A/N: Sorry for the very long wait! But with my weight loss competition, full-time job, and traveling to conventions to promote my books, my life got super hectic. The competition is over now. I've lost 55 pounds, and I'll know how I placed next week. Please forgive me for the long wait and enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 54

I do not own DBZ

Cerina wearily opened her eyes from the sound of quiet sobs. She was disoriented and it took a moment to recognize the figure that was hanging from some sort of machine, hunched over, and shaking—especially since her hair was shorter than before. But she recognized the voice. "Bell?"

Bell couldn't answer. All she could think about was the last few seconds of Arti's life and how she was powerless to make a difference.

Cerina began to try to get to her friend for comfort, but as she moved, she realized that she was strung up herself. "Bell? What happened?"

Bell didn't want to answer. She figured that if she kept it to herself, she wouldn't have to accept it. But how could she deny what had happened when she felt such a terrible ache in her heart? "Gero killed Arti."

Cerina gasped silently to herself. She felt such rage overcome her, but she was so exhausted that as soon as it came, she lost it. It was then that she began to remember the battle against the androids. She was doing alright against one, but the fight was over when she got double-teamed. Now she was captured, and so were all of her friends. "It's okay, Bell. We'll avenge him. I swear we will."

"No. We won't." Bell was usually the first to accept Cerina's optimism, but she couldn't this time. She didn't honestly know if she wanted to look on the bright side. "In five hours, he's gonna kill me as well. Then he'll move on, and the rest of us will die."

"Kakarot won't let that happen!" Cerina was relieved that he wasn't taken prisoner, and as long as he was out there, she could have hope.

But Bell didn't believe and began to slowly shake her head. "He can't stop the androids. No one can."


Queen Cellena stormed inside of her war room after an hour of letting her people gather information. There were hundreds of casualties—Saiyan and human. The humans of half-breed children were terrified. Cellena was doing her best to keep the half-breed children in her care hidden and safe, but other citizens were angry about special treatment. There was chaos everywhere, but it was nothing compared to the fact that her daughter and the father of her child was in danger and was soon going to be murdered. "I want an update!"

Bardock, Vegeta, and Kakarot all glanced at each other. They all knew that Cellena was masking her worry. Bardock cleared his throat and spoke first. "We have as many half breed children hiding as possible in ki blocking chambers. As long as the location of the bunkers isn't discovered, they should be alright."

"I brought in Suna," Vegeta said while hiding his devious smirk. "She believes that she can possibly deactivate the androids once she gets a chance to study them."

"And what about you, Kakarot?" Cellena asked. She was depending on him heavily to rescue Cellena. Next to herself, he'd be the most motivated to get Cerina and Fenn back alive, along with all the other Task Force members.

Kakarot felt enough pressure already. He really didn't need to add onto it, but he was determined to keep his cool. "I went to the science team, but we couldn't seem to trace Gero's location from the broadcast. The signal was bouncing from one satellite to the next. He spent all of this time hiding. He's not going to screw everything up now and reveal his location through a broadcast."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Kakarot failed. How surprising."

"I told you that I had plan!" Kakarot grunted and nearly pounced on Vegeta, but Bardock squeezed on his shoulder to gently pull him back.

"Yes," Vegeta mocked, "you want us to prance around like flowers and disgrace ourselves by joining together to defeat the androids. No thanks! True warriors fight alone."

Kakarot created a fist and grunted as he struggled to keep his hatred for Vegeta inside, but it was just too difficult and he exploded. "First of all, I think I'd rather die than have to fuse with an idiotic, arrogant, brat like you! I don't want to fuse either, but I want to save my mate's life and my friends!"

Bardock pushed Kakarot back and got in between the two of them. "You two boys should fuse." Bardock couldn't help but think of how powerful Vegito was and how he tipped the scales of power in the Z Warriors favor. He knew that if Vegeta and Kakarot could pull through, the world be saved.

Kakarot cocked his brow at his father. "Why? I'm the most powerful being on the planet. It only makes sense that I fuse with the second most powerful."

Vegeta scoffed. "Kakarot, I have no equal."

"That's because no one can ever sink to your level," Kakarot seethed.

Vegeta tried to shove his way through Bardock, but he was pushed back once again. "You truly have a death wish, don't you Kakarot?"

"If I did, we know you couldn't grant it."

"Stop it!" Cellena was infuriated that the two of them couldn't cooperate for five entire minutes! "Cerina, Fenn, Soko, and Bell all need us. And do you think that Gero is going to stop with them? More androids are coming, and a majority of the planet can't defend themselves against this threat. I need solutions, and not all of this stupid pettiness!"

Vegeta and Kakarot both crossed their arms and grumbled, but they would back off of each other for the meantime. "I'll get Suna to try and trace the signal."

"If I couldn't find it, what makes you think she can?" Kakarot bitterly asked.

"Because she's better than you, Kakarot!"

Bardock felt the two of approaching each other again, so he shoved them both back a final time. They didn't go through the walls, but Bardock shoved them hard enough to know that the next step would be to beat them both up.

Kakarot knew he could ram his way through his father to rip Vegeta's head off, but it unfortunately wasn't worth it. "No way will she crack it."

"Some people say she's smarter than Bell."

"No way!" 'What is Vegeta's deal? He's been forcing this girl in, but I can't possibly trust anyone associated with Vegeta, especially when her father proved to be a traitor. They probably set him up to take the fall and make themselves look good.' "We need another way to find Gero."

"What about the dragonballs?" Cellena asked.

Bardock's eyes widened for a quick moment before he regained himself. "What about them?"

"Can't we ask the dragon? Would he know?"

Kakarot had thought about it before, but he was torn. "Shouldn't we save it for something else…?" He said the next part very quietly. "In case something happens to anyone important?" 'I don't want to doubt myself, but if I don't want to lose her forever. We've got that elaborate lie about only being able to wish back one person. I know everyone would agree to bring back Cerina, but I don't want to lose anyone else before that either…'

Cellena walked to Kakarot and placed her hand on his burdened shoulder. 'I understand Kakarot's frustrations, but I can't afford to lose any more lives. Bell's life is now hanging in the balance and she's the greatest Saiyan mind there is.' "I know you want to secure Cerina's life in case she dies, but I want to make sure that she doesn't have to die. We have to save all of them."

Bardock didn't have to go inside of Cellena's mind to see how worried she was. She kept instinctively kept rubbing her stomach, as if she were already comforting her fatherless child. "Fenn will be alright," he assured.

"I know…" Cellena tried to be confident, but she had a terrible feeling. "Vegeta, see what Suna can figure out. Kakarot, I know that you don't want to work with her, but finding Gero is our priority. If he can't be found through technical means, we have to just use the dragon. Those are my official orders."

"And what happens when we find Gero?" Bardock asked. "If he has an army of Saiyan androids, we'll be no match without fusion."

"Then I guess you boys better figure this out." Cellena grunted as she saw her son's mouth opening up in protest, and she marched right over to Vegeta and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "Prancing around in a silly pose for five seconds will be the least of your worries if you get my boyfriend killed!"

"But—"

"No 'buts', Boy! I will make you pay!"

Kakarot and Bardock struggled not to snicker at Prince Vegeta being thwarted by his "mommy" but they were both a bit intimidated by her hormonal rage.

