Bonding Closer

Piccolo was watching everyone finding a place to settle down for the night. Some had chosen the floor, while others chose the three couches that were in the guest room area that joined all the separate royal bedrooms together. Sailor Raven had gone to sleep as soon as everything settled down, having stayed awake despite the weariness that weighed on her shoulders from the walk in the shadow realm. Shadow Moon still remained awake on different sides of the room from each other. 'I wonder what the story with those two are? Shadow Moon doesn't appear to be evil, yet Raven is extremely angry with her.' The thing is, he didn't know much about them at all, because they still had not revealed their intentions to any of them yet.

Shadow Moon was watching the stars move and twinkle when she felt a dark presence nearby and quickly disappeared through the shadows in the wall, not giving a word on where she was going. This caused Piccolo to stir and move to the wall when Raven came up to him and gently rested her hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it. She'll come back in her own time. Shadow Moon is good about not telling people what she's doing."

"Why do you dislike her so much?"

She turned away from his intense stare and stood back to lean against the wall. "It's a long story. I don't know. It happened so long ago, that sometimes I wonder if I should just let it go and forgive her. She was only a child then." Piccolo didn't know what she was babbling about, because she had obviously forgotten who she was talking about as a sad look crossed her face. Pieces of the past were filtering through her mind of the good times they had had before everything went so wrong. A single tear slipped down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away and stared back at Piccolo.

"Why are you two here?" Piccolo asked. "It's obvious no one knows who you are, or why you're here. Even Pluto doesn't seem to know you two and she knows everyone."

Raven laughed. "Pluto slightly remembers me, but not very well. You see, she was only a month old when I went away to fight the battle with an enemy that I thought we had beaten for good. Guess we were wrong."

"What enemy? Look, I'm tired of being in the dark, and if you're a threat to the rest of this group then I'll make sure you're taken care of."

"I sense two other personalities inside of you, one of which is very old."

"You're sensing Kami. He lived a thousand years before splitting with King Daimou and another millennium passed before he made a wish that both of them be made young again. Kami was three thousand years old when I was born, and I fused with him to defeat an enemy."

Raven had noticed Piccolo staying close to Gohan like a protective parent and keeping him going so that he wouldn't be caught there in that realm forever. Watching all the couples that were together and the special bond they had with each other, made her long for her own husband and to be in his strong arms again. 'He probably doesn't even remember me, it's been so long.'

Endymion had heard the conversation Raven and Piccolo, losing interest after a couple of minutes. His eyes had drifted to the sleeping form of Michuru beside Setsuna and Ami. For over a year, he would spend hours watching her sleep, but if he felt like she was about to wake he would quickly dive for his covers and pretend like he had just woken up.

After Piccolo had left and Raven had gone to sleep, he rolled out of his blanket and slowly crawled over to Michuru to sit down and watch her sleep some more. When they arrived to the time line, he assumed there was no chance that he would get Michuru. Then when Haruka drug him to the training room and gave him the coaching session of his life, he felt encouraged, but still hesitant about the truth of her words. What finally convinced him was Turles when he swooped down and snagged Haruka when she walked in the door with Endymion right behind her. One growl from Turles was all it took to convince him that Haruka belonged to him and no one else. He even glanced at Michuru once, making it quite clear that he was not willing to share his mate with anyone and that included her best-friend. It was actually kind of funny, because when she glared at him, he gave her a smirk and tossed her over his shoulder and left everyone laughing at the disgruntled senshi. Before they made it out the door, she had given up trying to break loose from him and rested her elbow under her chin, tapping his shoulder with her fingers.

Slowly, quietly he reached his hand out to brush a stray hair from her face, but this was further than he had ever ventured to get this close to her. 'I love her, but there's no way she can feel the same way about myself.' Sighing he dropped his hand and decided to go for a long walk, to clear his mind of Michuru's face haunting his every waking moment and dream.

