Note: Okay. First I must beg your forgiveness for taking so damn long to put out the next chapter of "Revelations, Repercussions and Robots Oh My!". I have no real good excuses except that I had to prepare to go away to College and once I finished getting settled in my schoolwork kept me pretty occupied. Add this to the job of sharing an apartment with my sister and I'm afraid I haven't been able to devote adequate time to my fanfics. At the moment though I have something of a breather in my school schedule so I have decided to get as many new chapters written up as possible. I will also be trying to get my other fanfics further along at the same time but no promises. In any case here is the next chapter of this fanfic.
Across the Street from Capsule Corporation Headquarters, 9:00p.m
"Excellent. Everything is going precisely as planned." Watcher Seven thought as he watched the fight begin from a safe distance.
The Beast, Glorificus, was behaving precisely as he had expected her to and it was only a matter of time before both sides destroyed one another. While he was confident that his androids would ensure the demise of the Saiyans and other non-humans he doubted very much that Glory would fare much better. After all he had ordered his mechanical minions that once their primary targets had been destroyed that they were to terminate Glory immediately. After all he was not blind to the power and evil that the insane demon in human's clothing represented. That was why he intended from the beginning to destroy her one way or the other and thanks to the information he was able to acquire about her unique symbiosis with a certain young man named Ben it could be done. After all the arcane enhancements he and his followers had done to Androids 21 through 27 made them vastly superior to any who came before them. He doubted even that abomination Cell could defeat them if he were still alive and that meant that a half powered ex-hell goddess would be no trouble whatsoever.
Returning his attention to the battle he could see that the Saiyans had already transformed into Super Saiyans and were engaging his androids. It would be amusing to watch them slowly realize just how outmatched they truly were and how soon they would meet their ends. Just then he caught a glimmer of magic appear on the periphery of his senses and turned to see Rupert and his gang of punks setting up various arcane items. He sighed in annoyance at the sight before him. He found it ridiculous that they thought their puny magic could be of any assistance in the battle ensuing over their heads. Granted the young girl Willow had the potential to become a great sorceress but she was still years away from realizing that potential. Despite completely believing in what he had just asserted he could not help but recall how they had managed the joining spell that had allowed the Slayer to defeat the cyber-demon Adam. That was a particularly dangerous spell that they did and one only a handful of mages in the Watcher's Council had been able to perform. At the time he had assumed that it had been the combination of Rupert's experience with Miss Rosenburg's power that had allowed it to be successful. In any case being able to do such a spell put them at a level of skill that could prove dangerous to him in the future. Better to deal with them now then wait until they became even more formidable than he and his followers could handle.
Motioning to the others with him he began to stride across the street towards the hole in the wall that Glory had made her entrance with moments before. As he walked he began to chant the words for a binding spell which he intended to use to restrain these meddling interlopers. Once prevented from making the correct hand gestures or mixing the proper ingredients the number of spells they would be able to invoke would be minimal. Then all that would be left to do was wait until the Saiyans and the Namek were destroyed so that they could finish off Glorificus. He and his group had almost reached the hole in the wall when some noise or another alerted those inside to their approach. Reacting instantly he threw the binding spell into their midst causing it to explode outwards instantly wrapping their limbs in bands of energy. All of them tried to wrench themselves free or neutralize the spell but it was to no avail as all they accomplished was tiring themselves out. Secure in the idea that it was safe to enter he and his forces began to take strategic positions around the room with his more powerful mages positioning themselves to reinforce the binding spell.
"Watcher Seven I presume?" Rupert asked with venom and hate obvious in his voice.
"Oh please Rupert, call me Quentin." Quentin Travers aka Watcher Seven said as he removed his hood.
The look on the ex-Watcher was priceless and Travers took a moment to revel in it before deciding it was time to deal with a loose end. Looking around he quickly located the sacred box that had for so long been kept hidden in the most secure vault ever created by man or magic. Hovering above it was the ghostly image of Watcher One who was currently shaking his head in disappointment. The old man always did that whenever Watcher Seven had made a suggestion regarding the Slayers in the past and it irritated him to no end. It was then with a swift thrust of his hand he sent out a blast of mystical energy at the box which caused the ghost to shatter with a shriek as the spell that created it was destroyed.
"Well, that was satisfying." , Travers said with a smug grin, "Not as satisfying as the real thing but that will happen all in good time."
"Travers! What is the meaning of this?" Giles demanded with fury that can only be spawned through betrayal in his eyes.