"Figure this out and leave me be!"

Kakarot and Bardock left out before Prince Vegeta did. When they were down the hall, Kakarot decided to put his mind at rest. "Please tell me that you've seen a vision of Fenn raising his child with Cellena."

"No." Bardock didn't see the point in not being honest about it. "Not once, but I know that we'll save him."


Ninjin, Raditz, Tora, Fasha, and Kara were in one of the recovery wings. Summer was recovering, but she would live. Raditz also got medical attention as well, but he didn't have means for another arm any time soon. He'd have to manage with one, but he knew that he'd be unable to fuse with his brother.

Raditz saw Ninjin sitting in a chair that was too big for his little body. He was twiddling his thumbs and kicking his feet. The poor kid looked scared to death. Raditz smiled and decided to take a seat next to his nephew. "I heard you transformed, Ninjin."

He sighed heavily and nodded. "I did."

Raditz laughed. "Cheer up! If I would have become a Super Saiyan at your age, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops!" He lightly jabbed Ninjin in his shoulder, but he didn't crack a smile. "Are you worried about your mom?"

"Yeah."

"Don't be. She's a really strong warrior."

Ninjin began to smile as he thought about their training. "I know."

'This kid is already so powerful. He'll probably be more powerful than all of us one day. I wish he was at his full potential now.' "Tora, Fasha, we need to leave. We're gonna look after the half breed children in case they're discovered."

"What about Dad?" Ninjin asked.

"Doesn't Uncle need your help?" Fasha asked.

'I could help them out somehow…But my children and my mate have to be my first priority. I'm a warrior. I can't stay by Summer's bedside during a crisis. I have to fight, and I know she'd want me to take care of her students.' "I'm gonna stay with you guys. I don't want to leave you alone in this. Besides, I can't fuse while my arm is busted, and Kakarot doesn't have time to work on it."

Ninjin tugged on his uncle's arm. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You're gonna stay in the palace and look after your little sister," Kakarot said while walking up from behind with his father.

Ninjin jumped up into the chair in outrage. "But I should be on the front lines!"

Kakarot was impressed with his son's tenacity, but he couldn't let him follow. Instead, he rubbed his head and sighed. "Until you become mated and have your own family one day, nothing is more important than protecting your little sister, Ninjin. Nothing. Do you understand?"

Ninjin looked to his little sister in his sitter's arms. He really did want to fight with his father and rescue his mother, but he knew that his mother would want him to take care of Colleena. "Yes, Sir."

"Good." He patted Ninjin on the head before messing up his hair. "I've got to figure out where your mom is. Trust me, I will. Just do me a favor and don't watch any TV for a while."

"Alright. I promise. Just get Mom back."

Ninjin's sitter rose out of her seat and carefully handed Colleena to her father. "I'll look after him and your daughter, Sir."

Kakarot gently rocked his daughter back and forth. She had fallen into a pretty powerful nap, and he was thankful that she was unaware of the danger she was in. 'I can't raise you alone, Colleena. I need your mother here. We still need your little sister as well.' "Basila will tell you a safe place where you can take Ninjin and Colleena."

'This is a mess,' Bardock thought as he watched his sons saying goodbye to their children. 'If we can't find some more power, the Task Force is going to be killed. I can't let Cerina die. I don't know how Cellena will take losing Fenn. If only Goku was here. He can't transform and use his full power but it would just be nice. Why isn't he here?'


"Fenn?" Cerina was ecstatic to see her friend finally open his eyes. Bell had been inconsolable since Arti's death. Soko woke up about thirty minutes later, but Fenn was out for two hours. Now there was only four hours left of Bell's life. "We've got to get out of here, Fenn."

"And how exactly will you do that?" Gero asked while coming through a steel door with two of his Saiyan androids. One of them was holding a small metal case. Cerina tried to peek through the door to see if she could get a glimpse of anything that would give her a clue as to where they were, but she didn't see anything but darkness.

"Gero," Soko said coldly. "You know we're going to destroy you."

He threw his head back and laughed. "How are you going to manage to kill me when you're completely powerless and outclassed?"

"You're overestimating yourself," Cerina said. "You'll keep us alive just long enough for Kakarot to rescue us."

"Oh really?" Gero really did hate Cerina with every fiber of his being. Every plan he ever hatched, she seemed to foil. He wasn't going to let her humiliate him once again. "You and your team are going to die. They're going to die one at a time, and after you have lost all of your friends, I will put you out of your misery. But before you watch them suffer, they'll watch you suffer." Gero began reaching for the box in the android's hand.

Fenn was still gathering himself, but he jumped into attack mode when he saw Gero open the box and pulled out some sort device that looked like a tiny bug, but he knew better than to make light of it. "Stay away from her!"

"It's only a taste of her own medicine!" Gero laughed. "She's known for torturing her enemies. She's tortured many people from the Red Ribbon Army. She should at least know what it's like."

"No!" Fenn struggled to break free and save Cerina, but he was quickly defeated and collapsed. He didn't want to stop, but he lost so much of his energy.

"It's okay." Cerina didn't break eye contact with Gero. She wouldn't dare show any signs of fear. She wasn't going to give him any satisfaction. "I can take whatever this coward can cook up!"

"We'll see." He grabbed her and jerked her head forward until her neck was exposed and carefully placed the tiny bug on the center of her neck.

Cerina gritted her teeth as she felt the device pierce her neck and burrow its way inside of her. She had been in more pain than that, so she was going to compose herself for as long as possible. But her comrades were extremely worried about her. Fenn could see from her eyes that she was in pain.

"Are we done?" she asked Gero rather bored.

But he smiled, because he knew that Cerina was merely putting on a good show. "Don't worry, my dear. You'll know when I'm finished. Each one of you are going to die unless Cellena steps down."

"It'll never happen," Fenn blurted. "She's got too much pride, and the people wouldn't want her to either."

"Perhaps your people, but not the earthlings. We don't want you Saiyans here."

"I'm an earthling," Cerina said. "I was born here. This is my home, and it's the only one that I've ever known!"

Gero's nostrils flared up. He was disgusted that she would ever dare to claim earth as her own. "And soon Hell will be your home, Princess. But you may be right about Cellena." He stroked his chin as he decided what his next move should be. "She's going to need more incentive."


Colleen rushed out of her house when she sensed Kakarot and Bardock approaching. She went to Kami's Lookout where they hid the dragon balls while her family met with Cellena. Bardock told her to get them ready, but Colleen was concerned about using them too early. "Are we really going to use the dragonballs to find Cerina and the others?"

'I'm concerned that I may want to wish someone back, but because of the lie Colly told, we can only wish back one person at a time. If Cellena hears the truth, Colly will be killed or at least imprisoned until Vegeta orders her death. I can't think of anything that would be worth that…' "If Vegeta's scientist can't find a way to trace the broadcast, then we may not have a choice."

Kakarot rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I don't think she'd even be able to get a good crack at it unless he broadcasted again, and he probably won't do that until Bell is scheduled to be killed."

"We can't wait that long," Bardock said. "We need her alive."

Colleen heard what they were saying, but she was beginning to get frustrated. 'These boys are ready to just run into a fight, but how am I gonna wish back these idiots after they get themselves killed?' "But what about power?"