Michuru woke up to feel something hovering over her and then leave. Sleepily, she opened her eyes, to see the cape of Endymion's retreating back leave the room. "Where is he going?" Quickly she got up and followed after him and gasped when she saw a tear slip down his face. 'I wonder what's bothering him? He's been so quiet since we got here.'

Endymion finally stopped a mile from the castle to rest his back on the grass beneath him and look at the sky above him. It was huge compared to himself and it made him feel that much smaller and insecure about himself. 'I don't deserve her. I couldn't even make Usagi happy, so what makes me think I can do anything for her.'

"Endymion?" Michuru quietly asked him. "What are you doing out here?"

He was so startled to see her that he tripped over a rock when he jumped back up to face her. His teeth set in a grimace as he scraped his arm, but he ignored that as Michuru came up beside him to help him back up. "I wanted to clear my mind. Why are you out?"

"Because I was worried about you and I guess I was right." Michuru tore the bottom of her skirt to tie his arm up, and he didn't remind her that he could heal his injuries. Her perfume smelled so good to him and at that very moment he had to bring up every ounce of will power not to grab her waist and kiss her until she couldn't even think straight anymore. 'I've fallen for her bad.'

Michuru watched his eyes and they were trembling in confusion as he tried to look away from her. His whole body was tense as she bandaged his arm, and she wondered if he didn't like her. "Are you alright Endymion?"

"Sure I'm alright. I just wanted to be alone for awhile."

A sad smile came on her face as she nodded and started to head back to the castle. "I'm going to go back to bed then and get a couple more hours of sleep. Be careful out here."

Endymion cursed to himself for not doing what his emotions were screaming at him to do. 'You imbecile!' came Haruka's hiss of anger. 'If you let this opportunity slip by you, I'm going to hunt you down tomorrow and beat you black and blue for a week while Turles holds you down!'

'Haruka? How are you doing this?'

'I don't know. Somehow the senshi of the inner and outer planets have formed some kind of mental bond despite how we feel about each other sometimes. All our goals are the same at protecting the moon princess because she's the only thing that keeps us together. Now go get Michi, before you make me mad. That took a lot of convincing to get Turles to agree and let me talk to you. We're telepathically linked and when he saw what I was telling you and how to do it, he nearly exploded and came for your head.'

Endymion only shook his head at Haruka and did as she told him too. How could he not if she was encouraging him on. 'And I thought she hated me?'

'I do. Don't think that this makes us friends! Although the way Michi talks about you, it's hard to keep finding reasons why I dislike you!'

Michuru was about to give up on Endymion ever coming after her, when she felt an arm circle the front of her stomach and bring her to a halt while a chin rested on her shoulder and breathed gently onto her neck and into the back of her ear. If it's one thing she discovered, was that she could barely stand long when breath was applied to her skin. "Michuru, please don't go. We've stayed so long in the time stream, that seeing a sunrise is a forgotten memory to me. The stars are beginning to fade and a moment like this should be shared together and not individually. You were asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake you. That would have been selfish." She was going to pull away when one hand came up to hold her neck gently against his body, the other grabbing her hips and fitting her tightly against him as he nibbled on her ear softly.

A tremble shook through her spine as Endymion laid soft nibbles and kisses along her ear all the way to her bare shoulder. "Endymion..." The word was so soft; he thought it was a whisper in the wind.

'If you really want her to respond, rub your hand on her stomach a little more upward and bite a little harder on her skin. I don't why, but she seems to like it when her nerves are pinched a little.'

'Do you mind?' Endymion snapped. 'Are you going to be present the entire time I'm with Michuru, or can I have a little privacy here?'

'Touchy, touchy. So the prince of earth does have a bit of a back bone. I'm not staying. I have enough to concern myself with Turles as it is.' Her voice left his mind as he took her advice and dared to move his hand up slightly to rest right beneath the swell of her breast, making her breath come heavier and in slight gasps.

Michuru couldn't believe that he was capable of arousing her so easily. It was like he knew exactly how to start off and he had to be very sensitive to women or someone told him what to do. 'Who...? No! Haruka didn't!' It made perfect since as she realized what Haruka had dragged Endymion out of the room for and then came back an hour later with his face bright red. Haruka had winked at her and now she knew why.

