The tranquil setting of Otherworld is considered one of the most peaceful places in existence. It is a perfect haven for those who wish to stay behind in the realm between that of the dead and living, rather than making the journey to Heaven. Since any kind of fighting at all is strictly forbidden in Heaven, most of the residents of Otherworld are warriors that are in eternal training. They chose to stay in their own personal Heaven of training and fighting rather than making the trip between astral planes to the realm of paradise. One such warrior is Son Goku.

He is not new to this place, as it is his second time here. The Saiyan spends most of his days training and eating, performing the occasional task asked of him by his mentor, King Kai. There are not many days when his services are required, but today is one of those days, unbeknownst to the warrior.

"GOKU! GOKU, WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled the short, blue minor deity. Since he always picked a different place to train in the rolling hills of the Grand Kai's planet, the Saiyan was difficult to locate at times. King Kai searched high and low for his trainee for many hours and was growing tired of his search. Goku always suppressed his ki when training since he usually did not want to be found, but finally after many hours the disgruntled Kai finally stumbled upon the Saiyan.

He was currently doing one of his most favored exercises, a handstand while pushing himself up and down. Sweat was pouring from every pore, soaking his clothing through and through. His face was scrunched up in concentration as he answered the Kai that was searching for him.

"Oh, hey King Kai. How's it going?"

"Thank Shin that I finally found you. I've been looking high and low for hours," huffed King Kai, obviously slightly angry because of his labored search for the Saiyan, "The Grand Kai himself sent me directly to find you. There's been a disturbance-"

"One sec, King Kai. I'm almost done."

Only a special person like Goku could get away with telling a Kai to wait. Not many others could accomplish such a feat.

With a final count, Goku pushed off with his hands, vaulting to land on his feat. He brushed himself off and fell straight back on his rear, landing in a sitting position on the ground, propped back on his arms.

"What's the matter this time, King Kai," he asked with a questioning look on his face, head cocked to the side. By now, the Saiyan was used to receiving such assignments. He performed an odd job for the Kais every so often, even though he had no clue as to how often it was. Goku really had no idea how long he had been here, since the dead are none too adept at telling time. The Creators decided that it was best to let the dead lose all sense of time since it helped eternity pass more quickly.

"The Grand Kai himself has called for you services once more. He's sending you to Hell again."

"Oh, not again. I hate goin' down there," Goku sighed, "You'd think that I was bad during my life as much as I get sent. Doesn't Hell have their own guys for managing stuff like this?"

The Kai nodded. "They do, but they stay tied up most of the time with matters deep in the darkest bowels of Hell. They deserve a break every now and again anyway."

"Fine. I won't let you down King Kai."

"Yes, I have full confidence in you Goku."

"'So what am I taking care of this time?" Goku asked, ready to get to the bottom of his assignment so that he could continue his training.

"Well this time, it seems that a few mortals showed up down there. We have no idea how they ended up in Hell, but we need you to figure it out."

"Where are they?"

The Kai scoffed, "That's why we're asking you. Lock onto their ki and use Instant Transmission to get to them."

Goku laughed. "Ha, oh yeah!"

King Kai covered his face with a hand, letting out an exasperated sigh in the process. Everyone that knew of the powerful Saiyan discovered that he wasn't too bright outside of the battlefield, but when he stepped into a fight, he became a tactical genius. If only he could learn to apply that to everyday life.

Goku stared off into the distance for a moment, attempting to lock onto the foreign kis. His eyes moved back and forth across the landscape as if he were using his sight to look for them. Suddenly, his nose scrunched up in question, obviously startled by what he found.

"That can't be right..."

But he searched again and found the same thing. The same three things, actually.

"What's the matter, Goku?"

"There are two of 'em, but this can't be right. From what I'm sensing, it's Gohan and Vegeta down there, but... No that can't be right. Why would they, of all people, be in Hell?"

He shrugged, "Maybe they died back on Earth."

