I finally managed to get Chapter 14 up, and there's a few surprises towards the end of it

I apologize for updates taking so long, but inspiration keeps coming and going at random, same with other stories I'm working on. Plus, I'm currently taking a summer microbiology class, which takes up quite a bit of my time. But don't worry; I am bound and determined to finish this fic!

Just a quick announcement: the world's definitely gone crazy. But just because the world's gone crazy, doesn't mean that you have to go crazy. Stay safe, everyone, and remember—you're loved no matter what!

Please leave a review letting me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, it belongs to Akira Toriyama! I only wrote this story! Enjoy!~

Chapter 14: The Impossibility of Tomorrow

"Dammit," Dr. Gero cursed under his breath as he landed at the cave's opening, hurriedly rushing to the large, metallic doors and punching in the code on the keypad. "Damn it all!"

Gero rushed in as soon as the doors opened up, closing them behind him with a loud, echoing thud. He gritted his teeth as he walked across his lab, heading to the two particular pods. "I would have preferred not to activate them if I could," the mad doctor growled under his breath, remembering all the issues he had with these two. "But now I have no choice."

He picked up the remote from his main desk and approached the pod with the large, bold number 17 first. He hesitated before pressing the activation button, silently praying that his latest modifications had fixed those problems.

Gero reached over and pressed the activation button, watching as the pod door opened up and revealed a young man inside. He had fair skin and straight black hair that ended at his chin, and when he opened his narrow, cat-like eyes, they were revealed to be ice-blue. His outfit consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a short-sleeved black shirt with the Red Ribbon symbol on the left breast, blue jeans, a brown belt with a round gold buckle around his waist, green socks, blue and white sneakers, a second belt just below the first one with a gun holster and another pouch, an orange bandana tied around his neck, and a single small silver hoop earring on each ear.

"Good to see you're awake, Seventeen," Dr. Gero said, still gripping the remote in one hand as the young man stepped out of the pod.

Android 17 stood up straight, taking a moment to look around. His blue eyes landed on the remote in the doctor's hands for a second, then he glanced up, locking eyes with his 'creator' with a small smile. "Good morning, Dr. Gero."

Gero blinked at him, pleasantly surprised. "Well, you're awfully polite today."

"Of course," Android 17 said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You are my creator."

Gero felt relief sweep through him. It looks like they're working properly after all. And if Android 17 was fixed…

Dr. Gero walked over to the pod with the large, bold number 18 on it, pressing the activation button and stepping back as the pod door opened up. A beautiful young woman, the same age as Android 17, was revealed to be inside. She possessed the same fair skin, blue eyes and facial features as Android 17. Her straight blonde hair stopped just above her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of a black shirt underneath a sleeveless blue denim vest that had the Red Ribbon symbol on the back, long black and white striped sleeves, a blue denim mini skirt, a brown belt with a round gold buckle around her waist, black leggings, brown boots, and the same earrings that Android 17 had.

The young woman stepped out of the pod, momentarily locking eyes with Android 17 and glancing at the remote in Dr. Gero's hand, then looked up at the doctor with a smile. "Good morning, Dr. Gero," Android 18 greeted. "I see you've mechanized yourself as well."

"Yes," Dr. Gero said, sounding close to laughing at this point. "I wanted eternal life." Inside, Gero was beyond relieved. When he had first started turning the two of them into Red Ribbon Androids, he had devoted too much of their programming to the Infinite Energy Reactor inside of them. Concern over it hadn't even been a passing thought in his mind, but it became apparent that, in his determination to turn them into literal killing machines, he had neglected to make sure he could control them.

But now, it seemed that his latest modifications had fixed that problem. And not a moment too soon.

"I hadn't planned to activate the two of you for another month or so," Dr. Gero told them, getting straight to the point. "But we don't have time to wait. Son Goku and his friends will be here soon. Kill them all. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Android 18 said.

"We understand," Android 17 nodded simply.

Dr. Gero smirked despite himself and turned to face the doors. But before he could even start to walk towards them, Android 17 suddenly snatched the remote from his hands. The smirk vanished from the doctor's face as he whipped around to face his creations once more. "Seventeen!" he yelled. "What are you—?!"

"This is the controller with our emergency suspension switch, isn't it?" The black-haired Android said in a deathly calm voice. Just a few feet behind him, Android 18 was still smiling. "You made it just in case." Then, without any warning or provocation, Android 17 crushed the remote in his hands, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

"W-What do you think you're doing?!" Gero yelled once he yanked himself out of his shock. "If this is a joke—"

"You will not make us sleep again, old man," Android 17 growled out, cutting the doctor off and take a step backwards.

As this happened, Android 18 looked around the room for the first time, and quickly noticed the third pod that had been right next to her's. "Nineteen?" she said out loud, making the other two Androids turn to look at her. The blonde turned back to her creator. "Let me guess, you talked him into turning you into an Android?" She hiked a thumb in the pod's direction. "What type is he? An Energy Absorption Model?"

"Y-Yes," Dr. Gero replied quietly. He didn't dare mention that he had already preprogrammed Android 19 to awaken and attack the Z-Fighters a month from now.

Android 17 chuckled. "Why did you go back to your old Energy Absorption design? Because we Infinite Energy Models were too powerful to control? But because of that, you lost!"

"I-It doesn't matter!" Dr. Gero spat, pointing towards the door. "They'll be here soon. Just kill them! Kill them all!"

"Oh, we'll kill them," Android 17 replied. "When we want to."

"What?!" Dr. Gero all but cried out. He was about to protest again when Android 18's voice reached his ears.

"Sixteen…" The blonde said casually, walking over to the side of another pod, this one lying down on the ground. "This one's also an Infinite model, isn't it?" A panicked look appeared on Gero's face as he whipped around to face the female Android. "But he's not like us. A little bigger, for one." She paused to look up at the doctor. "How else is he different?"

"Don't touch that, Eighteen!" Gero snapped, sweat beginning to form and bead down his brow. "Just back off."

But his reaction just seemed to please the duo. "Interesting," Android 17 said. "Start him up."

"Stop! You mustn't!" Dr. Gero yelled at him. This wasn't supposed to happen. His whole plan was starting to unravel before him, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to stop this. "Do you want to risk destroying the whole world?! Sixteen was an experimental model and a failure! Don't activate him!"

"You've left him around for quite a while for a 'failure'," Android 18 commented. "I thought you had disposed of the rest of us."

"I…I was going to fix him later!" Gero snapped back. "Just don't activate him! You're going to kill us all!"

This time, Android 17 was the one who laughed. "Kill us? But I have a much higher power rating." He turned back to the blonde. "Don't worry. Open it."

"Do you have to defy everything I say?!" Gero seethed. "You're both just like Sixteen! Failures! I'll deactivate all of you!"

"I destroyed the controller," Android 17 bluntly reminded him.

"You think I can't make another one?!" Gero practically spat. Android 18 placed her hand on the activation button for 16's pod, and the doctor whipped around to face her. "Didn't you hear me?! Don't press that switch!"

The very moment those words left his mouth, Android 17 stuck his hand straight through Gero's chest from behind. The doctor froze, as if time had stood still, then 17 yanked his hand out and Gero slowly turned to face him, eyes wide with shock. "W-What are you—?!" he didn't get the chance to finish before Android 17 sent a powerful roundhouse kick to his head, knocking it clean off his shoulders.

Gero's body collapsed to the ground as his head landed and rolled several feet before stopping close to the middle of the lab. "C…Curse you," Gero's head growled out, his voice somewhere between shock and rage. "I'm your creator!"

Narrowing his icy-blue eyes, Android 17 jumped in the air, heading towards the head, and when he landed, he harshly slammed his feet directly on it. Red liquid and brain matter splattered about as he made the head do directly through the floor, leaving a decent-sized hole in the ground.

For a moment, neither of the two Androids moved or spoke. Dr. Gero was dead. They were finally free from that horrible man.

