Chapter 30: Android Round-up

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Gohan pried off a panel on one of the tied up androids' arms, pulling out wires and breaking off knobs and dials. "There, now if they wake up, they probably won't be able to do anything." The ropes his mother had found weren't strong enough to keep them bound normally, so he had to take some extra measures. He set the panel back in place, bending the corners so it wouldn't move.

He had changed out of his suit in anticipation of further fights, donning his normal gi. It was unlikely, but Vegeta might need his help for something. Or, maybe he could head to Capital City if Dende hadn't already sent someone. Either way, he was prepared to go.

He moved on to the next one, searching for a place to interfere with the mechanics. But something was odd. The unaltered arm was cold. He furrowed his brow and brought his ear to the bionic man's face. No breathing.

Gohan paled, ice running through his veins. "Is he… dead?" It was an awful thought. If he was dead then that meant the one who killed him… NO! Goten wouldn't do that!

Gohan felt for a pulse in the man's neck but found nothing. "Damn it!" He put his palm to the man's chest and pulsed ki into him, attempting to resuscitate him. "You can't die! You can't do that to Goten! You just… you just can't!"

Over and over, bright light surged from his hand and shook the body of the android. But there was no sign of movement. No breath. No heartbeat. Gohan clenched his eyes shut, biting his tongue. "This can't be happening. Not to Goten. He was never supposed to fight!"

He took deep breaths to calm himself. "I can't let him find out." Goten's transformation had tired him out, so he was asleep now. Chichi was with him in the other room. "I have to move these two out of the house."

He shouldered both of them and snuck out through a window then headed into the woods a bit. He dropped them. His eyes lingered on the survivor. "What am I supposed to do with you?" he thought. Seriously, what did you do with an enemy that might be able to break out of any jail you put him in? There was nowhere to keep him and he had no idea if his 'modifications' would actually hinder the android.

He closed his eyes. "I'll have to deal with you later. Maybe Bulma can deactivate them, somehow? Then, we can just put them in jail like normal criminals."

He went back inside and found his mother on the couch in the living room, holding a sleeping Goten and rubbing circles on his back. He'd reverted after falling asleep, the transformation obviously taking too much energy for him to maintain.

Chichi had a dark bruise on her cheek and she looked a bit ruffled but, beyond that, seemed fine.

Gohan sank down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How're you doing? Want something for your cheek?"

She glanced at him and shook her head. "No. This barely hurts." She sighed. "I'm more worried about Goten. This is the first time he's ever been attacked. I hope it doesn't affect him too much." She looked at Gohan. "Did you take care of those two?"

Gohan fixed his jaw and nodded. "Yeah, they shouldn't bother anyone. But, you two should still get out of here. It's not safe right now."

She frowned. "And you want to go back out there, I suppose?"

Gohan scratched his head. "I… It's really not that dangerous. Those androids aren't very tough, so I can take care of them real quick." He forced a laugh and a grin. "It's probably just some remnant of Red Ribbon or something! Man, those guys are like cockroaches, aren't they?"

Chichi pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek. "Be careful, sweetie. I don't want you getting hurt."

Gohan nodded, chin against her shoulder, and pulled away. "I'll be fine. Promise. Besides, I won't be the only one out there. All the others are fighting, too," he said.

Chichi sighed, closing her eyes. "I just thought we were done with this stuff… will it never end?"

Gohan swallowed heavily and stood. "I'll call the Nimbus for you. You'll be safe at the Lookout."

She nodded, head lowered and eyes downcast.

"This really seems to bother her. I can't let her find out what happened to that android. She deserves some peace of mind."

It was after they'd disappeared over the horizon that he felt it. Vegeta's ki was rapidly fading. His jaw fell. "What's going on!? Vegeta… is he…" He shot into the air and locked onto Vegeta's fading signature. "Oh God, he's about to die. I have to get there, now!"

There was only one way. But, what if it didn't work? He shook his head. "That's a risk I'll have to take."

He placed two fingers on his forehead and concentrated every fiber of his being on that fading ki. He let his energy encompass him in a shroud of light. Then, he vanished.

Eighteen hovered above South City, eyes combing the ground for androids. Pillars of smoke rose from several buildings. Sirens blared as firetrucks and ambulances hurtled through the streets. A building on the other side of the city collapsed in a puff of dust that must have plunged that block into darkness.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. "What a mess."

She spotted movement, faster than a human. "There we go." She rushed down, forming a ball of green energy in her hand. She set eyes on her target, a woman in clothes similar to those Gohan's mother wore with a long metallic braid that whipped around like a snake. She pounced on a fleeing man and the braid pierced through him with ease.

Eighteen tossed her blast forth and the murderous woman was destroyed in green fire. The large blast demolished a nearby house, as well, but it was no big deal. She blinked as the dust and smoke cleared. "That was easy. These guys really aren't that strong." She narrowed her eyes, taking in the destruction around her. "And yet they caused this much havoc. This world really isn't prepared for people like us."

