Ah. Back to the writing. Fanfics, books and stuff that doesn't involve studying. Having the exams over is nice.

Dragon Ball Z is © Akira Toriyama

Chapter 6:

The Gauntlet

Goku crouched on top of the Nimbus cloud, shivered and surveyed the snowy, freezing landscape.

"Man, it's cold round here… now where are those dragon balls?"

He checked the dragon radar, now seeing six yellow dots in the middle- and with a seventh now moving towards it.

"They've almost got all seven? Man, I've gotta hurry…"

As soon as he started the Nimbus cloud forward, a spray of bullets sliced through the air in front of him. Stepping back reflexively, Goku lost his balance for a moment as something leapt up.

Goku looked down just in time to see what looked like a solid metal wall coming towards him.

***

"Excellent," the old man smiled as Android 10 placed the dragon ball down on the table in front of him, alongside the others. "Imagine- the power that can be granted by the seven dragon balls. The Red Ribbon Army never even managed to assemble them all… and I have done so in mere days."

"So is it time?" Android 11 asked from behind him. "Are we going to summon Shenron?"

"No… not yet. I want our friend to know who has done this. The others can soften him up… I'll leave it up to you, 11, to deal with him. 10, you know what to do."

Android 10 nodded and, silently, took to the sky. "I'll report back on Android 9, doctor."

"He'll be dead soon enough," the doctor grinned, rambling to himself as he folded his hands over each other, "and you…" he turned to the petite redhead girl who still stood behind him, "once that happened, you will lead my forces to their ultimate victory!"

That was when she punched him across the room.

By the time the doctor looked back up, she was upon him, one hand around his neck.

"No!" she screamed, "I remember! I remember what you did to me! I won't let you do this!"

"Android 12," the doctor wheezed through the chokehold, "release me at once!"

"I'm not your machine!" 12 yelled, "I am…" She was interrupted when the device on the back of her neck sparked to life, and she fell to her knees before the electric shock.

"Really, 12. I was hoping we were past this little defect. Now, unless you want another shock, you'll be a good little girl, and do as I command."

***

Goku rubbed his head, standing up with a painful groan.

"Wow… what hit me?"

As if in response, the three metal figures descended in front of him. The numbers '4', '5' and '6' were stamped on their foreheads. Only 6 looked at all human.

"You are Target Designate: Goku," one of them said, "by orders of our commander, you are to be eliminated."

And then Android 7 stepped in.

Goku had to look up… a long way up. Android 7 dwarfed its counterparts like nothing Goku could have expected. It had to be at least a hundred feet from head to toe- its foot alone was as big as the other androids.

"Oh boy… listen, I don't want to fight you guys, I just need…"

Goku leapt up out of the way as a missile shot from Android 5's chest, barely missing him. "Alright- we'll do it your way." He jumped down, striking 5's head with his foot, buckling the metal joints and sending it flying clean off. Android 4 leapt forward, only for Goku to punch clean through the metal casing at its front.

"Wow," he blinked, "these guys aren't so tough."

He looked up just before a massive foot struck him with all ten thousand tonnes of Android 7's weight.

***

"Just relax, Chi-Chi," Bulma said desperately as she set up the machinery, "we'll have you sorted in a- did something just splash?"

"Oh my God," Yamcha stared, "her- her water broke…"

Bulma turned round just after a dull 'thud'. "Yamcha? Oh, for- he's fainted?"

"It's coming," Chi-Chi gasped, "oh my God, the baby's coming- not now…"

"What do we do?" Krillin said desperately, "if something's wrong, we could die!"

"I don't know," Bulma nearly screamed, "I don't even know what's wrong with her!"

"None of us could figure it out," Roshi's voice, always oddly calm in these situations, suddenly broke through. "Goku was never what we could call a normal human. He's something else entirely, and maybe that's why something's going wrong with this baby."

"Then who do we get?" Bulma asked, "who the hell do we get as a midwife for something like this? Who is there who's as- as not-human as Goku?"

Krillin's eyes suddenly widened. "I know," he said quickly, turning to the window, "hold on!"

With a gust of air, Krillin flew off over the city, praying that this idea of his was going to work out.

***

"Target Designate: Goku eliminated," Android 7 said mechanically, "awaiting orders."

Suddenly, it shook. It suddenly struggled to keep its foot down, as if something of incredible strength was pushing it up.

Goku rose, heaving with all his strength, and with a final, titanic effort, Android 7 fell backwards, hitting the ground with an earth-shaking "thud". As the scraps of his ruined tunic fell from his chest, Goku turned in time to meet the charge from Android 3, and with a single, massive blow, punched clean through it.

In front of him, Android 7 rose, turning down to him as Goku pulled his hands back, and…

"KAME-HAME-HA!!!"

The blast of energy that short forth was over a metre wide, full of blinding, shimmering blue-white energy. It struck Android 7's chest like a battering ram, and, in a shower of sparks, burst out the other side, carrying on up until it faded away in the sky. A second later, the machine's body exploded in a ball of fire, chunks of metal falling to the ground.

Goku flexed a cramped shoulder and looked up the side of the mountain.

There it was: half-buried in the side, a massive, brilliant silver dome. And it didn't take a genius to figure out where the dragon balls were.

***

"Be here, be here, be here…"

Krillin's eyes frantically searched the landscape that he knew was his best chance of finding this warrior. This idea was insane, he told himself. It was ridiculous. He'd never help.

But if he didn't try, and Chi-Chi and the baby both died, he knew he'd never forgive himself.

"Hey! Where are you?"

What looked like a blur shot up in front of him. Krillin grinded to a halt, gulping as he looked up at the figure in front of him.

Six and a half feet of green, taut warrior stood in front of him, cold eyes looking down from beneath the white turban. The cape flowed almost ethereally in the breeze.

"And what do you want, exactly?" Piccolo demanded.

I like Piccolo. He's still one of my favourite parts of DBZ.

So, there we have another chapter. Hope you all liked the idea of the previous Androids, including the giant Android 7. I got that idea from the Avengers comics' villain, Ultron, and thought it was cool.

Next Chapter: Goku vs. Android 11, plus Krillin tries to get the help of Piccolo of all people. Will he help, or just not give a crap?

All Reviews Welcome!