Fusion…HA

Fusion…HA! 2- The Dead Zone

Part 6- Evil Intentions

It was very apparent that Bulma had underestimated Videl's skill.

Crash! Her body crashed into a reinforced wall, probably just in case something like a battle between two super powers took place inside. If there was one thing Videl (or Devil, as she had tried to beat into Bulma's head) had taught her in their short battle it was that she was not a super power. Far from it.

"Damn!" Bulma was blocking a punch that was threatening to un-beautify her face. Although she had her defense up, both arms crossing over the intended target, Devil's strength was more than apparent. She was forcing Bulma back against the wall, trying to crush the Saiyan body into mush. Bulma wasn't about to give up yet. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

"Come now, Bulma. I know you can fight as a Super Saiyan with those wonderful bands of yours. Just change so that we can start the real fight."

"I was thinking the same thing!" In an instant Bulma was surrounded by the powerful energy of the Super Saiyan. Devil was right; it was time to start the real fight. The newest android was thrown back by the surge. Bulma moved forward, taking small steps and purposely taking her time getting to her opponent. She had been training more in the last couple of years and had learned to keep her emotions in check. Rushing into a battle against an unknown foe could be disastrous. In this case it was even worse. Videl's power was definitely increased during her 'transformation' into Devil, but how much was still a mystery. In this case Bulma was going to have to let the fight come to her… Devil would more than oblige.

Devil stood without a care in the world. Her eyes never left the Super Saiyan, but it was more of an arrogant stare. Her left hand rested on her waist while her right was extended to the sky. In it was the beginning of a ki energy ball, but how large was still unknown.

"So Bulma, why don't you attack? Afraid because you don't know how strong I am? Is that it? You always have to know all of the facts. Now that you don't you can't do a thing. Well I'll help you out. This right here is going to kill you. That's how big it's going to get. Don't believe me? Just wait then and see. You won't be able to stop it."

"I'll stop you, Videl." Bulma clenched her fist and reared back. She wanted to make sure this one was going to hurt.

KABOOM! Devil went so fast that she drilled through the wall behind her and ended up in another room.

Guess those walls aren't as strong as they were made out to be. Bulma started to follow her in to see how much real damage was done by the attack when two very unnerving things stopped her. The first was the ball of energy that Devil had been collecting. Although the creator had been separated from it, the ball was still growing. It was as if it had been set on automatic pilot. Bulma knew that if it had gone this far it would probably keep going until it reached the 'death' point. Of course if Devil was defeated and returned to normal…

That was only half the problem. There was something else even more shocking than that, and Piccolo seemed to be the cause. The computer that he had destroyed was now little less than rubble. The shield had long died away and was allowing the smoke to disperse freely. Piccolo had readied himself for the next target in the laboratory when something in the wreckage caught his attention. It looked to be somewhere in between 5 and 6 feet long. The weird part was that it looked almost…no, it was… human.

"Oh Kami…" were the only words to escape Bulma before she lost all of the air in her lungs, not from any attack but from the horrible shock she received upon viewing the motionless form that was undoubtedly a human female. But then again, if she was human that why did she have that tail…? Bulma pondered this as Dr. Boo tended to the woman, holding her close and begging her not to die. Piccolo was taken back by the entire scene. The woman looked genuinely hurt, but he still wondered if the Doctor had any more tricks up his sleeve. He was still in a defensive position just in case.

"Aspa! Aspa!" yelled the Doctor, his face full of torment. She wasn't supposed to suffer like this. He had built the computer so that she could live and be a part of his life as never before. For Doctor Boo the computer had always been his wife, even if the other Androids didn't know.

"…Doctor?" Her head stirred just a little bit, but that was enough to bring a wave of relief over the tense body of Doctor Boo. He had been so worried, but that wasn't about to stop; she had to get medical attention that he was not able to provide in his lab. Aspa was going to have to be transported to a nearby hospital... that is if Boo could somehow convince Piccolo to allow him to leave.

"Aspa, you are hurt. I have to bring you to receive professional help. I will not fail you." Dr. Boo very carefully laid his wife's head on the ground so that it was not on any of the debris. Then, in a moment of supreme courage, he stormed over to Piccolo and stood face to face, toe to toe with the Namek. The expression on his face said it all. He meant business.

"You want me to let you take her." Piccolo was no fool. Watching the entire thing unfold he could easily guess what Boo was going to ask. They didn't have any senzu or Piccolo would give one to Aspa in a heartbeat. She was innocent most likely and she didn't deserve to be punished as she was. Piccolo had made a mistake and wasn't going to worsen it by not allowing the girl medical attention.

