The Third & The History of Tank

Chapter 4

Hello again! Dankeschön to Juliedoo for reviewing the last chapter! Glad you see everything as plausible :) This is another edition of History of Tank and dare I say it, the dog days are over.

As someone who is fairly knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the DBZ plot, one thing I found to be difficult to swallow was the assumption that Goku and the others abandoned Earth after their deaths. To remedy that I'm going to give them some input in this story. Hope you like it.

Warning: This chapter includes violence instigated by evil mechanical cyborgs against children. AND this hasn't been beta'ed...

The History of Tank: Chapter 2

Otherworld, April 21st, 773, Timeline #3

King Yemma read over the request with scrupulous attention. He couldn't recollect the last time he was presented with a one-day revival request and now he was being presented with six on a single contract. He read over the reasons and purpose for the revivals and though it greatly pained him to do so, he pressed his unsightly red stamp on the contract.

The long white sheet with a large REJECTED imprinting drifted down to requesters. A wild-haired man clad in a orange and blue training gi groused painstakingly.

"Rejected?!" Goku cried, clenching his fists.

There was an outcry from Fortuneteller Baba, Goku, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo. They all groaned and gasped from disappointment.

King Yemma leaned over with effort from his colossal height and saw the old woman floating upon a crystal ball amongst the large muscular fighters. "Five revivals from Otherworld and one from Hell to fight on Earth?! I'm sorry Baba but you know six on one contract takes more power than we're capable of."

"Then send the strongest back!" Krillin urged.

"Send Goku and Piccolo! Or Vegeta!" Tien added.

King Yemma couldn't help but glance over the contract once more. Five of the six requesters were standing before him, leading him to wonder, did they even ask the Saiyan Prince before they put his name on the request?

With a heavy heart, King Yemma reinforced his refusal, "The reason specified in the contract is not justified."

"Not justified?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Have you seen the horror back on Earth?!" Tien rasped.

King Yemma flipped the pages of his large notebook, spotting all of the souls arriving in masses from the blue planet. "I AM aware of the massacre those mechanical monstrosities are committing on Earth. After each attack, they come by the thousands." King Yemma looked over to the never ending line of ghosts.

"We've got to do something!"

"You must let us go back to Earth!"

"Everyone is counting on us!"

The five men were tiny compared to the giant yet their voices reached the four corners of the hall, clouding King Yemma's ability to string a sentence in his thoughts. Tired of trying to get a word in the argument, he slammed his palm soundly on his desk.

"SILENCE!" His powerful voice overpowered the desperate clamor, dashing their hopes of changing his mind. The men stopped shouting mid-sentence, shaking from emotion, and then finally tipping their heads in defeat. King Yemma began again, calmer. "It is out of my power to grant this request. You have all been dead for about five Earth years and it would be irresponsible of me to let the dead interfere. It is not your place anymore. That's my final decision." For effect, he slammed his hammer and bellowed, "Next!"

Goku, Krillin, Piccolo, Yamcha and Tien bitterly returned to King Kai's planet. Krillin trembled from anger that was progressively difficult to contain. Finally he yowled then smashed his fist into the concrete walkway of King Kai's home. The concrete split and cracked a sizable rift towards King Kai's car.

The Northern Lord's antennae flicked straight up from distress. "Wah! Watch the car you vandal!"

Krillin's fellow dead fighters stared on empathetically. If they all showed their emotion, King Kai's planet would be rubble.

"Damn it." Krillin groused slowly regaining his stance.

"I really thought we're going back to Earth." Yamcha heaved dejectedly.

"How can King Yemma mean 'not our place anymore?!" Tien's bald head was shiny from nervous beads of sweat.

"It just means that we have to find another way to Earth." Piccolo muttered as he sat arms crossed against the sole tree on the planet.

The four fighters instantly turned to the most silent of their group: Son Goku. As the strongest, he was their natural leader. Yet he merely stared down at his boots with an expression nearing forfeit.

"I never imagined he would say no to you, Goku." Tien grunted then gritted his teeth.

"We saved the Earth how many times and now we're stuck here in Otherworld doing nothing!" Krillin griped. "It can't end like this."

