I'm pleased to see you like the Android World. However, it won't be developed as much as I'm sure you'd like. See Goku and Ebony's conversation in the last chapter for a better explanation. Though it certainly would have been interesting to pursue a plot development in which 18 is discovered as one of the original androids, I considered it carefully and didn't do it.



By the way, it is after this story arc that the plot begins to come together, and you'll finally understand most of what is going on. I've been pretty economical in my use of explanation, so this should help everyone out.



-



Leaning back against a tree, 18 glanced across the darkening park. This was a nice place, so much quieter. Here at least, she could escape the massive crowds. Being the hero was a strange sensation, and she wasn't sure if she really liked it. It is better than being hated, she reminded herself quickly. 204, 341 and 188 were nearby, doing whatever they did. In the face of other issues it hardly mattered, however.

Her senses told her nothing, but 18 suddenly was struck with the feeling that someone was there. She whirled in time to see a black form drop from a nearby tree and hit the ground soundlessly. Gliding across the space between them, the dark form halted and then flickered, forming the familiar shape of Goku.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned softly. 18 shrugged.

"I followed the people you told me to. I still am."

"Alright. It was a bit difficult to find you, though."

"What about Ebony?"

"He's beyond my reach for now. It will take a while for me to think of something. What about you?"

"I've found out a few things. We were right about this world being full of androids. Gero founded the place."

"Actually, it turns out Gero's hatred created this alternate dimension. I've taken him out, but that didn't do anything to stop this planet's continued existence."

"That's bizarre, but alright. To continue, we got attacked by a bunch of terrorists."

"Talk about bad luck." Goku raised his eyebrows slightly. 18 smiled.

"They say it's relatively common. What's more disturbing is that the terrorists were apparently working for someone who hired them out to attack. Someone who sounds a lot like Ebony."

"I see. What else did you find?"

"Nothing. I was questioning one, but he was destroyed by an outside force."

"Makes sense. What I'm trying to figure out is how that would benefit him at all."

"I can't help you there."

"Alright, this puts a new light on things. I want to go into the city again. There's a certain android I want to talk to."

"Who?"

"I don't really know his name, but he's a scientist. If I'm correct, he can help me with a plan I'm working on."

"Should I bother asking what that plan is?"

"Don't. I have to be absolutely sure it works first. In the meantime, could you find out who is in charge of this place? I have a bad feeling about that."

"Oh yeah, his name is 23. Was that one of the ones you fought?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I killed him though."

"I've been told that the nine strongest androids always are named 21-29. It could be that another took his place."

"I see."

"Do you want me to figure that out?"

"That would be helpful." Goku nodded. "I really need to know if it's the same guy. And if it isn't, we still need to find out who's in charge. When I'm done, I'll meet you again and we can plan."

"Sure. See you then."

Goku smiled and then melted back into the shadows. Within seconds, he was gone.



Seconds later, Goku was jumping his way over the city. Normally he would have flown, but he had a bad feeling that there was something here that could sense ki, and that was the last thing he wanted. Using nothing but his physical force, he pushed off another building, rocketing through the air to another, where he bounded off again. There was something appealing about this manner of travel.

Down below, however, he knew he could find this scientist. Ever since he had seen the laboratory, he knew that was the place he needed to go. On average, it seemed the androids here were more human and weaker than 18. There had to a reason for that. For other reasons, this scientist was exactly the person he needed to talk to. A bit of research Goku had done indicated this android had some information that could be very useful.

Eventually he made it to his intended location. A lot of people had probably seen him, but it didn't matter. The dangerous ones wouldn't have felt him. Landing on the ground as lightly as possible, he slipped into the building. Moving at full speed, he rushed through the halls toward his destination, those nearby felt only a slight breeze.

Halting outside a door, Goku peered in. Yes, this was the one. Behind it, the doctor sat at his desk, working some figures on the table. The door opened without a sound, and Goku crept in and stood in front of the android. He could wait. His sources said that this particular android was unit 607. However, from what he had also gathered, he usually went by another name. A real name. That alone was unusual for an android.

