The night grew colder as an unwanted aura of corrupt emotions arose atop Kami's Tower.
~*~*~*~
Confusion, anger, fear; all emotions of the sort; lead into young Usagi's painful distress as she apprehensively stared into the eyes of her father, whom she had just ultimately defied. Tears poured out of her eyes and down past her chin with an uncontrollable rush of sorrow as if filled her entire soul; she would soon regret what she had just done. She saw nothing but fury in his black eyes, which only sent her heart beating ten times as fast its normal rate.
From Goku's point of view, he was sure, at this point, that this was going to have to be done by force. If he was going to be able to do that, he knew not. But he wasn't about to back down from his position. This had to be done for her own good. The more she would resist, the sterner he would become. There was absolutely no reason what so ever for her to be acting this way. He could understand her distress, but to disobey him in the manner that she had was a much different deal. "Usagi!" He shouted with a rage not known to be heard by him at any previous time.
Usagi frowned as she stood her ground. Yes, she was scared to death of what her father could do to her, but she wouldn't stand down. To her, this was the most right thing that she could do. Had this been anything different, like being reprimanded for something that she had done, she wouldn't have minded. But this, no, this was too much. They were talking about cutting part of her off. Of course, had she been affected by the moon, she would have been all for it, but that wasn't the case here, the moon did nothing to her. "It's MY tail. You CAN'T cut it off!"
Goku loosened up a bit as he approached his daughter, who seemed to be powering up every time one of his feet hit the ground. "Stop this, Now!" He let go of the fists that he held, to show that he would not lower himself to fighting his own flesh and blood, even if she wanted to.
Usagi let her protective, Saiyan instinct kick in as she growled at her father, coordinating her steps back with his. "You can't cut MY tail off! Nothing happens when I look into the moon." She stopped raising her power when it reached the halfway point of an average Saiyan, which was still considerably higher than that of her father's.
~*~*~
Chi-Chi nearly lunged herself for her daughter when Goku stomped his last step towards Usagi down on the ground, causing the entire platform to shake. "Usagi don..."
Vejita stopped the woman with a rough punch to the stomach. "Foolish female! Don't interfere when an offspring challenges the parent!"
Chi-Chi frowned as she pushed forward against Vejita's grip. "Don't you EVER tell me how to manage my family you mon..."
Gohan, seeing very well that his mother wouldn't hesitate engaging in a fight at this point, pulled her away. "Mother, I think Vejita's right with this one. Dad could go ballistic at any point."
Chi-Chi sighed as she dropped her stance. "Fine. But if it gets out of hand, I'm not going to hesitate pulling them away."
~*~*~
Goku stood face to face with Usagi; both of them glaring into the eyes of one another with no thoughts of backing down. Though, Usagi was in the mode of fighting for her tail, Goku stood, calm as ever; although still with a twinkle of anger in his eyes. "Usagi, do not resort to fighting. I have taught you otherwise, now use the knowledge." 'Don't show me that you've been disobeying me in the rules of fighting...'
Usagi glared up at her father harder as she pulled back a bit, though not lowing her power level. "Are you going to stop trying to cut off my tail?"
Goku shook his head with a sigh. "NO."
Usagi crouched into a fighting position. "Then I'm not going to lower my power level."
Goku frowned down at the little figure. "If that's the way you want it." Slightly raising his own power level, he teleported himself behind his daughter.
Usagi was ready for that. The moment she felt his power level go up, she raised her sense. And in doing so, she followed his every movement, anticipating that he would try something like that. "I don't think so!" She yelled as she lifted her foot and jammed her heal into the thigh of her father.
Goku had only just arrived in his place when he felt the swift kick of his daughter, when he found himself flying backwards. Had this been anyone else, he would have rose to their challenge, but there was no way that he would fight his daughter in a real battle; nor was there any want in his heart to. 'Stay calm Goku. Stay calm. She doesn't understand. Just don't lose your cool.'
Usagi didn't even wait for her father to hit the ground before she advanced toward him again, punching him in the side this time. "Daddy, I don't want to do this."
Goku used his own power to stop himself, mid-flight. "Then stop. No one's forcing you."
Usagi got back into her fighting stance and stayed there, ready for anything else that would cause her to have to fight again. "Leave my tail alone, and I'll stop." Tears still ran down her cheeks, though with more of a force. She truly did not want to do this, but it seemed as though it was the only way. If she wanted to keep her tail, she would have to continue to fight everyone off until they left her alone.
Goku grabbed his side, now in pain, and slowly rose back to his feet. "Usagi, you know we can't do this. We aren't doing this to hurt you. Just cooperate and everything will be a lot easier. We won't even be mad at you...'
~*~*~
From Kami's palace sat all of Usagi's friends; all completely in awe at what they were seeing. Never in their lives had they expected Usagi to go against her family. But sure enough, there she was, trying to start a fight with one of her family members.
Hotaru was the most wide-eyed out of all of them. A bit in fear for her own tail, she wanted to know the exact process of her friend. "Do you think she'll make them see that nothing happens to us?"
Minako shook her head in awe. "I have no idea, but I do know Chi-Chi is going to have a cow when this is over... What is she thinking?"
~*~*~
Goku stared at Usagi, who was still in a crouched fighting position. "I'm not fighting you." He stepped forward with his hand extended.
Usagi took a step back; tail wrapped around her waist. She let out a near silent growl; one that went unnoticed to everyone but the few Saiyans there.
Goku frowned, his patience were wearing thin. "Don't give me that. Now come here. I'm not going to keep playing this game."
"Who said it was a game, daddy? My tail is a very serious thing." Usagi powered up a bit further, just to show how entirely serious she really was.
'Fine. If it's the only way to do this, then I guess I'll have to Play a bit.' Without a single word, Goku raised his power level to the point just below a Super Saiyan and advanced for his daughter at an unimaginable speed; one that Chi-Chi herself could hardly detect.
Usagi held her ground, not about to be backed down by her father. In her heart, she knew that she was completely right. He had no right to take her tail away from her for it was in no way any sort of endangerment to her life or anyone else's life. However, she was somewhat stunned that he would actually try and attack her at near Super Saiyan power, a power in which she herself had not even thought of ascending to, but it seemed as though in this time of need, she would have to just to keep what was rightfully hers. "You're going to have to try harder than that, daddy."
