AnimeWolfGirl16: You are right when you said there is more to the story than is being revealed right now. Something definitely happened; we just don't know what yet. I am trying to judge the rating on what is in other fanfictions, which doesn't make it quite so easy (considering I don't know if my "violence" in this fanfiction is rated "M" or not). Thanks for your support though!

Guest: Something like that. Gohan doesn't actually know how to get to that level yet (nor does he know it exists because the Cell Games never actually took place). In a few chapters though, he'll start feeling the "side effects" so to speak.

Guest: I do have to apologize because I am not the best at fight scenes. I find it easy to visualize in my mind, but harder to put it into words on a page. I'm trying to work on improving that the best I can. Also, if you are meaning in terms of power level for the Tako… I have no clue (I stink at that too). I don't think Cell was "Perfect Cell" yet either (since I think he becomes Perfect Cell after exploding and then coming back to Earth during the Cell Games?). Gohan also was only guessing that the Tako absorbed/defeated Cell, but we are not sure as to what really happened.

Chapter 21: Add One More

Gohan was currently leaning against a rock wall, being miles away from the safe building that they lived in. Of course, he wasn't alone; Marie and Leyla were with him, each invested into their own thoughts.

Anger boiled up inside him as his thoughts took over, but he pushed it down as far as it would go, not wanting to cause any more trouble. He still couldn't believe that his father had left, all to train again…

That's all he's ever cared about, the constant thought made him irritated and restless. He pushed off of the rock wall and walked a few paces. The two other occupants with him seemed to notice and followed, not saying a word until they were further away.

"Gohan?" Leyla questioned softly, a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving any further. She had good reason to not want him to move; he seemed to have a habit of disappearing when his emotions got too much of a hold on him.

Leyla had done some remarkable recovery over the past few weeks since the Tako had attacked them. Gohan was still waiting for the figure to appear, but she never did. Neither did the octopus that she controlled, which was almost a gift.

"I think we should go back. It's going to be dark soon," his friend's words only made things worse. Anger rose up in him again, and he whipped around to look at her.

"Why? Why does it matter anymore? They're just going to lecture me again, or put me in some other confinement!" his anger made its way into his words, but then he realized it wasn't fair to take it out on her; "Sorry, I just don't see why we have to go back."

"They're just trying to help," Leyla whispered, taking a step towards him, "they don't know what to do. Your father's disappearance isn't only affecting you, Gohan."

His anger spiked up again at her statement, but he turned around instead, continuing to walk. Towards where? He had no idea. He heard Leyla sigh from behind him, but his two friends' Kis continued to trail after him.

The more he walked, the more he realized Leyla's words were right. That didn't make him feel any better though; instead, he felt a tight knot in his stomach that wouldn't go away.

It's alright, Marie's voice entered his mind, and he felt a signal from her Lotus as she tried to soothe his feelings, we all know it affects you the most.

I just hate it. All he's ever done is train. He leaves me behind to fend for myself, and making me wonder every time he goes off if it is the last time I'll see him, he answered, feeling tired but not wanting to show it. Of course, Marie would be able to sense that, but it didn't mean he had to show the feeling physically.

And it's different this time, because you don't have the Dragon Balls to revive anyone? Marie suggested, making him nod. He knew that Leyla was slightly bothered by his and Marie's private conversations, but she would need to deal with it for now. He couldn't change anything and, as much as Leyla was a great friend, there were just some things he had trouble talking to her about.

Sometimes I wonder if I even care anymore, Marie's slight shock through her Ki did nothing to change his mind, so he continued; Sometimes I think "go ahead and run off and get yourself killed. Maybe it would teach you a lesson," but I know that then I wouldn't get to see him again, and some part of me does care.

You of all people shouldn't have to put up with this, Marie's thought made him stop walking, and he looked over his shoulder at her. Anger and sympathy were mixed equally in her light blue eyes, making him know that she was definitely agreeing with his anger at his father. He felt kind of bad, knowing that she was slightly influenced by the link of their Lotuses, but knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, finding that he was calmer than a few minutes ago. He looked back in the direction of the building, remembering that it wasn't the only place that was safe from the Tako.