"I was thinking that Kakarot and Vegeta could fuse—"

Kakarot rolled his eyes and spoke quickly, "It'll never happen for at least a hundred reasons."

'There's gotta be a way to get Vegeta to work with Kakarot. No one could compare to Vegito or Gogeta. Their strength is unrivaled. I've seen him accomplish the impossible, and we sure could use some of this right now.' "I have to find a way to make him agree. If I explain—"

Colleen placed her hand on the sides of Bardock's face and smiled. "We have to handle this, Bardock. Our family can do this."

Bardock looked to his son, Kakarot, who was nodding his head in agreement. 'If I don't push them to work together now, it may never happen. But maybe it's better this way. Vegeta's not the same, and neither is my son…' "You're right, Colly. We've got to do this our way."

Kakarot got a cold shiver that erupted from the top of his neck and trailed all the way down into his tail. "Do you sense that?"

Bardock closed his eyes and felt the lives slipping away in mere seconds. "Gero must be having androids attack the cities again." 'We can't use this wish to save the people dying, especially if we want to find Cerina…'

"Are we going to summon the dragon or go save the people?" Colleen asked. Either way, she wanted to do something.


Shouta waited by the front door while tapping his foot and looking at his watch. He was nervous about surviving, but also what would happen to his family in the event that they did actually make it out alive. He had two packed suitcases on the floor, and Krillin was standing next to him and holding another. They were both waiting for Chi-Chi to come down the stairs with Gohan in her arms. When he laid eyes on his beautiful family, he knew how much he wanted to protect them ,but there were some things that were beyond his power. "Are we sure about this?"

Chi-Chi glared at Shouta before handing Gohan off to Krillin and shooing them both off outside ahead of them so she could harshly whisper to her husband. "No, I'm not. I don't want anyone else to know about Gohan, but I need protection for him. Kakarot will protect his son."

Shouta put his head down as he felt the sting of her words. He wanted to be able to protect Gohan, but how could he ever compare? "Everyone will know the truth, and it'll be bigger than some fine, Chi-Chi!"

But Shouta grew quieter as his truest fear came to the surface. "What will become of us?"

She smiled sadly at his confusion and wrapped her arms around him to give him a peace of mind. "You are my husband, and I am your wife. I always will be."

Shouta wrapped his arms around Chi-Chi and took in her scent, so he could hold that memory in his mind forever. He wanted to believe her, but he knew that she still kept one of Kakarot's training uniforms around, despite how dangerous it could have been. She held onto it, because she couldn't let Kakarot go. "I'll trust you, Chi-Chi."

The two of them came outside to meet Krillin, who was trying to convince Gohan to get inside of their car, but the little man stubbornly stood with his arms crossed. Shouta had to bend down in front of him and gently nudge him toward the opened door. "Come on, Gohan."

"I don't want to leave home!" he moaned.

"Your mom knows what she's doing," Shouta said with a smile. Even though Shouta knew that he wasn't really Gohan's father, he always felt like he could reason with him man to man. "Let's both trust her for now. Okay?"

Gohan glanced up at his mother. She gave him a friendly glare, but Gohan was afraid of his mother and got into the car before making her angry.

Krillin was dripping out a mini waterfall of sweat while being in that car. He had been weighing his loyalty for Chi-Chi against his loyalty for Kakarot for a long while. Chi-Chi usually won because he feared her so for whatever reason. Deep down, he knew keeping Gohan's secret would keep him safe though, but now with coming out, Krillin was afraid that Kakarot would kill him or at least would never forgive him. "Is this really a good time right now to be seeing Kakarot? I mean, his mate has been kidnapped."

"That's another thing to consider," Shouta said. "Should we really get mixed up in all that royal business? It doesn't seem to be doing them any favors."

Chi-Chi had thought about that, and she took a moment to think of it again. However, Gohan would be in danger as long as he had Saiyan blood flowing through his veins. "My mind is made up."

Gohan didn't understand why they had to drive away from their nice home. He didn't get out much, besides when he and Krillin went to go train in private or when he would go visit his grandfather. "Why are we visiting Prince Kakarot?"

Shouta looked to Chi-Chi. He knew one day they'd have to tell Gohan the truth, but truthfully, Shouta wasn't ready for it. But it wasn't entirely up to him. "Well, Chi-Chi?"

She sunk back into her seat and stared at the roof of the car. She had no idea what the right call was. "He's an old friend, Gohan, and I think he can help save us from the androids."

"From the androids?" Gohan's parents were very protective, but he had stood back and watched the news reports from the shadows. "But the androids aren't after humans. Why—?"

"What's that?" Krillin asked while nervously pointing up in the sky. He couldn't recognize the energy signal of whoever was flying by. He couldn't sense anything about them until a light shot from the figure's hand and started to get bigger the closer as it came to the car.

"Look out!" Out of fear and desperation, Chi-Chi took a hold of the wheel while Shouta tried to maneuver out of the way as well. It was just another example of how Chi-Chi had to take control when Gohan's life was in the balance and when the car began to sway and lose control, it was just another example of how unhealthy their predicament was. It was no surprise that when the blast hit the road, the car flipped over.

Chi-Chi hit her head from the crash, but she couldn't pass out when she heard the cries of her son. "Gohan, are you okay?"

He wouldn't answer. He would only scream from the pain and the fear.

"Gohan?"

"He's okay," Krillin assured. He even looked over him real quick. "The kid doesn't even have a scratch."

"We've gotta get out of here," Shouta said. He placed one hand on roof of the car and unbuckled his seat belt with the other hand. He was strong, so he caught himself easily and climbed through the broken window. Then he walked to the other side to assist Chi-Chi in getting out while Krillin aided the young and frightened Gohan to safety.

When they were all outside of the car and on their feet, Chi-Chi took Gohan into her arms and muffled the sound of his cries against her chest. "It's okay, Son. I promise."

"Saiyan DNA detected." They all turned around and saw a teenage boy. He didn't look very powerful. He wasn't that much taller than Krillin, but his eyes were glowing bright red. "The Saiyan must be destroyed."

Gohan quieted down and slowly raised his head up so he could see the monster. 'Saiyan?'

Krillin pushed Chi-Chi and Gohan back. "Chi-Chi, Shouta and I will protect him. You take your son and get out of here."

Chi-Chi didn't want to leave the fighting to the two of them, but she knew Gohan wouldn't be able to defend himself if an android found him alone. She took off into the sky with Gohan clutching onto her tightly as he looked down below and prayed that his father and friend would be safe. "Mom, I can fight too."

Shouta and Krillin both prepared themselves. Shouta knew a lot about fighting and he was strong, but his fighting skill was nothing on the level that Kakarot displayed and passed along to Krillin and Chi-Chi. Shouta learned a lot being married to Chi-Chi for a few years and surpassed his spouse, who was always busy in the kitchen. But he knew that he sadly wouldn't be able to compete against a killer android. However, he was going to try.

The android looked incredibly bored with the two of them and looked back up at Chi-Chi and Gohan. "I have no quarrel with you humans. It's the Saiyan that I must destroy."

"Then you'll have to go through us first!" Shouta shouted.

The android's eyes slowly crept back down to them. "That's an interesting choice of words."

