Author's Note:
Hello DBZ friends. Literally, you have made my day even if all you did was click on this story than go away. (since I avidly check the stats seeing as no one likes to review :( . I'm excited for this chapter, and you should be to because it's got lots of action. This probably doesn't need to be said, but after chapter one the story really starts to pick up. So much fun to write! Anyway, please enjoy! (let me know if you enjoyed!)

Irons Monroe

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waiting-to-bloom

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CHAPTER TWO: Purpose

The ravine stretched out before him again. Jagged and sharp and going on forever. Gohan looked up at the sky, watching the clouds twist and churn. The scenery was familiar for him now. He had been here before, and was now more acutely aware of the lack of sound. The silence seemed to press in on him, acting like a force of its own. He shouted, but the sound of his voice was lost to his ears. Again he looked down at the split ravine and the swirling white mists, feeling far more apprehensive to take that route than he had been previously. The whispers pierced the silence tickling his ear. He watched the mists for a moment as they spun and whirled, looking alive. He turned away from it. He would take a different path. Eyes fixed ahead he headed towards the horizon line, where sky met earth. He walked on for ten minutes, but even so he felt no closer. Deciding a quicker way he lifted himself off the ground, and flew, pushing himself as fast as he dared over the black surface. The ground soared below him, the sky churned above him, and yet he was no closer, no further, to anything.

This was just a dream, Gohan knew, but he didn't think dreams could be so frustratingly endless. Screeching to a stop, he looked up wiping his forehead. Suddenly, the earth began to shake, and Gohan lost balance momentarily. He drifted back up into the air as he watched the hungry rock crumble and cave into itself without reason. Silently breaking apart. The sharp flutter of wings being pumped to remain airborne broke the eerie silence, as it had in his last dream. He jerked his mesmerized eyes away from the decaying earth towards the source of the sound. The bird was behind him, no less than fifteen feet, snapping its large wings up and down and staring straight at Gohan.

"Who are you?" Gohan yelled, but as he should have known, no sound came from his lips. The bird only remained, flapping up and down, up and down.

A huge rush of wind erupted from below Gohan, it acted like a suction, pulling him downwards. Shocked he shot a glance down, where the earth was once breaking apart, remained a black hole. Wind gushing in and swirling like a vortex into the bottomless pit. The wind was so abrupt and strong, it had caught Gohan completely by surprise. He cursed his luck, even in the dream world nothing turned out right! With all his strength he pushed upwards against the vacuum, trying in vain to fly up and out of the nearing hole. In his struggle, he glanced up at the bird, astonished to find that the powerful winds seemed to have no effect on it. It merrily continued to flap its wings in a steady rhythm tic beating, the only sound that broke through this strange world.

Gohan let out one last silent yell for help before he was sucked into the pit. Pulled into darkness he finally let go of his fight, letting the wind carry him instead. For awhile he fell, being sucked on the whims of the wind, deeper into darkness. He strained his eyes, opening them only half way to protect them from debris that had also fallen with him. Time passed, and then he noticed a circle of light, growing larger and larger at a terrifying rate. He realized he was heading straight for it. Instinct kicked in, and he pulled himself straight, angling his body like that of a deep sea diver. The switch in position caused him to barrel faster to the light, but he could now fit through the hole. In one great loud whoosh, he shot out of the vacuum, rocks and a wave of wind flying out with him. He pushed upward to avoid the opening, and let out a great whoop of victory. To his own surprise, his voice came out loud and strong.

At last he took a look at his new surroundings. It looked very similar to the area around his home, except…different. It had a bit of surreal wave to it, like a dream, Gohan mused, chuckling softly. Avoiding the puffing hole that hung strangely in the air, he floated back down. The long grass parted and flattened around him as he landed.

"Gohan!"

He turned, it was Grace, the women whom he had rescued. She looked strangely beautiful, despite being in her mid forties, her hair hung past her shoulders giving off a soft glow in the light, her smile was one of surprise and happiness. She wore a simple white dress, that caught the light and gently ruffled in the wind. She waved her hand and walked towards him. "I knew you would come," she said.

Gohan looked at her. He almost sighed aloud in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked, "What's going on?"

She smiled at his questions, and patted him on the head affectionately. "Irons said you would come."