Dr. Bruin, sighed and ran a hand through a shock of grey hair. It was too late tonight to be working, but this product needed to be finished on schedule. Glancing up, he nearly had a heart attack as he saw someone standing silently in front of him, looking directly at him.

"Who are you?" the doctor asked, nervously backing up in his chair. Goku shrugged.

"You wouldn't know me. I need your help."

Having moved back to the wall, Dr. Bruin's hand shot up to touch the small grey button on it that would call security. The next thing he realized, his intruder had gotten over the desk and bridged the distance between them to grab his hand.

"I wouldn't suggest doing that. Now please, I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you want?"

Goku glanced down at the badge he wore, "Dr. Bruin, is it? Greetings. My name is Goku."

"Never heard of you."

"I said you wouldn't. However, I'm from another dimension. You are the only person I know of capable of helping me find a way back."

"Why should I believe a story like that?" The doctor's mind was calming.

"What do I gain by lying?" Goku shrugged. "Besides, if I wanted to make this difficult you wouldn't have any choice in the matter."

"Very well, let's assume I believe your story. How can I help you?"

"You have the technology and resources to do something like that. I don't."

"Would you mind if I ran a few tests on you first?"

"If you think it would prove something."

"I would."

"Alright." Goku shrugged again. "What do I do?"

"Step over there." The doctor rose to his feet slowly and stretched. Maybe he should have drank some coffee. Whatever this was, he'd just have to deal with it.

"Give me just a second and I'll prepare something."

"Sure."

Goku patiently stood while Dr. Bruin went into the other room. Quickly modifying a few things, Dr. Bruin fired up the system. If this worked, he'd find out how much truth this stranger spoke. With luck, however, it wouldn't matter anyway. Acknowledging it was ready, Dr. Bruin gestured for Goku to come into the other room.

Dr. Bruin carefully watched Goku enter the other room, then slammed on the alarm button as fast as he possibly could. To his dismay, nothing happened. Hearing the sound, Goku entered from the other room and smiled slightly. Opening his hand, he displayed two small red wires.

"Don't you trust me?" he smirked slightly. "Let's keep this on the level, shall we?"

"Very well." Dr. Bruin was surprised. He had assumed this stranger, Goku, he called himself, was mentally unbalanced. Perhaps he was wrong. At his gesture, Goku stepped onto a small circle of light. Dr. Bruin pushed a few buttons and waited as the computer began its analysis. Slowly, information began pouring out onto the screen.

He couldn't believe it, this one was telling the truth. All of his matter was entirely foreign to this dimension. Other statistics appeared, and they just didn't seem to match up. His age was an enigma, dating suggested he was over 35, but his body hadn't aged nearly that far. Small discrepancies were disregarded as the final scan appeared, and he saw something that should have been impossible.

The stranger was nearly entirely organic, strange enough by itself, but one of his hands was actually a metallic structure. He noticed that there was also some mechanical structure near his heart, but it was nearly obscured by the flesh around it. What was most amazing was how skin and metal seemed to meet and connect. Along the edges, there was nearly no difference between the two, leading him to wonder if it was metallic skin, or skin-like metal.

"Well?" Goku cocked his head slightly. Dr. Bruin shook his head.

"What have you done to your arm?"

"Oh, this?" Goku's hand shifted to a clawed metal hand and then back to his normal one again. "I'm not quite sure how, but it's melded into me."

"I guess I have to believe you." Dr. Bruin sighed and leaned against the computer terminal. Goku stepped down and sat in the chair beside him.

"I'm glad you came around. Can you help me?"

"I haven't had any experience in this..." his voice trailed off as he looked into Goku's eyes.

"Are you sure?" Goku asked. "You wouldn't happen to remember a squadron of androids sent to another world, would you?"

Dr. Bruin broke under that gaze. "You're right. I've shifted a dimensional portal before. We wanted to go back in time and rescue some of the Eldest Androids. All that happened was we discovered another dimension. Now how did you know about that?"

"I'm from the world those androids went to."

