A New Mission

"What are you doing Kakarot?" Sailor Moon cried. He could only look at her, as tears spilled from his face for the first time in his life. "That's my brother out there! We have to go back and get him!" She hit his chest, but he grabbed her fists and held her tight and felt her whole body scream in agony as she felt her brother die on the planet they had left, taking out the entire system with him. Hotaru sank to the ground sobbing into Haruka's arms and Turles could only watch them and look to the stars at Vegeta's sacrifice for them.

Hotaru was struggling to run anywhere but where she was at, but Haruka held on tight afraid of what her little Taru would do to herself if left alone. It was obvious; both her and her kitten would have to be watched for some time after this incident. Usagi would take it very hard, because she lost not only her brother, but best friend, Rei, as well.

Haruka yelled in pain when Hotaru did break free and almost got away. Turles who had been silently standing in the door way, tackled her to the floor and with more strength and swiftness, he pinned her arms behind her and sat on her until she wore herself out by thrashing and kicking at him to dislodge him. "Get off of me! I can't believe you left him there to die!"

Kakarot was grief stricken and didn't know how to console Hotaru or his mate as they let everything go and collapsed crying in broken sobs. Artemis came running from Usagi's and Kakarot's room to stand shocked as Usagi and Hotaru were being physically restrained. He noticed that their party was short, Vegeta and Mars.

Usagi's mind had completely shut everything out as she fought to deal with the death of Rei and Vegeta's suicide act to be with his mate and take the planet out with him. 'Usagi. I will always be with you.' She opened her eyes, to see a red star crystal floating in front of her and gently reached a hand for it. It was Sailor Mars's star seed and she remembered from Chibi Chibi, who was also Sailor Cosmos and her distant future self, that this is what started the creation of Sailor Cosmos to begin with. The crystal slowly entered her and her sailor uniform added a red stripe to the bottom of the hem and one star appeared on her forehead.

"Usagi," Kakarot whispered in her ear. "I'm so sorry." What could he tell her? Vegeta had powered up past him, becoming the stronger of the two warriors and had ordered him to leave. There was no arguing with Vegeta in the stage he was in and knew that he was telling the truth when he said he would destroy them all in ten seconds or more.

Eclipse and Kalara came running in the rooms, to see that everything was in complete chaos as Kakarot and Turles tried to restrain Usagi and Hotaru. Bardock had to be called in and he gave both of them a sedative that knocked them out and allowed them to relax."What happened?" Eclipse asked, "And where is Vegeta and Rei?" The look in Kakarot's eyes told her all she needed to know and despite the fact that the Vegeta from the future wasn't really her son, it hurt none the less since she would never have seen him to begin with if they had not intervened in her death. "You don't have to tell me how he died, because I know if you could have prevented it, you would have. Take care of her, because she's going to need it." Walking over to Turles, Haruka and her daughter, she ordered that Turles keep a constant watch over her future daughter along with Haruka.

Eclipse walked out of the room to cry alone, because no one should have to see the royal member of the Saiyan-jins break down in front of them. Bardock took one look at his son and daughter-in-law and knew that at the moment, Kakarot needed to worry about his mate and not his twins. "Kalara. Go and get Vegeta's children, while I go get Broli and Kakarot's."

"What about our own son?"

"We won't have to worry about baby Vegeta and Kakarot since they are together and Raditz has been appointed their guard until they're old enough to defend themselves."

Bardock took the five children with the help of Kalara and Artemis, hoping that something could be done for Usagi and Hotaru. Turles picked up Hotaru and walked her to Haruka's room, while Haruka carried Makoto in her arms. When Turles didn't leave, she looked at him with suspicion and a glare. "You don't have to stay you know. I'm more than capable of handling her."

"I'm not leaving. If you think I'm staying because of you, think again. The queen ordered me to stay with Hotaru until she was fit to be on her own."

Haruka hissed in surprise and anger and was about to leave the room, when an arm shot out and prevented her escape. "What are you doing? I know where and when I'm not wanted, so if you don't mind, can you quit rubbing it in my face how superior you are and let me go."

"If you weren't wanted, I would have left you to the shadows on the ship," Turles whispered in her ear. "If I didn't want you, I wouldn't have tried to kill your friends on that planet when they tried to pry you from my arms to save your life." His breath was like hot fire on her skin, as he confused her mind and body with his intentions towards her.

