Chapter 12

Sailor Uranus struggled to keep her eyes open and alert. With all the sudden attacks of the new heart-snatchers, she could not afford to let Serena down. But something about Serena was off. She wasn't the happy go lucky girl that she had met a few years ago. She was more serious. She knew some of it had to do with the former prince of Earth, Darien, but there was something else. A desire for something. 'But what could it be? Oh koneko, what happened?' Uranus watched the young princess as she held onto Gohan as they flew towards the Son's house. Goku held Uranus and Neptune, Vegeta held onto Mercury and a reluctant Jupiter, while Saturn and Mars rode Nimbus. They were flying at top speed. Moon and Gohan had a nice conversation about their experiences while Vegeta and Jupiter exchanged glares. Obviously, neither of the two were the least bit happy about being that close to each other.

Soon they all arrived to see Piccolo, Krillin, Chichi, Bulma, Tien, Chou-su, and Yamcha waiting outside. Chichi and Bulma were sitting in chairs while Luna and Artemis sat on their laps. At the sight of the scouts, Luna and Artemis jumped up. As they landed, Jupiter wasted no time in separating herself from the saiyan prince. They both scowled at the other. Mars helped Saturn from Nimbus and they both walked toward Luna.

"Scouts! I can't believe that Sailor Moon found all of you! Serena, I am so proud!" Luna said as Serena walked towards the feline.

"Well, I still have to find Mina and Trista." She said without smiling. "As long as they are out there, they are in danger!"

"You guys look beat! Why don't you all come in and get something to eat. I just finished cooking!" Chichi offered. Bulma smiled.

"I am so glad that I brought my capsule houses! There sure are a lot of people."

"I don't know Miss Chichi, are you sure you have enough food?" Sailor Moon asked as she detransformed.

"Call me Chichi, and of course I have enough food, dear! After all, I do feed two saiyans on a regular basis! Come on in!" She said.

Sailor Uranus detransformed and appeared in a pair of khaki pants and a white dress shirt. Neptune wore an aqua dress and a matching headband.

"Serena, who are all these people?" Amara asked.

"Oh! Sorry! This is Bulma, Tien, Chou-su, Krillin, Piccolo, Yamcha, and Chichi. You know the others. Everyone, this is Amy, Sailor Mercury; Raye, Sailor Mars; Lita, Sailor Jupiter; Hotaru, Sailor Saturn; Amara, Sailor Uranus; and Michelle, Sailor Neptune." Serena said as she pointed at everyone individually.

"So come on in! Chichi said as she got up and waddled to the kitchen followed by Bulma. Mercury detransformed, as did Jupiter. Saturn detransformed to reveal a pale girl in a black, long-sleeved short dress with navy stockings and black shoes. She walked towards Amara and Michelle.

Soon, everyone walked inside until it was just Sailor Mars and Piccolo. Mars detransformed so that she wore her red and white priestess robes. She had a worried look on her face. She glanced over at the namek and raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to go inside with everyone else?" She asked as she stared at him.

"I should ask you the same question." He responded as he sat down, legs crossed.

"I asked first." She said, not at all intimidated.

"I am a namek. I have no need for food. Only water." He responded. "What about you?"

"I'm not used to all those people and I don't like crowds. I will eat when they are finished." Raye said as she sat a ways away from the namek. 'Not to mention that I have a lot on my mind.'

Meanwhile, inside was a sight. Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan were consuming the food in front of them faster than light! Serena's jaw dropped, as did everyone else's at the table other than Chichi and Bulma.

"H-how can they eat that much!?" Amy asked as she took a small bite of her meal.

"I don't know. I still can't get used to it!" Krillin answered.

"You don't have to talk as though we are not here! I don't appreciate it so can it!" Vegeta said after swallowing a mouthful of food. Lita glared at him.

"All of a sudden, I don't feel too good. May I be excused?" Hotaru asked.

"Sure." Chichi nodded as the young girl stood up and walked into the living room. Lita looked at Amara and they exchanged looks. Soon, everyone had their fill and the three saiyans were satisfied.

"Allow us to help with the dishes." Amara said as her and Michelle stood up and began to take the dishes away from the table.

