Chapter 67: Despair

Anniversary Special, Part Two

Q: You should make the tenkaichi edit of Raditz the cover of your story. I think it makes your story more unique when compared to other Raditz fanfics.

A: (Shenron voice) Your wish has been granted.

Bulma was getting frustrated with this thing. The artificial energy detector, for finding the supposed androids, simply refused to work. Finally, exasparated, she'd left a full system scan running overnight, examining every component and connection in excruciating detail. On paper, it should be working already. Whatever the fault was, she'd know in the morning.

When the morning came, however, it brought no comfort. The results of the scan were displayed clearly:

No errors found

Device in complete working order

"Can't be right..." she mumbled sleepily. She pulled the small device out of the complex apparatus, holding the small screen up to her face. But...that much energy being generated, and on such a small scale...what could— Another development brought a gasp, shocking her fully awake.

"Guys!" Gohan, Break, Broly, all were quickly awoken. Bulma waved the device frantically. "It wasn't broken. It was working. I don't know how it managed it, but that computer in Gero's lab has made a more powerful human-portable-sized generator than should be physically possible."

"So why'd you wake us up all of a sudden?" Break asked, rubbing her eyes. "Not going anywhere, is it? Let's just go blow it up after lunch, 'fore it finishes building whatever it's cooking up..."

"Too late," Bulma said. "About a minute after I focused in—got a fix on the exact location—it started moving directly towards us. Slowly at first, but it's accelerating."

"Right after...that can't be a coincidence." Gohan tied his belt on, securing his gi. "It detected your scan. It knows you know."

Broly was lost. "What? What's going on? Lab?"

Break ignored him. "But if something's headed this way, this new android must already be ready. Why hasn't it been sent after us yet?"

"Don't know," Bulma replied, "but...look, based on the salvage I got from android 13, that was about a 6 on this device's power scale. This thing is a 12."

"So, twice as strong as android 13?" Gohan shrugged. "We can handle that. I think. Probably."

"No, it's not a linear scale, it's more than twice...look, I'm really not sure if you can win this one."

"Time's a-wasting," Break decided, cutting her off. "Gohan, take the scanner thing, head it off, see what we're up against. If it's too tough, don't try taking it on alone."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Both of Gero's master projects—Cell and android 13—have been based on absorbing other androids. I'm getting Seventeen and Eighteen out of here, just in case."

"Out of here? What d'you mean, here? Where can they go?"

"You don't understand." She held up the time machine capsule, having taken it from her bedside drawer. "Right the hell out of here. Then we'll meet up and see about this android."

Broly had just about grasped the situation by now. An enemy to fight wasn't too difficult a concept for this early in the morning. "What should I do?"

"Stay here," Break ordered. "It knows where we are, and I don't want it slipping in here past us to find this place, and Bulma, undefended."

Broly scowled at being left behind, but understood. "Fine. But if you're in trouble, I'm not letting you die alone."

"Guess I can't stop you." She looked around the room, breathing in the pre-battle tension. "Right. Let's go."

Two golden trails of energy streaked off into the dawn.

The following few minutes happened as Eighteen had recounted to Krillin. An energy beam lanced past her, straight on course for the androids' home. Accompanied by a steady stream of curses, Break popped the time machine out of its capsule, scrawled a note and put it in the machine, then replaced it inside the capsule, before flying on. It slowed her down a little, but not as much as verbally explaining it all would have. Gohan's energy stopped moving, then rose sharply to maximum, and no more beams came her way.

She burst into the house, finding Seventeen dead and Eighteen in shock. She tossed the surviving sibling the capsule, shouted a quick warning, and rocketed straight back towards Gohan. His energy was fluctuating—evidently he was already fighting. It was disconcerting, though, not being able to compare his power with his enemy's. Hold on...I'm coming!

The sight that greeted Break, arriving over the ocean to see the fight already in full swing, was unexpected to say the least.

"You..." she breathed. For Gohan was fighting not one, but two androids.

17 and 18.

Sort of.

