Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball Z: The Android Threat ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

It was ugly.

 

That was the first thought that came into my mind when the three of us stopped a few feet from Piccolo, in the midst of a clearing that should have been Ginger Town's high street.

 

“Is that the thing from the time machine?”

 

“It must be” Trunks replied, “It's definitely not human”

 

Together we descended onto the ground to stand beside Piccolo. I cast him a glance, he didn't look any different then before, but I could sense the change in his power. I thought he'd been scary when we trained… now I was very thankful he was on our side.

 

“He's freaking me out!” Krillen said, clearly worried, “Is this the guy responsible for killing everyone in Ginger Town?”

 

“Yeah, and be careful of his tail” Piccolo answered warningly.

 

“Why can we sense Goku and the others?” I asked.

 

“I'll explain everything soon… right after we destroy this thing”

 

“You think you can defeat me?” it laughed, “Don't flatter yourself”

 

“Man, he's a freak!” Krillen exclaimed.

 

“Don't worry, with the four of us here he's nothing”

 

“Namek” it hissed, “Once I become complete you won't be so cocky”

 

“Face it! You're outnumbered and outmatched. Especially if the Kamehameha wave is the best you can do!”

 

“What? He could only know that technique if he studied under Master Roshi!” Krillen said with shock.

 

“Not only do I know the Kamehameha Krillen, I also know another little trick called the spirit bomb”

 

Krillen stepped back in surprise, “How does it know my name?”

 

The creature seemed to smirk as it looked down on us like we were the insects. It made my blood boil. Its horrible low voice reached my ears again, making me shake with a desire to make it permanently closed!

 

“Tell me, how's your friend Goku?”

 

“You'll see soon enough!” Krillen shouted forcefully.

 

I was on edge as we stood in silence for a few moments before I whispered to Piccolo, “He's planning something…”

 

He nodded slightly at my side, “I know… but don't attack yet”

 

“You must feel honoured” the creature leered, “Soon you will become part of a perfect being”. He began to rise into the air, “But as anxious as you must be, you'll have to be patient. You see, I have an appointment with a couple of friends and it would be rude of me to make them wait. But here's a parting gift!”

 

“What?” I cried as it stopped directly in front of the sun, was it going to attack?

 

“Solar Flare!” it shouted loudly.

 

A huge beam of white light spread from his position, I tried to close my eyes against but it felt like it was burning through my eyelids.

 

“He's gone!” Trunks shouted.

 

Eventually the blindness began to subside, leaving me looking at my three blurred friends.

 

“Krillen, that was Tien's technique wasn't it?” Piccolo barked.

 

“Yeah, it's great if you need to make a hasty escape”

 

Piccolo jumped into the air, the three of us following suit to look around the area.

 

“We need to find him, else more innocent people are going to die!” Piccolo growled, more to himself then to us, “I'll find you Cell! I'll find you!” he cried, releasing a torrent of pent up energy in his anger. We all stepped back ad were forced to cover our eyes as debris began to fly around us. Thankfully he powered down after a few moments, before looking up at the sky as though he'd been expecting someone.

 

“Father!” Trunks said as the man touched down and walked towards Piccolo, ignoring his son completely.

 

“Namek, I demand to know what happened here!”

 

“Alright, I'll tell you. But let's wait for Tien first… he should be here shortly”

 

“Fine, but answer me this. Who are you really? There's no way the real Piccolo could have so much power!”

 

Piccolo ignored the saiyan, only annoying him further.

 

“Answer me!”

 

“I'll tell you” Trunks said quickly, “Piccolo needed more power so he merged with Kami”

 

The surprise was evident on Vegeta's face as he looked the Namek up and down.

 

“Hey, Piccolo… I mean… Kami… I mean, er, whoever you are! I'm trying to say that Tien is here” Krillen informed us, breaking the tension.

