CMG: Alright. I don't own them. Let there be more action, more suspense, and more questions or flames as I invite you all back to…

The Fear

Chapter 5

The warriors enter the cave as it suddenly began to shift into a tomb-like dungeon. The torches on the walls hardly helped the warriors see anything. Suddenly, a fierce wind blow as the torches went out and a scream was heard as Piccolo powered up to illuminate a light. There, on the ground, laid Krillin dead. Goku growled angrily as his eyes flickered, but held back his anger as he vowed that whoever killed his best friend would pay.

"So sorry for killing the weakling, Krillin," a voice spoke as the torches relit themselves. There, stood a figure wearing a mask is a copper color along with his robes/clothing. His hair is black as night as it ran down his back in a braided strand with copper clasps binding the hair.

"You must be another one of Trepidation's men," Piccolo growled.

"Yes," said the figure. "My name is Coppice and I will be your opponent. Who will fight against me?"

"I will," Tien said; keeping Goku from jumping in. 'Let me take care of him, Goku.'

'Why? He killed Krillin and…' Goku started as he shifted uncomfortably.

'Yeah, but I sense something from him,' Tien said. 'I need to see if I'm right or not.'

'Fine, but be careful, Tien,' Goku said; relaxing as Tien slid into a fighting pose.

"So, Tienshinhan," Coppice said, "what are you trying to prove anyway? That I can read your very minds?"

"I was thinking that might be it," Tien said.

"Well, you are indeed correct, but I can do more than read minds," Coppice said as he suddenly lunges at a surprised Tien and throws him into the ground. The three-eyed warrior growled as he started to get back up on his feet and leaned on one knee for support until he was able to recollect himself.

"Tien!" Chou-su cried.

"So, is that your best friend?" Coppice said as he eyed Chou-su grimly.

"Leave Chou-su out of this!" Tien said as Coppice suddenly sent a telekinetic attack at Chou-su, making him go limp.

"Chou-su!" Gohan said.

"No!" Tien cried as he fired blasts at Coppice. The masked warrior easily deflected them with a shield as he stood there without showing any signs of fear or anger in the slightest.

"Chou-su, wake up…" Goten said as he shook the doll-like person.

"He's dead, you guys," Goku hissed. "He destroyed his mind from the inside."

"That bastard," Vegeta growled.

"That's the same thing he did to Krillin," Goku added; not showing any happiness, but pure anger. "He's got strong mind attacks and if Tien doesn't finish him, then we'll be wiped out."

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Tien lunged at Coppice and hit the warrior in the face. The mask shone as it remained undamaged as Tien pulled his fist away and felt it throb with pain.

"What's wrong?" Coppice said. "Want to fight me without me wearing the mask?"

"If you please," Tien said.

"Very well," Coppice said as he removed his mask. Underneath was the face of a young child-like adult with green eyes. What's different though was that these eyes lost the innocence through years of suffering and seeing death.

"You remind me of me," Tien said.

"We are alike, you and I," Coppice said. "I, like you, had lost my best friend. I was also treated cruelly by a man that wanted us to destroy and take the lives of the innocent rather than protect and sacrifice my own."

"I'm not like that anymore," Tien proudly stated. "It's because of my friends that I've outgrown that crutch of weakness."

"Oh really? What if you were forced into slavery?" Coppice said as he showed the chains on his wrists. "What if you were bound while your master smacked you on your back and made you suffer? Would you change because of that?"

Tien did not speak. Deep inside, it was as though Coppice was reading his own soul. It was true he was chained down and beaten, but he eventually escaped that slavery and met friends that treated him like an equal rather than an outcast.

"Well? What do you say?" Coppice offered. "Join me and together, we will show what outcasts can do when given the chance to…"

"I refuse," Tien said. "My friends are the reason I'm accepted and I rather be with them and be happy than with the likes of you!"

