Hey there, guys! Look who's back with another chapter for Xenoverse! I am sorry for the long delay. I've been busy preparing for midterms and class assignments, as well as preparing for graduation and applying for the GRE. Yes, that should say what I've been up to. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I only own my OCs. Reavus, Tyson, Tsubaki, and Aurora belong to ReapingPhant0m, BlueStarDustGTX, Sakura Kishi, and Burke23, respectively.

As the small group of young warriors left the grassy grounds of the summoning palladium of the dragon balls, Paracyte raised a brow at the young man who was accompanying them from behind him and Aria.

Aria seemed to have caught this and asked her companion with curiosity. "What's the matter, Cyte?"

The green frost demon switched his glance from the male who was chatting away with Reavus to his closest ally. "It's nothing to worry about, but… Don't you find it strange?"

It was now Aria's turn to raise a brow as she looked at him with even more profound curiosity. "Strange? You mean this new guy? Well, I dunno… He looks pretty normal to me."

Paracyte nodded. "That's precisely what I meant. I recall the Supreme Kai of Time mentioning about another person that we had to meet for one of our missions and that he was supposedly stronger than most males back on earth…"

Aria took a moment to think back on what the kai said, and realized that Paracyte actually has a point there. "You're right! He does seem a bit too regular for that description. Hmm, well let's keep a close eye on him for now. Besides, we're almost at the quest kiosk anyways."

The group finally made it to the main quest kiosk where they were to sign in for their newest mission. However, they noticed two other individuals standing at the desk as well.

The group raised questioning brows as two females stood before them, muttering amongst one another in what seemed to be confusion and frustration. "Dammit, I think we've missed them! I told you that we shouldn't have eaten so late!" The first young girl replied to her friend with annoyance. She was a girl of average physique with fair skin and has blue hair with almond shaped green eyes. She looked almost similar to Android 18, only her hair was split down the middle and wore a loose, yet colorful gi that sported a Rising Sun logo on the back of it.

The other female, who had short black hair and red eyes with mostly red and black clothes, retorted back at her comrade. "Look, I can't help it if I needed an extra helping of food! Besides, a Saiyan's gotta eat!"

The whole group's eyes widened in surprise at this remark. Tyson was the first to blurt out, his eyes widening like saucers. "Whoa! You're a Saiyan, too?! Sweet!"

Aria, Paracyte, and Reavus then snapped their attention towards their teammate with even more shocked expressions.

The two girls turned around with surprised looks. "You're not from our group. Who are you guys?" The dark haired femme asked them skeptically, placing a hand on her left hip. The blue haired one, however, greeted them cheerfully and introduced themselves. "Oh, hi there! Sorry about all that! My name is Aurora, and the feisty one here is my Saiyan friend, Tsubaki. We just arrived here to meet up with our group for a quest to train ourselves, but I think they left without us…"

"Gee, Aurora. I suppose now you're going to tell them what we ate for lunch next?" The Saiyan female raised a brow at her friend only to shake her head in disbelief. She then looked back at Tyson with an inquisitive look. "And just what do you mean 'too'? I take it you're a Saiyan?"

Tyson then realized that he was receiving questioning looks from just about everyone and hung his head in embarrassment. "Uh, yeah. I'm actually of Saiyan descent, to be more precise."

Aria found this all very interesting. 'So I'm guessing that Aurora is the only human here besides me, then…'

Paracyte blinked a couple of times in disbelief, still trying to absorb the fact that there were Saiyans that are still alive and flourishing.

Aurora clasped her hands together rather cheerfully. "Oh wow! That's so amazing! So we have not one, but two people that have Saiyan blood!"

Tsubaki whipped her head towards her friend in shock. "Hold up! "We"? You want us to go with them instead? We don't even know who these people are or what their agenda is!"

Aurora simply pouted at the female Saiyan. "Well, it's not like we got anything else to do! Besides, our group had completely abandoned us!"

Reavus decided to chime in, seeing that he was more of the peacemaker in all this. "We don't mind you ladies coming along with us in the least. We're just simply taking care of an errand for the Supreme Kai of Time, and I'm sure we could work things out where we can come to some sort of satisfactory arrangement?"

Aurora chirped happily. "Oh, really? We promise we won't get in the way of your mission! We are just simply seeing if we can fit in some training with a bit of sparring, that's all." Tsubaki merely sighed in defeat and activated her red scouter that she had on. "Alright, but first lemme see just how strong these guys are."

She first targeted Reavus and showed that his power level is at a level 40,000. 'Hmm. Not bad. This frost demon's got power, for sure. Now let's see about the other Saiyan…'

She then locked her scouter on Tyson and read on his power level, which was at 27. 'What? A mere level 27,000? Pfft… This guy isn't even near MY level! Bah! Now let's see about that human girl over there.'

