And now, ladies and gentlemen, the grand finale… and I mean it this time! I really wanted to finish this story this week, since I start University on Monday. (Excited face)

Dragon Ball Z is © Akira Toriyama

Chapter 10:

New Life

Goku jumped up as the energy blade on Gero's power suit sliced through the air. Rolling expertly, he landed behind the machine and turned- but not in time to prevent its fist from catching him in the face and knocking him back.

"You might as well give up now, Goku!" Gero roared, the suit giving his voice a harsh, metallic edge. "You're exhausted, and my suit is a match for you in every way!"

As if to drive the point home, the chest of the suit suddenly opened, revealing three buzzing dishes into which green light was rapidly pouring. Goku barely moved his limbs in time to dodge when they shot out a burst of glowing energy spheres.

As soon as Goku had dodged that attack, Gero's hand grabbed his head, slamming him into the wall. The other hand pulled back, the energy blade buzzing with power.

"It's over, Goku!" Gero cackled madly. "You're done for- and your family will die at the hands of my machines!"

As Goku struggled, those words sank in. If he died here… the others were dead. Chi-Chi was dead. His son was dead.

Goku's hand gripped the forearm of Gero's machine. Then, with the whir of the mechanism's resistance, he pushed it back and dropped to the ground, still pushing back the fist even as Gero strained against it.

"Impossible!" Gero shouted. "How can you still have the strength?"

"I won't let you threaten my family!" Goku shouted as he increased the force on the suit's arm. Then, in a blur of motion, he shot up and forward, lashing out with one foot, and kicked the helmet off the suit. Gero staggered back, his head exposed, and fired off another set of energy spheres. Goku dodged expertly, and smashed his fist down onto the top of the power suit's chest. The metal buckled and split, a thick crack shooting right down the middle of the torso. As the suit split open, Goku plucked Gero from within, throwing him onto the floor.

"No!" Gero shouted. "This can't be happening!"

"It's over, Gero," Goku said as he stepped away from the wrecked power suit. "Now hand over the-"

With a band and a flash of light, Goku's vision was filled with white and black spots. As he covered his eyes and squinted, the world faded back into view- and Gero was gone.

"He's gone?" Goku blinked. Then he turned round to the sound of an automatic door opening and closing. "The dragon balls," he realised. "Well, I've still got…" he patted his pocket, his eyes wide when he suddenly realised it was empty. "Oh man, he must've grabbed it while I was fighting Android 12!"

As if on cue, 12 suddenly stirred on the other side of the chamber. "Hey!" Goku shouted. "Are you alright?"

"Where is he?" 12 scowled. "Where did he go?"

"He's running," Goku said, "and I think he's got all of the dragon balls!"

"All of them?" 12 asked as she stood up.

"I'll stop him," Goku promised.

"No," 12 said, pulling the ribbon out of her hair. "I will." She shot up into the air, out through the hole in the ceiling that had been made during their fight.

"Wait a second!" Goku shouted as he flew up after her. "Listen to me, don't do something you'll regret! We can finish this without-" he looked around, seeing that she was already long gone.

***

Gero cackled to himself as he carried the dragon balls in his arms, running through the freezing snow. The path he ran on was at the very edge of the cliff face, the endless white of the chasm beneath seeming to reach on into oblivion itself. "It's not over yet," he seethed, "I still have the dragon balls. All I have to do is summon Shenron, and…"

The doctor looked up in time to see Android 12 above him. Her palm was open, facing down at him, and her eyes blazed with fury. "Die!"

Gero barely even had time to scream before the wave of red, burning energy struck him. With the smell of burning flesh, he was consumed by it, the snow being blasted away and turning to steam before the searing heat. When it faded, he was gone, replaced with only the seven dragon balls dropping into the snow.

Android 12 landed in the snow, starting numbly at the spot where the dragon balls had fallen, glowing and pulsating with energy.

What… what had she done? She'd killed him. She'd never killed anyone before. He'd always wanted her to be a killer, and now…

"What have I done?" she shivered, dropping to her knees. "I… oh, God…" a thick tear slipped out of the edge of one eye as she pushed her bare hands down into the cold snow. In that moment, there was only one thing she could think of to do.

"Shenron!"

There was a brilliant flash of energy. The sky turned dark, rolling with black clouds and flashing with lightning. Then a great shaft of light shot up from the dragon balls, twisting and coiling in the air as it solidified, turning magically from light to solid, rippling scaled as its shape defined itself.

In a final flash, there was Shenron, the eternal dragon, the hundreds of feet of his body encircling the edge of the cliff and the end of his tail disappearing into the spheres beneath. His snout lowered towards his summoner, thin whiskers waving on the breeze.

