(A/N: I wrote this three years ago. It was the first fic I ever wrote. Please be gentle.)
Chapter One
The tall, sinister figure looked over the top of his clipboard at the
containment chambers in front of him. He smiled and turned back to the computer
screen behind him. He glanced at the rapidly scrolling figures and documents,
research gathered over a period of nearly twenty years, technology more advanced
than anything seen on earth before. He heard a high beeping noise from a
computer console to his left. He looked over at it, typed a series of
corrections with his left hand, and pressed the return key. He turned back to
the rapidly scrolling figures that were now repeating themselves, highlighting
possible weaknesses and disadvantages. He frowned as the computer returned a set
of information that was irrelevant. He dumped the reports of a new heart virus'
first victim; a man who had gained semi-fame as a member of the Earth Special
Forces team, and was rumored to have visited outer space.
The tall, aging man extended his prototype arm to a computer screen and smiled
again as he corrected another set of equations. The new information now
scrolling in from his spies gave him the answer to the problem that had been
bothering him for months. He cross-referenced the new document to the others he
had been researching, all involved with biotechnology. He had finally received
an answer from the lab of his mentor and former associate, Dr. Willow; previous
to the inexplicable disappearance of Willow's lab, he had received enough
information to complete his most difficult project, the fusing of existing
tissue with biotech. He stroked his prosthetic arm, and began calculating in his
mind the best way to provide energy for his creations.
Then, with a sigh, silently and calmly cursing the limitations of his physical
body, the master of the former Red Ribbon Army, Dr. Gero, stopped all of the
documents from scrolling on his screen and activated the conveyor belt that took
him to the small cot that was wedged between his prototype capsules, which held
the numbers 19 and 20 engraved on their clear glass outsides.
One held a fat, white-skinned prototype; the other held a half-formed collection
of prostheses. Dr. Gero smiled and stroked the capsule labeled 20. His last
thought before sleeping was of himself, in a perfect android body, destroying
the one who had destroyed his life so many years before…
Chapter Two
The funeral was brief. Kami-sama himself gave the eulogy; it was an unexpected
honor. The fourth Dragon Ball lay on top of the man, over the left side of his
chest, the target of the disease that had killed him. The Dragon Ball was the
one that the man had guarded since his grandfather died, hidden in a shrine in
the mountains before a teenage girl awakened a spirit of amazing strength.
The pallbearers picked up the coffin silently. All wore black; all had known the
man very well. The coffin was held low to the ground, within the reach of the
shorter pallbearers, one of whom was the man's son. The hearse looked nothing
like a normal carriage for the dead; it was nothing but a low-flying orange
cloud, which, surprisingly, was able to hold the weight of the coffin.
Krillin, Gohan, Yamcha, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Tien stepped back from the coffin
and the cloud, which had expanded to fit the extra weight. Vegeta, dressed in a
jumpsuit of purest black and armor with black covering and yellow-gold outlines,
stepped forward.
"This man was known by many names. Goku, Kakarott, and Super-Saiya-jin,
among them; however, he never used them for personal gain. He only fought to
protect the ones he counted as friends…
"Including me."
Vegeta raised his hand over his head and formed a ball of purest white, looking
almost identical to the moon that had been destroyed years before. He and Gohan
did not look at it as Vegeta sent the ball flying slowly toward the cloud. The
coffin burst into flames of purest white, which caught on the reflective surface
of the Dragon Ball, shining through the coffin, gleaming brightly. The Nimbus
cloud rose off the ground and moved swiftly off of Kami's lookout and began to
slowly circle the half-dome of Kami's residence. The attendants and guests piled
into Bulma's airbus, which took them all back down to the ground below. Chi-chi
remained with the pallbearers, comforted by Gohan. Tien, Chaozu, and Yamcha flew
away silently, while Piccolo simply put his hand on Gohan's head and looked at
him, and then flew away. Vegeta left with Bulma in tow, while Krillin helped
Master Roshi down to Kame House. Chi-chi and Gohan remained behind to grieve.
Chapter Three
Gero looked over his reports. Six computer screens displayed figures and
diagrams. He looked over all of them. The first contained his prototype
human-android creation, labeled # 19. The next three displayed rotating images
of his more powerful creations, androids 16 through 18. On the last two screens,
the images shown were completely different from the rest. One showed the plans
for the brain transplant of human to Android body. Directions and a program for
the surgical robot that would perform the operation were also displayed. The
last showed the image of what Gero considered a failure. He had the highest
hopes and the biggest disappointment of them all with this particular creation.
It was almost fully organic; in fact, it was made up of replicated cells from
the strongest listed fighters ever to be seen on Earth or in space; a tiny robot
had followed the Z fighters around, collecting blood samples from Vegeta,
Piccolo, Goku, and Frieza. However, Cell failed to display the correct amount of
power that should be associated with such a combination; Gero only had the
technological capacity for so much. If, however, the new creature were to absorb
his other creations…
No. The plan was too risky; the Androids might not be recoverable, and Gero
would have a problem on his hands if Cell tried to absorb him. Gero sighed and
pressed the 'cancel' button on the screen displaying Cell's form. He then
added the finishing touches to the first Android: number 19. He finished the
last weld and grafted the skin onto the creature, making the Android complete.
He awoke it.
"Hello, Dr. Gero. My name is 19. I live only to destroy. Everything and
anything I can see, I will destroy. Including those others over there."
"No. You will only destroy Goku. Then I will tell you what to
destroy."
Gero awakened the rest of his androids, except for 16 and Cell, the next day. He
brought them together, sporting his new robotic body. He was so certain of his
calculations that he didn't bother to check the personalities of the Androids
before awakening them.
One was rebelling against her program. All of the programs were flawed. Dr. Gero
never stood a chance.
Chapter Four
Six years later
"GOHAN! WAKE UP NOW!"
