~*~*~*~
Things seemed to be going well for the young Saiyan, Usagi, who was ready to head home. Things couldn't have gone smoother in the Tsukino dimension and she was more than ready to be reunited with her friends and family once again. But what she didn't know, is that things wouldn't be all peachy when she returned. Her parents were in the middle of an argument that had been building up between the two for some time, although the reasons were so hidden, even to them, that they could only have been brought about by a crisis such as this.
After the falling out between husband and wife, Chi-Chi had returned to her quest for locating the Dragon Balls, while Goku flew into the night skies with no particular destination.
~*~*~
Earth: Son Dimension
The night was becoming colder and time rolled on. The group of adults who were meant to be staying with the girls and Kami's lookout had yet to return with the parents, although, seven unexpected guests had uninvitedly shown up.
Yes, Mamoru and his gang -- known only as the emotionless Rat Pack - had conveniently taken it upon themselves to come to the heart of the action. Though, for an entirely different reason than to try and get Usagi back from the hands of evil. They wanted to know why they could feel this knew entity, why none of the adults could.
Mamoru knew that feeling all too well. He remembered the power of Cell, whom they had fought in the past. This knew power had the same exact feeling as him and there was only one explanation for such a comparison. The power had to be from that queen that he had spoken of, the one who wanted Usagi's power.
Mamoru took the initiative over his entire gang of friends and came to stand about five feet in front of Rei, who was glaring into his devious eyes.
Rei frowned up at him for the perverse smirk that the leader lay upon her. "What do you want?"
Mamoru only continued to grin. He could tell that they were hiding something, just by the way this girl held herself, as if she were more confident than anyone of the adults, whom he had seen down on earth in the city gathering parents up. "You know why we're here."
Makoto, who was still inside Dende's palace, grabbed Hotaru by the wrist and dragged her outside to meet with the unexpected group.
Hotaru resisted slightly. "Why are we going out there?" She whispered.
Makoto put her finger to her mouth to shush her younger friend. "Don't worry about it. I don't think they're here to do any harm."
Mamoru grinned. "Very good, Makoto. You learn fast." He winked back at the brown-haired girl with a devious smile.
Rei crossed her arms. She wasn't at all amused by this. "Just get on with it."
Haruka frowned as she pushed Mamoru to the side. "Fine. Kid, we want to know what's up. You have obviously dealt with this already, from what Mamoru tells us. We saw and felt the power that the adults were trying to throw at the moon, which obviously has SOMETHING to do with this new enemy of ours otherwise it wouldn't have just popped up there from out of no where."
Makoto grinned. 'Looks like she's going to get to the part about how she needs us soon.' "What's your point?" Makoto giggled with anticipation. She would have given anything to hear them say that they needed someone else to do a task.
Haruka clenched her fist as well as her teeth. She wouldn't bring herself down to the level of begging for help. Seeing her obvious distress, Michiru gently rubbed Haruka's arm and gave her a warm, caring smile. "The adults can't sense the new enemy we are up against. Mamoru has told us everything about Cell and how the adults from the past couldn't fell it either. We may need your help, seeing as how the five of you destroyed Cell with your combined attack in the past." Rei and Makoto exchanged glances of anxiety with a pair of groans.
That only caused Mamoru to frown. "What the hell is wrong with you guys? I know you can do it."
Rei grinned. "Not that we aren't flattered by you asking us to help you, but we can't beat this enemy on our own."
Justin quirked an eyebrow in fascination. He could detect a secret when he saw one. "Oh really, and why is that? Do you know someone who can help you, I mean, you did say by yourselves and all."
Rei jumped back with a slight giggle. She needed to steer them away from the thinking that she was hiding something. She couldn't be the one responsible for giving up their identity on the first night on the job. "Well... no ... you see ... we may need the Sailor Senshis' help, yeah that's it. The Sailor Senshi."
'That sounds quite suspicious. I better watch these kids, they know something.' Mamoru chuckled. "The Sailor Senshi, huh? You mean those people who feel quit a bit like you? They have a stronger energy than you, but they and you feel almost completely alike."
Artimas, who was sitting at Hotaru's feet stared up at this strange group of people in curiosity. 'Why were they able to feel the Senshi? Wait, they must have some kind of connection with the Moon Kingdom as well. That's gotta be it. It's the only way that anyone could feel the power of the Dark Kingdom and Moon Kingdom.'
Artimas perked his ears back when he heard the landing of feet on the surface of Kami's lookout. 'Venus and Mercury must be back.'
In fact it had been Venus and Mercury returning from their encounter with Gojiita, Piccolo, Dende, and Gohan. They were more than ready to turn back to their civilian forms when they spotted a tiny white blob running right for them.
"DON'T!" Was all that was shouted from the little white creature.
Mamoru and his entire gang turned around in place. "Did that cat just say something?"
Rei and Makoto jumped from their spots and grabbed Mamoru by the head and arms. "NO!" They both shouted.
Makoto pulled Mamoru away from the group. "A cat can't talk, silly. What's wrong with you?"
More interested in what the cat was doing, Mamoru wasn't paying much attention to the girls who hung all over him. Had he known what exactly they were doing, he would have decked them both right there and then. "I could have sworn that cat just said 'Don't'"
Michiru nodded. "As did I."
Hotaru, wanting to do her part, tried to giggle to get the attention taken off of Artimas. "Nope. You were hearing things."
