Insertion

 

 Part 81

 

 Another Daring Rescue!

 

++++++++++++++

 

 Trunks rolled into the sky from the North American continent and 
started for the sky. His face was serious and the girls behind him squealed 
fearfully from the maneuver. "Pipe down," he grumbled under his breath.

 

 "Don't do that!" cried Minako as she clutched her chest and glared at 
the boy driving the ship angrily.

 

 "Whatever..." the boy paused as if he had just remembered something. 
"Aw crap!"

 

 "What is it?" grumbled Minako irritably.

 

 "I almost forgot about Hotaru!" he snapped as he spun the ship around 
on its axis, not bothering to slow down their forward momentum. Everyone in the 
ship jerked violently as he blasted towards Japan again.

 

++++++++++++++

 

 Ranma growled as he stared at the screen in front of him.

 

 "It's gone again," muttered Jadeite as he looked up at his boss with 
a frown of his own. "They apparently know how to use the cloaking device."

 

 "I know," growled Ranma irritably. The Senshi had all vanished, and 
his counterpart was now buzzing around the planet. "What is he doing?" he 
growled under his breath angrily as he tried to figure out what the other him 
was doing. He was coming up blank, everything he'd thought of so far was wrong. 
It was as if he was chasing someone besides himself, and that shouldn't be 
possible. 

 

 He narrowed his eyes and sighed, maybe the spore was having better 
luck. He couldn't contact her from here to find out. There was too much going 
on, and his friends were becoming suspicious already.

 

+++++++++++++

 

 Trunks floated over the ground and looked around coolly at his 
surroundings. "Hotaru, where are you?" he called as he landed in the middle of 
the yard.

 

 The man who emerged from the home blinked and stared at the little 
boy for a moment in confusion. "Hello. Who are you?"

 

 "My name is Trunks, I'm looking for Hotaru. Something important has 
come up," replied the boy calmly as he looked the man up and down.

 

 "Daddy, who is..." the little girl's voice trailed off as she noticed 
the young child standing in her yard. "Who is this?"

 

 "I'm not sure, you don't know him?" said her father in confusion. He 
had trouble remembering things lately, and his assistant had mysteriously 
disappeared. He was growing worried, but Hotaru usually managed to calm him down 
a bit.

 

 The girl had to hide a smirk as she glanced at him for a moment. He 
had no idea that his precious little girl had gotten rid of his 'new assistant' 
a few days after she had shown up. Not that anyone would ever find out about it, 
her body was nothing more than a few dispersed molecules floating around the 
home now. Mistress Nine had pitched a fit after they removed the dark presence 
from their father's mind quite easily. It hadn't gotten a very good hold on him 
at that time, so it wasn't difficult.

 

 Forgetting about it for the moment, she turned towards the boy and 
frowned. "Can I help you?"

 

 "I need to speak with you...alone," said the boy quietly.

 

 Hotaru's father blushed slightly, misunderstanding the little boy's 
intentions. He leaned in to his daughter and whispered. "Be gentle with him 
dear," as he started back towards the home.

 

 Hotaru glared at him irritably, not quite sure what he meant by that. 
She turned and frowned at the little boy for a moment and snorted. "What?"

 

 "I thought you might show up here."

 

 Both children whirled around and gasped. Chibi-Usa was standing on 
the roof, glaring down at the boy with an amused smirk on her face.

 

 "Damn," growled Trunks as he stepped back cautiously.

 

 "What's going on here?" snorted Hotaru as she looked up at Chibi-Usa 
calmly.

 

 "Just a pest I need to squash," said the girl as she stared down at 
the boy. "He's more than he seems Hotaru, you should be careful."

 

 "Who are you to talk!?" snapped Trunks.

 

 "Who is he?" said Hotaru carefully.

 

 "A Youma Lord, he's the newest one. Quite deceptive isn't he?" said 
Chibi-Usa as she turned her head and looked at Hotaru. "He's been sneaking 
around here lately, watching you."

 

 Hotaru frowned at this. The power was indeed familiar, his energy 
signal was something she recognized, but couldn't put her finger on. She'd have 
noticed someone like him snooping around though. "I see."

 

 "Oh shit," muttered Trunks fearfully as both girls turned towards 
him. "Think genius!"

 

 "What should we do with him?" asked Hotaru calmly. 

 

 "He has to be destroyed," said Chibi-Usa firmly.

