Bulma sighed as she slipped the last of the dishes into the cabinet. Things had been peaceful over the last several days. That was a relief, at least. But she was still worried. It had been more than two weeks now, since they'd left. She hadn't expected them to be gone this long. They'd only been gone a few hours the first time.
Still, she knew this trip would be longer than the last. They'd planned on staying until the end. She was just worried what that end could be. Turning around she saw Chi-Chi packing the leftovers from dinner into the fridge, Hercule was back to trying to fix the TV so that they could get some kind of signal from the rest of the galaxy, and Roshi was staring out the front window at the purple sky.
Her heart skipped a beat and lodged into her throat a second later as a computerized voice chimed. "Incoming time-distortion detected. Incoming time-distortion detected." That could mean only one thing, they were coming back! All four Humans dropped what they were doing instantly and moved to the front door. Hercule reached it first and pulled it off its hinges in his hurry to get outside. The others were soon behind him.
A second later the sky above them distorted and a shape began to take form. The time machine was back. It lowered to the ground slowly and the doors opened a moment later. Trunks and Sakura emerged and smiled at those gathered to greet them. "We're home." Sakura said.
"You've changed." said Roshi as he gazed at them. "I can feel it as much as see it."
"A lot happened while we were back in the past." Trunks said.
"How... did things go?" Hercule asked. "Did you... were you able to make a difference?"
"And then some." Sakura answered. "They're all safe now, the Androids are defeated. Now it's just a matter of getting rid of the ones here. Where are the others at?"
It was Chi-Chi that answered. "Sango and Aiko are off in the south forest gathering food. Last I saw of Yuki and Kazuki they'd gone off with Kavar to train some more. That was... at least a week ago."
Sakura nodded. "We'll talk to them later, then." she turned and looked toward Trunks. "What do you say we get this over with?"
"The sooner they're gone, the better." he replied. "Let's go end this."
"W-wait... You're going... to face them already?" Bulma asked. "You can't! There's no way..."
"It's ok mom." Trunks said, smiling at her. "We can handle them now. Don't worry." He gave Sakura another glance and then the two shot off into the distance quickly becoming nothing more than specks of light. As they flew Trunks touched a button on his watch and the purple sky before them shimmered slightly. A second later the two had passed through the shimmering and were flying under a pink sky. Behind them there was no trace of the purple sky or the makeshift homes they'd just been flying over.
Bulma had managed to create a holographic projection over the entire refugee village to hide them right under Gero's nose, on the very planet he'd taken as his capital. The little village was only about an hour's flight from Gero's compound and that's where the two were heading. "How should we handle this?" Sakura asked.
"We need to be weary of their upgrades, especially Gero's." Trunks said thoughtfully. "And we should make sure they've only gotten one, otherwise they could be even more powerful."
Sakura nodded. She'd thought of that as well. "Shouldn't be too much trouble, with both of us there."
"Right."
The two made the rest of the flight in silence. It was nearly an hour later that the large structure of Gero's central compound came into view. It was from here that Gero ruled the galaxy. As they approached they noticed someone floating in the sky ahead of them, waiting for them. Of course, they'd not supressed their energies much during the trip so Gero would have seen them coming.
A second later they both pulled to a stop in bright flashes of light. "Tao." Trunks said, crossing his arms. "So, you're all the welcoming committee we get? I'm hurt."
"I am more than enough to deal with the likes of you. If you do not wish to die, leave now."
Trunks smirked. "We have a couple questions first. Well, no, only one. How many upgrades have guys received over the years?"
"What? I don't see any reason I should..."
"It's a simple question." Sakura interrupted. "We're just... curious."
"Very well, if it'll make you go away, we've all been upgraded once. Dr. Gero's still working on the next upgrades. So, as you see, you have no ch..."
"That's just what we were hoping to hear." Trunks said as he flashed gold. Before Tao even realized the boy had transformed a golden wave of Ki engulfed and incinerated him. Lowering his arm again the two waited in silence for the retaliation they knew would be coming. They didn't have to wait long. Soon a small army of sentinels had surrounded them and Androids 13 through 16, as well as Gero, were floating up to meet them.
"I am very impressed." Gero said, gazing at Trunks. "Your power exceeds anything I dreamed a living creature could attain. I have to say, I'm interested to know how you got so powerful."
"We went on a little vacation." Sakura said. "Put a stop to you and your Androids before you could even conquer the galaxy. Now it's time to fix things here, in our time." She roamed her eyes over the four Androids before her. "I take it that it was 19 that 18 took out, after Goku died."