Gohan slid out of bed and slipped on his clothes. Honestly. What did mothers
know? Gohan didn't even have school today… did he? Wait… today was the first
day of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Hoping his mother had not been blessed
with that memory, he got out of bed and walked into the kitchen, where Chi-chi,
his mother, awaited.
"For goodness sake, Gohan, if you hadn't completed those essays last night,
you could have done them today, you know. I told you I was visiting Ox-King
today, didn't I?"
Gohan's heart gave an inner leap as he remembered how he was planning to sneak
into the Tenkaichi Budoukai today; the first one since before he was born.
"No, mother, I didn't forget. I hope you have a safe trip!" He grinned
at his mother. "No hanging around Piccolo, no flying, and no training. I
promise! G'bye, Mom!"
Chi-chi smiled at her son as she closed the door and stepped into her air car, a
present from Bulma. She glanced into her back seat to make sure that his
training clothes, all blue and white, were in the back seat. She chuckled, and
then patted herself on the back.
"He's not going to fight without any clothes!" She said as she drove
away.
Meanwhile, Gohan had no intention of letting his absence of clothing get in the
way. He ran over to his father's old Dragon Ball shrine, where he had hidden an
outfit almost identical to his father's, complete with a sheath for his sword.
He changed into his clothes, and then ran (not flew) over to the forest, where
Krillin and Vegeta awaited him. Gohan gasped as he saw Vegeta's new set of
wheels. A black Porsche with a gold fender revved up its engines as Gohan
stepped over to the passenger side window. The window rolled down slowly, and he
saw Krillin and Vegeta inside, as well as some chick with blonde hair that was
hanging out with Krillin in the back seat. He hopped in the passenger seat and
(discreetly) tightened his safety belt. He double- checked it when Vegeta
shifted into gear and sped off down the road. Vegeta was driving much less
erratically than the last time, and Gohan had a sneaking suspicion that Bulma
had been making him practice. Vegeta himself, however, looked much the same as
he had six years ago. Krillin, however, was looking totally different; if it
weren't for the absence of a nose, Gohan would have never recognized him.
Krillin had hair.
The chick next to him winked at Gohan. Gohan didn't notice; he was too busy
stammering at Krillin.
"Uh… Krillin… no offense, or anything, but… how?"
Krillin grinned and winked at Gohan. "It's all thanks to this beautiful
woman here. I didn't think any force on Earth could grow these babies out,"
Krillin said, pointing at the brown hair that covered his head, "and I was
right. It took Namekian force."
Gohan smiled in understanding.
"You used the Dragon Balls!"
"And that's not all. This girl came across me when I was searching for the
Dragon Balls, and we just… clicked. And to tell you the truth, I've never met
a more perfect woman."
"Actually, I wasn't always a woman," the chick said. Vegeta spewed out
a mouthful of coffee onto the dashboard and Gohan almost choked on the apple he
was eating. The girl ignored them. "I used to be an Android, but this guy,
instead of using the Dragon Balls for himself, wished for me to be human."
"Startle me like that again, woman, and you will find out how much pain a
human can feel." Vegeta snarled as he wiped the coffee lovingly off of his
car. He then smiled. "You do have permission to do that to anyone else,
however."
Gohan chuckled, and then asked, "What's your name?"
"When I was an Android, my only name was 18. I liked it, so, I kept
it."
"Eighteen, huh? Cool. Hey, Vegeta?"
"What?"
"Can I drive for a while?"
Vegeta looked long and hard at his half Saiya-jin passenger. Then he pulled
over, got out, tossed the keys to the 16-year old Gohan, and jumped over the car
to the passenger's seat. Gohan jumped out and ran around the car to the driver's
seat, put the keys in the ignition, and turned the key. He revved the car,
turned on the radio, put it into third, and drove off into the sunrise.
Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, and 18 arrived thirty minutes before the preliminary
tournament challenges. Gohan saw Tien and Chaozu near the registration table and
walked over, skipping the long line of weak people ready to sign up. They
exchanged greetings, and they all signed up. Tien looked apprehensive at the
fact that Vegeta signed up too, but expressed his emotions as nothing more than
a grunt. 18 signed up too, to the surprise of everyone (except Krillin). When
Gohan questioned her judgment, she smiled and winked at him again. The teenage
Gohan blushed and didn't speak for five minutes.
Chapter Five
A handsome young man with dark, long hair was seen signing up for the
Tournament; no one seemed to take the "Pretty Boy" seriously. He
signed up under the mysterious name of 17. He wouldn't say anything more.
The preliminary trials were designed to leave a suitable number of people left
for a smaller but fiercer tournament. There were three different preliminary
trials, and each fighter was placed randomly into one of the trials. Not
counting any minor humans involved (about thirty per trial), here's how it ended
up:
1st trial: Krillin, Mr. Savage, Tao Pai Pai, Kamesennin Mutenroshi (Jackie Chun)
2nd trial: Tien, Vegeta, 17, Yamcha
3rd trial: Chaozu, Gohan, Chibi Trunks, 18
The first trial came (obviously) first. Krillin lined up behind Mr. Savage and a
disguised Master Roshi. Tao Pai Pai, an old villain from Dragon Ball, saw
Krillin, and had a sudden flashback of Krillin's friend Goku beating the tar out
of him. Scared stiff, he edged away from the battle, only to be confronted by a
waiting Piccolo.
"I'm in charge of making sure no one quits."
Tao Pai Pai hurried back.
The first trial consisted of what looked at first like a tile floor set upon a
pedestal in the middle of a stadium. Each of the contestants stepped onto a
different tile, and the announcer began the trial.
Suddenly, each tile became a rectangular block that lifted up and down in place.