"Nonsense! You're our guests! Let us do the work!" Bulma said as Chichi nodded.

"Oh come on! It's the least we can do to help! Anyway, you two need to rest! So out of the kitchen, please!" Lita said as she ushered the two pregnant women out of the kitchen. Amy led them to the living room where everyone else was sitting. Raye walked inside at the moment and sat next to Serena. At Serena's feet sat Hotaru as she played with her hair. The guys sat around on the floor as Lita, Amara and Michelle finished the dishes in record time.

"I have two capsule houses with me so I'll lend them to you that way no one will have to waste energy flying back and forth to capsule corp." Bulma said as she pulled out two capsules. The girls eyed them with puzzled expressions.

"Excuse me, Bulma. How do you get houses out of capsules?" Amy asked as she pulled out her mini computer and analyzed the capsule. Her eyes flickered with awe and understanding. "Of course! Pure genius." Bulma smiled in pride.

"Thank you Bulma for lending these to us. It's getting late and I think that we should be hitting the hay." Lita said as everyone walked outside.

"The guys can get one and the girls can have the other. The rest can stay here." Chichi stated in a final tone. The capsule houses were put up on either side of the Son's house. Krillin, Chou-su, Tien, Yamcha, and after some convincing Piccolo took the house on the left while Amy, Raye, Lita, Hotaru, Amara, and Michelle took the house on the right. Bulma and Vegeta were to stay in the Son's house first spare bedroom and Serena kept the second spare bedroom in the Son's house.

It had gotten rather dark and everyone had retreated to his or her rooms.

Serena stared out the window and at the stars. 'I can't sleep! Not with Mina and Trista out there somewhere. What if they're in danger! The enemy could have gotten to them somehow! I'll be able to sleep better if I know that they are safe and sound. But I can't wake up the others! They need their rest. I'll just have to do this one solo.' Serena stood up and got dressed in her black tights and red sweater. She and the girls had remembered their space pockets where they stored their weapons and found some of their clothes, courtesy of Queen Serenity no doubt. Serena quickly grabbed her locket and scribbled a note on a piece of paper. It read:

Serena placed the note on the bed and climbed out the window quietly. She landed on the soft ground and proceeded to creep past the girls' house. Just as she cleared it, she began to run when she was stopped by a voice.

"Where are you off to, Serena?"

Serena spun around to see Gohan.

"What are you doing here Gohan?"

"I was going to the kitchen for some water when I heard someone outside. Where are you going?"

Serena sighed. "I was going to go get Mina and Trista. I couldn't sleep, knowing that they could be in trouble. That's why I'm going to go free them." She looked at Gohan to see what his response would be.

"Let me go with you." He simply stated. Serena looked at him and smiled softly. She nodded her head and Gohan smiled back. "I'll fly us there. It's faster." Serena again nodded. Gohan held her close as they both took off into the night.

"How are we going to find them?" Serena asked as she gazed at Gohan.

"Well, I noticed that you senshi have a peculiar ki and I can sense two other ones. I'm guessing that those are the other two scouts. I'll just track them that way." By that time, they were a good distance away from the houses.

Serena broke her gaze with Gohan and blushed slightly. 'I cannot be feeling this way! I don't know what to do! Every time I'm near Gohan, I just get so…so… I don't know! I know I like him but I've barely known him for 24 hours! How can I be so sure? But the way I feel around him makes me never want to leave his side." After flying at top speed for about 20 minutes, Gohan began to descend into a forest. Suddenly a rain of ki blasts nearly knocked the two out of the sky.

"What in the world was that?" Serena asked as she looked towards the source. She couldn't make it out but the shadow looked like a man. Gohan quickly landed on the ground and they looked up as the shadow descended quickly. She still couldn't make out who it was.

"Ah, Serenity. Fancy meeting you here. I bet you never thought you would see me again."

Serena froze at the voice and her eyes began to tear up. Gohan noticed this and held her close to him. She began to shake in disbelief.

"N-no. I can't b-believe it. No way!"

The man stepped out of the shadows. Serena let her tears flow freely as she her suspicions were confirmed.

It was Darien.