Nobody Can Stop Them... Is This the End of the Z Senshi?

Vegeta clutches his arm and screams as Super Saiya-jin Trunks flies in to his aid. "Father!" Number 18 turns to meet him. Trunks flies in with his sword, but Number 18 is not hurt in the least by this attack. Trunks stares in disbelief at the apparently ineffective sword, but doesn't have long to contemplate before Number 17 steps in. Trunks turns around and is greeted by Number 17's fists. He falls to the ground in front of Number 18, the sword landing with a metal clang next to him. Number 17 lands beside Number 18.

Piccolo and Tenshinhan fly in, screaming "Damn it!" and "That idiot!" respectively. Kuririn dances around on the cliffside, apparently unsure of whether to follow his comrades or keep his distance. "He felled Trunks with a punch, and he was a Super Saiya-jin..."

Number 17 leaps into the air to deal with Piccolo. The Namekseijin doesn't stand a chance. A quick kick to the face knocks him out of commission. Tenshinhan follows up, but Number 17 evades Ten's fist. Number 17 jumps behind Ten and wraps his arms around his neck, locking Ten's head in place (yes, I do belief that's called a headlock). Number 17 tightens his grip and Ten yells out in pain. Vegeta, "Damn it!" His ki flames up and he goes to help Tenshinhan, but is suddenly stopped when Number 18 grabs his ankle. Tenshinhan stares down at them, a look of pain/surprise/disbelief on his face. Trunks gets to his feet. He flies in to attack Number 18 and she flings Vegeta at him, throwing them both out of the way. Trunks fades out of Super Saiya-jin upon landing.

Number 18 brushes back her hair. Kuririn watches the scene from his position on the ledge. "I don't believe how strong they are!" He looks down the road at Number 16, who thus far has not joined in the fight. Number 16 notices Kuririn and looks over at him. Kuririn is scared to death for a moment, but when he sees Number 16 smiling and then turning back to watch the fight, his fears are calmed. Number 16 holds out his arm, allowing a bird to land on it. He watches the fight, silent and completely still. Kuririn, "What's the deal with him?"

Piccolo climbs to his feet. He looks over and sees Vegeta and Trunks on the ground, then Tenshinhan in the air. "Damn it!" He jumps up to help Tenshinhan and the Artificial Human releases him. Piccolo attacks and Number 17 dodges. He throws another punch, and it's dodged again. Number 17 punches him in the gut, going all the way back. The form of Number 17's fist pushes through Piccolo's back, but doesn't actually puncture the flesh...more like an imprint. Kuririn watches, terrified, and Number 17 drops Piccolo.

Everyone's down...but Vegeta's not out. He's faking unconsciousness, and suddenly, he jumps up and shoots a ki blast at Number 18. She jumps over it, then hits Vegeta in the face. He falls to the ground, but as he starts to get up, she jumps down on him and kicks him away. He lands once more and she jumps down on the small of his back. She leaves him screaming in pain and lands a few feet away. Vegeta slowly stands up...or at least tries to. He can't get beyond sitting on his hands and knees, so Number 18 walks over and helps him up with a swift kick to the stomach. Vegeta falls over onto his back, arm lying over his chest. "It looks like it would be best if you couldn't use that arm anymore." She walks over to him and puts her foot down on his arm at about the elbow. She steps down on it, and once again, Vegeta cries out in pain. She looks down at him with a smile and backs off. Vegeta fades out of Super Saiya-jin. Number 17 lands nearby. "His hair color returned to normal and his odd light went out. It was an odd development." Number 18, "That other guy was the same." She points over at Trunks, lying lifeless on the ground. Number 17, "Who is he? He's not in my databanks. Oh well, it doesn't matter." On the highway, Kuririn steps back, completely terrified. "They've killed everyone..."

The two Artificial Humans fly back up to the highway to collect their companion. Of course, this doesn't help poor little Kuririn, who's already scared to death and doesn't need them flying in his direction... They look over at him and Number 18 once again brushes her hair aside.

