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Feel So Numb

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The skies on the horizon of West City...

"Bulma had better appreciate this," grumbled Piccolo.

"Trust me, Piccolo," Tien called out. "She will!"

Piccolo was flying sideways, carrying beside him a bus-sized cylinder of twisted metal. For his part, Tien was flying with a box-like bulkhead hanging from his arms. Neither of them were flying at their top speed.

Piccolo grunted in response. "Coming from you, that doesn't sound very reassuring."

"Hey," cut in Tien, "I may not know as much about spacecraft as Bulma, or even Krillin and Gohan, but I'm pretty sure I can recognize a engine core when I see one. And what I've got was definitely part of the main computer system."

"And how does a 'engine core' aid in the creation of nanites?"

Tien opened his mouth, but found he didn't really have any good responses. Sighing, Tien just shook his head. "Look, Bulma just said to bring back something salvageable. That's salvageable, we're brining it back."

"Hmp." The Namek scowled. "I'm a fighter, Tien. Not a packhorse."

Tien rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. So am I. But this crisis hasn't called for warriors. It's called for packhorses and scientists. And lets face it, the two of us aren't--"

"Tien," Piccolo sternly cut in, "don't finish that statement."

As best he could, Tien shrugged, and the pair continued flying in silence.

Only a moment later, Piccolo stopped dead. Tien halted a second later. Both looked toward West City with concerned expressions.

"Do you feel that?" Tien needlessly asked.

"Dende," stated Piccolo, his brow furrowing. "He's powered up... And so has..."

Tien shook his head in denial. "That... That can't be Yamcha..."

Piccolo's eye's widened. "The Saiyan!" Piccolo dropped the engine core and flew off at top speed.

"Piccolo, wait!" Tien tossed aside his own piece of scrap and followed the Namek. "I know the Saiyan's energy signature. That's not her!"

Piccolo was already starting to pull away. "But both powers are right where she should be!"

"Oh, hell..."

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The Capsule Corpse basement...

Holding his staff at eye level, Dende stared balefully at the beast in front of him. However, the beast, whom Dende could not truly call Yamcha, paid him no heed. Instead, it continued circling around the pair. Not even acknowledging Dende's presence, the beast leered past him, toward the shaking form of Bulma. As Bulma met its gaze, the beast's mouth drew back in a snarl.

"Bulma," Dende once more commanded, "when I tell you to, run for the stairs." Dende paused as a low growl escaped the beast. "Find your parents, and get them to safety."

Caught in the beast's gaze, Bulma's voice wavered. "But..."

"Do as I say!" The young Guardian commanded. "I'll keep him distracted... Now... Go!" More forcefully, Dende repeated the order. "Go!"

Tearing herself away, Bulma bolted toward the door. But before Dende could react, the beast had dashed past him and intercepted Bulma. A blow to her shoulder blades took Bulma off her feet. Before she could even cry out, she felt an elbow slam her arm against her side. Only a fraction of a second later, a wide kick to her ribs sent her crashing against the wall next to the stairs.

Groaning, Bulma grabbed the railing, and tried to pull herself back to her feet. Fighting through the pain, she looked up at her attacker, who was standing only a few feet in front of her. Its scarred, feral face almost looked amused as it stepped away from her, lowering its stance and holding its arms well away from its body. Bulma gasped as she recognized the gesture, and realized the beast was waiting for her to get back up. And inviting her to fight back...

Bulma was almost paralyzed with fear when a white blast struck the creature's back. Pulling herself together, Bulma scrambled to her feet and dashed up the stairs. As she ascended, Bulma risked a single look back. Though the beast still stood, seemingly unfazed by the attack, its attention was no longer on her.

"Yamcha," began Dende, with all the authority he could muster. "Listen to me. This is not you! This isn't what you want!" Dende readjusted his grip on his staff and raised it defensibly. "It's just a virus, Yamcha. Just a machine, trying to control you. Fight it. It's what's making you do this! Don't give in! Fight it!"

"Khhess..."

Dende faltered, a stricken expression on his face. "Wha..."

Slowly, the creature turned to face Dende. Its head was hunched a little lower, and shadows crossed its brow, but there was an unmistakable glint in its eyes. "Hhesss..." It repeated. "Kfhight... Kfhight you!"

With horror in his eyes, Dende fell back a step. He had thought he had steeled himself for the worst. That a stalwart defender of Earth had been transformed into a faceless, mindless minion of evil. Dende was prepared to fight an animal. But though the creature in front of him, whether fully Yamcha or not, was still not a mere animal.

With a snarl, the beast lunged. Reflexively, Dende dropped back and threw up a ki shield. The beast struck the shield, driving Dende back and sending blue energy cackling through the room. Acting at speeds Dende could barely follow, the beast leapt up and kicked off the shield. Dende was knocked off his feet, while the beast sailed upward. Before Dende could react, the beast and ricocheted off the ceiling, landed feet first against the far wall, and had once again leapt straight toward him.

The shield collapsed under the impact. Even as Dende staggered backwards, the beast was upon him. A flurry of chops and one inside kick later, Dende found himself embedded against a steel column.

