I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 5: Mastermind
I awoke to an eerie silence around dawn. The boys were still asleep as were most of the other campers and counselors, but there was a very strange silence that covered the grounds. I threw on a fresh green outfit and headed outside, taking a deep breath of mist from the morning fog. The sunlight in the east was almost a bloody red color as it began to emerge over the horizon, something didn't feel right about it either. I scanned around, sensing Lenz nearby as she walked the grounds. She felt confused and erratic, as if she were looking for something.
"Hey Mitch, where are you?" she called out. He must have run away from the legs of steel once they started up. "Hey little bro, have you seen that cute boy Mitch?" she asked as I walked up.
"No, what happened? Wait, let me guess. You two just started to get busy and he found out you're not exactly fresh?" I joked as she scowled.
"Cut that out, this is serious. I haven't seen him for several hours. Ever since I spotted him chase after a strange girl with red hair I haven't seen him!" she said.
I cocked an eyebrow at this, "Strange red head you say, where did they go?" I asked.
"Into the woods late last night, haven't seen either one since then, and I haven't been able to sense anything! I would have gone after them, but then it wouldn't be easy to watch over the whole camp while you were sawing logs!" she frowned.
"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you didn't miss out on any fun," I chuckled.
"That's not funny!" she yelled back.
"Uh oh, someone's grumpy today. Let me guess, you broke a limb with barely a touch and he freaked out?" I sneered at her.
"No," Lenz mumbled as she suddenly looked like she would burst into tears at any point.
"Then what is it?" I asked carefully.
"He said she was prettier than me! Wahhh!" Lenz cried and sunk to the ground. Ugh, you've got to be kidding me.
"That's what you're pouting about? Well not to worry, I'm sure someone will come along that will say otherwise," I said, though only to get her out of her mopey mood.
"You really think so? Oh I can't wait! Thanks little bro!" she said, doing her own celebration by jumping up and attempting to embrace me. I shoved her off slightly, there were other things she needed to answer.
"Any sign of Jason Voorhees?" I asked directly.
"Nope, haven't seen or sensed big and ugly, but I did detect something briefly deep in the woods. It was gone before I could lock onto it though, and it's been quiet ever since," she explained.
"Alright, well I imagine you need to get some sleep. As soon as some of the adults are up and the boys wake up, I'll search the woods a little deeper," I said.
"Good, I was getting a little, oh, sleepy. You mind if I use your bed? Thanks!" Lenz yawned as she staggered towards our cabin, not really bothering to wait for my answer. I snorted slightly and sat cross-legged on the ground while I meditated. My concentration was cut short within a few minutes when the grieving Gibb joined the waking world. She walked slowly towards the picnic tables near me and dropped what was likely a six-pack of beer onto the table as she sat down.
"That looks so dull. Don't you ever have any fun?" she asked as she popped one open.
"Don't you ever stay sober?" I asked as I cast one eye open at her.
"Whatever, hey Kia, wake up!" she called out as she walked over and pounded on the door of Cabin A. I shifted back to my concentration, until I realized there was only one faint life reading coming from Cabin A, several shy of what there was supposed to be. The last one was fluctuating quite a bit, the way one does right before it vanishes upon death. I stood up in slight caution and walked steadily for the door just as Gibb forced it open. Gibb stood there, frozen in sudden shock as I walked up and took a glance. The walls were covered in dripping blood, and there were several dead bodies strung about. My eyes darted to the first bed I saw, and there lay Kia, or what was left of her. From what I could tell, her nose had been chopped off, her chest ripped apart, and the flesh had been sliced right off her arms and head to the point where the bones were completely exposed. One of the smaller girls that bunked above her bed was hanging off the post of the bunk bed, but the post had somehow been jammed through her lower jaw and out of the top of her head. Another two girls were literally chopped in half, with their upper halves hanging from the ceiling by their long hair. The last girl in the Cabin was the feint life energy I had sensed. Her chest was sliced up and she was crying as her legs and body twitched with pain. What I found amazing was that I sensed no other force acting upon her, and she looked to be dreaming.
"Hey, wake up!" I called out as I rushed to her side. I heard her groan just as a large rush of blood gushed out from between the thighs, and her eyes opened wide as she gasped and fell lifeless. The frozen Gibb had seen enough, and the scream that followed woke everyone up.
