Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty
By Feraligreater328
A/N: A bit of credit is due here. My editor, StevenBodner, usually helps me when it comes to writing choreography for these fights. But, this time around, something a bit different happened. He helped with the choreography of every fight in this chapter...but the entirety of Piccolo v 20 was written entirely by him. I wrote it to fit my writing style, but everything else was all him. So, I just wanted to congratulate him on writing such an engaging fight scene. And I wanted to thank him for helping me out with all of this.
Chapter 64: Temporal Turmoil
In the wasteland...
Bulma hunched over the latest piece of technology as a harsh wind blew over the desolate plains. In the car, in the background, Baby Trunks could be heard cooing in his car seat. Bulma chuckled. "One second, baby~"
She reached down and touched the tech, hissing and jerking her hands back. "Ow! Dammit!"
She touched it again, allowing her hands to adjust to the heat. Eventually, she managed to get a hold of it and pick it up. Android 19's head rattled as it was lifted from the ground, burnt scraps falling out of the hole that formerly lead to the Android's neck. Bulma smirked as she stared at her reflection in 19's dead eyes. "It's like an Android slot machine! Jackpot!"
Back in the mountains...
The Z-Fighters were all gathered around in a circle that surrounded Piccolo and Android 20. This time, the killer Android would not be allowed to escape. Android 20 smirked. "Simpering fools. Do you think you have won this simply because you outnumber me? The hatred of Dr. Gero knows no bounds, and you all shall-"
Shooting forward, Piccolo punched Android 20 in the face, sending the geriatric droid flying back and crashing into a rocky wall. 20 smashed into the wall, clearly shocked. "H-How? I drained so much of his power! How does-"
Piccolo charged at 20 and tried to deliver a kick, but 20 was able to dodge. The Android backflipped up the side of the wall and tossed an energy blast at Piccolo, but the Namekian was able to easily deflect it away. 20 glared. "That was a fluke. It must have been. I have drained so much power from you that it should be no matter at all to kill you, Piccolo!"
20 sprung off of the wall and skidded across the ground. Then, once he regained his footing, he launched himself back at Piccolo, with his arm drawn aside for a chop. 20 rained down his strike upon Piccolo, but the attack was quickly caught. 20 gasped and Piccolo smirked. And then, the Namekian returned another harsh punch to the face. 20 dropped to the ground like a stone and bounced, eventually landing and lying still.
Piccolo landed on the ground in front of 20 and loomed over his foe. 20 snarled. "Insolent pest!"
He threw another punch, but Piccolo easily caught it again. He squeezed 20's fist hard enough to make the servos in the Android's fingers pop. And then, before 20 could react, he hammered the Android across the face for a third time with a heavy punch. This punch made 20's right eye go lazy, partially rolling upwards. He snarled and went for a punch of his own, but Piccolo feinted back. The Namekian chuckled and then he leaned in again. Gripping 20's trapped hand tight, Piccolo unleashed a series of fierce strikes onto the Android. With one last vicious punch, Piccolo sent 20 crashing across the ground, sliding into a nearby pile of rubble.
Piccolo chuckled. "I think I'm about done with my warm-up..."
Android 20 shakily stood. "War-"
Piccolo cleared the distance between the two of them in a flash, doing a mid-air spin and delivering a mighty kick that sent 20 sailing through the air and back into the rocky wall once more. 20 crashed, making the imprint of himself in the rocks even larger, before sliding down to the ground in a heap. 20 was fuming as he stood back up. "Damn these accursed calculations! How could the algorithms have not quantified this?! Goku and Vegeta's strange metamorphoses could not have been accounted for...but what have you done to become so strong?!"
Piccolo smirked. "I mean, I did take off my weighted clothing..."
20 scowled. "Do not play me for a fool, green man! Your weights are irrelevant in such an unprecedented boost in strength!"
The Android thrust his hand at Piccolo, firing a massive ki blast. "Burn, fool!"
Piccolo cocked his head. "Hmph."
He held up his hand and grabbed 20's blast. The force of the attack caused Piccolo to skid back just a bit, but no more than that. Piccolo reared back and then, with all of his strength, he shoved the attack back at Android 20. 20's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly raised his hand up and reabsorbed the blast. "Imbecile! Have you forgotten that I can just reabsorb my own blasts?!"
The blast collided with 20's hand and began to flood back in. On the other side of the attack, Piccolo smirked. "No. I haven't."
After the blast had disappeared, Android 20 was shocked to see that Piccolo's hand was right there. In his distraction, the Android had not noticed that his Namekian foe had stretched his arm outward. Piccolo's hand shot right at 20, the sunlight glinting off of his sharp fingernails, and 20 had no time to react nor dodge. Piccolo's claws dug into 20's hand, slicing through his skin and into the machinery. Piccolo's fingers clenched around the lens imbedded in 20's palm and the Namekian pulled his arm back, ripping the device from 20's palm in one swift motion.
20 yelped in shock, stumbling backward and glancing down at his mangled hand. "H-How dare you?! How dare you?!"
Suddenly, to 20's surprise, Piccolo's hand shot forward again. It wrapped around the wrist of 20's undamaged hand and yanked the Android forward. The hapless Android was dragged back to Piccolo at high speed, only to be stopped in his tracks by a sudden, harsh kick to the gut. 20 gurgled, feeling the already large slice in his side increase in size. He snarled. "D-Damn you..."
