Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Shouyuu

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi-Kami Sarah

NOTE: I have borrowed heavily from Dante's The Divine Comedy (Inferno) for a large section of this story. If you have never read it, don't worry, you won't be lost. (If you have, I am REALLY impressed, cause I read the cliffs notes! ^^) I have taken all of the circles from this book and tweaked them to fit my story's needs. There are other references and nodds in here, but I'll let them surprise you. Also, a 'shade' is another name for a spirit in hell. - aks

FNSTZ: Shouyuu - Chapter THREE

A behorned demon wearing tiger-striped pants, a white button down shirt, a blue tie and glasses walked Koneko to the large, impressive door. At her feet, the doormat read: 'abandon all hope ye who enter here.'
"Cute," Koneko swallowed deep.
"Here you are." He clicked his tonge. "I don't know WHY you want to go HERE when you could have gone to Heaven..." he pried.
Koneko held her hands innocently behind her back. "Well, I heard all the 'happening' people are downstairs."
"Whatever." He frowned. "Here you go." The demon opened the door. A swirling abyss yawned past the threshold.
Koneko leaned forward. "Doesn't look like it has a floor."
"Oh it does," he said as he pushed her in. "It's just a LOOOOONG way down."

She screamed as she fell for about six seconds before remebering that she was already dead. The room (if it was a room) was completely dark. Her hair streamed behind her as she plunged down, deeper into Hell.
After about a minute had gone by, the passage began to lighten and Koneko relaxed. 'Must be getting closer,' she thought. 'But to WHAT?'
She looked down and tried to make out any discernable shapes. Soon, a large, darker, roundish shape began to appear. It grew closer and closer and just when she thought it couldn't possibly be any bigger, she saw its horns... all six of them.
"AH!!!!! What is that!?" she screamed and failed in the air. Koneko braced herself for impact.

Koneko landed in the middle of the central head of an enourmous, red, three-headed beast. She tentatively got to her feet. It didn't seem to notice her arrival. Twenty paces took her from the middle of the bald, dark, red scalp to the ridge of its left eyebrow. She lay down and looked over the edge.
Horrified, Koneko saw that this monster had a shade in each of its mouths and was gnawing on them as if they were chew toys. All three demonic heads muttered the word 'traitor' over and over again.
"I don't wanna know." She shuddered, got up and walked back to the middle of the head. Not wanting to remain in this predicament another second, she clenched her fists and leapt into the air.
Koneko instantly regretted not having tested her powers first. She fell off the monster's head, but landed on its shoulder.
"Whew!" she sighed and climbed down its side by holding onto its thick fur.
When she finally reached the ground, she leapt off, promplty lost her footing and fell on her butt.
"Ow! Kuso tare!" she grumbled. "Huh? Ice?"
All around her, the ground was smooth, flat ice. The cold permeated her. Koneko tried to get to her feet, but she had never been a skater. She flailed as she tried to stand. After a few minutes, Koneko had the basics figured out. The hard bottoms of her boots helped immensly.
"Who woulda thought? Ice in Hell!" she mused as she moved away from the monster who was so large that he could not see her from that distance. "Now, to find Otousan..."
Her optimism sagged as she tripped and fell over something. It was a human hand. She skittled back on her butt away from it and took in the bigger picture. All around her, imbedded in the ice were millions of people, many fully burried and obscured by the thick layers.
"Oh no! Otousan, how'm I supposed to find you now?!" She got to her feet again. Sadly, Koneko skated around the prodtruding hands and heads.
"Otousan? Otousan!? Hello?"
"Would you be quiet!?" shouted a woman as she skated by.
"I have to find my father!" Koneko stopped and answered.
"Who cares!?" called out another head.
"I do!" she shouted back. "He's been wronged! I have to save him!"
"What if he doesn't want saving?!" barked another.
She got mad. Koneko spun and confronted the offending head. "I never knew my father. He was killed when I was just a baby and he just did something really weird and I want to find out why! I don't give a crap if he wants to be saved or not, I WANT TO save him so that's what I'm gonna do!"
"Hmph," the head snorted. "You don't even know what he looks like, do you?"
"No. I don't..."
"Well then, how do you expect to find him?"
Koneko was getting more and more pissed off. "I'll find him if I have to dig all you snivelling bastards up and interrogate you all individually!!"
To her surprise, the shade who had been mocking her now began to laugh.
"That's the spirit! Hahahaha!"
She furrowed her brows and crouched down in front of him. "What are you so happy about?"
"You may be worthy of calling yourself a Saiyan, yet, Girl."
"O.. Otousan!?"
Vegeta scowled. "No, I'm your fairy god mother," he sneered.
"Well you don't have to be so nasty! It's your fault I'm here in the first place!"
"MY FAULT!?" he yelled. "You're the one who bumped yourself off, Missy."
"Look! Do you want out, or NOT!?" she yelled back. "I've only got a year to get you back to Enma-daio's so he can send you back to Heaven..."
Vegeta's brows raised a little.
"...So you better make up your mind, toot sweet!"
"Hmph," he scoffed. "You'll never make it."
"Wha..?"
"It took me two and a half years to get out of here the first time. I'm affraid you've lost, Girl."
Koneko boiled over. "Listen here, Tousan! No one tells me what I can and can't do! I'll show you, I'll get you out and back with a month to spare, just watch me!!" With that she balled her fist. Vegeta's eyes widedend. Koneko brought her hand down on the ice just in front of his nose. To his surprise, even without her powers, she was still incredibly strong. The ice cracked. She pounded it repeatedly, and soon, she was able to pull Vegeta out of it by his shoulders.