Mamoru glared back at the child. 'Now I know they're hiding something. I don't hear things, ever.'
~*~*~
Venus looked around the area only to see commotion in the form of her friends and the Rat Pack. "Great, now what are we supposed to do? We can't detransform here, they'll see us."
Mercury sighed in exasperation. "Will nothing go right tonight?"
Artimas jumped up onto Venus' shoulder and proceeded to whisper into her ear. "Transform later. Don't worry about it until they summon the Dragon."
No sooner did these words come into existence did the two groups, who had met up on the way, of the Dragon Ball collectors and Moon destroyers return to the lookout. Though, there was still one person missing, Goku. Rei grabbed Hotaru by the arm and dragged her back into the palace so as to not cause anymore trouble with the adults, who were certain that trouble would come to be if Hotaru were to look into the full moon. Venus and Mercury, on the other hand, just stood on the edge of the platform, waiting for the adults to stress over them, but surprisingly, nothing happened. They were too interested in summoning Shenlong, the Eternal Dragon.
Goten, who had the entire set of eight Dragon Balls in a bag, dropped them onto the surface. Everyone gathered around to watch the show, all except for Chi-Chi, who tried desperately to locate her husband, but had no luck. She wished that he had at least shown up for this. It didn't matter if they were mad at each other, the point was that their daughter was going to be returning home. He should at least be there for it, but instead, he chose to be a baby about the entire situation.
All of a sudden, a large, cold hand was placed upon her shoulder, causing her to jump out in surprise. "Goku?!" A twinkle of hope appeared in her eyes as she turned around to see who it was, only to be once again dropped into disappointment. "Gohan, it's you."
Gohan gave his mother a half smile for he knew something was eating away at his mother's emotions, he could always tell. Though he was not sure of exactly what was going on, he knew enough to know that it was his father that was the trouble. "Cheer up mom, Usagi is going to be home very soon."
Chi-Chi sighed as she hugged her son. "It's not that anymore. I know she will be home, safe and sound soon. This time it's your father. He won't be here when she gets back and I know how much it will mean to her to have both of us here when she gets back."
Goten, seeing what was going on, tried to offer his mother a word of advice. "Just put yourself in his shoes."
Gohan frowned at his younger brother. "Shut up and go back to what you were doing."
Goten frowned. "Fine. Sheesh." Grumbling, he turned around and prepared for the Dragon Balls to be put into place.
Gohan looked down to his mother, who had tears in her eyes. "I know what you're going through, mom. But you do have to understand where dad is coming from. He was really upset when he left us. He just needs time alone."
Chi-Chi frowned. "Well he sure picked a fine time to ..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, a bright, golden light filled the entire area. A shadow, inside the light, became larger and larger as the light brightened. "Look out below!"
At that sound, the sound of a child yelling from the sky, Chi-Chi's eyes widened to their fullest. That voice, in which she knew so well, came from the body of her youngest. "U...sa..gi?!"
Videl covered sheltered her eyes from the intensity of the light with her hand. "Hey! It is Usagi! She's back!"
Tears streamed down the face of the child's mother as she jumped into the air. "My baby! She's home! Safe and sound!" 'Goku where are you?!'
Usagi continued to fall with a smile as she listened to the commotion that was taking place; the joyful words of her mother, her brothers, and friends. But, for some reason, she couldn't hear a single thing of her father. 'Where's daddy at?'
Falling faster as she neared the tower, Usagi braced herself for an impact, which she was sure would be one of her family member's arms. But to her deep surprise, they were not of her mother, father, nor were they of her brothers, but a VERY shocked and angry Vejita.
Vejita growled at Usagi as her weight hitting against his arms all of a sudden caused him to nearly topple forward. "Brat!"
Usagi giggled as she reached up and cupped her hands on his cheeks. "Why Vejita, my Prince!" She squealed aloud. "I always knew you loved me!" She leaned forward and gave him a giant, wet kiss on his forehead.
In a faster action than anyone's eyes could truly follow, Vejita ripped his arms out from underneath the small body of the younger Saiyan and glared down to her with fire as she slammed into the concrete. "Don't you EVER TOUCH me again!"
Bulma giggled as she threw her own arms around her husband. "Vejita, how long have you two been seeing each other?"
~*~*~
Artimas trotted behind the two Senshi, who everyone had failed to notice. "You two, go detransform now that everyone is busy with this. They won't see you."
Mercury nodded down to the white feline. "Good idea. Come on Minako. Let's teleport to the palace where no one will see us."
"Good idea." Venus nodded as she pressed her fingers to her forehead and concentrated her energy to the palace upon the tower, teleporting in an instant with her comrade close behind.
~*~*~
Usagi sat on the ground for a moment as she looked up. The first face that she lay her bright, blue eyes upon was that of her smiling mother. There were no words in her vocabulary that could explain what kind of true bliss she was in fact feeling. "Mommy..." She remembered what the Chi-Chi in the other dimension had said to her about letting her emotions go in times of need and decided to just let loose.
Usagi jumped up to her feet and within a flash of one second, she was in her mothers arms, on the ground again from the force of her own strength. "MOMMY!" She squeezed almost as hard as she could, trying desperately to not suffocate her own mother, but it was too hard to restrain herself. It felt like an entire eternity had gone by since the last time she had actually seen her own mother, not like the time she had spent in the past. "Is it really you?" She asked as she pulled back to look into her mother's ebony eyes.
