Wild-filly: sorry about that slump in updates, had a nasty attack of school -_-;;

Kaioshin: wild-filly and introductory calculus don't appreciate each other's company at all, as most of the nearby population will vouch for *glares at author*

Wild-filly: *innocent expression* who, me?

Kaioshin: -_- just get on with the notices will you?

Wild-filly: oh yeah ^_^ Many thanks to all the reviewers! It's been a while since I last got so many in such a short time frame ^___________^ Thank you to Chobits89, bLacKBodian, Kid Gohan, vegetas-lover-forever, Kaye and SS112488 for their comments and support.

Lol, I apologise to bLacKBodian for messing around with the SSJ forms, but SSJ 4 appears in DBGT and I just couldn't resist making that comment with Gohan and his unfortunate colouring at the time ^_^;;

The time setting is a little messed up, I know, but I chose it because it works best for the fic in my opinion and also a couple of my own personal vendettas against characters and plot twists in the actual series.........

Disclaimer: Still don't own, and it is unlikely that I ever will *sighs and turns to Kaioshin with dejected expression*

Kaioshin: O.o;; what do you want me to do about it?!

Wild-filly: that's a good question, I'll get back to you on that one.......

***Chapter 15***

Goku blinked, a wide grin spreading over his face, 'wow! How'd you work out to do that?!'

Harry stared resolutely at the gleaming handle, a cold glare of resentment, 'because Voldemort accidentally placed a part of himself in me when he gave me my scar. Voldemort wouldn't need a password or anything like that to get into this place'.

Gohan stared at Harry in shock, glancing over at Ron and Hermione's wooden expressions, gazing at Harry with visible pity. Ron tentatively shuffled over to Harry, about to rest a hand on his shoulder, but the other teenager jerked forward into the passage.

'Come on. We may not have much time'.

Eyes fixed firmly on the path ahead, the low rock headway that had admitted Macnair had contorted instead into a grand series of archways, carved with marble serpents entwining their way up the cavernous ceiling. It was like the Chamber of Secrets all over again. Without the water. And hopefully without the snake with the serious eye disorder.

Ron filed after him, eyeing the décor miserably, 'not a chance we've got the wrong place, is there?' He queried mournfully. Goku gently set Hermione down on the ledge, grasping her hand for balance as she too entered the passage. She shook her head in disgust as the first glowing- eyed snake loomed from the darkness, 'beyond a doubt'.

Goku leapt enthusiastically through the door, almost slamming face-first into the first statue, 'YAH! Who's bright idea was it to put that there?!'

Gohan groaned inwardly as he stepped cautiously into the corridor after him, 'come on dad, we'd better keep up in case they run into trouble'.

Vegeta snorted in distaste as he took in the towering serpent pillars, shaking his head in disgust. Great. An even more deranged megalomaniac whose bad taste in goals extended to interior decorating. Almost as bad as the inside of Frieza's ship.....

Harry pressed on down the snaking passage *A/N: wild-filly: ^_^;; pardon the unintentional and very bad pun there*, squinting into the gloom for the slightest hint of an ambush. There was a faint buzz of conversation ahead. A couple of people must be in a chamber ahead of them. Who were they? How would they get past them?

*

And where, during all this, was the source of the whole tangled issue, little Dende? Well, little Dende was recovering in the local drunk tank after being hauled off the bar floor and dumped in the street, where he had conversed loudly with passers-by until being picked up by a kindly police officer.

The young Namekian groaned. Hangovers were worse when you were Guardian of Earth and had to drink even more than normal world citizens to become drunk, but still had the same level of aftershock no matter the alcohol effects. Peering through slitted eyes, his brain fuzzily noted that the sun was brighter than was decent. He would have to see to that little detail when he got back to work.

Work? Where did he work again?

The murky light leaking through the barred window of the darkened room continued to cause offence, so the little Namek buried his head deep into the alcohol-soaked sleeve of his robe, pondering over how the pounding inside his head could be hurting his ears when it wasn't occurring outside of his head. There was also the matter that his robes appeared to have developed the texture of sandpaper and smelt like something you'd find on a barroom floor. What was sandpaper for anyway?

