Judgment Day

As the time machine vanished into thin air, carrying the feverish, unconscious Goku through the wormhole of spacetime, Trunks felt more disconnected from his home than ever before. "What if I never make it back to the future?" He hadn't had any other choice…but still, his heart was pounding.

Sure, he was comfortable with the past, but as much as he enjoyed spending time with the Z Fighters, it wasn't his home. His real mother – the one who had protected him and shared all the hardships caused by the androids – was still many years in the future. That was the world he had fought for, a world he both dreaded and embraced. The sight of his only link to that earth vanishing, carrying Goku away, shook him to his core. An acute sense of loss crept into his mind.

He had known this was inevitable from the moment he recognized the virus. The symptoms were obvious, though he had no idea how the deadly disease could have struck so early. The virus wasn't supposed to become well-known for several more years, after the androids had emerged. At least, that was what his mother had told him. Thousands had fallen prey to the condition until she and a few other surviving scientists had put together a cure. He desperately hoped that she still had enough of the serum to save Goku's life.

There had been no time to think, though. He only briefly explained things to Gohan – the poor boy was both panicked and inquisitive.

"What's gonna happen to my dad, Trunks?" the shocked boy finally asked as the yellow time machine vanished completely. The two warriors were staring at the place where the machine had floated. It was hard to believe that Goku was just…gone.

"My mom will be able to help him, Gohan. We developed a cure for the virus in the future – it's one of the few good things we were able to actually accomplish."

The other Z fighters would have to be told as well. Without Goku, what chance did they stand against the androids? What plan could they formulate? For the moment, though, Trunks was too distressed to even think that far ahead.

"I can't believe it. After everything I did to make sure we would have Goku's help – even after I changed the course of history – I still failed. Was this fated to happen?" Perhaps, the boy thought, it was impossible to truly change history. "Was Goku meant to die all along? I never could have anticipated this."

Though he was the younger of the two, Gohan had grown up a lot in the past three years. "Well, we've all been training hard, Trunks. Maybe you and Vegeta will be strong enough on your own! Plus, Mr. Piccolo has gotten to be pretty formidable too!"

The young man from the future smiled—Gohan was the most hopeful person he had ever met. Plus, the boy made sense. 'Maybe he's right. Maybe we CAN do this on our own. The androids aren't invincible. Maybe I've been dreading this for so long that I've underestimated our chances.' He allowed himself to smile. "Well, Gohan, whether we like it or not, we're on our own now. And don't worry about me, bro – I'm not going anywhere until this is all settled."

The boy spoke up again, ever hopeful. "But, Trunks – once my dad gets better, won't he use the time machine to come back and help us?"

Trunks frowned. "I wish it was that simple, Gohan. But it isn't." There were so many variables in time travel, so many things that could go wrong. "We can't be sure that Goku will be able to come back at all. In his current condition, he'll be helpless if the androids find him. And it will take weeks at the very minimum before the medicine heals him. We can hope for the best, but we have to plan on being alone."

Trunks knew that his mother was very particular about time travel. Even after Goku recovered, he wouldn't be able to come back to the same moment he left. Bulma's equations hadn't been able to predict what might happen if two journeys came too close together. Fearing that they could create even more parallel universes unless, they were very careful; she had decided that a buffer of several weeks – at minimum – was necessary between each departure and arrival.

The time traveler caught himself before he could begin to panic. 'Come on, Trunks. You can do this. You're much stronger now than you ever thought possible…maybe even as tough as the androids. Now pull it together…even Gohan is handling this better than you.'

The pair of half Saiyans proceeded to go inside and explain things to Chi-chi. As expected, she was in tears. Not only was her husband deathly ill, but she couldn't even be by his side. Usually, she would only be in the way if he was going off to save the world, but right now he needed her and there was nothing she could do.

An hour or so later, the prince of all Saiyans got the same news. He didn't respond positively…at all.

"So! You're telling me that after all I did – controlling my wrath, exercising patience, postponing my fight with that clown – he still might die from a cold?!"

His son nodded his head.

Vegeta scowled. "It would have been better for Kakarott to die a noble death at my hands in battle. There is no honor in biting it while lying in a bed like a vegetable. But you found a way to humiliate him further than I could have, didn't you son?"

Trunks was in no mood for his father's vendettas today. The only reason he was even telling Vegeta was because they now had the sole responsibility of defeating the androids themselves. With Goku gone, they were now undisputedly the two most powerful beings on Earth.

"Listen, father. I don't think either of us is strong enough to take on both the androids at the same time. If you think you can do it, I won't stop you, just…don't underestimate them okay?"

"Since when do I need some punk from the future to tell me how to fight?" snorted Vegeta. "I'll destroy these androids the moment they emerge, make no mistake about that. But you're going to have to fight the androids in your own time yourself—that is, if you want to gain any semblance of Saiyan honor. Otherwise, you're just the same as those other classless trash earthlings."

Trunks gulped. It wasn't his intention to get out of fighting; he just wanted to make sure they had a plan. "I will fight them, father."

"Hmph," responded the prince.

Future timeline.

Bulma shrieked with excitement when she recognized Goku, but her gladness quickly turned to fear when she realized that her childhood friend wasn't moving. Acting quickly, she pulled Goku's body out over the side of the machine and onto the ground.

