AN: Hey, you gotta admit, it's not as bad as last time! Here's another update for all you wonderful amazing reviewers! Thank you so much, Review Responses are at the bottom. Thank you especially to all my wonderful BETAs that have made this possible. DOMO ARIGATO!!!! And Without further ado, here's chapter 16!
*************************************************************
She opened her eyes groggily and slowly the room settled into focus, the strange stone room and well-cushioned bed. She shifted her weight, feeling very uncomfortable in the overly soft bed. Reaching behind her back, she grabbed several pillows and tossed them across the room in an attempt to make the bed firmer.
No such luck. With a sigh, she gave up and rolled herself down to the floor.
'Much better,' she thought, savoring the cool solid firmness below her back as she lay there.
After several minutes, she opened her eyes again as her memory slowly came back. Why was she here? She had been battling that monster, Majin Buu. Or more correctly, he had been battering her. She should be dead now! But instead she had found herself in this strange stone room, who knows where.
She eyed the door. Would it be locked? What would be behind it? Would there be someone to give her answers?
'Only one way to find out,' she thought as she moved towards the door and turned the knob. Soundlessly, it slid open.
She slipped into the hall, and with no sense of direction, she did a quick ini-mini-mieni-mo and turned right.
After more wandering, she could hear distant voices. She followed the sounds in hopes that they could explain things. The murmur of voices silenced as two voices shouted something in unison. She couldn't make out the words, but if she could only find the origin of their voices . . .
"You're finally up!"
She spun around quickly to see a small green figure--a Namek, she concluded--looking up at her. He seemed friendly enough, but she got into a fighting stance just in case. "Where am I?" she demanded.
He bowed politely but didn't answer her question directly. "Welcome to the Lookout, Cosmos-san. I am Dende, the Guardian of Earth. Kaioushin-sama brought you here after--"
"Wait a minute," she interrupted, relaxing her stance. "This is Earth? *The* Earth?"
Dende looked politely confused. "Hai. This is the only Earth I know of."
A thousand thoughts flew through her mind. Earth. After so many years, finally Earth. She had never even dared hope that she might one day find her way through the maze of the universe back to the planet where her life as a sailor soldier began. Would the senshi be reborn? Would she recognize them? Would they remember her? [AN: She thinks she has come back to the SM Earth, but as will be explained later, she didn't realize how fluid the dimensions are in deep space.]
"Miss?" asked a worried Dende as he looked up at her wide eyes while her breathing cam in short gasps.
"Where is Kaioushin?" she asked again suddenly, regaining her composure despite the shock.
Dende looked almost guilty. "He stayed as long as he could. He was very grateful for all your help, but after much delay he could stay no longer."
"How long have I been out?" she interrupted with surprise.
Dende looked down. "Five days," he admitted. "Kaioushin-sama left yesterday morning to train one of our warriors to defeat Majin Buu."
Cosmos' eyes widened in surprise. "Warriors?"
"A group of elite fighters that protect Earth from evil," explained Dende. Cosmos' breathing quickened again; it was sounding more and more like the sailor senshi. Could she have been mistaken all those years ago? Had they perhaps returned to their lives as warriors?
"Actually, it's about time you met them," Dende was saying as he began to walk down the hall. Cosmos hurriedly followed. "They've been at it for awhile, trying to perfect a fusion between the two boys," he explained as they walked.
More questions flooded her mind, but she refused to allow any of them to reach her lips. She forced herself to be patient as she neared the room.
"Fu...sion... HA!!"
A crowd was gathered around two boys who were attempting an intricate dance that ended with their forefingers touching. One was strange and unknown, but the other . . .
There was no mistaking him.
He seemed to be several years younger than she remembered, but his hair was the same untamable mess as always. His face was innocent and pure, though frustrated at this point in time.
Her eyes threatened to water as she silently cursed the differing time flow of the dimension. How could she let him see her like this, after what she had become?
And then it hit her. How was he here?
Her mind raced to come up with possible solutions, but as she looked around the room, it all became clear. This was not the world of Tokyo, youmas, and the sailor senshi. This was Chikyuu, the world she was born into, the world of talking turtles, martial arts, and ape-boys.
Her eyes watered. She wiped them quickly and inconspicuously before any tears could fall.
But how did she get here? Was the universe really so huge that it contained multiple dimensions?
Yes. She realized it now. She had always thought of each dimension having its own separate universe. But in the big picture, it is all the same Universe. One dimension's universe overlaps another's overlaps another's overlaps another's, creating a limitless Universe. Using magic, one can unknowingly pass through the fluid dimensional boundaries of deep space. Somehow in her endless travels and teleportations, she must have unknowingly strayed into the dimension of her birth, to be led home . . .
