'Hello again…and sorry, sorry, sorry for not updating in a while. Not only have I had writer's block for this story, but also I was in Germany for two weeks and haven't had the chance to update. Well, again, thank you all for reading and reviewing and here we are again. Now, on with the story!'

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fanfiction written just for fun and to scare. Akira Toriyama is the original creator. I just borrowed his characters.

Chapter 10

It was a city. Dilapidated and in ruins, an old cityscape was what this new "world" looked like as Vegeta stood taking in his surroundings. So he was in the third level now. Yay. Feeling exhausted already Vegeta tried to figure out how he was going to face the Shadow Demons. In fact, how was he going to find their planet at all? Certainly he'd be able to see a black, haunting looking rock floating in the sky, but looking upward, all the prince saw was the rocky dark bottom of the second level and sections of yellow clouds.

Sighing, the black-haired saiyajin trudged forward across rocky ground covered in debris and destruction. The environment was familiar, but he couldn't figure out where he had seen cities like this before. It was old, that was for sure, but it was definitely from earth and not like anything he'd seen before. Walking around the destroyed roads and collapsed buildings he noticed that everything here had been ruined and blown up by explosions. It was a battle that did this. Churches were torn apart, buildings lay in ruins, and it appeared that no life was present in the abandoned area. Or so Vegeta thought. Turning the corner, Vegeta stopped dead as three beings sat before him.

It startled him, making the usually confident prince believe that he had finally run into the Shadow Demons, but as he allowed himself to calm down, he realized that they were ordinary-looking humans. They sat at a card table planted right in the middle of the dreary land and drank beer, played cards, and smoked cigarettes. Regaining his composure, Vegeta took a slow step forward and then another. As he neared, he realized that a few yards away, at the end of the city, was a whole new town. Instead of it being older and dilapidated, Vegeta saw that it looked like a suburban neighborhood. A cement truck sat at the corner of a sidewalk, slowly dumping the thick gray substance into a deep hole. Somehow, he stood in an area of two worlds. The past and the present were connected and appeared so strange attached to one another.

Vegeta cleared his throat loudly and crossed his powerful arms, trying to intimidate the three men as much as he could. Much to his dismay, they merely glanced at him with bored looks and returned to their card game. Feeling his impatience and annoyance rise, Vegeta marched up to the table and put a gloved hand in the middle, preventing the men from playing. No one was going to ignore the saiyajin prince.

"Where is the planet of the Shadow Demons?" He demanded.

The man to his right sighed and glared up at the prince with sharp blue/green eyes. From under shaggy sandy hair, the tight-faced human placed his cards down and laced his fingers together.

"Es ist verboten," he spoke quickly, wanting to get back to his game.

Vegeta blinked and picked his hand up off the table. "What was that?"

"Was?"

Getting angry at the annoying man's games he grabbed him by the scruff of his loose jade shirt and shook him.

"I'm not playing games here!" The saiyajin barked. "You'll tell me where the planet is or you'll be getting a ki blast to the face!"

Anger flashed across his victim's visage and a large hand grabbed his gloved one, not caring that it was stained with purple blood.

"Es ist verboten!" The stranger yelled again. With cold light eyes, the man smirked at his two friends. "Was fur in nar!"

The two still seated laughed with the sandy-haired man and Vegeta's hand tightened around the scruff.

"There's no use in speakin' with 'em," one of the humans said with a smirk. "He's not understandin' what yer sayin' anyway."

Releasing the man and shoving him back into his chair, Vegeta smirked, as well. "If that's true, why did he answer me when I first asked?"

Glancing at one another, they sheepishly grinned. The one who hadn't spoken yet laughed lightly. "He's a smart one…well, besides the fact that he wants to die so badly at the hands of the Shadow Demons."

"He's figured you out, Zacher."

The sandy-haired man pouted a bit and sat up in his chair. Peering at Vegeta with sharp eyes he looked the strangely-dressed man up and down, noting that he had been fighting with someone or something.

"It is forbidden to go to the Shadow Demons," the man called Zacher spoke.

"Oh?" Vegeta mused. "And why is that?"

There was a moment of silence before the three began laughing again. Feeling an angry heat raise up his neck Vegeta let his energy crackle around him, warning them to shut up. Instantly they did.

"You use ki I see," Zacher observed. Vegeta merely nodded and kept icy black eyes on the stocky man. "Hunters, fools, und the stupid go looking for their deaths when they look for Shadow Demons. Only those who are written down und planned to be killed by them are to see them. It is our jobs to make sure that they are not bothered by weak fools who only vant to prove themselves."

