The sounds of creaking planks of the docks being pounded against in repeated patterns by the swaying waves of the ocean waters rushed through Roshi's ears. The quiet hymn was only broken when a rage-filled, gut-wrenching scream echoed from the distance, from the direction of Vegeta's castle. Roshi glanced that way, knowing immediately the cause for the fury. Piccolo had decided to emerge, to confront the vampires, only to find what Roshi had discovered already. Piccolo was seeking them in the wrong place. Roshi realized he couldn't wait on the hunter. It would most likely be too late by the time Piccolo realized he should have been looking at the docks, like Roshi.

Reluctantly, Roshi turned his attention from Piccolo and the distant vampires' castle, needing to focus on his task. He had to be careful. For all he knew, the vampires could be there already. They could be watching him at that very moment. In nervous anticipation, Roshi reached into his trenchcoat pocket, grasping the silver cross within as if holding onto it for dear life.

With his gaze narrowed on the ship he suspected of holding them, Roshi marched forward. As he neared, conversing voices became apparent. Below his feet, the dock creaked with each step, alerting the conversing pair of his approach. Aptly, they stopped speaking to whirl on him in a defensive stance.

The old man scowled at Roshi. "What are you doing here?"

The younger man's eyes narrowed. "He was here yesterday, asking questions, Captain."

Roshi gave a curt nod towards the large ship behind the pair. "Is this your ship, Shen?"

"Yes, it is mine." Shen replied in a snide tone. "After all, I am its Captain, something you know nothing about."

"Shen," Roshi growled, already becoming irritable in this man's cantankerous presence, "we need to put our differences aside for once. Something bigger than you and me is happening here."

Shen sneered at Roshi, but the younger man gasped in realization. He knew, given their prior conversation with Krillin Roshi, what this was likely about. And he knew that Roshi's warnings were not something to be ignored.

Shen crossed his arms. "Something bigger than you and me is always happening, Roshi. Do you really think I care what you have to say?"

"Will you just listen?!" Roshi snapped. "You have cargo on your ship, purchased for passage overseas. I need to take a look at it."

Shen laughed. "You must be losing your mind, Old man, if you think I'll allow you to look at my customers' private cargo."

"Roshi, what do you think is in it?"

Roshi's head snapped to the younger man, surprised by his forceful question. "I think you ha-"

"Tien!" Shen said. "How dare you speak above your captain! I'll deal with you later. As for you," he turned a glare on Roshi, "I don't want to see you anywhere near my ship!"

Shen poked a finger in Roshi's chest, nearly bruising the frail skin with the forceful gesture, before spinning on his heels and stalking back to his ship, while barking orders at his other crewmen to not allow Roshi near his ship.

Roshi clenched his teeth, glaring at Shen's back as the old man disappeared into the darkness. He hadn't changed. If anything, he'd become more unreasonable than the last time they spoke. When Roshi felt the sensation of being watched, he gasped, looking over his shoulder in fear that the vampires could be making their presence known. But as soon as his eyes darted forward, Tien's intense, lingering look explained where that sensation was coming from. It was as if the younger man knew what drew Roshi to the docks that night, or at least was acting wiser than his captain, enough to recognize the danger.

"Krillin's cargo, Mr. Shinhan." Roshi said.

"What's in it?"

Roshi took a deep breath, expelling it harshly. "The vampires, I fear."

Tien's brows rose in shock. "The vampires?"

Roshi nodded solemnly. "At least take a look. Check to make sure."

"And if they're there?"

Roshi reached in his pocket, withdrawing a wooden tool and handing it to Tien. "Kill them, before they can kill you."

Tien hesitated, meeting Roshi's stern gaze in a haze of doubt. Yet, after seeing the determination in Roshi's eyes, Tien reached for the stake, prying it from Roshi's fingers as he gave a curt nod of understanding.

Roshi took a shaky breath as he saw the resolve in Tien's eyes, which he felt now was the only hope of stopping the vampires from causing further carnage, though Roshi still felt those chances were slim.

"Captain Shen probably won't want me down there after talking to you." Tien smirked as Roshi frowned in acknowledgement. "But I'll have a crewmate check the cargo hold as soon as I can."

"Please tell him to be careful."

Tien turned to leave, but stopped short. "What happened to that foreigner?"

"Prince Vegeta?"

"No." Tien snorted. "Piccolo."

Roshi scoffed. "He's realizing the error of his ways. I'm afraid it's too late for him to do us any good."

Standing in the darkness of Prince Vegeta's castle, Piccolo huffed labored breaths, trying to calm himself after the enraging ordeal he'd just suffered. All of that preparation seemed to be for nothing more than destroying an incidental slave.

