Dangers Of Trick Or Treating

Author’s Note: Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you like this chapter. Please review!

Chapter 4

Humming to herself, Bulma made her way to the living room where the party was still in full swing. It was late, but she really didn’t mind, because she loved it when her friends were over, even though they often stayed only for the abundance of beer that she provided.

She loved her friends, really she did, but they were such freeloaders. Every time she had a party they practically emptied her entire pantry in less than three hours. It was no less than astounding.

So, as payback she usually had them hand out candy to the trick or treaters. They, of course, didn’t know of her evil schemes, which only made it all the better.

Now, she pondered as she stopped at the door to the living room, who should be next victim? Hmm….Vegeta had already gone, and, unfortunately, was still shaking slightly in his dark corner. Yamcha was STILL duct taped to the wall, and she really couldn’t let him down until she’d found her camera. And Krillin, well, she couldn’t use him because he was out trick or treating with Gohan again.

So, who to use? Hmm…..Looking around the room, she finally saw her….ah…helper. He, of course, had no clue that he was about to suffer a horribly vicious fate that would leave him traumatized for years to come. After all, what would be the fun in telling him that?

Fixing a smile firmly in place, Bulma straightened her shoulders and walked towards her target. “Oh, Goku!” she called, excitement apparent in her voice. “Would you mind doing me a quick favor?”

Startled, Goku looked up from the fourth plate of sandwiches that he was devouring at a speed that could only be matched by his young son or by Vegeta. In fact, he had been eating so fast that almost the entire room had been watching him eat with a blank look on their faces. At the interruption, however, they all seemed to become apprehensive at the site of Bulma standing there. Goku frowned, scratching his head as he looked at everybody else in confusion. Funny….Why would they worry about what Bulma wanted from him?

“Um….” he said, forgetting what she had just said. “What did you say Bulma?”

Gritting her teeth, Bulma forced the smile to remain on her face. After all, she did need his help rather badly. It would be at least a few more hours until the trick or treaters would stop coming to her door.

“I asked you if you wouldn’t mind doing me a quick favor.”

Goku blinked. “Oh. Okay, I guess. What is it?” he asked, slowly setting the plate aside with more than a little bit of reluctance.

“Would you mind helping me with the trick or treaters? Just for a little while,” she promised, giving him a reassuring and, hopefully, somewhat pitiful look.

Noticing that everyone else around the room had pretty much stopped breathing, Goku nodded slightly, wondering what exactly he was about to get himself into. He hoped that it wasn’t as bad as when he had to help ChiChi deliver Gohan. Now THAT had been truly scary. He still had nightmares about that day.

“Alright, Bulma. I’ll help, I mean, how bad can a couple of little kids really be?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck as he laughed.

“Thank you, Goku! I really appreciate it. Now, here is some candy…” she said, whipping out a large bowl of candy out of midair. Really, how did she do that? “And all you have to do is answer the door and give a couple of pieces to every trick or treater. Got it?”

Goku nodded, eyes glazed as he gazed at the candy. So much candy. So many good things to eat. Unknowingly, he leaned forward, drool slipping out of the corner of his mouth as he looked at the candy.

Rolling her eyes, Bulma reached over and smacked him upside the head, quickly reviving him from his senseless drooling. “Goku! Stop that! You cannot eat the candy! Alright?” she exclaimed, shoving the bowl into his arms.

Shaking with candy withdrawal, Goku nodded and slowly made his way to the door, pictures of Butterfingers dancing in his head.

One Hour Later….

“Trick or Treat!”

Sighing, Goku opened the door and looked at the vampire, the werewolf, and the fairy that were standing there upon his doorway.

“Wow! I like your costumes!” he exclaimed, with false appreciation, wearily reaching for some candy as he did.

The vampire scowled. “Of course YOU would!” he said, assuming a haughty air as he looked at the candy giver in front of him. “Mine is much better than your lame one is!” he stated, glaring at the man in front of him. “After all, your costume looks so fake! What are trying to be, a martial artist?”

Goku frowned as he looked at the little upstart in front of him. “No,” he said, “I’m just being myself.”

The werewolf snorted in disbelief. “Yeah right. You’re just saying that ‘cause your costume looks so stupid! I mean, look at the muscles, they don’t even look real!”