"I want her to survive. Is that too much to ask? You can try to capture me or fight me or whatever it is you planned on doing later. Right now all that matters to me is her." Piccolo was quite impressed. Dr. Boo knew very well that Piccolo could easily break his neck and destroy all of the rest of his lab, much as was originally planned. Still he stood up to the Namek for what seemed to be a noble cause. Piccolo could see no reason to keep him from going. They could always track him down again… or follow him.

"…" Piccolo closed his eyes and did a 180, turning his back to the Doctor so that he could pass without problem. Dr. Boo ran back over to Aspa and tried to pick her up. Doing so he realized one thing; he wasn't going to be able carry her to the docking bay where his vehicle was stationed. Despite the fact that Piccolo and Bulma were most likely going to object he still had to do what he had to do.

"Devil! Come here." From the hole in the wall she emerged, looking almost rested. Bulma watched intently, knowing what the new Videl was capable of since having a small taste of it. Then again, if Boo had control over her then she probably would not disobey his order in anyway. Still Bulma wished for his control to be broken.

"Boo, when this is-"

"Mrs. Briefs, I am well aware of what you are going to say and you might as well not. I realize I have a debt to pay and when I am sure that my wife is taken care of I will relinquish her from my control." Devil picked up the limp body of Aspa, whom Piccolo and Bulma finally had a good look at. She seemed frozen in time; her age definitely wasn't that of her husbands. Aspa's features were young and her hair long flowing black. She wore what resembled a red one-piece swimsuit, chosen obviously for the ease of hooking the body up into the computer initially. Most of the wires were probably put on her wrists, ankles and head. The clothing didn't reach that far. Whatever the reason for the choice they were there. Videl and Boo exited the room through yet another secret panel on the wall. It closed behind them, leaving Piccolo and Bulma there to figure out what to do. Bulma powered down from Super Saiyan and deactivated her Guards.

"So do you really think that he is going to release Videl on his own?" she asked inquisitively.

"I don't know. He must have some sort of plan. Boo doesn't seem like the kind to give up easily, but for right now I think that it is safe to say that he is going to take his wife as far away from here as possible. He won't try anything for a while. As far as Videl goes we won't be able to do anything about her for a while, but if Goku defeats the other android we should be able to convince Dr. Boo to release her."

"Maybe. Speaking of Goku, where is he right now?"

"Can't you sense him with your power?"

"I just took my power off, Piccolo. I can't sense anything right now."

"…Right. It seems that Dr. Boo didn't actually move the two of them that far. They are right below us. Now that I'm concentrating enough I can just barely feel Son's energy through the floor. There must be a ki dampening device somewhere around here."

"Ki dampening, huh?" Piccolo glanced over his shoulder at Bulma, who was staring at the floor in her Saiyan form. "It may block the waves that are read by the mind as ki signatures, but is it strong enough to block a blast?" Now Piccolo was smiling.

This girl has some fight in her after all. They wordlessly levitated to a safe height and gathered what was thought to be the necessary energy. Then they both stopped. Piccolo sixth sense went out of control, pointing him toward a point on the wall. What he detected was in that direction.

"What the hell?!"

**********

Trunks was lucky. Hunter's Hell Flash could have done some serious damage, but instead it pushed him back out of most of the blast radius before it detonated. After all he had been through with Hunter, Trunks knew almost immediately that he was being toyed with again. Hunter was confident and that left Trunks wondering exactly how powerful Hunter had (or believed he had) become. He was most likely going to find out soon. That was fine. He had improved greatly himself.

"So you are still alive, Trunks. That's always nice to know. Guess I can torture you a little bit more." Hunter landed on the ground just in front of Trunks.

"You never meant to kill me with that blast. You are still just playing around, acting as if you have the upper hand. Well you don't and I'll show you." His Super Saiyan aura started flaring around him. "You don't understand yet, do you Hunter? I am stronger than I've ever been. You have gained some energy since the last time we battled, but I've been training. I never thought I'd see your ugly face again, but I'm glad I did. Before you had your chance to beat me. You tried but you didn't kill me. Now I'm going to beat you. This time it ends the way it's supposed to!"

"No, Trunks. You don't understand. There are things about me that you can't begin to comprehend. I can see that you have raised you're fighting power greatly. To tell you the truth I am excited. The last time I fought you it was a disappointment. Didn't you wonder why I toyed with you so much? What kind of hunt is it if you kill the prey the first time you see it? You were just a pawn in a game, Trunks. However you are all grown up now. You are stronger and faster. That means I don't have to baby you anymore. You and I, we will have our final battle right now. I will win; you will lose. It doesn't get complicated this time. You've met your match, Trunksy!" Hunter aimed a roundhouse kick at Trunks' head. Trunks ducked it and returned with one of his own. Hunter blocked the foot and quickly grabbed it. He used it to throw Trunks across the floor. The Saiyan didn't go far. Skidding along on his back he jumped back to his feet quickly. Trunks immediately charged at Hunter, flexing his arms at his sides and holding two balls of energy in them.