She heard a young girl's scream and set off in search. There might be another android there, which would be convenient, as searching for them manually was a pain. Eighteen followed the screaming into an apartment building with a gaping hole in its walls. Multiple floors were visible through it and the building creaked annoyingly. It'd probably collapse soon, so she'd need to hurry. She didn't want her clothes torn up by falling debris.

She hurried down a hallway where every door had been blasted to pieces. She could see bodies in some of them, victims of the android. She heard another scream, this time a man's voice, and looked up. It had come from the floor above. She fired a blast to get the ceiling out of the way and finally found her target.

The android didn't seem to have any mechanical parts, and it held up a man by the throat. Strange dots of light coursed up its arm. Eighteen frowned. "Energy absorption type?" Just like Nineteen and Twenty. No matter, it still wasn't a threat.

It dropped the man and turned its gaze on her, its irises like the aperture of a camera. "Okay, so it's a little mechanical."

She wasted no time and sunk a fist into its chest. It coughed up blood and she quickly removed her arm to avoid stains. "So, he's more like Gero than Nineteen. He used to be human, rather than built from scratch." Why was she thinking about this, anyway? It didn't actually matter whether it started out as human or not. What mattered was that it was dealt with like Gohan asked.

She let the android fall to the ground and looked around for any bonus enemies. All she found was a little girl in tears, snot dripping from her nose. She looked to be eight or nine and knelt next to the man, grasping his shirt.

The building shook, knocking the girl over and Eighteen sighed. "Now I have to deal with this." She checked the man's pulse and confirmed he was dead. That was unfortunate, but Gohan and his friends would use the Dragonballs to bring him back, so it wasn't too great a tragedy. The real problem was the little girl. She'd have to take her somewhere else.

She knelt before the girl. "Come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe."

The little girl looked up, her face a mess. She shook her head and looked back down at the man. "I can't! Daddy's hurt!" she said, voice trembling. She sniffed. "Can you help him? Please?"

Eighteen frowned. "I'm sure your dad will be fine on his own. But we have to go."

"NO! I won't leave without Daddy!" She clung to him, pressing her face against his chest.

Eighteen scowled. "We're wasting time. I'm done with this." She picked the girl up by her dress and tucked her under her arm. The girl screamed and struggled, but it didn't accomplish anything. "This is for your own good. I'm sure you'll appreciate it, someday."

She flew off as the building began to tilt. She landed on the street opposite the direction the building was falling and called out to a woman running on the sidewalk. "Hey, you! Can you look after—" The woman didn't even stop to look at her.

Eighteen frowned. "Well, that's rude." She looked at the weeping kid under her arm. "Hey, you have a mom or grandparents around here?"

The girl bit her lip and nodded.

Eighteen smiled. "Alright, lead the way."

Krillin tore through the sky, heading for Capital City. He could already see the glow of fire. The smoke in the distance was like little spindles of black that rose up to blend with the clouds. "Damn, I wish I could've gotten here faster." The casualties in Satan City were probably a lot lower than the other cities, as Gohan was already there to deal with the situation. Capital City probably had the worst of it, considering Krillin was only just now getting there.

He stopped and looked behind him as he felt Tien's ki. He passed behind him a good distance to the South, far enough Krillin couldn't see him. "Where's he going? I thought he'd be in East City?" He frowned and shook his head. Tien probably had a reason for leaving. He'd probably already secured East City and was going to help out elsewhere.

There was a loud crack in the distance and he set forth again. He spotted someone firing blasts into the city indiscriminately and grit his teeth. "Here we go!" He hurtled down, smashing into the unaware android. The ground cratered and he could feel metal warping and bones cracking under his fist.

He hopped back and observed his foe. Both of his artificial eyes were cracked, his arms were bent out of shape, and he was coughing up blood. Krillin nodded. "He's not gonna be moving anytime soon." He left him and started searching for other attackers.

He dispatched two other androids fairly quickly. "Man, these guys are small-fry. I thought I'd have a harder time! Maybe I'm just a lot stronger than before?" He grinned, snickering to himself. A group of screams wiped the smile off his face.

He swiveled his head. "Where did that come from?" He searched all the nearby buildings, but they were empty, except for the bodies. The androids didn't kill all their victims with energy blasts. His stomach twisted at the sight. "Those bastards! These are innocent people!" Any happiness he was feeling before was gone.

"I have to stop this, now! Before anyone else gets hurt!" he thought, grimacing. Finally, he spotted an open hatch on the ground. "Right! A bunker! Of course that's where people would go! ...And if an android found it…" He grit his teeth and dropped in. He heard another scream but it was cut off.

He ran through a hall reinforced with steel ribbing and came to a hatch that had been blown through. The room within held a crowd huddled in a corner. There was also a man holding another by the throat, beads of light running up his arm. He wore a green martial arts gi and had golden bands on his arms and neck.

Krillin's eyes widened. "He's like Nineteen and Twenty!" He recalled the way Goku had had his energy drained by Nineteen. This guy could be troublesome. What's worse is that Krillin had no idea how strong he was compared to Nineteen. What if this guy was too tough for him?

