10 years ago, 12 hours before Goku and Brick met for the first time:

"MOMMY!! DADDY!!"

Yui Francois-Stone ran into little Eva's bedroom to find her daughter sitting up in bed, crying. Moving quickly, she picked the teddy monkey off the floor and sat down next to the little girl, pulling her into a hug.

"What's wrong, precious?" she whispered.

"I had a bad dream," Eva sobbed. "I was in this oven-thing, and it was burning and it hurt and it felt like it was doing something to my insides..."

Making shushing sounds, Yui gently rocked her daughter and gave her Kongy. Eva took the doll without hesitation, but didn't stop crying.

"And there was a window in the oven," she continued. "And I could see you on the outside. You were just standing there Mommy, just standing and watching....it looked like you were crying..."

Yui hugged the little Eva tightly. "I'm so sorry precious."

Eva just continued to sob, clutching tightly onto both her mother and her doll.

"I want to give you something," Yui whispered, pulling something apparently from nowhere. "It used to belong to my Daddy..."

Eva looked up. "What is it?"

Yui opened her hand to reveal a small, oddly shaped red crystal encased in gold and attached to a golden chain. Without waiting for a response, she quietly placed it around Eva's neck.

"It's very special," Yui explained. "It will protect you when you're in danger and let me watch over you always."

"Pretty," Eva whispered, looking at the jewel.

"He said I had to give it to you," Yui said very quietly. "He didn't say I had to give it to you in its original state."

"What Mommy?"

"I was just saying that I love you, my little Eva," Yui said in a normal volume. "And I always will. I'll always be with you, no matter what happens..."

The Present:

"Eva? Hey Eva! Are you even listening to me?"

Eva looked up from staring at her necklace as she snapped out of her flashback. In front of her, stood Goku who looked frustrated, but only slightly.

"Sorry," she said, soon matching the crystal's color in embarrassment.

The two of them were in Capsule Corp.'s indoor garden. Eva was sitting cross-legged on the grass, wearing her father's leather jacket over her orange fighting Gi, despite the fact the garden's temperature was in the low 60s. Goku stood a few feet in front of her.

"It's okay," he replied. "Though since you seemed so eager to learn Instant Transmission, it might help if you stayed on planet Earth."

"Right," she said with a nod. "So how's this bitch work?"

"Always"

Goku appeared behind Eva and removed his fingers from his forehead. "See?" he said. "Nothing to it."

Eva nodded again as she stood up. "So I put my pointer and middle finger against my forehead like so..."

"Right," Goku said. "And then you find the Ki sig--"

Before he could finish, Eva suddenly disappeared. She reappeared a few yards away, looking directly up one of the trees.

"Hello Panny," she said with a grin.

There was a surprised shout from within the branches, soon followed by Pan falling out of the tree and hitting the ground with a thud.

"Hi Auntie Eva," Pan said, rubbing her head through her bandanna.

Eva giggled. "Are you spying on me and Granpa Goku?"

"No! I was playing hide-and-seek with Mommy!"

"Your Mom's at work."

Pan chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Her eyes became "upside-down U's" and the Son Grin formed on her face. "Okay, Trunks is supposed to be watching me while Mommy and Daddy are at work, but he's sparring with Uncle Goten."

Eva smirked. "So you decided to see what trouble you could get into."

"Yeah...I mean no!!"

Goku laughed.

Eva smiled down at her adopted niece. "Why don't you go cause trouble for Gramma Chi-Chi? That'll get Trunks back on the job."

Pan grinned evilly before flying out of the garden. Once she was gone, Eva started grinning herself.

"That was sooo COOL!" she squealed. "I gotta show Auntie Bulma!"

"Uh...Eva?" Goku said. "I don't think that's such a good idea right now..."

"Oh, she's just in her lab," Eva said, waving him off. "It's not like I'm going all the way to Namek."

And with that, she vanished.

Goku sighed. "Well, at least she's still learning quick."

"AAAAHHH!!! UNCLE VEGGIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY AUNTIE BULMA?! Oh my poor little virgin eyes...."

"Now if only she'd learn to look before she leaps..."