"What do you want?"

"I saved you didn't I?"

Turles was not expecting her next reaction when a fist came into his jaw and threw him back against the wall. "So now I owe you a favor, is that right?" Angry tears fell from her eyes as she backed up towards the door, ready to run for it. Turles was confused and figured she felt the same way and then he smelled it. She was afraid of him and more than what she was revealing. He knew from experience that she would have to be forced to talk about her problems because she would never do it voluntarily.

"Did I say you owed me any favors? I repaid you for saving my daughter's life. Then you had to go and take the lead again, when you placed yourself in danger to protect both myself and her. Dammit! You confuse the hell out of me, and I can't figure out why yet! You're hot headed, stubborn and have too much pride for your own good. I think you intentionally make me upset, but instead of wanting to kill you, I find myself fascinated." Turles advanced on her, causing her to take an involuntary step backwards, until she was pressed up against the wall with nowhere to run but through him. "If you really want to know what I want, then I'll tell you. I want you, but I have a feeling I need to be patient with you until you're ready to accept that I'm not the type to take advantage of you, but to become an equal partner if you wish to be." His eyes looked into her soul, challenging her to mock his words, but when she said nothing he smirked and walked back towards Hotaru with his tail waiving behind him. Looking back at Haruka, "You know where to find me, because I'm not leaving Hotaru's side until I'm ordered to do so."

Haruka felt humiliated for backing up and allowing him to intimidate her. He still never called her weak, but she often wondered if he thought it. "You're a bastard." She was almost out the door when he slapped the icing on the cake.

"Haruka," he ordered, "You're still a member of my crew and that means I still expect you for training. Report back here in two days."

She turned to him with surprise on her face. "I thought that with us being back, I wouldn't have to train any longer."

A gleam came to his eyes as he growled lowly in the back of his throat. "It doesn't work like that. You can't simply join and quit the Saiya-jin Military. You gave me an oath four months ago and you're not backing out of it. You're my soldier now and you will come back here for training in two days." 'You're mine in more ways than one, I just have to find away to break through that defensive shell of yours.'

Haruka tensed and gave Turles a sarcastic salute. "As you wish, general." She stormed out of the room and the castle to vent off a lot of anger for more than one reason. The death of Mars and Vegeta, weighed heavily on her mind and she didn't need the added aggravation of Turles trying to confuse her.

Kakarot was gentle with Usagi as he placed her in the center of their triple size bed and shook at the pain that was still on her face. Silent tears, continued to fall down her face, and he wondered if she would ever be okay after this. He got up and walked to the wall to lean his head against it, trying to clear his mind about Vegeta. "Vegeta..." he whispered. "Why...?" No answer came to him, his pain and anger mounted as he began punching and hitting the wall in front of him, pretending it was the shadow attacking them. He was sobbing now and blood formed on his fists as he refused to power up and shield the damage. "We're supposed to be friends Vegeta! Why did you leave us like this? Usagi and Hotaru aren't the only ones who need your presence. You were the only one left who understood what I've been though in life, and like the arrogant bastard you are, you left me here to take care of this alone! VEGETA! COME BACK AND FIGHT!" The energy went out of his hits as he sank to the floor and clutched his knees and cried like a child. There was no one to comfort him now as he fought his own inner battle with the death of his best and only true friend.

Usagi had woken up despite the drug when she heard a lot of angry and pain filled cries in her room and gasped when she saw the blood pouring on the floor at Kakarot's feet. Feeling with her mind, sympathy and understanding of why he let Vegeta have his desire filled her heart as she climbed out of the bed and walked over to his sobbing form. Knowing her brother, there was no way they would have talked him out of his decision anyway, and knew that Kakarot would be blaming himself for his death.

Kakarot shivered as an unusual cold took him over and was going to welcome it, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a set of fingers to brush his cheek. Looking up, he saw the sad eyes of Usagi, but there was no blame in them as she gave him a small smile of reassurance. "Kakarot, don't blame yourself for my brother's decision." He pulled her into his lap and nuzzled his head into her thick hair, never wanting to let her go from his arms again. She was all that was stable in his world now and he held onto it like a life line. There was no telling if the other fighters from their time line would be able to join them and it didn't really matter anymore. Usagi had lost her senshi uniform sometime in the night and curled against Kakarot trying to seek a warmth that wouldn't come to her. 'Rei. God do I miss you so much.'