"King Kai! You have to negotiate with King Yemma. The androids are ruining the whole planet." Yamcha pleaded.

The Northern Kai's antennae drooped, pondering and conjuring dreadful images of Earth. He hated himself for what he needed to tell them.

"King Kai?!" Krillin hollered, his voice piercing through King Kai's train of thought.

"What?!" The Kai snapped. "I told you guys that King Yemma would have no choice but to refuse the request. Why should he approve? So you all can go down there and DIE again?! The truth is that none of you are strong enough to fight the androids. Even if you were, I cannot treat your case any differently than any other planet. Unnra, another planet just like Earth is suffering from a planet-wide civil war. Do you know how many fighters would also return to Unnra if given the chance? We cannot bend the rules for an isolated threat."

"There weren't rules when you needed us to fight Frieza!" Piccolo hoarsely shouted.

"We helped save the Namekians from extinction and Goku destroyed the tyrant Frieza and we can't even save our own planet?!" Krillin exclaimed.

King Kai clenched his fists and shook his head viciously. "Don't any of you understand?! Frieza was different. He was a threat to the entire cosmos and warranted Otherworld's interference. There are thousands of planets in my quadrant and not all of them are in peace. King Yemma and I cannot grant favoritism when we know of millions of other dead warriors who want to fight for their planet. You all know I'm profoundly sorry, but you are all dead and of Otherworld now. The dead and Otherworld are not supposed to interfere with the living world."

"You've seen it King Kai! Gohan and the others need our help!" Tien persisted.

"You can't tell us that we can't do anything to help them!" Yamcha choked out.

King Kai frowned. He wished as much of them that King Yemma could grant their request, but it was simply impossible. "I'm sorry boys, but Gohan and the others are on their own."

Whatever hope that survived King Yemma's rejection floundered in their sorrow, wallowing deeper and deeper until they could no longer feel it. Time drifted faster in Otherworld yet five years on Earth dragged like a century to the Z-warriors.

One by one they joined Goku, who died suddenly of a heart virus, but one consolation was their ability to brainstorm together. For over five years they deliberated, watching as Earth's forces dwindled in strength than into hiding. The android trio lived unchallenged at the expense of the Earthlings and it was maddening that there was nothing they could do! Though none of them verbally admitted it, they mutually blamed themselves for their failure. The bright future they imagined after Frieza was ripped to shreds because of their lack of strength.

Gohan, whom they last saw as a ten year old boy, had inherited the burden. Trunks and Tank were still so young. Trunks was a newborn when they died and none of them had met Tank. It was hard to decide what was more saddening: Gohan the cheery child they knew burdened because of their failure or Bulma's kids growing up without knowing peace.

However, they imagined Goku to be saddest of them all. He hadn't even gotten the chance to challenge the androids. He muttered occasionally that he thought he could have made a difference if his chance hadn't been stolen by a virus.

They all turned to their leader as if praying for his usual optimism to suddenly smile at them and declare that he knew a way to bypass the rules or that if they just trained enough they could win.

They didn't count how long they stood in silence until Goku placed two fingers to his forehead. Before his best friend could react and inquire as to where he was going, the saiyan disappeared.

"Gok—Where did he go?"

Earth, April 21st, 773, Timeline #3

Tank sheepishly yawned and stretched her entire body. She grabbed her glass of water and headed for bed. Trunks was already asleep according to his minute and steady energy level while her mother was most likely in her lab…again. She didn't need to sense energy to figure that one out.

Tank's reflection briefly skimmed over her full length mirror. Thoughtfully she stopped and stared at herself.

Saiyan. And human.

Or human and saiyan.

She had been told by her mother that she was exactly half of each.

Tank then pulled back her pajamas to scrutinize her arms, stomach, and neck, as if expecting a distinct line marking her saiyan self and her human self.

There was nothing different about her. She had looked exactly the same as any other human. Granted, she had never seen a purebred Saiyan in the flesh, but she had seen photographs.

Of Goku and her father...

Besides her father's inhumane ability to do anything but glare in photographs, both of them looked as much human as the other members of the photos. That is, save for their wild jet black hair. Sure Tank had dark hair but many humans had dark hair.