Krillin blinked and then he realized that he and Shouta were both on the ground in a puddle of their own blood. Shouta's left arm was twisted in the wrong direction and he was fighting not to black out. Krillin felt the blood pouring out of his head from a giant gash. All he could do was laugh at how pathetic he was. 'I couldn't even last a minute with these things! Kakarot would be so disappointed in me. I have to find a way to save his son!'

Gohan heard the screams of his father and friend again, and he couldn't take it anymore and forced himself out of his mother's arms. She nearly screamed when she thought he would fall to his death, but she gasped once she saw that her little boy could fly. "I've gotta save Krillin and Daddy!"

Chi-Chi refused to put two and two together and shook her head in disbelief. "You don't know how to fight."

"Yes, I do! Krillin showed me." Gohan started to fly down, but his mother grabbed his arm.

"No, Gohan! We have to get out of here. It's too dangerous. They'll kill you!"

'Me?' Gohan thought back to what the android said when it found them and all of the news reports. 'But I'm not a Saiyan.' But fighting came so natural to him and he was already stronger than his teacher. Gohan never understood why his mother didn't want him to fight. His father was a fighter. It was like they were hiding something. 'Am I a Saiyan?' Gohan became infuriated and pulled away. "I've gotta save my dad!"

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi tried her best to catch Gohan before he reached the android, but he was much too fast to be stopped. In a manner of seconds, his feet were already on the ground.

"Leave my dad alone!" he screamed with tears in his eyes.

Shouta wearily looked up. He had his suspicions that Gohan was learning to fight in secret, but he never said anything. He knew that it was good for a Saiyan to fight. He wished he had taught him. After all, Shouta loved him like his own. "Gohan, get out of here."

"No! I'll protect you." Krillin closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face. His mother clearly was a human and his father was clearly a human, so if he were a Saiyan, then one of them wasn't his parent. That scared and angered him, but he would protect his family regardless.

The android smirked smugly. "And what do you think you're going to do, Kid?"

Gohan grunted and drew his hands back. "Kaaaaaaa….Meeeee…"

Chi-Chi gasped. 'Krillin, you didn't!'

"Haaaaa….Meee…"

The android was intrigued. 'This technique that this boy is performing is on record as belonging to Kakarot and the members of his family. This human female is Chi-Chi, known as having a history with Saiyan Prince Kakarot. Presumably their relationship was physical, but never proven to be sexual. But this boy shares characteristics that are similar to Prince Ninjin.' The android smirked. 'Dr. Gero would like to process this information.' "Are you the son of Prince Kakarot?"

"What!?" Gohan became distracted and his energy faded.

The android looked to Chi-Chi. 'Facial patterns confirm suspicions.' The android stretched his hand out toward Gohan. "You are now a priority target. You must die."

Gohan froze up once he saw the bright light coming toward him. He closed his eyes and wished for someone to help him. 'Daddy!'

Chi-Chi screamed in horror as the blast came toward her son. But when the bright flash of light was over, she didn't see his little body. Either he was completely wiped out, or he disappeared. Either way, she was scared to death. "Gohaaaaaan!"


"Mom?" Gohan looked around, but everything had changed. He was on a beach somewhere looking out at the ocean. "Mom?" He turned around and saw a pink house. He hoped she was inside, but he couldn't sense her energy. He didn't sense anyone. "Momma!" Gohan threw his head back and screamed up at the sky as the tears heavily fell from his eyes.

"Calm down, Gohan." Goku chuckled. It was strange seeing his son so small again after seeing him grow up into adulthood and having a daughter of his own. It had been a while since Gohan was really afraid of anything. He had the potential to be the most powerful being in the universe. "I'll get her next."

Goku was discouraged by the fact that Gohan couldn't hear his voice or feel his touch. He was nothing to his son, and yet he hadn't left his side since he was able to find his way back to that world after the dragon balls had been used. "I'll always be here for you, Son. I promise."

Goku briefly left Gohan to teleport to Chi-Chi. She had foolishly decided to seek vengeance for her son and ended up with a bloodied mouth. Goku grabbed her while she was on the ground trying to recover and he brought her to their son. "Gohan!"

He stopped crying when he heard her voice and ran into her arms. "Momma!"

A few seconds later, Goku retrieved Krillin and Shouta so they could all be safe on Master Roshi's island until the androids were dealt with.

"How did we get here?" Shouta asked.

Krillin gasped from excitement. "Kakarot!"

Chi-Chi quickly shook her head. "He wouldn't. He's got his own family to protect." It wasn't exactly Kakarot's fault that he didn't know about Gohan, but she wished Kakarot cared enough to just drop by to see whether or not she was alive.

"No. I know it was Kakarot!" Krillin pumped his fist up into the air. "It had to be!"

Goku washed in the shadows as his son began pondering. Goku wanted Gohan to know the truth, and he certainly wanted Kakarot to know the truth as well. But in case Gohan would never know, Goku was going to be there to watch over his son. 'I missed my first Gohan's ki blast. I didn't teach him how to fly. Piccolo did all things, and I put my own training above teaching my son. Maybe that's why he didn't fulfill his potential. But I won't abandon Gohan. I'll always watch over him.' "I only wish you knew I was here, Son."


"Cerina?"

She didn't mean to grunt out in pain, but every single nerve in her body was on fire. Whatever Gero put inside of her was the real deal. "I can handle this pain," she assured. "Remember? My entire body used to turn against me when I used my power." Even though she was in extreme pain, nothing ever quite compared to that. "I can get through this. I know I can! I can block it out."

Fenn saw her pulling on her restraints and he began to get worried. "What are you doing?"

"It's just pain! If I can rip through this fast enough, I can bust us out of here!"

"Or you could kill yourself!" Soko snapped. "You've got more time than any of us. Use it to your advantage."

"No!" Cerina could feel her power being sucked from her body, but she could not give up! "I care about Bell too much to stand by and let Gero take her away from me. None of you will die on my watch. None of you!" She began to scream as the machine powered up so it could suck faster than Cerina could put out. But she wouldn't let that be the end of her. She had too much power not to find a way to make it work to her advantage. 'I've got to do this. I've got to…' "Ahhhh!"

"Cerina!" Fenn yelled as her bright aura overtook the room. Transforming into a Super Saiyan was either going to have great regards or devastating consequences. He saw how hard she fought. She was in incredible pain, and her energy seemed to be decreasing faster than she could raise it. Regardless, she pushed and screamed through it all until the restraints around her arms and legs exploded and she fell onto the ground.

"She did it?" Bell didn't know that she could ever feel relieved about anything ever again. "I'm not going to die?"

Cerina stumbled back onto her feet. "Not on my watch!" She couldn't hold her Super Saiyan transformation and reverted back to normal, but she had just enough strength to pull on Fenn's restraints to free him.

"Thanks." He smiled with pride at his beautiful princess. "You never cease to amaze me."

She wearily smiled, but even that sucked out her remaining strength and she fell backward and out of consciousness. Fenn was able to catch her before she hit the ground hard, but he sat down gently so he could free Soko and then Bell.

"We've gotta get out of here right now!" Bell said.

Soko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I gathered that."

"No time for your drama, Ladies." Fenn swooped Cerina up into his arms and kicked the steel door down. "Let's get out of here!"

