Arena
Vegeta was pinned against the wall, Bardock behind the counter unconscious from Broli's power. The Saiya-jin prince had never witnessed such a display of power from two infants at birth, yet here they were. One out of pure madness and the other trying to survive. Serenity came running in, feeling a familiar presence that sent cold shivers of terror down her spine. Right beside her, after two weeks of not being seen nor heard, Kakarot appeared.
"Vegeta?"
"Who ever did your testing were idiots! With the power level you now display at a day old, there is no possible way you could have been a third class Saiya-jin! How did they miss this?"
King Vegeta walked in, saw the two infants ripping each other apart and sighed in regret. Kakarot was screaming in rage filled terror, Broli lashing out at him with everything around him. Prince Vegeta tried with difficulty to keep a shield around the babies, but the combined powers of both Super Saiya-jins was starting to take its toll on him. "Terminate him," King Vegeta commanded.
"No!" Usagi begged. "He's just a baby!"
"We don't have a choice Usagi!" Prince Vegeta shouted. "If we don't stop him now, Kakarot will die!"
"But,"
"No!" Mirai Kakarot roared. "I don't care if Broli is a killer in the future; I will never condone or allow the murder of a child. Maybe if he hadn't been sentence to death, Paragus wouldn't have fled. Maybe, we might have been able to find a cure for his madness. There has to be a reason for Broli to have been born the way he is."
'Haruka, Rei, Hotaru! Come quickly!'
Exactly one minute passed as Haruka, Rei and Hotaru came charging into the room, skidding to a halt beside Usagi. One glance at the two infants, they hissed in surprise and fear. They knew this presence and somehow Kakarot had been able to defeat him once before in his future time line. Chaos was reborn into the Sailor Senshi's time, the beginning stage with the child they now saw.
Blue eyes flashed with steel, rising to meet her father with a challenge. "No one will harm that child!" Step-by-step, she deliberatly defied her father's orders and moved towards the baby, a crescent moon blazing brightly on her forehead. The closer she came, the calmer baby Kakarot and Broli became. Slowly, Broli stopped screaming, his golden hair changing to a deep black. A fighter unneeded, Usagi allowed her lunarian blood to take control, the power of the Imperium Princess released once more. Her crystal flashed above her head as she stood before everyone as Princess Serenity.
If there were any doubts about Serenity's power, they quickly disappeared as all in the room felt her love, purity, light and warmth flood into their very souls. Kakarot could feel everything about her and yearned to take her into his arms forever.
Gently, she brushed the small child's hair back, a memory that she had nearly forgotten coming back. She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Paragus was the father of Broli, the mate of Pluto and the father of her best friend Ryouga. Serenity smiled and picked up the child, humming him to sleep. Despite the calming effect she had on Broli, the dark presence persisted and lashed out at Serenity full force, driving the princess to her knees. Broli and Serenity screamed together, fighting the pain and agony of hatred.
Vegeta didn't understand and was about to rip Broli from his sister's arms when Kakarot grabbed and pinned him down. "No, this isn't the child's fault. Let Serenity help him!"
Ignoring the blinding pain, Serenity lifted her head and met the worried gaze of her brother; "Vegeta, touch this child and I'll never speak to you again." She slowly stood back up, a black power evenlopping her in a thick sphere. "I, Princess Serenity, Heiress to the Imperial throne of the White Moon Kingdom and the Silver Alliance will NOT tolerate the corruption upon such an innocent as a New Born Child! This Unholy Presence Ends as of Right now! Moon Healing Escilation!" A brilliant light shot from the crystal and bathed baby Broli within its healing light. The senshi could see the darkness disappear, totally destroyed before it could be reborn into another timeline.
Exhausted, both babies fell into a dreamless sleep, their hair and eyes back to normal. Still holding the baby in her arms, Serenity turned to the lab doctor; "Where is Broli's mother?"
"She died during child birth."
"Broli will no longer be a threat. A being, we called Chaos, had taken control of him. Kakarot and Vegeta fought him, but this time, tragedy was avoided. Where did Paragus go?"
"He's heavily sedated in the medical lab. The death of his mate caused him to snap."
"Until he is able, I will care for the child." Princess Serenity faded, reverting back to Usagi. She collapsed to the floor, her eyes closed before Kakarot could lift her carefully into his arms. Rei gently took the baby from Usagi and rocked him.
Kakarot glanced at Rei; "Watch Broli."
"I promise."
'Oh Usagi, you amaze even myself,' Kakarot thought.
"Kakarot!" Prince Vegeta yelled. "How did you know my sister could handle Broli?"
Kakarot smirked, "What other way is there other than my bond with Usagi?"
"What? That's impossible! Unless... You bastard! You promised!"
"A promise I have yet to break!" Kakarot met Vegeta's challenge, his tail snapping violently in the air. Suddenly, without warning, Kakarot stood before the room not as a Super Saiya-jin, but a Super Saiya-jin Three. His hair touched the floor in long golden spikes, his expression filled with murder. "Vegeta, I've never been one to start a fight, but come between Usagi and I again and I will not hesitate to kill you... Usagi is mine! I will honor my promise to you, but the minute the Arena is finished, stay out of my way! King Vegeta doesn't possess the power to stop me and if Hotaru's smart, she'll keep the hell out of this as well!"
He quickly left the room, Usagi in his arms. The only person not affecteds by Kakarot's challenge, was Prince Vegeta. Vegeta was furious, but there was nothing he could do without harming his sister.
Usagi rolled over, groaning from exhaustion. A warm body snuggled close, a pair of arms wrapped protectively around her waist, a chin on the top of her head. His tail was lazily draped across her thigh, causing her to blush. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gently brushed a strand of hair from Kakarot's face.
Kakarot growled, his grip tightening instinctively. Usagi knew she should have tried to leave, but dealing with Kakarot's memories had shown her a side of a man that she had fallen in love with long before they had met. He looked pale, haunted by the same dreams that plagued her own nightmares. Too tired to move, Usagi drifted back to sleep, no longer carrying if she was or wasn't suppose to be with Kakarot anymore. They were happy.
Rei held the baby in her arms, laughing as he tugged on her long black hair. After Kakarot and Broli had become normal Saiya-jins, they no longer appeared to possess the power level that had scared even King Vegeta. Broli was so harmless now without Chaos, appearing to be like any other new born baby. Paragus, unable to cope with his mate's death, disappeared in space.
Bardock and Kalara spoiled their new born son, the oldest carrying him everywhere that he traveled, even training. The only one that hadn't said a word to anyone was Prince Vegeta, his gaze fixed towards the desert of Vegeta-sai. Having enough, Rei handed Broli to Haruka and Hotaru, knowing that the baby was safe with them and stormed over to the glooming Prince. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Go away!" he snapped.
Rei tried to hide the hurt from her voice, but knew that she failed miserably. "I may not be as powerful as Usagi, but I don't care." She grabbed his arm and whirled him around to face her. "You're such a child! If you knew this would happen, you should have watched them better. I don't think you could have stopped Kakarot even if you had! Haven't you stopped to think how much they both suffer, trying to honor their promises to you? They had a moment of weakness and you can't handle it!"
Vegeta knew she was right, but hated it when someone pointed out his faults. Taking her arm, he reversed their roles, pressing his stomach against her back as he tossed her to the floor face first. "You're too opinionated for you own good, onna!"
"I am not an Onna! Get off of me! I hate this position!"