 

“Krillen, just call me Piccolo. Now listen up, what you're about to hear may determine whether we're about to live or die. Since I arrived here I've been fighting a creature from the future, he's an android created by Dr Gero…”

 

We listened in awe and fear as Piccolo told us of the androids origins. He came from another timeline where Trunks had succeeded in stopping the androids, he'd stolen the time machine and came back to feed on the androids of our time. But that wasn't the worst of it, Dr Gero had created him from cells of all the strongest fighters on Earth, which explained why we could sense Goku and the others, and why Cell could use their techniques.

 

“So you're saying he posses cells from Kakarot and me?” Vegeta said in disbelief.

 

“Yes. Now we have two choices, we can either track down the androids and destroy them before Cell can find them, which will stop him from being able to reach his final form. But I say we go after Cell, since he'll be easier to find. But whatever we do we must do it quickly, if Cell reaches his final form we won't stand a chance…”

 

“Great, just great. Well once again its up to us to stop him isn't it. What a jip!” Krillen sighed.

 

“So how do we stop him now? I mean if Cell knows Piccolo is strong enough to beat him before he becomes complete he'll probably try to keep his energy concealed from us”

 

I groaned inwardly at Trunks' words, thing's were getting too complicated for my liking.

 

“Hm” Vegeta smirked, “I say we let Cell absorb the androids. It'll save me the trouble of destroying them, and fighting one battle is much simpler then fighting four!”

 

“Hold on Vegeta, the androids alone were more then we could handle. And Cell will be even more powerful then all of them combined!”

 

“Do not question my abilities Namek!” he shouted, making me jump and bump into Trunks, “Not unless you want to find out how powerful I really am. I do not fear this new challenge, rather, like a true warrior I will rise to meet it. Yes, I am now a super saiyan, but I won't stop there… I will ascend!”

 

“What, how can you be stronger then a super saiyan?” Trunks said shakily.

 

“I'm sure Kakarot will attempt the transformation also, don't you think? Now if any of you would like to take on any of the androids while I'm away, be my guest. I'll be back to finish the job when you've failed” he smirked before turning on his heel and taking off into the air.

 

“Sometimes he really gets on my nerves” Piccolo growled, “but is it possible to go further then a super saiyan?”

 

“Hey!” I said suddenly, “I know Krillen was saying how destroying the androids here won't make the ones in your time disappear, when we were back at Master Roshi's… but shouldn't we make sure the Cell in this time is destroyed… the last thing we need is another one running around, even if it won't stop the one that's already loose” I said quickly, hoping I made some sort of sense. Apparently Piccolo understood since he nodded in agreement.

 

“Right. Lani, you go with Trunks to Dr Gero's lab and make sure that Cell is destroyed. I'll stay here and try to track the other one down”

 

“I'll give you a hand” offered Tien.

 

Krillen stepped forward, “If you can't find him though you should head back to Master Roshi's. If anything you may be able to find him on the news channels. I'm going to head back there anyway and tell Gohan and the others what's been going on”

 

“Ok, let's go” Piccolo said.

 

“Here we go again” I grinned at Trunks as I jumped into the air, “Lead the way!”

 

*

 

We were headed north, I could tell as the cold started to whip around me, chilling my skin. My uniform was comfortable and easy to move in but warmth was not part of its design.

 

“…to be stronger then a super saiyan…” I heard Trunks whisper to himself.

 

I smiled as I turned to speak to him, “At least you are a super saiyan… I've never considered the possibility of becoming one myself, I've only trained for three yeas after all”

 

“Gohan only trained me properly when I was thirteen, up until then my mother preferred to stay hidden. It's not the training that allows you to change… it's… it's a need that comes from deep within you, when all your hidden potential comes to the surface” he tried to explain.

 

“Wow, do you think I could do it?”

 

He smiled, casting me a sideways look, “You are Goku's blood” was all he said.

 

We flew the rest of the way in comfortable silence before landing in the remains of Dr Gero's lab.

 

“You did this?” I shivered in the cold.

 

“I… guess I got a little carried away” he replied.

 

“I'll remember not to piss you off” I said through chattering teeth, how could he not be freezing!? “So how are going to find the basement under all this rubble?”