 

 Hotaru smirked at her. "I don't think so. I recognize my sensei's 
energy, it's changed slightly, but it is very distinctive."

 

 The pink haired girl spun on her heels and glared at Hotaru as the 
golden energy field formed around her. "What?!"

 

 "I'm detecting multiple energy sources from him, he is like me. There 
is no other being on this planet like us," said Hotaru. "All of these energy 
sources are familiar to me."

 

 Chibi-Usa smirked as she powered up. "I was hoping you'd make this a 
little easier. Even together you're no match for me."

 

 Hotaru frowned at this. "You forget that I am the bringer of silence? 
I could destroy you with a thought!"

 

 "So?" snapped Chibi-Usa. "I'm better than you are as an adult Hotaru, 
you're nothing to me now."

 

 "Not bothering to hide it anymore?" snorted Trunks as he frowned at 
Chibi-Usa.

 

 "Why?" replied the girl with a shrug. "Soon we'll rule this planet, 
and it's already to late to stop us now."

 

 Trunks snorted and put up his fists. "Hotaru! Move!"

 

 It was too late though, in a flash of pink light, Chibi-Usa had grown 
to her adult body again. Her leg slammed into the little girl's face before she 
could react and sent her sprawling across the grass in the yard.

 

 "What's going on here?!" cried the girl's father as he rushed out of 
the home. He noticed the woman standing over the fallen Hotaru and gasped. 
"What? Who are you!? What are you doing here?!"

 

 Chibi-Usa smirked as she leveled her gaze on him. "Get out of my way 
worm." She raised her palm and blasted the man out of existence. He screamed for 
half a second before the energy engulfed him and vaporized most of the 
home.

 

 Hotaru sat up, her eyes wide with shock. "NOOOOOOOO!" Without 
thinking, her aura blasted to life and she charged forward with all her 
strength.

 

 Chibi-Usa chuckled and swat the girl aside with a simple backhand. 
"Pathetic. You're no match for me little girl. You won't be for many years to 
come either, even then, I'm still the better of us."

 

 Hotaru sobbed as she climbed out of the crater her impact had created 
in the ground. 

 

 Trunks backed away from Chibi-Usa slowly. He felt powerless, and her 
transformation made her very powerful. "I've got to do something!"

 

 "What can you do? You can't even transform anymore boy," snarled 
Chibi-Usa as she slowly stalked forward. "I'm going to enjoy killing you. There 
won't be any escape this time!"

 

 The boy frowned at her, the woman's aura was huge and the sheer power 
of it was driving him back. "Damn...I can't even get close to her!"

 

 "Silence Glaive Surprise!" cried Hotaru as she recovered again. It 
was immediately clear that Hotaru wasn't in control anymore. Saturn's icy cold 
expression was now the only thing on the little girl's face and the super 
transformation had faded away.

 

 Chibi-Usa seemed to vanish from sight, appearing behind Saturn. She 
slammed her fist into the back of the girl's skull, sending her slumping to the 
ground. "Your body is too weak for this Saturn. Maybe Mistress Nine would like a 
chance to try as well?"

 

 That got Trunks's attention. "I can't let that happen!" He cupped his 
hands and sent a blast at Chibi-Usa. It was easily dodged and his face exploded 
in pain as she appeared in front of him and kicked him aside. He landed near to 
where Hotaru was lying and barely managed to stand up again.

 

 "Heh," said Hotaru as she slowly rose up from the ground. Her 
features were twisted, evil clear on her face as she stared at Chibi-Usa for a 
moment. "I'll destroy you."

 

 "Wait! You're not strong enough in that body!" said Trunks as he 
frowned at the girl. "Even with the power boost! You can't do it without the 
others anyway!"

 

 "Those pathetic excuse for fighters just didn't know how to use real 
power," snarled Nine as she frowned at him.

 

 Chibi-Usa was watching the scene in amusement.

 

 "No! Damn it! We couldn't stop it! That's not Hotaru anymore!" 
snapped Ranma angrily.

 

 "Mistress Nine," growled Carrot as he remembered exactly what she had 
become in the future. "We've got to do something! It might not be too 
late!"

 

 Carrot suddenly had an idea. "Wait!" called Trunks. "I've got a 
way!"

 

 "Eh?" muttered Nine as she stared at him. She glanced back at 
Chibi-Usa, who was simply waiting, and frowned again.

 

 "You know you're outmatched! I've got a way to beat her, but we have 
to do exactly like I say, or it won't work!"

