Chapter 18

Goku was still somehow keeping his hold on Super 17.

But he knew without help from Kefla and Cabba it would be in vain.

The SSB form he was using was much stronger than the one from just a few months ago. It was actually the same Ascended Blue Form Vegeta had discovered during the Tournament of power.

He had learned to use this form as well during his last visits in the Room of Spirit and Time. His power in his form however was still a good deal behind Vegeta´s.

But Goku was using Kaioken times twenty on top of it.

While Ultra Instinct possessed better fighting abilities and speed, this form had simply more raw strength.

But even that was not enough. As unbelievable as it sounded, his opponent was simply too strong... even for him.

After a few more moments, like expected, Super 17 broke free from his hold.

xxx

At the same time Super 18 had drawn more and more energy out of the struggling Kefla.

Cabba had tried to interfere, but the Super Android just slapped him down.

A moment later it was over and Kefla divided into a completely worn out Caulifla and Kale, who fell to the ground before her in their base forms.

"I should thank you two," Super 18 stated. "You gave me even more power...

... but why stop here?" she asked.

She turned to Cabba, who was still revovering from the hit she just gave him, grabbed him by the throat and started to draw his energy as well.

xxx

Goku knew he could not win here anymore. Not right now. He had not expected this.

First Seventeen managed to learn Ultra Instinct... and now this. Even if he would somehow manage to beat Super 17, with the second Super Android here, he had no chance.

The only good thing was that the real Seventeen seemed to be able to regain some control whenever the fused Android was trying to use Ultra Instinct. But that was it.

They had to retreat and wait for Vegeta. That was the only chance.

"Now then Goku..." Super 17 said. "It was nice. But it is time to end you." He reached out with his hand.

Still, Goku had the impression that Seventeen reacted a bit slower than he should have. Maybe his true self was still assisting him somewhere. Or maybe it was just wishfull thinking.

Goku reacted, in the only... and possibly worst way he could think of.

He raised both his arms and fired ki blasts right at both Androids. They reacted in exactly the way Goku had hoped.

18 dropped Cabba, as both of them raised their hands to absorb his attacks.

This made his opponents only even stronger than they already were, but it also gave him the second he needed to teleport himself right next to the outdrained Universe 6 saiyans and then all of them out of here.

He had no choice. He could only hope that Vegeta had made some real progress. What they really needed was a plan.

"Seventeen, Eighteen!" They heard Doctor Gero´s voice screaming inside their heads.

"Hey - he was shooting me right in the face. What did you expect me to do - just do nothing?" Super 17 responded.

"Beside that - thanks to his desperate move right now, we have only grown even more powerful," Super 18 added. "Goku will have no chance against us when he returns."

"Very well," Gero´s voice responded. "But make sure to destroy Goku the next time. And now return to base, both of you."

Back in his base however, the cloned brain of Doctor Gero could not help the doubt coming up inside him how great his control over the new 17 and 18 truly was.

xxxxxxx

West City

One moment later Goku, Cabba, Caulifla and Kale reappeared in front of the Capsule Corp building.

"Goku!" Bulma called out.

The were all seeing the state the four saiyans were in. Goku took four senzu beans out of the bag he had with him and ate one, before giving the rest to the others.

"Do you have one for me too?" Piccolo asked.

Goku saw that the Namekian was injured and gave him one too.

"I guess it did not go well?" Mai questioned.

"No - not at all. Seventeen - he was able to copy my techniques. And then Eighteen suddenly showed up," Goku explained.

"We need Vegeta if we want to have any chance. I hope he has now finished his training."

"Things were not going so well here either," Krillin stated.

"21 has absorbed Freeza," Future Marron said, "and Gohan is fighting her right now."

"But he had reached the new form Vegeta had wanted," Bulma added. "So the new chamber works."

"Yes - I can sense how powerful Gohan became. Good - I will try it out too," Goku replied. "But first I will get Vegeta back."

"Damn it!" Caulifla called out next to them. "We have lost, even with the fusion."

"If Eighteen had not taken you by surprise, I am sure you would have done better," Cabba tried to reassure her.

Califla only looked downwards for a few moments.

"Yes - but we would still have lost," she said then. "I know I can be arrogant Cabba... but I for my part are done underestimating my opponents."

