Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Dragon Ball series or any of its related topics. Dragon Ball is the property of Akira Toriyama. In respect to its creator, this fan fiction is created for entertainment purposes only, and is not part of the official story line. The plot is mine and any other characters you do not recognize. No reader/reviewer is authorized to release/post/translate this story anywhere else without my permission.
A/N: If you'd check the date of when this story was published and completed, you'd note that this story was written some time ago. Therefore this story no longer accurately reflects my current and preferred writing style. This story remains up in this site for archival purposes. It is highly unlikely that I will make revisions and proof-read the story, and in no means will I add or delete chapters. I do so, I will give a warning at the start of each chapter if it was ever revised.
Please read and enjoy, and reviews are always welcome.
Chapter 14
The Big Showdown
Paolo entered the kitchen and smirked. The smirk on his face vanished when he saw nobody was there. The smirk appeared once again when he saw the blood on the kitchen counter top. He stared at the dripping blood from the counter to the cold floor. He followed the trail of blood, but by only a foot, the tracks stopped. He growled and left the kitchen in search for the remaining teenagers.
When Paolo was gone the gang emerged from their hiding places and made a sigh of relief. All of them, one by one, helped each other.
"What are we going to do now?" Marron asked.
"Vegeta," Bulma whispered. She stood still on her pot and didn't budge as she continued starring at the door that Paolo had just been standing by. "Where's Vegeta?" she panicked. Everybody looked at her with the same worried expression.
"Bulma," Marron said as she walked near her. "I'm sure he's fine, I know he is." she told her. Tears flowed freely down Bulma's flushed cheeks. She buried her face into Marron's shoulder and Marron let her cry.
"The woman's right." a gruff voice said. Bulma raised her head and looked at the direction of the source of the voice; near the door.
"Vegeta!" she said happily, a real smile, creeping into her face.
"Vegeta!" Goku called. "You're alive!" he half screamed, earning a few hushes from the rest of the group.
"What happened to you?" Yamucha asked when he got a good look at Vegeta.
"What do you think?" Vegeta asked as a matter of fact. He slowly walked towards the group as he held his abdomen with his left arm.
"Oh my god, your hurt!" Chichi noticed his bleeding belly.
"It's only a scratch." he assured, but mostly to Bulma, he knows how worried she gets, especially with him.
"Let me look at it." Bulma said.
"No, I'm fine!" Vegeta snapped. "Anyways," Vegeta paused as he sucked in the pain. "We have to get out of here."
"Yeah," Krillen agreed. "Besides I think Marron needs to go to the bathroom." he pointed to her. Marron nodded in agreement.
"We'll go to the dining room, there's a bathroom near there." Goku suggested.
"Who else needs to go?" Marron asked.
"I'll go with you." Bulma said.
"Me too." 18 said.
"How bout you Launch?" Tien asked.
"No, I'm good." she insisted.
"How bout you guys?" Bulma asked the boys.
"No, we're fine." Tien answered. The other boys nodded in agreement.
"Fine, now that's settled let's go." Vegeta said and lead the way for the group. Vegeta kept one eye in front of him and the other to Bulma, she and Marron had their arms linked. The walk all the way to the dining room was quiet, exclude for the massive thunders, lightning's and the heavy gusts of winds. After a few minutes more walking, no sign of the seven footer killer anywhere. Everything was peaceful, if that's the right word at a time like that, until they reached the dining room.
Vegeta held the door open for Goku to go in, he was being helped to walk by Chichi and Yamucha. Tien held Launch in his arms and Krillen went after them. Vegeta watched the three girls that were left behind.
"The bathroom's over there." he pointed to a door, on another hallway, about thirty feet away from the dining room. "Do you want me to go with you guys?" he asked them, but mainly Bulma, since he looked at her in the eye when he asked.
"No we're fine." she said.
"Scream, if you need help." he said, and went inside the dining room himself. 18, Bulma and Marron were left outside dark creepy hallway.
"Let's go?" Bulma asked her companions. They both nodded in agreement. Bulma led the way bravely and Marron and 18 huddled closely together, their arms linked. Bulma stopped in front of the bathroom door.
