Alone on Earth

^~ The blue wonder's tale~^

Kochou-hime

All rights to Dragonball Z and Magic Knight Rayearth belong to their respective owners

Hikaru awoke hurt and broken in a pile of rocks. She struggled to move her body but only succeeded in turning her head and facing the battle before her. Tears flew freely from her eyes as she looked around seeing all of her good friends down on the ground beside her; except for one. Umi stood bravely, although her body was quickly losing energy and its strength. The green-smoke swirling beast before her bellowed as winds from its body flew at Umi and knocked her down. The beast tackled her and Umi fought for her life, while the monster was viciously wrestling her arm. Her glove came off and flew to the edge of the cliff catching a rocky projection leaving it hanging over the deep ravine. The monster laughed triumphantly as he looked down at the pitiful sight before him. Umi sat, weakened, on the ground, armor-less and sword-less because all of her protection had disappeared the moment the powerful glove had left her hand. She glared with brave intensity at the monster although her fate seemed inevitable.

"And now, you DIE!" the beast roared as he prepared to finish her, but, wait. There was a light! Hikaru saw a light and the beast faltered and turned around behind him where Hikaru's prying eyes could not see. "How did you escape?" he roared. While the beast had its head turned Umi lunged with all her might to her glove that was slowly slipping of the edge of the rock only to miss it just as it had taken its final plunge.

"No!" Umi screamed as tears flew down her cheek when she watched her final hope fall into the raging river below. Hikaru heard her weeping and called out to her.

"Umi!" Hikaru yelled with a gruff and broken voice. "You must defeat the monster, you're our only hope!" Hikaru pleaded Umi turned to face her fallen friend and wept freely as she kneeled hopelessly on the ground.

"Hikaru…I..." Umi crawled away from the cliff and looked at the ground, "I can't! I have no more energy…and my power is floating down there somewhere in the river. I can't do it!" Umi yelled in defeat as the monster was slowly overcoming the light that had once been overtaking him.

"But Umi! You must!" Hikaru pleaded as the monster had turned his wicked eyes back on Umi.

"It's time to die Magic Knight!" the monster let loose a powerful attack of dark energy that made its way to Umi.

"Umi! NO!" Hikaru screamed.

Hikaru awoke with cold sweat drenching her body as she gasped for air. She quickly sat up in bed as she felt her face and body to assure herself that it was only a dream. She started to calm down a little when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Lantis sat up in bed and looked at Hikaru worriedly. "Hikaru…" Lantis whispered as he looked into Hikaru's frightened eyes. "Did you have the dream again?" Hikaru nodded solemnly as tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheek. Lantis's face became dark as he looked seriously at Hikaru who was trying her best to keep from sobbing. "It's time that we talked to Clef."

Clef sat in the Palace commons rubbing his temples as he listened to Ascot's ideas on how to reopen the entrance between Cephiro and Earth. "Well," Ascot continued as he went down his list of ideas, "my 37th plan is that we have Primavera hold open the portal as the Magic Knights and some of our best fighters jump through the portal and then down to Earth!" Primavera snorted indignantly.

"Excuse me!" She squeaked in Ascot's direction, "When did I become your slave? I don't want to hold the portal open! And if Lantis is going to Earth, which I'm sure he will because he follows that silly Hikaru everywhere, then I'm going too! Hmph!" Primavera crossed her tiny arms earning a silent gaping from everyone but Clef in the room. Caldina stared at the little fairy and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, the little honey sure is an awful tiny thing. Even with magic powers I doubt she'll be big enough to hold the entrance open." Caldina remarked slyly earning a shocked response from Primavera.

"I am very powerful! I have excellent powers and can hold that portal open with no problem!" she claimed sticking her tiny nose into the air, "I just don't want to!" Everyone seemed to ponder for a moment when Prince Ferio finally broke the silence.

"How will we get down to the earth? There's no beast that will be able to bring us safely to the ground." Everyone looked at their Prince in shock but nodded in agreement. Ascot was about to begin reading his 38th plan when he was interrupted by the sound of the large entrance doors opening. The group sighed with relief when they saw Lantis and Hikaru enter the doors instead of the infamous Cavaliere they had all heard so much about. Primavera squealed with delight and flew towards Lantis, while Fuu gave Hikaru a greeting smile.

