The Androids Decision
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Chapter 6: The Androids Decision
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It was the dead of night. Even though it was unneeded, Seventeen had gone to sleep hours ago. Now he turned and tossed in his sleep. Nightmares were haunting his dreams. A dream of him and Eighteen as normal humans again. It flashed and he saw himself and Eighteen being beaten and bruised by a street gang. Another flash and they were in an ambulance together headed for the hospital, the only thing that stood out about the ambulance was the old man with the beard that told them he was the "head paramedic". Another flash..they were in some type of room, it smelled of sterility. 'Must be the hospital' he thought. Then he glanced over and saw Eighteen laid out on a table. Her body cut open, most of her organs removed and replaced with small machines. In his dream he saw this old man apply a chemical which stripped every inch of skin off her. He then coated her fleshless body with a clear chemical, which in seconds turned skin color and covered her from head to toe. He saw the old man implant artificial muscle and various organs. He saw her bones coated with a thin sheet of metal stronger than anything mankind had ever seen before..He thought it was a crazy nightmare but as the old man finished with her and started for him..he realized he wasen't having a nightmare..

He was having a total recall of the memories he had before Dr. Gero turned him into Android #17..and then he woke up screaming..

*****The next morning..

Seventeen had described the dream to the others the following morning. Usually he wouldn't have anything to do with them, but this desturbed him so greatly he had to talk to SOMEONE, even if it was Goku and his weakling friends. "So..thats what happened to us.."Eighteen said with a noticeable degree of shock in her voice. Goku, Krillen, Chi Chi, and Bulma said nothing. Vegeta and Piccolo had gone out in different directions early that morning to train. Trunks and Goten were outside playing games, unaware of the events of the previous night.
Seventeen sipped his coffee, it would be the 9th cup he'd had in the last 30 minutes.

Eighteen abruptly turned to Bulma, "May I ask you a question?...Alone.." Eighteen asked. Without waiting for a reply, she got up and walked off to the lab. Bulma, clearly puzzled, got up to follow her. Once inside the lab, Eighteen shut and locked the door behind them. Bulma looked a bit worried at being locked in the same room with the person who beat her husband to a pulp. Eighteen sighed deeply and looked at Bulma , "Can you make explosives?" she asked plainly. Bulma looked a bit taken back "Well..I suppose...yes I can..why?" she asked. Eighteen asked, "Can you make one with the force of an atomic bomb, or would that be too difficult?" Bulma, more curious than worried, replied, "Of course, the strongest I could possibly make would be using Plutonium Reverse Fusion. A bomb the size of an apple could destroy about 10 square miles in seconds, most anything in it would be destroyed. Most of the gang here would survive, even Trunks or Goten would survive it because their Ki keeps them from being killed by normally fatal accidents." Eighteen turned and stalked out, leaving a very confused Bulma behind.

****An hour later..back in the lab..

"You want me to do WHAT?!" Bulma yelled. Eighteen and Seventeen stood before her in the lab. "Thats right. Do it." Seventeen said, his words hinting at a demand. Bulma gaped in shock at them, "Let me get this straight. You want me to build these Plutonium Reverse Fusion bombs...and then implant one in each of you? Why?! The Eternal Dragon removed your explosives for a reason." Bulma said. "We know, and now we need you to build a bomb with about twice the power of a nuclear blast and implant it in us." Eighteen said. "After talking it over with Eighteen, we decided that would be best. If Dr. Gero tries to take control of us again, I'll simply self-destruct and prevent that old bastard from getting me under his control again." Seventeen told her. Bulma sat down...running her hand through her hair. Finally she looked up, "Alright..if its what you really want. I'll start building them now, be back here in 4 hours." she said. Seventeen nodded and left. Eighteen leaned down and kissed Bulma slightly on the forehead, "Thank you. Trust it, this is for the best. Neither one of us could stant being under Gero's control again." she said before leaving. For a long time Bulma sighed, then she got up and proceded to build the explosives the Androids requested..

