Sunlight was fading fast. The technicolored sky of dusk above the waters was a painful reminder to both Piccolo and Roshi that time was running out. The seagulls had disappeared long ago, when they reached a certain distance from land. Now they were out in the middle of the ocean, completely surrounded by danger. There would be nowhere to escape any dangerous encounters but the unforgiving, lashing waters below. At least they had the relief of the massive hull of the Crane in sight.

Roshi looked ahead with narrowed eyes. "It won't be easy to board that ship."

Piccolo snapped his head towards the old man behind him. "The vampires can't stop us."

"I'm not talking about the vampires."

The call of a distant voice caught in the wind, catching the ears of the reluctant pair of sailors. "Ho! Ship broad on the starboard bow!"

Piccolo huffed. "They've spotted us."

Roshi groaned. "Now let's see what they'll do."

Piccolo reached below the ship's wheel, rifling through a small compartment until his fingers found purchase on the device he was seeking. Smiling, he retrieved the instrument while narrowing his eyes at the tiny, moving bodies on the deck of the other ship. Before he placed the binoculars to his eyes, he noticed Roshi grimacing in his peripheral vision. Piccolo sneered as his eyes fought to focus through the blurry image of the device. It was obvious to him, as the busy sailors of the Crane came into view, that the old man had personal issues with someone aboard that ship. He knew he shouldn't have allowed anyone to come with him. Piccolo would not be refused access to that ship!

When Piccolo's eyes landed on the man who appeared to be in charge, ordering about the others, he easily identified its captain. Captain Shen was a man known widely for his nautical skills, even in Piccolo's country. There appeared to be plenty of strong sailors aboard that ship with him. But that was of no consequence to Piccolo. He had one goal, and he would die satisfying it if that was what it took.

"You there!" The lookout called from the Crane, his voice hushed by the ocean winds surrounding the deck of their little fisherman's boat.

Roshi stepped forward, taking a deep breath as he prepared for the confrontation that was bound to happen. He knew Piccolo had no patience or time for this. The sun was setting quickly now. They needed to get aboard that ship as fast as possible – or at least one of them did. Roshi knew it was up to him to save Shen's crew from death, or a fate worse than death.

"I need to speak to your Captain!" Roshi shouted, cupping his hands against his mouth. "This is an urgent matter!"

The lookout needn't respond, for the old Captain was already storming across the deck, glaring at Roshi and his companion. "You don't quit, do you, Old man?!"

Piccolo clenched his jaw as the pair engaged in a shouting argument while the gap between their ships gradually closed. He was focused not on the argument, but on preparing his ship for attachment to the other. Gathering the ropes which would secure his hull alongside the other, Piccolo hustled about the deck. He didn't care that the old captain of the Crane was eyeing him intensely as he did so, or that the crewmen looked wary about his approach. He would jump aboard that ship as soon as it was within his reach.

"Is Mr. Shinhan alright?" Roshi shouted, squinting when an intense, howling wind blew past him, whipping the hairs of his beard against his neck.

Piccolo squinted as well when another gust, accompanied by the spray of water from the beating waves against the ship's hull pelted hard against his skin. He grunted as he fought to maintain his balance on the rocking ship and gather the heavy, thick knotted ropes in his hands.

"Of course he's alright!" Shen shouted back as more sailors came above deck to investigate the situation.

Roshi's eyes lit on the familiar face that came forward to join the Captain. "Tien!"

"Mr. Roshi!" Tien's eyes widened in alarm. "What are you doing?"

"Did you find anything?" Roshi asked, narrowing his eyes accusingly. "Did you even look?!"

"Of course I looked!" Tien's eyes darted furtively to Piccolo as his brows knitted tightly in concern. "Is-is that…is he…?"

"Yes! It's Piccolo!" Roshi growled. "You know why we're here!"

"But-" Tien started, but his Captain pushed him aside as Piccolo tossed his ropes aboard their deck, which thudded by their feet.

Shen glared at the ropes at his feet. "You can't seriously expect me to allow you to board my ship!"

Piccolo glared up at the man, even from his lower position looking extremely intimidating to the crew above. "We will board your ship. Your life depends on it!"

Shen moved to grab the ropes, but Tien grasped his captain's wrist, refusing to allow him to do so. The captain gasped, while many other crew members did so as well.

