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We're Not In Sunnydale Anymore

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Chapter One

From the moment after she had jumped through the portal, Buffy knew she wasn’t on Sunnydale anymore. The landscape was much harsher then she was used to; it was nearly barren with almost no vegetation and she had managed to land face down in the dirt.

 

She knew without looking up that the portal had closed shut behind her, however, she hadn’t expected to land near people. She lifted her head up and saw two strange-looking guys staring at her. She rolled over onto her back and the guy with the black spiky hair leaned forward to give her a hand up, while the other one just stared at her. She took Spiky’s hand and thanked him as she caught her bearings.

 

“Is she a friend of yours, Trunks?” Spiky asked.

 

“Buffy? Is that really you?”

 

Buffy whipped her head around to look at the one Spiky had called Trunks and asked, “How do you know me?”

 

Trunks could tell that from the way she was eying him that he had better explain—and quickly—or fists were going to start flying. He spoke calmly and said, “I was just telling Goku that I was from the future—twenty years in the future to be exact—and that there is a great threat on the horizon. Two androids will appear in three years from now on a small island and will destroy everything in their path. Nearly everyone here,” he pointed toward a group of people standing a couple of hundred yards away, “die when they first appear.” He took a deep breath and pushed a hand through his hair. “You originally showed up on my mother’s doorstep a few years from now.”

 

Buffy let out a weary sigh. She couldn’t even land someplace without landing into some sort of trouble. She squared her jaw and said, “As awful as these androids sound, they’re nothing compared to the day I’ve had today. I beat up a hell-god, I jumped through a portal to save my sister, and crash landed in the middle of who knows where.”

 

Goku placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and said, “Gosh, I guess you have had a bad day.” He grinned at Buffy and said, “If it would make you feel any better, we could spar to help you blow off some steam.”

 

“I don’t know how much that would help her, Goku. She doesn’t like to fight and train all the time like you do.”

 

Buffy raised an eyebrow at Trunks before she turned back to Goku. “Although Trunks knows a version of me in the future, he doesn’t really know me. Maybe blowing off a little steam might help.” She grinned at Goku and assumed a sparring stance.

 

Across the crater, Krillin asked, “What’s going on here?”

 

Vegeta growled before saying, “The tiny blonde woman is going to fight Kakarot, you idiot. I don’t know why though; Kakarot will easily beat her.”

 

“I’m not too sure guys,” Gohan said. He inhaled deeply and searched the blonde’s ki. “As strong as my dad and that guy are, I think she’s stronger.”

 

“It’s starting,” Piccolo said, returning everyone’s attention to the scene before them.

 

It was slow at first as Buffy and Goku got a feel for each other’s fighting styles, and then it sped up rapidly. Goku seemed to have the upper hand at first, with Buffy blocking his blows and kicks while she waited for an opening. When she found it, she sent a quick right hook into Goku’s nose. While he was stunned, she followed it with a quick roundhouse kick to his head and dropped to sweep his feet out from under him. She paused long enough to grab for the stake held at the small of her back, landed on top of Goku, and placed the stake on his chest, where it rested above his heart. She grinned and said, “That was too easy.”

 

She climbed off Goku and grabbed his hand to help him back up. Goku looked at Trunks and asked, “How well does your Buffy do against a Super Saiyan?”

 

Trunks blushed and said, “She still kicks my ass.” He shifted closer to Goku and said, “You know our sparring match earlier? Even when I’m at full strength, she acts as if it’s nothing.” He pulled out the heart disease antidote and handed it to Goku. “Don’t forget to take this,”

 

“No problem.” Goku turned to Buffy and said, “If you need a place to stay, I’m sure either Chi-Chi or Bulma won’t mind.”

 

“I think I’ll wait until I meet everyone before I make up my mind.” She looked around, searching for Trunks, only to find that he had disappeared. “I wonder where he went,” she said to herself as she followed Goku’s line of sight and saw him looking at a craft in the sky. She shaded her eyes and saw Trunks smiling and waving at her and Goku. She glanced back at the group starting to cross the small canyon. One of the first ones to reach them was a shorter man with black spiky hair.

 

The first time she heard him speak, she had felt the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.

