A/N: Oops, uploaded the wrong chapter last time. Gotta start paying more attention.

Chapter Ten - Battle in West City

18 blinked at Goku and Bardock. "You... but... how? Why?"

"We had a wish left. And you're obviously not one of the bad guys." Goku said grinning.

18 wasn't sure what to do or say so she just turned away and moved back to the edge of the Lookout. "Thanks..." she said after a moment. She wasn't really sure if she meant it or not but the silence had been deafening. If anyone else said anything she didn't hear them, her mind was too lost in the past. Her eyes roamed over the planet, her scanners finally working to some degree. "Now what...?" she wondered, her gaze falling on West City. She was detecting three tracking signals, 17, 19, and Tao. She turned and looked back at the others as Piccolo returned from the palace. "You may want to see this."

Goku had been talking to Bardock, Raditz, Appla, and Yamcha when 18 called over. All of them plus the others looked over to her and then moved over to the edge of the Lookout. It only took a moment for Piccolo to see what 18 had found. "They're attacking Capsule Corp." he growled. "Must be trying to find a way to shut down the barrier."

"Dad's there!" Videl cried, wide eyed.

"Chi-Chi, Bulma, and the two children are there as well." Bardock said. "Damn, we'll need to head down and..."

"No, I'll go alone." Goku said. "I can use Relocation to get in and get out." He reached up and placed two fingers to his head and focused. He stood that way for a moment, his mind reaching out everywhere but sensing nothing on Earth. "What's going on?"

"What is it Goku?" Krillin asked.

"I... I can't sense anything... not here on Earth at least. I could sense Namek just fine, still can, but..."

"I can't either." Piccolo said frowning. The rest shook their heads as well. None of them could sense a thing. Piccolo turned his gaze skyward at the pulsing red sky. "The field could be interfering somehow."

"I guess Relocation's out then..." Goku said frowning.

"I'll go down." Bardock said. "I'm the strongest of us at the moment..."

"Korin should have some Senzu Beans ready by now." Goku said. "We can stop by there and I can take one before we go, you can't handle them by yourself."

"Fighting them outright is suicide." Raditz said, finally speaking. "Just keep them busy, I'll go in and rescue the others. Once we're clear you can get out of there."

"That's a good idea." Appla said nodding. "I'll come as well."

"Just be careful." Bardock said looking the two of them over.

"I want to come too." Gohan said.

Goku shook his head. "No, not this time Gohan. I know you're worried about your mother, and you about your dad Videl, but this is too dangerous. Stay here with the others." The two kids sighed and slumped their shoulders as Bardock, Goku, Appla, and Raditz lifted off the Lookout. The four of them were just about to take off for West City when 18 suddenly spoke up.

"I'm coming along as well." The four froze and turned to look back at her a bit shocked. "You'll need all the help you can get... and I want to try and talk some sense into my brother." Bardock nodded and, with that, the five of them vanished over the edge of the Lookout.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

West City:

17 stood atop one of the taller buildings across the street from Capsule Corp. with 19 on his left and Tao on his right. The Sentinel units were slower than the three of them and only just arriving and landing outside Capsule Corp now. "My scanners are still not working." 19 said. "I cannot tell how many are inside or where they are located."

"It's not important." Tao said. "We'll just do a thorough search of the entire compound. If Bulma or her father are there then all the better, if not, so be it. Just try and keep the damage down so that we don't do something to the computer systems."

"Sounds good to me." 17 said. "19, are you synced up with the Sentinels yet?"

"One more moment." the pale Android replied. "Whatever is disrupting my scanners is causing interference in the sync as well." The three stood there in silence for a moment longer and then 19 gave a small nod. "There, sync complete. The Sentinels are now..." 19 was cut off by a loud crack as two feet slammed into the back of his head rocketing him forward. Goku and Bardock pulled to a stop, their backs touching, each with a leg outstretched. Before either of the others could react another loud crack sounded and Tao was launched foward as well. There was a soft click as 18 landed where Tao had been standing.

"18?" 17 cried suprised as he saw her land. He glimpsed two streaks of light descend into the Capsule Corp compound but was more interested in the person before him. "You should have stayed wherever you'd gone after that stunt you..."

"Do you really still believe all that crap Gero fed us five years ago?" she asked. "After everything that's happned!"

"Not entirely." he replied. "But he gave us power, power to get back at everyone, to finally be on the top!"

"On the top? Listen to yourself! He's got a switch in our heads that knocks us out and a bomb in our chests should we get too out of line! How in the hell is that 'on top' 17?"

Her brother shook her head. "I don't like it either, but at least I've got power now."

18 sighed. "Gero's only using you, you don't have any real power."

"I have enough power to destroy the entire planet if I wanted. I'd call that real power."

"You're delusional."

"At least I'll still be alive tomorrow. Now that you're... wait, what the hell? We should have noticed you coming in... I'm still not detecting your transponder signal..."

"I've been shielded from Gero, freed. He can't track me, control me, or blow me up anymore."

"So you're content to go back to nothing?" 17 shook his head. "I feel sorry for you 18."

"And I feel sorry for you." 18 replied throwing a punch at his face.

zzzzzzzzzz

As 18 had landed on the roof drawing 17's attention Goku and Bardock shot after Tao and 19. They had no way of really telling how strong either of them actually was, though Goku did have some experience with the pale Android. They also knew that, thanks to the energy it had absorbed from Vegeta earlier, it was probably stronger than either of them. And according to 18, Tao was stronger than even her which meant stronger than them as well.

