Part Four
High Captain Miuu's scouter beeped. He studied the readings on it and then stepped forward onto the bridge.
"Begin our descent down to Earth," he announced. Everyone looked up from their stations at him with puzzled expressions. "And issue this message to our ships: they are to cease their bombardment and engagment with Earth's forces immediately. Failure to comply in the time it takes for us to descend will lead to us firing on them."
A shocked murmur ran through the ship.
"That's an order!" Miuu commanded.
They turned back to their stations and began to work on the commands.
A lieutenant, elongated cranium, short and purple, walked up to Miuu. "Sir, what are you doing?" he asked.
"Lord Kuriza is out of action," Miuu responded. "It is now safe for us to proceed."
"Proceed? With what?"
"With ending this slaughter. It has gone on long enough."
Miuu stared out the front viewport as the Frieza Cold began its slow descent into the Earth's atmosphere.
"We should be safe here," Bra said as she pulled Cherlot up onto the second floor of the ruined building. Cradled in her free arm she held the now unconscious Sabine. She had been in hysterics after the revelation of her Majin symbol, and babbling about how she'd given them information relating to Uub. The poor girl had not been able to breathe properly during it and had unfortunaltey passed out. Bra, still a Super Saiyan, had carried her and led her friends to safety.
Outside she could still hear the sound of gunfire, energy blasts and explosions. She looked up and squinted at the circular space ship that hung high in the sky, across which the dogfight continued to rage. Earlier she had sensed her father and brother flying towards it, along with her friends. I hope they're all okay, she thought.
She nodded and turned back to her friends. She lay Sabine on the floor and then powered down from her Super Saiyan state. The building floor was grey and cracked, with water dripping down from exposed pipes. Some desks lay shattered and scattered around the space of what was once presumably an office. Skar was sat with his legs crossed and arms resting lightly on his knees. Cherlot was at the back of the room, leaning her back against the wall.
"We should be safe," Bra said. "There's nobody around the immediate area and this place is beaten up enough that people won't think to go near it. We'll rest here for a bit and then we can move on to where the army is."
Skar nodded.
Bra sat down and crossed her legs. She looked down at her hands and started picking dirt out from under her nails.
"You're not from here are you?"
The question had come from Cherlot. Bra looked up at her. "Sorry?" she asked.
"You're not from here are you?" Cherlot repeated. She had pulled her head of the wall and was looking at Bra. Skar was looking at her with curiosity as well. "No human that I've ever seen can do what you did."
"That's a slight exaggeration," Bra said with a small smile. "Some of my family friends can do some of that stuff, better than me even, and they're perfectly human."
"But going gold? Your hair changing?"
"Nah… that's me… and some others…"
"So… are you an alien?" Skar asked.
Bra nodded. "Half of me is. From my Dad's side. He came from a now extinct species of humanoids called the Saiyans. As part of that there was a now not so legendary transformation called the Super Saiyan and that's what I was doing when I became gold."
"How long have you been able to do that?"
"Not too long. It was a comprimise with my parents. They agreed to let me go out and stay out late, so long as Dad gave me some training and I could transform. For safety reasons." Bra chuckled a little. Then looked down again.
"Why didn't you tell us? Or tell anyone?" Cherlot asked after a moment.
Bra shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just didn't want people to think I was weird or to be afraid of me. I just wanted to be normal." Bra glanced up at her friends and then quickly looked down again. They were sat so far away from her and didn't seem like coming closer. It was as she thought…
"But you transformed and showed yourself?"
"…Yeah… You're my friends, my best friends… I couldn't very well sit by and let you get hurt or… worse…"
That's the end of it… After this… they won't want to see me. I'm a freak now and I always will be…
"Wow… That's so awesome!" Skar said.
Bra whipped her head up, her eyes widening in surprise. "What?" she said.
"I said it was awesome!" Skar grinned. "You're an alien, well half-alien, which is already immensely cool but not only that you can do some legendary transformation as well!" Skar looked over at Cherlot who smiled back at him. "And did you see the way you knocked that ship out of the sky? That was amazing! Boom! Goodbye!"
Bra's mouth dropped slithly in shock. This… wasn't… what I… expected…
"Hey, Bra," Cherlot said. Bra looked at her friend. "You said you had some human friends who could do the same?"
"Uh… yeah…"
"Can you teach us?"
Bra looked between her two friends. They both looked at her, smiling and expectant. Bra relaxed and smiled. She had nothing to worry about. She scooted herself closer to them. "Okay, I'll teach you."
They both grinned.
"But I warn you it's a long and slow process. The first lesson I'm going to have to teach you is how to concentrate…"
"…Seventeen… Help… Me…"
Eighteen coughed. The cough was weak, but even so it looked like it would cause the androids head to come off. Seventeen immediately swept to her side and rested her head back on the pillows that supported it. Marron stepped forward and gripped her mother's hand.
"You need to rest mom," Marron urged. "Lay back, don't speak…"
"Krillin… No… Time…"
"Eighteen, you don't have any energy, there's nothing you can do," Seventeen said, stroking his twin sister's hair. "Rest. Please rest."
"Need… Help… Seventeen… Please…"
Seventeen bit his lip and pulled away. Marron sidled up closer to her mother and began whispering to her, urging her gently to lie back and continue to rest. Seventeen looked across at Master Roshi. The old man had stayed where he was for the duration of this, his head held down in thought. Now he lifted his head up, taking off his glasses as he did so. He looked at Seventeen. A long moment seemed to pass, where nothing was said but everything was communicated. Roshi slowly nodded his head.
Seventeen looked down. He bit his lip again. He seemed to whisper something to himself, his body shivering a little. Then he sighed. He lifted his head up. His gloom seemed to have lifted. "I guess it's time," he said softly.
He stepped over to Eighteen and quietly ushered Marron out of the way. The girl stepped back, looking at her uncle in confusion. Seventeen pulled the covers down from Eighteen's body, revealing her pink nightie and he leaned in and whispered something in his sister's ear. Then he raised his left hand and pressed his right index finger into the palm, running it down the hand and opening it up. A small spurt of blood spit onto the sheets. Energy crackled around the hand and he pressed his palm over Eighteen's mouth.
A powerful charge jolted through Eighteen's body, making her arch and breathe harshly. Seventeen kept his hand pressed to her mouth but his body began to struggle, his eyes narrowing and closing, his body wilting. Eighteen raised her hand up and gently pressed it over Seventeen's. The boy's head drooped onto his shoulders. He raised it briefly and just managed to crack open one eye to look at his sister. Then his head fell and his body collapsed.