Goku grinned just as his fist reached her, dropping his power level just below hers. Although, before Usagi had felt the decrease in power, she dodged out of the way, realizing that he was completely serious about his attack on her. Her dodge was just a moment too late and although Goku had decreased his power level by a large amount, it was still enough to break the skin on her cheek.
~*~*~
"GOKU YOU ANIMAL!" Chi-Chi lunged out for her husband, fingernails ready.
Pan reached out for her grandmother, fearing the worst. She knew that, though it was harsh for the child, it was probably for the better. She remembered back to when she was growing up; back to when she had severely defied her parents. Her mother, Videl, had always wanted to rush to her side, but she hadn't. And there was a reason for that. "Grandma, we have to let them do this. Don't worry, grandpa won't hurt Usagi."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm warning you all, if anything happens to my Usagi..."
Piccolo glared back at the insubordinate mother. "It's not the kid we have to worry about, it's Goku."
~*~*~
Makoto watched intently with both fear and anticipation. 'I wonder what would happen if I ever challenged my dad like that.'
Luna watched, bewildered, at the spectacle. Father and daughter, fighting. It made absolutely no sense. Was this really the sort of relationship that a Moon Princess should be in?
~*~*~
The Saiyan pair glared into each other's eyes as they circled around; both in crouching fighting positions. Usagi lifted her hand to her cheek, where a nice steady flow of blood from her father's attack resided. She was a little shock stricken by the turn of events. Never in her life had she imagined that something like this would happen, truthfully, it scared her to death. She slowly and cautiously began to stalk towards the figure of her father, who held his ground. "How about a spar, dad?" Goku frowned as he got out of fighting position and stood tall. Usagi grinned. "You win, we cut my tail off. I win, it stays."
"No. This is not a betting matter. You will do as your mother and I say and that's final."
Usagi impishly smirked. "Well then I guess I'm going to have to go down kicking and screaming."
~*~*~
Mamoru couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Literally."
Michiru slapped him in the face for that rude comment. "Shut up and learn some respect! This is serious!"
~*~*~
Without further comments from either party, Usagi raced out for her father; powered up to the point of his Super Saiyan. Goku, seeing that she was completely serious, anticipated her moves and dodged to the side, causing Usagi to go further than her designated mark. 'This is ridiculous. Where does she get off thinking that she can fight like this?' He powered up a small Ki attack and fired at the child, who had already stopped herself and was heading back towards him. Usagi jumped up to dodge the blast and fired one of her own at her father.
Goku sighed as he watched the golden Ki attack fly to him. 'This is going to go on forever, but what can I do to stop it? It isn't all that powerful, at least, nothing I've never dealt with before...' Instead of dodging, he decided to stand in its path and let it assault him as it was meant to. He fully knew the consequences of his choices, but that was the entire point of the concept. In fact, he completely lowered his power level with no intention of trying to block the attack.
Usagi stared on in horror as her Super Saiyan Ki attack pressed into the body of her father, throwing him down to the ground in a rage of pain. 'Daddy...' She let her eyes travel across his body as it lay there on the ground; laying her eyes upon the blood that was collecting beneath his form. 'Oh no... What have I done? Daddy!' She quickly lowered her power level and dropped to the ground.
Goku lay on the ground, his eyes closed and breathing very solemn. "Nnnn..."
~*~*~
The entire group of spectators, dumbfounded by the show, gasped in horror as their hero of so many battles fell.
Gohan gulped as he looked down to the ground at his father; holding his mother back from conniption. "What was going through his head? That was way stronger than he could handle. She was at the power of a Super Saiyan and he was at a normal civilian power level."
Goten gulped as he stepped forward, noticing his sister slowly approaching their position. "Usagi." A rustling caught attention, causing him to look in the direction of his father. "Dad!" The sound of his mother struggling with his brother could be heard from behind.
Goku slowly and painfully sat up with his hand at his aching head. 'Did it work?' He gently turned his head in the direction of Usagi, who was within an arms reach from him. "Yes?"
Usagi gulped as she kneeled down next to him. "Are you ok?" She didn't get too close for fear that he was still angry with her for what she had done.
Goku nodded with a big, goofy grin. "I'm fine. Just had the wind knocked out of me."
Chi-Chi lost it at that point. There was no way that she was going to sit by and watch this happen any more. Either they were going to stop, or she was going to get very angry, and we all know no one wants that. "GOKU! USAGI! ENOUGH OF YOUR CRAP!" She yelled as she marched forward to them. "NOW YOU STOP THIS NOW OR SOME ONE IS LIABAL TO REALLY GET HURT!"
Usagi dropped her head in shame as she sat completely down. "I'm sorry." She murmured. "I'll let you cut my tail off..." Her words were said so somber that made her parents cringe.
Goku's expression softened as he gently placed his hand upon her cheek. "It's for your own benefit. We won't have to keep you cooped up in doors the entire time the moon is out this way." 'It worked. I knew it would. I knew that if she thought that she really hurt me that she would calm down. I'm just sorry I had to do it this way. I hope she can forgive me...'
Usagi sighed as she pulled away from her father's warm touch. 'Maybe if you would listen to me we wouldn't have to do this. This isn't fair, this sucks.' "Let's just get it done and over with."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms as she too stood to her feet. "Good, now that you two have made up. I don't ever want to see you fighting like that again. It's not healthy."
Goku pushed himself off the ground and looked around to his friends who stood close by. "Just let us finish this up and we can try to figure out how we're going to deal with this new enemy."
Usagi looked up to her father with surprise. 'Oh yeah, that Beryl person. I almost forgot about her.' Usagi went to her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I'm sorry, mom." She slowly unwrapped her tail from her own waist so Piccolo would have clear access to it so he could do whatever he needed to do.
Chi-Chi smiled as she followed with a hug of her own. "It's ok." 'Poor kid.' She looked up and gestured to Piccolo to proceed.
Goku motioned for Hotaru to come out of the Palace. "Don't look at the moon."
Hotaru looked around to all of her friends in question. "I have to get mine cut off too? This isn't fair. Don't I get a say?"
Rei frowned at Goku, undauntedly. "If Usagi doesn't, you sure don't."
