It was around this time of the year that Ox King, Chi-Chi's father, left his castle. And he had asked Chi-Chi to take care of the castle for him.
"Goku!" called Chi-Chi. She excitedly ran up to her husband with joy. "Dad is letting us use the castle while he's away! I was thinking that maybe you and I could, well..."
"Chi-Chi, I don't know what to say," replied a flattered Goku.
"I was thinking that maybe we could throw a Halloween party there!" Chi-Chi said happily. "I'll go call Bulma, #18, and Videl."
Goku facevaulted.
Chi-Chi chatted with her friends on the phone and made the plans for the party. Chi-Chi was immediately appointed to food duty, and they all decided on what costumes they would wear.
She reminisced over her little explorations inside the castle. But she remembered that there was one tower that was never ventured into, and it wasn't even destroyed when Master Roshi used his Kamehameha wave.
Chi-Chi decorated the inside, a few pumpkins here, some fake cobwebs there. And then went home to get ready for the party.
Master Roshi was out taking the children trick-or-treating, leaving the adults to come to the party. Bulma arrived alone and had dressed up as Sailor Mercury.
Bulma was welcomed by Chi-Chi, who was dressed as Xena, Warrior Princess. "I'm so glad that you could come! Uh, where's Vegeta?"
"He decided to go out with Trunks for trick-or-treating. Where's Goku?" asked Bulma.
"He's gone trick-or-treating with the Master Roshi and the others," replied Chi-Chi. "I'm sure that they'll meet up."
Next, #18 and Krillin came in. #18's costume was that of Gabrielle. Krillin followed in with a fake white beard, Hawaiian shirt, staff, and a turtle's shell on his back.
"Hey everyone! Look familiar?" he asked as he entered the room.
"We match!" exclaimed #18 when she saw Chi-Chi.
Soon, the others came pouring in. Gohan arrived dressed as Picollo and Videl followed in as Sailor Saturn. Then, Yamcha came as a hobo, Tien dressed Ghepetto and Chaozu as Pinocchio.
The women chatted at the table, when they were tired.
"I know what you mean, I thought that they would want to go trick-or-treating, but Goten said that 11-year-olds are too big for that..."
"I had to make Marron's costume at the last minute when she changed her mind..."
"Same with Trunks, but Bra was much more earger to get out..."
"Pan was also excited to go out..."
"Hey everybody! Did you all miss me?" said a voice. Everyone turned to look at the door.
Goku finally arrived at the party. He was dressed in jeans, a black shirt underneath a blue vest, green finger-less gloves, and a red and white baseball cap. (Guess who. ^_^*) He happily waved at them and carried his bags of candy to the buffet table.
The air in the castle was thick with mystery, and everyone gathered round to tell childish ghost stories.
"Who'll tell the first story?" asked Chaozu.
"Well, there's some history about the castle," said Chi-Chi. "I think that it is best that I inform you about it."
Everyone was intrigued, and gathered round to hear her tale.
"My father didn't just build this castle by himself. No, actually, he found it. All abandoned atop of the mountain. When the great fire was put out, the castle was in ruins, except for one tower. We always avoided it because," Chi-Chi lowered her voice to a whisper, "that's where they say the bones of the previous owner are hidden."
Everyone gasped, then burst out laughing.
"Why don't we go check out this 'haunted' tower ourselves?" mocked Krillin.
"I never went there, but, please, I'm asking you all not go in there." Chi-Chi then suddenly smiled inwardly, and then said, "But I guess I could make an exception."
Everyone leaped onto their feet in anticipation and followed Chi-Chi all the way to the tower. The climbed the steps slowly, on tip-toe, not to disturb the mystery at the top.
They finally reached the locked door, and Chi-Chi carefully jiggled the lock. To her surprise, it was locked. She fixed the lock a cold stare, and magically, it opened in her hand.
No one noticed what had happened. Yamcha, pushed Chi-Chi aside to open the door.
"I'll protect you all from what's behind that door!" he mocked. He opened the door just a crack, then slowly and carefully, all the way open. Everyone gasped at the sight they saw.
Inside, was Vegeta, Master Roshi, and the children, sitting around and eating candy in a well-furnished and well lit room. The children looked adorable in their costumes, Goten and Trunks in their Team Rocket uniforms, Bra, Marron and Pan as the Sailor Scouts.
"Vegeta!" cried Bulma. "Ha, ha! Great practical joke Chi-Chi."
"We saw the light on in here and thought that we'd let ourselves in," said Vegeta.
"What do you mean?" asked Tien. "When I got here, the only lights on were the ones downstairs. Wait a second, what's the meaning of all this?" The door slammed shut behind them, and everyone spun around to face Chi-Chi. The housewife didn't seem to be herself. Her eyes glowed a strange blue then red, and she was suspended in the air.
"Chi-Chi! You finally learned to fly!" cried Goku.
"Dad! She's possessed!" replied Gohan.
"That's right," said the unearthly voice coming from Chi-Chi, "and since it's the night when my powers at at their best, I think that I should have a little fun."
"Ha! No mere spectre can defeat the Prince of the Saiyans!" Vegeta fired up a ki blast and sent towards the possessed woman. Easily, she deflected it. Vegeta looked at her in disbelief, he quickly charged up another more powerful blast.
"Stop Vegeta! You don't want to kill my mom, do you?" pleaded Goten.
"I've thought about it, and now I have the opportunity."
"Enough! Time for fun!" cried the spectre. The air in the room, whirled around and around, sweeping everyone off of their feet, as "Chi-Chi" cackled. The room was in confusion to everyone's eyes, and instantly, their world turned black.
Everyone had listened intently and clapped at the story.
