A Tail To Remember
by Gie: phowahcs.com

A Tail To Remember
Chapter Twenty-Two: Patrolling the Skies, and the Rooftops

Team One: Shampoo, Ukyou, and Tobuma

The three young Chikyuu-jiin bounced from rooftop to
rooftop, silent except for a muffled grunt here and there. Ukyou
and Shampoo kept giving the half Saiya-jiin accompanying them a
stolen glance. Both were very curious of the supposed spawn of
Ranma and Akane, but did not know how to approach the unknown
male.

Both stumbled slightly, Ukyou almost missing the roof that
she was in mid-leap, when Tobuma broke the silence. "So, do I look
more like my Okaasan, or my Otousan?" He grinned at the flustered
females, baring white gleaming incisors.

The okynomiyaki chef blushed. She was just trying to figure
that out. "Do Saiya-jiin have telepathy powers?" she grumbled
quietly to herself.

"Iie, not really. Between mates, hai." He flicked his earlobe.
"But we have very sensitive hearing." Ukyou blushed even deeper.

"Look like Ranma more. Have Akane's eyes." Shampoo
declared, albeit a bit grudgingly.

Tobuma nodded. "'Tousan would say the same thing. He was
glad that something from my 'Kaasan survived within me."

The trio was silent once more, continuing their journey over
the rooftops of Tokyo. Ukyou cleared her throat after a bit and
spoke. "So you're really from the future, ne? Do we find life on
Mars?"

"Iie," Tobuma grinned slightly. "Not much attention was
placed into frivolous programs like that when the Hachi started to
methodically take over the cities, then the countries." He sighed
softly, gazing off into the blue sky. "And when 'Kaasan was made
Queen of the Chikyuu Hive, their efforts tripled. At least that's
how 'Tousan and Bulma-obaasan talked."

Ukyou caught the note of sadness in his voice. "Someone said
that Akane was captured early in the war. Did you have much time
with her?" She jumped over to the roof that he had paused on, and
laid a comforting hand on his bicep.

Tobuma smiled at her gesture. "Iie. She was captured about
a month after I was born. 'Tousan would tell stories of when they
ran around with you two and everyone else. My favorite was the
adventure with Saffron."

Shampoo blinked. "That when Akane almost die."

He nodded. "Hai, but he would tell the story of the battle
with such passion and vivid recall. And he would get this far-off
look in his eyes when he'd talk about 'Kaasan closing her eyes
completely." He smiled slightly, blinking out of his own dream-haze.
"That was also the first time he told her that he loved her."

The Amazon frowned, remembering the battle as well. "He
not say it then."

"Not out loud." Tobuma smirked. "He pretty much screamed
it through their Bond. It was latent then, because of the seal
Kami-sama placed on their Saiya-jiin traits, but it still existed." He
gave the two female a smile. "You two, or any other female that
tried, never had a chance with him. My 'Kaasan had his tail wrapped
around her finger from day one, when she had asked if he wanted to
be friends in his female form." He blushed slightly at the stormy
looks the two gave him. "Gomen nasai, but it's true. Their Bond
would not allow them to look at another, much less mate with them."

"So," Ukyou hmmed out loud, still rather mad at his blunt
statement. "They Bonded or whatever, when they were what, two?"

"Hai, on Vejiita-sei," he confirmed. His eyebrows furrowed
slightly. "Almost fifty years ago, my time."

"How far in future you come?" Shampoo raised an eyebrow in
disbelief.

Tobuma blushed slightly. "Well, if Okaasan's pregnant with
me now, and I'm almost 18 years old, then..."

Both Ukyou and Shampoo let out a horrified squeal. "Akane's
pregnant?!"

"You didn't know?"

The females shout in unison once more. "Iie!!!"

"Oops..." Tobuma put a hand behind his head and smiled
sheepishly. He tugged on his pigtail unconsciously.

"That hussy!" Ukyou was fuming uncontrollably. "How dare
she seduce Ranchan before they were married!"

Shampoo pulled out her fighting mace. "Shampoo make
Violent Tomboy pay!" An murderous gleam filled her eyes.

Tobuma flashed out of sight and reappeared in front of them,
arms spread wide and a serious glare upon his face. "You will not
touch my Okaasan, ladies, or you will find out what a mad Super
Saiya-jiin is made of." He glared at Shampoo harder. "Again." His
lashing tail added to his argument.

Shampoo paled, and backed up slightly. Ukyou glared at
Tobuma, not backing down against his threatening posture. "We are
still legally Ranma's fiancees--until we are retribruted, or until he is
officially married, and recognized, by the government."