"Gohan, Trunks, and you are the last of the Saiyan race."

Tank hadn't expressed to her mother after she said that statement how insane she thought it all was. How was she supposed to be half of the last of something that she couldn't understand? Surely, it wasn't possible to be perfectly half of something and another? Tank could more be human in some aspects and more saiyan in others, but where could a line be drawn?

Trunks and Tank had nearly memorized the stories their mother and Gohan shared with them about their fathers. Gohan had seen them fight meanwhile Bulma had seen them live outside the battlefield.

"Great warrior, your father was a great warrior." Gohan had said.

She stared at herself until her nose almost touched the mirror, feeling puny and inadequate in her pajamas. Gohan was a Saiyan. Trunks was a Saiyan. Something about them, Tank could feel it, something powerful, something within them was different. Tank couldn't even learn to fly.

Tank balled her hands into fists, trying to imagine the utter strength of her father and Goku. How was she supposed to descend from that?! In the world could she compare to that? And how was she supposed to hold her own against Gohan and Trunks?

Her vision grew blurry from tears and then suddenly, she ran from her room.

She wiped her tears as she stepped down the layer of steps to her mother's laboratory. Tank had noticed that her mother had spent more and more nights typing away at her computers. Sure, there were computers upstairs, yet Bulma needed to work with space.

"Mommy?"

Bulma's typing halted and while removing her computer glasses, she spun in her chair towards her daughter's sniffling voice. Bulma knew that saddened face stained with tears even though Tank was sure to brush away most of the evidence of her crying. Most of it. "What's the matter, kiddo?"

Tank's mouth waggled for a moment, unable to articulate the emotions inside. Suddenly Bulma picked up her little daughter and carried her back upstairs. Sitting them both on the couch, Bulma managed to pull over a blanket over them both, with Tank's head resting on her shoulder. "What's on your mind, kid?" Bulma tried again.

"Mom...what if...what if I'm not a Saiyan?"

Bulma blinked, flabbergasted. "Hmm, what do you mean, Tank?"

Tank bit her lip. "I don't think I'm a Saiyan."

Bulma wanted to laugh but didn't for the sake of her daughter's sensitivity. "Honey, your father was all Saiyan, which makes you half."

"But! But is there a way I couldn't be?" Tank was now shaking, fighting back frustrated tears. Why was her mother taking this so easily?! Didn't she understand? "Is there a way that I could only be human?"

In response to her daughter's quiver, Bulma hugged her tighter. She humorously wondered if her daughter was trying to ask if Bulma had birthed her asexually. She had no such conversation with Trunks before, which brought the question as to why her only daughter had doubts. She sighed softly to herself, how do you answer such a question? "Why don't you think you're a Saiyan, Tank? Or do you just want to be all human?"

Tank swallowed a heavy lump in her throat, unsure of how to formulate a single reason for the massive amount of internal doubt within her.

"Does it have to do with the other day?" Bulma helped, alluding to Tank's first attempts to fly.

Tank flexed her toes under the blanket, watching the blanket flow up and down like tiny mountains. "I guess so." Tank lowered her head, allowing her brown hair to fall over her face.

Bulma gently swept the stray pieces of hair and placed them over Tank's ear. She had seen many times bits of her daughter's potential. "You're not one to give up, Tank, just like your father."

Tank's focus narrowed on her toes, signaling her deep thought.

Tank, unlike Trunks, Bulma had noticed, did not stir after being associated with Vegeta. Normally, Bulma wouldn't verbally make such comparisons, but had hoped that such would have been reassuring to the little girl.

Bulma set Tank aside and stood up, hands on hips pointedly. "Well, kid, I know what will cheer you up." She turned back slowly, judging by Tank's confused face; she knew she had won her attention. "Do you want your pancakes with chocolate or lemon with sugar?"

A smile on Tank's face stretched from ear to ear. "Both!" She exclaimed, throwing back the blanket, hopping from the couch to her feet.

Bulma giggled softly, that's much better. "I'll start on a batch, check and see if your brother is still awake and ask if he would like some as well."

Tank pouted and set her hands to her hips pointedly. "Can't I just have his pancake?"

