Writing High School Hell

[Raiha]

[font=times][color=darkorchid][i]You?ll never guess how crazy it was growing up with not only a bunch of hot blooded Saiya-jins, but also discovering my own powers. I think I could say I had a lousy childhood, but my teenage years were worse. Developing strengths in weird and bizarre ways, discovering pyromancer abilities, and accidentally setting the house ablaze. All of these things pale when compared to how it was having Connor, Neil, and Warlock for friends. No no, not best friends forever or any of that stupid touchy feely nonsense. I?m talking about friends that you go out and get plastered with once you turn legal. Friends you leap off of bridges with. Yeah, the kind you set on fire when they piss you off.

Perhaps you?d like to hear? Too bad, I?ll tell you anyway.

Once there was a small town in the middle of somewhere with a few odd students. The high school yearbook photos were not very telling. And people were pretty close mouthed about it. There was Connor; a tall and handsome fellow with a lot of hair and one of those almost nice personalities. Then there was Warlock; yes, that?s what we called him, not what his mother called him. And of course, let?s not forget Neil. He was a problem child, a problem teenager, and as far as I know, is still a problem adult. Oh yes, there?s me too. I?m Raiha. I cause trouble, but the kind of trouble that doesn?t involve craters in the middle of grain fields. Sometimes there was Sephiroth too. He was always cool, quiet, calm, and a total gamer freak. There were a few others like us, but they were less open about it.

I think it all started when I was sitting in class, junior year, relaxing with my hands behind my back. English, fourth period, and everyone was itching for the bell to ring so we could all escape campus and stuff our faces at lunch. Lately I?d been noticing that if I concentrated, I could make my soup steam and bubble a little. I was idly wondering if it would work on something that wasn?t food while the teacher droned on and on about Shakespeare, when it actually worked. Connor had been holding his book report, getting ready to turn it in, when I blinked once and the whole thing burst into blue flame. He yelped and dropped it while the sprinkler system went off. Amidst cheers and groans alike, everyone made a dash for the exit. I slunk towards the parking lot guiltily, only to be accosted by Sephiroth and Warlock, who were both laughing at a very irritated looking Connor.[/i]

?I?m sorry!?

[i]I honestly meant it. While it had been a very convenient escape for the lot of us, it was kind of...unfortunate for him. Connor ground his teeth and I noticed his eyes were glowing a bit.[/i]

?You set it on fire! I worked hours on that!?

?I think you should be more worried about the fact that she managed to burn it in the first place.?

[i]Neil had joined us and was laughing at me and probably the look on Connor?s face when I hissed at him and somehow managed to make him burst into flame too. He laughed and powered up slightly, dispelling the flames harmlessly. I growled once and turned back to Connor, who had sobered up almost instantly.[/i]

?I didn?t mean to, I?ll make it up to you.?

?I guess we can just date sometime, and I?ll call it even.?

[i]I smiled at him and winked once while Warlock and Neil nudged each other and smirked.[/i]

[center]~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

[i]The next week was full of the same boring schoolwork. Connor and the boys went to wrestling, football, and soccer practice I think... But hey I was busy with my own work. I danced on the team, and was damn grateful that unlike the guys, I wasn?t born with a tail. Nothing of the sort on me thank you very much. Instead, I had no pupils in my eyes, but could see remarkably well, even better than Warlock or Sephiroth. Granted, I always wore contact lenses to hide the fact that I resembled one of those demons you saw in both Japanese and Celtic art... Anyway, I?m almost sure that myself and the other twelve girls on the team were spied on while we were in practice. After all, we practiced in the dance loft, which looked down and across the gymnasium to the other side, which had its own loft full of sweaty guys in Spandex groping each other while calling it a sport. Of course, we dancers were sweaty and also wearing Spandex, but if we groped each other, we did it artistically. Oh whatever, I don?t have to justify myself to you.[/i]

?You know, Rai, I think we?re being watched.?

?I don?t doubt it.?

[i]My work out partner, Maise, and I were both doing complicated maneuver that mostly involved bending at the waist and flicking one leg up to hold about five and a half feet off the floor. At one point she?d drop her leg and we?d switch. A little lesbian I?ll admit, but that?s no excuse. But...perhaps it was after all. During class next period, I sat still in Geometry, while Neil fidgeted and made a nuisance of himself, Connor looked bored while flicking a pencil between his fingers, and I think warlock was pretending to do homework while giving the girl in front of him sideways looks. I was on the point of debating whether or not to set half of Neil?s hair on fire just for the fun of it when the teacher said something that broke me out of my mental struggle.[/i]

?Class, we have a new exchange student from Ireland. I?d like you all to meet Gavin.?

?Hi Gavin.?

[i]Sure we sounded like drones, but I think that was the effect the teacher wanted, because he smiled like a crocodile while shooing Gavin towards the seat next to mine. I surveyed him casually, noting thick muscles, loose jeans, a mess of brown hair, and the smell of cologne. He caught my glance and gave me one of those awkward smiles, which I naturally returned, only with far less awkwardness. Neil rolled his eyes, I?m sure of it, and I was on the verge of pointing one finger at him and making the sign for fire when I saw Connor giving me a death look. I relented and decided that making small talk with Gavin would be more acceptable anyway. He looked cute, and I was almost positive he had one of those adorable accents that you only see in movies or hear on the BBC.[/i]

?Call me Raiha why don?t you??

?Cute name, what is it??

[i]I was on the verge of saying it was Siyannan when I realized that revealing the origins of a name passed down through a family of alien magic users and necromancers was idiotic in the extreme. I caught myself in time and smoothly lied while simultaneously wondering if all his muscle mass was because he hit the gym every day or because he was also not human.[/i]

?Oh, it?s Japanese. My father was into the old names.?

?I like it.?

[i]If I had been with Maise and the other girls, I would?ve squealed with glee over his adorable voice. I?m sure they were all jealous. First contact with a guy of this cuteness factor was rare. Connor and Warlock didn?t count.[/i][/font][/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Anyone who think I'm only posting positively about this because I'm in it is dead wrong, actually it's because it's DBZ-inspired and quite well written by my beloved wife. All joking aside, I really want to see where you go with this over the course of events D'Ann. [/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[color=darkorchid][font=times][i]After last period, Maise and I headed towards the parking lot, both of us loaded down with both duffel bags and backpacks stuffed with books and binders. We passed Principal Sella on the way down the hall, and she gave us a pleasant smile. Creepy isn't it? All of us are scared of her but we can't explain why. ..maybe it's the nice suits.

Halfway to our cars, both beaters but hey they ran, Neil and Warlock caught up, Connor and Gavin behind. I?ll assume they were getting along well anyway. Warlock quickly relieved Maise of her dance bag and Neil made a pass at mine, only to get a savage kick to the kneecap. Naturally he jerked out of reach just in time for Gavin to take my backpack from me. I gave him one of those eye flicks while Neil swore and tripped over a car bumper to fall on his ass. I shook a finger at him while Connor snorted in a rather manly fashion.

Maise and Warlock took off, while I opened my trunk and dropped in my bag, Gavin dropping my pack in as well.[/i]

?Thank you very much Gavin.?

?Wasn?t anything.?

