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 6: Captives
"Wow, thank you Mister Dragon!" Goten called out seeing a brief image of Shenron nearby. He was standing on top of a mountain made completely out of food. He didn't waste a moment and started digging in, starting with a bowl of delicious pasta. As he began to eat it though, he noticed a very peculiar taste to it. He looked down to see it was really green spinach he was eating.
"Bleh, that is nasty! Who was mean and put that there?" Goten asked as he spat it out. He spotted a soft cookie lying next to the bowl and grabbed it, shoving part of it into his mouth a moment later. He munched quickly, but then stopped as his brain identified another strange flavor. He glanced at the half cookie in his hand, and his eyes went wide. The cookie was really a pale looking pancake that was covered in red. This brought back troubled memories in a hurry and he quickly threw it aside and spat out the rest. Goten shook his head slightly as the first two samplings had turned out badly, and quickly looked for something else. He spotted a platter full of small fried chicken wings nearby and rushed over to it. This time though, he picked up one tiny leg and examined it carefully as if to make sure it wouldn't turn into something else. Once satisfied that it wouldn't become something else, he stuck part of it in his mouth and bit off the edge. This one tasted fine, and made Goten forget all about what had happened a moment ago. That is until he held up the other part of the leg in his hand. Instead of a piece of cooked meat, he held a bleeding human finger. Goten panicked and threw it down as he glanced at the platter. It was full of fingers that looked like they had all been cut off of someone's hand recently. Goten's eyes welled up slightly as the ground started vibrate a bit like something was stomping towards him. Goten heard laughter behind him and turned around slowly before gasping in surprise and taking off running.
Trunks glanced around as he entered the dark alley. He had been walking along the street for quite awhile now, not really sure how he got there, but then he spotted what looked to be the masked killer Jason lumbering about. With no Verto around to spoil the fun, he felt free to investigate this for himself. He slowly crept up as Jason ducked into the alley, but as he followed he found nothing there. There were no doors and the alleyway was a dead end. Trunks scanned around with his eyes and ears, picking up little to nothing for a minute or so as he prepped himself for battle. Just as he was about to give up, he heard something land behind him. He spun, giving this dark and cloaked figure the patented death glare.
"And just who the hell are you?" Trunks asked. The figure didn't respond, but did leap forward with some sort of blade sticking out of his hand. Trunks dodged aside as the figure tripped forward before stopping and turning back around. Then he began to laugh. Trunks wasn't quite sure what to make out of this seemingly crazy man, but he knew it to be evil to the core.
"Let's go, I'm not afraid of you!" Trunks declared as he sunk into a fighting stance.
"Well, we will just have to do something about that," the figure finally spoke in a gruff voice as he removed his cloak. Trunks gasped slightly as he saw this man's face, severely burned and scarred.
"The name is Freddy. Are you afraid of the dark? You little shit!" Freddy asked as he lifted his claws.
"Ha, I'm the prince of Saiyans; you can't scare me with your butter knives and ugly face!" Trunks dared.
"Everyone has fear, I wonder what you are afraid of," Freddy said as he jumped forward again. Trunks jumped backwards before rushing Freddy and kicking him straight in the chest, sending him into the pavement.
"What was that you were saying? I don't think you can deliver on your promise!" Trunks smirked. Freddy chuckled slightly as he picked himself up.
"It may take awhile, but you will be crying like a little girl when I'm through with you!" Trunks snarled at this and charged up his hands, firing multiple ki blasts at Freddy. Freddy barely dodged aside and watched them go by and explode, laughing slightly as they did. Trunks was surprised to say the least, as he could not sense any sort of power from Freddy at all. That didn't stop him from trying harder though.
"Sorry, I guess I didn't realize that I was facing a real fighter. If I were you, I'd start running right about now!" Trunks grinned as his golden aura emerged.
"Please, do tell!" Freddy fired back. He was blinded by the sudden explosion of golden light coming from Trunks. Once it faded, Freddy gasped slightly at the Super Saiyan standing before him.
"If you wanted to be blonde, I could have made it easier on you!" Freddy laughed as he lifted his clawed hand. Trunks heard something above him and saw what appeared to be gallons of blue water dropping on him from the air. When it hit though, he recognized the smell of it to be bleach, and spat it out as it ran off the street.
"That's better; you should at least be wearing girly clothes if you're going to look like one!" Freddy grinned. Trunks glanced down to see he was wearing a pink shirt and yellow skirt just as Freddy laughed even louder. Trunks seemed to pout for a moment before Saiyan pride kicked in and Freddy's eyes lit up like a deer in the headlights.