"Why have you summoned me to this place?" the dragon rumbled. "Tell me your wish, and it shall be granted."

Android 12 looked up, her eyes red and leaking with tears. "Shenron," she breathed, "please… send me away from here. Send me somewhere else… somewhere I can start over… please, Shenron!"

Shenron's eyes flashed with pure, brilliant red light. "So be it."

Android 12 was consumed in a sphere of brilliant, flashing red light. When it faded, she was gone, the snow beneath her completely untouched.

Only then did Goku descend to the ground, looking in shock at the spot where Android 12 had just been.

"Where is she?" He asked, looking up at Shenron. "Shenron, where did you send her?"

"The wish has been made," Shenron boomed, "and you shall honour it. Farewell."

In a flash of light, Shenron vanished. In a single spiral of energy, the dragon balls rose, bunching together in the sky, then split into seven different paths and vanished to the horizon, the sky turning clear blue once again.

Then the cliff edge was clear, with only Goku and the remains of Gero's facility remaining. And, with a dull breeze, it was almost possible to hear the 'click' in Goku's brain.

"Oh man, I've gotta get back! Nimbus!" Goku leapt into the air, landed nimbly on the Nimbus cloud, and shot towards the Horizon."

***

It was almost night when Goku finally reached Capsule Corporation's headquarters. The front of the building was a mess, and there was a roughly human-sized hole in the roof.

"Oh man, am I too late?" he stared as he jumped down into the front courtyard. "Guys?" he shouted as he bolted up the stairs. "Chi-Chi? Are you guys alright?"

Finally, he threw open the door to the lab. Inside was a wreck, and there, in the middle, with a bundle in his arms, was…

"Piccolo?"

"You certainly took your sweet time," Piccolo said levelly. "I think this is yours," he said as he handed the baby over. Almost desperately, Goku took the sleeping child from Piccolo's arms. "Cute kid," Piccolo said.

"What about-"

"Your wife's fine. Everybody is," Piccolo said as he stepped past him.

"Piccolo, wait," Goku said as Piccolo neared the door. "Why did you do this?"

Piccolo's head turned halfway round. "I'm not without honour, Goku," he said. "My grievance is with you, not with your family. Next time we meet, it won't be as friends."

Then he stepped out, and the automatic door slid shut behind him.

Goku stepped through into the other room immediately. "Goku," Krillin said as he did so. "Man, you're a wreck!"

"Sorry I'm late," Goku said wearily.

"Well, you'd better have an excuse," Chi-Chi pouted as she sat up. "Do you know how long I've been waiting? Well, it's not going to be me getting up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, I can promise you that!"

Goku smiled. He never thought he'd be glad to hear that nagging.

***

The door to the underground laboratory opened soundlessly. Gero staggered in, his face burned and his clothes still smoking.

"It's not over yet, Goku," he snarled. "You've won this time…" he rambled as the lights came on and his hands slid over a single file, "but when my greatest creations are ready… you will pay, I swear it! And the Red Ribbon Army will rise again!"

Gero picked up the file, and plucked a single vial from his pocket. "Because my Androids did manage to retrieve something… they transmitted back readouts of you and your friends' genetic structures. And that…" he grinned madly to the shadows, "will be your undoing!"

He tucked the file under his arm. It was labelled: Cell.

***

12 years later, West City

"Yeah- I know, Mom," the young blonde woman huffed as she climbed out of bed, holding the phone to her ear. "Look- will you stop nagging me, please? …Yes, Mom, I know I haven't found a husband yet. …Well maybe I don't feel like it. …Would you just…"

Her gaze fell on the mirror. She fell silent, her eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets.

"…Mom, I'll have to call you back."

She put the phone down, stood up and stared at the mirror.

Where she had gone to sleep, slim as she had ever been, this morning… there was no mistaking the bulge in her stomach. She slowly placed a hand on… it was impossible- there was no father, but it had to be- her unborn baby.

And, as if from some other time and place, she could almost swear she heard a voice…

"Where is she? Shenron, where did you send her?"

An End… Of Sorts.

***

And there we have it. Hopefully I pulled off the ending decently- I didn't really want Android 12 to be the focus of the story, but I figured that would be a good send-off for the character. Besides, if Shenron can bring dead people back to life; this shouldn't be too hard for him, right? And in case anyone asks, that's nobody from the franchise at the end there- just a random person.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed my little prelude to the Cell saga, and perhaps why Piccolo took an interest in Gohan to begin with.

Anyway, all reviews welcome.