She held the cold door handle and slowly pushed it open. The bathroom was as clean as always, and no sign of the killer anywhere. She slowly got inside, her two friends following close behind her.
Once inside she walked swiftly, and kicked all the doors in every stall, just to make sure that no one was there. Once she figured that they were safe, she looked back at her friends and nodded.
"Finally,"Marron said and entered one of the stalls. "I really have to pee." she said.
"Ditto." 18 said and went inside a stall, Bulma did the same.
[Dining Room]
Vegeta doesn't want to look like he's worried in front of his friends. But just in-case he stayed near the Dining room door, ready to go to the bathroom if he hears any scream.
"Are you alright Goku?" Chichi asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, don't worry." he assured her. "Thanks to Bulma, I can still manage to stay awake and walk." he smiled reassuringly, Chichi smiled back.
Vegeta looked at the couple. Then he looked at the cue ball next to them, sitting with the asshole. Then he looked at the newly couple. Family? The killer said, that he's family with one of them. But who? Neither of his friends looked anything like Paolo. He started thinking back to the first time he heard Bulma's scream when she saw the house keeper's body. But he couldn't think of anything that could decipher any clues, whatsoever.
[Bathroom]
Bulma was the first one to get out of the stalls. She looked at her self in the mirror. She was shocked by how dirty she got, Goku's blood was all over her white tank top, her face was dirty, with dry blood, dirt and sweat. She made a frown and turned on the faucet, she took a cupful of water on her hands. She bent down and started washing her face.
She looked up and her eyes widened in shock, she couldn't find her voice, she needs to scream now! But where was her voice? There, up in Marron's stall, a ventilator, and Paolo was coming out of it. She tried looking for her voice but still couldn't find it. She turned around and she couldn't keep her balance no longer.
Just at that moment she heard a flush in 18 stall and she got out. She noticed the look on Bulma's face and looked up to where she was looking.
Paolo!
She screamed.
[Dining Room]
The scream echoed through the hallways.
"That's 18!" Krillen screamed as he got up from his seat and started for the door. But Vegeta was already there, on his way to the girls bathroom. He should've just stayed with them! What a fool he is leaving them all like that!" he ran as fast as his legs can carry him, Krillen was ten feet away behind him. When Vegeta got there, 18 and Bulma burst out of the bathroom. They stumbled helplessly to the ground.
18 leaned on the wall to steady her herself as she slowly dropped to the floor, Krillen hurriedly went up to her side to calm her down. Vegeta welcomed Bulma his arms as she tried to struggle to get up from the ground and to get to him.
"She's gone!" she cried. "He's gone as well!" she cried. "It's all my fault!" she whispered.
"What?" Vegeta asked confused. "What happened?" he asked.
"It's all my fault." she kept whispering and her body trembled with fear and despair.
"I'm gonna go in." he said as he stood up and left the three out in the hallway. Bulma kept crying as she looked at Krillen who was trying to calm 18 down.
[Bathroom]
Vegeta slowly walked inside. Blood was everywhere. He stopped and covered his mouth and nose, trying hard not to barf because of the scene in front of him. Marron's body laid sprawled across the floor. Her once blueish hair was now soaked from her own blood. Her once tanned skin was now white. He could still clearly see the fear in Marron's face. Her eyes were still open, Vegeta tried to look up, when he did he regretted it. There on the girls bathroom wall, in deep red letters, carved by Paolo's knife, used of Marron's blood, it says: 'I will get you all.' then in bold letters: 'WATCH OUT!'
He stormed out of the bathroom to see all of his three friends still in the hallway. Bulma was still whimpering and Krillen and 18 were standing up. Krillen helped 18 balance herself. He walked up to Bulma and gathered her up into his arms.
"It's all my fault!" she continued whispering over and over again.
"It's nothing!" Vegeta tried to calm her down.
"How can you say that!" Bulma burst as she looked Vegeta in the eye.
"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked.
"I," Bulma started but not long before she passed out. Vegeta shook his head and carried her limp body in his arms.
"Paolo said something." 18 started. Vegeta and Krillen turned to her.
"What did he say?" Krillen asked.
"Let's go back first." she suggested. Vegeta nodded in agreement and the three walked back as fast as they can to the dining room.