[i]You can say that again. He had been carrying a 30 pound bag with two fingers. Then again, he was a masculine type, probably had the same gym times as the other guys. Not that I was completely impressed. I was surrounded by a lot of muscle types. Except in dance! But anyway, I said my goodbyes and drove home to enjoy the weekend. The last thing they saw of me was the back end of my exceedingly lame Honda...but best not to dwell on that. Chances are mom was already making dinner, dad was fiddling around in the basement, and I had a message from Sephiroth on my computer about the next LAN party. Oh choices. Anyway, it wasn?t as bad as I thought. Or was it? [/i]

?I?m home people!?

?Dinner?s in an hour, go get your chores done!?

?Blah!?

[i]I did my chores anyway. Didn?t pay to piss off mom. Probably because she was a pure blood Saiya-jin and could bend me over her knees and flay the skin off my behind with her right hand. Upstairs, I changed out of my leotard and tights, took a super hot shower, compliments of my ability to screw around with the plumbing, and switched to the outfit I'd laid out earlier. Black halter top. The usual low rise jeans. Black thong. God it was nice to be physically fit. After admiring my reflection for about two seconds, I decided that I should probably get back to the actual chores I had been assigned rather than face the consequences. Just one of them being me forced to clean up dad's ever cluttered study.

I finished off the upstairs and headed down to the basement to collect dad?s trash when I smelled an odd, sickly sweet scent, almost like almonds. I flew down the steps and threw open the door to find dad singing an incantation to himself and standing in the middle of a very large silver magic circle. It looked like he?d been summoning creatures of air and smoke all afternoon, and I was relatively sure mom would kill him once she discovered the disaster he?d made. A particularly huge monster, the one emitting all the sweet smelling smoke made a pass at me. I threw up one hand, flicked forward my fingertips, and hissed about four nonsensical words just in time to watch it explode into blue and white flames and disintegrate.[/i]

?DAD! What are you doing?!?

[i]I?m sure I sounded hysterical. Probably because the amount of monsters and dust particles in the room would choke a horse. Or at least get it very wheezy. His voice sounded raspy, hoarse even. Probably from inhaling all the disaster down here, and the candles, and the smoke caused by my burning time...[/i]

?Oh nothing, just a little summoning for fun.?

?Mom?s going to come down her, and she?s going to kick you in the-?

?DINNER TIME!?

[i]I made my escape, completely forgetting his trash, and pounded up the stairs to go inform on him. ...unfortunately for me the smell of burning animal and that almost almond scent was picked up almost instantly by mom?s perfect sense of smell. Her tail flicked once, and her eyes snapped from green to blue in an instant, then back again.[/i]

?Honey!?

[i]She stormed towards the basement, while I made a daring escape towards the kitchen to grab a plate full of food and head toward the attic I called bedroom. I think it?s because of all the high places, that I picked the airy, yet slightly cramped room at the top of a perfectly normal two story suburban house. That and I was slowly discovering that I could burn things up here, and the smoke would escape through the always open windows before mom was any wiser. Big bed, dresser, mirrors, contact lens case. I?ll admit being able to pick my eye color and change it every so often was great fun, but it was kind of inhibiting to have to always wear them. If people ever saw me without pupils, I?m sure they?d go loopy. Even loopier than if they found out about Neil and Warlock?s tails. I wondered if Gavin had one secretly. But I wasn?t sure exactly the best way to find out. Sticking one of the dance girls on him was a good idea. But the backlash wouldn?t be worth just knowing.[/i][/color][/font]

[Andrew]

[SIZE=1]Here I am, as requested, to complain! >_< This is the part where I get all whiney about not having a part in the fiction so far and you feel sorry/amused and just add me in somewhere. Although I would quite like a part here, I absolutely refuse the part of "Kid Brother". ¬_¬

All that aside, as much as the idea of Dragonball still interests me, this story more interests me with its amusing, satirical narrative.

Whether I get an appearance here or not I'd like to see you carry on. (Please note this is in no way an excuse for me to not be included.)[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid][i]Anyway, there I was, sitting on the roof above the attic that was my room with a plate full of food, eating with one hand and using the other to light mosquitoes on fire. They had that pleasant trick of making an almost audible shriek of agony when they lit up. I was like a bug zapper, without the glowing hypnotic lights. I was plowing through the rice, halfway done with the chicken when I heard what was probably Neil sneaking around the back to climb the trellis up to my room. Cell phone technology appears to have escaped even him. But whatever. It?s not nice to be judgmental I hear. Not that it?s ever stuck. Neil actually managed to get on the roof, how I didn?t ask, but he managed to skip over the terra cotta tile without cracking one, which was almost impressive. I handed him what I hadn?t finished, just to see it all disappear in under five seconds.[/i]

?You actually come here for a reason or just to eat my mom?s cooking??

?My mom?s sucks, don?t blame me. And don?t tell her I said that. She?ll beat me.?

[i]I didn?t doubt that. Neil?s mom was scary; really scary. She was even scarier than my mom, but not unfortunately as scary as the school principal. Oh whatever, best not to think about that. He finished the rest and I handed him the beer I already had waiting. Mini fridge wedged into the corner of my room. Mom?s not that serious about underage drinking, so long as I don?t overdo it, and since I don?t have the same personalities as Neil and Connor, it?s never really been a problem.[/i]

?We?re all going out to the dock tonight. Probably skinny dipping.?

?You wish. Gavin coming along??

?Oh yeah, he lives right down the street from Connor, couldn?t be easier. Chances are he?ll get his pants pulled down and it?ll be gr-?

?I will set you on FIRE, you do realize this. And not the cute kind I got you with last week after the fire alarms went off.?

?Been practicing eh??

[i]I glared at him and flicked a finger at the beer he was holding. It exploded in a superheated mass, singing his eyebrows, and sending glass everywhere. He smirked and flexed the muscles in his exposed arms. The bits of glass that had embedded themselves in his skin popped back out and his cuts began to heal automatically.[/i]

?You could say that. Dad certainly gives me all the opportunities he can.?

?And the world will never be the same.?

?Well your jaw won?t, and not your eyebrows or your chest hair. Hell, I?ll burn off those pubes you?re always flashing in the locker room.?

[i]I was lying actually. I didn?t know jack about his pubes, but it made him sit up straight. At least for a few seconds anyway. I stood, and reached over for my jacket and threw it over a bare shoulder. He gave me one of those cocky glares that usually happened right before he did something obscenely stupid. In this case, he took off at a sprint and leapt headfirst off the roof. I, a little concerned naturally, ran over to check, only to find him standing on both feet, smiling up at me with that irritating grin.[/i]

?Come on! Vicky's back from her trip, so she'll be there too.?

[i]Curse him for being such a showoff, but that really did do the trick. I guess I am that easy. Doing an equally quick dash, I leapt off the roof, but instead of just muscling my way down, I did a back flip instead and landed on one foot.[/i]

?Where do you want all the come??

[i]Neil rolled his eyes and dashed into the pine woods that formed most of my backyard and the backyards of the rest of the sleepy suburban neighborhood.[/i][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]Well I'm definitely liking the story so far, overally impressed in fact. It's a very intriguing idea you have going, I look forward to reading more. So, get writing some more! I would be... you know, all professional and critic a few things, but it's 1:30am. I really can't right now. Next comment? Yeah, leave it 'til then.