 

 "What are you planing?" muttered Chibi-Usa in amusement as she 
watched the pair for a moment. She was far superior to the both of them in 
power.

 

 "You do realize how stupid we're going to look doing this, especially 
if it doesn't work," said Dan.

 

 "You got a better idea? We've barely got enough power to fly away if 
it doesn't work. We're dead anyway right now," snapped Carrot.

 

 "What good is this going to do us?" snapped Ranma irritably.

 

 "We can't transform, but she still is," replied Carrot.

 

 "I'm more interested in why the hell you memorized this," said Dan 
flatly.

 

 "Well?" snorted Nine irritably. "What is this plan you have?"

 

 "Do exactly as I do, and concentrate. It might not work, but I'm 
hoping that you're close enough that it does," said Trunks as he frowned at her. 
"I know it looks stupid, but concentrate on me. If we screw this up, it'll make 
us weaker instead of stronger! You've got to do it right the first time!"

 

 "What do you mean?" said Nine angrily, she followed his example 
though and moved into a ready position.

 

 Chibi-Usa blinked as the pair stood next to one another and started 
too...dance. "What the?"

 

 It was a relatively quick affair, taking only a few moments really. 
In the end, they leaned sideways towards one another and touched their fingers 
together.

 

 Chibi-Usa blinked as a blinding flash of light formed and gasped. 
Standing in front of her was a single child she didn't recognize. "What the? Who 
the hell are you?!"

 

 The child was muscular, with a confident smirk on her face. She had 
red hair tied into a braid, and purple eyes. A monkey-like tail waved behind her 
as she chuckled and checked her clothes. It was a senshi uniform like Saturn's. 
"I'm Trutaru." Her voice sounded like two little girls speaking at once.

 

 "What the hell is this?" gasped Chibi-Usa dumbly.

 

 "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Too bad I've got to 
kill you anyway," replied Trutaru with a smirk on her face. She flexed her arms 
and screamed as her power blasted outward. In an instant her eyes were sky blue, 
and her hair was a golden sheen. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

 

 Chibi-Usa snorted in disgust. "Even your combined power is no match 
for me."

 

 "Let's find out then!" snarled the little girl as she charged forward 
and slammed her fist into Chibi-Usa's gut.

 

 The effect was devastating. Chibi-Usa lurched forward with her eyes 
wide with shock. She snarled angrily and jumped up into the sky holding her 
belly. "What the? What kind of trick is this?!"

 

 "Like I'd tell you," snorted Turtaru in amusement. "Come on, let's 
get started!"

 

 "Damn you! I'll..." snarled Chibi-Usa as she blasted forward with her 
aura flaring wildly. She attacked relentlessly, but the child was too fast. 


 

 "Ha! Not bad for an old lady!" snapped the child. "I almost felt that 
one! Oooh, soo close!" The taunts enraged Chibi-Usa and she stopped long enough 
to glare at the child. 

 

 "You're...toying with me?!" she seemed to realize it all at once. 


 

 "For an old lady, you sure are fast," replied the girl as she thumbed 
her nose absently and smirked again. "Come on, we're just gettin started!"

 

 Chibi-Usa smirked as she glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, we 
are."

 

 Turtaru frowned suddenly as she seemed to realize something all at 
once. "Thought you might bring your friend along? The evil Ranma? I can take the 
both of you no problem! Ha!"

 

 Tutaru lurched forward suddenly and clutched her stomach. "Uh oh." 
She grit her teeth and growled angrily. "No time...gotta go! I'll get you later 
bitch!" With that, she vanished from sight.

 

 "What?" snapped Chibi-Usa in shock. She whirled around in search of 
the child and growled angrily.

 

 Ranma appeared in front of her and scowled. "What are you doing in 
that form?"

 

 "He was here," she snapped back at him. "He came for Hotaru, I 
thought he might..."

 

 "You destroyed him?" asked Ranma calmly.

 

 "No, he did something with Hotaru, they...merged," replied Dark Lady 
angrily. "I don't understand it..."

 

 Ranma's face fell slightly. "The fusion dance? What the..." 

 

 "What dance?" said Chibi-Usa irritably.

 

 "You failed me again," he said as he turned to glare at her. 
"However, we'll be ready when we see them again." He chuckled and turned away 
from her. "Change back, the others are coming. We're going to tell them that 
Mistress Nine has been released from inside Hotaru, and that our old friend has 
been enslaved by it. That makes her our enemy as well."