She glanced around hurriedly; being out in the open was risky. She couldn't take any chances. Bulma quickly put the time machine back into its capsule and began dragging Goku inside her shelter. Her mind was racing. Why had Goku come?

At first, she thought he had been injured, perhaps by the androids. But by the time she made it back into her shelter, she had observed that Goku had no apparent injuries. She felt for his pulse, and realized that his heart was pounding wildly and he was burning up with fever. "This…this looks like he has the Heptacos virus, but how could he have it so early? It didn't come around until age 770."

Bulma remembered the years after the androids had appeared. Everyone had been fleeing and most were unable to find enough food. Diseases began running rampant in the surviving population. One of the diseases was far more deadly than others – a mutated pathogen that prevented the breakdown of cholesterol, clogging the heart and quickly leading to death. At first, they mistook the symptoms for congestive heart failure, but that was rapidly overturned.

The scientists and doctors who gathered to work on a cure determined that the virus had been dormant before the androids were released. With less food and more people on the run, though, the virus crippled anyone with high levels of transient cholesterol – anyone who ate a lot of food or had a high metabolism.

"Figures that you would get hit with the virus first," Bulma murmured to Goku as she pulled his body onto a cot. "You always did love to eat, even more than Vegeta."

Fortunately, her shelter was well-stocked, ready to help any refugees in need. She still had an entire crate full of the medicine they had made years before – enough to give the unconscious Saiyan a full dose every hour for a week.

"Oh, Goku. I can't believe it's really you. I was sure I'd never see you again, yet here you are. I just wish you could have come without getting sick first!" Bulma was speaking to her old friend as if he could hear her every word. His face, though sweaty and burning up, gave her the most hope she had felt in years.

"I sure hope we can get you healed up soon, Goku. All our hard work and planning, trying to save your life…I'm sure Trunks must be panicking right now. The androids are probably just about to appear in your timeline."

Bulma began gently mopping Goku's brow with a rag. She had just spooned the first dose of medicine into his mouth and, though bits of it trickled down and out the corners of his mouth, the majority got into his system. It wouldn't be long before he felt at least some relief. Now, all she could do was watch over him until he got better. She hoped it would be soon – as long as Goku was with her, her son was trapped in the past with no way home.

"Oh, Trunks, I hope you're all right…"

Present timeline.

Before anyone had really recovered from the shock of losing Goku, the fateful day arrived. All the Z Fighters planned to gather together at Capsule Corporation early that morning and leave together. With Goku gone, the Z fighters were glad to have the protection of at least one Super Saiyan they could trust – Trunks. Vegeta, disgusted with the thought of being hindered by all the "weaklings," left early.

Piccolo and Gohan were the first to arrive. Goku's son had discarded his white armor in favor of the same purple gi that his Namekian mentor wore. Trunks, Bulma, and Chibi Trunks sat out on the patio, eating breakfast while they waited. As the Namek and his pupil dropped out of the sky, Trunks couldn't help but notice how peaceful the day seemed. Birds sang cheerfully, and cool dew still clung to the blades of grass on the lawn. The busy day of West City had barely begun. It was the calm before the storm.

"Morning, Gohan!" Trunks said.

"Goo Mooorn Gohaa," chibi Trunks echoed.

"Hey, guys!" the dark-headed half-Saiyan replied. "So…today's the day. You ready, Trunks?"

The warrior from the future smiled confidently. He knew he was…now more than ever. For years, he had dreamed of fighting alongside the Z Warriors. Today, they would reclaim the future for the side of good.

"We can do it, Gohan. I have faith."

The three warriors soon felt the ki of Tien and Krillin approaching. As the pair of bald heroes landed on the lawn, both stern and focused, Trunks stood. "That's just about everyone, I guess."

Gohan noticed that a few people were missing. "What about Yajirobe? And where is Yamcha? Isn't he coming?"

Yajirobe was indeed coming – he had promised to bring them a bag of Senzu beans, just as a precaution. However, he was clearly running quite late.

"I'm sure Yajirobe will meet us along the way with some Senzu beans…and last I checked Yamcha was inside getting dressed. He stayed here last night. Let me just go check on him." Trunks walked into the house; Gohan followed.

When the door opened, they were greeted by a most peculiar sight. Yamcha was in the Brief's living room, throwing punches at the air. On one corner of the room, C47 was powered down—he had wanted to have a full charge for the day in case things went awry. The scar-faced bandit was teleporting around the room, charging C47 with kicks and punches that he stopped just before impact—all while talking smack to the unconscious robot.

"Uh… Yamcha?" Gohan said hesitantly. Even the boy was quite embarrassed.

"Oh, hey guys." Yamcha turned a bright shade of red. "What's up? Are ya'll ally psyched to go fight the androids today?" He began to put on his shoes as Gohan walked over and switched C47 on. The droid hummed to life with a vibrant glow, its deep red eyes waking from rest. They quickly turned to Yamcha, who froze, wondering if the droid had been conscious during his horseplay.

"Statement: I just had the most wonderful dream. In it, the master and I were slaughtering all the humans! It was wonderfully brutal—and I think YOU were in it!"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Yamcha shot back defensively.

"Query: Is there a short circuit in your higher brain functions?"

