Chapter 9: Of Warning and Battles

Piccolo opened his eyes slowly as the announcer yelled out for the fight to start. Seeing no reason to draw out this 15's suffering, Piccolo shot forth at his opponent, and attempted to deliver a powerful kick to the fighter's side that would knock the man out cold.

However, with sudden and surprising quickness, 15 blocked the kick with a muscular arm. The sheer stunned look on Piccolo's face said everything.

How… How did he block that attack? Piccolo thought. His power level didn't change in the slightest, and he's not suppressing anything… He COULDN'T be an android, could he?

Deciding to follow up his kick, Piccolo attempted to deliver a quick jab to 15's face, only for the very tall and muscular man to bend his spine backwards, allowing Piccolo's fist to taste only air.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems not only is our mysterious fighter 15 a mountain of muscle, but he also seems to be quite flexible as well!"

With a smirk on his face, 15 countered with a kick of his own as both jackboot clad feet were thrown up in the air and landed on the part of Piccolo's white, weighted armored cloak that covered his chest.

The resulting force from the blow sent Piccolo flying up in the air and for a brief moment, all he could do was recoil from the sharp pain his chest was now experiencing. That kick had some serious power behind it. Far stronger than any normal human had any right to be. Which means it's time that the kid gloves come off, Piccolo thought as he threw off both his cloak and his turban in the unintentionally dramatic fashion that he always did when he got serious in a fight, cracking his neck from left to right as he did so.

"Happy to see that you're taking me seriously Ma Junior." Piccolo turned to face his opponent, unsurprised that 15 was floating in the air same as himself.

"What are you?" Piccolo asked, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Have you not figured it out for yourself Ma Junior- Or should I say, Piccolo?"

The use of his real name only furthered Piccolo's annoyance with this "man" before him. "You're an Android." The capitalization squeezed in with natural ease. "One of Gero's creations?" 15 rolled his muscular, broad shoulder blades into a shrug. "Yes and no. If you give me a good fight, I'll tell you more. Sound fair?"

Piccolo simply snorted as he readied himself into a more serious fighting stance. "Bring it on."

DBZ

"What's going on?" Videl asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun with the flat top of her hand in a vain attempt to see where Piccolo and his opponent had flown off. "I can barely see what's happening."

" From what I can tell... Piccolo is fighting an Android… I think."

"You THINK?"

"Well, he's got a steady hint of ki to him, which Androids don't normally have.," Gohan said as he ended his sentence with a frown. "But now that I'm really focusing on it, there's something… off about this 15's ki. Whatever it is, Piccolo's not going to have an easy time of it, that's for sure."

Videl could feel her face scrunch up in confusion. "Wait, THAT'S Piccolo? As in, Demon King Piccolo?"

"Nope," Goku chirped. "His son."

Videl could only stare at the standing dead man with a gob smacked expression. "King Piccolo… had a son…. And no one here seems to care in the slightest. Sure, why not? People being capable of self flight, people coming back from the dead for a day, and now this- I mean what's next, Kami's some little green man from Mars?"

"No," Gohan replied, not catching Videl's sarcasm. "Not Mars."

Videl blinked at Gohan, as her brain simply surrendered to the new madness that was her life. "Of course."

"Still," Goku turned his head to both 17 (who was holding the still sleeping Marron over his shoulder) and 18, who each gave him acknowledging glances. "Wonder why this one waited until now to show himself?"

"Well for starters, Number 15 shouldn't even exist by now.," 18 remarked.

Krillin glanced up to his wife with a worried look. "W-What do you mean?" He swallowed down the lump in his throat as the image of his wife and brother-in-law beating the stuffing out of his friends on that stretch of highway road came rushing back to him.

"Just that," 17 replied in a flippant voice as he adjusted Marron's sleeping and heavy body. "The old man said himself that he got rid of every Android from 8 to 16, so how the hell 15 survived is anyone's guess."

"I'm still not sure it's him though." 18's lips had gone from neutral into a slight frown. "He doesn't match the picture in my files."

17 also frowned as he mentally checked his as well. "You're right. This 15 doesn't look anything like he's supposed to, though that might be a good thing."

"Why?" asked Tien.

"Think of a big sombrero and a bow tie in the shape of the Red Ribbon Army logo, and you'll see why."

"Ah." The image is a laughable and absurd one, Tien thought as he turned his attention back to Piccolo's mid air battle.