 

 Chibi-Usa growled at this, but nodded. Her form shrank into a tiny 
child's body and she glanced down at the home. Hotaru should have been enslaved, 
it was what was supposed to happen. Now something had changed, and she didn't 
like it one bit.

 

+++++++++++++++++

 

 "Whoa, that was cool," muttered Dan dumbly.

 

 The fusion of Ranma, Carrot, and Mistress Nine growled angrily. "Are 
they awake yet?" he snapped irritably.

 

 "What happened?" muttered Hotaru's voice sheepishly.

 

 "Good," said the fusion with a slight sigh. 

 

 "What did you do to us?" asked Saturn calmly. There was a slight edge 
to her voice though.

 

 "The fusion dance is only temporary," replied the fusion's voices. It 
was odd to hear it speak, and the unfused portion of them were slightly bothered 
by it. "I was holding it together as best I could. Mistress Nine would have 
taken over if I hadn't tricked her into doing it. She could have sealed you both 
away while you were out."

 

 There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly they were standing on 
top of a rooftop looking at one another calmly. They seemed winded, but were 
somewhat relaxed. 

 

 Hotaru was the first to speak. "Ranma...is that you?"

 

 "Yeah," said the little boy sheepishly. "It's a long story, and we've 
got a long trip ahead of us Hotaru. We should get going, I'll tell you about it 
on the way to the ship. You can't tell anyone else about it though."

 

++++++++++++++++

 

 They arrived a short time later, just as Trunks finished his story. 
"You've got to call me Trunks now, it's very important."

 

 Saturn nodded and glanced at the ship for a moment. "This is it? A 
YT-1300?"

 

 "It'll get us to Jurai safely, that's all we need at the moment," 
replied Trunks with a shrug. "It's sort of a hot rod though, a lot of 
modifications. Doesn't look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

 

 Hotaru nodded and smiled slightly. "Thank you for coming after me 
Ranma."

 

 "Yeah, whatever," said the boy with a shrug. "We're gonna need you, 
and I'd rather not have to kill you when I get back."

 

 "Right," said the girl with a small snort. She stepped onto the ship 
and glanced around. 

 

 The senshi were staring at her silently. She nodded to them and took 
a seat. "Hello."

 

 "Um...who are you?" said Usagi as she looked at the girl's 
clothes.

 

 "She's the Senshi of Saturn," replied Trunks as he glanced back at 
them from the cockpit. "Sit down and shut up, you can get to know each other 
after we're off the planet."

 

 The Senshi blinked and looked at one another while Saturn ignored 
them. 
 
 "Saturn?" gasped Luna nervously as she backed away 
from the little girl with a frightened expression on her face.

 

 George peeked out of the closet where he was hiding and noticed the 
new girl. She turned to look at him and he gave a frightened squeak before 
closing the door again.

 

++++++++++++++++

 

 "What took you so long?" snarled Ryoko angrily.

 

 "I had to make a few pick ups," replied Trunks calmly as he smirked 
at her. "Everyone is here though, we can leave."

 

 "Hold it right there!" cried a voice that interrupted the 
communication between the two ships.

 

 "Huh?" said Trunks dumbly.

 

 "I've caught you red handed!" said Mihoshi as she appeared on the 
screen and smiled proudly.

 

 "Hey! Get away from those controls!" cried Ryoko's voice from behind 
her.

 

 "I'm sorry Ryoko, but I've got a job to do now, it's my duty to 
perform my...um...duty."

 

 "Caught us what? Going on vacation?" replied Trunks as he 
blinked.

 

 "You're under arrest for grand-theft starship! Please power down your 
ship and prepare to be boarded!"

 

 Trunks frowned at this and growled under his breath. "What the hell? 
This is my ship you ditz!" He jumped up and down excitedly. "Besides, even if I 
did steal it, I stole it from a Most Wanted Criminal anyway."

 

 "That's no excuse!" snapped Mihoshi. "Even criminals must obey the 
law!"

 

 "What?" said Minako as she stared at the screen. The girls had all 
been attracted to the cockpit by the commotion.

 

 "Who are you to talk?" snapped Rei angrily.

 

 "Just send her your vehicle registration," said Washuu as she 
interrupted the transmission for a moment.

 

 Trunks shrugged and immediately did so. "Okay, here you go."