Ah, the philosophical musings of the outrageously drunk.

There was a rattle of keys and a click of heels as the charitable policewoman strode into the room, glass of water in hand. She tapped the moaning Dende's shoulder, 'how many troubles were you trying to forget today?'

Wincing as the light launched another attack on his defenceless eyes, Dende mumbled into a mouthful of sleeve, 'can't remember...... something about sending some aliens into another dimension and the Supreme god's bodyguard trying to kill me for upsetting the universal balance'.

Unfortunately, the poor officer heard every word as clear as crystal. Forcing the chilled glass into the dazed Namek's limp hand, she patted him carefully on the shoulder. Perhaps the drink was a last-ditch effort to cover up a mental defect of some form. Perhaps her young friend had been dabbling in something a little stronger than alcohol. Either way, he needed a little more help than a dark room and cup of water.

She slipped into a side office, painted nails clacking as she picked up the pale receiver and tapped in a number.

'Hello, Satan City Mental Aid Asylum? This is Officer Rendal, I have a young male here who requires your help........'

Half an hour later, Dende was pondering over the mechanics of a bathroom sink when two gentlemen dressed all in white emerged through the cell door.

Grudgingly focussing his protesting eyes on the newcomers, Dende growled, 'I swear to God I'm not drunk...... happy now?'

One of the nice men sat down next to Dende, a falsely cheery smile on his face, 'don't worry sir, we're here to help you'.

The Namekian's brain, even in its alcohol soaked state, instantly flashed onto red-alert-possible-hazard mode. 'Why shouldn't I worry, why do I need help?'

Lurching to his feet and blearily searching for the nearest escape, the floor dodged the Guardian's attempt to stand on it and he ploughed into a wall before catching up with gravity and rescheduling his appointment with the ground. Seizing the Namek's arms before he hit the concrete surface, the two mental asylum officials carefully hauled Dende to his feet and half walked, half carried him out of the cell and into a large white van.

As Dende mumbled bitterly to himself, the officials exchanged glances as they took in the distinctive skin hue and head accessories of their newest patient. This guy was going to be in for a loooooooong time.

*

Vegeta and Piccolo finally caught up to the rest of the odd little group as they reached a stalemate of what to do next.

'If we take out the Death Eaters, we'll get a clear passage straight to Voldemort', argued Harry, 'we have to get to him as soon as possible!'

'I know Harry', chastised Hermione anxiously, 'but if we make too much noise then we'll be at a disadvantage by alerting even more Death Eaters to attack'.

Ron sighed, gazing hopefully back down the passage from which they came and noticing the pensive expressions of Goku and Gohan. 'Do either of you have a better idea?'

Gohan hesitated, 'I'd have to agree that we shouldn't make much noise.......'

'I on the other hand, disagree'.

There was a colossal explosion from behind where Gohan, Goku and the three young mages stood. A massive beam of light scorched over Ron's head, lighting the dark passage as it twisted around a corner and out of sight. Two cries of surprise were abruptly silenced as a huge flash of blue fire engulfed the chamber.

Peering cautiously into the serpent-girt room, Harry sneezed as a great wave of smoke surged forward to welcome him. The chamber had probably started out in the same way as the passage; dark, highly-polished and very into snakes. Thanks to the decorating skills of Vegeta, it now resembled something from a wartime movie, most likely in the middle of a shell-torn city. Not even such expensive marble could remain in one piece after a blast like that.

Goku eyed Vegeta lazily over one shoulder, 'that wasn't very subtle of you'.

Vegeta smirked in return, 'could you expect anything less?'

Gohan sighed and took the lead, pushing past Harry and entering the chamber first, wary for any sign of other Death Eaters appearing. Vegeta's ki- blast tended to be a hard thing to ignore, no matter how far away from the scene you were. Yet nothing stirred from the depths of the chipped marble, stone dust and random pieces of stone ceiling cluttering the once-spotless floor. It was most disconcerting.