And the pictures, too. They're looking brilliant! To think, I do actually have a jacket incredibly similar to that, you know... =)[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][font=times][i]I followed close behind, not to be outdone by some over-muscled irritating son of a bitch. I caught him and he looked over my shoulder, powered up, and took off once more. Peeved as usual, I clenched my fists as I ran and inhaled sharply, very faint marks appearing on my skin that would?ve been seen as overkill tattoos by most, but were probably side effects of my dad?s genetic gift to me. My hair most likely burst into flame, that?d been happening a lot lately you see, and I passed him and stopped short just before the forest gave way to a large circle of trees surrounding our own personal hideout. Because of the remoteness, most people didn?t bother coming out here, and boats would?ve had to have been carried in by hand, so it was pretty much used by just us.

At the dock, Connor and Warlock were already flipping off the dock into what was most likely still a very cold lake. Vicky had appeared sometime after apparently, because she was still not quite committed into jumping into what was definitely freezing water. Neil ran past me, whopping, striping to boxers and flung himself in. I?m sure it?s a total macho thing, because during his little fling, he grabbed an unsuspecting Gavin by the arm and went in with him not far behind.[/i]

?You can?t tell me he didn?t see that one coming.?

?Oh I?m sure he did.?

[i]Vicky turned over to give me an amused look. Her eyes flickered a smooth brown color, and for once, she was showing her tail. I grinned back. Only other girl I know who has the same issues I have. Or at least similar ones. Vicky was a purebred Saiya-jin, complete with attitude, but she usually managed to keep it under an extremely tight control. She?d immersed herself in the sciences, in the strict laws of charcoal and inking studio arts, and I liked her. We got along well, even with that propensity for violence we both had, we?d never managed to erupt into full bitch fight mode. The past month, she?d been visiting her estranged father in England, but now she was back, and I pretty much figured she was back earlier than planned. Her dad?s temper had certainly chased away her mom, his wife, and I?m relatively sure she had stood all she could stand from him too. I?ve never met him, but my own mom swears she would?ve killed him ages ago if she?d been the one to marry him. I didn?t doubt that.[/i]

?Your eyes are green again?

?Why, weren?t they green before??

"Maybe??

[i]Earlier I?d switched contact colors from purple to green and was secretly wondering if anyone had noticed. Maybe Gavin would, but I think he had other things on his mind. Of course once he surfaced, spluttering and swearing, I figured the secret was out anyway. He heaved himself over the dock?s edge and Vicky and I exchanged glances. Tail. Brown, furry, definitely not standard human. He caught us staring and his eyes got big, only to see two female feet hurl toward him to push him back in. Vicky and I exchanged high fives only to be doused with ice water, compliments of Connor and Neil combined. I rose to my feet in an instant, ripping off both uselessly wet jeans and top, and took off at a dead run. Completely topless, and thus just as hardcore, if not more hardcore, as the boys, I dove in and surfaced, my hair steaming, one hand raised to knock that irritating smirk off of Connor?s face. Vicky joined soon after, only she kept on her shirt, and went for his ankles.

Meanwhile Gavin had finally made good his escape and was sitting on the dock, shivering, lips turning blue. I suppose our shouting must have been loud, because soon after, Andrew joined us. He always had good hearing. Andrew was in the same grade, but different home room classes. We didn?t see him often. Unlike us poor idiots, he actually had a job. Construction mostly. Heavy lifting. Being one of the other purebreds always helped him do obscenely well at his job, and while I wouldn?t have minded such a job myself, I had prior commitments. Dance for one, and that took up more time than one might expect. Same with the guys who had made it onto the various sports teams out there. I?m pretty sure there was a game tomorrow night. But as usual, the guys were slacking off and throwing people into the water. Poor Gavin.

I jumped out, and retreated to a very safe distance, and raised one eyebrow in thought. Gavin caught my eye, then looked down at my thong.[/i]

?Where?s your tail??

?Dad?s not Saiya-jin. I take it both of yours are, or you wouldn?t have one.?

?Yeah, probably. They don?t talk about it much.?

?We don?t talk about it at school, usually just out here. Lately though, it?s like we?ve all been acting up, and not because we really wanted to.?

?How so??

?Watch this.?

[i]I reached over the side of the dock and trailed my fingers in the water. Right where they were at, the water began to bubble and soon after, began to evaporate at my touch. Probably killed about sixty or seventy small micro-organisms and possibly some minnows too.[/i]

?So you could make this lake into a kettle and fry everyone and everything in it.?

?Oh not yet. I can?t manage anything really good. Just the basics. I exploded a beer bottle earlier.?

?Why am I not surprised??

[i]Mischievous grin time. I somehow managed to pull it off without the usual snort of laughter that accompanies it and smiled at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Gradually, his lips lost their blue tinge and the shivering stopped. He didn?t look too surprised, and to his credit, he didn?t say anything. Andrew meanwhile was caught in one of Neil?s headlocks, while Connor was probably getting the tickling of his life. I?m sure Vicky had already gotten a hold of one of his feet and was refusing to let go. It usually happened that way.[/i][/font][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Great addition, I can just imagine the fun a full moon will bring on.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid]?Are they all like this too??

?To the letter. They?re almost all Saiya-jin. What do you think they?d be like??

?Maybe less loud? Less prone to the jokes??

?Fat chance. Vicky?s just as bad as the rest of them. Maybe worse because she suckers you in with the innocent smile and stuff.?

?I?ll remember that later.?

[i]I grinned and gently shoved Gavin on the shoulder a bit. Vicky had managed to half drown Connor, who was spluttering and begging for forgiveness as Neil exchanged the usual body blows with Warlock. I looked back out over the lake, taking note of the lack of wind, the full moon, the sounds of my friends shouting their lungs out. I smiled and stood up, nudging Gavin with my foot so he?d look up, if only for a great view. I took two steps back, then flung myself forward, and did a near perfect swan dive, resurfacing twenty feet out. Vicky finally decided that Connor?s face turning purple was sufficient punishment and came out to join me with a few quick strokes. I treaded water easily, kicking out my feet in a slow circle pattern. She matched my pattern and we floated, bobbing like two corks in the ocean.[/i]

?So, do you like him Rai? I saw you turning up the heat on Gavin.?

?I fucking love him, but it wouldn?t be very good to tell him so. And just so I know...?

?Why not??

?He?s like every other guy out here. If I make it easy on him, it won?t be fun chasing.?

?I?d make some joke about a tail between someone?s teeth, but I don?t think it?d work.?

?Not with me, maybe with you.?

[i]I jerked her tail playfully underwater, only to feel the inexorable hold of very strong Saiya-jin hands on my neck. They might not have had the surface grip of say...Warlock?s hands...but they were definitely powerful enough to crush my windpipe. Rolling my eyes, I choked out the meaningless incantation I?d decided on earlier and felt Vicky jerk away instantly, sinking into the water, where they steamed and made vapor with a hiss. I grinned at her and was going to shake a finger when I realized that we had a problem. Sometime in between making Vicky?s hands burn to stop her from throttling me, and me laughing at her pained expression, someone had managed to snatch both my panties and hers. I?d like to think I was more perceptive, but hey, I?ve been wrong before. ...of course I?ve also never been so pissed either. We both went out to deeper water while shouting threats, insults, the usual. Now I might be good at swearing, but Vicky is a professional.