Piccolo didn't respond. Instead, with cold efficiency, he delivered another five punches to his Android opponent before sending him flying into the air with a kick. Piccolo chased his foe into the sky and continued his assault, landing several critical strikes against the Android that launched him about. 20 cringed in pain, only regaining his senses just in time to avoid having his head blown off. The strike that Piccolo threw towards 20's face missed by a razor's edge, grazing the side of the Android's head and tearing off an ear.
Hearing the static where he once received auditory input, Android 20 lost his temper. "This is impossible! Inconceivable! Absolutely outrageous! The calculations made were flawless! This does not get with the figures that were presented! How did you manage to become so strong?!"
Piccolo smirked, retracting his arm. "You keep going on about numbers and calculations. It's pitiful."
20 snarled. Piccolo cracked his neck, his antennae bouncing as he did. "It's a shame too. I bet your calculations might have been fairly accurate...if only we had been training with our normal routine the past two years..."
The Android sneered. "You keep saying that! What does it all mean?!"
Piccolo was smug. "You might have technology and predictive algorithms on your side, but what you didn't have was knowledge. You didn't know about Planet Namek. You didn't know about the training that so many of us have done in the afterlife. And you certainly didn't know about our knowledge of you...or for how long we've known..."
20 flinched, suddenly quite terrified. He had not considered that metric. With hesitation in his voice, he posed the question. "H-How long?"
Piccolo didn't verbally answer. He simply smirked and held up two fingers. 20 was stunned. "T-Two weeks...?"
The Namekian shook his head. 20 stammered. "T-Two months?!"
Piccolo's smirked faded. He replied coldly. "Two years."
Android 20 was gobsmacked. "Two years?! How?! There were never any alerts on the scanners surrounding the laboratory. There were never any bugs, nor spy robots detected! How could you have known of the coming attack for two bloody years?!"
Piccolo cracked his knuckles and stepped towards his foe. "Ask your algorithms."
Desperate, 20 snarled and charged at Piccolo. "Damn you!"
The Android threw a series of rapid strikes, punches and kicks and swipes, at Piccolo. But, the Namekian was unfazed, dodging each and every attack as if a mere child was trying to hit him. Piccolo looked indifferently bored with Android 20's meager fighting style. Eventually, the assault slowed and 20 began to pant. Piccolo chuckled. "And here we go. I'm not going to pretend I understand technology all that well, but I figured that this would happen eventually. You and that other rotund fool both rely on stealing other people's energy to function. You're both walking batteries constantly on the drain!"
Piccolo got up close. "Sooner or later, you were going to give out. And with how sloppily you fight, I'm going to assume that sooner is more likely!"
20 growled. "How dare you mock me?! I will-"
The Android was cut off by another heavy knee strike smashing into his stomach. Piccolo grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up. "It's about time to show you what a fighting style actually looks like!"
And then, Piccolo's final assault began. He delivered a mighty palm strike to Android 20 that sent the Android sailing into the air. Piccolo gave chase, not letting 20 have any time to recover and delivering an overhead club strike to the side of the Android's head. 20 cringed, spinning in the air only to be stopped by a harsh kick to his undamaged flank. He then followed this up with a kiai that sent 20 flying through the air.
20 sneered, regaining his wits in time to see Piccolo charging at him. The Android smirked and readied his hand to grab the Namekian, hoping to absorb more of the foes power. Piccolo saw this and rolled his eyes. Instead of being grabbed, Piccolo ducked 20's grab and, instead, wrapped his arm around the Android's elbow, locking the arm in place. And then, using his own elbow, Piccolo spun around and struck 20 directly in the face.
20 was on the backfoot, and Piccolo took this at his chance. The Namekian raised his hand high into the air and roared with fury, and then he chopped off 20's forearm in one swift motion. 20 gasped in terror as he recoiled back. He stared down that the sparking nub of his former arm in shock. There went the last of his absorption lenses. He stared up at Piccolo, who simply discarded the severed arm to the ground below. 20 raised his damaged, remaining hand at Piccolo. "N-Now...that's enough..."
Piccolo snorted. "For once, I agree with Vegeta. You only say it's enough because you're losing!"
And then, Piccolo stretched out his arm one last time. He shot his hand down to Android 20 and wrapped his grip around the Android's remaining wrist. Against his will, 20 was yanked into the air to the waiting Namekian. Piccolo reared back his free hand and thrust it forward, smashing it into 20's shoulder and blowing off his other arm. 20's pupils shrunk as he stared over at the damage. "Wh-What?! No! NO!"
But Piccolo wasn't done there. With a rapid spin, he twisted in the air and slammed his leg into 20's damaged side. The sheer force of the kick made 20's slashed torso totally crack in half, allowing Piccolo to essentially tear him in half with his foot. 20 floated in the air, armless and legless, looking utterly horrified. And then Piccolo scowled at him. "Here's a bit of data for you to put in your algorithm. No matter what data you have, or what numbers you calculate, if you underestimate your opponents to a degree such as this...you might as well set your winning calculations to zero!"
And then, with one last brutal punch, Piccolo knocked Android 20's head from his shoulder, sending it crashing to the ground where it bounced and rolled until eventually coming to a stop.
20's torso fell from the sky like a stone, smashing against a nearby rock and break into hundreds of pieces.
Piccolo landed as the others watched on, all of them impressed. Gohan shouted to his teacher. "Good work Mr. Piccolo!"
