Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z.

Author's Notes: I'm an update junkie now!!... don't think it'll last, though. School's just around the corner. Heh-heh. Anyway, this chapter is maybe a page longer… but full of action!! And I'm not even around to the main characters yet! Gosh, when will Goten get to the end of Snake Way… I mean… get wished back with the dragonballs. Am I using the show's overused conventions?! Maybe so, but it's fun. Hee-hee. See y'all!

Chapter 46: Playing a Part

"Where is he?! Find him!"

"Au….ch….kkk…."

"Jita," Kaioshin said quietly, "perhaps he could answer if you released his throat."

With a snarl, Jita let go of Rou Dai Kaioshin's tunic collar. He landed in a seated position with a huff, rubbing his throat.

"Is that any way to treat a god?" he complained.

Jita glared at him even harder. "In legend, the Saiyans killed our gods. Do you want to meet the same fate?"

"Don't you think we need to look for Jiten?" Kaioshin cut in, raising his hands pleadingly.

Jita crossed her arms and glared at the crystal ball. Really, she was scared to death. She couldn't feel Jiten's ki anywhere. Of course, she hadn't been able to feel him when he was hiding his power, but that hadn't been coupled with a mysterious disappearance.

Still looking indignant at the rough treatment, Rou Dai Kaioshin concentrated on the ball and searched for the missing demi-Saiyan.

.

Vegeta's temper wasn't faring much better.

"What did you do to him?!" the prince yelled at Eighteen.

Said cyborg was staring wide-eyed in the direction that Jiten had fallen. She didn't say a word.

Vegeta was not to be put off. He advanced on her threateningly. "I asked a question, android. What did you do to him?"

Everyone expected Eighteen to be angry at Vegeta's questioning… and well as name-calling. Instead, she turned around, seeming almost in a panic.

"I… I didn't hit him that hard!" she sputtered. "I just wanted to slow him down."

"Well, you certainly did that," Vegeta sneered.

By this time, Dende had come out from below. "Piccolo!" he screamed upon seeing his prone mentor.

Gohan was already kneeling over him. He'd pulled off his weighted turban and cape, knowing that the clothing was slowly killing him while he was at that low level of ki.

Dende lightly pushed Gohan back. "Here, let me." Dende stretched out his arms and healed the Namek, restoring him to full power. The tiny wounds in his stomach closed up, although the little tears in his gi remained.

Gohan shuddered as he studied the remains of the wounds. There was no other way to interpret… Those had been made by fingers.

Piccolo signified his return to life by coughing lightly. Dende backed up, a little dizzy. Physical wounds were easy to heal – that was something that came naturally to Nameks. Depletions of ki… were a bit more difficult.

"Piccolo-san," Gohan said tentatively.

Piccolo smirked grimly. "Hey, kid. Took you long enough to get here."

Gohan laughed a little. "I'm glad to see you're all right."

Piccolo rubbed his forehead, noting the loss of his turban. He tried to pull it back on, but had to stop when a dizzy spell hit him.

"Take it easy," Dende said. "You were mostly dead. Take a minute."

Piccolo nodded, but was frustrated by his weakness, especially with what all was going on. "Where's Jiten?" he ground out.

Gohan and Dende looked over at Vegeta and Eighteen. Vegeta was starting to get crazy-mad, and Eighteen was regaining herself from the shock.

"Look, Vegeta," she said as she crossed her arms, "I did what I had to do."

Vegeta looked away, not wanting to accept any of her excuses.

Eighteen shook her head. "It's not like he's gone forever. We can wish him back with the dragonballs…"

"What dragonballs?!" Vegeta burst out. "We've lost one, remember? Or did you forget that when you were killing my sister's child?!"

That's when Eighteen slugged him hard in the mouth.

Vegeta wasn't expecting it. If he had, or if he hadn't been in the middle of freaking out, then Eighteen wouldn't have come close to decking him. As it was, Vegeta was completely unprepared, and so landed on the scorched marble tiles with a thud.