One small crew member stepped forward, looking questioningly up at Tien. "Tien?"

"Chiaotzu, tie a hitch."

"Tien!" Shen scolded, snatching his wrist free of his first mate's grip.

Piccolo ignored the tension between the others, climbing his way onto the rope ladder along the side of the larger ship even before Chiaotzu finished tying off the knots to bind the ships together.

"You!" Shen signaled for Piccolo with an irate glower. "Stop!"

Chiaotzu stepped aside, looking warily between his newly boarded guest and his captain.

Tien narrowed his eyes at the little man. "Let him through, Chiaotzu."

"Tien, this is unacceptable! You are on my ship. What is this about?"

"Oh," Roshi snorted, struggling to climb aboard the ship as well, "now you ask?"

When Roshi climbed to his feet, finally joining the crew and Piccolo aboard the Crane, he looked up to the sky, cringing as he realized how much it had darkened in that short amount of time.

Catching the old man's observation, Piccolo grunted, searching fervently for any signs of where to find the abhorrent creatures. "Which way to your cargo hold?"

Shen peered suspiciously at Roshi. "Just what do you think is in my cargo hold?"

Tien pushed his way past the old men, darting across the deck. "This way!"

Chiaotzu stumbled aside as Piccolo shoved past him, following Tien to the staircase leading below deck. Shen balked, speechlessly watching the frantic disappearance of the younger men, before turning to narrow his eyes at Roshi's somber visage.

"I can explain." Roshi said. "But you have to let them be. There's no time!"

Shen scowled, but nodded his head in acceptance as he awaited Roshi's explanation. Chiaotzu's jaw dropped, along with the rest of the absorbed crew's, as Roshi went on to explain the unnatural phenomenon which had been occurring in their town, and apparently followed them on their voyage.

The stairs creaked as Tien and Piccolo descended into the dark and humid cargo hold, though they made their approach as quietly as they could, practically breathless with anticipation of what was to come. Tien didn't fully understand Piccolo's plan, but he decided to stay out of the hunter's way and wait for his cue to step in. The only thing he didn't understand, was why this was still an issue after Chiaotzu had already checked and failed to find anything down here.

As he skirted around the many boxes and crates littering the stuffy cargo hold, Piccolo clutched in his hand the stake which he had carried with him all the way from his homeland. Coming to this little town, he'd never imagined he would find what he found, or more accurately who he found. Now was the moment when he could find his revenge, make up for all that lost time which could have been spent with his father. He only wished it hadn't played out this way with Kakarot. Still, the old man had been right about him. Piccolo couldn't put any more human lives at risk to satisfy his vengeance. He needed to make the responsible choice and kill these creatures while they slept, before they had the chance to spill any more blood.

Glancing over his shoulder, Piccolo whispered to the crewman accompanying him, "this is what's going to happen. I will open the first crate. I expect to find one of the vampires resting inside. While I stake him, you'll have to find the other one."

"Me?" Tien hissed.

"Yes!" Piccolo hissed back. "There's no telling how much time we have until they awaken. Minutes. Seconds. Killing one will only enrage the other. We have to kill them at the same time. I can't kill them both at once on my own."

Tien gasped as Piccolo passed back to him a thick, gnarled piece of wood. As he clutched it in his palm, wrapping his fingers tightly around it, Tien realized it was carved to a point, a point which Piccolo expected him to drive through the creature's heart.

Giving a grunt of determination, Tien tightened his grasp around the device, searching out the two crates which he knew the hunter was seeking. When he sighted the pair of crates straight ahead, he raised a finger in that direction. "There, and there."

Piccolo gave a curt nod, hushing into silence as he neared the crates bathed in a wash of darkness. Tien followed just as silently, lighting a candle along the way to hopefully give them some advantage over the creatures if they were to awaken. Just the thought of their awakening sent chills down Tien's spine. He never could have imagined the danger of this mission. Now, he felt terrible for having sent Chiaotzu down here alone the previous night. If Chiaotzu had encountered the vampires alone down here, he surely would not have survived.

