, a small crack appeared, and Goku forced the ends apart. The giant gold bracelet was now big enough for Sailor Moon to slop out of, but he had to repeat the process with the other one before she could slip out completely.

Free of her confines, Sailor Moon thanked Goku, "Thanks! Man, you really are one heck of a guy."

"No problem!" Goku said cheerfully.

At that moment, Mercury lost her balance and started to topple backwards. She shrieked and pinwheeled her arms. Goku responded too slowly to catch her, but Vegeta zipped in and checked her fall. Mercury was a little confused, but Vegeta returned her to her feet anyway.

Sailor Moon was pleasantly surprised, "Good catch."

"Humph," Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and turned away.

Sailor Moon whispered to Goku, "What's his problem?" She went to help Mercury as he answered.

"Oh, he's always like that. I think he wants to help people, but doesn't want them to know that he helps on purpose." Goku said under his breath.

"That makes no sense what-so-ever," Sailor Moon commented quietly.

"It makes sense to him," Goku responded, too quietly for Vegeta to hear. "Anyway, we should be going now. It was nice meeting you again, but we have things to do."

Sailor Moon helped steady Mercury, "You know, if your not too busy, d'ya think you can tell us a little more about yourself and why you've come here?"

"I think that's okay," Goku looked like he was thinking hard. "What time would be best for you, and where should we meet?"

The crowed had disappeared and Vegeta was getting impatient, "Would you hurry it up, Kakarot! We haven't got all day!"

Goku glared at Vegeta for a second, then looked at Sailor Moon for the answer.

"How about at four o'clock today in front of the arcade?"

"Sounds great! See ya there!" Goku waved over his shoulder and walked away.

"Finally!" Vegeta breathed and walked beside Goku. "You could have made that a lot shorter by simply saying 'bye' and walking away."

"I could have, but then they might still call us enemies."

"So?"

Back at the jeweler's shop, Sailor Moon had a far-off look in her eyes, "Wow! What a guy! I can hardly believe he's really going to meet me!"

"Sailor Moon! I should have known you set that appointment up for something else!" Mercury sighed.

"Look on the bright side," Sailor Moon walked slowly with Mercury, "if we can get this guy on my side, we won't have to do any work! Besides, he's so cute!"

Luna jumped to Sailor Moon's shoulder, "Knock it off! I highly doubt that he's here to chase down a date. He's probably much older than you, anyway."

Sailor Moon turned on Luna, "You're just saying that because your jealous! You wish that you could find another cat just like him!"

"What are you talking about, Sailor Moon?"

"Oh, some cat to call you 'kitty!' Ooo! You'd love that, wouldn't you, Luna?"

"Serena! Stop this nonsense immediately! We have to get Amy to the hospital."

"All right."

* * *

Serena and Rae stood in front of the arcade, waiting for Goku to show up. Serena was getting impatient. "Geeze, calm down, Serena. He probably got caught up in something."

Serena glared at Rae, "Like what?"

Rae shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe he's off saving the world, or something like that. From what I heard, you don't find guys like him just wandering around the streets; I bet he's got a full schedule."

"Who's got a full schedule?" Darien surprised the girls.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Darien!" Serena smiled sweetly. "Rae and I were just talking about this guy we met, that's all."

"That's all?" Darien was interested. "What does he look like? What's his name?"

Serena fumbled over her answer, "Um, his name i-is Goku. He's pretty tall, he has black hair, and he wears this weird blue and orange outfit."

"Really? Is he nice?" Darien pressed.

"Oh yes! He's very nice! And he's strong, too!"

Rae cut their conversation short, "There he is!"

Goku walked over to them, "Hi, sorry I'm late."

Serena forgave him, "That's okay!" She changed the subject quickly, "We were just telling Darien about you! Darien, this is Goku. Goku, this is Darien."

The two shook hands, then Rae realized that something was very wrong. "Serena, can I talk to you for a minute, alone?"

"Why? What's the matter, Rae?"

Rae pulled Serena aside, "Serena, how'd he know who we are? The only times he's really been able to get a good look at us was when we were Sailor Scouts!"

"Your point?"

"How did he know to say 'hi' to us? He shouldn't know that you're Sailor Moon or that I'm Sailor Mars! Something is very strange here."

Meanwhile, Goku and Darien struck up a conversation.

"So, Darien, are you her boyfriend?"

"I'd like to think so," Darien shrugged, "but sometimes I'm not so sure."

"Why's that?"

"Serena's always chasing down other guys, and just when I think we're really starting something, she gives out on me."

"Don't be too upset. She'll come to her senses sooner or later."

"I would prefer sooner," Darien sighed. "Serena tells me that you're pretty strong. Do you lift weights or something?"

"Me? Actually, I'm a martial arts master."

"A master? Wow! Of what art form?"

"I've mastered two, really: the art of the Turtle, and the art of Keo-ken."

"Cool. I've never head of either, though," Darien confessed.

Goku chuckled, "I didn't expect that you would. Neither are very popular, but I find them interesting none the less."

"Neat."

Serena and Rae returned then; Serena looking more than a little suspicious. "So, Goku," She started, "what's the deal on the Red Heart Crystal? Have you found it yet?"

"No, we haven't found it yet," Rae's and Serena's relief was prominent when Goku said that. "We're still looking."

Darien interrupted, "We? Who else is working with you?"

"A guy by the name Vegeta. He and I are makeshift partners."

Darien nodded understandingly, "I see. Sorry, please continue."

"Dende` sent the two of us here to find the Crystal before Garlic Junior gets his hands on it. Vegeta doesn't really care if we find it, though, and I'm afraid that he might deliberately pass it up; or worse, destroy it."

"Why was he sent here, then, if he might not help?" Rae was curious.

"Dende` sent Vegeta and myself because we're the strongest people where we come from. If we do happen to run into Garlic, Dende` wants to give the Earth the best possible chance for survival."

"Sounds serious," Darien commented. "By the way, who is this Garlic Junior?"

"Garlic is a very interesting opponent. He can more than quadruple his size, if the alignment of the stars is right, and he can link the world of the living to the world of the dead. creating a type of 'Deadzone.' Also, Garlic Junior is immortal, so you can't kill him."

Serena was appalled, "Immortal! There's no such thing, is there?"

"There is where I come from, and that's the worst part about Garlic. The only way to get rid of him is to lock him in one of his own Deadzones, and even that doesn't guarantee complete safety."

"I know we've run into some pretty tough opponents, but this guy seems extra bad," Rae noted.

Darien took the conversation a little deeper, "So, what does the Red Heart Crystal have to do with Garlic Junior?"

"Good question," Goku acknowledged. "If Garlic gets the Red Heart Crystal, he will become stronger. He won't have to worry about the stars when he wants to transform, and will succeed in filling the Earth with evil."

"Ouch," Darien said worriedly. "Garlic Junior must be a pretty bad guy."

Goku nodded once, "The worst."

"What will you do when you find the Red Heart Crystal?" Sailor Mars questioned.

"We'd bring it back to Dende`, where he can use it against Garlic if the need arises."

"What if you run into trouble?" Sailor Moon raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Well, like the Sailor Scouts. What if they think you're evil and try to stop you?"

Goku just laughed lightheartedly, "Oh, come on! You guys wouldn't do that, not after today!"

Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars were shocked.

"Okay, I'll be blunt," Sailor Moon leaned back and folded her arms, "how do you know who we are?"