Hotaru sighed as she began to walk away from the palace. "No fair. Why don't gown ups ever listen?"
Makoto leaned her head against the window as she watched her friends slowly merge into the group of adults. 'That's what I've been asking all along.'
~*~*~
Piccolo slowly and carefully placed his hand upon Usagi's golden-brown tail to grip it. He didn't want to go to fast for fear that she would strike out again. "Now don't try anything funny this time, Usagi."
Usagi gulped as more tears formed in her eyes. She didn't even have the courage to dignify that with an answer.
Hotaru, with tears of her own, stopped next to Goku and looked up into his ever watchful eyes as if she were pleading with him to reconsider. But he wouldn't change his mind. He had made it clear that this was going to happen and that was the end of things. Did he not know of the great injustice that he was placing upon the girls?
She let her eyes pull away from his and down at her own tail. That tail, with it's woven purple strands, was the one and only thing that had been left to her by her mother; the only thing that she could look at and remember her mother. And to have it taken away was probably the most horrible circumstance in the world.
Piccolo began emitting a strange, yellowish-green energy unto Usagi's tail, which twitched slightly at the feeling of the energy being placed upon it. It was a strange, tingly feeling that raced through her entire body, which made it feel heavy, as if it were in a gravity room. The more she felt, the tighter her hold on Chi-Chi' became, and the more tears were shed.
Goku could see, almost feel her deep distress and even shed a tear of his own. Never in his life had he wanted to hurt his own flesh and blood in such a manner. Nor did he want to hurt any other child for that matter, which is what he would be having to do with Hotaru. Could it have been true that Usagi and Hotaru were not affected by the moon? Had it been a last dodge attempt to get out of having their tails removed, or were they telling to truth? At that moment, Goku rethought his decision. Had he done the right thing by listening to Chi-Chi? After all, he was actually trying to prove that he could do something that wasn't selfish on his part, but did that mean that he had made a huge mistake by not listening to his own daughter? Besides, she had never been known to lie to him when it was something this important.
But there was also the fact that, had something truly bad happened when they looked into the light of the moon, they would most likely end up hurting the ones they loved most, like he had so many years ago. He couldn't let them live through something so tragic. Truly, there was only one way to know fore sure if he was doing the right thing or not. And now that he had had time to calm himself down a bit, he did the only thing he could think of.
Goku grabbed Hotaru by the arm with one hand. With the other, he grabbed Usagi, who was carefully clasped around her mother still.
Chi-Chi turned to her husband. "Goku, what's the meaning of this? Let go. You're making things worse." Goku said nothing in return. Instead, he powered up to that of a Super Saiyan.
Usagi gulped, thinking it was something that she had done. "Daddy?" She winced as a serge of pain from her tail being pulled rushed through her body.
Goku only grinned, and in less than a split second, the four of them were gone and out of reach. Piccolo was left distributing energy to thin air.
Bulma sighed as she walked to the edge of the tower. "Whatever he's got in mind had better be good or else Chi-Chi is going to freak."
~*~*~
Far off, in another field away from any type of village of mountain home, a bright light grew to fill the surrounding. In the center of this magnificent light were four figures; Goku, Chi-Chi, and the two Saiyan children with their tails still fully intact.
No trees or any other obstacle in sight, Goku had specifically picked this field for one soul purpose. He wanted to be fully sure that what he was forcing them to do was for their own good. "Usagi." He sternly said as he stood between her and the moon.
Usagi backed up into her mother for fear that he was going to punish her. "Y...yes?"
Goku frowned, not at his trembling daughter, but at himself for making her think that he would try to hurt her. But that was not how it came to be with Usagi, who was sure he was going to lash out at him. Had he not already proved that he would not harm her by taking her assault as a Super Saiyan while at the level of power of a Human? "Look at the moon."
Usagi had definitely not expected those words to just flow out of her father's mouth as she just had. In fact, those were the last words she had expected to hear. Moments ago he was angry with her for looking, and now he actually WANTED her to? It made no sense, and therefore, Usagi did not comply. "What? Why?"
Hotaru cocked her head in a curious manner as she stared up at Goku, whose face was all of a sudden in its usual carefree form. "But you kept yelling at us to not look up."
Goku sighed, he knew that this was going to happen. It truly was entirely his fault. He had been so caught up with getting Usagi back, trying to destroy the moon, and figure out who the new enemy and Sailor Senshi were that he didn't really have time to think things completely through until just a few moments ago when everything seemed to be settling.
Usagi frowned up at her father. Now that she could see that he was calming down, she became a little bolder. "Yeah. You just yelled at me big time and acted like I was a moron for looking at the moon. You made me so mad that I wanted to fight to keep my tail and NOW you want us to look at the moon? I don't get it dad."
Chi-Chi put her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot on the ground. "Goku, you had better have a good reason for doing this. These girls are going to turn into giant..."
Goku lifted his hand to shush his wife, and surprisingly, she did. "I know, I know. We can talk about this in a minute." Before anyone had anything to say, though Chi-Chi was obviously full of anger over this, Goku moved forward, wrapped his hands around Usagi's chest, and lifted her up to look at the moon. So much time had been wasted already, anymore time wasted was time that the enemy had to plan their next attack. "You show signs of turning into an ape, we cut the tail. It's as simple as that."
Usagi cheerfully smiled as she stared up into the compelling light of the Pearl Moon. 'Looks like I'm keeping my tail then.' A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she relaxed her muscles.
Chi-Chi, not in any way trusting he lunatic husband, grabbed Hotaru's hand and pulled her from behind Goku. "Ok Hotaru. Look into the moon."
Hotaru smiled as she nodded at Chi-Chi. "Ok." She quickly turned her head in the direction of the moon glared into the shimmering, white light. 'It's so pretty.'
Chi-Chi glanced over to her husband, who had the look of fear written all over his face. 'This is the dumbest thing he's ever done. The girls only made up that story about not being affected by the moon so they could keep their tails. Every Saiyan turns into an ape at the light of the moon. He's knows that as well as I do.'
Usagi grinned as she began to dangle her feet. "See daddy? Nothing happens. I don't get all ugly and fuzzy like you did." She giggled when she remembered back to when she was in the past, when Vejita had turned into an ape when he first visited earth.
