"Rosey, can we get something to eat? I'm starving," Goten complained as we sat in the grass outside the room Trunks had found. We'd been sitting here for the past fifteen minutes, waiting for the officials to figure out to resume the match.
"Yeah, can we?" Marron asked, looking up from where she lay in the grass. I shrugged.
"I guess. It doesn't matter to me. It beats sitting here, that's for sure."
"Got that right," Trunks said, standing up. Goten, Bulla, Marron and I followed suite.
"What do we do about that?" Goten inquired, pointing to Mighty Mask's costume, which he, Trunks and I had neglected to put back on.
"Just hide it in the bushes," Bulla suggested. She bent over and picked up the boots, walking over to the nearest shrub and tossing them in. The rest of us nodded, each picking up an article of clothing and hiding it in the bush.
"We'll just have to remember which one they're in," Trunks said, eyeballing the plant, as if burning it in his memory.
"Come on, Monkey Boy," I said, giggling and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the others. "It'll be fine. Let's just go get some food."
Trunks smiled and nodded, walking away from the bush and with me to our friends and siblings.
"Where's the food court even at?" Bulla asked, looking around as we slipped out of our hiding place. No one really paid us any attention, meaning that our fifteen minutes of fame were probably over. Not that it bothered me any.
"Somewhere over here, I think," Goten said, wandering forward a couple of feet before stopping. He turned back around and scratched behind his head.
"Or maybe it was the other way..."
Bulla and Marron face-palmed while Trunks and I rolled our eyes.
"Do either of you know where it is?" Bulla asked, looking over at Trunks and I. Trunks shrugged.
"Not really," Trunks admitted.
"Moon, do you?" Marron asked. I nodded.
"'Course I do," I replied, walking the way Goten had started.
"Ha! I was right!" my brother exclaimed, smiling brightly. I chuckled.
The five walked in silence towards the food court. I could hear the crowd starting to get antsy and demanding a fight.
"I don't know how much longer the people in charge will be able to contain the audience," Trunks mused, standing on his tiptoes to try and see the arena.
"Same here," Bulla agreed. "And it's not like we can try and explain the situation to them either. They wouldn't understand."
"We don't even understand, B," Marron pointed out. "Unless you all know why our dads, Piccolo and Gohan left with Shin and Kabito."
"No... But I bet Videl does!" I said. "We should find her and ask!"
"Didn't she go with them? I thought I saw her leave after Gohan and Kabito..." Goten told us.
I reached out with my Ki, feeling for Videl's. After a few moments, I found it. She was close.
"This way!" I exclaimed, taking off running to where I felt her energy. The rest of my group followed.
We weaved our way through the close-knit crowd of people easily. I was relieved when we finally emerged, giving me full view of Videl. But heart jumped at the same time. Momma, Bulma, and Grandpa were with her.
"That's all I know, Chi-Chi," Videl was just finishing saying. She looked up as the five of us reached them.
"What's all you know?" I asked. Before she had a chance to answer, I was suddenly pulled into a bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, Moona! I was so worried!" Momma sobbed in my ear. I managed to free my arms and hug her back. No sooner did I do that, Momma pulled away and held me at arms length.
"Are you alright?! What happened?!" she demanded loudly, looking me over to make sure I wasn't hurt. "What did they do to you?!"
"I'm not really sure," I admitted. "Kabito said they drained me of my energy. But he gave it back to me, and now I'm fine." But she didn't seem to hear the last part.
"Oh my poor baby! Why would they do something like that?!"
"Momma, I'm fine," I said again. "I swear."
Momma looked at me for a short moment before slowly nodding.
"But why?" she asked, more quietly. I shrugged.
"I have no idea. But they going after Gohan. I couldn't let them hurt him, Momma. I couldn't"
Sighing, Momma moves a loose strand of my hair out of my face. "You're so much like your father." I beamed at the compliment.
"I know. And I'm proud of it." Momma let out a choked laugh, pulling me into another hug. When she finally let go, she stood up.
"I want all of you to come with us while we wait for your fathers, Piccolo and Gohan to return. That way I know you're all safe." Momma looked at all of us while she spoke. I saw Bulma nod in agreement.
