Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT. All rights go to their respected owners.

Claimer: I own this plot and all original characters that appear.

Chapter 11

Magic

Two white lines streaked across the horizon as Yamcha and his unofficial disciple moved towards the source of the horrendous energy which had pierced the former's senses moments before. Wind whipped against the bandit's face as he felt himself grow ever nearer to the unknown enemy, the bandit's ward in tow and his mind trying to figure out what exactly they could be up against.

'I wouldn't put their strongest guy that much higher than 18… maybe something in between Cell's second form sounds about right…' Yamcha thought to himself as he felt the familiar heat of a desert landscape envelope him suddenly, the land below changing accordingly to tall dunes of sand. 'Even if that's a fair bit outside of what I can handle, Piccolo should be enough to beat him. If not, Krillin and I can step in and help. But… this army… I think this might even be out of someone like Goku's league! I need to find out what's going on…'

"Are we there yet?" 3 barked from behind Yamcha, a clear tone of irritation in the boy's voice. While the former bandit had claimed he was sensing some malevolent force miles away, the Saiyan was not far ahead enough in his training to truly grasp ki sensing and thus simply had to take the man at his word. The only reason the hybrid was even coming along was because of the promise of a good fight, a promise he had warned had best be fulfilled.

"Almost. Whoever this is isn't exactly trying to play quiet so my guess is that they're expecting us. As if the odds weren't stacked against us already…"

While the last statement was meant to be a private one, it had been picked up by 3's ever keen ears. The boy grinned as he stated, "Then this just might get interesting after all."

"Yeah you got some Vegeta in you alright…" Yamcha muttered and was about to follow up with a proper verbal chastisement when the ground seemed to flow from sand to glass while the sky had become as dark as the night with thick clouds. Stopping in midair, 3 doing the same moments later but with irritation prevalent on his features, Yamcha looked around to find a vast, circular area of the desert was facing similar effects.

"What the heck is going on here?" Yamcha questioned, caught off-guard by the odd sight that surrounded him. "To think we missed an explosion this big… it must have been over fast. And the sky, these don't look like ordinary clouds…"

While his teacher was looking around confused midair, 3 folded his arms and frowned, wanting to move ahead despite the supposedly odd features of the landscape. About to voice just this, the boy felt a nagging sensation in the back of his mind telling him to look further ahead at the ground. Doing so, the child was barely able to make out some small structures illuminated by a purple light of sorts.

Grinning, the android took off at full speed, a white aura enveloping his small frame as he passed Yamcha, snapping the former bandit out of his stupor.

"Hey, hold on a sec!" Yamcha called, following as fast as he could but finding it hard to keep up now that the boy was moving at his own pace.

"It is done as you commanded, my master," Kazam declared, releasing his hold on the giant pillar and making his way towards his commander and kneeling as he stated, "This will slow the speed of our own portal a fair amount, but I can assure you there will be no outside interference from the Kais or any being from the higher planes."

"A slower portal is an unfortunate side effect, but one we can deal with. So long as your estimates on the power of Earth's remaining fighters are correct…" Abura seemed to almost warn but still kept a conversational tone.

"There is no one here who my sister could not defeat, certainly no one who could challenge you," the servant stated, taking a rare jab at his sibling who glared at him in response. "And even if they did, within a few hours our numbers will be enough to crush those pathetic Kais themselves."

"Do not take the Kais for being weak, especially not in will. They will stick to their motives at any cost…" Abura warned, seemingly have lost himself in an unpleasant memory to the point that he was clenching his fist. Kazam was about to apologize for speaking out of turn when the demon noticed a change in the breeze behind him.

Hanging some one-hundred feet in the air, 3 grinned darkly as he cupped his hands around his mouth and prepared to announce his arrival when he suddenly found himself being tackled, a shoulder pushing into his side and a hand being placed over his mouth.

By the time Kazam turned around, the two fighters were already hidden behind a low, crumbling wall.

"Are you crazy!" Yamcha asked in a hushed tone, his charge glaring back at him in fury as they kneeled down, facing each other. "We can't handle these guys! There's too many of them and they're too strong! Plus, we don't even know what they can do! Rushing in head first solves nothing!"

"You underestimate me, human!" 3 shot back, finding himself surprisingly speaking in a lower volume as well. "My power and skill increase dramatically throughout a battle, as with any other Saiyan! Numbers mean nothing. You also assume you've seen my full power…"

"And you can't even feel theirs! The gap's too big." Yamcha stated, calming himself and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, offering a small smile as he continued, "I like a fight as much as the next guy, but we can't go in unprepared, okay? Just wait till the others get here and I'll make sure you get the big guy all to yourself. How does that sound?"

3 remained silent for a moment, almost considering the option.

Throwing the former bandit's hand off his shoulder, the biological android declared, "It sounds like you're holding me back, like you have this entire time! This is just another opportunity to stop my growth from reaching its maximum! It's because you fear me, like everyone else!"

"Fear you? I'm trying to protect you!" Yamcha responded almost too loudly, the human thrown off by the sudden accusations.

"Protect yourself!" Before Yamcha could even blink, a hard knee was shoved into his gut, forcing the air out of his lungs and bile into his throat. Unable to stop himself, Yamcha instinctively grasped his midsection in pain as his companion stood up slowly, tail curling continuously in suppressed fury.

"I've heard enough from you. You can stay back here and watch me as I handle being "unprepared"." 3 stated without even looking in the human's direction, climbing over the small wall and leaving Yamcha to crawl in the dirt, gasping for air.