"I'm gonna make you pay for that!" Trunks shouted in anger as he charged in.
I stood motionless in the sandstorm, waiting. It seemed like I had been waiting for a very long time, and nothing but wind and dust were present. I knew I couldn't have been alone though, I felt a presence. It was so faint and small that I couldn't pinpoint it, but it was there. Man this is boring, how long am I going to have to wait for this guy to show himself, and why here? My question on waiting time wasn't answered anytime soon, and so I kept walking around, searching for anything and everything that didn't match the dead environment. After what seemed like hours of nothing, I finally lost it.
"Hey Freddy, or whatever your damn name is, come out!" I called out. No one answered, and the sand storm intensity remained the same.
"Come on, don't tell me you're scared of me? I thought I was supposed to be scared of you!" I yelled again. Again no answer, and my patience ran out.
"Fine, if you're going to hide in other people's dreams like a chicken shit, I'm going back to reality!" I shouted as I turned on my heel to go back the way I came. As I turned, I realized that I wasn't sure how to leave. A few moments later, I heard the sound of a throat clearing, but the short person I saw when I turned around wasn't who I was expecting.
"Ahem, I'm afraid Freddy is a bit preoccupied right now and can't assist you. Can I help you with something, you little rat!" Babidi said, the same wicked grin on his face that I had grown accustomed to.
"And just what the fuck do you want?" I growled.
"Why so angry little Saiyan? I'm only here to serve, hahahahaha!" he laughed.
"Why don't you serve the end of this sword instead? This dead place could use a little more red in the scenery!" I said as I lit up the landscape with my blue Psi sword. I glanced down at the blue sword for a very brief moment, but answered my own question about my power working in the dream world.
"Ha, good luck rodent!" Babidi chuckled. I glared at him sharply before rushing towards him and slicing right through his ugly head. My sword went right through as I passed by, but when I turned back he was still standing there, unscathed.
"I'm not really here, so it will be very difficult for you to hurt me! I am communicating telepathically," he declared without turning around. I walked up and swung my leg right through his body, seeing in fact that his figure seemed to phase in and out much like a hologram.
"I'm afraid you will just have to listen to what I have to say, too bad!" he cackled.
"I have better things to do then trade insults with a witless maggot like you," I said as I walked off.
"Wait, I have information for you!" he called out.
That made me stop for a split second, "And just what would that be?"
"Just that you and all your friends are going to die!" he laughed crazily.
"Been there, done that," I growled.
"Not like this you haven't. Oh it's going to be absolutely delightful to watch the others suffer in their own minds!" I paused a bit when he said this, collecting my own thoughts. He's in league with Freddy, and I'll bet he has something to do with Jason's continuous rising from the grave.
"Why isn't he coming after me then if you're so eager for revenge?" I asked simply.
"Let's just say your power protects your mind from his influence, so I'm afraid you will just have to watch your friends die!" Babidi cackled with one of the sickest grins I had ever seen from him. I stared at the ground for a moment while I thought things over. There must be a way to fight this guy, and if my power protects me from him, I'll just have to figure out another way. I know he's baiting me, but I may not have a choice.
"Why so quiet? I was hoping to hear more of your disgusting mouth again before you keel over!" Babidi said, still laughing.
"Suddenly I feel like I must warn you of something, worm," I said sternly.
"And what would that be?" he asked.
"Don't forget, I know exactly where you live. If I die to one of your minions again, this time I'm going to be a little pissed," I growled as I walked off.
I awoke suddenly in a cold sweat, scaring Lenz half to death as she had been leaning over me with slight concern written all over her face.
"Well, what happened?" she asked.
"I didn't see Freddy at all, but I did run into a certain annoying wizard who's in cahoots with him," I said briefly.
"Something happened to Trunks and Goten; I haven't been able to wake them up. And they've been twitching like crazy!" she pointed out. I quickly glanced over to see exactly that, and both of them had a few minor cuts and scrapes making themselves known along the sides of their heads and arms.
"Freddy must be fighting them in their dreams, or something of that nature. I'm gonna try and get that freak's attention," I said.
"Okay, but please be careful," Lenz pleaded.
"How long was I out anyway?" I asked, feeling that I didn't get much sleep.
