Dr. Gero gritted his teeth when realizing that he had been cornered, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Well, it seems Goku's friends are very determined to stop us. But they will not! We will destroy them just as they destroyed Android 19!"

"Android 19?" Android 17 questioned in his baritone voice while raising a brow, turning to look back at his creator. "So, you built him after all?" When Dr. Gero acknowledged that he did, 17 smirked and stuck his hands into his pockets. "I see. But he was of a different design than 18 or myself. He was an energy absorbing model. Was he not?"

"Yes he was," Dr. Gero replied curtly, peering back at 18 when she let out a small laugh.

"How very interesting. And you've chosen that same design for yourself. You thought that an energy absorbing model like 19 would be easier to control. And now he's been destroyed," 18 goaded in her soft voice with a smirk of her own, crossing her arms over her chest while cocking her head a bit to the side.

You frowned lightly and tapped your finger against your cheek when seeing how angered Gero was becoming at the two.

"They don't really seem to obey him all that well, do they?" you mentioned. In a way, the two acted like normal rebellious human teenagers more than evil monsters.

"Yes. And the fact that they don't, may be even more cause for concern…." Piccolo muttered with a scowl since Dr. Gero had just ordered his androids to destroy you and the others which they refused to do until they 'felt' like it.

A cold smile formed on Android 18's features when seeing how peeved Dr. Gero was becoming as she moved over to a large space pod that contained Android 16 within it. "He's kind of lacking in the looks department, isn't he? I'd like to see what other modifications you've made to him, doctor,"

"You stay away from there! Do not open that chamber! I order you to stay away from android 16!" Dr. Gero commanded.

"Go on. I think it is time to wake our sleeping friend," 17 told 18 as this caused Dr. Gero's eyes to widen.

"No, do not listen to him!" Dr. Gero cried out as you lightly bit your lip since the scientist sounded almost scared. "I have not completed his programming yet!"

"S-something's not right in there," Krillin mumbled, letting out a small gulp. "I think now would be a good time to attack. Before they get their act together."

Vegeta only scoffed at this suggestion and gave a confident smirk. "Step aside! I don't need you're help to defeat these three!"

"…I'm not so sure, Vegeta. Three androids would be difficult enough to deal with, but if they release whoever or whatever is inside of that container, it may take all of us to deal with them," you spoke up softly, not noticing Piccolo frowning at you when you said this.

"Tch! And what help would you be considering you're one of the weakest here, little sister!" Vegeta said rather harshly as you lowered your head at this. As cruel as your brother's words were, he did have a point. How could you help them?

Though when feeling a light hand on your shoulder, you blinked and noticed Piccolo looking down at you with a stern expression.

"Don't let that jerk get to you, Selena. Your stronger than you realize. Learning to heal, proves this. Very few can master such an ability the way you did. Especially in such a short amount of time," Piccolo said in a voice just loud enough where only you could hear.

Your eyes nearly watered up from Piccolo's kind words as you had to hold yourself back from tackling him in a hug.

"Thank you, Piccolo. You always know just what to say…." you said gratefully as the small smile he gave you made your body feel even warmer than it already was.

"16 is just a prototype. If you activate it, it may malfunction," you heard Dr. Gero trying to reason with 17, but his words were only heard on deaf ears since 17 gave the nod to 18 to proceed. "No, 18!"

You and the others watched in surprise or horror as android 20 ran to try and stop the female android by grabbing hold of her arm, but the blond haired cyborg merely knocked her creator to the ground before casually walking around the white pod.

"If 16 is just a prototype, I wonder why you kept him for so long?" 18 mused while fiddling with her earring. "You destroyed all the other androids up to 15, didn't you?"

"I was planning to repair him someday," Dr. Gero grunted out as he slowly stood back up. "Listen, I made you, and I am telling you that if you activate 16, you will regret it!"

"We will regret it? I doubt that, old man," 17 shot back coolly, his eyes glowing red while he observed 16 before they returned back to there original pale blue shade. "According to this data, I am much stronger than this model is. 18, go ahead and activate him now."

