This is the next section, and I have relatively little to say about it. Other than to think my reviewers. Meanwhile, however, I have an announcement to make. I don't support shameless plugs, though, so I've warned you about it's presence. The page break with a hyphen will take you to the story.
If you haven't stopped reading, then here's what I was going to say. Though I initially intended to post only The Earth and I here on Fanfiction.net, in recent times my mind has been changed. This is due to a number of factors, but foremost at the moment is the fact that a good friend of mine is sponsoring a contest and is in desperate need of participants. So there is now a Trigun fanfiction from me as well. It will reach its course relatively quickly, it isn't anywhere near the length of this story. Also, I have a sequel planned and two other stories coming down the hatch. I'd warn you that I don't post unfinished stories, so it could be some time. However, if you're interested in reading more fanfiction by this author, you might want to add me to your Favorite Authors List and see what else I have from time to time. But you came here for the story, didn't you?
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Hovering along the line of dark energy, Goku slowly traced it further. Suddenly, the trail just stopped; there was no more in any direction. Floating around it, Goku considered for a second. Either Ebony had just vanished, or he had done something else. Maybe he had gone in a different direction, just on the fourth dimension instead of the normal three. Taking a deep breath, Goku rushed toward the area where the trail ended.
There was a snap, and he felt like he was squeezing through a crack and then he seemed to slip sideways. Around him was a greyish version of the world as it had been. Not a leaf stirred around him, and Goku instantly saw the dark being a ways away from him.
Brushing all other thoughts aside, all the oddity of the situation, Goku dove toward Ebony, who sensed him at the last second and leapt away. Jumping, Goku took to the air after him. They rushed through the grey half-world, no air disturbing their flight, Goku slowly closing in. Ebony stopped short suddenly, and Goku prepared for an attack. The dark monster did nothing, however, except begin working on the something before him.
Just then, something shot into the air in front of him. Goku recognized who it was and gaped.
All four of them walked on, a constant stream of chatter surrounding them. 18 felt slightly out of place, being surrounded by people, but finally acknowledged that no one was afraid of her here. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely concerned that Goku wouldn't be able to find her again amid so many other androids. Ah well, he was capable.
"So anyway," one of them asked, "What's your name?"
18 had nearly managed to forget they were there. Her eyes quickly focused on the nearest one who had asked the question.
"18."
"Really? What's your full name?"
"That is."
"Are you sure about that?" another asked.
"Why, what's wrong with it?"
"Well, I've never heard of anyone going by just two numbers. Basically everyone I know just goes by their last three."
"What are your names, then?"
"I'm 204," the blond one said. "They're 188 and 341."
"And that isn't your full name?"
204 looked at her strangely. "Of course not. I'm actually 4127204, but that's a mouthful, isn't it?"
Blinking, 18 figured out what was going on. In theory, if there were enough generations of androids, numbers would mount higher and higher, reaching the heights of what it was today.
"Sorry." She shook her head. "I'm from kind of far away."
"You must be, I thought no one was that low anymore."
"Aren't the oldest androids low numbers?"
"Not really. All of them have died by now. Unless, of course, you refer to the Strongest."
"What do you mean?"
"The nine strongest warriors are renamed after 21-29. Out of respect for the founder, we never go lower than that, but mythology says androids that low once existed."
Resisting the urge to smile, 18 asked, "Founder? Do you mean Gero?"
"Better say 20," another corrected quickly. "It's a bit impolite to call him by his name."
"Is he still alive?" Unconsciously, her hands tightened into fists.
"Of course not. Right now we're being led by Android 23."
Something about that name caught in her memory banks. Rerouting files, she found what she wanted. That must have been one of the androids that Goku fought while Cell was around. But was this the same android, or a different one? From what Goku had told her, the original 23 was probably dead and this one had taken his place. Before she could inquire further, one of the girls, 188 she thought, squealed.
"There it is!"