With a scowl etched on its face, the beast approached the Namek. Dende tried to react, but found he could do little more than groan. The creature looked Dende in the eyes, daring him to fight back. When no response was made, it grabbed Dende's collar, and tossed him to the ground.

Grunting, Dende tried to push himself back to his feet. But a fist to the back of his head ended his efforts.

"Khet up." Slowly, the beast began circling the fallen Guardian, with a disdainful look on its face. "Khet up!" It barked again. Dende made no response whatsoever. With a snarl, the beast viciously kicked Dende's ribs. The Namek doubled over, but still made no attempt to fight back.

Disgusted, the beast spat on the prone guardian, and turned to walk away. It had gotten two steps before a green blur slammed into it.

"Yamcha," growled Piccolo, as he held the beast against the wall. Though the beast's face was contorted, Piccolo instantly recognized it. Just as quickly he realized what must have happened. "This isn't good," he muttered to himself.

"Khou're hhright," growled the beast. "Khit's not!"

Piccolo's eyes widened in surprise as the beast broke his grip and lunged forward. Its hands raked down Piccolo's chest, lacerating his fighting gi.

"Yamcha?" Asked Piccolo as he distanced himself from his attacker. "You can hear me? Is that still you?"

In response, the beast lowered its stance, and raised its arms into a fighting position. But at the same time, an unhinged smile flickered across his face. "'F'kourse..."

Desperately trying to make sense of the situation, Piccolo's gaze went from the beast, to the wreckage of the room, to Dende's crumpled form, and quickly back to the beast. "But... Then... Why!?"

The beast leaned forward. "Khwy not?" Without any further explanation, the beast attacked.

Piccolo instantly countered, darting under the beast and driving his knee into its gut. As the beast recoiled, Piccolo thrust both of his fists straight forward, striking the beast's face and sending it flying backward. It hit the wall with a grunt, but quickly fell back to its feet.

Glaring at its opponent, the beast moved in again. Taking to the air, Piccolo flew forward, with his right leg readied for a spin kick. The beast seemed startled and made no apparent move to block the blow.

Nonetheless, the blow did not strike true. At the last second, the beast lowered its head and ducked down, and let the kick be deflected across and over his back. Before Piccolo could check himself, the beast whirled back around and managed to land another blow to Piccolo's midsection.

With the jab landing while Piccolo's muscles were still contorted, it caused enough pain to force the Namek to back off. The beast pushed its attack, landing a roundhouse to Piccolo's unprotected upper chest. But a third blow was blocked, as was the fourth and the fifth.

Now snarling himself, Piccolo threw himself forward. The beast blocked the first punch with his open palm, then turned sideways to avoid the second. The beast jumped up, and arched its back to dodge the third punch, then whirled around and slashed at Piccolo's face.

This caused Piccolo to reflexively raise his arms to protect his head form any further attacks. But as he did this, the beast kicked down with both feet, driving them into Piccolo's gut. The blow sent Piccolo crashing into the far wall, while the beast landed on all fours.

Crouched lower than he usually did, Piccolo glared at his opponent. "No," he said in a low, mocking voice. "You're not Yamcha. You may have been. You may think you still are..."

The beast rose to its feet. But it still kept its stance low, and its head hunched down. Glaring at Piccolo, it growled. "Kkhhhh..."

"But you're not," finished Piccolo, his voice dripping with anger. "If you were, you wouldn't be doing this."

The beast took a step forward. "Mmrrrr..."

Piccolo straightened his posture, and his aura cackled around him. "And you would know that it would take more than that to bring me down."

The beast's own aura began to cackle. "Gghaaa..."

A scowl crossed Piccolo's face. Anger was overtaking his good judgment, and his bloodlust for battle was taking over. "So why don't we end this..."

"Mmrrrr..."

Piccolo stretched out his arm, pointing his palm at the beast.

The beast responded by throwing forward its own arms, with his hands half clenched, and his palms just touching each other. Too late, Piccolo recognized the pose, and the growls, for what they truly were. And as his eyes widened in horror, the beast's power peaked, and it screamed.

"KKKHHHHAAAAAA!!!"

The room took on blue sheen as the Kamehameha Wave flared into existence. It only took a second for the wave to fully form and to begin flying towards its target. Stunned, Piccolo could only remain in place with his mouth agape.

Barely a foot away from Piccolo's face, the wave abruptly changed course. Without any fanfare or extraneous display, the wave banked upward. It tore through the ceiling, then the upper floors of the Capsule Corpse Labs, and continued its course straight through the stratosphere.

With his mouth still open, Piccolo gazed upwards, through the wave's wake. The beast likewise stared at the ceiling, equally stunned. Slowly, it lowered its gaze back towards Piccolo. Then its ear twitched, and both it and Piccolo looked at the figure at the base of the stairs.

"Heh, better late than never," cracked Tien. Despite his one-liner, Tien's face was lined with concentration, and an soft glow was radiating from his third eye.

"Khou!" The beast growled, stepping forward. "Khou akkain?!"

Tien's eyes narrowed. "So it was Yamcha..."