 

“Stand back” he instructed, aiming at the ground before firing a small blast.

 

“Ah” I said, imitating him.

 

Rocks and metal flew everywhere, though they were easy to dodge.

 

“Lani… I think this is it” Trunks called over his shoulder, crouching down to move a few stray rocks.

 

I walked up behind him, peering over his shoulder and down a long, dark hole. Uh oh…

 

“Lani, what's wrong?” Trunks asked, looking at my face. I tried to hide the panic and smiled wearily.

 

“Looks like it might be a bit dirty down there!” I attempted to joke.

 

Trunks stood up and jumped into the hole, I took a deep breath and followed. It was dark… and small… I couldn't even see where Trunks was, when I tried to call his name my throat only made a strange croaking sound. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, making my stomach lurch with hot fear and panic. I grabbed the hand and twisted, ramming the person behind me into the wall.

 

“Lani!”

 

“Trunks? Oh… I didn't realise it was you…”

 

“Who did you expect?” he said gently, I could see worry in his eyes as my own adjusted to the darkness. But it wasn't enough, I felt a tightening in my chest and my breaths became shallow and ragged.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

“I… it just…” I turned away from him and peered down the entry to where I could see faint light, “I just need to get out of here” I managed to spit out.

 

I felt pressure on my shoulder as he steered me back towards the way we came in, “Wait outside for me ok, but move away from the entrance”

 

I nodded, flying upwards to where I could feel the cold wind whip at me once more. Though this time I was grateful for it, I took in large gulps of oxygen and peered around at the open space. The knot in my chest loosened as I flew further up.

 

Freedom.

 

Since coming to Earth I had developed some kind of phobia of enclosed spaces. The darker they were the worse I felt. I'd discovered this after Goku suggested we stay in a cave overnight while it poured with rain outside, he'd sat by my side all night as I remained right by the entrance of that cave, to afraid to go any further.

 

I landed on a nearby cliff, and waited for Trunks to come back out. I didn't have to wait long, I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet and suddenly Trunks flew into the sky, moving to the side as a huge gush of fire spouted from the entrance. It subsided and Trunks formed a ball on energy in his hand, firing it at the ground and causing a huge explosion which threw smoke and rocks into the air around me. I was at a safe distance on the cliff, and was joined by Trunks as the smoke began to recede.

 

“Are you ok? What happened?”

 

I smiled weakly, feeling embarrassed at my behaviour, “Fifteen years on a spaceship… now I can't stand small spaces…” I explained, “Sorry about… you know”

 

He smiled, “No problem. Though you should have said something instead of going in”

 

I shrugged, “I guess I just didn't want to seem…”

 

Trunks nodded in understanding, “I'd never think you were weak. I spent my childhood running and hiding, I know how it feels”

 

I felt a strange sensation in my stomach as his eyes focused on mine, and I don't think it had anything to do with my newfound claustrophobia…

 

“What's that?” I said quickly, pointing at some rolls of paper under his arm.

 

“Plans I found in the lab for the androids, they might show us some kind of weakness”

 

“Well… we should get them to Bulma or something then”

 

“Right”

 

But neither of us made to move, I fiddled with the line on my pants absentmindedly, suddenly hit a flurry of conflicting emotions, what was going on? It must have been where I couldn't breathe earlier… lack of oxygen making my brain go wild. Damn sweaty palms…

 

Suddenly Trunks seemed to realise he'd been staring. He turned and looked south, scratching the back of his head nervously and cleared his throat, “You know, I think I might go and find my father. If he's going to try to ascend then I should too, can you get these to Bulma?”

 

I nodded, oddly disappointed that I'd be going without him, “Sure”

 

“You'll be ok?” he asked.

 

I smiled with false cheerfulness, “I think I can find my way to Capsule Corp.”

 

“I meant-“

 

“I know” I interrupted, “I'll be fine”

 

“Good… well, see you”

 

He powered up and took off into the sky, headed southeast. I sighed and did the same, only I was headed southwest.