"Stop leaving yourself open for it! I'm starting to think you do it on purpose; are you?" Vegeta carressed her thigh, his lips pressed against the nape of her neck. Rei gasped and the more she struggled to get free, the further Vegeta's hand moved beneath her skirt. He chuckled at her discomfort, nipping at her ear in sharp bites, but not enough to draw blood.
"Get off," Rei weakly protested, whimpering at the hot fingertips pressed against her spine.
"And if I don't... I'm a Saiya-jin that does not accept defeat easily; every protest is a challenge to me." Shifting his weight slightly, Vegeta turned Rei onto her back and held her hands above her head.
"I hate men..."
Vegeta nuzzled the fire priestess's neck, hearing a sharp intake of breath. "Do you?" His lips moved to the edge of her mouth, traced the curve of her mouth and stopped an inch away.
"Ve..." Before she could protest, Vegeta captured her mouth in her first kiss. After Rei could no longer think, he pulled away and licked his lips. "I await tomorrow. If you've made any arrangements for after the Arena, I suggest you cancel them," he ordered.
'What did he mean by that?' Vegeta left the room quickly leaving a flustered Rei on the floor.
"I think you have a future mate Rei," Hotaru taunted.
"You saw that!"
"It was hard to miss. I've not seen him act on his feelings since the Silver Alliance. I'm surprised he did now."
"He cares about me? Why?"
"The same reason anyone falls for someone. We don't know why or how it happens, it just does. Do you like him in return?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure. I've never had a boyfriend or a date before."
"Then you won't have to worry about it past tomorrow. Looks like more than one challenge is going to be issued tomorrow after the trials."
"Are you going to fight Kakarot tomorrow?"
"I'm suppose to, but you and I both know that I wouldn't stand a chance, nor would he hold back. He wants Usagi too badly to allow himself to lose."
"I'm nervous. If I don't make it past round two, I won't be able to be Sailor Mars again, and she'll erase my memories of everyone."
Hotaru sat down next to Rei and smiled. "No she won't. If I know my sister, Usagi forgave you a long time ago and has simply forgotten to tell you. She loves you with all her heart, even if she's afraid to tell you because of the past."
"How did you becomse so wise Hotaru?"
"I had great parents who get a little protective of me sometimes."
"Hotaru? Is there something wrong?"
"Not really. I just feel that my soul mate is out there and that I won't get to seem him unless we find away to get back home. I miss Pluto, Michuru and everyone else. Can't we go home!"
Hotaru was seventeen and started to cry, wanting to see everyone again. She loved everyone here, but it wasn't home. Rei held her and allowed her to cry.
Kakarot yawned as the first rayes of sunshine hit his face, glancing down to see Usagi sleeping with her head nuzzled against his chest, her body curled beside him. Somehow there tails had intertwined in the night; Kakarot smiled. He swore that she would be his by the end of sunset, or he wouldn't be held responsible for the destruction he would leave behind. Last night was the first good sleep he had received since Usagi had finished the connection between them.
Usagi moved as he continued to stare at her, waiting for her to wake. "Kakarot?"
"What?"
Opening her eyes, she saw that he wasn't a dream, "How are you doing?"
"Better now that I've figured out your thoughts."
"Were they that bad?"
"Yes and no. You had more painful memories than good ones. If I could, I would start ripping Beryl and a few of your other enemies to shreds. Your friends seemed to make me angry as well, and I knew then that I needed to leave or end up hurting a lot of people. I want you to know something, even if you never hear another thing from me. I love you, and will never let you face another enemy alone again."
"Kakarot that isn't necessary. As warriors fighting against people that are out to destroy us or what we care about, that happens. We can't depend on someone being there for us, or we'll set ourselves up for failure from the start."
Kakarot rose from the bed and leaned against the wall staring at her. "True, but we're not ordinary fighters either. Besides, what kind of mate would I be if I let you run off and get yourself killed before I had a chance to have our child."
Usagi turned so red, that you would think a new color would have been invented. "We're not mates yet."
He was beside her before she could look up, lifting and pulling her up against him. "You are my mate!" he growled. "The only thing we lack is making it official in the Arena and don't think I can't do that. We've already bonded and you can't change that. All I lack is marking your neck permanently and joining you with me."
"You better beat my brother first, Kakarot."
"Hhmmph. For once, Vegeta better not cross my temper. I know he's your brother, but he's been flaunting in my face since I've know him that I'm only a third class nobody and I'm going to prove to him today that this third class warrior can be pushed too far."
"Don't kill him."
"I won't."
Kakarot moved behind and hugged her tight as he rested his chin on top of her head. "I couldn't think of anything else as your memories flooded my mind and soul. I can't believe how you've kept all the qualities you have after all you've been through and able to find love at the same time."
"Same reason you did. We can't let one defeat bring us down, and hope that one day we'll finally be happy in the end."
"You're so unique."
"I think we should get ready for the Arena and you need to talk to your father before this happens as well. He's not trying to separate us and you know it. In fact, I think he would be encouraging you."
"Al right. See you in a couple of hours." Kakarot instant transmissioned out of her room and back to where his parents stayed and prepared for the biggest day of his life in the past. This is where they will reclassify his status in his culture and supposedly give him his assignment.
Usagi walked out of her room, stretching her muscles out and was actually excited about the tournament. "I hope I don't disappoint my father or step mother. They've put so much time and effort into teaching us how to fight." Artemis came up and climbed onto her shoulder.
"I've missed you lately, Usagi. We don't talk like we did in America."
"I'm sorry Artemis. With us being so busy training, I guess we forgot about you. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Of course. You're not like you use to be. When it comes to responsibility, you're very serious about the situation. I just wanted to tell you good luck and that I'm proud of you.
"Thank you Artemis, I just hope I have what it takes. A lot of the Saiya-jins here think that I can't do it because I'm a half-breed."
'Don't believe it Usagi. Both my sons are demi-saiya-jins and far more powerful than these idiots can imagine. I believe in you and so does your friends. You'll find that you do too or you wouldn't have made it this far.'
'Kakarot, you've always tried to lift my spirits up.' Artemis noticed a smile of contentment cross his friend's face and knew that she had fallen for someone bad. At that moment, King Vegeta came walking into the room and noticed his daughter awake and stretching for the trials.
"I have something for Hotaru, Vegeta and yourself before you fight today."
"What?"
Usagi took the box from King Vegeta's hands and looked at him curiously. "Open it and find out." Being careful, she slowly opened the box to reveal a different kind of uniform than what the Saiya-jins normally wore. The uniform was all black on the pants, with a purple top that had black trimmings on the sides. The shirt was sleeveless to allow her free movement. There wasn't an ounce of fat anywhere on Usagi as she put the outfit on, showing off her figure well.
"Thank you." Usagi ran up to him and gave her father a hug that took him by surprise. Normally Usagi would never do this, but in the last month she had lost a lot of her edge and began to act more carefree and happy. King Vegeta hugged her back and found that it wasn't so bad, as long as no one else found out about it.
"You're welcome. Hotaru and Vegeta are dressed the same as you, each having the royal crescent on your left front to signfy who your family is."
"Where is Hotaru and the others?"
"They are already waiting for you."
"You mean I'm late? I haven't been late to anything since I was fourteen-years-old." Usagi made a run for it before her father could tell her that she wasn't late, that her friends were nervous and wanted to get there early.