"Your majesty, an intruder approaches!" One of the lower-ranked demons alerted, all others present looking in the direction of where the purple creature pointed to spot Android 3 stepping out from behind two pillars and into plain view. The creation smirked darkly as several of the demons before him took a step back in surprise, having felt out the boy's power.

"Ah, so there is," Abura stated plainly, turning around and cape fluttering in the wind as he stared the child down, the demon king standing on an elevated platform as he questioned, "And who exactly might you be?"

"Me? I am the greatest Saiyan alive!" 3 responded, flaring some of his aura to emphasize his supposed position, the resulting winds doing little to faze Abura, however.

Smiling coyly, the behemoth replied, "A rather easy feat to accomplish when you're the last one alive."

Rather than growl at his adversary, the child instead maintained his bravado and simply gave a small chuckle before stating, "I think the same could be said about you in a few moments from now. Then again, you won't be able to enjoy the title long afterwards, me having killed you and all that."

"You foolish child, how dare you speak to the Demon King that way!" The purple demon who had spotted 3 yelled, powering up a mauve-colored blast in his hand only to be met with another smirk from the android.

"Enough," Abura commanded, the minion growling before lowering his hand slowly, a bead of sweat moving down his forehead. Certain that his underlings would make no further moves, Abura turned to Kazam and questioned, "You mentioned a Saiyan "android" in your report, no?"

"Yes, your majesty," the blue demon replied, not missing a beat. "It is indeed this boy, he goes by the moniker Android #3. As far as I have seen his power is of little worry when compared to yours."

"Maybe he could help warm up the troops. He's already gotten everyone here hot under the collar it seems. And not in a fun kind of way…" Presto added, hiding her own spite against the brat's attitude.

3 chuckled quietly, shaking his head as he put his hands on his sides and stated, "Make whatever plans you like. You'll all end up dead at my feet either way. It doesn't matter what the order is."

"Truly you are no Son Goku," Abura declared, a nerve seeming to have finally been hit, even if just slightly. "He would offer some arrangement of peace, your prince himself would at least give a warning. But you, you wish to simply kill us, no questions asked, without so much as even asking for the name of your victims. Why?"

3 suddenly found himself caught off-guard, wanting to respond with, "It's what I was made for," but instead caught himself, the boy's mouth hanging open as he thought his reply over. It seemed as if #20's claws were deeper in his psyche than he had thought.

With the boy seemingly unable to give an answer, Abura smiled and stepped forward as he said, "Very well then: I am Abura, King of the Demons and soon to be conqueror of this dimension. I will be your opponent."

"Your majesty!" Kazam yelled, surprising himself but continuing nonetheless. "We can handle a child such as this. There is no need for you to sully your hands with his blood."

"Calm yourself Kazam," Abura steadily replied, a smile growing his lips and his minion stepped back as a sign of acknowledgement. "This is no measure of non-confidence in any of you. I simply wish to give our guest the fight he so dearly deserves."

"Guest? Since when am I a guest?" 3 questioned, folding his arms as he attempted to hide his excitement over the upcoming battle.

"The same time as everyone else on this planet: When I arrived." Abura declared, letting some of his power leak out, the air growing thicker and heavier as the demon slowly powered up.

3 merely chuckled at the display, Abura continuing his slow walk towards the boy as his power continued to rise gradually, evidenced by the dark haze growing stronger around the area and the demon's already massive muscles now beginning to bulge. Not intimidated by this, however, 3 began, "You think this frightens me? I am a deadly warrior unlike any other! I have the blood of champions gone by in my veins! I am made up of the most powerful beings to have ever lived. You're not just beneath my boot, you're not worthy of so much as looking at it! I could crush you like-"

"Enough," Abura commanded, bored by the Saiyan and making the boy growl in response. "You Saiyans do so like to rant on about power. I came to this world knowing I would not be the strongest, but I am still by far your superior. If you don't believe me, then go ahead and have the first hit, free of any resistance." The demon leaned forward with a cocky grin, spreading his arms wide as he did so. 3 simply smirked back.

"3… no…" Yamcha gasped out as he pulled himself up at last, only just in time to see his former student leap into action.

The boy reeled back his fist, charging to his full power in an instant and grinning with anticipation, imagining the demon's head turning into a bloody mess with a single blow. The landscape shook as the blow met its mark, the ruins remaining unaffected despite the shockwaves sent out, several weaker demons even being flung a small distance in surprise.

Even before things settled down, the small android had already jumped back a ways, his arm shivering slightly as he looked at the king of demons in shock. That punch had his full power behind it, yet it had only forced the brute into a lower stance, his face turned to the side with an imprint on his cheek. Not to mention, the boy's arm felt as if it had struck steel.

For a moment or so, Abura's features twisted to show the pain he had received, only for the monster to smile once more and slowly return to his former position, chuckling darkly. Spitting out a loosed tooth and wiping a trail of blood away from his lip just as it started, Abura stated, "Impressive. I'd say in a fair fight, you'd give me quite the challenge if you could keep up that kind of power and speed. But I don't play fair."

"What makes you think that will change anything?" 3 shot back, flexing his right arm to get the feeling back. Out of the corner of his eye, the boy suddenly spotted Yamcha moving behind some pillars and closer to the fight and, for the smallest of moments, 3 considered telling the former bandit to leave for his own safety.

"Oh, trust me, it will change many a thing," Abura declared, ruffling his sleeves and entering a fighting stance. "Now, I believe it was my-"

Abura cut himself off as the portal to the Demon Realm suddenly lit up once more, everyone present turning towards the purple light as the outline of several figures slowly took form. While many of evil beings there felt smiles brewing on their faces, none were darker or larger than that of Abura when he said, "Ah, I see our strongest has arrived."