Yamcha stood up, ready to argue. "Wait just a minute, are you calling me dumb? I'm not stupid!"

"Observation: Negative. You are a meat popsicle."

"All right! That's it, droid!" Yamcha crouched in a fighting stance, ready to attack. With a whirr of gears, C47 activated the energy rifle on his arm and began charging a blast.

Trunks was still standing motionless in the doorway, his arms crossed. The young Saiyan from the future had hated his father's droid from the moment he had first seen him—especially with all his talk of killing this and slaughtering that. Threatening Yamcha was just going too far!

"That's enough, you barbarous piece of junk!" Trunks shouted. "I hope my mother scraps you for toaster parts. One move from you, and I'll make that a reality!"

Realizing that Trunks was over-reacting, Yamcha lowered his fighting stance. "Look – it's lucky for you that I don't have time to do this right now. We have better things to do – like fighting robots that are actually dangerous." With that final taunt, the bandit turned his back and followed the two Saiyans outside.

"Statement: Oh, human, it gives me a headache just trying to think down to your level. It seems, as always, the master is the only one who understands me."

Oniya walked quietly into the room, having listened to the whole exchange. Obediently, C47 lowered his weapon and turned to her, ready for orders. Instead, the blue alien spoke softly.

"Don't worry about it, 47. After Vegeta destroys the other androids, I'll use the spare parts to give you the upgrades you've been asking for."

"Conjecture: If what you suggest proves true, I would owe you a great deal. I hope you are not merely toying with me, commanding meatbag."

"Suggestion: I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side. Perhaps you could fix that as well."

Oniya smiled, then quickly stepped outside. "Wait, Trunks." Several of the Z fighters had already taken to the air, but they paused.

"What is it, Oniya?" Trunks replied. While he wasn't uncomfortable with the pilot, her unwavering loyalty to his father was still curious. He was sure there wasn't anything going on between them anymore, but he, like so many others, couldn't figure out her play—they didn't doubt her allegiance they just didn't understand why. For the time being, though, she was proving very helpful.

"You should wear this armor. And this scouter may serve you as well. I've programmed it to detect electrical energy signatures. The adaptations I've made may allow it to trace these 'undetectable' androids. It could be of help, especially if Lord Vegeta's gets destroyed—as it often does."

The son of Vegeta smiled. He had wanted armor like his father's for quite a while. Keeping his grey pants and yellow boots, he slid out of his blue jacket and pulled a fresh black breastplate over his head. Then he attached the scouter to his left ear. 'I bet I look like any typical Saiyan right about now. But that's not why I'm doing this…I'm doing it for him.'

With that, the Z fighters blasted off. The time had come: Judgment Day was here.

Vegeta stood atop a rocky outcrop above the island village, overlooking the entire city. He had been there, waiting, since early that morning. He always got this way when a confrontation was on the horizon; he was alone by choice. The moments before battle were his and his alone – to prepare his mind and focus himself. Though he was still and outwardly calm, inwardly he was filled with excitement. The prospect of defeating the same creatures that destroyed him in another time would mean that he had surpassed his own limitations once again. Today, he had something to prove.

His battle armor was spotless; his unique model with a shoulder brace only on the left side. His red cape rippled gently every few seconds in the morning breeze. Today he wore a replacement scouter with the same unique gold lens; though Trunks had said the androids had no detectable energy signatures, Oniya had modified it to detect a broad range of electrical signals. Her expertise with scouter technology enabled her to make several modifications that not even Bulma would have considered. The machines would not escape him.

The prince could feel the rest of the Z fighters approaching…if they didn't hurry they would be late. Unacceptable. The six warriors streaked across the horizon, flying so slowly that Vegeta began to tap his foot in annoyance. Below him, everything seemed completely normal. For the time being, the people went about their normal routines—getting coffee, driving to work, dropping their children off at school. It wouldn't last. The prince grinned at the prospect of a little havoc.

At last, the Z fighters landed, choosing a bluff just down from Vegeta. They quickly huddled together, unsure of whether the dreaded machines were already watching them.

"Crouching down like a bunch of cowards, I see?" Vegeta shouted. "What are you so afraid of, weaklings?"

Trunks, unphased by his father's taunts—as always—quickly responded.

"Father, have you seen any sign of them yet?"

"Look for yourself, boy…clearly, this city is just filled with destruction. Hah!" the prince mocked. "I'm beginning to wonder if you made all of this up yourself." Vegeta had a habit of getting carried away with uncontrolled audacity just before a battle—his mind was racing and its natural reaction was to hurl insults at friend and foe alike.

"They'll be here, I'm sure of it." Trunks soberly replied. He then turned to the group, ready to give orders. "Gohan, how many senzu beans did Yajirobe bring?"—they had gone out of their way to meet the overweight ninja along their flight, as he refused to go anywhere near the androids.

"Let's see." Gohan said, dumping the contents of the brown bag out onto his hand. "There are eight beans in all, plenty for each of us to take one." The boy began handing a senzu to everyone, except Vegeta, who refused. He then put the sack with the remaining three inside his shirt.

"All right, everyone." Trunks said in a fairly hushed tone. "This is it. We don't know for sure where they'll attack, but our objective is to draw them out of the city so no unsuspecting citizen gets caught in the crossfire. If you spot them, immediately fly inland and try to get them to follow you. The rest of us will sense the confrontation and come immediately. Got it?" Everyone quietly nodded, then took off into the city below.