Kamesennin lies asleep on the beach, a magazine over his eyes. The pages blow around in a light gust of wind and the magazine falls to the ground. Maron is still out wind-surfing and waving to Umigame. "You're so good, Maron!" He submerges as she sails right over him. She's soon joined by two men in a motorboat. "Hey, toots! Want a ride?" Maron, "Okay!" The other man, "Play with us!" They pull up beside her. Maron, "I'm so happy!" She begins rocking back and forth on the board and ends up falling off. "Help me!" She thrashes wildly in the water. The two guys simply stare at her. Kamesennin remains asleep on the beach, and Maron rides back in on top of Umigame. "Save me!" Roshi awakens. "Calm down..." She suddenly stops and looks down at the turtle. "Maron-chan, are you alright?" Maron, "I was afraid I was going to die. Thank you, Kame-chan." One of the men from the boat yells, "Hey, babe! Want to ride my boat?" They wave to her from the edge of the beach where they've "docked," or whatever you want to call it. "We're over here!" Maron thinks for a minute and decides to go with them. She starts to run off, but Umigame grabs her by the swimsuit. "What are you doing, Kame-chan?" Umigame, "Don't go. You were waiting here for Kuririn to come back." Maron, "That's right. I was waiting for Kuririn." The two guys run up to her. "Hey babe, go on a ride with us." She turns around and Umigame looks at them angrily. "Wanna go somewhere for some tea?" Maron, "But..." The other man, "I know a delicious cake shop." Umigame jumps between them. "What's your problem?" Man, "If you try to get in our way, turtle, you'll get hurt." Umigame nods. Maron screams and turns away. Man, "You bastard!" They attack him, but Umigame easily sends them on their way back to the water. One man lands first, then the other on top of him. Maron opens her eyes and Umigame dances around a little to show that he'll go again if they want. However, they don't want, and they run screaming back to their boat. "Let's get out of here!" Maron, "You're strong, Kame-chan!" She gets down on her knees and spins him around. "I love strong people." She tries to kiss the turtle, but he gets scared and hides inside his shell. "Kame-chan!" She looks inside. "Hey." Umigame, "It's no good. You have Kuririn-san." Maron, "But..." Kame, "But what about Kuririn-san?" She stands up and looks at him angrily. "You talk about Kuririn too much! There's other men than Kuririn." She pushes him and he rolls away. Maron runs out into the water and dives in. "Maron-chan..." Muten Roshi sleeps through the whole thing.

Vegeta lies on the ground, still alive, but unconscious. The same goes for Trunks, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan. Kuririn stares at his adversaries. "Damn, I'm not going to lose." Number 17, "Don't worry. They're not dead yet. Hurry and give them the senzu. That should fix them up." Kuririn is shocked by their attitude. "And tell them if they get stronger, we'll be glad to fight them again." He motions to Number 18 and they begin walking away toward Number 16. "See you later." Kuririn watches them walk away, frightened, shocked, and confused.

Number 18, "Aren't you going to ask him where Son Goku is?" Number 17, "Don't worry. Don't you think it'd be more interesting to find him ourselves? And if we go somewhere and cause a lot of destruction, he might find us." Number 18 looks back at Kuririn. "Bye!" They turn and finish covering the distance to Number 16. "You're childish, Number 17." Number 17, "Really?" Kuririn watches them walk off, still dazed by his brush with...nothing, actually. Number 17, "What are you looking at, Number 16?" Number 16, "The little birds flew off because you made a commotion." Number 17, "Little birds?" Number 18, "There doesn't seem to be much traffic here. Let's fly to somewhere a little more active." And Kuririn still watches them, speechless.

Son Goku sleeps, finally calm. Chichi wipes his forehead with a rag and Yamucha sits beside Goku's bed. Chichi, "It looks like Goku-san is getting better." She puts the rag in a tub of water to re-wet it. "But what's happened to Gohan..." She returns to Goku's side.

Son Gohan gasps excitedly as his home begins to come into view. They seem to have returned to their original position, with Yajirobe on top and Bulma holding Trunks on the bottom. Gohan, "See! It's just a little father!" Bulma, "Hey, take me home first." Gohan, "But we have to tell my father some important stuff fast." Bulma, "You don't understand a thing about young mothers. You're just like your father that way. You're going to cause some women a lot of trouble in the future. The life of a young mother is terrible. I have to get a change of clothes for Trunks, and get him some milk, and do a lot of other stuff for him." Yajirobe, "And I think we'd get fed better at Bulma's house anyway. Go to Bulma's house." Gohan, "Okay, I'll go to Bulma-san's house." They change direction and head for the Capsule Corporation headquarters.

Kuririn still stares, wide eyed. Number 17, "It looks like cars only rarely come by here. Oh well, we'll have to fly somewhere a little more populated." Number 18, "That sounds good. I want to get some new clothes." Number 17, "Okay, let's go to a nearby city or village." Number 16 nods and they start to walk away. Kuririn runs up to them. "Wait!" Number 17, "What is it? What do you want?" Kuririn, "What is your goal? What do you want? Are you trying to kill Goku? Are you planning on messing up the world?" Number 17, "Oh, first I guess we'll defeat Son Goku, and then we'll see what happens." Kuririn, "Why? Why are you after Goku?" Silence. "The one that hated Goku was Dr. Gero, and you killed him!" Number 17, "Dr. Gero doesn't matter. This is just a game." Kuririn, "This is a game?! That's it?" Number 17, "That's why we didn't ask you where he is. Looking for him is part of the game." Kuririn, "So if I asked you to stop, you wouldn't, would you?" Silence. Number 16 finally decides to field this one. "We couldn't. We were created to destroy Son Goku." Number 17, "That's what the man said." Kuririn just stares at them in silence. Number 17, "You should give your friends the senzu before they die." Number 18 walks up and kisses him on the cheek. "Bye." Kuririn simply watches them as they fly away. The rest of the Z Senshi lay where they fell, as Chichi wipes Goku's face with a wet rag...