Her statement caused Gohan to falter. He blinked, looked at her again, then blinked again. He was dreaming, right? Impulsively he reached out to touch her cheek , as if that might be enough to convince him if this world was real or not. She seemed unperturbed by his approaching finger, she only continued to smile as his hand neared. His finger went right through her cheek, he retracted back quickly in horror looking down at his solid hand then back up at her. Frantically he made to grab her wrists, but here to his fingers grabbed nothing.

"What's the matter, Gohan?" she asked, her voice sounding more distant despite their closeness.

"I don't---"

The world started to deteriorate around him, melting like a watercolor painting thrown into a puddle. "Grace!" he cried out, but she was fading too, her smile still one of calmness.

"Grace!"

Gohan woke with a start.

In the darkness, it was hard to see anything. He blinked and shook his head, trying to orientate himself to where he was. He was on his bed, in his room, his sheets and comforter had been pushed off, beyond the wall next to him he could hear his mother's gentle breaths. He raised a shaky hand to his head. That dream had felt almost real. Too real. It remained sharp and clear in his mind. He lay back down, forcing himself to be calm. It was only a dream. Well, more of a nightmare, really, but that wasn't new to him. In fact, ever since his father's passing he had been plagued with nightmares. But this, it was different somehow, everything had felt so…he couldn't place it, it just felt odd. With his head still spinning, he closed his eyes, forcing sleep.

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Irons Monroe had not come back.

Gohan had expected it, even anticipated the strange man's coming, and yet he remained absent. After a few days, Mr. Soplee returned to continue his tutoring sessions. He laughed off his absence, explaining that he did indeed come down with a terrible flu that had left him bedridden for a few days. Gohan and Chichi nodded their heads in understanding. But when Chichi asked Mr. Soplee if he knew a Mr. Monroe, Mr. Soplee had shrugged looking confused, admitting that he had never heard the name before. It was then that Chichi really became suspicious. Numerous times, she questioned Gohan about his encounters with Irons, always listening with a frown. Gohan assumed she was naturally suspicious because of what Irons had done on the last day he had visited. He had confronted Chichi about her pregnancy, a topic she clearly had wanted to keep secret for the time being. Gohan had forgiven his mother fully for keeping that secret, though he often wondered now that he knew the truth, how he could have possibly missed his mother's slightly pregnant belly. Even so, the thought of having another family member had left him unusually happy, he had even caught himself whistling once or twice as he studied. Eventually, Chichi too started to calm down. She and Gohan laughed a lot more often than they used to. Gohan was so surprised how happy he had become, for the most part he was content. The only thing that had become a damper on his new life was the strange dreams he had almost every night. After awhile, he usually forgot them, but the impression that they left on him never left. They made him feel like he was missing something. Like the feeling someone gets when they know they have forgotten something, but can't remember what it is they've forgotten. That feeling itched at the back of Gohan's mind for weeks, and yet try as he might he couldn't understand what it meant.

He stood outside watching the sunset, pondering about what it was he could possibly be missing. The night was still, the air crisp and cool against his hot face. Gohan curled his toes into the soft cool grass, watching as the first stars appeared in the growing darkness. What was it? Why did he feel this way? A crash in the kitchen caused him to glance over his shoulder towards the kitchen window and break himself out of his questioning thoughts. His mother smiled sheepishly back at him, holding up the pan that had fallen from her elbow deep soapy hands. Gohan smiled back, gave one last glance at the sky, then turned back inside to help his mom with the rest of the dishes.

"Come on, mom, let me do that. You need to take it easy, remember?"

"Gohan, I'm fine! You need to let me do something or I'll go crazy just sitting around!"

He backed off smiling. "Alright, alright. But I'm keeping an eye on you."

Chichi grumbled about being the parent in the house, but only halfheartedly as she returned the pan to its proper place. Placing her hands on her hips she said, "And you should be studying, young man."

Gohan sighed, shooting a tired glance at the kitchen table, which had become the clutter pile for his books, papers, and homework assignments Mr. Soplee assigned him to do every week. "I was really hoping I could turn in early, mom," he said trying to sound persuasive. "I'm really tired." He yawned for emphasis.

Chichi stared hard for a moment, then relaxed. "Alright, Gohan, you've earned your rest."

Gohan smiled.

"But I expect you to work extra hard tomorrow!" Chichi added raising her soapy finger and pointing it at him. "Now get to bed!"

