Disclaimer: Seeing the one that made Dragon Ball/Z/GT, Mister Akira Toriyama is a man, and the owner of Sailor Moon, Miss Naoko Takeuchi, is a woman, to be able to own DB/Z/GT and SM at the same time I would have to be a transsexual.
P.S.: I'm not… just for the record.
Chapter Nine: First sightings
The young man with the spiky lavender hair lifted his head to the pink haired Sailor Senshi with confusion, and raised his vision upwards to see the reason of her outburst.
His eyes encountered nothing, though, except for the unnaturally dark sky.
"Can it!" Ceres exclaimed "He's gone! He was up there a second ago, and now he's gone! I am truly surprised; I didn't know anyone could be that fast without teleporting"
Tiger-Eye scratched his head, confused. "I didn't see anyone" Hawk-Eye asked the Soldier of Nature Renewal without understanding "Who are you talking about, CereCere?"
Ceres looked at them with realization.
"Right. You guys haven't met him yet"
She reassumed searching the sky with her eyes as she answered "He's the person that arrived with Neo Queen Serenity when she returned once leaving Elysion for the second time after she found out about the eternal deaths of King and Reenie"
"Him?" Tiger-Eye questioned "You mean he's a man?"
Sailor Ceres nodded.
"Yes, he's male, but I don't think he's human"
Hawk-Eye smiled at her. "That is evident, CereCere. If he came from outside Elysion, that probably means he came from outer space, since there are no other life forms left beside us within this Solar System"
"It may be. He looks human, but he has a brown tail, long, like a monkey's"
"Is he some new species of magical being or creature, like the guys and I?" Hawk-Eye frowned when the senshi denied that possibility stating this 'Son-san' didn't possess any magical powers at all that they knew of.
The lavender haired one placed his thumb and index finger under his chin in thought.
"He's neither a human, nor a magical being or creature, and he comes from outer space… I think it's safe to assume he's some form of alien that looks remarkably like humans, except for, perhaps, that tail you mentioned?"
'She's already stated that fact, Sherlock' Tiger-Eye muttered to himself very lowly.
"I remember what Minako-sensei told us about the Starlights, Princess Kakyuu and the other sailor senshi that came from outer space in the 20th Century." Ceres reflected nodding "Though not all, many of them were human. Luna-san said Earth people used to explore space a lot during the Silver Millenium, spreading their population onto other planets and befriending different species within this galaxy."
At that Tiger-Eye regarded the girl with curious interest. "He's a planetary guardian?"
"Why come here of all places" his partner questioned "when this planet's been awfully desolated? Doesn't he fear Chaos?"
"It's not certain he's a planetary guardian, Tiger-kun." Ceres clarified "Now that you just said so, it occurred to me he might be one… and unaware; Helios said he told them of how he used to fight a lot a long time ago, to protect his own planet. Only he didn't do it with magic, like we do. He's rather a physical fighter, a professional martial artist of some sorts. He kind of took Juno under his tutelage after totally kicking her but when they attempted to spar a couple of times; promising extra-officially he would help her improve; she was so thankful she practically worships him now. In any case, he never said anything of having any planetary powers, but according to Helios and Juno, he seems to have very unusual abilities"
The lavender haired boy walked a couple of steps forwards, greeting the oncoming Sailors Vesta and Juno.
"Are you guys okay?" he yelled at them and they nodded, still walking to join their friends.
Pointing towards the Hollow Hunters that were slowly regenerating in the distance, surrounded by the landscape of hundreds of acres of smoking, devastated land, greatly covered in the ashes of the charred trees and forest; Hawk-Eye looked at his blond hair friend and at the senshi from over his shoulder with an ironic smile.
"Unusual abilities? Like what he just did now?"
"That was an impressive performance" echoed the blonde, whistling. "Reminds me a bit of Sailor Saturn: their exclusive and personal showcase of pointless destruction"
"Is this the way mortal enemies are dealt with from where he comes from?" Hawk-Eye inquired, slightly raising an eye-brow.
Ceres gulped in embarrassment and shrug in a sincere showcase of clueless-ness mixed with defeat.
"I honestly don't know"
When Helios arrived at the house followed by the same Unicorn of before carrying an unconscious Usagi on its back, both Luna and her daughter Dianna went to them in an instant.
"Usagi!"
"Usagi-sama! What happened to her?"
"Helios?"
"I'm not sure, Luna" the youth mumbled.
"What do you mean, you don't know? Was she like this when you found her?" Helios nodded "Where's Goku? Was he there too?"
"He went off to help the Sailor Quartet. He was trying to revive Serenity-sama when I found them. He said she fainted out of the blue"
Helios had already decided not to burden the rest with all the troubling details he had heard and suspicions that he had. Even though Goku-san hadn't said explicitly what happened, what little he had revealed and Helios made of it, if true, would throw the females into another anxious fit of worry, especially Luna, who was so protective of her now grown-up Moon Princess.
It was wiser, then, that he avoided mentioning the subject in front of the others until he was more certain of what had truly been what the Saiyan was referring to.