"KAKAROTT!! I AM COMING FOR YOU!!"

Goku gulped. "Gotta go!"

"Man, I can't wait till Eva finally moves into her own room."

Trunks looked over at his friend. "Why's that?"

Goten leaned against the outside wall of the gravity chamber, wiping the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. "All week, every night, just as I'm getting to sleep, she sneaks into my room and asks to sleep with me."

Trunks smirked. "Does she now? So she use a wonder bra or what?"

Goten smirked back. Trunks obviously had the wrong idea, but there wasn't any harm in playing along, was there?

"Nope. They're real and they're awesome."

"Lucky bastard."

"And that ass. It's nice and--"

Goten stopped in mid-sentence as the ass in question suddenly appeared between the two Saiyans with a small thud.

"Man, it's even COOLER when you're Super!" Eva grinned as her hair went from red to black.

"Eva?" Goten said in slight shock. "How'd you just appear like that?"

Still grinning, Eva slowly and clumsily climbed to her feet, using the wall for support. "Goku just taught me Instant Transmission!"

"You mean," Trunks said, "now you really can appear out of no where? Instead of just seeming to?"

"Yep!"

"Great," Goten sighed. "Just great. Wait--how long has Dad been teaching you this?"

"My first lesson was this morning," Eva replied. "Why?"

Both boys blinked.

"Because Dad said Instant Transmission was one of the hardest tricks he ever learned," Goten replied. "And you can already pull it off perfectly."

"Not perfectly," Eva said, rubbing the back of her head. "I get pretty dizzy afterwards...and a few times I wound up somewhere I didn't wanna be..." She shuddered slightly.

"I don't get it!" Trunks shouted. "You teleport like a pro, but you still can't perform a decent Kamehameha Wave!"

"Hey! I'll have you know I've never mispronounced it the same way twice!" She removed her father's jacket and set it down on the ground. "Man it's hot all of a sudden..."

Trunks and Goten glanced at each other, then turned their attention back toward their female companion.

"Anyway!" Eva shouted. "Hey Goten, how'd you like to help me pack up my stuff? Trunks, I'd invite you to, but you're on the clock."

" 'On the clock'?" Trunks repeated, raising an eyebrow. "The hell are you talking about?"

As if to answer Trunks's question, an explosion suddenly erupted on the other side of the grounds.

"Oh crap," Trunks whispered. "PAN!!"

Eva giggled, took hold of Goten's wrist, and with him in tow, took to the sky.

Goku peaked around the entrance to the main laboratory. "You wanted to see me Bulma?"

Bulma looked up from her work and chuckled. "I sent Vegeta on an errand, Goku. He'll be gone for a while."

The Saiyan let out a sigh of relief and entered the room. "What happened earlier, anyway?"

"Oh Eva just happened to appear when me and Vegeta were kissing, that's all. I guess it must have looked weird or something."

Goku cringed. "I'll say."

She glared at him. "I'll ignore that little comment, but only because this info is really important."

Goku became serious and walked over to the terminal, looking over Bulma's shoulder. "What's up?"

"Well, I've analyzed the samples of the last Angel Gohan and Vegeta brought me, and I've found out some interesting stuff. Take a look at its DNA."

A CGI model of a DNA strand appeared on the screen. It was divided into two colors: black and red.

"You've used red before..." Goku whispered.

"Yep," Bulma nodded. "This creature's a hybrid like Goten or Trunks. And half of its DNA is exactly the same as Eva's mysterious fourth quarter."

"And the black?"

"Not a damn clue, but that's not really important right now. Look at this."

She called up another file. A chunk of what seemed to be purple flesh appeared on the screen.

"This is a piece of that Angel," Bulma explained. "And this..."

She called up another picture. It was the same piece of Angel, but a third of it was blackened.

"...is the piece after I had Trunks zap it in his normal form."

Goku nodded. "Okay, but what's this got to do with Eva?"

"I'm getting to that. After studying the results of Trunks' attack for a few hours, I decided to play on another hunch. I had him attack another third of the strip at the exact same level, and this was the result."

She called up and other picture, but:

"It's the exact same picture," Goku said, scratching his head.