***A few hours later..

Bulma had Seventeen and Eighteen laid out on two seperate tables.They were both naked from the waist up, but covered by a sheet. Bulma pulled the invention she made over to Seventeen to begin on him first. The invention looked like a pair of goggles fixed to a retractable arm. She started to put the goggles over his face and stopped, "Are you two SURE about this?" she asked one last time. Both Androids nodded their heads. Sighing, Bulma held the goggles over Seventeens eyes and flipped a switch. A blue light shown into Seventeens eyes, he twitched for a seconds, then passed out. She turned to Eighteen, "This works by sending a tiny amount of Electro Magnetic Pulse into his brain, not enough to short his systems out, but enough to suspend them" she explained. Eighteen nodded and closed her eyes. She felt a bit vunerable being nude like that under that sheet, but since Bulma was only here to help, she accepted the fact she would see her topless. She couldn't help but watch as Bulma cut Seventeens chest open with a small knife. The look of amazement on Bulmas face was priceless. Instead of ribs, the Android had a small dome of a white colored metal. It was light, but Bulma knew instantly that metal would withstand most anything. She spotted a place to impant Seventeens bomb (which wasent hard considering 90% of his organs were removed.

She picked up the device no bigger than her fist. After a few minutes, she had it reconnected to his internal trigger. This done, she closed the flaps of his skin and used a red colored laser beam the seal up the wound, almost like welding. When she was finished with him, she walked to Eighteen, goggle like machine in hand. Resolving herself to the fact this is the right thing to do, Eighteen gazed into the soft blue light and fell instantly unconscious.

****About an hour or two later..in a small makeshift recovery room..

Seventeen woke up first. He felt a bit funny but the feeling quickly vanished. He looked down, Bulma had dressed him in a white tank-top. His clothes were in a bag next to his bed. As he was getting dressed, Eighteen woke up. She too was dressed in a white tank top. As the twins put their clothes back on, they said not a word to each other. "Seventeen, you know we did the right thing. I don't know about you but I couldn't STAND being under Gero's control again." She said. Seventeen said nothing but nodded in agreement. He got up and walked out. Eighteen followed right behind him. As she entered the main room, Krillen ran up and hugged her. "Oh man Eighteen! Why didn't you tell me you and Seventeens artificial nervous system needed repairs?!" Krillen exclaimed. Eighteen looked at Bulma who winked at her to inform her to play along. "Well Krillen, I didn't want you to worry is all." Eighteen said with a faked smile. Krilled grinned, "I was worried about you for a second there." he said. She patted his head and sat down. A slight weight in her chest reminded her of what was now inside her. Seventeen had gone outside to talk a walk. Eighteen sighed. 'Oh I hope I did the right thing' she thought silently to herself.

***Meanwhile, in Capital City...

Android #24 could have easily blended in. His black clothes and silver hair may have seemed a tad odd, but nonetheless he looked perfectly human. He even smiled and waved to passerby as he sat on the bench in the park, awaiting any command from Gero. He didn't have to wait long. After an hour or so a screen opened up.

'Android #24, your objectives are as follows:'

1] Destroy Capital City, leaving minimal survivors
2] Destroy the Z fighters in the event they appear.
3] Return to sky base when your objectives are complete or you run into considerable danger.

Android #24 stood up, stretched, and then proceded to start annihilating the city, destroying and killing every man, woman, child, and building he could hit. Within seconds, blood and chaos rained down upon the city..

***Back at Capsule Corp..

Goten and Trunks were sitting on the floor playing a card game. Chi Chi and Bulma were folding clothes while watching a soap opera on TV. Suddenly a news bullotin appeared on the screen. "Ladies and Gentlemen excuse this interruption but it appears Capital City is once again under Android attacks!" the newscaster declared. Bulma almost had a stroke! "Impossible!" She screamed. Krillen heard the noise and rushed into the room. In seconds he saw it too and yelled for the others. Goku, then Vegeta, Piccolo,Eighteen, Seventeen and Gohan rushed into the room. None could believe what was going on. "Kakarot you IDIOT!! You should have killed that madman when you had the chance, whats wrong with you?! Are you a Saiyan or not?!" Vegeta bellowed. "Chill out Vegeta! You saw his lab too, it was trashed!" Gohan yelled in his dads defense. "It doesn't matter now, lets just get to Capital City and stop them!" Goku said. In a flash he was gone. "Damn that Kakarot and his Instantaneous Movement!" Vegeta yelled as the other had to resort to flying the distance.