"Fine," Coppice growled, knowing that he had lost the mind battle. "Then I will make it so that you will not be able to fight off the effects of Brain Death!" He chanted and Tien stood his ground as his green eyes flashed red. Tien suddenly felt the whole world fading black as he cradled his head in his hands and screamed in pain. He fell to one knee as he struggled to fight against whatever was trying to claim his life.

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"Tien!" Goten cried.

"Don't give up!" Trunks yelled.

"It's no use," Piccolo said grimly. "He's losing this battle because of his friend's death."

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'This can't be… the end…' Tien thought in fragmented sentences as he remain knelt on the ground holding his head. All around him, he saw nothing but darkness; the darkness signifying death.

Footsteps were in front of Tien as he tried to look up and see who it was walking towards him, but the pain seemed intense. When he felt a hand upon his shoulder, the pain suddenly lifted from his mind as he looked up and saw Chou-su kneeling beside him.

"C-Chou-su?" Tien said looking at his first and best friend before him as though the child-like clown was reaching out to him. "But how… I don't…"

"You can fight this," Chou-su said as he stood there with Tien in the shadows of death. "It's beyond you to give into this torment when you are stronger than this."

Tien didn't know how his best friend was reaching out to him and encouraging him, but when he was there, the pain was forgotten as he managed to stand up and the darkness suddenly faded. With a cry, Tien powered up.

"What?!" Coppice. "How? That was supposed to kill you!"

"Let's just say I had a little help from the friend you killed," Tien said before he lunged at Coppice and started a round-house against the other warrior. Stunned to fight back, Coppice was sent careening into a wall as the rubble fell upon him. When he made no attempt to get up, Tien fired a blast for extra measure that he was indeed dead.

"You did it, Tien!" Goten said as Tien smiled.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Chou-su's help," Tien said as the warriors turned back to notice Goku standing there quietly with his back turned and his tail lashing against the wall; making noise as it struck the wall quite brutally. The wall itself was marred thanks to the tail's impacts against the wall and looked as though someone specially nicked the wall with much ease.

"We don't have much time," Goku warned. "We got to get to Chi-chi before it's too late."

"What is it about his mood changes?" Yamcha said, still wondering whether or not it was really a good idea to drag him along.

"I'll never understand it either," Vegeta said, "but right now, Kakarot's right. We need to keep moving."

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Trepidation walked to the room where Chi-chi was at and opened the door. She was on the floor asleep as he grabbed her by the cloth of her clothing.

"Wake up, my pet," Trepidation said as Chi-chi's eyes came open with fear in them. "It's time for you to strengthen me again before the battle."

"No… I…" Chi-chi started before a scream came out of her mouth. Trepidation's body bulged. If he didn't wear the said mask, he would have been smirking at her.

"That's a good little pet," Trepidation said, discarding Chi-chi on the floor and walking out of the room. As he left, Chi-chi started to cry again as the mark on her shoulder burned.

'Kami, please send Goku to me safely and have him set me free…'

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Goku suddenly stopped as an axe blocked their path. On the other end of the axe was a giant that stood about nine feet tall as the warriors stared at his massive height and structure. Unlike the other opponents, this one wore a silver mask, wore pants with a skirt-like dress over it, and has blonde hair.

"I am Stigma and I will be your opponent," the giant bellowed.

"We don't have time for this," Goku growled.

"Dad, can we fight?" Trunks said.

"Yeah daddy, please?" Goten said.

"Whatever, make it quick," Goku said in a monotone voice as it seemed he didn't give a damn he had to fight or not.

"Fine, brat," Vegeta agreed.

"Well, well, two little runts, hm?" Stigma said. Both boys smiled mischievously as the seemed to have something up their sleeve. Then, both boys pointed right at him like they were super heroes and stated:

"Hold on, Mr. Stigma and we promise…" Trunks started.

"…a battle that will leave you reeling!" Goten finished as both boys stepped back from one another. Quizzically, the giant saw them both flare up into Super Saiya-jins.

