Part 3: To B or not to b

Part 3: To B or not to b

Piccolo was silently meditating. He did so often to relax and contemplate things. Today was a typical day for him, although something seemed slightly different. He opened his eyes and saw Goku standing before him with a big Son smile. The Namek chuckled to himself. Goku was possibly the strongest man in the universe, but he was always so friendly and free spirited. It was a quality that Piccolo had only found in his Saiyan friend.

"Son Goku. What are you doing here?"

"Bulma asked me to come and ask for your help. She and ChiChi were attacked earlier by androids." Piccolo pushed his cape to the side. He could feel Goku's calm demeanor taking a serious tone.

"Androids? Why do you need my help?"

"I know what you mean, but she says that they were built by the same person who tried to turn me into Buu." The eyes of Piccolo narrowed. He now understood the importance of the situation. It seemed to be a simple, clear-cut android invasion, but it is never that simple.

"I see. In that case we should leave now." He held out his hand. "It will be good to fight again. I haven't had a real spar in a while. I bet I can still give you a good workout." Goku smiled, thinking the same thing that Piccolo was. He took his friend's hand and shook it. "Maybe after this is over we can find out." Piccolo nodded agreeing.

"Then it's settled." The two disappeared from view as Goku teleported them away from the palace.

**********

Gohan's eyes searched around the area. He knew that something was about to happen, but he could not sense any approaching ki. That did not sit well with him. It brought about an unwelcome feeling of uneasiness.

What luck it would be if something happened right now. I don't think I should fight in my current condition. I don't even know what's wrong with me. Gohan hopped off the stone and once again tried to feel out the disturbance that he was now sure was real. There was one close, but it did not have a ki signature.

"Blast it!" he cursed at himself, "I can't concentrate! I have to focus. Maybe I should go outside and try it again." Gohan took a single step toward the exit and made it no further. From the opposite side of the cave a long, sleek object burst through and crashed into his back, rendering him paralyzed. It catapulted him through the wall in front of him and all the way to the outside of the cave. Gohan fell limp to the ground and the object hit soon thereafter in front of him, skidding almost 20 yards before stopping. The heat emanating from it was staggering. It had a cylinder-like shape with some writing on the side, but he still could not see well enough to tell what it said. Gohan put his arms under his chest and pushed up, moving his knee under himself as he did.

That is the toughest pushup I have ever done. From that position, he was easily able to get to his feet, but his head was still very woozy. In much the same way a drunken man would the demi-Saiyan approached the capsule, concentrating heavily on just getting one foot in front of the other. It had now cooled down and the top was slightly ajar. A sense of curiosity overcame him and he pushed the top off all of the way. It took his last ounce of strength to do that, though, and Gohan hell to his knees beside the container. At that level, he was able to read the letters on the side just before he passed out.

**********

The door to the laboratory opened and Dr. Boo ran in, clearly in a very foul mood.

"What was that alarm? What just happened in here?" Boo went over to the main computer. "Answer me, Aspa! Just what the hell are you doing in here? I leave for five minutes and alarms and lights are going off everywhere!"

"I…did what I had to do."

"You did what? Just what did you have to do?"

"…"

"Answer me, your worthless corpse!" The Doctor rage was quickly getting out of control and his body was tensing up. He swung his head wildly, looking for any sign of something out of place. Boo keyed in some commands. He accessed the last program run since the androids were launched. The screen read:

Launch of 2nd Capsule-Successful

Course of 1st Capsule Alteration- Unsuccessful

It took all of one second for Dr. Boo to realize exactly what had happened. He was not a happy man (his attitude could be described as being really, really, really, pissed off.)

"You ungrateful…" Boo held back, hoping to keep his cool. "After all I have done for you, you return the favor by betraying my trust? Fine!" Boo typed something onto the screen. "Before I shift control of the computer to the dummy plug I want you to tell me one simple thing; why did you release Android B?"

"If you must call her that then you will never understand." Dr. Boo simply grunted before hitting the enter key. There was complete silence.