"But Mom-" Bulla started to protest. Bulma and Chi-Chi both shot her a stern look.
'We can't go with them!' Goten sent me. 'We still have to fight was Mighty Mask!'
'I know, I know! I'm thinking...'
I glanced back up at Momma and Bulma. Both were staring at us, waiting for all five to make a move to follow them back into the stands.
"Sorry!" I exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing the two closest to me; Marron and Goten. They both, in turn, reached out and grabbed the remaining two, Trunks and Bulla. Then, before anyone could react, I transported us back to our hiding niche.
"Smooth, Rosey," Bulla said, rolling her eyes. "Now we're all gonna be in trouble!"
"Hey, I didn't see you fight to get away," Marron countered.
"How about we don't fight, okay?" I asked. "It's all I could think of at the moment."
Trunks, Goten, Bulla and Marron all sighed, flopping down in the grass. I joined them.
"Great. Now we're in trouble, hungry, and we still don't know what's going on!" Goten complained, placing his hands on his stomach. "But most of all, we're hungry!"
'Videl, could you possibly tell me what you told Momma before we showed up?' I asked my brother's girlfriend telepathically. She replied right away.
'Sorry, Rose. No can do.'
'What?! Why not?!'
I could almost hear the smirk in her mental voice as she replied. 'Consider this payback for this morning. You know, when you embarassed Gohan and me in front of your dad!'
I blinked, surprised. This wasn't really like Videl. I must have hit a serious nerve or something this morning... 'But-''
'No buts. If you really want to know, go ask your mother. But I'm not saying anything!'
'That's hardly fair! This is different than revenge, this is just-' But Videl had cut the connection. I scowled deeply.
"Well Videl is out of the picture," I muttered to my friends and brother. They looked at me, confused.
"What do you mean?" Bull asked.
"She won't tell me anything! All because of a prank I pulled on her this morning! It wasn't even that good of a one!" I pounted, picking at the grass.
"Like I said!" Goten tells us. "Back to square one!"
"Thanks for the reminder," I mumbled, laying down and looking up at the sky. Silence fell over us, no one talking. We listened to the crowd yell for the matches to start up again. Suddenly, a growl errupted to the left.
I turned my head to see an embarrassed Goten. "Sorry, it's my stomach! I told you I was hungry!"
"We could try to go back out," Marron suggested.
"And get ambushed by Bulla's and mine mom, Chi-Chi, and Grandpa Ox King?" Trunks asked. "No thanks."
Suddenly, I had an idea. "What if they don't know it's us?"
"What, like they hit their heads or something and don't rememer us?" Bulla asked. I shook my head.
"No, like we're in disguse."
Goten jumped up. "Mighty Mask!"
I nodded, sitting up. Trunks, Marron and Bulla did the same. "Yeah, exactly! Trunks, Goten and I put the suit back on, go to the food court, and bring food back for everyone! Sure we'll be stuck here eating, but it beats going hungry!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. While Trunks and I stood up, Goten ran over to the bushes and dug the costume back out, pulling on the yellow boots as he ran. I hopped on top of his shoulders, and Trunks on top of mine, sliding the white cloth over us. I peered through the small eye holes Trunks had made earlier. It's a wonder no one noticed them before.
"Do you think they'll notice the voice change?" Goten asked as Trunks pulled on the gloves that matched the boots. "I mean, Rosey was the head the first time, and her voice is different than yours..."
"I'm not changing now," Trunks said. "They'll just have to deal with it." I felt Goten nod below me.
"'Kay," he replied, turning us to face the two girls. The three of us wobbled slightly, but not as bad as we did when we took the suit to begin with.
"We'll be back soon," I said. "And we'll have food!"
Bulla and Marron smiled, waving. Goten turned us back around and walked us back into the throng of people.
~~
"Trunks, don't lean so far forward," I hissed, struggling to keep my balance. Goten tried not to lose his footing and make us fall. That is, if Trunks didn't cause it first.
"Then tell Goten to move forward!" Trunks replied, still leaning dangerously forward. Goten, having hear the other boy, took one or two steps forward. This gave Trunks the advantage he needed. He quickly piled food onto a plate, snapping a lid into place when he was done. Goten stepped away from the table.