Tien, trying to blend in, closed his third eye and landed in a back alley. As he walked out onto a busy street corner, he began to ask if anyone had seen anything suspicious.

"Excuse me, sir," he said to an elderly gentleman on a bus bench, "have you seen anything out of the ordinary this morning?"

The man smiled at him, picking up a pair of thick rimmed glasses and putting them to his eyes. "Well, actually without my glasses I haven't seen much at all. Hope I didn't miss anything though. That happens sometimes."

Tien frowned and moved along.

Krillin had not been quite as cautious with his landing, and had dropped out of the sky right in front of a crowd of schoolchildren.

"Oh, wow!" one of them said.

"Look, mommy, he was flying!" echoed another. Soon the whole crowd of kids was rushing towards him. He was actually taller than most of them, but crowds made him nervous. Then again, everyone was immediately enthralled – rarely was he given so much attention.

"Are you a super hero?"

"Do you have x-ray vision?"

"Teach me to fly too!"

He hushed them as quickly as he could – he was still wary of the androids and didn't want to attract attention. Speaking softly, he asked them if they had seen any androids. One kid held up his comic book, displaying a killer robot on the cover. Another held up his mechanical action figure, and another pointed to his T-shirt which depicted an eighteen-wheeler transforming into a robot.

"Nope, kids, it's none of those." Krillin replied, trying to be friendly.

"I have a Droid right here!" said another one of the kids, holding up his phone. Krillin laughed.

"Not that kind. Thanks for your help, though." The midget took to the air, awing the children once again. 'Hmmm, this area looks clear. I just want to make sure they don't spot me before I spot them.'

Piccolo landed on a rooftop, his keen ears doing as much as his determined eyes. He really hoped he would be the first to locate the androids, especially since he worried what would happen if one of the weaker Z fighters like Krillin or Yamcha were to accidentally find them. Either could be killed before the others could even get there, if the machines were really as strong as Trunks had said. As the Namek scanned the streets, looking for the pair, he maintained a psychic link with Gohan.

'Stay sharp, kid. You won't be able to sense an attack coming, so you have to be prepared at all times.'

Gohan replied mentally. 'Right! You be careful too, Mr. Piccolo!'

The boy walked the streets, scanning every person he saw for the Red Ribbon army symbol. Trunks had made the group memorize the logo, just in case the androids were dressed differently than he had described. Each Z fighter knew they were looking for a dark-haired teenage boy with an orange scarf and a blonde young lady with a blue jean jacket, but they had also been warned that the robots were crafty.

Yamcha, though excited and eager to help, was understandably frightened of what might happen if he actually found them. He knew he was no Super Saiyan, so at first he was a bit jumpy. However, after a few minutes of walking the streets, looking closely for any unusual behavior but seeing none, he grew more at ease.

Trunks flew far above the city, intent on keeping tabs on each of the Z fighters. He was most afraid of losing one of his new friends before the fight even started.

Suddenly, his scouter began to beep insistently. Surprised, he squinted, wondering how to operate the device. 'It must have found something, but where?' Trunks began to look around him desperately, searching for any sign of the evil faces he remembered so clearly. Then, he nearly jumped out of his boots as his mother's voice called him through the scouter.

"Hey, Trunks!" the blue-haired woman shouted. "Do you read me? Over!"

"Wow, mom. I was sure my scouter just detected the androids, but it was only you calling me. What is it?"

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that me and little Trunks are headed that way. See you soon!"

Trunks was immediately furious. "MOTHER! What are you thinking? Turn around right now and go back—you're in grave danger!"

"Oh, don't you worry about your old mom, Trunks. After all, I survived Namek and that was way off in spa…what in the world—?! "

An explosion suddenly lit up the sky just over the sea bordering the city. Trunks blasted off in that direction immediately. He would not lose his mother this day!

Flying as fast as he could, Trunks caught both his mother and her son before they could hit the water. The boy was unconscious from the explosion and Bulma was bleeding, and both were falling fast enough that hitting the water would have killed them instantly. Glad he was able to get there in time, Trunks quickly flew them to shore.

The young man snapped his senzu been in half and carefully fed a piece to each of them.

Immediately feeling the effects of the bean, Bulma hugged her son. "Oh, Trunks, you were right. I had no business being out here, but did you get a look at the androids? I never even saw them…I just saw a blast heading towards me." Trunks lifted his head and looked around as Bulma grabbed her young son and held him in her arms. He was nearly three years old, and fully capable of running around, but seeing him hurt made her want to cuddle the boy as she did when he was first born.

"Sorry, mom. I never saw them either." The Z fighters had all heard the explosion, but none besides Trunks knew it had been Bulma who was attacked. 'Oh, mother, the scouter was trying to warn me of their presence and you just had to contact me.' The only one who had seen anything at all was standing alone overlooking the city…Vegeta.

Trunks stood, drawing his sword. If the androids dared to attack him while he was guarding his mother, his retribution would be swift and unforgiving. But no attack came. In fact, the androids seemed to have vanished entirely with no trace. He waited for his scouter to beep again, but none came.

