Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Duh.

Warning: language as usual. Some violence and gory scene. Character Death (guess who).

A/N: I originally called this chapter 'Myth of Ragnarok'. That is, until I came to the last part. I just had to use the current title then. You'll see why.

CHAPTER 21 : HERE BE MONSTERS

Piccolo's eyes darted over the pages of the book as he searched for information that could be related to the strange happenings of lately.

"So … what is this Ragnarok now exactly?" Jeice asked, glancing up to Piccolo's face, seeing as the Namek was quite a bit taller than the red-skinned alien.

"Hm…" Piccolo was looking thoughtful, "Ragnarok, literally meaning 'Doom of the gods', also known as the gods' twilight."

Turles looked down to the book "There seems to be quite a passage of explanation right there… what does it say?"

"Yeah, it's the end of the world in a nutshell… anyway, it reads:

After the murder on Odin's son Balder, the end of the world is heralded by certain events: the wolf Fenrir breaks his chains, the evil god Loki will be able to free himself and in Muspelheim, the ship of the dead Naglfar (1) has sailed out under the command of the giant Hymir. Then the titanic war starts between the Gods on one side, and Demons and Giants on the other side. The Demons march to the gigantic battlefield were the Gods and Odin's heroes await them. The wolf Fenrir swallows the sun and bites the moon, the Midgar Serpent Jormungand spits venom over the earth and the World Tree Yggdrasil trembles. Eventually, the Fire Demon Surt sends an inferno over sky and Earth."

"Then… who wins?" Jeice asked curiously.

"It's just a story… 'good guys' always win in those." Vegeta replied with a slight hint of annoyance.

"Who says the gods are the 'good guys'…" Raditz spoke suddenly.

The others blinked as they looked to Raditz. "Huh? What did you say?" Turles asked.

"Er… nothing… just nevermind."

"Alright then… continue, Piccolo." The elder brother said, with a raised eyebrow. 'Was it just my idea or was his voice suddenly lower? Or just … different somehow…', he mused. Vegeta was also looking a bit suspicious at the longhaired Saiyan, who just tried to ignore the stares.

Piccolo coughed for a moment, then returned his attention to the book "So… according to what I just read, the Ragnarok will start when the lupine monster, Fenrir, breaks free from its bonds and devours the sun and moon. His father, Loki, who was imprisoned by the gods for killing an other god, shall also be freed, and lead the legions of hell against the gods, starting an all-out war."

"… That's it?" The shortest Saiyan spoke up.

"It says that after the whole inferno deal, all the Gods, Heroes and Demons die and the universe collapses."

"Sounds like fun…" Jeice commented, looking a bit disturbed.

"A war between gods and demons…" Turles muttered, lost in thoughts.

"That's nice, but what does it have to do with us?" Jeice asked, still looking rather confused.

"We might just have entered the story…" The Namek spoke in a soft voice.

"What? What do you mean with that?" Vegeta said, also looking up to the green alien.

"Of course… the demon wolf, it's already been freed!" Turles exclaimed, his eyes looking wide when the realisation hit him.

"Demon wolf?" Jeice blinked.

"The black creature! It definitely looked like a wolf, even more one that came straight from 'hell'. The one that killed our enemies when we arrived on Earth… and after having seen that, I'd say it's indeed been unleashed…"

"Another strange coincidence. We're getting buried under all this damn mysteries!" Vegeta said, quite annoyed. Raditz remained silent under this exchange.

Turles sighed, and nodded "Indeed… so… who exactly is this Loki character?"

Piccolo looked back to the text of the book "Apparently a demon but accepted as a god, until of course he kills the son of the ruling God Odin. When Christianity made its entrance in the world, Loki was identified with…" His eyebrows arched in mild surprise "… the 'devil'."

Turles blinked "The devil? So … if this is true… the devil will also be released some time soon, and lead the demons against the gods?"

"So it would seem…" Piccolo replied, still looking to the text. "Well, some other creatures are mentioned, like that giant serpent and an eagle living in the World Tree, but … for the rest, names of gods, places from the mythology, etc. I'll read further and try to make more out of it…"

"Sure, go ahead." Raditz mentioned carelessly while already turning to go wandering off.

Turles raised an eyebrow "And where are you going?"

Raditz glanced back over his shoulder to the others, who were all now looking at him, again. "Just out… I don't like being inside here with all those dusty books… makes me want to burn it all down." Without another word, he simply walked out the door, barely missing a blue-haired human who had just managed to get out of the way before getting spotted.

The remaining aliens all looked to one another with a look of confusion "What was that about?" Jeice finally said.

"Burn it all?" Vegeta muttered softly, mostly to himself 'War… the fire creature both from my dream and the one that killed Cooler… In my dream he looked like an almost exact replica of Raditz once the flames went out. So he definitely must have something to do with the fire demon. And then he must know who or what the wolf creature is … is it also the same wolf from the story? The one that unleashes the end of the universe?' The Prince was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Piccolo continued to read from the book, but it were more descriptions of the gods and demons than the story.