Piccolo prowled silently around the nearest crate, raising a finger to his lips as he cast Tien a warning look. Tien clenched his jaw, nodding in understanding as he raised his stake to be ready. Slowly, Piccolo pried his fingers below the lid of the crate, wiggling it free so as not to make a sound as it moved. Tien backed away, knowing he needed to make room for the lid to fall beside the crate. However, as he took one more step back, his heel thumped lightly against another cargo item behind him.

Tien froze, cringing when he realized that the only cargo positioned directly behind him was Krillin's other crate. When nothing happened, not even the slightest stirring from the crate behind him, Tien turned his eyes back towards the crate Piccolo was working on. He was shocked to see the lid already tossed aside and within the crate, a vague silhouette in the darkness of a man's facial features. The eyes were deep set and closed, and Tien would have been convinced that the man was dead, if not for the knowledge of the supernatural beings they were expecting to find. His heart thumped in his chest as Piccolo raised his stake, gritting his teeth in preparation to strike.

Just after Piccolo began a downward swing with his stake, a thump sounded from behind Tien. Piccolo jumped at the quiet noise, which penetrated the silence in the cargo hold like an explosion to their sensitized ears.

Sensing in that moment that something was wrong, Piccolo hurried to resume his strike. When his hands halted against his will, he grimaced, looking down below at the wide-open eyes of Vegeta.

"Piccolo!"

Piccolo furtively glanced from Vegeta at the sound of the his name being called, growling as he looked up to spy Kakarot emerging from the other crate with a hateful sneer.

Piccolo growled as he tried to wrestle his stake from Vegeta's grasp, which the vampire had reached for with rigidly extended arms at the moment of Piccolo's attack. Looking fervently towards Kakarot again, Piccolo couldn't help growling a second time, louder, with fury. The vampires were awake! This was not going to pan out well for him.

"Piccolo," Kakarot drawled, "you tried to stake Vegeta?"

Vegeta sat up to come face to face with Piccolo, snapping the solid stake in half with one hand. "I think it's time I kill you."

"No, Vegeta!" Kakarot snapped.

Tien gaped at the sight of Kakarot standing behind him, who he immediately recognized as Goku. The man had never been a friend to him, but he was friendly with most of the town. Tien knew of him, enough to know he could cause Tien no harm. Goku was there to stop the vampire from harming Piccolo, as far as Tien could see. What he was doing in their cargo hold was beyond Tien's comprehension, though.

"G-Goku Son? What are you-"

Kakarot's gaze darted to the bewildered man.

Piccolo's eyes bulged in realization as he looked to the mate. "No! Stay away from-uh!"

Before the first mate had a chance to react to Piccolo's half-uttered warning, Kakarot darted to Tien's side, wrapping an arm around his throat and restraining his stake-wielding hand tightly to his side. When the man groaned and hissed at the pain of the tight restraint, Kakarot met Piccolo's gaze, snickering in satisfaction.

Piccolo growled through his teeth. "Let him go."

Kakarot sniffed the bald, tall man in his grasp, savoring the smell of his coursing blood. This was a turn he didn't expect. He was just going to kill the man, thinking Piccolo would be indifferent to the lives of the innocent. Piccolo, like his father before him, always had seemed indifferent to the safety of mortals before. But this reaction took Kakarot by surprise. Either Piccolo had changed, or there was some underlying strategy at play here. Either way, Kakarot knew he could use this to his advantage.

"Kakarot." Vegeta lowered his chin and met his lover's eyes as he climbed from his crate to stand on the opposite side of Piccolo. He didn't know exactly what Kakarot was planning, but he wanted his chance to kill Piccolo. The hunter was so close now. The only thing holding him back was the knowledge of Kakarot's need to kill the hunter himself.

"Why would I let him go," Kakarot asked Piccolo, "when I know you have another stake under that trenchcoat that you're just dying to plant in Vegeta's heart the second this man is free?"

Tien groaned and struggled, but Kakarot easily restrained him with a firm, painfully tight grip. He sniffed the man's neck again, this time licking the salty skin in anticipation of sampling that tasty blood beneath. "Stay still, or I might bite."

Tien winced at the warning, cringing at the sensation of moisture on his neck from the vampire's tongue as he realized that somehow, this man was not Goku. He was not even a man, but a monster. And Tien had nowhere to go, no way of escaping him.

