Chapter Twenty-Six

"See," Android Null's voice rang through the room as he snickered manically. He had blasted Raditz and where the boy once stood was just dust. "Pest eradicated."

Turning around, the Android was glad to have succeeded in his mission. This was what he was built for. His only hope was that his creator was proud of him for this.

"Watch out!" The voice of Eighter shouted at his fellow Android but it was too late.

Just as the robot had spoken, Raditz had appeared behind his comrade in a flash. Not holding back the Saiyan cocked a punch back and launched it forward, penetrating through the left side of the Android's chest and through any metallic biocomponents. Oil gushed from the wound his punch left and although he couldn't see the Android's face, Raditz wondered -did he sense fear?

"Y-You monkey," The Android gasped. How had he been so clueless? How had the Saiyan escaped the radius of his attack? "I'm the ultimate cyborg… how was I fooled by you?"

Raditz sighed as he pulled his fist from the robot, allowing it to fall to the ground in a thud. He had thought that he would die when he saw the two men towering over him but somehow he'd pulled through. Flaring his spiked ki down, Raditz turned to face Eighter with a frown. He was really getting tired of all this destruction.

"Come on," The Saiyan spat out at the Android that stood still on the other side of the room. Why wasn't he advancing like his partner? "The only way that guy's going to make it is if you get this over with and take him to your dear old creator. There's still a chance."

Eighter looked at the Saiyan, flabbergasted. Why hadn't he destroyed Android Null's entire circuit when he had the chance? Gero had warned him of the relentless thirst for battle these Saiyans had. He said that even giving them an opening would get him destroyed. Looking forward, all that Eighter could see in this boy's eyes was a loss of hope.

"Come and kill me already," Raditz begged, falling to his knees in exhaustion. Almost dying like that had struck him. He had gone on a massacre reminiscent of the one Frieza had on his race. Images of burning bodies etched into his mind. The beheaded ninja. He had done all that with a smile on his face. What would Gohan have thought? Bowing his head, the Saiyan felt tears tug at his face as he begged for the release of death. "I slaughtered them like pigs with a smile on my face." He said faintly.

Suddenly, a hissing sound and some sparks from Android Null's body interrupted the moment between the two. Looking over at the defeated cyborg's smoking body, Raditz shot up and looked at Eighter, whose face was as pale as a ghost.

"What's going on?" The Saiyan demanded the sole Android.

"Doctor Gero has always put a failsafe bomb in his creations in the case they are destroyed," The Android answered, turning to his fellow creation. Even he had one implanted. So Gero was long gone? He knew the end was near. "He's going to take the entire tower and village with him."

Raditz's eyes snapped to life at this. He couldn't believe what he'd heard. He thought of Suno and the other villagers he'd saved. He thought of Bulma. He knew she would probably hate him for what he was going to do next but it was better than living with the demons he now inhabited. Moving forward without a word, Raditz picked up the battered body of Android Null. He didn't know how much time he had left before it blew but he was going to take advantage of every second. Flying with the robot in hand, Raditz reached an altitude of almost three hundred feet before he flared his energy around himself, creating a ki shield as a smile came to his face. If it meant protecting Jingle Village, he was proud to go out in a bang.

Eighter was stunned by the Saiyan's actions. His programmer had stated time and time again how the invader was a heartless boy on a bloodlust massacre that needed to be dealt with. He now saw that wasn't the case though. His brother's detonation would have killed him too but the boy had moved to not only protect the lives of the villagers but also him, someone he had just been fighting. Watching the sky detonate in a flash of contained energy, Eighter felt his mindset change. He needed to find Doctor Gero. He needed answers.

Knocking the android from his thoughts, Raditz's body fell from the sky in front of him in a shower of gears and metal shrapnel. His armor had been almost completely charred and his body was littered in third degree burns. He was still alive somehow though, barely holding on.

Raditz's entire body burnt from intense pain. He laid on his back, opening his eyes to see Eighter. Was this Hell?

"Fuck," The Saiyan spat through broken ribs, realizing that he was still alive. "You gonna kill me now?" He sighed at the Android overlooking him, almost as if he was begging.

"No, you must live with and learn from your actions, Raditz." The Android began, turning from the Saiyan and towards the door. Killing him would be too kind with what he had witnessed him do. "Despite how despicable as my creators may have been, you almost reached that level tonight. I saw how obsessed you were with destroying anything that had to deal with them. With your abilities, you sank lower than any of them could."

Raditz said nothing, laying in his grave. He reached down to his satchel, feeling for one of the beans that Korin had given him. Still though, Eighter had been right. The Saiyan had crossed even his own boundaries. Raising back to his feet as he bit into the senzu and felt his energy return to him and his injuries begin to heal, Raditz turned to the Android that was walking away from him.

"What are you gonna do now then?" The Saiyan asked.

"I'm going to hunt down Gero and bring him justice for what he's done to these people," Eighter coldly replied, taking off in flight. He knew Raditz had some good in him. Hell, he had tanked an entire bomb meant to blow up entire cities to protect not only the villagers but him, someone he hardly knew. "Maybe we'll meet up again but until then, goodbye."

Raditz thought to himself after the robot made his departure, thinking over what he had been told. He also wondered if he was ever see the robot again, he was the strongest foe he had ever fought and even then, they had hardly had the chance to fight. Pressing forward the Saiyan made his way to what remained of Gero's laboratory. On the mad doctor's desk, he saw schematics for other Androids and weapons. He also found plans for some sort of World Domination scheme that the army were planning on using the Dragon Balls for. Most importantly though, he found the most important thing, the Dragon Ball he had been searching for.

"Maybe Bulma could find some usefulness for this stuff," Raditz said to himself, stuffing everything into a desk. It sickened him but he knew that if anybody could decode some of this stuff, it would be Bulma. He would hate for any more of these Androids to pop up, he couldn't even sense their energy.

After blowing up what remained of Muscle Tower, Raditz was back on his way towards Kame House. He knew that the Red Ribbon Army were formidable foes but after the encounter with Doctor Gero's creations, he knew that this would be a much harder war than anticipated. He only hoped that Krillin and Yamcha hadn't run into too big of an issue. He thought of Eighter and wondered if he'd ever see the Android again. He also wondered where Doctor Gero could have fled to. This worried him more than anything but pushing it aside, he knew that other things were more important now.

The Red Ribbon Army was going down.