Master Roshi stepped forward and caught Seventeen. He gently lowered him to the ground and placed the android's hands on his chest. His face was calm, eyes closed. At peace. Master Roshi looked up. Eighteen looked down at him, the hair brushed back from her face, her eyes sad.
"Mom?" Marron breathed. She stepped forward a little. "Mom? Are you… okay?"
Eigtheen turned her head to her daughter. She smiled. "Yes, darling, I'm fine."
Marron's face collapsed. Tears streaming from her eyes she dived into her mother's arms and bawled. Eighteen clasped her daughter tight and stroked her hair. "It's all right," she said softly. "It's all right. You've been very brave. Looking after me and looking after your father. Thank you so much." She held her daughter for a few minutes and then pulled back a little so that she could look her in the eyes. Eighteen smiled warmly. "I'm so proud of you. And I love you so much."
"I… I love you too… Mom…" Marron hiccouphed.
Eighteen leaned forward and tenderly kissed her daughter on the forehead. Then she settled back slightly, taking herself out of Marron's embrace, and raised herself up from the bed. She stepped along the bed and over to the window. Her lips were wobbling, tugging downwards. She kept her eyes fixed in front of her.
"Mom… What… Where are you…?" Marron stared at her mother, confused, her mouth open in a small 'o'.
"I have to go sweetie," Eighteen said, voice cracking. "There's something I have to do." She paused. "You'll… You'll look after them for me… won't you…?"
"Of course I will," Master Roshi said. "You have my word."
"Thank you Roshi…"
Eighteen swallowed and then took a deep breath.
"Mom… what are you… Mom… don't - Mom - please!"
Then Eigtheen opened the window and leapt outside, jetting away towards the sky.
Marron screamed. Roshi grabbed her and held her tightly against him. Marron slammed her fists against him, struggling in his grasp. Then the scream died and she collapsed onto the old man's shoulder, her body wracked with sobs.
Master Roshi sat there and silently held her tight.
Gotenks stepped forward, the sparks flashing across his vision. He looked from Frieza to Cell and back again. Okay… he thought. Assuming they still have some power hidden away I can reasonably say that I'm much stronger than Frieza and probably a little stronger than Cell. I don't know what Parvulus is going to be doing in all of this but it seems safe to presume he'll be hanging back, otherwise why would he need these two? I still have Super Saiyan Three but… I probably wouldn't be able to use it for that long and there's no guarantee that I could get all of them in the time limit. And once I use that… and if I haven't… then ouch… Best to keep to Super Saiyan Two…
"…Monkey…"
The voice was at once low and high. Chilly, like an icicle being drawn down a window pane. Frieza had spoken.
The once tyrant of the galaxy drew his eyes towards Gotenks. "You're a Saiyan aren't you?" he asked.
"I sure am!" Gotenks responded. "What tipped you off Sherlock? The Super Saiyan hair or the Super Saiyan aura?"
"If you must know it was your smell."
"Well played, sir, well played."
"A Saiyan?" Cell spoke this time. His voice was refined, crisp and with each syllable pronounced. "You don't look like any Saiyan I've encountered before. Who was your father?"
"My father was Goku… and Vegeta!" Gotenks declared.
There was a moment of silence. Then a sweat drop fell down the back of the fused Saiyan's head. "Wait… hang on that came out wrong…"
"He's a fusion, like me," Parvulus explained. "He's a composite of a man with long spikey black hair and a man with short spikey purple hair."
"Purple hair?" Cell glanced over at Parvulus in surprise. "So that would be… Trunks?" He looked back at Gotenks. "What is Trunks doing here?"
"Not that one doofus," Gotenks sighed. "I'm the present day Trunks, the one who was a baby when you were around."
"A purple haired Saiyan…" Frieza thought aloud. Then it clicked. "But… I was killed by a purple haired Saiyan!"
"Yes that was me, or rather the future me."
"That's the one who's Vegeta's son," Cell added.
"What!?" Freiza exclaimed. "But I killed Vegeta! And what creature would be stupid or desperate enough to breed with that filthy monkey!?"
"Hey that's one of my mother's your insulting!" Gotenks shouted.
"But the other one… long spikey hair… and Goku's son…?" Cell pondered. "That one is new to me."
"After your time," Gotenks said.
"Ah…"
"Goku?" Frieza murmured.
"Also goes by Kakarot," Gotenks added helpfully.
"Yes… I remember now." Frieza smirked. He was feeling a little out of the loop. Everyone around him seemed to know who he was and yet he was at a loss as to who anyone around him was. He didn't want to show this, though, lest it be seen as a sign of weakness. So he carried on as if he was as informed as everyone else. "Well, well, well… the children of the two Saiyan's I hate the most present themselves as a target."
"Oh no, no, it's better than that. The children of the two Saiyans you hate the most fused together into one complete package of awesomeness." Gotenks swept his hands down in front of his body, admiring himself. "And, let's face it, you got your ass destroyed by Trunks so I don't rate your chances against me."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Majin Parvulus said. "As you can no doubt tell, if you can indeed sense past your own ego, both of them have received a considerable boost in power."
It was at this point that Frieza and Cell appeared to notice the changes to their own bodies. Freiza raised his arms and twisted his head around to look at his bulked up body, with the bones pressing against the skin, the spikes protruding from under it and out of his back. He raised his hands up and felt along the extended cranium, with the four horns poking up from it. Cell looked at his arms, with the two spikes on each arm pointing out like claws, felt along the flattened crown, with four points. Most of all he sensed his own power exuding from him.
"Incredible," he breathed. "My power is even greater than I could have imagined. I have become even more perfect."
"Wow, more perfect than perfection!" Gotenks whistled. "That's pretty darn squeaky clean."
"With this power… I could have crushed that monkey…" Frieza snarled, clenching his fist. "Even father would have fallen before me."
"You guys both know that you're still weaker than me, right?" Gotenks announced. "Besides which your power comes at a cost. You both have to obey him." He pointed at Majin Parvulus. Frieza and Cell looked over at the fused Majin.
"This is so," Parvulus said. "I gave you your boost in power, but you are both under my command. Your task should be amenable to you. It is simply to eliminate the Saiyan in front of you."
"That can be done with pleasure," Frieza sneered.
"With an added bonus that it's formed of a child of Goku and Vegeta," Cell turned his head towards Gotenks. Inwardly the bio-android was curious as to what the fusion was. He'd never heard or come across such a technique before - not even in the deepest regions of Hell.