Time Stream

Pluto screamed in surprise and shock as she watched what happened on the shadow planet. Her hands came to her mouth as she dropped her staff and tripped over her two feet and started to cry. "Oh god. What the hell happened? This wasn't supposed to happen!" Pluto lost her normal calm control and began hitting the floor with her fists, crying. In her mind she had wondered how she had messed up so badly to let time get this out of control.

Sailor Mercury, who had decided to stay in her form until they found a way to get to their friends, came running up to see what had Pluto in such a state of mind. When she looked into the time gates she needed no explanation as she saw the debris left of the planet that the warriors had gone to. Gohan was silent, afraid to ask who was still left on that planet when it blew, but knew someone had to be with Pluto going nuts and the defeated look on Mercury's face.

"Who died?"

"Rei and Vegeta," Mercury said. "This is bad. Very, very bad."

Gohan stood silently as he watched his father trying to console Usagi, and Turles with Haruka. "Isn't there any way they can be brought back to life?"

Pluto and Mercury looked up at him startled and didn't know what to say. "What are you saying Gohan?" Mercury asked. Pluto knew what he was thinking after looking into his eyes for just a second.

"He's talking about wishing them back to life. It's a good plan, but the dragon can only wish back those that are in the current time line; and they're in the past. Besides, Rei isn't exactly dead, because she has fused into Usagi, by giving her, her star seed. The only way that she can come back is if Usagi defeats the enemy and becomes Sailor Cosmos completely.

"How will that happen?"

Mercury didn't even want to know from the haunted eyes of Pluto. "All the sailor senshi must die to create Sailor Cosmos. And it's no real guarantee that the senshi can come back."

"You mean..." Gohan didn't even want to think about it, as he looked at his new mate and then back at Pluto. "We can ask the dragon. What would it hurt? There's no way I'm going to let anything happen to Mercury, and heaven or hell help them if they try."

Pluto stood up to face Gohan and didn't know what to really tell him. "Gohan, if that is what's going to happen, then..."

"NO!" Gohan yelled in rage, red entering his face. Before Pluto could do anything, she was flat on her back with a hand around her throat and a very angry Saiya-jin two inches from her face. "According to you, none of this should have happened in the first place, because it was supposed to be impossible. Well, apparently it's not because they're in the past, while we're stuck here on our asses doing nothing but watching the people close to us die! Now you're telling me if time says that the senshi should die, including my mate, which I have to sit by and let it happen! NO! NEVER! I didn't just open my heart up to find love again, to have it taken out of my chest, chewed up and put back again. You're the time guardian, so you fix this problem and stop saying it's not possible. There is always a way to do something and instead of saying we can't, we better start looking and now!"

"Gohan?" Mercury said tapping her foot.

"What?" When she didn't answer, he turned to look at her, and she didn't look all that happy and then he looked back down to see that he was choking Pluto and gasped. "Oh no! I'm sorry. I tend to get carried away when people mention harm to my mate." Pluto didn't say a word as she edged away from Gohan, not wishing to provoke the Saiya-jin's anger again.

"Now that you aren't trying to kill another senshi early and making Usagi's life a bigger hell than it already is, I was going to tell you, I may have found a way to get to the past."

Pluto and Gohan looked at her hopefully and ran up to her each grabbing an arm, almost suffocated her. "You can get to them?"

"Yes, but we need the power of the other senshi to do it. Haven't they suffered enough Pluto? Even if they haven't, we can't afford to leave them out of this. I took a reading on the shadows on that planet and Vegeta didn't destroy it."

"What?" Gohan cried out. "He destroyed the entire system. There's nowhere for them to go."

"Oh yes there is. Vegeta destroyed the planets, the sun and anything that had substance to it, but he did not destroy the darkness. Shadows can live in the darkness of space and now that he's destroyed the planet they were on, they are free to travel space until they find another planet to take root on."

"All they have to do is shed some light on them right?" Gohan asked.

Pluto shook her head. "It's not that simple. This shadow, unlike the others that Turles, Haruka and Makoto were avoiding, was far more powerful and could easily get around in the sunlight. In fact, it dimmed the light of the Saiya-jins aura, which I have never seen before."

