                             Dragon Ball Hazard

                                     by

                        Hung (Animeaddiction) Nguyen

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z and El Hazard are the property of their creators.
I'm just using them to tell a story, so don't bother me with legal
technicalities.

< >: Thoughts

                               The Third Night

                       Hot Springs and Hotter Tempers

Trunks squinted a bit as he looked over the vast and hot wasteland that the
cruiser they were riding in was jetting over. The heavy robes he was wearing
were not suited for the arid climate and he was sweating a bit. Beside him,
Allielle was dying for a drink and Fujisawa was sitting with his jacket
draped over his head. Ura was sitting at the front of the craft and didn't
seem to be minding the intense heat, which was surprising considering that
she had a very thick pelt of fur.

Behind the group were the two drivers in which they had paid to take them to
the Spring of Arliman. They were both wearing some kind of weird umbrella
hats to shield their heads from the sun's blistering rays and goggles to
keep the sand out of their eyes. They were a couple of short, stocky
individuals that were of the unsavory type and Trunks didn't really trust
them. However, they were the only ones that he and Fujisawa could find that
would to take them to Arliman. The caravan people were unwilling to travel
to the sacred place for fear of angering the holy ones there.

Trunks shook his head again as the trip was taking too long, by his
standards. They had been traveling for more than two hours and they were
only one-quarter of the way there. He could have made better time flying on
his own or using one of the supersonic jets that his family owned; rather
than riding this antique bucket of bolts. T the rate they were going, it was
going to take them more than half a day to reach Arliman, and time was
severely limited. He wanted to get this over with. The sooner the Eye of God
was unsealed, then the sooner he could get home. By now, his family and
friends were probably worried sick over his disappearance.

----------

Back on Earth, on top of Kami's Lookout...

"So no one has seen Trunks for the last couple of days, Bulma?" Dende asked.

The mother of Trunks shook her head sadly. "No. He never came home from
school and he's been reported as missing along with two other students and a
history teacher. The last time he was seen was when he finished his classes
and was heading home. What worries me is that Goku and the others can't
sense his energy anywhere. They been looking everywhere for him. Though
Vegita may not show it, he's also worried and has been searching the Earth
and even out in space. Oh Dende, I'm so afraid that Trunks might be..."

Dende held up a green-skinned hand. "Don't even think that. I know for
certain that Trunks isn't dead. King Yamma or King Kai would have informed
me if Trunks had died. His soul would have appeared at the Check-In Station
in the Spirit Realm. Though your telling me now of Trunks' disappearance a
couple of days ago does seem to fit with something that I sensed at that
time."

"What do you mean?"

Dende walked over toward the edge of the platform and gazed out at the
clouds below. "It was about two days ago that I sensed a powerful and
ancient spike of energy, around the time that Trunks would have gotten out
of school. It was only there for a brief moment, and I'm certain that the
others sensed it as well. I then felt a slight disturbance in the
dimensional fabric of reality and then a momentary rift appeared. I didn't
think it was anything important at the time and nothing bad had happened.
However..."

Bulma put a finger to the side of her cheek in thought as she was
well-versed in the theories of dimensional universes. "Are you saying that
Trunks might be in some other... universe?"

"It's only a hunch, but it is possible. That can also explain why Goku and
the others can't sense Trunks' power, since he would no longer be in this
dimension."

"Then... where would Trunks be now?" Bulma inquired with concern.

"Good question. I... don't have the answer, but I know someone who might."
Dende then began reaching out with his telepathic powers to the other side.
Bulma began hearing the Namek's voice in her head as he reached out to
contact an old friend.

<King Kai, are you there? It's me... Dende. >

----------

On the other side, the squat and joke-making Kai of the Northern Quadrant
perked up his head and antennae when he received the call. Beside him were
his pet monkey Bubbles and his grasshopper assistant, Gregory.

<Dende! It's good to hear from you again. >
<Hello, King Kai. It's good to hear from you too, but I'm afraid that this
isn't a social call. >

<Yes, I know. Trunks has been missing for a couple of days now. I too have
noticed his absence and I have been scanning around for him. If you were
thinking that he might be somewhere else, then you'd be right. He isn't on
Earth anymore.>

<Then... he's still alive? >

King Kai nodded. <Yes. I can sense him, but just barely. Somehow, Trunks got
transported to another universe that's so distant, even I don't know its
exact coordinates... at least not yet. It'll take at least another day
before I can lock in on him. >
Dende then asked King Kai, <Is there any chance at all that you can bring
him back after you've found him?>

King Kai shook his head. <No. He's too far away, even with the Instant
Transmission technique. There's only one way I can think of to bring Trunks
back. >

<The Dragon Balls? >

<You got it. However, it will take another three days for the Dragon Balls
on Earth to be reenergized. They were used last year when some joker found
them and wished for wealth and stuff. And transporting Trunks across that
far of a distance is going to tax Sheng Long to his limit. >

<Well, what about the Namekian Dragon Balls and Porunga? > Dende asked. <We
can ask Goku to use his Instant Transmission technique to go the Namek home
world. He's done it before.>

King Kai shook his head again. <Nope. The Namekian Dragon Balls have already
been used and turned to stone. Last month, the Nameks wished to be protected
from a deadly meteor shower, restore the ecological balance of their planet,
and bring back another one of their people that Vegita had killed during the
Frieza incident. It will take another one hundred and fifty days before they
can be used again. >

Dende sighed. <All right then. Sheng Long is the dragon we need to bring
Trunks back. >

<Right. I'll keep scanning and tell you where Trunks is when I find him.>

<And we'll start collecting the Dragon Balls on Earth as soon as they
reenergize. >

King Kai bid farewell as he turned and began scanning the cosmos.

