Warning : The content of this fiction includes extreme violence, foul language, sexual situations, and non consensual situations.

Disclaimer : All characters here in are property of Toei animation and Akira Toriyama, save the characters Vavage, Phobe, Coma, and Jaxom.

Notes : This is an AU fan fiction, beginning at the Buu Saga. And sorry for not updating sooner! It's been so busy IRL and stuff! Be glad to know, that the story will go on, be rest assured on that! I love you peoples, I really do!

Shadows Within

Part 7

by Reppa

It felt good to get away from the others as Vegeta stepped down onto Snake way, chancing a glance back at the medium sized planet he'd just left. It had been so boring and he was still a little rattled about what was said moments ago. He didn't want to dwell on it anymore than necessary. With a sigh, the Saiyjin prince stretched lazily as he looked up and down the winding stony road. He hadn't seen much of this strange place, as last time he died, he had ended up in Hell which hadn't been as bad as he thought it would have been. Now he was stuck in Other World, so he was completely lost at this point.

"Perhaps I should have stayed up there, but if my memory serves, demons can't ascend up here too easily. So Vavage won't be anywhere near…at least not for some time," he made a face of disgust at the name, he loathed that fiend and wanted nothing to do with him or his sadistic whims.

Grumbling irritably, the man turned his gaze westward. Was it just him or did he sense Kakarrot? He frowned for a moment as he closed his black eyes and concentrated. Yes, it was really Kakarrot. And Trunks as well. His frown darkened. "That baka! I ought to beat the living day lights out of him for bringing my son up here! Wait until I get my hands on him, he will be as dead as he was yesterday," he scowled as he levitated into the air before heading off in their direction. It would feel good to wring that oaf's neck at the moment, he needed to vent his agitation.

He continued on until something caught his attention and forced him to stop. It seemed he and the others weren't the only ones about. And other than the normal denizens as well, there was something else. But it was a dark, evil ki. Somewhat familiar and sinister. Foreboding. Vegeta frowned worriedly as he tried to pinpoint it. The source was from below him, and it seemed on it's way up. The Saiyjin stared down at the clouds with a stern glare, before he jumped in shock. That freak was insane or something of the like, he was on his way to Other World.

"And I think he knows where I am…" Which seemed hard to believe. How could the demon have such a strong sense of reading? But that didn't matter, not at the moment. What did matter was getting back to Gohan and the Supreme Kai before Vavage caught up with him. At the time being, Vegeta deemed pushing aside his dignity in the face of such a threat was quite important as he retreated back. He was halfway back when he slowed to a halt again, staring back over his shoulder. Now Vavage had stopped. "I guess that bastard can't get in…"

The only problem was, it seemed even the barrier wasn't going to keep him out. Black light flashed several times, telling Vegeta that his demon friend was trying to break in now. "That's not going to hold forever…" There was a great deal of truth to that was some of the dark energy was starting to leak through after several moments from the onslaught, and the Saiyjin turned away to resume towards the planet, "And here I am, being a complete moron and watching!"

He came to stop just at the spot he first stepped onto Snake way and stared up at the green planet. "Tell me there's a barrier for demons there too…" he murmured before he kicked off and started on his way back. That was until he hit something hard and quite solid though he had no idea what he ran into. After regaining his balance from the shock, Vegeta blinked up in confusion before he reached out and touched an invisible wall.

He stared.

And stared some more.

"For the love of all that's unholy and sacred!" he snapped angrily, punching the barrier. He was stuck now and it would be mere minutes before Vavage finally arrived. Just his luck. Grinding his teeth, he stepped back onto the road again and clenched his fists, "Now what? If I fired a ki blast at it, the attack would just come back…and there's no way I'd manage to make a break towards Kakarrot, that freak is faster than I am."

His dark eyes wandered back to the planet, didn't they notice he was gone by now? They were idiots, he could swear it. Hopefully they were realizing about now he was completely missing. But what was he to do if they didn't?

The only reasonable action he could think of was to boost his power level to a point that it'd catch Gohan or Gokou's attention. But it'd grab Vavage's too. Which was a real problem. There was a great deal of risk, but the Saiyjin prince was sure the demon would give the others time to come with his little fun in gloating. Besides, the bastard probably already knew where he was if he knew he was on this plane. Taking a deep breath as he relaxed himself, he began his power up, going Super Saiyjin and then some. He'd kill both of those Saiyjin imbeciles if they didn't notice in time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"That smarts…" Raditz grumbled as he sat up, stars in his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered. Looking around a little dazed, he realized he was in a completely different place. His brows furrowed as he looked about, before he saw the plump white cat talking to Piccolo and Krillin. The Saiyjin blinked for a moment, Since when do cats talk? I must have really messed myself up.

"Well, it's about time someone woke up." Came a voice. It belonged to the cat. Korin gave Raditz a funny look before he looked back to the other two, "He's all yours, good luck getting those Dragonballs."

Raditz blinked again, Dragonballs? What the hell were those? Then he remembered. He had heard of them from the Namek when he had died. With a wince, the long-haired Saiyjin got to his feet, despite how wobbly he was. But he soon regained his composure and followed after the two once they took off. With a glance over his shoulder, he caught up to Piccolo and looked at him with a frown, "Just where are we going? And what happened after that fuck smacked me silly?"

"You were knocked unconscious and Shin took Gohan and Vegeta somewhere in Other World. We have no clue where Vavage is." Piccolo explained, glancing sideways at the other before he continued, "And the three of us are going to search for the Dragonballs, and the first one is in the Dead Sea."