'All that matters at this moment is that she's alright'
The eighteen-year-old boy scooped the golden haired older woman in his arms, and was gladly surprised at her light weight. Even if with the passing years Helios had grown into young man with not many apparent muscles to speak of, being part Fae provided him with the capability of summoning a strength superior to that of the average human, when needed, besides the obvious magical skills. The Fae, like the ancient Lunarians of Old, were races blessed by their own protective deity, the God of Dreams Morpheus, with the capability to bend reality to their wishes, with the most complex of Magic as their tool.
Carrying the sleeping Queen in his arms the High Priest of Elysion followed the Maurian advisor into the Master bedroom of the house, and placed the Lady carefully on top of the sheets of the canopy bed. Going to her bedside, Luna placed a hand on Serenity's forehead and gasped at how cool her skin felt. Luna immediately grasped her hand between both of her own and called her name softly.
"Usagi?"
Helios shook his head.
"She won't be waking up for a while, Luna. She probably hit her head on a rock when she fainted"
"Helios, if you know the real reason she's like this, please, do tell me…" said Luna grasping Usagi's right hand tightly.
The young man bit his lip.
"I—I really do not know"
'At least not for certain yet, anyway'
Luna relaxed a bit when she saw her charge was sleeping peacefully.
"Mama, is she gonna be alright?" Dianna asked.
Helios smiled at her fondly.
"I'm sure she will, Dee." He told her "She only needs to rest a bit. That's all"
"You're right, Helios" Luna agreed "She's been going through a lot of stress lately; it'd help her to take a moment to relax. That's why I am so glad Goku is here"
The Priest and Dianna gaped at the purple haired woman, but before they could ask anything Luna turned to question Helios.
"You said Goku left to help the girls?"
"Yes, they and the Amazon Trio are leading the Elysian Armies in protecting Hope City" the boy told her "Luna, would you please watch Serenity-sama while I go to the Palace? My Lady needs her strength, that's why I am going to try summoning the Golden Crystal's help in reinforcing the Shield of Protection. Once that is done, it shouldn't be that difficult for the Magical Armies to expel the remaining demons away from Elysion"
Luna stared at him.
"Helios, you know the Golden Crystal doesn't answer to anyone else but the true members of the Elysian and Earth Royal House. Only Endymion and Reenie could command it. It won't obey you"
Helios bit his lip once more, his arms tensing at his sides and his hands closing into fists.
"Goku-san said 'better test it out'" he murmured.
Luna blinked.
"What did you say?"
The boy turned to look at her almost defiantly.
"It means we can't give up without trying. We have to try, Luna! May be this time, the Crystal will hear my praying"
Luna sighed in defeat, smiling as she did so.
"Do as much as you can"
Helios smiled back and took off without another word. Luna was left alone and still smiling to her self.
"I wonder how I haven't realized when you've completely ceased being a boy to fully become a young man, Helios" she whispered to the silence of the room.
Hearing a soft fry from behind her back, Luna turned back to the bed to see Serenity writhing in her sleep.
The deep chocolate-brown maternal eyes studied her with worry.
"Usagi…"
Goku scanned the area down carefully from the top of a cliff. He had jut sent a Massive Kame-Hame-Ha Wave against what he knew were the Hollow Hunters, managing to knock them away from the two Sailor Senshi they had been about to drown under a mass of solid darkness.
The Massive Wave, though it used the same principles of the old KameHameHa Wave in the initial manipulation of Ki, at the moment of launching it he would channel it differently, stretching his fingers instead of just the cupping of his hands, in order to make the steady beam expand into a fan of energy that would shoot from his palms like the beam of a torchlight. It was a combination of sorts between the classic Kame-Hame-Ha and Tenshinhan's old signature move, the Kihoho. Goku had perfected this technique when he was in the Eternal Realm. The result was that in exchange of a weaker surface tension and lower energy density, the Massive Wave gained the capability to be able to expand into a wider target effect radius than the regular wave, and thus could be used to hit several separate individuals at the same time.
Unfortunately, it had proven to be just a way to buy the girls some time, though, since the attack that was meant to destroy as many demons as possible only succeeded in sweeping many of them far away, where they were slowly regenerating the severed and charred parts.
However, that had been merely a test to make sure they were indeed dealing with Cursed Folk.
Having never seen a Hollow Hunter before, Goku observed they weren't as much corporeal. Since they really weren't living beings, they could not fly, much less attack with Ki blasts, and to Goku they seemed ridiculously slow. Their true threat consisted of the fact that they always attacked in extremely large numbers. On the other hand, as they were a mix of pure omnipresent evil and sin commanding a body of mud and slime that, according to what he had heard in the Eternal Realm, allowed them to regenerate, fuse with other Hollow Hunters and remain unaffected by the average physical blows, yet the viscous substance they were made of could harden like iron at will to cause great harm when dealing a hit on the body of an opponent.
In simpler words, it was like mud itself had raised and become alive to drain them from their life force, and the darkness that now covered and surrounded almost everything in site didn't make it any easier for the Elysian Armies to see them in order to strike.
Seething with undercurrent anger, the Saiyan flew off from the cliff to confront the Hollow Hunters.
