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Now, onward to the chapter.

Chapter 5: A Killer Within

Chi-Chi filled the wooden bucket with cold water as she stared absently out the kitchen's window.

Two days. It has been two days since her husband had falling ill.

At first, she thought it was a really bad cold or maybe the flu. Although it was odd for Goku to be sick at all, she wasn't too concern. Her Goku was young and in great shape. Surely, any illness he got would blow past him like everything else and he would be back to normal within a day or two, annoying her about food and training. Instead, he had gotten much worse.

Goku hadn't regained consciousness since they brought him home and his fever refused to go down despite her efforts, causing him to be fitful in his sleep. He also appeared to be in pain. Every now and then, he would gasp his chest and whimper quietly. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She never heard of sickness that gave chest pains.

She considered given him some kind of medicine for the pain and fever, but she wasn't sure how he would react. Goku was an alien who didn't seem to response to drugs. When he was in the hospital after fighting Vegeta the doctors had a hard time sedating him. They later told her that they gave him enough sedatives for twenty people just to make his drowsy. Which meant a lot of injections, that didn't make Goku happy.

Given him over the counter medication would probably do nothing for him unless they purposely overdosed him. That was something she wasn't willing to risk that would make her sicker. Still, if his fever gets worse they may need a doctor intervention.

Chi-Chi shook her head. Given how Goku acted around doctors, that would be the last resort. She would never understand how a man could have nearly every bone broken, face life-or-death battles routinely, and fought against demons and monsters could be terrified of needles.

Besides, she was jumping the gun. She doubted Goku was severally ill. It had to be the flu or maybe a mild virus. In a couple more days the worse would past and her Goku would be back to his old self.

With the bucket full, she made her way to their room. Goku was lying in bed, breathing hard as sweat drenched his face. The way he was gasping for air and his face twitching told her that Goku was having another nightmare.

She frowned as she dumped a cloth into the cool water and began to wipe his face. Goku growled and turned away from the cold rag. The contrast between the cloth and his burning skin was causing him more discomfort.

"It's okay, honey. This is to cool you down," Chi-Chi murmured in a motherly tone as she continued to wipe his forehead.

Goku gave a sudden gasp and his eyes shot opened.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi exclaimed in shock.

"Chi...Chi...?" Goku whispered. He sounded so weak. He also didn't appear to know where he was. "Where..."

"You're back home," Chi-Chi answered once she got over her shock.

Goku took several deep breaths and relaxed. "It was…a dream…"

Chi-Chi frowned. Was he dreaming about Namek again? It'd been over a year since he had those nightmares. "Do you remember what happened?"

Goku closed his eyes and took several harsh breaths. "I remember...taking a nap in Bulma's garden... Don't remember much after that..."

"You're sick," Chi-Chi stated bluntly. "You've been in bed for almost two days."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Two days!?"

Chi-Chi nodded before she smiling. "But you're awake now. That must mean you're getting better."

Goku said nothing as he sensed his body. Never being sick, he wasn't sure what 'getting better' felt like for these kinds of things. What he knew was that his body was very hot and he was drenched in his own sweat. He was still drowsy making everything less than real. And his chest hurt really badly. Before, it was a slight dull ache, but now it was sharp almost stabbing pain and seemed to increase with each heartbeat. He felt far from better.

Goku nearly jumped out of his skin when Chi-Chi wiped his face with the wet cloth. "That's cold!"

"Of course it is. I'm trying to bring your temperature down," Chi-Chi said in an even tone as she went back to wiping his forehead.

He gritted his teeth as the coldness of the cloth shoot through his body and made him shiver. He didn't know being sick sucked so much. He now understood what Gohan felt when he got his annual summer flu.

There was a long silence as Chi-Chi patted the rag across her husband's face.

"What were you dreaming about?" she suddenly asked.

Goku turned towards her. "Huh?"

"You've been having several nightmares," Chi-Chi explained before bitting her lips. "Were…were you dreaming about Namek?"