"Please, I must speak with Lord Beerus immediately!" Kibito Kai pleaded, his grip on the desk before him splintering the incredibly durable wood between him and the dark blue-skinned receptionist. "It's a truly urgent matter!"

"I'm sorry, but Lord Beerus remains preoccupied at the current moment. If you wait just a bit longer, I'm sure I can find you an opening," the receptionist replied, not missing a beat as she continued to scan the pages before her for a free slot. Before the Supreme Kai could ask anything further, she closed the book before her with a loud thud and summarily returned it to its place of holding. She then returned with another, equally thick book and said to herself, "Now for next month's schedule…"

Groaning in anger, Kibito Kai stepped back and clutched his forehead as he wondered whether or not he should just barge in and wake Beerus up himself. He probably wouldn't live much longer afterwards, but it would at least get the ball rolling.

"Hmm… nope, still not getting through," Old Kai informed his descendant, a bead of sweat traveling down the old man's forehead as he continued to pierce through the magical barrier locking out the lower worlds. "At this rate I won't be able to watch today's volleyball game."

"I think there are more pressing matters than you sneaking a peak, sir!" Supreme Kai declared, barely holding himself back as he stared down his ancestor, the latter of whom maintained a serious face as he finally gave up trying to look into the matter at hand.

"I'm afraid you're right. Whatever spell this is, it's keeping everyone and everything that's already up here, up here. This normally wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that the group of people who would do something about this are already here." Old Kai spoke as he paced back and forth, wracking his brain for answers. "And I'm not so sure everyone who's left on Earth can handle someone with this level of magical power."

"What makes you think it's coming from Earth?" Supreme Kai questioned, glad they had some form of hope against this threat, even if it wasn't the best.

"First of all, that's where most of our problems are coming from these days. Secondly, I'm getting at least hazy images from everywhere but there. If only we could get into contact with them and find out what's going on… Maybe…" Not even finishing his thought, Old Kai turned around and faced the direction of the Check-In Station, reaching out to a planet a few hundred thousand miles from it.

"Come on boys, Tien's barely breaking a sweat! That's good Goten, focus in on his blind spots!" King Kai yelled upwards, the aforementioned Saiyan boys both facing off against Tien, neither being allowed to use their Super Saiyan forms and thus found themselves struggling against the triclops.

While most of the group were watching the fight, King Kai turned to his side to see Gohan battling an imaginary opponent at full power, great ferocity put into every kick, evidenced by the deep trench each created.

The Kai shook his head, wondering if the man would ever take it easy and give his body a break. At the rate he was going, his otherworldly body was bound to wear itself out.

Hello! Hello! Can you hear me? A familiar voice questioned within the Kai's mind, the blue deity stepping back in surprise upon recognizing who exactly was speaking to him.

"Ah-ah yes, sir! Loud and clear!" King Kai responded, attempting to collect himself after such a surprise, his various nearby houseguests turning away from the fight going on overhead and towards the flustered deity.

Ah, good. Haven't done this in a while so I wanted to make sure it worked alright. Old Kai explained, not noticing when the fused being next to him placed his hand on his aged shoulder. Since none of you came to me or the Supreme Kai for assistance, I'd hazard to guess you didn't notice what's going on down below on Earth.

"Ah, no your um, majesty, I'm afraid I, uh, we haven't…" King Kai responded, still unsure of protocol in this regard and even more unsure of what his elder was talking about.

Well, take a look down there if you can. We're still up here, blind as bats, waiting for an audience with Beerus so we can't come down ourselves. Also, "sir" will do just fine, thank you.

"Of course sir, just give me a second," King Kai responded, the three fighters in the air now stopping their training to see what was the large crowd of people down below were discussing, Gohan only sparing a rare glance from his training.

"Hmm… most of the Northern Galaxy I can see, but the closer I get to Earth, the hazier the image gets. This is some truly dark magic, like nothing I've ever seen before." The blue man explained, his antennae twitching as he grew nervous of whatever was going on.

I have. Kibitokai stated, putting himself into the conversation as he explained, It's a high level of demon magic, something that can only be held together by some sort of magical artifact or amplifier. If you're at all able to get a message to Earth, tell them to focus all their attention on that. It will break the spell and I can offer further assistance from there.

While King Kai gave a nod and stated, "Understood, Supreme Kai," as he felt the mental connection slowly fade, the eldest deity raised an eyebrow as his pupil released his grip on his shoulder.

Turning around, Old Kai kept his eyebrow raised as he inquired, "And how exactly would you offer help?"

"The demon doing this is Abura. He may not be powerful in terms of sheer strength but his magical abilities are near unparalleled in his dimension, and they're something I've seen up close…" The Supreme Kai paused, memories flooding his mind as his fists went taut. "And it's me he's coming after."

"You're sure of this? How?" Old Kai interrogated, a little suspicious of something he was now in the dark about, a definite change from their regular routine.

"Well, we have the time, so I may as well tell you all of it. Please, let's sit down," Kibitokai motioned with his hand towards the section of sofas as he pulled up memories from years ago…

"What's going on King Kai? You said something about Earth?" Goku inquired, leaning forward as the Kai finished his conversation and Gohan finally began to make the trek over to the large group, wondering what the commotion was all about.

"Well boys, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that Earth is in another big scrape and I have no idea what's going on. To make matters worse, whoever's doing this is someone the Supreme Kai knows and when he knows the bad guy, it's never good."

"Well what's the good news?" Tien questioned, eager to hear if there was indeed a ray of hope somewhere in all of this, the rest of the Z-Fighters moving in closer in anticipation of whatever that could be.

"Trunks and Goten are making some real progress." Without missing a beat, the group of warriors fell flat on their backs, not even knowing how to respond.

