The sun began to rise over the eastern horizon, spreading its pink and golden rays of warmth over the land. It was the beginning of another day, another time. Hardly anyone knew it, but this was the day their lives might change forever, all depending on the strength and endurance of a group of the Earth fighters, the Z Senshi.
Two of them, Piccolo and Sotari, were watching the sunrise from a rocky cliff in the west. They were both sitting next to each other, their legs dangling from the edge of the cliff. Sotari leaned her head on Piccolo's shoulder and sighed.
Piccolo-san? she said telepathically, rather than speaking.
What? responded Piccolo in the same manner.
Ever thought of getting married?
The question caught Piccolo off guard.
"You want to WHAT?" he asked again.
"You know," Sotari said, clearly annoyed.
"…"
Piccolo blushed, a hot pink color spreading itself all over his cheeks and on his forehead. He had no idea what to say.
"Well?" said Sotari, blushing a little herself.
This wasn't the first time she had a brought it up. And it wasn't the first time Piccolo had avoided answering either.
"Let's go," said Piccolo gruffly, "It's almost time."
He flew off suddenly, leaving Sotari feeling the cold breeze he left behind.
"Piccolo!" she called, but he didn't look back.
Sotari curled up, hugging her knees, as if trying to ward off the cold.
"Stubborn jackass…"
A thought came to her, one that Sotari used to regard as foolish and stupid. But now, in this moment, and her love for Piccolo, maybe it didn't seem so silly after all.
They say…That two people destined to be together are connected by a red thread…
Sotari's eyes strayed to the sunrise, thinking. Such things disturbed the quiet and efficiency of her robotic brain. They caused immense confusion that took tedious measures to calm the storm. One did not want the trouble. Sotari sighed, hugging her knees a little tighter, like the pull of a tied knot. Her mind was wandering elsewhere, on Piccolo, flying with him towards an unknown future. She'd go anywhere with him, no matter how formidable the obstacle.
A dark cloud entered her mind, posing as one of those challenges, and triggering her deepest fears. The vision of a huge, shapeless monster with glowing eyes and immeasurable power was forming in her mind, its claws gripping her fast and its shadowy influencing dripping like a black curtain over the world. There was no stopping this monstrous creature, no matter how many lives were lost or how much power one had. At any rate, It was going to win and It was coming for her, like the hunter that stalk the prey.
Sotari grew colder as the day became warmer. Though the sun promised a bright day, the future looked bleak. The half-Saiyajin stood up and looked down over the cliff towards the black, unseen bottom. For a moment, she thought she'd throw herself in the darkness and end it all. Saving the Z Senshi the trouble of her disgrace. And Piccolo…He wouldn't understand at first, but someone would tell him in the end. Perhaps he'd even shrug it off. Sotari hesitated. No, she wouldn't do it, at the possibility of Piccolo's indifference to her suicide. But then---it wouldn't be like that---they had gone so far already…She silently cursed herself for being so weak.
I hate myself…For being a human…
Her keen ears caught the flapping of a cape in the wind, and Sotari jerked her chin up, her eyes searching the skies. In the far-off distance, she could just make out the familiar Namekian, fleeing from her awkward questions and his stammering responses. Sotari rose in the air, then hesitated again, alternating glances at the black hole and the Namekian. How she hated crossroads! Such an air of indecisiveness… The half-Saiyajin's eyes lingered on the black hole as she timidly flew a few feet. She hovered, then flew another few feet.
So much reason for dying…Why not?
There was a sudden stillness in the air, halting the wheels of Time. Sotari could no longer hear the flapping of Piccolo's cape. She thought she heard him stop and hover, as if waiting for her and knowing better than to interfere with the importance of her decision. Or maybe that was just a trick of the wind. Sotari's eyes strayed from the hole and towards the east. So what if Piccolo was there? Would it really matter if he were going to watch her die? What---She hardened at this---if it wasn't him? Only a few seconds passed before Sotari began to fly east with as much speed as she could muster in her agitated state.
Wait for me…
~
Goku took a break from his last minute training to look up and observe the rays of sun lighting up the mountains. They were beautiful, like any other sunrise, but today seemed especially special.
This might be the last sunrise I'll ever see.
Turning towards the west, he smiled as he spotted Piccolo and Sotari sitting together on a cliff. He grinned, shaking his head.
Those two…
I heard that, Goku! shouted Piccolo in telepathy.
I was just kidding, Piccolo! replied Goku, rubbing his hand on the back of his head, Don't be so touchy!
Shut up
Have you proposed?
Excuse me?
You know, the whole matrimony thing…
One of those pointless human things?
So, why not? Don't you love her?
…
She loves you, Piccolo…
It's not right…
What is?
Nameks are asexual
Piccolo, I thought you two got over that a long time ago!
There's something wrong with all this…
What could be wrong? If you love her so much, you should marry her!! Why are you holding back?
It's none of your business, Goku…
~
Overlooking the city, there is a mountain. And near the middle of that mountain is a small cliff that overlooks the city. Here is where Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Gohan, and Sotari are waiting. Waiting for something that was unknown and unnerving to begin. Starting in almost ten minutes, the mirai (future) foretold was to begin. Sotari's eyes shifted to something moving towards them. It was Yamcha, Kuririn, Chiatzu, and Tienshinhan.
"Hello everyone," called Yamcha, descending on the ground with a light tap.
"Long time, no see," said Kuririn nodding to Goku, who smiled at the sight of his old schoolmate.
"Gotten any stronger, Kuririn?" joked Goku.
"Sure did, old friend," Kuririn replied, "But I must admit, I couldn't have trained as tough as you had in the past three years!"
"Hey, Goku, I didn't see you at the Tenkaichi Budoukai," commented Tienshinhan, "I was in it."
"Did you win?"
"Oheyo, mina (morning, everyone)!" rang in a voice, interrupting the conversation.
"Hey Bulma!" waved Gohan, looking up at a Capsule Corp. vehicle, with Bulma waving back.
"Haven't seen you in a few years," she smiled at Yamcha as she guided the vehicle down on the ground with a slight bump.
Yamcha blushed before he could stop himself.
"Guess who I brought!"
Vegeta looked away (but watched from the corner of his eye) as Bulma took a baby boy from his car seat. Holding him out so everyone could see, her grin became even wider. A grin of pride, no doubt, as mothers' grins usually was.
"Can you guess who this is?" she teased, "He's one year old."
"Well, so we meet again," chuckled Goku in a babyish voice as he walked up to tickle the boy's chin, "Like I said, 'as a newborn,' right, Trunks?"
"Strange," said Bulma, "you've guessed his name."
"Well, it does seem logical, doesn't it," said Gohan, appearing beside his father to look at the blue-eyed baby.
"Congrats, Yamcha," said Tien, looking at a sulking Yamcha, "Are you the dad, I take it?"
"You wish," snapped Yamcha in a blunt way, "I'm already married."
"WHAT?" said everyone, "TO WHO!?"
"You remember Yamako?"
"Hmph," said Vegeta, crossing his arms, "Don't we all…"
"Well, um, we got married…"
"I never thought you'd devote yourself to someone, Yamcha," said Bulma, a little bitterly, "Especially to a Saiyajin."
"You should also be congratulating Vegeta," commented Sotari, nodding her head towards Vegeta (who was ever-so-slowly edging away…).
Almost everyone collapsed in shock, (anime style!).
"B…Bulma and Vegeta," gasped Tien in laughter, "Who 'da thought?"
"That's the Briefs family for ya," remarked Kuririn, who was holding his side, "They do the oddest things."
"It'll be even odder if you see what I've got," smiled Sotari.
Ever since she arrived, Sotari had had her back to the group. No one knew why, and no one seemed to question, until Sotari finally brought it up. She turned around to reveal a small bundle in her arms. Everyone gave an even bigger gasp than the one they had reserved for Bulma and Vegeta. For inside her arms, Sotari held a baby girl.