"Actually, it's not," Bulma corrected. "The same level of attack had no effect. The chunk evolved and adapted."

"You mean it's still alive?!"

"No, it's quite dead. Far as I can tell, it's like a human's hair and finger nails. They keep growing after the body has died." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm having Vegeta destroy all the samples, just to be safe. I got what I need."

Goku nodded.

"Anyway, after it didn't work, I had Trunks go Super. The piece was nearly vaporized. A few hours later, I had him hit it again, at the same level, and there was no effect."

"Bulma, what are you saying?"

She continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Playing my hunch further, I studied the DNA, and found the genetic code for this adaptation ability is found solely in the 'red' section."

"So that's how she's getting so strong so quick," Goku whispered in realization.

Bulma nodded. "Seems that way."

"Any idea on what the red is yet?"

"Actually, yeah, and I know no one's gonna like it. Especially her."

Goku sighed. "All right, let's hear it."

"Well, we all know Darcon was Radam. We also know the part he played in Yui's creation and that these Angel's are supposedly his...."

Goku's eyes widened slightly. "No way...."

"I think we can say, with 90 certainty, that the fourth quarter of Eva's DNA is Radam."

"Here we are. Home, once Sweet, Home," Eva said as she and Goten touched down in front of the Stone house.

"You'll always have the memories," Goten said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The good ones."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "It's just that I've had a hard time....remembering the good memories lately. When I come here now, all I remember is...that."

She gestured to a patch of scorched earth on the front of lawn.

"Is that...where you first transformed?" Goten asked.

She nodded. "It's scary when I look back now....I had no idea I could hate so much. I mean, I still hate the Radam with every fiber of my being, but when Goku told me..." She shivered.

"Yeah," was all Goten could say. "But at least you finally learned to channel that hate, right?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Do you...remember what you were feeling when you first went Super?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I just know I was really upset that Mom was pushing me so hard. I was just too young I guess. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on Gohan's face though."

She giggled softly. "C'mon," she said as she went to unlock the door. "Let's do this thing."

Goten gave a small smile and followed her into the house, up the stairs and into her room. Once there, Eva pulled out about five Capsules, which expanded into five large boxes.

"Well, I guess we should get started," Eva sighed. "You can go ahead. I gotta use the ladies' room. Help yourself into anything in the mini-fridge. We gotta empty it before we pack it anyway."

"She has a mini-fridge?" Goten muttered after she left. He looked into one of the corners of the bedroom, and sure enough was, there was a small refrigerator plugged in. "How could I not of noticed this?"

Shrugging, he decided to see what was inside.

"Snacks....ice...and 50 gallons of root beer?! What kind of life does she live?"

"The good life!!"

Goten jumped out of his skin and spun around to see a very smug looking Eva heading over to him. He started to stammer out something, but she simply pushed him out of the way and reached into the fridge. Goten barely reacted in time to catch the bottle of root beer and bag of chips she tossed at him. He looked at the foodstuffs, and then looked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Eat Son," she said as she opened her own bag of chips. "I know you're hungry. You're a Saiyan." She then wolfed her chips down, almost eating the bag with them, and immediately opened a second.

Goten shrugged and started snacking away. Around his fifth bag of junk food and her eighth, he decided he may as well talk with his host.

"So...what's the ice for?"

Eva stopped short from opening another bag and looked at him. At first, it seemed like she was angry that her meal had been interrupted, but then she shrugged and reached into the fridge. She pulled out two ice cubes, popped them into her mouth and started chewing them.

Goten just watched, blinking.

"It's a habit I picked up when I was little," she explained. "I'd chew on anything and everything so Dad just started shoving ice in my mouth."

"I never knew that," Goten said. "And I've known you since you were little."

"Well, when people find out about it, they tend to stare at me like I'm from outer space," she grinned. "It's not something I go around advertising. 'Hi! My name's Eva, and I can't put anything in my mouth without chewing on it!' "

Goten chuckled. "You know, if you introduced yourself like that, you probably wouldn't have to worry about any unwanted attention."

Eva paused as she tried to figure out exactly what he meant by that. Once she did, a shocked expression came over her face. "Eeewww!!" she shouted, hurling one of her crumpled snack bags at him. "You hentai! That's disgusting!"