When Usagi made it to where the Arena would be held, there was a lot of noise and spectators sitting in the bleachers. She never would have dreamed that so many people would be watching and wondered how many would actually be facing them in the trials. Hotaru glanced at her and smiled. "I can't believe how big this place is?"
"Are you guys ready?"
"Sure," Rei whispered. Usagi noticed that the senshi of fire was very quiet, had barely glanced at them and had her eyes fixed outside. Her entire body shook like a leaf and fear was in her eyes.
"Rei, are you okay?" Usagi asked her. She glanced at Haruka and Hotaru who shrugged meaning they had no idea what was on the woman's mind. Since coming to the past with them, she had been quieter and more focused on training.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
"I don't want you to send me away if I fail."
"What?"
"You said if I didn't make it past the second round, not only would I loose my powers as Sailor Mars, but you would make sure I had nothing to do with you or the rest of the senshi any longer. I'm going to go through with my promise, but you know I'm no Saiya-jin, nor am I strong enough to face them."
"Did my brother tell you that?"
"No, but he doesn't have to. He can easily beat me still."
"He can beat you, because he's far more powerful than everyone here on this planet. I'm not even strong enough to take him on yet. I have something for you Rei, but with everything going on in the last three months, I forgot to give it to you sooner." Rei looked at the closed hand that Usagi offered to her and didn't know what to do. "Come on Rei. Do you trust me, or do you want to turn it down?"
Rei couldn't read what Usagi was thinking and hadn't been able to for a long time. With a shaking hand, she reached her hand out to take what Usagi had in hers. As she opened her hand, a red magic stick fell into her hands and it looked slightly different than it did before she gave it up. Startled she looked into the smiling eyes of her friend. "I don't understand."
"All I wanted you to do was to go through with the training and not give up. If I told you that was all I wanted, then you wouldn't have agreed to try as hard as you could and come to the Arena. If you wish to transform as Mars, then I won't hold it against you, but you're underestimating your abilites as an individual. And I'll tell you a little secret about my brother. If he didn't tell you to stay out of the trials, then he believes you can do it. He won't waist his time training someone that is impossible to teach."
Rei looked at the wand in her hands and then the crowd behind her. The temptation to fight this battle as Sailor Mars was blinding. She knew she could fight better as the fire senshi, but something held her back. "Are you going to transform, Usagi?"
"I could, but I'm not going to. This is a test of my abilities, not my powers as a senshi. Yes, I will gain an unimanginable amount of strength and power if I combined the powers of Sailor Moon and the Saiya-jin inside of me, but that would be cheating. Haruka and Hotaru have already decided they are going to fight without their magic also. If they need to later, they will change, but somehow I think Hotaru and I would gain more respect from the Saiya-jins if we be ourselves."
"What do you think?"
"I think you should try and not worry about failing. That's not the Mars I remember. You use to tell me to quit being a whimp and to get in there no matter what happened. Are you still her, or did you become like the rest of Earth that relies on everyone to do their battles for them?"
"I fight my own battles and you're right. I'm going to fight as Rei and not Mars. If I get knocked out then so be it."
Haruka clapped a hand on Rei's shoulder and smiled down at her. "That's the senshi spirit and I'm glad to see you've found it again. Now if only the rest of your fan club would learn that."
The four women held their hands out and a bond of eternal frienship and love was completed between them. No matter what happened now, nothing would ever separate them again. "Now let's go show these crazy Saiya-jins what were made of!" Rei shouted.
"I'm a Saiya-jin or have you forgotten?" Hotaru and Usagi said together.
"We'll beat you to."
They laughed and walked out to meet the awaiting crowd, which had gone deathly quiet when they saw four women appear. The women tensed when they felt every eye on them and it didn't seem to be out of respect. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The crowd broke into gails of laughter as they saw how puny looking these women were and couldn't believe they were going to be placed in the trials. Bets started being placed against the women saying that they wouldn't stand a chance in round one.
Growls of anger came from the four of them and they snarled a challenge to the whole crowd and the laughing officials. The only ones that weren't laughing were, Raditz, Bardock, Eclipse and King Vegeta. Kalara would have been there, but she chose to stay home with her new born son.
"Usagi," Rei growled, "I take back what I said about not doing this. Now more than ever, I wan't to make it through the entire trials and laugh in their faces. I may not be a Saiya-jin, but their stupid arroagance is going to be their undoing."
"Where are Vegeta and Kakarot?" Haruka asked.
"Right behind you. I take it you aren't going to run with the whole crowd against you." Vegeta was standing behind them, a look of arrogance that matched some of the spectators.
"If that's what you trained us to think, then we missed the concept," Rei snapped at him.
Vegeta came up beside her and moved to her ear, where only she could here him, "You may be good enough for the group that you'll face today, but are you strong enough to take on your trainer?"
Kakarot walked over to Usagi and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was tight and ready to spring at any moment, but she didn't jump when he came up behind her. "Nervous?"
"No. I'm excited for some strange reason. How many tests do we have to do?"
"For classification, seven. There are other things the Arena could be used for after the trials are done, but that usually isn't called until after the testing."
"Are we staying for that?"
"Yes. This is something you and Rei won't be able to get out of if you don't wished to be branded a coward."
"What are you talking about?" Usagi tried to read his mind, but he firmly pushed her out, giving her a stern look.
"You'll find out at the end of the tournament, and don't try to figure it out either, because I'm very good at blocking my mind when I want to."
The official came up to them and told them that the first trial would be a team effort while the second phase would be individual. Six Saiya-jins came out to face the group and each side prepared itself for battle. The one facing Usagi and Rei, began to smirk and a gleam that neither Vegeta nor Kakarot liked, noticed it. "Maybe we can have some fun with you two after this trial is over and you've recovered."
As the signal came for them to begin, the two Saiya-jins that had made that remark to Rei and Usagi were torn apart before you could count to one. The rage in both their eyes, made both groups hesitate and look at Kakarot and Prince Vegeta. Taking one look at their companions and then at the two male Saiya-jins, the remaining four elite soldiers ran in terror not wanting to face the two monsters. They never made it to the gates as King Vegeta killed them for daring to run.
Kakarot and Vegeta started grinning from ear to ear and looked at each other to begin laughing. They didn't laugh long, when four angry women converged on them and forced them back against the wall. "How are we suppose to fight if you kill them off first!" Haruka demanded. "This is a team effort, not an individual show."
Vegeta was getting irritated and growled back. "It's not my fault the remaining four ran like a bunch of cowards. Those two ticked us off and we killed them. Move faster next time." Kakarot walked off with Vegeta, closing the subject and the women knew better than to press it. Something about how both of them were acting was confusing, but they ignored it to focus on the next phase.
"One thing is positive about this. At least I made it past phase one," Rei cheerfully stated.
Usagi grumbled. "That doesn't count. You have to fight before you can say you made it past two rounds. It's apparent we're going to have to prove ourselves in the individual combats for now. According to my father, they will give us more fighters for every round we fight. Thanks to the stunt those two pulled, we better expect it a lot harder from here on out. They will assume we can fight like that if we're with them."
Bardock came up to King Vegeta. "What do you think? Do we give all of them two fighters or only Kakarot and your son?"
"The girls never had a chance to show what they're capable of, but I know that all of them can handle it except for Rei and Haruka. Give those two one for now and depending on how they do this phase, I will make my decision then." Bardock nodded, and gave the instructions to the official.
