Ch. 11
"This will do just fine." The older android said when they'd reached an open clearing. Goku turned around to see the two androids descend, wishing he could have brought them a little further away from the city. Resigned, he nodded to Piccolo and Vegeta before heading down himself.
Now that Yamcha was gone and they were away from all the chaos in Harp Village, Goku took a moment to really look at the androids. The leader was an old man with long white hair that cascaded down his back and a white moustache. He wore a black hat and a yellow top with pouffy sleeves. His pants were baggy and brown. The second android was much shorter than the first, with less humanoid features. His skin was white, his face quite round and pudgy, and he had on a small yellow and black hat, with a black shirt that pouffed at the sleeves. The shirt was covered by a beige vest, and finally, he wore baggy yellow pants that matched his companion's shirt. Neither one of them looked fit or emitted any kind of power, but this could be deceiving. Goku watched as the shorter android took a step forward.
"Allow me to take care of him." Goku was surprised to hear the android speak in such a squeaky voice.
"So eager 19. I supposed you can do the honours. But don't be selfish and take it all for yourself." The older android answered. Android 19 nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I guess I'm up." Goku said as he stepped forward.
"Go ahead Kakarot. I want the old one. He's obviously the one in charge." Vegeta told him. Goku smiled as he shook his head.
"Sure Vegeta." Piccolo and Vegeta backed away, as did the older android. Goku didn't waste any time and turned super saiyan right off the bat. He would usually gauge his opponent in his base form first, but he was impatient to end these androids once and for all. He then got into stance and waited for his opponent to do the same. After a few moments, it was evident that the android would be doing no such thing. Goku lunged quickly and hit android 19 in the left cheek. He followed it up with a kick to the ribs and blocked as the android attempted first a punch, then a kick himself. The android wasn't quite as quick as him, and Goku used that to his advantage. Goku attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks, most of which the android wasn't able to deflect. Goku then rose up above and put his hands together for a kamehameha wave.
"It looks like I was right, these androids are child's play." Vegeta remarked as he watched the fight with boredom.
"It's not over until it's over Vegeta." Piccolo answered. There was something off about these androids. Something was telling him that they hadn't seen their real power yet.
"…HA!" Goku sent the beam directly towards android 19 who began to smile maniacally. Goku gasped as the android stuck out his hand and in a moment, the beam was gone. Before he could comprehend what had just happened, Goku watched as android 19 laughed and then lunged. Suddenly his punches were faster, his kicks more precise. What was going on?
"He absorbed it." Vegeta said in surprise.
"That's how they get their power…they absorb energy." Piccolo realized.
"GOKU! DON'T USE ANY ENERGY BEAMS. THEY ABSORB THE ENERGY! THAT'S WHERE THEY GET THEIR POWER!" Piccolo shouted.
"Absorb energy? You have to be kidding me." Goku muttered as the android once again came at him with punch after punch, kick after kick. He was so much more agile now and Goku found himself getting tired fast as he and the android went head-to-head. As they fought, Goku struggled to find the android's weakness. Suddenly, he saw it.
"This android is weaker in the air. Fighting in the sky gives me the advantage. Yes!" Goku powered up further and launched himself high up into the air. The android followed, but as Goku predicted, his movements were less precise and slower once they'd left the ground.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" Krillin asked as he and Yamcha landed beside Piccolo, eyes on the battle happening in the air.
"I hope Korin sent you with more beans. Looks like Goku's going to need one." Piccolo answered as he watched the fierce battle that wasn't letting up. He knew both fighters were starting to burn out.
"Yeah we've got a few." Yamcha replied hoping he wouldn't have to fight. His near-death experience with the androids made him especially wary of them. Without realizing it, he had begun to rub the area of his chest where the android's hand had pierced.
"So, are they really strong?" Krillin asked.
"They absorb energy. So no beams or you'll just make them stronger." Piccolo answered.
"Yikes. So it's a fight to the death…literally." Krillin muttered.
"As long as Kakarot stays in the air he'll be fine. The android doesn't do so well up there." Vegeta stated. Krillin looked over at him.
"Well that's good." Feeling more hopeful, he returned his gaze to the fighters, who had stopped in midair to catch their breath.
'He's getting too many shots in. I need to finish this.' Goku thought to himself. He prepared himself as the android lunged for him. Just as he was about to react, he was stunned by a loud noise in his head.
'DAAAAAAAD!' Goku's hands immediately went onto his ears as he scrunched his eyes shut against the deafening, anguished cry, leaving himself open to a punch to the gut from android 19. Seeing an advantage, the android attacked viciously while Goku struggled to regain his bearings.