DBZ

Piccolo gasped for breath as he lowered one of his arms down. He had just hit his muscular foe with a bright ball of green ki and now only a cloud of black smoke covered the Android's space in the aftermath.

As much as the Namekian didn't want to admit it, this Number 15 was good. Very good. Their physical clash of blows had left him winded and reeling and it was only with a quick combination of a Solar Flare and Destruction Blast that he was getting any time to rest.

However, Piccolo's breathing moment was cut off as 15 floated out of the shadows, his tight military pants with a few holes burned in them and his white shirt in a similar state.

Then, much to Piccolo's utter bewilderment, 15 clapped his gloved hands together. Once, twice, three times before he stopped.

"I must admit, you have done well for yourself considering the upgrades I've had added to me over the years. Out of respect for your fighting powers and endurance, you may ask me a few questions."

"Why are you here?" Piccolo asked, unable to keep the urgency from reaching his voice.

"Direct as always I see," 15 replied in his perfectly calm and collected demeanor. "Very well. I was sent here to deliver a message, a warning of sorts. The content of which is this: I am Legion; I am the first of many. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End."

"That's it, you came all the way here just to spew poetry?"

"No. I came to read that poetry AND give you a warning. We are coming, when I won't say as that would ruin the surprise."

"Then why warn us in the first place?" Piccolo snapped, his eyes narrowing in on the baldheaded Android.

15 smirked. "Because my employer believes in giving a notice ahead of time, and because we know that no matter how much training you and your friends do in the short time that you have, that it won't be enough to make any major diff-"

But 15 never did get to finish his sentence as Piccolo took that moment to hastily appear in front of him and deliver a powerful punch to his muscular stomach, cutting the Android off as he let out a gasping cry of pain as saliva began to drip from his mouth as a result.

Saying nothing, 15 simply swung out a mighty arm. The next thing Piccolo knew, he was seeing stars and felt a powerful pain on his forehead as he was sent sailing in the air. Stopping himself with his ki he shook his head back and forth hastily, knocking the dizziness from his vision in the process.

"Are you going to try to attack me again?" 15 ask as he floated into Piccolo's range of vision. Piccolo growled. He knew that he couldn't go all out at the tournament, but if he kept fighting at this level, it would only be a matter of time until 15 won.

Not waiting for a reply, 15 continued. "If not, then I'm done here."

Piccolo had only enough time to blink once in confusion before 15 himself blasted back down to the arena and the crowds below. Summoning a white aura around his green body, Piccolo did the same and was trailing after the brown skinned Android a second behind when the two touched back down to the arena floor.

"Ma Junior, 15!" Both the Namek and Android turned to see the somewhat aged Announcer madly rush towards them, microphone in hand. "What exactly happened up there? I could barely make out any details. I-"

"I surrender." The tournament Announcer could only stare at him gob smacked. "Huh? I don't-"

"I. Am. Giving. Up." 15 said each word separately and slowly.

15 then turned his attention back to Piccolo. "You fought hard Namek, I await crushing you at your maximum power."

With that, 15 gave another one armed bow as he slowly faded away from view, vanishing completely a second later.

With that she began mentally laughing before giving a mock salute and vanishing." [Who is "she"?]

"SO IT SEEMS FOLKS THAT NEXT UP WE HAV-"

"A five minute break."

"Huh?" The Announcer froze and moved the microphone away from his mouth. He gave Piccolo a cold glare. "Are you crazy? We can't just stop in the middle of a tournament! We have a-"

"Five. Minute. BREAK. Do it or I'm turning this whole arena into rubble. AGAIN."

The Announcer gulped and wisely put the tournament on hold for five minutes while Piccolo went back to discuss his battle against the mysterious Android with the rest of Earth's Special Forces.

DBZ

Piccolo frowned as the rest of earth's special forces buzzed around him with inane questions that wasn't doing his increasing headache any wonders. It was only through Kami's influence and patience that he held back the urge to yell for the lot of them to shut up, it was only when Vegeta yelled out "Be quiet!" that everyone finally ceased their prattling.

Piccolo gave the Sayian Prince a grunt that, in Piccoloease, meant thank you. He then turned his attention to everyone else. "As for what happened up there. Well, I'll describe it as best I can."

And, to everyone's credit, they stood in sober silence as Piccolo told them about his fight against the (apparently still existing) Android 15.

