About half a year later…

Name: #9

Power Level: 8,725,000

New Characteristics: About 28 years old physically. 41 years old

mentally. Grew out his pony tail long again.

Chapter 75

I'm now resting on the living room couch after some intense training. After Trunks left, I stepped up my training. Now I'm working out at 900Gs. I'd make the damn machine go higher, but if I do that it will collapse on itself. But the results have been great so far.

I now have hope, after about 19 years of battling with these androids, I have hope, true hope for the first time. Up until now, it'd always been we'll eventually get them, but now I see that it is possible.

A few days ago, I had fought the androids, they were toying with me, but I was actually damaging them. And when they finally decided they would kill me off because I'm too strong, I escaped! I escaped by my own strength! I wasn't just let alone by them, I actually forced my way out! Away, from BOTH of them!

"What are you so happy about?" Bulma asks me. "Just thinking about my last battle with the androids. I have a chance…" I trail off. "Sometimes I think you have the same ego that Vegita had…" I hear her mutter, but I don't respond.

"BOOM!" a large explosion shakes the ground. "They're here…" I say grimly. "Don't be foolish. Come back alive." Bulma tells me. I leave.

"He's here!" #18 exclaims. "I knew that this would draw him out. Now, it's time we finish buisiness. You know we weren't fighting all out when you escaped, right?" she asks me. I know that, but they were pretty close to full power, after all these years of fighting them, I have a good idea of their power.

"Fight me then. Show me what you've got." I taunt at her. She speeds forward and swings, but I dodge the attack. #17 seems intrested for a second, but then goes off to destroy buildings. Heh, it will be his turn soon enough…

#18's fist hits me in the gut, but I elbow her in the face, knocking her away from me. I chase after her and kick her in the head. Then she uppercuts me, making me fly up.

As #18 follows me into the air, I spin around, pull out my blade, and shoot a cresent beam at her from my sword. The beam cuts her across the chest, but it's not fatal. Once she reaches me, I kick off of her chest and machine gun blast her.

"You'll pay for that…" she growls and hits me with her palm right in my face. At that moment, we both go all out.

#18 kicks me in the stomach, elbows the base of my skull, and socks me in the face. She unleashes a few more attacks, but I quickly block them.

For now, she has the upper hand. But I have noticed over the years that I have a special ability that they do not. My power increases when I go all out. All of these 19 long years, it has seemed that their power hasn't even increased at all.

A few more hits go through, but none really hurt me. She puches at my face, but I parry with my forearm and sock her in the face. As she flies back, I leap at her and swing my sword, but she knocks it away and knees me in the face. While flying backwards, I flip myself and kick her in the chin.

We land away from each other and stare a bit. "Very good…" #18 mutters as she wipes blood from her chin. "But we cannot be defeated!" she leaps at me and kicks me in the head. I thrust my sword forward, but she grabs the blade.

"SHI-NE!" I shoot a ki beam through my sword and into her face. #18 flies backwards and I chase her. She blocks my swing but I pull back and smash the sword handle into her jaw.

#18 then machine gun ki blasts me in the chest, knocking me away from her. Getting up, I deflect the rest of her ki blasts and charge up a Bloody Eraser.

"BLOODY ERASER!" I scream and shoot the beam at her. Right before it hits, I see her rase her forearms infront of her face.

When the smoke clears, I watch #18 pull herself out of the crater I made, partially damaged, but still plenty functional enough to fight me.

She leaps at me and feigns a right hook, which I fall for and get ki blasted in the face, making me fly backwards and she follows. While flying back, I reach out with both of my hands, stop myself, and kick #18 in the face with both of my feet.

#18 slowly rises into the air, and I move right behind her and kick her in the spine. She hits the ground with a loud "THUD!" and I land beside her, much more gracefully though.

#18 rolls over quickly and fires a beam, which I knock away.

"DIE!" she jumps at me, but I sidestep and knock her down. This time I run over and hold her down to the ground.

"You see #18, there's one major reason why I've won." "You haven't won yet." "When I fight all out, my power increases dramatically, while yours, does not. As we've been fighting just now, my power has been increasing. You two were fools to let me live." #18 stares at me wide eyed.

"Now, you pay for your atrocities. Die!" I lift my sword. "JUUNANAGOU!" #18 screams as I plunge my sword into her chest, and then blow her head off with a powerful ki blast. I quickly dislodge my sword.

#17 takes notice of the fight once more. "JUUHACHIGOU!" he screams in horror and starts firing beams at me. I turn around quickly and fly straight at him.

"SHI-NEEEEE!" #17 screams at the top of his lungs as he fires beams more powerful than I thought he could. One hits my left shoulder, and blows my arm right off.

I cannot back away now, #17 would never let me leave and I must finish my job. Another beam blows a hole in my right hip. A third wings my chest and rips away the skin there.

"SHI-NE NANAGOU!" #17 yells at me and yet another beam hits, this time hitting me right in the chest and knocking me onto the ground. It didn't shoot a hole through my chest, but it fatally damaged me. If it is not treated, that wound will be my death.

#17 lands beside me as I lay on my back, staring at the sky. "Kuso-tare… you will pay for what you have done…" #17 says quietly. "You only now feel… what you have caused to others…" I mutter weakly. He glares at me.

Calmly, #17 pulls my bloodied sword out of my hand. "Hachigou?" #17 reads what is on the blade. "So there was another of us, was the android dear to you?" he asks. Then #17 plunges the blade right through my throat, pinning me to the ground. #17 spits on me, and walks over to #18's dead body.

Blackness invades the corners of my vision. I am dying… again. There is no way I can be revived, so this is to be it. Ultimately, I had failed, again. I had killed one devil, but the other still roams this Earth. A partial failure, is still a failure nonetheless.

I hope that Trunks will kill that second devil… and finally bring peace to this world. I hope that Trunks will lead a happy life, a life he has never experienced. My vision dims some more.

Perhaps I will be recovered by Bulma, so that she can try those experiments. I no longer care though.

My vision is almost gone, but I am not dead yet. My turmoil has ended. I will be at peace. No more fighting for this world, no more watching this world deteriorate, and highest of all… I will finally rejoin with #8.

Perhaps I will learn of my past life too… but I am just glad, that I will meet #8 again. And I can live with her for eternity, in heaven, in hell, it doesn't matter, I will live with her. As everything fades away forever, I smile.

The End