Rei was the next person out and was relieved to discover that she only had to face one fighter and not two like she had feared. It didn't help that the guy was a lot bigger than her and slashed his tail behind him eagerly. The crowd was in an uproar and cheered the soldier on to take her down and make her beg for mercy. With every taunt and leer thrown at her, Rei began to boost her anger and power, causing red fire to swirl around her. This caused the soldier to hesitate as he felt the heat coming from the woman in front of him. "What the hell are you?"
The bell sounded and the two fighters clashed together in a flurry of blows. Haruka, Hotaru, and Usagi all stood deathly still as they watched Rei put into pratice everything that Vegeta had taught her. Vegeta was watching with his arms crossed and was curious about this power he was feeling from her. She never used it before in training. What ever power it was, it was hurting the Saiya-jin she was fighting, because every time he tried to hit her, the fire surrounding her would lash out and burn him severly. With a hiss of rage, Rei rolled behind him and burned his tail in the process, causing him to scream in pain and rage. With a jumping side kick, she hit the Saiya-jin in the neck and knocked him out. She had been told by Vegeta, if she killed someone to not blink about it because her opponents won't care if she happened to die during the Arena.
"Al right Rei!" She came back over to them and noticed that her friends had gone silent and staring at her with opened mouths. Her symbol was still glowing on her forehead, but what startled her was them backing up. "Rei, how are you doing that?" Haruka asked her.
"Doing what?"
"Your hair is red and your entire body is radiating fire."
"I don't know, but what I do know is, if they keep laughing at me, I'm going to be very upset." The heat became worse as she yelled making everyone take another step back from her.
Bardock came up and nodded to Haruka. "You're up, Haruka."
Haruka ignored the crowd and watched the soldier that faced her. She had been laughed at her whole life and now wasn't any different. Unlike Rei, she didn't let her emotions control her actions and thought out every move she made. When the signal came, Haruka yelled trying to hit the Saiya-jin in front of her, but he laughed and stepped out of the way letting her hit the wall behind him. As she was still trying to focus, the Saiya-jin grabbed her by the hair and threw her twenty feet. When she came down, her body ached from the cuts and bruises all over her, but she ignored the pain to try and get up. A foot landed on her back, and the Saiya-jin started laughing at her. A tail came down to feel her leg and anything else it could find, making Haruka gasp in shock and anger. "What are you doing?"
"Having a little fun? It's not like you can stop me."
"This is wrong." Haruka tried to stand up, but a foot came stomping down harder, making her cry out, but she refused to shed any tears.
"It's called a Saiya-jin Victory, and I can choose what to do with the loser. Who knows, you may actually like it."
Usagi was growing upset at seeing the Saiya-jin on top of her friend, with intentions that were less than honorable. She was about to step out there when she was forced back with an arm holding her securely. "No! This is her fight and she has to defeat him on her own. Have faith in your friend. Why do you call them your protectors if you always do the fighting for them? Let them proove not only to themselves that they can to do this, but to you."
"But, he's going to rape her."
"No he's not, and according to Saiyan law, it wouldn't be looked at like that. If he defeated her, then he has every right to stake a claim on her. Unless you're her family, you can't intefere."
"I hate this law." Kakarot's grip tightened and he could only feel a little sorry about holding her back, but he knew he was right about Haruka. She has the power to fight the Saiya-jin over her, but she had to let all her power go and not hold back any longer.
Bardock was thinking the same thing as Kakarot and made eye contact with Haruka. Her eyes were clouded in pain and rage. "Haruka! Are you telling me I waisted my time training you? Throw him off and fight back!"
Haruka knew he was right. Then she saw Usagi desparatly trying to break loose from Kakarot and saw the look in his eyes directed at her. He nodded to her, telling her that she could do this, if she only believed in herself. Rei and Hotaru mouthed that they believed in her too and not to give up. All of a sudden she didn't feel his foot hitting her back as she grabbed some dirt and threw it in his eyes.
"Ahhh! I was going to only play with you, but now I'm simply going to kill you and save myself and everyone else a lot of trouble." Haruka jumped back up and for the first time since the situation with Pharoh 90, anger surfaced in her mind and soul, taking control of her.
"You know what I hate the most? Over bearing men that think they can push me around and do with me as they please." Taking his head, she brought it down on to her knee and then elbowed him in the nose, breaking it. Her rage was building further, and her birthmark appeared on her head, her hair started to raise and fly around her face. A clear and calm day, started to build up winds at hurricane levels and to toss objects into the crowd, injuring some, but not as bad as what was going to happen to the Saiya-jin in front of her. "No one and I mean no one touches me except for Michi!" Haruka didn't care anymore whether she could win this fight and began throwing everything she could find in herself at the Saiya-jin soldier. Not expecting this from a mere woman, he fell back, and it didn't help that he was being shoved by some unseen force around her. With a swift kick coming from behind, she made him sing for awhile and made sure that he would never be able to take a woman in that manner again. Her anger was so powerful, that she kept kicking him in between the legs until he had nothing left to protect. The officials came up and grabbed her, so that they could pull the Saiya-jin out of the ring and to get the next part of the phase going.
When Haruka came back to her friends, her power dropped and she collapsed to the floor crying. Kakarot finally let Usagi go to her friend and went over to stand beside Vegeta. "I was wondering about her, now I may have figured it out." Vegeta said.
"What do you mean?"
"I've never once seen her interested in any mate here, and has aggressively made it clear that she wants all males to stay away from her. However, when other females approach her, she becomes less defensive, but not completely. Only around Usagi and Hotaru have I seen her relax completely, and I think she's starting to trust Bardock some. My guess is, something happened to her, and it was done by a male."
"Did this happen to her in the Silver Alliance or in the present?"
"In the present," Bardock said hearing their conversation. "She talked to me about that incident one day, when I had her beaten. Her frustration at loosing to a man devestated her and drove her to train harder. When I continued to make no moves that would threaten her, she began to talk to me more. When she was about ten, she was forced into something by one of her foster parents and never recovered from it. The only one she lets see her personal feelings is someone named Michi."
"I wonder if it's that blue haired woman that was walking with her and Usagi the day I ran into them."
Hotaru was up next and she wasn't in the mood to mess around after watching her parent get pushed around like that. Her hair began to flow around her, and her eyes started to flicker green, but she tried to keep control of her rising anger. The two Saiya-jins that faced her, were a bit startled to see death in her eyes, but directed at them. Rushing her together, they tried to take her out, but she flipped over their heads and sommer saulted into a crouch and quickly hit them while they were turning around to find where she had gone. Forming a ki blast in her hands, she hit both of them at the same time, but knew she was far from finished. Her teachers were excellent and she had no trouble in blocking and countering either one of her attackers. She calmly let them do all the attacking until she saw them breathing hard after about thirty minutes and then made her move. Doing the splits, she let them clash together and knock themselves out and brushed her hands off to say that she was bored of this fiasco already.
"Guess that leaves you three," Hotaru said.
Kakarot was next and he walked out to the Arena hating every minute of this. He hoped that they would have a bigger challenge than this later, or this whole thing would be pointless. Bardock had made a decision that he hoped wouldn't phase his son, but quickly discovered that he would need a lot more than five Saiya-jins to face Kakarot or Vegeta. Kakarot was so fast, that you didn't even see him move from his spot on the Arena until the fight was over.
Vegeta blasted all of them and had everyone of them put into the medical ward for several weeks while they had to have their limbs fixed and grown back.