Tobuma stepped closer to Ukyou, accepting the unspoken
challenge in her stance. He began to raise his voice in anger. "Do
you think they are concerned about your petty claims? Do you truly?
They have been mated for almost thirty years, now. In this time!
Do you think a forgotten yatai or a law that doesn't even apply to
them is going to break their Bond?" He spat out his words. "They
aren't even from this damn planet! They're freakin' aliens! I'm a
freakin' alien, too!!" His eyes flashed green and a streak of blonde
whipped through his hair.

Both Ukyou and Shampoo were silent throughout his tirade,
soaking up his words. Their eyes got wider and wider as Tobuma got
angrier and angrier. Finally, Tobuma turned around and after a
silent stretch where he gathered his remaining wits, he flared his
aura bright. "All right. Now, that that's taken care of, and won't be
spoken of again, can we finish patrolling? The Hachi are not a
creature to be taken lightly." He launched himself into the air and
streaked away in a ball of yellow light.

Ukyou and Shampoo watched him leave. "Definitely Akane's
temper." Shampoo nodded somberly in agreement. They returned to
their roof-hopping patrol, heading in the same direction the upset
Saiya-jiin flew.

Team 2--Goku, Gohan, and Trunks

The three Saiya-jiin flew in a triangle formation, silent. Each
had their eyes open, watching for any minute sign or indication of
Hachi activity.

"'Tousan, are you sure there are Hachi out here?" Gohan
whined slightly.

His father shook his head. "Iie, Gohan. But it's better to be
safe, than sorry."

Trunks nodded. "Hai. If Otousan had a feeling, and acted
upon it, then it's best to listen to it." Goku nodded in agreement.

Gohan gave the purple-haired Saiya-jiin a furrowed glance.
There was something that had been bugging him, and we wanted it
answered. "Trunks-san, can I ask you a question?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Shoot, Gohan-san. What
is it?"

The youngest Saiya-jiin glanced at his father. "Well, I was
wondering why, when you mentioned the senshi dying by the Hachi,
you never mentioned 'Tousan." Goku started slightly, and glanced at
his son, who had a very worried look on his face. "Does 'Tousan get
assimilated by the Hachi really early?"

Trunks frowned deeply. He really didn't want to disclose
future events, for they might still happen in this timeline. But
looking at Gohan, his face all scrunched up in worry, he decided to
let time take its course, and deal with the consequences when they
happen.

He glanced at Goku, whose face had a neutral look of
concentration--he was studying the surrounding area for signs of
Hachi activity--but Trunks knew he was listening intently to what he
would have to say.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Hai, Gohan. Goku-san
was killed by the Hachi, but not the normal way, through
assimilation. Remember, a Saiya-jiin can not be assimilated--our
DNA is resistive to the nanoprobes."

Gohan nodded slowly, his young mind whirling. "But what
about Seiika-san? How did she get assimilated by the Hachi?"

Trunks frowned. "Seiika-obaasan was captured when she was
out in public. They swooped in fast and furious, and actually
captured Kaasan as well."

Both Goku and Gohan let out a gasp, pausing in mid-air.
"Bulma, too?" Goku questioned. Trunks nodded, stopping as well. "I
bet Vejiita was really mad."

"He was, for me and Tobuma were with them and we got
captured as well." He nodded at the sharp intake the Sons made.

"Serori-ojisan, Tousan, and everyone else was able to mount a
rescue mission, but when they found Seiika-obaasan..." he trailed
off.

Goku's expression hardened. "It was too late, wasn't it?"

Trunks nodded. "Both 'Tousan and Serori-ojisan found her.
Assimilated. Lost. Gone."

Gohan shook his head. "But how? You just said Saiya-jiin
can't be assimilated. How was she?"

Trunks sighed at Gohan's insistent questions. "Well, actually,
she's not completely assimilated, Gohan. She's partially assimilated,
if that makes sense. They used a special nanoprobe on her because
she's the Queen. As 'Kaasan explained it to me, she's half Drone, and
half Saiya-jiin."

"When Vejiita and Serori found her, they should have..."
Gohan was cut off by a heavy hand on his shoulder. He glanced up
into his father's face questionably.

"Gohan, do you think they could have killed her? Really and
truly?" Goku spoke softly. "I would not be able to do such a thing to
your Okaasan." He glanced over to Trunks. "Their Bonds still
existed, ne? That's why both Vejiita and Serori didn't kill her."

Trunks sighed and nodded once. "Hai. It was ingenious of
the Hachi to keep their Bonds intact. That way, neither
Serori-ojisan or 'Tousan could have taken Seiika out."

"Why?" Gohan wondered, still confused.