"Now you listen, Vegeta," Eighteen said in her most commanding voice. "I didn't even want to fight the child, but he pressed the attack. I was doing him a favor by keeping him away from that leech. You may be able to delude yourself into thinking that Jiten hasn't been affected by the monster, but you're wrong. He spoke about his 'master' like he was the best thing that ever happened to him. So… back off."

Vegeta seemed to have come to his senses. He got up and brushed himself off deliberately, regarding the cyborg the entire time. His scowl had turned sullen, but that only meant that he was accepting reason.

"Be glad we've got other things to do, woman," he said roughly.

That tiny conflict ended, Darjili deemed it a good time to speak up. She and the other Spider students had snuck up to the Lookout during the commotion, and didn't want to interrupt an irate Vegeta.

"Um," she said, "we… got the dragonball." She held up the dragonball with a weak smile.

The others turned as a whole, stunned at the acquisition.

"That's great!" Gohan broke the silence. "Where did you find it?"

Danton cleared his throat. All of the Spider students were a little uncomfortable with being the center of attention now. "I… think Jiten had it on him."

The mood immediately darkened.

"Did you see Jiten?" Vegeta demanded.

The four of them shook their heads. "There wasn't a trace of him," Pecon said.

Vegeta looked off to the side stubbornly. No one wanted to speak.

Piccolo frowned. Something about that wasn't quite right. "There wasn't a trace of him at all?" he spoke up.

"That's what he just said!" Vegeta barked, not wanting to think about what had happened to the boy.

Eighteen looked at Piccolo in understanding. "So you mean…"

Piccolo nodded. "Vegeta, you're not thinking. They're saying that Jiten was vaporized."

Vegeta looked at Piccolo incredulously. He couldn't believe that Piccolo would be so callous. Even Vegeta in his heyday wouldn't have just kept talking about a little boy being killed.

It finally dawned on Gohan. "But, wait a minute! Eighteen's blast wasn't even strong enough to vaporize a good-sized rock, much less a fairly strong Saiyan."

"And he still had all that power to protect him," Piccolo concluded.

Vegeta looked at everyone in surprise. "Of course," he said softly. "The brat can also hide his power extremely well. We wouldn't know if he was alive or dead."

"Could he still be in the area?" Dende asked.

Darjili crossed her arms. "Doubtful. We were right there when he fell. It's like he complete disappeared. We couldn't even hear anything, and there were no tracks."

Eighteen was busy scanning the area. "I don't read any Saiyan life-forms down there. There are a few natives, but they give off a different signal than Saiyans."

"So he knows how to teleport," Vegeta concluded.

"But that's impossible," Gohan said.

"Think, boy," Vegeta said in an exasperated tone. "The leech teleported in and out last year. Don't you think he would have taught Jiten?"

Gohan frowned and crossed his arms. He was used to Vegeta, but he was still getting a little fed up. "Yeah, well, it's not Dad's style of teleportation. He tried to teach me several years back. Believe me, it would take more than a year of constant practice to master it. So, no, it's not teleportation."

"Excuse me," came a polite voice behind them.

"Then what is it?!" Vegeta exclaimed.

"Excuse me," the voice repeated, not in the least perturbed.

"Yes, Mr. Popo," Piccolo said… partly to shut Vegeta up. "What is it?"

"There seems to be a dimensional aberration in the spot that Jiten landed." Mr. Popo sounded as nonchalant as if he were talking about the weather.

Krianan was stumped. "Uh… excuse me, but does that explain anything?"

Gohan's eyes widened. "A lot, actually. Jiten and the leech disappeared into that unreachable dimension for a year. It's possible that they can go back and forth whenever they want."

"So it's just as conceivable that they would be in that other dimension right now as if they were on Earth," Pecon said, frowning at the wording.

"The enemy," Vegeta winced at calling Jiten enemy, "is hiding too well for us to find right now. Our best move would be to get the dragonballs together to wish Goten back. That was the plan in the first place. If either the leech or Jiten starts something again while we're doing this, we have enough fighters to take care of it for now."

"By the way," Piccolo said, "who's missing?"

There was a momentary pause.