 

X

 

Bulma was looking at the plans that I had just handed her with fascination, her father shared the same expression as he peered over her shoulder, scratching his nose absentmindedly. I bit my lip as I jiggled the baby version of Trunks on my hip, trying to keep him distracted as his mother was preoccupied.

 

“So do you think they'll be any help?” I asked

 

“Well, all of this looks pretty complicated, but between the two of us we can probably figure it out” the young woman replied, “Can you go find Yajirobe? It looks like I'm going to need someone to watch Trunks while I work, I'm sure you've got places to be Lani… even though he seems quite taken with you” she winked.

 

I looked down at the infant who was clinging to my shirt tightly, his eyes blue eyes staring at my own deep red ones. I recognised the stare as being similar to the one his older counterpart had fixed me with earlier, “You think he likes me?”

 

“Oh yeah, I know my son” she replied, and I caught the knowing look on her face as she watched me carefully, causing me to blush. She couldn't mean anything by that… could she?

 

“Right, well I think I'd better head back to Kame House… good luck with that ok”

 

Bulma smiled and waved at her son as we left the labs, I sought out a relatively weak Ki and assumed that that was Yajirobe… predictably in the kitchen, “Come on Kiddo” I said absentmindedly to Trunks, “I've got work to do to”.

 

Half an hour later, after bribing Yajirobe to play babysitter with promises of a large supply of Chi Chi's cupcakes, I was back in the air savouring the rush it sent through my body to be soaring at break neck speed over the seas. I decided to take a short cut to Master Roshi's, normally we avoided flying too near cities as we didn't want to alarm anyone on the ground below, but it seemed pointless now. How much more could I frighten these poor people! I was low over a city I couldn't remember the name of, trying to see if it was empty or not. It seemed it was, “Damn you Cell” I muttered. That was when I felt it, the familiar jumble of energies was somewhere in the city below… Cell was still here.

 

“Oh crap… what am I supposed to do?” I froze in midair, trying to locate his signal more accurately. He wasn't far from me, I could easily slip away unnoticed… but something in my blood was telling me to stay. The thought of running away like a scared child sickened me. So when I heard the shrill scream of a woman in need, I didn't even think as I bolted down and towards the smaller, erratic Ki.

 

A young girl was running across the concrete of the cities airport, she'd obviously been trying to escape with the small boys she had clutched in her arms. She tripped, “Damn! Get up!” I swore under breath, Cell was right behind them… his tail high and poised for strike. With one mighty push of energy I landed on the ground beside the two, grabbing the woman and the boy with one arm, I shot back into the air and tried to make our escape. But Cell was now aware of my presence and gave chase.

 

“Insect freak, why can't you just buzz off!” I shouted over my shoulder, halting in mid-air.

 

“What was that? Hmmm I remember you, you were at Ginger Town with the others. Interesting, are you a fighter as well?”

 

“You wanna find out? Let these people go… if you can beat me then you'll get far more energy from me then these two”

 

He fixed me with a piercing stare, I felt as if his beady eyes were looking right through me.

 

“I don't recognise you from Dr Gero's databases…this could be interesting” he laughed.

 

“You'll let them go?”

 

“Very well, hurry up. It won't take me long to get rid of the likes of you, they'll be part of me soon enough”

 

I placed the two gently on the ground, “Hurry, get as far away as you can but stay out of sight” I instructed in a whisper.

 

“Thank you… are you really going to fight with him?” she asked fearfully.

 

“Looks like, now go!”

 

She took off with the child in her arms, headed for a small aircraft. I turned to Cell, glaring as he smirked… at least I think he was. He really was the most disgusting creature I had ever seen, my tail flicked out from around my waist and hung low, brushing over the ground. Even though having it exposed could be a disadvantage if the enemy grabbed it, it helped to keep me balanced.

 

“Shall we start?”

 

Cell sneered, “This should be quick”

 

In the blink of an eye he was gone, but I'd had plenty of practice at avoiding being caught off guard. I twisted on the ground, forcing my right fist out with as much strength as I could… and hit Cell directly on the side of his head, sending him flying to the side. I jumped back into defensive position as he spun in the air and charged straight back.