Piccolo smirked at the sight of the interaction. He realized that Kakarot thought he had leverage, but the vampire couldn't hide his desire. It was obvious now to Piccolo that he could play into this, even better than Kakarot was playing this off.

"What are you smirking at?" Vegeta said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Piccolo.

Piccolo met Vegeta's gaze, before turning his gaze to Kakarot. "I think you're going to bite him either way, Kakarot. You have no restraint, no self-control."

Kakarot raised his brows, chuckling at Piccolo's supposition. "Really?"

"Really." Piccolo snorted. "You're too indulgent. How am I to think that leaving Vegeta unharmed will save that man's life?"

Vegeta sneered, while Kakarot opened his mouth to argue, but Piccolo continued before they could say anything. "I think Vegeta is the key to defeating you. An eye for an eye, and all that."

Kakarot gasped, his eyes widening in terror as Piccolo made a threatening move towards Vegeta, even though the other vampire was perfectly capable of defending himself. Vegeta dodged Piccolo's attack as Piccolo lunged for him with a silver cross in hand, but Piccolo never intended to harm Vegeta. The cross was a nice touch to keep him safe from the royal vampire while having a discussion with Kakarot, but the main reason he lunged for him was to prove his point.

Kakarot snarled, crushing Tien's throat in his tightly wound embrace as he glared at Piccolo. "If you ever harm Vegeta, it will be much worse than an eye for an eye!"

"Kakarot," Vegeta snorted, "this worthless piece of trash will never harm me."

"Oh, no?" Piccolo smirked, taking advantage of Vegeta's arrogant demeanor to thrust the cross in his palm against Vegeta's forehead.

As the cross melted his flesh, impressing the holy symbol in a red, burning welt on his skin, Vegeta screamed in agony, before finally wrenching free of the iconic silver symbol. "You bastard!"

"Vegeta!"

"Kakarot," Vegeta snarled with rage, "I don't care what you say. I'm going to kill him!"

"Vegeta, stop!" Kakarot tossed Tien aside, diving for Vegeta, who lunged for Piccolo with his fangs exposed.

Beneath Piccolo's trenchcoat, the hunter had secretly withdrawn a stake, pointing it upwards as he awaited the strike to come from one of the vampires. He smirked as Vegeta came for him, until Kakarot dove in from the other direction, shoving Vegeta out of the way of the deadly weapon.

Kakarot snapped his head back towards Piccolo as he held Vegeta down against the hay-scattered wooden planks of the creaking cargo hold floor. When he spied the stake emerging from Piccolo's trenchcoat, he narrowed his eyes at the smirking hunter. Piccolo thrust towards them again, just as Vegeta caught sight of the weapon coming towards them. Before Vegeta could respond with a counter attack, Kakarot flung himself on top of the other vampire, shielding him from any possible harm as he glared into the eyes of his despised enemy coming in for the attack. "Stop, Piccolo! I love him!"

Out of pure shock at the open proclamation of love from such a cold-hearted monster, Piccolo stopped abruptly. "L-love?"

"Yes," Kakarot hissed, glaring at Vegeta, who was trying to push Kakarot aside to attack the hunter, "I love him. I always have. If you kill him," Kakarot's tone turned threatening as he glared at Piccolo, "I will bring misery on your entire, miserable line. Every hunter who shares your blood will feel my wrath for the rest of eternity. I will never stop. You think what I did to your father was bad? You have no idea."

Piccolo clenched his jaw, gripping his stake tighter as he moved to lunge for Kakarot. "Then I'll just have to kill you. You're the one I wanted dead!"

As Piccolo thrust his stake downwards to where Kakarot laid, Vegeta shoved the other vampire off, turning to face Piccolo at the moment his stake met the ground, just missing Vegeta's head.

"Vegeta!" Kakarot gasped as he fell into another crate, his body shattering the wood on impact with a loud crash.

Vegeta grabbed Piccolo by the nape of his neck. "You think you can kill Kakarot and avoid the fate he just promised you?!"

Vegeta sunk his teeth deep into Piccolo's neck, intending to rip his jugular apart like he'd done to the sailors during his earlier passage across the sea. Across the cargo hold, witnessing the famed hunter's terrible predicament, Tien forced himself free of the shocked stupor he'd been in since being thrown aside by Kakarot.