"No, they're definitely alive. Besides, I don't think that Gohan would be in Hell. Vegeta, now that's another story, but Gohan? No. He's never done anything terrible enough to go to Hell."

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, I haven't heard of anything spectacular happening in the Northern Galaxy lately, other than a few uprisings against the Kold Empire. Nothing new there. Plus, I would be notified if one of them had died. We like to keep track of our more powerful fighters."

"I would have felt them coming here too."

Goku pushed himself off the ground, keeping a lock on the group of kis. As he stood, he put the two fingers to his head that was the tell-tale sign of the Instant Transmission technique.

"Nothing else to do but find out what's goin' on."

"Yes, you're right. Go down there and find out what's happening and report back to us."

He nodded and instantly, Goku disappeared from sight, as he was obviously eager to get to the bottom of the appearance of his son and rival.

The catfish-looking Kai stood for a moment before realizing how far he was from the Grand Kai's palace. He began jumping up and down in the air, screaming and waving his fists angrily.

"You could have at least given me a lift back home you big idiot," King Kai screamed, though there were no ears to hear his pleas for miles around.

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The twosome drew nearer and nearer to the castle with each passing second. Even though they pressed on, the landscape beneath never changed from it's dull grey monotony. Vegeta flew to the left of Gohan, though the Saiyan's thoughts were obviously elsewhere. His eyes were cast north towards the battle that Malcolm spoke of. It was as if he were longing to be there. Gohan stole another glance toward the source of so many enormous powers. Now that he stopped to think about it, Gohan was feeling a longing sensation as well. To be in the middle of that battle would sate every urge that he held as a Saiyan. It seemed that Vegeta was wishing for a bit more than to participate in the battle.

"Finding anything interesting, Vegeta?"

Vegeta grunted and answered in kind. "That's none of your business boy, now butt out before I beat you like I did when I first arrived on that infernal mudball of a planet."

"I don't believe that I was the one beaten in the earlier battle, your majesty." Gohan retorted, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Vegeta ceased all forward motion. "I swear to Kami-"

"Hey calm down Vegeta. I'm just giving you a hard time. Besides, we've got a lot bigger things to worry about than who won a fight more than half a decade ago," Gohan said. "Like that whole saving the timeline deal. I'd really like to get that taken care of if that's alright with you."

Vegeta didn't answer at all and just blasted off with a burst of his aura towards the castle.

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Gohan arrived shortly behind Vegeta, who was standing on the edge of the castle moat with his arms folded. The prince held an annoyed look on his face and was slightly damp. He had obviously been in the water.

"Did you decide to go for a swim Vegeta?" Gohan teased as he touched down on the ground. Vegeta may be the master of pushing other's buttons, but Gohan wasn't half bad himself.

"Ha ha ha boy. Very fucking funny," Vegeta began. "That damned water must be cursed. I was flying over it and I fell in."

"What's the matter? You can't control your ki anymore my prince?"

"Fuck you boy. You try and get over it." Vegeta offered, slightly flustered over not being believed by his companion. "Don't ask for any help getting out either. I'll let your smart ass drown."

Gohan regarded the water with a wary eye. It looked as if it was the same type of water as he had seen in the enormous river earlier. It was extremely grey and murky and looked as dangerous as a body of water could look. It bordered the castle on all sides, denying entry to any who desired it. There was a draw bridge drawn up on the other side but it would have to be lowered by an inhabitant of the castle.

There were a few vines growing along the bank and were the first type of vegetation that Gohan had seen during their time in Hell.

"I think I'll take your word for it Vegeta. I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

"Fuck off, boy."

Gohan laughed at the Saiyan's childishness. "Now, tell me what happened when you flew over it Vegeta. We need to get to the bottom of this water if we ever hope to get across into the Castle of the Demon King."

The castle in question stood a good twenty or thirty yards across the moat from the trio. Even though they were much closer to it, Gohan still could not see anything particularly interesting about it.