"Go ask, Tank." Bulma mused.

With purposefully giant stomps, Tank entered the hall towards the bedrooms.

Amused, Bulma shook her head. Even if Trunks was asleep, Tank would squeeze his nose until he was awake and of course he wouldn't say no to pancakes.

July 3rd, 773, Timeline #3

Chi-Chi whipped a freshly clean bed sheet in the air before pinning it on the drying line. She smoothed the creases and breathed in a deep inhale of clean air. She brushed her fringe away from her brows and felt the early morning sun against her cheeks.

"Hmm, what a beautiful day?" Chi-Chi said to no one, satisfied with her full line of drying sheets. Hands balanced at her hips, she gazed at the flowers and stream that flowed along her home. Ahead of her, there were a line of trees and within the branches was a bird's nest. A new batch of hatch-lings was chirping softly to be fed by their mother.

Chi-Chi smiled, but bitter sweetly. The Chikyuu area seemed like it were frozen in time. Unlike the surrounding cities, the area had not been maimed by the androids.

Yet.

Sighing, Chi-Chi turned back to the house, her home since she had been a young adult, and thought with concern for her father and only son. With a quick turn against the sun, Chi-Chi gazed to the West, hoping and wishing the best for Bulma's family.

In a way, with the children, and their mutual loss of their life partners, Chi-Chi and Bulma had gotten closer over the years. Gohan treated Trunks and Tank like his own siblings, teaching them and protecting them. Chi-Chi loved Trunks and Tank as much as Bulma loved Gohan. Bulma and Chi-Chi had a silent but mutual understanding that whenever one of them felt heartbroken from their loss; they could look on to the other for strength, knowing that they had experienced the same pain.

Suddenly, Chi-Chi spotted a rapidly moving gold cloud, racing straight for her home. The cloud stopped and a child hopped off onto the dirt pathway. Chi-Chi relaxed when she recognized the wild-haired little girl, running towards the mother with a smile.

"Hi Auntie Chi-Chi!" Tank greeted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good morning, Tank!" Chi-Chi replied sweetly then peered up. No Bulma or Trunks? "Um, Tank, are your mother and brother here?"

Tank's bottom lip pouted. "Nope."

Chi-Chi straightened and set an authoritative hand to her hip. "Now, Tank, do they know you're here?"

Tank nodded her head. "Yes they do! I mean...mom does. Trunks doesn't...he would have asked to come along but I needed to ask you something..."

"Hmm, ask me what, Tank?" Chi-Chi hummed.

Tank tapped her fingertips together bashfully. "Um, I wanted to know...if you...knew...anything about...saiyans." Tank had effectively shut her eyes at the final word.

Chi-Chi's thin brows lifted. She thought carefully for a moment. Then she bent down to match Tank's level. "Honey, don't you think that Gohan might be a better person for this? I can get him if you would like."

Tank rubbed her arms, unsure. "Well, it's just...you used to be a fighter...and you're a girl too."

Chi-Chi's attention peaked. Did Gohan or Bulma tell her that I used to fight? Hmm. The mother patted the girl's head. "Help me hang the rest of this laundry and I'll tell you all I know over a cup of tea."

Tank's cheeks glowed from excitement. "Sure!" Chi-Chi handed her a cloth and they spread it across the line to dry.

Nothing beats having an extra hand. Chi-Chi smiled as she gazed at the airing laundry. All hung in record breaking time. She led herself and the little girl inside and switched on the kettle. "So, what is it you would like to know, Tank?"

Tank sat herself at the tea table. She swung her short legs in her seat since they couldn't touch the ground. She scratched the back of her head. "I guess, as a girl...I don't have much of an example. Mommy isn't a saiyan and you're the only girl fighter I know. Trunks and Gohan seem fine, but my brother and me haven't met a saiyan before. I mean, we've met Gohan, but not a full one and he's a boy."

"So you don't know what to expect when you grow up? Is that it, Tank?" Chi-Chi asked and earned a slight nod of the head from the little girl. She turned away briefly to prepare the tea leaves then returned to face Tank.