"Computer?"

"Yes?" The voice was still Aspa's, but it was digital now.

"Since you have attempted to ruin a very important part of my plan, I have no choice but to alter mine to get her back. Inform Android C that his new orders are to track down and retrieve Android B in one piece. Anyone who gets in the way is expendable. Send the command now."

"Yes, sir." Dr. Boo walked back to the door of the lab.

"When Android C returns with Android B I will deactivate the dummy plug. I need you because you are much more efficient. Until then, I want you to think about what you have done and what it means to me. Boo exited the room and turned off the lights, a sense of superiority around him. He was in control and the power was getting to his head.

**********

Videl had fallen back asleep after her conversation with ChiChi and Bulma, which she had not realized until she woke up and peeked at the clock. The reason for her waking up was a loud sound coming from the living room. Although she still felt very sleepy, Videl knew that it would be in her best interest to go check things out before going back to sleep.

You can never be too careful. Once again looking at her clock, she wondered why she was asleep so late in the day anyway. Videl slid out of bed and picked up her navy blue silk bathrobe form on a nearby nightstand. She put it on and stepped up to her door, pressing her ear against it to possibly hear whatever was going on downstairs. There did not seem to be any sounds; all was quiet. Videl opened the door and went to the stairs. She was ready for anyone who might try to sneak up and attack. She was not ready for what she saw.

"WHAT…MY HOUSE!" Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped down to her chest. She tried to run down the stairs, but her utter shock slowed her down and made her stumble her way to the bottom. In what was left of her living room was a capsule with the letter 'A' on the side. It had crashed through the wall to the right of the front door and broken through just about every piece of furniture on the bottom floor of the house. Videl jumped over the banister to the floor. She approached the superheated capsule with extreme caution just as a blast of ice-cold air cooled it from the inside. The top slid off, letting the weighted air roll down the side. From inside of the capsule a man rose. He was slender and short, only slightly taller than Videl. He had a black silk, sleeveless shirt with black silk pants. His arms were muscular and he had a long, thin, black lying over his chest. Videl was impressed; this man kept himself very fit, but she had to ask the obvious questions.

"Who are you and WHY DID YOU DESTROY MY HOUSE?" To her surprise the man bowed, curbing some of her rage (but not much).

"So sorry, madam. I did not mean to do so. Let me introduce myself. I am simply know as Android A." He gazed into Videl's eyes with gentleness and tenderness. "You, though, may call me 'Adrian'." He took her hand and kissed it lightly. Videl could not hide her blush. For some reason she felt overpowered by his presence.

"Um…exactly why are you here?"

"I am looking for someone. I wonder, do you know the man known as Son Gohan?" Videl nodded.

"He-he is my husband." Videl's mind began to wander.

"He is? Well that changes everything. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of accompanying me back to my residence. My…father has summoned Son Gohan and I hope to meet him there. I thought I would find him here, but I was pleasantly surprised to meet you, my lady." Videl blushed again.

"I was about to leave and…" Adrian looked deeply into her eyes and Videl forgot what she was saying. Android A bent over and picked up the confused woman in his arms. They went over to the hole in the wall that was made by his capsule.

"Shall we leave?" Videl managed to let her head drop in a version of a nod. The lifted off the ground and flew away.

**********

A slight breeze rolled through the area. A faint cloud of dust rose from the ground and seeped over two bare, pink feet. Another mist of dust rose from the ground, traveling in the opposite direction and passed by the face of the genetic being known as Cell. Never once did he blink, knowing his opponent, although insane, would take advantage of any moment of weakness. That was okay for Cell, though. He was one who wanted the match. For years, he had been in Hell and he had been unable to find anyone to give him the fight he craved, the kind he had once had against Goku and Gohan. Even the self-absorbed Frieza was defeated in only a few minutes, but not this fighter. Cell knew it would take all of his power to defeat him, and that was what excited him. The anticipation was energizing him to his fullest. Cell stared across at his opponent.