Tien shouted as well. "Nice one, man!"
Krillin sighed in relief. "It's over. Thank Kami it's over..."
Chiaotzu chuckled and gave Krillin a pat on the back before looking over at Yajirobe. "Why are you still wearing that?"
Yajirobe scowled, adjusting Android 20's helmet atop his head. "I've been dragged all over hell and creation today! And that was after my car got destroyed! I'm keeping something, even if it's that Android's stupid hat!"
As the rabble all talked to one another, Vegeta stood to the side with an irritated grimace on his face. "Damned Namekian. He'd better not let this go to his head. I am still the strongest warrior!"
Raditz rolled his eyes. "Sure you are..."
On the ground, Piccolo walked over to Android 20's head. As he got closer, the Namekian was surprised to find that his foe was still functional. Android 20 snarled. "Damn. Damn damn damn. How...how is this possible?! This cannot be where it ends! My vengeance has not been attained yet! I refuse to die like this...!"
Piccolo sneered, holding out his hand and charging a blast. "You don't really have much of a say in the matter anymore."
Android 20 roared in frustration. "You will pay for this! I will eviscerate you for this slight! Do you understand me, Piccolo?!"
Piccolo narrowed his eyes at 20, ready to fire his blast. "I doubt it. Now die."
But, as Piccolo readied himself to fire his attack, his ear suddenly twitched. He heard a sound that was out of place, and it was directly above him. "What the he-"
Suddenly, dropping from the sky like a stone, Super Android 13 dropped down onto Piccolo. With a purple splatter and the sound of bones crushing, Piccolo was stomped into the ground hard enough that it made the rocky platform he and 20 were on explode. Reaching down, Android 13 grabbed 20's severed head and leapt off of the crumbling plateau and onto another one nearby. The Android roared. "Master!"
Everyone stood in shock at the sight of Android 13's hulking, blue form. The missing half of 13's head shot sparks as he stood there, gripping 20's head. Android 20 chuckled. "Oh my! How good to see you 13. This is perfect!"
Android 20 glared into 13's eyes and shouted at the top of his voice. "COMMENCE THE AMALGAMATION PROCEDURE, POST HASTE!"
Android 13 nodded. "Yes!"
And then, to the shock of everyone, Android 13 pressed Android 20's head to his chest. But rather than being crushed against his larger counterpart, 20 began to sink into the hulking Android's synthetic flesh. As he sank into the bluish-white chest of the behemoth, Android 20 chuckled. "It appears as if things are not quite finished yet~"
The moment 20 disappeared, 13 collapsed to his knees. The blue Android's remaining yellow eye suddenly went black. His body twitched and his skin writhed and, after one final gasp, all that was left of 13's mind disappear. His head began to melt, turning into a viscous blue paste, only to suddenly reform. 13's face remained mostly the same, except the missing half of his face had been replaced. Replaced...by Android 20's smirking mug.
The new hybrid Android stood up straight, chuckling in a new, warped voice. "Well, why are you fools just hovering there! Come! Come and die!"
Vegeta chuckled, cracking his neck. "Fine. I'm game. Let's go at it, Android!"
The Prince hovered forward, his Super Saiyan power flaring. But, as he prepared to charge, a beam of energy shot up from the ground in front of him. Once the dust had cleared, Vegeta stared in front and saw a totally green form. He sneered. "Still alive, Namekian?"
Piccolo pressed his hand to his chest, summoning a new gi to cover himself with. "It takes more than a mere dismemberment to defeat the Demon King. Now...step back, Vegeta. I said before, this guy is mine!"
Vegeta scoffed. "No! The old man was yours. This stitched-together abomination has yet to be claimed, so I claim him as my opponent!"
The Prince shoved Piccolo to the side and charged forward, fist drawn. "I will destroy him!"
Vegeta's fist clashed into Android 13-20's arm and created a shockwave that made the surrounding area crumble into dust. The Prince pulled his fist back, hooking his arm around 13-20's and using the off-hand to punch the Android in the face. Vegeta smirked, only to be shocked at how little his blow had affected this new beast. 13-20 chuckled and grabbed Vegeta by the wrist. "You will be surprised at how durable Android 13's super mode was designed to be."
And then, 13-20 reared back his head and smashed it into Vegeta's, giving the Saiyan a bloody nose and sending him flying back.
As Vegeta sailed back, he was suddenly caught by the ankle. He looked down, ready to defend himself, only to see that the one to catch him was Piccolo. Piccolo smirked at the Prince. "How goes the fight? Ready to tag out?"
Vegeta snatched his foot away and scowled at Piccolo. "Piss off!"
He charged at 13-20 once more, getting into a brawl with the hulking Android. The two of them traded blows back and forth with Vegeta's anger clearly frothing beneath the surface. Vegeta summon a massive blast into his hand and slammed it into 13-20's chest, but was surprised at how little it did. "What the hell?!"
13-20 chuckled. "You'll have to try harder than that. I might no longer have energy absorption, but it will take more than a meager energy blast to dismantle this sturdy form!"
Vegeta snarled. "Damn it!"
13-20 went for a crushing blow, but was quickly sent flying by a heavy kick to the face. It was clear that the kick did little damage, but 13-20 was still sent stumbling. The Android and Vegeta both glared at this intruder and found him to be Piccolo. Vegeta snarled. "Did I request your pathetic assistance?!"