A whole minute or so must have passed before Android 17 exhaled quietly and stood back, walking over to his companion. "Now, press the switch," he said calmly.

Android 18 complied, pressing the button with a satisfying click. She practically kicked the pod's door open, and the Android inside was immediately revealed to them. He was easily taller than both of them, and he possessed fair skin and a red-orange mohawk, and when he opened his eyes, they were the same shade of icy-blue as 17 and 18's. His clothing consisted of a dark under-suit, with a lime green vest, green boots, green bracers, and a single golden hoop earring in each ear. And sure enough, a small Red Ribbon Army logo was sewn to the left side of his vest.

The duo watched as Android 16 pulled himself into a sitting position before standing up and stepping out of his pod, taking a moment to look around. After a moment or so, Android 17 spoke up.

"We've never seen you in action before, Sixteen," he said, making the red-haired Android turn to look at him. "How do you feel about being free for the first time in years?" When 16 didn't respond, he continued, "Gero didn't want to activate you. He said you might destroy us all."

"Now what do you suppose he meant by that?" Android 18 asked curiously. Again, the taller Android didn't respond, his blue eyes resting on their forms.

"So, you don't want to tell us, huh?" Android 17 asked. "Or are you just the strong, silent type?" The black-haired man simply shrugged. "Whatever." Then another thought cropped up in his mind. "You were created to kill Son Goku too, weren't you?"

Android 16 was quiet for another moment or so, then he simply replied, "Yes."

"Well, well," Android 18 sounded close to laughter. "He finally graces us with a word."

Unbeknownst to the trio, when Android 17 had smashed Gero's head through the floor, it had fallen into the basement and collided with the control panel for Dr. Gero's Supercomputer—something that the mad doctor had programmed to carry out his master plan to slaughter Goku, even in the event of his own death. And the moment Gero's head made contact with the control panel, it had hit a few specific buttons and began a certain activation…

The sounds of beeping, clicking and whirring from the basement quickly reached the three Androids' ears, making each of them look down at the floor. "Shit," Android 18 cursed under her breath. Whatever that was, it couldn't be good. "I think that's our cue to leave."

"Way ahead of you," Android 17 said, raising a hand up and sending a powerful green blast to the doors, immediately knocking both of them down with a heavy thud and letting sunlight into the lab.

"Come on, big guy," Android 18 said to 16 right before she and 17 flew out of cave and into the world before them, the taller Android right behind them.

They had made the right decision to leave. Because at that moment, three other powerful creations of Dr. Gero had awoken. And just like the trio, they were programmed to hunt down and kill a certain Saiyan.

Too bad 16, 17 and 18 couldn't stick around to 'watch the fireworks.'

OoOoOoO

The Z-Fighters found themselves flying as quickly as they could, bound and determined to get to the lab in the northern mountains. None of them were going to let this get out of hand.

But it was already too late for wishful thinking on that part.

Because just after crossing Central City—the halfway point between West City and the mountains—and as the group was soaring over the plains, something caught Oolong's attention out of the corner of his eye. And when he turned his head slightly to see what it was, his eyes widened and he swiftly dove towards Goku, tackling the Earth-raised Saiyan to the ground, surprising everyone else as they halted themselves in midair, the duo skidded to a halt on the dirt and grass.

"Oolong, what—?" Goku barely got his words out before a blast of pale blue light suddenly rushed past them, dark eyes widening in realization as the blast flew for another few seconds, then descended to the ground with a loud explosion accompanied by a flash of light barely a few miles away, sending embers and smoke billowing into the air. That blast would've slammed right into him if he had kept flying.

Oolong pulled himself up and off of Goku, the latter standing up as well. And like the rest of their group, the two of them turned to see where the blast had come from.

Whatever they were expecting…this certainly wasn't it. Two figures stood not too far away from where the Z-Fighters had stopped, staring directly at them from their place in the tall grass.

The first of the two was a large, heavily-built muscular man. His skin was silver-gray, and his black hair was long and tied into a braid. A stern look covered his face, his brownish-orange eyes seeming to stare directly into the Z-Fighters' souls. His clothing consisted of a brown brassard and belt combination, large brown gloves, a long green kilt, yellow and black boots, a silver hoop earring in each ear…and the Red Ribbon Army symbol on the golden buckle of his belt.

The second was a very short and small man, a stark contrast to his companion. His skin was a deep shade of purple, and though he lacked any hair, his lips were large and pink. A pair of sunglasses hid his eyes. He was currently wearing a black and white tuxedo shirt with a dark yellow and blue overcoat, baggy light blue pants and black boots, a large green hat with a red ball on top, silver earrings identical to his companion's…and a large red bow tie sporting the Red Ribbon Army logo.

The Z-Fighters reached out with their chi senses…only to discover that they couldn't sense anything from either of these two. Combining that with one glance at their appearances, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"What about these two?" Chi-Chi asked Mirai, her dark eyes never leaving either of the two figures. "Were they in your timeline, or…?" She trailed off. She didn't need to finish; Mirai knew what she was thinking.

"No," Mirai answered, surprising himself at how calm he sounded despite his growing anxiety. "I don't recognize them at all."

Without missing a beat, the purple-skinned man raised one hand and fired a blue chi blast directly at Goku, who simply smacked it away once it got close enough to him. As soon as he did that, the taller Android was suddenly right in front of him, sending a series of punches and kicks that the Saiyan was quick to dodge or block. Goku jumped into the air and the gray-skinned man followed suit. But just as he began to draw a bit of distance between him and the Android, the shorter man vanished and reappeared directly behind Goku, delivering a powerful kick to his back that sent the Saiyan crashing to the ground.

Both Androids looked ready to charge at the Saiyan again, but before they could, the Kaioken aura flared up around Mirai's body as he appeared right next to the purple-skinned Android, delivering a powerful kick that sent him barreling away in the open air. At the same moment, Gohan had rushed up to the gray-skinned Android and headbutted him in the gut, earning a similar outcome as Mirai.

Goku had picked himself up, brushing the grass off and shaking bits of dirt from his hair. The two Androids had recovered themselves and halted in midair, their eyes never leaving the Saiyan. Without a second thought, the purple Android raised both hands, a bright blue glow building between his palms before he fired it at Goku. But the attack never hit its target, as Chi-Chi had acted quickly and fired her own chi blast at it, causing both attacks to explode upon collision and sending a blinding heat wave that almost knocked the Z-Fighters backwards, though they held firm.

Once the light of the blast had died down, Goku narrowed his eyes at the two Androids. "Alright, what numbers are you two?" he asked. When neither of them responded, he added on, "If it's me you want, then that's what you're going to get!" He clenched both hands into fists, ready to power up at any given second.

"You two don't know what you're getting yourselves into," Mirai growled out at them. For the first time, the purple-skinned Android tore his gaze away from Goku and rested it on the future warrior.

"Oh, we don't, do we?" he said with an amused chuckle, seeming to observe the older man. Then a smirk appeared on his face. "I know you're Yamcha from another timeline."

That sentence was enough to surprise the Z-Fighters. How…How did they know that?

Before he could get over his shock, the purple Android was suddenly right in front of Mirai and kicked him in the chest, sending the future warrior to the ground in an instant. The Android was about to turn and rush toward Goku when Krillin suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing onto him and refusing to let him move, and that's when Launch and Chi-Chi both vanished and reappeared in front of the Android, the two of them slamming their fists into him at harsh speeds and sending him to the ground.

The gray-skinned Android sped forward as soon as his comrade hit the ground, but he didn't get far before Piccolo barreled into him, causing him to stumble for a moment. That was all Tien needed, raising one hand up as a bluish-white glow formed in his palm. "Explosive Demon Wave!" he yelled out, firing the blast and hitting the gray Android.

But as the smoke cleared from the blast and the purple Android picked himself up, it became clear that neither of the attacks did much damage to them, seeming to do little more than ruining their clothing a bit. Just the mere sight of it unnerve some of the Z-Fighters. They had put quite a bit of their power into those attacks. They needed to approach this carefully.