Nappa's twisted and bloodied body laid dying at his feet, the results of Piccolo's discipline and training showing through how he was able to easily overpower the foe who attempted forbidding his entrance to the castle.

It was what happened after fighting Nappa that had Piccolo furious and winded. He'd searched the entire castle, only to find it void of anymore supernatural presence. The vampires had somehow slipped through his fingers, and Nappa had the last laugh as Piccolo came to this realization after his frantic search, questioning the dying man of their whereabouts before it would be too late.

Nappa refused to tell him a thing.

When the large man took his last garbled breath, Piccolo growled in frustration. The growl was nothing compared to the scream he'd let out earlier, but it was the only thing he could do to quell his anger. He had to find and kill those two vampires, but he had no idea where to look. And he had wasted too much time journeying to the castle and killing this stooge. The night would not last much longer. And Piccolo needed time on his side if he had any hope of defeating two powerful vampires. Piccolo clenched his jaw as reality set in, the inevitability of waiting for yet another night for this confrontation becoming painfully apparent to him.

The ship was quiet when they returned, as it should have been at such an early hour of the morning. Vegeta was glad to see that at least a few crewmen of the Crane were busy on duty, prepping the ship for its nearing departure time. It looked like things were falling into place.

Creeping through the darkness in silent stealth, the vampires easily slipped past the few conscious crewmen above decks to reach their destination - a staircase leading below to the cargo hold, where they would now retire to sleep again before the sun would rise. However, upon stepping one foot onto that staircase, Vegeta pulled back, hissing at Kakarot behind him to remain silent. Kakarot raised a brow, but nodded as he followed Vegeta, stepping so lightly that not even a minuscule creak happened on that retractable, rickety staircase.

As they approached the interior of the cargo hold, Kakarot was able to sense Vegeta's cause for caution. Shuffling sounds and footsteps could be heard coming from the area of their crates. When Kakarot peered around a corner with Vegeta, remaining hidden in the shadows, he spied a midget crew mate snooping around their crates. The short, pale man wore a tiny hat and looked uneasy about his task, whatever that might've been. He held an oil lamp in his stubby hand, repeatedly waving it in the darkness as if expecting something to jump out at him.

Kakarot considered doing just that. Vegeta wouldn't hold back, of that he was sure. But as the crew man sighed heavily and scratched his head with his free hand, Kakarot cocked his head. Maybe there was no need to kill the midget searching the contents of their crates. He didn't seem to have the least bit of interest in their soil, and was leaving it undisturbed. Kakarot exchanged a glance with Vegeta, who already looked deep in thought as their eyes met.

'What I want to know is not what he's doing here,' Vegeta communicated in thought, 'but why he is looking and what he might know.'

Kakarot nodded, his jaw tensing at the thought of it. Someone had sent that man down. Chances were, he would not be taking an interest in soil-filled crates. He was looking for them. The implication against their safe passage was unnerving. Unfortunately, the sun was beginning to rise. Kakarot could already feel burning beneath his skin, and as he looked to Vegeta, could see his lover tensing in discomfort. Growling quietly, he watched as the little snoop dawdled to the stairs, taking one last glance back at the cargo hold before he disappeared up the steps.

When the shadows of the little imp disappeared, Kakarot looked to Vegeta, sighing with chagrin. They had no choice but to retire to their crates, the safety of their soil, even though their discovery seemed inevitable at this point. All they could do now was hope they made it through the daylight hours without being discovered by anyone, especially not Piccolo.

A knock pounded lightly against a hollow wooden door. "Tien."

Tien's head perked at the voice. He pushed himself away from the blonde with whom he'd been entangled in the sheets. "Chiaotzu? Come in."

The woman in his arms groaned and rolled over, wrapping the sheets around herself as the door creaked open slowly. Tien held his breath with anticipation as he looked to the innocent face of the small man entering the doorway of his tiny room.

Chiaotzu met his gaze, a concerned frown defining his expression. "Sorry to...disturb you two."

"'S alright, Shorty." The woman muttered over her shoulder, not even bothering to turn and face the familiar voice.

"What did you find down there?" Tien hesitated. "Any trouble?"

Chiaotzu shook his head, then spoke with a shrug. "It was...just soil. I didn't find anything."

"Soil?"

"Yeah." Chiaotzu shrugged again. "Weird."

"Oh, for God's sake!" The woman slapped the bed, rolling to glare at Tien with an annoyed scowl. "This is why we're being interrupted? We're wasting our last few moments together before your shift starts because of a clump of dirt?"

"Launch," Tien huffed, "this is-"

"Get outta here, Chiaotzu!" Launch ordered, making the little man quiver and take shelter behind the door.

Tien narrowed his eyes at Launch. "No, Chiaotzu! Stay. I think you should go now, Launch."