Dropping the candy he had been about to give out, Goku bent over to face the trio in front of him. “Do they?” he asked calmly, trying to not to give into his anger.

“Yeah!” said the fairy. “They’re too big! My dad’s muscles look a lot better than that, but that’s because he actually worked for his! He didn’t go buy them at the nearest Halloween store!” he said, swinging his candy sack for emphasis.

“Oh really?” Goku asked, as he raised an eyebrow. “Well, how about I tell you something that you don’t know?”

The vampire raised his own little painted eyebrow. “Like what? We already know everything, so there’s really not much you can tell us,” he said, glaring at the person who had yet to give them candy.

“Well, I’m sure you guys know quite a lot, but I bet you don’t know who the martial artist champion is,” he said, grinning as he watched them stop and look at each other. When no answer immediately came springing out of their little mouths, he turned to go back inside, guessing that they, in fact, did NOT know that answer.

“Wait!” called the fairy, “Give us a second!”

“Alright,” said Goku, as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door post. “I’ll give you one minute, starting…now.”

Looking frantic, the three huddled into a small group and had a hurried whispered conversation. Every now and then one of the three would take a quick glance at Goku and shake his head solemnly.

Enjoying himself, Goku silently counted, until, finally, he called an end to the minute. “All right, you guys. What’s your answer?” he asked, moving from his place near the door to stand directly in front of them.

The vampire glanced at the fairy. “Um….Jewel?” he asked, showing a small bit of nervousness.

Goku blinked, and then fell over, a loud thud causing the house to shake as his body hit the ground. Quickly, recovering, he stood and scratched the back of his head, as he wondered how anyone could think that JEWEL of all people would be the martial arts champion.

“NO!” he shouted loudly, causing the three to shrink back. “I don’t even know how you could think that, since he never even made it past the second round!” he exclaimed, waving his arms for emphasis.

“Well, who is it then?” asked the fairy, giving Goku what he hoped was a grown up sneer, but which, unfortunately, made him look like he had sucked on a rather sour lemon.

“You guys really don’t know?” asked Goku, looking at the kids in surprise. “I thought everybody followed the World Martial Arts Tournament.”

The vampire sniffed haughtily. “Of course we did. We just missed the final round, that’s all.”

“Oh…” said Goku, not really knowing what to say. “Well, then…why did you miss it?”

The werewolf glanced at the ground, as he drew invisible lines on the ground with his foot. “We…ah…got kicked out of the arena for trying to sneak into the restricted areas.”

“Well, then I say that you deserved your punishment,” Goku said, using his sternest voice on the miscreants.

“Whatever,” said the werewolf, giving Goku an evil glare. “Now, will you tell us who won the tournament already? We really want to know!”

“Fine,” Goku said, “I did.”

The trio gaped, jaws dropping on the ground. “NO WAY!” screeched the vampire, recovering from his shock. “YOU’RE LYING!”

“No, I’m not,” said Goku calmly, trying not to appear as if the vampire’s loud screeching was causing his ears to ache. Saiyans, after all, did have rather sensitive ears.

“YES, YOU ARE!” exclaimed the fairy, joining the argument.

“NO, I’m not.”

“Fine then, prove it,” demanded the werewolf, his calm voice a stark contrast to their outraged voices.

Sighing, Goku reached into his pocket and produced the identification that ChiChi had made him get last week. “Here,” he said, putting it in front of their little faces. “I am Son Goku, and I won the tournament.”

The trio froze as they looked at his identification, which, unusually enough, stated at the bottom that he was, indeed, the World Martial Arts Champion.

“Wow,” whispered the fairy, staring at the proof in front of him. “So, it’s true.”

“Yes,” said Goku, as he put the identification back into his pocket after three minutes of intense staring from the three kids. “It’s true. Now if you don’t mind moving on, I have to keep the sidewalk free for other trick or treaters.”

Stunned into shock from the truth, the kids quickly recovered their outrage as they looked at him. “But….but…What about our candy?” spluttered the vampire, gazing at him in complete confusion.

“I’m not giving it to you.”

“But, we’re trick or treaters! You’re supposed to give us candy! It’s our constitutional right!” exclaimed the werewolf.