"Only a few hours," she replied. Just as I dropped back into bed, I heard a scream outside followed by gunshots. It didn't take long to pinpoint what was going on when I opened the door. I spotted several dead cops lying around their own cars. Children were also running around, but mostly towards the dock as the rest of the police were converging on the driveway area. I spotted Mr. Cochteau picking up a pipe of some kind and heading towards the other side of Cabin A, where the gunshots were coming from. I ran quickly over there just in time to see Officer Stubbs get cleaved in half by a large blade belonging to one Jason Voorhees. Well look who's back. He won't be staying long. Cochteau came up behind him and hit him hard over the head with the pipe. Jason shrugged it off and bashed him in the face, putting him on his ass as he held his nose by reaction. Jason's arm arched back, and I rushed in and tackled him from behind. Once on the ground, I punched him hard in the back, busting through the skin and several bones and tissues with the first blow. Jason was grounded for the moment as I likely clipped something vital while the blood spurted out. I wasted no time and fired a quick blast at his head just as he turned, blasting it clean off. The mask flew off in the blast, making me again wonder how the hell it managed to get back on his head so much. No, don't worry about stupid things right now. Dream freak is my top priority. I wiped some of the blood off as the body vanished a moment later, and helped Cochteau to his feet.
"Thanks kid, man that monster just doesn't stop coming!" he said. The other cops were checking on their fallen comrades, led by the Chief as he surveyed the situation. Behind him, I spotted one of the furthest cabins on fire. I sprinted over there just as everyone wondered where I went, meeting Lenz there once she realized where I was going. Looking through the window, we spotted Mark in a panicked state, flopping around the room like a puppet on a string. His back was on fire and we smelled the burning flesh as he tried to put it out on the wall, setting it and the rest of the wood cabin a blaze. His face suddenly ripped open and he turned and slumped against the wall. His clothes burned off enough to spot something written, or in this case, burned into his back. I narrowed my eyes slightly to attempt to read it, and saw the message clearly once the flames died out a bit.
It was a clear-cut challenge, "I have your friends, come do something about it!" Lenz gasped slightly as Mark then burned alive once the message was passed, and I knew what I had to do next.
"His attacks have never been this brutal before!" the chief claimed as I explained what I thought had been happening.
"Maybe you need to realize that he has a bit of help!" I said.
"Well at least the Hypnocil arrived. Start passing these out," he ordered his deputies as he handed them a large bag. Before they could move out though, I snatched the bag from their hands.
"What are you doing son, these kids need that!" he claimed.
"They don't need to be driven insane!" I said as I tossed the bag into the air. I blasted it into smoke a moment later, which pissed off the chief.
"Are you trying to get us all killed?" he barked.
"Shut up or you're next," I growled back. He managed to hold his tongue for the next few seconds before I continued.
"Now maybe you guys should make yourselves useful by getting these kids out of here and back home where they belong. I will go into the dream world and deal with Freddy myself. And she will make sure Jason doesn't get involved while I'm in there, you got that?" I asked as I pointed towards Lenz. The chief wasn't sure how to respond when I laid down the best plan I could think of, but agreed with evacuating the other children. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Blake picking up Cochteau's pipe and running towards the woods.
"Hey son, wait a minute!" the cops shouted after him.
"Forget him, if he wants to get killed that bad, that's his problem! Get those kids out of here!" I yelled, getting them to turn around after a moment. I noticed that Gibb and Lori were the only other counselors left, and after taking a quick head count, there were less than half of the children left compared to when we had first arrived. And there was an impressive amount of body bags lying around, which was sickening to see. He's been busy while I was out. I glanced at Lenz wearily, but her eyes looked as half open as mine.
"Did you fall asleep during all this?" I asked.
"Well, yes! You didn't mention that big bad and ugly would come back so soon after being vaporized. I only woke up when I heard you talking in your sleep. I thought you were cussing me out for a second there!" she claimed. I sighed and let it go, she did sleep like a rock, wasn't her fault.
"What do you plan to do?" Lenz whispered.
"I plan to go under as far as I can with meditation. Maybe I can punch through that way. I'm not sure where I was before, but there was no Freddy. I'm still kind of confused as to why that happened," I said as I sat on the ground.
"Well, maybe you need to suppress your power or something. He probably got scared and ran from it," she suggested.
I froze slightly when I heard that, "That's it!"
"Really?" Lenz asked, surprised that she had the answer.
"Not exactly, my Psi energy comes from the mind and spirit. He may not have been able to invade my thoughts because I can control it. Thus I would know if my mind was being influenced at all. If this guy runs off of fear generated by his victims, he would have to be at least partially telepathic in order to figure out just what the hell to do against someone who fights back. All I need to do is suppress my Psi energy a bit to allow him access. I ran into that stupid wizard when I tried a little while ago and he clearly said that my power protected me from Freddy's ability. It obviously wasn't normal ki he was talking about, otherwise he wouldn't be able to touch the boys," I said.
"I still don't quite get it," she said, confused.