He stood and stretched his cramped muscles.
"Well?" Koneko beamed and waited for a note of thanks.
"Well what?" he growled and looked her in the eye. He was only two or three inches taller than she was. Now she knew where she got her lack of height from.
"Um, 'thanks for saving me Koneko-chan?'"
"Hmph," the Prince scoffed and brushed ice-dust off of his black, spandex Saiyan armor. "You DO know there are NINE cirlces of Hell, don't you? Save your griping for when we're out of here."
He walked past her, away from the tripple-headed demon.
"Come on," he called. She stood, dumbstruck at his attitude. "Before Baezelbubba here realizes that I'm free." He indicated to the beast.
Koneko made a face and skated after her father who strode confidently across the slick surface of Lake Kokisasu.

At the edge of the lake the mouths of many rivers flowed down off of a short cliff and under the ice. Vegeta began to climb the icy rocks.
"Since you know the way out of here," Koneko called as she followed him. "It should be easier the second time around, right?"
"Finding my way out wasn't the hard part," he growled.
Koneko kept asking him questions, but he said no more. She gave up just as they reached the top of the cliff. As she stood, Koneko took in the vast expanse of the 8th circle.
"Kami-sama..." she whispered.
Vegeta scoffed and jumped down the equally rough interior cliff wall. He landed and began running towards the distant border of the seventh circle.

Koneko could hardly believe that this man was her father. She shook her head in dismay, jumped down and ran after him.
'I have to talk to the guy, but he's not very friendly, just like Okaasan said,' she thought as she caught up to him. They dodged their way around the shades of men and women, writhing in their particular tortures. Some were consumed by flames, others' bodies were being mutilated. There was an entire section of the damned who were planted upside down in the ground and their exposed feet were on fire. They flailed them wildly, but the flames never ceased.
"Ewww," Koneko complained as they ran along. "What did these poor people do?"
"They were frauds," her father answered. "Theives and swindelers."
"Whoa... Then what did the people in the ice do?" she asked, forgetting for a moment that he had been one of those damned.
"Treason."
Koneko fell silent. Due to the somber, almost threatening tone in her father's voice, she decided that it would be a better idea to keep her mouth shut for a bit.

After running in silence for a while, they came to a wide, bubbling, molases-like, black river. The disticnt smell of feces rose from its surface, and a million shades fought against the current; damned to swim in the stuff for all eterity. Vegeta ran along its banks and grew impatient.
"Otousan..?"
"Where's the damned bridge!?" he shouted.
She looked up and down the river, but could see no trace of one. Her hopes sank. "You mean, we gotta," she swallowed hard, "SWIM!?"
"We will do no such thing!" he bellowed, still looking for some way to cross.
A huge, horned shadow loomed over them both. "What seems to be the trouble here?" a slow, deep, demon's voice boomed.
They both turned slowly and looked up at the enormous, black demon who bent to get a better look at them. Koneko stutted in horror.
"Where'd the blasted bridge go?" Vegeta barked.
Koneko looked at him funny and decided that she was the more diplomatic of the two.
She smiled and wrung her hands. "What my father so rudely put, sir, is that we would like to know where there might be a bridge on which we might..."
"That old thing?" the demon ignored her and talked right over her head to Vegeta. "Fell into the River O' Shit months ago. You were here before, weren't you?"
"Yes," Vegeta hissed. "So how the hell do we get across now?!"
"Well, I don't think I should let you through," he said and made a face. "Since last time you tricked me..."
Koneko bit her nails and tried to remember the secrets Emna had told her. 'There was something about a big, dumb, black demon... now what was it...!?'
"And I don't like to be made a baka of..." He paused and thought for a second. The wheels in his head turned a single notch. "But I tell you what. You guess my name, and I'll get you across."
"Got it!" Koneko shouted. "Your name's Marakoda!"
The demon fell over. "How did you guess it first try!?"
She shrugged and did her best to look cute. "Must be psychic!"

Marakoda picked Vegeta and Koneko up in his gargantuan hand and dropped them unceremoniously on the other side of the river of poo. He then turned his back and grumbled like a sore loser as he walked away.
"How did you know that thing's name?" Vegeta asked.
"Let's just say I got friends in high places," she grinned and started running again.

They wove in and out of more terrors; pits of snakes in which shades were repeatedly bitten and vats of boiling oil into which demons dunked the damned like donuts. Just past a section of shades being severly beaten was the edge of the seventh circle. It was a simple line on the ground. Vegeta stopped at this and took a long, deep breath before crossing it.
"What's the matter, Otousan?" Koneko asked as she casually crossed the line.