Gotenks narrowed his eyes and flicked his gaze from Frieza to Cell and back. Gotenks smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen…" He cracked his knuckes. Then he thrust his right index finger up above his head. "Let's get ready to RUMBBBLLLLEEEEEE!" In his head the music kicked in, crowds began to cheer and roar, lights began to swirl around the stadium -
Frieza, Cell and Parvulus looked on in bewilderment -
Then Gotenks' aura burst to life and he jetted forward, cocking back his fist, aiming for Frieza. He launched his punch at the surprised Arcosian but it was caught by Cell, sweeping across, the shockwave blowing back Frieza and Parvulus slightly. Cell swept around, launching a kick at Gotenks head that the fusion ducked and then sprang back from.
Cell followed up firing a series of punches at Gotenks. Gotenks deflected and weaved out of the way of the attacks, being wary to the spikes on Cell's arms. Gotenks caught both of Cell's fists and then drove his knee into the bio-androids chin. Cell's head snapped back and Gotenks followed through with a back-flip kick with his other leg, sending Cell flying backwards.
Gotenks came out of his flip and then shot forward. Cell allowed his momentum to carry him and thrust out one hand, firing a makanakosappo at the onrushing Gotenks. He dived to the right and Frieza raised both hands and fired a rapid volley of death beams.
Gotenks landed on the ground and noted the oncoming beams. He grinned and then began twisting his body, ducking, spinning, rolling, flailing and, essentially, break-dancing his way around the beams. As the last beam approached he whirled up from the ground and the spin kicked the beam directly back at Frieza.
The Arcosian swore and twisted to the side, the beam flying past him to strike the far wall that gave a resounding metallic clang, but sustained no damage. Frieza turned his head back to Gotenks and bared his teeth with a frustrated snarl. Cell, who had flipped out of his flight and landed on all fours on the ground, rose up and similarly glared at the fused half-Saiyan.
Gotenks, meanwhile, landed gracefully and gently from his spin. Then he made a big show of stretching out his arms and yawning loudly. He smacked his lips together and then smiled at his opponents.
"You know what?" he said. "In all of this excitement I can't remember if I was using all of my power or only half of it." He titled his head down and grinned. "So ask yourselves this question: do I feel lucky? Well do ya, punks?"
"So that's the whole truth," the Supreme Kai said. He looked around. The room was small, a private office of the Grand Kai, and they were sat around a table. Kibitokai was at the top of the table, with the Grand Kai next to him. The four Kings were then sat along the sides of the table, two to a side. The other Kai's faces registered varying forms of shock, mixed with disgust and guilt. Bar Dabura of course, stood at the back, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He just looked angry as always.
"That's… horrifying…" the North Kai uttered. There were some nods of agreement.
"Oh please," Dabura snorted. All eyes turned to him. "Can we not spend two hours with everyone having a 'woe is us' moment and feeling guilty for whatever their ancestors did? You can do all of that later if you want."
"What do you propose we do then?" Kibitokai asked.
"Prepare."
"What?"
Dabura sighed and stepped forward. "Maladie's goal is us. What he's doing on Earth is just a means to that end. So what we should be doing now is preparing for the worst. Namely your bunch of troopers fail to stop him and he sets about annihilating the Kais, the demons and everyone up in this realm."
"We don't know what he's planning," Kibitokai said.
"No, but there are general preparations that we can make."
"Such as?" This was the North Kai. The King of Demons glared at him, making the joking King shrink a little.
"You have some of the strongest fighters in history here," Dabura said. "Assemble them. All of them. And prepare them. Because if you all die, they all disappear as well. That should be enough incentive."
"Incentive?" the Grand Kai spoke up. "What do you mean Dabura? If they're up here then they are all good hearted and would gladly fight to save others."
Dabura grinned. "Not all of them. Some of the most powerful ones happen to be quite self-interested."
The Kais stared at Dabura in confusion. Then, collectively, the penny dropped.
And then the arguing began.
"This… isn't… good…"
Yamcha spoke the general feeling of the trio when he said those words. All three of them had wanted to dash to Piccolo's side but the shock of what had happened had prevented them. During that time they had all been able to assess that dashing off was not a good tactic. Not when Majin Instans was now glaring at them ferouciously and slowly dropping down from the sky.
Piccolo's energy signature was… there… but faint. The blow had not been fatal, but even with his regenerative powers it would take him a while to recover from the strike. Delicate wounds, like the one Piccolo had suffered, took longer to regenerate from than a loss of the arm. In such a case the arm had to be regrown. In the former case the nerves had to be reconnected. For the foreseeable future they were on their own.
Majin Instans touched down. "And so now you too will die," he said. "So you will, so you will."
"Anyone got any good ideas?" Krillin said, stepping back slightly.
"I ran out of them after 'hang back and let Piccolo deal with it'," Yamcha said.
"It's a good thing that I'm here then," Tien said. "Because I think I know what we can do."
Krillin and Yamcha tore their eyes away from Instans to look at Tien. The aged Crane school martial artists looked between them. "We know what Instans' powers are, or the one's he's shown," Tien explained. "He's used his instant movement to disable Piccolo. We know that he can't use that again for a while. So we can take advantage of this."
"How?" Krillin asked.
"Yamcha, you lead a distraction attack against him," Tien said, glancing at his friend. "Meanwhile I'll sneak into the air and use the kikoho on him."
"Tien that's insane!" Yamcha interrupted. "At your age that technique could kill you, or disable you at any rate. Besides which Instans could reflect it."
"Perhaps. The energy is a wide and unfocused enough attack that he might not be able to. If he does though, then I take the blow. But that's where the final part comes in. Krillin," Tien looked at his other friend. "You can launch your kienzan at Instans. If he reflects my attack back then he won't be able to move instantly or reflect attacks. Use it right and you'll be able to cut him, enough so that it can bring his advantage down." Tien shrugged. "Worst case scenario it should give us the leverage we need to hold on until Piccolo can return to the fight."
Krillin and Yamcha exchanged looks.
"It's risky…" Krillin murmured, rubbing his chin.
"Yes, it is," Yamcha agreed. "But we all came here knowing we were taking a risk." He paused a moment and then continued. "We got assigned a job to do. And I'll be damned if we don't get it done and let everyone else down."
With that Yamcha turned around to face down Instans. Majin Instans grinned behind his face cloth. "Finished discussing, so you have, so you have," the Majin sneered. "Now come to your end, so you will, so you will."