"Damn it all," Tien growled under his breath, clenching his teeth slightly.

Yamcha looked between both Androids. He had an idea, but…He looked down at his tattered clothing. Can't do anything without my gi, he mentally grumbled to himself. Piccolo, was stood several feet away from him, raised up one finger and wordlessly sent a beam of light in the ex-bandit's direction, cloaking him in light, and once it died down, he was revealed to be dressed in an orange and blue gi, similar to the one Goku always wore.

"That should stretch and shrink along with your ability," Piccolo said calmly as Yamcha looked over himself in surprise, the latter turning slightly red as he realized the Namekian had heard his thoughts. Well, at least now he could do what he had in mind.

But before anyone could do anything else, a new voice rang out through the plains.

"Now, I can't believe the great Goku and his friends are catchin' an ass-whopping from those boys. If he can't even handle to Indians, why bring out the Chief?"

The Z-Fighters immediately scanned the area for the source, and it didn't take long to find it. A third figure was standing not too far away from them. He was a tall, muscular man with fair skin, greenish-blue eyes, and long white hair that was styled into a mullet. His clothing consisted of an open yellow-brown vest with gray suspenders underneath, dark green trousers, dark gray boots with black tips, brown gloves, a silver earring in each ear, a gray and yellow-brown baseball cap…and the Red Ribbon Army symbol on the cap and the left breast of the vest.

One quick assessment of him, and sure enough, the Z-Fighters couldn't sense anything from him, either.

"You're an Android, too?" Goku quietly asked, though he knew the man heard him loud and clear. "Oh man. How many of you did Dr. Gero create?"

The white-haired Android looked up at the Saiyan with a smirk, as if his question was amusing. "Well, not that it's any of your business, city boy," he said with a heavy southern accent. "But the good doctor unfortunately met his end not too long ago."

"Huh?!" Krillin all but cried out. "But…We just fought him not even ten minutes ago! How is that possible?!"

As he spoke, thoughts began to swarm Mirai's mind. In his original timeline, Gero had met his end at the hand of…His dark eyes widened. Did…Did Gero activate Androids 17 and 18 early? And if not, then had one of these three unfamiliar Androids slaughtered him?

Come to think of it…this timeline had already changed so much…just how many Androids did this Dr. Gero make?

"The details aren't important," the white-haired Android practically laughed at Krillin's question. "But I'll say this much: Dr. Gero spent a lot of time in that lab, plannin' and schemin'. Creatin' us for his number one ambition, which is to see you dead." He paused for a moment to roll his eyes, still smirking all the while. "I know, I know. We should all just let bygones be bygones. But that ain't the way it's gonna be. I was programmed to kill your ass, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do, ya hear?"

Chi-Chi glared at the Android, looking furious at the threats aimed towards her husband. "You're just a slave!" she yelled at him. "A pawn with no free will of his own! Is that it?"

The Android redirected his gaze to the Son matriarch, his amusement and smirk dropping. "Free will?" he growled out. "Pitiful humans! War, segregation, hatred. Is that what you've done with your 'free will', girl? Don't you lecture me with your thousand-Zeni haircut! Goku dies!"

Chi-Chi face was a bright shade of red at this point, seething with rage. Launch, for her part, smirked at the white-haired man. "We'll see, Red Ribbon redneck," the green-haired woman said.

'Listen up,' Piccolo's voice reached each of the Z-Fighters, echoing in their minds. 'We can probably take all three of them in groups, but we'll need to space out to do so. They can't attack all of us at once. You'll know when to scatter.' Without so much as a warning, Piccolo formed a chi blast in the palm of one hand and threw it to the ground, causing it to explode upon impact and sending large amounts of smoke and dirt billowing into the air all around them.

The Z-Fighters took that as their cue and each of them quickly flew of in one of the three directions. The three Androids caught sight of them as they fled the field of smoke and dirt. The white-haired Android's smirk returned to his face. "We'll see, huh?" he said. "Yes. We sure will!" He turned to his two companions, and yelled out before all three of them flew after the groups, "Go get 'em, boys!"

OoOoOoO

'Kill Son Goku'.

How many times have they been forced to hear those words over the years?

They had grown up in Nicky Town, they both remembered. They had been notorious delinquents, always running amok and causing havoc with their pranks, which had been harmless—for the most part, anyways. How much had the town changed since they left?

They really hadn't had anyone to go to. All they had was each other.

It was in their hometown where they met him. Neither of them had thought much of him; he looked harmless…but they learned that appearances could be deceiving.

He had taken them from their home and to his lab. They sometimes wondered if the people of the town had gone looking for him. But really, who would miss the town delinquents, let alone start a search for them?

He had turned them into one of those things. Neither of them were human anymore. They were stronger, faster, better…But at what cost? He wanted revenge on a man called Son Goku—what for, they were sure they'd never understand. But he also wanted them to obey him. They refused. He tried everything, but it was clear he had been too focused on making them stronger.

Nothing had worked, and now he was dead. They were finally free.

It wasn't just that Son Goku person. Their minds were also crammed with data about other people. That Saiyan, as they learned about him, had friends and family. There was so much information about them. Super Saiyan, Kaioken, techniques and powerups, even other timelines and alien planets, for Kami's sake!

"Number eight, your order's ready!" The middle-aged man working the food truck called out, placing the paper bag on the counter before turning around to work on the next order. That proved to be a mistake, because faster than anyone could blink, the bag was snatched up and nowhere to be seen, leaving the poor man with a confused and angry customer.

A few miles away, Android 17 appeared next to Androids 18 and 16 on the outskirts of North City, the paper bag of food in his arms. "Suckers," the black-haired Android chuckled out, then sat down next to his two companions beneath the tree and opened the bag. "Help yourself."

Android 18 gave him a grin as she reached inside the bag, pulling out the cheeseburger, fries and milkshake for herself. She turned towards Android 16 once she had done so. "You want some, big guy?"

"I do not require such sustenance," Android 16 said simply with a shake of his head.

Android 18 shrugged in response and helped herself to the food. Android 17, for his part, had chosen the chilidog and soda in the bag for himself. Neither of them really needed to eat food anymore, but they stilled enjoyed it.

"Oh my gosh," Android 17 practically moaned out after swallowing his first mouthful of food. "I forgot how amazing food tasted!"

"Yeesh, get a room," Android 18 quipped, halfway through her cheeseburger and starting on her fries. Android 17 gently elbowed her in the side before returning to his chilidog.

A few minutes of comfortable silence reigned between the trio. Then, Android 17 paused, his soda halfway to his mouth, and dared to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while now. "How long has it been?"

He didn't need to elaborate. Android 18 knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I don't know," the blonde answered honestly, then a frown appeared on her face. "Come to think of it…" she looked up at Android 16. "Hey, do you know what the year is?"

Android 16 nodded before giving the straightforward answer, "The current year is Age Seven-Sixty-Seven."

Android 18 nearly choked on her fries, blue eyes widening. Next to her, Android 17 was no better. "Seven-Sixty-Seven?!" she all but cried out. She was silent for a minute or so, then turned to 17. "Has it really been that long?"

Android 17, for his part, found himself unable to give a verbal response. But the faraway look on his face said it all. They were in their early twenties when Gero kidnapped them, they remembered that much.

Had it really been ten years?

OoOoOoO

Android 14, the tall gray-skinned man, had gone after Tien, Chiaotzu, Launch and Piccolo. Still flying at high speeds, Tien whipped around and pointed a single finger at 14. "Dodon Ray!" He cried out as a beam of yellowish-white light shot towards the Android, but he simply moved out of the way before it could hit him. Android 14 disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Tien, delivering a powerful blow to the side of his head before he could react.

