CMG: As usual, I have no ownership and it's a day late. Please read prologue thingy for my little claim if you do not believe me. Should I leave you hanging another chapter or should I bring on the action? (makes everyone angry for waiting) Fine, fine. I invite you back once again to…

The Fear

Chapter 6

The remaining eight warriors began to move again when they reach a very ancient looking door. Piccolo, looking for signs for Goku to react, did not see anything as they enter the room. Suddenly, the room went pitch black as the floor went out on all of the warriors there. When they would awaken, they would be separated.

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Gohan found Goten and Trunks beside them as they woke up in a strange place. It appeared that they were on an alien planet that had nothing on it but strange plants.

"Where are we, Gohan?" Trunks said.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look like Earth," Gohan said.

"Let's explore!" Goten cheered!

"Wait," Gohan said. "What about mom?"

"What about her?" Goten said quizzically as Gohan suddenly smiled.

"I guess she's fine," Gohan said, forgetting his mother was endangered.

"Race you two!" Trunks yelled.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Goten cried.

'Still, something's not right,' thought Gohan as Trunks and Goten suddenly scream.

"Gohan!" Trunks cried.

"Big brother, help us!" Goten called.

"What's going on?" Gohan said as he looked and saw a giant man-eating plant grab Goten and Trunks. "Hang on!" Gohan tried to fly, but found that he couldn't as one of the vines grabbed his ankle and lifted him into the air. 'How is this possible? Why can't I fly?'

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Piccolo, Tien, and Yamcha find themselves in the Budokai stadium as they saw Goku standing in the middle of the ring. However, there was an unfamiliarity within his eyes as they seemed more savage than usual. Before they could figure out what it was, a familiar voice spoke out.

"And now, let us introduce Ma Junior, Tienshinhan, and Yamcha as they fight against the warrior from another planet, Kakarot!" the announcer spoke.

"Kakarot?" Yamcha said as they walked over. "Why did the announcer use Goku's Saiya-jin name?"

"Something's not right," Piccolo mused.

"I agree, but why does this feel so real?" Tien said as they stepped into the ring.

"Remember, this is a free-for-all so whoever is the last person standing in the ring alive is declared the ruler of the world!" the announcer said as Tien, Piccolo, and Yamcha face vault.

"There is something so not right about this!" Piccolo growled. "Death isn't allowed in this tournament."

"What's the matter?" Kakarot spoke in a rather dark tone. "You afraid to fight me?"

"Shut-it, Son," Piccolo growled as he tried to summon his power to find that he couldn't.

"Piccolo?" Yamcha said before Kakarot punched the warrior in the jaw and sent him flying into the air. Kakarot reappeared behind Yamcha with an evil grin on his face.

"Yamcha!" Tien cried as Kakarot slammed his hand into the former desert bandit; breaking his neck.

"No!" Piccolo cried as Yamcha fell to the ground lifeless. Both Piccolo and Tien hissed at Kakarot as he stared at the warriors.

"Next?" Kakarot taunted with a wave of his hand.

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Goku woke up beside Vegeta as the Earth-raised Saiya-jin tail coiled around his ankle. Vegeta woke moments later as Goku saw before his eyes Chi-chi standing there alive and well.

"Chi-chi…" Goku whispered. He walked towards his wife when suddenly, she struck him in the face. Vegeta gasped at the scene as the warrior fell like he was as weak as a newborn baby.

"Why did you leave me alone?" Chi-chi yelled at the warrior. "You are a bad father to my sons and left me to be kidnapped! I hate you, Son Goku and you are a monster!"

"What?" Goku said, not wanting to believe that Chi-chi no longer loved the warrior and considered him a monster.

"Kakarot, this isn't right," Vegeta said.

"I know, but I can't figure out how!" Goku yelled at Vegeta.

"You always didn't care about me!" Chi-chi berated the Saiya-jin as she threw another punch at him. Goku tried to block, but it hit his stomach as he seemed too slow and too weak to do anything but accept what she wanted. Truth was her words hurt more than her fists as Goku seemed to absorb the words into his heart. His tail sank behind him as it seemed like a knife was digging into the very bottom of his heart.

"Kakarot," Vegeta said. "Are you going to continue to listen to your wife nag about how bad of a husband you are?"