'Come on, I think it's this way'.

Aiming straight ahead for the bare skeleton of the next chamber door that had barely survived the wrath of Vegeta's greeting to the door guards, Gohan easily ambled through the piles of misplaced rock while the two wizards and witch clambered awkwardly over and around. It was an unpleasant thought that the vapourized remains of two or more Death Eaters lingered in this room, and not one that was worth dwelling on for any length of time.

Gohan's dusty fingers reached for the door, this handle was a curved serpent in the shape of a doorknocker that seemed to have too many teeth for a snake, let alone supposedly harmless piece of metal. Before he could wrap a decent grip around the heated metal, it moved beneath his fingers. Someone else was turning the handle from the other side.

Releasing the handle and leaping back as though he had just been scalded, Gohan gave a yelp of warning, 'someone's coming!'

Piccolo stepped forward, roughly but firmly pushing Hermione and Ron off to one side and back, out of immediate danger. Harry sidestepped automatically, but refused to slip out of view. He was not going to show fear of his parents' murderer.

The heavy pockmarked door creaked open, upsetting another pile of rock and sending a new cloud of dust to circulate the room. Blinking and squinting, Gohan silently cursed the not-so-strategic ki-blast of the Saiyan prince. Without the ability to sense ki readings and being partially blinded by the marble dust the demi-Saiyan felt more than a little vulnerable. Slipping back into a stance practised intensively since the age of five and a half, Gohan vaguely noticed his father, mentor, sadistic acquaintance and ruling deity move into their own attack positions, alert for the entry of their foe.

The door completed its swinging arch with a dull thud against the opposite wall, echoing painfully through the darkened chamber. A thin waft of light issued from the new passage exposed, throwing two silhouettes into relief. The shadows of two small children.

Gohan relaxed, smiling, 'hey Goten! Trunks! It's us, we're going to take you back now'.

A cold silence whirled through the room with the restless dust. Neither of the boys moved; their eyes fixed on Gohan with a deadened expression. Goku swallowed apprehensively. Something very similar had happened to him and Vegeta when they joined Super Buu's lunch menu.

'Gohan! Get away from them!'

The demi-Saiyan lunged to one side just in time to swerve away from a ki- blast that would have put Vegeta's redecorating move to shame. Goku and Piccolo seized Ron and Hermione and hastily pushed them out of the beam's path, moving them to stand by Harry. Vegeta glowered. This was the second time something like this had happened to the essence of his son. This time, however, it was not just the essence.

A high, cold laugh rang through the chamber, snatching the attentions of the Z fighters back to the passage entrance. Somehow they had been snuck up on from the opposite side by a mere human, without even basic ki- manipulation skills. Lord Voldemort grinned mirthlessly, snakelike eyes flashing with malice.

'Even more of these aliens? Why, that old fool Dumbledore must be capturing you by the herd'.

The sudden barrage of lethal ki-blasts was countered by a magical shield, thrown up just in time by the Dark lord as Vegeta expressed his disgust at being referred to in such demeaning terms. Shaking his head condescendingly, Voldemort snickered brutally, turning his attentions to the heavily-breathing Saiyan.

Vegeta couldn't believe it, 'what the hell did you do?! You wizards can't create ki-shields, what the hell is going on?' Utter shock and great disturbance rampaged across the seasoned warrior's face. This opponent now merited careful consideration.

Voldemort ignored the Saiyan prince, turning his attentions to the two boys at the opposite end of the room, eyes still bluntly piercing Gohan. His eyes narrowed, quietly observing Gohan's intense inner struggle. Kaioshin silently strode to stand at Gohan's elbow, hatred writ over his face and an edge to his voice.

'They are not your brother or friend in mind, Gohan. This is a form of mind control'.

Voldemort regarded the little lavender deity with a thoughtful expression, 'even though all of you, apart from you three', he threw Harry, Ron and Hermione a special leer, 'are aliens, you are the most unusual. How do you know so much about wizard craft, when it is apparent that none of you possess any great skill for magic?'

