Author's Note: Thank you guys for all the awesome reviews! I so enjoy reading them :) Also - I know these chapters are longgg. I'm trying to make my writing more concise but I find in the editing process I just keep adding things in lol. Let me know if these are too long and I will try my best to make them more palatable :)


Gohan touched down at Capsule Corp., as gently as he could. His mother, still flailing, had not been the easiest to transport via flight. The whole journey to West City was filled with screaming and anger, followed by sincere worry and tears. Gohan tried to keep his cool, but he was just as confused and scared.

The past three years had been long and arduous, and before the androids showed up, he sincerely felt like it was enough time. But as he saw the anxiety sweep across his father's face, he couldn't help but feel unprepared.

Before Gohan even had a chance to hustle inside, Bulma was walking over to him with baby Bulla in tow. It was the first time Gohan had actually seen Bulla since she had been born a few months ago. He didn't know much about adult relationships—being just a boy, and all—but he had heard his mother's diatribes about it to his father late at night.

Can you believe that Bulma and that, that, that-that MONSTER are having a baby?! It's unheard of. First she invites him to her house, and now this?

But Chi-Chi had warmed up to Bulma's decision after she had visited her friend's new baby. Bulla was sweet and good natured—unlike her father. She hoped the child would stay that way.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Bulma asked, smiling.

Chi-Chi began wailing again, wiping the smile right off Bulma's face.

"It's Goku!" she cried. "These-these people showed up and they challenged him to a fight and he needs help!"

"The androids," Gohan interjected. "They're here."

Bulma's heart sank. The androids weren't supposed to appear for two more days. Even more troubling, Vegeta's ship wasn't on track to arrive back on Earth until the morning of the planned attack. Even if Goku could hold off the attack from the androids, he would need help—and he would need it fast. She knew what she had to do. She shoved baby Bulla into Gohan's unsuspecting arms, whipped out her cell phone and called Kami House.


Several miles south, the androids found themselves in an unsuspecting town. They were wired from the anticipation of fighting Goku, and if they couldn't get their fighting fix from him, they would have to derive their pleasure elsewhere.

A small crowd formed around the androids when they descended from the air, with one woman pointing in awe. The twins were unamused. They didn't like the gawking. 17 outstretched his hand to the crowd, revealing his palm and flexing his fingers in a strange yet mesmerizing way. Perplexed, they watched him with probing eyes. He was expressionless as he launched a blast, slicing through them and mowing down a dozen or so innocent people.

A scream pierced the air and soon after all of those within a short distance were at full alert. The city descended into swift chaos. People went running in every direction, women grabbed children, drivers abandoned their cars and people poured into buildings to take shelter, going as far as breaking the windows of an office building to be let in. In the middle of it all were the twins who were soaking it in with a sickening pleasure.

"If we can't fight Goku, we might as well have some fun," 17 said, a tinge of boredom in his voice.

"I guess," 18 said indifferently. "Aren't you at all concerned about Gero?"

"What is that old man going to do to us?" 17 snorted. "He thinks he has control over us, but he doesn't."

He turned around and pointed two fingers at a nearby building. Some of the citizens who were paralyzed in fear had taken refuge behind it. 17 generated an energy blast and let it grow to the size of a baseball before launching it, exploding the building and sending rubble flying into the air. In the smoldering wreckage there were bodies covered in ash and blood.

It didn't take long for armored police to arrive. They rolled down the street in two lines cautiously toward the duo, who remained like statues in the middle of the road. They were dressed in a deep, purplish blue and flanked with body armor that could stop bullets and blasts of all kinds—but not super human androids. Some of them had seen their fair share of craziness, but the weapons these strangers were using were something they had never encountered before. How were they able to destroy everything by just using their hands?

"You there!" yelled an officer perched on an armored car a few yards away. He used a megaphone to amplify his voice. "This is the Indigo City Police! Stop your destructiveness at once!"

It was 18 this time who turned to the car, launching an assault of energy blasts toward them. Those who could rushed out of the way, but the brunt of the blast connected and caused a chain reaction. The explosion lit up the sky. You could hear screams coming from the burned out vehicle.

