Adrift 11 - The End is Near

Krillin flopped down onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling. He and Tien had emerged from the gravity room just as Yamcha and Vegeta had finished up the story of the fight against Buu. "I wish Goku were here... Or Gohan even." he said with a sigh. "I'd feel a lot better with the two of them around." Nervously he fingered the small bag of Senzu's tied to his waist.

"I know how you feel." Tien said leaning against the wall. "This would be a lot easier with them around. But we'll just have to handle this ourselves."

Suddenly an explosion shook the building. They all looked at each other for a second and then ran out into the streets. Floating up in the sky were Android 17 and Android 18. Both of them had KI blasts charged in their hands and aimed toward the ground. In a flash they fired again and two more large explosions shook the entire city. "What the hell are they doing!?" Vegeta cried.

"Maybe they found Bastion?" Krillin wondered.

"Then why are they shooting at random?" Vegeta demanded. In a flash of gold he transformed and shot up toward them. He landed a hard right hook to 17 knocking him back and drawing their attention. 18 redirected her aim and fired her charged KI blasts at Vegeta and fired but he just shrugged them off. "Have you two lost it?!" he demanded.

The two Androids looked at him and grinned as Buu, Tien, Krillin, and Yamcha joined him. Suddenly the purple energy field from before formed around the city and the powers of Vegeta and Buu plummeted. As they did three new forms floated into the air. Vegeta recognized the one as Bastion, his arm repaired. The others he didn't know. "What the hell?"

Bastion grinned. "Like my new allies?" he asked. "Androids 17, 18, 23, and 27." he motioned toward each of them as he spoke. Then he looked at them. "You four deal with these pests, I have Mutants to locate."

"What about Goku?" 27 asked.

Vegeta smirked. "Sorry, Kakkarotto's in his dimension at the moment. But don't worry..." there was another flash of gold as he ascended to the second level. "I'll destroy you for him." With a cry he shot in at 27 but she simply backhanded him away. He was knocked a good three hundred yards before he managed to stop. As he did he spied one of the large Prime Sentinels below him and grinned.

Thrusting a hand down at it he charged energy in front of his palm and was about to blast it when 23 smashed a massive hand into the back of his head knocking him forward and into a kick from 27. He growled and fried blasts of gold KI at them. 23 brought his arms up to block and was only driven back a couple feet but it didn't even phase 27. /Damn it! If it weren't for this damn energy field I could turn these two into scrap!/

Back where the others were Bastion had already dropped to the ground and was heading to the area Vegeta had come from. Meanwhile Buu was fighting both 17 and 18. He was having more luck than Vegeta but not much. Suddenly the two Androids jammed his head between their legs smushing it. Buu left out a small cry and his head popped back out to normal and a shockwave pushed the Androids away from him.

"18! Come on 18, what's wrong! Why are you attacking us!" Krillin called to her. But she seemed to ignore him as her and her brother launched in to attack Buu again.

"Something's not right..." Yamcha said watching them fight.

Tien nodded. "I bet Bastion did something somehow. Speaking of which, where'd he go?"

"Storm and the others!" Krillin cried turning around. "We have to try and help them!" The other two Humans nodded and shot toward Capsule Corp. once more as a bright flash of red lit up the streets. As they landed they found Strom and Cyclops standing at one end of the street and Bastion at the other. The machine was holding two more red KI blasts in his hands and grinning.

That's when Yamcha spotted the other two girls over by the Capsule Corp building. Kitty was lying on the ground and Rogue was kneeling over her. The Human could tell that her KI was gone. "She... she's dead..." he said as he turned his eyes from her to Bastion.

The Android grinned. "Yes. One down and four to go."

Tien suddenly launched in at Bastion, a white aura flaring up around him. Bastion didn't move as the Tri-clops reached him and slammed a fist into his face to zero effect. Tien frowned, floated back a bit, and then slammed a spinning snap kick into his head still to no effect. Bastion smirked as he raised his left arm and pointed the energy blast at Tien's face. The Human began to move back but wasn't fast enough and the blast slammed into him and flung him down the street several miles before he slammed into the ground and gouged out a trench for another hundred yards.

While Tien had distracted him Krillin had charged a Destructo Disc above each arm. With a shout he pitched them at Bastion. The machine raised its arms and energy enveloped them. When the discs hit there were shattered and he was left un-harmed. Yamcha swallowed and took a step back. "Oh man... how do we win?!"