But the moment Tien hit the dirt, Android 14 suddenly found himself immobilized, his limbs not responding to his commands to move and rendering him still. He barely had enough time to look up and see Chiaotzu floating a few feet away with his hands up, a look of concentration on his face, before Piccolo came up and slammed both fists harshly into his side, sending him flying several feet, but the Android regained himself before he hit the ground and straightened up, his feet touching down on the dirt and grass.

As this went down, Launch reached into her shorts' pocket and quickly pulled out a single capsule, silently thanking whatever gods she knew that she had decided to keep it on her as she pressed it with a click and tossed it into the air. With a puff of smoke, her old IMI Uzi gun fell into her palms and her grip on it became white-knuckles. Within seconds, the weapon gained a glowing blue tint, her chi infused with it. The green-haired woman gritted her teeth, and the moment Android 14's feet touched the dirt several feet away, Launch opened fire with a round of chi-infused bullets.

Admittedly, it didn't do as much damage as she would've hoped. But even so, as she watched a few of the bullets leave some small tears on the Android's clothing and artificial gray skin, she had to admit it was better than nothing. Android 14, for his part, looked more confused at her attack than surprised and hurt.

Nothing about this was going to be easy. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

Tien, do you think we can do it? Chiaotzu mentally reached out to his childhood friend, the two of them in defensive positions.

I'm not sure, Tien answered back honestly, all three eyes never leaving the gray-skinned Android as Launch's rapid fire started to die down, her clip starting to run out of bullets. They had used those techniques on their friends and each other, but never on an Android. There's only one way to find out.

Narrowing his eyes, Android 14 whipped around and barreled towards Launch the moment she stopped shooting at him. Thinking fast, the green-haired woman dropped her gun and yelled out, "Kaioken!" A familiar red aura flared up around her being as she crossed her arms in front of her, which she half-regretted as Android 14's fist made contact with her forearms, causing them to slam back into her face and sending waves of dull pain through her head and arms.

Launch quickly vanished and reappeared to the right of Android 14, one arm raised up with a yellow glow building in her palms. "Masenko—!" Launch's attack was cut off before she could fire it as Android 14 turned quicker than she could blink and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcefully slamming his forehead into her's. Both the glow of the Masenko and the aura of the Kaioken vanished as blood dripped down Launch's forehead, momentarily dazed from the blow, and that's all Android 14 needed to raise her up and chuck her body into the air.

The moment he released her, however, a pair green and pink arm wrapped around his own wrists from seemingly out of nowhere, and Android 14 looked up in time to see Piccolo standing several feet away, having stretched both arms forward, just as Tien flew up and caught Launch with ease.

It was impossible to miss the fury in all three of Tien's eyes as he caught her, bringing the phrase 'if looks could kill' to mind as he glared daggers at the Android. Not a moment later, however, a smirk appeared on his face, and before Android 14's eyes, the four Z-Fighters and the world around him started to flicker and melt, changing to a distorted image with only splotches of color here and there. Android 14 didn't say anything, merely furrowing his brow as he took up a defensive position. Even though he couldn't see it, his sensors still picked up the pressure that Piccolo's arms left on his wrists.

A shrill whirring noise started to echo all around him, making it damn near impossible to pinpoint where it was actually coming from as he looked around. But before the gray-skinned machine had the chance to process it any further, a faint shout of "Will-O-Wisp!" behind him reached his ears just before something—nay, four somethings—slammed into Android 14's back one-by-one, each impact releasing a flash of heat and an alert to his computerized brain that the artificial skin on his back had been damaged.

Android 14 didn't hesitate to whip around, but as soon as he did so, the pressure around his wrists suddenly vanished and was instantly replaced with what felt like something wrapping around his entire being, as if invisible ropes had tied his arms to his body. And barely a second had passed after that before another faint shout, this one with a higher-pitched voice yelling out, "Masenko HA!" just as a chi blast hit him on his side, and was immediately followed by a third voice yelling from his other side, "Explosive Demon Wave!" and another chi blast slamming into him. All the while, his computerized mind flashing damage warnings to him.

Piccolo had inwardly cringed as Chiaotzu's Masenko and Tien's Explosive Demon Wave both singed his arms, having wrapped them around the Android to hold him still. Thank Kami the two Crane Schoolers had the idea to make 14 hallucinate both visually and auditorily—how they were able to do so when 14 was pure machine, the Namekian honestly had no idea—as Piccolo cloned himself and let the other him use the Will-O-Wisp attack before going to heal up Launch, whom Tien had set down on the ground.

Just as Launch picked herself up, fists unfused with chi to prepare her next attack, Piccolo made his clone vanish with a puff of smoke and withdrew his arms, not hesitating to slice both charred limbs off and regrow them. Then, he looked up at Tien and Chiaotzu, who were floating several feet away in midair, and nodded once.

The distorted world around Android 14 started to change just as the whirring noise ceased, and by the time the world went back to the state it was mere minutes ago, 14 was greeted by the sight of Launch hovering in the air, a smirk on her face as several large chunks of dark stone caked in mud and clay floated around her, each piece glowing a faint blue.

"Iwa Crush!" Launch yelled out, thrusting both hands towards Android 14 and hurling the stone chunks at him. Each chunk slammed into the mechanical menace at high speed, breaking upon impact and sending pieces of stone everywhere as smoke billowed into the air like black balloons, the force of the shockwave nearly knocking her three companions back.

But before the smoke could even begin to clear, Chiaotzu suddenly felt something slam into his side and send him flying, easily knocking the breath out of him as he realized the object was Android 14, looking unscathed by the combined attacks. Gritting his teeth, Chiaotzu focused his telekinetic abilities, and within seconds, Android 14 found himself suspended in midair, unable to move as the pygmy disappeared and reappeared several feet away.

Tien and Launch both narrowed their eyes, sweat beginning to drip down their brows. Their attacks weren't doing anything. Sure, they weren't putting in one-hundred percent of their powers, but they were hoping that they would at least be doing some damage with the amount they were putting out. At this rate, they might as well be trying to just chip away at him.

'I have an idea', Piccolo reached out to all three of his companions telepathically, Chiaotzu still managing to hold the gray-skinned Android in place, though the strain was evident on his face. 'But it's gonna take some time. Keep him away from me for now, and when I tell you, hold him still. Put in most of your power if you have to.'

No sooner had Piccolo's voice ceased in their minds than he released a shout of, "Kaioken!" The red aura flared up around the Namekian and he instantly touched the pointer and middle finger of his right hand to his forehead with a look of concentration on his face, telling the other three Z-Fighters what exactly he was planning.

Tien glanced over and locked eyes with Chiaotzu, and with a single nod, pulled the trigger.

Chiaotzu immediately ceased his telekinesis, releasing Android 14 as the pygmy, Tien and Launch all rushed towards him. 14 turned and barreled towards the closest of the trio, which end up being Tien.

The gray-skinned Android vanished and reappeared directly in front of the triclops and slammed his fist up into Tien's chest before he could react, sending him flying upwards several feet in the air. 14 rocketed himself up to Tien and quickly kneed him in the gut and punched him in the back, slamming the triclops into the dirt. And to finish it up, 14 descended back to the ground and clocked Tien in the jaw just as he started to stand back up, sending him back to the dirt and creating a crater upon impact.

A flash of red caught Android 14's attention and he turned to see Piccolo still standing there, the concentrated expression still on his face. 14 was ready to charge over at him when a bright blue glow caught his eye, and he turned his head in time to see Launch cry out, "Kamehameha!" and fire the beam directly at him.

Android 14 easily swatted it away once the attack got close enough to him. And at that same moment, Chiaotzu's high-pitched yell of, "Dodon Ray!" rang through the air, and before he could react, a thin ray of blinding yellow light shot towards him from behind, piercing through his right shoulder, though the Android looked more annoyed than hurt or concerned.

Once he had halted himself in midair and straightened up, Tien grit his teeth as he focused his chi. The familiar, agonizing sensation coursed through him, and within seconds, a pair of arms sprouted from his upper back. Not wasting a single moment, Tien flew back over to Android 14 just as the Dodon Ray pierced him.