"I've only meet two full saiyans in my life. Goku and your father. Those two...drastically varied as far as personality is concerned, but both were very strong. Determined. Oh and very one tracked minded. It was always about fighting with Goku! Always believing that any and all problems could be solved with his fists!"

The kettle hissed steam to declare the water was hot. Chi-Chi switched it off and poured them each a share of tea.

Tank leaned in when she saw a familiar expression on Chi-Chi. That look of longing...Tank suddenly remembered her mother.

"But I've never fought before, Auntie Chi-Chi!" Tank chirped.

Chi-Chi set a cup in front of their respective seats. Tank swirled the tea, sniffing the distinct scent of peppermint.

"You don't have to fight, Tank. You can be determined in other ways. Like with your studies, just like Gohan." The mother suggested, proudly.

Tank blinked rapidly, slightly confused. "But, Gohan said that he's fought loads of times! Even in outer space!" Tank's imagination soared from the detail of his stories. He told her of the green planet Namek and she imagined respective orange, purple and yellow planets.

Chi-Chi, who had brought her cup to her lips, nearly choked on her first sip of extremely hot tea. "Yes, but those fights were a long time ago. Now, Gohan values the importance of his studies."

Tank blinked more then blew across the brim of her steaming cup. She swore she recalled Gohan saying that he had been in several battles, most life threatening, many by the time he was her age. She carefully sipped some of her tea, but still burned the edge of her tongue.

"Hmm, I will say though, as a girl fighter it was difficult at first for the boys to take me seriously. I had to work hard, but then I showed them who they were messing with!" Chi-Chi shut her eyes to reminisce. "You know, I even fought in the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Wow," Tank gulped. She had never heard of such a tournament, but it sure sounded like a big deal! "I guess I do worry that Gohan and Trunks don't think that I'll ever catch up to them."

Chi-Chi wanted to laugh. "Tank, what makes you think that they would ever think such things?"

The little girl shrugged.

Chi-Chi winked. "Honestly, Tank, you're the only girl-Saiyan that anyone here has ever met. We're going to be learning right along with you, but you are capable of proving yourself in any way you want."

Tank sipped her tea again with widened eyes. Any way?

Chi-Chi snickered, pressing her fingers to her lips. "You'll find out what you're good at soon enough and I'm sure you'll make us proud, Tank."

Tank swallowed her warm tea then rushed to hug Chi-Chi. "Thank you, Auntie!"

Chi-Chi returned the tight hug around her waist. "You're welcome, Tank."

Not too much later, Tank bid her farewell then ran outside. She called Kinto-Un and rushed home.

"Be careful!" Chi-Chi yelled after the girl within the frame of her door. She watched the cloud race into the horizon with a smile. When the cloud disappeared, in spite of happy situation, Chi-Chi bit her lip. She had hoped that she hadn't encouraged Tank to believe that she needed to fight the androids. She randomly glanced to her son's window. Gohan. I certainly hope that you don't, even if you don't mean to, encourage them to fight. And I hope that you don't ever believe that you need to fight as well.

August 19th, 773, Timeline #3

Tank had finished her breakfast in record time, before Trunks was halfway done, due to sheer excitement for her classmate's birthday party.

"Can we go now? I wish I could have cake now." Tank whined, wiping her chin, and spinning like a fan in her chair. Bulma had been just as excited for Tank as Tank was for the party.

"I believe Aino's parents won't give you guys any cake until after you have lunch." Bulma uttered, placing Tank's dirty dish into the sink.

"Well, then can I just have lunch now?" Tank giggled with her hair flowing around her. Next to her, Trunks' mouth was full with half a slice of toast and egg.

Struggling to swallow and not choke was made more difficult as he shoveled more and more bites of food into his mouth.

"No point in trying to keep up with her, Trunks. She inhaled her food today." Bulma laughed. She couldn't tell if Trunks was squinting his eyes or if his cheeks were simply too full from food. "Isn't it all the way in Estuary town?"

"Yeah, but we're going hiking through the forest. Breeee breee." Tank flapped her lips to make airplane engine noises while holding her arms up like wings.

Tank suddenly leaped from her chair, "race you outside!" She exclaimed.

"No fair!" Trunks yelled, running after her. "You were already done and mom burned my toast."

