(Sorry everyone. Ff.net is totally messing up the format of the fic, which is why it was one big paragraph last time. I'm putting in some HTML coding in the hopes it'll fix the problem.)


"You think I WHAT?!" Piccolo shouted. "You're the only one left, Namek! You have to have something to do with these murders!" Vegeta growled as he glared at the green alien. "Why would I kill them? What reason would I have to do something like that?!" "That's what I'd like to know!" the prince shouted as he advanced a little on the Namek. Goku put out his arm to halt the other Saiyajin. He didn't want this to become another murder scene. "Vegeta, calm down. I know you're upset about Trunks, but we have to make sure before we accuse him." The prince balled his hands into fists before folding his arms and turning away from the other two, trying to get himself under control before he put a hole through the Namek. Piccolo glared at him before looking at Goku. "You mean to tell me that you think I might have done this?" The Saiyajin didn't say anything for quite some time before he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I don't know, Piccolo. That's why we're here." Vegeta suddenly spun back around, seeming a little calmer now. "Give us a believable excuse and I won't kill you." Piccolo grit his teeth to resist the urge to cause harm to the prince right there and then. But he had an excuse.

"Have either of you stopped to think that I share this body with Kami?" The two Saiyajins stared at the Namek blankly as they struggled to figure out the meaning behind the question. Assuming that their silence meant they were clueless, he continued. "Even if I wanted to kill anyone in cold blood, that nagging voice in the back of my head wouldn't allow it. As much as I hate to admit it, that old geezer has control over part of me. Murder is out of the question." After considering his words carefully, Goku sighed and looked at Vegeta. "He's right, you know." "Damn it!!" the prince growled as he began to storm away from the Namek. "I really needed to kill someone!"

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"Who else? Who else is there?!" Vegeta muttered to himself. He was just about at his wits end trying to figure this baffling case out. Yamcha and Tien weren't even in the general area, so it couldn't have been them. Goku, Gohan, Goten, Piccolo, and himself were the only ones with ki.... Except...."

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"Open up, baldy!!" Vegeta shouted as he pounded on the door to the Turtle Hermit's house. Krillin was quick to answer because he knew the prince wouldn't hesitate to break the entire door down if he had to. "Vegeta? What's wrong?!" "What's wrong?! WHAT'S WRONG?! MY SON WAS MURDERED, YOU IDIOT!!" The former monk blinked in surprise at the prince's sudden outburst. "I understand that... And you have my sympathy, but why are you here?" "Because you're the only one left who could have committed the murders."

Krillin was clearly shocked to say the least, but he couldn't understand why he'd be suspected above all people. The prince was quick to explain as he paced back and forth on the small sandy beach. "Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who could have done this has been checked out already. They all have alibis. I would have suspected your mechanical woman, but androids don't have any energy that we can sense. And I figured that pervert Roshi would have been too busy reading porno magazines to bother himself with murdering anyone. That leaves you." Krillin knew he was innocent, but he couldn't come up with a believable reason that would convince the prince of that. He couldn't even remember where he'd been at the times of both murders. Vegeta was becoming annoyed with the monk's silence, and increasingly suspicious. "Well?!" "Vegeta.... I didn't... I couldn't have...uh..." The prince growled in frustration. He was about two seconds away from blasting the bald man. Suddenly, Goku appeared next to them. He seemed very upset about something. "Vegeta! There's been another murder!"

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Vegeta stared down at the motionless Namek. He was still in the same area he'd been in when he and Goku had talked to him the day before, but sure wasn't in the same condition. This time the killer hadn't even bothered to break his victim's neck. Judging from the gaping hole in the alien's chest, the murderer simply hit him with a ki blast from behind. He probably didn't even see it coming until it was too late.

"Did you see anything?" Vegeta asked as he walked around the surrounding area for any clues. Goku shook his head. "No... I just felt the same ki again. This time I used my instant transmission in an attempt to get here in time, but it was already too late." "Hn. And you say this just happened right before you told me?" the prince asked, glancing up at Goku, who simply nodded in response. So that would have to mean Krillin was innocent as well. Then who could it have possibly been?! Things weren't adding up! Everyone else had been proven innocent, so that would have to mean that maybe there was an intruder with an impressive ki that was doing this. Obviously the culprit was a serial killer. It could have been a former enemy who was getting revenge the best way he knew how, but why would he have killed ChiChi? She never even came into contact with most of their strongest enemies. Either way, if the murderer wasn't found soon, he would strike again.

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Days later...

"Anyone care to explain why we're here?" Yamcha asked as he looked around at the entire group of people gathered at Capsule Corp. Every surviving member of the Z senshi was there, ranging from Vegeta to Roshi. Some, such as Tien and Yamacha, hadn't yet learned about the murders. "You're all here because I suspect that one of us is a serial killer. ChiChi, Trunks, and Piccolo have all been murdered by someone with an impressive amount of ki. We haven't been able to figure out who it is yet, but I figure if we all stay in the same general area long enough, we'll be able to single out the culprit." Vegeta explained, watching everyone for any potential reactions to what he'd said.

"So.... Are you saying we have to stay here? For how long?" Gohan asked. Sure, Capsule Corp was a gigantic building, but he didn't want to be forced to say there for an undetermined amount of time! But that seemed like the case. "Yes, and for as long as it takes. You have two options, Gohan. Leave and get murdered, or stay and possibly get murdered, but solve the case at the same time. There are hidden cameras all over this place. Some of which I haven't even found yet, so even if we don't see the murder, at least we'll have it caught on video tape." the prince said, pointing to a hidden camera aimed at the group to emphasize his point. Everyone stared at him blankly for a moment, then looked at each other. "So you're saying there's a chance more people could be killed?" Tien asked, not at all feeling comforted by the idea of having cameras capture his brutal murder at the hands of a former friend. Vegeta was silent for a moment before nodding. "Bulma will show you all to your rooms."