Chi-Chi laughed of joy as she kissed her daughter upon the cheek. "Yes, dear, it's really me."
Usagi smiled with relief as she pressed her head against her mother's bosom. 'I'm in the right dimension, and hopefully for the last time.'
Videl and Pan couldn't help but want to cry at the spectacle that they were witnessing. Mother and daughter, once again reunited. It was just a shame that the father could not enjoy such a reunion as well. Instead, he had to be off in his own world, sulking about having to perform something that would hurt his daughter, though, little did he know that he was going to end up hurting her worse this way.
Goten walked to his mother and kneeled down, putting his hand on the back of his little sister. "You ok?"
Usagi nodded as she pulled away, ever so slightly. "Yes. But I missed you guys so much."
Gohan, who stood behind his brother, warmly smiled down at the three with loving eyes. "You gave us all quite a scare. We were about to summon the Dragon to wish for you to come back home."
Usagi smiled as she wiped a stream of tears away from her face. 'I wonder if the Dragon would have let me return home...' Feeling a bit incomplete, she looked around the area. She saw her friends, the Rat Pack, the adults whom she had known her entire life, but not her father. "Mommy, where's daddy?" She asked curiously. Though, had she known the response that she would get, she wouldn't have asked it in the first place.
Chi-Chi gulped as she looked into Goten's eyes, which told her to just go ahead and say. But, she knew that Usagi was too sensitive to just be told without somehow making it less of a blow. Chi-Chi didn't want to crush her daughter with the truth, but what else could she say? She herself was still quite angry with him, but she surely didn't want their own daughter to be angry with him. "Daddy... well, he's contemplating something at the moment."
Not a single word bubbled out of the mouth of the curious child as the two of them sat there on the ground with watchful eyes all around.
Gohan kneeled down next to his sister and grabbed her by the arms, turning her towards him. "Dad's real upset about something right now. We just need to give him some time alone to think about it, ok?"
Usagi very calmly nodded with a slight idea in mind of what he was talking about. "Like when mom is mad and we need to give her her space?" Gohan nodded, and, out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mother nodding as well. "But I'm back, doesn't he care?"
Bulma, having heard the entire story from Chi-Chi, bent over and rested her hands on her knees. "Of course he cares. He loves you, Usagi. He just needs some time to think some things through to give you the best opportunity."
Usagi squinted with confusion. 'He's thinking about me? This can't be good.' "Oh...'
Chi-Chi put her hand around her daughter's chin and directed her to look back at her. "Usagi, you have to promise us that you will not look at the moon, alright?"
Usagi's mouth awed in the shape of an 'O'. "The moon.... I completely forgot." Not really paying attention to what her mother just said to her, Usagi looked up. The sky, it was finally complete. The moon and its blissful shine would no longer be suppressed as long as she was Moon Princess. It would be her destiny to protect its good name. No harm would be allowed to come to it as long as she was around, which would be quite a long while.
She calmly pulled away from her mother's protective grasp and began walking towards the moon, as if it were calling to her to come, though this time her body refused to shine its imposing silver aura. She felt not at all like she had earlier in the day. No, now she felt complete. The emptiness in her heart was completely gone, replaced with goodness and purity.
Chi-Chi jumped to her feet and reached out for her daughter, only to meet with thin air for her daughter had walked away. "USAGI!!! NO!!!"
Goten rushed out for her, but tripped over his brother, who was also trying to catch her. "LOOK AWAY!" Though he hadn't exactly seen what happened to a Saiyan when they transformed, he knew, from many stories, exactly what kind of destruction they could cause.
Gohan, after being tripped over, was slowed down to almost a complete halt. "USAGI!"
~*~*~
Meanwhile, in the Palace where the girls were sitting with Hotaru, they were getting a good laugh at the adults' antics. Never in their lives had they seen someone stressing out over something so insignificant. Had the only known that the moon could never hurt Usagi, they would feel like complete idiots.
~*~*~
Only about a span of ten seconds had passed since Usagi had first looked at the moon; the adults more fearful than ever.
Chi-Chi, who was just about to reach her daughter, yelled out once more in hopes to make her daughter obey. "USAGI DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!" No luck, Usagi refused. However, one unexpected incident did cause her to look away. Though it wasn't by choice, Usagi was basically punched down to the ground by that of a greater force. Chi-Chi hastily came to a halt when she saw a tall, muscular figure standing angrily over her daughter. 'I don't believe it...'
Usagi's body hit the concrete with a loud thud, causing all those who loved her to cringe in pain for their friend and family member. Before she even thought about turning around to see who had assaulted her, she decided that she had better sense out who it was. The power level that she received scared her to death.
Gulping, Usagi turned around to stare into two, stark black eyes, that flashed with a hint of green every so often. Those eyes; eyes filled with fear, and above all, anger. She could truly say that she was scared of what was come next from this troubled man who stood before her. "Daddy...?" There we was, face to face with the only person who had never once laid a single hand on her before in her entire life, and now, one could no longer say that. Tears began to form in the base of her already moist eyes.
Goku glared down at his daughter with a fury unknown to him. His blue aura raged around him with an even greater wrath. "You mother told you NOT to look up at the moon! What is your PROBLEM?!" His aura spun around at a fast speed as he emphasized the last word in that sentence, putting an even greater fear into his daughter.