He lunged for Vegeta and Piccolo. "Stop!"

Kakarot hissed at the sight of their violent entanglement. "Vegeta!"

Vegeta growled, fighting off Tien while also dodging the silver cross that Piccolo wielded as soon as his throat was free. Kakarot stalked towards the scuffle, reaching a hand to pluck the meddling human by the shoulder from the fighting trio. When Tien rose to his feet and Kakarot released his grip, Vegeta tossed Piccolo aside and thrust a hand through the human's chest with a shout.

Tien's eyes bulged as pain coursed through his body. Garbled speech flew from his lips as his mouth filled with the taste of blood. The intense burning in his chest seethed through him before he let out a watery cough, projecting droplets of blood from his lips, towards the horror-stricken face of the hunter turning to look at him.

Piccolo's mouth fell open at the sight in front of him. It had all happened so fast, and for once it had actually been important to him to save a human. He couldn't tolerate this failure. He would not let these vampires get away with killing a single man on this crew.

Vegeta scowled as his eyes met the vacant gaze of the man slumped in his grasp. The mate was still alive, still breathing, as Vegeta could tell from the sounds of his breathing and pumping of his deliciously scented fresh blood. But his appearance said otherwise. It would not be long before he died.

Kakarot licked his lips as he watched Vegeta drop the body into the puddle of blood pouring from the wound. The intoxicating scent of blood from the gaping chest wound Vegeta had delivered to the mate was filling the stuffy compartment of that cargo hold.

Above, footsteps pounded in a rush to approach the mouth of the staircase. "Tien! Piccolo!"

Kakarot raised a brow at Vegeta, before casting a wary glance at Piccolo, who was rising to his feet again.

"Roshi!" Piccolo bellowed with a wince of pain. "Get down here! Quick!"

The footsteps thrummed hurriedly down the stairs. Kakarot and Vegeta both crossed their arms and positioned themselves to keep an eye on both Piccolo and the arriving party. Narrowing their eyes at Piccolo, they both decided it was time for a change of plans. Their original trip to Vegetasei would not end smoothly on this ship, not with this enlightened crew.

The small, midget crew mate cried in alarm, pushing Roshi aside to run hastily towards the fallen mate. "Tien! Is he-"

"He's not dead." Vegeta said. "Yet."

Chiaotzu's lip quivered as he fell to his knees by Tien's side, quickly tearing cloth from his clothing to mend Tien's gaping chest wound the best he could.

Roshi glared at the pair of vampires as his feet fell on the landing. "Chiaotzu, get Mr. Shinhan out of here."

Chiaotzu nodded before doing his best to hoist the much larger crew mate over his shoulder. Roshi's gaze skirted to Piccolo as Chiaotzu worked. He knew the vampires were fast, but immediately upon arriving at the gruesome scene below, he noted that the hunter seemed to be weaponless. Hard as it was to believe that Piccolo could have his weapon taken from him, Roshi knew this only demonstrated what powerful foes the vampires were. With Piccolo without his stake, the vampires would surely kill them all.

As powerful as Roshi had been in his younger years, he knew today he would not be the one to kill those monsters. It had to be Piccolo, if it would be anyone at all. Fortunately, he still had the stake Piccolo had given to him. The only problem was, he didn't know how to pass it on to Piccolo without the vampires interfering. He only had one shot at this, so when Chiaotzu screamed in frustration at his failure to drag the unconscious Tien to the stairs, Roshi took advantage of the momentary distraction to toss his stake to Piccolo.

Piccolo's eyes widened as he saw what flew from Roshi's hand. Rapidly he struck his hand forward, catching the tool so fast that any mortal could not have possibly seen it. That didn't mean the vampires didn't, though. As Piccolo's gaze drifted towards them, he was certain by the unimpressed smirks plastered on their faces that they knew what he had, and they weren't afraid of him using it.

"Mr. Roshi!" Chiaotzu screamed, huffing in frustration as he dragged Tien only a few feet, "help me! He's going to die!"

Roshi grimaced at them. Chiaotzu was becoming covered in Tien's blood in his attempt to carry the larger man. Tien was losing far too much blood. But Piccolo needed his help. Roshi knew that one hunter against two vampires seemed impossible odds. He had to stay down there and help, for the safety of more than just Tien, but Shen's whole crew!