Endymion turned her around to face him and circled his arm to hold the small of her back, while he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her mouth closer to his. Her body shook against him in slight nervousness or pleasure he didn't know, but she had not protested yet. He decided to follow his heart and brushed his lips across hers. Her lips were so soft, that he groaned on contact and easily parted her lips with his tongue. "Michuru..." Her tongue danced with his own igniting a fire in both of them. "I want you." He buried his head into her hair, trying to gain some self-control back in case she wanted to stop.

"I haven't said I was leaving, have I?"

A chuckle came from Endymion as he slid her down to the ground and straddled her waist. Slowly he began to undo the buttons to the blouse of her dress, watching her eyes for reassurance. "We have a couple of hours before we have to be back. I'm still kind of new at this and if you want, you can show me what you like and what makes you feel good."

"Are you a fast learner?"

"I'm not smarter than Ami for nothing?"

Their mouths met as they lay close together. The sun had begun to rise in the air, shining its brilliant light on the new couple, making it all the more binding because with the sun rising it showed the newness of another day and another life.

Shadow Moon was walking through the shadows feeling completely at home. At first she thought she had imagined his presence nearby, but soon a cold chill ran up her back as a mad laughter sounded through the space around her. 'Damn, I knew I shouldn't have come in here alone.' She tried to pin point his location, but he was always the master of hiding and manipulation and 20,000 years hasn't changed it any. It may have even grown since she last saw him. "Show yourself coward!"

A figure appeared behind her and materialized instead of the normal shadow form he used and grabbed Shadow Moon by pinning her arms to her sides. "Now, now..." he whispered in her ear. A cold shiver ran down Shadow Moon's back as she struggled to break free of his grasp. "That's no way to talk to your future ruler and husband."

"You're disgusting. There's no way I would ever want to be your wife, or have anything else to do with you if I can help it. If we were the last two people in this entire universe and repopulating it counted on me bearing your children, I would rather forfeit my own life and watch you be alone in silence."

Erebus was so angry by her refusal to bend to his will that he turned her around and slammed his fist into her jaw. Yanking her up by the neck, he snarled in her face, "I don't care if I have to spend all of eternity, but I will break you to my will, my desires and there's very little you can do about it!" He was a tall, muscular man with a tanned complexion, purple eyes and spiky blond hair. If it weren't for the evil and pure insanity on his face, you might call him handsome.

Shadow Moon feared her brother more than anything in all the shadow realm or the mortal world. She refused to let him see how he was affecting her and defiantly met his eyes. "I trusted you! Don't you have any morals about what you're doing?"

"I know... That's why it was so easy to manipulate you into letting me go all those years ago. And to answer your question, no. If I did have any morals, I wouldn't have betrayed you so easily when you fell into my little mind trap. Being only twenty, innocent and naive, I saw in you the way to break out of the shadow realm and to control the universe. Our father and your mother would sometimes visit me down there, but they never stayed long and despised me. You don't know what it's like to be hated and unloved by your own father and to live in darkness where the only things you can kick around were shadows that weren't fit to live in the underworld."

"You and only you took pity on me as you came down daily to talk to me and to see if I was feeling alright. For a long time, I spat in your face, called you all kinds of names, and then it hit me. A family member could release me from my prison and you were the only one that didn't understand why they were keeping me locked up down where I was at. I started being kinder to you, telling you what you wanted to hear and like a stupid female, you believed me. One day, you were telling me that you had learned how to move in between the shadows and the mortal realm at ease, because of the training your father gave you. I also knew you had telepathic abilities and this is where you made your mistake."