"I have heard much about you. You have killed many of the people here with your power." An evil grin started to creep across his face. He couldn't help it. Aside from a rematch with Gohan, who Cell was sure was stronger now; this was a dream match. "But now you face someone on your own level. I have defeated the best in Hell. Right now you are the worthiest opponent. We will fight for superiority."

"He, he, he, he." Buu just gave a very evil smirk and cracked his neck four times, twice on the left and on the right.

"I see. In that case, let us begin." Cell place two fingers on his forehead. "The match has now begun!" In a blur of color, he disappeared. Buu was more than a bit confused. Then his forelock began to twitch. Buu felt a change in the air current behind him. Turning around he was hit in he face with a very solid knee, and it was a huge dent. Buu took only a single step backward. Cell placed his right hand in the hole and fired a medium sized ki blast, destroying what was left of head. Unable to see, Buu started making uneven steps, swinging his arms widely. Cell intensified his attack, jumping in and punching Buu in the rib cage. After Buu missed with a punch of his own, Cell grabbed the attacking arm, twisted it and broke it off. Taking a second to toss it away, Cell was unable to defend the kick to his right shin. Off balance, he fell to one knee. Buu then regenerated his head.

"He, he." The pink demon punched Cell across the cheek and kicked him under the chin. Cell used the momentum to his advantage and flipped up to his feet. By that time Buu had already regenerated his other arm and was gathering energy in it. Dauntless Cell charged in. Buu fired his energy, but Cell teleported away before it hit. He reappeared in front of his opponent. Buu wasted no time; he grabbed Cell by the face and fired blast after blast. Cell finally managed to get away after being hit over ten times and he made sure there was a lot of space between him and Buu so that he could recover. He lightly touched his face, checking it for injuries. Besides the burns, he was okay. Cell healed his facial tissue and wiped his mouth.

"He is much stronger than I thought he would be…good." Cell cracked his knuckles and his neck, loosening himself up. He knew that he was in for a long fight. Buu, however, was absolutely still, and he had a very serious attitude. "I wonder what he is thinking. Many have said he is a psychotic, maniacal demon."

"That is because he is." The foreign voice caught the attention of Cell and he looked into the sky. There was a pink figure that looked much like Buu, except he was much taller and he seemed to be able to talk. Unable to decide what to do in the situation, Cell stood his ground and waited to see what would happen. He didn't like the idea of anyone interrupting the match he had been waiting for, but he also knew that fighting two people (one which he had no idea the extent of his power) was not wise and could lead to his demise. Boo slowly descended to the floor. He started at Cell, but he took a brief second to glance over his shoulder at his brother. Buu looked right back at him and for the first time he actually smiled. Boo returned the smile, the sudden feeling of love and companionship making the now impatient Cell sick. He then became enraged when Buu walked away from them both. Boo landed where he brother had been standing. Cell gritted his teeth and growled at the intruder. His match was ruined; someone had to pay for that.

"Bastard! Who are you and what business do you have here?" Despite the outburst, Boo's facial expression was stone cold.

"You don't give the orders around here. I am your superior." To demonstrate his point Boo let his ki rise. Cell felt it out and could feel a familiar one within it. Frieza.

"What the hell are you and what is your business here?" Still Boo's face was stone cold. Cell's teeth looked like they might crack at any moment. He was tired of being ignored. "Answer me!" Boo made no move to do anything. Cell was on the verge of insanity when Boo's head moved. Waiting for some sort of reply, Cell was completely pushed over the edge when Boo simply turned his head to the side and disregarded him altogether. That was it. Cell did not even bother to hide his rage. He rushed at Boo and attempted to ram into him, but at the point of impact Cell just fell through. Regaining control Cell turned around and this time flew back, cocking his fist back for a blow. No sooner had he done that Boo appeared in front of him and clasped his hand around Cell's throat. Cell immediately grabbed Boo's hands and tried to pry them off, but the grip was like titanium. He could feel the life seeping from his own body. Boo lifted him higher into the air.