The object, said the announcer, was to be one of the last two left standing on
the pedestal. Krillin stood calmly as the others struggled to regain their
footing. Some of them stumbled across Krillin's tile; these unfortunate souls he
punted off of the pedestal. The others he ignored. Soon, only the four better
than average fighters remained. Tao Pai Pai looked nervously at Krillin, and
then jumped off the pedestal by himself. Krillin watched as Roshi and Mr. Satan
battled. Mr. Satan overpowered the old man, leaving him and Krillin. Mr. Satan
bowed to Krillin, who had done very little but defend his tile.
Yamcha, Vegeta, Tien, Gohan, Krillin, and 18 were lined up outside the stadium.
18 was the first to greet the new challenger.
"Hello, brother."
"I'm surprised to see you here, 18. I would've thought you'd be off
somewhere being… well… human. And as for your bald friend… well, he did
fine in the prelims, but he will be far outclassed in the future." Android
17 looked utterly confident in his abilities as a fighter.
"Hey. Are you another robot thing? 'Cause if you are, I sure hope you're
still under warranty. I'd hate to have to pay for you after I pound you into a
pulp." Vegeta smirked as he challenged the android in his own particular
fashion. 17 cast him a cold glance, and then tossed his head in an arrogant
manner that almost, but not quite, matched the Prince of the Saiya-jin.
"Did I hear you right? You think you can challenge me? Expect to be
severely disappointed."
Vegeta said nothing, but grinned even more broadly. Piccolo opened the door to
the room of the second trial.
The second trial seemed to be nothing more than a white room. A very long white
room that was completely featureless.
"The object of the trial is to cross the room. If you make it all the way
across, you make it into the tournament.
"Don't expect it to be easy. If no one finishes, the four who make it the
farthest will make it in. If you fall down, you are disqualified. Every minute,
the trial will become harder. Ready... GO!"
The room started shimmering; the gravity in the room became three times normal
gravity. Vegeta had already started across the room, as well as Yamcha and Tien,
but 17 seemed momentarily disoriented. Before Vegeta could reach the finish
line, a military surplus cannon popped up out of nowhere and blasted him off
course. The room suddenly erupted into fireworks. Four triple laser cannons
opened fire on 17 as he stumbled awkwardly across the room. Vegeta, regaining
his composure, smiled and calmly destroyed the cannon in his way. Stealing the
idea, he fired several low-power blasts at the floor in front of his opponents,
especially 17. The motion detectors reacted and soon a plethora of weapons came
up from the floor and opened fire on the disoriented 17. Yamcha and Tien made it
past the first turrets just before the gravity doubled to 20x Earth gravity. 17
became even more disoriented; he overcompensated and sent himself flying into
the roof. Enraged, he dashed toward the annoying turrets and destroyed them all
easily. He finally managed to reach the far end of the room, a dangerous glint
in his eyes.
"What took you so long?" Yamcha taunted the android. Vegeta simply
stood there and smirked even more broadly.
17 said nothing; the rage in the inhuman eyes was indescribable. Even Vegeta
backed off warily as 17 stormed out the door.
Chapter Six
Gohan, 18, and Chaozu were waiting for the third trial to commence. They saw
Vegeta walk up, arguing with Bulma.
"He's half-Saiya-jin! He's shown me power that could surpass mine!"
"I don't care! People have DIED in this tournament before! I don't care if
he's twice as powerful as you are, he's SIX!"
"Kakarott's son has been fighting since he was little more than a baby!
Kakarott himself was a child!"
"There's no comparison! Goku and Gohan were living on their own for years
before they fought seriously! I will not allow MY son to go risking his life
like that!"
"He WILL compete in the trial, at least! He doesn't have to go any further,
but he will do SOMETHING!"
"FINE!"
"FINE!"
Bulma stormed away in a huff, leaving a red-faced and panting Vegeta grasping a
purple-haired six-year-old by the shoulders. Trunks looked bored, as if this was
something that happened everyday. He slouched over behind Gohan, still looking
just as bored and a little frightened. Gohan mussed his hair, and Trunks looked
up at Gohan with a smile on his face.
The third trial was an elaborate maze, with gun turrets similar to those in the
second trial that popped up whenever someone made a wrong turn. Trunks wandered
slowly through the maze, unconcerned; Chaozu was in a constant state of dead
panic. He rushed through at top speed, barely surviving the myriad weapons aimed
at him. Gohan jogged easily through, using his head to get him onto the right
paths. 18 simply walked straight toward the exit, removing any walls that were
in her way. Gohan made it first, followed by 18 and a (bored) Trunks. Chaozu
made it with seconds to spare, ducking to avoid a taser charge fired from a gun
behind him, panting heavily. Trunks patted him on the back (unwittingly sending
him flying into a wall) and said, "Good job!"
Chaozu looked slightly miffed.
The trials had been completed; the tournament was ready to commence. The trial
ended up looking like this:
Mr. Satan
vs.
Chaozu
Yamcha
vs.
Tien
Trunks
vs.
Krillin
Vegeta
vs.
17
Gohan
vs.
18
Vegeta looked delighted that he would be facing the only opponent that could
match his arrogance. He also looked pleased that his son was fighting; Bulma was
in the stands cheering wildly, realizing that
a) if you kill someone, you lose; and
b) Krillin would probably go easy on Trunks.
Gohan looked apprehensive about fighting a girl. Krillin winked at him and said,
"Don't let your guard down. She's stronger than she looks. A lot
stronger."
17 was nowhere to be found. Yamcha, Tien, and Chaozu were joking around; Mr.
Satan was talking with the tournament officials; he looked like he was going to
bribe someone, but he kept seeing Piccolo everywhere and decided to wait on the
bribes.
Trunks was sitting and talking with his father; Vegeta seemed insanely proud
that his son was going to be fighting. The Saiya-jin tradition that the eldest
son was fated to kill his father didn't seem to bother Vegeta in the slightest.