Seeing that Usagi was taking this lightly, Hotaru, too, relaxed. "Yeah. But you guys weren't listening to me earlier when I told you. No one was."
Goku sighed as he pulled Usagi closer to him. It appeared that the girls had been right, but why? No Saiyan that still had their tail had ever escaped the light of the moon before. Of course, these were no ordinary Saiyan children. Hotaru was part healer, while Usagi was pretty much born a Super Saiyan. "I'm sorry..."
~*~*~
Back on Kami's Tower, the team of adults who had gone to get the girls' parents had finally returned, only five minutes short of seeing Usagi have her fit. However, they all felt the power levels shoot up and down.
Tienshin-han, who was carrying Ami's mother, landed first, with Yamcha and Professor Tomoe behind him. "What happened up here?" The group that had been left behind turned around to the new arrivals. None of them said a single word.
Krillin looked around the tower, and from what he could see, some of their group was missing. "Where are Goku and Usagi? We felt their power levels go up. Did the enemy attack while we were gone?"
Bulma shook her head as she took a step forward. "No. They were fighting each other." Tienshin-han and Yamcha each exchanged looked of confusion.
Professor Tomoe frowned as he looked passed the adults to the children who stood behind them. He looked all around, but there was no trace of his own daughter. "Where's Hotaru?" He asked as he pushed through Gohan and Videl back to the group of children. 'Where is she? I don't see her here at all.'
Krillin rubbed his head as he joined his wife. "Gee. What were they fighting about?"
Vejita smirked. "Kakarotto tried to cut the brat's tail off but she wouldn't have it."
Krillin gasped in surprise. "What? What are you talking about? Usagi? Fighting with Goku?"
Vejita's smirk turned more perverse as he glared down at Krillin. "No, baldy. Usagi beat the crap out of Kakarotto." Even though he wasn't able to be the one to cause Goku to fall, he was happy to at least see it be done. It just made his day that much better.
~*~*~
As the adults spoke on, the group of girls; Rei, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Hotaru made pulled away. They still had so much to cover before the next attack. But, each and every one of them, including Artimas, were dying to know what had happened to her and Usagi while they were away.
Artimas made his way to his partner, who he had not seen since earlier that day. He wanted to compare notes on what had happened here while they were parted, and most of all, he wanted to tell her of the new scouts, as well as the strange traits of some of Usagi's friends. "Luna, I have succeeded in finding the other Sailor Senshi while you were away."
Luna grinned as she looked around to the faces of the four girls who stood in front of her. They were all so young yet, they looked so much like their future selves. "Yes. I know."
Artimas blink in surprise. "You do?"
Luna nodded. "Of course. These girls here, Makoto, Minako, Rei, and Ami are the Sailor Senshi we have been sent to waken."
Artimas again, was in shock. "How did you know that?"
Luna giggled. "Usagi and I had a rather interesting adventure while we were away. Remind us to tell you of it when she returns."
Minako happily kneeled down to the black cat and smiled. "Do you know who the Moon Princess is?"
Luna nodded. "Indeed I do."
Artimas once again found himself in awe over Luna's knowledge. "What?! You KNOW who the Moon Princess is?! HOW COME I DON'T?!"
Luna giggled at her companion as she got up and stretched. "You'd be shocked at the things you learn while you're away, Artimas. It would do you some good to go on a few daring adventures every now and then instead of taking the security jobs and leaving the risky stuff for me."
Artimas frowned as he jumped in front of Luna. "We nearly got killed tonight! I call that risky enough!"
Luna stopped her giggles and looked directly into Artimas' eyes with all seriousness. "Artimas, what happened tonight while we were away?"
Artimas smiled as he sat down. "Glad you asked, Luna. When I found the girls, they were engaged in a pretty heavy fight with a monster from the Dark Kingdom. They were holding up pretty well, but they wouldn't have been able to beat them had it not been for their planetary power."
Luna nodded. "Understandable."
"After they killed the monster, they left and came here and healed everyone while they tried to come up with a way to make everything right again. They eventually decided to split into three groups, one to stay back here with the girls, one to get these strange things called Dragon Balls to bring back Usagi, and another to destroy the moon."
Luna gasped. "What? Destroy the moon?"
Artimas nodded. "Needless to say, however, they failed. I sent the two of the girls out as Senshi to go and tell them not to try to destroy it any further. I have no doubt that they would have found some way to rid it. Eventually, everyone came back, and that's when you two popped in."
Rei joined Minako and the ground as she watched the adults argue and strategize a way to conquer their new enemy. "Things sure have been strange tonight. I mean, I never would have guessed Usagi to do something like that. Normally she's so sweet."
Artimas frowned as he remembered the barbaric man who was supposed to be her father. "That man, Goku, isn't much of a father figure, is he? He didn't even listen to that other child, Hotaru, whenever she tried to tell him that she wasn't affected by the moon. And then the first thing he does when his own child gets home is hit her down."
Minako frowned at the white cat. "Hey! Goku isn't normally like this at all, Artimas. He's got a lot on his mind right now."
Ami sighed. "Yes. That's very true, Makoto. From what Usagi has told us, everyone expects him to know what to do in situations like this. They expect him to know all the answers, and in this case, he truly doesn't. I think that scares him; not knowing exactly what's going on. He isn't perfect, obviously. He only wants what's best for people, but he's too flustered to make any sort of good judgement right now. Just give him time, Artimas."
Makoto thought back to the first day she had met Usagi. That hot, summer day in the park when Usagi had challenged her to a fight. She thought of when the subject of her stolen Dragon Ball was brought up, how he was there to comfort her, her own father would never have done that for her. He would have told her to quit being a baby. "Goku isn't a bad person."
Artimas; "Luna, keep an eye on him."
Luna was a bit skeptical still. "I don't think there's anything wrong. Usagi loves her family dearly. Each and every family member; equally."
Artimas frowned. "I don't care. She's got the power of the strongest Senshi inside her body, we don't want anything to happen to her."
Luna grinned. 'She's got more power in that little body of hers than you think.'