To say the creature was massive would be an understatement. Towering above everyone present, the red muscular beast stepped out of the portal, surrounded by four lower class demons who held on tightly to the enchanted chains on the creatures hands, neck and goat-like feet. Android 3 took a small step back in confusion as he looked upon the eyeless, snarling creature, the demon's slick black hair not moving an inch as it smelt out this new world and quickly reacted with disgust and rage.

"Hocus, so nice of you to join us," Abura stated, the far larger demon calming down only slightly as its master neared and his guards bowed on one knee in unison. "I trust the journey over must have been rather confusing to you, but don't worry, there is plenty to take out your anger on here." With a devilish smirk, the king patted his soldier on his bare chest, the creature snarling again in response, one unable to tell whether it was angered or excited.

Turning back to the Saiyan, who maintained a fighting stance, Abura continued to smirk as he said, "Ah, now where are my manners. This is Hocus, the strongest demon within my domain, physically that is of course. He's not much for… philosophical discussion you might say, but he can hit far harder than I can."

"That's nice and all, but I believe we were in the middle of something," 3 replied, barely paying attention to the new arrivals. He was in the middle of what would finally be a good fight, everything else could wait.

Unbeknownst to the boy, however, his former master was currently shivering in fear, unable to believe how much power this blind beast had within itself.

"Exactly, we were, and now we are not," Abura explained walking away from Android 3, much to the boy's irritation. "While you are powerful, I do not know if you are worthy to face me on a… intellectual level. Defeating a near-mindless beast should prove you have some mental capacity for fighting." The demon king now sat down nonchalantly on the platform he had surveyed the land on moments ago, continuing, "After all, seeing a child turned to ash will be a nice treat after the long journey here."

Growling, 3 responded, "Underestimate me and you'll be sorry. I'll kill your little monster, and then I'll be over there to snap your neck. We'll see whose smiling so smugly then."

Abura only gave a small chuckle before waving his hand and ordering, "Release him."

Nearing the desert at a constant speed the party of Krillin, Piccolo and Android 7 felt a sense of dread grow stronger with every bit of ground they covered, ominous feelings running amuck in their minds.

"18 says she'll meet up with us at the source of this power," Piccolo stated, cutting off his mental link and informing his comrades who nodded in response. "I can't contact King Kai or The Supreme Kai, heck, anyone in Otherworld. Something is blocking my connection and I'll bet we'll find some answers from our mysterious guests."

"The Supreme Kai?" 7 questioned, not sure of who exactly Piccolo was talking about.

"It's a, uh, long story," Krillin replied with a goofy smile, 7 simply nodding once more.

Meeting Piccolo upfront was strange enough, never having seen an alien before, but his telepathic abilities and talks of Kais made her realize how little she actually knew of this new world she had been thrust into. To make things all the stranger, when she and Krillin met up with the alien, he stated he already knew of 7 and treated as though he had been there ever since she had been awoken.

"What do you think we're up against exactly?" Krillin inquired, a feeling in his gut telling him that his ally would not respond with great positivity.

"When I first felt so many powers… I could barely stand…" Piccolo informed, Krillin suppressing a gulp as the Namekian continued. "Whatever they're doing, it's unnatural to the degree that Dende's connection to Earth almost made him fall unconscious. These monsters are hurting the planet just by being here…"

"And there's a whole lot of them, and Goku isn't here this time…" The two remained silent for some time before Krillin noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that 7 had come to a complete stop.

Both fighters doing the same and turning around midair to face the woman, they found her cupping her hands on her chest and head down as she said, "I think you two should go on without me. I mean, I'm beyond out of my depth here. I'm no fighter, I'd just get in the way."

"7-" Krillin started but found himself cut off by Piccolo, who remained blunt as ever.

"We don't have time to give you a pep talk. The Earth is in danger, and that's something we can't ignore. It's your choice if you want to come with or not, but if you want anyone on Earth to so much as wake up tomorrow, I suggest you swallow your fear and follow us. We're shorthanded as it is so we could use the help."

With that, Piccolo resumed his flightpath towards the demonic source of power. Krillin hung back for just a bit and watched as 7 remained unmoving. Sighing, the monk said, "Sorry," before he too took off once more, catching up to Piccolo and soaring over the oceans below.

7 bit her lip, a mixture of fear and shame hanging within her mind. 'I'm no fighter, I never wanted this… But, if I don't help, everyone could… Maca and Roni, if they're still out there… This is insane.'

The android took off at top speed, maintaining many doubts as she flew after the monk and the alien, but she did her best to suppress them. For the sheer hope of her family still being out there, she would try her best to help save the world.

Not a moment after the beast felt the locks on his chains release did he begin his onslaught, grabbing two of the guards next to him by their heads and squashing the skulls with the greatest of ease, orange fluid running through his fingers as he growled in rage. The other two guards attempted a quick escape, but one immediately found a thick, red tail around his throat while the other gasped as a clawed hand was put through his chest.

Abura sighed as Hocus snapped the final guard's neck, the beast pulling its tail back in as it swished around and the demon sniffed out more prey.

"No, Hocus, no killing of your brothers today. Your meal is the boy," Abura commanded much like an impatient father, Hocus stopping suddenly for a moment before sniffing the air again.

3 was taken aback by the beast's oddness, but was still ready to go nonetheless. Hoping to surprise the creature, the mutant moved his foot to enter a jumping stance but soon found the error in this action.

Hocus' pointed ears perked up at the noise and the creature immediately turned towards its source, unleashing an unholy screech as it went onto all fours and rushed its opponent with insane speed. 3 barely managed to pull back and avoid a clawed strike aimed for his stomach, only for a red elbow of the same arm to greet his forehead with a deafening thud.

