[3] A Devastating Sacrifice - When Will This Battle End?

Content originated from dates of: March 10 2012 - August 4 2015; March 8 2017; November 29 2021 - January 2 2022; September 7 - 8 2022; September 11 2022; April 17 - 19 2023; April 22 - 23 2023

In a certain corner of the battlefield, two figures stood together as they watched the ensuing display of flesh vs machine. The shorter and older of the two, with notable gray hair and age lines, focused on observing the android before them. Krillin had taken it upon himself to encounter this new threat, not wishing for his family to get any further involved. After what had happened so recently, his wife no. 18 didn't want to face whatever creature her very maker had created this time. 17 and the other androids were a sore topic, and neither parent wanted to involve their daughter Marron any further than what had happened already.

The taller of the two focused instead on the fighters against the android. Their faults and inefficiencies were blatantly obvious to the much older fighter. His son in particular, although seeming to take the battle seriously, was disappointing with his performance. It seemed the whole group, both of the Earth fighters and these new arrivals, were lacking the tactical intellect that could turn the fight around in their favor instead.

Well, all but one in particular. The man hmphed, "At least someone's paying attention."

"Eh?" Krillin questioned, turning to look at the man beside him. It appeared to the martial artist that the saiyan prince was annoyed at the lack of progress and he cynically asked, "Shouldn't you be helping?"

Vegeta stood silent, contemplating his answer…

.-.-.-.

The father and son duo flew with purpose after hearing the news on the radio and pinpointed the energy that marked Goten. They hadn't been aware of Goten's struggles until they left Capsule Corp so the fight was still fresh. Since Goku's disappearance the previous year in Age 787 [3 years sooner than the age known in GT due to changes in the timeline per continuity], the group had hoped for following peace but such a concept was just that: a hope.

Vegeta grit his teeth, recalling the last android he'd faced being Super Android 17. He was having an off day, and Kakarot -Goku- had easily taken the spotlight with that super saiyan 4 transformation. Although Vegeta was sure he wouldn't let himself fall to weakness again, he wasn't sure what to expect from this new threat. He'd not been able to access the power of super saiyan 4 since Kakarot's disappearance. If this android was as strong as Super 17, things could go downhill quickly.

"If Goten's having trouble with this tin-can, you best just leave it to me," the father warned his son.

"What?! Like hell I am!" Trunks burst. "I'm stronger than Goten, Dad! I went on that adventure with Goku, remember?!"

"And you're still soft!" Vegeta cut his son from exclaiming any further. "The only thing that trip did was make you even more irritable! You're a pathetic excuse of a saiyan! Just go home!"

The violenette's ki spiked in fury and warning. Instantly Vegeta looked away from his son who yells, "I'm going, and you're not to interfere, got it?! If I'm not good enough to be your son, then just leave me for dead!"

In a flash of gold, he sped up to neck break speeds to get away.

.-.-.-.

Finally, Vegeta replied, "The boy needs to learn some respect and know his own limits. If he's going to talk big, he needs to back it up."

"That bad, hua? I thought he was over that teen rebellion phase of his," Krillin sighed, knowing that being a parent was certainly not easy. The fighter had never been close with Vegeta, but they'd shared some times together enough to say that if Vegeta were to have friends, then Krillin could probably be considered one. Enough for Krillin to know some of the difficulties the other had with his son over the years.

"Hmph. Apparently not," he responded with a twitch in his eye; a sure sign of being annoyed.

Across the field, Anastazia's eyes drifted to the other local warriors observing the battle. A man with tall spiky black hair, cut off at the top. Those cold eyes and that amused smirk. Just looking at him made her feel uneasy as if he had unimaginable power just hidden away. No, it wasn't just a feeling. Ana just knew like she'd always known… Her stomach churned as memories flashed in front of her very eyes.

.-.-.-.

The man walked with hands in his jean pockets, walking on the sidewalk with a small teal haired girl trailing behind him. The child giggled and played with a stick, whacking the trimmed bushes that lined the property they walked by. Somehow Anastazia knew the man's strange spiked hairdo was new at this point in time.

When the young girl noticed her, she ran and jumped into her arms. The man that was no doubt the girl's father stopped, but lifted his gaze from the ground to behind Anastazia. When she turned, she noted rough looking teenagers in a convertible. They seemed to have made snide remarks about the man, because in a fraction of a second they ended up as sorry heaps on the ground. The small child clapped in excitement from such a display. All she could think of was how she was glad the man hadn't turned on her instead.

"Come, Princess. Leave the brat girl alone for now," the man spoke. The memory echoed and altered the voice, but he seemed to speak with bemused authority.

"Oke Daddy! Bye bye, Anas'ia!" the girl called, jumping back out of Anastazia's arms to race to her father's side once more.

.-.-.-.