----------

"Bulma, do you still have your Dragon Ball Radar?"

The mother of Trunks paused for a moment before replying. "Well, actually I
don't. The old circuits burnt themselves out, but I'm pretty sure that I can
make a new one, no big deal." She then cocked her head in thought and
smiled. "Come to think of it, Vegita still has a couple of those old
Scouters and it wouldn't be any problem to adapt them with the Dragon Ball
Radar circuits. That way, we can have two or three people out looking for
those Dragon Balls and collect them even faster."

Dende nodded as he told Bulma of the plan. "Good. We need to get a hold of
them as soon as they reenergize. King Kai told me that Trunks is alive but
in a very distant, alternate universe. We'll need the Dragon Balls to bring
Trunks back from wherever he was transported to. King Kai told me that we'll
be able to summon Sheng Long in three days."

Bulma nodded with a large smile as she went to her parked cruiser. In three
days, she would be reunited with her son again.

However, a LOT can happen in three days...

----------

In the Desert of Bleached Bones, the cruiser continued to jet across the
sand dunes. However, the two drivers were in a terrible state with multiple
bruises on their faces. The pair of unscrupulous characters had tried to
abandon their riders at the halfway point to Arliman, saying that they would
not carry them any further unless they were given more money. They had
threatened Trunks and Allielle with their clubs, but the young Saiyan was
unimpressed and not at all frightened. He had been ready to give the two of
them a very painful beating, but Mr. Fujisawa had beaten him to the punch...
literally.

Being out in the scorching desert heat had made him sweat out every last
drop of alcohol in his body. A sober and angry Fujisawa was someone that one
should not try to threaten. The history teacher was now standing behind the
drivers with both of their clubs in his hand and keeping a stern watch over
them. The craft continued to skim across the heated landscape for another
hour before suddenly coming to a stop.

"Oh no! What now?" Allielle complained.

Fujisawa glared at the drivers. "What this? Do you dare taste Fujisawa's
Fist of Justice again?!"

Both men shook their heads frantically as one of them pointed out in front
of them. "N-N-No! Look!"

The group saw two rows of stone pillars that marked the path toward the
Spring of Arliman.

The other driver groaned as he explained. "Even if you beat us up again, we
still won't go in there. Only the holy people can go past this point. That
place is BIG trouble!"

"Are you saying that we've got to WALK the rest of the way?!" Fujisawa
roared.

The two drivers nodded as the second one replied. "As much as we fear for
our lives, Mr. Justice..."

Trunks and his party could only groan in despair at these words.

----------

The Bugrom Citadel...

"Damn you Trunks! Damn you to everlasting HELL!" Jinnai ranted as he paced
Diva's throne room. "How dare you have the final weapon?! I should have
it!!!"

"Well there's nothing we can do about it." Diva said as she relaxed on her
throne.

"This is a battle of wits! An all-out cold war! I need a weapon that can
utterly terrorize our enemies!"

Diva became silent as she went deep into thought.

"Eye of God, phah!" Jinnai snorted in disgust. "If I had an ultimate weapon,
I would have called it demon-something."

At the mention of the word demon, Diva made a sharp intake of breath in
shock, which Jinnai caught.
"What is it? Do have such a weapon?"

Diva swallowed as she replied hesitantly. "Yes... no, it's nothing...."

"You do have a weapon! tell me!"

'No! You can't mean..."

"Tell me now!" Jinnai pressed. "Or are you siding with the Alliance?"

The Bugrom ruler was shocked at the accusation. "No! But..."
"But what?! WHAT IS THIS WEAPON?"

----------

The Desert of Bleached Bones...

The heat continued to beat down on the desert sands as three travelers and
their cat continued on their way to the Spring of Arliman. At this point,
even the fully-sober Fujisawa was beginning to falter. Allielle was just
about to collapse from heat exhaustion. Only Trunks maintained his stamina
as they hiked their way toward their destination.

"Water.... I need some... water..." Allielle moaned.

Fujisawa gritted his teeth. "Just one cold beer! I'm dying out here!"

Trunks stopped as Allielle fell to her knees. He ran over to where she was
and supported her in his arms. "Allielle are you all right?"

"Water... I'm so... tired and thirsty..."

Trunks looked over to where his teacher was just barely standing on his feet
and frowned. If his friends did not get something to drink and soon, he
would have to risk revealing that he could fly and get them to Arliman. His
eyes then widened as he slapped his forehead.

"What is it, Trunks?" Fujisawa asked as he was about to collapse.
"Oh good grief! I'm so stupid! I forgot that I had them!"

"Had what?"

Trunks reached into the front of his robes and took out a small case. He
opened it up and took out a cylindrical object.

Masamichi's eyes widened as he recognized it. "Hey! Isn't that a capsule?"