"Hey!" Tien shouted, effortlessly drawing Android 14's attention to him, and with both pairs of hands, he pressed his fingers together and creating a diamond-shaped 'tunnel'. "Double Kikōhō!" Two identical beams of yellow light shot at the Android, surrounding 14 in a blinding light. It finally died down after several seconds as Tien panted heavily, the other two arms disappearing. Android 14 was still standing there firmly, but his clothing and sections of his gray skin had been burnt away, revealing some of the mechanics and endoskeleton underneath.

'Ready!' Piccolo's voice shouted in their heads, a light beginning to form at his fingertips. 'Hold him still!'

"On it!" Launch cried out. "Kaioken!" Her red aura flared up around her and she held her hands up close to her face. "Solar Flare!" The blinding flash of light came, forcing the others to shield their eyes just as they felt Launch's chi split in two. And once the light died down, Android 14 found himself being held in place as a blue-haired woman and a blonde-haired woman grabbed his wrists.

Chiaotzu activated his telekinesis for the third time, holding 14 in place, though that didn't stop him from trying to break free. "Hurry it up, Big Green! We can't hold this guy for long!" Blonde Launch yelled out as she and her Blue counterpart both pulled 14's arms towards themselves, trying to make him the perfect target for what was about to come.

Ignoring the insulting nickname, Piccolo smirked despite himself and pulled his fingers away from his forehead, the light from them practically blinding at this point as he aimed at the gray-skinned Android. "Killing Light!" A swirling beam of yellow and magenta light shot towards 14 and slammed into his stomach, severing the Android in half.

Both versions of Launch let go of 14's wrists, sending his upper half crashing to the ground along with his lower half as several mechanical parts spilled out onto the dirt. Piccolo dropped out of the Kaioken form, both Launch's doing the same before they merged back into one person.

And without another word, the four of them sped off towards their friends. One down, two to go.

OoOoOoO

"Bankoku Bikkuri Shō!" Chi-Chi cried out, a yellowish-green light shooting from her palms towards Android 15, the short purple-skinned man who followed her, Yamcha, Krillin and Oolong, and hit its target dead on. The electricity engulfed the Android's entire being, forcing him to stay in place for a moment. But it was only for a moment, as a smirk appeared on 15's face and a bright blue glow surrounded his entire being, rapidly expanding outwards like a balloon and bursting the yellow-green light.

In that moment the Android was halted, Yamcha and Krillin both raised their right hands up, the former's glowing blue as a familiar 'disc' of golden light appeared above the latter's. And just as 15 broke free and barreled towards the four Z-Fighters again, the Azure Dragon Blade appeared in Yamcha's hand just as the 'disc' reached a large size.

"Destructo Disc!" Krillin shouted and sent the disc spiraling towards 15, who once again halted to vanish just as the attack would've hit him and reappear several feet away. And as soon as he did so, Yamcha vanished as well, shutting his eyes and focusing his hearing, and when he heard the air shift as 15 reappeared, the ex-bandit appeared directly behind him and swung the blue-tinted blade downwards. But it proved to be all for naught as 15 immediately whipped around and grabbed ahold of the blade with one hand before it could slice him.

Yamcha blinked in surprise right before Android 15 curled his free hand into a fist and swung at his face, barely managing to move his head to the side in time, the punch grazing his cheek, though the strike still drew a bit of blood. Yamcha quickly yanked and sword away from 15's grip and vanished again, and that's when a faint blue glow made the Android turned to see several small jagged, glowing ice shards floating in front of Chi-Chi.

"Sub Zero Blast!" The Son matriarch yelled, the ice shards hurtling towards 15. But just like the last few attacks, not a single shard hit its target—15 either dodged them at high speeds or easily smacked them away, causing each shard to shatter into countless tiny pieces.

"Dammit," Krillin growled under his breath, his hands clenching into fists and turning white-knuckled.

Oolong turned to them, sweat beginning to bead down his brow. "Please tell me that one of you has a plan," the pig practically begged his three companions. "One that ends this fast."

"Actually, yeah," Yamcha spoke up, making the others redirect their attention to him. "I have one idea, but I don't think it'll be easy."

"And what is it?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Well…" Yamcha started to say, the blue tint vanishing from his blade before he threw it down to the ground, the blade sinking into the dirt. "Let's just say, I'll need one of you to create an opening on his body. A way for me to get inside of him." The other three Z-Fighters blinked at that, understanding beginning to dawn on them. He didn't need to explain any further.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chi-Chi raised up one hand, and sure enough, a pale blue orb appeared and floated inches above her palm. "Sokidan!" the raven-haired woman yelled, guiding the chi orb towards Android 15 with her pointer and middle finger. Yamcha, Krillin and Oolong immediately scattered in different directions, as if the yell had been their cue.

Android 15 didn't hesitate to smack the Sokidan away, only for Chi-Chi to redirect it and send it barreling back towards its target. The same results were achieved, over and over again for about a minute or so, before Yamcha suddenly appearing directly in front of 15 and slammed a chi-infused fist into the Android's forehead, succeeding in knocking him backwards for a couple of feet but nothing more.

Curling his lip into a snarl, Android 15 rushed towards Yamcha and sent a punch, the latter raising his forearm in time to block the attack. And once his fist made contact, Krillin appeared underneath 15 and grabbed him by his left ankle, chucking the purple-skinned Android over his head and sending him flying for a second or two.

"Really wish I had brought that Senzu bean necklace," Oolong grumbled under his breath, then yelled out, "Lì Wǔ!" A green aura flared up around him as his eyes glowed red, this chi skyrocketing in an instant. The shout made Android 15 turn to him once he had regained himself in midair. The Android let out an amused tsk and held up both hands, rapidly firing several blasts at the pig. The attacks hit their target, creating small explosions upon impact and releasing smoke into the air.

The moment the rapid fire ceased, Oolong suddenly shot through the smoke, looking mostly unharmed saved for a few marks here and there, rushing towards a surprised 15. A loud shout escaped his mouth as he released a powerful Kiai from his body once he was close enough, suddenly 15 stumbling backwards in midair. And that was all Chi-Chi needed to vanish and appear behind 15, kicking him square in the back and sending him to the ground, creating a small crater upon impact.

Android 15 merely stood back up, casually dusting his clothes off, as if the attacks had been nothing more than an annoyance. And they probably were.

"That's it," Krillin said. "Kaioken!" the familiar red aura flared up around him. He turned and locked eyes with Oolong, the two of them nodding and closing the distance between them.

As Chi-Chi raised up a glowing hand, her eyes closed and a look of concentration on her face, Krillin and Oolong both cupped their hands to their sides. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…" they said in unison. "HA!" Two identical beams of chi shot from the red and green flares, the beams swirling together and practically melting into one just before they hit Android 15. But once again, as the smoke cleared, the attack revealed to have done nothing more than singe the Android's clothing.

Even without those sunglasses, the four Z-Fighters were certain that he was glaring daggers at them. Then, a smirk appeared on his face before he held both hands up, a bright bluish-white glow building between his palms until there was an orb the size of a basketball in his hands. Android 15 chucked the orb at the duo, but just before it hit them, it suddenly plunged to the ground and exploded the moment it hit the dirt, sending a blinding shockwave of chi that nearly knocked them backwards and momentarily blinded them.

Eyes still closed, Krillin suddenly heard the air shift right next to him and felt a fist slam into the side of his head, sending him to the dirt with a thud. Narrowing his eyes, Oolong sent a roundhouse kick to Android 15's head, which the purple-skinned fighter raised an arm to block and slammed his fist into the pig's gut, knocking the breath out of him before and sending him to the ground next to the former monk.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha yelled as he appeared right in front of Android 15, the red aura of the Kaioken flared up around him, sending a roundhouse kick to his head, which was one again blocked. But before the Android could retaliate, Yamcha countered with several punches, managing to force 15 back a couple of feet, before striking both palms in his face, sending him reeling back slightly.

