A/N: I'm just going to say it now, I got a little gory in this chapter. I've been trying to keep this pretty clean, so I don't know what came over me. Its pretty entertaining nonetheless.

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Irons Monroe

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Chapter 12: Sustainability

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Grace hissed through her tightened jaw. Leo bent forward. There, she has it. He concentrated on her dream trying his best to ignore the shuttering of the house, and Eric's heavy breathing over his shoulder. This was going to be the hardest transportation he had ever done. Before it was always to a place he could see, or a place that he had been. This time it was to a place he had never been, and could only sense vaguely through the connection between him and Grace. He hoped that that would be enough. He swallowed, pin pointed the Shruti's home in his mind, and released.

He felt the world tilt and sway beneath his knees as the familiar feeling of being pulled through a tiny tube constricted the air all around him. Finally the pressure released and cautiously he opened his eyes and blinked into darkness. Grace pulled herself up a little unsteadily and rubbing at her head as she groaned. Leo joined her side, his eyes straining against the thick darkness casting his gaze this way and that.

"Is this the right place?" he asked.

She half shrugged still shaking off her dizziness. "Hard to say for sure. Everything is so dark, it all looks the same."

"Well we are at least near." He clapped a hand on her shoulder and she stumbled forward with a little yelp, he hurriedly let up on the pressure. After being around Gohan so often, it was easy to forget that the rest of the human race was really not that strong.

"Er, sorry."

"It's alright," she sighed rubbing at her shoulder.

He coughed into the awkward silence unsure how to proceed. "So, do you think you could find ChiChi."

Grace closed her eyes. "We must be close. I can't tell where she is exactly but it's not far. This is real right, not a dream this time?"

"Not a dream."

She shuddered a little. "Okay then."

She extended both her hands, and started moving forward very slowly, stumbling every few feet. "Oh I can't see anything," she cried frustrated and sounding a little bit scared as her hands grabbed at thin air.

She tripped and nearly fell on her face, but Leo caught her, this time more gently.

"How about you hold onto my arm. I can see better than you can."

She was still sucking in shocked gasps from the fall, but her hands wound their way tightly around his arm, and clung on tight. "Thank you."

Leo grunted. The forest was dark, even for him. He couldn't imagine what it must look like through human eyes. Together they stumbled through the forest, following Grace's vague feeling and Leo's attuned senses. He thought at one point he would call out ChiChi's name before he decided the better of it. The Shruti were in battle, but that didn't mean a few of them couldn't have stayed behind. It was probably better to risk detection, at least for right now.

Leo squinted out and strained his ears. They heard a snap in the distance. Maybe a twig or branch.

"ChiChi?" Grace risked in a hoarse call.

Silence greeted her question and that made Leo nervous. He had been in one too many fights to ignore the prickly feeling that was starting on the back of his neck or the unsettling twirl in his belly. His enhanced eyes scanned the skies. The golden almost glowing in the night. He sniffed the air, and his body tensed. The sharp stink of Shruti flared his nostrils. They were close then, and probably a lot more than just one. Trying not to be too rough he led Grace over to a large tree a few paces ahead of them.

"Stay here," he said, guiding her into a sitting position her back nestled in the large fold of the tree. "I think someone's coming."

"What!" she hissed. Her voice mingled with shock and terror. "Wait, don't leave me here!" She reached out blindly in the dark for him.

But Leo was already retreating away from her, fists tight at his sides poised to fight. "Stay," he commanded. She whimpered a little, but went quiet clutching her shoulders and trying to see what was impossible to see in the dark.

Leo sniffed again and spat to the side as rotten stench filled his lungs. He knew they were near, but did they know about him? That was the real question. Maybe then they would just pass by. There wasn't much time for a fight. The earth could be torn up by now. They had to move quickly.

Sometimes you just had to be practical.

A sharp flap of wings, and Leo's head whipped upwards. He could see its distorted body silhouetted in the sky, wings flapping hard to stay afloat. Leo ducked a little under the branches of the trees, and tried to remain as still as possible. Suddenly its red eyes faced downward right at Leo, it sneered, and made a dive straight at him. So much for stealth.