"I know where we can…" Gohan started to say, but stopped when he sensed an unfamiliar Ki near them. Marie seemed to sense it too; she tensed as she quickened her pace to catch up to him.

"What's wrong?" Leyla asked, and he knew that she couldn't sense Ki as well since she had just started to learn the basics. He shook his head, signaling for her to be quiet.

The unfamiliar Ki was very close to them, but it didn't seem hostile. Still, he had learned that he couldn't be too careful and let his guard down. The Ki was radiating from behind another wall of rock, possibly unaware of the three other inhabitants.

He moved silently towards the wall, being followed by his two friends. At least they wouldn't be outnumbered, but sometimes that didn't matter. It could still be six to one, and the lone person could win.

Gohan was the first one to break cover from the wall, going around it and preparing for an attack, but stopped quickly at what he saw. Leyla jumped out next, but he caught her arm to make sure she didn't do anything. Marie just walked out from behind the rock wall, sensing what he did.

Sitting on the floor in front of them was a boy around their age. The boy's dirty blonde hair was short and he had dark blue eyes. He also hadn't seemed to notice them yet.

The three of them stood silently for a while longer, and the boy finally looked up at them with slight confusion.

"Oh, hi," the boy started without any trace of fear in his voice, "Sorry I didn't see you there."

Gohan felt at a loss for words. The boy wasn't even startled; in fact, he didn't even seem to care that three possibly hostile people could attack them. This made Gohan's confusion run through his mind.

"Hello," Leyla was the first one to talk, and she walked over and sat next to the boy, who was drawing in the dirt on the ground, "My name is Leyla. What are you doing?"

Gohan glanced over at Marie, feeling slightly surprised. He didn't let most of it show, but his friend could still tell. She was feeling the same thing, apparently, with good reason too.

"Leyla-" he started to whisper a warning, but his friend cut him off.

"Oh, and these are my friends Gohan and Marie," Leyla motioned towards them, making Gohan mentally smack himself. The rule of not talking to strangers seemed to not exist anymore.

The boy shrugged as an answer to Leyla's earlier question; either he wasn't talkative or he didn't know what he was doing.

He's not a danger; Marie's statement didn't make him relax as it normally would have. He had too much training drilled into him by this age that he could still trust her but feel cautious.

"What's your name?" Leyla asked gently, not wanting to scare the boy. The boy looked over at where he was standing by Marie, and then back at Leyla.

"My name is Kenny," the boy answered, seeming to relax a bit, "What are you doing out here."

"We were going for a walk," Marie answered his question, sitting down a few feet away from Leyla and the boy. Gohan leaned back against the rock wall, not quite sure if he should talk or not. Kenny seemed to be easily intimidated, and he didn't want to mess things up.

"All the way out here?" Kenny asked, and then gave a bit of a laugh when Marie nodded, "Why here?"

"Why not?" Gohan answered, not wanting either of his friends to explain what had caused them to go for their walk in the first place.

He doesn't need to know about our personal life, Gohan sent the thought to Marie before she could argue the point. She stayed silent, knowing he meant it.

"I don't know," Kenny shrugged, "it's just so far away from remote society that it seems odd. Especially with that octopus wandering around."

He knows about the Tako? Gohan felt confused, sending the question to Marie, who was wondering the same thing.

"It's called a Tako," he stated, which made Kenny laugh. Gohan quickly realized his mistake in which Kenny had thought that he meant a taco, "not that kind of taco…"

"I know, it just sounds really funny when you say it!" Kenny replied between his laughs. Marie looked over at him, giving him a puzzled look while he shrugged. He felt kind of awkward as they waited for the boy to calm down.

Kenny looked at each one of them, an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry, I just…" the boy trailed off, going back to drawing in the sand. Gohan frowned, not sure of how to respond. Kenny seemed like he was alone, but he hadn't said anything yet.

"Do you have any family?" Leyla asked, almost reading his mind. Kenny shook his head, looking at the red-eyed girl.

"No, I'm like every other person in this world: alone," Kenny's bitter remarks made Marie stand up and walk back towards Gohan, where she grabbed for his hand as reassurance. The other boy seemed to realize what he said because he continued; "Sorry, I seem to be saying all the wrong things."