 

She couldn’t explain it, but something about the tone in his voice and the arrogance in his stance almost reminded her of Spike at his worst. She took a deep breath and attempted to make sense of what he was saying.

 

“It’s preposterous that she could have beaten you so easily, Kakarot! She’s nothing but a tiny blonde woman who looks like she couldn’t even hurt a fly! Why, I bet you let her get the better of you—”

 

His tirade was cut short by Buffy driving her fist right into the center of his face and breaking his nose. She quickly pulled away and blushed, slightly ashamed at losing her temper so easily. She looked over at the angry little man (and she could get away with calling him a little man as he was only an inch or two taller than her) and said, “Apparently I’m stronger than I look since I was able to break your nose so easily.”

 

He glared at her for a quick moment before he popped his nose back in place. Buffy gave a small wince at the way he had been able to shrug off the pain, never taking her eyes off the man in front of her. She had a feeling that if she did, he wouldn’t hesitate to attack her.

 

“Vegeta, leave her alone!” The blue-haired woman who had been standing apart from the group walked up to him and gave a tug on his very pink shirt. “She’s obviously had a hard enough of a day and she doesn’t need to take any crap from you!”

 

Vegeta turned his gaze to the woman and yelled, “This is none of your business, woman!” He turned back to Buffy and said, “I’m not sure if this newcomer would appreciate you meddling in her affairs.”

 

Buffy took two steps back in an effort to make herself more comfortable, only to have Vegeta to take the two steps with her. She glared at him and took another two steps, and somehow found herself in a pissing contest with the Saiyan. When he stepped into her comfort zone again, she said, “You need to back off or I’ll do something you’ll regret.”

 

He smirked at her and took the last steps needed to stand directly in front of her. “Make me regret it.”

 

Buffy didn’t say anything, she simply snapped. She planted her right fist in his face again, re-breaking his nose, before she kicked at him. Her knee impacted his abdomen and she heard the whoosh of breath he exhaled before she continued her assault. Several punches and kicks later, she finally knocked him to the ground and backed away so she wouldn’t be compelled to continue her attack.

 

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence before Goku said, “I think you may have broken him, Buffy.”

 

There was a weak chuckle that came from Vegeta. He sat up from his previous position and rolled his shoulders. “That wasn’t half bad. Too bad I’ve been hurt worse.”

 

Buffy planted her hands on her hips. She couldn’t believe the arrogance of this man. She cleared her throat and said, “I could have hurt you worse.” She waited for Vegeta to turn his gaze toward her and showed him her unhurt hands. “See? No scratches, no bruises, no broken bones.” She then invaded his space, forcing him to look up at her. “I’m sure if most people punched you in the face, their hands would be all torn up with as hard as your head is, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. Before I fell through that portal, I had just beaten the hell out of a hell-god and then I was able to take you out without injuring myself further, so I’d be careful if I were you.”

 

He was quiet for a moment before asking, “Are you able to use energy blasts?” He took her silence for conformation that she couldn’t, then said, “I won’t worry until you are able to then.” He collapsed backward and stared at the sky. He heard the talk about the androids coming and it would be the end of the world. He had already talked to Bulma’s father about building him a simulator that he could train in. Now he had three goals: become a Super Saiyan, defeat the androids, and beat the little woman at her own game.

 

***

 

Buffy had been unsure about what Goku’s reaction would be about asking to go to his place, but he just shrugged it off and assured her that it would be okay. Apparently, he had forgotten to make sure it was alright with his wife first. Buffy almost covered her ears to ward off the high pitch of Chi-Chi’s voice, but figured the other woman would feel insulted.

 

“Goku! I realize that you’ve been in space for a while, but the niceties can still be observed!” Buffy winced as Chi-Chi smacked Goku in the chest, and then watched as the other woman’s demeanor changed. Chi-Chi gave him a big smile and said, “I missed you and worried so much about you.”

 

Goku smiled down at his wife before he pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. He inhaled her scent and made a small contented noise. “Well, we are going to have a problem.” When Chi-Chi looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes, Goku quickly explained about the Androids and how Buffy had appeared, before he told her about his upcoming disease. “We have an antidote, but it won’t work until I get sick.”

