It started out as no big deal. After all, what was more typical than an evil villain blasting a city into oblivion? A year had passed since Goku�s demise, yet even without the late hero, the z-fighters were not too concerned about this new enemy.
The new evil came in the form of androids: two of them. Juuhachigou was made too appear as a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and a denim skirt and vest. Juunanagou was a young man with long dark hair and an orange scarf. Though they seemed human enough, the one thing that symbolized hell was their eyes: perfectly round orbs, ice blue in color. They displayed their coldness, their defiance, and their hate towards the human race.
Gohan and Piccolo, along with the other z-fighters stood in midair, as the city below slowly dissolved into mountains of ash. Vegeta was smirking, hoping to get a good challenge from these twin robots. His love of fighting had begun to give way to a more humanly state. Now, he looked forward to the battle to come. He spoke, not a sign of concern in his deep voice. �I say we all split up to find them. Since they�re robots, they have no life force.�
The rest of the warriors, including little Gohan nodded silently and began to fly towards the burning wreckage. The young warrior was about to dive for the nearest street when a large hand grasped his shoulder. Piccolo gazed down at him, a strange darkness in his expression. �Gohan, if anything happens, don�t hesitate to leave. Keep your power level low so you have less of a chance of being detected. We don�t know what we�re up against just yet.�
Gohan smiled and nodded towards his surrogate father. �Hai, Piccolo-san. I�ll meet up with you later.� But the namekian was reluctant to release his grip on the boy�s shoulder. When he finally did, he watched him until the child had ducked out of sight. Then he too headed off, into the other direction.
Soon after he began searching for those responsible for the city�s immolation, Gohan felt a strange feeling rise up from his stomach and he probed the back of his mind to check on the energy levels of his friends. He wasn�t prepared for the flaring out of Yamcha�s ki. �What?� he cried out in his mind. �Yamcha�s dead!!� Picking up speed, he ran for where he�d felt the signal decline. As he did, he felt 2 more energy levels flare out like a candle in a high wind. �This can�t be! How could the others be killed so fast?!�
Suddenly, all the buildings around him burst in a devastating explosion and Gohan was thrown off his feet, landing against the charred remains of a vehicle with a yelp of pain and shock. Before he could react any further, a hand reached down and seized him by the collar of his shirt. Everything still too bright from the previous blast, the boy only heard a sinister laugh. It was Juunangou.
�Well, well, well.� He spoke, bringing his iron grip up around Gohan�s neck. The boy tried to cry out, but he only managed a choked whimper as the android�s hand began to crush his throat. �A little boy!�
�So what?� a voice muttered behind them. �Just finish him off already so we can go find the rest of the warriors.� It was Juuhachigou.
A sarcastic growl escaped the male cyborg. �Fine.� Retracting his hand, a sphere of red light began to grow in his palm and he aimed it for the demi-saiyajin�s stomach. �See you in Hell, brat.�
Just then, as Gohan squeezed his eyes shut while waiting for the end, there was a loud cracking sound and the boy landed hard on the ground, free of the brutal stranglehold. When he opened his eyes, he found the two androids struggling to their feet a good distance away. �Pi-Piccolo-san?� Gohan murmured as his blurred vision focused on the warrior in front of him.
Piccolo stood there, planting himself firmly between the boy and the robots. Gohan noticed he was in pretty bad shape himself, his purple gi torn and many cuts and bruises across his arms. He was without a turban and cape, indicating that he�d been fighting those creations for a while.
�You green goblin!!� Juunanagou cried out angrily, his sister just about as mad. �How dare you interfere again!!�
Now both androids began to power up energy blasts, lighting up the entire city. The namekian apparently did not want to stick around any longer, for he spun around and shouted, �GOHAN! RUN!!�
Snapping to attention, the boy jumped to his feet and into the air, but insure on where to go. He felt his head spin, as if he might faint. He couldn�t see where he was going nor did he see the blasts lancing towards him.
�NO!! GOHAN!!!!!!!� Piccolo suddenly appeared again, grabbing the boy in his strong steely arms and taking the beam from the backside. Gohan�s mind went blank as he heard him nearly cry out in pain.
�Piccolo-san��
But Piccolo recovered himself long enough to throw a blast of his own at the two who tried to kill them. Smoke immediately sprang up as the beam hit, temporarily blinding the androids. Using this to his advantage, the namekian dove to the ground again and dashed swiftly behind the nearby remains of one of the buildings. There, he leaned against the metal, clutching the child�s unconscious form to his chest, panting from exhaustion.
The androids were quick to recover and began pummeling the city with showers of blasts. Piccolo hunched over the boy protectively, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from blacking out. The burn to his back was more serious than he thought. Still, he had to hold on.
�Piccolo!� Someone was calling his name. Raising his head, he saw Kuririn stumbling towards him, holding his hands over his head to block off any debris. Vegeta followed close behind.
�Perfect!� Piccolo said to himself. Struggling to his feet, he held Gohan�s limp form out to the bald-headed runt. �Take him, Kuririn. Get him out of here now.�
�But what about you?� Kuririn asked. �What�re you going to do?�
�Don�t worry about me!� the namekian answered. �Just get the boy to safety. If anything happens to him, you know what will become of you.�
Gulping, the short fellow was off running, carrying Gohan�s limp form over his shoulders. Vegeta stepped up beside Piccolo. Both exchanged nods and prepared to face their greatest foes.
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