"Good morning Miss Hikaru. How…" before Fuu finished her polite question she noticed that Hikaru was troubled. Her cheeks were tear streaked and her usual assuring and happy smile was gone. She approached Clef silently, which caused the powerful mage to open his eyes from his deep thoughts.

"Hikaru, what troubles you?" Clef asked the young warrior before him. Hikaru looked sadly into Clef's eyes as her lips trembled with fear.

"Clef, if the monster that's hurting Umi returns to Cephiro...and Umi follows to defeat it. She'll die!" Hikaru yelped as tears began to fall down her cheeks once more. Clef sighed and stood up turning his back to the group.

"I know," was all he said as he retreated from the room to think away from the others. Everyone looked from Clef to Hikaru with dumbfounded expressions. After some encouraging she began to tell the others about her premonition.

ChiChi stood with her hand covering her mouth as she stifled the intense laughter threatening to escape into the air. Goku and Gohan walked inside after a warm up sparring session only to see her giggling form in front of Goten's room. The door was open and ChiChi was slowly starting to lose it. "What's up Mom?" Gohan asked as he and his father joined her side by the door. Goku burst out in laughter at the sight and Gohan snickered but was unsure if he found the sight all that funny. The right side of the bed was a disaster. It looked like a war had taken place because the covers were bunched and a couple pillows lay on the floor and one on the ceiling fan. On the left side, Umi lay perfectly content with the covers on her side completely un-ruffled and smooth. Goten was snuggled up to Umi and smiling contently when suddenly he sat up and looked around. He noticed he had been the closest to Umi and raised his arms up in triumph.

"I am the champion!" Goten announced happily. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Mokona had popped up from Umi's other side and was glaring at him. Mokona had snuggled in Umi's arms during the night. He stuck his tongue out at Goten earning a small "darnitt". Goten noticed his three family members standing at the door for the first time and he blushed with embarrassment. His parents were laughing, while Gohan glared daggers at Goten. What's his deal? Goten thought, Oh! He must be jealous that I slept in the same bed with his girlfriend! Goten grinned evilly and hopped out of bed marching pompously out the door toward his family. "Yup! I sure did a good job protecting Umi from the monster…unlike some other brother of mine!" Goten announced as he walked past Gohan. Gohan's face became as red as a cherry and started menacingly following Goten out the door. Goten broke into a run with Gohan hot on his tail. "Chill Gohan! It's not like I kissed your girlfriend or anything." Goten roared with laughter rolling on the ground as Gohan stood over him trying his best not to explode. Goten giggled and looked up at his older brother. "So does this mean you're going to actually fight me today instead of read your dumb books?" Gohan tilted his head to the side and smirked evilly at his younger brother; he resembled a true Saiyan warrior.

Gohan cracked his knuckles and smirked even more at his newly nervous younger brother. "Sure thing Goten, just wait until we go out to train Umi today, I'm sure you and I will get a good spar in." Goten's face faulted as he watched his brother walk back into the house

Aw man, he thought to himself, I don't think I want to fight Gohan anymore!

All the commotion of the morning had settled down and the Son family along with Umi and Mokona had finished an enormous breakfast to start out the day. Umi silently helped wash dishes; her mind was focused on the training Gohan had somewhat explained to her before breakfast. It would be an understatement to say that she was a little bit nervous. Mokona sat at Umi's feet as he sighed contently with a full belly. Umi smiled at him as she finished drying her last dish. "Mokona," Mokona's ears popped up at the sound of Umi's voice, "you be good staying at the house with ChiChi today because if I get a bad report you're in big trouble mister!" Mokona's eyes narrowed into slits as he listened to Umi threaten him, and when she turned around to leave the sink he had jumped on her head and bounded out of the room. Umi rubbed her head in disgust. "MOKONA!"

Goku stood up from the table and stretched his body so that his midsection was stretched to its fullest extent. He grinned at his wife who had just finished putting the last dish away in the cupboard. Goku gave ChiChi a big kiss on the cheek that caused her to blush profusely. "Thanks for the wonderful breakfast ChiChi!" Goku announced as everyone chirped in an agreement. She blushed at the approval and shooed them all out of the kitchen.