Trunks nodded as he pressed the top of the device.

"W-What is it?" Allielle asked.

Trunks smiled as he tossed the capsule off to one side. "Drinks are on me."

BOM!

The capsule exploded in a puff of smoke revealing a boxlike object with some
coils and tubes on the rear. Ura let off a startled hiss and hid behind
Fujisawa when the strange thing appeared. Trunks then walked over to it and
opened the front door.

Allielle thought she was suffering from sunstroke when she felt a cool
breeze. Trunks returned to her side and placed something to her lips.

"Here. Drink up!"

Allielle opened her mouth and her eyes widened as a refreshing and ice-cold
liquid started pouring down her mouth. She quickly sat up, grabbed the
bottle out of his hands and greedily took large gulps. The taste was kind of
fruity and sharp, but it seemed to revitalize her better than water. She
didn't stop until she drained the entire bottle dry. She let off a contented
sigh and looked down at the empty bottle, which had strange label on it with
words she didn't recognize. The label said Gatorade.

"Felling better, Allielle?" Trunks asked.

"Yes... but, how...did you...?" She pointed at the strange device which had
saved her life. "W-W-What is that thing and...?" She looked back down at the
plastic bottle. "What is this stuff? How...? What kind of magic is this?"
Fujisawa let off a whoop of joy as he raced to the cooler and looked inside.
He frowned as he saw that there were no alcoholic beverages.

"Awwww... where's the beer and sake?!"

Trunks shook his head. "Sorry sensei. You know I'm underage. There's bottled
water, soda, sports drinks and fruit juices. Besides, you'd die of thirst
faster if you drink alcohol out here and we might need your super-powers
when we get to Arliman."

The history teacher sighed and nodded as he took out a bottle of spring
water and chugged it down. Trunks went over to the cooler and took out a
shallow bowl and a white bottle. He walked to where Ura was, placed the bowl
in front of her and poured the contents of the bottle into it.

Ura was still tensed up and suspicious, but Trunks smiled at her and said,
"Don't worry Ura. It's just milk. I know that you must thirsty, especially
with that fur coat of yours."

Trunks was right. Though Ura's body did conserve moisture more efficiently
than Earth cats, she was feeling dehydrated at the moment, having nothing to
drink since the journey through the desert had started. She looked up at her
new and strange master and then, after a moment, edged to the bowl and took
a tentative lick. The white liquid was smooth and ice-cold, which made Ura
meow with glee as she started lapping it up.
"Trunks good to Ura! Ura thirsty!"

The half-Saiyan smiled as he stroked the cat's ears. He then addressed to
his companions, "There's a few sandwiches and some leftover chicken in that
refrigerator if you're... hungry?" His voice trailed off as he glanced over
his shoulder and saw that his sensei was already on his third sandwich.

----------

A bit later...

"Ah, that was great!" Fujisawa said as he rubbed his belly. With their
thirst appeased and something in their stomachs, the group continued on
their journey with new energy. "Man! Am I glad that you brought those
capsules with you to this world, Trunks!"

"I'm glad too. I guess I'm really lucky that my mother owns the Capsule
Corp." <In more ways than one > Trunks added silently. Trunks had stored
away his refrigerator back into its capsule form. The capsules had saved his
friends and he didn't have to reveal that he could fly. They were now
approaching what appeared to be an oasis.

Walking beside them, Allielle had another bottle of Gatorade in one hand and
was periodically taking a sip from it. In her other hand, she was studying
one of the empty capsules. "So that's what you call these things? Capsules?"

Trunks nodded as he took back the device and placed it in the carrying case.
"Yes. On our world, we use them to store things. Their small size makes it
easy for us to carry a lot of things or large objects. My mother owns the
company that makes them."

"So how do they work? Is it some kind of magic?"

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, but I guess you could call it magic."

"How much can one of these capsules hold? How big can an object be?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. So far, my mother's been able to shrink a
three-story building into one of these things and even a spaceship."

At that moment, Allielle stopped and pointed excitedly at the oasis in the
distance. "Look! That's it! That's the Spring of Arliman!"

The trio and Ura stopped atop a sand dune and gazed at the sacred place
where only the holy people travel to. It was about the size of a shopping
mall complex and was filled with lush vegetation, such as palm trees, ferns
and bushes. In the center was a large spring that was walled off to keep
intruders and Peeping Toms out. Trunks and his party stood in awe that such
a beautiful place was in the middle of such a harsh wilderness. They nodded
to each other and quickly made their way toward the oasis.

----------

At one of the large pools, a woman in her late twenties yawned as she
stretched out her arms and sat up from one of the sunken areas. She then
arched her back and thrust out her ample bosom as she stood up naked from
the warm waters and waded to the edge of the pool to grasp a towel. Her
light purple hair was done up in twin tails that started from a braid at the
top of her head and went down the sides of her head, framing her face. Water
dripped down her pale skin as she stepped out of the pool and went over to
where her bath things were. She stood in front of her stool and let off an
annoyed sound as she saw that it had been knocked onto its side. With one
flick of her foot, she righted her perch and sat down on it.

"That clumsy oaf." She muttered to her self as she placed the towel in her
lap and clapped her hands. "Sansuke, attend me!" She called out.