Letting the cocky man finish his little speech, Vegeta grunted a light laugh and shook his head. "Well, I guess I'm lucky then. I'm scheduled to die by their hands…so you have to let me in."

Six eyes shot up to him as he explained this. A look of suspicion swept across their faces and they glanced at each other.

"If that's so, why would you come to them? Aren't yeh aware of their powers, their rituals, their…obsessions?" the other accented man asked.

Vegeta smirked and nodded. "Indeed. I've experienced them. I've lived through them."

The suspicious glares didn't lessen as he told them this. Zacher took a drink of his beer and licked his lips.

"Come. Sit vith us."

Not wanting to be held up anymore Vegeta rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just tell me where the planet is."

"Nein."

"What!" Vegeta yelled. "I told you that they are expecting me! You don't need to stop me."

"What's yer name?" the older man asked. Vegeta's sharp eyes pierced his and he growled darkly. The man remained calm and simply stared back. He was a larger man and tall. He had blonde hair, a bit shaggy, and dark brown eyes. Large plump lips smiled slightly as he noted Vegeta's anger.

"What's yours?" The impatient prince snapped.

Smiling even wider, the larger man rocked back on his old wooden chair. He then let it fall forward with a loud thud as he eyed the armored saiyajin.

"My name's Frank. You can call me Lucky."

Vegeta's eye twitched in annoyance. "Fine, Lucky. I'm just going to walk past you all now, and I'll find this planet on my own. Bye."

Without another word, Vegeta stalked past them, feeling their eyes on him the whole time. Nearing the "line" that ended this strange world and started to head into suburbia, his pace quickened. His white boots carried him forward…straight into an invisible barrier. There was a loud thud as his face collided with the unknown wall and Vegeta brought his hand up to his aching nose. The three behind him cackled with laughter. Bringing up a gloved fist he pounded on the clear barrier that divided the worlds and let out an angry yell. Pressing his palm against it, he quickly brought some energy to hand and fired point blank against it. Nothing happened, not even a dent. Seething, he whipped around and stormed back to the table.

"Why?" He roared. "Why won't you let me through? I have to complete this mission and you idiots are holding me up. I should blast you all right now!"

Again, they remained calm with satisfied smirks on all their faces. Vegeta blinked in confusion. Hadn't they just seen his energy? They were only humans. They should have been terrified! But they just stared at him condescendingly as he fumed before them.

"We're well aware that you could blast us all away in seconds," the nameless, youngest one spoke. "But we know you won't. If we're gone, the barrier stays. How, oh how will you get through?"

Clenching his teeth Vegeta crossed his arms and turned his head to the side. "I'll figure out a way."

Zacher chuckled and lit a cigarette that was tucked between his thin lips. "Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant, as all young fools are. Get in there, kill und kill some more und that's it. What a grand life."

Vegeta growled low in his throat. What would a weak human know about his life at all? Who was he to judge? A slow rage pumped through the prince and he wondered why he hadn't blasted them all into nothingness by now.

"You don't know me. You don't know what these sick creatures did to me, what they plan to do. You're all just weak, cowardly humans."

Zacher's usual calm expression suddenly turned icy and cold. "Just weak little humans, eh?" The built man hissed. "Zo, does this mean you are not human? What, then, are you?"

Feeling an arrogant pride fill him, Vegeta chuckled. "I could never be confused with a mere human. I am a saiyajin, Prince Vegeta!"

Earning the expressions he was hoping for, the three men's eyes widened and their mouths dropped open. Zacher's cigarette even fell from his lips. The youngest of the three gazed up at the armored saiyajin with shadowy eyes, dark with suspicion.

"I thought that you would have been taller."

Vegeta's eye twitched in annoyance and he had the sudden urge to flip the little card table over and toss the three idiots through the air, but he curbed his anger and took a few deep breaths. The other two men looked at the smaller character and gave him a weary gaze.

"Yeh'll have to forgive me friend, Patrick here. He still hasn't quite come out of his immaturity yet," Lucky explained. "Though he died so long ago, he still likes to pretend he's sixteen."

The one called Patrick gave Vegeta a haughty grin and picked up his cards. The boy really was younger than the saiyajin had noticed. He wore a baggy gray hat on his red hair, which helped shadow his young freckled face. Dark, dark blue eyes appeared innocent and bright, though Vegeta could see that it was a just a façade. A cruel darkness crept behind them and Vegeta could only imagine what the boy had done to earn a sentence in hell.