"The meaning, 'old friend', is the end of alien interference in human affairs." , Travers answered with conviction, "The meaning is that I will no longer tolerate the existence of the lie that the Council has for so long perpetuated. The meaning is that I intend to obliterate the last remnants of the Saiyan race once and for all and toss in a Namek just for kicks."
This silenced just about everyone in the room who was not aligned with him and this made him smile. All too often when he tried to explain his reasons for trying to destroy the Slayer line they almost immediately afterwards called him insane, He had not doubt that they would eventually use the word but for the moment they were too shocked to say anything coherent.
"With things proceeding the way they are I would say that my victory is almost at hand." , Travers said briefly turning his head to look at the battle going on in the sky above, "With the combined power of my androids and Glory's own forces it shouldn't be too long before the Saiyans, their offspring and the Namek are destroyed."
"Your Androids? Don't you mean Doctor Gero's androids?" Bulma asked with a mixture of anger and confusion in her voice.
"Oh Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army did design and construct them but they are as much mine as his once you review all the facts." , Travers replied with a smile, "What? Don't tell me you thought that Gero constructed his androids entirely on his own do you?"
"After the Red Ribbon Army was defeated almost all of their assets were seized by the current government and its members arrested." , Travers explained calmly, "On his own it would have taken Gero forever to gather the funding and materials needed to construct his androids. Fortunately I discovered his genius while investigating Goku's activities and immediately began to fund his work concerning the creation of the two most powerful warriors in existence. It was my hope that once they had destroyed the Saiyan they could be mass produced to protect the world from threats equal or greater than the Saiyan people."
This bit of information thankfully shut them up once again as they tried to digest the information they had been given. He grinned slightly as he tried to predict the reactions they would have to the rest of the information that he had to convey to them. Being so close to victory he saw no point in not revealing everything, well almost everything since he would keep the most vital information to himself. He didn't believe that they would be able to do anything to alter the destiny that was manifesting itself around them but his own experience made it clear that miracles do happen.
"You were responsible for those things?!" Master Roshi asked in shock and anger.
"Oh not just for the androids but also that nasty little heart virus that was supposed to have killed off Goku a month before androids 19 and 20 showed themselves." , Travers explained as he pretended to give the room a cursory evaluation, "Didn't you ever wonder why Goku remained among the living up until then? After the Trunks from the future related his tale to your champion I knew that if my virus was to be successful it would need to be altered to render the cure useless."
"Unfortunately if Goku was to be infected before Gero completed his androids and activated them I had to hurry and release the virus. In retrospect I should have taken more time to work out the bugs but fortunately I had a back-up plan in the forms of Androids 17 and 18." , Travers said walking about the room, "Their decision to rebel against the good doctor was no accident or glitch in their programming. I instructed them to do so because I believed that they would be more effective if they were free of that lunatic's control. He may have been a brilliant scientist but he was quite mad and incapable of carrying out his scheme for revenge efficiently."
"Once they had succeeded in eliminating the Saiyans I would have transmitted the deactivation code and retrieved them for reprogramming. Unfortunately the creature known as Cell appeared and without a suitable means for dealing with him I decided that handing him the androids he sought on silver platter would have been a mistake." , Travers said as he continued his explanation, "So I let them stay online in the hopes that they would be able to stay out of his grasp long enough for me to come up with a way to deal with that monster. Fortunately everything worked out in the end and relative peace was restored to the world. Since then I have been working towards a way to finish what they had started and now that time has come at long last. With Ms. Summers and the other female Saiyans unconscious in the med-bay and the men on the verge of defeat it is only a matter of time before I emerge victorious."
"I – I don't get it! There has to be more to it than simply wanting to keep aliens out of earthling affairs!" , Videl asked between attempts to break free of her confinement, "Why do you hate them so much? What did they ever do to you?"
"What they did was take away my beloved wife not once but twice!!!!!!" , Travers replied in a rare show of rage and fury, "Power attracts power my dear and good inevitably attracts evil to it. Haven't you found it odd that from the moment Goku came to this world as a child this planet has been visited by one great evil after another? Raditz, Vegita, Nappa, Garlic Junior, Frieza, King Cold, the Androids 16 through 20, Cell, Babidi and the monster known as Maijin Buu . Whether the realized it or not they were all drawn to his power like moths to a flame and provoked into unleashing their power on the Earth."