Her scouter then beeped as it started to read Aria's power level, only for the numbers to raise up to an outstanding level of 68,000! Tsubaki's eyes widened in utter shock at the numbers displayed at the corner of her screen. 'W-What?! Those are some pretty damn high numbers! Just who is this chick?! From what I saw, she looked like a total newbie! ... Well, let's see about the other frost demon. Surely his can't be as high as THAT girl's…'

As she pressed the button on her scouter to analyze Paracyte, her current level of shock went from surprise to utter disbelief as the numbers began to fluctuate at a drastic rate, the digits increasing from doubles to triple digits and rapidly continuing to increase without stopping.

A loud pop, following a tiny burst of smoke and sparks from her scouter indicated that the numbers overloaded the scouter's system and fried its circuits. Tsubaki let out a cry and removed her scouter form her ear, looking at the broken device with horror. 'N-No way! That frost demon's power level was way too high that it broke my scouter! Just what IS he..?!'

Reavus raised his brows in surprise. "Whoa there! Looks like your scouter broke. Must have overridden the circuitry while scanning one of us, eh?" He took it from her hands and began inspecting the small computerized earpiece. "It's mendable, though you'll have to find a really good mechanic who can fix a scouter like this. I can only guess that it's one of the older models, correct?"

Tsubaki nodded. "Yeah, it is. Do you know anyone who can fix a model like this one?" Aurora was surprised at how quickly Tsubaki's favorite scouter broke down. "I think the question is how it'll be fixed, Tsubaki…"

Paracyte stepped in and chided. "Look, we don't have much time. We need to get those last remaining Dragon Balls over to the Supreme Kai of Time. We have a mechanic named Trunks who is quite talented at repairing gizmos like that. We shall take you to him once we completed our mission. Deal?"

Tsubaki gave a sharp glare before Aurora calmed her down. "C'mon, Tsu. Let's just help them out real quick, ok? Then we can get your scouter fixed up and head back to the usual hangout spot!"

After that bit of coaxing, Tsubaki relaxed and agreed to the terms. "Fine. But let's be quick. Remember, we're only there to help collect the Dragon Balls. Then we leave."

Reavus knelt in close to his cousin and whispered to him rather inquisitively. "Snippy, ain't she?"

Paracyte raised a brow at him with a rather sarcastic reply. "What? Do you fancy her?" Reavus gave a look of revulsion. "Sorry, cuz. I don't flow like you do."

With a final agreement, the group faced the kiosk together and submitted for a time machine that was big enough for a party. They quickly all made way to the time machine that was present before them and without further delay, disappeared to their destination of time and place.

Once arriving what looked like a remote area somewhere on earth, The three men and three women jumped out of the ship and glanced around.

Aurora was the first to speak up. "So where would the Dragon Balls be?" Tsubaki kept analyzing Paracyte with suspicion after what had occurred with her scouter. The green frost demon was sharp enough to notice and stared from the corner of his eye at the female Saiyan with dislike.

Aria noticed his stare and cleared her throat in a slightly annoyed manner. This made Paracyte turn his attention immediately towards her, dismissing the female simian breed for the time being. "Is something wrong, Aria?"

The petite femme placed her hands on her hips in a disapproving manner. "So are you attracted to Saiyans now?"

Paracyte was completely taken aback from her sudden remark. He sputtered in bewilderment, although his face looked like someone fed him cod liver oil with a dash of sour lemon. "W-What?! What in the world makes you think that?"

The female human quipped in an accusing manner. "You've been staring at her since we ran into them!"

Paracyte's eyes were wide, then he realized why she started thinking that. "N-No! Aria, trust me! I am not interested in her at all! She's not even my type, let alone the fact that she's a monkey!"

Aria bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her cheeks flare up. "Oh, yeah? Then why are you staring at her the whole time like she's a piece of meat?"

Paracyte's eyes grew slightly wider. "A piece of- Aria, do you realize how ridiculous you're making this sound?! I told you, I'm not-"

He was then cut off as Aria raised her voice, clearly now more upset. "I'm the ridiculous one?! I wasn't the one making goo-goo eyes at her!"

Reavus and Tyson picked up on their bickering and glanced at one another with discomfort. "So… I guess that's how things go in relationships." The Saiyan male said while shuffling the toes of his boots into the rocky soil beneath them. Reavus nodded his head stiffly, already getting the vibe that it's best for them and the other two girls to locate the Dragon Balls, while leaving his younger relative and the earthling female to sort out their issues.

