Hotaru

The storm soon fell apart and there was nothing but clear blue skies; but this didn't matter to the worried Goku and Krillin. They both knew Gohan was out there weakened by the water or even drowning for all they knew! They still couldn't feel his power level, but that could be because he had no energy left to give off.

Bulma and Master Roshi soon found out about the missing child and took a boat to scout the area by the island. They knew they only had until sun down before they had to start searching under water; and that was swiftly approaching…

Gohan finally decided to find out what the light was that he could scarcely see at the end of the tunnel. He didn't know what it was or even if it belonged to some kind of creature that lived under water; but he didn't care about those thoughts for the moment. All he cared about was trying to make it back up to the surface or at least find something to eat. He had no energy to swim let alone hardly stand up and walk, but his determination kept him going as he used the wall too slowly walk down the tunnel; breathing heavily and stumbling every now and then.

Piccolo had begun meditating again when he felt Gohan's energy level suddenly drop. He didn't know why, but after having that vision, he bolted to where he felt his last location was with Goku and Krillin. 'If anyone's hurting you kid, I'll make them hurt ten times more!' He promised himself.

Gohan had been walking for hours and still had a long way to go before he reached the light in front of him. Unfortunately, he knew that he was losing consciousness with each step he took; but the vague memory of how his father stood up against the saiyans kept him going forward. 'If my father could survive against those bullies, I can survive down here until I find a way out…' He encouraged himself.

He kept on walking further in the cave until the light began to grow brighter more and more quickly. He knew he was nearing his destination and soon, he would figure out exactly what had happened and how to get out; or so he thought…

A shadow lays hidden at the end of the tunnel next to the light; just as curious about Gohan as Gohan was of the strange light that was lit…

"Gohan!!" Goku called louder then he had before the other fifty times. He knew that if Gohan didn't hear him by now, then he was somewhere in the water; but he refused to fear the worst. They had many friends in this ocean that would have helped him somewhere safe; besides, if he was in genuine danger, Gohan's hidden powers would save him. This was something that always happened to him. No matter what danger he was in, something within him always awoken and saved his hid. This was something that he took note for future references…

'I'm almost there!' He told himself as he saw it only a few feet away from him now. he was so happy that he wasn't paying attention and tripped over some rocks, causing him to hit his head hard against a sharpened rock. Red liquid began to slowly seep out of the wound as he tried to sit back up again. Sure the pain was unbearable, but there was no use in crying about it; he needed to fend for himself.

He staggered up right against the wall again and continued to go forward. Gohan wasn't planning on giving up; there was no way he would let himself. He just got his father back after being dead for over a year and he didn't want to miss out on spending time with him…Gohan sighed and walked the ground move as he went along. 'I guess it's kinda my fault that he died in the first place…if I didn't get captured, he wouldn't have been forced to come and save me…' He told himself as he noticed the ground was brighter. Slowly looking up, he gasped in shock and amazement as he stared right up at what was glowing…a ball of light….

"Gohan!!!"

"GOHAN!!!"

Piccolo looked ahead of him to see Goku and Krillin looking around at the water; a boat scouting the body of water near the island. 'What's goin on here?'

Goku seemed to noticed his arrival as he looked directly at him; a face full with worry. Piccolo didn't even have to ask, he knew Gohan had gone missing in the water somewhere. "Goku! Where was the last place you saw him?!"

"That's the problem! We weren't paying attention!!" Piccolo scowled. He couldn't believe how irresponsible Goku could be sometimes.

"I'll start diving in the water and searching for him that way!" Goku nodded in improvement as Piccolo took a deep breathe and diving in.

The water was freezing cold, but what would you expect it to be after a storm? Piccolo swam long and hard; nothing but Gohan's laughter and innocent face on his mind. There was no way he was going to let Gohan die down here; it just didn't seem right.

The sun soon left the sky and the moon took its place (they wished the moon back because it was effected the Earth). Goku turned to Krillin as they both had the same thought; they were going under.

'A ball of light? What's it doing here? And how is it floating in mid air?' He asked himself as his vision kept fading in and out. He could faintly feel his father's, Piccolo's, and Krillin's energy levels coming at a rather slow pace and that gave him hope. As long as he could stay awake, he would be found. But he knew that it was easier said then done.

Rocks hitting the ground snapped the young saiyan out of his thoughts and he weakly turned around to see a girl about ten or eleven peeking around the corner. What he could tell was that she had short black hair that dangled above her shoulders and wore a long sleeve black shirt and a short kinda gray skirt. Black pants were underneath since the skirt was so short. Gohan looked into deep purple eyes to feel somewhat comforted; but he didn't think he was suppose to.