"Sis - you... you are right," Kale admitted. "These guys were just too strong."

"If we had Super Saiyan Blue or something similar, then we had a chance," Caulifla exclaimed. "Can you start to teach us now?"

"That would need some time. Like I told you, you need to be able to use God Ki first," Goku stated.

"Ah Goku - what are you talking about? I mean we have a method to get God Ki quickly after all, right?" Trunks said.

"You are talking about the Super Saiyan God ritual?" Piccolo questioned.

"Yes - that one," Trunks replied.

Of course. Why had they not thought about it earlier? Well - to be honest, with Goku, Vegeta and later Gohan already knowing about God Ki, the ritual became kind of redundant.

And with always needing six saiyans around to perform it - and not working on non-saiyans - it was not that practical anyway. The last time they had needed an unborn Pan for it to work.

But now?

They were looking around: Goku, Trunks, Goten, Cabba, Caulifly, Kale. If they got Vegeta back, it should be more than enough.

"Yes - the ritual where five saiyans are standing in a circle, holding hands and the sixt in the middle receiving the power," Chichi commented drily.

"Ah, moment - what?" Cabba said.

"You want to tell me there is a way for one to get stronger by five others standing around you, holding hands?" Caulifla asked flabbergasted.

"That is crazy," Kale stated.

"That might be, but it still works," Goku replied. "But first I will get Vegeta," he decided.

"Master Kaio-," he said, sending out a telepathic message, "can you give me a connection to Vegeta?"

xxxxxxx

Gohan and Number 21 had by now reached some distance to West City. To his surprise, the insane Android had actually agreed when he had suggested that they moved their fight out of the town.

"I think that should be far enough - don´t you agree?" 21 said.

"Yes," Gohan replied.

"Now then... let us beginn," she said.

Without a warning, she shot another magic beam at him, trying to turn him into some kind of food.

But in opposite to Freeza... Gohan was warned.

The speed his new form offered was incredible, he admitted.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her. "Just a few days ago you were completely peacefull and now you try to kill us all."

"That?..." she hesitated. "That was another me. I - I am just hungry. Yes - I am starving," she called out.

"Has this brain of Doctor Gero something to do with it?" he asked her... while he was side-stepping another one of her magic attacks.

But his words seemed to be getting to her and turn her off-focus, he noticed. Good so far.

"Doctor Gero? Yes - my beloved. I am meant to restore his body and then we will rule this world together," she recited.

"But first I need to feed," she suddenly explaimed. "Power - more and more. All powerful beings on this planet will be mine to consume and..."

Gohan moved right next to her and punched her hard in the face... the already distracted 21 was thrown to the ground.

"You!" she growled.

"You will consume nobody anymore," Gohan declared. "I will stop you here and now."

"Really?"

21 attacked again. This time it was not magic, but a ki blast.

Gohan dodged again. He had been using the last few seconds to charge up his energy, before he fired back with a full powered Masenko.

But it did little damage. I fact the blast pierced through her body far too easily and ripped out a part of her upper body. But the damage instantly regenerated.

The cells of the Demon Buu, Gohan knew - they now obviously dominated her original ones.

"21." A well known voice interrupted them. It was Android 16.

"What are you doing here?" Gohan asked him. "Last I heard you were with Tien."

"I am here to talk with 21," the Android replied.

"W-what do you want?" she asked him, suddenly sounding a bit insecure.

"You are under the influence of the cells of the Demon Buu. We have talked about this before, how they are slowly corrupting your mind. You know that," 16 reminded her.

"I-..."

"You are also being manipulated by commands Doctor Gero´s computer placed into you while you were deactivated. I had only found out about his plan to clone and recreate himself when it was already too late."

"Doctor Gero - yes. My beloved. No - he isn´t my beloved, he just created me. Or is he?..." she ranted. "No - that was the other me. None of this matters to me."

"21 - I have been watching over you all this time. I always felt connected to you. Maybe it is because I was designed after the son of your human self. Maybe there are also programmings in me that caused me to act like him. I am not sure," he admitted.

"But if our time together means anything to you, then please try to regain your senses and regain control."

"You... yes - yes I remember - I know now," 21 said. "You truly mean much to the other 21. She cared about you. It is funny. she herself had never truly noticed. She was focused too much on her work," she mentioned.