The black frost demon turned around and grabbed Tyson by the collar, dragging him away from the sight. "Come on, monkey. Let's round up the ladies and search for those magic marbles."

After gathering the other two females, Reavus activated the dragon radar and flew off with them, leaving Paracyte and Aria still going at each other's throats.

Aurora raised a brow at Reavus. "Are you sure it's safe to leave them fighting alone like that?" Her other female Saiyan companion scoffed at her friend's naïve concern. "Trust me, that girl's got it handled. Besides, he knew I was glaring daggers at him. Thing was, she thought otherwise."

Reavus shook his head. "They're big kids. They'll learn to kiss and make up. Right now, we got to get rolling on finding those dragon balls. The sooner we get them, the sooner we can leave and head back to the Time Nest."

Tyson then snapped his head up and shouted to the group. "Guys! Incoming visitors!" The other three also brought their attention to Tyson's call, and were shocked in horror of what they saw.

A swarm of Cell Junior came shooting out at them, ready to attack them at whatever angle possible.

One of them made a move straight for Aurora, to which Tsubaki was able to parry and toss it to the side. However, it was proved to be futile as the ominous Cell Junior brought itself back up, looking completely unscathed. The black haired Saiyan growled in agitation. "Just what are these little freaks?!"

Reavus growled in frustration at their current predicament. "Dammit. At this rate, it'll take us longer to locate and gather the dragon balls. But if we don't, then we fail the mission given to us by the Supreme Kai of Time…"

'…As well as Aria's punishment by Cell should she fail to arrive within the next half hour. Come to think of it, we have less than that..!'

The black frost demon's train of thought was soon interrupted as another Cell Junior came swooping in towards him directly, delivering a harsh blow of ki infused in a balled up fist.

Reavus reacted just as quickly and blocked the oncoming attack, but not before getting knocked down from behind as Tyson was sent crashing right into him by one of the other Cell Junior.

"Aw, crap on a stick!" The Saiyan blooded male cried as he torpedoed right into the big frost demon, the both of them sent reeling towards the earth below them.

"Damn… These guys are something else, huh?" Tyson muttered under his breath. Reavus got up from the gravel, dusting off the dirt like it was nothing. "We can take these guys. Hopefully those two will have stopped their bickering by now!"

Jumping up into the air, Reavus began to charge up in gathering his energy for a super attack. 'Dammit, Paracyte! You and Aria need to snap out of it and help us! We are on a time limit and Aria will have hell to pay from Cell if she's not back in time!"

Unleashing a roar that was completely alien, he blasted his super at the Cell Junior that was closest to his proximity. "Eat this!" With one swift movement, the black frost demon obliterated the miniature threat, reducing it to nothing but particles of matter. Tyson followed his lead, annihilating another Cell Junior that was nearby. The two males noticed that the girls were holding their own quite well. As they were taking down the Cell Junior, Tyson noticed the Dragon Radar going off like crazy. "Reavus! Look!"

Reavus indeed looked down at the radar and noticed the first Dragon Ball's location going haywire at a fast moving rate towards them. They looked up to see that one of the Cell Junior had the Dragon Ball in their grasp. "Get that Cell Junior! He's got one of the Dragon Balls!" The blue monstrosity giggled maniacally as it floated about with the five-star ball, taunting the warriors and muttering obscenities at them.

A loud crashing sound startled them as another tiny blue miniature Cell met its demise at the hands of Tsubaki, who was now holding the seven-star ball in her hand. "You boys are so slow! Hurry up already and kill that thing!" Aurora was still struggling with the Cell Junior that she was confronting, but was finally able to overcome it and destroyed it just as well.

Tyson and Reavus both nodded at one another and did an afterimage, which left the Cell Junior confused. Before it could even react, Reavus and Tyson reappeared at its sides and simultaneously blasted the creature into nothing. Tyson then dove in and grabbed the Dragon Ball, smiling cheekily. "Alright! We got it! Now all's left is to get one more ball!"

However, his celebration was cut short as five more Cell Junior appeared before them, with a sixth and final one holding the one-star ball in its grimy little hands. The warriors then glanced at one another and nodded. "Guess it can't be helped. We're just gonna have to fight 'em all and get our bewitching bauble from them." Reavus clicked, smirking at the aspect of having quite the warmup by fighting these revolting menaces. Tsubaki scoffed, holding a smirk of her own. "Now this is what I'm talking about! A real challenge!" Aurora giggled lightly and prepared to fire with her light based attacks. "I guess it's time to let out all the fireworks, then." Tyson rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Beggars can't be choosers, but hey, I'm not complaining! Let's kick some ass!"