A wave of the worst, most pungent stench she had ever smelled asaulted her nostrils. Koneko gasped for air and ran back over the edge of the line again. She watched her father running away.
"Hey, wait!" she called, took a deep breath and sprinted after him. The sandy ground was incredibly hot. As they got further in, what Koneko had thought was a mirage was proved to be real. Flames licked up from the dunes. The desert was on fire.
The flames didn't do any actual damage, but they felt like they did. After a few minutes, even Vegeta couldn't hold his breath in any more and he sputtered and gasped. Koneko joined him. The pair sped through the sand as fast as they could, choking on the stale air.
When she thought she could run no more, the flaming sand gave way to dirt and moss. They were entering a forest.

Winded, but growing accustomed to the foul stench, they walked for a bit through the trees.
"Man, I have never wanted to fly so badly before!" she commented.
Vegeta was silent and walked a few paces ahead of her.
"Well at least we're making great time! If there's only nine circles and we're in number seven already then we'll be outta here in a couple of days!"
"Baka," he spun and glared at her. "Time seems to move faster when you're dead. It's probably been a month already!"
"Nani?!"
Vegeta snorted. "So I suggest we get moving." He turned and began to run again.
Koneko stood where she was and hung her head. 'He's such jerk!' she thought to herself. 'What on Chikyuu was Okaasan thinking!?'
The distance between father and daughter was growing, so Koneko decided to sprint to catch up. She pulled a muscle as she jerked her left leg. It was held fast to the ground.
Horrorstruck, she looked down. Vines were growing out of the ground and entwining themselves around her left leg and rapidly starting to do the same to her right. She cursed and tried to pull free, but the vines reached up and began tangling her arms.
"Otousan!" she called out. "Little help?" Vegeta kept running.
The vines thickened and wrapped around her waist.
"OtouSAN!!" she pleaded. He was so far away by now that he was nearly a spec to her vision. 'Oh my God, he's not coming...' she thought and began to panic. 'No, I KNOW he cares! He called me Bra-chan!'
"OTOUSAN! Tasukete kudasai!!!" her words were muffled as the scratchy, bark-covered vines encircled her head, blocking her sight.

Her father's angry face was the next thing she was aware of. Koneko sputtered for air and coughed loudly.
"Onna no ko no baka," he grumbled and picked her up.
"O... Otousan.. you saved me..."
"I had to. You forgot; you're a suicide."
"Not REALLY!" she complained.
"This is the Forest of the Suicides. You can't touch the ground here or you'll become one of them." He nodded to the forest as he pulled vines from her legs. She noticed for the first time that the trees looked decidedly anthropomorphic, complete with dour faces and limbs that resembled arms and legs.
"Well thanks for the warning, Tousan," she grumbled.
Vegeta scowled and in a quick motion, picked her up and slung her over his back.
"Hey!" she shouted.
"Oh shut up and enjoy the free ride while it lasts!" he barked and ran with her like that to the edge of the tree-line.

Vegeta easily put the 100 pound Koneko down on solid ground. Just ahead of them, they could make out creatures moving along a long, red, river.
"Arigato, Otousan," she said and smiled.
He looked to the hoizon, snorted and began running again.
This time, Koneko uttered a frustrated growl as she chased after him.

The river, as it turned out, was red because the water as in fact the blood of the damned who struggled to swim in its lazy current. They were weighted down by the heavy armour they all wore. Vegeta kept his distance.
"No bridge again?" she asked.
He shook his head. "We have to convince one of those beasts to give us a ride." Vegeta pointed down the riverbank.
Koneko blinked repeatedly. The thing he was pointing to came closer.
The top half of the beast was that of your standard tiger-striped oni, but the bottom half was equine. His black mane flowed as he trotted over to the pair of escapees. Koneko balled her fists and studied the evil look on the centaur's face. He came to a stop only a foot from Vegeta, folded his arms and looked down on the Prince.
"Back again, Vegeta?" he asked in a thick, British accent. "What have you done this time, you naughty boy?"
Koneko's eyes bulged at the familiarity the creature took with her father. She didn't have a chance to whisper her astonishment to him. Vegeta reached in back of her and pushed her forward.
"Do your thing, Girl," he hissed.
"What?!" she cried. "Oh!" Koneko wrung her hands. "Mr. Centaur..?"
"The name's Nesesu, Sweetie, and who might you be?" he asked and put his hands on his horsey hips.
"Uh... I'm Koneko Briefs."
"Oh my, sounds like a drag name!" he said to himself, but out loud. "Well, what can I do for you, Deary?"
She blinked. 'Hm,' she thought. 'Time to turn on the charm!' "We'd like to like to ask Your Fabulous Self if you could give us a ride across the river?"
"Oh!" he grinned. "Well you put it that way! Sure thing. Honey. But what's a nice girl like you doing hanging around such a hunky sourpus?"
She swallowed deep. Vegeta was crimson, trying as hard as he could to keep calm.
"He's my father."
"Oh!" Nesesu blushed. "Well that's all right then, I suppose. Mum's still living then?"
She nodded.
Vegeta expolded. "Look, you flaming pufta, quit with the chit-chat and get swimming!!"
Koneko made face, but before she could appologize for him, Nesesu giggled.
"Ooh! I love it when he gets all riled up!" He clapped his hands together. "Hop on Dearies, I'll get you across!" He knelt down and they got on.