"You challenged me to see who had the more powerful mind and if you had known better you would have known you were still too young to control the full powers that were given to you at birth. I played your stupid game for several minutes before I had you on your knees holding your head in your hands. When I won, you kept the promise to me that you had made and took me to see the stars of the mortal world and were about to take me back when I knocked you out. It was so simple from there. I turned back to the Shadow Realm and killed your mother with ease and was about to kill your father when I decided to come back later and finish him off. I wanted you to have to tell him what you had done and to live with your mistake of trusting me. Although I would have killed your father, I was going to spare your life in gratitude for setting me free. Your power would be useful in the future and thought what better ways to have you serve me, than as my queen and wife by my side for eternity."

Tears were streaking down Shadow Moon's face as she tried to get away, but the grip on her arms tightened with a bruising force that caused her to wince in pain. "Why did you turn on me? I never did anything to you and it cost me the two best friends I ever had!"

His hand came up to brush her swollen jaw and his eyes softened. Shadow Moon knew she shouldn't look into his eyes when he looked like he did then, but he had her hypnotized and found herself screaming in agony as he was about to get what he wanted. "Forget them. They couldn't have been true friends if they turned their backs on you when you needed them the most. Although I can't blame them for it. You were the one to set me free, so how could they know what your motives were. That makes you as evil as I am. No one will love you, accept you and you will forever be alone. Why do you bother with the mortal world when you know all they'll do is scorn and hate you?"

"I'm offering you a chance of true power here, one where all you have to worry about is myself and if you do as I say and want, I will never let anyone hurt you again. Think about it." Shadow Moon desperately tried to shut him out, but all the years spent being alone because everyone in both realms glared at her for letting her brother go, started to break her down. "You can create your friends and if they turn their backs on you, you can make them suffer for it. Why you want friends that will only stab you in the back and try to overpower you is beyond me? Don't throw this offer away. I could ask anyone to be by my side when I fit the realms of the universe to my will and desire, but I'm choosing you because no one else has the power to gain my respect."

Shadow Moon found herself weakening to his mind control and manipulation. 'I can't fight him. He's still too powerful for me to beat. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! IF ANYONE HEARS MY CRY FOR HELP, DON'T LET HIM TAKE ME!'

"Why do you cry for help when you know no one will come for you?" He smiled in triumph as he was about to succeed in gaining the power of Shadow Moon, when a flash of rainbow lights swarmed all around him. He hissed in surprise and shock at the intensity of how blinding this power was and when it dimmed down a little, he saw a figure standing in front of him with a rainbow colored skirt and collar, white body suit, wings that spanned over twenty feet from her body, long silver hair that pooled around her feet and an eight pointed star on her forehead. Her silver eyes shone with no forgiveness in their depths as she took a step towards Erebus. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"I am the light, I am hope, I am your destruction when I awaken. For all those you have killed, manipulated and caused pain to throughout your path of hatred, domination, destruction and darkness; I will repay a million times over. Shadow Moon isn't for you to control and I won't let you have her. The one and only person that showed you kindness, no longer exists for you to have and you will know what it truly means to stand on your own and have no one to help you." With a flash, a rainbow sphere hit Erebus in the chest and sent him flying back as the woman grabbed Shadow Moon and enveloped both of them in her wings.

"You will pay for that!" Erebus screamed in rage. The woman laughed as she vanished from sight leaving him alone to scream in the darkness alone. "I will find you and when I do, I will make you scream for centuries as I make you understand the full meaning of what it is to cross my path and defy me! AHHH!" His insane screams caused the shadows and demons to run in terror as he destroyed everything along his path to finding Shadow Moon and the one who dared to challenge him.

Shadow Moon and the woman who had saved her stood right at the edge of the room where all the Z and Sailor senshi rested. "Thank you for saving me back there. I'm still not strong enough to face him."

"You're strong enough, but you doubt yourself because he beat you so many years ago. Believe in yourself and you'll be able to beat your brother in his mind tricks. I must go now."

"Wait! Who are you?"

"I am the person of a broken heart and all that remains of the light. My powers lay dormant inside of a young and honest heart, but her agony and pain causes me to surface at times to help her. Pray that my true power never has to be awaken for the cost is too much for her to bear."

"What do you mean?"

"In order for me to exist, eight of my closest friends will have to die and give me their powers. One has already done so and it's torn me apart. If one has managed to hurt me this much, what do you think the other seven will do?"