He smiled. "Hi. I'm Gohan." He said in a weakening voice. The girl seemed to notice as she shifted uneasy. "What's your name?"

The girl just kept staring at him; not moving from her position. Gohan took one step towards her, but felt all his energy leave him and his world went black.

Piccolo and Goku immediately no longer felt Gohan; their stomachs turned. There was no way they were going to believe he was gone; nothing would convince them.

'GOHAN!!!" Goku yelled trying to send it as a telepathic wave when he stopped suddenly. Just below him, he could feel a strange power level and a small life force. He didn't know what or who it was, but it was the best lead he'd had. He darted down as fast as he could and soon found a small cave of some sorts.

'Of course! He must have found this to get air!' Goku told himself before entering surfacing the dark hole.

No Gohan…At least in that end of the cave. Just faintly, he saw a small light just like Gohan did. 'That must be him! But whose with him?' But he took off running anyway.

He turned the sharp corners, dodged the sharp rocks that hung from the ceiling, and hopped over large rocks that would have tripped him.

On the ground ahead of them, he saw something shimmering in the light on the ground. He didn't care much about it until he glanced at it as he past by. Blood; it was blood and lots of it. "GOHAN!!!" He yelled this time. He didn't care if someone else was there, he just wanted to try and keep his son alive. "GOHAN!!!" He yelled one last time before turning the final corner and stopped cold. There was a ball of fiery light floating in the air and a girl dressed all in black had Gohan's head on her knees; obviously concerned for him.

The girl seemed to notice him immediately and looked up at him with the same sad eyes she gave Gohan; as if she knew something they didn't.

"Excuse me, but that's my son; is he okay?" Goku asked in his kindest voice he could muster. It didn't seem to do anything though; the girl remained silent. He couldn't just stand there and watch as his son die; he needed to get him back up to the surface, somehow. But as he got near, the girl looked up at him slowly.

"He'll be okay as long as I heal him when we surface…" She began. Goku was surprised at how mature her voice sounded; she sounded like a sixteen year old! "He smashed his head against some boulders pretty badly; he lost a lot of blood."

Goku laughed nervously. "That's sound like a great plan and all, but we can't get him out of here unless we want him to drown."

The girl's eyes narrowed and gave him such a stern look it scared him. "Grab a hold of my shoulder; we don't need to swim."

It's a good thing Goku trusts almost anyone unless they wouldn't have made it out in time. He placed his hand on her shoulder and felt a wave of darkness that he didn't understand. It wasn't evil, but it still was darkness.

The area around them soon began to fade to black and Goku looked around in amazement. The next time he saw color, they were back on Master Roshi's Beach; the sun shining upon them. "How'd you do that?"

Of course, she didn't answer. Instead, she placed a hand on Gohan's head injury and closed her eyes. Goku gasped as he saw a small yet strong purple light come from her hand and flow into the wound.

Piccolo and Krillin must have felt the strong power as well as they surfaced the water and watched the scene as it went along.

Soon, the wound on Gohan's head began to close up until nothing but a small scar was left. The purple light soon faded and the girl pulled her hand back. "He's okay…" She trialed off as she fell over unconscious.

Goku caught her and looked at her small sweet sleepy face and smiled. "Thank you."

Piccolo and Krillin soon landed and looked at the girl in Goku's hands. They both felt the darkness within her, but just like Goku, they saw she had no dark aura. "Who is that?" Piccolo asked intrigued by the whole thing. Goku shook his head as he was unsure himself.

"Da…daddy…." Everyone quickly turned their attention to Gohan who was weakly looking up at them; a smile playing on his lips.

"Gohan! You're alright!"

"Is she okay? She, she helped me daddy."

"I know son. Do you know her?"

"I heard her say her name was Hotaru." He said as he felt himself going in and out of consciousness again. Piccolo seemed to notice as he picked Gohan up.

"Go ahead and rest Gohan, you need it." Gohan smiled at him with his twinkling eyes before sleep consumed him.

"Piccolo," Goku began. Piccolo turned to Goku to see that he too was holding the girl supposedly named Hotaru. "You can stay if you want; I know that you can feel something stirring itself up."

Piccolo smirked. "Ya, sure. I don't wonna miss out on all the fun." Krillin looked at them both as if they were crazy; but then again, he never knew what was happening anymore.

Authors Note:

SOOOOO sorry for the late update; been busy with school, AMV's (Anime Music Videos), and other stories. I'll try to update when I can!!XD