And we're back, with a proper fight at last. Krillin vs. Android 9- taking all bets!

Dragon Ball Z is © Akira Toriyama

Chapter 5:

Brutal Strength

The sound of the explosion echoed through the building. Through the alarms and shouts of panic, Yamcha, Krillin and Tien were the first group to start racing downstairs.

"What was that?" Yamcha shouted as he jumped over a piece of wreckage. "Those Androids?"

"Better not be," Tien muttered under his breath, "I am not in the mood for-"

He never managed to finish the sentence before a mail box came crashing through the wall. As the surrounding screams became even louder, Yamcha leapt up and expertly kicked it away.

When they finally reached the front door, the intruders were there.

"Well, well," Android 10 noted with a wry smile, "they took their time. Let's begin, shall we?"

"Who are you?" Tien demanded, surveying the new arrivals.

"We don't have names as such," Android 10 explained calmly, "I am Android 10. This is Android 11," she gestured towards her hulking companion. "You, if I'm not mistaken, are friends of Goku."

"Where did you come from?" Krillin asked. "The Red Ribbon Army was destroyed years ago."

"Hmm. I don't see any reason to explain that," 10 smiled, "you won't live long enough for it to matter." She stepped forward, before Android 9's arm stuck out in front of her.

"Allow me to deal with them, 10," he said in a low, grating voice.

"What, alone?" the female android asked.

"I would like to test my capabilities against them," 9 explained. "If you attack them, they'll be destroyed before I get the chance."

Android 10 chuckled and flicked back a lock of her hair. "Flattery will get you everywhere. Go ahead; the one-star dragon ball is meant to be around here somewhere, so I can pick it up while you're busy." She rose into the air and turned away. "Have fun!"

As Android 10 floated silently away, 9 turned to survey its three opponents.

"Which one of you will fight?" he asked, fists clenched.

"You want this one, Tien?" Yamcha asked.

"I'll take it," Krillin said, stepping forward. "It's been a while since I had such a good brawl."

9 nodded and punched its fists together. "Very well. Prepare yourself."

Krillin moved his hands into a guarding position. They nodded to one-another and…

"Rocket Fist!"

9's left fist suddenly shot forward from the end of the machine's arm, shooting towards Krillin like a bullet. The pint-sized fighter jumped back, catching the fist under one arm and sending it flying up into the air. It trailed off, arcing into the air as Krillin landed and turned to see it coming for him again.

He jumped to the side, just in time to see 9's remaining fist swinging for his head. Ducking under the blow, he jumped up and kicked the android in the gut, leaping back and upwards with enough momentum to strike it in the face. The rocket fist returned, clamping back onto the fighting machine's arm.

Android 9 turned, plunging one fist down and striking only the ground as Krillin dodged to one side. As the robot spun round, it lashed out with one fist; Krillin jumped again, this time landing on top of the offending limb, and smashed his forehead into 9's face.

"Wow," Tien noted as Krillin dodged another blow, "he's running rings around that thing!"

"Think he can take it down?" Yamcha asked.

"Tough to say. Krillin's fast, but it just depends which of them tires out first. If that thing gets hold of him, he's in trouble."

As if on cue, after Krillin dodged another blow, Android 9 grabbed hold of his foot and slammed him into the ground. As Krillin reeled, the machine's fist landed on his back with earth-shaking force. As he stood, another blow caught him round the face and sent him rolling away.

"He's in trouble," Yamcha said, "ready?"

Tien nodded, but as they both prepared to jump into the fray, Krillin righted himself and jumped clean over Android 9 as it lunged at him. He turned, raising one hand into the air as the robot turned to face him.

"Destructo Disc!"

The air took on a small of burning copper as a thin, wide, glowing disc of light appeared in Krillin's hand. He pulled it back and, as Android 9 realised what was about to happen, hurled it forwards like a Frisbee.

Even knowing that it was a machine, Tien and Yamcha both flinched as the energy disc sliced through Android 9's midsection, veering up and eventually fading away as it arced in the sky.

For a moment, the android stood perfectly still.

Then its top half slid sideways, falling off to reveal the mechanical workings within its body as the bottom half fell to its knees with a dull, metallic 'clank'.

The other two fighters exhaled, not having realised that they'd been holding their breath. Krillin lowered his hand and sighed from the effort of the attack.

"Krillin," Yamcha stared, "what was that?"

"Something new I've been working on," Krillin smiled. "Not bad, huh?"

"Nice," Tien said. "Now, what about the other one?"

***

Onlookers were still huddled around the site of the wreck. The train had "somehow" come off the rails, ploughing through the street. Mercifully, casualties had been light.

Android 10 pulled a wooden crate out of the wreck and tore off the top. There inside, surrounded by foam pellets, sat the one-star dragon ball, glinting beautifully in the light.

"Perfect," she smiled to herself. "I'll drop this back off with the doctor, and then I can go and see how 9's doing."

***

"It seems Android 9 has been disabled," the doctor noted. "Ah, well. He was an old model, and we have more pressing concerns. You're ready, I take it?"

Android 11 nodded, straightening his hat. "Do you wish me to attack now, doctor?"

"Not yet. Let the older models wear him down first," the doctor instructed. "4, 5, 6, 7?"

Four simultaneous salutes of "yes, doctor" followed from behind him.

"Excellent. And now," the old man chuckled, "this is where the fun begins."

He turned to the screen and Goku's approaching form.

***

"We should get you somewhere safe," Ox-King advised, "in case the other one comes back."

"This is the safest place there is right now, dad," Chi-Chi said, "I don't think any hospital could keep one of those machines back."

"Well, that last one wasn't all that tough," Krillin said.

"But he said himself that the other one was much more powerful," Tien reminded him. "We shouldn't get overconfident."

"That one wasn't the one from the house, anyway," Chi-Chi recalled. "That was Android 11."

"They must be more advanced models," Bulma noted. "So what do we… Chi-Chi, are you alright?" Nobody seemed to have noticed, but she was sweating profusely.

"I'm fine," Chi-Chi wheezed, "just- aagh!"

"What is it?" Ox-King asked desperately as Chi-Chi's hands clung to her swollen midsection.

"The baby," Chi-Chi gasped, "it's the baby!"

"It's coming?" Ox-King gaped.

"She's going into labour!" Bulma realised, "I'll call someone up."

"It's not that," Chi-Chi said, her face red with pain, "something's wrong!"

"What? What is?"

"Something's wrong with the baby!"

And I'll end it there, just to be cruel. It kind of made sense to me that there might be complications in the first human/Saiyan birth. Also, I don't care if Krillin didn't have that move this far back, I like it.

Next Chapter: Chi-Chi and Gohan's lives are in danger, Goku faces off with four Androids, and Piccolo finally turns up!