***Seconds later...

Goku appeared in what used to be a building. Now it was a wrecked building with bodies strewn everywhere. He cringed, but looked around for the Android. He cursed the Android silently for not having a Ki to sense. He looked everywhere in the city, he could see people running, but they were running from all different directions. He landed in a park and found a man dressed in black clothing with silver hair sitting on the bench, watching the chaos with a calm, placid attitude. "Look mister you got to get out of here! Theres Androids on the loose!" Goku yelled at the man. The man stood up, he was about an inch taller than Goku. "I know..I am he" the Android said. Goku blinked and stared. "I am Android # 24, and my mission is..." "Let me guess, your mission is to destroy me, right?" Goku said. The Android shook his head no. "My mission is to destroy this city and all who interfere." 24 replied. "Well I'm going to interfere! You or Dr. Gero neither one have a right to destroy this city or its people!" Goku shouted before powering up to SSJ. The Android smiled a bit and flew up to the sky. Grateful the Android didn't want to fight in the city, Goku followed. After they were a ways away from the city, the Android signaled to Goku to land here. He did, and a few seconds later #24 landed near him. Goku stared at the Android who throughout the whole thing never took that slight smile off his face. 'He looks so calm' Goku observed silently. "Goku..I have seen memory clips of your other fights. You constantly try to persuade the enemy into doing good. Save me and you both the trouble." #24 yelled out to Goku. Goku opens his mouth to reply but is cut off as #24's fist slams dead-on right into his mouth. Goku, taken completly off guard, slams like a rock into the ground. He gets up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He glares at #24 for a second then charges, unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches, which #24 dodges easily. This continues for a minute or two, Goku punching, kicking, or blasting Ki at #24 with lightning speed, but #24 either blocks or dodges everything Goku throws at him. Goku steps back and screams, powering his body up to SSJ2. The Android watches until Goku is finished. The second his power-up is complete, #24 is on Goku again. This time Goku can keep up somewhat. Not all the Androids attacks land and some of Goku's do too.

***At the outskirts or Capital City..

Vegeta grinned evily, "I can sense Kakarot's powering up. He must already be fighting the Androids." Gohan nodded and him, Piccolo, Krillen, Eighteen and Seventeen flew faster in anticipation of the battle ahead. Suddenly their way was blocked by a man whom Vegeta and Piccolo instantly recognized...Dr. Gero..

"Ah marvelous. I simply love Goku's Instantaneous Movement trick" Gero said. Eighteen recoiled in fear while Seventeen looked at his creator with a look of sheer hate. "Why do you look like that my children?" Gero said to Seventeen and Eighteen, "Don't worry, once #24 and I have killed Goku and his friends, I think I'll re-admit you two to my family." That was what Eighteen had been dreading to hear. Vegeta stepped up, a huge smirk on his face. "So you are alive huh? Thats good, it gives us the pleasure to kill you a second time!" Gero just laughed. "Theres something you should see first.." he says. He produces a screen the size of his hand out of a pocket and turns it on. It shows the world through #24's eyes. What they see is not pretty, Goku lying on the ground, beat and bruised, and #24 casually blasting his bleeding body with Ki blasts. "Daddy!" Gohan screamed going SSJ. Vegeta also went SSJ. At almost the same time, Gohan and Vegeta charged Gero. Without hesitation, Piccolo jumped in and began fighting in the fierce four-way melee. Seventeen looked at Eighteen and motioned her to follow him. Together they flew to the city to try and help Goku while there was still time.