Usagi was the last of the group to face the second phase and she was already tired. They still had five more phases to go through. As she started fighting one Saiya-jin, another snuck up behind her and grabbed her tail and crushed it between his hands. Usagi screamed in pain as she fell to the ground and cried as she saw blood drip onto the ground. Her brother wasn't kidding when they said the Arena could be ruthless and painful.
Despite the pain, Usagi drew on her powers of her lunarian birth right and forced herself to stand back up. No one could believe she was capable of getting back up after a crush like that, yet she was standing there as her two opponents rushed her, but they never touched her as her crescent moon flared and sent the Saiyans through two buidlings and breaking tehir necks. When she walked back to the others, her body was drained and she sagged down against the wall. Kakarot knelt down beside her and gently picked up her crushed tail. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. Don't worry, I can't feel my tail at the moment."
"Do you want me to fix it?" Hotaru asked. "I can fix both you and Haruka."
"No. I will fight in the condition I'm in because I want to say I won this without having to use other means to come back and fight." With an effort and help from Kakarot she stood back up and leaned against him tiredly. "I've used a lot of energy out there and can use some food though."
"Not a bad idea." Kakarot looked at his father. "Can we get something to eat? We might as well, because the way things look right now, you won't have anything that can touch us in the next fight."
"Go."
Fifteen minutes later and four happy fed Saiya-jins, came back out of the cafeteria and looked ready for action. Even Usagi looked a bit more energized.
"Phase three is going to be a twenty mile run with added weights on you. You've all had weights on you for the past month of training and this is why. This phase determines who is strong enough to be in the different classes. While you're running, you will have hills and barriers to cross and you must not stop to walk or catch your breath. Once you do, you fail the test and it's over."
Fifty pounds was put on Haruka and Rei, one hundred on Usagi and Hotaru and about a thousand on Kakarot and Vegeta. Bardock was still looking for the breaking point on the two Saiya-jins, but hadn't found it yet. No wonder they were so confident in being able to defeat Frieza.
"One more thing. You are not to help each other during this, and you'll be watched along the way in the air." The six runners readied themselves for the run and shot off when the signal came.
Kakarot and Vegeta quickly took the lead and knew that the girls were more than capable of taking care of each other. Taking one look at each other, they knew that the challenge was on, and neither was going to give up until they've run each other to the ground or won the race. "I'll make a deal with you Vegeta. Me and you both know we can finish this race as Super Saiya-jins, but to make things interesting, let's not transform and run this as we are now."
"You're on Kakarot. Just don't cry when I leave you in my dust." King Vegeta and Bardock flew over head and nearly fell from the sky as they watched Kakarot and Vegeta take off in a flat run, nothing held back.
"What are they thinking about? If they're not careful, they're going to tire before they reach ten miles."
King Vegeta wasn't so sure about that. There was still a lot about the two Saiya-jins and the other women from the future they didn't know about. "Bardock, we're witnessing two rarity's in front of us. You better be glad they're on our side and not bent on ruling the universe, because I don't see anyone standing in there way. From what I've been told by Kakarot, they use to be deadly enemies, but have somehow become bonded friends. Among Saiya-jins, unless you have a mate, you don't see this, because it's dangerous in battle. I have a feeling if either of them died, they wouldn't take it lightly. I'm still wondering how your son is so powerful, despite the testings we did after the incident with Broli. As far as I know, he should be a third class Saiya-jin, but Vegeta said he was not and to trust him on the matter.
"I don't know, and I'm still running the tests on them and your son as well. Vegeta was classified as the most powerful elite soldier at birth, but his power level has dropped to almost non-existent. Another thing I've noticed about these two Saiya-jins from the future, they show a power level of two on the scouters, but you and I both know they have a much higher one."
"I can see why their enemy sent them to another time line, but instead of sending them to the past, he should have sent them to another dimension or to the future. By sending them here, he ultimately fixed it to where he would not exist in the future at all if they succeed in uprooting the red ribbon army now."
They continued to watch the race and from the looks of things, Kakarot and Vegeta were about five miles ahead of the group and still going as hard as they could. A thousand pounds shouldn't normally matter to them, but they were racing in ten times Earth's normal gravity and doing this as level one Saiya-jins.
Sweat poured off both as they never gave an inch. Pride refused to let them slow down and take it at a leisurly pace like they knew they should be doing. "Answer me something Kakarot. Why do you want her?"
"Because she struck my interest. Why do I put up with you, even after all your stupid stunts?"
"I still haven't figured that one out myself. If you had been like other Saiya-jins, you could have destroyed me, but you didn't and that's what confused me then and does now."
"I didn't kill you, because I felt good in you. Whether you would one day see it or not, I didn't know, but I wanted to try. After seeing you cry in front of me when Frieza had crushed your spirit and pride, I knew then that you weren't who I thought you were, but someone that was hanging on to a dream that you would one day be free from hell. Then I stopped that from happening when I defeated Frieza instead of you. I didn't want to take that from you, but you still weren't strong enough because you were allowing hatred to rule your life. Tell me something, after you quit seeking revenge and fighting for a reason, didn't you feel an increase in your power? You kept wondering how I became stronger even after I've been technically defeated. I'll tell you why now. When I laid on the ground, ready to throw in the towel, I would see the images of my family, friends and planet being destoryed after I was dead and I couldn't bare that if I failed them by giving up. It was as if a power deep inside of me was there and it would hand it to me when I desparately needed it the most. Even now, I can feel more power inside of me and yourself, and we will one day need it for something, but what I don't know. There has to be a reason why we have all this power, when Saiya-jins were said not to be able to get this strong."
"You're right, but like you, I have no answers."
"Well, we only have ten more miles to go. Let's say all or nothing."
Vegeta smiled at Kakarot and poured what remaining energy they had left into the run, tapping themselves out to where nothing but wind and dust could be seen. The crowd was taking naps, expecting the fighters to take two hours to finish the run, but the crowd started cheering as they saw two of them after ten minutes coming at a breaking speed. Vegeta would gain an inch, and then Kakarot would. There didn't have to be a winner to this race, but to them, there did. As the line came up, they made one last attempt to push ahead, but couldn't do it as they dove for the last inch and tied for the finish.
Breathing hard, they laid side by side laughing. "Dammit, I still can't beat you."
"Don't feel bad, I haven't beaten you in years either. It's always been dead even with us."
Bardock landed next to them and looked at the two drained Saiya-jins. "And I suppose you'll have nothing left for the remainder of the testing."
"How long do you think it's going to take them to get back here, Kakarot?"
"Two hours. They're good runners, but they have a lot of weight on them, and they're not as stupid about racing as we are."
"You want to bet?" Bardock told them. "Hotaru and Usagi may not be as fast as you two are, but they've been tapping it out after watching you two take off on them. Neither are willing to say they're going to do it at a lazy pace. I give them another twenty minutes at the most if they don't kill themselves."
"Well, twenty minutes is long enough to get a nap."
Kakarot and Vegeta fell asleep where they landed and told Bardcok to wake them for the next phase. The way things were looking, they would get plenty of sleep before Haruka or Rei showed up. They were breathing hard, but not quitting as they ran across the mountains and hills of the country side.
Usagi and Hotaru were running side by side, talking about the future and what they wanted in life. They had asked if they would ever see their homes again, or the other senshi. They didn't know, but decided to take their lives one day at a time and live. Since coming to Vegeta-sai, they had all been happier, with less fighting and only concentrating on their tasks at hand. Granted they had an enemy to face, but they still had time before he showed up. How much of the future they changed they won't know until later. They may never be able to go back after changing it now, but they couldn't think about that.