There was no doubt that Anastazia had known that man before. He'd called his daughter a princess, and something told her that he wasn't just using it as a nickname. She shook her head to clear it of the distraction. She was being foolish! This is a battle zone! She needed to focus! No more recalling mystery Golden Fighters or Princesses! Her past didn't matter to her because she had everything she needed already. She couldn't allow herself to let those memories take hold.

"No one is stronger than I am! No one can tell me what to do!" Chloe screamed, bringing Anastazia back to the fight at hand. Bolts of electricity shot across the sky as the air quaked from the power. "I am the chosen one! I and I alone will prove the strength of the Vertachic! I will be the strongest!"

Everyone in the field took cover from the sheer power the vampire put out against the android. Leaves were ripped from their branches, sent in a whirlwind spiraling miles in the sky. The android's power formed a forcefield around his body. Encapsulating his metal and biomechanical parts in a blue sheen. The power was gathered, then pushed out down his arms towards the threat hovering above.

In an instant, the power was released and covered everything in a flash of blue light. Chloe screamed once more, returning the blast with one of her own and entering into a beam struggle. A struggle so spectacular not seen since the battle of Cell. Blue met red and formed a purple energy ball that expanded across the sky.

As the exchange kicked into high gear, it appeared as though the blue began to eat away the red. Mike exclaimed in desperation, "You have to dig deeper than that! Chloe!"

With the added encouragement, the vampire's power grew with deep red energy bolts springing from her body and following the energy beam. She was starting to win the struggle now. They were going to win. The android was slipping and sweating. Could this be it?

Anastazia remained stoic. Shard looked towards his life-partner and noted her reaction. How could Chloe harness so much power? And how could it still not be enough, even though she was winning? It didn't make any sense! Never before has Shard seen power so enormous. He was having a hard time standing straight with such an exchange happening.

What was Anastazia thinking? Could she know something from her memories that he didn't? Or was she hiding some power for herself? She seemed to always be Chloe's equal for as long as he's known her. Could they still be even, even after this major power-up? Shard knew Anastazia had a power locked away. Could she have unlocked this power? Or did she need to unlock it in order to win this?

"It's over. She's lost," she sighed, making Nick and Mike gasp in bewilderment.

Soon after, the energy struggle shifted. The ball of gathered energy quickly overcame the android's beam until his hands pushed back the energy. It was at that very moment everyone realized what went wrong. The android absorbed the energy through his palms, not only taking in his own energy but the energy from Chloe's attack as well. Every last drop of energy disappeared in a flash of purple.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Chloe screamed in frustration.

The android smirked, "Pathetic. Thanks for the pick-me-up. Now, if that's the best you've got, then get out of my way. My purpose isn't to destroy you, but I will oblige if you ask nicely."

Chloe panted as Mike floated to her side, holding her shoulders as she was obviously exhausted of her power. He assured, "We can do this together. Remember, this thing wasn't just a singular task. We were sent as a team. I know you can still fight, so back me up."

"Right," the vampire nodded and met her man in a mirrored position.

The couple launched into an attack formation, speared against the now buffed android. The local warriors joined the assault. It was obvious they needed to stick to hand-to-hand combat as any amount of energy would just be absorbed by the amalgamation cyborg. Nick and Shard anxiously waited by Anastazia's side for a signal to join.

The signal did not come as the woman instead approached the younger student they were designated to rescue. Anastazia greeted, "Hey, Maudie Backker, right?"

"Y-yes, that's me. You're from NWSS? I'm so sorry…" the girl began to profusely apologize.

"No worries. It's good to have backup. This is certainly more than any normal person could handle. But, you've been on this mission for a while, is that correct? Can you think of anything that could help us here?"

The brunette considered, "Well, the android's really just a combination of old parts from a deceased scientist: Dr. Gero. I might have seen a few blueprints in a lab or two that I found. But I'm not sure if I could make any sense of them."

Nick added, "It would be super helpful if you could remember anything. If you have photographs of evidence, then maybe we can make out something?"

"Most of the androids weren't finished because of some defects they each had. All the prints I found had 'defective' written in red caps and some even with notation circles and stuff, but I'm not mechanical so I have no idea what the defects were," Maudie continued.

Anastazia nodded, "Not to mention, you wouldn't know how many of those defects would carry over or if this android would have any of the ones you'd seen at all. If this scientist was an associate of Dr. Gero and studied his works, then it's possible that the defects were fixed or avoided by piecing together only the parts of androids that worked."

Maudie nodded, "Exactly!"

Shard finished, "So what you're saying is, it's impossible to know this android's weaknesses…"

"Great," Nick sighed in defeat.

"Well…" Maudie began to reconsider but was interrupted by a booming yell from the android.