Usagi made certain not to look in the direction of the moon as she slowly rose to her feet to confront her father. "But daddy..."
Goku narrowed his glare as he rose his hand. "Don't 'But daddy' me young lady! Do you WANT to become a giant, ugly, killing ape?!"
Usagi gulped when she noticed her father's hand hovering over her cheek. "N... no... But you don't understand... I ... I..."
Goku once again felt it his duty to cut her off mid sentence. "I understand completely. You completely disregard anything your mother or I say. You need to learn your place, when to do as you're told."
Usagi frowned. This was unfair treatment. She had just gotten back home and she gets this from her father. She had done nothing. Granted she had not done what she was told, but she knew that was not a call for a lecture of this caliber at a time like this. "Daddy stop it. I didn't do anything. I don't under..."
Goku said nothing, but instead, responded with a swift slap to her face. Chi-Chi had seen quite enough at that point. It was unnecessary treatment. Usagi was right, there was no reason to be acting like this, especially since the girl had just come home.
Stalking to her husband, Chi-Chi lay a big one on the back of his head. "Goku! Don't act like this. I realize you're angry with me, but that is no reason what so ever to take it out on your daughter at a time like this! Do I make myself clear?!"
Usagi slowly lifted her hand to her red, tender cheek in a full cry. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Goku frowned, utterly ignoring his wife. He had come to the hardest decision in his life, which was why he was being so anal all of a sudden. "You can look at the moon, Usagi... Just as soon as that tail of yours comes off."
Usagi's mouth nearly dropped to the ground at the sound of that. "Cut off my tail? What are you talking about. No!" She whined as she turned to her mother for protection. "Mommy what's he talking about? You can't cut off my tail... it's mine."
Chi-Chi gravely gulped as she looked into the fearful eyes of her daughter. Never in her life did she want to do something so harsh, but truth be told, it was obvious that it had to be done. Goku had finally come to terms with the fact and there was no better time to do it. "I'm afraid we're going to have to, Usagi. For some reason, the Moon can't be destroyed. So it's your tail and Hotaru's tail. I'm sorry."
Usagi got a pouty lower lip as she backed away from her mother and father. "No. This isn't fair. I don't wanna lose my tail."
Goku's expression softened as he neared his daughter. "Usagi, I've thought long and hard about this and it's for the best. Your safety, and everyone else's safety depends on this."
Usagi backed away yet again. "But I don't change into an ape. See?" She looked up to the moon once again, only to find her father teleporting to the area behind her position. "Nothing will happen."
Goku wasn't about to let anything bad happen to his daughter or anyone else for that matter. He quickly wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her away, with her facing forward and his back to the moon. He made sure to keep a tight grip around his struggling child so she wouldn't break free. "Usagi, stop it."
Usagi refused. She wouldn't let anything happen to her precious tail no matter what. "Please listen to me. I'm telling the truth. If you would just watch I could show you. Please daddy. PLEASE!"
Goku cringed at the sound of his daughter begging him to not perform the deed which would change her. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, wanting to cry himself at what he was about to have ordered done. 'Forgive me...' He reached down Usagi's leg and felt around for her tail. It, obviously, wasn't there as a result to her wrapping it around her leg. "Usagi, please don't make this harder on us all than it has to be." He reached under the skirt of her GI and clasped his hand around her tail, pulling it out as fast as he could.
"NO!" Usagi squealed at the top of her lungs. "Daddy PLEASE! NO!"
Chi-Chi forced herself to watch as the duo struggled. One wanted free while the other fought with their own emotions to keep a firm hold. It was just too much for her to watch; tears of her own streaming down her face.
With one arm firmly placed around his daughter's chest and the other with a tail at hand, Goku was ready. "Piccolo! Permanently remove just as Kami removed mine so it will never grow back!" He kept his eye on his struggling child at hand, ready for any kind of break away she may be planning. "Usagi stop. You're making this harder on yourself than it has to be. I'm sorry, but it's just the way it has to be. I know you don't understand."
Piccolo hastily approached the duo of Saiyans, father and daughter together. One fighting the other with a cause of their own at mind. "Are you sure about this, Goku?"
Goku gulped with watery eyes ready to cry right along with his daughter. "No. But it's the only way to fix things otherwise her life will be suppressed." He tightened his grip around Usagi as she struggled harder.
Piccolo fully understood what his comrade was talking about. He had done many things in his life because he knew he had to, although he didn't really want to. "Alright. Here we go." He stretched his arms and reached out for the tail that the father of the young Saiyan held. 'I'm sorry, kid. Your dad's right with this one...' He gripped Usagi's tail in his hand and began to tug, though using some of his own power to stop the pain from escalating too high.
Usagi let her emotional distress be known though. "NO! DADDY PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!" With that, she raised her power level and ripped away from her father and Piccolo in a flash.