As the three of them made their run, they began noticing very strange things about their place of capture. For example, the gravity felt different. Fenn recognized that it felt a little bit more like home, which meant that the gravity was a little bit heavier than earth. They also weren't attacked by an army of androids. There was a lab or two as they ran by, but nothing could have prepared them for the revelation of what they faced when they kicked open the front door and freed themselves to the outside world.

"What is this place?" Soko asked.

Bell kicked the red sand and nearly cried when she saw four crescent moons in the sky. "No wonder why no one has found us yet. We're not even on earth anymore!"

"Then where could we be?" Fenn asked. "How could we have gotten here? He couldn't have flown us out this far in a few hours, and he certainly can't transfer his androids instantaneously from his hideout here and to the earth."

"Why not?" Soko asked. "Kakarot and Bardock can teleport. Perhaps Gero has found a way to teleport his androids to earth from here."

"Then we're looking for a big power source. He's got an android army. It's got to be something big, maybe something spherical like—"

"Like that?" Soko asked while pointing to a giant metal ring in the distance. It must have only been about a hundred kilometers away. There also seemed to be another facility nearby it as well. It could have been another lab.

"Let's go there." Fenn didn't want to see if the girls were okay with his decision. He took off, and all he received in protest was a rolling of the eyes by Soko, who deemed herself the leader of their team. Bell was worried about there being a trap waiting for them, but she also wanted to take the chance and get home.

When the three of them landed on what reminded them of a launching bay, Bell quickly went to work at the control panel while she tried to figure out how to make the thing work. Soko was hesitant about scouting the other laboratory. If it happened to be filled with androids, there would be nothing they could do about it but run, so she kept her eyes focused as a watch, but wouldn't explore. Fenn was fascinated by the giant ring and what it was possibly capable of doing. "Do you really think this device can take us home?"

"After seeing this technology up close, I believe that's what it will do." Every second Bell spent studying the controls were another that her mind opened up to understanding. "This is actually a quite brilliant device."

"Which begs to question how Gero got so many parts to build all of this here," Fenn said. "He had to have blasted off to this planet on a spaceship and it's hard to leave earth without the proper clearance."

Soko crossed her arms. "Fenn, if this is leading into another 'I think Bulma Brief is behind this' conversation, we're already ahead of you."

"Even if she helped him, I think Gero's network has to be bigger than what we think. He has to have more help than this. I think the Red Ribbon Army is still alive and well."

"I think I got it!" Bell jumped up and down in excitement right before pressing a giant blue button. Once she did, a monitor turned on. It was a bright blue screen that intrigued Bell's curious mind. She got closer to the screen and waited for what was next.

"Wake up, Bell. Destroy."

Her ears perked up and she leaned in closer, as if in a trance. "Do you guys hear that?"

Fenn turned to face her in a panic. "Bell, don't listen!"

"Wake up, Bell. Destroy."

"Bell!" Soko ran and punched out the screen before it could do anymore damage, but Bell was already quietly growling. Soko grabbed Bell by her shoulders and began to shake her. "Bell, you cannot freak out on us right now! Snap out of it!"

Bell grabbed her head and gritted her teeth. She tried to block it all out, but she couldn't get past the voice in her head or the incredible feeling she had to kill everything around her. "Destroy!" She punched Soko in the face as hard and as fast as she could, which knocked her right into the gate that should have sent them home.

"Bell, stop!" Fenn didn't want to set Cerina down. 'But Soko can handle Bell.' "Shut her down quick!"

"Roger that!" She gave Bell and elbow strike in the face and then a head-butt. Bell stumbled back a little bit, but then rammed Soko in the stomach and wrestled her into the ground. From then, he started hitting her in the face over and over again.

"Soko!" Fenn yelled.

Soko grunted and forced herself on top and pinned Bell to the ground. She was embarrassed that Bell had hurt her and she shifted that embarrassment into pure rage and was determined to make the crazed psychopath as bloody as she was.

"Soko, stop," Fenn said.

"I don't think she's cured yet!" Soko punched Bell harder until her blood spewed in her face.

"I said that's enough!" Fenn rushed over and pulled Soko off of Bell. "Do you hate this girl that much?"

"I don't hate her!" Soko pulled away from Fenn. "When Kakarot was brainwashed and was going to kill Cerina, it took a serious blow to the head to get him to stop."

Bell moaned and started to rise up. "What just happened?"

"You just tried to kill me and I proved once again how inferior you are."

Fenn shoved Soko in the chest to shut her up. Now was not the time for their foolish bickering! "We've got to find a way to get off this planet. So what if Gero built a transportation device? He must have had a way to get here in the first place. There's not to be a spaceship."

"Uh, guys…" Bell jumped on her feet and slowly began walking toward the console. There was a blinking red light going off and for some reason, that just made Bell quiver from unnerving fear. "Something is going on…"

"What?" Soko asked. "What's going on?"

"We thought we were alone, but…" Bell bit her lip and moaned. 'This isn't over!' "There was that message meant for me, but Gero must have known that I couldn't kill you guys. It was just meant to stop me from figuring out the portal, not to actually escape."

"So…" Fenn slowly turned back to the facility that was probably fifty yards away. "They're probably in there waiting for us, aren't they?"

They all began to listen carefully. They couldn't feel their energy, but they could hear a lot of little somethings moving around. They just knew that they were about to have the fight of their lives.

"What should we do?" Bell asked.

Soko took a deep breath. "I hate to say it, but you two have to run."

"Why not all of us?" Bell asked. "Why aren't you coming?"

Soko rolled her eyes. She couldn't take how naïve she could be. "I'll hold them off as long as I can. Fenn, you have to protect Cerina. She's our princess. It's our duty."

"We're stronger together—"

"We're no match for these androids either way. I'll try to give you a head start. You protect Cerina and Bell will figure out a way to get you guys home. I'm the loose end here."

"Don't say that!" Fenn seethed. He understood she was trying to be noble, but he didn't want to lose her. They had a complicated relationship. Honestly, everyone had a complicated relationship with Soko, but she meant a lot to him. "We'll get out of this toge—"

Soko couldn't let him keep yammering about loyalty, commitment, and fighting with everything that they had. There was no hope. It just was what it was, and not all of them were going to make it out alive. Soko was the leader, and she was choosing to put her life on the line for her team. But she certainly wasn't going to die for Fenn without getting one last kiss.

Bell watched their last smooch with her mouth wide open and blushing. She wasn't still in love with Fenn, but she just couldn't believe that Soko was not only kissing Fenn, but for whatever reason, he decided to kiss her back. But she calmed herself down once she realized that it just needed to happen in that moment. He was giving her one last kiss, because it was probably the last time they'd ever see each other. "Soko…"

Soko's toes started to tingle, so she curled her toes and pushed Fenn away before it was too late. "Go."

"Soko—"

She quickly pecked him once more. "You'll make a great king, Fenn. You change our world for the better."

Fenn took a deep breath and forced himself to leave. He knew that Soko wouldn't survive, but every extra second she could spare was one that could save their lives. "Come on, Bell." He blasted off with Cerina, not allowing himself to look back.

Bell clutched onto her chest. 'Is she also buying me more time?' "Arti's dead. If I die next, it'll be okay. I don't want you to take my place."

"Just shut up and live, Bell!" she snapped. But, Soko didn't want that to be the last thing Bell remembered about her, so she turned around and smirked. "Live for me. Okay, nerd?"

