Well, I closed the poll, Android (or rather Cyborg) #18 is the clear winner. She has double the amount of votes of Lime and Videl put together, really, the results were 88 for Eighteen, 24 for Videl and 20 for Lime, with 18 saying leave it up to me. That being said, I have an absolutely awesome idea for Eighteen, and Seventeen as well, if I choose to, which I know, has never, ever been done before. You can probably figure it out during this chapter though, since I heavily foreshadow it.
Also, I know it has been a while, but I have put up a Bleach story and six Fairy Tail stories recently, all of which, have been well received, so check them out if you like either of them.
Additionally, I am also posting on another site now as a back-up, and I've put up some other things like Essays and Orals up there as well. More info is on my profile, but if you are in year 11 or 12, I highly recommend you check out my stuff, it is all A or A+ work up there and should help a lot.
For those of you keeping track of my updates I'll update my DxD story next tomorrow and then, probably my Bleach story, or my Pokémon story after that, not 100% sure yet.
In any case, enjoy the chapter.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Disclaimer – I don't own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
"Telepathy"
*expression*
Flashback
Chapter 7 – Hope
Two fully grown Saiyans, groaned in discomfort, as they returned to consciousness. The orange clad one, pulled his face out of the wall, while the blue clad one struggled to his knees.
'Kakarot, that brat of yours would have made a fine Saiyan Warrior. Brutally beating us and then leaving us here, it almost makes me proud.' Said Vegeta, as he stumbled over to the Gravity Machine's console and turned off the gravity.
'Well, I always knew he had it in him, still, I felt kind of bad, forcing him to fight against Cell, when I really should have been the one to do it, but I think he is starting to enjoy fighting now, maybe.' Said Goku childishly.
'Hmph, as a Saiyan, he should relish fighting, it is practically ingrained into our DNA.' Scoffed Vegeta.
'Well yeah, I get that, but Gohan is half human you know.' Stated Goku matter-of-factly, as he popped he shoulder back into place.
'Nevertheless, Gohan will come to enjoy fighting, if not due to his heritage, due to his influences. While the Namekian might be all for mental exercises now, I've heard how he trained that whelp from a snivelling baby, into someone who, at the very least, could face me without crying.' Said Vegeta.
'Hmm, you may be right.' Said Goku thoughtfully.
'*scoff* Of course I'm right, I'm an Elite, I know these kinds of things.' Said Vegeta arrogantly.
'Huh, you always say that, that you are an Elite, but I beat Frieza on Namek, Trunks killed him on Earth and Gohan beat Cell… if you are an Elite, what are all of us?' Questioned Goku curiously, before feeling the gravity come back on.
'You're in for it now, Kakarot!' Shouted Vegeta, as he elbowed the unprepared Goku in the jaw.
-line break-'Ah, what to do now?' Muttered Gohan, as he flew across Earth.
Gohan lazily soared over numerous meadows and mountainous plains.
"Tarble is still with Vegeta and Broly is still with Piccolo. Plus, I knocked out Dad and Vegeta, so there isn't anyone else to spar with. Lime said to come back next week, and I don't want to head into town, people recognising me, slim though the chance may be, isn't something I want." Thought Gohan with a small frown.
Gohan sighed, as he causally corkscrewed through the air.
'I just hope whatever Piccolo came up with works because I have no idea.' Muttered Gohan.
Gohan suddenly looked down in surprise, seeing a blast of energy, but not feeling the person it came from. Gohan dropped his speed down, before starting to descend, and arrived to the scene of both Seventeen and Eighteen, fighting against Sixteen.
Sixteen seemed to be doing fairly well against the duo, who, for what they lacked in terms of raw power, made up for it with teamwork.
Eighteen would launch blast after blast at Sixteen, while Seventeen would launch multiple kicks and punches at him when he dodged. After Sixteen started to become accustomed to this attack pattern, the siblings would switch things up and Seventeen would launch Ki blasts, while Eighteen would launch physical attacks at him.
'You know Sixteen, if you always had this much power, why did you even go along with us?' Asked Seventeen tiredly, as Sixteen dodged another attack.
'It was within my programming to receive assistance in defeating Goku; whether it was wholly necessary or not.' Replied Sixteen.
'Is it just me, or did he just insult us?' Asked Seventeen in surprise.
'Well, the two of us can't beat him, so he isn't wrong.' Huffed Eighteen, as she disengaged from Sixteen and jumped back, standing next to her brother.
'That being said, I'm glad the three of you didn't.' Said Gohan, as he landed a couple of metres away from the three creations of Dr Gero.
'Well, look who it is again, the strongest Saiyan alive, who it just so happens, also managed to destroy Cell.' Commented Seventeen mockingly.