"Goodnight," Gohan called over his shoulder as he trudged to his room, thinking how his plan had clearly just been thwarted. He opened the door to his room, the sun had set completely and the room was now encased in darkness save for the stream of light from the door. Tired, he shut the door behind him and trudged to his bed. He was about half way across his room when he froze in shock. A man was leaning in the corner of his room. Gohan could not see his face, but he recognized what he was beginning to call, the hole of energy coming from the man.

"Irons?" he whispered, waiting seconds for his eyes to adjust.

The man stepped out of the corner to the window. "Sorry, no."

Gohan stepped back, taking in the man's appearance. He had the same strange aura as Irons, but he was clearly different in all other aspects. His clothes were less pristine, and lay ragged in thick flops across his muscled body. He had a wild mop of brown hair that sprayed out of the top of his head and came to rest near his chin. Complimenting the hair was a rough beard that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but him. Gohan was tempted to flip on the light switch, but thought better of it. He didn't know what this man was capable of and the last thing he would want was his mother barging and putting herself in danger. In the back of his mind, he hoped his mom had decided to take a walk outside tonight, a habit she had developed lately within these summer months. He stared the man down, all the while edging to cover the door to his bedroom.

The man smirked in the moonlight, it sent a terrible crawl up Gohan's skin. If he didn't know better he would have thought he saw rows of pointed teeth peeking out from behind the man's lips.

"Who are you?" Gohan whispered, "Where is Irons?"

The man stalked closer to Gohan, his steps heavy across the wooden floor. He did not have the natural grace that Irons possessed.

"I can see why Irons wanted you," he said, eyeing Gohan critically. "Though you are young. Too young if it were my choice."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Gohan snapped. Was it him or did everyone talk in riddles these days? "What is it you want?"

The man's eyes snapped up, and for a moment when they moved they caught the light, flashing gold. "I've come in replace of Irons," he said impatiently. "He can't meet you, until you have agreed to work with him."

"Why?"

The man let out a growl, Gohan almost jumped back until he realized that it wasn't meant to be threatening, it was simply out of frustration.

"Your mother," the man said shortly. "As soon as Irons realized she was with child, he knew he could no longer demand your service."

Gohan listened intently, trying to connect the pieces in his mind. He remembered the last day he had seen Irons. How he had suddenly known that Gohan's mother was pregnant. But still, Irons was a persistent man, it seemed odd to Gohan that he would just give up simply because he decided to grow a conscience and leave Gohan be. There had to be more to the story than Gohan knew.

"What? Are those the rules?"

The man was pacing, shooting glances out the window every few seconds. "You're mother became a dependent once she was with child, you are her only anchor, to take you away would violate our rules." He stopped, snapped his fingers on his thigh, then glanced back out the window, pushing the shade out of the way to get a better look.

Gohan watched him, unnerved by how on edge the man seemed to be. He too shot a glance out the window, looking at the dark sky.

"What are you—" but then he saw something in the night. Moving like a dark shadow across the landscape, maybe two or three figures, if Gohan hadn't been paying attention he would not have noticed them. He heard the man at the window curse.

"They followed," he growled, crouching into a tense stance below the window. Without shooting a glance back at Gohan he said. "We have to get out of here."

"We?" Gohan stuttered. When had he become part of the equation? He didn't even know this guys name!

The man ignored him, instead rushing toward the bedroom door, and gently sliding it open. All the lights had been turned off. Gohan's mom must have turned in early as well. Panic suddenly struck through Gohan. She might be out there right now with those dangerous figures taking a walk. He pushed past the man who was cautiously inching out the bedroom and rushed to his mother's room. Disregarding silence he flung the door open, hoping to see her curled beneath her covers.

She was not there.

"Mom!?" Gohan yelled, panic rising in his throat. He frantically glanced around the rest of the house. "MOM!??"

The man pounced on him in the darkness. Gohan felt the man's full weight, collapse on him pushing him to the ground. He could have easily pushed him off, but he was too startled. The man's harsh whisper and heavy breath came near his ear.

"Quiet! Do want us all to die?"

Gohan wiggled out from beneath the man, ignoring him, but remained quiet.

The man continued. "Your mother could be fine. She might have left before they came."

Gohan wanted to believe him, but the heavy feeling in his gut was telling him otherwise. He waited in silence for a long moment, the tension in his body building. .