He turned away from Chi-Chi and closed his eyes. There, he went quiet.

At first, Chi-Chi thought he fell back to sleep.

"I don't remember much, but it wasn't Namek," he suddenly spoke up, startling Chi-Chi. "I saw the world…burning. I saw everyone being murdered by a powerful enemy…. Two of them…. Both with cold blue eyes with no soul." He shivered as he recalled the nightmare. "Before the dream ended I heard Gohan crying."

Chi-Chi felt chilled by his words. "But it was just a dream."

"Or a warning," Goku muttered. "Similar dreams haunted me before my brother came. I also had terrifying images before something terrible happened. But…these dreams were much worse. I sense…only despair and death in them. No hope. No hope at all."

Chi-Chi frowned. "Well, it's probably still nothing. Everyone have weird dreams when they're ill."

Goku didn't answer back, choosing instead to stare at the ceiling.

"Mom, I'm home!" Gohan called as the front door opened and closed.

"I'm with your father! Leave the food on the table!" Chi-Chi yelled, causing Goku's ears to ring.

Within a few minutes, the paddles of Gohan's footsteps reached his ears. "Mom, how is..." He stopped short when he noticed that Goku was conscious. "Dad, you're awake!" He ran happily to his father's bedside. "How are you feeling? Has your fever gone down? Is there something I can get you?"

The rapid fired of Gohan's question made his head spin.

"Gohan, don't agitate your father. He just woke up a few minutes ago," Chi-Chi lightly scowled.

Gohan laughed nervously. "Oh, sorry."

Goku gave a tired smile. "It's okay." He looked towards his son. "You've been taking care of things?" He reached up and petted his son's head. The simple gestured took a lot out of him. His arms felt like deadweight.

Gohan smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I've even done some hunting and cooking since mom been so busy."

He chuckled. "That's my boy. I might be laid up for awhile, so you have to take care of mom until I'm better." He lowered his arm, using up all of his strength.

Gohan lowered his head slightly. It was easy to see the worry in his face. "Of course. Just concentrate on getting better, okay. It isn't like you to lay in bed when it's been so nice all week." He stared at his father. "So, how you're feeling?"

Goku closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get a sense of his body again. "I feel…." He suddenly stopped.

Chi-Chi immediately noticed the change and became alarm at how pale her husband suddenly became. He was sweating more and his breathing greatly increased. His eyes were also dilated and a tinge of blue formed on his lips. It was like death itself had seized him.

"Goku? Goku, are you okay?" Chi-Chi asked, closed to panicking.

Goku couldn't answer.

Pain. Unimaginable, burning pain was shooting through his chest and spreading across his entire body like a wildfire. It felt like someone had stabbed a flaming knife through his heart and was slowing twisting it.

He was no stranger to pain. As a warrior he had torn muscles, dislocated joints, shattered every bone in his body, had holes shot through him, nearly beating to death, and actually died. But this was different. The agony in his chest was so unbearable that he literally wanted to rip his own heart out.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Gohan asked in increasing panic. He had never seen his dad like this. Even when he was nearly crushed to death by Vegeta, he didn't look like this.

"Go..." Chi-Chi tried to speak.

Without warning, Goku released a piercing, almost animalistic scream. He grabbed his chest where his heart was and howled in pure anguish. The pain was so intense that tears were falling down his eyes as wave after wave of flaming agony shoot through him.

"GOKU!" Chi-Chi screamed in horror as she attempted to hold him down. "Goku, please hang on!"

"DADDY!" Gohan also yelled in terror, helpless to do anything to help.

Goku was beyond hearing any of them. The only thing he could focus on was the pain drowning all his senses.

It hurts!

It hurts so badly that he wanted to die. Anything was better than this agony! He take being shoot through the chest by Piccolo, crushed by Vegeta, or beating to death by Frieza over this! It felt like his heart was exploding into flames.

It hurts!

Make it stopped! Please make it stop! He begged, pleading for anyone or anything to take the pain away. It was like he was losing his very mind to the pain.