"Chi-chi, I…" Goku started before getting slapped in the face and falls to the ground.

"It's too late!" Chi-chi yelled. "I shouldn't have come back for you! You always break your promises! You're always going to leave me alone until the day I die!"

Goku couldn't move. Truth be told, he was afraid to move as he breathed heavily. If you were in his place, you wouldn't either after a person you care about deeply turns against you and verbally and physically abuses you to the point where you are not sure what to believe in anymore.

"Are you going to hear more or are you just going to accept it?" Chi-chi bitterly said.

"…" Goku couldn't say anything. He couldn't fight her with words since he was never good at them. His cheek stung with pain as he sat there dumbfounded. Suddenly, he felt himself grabbed by his shirt and pulled closer to his wife. Expecting to smell the natural scent before thrown to the ground again, he drew in a breath…

…only to smell nothing. Goku's eyes widened as he once again smelled, but the same thing happened. Vegeta, who was sitting behind him, was wondering what was going on in the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's mind at that moment as his tail suddenly perked up.

"Kakarot?" Vegeta questioned. 'What's going on?'

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Chi-chi gloated; knowing that she had the upper hand and gripped tighter on the shirt.

"Liar," Goku growled warningly as he pushed her away. Surprised, she released his shirt as he continued, "You're a liar."

"What?!" Chi-chi said surprised.

"The Chi-chi I know wouldn't call me a bad husband and love me affectionately," Goku darkly spoke. At that moment, his energy began to rise as the spell upon his body seemed to have lighten. "My sons love me and I'm a good father to them. They care about me as I care about you."

"Ridiculous," Chi-chi countered. "Why did you stay dead then?"

Goku hissed as it felt like another knife was twisted in his heart. Taking a step backwards he continued defending himself and lashed out at her, "The Chi-chi I know knew that I chose to stay dead to protect Earth and all of her people. She knew that if I returned to life, then the world would be destroyed." Another step was taken backwards.

"Kakarot," Vegeta said, not able to understand how the Earth-raised Saiya-jin was defying his own wife's words. Goku took yet another step backwards as Vegeta continued, "Why are you verbally attacking your own wife?"

"Because," Goku growled taking a final step back as he looked straight at Chi-chi with a dangerous glare, "the Chi-chi I know would never say negative things about me and knows everything about me. This Chi-chi before me isn't real, but an illusion from the deepest corners of our minds."

"So you're saying she isn't real?" Vegeta questioned.

"Yes," Goku growled. "None of this is real and I'll prove it to you, Vegeta."

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"H-how? How could he see though my illusions?" a voice said as the Earth-raised Saiya-jin snarled at him. He lunged at the figure before he could do anything about it.

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"Kakarot, how are you…" Vegeta started as Goku sniffed and ran towards the illusion and ran straight through it and hit the cloaked figure on the other side. The cloaked figure wore robes and a mask in a lavender color and his hair is mainly white with a braided ponytail. The illusion around Vegeta fell as he saw Goku pick him up by the cloak.

"Who are you and why are you creating these false illusions?" Goku growled in the man's face that was masked.

"I am Rapture and your other friends are dying as we speak," the man said. "Only their will power can tell them what's real and what's not."

"Unless we kill you," Vegeta growled as Goku smirked. As though both warriors could read each others minds at that very moment, they both channeled energy into their hands after Goku pushed Rapture away.

"No!" Rapture screamed as both Saiya-jins blast his body into ashes. Then, one by one, the battered bodies of the others appeared. Goten, Trunks, Gohan, Piccolo, and Tien were still alive, but unconscious. Yamcha though…

"Curse Trepidation," Goku hissed, knowing the desert-bandit was dead.

"Kakarot, I know that this isn't the time, but calm the hell down!" Vegeta yelled.

"How can I when our friends can't help us?" Goku yelled back at the Saiya-jin Prince. "We're all that's left. If we don't do anything, then everyone will die."

"We'll win, Kakarot," Vegeta vowed. "Even if it costs my life, we'll win."

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"Well, I should applaud them for them making it to me," Trepidation said as he put on his battle gauntlets. The armor he wore was an improvement over the robes. The armor was all black as he removed the mask and set it on the table. Underneath, his face was pale as a ghosts would as the pupils of the eyes were completely red. It was as though the demon itself possessed this man as he placed the sheathed sword on his belt. Adorning his armor was a red cloak that flowed behind him in a royal fashion.