Goku observed a vein twitch on Supreme Kai's forehead. That was certainly unusual. Well, I suppose you would feel pretty insulted if you were a several thousand year-old god responsible for overseeing the universe and manipulating dangerous powers being told by a mere mortal, scarcely a fraction of your power and even less age that you were a hopeless case. But... the mild Kai enraged? That was something you didn't see everyday. Most of the Z team were privately certain that part of the Supreme Kai training-course including completely detaching yourself from emotion.

Undiluted fury slid from every syllable, 'I know far more than you can comprehend, the one who once called himself Tom Marvolo Riddle and now isn't human enough to wear any name other than your own brand Voldemort'.

The Dark Lord smirked widely, 'you will prove most useful. I was unaware that any of you creatures would be skilled in Occulamency as well as combat techniques'. Turning his attentions to Harry, riveted to his spot on the chalky floor, Voldemort spat mockingly, 'don't you see what the fool Dumbledore has done, Harry? What your precious hero has done for the world? You've helped as well, after all, you wouldn't have been able to bring them here if it wasn't for that spawn of the muggle-lover's incompetence'. His glare flickered to Ron, now pale with horror and rage at the insult to his family.

Voldemort casually nodded towards the two boys, stock-still in the doorway and completely unaware of what was happening. 'You have provided me with two tools that no wizard but I can control or defend against. My congratulations and condolences. I did not even need my Death Eaters to come and interfere with this little session in which you three meet your demise and the rest of these animals are recruited'. He gestured easily with one hand.

'Kill'.

Harry froze as the two boys jerked to life as though puppets awakened by their controller. The demi-Saiyans began to perform some sort of strange ritual of movements, much to the confusion of Ron, Harry and Hermione.

Ron, despite his fear, nudged Piccolo who had not moved from his stance beside him, 'what are they doing?'

Piccolo's answering growl did not fill him with hope. 'They are preparing for their strongest attack that will prove harmful to even the strongest of us. My suggestion is that you try to stay out of harm's way and do exactly as you're told when the time comes'.

Hermione tentatively joined Ron by Piccolo, 'do you have a plan?'

Piccolo frowned, 'not yet. Wait until Gotenks engages in combat with one of the Saiyans, then we'll have a little more time to come up with something'.

'Gotenks?' queried Harry, curious despite the paranoia of the entire scene.

'-HAAAAA!' A great flash of light temporarily blinded all who were not prepared for it, the Dark Lord reeling back slightly in surprise. Harry painfully tried to refocus his eyes, the boys had gone, there was only one of them. Where had the other child gone?

Gotenks. Goten and Trunks' names combined. Of course.

Gohan gave a dramatic sigh, 'shall I go first, dad?'

Goku nodded, 'if you want son, we'll try to break the wizard's control while you keep the boys busy'.

A tight smile formed on Gohan's face, crackling sparks flooding from his hands, 'I think we'll have to find a different arena'.

Voldemort's pale face took on an even whiter hue as the demi-Saiyan blasted a skylight through the mountain and leapt into the air, Gotenks powering up to Super Saiyan as he followed, driving even more chips of marble from the once-elegant stone chamber. He hadn't delved very far into the boys' minds as far as standard battle engagements went. The Dark Lord didn't feel vulnerable at all, even though he was surrounded by some of the most feared fighters in an alternate universe, a vertically challenged god and three shell-shocked adolescents. In fact, here he could sort out a little problem that had begun to fester more than fifteen years ago...

*

wild-filly: ^_^ sorry this one has taken so long to post, the next one will be up much faster, I promise!

Kaioshin: Finally some plot is starting to come into play.... -_- it's about time

Wild-filly: Yes! ^_^ *victory dance* I have the whole conclusion all planned out, so there isn't any threat of me discontinuing this fic.... It took me this long to think up an ending, I'm not wasting it now!

Please review! It's wonderful to be bullied into writing another chapter faster ^_^