"What's the big deal, huh?" she demanded. The look in their eyes...these are nothing like the other pair, from the past. These are the monsters that ravaged the Earth, reborn. "Didn't I kill you?"

The androids drew back, keeping wary eyes on Gohan, who kept his guard up. "You killed the older, weaker versions," 17 confirmed. "As you've no doubt noticed, we are...upgraded." It was true. They were both taller and more muscular than their predecessors. Their hair was longer. Their outfits were almost exaggerated versions of the original versions, with gold highlights, gloves, and large boots. Red Ribbon Army logos were imprinted into their large golden belt-buckles.

"Careful." Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 aura framed him against the rising sun. "I was keeping up with them until now, but I got the feeling they were just playing around."

"That's right," 18 said. "Now you're both here, we can really get down to business."

"That business being good old-fashioned revenge." 17 cracked his knuckles.

"They took out Seventeen...the good one," Break told her older cousin.

"That so." Gohan frowned. "Let me guess, you can detect artificial energy."

"That's right," 18 said. "And now, you can't."

"What's this?" Break asked.

Gohan shrugged. "The scanner—it got destroyed in the battle, sorry. I'm sure it wasn't an accident on their behalf. Which means we can't let them out of our sight..."

"I see." Break threw her jacket off, letting it fall into the ocean below. She grunted as she powered up to Super Saiyan 2. "Why 17 and 18 all over again, though? That design already failed."

"The computer eventually reached the same conclusion as the living Dr. Gero," 18 replied. "Infinite energy models like us make for the most efficient fighting machines. The technology just didn't exist to make our bodies strong enough last time. In addition, we are now fully mechanical—no biological human weakness. The brain, while a marvel of engineering, has so many flaws. Living flesh, too."

17 picked up where she left off. "Rather than simply making a new android from scratch, our designs were based on the previous 17 and 18. We've had as much as can be salvaged of their memories programmed into us, as well...giving us all the more reason to want you dead."

Break smiled. "Do you remember me killing you, then?"

"I do," 18 told her, hands twitching slightly. "There wasn't enough of 17 left to record the end of his life. But I assure you, what you did to us was a mercy compared to how you're going to die."

"It was a mercy," Break said. "Compared to how long I could have dragged it out...now, you've made it clear you're here to kill us. Are we going to fight while we're still young?"

"If you insist." 18 vanished, rushing at Break far faster than she could follow and landing a wild swing of a punch to the half-saiyan's abdomen. With a yell as much of surprise as of pain, Break rocketed back, tumbling through the air several hundred metres before righting herself and managing to float still in the air, trying to catch her breath. I can't believe it...the force in just that one hit! Not to mention the speed...I didn't see anything!

"Yaaah!" Gohan charged 18 from the side, but she didn't bother to move or defend herself. His fist cracked against her jaw, snapping her head back. Just as he was starting to grin, however, she casually tilted her head forwards again, the movement pushing his hand back. She brushed a stray hair out of her face, then wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. "Is that all? How boring. 17! I fought this one last time. You can have him."

"Fine by me." 17 materialised behind Gohan, who swung around, lashing out with his elbow. 17 simply wasn't there, appearing on the opposite side of his opponent. "If you're so eager to get started, allow me." He gave a hollow smile, forming energy balls in both hands.

Break stood fully upright as 18 floated down towards her. "So...what do you think?" The cruel android asked. "You made a real mess of 13...maybe it was premature to go throwing around words like 'Super Android'." She indicated herself. "But you're stronger than ever, and after one hit you look like you're about ready to throw in the towel. Maybe we deserve that kind of title, eh?"

"Look, if I had a towel, the only thing I'd be doing is choking you with it," Break growled. "I'm only just getting started! RAAAAAH!" Her aura burned brighter as she brought all her power to the surface, channeling it down her right arm and feeling the familiar buzz of energy passing through her hand into the air. "Hrrr..." She forced herself to keep control of the enormous amount of power she was building.

"Yes, I think so...Super 18. Super 17." The android nodded. "Has a certain ring to it."