(YAY! Another one down the hole! Hmmm.... I don't classify this as a cliffhanger... sorry about that last one. ^_^ It was just too good to resist. So what did you think? Gotta run! Ja! )
~*~*~*~
Confusion, anger, fear; all emotions of the sort; lead into young Usagi's painful distress as she apprehensively stared into the eyes of her father, whom she had just ultimately defied. Tears poured out of her eyes and down past her chin with an uncontrollable rush of sorrow as if filled her entire soul; she would soon regret what she had just done. She saw nothing but fury in his black eyes, which only sent her heart beating ten times as fast its normal rate.
From Goku's point of view, he was sure, at this point, that this was going to have to be done by force. If he was going to be able to do that, he knew not. But he wasn't about to back down from his position. This had to be done for her own good. The more she would resist, the sterner he would become. There was absolutely no reason what so ever for her to be acting this way. He could understand her distress, but to disobey him in the manner that she had was a much different deal. "Usagi!" He shouted with a rage not known to be heard by him at any previous time.
Usagi frowned as she stood her ground. Yes, she was scared to death of what her father could do to her, but she wouldn't stand down. To her, this was the most right thing that she could do. Had this been anything different, like being reprimanded for something that she had done, she wouldn't have minded. But this, no, this was too much. They were talking about cutting part of her off. Of course, had she been affected by the moon, she would have been all for it, but that wasn't the case here, the moon did nothing to her. "It's MY tail. You CAN'T cut it off!"
Goku loosened up a bit as he approached his daughter, who seemed to be powering up every time one of his feet hit the ground. "Stop this, Now!" He let go of the fists that he held, to show that he would not lower himself to fighting his own flesh and blood, even if she wanted to.
Usagi let her protective, Saiyan instinct kick in as she growled at her father, coordinating her steps back with his. "You can't cut MY tail off! Nothing happens when I look into the moon." She stopped raising her power when it reached the halfway point of an average Saiyan, which was still considerably higher than that of her father's.
~*~*~
Chi-Chi nearly lunged herself for her daughter when Goku stomped his last step towards Usagi down on the ground, causing the entire platform to shake. "Usagi don..."
Vejita stopped the woman with a rough punch to the stomach. "Foolish female! Don't interfere when an offspring challenges the parent!"
Chi-Chi frowned as she pushed forward against Vejita's grip. "Don't you EVER tell me how to manage my family you mon..."
Gohan, seeing very well that his mother wouldn't hesitate engaging in a fight at this point, pulled her away. "Mother, I think Vejita's right with this one. Dad could go ballistic at any point."
Chi-Chi sighed as she dropped her stance. "Fine. But if it gets out of hand, I'm not going to hesitate pulling them away."
~*~*~
Goku stood face to face with Usagi; both of them glaring into the eyes of one another with no thoughts of backing down. Though, Usagi was in the mode of fighting for her tail, Goku stood, calm as ever; although still with a twinkle of anger in his eyes. "Usagi, do not resort to fighting. I have taught you otherwise, now use the knowledge." 'Don't show me that you've been disobeying me in the rules of fighting...'
Usagi glared up at her father harder as she pulled back a bit, though not lowing her power level. "Are you going to stop trying to cut off my tail?"
Goku shook his head with a sigh. "NO."
Usagi crouched into a fighting position. "Then I'm not going to lower my power level."
Goku frowned down at the little figure. "If that's the way you want it." Slightly raising his own power level, he teleported himself behind his daughter.
Usagi was ready for that. The moment she felt his power level go up, she raised her sense. And in doing so, she followed his every movement, anticipating that he would try something like that. "I don't think so!" She yelled as she lifted her foot and jammed her heal into the thigh of her father.
Goku had only just arrived in his place when he felt the swift kick of his daughter, when he found himself flying backwards. Had this been anyone else, he would have rose to their challenge, but there was no way that he would fight his daughter in a real battle; nor was there any want in his heart to. 'Stay calm Goku. Stay calm. She doesn't understand. Just don't lose your cool.'
Usagi didn't even wait for her father to hit the ground before she advanced toward him again, punching him in the side this time. "Daddy, I don't want to do this."
Goku used his own power to stop himself, mid-flight. "Then stop. No one's forcing you."
Usagi got back into her fighting stance and stayed there, ready for anything else that would cause her to have to fight again. "Leave my tail alone, and I'll stop." Tears still ran down her cheeks, though with more of a force. She truly did not want to do this, but it seemed as though it was the only way. If she wanted to keep her tail, she would have to continue to fight everyone off until they left her alone.
Goku grabbed his side, now in pain, and slowly rose back to his feet. "Usagi, you know we can't do this. We aren't doing this to hurt you. Just cooperate and everything will be a lot easier. We won't even be mad at you...'
~*~*~
From Kami's palace sat all of Usagi's friends; all completely in awe at what they were seeing. Never in their lives had they expected Usagi to go against her family. But sure enough, there she was, trying to start a fight with one of her family members.
Hotaru was the most wide-eyed out of all of them. A bit in fear for her own tail, she wanted to know the exact process of her friend. "Do you think she'll make them see that nothing happens to us?"
Minako shook her head in awe. "I have no idea, but I do know Chi-Chi is going to have a cow when this is over... What is she thinking?"
~*~*~
Goku stared at Usagi, who was still in a crouched fighting position. "I'm not fighting you." He stepped forward with his hand extended.
Usagi took a step back; tail wrapped around her waist. She let out a near silent growl; one that went unnoticed to everyone but the few Saiyans there.
Goku frowned, his patience were wearing thin. "Don't give me that. Now come here. I'm not going to keep playing this game."
"Who said it was a game, daddy? My tail is a very serious thing." Usagi powered up a bit further, just to show how entirely serious she really was.
'Fine. If it's the only way to do this, then I guess I'll have to Play a bit.' Without a single word, Goku raised his power level to the point just below a Super Saiyan and advanced for his daughter at an unimaginable speed; one that Chi-Chi herself could hardly detect.
Usagi held her ground, not about to be backed down by her father. In her heart, she knew that she was completely right. He had no right to take her tail away from her for it was in no way any sort of endangerment to her life or anyone else's life. However, she was somewhat stunned that he would actually try and attack her at near Super Saiyan power, a power in which she herself had not even thought of ascending to, but it seemed as though in this time of need, she would have to just to keep what was rightfully hers. "You're going to have to try harder than that, daddy."