"Zo, you are Vegeta," the elderly Zacher said. "I can see vhy u are on the list then. But they were supposed to come to you, not you to them."

"I'm not going to wait around for them to come and attack me whenever they feel like it," Vegeta growled. "It's time that I took the initiative and went to them. They won't know what hit them."

Zacher peered at the battle-worn prince and sighed. "Haben Sie Geld?"

Vegeta blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Zacher!" Lucky laughed, his blonde hair shaking as he did. "You did it again. The stupid creature cannot understand German."

Vegeta glared at the bigger Irish man as the nasty insult made him flare his energy as a warning. Lucky merely smiled back as Zacher blushed.

"I forget sometimes," the German laughed. "What I asked vas, do you got any money?"

Shaking his head, Vegeta sneered at such a stupid question.

"Even though we're dead," Patrick snapped, "it still feels good to have some money in our pockets. It's good in trades sometimes. If you had some, we may have been willing to let you pass."

The saiyajin groaned and put his purple-stained gloves to his head. His impatience was running rampant and all he wanted to do was get across. He couldn't just blast the fools because they were his ticket to getting through. He'd have to come up with another idea.

The three humans seemed to forget that he was there and returned to their card game. The armored prince paced back and forth for a bit before coming to a halt and glancing down at the game. His sharp black eyes watched closely as he began to remember playing it once or twice with Bulma. Both times he did exceptionally well. He hid the sly grin that began to appear on his face.

"How far into that game are you?" His rough voice asked, cutting through the air.

Six eyes rose and met his. Slowly, the three humans began to smile. Zacher put his cards down and snapped his fingers. Vegeta leapt out of the way as another old, wooden chair popped into the air and landed hard on the four wobbly legs at the table. He took note of the strange power this human had and pulled the old chair out from the table. The three knew his plan and they silently agreed. If he won, he would be granted access past the barrier. Zacher nodded to the black-haired prince to sit and he did so.

"If you are not from Earth, how do you know how to play poker?" Patrick sneered.

Vegeta gave him a condescending smirk as Zacher gave him some cards. "I may not be from earth, but who says that I haven't been living there over the years?"

This seemed to spark their interest and the three looked at him.

"So, the all powerful, planet-destroyin' Vegeta has been residing on good ole' earth over the years?" Lucky said. "An' why is that? Frieza was killed a while back. Yeh could have been ruler o' the galaxy."

Vegeta scoffed and looked down at his cards. Indeed, this was a question that had plagued his mind since his first few days on earth. Why had he stayed on the planet? At the time, there was really no place else to go. As far as he knew, Kakarotto had destroyed Frieza and was somewhere in space. He wanted to wait for the idiot's return so he could demand the fool to teach him how to go super-saiyajin. Then Trunks came, the androids…and Bulma. Over the years, he grew confused over the relationship he had with the blue-haired woman. He fought with himself and he even fought with her over the silly emotion of love. Did he love her? It was an absurd idea. Vegeta, the killer of innocents, slave to Frieza, and all together evil guy could not feel love. It wasn't an emotion he could understand. Yet…after this whole ordeal with the Shadow Demons, he'd come close to giving his life for her. Was that love? With a scowl deepening on his face Vegeta wasn't even aware of his sudden silence.

"A woman, righ'?" Lucky Frank asked.

Vegeta snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. With a dark blush spreading across his cheeks he let out a strained laugh. "Don't be absurd! Are you forgetting who I am? Love. Ha!"

"He didn't say anything about love, man," Patrick mused. He picked up his glass of beer and drank with a smirk on his lips.

Getting even redder, Vegeta shuffled through his cards. "Are we just going to sit here the whole time, or are we going to play?"

The three laughed as they drew their attention back to the table. Vegeta felt quite calm as they started to play. He knew that he was the king of keeping his face calm, stoic, and blank. It was what he excelled at. After years of torment, abuse, and interrogation throughout his life, it was very important to learn to control emotions and facial features. He had trained himself to show nothing and not let others know what he felt or thought. Every time he found himself with a good or bad hand, he expertly drew his face blank and placed a card down. Even through the conversation the humans insisted on having he was able to keep his composure cool and calm.

"So yeh've battled the Shadow Demons before?" Lucky blurted. "An' survived. How did this happen?"