"Good luck guys," Yamcha said.
Krillin swallowed. Here we go…
Yamcha powered up, his white aura snapping to life around him. Krillin moved to the left and Tien shifted off to the right, Instans eyes focused wholly on Yamcha. "Ka… me…" Yamcha intoned, pulling his arms down to his side and cupping his hands together. "Ha… me…" A blue orb of light pulsed between his hands. "HA!" Yamcha twisted his body, pushing his hands behind him so that they faced away from Instans. Simultaneously he hopped upwards, the low gravity allowing him to go up higher, and unleashed the Kamehameha, which propelled him towards the surprised Instans.
Yamcha gathered the energy in his hands and twisted around, raising one clawed hand above his head and the other in front of his face. "Wolf Fang Fist!" he yelled and slammed an overhead strike into Instans head, using the momentum from the Kamehameha to add to the force. Yamcha used his ki to steady himself in the air and launched a barrage of strikes against Instans.
The angry and frustrated Majin suffered the flurry blows, trying to block them as best he could, before he screamed and lauched a kiai wave that blasted Yamcha back. Yamcha let out a roar of pain as he snapped his wrist as he skimmed across the ground. He came to stop and cradled his arm, before glancing up at the sky. He just managed to raise a smile through the agony.
Majin Instans stopped in his tracks and snapped his head up. Above him was Tien, his hands crossed over in front of him to form a diamond shape. Looking through the shape Tien could see Instans. Energy, powerful energy, swirled around Tien's form and Instans' eyes widened in shock.
"Kikoho…!" Tien shouted.
An immense wave of energy blasted down from his body and rushed towards Instans. The Majin reacted by shoving out his right hand to meet the blast, screaming as he did so. The energy crashed around Instans, exploding the ground around him. But Instans himself was untouched. Tien's eyes widened in shock as a portion of the Kikoho rebounded towards him. He let out a yell as the blast struck him and instantly stripped the flesh from his body underneath his arms, chin and neck, delivering third-degree burns against his skin. The pain was immense, overloading the martial artists senses and he instantly fell unconscious. He fell backwards, his body dropping limply and softly to the ground below.
Yamcha shouted out to his friend, trying to scramble toward him.
Instans began to grin. Then stopped. He could hear something, a buzzing noise of energy approaching him from behind. He whirled around in time to see a golden disc of energy spinning around and bearing down on him.
"It's over!" Krillin, who had thrown the kienzan as soon as he had seen Tien get hit, shouted.
Instans was rooted to the spot. Time seemed to slow, the disk creeping closer and closer to the Majin's stunned and terrified expression. Yamcha began to let out a yell of triumph. Then Instans suddenly snapped out of it and thrust his left hand out, screaming again. The disk came within an inch of the Majin's open palm. And then it stopped. It roared against an invisible barrier before it was repulsed, firing back towards Krillin.
Krillin didn't move. His face didn't even really move. He just stood there, watching the kienzan coming, his mouth forming a small 'o' of surprise.
Then his head snapped to the side and his body flew across the ground as Yamcha deliverd a kick to his head. "Get out of the way!" the bandit yelled.
Then the kienzan sliced through his leg.
Yamcha's lower leg and foot went in one direction; his body went in the other. He fell onto his back on the ground. The open wound of the leg pumped blood out onto the ground. He sat up, a little confused, an almost childlike expression on his face. He looked across and saw Krillin staring back at him, the monk's eyes wide and his mouth open in horror. Yamcha looked down and saw his severed leg. He looked up and saw the part that should have been attached to it. He looked down again at the puddle of blood forming around him. Then he finally seemed to realise what had happened. And the pain hit him. And he collapsed back onto the ground, screaming and clutching at the stump of his leg with his good hand.
Krillin shivered. His lip wobbled, tears stang his eyes. "It's all my fault," he whispered. "I messed up. I didn't do it right. I froze. I'm a martial artist; a trained warrior and I froze. It's all my fault… It's all my fault…"
From where he lay Piccolo sensed and heard what happened. The Namek cursed at himself. Come on! he shouted internally. I need to get healed faster! But reparing the damage was taking time; a lot of time, and the Namekian was constantly fighting to retain conciousness which didn't help.
Majin Instans surveyed the field. Tien lay unconscious, his body charred. Piccolo was struggling, but ineffective. Yamcha lay shuddering, clutching his leg. And Krillin was just sitting there, whimpering to himself. Instans licked his lips. "It seems I've won, so I have, so I have," Instans announced. He giggled. "And now it is time, time for it all to end, so it is, so it is."
The Majin turned and began to walk towards Piccolo, raising one hand up in the air. He would smash the Namekian's head to pieces. Then he would do the same to the others.
But suddenly, in a blaze of light, the door of the ship, located in the ground, exploded.
Instans halted and turned to look at the smoke rising up from the ground. Yamcha, rocked by the explosion, grit his teeth and turned to the noise. Krillin eye's focused on it. Piccolo's attention was caught by it.
I can't sense anything… What's…
From the smoke emerged Android Eighteen.
Both Yamcha and Krillin's eyes widened in shock. She was dressed only in her pink nightie. She looked around, her eyes sad. She saw the state of the Z-Fighters there. She saw Instans, staring at her. Her eyes hardened, her expression angry.
"Eighteen!" Krillin called, in surpise as much as anything else.
Eighteen!? The surprise very nearly made Piccolo jump up, despite his still recovering condition. What is she doing here? How is she here? Damn it! I need to get up!
His wife turned to him and she smiled. She softly padded over to where her husband sat on the grass.
"What are you doing here!? How are you here!? You're moving!" Krillin exclaimed.
"Sssshhh…" Eighteen pressed her finger to Krillin's lips, silencing him. "It doesn't matter how I'm here or why I'm here," she whispered. "Because there's something I want to say to you." She leaned down so that her lips were next to Krillin's ear. "I want to thank you. I want to thank you for always being there for me and for always believing in me. I want to thank you for always seeing me and treating me as a person. You've done more for me than I can ever tell you, than I can ever express."
"Eighteen… what are you… why…?"
"I love you Krillin. I always will." Eighteen leaned over and kissed Krillin on the cheek. Then she raised herself up and smiled at her husband. "Ciao," she said. Then she turned around and stepped towards Majin Instans.
"Eighteen… No…! Stop…! What are you…!?"
Instans giggled. "You think you can beat me, so you do, so you do? How pitiful a thought, so it is, so it is!"