Goku shook his head. “No, it’s not a right, it’s a privilege, and you lost that privilege when you called me a liar and treated me the way you did. And, because of that, you won’t be receiving any candy at all.”

“But…THAT’S NOT FAIR!” yelled the fairy, using a timeless expression for circumstances when a kid didn’t get exactly what he wanted.

Goku grinned at the predictable use of it. The kid thought that throwing a temper tantrum would make him throw a few pieces of chocolate his way? Ah….NO!

“Fair or not, you aren’t getting any, so please turn around and go to the next house,” he stated firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

Knowing they had lost, the trio gave him the evil eye and turned to leave. But just as he was about to walk down the sidewalk, the fairy stopped and turned back around. He gave Goku an assessing look, and then nodded slightly.

“Mister, since you refuse to give us candy, I will tell you this. Tonight you will be visited by your three worst nightmares. The nightmare of the past, the nightmare of the present, and the nightmare of the future. And with these three visits you shall learn what is most important about Halloween.”

Frowning to himself slightly, Goku watched as the kid turned back around and left. Hmm… “I wonder what he meant?” Goku asked himself, as he walked back inside. “What could more important about Halloween than the free food?” he pondered.

Confused beyond belief, he threw the warning from the fairy into the back of his mind, and made his way back to his spot in the hallway, determined to finish his time as Candy Giver as painlessly as possible.

Alas, it was not to be…

Half An Hour Later….

Snorting, Goku jerked out of his nap into a sudden alertness that usually preceded a rather intense battle. “Man,” he said, rubbing his head slightly. “I can’t believe I fell asleep like that. Weird. I felt wide awake just a few minutes ago.”

Wondering at the cause of this unusual alertness, Goku stood up and stretched, easing all of the tension out of his sorely abused muscles. Sorely abused, of course, because of his frequent attempts to raid the candy with Bulma skulking just around the corner.

“Hmm….Odd. I don’t feel anything unusual. Maybe I just ate too much for dinner,” he said, pausing to think about such a possibility. “Ah…Nah…”

He was just about to sit back down in his chair when he heard someone knock on the door.

“Trick or treaters? This late? I didn’t think parents let their kids stay out this late at night….Hmm….It’s probably high school kids,” he sighed, wearily snagging the near empty candy bowl from it’s exalted place on the hall floor.

He walked the few steps to the door, and, with much bravery (for you never knew what kind of people went trick or treating), Goku opened the door, and was greeted by….

A candy cane?

Goku blinked as he stared at the strange apparition in front of him. It was odd, very odd, to see a candy cane at this time of year. Unless…This was Halloween right? It hadn’t suddenly changed to Christmas when he wasn’t looking?

“No, Goku. It is not Christmas. You have not magically reappeared in the future. That is, of course impossible,” said a mysterious voice, startling Goku out of his Christmas memories.

“Wha…? Who said that? Come on! Own up!” exclaimed Goku, wildly glancing around to see the source of this voice. Hearing nothing, he took several steps forward, shoving the candy cane out of the way to see the street behind him.

“Ahem…I’m right here you know,” replied the voice, agitation evident in his words.

“Where? I don’t see you!” Goku stated, peering into the dark corner by the door as he wondered if, perhaps, the voice belonged to some sort of insect since he couldn’t see it.

“Right here, you idiot! Here! I’m the big GIANT CANDY CANE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! HERE!”

“Oh there you are! I didn’t see you! Hi! I’m Goku, but I guess you already knew that, but…HEY! How did you know my name? I don’t think I’ve met you before, because I definitely would have eaten you! Mmm…..Food…” Goku drooled, grabbing his stomach as it made one particularly loud gurgle at the mention of sustenance.

“Alright, that’s enough. I’m here to show you something,” said the candy cane, trying to resume its' authoritative air. “I’m here to bring you to the pa…WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY!” yelled the candy cane, as it glared at the mighty Son Goku, who was staring at his stomach with a mournful expression.

“But…I’m so hungry…” whined Goku, giving the candy cane what he hoped was a somewhat pitiful and hopefully sympathetic look.

“OH WELL! GET OVER IT!” snarled the candy cane, giving the impression that he had, indeed, been a rabid dog in his past life.

“But…”

“NO BUTS! Now,” the candy cane said in a slightly calmer voice. “I am your nightmare of the past, and I am here to show you the importance of Halloween.”