And therein lay the problem. In a two-on-one fight against either one of them victory could be considered plausible, even if not probable. However, with both present the chances of them being spereated into one-on-one fights existed and, while it was plausible to defeat 19 in such a fight, Tao was a different matter entirely. And so they had decided they would try and take out the round Android first, and fast. Get him out of the way and they could at the least last long enough against Tao for Raditz and Appla to finish up inside Capsule Corp.

So the two shot straight toward the Android reaching it before it had the chance to recover. With a cry both launched a fist foward and smashed them into 19's face at the same instant knocking it sailing away again. The two shot after it again but this time the Android recovered. It managed to block Goku's kick but Bardock's hit it square in the back. However, now that it wasn't being overwhelmed the attack had far less effect. In fact, none.

Before either Sai-jin could move for another attack, 19 had slammed a fist into Goku's stomach and then kicked Bardock in the chest knocking them apart. Tao had recovered as well and floated over beside 19. "So, Goku, we meet again at last. I suppose I should thank-you for the power I have now, in a way it was your doing after all. I'd never dreamed of power like this, not in my wildest imaginations."

"Tell me." 19 began. "This energy field around the Earth... it is your doing is it not?" Goku just grinned. "Expected. Though it is curious as to how you anticipated us..."

Bardock shrugged. "A little birdy told us."

"Enough of this." Tao said cracking his neck. "We'll get no answers from them, our answers lie inside of Capsule Corp."

"Well, you'll need to get passed us to get to them then." Goku said slipping into a fighting stance. While his heart was pounding at the thought of fighting such powerful opponents he also knew he was more outmatched in this fight than in any he'd had before. "So, let's get started."

zzzzzzzzzz

17's eyes widened in shock as he saw the fist coming in. He had not expected her to attack him and was caught completely off guard. Her punch knocked him off the roof they'd been standing on. She launched after him quickly overtaking him and slammed a foot into his chest knocking him down through the roof of another building before charging in after him. 17 rolled to the side a second before his stister's foot smashed into the spot where he'd been, shattering the cement floor of the basement they were now inside of.

She pulled back dodging a kick from 17, did a quick backflip, and landed about ten feet away from him. No sooner had her feet touched the ground, she was charging in toward him again, and he toward her. As they met and began exchanging blows 18 looked into his eyes. "Gero's insane, I know you've seen it! Think about what he's after!"

17 ducked under a punch and then came up slamming his knee into 18's stomach and then landing a right hook to her jaw knocking her back into the wall. "You mean what he's already got." 17 said as he relaxed and brushed some dust off his shirt. "We're now the rulers of the entire world, not even your new friends could stop him." He started walking toward her. "It's a new world now, a new life 18. A better one. A chance for us to start over, to get revenge, to..."

"Stuff it!" she cried thrusting her arms forward. Blue energy sparked around her palms and then shot forward driving 17 across the basement and into the opposite wall. As she ended the attack, she pulled herself free of the wall she'd been knocked into. "I went along with the idea five years ago because I liked what Gero offered... I just didn't realize the price. Gero's no better than... no better than Him! What's changed 17? Tell me!"

"We're in control now, that's what." 17 said pulling himself out of his wall. "What we say goes now! No more being walked on, no more being..."

"Are you blind?" 18 cried.

17 shook his head. "Gero doesn't trust us completely yet, that's all. In time he will. Think about it 18, there's still time to come back. The whole world is at our feet!"

"You never did like seeing other people in general." 18 said after a moment. "You avoided everyone as much as possible..."

"Less chance for them to treat me like dirt."

"Less chance to meet the decent people in the world too."

17 laughed. "Decent people? In this world? You're the one that's delusional!" He pushed off with his feet and charged across the way at 18 again.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Capital City:

Gero turned to look to see who had just spoken and his eyebrows went up in interest. He'd never seen such a creature as what now stood on the balcony and was walking into the room. The Androids present eyed it up and down uncertainly, but Gero wasn't really concerned. Mostly he was intrigued. "What do you mean by that?" he asked the new arrival.

"You... them..." he motioned toward the other Androids. "Everything..." The creature looked over the Androids for a moment and then turned back to Gero again. "I heard your announcement, it's the reason I came here first. I wanted to see how much had changed from what I'd known. The things I saw along the way... this world is not as it should be."

"You've said that before but still have not yet explained what you meant."

"You don't recognize me?"

"No, should I?"

"Puzzling... Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cell, I am a Bio-droid from the future created by you." he said, his tail swishing behind him slowly. "I was created using the cells of the most powerful fighters in the world. Tien, Krillin, Piccolo, Vegeta, Goku, and Frieza."

"Cell? I made no such thing."

"It would appear that the time-line is vastly different than what it should be. My data files cover everything up to 772 A.D. but they do not match this world... in my world the Sai-jins were killed decades ago, the entire planet destroyed by Frieza. I have no files on the silver haired girls or the Goku look-a-like. Raditz should have died long ago at the hands of Piccolo... this is most confusing. The only thing I can assume is that my presence has altered things somehow... but how would it affect things from before my arrival? I only arrived 4 years ago. Maybe it's a combination of myself and the presence of Trunks..."

"Trunks?" Gero asked.

"The boy with the purple hair." Cell said. "A time-traveller like myself, though from a seperate time-line. He appeared in my world as well, lead to the deactivation and destruction of 17 and 18 long before I awoke which is why I am here now. Without them I cannot become complete."

"Complete?"

"Yes. By absorbing Androids 17 and 18 into my being I can transform and reach my final Perfect Form, I will be the greatest warrior in the universe, a perfect mix of the best genetic material and top of the line cybernetics. No one would be able to stand against me."

"This is a most interesting turn of events..." Gero said softly. "Interesting and intriguing. This Trunks certainly explains the apparent fore-knowledge of us that Goku and his friends posess."