Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Suffer the Children ❯ Missing ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Missing

Six Months Later

"I think it's cute," Minako said firmly. "I mean, look at them!"

Rei looked and scowled. "She's much too young for him."

"You're just jealous, Rei-chan," Makoto pointed out. "Anyway, Michiru approves."

"Haruka doesn't, and I agree with her. Duo is just going to take advantage of her."

"You mean the way you wish he'd take advantage of you?"

Rei blushed and fell silent.

"Well, what do you think, Usagi-chan?" Minako asked of the strangely silent member of their group.

Usagi did not answer, but it was clear from the way she was glaring out the window that her feelings echoed Rei's.

"Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked, concerned. "Be careful, or that vein in your forehead's going to pop…"

Usagi's gaze shifted to her friend only for a second.

That was all it took for Makoto to change the subject. "Did I mention he reminds me of my old-"

"Oh, not THAT again!" Rei cried.

* * * * *

"So?"

"So what?"

Duo pointedly ignored the high-pitched giggles behind him and continued building what he hoped was a convincing replica of Gundam Sandrock as opposed to the usual sandcastle.

"So…has he done it yet?"

"Done WHAT yet, ChibiUsa-chan?"

"You KNOW what I mean, Hotaru!"

"I do NOT! What are you-"

There was loud whispering, followed by an even louder gasp.

"Well, has he?!" ChibiUsa pressed.

"I'm not telling you that!" Hotaru replied indignantly.

"He has!"

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to! I can see it in your face; you're blushing so bad!"

Duo chuckled to himself. They'd grown past cooties, at least. Of course, since Hotaru was living with two lesbians, that was hardly surprising. He was glad to have ChibiUsa around, though. There were some things even he couldn't talk to Hotaru about, and ChibiUsa had jumped straight to those the moment she'd fallen out of the sky. The current topic was definitely Boys, and himself in particular.

Another series of giggles.

"Hotaru, you know you can't hide anything from me!"

"ChibiUsa, I really don't think that's any of your bus-"

"Duo! Hey, Duo!!!"

"CHIBIUSA, DON'T YOU DARE!" Hotaru shrieked.

Duo turned, only to find the pink-haired troublemaker directly behind him, and Hotaru a few feet away, about as red as a tomato. "Yeah?"

ChibiUsa smirked. "How many times a week would you say you kiss Hotaru?"

Duo grinned. "Hmm. You want an average, or-"

"Just the facts, please, Duo."

"Well…"

"Duo!" Hotaru wailed, clearly embarrassed.

"Relax, babe; it's cool." Duo brushed his hands off on his swim trunks. "Excuse me for a sec, Chibi, but this is gonna require some field research…" He stood up and walked past her.

It took her a moment, but Hotaru realized Duo's intentions rather quickly as he headed towards her. "Hey! You're not seriously thinking about…?"

Duo smirked and slid his arms around her waist. "You're standing here in a swimsuit, Hotaru. What ELSE could I be thinking?"

"Wait until I get my camera!" ChibiUsa called, running to her beachbag.

"Why are you humoring her?" Hotaru whispered, still blushing.

"As I recall, it was you who told me she was your best friend in the whole world, and to be extra nice to her," Duo replied. "And from the way Usagi's been acting lately, I figure it's the least I can do."

"Usagi-san doesn't approve of my seeing you," Hotaru murmured softly, glancing up the hill at the seaside café. "She's afraid that I might influence ChibiUsa."

Duo snorted. "If anything, that kid's gonna influence you. I've never seen anyone so feisty in all my life."

"Okay, I'm ready!" ChibiUsa called, running up to them. "Hotaru-chan, don't even think about trying to run; I'll hold you down if I have to!"

Hotaru sighed. "ChibiUsa-chan…"

"Relax, Firefly," Duo said, tilting her face up to his. "I bet we make a great card come Christmas."

Any protests Hotaru might've had faded as she became lost in Duo's eyes.

* * * * *

Son Gohan touched down in front of the Capsule Corporation, his heart sinking as he did so.

How many times had he seen Trunks & Goten racing around the compound?

No. He couldn't think about that now.

Gohan steeled himself and walked inside with purpose. There was no use putting it off; that would only make things worse.

He found Bulma in the usual place: Trunks's room, the one Goten had also slept in when they had sleepovers.