Piccolo sneered. "You nearly just got your head caved in, idiot! Learn to pay attention!"
Vegeta growled. "Are you seriously implying that he would have dealt any sort of damage to me? Him?!"
Piccolo glared at Vegeta. "Yes, I am. Both of us are worse for wear at the moment. Our energy reserves are flagging. We need to work together right now in order to get this finished!"
Vegeta shouted at Piccolo. "How dare you imply that-"
In a flash, 13-20 chose to interrupt Vegeta and Piccolo's conversation. He charged in and slammed his foot down onto Vegeta's head, forcing the Prince deep into the ground. And then, as Piccolo went to defend himself, 13-20 seized the Namekian by the head and drove him into the ground as well. 13-20 chuckled. "I will kill you both! This is the end!"
Underneath 13-20's hand and foot respectively, driven into the ground, Piccolo and Vegeta glared at one another. Piccolo grumbled. "Are you ready to team up now?"
Vegeta was clearly pissed. But, after a moment of furious annoyance, he gave in. "...fine."
13-20 laughed. "Fools! I have assumed an entirely new level of strength! Do you honestly think that a simple team-up will-"
Suddenly, the Android was interrupted by two explosions erupting beneath him. Thrown into the air, covered in scorch marks, the brute glared down and saw Piccolo and Vegeta both staring up at him. Piccolo cracked his neck and Vegeta stretched his shoulder. And then Vegeta spoke to Piccolo. "This is one time only. After this, you're next of my list."
Piccolo snorted. "I couldn't agree more."
And then, the two of them charged into the air at 13-20. The Android threw a punch at Piccolo, but the Namekian did a flying leap over his foe and kicked him square in the back. 13-20 stumbled and was met from the front by a kick to the gut from Vegeta. He reeled over in pain and the Prince leapt above him. Piccolo chopped 13-20 in the back of the neck and then Vegeta fell from the sky, smashing an energy blast directly into the back of the Android's head and sending him crashing to the ground below.
The two of them charged down to the ground, ready to deliver more punishment to their foe. But, 13-20 sprang back up. He grabbed Piccolo and Vegeta, each by the back of the head, and slammed them together before driving them back into the ground. The Android raised his hands above his head and charged a blast. "This will finish you!"
Gohan shouted. "No! Piccolo! Vegeta!"
He leaped from his spot and attempted to fly in to help. 13-20 glared and prepared to toss his blast at the boy, but Piccolo quickly put a stop to that. The Namekian stood and wrapped his arms around 13-20's torso before suplexing the hulking bastard into the ground. Vegeta followed up with a blast of his own, rising into the air and spamming multiple ki blasts down onto the blue behemoth.
The smoke rose into the air and Vegeta smirked, only to be surprised by a massive ki blast coming at him. However, a stretchy, green arm shot in from the side and pulled Vegeta out of the way at the last moment. 13-20 rose from the smoke, growling. Piccolo rose into the sky next to Vegeta and Vegeta stared at him with contempt. "How dare you lay your hand on me?!"
Piccolo nodded. "You have a point. I should have let you die."
The two of them went from sniping at one another to focusing back on their foe. They both charged at 13-20 once more, powering-up until their aura shot off of them like flames. They both tackled into 13-20's gut and sent him flying back before peppering him with more blasts. The Android charged back at them, totally ignoring their attacks. But, the both of them were counting on that. Once he was close enough, Vegeta shot into the air and Piccolo did his thing. The Namekian used the Multi-Form technique to split into two versions of himself. One of them flew out of fighting distance and the other one weaved behind 13-20, using his stretching arms to bind the Android in place. The other glared up to the sky and shouted. "Vegeta! Do it now!"
Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs, slamming his hands together and firing a beam of blue energy. "FINAL CRASH!"
The beam engulfed both Vegeta and the Piccolo clone, incinerating the Namekian away and driving the Android into the ground, creating a massive explosion. Piccolo joined Vegeta in the air and glared down at the rising plume of smoke. He turned to Vegeta. "You think it's over?"
Vegeta shook his head. "Not till the fish jumps."
Piccolo cocked his head. "Fish?"
Vegeta flinched, clearing his throat. "Y-Yeah. Fish. Cuz, he's...he's blue...and..."
Piccolo was confused. "Was that an attempt at a joke?"
Vegeta sneered. "If you don't appreciate my sense of humor, then-"
13-20 rocketed out of the smoke, screaming like a madman. Piccolo and Vegeta both rebuffed him, sending him back to the ground with a pair of coordinated strikes. Piccolo snarked at Vegeta. "So, is it over?"
Vegeta scowled. "Shut the hell up!"
The Prince charged a blast in his hand and the Namekian charged a blast in his mouth, and then they both fired down, creating and even bigger explosion than before that shredded a massive crater into the ground. Vegeta and Piccolo both hovered there, waiting for the Android to return. They knew this wasn't over. Soon enough, their fears were proven correct as 13-20 rose from the ashes and faced them down once more. Piccolo snarled. "This is going nowhere."
Vegeta struck a fighting stance. "If you aren't up for the challenge then get lost, Namekian!"
However, to the surprise of the two warriors, 13-20 suddenly took damage from a different direction. Five energy beams, made from the same energy as the Destructo-Disc from the looks of it, shot through 13-20's chest and zip off into the distance. The Android growled in pain and frustration and turned to glared at his new attacker, seeing Bardock, the father of Goku, hovering behind him. "You! How are you alive?! Hadn't 13 killed you?!"