"Goku! Goku!" Chi-Chi continued to scream as she shook her husband, who was now thrashing frantically.

What's wrong with him? It was like he was having a heart attack, but that was impossible. Goku was too young for that. No…not even a heart attack looked this bad. It sounded like he was being tortured.

"Mom, what's wrong with dad!?" Gohan all but yelled. Tears were streaming down his face, making him appear much younger.

"I...don't know..." Chi-Chi answered, completely at a lost. She never felt so helpless. She needed to get a doctor right a way. She wasn't equipped to deal with this. "Gohan, keep an eye on your father. I'm going to call the family doctor."

Gohan numbly nodded as his mom ran out of the room, nearly knocking the door off the hinges.

From his training spot, Piccolo felt it.

Since the day Goku had taken ill, he has been monitoring the man's life force. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that he should keep watch over his one-time enemy. He almost scoffed at the notion. It wasn't like Goku of all people needed a babysitter, despite how childish the man could be.

Now, he felt Goku's power take a sudden and sharp dip. It has been fluctuating for several days, but it had remained relatively stable. Now, it felt like Goku was struggling to stay alive. What was going on?

Almost despite himself, he shot off towards Goku's house.

Out on the Lookout high in the heavens, Kami felt it too. He looked down at the lower realm to see what had disturbed him.

"Kami, what's wrong?" Mr. Popo asked when he saw his master staring down at the lower world.

Kami remained silently for several seconds. "It's Goku. Something is very wrong with him."

Now Mr. Popo was concern. "What happened to him?"

Kami shook his head. "I am not completely sure, but he appears to be very sick. His energy is dropping rapidly."

"But Goku should get better. He is strong," Mr. Popo said with some assurance.

Kami nodded, but found no comfort in his assistance's words. "Yes, he is strong. Perhaps the strongest in the universe, but... Goku may not be able to weather this one. Especially, if he has what I fear."

"You mean..." Mr. Popo gasped.

"I cannot say for sure. The illness that has been spreading across the Earth is strange even to me. Given that Goku is not of this world, there is no telling how this may affect him," Kami answered honestly before shaking his head.

There was long moment silent between the guardian and the caretaker.

"Can a senzu bean help him? Mr. Popo asked.

Kami shook his head. "Despite the senzu's miraculous powers, it cannot cure a natural illness no more than Shenron can revive someone who dies of a natural cause. No, as much as it pains me say this, Goku will have fight this enemy on his own."

Mr. Popo frowned. "If he loses…"

"He can never be revive," Kami woefully confirmed. "All we can do is pray for him." He laughed humorlessly. "Despite being guardian of his world, I'm powerless to help our greatest champion. I cannot even ease his pain. He has done so much for us and this world, and yet, I can only defer to a higher power in his time of need."

Mr. Popo didn't speak as he stared at Kami, fearing what was happening below.

Bulma cooed as she played with baby Trunks. The boy wasn't even a year old and he was already showing motor skills that far exceeded someone his age. Maybe it was those Saiyan genes, but she liked to think it was her own genius showing through. Trunks was going to grow up to be a very smart boy.

The hissed of the door opening got her attention. From the doorway, she could see Vegeta, looking as grumpy as always.

"Well, look who's here. Finally decided to crawl out of that gravity chamber," Bulma said in a disdainful voice before she went back to playing with Trunks. "You missed the party the other day, like you would care anyway. Can't say you were really missed."

Vegeta paid little attention to her rant. "Woman, what's wrong with Kakarot?"

Bulma didn't bother turning around. "Mom should have told you, if you weren't too busy training. He was sick the other day. Probably with the flu or something. Knowing him, he'll bounce back in no time." She finally turned to face him. "Sorry, but you'll just have to wait for your little rematch." She then turned her attention back towards her son.

Vegeta glared at her, annoyed at her tone of voice. "Don't take the immune system of a Saiyan lightly, woman. There's no way that Kakarot would become ill with some earthling disease. Especially a disease that would push his life force near the edge of death."