"We're almost there because I can see the Arena ahead," Usagi stated.
"How long has it taken us?"
"About an hour of running, but we needed the exercise and my muscles are aching from all this extra weight."
"Is that Kakarot and our brother on the ground?"
"Yes. Why are they like that?"
"My guess is they got tired and fell asleep."
"I would have too, going at the speed they were going. They could have been pulled over for speeding in our time, and they weren't driving a car." The girls busted out laughing and came to a halt as they crossed the finish line and sat down beside their two sleeping frineds.
Eclipse came up to them and smiled. "I"m proud of you two. That was not an easy run, and you did it in good time." She shook her head at Kakarot and Vegeta, but she had to admire the two of them, for their energy and laughter at things. Saiya-jins don't act as carefree as these two do. 'I wonder what kind of life they must have had to not blink at death or challenges, and laugh at it?'
"Do you know how Rei and Haruka are doing?"
"They're struggling, but they haven't quit yet. Haruka is slightly in the lead, but tiring out quickly. All she has left is three more miles to go while Rei has four."
Haruka came over the hill ten minutes later and smiled as she saw the home stretch, but couldn't find any energy left to speed up and simply jogged in. Collapsing, she gasped for breath and was glad that was over, and hoped that they wouldn't have any more running for a while.
Rei was still running and so tired. She had passed into round three, but officially if she defeated this round, she would have beaten two rounds without any help. 'I can't give up now! Usagi needs to know she can count on me." For the second time that day, Rei was calling on the power deep inside of her and it pushed her foward with renewed strength and energy and burning the ground behind her in a trail of fire. By now, Kakarot and Vegeta had woken up and felt a lot better than they did and blinked when they saw a fire coming towards them.
As Rei came over, they had to put out the fire behind her, or they wouldn't have an Arena. She stopped and for a couple of minutes she remained power up, but she relaxed and let the power slowly disappear to have her turn to her friends. "So what's next?"
"You're not tired after that Rei?" Usagi asked.
"No. I was about to give up, when I started to feel something push me forward and give me new strength."
"It won't matter. We've decided on the next two phases of your trial and this is going to take at the max two days. Depends on how cunning you are? The first trial is going to be in groups and the second one will be individual. This will take care of phase four and five. If you make it past five, well we'll figure something out. No one's ever made it that far."
"Can we eat before we do this next trial. We're hungry!"
Everyone looked at Kakarot, Usagi, Vegeta and Hotaru who had eaten everything the cooks had in the kitchen. "How can you four still possibly be hungry after all the food you just ate."
"We didn't just eat. That was two hours ago, and we ran twenty miles and need more energy."
When they were done eating, they met an irritated and tired Bardock who wanted to get the trials over with, but if they were anything like what they've been all day, they knew this would be going for another day or two minimum. "Phase four, is the hunt, and your group is the game."
Vegeta tensed beside them, but then began laughing. "This is not even going to be a fair hunt. Your soldiers will be the hunted before the day is through.""If you're found, you still have the chance to get away by running, hiding or fighting. But they do have orders to take you down by any means necesaary and bring you back here. I did tell them, they are not to lay a hand on the women and if they do disobey orders I will terminate them myself."
Usagi looked a bit exhausted and hurt, but she wasn't about to admit defeat for any reason. "I'm ready to start out now, then. How much of a head start do we get and can we take our weights off?"
"An hour head start, and yes you can take off the weights. On this one you are not going to be monitored because if your brought back, then that means you were found and defeated. In twenty-four hours you are to make it back here, sneak past or beat the guards guarding the goal to pass this trial. This phase shows how you work as a group and determines how cunning and intelligent you are at keeping hidden. Strength means nothing if you're too stupid to fight."
The group headed out together, but split up into two groups to make it harder for the enemy to catch them. Hotaru went with Usagi and Vegeta, while Rei went with Haruka and Kakarot. Vegeta made it obvious he did not want his sister with Kakarot until after the trials and the Arena was over with.
Kakarot looked a tad upset that he couldn't keep an eye on his future mate, but a deal was a deal and he had to agree with Vegeta this time. Usagi, did however kiss him good-bye despite her brothers intentions. "Usagi, what are you doing? The trials aren't over with yet and we have a deal!"
"You and Kakarot have a deal! I never agreeded to anything brother." Turning around, she narrowed her eyes and walked up to Vegeta to whisper in his ears, but loud enough for the other to hear her, "I swear Geta, if you interfere with Kakarot and myself one more time, then I will zap Mars to the Silver Alliance where my mother is, with strict instructions to hide her from you." She walked off to sit on a tree, her arms crosed and a trimuphant smile on her face. Haruka and Hotaru were snickering behind their hands while Kakarot was laughing with his hands holding his stomach. 'That's my girl.'
'You better believe it.'
Haruka looked at Vegeta and tried not to laugh and aggravate him further. "I wouldn't push her any further, she'll do exactly as she promised."
The group waived good-bye and wished each other luck.
King Vegeta came up beside Bardock who looked exhausted. "Who's going after who during the individual hunt?"
"I'll be taking Rei, because she doesn't know my methods. Haruka would know how I train and act, so it would be more intersting to have someone else go up against her."
"I'll take Haruka then."
"So who's going to go after the other four?" Eclipse asked them. "From what I've seen, those four are dangerous and will not hesitate to take down there opponents. Usagi may not kill anyone, but the other three would."
"We'll have to use ki reducing nets. That's the only way we can actually beat those four if it comes down to strength. This is a game of cunning and intelligence, let's use it for a change."
Four hours passed and Kakarot's group stopped to get something to eat real quick and to think of a strategy. "Kakarot?" Rei asked.
"What?" He was still upset about being separated from Usagi and his body felt like it was on fire.
"Is it true that Saiya-jins have a keen sense of hearing and smell?"
"Yes, but I can sense their ki and will know when they get here."
"We haven't learned that yet. We just finished learning how to fly."
Kakarot frowned and knew they wouldn't stand a chance in the individual hunt. Three months may not have been enough for them to train, but he respected them for making it this far. To tell the truth, he didn't think they could do the run, but they did. "Don't worry about it. All you can do is try and if I know my father, they already know who's going after who. You four, would be the easiest to take out, so they'll choose who will seek and capture you."
He sat down for a minute to think. There was water all around them, plants and lots of animals. He could sense about fifty Saiya-jins hunting them at the moment and that wasn't the group after Vegeta. They must have figured out they seperated and were going to try and outnumber them. "First things first. Do you two mind getting dirty?"
"I guess not. Why?"
Kakarot smirked. "The whole idea of this exercise is to keep the team together and I wouldn't be a very good leader if I let you get caught or killed. Good way to get yourself demoted in Saiya-jin life."
"Have you forgotten that you didn't grow up here?"
"Sometimes. This life is fun without Frieza's corruption. I never knew my mother or my father and was sent to a planet to destroy it. Lucky for them, I hit my head or we wouldn't be standing here having this discussion. Now, get in the mud and cover yourself from head to toe in it."