Launch snorted and crossed her arms over the flimsy material of a chemise hardly covering her ample bosom. "No."

"Fine." Tien scoffed and turned his attention to Chiaotzu. "Soil seems a little too strange. It's suspicious."

Chiaotzu nodded. "I agree."

Tien furrowed his brows. "But still-"

"But still," Chiaotzu echoed, "it's nothing. And I'm tired. I've hardly slept a wink all night. Can I get some rest now, Tien? My shift starts in two hours."

Tien grimaced, the guilt of giving his friend this early hour, dangerous task finally weighing on him. "Yeah, Chiaotzu. Thanks for checking for me."

Chiaotzu forced a smile at Tien, ignoring the peevish glare from his female companion. "Don't worry, Tien. I wouldn't be too concerned about what Mr. Roshi had to say. He's probably just an old man whose imagination is running wild, or maybe he's putting you on with this whole idea to get back at Captain Shen somehow."

Launch blew a raspberry and fell back into the bed. "If that dirty old man is making up stories just to upset the other dirty old man, might as well play into it."

"Launch," Tien grimaced as he worried that the captain could overhear her loud voice, "you can't talk about the captain like that."

"Why not?" Launch rolled onto her stomach and playfully kicked her bare feet in the air. "He ain't my captain. I'm just a wench, remember?"

Tien huffed, avoiding Launch's eye contact for fear of her inevitable, aggressive reaction. "Thanks again, Chiaotzu. Go get some rest before it's too late."

"Thanks, Tien." The smaller mate ducked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

As soon as it shut, Tien was surprised by a sudden tight grasp around his waist. He flinched, nearly jumping out of his skin. "Ah!"

"Tien," Launch growled, tightening her grip as her lips fell against his bare shoulder and traveled upwards to graze against his chin, "I'm not finished with you yet."

Tien heaved a sigh of relief, still feeling shaken by the surprise, even as Launch tackled him to the bed with kisses. "Launch...Launch!"

"Tien."

Tien sat up, pushing Launch away. "Launch, my shift is starting now. We can't do this."

Launch growled in frustration, but relented once she looked at the clock and saw that it was ten past six. She didn't want Tien getting into trouble on her account. "Alright, Sailor."

As Launch playfully slapped his bare ass, Tien jumped, then climbed out of bed to step into a pair of pants. He could feel Launch's eyes all over him as he worked to conceal himself. He couldn't help feeling the heat rising to his face, or noticing the smirk that crossed Launch's as his eyes met hers.

But when he turned to look directly at her, a rush of desire came over him. Her plump lips, her half-exposed cleavage and the curves that ran down her body, framed by her long blond locks, were a sight to behold. In a hurried movement, he leant down to her, pressing his lips tightly against hers.

"Mm," Launch hummed in approval as she caressed his cheek and parted her lips to allow Tien to deepen the kiss.

Tien obliged, sharing a long, deep kiss with his girl before pulling away with a smack of his lips. "I really have to go now."

Launch smirked. "Hurry back to me."

Tien laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck as he turned to his door. By the time he left his tiny room and headed above deck to get to his laborious work on the ship, he forgot all about any fear of vampires or things lurking in the dark cargo hold below.

The breeze seemed to carry ghostly voices, which caused Roshi to shiver in fear as he stood on the docks overlooking the ocean, which was becoming washed in a hint of sunlight from the horizon. He felt like he'd been standing there for hours since the ship departed. He realized he probably had. There was only thing that quelled his fear in that moment. It was the sight the distancing gap of that disappearing ship, which was moving into the fog in the distance. Knowing that ship carried the very sources of his fear calmed him, though his calm was also one of despair. He was too late. Tien had to succeed if they were really on that ship. Because now his town was safer without them, but if Tien failed, another would surely be doomed because of their combined failures.

Loud, hurried footsteps sounded behind him, which gradually slowed as they drew near, and then to a halt. "Don't tell me."

Roshi scowled, refusing to turn and face the man who could have prevented so much of this, if he'd only taken action when he had the chance. "Fine. I won't."

Piccolo's furious growl finally prompted the old man to turn his back on the sea to defiantly glare at his company. "Well?"

Piccolo met his gaze with a deep scowl, his eyes narrowing with a hate like Roshi'd never seen before. "I won't let him slip away! I finally had Kakarot right where I wanted him! How did they get aboard a ship? I should have seen it coming."

Roshi clasped his hands behind his back. "Maybe it was because you were blinded by your own hateful agenda."

Piccolo sneered. His 'hateful agenda' was the only thing that has carried him through the past decades. Hating Kakarot and the rest of his kind was just as much a part of Piccolo's makeup now as his slightly pointed ears and his unusual height. The old man may have lived long and seen a lot in his days, but it was nothing compared to the horrors that Piccolo had lived through and witnessed over his many years of hunting.