He laughed as he ducked and dodged the barrage of foil bags. "Okay, okay! I deserve that! But to be fair, you sorta are from outer space!"

"Digging yourself deeper Son!" she shouted as she hurled her last bag particularly hard and hitting him right between the eyes.

He laughed and began to retaliate. The two spent a good twenty minutes just laughing and hurling foil balls at each other. The battle stopped when Eva suddenly shot out a small Ki blast. Goten cried out in surprise, but calmed down when he saw that she had only shot off the bottlecap to his root beer.

"Cheers, Goten," she smiled, raising her own open bottle. It was a sincere and happy smile that Goten found himself returning as he raised his bottle to hers.

"What are we toasting to?" he asked.

She shrugged. "To us. To our friendship of so...oh wait!"

"Huh?"

"I forgot," she grinned, dancing away to her bed. "You don't appreciate my friendship and everything I've done for you!"

"Not this again," he sighed, covering his face with is free hand. "Look Eva, I said I was sorry! Can't you just drop it?"

"Did you hear something Kongy?" Eva asked as she scooped the teddy monkey up. "Do you think Trunks came by with Panny?"

"Oh, now that's low," Goten said in a hurt tone, even though he was grinning ear to ear. While the fun was being had at his expense, he was happy that Eva was still able to have fun at all. It was like she had forgotten all that happened to her recently.

Which of course meant it was time for a reminder.

A reminder that came in the form of white hellfire from the sky. The two teens barely had time to register that they had seen the flash of light before the Stone house was destroyed in an explosion of fire and brimstone.

"EVA!" Goten cried as he climbed to his feet. Scanning the burning wreckage, he found her, unharmed and standing in the center of what and once been her room. He was relived, but it was replaced with shock when he noticed that she wasn't so much as singed by the blast. The girl simply stood, staring off into oblivion. His shock became worry when he noticed the empty look in her eyes. He was about to call out again when he heard her speak.

"They killed Kongy," she whispered weakly. Her voice, which just moments ago had been so full of life and laughter, sounded dead. Defeated.

Goten looked to the floor. The teddy monkey lay in a pile of ash, slowly burning away to nothing.

"You BASTARDS!!" Eva screamed, exploding into her Super Saiyan form bolting straight up into the air. Goten tried to watch her through the smoke, but only saw another bright flash and heard Eva crash through what remained of the house and into the front yard. Flashing to his own Super Saiyan form, he raced toward her Ki signature at his top speed.

"Eva! Are you..."

He trailed to off when he found her struggling to her feet. The top half of her Gi had been reduced tatters and apparently, she didn't bother to wear a sports bra underneath it.

"Bastards," Eva whispered, her voice having gone from dead to fanatical. "First they took my Daddy, then my home, then my KONGY! I'll kill them! Destroy them!"

Goten simply stared in a shock of his own. Just as he was about to finally find a voice, he saw a black object hurled at Eva and his head was jerked away.

"Eva," he heard Trunks say, "kindly cover up so we go blow the shit out of that thing."

It was then that Goten realized he still hadn't seen what it was that attacked them. Twisting his head and moving his eyes, he looked above what had once been the Stone house.

The thing was a giant silver (Dammit, what's that shape called again? Goten thought. Ah-HA!) octahedron twice the size of the house it just had destroyed. It hovered ominously high in the sky, moving ever slowly toward the three Saiyan teens.

"Mind letting me go so I can help?" Goten asked.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Trunks smirked. "In a minute Don Juan."

"God I hate you."

Before Trunks could reply, both boys heard a zipping sound. Trunks let go of Goten and the two turned to see Eva, her torso now covered by her father's closed leather jacket. Her eyes were burning yellow with a hatred brighter than her hair and aurora combined.

Both Trunks and Goten simply nodded, transforming into Super Saiyans. Together, the three friends faced the giant and cupped their hands to their sides. While the boys each unleashed a Kamehameha Wave, Eva simply fired the most powerful blast she could summon. However, it was futile as all three simply deflected off a hexagonal force field that materialized at the last millisecond.