Bulma squinted and pouted at wall, stunned.

"No excuse, she burned mine too!" Tank distant voice rang into the kitchen, much to Bulma's dismay. "KINTO-UN!"

The yellow cloud zoomed across the sky and halted in front of the kids. Both of them jumped on and spiraled in the air over the ruins of West City. Even from the distance, Bulma could hear their cheery laughter, laughing so hard that it was difficult to breathe.

"Burned toast, eh?" Bulma sighed in jest, hands on hips, then unplugging the toaster. Perhaps later, while Tank was at the party and Trunks was studying, she could take a look at it.

Aino's birthday was supposed take place on top of a cliff, not far from one of the most famous waterfalls in the entire world-or at least the only one Tank had ever heard of. On the coach ride up the cliff, Tank sat near a window and was pressing her entire face to the glass, while tugging at her best friend's, May, arm because she just had to see this.

"Will we get to go see it up close?" Tank mumbled to the glass, her breath fogging up the glass which blurred her view.

"Aino's dad and mom will take us near it but probably not close enough because we're just kids. You know"—the sun glared pointedly on May's glasses—"apparently, at the bottom of that waterfall, there are sharp rocks, and if you were to fall, you would die."

"Woooow. When I learn to fly, I'll fly over any waterfall." Tank giggled to herself about the idea. "I bet Kinto-un wouldn't mind taking us through the mists."

Two girls sitting behind Tank had heard her statement and in unison rolled their eyes dramatically. "That weird girl is talking about crazy things again." One of them whispered into the others ear, both of them wearing matching expressions of disapproval.

The coach bus stopped when the dirt road ended next to large open field with a covered canopy of trees. When Tank stepped off with her friend, the harsh sun heated her back, but was much cooler was under the shade of trees.

The birthday girl led her closer knit friends to the center of the largest table. May and Tank strolled together staring up high above them at the thick cover of trees. Tank lay in the shade, breathing in the fresh air, hearing birds chirping in the branches above. With a deep exhale of breath, she relaxed and shut her eyes. There was something immensely alleviating about laying in beautiful landscape completely untouched by the android trio. It almost felt safe, guarded and almost unnatural to Tank.

Next to her, she heard shuffling, then someone standing. "Hey, Tank, they're serving cake." May pointed to the long line of tables.

Tank practically flew to her feet. "Race you!" She laughed and jogged ahead.

May pouted. "Hey, no fair!" Then ran up the hill after Tank.

"Vanilla or chocolate?"

"Both, please!"

Tank scooped up a large chunk with her utensil and happily chewed vanilla and chocolate goodness. Still swallowing her first bite, she prepared another, finally hearing May panting towards her.

Suddenly, there was a shift in the ground beneath them then a massive force of wind and a bang! ofwhat sounded like a blast of thunder. Herds of birds scurried into the skies and the Android warning sirens pierced around from the nearest city. Three tiny dots appeared near the clouds then in a swift arc of movement, two young looking people stood nonchalantly a hundred yards away from the group.

Tank dropped her cake and nearly choked as her friend hid behind her. May softly whimpered next to her, flinching as if unsure to follow her instincts and run or remain frozen in fear.

The Androids? It must be them. Tank had never seen them with her own eyes before but the terrorized descriptions from the newspapers and radio broadcasts fit them like pieces to a puzzle: a raven haired male clad in a red scarf, black shirt and blue jeans, a beautiful blonde girl in a blue vest and another male of similar height and build as the other two clad in a dark green jumpsuit with long red hair swept into a ponytail.

But they look like normal humans! Could those three really have that much power?!

Even from such a distance, Tank could see their smirks and icy blue eyes. They're...enjoying frightening us!

It was the first time Tank could place faces to those who had killed her father and most of her mother's friends. She balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. Unimaginable anger boiled within from head to toe, dying for her to crumble and distort the androids with her bare hands.

The blonde female flipped her flowing hair behind her ear while uttering an annoyed statement to her companion who had his eyes set on their coach bus. With a limp extended arm, the bus was blasted into debris.