“Wow! Really?” exclaimed Goku, eyes wide as he looked at the conceited candy cane. “You’re my nightmare? Cool! Hey….But….Why would you be my nightmare? You’re a candy cane!”

Sighing, the candy cane turned away and looked across the street at some high school kids that were happily egging another person’s house. “I am your nightmare because of something that happened in your past. Something that you most likely don’t remember, so I am here to make you remember it so that you learn you lesson well,” it stated, trying, unsuccessfully to use a scary, melodramatic tone of voice.

“Well, what happened in my past?” asked Goku, tilting his head to the side.

“I can’t tell you,” said the candy cane, giving Goku an imperious look.

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t!” it exclaimed, throwing the childish Saiyan next to it an exasperated look that completely bypassed the oblivious Goku.

“Why not?”

“BECAUSE! NOW, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP SO WE CAN GET ON WITH BUSINESS?” the candy cane yelled, wanting very badly to throw itself upon the pavement and indulge in a very childish, very therapeutic temper tantrum.

Goku blinked. “Oh, okay then. Let’s go,” he said, giving the candy cane the typical Son Grin.

“Finally,” the candy cane muttered, absently waving its hand in midair. “Now,” it said, taking a step into the portal that now hung in front of the two somewhat ominously, “Let’s get going so that I can get you out of the way and work on finishing my quota for the night.”

Nodding happily, Goku merrily bounced his way into the portal, unaware of the horror that would soon follow.

Several Minutes Later…

Coughing, the candy cane waved his hand in front of his face as he tried to clear the smoke away. Damn that Saiyan! Not only was he uncooperative, he was also extremely idiotic. Although he had behaved during the trip, the minute he had landed in the past, things, well…had quickly gone to hell and back.

“I’m really sorry,” Goku said again for the umpteenth time. “I didn’t know that the needle was really a kid dressed as a needle!” he exclaimed, still clinging to the tree branch that he had jumped on.

“You mean it didn’t occur to you that it still might actually be, in some surreal universe, Halloween?” the candy cane asked sarcastically, breathing deeply as the smoke finally moved away.

“Well, how was I supposed to know that you would be taking me back to another Halloween?” Goku asked, jumping down from the tree branch to stand in front of the candy cane.

“I would think it would be obvious. And, anyway, you aren’t supposed to scared of such a little thing as a needle!” it accused, glaring at the sorry excuse of a Saiyan in front of it.

“It was not little!” Goku said defensively. “I had to protect myself!”

“You didn’t have to ki blast it, though!” it said, beginning to walk down the street. Within a few steps Goku fell in beside them, and together they made their way through the endless stream of eager young children that filled the streets.

As usual, the candy cane maintained its stoic silence as they walked down the street that led to Capsule Corps. It was easily able to keep silent for long periods of time, not really believing in the need to talk to anyone else.

But Goku, well, he wasn’t nearly as self-disciplined. “Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“Are we there yet?

“No!”

“Are we there yet?”

“NO! And stop asking me that! We haven’t even walked three feet yet!”

“But…I’m bored,” Goku whined, giving the candy cane a somewhat pathetic look. “This isn’t any fun.”

“This isn’t supposed to be fun! Now,” it said, stopping in front of an older version of Capsule Corps. “We’re here.”

“Where?” Goku asked, glancing around for something besides the building that they had just left.

“Here!” the cane exclaimed, gesturing wildly in the hopes that maybe, possibly the Saiyan would somehow grasp the point he was trying to make.

“Oh…HERE!”

Yes! The cane almost leaped with excitement. The idiot’s IQ wasn’t as low as he thought!

“But…Weren’t we just here a second ago? And if we were, what was with all the weird holes and lights and stuff?”

Damn it! Raising a weary hand to its forehead, the candy cane slumped in exhaustion. Why? WHY?

“Yes, we were just here a second ago, Goku. But not in the same time. Do you get it?”

“Umm…” Goku said, scratching his head in bewilderment. “No.”

“We left the Capsule Corps of your time, and traveled into the past. We are now at Capsule Corps in the past!”

Goku frowned for a moment, his mind racing. “Oh….OH! I get it!”

YES! The candy cane relaxed, a smile of relief beginning to creep over its face. “You do?”