"You don't." Bastion answered walking toward them.

"Go!" Storm yelled. "Get out of here! It's us he's after, save yourselves!"

"No!" Krillin answered shaking his head. "We have to try! We can't just let him kill you!"

"And we wont!" Tien shouted from high up in the sky. "Move back Krillin!"

The short Human looked up and saw the other floating there. His hands were in a triangle shape and golden energy was sparking between them. His entire body was pulsing with energy and his veins stood out across his arms and chest. Krillin's eyes widened in shock as Tien's power pulsed up notch by notch, higher and higher. The golden energy between his hands shifted colors to red and still the power climbed.

Krillin nodded and shot back grabbing both Cyclops and Storm as he did. Yamcha flew over and grabbed Rogue and took off with her as she protested leaving Kitty's body behind. The small group landed several hundred yards away and looked back toward the battle. Tien was little more than a pulsing gold and red light now.

"Th-that's amazing!" Yamcha cried wide eyed. "His power... it's... it's a hundred times greater than before! He has to be even stronger than 18 now!"

Krillin shook his head. "Not him, his attack. He's pushing everything into one attack!"

A second later Tien's voice cried out. "Super Tri-beam Fire!" There was a blindingly brilliant flash of gold and red and a massive explosion that rocked the entire planet. It took several moments for the glare to fade enough for them to see. Tien had focused the attack down to a narrow enough beam that it had left the buildings undamaged but had cut large hole down into the street. The hole was so deep they couldn't see the bottom.

"He... he did it!" Yamcha cheered. "In-incredible!"

Tien floated there panting heavily and swaying slightly. Krillin quickly flew over to him and held him up. He'd spent himself on that attack and barely had the energy to even stand now, let alone fly. The short Human helped his friend over to where the others were and landed. "That was amazing Tien!" Krillin said as they touched down.

"Thanks... but I think I over did... it..." His eyes closed and he toppled over onto the street as he passed out. "Tien!" Krillin cried kneeling down beside him. "Good... he's still alive. Just out cold. Sleep well Tien, you did great."

Rogue sat down on the sidewalk and started crying as Storm tried to calm her down.

Vegeta, on the other hand, wasn't having as much luck. The Sai-jin Prince had quickly become a Sai-jin Punching bag for the two Androids. Now and then he'd get a good hit against the large 23 but 27 was always blocked or dodged. Suddenly a hard left hook from her sent him down into the street with a thunderous crash.

Groaning he pulled himself slowly back to his feet and glared up at the two Androids. His eyes snapped wide in shock at the sudden bursts of power he felt coming from Tien. The two Androids turned to watch as well as a blinding flash lit up the city. And then Tien's power dipped extremely low. /Who did he attack? The other Androids or Bastion?/

27 turned her attention back down to Vegeta. "So, this is the Mighty Sai-jin Prince. You aren't so strong."

"Turn off this energy field and I'll show you just how strong I am!" he yelled up with a growl and then charged back up at them once more. He swung a hard left kick for 27's head which connected with a resounding crack but did nothing. He was about to throw a punch when a crack sounded from behind him and he turned to look. He found the Supreme Kai floating there with his foot outstretched and 23 plummeting toward the ground from a surprise attack.

"Sorry I'm late Vegeta." he said. "I was held up in the H.F.I.L. again."

"You're power.... it's been cut too! Damn it!"

Shin nodded. "Yes, and even with my full power I'd still be no match for Bastion. At least, by my estimates. He's at least as powerful as the original Majin Buu."

"What! How the hell? He was weaker than that before!"

"Upgraded by Dr. Gero's computer. I didn't see it happen or I'd have stepped in and stopped it."

"Well you're far to late now." 27 said as 23 floated back up into the air. "23, it's time to put an end to this." she said floating over beside him. "Vegeta's boring me." Vegeta growled but suddenly the two Androids shot forward and smashed their fists into his face with a loud crack knocking him backwards. As he fell down into the city one more his golden aura vanished and his hair went black. Before Shin could react the Androids had turned to him and sent him sailing after Vegeta.