 

Buffy cocked her head to the side and asked, “Didn’t that guy say that we should be hearing about it on the news soon?” When Goku nodded, she said, “Well, we’ll just expose you so you get it out of the way and you can be in fighting shape by the time those Androids come.”

 

Goku grabbed her up in a bear hug and swung her around the room. He planted a kiss on her forehead as he set her down and said, “I knew it was a good idea to bring you home with me.”

 

When Buffy looked over at Chi-Chi and found the other woman smiling at her. Chi-Chi took Buffy’s hand and said, “Well, let’s make you up a room. I’m sure that Piccolo will be along before too long and all of you need to get training.” Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but Chi-Chi stopped her. “I know this isn’t your fight, but we need all the help we can get; especially if what Gohan managed to tell me is true.”

 

Buffy blushed for two reasons: one being Chi-Chi’s hospitality, the other for how she had acted around Vegeta. She really needed to get a hold of her temper before she did something really awful to someone who didn’t totally deserve it.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

 

One month later, Vegeta was smarting at his defeat at the hands of a small blonde woman. He had already broken the simulator several times already and found it hard to restrain his anger, especially around women.  Bulma had been getting on his nerves, especially when she started harping about how he had treated the other woman. Vegeta knew the other woman could handle herself; after all she had apparently had no problem putting him in his place. He growled to himself as he returned his attention to the bots Dr. Briefs had built for him, it wouldn’t do for him to be distracted by thoughts of her while he was busy training.

 

He was several hours into his training when he felt a surge in ki so strong that it almost made him lose focus. He quickly powered everything down and stepped out of the simulator. He found an inner focus and searched for the strong energy; he was only slightly surprised that it came from the direction of Kakarot’s home, what did surprise him is that it didn’t feel like anyone he knew of. Curious, he walked back inside the simulator and activated the communication device. When Bulma answered, he asked, “Woman, did the little blonde woman go to Kakarot’s place?”

 

He heard the irritation in Bulma’s voice when she said, “My name is Bulma, you moron! And yes, Buffy did go with Goku, that way she didn’t have to put up with you!”

 

Vegeta pushed the button to end communication and exited the simulator. If he hurried, he could see for himself if this Buffy was as strong as her ki promised.

 

***

 

“That’s very good, Buffy. Now if we can just get you to control that energy, we can start the flying lessons.”

 

Buffy huffed impatiently. She had been working for a few days now, attempting to tap into her energy—ki Goku had called it—and when she was finally able to, it seemed to surround and attempt to take over, but she had been able to quickly contain it. Ever since she had unleashed it from the box it had been put in, she could constantly feel it humming under her skin.

 

“Okay,” Goku said as he helped her to her feet, “now try to push that energy toward your feet and try to lift yourself up, only using the energy inside you.”

 

It took a few minutes, but Buffy was finally hovering of her own volition. She blocked out the sounds of Gohan and Piccolo sparring, Goku’s words of encouragement, and even the sound of her own breathing, and in that moment of absolute stillness, she was able to find her center and took off into the sky. She wasn’t even sure where she was going, but she knew she was being drawn toward something. She opened her eyes and stopped, surprised to find Vegeta only a few yards away from her.

 

“So, Kakarot has been teaching you how to harness your ki? How interesting.” He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her.

 

Buffy kept a wary gaze on Vegeta. She knew from talks with both Goku and Chi-Chi that he was considered an ally, but just because he was their ally didn’t mean he was hers. If anything, he was an enemy until proven otherwise. She gave him a tense smile and said, “He thought it would be more effective if I could fight in the air and not be stuck on the ground in case things get dicey. Can’t say as I disagree with him, but if I’m stuck here, I may as well help instead of hinder.”

 

Vegeta was about to ask something when Goku suddenly popped up in-between them.

 

“Oh, hi, Vegeta; I guess you came out to investigate what was going on with us when you felt Buffy power up, huh?” Not waiting for an answer, Goku turned to Buffy and said, “I’m impressed you managed to get this far on your first try; normally just a light hovering is enough to tire someone out.”