As the contestants lined up for battle, the announcer... well, announced each of
their names and credentials.
"Our first pair of contestants today is the world famous Mr. Satan"
(applause) "against Chaozu, an unknown who was a minor member of the Earth
Special Forces for a brief period of time. The contestants look primed and ready
to go! And there's the bell!
"Mr. Satan's showing off for the crowd, performing some acrobatics. Chaozu,
a mystical albino, has the ability, so it seems, to float above the ground,
waiting for an attack in battle position, and... wait! There's the attack! Mr.
Satan has launched a blazing offensive against Chaozu! There's the famous
Dynamite Kick! But it seems that the challenger will not be defeated that
easily! After dodging the first kick, the white stranger seems ready for more!
There's a counterattack... oh! Mr. Satan's down! It seems that the new guy is
stronger than he looks! And there's the count... Ten! It's final! Mr. Satan,
ranked first to win, has been taken down in the first round! What an amazing
upset! This looks like it's going to be an exciting tournament this year!"
Chaozu looked triumphant as he raised his arms in a triumphant gesture. He
swaggered out of the arena to the applause of the audience. This caused many
confused looks from the Z fighters, who had never seen Chaozu swagger before.
Yamcha and Tien walked out to the center of the arena, and bowed to each other.
They assumed fighting positions.
"I've wanted to see who was stronger ever since I got killed by Nappa and
you got wasted by that little plant-bug thing."
"Ha! I never got the chance to show that brute what real fighting
was!"
The two warriors calmly stared each other down.
The starting bell rung.
Immediately, the two sprung into action. Yamcha flew backward and began charging
up an energy bomb; Tien began his Four Winds technique. Yamcha threw the energy
ball toward Tien's bodies; all four dodged. Confused, Yamcha's energy ball hung
in space for a second. Yamcha made it go straight toward one of Tien's bodies;
then he broke off contact and initiated his own split form technique as Tien
attacked him from three sides. Yamcha's two forms were outnumbered by Tien's
four; each Yamcha was fighting two Tiens. One Yamcha got lucky and knocked a
Tien down to the ground, drawing wild applause from the bewildered audience. As
the six blurry forms began to move faster, the battle moved all over the arena.
Yamcha gained the upper hand after his energy ball distracted Tien enough for
him to score a couple of really good hits. Tien's forms merged back into one;
now Tien was the one who was outnumbered. Yamcha, however, re-formed with his
double. Then he dove toward Tien; Tien was expecting an attack and threw his own
punch at Yamcha. Yamcha, however, was not there; he sped around behind Tien in a
flash and gave Tien a hard kick in the kidneys. Tien flew forward, recovering,
and Yamcha followed up with a ki blast. Tien dodged this, drawing more applause.
Yamcha went on the offensive again, but didn't use his super speed this time; he
attacked Tien directly. Tien began to get the upper hand and drove Yamcha back
toward the ground from twenty feet above the floor. Tien was about to land a
finishing punch when Yamcha pointed over Tien's shoulder. Tien wasn't about to
fall for that trick...
Yamcha's double pounded Tien down to the ground. Yamcha had used the second of
Tien's distraction to use the split-form again and hide his double. Tien hurtled
toward the ground, followed by another energy blast from Yamcha; this time, he
connected, knocking Tien completely out. The audience applauded wildly and
Yamcha took his bows, and then limped out of the ring. The paramedics surrounded
Tien, carting him off on a stretcher. Gohan gave Yamcha a high-five as he passed
him.
The next battle was anyone's guess. No one knew how much of Vegeta's power
little Trunks had achieved; no one knew how he would match up with Krillin.
Krillin looked nervously at Vegeta, who grinned at him as if expecting a good
show. Krillin gulped; if he beat up the kid that was Vegeta's son, Vegeta might
return the favor...
Oh, well, Krillin thought, it can't be that bad. Vegeta won't kill you for
following the rules, but he'll probably kill you if he thinks you're insulting
his son. Alright, here goes. Krillin walked to the center of the arena. The
applause was abated somewhat by laughter as his opponent entered the arena; he
could almost hear the people saying, "It's the bald freak versus the little
kid! What a riot!" He decided not to listen to the audience. Who knows,
Trunks might even be stronger than I am.
Krillin bowed to Trunks; Trunks returned the bow. Krillin started his fighting
stance, but Trunks simply put his fists forward. Krillin decided to wait for
Trunks to attack. He didn't have long to wait before Trunks attacked him with an
excitement that reminded Krillin of Goku. The memories were painful, so Krillin
concentrated on the grinning Trunks, who was matching Krillin stride for stride.
Krillin got serious and began to fight full-on; as he did this, he could have
sworn he heard a woman's voice screaming at the top of her lungs, "DON'T
YOU DARE HURT HIM, KRILLIN!"
Krillin and Trunks fought for a while; Trunks seemed to be stronger, but Krillin
used his battle experience to get punches in on Trunks. Trunks, infuriated,
attempted to simply punch Krillin off the battlefield, but Krillin was never
there. Finally, Krillin landed a light blow to Trunk's neck, directly on a nerve
point; Trunks suddenly grew dizzy and slumped to the ground in a faint. Krillin
supposed he should have been proud, but somehow the knowledge that he could
defeat a six-year-old didn't seem to give him much cause for celebration. He
supposed he had better watch out for Bulma in the future.
Vegeta finished his warm-up exercises. He walked slowly toward the center of he
room, his eyes on the android facing him. He grinned as the adrenaline began
rushing through his veins; his opponent, however, glared coldly at him. He
watched the android carefully, looking for weaknesses. He decided to test the
android's strength first, so as soon as the bell rung, Vegeta fired a moderately
powerful ki blast at his opponent. Vegeta was close enough to the android that
17 had no choice but to counter the blast with one of his own. Vegeta watched
with mild amusement as the android began to counter the blast, but instead of
matching it, the android simply threw it aside. This surprised the Saiya-jin
somewhat, but he didn't let it affect his fighting. He launched himself full
force at the android. 17 easily countered or dodged all of Vegeta's attacks.