It looks like your normal, everyday castle you see in books about ancient times, Gohan thought with a shrug. But then again, you can't always judge something by it's outward appearance. Frieza seemed like a spoiled, girly rich kid floating in his personal little craft, but he ended up crumpling entire star systems. Damn, I bet that surprised the Hell out of people when he began his rule.

Vegeta interrupted Gohan's thoughts with his answer in the usual arrogant tone. "Well if you must know, I was flying toward the castle and I lost all forward momentum. I dropped like a damned stone into that muck. There was no way that I could swim in it and I would have drowned if I didn't get a hold on one of those vines."

Gohan frowned. This was certainly going to present a problem.

Before they could begin to come up with a solution, the metallic scraping of chains moving was heard. Gohan and Vegeta turned toward the castle to try and discover the source of this sound, but they didn't have to look long. The drawbridge was obviously lowering with the nasty din of grinding chains. It was an overtly slow process, as if the operator of the bridge was trying to draw it out as long as possible. Finally, the wooden plank slammed into the ground with an audible thud and the group looked across it to pinpoint the thing operating it.

Nothing changed for several moments until the echoing of hooves could be heard coming from the interior of the castle. A moment later, the first of the riders burst forth from the open gates, carrying large clouds of black dust in their wake. A steady stream of knights clad in black armor poured from the castle until all eight of them came to a halt on the other side of the moat, facing down Gohan and Vegeta. All knights wore the same black armor that covered their entire bodies, with dark broadswords slung lazily on their hips. Even their heads and faces were covered in the dark, obsidian tinted metal.

Gohan regarded the new arrivals nonchalantly. "You guys must be the welcoming committee. What do you think, Vegeta?

"What mortals journey to the land of death to come to the Castle of the Demon King?" The lead knight boomed, wasting no time with theatrics. His voice was as dark as his appearance and caused a slight shiver to run down Gohan's spine.

"They seem fairly pathetic to me, just like the rest of what I sensed in that castle," Vegeta said as he nodded toward the grey castle looming across the moat. The truth is that they really weren't that pathetic, as each had around the same power as that of Frieza, except the leader, who was slightly stronger. By most standards, they weren't pathetic in the least, but to warriors as seasoned as Gohan and Vegeta, they were relatively weak.

"Pathetic?" the assumed leader questioned. The only thing that set him apart from the others was the fact that he was wearing a black cape that billowed behind him. It easily distinguished him from the others. "We are the Order of Royal Demon Knights, the King's personal guard. We have not fallen in battle in over ten thousand years. You DARE call us pathetic? You are but mere mortals."

"Looks like these guys are serious, Vegeta," Gohan surveyed, drawing his sword for the ensuing fight and falling into his most favored stance. The young warrior's right hand rested almost completely against the pommel, as far down as he could go on the grip without touching it. The left was grasping the hilt, just above his right. He had the pommel resting stiffly against his upper right thigh, the sword pointing across his body yet away from him at the same time.

Now will be as good a place to try this new sword out as any, the young Saiyan thought to himself.

"READY THE LINE!" Bellowed the leader. The other seven reared their mounts and began forming a line beside their leader. Their swiftness and precision gave off the impression that they had been doing this for a long time, thousands of years Gohan guessed.

Vegeta eyed him from his place beside the young warrior with a disapproving glare. "A true Saiyan does not use weapons in battle, boy. You have no need for such tools."

The prince dropped into his own stance.

"LINE READY!" They all drew their swords on this command. Black metal gleamed as the leader held his high in the sky.

"Charge!"

The clatter of hooves resounded across the barren landscape once again, kicking up clouds of grey dust as the line of Royal Knights charged toward the Saiyans. Time stood still a moment for them as they worked out their own individual strategies in their head. Gohan was the first to charge, disappearing completely from sight with extraordinary speed. A split second later, the leader's head fell from his shoulders, spilling his black blood across the dead ground as it toppled down his body and bounced off a flank of the horse. The cut was even and precise, as if made by a machine designed for such tasks. Gohan used his knowledge of warfare to destroy the leader first, causing the remaining knights to become disoriented without direction from a central point. 'Cut off the head and the body will die' as the old saying goes. The young Saiyan fulfilled it quite literally.