"This is crazy. We've been taught our whole life, that shadows were nothing to be scared of and here we are flinching at them."

Now it was Pluto to get angry. "Oh really! Then explain to me how a shadow was tearing Turles from the inside out and managed to rip a whole through Rei with no effort. It was enough to have Vegeta go Super Saiya-jin five and destroy the entire system in hopes that it would make the monster vanish! There's a lot I have seen and before you say it isn't possible, watch time for several thousand years first and then tell me what you believe and don't."

Mercury sighed. "Before we discuss this any further, let's gather the others and tell them what's going on."

Gohan crossed his arms and sighed. "Are we going to tell Trunks and Bra what happened?"

"It's probably best if we do. They're bound to find out when they arrive in the past and will hate you for keeping it from them. If we can't bring them back to life, then at least they know the truth beforehand." He nodded and stood up as he flared his power to the max to signal his fighting companions that something was wrong and they needed to come to him immediately.

Past Snake Way

Vegeta was sitting on snake way, waiting to feel the presence of his mate. There was no telling how much time had passed, but when he didn't feel her, something inside of him panicked and he bolted for the check in station at King Yamma's place. When he arrived there, King Yamma was confused to see him and grown up. "You can't be Vegeta. You're only supposed to be a year and a half years old."

"I'm not from this time line. We were accidentally placed here, when an enemy we had sent us to the past."

King Yamma leaned back in his chair and rubbed the headache coming on. "Let me get this straight. You're here in this time line, changing things around, because someone put you here by accident! This is outrageous! There's no way I can logically put you in the books here and explain your death." King Yamma stayed silent for several minutes trying to figure out away to fix this mess, when an idea struck him. "Vegeta, you are not supposed to be here and I'm going to make you a deal. There is a threatening force in the galaxy that has somehow been disturbed because of the massive explosion you caused trying to destroy an enemy that probably should have been left alone instead of fought."

"What are you talking about? The only threat to the universe right now is Frieza and that will be eliminated once the Vegeta and Kakarot of this time line have been trained."

King Yamma leaned over and gave Vegeta a hard look that was far from joking. "I assure you, because of the type this creature is, Frieza is mere child's play. Nothing you have ever encountered before has prepared you for this type of enemy."

Vegeta was speechless and couldn't believe that the enemy can be this bad. "What do you know about him?"

"It wasn't just a him, but several of them. Most of them were easy to control because all you needed was to shed some light on them and destroy them, but not the shadow demon. Unlike the rest of the shadows, he suppresses the light and makes it almost totally dark. He was a shadow that even the vilest villain hated in hell, because unlike your strong warriors, this one can't be hit; he's a shadow. One day, many, many thousands of years ago, he escaped hell somehow and spread through the universe through the darkness of space, looking for a planet where it could be dark and no light would be able to shine on it. Unfortunately, along its path it killed trillions until we managed to trap it on the planet Turles, your fighting companion, landed on it, causing you to blow it up. The planet was chosen because it was in a remote spot in space where no one traveled much and if they did, they wouldn't last long if at all. Those that did survive spread quickly the horrors of the shadows and that planet, causing most people to avoid it."

Vegeta wasn't feeling too well as he realized the full consequences of his actions and blowing up that planet. "I thought I was helping by getting rid of that planet. What is going to happen if he remains free?"

"This shadow demon will fly through the universe killing until it is trapped again. No one to my knowledge has ever defeated it and I don't even know how it was able to escape hell to begin with. The only way to beat a shadow is with a shadow."

"What about Rei? She was killed by the shadow, but I don't feel her presence here."

King Yamma looked at his books and frowned. "You people are strange cases. She was not suppose to die, but unlike you, she never made it to snake way. Somehow her life exists in the entity of what the sailor senshi call a star seed. The star seed flew to someone named Sailor Moon and cannot be released unless she becomes Sailor Cosmos."

"Well then why doesn't she?"