It didn't take long for the police to show up again, but this time a barricade was set up on the road entrance and exit to the camp grounds while they investigated Cabin A. I was flabbergasted to say the least, something had killed Kia and those young girls, and I had no idea who or what it was. Lenz told me directly that no one had come even close to that Cabin the whole night, and I knew it to be true. Yet, there were five dead bodies in there, torn to shreds. Definitely a mystery, and the cops seemed to know the answer. But they wouldn't talk once they heard Jason hadn't been back for business, and when I mentioned that the last girl seemed to die during a bad dream, well that pushed them over the edge. All of the children were rounded up and kept in plain sight around the picnic tables with every cop standing watch nearby. They were all scared out of their minds, understandably, though many of them didn't understand what exactly was going on. I figured that was just for precaution, but the cops were too wound up for it to be just another murder. When some of the slightly tired kids tried to nod off to sleep, the police had them woken up immediately and would not let them enter dreamland. After this happened a few times and buckets of cold water got involved, I had seen enough. I marched right up to the chief as he was barking orders into his radio.
"Look, I don't care about how much money we need to pay them. Just get that shipment of Hypnocil up here on the double, some of these kids are starting to fall asleep. I don't need to remind you what could happen if you don't get here in time!" he barked before climbing out of his squad car and slamming the door.
"What the hell are you guys doing? This doesn't exactly look like fine police work here, you're driving these kids into the ground! And I won't stand for it!" I shouted at him.
"Look young man, we know exactly who did this, and it will be handled our way. I'm not going to step aside even for a professional fighter like you. You can't possibly understand what is going on here!" he said sternly.
"Try me, who did this?" I asked again, crossing my arms and giving him quite a glare.
"We don't say his name in public," the Chief said before he rudely walked off. I growled a bit and contemplated dishing it out on the squad car, but changed my mind when I spotted one of the counselors waving me over from behind a cabin, out of site from the cops. I recognized him to be Mark, the one that was handling the janitorial services. I walked back towards him, seeing the cops were not paying attention. They seemed distracted, and kept looking around as if whatever caused this was going to jump out at them. I sensed nothing unusual in the area, so I doubted that was going to happen.
"Hey, I know who they're after! I know who did this!" Mark whispered as I got close enough to hear him.
"Spill it then, I'll go rip 'em into pieces," I said with a deep scowl.
"You won't be able to, at least not here. You remember that story about Freddy Krueger and the dream demon tale? It's all true, that's who probably caused this. I'm not sure about that big guy, but I'm positive that it was Freddy who killed those girls last night. It's his calling card, mysterious murders and no suspects. They were killed in their dreams!" he explained.
"And just how the hell does that happen?" I asked.
"Not sure exactly, but I know that you have to have heard his name, and you have to be afraid of something. It's our fear that gives him his power!" he said.
"Brilliant, I'm willing to bet that none of these kids ever heard his name until you brought it up, and it sounded like it had enough to do that with that big mother fucker running around! If that's what has happened, smooth move dipshit!" I shouted at him.
"Hey I wasn't sure at first, besides, those cops are just gonna try and make everyone forget about him just like before!" Mark claimed, slightly surprised at my choice of words.
This renewed my suspicions, "What exactly can they do to make everyone forget about something like that, other than kill them all?"
"They tried it before with all of the exposed kids of Springwood. Me and my friend Will, Lori's boyfriend, were part of a group that got thrown in a mental institution they established. They made us take something called Hypnocil, but I'm still not sure what it does. All I know is it deals with suppression of dreams, so Freddy couldn't come back. They also erased all records of his name and his victims and how they died. They treated him like a disease, and he hasn't been back because they made us forget about him for the most part. It's effective, I haven't had a bad dream ever since I started taking it – actually I haven't had a dream since then. I escaped that hellhole about a year ago, and I stole a bunch of Hypnocil on the way out. Only problem is that I'm out, I took the last one a few nights ago," he said.
"So that's what the chief wanted to get up here, a bunch of that shit to give the children, what a fool," I muttered.
"Hey, the stuff works. It does make me a little edgy though," Mark said.
"Yeah I'll bet. Is there a phone around here I can use?" I asked.
"I've got a cell, who do you want to call?" he asked as he fished out his phone.
"The only person who would be able to look into this a little deeper," I said as I snatched it away and quickly dialed the number to Capsule Corporation.