Goku grinned just as his fist reached her, dropping his power level just below hers. Although, before Usagi had felt the decrease in power, she dodged out of the way, realizing that he was completely serious about his attack on her. Her dodge was just a moment too late and although Goku had decreased his power level by a large amount, it was still enough to break the skin on her cheek.
~*~*~
"GOKU YOU ANIMAL!" Chi-Chi lunged out for her husband, fingernails ready.
Pan reached out for her grandmother, fearing the worst. She knew that, though it was harsh for the child, it was probably for the better. She remembered back to when she was growing up; back to when she had severely defied her parents. Her mother, Videl, had always wanted to rush to her side, but she hadn't. And there was a reason for that. "Grandma, we have to let them do this. Don't worry, grandpa won't hurt Usagi."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm warning you all, if anything happens to my Usagi..."
Piccolo glared back at the insubordinate mother. "It's not the kid we have to worry about, it's Goku."
~*~*~
Makoto watched intently with both fear and anticipation. 'I wonder what would happen if I ever challenged my dad like that.'
Luna watched, bewildered, at the spectacle. Father and daughter, fighting. It made absolutely no sense. Was this really the sort of relationship that a Moon Princess should be in?
~*~*~
The Saiyan pair glared into each other's eyes as they circled around; both in crouching fighting positions. Usagi lifted her hand to her cheek, where a nice steady flow of blood from her father's attack resided. She was a little shock stricken by the turn of events. Never in her life had she imagined that something like this would happen, truthfully, it scared her to death. She slowly and cautiously began to stalk towards the figure of her father, who held his ground. "How about a spar, dad?" Goku frowned as he got out of fighting position and stood tall. Usagi grinned. "You win, we cut my tail off. I win, it stays."
"No. This is not a betting matter. You will do as your mother and I say and that's final."
Usagi impishly smirked. "Well then I guess I'm going to have to go down kicking and screaming."
~*~*~
Mamoru couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Literally."
Michiru slapped him in the face for that rude comment. "Shut up and learn some respect! This is serious!"
~*~*~
Without further comments from either party, Usagi raced out for her father; powered up to the point of his Super Saiyan. Goku, seeing that she was completely serious, anticipated her moves and dodged to the side, causing Usagi to go further than her designated mark. 'This is ridiculous. Where does she get off thinking that she can fight like this?' He powered up a small Ki attack and fired at the child, who had already stopped herself and was heading back towards him. Usagi jumped up to dodge the blast and fired one of her own at her father.
Goku sighed as he watched the golden Ki attack fly to him. 'This is going to go on forever, but what can I do to stop it? It isn't all that powerful, at least, nothing I've never dealt with before...' Instead of dodging, he decided to stand in its path and let it assault him as it was meant to. He fully knew the consequences of his choices, but that was the entire point of the concept. In fact, he completely lowered his power level with no intention of trying to block the attack.
Usagi stared on in horror as her Super Saiyan Ki attack pressed into the body of her father, throwing him down to the ground in a rage of pain. 'Daddy...' She let her eyes travel across his body as it lay there on the ground; laying her eyes upon the blood that was collecting beneath his form. 'Oh no... What have I done? Daddy!' She quickly lowered her power level and dropped to the ground.
Goku lay on the ground, his eyes closed and breathing very solemn. "Nnnn..."
~*~*~
The entire group of spectators, dumbfounded by the show, gasped in horror as their hero of so many battles fell.
Gohan gulped as he looked down to the ground at his father; holding his mother back from conniption. "What was going through his head? That was way stronger than he could handle. She was at the power of a Super Saiyan and he was at a normal civilian power level."
Goten gulped as he stepped forward, noticing his sister slowly approaching their position. "Usagi." A rustling caught attention, causing him to look in the direction of his father. "Dad!" The sound of his mother struggling with his brother could be heard from behind.
Goku slowly and painfully sat up with his hand at his aching head. 'Did it work?' He gently turned his head in the direction of Usagi, who was within an arms reach from him. "Yes?"
Usagi gulped as she kneeled down next to him. "Are you ok?" She didn't get too close for fear that he was still angry with her for what she had done.
Goku nodded with a big, goofy grin. "I'm fine. Just had the wind knocked out of me."
Chi-Chi lost it at that point. There was no way that she was going to sit by and watch this happen any more. Either they were going to stop, or she was going to get very angry, and we all know no one wants that. "GOKU! USAGI! ENOUGH OF YOUR CRAP!" She yelled as she marched forward to them. "NOW YOU STOP THIS NOW OR SOME ONE IS LIABAL TO REALLY GET HURT!"
Usagi dropped her head in shame as she sat completely down. "I'm sorry." She murmured. "I'll let you cut my tail off..." Her words were said so somber that made her parents cringe.
Goku's expression softened as he gently placed his hand upon her cheek. "It's for your own benefit. We won't have to keep you cooped up in doors the entire time the moon is out this way." 'It worked. I knew it would. I knew that if she thought that she really hurt me that she would calm down. I'm just sorry I had to do it this way. I hope she can forgive me...'
Usagi sighed as she pulled away from her father's warm touch. 'Maybe if you would listen to me we wouldn't have to do this. This isn't fair, this sucks.' "Let's just get it done and over with."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms as she too stood to her feet. "Good, now that you two have made up. I don't ever want to see you fighting like that again. It's not healthy."
Goku pushed himself off the ground and looked around to his friends who stood close by. "Just let us finish this up and we can try to figure out how we're going to deal with this new enemy."
Usagi looked up to her father with surprise. 'Oh yeah, that Beryl person. I almost forgot about her.' Usagi went to her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I'm sorry, mom." She slowly unwrapped her tail from her own waist so Piccolo would have clear access to it so he could do whatever he needed to do.
Chi-Chi smiled as she followed with a hug of her own. "It's ok." 'Poor kid.' She looked up and gestured to Piccolo to proceed.
Goku motioned for Hotaru to come out of the Palace. "Don't look at the moon."
Hotaru looked around to all of her friends in question. "I have to get mine cut off too? This isn't fair. Don't I get a say?"
Rei frowned at Goku, undauntedly. "If Usagi doesn't, you sure don't."