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'Those little troublemakers,' Goku thought. 'I knew I should have stepped in.'

'They wouldn't dare!' Vegeta thought coldly.

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"Fu…" Trunks and Goten said at the same time; starting the complicated dance that Son Goku once taught them as a key to defeat Majin Buu himself, but was wasted with taunts and delaying the creation of Biba-di. "…sion! HA!"

The blinding light made Stigma look away from the light as two bodies melted into one within the blinding light. When the light ebbed, Gotenks stood in all of his glory as a Super Saiya-jin 3. Vegeta gawked at the young fusion; surprised by the way that the boy before him was truly and really a Super Saiya-jin 3 like Goku.

'So, that illusion in Majin Buu was true after all?' Vegeta through wryly. 'Now I need to reach that level for myself! To taste that forbidden fruit!'

"Well, well," Stigma gawked; looking at the boy that was once both Trunks and Goten. "It seems that I can save myself the trouble of bashing two pests."

"Heh, heh," Gotenks scoffed as he spoke in a dual of Goten and Trunks' voices. "Only if you catch us first!" With that, the fusion lunged at Stigma as the large giant blocked easily. Gotenks bounced back from the impact and remain aloft in the air as Stigma swung his mighty fist at the fusion, forcing them to fly into the ground rather painfully.

"Gotenks! Stop goofing off!" Piccolo growled; knowing that Goten and Trunks were only teasing the giant known as Stigma.

"Aw, you're no fun, Piccolo!" Gotenks said as he got up and dusted himself off. "Of course, I still have about 13 minutes left as a Super Saiya-jin 3 and…"

"No ands!" Piccolo growled. "This isn't a time to fool around when there are lives at risk!"

"Fine you spoilsport," Gotenks sighed as he slid into a battle stance.

"Ready are we?" Stigma said. "About time."

"Shut your trap or I'll shut it for you!" Gotenks said as he threw a punch at Stigma's gut as the giant staggered back.

"Hmph, not bad for a little runt," Stigma grunted as he picked up his axe and swung it at Gotenks. The fusion narrowly avoided the axe's blade as it chopped a few hairs from the top of his head.

"Hey!" Gotenks yelled at Stigma, angry at the giant's previous blow. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"I rather not and cut you down to size," Stigma gloated as the fusion fumed.

"Then I guess I'll have to do some modifications so we're fighting on equal footing!" Gotenks proclaimed before taking a deep breath.

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'Oh great,' thought Piccolo as he recognized what Gotenks was about to do. 'Just what we need…'

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Out of Gotenks' mouth, a puff of smoke appeared that formed into a ghost as it started to laugh gleefully.

"What kind of attack is that?" Stigma questioned, wondering what a ghost would do to him.

"Oh you'll see," Gotenks grinned. "Ghost Attack!"

The little ghost flew at Stigma as he swung his axe at it. The moment the axe made contact, the ghost exploded as the blade of the weapon was blown off and flew into the wall. For a brief moment, it looked as though Stigma himself was destroyed too, but when the smoke cleared, Stigma stood there with the remains of the axe in his hands.

"Nice little trick, but it won't do you any good!" Stigma said as he threw the remains of the axe to his right side as it clanked to the ground.

"Well, I have more tricks than that!" Gotenks said as he rushed at Stigma and started throwing the random attacks at him. Soon, nearly fifteen minutes of Gotenks time as a Super Saiya-jin 3 had passed as the fusion had to stop to take a breather. "Man, what's the deal? You should have been dead!"

"I see your flaw," Stigma said. "You're using more power than you're used to using!"

"Says you," Gotenks said before suddenly, his hair shortened and he fell out of Super Saiya-jin altogether.

"Gotenks!" Yamcha said.

"Now you two shall be wasted easily!" Stigma said as his fist flew at the fusion. At the last minute, Gohan stepped in and caught the giant's fist with his hand.

"Gohan!" Gotenks said cheerfully.