The world spun as the boy was tossed away from the ruins and Hocus pursued him with a hiss, the beast's tail flicking joyously behind it. The monster grabbed the child and began to squeeze with all its might, 3 holding back a scream of pain as he felt his bones begin to grind together. This scream was released, however, when Hocus revealed his fangs and bit down onto 3's left shoulder, the boy yelling as blood dripped down his chest.

About to intervene, Yamcha paused when he noticed his former pupil swallow the pain and maneuver his hands so that his palms were facing the beast's stomach. Growling, the Saiyan summoned as much power into his hands as he could and fired two kiai directly into Hocus' abdominals, the creature releasing its grip and unclamping its jaw upon feeling what seemed to be the strongest punches he had ever been on the receiving end of.

Both combatants hung in the air, gasping for air as the pain slowly wore off, 3 clutching his shoulder and Hocus holding onto his stomach, snarling.

'Come on kid, you can beat him!' Yamcha cheered on mentally, maintaining his hiding spot as he observed the two. 'He's stronger, but definitely not as skilled or smarter. All you have to do is wear him out and you'll be fine.'

"This ends now!" 3 declared, flaring his aura and ignoring the fatigue and pain he still felt. The boy saw only red as he aimed a kick at the monster's face, Hocus looking up confused as he heard the rustling of clothes before the boy's foot met his face, a cacophonic shockwave taking place. "You're just some animal, not worth my time!"

Yamcha face palmed as Abura kept a neutral expression and said, "The fool is full of nothing but cockiness."

Before 3 could follow up or even so much as pull his leg back, Hocus growled and shrieked once more, the creature's long tail sneaking up on the boy and wrapping around his neck before the monster readied a punch that collided with the boy's face, a second punch landing on 3's stomach almost immediately after.

The boy grabbed the lizard-like appendage as he gasped for air, Hocus smiling for the first time since his appearance, pointed teeth barred as he listened to the child suffocate.

"Th-that…" 3 struggled to say, his face starting to change pigments, Hocus chuckling and leaning forward, cupping his ear with his hand in a mocking fashion as he did.

"That's enough!" 3 yelled, powering up to his absolute max, the loud noise of the child's voice forcing Hocus to reel back and uncurl its tail unconsciously as it held its sensitive ears in agony.

Not wasting a moment, the boy screamed as he charged ahead full speed, a dark blue aura surrounding him as he unleashed a flurry of powerful punches onto the monster's abdomen, growling in anger as he did so. "I am the final Saiyan, the last Saiyan! No one can beat me! No one! They said so, they keep saying so! They wouldn't lie, not to me! I won't let you make them lie!" A knee to the groin gave the beast a final push back 3 was looking for. Veins bulging, 3 forced his left arm forward and poured a good chunk of his power into one ball of condensed blue energy, the android screaming in rage as he fired it at near point-blank range, blue energy consuming a screaming Hocus, the monster in agony as his animal-like senses were overwhelmed in every aspect.

3 huffed and puffed as sweat poured down his forehead and his mind slowly cleared now that the source of his rage had been dealt with. Letting his left arm fall to the side, 3 hung in the air moments longer before slowly floating back to the ground, hoping his temper tantrum had not been heard by anyone. These thoughts were quickly washed away, however, when a repetitive sound reached the child's eardrums, 3 turning to the side to see Abura standing up, a coy smile on his face as he clapped sarcastically.

"Truly, an impressive display. You performed far better than I thought you would," Abura congratulated, the Saiyan frowning in response. "I don't think anyone besides my dearest brother was ever able to force their way through Hocus' defences, few as they are. Such a shame you weren't stronger, however, or that last attack may have actually done some lasting damage."

The boy raised an eyebrow before he was alerted to Hocus' trademark snarling, the cloud of dust thrown up slowly fading away to reveal the red beast covered in burn marks, but none the worse for wear. The creature suddenly became silent, standing up straight and its facial features blank as it walked forwards, 3 stunned to say the least.

"B-But how?! He's not even hurt!" The boy declared, finding his breathing growing more rapid as he began to panic. There was no way he could fire another attack like that so soon, and it seemed to have been the only thing that caused any true damage. Perhaps he would need to actually resort to more extreme measures…

Piccolo stopped in midair, sweat moving down his forehead as he felt out the new arrivals.

"You sensed it too, huh?" Krillin questioned, having stopped as well and now floating beside his comrade as they looked at the horizon, dark clouds visible in the distance. 7, for her part, decided to remain behind the two, content with just listening even though she too had been alerted to the new warrior's power.

"It's in the range of what I can handle, but still, I don't know if this is even their strongest…" Piccolo responded, eyes still ahead.

"Wait, someone's fighting the new guy!" Krillin declared, sensing two powers suddenly flare, his Namekian ally growling before he responded.

"It's the other android, #3. That kid's gonna get himself killed if he goes up against someone like that!" With that, the trio took flight at full speed, 7 wondering why her fellow android would charge into something so foolishly. She only hoped the child would retreat once he saw how unwise his decision was or, at the very least, accept their help. Judging from their single interaction, however, she doubted either of these things occurring.

Giving another rare, even smug, smile, Hocus continued its leisurely walk towards the Saiyan, 3 gritting his teeth and tightening his fists after seeing this.

"Don't you mock me!" The child commanded, firing off numerous blasts of yellow energy as rapidly as he could, his opponent losing the smirk and swiftly dodging each attack with the greatest of ease, all the demons watching the display chuckling as their comrade toyed with the urchin. Yamcha, however, watched with ever increasing worry, the destruction to the glass landscape behind Hocus tremendous as each shot was missed. Even with all that power, the android was still outclassed.

