The group soared through the sky, and after a while, they came across a random island.

21 stated, "They're here. I can sense each one of their energies."

The group floated a bit closer, and looked down. Sure enough, several clones were indeed mindlessly wandering around on the island below.

The clones resembled (what the duo assumed to be) Earth's most powerful warriors, except they were all were gray skinned, and dressed in black and red.

One clone was a tall Namekian warrior wearing a turban and a massive cape; another was a more average sized, wild-haired man wearing a simple fighting gi; another was a man dressed in a similar gi, although he also wore an undershirt, and had white, spikey hair that was standing up, as well as dark red eyes.

The group descended downwards, and landed on the grassy terrain. Upon doing so, the clones instantly spotted them.

17 smirked, "So, 18...do you want to take on the Goku clone?"

18 replied, "Sure. Let's just get this over with."

Together, the two androids rocketed towards their new opponent.

The Goku clone grinned in a wicked manner, and he charged forward.

All three fighters' fists clashed, resulting in a massive shockwave. From there, the three fighters disappeared from view, and in the air, an intense battle began.

16 then turned to face Mafin and Begu, "I will deal with the other two fighters. Stay here, and keep an eye on 21."

Mafin nodded, while Begu sputtered out, "Wh-What?! We have to stay?! I thought we were joining in!"

16 explained, "Someone has to protect 21 right now, and make sure that she doesn't lose control."

The large android then dashed towards the two remaining clones, who did the same as well. Another powerful battle soon began.

Mafin thought, "Lose...control? What does Android 16 mean by, 'lose control' ?"

His thoughts were interrupted when Begu let out an annoyed groan.

The Octorian angrily exclaimed, "Man! Our first encounter with ACTUAL bad guys, and we can't even join in the fight! So disappointing!"

Mafin reasoned, "Well, at least we're here protecting 21."

21 spoke up, "Indeed. Hopefully, you'll both get to engage in combat next time around."

Begu folded his arms and grumbled, "Yeah, I guess. I really wanted to test out my combat skills though..."

"So, 21, what did Android 16 mean by you 'losing control'?", inquired Mafin, "Was he referring to that small episode you had back in the lab?"

21 nervously bit her lip, then said, "Well...no. Unfortunately, it means something far worse. Are you sure you gentlemen want to know?"

The duo fearfully asked in unison, "Wh-What is it?!"

They were starting to get scared of this new ominous threat, but they wanted to know what they could be up against.

21 took a deep breath, and explained, "It may be hard to fully believe this, but I am not a human. At least, not anymore. I am a bio-android, created in a laboratory, and I was given the DNA of Earth's greatest defenders, and its greatest researchers...as well as its most dangerous villains."

Begu exclaimed, "What the heck kind of Space Frankenstein's Monster are you?!"

Mafin glared at his friend for his rather insensitive question.

"What?! I'm being honest!", defended Begu.

Mafin sighed, then asked, "More importantly, what kind of villains were they?"

21 replied, "From what the computer data showcased, the villains included the alien tyrant known as Frieza, his father, and a third, unidentifiable pink creature."

Mafin thought, "Pink creature?"

21 continued, "Because of them, I have very unstable cells. Every single day, my body constantly flares up, almost as if it desires something. And there are times where it becomes even more unbearable. By that point...I gain the unsettling urge to turn a person into some sort of sweet."

The researcher let out an emotional sigh, "That is why I shut myself off from the world. Because I knew that it would be terrified by a monster like me."

Both Mafin and Begu were now feeling a mixture of shock, horror, and pity.

This woman shouldn't have had to live her life like that! No one should! Why would those cells cause her to act like this?! And why the heck would she want to turn someone into a piece of candy?!

"Wait a minute...pink creature...and an urge to turn people into candy...", thought Mafin.

The Pesutorian gained a sudden realization, and he was about to say what was on his mind, when at that moment, both 17 and 18 landed next to the group. Their clothes were slightly scuffed up from the fight, but they looked no worse for the wear. 16 landed near them a few seconds later.

17 folded his arms, and said, "Not bad, 18. You definitely haven't let parenthood get in the way of your fighting skills."

18 smirked, "Of course not. Krillin and I usually train on the weekends. I have to whip him into shape so he doesn't get lazy."

17 looked at the trio, and asked, "What were you three chatting about?"

Mafin and Begu nervously looked at the ground, unsure of what to say next. They had just taken in a whole bunch of information, and they weren't sure how 17 or 18 would react to it.

Knowing exactly what the duo were thinking, 21 stepped in and replied, "It's nothing. We were just talking about the clones, and what fighter they're supposed to represent."

She then asked, "And speaking of clones, have all the ones here been taken care of?"

17 nodded and replied, "Yep. That Goku clone we fought is currently at the bottom of the ocean."

16 added, "My opponents have been disposed of as well."

21 smiled, "Good. Now then, let's continue our search."

The group left the island, and began flying across the sky once more.