She was gazing out the window, but turned slightly at his approach, her face still hidden in shadow.

Gohan stopped in the doorway. "Bulma…I…"

"Anything?" she asked.

He closed his eyes, forcing the tears to stay in. "No."

There was silence…that was abruptly ended by the alarm clock crashing into the window.

"NOOOO!!!" Bulma screamed, beating the wall with her fists.

Gohan stared at her flailing form in horror for a second, before striding into the room and pulling her gently but firmly against his chest. "Bulma, please, don't do this now-"

She stared at him, and then burst into tears, pressing her face into his chest. "No," she whispered before collapsing into sobs.

Gohan closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head. There was nothing else he could do, really. Vegeta and the others were already searching the universe over, for all the good it would do.

Dende, Korin, and even East Kaioshin had all told them the exact same thing.

The boys were simply no longer in any of the four universes. Nor were they in heaven, HFIL, or anywhere in between.

They were just gone.

Gohan had wanted to search, of course. But Vegeta had taken off so quickly, there was no one left to comfort Bulma. Anyway, he didn't dare leave Videl, in fear that whatever had taken the boys might come back for someone else. He certainly wasn't about to leave his mother, either; she was taking Goten's absence only slightly better than Bulma was her son's. At times, he thought confirmation of death would've been better than just not knowing.

Perhaps the only comfort about the whole mess was that Buu and Bee were gone, too. If one ignored the fact that someone had somehow overpowered Buu, there was nothing to worry about, really. Buu would do his best to protect anyone that was precious to Videl, which covered Goten, and once he'd met Mrs. Briefs (and her sweets), the Briefs had fallen under his protection as well. Which wasn't to say the boys couldn't fight for themselves, but if they ever needed someone to stall while they fused, Buu would more than suffice.

Goten had never even entertained the idea that Buu might actually be behind the abduction. Videl, also, had been quick to point out that even if Buu had gone bad, he wouldn't have bothered to be so quiet about it. Majin Buu had never been so calculating as he was just plain cruel and insanely powerful…not to mention insane.

And though the search never stopped, every day, Gohan lost a little more hope. It was one thing to overpower the sons of Goku and Vegeta once. It was quite another to do so and then keep them prisoner for six months, and still manage to avoid any sort of detection.

The only thing Gohan knew for sure was that he might never see his little brother again.

* * * * *

Trunks Briefs, while battling Majin Buu in the form of Super Saiya-jin 3 Gotenks, had made himself (and Goten) a solemn promise: He would never allow anything to frighten him ever again.

Part of him was glad that Goten had not been there when he'd witnessed the rebirth of Majin Buu. Trunks had never cried out of sheer, undisguised fear for his life, but he'd cried then.

The strange thing was that he'd never really LIKED Buu, even when Goten had gone out of his way to befriend the reformed demon. Trunks had always found that Goten was all he required as far as friends went, and didn't think it necessary to make any more. But no matter what Buu was to him and what he'd done in the past, nothing sentient deserved to go through what Mistress 9 had put Buu through.

To be honest, he still wasn't exactly sure what she'd done to Buu. All he knew for sure was that Buu had screamed the entire time, and when the screams had died, so had Buu. From that point on, there had only been Majin Buu.

But he was different this time. He appeared to be quite sane, in an evil sort of way. He did not laugh for no reason at all; in fact, he was shockingly silent, save for when he addressed Mistress 9, and even then, he spoke only when there was no other choice. The one thing that had not changed was his cold, hateful stare. When the notion struck him, he gazed unrelentingly into Trunks's eyes, as if to remind the boy that no one would or could save him this time, that all hope was lost, and that when they were done with him, he would be as good as dead…or worse.

* * * * *

Goten, like his father before him, was smarter than most people gave him credit for. Upon waking up to find himself imprisoned (and more importantly, without Trunks), the first thing he'd done was try to go Super Saiya-jin. Try being the important word, because for the first time that he could remember, it hadn't worked. He knew how to call upon the power…but the power wasn't responding. At least, not to his mental command. He could sense that it was still there, but it was being directed to something-or someone-else.

He wasn't sure why he was here, or what his captors wanted. There was a tall, violet-haired woman with cruel eyes, and a tall, white-haired man with an almost regal grace about him. Goten preferred the man, because he seemed to be eternally bored (and therefore less inclined to harm Goten, or so he hoped).