"Die! Die! Die!" Temper now having reached a new plateau, 3 poured everything he had left into a sphere of energy the size of a beach ball and threw it with all his might, the ball of cobalt energy screeching towards the giant demon.

Hocus' sixth sense alerted him to a far larger source of ki and the creature smiled darkly, stopping in its tracks and reaching outwards with its hands. 3 gasped as his opponent caught the ball of energy, the demon's biceps shaking slightly as its hooves scraped along the ground, struggling to gain any footing from such a force pushing it back.

Finally coming to a stop, Hocus chuckled eerily as it moved the ball of energy into one hand and seemed to look directly at its opponent, thick tongue moving over its lips as the monster reveled in 3's fear. Adding a decent portion of its own energy to the ball, the sphere becoming red and tripling in size, Hocus screamed in delight as it threw the ball back at its sender.

Muttering a curse, 3 took to the skies and easily dodged the energy ball, watching as it made contact with the ground in an explosion that illuminated the dark clouds for several seconds.

'Guess I have no choice… I was hoping to keep this a secret till I fought Android #1, but if I don't there's a good chance I'll lose this fight. And I won't let that happen.' Tightening his right fist, the boy was knocked out of his thoughts by a monstrously strong right, Hocus' surprise punch sending the android into the glass surface below with the sounds of shattering reaching the demon's ears almost instantly.

3 groaned and attempted to stand up and out of his crater but never got the chance, a goat-like hoof forcing the child's head back down. The android looked up, eyes wide as Hocus gave a slobbery grin, claws in full display and a dark smile on the demon's face.

Before the boy could react, the behemoth screamed once more and gave two good swipes over the Saiyan's torso, 3 shouting in anger and pain as blood flowed freely from the fresh X-shaped wounds.

Listening a few moments longer, Hocus basked in the smell of the brat's blood before it could hold itself back no longer, the brute giving into his bloodlust and lifting a claw once more as it prepared to slit the Saiyan's throat.

Yamcha gasped and prepared to jump into the fray, only to hold himself back at the last second when Abura yelled out, "Stop!" The bandit breathed a sigh of relief, moving back behind the pillar and making sure no one had seen him before turning back to the spectacle.

Hocus turned towards its master and seemed to screech as if it were swearing in utter rage but complied nonetheless, lifting its hoof from the boy's head and jumping back a ways. Abura, meanwhile, floated upwards, arms crossed as he stared at the crater his enemy lay in. Inside he found the child's eyes to be closed and his chest heaving up and down as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

"And where is all your bravado now, boy?" Abura questioned, maintaining his height as he awaited a response that did not come. "Very well, I shall tell you where it is: Ground into the dirt, just like you. It is your fate, and is the fate of everyone who opposes us. We have waited below, brooding and building our strength so that one day we would be able to exact our vengeance on this plane and all others! Once this planet has been taken over by a few billion of my army, portals on other planets shall begin to open, flooding the universe with our ranks and turning it into a glorious domain of suffering!" Abura paused, throwing his arms to his sides as he powered up and aimed an attack at the Saiyan, ready to finish this small distraction. "Do so please inform the Supreme Kai of all this, and tell him I'll be seeing him soon… at the bottom of my heel!"

The demon king's attack grew in size and power abruptly, a red glow filling the landscape as the battle reached its climax. Then, suddenly, Abura allowed his attack to fade, his expression confused as he heard the Saiyan's laugh slowly grow louder.

"He… he, he, he…" 3 continued to laugh, groggily picking himself up and his eyes down as the demons and Yamcha looked on confused at the battered child. Ripping off the tattered remains of the top of his gi, the boy smiled as he stared up at Abura, saying, "Aw, but here I wanted to finish this fight first."

"It seems your bravado has returned from the dead as well. I'm beginning to find it testing," Abura said through gritted teeth, staring down Android 3, the boy cracking his neck and then turning back to a confused Hocus.

"Listen up: I don't care about the universe's doom, Supreme Kai or any of that. You all came here looking for a fight and I did the same. So let's put the speeches aside for a little bit and let me finish up here. I still promised to snap your neck after all."

Abura chuckled, shaking his head and floating back down to the ground, Yamcha hitting the floor prematurely to make certain the demon king would not see him upon turning around.

"Oh, by all means continue. How you die is of little consequence to me. I am intrigued, however, to see just how you intend to win when you can barely stand."

Whilst the other demons laughed and cheered on their master's performance, Kazam kept a stern face as an uneasy feeling began to build in his gut.

'Was there something I missed about the boy? Surely he must be bluffing! The only transformations a Saiyan can perform are the Super Saiyan and the Oozaru forms. Considering he used neither against Android #1, he can't have access to either! I'm sure of it!'

Choosing not to answer Abura directly, 3 simply gave two shakes of his head and a smile before he turned back to muscular Hocus, bending his knees and arms as he stated, "Do me a favour: Stay right where you are. I wanna see if I'm strong enough to punch a hole through your stomach."

Hocus simply replied with a confused expression before the boy began to scream, the monster covering his ears in agony.

"Just what is he doing?!" Yamcha inquired out loud by accident, no one hearing him however over the winds generated by the Saiyan's now building power.

"Give it!" Aka commanded, jumping in the air as his android friend held a ball far too high for the child to reach. After another failed attempt the boy landed unceremoniously on his rear, all those present in the room, apart from 1, getting a good chuckle from this. Growling, Aka rubbed his bottom as he stood up and questioned, "Hey! What's the matter with you?"