"Hey Mom, can you look up a medication called Hypnocil?" I asked over the phone.
"So it's Mom again when you need something huh?" she said, trying to act irritated.
I rolled my eyes, "So it's a habit, can you look up Hypnocil?" I repeated.
"Sure thing kid, but I haven't heard of that one before. What does this have to do with the rumor that someone has been killed out there?" Bulma asked.
"It may have a lot to do with it, and there's been more than one murder. Don't worry, me and the boys are fine and it wasn't us that did it, but something else has come up and that's why I'm calling," I explained quickly.
"Okay, Hypnocil, here it is! Not even an approved medication yet. Deals with dream suppression? What the hell kind of medicine is that?" she asked loudly.
"Are there any side effects listed?" I asked.
"Yes, can cause psychotic behavior, severe headaches, coma and even death. And it's only fifty five percent effective in all patients tested! Who would make something like this? If people don't dream, their bodies can't rest properly!" she claimed.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too. It seems the local police force has been dealing it out to kids who have, let's just say some very bad dreams," I said.
"That's crazy, what kind of doctor would come up with something like this?" she asked.
"He probably had a lot of motivation, I'll tell you about it later," I said.
"Be careful!" she called out as I hung up and handed the phone back to Mark.
"So, what did she say?" he asked.
"Let's just say that you don't want to be taking that crap anymore, it may protect you from a dream demon, but I doubt its better in the long run. Now how can one combat this guy?" I asked.
"People have done it in the past, but it never works, he always comes back! Only way I can think of is don't fall asleep, once you do, you're as good as dead!"
"What a wonderful plan of attack, just wait to get slaughtered," I muttered.
"Well its either Hypnocil, or making friends with coffee. There isn't much you can do once you know about him," he said, riddled with guilt now.
"Well I guess the only thing we can do is single out his targets, but I don't like the idea of feeding this Hypno-crap to children, it could permanently damage their minds," I said.
"Freddy can't come back if there's no one who remembers him," Mark pointed out.
"There's something else at work here though, you said it's been a few years since he's done this sort of thing right? Well, why now? And other than you spouting off, what else could he do to get people to remember and fear him again?" I asked.
"I'm not sure, I've told tales about him before and nothing happened," he said, looking confused.
"Well you can't tell me that he just waits for the right time while rotting in hell, it doesn't fucking fit! I mean, what if he…" I paused. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Blake suddenly get up and march towards the woods with a serious look on his face. The cops swarmed up and held him back before restraining him with handcuffs and left him strapped to a picnic table. I glanced over towards the tree line, and saw a large and lumbering form emerging, no doubt the target of Blake's anger.
"Oh god, him again?" Mark asked loudly. All of the cops pulled their guns as Jason stalked towards them, unarmed.
"I'll be right back," I said as I launched into the air and summoned my Psi sword. Jason got to within ten feet of the cops before I sliced through the back of his head and neck. His head split open, leaving what was left of his brain and spinal cord drooping out as he simply fell to the ground, ending the threat quickly. I was about to blast the remains, but then all of Jason vanished completely without a trace, mask included. A moment later, I sensed another faint energy surge from the deep woods, and this time it stuck around long enough for me to get a general location.
"Well at the very least, were safe while we're awake with this kid around," Stubbs pointed out as the cops removed their jaws from the ground.
"That may not be true, I need to check something out in the woods," I said as I walked forward.
"Hey, no one is to leave the grounds! That means you as well kid!" the chief shouted.
"And how are you going to stop me? Throw me in the back of your squad car?" I asked with a twitch of the eyebrow. The chief didn't answer to this as Lenz, Goten and Trunks ran up behind him.
"Hey, can we come with? We're getting bored!" Trunks pleaded.
"No, besides, we may have a bigger problem on our hands. This guy keeps coming back to life and I intend to find out how. I need you three to stay on guard duty, you may see some action yet," I suggested.
"Little bro, you need to find Mitch, he's out there somewhere," Lenz pointed out.
"If he's alive, I'll find him and bring him back, no promises," I said as I took off into the woods on foot.
After about twenty minutes of thoroughly searching the thick woods, I finally came across the one clearing in the whole forest. There was a small gravestone that had seen better years, but the actual grave was very unsettled. That's where I found Mitch, his head had been completely twisted around, and judging by the bugs, I'd say he had been dead for at least twelve hours. The grave though was glowing green, and the energy I sensed was coming from it. I gazed in, seeing a large and slightly decomposed body stitching itself together.