"You probably thought you'll have it easy, didn't you? Wiping out the Sailor Soldiers and killing everyone in the human city for your Master… Well I'm not going to allow it!"
"Goku-san!" the Saiyan heard the distressed voice of Sailor Ceres coming a few feet from behind while the Amazon Trio looked at Goku in surprised confusion as he turned to shout to them from over his shoulder without taking his eyes from the approaching monsters. "Are you and the others hurt, CereCere?"
"We are fine! Thank you so much Son-san!" a relief-filled Sailor Juno yelled at her newly-acquired teacher with sincere gratitude.
"You're welcome. I saw you kicking and punching those demons before, JunJun. You did well, but still need to train and polish yourself some more. We'll see to that later if that's okay with you."
Slightly stunned by her secret hero's first compliment, Sailor Juno blinked twice and flushed lightly at that. "S…Sure!"
When Goku noticed the creatures were coming at them again from everywhere and at a much faster pace, he warned "Step back! I'm going to fire at them one more time"
This time, however, Goku decided to use first another technique learned in the Dragon Realm: the Twisting Kiaiho Spiral Tornado, an invisible, very powerful twister of Ki that acting like the manifestation of pure pressure blew the enemies backwards, which he could tell felt remarkably the pure physical force of a flying brick wall slamming into the subject. With great effort, the Saiyan managed to coerce the invisible tornado into forming a kilometers-long transparent barrier all around the majority of the Hunters and then start retracting it in itself to group the captured youmas into a single thrashing about and hissing pile of mud.
"That's… extraordinary!" Hawk-Eye admitted in an outburst "What kind of sorcery is that outsider using?"
The blond Tiger's eyes were wide as saucers. "I wanna learn how to do that"
Sailor Pallas, intrigued, pulled out once more the old Mercury Visor and Super Computer in order to analyze whatever they could pick up on the nature and patrons of the strange unfamiliar energy the fighter was using in those unknown attacks.
Once the pile was farther away enough, the warrior was allowed to charge enough energy to envelope it with his Golden Meteor Shower Tsunami, a thousand-times-larger-and-stronger version of Piccolo's Renzoku Senkoudan, which surrounded the target with infinite of projectiles formed of smaller but deadlier infinite Ki packets that shot in a flash towards the intended target, hitting them all at the same time.
Needless to say the joined blasts birthed an enormous explosion that hid the wrapped the whole view within a gigantic cloud of dense smoke that would surely prevent all the onlookers from seeing the outcome until the dust had settled.
Though the Saiyan fighter was not about to take his sight of that cloud till he saw only a burning crater left in the place where the demons had been.
If he had paid attention to the ground right under his own feet, he would have noticed that the dirt all around the immediate area where he was standing was gradually becoming darker…
An excited Peruru flew about yelling at the top of his lungs.
"HOORAY, GOKU-SAMA!"
"That wasstupendously rockin FANTASTIC!" the high pitched voice of Fish-Eye made itself heard from afar "Where did you girls find that guy?"
Sailor Vesta, on the contrary, felt wary of possible future repercussions "The way he annihilated so easily such a quantity of Hollow Hunters… it was… scary…"
She exchanged glances with Sailor Ceres.
"Stop speaking nonsense" Tiger-Eye said snootily "That was an amazing style of offensive, you're just jealous 'cause you didn't do it"
Vesta glared at him murderously "No one's talking to you, lousy excuse for a man…"
"Oh I'm so sorry, dumb Carrot-Head"
"I'm not taking any insults from a tight leather-clad freak"
"What? Why you little—"
"Guys"
"—disrespectful tart, have you forgotten what you were wearing the whole time with Neherenia?"
"It was an Amazon's proper garment, you weirdo—"
"…Guys…"
"—a lot more proper than anything you've ever wore—"
"…Guys…"
"— and a proper respect for the differentiation of genders"
"Oh really?"
"Yes"
"Guys—!"
"Oh really?"
"Oh Yea!"
"Look who's talking, you—you Uncute Tomboy!"
"I WHAT? How dare you, you—"
"GUYS!"
"Tiger-Eye and Vesta, you both shut the hell up! My ears are hurting due to your insufferable racquet!" Juno's furious tone placated the quarrelers, none of them wanting to deal with a crossed Senshi of Commitment.
Meanwhile, Sailor Pallas' aqua eyes returned to the screen of the Super Computer, away from which they had strayed when the argument started.
"It's so stupid how the two of you fight at the most inopportune of moments!" Ceres continued, more than irritated "Why don't you better spend your boredom on checking if there're any youmas left?"
The Mercury Super Computer's screen was showing a quickly forming subterranean pool of darkness.
When Sailor Pallas saw it, she gasped.
It was growing right under the Saiyan fighter.
"SON-SAN WATCH OUT!" her warning was the last thing Goku hears as thick vines and tentacles of mud sprouted from the ground under his feet, shotting up and wrapping tigthly as they coiled around the body of the great warrior.
Far away from there, an unprepared Luna jumped when a sudden loud anguished cry tore itself unexpectedly from the sleeping Usagi's throat.
"GOKU!"
END TO CHAPTER TEN
A/N: Please do speak your thoughts and concerns, dear folks
Jay.