"What just happened?" Yamcha exclaimed as the group watched in horror.
"I don't know. But Goku's in trouble. Get ready." Piccolo answered. All of them except Vegeta powered up. As they were about to step in, the older android flew up in front of them.
"I don't think so. Until Goku is incapacitated, you will wait your turn."
"I will take care of this once Kakarot is finished." Vegeta told the other three sternly.
"What did you do to him?" Krillin shouted at the older android.
"To be quite honest, I don't know what happened back there. But it certainly worked to 19's advantage." The android smiled viciously. Krillin looked at the others in surprise.
…
Bulma and Chichi watched sadly as Gohan thrashed in bed once more. He was clutching his chest so tightly that Chichi could see him drawing blood. The tears flowed freely down her face as she tried to comfort her son, but it didn't seem like he could hear her.
"I don't know how much more of this he can take." Chichi sobbed as she looked over at Bulma.
"I have an idea. But I'm not sure it will work." Bulma answered as the thought struck her.
"What is it?" Chichi asked desperately.
"Sensu beans. I mean they might not heal Gohan but they might give him the energy to hold on. It's worth a try." Chichi took a moment to process this.
"Where do we get them?" She asked.
"Korin grows the beans. But I'd hazard a guess that Goku probably grabbed some from him already. I'll take my ship and find the boys and snag a bean from them. I'll be quick I promise." Chichi nodded as Bulma headed towards the door.
"Bulma, be careful okay?" Bulma turned around and gave Chichi a small smile.
"Of course. I better go now." Bulma hurried to the door, Gohan's cries growing fainter as she left the Son house. She quickly started her hovercraft after popping it out of it's capsule, and set the GPS for Harp Village.
'They can't be too far from there.' She thought to herself as she took off, this time at full speed.
…
Goku struggled to block as he tried to get Gohan's cries out of his head and focus on the current battle. It had been a while since they'd used telepathy to communicate, but there was no doubt that the scream had belonged to his son. Now his suspicions about what was going on at home were confirmed- something was terribly wrong.
Unfortunately it couldn't have come at a worse time. The distraction was enough for android 19 to get quite a few hits in, leaving him in much worse condition. The android had realized his advantage and hadn't let up, not giving Goku the chance to recuperate. In frustration, he threw a beam at the android, only to see the android smile gleefully and absorb it.
"Damn it." He muttered having forgotten that the android could absorb energy. The situation had just gone form bad to worse. Now the android was smiling, looking much less worn out.
"I think you're about to be tagged in Vegeta." Krillin stated mournfully.
"What's that noise?" Piccolo asked looking in the opposite direction of the fight.
"It's a hovercraft." Yamcha answered. Everyone turned as a yellow hovercraft arrived and landed beside them. Krillin looked at Bulma in shock, before turning towards the older android who was observing quietly. Was she nuts?
"Hey guys! Sorry to barge in but I need a sensu bean asap. It's an emergency. Please tell me you have some." Piccolo and Vegeta ignored her, while Yamcha and Krillin turned towards her in shock.
"What's going on Bulma?" Yamcha asked. Bulma gave him a dirty look.
"I don't have time to explain. This is a matter of life and death. Gohan needs that sensu bean now!"
"What did you say?" Piccolo asked, as he quickly tore his gaze from the fight.
"I said Gohan needs a sensu bean. He's got that heart virus and if I don't get him the bean he might…" Bulma stopped there, unable to continue.
"The heart virus? The one Goku was supposed to get?" Krillin asked.
"Wait, Kakarot knew his son was ill didn't he? That explains why he's so distracted." Vegeta said in irritation.
"He never mentioned a heart virus." Piccolo commented thinking hard.
"He doesn't know about it. Gohan just had fevers before. It started after he left." Bulma replied. Krillin stepped towards her with a small brown bag.
"Here, get this to Gohan. After everything he did for us on Namek, he's definitely earned it." Krillin stated. Bulma grabbed the bean quickly and headed back towards her ship.
"Hold on Bulma." Piccolo stated as he walked towards her. Bulma looked up at Piccolo in fear. She was still intimidated by the Namek, whether he was friends with Goku or not.
"What?" She asked trying to fake a calmness she didn't feel. Piccolo dropped his voice to a whisper.
"Goku's not going to win this battle. Something happened and he's nearing the end. Vegeta's going to have to step in. When he does, the rest of us will distract this one over here. I need you to get Goku and take him with you. Give him a bean, I'll have Krillin slip you one before you leave." Bulma looked from Piccolo to Goku, who was indeed looking like he didn't have much fight left.
