Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Getting old, eh?


Chapter 4

Chi Chi scowled as she paid the taxi driver. She suspected he was overcharging, but she was in no mood to make a fuss. She didn't tip him, though.

As the taxi flew off, she wondered why Goku hadn't come to pick her up. He wasn't the brightest man around, but he rarely forgot an agreement with his wife. He'd soon learned that doing so cost him his dinner.

Walking towards the house, she noticed something odd. There was a small crater in the ground, and several trees were damaged. It looked as if there had been a fight.

Suddenly worried, she ran the rest of the way to the house. Once inside, she picked up the phone and called Bulma. Her mother answered the phone. Bulma had been picked up by Krillin a few minutes ago. She didn't know where they had gone.

Chi Chi sighed. She didn't like any of this, but it seemed there was nothing she could do at this time. She decided to make dinner early. Cooking always helped her take her mind off things.

She made her way to the kitchen, but before she could get started, she thought she heard something outside. Her face settled into a grim scowl. She took the frying pan off the wall and walked slowly towards the front door. She reached out to open it.

Before she could, it was knocked off its hinges. Chi Chi was knocked backwards. She was on her feet again in a moment. She was still slightyl dazed from the hit, and this allowed her to think that the nightmare vision that stood in the doorway was an illusion.

At least until it stepped inside.

It was too broad for the doorway and had to twist aside to enter. Chi Chi stared, unable to believe her eyes. Through it, she could see the path that led up to the house. Tracing it to the door, she noticed something.

The thing had muddy feet. It had already left three giant tracks of mud. Chi Chi's eyes blazed. "WHAT!" she screamed. "How dare you come in here with dirty feet like that! And what have you done with my Goku? Answer me!" She hit it across the head with the frying pan. Its head snapped around, but it was otherwise unaffected.

Its left hand snapped out and grabbed Chi Chi around the neck, lifting her off her feet. She kicked with her feet, struggling to get free. Her eyes grew wide as two blades emerged from the thing's right wrist.

Then the creature paused. Its eyes came alive with a venomous green and fixed on her stomach. For a few moments it examined her. Then the blades retracted and the creature dropped her to the ground. It regarded her for a while. To Chi Chi, it looked disappointed. Then it turned and left.

Shock got the better of her and Chi Chi began to faint. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was: How did he know?

When Krillin and Bulma arrived, they found her lying in the hallway, unconsciousness but alive.

+ + +

"What are we going to do?" Krillin muttered.

They had been talking ever since Chi Chi had woken up again. Each of them had some idea of what was going on, but the important questions, like: where is Goku? or who is the mysterious killer? remained unanswered.

"Well, we can't go after him." Bulma said. "You're the only fighter left, Krillin, and you can't take him alone."

Krillin was about to answer when there was a knock on the door. "You're right, I can't take him alone," he said as he got up, "but I'm not the only fighter left." He opened the door. Tien and ChaoZu stood in the doorway.

"Krillin. We got your message." Tien said. "It sounded serious. What's going on?"

"Come on guys, you better step inside. This might take a while."

Actually, it took about ten minutes to fill Tien and Chao Zu in on what had happened.

"Yamcha's dead? That's horrible!" Chao Zu said, eye wide with horror. "And you have no idea who did it?"

"Not a clue," Krillin confirmed.

Tien folded his arms. "One question. Where's Goku?"

Everyone fell silent. Chi Chi looked away. Bulma said: "We don't know. He might just be out for a while, or..." She didn't finish her sentence.

Tien stood. "That's it. We're going after this guy."

Krillin looked uncomfortable. "I don't know, Tien." he said. "I mean, what if Goku lost to this guy? What chance do we have?"

"There is no choice, Krillin. If we do nothing, he will keep on killing people. Who besides us could ever stand a chance against him?"

Krillin hung his shoulders. "Yeah, you're right."

Chao Zu turned to Bulma. "Bulma, do you have anything we might be able to use?"

Bulma shook her head. "I can't think of anything. You'll have to rely on your senses."

Tien nodded. "All right." he said. "When do we leave?"

"Well, it isn't evening yet. I say we go as soon as we can. I don't want to go out after dark." Krillin said.

"I'll make you something to eat." Chi Chi said, and hurried into the kitchen.