A/N: Hey everyone. Got this chapter up quick cos I've been off college due to illness

         and snow. Also the ideas have been flooding my head recently.

         Anyway thanks for your reviews and read and enjoy, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters.

                                Chapter 11: A talk with Emerald

            The November sun fell through a smashed window, highlighting a small boy, slumped up against the wall, sleeping uncomfortably. A bump clearly visible on the back of his head, the source of his unavoidable slumber.

            The boy opened one eye as the light aroused his senses, then the other, and then he sat bolt upright as he realised where he was and what time it was.

      "Benny!" Gohan cried, remembering the events that had unfolded a few hours ago. "I've got to find him!" He said in determination.

He flew out of the window, smashed by Bob, and made his way to the only place where he thought he could receive some help.

            A short flight later, Gohan landed outside Emerald's house. He ran up to the door and knocked.

      "Emerald!" Gohan shouted, desperately.

The door flew open. Emerald stood in the doorway, wearing a dressing gown.

      "Gohan? What's wrong?" Emerald asked, her voice muffled by drowsiness.

      "They've got Benny!" Gohan cried, staring directly at the old woman, his eyes wide, terrified for his friend's safety.

Emerald didn't seem too surprised. "I thought this would be his move. You better come in." She said, motioning for Gohan to follow her inside.

They went through into the sitting room. Emerald sat down in her chair by the fireplace, but Gohan stayed standing, fidgeting, impatient to find out what he needed to know.

      "Tell me exactly what happened." Emerald said, leaning back in her chair.

Gohan stopped fidgeting and looked at the source of his regained powers, a determined glint in his eyes, and proceeded to relate the events of last night.

       "…And so I must have lost consciousness after they had gone, because the next thing I knew it was morning." Gohan finished.

Emerald gazed at the young hybrid child standing in front of her. Poor boy, she thought. So much rests on his young shoulders.

      "Now that he's made his first move, I can tell you more about him." Emerald said, her namesake eyes sparkling in the light of the fire, burning merrily in the fireplace.

Gohan watched the old woman expectantly.

       "His name is Paradox. He lives to terrorize all those living, especially those with lots of potential, like yourself." Emerald said, looking pointedly at Gohan. "He has the ability to open wormholes of time, taking himself and others to completely different timelines. He first struck fifty years ago, ruining the lives of many great scientists, among others. I and my six sisters were the only ones with the power to defeat him. Our magic, if used right, would seal Paradox in a dimension, known as the time limbo." Emerald paused for breath, wheezing in her old age.

Gohan stared impatiently at Emerald, not really noticing her short breathing.

       "After a great struggle, we captured Paradox and combined our magic, sending Paradox to limbo. There he stayed, sealed, for a long time. Trouble is, while he was in limbo, he developed his abilities. His time wormholes got stronger, and his ability to manipulate his ki got stronger. Eventually his power became too great for our sealing spell, and he broke free, landing in your time. This was about five years ago. He witnessed your battles with Raditz, Vegeta and Garlic Junior." Emerald paused again, hit by a coughing fit.

Gohan looked at Emerald, concerned for the aging woman.

       "Are you alright?" He asked.

       "I'm fine." She replied, after she had stopped coughing. "Anyway, Paradox saw you had the potential to do great things and immediately took a disliking to you. He had set you as his next target, and he spent the next two years planning his attack."

       "I don't understand. Why would he go after me? Why not my dad or someone else who's stronger than me? Gohan asked, confused.

       "Like I said, Paradox likes to ruin the lives of those with great potential. He saw it in you, and besides, by getting at you he's ruining your dad's life, your mother's life, and not to mention the lives of those you might save in the future."

       "Oh!" Gohan said, not sure what to say or do next.

       "Is there anything else you want to know?" Emerald asked, her voice tired.

       "Yeah! What am I supposed to do against him if he's so strong?" Gohan asked, angry that he was left to deal with this time travelling freak on his own.

       "You have all the power inside of you to beat him." Emerald replied, simply. "You also have the extra thing I gave you." She added, smiling.

Gohan's eyes widened. "What extra thing?" He asked, curious.

       "You'll find out, when you need it." Emerald replied, mysteriously.

Gohan nodded, but started thinking about what special new ability he might now have.

       "How do I find them?" Gohan asked, suddenly regaining his determined tone of voice.

      "Can you remember Bob's ki signature?" Emerald asked.

Gohan scrunched up his brow, thinks back to the previous night.

      "I got it!" Gohan shouted, after a few seconds. "He's not far from here."

Emerald smiled. He truly is a remarkable child, she thought.

      "Go on then. Save your friend, and then maybe, just maybe, you can rid us of Paradox forever." Emerald said, pushing her long, grey hair behind her shoulders.

Gohan gave her a wry smile, suddenly realising how much rested on him, and him alone.

       "Bye, Emerald. I'll do my very best." He promised, and then ran out of the warm sitting room, through the hall, and out of the front door.

            When he had been flying for about twenty minutes, Gohan slowed down, and dropped closer to the ground. He concentrated hard, trying to work out exactly where Bob was.

       "Darn! Where is he?" Gohan muttered, frustration clouding his mind.

He slowed down some more, and just hovered in the air, lapsing into a light meditation. His mind cleared and all the different ki signatures flooded in.

After a couple of minutes, Gohan located Bob's unique signature and Benny's fading one. He snapped out of his meditation and flew towards a derelict warehouse.

            A short flight later, Gohan landed down, a few metres from the warehouse.

The warehouse would have once been a very large place, but now half of it had fallen to ruins through age, probably only about two rooms still usable.

Gohan walked, cautiously, up to the side of the crumbling building, keeping an eye on the ki signatures around him.

As he approached the front entrance, he heard a voice. Bob's voice. He was talking, in a taunting tone. Gohan clenched his fists in anger. He had to get Benny out of there, but how? Direct approach or element of surprise?

His mind was made up when he heard Benny cry out in pain and Bob's sinister laugh.

He jumped into the space where the door would have been, if it hadn't crumbled to nothing with age.

       "Let Benny go!" Gohan shouted, at the top of his lungs, before looking into the room.

Bob was standing there, staring up at Benny, who had his wrists and ankles bound to the wall with energy binds. Benny held his head limply, his face very pale and his eyes bloodshot and sunken, due to his painful and stressful ordeal.

       "Well, what do we have here!" Bob said, laughing evilly, staring at the young demi-saiyan.

End chapter.

How was that? Good enough explanations, or have I left out too much? Let me know. R&R. Please.

Thanks a lot to Cory for the name Paradox. Greatly appreciated, as I didn't have a clue for his name.