Vegeta became somewhat worried. He knew that he was the strongest fighter in the
universe, blah blah blah, so how could this punk be stronger blah blah blah?
Vegeta pushed those thoughts from his mind; he barely dodged as 17 threw a punch
of his own. 17 flew back, grinning.
"You're laughable. If I wasn't trying to have fun, I could beat you in an
instant. You should give up before you get hurt."
"Why you little... where'd you pick up that attitude? Were you watching me
sometime?" Vegeta countered. 17 didn't appreciate Vegeta's wit.
"This arena is too small. Don't you agree?"
"Yes, quite. Why don't you kill that half of the audience so that we can
have some elbow room?"
The audience to which Vegeta referred immediately scrambled for the exits,
deciding that watching the tournament on television would be safer.
"Oh, I don't know... why not that half?"
"For one, the referees are over there, and my wife, for another."
"Alright then..."
"Oh, wait, stepping out of the ring is a disqualification..."
"Oh, well. Back to work."
Vegeta and 17 launched into another battle. The arena shuddered from the force
of their blows. Vegeta forced the offensive on 17, who had to back up, until he
caught Vegeta's leg and threw him into the ground. Vegeta got up again; and
again, and again, but each time, he was defeated. He lay on the ground a third
time, cursing his opponent. He let his rage flow freely, hoping that he'd get
another burst of power. He reached into his armor, and drew out his trump card.
A senzu bean.
He popped it into his mouth and stepped back to the far edge of the arena. His
wounds became healed and his armor swelled out from the rapid muscle growth that
happens to every Saiya-jin when he is defeated and survives. He smiled at 17,
who merely shrugged the effects off and began pounding Vegeta again. Vegeta put
up a lot more of a fight this time; 17 almost had trouble knocking him into the
ground. Vegeta spat out a loose molar and hit the ground with his fists.
"I don't care about winning! I just want to beat him!" Vegeta screamed
with rage. At that moment, something strange happened.
Vegeta's eyes, to anyone who was watching closely, turned an odd shade of green.
His hair began flashing yellow. And soon, Super Saiya-jin Vegeta stood, looking
triumphant, before the amazed stands. 17 had time for a look of mild surprise
before Vegeta landed a hard punch to his stomach. He began analyzing Vegeta's
new body. It was much, much stronger...
17 turned his power up to full and began the duel with Vegeta. Vegeta was much,
much stronger, and faster, too... it took every ounce of 17's strength to keep
up with the exhilarated warrior. 17, however, was soon able to regain the upper
hand of the battle and equalized the odds by kicking Vegeta in the face. Vegeta
soon recovered and fought furiously, as if his very life depended on the outcome
of this battle. 17 suffered three severe blows and was knocked to the ground
himself. His eyes now flashed with rage. The audience waited. Was another
transformation in store?
17 didn't go Super Saiya-jin, but he did get up and fly toward Vegeta. He looked
at him very closely and decided that he would need every ounce of his strength.
Vegeta began his final assault, throwing punches and kicks too fast for the
audience to follow. 17 blocked and dodged them just as fast. Vegeta flew
backwards, and then sped full-force towards 17. This was the opportunity 17 had
been waiting for. As soon as Vegeta reached 17, the android sidestepped the
Saiya-jin and used the warrior's momentum to send him speeding into an empty set
of stands, which collapsed around him. Vegeta rose, infuriated, and ready to
continue. As he was about to do so, however, the referee blew his whistle and
declared 17 to be the winner. Vegeta was out of bounds.
Vegeta's hair and eyes returned to their original state; he simply couldn't
believe what he had just heard. He turned and blew open the entire half of the
stadium that had been evacuated, and flew off. He was joined later by his son
and wife, who kept their distance. Bulma moved cautiously, tenderly forward, but
Vegeta suddenly blasted a nearby mountain range into dust. Bulma jumped back,
startled, but Trunks ran up to his father and stared him right in the face.
"How come you're so mad, Dad? It's all right. It's no big deal. And if you
want to know something really unfair, I'll tell you."
"What's that?"
"I got beated by that short guy with no nose."
Vegeta, despite his rage, his anger, his humiliation, and sheer fury, could not
help laughing at his son. He put his hand on Trunks' head, and the two looked
deep into each other's eyes. Vegeta felt a swelling of pride in the fact that
his son was able to show so much self-control. He turned to face Bulma.
"Come. Kakarott's son is next."
Chapter Seven
Gohan was nervous. He'd seen 17 in action, and even Vegeta as a Super-Saiya-jin
couldn't beat him; and 18 was her sister! No to mention that she was a...
well... girl! Gohan would feel about as comfortable fighting her as he would
Master Roshi, now in his 80's! He ranted at the wall for a while, then got up
and removed the weighted clothing he had inherited from his father and took a
shower. He decided to use the small, elf-like shoes Piccolo had shown him how to
make, which weighed almost nothing. He got out of the showers in the locker room
and put a towel around his waist. He was walking to his locker when he saw Mr.
Satan, the former martial arts world champion. He was crying on a bench near the
exit. He tried to leave, but he suddenly heard the voice of what had to be one
fine chick.
"Oh, it's all right, father. You've enjoyed ten years of being the
champion; it's time to step aside."
"What!?! The world martial arts champion, step down? I'd rather take my
chances with that green freak with the turban."
Somewhere, Piccolo sneezed.
"Father, please calm down. These people were part of the Earth Special
Forces team, remember? They're almost inhuman! The fact that you even made it
past the trials proves that you're the strongest person in the world!"