"No. I don't think I can beat you. I know I can beat you." Eighteen clenched her fists and spaced out her legs, dropping into a fighting stance. "You attacked my home, you hurt my friends and you hurt my husband. And I won't forgive you for that!"
Instans sneered, his eyes narrowing.
Eighteen crossed her arms in front of her face. "Kaoiken! Times! Twenty!" She screamed and threw her arms down. A tornado of red energy erupted around her and spiralled upwards into the sky. The area around the kaioken energy became blood red. The wind generated by the vortex made Instans' eyes shoot open in surprise and he had to dig his feet in to keep steady.
Eighteen lowered her head. Her power rose and rose. Her nightie caught fire. The skin on her body began to flake away, floating up in the spiral and burning up. She grit her teeth, the strain and pain on her body was immense. Then, with a roar, she shot forward and slammed her fist into Instans stomach.
The shocked Majin flew backwards and crashed into a tree, toppling it over. He jumped upwards and fired a kiai at Eighteen. The kiai crashed against her, erupting the ground around her, but she didn't budge. Instans let out a gasp. Then Eighteen rushed towards him, more of her skin flying off, revealing an odd contortion of bone, muscle and wires beneath her flesh.
Instans screamed and disappeared. Eighteen snapped her head to the side and then shot in a zig-zag pattern into the air. Instans reappeared in the sky and had time to look down to see Eighteen rushing at him. She flashed out a strike with her right palm that caught Instans on his lower jaw, snapping it off and sending it flying across the planet.
Instans let out a muted, gurgling scream as he clutched his hands to the underside of his mouth, blood pumping out from the open wound at the back of his throat. Eighteen whirled over and kicked the Majin down, where he bulleted into the ground a huge cloud of dirt and dust erupting around him.
Eighteen flipped back towards the ground and then pulled her hands down to her side. "Ka… me…!" she began, a blue sphere of energy, tempered with a blood red colour around the edges, blazed to life. Her aura flared upwards and more of her flesh ripped away, now revealing a semi-metallic jaw, creating a rictus grin up the left side of her face. "Ha… me…!"
Majin Instans, groggy, staggering on his feet, stumbled out of the smoke, panting, his right arm badly wounded and hangly limply at his side, the left clutching his upper jaw, trying to stem the flow of blood.
"HAAAA!" Eighteen screamed and thrust her hands forwards unleashing the blue/red Kamehameha wave. As she did so her upper body was ripped off of her torso, a trail of intestines and wires breaking out from the body and tearing off. Her arms broke apart, disintegrating under the force of the blast up to her elbows. Her eyes opened a little and her mouth became a small 'o' as she fell backwards.
It was enough though. The wave of energy bore down on Instans. The Majin had time to let out a loud whimper of fear. Then the wave annihilated him. It blew through the trees behind, the force of the blast firing the surrounding trees out of the ground and across the sky. Then the beam detonated some miles away, a massive mushroom cloud billowing up into the sky.
Another jewel broke, this time the bottom left.
"What!?" Majin Excidium whirled and stared in shock at the shattered pieces of the jewel as they struck the ground. "That can't be… that was…" He grunted and ducked as a kick from Gohan flashed over his head.
"What are you so surprised about? This is becoming so regular that I don't even pay attention to it anymore," the half-Saiyan taunted.
Excidium roared and the two clashed, a massive shockwave ripping up the ground around them.
"Ah… click… ah… click…. ah… click… ah… click…"
Yamcha slowly pulled his head up from the ground. He had been pressed down by the force of the Kamehameha. He looked around. To his left he could see the massive tunnelled crater caused by the wave, running into the distance. Overhead he could see the tip of the mushroom cloud.
"Ah… click… ah… click…"
"Woo!" Yamcha yelled, punching the air with his good hand, his pain forgotten. "We did it! We won! Where's Eighteen? I want to…" His face fell. "Oh… shit…"
In the middle of the field, Krillin was on his knees. In his lap lay Eighteen's head. Her lower body was some distance away, with the upperhalf trailing off the end of Krillin's legs. Her arms were gone up to the elbows. A small pool of blood was forming around the monk's body but he didn't care. He stroked her hair, clutching her head tightly.
The area around her right eye was torn away, revealing the odd fusion of bone, muscle and wires and cybernetics. The left side of her face was torn up, revealing the jawbone and teeth. Eighteen's body still drew in breath, but each breath was followed by that horrible clicking sound, which would cause her staring eyes to flicker. She showed no life apart from that mechnical process.
Piccolo dragged himself to his feet. His regeneration process had regrown the part of his spine and veins that had been torn out. The nerves were still reconnecting but he forced himself to get up, forced himself to move to where his friend was.
Krillin was breathing hard. Tears were dropping from his eyes. But he had smile on his face. An odd smile. Not put on, but seemingly there due to a will of its own. He was stroking Eighteen's head and whispering something to her, making soothing sounds.
"Ah… click… ah… click…"
"Krillin…" Piccolo said softly.
Krillin looked up. "Piccolo," he said. "It's okay, she's passed on. But it's okay."
"Okay? How?"
"Because now… she's dead. So we can bring her back can't we?" His smile wavered a little, but stayed on. "Shenron. He can bring her back now. And she'll be fine when she comes back, she'll be restored."
"Ah… click… ah… click…"
Piccolo shut his eyes and pursed his lips. He struggled. He took a deep breath. And he forced the words out. "Krillin… she… we can't…"
"No! No we can! She's not a robot, she's a person! Maybe she's an android, but Shenron brought Seventeen back he can do the same with her! I know he can!"
"She's… She's died of…" Piccolo found a lump forming in his throat. He took a deep breath again. "She's died of energy loss Krillin… That's all… And that's… natural…"
Krillin looked up at the Namekia. His smile flickered and began to fade. The hope that was in his eyes dwindled.
"Ah… click… click… click… cli -…" The mechnical process stopped.
"I'm… I'm so sorry Krillin… I'm so sorry…" Piccolo whispered.
Krillin broke. Tears flowed down his eyes. He fell over Eighteens body and howled. Howled with anguish, with pain and with loss. Piccolo reached down and put his hand on his friends back.
Krillin clutched Eighteen's broken body tighter to him and rocked back and forth, his cries echoing around the clearing.