Raditz walked out on the street, and was grateful he found it abandoned. Perhaps the humans fled from having heard or even seen the battle earlier, and were now very suspicious of any alien creatures. He let out a sigh and glanced up to the skies 'How did all this get so complicated… I was a simple Saiyan soldier, and the Prince's bodyguard, and now suddenly I'm to play a part in the battle for the universe, on a scale I do not even comprehend yet.'

The eerie chuckle, which had become so familiar to him now, sounded from the deepest darkness of his mind 'I suppose that must be rather confusing, all of a sudden… But you needn't feel frightened, for you are now one of the most powerful creatures in the universe.'

'In one way that's reassuring, in the other…'

'You feel scared about it?'

'Sort of…' He admitted grudgingly 'Well, you have to admit it is rather odd to go from low-class soldier, to high-powered demon, in the blink of an eye.'

'No… The power has always been there, Raditz, but it was simply hidden, locked away by the magic of the gods that destroyed us. But you broke the curse even before the fight with that Cold creature.'

"I did?" Raditz blinked, forgetting for a moment he was talking to a voice in his mind, and spoke out loud.

'Don't remember? When you hurt the Ice-jin… Your rage activated my power, although that wasn't enough to awaken me completely. The second time did though.'

'Yes, I remember… that rage that went through my whole being like a raging fire… I had already wondered where it came from, because it didn't feel like… my own. But… I also was very angry before… why did it only happen now? Because… I had to protect Vegeta? Is that it?'

'The one you call Vegeta is important indeed…'

'But you're not going to tell me why, are you… You really like to keep me in the dark.'

Another chuckle 'Funny… while it's me that's in the darkness of your mind. Can't we switch places sometimes?'

'Oh, yeah, I'm sure no one will notice the red eyes, vampire teeth and pointed ears. Why not activate our demon armour while we're at it?' Raditz thought sarcastically. 'Though I have a feeling not much of this planet will remain after I take control again."

'I'm hurt.' The voice replied, more with a hint of amusement than anything else.

'Yeah… right…' Raditz rolled his eyes and strolled further down the street.


Bulma had watched the longhaired alien while standing near the entrance of the library. The others were talking to each other, but this one was apparently holding a conversation on his own. 'Multiple personalities?' After watching his action more until he went out of her sight she nodded mentally 'Must be… But why were they searching for an old myth? I can hardly believe they came to this planet just because they're interested in the local folklore…' Her gaze returned to the group of aliens with the Goku-look-alike.

'Okay, think, Bulma… They're all aliens, apparently, so that means Goku must be one too. Could they really be his family? The apparent twin must be related in some way, unless that hairstyle was the most popular hype on whatever planet they came from. I don't trust Piccolo… and he knows me… so I think I'll go try and talk with that odd longhaired guy first. But those others… they were talking about a demon wolf being released, just like in the Ragnarok. And demons, and about the devil. Ugh, I'm not starting to belief that old hag's DOOM stories… it seems like those aliens lost it as well, as if the multiple-personalities-psycho isn't enough proof. Magic, demons and monsters only exist in fairy tales, only for superstitious fools and nothing for a real scientist like me. Now, that was easy.'

Bulma grinned to herself and turned to leave the entrance hall of the library 'Tch, yeah, right… a demon …' She stopped dead in her tracks when she came face-to-face with… '… wolf?...' The twin voids surrounded by the darkest ebony seemed engulf and swallow her whole, like a maelstrom of utter oblivion. Her senses registered the hot breath on her face coming from the beast's nostrils, but she could only feel the horrible cold that froze her entire body while she could do nothing but stare into the gaze of Death. In the corner of her eye she saw the horrible, long teeth in the creature's mouth, and the darkly glowing sword in one of the wolf's claws, but they were nothing compared to those eyes…


Piccolo, Jeice and the two remaining Saiyans looked up from the old book as a piercing death-scream from outside reached their ears. "What the hell…" Piccolo repressed the shudder going up his spine at the horrific sound, whoever is outside, they must be suffering horribly. The sound lowered quickly in volume, as he closed the book and followed the others outside.

Before them, a blue-haired young woman was lying on the ground in the middle of the street, her skin sickly pale, and her face set forever in an expression of extreme horror, marked by the terrible pain she went through. Her staring eyes were empty, all life completely void from them.

Above her, the creature of nightmares stood, with its back turned to them. A long midnight black cloak blew in the wind, revealing the equally-hellish black armour underneath, the lupine tail, and the scythe-like blade held at the waist.

The spectators could only look on in shock and horror, not daring to move as all feared that if the creature noticed them, they would be next. Before they could find their voices again, the lupine monster indeed turned its head and acknowledged their presence as it fixed the gaze of one eye on them. They were frozen on the spot like the proverbial deer caught in headlights.

The creature's face didn't even move as they heard a far-away voice address them, that could only have come from the black demon, as only the voice already chilled them to the bones "She was too curious for her own good… But they will all know, in time… when it's too late."

Turles finally managed to swallow the lump in his throat "But … too late for what?"

"Too late to save themselves… This time, victory will finally be ours!"