"I'll explain it another day, right now I'm gonna go take care of the boogeyman, wish me luck!" I waved a bit as I dropped to the ground and calmed my mind slowly, dropping my energy level to near zero. As I dropped down to a level of near unconsciousness, I felt heavy due to the lack of true sleep earlier, and soon I didn't have to concentrate on sleep at all as blackness took hold.
Trunks gasped for breath as he sat on one knee, surrounded by his handiwork of blast craters. Freddy stood nearby with a thick grin on his face while the young Saiyan struggled.
"I won't be beaten by you!" Trunks shouted as he charged at him again. Freddy's smile grew bigger as he deflected Trunks' blows easily before waving his hand, sending Trunks flying into a building before it came crashing down on him. The huge dust cloud rolled out and covered the area for a few moments, followed by another when a large golden surge erupted from the rubble. Trunks flew out and hovered about one hundred feet away from Freddy, enraged.
His hands flickered blue for a moment before he clasped them together, "Buster Cannon!" The large beam tore through the air and hit Freddy's position right on the mark. The explosion leveled the area, and Freddy was gone from sight. Trunks dropped to the ground to catch his breath, not seeing Freddy directly behind him, atop one of the lucky buildings.
"This runt is hard to scare. I thought the pink clothes or the fear of being beaten would do it for sure. I guess we should dig into some memories," he whispered. Trunks sighed once he saw that Freddy was gone, feeling confident that he was actually gone. He stood up and grunted slightly, and turned right into a large pink fist. The impact sent Trunks sprawling, but the shock of who had delivered it chilled him slightly. Before him was Majin Buu, in the leaner form that he and Goten had fought against as Gotenks.
"But, we beat you!" Trunks declared as his jaw quivered a bit. Buu didn't answer and flew towards him quickly. Trunks powered up again, only to be floored by the monster's punches and kicks. Freddy laughed loudly when he sensed the amount of fear coming off of Trunks within a few seconds, and let things continue. He glanced away to view his other project, who was still running away from his other illusion.
"Let's up the ante and kill two brats with one Buu," he grinned. The ground shook violently several times as Freddy brought the other victim into the area. Trunks got up after another bruising barrage and spotted Goten running through the area, with what looked to be a gigantic frying pan trailing him.
"Goten?" he asked. Goten waved at him and ran his way, ignoring Buu's presence for the moment. The giant skillet continued to give chase until Trunks stood in its path, with a blast ready to go, "Kamehameha!" A moment later the skillet was scattered all over the place. Freddy chuckled slightly as it was just a cheap illusion, and allowed it to vanish as he focused on using Buu instead.
"Trunks, why are you wearing pink clothes?" Goten asked innocently.
"Forget that, we need to fuse!" Trunks called to his friend.
"Why? You already blasted it! Oh," Goten shook slightly when he finally saw Buu standing there. Both kids powered up to Super Saiyan and stood in the first pose, but didn't move right away.
"Hey Trunks, where is your power level, I can't sense it?" Goten asked as he turned his head.
Trunks looked just as confused, "I don't know, I could ask you the same question!"
"How are we supposed to make it the same if we can't feel it?" Goten asked.
Trunks wasn't sure how to answer as he faced the same dilemma, "Let's try it anyway!"
"Okay! Fu…" Goten began just as Trunks did. They moved together as one and performed the technique to perfection like many times before. When the bright flash faded though, the two boys stood motionless, frozen in their final poses.
"What happened?" Trunks asked first.
"Why didn't it work Trunks?" Goten asked.
"I don't know!" he shouted back in frustration.
Buu laughed as he stomped forward, "Did your little fusion not work? Well too bad!" Goten and Trunks lowered into shaky fighter stances as they realized what was about to happen.
I found myself sitting on a bench along a darkened, quiet street while a few lamps flickered a bit. I immediately scanned around for any sign of activity. I didn't sense anything, but I did hear a lot of commotion about a mile away. I lifted into the air and flew in that direction. I found several buildings had been cleared out with a decent amount dust still rising from the area. I dropped to the ground cautiously and walked into the scene on foot, carefully scanning every nook and cranny until I had it memorized. The first thing I saw was two small Super Saiyans getting thrown around by what looked to be Majin Buu, in the evil form that he took before he started absorbing everyone. I checked the building tops and spotted a darkened figure standing atop the furthest one. The first major thing I sensed though was that despite being Super Saiyans, neither boy was giving off any ki energy at all. I sensed a small amount of Psi within them, but only the normal amount they would have. I didn't sense anything from Buu, but I did detect some energy from the dark figure, which I assumed must be Freddy.