Gohan decided not to eavesdrop anymore and tried to sneak out the door. Mr.
Satan's daughter heard him passing.
"Who's there?"
Gohan turned around, grinning, and waved at the two.
"Uh, hi! What's your name?"
The girl blushed. Gohan suddenly remembered he wasn't wearing anything but a
towel. Mr. Satan completely ignored the two of them, as he was totally engrossed
in his self-pity.
"Videl. What's yours?"
"Gohan. Um, if you don't mind my asking, why are you in the locker room?
There aren't supposed to be girls in here."
"Oh! I, um, well... sorry! Gotta go! Bye!"
Videl turned on her heel and zoomed out of the room. Gohan was left there with
the oblivious Mr. Satan. He turned, confused, moved over to his locker, and
changed into his clothes, omitting his weighted shirt and wristbands. He then
cleared his head of all thoughts related to girls (namely Videl) and stepped out
of the lockers into the battle arena.
Gohan walked toward the edge of the ring. He passed Piccolo on the way and
grinned at him, and Piccolo returned with a small smile. Gohan confidently
walked to the center of the ring and bowed to his opponent, the former android
18. She bowed back and smiled at him. Gohan, determined to ignore her
femininity, smiled back and assumed a fighting stance. The whistle blew.
18 attacked. Gohan was surprised at her speed, but he managed to block most of
her punches and kicks. He counterattacked; she stopped all of his attacks with
ease. He was amazed at her power. She landed a hard punch to his stomach, and
Gohan was forced to step back and recover. He began calculating what the best
way to defeat the former android would be. He stood up, faced the android, and
powered up to full power. Exhilarated by the feeling of power he got, he
attacked android 18. 18 had a much harder time of it than before; she managed to
block four of Gohan's punches for every one he got in. She counterattacked and
knocked Gohan back. She powered up this time and lit into Gohan. Now Gohan was
the one having trouble again. She kneed him in the stomach and clenched her
fists together to knock him to the ground. Another crater formed in the already
pockmarked arena floor. Gohan got up, determined. He began to power up again,
and he decided to go all out. He powered himself up as much as possible. He
accessed the hidden regions of power within his body and used his Saiya-jin
blood to power himself up to the max. In other words, he went Super Saiya-jin.
This caused an uproar of excitement from the stands, and the audience was wild
with excitement (Bulma even managed to get "the Wave" started). Gohan
smiled in ecstasy as his father's legacy coursed through his veins. 18 looked
apprehensive. She launched another offensive, but Gohan now held the upper hand.
He blocked and countered every attack. He carefully picked and chose his
attacks, careful not to damage her, but beating her all the same. Gohan finally
decided that the battle was over; he punched her in the stomach and karate
chopped her onto the ground. Just before she hit, Gohan met her with his knee;
she doubled up in pain and rolled out of the boundaries of the ring. The whistle
blew, and Gohan let his hair fall back down into it's normal shade of black. He
took in the cheers of the crowd and happily bowed to 18, who had recovered.
"No hard feelings?" He asked.
"None." She replied.
After the battle, the tournament was over for the day. He went looking for Videl,
hoping she had been watching, but she was nowhere to be found.
Chapter Eight
The tournament was to continue in two days, allowing time for recovery. Gohan
found Videl prying her father off of the judges, who refused to be bribed. She
looked extremely nervous, as if she was afraid someone would see her. Gohan
walked right up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped (literally)
eight feet into the air and would have landed on her father, if Gohan hadn't
caught her. He grinned at her, and she smiled shyly back.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Gohan and Videl met Krillin, 18, Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunks for dinner that
evening. Krillin was dressed in his favorite white suit with a red tie; Gohan
was dressed in a white, short- sleeved shirt with navy blue slacks, and Vegeta
surprised everyone by changing out of his armor into a three-piece suit with a
deep blue sports coat, black slacks, and a shiny yellow-gold shirt underneath.
Bulma, Videl, and 18 had gone clothes shopping earlier that day, taking the time
to get to know each other. Bulma and Videl had a hard time giving 18 a fashion
sense.
"After all, I'm only four years old," she explained, telling her
history of being an android to her excited girlfriends.
The only problem arose when the three women showed up for dinner, fully made up,
and Bulma showed the bill to Vegeta. He looked like he was going to burst a very
familiar vein in his forehead. Krillin took a look, and almost fainted. Gohan
was shocked at the number of figures. In the end, Vegeta called up Bulma's
father, who sent over one of Bulma's credit cards to pay off the debt. Bulma
finally managed to calm Vegeta down by offering to let him drive them all to
dinner. Vegeta immediately brightened up, and after dropping Trunks off at a
babysitter's house, Vegeta led them over to a brand-new Suburban. Everyone piled
in, and Vegeta warned them to put on their seat belts before he pulled out of
the parking lot. Vegeta did better than usual in his driving; he only ran two
cars off the road who cut him off, and he only broadsided the one car that ran a
red light. He showed his insurance to the cops, and after seeing his ID, they
backed off slowly and easily. Vegeta seemed to have a reputation among the
police force. Gohan noticed that the car wasn't even dented; Bulma explained
that she had triple reinforced the outside with full titanium armor. Krillin
supressed a small chuckle, which was lucky, because it probably would have
landed him in the ER.
Finally, they reached their destination: a high class restaurant named
Entanucci's. 18 made a scene by ordering a little of everything; it seemed that
she had never tasted Italian food before. Everyone else ordered simply; Gohan
and Krillin ordered a pizza to share, while Vegeta ordered a plate of lasagna.
He tried to order a beer, but Bulma nudged him hard and glowered at him. With a
grunt, he ordered a bottle of wine instead. Gohan brightened up, but Bulma
looked at him and Videl and said, "You can't have any; you're too
young." Gohan swore under his breath. 18 tried to order single glasses of
different beverages, but Bulma said, "You can't either. You are too."