"I am your creator! You will do as I tell you!" Dr. Gero yelled out. "Stop meddling with android 16 or I will be forced to stop you!"

You covered your mouth since 17 had suddenly jabbed his hand straight through android 20's chest, causing the once former human to cough from pain before he slowly looked back at 17. "Wh-what have you done?! How dare you…! Don't you know I gave you life! And I can take it away!"

Your eyes widened along with the others since 17 had kicked Dr. Gero's head clear off his body as it rolled over to where you all were and landed directly in front of a startled looking Krillin's feet.

"That does it! Now I am mad!" Dr. Gero growled out, his voice sounding more robotic as the sight of him still being able to talk was a little creepy. But those were the last words the scientist would ever speak as 17 silenced him once and for all by jumping on Gero's head before he smirked at all of you.

"How cruel…." you said softly since no matter how evil Dr. Gero may have been, that was still a horrible way to go. Your body tensed up since 17 had looked directly at you with his piercing blue eyes and a chilling smile, motioning for you to come closer.

Though before you could even react to this, you blushed since Piccolo had moved directly in front of you, narrowing his eyes in a rather deadly manner at the young android as you smiled at his back.

17 only chuckled at this, and walked back up to his sister, placing a hand on his side. "Open up the chamber,"

"If they set that android free, it will be the end of all of us! NOOOOOOOO!" Trunks screamed out of the blue, causing all of you to turn to him shocked since the teens power was surging and it wasn't long before he turned Super Saiyan; firing a large energy blast at the two androids.

"GET DOWN!" Krillin exclaimed, as you let out a small cry of surprise since Piccolo had pulled you out of harms way and you buried your face into his chest to cover your eyes from the intense light that surrounded the area.

Your ears were still ringing when you glanced over at the area where you had once been as all you could see was smoke rising up into the air. It was hard to believe Dr. Gero's secret laboratory had been there only seconds ago.

"Thanks, Piccolo." you said gently, looking up at him with pink cheeks since the Namekian's arm still rested around your waist.

Piccolo only gave you a small smile back, though his face turned purple when he realized he was holding onto you, quickly letting go as you had to hold back from giggling since he actually seemed sort of embarrassed.

"Bad move. What did you go and do that for?" Vegeta scolded with a small huff while Trunks looked at him confused. "Just look down there."

"But I don't understand. There's no way anyone could survive that! That was my most intense blast!" Trunks proclaimed. Though when the smoke cleared and you could all make out two familiar figures standing on a cliff in the distance, poor Trunks form began to shake like a leaf.

"Now that's too bad. By doing that, you've just showed them how weak you are," Vegeta reprimanded with a small smirk. "Never let a boy do a man's job."

"…Don't be so hard on him, Vegeta. I'm amazed Trunks attack didn't kill them myself…." you whispered, smiling faintly at your nephew and ignoring the annoyed look Vegeta was sending your way.

You beamed when Trunks silently mouthed a 'thank you' to you despite looking disappointed with himself, turning your attention back on 17 and 18 as you frowned since they had activated their fellow android. And with 16's extremely tall figure and immensely cold eyes, he didn't appear any less formidable.

"Hey! Their leaving?!" Krillin gasped out since the androids had suddenly taken off, letting out a sigh once they were out of sight. "Good riddance, I say! We're safe…."

"…But where do you think they're going? Should we follow them?" Tien asked in a murmur.

"If they went in that direction, they're not going to South City. That's the other way," Piccolo said with furrowed brows.

At these words, Krillin's eyes widened while beads of sweat ran down his face. "I've got it! They've gone after Goku! Dr. Gero's goal was to get back at Goku for destroying his Red Ribbon Army!"

"Yeah, but do you think those androids would still follow Dr. Gero's orders?" Tien brought up with a worried look.

"Grr! I don't care where they went! I'll track them down myself!" Vegeta growled out, causing you to sigh since he was getting worked up as usual. "They're cowards! They left because they were afraid of me. And they should be!"