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Bulma yawned and smoothed her tangled hair with her fingers as she walked into the kitchen for a midnight snack. She wasn't at all surprised when she saw Goku there as well, wolfing down a pile of food like he was starving. The woman didn't mind though. She felt comforted to have him there with her.

Bulma poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down across from the Saiyajin. "Hey, Goku. Wow. Really that hungry, huh?" Goku nodded as he swallowed that last of the food he'd set out and sat back in his chair, patting his stomach in satisfaction. "Yeah, well if there's a chance someone's gonna kill me, I wanna at least die full. It's no fun being dead and hungry, you know." Bulma chuckled and stirred her cereal around with her spoon. She knew he was just joking, but the thought of someone murdering her best friend wasn't a pleasant picture. "Goku... You don't think anyone here is actually a killer...do you?" The Saiyajin's expression became serious as he thought about the possibilities. "I don't know. I don't want to think so, but you can't help but assume..." Bulma nodded and finally pried her eyes off her cereal bowl as she looked up at him. "Just be careful..." The Saiyajin smiled. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

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Bulma woke up the next morning feeling very much on edge. Something about the way the air hung just didn't seem right. There was a heavy feeling about it. The woman glanced at the clock as she once again found herself in the kitchen. 9:47 a.m. Sure enough, everyone was in the kitchen devouring everything in sight... At least all the Saiyajins were. Except for one... "Where's Goku?" Bulma asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, so she really needed the jumpstart. Gohan and Goten paused and looked at each other, then at Vegeta, who had also paused from eating his breakfast. At the same exact time, they all jumped up from the table and ran to the Saiyajin's bedroom.

Goten, Gohan, Bulma, and Vegeta all gathered outside Goku's bedroom door, unsure of what to do. They didn't want to just barge in, but it was highly unusual for the Saiyajin not to be the first to the table in the morning. Bulma, feeling the desperate need to break the silence that lingered, spoke some encouraging words. "He was up pretty late last night too... And he ate late. Maybe he's just tired and hasn't gotten hungry again yet." The others pondered this option for a moment, but still didn't find it to be satisfactory. "Dad could eat a ten course meal and still be hungry five minutes later..." Gohan said. "Yeah. And he's usually up training by 9 every morning." Goten added.

Deciding that there was definitely something wrong, Vegeta opened the door and slowly poked his head into the room. Everything appeared to be normal at first glance, but the prince's Saiyajin senses could pick up something the others could not; the smell of blood. The air reeked of it. He paused and looked over at Goten. "Take Bulma downstairs." The demi-Saiyajin's eyes narrowed in horror. Something was wrong. "Wha..." "Now!" Vegeta snapped. Goten looked at Gohan, who nodded for him to do as he was told. Reluctantly, the teenager took Bulma's arm and pulled her away from the room, yet she wasn't very happy about it either. She was more than smart enough to know that something was wrong. The remaining Saiyajins waited until the two were downstairs before entering the room and closing the door behind them.

"Dad?" Gohan called, scanning the visible parts of the room carefully. A horrible silence was all that answered; a silence that sent shivers down the demi-Saiyajin's spine. Gohan came to a quick halt when Vegeta held out an arm to stop him, then pointed toward the bed. He followed the prince's pointed finger and gasped as he spotted what the other had. He could see Goku's arm hanging limply over the side of the bed; which wouldn't have been that surprising if not for the fact there was blood dipping down the limb, creating a pool a crimson liquid on the floor. Gohan slowly shook his head in an attempt to stop the tears that were already forming in his eyes. "He can't be dead... I didn't hear anything... I didn't even feel the ki this time, Vegeta..." The prince looked over at the demi-Saiyajin, then back at the grim scene in front of them. The cause of death wasn't yet known since they couldn't see anymore than Goku's arm, but he already knew what had happened. "Gohan, why don't you just go downstairs." The other man hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and left without another word.

Vegeta took a deep breath and slowly approached the bed. He hated to admit it, but he could feel a lump forming in his throat. The Saiyajin stared blankly for a moment when he had a full view of the latest victim. The murderer must have been afraid of getting caught because he had put duct tape over the Saiyajin's mouth to assure he didn't make any extra noise. The killer also seemed to be getting more creative. The fatal blow seemed to have come from a stab wound in Goku's stomach. However, it wasn't a normal dagger that created the wound. Vegeta noted that some of the surrounding flesh was burned, meaning the blade was made of ki. This killer certainly seemed talented to say the least. But what baffled the prince was how the Saiyajin was so easily killed. It didn't even look like he'd put up much of a fight at all, and that definitely didn't seem like something Goku would do. Surely he had time to fight back seeing as how the murderer took the time to put the tape over his mouth. And no one had said they heard anything last night either. This had to have happened within the last two or three hours as well judging from the amount of blood that had already drained. And the last person to have any contact with Goku was Bulma.

Vegeta put his hand on his chin as he glanced around the room. There weren't any other signs of a struggle or anything else of that nature. The prince growled low in his throat as he looked back at his former rival. "Damn it! I was supposed to be the one who killed him!" Taking a deep breath, the Saiyajin cleared his mind and once again focused on the issue at hand. He looked up at the ceiling and snapped his fingers as he remembered his key weapon in fighting back against the murderer. "The cameras!" Without another word, Vegeta dashed out of the room.