"Why did you save me? If you knew what I did, you wouldn't have done it." A gentle hand lifted her chin, and somehow Shadow Moon didn't find herself so alone.

"Because you asked for it. My goal is not to cause fear in the hearts of people who don't deserve it. You were the victim of your own heart and feelings which your brother manipulated. If you know now what you didn't then, would you have released him?"

"No. Nothing from heaven to hell would have made me want to release him. Except maybe my friend back."

"She's not your enemy and one day they'll realize you didn't do anything to hurt them intentionally. Amazon, your dead friend, did not mind sacrificing her life for her planet. For several centuries, it trapped Erebus. You cry for death because of the pain you caused." Gently, the mysterious woman lifted Shadow Moon's chin and gave her a sad smile. For the first time, she looked into a pair of eyes that held no anger, only compassion. "I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes, so don't be too hard on yourself. It's a lonely life if you don't let people know what you're thinking. Did you ever tell Raven how your brother was released?"

"No. I didn't think she would care to listen."

"Then part of her distance is your fault. Even if you don't talk to her, there is one soul that will never hate you as long as your intentions remain the way they are."

"You still haven't told me your name."

"Cosmos, the messiah of the universe." Her image vanished and Shadow Moon made a vow to find a way for her not to have her friends die in order to have her sleeping power awaken.

"I swear I will not let you down, Cosmos." Shadow Moon walked back into the room and never felt so glad to see sunlight in her life.

Raven had woken up when she felt someone enter the room and looked at the haunted eyes of the lone senshi. 'Why did you betray us, Shadow Moon?' When they locked eyes, Raven felt less angry at the woman than she had in awhile and somehow sensed a lot of pain. 'Why?' she cried again and went to get something to eat.

'I want to tell you, but would you listen.'

Hotaru felt something under her nightgown as she found herself waking back up. It felt good not to be dreaming about shadows coming for her, but something else was causing her to squirm and feel a bit uncomfortable. Her hand was going to scratch an itch on her nose when she felt it hit something rock hard, but warm to the touch. 'What?'

When she opened her eyes, she never expected to be snuggled up against any man, let alone Ryouga. 'Oh god. Geta and Ruka are going to kill him and me if they catch us like this.' As she tried to move, she noticed that her legs were intertwined with his as an arm held her pinned against him and the other underneath the night shirt of her nightgown. His thumb would rub her delicate skin, trying to keep her calm through the night and it may have worked. Now, she felt the heat rising to her face and to another part of her body that was confusing her. His green tail, which was very cute to her, was wrapped around her thigh sliding up and down caressing her in a way that sent shivers through her body and a slight whimper to escape from her throat.

As she tried to push against him so that she could get up, Ryouga growled and crushed her against him and placed her head in the nook of his chin and chest. It was impossible for her to go anywhere in the position she was in, but the more she stared at his throat and the throbbing vein in front of her eyes, a predatory gleam entered her eyes as she licked her lips and took a deep breath. The pulse beneath her hands was steady as he slept, unaware of Hotaru's predicament or the purr that began to sound through her throat.

Ryouga was sending off a scent that drove her crazy and with his throat right in front of her she took it between her teeth and trembled as she tried to stop what she was doing. 'I'm supposed to have Geta fight him. He won't win. No one will. God, he smells good. I have to stop!' Hotaru's mind was in turmoil as her mind raged with her instincts and the chemicals coursing through her veins. 'What is wrong with me? I know I'm not supposed to be doing this, but there's no one here to stop me and I want him. If I let Vegeta have his way, I'll remain without a mate for the rest of my life.'

Feeling a pinch of his neck and thinking it was a bug, Ryouga awoke to find a set of teeth fixed on his throat and purring female Saiya-jin against him. "Where? What?" Then the scent hit him full force as he saw a black tail, dancing in the air in front of him. He tried to shift his weight to dislodge Hotaru off of him so he could get control of his senses, but she growled and clamped down harder, causing him to tense and growl back. 'Why is she acting like this and what is that smell on her?' "Hotaru? I think we need to move before everyone wakes up and finds us together." No response "Come on Hotaru, you're starting to worry me. You're not acting normal."