"What in the hell is going on here?" I brushed off some of the gravestone, reading the blurry words of "Jason Voorhees" embroidered on it. Well that explains that, but how is he being brought back to life? I scanned the energy source a little more thoroughly, and found that it was Chi energy being emitted, but not much of it. An eerie feeling that I was being watched came over me, and I diverted my attention to the surroundings. I didn't see, hear or sense anything abnormal, but I knew something was there when I smelled a slight hint of someone's presence. It wasn't much, and whoever it was had masked their presence in the forest very well, except for the hint of the natural pheromones produced by sweat glands.
"Whoever you are, I suggest you show yourself, I'm in a bad mood as it is," I called out. No response, and the crickets stopped chirping suddenly, adding to the eerie silence. I glanced around, and still saw nothing, but the scent was getting a bit stronger. Suddenly I heard a very low whistling sound heading towards me. I turned and saw a metal object flying at me at a very high speed. I dodged aside and saw that it was a small and sharp dagger flying by me before it got stuck in a tree.
"I'm not someone you want to screw with!" I shouted now. Still I sensed nothing, whoever it was, they could mask their energy very well. My attention was drawn away from this mystery person when the body in the grave started to move. Jason sat up and struggled a bit to get out of the grave, but did so after a few seconds.
"Get out of the way!" a feminine voice shouted from directly behind me. I turned back and saw a red headed girl dressed in black standing there with a sharp glare on her face.
"Out of the way of what?" I asked as Jason lurched forward.
"Just get off the spot your standing on, you'll understand soon enough!" she ordered. I decided to humor myself for now and stepped out of the way. The instant I did, the ground under Jason's heavy feet exploded outwards, sending the huge man into the air. I hadn't sensed anything from it before, so this was a bit of a surprise. The fiery red head then leaped into the air and kicked him back to the ground. She landed and rushed at him through the air as he rose up again. I sensed a sudden charge of energy from her as she tapped him in the chest with a single finger. She continued past him and landed just as his body exploded violently, showering the area with his insides. She got up and walked slowly towards me and I took in her full presence. So that's the girl Lenz was speaking of, well I see why Mitch might have upset her with his comments, she really is very attractive. Similar figure, only a bit older and taller. Hate to be on the bad end of that scowl though, probably like Chichi on a really bad day.
"Nice attack," I said, trying to keep the first words somewhat complimentary.
"Yes, of course you would be impressed," she said with her nose in the air.
"Oh you've got a hot accent too," I chuckled at her extremely thick British tone.
"Be silent, I should be doing that to you since it's your fault he is able to come back to life!" she growled.
"And how is that exactly, all I do is keep blowing him up," I grinned slightly.
"Don't be such an ignorant brat, this creature can regenerate even from death. It was your power that accelerated that unique property!" she said.
"What? And how would you know about my power, we've never met!" I shouted back.
"Quiet little monkey, your healing power amplified his regenerative capability! I'm here to make sure the mess is cleaned up properly!" she said as she dropped into a fighting stance. Ok, this is something I didn't expect from this chick. Apparently looks aren't the only thing in her arsenal.
"You're making a huge mistake," I warned.
"And you are constantly making reckless errors. You assume and don't think! Do you honestly believe this creature won't come back again? You need to get to the root of the problem instead of dealing with it as needed! It is that problem that keeps bringing him back to life even after you wipe him out!" she barked out. Man, what is her problem?
"Well then, would you care to tell me what the root of the problem is?" I asked.
She hesitated for a moment and looked away, "I'm afraid I don't have that information!"
"Funny, you seemed like such a know it all a second ago. Should we try again? Let's just take it from the top. What is your name?" I asked.
"My name is irrelevant, but if you must call me something, you may call me Leira," she said as she turned around. I snorted slightly as she vanished into the darkness of the trees and from my senses. I took the blank moment to blast the grave with a small ki blast. When the dirt scattered, I sensed the lingering Chi energy surge again, and managed to see some of Jason's remains regenerating again despite being scattered all over the place.
"Wait just a damn minute! How do I find out who or what is bringing him back to life?" I called out.