They crossed the thick, bloody river. Vegeta shirked the waves as they licked up against the giant, swimming centaur.
"Stop it! You're doing that on purpose!" he shouted.
"Oh I am not! If you want me to dunk your mean, little derier in there I can, you know!?"
"Shhhh! Tousan!" Koneko scolded.
"It's alright, Sweetie. He's just got his panties in a bunch cause he's a warmonger."
"So I've heard," she muttered. "But what's that got to do with anything?" she asked.
"The river is full of them. It's the damnation of the war-like. Once your in, you never get out."
Koneko watched the armored shades, strugling to keep their heads above the hot, thick blood. She then saw the troubled look on her father's face and she had to look away.

*
Over the border line of the sixth circle, father and daughter took a deep breath of clean air and started running into its heart: the high-walled city of Dis.
They came to its outer wall and stopped. Vegeta looked confused.
"Shimata," he cursed. "There was a rope here before..."
Koneko looked up at the city. The walls were slick stone and absolutly vertical.
"So what now?" she asked.
A voice with a funny accent from high above their heads answered. "Allo zere!"
"Hello!" she called up. "Can you throw us a rope?"
The helmeted figure who answered dissappeared briefly. "I don't zink so, you zee, we have no rope and you do not have perrrrrrrmision!" he rolled the 'r'. "So piss off."
"What!?" Vegeta bellowed. "I, Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans order you to..."
"You do not scare us, so-called Vegeta Prince! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries!"
Koneko held her father back as he attempted to climb the walls.
"Come on, Otousan. We're not going to accomplish anything that way."
"Then what do you suggest we do?!" he barked.
She sat down on the ground with her back to the wall. The taunts of the city guards faded away.
"..tiny-brained wipers of other people's bottoms!..."
Koneko searched her brain again for Enma-daio's advice. "Aha!" she cried and rocked to her knees.
Vegeta folded his arms and watched her with mild interest. She put her hands together.
"What are you doing now?"
"Praying. Now shoosh," she replied and squeezed her eyes shut.
A few moments passed before Koneko sat back down again. "It's probably going to be a while. I had to place a long distance call." Vegeta stood where he was. "Sit down, you're makin' me nervous." She patted the ground next to her.
The Prince seated himself a few feet away. Koneko shrugged and leaned back.

"What, exactly, are we waiting for?" Vegeta demanded.
"A Heavenly Messenger," she answered. "Someone to get us in to the city." She wonderd, if when and if she ever had a little boy, if he would end up with the same male pattern baldness.
"Stop that," he grumbled.
"Stop what?" she asked, innocently.
"Staring at me!"
"Sumimasen," she sighed and looked at her hands folded in her lap. "I want to remember what you look like. We don't have any pictures of you."

She bit her lip. "Otousan, can I ask you something?"
There was no answer. Koneko took a deep breath.
"Why did you want to hurt us?"
Vegeta grimaced. "Hurt you? I was trying to HELP you! You were doing disgusting things with a Jinzoningen!"
Koneko blushed furiously. "He's not the same anymore..." she whispered. 'He should have a new name,' she thought, but there were more important things to think about at the moment. "That's a heck of a way to try to help me, Tousan. Now we're both dead."
Vegeta scoffed and turned away from her.
"Gomen nasai, Otousan. I think I DO know why you did this." She started to wring her hands again. "Enma-sama said you were put here after you helped Okaasan and me. That woulda pissed me off too. It took you two and a half years to get out of here and by the time you did, judging by your temper, you were REALLY pissed.
"Since you couln't be in Heaven, you tried to get your life back. You really wanted Gohan's body, but you couldn't get him till you defeated him..." she stopped sudenly as the memory of the killing blow she delivered to her own body sprang up in her mind. "Shimata. If I had known it was you..."
Vegeta sighed quietly and closed his eyes. He was about to turn back to her and say something when a bright light distracted them both.
"What the..?!" he cried and jumped to his feet.
Koneko sheilder her eyes. "Sugoi...."

Descending from above amidsts a celestial cloud was a ball of light with imense, white wings. As it got closer, Koneko could see that the angel was dressed in a white gi and was barefoot. He descended to just a few feet above the ground.
"Nanio?!" the Tenshi shouted. "Vegeta!?"
The Prince squinted as the light died down to a soft glow. "What!? You!?!"
Koneko blinked. "Otousan, you know a Tenshi?"
The Tenshi did a double take at Koneko. "O...Otousan? You mean, you're Bra?"
"That's me," she bowed. "Who are you?"
"The cue-ball is one of Kakarotto's little friends," Vegeta sneered. "What was your name again?"
"Ha ha." The Tenshi folded his arms. "The name's Kuririn. Wow. Time sure flies, ne Vegeta?"
"Are you going to let us into Dis, or are you going to hover there and blather all day?" he barked.
"If it weren't for Bra asking so nicely for me to come and bail you guys out, I'd turn around right now and leave you in the lurch, you jerk!"
Vegeta growled and lunged at Kuririn. The Tenshi flew out of his way and laughed at him.
"Otousan! Behave yourself, please! Only six more circles and we're outta here!"
Vegeta sulked and Kurinin stuck his tonge out at him as he approached the wall. He knocked on it three times and a door appeared. The ten-foot thick wall easily swung open.
"Tada!" Kuririn cheered and floated in ahead of them. "I have to lead you through and let you out. Then you're on your own again."
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Kuririn no Tenshi-sama!"
"Nani!?" Kuririn turned and flew backwards. "Are you SURE this is you and Bulma's daughter, Vegeta!?"
Koneko laughed and followed him in to the city of Dis.