The boys cursed, but Eva screamed. She was still screaming when she streaked into the air in a collision course toward the octahedron. Goten was about to follow after her when he felt something. Like a sudden chill in the air.

"EVA WATCH OUT!"

In her rage, she was going to ignore him, but then felt the chill herself. She stopped in midair and watched as a beam of intense white light shot out of the shape's closest corner and right at her. Unable to think of anything else fast enough, Eva closed her eyes tight and crossed her arms in front of her face.

I'll always be with you.

"Mommy?"

Eva never felt the blast hit. Rather, she heard it collide with something else. Confused, she opened her eyes and lowered her arms slightly. What she saw confused her even more.

The Angel's energy beam was right on target, she could feel the heat from it, but a hexagonal force field had materialized between it and herself.

"What?" she whispered. "This can't be mine....can it?"

It was. She could feel the force field, feel the pressure and heat being pushed against it, like she felt her arm or her leg or any other part of her being.

"It can't hurt me," she whispered. She then grinned and cupped her hands at her side. "Ka...Me...Ha....Me..."

"She's doing it!" Goten exclaimed. "She actually doing it!"

"KA!"

"Or not," Goten sighed as both he and Trunks sweatdropped.

The mispronunciation didn't make any difference this time however, as Eva's attack bounced off her own shield, blasting her right in the face. She lost consciousness and plummeted toward the ground, her hair returning to black and shield vanishing as she did. Luckily for her, the impact with the Earth jarred her back into the land of the living.

"Owie," she groaned as she stumbled to her feet. Holding her head, she watched as her two friends picked up where she left off and had even worse luck than she did. Their attacks wound harmlessly bounce of the creature's shield, sometimes right back at them. The shield would then lower, and a blast would be fired, forcing the two teens to scatter and try again.

"Wait a minute," she whispered. "It has to lower its shield in order to attack. TRUNKS! GOTEN! I'll distract it! Blast it while it's blasting me! I hope I know how to work this thing..."

Powering back up, Eva became airborne again and hurled a massive Ki ball at the Angel. As she expected, it ricocheted off the force field. Taking a deep breath as she felt the air temperature drop several degrees, she flung her hands out in front of her. When the blast was fired, she closed her eyes tight and turned her head away.

She felt a sensation similar to a Ki blast leaving her hands and then heard the Angel's beam impact against something. Opening an eye, she saw that her own shield had materialized again. Playing on a hunch, she faced the Angel and channeled more power into her field. It intensified and became more visible, but in response, the power of the attack increased as well, pushing Eva back a few feet.

Eva grinned evilly. "We got you now you bastard." Igniting her aurora, she screamed "HIT IT NOW!"

Flying up and either side, Goten and Trunk again unleashed the most powerful attacks they could manage. This time, they hit their mark dead on, exploding on impact, followed by much cheering and high fives. And thus the boys were caught off guard when two energy beams cut through the smoke and shot them out of the sky.

"No fucking way," Eva whispered as the rest of the smoke parted. The Angel was still in one piece, black burn marks on two of its sides the only sign it had been hit at all. "Why do you even need a force field?" she asked the shape as she started to take her power back for an offensive strike. "You're a fuckin' fortress!"

As if to spite her, the Angel raised its shield to evade her assault, and then returned fire. Having expected this, Eva quickly pressed her fingers to her forehead and vanished.

"She ran away?!" Trunks asked as he watched the scene through his swelling eyes.

"You know her better than that," Goten snapped as he stumbled to his feet. "She's gotta have something planned. We just need to keep that geometry reject busy long enough for her to do it."

"You're right," Trunks sighed. "But mind telling me exactly how we can do that?! Even without its force field we've barely scratched it!"

"Maybe it's time for us to do a little dance."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "God! Can't you just say we....wait a second. It's stopped moving."

"Huh?" Goten said as he looked up at the Angel.

Trunks was right. The octahedron had become completely still in the air. They waved, shot power blasts into the air and flared their auroras. There was no response.

"Maybe she knocked it out?" Goten offered.

Trunks shook his head. "Then why is it still floating there?" He took a few steps and than began fly to toward it. "It looks more mechanical than anything. Maybe we damaged its--"

He was cut off as a blast suddenly shot out of one of the corners, knocking him back to where he started and creating a small crater.