"Because the pain would be too much for her to bear and she would not survive once she made the decision to release what makes her Sailor Cosmos in the first place. This is another legend told to me by the gods when they forged this part of the solar system." Vegeta didn't want to hear a history lesson right now, but this was vital information and decided to grit his teeth and listen to what the judge of the world to tell him what he needed to say. "The stars talk of a magic user that would come from those that sacrificed their lives to give their powers too. Eight senshi shall fall, and one will rise to shed the brightest light on the universe to vanquish all shadows and evil. When her eight fall, another set of warriors will surround her to help brighten the light so that the burden will not be placed alone on her. Every warrior will ache and hurt, but you must remain strong if you wish to succeed and save what once was. A choice will have to be made at the end of this task and only Sailor Cosmos can make it. She won't know the choice until she is faced with it."

"You mean that I'm not supposed to be here and that I have to live despite the fact that my mate is dead? Forget it! I rather bug you for the remainder of eternity than have to live without Rei. Usagi will die eventually and we can all be together again."

"It's not that simple. In normal cases, Usagi would simply be reborn when she dies, to be joined with the rest of her senshi. However, if she dies by the shadow demon, the sailor star seeds that create them will be shattered and there will be no rebirth, no heaven or hell for them. All that will remain is limbo and darkness for eternity and beyond. Is that what you want for your mate? At the moment she has a chance to come back if you defeat the enemy. But your way, they will not survive or ever die."

Vegeta didn't know what to think as he looked at King Yamma. The full force of what was being told him was sinking in and his heart was in his throat. He wanted to be with Rei more than anything, but the options being weighed to him were not very comforting. If he did go back to the real world, Rei may not come back at all if Usagi did manage to become Sailor Cosmos. However, if he doesn't go back and the shadow demon comes, then there was no chance ever of him being able to be with her again. "I want to make a deal. If we manage to defeat the shadow demon and separate the sailor senshi, then I want when they die, to be able to come to the afterlife, so that they do not have to keep living their lives over and over again in unhappiness and battle. Please, I never beg or ask of much, but of this one thing in this time line or the one we go back too, I want us to all be together when we finally do die. The gods can't keep cursing these women to live over and over again because of battles that they can't figure out to defeat on their own. Besides, with them, new warriors will be born to take their places and if we succeed in the past, then the Saiya-jins can create an alliance so powerful and formidable that would crush anything that came up in the universe to cause terror and destruction."

King Yamma growled. If it was one thing he hated, it was people trying to make deals with him. However, in this case, the Saiya-jin prince was not trying to do this for only himself, but for the overall benefit of the people around him. "So be it. When the sailor senshi die, after you defeat the shadow demon, they will be brought here to never be reborn again in any time."

That was better than nothing and Vegeta stood up and stared at Yamma with a new mission in mind. "I will do as you ask, with the deal in mind that we have made here today. If the shadow demon wins, then the game is over, but if we win and Sailor Cosmos finds away to bring them back, then we can die finally without having to be reborn into another time line. Question though, can Sailor Cosmos be brought back to life with the dragon balls if she dies because of the decision she makes? It's not the same as being reborn into another time line."

King Yamma nodded. "With the dragon that is fused with the Kakarot of your time line, it is possible to call him forth and combine all the power of the Z senshi and the Sailor Senshi to bring her back to life. But the heart must be one in all of you to do this."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Go to King Kai's planet at the end of snake way and give him this note. He will know what to do when he reads it. Prince Vegeta, I have to admit, I'm aware of the future time line, and if I knew you were still like that I would send you into hell so quick you wouldn't be able to count the boot laces on your shoes."

"I don't have any boot laces."

"Never mind. My point is that you have done a lot for your race and the people around you, that you deserve this second chance to save all time lines and the universe. Tell Pluto to stop worrying about time and focus on the task ahead of her."

Vegeta blasted off with the note in his hands and race against time to get back to where he was suppose to be. Despite his anguish and pain, he needed to carry out this mission and not leave any room for failure. Everyone's happiness depended on the Z senshi's success in this case and to protect Usagi's life no matter the cost. The possible rebirth of the senshi depended upon her survival.

It took Vegeta about ten minutes as Super Saiya-jin 2 to arrive to King Kai's planet and to land in front of the pathetic little house with the ugliest red car he had ever seen in his life. Crossing his arms, he waited for several minutes for the Kai to appear, but nothing happened and his patience ran out. For Vegeta, five minutes was more than he usually waited for anything let alone several. "King Kai! Where ever you are, your presence is requested immediately and some of us do not have until next century for you to arrive!"