 

I blocked, aiming my left hand up at his stomach, but he blocked and brought his knew up high enough to hit me square in the chest, knocking the breath from my lungs.

 

“Are you ready to die, little girl?” he laughed.

 

I grit my teeth and snarled, “Not today!”.

 

Jumping into the air and out of his clutches I aimed a downward kick at his snickering face, of course he dodged easily… but I was counting on that. Just as he moved backwards I formed a Ki blast in my hand, landing easily on the ground with the help of my tail, standing out behind me, and threw the blast it directly at him. It didn't explode on impact but instead, forced him off his feet and through the air, Cell crashed into an empty building two hundred foot from where had been standing. Above me the aircraft roared as it headed north, they must have been headed for the mountains.

 

“Lani, what are you doing with Cell?”

 

Piccolo's loud voice penetrated my mind, making me jump with fright.

 

“Trust me I didn't go looking for him! But the people here needed time to escape” I answered back.

 

“We're on our way, stay alive!”

 

And then he was gone. I felt out for their signals, thankfully they were only about five minutes away and closing in fast. “Good ol' Piccolo” I muttered.

 

“What was that?”

 

I spun, Cell was stood right behind me. Not a scratch in sight. I had only seconds to register the shock when he punched me hard in the stomach, sending me skidding across the hard ground. I jumped straight back onto my feet and glared with all the hate I could muster in my eyes. I knew the effect it could have, they seemed to glow a fiery red when I was truly mad, but Cell wasn't put off by a mere look.

 

“Your friends are on their way, lucky for you” he sneered.

 

“Lucky me? Who just got used as a human- sorry, insect wrecking ball!”

 

“This fight is over, though I shall look forward to absorbing you when the time is right”

 

He shot into the sky and disappeared; suppressing his energy so I couldn't even tell which direction he was headed. I could only pray that the pair I'd helped were no longer his targets.

 

“Lani, where's Cell?”

 

Piccolo landed behind me, closely followed by Tien and Krillen.

 

“He took off when he realised you were coming” I explained, rubbing my sore stomach.

 

“What were you doing taking him on alone? You could have been hurt!” Krillen frowned at me, I returned the look.

 

“I was supposed to just run away and leave two kids to die then?”

 

Piccolo looked me in eyes, a rare thing to occur as he usually spoke without facing you directly, “You did a good job Lani, but Krillen's right. That was dangerous, none of us should be flying around on our own”

 

I nodded as I stretched my muscles with a groan, “I'm inclined to agree there”

 

“Then let's get back to Kame House, I can't imagine we'll find Cell like this. Not when he knows how close he came to being caught”

 

I ignored the discomfort in my gut as we headed south; it could have been a lot worse after all. But I couldn't wait to get back and see how Goku was doing, and maybe have five minutes for a shower and change of clothes. I was a fighter but I definitely couldn't stand spending all day in dirty, sweaty clothes like the guys!

 

X

 

One hurried shower later and a change into some of Bulma's old clothes, a white shirt and dark blue pants (strangely kept in Mater Roshi's room… I didn't even want to ask!) left me feeling somewhat refreshed. All aches from my encounter with Cell were gone, though I had a nice bruise forming on my chest and collar bone. As I stepped from the bathroom, everyone was gathered around the television, it seemed I'd just finished in time as they declared that they were all going to South City for a surprise attack on Cell. I slipped on a pair of brown boots and followed them all onto the aircraft; if we flew this way then Cell wouldn't detect our energies approaching.

 

At least that's what we thought until Piccolo spoke up.

 

“He's much smarter then that. He'll probably be expecting something like this… don't underestimate him”

 

“Hurry Yamcha, we don't want Cell to get away again” Tien said, leaning against the wall.

 

“We need to find him first…” Piccolo pointed out.

 

“Has anyone ever told you you're kind of a kill-joy” I said, cocking my head to the side. Piccolo only grunted and went back his brooding.