"Nobody making a move huh?" Gotenks said, glancing between his three opponents. It had been a good few seconds since he issued his challenge and nobody had taken him up on it. "Guess I'll have to strike first!" He stepped forward and raised his hand. Then he stopped and placed his finger on his chin. "Hmmm…. so which of my numerous and formidable and awesome techniques would be best to use to destroy you?" He pondered this for a moment and then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Oh of course! You'll love this one!"
He puffed out his cheeks. He pounded his fist on his chest. Then he opened his mouth and made a retching noise. Frieza recoiled slightly in disgust, whilst Cell stared in bafflement. Majin Parvulus closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten.
A white puffy object spilled out from Gotenks' lips. The puffy object then reformed itself until it became a Gotenks head, with mitten hands and a swirling tendril at the bottom of its body.
"Ta-Dah!" the ghost announced, raising its hands up.
"This is the Super-Ghost Kamikaze Attack!" Gotenks announced in turn, pushing his hand out with the V of victory sign.
"He is… just an idiot…" Frieza muttered, his eyes managing to both open in surprise and narrow in anger.
"What is his plan?" Cell wondered aloud, staring at the ghostly figure.
"Oooo…. OOOOOOO…! Aren't I terrifying?" the ghost intoned.
"What is that thing?" Frieza demanded.
Gotenks pointed at his opponents. "I don't know," he said, in a mock innocent voice. "Why don't you touch it and find out?"
Frieza crossed his arms and glowered at Gotenks. "What idiot would touch an attack that had 'kamikaze' in its name!?"
"…You would be surprised…"
No one made any move. Frieza and Cell kept their eyes fixed on Gotenks, both maintaining their output of power. Parvulus continued to hang back, not issuing any commands. Gotenks was playing white it seemed.
"Fine, be boring…" he muttered. He raised his hands and swung them horizontally, one hand going just over the ghosts head and the other going just under its tail. The motion of the wind caused the ghost to spin into a ball that Gotenks then cupped in his hands, being careful not to touch it. He pulled his hands with the ball down to his right side, crouching his body, and blue light emanated from around the ghost ball. "Super-Ghost Kamehameha!" he shouted and thrust his hands forward, opening them up. A thick azure beam blasted towards Cell.
The bio-android leapt into the air. But the beam twisted, flying up after him, accelerating, with the ghostly Gotenks appearing out of it, grinning, his hands pushed out in front of him. Cell gasped in surprise. What was this technique? Then the ghost-beam narrowed and flew into his open mouth.
He gagged and clutched one hand over his mouth. Then a rumbling noise emitted from his body. Cell's eyes shot open in shock. And then his body exploded, torn to shreds from the inside by the enormous ghostly-blue explosion. Cell's body rained down over the metallic field as Gotenks calmly rubbed his index finger under his nose. Frieza stared, eyes wide at where Cell's body had been moments before. Parvulus' head had turned in the same direction an expression of shock on his face.
"So that's one down," Gotenks said. "And two to go."
Frieza and Parvulus turned back to Gotenks. Frieza bared his teeth, angry.
Gotenks lowered himself onto all fours. And then he growled. "Rabid Dog!" he yelled and leapt forward, racing towards Frieza on his hands and legs. Frieza, surprised, raised his arms in front of him. Gotenks suddenly leapt up and to the side and pulled back his right leg. "Hanging Clothesline!" he shouted and snapped his leg forward, smashing it over Frieza's chest. The blow sent the former tyrant flying backwards, his shoulder snapped and ribs broken. Frieza howled in pain as Gotenks flew over the top of him, spinning his right arm around in a circular motion. "Rolling Thunder Punch!" He slammed his fist into Frieza's chest sending the Arcosian catapulting to the metallic floor below, snapping his spine.
Gotenks flipped upwards towards the roof and then halted raising his left and right arm over his head, golden light charging in his palms. "Continuous Die Die Missiles!" He thrust his hands down and fired a rapid series of energy blasts, pumping his hands forwards to released a new blast with each motion. The volley of blasts struck the area where Frieza was, creating huge explosions that built up on one another until a cloud of smoke obscured most of his vision. After this Gotenks halted. He crossed his arms and smirked.
"Well. That's that then. That wasn't so hard. In fact that was spectacularly - what the heck!?" His eyes shot open wide and he leaned forward. The smoke cleared enough so that he could see where Frieza was. The tyrant was hidden under a semi-cylindrical metal arch, which was unwinding and disappearing back into the floor. Frieza was still badly hurt from Gotenks' previous attacks, but not from the energy blasts.
"What the… How did…!?"
"That would be me." Gotenks looked down. Parvulus was stood to the side, one hand raised. "I told you," the fusion explained. "I specialise in reconstruction magic. This extends to all things. And here you happen to be in one of the very rare Gata Planets - that is planets made entirely out of metal. Some had cybernetics added to them by an old civilisation and became almost living planets themselves. This, however, is one of the few that remains untouched."
"So that's what this place is…" Gotenks muttered, frowning in frustration.
The fused Majin waved his hand in the direction of Frieza. The Arcosian groaned as his body began to repair itself, being reconstructed by Parvulus' magic.
"Oh you can forget that!" Gotenks shouted, raising a hand to fire an energy blast. Then he suddenly shot sideways as a heavy blow was delivered to his head. He smashed face first into the ground, knocking loose some teeth and breaking his nose, before he spun up and used a small kiai wave to halt his momentum. He clutched his hand to his nose, attempting to stop the bleeding and looked up. His eyes popped. "You!? But I killed you!"
"Almost," Cell replied, a smug tone entering his voice. "Unfortunately for you so long as my central core survives I can always regenerate." Cell tapped the side of his cranium to emphasise his point. "And I should also thank you for almost killing me. It'll be a great help."
"Huh? What are you…?"
Cell roared and his golden aura flared to life around him, lightening crackling around it. His power leapt past its previous maximum. Gotenks took an involuntary step backwards. He'd forgot about the Saiyan genes in Cell, forgot about their ability to increase power. Thanks to his over-confidence he had just given his most dangerous opponent a power boost that brought him in line with Gotenks. Adding to that was Frieza's restoration and the knowledge that Parvulus could manipulate the environment to his advantage.
"Well… Shit…"
Cell burst forward, diving towards Gotenks. Gotenks raised his hadn and launched an energy blast at Parvulus, hoping to take the Majin out. But the fusion simply raised his hand and a metal shield sprang up from the ground, the energy blast clanging harmlessly against it.
"Stop it!" Gotenks yelled in frustration as he leapt out of the way of Cell's punch. "Stop doing that thing!"