"Now I will tell you why I am here because I want to. You are going to become part of me and assist me in getting revenge on the fusion. I want your power and your fighting knowledge. It's that simple. You have been in battles with both halves of the fusion, Vegeta and Goku.

"Ve…geta? Ka…ka...rotto? How…do…you…?" Boo squeezed tighter, making his victim gag.

"Almost ten years ago I had my chance to fight the fusion and because of interference I was defeated. I imagine that is how you ended here in Hell."

"You fool! If you think that they are the ones to worry about then you are going to be taking a permanent trip to this godforsaken place!" Intrigued by these words, Boo dropped Cell, allowing him to breathe again. Cell regained his composer and stepped right back up to Boo, face to face and toe to toe.

"Speak now and explain yourself." Rather than be afraid Cell laughed at Boo's ignorance.

"If you plan to go back to earth and fight, you can forget about Vegeta and Kakarotto. They are strong, but they aren't who sent me here."

"And who did?"

"Son Gohan."

"Son Gohan?" Boo had remembered that name from the thoughts he absorbed from Garlic Jr. Boo was beginning to think more and more of Gohan now. "Two of the superpowers I have encountered have had problems with this 'Gohan'. Hmmm…"

"Let me make it easy for you," interjected Cell. "You aren't going to get to fight Goku, Vegeta, or even Gohan because I am going to kill you right now." A frown appeared on Boo's face, and he felt a sense of disappointment.

"You wish to challenge me? You don't stand a chance. Give up now and I will quickly absorb you." Cell wanted to respond, but he did something instead that not even he had meant to do. He started laughing.

"Absorb?" He placed a hand on Boo's shoulder. Then he quickly became deadly serious and his hand started glowing.

"What the…" Boo's shoulder was being sucked into Cell.

"If I had my tail I would stab you until you were full of air holes, but I lost that when I became Perfect. However, being in Hell for so long has had its advantages. I have had time to perfect some new techniques. Among these is the ability to absorb through my hands." Boo had a horrified look. His entire right arm was already pulled in. In desperation, he tried to punch Cell with his other arm, but Cell grabbed the fist with his hand and crushed it. The roar from Boo could be heard for miles around. The entire body of cell glowed with power as he pulled the rest of Boo's body into himself. It was amazing and he felt like never before. "The power! It's ridiculous!" Cell looked at his hands and smiled. "With this power I can have Imy/I revenge! Son Gohan and I will have the rematch…" He stopped in mid-sentence. Something inside of him did not feel right. The power that was coursing through his veins seemed to be trying to push its way out now. Cell tried to hold it in, but it still kept moving outward.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" came Boo's voice from inside of Cell. "Did you really think that you were stronger than me? You will never understand the full extent of my power. You will, however, become part of it!"

"Impossible! Ahhhhhhh!" From the inside of Cell's body burst forth millions of tiny strands of pink, undoubtedly from Boo. They wrapped themselves around the tall form of Cell and squeezed, constricting his body. As they tried to crush him, they became thicker and Buu started to form himself on Cell, each of his molecules replacing the helpless being and pushing him into the center. Because they were attacking from the inside, there was no defense. It was gradual, but finally the madness was over. Where Cell had once stood victorious was now Boo. Happy with himself he just stood still and admired his work. He had outsmarted the enemy and accomplished his mission. He turned around and scanned the area. About 100 yards away was his next target.

"I have taken three out of six so far. I am half way to my revenge. No one can stop me, not even…family."

**********

"Are you okay?" Gohan heard the voice from his dream say over and over. It seemed so close and so far away at the same time. He also felt like something was tugging on his arm, even though there was nothing around.

"What's going on?" Gohan stood up and started walking forward. The area around him was devoid of any characteristics. He stood on a blue marble floor with endless nothingness around. Gohan walked around, hoping to find some sign of life or, more importantly, a reason for him being there in the first place. "Maybe if I find that voice…"Gohan turned around slowly, thinking he had heard something else but finding nothing at all.