You think? The thought intruded Gohan's mind as he became irritated. He thought about continuing on their way, but then realized that Kenny was very much like them: abandoned and trying to find where he belonged.

Leyla shared a glance with him, and a mutual understanding filled him. He nodded, prompting his friend to ask,

"Would you like to come with us then?"

"Really?" Kenny asked, looking shocked and slightly grateful at the suggestion as his eyes widened.

"I don't see why you can't join our little band of misfits," Gohan remarked, giving the other boy a small smile. He squeezed Marie's hand and she squeezed back, letting him know that she was alright with the suggestion.

Kenny stood up, still seeming shocked. He looked at each of them before his face broke into a huge smile.

"I don't see why not. It's not like I have anywhere else to go," the other boy replied with a large amount of happiness radiating from his Ki. This made Gohan feel a bit better; at least they were able to do some good.

"How did you not know we were here before?" Leyla asked Kenny as they started to walk back towards the building. The prospect of heading back towards their safe haven seemed a bit better; at least they could provide Kenny with one as well now.

"I don't know. You were hiding, I guess," Kenny shrugged, prompting Gohan to realize something.

"You don't know how to sense Ki, do you?" he asked, and the other boy shook his head, "Do you even know what Ki is?"

"Of course I do," Kenny seemed slightly offended by the question, "You can form it into a ball, like this."

Their new friend then proceeded to form a light ball of Ki in his hands, effortlessly, and then let it vanish. Gohan couldn't help it; he let a small laugh slip at the look on Kenny's face.

"How can you know how to do that, but not know how to sense Ki?" he asked, and Kenny shrugged again.

"Can we teach him?" Marie whispered so that only Gohan could hear, and he nodded as he glanced at her.

Of course we can. I was taught by Piccolo and da- Gohan cut the thought off quickly, feeling all the old emotions come rushing back in a moment. His Ki rose briefly, only enough to make him touch the next level, before he made it lower.

He opened his eyes, seeing Kenny backing away from him a bit. He felt confused, wondering what had made the other boy act like this.

"What was that?" Kenny asked, staring directly at him. This only seemed to make things worse however, because Gohan felt that he wasn't getting anywhere closer to an answer.

"What was what?" Leyla asked, obviously feeling confused as well. None of his other friends were alarmed, so he figured that nothing had happened.

"You're hair just-" Kenny stopped talking, not sure of how to explain what he had seen. Marie perked up a bit from beside him and pointed at his hair. Gohan moved her finger down to her side, not sure of why she was doing that.

"Your hair did it again," Marie explained with a smile, understanding what had happened. Gohan got it a moment later and wasn't sure how to respond.

So, do I just come out and say "I'm half alien"? He asked her, not sure of how their new friend would take it.

I would wait a bit, just to make sure, Marie answered, reminding him that they didn't want to scare their new friend off. Of course, catching up to the boy if he would run away wouldn't be a problem, convincing the boy that he wasn't dangerous at the moment wouldn't be quite so easy.

"It's nothing. My hair just does that sometimes," Gohan shrugged, trying to make it seem as if that was the only thing that did happen. Like none of the other weird stuff exists.

"Ok then," Kenny answered and they continued to walk. Gohan didn't miss the glances the other boy kept giving him, but he decided to ignore them.

Getting back to the building where they lived, that would be the easy part. Convincing everyone else back there (which consisted of Krillin and Piccolo; he had no idea where in the world Vegeta went off to without getting himself killed) about a few other things was going to be the hard part.

For those of you who read my other fanfiction "I Need You", do you recognize/remember Kenny? Also, if you read the summary and wondered "why does it say 'prequel to I Need You'", then this is why: "I Need You" (my other Dragon Ball Z fanfiction) is sort of like the sequel to this fanfiction, but not all aspects of this fanfiction being a prequel will make sense right away. Sorry if that's still slightly confusing; I will explain more when I can. All you need to know is that it has similar/reoccurring characters and items from this fanfiction, as well as explaining some of the things that occur and vice versa. I also went back to some of the earlier chapters and toned down the violence a bit to try and make it more "T" rated (at least I think it was one or two chapters that seemed more violent in the beginning). Either way, please tell me your suggestions or thoughts in a review! I hope everyone has a great New Year!

-AnimeWolfGirl9