"We haven't heard a thing from them." Dr. Bruin realized he had an excellent chance to discover some important information. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah." Goku nodded. "On arriving they came in the middle of a pretty big battle. A being called Cell destroyed a lot of them, and the others attacked me. I was forced to destroy them."

"Oh."

"Sorry. They seemed determined to kill anyone nearby."

"I shouldn't have trusted them," Dr. Bruin muttered. "But I suppose I didn't have a choice. But why are you here now?"

"An accident, I could call it. I was following someone else. But I figured that perhaps you could do the same thing to me as you did to them?"

"Not really," Dr. Bruin said. "The authorities confiscated my equipment."

"Oh." Goku frowned slightly. "That's too bad."

"But," Dr. Bruin coughed, "if I had happened to miss a few, and if you happened to steal one of them, it couldn't be helped, could it?"

Goku smiled. "I see. How would this work?"

"Your mechanical arm is capable of containing something strong enough to create a dimensional portal."

"Could you install one?"

"Not as it is now. Your arm is pretty obsolete, compared to our technology. I could change that, though."

"Sure. If you did all that, could I use my arm to shift dimensions?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. What do I do?"

"Enter the ring again and wait patiently. I could put you under for the operation..."

"It's alright." Goku shook his head. "I can take the pain."

"Alright then. Let's go."

"If there's anything I can do to pay this back to you..."

Dr. Bruin waved it aside. "Don't worry about it. It costs me nothing. You've already given me some important information."

"Then accept my heartfelt thanks."

Standing in the small ring once again, Goku glanced around him as a tube of glass slid down to encase him. Metal bands appeared on one side, and Goku looked at Dr. Bruin questioningly.

"Put your arms and legs in them," Dr. Bruin explained, his voice barely audible. "I'll start the process."

Backing into the bands, Goku felt the metal slide over his limbs, holding him in place. Just to make sure, he tested them, but they weren't strong enough to hold him there, if it became necessary to escape. However, he was quite pleased with Dr. Bruin. His original impression of the man had been correct. Even in a world like this, created from hate, there was still goodness in some people. He felt a slightly bitter taste in his mouth as he reconsidered. Could anything in this world even be considered real?

Machines floated down to his arm, which he changed to mechanical form. Immediately they began working, changing circuitry and metal. To his surprise, there was no pain. Extending his senses down to the arm, Goku carefully monitored what was going on. He trusted Dr. Bruin almost entirely. Almost being the key word. Complete trust had been burned out of him for all but a few.

For now, however, it appeared nothing out of line was going on. His arm's capabilities were already significantly enhanced by linking into his body, but with these modifications it handled the energy better. Most of the changes seemed to be upgrades in hardware and software. Goku was eager to try out his new hand as soon as the modifications were done; it would probably be significantly better.



Tightening a fist, 18 sighed and turned away from the computer terminal. No luck. It wasn't that the computer had been able to keep her out, it was just that there was simply no information about this leader. Whoever he or she was, they were very thorough. Hopefully, it wouldn't matter if Goku accomplished what he wanted to.



A few final modifications were made, and Goku realized his hand was entirely upgraded. The question now was how Dr. Bruin was going to actually add this portal creator. Very little of Goku's research had been on dimensions, and he wanted to learn from someone who had a life's work in the field. Instead of continuing, the machines retreated back into the ceiling. Glancing up, Goku looked carefully at the blue circle above him. As he watched, it began to hum and glow slightly.

His first instinct was to shatter his bonds and leave, but he carefully restrained himself. Jumping to conclusions would ruin everything. Trust was important at this moment. Dr. Bruin had been kind to help him, and he deserved to be rewarded for that.

Outside the tube, Dr. Bruin held his head between his hands and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he was doing this. It wasn't like he hadn't killed before. But there was something about this, something that screamed of wrongness. The stranger was undoubtable from another dimension, and a cross between human and android. And yet, he didn't seem human, nor was he any obvious other race. A smile appeared on his lips. Soon, however, he would get some answers to his questions.