He looked to his left to find Vegeta with a huge smirk plastered on his face, having a good time with two knights that had splintered off from the main group. The prince was nearly at full power in his normal state and he was winning easily. The knights were throwing blow after blow at him with their swords and he was blocking them quite simply, pushing the path of the swords off balance by hitting the flat of the blades. Eventually he tired of this game of ducking, dodging, and blocking. With a thrust of each open palm, Vegeta let loose two brilliant white ki blasts, each one finding its mark and tearing through the armor and bodies of the knights.

Gohan was having as little trouble as Vegeta was, as he had already sliced and diced his way through two more knights. They had stood more of a fight than their surprised leader. Each blocked one or two of Gohan's blows, the second even sending Gohan on the defensive for a moment, but he blocked the knights blows quickly and calmly. It was obvious that these horsemen had an upper hand when it came to swordsmanship and experience, but Gohan bested them in all other regards. But it was still obvious to the hybrid that he would have been carved up by the obsidian swords had he not been their better in strength and speed. Yet the fact remained that he was their better in those regards and he quickly disposed of the two with a few well aimed slashes of his sword.

All three remaining knights decided to retreat for the moment and regroup, but Vegeta only let them get that far. He flew into the air and threw his arms to each side of his body, gathering ki in each one. After a second or two, the knights seemed to notice this and tried to turn their horses and flee, but the prince beat them to the punch. With each hand full of enormous amounts of power, he thrust them together at blindingly fast speeds and screamed the name of one of his more favored attacks.

"FINAL FLASH!"

The white mass of ki swept over the trio, obliterating them instantly, leaving not a trace of them, their steeds, or their armor. Everything was completely destroyed, even the ground below them. A small crater no more than three or four feet deep and ten feet across had formed where the Royal Knights previously stood. Vegeta lowered himself to come to a rest beside Gohan as the boy was sheathing his black stained sword. The Demons' blood left a dark ebony stain along the length of the blade. Gohan surmised that it may be permanent, since all of his efforts to remove it proved futile. He surveyed the crater with an amused smirk, shaking his head.

"Geez Vegeta, don't you think you overdid it just a bit?"

"I overdid nothing, boy."

"That blast could have easily destroyed a planet. What would you have done if you accidently took out Hell?"

Vegeta grunted at Gohan's reasoning. "Bullshit. How can you destroy Hell? I just did what I had to do to kill them. It's as simple as that." Vegeta frowned, "Why am I explaining myself to the mere son of a third class warrior? I am above such things."

"Whatever, but you still didn't have to kill the poor horses. What did they ever do to you?" Gohan smiled, seeing how badly he was annoying the elder Saiyan.

Vegeta shook his head and muttered a few obscenities, beginning his slow walk over the draw bridge to the innards of the castle.

Gohan took a moment to survey the scene of their latest battle. We really made a mess of things and we've just gotten here. There's that strange black blood all over the place and that crater Vegeta put in the ground. It must be pretty hard to damage Hell if that's all that blast did. He paused for a moment and put a hand over his chest. Man this is great. My heart's still pounding from that fight, and it only lasted about fifteen seconds. I had the time of my life out there killing those guys. I can't believe I feel this way, but I guess that transformation to the second level must have changed me in more ways than I thought.

He turned around to follow Vegeta into the castle, but was greeted by a sight that he didn't think he would see anytime soon. The orange gi was the most notable feature of the new arrival, along with the gravity defying black hair. Somehow, Gohan's father had shown up in Hell with he and Vegeta. The young Saiyan eyed the elder a few moments and sighed.

Gohan had a bone to pick with his old man.

End Chapter 3

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Author's Notes: Well, at least this update was a little more prompt than the last one. It seems I'm doing a little bit better. Thanks for the reviews last time guys, they're much appreciated. By the way, Elaeazeph, how do you think the story seems contrived? I'd love for you to elaborate on that a little so that I could attempt to do better in the future.