Tears began to come to her eyes. She just couldn't believe that Soko would sacrifice herself for her life. "Goodbye!" She hurried after Fenn. She knew that if Soko would have caught her crying, she would have punched her in the face. 'I'll protect Fenn and Cerina. I promise I'll do my best to get them home!'

Soko closed her eyes and gathered all the energy that she had left in her reserves. It wasn't much to survive on, but it was enough to fight valiantly. She was going to give those androids hell! She opened her eyes when she heard the doors open and the first few mechanic soldiers began to come through. She was still confident when she only saw three, but behind those three were another six, and then another. It was then, that she knew for sure, she'd be going out with a bang. "Come and meet your end!"


Vegeta walked into the main lab at the palace where his choice scientist had taken over Bell's famed office. He had gone out to defend the city when the androids began to attack once again. The human androids were nothing, but things got intense when three Saiyan androids came into the city. Vegeta could barely hold off one. He walked away from the battle, but he was bloodied and bruised. He needed a different strategy.

"Are you alright, Prince Vegeta?" Suna asked.

"These androids are getting on my nerves," he growled. 'We can't keep this up forever.' "What have you discovered?"

"They certainly are interesting." Suna had an android laid out on an examining table. It was a human subject with its chest cavity opened up wide, and there were other slits throughout its body. Some of its parts were in a metal pan. "Most of their parts are human or Saiyan. These things could still mate and have children if they wanted to. There's a couple of things I feel are worth mentioning that set them apart."

Vegeta sneered up his face. He could appreciate her fascination, but he was a little bit more squeamish than anyone could expect. "Such as?"

She pointed to a black box in the center of her chest. "They all appear to have bombs in them. If those go off, the planet is probably going to go up in flames, so detonating them all is not an option."

'So if Gero gets too desperate, we're screwed.' "What else?"

"We have the heart." She reached inside the metal pan and held up the strange and deformed heart. It looked like it could have once been a human heart, but it was mutated with metal, artificial tubes, and there was a strange and bright orange fluid in some sort of glass container. "It seems to be the source of their upgraded power. They still have blood bumping through their body, but it's mixed in with this strange compound that I have yet to decipher. Whatever it is, it's powerful."

"And what if someone consumed this source?" he asked curiously.

"Their power would exponentially increase," she chuckled, "but it's not something you can easily digest like that weird fruit that you got from that space pirate! It's got to be properly filtered. Unless you want to be an android, you've got to stick to training the old fashioned way."

"And what else?" He was growing impatient.

"The bones have been coated with a unique metal compound. There's also the brain. The eyes have been altered and they've been reprogrammed with chips. But I suppose if you shut those down, they could go back to normal."

"And their strength?"

"That would remain the same."

'They can return to their normal personalities, but that doesn't mean that they'll ever be normal.' "Then when my mother asks about reverting these abominations, you tell her that there's no hope and that they need to be destroyed."

Her eyes opened wide and she blinked hard. "Why the cold shoulder towards your former people?"

"We don't need these things roaming around with such power that they didn't fight to have. I see a potential problem, so I want to get rid of it."

Cellena stormed into the lab. She was beaten up like her son. She didn't even have time to properly fix her hair. Time was running out for her daughter and lover. "How's the study going?"

Suna's eyes fell into Vegeta, and he very subtly urged her to go on. "I'm still hacking to see if I can shut these things down. I'm afraid that we can't reverse the process or their loyalties toward Gero. The best course of action is to destroy them."

Cellena took a deep breath. That was very disheartening to her. It was bad enough that she had to lose so many of her people. Now she could have the Saiyans and humans that were taken either. "And have you been able to pinpoint my daughter and her team?"

Suna hated to admit it, but she grumbled the answer through. "No, but I should be able to if Gero broadcasts again."

"But he didn't broadcast again," Cellena said worriedly. "Bell should have been executed by now."

Vegeta shrugged his shoulders. "Then maybe he changed his mind."

"I doubt that," Cellena said. 'He wants to teach me a lesson. He can't think that I'd actually step down. He wants to humiliate me, and demonstrate how helpless I am to save my daughter. He won't back off. He must have a reason that he didn't make Bell's execution public, and the only reason I can think of is because she's escaped with the others.' "Vegeta, we have to find Bardock and Kakarot. If this fusion technique is the only way to save your sister—"

"Then I'm afraid she and your boyfriend are just going to be in peril." Vegeta crossed his arms stubbornly and looked away. "If I would rather die than fuse with Kakarot, do you think I would do it for someone else's life?"

"Are you insane?!" she screamed. "You will do this because your queen demands it!"

"I know you're hormonal because you're pregnant with Fenn's bastard brat, but in case you forgot, you sent Kakarot to pummel me so you could take Bulma away from me. You completely humiliated me."

"You humiliated yourself! It's not my fault that you weren't strong enough to defeat Kakarot!"

Vegeta grunted and rushed toward his mother, clenching his fists and shaking from his anger. He had to remind himself that she was his mother and the queen. Otherwise, he was going to beat her down. "Well," he seethed, "it's not my fault that Fenn is proving to be insufficient. If he's not strong enough to fight his way back to you and his child, then he's unworthy to be part of our royal legacy."

"Royalty isn't always about strength, Vegeta."

"Why, certainly it is!" he outstretched his hands and laughed. "Why else would you host a tournament for Cerina? Only the strongest winner could be her mate, and I'll give it to Kakarot for proving himself. And let's not forget, your 'beloved' Fenn was so very close to being Cerina's mate. He nearly died to have her. I wonder if he still thinks of her when he's screwing you—"

Vegeta blinked and he was on the ground across the room with a bloodied nose. His mother was standing over him growling and shaking like she was angry enough to destroy him. "I am giving you a direct order, Vegeta! You will fuse with Kakarot and save Fenn or I will pass over you and name Cerina as my heir!"

As infuriated as that made Vegeta, all he could do was laugh as he wiped the blood from his nose. "Well, that's going to be difficult when Cerina dies. Fenn will probably also die. Then you'll only have me, Mother. And let me remind you that I'm supposed to be king right now."

"And I told you that because you gave that up, I wouldn't step down unless I was ready. And if you're right and if Cerina and Fenn die because of your stubbornness, then I am going to wait as long as I can until Fenn's child is old enough to lead our people!"

Vegeta eyes bucked and he silently gasped at his mother's proclamation. But then, he began to growl. 'This is ridiculous. I will not be passed over again and again. She will not take my right away from me, but I will not join with Kakarot!' Even with everything at stake, he couldn't do it. His blood was boiling at the thought of it. He hated Kakarot more than anything or anyone, and his hated and determination to destroy Kakarot prevailed above all. "I'm calling your bluff, Mother."

Her mouth slightly dropped. She thought for sure that he would concede, but she couldn't waste any more time with her stubborn son. "You will regret this, Vegeta!" She stormed out of the room so she could find Bardock herself. There had to be a way to save them all. She wouldn't accept defeat.

Suna felt pretty awkward watching the entire display between Cellena and Vegeta, especially since she knew the handful of people in the lab were trying to act like they hadn't heard or seen anything. "Follow me into my office, Vegeta."

Vegeta was still furious about his mother and was grumbling to himself as he followed his cohort into Bell's office. He slammed the door behind him. "Do you have a plan or what?"