 

“We sure could use Goku right about now” Krillen sighed, “That would be nice”

 

Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Just as I was about to turn from Piccolo I saw a flicker of orange in the corner of my eye. I whipped my head back in surprise, “Goku!” I cried.

 

“Yeah… it'd be nice if he's show up” Krillen muttered behind me.

 

“No, look! It's my dad!” shouted Gohan.

 

Sure enough, the saiyan was stood before us all waving away with a huge grin on his face, “Hey guys, did you miss me?”

 

X

 

“So that's the plan?” I frowned, “a year in this… time chamber?”

 

“Yeah, but only a day will have passed on the outside, so we can get much stronger in just one day!” Goku smiled.

 

I breathed in deeply, this chamber did not sound appealing to me.

 

“So who's going in?” I questioned.

 

“I was going to go pick up Trunks and Vegeta, there's me and Gohan, and I want you to go in too Lani… If you want”

 

“Me?”

 

“Sure, I was aware of everything that's been happening while I was sick. You held your own against Cell by yourself, and you've proven you can keep up with us all easily”

 

“But there's five of us, odd numbers…” I pointed out.

 

“I was wondering if maybe Piccolo wouldn't mind training you, he did a good job with my son after all!” Goku beamed, placing his hand on Gohan's shoulder.

 

Piccolo nodded at my side, “It's a good idea. But that leaves three days with us out of action. That's more then enough time for Cell to find the androids or wipe out even more innocent people”

 

“I know, it sucks. But we don't stand a chance against Cell as we are, so I think our best bet is to take the time to train and fight when we have the advantage”.

 

“Ok, so when do we start?” I asked.

 

“As soon as you all hold onto me, I can take us straight to Vegeta and Trunks”

 

Gohan was already holding onto his father's leg, he reached out his hand to me and I took it. I turned and grinned at Piccolo, “You wanna hold my hand or Goku's?”

 

He ignored me, placing his hand firmly on my shoulder instead.

 

“Good luck guys”

 

“See you Goku”

 

I felt a strange lurching sensation, as though I'd fallen forwards suddenly, but it only lasted a few moments and then we found ourselves standing in the midst of a valley surrounded by tall mountains. I could see Vegeta standing alone at the edge of long cliff, in front of me was Trunks, sat cross legged and staring out at his father's back. He turned when he sensed our presence, and I felt my face twitch as I tried to suppress a smile.

 

“Goku?” he said in surprise.

 

“Hey Trunks, how's the training going?”

 

Not well, I guess my father really doesn't want me to train with him. Every time I get close he just tells me to get lost, look at him! He's just standing there staring into nothing, he's been like that for the past three days. He hasn't moved!”

 

“That is strange, maybe he's just waiting for a sign or something… let me go talk to him”

 

He hovered from the ground slightly and made his way over to the older saiyan, I tried to catch Trunks' eye so I could tell him that Bulma was working on the plans for the androids, but for some reason he seemed to be avoiding my gaze. All urge to smile suddenly disappeared.

 

I could hear the conversation between the two men easily, and turned my attention to them instead. I had more important things to worry about.

 

“So what's going on?” Trunks questioned. I felt my tail switch at his voice, but kept staring at Goku's back.

 

“Goku has a plan for us all to get a years worth of training in one day for each of us…” Piccolo explained everything my uncle had said back on the aircraft, my tail swung side to side in agitation as I watched the two men approach.

 

“Ready to go? We'll have to fly up there. And I want to stop and see Korin on the way to get Lani a sensu bean” Goku said.

 

“Why? Are you hurt?” Trunks said quickly, looking at me for the first time so far.

 

I breathed out slowly and glanced at him, “No, had a little run-in with Cell, I don't need one of those beans Goku”

 

“I want you at your best when you start the training” he argued.

 

I shrugged, “You're the boss, but we'd better get a move on. Cell's not going to stop and wait for us is he?”

 

X

 

 

Disclaimer: I own no rights to the series Dragonball Z or its characters/places. Copyright to Akira Toriyama.