 

 The group on Ryo-Ohki all stared at the picture in front of them. The 
young boy was sticking his tongue out at them and pulling his eyelid down on his 
photo ID that was on the corner of the vehicle registration form.

 

 Mihoshi blinked at this and sighed. "Oh, please forgive the 
inconvenience then sir."

 

 "Get the heck out of the way!" snapped Ryoko as she shoved the woman 
aside and moved in front of the controls. "So. We're going to Jurai then?"

 

 "That's right," said Trunks calmly as his normal image reappeared. 
"Washuu, I need to talk with you later on a secure channel."

 

 The woman arched her eyebrow at this and nodded. "All right."

 

 "I'm sending you our course, can Ryo Ohki keep point five all the 
way?"

 

 "What?" asked Ryoko dumbly.

 

 "Yes, it shouldn't be a problem," answered Washuu for her.

 

 "This is so exciting!" said Mihoshi cheerfully.

 

 "Hmmm..." agreed Yosho with a slight frown. 

 

 "Adventure, excitement, bah! A Jedi craves not these things!" said 
Trunks.

 

 Tenchi sighed and looked out at the stars. "I guess I'll finally be 
able to see this place, huh Grandpa?"

 

 "Indeed Tenchi. Jurai is a beautiful place, but like all planets, it 
has it's problems. Stay sharp, and keep close to me boy."

 

 Tenchi nodded at this and Ayeka looked somewhat annoyed. She remained 
silent though and kept her eyes on Ryoko. No one but Trunks seemed to notice 
this and he shut down the communication after sparing her a quick glance.

 

 He sat back in his chair and frowned. The books under his rear were 
uncomfortable, but that wasn't the only reason he was brooding.

 

 "Something wrong sensei?" asked Hotaru.

 

 "Ayeka. She's up to something," replied Trunks calmly.

 

 "Does it concern us?" asked Hotaru.

 

 "I don't think she's planning on betraying us, no," said the boy with 
a small chuckle. 

 

 "I think it has something to do with Ryoko, and that boy Tenchi," he 
answered calmly. "I'm afraid I can't let her do anything too stupid though. She 
is my daughter after all."

 

 Hotaru nodded and glanced back at the table where the senshi were all 
chatting. George was still in the closet hiding from them all. Minako was the 
only one away from the group, and she was trying to persuade him to come out, so 
she could ask him about being in his next movie.

 

 "In any case, we've got a long trip ahead of us. I doubt if it'll be 
very eventful though. We should be fine."

 

 "An uneventful trip? With you? I've never been on one," commented 
Hotaru lazily. "Last time I went anywhere with you, I ended up getting in 
trouble for eating the hearts of my enemies as I recall."

 

 "Well, I really shouldn't have...but you seemed so enthusiastic about 
it..." said the boy sheepishly. He suddenly became very serious. "How's Hotaru 
holding out?"

 

 Saturn frowned at this and sighed. "She hasn't spoken in a 
while."

 

 Trunks nodded at this and turned back towards the stars.

 

++++++++++++++

 

 "Jurai," growled Ranma under his breath. He was looking at the course 
transmission that he had intercepted and scowled angrily. "They're running to 
Jurai. Why though?" He snorted and stood up to look out the window. "What does 
he know that I don't?" With a small frown he looked out at the stars. 

 

 In all honestly, simply going to a remote area of the planet would 
have put the younger him, and anyone he wanted to bring along with him, out of 
his reach for the moment. Africa would have worked nicely. Still, something was 
up for him to run off the planet. "There's something else going on that I don't 
know about."

 

 Chibi-Usa smirked as she walked into the room. "You have no idea 
father."

 

 Ranma turned and his frown deepened at what he saw. "What are you 
doing here? It's dangerous. I don't want to be discovered just yet Tochi."

 

 "I was told you might be interested in what I have to say," said the 
stunning blonde woman who was standing beside his daughter. Her grin almost went 
inhumanly wide, but she calmed a bit before her fangs were revealed. 

 

 "Oh?" asked Ranma cautiously.

 

 "Beryl is a fool, you and I both know it. Myself and the others have 
other plans," she said as she leaned onto his desk rather seductively.

 

 Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes and left the room as the woman leaned 
towards her father and smirked.

 

 He calmly sat down in his chair right in front of her face and leaned 
in so that his nose was almost touching hers. "I'm listening."

 

++++++++++++++

 

 TBC...


 

--- Carrotglace

--- carrotglace@mindspring.com 

--- EarthLink: It's your Internet.


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