As the ex-bandit did so, Krillin looked over and noticed Oolong wince slightly. And at that moment, something sparked in his mind.

Android 15 regained himself and kicked Yamcha upwards, sending the scar-faced fighter further into the air. 15 quickly followed, continuing to beat him upwards with several punches before vanishing and reappearing directly behind him, sending a harsh kick to his back that force Yamcha downwards. And to top it all off, the Android slammed both fists into the ex-bandit one more time, causing him to hit the ground and create a crater upon impact, sending dirt flying in several directions.

Before Android 15 could lower himself to the ground, Krillin suddenly appeared in front of him. 15 tsked again and sent a punch to the former monk again, only for his fist to go through him as if he had made of nothing but air, and that's when he realized that Krillin's body was transparent, almost ghost-like.

Android 15 retracted his fist, and as soon as he did so, Krillin became whole again and sent a punch to 15's face, disappearing not a moment after his fist made contact. It quickly became a cycle, with Krillin reappearing and reverting to a ghost-like appearance to avoid attacks, becoming whole again to hit 15 in one way or another, and then disappearing again.

It went on for a few more minutes before Krillin disappeared one more time and Oolong suddenly reappeared in his place. The pig grabbed ahold of Android 15 and his aura exploded outwards, a deafening boom practically shaking the atmosphere as a blinding shockwave of heat flashed through the air. And once the smoke cleared, Oolong's unconscious body released its grip on Android 15 and fell to the ground, his skin and clothing covered in ashes. Android 15, for his part, had both his sunglasses and hat knocked off, revealing the mechanical eyes and glass dome for a head underneath, and while his clothes were ruined even further, practically burnt off his frame at this point, it was clear he was far from over.

But before anyone could do anything else, an enormous, blue-tinted axe was suddenly chucked at the purple-skinned Android, cleaving his right arm off as it hit his shoulder, sending the limb to the ground as the blade sunk into the ground. And if one were to look, they would see Chi-Chi floating several feet behind 15, a smirk present on her face.

The open 'wound' where the arm once was showed bits of the mechanics as sparks flew from it. Yamcha, meanwhile, practically lit up at the sight. Perfect!

Yamcha dropped out of the Kaioken form and a white glow surrounded his body. The ex-bandit raised both of his hands to his face. "Solar Flare!" he yelled out, releasing a blinding flash that forced those present to shield their eyes. Mentally thanking Piccolo for the gi he gave him, Yamcha shrunk down to as small as he could—half an inch—and barreled over to 15, not hesitating to enter the 'wound'.

The light finally died down and Android 15 looked ready to attack again. But before he could, a bright war 'WARNING' suddenly flashed before his eyes. And right after that, he heard a voice practically in his ear, "Oh man, you're gonna need to be taken into the shop!"

"Who said that?" Android 15 said, speaking for the first time.

"It's your conscious," the voice said. "We haven't spoken in a while. Ooh, this looks important!"

As he spoke, Yamcha was busy rushing around the Android's body, pulling at wires and smashing parts, with the goal to wreak as much havoc as possible. And it was working, with more warnings flashing in front of 15's eyes and sparks starting to fly in the air around his being.

"Alright, I've had my fun," Yamcha said after a few minutes, finishing pulling out yet another set of wires. "Time to end this." A white glow formed around his body again, and he didn't hesitate to rapidly grow in size, causing Android 15's body to expand before exploding outwards, bits of mechanical parts flying everywhere and hitting the ground.

Krillin dropped out of his Kaioken form as Chi-Chi picked up Oolong's unconscious form in her arms. Yamcha, now back to his original six-foot size, nodded to his comrades and took off with them right behind him.

Two down, one to go.

OoOoOoO

"Number thirteen. That's your unlucky number," Android 13 said smugly. "And I ain't talkin' about no silly superstition, city boy! I'm talkin' about yours truly, Android Thirteen!"

Goku grit his teeth, a bit of blood trickling from his temple. "I don't care what you're called," the Saiyan growled. "Taking other people's lives is wrong. And I won't stand for it!"

Goku, Gohan and Mirai had been going at this for a while now, all three of them throwing whatever they had at the white-haired machine. They had been hoping to chip away at his energy to make it easier to bring him down. But as they slowly grew exhausted and Android 13 remained unfazed, it became clear that that wasn't the case. While the three Z-Fighters had a few bruises and scratches that were deep enough to draw blood on their bodies, the worst damage that Android 13 had suffered were just some tears in his clothing and some marks here and there.

Mirai and Gohan had both summoned their Azure Dragon Blade and Nyoibō respectively several minutes before, both items infused with their users' chi. Neither of them had let go of the weapons since they summoned them.

Android 13 grinned at the half-Saiyan and future warrior. "Now listen, you two," he said. "It's just Goku we want. You both look plum tuckered out. So, if you wanna live high-tail it outta here right now."

"I shouldn't expect anything less from Gero," Mirai said bitterly. "Same old unhealthy obsession. Same old foul one-track programming."

Android 13 looked mildly annoyed at the older man's words, but before he could retaliate, Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu and Launch suddenly appeared several feet behind him in midair, making the Android turn around to look at them. Launch smirked at him and chuckled. "Inferior craftsmanship, to say the least." As she spoke, Yamcha, Krillin, and Chi-Chi carrying an unconscious Oolong all appeared off to the side as well.

Android 13 narrowed his blue eyes. "Fourteen and Fifteen have been destroyed?" he asked out loud. But seconds later, a smirk appeared on his face as he held both hands up, his palms starting to glow blue. The Z-Fighters all readied themselves for an attack, but instead, two particular parts from 14 and 15's remains each—a small power cell and a microchip—started to glow blue as well and fly towards 13. And before the Z-Fighter's eyes, the two microchips slipped into his temples with ease and the two power cells slipped into his chest, each item disappearing into his body. "How sweet it is."

The Z-Fighters' eyes widened as they tensed up. Android 13 threw his head back and laughed loudly as his body slowly bulked up, his entire being growing in size. The growth destroyed his vest and snapped both of his suspenders. His skin turned a deep shade of blue, while his shoulders and chest turned gray, vaguely reminding the Z-Fighters of armor. His hair spiked up, looking eerily similar to Vegeta's, and turned orange. His pupils and his iris both vanished, leaving just his sclera as it turned yellow. The whole time, the Android's laughter never wavered, his voice becoming deeper and more guttural.

Mirai felt panic and familiar horror swell up inside of him. An Android that could transform after absorbing parts of other Androids…Oh Kami…It was just like—

Mirai's thoughts were instantly cut off as a blue barrier suddenly surrounded Android 13's new form, crackling with electricity as several orbs of chi formed around the barrier, and the Z-Fighters barely had enough time to scatter away before the barrier exploded outwards, the orbs sent flying everywhere. Each of them had to quickly dodge the damn orbs, but a few of them weren't as lucky as others, the orbs grazing their skin and leaving behind painful burn marks.

"Dammit," Launch hissed, gingerly placing a hand over the red mark on her upper leg. Not too far from her, Piccolo quickly healed the mark on his side. The moment the word left her mouth, every single orb suddenly exploded, each one sending a shockwave of heat and light that made the Z-Fighters shield their eyes.

"Let's end it!" Android 13 yelled out, and he was suddenly right in front of Goku, not hesitating to deliver a barrage of brutal punches. Goku was taken aback, causing the first few hits to land on him, but he regained himself, twisting and turning and raising his arms up to dodge and block the punches as he flew backwards. Within seconds, 13 suddenly halted himself in midair, making Goku grind to a halt a second later in confusion, which proved to be a mistake as Android 13 raised both hands up and fired a red sphere of chi at the Saiyan.

Goku placed his hands in front of him, ready to catch the sphere or at least smack it away, when a shout of, "Masenko!" sounded off to the side and followed by a beam of yellow chi colliding with the sphere and sending it flying several feet before it exploding, the force of the shockwave nearly knocking back everyone around. An annoyed 13 turned to see Krillin hovering several feet away, eyes narrowed into a glare at the Android.