"Or it only attacks you when you get within a certain range," he muttered as he sat up.

The octahedron then began to move again. Away from the two Saiyans.

"It's heading in the direction of the city!" Goten shouted.

"Shit," Trunks spat. "All right Goten. Let's dance."

"Or," a familiar voice said from behind them, "you ladies could calm down and let us help you."

"EVA!" the boys shouted as they spun around. When they did, they saw that she wasn't alone. Goku, Krillin, Gohan, Pan, Vegeta and Piccolo were with them. Goku and Eva were just removing their fingers from their forehead while everyone else removed their hands from the two Saiyans' shoulders.

"I thought you bolted," Trunks admitted.

"Please!" Eva laughed. "When have I ever let you guys down?"

Goten grinned. "Well, there was that time you stood me up at the prom."

"Sorry, the football team made me a better offer," she said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"All right kids," Goku said seriously, though he was smiling. "Joke later. Did you two learn anything while Eva was getting us?"

"Not much," Goten admitted. "After she teleported out of here, it became really still, not doing anything but floating there."

"Until I got close enough," Trunks added. "Then it fried me and started heading towards Satan City. Mind telling me where the hell all of you have been?"

"We were watching from a nice safe distance," Krillin said, sweating and rubbing the back of his head. "After all, no citizens were in danger and you three were keeping it busy."

"Fair enough," Goten said. "Except now, it's heading right back at us!"

Eva narrowed her eyes at the Angel as it was confirmed that it was indeed moving slowly towards the assembled Z Fighters. "I thought so," she whispered.

"What's that?" Trunks asked.

"I noticed while we were flying around and zapping it that it was focusing on me. Following me. I was locked onto Goku's Ki when I teleported, and found myself halfway between here and the city."

"So when it was still, it was trying to find you again," Goten finished.

She nodded. "And now that it's coming over here to finish the job."

Vegeta gave a 'hmpf' as spoke up. "That's all well and good, but if we hadn't been just standing here yakking like women--"

Pan and Eva shot him death glares.

"-- we could have destroyed that thing by now!"

"Good luck," Goten said coldly. "All three of us did our best and only gave it minor scorch marks."

"Fool," Vegeta scoffed. "Let me show you how a real Saiyan does it!"

With that, he transformed to his highest power level and bolted at the Angel. He ignored Trunks's cries of protest and unleashed his most powerful attack. Due to Vegeta's superior speed, the Angel had no time to raise it's shield. Just like Trunks and Goten's attack, there was an explosion as the blast made contact. But also like last time, Vegeta's smirk was wiped from his face when a white beam cut right through the smoke.

And right through Vegeta's arm.

The Saiyan Prince cried out in pain as he held his stump and started to crash. Moving quickly, Goku caught his friend and called out. "PAN!"

"Yeah Granpa Goku?" Pan said as she rushed to her grandfather's side.

"Take Vegeta back to the Capsule Corp and get him into a regeneration chamber!"

"But--"

"Don't argue! I didn't bring any Senzu beans with me, so Vegeta will have to sit this one out. Now GO!"

Muttering her displeasure, Pan gripped Vegeta under his shoulders and took off at her top speed. When she was gone, Goku nodded and rejoined the group.

"Well, he left a bigger burn than us," Trunks sighed. "At least we know it can be beaten."

"We just need something strong enough," Goten added.

All eyes immediately turned to Goku.

"Hey, don't look at me!" he said. "There no way to tell how strong that armor is! And we're yet to break through one of those shields!"

"Great," Piccolo sighed as he tossed off his cape and turban. "So unless anybody else has any ideas, we'll just have to wail on it and hope for the best."

"Actually," Eva said, raising her hand, "I think I got one."

"Well," Goku said, "out with it!"

Eva nodded, turning to look at the Angel as it drew ever closer. "I don't know why or how, but I got my own force field, just like blocky here. It's independent of my Ki, but by channeling my Ki into it, I can make it bigger and stronger."

"Really? Wow!" Goku exclaimed as they all flew away from the Angel since it was getting too close for their comfort.