"You boys better get outside to train if you're going to help Umi out with her monster problem," ChiChi smiled at the girl as they started walking outside. "Be home for lunch!" Mokona remained on the floor at ChiChi's feet when he finally noticed that she was looking at him. He caught her eyes, which had images of bunnies in pink dresses dancing around in them. Mokona backed up slowly in fear as ChiChi followed him with a grin on her face until he stopped with his back to the wall. "Oh Mokona, you and I will have so much fun today!"

"Puu!" Mokona screamed as he bolted out of the room with ChiChi hot on his tail.

Goku, Goten, Gohan, and Umi flew to a clearing on the other side of the Black Forest. Goku was impressed that Umi could fly and was even more proud when he learned that Gohan had taught her how. "Well," Gohan said as he explained Umi's flying experience, "I had a little help teaching her from Piccolo." Goku snickered as he remembered listening to the story of Piccolo throwing Gohan off a cliff until he learned how to fly.

"Speaking of the devil (pun!: Piccolo becomes the guardian of hell later on in the anime series), there's Piccolo now!" Goku pointed to the clearing where they were about to land and none other but the great Namekian was there meditating. His ears perked up at the sound of Goku's voice causing his great eyes to crack open and stare at the arrivals that had landed in front of him. "Hey there, Piccolo! We were just about to begin some training because we needed to teach Umi a few skills. Wanna join?" Piccolo stood up and locked his eyes on Umi.

"Well," Piccolo began, "the first thing we need to do is leave her in the wilderness to survive for 6 months until she's ready to train." The Son's grinned nervously as Umi stared at the giant green alien in amazement.

"Heh…Piccolo we really don't have time for that unfortunately; I think we're just going to skip that step." Goku explained as Piccolo crossed his arms seemingly unimpressed.

"I'll just watch," Piccolo concluded as everyone gave an internal sigh of relief, especially Umi. Goku clapped his great hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Right now, we're going to split up in groups. Gohan, take Umi to the clearing across Blue Lake and teach her a few defense and offensive skills. Piccolo and I will stay here and work with Goten for a little while." Goku announced as everyone nodded in agreement. "You two should meet back here after lunch," Goku said in Umi's and Gohan's direction. Before the two left, Umi punched Gohan lightly in the shoulder and smiled.

"Hey, if you wouldn't have taught me those ki skills before Piccolo tossed me off the cliff then I would have been in big trouble!" Umi commented on how Gohan had given Piccolo most of the credit for teaching her how to fly.

"I wouldn't have ever let you hit the ground Umi," Gohan said suddenly causing the two to blush simultaneously. Goten made a gagging sound as he walked between the two putting his hands on his hips.

"Can we stop the lovebird talking please?" Goten demanded, while looking at the two, "I wanna fight! So let's get this show on the road!" Goku stared in amazement at his feisty son as Piccolo leaned over and quietly mentioned to Goku that Goten spends a lot of time with Trunks, the son of Vegeta. Umi giggled at the little boy and Gohan smirked at his little brother.

"Alright, alright. But train hard," Gohan warned, "because you and I are sparring later." Goten made no more comments as Umi and Gohan flew away. Goku walked up to Goten and smiled down at him.

"So you're fighting Gohan huh? That's so exciting that you're already strong enough to take on such a mighty opponent." Goku exclaimed with pride. Goten gulped causing a wicked smirk to emerge out of Piccolo. Goten quickly regained his proud composure and looked up proudly at his dad.

"A mighty opponent?" Goten laughed causing Goku to obtain a confused look on his face, "Gohan isn't mighty! All he does is study, read books, and fight punk criminals that rob banks in a stupid costume! I've asked him to fight me tons of times and he always says 'no'. There's no way that Gohan is more powerful than me!" Goten exclaimed with pride causing Goku's and Piccolo's mouth to drop with shock.

The kid is a lunatic! Piccolo thought to himself as Goku regained his composure. Goku knelt down to his son and looked him seriously in the eyes.