Goten and Trunks looked like they had been through hell, and most of it had likely been through this fake Buu. Trunks was also wearing a pink colored outfit that had been torn to shreds. I tried to summon my own ki and failed as I held up one hand. The boys didn't look like they were having a problem for the time being, but something about it didn't seem right. That something revealed itself when they tried to combine blasts on Buu a moment later, and their Kamehameha faded suddenly along with their Super forms. I detected a quick surge of energy from Freddy just as this happened, giving me the answer I needed. Trunks tried to send another blast by himself and got no response. It's all part of his illusion, they were never truly using their power, and he only allowed them to believe it. I allowed some of my Psi energy to flow a bit and slowly marched towards Buu. Buu was busy laughing loudly at Trunks and Goten, who were trying to figure out why their power was gone. I glanced towards Freddy as I closed on Buu, who finally noticed my presence.
"Hey dickhead, why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?" I called out. The boys turned, stunned that I was there, and Buu only chuckled in reaction. I sensed a small amount of anger from Freddy, likely annoyed with me for spoiling his fun.
"Verto, can you take Buu by yourself?" Trunks asked.
"That isn't Buu; that is just an illusion. That guy on the roof has conjured it all from your memories. You were never really fighting Buu, and you were never using your power, he allowed you to believe that," I whispered low enough for only them to hear.
"That must be why the fusion didn't work then," Trunks said aloud.
"Exactly, he has only manipulated your minds into a fearful state, that's how he gains power," I replied.
"What a wimp!" Trunks said with a grin as his pride suddenly resurfaced. I declined to remind him that the wimp had out foxed him; I needed them strong at the moment.
"Hey Freddy, if you think this pathetic example of force is going to cut it against three Saiyans, then you better quit now!" I declared, enhancing the boys' confidence. Freddy didn't respond, but Buu did, laughing before charging a large blast in his mouth.
"Clear your minds and focus, he isn't really there!" I said as I glared a hole right through Buu. Trunks nodded and stared hard, concentrating. Goten was a little more unsure and looked the part. I snorted slightly and powered up a bit, forming a minimal Psi barrier in front of all three of us just in case I had guessed wrong. The blast exploded off of it, leaving no real dent in the ground or the barrier. Goten sounded relieved with a heavy sigh, he likely knew that any real blast from Buu would have actually done something. I used the energy I had released and sent it all at Buu quickly, watching him vanish as the small Psi bolts hit him.
"Wow, you were right!" Goten noted.
"I usually am. Can you two wake up and get out of here?" I asked.
"How do we do that?" Trunks asked. Good point, never thought of that.
"So you think you can ruin my fun?" a gruff voice suddenly asked. I turned my head forward again to see Freddy standing less than ten feet away. He was even worse looking than I thought him to be, another example of what made him what he was.
"I know I can scar face," I replied coolly.
"We'll see about that! As soon as I find out what you're afraid of, you'll die in misery!" he declared as he backed up a step.
"Good luck doing that!" I said.
"Oh I will, you'll see!" he said. His clawed hand flipped out and his energy surged again as large pieces of rubble rose and flew towards us. I powered up quickly, careful not to shock Goten or Trunks with my energy. I flew into the air easily enough, but they didn't follow. Duh, now that they realize that it's all an illusion, they won't be able to use their ki. I flew down and grabbed them both by the arm. When I lifted up though, they vanished completely. I bashed the debris away easily enough, but looked around as I was unsure of what just happened.
"What the hell did you do this time?" I asked.
Freddy growled in response, "Damnit I lost them! Must be time for breakfast again!" They woke up? At exactly the same time? No matter how similar those two are, they don't ever wake up at the same time; it's never happened! Okay, scratch that, it has happened at roughly the same time, but there would have to be some sort of difference, even if it were milliseconds. Let's see, they vanished the instant I touched them, so maybe the exposure from my power blocked out Freddy's influence and allowed them to wake up. If that's the case though, how come I'm still here? Maybe it only works that way on someone else.
"It doesn't matter what happened freak! The point is they are gone and now it's down to just you and me!" I said as I rushed towards him.
A/N's:
WDG: … Actually, I wouldn't have been surprised if they were woken up by the mentioning of food. But I guess this works. Well now, if Freddy gets his power (and kicks) from the fear of his victims, it looks like he's fairly powerless right now, neh? I guess there's a reason he targets kids (besides pedophilia). They can't figure out its all an illusion. Looks like he messed with the wrong 'kid' this time! Whoops?
VB: Heh, well I guess we'll see what happens then. That is a fairly good assessment, but you have to wonder if he will be able to fool Verto as easily as Goten and Trunks if this goes longer than one round?
Again, no preview this time.