Upon an above average level of noise making itself known, 1 ceased focusing in on the power signature he was alerted to and instantly spun his head to face his small friend. Handing the blue ball back to the child, 1 responded, "It is a… negligible matter. Are there any other spherical toys left to retrieve from the roof? Any other tasks that need performing?"

"Nuh-uh. We just wanted this is all, so I guess you're off for the rest of the day!" Buru stated, walking over and grabbing the ball from Aka with a fast motion. The tubbier child ran away as fast as he could immediately afterwards as Aka gave chase, the small crowd of children cheering after the two as they ran out the door before following them.

"Thanks!" Kiiro called as she ran after the crowd, smiling all the way.

Android 1 stared at the door for a short time, pondering whether he should go and investigate the strange energy fluctuations taking place a few hundred miles away. The android made the slightest of movements towards the window, ready to examine the situation, but stopped himself almost instantly.

'The matter is negligible. That is what I informed them of, and so it shall remain as such in my eyes,' 1 scolded himself, maintaining his standing position, staring out the window as he waited for the inevitable.

The dark clouds became illuminated with a pale blue as 3 roared, his power steadily increasing as he stared at the dirt and tensed his muscles, his aura flaring wildly and tail swishing back and forth all the while.

With a second scream unleashed the changes on 3 began to take place. Most obvious was the growing amount of hair that thickened and lengthened with each passing second, creating a very thin fur coat. Next the child almost seemed to bite the air as his teeth became sharper and fangs soon revealed themselves for all to see. 3's aura suddenly became green as a new spike in power occurred, the Saiyan's muscles abruptly bulging and his height gaining a small boost. The child's already thick tail followed suit and lengthened slightly, bulging as claws simultaneously penetrated the front of the boy's shoes.

With a final yell the transformation was finished, 3 standing stationery a few moments before going on all fours, a position he seemed to find far more comfortable in his new form, the devilish grin on his face evidence of that.

Growling, Abura turned away from the child and yelled, "Kazam!"

Shocked, the demon king's servant froze for a moment before reflexively going onto one knee before saying, "Yes, sir?"

"What is the meaning of this?! You gave no mention of the boy's power being so close to mine!" Abura declared, fuming over not being informed of this. He could not have unknowns at a time like this.

"I-I do not know sir!" Kazam replied, attempting to reign in his thoughts, Presto smiling sinisterly behind her brother as he panicked. "I have seen nothing of this form and none of the other spies reported anything like it! It seems, however, to be a downgraded version of the Oozaru form! How he achieved this, I do not-"

"Enough," Abura stated, waving off his henchman as he began to go into details the king cared little for, given the situation. Watching as his lieutenant lowered his head in shame, Abura turned to Presto and commanded, "Deal with this. Now."

Smiling dutifully, the succubus bowed before seemingly disappearing from the battlefield altogether, a fact Yamcha missed as he kept wide eyes on the battle before him.

Turning away from an angered Abura himself, 3 chuckled as he said to a shocked Hocus, "Your friend over there is right. This is kind of like the Oozaru transformation, but with a few perks: I don't need a moon and I get lots of fun animal powers, like you!" The child declared with a genuine smile, his teeth on display and his eyes wide, Hocus taking a step backwards cautiously as 3 continued, "It's a little something Android #20 put in me, cause he figured I might need an extra edge on other tailed Saiyans. It might not be as strong as the Oozaru, but this mutated version is a whole lot easier to control!"

Hocus clenched a fist as the Saiyan began to look around confused like some sort of pup, evidenced by the sound of moving hair and quiet chattering.

"Did I say I was a mutant when I got here? No. Don't think so. Probably why you're all so surprised," 3 said to himself, Hocus growling in rage, taking a titanic step forward that nearly split the glass landscape in two.

Dark smile on his face, 3 turned back to his opponent with a wide grin as he questioned, "Oh yeah, didn't I say I wanted to see if I could punch a hole clean through you?"

Screaming at the heavens, Hocus prepared to charge forward only for a monumental pain to stop the behemoth in its tracks, a shockwave shattering the landscape as far as the eye could see. Form frozen, the demon felt for a wound, blood indeed on its hands as it felt the epicenter of pain and struggled to breathe, but the wound was far larger than expected.

"So close," 3 declared, pushing his head out of the creature's abdomen with both hands, shaking his body upon exiting to throw off as much orange blood he could. Before him, Hocus struggled to remain standing as blood leaked from a head-sized wound in its abdomen, the creature attempting to plug the hole with its massive hands with few results.

"I think I would have gone all the way through if your spine wasn't there. Gotta say, I thought your skull was the thickest bone in your body but I guess I was wrong," Android 3 informed, tilting his head to the side much like a swimmer would do after getting water in their ear.

'I-I didn't even see him move!' Yamcha said to himself, eyes even wider than before as he shivered in fear. 'He's a Saiyan alright. Powerful and bloodthirsty all the way!'

Turning to a livid Abura, the youth questioned, "You want him anymore? Cause I don't think he's gonna be much use to you like this." The demon king was about to respond when the boy abruptly fired a punch off into the wounded creature's chin, shattering its jaw and causing it to fall over.

"Enough!" Abura commanded in rage, listening as Hocus whimpered in pain and fear, the creature no longer able to tell up from down. "You have won the battle. I will face you now, Saiyan."

Android #3 chuckled momentarily, hands on his sides as he stood before making a slow-paced walk over to Hocus' neck, gently placing his boot on the demon's neck as he said, "Well and here I thought it was a fight to the death. Wanna know though: When did you start making the rules?"

"Think out your next move carefully. It may be your last," Abura warned, fists clenched as his power slowly increased.