"Goten, I hate to tell you this but Gohan is the most powerful person I have ever met." Goku stated causing Goten's eyes to widen with disbelief.

"Even more powerful than you dad? No way!" Goku nodded as he began to tell Goten about Gohan's adventures and how he had been the only one on earth able to defeat Cell. Goten's jaw dropped as he listened to the tales. "I can't believe it dad! Gohan had never said anything about the battle before!" Goku laughed and shook his head.

"He has a hard time talking about it. It was a hard experience to go through." Goten nodded solemnly as Piccolo approached the duo.

"Gohan is not like other fighters," Piccolo explained as he reminisced about past battles, "he cannot reach his full potential voluntarily. His power is at it's greatest when he's truly motivated to use it." Goten was shocked at the news he heard and looked at his father with fear written across his face.

"Dad, there's no way I can fight the strongest fighter in the world, he'll beat me to a bloody pulp!" Goten pleaded as Goku and Piccolo laughed.

"You'll be just fine son," Goku assured the young boy, "I think Piccolo and I can help you out with a few new skills to catch Gohan by surprise!" Piccolo nodded in agreement. Goten jumped up in excitement.

"Well, let's get started then!" he yelled with glee as the threesome began their pre-training warm-ups.

Umi and Gohan flew to a clearing next to the great lake, which rich blue waters had earned the lake its name. Gohan first began teaching her basic martial arts skills. Umi learned quickly because of her experience with fencing and fighting in Cephiro. It would be an understatement to say that Gohan was only impressed. She learned such skills such as blocking attacks and certain kicks and punches that would put her ahead in a fight with enough power put into them. Right before Gohan began to move onto something more complicated a small but sharp beeping from his pocket began. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a tiny machine and looked at it. Gohan stared intently at the tiny machine as Umi leaned in to get a closer look. "What's going on Gohan?" Umi asked innocently. Gohan sighed.

"I'm really sorry to stop our training Umi, but there's a major bank robbery happening right now in Satan City and the police are not able to handle it!" Gohan explained as Umi's face became saddened. She watched in awe as Gohan pressed a small button on his "watch" and suddenly became The Great Saiyaman as the costume mysteriously appeared on him. "I'll be back in a little while Umi." Saiyaman announced as he turned to fly away, however, he was stopped when Umi's hand clamped onto his arm.

"There is no way you are leaving me here alone!" Umi ordered as Saiyaman looked incredulously at her. It had been the first time she had been firm with him and it was both frightening and intriguing at the same time. Looking into her eyes he saw something he hadn't noticed before. They burned with fire and determination; he had expected to see fear of being left alone with a Cavalire on the loose but nothing of the sort could be found in her deep blue eyes. He had always viewed her as something fragile he had to protect but now realized that Umi was not a weak warrior and she could hold her own if necessary.

"Umi…" Saiyaman began, as he almost became weak at the knees under the scrutiny of her stare, "this is a huge robbery and I might not be able to protect you from danger." Umi crossed her arms and smirked in a Saiyan manner that she had picked up from Gohan.

"I think I can handle this sort of danger. I've faced much worse than bank robberies!" Umi exclaimed as Saiyaman nodded.

"Well, then lets get this show on the road! We have to hurry though!" Saiyaman announced as he scooped up Umi in order that the two would be able to get to the scene faster because Saiyaman/Gohan was a more powerful flier than Umi. While the two were rushing towards the scene of the crime, Saiyaman realized that Umi didn't have a disguise. He scanned the city below and spotted a costume shop. Umi looked confused when the two landed and looked to Saiyaman for an explanation. "Umi! You have to have a costume to help me, because if anyone recognizes you, we'll be in big trouble!" Umi nodded as she glanced to the crime that was happening just a couple blocks down the street. "Meet me over there after you find one." Saiyaman ordered as he rushed down the street. Umi bit her nails nervously and walked into the store and started to look for a costume fit for a super hero.

To be continued…

Sorry that this chapter sort of just dropped off…it was getting pretty long and I wanted to get it out sooner. The excitement is starting to build and both an ultimate battle and romance is promised. The background information may not be that interesting but stick with it!

Ciao!

~Kochou-hime