"You were right," 18 said. "This is kind of fun."


By the time Piccolo had arrived at Capsule Corp. with a struggling Goku, the Z Fighters had already convened. As it happened, Krillin, Yamcha and Tien were all at Master Roshi's house, sparring together in the final days of their training. Initially, they planned to rush over to Goku's house to join in the fray. But as they scanned for his energy, they realized he was headed in another direction: toward Capsule Corp.

"What's wrong?" Chi-Chi rushed toward Piccolo, who was gripping Goku by his waist.

"It's his heart," Piccolo said urgently. "He needs that medicine. Where is that medicine?!"

Chi-Chi pulled the vial out of her pocket. She was in constant fear that the virus would strike at any moment, and knowing how forgetful Goku was, she didn't trust him to keep it. From the day he brought it home, she carried that vial in her pocket during the day and rested it under her pillow at night. Sometimes she questioned whether this was excessive, but now it proved to be a game changer.

Bulma grabbed her cell phone again.

"Dad! I need you and a few guys from the lab to come out here right now! Goku is hurt!"

Piccolo laid Goku on the ground and he writhed in pain.

"I built a rejuvenation chamber like the ones Frieza had on Namek after Vegeta's one-millionth injury," Bulma said while examining Goku's body. "We can give him the medicine and put him in there, it should make him heal faster."

A group of men came out in a stretcher, loaded Goku on it and disappeared inside with Bulma close behind. Chi-Chi and Gohan trailed them, leaving the rest of the Z Fighters on the lawn looking horrified. Tien, Yamcha and Krillin looked expectantly at Piccolo, scanning his face for an answer. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Are you sure it was the androids?" Krillin asked. Piccolo nodded his head sternly.

"They came early," he said. The fear in his voice was palpable. "And they're strong. We can't do this on our own. We need to think of a plan"

They all exchanged glances knowing none of them knew what to do.


The androids' spree went on for another day. As the city crumbled around them, reports started circulating about the chaos. The news had also made its way to Gero.

He was already all too aware that the androids had failed in their mission to kill Goku. He had sent his drones to follow them and record the fight—it would be deliciously spectacular to watch over and over again—but when they failed to return, he began to get worried the Saiyan had overtaken his creations. He checked his seismic meter, but it had no significant activity. Something was amiss.

He recalled the drones back to his lab, still intact, and as soon as they arrived he plugged them into his operating system. He saw the scene play out—17 challenging Goku, Goku collapsing, the androids relenting—and he let out a frustrated scream.

"Damn it!" his fist slammed on the table. "They should have killed him!"

He rushed over to his drone bank, ripping a fully charged one from its dock and quickly programming it to track down the androids. They whirred off in a flash and Gero anxiously paced around his lab. He clicked on the radio and tuned into the news.

that's right, Bill. It is unclear why these two have arrived there and what their motivations are, but as of now, Police Chief Violet has said they're extremely dangerous. Hundreds are dead and buildings have been razed. Panic is in the air in Indigo City tonight as family members search for

Gero grimaced. He clicked off the radio and pulled on his jacket, grabbing a capsule from his desk. In a flash he was airborne in his flying car and headed directly toward Indigo City.

He was furious. This was precisely the thing he had worked for years on perfecting—complete subordination—and now in the time it was most necessary, his creations suddenly were exercising free will. But he planned for this. He had hoped there would be no need to use his control device, but it appeared he was naive. He fostered an inflated ego and was unable to see that while his androids were engineered they were still human.

The journey took two hours and by the time he got to Indigo City, there wasn't much of it left. A massive explosion alerted Gero to the androids' location and he gunned it toward them. Immediately the androids recognized their master's car. As he watched it descend, 17 considered blowing it up and getting rid of Gero, but something stopped him. Was it a slight bit of affection for their captor? Fear? He did not know.

Gero landed in what used to be a town square that was now reduced to rubble. When he emerged, his face —one in which the androids immediately recognized.