A soft laughter came from her mouth as she tugged on his neck, but didn't let go. "I don't care if they find us. I'm big enough to make my own decisions and no one forced me to let you come in here. Although I had no intentions of getting this close to you, you were the one that refused to let me go when I tried to get away. Look at your hands and tail and tell me if I'm lying."

Ryouga couldn't see, but after she mentioned, he froze in slight shock with a blush rising on his face. Instead of moving them though, he found himself pushing both hands under the back of her shirt and sliding them down until he moved under the waist band of her night gown skirt. Hotaru's eyes widened as she felt for the first time someone else's hands other than her own on her rear. "I suggest you let go of my neck or I'm going to slowly show you why it wasn't a good idea for me to be in your bed in the first place."

"Oh really. Like you can hurt me." Ryouga tried to pull away from her, but only received a snarl and a sharp set of teeth to bite through the skin on his neck making him yell out in pain and slight fear. With a quick shove, he threw her off of him and touched his neck where she had bit him and was surprised to find blood. Angry and confused, he looked at her to see her staring at him with a blaze and determined look in her eyes. 'Why does she look like she's hunting me?' When she didn't move he looked at her curiously to see that she was confused and battling with herself.

'Why did I bite him? What is going on with me? Geta is going to have my tail for this.' She was in his head, and he thought it had something to do with the mark on his neck now, but he quickly forgot about that as he pounced her and tried to pin her down. With lightning reflexes, Hotaru rolled out of the way and growled at Ryouga in a warning. She may have bit him, but her mind was still confused about what she wanted.

As he came around to tackle her, she head butted him to the floor and sat on his stomach and smiled. The idea of her being in control drove him insane as he tried to flip her, but she had the advantage at the moment as she bent over and licked the blood from his neck. "Hotaru..."

She had one tactic that would drive him over the edge if he was a Saiya-jin. Sitting up she looked to the door and then back at Ryouga with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I guess you're right. We better get up and go out there before my brother and Ruka wake up. Geta doesn't like other men around me and says he'll decide who can be around his sister."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It basically means, I'll never be able to pick a mate of my own, that's for sure. Geta's probably already picked my suitor out."

Ryouga didn't know if she was serious or not, but her scent had been working in his mind as well as the mark on his neck as he thrust his feet over his head, taking her with him and pinning her down. Before she had time to retaliate, he flipped her over on her stomach, brought his arm underneath hers and pressed down on her neck while placing his hand on the floor for leverage to keep his weight pinned on her. Hotaru squirmed and fought to get back the upper hand, but she had to face the fact that he had more weight and strength than her and had out smarted her.

Sweat was on her forehead from struggling against him and her breathing had become heavier. "Ok, Ryouga, I think you win the match. Come on, we really need to get going."

"I'm not moving. Besides, you were the one who started this and I told you to stop or I'll slowly show you the reasons why your brother and Haruka said not to allow someone else to share your bed."

Hotaru was a bit scared, but kept it from her voice. "I thought you said you weren't going to hurt me. Ryouga, I don't know if I want to keep this game going any longer."

"I'm not going to hurt you." His mouth came to the back of her neck and he kissed it softly to feel her shiver. Her skin was reacting to his touch and he could feel the heat rising off of her. His hand brushed her stomach which was easy to get to since her night shirt had risen up a little bit. When she didn't protest he moved down a little further to receive a whimper for more. "I'm definitely not going to hurt you." His teeth clenched onto her neck and without warning he marked her on the neck sealing the bond between them. Picking her up, he gently laid her back down on the bed and moved over her. Brushing back her bangs, he smiled at her, trying to calm some of the fear she had.

"Ryouga... I've never... I mean..."

"Shhh... I know and I'll go easy on you. Trust me." Hotaru smiled as their mouths met in a calm study of each other to turn into a battle of domination as they forgot about being up in a couple of hours.