"You'll regret...ignoring me." She flung her arm out to the side, pure white arcs of energy slowly deepening almost to green, then coalescing into a concentrated sphere. Normally, I'd start out with some more hand-to-hand, and save the best for last. But even in just a few seconds, it's become obvious we're outclassed here. Time to use my new finisher straight off the bat! "HYAAAA...!" She drew her arm back.

18 folded her arms. "Go ahead. Throw your little firecracker. But I still can't decide...'Super android 18', or just 'super 18'? Which one sounds—"

"FINAL SHINE ATTACK!" She threw the attack forwards with all her might. Taking a gamble here...they can detect their fellow androids, I just hope that they can't sense living energy too...

As it turned out, they couldn't. Oblivious to the danger, 18 simply smiled at the incoming blast until it was too late—it struck her full-force, completely obscuring her in a gigantic blast wave.

Break watched with some satisfaction as her enemy emerged, coughing and spluttering, from the smoke. Her smile soon vanished as she realised how minimal the damage was—barely more than superficial burns. "Not good...I put everything I had into that...I don't think it weakened her at all, and she wasn't even defending!"

18 clenched her fists, glaring at Break. "You..." It may not have caused any lasting damage, but the burns stung unbelievably. She'd never have imagined that anything these two could do would be actually capable of hurting her. Not in this body. Her eyes narrowed. "You had to be difficult, didn't you? And you ruined my shirt, too!"

"It was black to begin with—" Break started to retort, before a knee smashed into her face, bloodying her nose.

Gohan fled through the skies as 17 launched continuous, unrelenting salvos of energy bolts. He knew the android was still toying with him—it was the only reason he hadn't been hit yet. All of a sudden, 17 appeared inches away from him, one leg raised high into the air. He swung it down—again, almost casually, his speed making a mockery of Gohan's efforts to dodge. 17's foot struck him right in the middle of his forehead, and the Super Saiyan plummeted down into the water below. Smirking, 17 followed, forming a small bubble of ki around him. No sense getting these new clothes wet.

Wow, it's dark down here, Gohan thought as he drifted through the water. He really hit me a long way. The light of his aura illuminated the vast, gloomy depths, a tiny beacon in the dark. Can't imagine how cold it would be for a normal person... And down came 17, a predator hungering for the release of the hunt. Well, I won't make it easy for him. He prepared to rush the android from behind, but the next second his enemy was gone. Where—

The question was soon answered by the cold, metallic hand around his neck. Gohan struggled, pulling at the immovable grip, but even two-handed he couldn't loosen the hold. Verbal communication wouldn't work underwater, but 17's actions, and the murderous look in his eyes, spoke louder than words: I don't need to breathe. How long can you last?

Now, 18 wasn't playing around. Her blood was up, her fury was aroused. Her attacks came fast and hard, from every direction; brutal, direct strikes. Still, no martial arts skill to speak of was used—it simply wasn't necessary. After only a few seconds, Break felt like she'd taken the beating of a lifetime. And yet, it went on, for nearly a full minute. Dodging, blocking, any defence was useless. Which didn't stop her trying, desperately searching for an opening or a mistake. Doubtless they existed, and not infrequently—but when your opponent appeared as less a humanoid figure and more a blur of fists and feet, how were you supposed to tell? Come to think of it, though, the impacts didn't feel much like punches. In a rare, brief pause, Break noticed the android's arms were folded in front of her as she attacked. "So, you noticed," she sneered, seeing the saiyan's eyes widening as she came around for another kick. "You're so slow I don't even have to use my hands!" Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, 18 seemed to grow bored and relented. Break, no longer held in the air by the transferred momentum of 18's attacks, fell again, landing in the shallows and feeling sand at her back. The realisation that she'd temporarily lost the strength to fly, and had only been held aloft by the beating she'd received, hammered home how badly things had gone—and so quickly.