"You can't escape me."

"What!?" He spun around again, back in the direction he was facing originally. This time a man was in front of him. Taking one look at his face, Gohan became speechless and horrified. The clothes on him were tattered badly and his eyes were glowing bright, but not with power. It was pure evil. There was no doubt who was standing before Gohan, and the thought of it was eerie. "You…you're…you're…"

"WAKE UP!" Gohan's head popped off of the ground and he sat up. The girl next to him fell backward, knocked back by the sudden motion. Gohan shook his head once to clear the cobwebs in it and then tried to focus his eyes. They did and he realized that he was still in his meditation area. A glance over to the cave and showed its sorry state. It wasn't going to be much use to him anymore. The roof had totally collapsed.

"How did I get here?" How…?"

"Are you okay? I was worried about you for a while. You've been unconscious for a couple of minutes now. Gohan turned to her. She was kneeling beside him again. How long she had been there was a mystery to him.

Wait a minute. The capsule that hit me. I remember now. That's how I got here. She must have been inside of it. Everything was making sense now. Gohan looked over at the capsule and the top had indeed come off.

"Who are you?"

"My name is…" Cutting her off in mid-sentence was a surge of power close by. Gohan recognized it and his assumption proved true; a few feet away from the two appeared his father. Gohan was pleasantly surprised, though, by the passenger that Goku brought with him.

"Piccolo!" Gohan slid his hands beneath him and tried to put his weight on them, but the pain was too great and he fell back on his bottom. Goku rushed over while Piccolo walked calmly.

"Gohan. I am happy to see you are safe."

"I can take care of myself, father. Who was worried about me?" Goku chuckled, holding his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.

"Bulma wanted us to find you, but your mother was going crazy when we started to leave. She still wishes that you were her little boy." Gohan cracked a smile despite the pain that he was in.

"Yes, mother does that every once in a while now, even though I've grown up. I don't think she'll ever stop." Goku offered his hand to his son, which was accepted and he helped Gohan to his feet and carried his weight. Piccolo smiled at his pupil.

"Son Gohan, it's been a long time. Have you been training?"

"Yes, Piccolo, especially after what happened while we were on Namek. If I wasn't in such bad shape right now I would show you."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Even in your state you are still ready for a fight."

"You trained him well, Piccolo. He'll recover soon and we'll all be able to have a spar together." Piccolo and Gohan nodded in agreement.

"Gohan, how did you end up like this?" The demi-Saiyan laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"I had a run in with her." He pointed back to the girl, who did not know what to do at that point. "I'm sure it was an accident, but I don't even know her name." Goku helped Gohan over to Piccolo and let the Namek hold up his son. The he walked over to the girl. She slipped into a fighting stance, but she eased out of it when she saw the sincere and innocent look on Goku's face.

"Hello. My name is Son Goku." He extended his hand again in a show of friendship. "Who are you and how did you beat up my son?" The girl was embarrassed by the question, knowing that she had not done anything.

"It wasn't me…it was that." She pointed to the capsule. "I was trapped inside of it and when I got out he was lying beside it looking like that. I think it ran into him. He was out of a few minutes. He's going to be okay, right?"

"Yes." Goku looked back over his shoulder at his son. "He is very tough; he'll be okay."

"That's good. I didn't mean to do anything like that. My name is B. My mother…she used to call me b-chan." She took Goku's and shook it. The Saiyan gave one of his hearty Son smiles, and then noticed the swinging thing behind her. It was long and furry…

"A tail? YOU'RE A SAIYAN?"

"What!?" exclaimed Gohan and Piccolo at the same time. During the sudden shock the Namek almost lost his grip on Gohan, but he continued to hold him up. B-chan didn't seem to understand the commotion. /P

"Saiyan? What's a Saiyan?" Goku's face scrunched up; now he didn't understand.

"You don't know what a Saiyan is? Do you know how you got your tail?" B-chan looked back at her tail and then shook her head.

"I've had it since birth. I was born with it." There was an awkward moment of silence next while Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan tried to figure out what was going on.