( OOOOOOOH! Lookie there! She got another chapter out, eh!? Hehe, NO HOMEWORK!! YAYAYA! You had better be happy that my teachers decided to not give me any homework tonight otherwise you'd be waiting until this weekend to get another chapter. ^_^ Anyway, I thought this was the perfect spot to end this chapter, what do you think? ::grins deviously:: Hehe, so what did you think? Love to hear. Ja ne!! )
Things seemed to be going well for the young Saiyan, Usagi, who was ready to head home. Things couldn't have gone smoother in the Tsukino dimension and she was more than ready to be reunited with her friends and family once again. But what she didn't know, is that things wouldn't be all peachy when she returned. Her parents were in the middle of an argument that had been building up between the two for some time, although the reasons were so hidden, even to them, that they could only have been brought about by a crisis such as this.
After the falling out between husband and wife, Chi-Chi had returned to her quest for locating the Dragon Balls, while Goku flew into the night skies with no particular destination.
~*~*~
Earth: Son Dimension
The night was becoming colder and time rolled on. The group of adults who were meant to be staying with the girls and Kami's lookout had yet to return with the parents, although, seven unexpected guests had uninvitedly shown up.
Yes, Mamoru and his gang -- known only as the emotionless Rat Pack - had conveniently taken it upon themselves to come to the heart of the action. Though, for an entirely different reason than to try and get Usagi back from the hands of evil. They wanted to know why they could feel this knew entity, why none of the adults could.
Mamoru knew that feeling all too well. He remembered the power of Cell, whom they had fought in the past. This knew power had the same exact feeling as him and there was only one explanation for such a comparison. The power had to be from that queen that he had spoken of, the one who wanted Usagi's power.
Mamoru took the initiative over his entire gang of friends and came to stand about five feet in front of Rei, who was glaring into his devious eyes.
Rei frowned up at him for the perverse smirk that the leader lay upon her. "What do you want?"
Mamoru only continued to grin. He could tell that they were hiding something, just by the way this girl held herself, as if she were more confident than anyone of the adults, whom he had seen down on earth in the city gathering parents up. "You know why we're here."
Makoto, who was still inside Dende's palace, grabbed Hotaru by the wrist and dragged her outside to meet with the unexpected group.
Hotaru resisted slightly. "Why are we going out there?" She whispered.
Makoto put her finger to her mouth to shush her younger friend. "Don't worry about it. I don't think they're here to do any harm."
Mamoru grinned. "Very good, Makoto. You learn fast." He winked back at the brown-haired girl with a devious smile.
Rei crossed her arms. She wasn't at all amused by this. "Just get on with it."
Haruka frowned as she pushed Mamoru to the side. "Fine. Kid, we want to know what's up. You have obviously dealt with this already, from what Mamoru tells us. We saw and felt the power that the adults were trying to throw at the moon, which obviously has SOMETHING to do with this new enemy of ours otherwise it wouldn't have just popped up there from out of no where."
Makoto grinned. 'Looks like she's going to get to the part about how she needs us soon.' "What's your point?" Makoto giggled with anticipation. She would have given anything to hear them say that they needed someone else to do a task.
Haruka clenched her fist as well as her teeth. She wouldn't bring herself down to the level of begging for help. Seeing her obvious distress, Michiru gently rubbed Haruka's arm and gave her a warm, caring smile. "The adults can't sense the new enemy we are up against. Mamoru has told us everything about Cell and how the adults from the past couldn't fell it either. We may need your help, seeing as how the five of you destroyed Cell with your combined attack in the past." Rei and Makoto exchanged glances of anxiety with a pair of groans.
That only caused Mamoru to frown. "What the hell is wrong with you guys? I know you can do it."
Rei grinned. "Not that we aren't flattered by you asking us to help you, but we can't beat this enemy on our own."
Justin quirked an eyebrow in fascination. He could detect a secret when he saw one. "Oh really, and why is that? Do you know someone who can help you, I mean, you did say by yourselves and all."
Rei jumped back with a slight giggle. She needed to steer them away from the thinking that she was hiding something. She couldn't be the one responsible for giving up their identity on the first night on the job. "Well... no ... you see ... we may need the Sailor Senshis' help, yeah that's it. The Sailor Senshi."
'That sounds quite suspicious. I better watch these kids, they know something.' Mamoru chuckled. "The Sailor Senshi, huh? You mean those people who feel quit a bit like you? They have a stronger energy than you, but they and you feel almost completely alike."
Artimas, who was sitting at Hotaru's feet stared up at this strange group of people in curiosity. 'Why were they able to feel the Senshi? Wait, they must have some kind of connection with the Moon Kingdom as well. That's gotta be it. It's the only way that anyone could feel the power of the Dark Kingdom and Moon Kingdom.'
Artimas perked his ears back when he heard the landing of feet on the surface of Kami's lookout. 'Venus and Mercury must be back.'
In fact it had been Venus and Mercury returning from their encounter with Gojiita, Piccolo, Dende, and Gohan. They were more than ready to turn back to their civilian forms when they spotted a tiny white blob running right for them.
"DON'T!" Was all that was shouted from the little white creature.
Mamoru and his entire gang turned around in place. "Did that cat just say something?"
Rei and Makoto jumped from their spots and grabbed Mamoru by the head and arms. "NO!" They both shouted.
Makoto pulled Mamoru away from the group. "A cat can't talk, silly. What's wrong with you?"
More interested in what the cat was doing, Mamoru wasn't paying much attention to the girls who hung all over him. Had he known what exactly they were doing, he would have decked them both right there and then. "I could have sworn that cat just said 'Don't'"
Michiru nodded. "As did I."
Hotaru, wanting to do her part, tried to giggle to get the attention taken off of Artimas. "Nope. You were hearing things."