"Your mother is pregnant and crazy right now. She'll keep her word about skipping over you, Vegeta."

"Perhaps."

"The only way you're going to clean up this mess is if you somehow destroy these androids."

"I can destroy them just fine. There are simply too many of them."

"You have to put an end to all of them, Vegeta. If you save the humans and the Saiyans from the androids, they're going to worship you as their hero. Once they love you—"

"I won't need my mother's approval. The people will demand me. They'll start an uprising if I'm passed over. I could lead a civil war if I had to!"

"Yes. There appears to be a similar programming in every android for shutdown. I can find the frequency to shut them all down. We can use one of the satellites at the launching station to transmit the signal all over the planet. Every android will fall, and you will take the victory. I only have to build the device."

Vegeta began to smirk. 'This is perfect. I've already proven that I can defeat them with my strength. Now I'll permanently put an end to what my sister should have been able to finish. I will be king!' "Then get to work."


"Down here!" Fenn felt Cerina beginning to struggle in her sleep, so he motioned for Bell to follow him down to the ground. They felt Soko's energy rise up, but it came to a sudden end. Fenn feared the worst, but he immediately pushed that thought out of his mind. Soko had to be okay! He just had to believe in her strength. 'I have to take care of Cerina!'

They landed in a split in a mountain and they both lowered their energy so they wouldn't be detected, but Cerina was moaning and shaking in her sleep.

"She has to stay quiet!" Bell hissed silently.

"She's in pain." Fenn sat on his knees as he tried to wake her up with gentle shakes. That wouldn't work at first, so he opened her eyes and slapped her face until she shuttered and clutched onto his busted up uniform.

"It hurts!"

"You only think that it does," Bell pleaded. "You have to get over it. Overcome it. It's the device that Gero put inside of you. You're strong enough to defeat this. I know you are!"

Cerina didn't want to disappoint her friend, but she was in an excruciating amount of pain. She tried to block it out. She really did. She gritted her teeth and held Fenn tighter, but it was torment. "I'm trying…"

'I know Cerina can do anything she puts her mind to, but maybe this is too much for her. I don't know what to do. We have to get this thing out of her.' "Bell, we have to get out of here. We can't fight the androids. There are too many and they're too powerful."

"I don't know how to get home. I could analyze the portal and try to fix it, but I would need time that we don't have." Bell's head was spinning. Her heart was still broken from Arti's death, and she still physically hurt, but she couldn't let that be the end of her. She had to fight! Soko expected Bell to save Cerina and Fenn, so that's what she had to do. "We could deactivate them…"

"How?"

Bell became nervous. It was just a thought spoken out loud. She didn't know how without studying the androids, but there had to be a way. "I've studied Gero's profile a dozen times. He's untrusting, paranoid, and obviously vengeful. I'm sure he would have made a device that could shut the androids down. We just have to find it."

"Where would it be?"

Bell shrugged, but then she shook her head. She couldn't just shrug it off. Everyone was depending on her. "Close, in case he had to use it himself. If it's not on him, it's in his lab. It must be some place that the androids wouldn't know or think about, but easily accessible."

"Then we have to get back to the lab right away."

"But how?" she shrieked.

Fenn thought about it for a moment. It was most likely suicide, but that small chance was what he was aiming for. He had to find a way to save his friends. He loved them all, especially Cerina. He might have loved Cellena romantically, but he wasn't sure if he had ever cared about anyone else in his life as much as he cared for Cerina. He would die a thousand times for her if necessary. It was his duty, and he knew it was what his beloved queen would want. "If it's the only way to get out of this alive, then it's a chance we have to take!"

Bell grew deathly quiet as she felt energy surrounding her from everywhere and coming in fast. She couldn't sense it coming from a power source, but she knew the blasts coming for her would be powerful enough to destroy her and her friends. "Do you sense that?" she whispered.

He did, and sweat began to run down his forehead. There were hundreds of blasts coming toward them. The androids weren't going to search high and low for them. They were going to blast them out. "Run!"

They didn't want to fly and give away their location just in case the androids didn't know where they were, but the blasts were landing incredibly close. Even after running at high speed, they barely missed the blast that dissolved the mountain.

Bell looked behind her to catch the mountain as it disappeared. She started pounding her legs faster and harder. She remembered how worthless her life felt immediately after Arti died, but now being faced with such a certainty of death reminded her of why she wanted to live. She still had people worth fighting for. If need be, they'd be worth dying for as well. "Fenn, I don't want to die!"

"I'll protect you both. I swear, I will!" He carried Cerina with one arm while he pulled Bell with the other hand. He would rip Bell's arm off before he left her behind. "You will live."

Just for a moment—only a split second—Fenn turned around to look at Bell. One smile from the brave and beloved Fenn was usually enough to cheer her up or make her believe in the world again. It did. For whatever reason, beyond all logic, Fenn made Bell believe that everything would be all right with the power of his smile. But before he could turn his head back around, Bell caught the light fall from the showering sky that was meant to kill him. Her eyes widened from horror, but Fenn was confused and began to turn his head. Bell knew that Fenn wasn't going to have time to react and block or dodge the attack. She had to do something. She had to do the only thing she knew that was right in the world.

"Bell?" Fenn was pushed on the ground. He barely kept Cerina in his arms when he made impact on the ground. But he could feel that there was something wrong with the world. When he looked up and saw her body, he knew why. "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell!"

She was wheezing. He had been hit in the chest, and she was severely burned. Her energy was fading.

Fenn shook his head in disbelief. 'No. No. No. No!' Fenn grabbed his head as the pain and rage came rushing in, along with all of the memories of his time with Bell and Soko. He remembered the first time he met them. He had to convince Bell to join their team. Soko saw an opportunity and demanded to be put on the team. Arti was also recruited. Pak had to be convinced. They built their tiny Task Force into something great, and they gave Cerina the accountability and street credit that she desperately needed.

When Fenn went into heat, Soko caught him eyeing her and she knew what he was going through, and she made it known that she wouldn't mind helping him with his condition. From then, they developed a unique chemistry. Then when he went into heat again, Bell entered the equation and it all got more complicated between the three of them, until he returned to normal. But he wouldn't have had a bad life if he ended up with either one of them. Not really. He would have enjoyed it very much.

"Nooooo!"

Cerina looked to Bell with tears in her eyes. "Please hold on…" She was too weak to fight, but she couldn't abandon her friend and began to crawl toward her. "Don't die!"

Bell was terrified as she was losing the ability to breathe, but eventually, she started to have a peace about it. She closed her eyes and thought of Soko and how she gave her life for them, because she believed that Bell would make it out alive and rescue them all. Well, she would never know if Fenn got them out alive and found a way to deactivate the androids, but she felt privileged that she did save Fenn and Cerina's life. "My mission is over. You're safe, my princess."

"No!" Cerina screamed. "You can't leave me! Bell, please don't."

Bell tried to keep her eyes open and focus on the sound of her breathing, but eventually, everything went to mute, and she knew that it was all ending. 'I'm coming, Arti.'

"Bell?" Cerina couldn't sense Bell's energy anymore, so she collapsed onto her chest and sobbed and shook as her body wracked with pain. "No! You can't be dead. You can't be!" Cerina could feel her power trying to break through inside of her, but she wasn't sure if her body could take the rage that was inside of her. She didn't know if it was possible to reflect how devastated she was at the loss of her dear friend.