"Krillen went to check on Yamcha, Tien, and Chaotzu. Korin said that Jiten got to them first," Eighteen supplied.

"Trunks is at Capsule Corp," Gohan commented.

"Kakarrot's a worthless puddle of self-pity," Vegeta added sarcastically.

The fact that no one contradicted him or took offense bore witness to the effect that Goku's attitude was having on people.

Vegeta was suddenly annoyed. "Gah! We don't have time for this!" He was about to take off, not even caring now if anyone followed him.

"Wait!" yelled Gohan. "Where's Pan? She's not at Capsule Corp!"

Darjili looked up, her eyes wide. "Sh-she's not? Videl-san went to find her."

It was just then that everyone felt a presence.

.

Videl walked up the stairs to her daughter's apartment. It was nearing daylight, and even the late-night partiers had already passed out. She could smell whiffs of smoke that bled into the hallway, in spite of how much air freshener that hung sickly sweet in the air.

This had not been Videl's idea of the ideal place for her daughter to live.

Videl shook away the old arguments as she came to the door. She was really just thinking that to keep from worrying about Pan… and it wasn't really helping. Taking a breath, she knocked on the door.

The door was pushed open by her soft knocks.

Videl frowned. She'd used her usual controlled strength, and it shouldn't have affected a closed door, much less a locked door…

… providing the door had been locked in the first place.

Videl's first instinct was actually pretty silly. She'd considered calling the police. That's what any normal human would have done, considering the door was unlocked, it was at night, and she was alone. But, of course, she'd been stronger, smarter, and more efficient than the police since junior high… as shown by her unofficial service record.

No, the people to call would be the Z-warriors, and they would sense it if she were in trouble, especially since everyone was on the alert.

Cautiously, in a defensive position, Videl slipped into the shadows. She was already halfway through the living room when she remembered that she could have turned on the lights. She huffed softly and started to try to work her way back.

Then the lights came on.

Videl whipped around, her heart going to wild that she almost couldn't breathe. It was like the lights had given her an electric shock as they came on.

The turned to the door leading outside to see if her escape was still clear. It wasn't.

Videl's mouth hung open, shallow pants emitting from it, as she gazed at her brother-in-law's killer. He was smiling serenely back at her.

"Ah, you must be… Aunt Videl, I think?" he said in a soft voice.

Videl couldn't stop herself from trembling. Unlike the other humans, she'd never been a real warrior. The first time she'd faced someone far beyond her strength she'd been beaten to within an inch of her life. Usually self-preservation would kick in.

It didn't. Instead, she ran to Pan's open bedroom door.

She didn't get very far. She stopped just short enough to avoid crashing into the leech's chest.

Videl gritted her teeth, trying to sound more confident than she actually was. "What have you done to my daughter?" she said slowly.

The leech cocked his head, looking slightly puzzled. "Um… black hair? Short thing? Favors an orange bandana?"

Videl didn't know what game he was at, so she played along, giving him the shallowest of nods.

The leech grinned. "Thought so. She's in there." He turned his head toward the bedroom behind him to emphasize his point.

Videl's rage connected, dispelling all fear within a second. She could feel barely a spark of Pan's ki, and knew that he had done something. Head roaring with wrath, she powered up her fist and hit the man in front of her in the stomach with all the strength in her body. She grinned maniacally as the fist broke through the leather and sank beneath his clothes. She almost expected her fist to come out the other side.

Videl stopped smiling when the leech turned his head around slowly, looking at her with a look bordering between pity and boredom. Videl tried to pull her hand back and retreat slightly. But she couldn't. Her hand was stuck.

"Attacking without defenses. Aren't we sloppy today?" the leech commented with a slight smile, tightening the grip he had on Videl's wrist. He was keeping it immobile against his upper stomach.

Videl started pulling away more frantically, kicking with both legs alternately. She was close enough to perhaps trip his legs and knock him down long enough to get free and retreat. But it was like a regular human trying to kick down stone pillars.

Videl tried to intensify her attack, but, to her horror, her attacks actually seemed to be getting weaker.