"Go."

The command came as a surprise to Roshi, who balked as he turned to face Piccolo.

"Go." Piccolo repeated. "I can handle this alone."

Roshi growled. "We've been over this already! You-"

"These two are mine!" Piccolo snapped, before turning to bare his teeth at the older man. "You help him get that man out of here!"

Chiaotzu whimpered, looking at Roshi with a pleading gaze that the old man couldn't refuse. He'd seen Vegeta cause the deaths of too many innocent people already. He couldn't just stand by and allow Tien to die, even though he still felt this was the wrong decision. But it was obvious that Piccolo wasn't going to allow him to help anyways. At least this way, he knew he could do some good.

Roshi sighed, cast a fleeting glance at the still vampires before making his way towards Chiaotzu. "Alright. Be careful, Piccolo."

Vegeta let out a sinister chuckle, amused by the old man's warning. He would let the three of them go. They were peons, anyways. It was the hunter that he wanted now. He still owed him for that injury to his face. Fortunately, he could feel the wound healing already. It was great to be immortal.

Piccolo frowned at the vampires as he watched the other three slowly make their escape up the stairs with painstakingly sluggish effort. It was clear to him that the vampires could have easily killed those three, but they were allowing them to go because their focus was on him. That was fine with Piccolo. That was how he wanted this anyways. Except that now, with the two of them against him, the odds weren't good. Not even the greatest hunters would be crazy enough to face off against two centuries-old vampires at once like this. Piccolo knew when he was outmatched. It would take a remarkable strategy to make it out of this one alive.

"I'll be back, Piccolo." Roshi promised just before disappearing off the top step with the two crew mates in tow.

Piccolo paid no heed to his promise. He didn't need to wait for the old man's return. This was going to happen too fast for his return to be worth a damn. As Piccolo cast the vampires a sideways glance, they both smirked back at him, easing back into the shadows as they separated. Piccolo temporarily froze with fear at the eerie sight of their gleaming eyes disappearing into the darkness, until he had no idea where the two of them had gone. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus his other senses. The vampires had the advantage, but Piccolo still had supernatural abilities that he would use to fight them. No one, not even vampires, could hear as well as a hunter. The footsteps padding lightly around the cargo hold seemed to surround him, coming from every direction. It was clear to him that the vampires were aware of his abilities and attempting to confuse his hearing with their movements. That could only mean one thing, though. They separated. This was good for Piccolo. He could attempt to confront them individually.

Focusing on one set of steps to his left, Piccolo made a sudden thrust at chest level with the stake. "Argh!"

When he stopped, he was greeted by a dark chuckle and a breath ghosting against his ear. "That was close."

Piccolo screamed as his chest was shoved forcefully by Vegeta, forcing him right into Kakarot. The hard thud against the vampire's solid chest momentarily jarred the hunter, before he spun to face the vampire with his stake ready. This would have been the moment he was waiting for, the moment he thought would never come for nearly two hundred years. But Kakarot was faster than he was. Piccolo grunted in pain as he stumbled away from Kakarot and dropped the stake.

"Never forget this, Piccolo." Kakarot said, withdrawing his blood-coated hand towards his face.

Piccolo fell to his knees, the pain making his head instantly spin as he clasped both hands over his chest. Kakarot licked the blood from his fingers while Piccolo panted in pain and fear. This was inevitably going to be the end for him. He was critically injured, on his knees before his greatest, immortal enemy. Kakarot had struck him with such precision and such speed that Piccolo had trouble fathoming how he had done it. He aimed right for his heart. But the injury stopped just short of the vital organ. He was bleeding out and in danger, but Piccolo knew the wound itself was not deadly. It was possible that Kakarot had decided to spare him. But more likely, he intended to make this a slow kill.

Piccolo glared defiantly up at the vampire. "If you're going to kill me, make it fast."

Vegeta moved forward aggressively, clearly intending to do as Piccolo said, but Kakarot placed his bloody hand firmly against Vegeta's chest and looked at Piccolo. "You will never come to Vegetasei, Piccolo. If you do, you will experience an end worse than this."

"Kakarot!" Vegeta clenched his teeth as his eyes darted rapidly between his lover and their enemy. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we will rule Vegetasei again, Vegeta." A sly smile spread across Kakarot's face. "And no hunter will ever step foot on our land."