Don?t know where she picked it all up, but Vicky could make a hooker blush with the profanities that came ripping from her vocal chords. Connor?s face looked innocent enough, as he stood on the dock out of our reach. Gavin, Andrew and Warlock hid behind him, all three looking equally guileless. I mentally counted them up and then narrowed my eyes when I came to the sudden and quite definitely awful realization that Neil...spiky hair and all...was not standing there with them proclaiming innocence. I elbowed Vicky into silence, at least for the second, and took myself a little closer to where they were standing.[/i]

?Tell me now. Where are my pants??

?I don?t see them anywhere.?

?Same here.?

?What pants??

[i]I?m sure that if there had been a microphone close to my mouth, you could?ve heard my teeth grinding. Vicky?s face had gone through several transformations and was currently hovering between homicidal and complete disbelief.[/i]

?You WILL give me MY pants or I WILL kill you ALL! Starting with you!?

[i]Vicky had raised a shaking finger and pointed it straight at Connor?s head. Her eyes had snapped a bright green for half a second, then went back to brown. I casually began putting a little distance between myself and Vicky?s swiftly vanishing patience. It was only a matter of time before she began beating the snot out of every one of the hapless and embarrassed males that was standing shirtless and wet on the dock. I turned my head and narrowed my eyes again, bringing the beach into sharper focus. No Neil there. I switched to further into the forest. No Neil there either. I sighed in frustration, only to see Vicky fly, literally, towards a very surprised looking Connor. It almost looked like she was flickering, her body raised a good six feet off the water?s surface, creating the sound of displaced air. Her fist, which granted was only about half the size of his, buried itself in his gut and she slammed both hands down on his shoulders, bringing him rest at her feet. Odds were she?d finally cracked.

I made my way to the other side of the dock where there was less beating going on and waited until both Warlock and Andrew turned around while Gavin held one hand over his eyes and the other gesturing with what was probably Neil?s shirt. I snatched it from him and jerked it over my head. It fell to my thighs and thus satisfied, pushed them so they could turn around again.[/i]

?Now, start talking, or I?ll refer you to my good friend over there.?

?What, you mean me??

[i]Connor?s face was wedged between Vicky?s arm and torso, while he flailed his arms and probably focused on sucking oxygen in through his rapidly narrowing windpipe. Vicky was smiling like a cat with a very dead mouse, and I figured she'd probably have used up most of her blood lust on him. Just as I was opening my mouth to say something witty and most likely very clever, we heard a crashing sound deeper into the woods. Six heads turned and looked towards the source of the sound, and we all made our way into the forest, Vicky deciding that hovering over the ground would in fact be cooler than just walking like the rest of us.[/i]

?Showoff...?

[i]I?m sure people had heard me muttering, but it wasn?t like I minded really...[/i][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Andrew]

[SIZE=1]Still loving the narrative here, really works well in my opinion. Plus, I think I was mentioned at least 2/3 times this post so things are starting to pick up.

Just keep working on building my part and this fiction can't go wrong! I also like how everyone seems to want to kill eachother or put death-grip style head locks on eachother. Amusing.

My, oh my, what trouble is that pesky Neil getting into now eh? Hurry up and fill us in yeah?[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid][i]We entered the forest, Vicky making the least amount of noise, me annoyed but generally quiet about it. Warlock, Connor, and Andrew had recovered their [b]dry[/b] clothes and I had at least a shirt. I was the first to stumble over a bush and finally find Neil backing away from someone even I couldn?t see. Vicky nearly crashed into me next and we both stifled yelps only to be discovered. In the clearing, Neil tripped over one of the dozens of logs littering the copse and fell back to stare directly up at a gravid moon. I covered my eyes, knowing what was coming next. I wasn?t sure how much Warlock or Gavin?s parents had told them about the problems with male Saiya-jins staring directly into the full moon...but my mom had told me plenty, and I knew well enough that whatever happened next would be horribly, painfully, and extraordinarily uncomfortable.

The first thing that happened was Gavin swiftly passing us all in what I assumed was his innate strength all along, firing off at least six concentrated and remarkably accurate ki beams, one after the other. I raised my right hand and it flared into blue flames, but it was too late. With all the grace of King Kong, a fully transformed, mindless Oozaru rampaged towards whatever had been menacing him earlier, and destroyed a wide swath of forest in the meantime. Apparently even relatively disciplined energy attacks were pointless. The figure that I couldn?t identify disappeared simultaneously and left behind nothing; no whirlwind, no sandstorm, no nothing. I slapped a hand to my forehead and jerked Vicky back in my direction by the shoulder.[/i]

?He hasn?t noticed us yet. Don?t jinx it!?

?I was just going to kick him in the face a little.?

?As clever as that idiot plan might have seemed to you, it?s suicide!?

?...he can fire ki beams from his mouth, can?t he??

[i]I tossed my head in annoyance and let go of her shoulder. Gavin had fallen back, and was leaning against one of the pine trees, Warlock, Andrew, and Connor staring up at what was left of Neil. I approached Gavin and noticed his muscles were steaming, and he?d remained powered up. I gave him a look of reproach and he gave me a sheepish grin.[/i]

?I didn?t think it?d be appropriate to brag about it.?

?Well it?s obvious you didn?t even faze him. I suppose I could ask Vicky to yank his eyes out, but he?d probably blast her into the ground before that.?

?Warlock and Andrew??

?Neither have either transformed, I?ll assume they now know better. And as for ki... ...their talents run more to pummeling things with fists. You never know actually...?

?We are screwed, aren?t we??

[i]Neil?s head whipped around, and with mindless empty eyes, eyes that almost resembled mine, he saw us. Vicky instantly swept forward and delivered a swift snap kick against Neil?s eyes, only to be swatted down almost instantly by a massive paw. I?m sure my scream was loud enough to echo through the entire valley, but before I could scream again, Andrew had powered up and fired off a swift ball of energy that probably hurt Neil about as much as a good body blow. With a deep growl, he stamped forward and nearly crushed us. Warlock and I recoiled immediately, Gavin caught me up in his arms, taking to the sky in a heartbeat. Fear was apparently as good a motivator as anger. I looked over my shoulder and raised one hand, about to release a wave of smoke to blind him, or at least try to, when I saw Connor was still standing his ground. He raised one hand to the sky and closed his eyes. I covered both eyes, utterly horrified.[/i]

?Connor??

[i]He breathed once, twice, three times, and everything around us began to slow down. The dust raised by Neil?s feet began to drift to the ground lazily, Gavin was floating, suspended in air even as his clothes looked like they were moving at 200 miles an hour. I turned my head and saw both Andrew and Warlock with their arms frozen in space, held defensively. I looked back and saw a bolt of lightning crack against what was originally a clear sky. Clouds had obscured the moon from view, and the smell of burned air surrounded us. The boom of thunder, and I closed my eyes at the next flash. When I opened them, Connor was holding a broadsword in both hands, raised over his head. My eyes were still smarting, because what happened next wasn?t too clear. I had to find out what happened afterwards, as did everyone else.

I figure it went like this: Moving at full speed, Connor rushed towards Neil, swooped down behind him and slashed down against his tail. One swipe and it severed, Neil?s form shrinking almost instantly back to normal. His teeth shrank, his eyes becoming their normal black again. His muzzle became an ordinary face, and his body reshaped itself into typical Saiya-jin size. By then, my eyes were working again and time had resumed its normal course with no side effects that I could notice. I almost instantly carried myself out of Gavin?s arms and forward to find Neil, without clothing, Vicky cushioned in a bed of ferns, and Connor, kneeling next to both of them, the sword resting point down in the soil. Andrew and Gavin both landed and the others came running up. I gave Connor one of those ?spill it? looks.[/i]

?Nice blade. ...just tell me where you learned about the tail severing trick.?