"W…who is that…?" whispered Chiatzou.
"Let me introduce Marissa," said Sotari, tracing the girl's elegant figures with her finger, "My daughter."
"Y…you mean…" Kuririn gaped wide-eyed at Piccolo, who remained as still as ever with arms crossed and eyes closed, "Y…you and P…piccolo…?"
"No, not yet," said Goku, who was also smiling with amusement, "Let's not forget that Piccolo is…"
"Don't say it, Goku," snapped Piccolo, turning his back towards the group, "Or I'll rip your lungs out."
"But…HOW!?" said Bulma in sheer amazement.
"And you wanna know something else?" grinned Sotari, nodding her head towards her leg.
Everyone looked to see a pair of pink eyes staring back at them from under some messy brown bangs.
"Oh kami (god)…" began Bulma, "Who's that?"
Sotari affectionately put her hand on top of a brunette boy.
"Naomitsu," she said addressing the boy, "Come meet everyone."
~
After everyone had calmed down from the recent news of each other, Goku popped up an interesting question.
"Hey, what time is it, Bulma?" asked Goku off-handedly, which made almost everyone wonder what he meant by the motion.
"Nine-fifteen," responded Bulma, looking at her watch, "Why?"
"It's time," said Goku, clutching at his heart and his tone becoming serious.
"Time for what, Tou-san (dad)," asked Gohan.
"I think you should know by now," said Piccolo, his eyes closed and leaning against a tree trunk, "Tell them, Goku."
"Well…" began Goku, putting on a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his head,
"You know those kids from three years ago? They were from the future, and they came to warn us about it."
There were shocks, but not that many.
"They told us that our future was to be doomed by the coming of two androids," continued Goku, his face getting more serious, "and that today is the day they are to attack. Two minutes more, and they're due to come… That's pretty much a brief synopsis of what's going to happen."
"Uh-uh," Sotari shook her head, "You forgot about your virus."
"Virus!?" exclaimed Vegeta, speaking up, "Don't tell me you're going to get sick now, Kakarotto!! I'm still not finished with you, you…"
But before Vegeta could say anything bad, Bulma strode over to and hit him on this shoulder. Vegeta looked at her as if she was crazy, but became silent. After all, she was his chosen mate, but that didn't stop him for more than a few seconds. And at that, he and Bulma had launched yet another one of their funny arguments.
"So anyway," said Kuririn turning to Goku, "What about this virus of yours?"
"Well, basically, I'm supposed to die from it," replied Goku, while watching Bulma and Vegeta with interest.
"You're going to die, Tou-san!?" meekly asked Gohan, his eyes wide and fearful,
"When!?"
Goku turned to Gohan and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Don't worry, Gohan," he reassured his son, "I won't die just yet. In fact, I highly doubt I will, because that guy gave me a cure for it, too. I'm supposed to drink it down when the heart attack starts."
"And what would that be?" asked Gohan.
"It's a small liquid in a vial. I left it at Roshi's for safe-keeping, though, because the virus isn't supposed to be effective until later."
"Hey, what's that?" abruptly said Yamcha, pointing at something.
"What?" replied Goku, "Is it the androids?"
"I…I don't know…" responded Yamcha, "It all happened so fast. One second, I see something flashing in the distance, and the next second, it was gone, just like that."
He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
"Bulma," Goku said slowly, "What time is it?"
"Nine-seventeen."
Silence seemed to settle on the group.
"Well," burst out Vegeta, "Where are they!?"
"Maybe," said Gohan, "Since they're androids, we won't be able to sense their ki (energy)."
"Then we'll just have to find them then!" said Goku, his fists clenched, "Yamcha, are you sure about those flashes you saw? Where did they go?"
"Uh… Into the city…"
"Then let's go! Split up, mina, and if you see them, fire a ki beam in the air. Wattaka (understand)?"
"Understood," came some various replies, and within that space of time, everyone but Sotari, her children, Bulma, and Trunks had left.
Sotari turned to Bulma, her eyes beginning to water slightly.
"C…could you take care of them while I'm away?" Sotari stammered, holding Marissa to Bulma.
Bulma nodded silently and took the girl with her free arm.
"Arigatou…(thanks)"
Sotari kissed her son lightly on the forehead and smiled.
"You're so handsome… Just like your father… But you look like me…"
Two-year-old Naomitsu smiled his baby smile. Her daughter made a grab for her mother's finger and held on to it tightly. Her pink eyes twinkled in the sunlight and Sotari ruffled Naomitsu's hair.
"You take care, okay?" she told him as she began to hover in the air, "Don't give Bulma any trouble."
"Hai (yes), Mommy!" called out Naomitsu, waving back, then said, "I love you! And Marissa, too!"
Sotari kicked up speed and flew into the city, knowing full well what she was about to encounter.
"Well," sniffed Bulma, "Fine with them to leave me behind!"
Trunks gurgled.
"Oh, I didn't forget to mention you Trunks… You've got you're father's arrogant attitude, don't ya?"
Trunks murmured a yes as he settled himself in his mother's arm for a nap.
"But you've got my looks, so I guess I can tolerate you too."
Bulma walked to her hovercraft. But she couldn't resist looking back at the tranquil-looking city. The look on her face easily spelled worry. She blew a silent kiss towards the direction where her husband had gone. Sighing peacefully as Bulma started up the craft; she departed with some last loving thoughts to her mate, not caring whether or not he heard them.
Be careful, Vegeta…Wait for me…
~
The city was a bustling center of business, even today, when it was supposed to be actually a day off for most people. Unbeknownst the busy civilians, the Z Senshi were poised and searching various parts of their city in search of a danger in which would become very apparent soon. Piccolo was standing on the edge of a roof, scanning the streets below for anything suspicious. Tien and Chiatzu were hovering above the city-park. Vegeta was furiously probing the woods on the outskirts of the city. Goku, Gohan, Kuririn, and Yamcha were running through the streets on foot rather conspicuously.
However, despite their rather close inspection, there were two figures they were looking for escaped notice. One was tall and skinny with white, flowing hair and a wrinkled old face. His companion was fat, Asian, and had a white face completely devoid of any color. The only similarities was that they both looked like they came from the circus, their cold blue eyes, the mission they had come to accomplish, and that they were both androids. And it was Yamcha who was to meet them first.
~
Mr. Uniey was blonde, had a caterpillar-like mustache, and a job at cake factory. Today, May 12, was an unusually pleasant day, with the sun shining and the prospect of a promotion. He whistled along with a song on the radio as he drove his five-year-old hover car to the golf course. However, he was rudely interrupted as he spotted an old man jaywalking across a street. Barely having time to slam on the brakes, Mr. Uniey cursed under his breath. Sticking his head outside the open car window, he swore at the old man, leaving all respect for the elderly behind. The old man slowly turned his head to face the red-faced Mr. Uniey, his cold, robotic eyes narrowing.
"Have you no respect for the elderly?" he inquired.
"What about the law?" countered Mr. Uniey, "Get out of the street old-timer; I'm feeling rather generous today!"
"I'll teach you respect," replied the old man, "For you have no idea who you are talking to."
"Ooh, I'm shaking," snapped Mr. Uniey in a mocking tone, "Just who do you think you are!?"
A fat, Chinese-looking man half-waddled and half walked beside the old man, his face devoid of any color or cheerfulness. He had the same eyes as his companion, and similar clothes, as both had a red RR logo stitched onto their clothes; over their heart and back. The Chinese man frowned.
This "Mr. Uniey" has no respect, concluded the Chinese man as he used his cyborg sensors to research backround information on the man.
"What are you staring at, freak?" snapped Mr. Uniey.