"… 'ours'?" The spiky-haired Saiyan noted "What do you mean with that?"

"Be patient… you will know soon enough."

"Gah!" Vegeta yelled in frustration " 'know soon enough'? Have you been talking to Raditz or what?" He pointed a finger accusingly at the wolf creature, for a moment forgetting who he was actually talking too.

The demon only grinned a sharp-fanged smirk in return, and suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye with a gust of wind blowing through the street.

"What… just happened?" Piccolo blinked.

"… I don't know, but you guys have really odd friends." Jeice remarked.

"At least he doesn't appear to be hostile towards us, for whatever reason… and we've been rather lucky. If that last remark had ticked him off, we would have shared her fate…" Turles glanced to the lifeless body lying on the ground.

Vegeta sweatdropped, only now realising what he had done "Er… lucky us…"


From the library's rooftop, three demonic creatures looked down to the four below.

"You seem quite convinced of our victory, father…" A fierce voice spoke.

The wolf of darkness looked to the lion in flames beside him "Of course I am… so are you, are you not? The gods have become lazy and lax in their duties. They've forgotten the battles of the past. While we have only grown stronger over all those ages waiting for our revenge."

A feminine voice sounded "And they still underestimate… however, we cannot become too arrogant, we still have to be careful. Two more Riders must be awoken."

"That might be, Kira… but no one stands a chance against us anymore. Not even against one Horseman." Death replied.

"So after all… our time has come." War added with a smirk.

The female demon smirked as well "First we got a little task to do here… then we're going on a trip."

The black wolf melted away to reveal the wickedly grinning face of the Saiyan Bardock "To Hell."


He was dreaming again. He didn't know why he knew he was, but he did. Maybe the 'voice' was letting him know. Confusing him again with another illusion. Or was it a vision? He hoped with all his heart it was the former. Because each one of them was too horrible to come true.

He was in a grassy valley with his friends. He supposed they were all on another pick-nick. Normally he'd have a great time just like everyone else seemed to have. But unlike them, he knew something horribly wrong was going to happen. Just waiting for it seemed almost as terrible as the horror itself. Almost.

While his son was playing with the shapeshifting cat creature Puar and his other friends, his gaze was pulled skyward where a grand purely-white eagle was crying its call to the world beneath. It was circling the air above the valley, scanning for its prey far below.

His gaze was torn back to his surroundings at an angry cry. Two of his friends had suddenly jumped at each other's necks over a heated argument. He wasn't too worried at first, but it started to look more and more serious rapidly. The others tried to get them off each other but didn't appear to succeed. He heard a roar, and looked up to see a proud, ferocious-looking lion standing on top of the cliff above them.

Before he could do anything else, his attention was pulled somewhere else again, as his son suddenly fell to the ground, coughing his lungs up. His wife screeched in worry and sat by the boy's side, trying to help him somehow. But he grew more ill by the second. One of his friends also started coughing. Lower in the valley, he saw a vague form of a large, dark green creature, but the image was distorted by the thick mist surrounding it, like poisonous fumes. Were those wings?...

The whole pick-nick had turned into a chaos around him, while he stayed standing passively in their midst. A howl brought his gaze to before him, where a midnight black wolf was stalking towards him. It was a large beast, greater than any normal wolf, with large, blood-stained claws and razor-sharp teeth set in powerful jaws that could easily tear through flesh and bone. But those eyes…

As the creature neared him, it started moving faster, until a few metres before him, it broke into a run. He could do nothing but watch as the wolf finally leaped at him, and drove its claws deeply into his flesh.

Only now, he could scream. And scream he did. The claws' touch was so cold it burned him, and tore throughout his body until his entire being only seemed to exist out of the horrible pain. The only thing he could see were those ghastly eyes that captured him in their cyclone of destruction. He felt as if he stood on the edge of the cliff, staring into the abyss. The lion wreathed in flames at one side, the creature engulfed by the poisonous mist at the other. The end of world, off the map. Here be monsters.

Through the darkness, the cry of the eagle suddenly sounded behind him. He couldn't move to look at it, but he felt the bird creature flying right into his back, and like a ghost, went through him entirely, while the pain was concentrated once again on the claws anchored in his bleeding flesh, accompanied by the deafening roars coming from the two other monsters. The eagle tore a new, blinding pain through him, and left his body through the front of his chest, to hover just above the large wolf demon, and turned to face him with cold, cruel eyes. Those eyes made out of ice.

The eagle dissolved into light, which took on a humanoid form, while the wings folded to form a makeshift cloak behind the man who now floated before him. His eyes grew wide, but he didn't have the breath to gasp anymore. He was looking to himself.


A/N: I can't do review replies in the chapter itself anymore, apparently. I'll try and answer through the reply option.

By the way, the title and the part in the third last passage were inspired by one of my favourite quotes in the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean' by Barbosa.

(1), Naglfar: the dutch word 'nagel' means 'nail', and the verb 'varen' means 'to sail' (with a ship); so it literally means 'ship of nails'. According to the mythology it is indeed a ship made out of nails from the dead.