When Earth Arises

Disclaimer - All the characters from the Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens, The Immortals, The Lioness Quartet, The Protector of the Small, etc. belong to Tamora Pierce. I don't own them. Or characters from Dragonballz, which belongs to Mr. Toriyama…..
Thought for the Day:

The trick to flying is throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Don't worry, Alanna is not gone for good…she has a major part in this so she can't be : )

"Could it be…?" Numair's voice trailed off to a mutter as he jumped up and began digging through a bunch of old papers that littered his desk. The three younger mages exchanged confused glances, but kept their silence. If the black-haired man had an idea, they didn't want to spoil it by distracting him.

Chapter Nineteen-

Gohan stretched as he thought about the Dream King's cryptic message. What he did know for sure was that he had not brought the three mages Briar, Tris, and Evvy to this world. The demi-Saiyan considered this carefully and finally came to a decision. He sensed no true evil in the three, but that did not stop evil from using good people. He would keep a close eye on them without interference, until they proved a danger to anyone else.

As for the Black Mage, who he assumed was Numair, well, he could probably take care of himself. Even so, he seemed intent on studying the three mages, so he probably could keep an eye on him too.

Suddenly, he stomach rumbled. With a sheepish grin to the startled servant, he headed off to find something to eat. All he had to do was follow his enhanced sense of smell.

Trunks and Goten slowly crept toward the unsuspecting page. The boy known as Joren of Stone Mountain lay peacefully sleeping in his bedroll just inside the small hut. The two half-Saiyans gave each other grins and quickly set to work.

The next day dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud was in the sky, all was well in the land, and Lord Wyldon was ready for a fairly easy day with his charg- Suddenly a flash of bright orange caught his eye. It wasn't a normal shade of orange. In fact, he had never even seen a shade this bright before...not even the clothes of those strangers...

"What in Mithros' name do you think you're doing, Joren of Stone Mountain?!" he roared as he caught sight of the source. It wasn't until he focused on the boy that he saw a slightly more serious problem. Wyldon's eyes crinkled as he bit back a laugh.

"What the-!?!" Joren shot up, or at least tried to. The board that had been supporting his back and head to lay them parallel to the ground fell to the floor with a clatter as the pale-haired boy struggled. His legs had been firmly secured to the ceiling with what appeared to be bandages. The cloth then continued downwards to wrap around his body and successfully fastening his hands tightly to his sides. The ending result was the appearance of an oddly shaped butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. Well, except for the crude depiction of the boy in a tutu sporting fairy wings and carrying a star wand which was depicted on the cloth. And, just to top it all off, Joren's hair was bright orange.

Wyldon struggled to keep from choking on his held back laughter as his eyes caught Sergeant Ezko doing likewise. Many in the room, such as Cleon, Nealan and Merric had no such trouble. They roared with laughter, as they gazed incredulously at their fellow page. Even Prince Roald could not conceal his amusement, though, to his credit, he tried.

"Who is the instigator of this?" Wyldon demanded, bringing instant silence to the room. He caught an admiring glance from his sergeant at his ability to speak without laughing and almost lost it right there. Tightening his lips and regaining his composure, he pointedly ignored the dark-skinned man and looked around the room.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light nearly blinded him, followed by another in rapid succession. When his vision cleared, he saw the two strange children huddled around a black device which was held in the lavender haired one's hand. In his other hand, the child held two strange slips of paper.

"YES!!!" cried the other, pumping a fist into the air. "Perfect on the first shot!"

"Nice, Goten," the first (what was his name again?!) said, studying the papers. His head shot up and the two children's eyes widened as a voice spoke from behind them.

"So. What did this boy do end up on the wrong side of your pranks?" The older boy Gohan stood behind them, arms folded and eyebrow raised. He looked expectantly toward Trunks (that's it!...weird name) as his foot tapped, waiting for an answer.

"Um..." Goten started, expression signaling his nervousness. His older brother cut his off with a hard look, then turned back toward the blue-eyed child.

"Well, Trunks?"

The other boy had no such nervousness. He stared back boldly into the older boy's hard gaze and crossed his own arms. There was no mistake as to his royal heritage with that stance- not even for Wyldon, who normally could care less about some strange realm's royalty.

"He dared to show disrespect to me. He's just lucky I didn't kill him," the boy growled.

"Disrespect?" Gohan asked.

"He called us brats, oniisan," Goten said quickly. "He told us to go play and said we were weak and too little to fight. It was only cuz of the Horse guy that Trunks didn't kill 'em."

"Hey!" threw in the annoyed Shang Horse at the offhand reference to him.

Trunks ignored the Yamani and continued. "If he hadn't called that human weakling and his friends off, and if the old lady hadn't given us food, I would have killed him. He got off lucky."

Gohan sighed but didn't argue the point. He knew well how even within himself, there was a strange repulsion at being named weak. There was a need to prove his strength...a burning desire to fight. He didn't doubt Trunks. Joren of Stone Mountain was VERY lucky.

Lord Wyldon waited for a moment after the older boy's sigh, then broke in. "Vinson, you and Garvey release our young friend if you will. Queenscove, control yourself." This last comment was directed at Neal, who had starting laughing again. "'Son', is it? I would speak with you, if you will." Gohan looked up, then nodded. The spiky haired boy turned to his younger counterparts and scowled.

"Go find Piccolo. Tell him I said that you two were to meditate for three hours. Immediately."

"But, 'niisan, we didn't get to eat any-"

"Now."

The two boys fled the room as Gohan turned back toward the training master. He led the boy outside to a private corner of the clearing and got right to the point.

"I don't want anymore incidents. If you keep those boys clear of mine then I'll do the same." Faint surprise flashed through him as he heard the tone of his own voice. A battle weary look, an age old wisdom that belied his years, hung over the muscular boy, and Wyldon found himself responding as a fellow warrior. He was instinctively treating the boy as an equal.

Gohan nodded in agreement. "I apologize for their behavior, although I must say, Trunks wasn't exaggerating back there. That boy is extremely lucky...The Saiyan in our blood doesn't allow much room for insults to our strength. If Trunks' father was here, he would have killed him in an instant, for the insult to his blood and heir."

Wyldon nodded. "I understand. All the more reason to keep them apart. Thank you." With that, he stalked away, leaving the dark-haired boy to his own devices. He found himself still shaken up about his own behavior. And of the intense, raw power he saw in the dark orbs of that boy's eyes. He didn't doubt Son's word in the least. One false word-one false move, and a deadly, ravaging beast would be unleashed upon their unsuspecting world...one that even Mithros himself might have trouble dealing with.

Wyldon shuddered and shoved that thought aside, sending up a quick word of apology and prayer for protection to the god of war.

Wow....it has been a loooooong time.......