They walked through the city after the brightly glowing Kuririn no Tenshi. The darkened streets were filled with coffins, in which shades burned eternatlly for their heresy. Vegeta hung back, just out of earshot and scowled at the Tenshi.
"Kuririn-sama," Koneko whispered. "You knew my father. What did you think of him?"
He snorted a little. "Well, I assume you know he was a bad guy." She nodded. "Well, he's a hardass alright, and I never really trusted him, but I tell ya what, that last day when we all went down... he was right there beside us. We all fought as hard as we could. At one point, he even got my back. I thanked him, but he just kept on fighting. I think he was the last person standing."
"Thanks," she folded her arms and pondered this statement. "He hasn't been very open with me so far, but between what you, Okaasan and Gohan-san have told me, I think I have a better idea of what he's really like."
"Eh, I wouldn't expect much." The Tenshi made a face. "Hey, I heard Gohan was wished back, the lucky stiff! How's he doin'?"

They conversed like that until they reached the far wall.
"Welp, here we are. Good luck, you two. You're almost home free." Kuririn knocked on the wall and it gaped open for them.
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" Koneko piped. Vegeta met Kuririn's eyes before exiting the city.
"No prob kid. Anytime. Tell everyone hi for me if you think of it!"
"I'll try!" She waved to him as he pumped his wings and flew up and out of sight.
"Don't just stand there lollygagging!" Vegeta growled. "There's five more circles!"
"Hai Otousan!" she answered and ran after him.

*
They ran across the border and slowed to a crawl. The fifth circle was a vast swampland. Wallowing in the mire were souls who muttered to themselves and sulked. Their wrath persisted even in death.

Koneko shook mud from her boots as they crossed into the fourth circle. Her uniform was dingy and torn in sereral places as was her father's.
"Bleh!" She stuck out her tounge. "I'm filthy!" She wrinkled up her nose. "Woof! And boy do I smell!"
"Suck it up," Vegeta complained. "It gets worse."

A large hill faced them. All along it, in various stages of ascent, were shades who pushed tremendous boulders up its steadily sloping surface.
The shades climbed as fast at they could, until the slope became so steep that they had to cling to it hand and foot.
"Hey!" a soul to their left called. "If you guys give me a hand, I'll give you a thousand copper peices!"
"Copper?" Koneko asked as she struggled. "Is that even worth anything?"
"No," Vegeta answered. "These fools are the Greedy."
Koneko made a comprehensive sound and scurried after him.

At the top, they stood and looked back down on the circle they had just crossed. Every one of the damned who reached the top lost control of his boulder and was forced to chase it back down to the bottom and start all over again.
"Man, sucks to be them," she commented. Vegeta chuckled darkly. Koneko smiled, but made sure that he didn't see her do it. They turned and crossed the border of the third circle.

"Awwww.. not more gack!" Koneko cried as she saw the ocean of mud that lay before them. Asleep in the middle of this, covered in a thick layer of brown mud, was a monsterously huge, three-headed dog.
Father and daughter waded around the bodies of the gluttonous damned who were condemned to wallow like pigs forever. Koneko side stepped here and hopped there to avoid the many shades which cluttered their way.

As they neared the great hound, Koneko's foot was caught by one of the souls. She lost her balance, fell against something and looked up.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr," the beast snarled as he woke.
"Ahhhh.. nice doggy!" she tried to quiet it, but it rose to its feet.
Vegeta cursed and looked around him wildly.
Koneko fell down into the mud on her butt and skootched away from the demon-dog. All three of its heads drooled on her as they loomed ever closer.
"Here, Serebasu!" Vegeta bellowed. He held a fat, wrigling shade above his head. The dog swung his enormous bulk towards him and glared at the Prince. When he saw the gesture, he sat down and wagged his tail expectantly. "Catch!" Vegeta hefted the thing as far as he could back towards the border they had come from. Serebasu yelped happily and lumbered off after the soul who cired out in shock as he flew through the air.
Koneko blinked rapidly and began to laugh.
"Come on!" Vegeta shouted and dragged her out of the mud. He ran with her arm in his hand as fast as he could go.
"Tousan!" she cried and tried to wrench free. As she did so, she turned and saw the reason for her father's urgency. Serebasu had caught his unholy stick and was charging back for another go.
"AAAHHH!" she screamed and bolted ahead of Vegeta. Just as the dog was about to come crashing down on them, they slid across the border on the slippery mud. Serebasu wasn't so lucky. The border to him was like an invisible fence. He slammed up against it and fell into a pile, whimpering.
Vegeta stood and busted out laughing at the sight. Koneko recovered and joined him. Serebasu barked uselessly from the other side.
"Hahaha, stupid mutt!" Vegeta guffawed. "I can't believe you fell for that twice! Dogs are so stupid!"
"That was AWESOME Otousan!" she cheered. A strong breeze picked her hair up and swirled it around her body. Annoyed, Koneko quicly braided it and tied it up on her head. "What now?" she asked and turned to see the tourture of the second circle.