Kakarot was sleeping with Usagi securely in his hold in case she woke up and tried to do anything crazy when she vanished from his arms during the middle of the night. Startled he woke up and looked all over the room for her, but couldn't sense, smell or see her anywhere. 'Usagi!' He shouted to her telepathically. When he didn't receive an answer, fear drove him to bolt out of the bed and tear down the hallways looking everywhere for her. After searching everywhere for her, he came back to the room to start over again when she appeared again, but still asleep and floated back to the bed. An eight pointed star was fading from her head, along with some huge wings that spanned her back. Glad to have her back, Kakarot picked her up in a big bear hug and crushed her to him, afraid to ever put her down or fall asleep again.

Usagi was sleeping when she felt the wind crushed out of her. She opened her eyes to see Kakarot trembling and his arms hugging her so tight that she could barely think straight. 'Kakarot, can you let me breathe now? You're killing me.'

He let up the pressure some, but refused to let her go as he continued to nuzzle her neck and purr. With a strong nip on her neck she gasped and tried to get away from his sharp teeth. The more she tried to move, the more aggressive he became as he pushed her down on her back and looked into her silver eyes. "You're not leaving."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know; let me take a wild guess after last night's performance. You fought Vegeta and I for several minutes because we wouldn't let you go after the Shadow Demon and you snarled at me. I thought we were partners, not enemies?"

"I'm sorry Kakarot. My head hurts at the moment and I can't remember past much after we arrived on that shadow planet. I keep thinking Rei and Vegeta are dead along with my mother and Luna. Are they?"

"Everyone but Vegeta is dead, and that's only because he was brought back to life somehow. I'm not sure how yet, but we'll find out in the morning." Usagi smiled at him and curled up onto his lap, wrapping her tail around his waist and let him purr against her in a comforting way.

"Where are the the twins and Broli?"

"There with my parents."

"Ok." Usagi was quickly falling back asleep when Kakarot asked her another question.

"Usagi? Did you have a dream a minute ago that you can recall?"

"I think I did, but I don't remember much about it. All I remember is light, judgment and sorrow." She was asleep before she answered anything else making Kakarot frown.

'Why did she look totally different when she came back here?'

A couple of hours later they heard a crash in the other room, waking both of them. "What the? That's Hotaru's room."

Usagi opened her eyes and searched her mind out and blushed. "Don't worry about her. She's busy with a friend."

"Oh, ok." They walked out of the room to see everyone gawking at Hotaru's room and to see a huge embarrassed blush on Pluto's face. "What's going on?" He noticed that Gohan was covering Pan's ears, Trunks had Bra, while Goten had Rini. All three of them were blushing and smirking at the same time as another crash came from Hotaru's room. "Usagi, are you sure Hotaru's alright in there. It sounds like she's fighting with someone at the moment. I think I better go check on her."

"NO!" Everyone cried surrounding him.

"Hotaru's quite fine I assure you," Pluto told him.

"She may be fine, but Ryouga won't be if my dad shows up," Trunks snickered.

"What does your father have to do with this Trunks?"

"I'm curious too since everyone seems to be talking about me before I enter the door," Vegeta asked as he carried in Ryouga and his twin girls.

"Hi, Vegeta!" Everyone said at the same time. This caused him to glare at everyone and to wonder what they're hiding. Rini came running up to Usagi, laughed at seeing each other again and went to talk to each other in the corner of the room.

"Where's Hotaru?" Vegeta asked. "I'm ready to get this meeting under way and we can't do that with her still in bed." Everyone pointed to the door as they heard the bed break and glass shattering. Haruka and Turles had come in about this time to be followed by Endymion and Michuru who were holding hands.

"What the hell was that?" Haruka demanded going to Hotaru's room. Vegeta wasn't far behind as they kicked the door down and went into the room, to find out what Hotaru was fighting.

One, two, three... "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Vegeta roared.

"Hi Geta, Ruka," came Hotaru's voice.