"They must have gone into the city, Mom. But I won't leave you here unguarded, I promise." Trunks reached out to Piccolo with his mind. The Namek was especially gifted with telepathy, which he had taught to both future and present Gohan; Trunks had learned it from the former.

'Piccolo, the androids have probably hidden themselves in the city. They just blasted my mom's airship! But don't worry, she is safe with me. Just find those androids!'

'I hear you, Trunks,' replied the Namekian. He immediately relayed the information to Gohan, but just as he was speaking a booming voice echoed out from above the city.

"SOOOOOOO, YOU MECHANICAL ABOMINATIONS HAVE FINALLY DECIDED TO SHOW YOURSELVES!" The voice of the Saiyan Prince was amplified by his energy, and carried across the entire city. "NOW, IF YOU ANDROIDS REALLY WANT TO TEST YOUR STRENGTH, COME OUT AND FIGHT A TRUE WARRIOR. I, VEGETA, THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS, DEMAND THAT YOU COWARDS STEP FORTH AND FACE ME!"

The entire city abruptly stopped what they were doing to listen to the voice yelling at them. The Z fighters all entered defensive stances, each looking to the sky to see if the androids would respond or not. Back on the beach, Bulma chuckled at the prince's bravado.

"Subtle, Vegeta. You're just like him, you know." She smiled at her son.

"I can't let him take those two on by himself!" He quickly concentrated again. 'Piccolo, can you still read me?'

'Yes, I'm here.'

'Send someone here to get my mother and my counterpart out of here safely—and quickly! I've got to stay and fight.'

'Right, Trunks.' The Namekian replied. He immediately contacted the rest of the Z fighters. Yamcha quickly volunteered for the task, eager to avoid the chance that he might die running into the androids.

"All right, mother. Yamcha is on his way. Get to safety and be careful!"

Bulma smiled as her son leapt into the air. "Good luck, son!"

"What's taking them so long?" Vegeta complained to himself. There had been more than enough waiting already, and while he had been patient for three years, the Saiyan prince was itching for battle. Finally, he saw something. Not two, but three shadowy figures rose from among the city. Slowly, they levitated up, with no discernible ki signature emanating from them whatsoever. Vegeta chuckled. "Finally, the cowards decide to show themselves."

The other Z fighters saw the three figures from their positions below, but none were close enough to get a good look at them. Trunks, however, was most worried of all.

'Three androids? How…how is this even possible? Has my traveling through time doomed us all, allowing yet another monster to be unleashed? I could never live with myself if I was responsible for another one of those killing machines being created!'

Suddenly, the androids zipped towards Vegeta at full speed, their lack of energy making it hard to follow their movements.

"Hello, Vegeta." Spoke the leader, appearing in midair before the prince. He was short and lean, with long unkempt grey hair and a gravely voice. "Do you really want to fight the most powerful beings ever created? I don't think so."

The two other androids hovered on either side of him. The smaller one was pure, pale white with narrow eyes and a pudgy frame. It had a dark, baggy shirt with a light vest buttoned tightly around its ponderous gut.

The larger one hung back silently, its massive arms folded across its enormous chest. It was nearly seven feet tall, with dark skin and huge, rippling muscles. Its shoulders and pects were covered in pale metallic armor, and the Red Ribbon insignia was stamped on the narrow strip of fabric around its forehead. Like its companion, its eyes were narrow and cold.

Gohan, who was the next to arrive, swallowed nervously. "That big one looks…looks just like Nappa." He shuddered, remembering how vicious the massive Saiyan had been and how helpless he had been against the giant.

The prince allowed a hint of a smile into the crease of his mouth, but then scowled again. "Well, well. The infamous androids from the stories, the terrors I've heard so much about, finally brave enough to show themselves." He had taken notice of the obvious differences between these three androids and the two that had been described to him by Trunks. However, for the moment, he would toy with these. Perhaps they were new models, even stronger than the others.

"I hope you weren't planning any maintenance later today, because I'm afraid you three are about to be dismantled."

The rest of the Z fighters had arrived and flew around one side, behind the androids. Though they weren't really hiding themselves, the robots took no notice of them.

"Ever the feisty one, aren't we Vegeta? Don't be too hasty…It can be hazardous to the health of lesser beings such as yourself." the leader said, continuing to size up the situation.

With each passing instant, Gero's angry eyes narrowed. His sensors were no good here, he knew; Vegeta and the rest were all suppressing their power. It was odd that they had arrived here today, ready for battle – it was as if they knew he was coming. Several years before, his microrobot had detected three Saiyans fighting a powerful demon. All the power levels had exceeded the tiny robot's measuring ability. Worried, he had chosen to create two energy-absorbing models beside himself.

Based on his calculations, however, android 19 would be able to defeat all the Z Fighters alone. As if called to life by his master's thoughts, the pudgy pale android beside him turned and spoke.

"I will destroy Vegeta, yes, 20?" His voice was mechanical, yet high-pitched and almost childlike. But the tones were perverse and unnerving.

Content with his data, which showed that, while powerful, Vegeta was no match for android 19, the android numbered 20 replied. "Yes, 19, I approve your acquired target. Do what you need to, then eliminate him."