"Haaaaaaa!" Trunks threw one high and one low, hoping to trick Hunter into one of them…instead Hunter jumped in the space in between without being touched. The gleam in his eye was unmistakable. This was fun.

"Oops!" he yelled dramatically as he somersaulted and kicked Trunks in the head, flooring him. This time Trunks was slightly slower getting up. He was more upset than anything. He was still making too many mistakes. At this rate Hunter was going to wipe the floor with him. For obvious reasons Trunks couldn't let that happen.

I have to get a hold of myself. Concentrate like father has taught me. If I am thinking of nothing but the fight I can win. Trunks braced himself on one knee as he pushed himself to his feet. He dusted off his gi stretched out his arms a bit. Hunter pointed one finger in the air and a small bubble of energy appeared.

"Dance, boy!" He moved his finger downward and the bubble flew at Trunks. As soon as he did that he made another and did the same. Before the first had arrived at its destination there were more than ten behind it. Trunks readily dodged each of them as if they were moving in slow motion. Hunter couldn't believe the speed he was moving at. Try as he might he couldn't hit the nimble target and ended up catching a fist on the chin. He stumbled back as Trunks laid into his with rights and lefts to his upper torso. Trunks placed his hands on Hunter's chest and blew him away with a ki ball. Firing up his aura Trunks blasted off past Hunter and moved behind him.

"It's a Hunter sandwich!" Trunks rammed into Hunter's back with a vicious shoulder block that caused the ball of ki to explode on them both. Fire and smoke circled around everywhere, showing no sign of the two combatants. Rae took this chance to plan her escape. She had been monitoring the battle between Trunks and Hunter the entire time, but more so she was watching the power level of Hunter. It fluctuated at times and at the same time the energy trapping her and Goten was doing the same thing. Now that he was weakened, even if just briefly, they could escape.

"Goten!"

"I'm awake!" he replied. His head had finally cleared.

"Goten. You have to break this ring while Hunter is weak. If you don't when he regains consciousness it'll get strong again. Goten, hurry up!"

"Okay! Calm down. Give me a second!" Goten closed his eyes and concentrated. He was still a little weak, but if he managed to go to Super Saiyan level he could easily break the ring and then give Trunks a hand in the battle. His slight lack of training was evident. Goten never really was a fight, but instead stepped up to the plate when his assistance was needed. Whenever Gotenks was formed Goten was always able to squeeze out that last bit of power that would give the fusion a huge boost in energy. That's what Goten was reaching for now. With it he would hit the limit of his normal power and push it to Super Saiyan level. Rae knew it was working when she felt the ring around them vibrating back and forth as if in its own localized earthquake. There were also quick sparks of light showing past her that meant Goten was donning his yellow hair that was the trademark of the SSJ.

"Are you done yet?" No sooner had she asked then the ring that had been binding them extended to the breaking point, shattering into pieces and dissolving away before her very eyes.

"Yep." Goten was hovering in front of her, hand held out to assist his friend. Rae took it and hopped into the air.

"The smoke is clearing. Look." Goten turned around and watched the sight as Rae was. The explosion had been massive and had finally subsided. The smoke and dust had done so as well, leaving the playing field clear again. Burn marks could be found everywhere on the ground. The two fighters, Hunter and Trunks, however didn't have a scratch between them. Neither Goten nor Rae could believe it. On one hand Trunks was all right, which was good. On the other hand Hunter didn't seem to be phased by the attack at all. It was possible that he was hiding the pain, but then again it was possible that Trunks' attack just was strong enough. That was a scary thought.

"Trunks!" yelled Goten, not caring that Hunter would hear him. "Hurry up and we can fuse!" Hunter shot Goten a glance that would scare the dead, but Goten didn't budge. He figured that if they could manage the fusion Hunter could give him all the looks he wanted… while he was getting his head handed to him on a silver platter.

"Goten, listen to me very carefully." Trunks kept his sight always on Hunter, but his voice was directed at his two friends. They meant the world to him, which is why he didn't want them anywhere near this battlefield. "You two must leave now."

"Trun-"

"No questions, Goten. I have to do this alone."

"Don't let him fool you, Trunks," yelled Rae. "He wants to fight you alone so that he can kill you. He doesn't want to fight Gotenks again. He's doing the same thing to you that he did before. Remember, Trunks?" There was silence as a gust of wind ripped past them all. It was an eerie silence. "Trunks?"

"I know what he tried to do to me before, Rae. Back then you were right. I couldn't beat him. He was too strong and we did have to fuse…but now that's not the case." Anger lit up the face of Hunter, who realized now that Trunks truly thought he was stronger than he was. It was a slap in the face of his own pride, in which he always believed he was the strongest non-fusion. If you have to combine with another person you don't deserve to win.