 

“Well, I think you might just have to zip me home because I think it’s starting to kick in,” Buffy said as she started to waver where she was floating. After a few seconds, everything went black and she felt herself falling toward the ground.

 

***

 

When Buffy woke up, she felt like she had been asleep for days. She sat up and looked around to find Gohan keeping watch over her. She stretched and asked, “How long have I been out?”

 

Gohan looked up from his studying and said, “At least a day and a half.” When Buffy gaped at him he closed his book and added, “Don’t worry, my dad’s still out. Apparently wherever you flew to had the heart virus my dad was supposed to catch.” He watched Buffy throw the covers off her legs and try to stand up, only to see her collapse back on the bed. “If you want to wait a minute, I’ll help you into the dining room. I have to make sure everyone is awake anyway.”

 

Buffy took a few deep breaths and began stretching what muscles she could with out getting up. She stretched her arms over her head and let out a small sound of pleasure at the feeling before she continued. After a moment she looked toward the door and was surprised to see Vegeta standing there. She completed the stretch she was doing before she bade him good morning. When he didn’t reply in kind, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

 

He smirked and entered the doorway. He reached his hands out to help her up, but Buffy stood on her own. She was a little shaky, but she was standing on her own with out any help. He scowled at her for rejecting his offer of help, but didn’t comment on it. “You overexerted your energy and I caught you. Kakarot started grabbing at his chest, so I brought the two of you here.” He watched her watch him and found himself amused that she was wary in his company and since it amused him to do so, he was overly courteous. He pulled her chair out for her at the table and once she was seated, he took a chair next to hers and attempted to make small talk while they waited for breakfast.

 

Feeling that he was trying to pull one over on her, she gave him monosyllabic answers and kept scanning the doorways for someone to come through and save her from Vegeta. When it had been at least five minutes, she asked, “Where is everyone?”

 

Vegeta scowled at her, but tried not to lose his temper when he answered her. “Gohan was called out to complete some quick training with Piccolo and Chi-Chi was checking on Goku. I’m sure someone will be around shortly.”

 

Buffy returned his scowl with a glare while she asked, “You never fully answered my question; why are you still here?”

 

He thumped his fist on the table and said, “That’s none of your business, Woman!”

 

Feeling the adrenaline start pumping through her veins, Buffy stood and moved so the table was between them; she hoped a barrier between the two of them would stop the violence from escalating. She took a deep breath in an effort to calm down before she answered him. “Since I’m the only one who can do you serious damage, we might want to calm down and talk to each other like adults.”

 

Taking only half a moment to process what Buffy said, he said, “We have yet to see if you can beat me since the last time we met; it would be easier if you quit seeing me as your enemy when I am your ally.”

 

She cast a fleeting glance at the window and tried to calculate how fast she could make out of the house to where Gohan and Piccolo were training. When she decided that she wouldn’t be fast enough, she turned back to Vegeta and saw something in his eyes snap. Before she had a second to think about it, he was up and over the table and had pinned her to a wall. She struggled for a moment before she realized that she wasn’t strong enough to break away and that Vegeta apparently thought their verbal sparring was something akin to foreplay. She looked him in the eye and said, “You wonder why I have trouble seeing you as an ally when in the three times we’ve met, twice we’ve come to some sort of a physical confrontation.”

 

He leered at her and relaxed slightly as he scanned her body. While he had gone for the heavier type before, he found something very appealing in her slender and athletic form. He all but growled at her, “Maybe we connect on a more physical level. Ever think of that?”

 

She watched as he pulled away from and stalked out of the door, hopefully to go back to wherever he had been staying. She felt her legs give out and she slid to the floor. She didn’t move until Chi-Chi came out and started making breakfast. After a few moments, she stood and said, “I think I need to start training harder,” before she headed outside to join Piccolo and Gohan.

 

***

 

Once Goku recovered, the months passed in a blur, with Buffy quickly catching on how to control her energy and not letting her self get to the point where she drained herself dry. She vowed she would never be caught unaware by Vegeta again. While she tried to push him out of her mind, there were a few times he would creep in when she least expected it, but all it did was strengthen her resolve not to be the damsel again.