The pudgy android 19 let out a chilling mechanical laugh as he crouched into a fighting stance. From the look of his body type he clearly wasn't a fighter, yet the pose he entered was one familiar to several watching, including Gohan—his father often used it. Vegeta also recognized the stance. Apparently Gero had thoroughly studied Goku's fighting techniques and included the data in his android's memory banks.

"Come on, Vegeta," 19 boasted, "You talk big, but I punch harder."

"Oh, is that a fact?" the prince replied. "Well, by all means, don't hold back."

With a shrill of laughter, android 19 charged wildly at the prince. The robot's first blow was cocked almost from the start, a hard right hook calculated with the appropriate strength to severely injure Vegeta. The prince never even uncrossed his arms.

TSSSHHHH. Vegeta vanished right as the blow passed through his blurred afterimage.

19's sensors began to beep, tracking the light speed movements of his opponent. "Hyuhyuhyuhyu! Where are you, Vegeta?" the droid cried out in a sing-song voice.

"Right behind you, clown."

The droid swung his left arm behind him, which also hit nothing but air.

"So, heehee, you're pretty fast. Well, I'm faster, Vegeta!"

19 dashed upwards, chasing after the prince, who still had yet to uncross his arms. A left jab, missed. A right kick, dodged. A flurry of uppercuts and strikes continued to rain down, and the Saiyan prince remained untouched.

'Hmmm,' observed android 20, 'It appears that Vegeta's strength is much higher than I originally calculated. No matter, he will soon make a mistake. That is the genius of the absorption model.'

Appearing quite bored, Vegeta landed on the ground in front of the pudgy droid. "So, is this it? Is THIS the terrible power of the terrible androids? I've never been so underwhelmed."

"So you say, Vegeta, but you see…I know all of your moves. You'll never even touch me, especially once I use full strength."

"Oh, so you do have more strength? And here I thought I specifically told you not to hold back."

Nearby, the Z fighters were stunned as well.

"Trunks, these clearly aren't the androids you described to us. Why haven't you told us of these as well?" Tien asked. Though his tone sounded accusatory, he was really only trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Trunks was just as confused. "I've never seen these three before in my life. I don't know anything about them, but I can tell you for sure that the androids I know are FAR stronger than the one Vegeta is fighting now."

Piccolo grunted in agreement. "We wouldn't even need Vegeta or Trunks to beat this android…No, these must be prototypes or something."

"Maybe," Trunks replied. "I'll admit it's definitely possible, but I'm sure Gohan would have told me if he fought androids besides the ones I know about. Regardless, my father appears to have this one well in hand."

Krillin, whose power was dwarfed by these androids as well, was glad to hear that the others weren't as impressed. In fact, both Tien and Piccolo seemed confident they could defeat 19. "It's almost too good to be true, guys. Vegeta isn't even a Super Saiyan and this android can't touch him."

Piccolo, ever the voice of reason, added his caution. "We still don't know anything about these other androids. They are still dangerous, and despite 19 not doing so well those other two don't look worried at all."

"Yeah," Gohan said, clutching the senzu beans in his shirt. "Let's be careful."

The pudgy pale android, designated #19, smiled at the taunts. His original calculations hadn't been accurate. Vegeta was far stronger than Dr. Gero had expected. Nonetheless, his sensors were monitoring the prince's energy output and his algorithms continued to assure him of victory. However, he would need to use maximum power to be absolutely certain of success.

Instantly, the droid activated his maximum power stores, all the while charging at Vegeta. This time, with his speed greatly increased, his right fist connected squarely with Vegeta's jaw.

BLAM! The prince was knocked back, but he only stumbled backwards two steps. While somewhat effective, the punch wasn't nearly powerful enough to topple the prince of all Saiyans.

"Hee-hee," giggled the plump android.

The punch had drawn a small trickle of blood from his cheek, but the smile on the prince's face showed no fear. "Ow. I'm just writhing in pain," he mocked. Vegeta lifted his clean white glove to his mouth and wiped the streak of red from his face. "You're no warrior, android…and as such, you're a waste of my time."

"Oh?" 19 smiled.

Vegeta took off into the sky, his normal blue aura surrounding him. When he stopped, a few hundred feet in the air, he began cupping his hands to his right side. "Time to send you to the scrap heap! Let's see how your pitiful junkyard body handles my GALIC GUN! HAAA!"

Quite familiar with the technique, the diabolical Dr. Gero grinned ever so slyly. 'Ah, the first mistake.'

The brilliant purple beam of energy gushed out of his outstretched hands. Vegeta didn't even smile, his beam rushing towards the android below. Suddenly, 19 smiled sadistically and reached his hands upward—revealing two red bulbs in the palms of his hands. Instantly, the Galic Gun was sucked into the android's body. 19 began to glow, the purple energy pulsing through him as his design radiated with new power.

"Aahahahahahaha!" yelled the android as he sucked the last bit of Vegeta's attack away.

"No way!" said a shocked Gohan. "He absorbed every bit of it!"

Trunks, still watching quietly, was just as surprised. 'Darn you, Gero!'

"An ability like that has the potential to raise this android's strength considerably," Piccolo added. His keen eyes had been scanning the distant faces of the androids and he now understood why they seemed so confident—at least in part. "We may have judged this droid too quickly."

"Uh, guys…" Krillin stammered, "…Vegeta just gave that guy a LOT of power!"