Right behind him, Launch had split in two again, the Blue and Blonde Launch's floating right next to each other. "You said it's time to end this," Blonde Launch growled out.

"Well, you're right," Yamcha said, the familiar white glow surrounding him. "Except we're the ones who're gonna end it!"

Android 13's eyes seemed to stare directly at them, then he chuckled darkly. "Is that so?" he said, sounding more amused than anything. "Be my guest."

"With pleasure!" Chi-Chi snapped, still holding Oolong in one arm. "Kaioken!" The red aura flared up around her again, the raven-haired woman raising up her free arm and aiming it at the blue-skinned Super Android, quickly charging up a chi blast.

All around them, the other Z-Fighters didn't hesitate to do the same, a few of them powering up to Kaioken as well, and charging up their own attacks at Android 13.

"Explosive Demon Wave!"

"Kamehameha!"

"Masenko HA!"

"Will-O-Wisp!"

"Dodon Ray!"

The various different attacks each hit the Android one-by-one, smoke filling the area around him. But before it could even begin to clear, Android 13 was suddenly right in front of Piccolo, looking unharmed from the combined attacks, and delivering a roundhouse kick to the Namekian's head that sent him flying.

The blue-skinned Android barely had a moment to revel before a large shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see Yamcha, who had grown to at least fifty feet in height, a furious look on his scarred face. Yamcha grabbed Android 13 by the arm and raised him up, looking ready to snatch his other arm and pull both limbs in separate directions. He never got the chance to do so, as Android 13 raised his free arm and pointed his index finger at the ex-bandit, a large red beam hitting Yamcha in his right eye.

Yamcha let out a deafening yell of pain as he released his grip on Android 13, pressing a hand over his right eye as blood trickled down his cheek, and 13 took the chance to rush up to Yamcha and slam both fists into his gut, sending him toppling to the ground with thud that shook the earth beneath them.

Blue and Blonde Launch, both of them powered up to Kaioken, barreled towards Android 13, chi attacks forming in both of their palms. Before they could even get close, though, 13 vanished and appeared in front of them, punching both of them in the face and sending them backwards. Krillin came not a second later, appearing right behind the Android and kicking him in the side of the head. But 13 didn't even flinch as he grabbed Krillin's leg and chucked the former monk several feet into the air.

"I told you lot," Android 13 snarled, his amusement replaced with vexation. "The only one I'm after is Goku. If anyone's dyin' today, it's him!"

And without a moment's hesitation, Android 13 raised both hands up, effortlessly creating a giant, spiraling crimson-pink orb of chi with smaller red chi sphere in the very middle, and chucked it towards the Earth-raised Saiyan. Goku's eyes widened at the sight of the attack, but nonetheless, he raised his hands up, ready to at least catch the attack and try to force it away from him.

"He's plumb loco if he's plannin' to catch that with his bare hands," Android 13 laughed to himself, knowing full well the damage that attack could cause. "That boy's been out in the sun without his hat on for way too long."

Mirai's grip in his sword was white-knuckled at this point, on the verge of drawing blood, his mind racing to try to figure out what to do. They needed to be smart about this. Their attacks had done nothing, even before 13 transformed! His mind was grasping for something, anything, at this point—

"Dad!" Gohan's yell snagged Mirai's attention, and he looked to see the young half-Saiyan watching as his father's hands collide with the giant chi orb, the strain obvious on Goku's face as he tried and failed to force the attack backwards. A mixture of fear and rage was on Gohan's face, and that's when Mirai noticed that his power was starting to escalate to scary levels. It seemed that the other Z-Fighters noticed as well, as they turned their attentions to the hybrid as well.

Android 13 followed their eyes, raising a brow at Gohan, who was glaring furiously at him, the air around him practically trembling as he still gripped his Nyoibō. "You…" he growled out. "You!" He suddenly released a loud shriek of rage as a golden aura exploded around him, the Z-Fighters' eyes widening in shock. Gohan's hair and tail both turned golden as his eyes became teal, and the boy didn't hesitate to fly up to the crimson orb and punch it as hard as he could, knocking it away from his father and sending it into the sky where it exploded like a firework.

Android 13 barely had time to even blink before Gohan whipped around and barreled towards him, kicking him square in the face and making his head reel backwards. Android 13's eyes widened in surprise, and he didn't even have a chance to fight back before Gohan began to mercilessly wail on him, doing more and more damage to the Android with each blow.

Goku could only watch, feeling a mixture of surprise and pride for his son. Gohan's power level…To say that it was amazing was the understatement of the decade. Goku had watched his son grow stronger and stronger as he trained, and he knew that Gohan's rage boosts only intensified that power, but even so, it still shocked Goku to his core how strong the boy was becoming.

But even so, it wasn't enough. Goku could tell. He could see that, although Gohan had already done an impressive amount of damage to Android 13, he was starting to slow down. Goku tensed; he had to act fast. And at that moment, an idea hit him like a bolt of lightning.

Goku's eyes scanned the area and he quickly spotted who he was looking for, rushing over to the future warrior. "Mirai," he said hurriedly, making the older man turn to him. "I have an idea. Can you do that Nega Spirit Bomb?" Mirai gave him a surprised look. "Just trust me on this one."

Mirai paused for a moment, but nodded and raised one hand up to create a Sokidan, which split into a second orb, both orbs doing the same a second later, the pattern repeating over and over again. Goku turned his attention to his son, who had just kicked Android 13 harshly in the back, sending him flying to the ground and sending dirt flying as he landed. It seemed that the exhaustion chose that particular moment to hit Gohan, as his hair, tail and eyes reverted back to normal and he looked ready to fall as well, when Goku teleported up to him, grabbing his son and teleporting back to Mirai.

Gohan blinked and looked up from where he was in Goku's arms. "Dad…" he panted out.

Goku gave him a grin. "That was amazing, Gohan," he said, earning a smile and a blush from the half-Saiyan. "Can you stand?" Gohan nodded, and Goku set him down on his feet; he stumbled for a second, but thankfully regained himself.

Then, Goku turned to Mirai and nodded once, the future warrior returning the gesture, countless Sokidan surrounding them. Mirai launched them into the sky with a shout of, "Hey, someone wanna smack Thirteen into this?"

"With pleasure!" Yamcha said, still in his giant form and holding his injured eye. Just as Android 13 started to pick himself up from the dirt, Yamcha ran up to him and kicked the blue-skinned Android as hard as he could, sending him flying towards the swarm of Sokidan. 13 slammed into one of the chi orbs, causing him to ricochet off it and slam into another one, vaguely reminding the other Z-Fighters of a pinball machine as he repeatedly bounced off the orbs.

'Goku,' Mirai mentally reached out to the Saiyan as he raised both arms up, the Nega Spirit Bomb already swelling in size. 'What exactly are you planning?'

'You'll see, Mirai,' Goku responded, his dark eyes never leaving Android 13's form as he continued ricocheting. 'You'll understand, I promise…I just hope this goes as planned…'

Mirai stole a quick glance at the Saiyan, then focused on rapidly growing orb above them. It only took a few minutes before the Nega Spirit Bomb reached a large enough size. Mirai clapped his hands together and sent the Sokidan rocketing into it, only increasing its size.

"Perfect," Goku said, and flew up to it. Mirai lowered his hands as he and the other Z-Fighters watched as Goku placed both hands on the Nega Spirit Bomb with a look of concentration and he began to absorb its power. The blue light engulfed Goku's entire being as he threw his head back and let out a yell that shook the air, his hair and tail turning golden and his eyes turned teal. By this point, Android 13, who had halted and straightened himself up in midair, looked up just in time to see Goku absorb the last of the Spirit Bomb's power, a bright blue aura licking at his skin like flames.