After dinner, Krillin surprised them all by pointing out a spot that had a full
view of the city on one side, the tournament arena on the other, and the
mountains in the background. Vegeta surprised them all by driving perfectly, and
Gohan came up with a great idea to entertain everyone. He summoned up some of
his ki; not much, but just enough to produce a faint glow. He charged up an
energy disk; the brightness of the energy was strong for a second, then dimmed
as Gohan shifted his power level. He used different bursts of energy to produce
swirling colors in the table-sized disk, which swirled majestically within the
confines of the disk. Then, with a swift motion too fast for anyone to follow,
he broke up the energy disk into tiny sparks of light, which glowed an
indescribable mixture of colors. The sparks showered down around them; the girls
recoiled at first, but the sparks were no more forceful than a slight breeze
blowing across their faces. Gohan let the last of the sparks hang in the air
after all the others were gone; then he whisked it away far into the night.
They all applauded.
Chapter Nine
Chaozu was easily taken down by Yamcha. Krillin then had to take on Gohan.
Krillin only fought half-heartedly; he knew that Gohan was much stronger than he
was. Eventually, Gohan picked Krillin up and made a great show of beating him up
and tossing him out of the ring. After the match, Gohan apologized profusely,
and Krillin accepted (Gohan had pulled his punches). 17 was bypassed by the
tournament for that round.
Only two rounds remained. 17 was to fight Yamcha, and the winner of that match
would fight
Gohan. Yamcha managed to get in three punches before the android picked him up
by his hair (which he had grown out again) and spun him around and around.
Finally, 17 let go, and Yamcha flew out of the ring (and out of the stadium, and
out of the city, etc.).
Finally, it was time for 17 and Gohan to battle. Another two day break was in
place, and 17 approached Gohan the day before the battle.
"You'd better quit. My sister is a lot weaker than I am. I'd suggest you
forfeit the match, before you find yourself seriously hurt."
"Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what I went through to get
here?" That wasn't an entirely true statement; Gohan would probably have to
go through hell and back with his mother after she found out where he was, but
he figured it was close enough.
"I don't care. I'm doing this for your own good; there just isn't anyone in
the universe stronger than I am. I can't be blamed for not warning you."
With that, android 17 walked away, out of sight. Gohan waited until he couldn't
see the android anymore, and then rushed over to the nearest vidphone.
"Hello, operator? Yes, I'd like to place a call... Yes, long distance...
okay, I'll hold..."
One hundred miles away, the woman known as Chi-chi was just getting home from
her visit to Ox-king's mountain. She pulled her air car into her driveway and
walked into the house.
"Gohan? I'm home..." She was cut off by the sound of the phone
ringing. She walked over and picked it up, and then pressed the button that
would allow her to see her caller.
"Hi, Mom! What's up?"
"Gohan! Where are you? You're not fighting, are you?"
"Um... not right now..."
"Good. Where exactly are you?"
"I'm at the Tenkaichi Boudokai. My last fight is tomorrow, and I'm tied for
first!"
"WHAT!?!?! YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T FIGHTING!!!!!"
"Mom, it's okay! I haven't clenched my fists in two years! I needed to get
away for a while! Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that my match will be
televised and I wanted you to watch me..."
The rest of Chi-chi's ranting has been omitted, to protect the reader.
That night, Bulma asked Gohan for a favor.
"I want to go out with Vegeta tonight, to straighten out a business deal,
and we can't take Trunks. I was wondering if you could babysit...?"
"Sure, Bulma. Could I bring Videl along?"
"Well... All right. But don't give Trunks any bad ideas!"
"Don't worry, we won't. I'll take good care of him."
"Gee, thanks!"
Gohan showed up, ready to restrain Vegeta's son, if need be. As it turned out,
Trunks took more after his grandmother than anyone else; he was strong, but also
very polite. Gohan did have to keep him from stealing all the cookies, but the
evening went otherwise normally. As a matter of fact, Trunks seemed to take a
strong liking to the older Saiya-jin. Trunks began to imitate Gohan, even down
to tying his short hair into a ponytail (which looked pretty ridiculous).
Eventually, it was time for bed. After Trunks was asleep, Gohan offered to carry
him into his room. Videl agreed, but she began worrying about Gohan's
intentions. This was only the second date... Videl decided to keep the door
open, in case she needed to bolt. She got out her can of mace and her police
nightstick. She knew it wouldn't do much, but she wasn't that slow, so she
figured if she got him with the mace in the eyes and shoved the nightstick down
his throat, it might distract him enough to let her escape...
Chapter Ten
Chi-chi decided that as long as her son was already comitted, she'd better cheer
him on; she arrived twenty minutes before the match started and gave Gohan a
quick lecture that turned his face completely red. To make it worse, Videl
walked in halfway through the "what would your father say" part, which
was actually good for Chi-chi, since they both knew that Goku would not only
defend Gohan, but probably enter the tournament himself. Gohan glowed red. Videl,
however, instead of laughing, took Chi-chi aside and began befriending her,
giving Gohan a chance to cool down. He snuck off to the arena. Just as he was
almost out of sight, he heard his mother.
"Just a minute, young man. We're going to talk after this match. And...
well.. YOU'D BETTER WIN."
Gohan breathed easier and walked off toward the ring.
The android classified as 17 walked into the arena. He thought of this match,
which would be his final triumph. No matter that the other androids had become
renegades; he had dealt with all of them except for 18, and she was now a human.
He decided not to bother with her. She was no longer a threat. He breathed
deeply. Finally, I will have my revenge on Goku. If I cannot destroy him, I will
destroy his only living heir, and then his wife. It is a good thing I programmed
my identity into both androids 17 and 20. I knew that rebellion was possible.