"You are not stronger than me, Saiyan! I'll prove it again!"

"Are you sure about that, Hunter?" The simplicity of the question and the demeanor in which Trunks was acting dealt another blow to Hunter's pride. He seemed to awful confident, perhaps too confident. He might be making a bigger mistake than Hunter had originally thought. Once again the smile came back to his face. Trunks wasn't in control here. He was, and he was going to win easily.

"Rae," said Goten as he tugged on her shirt. "Let's get out of here right now. I think Trunks knows what he is doing. We should do what he asks."

"Goten?" Rae didn't want to leave because if Trunks was hurt no one could heal him. He would have to go the entire battle against a Buu-droid bent on killing him. The more she thought about it the less sense it made. Then, in a flash, it all came to her. That was Trunks idea. This battle was about pride for him as well. Hunter believed himself superior, so Trunks was willing to prove him wrong. Plus the fact that Trunks truly did not stand a chance in the first fight. Hunter would have won if not for outside intervention. That had to be rectified. Trunks would have to face Hunter one on one in a battle to prove himself. Then there was another underlying theme. Trunks had to prove something to his father, to whom pride and honor ranked high. There is no honor in getting help. Vegeta would only fuse if there were no other way, and even then Goku would have to convince him. Trunks was too quick to fuse, and that wouldn't gain him any points with his father. Trunks desperately wanted to have his father happy about some accomplishment of his as far as fighting. Trunks was strong and had reached Super Saiyan level, but that was more so because his father had done so. Trunks needed more than that. He had never had a rival. His future self had the androids, but the present Trunks was only one year old when that was happening. He couldn't fight them at the time. Now he had a rival that was willing to kill him (not that he wanted to die) and he could prove himself against that. Defeating this rival that was stronger would be great for him and earn him respect from his father. Rae understood that and left with Goten without another word. They were out of sight before another word was spoken.

"So the peanut gallery finally left? I'm very happy about that, Trunks." The smile on Hunter's face disappeared, though, when Trunks began to smirk. "What the hell are you happy about, Saiyan? Your backup just left. What could you possibly gain from that?"

"You don't understand, Hunter. If you had thought it through you might have tried to keep them around."
Hunter was genuinely confused now. He thought he had Trunks completely figured out, but he had obviously missed some detail that was now rising to the surface.

"Then let me in on the secret, Trunks. What did I miss?"

"It's simple, Hunter. We've been battling, but I haven't even been at full Super Saiyan power."

"Because you can't. I know that as well as you." Hunter could feel the urge to smack himself for worrying. Trunks was bluffing as usual.

"Wrong. I can, but because of the condition you left my friend in I didn't want to risk hurting him. You see, Hunter. You haven't been fighting the true me." The air in Hunter's throat seemed to be stuck. He didn't need to breathe, but he still was panicking. What Trunks said made sense, but Hunter's worry was exactly how much energy the Saiyan had been concealing? What was the extent of his power? He was about to find out because Trunks had already started raising it from his original fighting power. Hunter wanted to attack, but the constant waves of ki would have kept him from getting too close. All he could do was sit and watch, and he didn't like what he was seeing. Trunks was at Super Saiyan level, but he was much stronger than he was supposed to be. His power level was going into the stratosphere. It was…approaching his. Trunks had managed to raise his power to the point that it was equal to Hunter's. Now what had always been a game was going to become a real dogfight. Thinking about it, Hunter knew that's what he always wanted anyway.

"So you have raised your power to rival my own. That's quite an accomplishment. I guess that means I can't play with the prey anymore." Trunks shook his head. Hunter thought it was funny. "I guess I always knew that you could do it, Trunks. I'm glad you did. Now we really can have a real fight."

"No. We can have our last. I don't plan on letting you leave here, Hunter." The sudden murderous tone was a little weak, but it got its point across. Still Hunter didn't believe him.

"You would kill me? If you were your father I would believe you, but you are more like Goten's father. You wouldn't kill me if you didn't have to. You only want to prove yourself." Trunks was surprised by that remark, as Hunter knew he would be. "Oh, Trunks. You didn't think I could figure out why you stayed by yourself. You want to prove to dear ol' dad that you can fight your own battles. Well don't let me frighten you too much but if I had to I could kick dear ol' dad's ass!"

"You could not defeat my father!"

"You sure about that, Trunksy? Maybe I'll go try right now." Hunter acted like he was getting ready to leave. Trunks bought it and reacted, blasting off in a fit a fury.

"You aren't going anywhere, Hunter! You and me have unfinished business! This time I'm going to beat you!"