You placed a finger against your lip from concern since Trunks had flown in front of a now Super Saiyan Vegeta, extending out his arms to try and stop his father. And this could only end badly since there was no stopping your brother once he had his mind set on something.

No matter how Trunks tried to reason with him, Vegeta would have none of it and you deeply frowned since Vegeta had the gall to even punch Trunks right in his stomach just to get past him.

"That was uncalled for, Vegeta!" you yelled out angrily, watching him disappear with narrowed eyes before approaching Trunks with concern, placing your hand on his back and gently rubbing at it since he appeared to be in a great deal of pain. "Are you alright?"

"P-please stop him! We have to wait until Goku get's better or we're all doomed! You have to go after him….!" Trunks pleaded while holding onto his stomach.

You glanced back at the others as Piccolo nodded, taking off fast as you and the others quickly pursued after him. Now you had to only hope your brother wouldn't do anything too reckless that might end up getting him killed….

It was lucky that Vegeta didn't seem to be trying to hide his power level which made it easier for you and the others to track him. But you couldn't help but feel concerned since there was another power reading with your brother. No doubt he was with the androids right now.

"No matter what happens Selena, I want you to stay back for now. We don't have enough Senzu Beans for all of us and we may need your healing. Just make sure you're not in the android's line of sight when you're restoring one of us." Piccolo said without looking at you.

You only nodded at this, chewing on the inside of your mouth since you wanted to honor Piccolo's wishes, but if things for your friends got too severe, you would step in. Even if you were no match for the androids, you knew you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself if anything happened to Piccolo or one of the others.

"I think I see them up ahead!" Krillin said in a nervous voice as you gave a small smile when Piccolo jerked his head over at nearby cliff, going to stay there while the others landed on a mountainside highway where Vegeta and the androids stood.

Look's like your not doing so hot, brother you thought with a light frown since Vegeta had been knocked into the rocky mountainside. Thankfully, he came out of a good sized hole appearing only slightly bruised as you let out a relieved sigh from this.

"Would you look at that! Vegeta's friends have come to his aid! Android 18 can take care of them all by herself, but maybe I should help her. Unless, you might want to? What do you say 16? You up for a fight?" 17 asked, looking up at his tall orange haired partner with a smirk.

"No. I will not fight them." 16 replied back with an almost kind smile as this made you blink. Why hadn't these androids been ganging up on Vegeta or viciously attacking the others now for that matter? Trunks had described them as being ruthless evil monsters after all.

"Let's make a deal, Vegeta. I'm willing to stand aside and let you fight as long as you fight alone. But if any one of these friends of yours tries to assist you in any way, well I'll be forced to step in," 17 challenged as you tilted your head since the guy was treating this like some sort of game.

"You don't have to worry about this group. They're a bunch of cowards. They won't risk their lives for me." Vegeta scoffed as this caused Trunks and the others to frown at him.

You wrapped your arms around yourself since the battle had reassumed and for the moment, it seemed that Vegeta had the upper hand against 18 for he had sent her into the mountainside before hitting her with a deadly Ki blast. But she was only slightly injured while her clothes seemed to have taken on most of the damage, and after the two had engaged in fierce hand to hand combat, it was clear 18 was beginning to wear him down.

Oh, Vegeta you thought, your body lightly trembling since Vegeta's arm had just been broken and hearing him cry out in agony, was such a heart wrenching sound. 18 must have just been playing with him this entire time….

"FATHER!" Trunks shouted out, unsheathing his sword from its hilt before flying down to try and help, but 18 merely shattered the blade by simply blocking with her elbow. What was worse, 17 had come to assist his teammate by knocking the young Saiyan to the ground before Trunks even had time to face his attacker.

You watched as Piccolo and Tien went to help, clasping your shaking hands together since Piccolo was easily kicked to the ground by the cold 17 before the dark haired male wrapped an arm around Tien's throat, literally squeezing the life out of him.

"Android!" Vegeta growled out, trying to go and assist Tien, but was stopped by 18 who grabbed his leg, flinging him into Trunks who had just picked himself back up as father and son landed painfully on the hard ground beside one another.