"You shouldn't insult the great Dr. Gero," said the Chinese man suddenly, "For he is my creator and soon to be the new ruler of to Earth and bringer of death to all those who oppose him!"
Mr. Uniey was dumbfounded.
"What the hell you talking about!?" he shouted.
By now, numerous passerbys had stopped to watch this odd spectacle take place.
"I remember you!" yelled an old lady from the back of the crowd, "You were part of the Red Ribbon Army!"
"Red Ribbon Army…!" whispered the passerbys to one another, "Wasn't that at least ten years ago…?"
"Allow me to introduce ourselves," continued the Chinese, "I am Jinounzingen Juukuu-gou (Android 19), and this is my creator, as some of you might have known, Dr. Gero, who has recently been renamed Jinounzingen Nijuu-gou (Android 20)."
Juuquu-gou took hold of the ignorant Mr. Uniey's door handle, who was very panicky right now. With a single flick of his wrist, he took the door off its hinges.
~
Yamcha wildly ran through the streets with the will of a madman. People stared at him and kept their distance. No one had any idea what he was doing, or what he intended to do if he found what he was looking for. Yamcha suddenly screeched to a stop. He thought he had heard a scream somewhere.
But where?
"Damn it," he swore under his breath, "Where could they be?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Yamcha spotted a man running wildly up the street towards him.
"Hey," said Yamcha grabbing the man's shirt, "What are you running from?"
"P…Please," pleaded the man, his mad eyes searching for something behind him,
"Let me go. There's just something crazy back there!"
"Tell me what it is!" demanded Yamcha, his anger and desperation rising, "I have to find it!"
"You what!?"
The man shifted his savage-like gaze to Yamcha's own black eyes.
"You've got to be crazy!! You don't want to be back there!"
TELL ME!!!" yelled Yamcha, his grip on the man's designer shirt becoming even tighter.
"Okay, okay," said the man, sweat tracing the inelegant features of his face, "There's a couple of things back there and they just threw a car…"
"Thanks."
Yamcha quickly threw the man aside on the pavement as he ran towards the direction the man had pointed to.
Couldn't be…
Yamcha abruptly stopped again at the sight of recent destruction. Surveying the damage, Yamcha noted that someone, or something, had indeed thrown a car and it had imbedded itself in a concrete wall. There were also some signs of scuffling, but no other signs of life or death showed itself on the deserted street. However, unknown to Yamcha, the very jinounzingen he was looking for were perched on top of a roof, using their sensors to find backround information on their newly arrived soon-to-be-victim.
"The human down there is named Yamcha," said Juuquu-gou to Nijuu-gou,
"According to my sensors, he is one of the Z Senshi."
"Very well," replied Nijuu-gou, "Let us deal with him and be done with it."
The duo leapt from the roof to only land in front of Yamcha, whose look of surprise was truly priceless.
"It's…it's you!" whispered Yamcha.
Nijuu-gou grabbed Yamcha by his face, covering Yamcha's nose and mouth to prevent him from breathing. Yamcha made no reaction except to fire a single ki blast into the air. He could just feel his life began to slip. Hanging in the air with android blocking your airways wasn't the average or the nicest way to die.
"Just wait until Son Goku feels my wrath…"
Yamcha's eyelids began to droop, his battle with the cyborg almost pathetically over. Nijuu-gou threw back his head and started to laugh his menacing laugh. Through Yamcha's mind ran all sorts of unprintable curses on this enemy of his. It seemed as though the last thing he would hear while leaving this world would be that evil laughter echoing like the ringing in his ears.
Good-bye world!
However, it wasn't meant to be.
"What the hell…"
Nijuu-gou suddenly snapped his head to his side to see a blurred figure rushing towards him.
"Hell?"
Yamcha suddenly felt himself rudely dropped on the sidewalk like a ton of bricks, his forehead making a dull thud on contact. He looked up wildly to see that Nijuu-gou had been hit in the face and crashed though the side of a nearby truck and made a huge indent in a brick wall. Wincing, Yamcha couldn't imagine how much pain that would've caused.
Do androids feel pain? Yamcha wondered.
He jerked his head the other way to see that his rescuer was none other than Sotari, who was now facing Juuquu-gou, her hand splayed in front of his pale face, poised to fire. Despite the throbbing pain that began to pound slightly in Yamcha's forehead, he couldn't help but smile. Juuquu-gou actually looked scared.
"Y…you're one of them…" hissed Juuquu-gou, his pale blue eyes narrowing.
"I don't know," replied Sotari, her teeth gritted, "But really, Juuquu-gou, you think that you could kill anyone without my permission?"
The smile on Yamcha's face vanished.
"…'Without permission'…?" he echoed, "Since when…?"
Sotari turned her head to face Yamcha, but her hand never left its place.
"Haven't you figured it out yet," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, with the slightest trace of sadness.
Then it hit Yamcha. And hard.
"You're one of them!!" he screamed at Sotari, backing away, "You never told us!?!?"
"No," replied Sotari, her voice flat and expressionless, "I figured you'd find out eventually."
"But what about Piccolo?"
Sotari fell silent.
"Do you realize that…?" said Yamcha, standing up, his fury building inside of him for this betrayal.
"There's nothing to be done now. I have a mission and it's clear to see that I'm supposed to fulfill it."
Sotari turned back to Juuquu-gou. Her eyes suddenly flashed white, and she spoke again, only in a steely, cold tone, almost like a machine. The ki from her was slowly flaring up in purple-black flames. A smile lit the face of Nijuu-gou as he extricated himself from the wall, hearing words he himself had repeated so long ago.
"My mission is as clear as crystal. I am to destroy the Z Senshi. I am reborn as a new evil to bring upon the Earth destruction and chaos. My master is Dr. Gero, instilled within me is his hate and his evil. I am his creation."
~
Piccolo was almost there, but from what he could sense, something weird and strangely evil was happening. Yamcha's ki had almost disappeared but it had reappeared. What had happened? And now, there was this sudden burst, rather explosion, of an evil-like ki spreading around the area. He hovered in the air, watching the chaos roll out from beneath him.
"What the hell is going on?" Piccolo yelled as he spotted Yamcha, hiding behind a truck.
Yamcha looked up at Piccolo and pointed at Sotari. Piccolo's eyes shifted to see that it was Sotari who had the evil ki. Then, spotting the two men, one stuck in a wall and the other in front of Sotari, Piccolo knew that those were the jinounzingen. Goku suddenly appeared with the others beside him next to Piccolo.
"What's going on?" Goku's eyes darted here and there, taking in the whole scene in almost an instant.
"It's that halfling Saiyajin," growled Vegeta, whose eyes were beginning to burn with fury, "SHE'S TAKING MY FIGHT AWAY!!"
He started to fly down, but Tien blocked his way.
"Wait," he told the impatient prince, "Let's wait to see what happens."
"But we have to take this fight somewhere else!" complained Goku, "There's too many innocent people here!"
Suddenly, Sotari looked up in the sky, as if sensing the Z Senshi's presence. She nodded at Goku, telling him that she had heard what he said. Goku motioned to the others and flew down, and they followed in suit. Sotari's ki faded slightly as she straightened up from her stance, her eyes tracing the Z Senshi's every movement as each landed on the ground. Her eyes rested on Piccolo especially.
"Would you care to explain what the hell is going on here?" Piccolo demanded.
He started to advance towards Sotari, who stiffened at his approach.
"Piccolo!"
Yamcha jerked his head to see the eight-foot Namekian standing in front of the truck.
"S-sotari is one of them! Get back!"
Piccolo stopped in mid-stride to stare at Yamcha in bewilderment.
"What the hell are you talking about!"
"Sotari is jinounzingen! Don't you get it?"
Everyone shifted their gazes to Sotari, who crossed her arms in disapproval.
"I'm not a jinounzingen," she stated clearly, her eyes narrowing to almost mere slits.