Leo held his position, eyes never leaving the beasts. Come on you ugly thing. It smashed down into him, swiping out with its sharp claws. Leo caught it by the back of its shoulder blades, grappling with effort fingers digging in deep. The Shruti hissed and clawed at him, but Leo was pulling it over his shoulder. He threw the creature hard in the other direction. It blasted through the first tree trunk and stopped with a crunching halt at the second, its body crumpling into the dirt. The first tree fell over with a resounding crash and Grace, still petrified to her spot let out a tiny shriek.

But it wasn't over, another Shruti came whooshing in followed by two more. Leo dodged the first one, coming up and sinking his fist into the second. The Shruti gurgled and spat up on Leo's shoulder. He slammed his fist into the face of another just before it let out its shrieking call. One from behind jumped on his back, and he lurched forward. Its sharp teeth sank into the meaty part of his neck, and Leo cried out, trying desperately to throw the creature off. Its claws sank in deeper, ripping into his sides and legs.

Leo roared, shaking and nearly rolling on the ground in an attempt to throw the Shruti off. He rammed his back up against a tree, but the Shruti only clung tighter. Reaching back with strong hands he groped, at first grabbing at nothing, but then clenching his hold onto the Shruti's head and squeezed hard. The Shruti squealed, biting harder into the now bleeding holes on his shoulder. Leo gasped at the pain of it, blindly feeling down the face with his hand. He felt the eyes, and pushed hard, gulping in pained gasps, as the Shruti found a new spot to sink its sharp teeth into. But he refused to let go, pushing his fingers deeper into the eye sockets, feeling warm liquid run down his hand. He heard a squelching sound, and the Shruti's teeth and claws dragged out as it wailed, throwing its head back. Leo tossed the shrieking thing off of him and it rolled in agony on the ground clutching its bleeding eyeballs. Leo stomped hard on its head and its cries stopped.

The other two Shruti he had gotten hits on earlier were gathering together, planning their attack. Again one lifted its head to squeal, and Leo dived at it, his hands snaking around it's long dark neck. He squeezed, iron grip hard, and the Shruti's eyes bulged, the cry coming out like a pathetic sputter. Its partner lunged at Leo and Leo backhanded it with his free hand sending it spiraling to the ground. The fight in the chocking Shruti was getting weaker, its eyes slowly rolled and it went limp. Leo dropped it the floor and finished with a last cruel kick to the head.

The last Shruti gurgled on the ground, making a sudden lunge towards Grace. Grace yelped in surprise, and Leo leapt forward, barely catching the bony part of the Shruti's ankle and making one mighty heave backwards. The Shruti squealed, flying backwards, and Leo threw his weight on it, knee digging dip in its ribs.

Insanely the Shruti laughed.

"Where is Gohan's mother?" Leo demanded.

"You break the rules coming here, god."

Leo growled.

"Consider us even then for stealing a human."

The Shruti wiggled under Leo's bulk, dragging in breaths through its gaping mouth.

"Those were orders," it smirked and Leo had to fight back the sudden urge to strangle the thing. "Not against the rules."

"What are you talking about?"

The concept of Shruti taking orders from anyone seemed almost ludicrous. Even more so when you considered the order was to kidnap Gohan's mother. Something wasn't fitting right in this picture and Leo was determined to figure out what it was. Leo shook him roughly.

"Answer now. Who's orders?" Leo sneered, his fingers already closing around the Shruti's throat in unvoiced warning. Somewhere behind him he noticed that Grace had come up to his side, her small frame shaking.

It wheezed and sucked on its sharp teeth. "You don't want to know," it said, smiling so brilliantly all tops and bottoms of its teeth shining in the faint moonlight.

Leo leaned forward, his nose nearly touching the Shruti's. "If I didn't want to know I wouldn't have asked."

The Shruti chuckled throatily, suddenly making an attempt to cry out, but Leo pushed down hard on its vocal chords and the annoying screech was cut short.

"I could kill you, you know. If you try that again, I will. Now tell me who gave the orders."