 

***

 

Vegeta had flown back to Capsule Corp with his metaphorical tail between his legs. He holed up in the simulator and steadfastly trained to become better, faster, and stronger; then he did his best to block Buffy from his mind. He was even stupid enough (in his opinion anyway) to slake his desire in Bulma one night in an effort to erase Buffy from his memory, but all it did was reinforce that Bulma wasn’t Buffy and couldn’t be a substitute no matter how hard he wished it.

 

When Bulma told him she was pregnant, all it did was reinforce his stupidity.

 

***

 

Buffy was feeling a little out-of-sorts at Capsule Corp, but she was having fun with her new friends and she had already decided that Vegeta wasn’t going to ruin her day. Trying to be nonchalant, she asked Bulma where Vegeta was.

 

“Oh, I have no idea where my baby’s father is. When I told him I was pregnant, he flew the coop.” She placed a hand on her belly and absentmindedly rubbed small circles. “Can’t say as I blame him, after all it was only a one-night stand and I wasn’t looking to get pregnant.” She hung her head and added, “To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I was the one he really wanted to be with.”

 

Buffy blushed but didn’t ask what she really wanted, so she changed the subject. “How’s Yamcha been?”

 

Bulma smiled at the topic change. “He’s handling it a lot better than I thought he would. He’s helping me set up a nursery and has been talking about how this has made him realize how close he came to actually losing me for good.”

 

Buffy was glad that it was turning out for the better. She was about to ask Bulma a few questions about something she thought the woman would be able to help her with, when one of the other guests screamed, “A man just landed on your lawn! And he wasn’t using a capsule!”

 

Both Buffy and Chi-Chi rushed to see who it could have possibly been. Maybe it was just Goku or Gohan and they had forgotten about the baby shower. Unfortunately, Buffy wasn’t so lucky; in the front lawn stood Vegeta in all his Super Saiyan glory. She swore under her breath, but gave small thanks that if she needed to take care of herself she could because she had started sparring with Goku in his Super Saiyan form a few months ago.

 

She heard someone say, “My God, he’s gorgeous,” but she tuned them out because something told her that he wasn’t here to see Bulma. She kept her eyes on him, clearly remembering the last time she had taken her eyes off him had ended up with her feeling utterly helpless. Not taking her eyes off him, she slowly backed away from the window and inched her way toward Bulma, hoping he wouldn’t make a move with an audience.

 

She was wrong.

 

She was only half-way across the room when he came through the window at her. She managed to dodge him and landed somewhere closer to Bulma. She could feel the power flowing off of him, but she couldn’t let it frighten her. And if Goku had been holding out on her, she was going to kick his ass when she got out of this. She quickly rolled to her feet and put herself between Vegeta and Bulma, feeling more like her old self in a long time. She could take him, but she needed to keep Bulma safe.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Vegeta?!” She screamed at him, trying to break him out of his trance. When that didn’t work, she quickly raised her power level like Goku had taught her to show him that she wasn’t afraid of him.

 

Apparently that had done the trick because he had stopped glaring at her like she was the cause of all his troubles and was staring at her in awe. She quickly powered down, but kept her guard up. When he finally seemed to snap out of it, she asked, “Were you too busy achieving your goal that you forgot about Bulma and your baby?” She walked up to him and slapped his face. “You need to pull your shit together; you’re going to be a father soon.” She turned to Bulma and said, “This was a lovely baby shower, Bulma, but I think it’s best if I go.”

 

Chi-Chi was right behind her. She handed Bulma the gifts they had brought and said, “You just let us know when that baby arrives so we can come see him.” She turned to Buffy and said, “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

 

As Buffy and Chi-Chi exited the room, Buffy could feel Vegeta watching her the entire time. She just followed Chi-Chi and didn’t look back. Once they were outside, Buffy asked Chi-Chi if she wanted to use a capsule or just have Buffy fly her home. They both agreed that flying would be faster and if Vegeta happened to follow them, the men could help if Buffy needed it. When they safely landed at home, Buffy sought Goku out.

 

“He managed to do it.” Buffy knew that there was a small amount of fear in her voice, but she and Goku had already planned for this eventuality. “He showed up at the baby shower and came right for me. He didn’t even care about Bulma or the baby.”