"Countless times millions upon millions of humans have been massacred by the villains Goku has fought in the past!! Oh you may have thought that by wishing them back to life with the Dragonballs may have made everything all fine and dandy but you forget the principal rule that governs them!" , Travers said with cold anger, "No person who has been revived by the Eternal Dragon once may be revived again. Even when the new set of Dragonballs were created by the young Namekian Dende the same rules applied including the 1 year limit on revivals. Imagine how many people have remained dead because they had been killed more than once because of Goku's enemies or because they were killed so much as a day over one year??!!"
"My wife was one such victim. A scientist working in this great preview of the future trying to make the world a little bit better for her own kind." , Travers said mournfully as the memories overcame him, "Even after she had been killed and revived the first time she refused to leave for England where she would be safe. When news of her final death had reached me I swore that would not allow anyone else to experience the agony I had gone through. By eradicating the existence of aliens on Earth like the Saiyans and Nameks the forces of evil that will plague the Earth will be lessened and more manageable. No longer will we have to face the likes of Cell or Maijin Buu again."
"You're insane." Giles said in an even tone that belied what he was truly feeling.
"Perhaps. However it is an insanity they caused and now they will pay for it with their lives." Travers said as he and his minions looked up.
The Battlefield, 9:30p.m
This is not good! Picollo thought as he once again tried to hit one of the androids with a vicious side-kick but it passed right through the machine that looked like a young man.
Moments after the kick clear its intended target the android solidified once more and matched the Namek's blow with one of his own kicks. Picollo barely had enough time to raise his arm to block the attack and even then he knew that if he should survive this battle he would be very sore tomorrow. These were definitely the androids that had ambushed him after he had recovered the last dragonball and seeing them coming this time was only marginally improving the odds in his favor. Unless they found a way to eliminate some of their abilities or improve upon their own tactics it was only a matter of time until they were all defeated. Even Goku, Vegita, Gotenks and Gohan were having trouble keeping up with them and they were the most powerful warriors they had on their team. Videl, Pan and Eighteen were doing their best to handle Glory's minions but the stone warriors and goblin like followers were nearly overwhelming them by sheer numbers. If Buffy and the others were awake and in fighting form it might be possible to go on the offensive but they were still unconscious in the med-bay with no sign of waking up anytime soon.
Looking down at the ground he could see Glory standing amidst the chaos enjoying herself entirely too much while doing nothing to take part in the battle itself. Apparently she was one of those hell goddesses that like to sit back and watch the action from the sidelines instead of getting their hands dirty. That was contrary to his knowledge of her due to his fusion with Kami but this discrepancy only made him nervous as his subconscious tried to figure out what she was waiting for and what she would do when it arrived. Before he could contemplate the matter further a jarring blow to his head brought him back to the fight at hand and he forced his body to stop its rapid descent to the ground. Looking back up he could see the android that he was fighting coming in for another attack but this time Picollo had a trick up his sleeve. Waiting until the android's fist was about to make contact with his face he then sidestepped the blow and extended his left arm straight out. This caught his opponent in a clothesline move that nearly knocked the artificial being's head off and left it momentarily stunned. Wasting no time he powered up an energy blast in his left hand as quickly as he could and once the android's body was upside down with its head pointing to the ground he fired the blast right in its face.
YES! Picollo thought with a little satisfaction as his attack made contact.
One of these Androids' favorite moves so far had been to become intangible moments before an attack directed at them was about to hit and then become solid again just in time to deliver a counter attack. A few times before he had managed to get a shot in but these killing machines never fell for the same trick twice which made it difficult to damage them quickly enough. Add that to the fact that they apparently had some sort of regenerating capabilities and you had a situation that had to be resolved quickly. Charging into the cloud of smoke that his attack had caused he tried to locate the android he had been fighting in the hopes that it was still dazed enough for him to get a hit or two in. Lady Luck though seemed to have come to the conclusion that he had used up his quota of luck because no matter which direction he looked in there was no sign of the Android. It was then that he felt the crushing blow to the back of his head sending him plummeting down to the ground. He was mere feet from the ground when he was able to stop himself and recover from the blow which had most certainly been dealt by his android opponent. Darting to the side to avoid the follow up attack that was sure to come he began to consider how any of them would be able to resolve this situation before they started to lose people to these monsters.