Whatever last effort the Shruti had to hide the truth left him. Leo could see it was accepting its position. Resigning to the inedible, as its body sort of melted back into the ground. You could almost see the excitement behind its eyes that it got the privilege of revealing the great secret.

Leo waited on pins and needles, as the Shruti pulled in breath.

Finally it spoke.

"Irons," it said, and the smile was hard to hide, even on its jagged monstrous face. "He told us to."

One, two, three full seconds for Leo to catch up. To realize the Shruti had just named Irons.

"You lie," Leo said automatically but with no real vehement. There was a deep sinking feeling starting in his gut, his focused mind suddenly felt like it was lost in a swirl of fog. A slow, awful clicking of pieces falling into place.

"No," the Shruti was clearly enjoying this, Leo wanted to smash its face in, "no point to lie now. He told us, find the Golden One's mother and take her, and that is just what we did."

Leo didn't realize his fists were clenched, veins popping out hard and blue against white skin. "No," he said more strongly, "that can't be right. We trusted him. We-" but words were useless now, he broke off unable to say more. Drowned out by the Shruti's harsh and broken laughter.

Irons had planned this? Was this what he wanted a massacre against god and Shruti? It was unbelievable, but…but it fit. Lord, did it fit. Everything, from the very beginning. His obsession with Gohan. His calculated speech. The battle. Who won; Shruti or god didn't matter to him, it was just a way to get rid of them all. He brought them all together so that they would kill each other, and Gohan was the icing on the cake. His power uncontrolled would destroy whatever survived.

The Shruti laughed at his shocked and ashen face. "Said it all along we did. Never trust a god."

Leo roared and heaved. His tightened fist bashed in the Shruti's face, a smattering of black blood hit his face, the sound crunched and echoed in the silence. Grace gasped. But Leo had only one thought in his mind, they had to move, and fast.

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From the craning mountaintop, the very one Irons had first encountered Gohan, the God of Dreams stood. The howling gales whined and slapped around him, entangling his speckled hair, throwing back his coat tail like a moving black shadow. He stretched his arms out wide, spreading out each spider like finger, catching the cool breeze. And in the red glow from the lava and destruction below, he threw back his head and smiled at the beautiful disaster that it was.

Chaos. Not fleeting or temporary. But permanent, enliven chaos. Sometimes miracles do happen. Well, with a little help from himself of course. He smirked, oh and Gohan too. He couldn't forget about his little protégé. So talented and so irresistibly gullible. He tilted his head a smidge to the right. To you Gohan, he thought, the imminent end of the world could not have been achieved without you.

A cacophony of sounds hit his ears. He particularly liked the sound of the dying screams. He wasn't sure if it was Shruti or god. It hardly mattered, when faced with death they were all the same. Back to the dirt and the mud from which he had so graciously risen them up from. But they forgot didn't they? Oh well didn't matter now.

Everything had to come to an end, even the world. Sort of tragic, but god did he love a grand finale.

He looked back up at Gohan. What a fragile boy, almost too simple and tiredly predictable to break him. He didn't even have to kill that mother, he just had to pretend like she was dead, and that was enough. Irons nearly laughed aloud at that thought. The 'Mystic' power of Gohan's was released, and combined with super saiyan, well honestly, the earth just didn't stand much of a chance. He smiled again, ready to start a new world.

And then he saw Ruby pop up in the sky next to Gohan, her crown of hair flying back in the wind, her face scrunched up in pain, and Vegeta next to her. Irons smile turned down. Meddling, always meddling these stupid weak gods. He watched them rip backwards against Gohan's force, and hoped for a second as they fell through the air that they would smack against the ground. They didn't of course. That's when Irons summoned Theo.

Dirty and with a frown that matched his demeanor, Theo appeared before Irons.

"What is it?" he snapped.

Irons raised an eyebrow but didn't feel the need to punish Theo for his attitude. Even though he agreed to help Irons in the end, it didn't mean he would be as particularly thrilled as Irons was to watch it all end. Theo was just that kind of god, he liked the attention. If there was no one alive, then who would give it to him? He understood though, just as Irons did that the earth needed to be cleaned, the balance was broken and this was the only way.

Irons lifted a pale finger to Ruby, Piccolo, and Vegeta. "Stop them."