"That's right," the leech muttered almost comfortingly, "keep moving… I almost have it all…"

Videl stopped abruptly and looked up at the leech in undisguised fear. He was… draining her as she moved. He was killing her!

Just as he'd done to Pan.

Videl gritted her teeth hard. She wanted nothing better to do than to eviscerate the thing in front of her. She wanted nothing better than to step over his broken body on the way to her precious daughter. She wanted nothing better than to collapse in a weeping puddle over the frustration over her situation and worry and fear over her daughter.

Yet she stayed still, knowing what would happen if she didn't. She forced herself to stay still… and wait.

The leech continued smiling, an almost happy light in his eyes. "You're smart, Videl. Of course, I gave you a hint, but still, you deserve points. Unfortunately, it doesn't change much. I can still gain your energy. It'll just take longer."

Videl's eyes widened as the leech concentrated and she began to feel the miniscule gradual energy loss again. She forced her head to stop screaming with frustration and sense if any of the others would be getting there any time soon.

She could almost focus, but her ki-sense scattered as her vision started to go. The energy was flowing freely now, and she knew she didn't have much longer to go.

At the end of the long dark tunnel her failing vision had made, all she could see was the serene smile of the leech, beaming almost beatifically down on her.

.

Gohan nearly screamed as he felt it. "Videl! No!"

By that time he was already in the air, cursing himself for never learning the teleportation technique.

His eyes were wide with unshed tears. He was going to get there too late… and there would be no one to save Videl and Pan.

.

"Enough!" Trunks screamed. "I can't wait anymore!"

He'd been pacing the front yard like crazy, his ki-sense going wild. He'd sensed everything, and had supplied appropriate reactions until he'd just gotten fed up with it.

Bulma and Bra, on the other hand, were looking at him in a mixture of disbelief and irritation. Bulma had no ki-sense, and Bra didn't have one that was very strong at all. She'd given up trying to find out what was happening from Trunks, and mostly just stayed out of his way now.

"Where are you going, Trunks?!" Bulma screamed as he took off.

"To save Videl!" he yelled back.

Bra looked at her mother in shock, questions still in her eyes.

Bulma simply shook her head. "Don't even ask right now, Bra. We aren't going to find out anything until after everything's done. Just get used to it."

.

The leech held the woman out at arms' length. She'd already lost consciousness, making the final absorption a breeze. He sighed at having to take another human's energy, but there wasn't anything to help that. She'd shown up on her own, and she had to pay the price. She would have caused enough trouble, kept him occupied until the other warriors got there, and just made everything difficult. He was off his strategy enough already. It was either knock her out or steal her energy. There was no way he was wasting even that little bit of energy.

He looked down at her almost fondly. The humans sure were a quaint species. Every one of them thought themselves different – special – strong. They all believed that they had something to give.

It was especially laughable in such creatures as the woman he had in front of him. She knew all about the strong warriors of Earth, partly from his own research and observations, and partly from Jiten's conversation and memories. This girl was the daughter of Hercule Satan, the self-proclaimed hero of Earth who'd earned his championship title by: 1) winning a Budoukai where the reigning champion didn't participate, 2) claiming having done what Gohan had done, and 3) being blackmailed by androids. His daughter was stronger than him, but she was still the weakest of the human fighters… including the Spider students, now.

And even the other humans were jokes compared to the Saiyans. They couldn't do anything in battle without being outclassed and having to be protected. They trained hard, but it never amounted to anything, especially since they couldn't find more strength within a fight like the Saiyans could.

The leech wondered why they even bothered. The woman was spurred on by maternal instinct. What was the others' excuse?

That was when the hand holding the woman departed from the rest of his body.

The leech gave a short scream in pain, the red of his blood flashing before his eyes. The sudden detachment from the last bit of the woman's power made him nauseous. Stubbornly he pushed back the bile and forced his stump of an arm under the opposite armpit, trying to staunch the flow.

"Ha ha!! Take that!" he heard a voice from the window exclaim.