The group went all out and began their attacks on the Cell Junior with gusto, not holding back with their attacks and maneuvers in means of getting their remaining Dragon Ball, as well as accomplishing the mission they sought to accomplish.

Meanwhile, back at the earlier site, Aria was still upset at Paracyte, who was still trying to grasp as to why his companion was so riled up with him about. "I'm not being ridiculous or childish, Cyte! You were ogling at her!"

The green frost demon shook his head, feeling a headache coming on from all this ridiculous squabble. "Woman, you're being difficult right now. As I told you for the umpteenth time, I wasn't ogling at that hairless ape of a female! You, of all people, should know just how much I can't stand Saiyans!" Then he raised a ridged brow at her, suddenly getting the vibe that was coming from her. "Wait… Aria, are you actually jealous of the idea of me liking another female?"

That shut her up. The earthling's face started to burn a bright beet red, with her biting the inside of her left cheek. "N-No! Of course not! I-I'm just…" Her bright grass green eyes flickered to the side, refusing to make eye contact with him now.

Paracyte confirmed it, a knowing smile spreading on his features. He shook his head, mentally scolding her lightly for such an absurd thought. 'Silly girl…'

He gently wrapped his tail around her waist and pulled her lithe body closer to his, which caught her off guard entirely. Softly holding her face with a large gloved hand, he tilted her face towards his, their eyes locking with one another. Paracyte smiled at her with genuine kindness and another emotion that Aria herself couldn't quite place.

The green frost demon breathed lightly, his icy breath sending chills down her spine. "There's no need to get envious at all, Aria. As I have told you, I have eyes for no other female… None but you." Aria then flushed mildly at this, her eyes widening ever so. "But… why?" She felt very warm and, possibly for the first time in the presence of someone other than her parents and ever since she came into this strange world, she felt safe. As for the 'why', it wasn't for his earlier action, but rather about something else in the matter that she wanted to know.

Reading her thoughts ever clearly, Paracyte leaned in closer to her, his heart rate speeding up just as much as hers was. His voice now barely above a whisper, as his ivory lips were just but a hairsbreadth away from hers. "You should know why. You feel it too, don't you?"

For his entire living existence, Paracyte trusted no one and relied on no one. He'd never let anyone get close to him, let alone letting someone in. All he ever knew and was raised to do was to be the next ideal version of perfection. To rise above the rest, as he was the acclaimed prodigy of his ancestors, Frieza and Cell, having all their genetic coding as his and to progress much farther than any of his people ever have. He was only taught that the strong survive and the weak fall and die. As a part of his people's ways, he wasn't taught much on how to create close bonds or show warm emotions to others. He wasn't even shown how to love.

But this was different. Since he met this girl, he was eager to learn more about her and at first, to become a fighting companion for her on the trials ahead. To train with her and become stronger with each task. But he noticed that along the way, his heart began to churn differently than it did in his entire existence. This girl started to make him feel in ways that he thought he never could. Little by little, his icy heart was being touched by her warm one and after so long, he was finally doing something that he never thought was possible.

He let her in.

Paracyte closed the gap that lay between the two of them, dark magenta eyes closing in blissful resolve. As their lips connected, Aria felt her heart skip a few beats before relaxing and allowing herself to sigh contently while closing her green eyes in affirmation. They stayed like that for a couple moments more before pulling apart, a light hue of purple and pink dusting the apples of their cheeks respectively.

'Yes. I already knew. Thank you, Cyte.' Aria thought happily. She smiled brightly at the frost demon, to which he was more than happy to return.

The pair then sensed their companion's energy speeding back over to their location and parted physically from one another. "Looks like we're going to have to face the music for not helping them out."

Aria nodded. "Yeah. But I'm sure they'll forgive us. After all, I can tell they had the situation handled without us."

Not long after did the others arrive, looking slightly out of breath and one of them growling at the couple. "About time you guys made up! Geez! We had to do all the work without ya!" Tsubaki growled bitterly. Aurora shook her head at her companion, just being glad to know that they at least had their training portion done for the count.

Tyson and Reavus, who were holding all the three Dragon Balls, looked down at the couple with annoyed looks. "I couldn't agree more with the lady simian. I thought you guys were going to have to go on some live couples therapy show to settle your differences aside! Aria, if we don't get you back to the Time Nest in five minutes for your training, Cell is going to raise hell on us all, as well as the Supreme Kai of Time!"

Both Paracyte and Aria yelped audibly, exchanging panicked glances with one another. "Five minutes! Holy hell! We really do need to get back, now!" Rising up into the air, Paracyte used the transverse bauble that Reavus showed him earlier and transported them all back to the Time Nest.