Chapter 13 – Ultimate Android 17

Goku was a little worried this time. He had no way of gauging 17's power level, but from the looks of things, he had powered up a lot. 17 seemed to think so too.

"Let's see," he said. "I think I'll call myself Ultimate 17. Care to try me out, Son Goku? I'd like to see what I can do before I kill you."

Goku kept his face expressionless. "That's funny. I was just thinking the same thing."

They looked at each other for a moment. Then they both flew forward, passing each other in the air. They stopped short and both disappeared, reappearing thirty feet away and fighting very fast. Goten, bobbing up and down in the water, came to his senses when he saw his father's newfound strength. Wow, he thought. Dad's really powered up. This is incredible! How did he do that?

Goku did indeed have the edge over Ultimate 17. He shot his knee upward, and 17 was hurled up. Goku followed him and elbow-slammed him into the water. By now he knew there was no reason to play around: this was a serious battle. He dove into the water himself and located 17 there. He flew at him again, but his speed was reduced in the water and 17 saw him coming. He dodged. Goku flew right past him, and was hit by a blast before he had time to turn around. 17 fired more blasts at him in a large volley, each one slightly stronger than the last. Goku turned around and put up his arms to block the blasts, but they were slowly breaking his defense. He was also running out of air. Thinking quickly, he teleported to Goten and gasped gratefully.

"Dad!" yelled Goten. "What's happening? Do you need any help?"

"It won't...do any good," huffed Goku. "Listen...Goten...I need you to find...Gohan. Hurry! This is going to be one hell of a fight." Goten flew off, just as Ultimate 17 burst out of the water. Goten flew around, looking for a strong ki signal. He knew they were bound to come looking for Goku after sensing his power, but he wanted to make sure. He arrived at Gohan's house and landed.

"Gohan!" he yelled, bursting in the door. He found his brother concentrating intently on an experiment. He held up a finger in silence.

"Shh," he whispered. "Goten, I need to concentrate on this. It's very important for my career, and could be a big scientific breakthrough if it's done correctly."

"Gohan," whispered Goten. "Are you not paying attention to Dad's ki? It's huge, bigger than it was a couple of months ago! He's in trouble and he needs you!"

Gohan looked up from his experiment. "Just give me a couple of minutes, Goten, I'm sure it's not—" His eyes widened. "Whoa! That really is a difference! Who's he fighting?"

"A beefed-up, reprogrammed version of Android 17. He's not going to come out of this one OK unless he gets help, Gohan!"

"Android 17?" asked Gohan, puzzled. "Well, OK. I don't really understand this, Goten, but if Dad's using all this power it must be serious. I'll go." Gohan powered up and flew off with Goten in tow. Trunks lifted his head up.

"Trunks, what's wrong?" asked Bulma, tinkering with the new capsule they were working on.

"Gohan is using his full power," said Trunks, awestruck. "Something big must be happening."

"Well, I hope you're not planning on going yourself," said Bulma matter-of-factly. "We have a bit more work to do here."

"Um...you can handle it, right?" asked Trunks. "I missed the last fight. I don't want to sit another one out." He dashed to his room, pulled out a long, metallic sword from his closet, and flew off toward the battle.

Bulma watched him fly off. She sighed. "I guess I should wake up Vegeta," she said, leaving her work for the moment. Goku and Ultimate 17 were fighting furiously. Goku could feel himself growing tired, but he kept telling himself to hold out a little longer until his sons arrived. He couldn't believe that 17 had almost surpassed him in power in just a few short minutes.

17 landed a punch on Goku's face that stunned him momentarily; 17 seized the moment and shot a huge burst of electricity at him. Goku yelled in pain and swung his foot forward. 17 had already disappeared and reappeared behind him, however, and he kicked Goku into a nearby building. They were no longer among the islands. They had fought their way into South City.

"Now I have an extra incentive to kill you," said Ultimate 17. "Now all these people can die as well." He released a massive burst of energy from his entire body, blowing everything around him into oblivion. Goku was thrown backward uncontrollably, and was left all the worse for it. He was in pain, and was breathing hard. Damn it! If only it were night! he thought. At this rate, I'm doomed! His train of thought was interrupted when he sensed Goten and Gohan's ki. And there were two more as well: Trunks and Uub. 17 didn't sense them.

"Well, you're tougher than I thought," he said. "I'm impressed. I guess I haven't absorbed as much energy as I imagined. Well, that will change now." He landed in front of Goku. Goku was having difficulty moving. He lay on the ground, hoping against hope that the others would arrive in time.

Ultimate 17 reached down and picked up Goku by the neck. To his horror, Goku felt his energy begin to seep out of him. Another minute of this, and even Gohan might have trouble! he thought desperately.

In the nick of time, 17 released his grip on Goku as he was hit from behind. Goku's relief changed to terror when he realized that the attacker had been Uub, and he had hit 17 with a large beam attack.

"Oh look, Son Goku," said 17, smiling. "The cavalry's here. Too bad he didn't find out more about me before attacking like that." In an instant, Uub was on the ground next to Goku, groaning. 17 was in the air.