?Your mom mentioned it to me once. Of course she probably wasn?t counting on us to have anything to do with the advice, but whatever.?

?I guess we should be grateful. Your dad seems to have pulled through again.?

?His dad being??

[i]Andrew and Warlock looked confused, and I smirked. My mouth was open, I was ready to say it, when Neil?s eyes opened and he sat upright, looking around to see us standing in a circle. Vicky sat up as well, her eyes slowly focusing. Aside from several exciting new bruises, she appeared more or less intact. I leaned over to get a closer view of Neil?s confused face.[/i]

?What have we learned here today??

?Stay away from creepy shadow people in the forest, even if they have your panties??

?I was right... he was just after the lingerie.?

Warlock chuckled, arms crossed over his chest and Gavin flicked his eyes towards Neil?s tail, or lack thereof.

?Good luck walking around now. I hear adapting to life without it is a bitch.?

[i]Neil followed his gaze and nearly hit the roof. I?m sure he would?ve done more, but I reached out and gently pressed my fingers into his shoulder, pinching the nerve that was always easy to find on well defined males like him. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he flopped over uselessly. I gave everyone a shaky smile, still not sure how we?d managed to evade death again.[/i]

?Child?s play really...?

?Well after the whole transforming and nearly killing his best friends one and all thing...?

?Oh shut up, don?t rain on my parade.?

[i]Vicky smirked as only an egotistical Saiya-jin can, even one who was just served, and stepped off towards the dock to find the rest of her clothes. I followed, leaning against Gavin, Warlock and Andrew dragging Neil behind them. Connor slammed the sword down point first into the ground behind us, and with another bolt of lightning, it was gone.[/COLOR][/FONT][/i]

[Chaos]

...Oh, sure, cut his tail off four posts into it.

Thank you for making me an invalid.

[Raiha]

[color=darkorchid][font=times]Oh don't come crying to me, blame Connor, all his idea. Vegeta and Gohan managed. And you never know, it'll probably come right back.

That and you laid the smackdown on Vicky. That was naughty.[/font][/color]

[Gavin]

[QUOTE=Chaos]...Oh, sure, cut his tail off four posts into it.

Thank you for making me an invalid.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha][color=darkorchid][font=times]Oh don't come crying to me, blame Connor, all his idea. Vegeta and Gohan managed. And you never know, it'll probably come right back.[/font'][/color][/quote]

[SIZE=1]I would make some cutting remark at you Neil, but chances are then D'Ann would cut off something more important than Gavin's tail.

Good chapter honey, post the next soon. Maybe have a bit of sparring over our adrenaline pumping.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid][i]So there we were. Lounging again on the dock, in various stages of dressed and undressed. Vicky had managed to find her shirt and a pair of pants, and I thought I?d found mine too, only to realize that I was in fact not a size 5 and I definitely didn?t wear Paris Blues. Vicky looked up in time to see me hurl them at her face, catching with one hand.[/i]

?I knew I wasn?t a size 9.?

?Oh bite me cunt face. I?m not the one that squeezes into those.?

[i]Gavin and Andrew sat up interestedly, both widening their eyes a little. The advent of a cat fight was always worth attention. Especially when both were friends of yours...too bad it never happened. Vicky turned around and hissed at Andrew?s excited face. I felt my adrenaline rising for no discernable reason I could find and I curled the fingers of my right hand as if I was clutching a plumb and felt energy gather in my hand. Gavin?s eyes narrowed slightly, and I leaped back towards the end of the dock, releasing a swift burst of blue and red flames. He deflected it with his own ki beam, a burst of light in my vision. I caught myself at the edge of the dock and raised my hand forward, palm flat towards him. I saw Connor dragging Neil home, he was the only one brave enough to face his mother after all and Vicky charging Andrew and Warlock both.[/i]

?Up for it Gavin??

?Why wouldn?t I be??

[i]I smiled, feeling a flash of what was probably Saiya-jin arrogance flutter from my stomach up into my chest and throat. A tickling feeling rippled through my neck and I heard myself laughing out loud. It felt wonderful, and before I knew it I was surrounded by a halo of fire, covering my body from head to toe. Gavin glared at me and did likewise, matching my aura with his own, a flare of bright green and white. I growled in response, showing a flash of canines and blood red gums. I raised one finger and saw snakelike patterns criss crossing around my arms, legs and probably my face. Stupid dad. I charged towards him, releasing a burst of ki and flames, grazing against his forearm, only to duck in response to his throat chop. With a hiss of air, we both burst upwards, avoiding the relatively low level blast of ki that burst from Andrew?s fist at Vicky?s crossed wrists. I swooped back to avoid Gavin?s first normal body blows, his karate quick, but not quick enough to bother me at all. I?m quick enough to avoid most attacks; thanks to my mother?s amazing ability to throw plates, flatware, and sometimes heavy appliances. With a flash of inexplicable anger, I charged, and slapped a hand against Gavin?s cheek, raising a red bruise.[/i]

?You bitch!?

?I think you agreed to this...?

?Oh I did, didn?t I? Well... ...I guess it is my fault then.?

?Assuming there?s blame to be laid.?

[i]He made a false swipe and brought his left hand up to grab my shoulder, only to have me dance out of the way, and slam my shoulder against his while I tweaked a lock of his intensely spiky hair...just for fun. He yelped and grabbed at me from behind, while I kicked off, using his hip as a focal point and hovered just out of reach.

We turned and were about to face off again when I heard a roar of what was probably rage and saw Warlock go flying across the dock and into the lake. Andrew and Vicky were grappling, and I?m sure a submission hold would?ve been next, when I felt a palm slam down into my neck and turned to see Gavin hovering about twenty feet above me, arms crossed, aura flaring. My feet were resting about three inches from the water?s surface, and I clenched both fists, gritting my teeth and jerked back up to his level, spreading a wing- a what? I twisted my neck back and saw a flare of feather shaped tongues of fire flickering out from my shoulder blades. Shocking, wasn?t exactly what I was expecting..and I ran a fire proof finger across the edges, giggling a little. Gavin?s face was contorted a little, and I flicked both wings back unconsciously, and flicked my fingers up, the air around me beginning to distort with the heat. Vicky looked up and smirked, shielding her eyes with one hand.[/i]

?Ey, it?s the Human Torch...?

?Fuck you too Vick!?

[i]I shouted back, shaking my fist at her, and simultaneously deflected an approaching ki beam, smacking it down with my fist to bounce harmlessly into the lake, narrowly missing Warlock. I turned and shook my hair at Gavin and flared my wings in a flash of white and blue.[/COLOR][/FONT][/i]

[Andrew]

[SIZE=1]An excellent addition I must say. I really do approve of my slowly building part! You really do listen to what I have to say! ^_^

Nice suggestion from Gavin about the sparring too, made for a really fun post. Keep them comin' at us now ya hear?[/SIZE]

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]I've got to say...this is a really great addition to the Anthology. It actually kept me interested and for some odd reason, I feel like watching Dragonball now. Kind of feel bad for Neil and his now-severed-tail. But this story is really great. I'm digging the first person narration. It gives the story a different spin than just reading from third person perspective.