Mamoru glared back at the child. 'Now I know they're hiding something. I don't hear things, ever.'
~*~*~
Venus looked around the area only to see commotion in the form of her friends and the Rat Pack. "Great, now what are we supposed to do? We can't detransform here, they'll see us."
Mercury sighed in exasperation. "Will nothing go right tonight?"
Artimas jumped up onto Venus' shoulder and proceeded to whisper into her ear. "Transform later. Don't worry about it until they summon the Dragon."
No sooner did these words come into existence did the two groups, who had met up on the way, of the Dragon Ball collectors and Moon destroyers return to the lookout. Though, there was still one person missing, Goku. Rei grabbed Hotaru by the arm and dragged her back into the palace so as to not cause anymore trouble with the adults, who were certain that trouble would come to be if Hotaru were to look into the full moon. Venus and Mercury, on the other hand, just stood on the edge of the platform, waiting for the adults to stress over them, but surprisingly, nothing happened. They were too interested in summoning Shenlong, the Eternal Dragon.
Goten, who had the entire set of eight Dragon Balls in a bag, dropped them onto the surface. Everyone gathered around to watch the show, all except for Chi-Chi, who tried desperately to locate her husband, but had no luck. She wished that he had at least shown up for this. It didn't matter if they were mad at each other, the point was that their daughter was going to be returning home. He should at least be there for it, but instead, he chose to be a baby about the entire situation.
All of a sudden, a large, cold hand was placed upon her shoulder, causing her to jump out in surprise. "Goku?!" A twinkle of hope appeared in her eyes as she turned around to see who it was, only to be once again dropped into disappointment. "Gohan, it's you."
Gohan gave his mother a half smile for he knew something was eating away at his mother's emotions, he could always tell. Though he was not sure of exactly what was going on, he knew enough to know that it was his father that was the trouble. "Cheer up mom, Usagi is going to be home very soon."
Chi-Chi sighed as she hugged her son. "It's not that anymore. I know she will be home, safe and sound soon. This time it's your father. He won't be here when she gets back and I know how much it will mean to her to have both of us here when she gets back."
Goten, seeing what was going on, tried to offer his mother a word of advice. "Just put yourself in his shoes."
Gohan frowned at his younger brother. "Shut up and go back to what you were doing."
Goten frowned. "Fine. Sheesh." Grumbling, he turned around and prepared for the Dragon Balls to be put into place.
Gohan looked down to his mother, who had tears in her eyes. "I know what you're going through, mom. But you do have to understand where dad is coming from. He was really upset when he left us. He just needs time alone."
Chi-Chi frowned. "Well he sure picked a fine time to ..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, a bright, golden light filled the entire area. A shadow, inside the light, became larger and larger as the light brightened. "Look out below!"
At that sound, the sound of a child yelling from the sky, Chi-Chi's eyes widened to their fullest. That voice, in which she knew so well, came from the body of her youngest. "U...sa..gi?!"
Videl covered sheltered her eyes from the intensity of the light with her hand. "Hey! It is Usagi! She's back!"
Tears streamed down the face of the child's mother as she jumped into the air. "My baby! She's home! Safe and sound!" 'Goku where are you?!'
Usagi continued to fall with a smile as she listened to the commotion that was taking place; the joyful words of her mother, her brothers, and friends. But, for some reason, she couldn't hear a single thing of her father. 'Where's daddy at?'
Falling faster as she neared the tower, Usagi braced herself for an impact, which she was sure would be one of her family member's arms. But to her deep surprise, they were not of her mother, father, nor were they of her brothers, but a VERY shocked and angry Vejita.
Vejita growled at Usagi as her weight hitting against his arms all of a sudden caused him to nearly topple forward. "Brat!"
Usagi giggled as she reached up and cupped her hands on his cheeks. "Why Vejita, my Prince!" She squealed aloud. "I always knew you loved me!" She leaned forward and gave him a giant, wet kiss on his forehead.
In a faster action than anyone's eyes could truly follow, Vejita ripped his arms out from underneath the small body of the younger Saiyan and glared down to her with fire as she slammed into the concrete. "Don't you EVER TOUCH me again!"
Bulma giggled as she threw her own arms around her husband. "Vejita, how long have you two been seeing each other?"
~*~*~
Artimas trotted behind the two Senshi, who everyone had failed to notice. "You two, go detransform now that everyone is busy with this. They won't see you."
Mercury nodded down to the white feline. "Good idea. Come on Minako. Let's teleport to the palace where no one will see us."
"Good idea." Venus nodded as she pressed her fingers to her forehead and concentrated her energy to the palace upon the tower, teleporting in an instant with her comrade close behind.
~*~*~
Usagi sat on the ground for a moment as she looked up. The first face that she lay her bright, blue eyes upon was that of her smiling mother. There were no words in her vocabulary that could explain what kind of true bliss she was in fact feeling. "Mommy..." She remembered what the Chi-Chi in the other dimension had said to her about letting her emotions go in times of need and decided to just let loose.
Usagi jumped up to her feet and within a flash of one second, she was in her mothers arms, on the ground again from the force of her own strength. "MOMMY!" She squeezed almost as hard as she could, trying desperately to not suffocate her own mother, but it was too hard to restrain herself. It felt like an entire eternity had gone by since the last time she had actually seen her own mother, not like the time she had spent in the past. "Is it really you?" She asked as she pulled back to look into her mother's ebony eyes.