*********

Krillan rubbed his head. That explosion had hurt him a lot, but he was okay now. He had helped ChiChi to her feet. She was still was still very woozy, even after putting on the Saiyan Guards. The rubble around them was unbelievable. Someone had actually destroyed the building while they were in it. Krillan slung ChiChi over his shoulder and moved away from the blast sight. The last thing he need was to get hit by another huge energy ball. He had to get ChiChi to safety. Just as he cleared the last bit of rubble Krillan remembered that b-chan had been close when the blast hit. Immediately he began to look around, scanning the area for any sign of her. He found her nearly a mile from the house.

"Maybe she was lucky enough to not be part of that explosion. I should go see how she is doing." Krillan took a step with the intentions on flying off when he heard a huge booming sound in the air above him. He looked up and saw Android's 17 and 18 battling, something he never expected they would do. Krillan gritted his teeth each time 17 hit his wife, but he knew there was no way that he could do anything right now. ChiChi needed to be as far away from the battle as possibly and Krillan was the only one around to do it. Also his wife wouldn't want him to get involved either. Krillan blew a kiss to his wife and ran along the ground to avoid getting too close to the action. With his training running a mile wasn't too hard. He was able to use his ki to quicken his pace seeing as how they couldn't sense it. In no time he was within visual range of b-chan, who, as he had hoped, looked completely healthy.

"B-chan!" The girl turned around, recognizing the short man's voice.

"Krillan. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Just trying to make sure that you are all right. You look fine, though. Were you anywhere near the explosion that blew up Capsule Corp.?

"No. I saw it though. I was a little groggy, so I went to clear my head. I didn't know that I had traveled so far until the building blew up and woke me out of my daydreaming."

"Well I'm glad to see you are okay, b-chan." Can I ask you a favor?" B-chan nodded. "Can you watch over ChiChi for me. I have to go help 18, even if she doesn't want me to."

"Ok, Krillan. I'll watch her."

"Thanks." He turned around and began to raise his ki. He was going to attack 17 head on with no remorse. How dare he put his hands on his wife? Krillan shot into the air but didn't get far. What he felt was unbelievably strong and it was so close. Its signature seemed to be bouncing off of the surroundings, though. It was trying to hide itself. Krillan searched all around, covering the entire landscape but not finding anyone except 18 and 17. Where was the power coming from? That last thing Krillan heard was b-chan yelling his name before he fell unconscious. B-chan was far behind, dropping ChiChi next to her in the process. Buu was proud of himself. The pests had almost interrupted his fun. Now they were temporarily out of the way. They would awaken later after the plan had been completed. Then they would be part of the fun.

**********

Vegeta stopped in mid flight. He was out of Super Saiyan mode. Some things had caught his attention. The first was Kakarotto. His ki was rising, which meant a battle. Vegeta did not know just whom, but as always he felt as if he were missing out on something. Android C had been less of a challenge, and his thirst for battle was driving him now. Vegeta had not let his son go unnoticed either. He vaguely recognized the aura of Hunter, the demon his son fought years ago. Trunks' ki was at the level of Hunter at the moment, which threatened to bring a smile to Vegeta's face. He was rigid, though, saving his emotion for if Trunks indeed bested his rival in battle. Never once did Vegeta ever think of going over to even watch. Trunks would do this himself without Vegeta there to possibly distract him. Let him have his time.

"Nani?!" Vegeta suddenly felt the same thing that everyone else had been feeling. The power was immense, almost staggering. There was no mistake about it; there was something big about to go down. The worst part was that it was over a Capsule Corp… where he had just come from. Who knew what the hell was going on over there now?

"Those Androids couldn't be the cause of this. They have no ki. What am I sensing that is so powerful?" Vegeta stared into space as if it would give him the answer. It did not. The Saiyan Prince took a moment to collect himself. He had to focus and get back to his home. Whatever it was that was attacking must be stopped. He smirked confidently. He had been longing for a match that would suit him. This could be it. Vegeta began his flight to the source of the disturbance.

"It's time to test my power once again." He clenched his hand into a tight fist, more agitated than anything else. "So why don't I feel excited by the battle anymore?"

**********

Android A grabbed Goku by the arm and hit him in the armpit. Using that same arm he flipped him over to throw to the ground, but stopped him with a knee to the head. The blow knocked Goku for a loop and made him woozy for a few moments. Upside down he took a dropkick to the face. Goku went spiraling down to the ground and crashed, bouncing off. Android A dove after him, ramming into his stomach with a headbutt. Goku clutched at his lungs, trying to free room in it for air. It didn't help much as Android A hit him again, expulsing any air that had crept back. The whole situation left Goku wondering exactly how the Android was going toe to toe with him. Could Dr. Boo have created such a smart machine that it could make up for a lack of power as great as it was dealing with?