"Can you explain to me why Goku is still alive and you are here blowing up this inconsequential city?" His words were like venom.

"Goku was sick," 18 said cautiously. "We didn't want to fight him unless he was at his maximum power."

"That was not your mission!" Gero screamed, cutting her off. "Your mission was to kill Goku!"

"But that's no fun," 17 said flatly. "We've been training for this our entire life. And for what? To kill a weak man we could've easily destroyed years ago?"

Gero's jaw clenched and his grip tightened. "How dare you."

"We will fight Goku, just not today," 17 responded. "Maybe in a day or two. When he gets better we-"

He didn't have a chance to finish his thought before he collapsed to the ground. He grabbed his head and let out a scream. 18 had buckled to her knees as well, shrieking in pain. Gero pressed down on the device, sending shockwaves through their bodies. The anger he felt inside of him was satiated seeing them there, so weak and so vulnerable.

"You will bend to my will!" Gero sneered, walking slowly toward his creations. "You will submit to me!"

He let out another round of shocks, sending the androids into another bout of agonizing pain. His thumb released from the remote and the androids were given a temporary reprieve. It was in this split second that Android 17 saw his opportunity to strike. He had every intention of returning to Goku and defeating him. He was always going to fulfill Gero's twisted mission. But he was not going to do so if it meant taking the easy way out. He and his sister had not toiled in Gero's lab for all those years, separated from their family and forced into indentured servitude, to simply take out their enemy in one blast.

He had always felt a small sense of animosity toward Gero. It was hard not to—he barked orders ungratefully and was generally a pain in the ass to be around. But it wasn't like he and his sister had any alternative to turn to. He was their life, their master, and without him the twins had no purpose.

But this was too far. He had done everything for Gero and this was how he repaid him?

He was going to savor his moment killing Goku—even if it meant killing Gero.

Using all his strength, he shot a blast toward Gero. His aim wasn't great, but it grazed the old man causing a deep wound in his arm. Gero let out a scream and fell to the ground, the remote flying from his hand. He was bleeding but he was alive.

"You…" he groaned while clutching his arm. "You...have made...a grave mistake."

17 and 18 slowly began to recover. 18 looked at her brother with her eyes wide. Never in her life had she believed he would actually attack Gero, though she knew he had fantasized about it plenty of times. What he had done would change the course of their lives forever, and she realized then that they would have to kill the scientist. They got back up to their feet, still shaken, and prepared to send Gero's final blast.

Gero, too, was recovering—albeit slowly. He watched as the brother and sister got back to their feet and he knew he had to zap them one more time so he could escape. If he didn't address his wound soon he was bound to bleed out. He rolled onto his side and stretched out his functioning arm's fingers. The remote sat on the ground just out of his reach. He only had a few seconds. It was now or never.

Rolling on top of his wounded arm felt like being doused in gasoline and lit aflame, but he managed to outstretch his fingers and graze the button. It didn't take much pressure to activate it again, sending the androids flying backward in blood curdling pain.

Gero used the opportunity to slowly get up. He hobbled to his aircraft, pressed the button once more before painstakingly getting into his vehicle. It took all his strength to get up in the air. He put on autopilot and set a course to his lab before ripping his shirt to create a tourniquet.

Back in university, Gero had studied some medical procedures. It was what helped create the framework for his biomechanical experiments. But amputation was a bit beyond his expertise. He could manage general medical technique, stitches and the like, but if he didn't get home soon it would surely be a problem he could not fix. He needed to save his arm at all costs.

The next two hours were agonizing, but productive. He managed to stop the bleeding and made a makeshift patch to cover the wound. By the time he arrived the color was returning back to his face.

Part of him always knew they would turn on him. They were insolent children and even worse teenagers. That was precisely why he had started a secret project on the side, away from their prying eyes, a weapon that would take them out and would be completely loyal to Gero. When he finally made his way into his lab, he trudged to the back behind all of the shelves of materials and long forgotten experiments and peered into a tank.

A tiny embryo-like creature was floating, waiting to be born.