These were definitely different from the earlier models of androids they had fought previous to the end of the Cell games. Their abilities seemed more like magic than technology and that made them more dangerous than he ever thought possible. Throwing himself backward and upwards into the air he let loose with a barrage of Rapid Fire Shots at where he estimated his nemesis was at the moment. Before any of them hit though there was an eruption from the cloud of dust and dirt and he knew that the android he had been fighting had caused it and was well clear of the shots he had fired. Flying towards his quarry as fast as he could he hoped to get a few punches in before his opponent detected his presence. That was not to be the case though since once he got within striking distance of his target it vanished making it impossible to track with even his enhanced senses. Fortunately he didn't have to wait long for the battle to continue as a moment later he sensed a massive displacement of air heading his way and instinctively he shot to the right. Not more than a second after the act a powerful energy blast seared through the spot where he had been and left a nasty hole in his cape. This was getting him nowhere fast and he was running out of ideas.
Only one thing left to try! Picollo thought as he darted into a bit of cloud cover above him.
Crossing his arms over his chest he began to prepare himself for the technique he was about to attempt. Bit by bit he collected the energy within himself, he could feel his cells begin to multiply and then in one instant it happened. Where once there was one Picollo there were now three present and all of them were ready to put up a fight. Feeling his adversary approaching he signaled the others to disappear to the side and wait for the right moment. While it was more than likely that the android had detected his use of the tri-form technique he hoped the tin warrior was too cocky to care about the increase in numbers. After all when androids 16, 17, and 18 had come online it had taken someone like Cell to knock some humility and fear into them. Hopefully these androids were still lacking in the humility department because that was the only way that this was going to work. Flying through the air at several times the speed of sound the android exploded at Picollo with a flurry of punches that the Namek was just barely able to endure. One of the downsides to using the tri-form technique that it divided your powers and abilities by three as well as creating two more of you. That meant that Picollo prime was only fighting at one third his maximum power level at the moment which was just barely enough to keep him alive. The android was probably even going easy on him in order to make things more interesting which thankfully worked in the grouchy green guardian's favor.
Backing himself into position he telepathically communicated with his other selves to do likewise because this was one strategy that had to work. Picollo's inability to fight back only pleased the android even more and made him a bit more playful with his moves. It was when the male android was about to do an exaggerated reverse kick that the Namek made his move by grabbing the foot by the ankle and throwing the android with all the strength he could muster. This sent the metal monster flying uncontrollably through the air which was exactly what was supposed to be happening.
"NOW! SPECIAL BEAM CANNON FIRE!" Picollo yelled and with all of his power he unleashed his most powerful specialty attack.
At the same time two other similar attacks were fired from his duplicates from different locations and all of them intersected at the android's precise location. However the three Picollo's didn't wait for the beams to connect before they got together and reunited into their singular form once again. Once united they flew as fast as they could to the most likely place where the Android would rematerialize after teleporting to avoid their/his attacks. It took a few more seconds than he had predicted but the android appeared right on schedule and completely unaware of what was about to happen. Reacting with reflexes unheard of Picollo slashed downward with all his might and succeeded in chopping off the android's right arm. Then to make sure that the severed appendage couldn't be reattached in some manner the Namek vaporized it with a blast from his mouth.
"Congratulations Namek. You have successfully 'disarmed' me." , the male android said with a grin , "Unfortunately it is only a temporary set-back for me and it in no way means you will have any sort of advantage over me."
With that the battle between the machine and the Namek resumed with no clear winner in sight.
The Sidelines of the Battlefield, 10:00p.mWillow was subtley trying to undo the spell which prevented her and the others from moving or doing really anything else other than listen to Travers talk his head off.
Honestly! Does this guy like to hear the sound of his own voice or what!?! She thought to herself as she continued to try one incantation after another.
Aside from listening to this villain-wannabe mouth off to them the young wicca was also concerned about the battle that was going on outside. She didn't need her wiccan senses to tell her that a great deal of energy was being tossed around out there and it was only a matter of time before it began to move in their direction. From what she had made out of the babbling boob Travers these androids were different from the ones that Gohan had told her about. The other ones were powerful but at the Z-fighters' current power levels Androids 16 through 20 would be swatted aside like flies by even the weakest among them. The fact that the battle was still ongoing made it clear that they were much more powerful and clever than their predecessors. Hopefully though the good guys would turn the tables on them soon so they could be freed from these magic bands of light. While she was more or less comfortable she could tell that a few of the others were less than comfortable due to reasons both personal and obvious. Still that was not what she was worried the most about. Buffy, Faith and Dawn were still unconscious in the med-bay and from Beru's latest diagnosis the chances of them waking up anytime soon was slim.