Goten wasn't sure how long he'd been there, but he estimated a few months, at least, had passed since his abduction. The tall man was standing guard one day when the woman entered, dragging an unconscious girl a few years Goten's senior.

"So," he said, "were there any problems?"

"None," the woman replied with that evil smile of hers. She turned to Goten's cell. "Good news, boy. Now you've got a friend to keep you company."

Goten did not reply, but silently hoped she hadn't hurt the girl too badly.

"I still fail to see why my brother insists on keeping her around," the man murmured.

"I suppose, by human standards, she might be somewhat attractive," the woman replied, tossing the girl in with Goten.

A look of disgust crossed the man's face. "You think he planned to mate with her? And further muddy his bloodline?"

"Such things are not Inu Yasha's concern. That is but one of the reasons we're getting rid of him." She locked the cell and walked away. "Come, Sesshomaru. I have a matter that requires your expertise."

Goten waited until they were gone, the rushed over to the girl and gently shook her. "Hey, are you okay?"

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"I hate to tell you this, but you've been kidnapped. I don't know where we are, or how long I've been here. My name is Goten, and I promise I'll protect you from now on."

The girl looked him up and down. "I'm Kagome, and…forgive me for saying this, but I don't think you'll be able to do all that much. If that woman is what I think she is, neither of us stands a chance."

"I don't care," Goten said. "I'll still protect you no matter what."

Kagome smiled at him. "Thank you, Goten, but why would you do that?"

"I'm tired of losing people I care about for no reason. I won't let it happen again."

"You…care about me?"

"Well, sure!" Goten held out his hand. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Kagome shook his hand and grinned. "Right!"

* * * * *

Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya-jin, emerged from his spaceship a defeated man.

His heir and the Son child were truly gone. He accepted that now, but wasn't sure he had it in him to face his mate. He remembered how broken up she'd been when they'd finally had to leave the Tenkaichi Budoukai without the boys.

Without warning, there was a blinding flash of light, and a second, smaller ship touched down next to his.

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock as a head of long, lavender hair rose up, followed by a grave face with haunted blue eyes. "Trunks…?"

"Tou-san," Mirai Trunks said as he leaped to the ground and approached Vegeta. "We need to talk."

* * * * *

Within a matter of minutes, the Z Senshi were gathered at Kami's Lookout, with Goku listening in via Kaio-sama. Gohan & Bulma were the last to arrive, and the moment her feet touched the floor of the Lookout, Bulma had not released Mirai Trunks, nor did he seem to mind as he began to speak.

"Thank you all for responding so quickly. I had my doubts about making this trip, but kaa-san convinced me that I should come."

"We're just glad to see you, Trunks," Gohan admitted. "Any of you…"

Trunks blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You…you don't know?" Gohan asked in shock.

"Our son and Kakarot's youngest-Goten-have been abducted," Vegeta said quickly.

Videl began to add that Buu and Bee were gone as well, but Gohan stopped her, knowing that would only take longer to explain.

Trunks ran a hand through his hair. "Then it's worse than I feared. How long have they been gone?"

"Six months," Gohan whispered, squeezing Videl's hand.

"Trunks…why have you come?" Bulma asked softly.

"I almost wish I hadn't now," he sighed. "I'm sorry, kaa-san, I know this must be hard for you, seeing me when-"

Bulma pressed a finger to his lips. "I haven't seen my son in six long months, Trunks. You're the most welcome sight I've seen since then."

Trunks smiled slightly, then turned back to the others, his face solemn again. "A week ago, I began to have…visions. At first, I thought it was just stress or something, but in one of them…I saw a boy that looked almost exactly like the pictures of Goku-san that kaa-san keeps."

"Goten," Piccolo said, leaving no room for doubt.

"Can you tell us anything more?" Gohan asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Trunks sighed. "Very little. All I know is that he was alone, somewhere. He seemed to be unhurt."

Chi-chi left out the breath she'd been holding in, clutching one of Gohan's arms in relief.