"You're letting him go?!"

Kakarot lowered his chin and narrowed his eyes at Vegeta. "How else will he spread the word to the other hunters?"

Vegeta bared his teeth, growling as he glared down at Piccolo, who was holding his chest tighter and wincing in pain. "I agreed to allow you to kill him, Kakarot. Not this!"

Kakarot crossed his arms. "Fine. Kill him if you want. We'll see what happens when we get to Vegetasei."

Vegeta clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. He wanted so badly to maim and kill that scum for all the trouble he'd put them through. And to have the excitement of killing a challenging foe. But as much as he hated to admit it, Kakarot was right. Ruling was so much better when no one knew who or what they were. They could return to their old ways, hunting and feeding freely while still ruling the oblivious humans of Vegetasei. Besides, the hunter was pathetic now, groveling on his knees and bleeding all over the floor. The challenge was gone.

Vegeta scoffed through his teeth at the miserable hunter. "Why would I waste my time killing a piece of trash like that? Just get him out of my sight."

Kakarot smiled. "With pleasure."

Wrapping an arm around the hunter's arm, who flinched from Kakarot's grasp, Kakarot grabbed a tight hold and tossed Piccolo's entire body by the limb, flinging him above deck. Piccolo landed with a forceful thud and a grunt of pain, but the vampires could also hear the scurry of crewmen's footsteps running to aid the injured fighter.

Above deck, the crew was shocked by what they were seeing. Earlier, Tien emerged in the shape he was in, and now there was this abrupt appearance of another injured man. The crew didn't want to see for themselves what was in their cargo hold, but they had a feeling they were about to.

Below deck, Chiaotzu already had Tien in the sailor's quarters, and was tending to his injuries with Launch's assistance. The crew had been listening to Roshi's story, dismissing it with laughter until Tien's bloody appearance brought a sobering reality to the old man's tale. Now, they were all choking back in fear as a spiky head of hair slowly emerged from the cargo hold below, followed by another shadowy figure.

Kakarot raised his chin as he stepped out into the night air, which was beautifully highlighted by moonlight now, as the sun had fully set during their battle below deck. Reflecting off the cresting ocean waves, the moonlight shone beautifully, surrounding the deck of the Crane. Kakarot took a deep breath to appreciate it all, before turning his gaze on his captivated audience.

"If you all don't want to end up like him," Kakarot said, giving a deliberate kick to the fallen, bleeding hunter losing consciousness below him, "then I suggest you abandon ship. Now."

Gasps and wide-eyed stares were most of the response Kakarot received, but Roshi stepped forward. "Goku! You're not a killer. Look at what you're doing!" Roshi gestured towards Piccolo. "This isn't you, Goku!"

Roshi felt the need to appeal to the man he once knew, if Goku still existed at all. But from the looks he was receiving from the vampires, he would have no luck in convincing them otherwise.

"He's Kakarot." Vegeta spat at the old man. "And as Kakarot just told you, this ship is ours now."

Roshi grimaced, looking down at Piccolo and realizing how badly he needed medical attention. Dr. Brief could fix him up quickly, but not if Roshi wasted anymore time returning him to the doctor's home. He knew Piccolo would be angry with this outcome when he recovered, but maybe it was for the better. If the vampires truly intended to stay in Vegetasei, Roshi's town would be free of the vampire plague. Piccolo could move on with his life, now that he'd confronted Kakarot, even if it didn't end the way he planned it. Already, all around them, the crew were hastily abandoning ship by either boarding Roshi and Piccolo's fisherman's boat or boarding the dinghies strapped to the sides of the Crane.

When Roshi looked up with determination to meet Vegeta's gaze, he was startled by someone from behind practically knocking him over in an attempt to rush towards the vampires. "This ship is not yours! This ship is mine!"

Roshi gasped when Shen dove forward, reaching for the vampires as if the old coot could possibly harm them. Though he still hated the other man, Roshi reached for him, restraining him to keep him away from the vampires and from getting himself killed. "Shen!"

"Let go of me, Roshi! No one steals my ship, not even a couple of vampires!"