When he had finished, Krillin let out a weary sigh. "Great, it's the androids all over again, only this time we're being warned by one and now we have even LESS information to go on. And what did he even mean about being the Alpha and the Omega and all that beginning and the end stuff?"

"The Bible, unless I'm mistaken," Gohan muttered in a voice that was just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What was that Gohan?" Goku asked with a questioning expression, his head tilted to the side just ever so slightly.

"That line about the Alpha and the Omega, it's from an old holy book. Same for that stuff about being a legion too. It was back before the world was united under the Furry monarchy, when the world was still made up of separate nations and the like. I think the line in full goes something like: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."

Gohan frowned as he furled his brow in thought. "Can't remember the rest off the top of my head, or the context for that matter. Sorry guys."

"Hey don't feel bad Gohan," Krillin said as he patted Gohan's back. "At least we have something to go on now."

"Why use lines from an old holy book though?" Tien asked with a frown. "Other then to show off the fact that he, or who ever it is he works for, is well read that is."

Everyone could only give shrugs of confusion or indifference.

"Regardless," said Piccolo. "We'll have to be on guard."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon earth's special forces as everyone nodded in agreement. Krillin glanced to his wife, then to his still sleeping daughter who was resting peacefully in the arms of her uncle. Can't believe she's sleeping through all this, Krillin thought as Marron wormed around slightly and adjusted herself in his arms. The former monk then turned his attention back to his wife and brother-in-law.

Both brother and sister cyborg had stoic, expressionless looks on their faces. Neither of them seemed the least bit worried about this, but given who they were, that went without saying. Even Roshi had brought out his rare serious expression for the occasion.

Lunch wrapped her arm over the chest of son, wrapping him in a tight protective hug.

I'll be damned if I'm about to let some stinking hunk of metal come between me and my family. If that dumb bucket of bolts shows up at our place I'll tear em bolt by bolt, nut by nut until there's not a damn thing left of something stupid and suicidal enough to become between Lunch Shinhan and her family.

Come on mom, let go already, Time thought to himself. I know you're worried and all but I can take care of myself just fine, and if need be I'll triple my training so that any of friends of this Number 15 show up I'll be able to send them packing myself.

Bra, meanwhile, was inwardly groaning to herself.

Knowing Dad there's no way he's going to let either me or Trunks get away without increasing our training regimen. Though it's not like I can't tinker with anything big in the mean time. I guess at least this way I'll be able to help out if and when we do get attacked.

Trunks had a look of indifference, his arms folded across.

I don't get what the big deal is, if anyone tries to attack us dad will just blow them up and that will be that. Heck, even my egghead of a sister could probably take on this dumb ol vague threat and win.

Chi couldn't help but tighten her grip on her big brother's leg in fear.

I know that Mr. Piccolo isn't the most friendly of big bro's friends. So how bad is this Mr. 15 that even Mr. Piccolo can't help but worry? Even Daddy seems concerned for the first time today since I've met him…

Finally, Goku broke through the silence. "Well, I'd say we've had our five minutes. I'd say it's time we got back to the tournament."

"How can you be so calm at a time like-" Yamcha stopped mid sentence and his eyes glanced up to gold ring that was perpetually fixed above Goku's head. "...Right, dead. Of course."

"It's got nothing to do with that Yamcha," Goku said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with an index finger. "I just don't think it's worth worrying about at the moment, if this Cello girl wanted to do anything to us, she would have done it before hand. And seeing as how you guys have no idea when you'll be attacked, you might as well enjoy the tournament while you can and relax."

"Well yea but-... You know guys, Goku's right. We can worry about this dumb Android and it's dumb warnings later. Right now, we have a tournament we're holding up!"

Krillin, Goku, and Videl all nodded in agreement while 18 and Vegeta simply continued their disinterested expressions. "Right!" they all said at once.

Even Piccolo couldn't help but smile slightly at their enthusiasm. "Alright then, if there's nothing left to discuss, we'll continue with the tournament."

Later, as Piccolo was walking back out to the tournament ring, the World Tournament Announcer came up to him, a clearly nervous look frozen on his face. "S-So are y-you and the others done then?"

Piccolo gave him a stiff nod. "We are, the tournament can continue."

Letting out a sigh of relief that showed clearly across his face, the Announcer got back into his usual zestful mindset as he bellowed out: "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AFTER THAT SHORT INTERMISSION, THE WORLD TOURNAMENT WILL CONTINUE! FOR THE NEXT ROUND, VEGETA VS. KILLA!"