Trunks explained quietly. "You're still a little young to
understand completely, Gohan, but when a one of our kind decides to
spend the rest of their lives with another, they develop a link, or a
Bond, that can not be broken, ever. Only if one of them dies is it
broken, and then usually the other will die shortly after. When
'Tousan died, 'Kaasan almost died, too, but Serori-ojisan was able to
stop her. She was never the same after that." He blinked a few
times, mellow in his thoughts.

He continued after a minute of so of silence. "One thing
about the Bond is that a mate can not kill a mate. So Serori-ojisan
could not kill Seiika-obaasan."

Gohan nodded slowly, still figuring things out. "But what
about Vejiita-san? Or someone else?"

"Seiika-obaasan and 'Tousan shared a Bond of their own. A
Bond of siblings." He continued evenly. "Being twins, their Bond was
almost as strong as a Mate Bond. It would have been tragic for
'Tousan if Seiika died by his own hand. And everyone else?" The
demi-Saiya-jiin laughed slightly. "Would you want to be the one that
killed Serori, Seiika, and Vejiita?"

He shook his head rapidly. "Iie."

"By keeping the Saiya-jiin DNA intact the Hachi made sure
Seiika would be kept alive as their Queen." Trunks continued.
"What they did was overlap the Saiya-jiin DNA with the Hachi
DNA."

"So, she still had Saiya-jiin characteristics, but Hachi ones,
as well?" Gohan questioned.

Trunks smirked slightly. "Hai, Gohan-san. You know, you're a
pretty smart guy."

Gohan blushed, ducking his head slightly at the comment.

Goku smiled at his son, but turned to Trunks, solemn once more.
"There's more, isn't there, Trunks? How I died?"

A short nod was all the response he gave for the moment.

"When Seiika-obaasan was captured, the scientists took
samples of her DNA and created a poison that affected only
Saiya-jiin DNA. They found out that we're immune to the
nanoprobes. They loaded it into the probes, and if they were
injected into a Saiya-jiin, it took affect immediately. The death was
fast, and the pain as excruciating as if you were being assimilated."

"And that's how the Hachi killed the Saiya-jiin?" Gohan
whispered. "Do I die like that? Does 'Tousan?" During Trunks'
explanation of the poison, Gohan had steadily moved closer to his
father; now he clutched at the orange gi Goku wore.

Trunks stared at the youngest Saiya-jiin. He glanced at
Goku, who gave him the go-ahead. "All Saiya-jiin, except for me and
Tobuma, and my Tousan, were killed by the poison."

Goku looked startled. "Not Vejiita? But he's..."

Trunks put up a hand. "Hai, he is. But he self-destructed,
taking a Hachi leader with him, when my imouto was killed."

Gohan blinked at the new information. "Imouto? You had a
younger sister, Trunks-san?"

He nodded. "Hai. She was only a year old when she was killed
in front of 'Tousan's eyes. I have a picture of her..." But before he
drew out the sacred portrait, something caught the attention of his
senses. "What was that?"

Goku furrowed his eyebrows. "That was someone's ki spiking."

All three Saiya-jiin glanced at each other and spoke one name
in unison:

"Serori."

Team Three: Serori (Ranma), Vejiita, and Mousse

The two pure Saiya-jiin males floated in the air, waiting for
Mousse to catch up.

A large frown deepened Vejiita's features. "Can that blind
fool be taught how to fly? This is a waste of time, having to pause
every couple minutes."

Ranma shook his head. "Iie, I don't think so. Mousse focused
and trained with the Hidden Weapons style, not ki." An idea came to
him. "Although..."

When Mousse caught up, finally, Ranma called down to him.
"Hey Mousse, ya got any water on ya?"

The Amazon male reached into his sleeve. "I have a canteen,
Ranma."

Ranma floated down to him and took the water. "Arigatou."
And poured part of it on unsuspecting Mousse.

"Quack quack!" Mousse-chan sputtered, making what sounded
to be nasty duck curses. He shook the excess water off his
feathers and glared up at smirking Ranma.

"Oh hush, Mousse. This way, you'll keep up with us better.
I'll change ya back if we need ya, okay?"

Vejiita snorted at the display from above. "Use your
abilities, senshi, or go back to the females."

The white duck just grumbled under his breath, shook some
more water off his feathers, and took to the air.

Ranma watched the him flap around in circles. "Okay,
Mousse--why don'tcha stay close to the ground and the
buildings--you can get in there better and got get detected by the
Hachi." He held out his arm, letting Mousse land there.

He gave the equivalent of a shrug and quacked a few times.

"I don't know. But you'll know when ya see one, that's for
sure. They don't look anything like a human."

Vejiita raised an eyebrow at the conversation. "You
understood what he said?"

"Sorta. Ya get the gist of it after awhile." Ranma just
shrugged. He turned back to Mousse. "Are ya ready to go?" The
duck nodded, and with a toss of his arm, he launched into the air,
and swooped down to the city below, disappearing into the maze of
buildings.