“Yes, I do. We left in the present and went to the past, which means…that…we haven’t gone anywhere!” Goku finished triumphantly, again giving the candy cane that Son Grin that just made it want to slap the Saiyan silly.

The candy cane rolled its eyes, tired of trying to shove sense into the Saiyan’s mind. It was completely hopeless, and any more time spent trying to explain exactly where they were would just waste more time that it really couldn’t afford. It had a quota to fill, and retirement was only a few weeks away, after all.

“Alright, whatever. Now, what was I saying?” it asked, looking around in slight confusion as it tried to recover from the immense stupidity that he was surrounded with. “Oh, yes. Now, we are to here to show you the nightmare of your past.”

Goku watched the little kids walking down the street. “Umm…Are you sure about that? ‘Cause I don’t think a bunch of little kids could be that scary.”

The candy cane rolled its eyes. “They aren’t the nightmare of your past. What happens to your younger self on this night is what your nightmare becomes.”

“Really? Hmm…I wonder what could be so scary…”

“Well, I’m sure that if you just shut up and listen for once, then you would find out what is your nightmare,” the candy cane said, reasonably, wondering if maybe this would help the Saiyan understand.

“Oh…I don’t get it.”

The candy cane fell over, hitting the ground so hard that the sound of his impact seemed to echo down the street. And, naturally, the little kids all turned around to face them, being the curious people that they were. Grumbling to itself, the candy cane slowly stood back up a large sweat drop visible on his head as he looked at Goku.

“Fine,” he said slowly as he dusted himself off. “I don’t really care if you don’t understand, you’re still going to watch what I have to show you, and then we’re going back. Okay?”

…

The candy cane’s eyebrow twitched in immense irritation. Couldn’t the fool pay attention for more than two seconds? Was it really that difficult?

“Hey! Are you listening to me? HELLO?” it yelled, waving its arms in front of Goku’s face, who was staring across the street at a little kid who was walking towards the front door of a house.

“Yeah,” Goku said, “I here you, but it’s just that, well, there’s a little me over there.”

Startled, the candy cane turned around, looking for what had caused Goku’s mind to actually focus itself on something other than food. “Oh, yeah,” it said dismissively, watching the little kid dressed as a pumpkin that was now standing in front of the door. “That is a little you, Goku. That is your younger self.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize that I was so short.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Think about how short you were later. Now, I suggest that you watch carefully what is about to happen. This is a very important part of your life,” it said, seating himself carefully on a nearby bench and motioning for Goku to do the same.

They both watched as Chibi Goku gazed at the wooden door in front of him, and then very slowly raised his hand to knock on it. Something unnerved him about this, but he shrugged it off, thinking that his mind was playing tricks on him again. He waited a minute, and just when it seemed as if it would never open, the doorknob turned and opened to reveal…

A giant needle.

Chibi Goku blinked, wondering why on earth someone would choose to be a needle. Innocently he looked up at the man and grinned. “TRICK OR TREAT!”

The needle rolled his eyes and then glared at the young chibi. “Yeah, whatever. Now, what do you want?” he asked, leaning down so that he was on the chibi’s level.

“Candy, please!” Chibi Goku asked, holding his loot bag out in front of him.

“Wow, that loot bag is almost as big as Gohan’s bag!” Goku exclaimed, his eyes widening at the size of it.

“Shut up!” the candy cane hissed, glaring at him. “I want to hear what he says!”

“Now,” the needle said, looking the chibi up and down contemptuously. “Why should I give you candy?”

Chibi Goku tilted his head to the side. “Um…because I’m a little kid and I need lots and lots of food!” he finished, again flashing the Son Grin at the man. Unfortunately, however, it seemed to have no effect, and, if possible, made the needle scowl even harder at him. “Um…please?” Goku finished weakly, wondering if this needle would give him anything at all.

Grumbling, the needle reached behind him and grabbed a piece…of…well, something, and practically threw it at the child. “Here. Now, go away and leave me alone!” he exclaimed, throwing the child a nasty look as he stepped back inside and slammed the door.

Grinning, the chibi bounced happily down the sidewalk, the single piece of candy clutched in his left hand, the loot bag trailing from his right. “Yay! Candy!”