Goku headed straight for Android 13 at top speed, his right fist aimed at the machine. 'Please let this work!' Goku silently begged in his head. The blue aura exploded outwards, taking the form of an enormous blue dragon with golden sparks around it that surrounded the Saiyan's entire being.

"Dragon Fist!" Goku yelled out as his fist collided with Android 13's chest and sending both of them into the ground, the Saiyan driving him through several layers of Earth, and the moment they hit a dark underground cavern with a large pool of water, Goku fist went through 13's chest and the Android exploded, shocking him with a wave of heat and light just before he hit the water with a splash. Teal eyes blinked in confusion as Goku lifted himself up out of the water, reverting back to his base form and the blue aura vanishing as he looked at Android 13's remains in the water. What…What had caused that?

Nevertheless, Goku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The idea had worked. Androids 13, 14 and 15 were now done for. He could worry about the strange explosion later.

Goku placed two fingers to his forehead in concentration and vanished within seconds.

OoOoOoO

The Z-Fighters had waited with bated breath when Goku went through the ground, creating a seemingly bottomless hole that reminded them of the Saiyan and Mirai's spar months before. And thankfully, Goku reappeared not a few minutes later, the big grin on his face telling them everything they needed to know.

"Dad!" Gohan cried out happily, rushing up to his father with his mother and the others behind him.

Chi-Chi hugged her husband with one arm, the other still occupied holding Oolong, who was just starting to come around. The pig slowly opened his eyes and blinked, a grin appearing on his face when he realized how close he was the Chi-Chi's chest…only for the housewife to drop him to the dirt the moment she learned he was doing so.

No one said anything for a minute or so, silently reveling in their victories against the three Androids and nursing their wounds, then Tien spoke up, "I hate to shatter everyone's good mood, but…Just to be on the safe side, shouldn't we check out Gero's lab?"

You'd have to be insane to disagree with that, especially after everything they had just done. It was a silent, mutual agreement.

But just before they took to the skies again, Yamcha, who had shrunk back to his original six-foot size and had his right eye healed by Piccolo, he heard a voice in his head. 'Yamcha? Are you there? Is everything okay?'

Dark eyes blinked in surprise, but he answered nonetheless. 'Bulma,' he responded. 'I'm okay, sweetie. Why? Is everything okay over there?' Yamcha had taught his wife how to communicate with him telepathically not too long ago, though they were still admittedly getting used to it.

'Oh, thank Kami,' Bulma said, sounding so relieved to hear his voice. 'Don't worry, everything's fine on my end. But I was wondering something.'

'What's that?' Yamcha asked.

'Did you guys find Gero's lab yet?'

'No, we got a little…sidetracked, but we're heading there right now.'

'Take me there with you.' Yamcha blinked at the request/demand. A moment later, he heard Piccolo's voice ask, "Yamcha, aren't you coming?" and turned to see that some of the others had already taken off, the Namekian currently in the air.

"You guys go ahead," Yamcha told him. "I need to do one thing real quick. I'll meet you there."

Piccolo gave him a strange look but didn't seem to question it, as he turned and followed the others. 'Stay where you are, Bulma,' Yamcha reached out to his wife, locating her chi. 'I'll be there in a second.'

OoOoOoO

It didn't take the Z-Fighters long to reach the mountains just outside of North City. Some of them shivered from the cold, but opted to ignore it as they split up and searched the mountain for any sign of a lab in a cave. It only took a few minutes before Krillin stumbled across a cave in the side of the mountain and quickly saw a bunch of lights, equipment and mechanics inside, with two large metal doors that looked like they had been blown on. Krillin signaled the others over to him by raising up his chi and they went inside, looking around at everything.

"Holy…" Chiaotzu breathed out, sounded as astonished as everyone else felt. There was so much stuff in this lab. They didn't even know where to begin with everything.

"Don't destroy anything!" The Z-Fighters all turned to see Yamcha at the entrance to the lab with Bulma in his arms. The blue-haired beauty jumped out of her husband's arms and ran inside.

"Bulma?" Goku said as she started looking around at everything. "What are you doing here?"

"Hold could I not be here?" Bulma asked rhetorically, her curious blue eyes staring at the various machinery in fascination. "Gero might've been an asshole, but I'll be damned if he wasn't a genius. I wanted to see everything for myself." A few present rolled their eyes as she continued to look around. Typical Bulma.

Some of the Z-Fighters looked around as well, though. Oolong stumbled across two pods with their doors open, and when he floated up and saw what the numbers on them were, all color drained from his face. "Oh, no…" he said quietly, though his voice carried through the lab.

"What?" Launch asked. "What is it?"

Oolong looked ready to answer her, but before he could even open his mouth, Bulma's voice rang out through the lab, "What's this?" followed by a loud, metallic creak. The Z-Fighters turned to see that, after finding the hole on the floor not too far away from what was obvious Dr. Gero's dead body—which she promptly refused to look at and quickly walked away from—Bulma had stumbled across a door on the floor and opened it up.

Bulma took one look at the ladder attached to the entrance and the lights down below, concluding that it was some kind of basement. She climbed down there and looked around, her curiosity growing in intensity with each passing second.

And that's when she stumbled across two things in particular.

The first one was a large glass canister connected to a much larger machine. The canister was filled with pale green liquid and just seemed to be glowing. And floating inside of it was a tiny green creature that reminded Bulma of an embryo.

And the second was a pod, just like the ones she had seen upstairs, hooked up to various machinery. Bulma walked over to it and was able to look through the glass window near the top of the pod. She was greeted with the face of a beautiful young woman, one with pale skin and bushy auburn hair that framed her face, which had a peaceful expression on it as she slept. Bulma blinked at sight before lowering her gaze, her blue eyes landing on a single, bold number on the pod.

21.

OoOoOoO

Mirai had opted to stay outside of the lab, pacing back and forth with wide eyes.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

The future wasn't supposed to change like this.

First there were new Androids running around. And now, Androids 17 and 18 had been activated early and were nowhere to be seen.

This never should've happened.

…What had he done?

Before I give the usual end notes, I want to say one thing real quick: As much as I love writing Dragon Ball fics, I have to admit that I'm getting burnt out on writing fight scenes, and it's starting to feel repetitive and more like a chore (one of the reasons why chapters take so long to make). But I still really want to finish Rewrite the Stars. From this point forward, most of the fight scenes will be…How do I put this? …Abridged, cut down so they're most fast-paced…Does that make sense?

Either way, this is how things will be in future chapters. I might break this rule if I feel like it from time to time, but until now, the fight scenes will be shortened. I hope you guys understand

I'm honestly looking forward to the next chapter. Not only is it a break from all the usual fighting, but we'll get a bit of resolution with one of the characters…

It was nice to write and explore 17 and 18's characters, especially since they're currently not out for the Z-Fighters' blood like their future counterparts

Not gonna lie, I really enjoyed writing fight scenes where the Z-Fighters work together instead of just taking on the enemies one-on-one; makes the fight go much smoother and quicker

In case anyone's wondering why I named the Special Beam Cannon "Killing Light"…Well, to be honest, 'Special Beam Cannon' always sounded like a weird name to me; it just sounds so…childish…and remember: Piccolo is literally evil reincarnated, born to kill Goku (even though I gave his character some closure in Chapter 11, you can't deny his origins). I looked up the Japanese name for the technique, Makankōsappō, which literally translates to "Demon's Penetrating, Killing Light Gun", which is where I got the name from. And to be honest, it felt better suited to Piccolo's character and origins

And the scene where Yamcha shrinks down to go into 15's body, take it apart, then blow himself up to maximum size…Can you tell I'm a fan of Ant-Man?

Yes, I gave Yamcha and Bulma a telepathic bond. Honestly, it made sense to me; I feel like Yamcha would at least teach her how to develop one, in case she ever needed to reach out to him, and they're a really close couple in this fic, so…yeah…

And yep, we're bringing Android 21 into the mix!

Thank you so much for reading this! God bless you and have a wonderful day/night/whenever you read this!