"Not a jinounzingen, huh?" accused Kuririn, "Then how come you've got the same eyes as the other two, huh?"
Sotari shifted her gaze to Juuquu-gou and Nijuu-gou. She frowned.
"You idiot," she replied, her eyes focused on Kuririn, "My eye color is different, don't you see?"
Kuririn, however, didn't give up the argument that easily.
"B-but, uh, the shape is the same!"
Her eyes settled on Kuririn's round, black eyes.
"But I'm not one of them. Not a true model of one anyway…"
"Oh yeah!? Prove it!"
Sotari looked down at her feet. Piccolo's look changed from bewilderment to pure fury. Strangely enough, he didn't try to attack her. Otherwise, it there would've been a very bloody mess on the street right there and then.
"Perhaps it would be better if I explained all this."
Everyone looked at the speaker. It was Nijuu-gou.
"I am the former Dr. Gero. You see, it is true, Sotari, that you are one of us," he said, looking at Sotari, who seemed to be getting uncomfortable, "But then, she isn't."
"What do you mean?" snarled Piccolo.
His anger within began to build furiously in his silent form. Nijuu-gou smiled coolly.
"Sotari is my one of my greatest creations," he continued, "Being only second to my best."
Everyone waited for him to say what his best creation was, but instead, he moved his explanation on.
"Sotari was my orphaned niece. And, being that she already had some unusually strong fighting blood in her, she was perfect for my experiment. What you see there, is the product of my most advanced techniques of science in which to convert…"
"Just move on, master, I don't think they're very patient for all the details," interrupted Juuquu-gou, who was beginning to see that Vegeta was getting anxious to fight.
"You're right… Anyway, it was successful. Sotari, being the first model of my new "biological jinounzingen" series, it paved the way to my best creation ever. And…"
He turned towards Sotari, his eyes glinting with evil pride in the sunlight.
"…She is to be the…"
"Let's cut the talk and get to the fighting!" yelled Vegeta, his ki suddenly flaring up, "I'm tired of waiting!"
Nijuu-gou looked hurt, but didn't say anything. He looked at Goku, the object of his revenge.
"Knowing you," he said, "We won't fight here, will we?"
Goku nodded.
"We're gonna fight in the mountain range. It's not far from here, if you must know."
Gero nodded and smiled again.
"Yes, I know where that is, for I am quite familiar to it."
"But I'm not gonna teleport you and your partner there, if you're wondering."
"No, no, I don't mind. We'll have company…"
His eyes turned to Sotari, whose eyes were still on the ground. Who knew what she was thinking, especially with Piccolo's glare bearing down at her.
"…Won't we, mei (niece)?"
Sotari's head snapped to attention at the term. She bared her teeth in anger.
"Don't you dare call me that, after what you've done to me, bastard," she said slowly, in the way people tend to do when their teeth are gritted.
Gero chuckled.
~
Kuririn kicked a rock, making it roll over the edge of the cliff and bounce its way down to the bottom. Goku looked towards the sky, looking for a sign of the androids that had promised them for a fight. Tienshinan, Chiatzu, Vegeta, and Gohan were all standing around looking serious, while Piccolo on the other hand, stood in one place like a statue. His arms crossed, he carried an emotionless expression on his face, not even giving a hint about what was going on inside of him and his thoughts about all this.
Damn you, Sotari, how could you do this?
Piccolo felt hurt, empty, and betrayed of his feelings and of his trust to Sotari. The only person who had ever shown him what it was like to be truly loved by another… the only one whom he had entrusted his deepest, darkest secrets to… the only one who had given him a sense of belonging to this life… His everything…
He shook his head, harder than he intended to, as if to shake away the memories of the past years he had known her. It seemed all to clear now, for now he knew the truth of Sotari, and the mystery behind her past. A jinounzingen of Gero's, and from what he gathered, of the most deadliest of sort, who was just playing and toying along with the Z Senshi all along, particularly him. He frowned.
What I fool I was…That damn woman!
He remembered… The very first time he had actually talked to her. That was on top of Kami's Lookout, wasn't it, just before the defeat of the demon sensei. She had been crying, and Piccolo was merely curious about that. He had seen beautiful women before, but they never struck him as anything. Sotari was pretty, but wasn't it. It was probably the sense of confidence and, perhaps, her cockiness, and that trademark pride of the Saiyajins that made him curious. Or maybe it really did have with her beauty…A woman with pink eyes like Sotari's was pretty rare. He smiled slightly as he recalled her calling him "bakayarou (stupid, idiot, fool)". What irony! He shook his head again, afraid this old memory would soften him up in some way. Yet…
"Hey, Namekian, pay attention! The tin cans are here."
Piccolo smiled. He was glad for Vegeta's interruption for once. Turning the other way, he tilted his head back to see the three figures coming towards them. His frown disappeared as Sotari landed before the two others. She cast a careless look at him, her arms crossing. Piccolo mimicked her movements, as if in a trance. He smirked a little, recalling the times that he thought she was cute when she was furious at him…Used to… No words passed the air between them. Noises sounded in the backround, but neither took particular notice of this at all. They were in a separate world of their own, one that they had nothing but contempt and hatred for one another and yet…
"Hey, what are you doing, Namekian, let's get a move on," Piccolo heard Vegeta's impatient voice again.
It sounded distant and forlorn, as if part of another world. Sotari turned to follow her uncle, but kept her pink eyes on Piccolo. Piccolo moved towards his group, unsure of what was going to happen. He hadn't heard anything what Goku or Gero said, but it was clear that the fight was going to start. He wondered if Sotari had heard, too.
Wait for me…
~
The wind stirred his wild black hair as the Earth warrior looked upon his enemy, pondering on what techniques the cyborg would use. Juuquu-gou did the same, though his search was based on very old information that had been stored into his brain a very long time ago. He smirked.
"According to my information," he squeaked, taking up a fighting stance, "You should be easily beaten, Son Goku."
Goku didn't say anything as he himself took a stance. However, he couldn't help but smirk himself.
"That's where you're wrong, Juuquu-gou."
At that, Goku flared up Super Saiyajin. Juuquu-gou stared, amazed and wide-eyed.
"What is this? I have no information on this technique…"
He turned to Nijuu-gou, who stood some distance behind him.
"What do I do, Nijuu…?"
However, he never got to finish his sentence. Goku had charged and gave a nice wallop to Juuquu's stomach. Even though he felt no pain, Juuquu-gou grunted. At this, Goku showered him with punches and kicks to the head and stomach and finally delivered a nice back kick to the jinounzingen's legs, knocking the android on his back. Juuquu-gou stared at the speed of his opponent, unsure of what to do at this point. Seeing his surprise, Goku smirked again as he rose in the air and crowed a battle cry. The cyborg's eyes only widened more as red and gold energy surrounded Goku's body, making the Saiyajin look menacing. He smiled as he splayed his hand to prepare the final blast.
"Juuquu-gou, you fool," muttered Nijuu-gou, his icy eyes narrowing, then turning to Sotari, "What do you make of it, mei?"
Sotari said nothing.
"Answer me! I know I've seen this technique before! You've shown it to me before I…"
"Shut up, Gero," snapped Sotari in a low voice, "It won't help. Juuquu-gou's finished."
~
On the other side of the field, Gohan cheered on his father.
"All right, Dad!! You almost got him! Just one more blast!"
Kuririn couldn't help but shout, too.
"Yeah, and then it's just the other two, Goku!!"
Only Piccolo and Vegeta hadn't said anything. Vegeta was furious at Goku's success, as much as he was glad that he was defeating them.
Stupid Kakarotto!! Why hadn't you let me have the chance? I have always been in your shadow, haven't I, Kakarotto? Always. I've never gotten the proper chance to prove myself because you're always the one who ends up saving us…why not me, Kakarotto, why not me!?