Dr. Gero, in his youthful android body, laughed quietly, and moved into the
ring.
Gohan stepped into the arena, which had been tripled in size from the last one.
He saw his opponent smiling. Gohan frowned. Smiling opponents were a bad thing;
especially ones that could defeat Super Saiya-jin Vegeta. Gohan powered up to
Super Saiya-jin before the match started. 17 looked at him, half-impressed. No
problem, 17 thought.
The bell rang.
17 charged forward, expecting an immediate kill. Gohan knocked his punch aside
and countered with a knee to 17's face, but 17 was quick enough to counter it.
The battle quickly heated up, and it was clear that neither opponent was holding
back.
The battle lasted for hours without either fighter gaining the upper hand.
Finally, Gohan's exhaustion got the better of him. 17 took quick advantage of
this. Within seconds, Gohan had been smashed into the ground, his ribs broken,
bleeding from the corner of his mouth. 17 hovered over Gohan's body.
"Finally, I have my revenge. At last, a battle that my enemy cannot escape
from. Do you know who I am, boy?" Gohan groaned. "I am Dr. Gero, the
leader of the former Red Ribbon Army. The army that your father singlehandedly
destroyed!"
Gohan moaned inaudibly, barely conscious.
"I was going to use this android to destroy your father, but since a
disease has already done that for me, I shall take my revenge on you. I
sincerely hope that you are able to meet your father wherever you are
going..."
Dr. Gero, in android 17's body, powered up an energy blast. He was about to
unleash his full power on the boy when something small struck him from behind.
"What the-!" Trunks had landed a flying kick into the small of the
android's back.
"You stay away from him! You've already won!"
"Be quiet, child. I shall deal with you later; no doubt you are the son of
that insolent fool, Vegeta. I shall most likely have to kill you before you make
too much trouble. I have been preparing for this event for years. I made sure
that Gohan would not back out on this match, because I offered to let hiim back
down. Gohan's pride is too great for that."
"What?!? I don't care about any of... whatever you just said! I said leave
him alone!"
Trunks launched another attack at Dr. Gero, but this one never connected. Trunks
was now laying on the floor next to Gohan; he tried to get up, but he fainted.
Once again, Dr. Gero powered up an energy blast, to take them both to the next
dimension. The blast was deflected in midair by another blast, this one from
Vegeta.
"Now what?!?"
"Hey, you rusty bucket of bolts! Stay away from my son!" A full Super
Saiya-jin, Vegeta stood before Dr. Gero's aggravated robot body, which had
fooled everyone. Dr. Gero was beginning to become frustrated. He threw a small
energy blast at Vegeta, who dodged it effortlessly. Too late, Vegeta realized
where he was; the energy blast was headed straight for the stands... and exactly
where Bulma, Chi-chi, Videl, Ox-king, and everyone else was sitting.he heard an
explosion, but he couldn't see through the dust.
"YOU COWARD! YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME BY ATTACKING - NOT ONLY MY SON - BUT
MY WIFE AS WELL!!!!" Vegeta seethed with anger. The orange glow around his
body glowed even brighter. "YOU... WILL... PAY... NOW!!!!"
Vegeta's body suddenly expanded; he became a gigantic, hulking mass of muscle
and pure energy. Dr. Gero sensed an immediate surge in Vegeta's power before the
device that measured his enemies' strength malfunctioned.
"It does not matter to me how much uglier you look! You will never be a
match for me!" With that, Dr. Gero attacked. Vegeta had not time for
humoring his foe; he deftly disarmed the doctor and flew down to his son.
"Trunks. Get up. I know you can."
"Father... I... failed... my friend..." And he fainted again.
Gohan grunted and reached into his tunic. He pulled out a tiny pinch of powder.
"Darn... so much for my senzu bean. I guess he got it with one of those
kicks..."
"Shut up, you're bleeding. If he's hurt my wife..."
Vegeta got up and turned to face the armless android. "About that payment
we discussed earlier... I'm afraid that cash won't do. I'm going to have to take
it out of your weak metal skin!"
Once again, Dr. Gero felt the helpless sensation of fighting a stronger foe...
but this time, he had no more duplicates.
Chapter Eleven
Gohan took a full month to recover from his injuries, and Vegeta took a couple
of years to get over the ego trip. Videl, Chi-chi, and Bulma took turns watching
Gohan and Trunks; gohan was in full traction for a week. Gohan had a relapse
when Videl hugged him, hard. I should've known she'd be even more powerful than
her dad...
Vegeta stood guard, and whenever anyone asked him about what went on inside the
half- empty arena that day, all he would say was, "I finally beat Kakarott."
That was the most anyone could get out of him.
Krillin, and 18, who had been sitting with Bulma, had protected their party from
Dr. Gero's pwer blast. Trunks gave 18 a big hug, and she blushed red. Bulma, as
always, had remained unscathed; except for her hair, that is. She was now
wearing it to imitate Vegeta's SSJ2 hair, and it kept getting stuck in doorways.
When asked, Bulma stated that she needed half a gallon of hair gel each day to
keep it up. When asked how much it took Vegeta, she said it was, "always
like that."
As for Krillin and 18, they had a baby girl ten months later, and they named her
Eighteen. (which was destined to get some weird looks: "is that how many
brothers and sisters you have?") Gohan wound up marrying Videl. They had
four healthy babies. Their eldest was named Bulma, then Goku, then Vegeta, then
Gohan. (Bulma Jr. was slated for a tough life... Elder sister to three Super
Saiya-jin... but, she didn't know that yet.)
As for the other Androids? 19 was elected Head of Internal Security in the
Chinese cabinet, while 16 became a Canadian forest ranger who killed any hunters
he found.
And so, they all lived happily ever after... or, at least as long as anyone can
in the world of the Dragon Balls!
The End