Bulma stopped playing with Trunks. "What are you talking about?"

Vegeta snorted and folded his arms. "I forgot you can't sense energy. Kakarot's power has dropped to dangerous levels. I thought he was fighting some new enemy or something, but I sense no hostile force. Whatever's happening to Kakarot, it's killing him."

Bulma stood up and took Trunks in her arms. "Don't say stuff like that. You probably just misreading the situation."

"Are you doubting my senses, woman?" Vegeta challenged.

"Well, I'll just call Chi-Chi up and asked her," Bulma said as she walked towards one of the many phones and called the Son's resident. It rang several times, but no one answered, which was strange. Chi-Chi was usually home to answer the phone. After the seventh ring, she hung up. "She's not answering."

"Believe me now?" Vegeta asked almost smugly.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this," Bulma said instead, heading towards the hanger where all the vehicles were kept.

Vegeta watched her until she disappeared from sight. "Kakarot, whatever the hell is going on with you, you better not die. Not before I get to crush you with the might of our people."

By the time Piccolo reached Goku's house, he felt the man's power settle. It was still very weak, but at least it didn't feel like it was going to burn out. Perhaps he jumped the gun and the worse had past. Still, it was better to check since he was here anyway.

He landed in the front yard and saw that Gohan was huddled on the ground, looking absolutely miserable.

"Gohan," the Namekian called.

The young boy's head shot up, staring at his mentor with teary eyes. "Pi...Piccolo?" He wiped his face. He knew Piccolo hated when he cried.

"Gohan, what has happened here?" Piccolo asked, getting straight to the point. "What happened to your father?"

Gohan lowered his eyes and sniffed. "He woke up. I thought he was getting better and then he suddenly started to scream in pain and grabbed his chest. Mom called the doctor and he's looking at him right now."

"Grabbed his chest?" Piccolo repeated.

He knew a little about the human anatomy. It was part of the knowledge he inherited from his father. By knowing how the human body worked, it made it easier to kill them. Grabbing the heart and severe chest pains sounded like a heart attack or may be a cardiac arrest.

But Goku wasn't a human. He may look like them, but his body worked differently. It was also hard for him to believe that someone like Goku could be suffering heart failure. This was the same person who heart restarted itself after his father beat him near to death. What the hell was going on?

"Is he going to be alright, Piccolo?" Gohan asked desperately as he stared at his teacher.

"I don't know," Piccolo answered honestly. The last thing Gohan needed was false assurances. "But given that it is your dad, he won't die easily."

Gohan only nodded and went back to staring at the ground.

Almost an hour past before the sound of a jet reached their ears. The duo looked up to see a Capsule Corp helicopter heading towards them.

"Bulma?" Gohan asked in confusion.

The helicopter landed and Bulma stepped out. "Hey!" She saw Piccolo. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Are you and Gohan training?"

"So, Vegeta sensed what was happening," Piccolo chose to say instead.

"Huh, oh, Vegeta was saying some weird stuff about Goku. Something about his life force dropping and something was killing him," Bulma said.

Gohan gave a choked sob at Bulma's words.

"But that's just ridiculous so I tried to call Chi-Chi, but no one answered the phone," Bulma went on, not noticing Gohan's miserable state. "I know it's probably nothing, but I just wanted to check on Goku myself. How has he been doing?"

Gohan couldn't speak. He kept his head down and was trembling slightly. It took everything he had not to cry again.

"Goku isn't doing well," Piccolo answered for Gohan. "Apparently, his illness is more serious than we first thought."

Bulma stepped back. "What...what do you mean? He just has a really bad flu, right?"

"I don't know all the details myself, but Goku seemed to have had a heart attack or something similar to one. It could be unrelated to his illness, but the attack was sever enough to drop his energy to dangerous levels," Piccolo explained.

"Mom's in there now with the doctor," Gohan spoke softly, wiping his face. "They've been in there for over an hour."