"Not as much as you think, Krilllin." Tien said. "That Saiyan is still so cocky; he hardly put any of his real energy into that blast. For once, his toying around will have paid off for him."

"Are you sure, Tien? That Galic Gun looked plenty strong to me." replied the halfling.

"It was powerful, but the android was strong enough to survive that blast even without his absorption. It seems Vegeta was merely testing it."

"Hmmm," a somewhat reassured Krillin said.

"So, it appears as though you DO know a few tricks after all." Vegeta smiled, provoking the interest of android 20, who had expected a different reaction. Nonetheless, 20 explained.

"Do you see now, fool? We can absorb your own energy and use it against you. You have NO CHANCE!" the android leader boasted loudly.

Vegeta only laughed harder. "Hahahaha." He had nearly forgotten the thrill of humiliating his opponents and proving his superiority at every turn.

"Now you will die, Vegeta." The machine's voice was high-pitched and nauseating.

"Hah! Your pitiful power wasn't enough to challenge me, so you've resorted to cheap tricks like stealing my energy. How amusing."

The android grinned wickedly. "You will find that my power is nothing to laugh at, Vegeta. Your unwise attack has charged my batteries beyond what I could have ever anticipated!"

Vegeta continued to smirk. 'Pitiful,' he thought. 'Clearly, this pile of nuts and bolts has no actual instinct for battle. If my Galic Gun was the greatest power the machine has ever felt, it ought to be more cautious.'

Its eyes wide and wild, android 19 charged, this time much faster than before. Vegeta sidestepped the first blow, but the robot spun quickly and landed a solid kick the Saiyan's lower back. The prince went sprawling onto his chest.

"Hyah!" 19's tone was exultant. It followed up its advantage, but Vegeta rolled onto his back and braced himself against the ground with his hands. THUFFFF! He kicked up, straight into his opponent's gut.

The android went spinning upward, clearly surprised by the blow. Even with the added power of the Galic Gun it had absorbed, Vegeta was proving to be a far more serious opponent than anticipated.

In moments, the prince of Saiyans was upon him again, launching a fierce flurry of blows. But the chubby robot was using its new power well. It blocked Vegeta's attacks with minimal effort and then countered, knocking the Saiyan back. The two traded blows furiously.

Vegeta's attacks were powerful and decisive, delivering maximum damage with the least possible effort. In contrast, the robot's movements were mechanical and awkward, yet still managed to perfectly counter Vegeta's techniques. Gero's research had prepared the machine well.

"HURK!" A low jab from 19, enhanced with overcharged speed, caught Vegeta, doubling him over. THUMM! A quick double fist to the Saiyan's upper back sent him plummeting to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

The android descended as Vegeta rose to his feet stiffly, brushing the dust from his armor and cape. The prince grinned, ready to unleash his inner death. "So, you think you've got your victory all calculated out? Haha. I wonder, though…do your predictions have any margin of error allotted for dealing with Super Saiyans?"

"This is it," Krillin said. "Now this guy's gonna be toast."

"Yeah," Tien agreed. "More like…burnt toast."

'All right, Father.' Trunks smiled. 'Just be careful not to give this creature any more of your energy!'

19 had not yet responded to his previous taunt, but the prince continued anyway. Snarling, Vegeta lifted his hands at his sides and clenched his fists. "Let me ask you: does a machine like yourself ever experience fear?"

The oblivious android snickered, thinking that it was prepared to handle anything Vegeta could cook up. The Saiyan's vain boasting did nothing to change his coldly calculated mind.

"Huuaaaaaa!"

Instantly, the prince flashed into his Super Saiyan form. It was such a natural thing that he hardly thought about it at all. The power was something that he owned, a reservoir of energy he could reach into at any moment. His golden hair and green eyes were hardly as unnerving as the extreme surge of power released. Though he was in complete control of his transformation, the air around him was still volatile and the ground shook. To the Z fighters watching, Vegeta seemed much more composed than they had seen him before. They were sure he would win the fight, but his demeanor, even as a Super Saiyan, was calm—as if the prince was actually serene.

Android 20 was audibly concerned with the transformation. "What manner of physical alteration is this? I allotted for the Saiyan's potential to transform into giant apes, but this ability has never before been demonstrated. I wonder what advantages it will afford Vegeta…"

Beside him, utterly silent, was the enormous Android 21. The muscularly formed android did not know it, but his creation was due to the existence of the Super Saiyan transformation. Gero's uncertainty at detecting three powerful energy sources had prompted him to create a third absorbing model just in case.

The prince was standing in short grass on a level plateau directly facing his opponent. Behind 19, hovering motionlessly, twenty or so feet in the air, were the other two androids. To Vegeta's back were the Z fighters, Gohan and Krillin standing in front of Piccolo, Tien, and Trunks. Both sides were still supremely confident in their victory.

"So, you scared yet?" Vegeta taunted, his voice a mix of cockiness and vague apathy.

The pale android merely laughed again. He had no reason to be afraid, for clearly after absorbing Vegeta's blast he had become far superior…or so he thought. 19 fired two pink laser beams from his eyes, the blasts designed as piercing attacks like Frieza's death beam. Instead of ripping holes through Vegeta as they were intended, the beams were visibly warped by the Super Saiyan's golden aura, slowing and dissipating before they could even fully reach the prince. Their only effect was throwing up dust into the air.