Bardock looked annoyed. "Nah. Not even close. But that hunk of junk did lose half of his face in the attempt."
He narrowed his eyes at 13-20. "Now...who the hell are you and why the hell are you grafted onto my opponent?!"
Vegeta snapped at Bardock, looking angry. "Oh no! Not you too! I already have to share this fight with that worthless Namekian! You aren't going to step in too, old man!"
Piccolo looked annoyed. "Technically, it's my opponent whose consciousness is controlling that thing, so you should both step back and follow my lead to finish him off!"
Bardock sneered. "Okay, first off, shut the hell up Vegeta! I felt your little light show earlier; you've gotten to kill two Androids! And, as for you Piccolo, I don't give a damn about technicalities and I certainly don't give a damn about teamwork for an enemy that I had nearly killed before he ran off! Both of you sit down, shut up, and butt out of my fight!"
Bardock's Super Saiyan power flared. Vegeta's did as well. In response, Piccolo rose his power up to meet the other two.
As the three of them floated there, forming a circle around Android 13-20, they started to scream and shout at one another. This was done much to the chagrin and the embarrassment of the other Z-Fighters on the ground. Raditz cupped his hand over his face. "Seriously, what is the matter with them?! They're treating this like a game..."
Tien nodded. "Couldn't agree more. They're letting the upper hand we've gained against these Androids go to their heads."
The three-eyed warrior turned to Raditz and smirked. "So, what's say we steal the final blow out from under them?"
Gohan, Krillin, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe all flinched at Tien's bold statement. Yajirobe stammered. "A-Are you trying to piss the three of them off?!"
Krillin was more focused on the danger of the situation. "Forget making them angry! How can you be sure that the two of you have enough power to take that Android down?!"
Tien chuckled. "We don't."
Gohan gasped. "Wh-What? Then what do you plan to do?"
Tien glanced up at 13-20. "We might not be able to destroy that Android ourselves, but if we were to knock it out of the path of Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bardock, then Krillin could easily slice him into pieces with a few Destructo-Discs..."
The three-eyed warrior turned to his shorter comrade. "Right, Krillin?"
Krillin shivered. "B-But what if he dodges?"
Tien smirked. "That's what Chiaotzu's telekinesis is for. Can you hold him steady for roughly three seconds, Chiaotzu?"
Chiaotzu seemed uneasy, but he nodded. "Yeah Tien, definitely."
Tien turned to Raditz. "There we go. We have a plan. So... what do you say?"
Raditz glanced back up at the bickering threesome, and then he turned to Tien. "I'm in. Let's do it."
Tien nodded. "Okay then..."
The two warriors both crossed their arms over their chests, and then they both summoned forth their maximum power. Raditz shouted. "Kaioken Times 40!"
Tien shouted. "Kaioken Times 50!"
Bardock, Piccolo, Vegeta, and 13-20 all stared down at this sudden development in confusion. Vegeta snarled. "What the hell?!"
But, in an instant, the three bickering warriors were caught unaware. Both Raditz and Tien shot up and hit 13-20 with all of their might, knocking the Android out of range of Piccolo, Vegeta, and Bardock. 13-20 snarled. "Who do you two think you-"
Suddenly, the Android was frozen in place as Chiaotzu's telekinetic powers overwhelmed him. Unable to budge, 13-20 glared down where Chiaotzu was and caught sight of a technique that truly inspired fear. Krillin was stood there, Destructo-Disc overhead. The monk smirked. "Gotcha!"
And then he tossed it. Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bardock watched as the attack flew right towards their opponent, unable to react in time to prevent losing their chance at the kill. Everything seemed to be set. It looked as if the battle was finally going to come to an end. But then, a voice called out. "Okay! Who the hell is that?!"
Chiaotzu lost focus at the unfamiliar voice. "Wh-What?!"
In that brief loss of focus, Chiaotzu's telekinetic hold was broken and 13-20 managed to twist most of his body out of the way of the attack. The disc cleaved through his ankle, lopping off his foot, and the Android cried out in pain. Everyone turned towards the new voice and where all surprised to see the source. The Boy from the Future, the one that had warned the Z-Fighters of the Androids was hovering there. Next to him was a young woman with bluish-black hair. And next to her was the source of the voice, a young man with shaggy black hair.
Piccolo grumbled. "Oh, so now you three show up huh? It took you long enough! We've nearly defeated the five Androids that showed up!"
The Future Trio looked utterly gobsmacked. Bardock spoke up. "What the hell was that warning anyway?! Two Androids?! How could you overlook three additional threats?! If me, Vegeta, and Raditz hadn't been at Capsule Corp, who knows what might have happened!"
Still no response from the three of them. Vegeta snarled. "Well?! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?! Any explanation for what might be going on?!"
The purple-haired boy spoke. "N-No... this...this is all wrong..."
The young woman spoke. "Five Androids, and yet..."
Krillin called up to them. "H-Hey! What's going on?! What are you guys so quiet for?!"
Finally, the shaggy-haired youth spoke. "All of the Android's we've seen today. That pale one we found in the wasteland, this blue behemoth, and the old man that's attached to him...we don't know who any of these Androids are..."