*****Back at the city, where #24 was fighting Goku..

BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! #24's blasts tore into Goku's bleeding and bruised body. Goku struggled with all he was worth, but was unable to escape the Androids attacks. #24 stopped firing for just a minute. That was all Goku needed. "KAIO KEN...TIMES 20!!" he screamed. His body was instantly engulfed in red fire. #24's jaw hit the floor. Not having seen Goku use the Kaio Ken technique since Namek, Gero had failed to include it in #24's memory banks. Now he was left speechless as Goku jumped up and began to beat #24 into the dust! Every punch, every kick, and every blast connected head on and #24 was powerless to even move under Goku's lightning fast assault.

****Back in the skies above Capital City..

Gohan, Vegeta, and Piccolo were all three fighting Dr. Gero. Gero aimed a kick at Gohans head. Gohan ducked and used the momentium to sling Dr. Gero right into Vegeta, who pummeled him with fists of fury. After a few moments of merciless beating, Vegeta slung Dr. Gero to Piccolo, who took his turn at beating the Android into a pulp. Vegeta suddenly stopped fighting, an evil smile appearing on his face. He flew away about 50 feet and put his cupped hands together, gathering energy. 'Vegetas doing his Final Flash attack' Gohan thought, 'We have to keep Gero occupied until he can muster the energy to complete it.' Gohan and Piccolo picked the pace up, battleing the Android all over the skies..

****Meanwhile, at Goku's battle.

Goku was in trouble. The Kaio Ken had worn off and left him more exhausted than before. His punched and kicks became sloppy and soon #24 had no trouble dodging them. In mere moments the tide had turned and now #24 was once again beating Goku around like a little brat. Suddenly, #24 appeared behind Goku and double-punched him right in the spine with both fists. Goku fell to his knees, groaning in pain. #24 pulled his hand back and slammed his fist into the base of Goku's neck. Temporarly paralyzed, Goku fell on his face. #24 raised his hand, gathering energy to finish Goku. At the last second before he fired, a foot slammed into the side of his face. Seventeen and Eighteen landed, both stepping between Goku and #24. "Goku may have been Dr. Gero's enemy, but he isn't ours!" Eighteen yelled. "As much as I hate to spare him, Eighteen is right. Goku's never harmed us in anyway at all. Besides, if I don't get to kill him neither do you." Seventeen said with a smirk. Goku, although badly weakened, knew the two Androids could never beat #24. Telepathically, Goku pleaded with Piccolo for help..

Piccolo!>
What the?! Oh its you. What is it I'm kinda busy> Piccolo thought
Contact Dende, tell him to contact Bulma and use her machine to teleport the Emergency Suspension Shutoff thingy!> Goku pleaded.

Bulma had recently developed a machine which mimiced Goku's Instantaneous Movement technique. A few seconds later, Dende's voice appeared in Goku's head, telling him he's just finished contacting Bulma. Not less than 10 seconds later a black box appeared near Goku. Seventeen walked over and grabbed it. He turned to press the button but a punch by #24 stopped him. Eighteen dived for the controller Seventeen dropped and as her hand touched it her head was stomped by #24. Both Androids got up and leaped on #24, batteling for control of the Controller. Goku, seeing his chance, crawled slowly on his stomach to the controller. #24, clearly stronger than both Androids, had quickly and swiftly beaten Seventeen and Eighteen into the ground. He raised his hands to prepare an energy blast and right before he fired it, he just suddenly stopped. His eyes took on a blank look and he fell backward into the sand. Seventeen and Eighteen, seeing the Android fall, charged up a powerful blast and fired at the same time, scoring a direct hit on #24's face. The Android was instantly blown to bits..

Seventeen and Eighteen looked behind them and gasped. Vegeta was glowing brighter than the sun itself and he had an insane amount of Ki energy gathered. As Vegeta prepared to fire his Final Flash, Seventeen and Eighteen stood by, finally ready to see Dr. Gero be put to rest for all time..

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Think its over eh? WRONG! Not quite. Gero still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Look for Chapter 7; Gero's Final Vengence soon!
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