He bounced for a few more feet before curiosity got the better of him. He stopped and looked at the candy, wondering what type it was. All of the other ones that he got had names on them, but this one had no markings at all and it was wrapped weird. Plus, it smelled somewhat off.

Goku stared at it for a moment, debating on whether or not he should eat it now. Seconds later, he shrugged, opened it, and popped it in his mouth. He walked for a few feet as he slowly chewed on the piece of candy, and then, finally, swallowed it. He continued to walk, feeling slightly funny, before he was forced to stop by a sudden cramp that made him bend over in pain.

He stayed like that for several minutes, waiting for it to end, and when it finally did he straightened up with a sigh of relief. However, he wasn’t up long before another cramp struck. Tears began to stream down his face as cramp after cramp rolled through him, the pain worsening with each one.

Vaguely he felt himself drop the loot bag and then fall to the ground. As he clutched his stomach he heard several screams, and wondered what was going on. Were they scared of something?

He watched the sky above him, noting how pretty it looked, especially since all the clouds had disappeared earlier that evening. He could see all the stars.

“Hold on, kid. We’ve got an ambulance coming,” he heard a voice say right next to his left ear.

Goku mentally frowned, confused as to exactly why he would need an ambulance. It was too much food, that was all. He didn’t need to ride in an ambulance, really. He tried to tell the man that, but the words were lost to him as another cramp struck. Letting a faint scream loose, his eyes rolled up in his head, and the world faded from view, dense blackness taking his place.

Sometime Later…

“Beep. Beep. Beep.”

Chibi Goku slowly opened his eyes, his mind fuzzy. Where was he? What was going on? Everything spun crazily around him as he tried to make his eyes focus on what was above him. It took a good minute, but finally he realized that he was staring at a ceiling that was cracked quite a bit.

“Goku! Thank goodness you’re finally awake! I was so worried about you!”

Startled, Goku slowly turned his head to see the owner of the voice. When he spotted the slightly blurred image of his best friend, Bulma, he smiled.

“Hi, Bulma.”

Leaning closer, Bulma smiled back, glad to see that her friend was finally awake. “How are you feeling?” she asked kindly, gently sitting on the edge of his bed next to him.

“Okay, I guess. What happened? Where am I?”

Bulma sighed, wearily rubbing a hand through her hair. “You’re at the hospital, Goku. You collapsed outside a few houses away from Capsule Corps. I went out to look for you when it got late and some lady on the street told me that they had taken you here. I was really worried, Goku,” she finished, gently ruffling Goku’s hair as she thought over what had happened.

“But,” Chibi Goku said frowning. “I didn’t really feel sick. I just had some bad cramps,” he said, slowly moving into a sitting position.

Bulma blinked, surprised. “Goku, those weren’t just cramps. Some guy poisoned you.”

“Poison? Really? But…why would someone do that?”

Bulma sighed, “I don’t know, Goku. I can’t really explain why someone would choose to hurt a little kid like you. Now, do you know who the last person was to give you a piece of candy?”

“Umm….It was….the needle.”

Blinking, Bulma looked at him in confusion. “The needle? What do you mean?”

“The needle! He answered the door and he gave me a weird piece of candy!”

“Oh… “Bulma said slowly, trying to follow his thought process. “OH! I get it! You mean to say that they last person to give you a piece of candy was a guy dressed like a needle!”

“Yeah! Now, why did you want to know that?” Goku asked innocently, not understanding why Bulma would want to know such information.

“Because,” Bulma said patiently. “That piece of candy that the guy gave you was filled with poison.”

Chibi Goku gaped, “You mean he tried to kill me?”

“Yes, Goku,” said Bulma, giving a stern gaze. “And next time, I want you to bring all your candy to me so that I can check it, alright?”

Goku nodded, still trying to understand why a needle would try to kill him. He hadn’t done anything to it! He’d only asked for candy! Was that so wrong?

Suddenly, the door clicked open, interrupting both their thoughts. Bulma and Goku turned to look as a friendly nurse bounced into the room, a professional smile lighting up her face. “Hello! I’m Nurse Cecilia!”

“Hi! I’m Son Goku!” he said, giving her a wide Son Grin.

“Why, hello there! I’m glad to see that you’re finally awake! So, are you ready for some medicine?” she asked, holding up a small blue container as she stood next to him.