"Since it's targeting me anyway," Eva continued as they landed about a quarter of a mile away, "I'll cover you guys while you all charge your most powerful attack."

"Will that be enough to break the field and the armor?" Krillin asked. "Both seem invincible from everything you guys have said."

Eva shook her head. "It can't do offense and defense at the same time. Neither of us can. Which is just as well as I'll be putting everything I have into my shield. And can't pronounce Kamehe worth beans." She winked at Trunks and Goten.

Piccolo nodded his approval. "If we all focus on one spot and give it everything we got, it just might work."

"If Piccolo likes it, it's good enough for me!" Krillin said. "So should we move closer to it our what?"

Eva's eyes suddenly went wide. "No time. Start charging right now."

"Huh?!" Goten exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah!" Trunks added. "We're still well out of range."

Eva shot them a glance. "I can see our breath."

She then spun around and held out her arms just in time for her shield to catch the brightest blast from the Angel yet.

"All right! You all heard the girl!" Piccolo shouted as he put his fingers to his forehead in a position similar to that of Instant Transmission. "We're only gonna get one shot! Let's make it count!"

"Ka..." started Goku.

"...Me..."continued Krillin.

"...Ha..." Gohan.

"...Me..." Goten.

"...Ha..." Trunks.

Eva heard the others behind her, and sent the first burst of Ki into her shield as she took a step forward. In response to this, she felt the force being exerted against her increase.

"You're scared, aren't you?" she smirked as she continued to push forward, channeling even more power into her shield. "Some where in there is a brain and it's just aware enough to realize you're about to become scrap!"

The power of the blast suddenly intensified and Eva felt herself being pushed back. Growling, she flared her aurora and dug her feet into the ground. Giving the barrier another burst of power, she again started to push back.

"I am...Son...Eva...STONE! Father of the mighty Brick...Pupil of the legendary Goku....the world's first....and ONLY....female Super Saiyan! You will not beat me...I will have my REVENGE!!"

Eva gave another jolt to her shield, but instead of moving forward, she was nearly thrown off her feet when the Angel increased its power as well. Her feet actually sunk into the earth up to her ankles as she pushed her hardest against the Angel's attack. However, try as she might, she could not regain her previous ground.

Not good, Goku though as he continued to charge his attack. Glancing at the grass at his feet, he confirmed that it was frosted over. That thing is giving her everything it's got and it sounds like it might be too much for her. Plus she's starting to sound fanatical again...like Vegeta. We should probably attack now...

"NO!" Eva screamed, as if she were reading Goku's thoughts. "Piccolo's right! We probably won't get another shot like this! Give this bastard everything you have!"

With that, Eva screamed again. Her hair erupted into its Super Saiyan red and her shield became an orange even more blinding than the attack it was blocking. Pouring all of her remaining strength into her task, she started to rip free of the Earth's hold and into the air.

Goku couldn't help but beam with pride at his pupil. I hope you're watching Brick.

"...Ha...Me...Ha...Me..." continued the Z Fighters in perfect unison.

"NOW!" Eva cried. "AIM FOR THE CENTER!!"

She really would have liked for them for keep charging just a little longer, but she could feel her strength starting to give. It was apparently worse than she thought, as she only meant to lower the field slightly, just enough for their attack to get past, and her arms went completely limp.

"Shit."

"HA!"

"Special Beam Cannon!"

It happened almost simultaneously. Eva was consumed by the Angel's beam, but the Z Fighters' aim was true. The combined attack broke through the Angel's metallic armor like a wrecking ball through glass and burst out the other side. The octahedron was wracked by a series of internal explosions that drowned out Eva's screams of agony. As it's frame started to crack and catch fire, its beam finally ceased. As it plummeted and crashed to the ground, so did Eva.

The second they were sure that the burning wreckage was dead and wouldn't cause any more trouble, everyone immediately rushed to the young Stone's side. She was not a pretty sight.

"Oh God," choked Goten. "OhGodohGodohGodohGod...."

"I'm glad you sent Pan away Dad," Gohan whispered. "She couldn't handle seeing her Aunt like this..."