A power surged from the machine's circuits, forcing the fighters to jump back. With the space, he began to send a barrage of energy blasts at each fighter and spectator alike. The blasts were powerful on their own, significantly more dangerous from the power Chloe had gifted earlier. Thankfully, everyone in the immediate area could all deflect energy blasts.

Although everyone could deflect the blasts, it caused the spectators to separate across the field in an attempt to get a reprieve that never came. Shard stuck closely to his partner's side as he was certainly the weakest of the group and couldn't handle such an attack for very long. The blonde grit his teeth at the obvious impairment.

"You can't beat him like this," he concluded.

"We'll figure something out. We always have," she responded, but Shard knew better. Anastazia was thoroughly stumped. At a dead end. She needed that power, but how?

Suddenly the barrage stopped, allowing the fighters to take a breath and ready themselves again. But the android wasn't planning on giving them the break they needed, "Gotcha, princess."

Before anyone knew what was going on, the android powered up a blast far stronger than the rest and sent it off. It passed Gohan before he could knock his arm away, and Goten before he could smack the blast away, then it even passed by Pan before she could attempt to dodge… It was heading down to the field below… To where Maudie was standing…

Mike attempted to use instant transmission, but nothing happened! Anastazia sprung forward, but she wouldn't make it in time… Everyone else watched wide eyed. Why would the android target Maudie of all people?!

The blast was sure to kill her… But the body of an owl intercepted the blast… Blood splattered, and time stopped as the body fell to the ground. Maudie was saved? But how? But why?

"Sh-Shard…" Mike gasped as his fingers slowly fell back to his side.

.-.-.-.

"Out of my way!" the android boomed, being blocked by Gohan and Goten.

"It's Goku you want, right? Then we're your opponents," Gohan growled.

The cyborg grunted, "I see. You too are the son of Son Goku. Very well."

As the fight was reinstated, Chloe rejoined the other vampire's side and stated, "Mike, give me your energy." Explosive shockwaves were the only response and the woman insisted, "Mike! Now!"

But nobody was listening as the shock of what had just occurred rang louder than any sound. That is, until a scream pierced everything else: "SHARD!"

In the distraction, Gohan was able to land a kick to the android's chestplate, sending him flying into the sky. With the break in silence, Mike launched himself back into the fight much to his girlfriend's annoyance. However, to her surprise, his power rose from before. He was far stronger for some reason. He was absolutely wailing on the android now. How has he done this? Could he be as strong as she was now? That was not according to plan!

.-.-.-.

Nick took action first, bolting over to the downed owl-person. He quickly pulled the owl's wing away from his chest to reveal the wound. What used to be a beautiful breast of white feathers lay a gaping hole revealing bone and burnt feathers. A view not for the faint. Organs and skin alike were missing and cauterized by the blast.

"You…" the brown haired man gaped and nervously looked back toward his sister slowly approaching on shaking legs. He stuttered, "We can't… Heal that… We need to get help!"

The purple haired man, still watching the field instead of the fight, blinked and turned swiftly, "Krillin! Do you have any Senzu Beans?!"

"No," the older short man replied. "I'll go to Korin right away!"

As the man shot away into the sky, Trunks turned to see Pan in a dazed state just as he was before and exclaimed, "Don't look, Pan!"

The girl didn't blink even as Trunks' hand covered her view and whispered, "Is he going to be okay?"

"N-no…" Anastazia moaned as she finally sank to her knees at her lover's side.

Shard's eyes were fully dilated and unfocused as he whispered in return with a hoarse voice, "Ana…"

"I'm here," she assured, lifting his head into her lap.

Nick stood back, unsure what to do and not wanting to get between what was sure to become their last moments together. Instead, he stared at his hands covered in nearly black colored blood of his close friend. How did this happen? How could this have happened? They seemed invincible, and now…

"I'm sorry," Anastazia began to sob. "I should've… I've been so… Just, please! Please don't leave me! Not… Not like this…!"

"Ana," Shard panted, breaking her slew of apologies. "I love you."

Tears fell to her cheeks, "I love you too."

His eyes seemed to meet hers, though he remained blinded by the pain, "You've always been a mate to me. I'm sorry I couldn't be yours."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she hiccuped.

"I-" he began as a sliver of blood dripped from his beak, "I know you've not been happy. Not truly. I don't want you to settle. I want you to be happy. Your memories. You have to face them, now. You can be the strongest. And don't let anything hold you back. Not even me. No more."

"But I am- I am happy," Anastazia sobbed. Shard coughed up a clot and she hugged his body closer as her sobs came thicker, "No! Please! Save your energy! You-y-you can m-make it!"

"The twins… Take… T-take care… Of them. I kn-know you will…" Shard struggled to continue. One of his lungs was destroyed by the blast… His eyes seemed to finally be able to focus as he whispered his last breath, "You're beautiful…"

"SHARD!" Anastazia screamed through a choked sob.