18 had entirely forgotten they were inside a mall. The other three rushed to some particular display, and she followed easily. Sighing, she waited for them to finish and glanced around at her surroundings. This world was eerily like their own, from what she had seen, almost like it was a copy. That didn't make sense though, the buildings would have been destroyed by this time. What she had discovered was interesting, but at this point didn't matter yet. She wasn't really sure what Goku was trying to accomplish by finding out more about this world.
In her opinion, they should destroy Ebony as soon as possible and leave. There really wasn't any point dwelling in this world and leaving their own unprotected. Then again, maybe time ceased in the former while they were here. She'd have to ask Goku about that one later.
Now carrying bags, her three friends joined her again and began walking somewhere.
"You haven't told us about that other guy you were with."
"Yes?" Now the question was whether or not to lie about his name. Did it really matter?
"I've never really seen anyone that powerful. I mean, he just wiped out those thugs!"
"Yeah. That was child's play for him. He's self modified, with some impressive hardware."
A half-truth, she supposed. Goku's arm was android based, and he had worked on it. Not that it mattered about the nature of the deception, the result was the same.
"Looks like a nice guy." Mentally, 18 froze. Forcing herself to remain calm on the outside, she ignored the emotions that slowly surfaced within.
"Yeah."
One of them opened her mouth to speak, and 18 was sure the question would have been uncomfortable, but she never got a chance to vocalize. A shot rang out, and a burst of red shot over their heads. Swiveling, 18 identified the attacker as an ordinary man, android, she corrected herself, wielding a gun. He had fired twice, taking out both of the security guards in sight.
There were screams around the crowd as they realized what had happened. Just then, several otherwise nondescript androids pulled out similar guns. Scanning their positions, 18 realized they were positioned strategically around the crowd so that no one could get in or out. Random robbery this was not.
"If anyone moves, we plug them," the leader said, raising his voice above the tumult. "Don't move and no one will be killed. I assure you, however, we have no qualms about doing so if anyone tries to counter us."
The force of his voice and the multitude of guns aimed at them quieted the crowd. Several officers rushed down a side corridor, but they were caught off guard. Bursts of red lightning shot from the guns, and each had a devastating effect. All of the guards were blasted backward and lay still.
"Is your world always this dangerous?" 18 asked 204 dryly. She fearfully shook her head.
"Stuff like this happens a lot, but we're just unlucky to run into two in one day."
"Your world is insane," 18 muttered, glancing around. Probably a terrorist attack, with them intending to use all of the people as hostages. Was there an ulterior motive, or were they just out for money? It hardly mattered.
"No talking," a nearby one ordered them, aiming his gun toward them. 18 grabbed his gun with one hand and struck him on the side of the head with the other. Whoever he was, he fell like any human. Glancing at the gun, 18 tossed it aside idly. By this time, the others knew were she was and fired shots at her.
Deflecting the blasts easily with her hands, 18 leapt over the crowd, taking out the nearest of the terrorists. She wasn't exactly sure what the lightning was, but however much it reminded her of Gero's lightning, it wasn't anywhere nearly powerful enough to deal any damage to her.
Before any of the others fired again, three others had fallen. Eventually one of them came to his senses and grabbed the nearest person he could find.
"Don't move!" he yelled, finger tightening on the gun menacingly. The two remaining of his counterparts took the time to grab hostages as well. A trickier situation. There was a moment of silence, then 18 struck. A burst of ki erupted under one of the androids, incinerating him and leaving his hostage unharmed, in the same instant the second fell to an energy blast from 18's hand. Her foot kicked the final terrorist's gun, sending it and the shot it fired into the air harmlessly.
Kicking lightly, 18 pinned the last one against the wall. Almost immediately he pulled another gun from beneath his coat. Calmly catching the weapon in one hand, 18 effortlessly ground the metal to dust. What remained of the gun dropped from the leader's trembling hands.
"Now, why did you do this?" 18 asked, fixating him with a cold stare. The leader winced. Now that all his protection and insurance was gone, he spoke quickly.
"It was a shady character, he paid us to do it!"
He sounded like he was telling the truth, so she didn't increase pressure.
"And what was this character like?"