"Now then. If you meant so much to the other me... then you should die!" she exclaimed and fired a powerful ki blast at 16.

The attack ripped a hole into the ground in front of her, caused a large explosion and blew smoke and dust into the air.

The next moment 21 looked in shock at what she had just done.

"No..." she whispered. "What have I done?"

"No!" she started to scream wildly. "No!"

As the explosion she had caused died down, Gohan was standing with outstretched hands in front of 16. He had blocked the shot.

But the damage - at least when it came to 21 - was already done.

Pink and grey smoke started to stream out of her body and gathered itself a few meters next to her... and it begann to form a new body, one looking identical to her own.

A second later two 21´s were standing before them. The only difference was that one of them had normal light blue eyes and the other the red and black ones of the Demon Buu.

xxxxxxx

West City

Goku - after a short trip to Yadrat - now teleported back to Capsule Corp. Standing next to him was Vegeta.

"Vegeta."

"Dad."

Bulma and Trunks greeted him. He laid his arms around Trunks in a short hug.

"I hope this training of you was worth it," Piccolo told him. "We have real problems here."

"Don´t worry," Vegeta replied. "You can believe me... it is. I have a few real surprises for these Androids."

"Good. We will need them," Piccolo said.

"Going by Gohan´s power, it looks like the new chamber works like intended," Vegeta stated.

"It does," Bulma declared.

"Then let us use it as well Kakarot. You too. With this new form and my new techniques from Yadrat, I am sure I can beat anyone."

"You have not seen what 17 and 18 have been turned into Vegeta," Goku responded.

"We also want to try something else - the Super Saiyan God ritual," Piccolo said.

"For who?" Vegeta asked.

"Us," Caulifla stated.

"I see."

"Caulifla - do you really think that it is such a good idea to give Kale God Ki?" Cabba questioned. "I mean she sometimes still has problems to control herself even now. And God Ki might actually make it worse."

"What do you say?" Caulifla said, slightly irritated.

"Leave it - Sis," Kale told her. "I really have control issues sometimes. You know that."

Caulifla sighed.

"Okay - then just you and me for now Cabba," she said.

"If we turn into Kefla, then she will then possess God Ki anyway."

xxxxxxx

A half hour later

They had now done both. Performed the God Ki ritual - first for Caulifla, then for Cabba.

The two Universe 6 saiyans had been standing before them with red glowing hair and eyes.

But Son Goku had explained to them that the transformation would not last... and that they needed to learn to intigrate the Divine Ki into their regular forms.

"The jump in power is actually much lower than the one you had back then Goku," Krillin stated. "I mean you went instantly from being stronger in your normal form than you had been in SSJ3."

"Yes," he admitted. "But I think the Universe 6 saiyans have already much more of their potential released than we did back then. You remember how strong the three already were when we first met them?"

The increase in power for Cabba and Caulifla was indeed not quite comparible to Goku´s first Super Saiyan God transformation. But it was still immense.

And then Vegeta and Goku had entered the Moonlight-Wave Chamber together.

Like with Gohan, the process had worked.

They were now standing there in their new forms. That however looked a little bit different, since their transformations were based on (Ascended) Super saiyan Blue instead on Ultimate Form.

Their hair was glowing in a lighter green and the red and yellow rings at their eyes were less pronounced.

"Very good," Vegeta said.

Goku however was less enthusiastic.

"Just like I feared."

"What is it Kakarot?" Vegeta asked.

Goku dropped out of the new state and back into his base form.

"Since this form is based on the rage of the Giant Ape, I can not use Ultra Instinct or Kaioken while I am using it. For Ultra Instinct I need a clear mind... and for Kaioken I need stable energy.

This form has neither. It seems I can only switch between the three states, but not use them at the same time," he explained.

"I see," Vegeta said.

"Well - maybe I can figure something out. Like switching between the forms very quickly. Then it could be usefull."

Goku´s expression turned serious.

"We should go now."

"We have not heard anything about Mom´s and Seventeen´s transformed selves since your fight," Future Marron told them.

"That means they are probably back at 21´s base," Piccolo stated.

"Then we will go there," Goku said.

"We want to come as well," Future Marron announced.