Bulma gave a force smile. "I'm sure it's nothing, kid. I mean, this is Goku we're talking about. He survived worse than some illness."

After that, they stood in silence for another thirty minutes. Trunks was starting to get fussy when the doctor came out.

Bulma almost rushed him to get answers, but stopped herself when he saw how forlorn the man looked. He gave Gohan a looked of pity before he got into his air-car and drove away.

Gohan didn't waste another minute before rushing into the house. Bulma followed shortly behind him while Piccolo remained outside.

They found Chi-Chi in the kitchen, sobbing restlessly at the table. She looked completely broken and defeated. It was nothing like the strong, stubborn woman they all knew.

"Mom..." Gohan whispered, grabbing her shoulders and rubbing them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Bulma asked. She felt dread build in her chest.

Trunks seemed to sense it too and became fussier.

Chi-Chi wiped her eyes and took several deep breaths. "The doctor examined Goku. He...he said that he caught some new virus that's been going around."

"New virus?" Bulma repeated.

Chi-Chi nodded while sniffing. "It's the one that attacks the muscles of the heart, given the appearance of a heart attack."

Bulma felt her own heart dropped. She heard of this virus. It was all over the news the other day. There were random outbreaks of the virus all over the world. No one knew where it came from or how to treat it. All anyone knew was that the virus first seemed like the flu before the patient started having severe chest pains and suffering from heart spasms. The pain was so acute that not even the strongest painkiller could ease their suffering. Even putting them in medical induced-comas did little since they kept withering in agony until their bodies eventually gave in to the virus.

"There...there must be a mistake," Bulma said slowly once she regained her bearings. "I mean, Goku couldn't just caught some random virus."

Chi-Chi shook her head with tears streaming down her face. "He...he...has all the symptoms. High fever, hallucinate nightmares, drowsiness, weakness in the arms, an irregular and fast heartbeat. He also has severe chest pains that leave him screaming in agony for minutes on end." She choked down a sob before she continued. "The...the doctor said they're caused by his immune system trying to fight the virus...but...it's damaging the heart muscles and causing his heart stop for several seconds. As the muscles get weaker...his heart will stop longer until..." She couldn't finish.

Bulma was left speechless. She didn't believe any of this. She couldn't believe this.

Gohan shivered as he took in the description of the virus. "But, he's going to be okay, right? I mean, the doctor can give him something to make him better."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

"The...the doctor said that there is no known cure or treatment. The virus appeared only a year ago and no one knows how to treat it," Chi-Chi said in a dead voice. "In all known cases the virus..." She stopped. She burst into tears remembering the doctor's words.

"Mommy," Gohan whispered as she hugged his mother.

"No... Are you telling me..." Bulma spoke softly, feeling her arms go weak. Suddenly, Trunks felt like he weighted a ton.

"The...virus is...fatal in all known cases..." Chi-Chi sobbed. "He's going to die..."

Gohan stepped back in shock. All color drained from his face and he felt the room grow cold. "No...that can't be right... Daddy...daddy can't die like this."

Bulma numbly nodded. "That...that's right. Besides, Goku isn't like the other people who died. He's an alien. A Super Saiyan, the strongest being in the universe. Surely a mere virus can't kill him."

Chi-Chi wiped her eyes and looked hopefully at the older woman. "You think so..."

Bulma smiled and nodded, feeling more confident. "Yeah. I've known Goku since he was a boy and there's no way a virus can get him down. Besides, my father and I can look into this and see if we can develop a cure or some kind of treatment. With our genius and Goku's fighting spirit, we can beat this thing."

Chi-Chi sniffed as she wiped the last of the tears. "Thank you, Bulma."

Piccolo remained outside as he listened to the conversation. Despite Bulma's hopeful words, he doubted it would be that simple. He did not want to believe that a virus could kill Goku, but the fact that he has taken ill to begin with proved that he wasn't invincible. He could also feel Goku's life force struggling again.