"Can we listen to another story?" asked Chaozu.
"Chi-Chi, why don't we really check out that room now?" interrupted Videl.
"Sure thing!" Everyone leaped onto their feet in anticipation and followed Chi-Chi all the way to the tower. The climbed the steps slowly, on tip-toe, not to disturb the mystery at the top.
They finally reached the locked door, and Chi-Chi carefully jiggled the lock. It was locked. Goku volunteered to opened to the lock, but instead, smashed the door down.
Everyone saw pitch black ahead of them. Bulma, from behind pushed them in. They tumbled into the dark room, and Bulma fumbled for a light switch. When she found it, she switched it on.
The inside of the room was well furnished, with a bookcase to the side of the wall and the right number of arm-chairs. Everyone took a seat in one and relaxed. From out of nowhere, metal straps restrained them to their chairs. Everyone was tied down, except Bulma.
"Ha, ha! I now have the perfect specimens!" she cried. "Now my experiments can begin." Everyone groaned and struggled, but to no avail. "Don't wear yourselves out. I need healthy specimens to add to my collection."
She snapped her fingers, and the bookcase to the side of the wall flipped around to reveal a secret laboratory. Vegeta, Master Roshi, the real Bulma, and the children were tied down to some operating tables unconscious.
"Who are you?" asked Tien.
"Bulma", lifted off her mask, and was revealed to be that of a young woman with flaming pink hair. "I'm Washu, and I've been studying your world, and I've noticed that all of you are extremely strange characters, and I thought that maybe I could have some fun with all of you."
All of them were electrically shocked into unconsciousness.
Trunks tried to get up, and he easily did. He felt taller, and walked over the bathroom to look in the mirror. He looked up, and screamed.
That was not his face! It was his mom's staring right back at him. He wondered if the same thing happened to the others.
As if on cue, a few other screams were heard.
He ran out of the room and into the hallway, where he was greeted by the shocked faces of the others. He saw his dad and ran up to him.
"Dad? It's me, Trunks!"
"Trunks? It's me Yamcha! I'm your dad! Wait-a-minute, that didn't sound right."
"I think I kinda like my new body," said "Videl". "Now I can experience what I've always wanted in my dreams." She snickered.
"Master Roshi, is that you?" cried Goten, in Roshi's body. "I swear, if you do anything..."
Master Roshi/"Videl" looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
Goten/"Master Roshi" punched himself.
"Hey! Cut that out!" protested "Videl".
"Don't you dare do anything to my body!" objected "Gohan"/Videl.
Punch. Punch. "Oops! I guess you won't be able to go to the beach next time, huh?"
"But I live there!"
"Okay, who's who?" rationally spoke Goku. "I'll go first, it's me, Bulma."
"Tien over here," said "Chi-Chi".
"It's me! Chaozu!" replied "Tien".
"It's weird being a kid again," said "Pan"/Chi-Chi.
"Yeah, just like the old days." "Goten"/Goku flexed his small arm.
"I wouldn't know," replied "Marron"/#18.
"I'm a grown-up!" cried "#18"/Bra.
"I'm still a kid, but wrong body," piped "Trunks"/Pan.
"At least I'm still a kid, and a girl," commented "Bra"/Marron.
"I don't even know what I am," said "Chaozu"/Goten.
"Is this some kind of twisted joke?!" ranted and enraged "Yamcha"/Vegeta. "How can I be in such a weak body?!"
"Hey Bulma! Maybe we can get together again," joked "Vegeta"/Yamcha.
"Yamcha" charged up a ki blast. "Not funny," he hissed.
And so everyone else identified themselves. And they all figured out who was in which body:
"Hey, where's Krillin?" asked "Marron".
"Maybe that Washu isn't done with him yet," suggested "Goku".
"Goku" asked "Pan" to lead everyone back to the tower, so they could find the lab and reverse the process.
When everyone reached the top of the tower, the door was locked, again. "Goten" tried to smash it open, but it was heavily reinforced. Krillin's screaming only encouraged him to double his effort.
"Goten" tried again, but the door wouldn't budge. Everyone gathered behind him, and together, they charged at the door. The door still didn't move, but the impact knocked the group down the stairs, where they lay in a haphazard heap at the bottom. All of them were out cold.
Goku slowly opened his eyes and looked up into Krillin's grinning face, and smiled. "So Washu didn't get to you," he said.
"What are you talking about?"
"I thought that all of our brains were switched by some pink-haired mad scientist."
"Boy, you had much more candy than I thought. The sugar's starting to make you hallucinate."
"What happened?"
"You tried to knock down the door, but before you could get there, you slipped on a step and fell all the way down here. The impact knocked you out cold."
"Well then, let's get back up there and try it again."
Krillin helped Goku up and were about to go up the staircase when a loud knocking interrupted them.
"Why are there always these little interruptions," mumbled #18 as she walked past the two friends to get the door. In a few minutes, she returned with Vegeta, Master Roshi, and the children in their costumes trailing behind them. "Why are you taking us here?" asked the old martial artist.
"We're trying to solve a mystery at the top of the tower," replied the cyborg.
The children murmured excitedly. "Wow, a mystery..." "Just like something out of Scooby-Doo!"
Goku pulled the lock off of the door and opened the door a crack. Light flooded out in a thin line. Everyone peered in closer. The door creaked as they slowly opened it ajar.
Inside of the room was a figure, sitting on a chair typing away at the computer in front of it. The figure turned around, revealing a small girl with glasses and short black hair. She eerily smiled at her guests.
"I'm so glad that you're all finally here," she greeted them. She turned back around to her computer and typed something in.
As if on impulse, the whole DBZ gang noticed the readers, turned to them, and simultaneously shouted...