From out of a nearby servants' quarters, a large and furry mass of green and
white fur stepped out with a vase in its hands. The creature looked like
Cousin It from the Addams Family, but it had large, penguin-like feet. One
could not make out its face as it was covered in fur and seemed to have some
kind of large white eyebrow across its forehead. The creature that was named
Sansuke waddled over to his mistress and nodded to her.

"Your big feet knocked over my stool again!" The woman complained.

Sansuke tried to grunt out an apology, but the Water Priestess named Miz
Mishtal shook her head. "Oh never mind that now! Just get to work."

Sansuke nodded as he set down the jug and dipped a fur-covered paw into it.
It came out dripping wet with soapy water and the attendant rubbed both paws
together to work up a good lather. He then applied his paws to his mistress'
back with gentle motions.

"Harder, Sansuke! Put some more back into it!" Miz commanded.

Sansuke nodded as he increased the pressure.

Miz sighed as he felt Sansuke's ministrations work away the tension. She
then became lost in thought. <Keeping beautiful as an unpicked flower is so
tedious! Where is my handsome Prince? What is keeping him? Those girls! Even
Afra and Shayla have forgotten about me by now. When they get older, that'll
wake them up! >

It was at that moment that Sansuke rinsed away the soap with a bowl of
water... icy water that is. Miz, having spent a good hour soaking in heated
waters, naturally screamed at the sudden drop in temperature.

----------

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

As soon as they heard the shout, both Fujisawa and Trunks began racing down
the path toward Arliman.

"Did you hear that? Someone's in trouble!"

"Sensei! Hold up! We don't know what's behind that..."

Too late, for without alcohol, an ordinary stone wall wasn't anywhere near
enough to keep Fujisawa out. With one jump, he was already on the other
side.

"... wall." Trunks finished. He then heard his sensei cry out. Then he heard
that woman scream out again.

"FUJISAWA..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"... MONSTER KICK!"

WHAMMO!

Sansuke became the first giant hairball to be launched into the
stratosphere. He soon came down into the trees on the other side of the hot
springs.

Fujisawa was now kneeling down with his back to the confused Miz and smiled
as he spoke to her. "You are safe now. That beast will never bother you
again, fair maiden."

The Water Priestess was absolutely puzzled at the sudden appearance of this
man and the unexpected rescue. However, as he stood up and faced her with
his whimsical smile, Miz thought that this was a sign from the heavens. She
had never been treated with such gallantry before, and though she had not
been in any real danger, she still felt her heart beating at the heroic act.
The least she could was to thank him.

"Good sir. I am most.. grateful for your... timely rescue." <Hmmm, not
bad-looking either.>

Fujisawa smiled as he kept his eyes on her face and made certain not to look
lower as Miz only had her towel in front of her unclad body. "It was my
pleasure, er... Miss...?"

"Oh yes! Miss!" Miz exclaimed as she dropped her towel and grasped both of
his hands in her own. Having no serious relationship in her long and lonely
career as a high Priestess of Muldoon, she immediately became attached to
this man.

"Uh, yes... well, I'm just doing a hero's job." Trunks' sensei stuttered
out, trying to keep his eyes from straying.

"And might I know the name of the big, strong man who saved me?" Miz asked
coyly.

"It's... Masamichi Fujisawa."

"Such a long name. And your occupation, good sir?"

Masamichi smiled as he proudly proclaimed his profession. "Teacher! Firmly
established and highly respected at Shinnanome High School!"

This got Miz extremely excited. "You're a government employee?" <Income! >
"You are my hero!"

It was then that she noticed that they weren't alone, and quickly wrapped
her towel around her. She then introduced herself to Allielle and a blushing
Trunks.

"I'm terribly sorry, that I have not properly introduced myself. I am Miz
Mishtal, High Priestess of Muldoon."

The three gasped in surprise as they had just found another who could help
them unseal the Eye of God.

----------

Jinnai became more impatient as he followed Queen Diva's entourage down a
mountainous cavern. After being told of a powerful force as equally
terrifying as the Eye of God, he wanted to waste no time in finding this
Demon-God... Ifurita. However, the Bugrom Empress was insistent that he see
something first. After following a long and winding tunnel, they came to a
ledge that overlooked a vast area, which contained the devastated ruins of
what was once a great city.

"Incredible!" Jinnai cried out was he surveyed the result of some great and
terrible force.

Diva took a deep breath. "All this destruction, all this chaos; an entire
civilization reduced to rubble in a heartbeat... all of this was caused by
one, terrible weapon. And her name was... Ifurita."

"Amazing!" Jinnai remarked as his dreams of conquest became even more
grander with the thought of having such a weapon at his disposal.

"Long ago, during the Great Holy War, Ifurita caused such unimaginable
suffering and devastation that the Elders of El Hazard feared that nothing,
not even the Eye of God could stop her. Even the mighty Bugrom Empire
trembled in fear of her. The ancient texts say that he who controls the
Power Key Staff of Ifurita becomes the master of the Demon-God. However,
with such destructive power at her disposal, no one person can truly control
her."

"Well, I'm not just anybody!" Jinnai boasted. "Your Lord God Jinnai shall be
the one to control Ifurita!"