She forced herself to focus on the present as she realized that Dende had called attention to himself and her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst.
"Everyone," Dende said clearly as they stopped what they were doing and gathered around. "This is Cosmos, the one who helped us with Buu."
"Cosmos? That's a strange name?" she heard a familiar voice say from the side of the crowd, followed by the crack of a frying pan on his head and a groan. "Cosmos-san," Dende was saying, "this is everyone."
He proceeded to lead her among the crowd of warriors that she would later know as the Z senshi. She was reintroduced to the man she had saved, Vegeta, though he continued to scowl angrily at her.
"And this is Juuhachigou and Marron and Krillin..."
Cosmos gave a start when she heard that name. Could it be? But no, this short black-haired man could not be the same bald cueball that she trained with all those years ago... could he?
"...and Piccolo and Trunks and Goten..."
Unconsciously, Cosmos breathed a sigh of relief. This boy was merely a look-alike and not Goku at all! Yet something sunk within her, something that left her feeling disappointed and empty.
"And here's Videl and ChiChi and Goku."
Cosmos gasped, and her face blanched. This could be no coincidence of names. This was the same Goku, the same boyish face and crazy hair, just several feet taller. Even his orange gi was the same.
"Cosmos-san?" said Dende with concern.
"He... I- I have heard of him," she struggled, finally regaining control of her emotions and offering the first explanation she could think of. Goku smiled that familiar loveable boyish grin and laughed with a hand behind his head. "Well, thanks!"
The man called Yamcha-- who Cosmos suddenly realized was the same Yamcha from all those years before-- suddenly jumped in. "Well, of course you've heard of him. He's only the greatest fighter of all time in the entire universe!"
The crowd laughed cheerfully, oblivious to Cosmos' silent masked agony. It was then that she noticed the halo above Goku's head. He was dead?! A million thoughts raced though her head again, and her breathing came in frightened gasps as Dende steered her on to another person. 'The boy Goten... none could look so familiar and not be related. He must be his son! And the woman beside him, was that his wife?' Somehow, Cosmos felt betrayed deep within her. 'It's only natural for him,' she rationalized silently. 'After all, I would have married Mamoru if Fate hadn't gotten in the way. And the Usagi he knew, the Usagi who promised him she would return, is no more. It is good that he didn't waste his life waiting for her,' she concluded and tried to convince herself as Dende introduced "Roshi-sensei", the man Cosmos knew as 'Daddy'. He eyed her short skirt appreciatively and Cosmos found herself wishing for her old gi.
'And yet,' she found herself wondering as she looked beyond the hentai thoughts of her father to the lonely man within, 'is she really dead? Or is she still in there, in me, somewhere... Can I reclaim the life I once had?'
***************************************************************************
AN: As of now, no one has recognized her. She looks very different than she did all those years ago when she was a cheerful chibi girl with golden hair and tanner skin. Now she is taller, silent, silver-haired and pale, and almost menacing. The odangoes are the only hint, and Krillin and Goku knew nothing of Usagi's life as Sailor Moon or Serenity (only of Cosmos' life from what Kaioushin told them). And Kaioushin is off with Gohan if you're wondering. And now, Review Responses!
LightAngel- Well, you gotta remember that the last time Krillin and Goku saw Usagi, they were all chibi and looked quite different from what they do today. Plus, Goku and Krillin thought Usagi was gone forever, lost in some differnent realm, and as the years went by they gave up hope of ever seeing her again. Eventually they truth will come out, but for now even Roshi has shut away his memories and can't recognize his now silver-haired daughter. And if I remember correctly, they were all out of senzu beans after the Buu battle. I could be wrong, but oh well. Thanks!
solarmistress17- ::cowers:: Er, he he... gomen? I've updated sooner this time, really I have! ::tries to look proud and mighty, but fails miserably::
Gackt Camui- mwhaha!!! Thank you so much! Sorry again bout the cliff. ^_^"
AngelDust159- ::wink:: Nope. Yeah, I suppose I could do that, but that will be cruel! Unfortunately, it will be quite awhile till she can get together with Goku-kun again.
Eternal Cosmos- Woohoo! Goku/Usagi! Whee! You betta believe it! ;-P
Thank you also to:
dragonmoon
angel313
The Kuro no Tenshi
Eo
Erika7
AlyRain
Riuka
Tomoyo chan1
mayoujou
Thank you for your continued dedication, and please review. Domo arigato, minna-chan! Ja!
~Calli-chan