Abruptly, haunting images popped into Vegeta's mind and he tried to hold in a shudder. Making his face grow cold he pushed some air from his teeth and sighed.

"I guess I was a marked saiyajin when I was six and a half years old."

Patrick leaned back and pushed his hat from his eyes with an amused smirk. "Man. You went through that shit when you were six?"

Vegeta nodded and placed some cards on the table.

"How'd yeh escape?" Lucky asked with much interest.

"Frieza," Vegeta muttered.

The three let out sympathetic moans, smiling the whole time.

"That's gotta be a kick to the balls," Patrick snickered. "You're his little pet and then you have to rely on the lizard to save your ass. Ouch."

"Yeah thanks."

"Zo, you got away. But now they are back?" Zacher said coolly.

Nodding Vegeta sighed again. "Yeah, I weaseled some information from the lizard shithead before I completely destroyed him. He said that the Shadow Demons are hired assassins. I just have to find out who sent them after me and-"

"I thought that the saiyajin called Kakarotto destroyed Frieza," Zacher burst in. "Vhen the lizard came down here that vas the news all over."

"Taking credit, huh, Veggie?" the redhead sniffed.

Vegeta scowled at the arrogant ghost and sat up straighter in his chair. "Actually my son was the first to kill him. Kakarotto was the first defeat to the bastard…and I was the one to finish him off for good." He smirked and lifted up a bloodied glove. "I ran into him down here…and this is all that's left of the freak." He explained showing them the purple stain across his fingers.

Zacher took in a rush of air and the other two eyed Vegeta with shocked fear. Lucky's brown eyes glanced at the German man with raised eyebrows. The saiyajin started to feel a bit uneasy at the strange awe and what he sensed…anger. He wondered briefly if these humans were somehow tied to the little monster.

"You killed him?" Zacher spoke slowly, keeping his light green-blue eyes on his cards.

"That's right."

The stocky German clicked his tongue against the back of his front teeth and shook his head. "I see."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow and shot quick glances to all three. They noted his confusion and much to his dismay Patrick answered his unasked question.

"Killing someone who is already dead in otherworld is not a good thing to do. It's a very punishable thing to do."

The flame-haired prince chuckled and glanced at the cards on the table. "Don't forget who I am. I am already condemned to hell. I could very well be picked apart by these Shadow Demons and trapped for eternity in a fate worse than hell. What do I care if Frieza is wiped from existence? He deserved every second of my revenge against him."

Zacher uncharacteristically threw his cards on the table, placed his elbows on the wobbly surface and leaned forward so he was face to face with Vegeta. Even though the man was a weak human, Vegeta felt a bit intimidated by the angry glare stabbing into him.

"Zo, you think killing one who is veaker than you is a correct action?"

Vegeta too felt his anger rise and he placed his cards on the table. His sharp black eyes pierced into the Zacher's cool pale ones and he scowled.

"Yes," the saiyajin hissed. "You wouldn't even believe the shit that horrid little creature put me through. He deserved every second and I don't feel the least bit bad about tearing him apart. He took advantage of me and my strength for over twenty years; a being that was much weaker than him, without hesitation or guilt. Frieza had it coming."

"You're lying."

Vegeta's eyes widened and he held in a small gasp. "No…he deserved it."

"Oh, I don't doubt that he deserved it," Zacher shot back. "Vhat I am saying is that you feel bad about it. I can zee it in your eyes. It is eating you up inside."

The prince quickly sat back in his chair, blinking rapidly. He shook his head and opened his mouth, making a few choking noises. With a self-assuring laugh he crossed his arms and shook his head again. "Uh…no."

"Wow, great comeback," Patrick mocked.

"Yes," Zacher confirmed. "But vhy exactly? You said you vere under his watch for over twenty years. It sounds like even without him in your life, you still behave has if you are doing his bidding."

"What!"

"No one is ordering you to kill anymore, right?" Lucky asked. "Yet you had no problem offing someone who could not defend himself."

Vegeta's heart began to race. He found himself at a loss of words. It was absurd. Yet, his mind kept replying his own death at the hands of Frieza. Goku's words echoed in his head. "...couldn't even defend himself! There's no honor in that..."

Was he…really exactly like the monstrous tyrant? Zacher could see it. Could everyone else see it, too? Was it so obvious that he was nothing but a mindless slave to the lizard? And he, Vegeta had killed him with no remorse. He had grinned and laughed as he tore apart the awful beast, not feeling an inkling of remorse or guilt as Frieza screamed out.