Hotaru sighed as she began to walk away from the palace. "No fair. Why don't gown ups ever listen?"
Makoto leaned her head against the window as she watched her friends slowly merge into the group of adults. 'That's what I've been asking all along.'
~*~*~
Piccolo slowly and carefully placed his hand upon Usagi's golden-brown tail to grip it. He didn't want to go to fast for fear that she would strike out again. "Now don't try anything funny this time, Usagi."
Usagi gulped as more tears formed in her eyes. She didn't even have the courage to dignify that with an answer.
Hotaru, with tears of her own, stopped next to Goku and looked up into his ever watchful eyes as if she were pleading with him to reconsider. But he wouldn't change his mind. He had made it clear that this was going to happen and that was the end of things. Did he not know of the great injustice that he was placing upon the girls?
She let her eyes pull away from his and down at her own tail. That tail, with it's woven purple strands, was the one and only thing that had been left to her by her mother; the only thing that she could look at and remember her mother. And to have it taken away was probably the most horrible circumstance in the world.
Piccolo began emitting a strange, yellowish-green energy unto Usagi's tail, which twitched slightly at the feeling of the energy being placed upon it. It was a strange, tingly feeling that raced through her entire body, which made it feel heavy, as if it were in a gravity room. The more she felt, the tighter her hold on Chi-Chi' became, and the more tears were shed.
Goku could see, almost feel her deep distress and even shed a tear of his own. Never in his life had he wanted to hurt his own flesh and blood in such a manner. Nor did he want to hurt any other child for that matter, which is what he would be having to do with Hotaru. Could it have been true that Usagi and Hotaru were not affected by the moon? Had it been a last dodge attempt to get out of having their tails removed, or were they telling to truth? At that moment, Goku rethought his decision. Had he done the right thing by listening to Chi-Chi? After all, he was actually trying to prove that he could do something that wasn't selfish on his part, but did that mean that he had made a huge mistake by not listening to his own daughter? Besides, she had never been known to lie to him when it was something this important.
But there was also the fact that, had something truly bad happened when they looked into the light of the moon, they would most likely end up hurting the ones they loved most, like he had so many years ago. He couldn't let them live through something so tragic. Truly, there was only one way to know fore sure if he was doing the right thing or not. And now that he had had time to calm himself down a bit, he did the only thing he could think of.
Goku grabbed Hotaru by the arm with one hand. With the other, he grabbed Usagi, who was carefully clasped around her mother still.
Chi-Chi turned to her husband. "Goku, what's the meaning of this? Let go. You're making things worse." Goku said nothing in return. Instead, he powered up to that of a Super Saiyan.
Usagi gulped, thinking it was something that she had done. "Daddy?" She winced as a serge of pain from her tail being pulled rushed through her body.
Goku only grinned, and in less than a split second, the four of them were gone and out of reach. Piccolo was left distributing energy to thin air.
Bulma sighed as she walked to the edge of the tower. "Whatever he's got in mind had better be good or else Chi-Chi is going to freak."
~*~*~
Far off, in another field away from any type of village of mountain home, a bright light grew to fill the surrounding. In the center of this magnificent light were four figures; Goku, Chi-Chi, and the two Saiyan children with their tails still fully intact.
No trees or any other obstacle in sight, Goku had specifically picked this field for one soul purpose. He wanted to be fully sure that what he was forcing them to do was for their own good. "Usagi." He sternly said as he stood between her and the moon.
Usagi backed up into her mother for fear that he was going to punish her. "Y...yes?"
Goku frowned, not at his trembling daughter, but at himself for making her think that he would try to hurt her. But that was not how it came to be with Usagi, who was sure he was going to lash out at him. Had he not already proved that he would not harm her by taking her assault as a Super Saiyan while at the level of power of a Human? "Look at the moon."
Usagi had definitely not expected those words to just flow out of her father's mouth as she just had. In fact, those were the last words she had expected to hear. Moments ago he was angry with her for looking, and now he actually WANTED her to? It made no sense, and therefore, Usagi did not comply. "What? Why?"
Hotaru cocked her head in a curious manner as she stared up at Goku, whose face was all of a sudden in its usual carefree form. "But you kept yelling at us to not look up."
Goku sighed, he knew that this was going to happen. It truly was entirely his fault. He had been so caught up with getting Usagi back, trying to destroy the moon, and figure out who the new enemy and Sailor Senshi were that he didn't really have time to think things completely through until just a few moments ago when everything seemed to be settling.
Usagi frowned up at her father. Now that she could see that he was calming down, she became a little bolder. "Yeah. You just yelled at me big time and acted like I was a moron for looking at the moon. You made me so mad that I wanted to fight to keep my tail and NOW you want us to look at the moon? I don't get it dad."
Chi-Chi put her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot on the ground. "Goku, you had better have a good reason for doing this. These girls are going to turn into giant..."
Goku lifted his hand to shush his wife, and surprisingly, she did. "I know, I know. We can talk about this in a minute." Before anyone had anything to say, though Chi-Chi was obviously full of anger over this, Goku moved forward, wrapped his hands around Usagi's chest, and lifted her up to look at the moon. So much time had been wasted already, anymore time wasted was time that the enemy had to plan their next attack. "You show signs of turning into an ape, we cut the tail. It's as simple as that."
Usagi cheerfully smiled as she stared up into the compelling light of the Pearl Moon. 'Looks like I'm keeping my tail then.' A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she relaxed her muscles.
Chi-Chi, not in any way trusting he lunatic husband, grabbed Hotaru's hand and pulled her from behind Goku. "Ok Hotaru. Look into the moon."
Hotaru smiled as she nodded at Chi-Chi. "Ok." She quickly turned her head in the direction of the moon glared into the shimmering, white light. 'It's so pretty.'
Chi-Chi glanced over to her husband, who had the look of fear written all over his face. 'This is the dumbest thing he's ever done. The girls only made up that story about not being affected by the moon so they could keep their tails. Every Saiyan turns into an ape at the light of the moon. He's knows that as well as I do.'
Usagi grinned as she began to dangle her feet. "See daddy? Nothing happens. I don't get all ugly and fuzzy like you did." She giggled when she remembered back to when she was in the past, when Vejita had turned into an ape when he first visited earth.