"O..Okay." Bulma answered. She was scared. What if they couldn't hold the androids off? Gohan needed the bean. And what about her own safety? What about her baby? Bulma quickly looked over at Vegeta who was doing his best to ignore her.
'Vegeta wouldn't let anything happen to me and the baby.' She tried to convince herself.
"This is it Vegeta." Piccolo muttered under his breath. The older android looked over at the two warriors as Vegeta gave Piccolo a stern nod. Both watched as Goku landed on the ground hard, unable to get back up.
"Well old man, looks like I'm up." Vegeta said loudly to the android as he smiled. Backing away from the group, he gleefully powered up to super saiyan.
"Vegeta can transform too?" Krillin asked in surprise. The older android gulped as he watched. Neither one of these transformations were part of the plan. What was this?
"Now." Piccolo said to Bulma, who jumped before quickly heading towards Goku. Yamcha followed her, grabbing Goku's lower half and bringing him to the hovercraft as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Piccolo and Krillin stood in front of the older android, who hadn't been paying attention. Before he could react, Bulma had started up the hovercraft, and Yamcha slipped her a second bean.
"Be careful. And don't worry Goku, we've got this until you get back." Goku didn't reply as Bulma closed the door and began to fly upwards. The older android tried to follow, only to have Piccolo and Krillin stand in the way. They braced for a fight, but the android let them leave.
"Goku can't hide. We will destroy him." He answered in annoyance.
"I don't think so." Piccolo answered. The two of them stared at each other until a high-pitched cry sounded from the other direction. As the three looked over, they saw Vegeta attack android 19 aggressively, and he was enjoying every minute of it. Despite the power boosts the android had gotten from Goku, he was still quite worn out and having much difficulty countering and blocking Vegeta's attacks, let alone making any of his own. The group watched as Vegeta gave the android a swift kick to the head, knocking off his hat in the process. Under a red glass plate, circuits could be seen.
"You're robots." Piccolo muttered as it all started to make sense. That was why they couldn't sense their energy.
"Yes." The older android replied in distaste. It was looking like Android 19 might not succeed after all. These fighters were stronger than they were supposed to be. But how? His calculations had been precise. This didn't make any sense.
As the older android pondered his next move, everyone watched as Vegeta stood in front of android 19, who was beginning to look quite afraid. The android backed up, tripping over a rock and landing hard on the ground. Vegeta approached menacingly.
"It's time to end this now robot. I'm not playing games with you. Tell me, are you afraid of death? Does a robot know when it's about to die? Does it have a fight or flight response?" Vegeta taunted. The android quickly got up and lunged for Vegeta's arms.
"Now you are mine. I will drain all of your energy. I will never let you go." The android gave Vegeta a small smile of triumph.
"Your friend is done now. Android 19 will drain him of all his energy." The older android told the group.
"Oh you think so do you? Done am I?" Vegeta answered with a smile. Android 19 stopped smiling as Vegeta jumped, lifting his feet to rest on the androids face. Android 19 struggled to hold on.
"Let's see how long you can hold on for shall we?" Vegeta said as he powered up. The boost pushed his feet further into the androids face, putting great strain on the android's arms.
"Shall we go a little further?" Vegeta said with a laugh. The android braced himself with a frightened squeak but it was no use. As Vegeta powered up even further, a large "POP" could be heard as the android's arms we're wrenched from his body.
"You were saying?" Piccolo said looking sideways at the older android, who looked to be completely in shock.
"No.." The android muttered. It couldn't be! This was it. He had to make a run for it. There was no way he could destroy all of them. There had been too many miscalculations. No, it would be safer for him to get back to the lab.
As the group watched Vegeta enjoy his last hits, the older android looked around for an escape route.
'There. I will wait for the right moment and head that way.' He thought as he spied a narrow opening in the rock. If he stayed low to the ground he might escape them.
"He's done." Yamcha stated as Vegeta floated upwards, ready to deliver the final blast that would destroy the android. The android stared up in fear, then began to run away. Vegeta laughed loudly as he shot his beam at the retreating android and hit him square on. With a flash of blinding light, the android was done.
Piccolo turned towards the older android but was surprised to see he was gone.
"Guys, where did the other one go?" Piccolo asked in shock. Yamcha and Krillin looked around, only to notice he'd gotten away.
"Vegeta, the other one's taking off! We have to find him!" Piccolo shouted. Vegeta smiled further.