"Son, we should bring Gohan back so that he can rest."

"You're right, Piccolo." Goku went back over to his son and placed his hand lightly on his shoulder. He turned to b-chan. "Are you coming?" Shrugging her shoulders, B walked over to them. Goku placed his other hand on her shoulder. In an instant they were gone.

**********

The mall was completely vacant except for Krillan and Android C. C was still on the ground floor, but Krillan had since moved into one of the fitness stores. After making sure that C had not started to follow him, Krillan sat on an exercise bench and gave a deep sigh.

"He's strong, too strong. I don't know if I can handle him by myself." The monk became silent and solemn. He clenched his fist and stared at it. "But I have to fight him. Who knows what he might do to everyone?" Sitting for a few seconds more to collect his courage, Krillan stood up and again mentally prepare himself for what was coming. "I can beat him."

"Is that right, Shorty?"

"Huh?" Krillan turned around and the bench he was sitting on slid right into his legs. He fell forward, flipping and landing hard on his back. Android C was over him and he was holding a large weight.

"Pancakes!"

"Ahhhh!" Krillan barely avoided the weight by sitting up at the last second, and he did not waste anytime hitting C in the most private of areas. The android winced in pain a little and Krillan rolled back to get away. As he did C grabbed his legs and picked him off the ground. Locking his arms around Krillan's waist, C jumped high into the air, breaking through the roof.

"Piledriver!" The two forms came back down to the ground. They went through the roof (opening another hole) and went through all the floors until the first again. Android C dropped Krillan's body and it lay motionless in front of him. "Banzai! Ha, ha, ha, ha…"

"Kamekameha!"

"Hmmm?" C was forced forward five paces by the beam that struck him in the back, after which he became incensed by the interference. "Who are you?" C's eyes rolled around, carefully checking every corner of the building. From behind a column appeared a slim teenager with a very serious look on his face. He was wearing swimming Trunks.

"Leave Krillan alone."

"Why should I?" C lifted his huge boot off the floor and pushed Krillan's face into the ground with it, grinding and twisting it. "You're friend here can't do anything about it. What do you think you can do, little man?"

"I'm not going to do anything right now; he is." Goten pointed to the lighting quick Trunks coming down from the sky, foot extended and aimed right at the android's face. C actually dodged the attack and swung back, but he was hit in the back once again by Goten. He tried to grab Goten, but Trunks kicked him in the knee. As he bent over Goten uppercutted him under the chin. C bent back slightly. Trunks flipped forward and came down on his neck with his left leg. C's head hit the floor hard, but he rolled and jumped up to his feet. He began to move back toward his adversaries, but stopped suddenly.

"I hate to break up the fun we're having, midgets, but duty calls. I have a job to do. We'll meet again later." Just as abruptly as he had stopped, Android C blasted off through the roof, creating yet another hole. Goten and Trunks looked at each other, hoping that the other would be able to explain what happened.

"Maybe he was scared?" suggested Goten.

"I don't know…let's get Krillan and get out of here. If the police find us there are going to be a lot of questions." Goten ran past his friend and over to the fallen monk. He picked him up and flew up to the roof, using one of the many gaping holes to exit the building. Trunks looked around one last time at the dilapidated structure. "They don't make them…never mind." Trunks lifted off and left building.

**********

The two brothers gazed into each other's eyes, both realizing exactly what was about to happen. This was a struggle for superiority, nothing more. It would be a test of wits and courage, and a test of family ties.

"So you know why I am here. I am going to kill you, brother." Boo was very serious. His hands twitched, though, showing that he was not totally comfortable with the idea. "I have a chance to not only escape from my prison, but to get revenge on the person who put me back there in the first place. I need your power. Fuse with me and I won't have to kill you. Drop the façade that you have been putting forth. I know that you can talk. Answer me now!" Across the way, Buu silently contemplated his brother's words, then he gave his answer; with a single finger he beckoned Boo to come.

"Just bring it."