 

Goku furrowed his brow and thought about what may be going on in Vegeta’s head. He nodded to himself before he said, “I guess we up your and Gohan’s training.” He looked up in the sky and yelled for Piccolo and Gohan. When they both came down he asked, “Are you ready for some real training?” He grabbed Buffy around the shoulders and said, “I think it’s time for us to see if there is any limit to Buffy’s power. Every time we start training, she seems to pull more power out of a bottomless well and I think we’re only scratching the surface.”

 

Piccolo grinned and said, “I guess we better get started.”

Chapter Text

The days and months passed until it was finally time to meet up and fight the androids. That morning Buffy had woken early and had gotten herself ready before either Gohan or Goku had woken up. She prepared herself some coffee before going outside to join Piccolo in some meditation before they had to leave. When she felt she was as ready as she would ever be, she headed inside to get a quick bite to eat. The morning was mostly silent, the only noises being the sound of food being chewed and the occasional sniffle from Chi-Chi.

 

When Goku finally stood up and left the table, Buffy and Gohan followed suit. It was time to go. All three gave Chi-Chi a hug good-bye, and then stepped outside to meet Piccolo. Goku used his instant transmission to get them as close to the site as he could and they flew the remainder of the way. When they finally got to the island, Buffy ran up to Bulma and gave her a big hug.

 

“It’s been too long!” She leaned down to look at her friend’s baby and inspected him to see which of his parents he had taken after. She smiled at Bulma and said, “He looks like he’s a healthy blend of you both.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you think so. Mom and Dad say he looks just like me and Yamcha says that the stubborn look he gets in his eyes is all Vegeta.” Bulma laughed and held her son up and said, “Those silly people are just crazy when they don’t see both of us in you, huh? Seems only Buffy can see it.”

 

Buffy smiled as the baby babbled on. “While it’s good to see you, why are you even here? You or the baby—you still haven’t told me his name, by the way—could get hurt.”

 

Bulma seemed to get ready to pout, but said instead, “Trunks was restless and I thought flying out here with Yamcha could help him calm down, and it did, but I’m going to wait until you guys get going so we don’t get caught in the middle.”

 

“Oh, is that your baby, Bulma? Who’s the dad? Is it Yamcha?”

 

Bulma looked over to the newest arrival to the group and said, “Oh, it’s just you, Krillin. To answer your questions: Yes, this is my baby and his name is Trunks, Vegeta is the father, and Yamcha is okay with it.”

 

Krillin looked skeptical, but kept his thoughts to himself. He knew better than to make Bulma mad.  He turned toward Buffy and told her he was glad to meet her again. She returned his smile with one of her own before she turned her gaze to the horizon. He kept an eye on her out of the corner of his eye, and when he felt Vegeta approaching, he saw her visibly stiffen up. He asked her, “You alright there, Buffy?”

 

Buffy nodded her head, but turned to watch Vegeta heading in their direction. “Saying that Vegeta and I don’t get along is an understatement of epic proportions.”

 

Krillin could agree with her. “Vegeta doesn’t get along with anyone, but Bulma can keep him in line longer than the rest of us.”

 

Buffy rolled her eyes at his statement. “Even she’s managed to lose that edge the rest of us have.”

 

The group watched as Vegeta touched down on the outcropping they were waiting at. He nodded in greeting to everyone except Buffy; he openly leered at her. “Glad to see you could make it, Buffy. I was half afraid you would have been scared and left for your world.”

 

Even though Buffy really wanted to punch him, she settled for glaring at him. “I guess you were never told then. I can’t leave. Shenron isn’t strong enough to grant my wish.” She cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms about her head, beginning to limber up. “So, your troubles are now my troubles.” She walked up to Vegeta and stood only a few inches from him. She lowered her voice and added, “Since I’ve been training with Goku, I realized something and I think you should know it. You step one toe out of line, I will not hesitate to beat you down.” She walked away from him and resumed her skyward vigil.

 

Vegeta felt the heat infuse his blood and realized that his infatuation with the blonde had turned into an obsession to test her limits, his limits and to find out what it would feel like to feel her under him. He knew that if it had been only him and her standing here, he would have forgotten about the androids and just focused on her.

