Title: A Flickering Flame

Chapter Title: It begins

Disclaimer: I don't get anything from this. So… you can sue if you want to, you'll only get about three million books and a lap-top

AN: Sorry about the lateness factor. But I got it up right? That's what counts? Anyway, Happy Halloween, well late Halloween anywho. So. On with the story. Oh Wait FYI. If you go read back, you'll figure out that Hercule went splat, long time ago, like in the last chapter of DWTF. Just to let you know.

***Story***

"Anyone feel him?" Gohan asked, looking around at the group. They were flouting over the still smoking ruins of Orange Star high. The group had been gone from the lookout for two days, in those two days, they'd faced Sharpener twice, and both times he seemed to be much stronger than the last battle. And all the grouped was able to do was get their respective asses kicked.

The latest battle had happened on and around Orange Star High school. The result was a crumbling mess, most of which had been on fire. The group had put the fire out, and made sure everyone was out of the building. Gohan had punched Sharpener into the building from the roof before hand and now they were all flouting over it, trying to figure out if Sharpener was still inside or not. The whole of the group shook their heads, Videl, who happened to be sitting Gohan's shoulder nodded.

"I can't feel his Ki like you taught me how to yesterday, but I have this feeling that he's both there and over there," Videl said, pointing with one hand below them and the other to the north, a really confused look on her face.

"You can feel him but we can't? Why?" Goten asked, looking at Videl. Trunks looked at her for a second before getting a look Vegeta had seen all too often on Bulma's face. Vegeta watched him as he obviously added a few things up, maybe number maybe not, who knows with that brain of his.

"I don't know," Videl said, before shrugging and slowly sliding off Gohan's shoulder. She closed her eyes tight, but didn't fall. She flouted. Gohan smiled and nodded before grabbing her hand.

"So, Vegeta, Trunks, Goten go look around down there for him, the rest of us will go see if he's where ever else Videl says she feels him," Gohan said, looking Vegeta right in the eye. Vegeta thought for a second before nodding. He knew if he argued this would take a lot longer. He really wanted to get back to Bulma.

~*~*~

"Where to now Videl?" Goku asked, looking around below him. She knit her eyebrows together and flouted around a little.

"Right below me," Videl said, not opening her eyes. Goku looked directly below her, only to find a thin, little man, in a blue base ball cap and thick balck rimmed glasses. Gohan thought he looked vaguely familar. Thinking back, Gohan's eyes went wide.

"That's one of Sharpener and Erasa's friends from school," Gohan cried, looking down at the person Videl was flying over. Snapping her eyes open, Videl looked down at the man, and her eyes about poped when they went wide.

"He is! What in the hell!?" Videl cried, about to swoope down and grabb the man when Gohan appeared between the two of them. He shook his head and smiled sweetly to soften the blow. She sighed and nodded, floating down and laying on his chest anywho. He smiled wrapping her up in his arms, a smile on his face.

"We'll get him, no worries," Gohan said, looking over at his father. Goku smiled, remembering when he and ChiChi had first gotten together. Before Gohan was around, they'd been alot like that.

"Let's head back to the others, they may have found the real Sharpener. We'll figure this out later," Goku said, waving to the gangly man below them. The couple nodded and they headed back toward the ruins of Orange Star High School.

~*~*~

"You find him?" Videl asked, looking at the three that had been left behind. The shook their heads, looking down at the rummble that was strewn around. The baseball diamond was covered with piles of concrete. The track had metal on it, it was all organize and straight. Still no Sharpener.

"Well, there is a sewer acess in the basement, maybe he got out that way?" Videl asked, looking around at the sut and dust caked males. They nodded, and sighed. Vegeta shook his head, sending peices of wood and rock everywhere. His poor hair was more pepper now than black. He had a large smudge of black across his nose and left cheek and his shirt was torn. Trunks looked just as worst for wair. Goten looking even more so.

"Let's go back to the hotel, we'll look somemore in the morning," Goku said, looking at the already setting sun. The rest agreed and they headed back toward were they'd spent the night before.

~*~*~

Vegeta stepped out of the shower, a towel tight around his waist and one running through his hair. It was black and shiny once again. Ignoreing Videl and Gohan, who were necking on the bed, he went to the large walk-in closet. A few seconds later he came back out in a pair of streachy shorts, the small slice across his chest, were the nail that had torn his shirt had nicked him had a thin bandage over it. Glanceing and rolling his eyes at the now sleeping couple, Vegeta went to the phone, picking it up and sat down on the chair next to it. Pulling his feet up under him he dialed the number for Bulma's cell phone. He knew it was close to ten, but he also knew she'd just be getting into bed.

On the third ring Bulma picked it up and uttered a "moshi moshi" around a yawn.

"Hello, Woman," Vegeta said, eyeing the two on the bed to make sure they didn't wake up. He'd thrown his pride away once in the past week, he wasn't going to do it again.

~*~*~

"You don't think she's human?" Goku asked Trunks, knitting his eyebrows together.

"No, the way she knew that Sharpener was there, but not you know. I can't feel him, but Gohan says that he's blacked out twice and both times he says Videl feels he's in the room," Trunks said, typeing on his lap-top. He was talking on auto-pilote though, so Goku knew that he was telling the truth.

"But she's not Saiyan either, we'd feel the same thing she does, so... what is she?" Goten inquired of his best-friend, looking over his shoulder, and trying to understand what he was typeing.

"I don't know.... but I'm going to find out." Goku and Goten looked at each other and hung their heads. Trunks wasn't going to give up on this. He'd find out, they knew him well enough to know that.

~*~*~

"So, my darling. How are you feeling this morning?" Sharpener's mother asked, looking at her son with Cat like eyes. Gold and feral. They sent shivers down Sharpener's 'friend's spine. Sharpener looked at the thin, geeky looking man before smiling. The next instant, the man had a four inch knive enbedded in his chest to the handle. Identical sninister smiles grace the faces of the mother and son pair.

"Much better than I was yesterday, thank you Mother," His words revealed a set of pointed teeth, all of them were. He also had the same eyes of his mother. His body was covered in a thin layer of fur, peach. His ears pointed up, and his sence of hearing was heightened.

"Oh.... I'm so proud of you my boy," his mother said, clapping her hands together.

"I will find her mother, I will get her for you. So you can eat her, and regain your strength. As the book said, the blood of the hyprid will restore strength and cure all alments. You will get you're strength back mother, I swear it," Sharpener said, laying his hand on his mother's shoulder. Her eyes softened slightly, and they both cackled.

~*~*~

"It has begun," Dende whispered, looking down at Mr. PoPo, before looking up at Piccolo. They both looked grim, before they nodded and left Dende to meditate.

AN: There it is, it's once again short, but I have a lot I'm doing right now and I had like no time to work on it. The next chapter might be a little longer, who knows. Well. TTFN Ta Ta For Now

ArchAngelStar