Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Child of Light ❯ Missing ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em. They got drunk at the party and had to stay the night. What!? I couldn’t let ‘em Fly home in that state! They might have hit a plane and made it crash!
x x x

Buffy intended to enjoy this summer. Sure, Angel had gone walkabout and she hated not being with him. There were some moments that nothing could even ease that pain, let alone make it stop. But she was starting college this fall, and she didn’t want to let the entire summer be wasted in brooding.

She was headed for the Bronze, planning to meet Will and the rest of the gang there. They were having one last “The Mayor’s Dead!” party, happily trashing the demon’s reputation now that he couldn’t (literally) bite their heads off. She was almost to the door when she sensed a lone vampire waiting by the door. Probably a new one, some young hot-head who had just learned about the Slayer and wanted to make his name on her death. Well, this dude had another thing coming!

Buffy pulled a stake out of her jacket pocket and walked right up to the vamp, having seen him hiding in the shadows. She said, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you it’s not polite to stalk people?” and she raised the stake to strike.

The vampire said, “Wait! I have a message for you.”

“From who? Spill it fast, Bumpy, or I’ll leave you for the street cleaners.”

The demon sighed in relief then said, “Believe me, I’ll welcome it. I come to you of my own accord. I won’t fence with you. I’ve enjoyed being a vampire, but there are far worse things out there than us. The man I’ve been working for the last hundred years is starting a new apocalypse in the very near future. I’m absolutely certain that he has everything he needs, the vampires, the Child of Light, the Vessel and all the spells. He’s ready. And the world will die at his hand when he raises his Beast. The Ritual Is being held in two nights in the park at the gazebo.”

Buffy nodded. “Why are you telling me all this. Why should I trust your word? You could just be sending me into a trap.”

The vampire smirked tiredly. “Yes, I could be. But even if that is the case, you will want to be there, I think. Now, girl, I have only one small favor to ask of you for this information.”

Wary, Buffy said, “What’s that?”

“I want you to kill me. I have betrayed my master, and my life is forfeit. The death you offer is a far kinder and swifter one than he would give.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow at that. This guy was serious. Somehow, that made her trust his information. She nodded.

The vampire closed his eyes and waited. When the blow he was expecting didn’t come, he opened them again. Annoyed, he said, “What are you waiting for?”

“I want to know your name. That’s all.”

“Usaki.”

Buffy nodded again and this time she did what had been asked of her.
x x x

The gang listened to everything that she told them. Xander, Oz, and Anya really didn’t have anything to say, other than Xander’s “Well doesn’t That just ruin our little snake roast.”

Willow asked, “Why did you want to know his name?”

Buffy said, “I want you to see what you can find out about the things he said, Will, and that will probably be easier if you know his name.”

“Hmm. Usaki. Sounds oriental. I think I know where to look.” They agreed to meet at Gilles’ place in an hour.
x x x

Chichi was getting worried. Her eldest son hadn’t been home in two days, and while she realized that he might just have decided to visit Capsule Corp. or Master Roshi’s island, she thought that he would at least have had the common courtesy to call and tell her where he was.

She noticed that Goten was acting a bit strangely, like he was worried about something. Could it be that he knew where Gohan had gotten off to? Well she was going to find out right now! “Goten, come here, please.” The boy came obediently to his mother’s side. “Did Gohan tell you where he was going?”

Goten’s look of worry increased. “No. I hoped You knew.”

This was bad. Well mabey he was with Bulma. She picked up the phone and dialed the number for Capsule Corp. “Yes, is Bulma there, Trunks? It’s Chichi.” She waited for a moment while the other boy yelled at the top of his lungs for his mother. “Hello, Bulma.”

On the other end of the line, the wealthy scientist thought she heard uneasiness in the other woman’s voice. “Chichi? Is any thing the matter?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen Gohan for nearly two days and I thought he was just going to see Iccarus. He hasn’t been there with you guys, has he?”

Gohan? Missing for two days? “No, he hasn’t been here. Have you called over at Master Roshi’s place yet?”

“No.”