This revelation threw all of the Z-Fighters for a loop. They all flinched back, looking shocked at the news. Raditz called down to the shaggy-haired boy. "Wait...what about a purple dwarf, a silver colossus, or a trucker?! Do you recognize those descriptions?!"
The woman looked up, perplexed at what had just been said to her. "D-Dad, what are you going on about?!"
Raditz looked frustrated, confused as to what was going on. "I'm talking about-"
And then it hit him what had just been said. "...Dad?"
All of this confusion, however, was quickly broken by an even more perplexing sight. Her radio blasting, Bulma suddenly came rocketing towards the scene in her hover car. She called out through her speaker. "Hey guys! What's up? Are there more Android parts out here for me to collect? I'm just a regular Android undertaker today~"
Baby Trunks giggled at how happy his mother sounded, broadcasting his adorable laughter through the entire mountain. Bardock slapped his hand onto his forehead. "You have got to be kidding me..."
The purple-haired youth called out. "What is she doing here?!"
Vegeta shouted over at his wife. "DID YOU BRING THE GODDAMNED BABY TO A BATTLEFIELD?!"
Bulma went to shout back at her husband, but then a somewhat familiar sight caught her eye. She stared over at 13-20, watching as the wind blew 13's fiery hair over the top of 20's head. "Is that...? It can't be..."
Seeing an opening to escape, 13-20 laughed out loud. "Fools! You should have killed me when you had the chance! Now I shall escape and released Androids 17 and 18 to kill you all!"
Piccolo flinched. "17?!"
Bardock gasped. "And 18?!"
Everyone else reacted with shock at the new that yet more Androids were in waiting to be unleashed. And then, before any of them could react, 13-20 charged a massive blast into his hand and threw it at the ground. "PHOTON HOLOCAUST!"
The attack hit the ground and then bloomed like a flower of destruction, shredding the entire landscape for miles around. Bulma screamed in fear, attempting to turn her car away, only for the blast to be blocked by a shadowed figure. As everyone else defended themselves from the attack, 13-20 dived to the ground and burrowed his way down, his escape tunnel quickly being sealed over by debris.
The attack continued on, spreading out farther and farther until eventually dissipating, leaving only a flattened landscape riddled with chunks of debris in its wake.
Once the bright light died down and the smoke started to clear, the purple-haired youth began to frantically glance around. "No! No no no! Where...where is she?! What happened?!"
He looked around, his heart-rate accelerating. "M... B-Bulma! Bulma!"
No response. The boy was panicking. He shot to the ground and frantically began to search for the wreckage of the car. Thinking the worst, thinking that both Bulma and her baby had died in that blast, the boy began to panic. But then, thankfully, he heard the sound of an infant babbling in the distance. The boy ran through the smoke, going to help, only to find an unexpected, but welcome sight before him: Bulma, Baby Trunks, and Bulma's car were all fine...and Vegeta was sitting on the hood looking slightly more damaged than he had moments earlier.
The Prince was breathing heavily, but he still found energy to glare at the purple-haired youth. "What the hell do you want? Idiot!"
As the smoke cleared, the others all rejoined the group as well. Raditz and Bardock both walked up, covered in minor scratches and burns. Tien and Chiaotzu showed up soon after that. Followed up by the young woman and Piccolo, and then the shaggy young man and Gohan. Finally, Krillin and Yajirobe returned to round out the group. 13-20's attack had claimed no casualties.
The dust settled as the entire group sat down to regroup. Vegeta's face had a seemingly permanent smile on it as he glared down at the Future Trio. "Two Androids?! Two Androids, eh?! What sort of laughable, half-assed reporting was that?!"
Bulma glared at her husband. "Vegeta, calm down! It's an honest mistake! You can't be mad at them for it!"
Vegeta spat. "Oh shut up, you irresponsible moron! Why the hell did you bring our baby, my heir, here?! He's not old enough to fight yet! He can't defend himself! Are you out to end my bloodline?!"
Bulma sneered at Vegeta. "That's rich coming from the deadbeat ass that abandoned his family in a dangerous spot to go and seek a better fight! There were still two killer Androids at our house when you ran off! They could have attacked us and the best defense you left behind was Bardock!"
Bardock flinched, taking offense at how Bulma worded that. "What the hell did I do?!"
Bulma and Vegeta both turned to Bardock and shouted. "SHUT THE HELL UP!"
And then they turned back to one another and continued to argue. Vegeta turned and look in the car, seeing 19's burnt out head sitting in the passenger seat. "And what the hell is that?! Why do you have that rotund mistake's head in your car?! I destroyed him; he should stay destroyed!"
Bulma spat back at him. "Do you think I'm going to rebuild him?! Do I look stupid to you?!"
Vegeta snarled. "You brought our infant son to an active warzone!"
Bulma paused, not sure what to say to that. She shook her head. "Keep your nose out of my business Vegeta! You're not my boss!"
Finally, Bardock stepped in again. "Okay. Calm down before this gets any worse. Both of you."
Bulma and Vegeta both took a deep breath and let it out. Then, they both returned to scowling at one another. But, now, Vegeta spoke in a slightly lighter tone. "It's nice to see that my wife is tough enough to handle a pathetic attempt of an attack like that..."
Bulma grumbled. "J-Just sit down so I can get the first aid kit and treat some of those cuts you have. I don't want them to get infected..."
Vegeta sat with an irritated sigh as Bulma reached into the car and pulled out Baby Trunks and a first aid kit. She handed Baby Trunks and a bottle to Vegeta. "Feed him while I bandage you up."