"We can take them," Gohan whispered lowly. He hadn't trained his whole life just so he could hide in the shadows.

The man didn't have a response for that. He rolled into a low crouch then moved towards the back room so that his back was to the wall and his eyes on the front door, Gohan moved to join him. Suddenly, the door to his house creaked open. Gohan spun, leveling into a natural fighting stance, and waited.

A creature, hunched and dark entered. He was incredibly muscular, but looked slightly disfigured because of how his long thin neck protruded out at nearly a ninety degree angle. Instead of fingers and toes he had sharp claws, black and yellow from decay. His face was mostly human, though the features were sharper and attached to his back were two large claw like wings. Fangs hung out from his mouth. Ears like a bat's. And his eyes, deep and wide, and unearthly red. He stepped inside, sharp claws clicking on the floor, two others following close behind.

An acidy breath emitted out of the creature's nostrils as he scanned the inside of the room.

"Don't think you can hide in the dark," he suddenly sneered, steadying his gaze on Gohan than at the man in the corner. "I live in the dark." The other two behind him chuckled, darkly.

"Don't worry," Gohan said, his body already naturally powering up in response to the danger. "I'm not hiding."

Suddenly, he sent a ki blast straight at them. The bright yellow orb lit up the room like a firecracker as it soared across and hit the first creature square in the chest. He stumbled, gasping in shock. Gohan only put a small bit of energy. It was meant to test them, to determine their real strength.

It was also meant as a distraction.

He flew at them, following his jet of light, stirring up his homework papers as he too shot at them faster than a human eye could follow. A solid punch landed on the first's gut, knocking him backwards a hundred feet out of the house. The two behind tumbled to the side, sneering and hissing at Gohan as they watched. Pushed out of the house, the first creature groaned slowly getting up to his feet. His sidekicks came immediately to his side.

Gohan gave a quick check to his right and left, sweeping the landscape for any sight of his mother. She was still nowhere to be found. He assumed his fighting stance.

"Where is my mother?"

The creature was wheezing and chuckling, eyeing Gohan with his creepy red eyes.

"The poor boy can't find is mama. Poor child! Whom will he cry to!" he mocked, still wheezing from the blow. He snickered, then sobered. "Maybe I've taken her."

Gohan's fists tightened. "Tell me where she is," he commanded.

"Why," the creature spat, black blood hit the grass, "would I tell you that?"

"I don't want to hurt you…" Gohan started, but the creature ignored him.

"Hurt me?" he laughed, as if that was a ridiculous thought. "Boy don't know who you are talking to."

Without preamble, he lifted his head to the skies and let a terrible high pitched scream. The other two joined in to the horrible choir and Gohan was forced to clamp his hand over his ears. The sound made nails against the chalkboard sound like a symphony. Gohan glanced up, was it just him or did it seem like the sky was getting darker. The stars were snuffing out, the moon dimming beneath a blanket of black. No, wait. Gohan looked closer. Hundreds, maybe thousands of those creatures filled the sky, flapping their large wings, and heading straight for Gohan. The screams had finally ceased, replaced with the snickering of a thousand demon creatures.

Play time was over.

The three creatures at the front were all chuckling. "You wish you could take back that punch, huh human." The first said again. "Now you are going to die."

His legions of creatures were swarming in getting closer, Gohan stepped away from his house and glanced up at them. A smirk came to his lips. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into. He clenched his fists and released the first burst of energy. His scream echoed through the air. The creatures all hesitated, watching this small boy, become something terrifying. He glowed in the night, his hair shot up into golden waves, black eyes lightened, he was super saiyan. The world responded to the sudden intense wave of power, bursts of energy shot out around him, staggering those who had gotten near, the earth beneath cracked and rippled like a growing earthquake. And like a power they had never seen, he shot out at them in a stream of earth, light, and wind. Gohan collided into a group of the creatures hanging midflight, still shocked from his sudden transformation. He punched the nearest one and his abdomen gave way like paper. Gohan's smirk grew, they may be many, but they were weak. He followed his punch with a succession of kicks and elbows. About thirty had fallen out the air before the creatures finally started to respond. They were no longer snickering, they were screeching in anger and rage. All at the once, they attacked Gohan, a cloud of black looking to snuff out the light.