"I will finish you, Son Goku!" Android A aimed a haymaker at Goku's exposed head, but he only hit the ground. The space was vacated totally. Goku rolled away and extended his feet to trip the Android as he did. It worked and A tumbled to the ground. Goku pushed off of the ground with his massive arms and landed in a ready stance.

"I won't lose." Android A finally made it back to his feet and was ready to fight again, but his comeback was cut short by an energy ball that exploded right on his face. A tried to take a step back, but his foot never found the ground. He was back on the ground soon after, rubbing his eyes and trying to get them open. Goku helped him with that by returning the earlier favor by burying his fist in Android A's chest. That forced the robot's eyes open in pain. His body was built to deal out this kind of punishment, but A was unsure if he could allow himself to keep taking such blows from his enemy. They were much too strong. A lifted his feet up until they were resting on Goku's chest before kicking him off with all of his strength. With Goku in the air he took off after him and connected with a solid uppercut, continuing his assent. A backflipped and started a decent, homing in on Goku's head with fierce kick. Goku crossed his arms over his face and Android A jumped off of them, flipping backward once again. This time when he was faced forward his head was nearly snapped off by Goku's forearm. The blow left him disoriented and ripe for attack. Goku was ready. He cupped his palms together and brought them to the side of his body.

"Damn!"

"Ka…Me-" The ever so small amount of energy that Goku had charged in his hands for his signature blast was instantly lost. Android A didn't understand for a moment, but soon he did. Goku was paralyzed, not in fear, but by utter surprise and astonishment. A took the opportunity to straighten himself out and land on the ground. Goku did the same. The fight was over for now. He had more important things to worry about.

"What power. That can only be one person…but it's too large for even him." Goku nodded because he knew exactly what the Android was talking about. He felt it too. The power signature belonged to Boo. That was easy to see, but that wasn't the problem. The part that was tough to understand was how it had managed to get so huge and so distorted. It was as if he were a Super self. That wasn't good. To make matters worse his brother was there with him, and Buu wasn't exactly weak at that point. He was stronger as well, much stronger than when Goku and Vegeta had defeated him on Kaio-shin-kai.

"It's Boo and his brother. They've found a way back into this world." A frown appeared on Goku's face. This wasn't good. Both of the brothers had obviously powered up a lot, but how much?

"They are indeed strong, but I will defeat them." Android A peeked back over at Goku, but he had already disappeared. "He must have used his Instantaneous Movement. No matter. I will see him again soon on the battle field." Android A lifted off of the floor, staring in the direction of the battle. "I have confidence in the Doctor. I know I am stronger than all of these shape-shifters. I will prove I am the strongest."

**********

WHAM!

17 had zero reaction time. 18 knew that her brother was going to wait for some sort of sneak attack, possible a fake followed by an all out assault. That would get her hit. Instead 18 braced herself on the ground below and shot off into the sky as fast as possible. Bye the time she came out of the ground her speed was uncanny. 17 took the attack right under the chin. He was knocked for a loop, gliding into the air at a slow rate. 18 moved up to his level and whacked him across the face with a roundhouse kick. As he reacted to the blow 18 reached out and caught his flailing arm, pulled him back in and gave him a hard headbutt and an uppercut. She grabbed 17's feet when they rose above her and yanked him back down, nailing him again under the chin with a double knee. 18 tumbled backward, stopped in a position above 17, and fired a large blast that struck him in the chest and pushed him to the ground. This time 17 was the one to make the enormous crater in the ground.

"Damn it, 17! Get a hold of yourself!" 18 breathed loudly now. She was tired from the battle. It would most likely go on, but she was still tired nonetheless. 18 positioned her hand to fire another blast is 17 tried an attack like her own. With watchful eyes she hawked over the hole that her brother made.

Whoosh.

"What the hell was that?" Something pink had just whizzed by too fast for her to get a decent look. She was sure that she hadn't imagined it, though. 18 didn't imagine things. Something had past by too quickly for her to examine it, and that meant it had to be fast. Things weren't looking up right now. "It can't be 17…" 18 looked into the crater once again. It was large and deep, but 17 was unmistakably lying at the bottom of it. He was just regaining consciousness. What the hell then could be moving so fast?

"Maybe I can answer that, dear 18." 18 whipped around only to be clutched by her throat by a large, pink demon that she had never seen before. His grip was like iron, so she knew there was going to be no escape unless he allowed it. The good thing was the 18 knew he wasn't going to try to kill her; his grip was allowing easy passage of air while restricting her movement so that she couldn't wriggle free.

"Who are you?"

"I'm surprised. Your friends haven't told you anything about me?" The demon stared into her eyes, showing her the utter evilness that he was. 18 didn't need anything else to tell her whom she was up against.