"What?!" Diva gasped as she sat up from the lounge chair that four of her
minions carried on their shoulders. "Even after everything I've told you,
you're still intent on awakening the Demon-God?!"

"I not only dare, but I relish the prospect! With Ifurita, I shall make all
of El Hazard tremble before me! WA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

The laughter of Trunks' rival echoed throughout the cavern. In a way, the
laughter was a signal of darker times ahead.

----------

Arliman...

"You know, this isn't quite what I expected." Trunks remarked as he and his
group walked with Miz, who was now wearing a robe. "This looks more like a
hot springs resort than a holy place."
Miz laughed a bit. "I suppose to the uninitiated, it would appear to be like
that. But Arliman is the one, the only respite to our work. The only time in
our busy schedules that we are given a chance to relax."
As Trunks continued to survey the area, discretely averting his eyes from
the numerous, nude women that were either soaking in the springs or
sunbathing around them, his history teacher spotted a nearby fountain and
went over to it. He reached into his pocket and tossed a coin into it. He
ten placed his palms together and prayed.

"Dear God. Please get us back home safe and sound. Oh, and if you have some
extra time, could you please fill out the teacher's absence request form?"

"Sensei! Come on!" Trunks called out. Fujisawa nodded and rejoined the group
as they approached the other end of the springs. It was then that they
stopped as two familiar figures were seen, with armloads of packages, coming
up the pathway.

Miz frowned as she called out to Shayla and Afra. "Well it's about time you
two got here!"

The two priestesses looked up and were surprised to see their colleague.
"Hey Miz! Why are you here so early?"

"An forgivable breach of conduct!" Miz proclaimed, not even caring for any
excuse Shayla and Afra had for being so late.

"I'll say! Can you imagine the bargains we got at the barrage?"

Afra nodded as she too smiled. "Can you believe it? Returning things the day
after a holiday!"
"You two are a disgrace!" Miz said as she continued to berate her sister
Priestesses. "What if the devoted were to show up while you were out
shopping?"

"Oh lighten up Miz...huh?" Shayla looked over past Miz and noticed the
people standing behind her. "You guys again?!"

Trunks could only laugh sheepishly as he waved to the dark-skinned
Shayla-Shayla. "Hello again."

Allielle found herself feeling herself getting warm again, and it wasn't
because of the heat. She smiled warmly as she gazed on the exotic-looking
Fire Priestess.

----------

"Ahhhh, I can feel the tension melt away." Afra sighed as she sunk deeper
into the pool.

Shayla nodded as she too lounged in the heated waters. "Oh yeah..."
Sitting between them, Allielle trembled with delight. "Ooh, I can't believe
that I'm actually bathing with a Priestess of Muldoon!" She sidled up to
Shayla and took her arm seductively. She then snuggled close to the redhead,
much to her discomfort.

"Hey! Watch it! Let go of my arm! Whoa! That's even worse!" Shayla became
extremely agitated as Allielle's hands roamed over places that were
considered off limits to the priestess.

Sitting near the edge, Miz poured Fujisawa another glass of wine as Trunks
sat nearby, obviously in great discomfort.

"I'm terribly sorry about the blindfold." Miz said as she held the pitcher.

Trunk's sensei nodded as his vision was blocked by a white band. "I
understand perfectly, since I'm... the only man here."

Trunks winced at his words. Though he did know about the 'facts of life,'
and all of that, he didn't have any real experience with girls. He had kept
the girls at school at bay, for fear of hurting anyone with his Saiyan
strength. Now he was surrounded by dozens of beautiful, naked women and in a
very hot robe. It was all he could do not to faint from the heat.

"Er... excuse me, but there's something very important that we have to ask
you." Trunks began, while keeping his eyes averted. "We need you to...
unseal the Eye of..."

"Delicious boxed lunches here! Delicious and nutritious! Get 'em here!"

Both Trunks and his sensei turned their heads at the sound of the voice and
Trunks became pale as he saw who the person was.

<She got transported here too?! >

Allielle momentarily stopped in her attempts to get closer with Shayla.
"Lunch! Oh, I just realized that I haven't eaten in hours after we got out
of that desert."

"Lunch sounds good." Afra agreed.

Miz nodded as she called out to the girl. "Lunch Girl! Over here!"

----------

Nanami saw the woman wave to her and walked over to where she and her party
were situated. "Hello! Are we hungry? Good!"

Allielle then noticed how fine-looking the new girl was and licked her lips.

Katsuhiko's sister knelt down and placed her serving tray on the ground. "I
have some very nice selections for you today and..." It was at that moment
that she saw a very familiar face...

Trunks quickly turned her back to her and tried to hide his face from sight,
but it wasn't enough.

"Trunks...?"

<Oh boy. >

"Trunks, is that you?" Nanami let off a gasp as she dropped her tray and ran
over to him. "TRUNKS! IT IS YOU! I'M SO HAPPY!"

"No! Wait! You've made a big mistake!" The half-Saiyan tried to move away,
but Nanami already had her arms wrapped around him and was sobbing
hysterically.

"Oh Trunks! I'm so glad to see a familiar face!" Nanami exclaimed as she
began speaking quickly and hugged him even tighter. "You have no idea what I
had to go through when I came to this place! I had to get a job as a
waitress and saved enough money to start my own business! And... some
guys... grabbed my butt!"