Gohan had found his rhythm. Ducking and dodging in a swarm of legs and fists and fangs. He snapped off ones arm, grabbed another's ankle and swung him into a nearing group. One attacked from behind, swiping his long arm claw at Gohan's back, Gohan spun in response his body reacting instinctively, before even his eyes had caught up with him, he had broken the creatures wings and let him fall. Three more attacked in response, and he took them down with one swing. He fought on, hard and fast, weaving through the tangle of creatures faster than they could keep up with him, but even still they swarmed, hundreds of them clouding around him. He charged up, a burst of light broke out and pushed the horde backwards, giving him a moments breath, before they returned, more vigorously, gnawing and growling as they neared.

He had to get out of the horde or else he would eventually be overwhelmed. He needed the higher ground. Just after he retracted his elbow from one of the creature's face, he shot up a ki blast, stronger than the one before, in the direction he assumed was up. The yellow blast tore through the group of creatures, burning off appendages and blowing holes through exposed bodies as it traveled. Gohan wasted no time in rushing through his self-made pathway before it was swallowed up again with more creatures. He flew fast, chopping off arms as they tried to grasp him as he traveled. At last, he appeared out of the top of the creatures, but he was only seconds ahead of them. They had spun, shoving into each other as they worked to keep up with him. Gohan tapped into his speed flying downwards to increase the distance. One hundred feet out, he stopped and turned to face them. Clamping his hands together, he prepared himself for the same attack he had used on Cell only a month ago.

"Kaaaa-meeee-"

A small blue light lit up his hands.

"haaaa-meeeee-"

The creatures were flapping their wings more insistently, the crowd of hundreds nearing him. The closest reached out his sharp claw, his mouth open in a high-pitched screech.

"HAAAAAAA!!!"

The wave erupted outwards. Tearing apart every creature within the blast. Their screams barely registered over Gohan's own. The kamehameha wave broke through their bodies and then the earth's atmosphere, continuing on into space like a shooting star of its own. Gohan's gaze swept the sky, the blast had destroyed every last one of the creatures. Relaxing only slightly, he lowered himself back down to the ground. His eyes flicked around to see if the first three creatures he had seen were still there, but they appeared to either joined the fight or fled.

Only after making sure his surroundings were clear, he powered down. The sudden release of strength caused him to sway slightly, but he otherwise stood strong, barely winded, his hard black eyes taking in the gory scene. Something akin to disgust swirled in his gut. This was home, a familiar landscape, now soaked with the bodies of dead creatures. Creatures he had killed. He had changed so much. If there was ever a time he feared that one day he would become like Cell, this sight only confirmed his terror. Shakily he turned away, only now realizing how badly his hands were trembling.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and turned to look at the face. It was the bearded man, who had come into his room earlier. This close up Gohan could finally see that the man's eyes really were a warm gold, like that of the sunshine or of fresh grain that grew in the fields not far from his home.

"Are you alright, Gohan?" he asked, his voice was significantly softer, though it still had the same rough deep edge to it that it had had earlier.

Gohan didn't respond immediately. He looked back to his home, happy at the very least to see that it was still intact.

"My mother…she's, she's gone…They've taken her."

Even after saying those words aloud, he could hardly believe it. The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently, but the man didn't argue.

"I'm sorry," he said, unsure how else he could proceed.

Gohan shrugged, pulling himself away from the man. He turned his back and crossed his arms, looking again at the tortured landscape.

"I never did catch your name."

"I go by many," the man said, "but you can call me Leo."

Gohan looked over his shoulder at the man, Leo. He was like Irons, he knew Irons. Could he be trusted? What was it he had said in the bedroom earlier? That Gohan was the anchor to his mother? What did that even mean? It seemed now that he didn't have much choice in what he was going to do next. He would have to accept Irons offer, and then with Irons knowledge and his power he would find his mother and his unborn brother, and bring them back safely. He had to. They were depending on him. He was their anchor.

"Leo," Gohan said after a long silence. "I've decided to come with you."

Leo nodded, unsurprised by Gohan's decision. "Is there anything you want to bring with you?"

Gohan turned back to the house. Without anyone inside it looked so empty like a shell without its soul.

"No. Nothing."

"Alright then. Let's go."

Leo again put his hand on Gohan's shoulder, this time though, Gohan could feel a small channel of power. Without any warning, the vanished.