"Boo…"

"At your service." He performed a mock bow. 18 kicked him in the head, but it had no effect. "You really shouldn't be so violent to your partners." That was something that 18 did not like the sound of. Frantically she began to wriggle, kick and punch in hopes of getting Boo to release the hold. Her efforts were fruitless.

"Bastard!" 18 laid her hands out straight, gathered a coat of energy around them, and smashed them together around Boo's arm. It worked, and the limb was severed. 18 ripped the part that was still latched on to her neck off and threw it as far away as possible. It wasn't going to come back and absorb her. Now free of Boo, 18 hopped back a few steps.

"18, where are you going? We haven't had a chance to talk about our relationship…" 18 took another step back, but bumped into a shape that she knew was Boo. He grabbed her again, holding her by the arms. He turned her around so that she was facing him and held her tight. 18 was more stricken with fear now than she had ever been.

"I'm going to blow your head off!" Despite the iron grip that Boo had 18 was able to maneuver her hands in the direction of his face. All she had to do was get it aimed right and she could fire.

"Now don't do that. If you did I couldn't do this-" Boo squeezed 18's arms in tightly to her body, threatening to crush her inward. The android let out a silent scream, unheard to anyone but conveying unbelievable pain. Boo continued on as if he hadn't seen it. "Now with you as my body, I will never be able to lose. My power will be unlimited!" Boo face turned up in what was supposed to be a smirk, but at the same time his head began to lose form. It was melting in a slow drip like lava. 18 saw this and tried every means necessary to get lose, but nothing worked. All of her energy blasts were errant. The horrifying fact was that she didn't have enough power to break free. 18 laid helpless in Boo's grip as he poured himself into her mouth, travelling throughout her body. She was free to move now, but 18 knew that was only temporary. From his words before she knew exactly what he had intended to do. Because she was an android, 18 had an unlimited supply of power. Boo figured that if he took over the android's body, he would have the same except with his level of power he could do much more damage. 18 looked into the crater where her brother was and saw another pink being doing the same thing to him.

"Damn it! 17!" 18 tried to take another step, but ended up punching herself in the stomach.

"Nice try, android, but you can't spoil my brother's fun. You have yourself to think about. Why don't you take a nap while I take this new body out for a test run?" 18 started to protest, wanting to react and hit him, but how could she? He was in her body, so whatever she tried to do to him would most likely only hurt her. Then there was the sudden wave of sleepiness that was overcoming her. Somehow Boo was tapping into her brain and making her feel tired. 18 knew she couldn't allow herself to sleep. If she did then Boo would have full control over her body. She didn't want to let that happen, but before she knew it 18 was on her knees, breathing very lowly. Her eyelids were like iron weights. Every muscle in her body was against her now, telling her to rest for just a moment. Finally 18 had to give in, just for a moment. That was her mistake.

"Baka…" 18's body went limp on the floor after she finally drifted into unconsciousness. Moments later Goku, Piccolo and Bulma appeared via the Saiyan's teleportation move. As the scattered bodies came into view they each dove down to the ground to check on their friends. Bulma checked on ChiChi and b-chan. Goku went over to Krillan, hoping that his good friend wasn't hurt too badly. Piccolo hovered over the two androids.

"These two are fine over here," yelled Bulma. "They're just asleep. Something must have hit them pretty hard. It looks like they are wincing." Bulma searched each of them for possible injuries that might not have been visible when she first found them, but there weren't any. That was a relief.

"I think Krillan is going to be just fine." Goku had picked the bald headed human up and was holding him under his armpits. Krillan was now awake, but very woozy. He couldn't even get his feet under himself. Goku dragged him over to the remains of Capsule Corp and propped him up against a portion of the remaining foundation. "Rest here, Krillan."

"…Huh…"

"You'll be fine."

"Goku," called Bulma from her spot across the way. "Help me with these two." Goku floated over to where she was and picked up his wife. Bulma watched as he clutched her closely, never moving his gaze from her body. Bulma wanted to console him; he seemed so distant. She knew realistically that she couldn't, though. Bulma always tried to be realistic.

"WATCH OUT!" screamed Piccolo from behind. Goku didn't even think about his next move; it was instinctual. With the gentleness of a wild boar he shoved Bulma out of the way and snapped his body around. Blazing its way across the ground was an energy ball slightly larger than Goku himself. The Saiyan braced himself for impact and caught the sphere with his arms crossed over his chest. The first thing Goku noticed was that it wasn't too strong. It didn't take him very long to maneuver under its center of gravity. From there he used his massive muscles to throw it into the air. It exploded harmlessly miles above. Just after it did Piccolo landed next to him.

"What was that?!" Goku searched around for the assailant, but he could find no trace. Whomever it was had been very quick and somehow managed to hide his or her ki. Piccolo huffed, staring at the spot where he had once been. It was now completely black. The Namek had almost been hit by the first attack by the mystery man. If it weren't for his quick reflexes he wouldn't have survived.