The leech turned slowly to regard his attacker. It was a short human who looked to be in his late fifties and early sixties. He was holding a glowing yellow disk of ki with serrated edges above his left palm. And the man had no nose.

Krillen, the leech reminded himself, trying to get his brain to push past the pain.

"That's," the leech gasped out, "a pretty impressive attack."

Krillen frowned, edging backward away from the apartment window slightly. "You're a killer," he said almost matter-of-factly. "You killed Jita and Goten. You kidnapped Jiten and perverted him to be your own slave. You had him attack Yamcha, Tien, Chaotzu, and Piccolo. So you attacked them. You attacked Pan and Videl." Krillen's lips started shaking, even if his hand didn't. "You attacked my wife," he ended in a near whisper.

The leech knew Krillen to be a monk. He was loyal to his friends and family. He was as much as pacifist as a fighter could be. And squeamish in confrontations.

Yet, now, with his family threatened and his friends killed, with the wicked-looking disk of ki glowing malevolently in his hand, he looked like Death Incarnate for the leech.

The leech knew that this was a man who had been pushed too far. A man who wouldn't hesitate to cut him limb for limb if that's what it took to keep him from hurting anyone else. A man to be feared.

The leech felt a second wave of nausea overtake him as he considered his options. He dared not move. There was no room to maneuver in the small apartment. Krillen had the windows blocked. There was less room in the hallway and stairwell outside the door. And his vision was starting to go from the loss of blood.

If fact, he was dying.

The leech cursed himself for lingering too long in one place. Surely he should have realized that someone would be checking up on a missing warrior, no matter how inconsequential she seemed.

If I die now, I'll just transfer my consciousness into Jiten's body and take over that, just like I did ever other acolyte. It's really no big deal. I didn't mean for it to happen this early in the fight, but I'll still win in the end. After all, that's why I used Jiten in the first place. That's why I use anyone.

There was one problem. He didn't want that to happen to Jiten.

It was funny. It was like he wasn't the same person he'd been for millennia. Of course, technically he was. No matter what bodily changes he went through, the soul was always essential.

Those changes every time he inhabited acolytes and made them the masters were merely coincidental.

I can't do this to Jiten! I… don't want him to die. Not like I did!

…And why am I referring to Redyei as "I"?

The leech thought of the young boy… so painfully young. And innocent. Mischievous, and slightly misguided now, and impressionable, but definitely still innocent. He was a boy filled with trust, just wanting someone to love him and respect him, which he'd thought the leech had done.

It's nothing. Just something I do. A biological need… an ability. A survival mechanism. It's why I recruited him in the first place.

I… I can't do this to him. I can't kill him!

The leech closed his eyes, grasping at the threads of the universe. Sorry, Jiten. You'll have to do the next little bit on your own, he thought to his acolyte. He smiled. What he was doing was bad battle strategy. Definitely bad. A certain wrong move, soaking in sentimentality.

With one last bloody smile, the leech winked out of that dimension.

.

Krillen screamed loudly and threw the disk into the air, letting it slice straight up. He belatedly realized that the ki could cut through a satellite. But since he felt no life readings right above him, he found that he really didn't care.

Krillen rushed into the apartment, looking around cautiously to see if the leech were laying a trap for him in his supposed sudden absence. The coast seemed to be clear, however. The leech had really gone.

Videl was lying in the middle of the leech's blood, which was making an unsightly stain in the middle of Pan's beige living room carpet. Krillen didn't pity her the cleaning bill, but knew that she would be thankful to be alive.

Well, she won't be even that if you don't hurry up with the senzu, he said sharply to himself.

He knelt beside Videl and force-fed her the senzu expertly. She coughed and gagged at the flavor, but he couldn't stay by her and help her. Krillen left the woman in the living room floor and stole into Pan's bedroom.

Krillen breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the small spark of ki that had been present in his friends he'd just seen to. He sat heavily on the bed and force-fed Pan as well. Krillen closed his eyes slightly, feeling the weight of years and his own fatigue. He'd been rushing around like a madman, making flights in record time and expending a huge amount of his energy just in speed. He was surprised he'd had enough for two of his strong destructo disks. No matter how hard he'd trained, it had taken its toll on him.