Begu flew next to Mafin, and whispered, "Man, what 21's going through right now just...just sucks, right? Like, I feel pretty bad for her..."

Mafin nodded in agreement, "I hope she'll be able to find some sort of cure for her condition."

Begu sighed, "Yeah. I hope so too..."

Mafin then thought to himself, "And I think I know who might be the cause of all of 21's troubles. Although I better let her know once things quiet down..."


The next destination for the group was a random wasteland, which was also filled with various clones wandering around.

One was a large, muscular beast of a man, dressed in Saiyan armor (and he was also bald for some reason.) Another was a slightly smaller, pointy haired Saiyan, who had a stern look on his face, and was also dressed in armor, albeit slightly different from the one that his comrade wore. The last one was a rather short monk dressed in a simple fighting gi.

18 looked over at the duo, "Okay, you two. We'll take on the Saiyan clones, while you take on the clone version of my husband."

Begu rubbed his hands together, and excitedly said, "Alright! Now we're talking, baby! Finally getting some excitement!"

Mafin nervously asked, "Um, Android 18, are you...um...are you sure you won't mind? I mean, we're attacking what's essentially a cloned duplicate of—"

"I don't care.", stated 18, "Go for it. It's not like he's the real deal."

"Yeah, chill out man!", grinned Begu, who affectionately tapped his friend's arm, "Let's go ahead, and do this thing!"

Mafin sighed and said, "Right."

The duo got into simple battle stances, and stared at their targeted clone.

Mafin took a deep breath, and thought, "Here we go."

The duo dashed towards the clone, and Mafin began the fight by knee jabbing the clone in the face. He followed up with this by sweep kicking the clone's legs, causing him to fall to the ground.

The clone quickly caught himself from falling, and hopped back up to his feet, but he was greeted by Begu palm striking him in the jaw. The Octorian then struck the clone's rib cage with an elbow jab.

The clone back flipped a few feet, and charged towards the duo. The three of them proceeded to engage in a wild barrage of rapid fire punches and kicks. During this fast exchange of attacks, Mafin managed to get a few good hits on the clone's jaw, clavicle, and stomach, while Begu managed to get a few hits on the chest.

The duo flew back several feet away from the clone, as they wanted to catch their breath for a brief moment.

As the clone began charging some sort of ki attack, Mafin looked at Begu and asked, "Use the throwaway tactic now?"

Begu smirked, "You read my mind."

Mafin grabbed Begu by his arms, swung him around in a circular motion a few times, and threw him over to the clone.

As the clone was about to unleash the ki attack, Begu quickly struck him in the face with a swift headbutt attack, causing the clone to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Begu fist pumped in victory and shouted, "WHOO!"

Mafin flew over to his friend, and asked, "Did we get him?"

Begu exclaimed, "Hell yeah we did!"

Mafin sighed with relief, "Thank goodness. We actually managed to beat our first foe."

Begu grinned proudly, "I told you that practicing that maneuver would pay off. NOW GIMME FIVE!"

Mafin happily high fived his friend, deeply gratified that they both succeeded.

However, this little celebration would be short lived, as he and Begu suddenly heard heavy breathing coming from behind them.

They turned around, and saw 21 staring at the clone's body, with an unsettling look in her eyes.

"Looks...so...yummy.", whispered the researcher as she walked towards the fallen clone.

Mafin thought, "Oh no!"

Begu thought, "Ah, crap!"

"Hey, what's wrong with her?", asked Android 17, who walked over to the duo.

He and his sister appeared to be finished fighting their respective clones, seeing how there was a massive crater lying dozens of feet away.

Begu turned to Mafin and asked, "The heck are we gonna do now?!"

Mafin fearfully stammered, "I...I...um...I don't know!"

Android 16 dashed over to 21, who was now starting to drool with hunger.

"I...I...can't take it anymore!", she cried out, her hands trembling madly.

16 stood in front of his auburn-haired companion, blocking her path from the clone.

"Move! Get out of my way!", angrily hissed the researcher.

16 stated, "Remember! Remember what your goal is!"

21 clenched her head in pain, and let out an agonized scream.

She fell to one knee, clutched her heart, and began taking deep breaths once more.

After a few seconds, she let out a sigh and said, "Thank you...16..."

The larger android got down to her level, and smiled at her.

His expression then returned to its original stoic demeanor, and he said, "I'm picking up energy readings. You should head over there next."

"Wait! I want answers, 16.", stated a confused 17, "What happened just now?"

16 closed his eyes, and refused to say another word.

17 scoffed in disbelief. Was he seriously not gonna say anything?!

The black haired android frowned, "You really love giving people the silent treatment. Just remember...you turn on me, and you'll get no mercy. You can bet on it."

16 silently nodded in response.

He turned back to 21 and helped her up to her feet.

The researcher smiled, "Thank you. Again."

She turned to face everyone, "I apologize for that unsettling episode. Like 16 said, let's just continue onto the next destination."

The rest of the group replied, "Right."

Everyone flew away from the wasteland, and took off into the sky once again.