"Completely dark, and-" his voice choked off suddenly, and he doubled over for a reason that was none of 18's doing. When he bent up again, his eyes had become pools of darkness. 18 nearly recoiled, and withdrew cautiously. An instant later, a burst of black flame shattered him, leaving scattered circuitry behind.
Someone hadn't wanted him to give information. Originally she had thought this pretty unimportant, but there was something much greater at foot here. She was sure that money was no object. Whoever had done this obviously had a lot of power, to be able to destroy someone from a distance like this. Unless he had been marked in some way that prevented him from speaking about his employer. Still, she had felt a malevolent presence. When Goku returned, she would actually have something useful to tell him.
"Wow," one of the others had made her way over to where 18 stood. 18 paid her little notice.
"That was incredible," another one of them breathed. They were all here now. "How did you do all that?"
"Don't you have any warriors here?"
"Yes, but... You're a warrior?"
"Not as good as my friend, but good enough."
"Wow," 204 said again. Around them, the chaos further mounted.
"Could we go somewhere else?" 18 asked. "I'd like to avoid any attention if possible."
"Oooh, does this have something to do with the reason you guys are here?"
"You could say that."
Gero floated before Goku, laughing evilly.
"Well, well. We meet once again, saiyan."
"This is a completely different dimension. How could you know me?"
"It doesn't matter. How do you like this world, in which I have won? Androids populate this planet, everyone else is no more."
"Wait." Goku sensed something deeply wrong. "If you're from an alternate dimension, you would never have seen me as I am now, or I would already be dead. How can you know me?"
"Did you beat Cell?" Gero ignored his words, continuing on. Behind him, Ebony continued working.
"Yes," Goku snapped, slightly irritable. Something was tugging at a corner of his mind, and he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.
"Ah well, that mistake wasn't made here. I am the law!"
"You're the Gero from my world, aren't you? How are you alive? I killed you myself!"
Ebony turned now to face him, laughing slightly. In front of him, something shimmered a dark color and seemed to vanish.
"Actually, this isn't quite the Gero from your world."
"What do you mean?" Goku glanced over at Gero, who seemed frozen in time as he spoke with Ebony, who was still smiling.
"Gero hates you more than you realize. What you see before you is all of his hate, manifested into something that has actually become an entity. You'd be surprised what hate can do. All this extra, a planet, people, was unnecessary, but still, it is an effective tool."
"You mean that hate can actually create worlds?"
"Dimensions. With a bit of help, it definitely can. Where do you think Trunks' world came from? Merely all of Vegita's anger concentrated. The only purpose of his world was to destroy you."
"Well it failed. What happens then?"
"It was of no use." Ebony waved a hand dismissively. "We destroyed it. So much hate... it was quite interesting. Of course, if I can destroy your dimension, we'll gain the source of so much. There is really nothing you can do to stop us, this dimension will suffice for ages to come."
"What would you gain by that? And what do you mean, 'we?'"
"That," the dark being smiled, "I won't tell you."
"Why are you telling me any of the rest?"
"Because you're too late and you can't actually use it. I've erected a barrier in front of me, one no amount of your power can break. This barrier keeps anything good from entering, and I believe there is quite a bit of that in you. Unless you somehow become pure evil, you'll have to face it, I'm beyond your reach."
Jumping forward, Goku found himself repelled by the wall of darkness, and grudgingly acknowledged that Ebony spoke the truth.
"You might as well give up and go home." Ebony smirked from behind his line of defense. "There is nothing you can do here. Your power is for naught."
The frozen essence of time shattered, and Gero again moved, smirking at Goku. Laughing, Ebony faded from view, but Goku sensed the barrier still in front of him, blocking his way. He gritted his teeth, but it seemed Ebony was right, there was nothing he could do to break the barrier.
"You always were a fool, Goku," Gero spoke again, reminding Goku of his presence. The hatred formed Gero faltered as Goku glanced toward him, his eyes decidedly irritable. If he couldn't get Ebony now, at least he could take out his anger on Gero, if it was really possible to kill something that was pure hate.
It was.