Vegeta took the baby and the bottle, pressing the bottle into his son's mouth as Bulma started spraying his wounds with disinfectant. "Whatever..."
Piccolo rolled his eyes. "Okay, now that that's over...I think it's time that we got an explanation as to what's going on..."
The Namekian turned to the Future Trio. They all flinched at his intense stare. Bardock joined Piccolo. "I agree. Look, we kept your secrets just fine for the past two years, but now all of your conditions have been met so it's time to start talking. Tell us everything that we need to know about what's going to happen next and don't hold a single detail back, got it?"
The boy shuddered. "H-How do you-"
Bardock was blunt. "Piccolo hears well and I read your lips two years ago."
The purple-haired boy glanced away, his hands in his pockets. "A-And you're sure that everything is okay..."
Piccolo nodded. "Positive. As you can see, the proof is literally in Vegeta's arms."
Vegeta was taken back by this, looking down at his son and then back at the Future Trio.
The purple-haired boy, clad in his Capsule Corp denim jacket, his work pants, and his work boots stepped up, the sunlight reflecting off of the handle of his sword. "Fine...then allow me to introduce myself first..."
He glanced at Gohan, and then at Vegeta and Bulma. "M-My name is Trunks. And I am the son of Bulma Briefs and the Saiyan Prince Vegeta from 17 years in the future.
The young woman stepped up, her bluish-black hair and bright red bobbing in the wind. She was dressed in a plain, yellow tanktop, tucked into her camouflage pants, and a pair of black and brown Saiyan armored boots. Her tail was lazily wrapped around her waist like a loose shawl and she had what appeared to be a Kalashnikov AK-107 hanging across her back. She glanced at Gohan as well, and then focused her attention directly on Raditz. "My name is Ranch. And, well, I am the daughter of Launch and Raditz from 17 years in the future..."
She gave a gentle wave to her father. "Hey Dad..."
The final member of the trio stood off in the distance, twiddling his fingers as if he didn't know what to say. Bardock called over to him. "Hey! What about you?! What's your deal?!"
No response. Krillin flinched and called over. "Is everything all right, guy?"
Still no response. Future Trunks and Future Ranch both moved to go and say something to their counterpart, but they both stopped in their tracks. They watched, to their surprise, as young Gohan marched over to their friend and reached out. "Excuse me..."
Gohan grabbed the boy's jacket and gave it a tug, he yelped and turned, staring down at the young, half-Saiyan. Gohan gently smiled at him. "You don't have to be scared. We're all friends here. None of us will hurt you..."
The young man, with his shaggy black hair, his blue denim jeans and tail, his black boots, his white muscle shirt and brown bomber jacket combo, and his mysterious weapon wrapped in a cloth strapped to his back swallowed a lump in his throat. He still didn't speak. Gohan was gentle, though. "How about we just start with a name?"
Suddenly, the boy blurted out seemingly faster than he even thought. "Daikon!"
Gohan cocked his head, confused. "Daikon?"
He turned to the others and they all responded with similar confusion. Future Trunks and Future Ranch both looked stunned. Gohan turned to face the young man again. "I'm sorry, but-"
The young man interrupted. "My name is Daikon. I'm Raditz and Launch's son from 17 years in the future. I, uh, I probably haven't been born yet but..."
He nervously chuckled. "...yeah. That's me."
He walked past Gohan, marching directly up to Raditz. "It's...uh...super risky to tell you guys who I am before I've been born so, uh...you and, um, Mom will still have me...right, D-Dad?!"
Raditz awkwardly stared at his apparent son. "S-Sure thing, uh, son...I'll make sure that Launch and I, uh, p-put it on the To-Do-List..."
A nervous thumbs-up from Raditz. Future Daikon returned and equally nervous thumbs-up.
As that went on, Bulma and Vegeta both stared in shock at their son from future. Future Trunks normally looked towards them as well, unsure of what to say. Leaving Vegeta and the baby for a moment, Bulma walked over to her older son and began to poke and prod at him. She lifted his arms, tugged on his hair, and simply just stared in his eyes for a moment before cracking a warm smile. "Wow, my baby grew up to be such a handsome young man..."
She turned back to her husband. "Isn't he handsome, Vegeta?"
Vegeta glared at his apparent son. He glanced over at Future Ranch and Future Daikon, and then down at the baby in his arms. And then he looked back at the young man. "Boy, where is your tail?"
Future Trunks flinched, both at the question and at the harshness in his father's voice. His hands trembled. "I... I, uh...I..."
Eventually, the stammering stopped and he just hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry..."
Bulma waved that off. "Don't worry about that. Your father is an ass. You don't owe him an explanation for anything."
Future Trunks nodded, smiling at his mother. But then, he looked past her and saw the irritated look on Vegeta's face.
Piccolo spoke up. "How about we drop family politics for now and get into the real meat of this discussion. What's going with these Androids?"
Tien spoke up. "Are you really telling us that not a single Android we've met so far has been one that attacked your timeline?!"
Future Trunks shook his head, looking positively confused at this whole situation. "No. Not a one. And it's not even, like, the existed and one point and were defeated..."
Future Ranch sighed. "None of us have so much as ever heard of any of these guys. W-We had always wondered if there were numbers before or after 17 and 18, but...we had just hoped that they were failures or that they had never existed to begin with..."