Perhaps what bothered him was the use of blue lightning. That just screamed wrongness, not like the cleaner touch of its red brother. That, however, didn't have the power he needed. If he was right, however, and he could control it, he had developed the ultimate weapon of war. Combining that with what he could learn dissecting the stranger, he could become an unstoppable force.

A light blinked, indicating charging was finished. Dr. Bruin flashed a thumbs up to Goku inside, inwardly thanking his luck that this one was so trusting. Then he pressed a small blue button, and a column of blinding blue light shot down toward the saiyan.



At first Goku paid little attention. Blue lightning arced around him, but it passed through his skin harmlessly. In a way, it reminded him of the lightning Gero had used to control the androids. Actually, it almost identical. His eyes narrowed, and he began to observe the situation closer.

Where the lightning touched his android arm, it began to rearrange material. The affect was negligible, because the lightning was instantly drawn away toward his heart. Using its new self repairing abilities, the arm was unharmed, but if there wasn't some force in him drawing it away, it would not be so. Quickly figuring, Goku began to consider what would have happened if not for this odd turn of events. Within seconds he realized that had he been a normal android, he would already be dead.

Teeth clenched, Goku didn't act just yet. What was it stopping the lightning from affecting his arm? Looking himself over, he found the blue lightning in a tight orb over his heart. He couldn't find anything causing it, but when he checked with his ki senses, it was a different story. Apparently he had unconsciously used his ki and force of will to bend the lightning to him instead of harming him. Checking the energy involved, he figured out exactly how it worked.

With no further questions, Goku set about to settle his own score. Flexing, he shattered all four of the metal bands surrounding him. As he expected, they snapped easily. He had not anticipated what his act of strength, his first since the blue lightning had surrounded him, would do. There was a brilliant flash, and the glass around him shattered into nearly dust like pieces.

Stepping out from the light within, Goku instantly fixed his eyes on Dr. Bruin, who stared at him with horror. There was something in them more terrified than what was warranted, prompting Goku to look down at himself. To his surprise, he discovered the blue lightning had left its orb and was now arcing around his body. He tried to stop it and found he couldn't. For now, though, it didn't matter.

"You tried to kill me."

Dr. Bruin didn't attempt to argue with him, or plead. He merely bolted for the door. Goku quickly extended a hand, intending to block the door with a ki barrier. To his surprise, a bolt of blue electricity shot from his hand, forming a wall over the door. Unlike a ki barrier, which would have harmlessly repelled the doctor, this barrier had no such protective qualities. Stumbling in an attempt to stop, Dr. Bruin touched a single strand of lightning and instantly it arced over his body, covering him.

Snapping himself out of shock in nanoseconds, Goku tried to recall the lightning, but he was already too late. All that remained was a burned husk. Horrified, Goku dropped to the ground, shocked at what he had unintentionally done. Angrily, he tried to dispel the lightning surrounding him, but found that his best efforts failed. Instead of killing him, the blue lightning must have been somehow absorbed into his being.

"There never was a dimensional portal, was there?" he said softly to the destroyed scientist.

Turning on the machine that had done this, Goku smashed the computer and what remained of the tube. The blue lightning stopped, to his relief; unfortunately, the blue lightning within him continued to burn. As Goku moved to leave, he froze in shock as he saw a surprised-looking official staring at the situation in front of him.

The lightning around him snapped and it took all of Goku's control to prevent it from frying the android where he stood. Shaking himself, the terrified android fled from the room. This just got worse and worse. Hoping to avoid damaging any other people, Goku ripped through the ceiling and out of the building. Hovering temporarily, he sped off into the sky, leaving a trail of blue light in his wake.

While he was relieved he had been able to spare the official, Goku knew he'd soon raise an alarm. After that, he'd have an army on his heels. Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for him, but it wasn't his own safety he was worried about. The immediate objective was to find 18 and flee before he could cause too much damage. With a bit of time, he was sure he could bring this new force under control.

Below him, red lights began to course through the city. People swarmed into buildings as the red alert was sounded. Exerting all of the new abilities he possessed, Goku found he could now easily sense 18 in the city. Plummeting to her location, he fervently hoped she was alone.



-



You like original plot devices? There's one of my personal favorites coming up.