"Don't presume to know anything about me, old man." His gaze lifted intently towards the disappearing ship on the horizon. "I need to follow them."

Roshi clenched his jaw, but nodded in agreement, gesturing to a moderately sized fisherman's boat tied to the closest pier. "No one will notice if you take this ship."

Piccolo raised a brow. "No one?"

"Well," Roshi turned with a smirk, "no one who'd care. They're all aboard the Crane."

Piccolo smiled. "Then they'd be more than happy to let me borrow it, if they realized just what cargo they're carrying aboard their ship."

Piccolo dove for the ropes at his feet, not wasting a second to begin freeing the vessel for his mission. But Roshi hesitated, furrowing his brows with a look of deep thought. Something about his words had the old man fixated in thought. For only a second, Piccolo observed the old man's consternation before resuming his task. He couldn't worry about whatever thoughts were popping into the old man's senile mind. Time was wasting. The chance of catching that ship was slimming with every second he wasted remaining on land.

"I'm coming with you."

Piccolo's head snapped up at those words. The idea of the old man accompanying him grated against every instinct and desire he was feeling for this mission. Briskly, Piccolo shook his head in refusal. "No."

"That wasn't a question!" Roshi argued, stepping onto the ship and ignoring the chilling glower he was receiving from the Hunter.

Piccolo growled to himself as the old man boarded his ship, taking liberties to help Piccolo in setting sail. He couldn't argue with the old man, though. Anything of the sort would only be a waste of his precious time. Without another word to the unwanted company, Piccolo went to the helm, setting off to follow that ship as quickly as the little boat would allow. The squawking of early rising seagulls flying overhead, the howling wind from the ocean, and the soothing sound of the waves did not take long to quell Piccolo's anger at the situation, though his determination was unbreakable. He stared ahead with one goal in mind as the ship sailed towards the other, which was nearly a pinprick on the horizon as the fog was dissipating, with the sun slowly beginning to rise from behind it.

"You know," Roshi said from behind him, "I did warn the captain and his first mate about their supernatural cargo."

Piccolo balked, having to turn and eye the other man suspiciously at that assertion. "And what did they say?"

"Not much." Roshi chuckled, though there was a worried grimace on his face as he did. "The captain wouldn't hear a word of it. The first mate, though, he promised to check into it."

"Did you believe him?"

Roshi nodded. "I don't know whether to find that reassuring or worrisome, though."

"You told the mate to stake them?" Piccolo's question was accusatory and harsh.

"Yes." Roshi glared. "So we are either chasing after a ship without a vampire problem, or if things didn't go well for him-"

"We'll be walking into a slaughter when we board that ship." Piccolo shook his head. "This is why mortals should never be involved in these matters."

Roshi growled and stepped directly into Piccolo's line of sight, blocking off the view of the other ship. "You may not be human, Piccolo, but that doesn't mean you can do this alone! If I didn't warn them, there's a good chance the vampires would have killed the crew last night, anyways!"

"No, they wouldn't do that." Roshi balked at Piccolo's confident assertion. "They need the humans to guide them to their destination while they hide from the sun. It's all they ever do. Use the humans like tools," Piccolo turned a glare on Roshi, "and food."

"And all you ever do, Piccolo, is hunt them, stepping all over anyone who gets in your way. You're no better."

"Maybe you're right." Piccolo raised his chin to look past Roshi. "But I won't let them get away, no matter the cost. How long do you think it'll be until we reach their ship?"

"So you're not a sailor, eh, Piccolo?" Roshi smirked, before turning a serious gaze on the distant ship sailing away from them. "It'll be a few hours, at least."

Piccolo scowled. "At this rate, we won't be able to get the jump on them like I'd hoped."

"No," Roshi agreed solemnly, "it could very well be dusk by the time we catch up to them."

"By then, the vampires could be waking."

"I know." Roshi scowled. "I'll toss whatever's disposable on this ship overboard, Piccolo! Whatever I can do to help us gain speed."

Piccolo clenched his jaw, staring dead ahead while Roshi busied himself with that task. It wouldn't be enough. All this time, he'd wanted to confront Kakarot while the vampire was awake, but he didn't want it to happen like this. In the confines of a ship, with an entire crew surrounding them, Piccolo felt he was at a disadvantage already. And Kakarot and Vegeta would be together. The only hope Piccolo had now of destroying them would be making it to that ship before they would rise. With the advantage of speed that the larger ship had, Piccolo highly doubted that goal was realistic. But he had to do what he could to get out there. Asleep or not, he was determined to kill those vampires when he reached that ship.