You balled your left hand into a tight fist, flying down to where Krillin was as you shook your head. "I…I don't like this. If we don't do something, they'll be…."

"I know. I don't like this much either. But if Piccolo and your brother can't even handle them, what use would we be against those monsters….?" Krillin muttered, turning his head to side since despite Piccolo and Vegeta's last ditch efforts, they had both been knocked out cold along with Trunks and Tien.

You grinded your teeth together since it was just Krillin and you now, and you moved protectively in front of the short human since the poor guy seemed absolutely terrified when 17 and 18 landed close to the two of you with chilling smiles on their faces.

"From the look on your face girl, I'd say you want a piece of us. I'd advise against it unless you want to end up like your friends down there," 17 expressed with a small chuckle. "We have no reason to fight you or that shaking man behind you. Goku is our target."

"Maybe you should ask them where Goku is?" 18 mentioned with a nonchalant expression.

"Don't be ridiculous. It would be easy enough to force them to tell us, but then we wouldn't get to have the fun of finding Goku ourselves." 17 said in a matter of fact tone.

18 blinked and tilted her head to the side a bit before smiling. "I see. Well, bye~" she said, as she looked at Krillin and you before walking off.

You frowned since they were acting so carefree after all the destruction they had just caused, even discussing about flying to another area just so they could find a car for transportation. And it left you feeling a little ticked off.

"J-just a second!" you called out, running up to them with Krillin right behind you, giving them a rather fierce look. "I won't let you leave! Not if your still planning on killing Goku….!"

Krillin gulped and nodded his head in agreement. "S-she's right! And besides, Goku's sick right now and he hasn't even done anything to any of you!"

"16 has been programmed to destroy Goku, so that's what we're going to do," 17 answered with his ever present smirk painted across his lips. "We're only following Dr. Gero's master plan."

"Listen to yourselves!" Krillin cried out as you turned to him a bit surprised. "Did you forget? Dr. Gero is gone! You took care of that!"

I7 only smiled and placed a hand on his hip. "Yes. I haven't forgotten about that. But this my friends is a game. And finding Goku is a part of the game. That's why we did not ask you where he is. Maybe you both should stop worrying about Goku and focus on your other friends. They look like they could use some Senzu Beans."

You lightly scowled while Krillin now seemed a bit dazed since 18 had just placed a kiss upon his cheek, lowering your head when the three androids took to the sky. As much as you wanted to pursue after them, you knew 17 was right. Piccolo and the others needed to be healed.

"Come on, Krillin. The others need us…." you whispered out sadly, once again feeling that wave of being more of a burden than a helpful ally, washing over you.

"What? You mean they even knew about the Senzu Beans?!" Piccolo exclaimed with clear concern written on his face as he and the others were once again in perfect condition thanks to the miraculous power of the beans.

"I don't get it. They know everything about us, so why didn't they just finish us off?" Tien said through clenched teeth. "Those two could have squashed all of us like flies! They were just toying with us! Man! This is all Vegeta's fault….!"

"Hey! Don't blame him! We all underestimated their strength, which was a mistake. But we can't afford to make anymore. The androids may not be so forgiving next time," Piccolo grumbled out as you gave him a small smile for defending your brother.

You covered your face as an intense wind suddenly stirred up, realizing it was being made by none other than your brother as you frowned since the livid looking Saiyan took off into the sky without a word.

"Trunks, stop! Let him go!" Piccolo instructed when the lavender haired teen was about to fly after his father. "Leave him alone. Ever since Vegeta became a Super Saiyan, his ego has been out of control. Honestly I think what that android hurt the most today was his pride. He's very ashamed of his defeat."

You stared off into the direction your brother had flown in, knowing Piccolo spoke the truth. "I-I can't help but feel so bad for him. Despite how much he's trained, how much you've all improved, those androids were still stronger…."