“Well, why don’t you do that and I’ll get Trunks to see if he’s been up at Kami’s lookout.” She would rather have sent Vegeta, but she knew better than to ask him to set foot on that platform.

“Okay. I’ll call you if he’s at Roshi’s.”

“ ‘Kay.” And she hung up the phone. “Trunks can you do me a little favor before you go into the gravity room?”

“Sure, Mom! What is it?”

“I need you to go up to Kami’s lookout for me. I’d go in the plane, but you fly faster than that thing. I need you to find out if Gohan’s been up there in the last two days. Take the cell phone. You wouldn’t think it, but that thing gets great reception up there. Call me and tell me what you find out, okay?”

“Okay.” The violet haired youth took the phone and headed off to the north, towards the lookout.

Meanwhile, Chichi was on the phone with Krillin at Master Roshi’s. “And he hasn’t been there either,” she said, the beginnings of hysteria beginning to creep up on her. “When I get my hands on that boy... Oh he’s going to be Grounded for the Rest of his Life!”

Krillin felt himself sweating. Good grief, that woman was nuts! He silently thanked fate that it had been Goku and not him that had found the solution for Ox King and won Chichi’s betrothal. Only a Saiyan could possibly have survived her. He knew she was only worried, but that made it hard on everyone else.

Still this thing had him worried, too. Gohan wasn’t the type to just go off and not let anyone know where he was. What if something had happened to him in those woods where no one was around to help him? Of course he Was the most powerful being in the galaxy as far as any of them knew, and he could probably handle anything that came his way, but still, this was unusual. “Has any one gone up to Kami’s place to see if Piccolo or Dende have seen him or can find him?”

“Yeah, Bulma sent Trunks up there just a few minutes ago.”

“Well, I think I’ll join him. If things turn out that we need to go looking for him, I’m going to want to be in on it.” He hung up the phone and told Master Roshi what was going on.

“Hmm. I can’t sense Gohan anywhere. Where ever he is, if he’s still on this planet, he’s not powered up, because I’d be able to sense it. Either he’s in no trouble at all, or...” He stopped, not really wanting to voice that possibility.

So Krillin finished for him. “Or he’s in a whole lot of it.” Roshi nodded, sighing.

Krillin echoed it. “Well, I’m going up to Kami’s place. I have a bad feeling about all this, and I think we’re going to need Piccolo’s help.”

“You weren’t planning on leaving without telling me, were you?” came a voice from behind them on the stairs. A deep, feminine voice, silky and deadly.

Krillin winced and reminded himself never to thank the fates for anything ever again. “No! Of course not, Eighteen!” He turned around to face his wife. The beautiful blonde cyborg was human in most ways, but she still had some programming that had been so integral to her altered design that not even Bulma would have been able to remove them, even if they had wanted her to. One of those was the way she reacted in temper. She was like a colder version of Chichi, at least where her husband’s activities were involved. Where Chichi would have been throwing things and strangling people and shouting at the top of her lungs, Android 18 just stood in the stairwell, leaning against the wall and glaring. But it was just as effective. “I was just about to come up there. Ah, look, this could be serious. I really Do need to go.”

Her expression softened, and worry creased her forehead. “I know. I owe that kid a lot.” She sighed. “If it gets dangerous, you’d Better be careful, Krillin.”

He smiled lovingly at her. “I will, I promise. Where’s Marron?”

The little girl poked her blonde head from around her mother, the same place she’d been the whole time. “Daddy? Are you going away?”

The former warrior felt his heart contract at his daughter’s sadness. “Yes, but I won’t be gone too long, I hope. I’ll bring you back something, okay?”

Her sadness easily bribed, Marron brightened and said, “Okay!” Krillin chuckled. He knew his daughter well.

He looked up at Eighteen. “Okay, I gotta go.” and he stood up to leave. But before he could turn toward the door, she moved forward and kissed him, the very same kiss that had caused him to fall for her when she had still been a dangerous enemy to him and his friends. He felt himself flush with pleasure. “I’ll see you later, honey.” As he left, he thought, *Maybe more than see...*
x x x