Just then she heard the sounds of feet on concrete debris and looked to see what else was coming to make her day very unfun. It was difficult to see through all the smoke and debris that was being kicked up but it didn't sound like the person was in that big of a hurry. It was a casual walk like going to the store for a carton of milk or just to enjoy the fresh air. This sounded very foreign on this loud battlefield with the explosions and the passionate battle cries being issued right and left. After a few moments a shape began to take form in the smoke and it was distinctly feminine in nature although the details and features were still too blurred to figure out who it was coming towards them. Still Travers seemed to be uneasy about this figure and was intently waiting for the person to get closer. Fortunately no one had very long to wait since when the person got to the ten feet mark the smoke that had obscured their features seemed to peel away. The figure was a fairly normal looking teenager but Willow could easily detect the magic within him and deduced that he had to be one of the androids that Travers had brought to kill Goku and the others. Odd though that Travers had become very upset once he saw who stood before him and that didn't make sense if they were under his control.
"What are you doing here!?!?! I ordered you to remain at the headquarters and guard the last dragonball!!!" Travers exclaimed as he approached the android with the apparent intent of dishing out a serious lecture.
To this the Android reached into a pouch he had attached to his belt and took out an orange crystal ball with seven small rubies in the shape of stars arranged at it's center.
"As you can see Watcher Seven the last dragonball is still being guarded and is completely unharmed." The teenage boy said calmly, not affected in the least by his master's increasingly volatile emotional state.
"You miswired miscreant!! You brought it here!!!!" , Travers said in both shock and a little bit of fear, "Do you realize what will happen if Glorificus gets her hands on that dragonball?"
"Of course he does." Said a sarcastic female voice coming from the cloud of dust behind the android.
Looking in the direction the sound had come in just about everyone present felt dread begin to well up within themselves as the ex-hell goddess Glory walked up to the android's side.
"The thing is he doesn't care anymore." Glory stated as she held out her hand to claim her prize.
Seeing the android begin to extend the hand with the dragonball towards the Beast Travers immediately began to fumble in his cloak for something. Eventually he seemed to find what it was he was after and brought it out to reveal it to be a scepter with a red diamond mounted at one end. With a quick chant the diamond began to glow an unholy red color before a bolt of crimson energy lashed out and struck the android right in the center of it's chest. Unfortunately whatever the desired effect was the android only looked at the energy striking him and smile before completing the delivery of the last dragonball to Glory.
"T-this isn't possible!! This scepter is tied into your power source!!" , Travers said with fear as he looked back and forth between the scepter and the android, "It should have shut you down instantly!!"
"Yesterday it would have Travers but thanks to Glorificus my brethren and I have a new lease on life." , The android explained as a malevolent look came across it's face, "We won't be taking orders from you any longer."
With a sudden blur of motion the android seemed to disappear from sight but the effect was only temporary for he soon reappeared right in front of Watcher Seven. For a moment they just looked at one another, eye to eye, neither of them moving an inch though Travers seemed like he wanted to run away very fast. Then he suddenly convulsed as if he had just experienced a very unpleasant sensation and as they soon found out it was a very unpleasant sensation indeed. Slowly with shock Travers looked down at his chest to find a large and bloody hole in his chest that went clear through to the other side. With the last bit of life within him the Watcher could only raise his head and look at his creation one more time before dropping to the ground. What had the attention of Willow and the others was not the dead man on the floor but what the android held in his hand. His hand still out in front of him, covered in blood, held in it what according to most anatomy text books was a still pulsating human heart. Needless to say Xander promptly lost his lunch while the others simply tried to look away to avoid looking at the gross sight. Fortunately though the Android seemed to lose interest in what he was holding and quickly vaporized the heart until it was gone and his hand was clean. If they hadn't seen it happen with his own eyes they would never have known what had happened just a few moments ago.
On the plus side though it did one thing right which was break the binding spell that was holding them suspended off the ground. They all dropped to the ground, some a bit more gracefully than others, but once they had all gotten to their feet they were all at something of a loss as to what to do next. After all most of the really powerful warriors were already combating the androids and even though Glorificus was here Willow doubted that either Goku or Vegita would be coming to their rescue any time soon. Chances are they were out with the others which meant all that was there to stand against one android and an ex-Hell Goddess were two wiccas, two Watchers, and an assortment of civilians
"We are in BIG trouble!" Willow said in a voice that was almost calm except for the fear that those who knew her could hear.