Keep up the good work, can't wait for the next installment.[/size][/color]

[Raiha]

[i][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid][center]2 years later: College Graduation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

So there we were, stupid hats, lamer robes, and some of us were wearing those ridiculous stoles. To be honest? It was a freaking miracle some of us were on the stage. Me, Sephiroth, and Vicky I knew were good, but Neil? Who had his mom scared into giving him a hand? Oh whatever. Anyway, I was annoyed, but okay. We?d all pretty much landed into the not so far away Junior College while on the two year program for the state University. I wouldn?t call it exactly clever and trendy, but it was cheaper than the usual and kept all of our parents from whining about how expensive tuition was. Of course, because we were all in fact that clever and nobody wanted a horrible and inexplicable accident, we were all paying rent on a house. At least after we got through the current problems at hand.[/i]

?Hooray for the class of 2004!?

[i]Or something like that. I wasn?t really paying attention, but I do remember that Vicky shoved me and I threw my hat almost at the right time. Annoying! I spend how much on it and I just end up tossing it on the ground? My mom would?ve strangled me if she?d been there, but she was smart, she wasn?t there. Dad was though. He'd wormed his way into getting to put together a fireworks display, which I?m sure he enhanced to be more hardcore than they really were planning. At least they got smart this year and did the commencement at night. The last year they did it out on the football field at 2 in the afternoon and it was a total nightmare. Four hundred kids baking in black robes under the sun. Needless to say, this year?s graduation was generally quieter. Sort of quieter. The after-party was super though. We all crashed at Connor?s house, which as you might have imagined, was modeled after the Parthenon. In the backyard, Connor and Vicky laughed and mingled over root beer floats while I sat on one of the deck chairs and stared into the forest, Gavin and Andrew two chairs over.

The smell of BBQ was everywhere and our parents were standing around the grill, beers, rolls, kabobs, definitely heaven. Connor?s mother, a tall and willowy sort with the kind of hair you only see in shampoo commercials. I leaned over to Gavin, who was definitely staring at the perfectly bronzed skin. I think it was the fact that she dressed Isadora Duncan, or any other modern dancer out there. Long flowing robes that just managed to show off one or both legs, and I swear she didn?t put on a hint of makeup but always glowed like a rose held up to the sun. Annoying.[/i]

?She?s a dryad, don?t get too excited. They?re all a bit flighty until they have children. Leila is one of those close to normal ones.?

?A Dr-?

?Yeah, draws power from sacred groves of trees, a fairy of sorts, magical, powerful, and so on and so forth.?

[i]Gavin looked confused, and I laughed at his face, then reached over for the plate my mother was foisting upon me. I squealed with happiness and sunk my teeth into the ribs, passing it over to Gavin and Andrew, who fell upon it like ravenous dogs. I leaned back to avoid the slaughter and the punching and elbow throwing that usually followed the whole ?putting food between and/or close to two Saiya-jins? thing. Tasty, Leila might have been a little ditsy, but she sure could coax food into doing what she wanted. I swear it was a magic and I?d probably be right. My dad was producing flavored smoke for the fire and I was naturally pleased. And then it happened. I don?t know who invited her, but the Principal showed up. Sella. The bitch. The evil blonde that dressed like a hooker when she wasn?t in classes, and I flinched back automatically. I muttered just loud enough for Gavin and Andrew to hear.[/i]

?Oh god, I was actually enjoying myself too.?

?Who the hell let her in??

[i]Andrew looked panicked, but hid it quickly by grabbing another rib. Gavin leaned over and put his hand on my arm, taking a break from feeding his face as Warlock ducked behind one of the many stone pillars littering the yard. Neil too. I could hear his frenzied whisper, which was pathetic, but understandable.[/i]

?Hide me.?

[i]I looked over and Vicky and Connor had both frozen, straws halfway to their mouths. I recoiled in fear and tilted my head, hoping I?d be hidden. I mean it wasn?t like our parents weren?t capable of holding her off long enough for us to escape, and in the sanctuary of Leila?s house, once past the threshold... ...She could raze the place in a mountain of blazing glory, burn it down so fast everyone would call the place little Pompeii. But unfortunately there were rules about hospitality that all of us had to abide by, and until she did something naughty, which was almost never, we had to put up with her. Of course now that we didn?t have our futures held between her claws, we were slightly more free to say horrible things about her and not worry about if she?d hear.[/i]

?Hello all, just thought I?d drop by and congratulate the latest graduates.?

?That?s so sweet of you Ms. Sella. I?m sure our children appreciate it.?

[i]Leila had stepped to the plate, her sweet smile given away by the ominous glow in her turquoise eyes. My own mother had stepped behind Leila, not exactly flexing her muscles, but gripping the tongs so tight her knuckles were white and I was sure I could see the steel slowly being warped by her fingers. Vicky?s mom was standing across the way, talking with Gavin?s parents, and Neil?s mother but she?d stopped and turned and had narrowed her icy eyes to the point where I was surprised Sella didn?t ignite on the spot. Neil?s mom had to have her foot discretely stepped on by Gavin?s dad. He was always good at smelling danger and while it would?ve been everything the bitch had coming, it would?ve been suicide. We all knew what Sella was capable of, and manipulation and absolute destruction were just the beginning. She?d made our high school experiences frightening, and I was sure it was her that had made Neil stare at the moon. Naturally none of us could prove a damn thing, but that didn?t stop me from hating her with the passion of a thousand dying suns.[/COLOR][/FONT][/i]

[Jokopoko]

[color=teal][size=1]Hrn? What? Oh thats right, I'm a member here aren't I?

Liking the story thus far dear D'Ann, you said you thought the fights didn't flow but I found it all a thrilling read, look forward to more. Though I feel the story could benefit from a more...I don't know, [b]English[/b] presence. [i]*cough*[/i].[/size][/color]

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid]?How fun would it be if I set her hair on fire??

[i]Gavin eyed her sensual bun of silky blonde hair, probably laced up with fun and exciting accelerants such as hairspray and mousse, and snorted into his drink.[/i]

?It?ll go up like the Fourth of July. Go for it.?

[i]I pointed me finger at her covertly and was about to do it, when Connor caught my eye with a flick of his hair and I jerked my hand back to rest in my lap. I closed my eyes for half a second and inhaled very slowly. Sensations of the group around us massed into my mind like a series of very slow photographs. While Vicky, Warlock, and all the other full blooded Saiya-jins had steadily improved in their power with training and time, my powers had veered off into a very weird direction. Either because the Siyannan blood won out against the annoyingly dominant Saiya-jin blood this time around, because while I could still defend myself for an okay amount of time against Gavin and Vicky at least, I was massively outclassed by Neil, Warlock, and Andrew. I suspect Gavin held back because we were dating after all. But seriously. I had the creepy and really annoying empathic skills, which only increased my fear of Sella.

She was supremely pleased with herself for being here, and looked down on the us and our parents alike with the same disdain she?d always had the long four years we spent under her thumb. Leila was furious, but like any competent Dryad, could rein the emotions in. Any Saiya-jin present was bursting blood vessels under the strain of not jumping her, and like me, my dad was gathering the sensations of the group, his mind colliding against mind like two soap bubbles being teased by a light breeze.
?She?s pure evil you know.?

?Course I know that, I?m just making sure she?s not going to start anything now.?

?I?m too scared to take a closer look.?