“Medicine?” Bulma asked, giving the nurse a confused look. “Why would he need medicine? He already had his stomach pumped.”

“I know, but the doctor wants to make sure that there aren’t any lasting effects,” the nurse said as she opened the container and arranged the contents inside.

“Oh, alright then. Go right ahead,” Bulma said as she moved off the bed to make room for the nurse.

“Alright, young man,” the nurse said to the wide-eyed Goku. “I’m going to give you a shot, and I promise that it will only take a minute,” she said as she picked up an object out of the container.

“Shot?” Goku asked, as he watched her fiddle with the object.

“Yes, Goku. Now, hold your arm out please.”

Obligingly, Goku held out his arm, wondering what she was going to do. His curiosity died a quick death, however, when he saw exactly what she was holding. It was…a…

“NEEDLE!”

Shrieking in absolute fear, Goku leaped out of bed and onto the ceiling, clutching the ceiling fan like it was a lifeline. Trembling in fear, he gazed down at the nurse who was holding the tiny object. He’d had a hard time believing that someone had tried to kill him, but when he found out that it had been the needle, well, he had decided that no good could EVER come from that object. So, naturally, he was resolved to stay very, VERY far away from it.

“Goku! Come down! It’s not going to hurt you!” Bulma called, moving from where she had fallen on the floor.

“NO! You can’t make me! It’s already tried to kill me once before, and I won’t let it try again!” Goku exclaimed, his face screwed up in concentration as he clung to the ceiling fan.

“Wha..?” Bulma asked, completely confused as to how he could think that a needle, of all things, would try to kill him. “Goku, you’re being silly! Get down here!”

“No!”

“Goku!”

“Goku,” the candy cane said, catching the Goku’s attention. “It’s time to go.”

Goku frowned. “But, I don’t want to. I want to see what happens next,” he said, watching the scene as it played out in front of him. He had been appalled to learn that his fear of needles had come from someone trying to kill him. It was odd, actually, to learn that his fear actually came from an event in his life. He’d had it for as long as he could remember.

The candy cane rolled its’ eyes, and roughly grabbed Goku by the elbow. “Well, you won’t get to. Now, will you shut up and get moving? I have a lot of work to do tonight, and you’re holding me up,” it said, unceremoniously shoving Goku into a nearby portal that he had conjured out of midair.

“But…” Goku protested as they walked down the path towards the other end of the portal.

“No buts. Any longer and you probably would have leapt onto the ceiling with your younger self,” the candy cane said contemptuously, giving Goku a somewhat disgusted look.

Goku blushed slightly. When the nurse had lifted the needle into clear sight he had automatically jumped behind the candy cane. He couldn’t help it. The fear was ingrained deep inside him, and he didn’t think that he would ever be completely free of it.

“I can’t help it,” he said somewhat defensively, but was cut off by the candy cane.

“Look, I don’t really care. Now,” it said, shoving Goku out of the portal. “I’ve shown you the nightmare of your past. Expect the nightmare of your present to visit you later tonight. Now, leave me alone and have a nice day,” the candy cane said swiftly, absently throwing a business card at Goku’s feet. And before he could say a single word, the candy cane vanished, leaving Goku standing alone in the middle of the Capsule Corps front porch.

He blinked, surprised that he was, in fact, exactly where he had started. The half-empty candy bowl was still sitting where he had left it, and, not only that, it looked as if he had only just left. The same kid in the cowboy costume was still standing in front of a door getting candy, and the teenagers egging the house were just about to throw their third egg.

He frowned, wondering if maybe he had dreamed it, but dismissed the thought when he saw the business card that was still lying on the ground. He leaned over and picked up the glossy black card, smiling faintly when he saw the words written on the card.

Screw you, hmm? Well, he must have really irritated the candy cane. But, then again, that’s what it deserved for being so annoying. Goku grinned as he recalled how easily he had driven the candy cane to distraction.

One point for Goku. Zero for the opposing team.

Smirking, Goku turned and walked back inside. He couldn’t wait for the next guy to show up. He had quite a few tricks up his sleeve and he was just itching to cause some mischief.

I’m ready, he thought, sitting back down on his chair. Bring it on.

End of Chapter! Please review!