The tyrant had been right. As long as he, Vegeta, lived, so would Frieza. Because if Vegeta existed, there would still be murder, hatred, and revenge. He proved that as he took joy in killing the creature that was much weaker than he. Feeling a cold sweat run down his face, the same sinking doubt and fear crept into Vegeta as it did when Frieza said his last dying words to him. As long as he lived, so did Frieza.

"Yeh alright, boy?"

Staring down at his gloved hands, Vegeta remained silent and motionless.

"I think you really hurt his feelings, Zacher," Patrick laughed. The boy grabbed the bill of his floppy hat and fanned himself briefly, showing off his red hair even more.

"Listen Saiyajin," Zacher said softly. "Killing, murdering, torturing, and hurting isn't the vay to live. I'm guessing my vords were a bit harsh. Who am I to be taunting you about your life and your past? All I meant vas that killing people because you have a grudge against them or because you think they wronged you in the past will not resolve anything. Do you feel better now that Frieza is completely destroyed and never to return?"

Vegeta bit his lip and lowered his head more. It was so stupid that he suddenly felt like a child being scolded by a parent. They were just…weak humans. What did they know? But Zacher seemed to know what he was talking about. He was like a wise grandfather trying to give his young grandson advice.

"I don't know," Vegeta whispered. "I don't know what to think. Something…something is wrong. I should be happy. I should be happy the bastard is dead and that I did it…but…"

"This is what Hell is fer," Lucky explained, taking a drink of his dark liquor. "Frieza was being punished for eternity. That's the thing about Hell. Yer already being punished, yeh don't need to be hassled or destroyed by the living."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and raised his head. He stared at the cement truck over in suburbia. "Yeah…the first level of hell seems like a really terrifying place," he replied flatly.

The three laughed at his sarcasm. "The first level of hell is for the normal sinners, you know, your kind, our kind, those that are flesh and blood and basically did evil or mean things in life," Patrick explained. "The shit you saw up there is pretty ridiculous. The fucking pool of blood, what a damn cliché. And those dumbass poofy cloud spirits floating around all stupid. I think that's why it's hell up there. It's damn embarrassing! It's like Booh-Bah Nightmare Land…but that's only what you can see." The redhead lit a cigarette. "You don't see the spirit cleanser or the hidden rooms of rehabilitation."

Vegeta's dark eyes rose up to meet his. Patrick nodded smugly. "Yeah. Those rooms suck. You are strapped in and they show you all the sins and evil deeds you've done and they restrain your power and fuck with your mind and-"

"I think he gets it," Zacher interrupted.

Vegeta scowled deeper, glad that he never made it down to hell when he died at the hands of Frieza. Feeling thoroughly distraught, Vegeta slouched and rested his chin on his hands.

"Still want to play?" The sandy-haired German asked.

Vegeta sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm here already, but I don't really feel like going forward. I should just wait for them to find me. I guess I deserve it, though."

"I don't believe anyone deserves that fate," Zacher growled. "No one should have to face the Shadow Demons. Why they were employed by Y-"

Lucky coughed loudly and kicked his friend under the table. Zacher blushed and shook his head, then laughed and chugged his beer. Vegeta, not really caring anymore, just shrugged it off and sighed. There really was no point in going to the Demons. He didn't have the heart to face them. A harsh guilt knotted within his chest and he questioned himself more and more why he killed Frieza. He hadn't killed anyone in a long time, and the fact that he had enjoyed it so much made him fear himself. What would Bulma or Trunks think if they had seen him or knew that he brutally murdered one so much weaker than he? Maybe it was better if he just allowed himself to be taken by the Walcon. These simple humans only saw him as a deranged killer. Perhaps all the earthlings only saw him that way, too.

But what should he do now? He didn't want to go forward, but he didn't want to go back up to Yemma and tell Bulma that he was just going to wait to be tortured and killed.

"Come on, yeh," Lucky said kindly. "Just play poker with us to get yer mind offa this. It don' matter if you lose or win, just play fer fun."

Blinking a few times Vegeta sat up. He might as well try to have a little bit of enjoyment before he died. Sure. Picking up his cards the prince put on his poker face again. He glanced at the three merry humans and smiled slightly. They all seemed so relaxed, so serene in such a drab and dreary place.

"So," Vegeta said. "How is it that you are all in Hell in the first place?"

Zacher looked at his two friends and they all smiled and looked back at Vegeta.

"Thought you'd never ask," Patrick said.