And I wasn?t lying. I was scared of her. Not so scared that I couldn?t make smarmy comments when she wasn?t paying attention, but scared enough that I knew that however funny her hair on fire would be, it wouldn?t be funny afterwards. Even though I knew her only by what limited empathic readings could give, I knew that she?d go after Gavin first, and then systematically torture everyone else, or manipulate them. Neil was almost literally cowering, and Warlock wasn?t too far behind. Andrew kept his head down while Sella ?mingled? with our parents and we all slowly, as if unintentionally, began to drift away towards the house. I looked over my shoulder fearfully, even as Gavin steered me purposefully towards the back door. Once inside, we all burst towards the upstairs, to Connor?s room, and looked over each other?s shoulders into the back yard.[/i]

?Has Leila cracked yet??

?I dunno, she looks happy and normal.?

?Don?t let her fool you, she?s ready to mangle Sella.?

[i]Connor shot me a look that basically confirmed it. I wasn?t surprised. Dryads bonded with their children to an almost embarrassing level of intimacy. It was a good bet that he was channeling her emotions ten times stronger than I was. I sighed and leaned back against Gavin?s chest, keeping my eyes open so I didn?t keep on reading what was going on downstairs. Turns out that wasn?t the greatest idea. For some strange reason the grill suddenly burst upwards in a huge burst of the signature flames that I knew were my dad?s and mine by birthright. Warlock and the others recoiled from the windows, shielding their eyes.[/i]

?Those colors look awfully familiar.?

?That?s dad blowing off some steam, while simultaneously creating a diversion.?

?Diversion for what??

?No idea, I was just guessing wildly.?

[i]Connor rolled his eyes heavenward and I nudged Vicky with an eye towards the look on Sella?s face. She looked angry and we exchanged glances. Vicky sighed quietly and gripped both of her fists very slowly, clenching and unclenching very slowly. Her eyes glimmered blue and green for half a second and then she returned back to normal. Fear of retribution kept us from doing foolish things generally, but I was sure we?d eventually crack one day.[/i]

?She?s pure evil, isn?t she??

?I swear to you she isn?t even close to normal aliens. She?s not even close to Neil?s mom.?

?You got that right.?

[i]Neil was leaning against the corner, his arms crossed, his head down, not even looking at the people below. So much for a happy graduation. There was good news though. Once we were across the city lines, I could start placing wards around the place that wouldn?t even allow guests unless I deactivated them long enough for them to slip across the boundaries. Only one distraction. Connor stepped on the remote and turned on the TV, and flicked on the PS2.[/i]

?Who wants to dish out a little Tekken love??

?Oh me me!?

[i]I wasn?t looking, but I knew Andrew was jumping up and down while Vicky was trying to mash his head in. I naturally ignored them both and sat back on one of the easy chairs and relaxed.[/COLOR][/FONT][/i]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]I can't wait to see where you go with this fight honey, though I'm sure it'll be good.[/SIZE]

[Andrew]

[SIZE=1]Another exceptional chapter, to be sure.

You can really feel the build-up. Or at least I can. Although the build-up to [I]what[/I] is my main question. Keep them coming at us!

On that note, I'm quite pleased with the speed at which you have been delivering chapters, especially such consistantly pleasing and interesting ones. Keep up the good work there D.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[i][font=times][COLOR=DarkOrchid][center]One Year Into College
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

Vicky and I were sitting back and relaxing in our bedroom, the master one actually. We?d rock paper and scissored our way into multiple successes when it?d come to the housing situation. Not only had I managed to actually get us into the nicest room by way of using my rapidly developing psychic abilities, I also succeeded in putting the men on ?buying groceries? duty every night we cooked. And since Warlock nearly set the entire kitchen on fire and Andrew had made it ten times worse by spilling oil just moments before it broke out... ...Vicky, Connor, Neil, Gavin, and I had all voted against them ever touching the wok and the gas stove again. I knew the gas stove would?ve been a problem, I should?ve gone for the electric range, but Vicky swore up and down that her stir fry would?ve been absolute crap without it.

And so there we were with a kitchen that still smelled slightly of scorch and carbon whenever we turned off the fan. It was pretty nice though, living in a house that was just a quick fly away from the college where we were all doing better than previously expected. Vicky and I had started capoiera, and done more damage that was expected. Naturally there was also a wrestling team, soccer, and baseball, and the boys were all booked. I?d managed to get into a fun and complicated horticulture class and Vicky was making the men cry in her drafting courses. I was surprised at how well Neil was doing, but I was secretly thinking it was because of the lack of people leaning over his shoulder, throwing books at him. I?d also like to think that all of us were doing better without our parents near by and Sella hovering just in our peripheral vision.[/i]

?Exciting isn?t it??

[i]I was leaning back against the chimney of the house, one leg drifting against the ocher red tiles and the other curled up underneath me. I was watching Gavin and Andrew lock horns, exchanging punches high above. Vicky was equally reclined, staring straight up, her eyes not bothered in the least by the strong sunlight. I saw a huge flash of green light, countered by Andrew?s blue and lazily rose up, floating almost to their level. I suppose my fire wings must have been smoking or something because both paused and looked down.[/i]

?Hey, don?t you think having ki fights right above the house is the way we?ll eventually get bad press??

?Wha-??

?Bad wha-??

?Oh right, when you?re fighting, it?s not like either of you are thinking.?

[i]Vicky had also lazily trailed her way upwards to our level and was leaning almost halfway back, her arms crossed over her shoulders. I shook my head and dove back down through my window, clapping both wings together just in time to avoid singing off the panes. Once inside, they burned out in a matter of seconds and I leaned forward to rummage through my backpack, ensuring I had all the necessary books before class, and turned in time to step out of Vicky?s path. She grabbed her own and we tripped down the stairs towards the front door, noticing that both Neil and Warlock were still fast asleep on one of the three huge leather couches we?d found at a garage sale, consoles still flickering, controllers dangling loosely from their hands. I tiptoed forward with a feather duster and was about to pull probably the fiftieth prank when Vicky grabbed me by the backpack straps and jerked me towards the front door.[/i]

?Come on, I?ll be late for history.?

?Yeah but I?ll be super early for ballet.?

?Cry me a river.?

[i]I rolled my eyes at her and we took off at a light run, both of our legs eating up the distance faster than we would have if we were like the typical humans that went to the college we?d become familiar with. As we ran, we noticed Connor heading towards home, and I noticed for the third time the scar that slit down the side of his face. I tilted my head back slightly and thought about the last day we?d spent in town. Vicky noticed my look and her face clouded over too. We?d all barely escaped town with Sella hot on our tails. That graduation day, Leila had lost it and nearly destroyed Sella and the entire house at the same time. I don?t know what really happened, but several people in the town all disappeared relatively quickly, and Sella disappeared too. Leila moved to a new city, and Neil?s too. Everyone else stayed, but changed their appearances slightly. My mom told me to not ever talk about it again. Connor wasn?t the only one with new scars. In the explosion, most of our skins remained intact, but Vicky dislocated several disks in her back, and I had fun and exciting marks down my back that my alien physiology had covered over in a most tattoo like manner.

We didn?t keep in contact with our parents, except via me and telepathy with my dad. But now that I think about it, Vicky?s mom had moved back to the U.K. And well, that was that I suppose. We?d probably get in trouble when we went back, but we weren?t exactly missing home. Besides, college was super.[/i]

?We?re here, you can bring your head back.?