"Master," Zealous said. "What would happen if you fall to these men? What would become of me?"

"You, my future queen, would commit suicide," Trepidation said as she gasped as he threw a sheathed knife at her and she caught in her hands.

"Why?" Zealous questioned; putting the sheathed knife into her sash.

"Because, I rather you do that and join me at the gates of hell than be taken by those barbarians," Trepidation growled before he suddenly heard the doors fly open with a thud.

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"How much father, Kakarot?" Vegeta growled as the two Saiya-jins ran down the hallways. If given the circumstances, they could have chose to walk; but since they were the only two able to stop Trepidation at this point, they decided not to waste another minute idling around.

"Not much farther, Vegeta," Goku hissed, not really caring if Vegeta was with him or not. At this moment, he was hoping with everything in his heart that Chi-chi was alright, but another was hoping that Trepidation did not yet carry out his plans. Suddenly, he stopped right outside a giant door that seemed like lead to a chamber of some sort. With a grunt, Goku kicked in the doors as he saw two people standing on the other side.

"Congratulations," Trepidation said as he sarcastically clapped at them. "You have made it to your dooms at my hands."

"Are you Trepidation?" Goku snapped; half-hoping it was since he was getting irritated at all of the other random battles and hoping to stop him.

"Yes, I am he," Trepidation bowed before the Saiya-jin. "And you must be the warrior, Son Goku, am I right?"

"Hell yeah!" Goku replied as his tail lashed furiously behind him and cracked the tile on the ground.

"Hmm, let's see if you're truly what the others say," Trepidation pondered for a moment before continuing, "However, not in here."

"What?!" Goku said, almost completely off-guard by the question.

"My master would like a fight upstairs," Zealous said. Goku heard her voice as it seemed sad and pain filled. It was as though she was pleading with her very life at stake. "Please."

"Fine," Goku said, no longer acting as hostile towards the mysterious woman behind the mask as Goku and Vegeta followed her and Trepidation up the stairway that lead outside to the final battle ground.

Chi-chi…

A memory when Goku and Chi-chi were laughing together as children in an apple tree appeared. It was when they first met each other and were thinking of the future that never happened between them because certain events altered the future they wanted.

…I pray to Kami…

Another memory of when Goku and Chi-chi were at the Budokai tournament years ago played out as Goku tried to fend himself off from Chi-chi's attacks. She had come to remind him of his promise to marry her. Innocently, he had forgotten and was wondering who she was as she told him that she would tell him if he won.

…that you will be…

Chi-chi smiles as Goku, in his Super Saiya-jin form, looks innocently at her after Gohan destroyed his own birthday cake. She playfully laughs and pecks his nose to get the frosting off of it.

…still alive and…

Goku holds Chi-chi after he returns from defeating Majin Buu as she cries in his arms; happy that her husband finally returned after seven long years. Gohan and Goten were next to her smiling as she looked up in his face with an innocent smile on her face.

…safe.

Goku was shaken from his daydreams as they reach the top of the stairs. The quiet woman known as Zealous stood in front of a large door as Trepidation nodded at her to open the doors. As the doors opened, both Goku and Vegeta stared in awe…

…when the doors opened to reveal an outdoor arena that looked like it was straight from the Roman empire. Yet unlike the Romans, there was no spectators in the seats as Trepidation walked out and Zealous followed his every step.

"This setting should prove to be of your liking," Trepidation said as he turned and faced both Goku and Vegeta who didn't move a single step since they entered the arena. The doors suddenly slam shut as Trepidation threw off the blood red cloak that adorned his shoulders.

"Before we begin," Goku said; despite the instincts raging inside of him telling to fight now and ask questions later, "what happened to Chi-chi?"

"You mean the housewife I have abducted off of Mount Paozu?" Trepidation questioned. "She's served her purpose."

"And?" Goku growled; starting to struggle against his very humanity.

"She's around," Trepidation said.