"A few days later, I saw something else. There was…a green-haired woman, with some kind of staff. For some reason, I think she was a goddess…or at least someone who you might know of, Dende-san. She was fighting a huge wolf monster…bigger than two or three buildings, easily. She fought valiantly, but was defeated. Then the wolf turned into a man and took her somewhere. I know that's not very helpful…"

"You saw Goten," Piccolo said. "That's helpful, at least. We know he's alive."

"And the woman you mentioned," Dende added. "I cannot say I know anyone that fits that description, but I will ask around. I'm sure Kaio-sama will spread the word. But maybe you could tell us more about the nature of these visions?"

Trunks nodded. "They're like…headaches, I suppose. There's a flash of intense pain, and then I see something, or someone. It's like watching a scene from a movie, really. Kaa-san says the longest one has been just under a minute. Sometimes I pass out, but I can always recall what I see."

"Is there anything else you might've forgotten to tell us?" Videl asked. "Anything at all?"

Trunks thought for a moment. "There's one last thing. The woman I saw…she wore some kind of uniform, I think…and there was something odd about the place they fought in. There was…some kind of raised platform, like a ring…I know I've seen it before, but I can't remember where…"

"Your mother," Vegeta said quietly. "She keeps a lot of pictures?"

"Yes, tou-san. It's almost all we have left, after the androids."

"Pictures of what, exactly?"

Trunks blinked. "Well, everything, really. You, Goku-san, everyone. Why?"

"Are there any of places? Places she might've been, but aren't there anymore?"

"Yes, of course."

"I see where you're going, Vegeta," Piccolo murmured. "There's only once place I can think of that would have that kind of setup."

"The Tenkaichi Budoukai," Videl said at once.

"But they were the only two there," Trunks stated. "The stands were empty."

"What exactly did you see in the vision?" Piccolo asked. "Did they start fighting right away?"

"No, there was just her first. She was…looking at the ground, trying to find something. And she picked up something…like a stick, or a…a…"

"A lollipop."

Everyone looked at Gohan in surprise.

Even more surprising was Trunks's response. "Yes! YES! That was it!"

"How did you know?" Videl asked.

"Because there was one, on the ground in the courtyard. I only remember it because it was the rainbow kind."

"The kind that Buu likes best," Videl added faintly.

"Buu?" Trunks asked softly, clearly confused.

"That woman," Gohan continued. "She wasn't just at any Tenkaichi Budoukai site. She was at the last one. Probably only hours after we left. And if my guess is right, she was looking for Chibi Trunks & Goten, too…or the person that took them."

* * * * *

Chibi Trunks looked up as his new cellmate groaned and opened her eyes. "Don't move too much," he advised from his corner. "They roughed you up pretty bad, lady."

The woman's gaze moved to him. "They…took you, as well?"

He nodded. "Me and my best friend…and Buu…"

Suddenly, she gasped and sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through her body. "My staff! Where is it?!"

"Hey, calm down!" He rushed over and tried to push her back down. "You'll hurt yourself even more!"

Still she fought. "You don't understand! If they have my staff, they could-"

Chibi frowned and PUSHED her down, using only a fraction of his true power, but enough to keep her from resisting anymore. "Look, the important thing is that you don't get any worse. If we're going to get out of here, we need to be as close to our best as possible." When he was certain that she wouldn't sit up again, he let go and sat down. "Sorry if I was too rough," he mumbled.

She shook her head slightly. "My staff," she said again, but calmly this time. "With it, they could travel through time itself. I fear they will do irreparable damage to the fabric of time, so that nothing either of us knows will ever be the same again. It is vital that I have it back at once."

Chibi sighed. "That's bad. I definitely saw the creepy witch walking out with it. She seemed really happy to get her claws on it, too."

"There was…a woman? Please, I must know what she looked like!"

"Very long, violet hair; creepy eyes; really evil laugh. Had this whole `the world shall be mine' vibe to her."

The woman's eyes widened. "No…Mistress 9…"

"I heard Majin Buu call her `Mistress' once, if that helps. Never thought he'd do that for anyone."

"You must tell me everything you know about this…Majin Buu…and what is your name?"

He straightened up a bit. "Trunks Vegeta Briefs. You?"

"…just Pluto will do for now."

"Okay. Well, it's good that you're laying down, because this is a LONG story…"

* * * * *

Michiru lowered her mirror, turned to Haruka, and shook her head.

Haruka frowned.

"Will one of you please let me in on why we're here?" Ami asked.