"She's burned to a crisp," Trunks whispered in horror.

"But she's alive," Krillin said, removing his hand from checking her pulse. "Barely. Goku, you need to teleport to Korin's and get some Senzu beans. Fast!"

"Right," the Saiyan said with a nod. He was about to do just that when Pan suddenly dropped out of the sky. Tears in her eyes, the young demi-Saiyan gently placed a Senzu bean in her Auntie Eva's mouth and then ran to her father, hugging him tightly.

Eva chewed twice and suddenly bolted into a sitting position and looked herself over. She was healed, but the bottom of her ruined Gi was little more than a burned rag and her father's leather jacket was nothing but burned scraps. Still looking at herself, she stood up, seemingly unaware of the friends and adopted family she was now flashing. Her gaze came to rest on her necklace, which was miraculously unharmed and resting between her breasts. Tears filled her eyes.

"Mommy....Daddy...,"she whispered. So softly that she barely heard it herself.

She crossed her arms across her chest, but more to hug herself than to cover up.

Had he seen this, Goten would more than likely have gone to try and comfort his friend. However, he, Trunks and Krillin had respectfully turned away. Gohan was busy trying to comfort Pan, so he was unaware as well.

Only Goku and Piccolo watched Eva, and with very different expressions on their faces. Goku was worried, frightened, while Piccolo seemed angry and impatient. The two elder fighters looked at each other. The Saiyan gave the Namekian a pleading look. Piccolo sighed, nodded and walked over to the crying girl.

Eva was oblivious to his approach. That is, until she slowly realized that her Gi had been repaired. Eyes wide, she looked up just in time to see Piccolo lower his hand.

"So the Three Stooges there will stop drooling," the Namek said simply, jerking his thumb toward Krillin, Trunks and Goten.

Eva blinked a couple times, blushed slightly and nodded. She then held up a burned piece of leather. "My Daddy's jacket?"

Piccolo sighed, rolled his eyes and raised his arm again. Within seconds, the jacket was as a good as new. Eva smiled and moved to hug the Namek, but he motioned for her to stop.

"I don't do hugging."

Eva was obviously disappointed, but only nodded.

"You did well today," Piccolo continued. "But you need to understand that we are at war with these Angels. It's us or them, and we don't have time to cry over every loss."

"But my house!"

"I understand. I felt much the same way when the Lookout was destroyed, but I didn't cry over it. Like your house, it is something that can be rebuilt or replaced. The sooner you learn this, the stronger you'll be."

"I...I understand," Eva whispered softly.

I sure hope so, Goku thought as the others went to comfort the girl. It obvious your body can survive a lot Eva. But after today, I'm worried your mind might not be as strong...

"We can't afford to be innocent
Stand up and face the enemy
It's a do-or-die situation
We will be invincible"
–Pat Benetar

End Credits:
If you were reading this story back in 2003, you might want to know that I've gone back and edited the previous chapters. Nothing major, really. Mostly, I updated the forwards and ANs and fixed up typos that I keep finding. (I swear, I do have editors. It is impossible to catch ALL of these.) Also, I changed a couple of minor plot points:

The crystal in Eva's necklace now has a gold casing (which you may or may not have noticed in this chapter). This may seem pointless now, but it will become important in later chapters.

I changed Brick's Saiyan name from Slade to "Rokkon" because I wanted something that sounded more alien. (Plus it sounds like "Rock on!" :P)

I also decided to go with the dub and use "Uub" instead of "Ubuu" when a friend pointed out to me it makes a bit more sense. (And yes, he will be making at least one more appearance in this saga. Possibly two.)

Visual reference: Evangelion's 5th Angel (though I'm sure anyone who's seen the show figured that out).

Oh yeah, and I added "chapter previews" like the one below. Of course, if reviews are any indication, no one is reading this fic and I'm wasting my time explaining all this. Oh well.

Preview Of Next Chapter:
Matters of the heart are never simple.
They rip and pull at you
until you're not sure which way is up,
and which way is down.
How close is too close?
When do you stop being "just friends"
and become something so much more?
A simple ring of the phone turns my already chaotic world on its head.
I wasn't home so they left a message:
"I care."

Plan B