The mutant, however, didn't let up. Instead, he only gave a small smile as he listened to Hocus whimper what seemed to be a plea of some sort. Forcing his foot down, 3's ears twitched as the thickening snap reached them, the feral child simply declaring, "Oops."

The android child turned to where he knew Yamcha was, grin on his face as he expected to be met with a look of admiration and pride. Instead, the man only seemed to stare daggers, a trace of fear in his shaking form.

"Ah!" A soft voice from behind alerted 3 he didn't have much time to think his former master's response over. Instinctually spinning around, the boy readied a punch only to stop it centimeters from a small girl's face, the child having fallen over in surprise.

The onyx-haired child seemed to be about the same height as 3, possibly the same age, and had raised a hand to defend herself meekly. The girl was dressed in a formal, poufy dress with a floral pattern and a red bow rested on her long hair.

3 blinked, seemingly lost in thought as he looked the frightened girl over before unconsciously loosening his fist and holding his hand out to help the girl up.

Realizing that a fist was no longer headed her way, the petite child opened her eyes and observed the boy before her momentarily before taking his hand and sniffling as she said, "I-I'm sorry! I heard loud noises, and my daddy is gone and…"

"I-it's okay," 3 murmured in an attempt to stop the girl's tears. Overcome with an odd sensation, the boy swiveled around and stretched his arms out protectively, staring down Abura as he said, "Just stay behind me and I'll get you out of here safely, okay?"

The demon king floated downwards slowly, a grin on his dark features as he strode forward, looking between the mystery girl and Android 3.

"Don't come any closer! She has no part in this!" The child went so far as to growl at the demon king, ready to go on all fours and fight to the death if the brute made a wrong move.

Abura, however, merely chuckled as he continued to walk forward, unfazed as he stated, "Oh but dear boy, did you forget what I said? I don't play fair."

Before the android could respond, a searing pain traveled down his spine, 3 gasping as his body went numb and his transformation left him. The boy hit the dirt as the mystery girl grinned darkly at her prey, her fingers splayed out from the chop she had just given to the Saiyan's top vertebra.

With a sudden puff of smoke that disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, Presto was revealed in place of the child, the succubus lowering her hand and snickering.

Face in the dirt and unable to move, 3 could only listen as Abura stalked closer, a red ball of energy once again in hand and aimed at the boy.

"You cost me a good soldier. Needlessly at that. For such a sin against me, your life is now forfeit." The ball of energy grew in size, 3 shaking in fear as he struggled to make his body move, to no avail. "Goodbye, boy. We shall not meet again."

"Solar Flare!" Turning around on instinct, the demon king was greeted with a searing pain unlike anything he had ever felt before, Abura struggling to stand as a constant white flash seemed to echo in his closed eyeballs no matter how hard he closed them or held onto them.

When the light and pain finally subsided, Abura blinked twice to find the rest of his henchmen, a few of which were knocked out, also struggling to regain their footing as they had suffered similar blinding effects.

"Master! An intruder seems to have been in our mist!" Kazam informed as he bowed before Abura, eyes fluttering as he stared at the ground and Presto holding her head as she suppressed a headache, standing behind her kneeling brother. "It appears he also… retrieved the Saiyan…"

Spinning around, Abura confirmed this as the child was now gone, several markings in the sand and glass where the boy once was. Growling, the demon king stated, "I sense them. Two powers, moving towards the guardian of this planet. But the child will not get away unscathed!"

Roaring, Abura spun around and threw an arc of dark red lightning, the spell covering ground faster than the eye could see. Smiling, Abura stared a moment longer before turning back to his troops.

"With that distraction out of the way, we need to make up for lost time," Abura commanded his troops, all of whom nodded in understanding. "Various other fighters are making their way here now. Spread out and attack any settlements you find to lead them away from the portal. More troops should be arriving soon to defend it." Turning around abruptly, cape fluttering behind him, Abura seemed to be in deep concentration before stating, "This is your last chance to make up for your folly, Kazam. Fail me again, and what you saw done to Hocus will seem like a mercy."

Gulping as he nodded, Kazam took off immediately towards the nearest city, a small cluster of lower demons following after him. Presto stayed behind a moment longer and questioned out of pure interest, "And what of you, my master?"

"I am off to pursue a more… diplomatic course of action," Abura replied, a small portal appearing before the demon king who stepped in without hesitation, his servant smiling coyly with a chuckle before she and her troops took off as well.

The desert landscape was once more filled with only silence, save for the low of hum of the portal to the demon world.

A red, crackling aura suddenly consumed the Saiyan in Yamcha's arms, the boy screaming in pure agony as his body felt like it was being slowly burnt away.

Yamcha, however, could see no true damage being done and while the sudden appearance of red lightning was a surprise he kept to his course as the boy wailed in his arms, the former bandit intent on getting the Saiyan some help.

"You might be a bad kid, but I won't leave you behind!" Yamcha declared, attempting to get through to the child, but to no avail. "Just hold on a little longer! I know you can do it!"

With that, the former bandit doubled his speed, hoping Dende was as good at magic as Korin was at making Senzu Beans.

A swishing sound of sorts reached Android 1's auditory sensors, the machine turning around slowly to find a brutish, dark figure sitting in an armchair, a smile on his face and hand on his chin as his eyes met the android's.

"Hello, Android #1. I am Abura, and I believe we have much to discuss…"

Q&A

Q: BTW were you inspired by Amazo from the DC Comics in the creation for Android 1 since their origins, appearance, and some abilities are quite similar to each other?

A: I'd say some of Amazo's personality from the animated TV series is there, especially his later appearance, but the design was actually from a rendition of Ace in Batman Beyond.

Q: What ever happened to Android 2?

A: I'll be getting more into that later.