"You lot stay here. I've got this." He answered arrogantly. As he took off, Piccolo shook his head in irritation.
"We have to find him you guys." Krillin nodded, but Yamcha was distracted by something on the ground close to his feet. Bending down, he picked up the android's hat, and recognized the logo painted on the front in red.
"The Red Ribbon Army…" He muttered.
"What is it Yamcha?" Krillin asked as he and Piccolo approached.
"The logo on the hats…it's from the Red Ribbon Army." Yamcha answered. Krillin looked up in surprise.
"I thought the Red Ribbon Army were defeated?" He stated.
"So did I." Yamcha answered. Piccolo thought about something the android had told them.
"Did anyone in this Red Ribbon Army have a grudge against Goku?" He asked suddenly.
"Ya, there was one guy…Gero was his name. Doctor Gero. He was killed though I think. Why?" Yamcha asked.
"Something the android said. He said that it didn't matter if Goku got away, they would destroy him. He seems to have something against Goku. I wonder if this Gero guy created these androids?" Piccolo answered deep in thought.
"Well, we'd better find him and get this over with." Krillin stated. The others nodded in agreement.
"Good idea. Let's get to it." Piccolo said as the three took off after Vegeta.
…
Bulma looked over at Goku in the rearview mirror. What on earth was she thinking? She was far away now she could safely land. She'd give Goku a bean and he could teleport them there instantly! Happy with her thinking, she landed the hovercraft and took one of the beans out of her pocket.
"Oh Goku, I'm so sorry about Gohan. I hope this works." She whispered as she grabbed her friend's head and fed him the bean. In a moment, Goku opened his eyes and stared at her in surprise.
"Bulma! Where are we?" Goku asked as he rubbed his head.
"No time to explain Goku. Let me pocket my hovercraft and you can teleport us to your house okay? We need to get Gohan a sensu bean." Goku suddenly remembered Gohan's cries as they filled his head on the battlefield. His heart began to race as he followed Bulma out of the ship so she could put it back in it's capsule. As soon as she pocketed it, he grabbed her shoulder quickly and put two fingers to his forehead.
When Bulma opened her eyes a scream pierced her ears and she covered them in surprise. She couldn't believe it- they were in the Son living room. She had known Goku could do this but it was another thing entirely to travel instantly from one place to another. While she tried to gather her bearings, she saw Chichi enter and throw herself at Goku.
"Oh Goku!" She cried. Goku held his wife in shock as he stared at the back room where Gohan could be heard shouting in pain.
"What happened?" Goku asked as he started to walk towards his son's room.
"It's that heart virus. He has it!" Chichi shrieked. Goku felt his chest tighten as he grabbed the doorknob.
He stopped in the doorway as his breath left him. He'd seen his son injured and he'd seen his son sick. But never had he seen anything this bad. Goku froze as guilt began to hit him hard.
'No, this can't be. It's me that's supposed to get this. I'm supposed to be sick. Not my son." Bulma pushed passed Goku and dropped down beside Gohan's bed.
"Gohan it's Bulma. I know you're hurting real bad. I brought your dad kiddo. We're all here for you. I'm going to give you a sensu bean now okay? It will help, I'm sure of it." Chichi brought Bulma a glass of water, then did her best to hold Gohan down while Bulma fed him the bean. As soon as she'd given it to him, she poured a bit of water into his mouth to wash it down. Gohan stopped screaming for a brief moment while he swallowed. Everyone watched to see what would happen. After a moment, Gohan's screaming ceased, and he rested peacefully.
"What now?" Chichi asked. Bulma shook her head.
"I don't know. I figured the bean would help him gather some strength to continue to fight the virus. He seems to be asleep. All we can do now is hope and pray." Bulma stood up and looked over at Goku. He was still standing at the doorway, but he no longer looked shocked. His head was bowed and his hands were balled into fists. Sensing that he might need some time alone with Gohan, Bulma quietly retreated, patting his arm on her way out. Goku didn't react. Chichi bent over Gohan's bed and kissed his forehead, wiping his brow with a cloth before exiting as well.
When the door had closed, Goku walked over to the bed and knelt down. He felt so guilty that his son was suffering a fate meant for him.
"Gohan I'm so sorry." He started. He gently wiped the wet hair off his son's face.
"I was supposed to be here. This should have been me. And what's worse, I had a shot at those androids and failed." Gohan's even breathing was the only thing that could be heard in response.
"I have to finish the job that I started son. I messed up, and I have to fix it. But I want you to know that I'm thinking of you. This is where I want to be, and as soon as I'm through, I'll be back here. I promise."