"How...?"
"Like she said, we've been there." Trunks said, crossing his arms. "Interesting though, I don't see 17, never have."
"17 was failure, just as uncontrollable as his sister." 15 said. "So we eliminated him a long time ago."
"Well, one less for us to destroy, at least." Sakura said. "So, why don't the four of you do your little merger thing so we can get this over with."
"You know of Super 13?" Gero asked, shocked.
"Time-travel can enlighten anyone." Sakura said grinning. "Now, merge, so I can destroy you again."
"Very well, girl." 13 said. "If you wish to die then we shall oblige." The Androids began to glow and then the merger process they'd witnessed in the past played out before them once more. "Super 13 at your service."
"Not for long." Sakura said as her body began to glow. It only took a moment for the transformation to her second form to complete. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!" Her silver aura flared up and in a flash she shot forward and smashed through Super 13's body shattering it completely. As Gero watched in shock and disbelief Trunks appeared beside him and kicked him in the side of his head ripping it off his body.
"Well, that was easy." Sakura said, tilting her head to the side. "A little... anti-climactic though. Especially after the Cell Games."
Trunks just shook his head and pointed a palm down toward the large compound below them. "Now, to end this once and for all. A little gift... from my father. Big Bang Attack!" The golden orb of Ki surged down and into the building. A second later the entire thing exploded violently shaking the planet. And then the Sentinels began to fall from the sky, the central computer that controlled them no more.
He started lowering his arm and was about to power down when sparks started surging along the rubble of the building. The energy was all coursing along to a single point somewhere near the middle of the debris. The two time-travelers exchanged glances with each other then turned to face whatever was happening. A second later the debris exploded skyward and a person emerged from the rubble.
Or at least, part of a person. He was large and metallic grey, the sunlight glistening off his solid metal body. What body there was. There were no legs and only a left arm, exposed wires emerged from where the missing arm and legs should have been. His right eye looked normal but his left was silvery and glowed blue. There was no hair on his head, only more exposed wiring.
"A... new model?" Trunks wondered in shock.
"At least he didn't get to finish it." Sakura said, readying for a fight. "Hopefully, that means it's not that powerful..."
"I am Android 52 - Android 25." it declared, its voice heavily mechanical and the tone fluctuating randomly. "You are tresspassing on Red - on Red - on Red Ribbon property. Leave - Leave at once - once or be destroyed."
"I'll handle this." Sakura said, blasting off toward the partially completed machine. Her silver aura trailed behind her as she flew and, a moment later, she reached her target. Her leg snapped out in a kick for its head but the machine's one arm came up and blocked the attack with a loud clang.
"Resistance is - is - Resistance is futile. You will be destroyed - destroyed."
Sakura floated back grimacing at the pain in her leg. Trying to kick this thing was like trying to kick a fully powered Goku without powering up yourself. "Damn it... that hurt." she muttered. Before she could move again Android 25's metallic fist backhaned her and knocked her sailing back toward Trunks again.
He shot in and caught her quickly. "Guess he's stronger than he looks." he said, letting her go so she could fly on her own again. "Damn it, I hadn't expected something new."
"It may be strong but its got a lot of weak points." Sakura said, rubbing her leg. "We just have to get an attack in through one of the exposed sections, blow it up from the inside."
"Right." There were twin flashes of light, one gold and one silver, as the two warriors shot off in opposite directions arcing out around the machine. Trunks gathered energy in his hands quickly and unleashed a volley of blasts to distract it. As it turned its attention toward him Sakura surged in again. Pulling back her arm, she gathered energy around her fist. As soon as she was close enough her arm shot out straight for the opening where the Android's missing arm should have been.
There was a flash of light and then several energy blasts slammed into her and knocked her back. It took her a second to recover and she looked up confused. 25 was no longer floating where he'd been. "Wha-what the?" she wondered, looking around. Then she saw him. "TRUNKS! Behind you!"
The half Sai-jin whirled around just in time to receive a fist to the face that sent him crashing down into the ground. Sakura shot down and landed beside him as he was picking himself up off the ground. "How the hell did he...?"
Trunks wiped some blood off his mouth before answering. "He can teleport somehow." he explained. "There was a flash of light and then he was gone."
"So, that was your energy that hit me then." she said in understanding.
He nodded. "Ya, sorry about that. So, now what do we do? He's faster, stronger, and he can teleport. And since he's a machine the Kuro Omoi Seichuu wont work on him to hold him."