Seeing that Usagi was taking this lightly, Hotaru, too, relaxed. "Yeah. But you guys weren't listening to me earlier when I told you. No one was."
Goku sighed as he pulled Usagi closer to him. It appeared that the girls had been right, but why? No Saiyan that still had their tail had ever escaped the light of the moon before. Of course, these were no ordinary Saiyan children. Hotaru was part healer, while Usagi was pretty much born a Super Saiyan. "I'm sorry..."
~*~*~
Back on Kami's Tower, the team of adults who had gone to get the girls' parents had finally returned, only five minutes short of seeing Usagi have her fit. However, they all felt the power levels shoot up and down.
Tienshin-han, who was carrying Ami's mother, landed first, with Yamcha and Professor Tomoe behind him. "What happened up here?" The group that had been left behind turned around to the new arrivals. None of them said a single word.
Krillin looked around the tower, and from what he could see, some of their group was missing. "Where are Goku and Usagi? We felt their power levels go up. Did the enemy attack while we were gone?"
Bulma shook her head as she took a step forward. "No. They were fighting each other." Tienshin-han and Yamcha each exchanged looked of confusion.
Professor Tomoe frowned as he looked passed the adults to the children who stood behind them. He looked all around, but there was no trace of his own daughter. "Where's Hotaru?" He asked as he pushed through Gohan and Videl back to the group of children. 'Where is she? I don't see her here at all.'
Krillin rubbed his head as he joined his wife. "Gee. What were they fighting about?"
Vejita smirked. "Kakarotto tried to cut the brat's tail off but she wouldn't have it."
Krillin gasped in surprise. "What? What are you talking about? Usagi? Fighting with Goku?"
Vejita's smirk turned more perverse as he glared down at Krillin. "No, baldy. Usagi beat the crap out of Kakarotto." Even though he wasn't able to be the one to cause Goku to fall, he was happy to at least see it be done. It just made his day that much better.
~*~*~
As the adults spoke on, the group of girls; Rei, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Hotaru made pulled away. They still had so much to cover before the next attack. But, each and every one of them, including Artimas, were dying to know what had happened to her and Usagi while they were away.
Artimas made his way to his partner, who he had not seen since earlier that day. He wanted to compare notes on what had happened here while they were parted, and most of all, he wanted to tell her of the new scouts, as well as the strange traits of some of Usagi's friends. "Luna, I have succeeded in finding the other Sailor Senshi while you were away."
Luna grinned as she looked around to the faces of the four girls who stood in front of her. They were all so young yet, they looked so much like their future selves. "Yes. I know."
Artimas blink in surprise. "You do?"
Luna nodded. "Of course. These girls here, Makoto, Minako, Rei, and Ami are the Sailor Senshi we have been sent to waken."
Artimas again, was in shock. "How did you know that?"
Luna giggled. "Usagi and I had a rather interesting adventure while we were away. Remind us to tell you of it when she returns."
Minako happily kneeled down to the black cat and smiled. "Do you know who the Moon Princess is?"
Luna nodded. "Indeed I do."
Artimas once again found himself in awe over Luna's knowledge. "What?! You KNOW who the Moon Princess is?! HOW COME I DON'T?!"
Luna giggled at her companion as she got up and stretched. "You'd be shocked at the things you learn while you're away, Artimas. It would do you some good to go on a few daring adventures every now and then instead of taking the security jobs and leaving the risky stuff for me."
Artimas frowned as he jumped in front of Luna. "We nearly got killed tonight! I call that risky enough!"
Luna stopped her giggles and looked directly into Artimas' eyes with all seriousness. "Artimas, what happened tonight while we were away?"
Artimas smiled as he sat down. "Glad you asked, Luna. When I found the girls, they were engaged in a pretty heavy fight with a monster from the Dark Kingdom. They were holding up pretty well, but they wouldn't have been able to beat them had it not been for their planetary power."
Luna nodded. "Understandable."
"After they killed the monster, they left and came here and healed everyone while they tried to come up with a way to make everything right again. They eventually decided to split into three groups, one to stay back here with the girls, one to get these strange things called Dragon Balls to bring back Usagi, and another to destroy the moon."
Luna gasped. "What? Destroy the moon?"
Artimas nodded. "Needless to say, however, they failed. I sent the two of the girls out as Senshi to go and tell them not to try to destroy it any further. I have no doubt that they would have found some way to rid it. Eventually, everyone came back, and that's when you two popped in."
Rei joined Minako and the ground as she watched the adults argue and strategize a way to conquer their new enemy. "Things sure have been strange tonight. I mean, I never would have guessed Usagi to do something like that. Normally she's so sweet."
Artimas frowned as he remembered the barbaric man who was supposed to be her father. "That man, Goku, isn't much of a father figure, is he? He didn't even listen to that other child, Hotaru, whenever she tried to tell him that she wasn't affected by the moon. And then the first thing he does when his own child gets home is hit her down."
Minako frowned at the white cat. "Hey! Goku isn't normally like this at all, Artimas. He's got a lot on his mind right now."
Ami sighed. "Yes. That's very true, Makoto. From what Usagi has told us, everyone expects him to know what to do in situations like this. They expect him to know all the answers, and in this case, he truly doesn't. I think that scares him; not knowing exactly what's going on. He isn't perfect, obviously. He only wants what's best for people, but he's too flustered to make any sort of good judgement right now. Just give him time, Artimas."
Makoto thought back to the first day she had met Usagi. That hot, summer day in the park when Usagi had challenged her to a fight. She thought of when the subject of her stolen Dragon Ball was brought up, how he was there to comfort her, her own father would never have done that for her. He would have told her to quit being a baby. "Goku isn't a bad person."
Artimas; "Luna, keep an eye on him."
Luna was a bit skeptical still. "I don't think there's anything wrong. Usagi loves her family dearly. Each and every family member; equally."
Artimas frowned. "I don't care. She's got the power of the strongest Senshi inside her body, we don't want anything to happen to her."
Luna grinned. 'She's got more power in that little body of hers than you think.'
(YAY! Another one down the hole! Hmmm.... I don't classify this as a cliffhanger... sorry about that last one. ^_^ It was just too good to resist. So what did you think? Gotta run! Ja! )