Vegeta loudly injected his opinion to the situation. "Idiots! All three of you are idiots!"
Bulma cut him off. "Cool it, Vegeta! They're not idiots, they're kids. Give them a break!"
She glared at her husband and then turned to the others, sounding rather angry in her tone of voice. "None of you understand any of the theorems or calculations that would actually go into time travel. It's not just a trope in movies that killing a mosquito in the past can have dire consequences that change how the future flows. Butterfly effects are entirely possible in all of this! So, the lot of you need to cut these three a break! Because there's no way they could have guessed that anything like this might have happened! AND, their warnings saved most of your lives from being ended!"
Everyone backed down in the wake of Bulma's words. Everyone except Vegeta. "They didn't even bother to tell us the correct numbers for the enemy we'd face!"
Bulma got in his face. "But they did accurately tell you the day of the first attack! So, guess what Vegeta: that means they saved your ungrateful ass from being killed!"
Vegeta was shaking with anger. Bulma was glaring directly into his eyes. "Now, lay off our son. You understand me?"
The Prince set Baby Trunks back into his seat. And then, he stood and sneered. "To hell with this! I will not be scolded for being furious that we weren't given complete information!"
He marched past Bulma, his energy flaring, and then he took off. "The lot of you can stand here and talk! I'm going to find that Android and tear him to pieces!"
And then, before anybody could stop him, Vegeta took off and flew into the distance. As he did, Krillin called after him. "Vegeta! Wait! At least eat a Senzu Bean f...he's gone. Damn that guy..."
Bulma didn't look impressed. "He's just showing his ass right now. I know he's smart enough to know that I'm right and that this isn't anybody's fault. He's just pissy."
She looked over and saw, to her disdain, that Vegeta's words seemed to have actually gotten to the Future Trio. The three of them stood there, their heads hung over, looking absolutely miserable. She quickly spoke up. "Nope! Absolutely not! The three of you stop that right now!"
Future Trunks looked up and his mother wrapped her arms around him. "Don't let him get you down, okay? He's that way with everybody..."
Raditz wrapped his arms over Future Ranch and Future Daikon's shoulders, pulling his apparent children close. "Yeah, don't let the angry rambling of a fragile ego get to you. He'll get over himself soon enough. For now, you need to look at the good you've done so far..."
Piccolo nodded. "I sensed the three of you when you arrived back here in our time. I wondered what you were doing at first...but the three of you delayed coming over to us to help people on Amenbo Island, right?"
Tien's eyes widened, but then he nodded. "Oh, that's why they're covered in ash."
Chiaotzu chuckled. "That's really good! You took the time to help all of those people~"
Krillin spoke up. "And let's not forget that you stepped in two years ago and got rid of that Aka guy. Who knows what he might have done if you hadn't!"
Bardock grunted. "And the vaccine. That's important."
Gohan nodded, smiling wide. "Yeah! You brought that vaccine back that saved my Dad from the Heart Virus! We'll never be able to thank you enough for that!"
The Future Trio smiled. Even if just a little, everyone's words did make them feel better. In their heads, they were all ecstatic. This is what it felt like to be part of the Z-Fighters. Future Daikon spoke up. "So, where is he anyway...?"
Gohan flinched. "My Dad?"
Future Ranch nodded. "Yeah. I've wanted to meet Uncle Goku for the longest time. What happened to him?"
Piccolo stepped forward. He took a Senzu Bean from Krillin and quickly ate it, restoring his full strength. "The residual effects of the Heart Virus hit him when he was fighting Android 19. He should be fine, probably. But we'll worry about him later."
The Future Trio all looked worried that, even after the vaccine, Goku had still gotten sick. But they listened to Piccolo and chose not to dwell on it at the moment. Piccolo turn away, towards the forest in the distance. "Vegeta was right about one thing. We can't afford to wait any longer to chase that Android down. Who knows how much trouble he could cause if we wait any longer..."
The Namekian sneered. "We can't sense him. And that's a problem. So, in order to find him, we'll just have to split up and search around for him with our eyes. It'll be like finding a needle in a haystack, but-"
Bulma suddenly interrupted. "Oh! Oh my gosh! I just remembered!"
Piccolo turned to Bulma. "What?! What is it?!"
Bulma ran back to the car. She grabbed Baby Trunks into her arm and grabbed her phone with her free hand. "That Android! I remember where I've seen him before!"
Tien cocked his head. "You've...seen that Android before...?"
Bulma nodded. "Yeah, back when I was really young. I saw a guy that looked like that Android!"
She scrolled through her phone, looking intensely. "I know it's somewhere on the Capsule Corp website..."
After a minute, Bardock began to lose patience. "We don't have time for this Bulma."
Bulma snapped at him. "Shut up! It's a really old picture. I was like two and Tights hadn't even gone off with that alien friend of hers..."
After another moment, Bulma smiled. "Bingo! I found it! It's..."
The smile faded from Bulma's face. "No way..."
Piccolo was also losing his patience. "What?! What is it?!"
Bulma held up her phone, on it was a picture of a much younger Dr. Briefs and another scientist, with fiery red hair, who looked strikingly similar to Android 20 albeit younger. The two of them were stood on either side of a conceptual robot design with both excavation tools and weaponry attached.
And underneath the picture was a caption: Capsule Corp Exploration Robot C-6, Dr. Briefs...and Dr. Gero.
Proofreading: StevenBodner