"Ah, the Dead Sea??"

The Namek opened his mouth to say something derogatory, but he reminded himself Raditz knew nothing of Earth. Krillin snickered, "Kinda creepy sounding, huh? S'called that because there's nothing living in it. It's really tough to swim in since it's so dense. So we might have a problem finding it if the Dragonball is in the water…"

Raditz raised a brow again at all of this. Creepy wasn't the term he'd describe it with, but it'd do. It took them roughly half an hour to reach the body of water before they landed on the salty shoreline. While the tow were busy with searching the area around, they suggested Raditz try to look in the shallow end of the water, but he wasn't to go deeper in. They would all do that. He watched them go out of sight before he approached the water.

He frowned as he looked over the liquid surfaces before he stepped in. Or at least tried to. His foot had come in contact with a solid surface, surprising him so that he stumbled back in shock. Now he knew it couldn't be that dense. They couldn't call it a body of water if it was. With a brief look back, he returned his attention to the water before stepping onto the surface again and then briskly walking onto the center. This was strange, and most likely very unnatural.

"Raditz! What the heck are you doing?"

The Saiyjin looked back at the two as they returned, still standing on the surface of the lake. "Please tell me when you say it's dense that it's this dense, otherwise I think we have a problem," he noted as he pointed down, the other two looked at each other surprised. Obviously they did have a problem.

As they were preoccupied, Raditz didn't take notice of the tendril of water that snaked up and around his ankle until Piccolo shouted out to him.

"Raditz, watch it!"

That in itself was little warning as the long-haired Saiyjin tore his eyes from them to where he feet were before he was jerked down into the once solid water by something below. Piccolo and Krillin both nearly jumped from their skins before they dove forward to follow but they crashed into the water's surface. It had gone solid once again and the Namek sat up, "What the hell just happened?!"

"I-I have no idea, I just hope he got a mouthful of air!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gokou had gone racing out onto Snake way before he felt the great change in Vegeta's ki which he hadn't sensed except a few moments ago. He blanched as it dawned on him something was totally wrong with what was going on, then he turned to Trunks and Phobe who came out after him. "Looks like there's trouble," he pointed out, holding his hand out to the both of them as he kept his eyes fixated in Vegeta's direction, "Grab my hand, we don't have any time to waste!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, Gohan had picked up on Vegeta's ki energy as he swung the newly acquired Z sword he had pulled out a while ago. He nearly dropped it as he looked up in confusion. How was it that Vegeta wasn't on the planet anymore?

It was obvious Shin noticed this too and he clamored to his feet, almost white as a sheet. "What in the world-!" he paused, as if something else hit him and dread came over him, "Oh no…oh no, oh no! Vavage is in Other World! Gohan, we have to make haste, he's dangerously close!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Vegeta dropped back down from Super Saiyjin and looked around himself, taking deep breathes as he did so. Whether or not anyone noticed was beyond him as he watched from his reasonably safe distance as the portion of Snake way before the blast crumpled and dust filled the air for a moment. Then Vavage floated up into the bright, clouded sky of Other World, looking as dark as death but not as grim, there was always a beaming, sadistic glow to his face. But he didn't seem too fond of the atmosphere around him as his crimson eyes scanned about, seeming to search, but oddly enout they weren't. There was a scowl that twisted his lips, showing off his long fangs.

"The sooner the better, I always say. Don't you agree?"

At first Vegeta thought the demon was talking to himself, but he knew very well it was him who Vavage was speaking to. After gulping down the lump in his throat, he forced himself to relax. He had never been so afraid of someone before except once or twice. With an emotionless mask on to save face, the Saiyjin hovered out from under the road and into view, "I suppose. And you don't give up, do you?"

"Of course not." The fiend replied silkily, smirking wickedly as he dropped to Snake way and casually stalked towards him, though Vegeta kept up in the air. There was no way he would trust him, not for a second. That would be an untimely mistake. But Vavage continued to smile, as if he'd won or something. And if Gokou or Gohan didn't come soon, he most likely would, Vegeta was no match for him, not at this point.

Absentmindedly, the prince's hand slid into the pocket of his pants, his fingers brushed against the one star ball he had with him. He swallowed. Would that help him any if he was on his own? Probably. Probably not.

The demon's gaze kept on him, the relatively smug and sinister look on his face unfaltering until he frowned and slowly turned, not taking note of Vegeta as the Saiyjin relaxed. Vavage slowly raised a brow as his eyes wandered to the edge of the blade just an inch from his nose, held up by Gohan who was glaring angrily at him. "You're not a very smart guy, are you? You've made a real big mistake coming up here," the youth scowled, chancing a glance at Vegeta to see if he's all right before he looked back at the fiend before him.

"We'll see about that, I'm not the weakling pointing a toy at a god, now am I?" Vavage drawled, his lips in his trademark smirk.

"You don't make a very good god if you get yourself whooped!" That was Trunks with Phobe and Gokou who'd just arrived, appearing by Vegeta. The taller Saiyjin smiled weakly at the other Saiyjin, "Sorry we're late, we were a bit held up…"

"Idiot…" Vegeta mumbled softly, the corner of his mouth twitching. He would probably never be so glad to see the baka's face. But they all turned their attention to the matter at hand as Vavage chuckled evilly.

"So, now that the party's here, let's get started…."

End of Chapter 7