Chi-Chi laughed of joy as she kissed her daughter upon the cheek. "Yes, dear, it's really me."
Usagi smiled with relief as she pressed her head against her mother's bosom. 'I'm in the right dimension, and hopefully for the last time.'
Videl and Pan couldn't help but want to cry at the spectacle that they were witnessing. Mother and daughter, once again reunited. It was just a shame that the father could not enjoy such a reunion as well. Instead, he had to be off in his own world, sulking about having to perform something that would hurt his daughter, though, little did he know that he was going to end up hurting her worse this way.
Goten walked to his mother and kneeled down, putting his hand on the back of his little sister. "You ok?"
Usagi nodded as she pulled away, ever so slightly. "Yes. But I missed you guys so much."
Gohan, who stood behind his brother, warmly smiled down at the three with loving eyes. "You gave us all quite a scare. We were about to summon the Dragon to wish for you to come back home."
Usagi smiled as she wiped a stream of tears away from her face. 'I wonder if the Dragon would have let me return home...' Feeling a bit incomplete, she looked around the area. She saw her friends, the Rat Pack, the adults whom she had known her entire life, but not her father. "Mommy, where's daddy?" She asked curiously. Though, had she known the response that she would get, she wouldn't have asked it in the first place.
Chi-Chi gulped as she looked into Goten's eyes, which told her to just go ahead and say. But, she knew that Usagi was too sensitive to just be told without somehow making it less of a blow. Chi-Chi didn't want to crush her daughter with the truth, but what else could she say? She herself was still quite angry with him, but she surely didn't want their own daughter to be angry with him. "Daddy... well, he's contemplating something at the moment."
Not a single word bubbled out of the mouth of the curious child as the two of them sat there on the ground with watchful eyes all around.
Gohan kneeled down next to his sister and grabbed her by the arms, turning her towards him. "Dad's real upset about something right now. We just need to give him some time alone to think about it, ok?"
Usagi very calmly nodded with a slight idea in mind of what he was talking about. "Like when mom is mad and we need to give her her space?" Gohan nodded, and, out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mother nodding as well. "But I'm back, doesn't he care?"
Bulma, having heard the entire story from Chi-Chi, bent over and rested her hands on her knees. "Of course he cares. He loves you, Usagi. He just needs some time to think some things through to give you the best opportunity."
Usagi squinted with confusion. 'He's thinking about me? This can't be good.' "Oh...'
Chi-Chi put her hand around her daughter's chin and directed her to look back at her. "Usagi, you have to promise us that you will not look at the moon, alright?"
Usagi's mouth awed in the shape of an 'O'. "The moon.... I completely forgot." Not really paying attention to what her mother just said to her, Usagi looked up. The sky, it was finally complete. The moon and its blissful shine would no longer be suppressed as long as she was Moon Princess. It would be her destiny to protect its good name. No harm would be allowed to come to it as long as she was around, which would be quite a long while.
She calmly pulled away from her mother's protective grasp and began walking towards the moon, as if it were calling to her to come, though this time her body refused to shine its imposing silver aura. She felt not at all like she had earlier in the day. No, now she felt complete. The emptiness in her heart was completely gone, replaced with goodness and purity.
Chi-Chi jumped to her feet and reached out for her daughter, only to meet with thin air for her daughter had walked away. "USAGI!!! NO!!!"
Goten rushed out for her, but tripped over his brother, who was also trying to catch her. "LOOK AWAY!" Though he hadn't exactly seen what happened to a Saiyan when they transformed, he knew, from many stories, exactly what kind of destruction they could cause.
Gohan, after being tripped over, was slowed down to almost a complete halt. "USAGI!"
~*~*~
Meanwhile, in the Palace where the girls were sitting with Hotaru, they were getting a good laugh at the adults' antics. Never in their lives had they seen someone stressing out over something so insignificant. Had the only known that the moon could never hurt Usagi, they would feel like complete idiots.
~*~*~
Only about a span of ten seconds had passed since Usagi had first looked at the moon; the adults more fearful than ever.
Chi-Chi, who was just about to reach her daughter, yelled out once more in hopes to make her daughter obey. "USAGI DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!" No luck, Usagi refused. However, one unexpected incident did cause her to look away. Though it wasn't by choice, Usagi was basically punched down to the ground by that of a greater force. Chi-Chi hastily came to a halt when she saw a tall, muscular figure standing angrily over her daughter. 'I don't believe it...'
Usagi's body hit the concrete with a loud thud, causing all those who loved her to cringe in pain for their friend and family member. Before she even thought about turning around to see who had assaulted her, she decided that she had better sense out who it was. The power level that she received scared her to death.
Gulping, Usagi turned around to stare into two, stark black eyes, that flashed with a hint of green every so often. Those eyes; eyes filled with fear, and above all, anger. She could truly say that she was scared of what was come next from this troubled man who stood before her. "Daddy...?" There we was, face to face with the only person who had never once laid a single hand on her before in her entire life, and now, one could no longer say that. Tears began to form in the base of her already moist eyes.
Goku glared down at his daughter with a fury unknown to him. His blue aura raged around him with an even greater wrath. "You mother told you NOT to look up at the moon! What is your PROBLEM?!" His aura spun around at a fast speed as he emphasized the last word in that sentence, putting an even greater fear into his daughter.