Cell pursued Gotenks and the two exchanged a furious series of strikes. Once or twice Gotenks was caught out by the spikes on Cell's arms that nicked his own as he attempted to block or divert Cell's blows. Eventually Gotenks delivered a kick to Cell's stomach, causing the bio-android to keel over slightly. Then Gotenks followed it up with an elbow to his head, knocking Cell across the room and into the opposite wall.
Now! Gotenks charged forward, determined to press his advantage and end Cell quickly.
Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a purple light growing larger. Instinctively Gotenks twisted his head out of the way, but he was too slow. The death beam pierced through the cornea of his right eye. Stunned, blinded on his right side, Gotenks lost control of his flight and crashed to the ground.
The recovered Frieza lowered his right hand and smirked, showing his teeth behind his purple lips.
Gotenks pulled himself up from the ground. He couldn't see anything on his right side. Warm fluid was dribbling down his cheek. He raised his hand up and a combination of clear fluid and blood dribbled onto his palm. He pressed his palm against his destroyed eye and screamed in pain, shock and fear.
Kuriza did not know how long he had been lying there. It felt like hours but he knew it could not be. He had just been staring blankly at the sky above him, barely registering its change back to the ceiling of the Majin ship. He thought about things, lots of things, but he never had a clear grasp of any of them and he always forgot what his previous thought process had been when he slipped onto the next one.
But from these aimless reflections one thought began to creep out, become a consistent theme that his mind returned to over and over again:
I have to help.
With that thought climbing through his conciousness, the King of Arcos slowly began to pick himself up from the ground.
And so ends the story of the Androids.
Hello there and thank you all for reading Dragon Ball XV. Apologies for the slight delay in getting this chapter up - got absolutely buried with stuff (and my time management is atrocious).
A couple of clearing up things to do:
1) Piccolo's regeneration process takes longer due to the subtlety of the wound inflicted. As he's not just re-growing something from scratch the process needs to link to different parts of his body together and have them link up properly. Plus he's fighting unconsciousness so he can't heal as fast as he would like.
2) The transfer of energy between Seventeen and Eighteen happened by him, essentially, emitting the energy into her body which was then caught by the absorbing jewels around the core and kick-started it to life (like using jump leads on a car). It's a bit implausible, I know, but the one alternative of Seventeen kissing Eighteen may have implied something that I really didn't want to imply (as well as suffering from similar problems of implausibility) and the more realistic alternative (Seventeen exchanging cores with Eighteen) would have been a bit cumbersome to do, so I settled on this one.
3) Instans was able to use his reflection magic because the focus point of the magic is his hands - but each hand individually. He used one hand to reflect the Kikoho and one to reflect the Kienzan. Each hand then subsequently has a 'recharge' period (which is in part due to the nature of his magic and the fragility of his bones).
4) The trash talk between Frieza, Cell and Gotenks was shockingly easy to write. They're probably all hideously out of character though xD
Edit: In the original version of this chapter Eighteen's Kaioken written as being times fifty. That was something f a massive typo on my part and has now been corrected to twenty. My apologies for that and thanks to felixng 2013 for bringing it to attention.
Now the questions!
Q: Wow, but Golden Aura for Gohan? What about his Mystic boost? That I believe has a white aura, either way, nice work with Vegeta and Kuriza, it was pure awesome with a generous side helping of badass! But even Vegeta has his limits, for a moment I thought he'd go SS3.
A: I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the fight between Kuriza and Vegeta - I was quite proud of that one! Rest assured I haven't done a GT with regard to Gohan. He's mimicking the SSJ2 state, in order to hold back his power and conserve energy whilst he waits for the other battles to conclude (its also a useful way for him to warm-up ;)). He still has his mystic state waiting to be deployed. As for Vegeta SSJ3... oddly I did consider it at one point, but binned it pretty quick. If he couldn't achieve the form in all the years prior it would have felt a little silly if he could use it when he's physically 90+!
Q: I love that Kuriza is using his father's Imprisonment Ball - that's my favorite attack! I like how you show the humans strategizing, not just attacking blindly
A: The Imprisonment Ball was my favourite of Frieza's techniques too, so naturally I had to include it!
Q: Also, reeeeaaally interesting backstory for #17 & #18. Gah, all my sympathy. _o Roshi says it perfectly in this chapter: doing the right thing sometimes leads to unforeseen, yet horrible, consequences.
A: I'm happy to hear that you liked the backstory for Seventeen and Eighteen - I was a bit worried about it (I was never too sure about giving backstory to the androids, especially relating to how much to give) but it seems to have worked. I also liked it as well because, as you point to, it gave a chance to show Roshi as a wise master, rather than just a martial artist or a pervert. Besides which when it finally clicked what the motivation the androids, or in this case Seventeen, would have for wanting to kill Goku, despite hating Gero, I kind of had to go with it!
Q: As for the rest of Kuriza & Vegeta's fight...holy fish-on-a-stick. You might be starting to rival me for fight scenes, & the subsequent injuries sustained. O_Oo [A.N. If you've not read Saviour of Demons (and if not, why not?) then rivaling for brutality is quite an achievement!]
A: I'd guess we're both operating under the logical premise that if you have planet-busting fighters battling each other it's a bit unrealistic for them to come out of it with a few cuts and bruises but still photogenic ;)
Q: Why is Gohan using SS? Is he hiding the fact that he has a mystic form or something?
A: He's not hiding it per se. He's just using SSJ2 to avoid expending energy and to allow him to get back into the swing of fighting (it has been a while - typical Gohan!)
Q: What a chapter. Excellent work my friend; I enjoyed all of this chapter immensely. That Roshi and Seventeen scene...man, nice work! Can't wait for the next one XD
A: Thanks very much! Yeah I was quite pleased with the Seventeen and Roshi scene (it's rare that I plan something out in advance and then it turns out as good as I wanted it too!) I hope this chapter was worth the wait :)
Q: Couldn't Bulma just make a new energy source for 18, like a fusion reactor or something.
A: Possibly - but the technology is complex and Gero sort of took it to the grave. Besides which the same problems would have reoccurred and it would have given Eighteen a much extended lifespan (so she'd far outlive Krillin and the others). She didn't want to not die, after all, she was just caught out by the speed of the decline.
Q: Amazing chapters! First things first "There's no killing, there's no jealously, there's no spite! Do you know that a bunch of hippies tried putting a crown of flowers round my head!? Me the King of Demons!?" Quite frantically the best quote from Dabura ever
A: Lol, that Dabura scene was something spontaneous but it felt appropriate for his re-introduction. I was quite pleased with that line myself!