The pudgy android 19, laughing all the while, charged blindly at his foe, Vegeta still shrouded in a brown dirt cloud.

CRUNCH! Vegeta grabbed 19's wrist and twisted, snapping it effortlessly and stopping the punch. As the debris immediately cleared, everyone could now clearly see.

"You ridiculous machine…don't you know what happens when you mess with the Bringer of Death?"

————————————

Hello friends, and a wonderful Tuesday to you all. Well, it has been far too long since Vegeta had a good fight. But we are finally getting back to the battles and I for one am very eager to see Vegeta kick some tail. Things probably went about as expected this chapter, but that doesn't mean there aren't many surprises on the way. I hope you all appreciated our explanation of the virus; most of the credit goes to David for once again coming up with an awesome and believable scientific solution. Also, the scouter models that were modified by Oniya don't work perfectly yet—as you probably noticed.

We won't be releasing any power level lists just yet, but we have hinted at a few levels already this chapter. I encourage you to speculate in your reviews for now. And what of this new android 21? His back story was briefly explained this chapter, but will his power make any difference against the combined might of Vegeta and Trunks, not to mention Tien and Piccolo? As stated above, we have concept art for this android on our DeviantART, so make sure you check it out!

For those of you courteous enough to leave a review, let me take a moment or two to respond to your questions.

Q: THANK YOU SO MUCH for making Tien have a good part in this now.

A: You're welcome. A lot of folks had expressed interest in having Tien be able to hold his own, and it was something that made sense to us. He has a significant role to play in upcoming events.

Q: I hope you do a special chapter going into detail about Gohan's encounter with Dabura and how he was ultimately defeated.

A: That has actually already been written, but it is sadly in another language. You'll have to look for it on the DragonBall Multiverse page and do google translate on it. It's in the U12/U14 Fanfics, Twin Pain and One Way by Salagir.

Q: Off chapter topic, I can't wait until the buu saga. Will Gohan continue training in the seven year gap to ensure protection against Vegeta?

A: That's quite a leap forward. You aren't the first one to make such a suggestion, and there are already MANY fanfictions out there based on that premise. You'll have to wait along with everyone else. Things in BoD could be very different than canon DBZ by then, or they could be similar enough for what you suggest to be a possibility. We will just have to wait!

Q: Re: Gero with his spy-bug could have made alterations, due to witnessing the fight between the 3 super Saiyans and 3th & 4th form king cold. This could mean he would make the androids even stronger (and in turn cell also) then they were in dbz.

A: Well, several things. Gero detected the battle with Cold, as we made reference to in this chapter, but he didn't get exact power level data. He didn't know what Super Saiyans were; perhaps the bugs were destroyed during the fight. He did calculate, however, that it would be prudent to create a third android in case he had to face all three of the Saiyans at the same time. Hopefully this was all answered in the chapter, but if not I hope this answer clarifies.

Q: The "Sonic Chamber" that Bulma builds actually works in this timeline. Why did it not in U18? Was it just because Hoi was near Tapion in U18? If so, what really prevented Hoi from approaching Tapion's Sonic Bedroom in this timeline?

A: Actually it had to do with the fact that Bulma was able to actually open the box. In canon, she simply built a chamber that played the same music as the music box. However, in BoD she built it to emit the same frequency and vibrations as the box, as well as to rotate and change patterns as the magic box did. Our theory is that Hirudegarn would break free if the magic box wasn't constantly changing its frequency.

Q: I realize that there ARE indeed many physical similarities in the anatomy of the Kaioshin and Konatsians, but the whole Adam-and-Eve story with the 2 Kaioshin doesn't seem right. IDK if it's just me, but the story seems to imply that there was some degree of incest before the Konatsian population boomed. Or is it implying that Konatsians are born from the same fruit as the Kaioshin? I'm kind of confused there.

A: This was not a confirmed backstory for the Konatsians, it was simply an idea that Tapion had heard from the priests in his childhood stories. David had the idea to include this as a possible explanation, but it is not confirmed that this is where the people came from.

Q: Who do you think is stronger: Mystic Gohan or Super Saiyan 3 Goku? This has actually plagued me several times on forums and on Youtube.

A: Well, that's a very tough question. If you go by the movie Wrath of the Dragon, it seems as though SSJ3 Goku is stronger. However, I know that Salagir disagrees with this. Toriyama intended for Mystic Gohan to be the strongest non-fused character at the end of DBZ. But, you want to know my opinion. I think that with training Goku would surpass Mystic Gohan before too long. The trick is, Gohan has all that power in his normal state and he doesn't have to deal with the power drain or other constraints of SSJ3. With that in mind, you have to think that if they went head to head right after the Buu Saga then Gohan would win. But I think Goku and Vegeta both would close the gap before too long. As for how Goku beat Hirudegarn in the film, I think that has to do with the nature of the Dragon Fist technique. The monster is immune to non-magical attacks, as we discussed in the special (Tapion's sword being obviously magic and thus the only thing capable of destroying him). So, if Mystic Gohan had used Dragon Fist or another equivalent magical attack, it would have probably killed Hirudegarn as well. But that's just my opinion!