A few hundred yards away was a tornado in which souls were being tossed around like a deck of cards. Vegeta furrowed his brows. "Stay close. It's strongest at the center."
They walked towards the funnel cloud and the wind gusted at speeds of a hundred miles an hour.
Each step Koneko took was harder to put down. Soon she was struggling to keep to the ground. She wanted to ask her father for help, but didn't want to make him think she was weak. Koneko growled and pushed onwards.
At about 200 miles per hour, she took a step and was launched into the air. Koneko cried out in shock and before she could call to him, Vegeta had her arm. He reeled her back down and she clung to him. "Come on! A little further!" he shouted through the rushing wind. She nodded and they walked in synch, their arms around each other for safety.
As the wind died down and they approached the edge of the first circle, Vegeta stopped. "You can let go now, Girl."
"Oh!" she blushed. "Sorry, Otousan."
Vegeta crossed the line ahead of her. "Thanks," she whispered and smiled.

*
The air in the first circle was clear and almost fragrant. Instead of tortured shades, the realm was filled with small, white, puffy souls who seemed content to be where they were.
"Did we take a wrong turn or something?" Koneko asked.
"No. This is the last circle. Limbo."
"Ah!" she smiled. "Now, I gotta remember what Lord Enma told me..."
Vegeta had already started running away.
"Otousan! wait! There's a really easy... *sniff sniff*" Koneko stopped dead in her tracks. "What is that?!" She spun around, trying to locate the wonderful smell. "Smells like..." At last she saw a lone tree not but a hundred yards away. "Peaches...!" she drooled and ran towards it.
Vegeta noticed that he was alone and turned to look for his daughter. "Shimatta, where'd that girl...?" He saw her just as she started jumping up at the tree to get at the fruit.
"Ie!!!" he hollered. "Onna no ko no baka!" He sprinted over and tackled her. "You stupid girl! We have to get out of here! You're just going to make it more difficult!"
"But, Otousan," she pouted and gave him puppy-dog eyes. "I'm hungry..."
"You're dead! You don't need to eat! Come on!"
Vegeta pulled her up to her feet, turned and slammed into the chest of a rather sizable oni.
"What do you think you're doing hanging around Enmadaio's favorite fruit trees!?" the big, blue demon yelled. He was as thick as he was tall and had one stout horn in the center of his head which resembled a party hat. He wore shorts, sneekers and a mucsle shirt on which the word 'HELL' was printed in large, block letters.
Vegeta rolled his eyes and cursed heavily under his breath.
"Otousan, what do we do now?" Koneko whispered as she hid behind him.
"What's up Gaz?" a voice from behind them asked. Koneko turned to see another large, red demon with two horns and glasses. He looked confident until recognition dawned on his face. "Vuh vuh vuh.. VEGETA!?"
Gaz blinked and did the same take. "Ah! Vegeta!? What are you doing back here!?" he and his friend shuddered together.
"None of your damned business. Now get out of our way."
"Really?" they asked, relieved. "You don't want to try to defeat us again?"
The Prince scoffed. "That would be an enormous waste of five seconds." He turned to Koneko. "Have you rememberd anything useful yet?"
Koneko pursed her lips. "Something about .. what was the name?.. Mez?"
The red demon yelped and cowered behind his blue friend. "What about Mez?"
"Yes," Vegeta sneered at him. "What about Mez?"
"Enma-sama said that Mez would tell us how to get back to the check-in station."
Vegeta smiled evilly. "Well Mez? You heard the girl."
Mez slumped his shoulders. "Ok ok, just don't beat me up again! I haven't completely recovered from the last time yet!"
Vegeta chuckled lightly, amused at the demon's fear. "Well, come on then! Show us!"
"Wari Wari!" he whined and lead them past the tree.
Just ahead, the cliffs were divided, and in the crevase was a green, evil-looking archway.
"Right up there," he pointed.
"You had better be telling the truth, baka. Or I come back and pound your head out your ass, got it?!"
"Huh huh Hai! Vegeta-sama!"
"Hmph. That's more like it." Vegeta looked down at Koneko and motioned with a nod for her to go ahead of him.
"Here goes nothin'!" she cried and began to run up the stairs.

They ran for ten minutes before they began to see light. Koneko grinned wide and put on an extra burst of speed. She didn't need to look back. Her father was keeping an even pace with her.
At the top of the stairs was a smallish, wooden room. Light poured out of a crack at top of one of the walls. Vegeta didn't wait. He lunged at the wall. The crack increased. Koneko joined him.
Finally, the room slid down and clattered to the floor.

"Koneko! Vegeta! You made it!" Enma's voice boomed.
Koneko blinked and realized that they hadn't been in a room at all, but in the top, rightmost drawer of Enmadaio's desk.
"Yosh!" she cheered and leapt to her feet. "Otousan we did it!! Yay!!" Koneko grabbed Vegeta's hands and jumped up and down. He looked genuinely astounded.
"I'm impressed!" Enma puzzled. "How did you make it here so fast!?"
"Fast?" Koneko stopped jumping. "Whaddayamean fast?"
"You've only been gone a month! That's got to be a record!"
Koneko's eyes glazd over. "A MONTH!?!"