"It is not of this world. But I'm sure he will be waiting for you," she replied from the darkened forest. No more sound came from the forest, and I reached out with my senses, detecting little to nothing other than the forest wildlife. I thought I caught a faint echo of laughter in the air, but it was gone just as quickly. Not of this world? That doesn't really narrow down the list, except for maybe that dream demon thing…Wait a second, it must be this Freddy character that keeps bringing Jason back in order to spread his fear. If he could regenerate that well before and my healing wave actually enhanced it like she said, it probably wouldn't take much more than telepathic contact to wake this big fool up. Looks like I'll be hunting in Dreamland tonight.
"Okay, Freddy, quit hiding like a little bitch and face me tonight! I think you know where!" I shouted aloud.
"Are you sure about this?" Lenz asked as I crawled into bed. I declined on telling the boys my plan for now, but I did at least let her know so someone else knew what might happen.
"Well, there is no other reasonable explanation that I can find right now. I figure if this really is some sort of dream demon, I'll beat him on his own turf," I explained.
"But are you sure can you use your powers in a dream state? It's your mind that will be fighting, not your body," she pointed out.
"Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough," I said as I laid back on the pillow.
"Good luck then, and if you do find something, save some for me," she said softly.
"No promises, good night," I said as I closed my eyes and focused on relaxing. It wasn't long before I found myself standing in the middle of a crimson desert during a slight sandstorm.
"Hello, is anyone here?" I called out. Nothing responded, and as I took a few steps forward, I realized that I wasn't alone.
Interlude 5.1: Hell
In a darkened sector of the pits of hell, two figures were crowded around a small viewing ball. Only the first could easily be seen from its light, bearing an old hat and a scared face.
"So that little brat wants to be next, fine by me," Freddy laughed aloud when he heard Verto's challenge.
"I suggest caution when dealing with that one directly. Just because you can invade dreams doesn't mean he can't fight back. You may not be able to affect him due to his powers. The other Saiyans might give you a bit of trouble, but you should be able to handle them appropriately," a shadow figure suggested.
"No one can succeed against me if I find what they are afraid of! Their fear gives me my power!" Freddy claimed.
"This boy fears nothing, deal with him quickly but carefully! I want my plans to continue forward!"
"Everyone is afraid of something, its only a matter of time before I dig it out of him," Freddy claimed.
"Just remember, if you run into problems, withdraw and collect your power from the other victims. As long he doesn't destroy that mask, you'll have an ample supply of fear running through them!"
"Just keep that hockey punk off the children, they belong to me!" Freddy laughed.
"Whatever, just do your job and kill off those Saiyans! And do it quickly! After all there can't be much of a revenge if the objective isn't met!" the dark figure laughed.
"Of course, Master!" Freddy bowed before settling down and concentrating. The shadow noted the look of strain on his face before interrupting.
"What is wrong now?"
"I can't get into his mind, its like I'm being blocked out. This has never happened before!" Freddy claimed.
The figure sighed, "What about the other two?"
Freddy paused momentarily, "I can see them clear as day. What is so different about the other one?"
"I told you he was very unique. Very well, concentrate your efforts on young Goten and Trunks. I will draw the other one in!"
"How so?"
"You said once they hear about you, they are affected even if you aren't directing your efforts against them right? That might be all we need. Even if the boy's spiritual powers are blocking out any harm, that doesn't mean you can't still communicate with him. All we need to do now is force him to willingly drop his guard!" the shadow explained.
"You said this kid doesn't fear anything. If that's the case, he's unlikely to let his guard down!" Freddy pointed out, not so sure of himself now.
"Not to worry. If there's anything I've learned about Saiyans, specific ones mind you, is that there's always a way to get them to do what you want them to do. It just so happens that we want him to come charging in and save the day. If there's anything a Saiyan can't resist, it's a fight! To fight you at all, he will have to drop his guard!" the shadow laughed.
"And by doing that, his powers will be useless!" Freddy grinned.
"Perhaps, but it never hurts to try, or does it?" the shadow laughed along with Freddy.
"Of course master, I'll get to work on the other two right away, it shouldn't be too hard to make them feel fear!" Freddy's grin stuck as he turned his attention to the viewing ball. As he did, a bright red M glowed on his forehead.
The shadow stepped closer to the ball, revealing a brown, wrinkled face. "Now, let's see you get through this one brat!" Babidi snickered.
A/n: Yep, he's the big cheese behind all this. If you can't tell, the next few chapters are going to be… rough.