"You'll pay for taking her away from me," Goku hissed before an adulterated scream escaped his lips. Raven hair flickered into pale locks of blonde and onyx eyes turned into cerulean orbs that held much promise of death. Vegeta, seeing how tense Goku was, choose not to help the troubled Earth-raised Saiya-jin in this battle. Rather, he wouldn't be able to since the battle was to be a blood bath. It was as though Kakarot awakened within the Earth-raised Saiya-jin and was there instead of the happy-go-lucky Saiya-jin who saw potential in many who are able to change. Not this time.

"If you are certain you will win, then try me," Trepidation gloated; egging Goku to attack him.

"Very well," Goku growled as he slips into a fighting stance. Now, the battle between the mysterious Trepidation and Earth-raised Saiya-jin who is slowly losing to the anger within him. If the warrior lost, then Trepidation could easily overpower Vegeta and drive all humanity to death.

The battleground was silent as two figures stood there in battle stances as neither one moved. It was as though they were locked in a stalemate trying to read each other's stances and eyes for weaknesses. Vegeta saw how tight Goku's tail was wrapped around his waist and for a brief moment longed for his tail to regenerate.

"Are you ready?" Trepidation spoke.

"Yes," Goku growled slightly.

"Then come at me," Trepidation encouraged.

"Very well," Goku said. With a half-step, he lunged towards Trepidation as his fist remained pulled back. Swinging his fist, it connected as Trepidation flew back towards the wall with a powerful thud.

"What?!" Vegeta gasped. 'Why? Why did Trepidation let Kakarot hit him?' Chuckling was heard as Trepidation came out of the wall and dusted himself off.

"Not bad. I suppose that seemed like I can't underestimate you for a brief moment," Trepidation said as he got back up on his feet with a smile and a bit of blood running down his chin before he wiped it away.

"Of course not," Goku said. "I won't forgive you for kidnapping Chi-chi and I vow that I'll do everything in my power to make you pay for it."

'Kakarot's acting more savage,' Vegeta thought as sweat ran down his face. 'Is this what he was holding back?'

"Hmph," Trepidation said. "It's time you know what it's like to know fear."

"Bring it," Goku hissed before Trepidation's eyes glowed.

"You've asked for it," Trepidation yelled as everything around Goku suddenly went dark.

CMG: Cliffy! Guess I still got that knack to write, ne? Don't worry. In the next chapter, there will be a pretty big surprise for those still reading, a battle that will amount to its climax, and a story behind how Trepidation came to power. Now onto reviews:

Psy: laughs You better not reveal it before the next chapter. It'll be a shame if you did. (bribes her with 10 cookies)

Kinoha: Ah. A dedicated reader who would stay up beyond her bedtime to read the new chapter. (smiles and gives her about 5 cookies) Trepidation doesn't really care what happens to the others as long as he gets what he wants. As for the parody with Turles, I'm going to create that after this story's done and before the sequel to this very fic.

super saiyan 4 chi-chi: Thanks. I try my best not to make them too OOC and make it sound good while I'm at it.

gokugirl9: I'm a kind of person who likes feedback from the readers to work on some weaknesses and make the story more interesting. Otherwise, there are some authors/authoresses that do it besides myself.

Jessica C: The last person in the way of Trepidation's been taken care of and now it's down to Trepidation himself. Trepidation will feed off the others fear, but until he is able to, he drew on Chi-chi's to make it so that he can prepare to draw on someone else's fear. As the last couple of paragraphs state, Trepidation's going to try to draw on Goku's fear and that will make Goku weaker and Trepidation much stronger. Zealous has a reason for hating Trepidation too, so you'll find out why in the next chappie! (giggles)

Goku-lover21: Thanks and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. The final battle is about to get interesting.

Chi-chi: Sorry I killed Krillin in the last chapter. Goten and Trunks are cute. Sorry for killing Yamcha for any of you reading this, but the plot will go on. You'll learn about the secret I've been keeping from a lot of readers in next chapter, so hang in there.

Arcanine18: Let's see if I make you review in this chapter and the last couple. (laughs evilly) If you thought that the last chapter was freaky, then wait until the next chapter. I hope you'll get a chance to review and your punishment will end soon.

Angel lost in Shadows: Thanks. I hope you keep reading until the end of the story and enjoy the sequel that will come out hopefully in December 2004.

CMG: And for everyone else reading, I welcome your reviews. Until next time, I bid you all adieu!