:::"...I've only got a year to get you back to Enma-daio's so he can send you back to Heaven..."
::: "...Hmph, you'll never make it...."
:::"...Baka! Time seems to move faster when your dead. It's probably been a month already!..."

Koneko bit her lip. All this time, he had lied to her. Her father knew very well that they had made excellent time. But still he had pushed her on as fast as they could go. She sighed. But why...?
"So," she frowned. "I suppose this is .. goodbye..."
Vegeta looked at her funny. "What do you mean? You said yourself they weren't wishing you back for a year."
'Nani...?' she thought. 'He remembered that!?'
"Well, you guys can't just hang around here." Enma shuffled his papers. He pulled out two forms and weilded the Heaven stamper. It thudded down leaving the character 'Tengoku' on both sheets. "There. Now get out of my office! Vegeta! I never want to see you again! Koneko, I will see you in due time. Good day."
She thanked the beauraucrat and they were both escorted out of the room.

Through a door, resting daintilly on a cloud, was a an airplane. Koneko blinked at the sight. Fluffy souls lined up to get on board. An oni handed them both tickets and wished them well. Koneko felt like a little girl, she was so excited. She turned to her father but before she could discuss their journey, she noticed that he was clean.
"Otousan!" she chimed and pointed at him. Then she inspected herself. Her uniform was spotless and intact. "Alright!" Koneko took a deep whiff and smiled, glad that she didn't stink anymore either. "Hm, kinda wish I could get into a tee-shirt and jeans, though."
"You're going to need that armour," Vegeta commented. "If you think Heaven is a picnic, your sorely mistaken."
"What!?" she cried.
"You and I are going to show that Kakarott just what royal blood is made of!" he smirked.
"Ka ka.. oh!" she clasped her hands together. "Goku is still in heaven? That's awesome! I can't wait to meet him!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes and followed her into the aircraft which would take them to Heaven.

*
"Moma, where's Aunt Koneko now?" Chibi-chan looked up to her mother and asked. Her little arms were wrapped tightly around Zen'i as she carried her through the air.
Zen'i looked to Polian who flew along beside them.
"Well, she uh..." He hated it when Zen'i put him on the spot like that, but he had to admit, she was lousy at hiding the ugliness of life from their young charge. "She's in another dimension."
Zen'i rolled her eyes, but this explanation seemed to satisfy the six year old.
"If you miss her so much, why did she go away?"
Zen'i struggled to think of a way to get her daughter off the subject, but as they were flying, there were no toys with which to distract her. "She had to find her Otousan."
"Why?"
"Cause HE was in another dimension," Polian added.
"Why?"
"Cause..." Zen'i panicked. Polian shrugged. "Oh look!" she cheered. "We're here!"

They touched down outside the complex. It was partly cloudy but still fairly a warm, early fall day. Gohan and Bulma were already waiting for them.
"Where's my brother?" she asked as she handed Chibi-chan to Bulma.
"I dunno. He knows we're doing this now..." she wondered too. The Dragon Balls waited expectantly on the ground.
"He wouldn't miss this for anything," she added and looked up to the sky.
"Ok!" Bulma shouted. "He'll show up! Let's do this already!!"

:::"Arigato Gozaimasu!!" Koneko cried. "Ja ne, Goku-san! Ja ne, Otousan! Kimi wo aishiteru!":::
:::"Ja ne!":::
:::"Ja ne, Koneko-chan... Watashi no Onna no ko... My Girl...":::

The words echoed in her head. "Otousan..." she muttered and opened her eyes. The word 'father' bouced off the tight walls and she snapped to attention. "What the...?"
Koneko tried to sit up but hit her head on the ceiling. "Ow! Kuso-tare!" She tried to move around, but was confined by a plastic bag and walls on all sides. Koneko shivered. "Whu.. where the hell am I?" She tore the bag open and felt around in the absolute darkness. "Holy crap, they didn't bury me, did they!?!" she panicked and pushed at the walls. When she gave a good shove at the wall against her head, the whole enclosure moved a little in the opposite direction. She shoved again and she and the box tumbled to the ground.
The lights were blinding for a moment. Koneko stood and squinted in the direction of a pair voices. Two men in labcoats were staring at her. She gaped at her surroundings.
"Way to go, guys," she sighed. "I'm still in the morgue, Okaasan!"
The men continued to stare and stutter.
"Woof. It's cold..." Koneko rubbed her arms and realized at last that she was completely naked. "Eh hehehehe..." she grinned. "Could I borrow one of your coats?" she asked as she covered herself with her hands.

"Well!?" Bulma yelled. "Where IS she!?!"
Zen'i sighed. "Bulma-san. Did you remember to get the body...?"
Her eyes almost popped out of her head. "Oh Kami.. I FORGOT!"
Polian tried unsucessfully to conceal his mirth and cackled through the hand he had raised to his mouth.
"What is your second wish?" Shenlong bellowed.
"Shenlong! Please bring my Koneko here!"
"Negai ga kangaerareru!" Shenlong closed his eyes.
In the center of the circle of Dragon Balls, Koneko appeared wearing the labcoat and looking rather puzzled. The balls wizzed up around her, reabsorbed the dragon and zoomed off to the four corners of the earth.
"KONEKO-CHAN!!!" Bulma cried and tackled her.