"This is one of Setsuna's safehouses," Haruka replied. "The closest to us, anyway."

Ami didn't really consider an hour's drive close, but decided not to mention that.

"Even though we don't physically see her that much, she always keeps in constant contact; one notice every two weeks. It's a way of letting us know when to worry…and when not to."

"She's three days late," Michiru stated faintly.

"She's never late," Haruka added.

"So we're worried?" Ami asked.

"Concerned is a better word." Haruka drummed her fingers on a nearby table. "In her last notice, she mentioned investigating a minor disturbance. Nothing that would require assistance, nor much time."

Ami blinked. "So what does that mean?"

"It means," Michiru said patiently, "that either Setsuna was very wrong about that minor disturbance, or she was purposely downplaying its magnitude."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because if we get involved-" Haruka began.

"-then Hotaru and ChibiUsa would want to go, too," Ami said at once.

"Setsuna's very overprotective of them, ChibiUsa especially. It might be why she conveniently sent ChibiUsa here before going off to investigate."

"Isn't there any way to contact her?"

"She's not answering my mirror hails," Michiru said. "There's ChibiUsa's Luna P, but we don't want to involve her if it isn't absolutely necessary."

"Are you saying it isn't yet?" Ami asked in disbelief.

Haruka nodded. "Setsuna has always worked best alone. We have to trust her judgment…at least, for now."

"Even though she could be in danger?"

Haruka nodded without hesitation. "Even though."

Ami sighed. "I don't how you two can just stand there and wait. If it were one of us, Usagi wouldn't rest until-"

"Usagi's greatest strength…and greatest weakness…is that she thinks with her heart," Haruka said softly. "If we did that, we would've been destroyed long ago. We will leave battles of the heart to her. We prefer to think with our heads, and on our feet."

Michiru came forward. "Don't tell her, Ami. She would only worry, and ChibiUsa can sense that sort of thing."

Ami nodded. "How long are you going to wait?"

"Four more days," Haruka replied. "If there's no word after that, then Michiru and I will act…alone."

* * * * *

Luna said nothing as Usagi slipped into bed without a word. She knew precisely what was troubling her young charge, but it would do no good to talk about it. Usagi had made it perfectly clear that her opinion of Duo Maxwell would not change anytime soon.

No one could be sure what it would take to change her mind, least of all Duo himself. He'd given up trying to impress her in order to focus on keeping ChibiUsa happy. If that didn't work, then so be it.

Usagi did not lie down. Instead, she picked up her locket from the nightstand and stared at it, seemingly comforted by its weight in her hand as she stroked the surface.

Luna was not sure how long she'd been sitting there when the door slowly opened.

"Kaa-san?"

Usagi jumped slightly and turned, surprise flooding her face as she recognized her late night visitor. "ChibiUsa?"

But ChibiUsa did not seem to have heard her. She came into the bedroom slowly, rubbing at her eyes. "I had a bad dream, kaa-san. Could I sleep with you?"

Usagi opened her mouth, then paused and took a closer look.

ChibiUsa stood beside the bed, clearly half-asleep and obviously unaware of what she was asking (as well as who she was asking it of). There was really only one thing to do.

"Of course you can, aijou."

Luna nearly fell off the windowsill in shock.

ChibiUsa climbed into the bed and slid beneath the blanket, wrapping her arms around Usagi. "Thanks, kaa-san."

Usagi shushed her, gently stroking the girl's pink hair as she fell asleep. "Sweet dreams, ChibiUsa."

"She might be angry in the morning," Luna predicted after a moment.

"Then let her be," Usagi whispered, resting her head on ChibiUsa's. "For now, at least, it's worth it."

* * * * *

"Majin Buu."

The demon turned to face his creator. "Yes, Mistress?"

Mistress 9 smiled, tapping the Time Staff against one hand. "I have some business to take care of. In the meantime, it's time we continued our quest to make you the most powerful fighter in existence."

Majin Buu grinned maniacally. "Then I eagerly await your command."

"The two girls we spoke of earlier? Bring them to me, and I will add their power to yours."

Majin Buu nodded. "Consider it done, Mistress."

"Oh, I do," Mistress 9 murmured as the demon left the room. Then she raised the Time Staff and began the incantation that would send her into the past.