Rei and Haruka couldn't believe what he was asking them to do, but one glance at his expression told them that he was serious. They saw a good mud bank on the other side of the river, swam over to it and easily sank in until they were submerged. The only problem was, this was thick mud and the only way to get out of it, was to have someone pull you out. Haruka and Rei gasped for air as they were pulled up by Kakarot and felt like they needed a year bath to ever feel clean again. Taking one look at them, he knew they wouldn't be able to pull him back up, so grabbed a vine and jumped into the mud and went so far down, he thought he hit the bottom of it. Slowly he began to pull up on the vine to feel it snap and he freaked out. He couldn't move around very well or pull in enough power to blow himself out of it.
The two women noticed the vine snap and Kakarot not coming up. Thinking fast, they grabbed the vine and ran around a tree and started pulling as hard as they could until they started to feel it pull him out. A minute later, Kakarot was laying on the ground coughing up mud and water, and looking at them greatfully. "Thanks. Vegeta would have never let me live that down if I had killed my self on this stunt. Remind me to get a metal chain next time."
"Why are we doing this?" Haruka demanded.
"It will throw off our scent. Now get moving because we have half a day of walking to do, and we're going to sleep in ten minute intervals every thirty minutes, so that we don't get caught sleeping for a long amount of time. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but if you don't want to get caught, you do what you have to." They began walking and the mud on all three of them was beginning to dry, making them look like a bunch of artifacts instead of real people. As planned they took ten minute naps on the way, and felt exhausted after about ten hours of hiding from the scouting party.
Kakarot led them through the trees and taught them the art of flying by vines instead of walking or using their ki. Finally, Kakarot found a good place to hide and where they could rest until the hunt was over. There was no way they could be found by scent or hearing, and he knew they weren't allowed to use scouters. All three of them took a long nights sleep on the top of a 100 foot tree that spread its branches far and wide. The cover concealed them perfectly and the flowers hid what scent they had left to give off. When they woke up, the sun was beating down on the ground below and they wondered how much longer they had before they could head back.
"I think we'll wait until nightfall before we head back, to make sure our twenty four hours is up," Kakarot suggested.
"Do you think the others are doing alright?"
"Usagi and the others are fine. In fact, from the cursing Usagi's doing, Vegeta did something far worse than mud."
"What can be worse than mud?"
"Animal blood and skin."
"Remind me later that I'm glad we had to go with you instead."
"I could have done that too, but I didn't see any animals at the time other than fish and there wasn't enough to hide our scent."
Bardock had gone to get some rest and woke up refreshed wondering if any members of the group had been found yet. Probably not if Vegeta and Kakarot were guarding them. When he went back to get a report he found that not a single trace could be found of any of them. The only thing they knew for sure is that they split up into two groups but lost the trail. One went deep into the woods, while the other went into the desert and swamps.
"Are you telling me that as the most experienced hunters on the planet, you can't find a large group like they are?"
"No, and we're not permitted to use the scouters either. They have no trail, no scent and no tracks."
"Then they flew."
"That's what we were thinking, but we couldn't find them by air either and the group in the woods never surfaced out of the trees."
"I've never seen our testing be made to look like such an easy task. I'm running out of ideas to test them on."
"If we don't get them now General, we'll get them in the individual rounds."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. You're the same ones that bet that the women couldn't get past round one let alone round two and three. Now they're going to make it through four and into five."
"General, why are you so upset? Wasn't it you who trained them to do this well."
"Yes, but hell I didn't know they would try or be this good."
Vegeta didn't play around after they left Kakarot, because by the time they separated, they could feel the Saiya-jins converging on them. He had Usagi and Hotaru run for about five miles until they came to a desert with lots of quick sand and deadly sand traps. When they finally made it to the swamp the two women were tired and looked at Vegeta on what they were going to do next. Vegeta told them to stay put and he disappeared into the trees to come back ten minutes later dragging two tigers in his left hand and a furred elephant in the other. All three were dead, and he cooked the meat, ate and shared what he had left with his two sisters. He was thinking on how to hide all their scents, but the smell of the animals he killed was horrible making it hard to think. Then it hit him. He knew they would never agree to it, so he grabbed the bloody furs of the animal skins, and wrapped both of them in them, while he took the elephant and put it over him.
"Vegeta!" Hotaru and Usagi screamed. "What are you doing?"
"Hiding our scent."
"I would say. We won't be allowed back in the castle smelling like we do now."
"That's the point. If they smell these dead animal skins, they'll stay away. Saiya-jins hate the smell of rotting fur and meat. That's exactly what there going to smell like in about thirty more minutes crossing the desert again. You are not to take them off until tomorrow."
They didn't do this stunt a minute to soon, when a hunting party came by and scanned the area for his group. Taking one sniff, they left.
"Remind me to kill you later, Geta."
"Same goes for me."
"I can feel the love from you Rena and Taru. Now keep moving until we find a place to hole out for the rest of the night and all day tomorrow.
For five hours they moved across the desert and found an old grave sight that made them smell even worse than they already did and made a camp under some bones that were large enough to cover the three of them. Hotaru and Usagi went to the fartherst corner of their little hideout and glared at Vegeta. He knew they would be angry with him for a long time over this, but at least they'll make it to phase five.
The evening and almost a whole day passed, when both parties started heading back. Kakarot and Vegeta were happy about the game of cat and mouse, but the girls weren't and stayed silent as they followed their group leaders. Rei and Haruka felt like they would be clay pots for several years, while Hotaru and Usagi felt like dead animals that would never smell attractive.
King Vegeta, Eclipse and Bardock were beginning to think something had happened to the whole group when they flew in over the gates all of a sudden and landed on the goal. They had to forgive anyone if they didn't want to congratulate them for a victory, because they looked and smelled horrible. It was obvious it wasn't the womens' ideas to get this badly dirty or smelly.
"Now I can see why we couldn't find them. And it's ingeniuos. Too bad we can't let them get a bath because they need to go through round five now that they're back."
"You mean we have to keep smelling like this!" Usagi and Hotaru yelled. "Geta! When we're through with this, we're going to fry your tail and have it for dinner!"
Vegeta winced at the angry two and started to back up. He knew they would hate the idea of hiding there scent, but not this much. "Uh, you better be thinking on how you're going to hide on the next round. Now that they know what you smell like, you're going to have to find a way to cover it up."
Usagi and Hotaru stormed off and waited for the signal to go out again.
"Rei and Haruka, you're going first. In one hour,Usagi and Hotaru will go next, while Kakarot and Vegeta will go last. Same time limit as before and this time no helping each other out. This is where, if you get separted from your group, you can think on your own."
Rei and Haruka ran for the third time in two days and were exhausted. One went north while the other chose east. The senshi of the winds was doing great as she sped along the mountains trying to keep distance behind her and an eye out in the sky. She didn't have long before who ever was suppose to come after her would come so she had to think fast. She screamed as she accidentally ran through some bushes and fell head first over a five hundered foot cliff with rocks on the bottom. She forgot that she could fly until the last minute and barely pulled up, but not fast enough to avoid hitting her leg and breaking it.
"This is not good!" Crawling to the wall, she weakly laid her head against it, and prayed that someone found her. She didn't want to win phase five; she was injured and in a spot no one would think of.
King Vegeta was much better at hunting than the beginner soldiers were and needed practice at hunting the enemy. He had to admit Haruka was fast, but not fast enough to keep up the speed. After an hour, he quickly shot off, following her tracks into the mountains, when he had to go on foot and sniff her trail out. He stopped, confused when he came to a cliff that dropped several hundered feet below, but didn't see anything on the bottom. 'That didn't mean she didn't fly down there and run on foot through that pass. Hope she didn't; the animals in there will kill her.' He flew over the pass and searched for her in the air, but missed the ledge she was under and the blood that was pouring from her leg.