Q: Pan versus Goku: amazing, brutal I could feel Goku's struggle. Those attacks though, where did she manage to learn the Death Beam/Ball? By the way loved the ending to this battle; a sad but great ending for Goku I wonder how the others will take it though.
A: Goku vs Pan was the harder of the two fights to write, so I'm glad to hear that it conveyed the way I wanted it to. Pan learnt the techniques by proxy - Gohan or Goku would have likely told her, possibly several times, about their battle with Frieza so, based on that, she would have roughly duplicated what they were. I thought the ending for the fight was appropriate - Goku essentially going back to the Dragon Ball basics in that the most powerful fighter doesn't always win if you use the right techniques! Pan was sort of representing the worst elements of Z - all power and samey attacks; no respect for finesse ;)
Q: I now see Seventeen in new light, bravo, his story made me nearly tear up; oh the emotions!
A: I'm very happy to hear that (and, sadistic though it may sound, to hear that you were almost tearing up!) He was a very unexplored character in Z, so it felt right to give some plausible insight into his behaviour and motivations. I was very nervous about that backstory but it seems I managed to pitch it right :)
Q: Vegeta versus Kuriza. It's extraordinary how you actually accomplished making Dragon Ball fights much more brutal and painful. Vegeta's rips caving in, his knee locking, arm breaking and leg breaking; you showed the affects of his age incredibly well just like you did with Goku. I loved the idea of this elemental morphing technique as well, what inspired you to come up with that? Again I loved the conclusion to this battle, Vegeta's reflection was great, I wonder though will he regain consciousness.
A: Vegeta vs Kuriza was great fun to write - though by nature it was quite a topsy-turvy battle! And hey, I did give advance warning that the fights would be pretty brutal ;) I find the trick for making the fights more painful and brutal is in adding the small details (like the ribs poking out and such). It really helps build up the image.
The Kuriza technique was brought in somewhat by necessity (he needed to have a technique that would allow him to compete with Vegeta given that he was weaker) and I suspect the inspiration comes from the Absorbing Man (a Hulk villain if I remember right) and the Devil Fruits from One Piece (particularly the transformation to light). As for whether Vegeta will regain consciousness... well that would be telling ;p
Q: Majin Instans – the way he teleported into Piccolo though. O_O Loved how the humans and Piccolo strategized in this rather than straight up attacking.
A: Yes - this was meant to be more akin to the Dragon Ball and early Z fights; Instans is stronger (than the humans, not Piccolo) so they would have to go with strategy in order to come out on top. And they almost succeeded!
Q: Intense battle between Kuriza and Vegeta! I liked how Kuriza was more prepared than his father by scouting the universe for new techniques in case a SSJ came for him. The cyborg backstory was awesome! I'd love to see a more detailed special chapter for the cyborgs like the one for Kuriza. Keep up the good work!
A: That's what happens when you live in fear of something for all your life - it motivates you to get out there and get ready! (And then you bump into Goten and Trunks and realise that what you feared really wasn't all that ;)) Thanks very much - as I've said I'm very pleased with the reception the backstory has got. I've got no plans to do a special chapter for them (I'm still not sure about filling in too many of the blanks) but if you want a more detailed exposition of their backstory I'd be happy to PM you :)
Q: Quite a good story you have going here thus far. I'm looking forward to its continuation. I can't say I much like Bra being SSJ, but, other than that, I'm enjoying it.
A: Thanks :) If it's any consolation Bra doesn't much like being a SSJ either (but overprotective parents... xD)
Q: One minor problem I spotted (other than scattered typos)... in an earlier chapter you spoke of a fighter jet the military was using, calling it an F-14 Phantom. If you're going for a smattering of realism there, the Phantom is an F-4, and the F-14 is a Tomcat.
A: I knew I should have double checked stuff (and not relied on my vague memories)! Thanks for pointing this out, I'll go back and adjust the information in the chapters accordingly (and weed through them for typos - I know the last one had a lot -_-)
Q: Honestly, while I am somewhat saddened by Goku (seemingly) passing, and Vegeta apparently about to, it could turn out VERY badly for the bad guys if that happens, seeing as how at Least Goku and now likely Vegeta as well will keep their bodies when they die, and should be returned to the prime of their physical form. And, seeing the nature of the threat at hand, they would almost certainly do everything in their power to assist, and would likely be allowed, if not outright encouraged, to do so. If that does occur, the baddies will be facing two angry saiyans at the peak of their respective abilities.
A: That's an interesting idea. The Kai's are beginning to mobilize things in the afterlife (with Dabura's promptings). But I should clarify and say that Vegeta is definitely not dead and is not dying. So it would only be Goku coming back (if that does happen; which I'm not saying ;P)
Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing! Next time the battle with Gotenks, Cell and Frieza begins its descent into Mortal Kombat territory. Trust me: if you thought Vegeta vs Kuriza was brutal... ;)
Bonus Material: Dabara and the Proto-Saiyans and Proto-Arcosians
This was an early concept for the Majin/Kaioshin special chapter. Essentially when Dabara attacked the Majin home world his army was originally going to be made up of Proto-Saiyans and Proto-Arcosians (who were both descendants of the Kaioshin). The Saiyans would have looked like humanoid apes (slightly taller and bulkier than modern humans, but with their features and hair all over the bodies) and the Arcosians would have definitely looked not like Chilled (essentially the females would have had the reptilian and armoured form of Frieza's first form (but not as short or strictly like that in all ways) whilst the males would have had the more mammalian/reptilian look of the fourth form. This would have been in lieu to explaining something about how the Arcosians evolved to be the somewhat unique species that they became).
This would have made sense of Maladies line about the Kaioshin always relying on the lesser creatures to do their dirty work (which makes sense in a slightly different context now) - interspersed throughout the chapters would have been comments from the Majin on the irony of the Arcosians and Saiyans fighting one another (these lines all got dropped for one reason or another).
This idea, nice though I thought it was, got dropped because it was just adding one sub-plot too many (Dabara going to get them allied to his cause etc.) to a chapter that was already threatening to become unwieldy. I took the decision to focus more on the core of the characters (Maladie, Dabara, Bagibi and the Dai Kaioshin) as that would streamline the story and make it a more entertaining read.
Still... I kind of miss the opportunity to go into looking at early Saiyans and early Arcosians and their societies and interactions. But that's why I do these little bonus bits, so that everyone can see the weird ideas that I sometimes have xD