Suddenly, all at once, everything stopped. None of the Z Senshi could see Goku's expression as his ki level suddenly plunged to normal, his golden hair returning to black. It took a few seconds for the group to grasp what had had happened.
"The virus!" shouted Gohan, remembering what Goku had said earlier, "God, it's come!"
"But, but…" stuttered Yamcha, shaking in his boots, "It's too early!"
"The mirai (future) foretold," said someone.
~
Nijuu-gou, however, was delighted, while Juuquu-gou relaxed and smiled.
"A virus, eh?" he chuckled weakly, "So you will be easy to beat after all."
Goku said nothing as his breathing became ragged, his heart quickening its pace in a desperate effort to pump blood, a great weight on his chest becoming heavier by the second. His vision blurred, his head feeling like lead as he began to lose consciousness bit by bit. He was slightly aware of somebody punching him, the hits sounding dull and thick against his tough skin. Strangely enough, he did not feel pain. Air rushed past his ears as Goku hit the ground in a faint.
"Oh my god…Goku…" murmured Tien.
Nijuu-gou chuckled slightly as Juuquu-gou smiled victoriously.
"Somebody take him to Muten Roshi's!" yelled Kuririn, desperately looking at the others behind him, "We've got to give him the antidote, quick!"
No one moved, however, for they all knew that whoever took Goku to Muten Roshi would have to face Chi Chi. Finally, what seemed like forever, Yamcha stepped forward.
"I'll go," he volunteered, his voice matter-of-fact.
Flying over to Goku, no one stopped him. Not even the cyborgs moved. Juuquu-gou did move to try and attack Yamcha, but Sotari moved in front of him, blocking his way.
"Let him go, Juuquu-gou," she said, her voice icy in a sort of half-snarl, "Or shinei (die) with shame."
Juuquu-gou looked slightly startled at the sight of Sotari's splayed hand in front of his face.
"But he'll get away," he whined.
"It won't make any difference," snapped Sotari curtly, her voice suddenly more forceful than intended, "The inevitable will happen."
Everyone, though still edgy about Sotari being one of the enemy, was nonetheless grateful for her insistence. Kuririn looked at Sotari and mouthed his thanks to her. Sensing this, Sotari nodded back at him ever so slightly. Juuquu-gou backed off, as in respect to Sotari, for even he was aware of how powerful she was. Piccolo nodded, too, but for different purposes.
Damn you to hell anyway, Sotari.
Sotari shifted her gaze to look into the Namekian's jet black eyes in understanding. Not wishing to look into the eyes of a traitor, Piccolo winced and turned away.
To hell with you, too, Piccolo-san.
~
"Hang on, Goku!" reassured Yamcha to his friend, "We'll be there at Roshi's any minute!"
Yamcha wasn't sure if Goku could hear him, but it seemed important to keep talking to Goku anyway. It made him feel better. And Goku seemed to be still breathing, and actually made little movements in response to some of Yamcha's comments. So that was a good sign….hopefully.
"Be damned, I can't do anything…"
He quickly turned the sick Goku over to Chi Chi (who had given him quite a beating) and headed back to the others as fast as he could.
~
Vegeta stepped forward, eager to fight.
"The tin can's mine," he stated simply, staring into Juuquu-gou's eyes, then looking at Nijuu-gou and Sotari, "Then it'll be your turn…"
Vegeta flared up Super Saiyajin, just as Goku had done before, and charged. Ready, Juuquu-gou fired a ki blast directly at him, but the warrior simply brushed it off with a wave of his hand. Surprised, Juuquu-gou stepped back, but that was a mistake. Taking advantage, Vegeta gave a mighty punch to Juuquu-gou's stomach, the fist nearly penetrating the cyborg's tough body. Its shape could clearly be seen through Juuquu-gou's vest on his back. Nijuu-gou stared, wide-eyed with amazement at the display of power. Suddenly, Juuquu-gou recovered from the blow and grabbed Vegeta by the wrist and started laughing. Vegeta stood there, looking at the cyborg.
"What the hell do you find so damn funny, tin can?" he asked flatly.
"I am going to drain all your energy, Vegeta," replied Juuquu-gou, grinning broadly from ear to ear, "And then defeat you!"
"How amusing, scrap doll."
"No, no, I…"
"Brainless fool!"
With that, Vegeta snapped his hand back and punched Juuquu-gou square in the face, snapping Juuquu-gou's head back. Smirking, Vegeta proceeded to take advantage of Juuquu-gou's shock to give him a good kick in the side and a smooth low kick around his ankles, sweeping Juuquu-gou off his feet and forcing him to let go of his wrist. Before Juuquu-gou could hit the ground, Vegeta grabbed the cyborg's wrists in his hands and put his feet on the pale cheeks of Juuquu-gou, his white boots blending in almost perfectly.
"You stupid jinounzingen," laughed Vegeta as he pulled Juuquu-gou's wrists and pushed against his cheeks, "You thought that Kakarotto was more powerful than me. Well, guess again, because I, Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyajins, have reclaimed the throne of the most powerful in the universe!"
With that comment, Vegeta pulled/pushed extra hard, and with a terrific snap, Juuquu-gou's arms came off, rendering the jinounzingen practically useless. Smirking, Vegeta watched with sadistic pleasure as the panicked cyborg ran off in the other direction, leaving his pointed hat behind. Vegeta tossed the limbs aside and flew up in the air after the running mechanical menace. He splayed his hands in front of him.
"See you in the Underworld, tin can," he said, "Shinei (die)."
Juuquu-gou kept running. He was well aware of the attack that was about to blast him to bits, for he could feel the heat of it already beginning to melt some of his backside. However, the madness of his mind of running away kept him going, no matter whether he escaped or not.
"Gyarikku Ho (Gallet Gun!)!"
The heat was overwhelming as the blast collided with Juuquu-gou, ripping his intricately built body to mere shreds of metal as wavering billows of pressure spread in a giant circle. Nijuu-gou shielded himself from the bits of cyborg flying around, while the others merely watched the scene with a new respect towards Vegeta. Sotari watched as Juuquu-gou's lifeless head fly through the air and bounce like a ball, stopping at her feet. Kicking it, she scowled.
"Idiot fool."
Otherwise, there were actually a few cheers among the group on the other side.
"All right, wait to go, Vegeta!" whooped Gohan, grinning with delight, as if he himself had just destroyed the jinounzingen.
"I had no doubts," said Tienshinhan, holding out a hand towards Vegeta, who was flying towards the group, "Though I hate to say it, congratulations."
"Hang on, cyclops," snapped Vegeta, "We've still got two more," then turning to Kuririn, "Gimme one of those magic beans!"
Startled, Kuririn drew back a little, clutching to the little bag of precious Senzou that he got from Yajirobe.
"Why would you need any," he asked cautiously, "You're a Super Saiyajin now, aren't you?"
Vegeta scowled at the stubborn billiard ball.
"I may be Super Saiyajin, cue ball, but that bastard of a jinounzingen managed to sap quite a lot of energy all the same, so GIVE ME ONE."
"All right then," said Kuririn, frowning at his insistence, "If you must, then."
He reluctantly reached into the bag and drew one out.
I'll give him a small one, the stupid prince. Thinks he so hot, huh, just because he's an elite? I can't believe he's on our side…
"Hurry up, cue ball!" said Vegeta, reaching for the bean, "Stop wasting my time!"
Kuririn threw it at him. Vegeta held up a hand and caught it easily. He smirked as he popped it in his mouth and began to chew. He swallowed and turned the other way.
"Thanks, cue ball," he mocked, then to Nijuu-gou, "All right, you wanna die next?"
Nijuu-gou frowned, but stepped forward, ready to fight. Vegeta grinned.
"So, it's the old man who's fighting? How disappointing. But then…"
He looked at Sotari.