"We both want to," Krillin confirmed.

"What?" Vegeta asked.

"Think about it," Krillin said. "We are maybe the only ones who can help them regain their senses."

"No - not the only ones," Bulma stated, remembering something.

They were finally coming to have a plan. Or something in that direction.

xxxxxxx

A short time later Goku and Vegeta arrived at 21´s base... where Super 17 and 18 were waiting for them some distance in front of the entrance.

"We know you would come back," Seventeen said, "and this time you brought Vegeta as well. Good - let us end this once and for all."

"That is what we are here for," Goku replied.

Both saiyans powered up - first to SSB, then into their new forms.

"Will you take Vegeta Eighteen? I will meanwhile kill Son Goku and finally fulfill that command from Doctor Gero," Super 17 stated.

"Okay. I am curious about what he had learned anyway," she said. "Now - just you and me Vegeta. Does that not remind you of the old times?"

"No," he answered. "It doesn´t, because back then I was facing the real Eighteen and not some mind-controlled puppet."

Super 18 seemed to freeze for a moment.

"But you will loose just like then," she exclaimed then. "Only in opposite to the other Eighteen, I will not spare your miserable life. I will crack your skull open so that your sorry excuse for a brain can quell out and rip your heart out of your body, like she should have done it from the start."

"You sound somewhat riled up," Vegeta remarked smirking. "Can it be that I have hit a nerve?"

"Shut up. Lets do this right now. I will kill you."

Super 18 leaped forward and send out a punch, that Vegeta was blocking with both hands. But it was still more than enough to force him backwards.

The two continued to exchange a few more blows, with them drawing further away from Goku and Super 17.

"I see you have a new transformation," Seventeen stated. "Seriously - is there never an end to it with you saiyans? It looks somewhat - well... green," he remarked.

"Do you seriously think having this new form will be enough to defeat me?"

"No. But I have to try," Goku replied.

"Good... then lets test it out."

Super 17 suddenly through up both his hands and send a reign of small ki blasts at Son Goku.

xxx

The fighting Super 18 and Vegeta had meanwhile reached some distance to them.

"Not bad Vegeta. Your raw power is actually nearly rivalling my own. But the key-word is nearly. You can not win."

"And as your true self know perfectly well, the winner in a fight is depending on more than just raw strength," Vegeta replied.

"Oh really? That is rich coming from someone who is outmatched in all other factors as well. I have eternal energy, you not. You can not even use ki blasts without risking that I absorb it. I can only gain more energy, while you loose it.

What can you do?"

Vegeta only smiled.

"We wil see."

Suddenly three more figures started to form around them out of pure ki energy.

One moment later Super 18 was surrounded by four Vegetas.

"The ki-copy technique. Interesting. But I hope you remember the weaknesses of that move," she commented.

"I do. But I also remember it´s strengths. And you know... you have only two arms," the original Vegeta said.

At his words, he and his three copies started to fire ki blasts at her from all directions.

As predicted she could not keep upwith absorbing the blasts. Since for all her power, she had only two energy-absorbers on two hands, against four opponents.

Her clothes were burned at several places, her skin showed visible scorch-marks. It was clear that the blasts were causing at least some kind of damage.

But Super 18 was just standing there - she let the bombardment continue for about ten seconds - and then she laughed.

An Android barrier was forming around her that blocked the rest of the blasts.

"Nice, isn´t it?" she said. "I finally learned how to use that little trick from watching 17."

Vegeta starred at her expressionless.

"Congratulations - you have just caused minimal damage and made me even stronger in exchange - much more," she said. "Now that was a bad tactic if I ever saw one."

"Don´t worry," Vegeta replied. "I have much more in my arsenal. That was just the beginning."

"Really? Great - I am eager to learn even more new techniques before I crush you."

Good - Vegeta thought silently. So far it was all going as planned.

xxx

Goku meanwhile was struggling with Super 17.

He knew he would have to use Ultra Instinct again very soon.

They would start the next part of their plan in a short time. But if he didn´t use it, he might now even be able to keep up this long.

The fight with the Super Androids will probably come to an end next chapter.

Side-note: Vegeta is currently somewhat above Goku in both Blue and Rage form. But the other has Ultra Instinct in the backhand.