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Thank you xBlack.Rose.Sirenx!

Right, recap. Trunks has been infected with the same virus as all of Dagon's victims. The Professor has created a cure that, hopefully, will help him.

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira; the DW devices (TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, etc) belong to the BBC. The Professor and Dagon belong to me. On with the show!

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It had been two days since Trunks had fallen at the hands of Dagon, and already he was making an improvement. The Professor checked the rash on his upper torso.

"That's really gone down. At this rate, Trunks'll be up and about again in no time."

"Really Professor? That's great news!" Gohan said.

"Yep. Now, there's just one more patient I need to see to. Where did Vegeta go?"

"He's probably in the anti-gravity chamber, training as always. If I were you, I wouldn't disturb him." The Professor nodded and went outside. To her surprise, she found Vegeta sat outside the house. Cautiously, remembering her last 'meeting' alone with him, she approached him. He sensed her coming.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, startling her. He turned to her. The Professor could see how serious he was, but there was something else there. Distress? Confusion?

"Because, I had to do something. I couldn't let Dagon kill your son." Vegeta sighed and looked away. She sat down next to him, studying him.

"How are you feeling? I take it your energy has come back?" Vegeta nodded. "Thought so."

"What happened to me out there?" he suddenly asked. "You seem to know everything; tell me what happened."

"I wouldn't say I know everything. Just because I'm a Time Lady, it doesn't make me some sort of Oracle. However, I think I do know what happened to you. Did you transform? Or power up, or what ever you want to call it?" she looked at him questioningly. His silence was all the answer she needed. She nodded, brushing the top of her teeth with her tongue in thought. "Aha, that'll explain it. You remember I told you that the spores absorbed energy? That's what happened. He must have linked onto your aura and taken your energy from there." He nodded, looking down slightly. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, however the Professor did. She smiled a little.

"By the way, Trunks is doing well. Give him a couple of days and he'll be as right as rain." After that, she went inside, leaving Vegeta with his thoughts. He looked after her, wondering how, after he had attacked her, she was brave enough to sit next to him and talk to him as if nothing had happened. Was she just as forgiving as Goku? No, he didn't feel so. She had been through so much that it would be hard to be as naive as Goku.

The Professor sat watching over Trunks, lost in thought. The only person she would talk to was Gohan, and even that wasn't as frequently as before. Gohan was beginning to get worried about his friend. He found her sat outside late the next morning. Cautiously he walked up to her.

"Professor? Is everything alright?" he asked. She didn't seem to notice his question.

"Oh, Gohan. I just wish there was other ways around it. I hate killing anyone, even if they're a danger. But, not everyone is as idealistic as me." She looked to him, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears and smiled softly. "I'm old now, so old. I used to have so much mercy. Now, people get one chance and one chance alone. After that, if I don't like what they're doing, I end it, there and then. No arguments. Only problem is so many people die while I try to help. I suppose that's what comes with travelling the universe 900 years. More, actually. Seeing what I've seen, doing what I've had to do. It destroys you if you can't handle it. That's what surprises me about you Gohan. You've seen so much and done so much for your age, it's a miracle it hasn't warped your mind, driven you insane."

"To tell you the truth, it surprises me too. There have been times that I've wished that people would just stop fighting each other. I suppose that's my human side." The Professor nodded knowingly. "We have to wait, though, don't we?" His sudden question startled her.

"Wait? For what?"

"Before we can do anything about Dagon. We're one short. We can't fight him without Trunks."

"I'm hoping you won't need to fight him at all."

"Huh?" Gohan turned to his friend, confused by her statement.

"Last night, I filled more vials with the mixture I injected into Trunks' arm. If only a small amount worked on the rash, imagine what three vials full of the stuff could do? The only problem is actually getting it inside Dagon. Ironic, really, using the stuff he's made of to defeat him. However, it might be the only way." Gohan nodded in understanding.

"Have you thought of a way?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. We have to get the vials into him intact. If they come into contact with open air, they'll disperse. Then, we simply crack them open."

"Yeah? And how do we do that?"

"Well, think about it. We don't want to do it by hand; because he'll drain you dry. And I know that you're chi blasts are really powerful…"

"Yeah, but he can absorb them too remember?"

"Not if it's too powerful. Or there's more than one."

"Yeah…ah! Now I get it! We all fire at him!"

"That's it! By Jove, I think you've got it!" She burst out laughing, Gohan not far behind her. "C'mon, let's tell the others. The sooner we get this plan in motion, the better."

That night, the Professor was finding it extremely difficult to sleep. She couldn't describe it, but she knew that she was feeling lost and alone. But why? She thought about what might happen during their fight with Dagon. What if it all went wrong? What if she lost everyone the same way she lost her family? She couldn't afford to lose anymore people to evil beings. She got up and realised her cheeks were damp. 'I've been crying?' she pondered. It wasn't usual that she let herself cry, but thinking about the memories she had of Gallifrey always brought tears to her eyes. With a sigh, she left her ship and walked a little way into the forest. The night air on Earth always helped clear her thoughts, the freshness, the liveliness. Even in the dead of night like this, it was rarely quiet. The planet was alive, that's what she loved about it. There was a rustle behind her, making her stop dead in her tracks. She looked around, brow furrowed. She was sure she'd just caught the glimpse of a pink-purple figure. She shrugged and carried on a little further.