Rei was going through a bunch of grass after about thirty minutes and wondered if she could use their height as a defense in keeping hidden. When she came to the end, she found a huge lake that had a waterfall on the other side. Thinking about going behind it, she dove into the water, and swam not thinking about the dangers underneath her. A pair of tentacles grabbed her around the waist, ankles, and wrists and began stinging her, hurting her with it's poision and sting. Screaming in pain and terror, she sank under the water, and thought she was going to die, when someone dove into the water and destroyed the monster. Gently picking her up, he headed back towards the castle to get her medical attention before the posion set in and killed her. Bardock didn't think it would be so easy to find Rei, but he was glad he did, or she wouldn't have survived.
Usagi and Hotaru had bad feelings and became nervous. As their turn was slowly approaching, the feeling intensified as they felt something wrong with Rei and Haruka. 'Usagi?" Kakarot asked her.
'Something's wrong Kakarot. Can you sense Haruka normally?'
'Yes.' Kakarot began to feel for Haruka and growled. 'I'll be back.' With a flash he was gone, startling the crowd and Eclipse about his sudden disapperance.
Kakarot appeared in the valley where Haruka was in time to stop four Ten Foot Saiya-jin tigers about to kill her. They launched at Kakarot and clawed his arm before he powered up and began breaking their necks and backs with one hit each. After they laid in a heep, Kakarot walked up to Haruka who was breathing hard and almost unconscious. "Haruka?"
She opened her eyes, startled to see Kakarot in front of her and badly hurt. "You risked your life for me? Why?"
"Because Usagi cares about you and I have a habit of saving people I consider friends."
She passed out and he gently picked her up and instant transmissioned back to the Arena. Usagi and Hotaru ran up to Kakarot when they saw Haruka limp in his arms. "Is she?"
"No, but any longer and she would have been."
Two medical doctors quickly took Haruka to the labs and left three worried friends. It didn't help matters when Bardock dropped in with Rei a shade of grey and going cool to the touch. Rei was taken after Haruka and he frowned. "Do you four still wish to continue?"
"Will they live?" Vegeta asked him.
"Yes."
"Then I'm going on. By the time we finish they should be out of the labs and waiting for us. I want Rei back out here as soon as she's fit to do so."
His eyes were hard to read, but Usagi knew that he was worried about her friend or he wouldn't be shaking the way he was. "She'll pull through Vegeta."
"I know."
Usagi and Hotaru were next as they ran off and decided that they needed to be careful and cunning. Knowing that they had to get rid of the scent they were carrying, they both jumped in the water and swam in different directions. One up and the other down. Eclipse had decided she would go after Usagi, while Kalara being better, went after Hotaru.
Soon night fell, Usagi and Hotaru both cold from being in the water all day and night, but kept swimming until they reached the end of their destinations. Hotaru noticed that there was a lot of really big animals at the end of the river she was in and quickly moved out of the water and hid from them. It didn't help her stinky situation any when she slipped on something behind her and fell smack in the middle of dinosaur droppings. 'This is all Vegeta's fault. A bird landed on her head and began making a nest out of her hair and she sighed, ready to start crying. At the moment she didn't care if she got found if it meant getting a decent meal and a bath. The only way out and back towards the castle was to walk through the cavern where the dinosaurs lived and to not fly. Biting her lip she walked for hours and had to dogde a lot of teeth, tails and feet before she reached the end and smelled and looked worse than she did before she left Vegeta.
Usagi managed to find a patch of flowers at the end of the stream she swam up and crawled and rolled in them, until she no longer smelled dead, but sweet. Remembering her flying lessons from Kakarot and knowing that her pursuers didn't know she could fly hardly at all, took off in the air like a rocket and decided that sitting on top of a moutain full of snow was a perfect spot. She just hoped she didn't freeze to death before then and remembered a technique she learned in her text books. She built a little whole in the snow and crawled into it, surprised that she felt warm and safe. She fell asleep and a blizzard crossed the mountains hiding her hole and her for the remainder of the twenty four hours. Eclipse searched the rivers, the lakes, and the mountains but couldn't pick up the woman's trail anywhere. 'What happened to her?'
Kakarot chose a hole in the ground that went to a place with hot lava flowing around him, sat and formed forming a ki shield so he wouldn't get burned.
Vegeta decided that a volcano was a good spot and spun a hole to where lava couldn't seep through, and fell asleep, needing it badly. He was hungry too, but could wait until after this trial was over with. All they had left was two more and then their goals.
Everyone waited nearly two days for the four to return. Hotaru had gotten lost and traveled through every dead and yucky thing she ran across, and Usagi felt so comfortable that she slept for two days. Kakarot and Vegeta decided they needed to recover for the impending battle at hand and slept until they were fully healed.
Kakarot instant transmissioned back and laughed at the expression on his father's face and noticed he was getting strange looks about his burnt clothes. "I fell asleep and forgot about the bed of lava I was near."
Vegeta blew up the volcano he was in and came back with in a matter of minutes and noticed Hotaru just coming back through the gates. It was obviouus she was miserable and at her limits of being patient. "If I have to go through one more stupid trial to determine how strong we are, I'm going to sentence this planet to death before Frieza ever gets a chance to come back!"
"Where's Usagi?" Vegeta asked.
Kakarot looked around and noticed she still hadn't come back yet, but felt she was on her way. She dropped in for a landing and still had white hair from her blanket of snow. "Sorry I'm late. I was actually comfortable where I was at."
"Where were you four?"
"Don't ask!" Hotaru snapped. Her mood was peevish and ready to kill everything in sight.
"In a house of snow."
"Volcano."
"In the middle of the planet."
"You four are strange. Which King Vegeta and I have come to the conclusion, ya'll have faced your last trial after this one. It's obvious you are far beyond any testing we can give you to determine how powerful you really are."
"Good!" Vegeta and Kakarot said in unison. "Then we have a show that no one wants to miss. I am hereby challenging Kakarot for the right to mate with Usagi. If he beats me, then he gets what he wants. After that, I am issuing a challenge to Rei for my mate."
Rei had recovered and was sitting next to Haruka with baby Broli in her arms and gasped. "You're not serious!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Vegeta walked up to her and pulled her waist close to him. "I wanted you the first time I saw you next to that tree. I wanted you when I kissed you three days ago, and I want you now. I'm tired of being patinet and I always get what I want. If you don't like it, then beat me."
"Can I take a shower while these two are battling it out?" Usagi asked.
"I don't see why not," Bardock said, "however if Kakarot wins you have to fight or submit to becoming his mate."
"Why do I have to submit? We're already bonded, but we haven't made it a permenanent arrangement yet, because of Kakarot's foolish promise to Vegeta." Usagi went to the shower room and washed off all the smells of the last three days and was glad she could put on some clean clothes for a change. Her tail was crushed and she healed it with her lunarian powers and was glad to have it waiving at her again. She went back outside and picked up Broli to watch the fight between Kakarot and her brother. This would prove to be interesting because neither had been able to defeat each other in over twenty years. 'Don't give up Kakarot.'
'You better not be counting on that and I hope you aren't planning on sleeping a lone any longer. Your going to be mine by the end of the day, or so help me I'll help Hotaru blow this planet up.'