"You see what happens when you try to sneak attack me?" he crowed triumphantly. "You get beat down! None of you can stop me! Bring all the friends you want!"

At that moment, 17 was kicked hard, and sent flying into the ground. Gohan floated there, his foot still extended. "Maybe you spoke too soon," he said. Goten and Trunks followed close behind.

A narrow beam shot up toward Gohan's heart; he threw his chest back and dodged it. Creating a giant crater in the ground, Ultimate 17 shot up at Gohan, arm raised. Gohan blocked the strike, but felt the impact run through his body. Goten and Trunks stepped in, becoming Super Saiyans and joining the fray.

They both rushed at 17 from different sides, but 17 swung out both fists and hit them, while kicking Gohan in the chest. Gohan flinched for a moment, but countered with a quick series of punches to the face. 17 disappeared and reappeared above Gohan with his hands clasped above his head, but was hit from the sides by Goten and Trunks before he brought them down. Gohan flew upward and head-butted 17 in the stomach, sending him flying upward.

All three raced up to hit him again. Frustrated, Ultimate 17 yelled and released a force field that blew them all backward. Goten and Trunks were injured, while Gohan was only slightly hurt. He couldn't break through the barrier, and 17 would not let it down. He began firing ki blasts at the Saiyans through his barrier. Goten and Trunks had managed to jump out of the way, while Gohan deflected them with ease. But with each passing second the blasts were coming faster, and Ultimate 17 began aiming them at Goku and Uub as well.

Gohan had no choice. He shot his hands forward and released a beam of energy, enough to shatter the barrier. 17 grinned and let down the barrier of his own free will. He spread his arms out to absorb the blast. Panicking, Gohan changed the beam's course just before it hit 17, and rushed up and slammed his knee into 17's chest. 17 gagged, and Gohan grabbed his metallic arm and hurled him downward, where Trunks was waiting with his sword. Using as much strength as he could in his injured state, he thrust it upward at Ultimate 17.

Gohan stared in suspense. Goten watched from a few feet away, while Uub dragged himself up from the ground and watched. Trunks thrust with bated breath. The sword impacted Ultimate 17...and bent.

"No!" yelled Gohan. 17 flipped onto his feet and blasted Trunks with all his might. Trunks flew backward endlessly; buildings and landscapes were destroyed in the path of the blast, until the entire area around the blast was nothing but barren rock. Trunks was nowhere to be found.

"Aaaah!" cried Goten. "Trunks has already been brought back!"

"Is he...?" called Uub.

"I can't sense his ki!" cried Goten desperately. "No! Noooo!" He stood up straight and turned to face Ultimate 17. "You...you are going to PAY!" he screamed, as his aura flared up around him, and with a final scream, he burst into a Super Saiyan 2.

Gohan, Uub, and 17 stared at him. Goku, almost unconscious, managed to turn his head to the side to watch his son. He gave a feeble smile.

Ultimate 17 regained his composure. "So, you made another transformation," he said. "Your power still can't compare to mine."

"Shut your mouth!" yelled Goten as he flew up and began furiously punching and kicking 17. To everyone's surprise, it actually seemed to be inflicting some damage.

"What the...?" said 17 aloud. "None of the others had power like this when they were your level! Stop it! GET OFF!" He disappeared and reappeared on the other side of Goten, and slammed him away with his metallic arm. Goten bounced and slid along the ground, hard.

Gohan and Uub threw themselves at Ultimate 17. He treated Uub as an annoyance: though he had slightly more power than Goten, he lacked his ferocity. 17's main fight was with Gohan. They were almost equal in power now: Gohan had a slight edge that was waning quickly. Uub's lightning-quick punches did nothing to 17, and he was repeatedly repelled with weak attacks. Finally, 17 whipped around and faced Uub.

"You want to fight me!" he raged. "Fine! I'll kill you now and then deal with Son Gohan!" He rushed at Uub and slammed him in the same way he had Goten. One of Uub's eyes closed in pain while the other twitched; he sailed along the ground and came to rest a mile away. 17 turned around to face Gohan, but he had disappeared. 17 whipped his head wildly around, but could not find Gohan; that is, until he felt Gohan's foot in his back. They resumed their fierce battle.

"Why won't you go down!" spat 17, fighting with all his might.

"I was wondering the same thing!" yelled Gohan.

At last, 17 landed a hit on Gohan's kneecap. He head-butted Gohan's forehead and shot out his hand, forming an energy ball.

"I'll wipe out you and your father with this blast!" he cried. "My mission will be complete!" Gohan cursed; he knew there was no time for him to dodge.

At that moment, 17 threw his head back and howled, clutching at his eye in anger. Gohan looked down at what had caused it and saw Goten, struggling to stand on his hands and knees, his finger extended and with a strong aura surrounding it. He shot another tiny beam; this one hit 17's other eye, damaging it as well.

"I guess I hit a vulnerable spot," breathed Goten.