"Ngho! Key wonn't kloose to khou akkain!" Screaming, the beast flew towards Tien. "Not grike that! Not akkain!"

In its fury, the beast simply aimed to ram Tien. However, Tien reacted in time, letting his aura flare and crossing his arms to block the attack. The beast was stopped, but still held its position, trying to overpower Tien. After a moment of exertion, Tien gathered his strength and shoved forward, driving the beast off of him.

"Piccolo!" Tien commanded. "Flank him! If Yamcha's got the virus, we can't let this go on!"

"Understood..." Piccolo stepped forward, two fingers already pressed against his forehead.

The beast's eyes narrowed in anger. "Ngho!" Gathering its own power, the beast whirled around and let loose a ki blast.

Once again, Piccolo's mouth fell open in horror. "Dende!" Teleporting, Piccolo appeared in front of the prone guardian with his arms crossed in front of him. The blast knocked Piccolo back a step, but he recovered almost instantly. He looked back up, only to see the beast glowering at him.

"Shhtay out..." Warned the beast. "This is bekkween me..." The beast pointed back at Tien. "...Andk kim!"

Piccolo glanced past the beast, apprehensibly. "Tien?"

Tien met his gaze. "Remember what Vegeta said?" He asked softly. "About giving in to primal urges?" Tien glanced back at the beast, who was glaring right back at him. "That's what this has got to be... Some old grudge. ...That the real Yamcha must have put behind him years ago..."

The white-clad beast snarled disdainfully.

Piccolo met Tien's gaze again. "He also said it boosted power levels. ...Can you still take him?"

On the floor, Dende groaned softly.

Tien broke eye contact. "All right, Yamcha. Whatever grudge you have... We'll settle it."

The beast's mouth drew back into a vicious smile.

Tien's face hardened. "But not here. If we settle this, we settle this where I choose to. Deal?"

The beast stepped back and spread his arms in invitation.

Sparing one last glance at Piccolo, Tien took to the air and flew through the shaft left by the Kamehameha Wave. With a sick smile still on its face, the beast followed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Piccolo turned his attention back to Dende. Kneeling down, Piccolo brushed some rubble off of the Guardian. "Dende. Can you hear me?"

Dende's head shifted. "Puuuh... Piccolo?"

Piccolo almost smiled. "Yeah, kid, its me. Can you stand?"

Tentatively, Dende brought his hand to his forehead. "I... Uuuoaahhh..."

"...Geeyyuhh..."

Piccolo froze. Slowly, with a scowl on his face, he turned his head towards the source of the second groan. All too soon, his gaze came across the remains of the second stasis chamber. Half hidden within the shadows of the vat, lay the Saiyan, who was once again beginning to stir.

"Dende," rumbled Piccolo, in his gravest tone, "we need to refreeze the Saiyan. Now!"

The only response Dende could muster was a groan as he cradled his injured ribs.

The Saiyan groaned once again.

"Damn it, Dende, get up!" Piccolo grabbed the Guardian's collar and hoisted him up. "We can't let her go Oozaru! Not here! Now tell me how we can put her back in stasis!"

But the jostling was too much for the young Namek, and Dende once again slipped into unconsciousness.

Resisting the urge to panic, Piccolo dropped the Dende and turned his full attention to the Saiyan. Piccolo was completely unfamiliar with the lab equipment, so there was no way he could refreeze the Saiyan before she woke up. So if he couldn't put her back in stasis, he would just have to keep her unconscious the old fashioned way.

Powering up, Piccolo flew into the shattered vat. With the Saiyan just starting to push herself up, Piccolo raised his elbow and brought it down on the base of her neck.

With a slight cry, the Saiyan fell back to the ground. At the same time, her power level spiked. Her aura flared, washing Piccolo with raw, undirected ki. It was enough to drive him back a step, but not near enough to harm him.

Gritting his teeth, Piccolo glared down at the Saiyan. Her aura had convalesced back around her, and she appeared to be on the verge of waking up once again. Frustrated, Piccolo extended his arm and blasted the girl. The Saiyan cried out, but her power level did not significantly decrease. Snarling, Piccolo extended both arms and blasted her again.

"Damn it..." Piccolo muttered as he lowered his arms. "Its like she's..." Piccolo's eyes widened in realization. "...Being supplied with her power. The virus is pumping it in... It's forcing her awake..."

Piccolo glanced across the room at the helpless Dende. "And without freezing her, we don't know how to stop the flow. Not without killing her."

With a pained groan, the Saiyan, shifted, and tried to push herself up. This brought Piccolo's attention back to her, and it brought a new resolve to his face. "Dende," he whispered, "wake up soon. You still have a lot of work to do..."

Grimly, Piccolo approached the Saiyan. Kneeling down, he put one hand on her shoulder, and pulled her up. "'Cause this..." Ignoring the cackle of her aura, Piccolo slipped his other arm around the Saiyan's neck. "Isn't..." Powering up himself, he wrenched the girl to his chest, securing the choke hold. "Over..." With the two auras flaring against each other, Piccolo took to the air. "Yet!"

Piccolo burst into the midmorning sun, flying at top speed, holding a struggling time bomb at his chest.

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