Whether they wanted to admit it or not, Goku was dying. Maybe they could stall or even stop the process, but as things stood he didn't have much time in this world.

He almost wanted to scoff at the entire situation.

A warrior like Goku shouldn't die in this manner. He should meet his end on the battlefield, fighting some ungodly strong opponent, not killed from within by some invisible enemy that he had no way of fighting.

He also found it somewhat ironic that Goku was dying from a viral infection of the heart. Given how big and powerful that man's heart was, that it would be the thing that would kill him seemed like big a cosmic joke. Well, he wasn't laughing.

He sighed as he floated a few inches off the ground, trying to meditate.

It didn't seem right to just fly off. With Goku down, Gohan would be needing guidance and a place to vent his frustrations. The boy's mother would be too busy caring for Goku to properly keep an eye on him. He also didn't like the idea of Gohan staying cooped up in the house with his sickly father. He was certain that Goku wouldn't want his son to see him slowly fade away.

A loud scream reached his ears and he nearly jumped. It was Goku. It appeared that he was having an attack.

He heard yells inside as Chi-Chi, Bulma, and Gohan ran to care for the falling warrior.

He had never heard Goku scream like that. Even when he was beating him to a pulp at the World Martial Arts Tournament or having his ribs shattered by Raditz, he never sounded like that. It literally sounded like he was being tortured to death.

Piccolo returned to his mediations trying to concentrate, but it was impossible to ignore the screams. It reverberated throughout his entire body and he shared the man's pain.

Funny, a couple of years ago he would have found Goku's torturous yells to be music to his ears. He would have been slightly annoyed that he wasn't the one causing them, but he would enjoyed it nonetheless. He once dreamed of having Goku scream like this.

Now, those cries of pain were unbearable. He hated it. He wished Goku would be quiet. He didn't even want to imagine the type of anguished that could've produced that kind of scream within a person like Goku.

How far he has fallen. The once proud Demon King finding the sounds of pain excruciating. The lure that once eased his soul and gave him purpose, now reducing him close to tears, especially from a man he was born to despise.

If Goku must die, let it be a fast death so he wouldn't have to hear his crying anymore. Let him retain some of shred his dignity as he passed into the next life.

Inside, it took almost all of Gohan's strength to restrain his father as he withered and screamed in bed. It was even worse than before.

Bulma could only stare paralyze at the door, holding Trunks who started to cry. He too felt the pain of the other man.

It was worse than she imagined. The other day, Goku looked sick, but he was still able to stand and support himself somewhat. Here, Goku looked already closed to death's door. How did he deteriorate so quickly? To think her invincible childhood friend could be brought down to this by a virus. At the rate the virus was progression could she even find a cure in time?

She shook herself out of those thoughts. No, she would find a cure. After all Goku has done for her, for this world, it was time for her to return the favor. She wouldn't let her dear friend die like this. Not in this miserable way.

"Goku, it's okay," Chi-Chi smooth as she desperately wiped his face. "It's okay, I'm here. We're all here. You're not alone."

Goku kept screaming as he fought against his son's hold. "Get…away…."

"Goku, are you awake?" Chi-Chi asked, sounding hopeful.

Gohan shook his head. "No, he isn't conscious. He must be talking in his sleep."

"Get….away…run!" Goku yelled as he frantically gasped for air. "Run…They'll kill you!"

Bulma stepped closer as Trunks cried in her ears. "What is he talking about?

"A nightmare. He's been having them since he's falling ill," Chi-Chi explained. "But, this is the worse I've seen him."

"My…fault... My fault… They came for me," Goku moaned before he screamed again. "Forgive me….!"

Bulma shook her head. "I wonder what he could be dreaming about."

Gohan sobbed as he watched his father suffer. "Daddy."

"No hope…. There's no hope!" Goku yelled as another wave of agony hit him.

Goku kept screaming well into the afternoon before he mercilessly went silence.

The shortest chapter so far, but it certainly wasn't short on content. Hoped you all enjoyed and until next chapter.