'Glad to see Cell absorbing you into his being didn't change your attitude.' Replied Gohan flatly.
'Don't even joke about that, that sick green freak… I can't stand thinking that I was a part of him.' Said Eighteen in slight annoyance.
'Well, in any case, have the three of you decided to do anything with your lives now, I mean, android or not, Earth does have a lot of strange creatures roaming it?' Asked Gohan curiously.
'For the record, Seventeen and I are cyborgs, not androids, we were born from flesh, just like you, before Gero got his hands on us.' Stated Eighteen.
'Wow, really?' Asked Gohan in surprise.
'Yeah, the whole shebang, we even have names you know.' Added Seventeen.
'Wait, if you guys were human, does that mean you will still age and decay over time? Also, does that mean you can be turned back into humans?' Asked Gohan curiously.
'My scanners indicate that their biological systems are in a state of torpor.' Commented Sixteen.
'So you guys are technically immortal then, of course, barring destruction by Ki blasts.' Said Gohan curiously.
'I suppose.' Commented Eighteen, as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.
'Sixteen, if the biological components of Seventeen and Eighteen were eliminated, or simply separated from them, would they still be able to function?' Asked Gohan with bated breath.
Sixteen turned to face the two cyborgs and his eyes glowed red briefly, before the light faded.
'No, their synthetic components are reliant on their biological ones, despite being in a state of inactivity. While they could be reengineered to become fully organic again, their synthetic components require a link to their organic ones.' Said Sixteen.
'Awesome!' Shouted Gohan in excitement.
'Um, I think we are missing something here.' Commented Seventeen flatly.
'Erm yeah, I guess no one could have sensed you and I didn't think to find you guys, to fill you in on the situation.' Said Gohan sheepishly, as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
'So, what is this situation?' Asked Eighteen curiously.
'Uh, to begin with, you guys know who Frieza is right?' Asked Gohan, only to receive a negative response from all three.
'*sigh* This might take a while then.' Said Gohan, as he sat down in the lotus position.
After explaining the history of the Saiyans and Frieza, Gohan then explained what happened on Namek, and then, what happened when Frieza came to Earth.
'So the problem now, is King Cold had another son, one who was even stronger than Frieza. Anyway, after Frieza and King Cold arrived and were destroyed by the Trunks from the future, Cooler had shown up, during the three years we were training, to be able to fight against you guys. He didn't know that Frieza and King Cold were dead and had only come to get revenge against Dad, for him beating Frieza on Namek. To make a long story short, Dad blasted him into the Sun with a powerful Kamehameha wave.' Finished Gohan.
'So? Isn't he dead then?' Asked Eighteen curiously.
'Well, as it turns out, parts of him remained and floated through space, before one day, they met with the Big Gete Star. Here is where the problem begins.' Said Gohan, getting an interested look from Seventeen and Eighteen, while Sixteen retained his apathetic visage.
'The Big Gete Star, works sort of like the Zenkai that we Saiyans have. Any damage or flaw in the star, causes it to adapt to it. Cooler took over the star and was going to come to Earth and attack us… however, Cooler felt my power in space, when I unlocked a new level of the Super Saiyan transformation.' Said Gohan, getting shocked looks from the trio.
'Wait, you mean to say, that not only were you holding back against Cell, but now, you have a new form even beyond that?' Asked Seventeen, to which Gohan nodded.
'Damn, remind me not to get on your bad side.' Commented Seventeen, getting a dry chuckle from Gohan.
'Yeah, but unfortunately, that is why we are in this mess.' Muttered Gohan, confusing the trio.
'You see, Cooler was scared of my power, so he went to Namek and used the dragon balls over there to gain immortality. This meant, that no matter how many times we destroyed his clones, or no matter how many times we attacked the core, containing the last organic bits of Cooler, fused to the Big Gete Star, he kept coming back.' Explained Gohan, with some annoyance seeping into his tone, before he perked up.
'But now, thanks to what Sixteen said, I think we can beat him; if we can just extract his organic components from the star, as without it, it would become just a chunk of metal without a mind. Plus, Cooler as half a head isn't exactly a threat, you could even hang him over a mantle place if you wanted to.' Said Gohan cheerfully.
'Um… ok then, not sure why you would want an alien over your mantle place though…' Said Seventeen as he trailed off.
'Well, I am half alien as well you know, Saiyans aren't human.' Deadpanned Gohan.
'Good point.' Commented Eighteen.
'Still doesn't explain the head mantle.' Muttered Seventeen quietly.
'Hmm, although, that does get me thinking, Sixteen, would it be possible to reconstruct Seventeen and Eighteen with cells not from humans, say, Saiyan cells?' Asked Gohan curiously, getting Seventeen and Eighteen to look at him in surprise.