"Look! I'm not who you think I ..."

Nanami then broke from her embrace and sat back with a puzzled look. "Say
Trunks. When did you become a drag queen?"

Trunks winced as he tried to explain, but all he could manage was,
"Uhhhh..."

"This place is weird, but it's not THAT weird." Nanami commented. She then
glanced over her shoulder and saw another familiar face. "Mr. Fujisawa!
You're here too, sensei? Oh this is wonderful!"

Their sensei gulped as he too was at a loss of what to say in this
situation.

"What's going on?" Miz asked.

"This girl seems to think that Princess Fatora is someone else." Afra
remarked.

"Yeah, I guess it's heat exhaustion." Trunks laughed nervously.

At that point, Shayla-Shayla reached out to tap Trunks on the arm. "Hey
Princess."
Both Nanami and Trunks turned to face her.

"Are you going to get into this bath or aren't you?"

Trunks could only smile nervously and replied. "No, I don't think so."

"Are you saying that you have a reason for refusing my invitation?" The fire
priestess asked with suspicion.

"Hold on. I think I can come up with a good one."

"If you don't have a reason, then I suggest that you get in the water,
Princess." Shayla then came out halfway and grasped one of his arms.

"Er, sister Shayla, I don't think you should do that." Allielle said
nervously.

"And why not?"

"Sort of because it's like deja vu?"

At that point, Allielle gabbed hold of Trunks' other arm. "Now wait just a
minute! Maybe I can get used to your cross-dressing, Trunks, but there's no
way that I'm going to let you go in there with her!"

Shayla glared at Nanami. "Take a hike, lunch-chick!"

"Get back into the water, honey!" Nanami retorted as she returned the glare.

At that moment, they began a tug-of-war with Trunks as the rope.

"Get in the water, Princess!"

"You're staying right here, Trunks!"

"Mr. Fujisawa! I need help!"

The history teacher stood up as he heard his student's cry. "Danger!" He
began running forward, but with his eyes blindfolded, he didn't get very
far. He immediately tripped over a bar of soap and fell flat on his back.
Plus, with all the wine he had been consuming, his super-strength was all
but nonexistent.

Trunks' strength however, was not only intact, it was far greater than his
sensei's or any other Earthling's. As he saw that his robes were starting to
tear from the constant pulling, he started to become desperate. He had to
stop this before his cover was blown.

"I said, get in the water!" Shayla couldn't understand it. She was pulling
as hard as she could, but it seemed that the Princess was stronger than she
appeared, for Fatora wasn't budging an inch. As the hot-tempered redhead
pulled even harder with both hands, she felt some very rock-hard muscle in
Fatora's wrist. She assumed that the Princess must work out, especially
after seeing her swing that sword on Mount Muldoon.

When Trunks heard his sleeve was about to tear off his arm, he panicked
and... reacted.

"I SAID NO AND I MEAN NO!" Trunks then hauled back on his arm.

"WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!" Shayla was sent flying out of the spring and hurtled
toward the distant outer wall. At the speed she was going, she would slam
into the wall like a truck going at 60 mph.

"Damn!" Trunks swore as he had to stop Shayla from being splattered. In that
instant, he blurred from view. At that moment, the half of the robe that
Nanami still held onto tore free. And unfortunately for Trunks, another part
of his disguise came off. He had not tied down his wig at the time, As he
sped to save Shayla, it fell off and drifted to the ground.

The Fire Priestess only saw the wall for an instant and shut her eyes as she
braced for impact. However, just before she hit the wall, she felt a rush of
wind and a pair of strong hands gabbed hold of her as her body's momentum
suddenly shifted and she found herself changing direction and slowing down.
Then she suddenly stopped.

The others were in a state of shock after seeing Trunks seemingly disappear
from sight, reappear in front of the wall to catch Shayla before she hit it,
then blur back to almost the same place where she started. However, they
continued to stare at 'Princess Fatora' for another reason entirely. The top
half of his robes had been torn completely off and that they were now
staring at his muscular chest. The rest of the dress had fallen off with his
wig when he sped to save Shayla, leaving him only in his muscle shirt,
boxers and sandals.

It was at that moment that Shayla-Shayla opened her eyes and looked up at
the face of the person who had saved her.

That was when things got ugly...

----------

"YOU PERVERT!"

BWOOOM!

The other women at Arliman began running for their lives as a maddened Fire
Priestess began shooting out scorching gouts of flame to barbeque Trunks.
However, the half-Saiyan proved to be too fast for her as he blurred in and
out, easily evading the attacks. He restrained from retaliating with his own
energy blasts as he tried to clear up this misunderstanding. He knew that
despite Shayla's intense fire powers, she wouldn't be able to survive one of
his blasts. Furthermore, this place was too crowded and someone may get hurt
in the exchange.

"Would you just please calm down and listen to..."
"DIE, YOU PEEPING TOM!" Shayla roared as she let loose with another inferno
blast. More property damage was done as a huge trench was dug through to the
other side of the Springs.

"Shayla! Stop it now!" Miz cried out as she saw more and more people become
endangered. However, the Fire Priestess paid no heed as she continued to
pursue Trunks, intent on frying him into a cinder.