"Out for a midnight stroll?" a cold, callous voice asked from behind her. She turned to find Dagon standing not too far away behind her.

"Dagon!" she gasped. Slowly, she stepped backwards, putting space between herself and him, all the while slowly reaching for her instrument. Unfortunately, he noticed her and shot a beam that just skimmed her coat.

"There'll be none of that. Now, if I were you, I'd run as fast as I can away from me. It makes things a little more...interesting." He cackled as she turned and ran as fast as she could further into the forest. As she wasn't human, she could run twice as fast. However, it wasn't enough. After a few seconds, he gave chase, slowly catching up.

"I've got you now! I'll make you pay for what you did to me!" he cackled. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the Professor abruptly stop and dive out of the way. When he did, it was too late, and crashed into a large tree, the force trapping him within the stiff wood. He saw the Professor walk around until she was in front of him. Her expression was stern. Her green eyes burned with a cold, hard fire. Her very aura gave off a feeling that she was not going to give him another chance.

"I'm going to say this once and once alone. You go, leave these people and all others alone. Just leave. You have the power to. Just go, disintegrate, disperse, whatever. But if you ever return, I will be here, as will my friends, to stop you. Is that understood?" She turned and walked away. He struggled against his new prison, letting out a roar as he splintered the now rotting trunk, causing the tree to collapse, and falling towards the Professor. She looked up in time to see the tree crashing down towards her. She leapt out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough, and the tree landed with an earth shaking thud on her legs, knocking her down. She struggled and fought against the painful weight against her legs. She heard a malevolent chuckle behind her. Turning her head as far as it would go, she saw Dagon looming over her.

"Now, I'm going to tell you something. You should never have gotten yourself involved with this. But, because you have, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." He cackled, charging a purple coloured chi blast in his hand.

"Say goodnight, girlie." He was about to throw it at her when that ringing started in his head again. The ball disappeared as he clutched his head in pain. He cried out and collapsed to his knees. He looked at the Professor, who was pointing her probe at him, bathing him in the blue light. He'd had enough.

"I'll kill you for this!! Mark my words!" With that, he once again dispersed into the atmosphere. The Professor collapsed to the ground, exhausted. She couldn't deny that she had been terrified.

--

She didn't know how long it had been since her second encounter with the threat. Clearly it had been long enough because she'd dozed. She woke up to the sound of someone calling her voice.

"Gohan! I'm over here, my boy!" she called out after recognising the voice. She saw him running towards her, his father not far behind.

"Professor, what happened?" Goku asked as he and Gohan threw the tree trunk off her with relative ease.

"Dagon. He was here." She replied as she sat up on her knees. "He nearly killed me. It's a good job I never leave without my screwdriver, or I would be dead by now."

"What happened to him? Where'd he go?" Gohan asked.

"Same as before. Seems that sonic devices still affect him. It must be to do with the spores, they can't handle it perhaps? But one thing's definitely for sure, when he reappears, he's not going to be very happy with me, no sir, not one little bit."

"In that case, perhaps it'd be best if you stayed in the house tomorrow. I don't want to see you get hurt," Gohan said, half pleading with her. He hadn't known her for very long, but it was long enough to know that she wouldn't take no for an answer. They had begun heading back to the house, Goku on one side, Gohan on the other, almost expecting the monster to attack again at moment.

"What, and miss all the action? I know you mean well, Gohan, but honestly, asking me not to fight? Terrible! Couldn't not fight! Of course, it wouldn't be anywhere near the standard that you're used to, but I can give just as good as I get. Besides, what else will you do if my invention doesn't work completely on him?"

"Well, we'd just..." Gohan stopped, thinking over the possibilities. Chi blasts wouldn't work, he simply absorbed them. And they couldn't fight him in close combat, they'd get infected.

"The correct answer is nothing, Gohan. I'm sorry, but even you with your extraordinary powers wouldn't be able to stop him. You saw what happened to Vegeta, right? The same would happen to you, no matter how weak he gets. The weaker he gets, the more dangerous he will be. That's why I have to go with you. I can at least provide a distraction." Neither of the Saiyans liked it, but they knew that arguing with the Professor was ludicrous. She wasn't going to back down anytime soon. Reluctantly, they nodded, even though they knew that the Professor would be in serious danger if she did. She didn't seem to care about the dangers, she knew the dangers. All she wanted to do was stop this menace before it got totally out of hand. Gohan watched his friend as she headed into the spare room when they came back to the house.

"You're a remarkable person, Professor. You really are."

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That's that chapter! Sorry I took so long. Like I'd said, I wasn't sure if anyone was reading it. Thank you xBlack.Rose.Sirenx. You saved a story. ;)