Sixteen, once again, glanced at the two cyborgs, eyes glowing, once again, for a short amount of time.
'It would not be outside the realm of possibility. My scanners indicated an eighty three percent success rate.' Said Sixteen.
'Interesting.' Said Gohan, as he stroked his chin in thought.
'Heh, imagine that sis, could you just picture old Vegeta's face if we were part Saiyan.' Laughed Seventeen.
'You do realise he is stronger than you guys now right?' Asked Gohan curiously.
'Yeah, yeah, but if we were part Saiyan, Eighteen could say she was the only Saiyan to break the arm, of the apparent, Prince of all Saiyans. That's just got to burn him up inside.' Commented Seventeen.
'Hmm that's right, you did in fact break Vegeta's arm; I remember Trunks telling me how much that irritated him.' Said Gohan, as he looked at Eighteen.
'Well, he wasn't exactly much of a fight at the time.' Explained Eighteen.
'Hmm, I guess not, that being said, Broly kicked Vegeta's ass as well now, so Eighteen isn't the only one to have singlehandedly beat Vegeta, since he became a Super Saiyan.' Said Gohan.
'Who's Broly?' Asked Seventeen.
'Oh, just someone who was six times stronger than Cell in his final form, although now, it is more like fifteen times, that guy's growth rate is insane, it almost matches mine.' Said Gohan, getting shocked looks from Seventeen and Eighteen, while Sixteen merely raised an eyebrow.
'Wait, you mean you are even stronger than this Broly?' Questioned Eighteen in surprise.
'Well yeah, I did train with him for about a year, guy sure loves to fight, hates Dad though, you guys might even like him, just don't mention the word Kakarot.' Said Gohan with a laugh.
'Gohan… just how strong are you exactly?' Asked Seventeen curiously.
'Hmm, gosh I don't know. All I know, is I just came back from a spar with Vegeta and Dad, both of whom were in their Super Saiyan from, which is now stronger than Cell's final form, and I shut them down in a few seconds, when I entered my Super Saiyan two form.' Said Gohan thoughtfully.
'Remind me to never, ever, pick a fight with you.' Said Seventeen in shock.
'Well, I was holding back in my second form as well, but if you ever wanted to spar, I could just stick to my base form.' Said Gohan.
'Yeah, I'll give that a miss thanks. I just got the chance to live again last year, and have no interest in dying anytime soon.' Said Seventeen dryly.
'Hmm, that's weird, Piccolo described you differently.' Said Gohan aloud.
'That was then, this is now.' Said Seventeen simply.
'Fair enough.' Said Gohan.
'So when is this Cooler going to arrive?' Asked Eighteen.
'Six months.' Said Gohan, now not as frightened of Cooler, as he had been previously.
'Hmm, that's not that long, I hope you have an idea for how to carry out your plan.' Said Seventeen warily.
'Hmm, good point. In that case, I better go see Bulma, see you guys around. You should come by to the house sometime, I'm sure Dad would love to spar with you guys, you know, assuming you don't aim to kill… although, Eighteen, if I were you, I'd steer clear of Vegeta.' Said Gohan with a wave, before he shot off into the sky and headed back to Capsule Corp.
'Strange kid, huh sis?' Commented Seventeen.
'I'll say.' Agreed Eighteen.
'Hmm, I just realised, he never asked for our names, how rude.' Said Seventeen thoughtfully.
'I believe he was concerned with the fate of the planet.' Added Sixteen.
'Well, he's got you there Seventeen.' Pointed out Eighteen.
'Man, you guys are supposed to be on my side.' Said Seventeen with a small sigh.
'I am to your side.' Said Sixteen.
'Not what I meant.' Said Seventeen, as he palmed his forehead.
'I know.' Said Sixteen and gave a small smile.
'Sixteen, did you just make a joke?' Questioned Eighteen in surprise.
'It is not beyond my programming to do so.' Said Sixteen with a smile.
'That's it, let's spar again.' Said Seventeen, as he jumped back, Eighteen following his lead.
'Very well then.' Said Sixteen, as he turned around, before the trio resumed their battle.
-line break-'Vegeta! How many times do I have to tell you, don't destroy the Gravity Chamber!' Yelled an Irate Bulma, as she chewed out two fully grown Super Saiyans.
'Woman, it was a matter of pride! Kakarot insulted the prestige of a Saiyan Elite.' Retorted Vegeta.
'You are the only Saiyan Elite left anyway!' Shouted Bulma.
'That, in no way, diminishes the title. I am also still the Prince, even if only seven of us remain.' Rebutted Vegeta.
Bulma was just about to tear into Vegeta again, before Goku chimed in.
'Wait, if you are a Prince, does that mean Tarble is also?' Asked Goku, as he pointed to the Saiyan in question, who was merely standing off to the side, awkwardly.