Four... five... six... "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR CLOTHES AND WHY IS HE IN HERE?"

"Wow, Haruka took longer than Vegeta to blow up," Pluto commented.

"GET BACK HERE!" Vegeta and Haruka yelled as they saw a flash dash out of the room, bare with an angry senshi and Super Saiya-JIn hot on his heels. Another flash came by and she was just as nude as Ryouga was and everyone blushed and had to hold their mouths shut as Hotaru ran screaming after all of them.

"Don't you hurt him! That's my mate!"

Michuru blinked and then stared at Pluto. "Pluto didn't you tell him about Saiya-JIn mating customs?"

"I was going to, but I never got around to it."

"Kakarot," Usagi said, "you better save Ryouga before Haruka or my brother catches him."

Kakarot nodded and was gone and back before anyone could blink and the women all had to turn around as Kakarot was holding up by the arms facing everyone. Ryouga was blushing a crimson red and demanded to be put down. He went into Kakarot's closet and put on some clothes right when he heard Vegeta coming back and he dove behind his mom and the couch.

Vegeta and Haruka came back into the room and searched everywhere when Hotaru came back in. "Haruka, Vegeta! Leave him alone. It was my fault about what happened in there."

"What?" Vegeta demanded. "Hotaru, you know Saiya-JIn law and I have the right to challenge him."

"I forgot about it and he didn't even know the law." Ryouga poked his head out from the couch and gasped when he realized Hotaru wasn't wearing anything still. Forgetting why he was running, he ran in front of Hotaru and glared at Vegeta.

"If you don't mind, I suggest you back off and let her get dressed. She's mine anyway and I don't see what the big deal is."

"Uh oh..." Trunks whispered.

"Dead meat," Goten foretold.

"Why does Hotaru not have any clothes on?" Rini and Pan asked. Usagi and Gohan covered the children'S eyes and glared at Hotaru telling them that they can take this argument somewhere else. Hotaru was allowed to pass, but Vegeta slammed Ryouga against the wall and snarled at him.

"I'll tell you what the big deal is boy. You've mated above your station without going through me first. Only I give the approval to say who is worthy to mate her, but seeing as you two have already formed and finished the bond, I'm powerless to do anything without hurting Hotaru. I'm warning you, if you let any harm come to her, I will kill you immediately after she dies."

Hotaru was out of her room in a minute and she pried Vegeta away from Ryouga and curled against him. "I'm sorry Geta."

"Taru, what happened?"

"We only wanted to talk and after that I don't really know what happened. He was going to sleep on the floor and I felt sorry for him and said he could sleep on the other side of the pillows and could leave before you or Ruka got up. He seemed harmless enough. Anyway, I fell asleep and the next thing I know is I'm screaming and he's trying to calm me down. The next time I woke up everything went crazy. I bit him and then he responded back by throwing me off the bed. He returned the bite and well... the room is all busted now."

"Are you telling me you didn't know why we kept other men away from you, Taru?" Vegeta asked stunned.

"No. I don't see what the problem is. Ryouga was nice and what he did with me actually felt really good. You should try it sometime and maybe you'll relax more."

Ryouga blushed and Haruak and Michuru slapped their heads wondering where they had gone wrong in teaching her the facts of life and boys. The whole room erupted in laughter making Hotaru upset, but she ignored them as Vegeta threw his hands up and stormed out of the room, cursing that nothing was ever followed by the rules anymore.

"Ryouga," Haruka said glaring at him. "You better not hurt our little Taru, or I swear by all that is holy that you will die a painful death by the hands of all the senshi in this room. Do you understand me?"

Bra had taken a look in the room and started shouting "Way to go! How come daddy and Trunks never let us play in our room like that! It's totaled man. How are they going to sleep without a bed and where are they going to put their clothes with no dresser and closet."

Pan came in behind her and started shouting, "Hey! There's water going everywhere. Someone better fix the plumbing in here."

Curious glances were directed at the two Saiya-jinS who looked like they wanted to sink through the floor and disappear all of a sudden.