Fenn, on the other hand, was a different story. "Bell!" His power busted through him like a tornado being freed from glass jar. If the androids didn't know where they were aiming at before, they were certainly tipped off at the glowing light emitting from his body in a radiant surge. Fenn had never felt so much power inside of him before, and he was too angry to have any pride about it. All he could think about was avenging his fallen comrades.

'Fenn has ascended!' Cerina was proud, but since she too had ascended, she knew that wouldn't be enough. 'If only I had enough energy to transform, I could help him!' She tried to feel anything, but her tank was incredibly empty. There was nothing to even power up. She probably couldn't even fly.

Fenn was coherent enough to come up with a plan. The androids had spotted them, and they emerged from the horizon like a swarm of hornets hell-bent on attacking intruders. There were at least a hundred of them. Most of them were human androids, but a good enough chuck of them was Saiyans, and that would make all the difference in the world. "Prepare yourself, Cerina."

"For the end?"

"No." In the palm of his hand, he created a ball of white light. "Prepare to transform!" He threw it up in the sky as hard as he could so it could take its position and begin to soak his body in blutz waves. He had no idea what would become of him as a transformed Super Saiyan 2, but he hoped he'd be a fearsome thing to behold.

"Transform?" Cerina heart began to pound, but it wasn't from the transformation. It was from the fear of the unknown, and she closed her eyes. "I don't know, Fenn. I've never transformed. I don't know what I'll be like."

"You'll be dead if you don't take a chance, Cerina!" Fenn could already feel the blutz waves fueling him. His mind was becoming clouded with rage and the urge to destroy, but he held himself together, like he had trained so many other Saiyans to do. His blood began to boil, his muscles bulged, and his teeth turned into fangs. "Cerina, you have to transform. I can't protect you. I need you to fight for yourself. Fight for your family!"

She opened her eyes at the thought of being separated from her children and mate. 'No! I can't leave them.' She gulped and raised her head up to the sky. Her heart was racing, but once she had stared at the ball of light that simulated the moon, she felt a giant thud in her chest, and her heart beat slowly and powerfully. "I feel it." She was stunned at how her voice began to chance and she held her throat. 'I'm actually changing!'

She looked to Fenn, who had already grown in size and was covered in golden fur. She looked at her hands that were changing into rough paws, but she quickly lost her cares about her looks and her mind disappeared into hot rage.


"We can't keep this up all day!" Kakarot yelled to his father just after he ripped an android's heart right out of its body. His mother and father accompanied him to a city that was quickly being overrun, but the more they fought, the more the androids came. They put making the wish to Shenron on hold, but Kakarot was getting worried. He could feel something was wrong with Cerina. It was like he couldn't find her anymore, but he knew she was still alive.

"You want us to leave?" his mother asked.

"Ninjin and Colleena are depending on me to find their mother. I have to save her and kill Gero. It's the only way to stop the androids!"

Bardock looked to his woman, but she looked back at him and he knew that she would go along with whatever he decided. "As always, family first."


Raditz, Fasha, Kara, and Tora were protecting the half breed children, but the androids attacked Vegeta City once again, and the underground base was nearby the city. Raditz decided to join the rest of the Saiyans fighting to drive the androids out of the city. Fasha was too worried about her father, and she begged Kara to fuse with her. Tora reluctantly stayed behind to watch the children.

Raditz was angry at first, but Kasha was pretty powerful and held her own for a while. But he kept a steady eye on her. When Kasha was knocked underground and into a sewer, Raditz hurried after her. "Are you alright, Kasha?"

Two heads emerged from the dirty water squealing from disgust. "No!"

"The fusion is over…" 'And we don't have time for them to wait around. I need to make sure that they're far away and safe.' "You two have to get out of here. You're no match for the androids. Go watch over Summer or return home, but just get out of here!"

"But what if they find the children?" Kara asked.

Fasha flew up to her father and pulled on his arm. "We can't abandon you, Dad! We won't!"

"Your safety is the most important thing to me."

"Brother…" Kara also touched her brother's hand and looked into his eyes. Sometimes, she was treated like she was Fasha's sister instead of his, but even though she was young, she was beyond her years in wisdom and she would fight until the bitter end. "We'll fight together."

Raditz was no mind reader like Kara, but he was aware that he didn't have a choice in the matter. He smiled. "Okay. We do this together."


"Mother!" Cassava rushed to Basila. So many of her warriors had fallen, and she had no intention of losing her mother. But the android that attacked her knocked her out and broke her arm.

Cellena had joined the battle in the city. She was also injured. Every bone in her body ached. She was covered in blood and bruises. Once again, her city was covered in flames and turned into rubble. Worst of all, she couldn't get her mind off of her daughter and lover. 'What am I going to do? I can't give myself up. Besides, Gero would never accept it anyway. He wants to destroy me and Cerina. I have to stop this somehow.'

"Mother!" Cassava noticed the wound in her mother's stomach. Her energy was fading fast. "Queen Cellena! I don't know what to do…" She had tears in her eyes. After losing her father and losing Vegeta to Bulma, all she really felt like she had was her mother. "Queen Cellena!"

Cellena felt energy from all around her gathering and looked up into the sky. There were hoards of androids preparing to attack what was left of the Saiyan army on the ground. 'There's no more power left here. There's nothing we can do. Where's my son?'


"Are you sure about this?" Colleen asked Bardock. "We use these balls to find Cerina and we can't wish back all of the people that died today."

Bardock looked to his son. Kakarot wasn't going to ask his father to forsake the rest of the world, but Kakarot was clenching his fists and practically shaking. "If Cellena finds out that you lied about the dragon balls, we'll have other problems to deal with. We don't know how Vegeta and Cerina will react either, and that's a lot of energy that will end up coming back negatively if we're not careful. We have to find Cerina and make sure she's okay."

"Okay…" 'This is all my fault though. We never should have lied about the dragon balls…' "I'll summon Shenron. You two prepare yourselves to be the big hero." She winked. "It's time for your big dance number."

Bardock and Kakarot began to blush, which only made Colleen laugh. "I swear I won't record the entire thing on video. I'll just burn it into my memory."

"Oh, I'll burn you," Bardock mumbled. "Summon the dragon. We'll handle the rest."


Suna ran around the control panel in launching station. It was one place that hadn't been attacked by androids yet, and it had the biggest satellite on the planet. After a few adjustments with her equipment, she began to feel confident.

Vegeta, however, was anxious and annoyed. "Are we ready?"

She stopped rushing and placed a black controller in his hand with a red button in the center. "Are you ready to save the world and take your rightful place as king?"

"Of course." He smirked and prepared to press the button, but he hesitated once he saw the evil smirk on her face. "You never told me what you wanted in return for your loyalty."

She narrowed her eyes in on him. "I thought it was obvious. I want as much power as possible. I'm an opportunist, Vegeta."

Vegeta wasn't exactly sure what to say. He knew that he couldn't really trust her. She did give up her father, but that could have been to save her own skin. But Vegeta knew how to handle women he didn't trust. Besides, the only woman he particularly wanted by his side was dead. "You'll get power, just as I'll get mine."

To Be Continued...