"…It's only proper to save the best for last."
Vegeta crouched, his arms in front of him forming a small orb of energy.
"SHINEI, ANDROID!!!"
Vegeta fired the ball of energy directly at Nijuu-gou, who reacted in the most cowardly and sensible way---he ran away. As the orb sailed by Sotari, she reached out and grabbed it. She looked at it for a moment, feeling its power and heat radiate from the center. She looked at Vegeta, a blank expression riding her face. Then, she raised her arm back. Next was the throw; a perfect pitch for any baseball pitcher, only it was a ball of energy flying at Vegeta with a tremendous amount of speed and coming fast. Suddenly snapping out of his reverie, Vegeta came back to reality and fired back a single ki blast to destroy the other one. The two balls collided, sending a wave of exploding energy and plasma through the air. Sotari seemed to vanish in the clouds of dust.
"Damn, where the hell is she?" said Vegeta furiously looking around as the silt and dust began to settle, "And where's her coward of an Oji-san!?"
Kuririn pointed in the direction where Gero had gone.
"Let's go that way," he suggested, but everyone was already running/flying past him, knocking poor cue ball head over heels.
~
Nijuu-gou was running for all he was worth. It seemed that his plan had backfired slightly, but not so much that he couldn't resort to… Jumping over a boulder with ease, he wondered where his niece had gone.
"Stupid mei," he mutter to himself while sailing over a gorge, "If you had told me what we were up against I wouldn't have to run like this."
He paused to look behind him. Nothing but the clouds of dust he had raised was there. He grimaced a little. No, he wasn't that desperate yet. However, before he could ponder further about this problem, a flash of green had streaked from the corner of his eye. Nijuu-gou turned to see who it was, but Piccolo had already given Gero a sharp punch to the chin, snapping Gero's head to the side. Piccolo then delivered a painful kick to the sternum, sending Nijuu-gou crashing into the mountainside, and raising clouds of dust and loosening rocks in the air. Nijuu-gou coughed and sputtered as he struggled to get out of the hole, for the silt seemed to have gotten into his system. As the clouds cleared, he glared at his attacker.
"What a nice move, Piccolo," he remarked sarcastically, "But according to my information…"
"Shut up, old man," interrupted Piccolo quietly, "Your information about us is useless; There's months of differences in our powers and you, a blinded fool, still rely on that useless brain of yours."
Angered at this insult, Nijuu-gou growled at him, and his anger was only increased when he spotted the other Z Senshi in the backround.
"Damn you, Piccolo," Nijuu-gou spat at him.
Piccolo smirked at he set a fight stance.
"What good do words do you, old man," he said, "When you have time to talk, you have time to act."
Nijuu-gou didn't answer this, but flew at Piccolo, his fist drawn back behind his head, intending it for a blow to Piccolo's face. However, impact was all air as Piccolo coolly sidestepped and fired a Split Finger Beam. The beam hit Nijuu-gou in the side and sent him flying into another cliff.
"I see you're making a grave for yourself in the mountainside," commented Piccolo, smiling mockingly, "how cute."
"You shut your trap," growled Nijuu-gou, "Once I get my hands on you…"
"Better act fast, old man," said Piccolo as he rushed forward.
Nijuu-gou's eyes widened, but a blur appeared in front of him. His eyes widened at the familiarity of blonde hair.
"Mei!?"
Sotari didn't answer him as she splayed her hands in front of her. Purple sparkles, almost bolts of electricity, seemed to materialize in the air and condense on the tips of her fingers, running in little streams down her fingers and over her palms. The streams almost looked like the tears as they gathered into one large, purple ball of energy that looked a dark sun. As the ball grew bigger than a size of large basketball, a fat purple beam shot out, heading straight at Piccolo.
"Kogasu Fokushuu (Burning Revenge)!!!"
Seeing this, Piccolo put two fingers to his forehead, similar colored gold electricity sparkling and crackling his fingertips. Taking careful aim, he fired the spiral beam.
"Makkensukenpo (Special Beam Cannon)!!!"
The beams crashed into each other, the pressure sending more dust and silt flying through the air, forcing the other Z Senshi to withdraw to the shelters of large rocks and sparse trees. Heat sliced and whipped through the air like a hide-and-seek wind, rippling like ribbon and making everyone sweat. The cool of the morning was gone. Seeing his chance, Nijuu-gou got up and jumped, letting himself fall down to the rocks below. Landing with tap, he leapt in the air again to land on another rock like a frog. It wasn't until he jumped too high to get on a cliff that somebody noticed he was escaping.
"Hey!! He's getting away!!" yelled Gohan, pointing a finger at the quickly vanishing figure.
"Not yet he isn't!!" yelled Tienshinhan, jumping to his feet and flying after him.
"Damn her!" cursed Kuririn, looking towards Sotari, "Why does she keep doing that!?"
"Quit fooling around and come on!!" shouted Tien looking over his shoulder,
"Piccolo! You keep her busy!"
Piccolo only pumped more energy into his corkscrew beam.
"Sure."
Nijuu-gou looked over his shoulder and smirked. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of pride in his niece at that moment. Smirking, he urged his legs to go faster still, on their way to his lab. The information of how to get there was still stored in his brain.
"Juuanna-gou… Juuhachi-gou…"
He came to an abrupt halt in front of a reinforced steel door. Grinning, he found the rusty, but functional control panel and punched in the code. A pause, then a little beep, as the chrome-colored doors slid open. His smile widening, Nijuu-gou dashed inside and skimmed the room for his trusty "little black box." Upon finding it, he held it up in the air, the gleam in his eyes brightening as a doomed mirai was recounting…
~
Trunks climbed out of his time machine and turned around.
"C'mon, let's go!" he called to the others, "It's already started!"
A man with light brown hair jumped out. He didn't say anything as he landed on the ground beside Trunks, but merely nodded. The one who came after him, however, was more talkative.
"Ready when you are, Trunks," said another man with red hair, climbing out a little slower than the other two.
He leapt to the air and flew ahead of them. Trunks' smile disappeared, and he went after him, followed by the other man.
I hope we're not too late…
The trio flew for a bit, then the first one suddenly called out: "Hey, Trunks! Check this out!"
He took a sharp turn downwards, as did the others, though they held a little back while the redhead examined what was on the ground. The redhead landed and motioned to the ones hovering in the air.
"Look!"
He pointed to a round object. Trunks nearly gasped, but his breath stuck in his throat. The other swallowed hard, but made no comment. They knew what it meant. Seeing their reactions, the redhead picked up the android head.
"This isn't either of the androids!" he shouted to them, then to Trunks, "What do we do now?"
Trunks thought for a moment.
"We have to find the others…"
The other nodded. Trunks took off, leading the way this time, and the others followed suit. After a few minutes, he suddenly stopped. Trunks looked down, his fears surfacing once more.
"Down there!" he said to the other two, "They're by Gero's lab..."
Trunks felt the rush of the wind whistling past his ears. He couldn't remember flying so fast. The others were left behind in his wind. The warrior put another spurt of speed, the urgency of his mission becoming even sharper in his mind. His mother's words, echoing in the far-off distance in his head...
"Trunks, if you fail this, all of Earth might as well die in an instant rather than suffer the twenty years of our time..."
He clenched his teeth and his fists, already preparing an energy blast.
"I will not fail you, Kaa-san (mother)...I won't let the Earth down...I won't let Father die..."
~
Sotari and Piccolo were relentless, pounding mercilessly at the other with every opportunity. Their skills were impeccable and equal. If only Sotari never had an eternal energy reactor. Being given such a beating, Piccolo was beginning to feel the effects. Sotari saw an opportunity and elbowed his sternum. He grunted.
"That…" he said, blocking another punch, "Was good…"
"I've always been good," she said coldly, aiming a kick at his head, "Don't try and flatter me."