Nanami and the others dove for cover as Shayla continued on her maddened
rampage. After dodging a few more of her attacks, Trunks decided that enough
was enough. When he came to a dead end pathway, he turned around and faced
Shayla as she rounded the corner.

The hot-headed priestess smiled as she reared back an arm to throw a huge
fireball. "HAH! I GOT YOU NOW YOU... "

WHOMP!

Shayla gasped as she felt something slam into her gut like a freight train.
At the same time, she saw Trunks' face in front of hers as their eyes met.
In less than a heartbeat, he had covered the distance between them and drove
his elbow into her abdomen. Fortunately for her, he had only delivered
enough force to do the job.

"Sorry. I saw an opening that screamed for me to attack... so I did. Nothing
personal."

Shayla then slumped down to her knees, clutching at her stomach and still
gasping for air as Trunks stepped back. The young Saiyan hated to do that,
but that was the only thing he could think of at the time, to get her to
stop before some innocent bystander got hurt or killed.

The others stepped out from behind the rubble and cautiously approached the
two.

Trunks sighed as he looked them and nodded to both Afra and Miz.

"Hi. My name is Trunks. Sorry about all this."

----------

"What were you thinking, Shayla? You could have killed someone!" Miz scolded
as she and the other women were now dressed in towels and standing with
Fujisawa and Allielle in an undamaged area of Arliman. She gestured with a
hand at all the property damage that the hot-tempered redhead had caused.
Nearby, Trunks was bending over a fountain, washing out the brown dye in his
hair. He had decided that since his Fatora disguise was ruined, there was no
need for him to keep his false hair color and makeup. He also had on his
boots and black pants. His sword lay in its scabbard beside him and his
jacket was hanging over the rim of the fountain.

"Hey! Don't blame me! Blame Mr. Fashion Statement over there!" Shayla-Shayla
shouted while pointing at him. She still saw in her mind the image of
herself naked in his muscular arms, which made her blush. She still wanted
to fry Trunks, but her sister Priestesses forbade her from any more
violence.

"You should have told us right from the start that he was standing in for
the missing Princess Fatora." Afra remarked to Fujisawa as she leaned
against a tree with her arms crossed. Fujisawa had explained the situation
to the others and about their mission to get the Eye of God unsealed.

"Hmpf! He probably enjoyed watching us naked in the spring, the little
weasel!" Shayla sent another angry glare at Trunks as he stood up and shook
his head to dry his hair. She couldn't help but notice how well-formed he
was, along with several other girls in the area. The Priestess angrily
dismissed that thought from her mind as Trunks picked up his jacket and
slung it over his right shoulder while carrying his sword in his other hand.

Trunks had heard Shayla's comments about him and he wasn't all happy. It had
been bad enough that he had been going around dressed as a girl. "Listen
here. We would have told you about the disguise on Mount Muldoon, but you
and Priestess Afra had left us before we had a chance to explain. Then we
had to trek through twenty miles of desert to get here. I couldn't tell you
that I was a guy with all those other people around, but I did try not to
look. If you hadn't tried to drag me into the water, we wouldn't have gone
through all that!" He gestured with a thumb to the devastation behind him.
"So don't go blaming me for this mess. I didn't want to agree to dressing up
like a girl, but it was the only thing I could do. We had to see you in
order to unseal the Eye of God so that we could end the war and get back to
our world. "

Shayla-Shayla's glare became even more intense as she began to glow with a
red aura. Trunks was unimpressed as his hand clenched his sword even
tighter. He was just about to light up his own aura, (which would have
dwarfed Shayla's by a billion times), when Miz gave her sister priestess an
annoyed ahem. She powered down but very reluctantly, keeping an angry look
trained on Trunks.

"Well, now that you've explained to us the purpose of your mission, we can
understand the gravity of the situation." Miz said as she tended to the
scratches that Fujisawa had received during the melee.

"Yes, but I'm afraid that we can't grant your request to unseal the Eye of
God, even though you have come to us on Princess Rune's behalf." Afra added.

"Huh? Why not?" Trunks asked.

"For one thing, the legend says that the Eye of God needs two princesses,
not a queen." Shayla quipped.

"Will you knock it off with that queen crack?" Trunks growled.

"Hmpf! Well you can count me out!" Shayla said to Miz and Afra.

Miz sighed as she explained another factor to Mr. Fujisawa. "Another thing
is that all three Priestesses must be in agreement to unseal the Eye of God.
We can only release the locks on the weapon only in the most special of
circumstances due to its enormous power."

"Please sister Shayla?" Allielle pleaded as she cuddled up to the redhead
again.

"Hey! Cut that out! They're all weird!"

Trunks sighed as he saw that things were not going as he hoped. It was then
that he noticed another person approaching them. He swallowed hard as he saw
the woman. She had long blonde hair, a voluptuous figure with a more than
ample bosom, and was wearing an outfit that accentuated her curves to the
point that he was feeling his body heat up.

Trunks gave a low whistle, which made Nanami frown in jealousy. Fujisawa
also ogled her, which also made Miz very upset.

"Would you stop staring!" Nanami said as she pulled on Trunk's cheek,
snapping him out of his trance. "Maybe Shayla was right! You've turned into
some sex-crazed deviant, haven't you?!"