Tank could feel the blood drain from her face. Such power. She had never seen anything like it before. She reluctantly turned and gazed upon a dozen fear-stricken faces, most of the children too petrified to cry. Several of the kids were already positioning themselves against the trees, hunched with their heads covered in their arms. No, Tank thought, didn't they see what I saw? Those drills won't work. The parents of the birthday girl held their daughter close, her crying partially silenced by their tight embrace.

The redhead nudged his head impatiently at the parents and child, perhaps annoyed by her crying. Tank noticed how they all wore matching hoop earrings.

"Hey, 17, 18? I think we're barging in on a birthday party." Said the redheaded male, pointing to the bright colored balloons.

"Birthday party huh? It doesn't seem like they're having a lot of fun." The darker-haired one uttered, smirking cruelly as the shaking children.

The blonde set her hands to her hips and gazed upon the now torn decorations. "Hmm, how rude of them not to invite us?"

In another swift blur of movement, the three androids appeared in front of the parents. Everyone flinched back in their steps, too scared to flee. The parents tightened their grip on their child and shut their eyes. The shadows of the androids draped over the three individuals as they inched closer. Even from the distance, in such silence, Tank could hear the mumbled prayers of the father. She watched slowly as the androids each pointed a finger at the group.

A blast of blinding yellow light was all Tank could see before she was sharply pulled in the opposite direction at her wrist by May, forcing her to sprint into the forest.

"Run, Tank!" May choked out, her throat tight with heavy cries. The sunlight disappeared as they ran deeper and deeper into the forest. Tank's wrist grew numb in May's lock; Tank had no idea that May was so strong. Tank couldn't bear to peer behind to see whether or not the androids had disappeared from sight.

Why run? Tank thought grimly. Why don't they just wipe us all out with one blast? Wait! Maybe Kinto-un could get us out of here! But what about the others—

The two girls shrieked as the ground rolled beneath them, tossing them like dolls through the air. May hit her forehead and chest, her vision went black for a moment. The ground rocked more as she fought her trembling muscles to stand. Unable to balance on the moving ground, she fell to her knees. She wept for her lost hope, so sure that the androids were right after them.

Instead, vicious screams echoed through the branches in the distance along with the cracking breakage of the tree trunks.

What? They have the power to kill us all in a second...wait, they're playing with us.

Tank's nails cut into her hands, her teeth grinding so hard that she thought they would shatter. Another tree fell; Tank jumped to May and pulled at her shoulder. "Come on! We have to keep going. Get up!"

May's hair curtained over her face, sticking to the tear stains on her cheeks. On any other day, Tank could lift May easily but she was shaking so hard she couldn't concentrate.

"Come on, May!" Tank cried in desperate frustration.

Another tree fell, this time closer; Tank's heart raced.

"May! They're getting closer!" Tank pleaded.

In response, May curled up into a ball and bawled into her arms. "I want my mother!"

Tank cried harder and her knees shook so severely that she could barely stay on her feet.

Another tree fell nearly behind them. Tank snapped her grip off May and ran off alone. She couldn't wipe away her tears fast enough, unable to fully clear her vision, nearly tripping on debris.

"Hey, wait for me!" May exclaimed, her pounding steps unsteady but catching up to Tank.

Before Tank could peer back, a line of energy sliced into a tree trunk, which fell and caught May's legs. May's horrendous scream halted Tank, who twisted back sharply. May was scratching at the dirt, trying to claw her way out, but it was useless. The weight of the tree had crashed her legs, breaking her bones like toothpicks.

Tank's heels dug into the dirt, frozen, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

May's head lifted and her tiny dirty hand reached out. She weakly mouthed, help me!

Tank's hand tightened into fists. Maybe she could lift the tree. She had definitely lifted heavier things before. But... She stumbled back, unable to proceed forward.

A loud male laughter cackled above them. "Hey 17! I got another! Ten more points!"

Tank groaned and shut her eyes, unable to see May's face as she viciously shook her head and ran away.

Forgive me.

"...but you didn't kill it." Answered the female.

The following blast of energy hit so close that Tank was forcibly thrown into the air. Something hit her head and her conscious slipped away for a while.

Sunlight heated the left side of her body and a rush of adrenaline caused Tank to turn over. "May..." Tank muttered, still hearing falling debris behind her. She didn't know how far the androids were, but she scrambled to her knees then feet despite her pounding head and disorientation.