Before Sakura could say anything, 25 flashed and vanished. The two noticed a light flare up behind them and quickly moved aside as a stream of blue energy surged through the space they had just been occupying. Twisting about as they dodged, they both thrust their arms out firing back at him. The blasts hit their mark and he was driven backward a couple feet.
"Trunks! Sakura!" A voice called from a short distance away. The two turned and Saw Kavar flying toward them with Kazuki and Yuki at his sides.
"Stay back!" Trunks called over. "This one's stronger than it looks!" As he finished speaking he caught a flash of light from the corner of his eye and turned to look. 25 was gone again. This time, however, his return was marked with a loud crash into the ground. Sakura and Trunks turned toward the sound and saw Sango lift into the air from a small crater she'd formed by driving 25 into the ground.
"You're not the only one that can dimension shift." she said smirking. Suddenly its arm shot up and slammed into her stomach with a thunderous crack doubling her over. It lowered its arm and then went to backhand her away but Sakura charged in and blocked the blow with her own arm.
"Kazuki! Yuki!" a new voice called. Trunks looked and saw Aiko coming down for a landing now as well. "I'd say now is a good time to try that new move of yours."
The siblings glanced at each other and nodded as Sakura fought with the incomplete Android. Despite it only having a single limb its superior speed and power was giving it the advantage in the battle. The siblings moved quickly, running along the rubble in opposite directions and circling around the two fighters.
Once they were directly across from each other they stopped and their hands moved quickly through a series of motions. "Shika-Shidou... Mahi!" they cried thrusting their arms out. They had their hands together in a way that reminded Trunks of Tien's Tri-Beam, only the palms were facing forward and not each other. The siblings were gazing through the space between their hands staring at the Android and focusing intensely on holding it still.
"Resistance is - is futile. You are tresspassing - tresspassing on Red Ribbon property - Red - Red Ribbon property. Leave at once or be - once or be destroyed." it said in its unfinished voice as it moved sluggishly.
"We... can't hold..." Yuki strained. "much... longer..."
It took Sakura a second to recover but then she moved aside slightly and shot her arm out firing a stream of energy right into 25's open shoulder. Light flared from inside and then the Android exploded violently flinging them all backwards.
The first thing that reached Sakura was the pounding in her head, then the aches and pains of her body. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at the sky, now growing dark in the wanning sunlight. "Must have... been out for a while..." she muttered. She went to sit up but let out a cry of pain and collapsed again. Gazing down the length of her body she saw a metal rod sticking out of her abdomen. "Damn, just... my luck. Save the world and... get killed by a broken bar."
She laid her head back down on the ground and closed her eyes again, listening to the sounds around her. She couldn't hear any movement, any talking, any sign of life elsewhere. She could remember the Android exploding and then... nothing. It was possible the others had all died in the blast... or maybe they were just unconcious too. Either way, it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that they'd won. Even if they were all dead now it was over. And, if they were dead, she'd most likely be joining them soon.
She let out a sigh and then squinted her eyes shut tight against the blinding glare. /Glare? What would be so bright as to...?/ Openning her eyes she realized it was morning again already. She must have passed out again. She could also hear a loud rumbling sound in the distance, steadily growing louder and louder. It only took a moment for her to realize it was the sound of the antique air boat Bulma had been tinkering with the last couple years. Turning her head slightly she saw it just in the distance and nearing quickly. And then she passed out again.
The next time she woke up her headache was gone and so was the rod through her stomach. Her body still hurt like hell, though, but she was laying in her own bed now. "Hey, you're awake." Trunks said, sitting down beside her. "You had us all worried, you've been out cold for three days now."
"Three... days?" she asked, confused. Had it really been that long? It seemed like only a moment ago she'd seen the air boat coming.
Trunks nodded. "The day after the battle, mom and the others came looking for us. Fortunately, the explosion didn't kill anyone... but..."
"But what?"
Trunks sighed. "A large piece of steel wall fell on Aiko, completely shattered her legs. With the condition of the galaxy, well, there wasn't anything mom could do but..."
Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. "This wasn't how things were supposed to end. No one else was supposed to get hurt."
"I'm just glad we made it through without anyone else dying. So is Aiko, she doesn't seem to care about her legs. In fact, she's out sun bathing right now, enjoying the peace and the calm. You get some more rest, you had a pretty nasty infection from that rusty metal rod." Sakura nodded, closed her eyes, and slipped into a deep sleep again.