In turn Gohan, Zen'i and Polian gave her huge hugs. Bulma wiped tears from her eyes and urged by Gohan, ducked secretly back into the house.
"Who's this!?" Koneko smiled at the little girl. "I thought Chibi-chan had black hair?"
"Long story," Zen'i whispered. "We're so glad you're back!"
"Where's Juunana?" she asked and looked around to see if he was hiding.
Zen'i shrugged.
Koneko frowned, but before she could comment, Gohan cleared his throat. "A lot of things have changed, Koneko-chan."
"Juunanago?" she asked, praying silently that he hadn't retreated from life again.
"Nah, he's ok. Just late I guess. What I'm trying to tell you is... your mother and I..."
"We got married!" Bulma re-emerged, grinned and readjusted the bundle she had brought out with her.
"Honto ni?!" Koneko beamed.
"Yup!" she held out the now wriggling bundle of blankets. "Koneko, meet your new little sister, Pan-chan!"
"Atarashii imoto!?" she asked as she took the baby from her. The little girl was maybe two weeks old. Her eyes were brown like her father's and her soft, new hair was aqua like her mother's. "Awww KAWAII!!!"
Pan-chan blinked and gurgled at her older sister.

Bulma took her back and sobered a little. "How was he?"
"He?"
"Your father..?" she prompted her.
Koneko's smile fell. "Wasu..." She slowly dropped her her knees and covered her face with her hands in dismay. "Wasuremasen..."
Gohan put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Koneko-chan. I didn't expect you would remember."
Suddenly she lifted her arm and droned as if she were asleep. Her eyes were unfocused. "Gohan-san, please pinch me," she said as if reciting the words.
"What?" he asked, and looked to his friends for help.
Polian scrutinized Koneko's trance. "I suggest you do it, Gohan."
He shrugged and pinched her.
Koneko stood and a smile spread slowly across her face. "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" she shouted and hugged him. "Wasurenai!" She held his arms. "I remember everything! Okaasan! Minna-san! I went to Hell! and Otousan and I went through all nine circles in just one month, and your friend Kuririn is an Angel! (he says Hi by the way) then we went to Heaven, oh and Goku-san says hi too! Oh my God, Okaasan! My father is so weird, but I love him!"
Everyone blinked at her as she laughed hysterically with joy.
"Su.. sugoi!" Gohan finally took in everything she said. "My father said hi? What about the others, did you meet them?"
"No, everyone else has already been re-assigned." Koneko's eyes sparkled. "Ooooh and guess what!?" She poked him playfully. "Your Otousan gave me that pinch-memory thing for a reason! I had eleven months to train with him and my father..."
"Yeah?..." Gohan asked expectanty.
"Hehehehe,"she giggled. Her grin nearly wrapped around her head. "He taught me something... Something he didn't have time to teach you..." she sing-songed.
"...Yeah!?" he asked again. Her delight was beginning to rub of on him. Polian leaned in and listened as well.
Koneko refrained from telling him about the mystery tecnique she learned from the legendary Son Goku and her eyes went wide. "I'll tell ya later," she whispered and walked past him.
Gohan and Polian fell on their faces.

"Hi..." Koneko smiled as Juunanago touched down and jogged over to her. Something looked different about her lover. "You cut your hair!"
They walked slowly towards each other.
"Yeah. D'ya like it?" He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and started acting like a teenager.
"Looks good," she muttered and wrung her hands.
"OH FOR KAMI'S SAKE!" Zen'i yelled and pushed her brother. He collided with Koneko who laughed and wrapped her arms around him.
Zen'i folded her arms and furrowed her brows. "I've been listening to you piss and moan about how much you missed her for a YEAR! Quit being a wuss already and kiss her!!"
"I missed you too," Koneko smiled and looked up into his ice-blue eyes. They kissed gently.
"KONEKO-CHAN!" Bulma cried.
"Okaasaaaaaan," she whined. "I'm 21!"
"Heh, I'm 17," Juunanago joked under his breath.
Koneko beamed. "Not anymore. I have a present for you."
"Nan desu ka?"
"Anata no namae... I think your name should be Tamashii."
"Tamashii," he repeated and smiled.
"You like it?"
"I love it." He kissed her again.
Zen'i hugged Chibi-chan and whispered something about love to explain what they were doing to the inquisitive girl.

Gohan took Pan-chan from his red-faced wife. "Bulma, she's all grown up now," Gohan scolded and smiled. "Besides, you can start all over again!" He held his daughter against his shoulder and she fell asleep.
"I guess your right!" she sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna stop calling her Koneko-chan though!"

As the couples and their children went into the house to get Koneko some clothes and a huge welcome-home meal, a group of beings in another galaxy were gathering to pass judgement.

"So it is decided," a dark, cloaked figure's voice boomed.
"The sentance stands. Eliminate all which the Destroyer loves."
Three other cloaked figures before them bowed. "It shall be done," their leader agreed. The three turned and left the room.
"Vengeance shall be served. This galaxy shall at last have retribution!"

END Part THREE

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