"Do you think that'll be enough?" I ask, looking up slightly. Trunks looked down. He shrugged to the best of his ability.
"I hope so! I think I have all I can carry!"
He was right. He had four plates in each hand, throwing us even more off balance than what we already were. Each plate had a decent amount of food on it, hopefully being enough to satisfy our stomachs.
"Alright, Goten, carefully walk back towards the exit..." My brother gave a small nod, turning and starting towards the door. I scowled, using my Ki to help keep us balanced. I felt Trunks and Goten do the same.
Just as we made it outside the building, a voice called out, startling us.
"Hey! Mighty Mask! I need to talk to you for a moment!"
The three of us jumped, resulting in our almost spilled food. Trunks managed to save it just in time. Slowly, Goten turned us around.
The Announcer was half walking, half running over to us. Sunlight glinted off his glasses, making me have to squint my eyes.
'What does he want?' Goten asked Trunks and I. I shook my head slightly.
'Beats me. Do you think he knows?' Trunks asked.
'I don't know. Just keep cool and remember to talk in a low voice.'
"Uh yes! That's me! Mighty Mask!" Trunks called, deepening his voice. If I had a free hand, I would have face-palmed.
"I need to talk to you!" The Announcer said again, coming to a stop in front of us. The collar of his suit was a little damp from his sweat.
The Announcer eyed our plates of food. "That's uh... That's a lot of food, isn't it?"
"Haha, yeah, I guess it is!" Trunks replied.
Shaking his head, the announcer continued. "Anyway, we're about to resume the tournament! You're up!"
"What?!" Trunks asked, momentarily loosing his deep voice. I pinched his leg.
"I mean, don't we have to wait for the other contestants to return?" he asked, clearing his throat. The Announcer shrugged.
"I would like to yes, but the crowd is really starting to chew me out for the pause! You know how fans are, right?" he asked, chuckling slightly. Trunks laughed as well.
"So does this mean me and Killa are the next ones to go?" Trunks asked. The Announcer shook his head.
"Oh no! We're doing a free-for-all!"
"A what?"
Nodding enthusiastically, the Announcer explained. "Yeah! You see, there are only five people left to fight! You, Number 18, Killa, Jules, and, of course, Mr. Satan! Since there's an odd number, the judges and myself have come to the conclusion that there will be a battle royal! Five contestants, only one winner! What do you think, eh? Pretty clever?"
"Oh, yeah! Totally!" Trunks agreed. "When do we start?"
"Now! Come on!" the Announcer reached out and grabbed Trunks' arm, pulling us along behind him. Trunks dropped the plate of food, and it was all we could to do keep from exposing ourselves.
'Sorry guys, but it looks like you're not getting food yet,' I sent Bulla and Marron. I cut the connection before they could reply, for we had already made it to the arena. 18, Jules, Killa, and Mr. Satan were already lined up outside, waiting for us. Letting us go, the Announcer jumped onto the stage and bellowed into the mic.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, folks! But we're ready to start again!" The crowd cheered, and the announcer waited for them to settle slightly before continuing.
"As you can see, there are only five remaining in the tournament! So, instead of fighting one-on-one, we're going to be having a battle royal! All five go in once, and last one standing claims the title! What do you say about that?!" As the crowd once more cheered, I peered down at my brother and up at Trunks.
'Are you guys ready for this?'
'I guess we don't have much of a choice, do we Pigeon?' Trunks asked. He raised his hands, cracking his knuckles.
18, Killa, Jules and Mr. Satan walked out onto the stage, Goten following behind them. We had a little trouble with the stairs, but we quickly got over them and stood with the other fighters as we were introduced. Somewhere to the right, I heard Marron calling out, supporting 18. I saw a faint smile appear on the android's lips.
"Fighters, are you ready?!" the Announcer asked, stepping off the stage, The five of us looked at one another.
"Ready..."
I looked over our four opponents
"And..."
Jules, Killa and Mr. Satan would be too easy. 18 was the real challenge.
"FIGHT!"
We sprang into action.