Tien looked down with a somber expression before turning his focus on Trunks. "You were able to take out Frieza single handedly, Trunks. But those androids tossed you aside like you were nothing. Goku is strong, but in all honesty, I don't see how he can be that much stronger than you or Vegeta…."

Trunks lowered his head before shaking it in disbelief. "I don't get it. These androids are much stronger than the one's I fought in my time. The androids I fought were stronger than me, but not this much. The kind of strength these new androids have is off the charts!"

"So, does that mean its hopeless….?" you said in a meek voice while Krillin and Tien lowered their heads.

"…I want you four to head to Goku's and move him some place safe. He'll be able to join you once he's well. Its obvious we're going to need all the help we can get to defeat these androids." Piccolo told you all as you bit your lip, not sure what the look on his face meant.

"Good idea! But uh Piccolo, what are you going to be doing?" Krillin asked, giving him a curious look.

Piccolo let out a small growl and scowled, turning his head slightly to the side. "I don't know."

"Come on, I know that you've come up with a plan. Why don't you tell us what your scheme is? We're buddies now, aren't we?" Krillin pressed.

"Listen to me, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS! ITS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!" Piccolo harshly snapped, causing you and the others to jump startled. "This is something I have to do alone!"

You covered your mouth, feeling confused since Piccolo had never gotten this angry since the first time you met him when arriving on earth. What was even more concerning, was that he had fired a good sized Ki blast where all of you stood before shooting up into the air.

"P-Piccolo! I don't understand! Why are you acting like this?" you questioned, looking up at him with saddened eyes.

You bit your lip since you could have sworn you caught a small glimmer of what looked like pain within Piccolo's dark eyes before they were once more filled with such intense rage.

"That's none of your concern, woman! I'm leaving and if anyone tries to follow me, they'll be sorry! Just find Goku and forget about me!" he roared out before taking off and leaving all of you left in shock or disbelief.

"What's with him? I haven't seen Piccolo act like that since the old days when he was trying to destroy Goku and take over the world. I thought Piccolo was on our side!" Tien mumbled out with a frown.

Krillin glanced over at you, seeing your downed look as he gently patted your arm before a knowing smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry, Piccolo just has a lot on his mind. He's still one of the good guys," he reassured before becoming serious. "This is one fight we cannot afford to lose and if we really want to beat these androids, its gonna take everything that we got! Piccolo was just doing what he thinks he has to do to win. Don't worry. He'll be okay."

"I don't understand? Why do you think he'll be okay?" you asked softly as you knew what Krillin said made sense, but all of this was still disconcerting.

Krillin let out a light laugh and pointed in the direction Piccolo had flown in. "Didn't any of you notice where Piccolo was heading? To Kami's place! Piccolo and Kami are one in the same; Piccolo is all of the embodiment of all the negative energy that's inside of Kami. They were once one being, but split in two. And I remember something Master Roshi told me long ago. He said that if Kami and Piccolo hadn't split in two, they'd be the strongest being in the universe!"

"So…so Piccolo went to Kami's where he could fuse with him?" you gasped out, your eyes growing wide.

Krillin nodded his head with a large grin. "Right! And if those two unite into one being, they'll become the ultimate Namek warrior. And together, they'll be an unstoppable force!"

"An unstoppable force is definitely what we need right now," Tien chuckled out with a smile, but his eyes widened when realizing something. "But if they unite, Kami will disappear and the Dragon Balls will too!"

"That may be true, but its no better if Piccolo is destroyed by the androids," Krillin brought up a good point. "Think about it, there's no other way for us to defeat these androids on our own. If Piccolo is thinking of uniting with Kami, he must be desperate."

"But I just don't understand why he was so cross with us? Couldn't he have just told us what he was planning on doing….?" you said sadly, shaking your head.

"Thing is, Piccolo and Kami really don't get along and who knows what could happen during their fusion. My guess is, he didn't want us to see. You especially, Selena." Krillin trailed off with a kind smile.

You stared down at your boot covered feet, wondering if this was true? Would Piccolo become a different person once the fusion took place? And it frightened you that he might change for the worse more than the better.