"Damn it! It's the android! It was 17!"

"17? But you can-"

"This wasn't the same 17, Goku. He's changed. I felt his aura, and he isn't supposed to have one." That was enough to convince Goku something was wrong. 17 had an aura earlier, and that wasn't the start of anything good either. Now it had morphed yet again. That left yet another question; why? The gears in Goku's brain churned now, finding more questions than answers. A very disturbing one came up.

"…Where is 18?" Piccolo's eyes widened as he realized that he hadn't accounted for the female android.

"Goku…" Both the Namek and the Saiyan faced Bulma as she backed into them. The look of fear on her face was unmistakable. She looked as if she had a ghost…or a demon. Right in front of her was the source. It was 18, and from what the two were sensing it was just 18. It took only a moment for them to realize what they were fighting.

"…It's him." Goku was sure of it. The evil demon that had come from the dead zone was back, and he had done a lot since then. Somehow he had found a way to take control of the body of Android 18, but that left the question why? What could he gain? Goku had thought that he could only use the powers of people if he absorbed them. He hadn't known Boo could simply take over someone's body and use it as his own.

"Who is him?" asked Piccolo, who had never sensed Boo before.

"It's Boo," answered Bulma. "You weren't here when it happened, but it's the Boo we fought years ago."

"The brother of the one Vegeta and I fought on Kaio-shin-kai." Now Piccolo was beginning to understand. He remembered being told about Boo, but of course didn't get a chance to see him. By the time he had arrived back on planet Earth Buu was dead and his brother Boo had been resealed in the Dead Zone.

"Very perceptive of you," stated another person from behind. Piccolo and Goku went back to back so that they couldn't be sneak attacked. Bulma moved away so that both of the people were in her sights. The new person stepped forth so that he was the same distance away from them as 18. It was her brother, 17, and he had been possessed as well. This time they all recognized the ki signature.

"Buu!!!" They exclaimed at the same time in disbelief. He had already been defeated twice, but some how and some way Buu always seemed to manage to come back. Here he was again, standing before them in the body of 17. There was nothing different about the androids as far as appearance except for their eyes, which lit up with red fury every so often.

"So you remember me? How nice. Now that we've finished the reunion it's time to have some fun."

"We aren't going to play your games!" yelled Piccolo, who was tired of getting the run around from everyone. "State your purpose here or leave. Better yet, just leave!"

"No, green man," started 18. "You won't get a single thing out of me…unless… you fight me in the Dead Zone." Piccolo gritted his teeth together and balled his fists. He knew that Boo was just trying to separate them so that he could defeat them easily, but what if he refused?

"And if I don't?" 18 raised a hand and pointed it at the Namek's head. A small light beamed from just in front of the palm. As it grew 18's arm swayed to the side until it was pointed at its new target, a groggy Krillan.

"I blow the human away."

"…"

"I thought so." 18 let the light drop to the floor. Instead of a small explosion there was a ripple in the very fabric of the world. From the center of the ripple came a rip that opened quickly to a black area. It was the Dead Zone. "Now, green man. Follow me if you dare." 18 disappeared into the black hole. Piccolo didn't budge.

"Piccolo…" Goku stopped. There was nothing he could say or do. 17 wasn't going to let him interfere or help, so the decision was Piccolo's to make. Goku knew the chances, though. They weren't good.

"Goku…make sure that you kill both of these demons for good." He started to the gaping hole in the essence of the world. Bulma ran up to him and grabbed his arm, not allowing him to go any further.

"Don't you realize this is suicide?!"

"…"

"Piccolo?!"

"…Get away from me, Bulma!" With one swift move he threw her away with one arm. She easily landed on her feet and blasted off toward him to try again, but Goku grabbed her by the arm as she rocketed by. The utter shock on her face was humorous.

"Goku, he doesn't know what he's doing!"

"…"

"Goku?!" Bulma couldn't believe that Goku wasn't going to do anything to help. There had to be something. They could wait for the others to arrive. That would help. Bulma gazed deep into Goku to see what he was thinking. A complete understanding for what Piccolo was doing was apparent, but it wasn't explained. The other's would be here soon. They could all fight together… or could they. That was when Bulma began to understand. Piccolo understood that Boo had the power to kill them all, most likely at will. Vegeta was nearby; Goten and Rae were also on their way. B-chan and ChiChi were there, but not ready to fight just yet. Krillan wasn't coherent enough for battle. In order to give everyone time Boo had to be occupied. That meant someone had to get his attention long enough for everyone to be ready…and that was Piccolo.

"He's doing it for the good of everyone." The truth was hard to take. Bulma could hold back the tears that came down her face.

"Piccolo…no…"

**********