"Are you all right, Krillen-san?" came a tired voice from the doorway.

Krillen turned to regard Videl. She looked more haggard than he'd ever seen a person. She was covered in the leech's blood, and she was holding onto the doorframe to keep herself from sinking to the floor.

Krillen shoved his petty fatigue aside. "Yes, I'm fine. And Pan's going to be fine too."

Videl smiled. "I know. I mean, those are senzu. Pan's fine."

She belied her confidence by crossing the room and touching Pan's face, just to make sure. Pan's energy had normalized, and she was breathing regularly. However, she was still sleeping.

Krillen almost woke her up when Videl stopped his hand. She smiled. "Don't wake her up yet. There's nothing she can do now, and she's already been through a lot.

Krillen agreed, but he was still worried. "It's not safe here. The leech could come back, or Jiten could get here looking for the leech."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "No place is safe."

Krillen smiled at that. "True, but some places are slightly less dangerous than others."

Videl snorted. "You can't mean Kami's Lookout. When has that place ever been safe?"

Krillen shook his head. "Take Pan and go to Chichi's. Goku's staying by his word so far to not get in the fight, but if you and the others are in danger at his house, he'll get involved anyway. That's the safest place right now.

Videl nodded, gathering Pan up in her arms. "I hate to be leaving the fight…"

"Don't even think about it," Krillen said abruptly. "You did your part. That's what matters. Let others do their part, and hope that you don't still have a part to play."

Videl nodded at this wisdom and walked to the door with Pan.

.

Jiten was in the bathroom behind the slightly ajar door. He'd been keeping perfectly still in his hiding place. At first he'd been waiting for his master to dispense with the other fighters. Now his master was gone to another dimension – a dimension even Jiten couldn't reach.

Jiten slouched to the floor after Aunt Videl and Krillen-san had gone far from the apartment. He pulled his arms around his legs and pulled them to his chest, trembling in unknown emotion.

You killed Jita and Goten.

.

Reviewer thanks:

zara m: Don't worry. As you can see, I have plenty of plans for our cute little Saiyan.

Son Chiako: Thanks! Of course, you'll have forgotten about the review for ch. 13 by the time you get here, but it's the thought that counts.

Engar: I like Eighteen. I wanted to include her, definitely. I'm having fun with the non-main characters. Especially the ones who aren't Saiyan. They're extremely fun. But Jiten is fun too. I guess that's why I don't have Jiten turning Super Saiyan. It sort of takes the fun right out of the fighting.

Dbzneon: Thanks! Your complaint is slightly legitimate for my earlier chapters. I hadn't gotten the character portrayals and relationships down at that point… as well as my writing ability. Of course, the relationship of Goku and Vegeta post-Buu is always up for grabs, which can go from open hostility to shudders openness of another kind. I doubt that the two would ever be drinking buddies or anything, though. Vegeta isn't the kind of guy to befriend easily, and although Goku makes friends everywhere, it takes a lot to form a deep relationship with the guy. He tends to forget about friends when he isn't with them… unless during a crisis. Anyway, I have forgotten about Mr. Buu, but I haven't gotten the entire final battle written out. I follow a rough sketch that changes with every paragraph (which I call "character driven." Ha-ha). But there's still hope, now that you've mentioned him. I'm sort of sad that I wrote Hercule off. I'll have to work him in to another story. He is, after all Toriyama's favorite DBZ character. (Of course, Toriyama's least favorite DBZ character is Vegeta, so go figure.)

Tim333: Been waiting for your return. This is for the review that you left for chapter 42. Yeah, that was a fun chapter to write. I love Taopiepie. I really think the Cell Saga did him little justice. (If you haven't seen that part of the anime, it's really sad. Taopiepie starts out looking pretty smart, but it goes downhill from there.) And with Krianan… I'll admit I was fishing for characterization there. I realized that I wanted to write a chapter with five characters that two were only developed in any way. I was experimenting, and I may have gone a little overboard.