"Hey! Excuse ME for being human!" <Well, half-human anyway. I wonder if this
is how Dad must have felt with Mom? Wait minute... I'm sensing something
from her.>

They both looked up at the stranger as she smiled at Trunks and extended a
hand to him. To Trunks and everyone else, it looked as if some seductress
was trying to get close to the half-Saiyan, but to Nanami's eyes, she was
seeing something completely different. To her, it was a blue-skinned,
dark-haired woman pointing a wicked-looking knife at him.

"Uh, what's that for?"

The woman was startled for a moment, then composed herself. "Oh this? It's
for your boyfriend."
This made Nanami extremely embarrassed as she had yet to make the first move
with Trunks. "Er, well he's not really my boyfriend and if he really wants
to see other people, it's... all right with me. If he started a very nice,
blue-skinned girl like you, I wouldn't mind."

This made everyone tense when they heard this.

"Are you certain that she has blue skin?"

"Yeah... can't you see that?"

Shayla immediately raced toward her with her flames blazing. "You little
Phantom bitch!"

Kiria leapt out of the way as the flames lanced at her and raced toward
Trunks to kill him. However, Ura proved to be faster as she sped past her
and wrapped herself around Trunks' body before hardening her skin to the
consistency of steel. The knife was deflected as she used her hind legs to
push Kiria away.

Trunks smiled down at his feline friend. "Thanks Ura." He hadn't seen the
knife, but it wouldn't have made any difference. Along with his super
physical abilities and ki-powers, he had also inherited the ultra-tough
Saiyan skin from his father. The blade wouldn't have done more than scrape a
few epithelial cells.

Shayla attacked again, but Kiria evaded and tried once more to fulfill her
mission. However, dying was NOT going to be on Trunks' agenda for a very
long time.

"YOU WILL DIE!" At this point, she had dropped her illusion and everyone
could now see her as she truly was.

"Not!" Trunks commented as he causally swatted Kiria like an annoying fly.
At that moment, Miz began focusing her will through the Lamp of Water, which
was a bejeweled ring on her right third finger. She then sent a column of
water at the Phantom assassin as she flew backward. The water lance pierced
through her chest and Kiria let off a death scream as her body faded away,
leaving only a faint mist of powder that blew away in the breeze. Her knife
clattered to the ground.

Shayla's eyes narrowed as she went over and picked up the weapon. "Nice
little parting gift that Phantom tribeswoman left us." She remarked.

"What I don't understand is why she was here to kill Trunks and how you were
able to see through her disguise." Afra asked as she turned to Nanami.

"You mean, you didn't see the knife or that she had blue skin?"

Afra shook her head. "No. None of us could."

Miz nodded. "Somehow, you have an ability to see through the illusion she
cast. She was a member of the Phantom tribe, a race that live deep in the
caverns of El Hazard. They are our most ancient of enemies."

At that moment, a servant rushed toward the group and knelt down in front of
them "Your Holiness! I bring terrible news!"
"What is it?" Miz asked.

The servant took a deep breath. "The city of Pernon has fallen and reports
say that the Bugrom forces are on their way to the Forbidden Island!"

"What?! It can't be!" Miz exclaimed.

"The legend..." Afra breathed out in shock.

"Are you sure that it isn't some mistake?" Shayla demanded.

The servant shook her head sadly.

----------

Off the coast, in the Burgom territory, Jinnai set sail with hordes of
Bugrom as Queen Diva waved them off. She was still curious as to how her new
general would be able to find the Forbidden Island. Only the three
Priestesses of Muldoon knew of its exact location.

Jinnai however was not worried. He had a plan to obtain the weapon known as
Ifurita and this time, no one would be able to get in his way. Not even that
irritating Trunks!

His mad laughter was carried over the waves as dark storm clouds brewed
overhead.

----------

"I don't get it! Where are we going and what's so important about this
Forbidden Island?" Trunks asked as he, his group and the three Priestesses
raced across the waters on their cruiser.

"Just shut up and enjoy the ride!" Shayla-Shayla replied as she gritted her
teeth and gazed over the horizon.

----------

The palace of Florastika...

Princess Rune gazed out from the balcony of the room and became very worried
at the dark cloud formations that were in the distance. She then recited the
prophesy to herself.

"When the Eye of God blinks, the path to the sky will open... and the shadow
nation will become one..." She then looked back at a nearby mural which
depicted the Eye of God and a scene of a great battle during the Holy Wars.
Up near the top was a depiction of the Demon-God that was battling against
some heroic figure in gold.

"... and the Golden Champion shall return... to save us all."

----------

On Earth...

Bulma smiled as she closed up the last of the new Dragon Ball Scouters. The
work was done and all she had to do was wait until the Dragon Balls would
once again come to life. With Vegita and the others helping, they would
collect all seven balls in no time and Sheng Long would return her son to
her. She couldn't wait.

End of the Third Night.

Author's Notes

Well, the story is now almost halfway done and Trunks will become more
heavily involved as the war begins to heat up. Next on Dragon Ball Hazard,
Trunks will face his most awesome challenge of his young life as he goes up
against the Demon-God Ifurita, who happens to look very familiar. Stay tuned
for Dragon Ball Hazard, the Fourth Night: Trunks Vs Ifurita! Place Your
Bets!