"I wasn't trying to."
He swung and missed. She went low and kneed his stomach. Another grunt from Piccolo and he punched back. Sotari flew back and Piccolo fired another energy blast. It caught her off guard, sending her crashing into a side of a mountain. She finally countered with a blast of her own. The two beams collided for a second then evaporating again as each cancelled their attacks to charge at each other again. After a few more exchanges, the two leapt back and landed on a cliff. Piccolo, on the higher cliff, looked down on Sotari, his arms crossed. She glared back at him, her eyes full of fire, yet with touches of regret.
"You are fighting me," said Sotari, "Yet you were never truly my enemy."
Piccolo shook his head.
"We were enemies from the very start…"
"What?"
"You said so yourself. Remember, three years ago, back on the Lookout…You said you wanted---no, needed---to kill me…And you didn't. Why should you keep your promise now when you've been delaying it all this time?"
Sotari was silent for a moment.
"We worked so much…" she offered lamely, "I thought…"
"Well," he cut in with a sudden, fearsome voice, "You thought wrong."
Her eyes widened in shock. How could he say that? An eyebrow raised at such a manner the message was delivered. Piccolo continued.
"You were built to destroy me. You were told to conquer the Earth. You said you loved me, but you chose your mission over me. You betrayed your friends…you betrayed your children…You betrayed me. The only thing I see in you now is a murderer… I could never love you anymore. Heh, I don't think I ever truly did, and I don't think you were genuine either… You were just playing, weren't you? For your master, no doubt… It could almost make me laugh to think what a fool I was to think anything between us could be real…"
She looked down at the ground. A wave of uneasiness swept over her. It seemed as though she was meeting Piccolo for the first time all over again. Totally unsure of what to do or say except stand there and think of herself as an utter fool. The memories of the past three years seemed to evaporate in the air, like the love they had seemed to hold so preciously for so long. Somewhere in the depths of her system, a spark ignited a feeling. A feeling of hate and resentment towards this…Namekian. He was supposed to be her lover, her confidence…Her everything. He told her that she was something to him, but everything they shared was now a lie?
"Just…playing…?"
Tears stung her eyes, but Sotari quickly wiped them away. Why was he doing this to her? True she had been a creation of Gero's, but that wasn't her choice. Her mission wasn't a choice. The only thing she had control over was her love for Piccolo…but that was gone. Gone like her freedom, gone like her parents… She was nothing and had nothing anymore.
"But then… I never had anything to begin with…"
The tears became steady, but Sotari didn't care. Her head hung limp, letting them slide off her face and to the ground.
"…I am nothing…"
She jerked her head up again, the anger in her eyes rekindled with newborn hate. This fight meant something new now…
The murderous traitor… You betray, too, Piccolo-san… You betray our love for something you don't understand…
You hate me, don't you…
The hot anger suddenly began surging through her veins and writhing in her chest as she looked at him again, quietly building for an attack. Her hurt was now her hate, the emotion swelling and threatening to explode like a balloon. Her eyes narrowed as she took up a fighting stance and silently her ki flared up. Piccolo did the same, his face expressionless.
"I hate you, too."
~
While you have snoring lie, / Open-eyed conspiracy / His time doth takes. / If of life you keep a care, / Shake off slumber and beware. / Awake, awake!
Juuhachi-gou's eyes snapped open. She blinked once, twice, taking in the musty air. Gero's face swam some distance from her, smiling broadly. Her memory finally kicked in, making up for the first confused seconds of her waking. Juuhachi-gou put her hands on the sides of her coffin-like keep and pulled herself out. She had no need to stretch or yawn; she was ready. There came to mind a single word.
*Goku...*
"Juuhachi-gou," said Gero, "You are awake at last..."
He turned to her twin in the next coffin and pressed on the button again. Juuanna-gou's eyes flickered open. Likewise, he pulled himself out.
"So, old man," said Juuanna-gou casually, stretching, "You've finally got around to waking us."
"That's because it's time," said Gero, pointing to the door, "I've got some guests I'd like you to take care of."
"Who are they?"
"The Z Senshi, of course."
"Goku among them?" asked Juuhachi-gou.
"No…he's gone, but I believe he's home."
"Good. That's all what we need to know," said Juuanna-gou taking a step towards Gero.
CRASH!!
The door flew towards Juuanna-gou, who swept it aside, sending it clattering to the floor. He wasn't fazed, even as the dust cleared to reveal the six Z Senshi. Gero's eyes widened.
"How did you…" he sputtered, but then turned to Juuanna-gou and Juuhachi-gou, "Destroy them!"
Neither moved.
"Did you not hear me!?" shouted Gero, pointing at the Z Senshi, "I said destroy them!"
"We honestly don't give any crap, old man," said Juuanna-gou, taking a step closer, "You've lived too long."
Gero's eyes widened like they would pop. Even more so when Juuanna-gou suddenly snatched the black box out of his hand.
"What are you doing!? I am your master!"
Juuanna-gou only smiled at him. With one hand, he smashed the box, letting the parts tumble to the floor.
"NO!!" screamed Gero, "I have no control over…"
"That's the point," interrupted Juuanna-gou, "There's no putting us to sleep anymore."
At that, Juuanna-gou kicked Gero in the sternum. He kicked so hard that the shape of his foot could be seen in Gero's back. Gero faltered, having the breath knocked out of him. Juuanna-gou's foot broke through. His creator's face froze. With one fluid motion, his creation destroyed him, sending Gero's machine parts flying. The Z Senshi were near struck dumb.
"Our last hope…" said Kuririn, "The jinounzingen are free…"
"NOOO!!!!!" screamed someone behind him.
A golden blast shot through the air, scattering the Z Senshi in different directions. The beam headed for the twins, both waiting for it. It missed them, and instead hit the machinery behind them. It sparked, then began to explode. The Z Senshi escaped the later explosions, which destroyed the whole lab. The twins weren't caught in it, for they were clearly seen flying away in the opposite direction. Vegeta was furious.
"BOY!!!!!" he screamed at the one who shot the blast, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!!!!!"
Trunks was truly ashamed of his actions.
"I didn't think they'd wake up so soon…" he meekly offered, "That was my best shot…"
"WELL, YOUR BEST DOESN'T COUNT!!!!! NOW WE HAVE TO GO FIND THE DAMN THINGS!!!!"
Vegeta flared up Super Saiyajin and flew off before anyone else could say anything.
"Father, WAIT!!" shouted Trunks, flying after him, "You don't know what those things will do!!"
Trunks pulled ahead of him and stood in his way.
"You can't die now!"
"Out of my way, boy!" ordered Vegeta, his eyes narrowing, "I don't take orders from a thick-headed fool!"
"But…"
Vegeta gave him a punch to the stomach before he could finish. Trunks recovered quickly, but Vegeta was already ahead of him. The lavender-haired Saiyajin only followed him. The others still stood on the ground, having watched the whole exchange, finally recognized who the stranger was.
"Hey, wasn't that one of the kids from the future?" said Tien, scratching his head.
"What about the other two?" said Yamcha, "The other guy and that girl?"
"They stayed behind," said a voice behind them, "To protect Bulma and Chi Chi from the androids."
Everyone looked up the cliff to see a brown-haired man talking to them. He was tall, wearing a yellow jacket and red pants plus a pair of goggles on his head. He flew down towards the group, followed by a redheaded man. The redhead was in a green jacket, pants, and white shirt. Instead of goggles, he had a pair of blue sunglasses. His eyes were lively and bright, with a mischievous spark to them, while his taller comrade's eyes were gentle and sensitive, with a more serene look to them.
"Who are you?" asked Gohan.
"It doesn't matter!" said the man with the brown hair, "Let's go after them!"
"What?" said Chiatzu, then suspiciously, "Can we trust you?"