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Piccolo always had wondered what instant transportation felt like. Did time pass at a slower rate when traveling or did it go as fast as it appeared from an outsider? What were the logistics? How did it work? As he passed from his place on the ground to Gohan, he could not answer any of those questions. They were not on his mind. He felt that tug, and constriction like he was pulled through a tube, but it didn't register. Only one concern was there, how was he going to reach Gohan? What could he do to make the boy stop? He was full of doubt and yet harnessed with a strong unbreakable determination. He had to do this. He would not give up.

They opened back up to the world, his hand a foot or so away from Gohan. And Piccolo felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. The rush of wind hurt. Ruby was gripping him tight enough to tear through his arm. He opened his mouth and his lips peeled back. And even though every fiber of his being wanted to give into the pressure and fall, he fought it. Impossibly he reached forward. Gohan was a shock of energy, and Piccolo was trying to touch the center of an atomic bomb.

"Go-haaa…nn."

His arm was fire, he pushed harder. Somehow, he touched Gohan's sleeve, the fabric was strangely soft in the heat.

He tugged.

Gohan's screams slowed. Piccolo tugged again, harder, ignoring the pain peeling and ripping at his skin.

"Gohaannn…!"

He managed to push out against the force. Oh, god the pain was excruciating. He wanted to fall away, to never touch it again. But he couldn't. No. He had to keep trying.

Ruby was whimpering, her iron grip tightening more as she shook against Gohan's energy. Piccolo wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on.

He knew there was just one thing he had to get across. One message. He hoped to god Gohan could hear him.

"ChiChi's no-t…dead!" Please Gohan hear me! His control was slipping, his hand was no longer touching Gohan's sleeve, he realized he had fallen back a few feet, still reaching out but further away.

"...they lied!"

He watched Gohan, still trembling, blink slowly. Did he hear?

"Piccolo," Ruby pleaded in less than a whisper. "I …can't…" She was tired. Just from her voice he could tell she wanted to give up.

But Piccolo wasn't ready. "GohAN! She's. Not! DE-"

Something hit him sidelong in the face knocking the senses straight out of him.

He started to fall, and Ruby's grip ripped off. She screamed plummeting faster. Piccolo had just enough time to see her blast downwards, blinking away seconds before she hit the ground. He was falling too, and part of him wanted to keep falling, to let the pain wash off of him, but the other part, the stronger part pushed on. Somehow, maybe sheer determination, he stopped himself in mid fall, looked up, and that's when he saw his attacker. He thought maybe he had been hit with some sort of debris, a rock maybe, but now he could see that he was wrong. It was a man. Slick red hair, and a dogged sneer. He was buckling under Gohan's power and had fallen forward himself, not far from Piccolo.

Piccolo was furious.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE-" But the man disappeared, and just as suddenly Piccolo's face swung painfully to the side beneath his fist. Piccolo tumbled further down and the man was falling with him. The blow was sharp, especially under Gohan's force, but not particularly strong. Piccolo recovered his senses quickly, and grabbed at the man.

But he grabbed nothing. And before confusion could even register, two fists lodged hard in his back, spinning him violently out of control. Piccolo was truly plunging now, rocketing fast to the bottom. He tried to slow down, but the ground was coming up fast. And so this was it. Smashed like a pancake, he saw Vegeta hit and he wasn't particularly looking forward to doing the same. Bleeding arms came up to shield his eyes, and just when he thought the collision should have happened it didn't.

Violently vertigo kicked in and his momentum was changed in an instant from falling to gently standing on land.

He heard Vegeta laugh. "Open your eyes Namek, it isn't the end of the world yet."

Piccolo did and saw he was again on land with Ruby and Vegeta. Ruby let go of his sleeve.

"Who was that?"

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta cut in.

Piccolo looked back up at Gohan. "We were close, when suddenly I was hit down by some guy with long red hair."

Ruby gasped, and managed to look confused at the same time. "Are you sure you saw that right?"

Of course he did. He nodded.

"Then it was Theo, but I don't understand why." She frowned looking extremely concerned. "What would he want to stop us?"

None of them really had an answer.

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