Vejiita snorted and shook his head. "Tell me, Serori," Ranma
glanced up and nodded. "What would you have done if your memories
were not unlocked by the Nameksei-jiin?"

Ranma launched himself into the air, and started to drift slowly
through the sky, absently scanning the ground below. "What do you
mean, Vejiita-ouji?" His expression turned confused. "I don't get it."

"What would you have done with your life, without your
Saiya-jiin heritage?" Vejiita drew out, rather impatiently. "What
about Seiika?"

The younger Saiya-jiin smiled, a goofy grin spreading across
his face at the mention of his mate. "I'd probably still would've
ended up with Akane, if that's what ya mean. I already knew I
loved her, and not any of the other fiancees." He thought harder.
"At this point, we still probably would be fighting, and not
'together-together,' but I'd prolly be with Akane in the long run,
and end up runnin' the Dojo with her." He grinned at Vejiita.
"What about you? Would you have come lookingfor her?"

Vejiita shook his head, his mouth a grim line. "Iie. I did not
know you and Seiika survived the pod, or had landed on this planet. I
had mourned her death and moved on a long time ago." His face was
a stone mask. "I have been rewarded by higher powers to have her
back in my life."

A short period of silence thickened in the air between the
two Saiya-jiin senshi.

"I understand what you mean, Vejiita." Ranma spoke quietly,
startling the older male slightly, his voice thick with emotion. "I
almost lost her once, to a demi-god, Saffron. I felt completely
empty--and so alone. I cried out to the heavens to bring her back to
me. And someone listened, because she came back to me." Ranma's
voice was hoarse by the time he finished his thought, and he was
silent once more. He put on a burst of speed, shooting ahead of the
older male, so Vejiita would not have to see his loss of control over
the emotions.

Vejiita listened to his brother-in-law's account of the
Saffron battle, and let the stricken Ranma be alone. He knew how
much it hurt to lose a loved one--he remembered the pain of the
Bond with his sister being ripped from his soul. He let Ranma grieve his
almost-loss in private.

Suddenly, both were startled out of their solemn
contemplation by the loud quacking of Mousse-chan as he shot straight up
toward them, wings flapping madly, making a noisy racket. Ranma
halted in mid-air, holding his arm out. "What's up, Mousse? A
hunter after your feathers?"

Mousse just circled over their heads, and quacked louder.

Vejiita scrunched up his face, the noise hurting his ears.
"Shut the bird up, Serori, or I'll eat it for a snack." He growled, irritated.

Ranma threw Vejiita a glance. "Get on my back Mousse, and
I'll pour the hot water on ya."

After adjusting everything, and throwing Vejiita an evil glare,
a now human Mousse spoke. "I think I spotted some Hachi, below, in a building. I
was flying close and saw a green flash. I peeked in the window and
saw some big bugs attacking the people inside."

Ranma flared his aura, making Mousse wince. "Sounds like
Hachi. Let's go." Vejiita nodded and flew down, Mousse and Ranma
right behind him.

They approached the building silently. The picked up their
speed when they heard screaming, and saw the green glow bursting
from several windows.

"Looks like your hunch was right, Vejiita-ouji," Ranma
growled, his body pressed up close to the building.

Vejiita nodded, watching the windows. "Hmm." He glanced at
Mousse. "You know how to use a blade?"

The Amazon male nodded. "I have several on me, and use
each one well."

The Prince just grunted. "We'll go in from the front door,
and methodically cover each floor, starting on the bottom." He
dropped to the ground, and using a small ki ball, 'unlocked' the door.

Ranma dropped soundlessly next to him, Mousse stepping up
next to him. The three entered silently, all eyes peeled for any sign
of Hachi.

The building contained several offices, by the looks of the
layout. And by noting that all the lights were left on, and machines
left running, either the employees vacated the rooms quickly, or the
Hachi had already been here.

Vejiita peered around the offices, eyes darting and ears
straining for any sign or sound. There were no signs of the bee
creatures. He gave the two other senshi an all-clear signal, and
indicated to a flight of stairs. They ascended to the next level.

Both Ranma and Mousse flattened themselves against
opposite walls, and with a soft shink, Mousse unsheathed a blade
from one of his arms. A green flash made all three senshi turn their
heads, centering their attention on a door at the end of the hall.

Vejiita crept up to the door, and taking a very quick glance
inside, turned back to them. He nodded and held up a handful of
fingers.

Hachi.

Both Ranma and Mousse nodded their heads and positioned themselves
behind Vejiita. With a ki-lit hand, the Saiya-jiin no Ouji jumped into the room,
firing off the first shot.