Buu was having the best luck of them all. 17 and 18 had gotten in a lot of good hits but so had he. Their battle could have gone on forever, the two Androids weren't doing enough damage in a single blow for it to accumulate. None of them would ever run out of energy. But as Buu felt Tien's power drop as well as Vegeta's and Shin's he decided there was one easy way of ending the fight.

He stopped attacking and just floated in the sky. 17 and 18 moved to either side of him and waited. Still Buu did not move. And then they charged him at top speed. Buu didn't bother to move or block as their fists smashed into his sides. And were then pulled into his body. The Androids eyes went wide as they were both absorbed. Once fully in his body it began to ripple and shift. He got thinner, 17's scarf formed around his neck, and 18's denim jacket appeared on him as well. "Buu win!" he cried happily and grinning. He then turned to find where the others were.

Krillin turned and looked as he felt a power nearing quickly, even though it was dropping as it did. And then went wide eyed as Vegeta came falling out of the sky and slammed into him knocking him back into a building. As he pulled himself out from under him Shin landed head first in the street. Unlike Vegeta however he was still conscious and began pulling himself to his feet. Krillin emerged from the building just as Shin reached his feet.

Shin turned to look at Krillin. "Where is Bastion?"

"Huh? Oh, Tien took him out with this really powerful Tri-beam! It was amazing!"

Shin shook his head as he looked toward Capsule Corp. "No, Bastion is far to powerful to have been destroyed by an attack of that level."

"A-are you sure?" Yamcha asked to which Shin nodded.

There was a groan as Tien pulled himself to his feet again. Krillin moved over to him and handed him a Senzu which he gratefully took and ate. Glancing back into the building he hope Vegeta would come to soon, he couldn't eat a Senzu while unconscious. "Don't worry about that." Shin said moving into the building having sensed his thoughts. He knelt down beside Vegeta and quickly healed him. In moments he was on his feet again.

As the two emerged onto the street once more Buu landed. "What... happened to him?" Cyclops asked.

"Buu absorb 17 and 18." he said proudly.

"Never mind that." Vegeta said. He could tell Buu's power had gone up with the addition of the Androids but doubted it'd be enough to handle the new Androids, or the new Bastion. "How do we beat these new Androids and Bastion?" His eyes were looking down the street toward where Bastion no doubt still was.

Shin stood there thinking, not really sure what to do. He looked over the small group wish there were more of them, or that Goku and Gohan were around. Even Goten and Trunks would be helpful if they fused... /That's it!/ Shin's mind cried. "Fusion!" he said looking at the group.

"Fusion? No one here is close enough in power." Vegeta replied.

Shin shook his head as he removed his earrings. "Doesn't matter with these." he said. "But you're wrong anyway Vegeta. You're forgetting, with this field up you're power is reduced. But theirs is not." he nodded toward the Humans. "You and Tien are quite close in power."

"Us, fuse?" Tien asked looking over to Vegeta.

"If you want to survive this day..." Shin said softly.

The two warriors stared at each other for a long moment. The Earrings were permanent, they both knew it. It was Yamcha that broke the silence with a cry. "Bastion!" Everyone turned to look. Sure enough Bastion was now floating above the hole in the street.

"Damn, give me that earring!" Vegeta demanded holding out a hand. Shin handed it over and then turned to Tien and found the Human's hand held out as well. As he took the Potara he looked over to Vegeta again. He'd never expected to fuse this man, hell, he'd never expected him to have survived his first fight with Goku. As two people landed with soft clicks behind them, the two Androids Vegeta had been fighting, they put the earrings on.

Instantly their bodies were pulled together and in a bright flash of blue they were fused. When the light faded it revealed a single warrior. He wore Vegeta's blue body suit over Tien's white shirt. He looked a lot like Vegeta, even had his hair, but also had Tien's eyes, including the third one. "Alright, it's time to put an end to you Bastion." He said looking at the Machine. His voice was a perfect blend of Tien and Vegeta. Not the double voice Vegetto had had but one solid and smooth voice.

"What the hell?" Bastion asked looking at him. "What are you?"

The Fusion smirked making him look even more like Vegeta. "I am your end, your destruction! I am Vegeten!" His smirked broadened. "Or should I say... Super Vegeten!" And in a flash of gold he transformed to the second level. "And now you die!" Vegeten shot in at Bastion leaving a trail of gold behind him.