Usagi made certain not to look in the direction of the moon as she slowly rose to her feet to confront her father. "But daddy..."
Goku narrowed his glare as he rose his hand. "Don't 'But daddy' me young lady! Do you WANT to become a giant, ugly, killing ape?!"
Usagi gulped when she noticed her father's hand hovering over her cheek. "N... no... But you don't understand... I ... I..."
Goku once again felt it his duty to cut her off mid sentence. "I understand completely. You completely disregard anything your mother or I say. You need to learn your place, when to do as you're told."
Usagi frowned. This was unfair treatment. She had just gotten back home and she gets this from her father. She had done nothing. Granted she had not done what she was told, but she knew that was not a call for a lecture of this caliber at a time like this. "Daddy stop it. I didn't do anything. I don't under..."
Goku said nothing, but instead, responded with a swift slap to her face. Chi-Chi had seen quite enough at that point. It was unnecessary treatment. Usagi was right, there was no reason to be acting like this, especially since the girl had just come home.
Stalking to her husband, Chi-Chi lay a big one on the back of his head. "Goku! Don't act like this. I realize you're angry with me, but that is no reason what so ever to take it out on your daughter at a time like this! Do I make myself clear?!"
Usagi slowly lifted her hand to her red, tender cheek in a full cry. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Goku frowned, utterly ignoring his wife. He had come to the hardest decision in his life, which was why he was being so anal all of a sudden. "You can look at the moon, Usagi... Just as soon as that tail of yours comes off."
Usagi's mouth nearly dropped to the ground at the sound of that. "Cut off my tail? What are you talking about. No!" She whined as she turned to her mother for protection. "Mommy what's he talking about? You can't cut off my tail... it's mine."
Chi-Chi gravely gulped as she looked into the fearful eyes of her daughter. Never in her life did she want to do something so harsh, but truth be told, it was obvious that it had to be done. Goku had finally come to terms with the fact and there was no better time to do it. "I'm afraid we're going to have to, Usagi. For some reason, the Moon can't be destroyed. So it's your tail and Hotaru's tail. I'm sorry."
Usagi got a pouty lower lip as she backed away from her mother and father. "No. This isn't fair. I don't wanna lose my tail."
Goku's expression softened as he neared his daughter. "Usagi, I've thought long and hard about this and it's for the best. Your safety, and everyone else's safety depends on this."
Usagi backed away yet again. "But I don't change into an ape. See?" She looked up to the moon once again, only to find her father teleporting to the area behind her position. "Nothing will happen."
Goku wasn't about to let anything bad happen to his daughter or anyone else for that matter. He quickly wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her away, with her facing forward and his back to the moon. He made sure to keep a tight grip around his struggling child so she wouldn't break free. "Usagi, stop it."
Usagi refused. She wouldn't let anything happen to her precious tail no matter what. "Please listen to me. I'm telling the truth. If you would just watch I could show you. Please daddy. PLEASE!"
Goku cringed at the sound of his daughter begging him to not perform the deed which would change her. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, wanting to cry himself at what he was about to have ordered done. 'Forgive me...' He reached down Usagi's leg and felt around for her tail. It, obviously, wasn't there as a result to her wrapping it around her leg. "Usagi, please don't make this harder on us all than it has to be." He reached under the skirt of her GI and clasped his hand around her tail, pulling it out as fast as he could.
"NO!" Usagi squealed at the top of her lungs. "Daddy PLEASE! NO!"
Chi-Chi forced herself to watch as the duo struggled. One wanted free while the other fought with their own emotions to keep a firm hold. It was just too much for her to watch; tears of her own streaming down her face.
With one arm firmly placed around his daughter's chest and the other with a tail at hand, Goku was ready. "Piccolo! Permanently remove just as Kami removed mine so it will never grow back!" He kept his eye on his struggling child at hand, ready for any kind of break away she may be planning. "Usagi stop. You're making this harder on yourself than it has to be. I'm sorry, but it's just the way it has to be. I know you don't understand."
Piccolo hastily approached the duo of Saiyans, father and daughter together. One fighting the other with a cause of their own at mind. "Are you sure about this, Goku?"
Goku gulped with watery eyes ready to cry right along with his daughter. "No. But it's the only way to fix things otherwise her life will be suppressed." He tightened his grip around Usagi as she struggled harder.
Piccolo fully understood what his comrade was talking about. He had done many things in his life because he knew he had to, although he didn't really want to. "Alright. Here we go." He stretched his arms and reached out for the tail that the father of the young Saiyan held. 'I'm sorry, kid. Your dad's right with this one...' He gripped Usagi's tail in his hand and began to tug, though using some of his own power to stop the pain from escalating too high.
Usagi let her emotional distress be known though. "NO! DADDY PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!" With that, she raised her power level and ripped away from her father and Piccolo in a flash.
( OOOOOOOH! Lookie there! She got another chapter out, eh!? Hehe, NO HOMEWORK!! YAYAYA! You had better be happy that my teachers decided to not give me any homework tonight otherwise you'd be waiting until this weekend to get another chapter. ^_^ Anyway, I thought this was the perfect spot to end this chapter, what do you think? ::grins deviously:: Hehe, so what did you think? Love to hear. Ja ne!! )