"Lay off my brother," Gohan growled as his energy flared up. "Or else."

"Or what?" Stigma as he lunged a barrage of attacks at Gohan. Each one, Gohan ducked, caught or blocked as he seemed like a target that shouldn't be underestimated.

"I'll give you one last chance to yield before I get serious," Gohan said lowly.

"Yield? I rather not!" Stigma said as his fist flew at Gohan. Right before it made contact, Gohan faded out and slammed his fist into Stigma's face. His feet dug into the ground as Stigma looked up and suddenly felt a kick that severed his spinal cord in his back as Gohan's foot hit the middle of his back. Stigma fell to the ground with a thunderous thud as the Gohan landed in front of him.

"That's why I told you to yield," Gohan concluded before walking over to the others.

"Man Gohan!" Gotenks said. "You're amazing!"

"Yeah, but next time, kiddo, you better not goof off!" Gohan said with a frown.

"Fine," Gotenks said before he dissolved back into Goten and Trunks.

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The chamber door opened as Zealous came in with the armor that Trepidation requested.

"About time, my queen," Trepidation said. "Did you have trouble carrying that?"

"I did, my lord and was preoccupied," Zealous said.

"Oh?" Trepidation said. "How so?"

"I was wondering what would happen if the warriors got here?" Zealous said.

"Then I shall do battle and win," Trepidation vowed as Zealous had a look of worry in her eyes.

'I pray they do win so that they can set me free,' Zealous thought coldly to the one who desired to claim her as his own.

CMG: Well, I hope this was worth waiting for since I didn't get 45 reviews to update early. Oh well. ; I should have said 40 reviews. Well, onto the reviews anyway:

Psychomanaic: Well, I was close! At least I'm updating now a day late. (laughs nervously as the other reviewers seem to be glaring at her)

Kinoha: Hope you liked what I gave you. For now, Chi-chi's fate is a mystery and won't be fully revealed until the second to last chapter. (cackles) I'm glad you enjoy Goku's behavior. I was trying to portray a rather moody side of him that's usually seen in battle around the others. They're pretty much afraid of him right now. And I don't mind you rambling. It's great feedback!

Goku-lover21: Thanks and I hope your Halloween was good too.

super saiyan 4 chichi: (sweatdrops) Actually, that wasn't really my plan making him go Super Saiya-jin 4. If you remember, a Saiya-jin's tail gives them a little strength boost. (musing) So maybe I can make up for the lack of a Super Saiya-jin 4 by giving you a rather interesting battle filled with surprises, action, and chaos! (smiles evilly)

Chi-chi: I never said I was going to reveal Chi-chi's fate entirely. You could be right, but I choose to keep some things secret for a little while longer and reveal it near the end. (notices the slip, but ignores it) It makes things more fun. And I'm glad you like Goku's tail being regenerated.

gokugirl9: Oh he will. He'll save Chi-chi because the final battle's coming up and if he doesn't, well a lot of bad things are going to happen when Trepidation gets his way.

Gokulover4ever: Hi yourself and thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like Goku's tail being regenerated. And I hope you do come back again for another chapter.

Angel lost in Shadows: Thank you and I apologize if this is a day late.

Jessica C: Your most certainly welcome. Anyone who reviews is added at the end of the story for reviewing. Chi-chi may not have a lot of power, but Trepidation's not after energy, but the fear within a person. If he has enough of that, then everyone wouldn't survive. Also, she did train Goten until he became a Super Saiya-jin.

Arcanine18: Welcome and thank you for reviewing. However, there's not much left of this story. There are only three chapters left of this tale before it ends, so I hope you come back again to review. Hm… Any other words to describe Goku right now? Chaotic, restless, enraged. I can think of plenty more. And thanks for your support.

CMG: Anyway, come back next week for another installment. Hopefully, it'll be up by next Friday if the computer's completely open next time and not used for on-line gaming or something like that. Lata!