"Who is that? I swear, no one has respect for anyone around her anymore? What do you want boy?"

"Boy! I'll let you know that I'm far more powerful than this entire place can phantom. I have a message from King Yamma to give to you."

"What ever happened to emails?" Vegeta looked at him wide-eyed and wondered what the hell an email was. When he didn't laugh, King Kai turned his back, refusing to look at the letter unless the prince of Saiya-jins laughed at his joke. "If you don't laugh, I don't care if King Yamma did want to send you back to save the universe."

"What the? I refuse to..." King Kai began to walk off, making Vegeta curse. This was for Rei, so he decided to do the most humiliating thing in his life, if it would get him back to the place he needed to be. King Kai couldn't believe it when he heard laughter erupt behind him and it actually sounded genuine.

"Well now..., Now that I see you have a sense of humor, what would you like for me to do for you?"

"I need to be sent back to Vegeta-sai to fight the shadow demon."

King Kai found a lot of things funny in the universe, but this was not one of them. "You're joking right. PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING! YOU HAVE TO BE THE CRAZIEST CREATURE IN THE UNIVERSE IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT THE SHADOW DEMON." Fear, coursed through the blue kai's body and he backed up from the man in front of him. "What are you, a Saiya-jin? They're the only ones crazy enough to propose such an insane idea, and they're nowhere close to the power of a Shadow Demon."

"Even a Super Saiya-jin 5?" Vegeta taunted.

"What? No such thing exists."

"Not in this time line, but where I come from, I do exist." Once again, Vegeta called forth the power of the Super Saiya-jin level he had reached and his hair changed to its natural length with red, ferel eyes and a black and red aura surrounding his body. "Is this convincing enough or shall I blow this entire realm up to prove it to you?"

King Kai was stunned and actually thought this Saiya-jin could be enough to defeat the shadow demon by looks alone. "Alright. You've shown me that you're powerful, but unless you have others like you, there's no way you can defeat the shadow demon. Especially if you don't fight a shadow with a shadow." He clapped his hands, and the halo over Vegeta's head disappeared and granted him his life back.

"You mean coming back to life is that simple?"

"Don't get use to the idea. This is very unorthodox, but under the circumstances, I don't have a choice because you don't belong here in this time line. Now go and don't come back unless you learn a decent joke first."

Vegeta growled, but didn't get a chance to comment when he faded away to appear in the apartments where the girls slept. "It actually worked." Everyone seemed to be asleep and decided that he would sit in the main room to wait for the others to awake. He knew his presence would be alarming, but he also needed a way to break the news to them when they woke up.

Hotaru was the first to awaken when she felt a presence nearby that seemed hauntingly familiar. "How?" She jumped from bed to be grabbed by the waist and held back firmly. "Let me go!"

"I don't think so Princess," Turles growled in annoyance. "I've been given specific orders to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't try anything crazy.""I'm not going to try anything crazy! It's Vegeta!"

"Now I know you've lost it and that you need to get some more sleep."

Normally Hotaru would never do what she did, but she relaxed and pretended to do as Turles asked when she moved into him and kneed him in between the legs and bolted. He did let her go, and she hurtled through the doors before Turles could retaliate and restrain her further. When she came out of her rooms, she looked all around and settled her eyes on the couch in the main room and smiled in happiness. "You are here!"

Vegeta was sleeping soundly when he was attacked by a very excited twin. "Glad to see you too, Taru."

"How?"

"I'll explain when Kakarot and the others are awake and present. I'm tired right now and need some more rest."

"Are you okay, Geta? You look sad."

"I'll be fine in time, Taru, but our mission is far from over." Turles came out of the room after Hotaru and gasped when he saw Vegeta holding his sister.

"I guess she wasn't crazy after all."

Vegeta took one look at Turles and then at Hotaru. "What the hell are you doing in my sister's room, Turles?"

"What I was ordered to do. Trust me, I have better things to do than baby-sit your sister. Now that you're back, I have a certain senshi to train if you don't need me any longer, your highness."

"Why would you need to train at this hour?" Hotaru asked.

Turles smirked at the innocence of Hotaru and figured that she would be an interesting catch for someone if they didn't mind her temper. 'Reminds me of her brother.' "That's a lesson for your brother or sister to talk to you about. See you later."