"Oh, darn! That means we're tied!" Uttered one of the males, annoyed.

Tank crouched against a tree, welcoming the shadows. Maybe if she held her position, she wouldn't be seen.

The three androids hovered over the forest, debating together.

"Is that all of them?"

"I don't remember, didn't you count them?"

"There sure are a lot of trees. More could be hiding."

The three held out their pairs of hands and aimed at the forest, cutting several trees at once with each blast. Birds took to the sky as the ground crumbled from impact. Tank held onto her own tree, not knowing what to do. She looked down the hill, maybe she could slip away without being noticed. It was too late to call for Kinto-un. She couldn't wait until her own tree was ripped away. Without a second thought, she sprinted down the hill, jumping over shrubbery and tree roots, begging to go unfounded.

Suddenly, three trees snapped around Tank and wrapped her head in her arms for protection. Nothing hit her, but the beaming rays of the sun leaked through the strands of her hair and the gap between her arms.

A sinister laugh sent a shiver up Tank's spine. "I found one! It can be the tie breaker!"

Tank took off running despite the sudden cramping in her leg. Lines of energy blasted the ground around her, some just barely missing her torso and foot.

"Speedy little devil!" The androids cackled maliciously.

The edge of the forest was approaching with the continuing landscape being bleached out by sunlight. Tank didn't know where she would go next but she didn't have another plan. She jumped over the last tree root and gasped as she fell back onto her butt, mist brushing against her nose.

The waterfall.

She jumped to her feet and peeked over the edge carefully. Steep rock disappeared into a foggy mist with the crashing sounds of water down below. No end in sight. Tank gulped.

Panicking, she turned and saw the three androids flying slowly, as if to be cruel, towards her.

"Please...fly." Shaking so severely, bursts of her energy just lifted her up a few inches but unsteadily.

Suddenly a blast of energy singed her shoulder blade, which threw Tank over the edge of the cliff. She screamed as the mist engulfed her thickly that even the smirks of the androids disappeared as they landed on the fall's edge. Her scream faded and faded until her body could be seen no more.

The androids landed in unison and approached edge.

"No fair. You said we were going to wait until after we landed." The female android groused, crossing her arms unsatisfactorily.

"You're just a sore loser." Smiled the darker-haired male android, hands on his hips, admiring his work.

"Did it die before or after it fell into the waterfall?" The redhead mused.

"I don't know." The brunet answered.

The blonde turned away and gazed at the now diminished forest. "So how do you know if you got it?"

"What? Are you planning on giving the waterfall ten points?" The brunet roared.

The female groaned angrily and flew away in the opposite direction.

"You're still angry because I blew up that clothing store." The brunet followed her with the redhead trailing close behind, all three forgetting about the waterfall.

Tank still felt conscious. Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked rapidly to clear her vision in the mist. She inhaled a deep, panicked breath. Just a few feet, she hovered over the sharp rock poking through the waterbed. She was alive.

She reached out nervously, trying to balance her energy. Her energy was waning fast; she floated cautiously through the mist until a clear sight of land appeared. She waited until she shadowed over grass to lower herself. The moment her heels touched the ground, Tank fell to her knees and bawled into her muddy sleeves.

Her lungs burned like fire, her legs were sore and heavy like dead weights, and she could barely breathe through the tears and snot running down her face. Trying to crawl under the shade of the tree, a piercing pain took her breath away. Gasping, Tank reached for her back and flinched. Her fingertips grew wet and sticky with blood and her shoulder shook severely, too tender to be touched. Her fingers quivered as the blood dripped into her palm. Suddenly tired, fuzzy black spots speckled Tank's vision and she stumbled forward, losing consciousness before she hit the cool grass.

I hope that wasn't too gruesome (I hope no one says that wasn't gruesome enough...) Feel free to tell me what you thought and I'll see you all again soon for chapter five.

Timelines again...

1) Main time

2) Future Trunks (unseen)

3) Tank & Cell

4) When Tank ventured into the past to warn Goku

5) After Cell stole the machine, Tank followed him to this timeline.