Kakarot and Vegeta exchanged a glance, smirking in mild amusement at the captain's feeble attempt at protecting his ship. Then Vegeta's smirk widened as he stepped forward, while Kakarot tilted his head in confusion.

"You refuse to leave this ship?" Vegeta asked, crossing his arms as he came face to face with the old man who Roshi promptly released.

Shen pulled tightly on the hem of his shirt, standing with his head held high as he daringly looked the vampire in the eye. "Yes."

"Alright, then." Vegeta glanced at Kakarot behind him, before turning to meet Shen's eyes again. "You will continue to captain this ship all the way to Vegetasei. You will never need rest. You will only do as I say."

Roshi winced in anticipation of Shen's likely ornery reply, but then furrowed his brows as he watched the sudden stillness that overcame Shen. The captain only stared back at the prince and nodded, which was extremely uncharacteristic of him.

Roshi's eyes widened in realization. "Prince Vegeta!"

Vegeta tilted his head to look past his mesmerized captain, smiling eerily at Roshi. "Yes? Do you wish to stay, too?"

Roshi shook his head fervently in denial, while Vegeta turned to glance at Kakarot, who was chuckling as he leaned in a relaxed posture against the walls surrounding the controls for the ship. Kakarot then directed a smile at Roshi, the look in his eyes nearly making the smile appear patronizing when Roshi intently darted his eyes away from Kakarot's for fear of what he could do with those eyes.

When Roshi became braver and allowed their gazes to meet again, there was a softer look in Kakarot's eyes. If Roshi didn't know any better, he would have sworn it was Goku looking back at him.

"I guess this is goodbye, Old timer." Kakarot said, kicking off the wall he'd been leaning against to join Vegeta by his side. "Take Piccolo with you and go. This is the way it is meant to be, Roshi."

Roshi gasped, shaking his head furiously in refusal. He refused to believe that. He refused to just let Goku go. But then, as fast as he seemed to return, Goku seemed to vanish again before his eyes.

Kakarot placed a hand on Vegeta's shoulder as he turned a glare on Roshi. "Leave the ship now, or I will kill you myself."

There was no arguing with that demand. The mere looks the vampires were giving him made Roshi's knees go weak with fear. Maybe Goku really had always been Kakarot, but it was such a loss, having such a wonderful man turn to such a cruel and unnatural lifestyle. Morbid as it was, though, Roshi could see the love between the vampires. There was a strong bond between them which anyone could see, no matter how much Roshi wanted to deny it.

Feeling defeated, Roshi turned to Piccolo, dragging the bloody, unconscious man back to the ship which had brought them there. It was a sorrowful retreat, but there were plenty of sailors already aboard the overfilled ship ready to help tend to Piccolo's wounds. With a heavy sigh, Roshi turned to look at the abandoned Crane, which now only had three souls on board. He bit his lip as he reached for the last rope, untying it and freeing them from the ship headed for Vegetasei.

"Hey, Old timer!"

The startling yell from the Crane made Roshi jump, then flinch in the direction of the larger ship.

"Look after Krillin and Chi-Chi! They'll need somebody strong to look out for them!"

Roshi gaped as he stared towards the distancing ship, Kakarot's ambiguous facial features becoming cloaked in the shadows cast by the moonlight as Roshi stared. He was utterly shocked by Kakarot's show of concern. The man was an enigma in life, and even in this new life, Roshi could not help but be mystified by his behavior.

Kakarot quickly turned his face from Roshi, concealing whatever emotion had been visible in that brief, humane moment as he turned to face his lover instead.

"Krillin and Chi-Chi?" Vegeta's voice was deep, guttural, and a total turn-on, even if Kakarot knew his lover was irritated with him.

"What?" Kakarot smirked, his gaze panning upwards to take in the dark depths of Vegeta's eyes, and then the sharp contrast of his pale skin and black shock of upswept hair.

Vegeta glowered in disapproval. But when their eyes met again, Kakarot smiled and kissed Vegeta softly on the lips. "It's just the two of us now."

Vegeta frowned, casting a meaningful glance towards their captain, who was absorbed in his task of steering for Vegetasei. But when he turned his gaze on Kakarot again, he couldn't help smiling in agreement. He was excited about something for the first time in ages. He was finally returning home to Vegetasei as its rightful ruler, with Kakarot by his side.

Their reign would be glorious.