He shook his head. "I have to fight! These people are counting on me!" He shot forth, fist drawn back.

Bulma screamed and held onto the control console as the building shook. The video feed flickered in and out, but she could just make out their enemy. Mercenary Tao. His stern face was set into a scowl as he took out all her defense mechanisms, one by one. She looked to her side. "Yamcha! Get out there and do something!"

"Huh?" he blinked. "Uh, oh! Right! Leave this to me!" He pat his bicep and headed for the door.

Trunks groaned as he watched him leave. His turret had been destroyed, meaning he couldn't do anything anymore.

She approached, keeping a hand on the wall to withstand the tremors still reverberating through the building. "C'mon, Trunks. We're going to the safe-room."

The boy's jaw fell. "Aw, Mom, no! Can't I stay and watch the fight? What if he needs help?" He winced as Bulma grabbed his arm and pulled him along behind her.

"You should leave the fighting to the grownups! Yamcha has everything under con—" A familiar yell came through the feed and they turned back. Tao had Yamcha kneeling on the ground in a wrist lock. Bulma gaped.

Trunks smirked. "See, he needs my help! Besides, I can totally take that guy! I mean, I fought Eighteen before and I almost won!"

Bulma frowned. "What was that? This is the first I'm hearing this."

Trunks paled, his eyes swimming. "Uh, I-I mean… that is…" He grabbed her arm, pulling her along instead. "We really should be going! That safe-room won't wait forever!" He giggled nervously.

Bulma gave him a flat stare but let him lead on. A loud metallic screech pierced the air and the building shook once more. She looked at the feed but couldn't see Tao anymore. Yamcha was on the ground, unmoving. "Oh, no! Is… He's not…" The door to the control room burst in, bouncing off the floor and skidding into the wall with loud, metallic clangs. Tao entered, hands behind his back.

Unlike the other androids that had attacked, he didn't have any obvious modifications. And she could've sworn he'd had enhancements on his head and arms. His eyes were distinctly human, rather than protruding red lenses, as Gohan had once described to her. He'd met Tao before the Cell Games and put a stop to his wrong-doings.

She started pulling Trunks along, determined to get to the safe-room. But Trunks dragged his feet. He growled at the mercenary. "Hey, you jerk! People live here, y'know?! Now we're gonna have to get that replaced!"

Tao brought a hand to his face and stroke his thin mustache. "That is not my concern." His eyes landed on Bulma. "Ah, yes. I remember you. Son Goku's companion and the brilliant scientist, Bulma, correct?" He smiled and a chill went down Bulma's spine. "Just the person I was looking for."

Bulma picked up Trunks and tried to run. Unfortunately, her son could fly. He anchored himself in the air so she couldn't move. Trunks' eyes narrowed. "What do you want with my Mom?"

Tao approached, bearing down on them. "I require a spaceship. I know you have one. Simply hand it over and no one gets hurt, understood?"

Bulma's jaw fell. "A spaceship? Why in the world would you want one of those?"

His eyes narrowed. "My reasons are my own. Now give me a ship, before I get angry!"

Trunks grit his teeth. "I'll show you angry!" He flared his aura and charged.

Gohan reappeared and took in his surroundings. Cell was here, so he hadn't missed his mark. This was the first time he'd actually done it correctly. The sun was beginning to rise, but the canyon was still in deep shadow due to the high walls. Gohan frowned. "I don't sense Vegeta, and I can't see him. Where is he?"

Cell turned, taking notice of his arrival, and Gohan noticed something in his hand. A blue cloth. And on the ground was a mass of white and yellow. Like Vegeta's armor…

Cell smirked and the realization struck Gohan like a train. "Vegeta's… dead." No ki signature, Cell was holding his suit, his armor was on the ground… he was dead. Gohan's head spun. "What? How—Cell shouldn't have been able—" But it had happened. Still, how could Vegeta be defeated? He'd become incredibly strong and there's no way he'd let his guard down around Cell, again! Right?

"Oh God, what am I gonna tell Bulma and Trunks? They'll be devastated." He grit his teeth. "How could I have let this happen?" His eyes narrowed at Cell. "Why'd you have to come back?! You should've stayed dead!" How many people had died today because of him? How much suffering had he caused? He'd even targeted Gohan's own family. He was despicable! Irredeemable!

Gohan narrowed his eyes and tensed himself, leaking red aura. "I should've done this from the start. I let him get in my head and distract me. No more!" He growled as red and yellow aura sprung up around him, flickering wildly. His hair changed, turning red, and his eyes followed.

Cell dropped Vegeta's suit, putting his hands on his hips. "Well, this is new. But you seem to have gotten weaker, my young friend. Quite the unconventional tactic."

Gohan frowned, his eyes hard like steel. "Cell, it's time you go back to Hell."

A/N: Lot's of stuff going on in this chapter. I've got at least three good fights set up, and we finally get to see Gohan using his new transformtion! Which is awesome.