?Shut up. Go to class.?

[i]Vicky rolled her eyes at me this time and flounced off to her first period. I went to my own, fastening my shoes as I went. Ripping off my outer layers of clothes, I realized that my clock was in fact slow, and Vicky was right. I was going to be late. Cursing her and myself simultaneously, I took my place in line just in time and straightened my spine, thanking the form covering leotard that hid my back. Meanwhile, Vicky had swung around a blind corner and slammed face first into someone she instantly figured for an alien. He had green hair, long, covering his ears for one, and second, he smelled like power. Not the kind that Warlock and Neil exuded like testosterone, but more like my power, or Sella?s. Of course without the festering evil sensation that came with her. She instantly raised her own guard, and barely kept her tail from twitching.

Later, we met over a light lunch, well light for me anyway, and she broached the subject of letting a new guy into the house.[/i]

?So I ran into this guy. I don?t think he?s human.?

?Fascinating.?

[i]I was reading a book at the time, and halfway through a salad, until of course she slammed my book down on the table and grabbed my head. I focused my eyes on her chest of course, in time to read that her shirt said: ?Defeat enemies, Gain EXP.?[/i]

?No wonder you ran into him. Or was it him fixated on you? That shirt always does wonders for getting attention from questionable sorts.?

[i]She ignored my slight and raised a fist instead, to slam it down on the table to make her dramatic point.[/i]

?I think we should bring him to the house.?

?What if you were wrong and he?s just an ordinary or sort of anyway...human? Neil or Connor will say something, and then someone will see something else, and then he?ll freak out, and I?ll have to do a partial wipe of his memory...?

?Oh bah, I can sense an alien just as good as anyone.?

?...except me.?

[i]Still bickering, we threw away our trash and went back to classes..[/COLOR][/i][/font]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]It's so good to see some decent, well-thought-out DBZ fiction here. I'm really enjoying how you've written everyone, and you've put the time skips in at goods points.

Vicky is just adorable, in a frightening way D:

And if this latest addition is Will, he's going to make the side proud. You know nerdy guys with superhuman powers are the best kinds of characters~

I eagerly await the next addition, Mother.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[i][COLOR=DarkOrchid][FONT=Times New Roman]I should?ve known Vicky wouldn?t have let it drop, but silly me, tired out from a day of dance, fighting, and cerebral work, didn?t even think about it until it was too late. Connor was sitting in his room, polishing one of his pointy weapons while Warlock was lifting weights in the basement with Neil. Gay! Never mind. Anyway, I was sitting alone in the room Vicky and I tentatively shared, and simultaneously killed each other over half naked, stretching out my spine, which was feeling the impact and strain of classical ballet repetitions and variations. I didn?t hear their voices until the front door was thrown open, and I usually have very good hearing. [/i]

?And this is the living room. The guys play fighting games all day. My room mate and I have to kill them to get the controllers sometimes-?

[i]I stood up from my inverted yoga position and subsequently freaked out. She?d brought someone over without warning anyone. I was sure nobody was taking the trouble to hide their tails. Andrew and Gavin were somewhere in the house, and I?m sure that it was going to be a horror show, when I peeked down the stairs and saw that the green haired ?alien? that Vicky had brought home with her had unnaturally long ears. I saw them through his hair, and then I finally put together that she just may very well be right about him. I stayed on the landing upstairs, out of sight for now, and closed my eyes, inhaling very slowly. Quickly, sensations of the young man who was named Will, flooded into my mind. I reached out a hand to steady myself and let the fingers of my mind pluck against his thoughts like the strings of a harp.

Named Will, a ki user, alien breed is Konatsa-Jin, with the power to perform long range attacks... ...the color of blue, the sound of a voice screaming over a PA system, a savage beating...and there the sensations stopped. I paused in my musings and opened my mind?s eye once more, staring straight into his.[/i]

?So you see me. William.?

?I take it you?re Vicky?s room mate.?

?I am. You have remarkably good mental control for a non telepath. Well, since it?s out, welcome to the house of aliens.?

[i]I smiled to myself, opened my physical eyes, and tripped down the stairs, giving Connor a shout as I did. He poked his head out his door, sword in one hand, cleaning rag in the other. I sighed and looked over at him, gliding the rest of the way down the banister.[/i]

?Try to be normal for the poor boy will you??

?The who??

?Just shut up and come downstairs! And go find Andrew and Gavin!?

[i]He recoiled instantly as I snapped at him, my hair bursting into a bright sheet of blue and white flame was it was wont to do these days. Will and Vicky turned and I sheepishly waved a hand at him, fingers curled slightly. As I did, I noticed his skin glowing slightly under the flare from my hair and I shook it once, turning the flames off almost instantly.[/i]

?Sorry, been having trouble with that lately. Stress triggered you know.?

?Riiiiiiight. I?m sure it?s all very fascinating. Anyway, Raiha, meet Will. He met me in History earlier.?

?Does he know you?ve got a monkey tail??

?Shut your face!?

[i]I dodged her back handed slap and skipped back a few paces to hide behind Warlock, who was shirtless, and still covered in a sheen of sweat. Gavin and Andrew popped in from upstairs, probably after jumping through the windows like I did, and greeted the newcomer, who looked slightly unsure of himself, and probably intimidated too. I closed my eyes for half a second and flicked them open again. He was actually slightly annoyed at all the personalities that he was now morally obliged to sort out. I gave him a half smile, a knowing one at that, and headed for the kitchen, Gavin following on my tail, no pun intended. Once there, I told him to take out the blender without breaking it, and set out six avocados on the counter. Two bags of chips, three plats of guacamole, and twenty beers later, everyone who?d stuck around to listen, was up to speed. Will was listening with a certain degree of interest while Neil had fallen asleep completely on the floor, mouth open and everything. I guess it?s true. Women?s voices are soothing, at least when they?re not your ex wife?s voice. I sat back on the cushy couch, half supported by Gavin?s arm and gauged Will?s reaction when we brought up Sella.[/i]

?Wait. Is she blond, totally evil, and scary beyond reason??

?The very same. Are you related, distant cousins perhaps??

[i]Vicky looked mildly confused, as did the rest of us. Even Neil?s ears perked for a change. Will looked stricken. Maybe he?d know more about her than us, but a common enemy was good news for him.[/i]

?She?s a changeling, comes from the planets near Saiya-Jin or thereabouts, and from what I hear, descends from a line of pure monsters.?

?Sounds like the one we know.?

[i]Connor looked quite grave at the mention, probably considering his mother?s fate, and how she?s sacrificed her home to get at the woman who threatened her guests. I raised my eyebrows and ran a quick scan over his mind, testing him for falsehood, and found none. I turned to look Will directly in the eyes, and he blanched for the first time, noticing that I?d taken the liberty of removing my contacts when he wasn?t paying attention. I didn?t blame him though. Everyone freaks out the first time they get a load of my blank spots.[/i]

?Ever met her then??

?Not me, my parents. Their house was destroyed in an accident years ago that probably has something to do with her. But then she vanished.?

?Creepy. What does the bitch do, go around ruining people?s lives??

?Sounds like something a monster would do.?

[i]I gave Connor an eye and he exchanged an affirmative. We were thinking the same thing. Find her, make her talk, and then kill her. Maybe not in that order.[/FONT][/COLOR][/i]