"Uggh..." I haven't lost anything important, that's good, but...bleeding just about everywhere, though...can't see or hear clearly...probably minus a couple of teeth, too. She sat up, gasping for air and digging her hands into the wet ground as waves broke around her. She fought to stay in Super Saiyan 2—if she couldn't maintain her full power, one casual hit from the monstrous android was likely to kill her outright.

"Having fun?" The water parted, flying off in every direction as 18 touched down in front of her. "Such a shame...after how easily you handled our previous bodies, I really expected you to last longer than that."

17 tightened his grip, forcing the air out of Gohan's lungs. Hurry up and die, now. I want to be done in time to see 18 finish your friend.

Gohan tried to clear his head, even as he felt his grip on consciousness waver. I'm not finished yet! He wordlessly formed a Kamehameha at his side, bringing it up and throwing the beam in 17's face. The android released him, jumping away to the left to dodge. Not that he believed it'd hurt, but it'd probably mess up his hair.

17 frowned. Idiot. I'm still fast enough to stop him getting up to the surface. All he's bought himself is a few seconds.

Now! Gohan brought his hands around, directing the beam and pulling it back around towards 17. Again, the androids' inability to sense living ki gave the saiyans an advantage—the Kamehameha, arcing back around, smacked against the back of 17's head, throwing him off-balance. Only got one shot! Gohan rushed in, swinging his mechanical arm up towards 17's chin.

It's a fact that the human body is capable of exerting much more force than it usually does. The reason it doesn't usually exhibit this 'extra' strength is because it would severely damage the muscle tissue, however sometimes the mental block can be overcome by training (supposedly) or in times of extreme duress (such as in stories of mothers lifting cars off of their children). The same goes for some, though not all, machines—over-performance is sometimes possible, but generally inadvisable as it will damage the machine. Finally, this fact is also probably true for ki-using fighters—you can put more energy than your 'limit' into one physical attack, but the force of it is going to hurt you too.

With this in mind, Gohan sent a mental impulse that shut off the safety limit to his mechanical arm, focused all his energy into the fist, and punched 17 across the face with all his strength.

The resulting impact was enough to completely shatter Gohan's robotic arm. It sent out seismic waves strong enough to generate a titanic wave in all directions. And it was enough that even the mighty Super Android was hurled back, limbs flailing, as if he'd just been slapped by an angry god.

18 paid the tsunami no heed, throwing it back into the sea with a slight shake of her head. "You've had long enough to recover," she declared. "Let's continue."

Crap! Break jumped up, backing away. Can't take much more of that!

However, just as 18 moved in to continue her vicious attack, she was forced to backflip away as an emerald beam of light shot past where she'd been standing. "What now?!" she grumbled.

Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan, hung in the air above them. He landed ungracefully, glaring at 18, then turned to Break. "Sensed...your power dropping. Couldn't stay behind."

"Right..." Break wiped her forehead. "Look, I'm glad you...it's very brave, you coming to the rescue and all. But no offense, if I'm getting my ass handed to me, what do you think you're going to do?"

"Didn't...think about that part," he admitted. "Details. Not important."

"Brilliant." She shook her head. "Well, points for effort, I guess—"

"You don't look so tough," Broly sneered at 18. He jumped forwards, grabbing her by both shoulders, a move she didn't bother to avoid. "Let's see if you break..."

"Didn't he see the state I'm in?" Break muttered. "Am I really this stupid when I use this form? I mean, come on now."

18 yawned, not moving her arms from their folded position as Broly struggled ineffectively to crush her between his hands. "If you're done..." Moving blindingly fast, she swung her body forwards, smashing her forehead into the giant warrior's. He fell back, hissing with pain.

Just then, Gohan burst out of the water, shoulder-stump trailing metal fragments, and landed next to Break. "Good news is, they can be hurt."

"And the bad news?" Break asked. Of course there would be bad news.

"The bad news is we're all going to die, of course, but you've probably figured that one out on your own."

17 slowly rose from the water, practically boiling over with rage. There was a visible dent in his cheek from Gohan's punch, and trails of leaking coolant trickled down his face, drenching his shoulder. Sparks crackled up and down the side of his head. "You...will...suffer!" he roared.