[Dining Room]
"What happened?" Launch asked as soon as their friends got in.
"Marron's dead." Vegeta said coldly as she carefully placed Bulma's body down on one of the rectangular tables. Everybody stared at him, with grief and despair.
"Oh my god," Chichi whispered as she ran to her fainted friend. "Is she alright?" Chichi asked him.
"She's fine." Vegeta answered.
"And Marron's gone?" Launch asked.
"Didn't you hear me?" he asked her back.
"Oh my god." Chichi whispered as tears flowed freely from her eyes. "How can this be happening to us?" Chichi asked.
"Well," vegeta said and all of his friends looked at him. "Maybe we can get some answers." Vegeta turned to 18.
"I," 18 stuttered. "Well,..."
"Tell us what he told you." Vegeta said.
"Who?" Goku asked.
"Paolo." 18 said.
"What did he tell you?" Tien asked worriedly.
"That he's not going to stop until he kills his target." 18 cried.
"And who's his target?" Vegeta asked. 18 looked back to Bulma's faint body.
"Hell no." Vegeta whispered.
"Why?" Chichi cried, starting to worry for her friend.
"He said he's not going to stop until he kills Bulma!" 18 cried. "Even if he kills us all!" she sobbed and dropped to her knees. Vegeta walked back to Bulma's body and just looked at her.
"Why Bulma?" Chichi asked.
"We asked him the same thing." 18 cried and Krillen went up to her, held her shoulders to calm her down. "He said, that, that," she stuttered. "A friend of his suffered because of her." she cried.
"That's impossible!" Goku said. "Bulma never did anything mean to anybody!" he said.
"I know." Chichi whispered.
"He's a lunatic!" 18 screamed.
"What are we going to do now?" Launch asked.
"We have to get contact to people outside." Vegeta said. They all looked at him, his back was to them as he held Bulma's limp hand.
"How exactly are we going to do that?" Launch asked, everybody was quiet for awhile.
"I know." 18 whispered. They all looked at her. "Bulma's laptop."she said.
"How's that gonna help?' Launch asked.
"Her computer has it's own phone line in it."18 said with hope in her eyes.
"Oh my gosh!" Chichi gasped, now all eyes are on her as she ran to Goku;s side. "Goku's blood is starting to soaked into the cloth." she said.
"I'm fine." Goku gasped. Vegeta shook his head to clear all thoughts. Then he turned his head to 18.
"Do you know where it is?" he asked her.
"Yes." 18 said. "It's still back in the room." 18 said as a matter of fact.
"Do you know how to work it?" Vegeta asked.
"Yes." 18 nodded.
"Then come with me." Vegeta said as he grabbed his flashlight near Bulma's body. "Where going back there." he said.
"Are you crazy?" Krillen asked.
"What do you want?" Vegeta turned to him. "Sit here and do nothing while he scared the shit out of us, surprising us to death?" he asked him. "I'd rather risk my own life finding a way out than staying here waiting for him to kill us." Vegeta snapped. "Do you want to go?" he turned his attention abck to 18. 18 nodded.
"18!" Krillen said.
"Vegeta's right, Krill." she told him with a smile. "We have to at least do something." she whispered afterwards.
"Alright," Vegeta nodded. Then he turned to Launch and Tien. "Come with us," he told them. "We'll drop you off at the Kitchen, get more cloths for Kakkarot and something that smells bad to wake her up." he pointed to Bulma. Tien nodded in acceptance. After telling them what to do, he walked back to Krillen. "I'll take care of you woman yo stay here and take care of mine." Vegeta whispered that only the two of them can hear.. Krillen just glared back at him.
"You got it!" he nodded with more faith and hope.
"Good." Vegeta smirk.
"Yo, Vegeta." Goku called. He turned to him. "You be careful alright," he smiled. "I owe you big once we get out of here." he said.
"You have no idea Kakkarot." Vegeta smirked and lead the way for him and his friends. "You have no idea." he whispered before disappearing from the dining room.
"Good luck." Chichi whispered as she watch her friends leave. Yamucha, Krillen, Goku, Bulma and her were the only ones left in the room.