'Erm, no, only Vegeta is. If Vegeta were to perish, then I would become one, but Saiyans only ever had one King and Prince at the same time, no matter the amount of offspring the King had.' Explained Tarble.
'Good to see you still remember that.' Commented Vegeta.
Bulma once again, made to start verbally lashing out at Vegeta before Gohan suddenly appeared in front of her.
'Man, I have to remember I can teleport, way faster than flying… anyway Bulma come with me.' Said Gohan quickly, before he dragged Bulma off to her lab.
'Well, I guess you're off the hook Vegeta.' Said Goku cheerfully.
'Hmm, anyway, come Tarble, I want to see this Super Saiyan form of yours.' Said Vegeta as he stood up.
'Um, I've only unlocked the first stage though.' Said Tarble timidly.
'*Hmph* That's more than most Saiyans ever achieved in their lives, be proud of yourself Tarble, now, let's go.' Said Vegeta, before marching off, expecting Tarble to follow.
'Well, he has a point, it was what defeated Frieza after all.' Commented Goku, before he and Tarble followed Vegeta outside.
-line break-'That's it Broly, maintain your focus.' Coached Piccolo, as he stood in front of Broly, who was currently in his base form, floating in the air, in the lotus position.
Broly growled slightly, but complied nonetheless.
"Kakarot, I will beat this… then you, to a bloody pulp!" Thought Broly, as his power started to rise.
"Damn it, he is losing focus again." Thought Piccolo with a sigh, as he noticed Broly was about to rage.
'KAKAROT!' Shouted Broly, before releasing a green blast of energy, inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"Kid, you've given me one heck of a task here." Thought Piccolo in annoyance.
-line break-'Bulma I've figured it out, how to beat Cooler!' Shouted Gohan in excitement, once he dragged both himself and Bulma, into her lab.
'Really kiddo? Well that's great, how?' Asked Bulma happily.
'Ok, so I talked with the androids, uh well Seventeen and Eighteen are cyborgs technically, but anyway listen to this.' Rambled Gohan in excitement.
'Whoa, take it easy there kiddo, try and explain it calmly.' Said Bulma, causing Gohan to take a deep breath and exhale.
'Ok, so, Cooler is made up of synthetic and biological components, just like Seventeen and Eighteen, who are technically cyborgs.' Reiterated Gohan.
'Ok, go on.' Said Bulma with a nod.
'Well, Seventeen and Eighteen's mechanical components, are dependent on their biological ones, even if they are in a state of inactivity.' Continued Gohan.
'Hmm, that's fascinating, so they are practically immortal as well.' Said Bulma in awe.
'Yeah, I know, cool right? But that's not the important part.' Said Gohan quickly, as he shook his head.
'Alright, what is then?' Asked Bulma curiously.
'Cooler's wish on the dragon balls, would only apply to his organic components, the wish was for Cooler to be immortal, not the Big Gete Star. What that means, is if we can separate the rest of Cooler's body, mostly his head, from the machine, while still immortal, Cooler won't be able to mass produce clones of himself or anything and won't be able to fight anymore.' Explained Gohan, practically jumping in excitement.
'That's great news kiddo! Although, how are we going to do that?' Asked Bulma in excitement.
'Do you remember the remote you made, to stop the androids?' Asked Gohan.
'Yeah, but that won't work on the Big Gete Star, if it adapts like you said.' Said Bulma with a frown.
'I know, but, if we take the concept of it, but target it on expelling organic matter from machine instead, we should be able to extract Cooler from it.' Explained Gohan.
'That's a mighty big task Gohan, I don't even think it is possible.' Said Bulma uncertainly.
'I know, but I have an idea for how.' Said Gohan.
'Well, I'm all ears.' Said Bulma expectantly.
'We use a Ki disrupter. The Big Gete Star has no Ki, but the parts of Cooler do. If we can use that principle, only Cooler will be affected by the device. Also, since it won't kill him and it won't affect the Big Gete Star, he won't be able to adapt to it. Then, all we have to do, is extract Cooler from the star's core, even manually if need be, and poof, no more threat, and all that remains is an immortal head.' Said Gohan happily.
Bulma mulled this idea over for a bit, in deep thought.
'Well… I think it might work, but I'll need your help on this, I don't know a lot about Ki myself, nor how to disrupt it.' Said Bulma.
'Of course, I wouldn't let you do this alone Bulma, we'll do it together and make sure it works, we're scientists after all. Try something once and if it doesn't work, try something else until you get the desired result. I'm sure that by the time six months have passed, we'll have it ready.' Said Gohan cheerfully.
'I like your attitude kiddo, well, let's get started then.' Declared Bulma excitedly.