"For now," said the red-haired man, "Let's just split up and fight. We'll explain things later."
"What about Piccolo?" said Gohan, "He probably needs help!"
"I'll go with Gohan," Yamcha said and started flying the other way.
"Where ever Tien goes, I go," said Chiatzu.
"I'm going with him," said Tien, flying after the red-haired man.
"I guess I'll go with Gohan and Yamcha," said Kuririn.
"Right," said brown-haired man, "We all try and meet back at…"
"Capsule Corp!" suggested Yamcha.
Everyone briefly nodded in agreement, and took off.
~
"Onae-san (big sister)," said Juuanna-gou looking over his shoulder, "It looks like one of them is following us."
"So?" said Juuhachi-gou, "We can keep flying."
"It would be fun to play a bit," said Juuanna-gou, "I'm bored."
"We have to look for Goku."
"We can do that later. C'mon, Nae-san, can we stop a bit? It's so tempting..."
Juuhachi-gou thought for a moment.
"All right."
The two stopped just over a highway and flew down. Vegeta and Trunks followed suit. The older Saiyajin was obviously pleased at this.
"So you finally decided to fight?" he asked, smirking, "No doubt because you realized you couldn't outrun a Super Saiyajin."
"We just found you annoying, that's all," said Juuhachi-gou evenly.
She stepped forward. No words were needed. It was obvious she wanted to fight him. Vegeta smirked.
"Fine," he said, "One tin girl won't matter much."
"You think so?" said Juuanna-gou, smirking, "Just wait, Saiyajin."
It was apparent after a few minutes that Juuhachi-gou was indeed more than what she seemed. She kicked Vegeta's ass, basically, and he went down in only ten minutes. It was Trunks' turn to fight now. Flaming furious, he flared up Super Saiyajin and flew at Juuanna-gou. The two fought, exchanging punches and kicks too fast for the human eye. Juuhachi-gou watched them a while, extremely impatient.
"C'mon, let's go!" she told Juuanna-gou, "That Saiyajin was so troublesome… He messed up my clothes."
Juuanna-gou gave a sharp punch to Trunks' chin. Trunks flew back a bit and ran into Juuhachi-gou. The two ran into the guardrail and tumbled down the mountainside. Juuanna-gou watched with interest as they rolled until the bottom. Trunks had ended up on top of an enraged Juuhachi-gou.
"GET OFF ME, YOU ASS!!" she yelled at him.
Trunks obeyed, but only ended up with a beating from Juuhachi-gou. By then, the others had arrived, providing but more entertainment for Juuanna-gou. In the first five minutes of their beating, Juuanna-gou kicked Chiatzu out first, kneed Tien, but had slightly more trouble with Basu and Pen. The brotherly duo ended up going Super Saiyajin.
"Onae-san!" called Juuanna-gou, barely missing another punch from Basu.
"In a minute," replied Juuhachi-gou, then to Trunks, "You're good…for an ass, that is."
"Thanks a lot," said Trunks sarcastically.
~
It was now that Piccolo was finally beginning to feel tired. Not very, but he felt like a break. Especially after what he told Sotari, she was harder at him than ever.
"Kin'iro no kama (Golden Scythe)!"
The gold rings neatly missed Piccolo's face...almost. Piccolo's hand immediately went to his face, discovering the purple blood flowing freely from two long cuts near his eye. His eyes shifted to the blonde hovering some ten feet in front of him. He couldn't help but shiver slightly. Her face was a mixture of pain and hate, but it was the scythe that caught Piccolo...he had seen her do many things with it...All of them ended with blood.
Sotari took charge of his distraction and punched him. He faltered, she smirked, and she tossed her scythe in the air. Then she bombarded Piccolo with the fullest fury of punches and kicks, where it led to smashing him into mountains and finally pounding him in the ground. As he lay in the dirt, severely bleeding, broken, and bruised, she still went at him, even clawing him sometimes like a wild animal. No telling what was going through Piccolo's mind...perhaps he thought he deserved it. His mate didn't seem to care.
Finally, after what dragged to be hours, Sotari stopped. She didn't get off him, though. Just...stopped. The half-Saiyajin was on her hands and knees, breathing heavily while the Namekian, practically embedded in the crater his body had made, still beneath her. He started to move, but Sotari noticed him. She was immediately back on guard, splaying her hand in front of his face. A bit of sunlight caught on the blade of the scythe as she caught in her other hand. She held it over him, the blade close to his throat.
You're going to kill me this way? Piccolo thought to her telepathically, then suddenly realizing the irony of the situation, Oh, I see…this is the way you killed the demon sensei, wasn't it…
"It doesn't matter," she said coldly, "I gave you a chance for us to stop fighting! I gave you a chance!"
There were fiery sparks flying from her eyes, burning their hatred into him.
"Look at you! You've let yourself become a weakling!" she continued, then blurted: "You almost had it, but you lost it in the end…Like always!"
Piccolo forced his eyes open. It nearly shocked him at how cold Sotari's face was, despite the pink blushes on her cheeks. It couldn't be her! There was a bitter, sandy taste in his mouth as he tried to talk.
"You aren't Sotari..." he sputtered at last.
"Like you'd care," she replied; her voice was suddenly flat.
At that, she grabbed his neck. A jerk of the hand...the sound of a crack. Sotari let go of him. His eyes didn't close, but it was easy to tell...She turned the other way, her back to the past, her pain, her Piccolo. That's all it took.
I told you to wait for me…And you didn't listen…
~
Gohan's eyes widened. He sped up, leaving the others behind in his dust.
"Sensei!" he shouted, his voice filled with urgency.
He saw Piccolo lying in the crater below, Sotari walking away from him. Gohan could only imagine the worst.
"PICCOLO!!"
The boy flew to the ground and ran to Piccolo's body. He collapsed on his knees, astonished. His eyes immediately took in the damage Sotari had done and his fingers went to Piccolo's neck. No pulse. Gohan could feel himself starting to shake as he, as gently as he could, felt the back of the neck…he could feel the broken bone jutting out beneath the skin… The Saiyajin erupted, throwing his hands in the air, his head jerked back, and streams of tears from his eyes dripping onto Piccolo's still face.
"NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!! PICCOLOOO!!!"
His ki flared up, hot-white energy flowing into the shape of an orb. Gohan held it for a few seconds, then let it go. A pounding had started in his chest, a growing, swelling, sudden hate for his sensei's murderer… Kuririn and Yamcha stood silently behind him, taking it in. They bowed their heads slightly in respect to Gohan's pain and to a great hero. Sotari paused, sensing the sorrow in Gohan's cries. She could feel his hate for her…could feel the spark ignite within him that held his potential for Super Saiyajin.
"You," said Gohan slowly to Sotari, his teeth gritted, "You…you murderer…"
Sotari said nothing. Only felt her fist tighten…
"How…how could you…" Gohan's voice continued.
She could hear his tear droplets falling to the ground. Silently, Sotari counted to herself: 1…2…3.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Gohan's wrath unveiled, attacking Sotari. She simply avoided every move he made. Right now, let Gohan was moving too fast for her to reveal any openings…not that Gohan intended there'd be any. He let his fury take control of his body, throwing kicks and punches with raw control. All real sense was gone, and instinct reborn with furious power. Gohan could feel himself coming closer…closer…his chest was swelling, his power soaring… Kuririn's eyes widened at the ki he sensed coming from Gohan.
"Could he be getting to Super Saiyajin?"
The sky seemed to darken now. Clouds gathered in clumps, their puffy white changing into a dark, dangerous blue. A flash ignited the heavens, and the sun hid its face from the world. Gohan's power grew more visible. He could feel the rawness of his hidden powers curse within his veins. His muscles were beginning to bulk, his pulse quickening to a hum, and the changes in his eyes and hair were more apparent.
If he could just reach it…
~