"Eureka!!!" Bulma shouted to herself as she finally repaired the controller. No, she didn't just repair it, one could almost say she rebuilt it from scratch. It was a remote controller for the cyborgs, but it could only work within a ten meter radius. She spent days working on it and was quite proud of herself. Now to call Kuririn and the others and tell them the good news. Hopefully, the cyborgs hadn't found them yet. She dialled Kamesennin's number and frowned when she couldn't hear the dialling tone.Why wasn't there any connection? She had a bad feeling as she pocketed the controller and chose a plane capsule from her capsule box. She's got to go to Kame Island and see what had happened. Please don't let me be too late, she prayed ernestly as she stepped on the gas and sped as fast as the plane could go.

Even as he arrived, Piccolo knew he was too late. The island was a mess. The two cyborgs floated above it, unscathed, while there on the ground lay the bodies of Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Trunks and Gohan. He growled at the two cyborgs and clenched his fists. They stared back at him, their faces expressionless save for the tiniest hint of a smile. Piccolo scanned the island for signs of life. He could feel an extremely weak ki somewhere down there. Was it Goku? He could sense Goku's ki from inside the house, still very weak. No, it wasn't Goku. Definitely not the cyborgs. They don't have any ki. It was probably Kamesennin or ChiChi, then. Then Piccolo finally pinpointed the ki. It was...

"Trunks..!!!" He was at least a few kilometers away from the island but Vegeta could see the lifeless body of a lavender-haired youth slumped on the ground. Anger seized him, though he couldn't understand why, as he turned Super Saiyajin and charged at the two cyborgs, firing ki blasts with all his might. They just stood there and took it. The atmosphere crackled with electricity, charged up by the energy from the blast and there was a deafening sound as the blast hit the cyborgs, creating a huge dust cloud all around them. Then the dust cloud finally settled, revealing No.17 and No.18. Their clothes were torn and burnt, and apart from some scratches on their faces they appeared unhurt. Only if one stood close enough could one see the few dents on their artificial bodies.

No.17 inspected himself. "Damn. These changing-hair-color types can be surprising when they're mad." He calmly floated over to Vegeta, ki balls gathering on both hands.

Vegeta was shocked. He's used his most powerful attack on them, and now his energy was all depleted. There was nothing he could do now as No.17 fired the ki blasts directly on him and everything went black for the Saiyajin prince. He thought he could hear someone shout "...still alive...!" but he didn't care, as now he felt only regret. Regret that he never really looked at his baby son, and never really talked to his future counterpart. Regret that he never told the boy's mother how much she meant to him. And then the blackness totally engulfed him and he was gone.

Piccolo tried to help Vegeta, to tell him that Trunks was still alive. Though not for long, he feared. But No.18 flew before him and engaged him in a fight. As they exchanged kicks and punches, Piccolo noticed that her movements were not as smooth and calculated as when they last fought. So, Vegeta had managed to hurt them. He just might have a chance against her now, Piccolo thought, a ray of hope lighting in his heart.

But it was soon to be crushed, as No.17 joined his sister. Piccolo probably could stand a chance against one of them now. But not both, he realized as No.17 and No.18 simultaneously fired ki blasts that tore right through his chest. And then he too, died.

In the distant corners of the world, seven orange balls with stars on them mysteriously turned to stone.
 

Chapter 7

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