 

“There!”

 

The group looked to where Buffy was pointing and saw two figures flying above the city. It was hard to see what they looked like and in a flash they had disappeared into the city.

 

Yamcha turned to Buffy and asked, “How did you know they were there?”

 

She turned to him and said, “Slayer senses; seems they didn’t dull when I crossed into your world.” She turned to Goku and said, “Although it might be faster if we split up, I have a bad feeling that if we do someone will get hurt; and since I can sense them, maybe we can split up into small groups with you, me, Piccolo, and Gohan as leaders, so when I raise my level, you can lead them to me.”

 

“Sounds fine to me; Krillin, you can go with Buffy, Tien and Chiaotzu can go with Gohan, Yamcha can go with Piccolo and Vegeta can go with me. Sound good?”

 

“No, I will go with Buffy.”

 

The group looked in surprise at Vegeta. Buffy just sighed and said, “Whatever, you guys figure it out. I’m going after those androids.” She took off into the sky and headed toward the city. She wasn’t unsurprised when Vegeta joined her, but she ignored him as she began searching out the androids. She landed in the center of town and felt something pulling her toward the north.

 

“Are you sure this is the correct way to go?”

 

She growled at him under her breath. “If this isn’t the right way to go, then you are the most pleasant person I’ve ever met.” She continued on her path and stopped in her tracks when she spotted two ‘people’ who looked woefully out of place.

 

“Why did you stop?”

 

Buffy pointed in front of her and said, “Those two are the androids.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

She whipped around to face him. “What is with you always questioning me? Those ‘people’ don’t carry themselves like people: their body language is all wrong, their clothes don’t fit in with the other people we’ve seen so far, and the sun is reflecting off the white one’s forehead. Do you need any other examples?” By now she was seething, and really needed to take her anger out on something. She powered up and waited for the rest of the group to meet up with them.

 

Vegeta stood in awe as he felt the power rolling off her in waves. He managed to look behind her and saw the androids look in their direction. He turned her around so she could see them and said, “I think you’ve caught their attention.”

 

The one with a big hat and long beard moved in Buffy and Vegeta’s direction. “You there, girl; where did you get all that power? You are not in my database.”

 

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Didn’t think I would be. Something like me is rare in my world, and unheard of in yours.” She looked him up and down, assessing the situation. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she had a bad feeling about this. “I’m thinking whoever had created you has never heard of a Slayer.”

 

The android looked puzzled and turned to other android. “Nineteen, what were you able to uncover from her power level.”

 

“She should not cause us any trouble, Twenty. She read only slightly lower than the data on Yamcha.”

 

Vegeta smirked at the androids and mimicked Buffy’s pose. He said to her, “I think their sensors are broken if they’re saying you’re weaker than that Earthling.”

 

Buffy shrugged and said, “Apparently they aren’t able to sense the depth of my power, only what leaks out onto the surface. What I learned from Goku and Piccolo is that while those that can sense power levels can begin to see the depths to my power, if I don’t expend the energy, it doesn’t register on sensors.”

 

“Good to know that the enemy will underestimate you. I think we need stall while the others arrive.”

 

“There is no need to wait, we will face you now.”

 

Buffy could see that Vegeta was beginning to lose his temper, so she said, “Why don’t you follow us to that island out there. We,” she pointed to Vegeta and herself, “don’t feel the need to sacrifice other people.” Buffy didn’t wait for the android to answer; she took off into the air, expecting everyone to follow her. When she was some miles away she touched down and waited for everyone else.

 

Vegeta was the first to arrive, quickly followed by the androids, and a few moments later, Goku popped in with everyone else using his instant transmission. He grinned at her and said, “I see you couldn’t wait for us.”

 

Buffy rolled her eyes at him. “From what I’ve heard, you’re the one who runs headlong into trouble.” She turned her attention back to the androids and asked, “So, how do we decide who goes first? Back home it was, ‘Buffy, you go first,’ since I was the least breakable and all.”

 

“We could do rock, paper, scissors and eliminate people that way,” Goku suggested.

 

Buffy turned to the androids and said, “This will only take a sec, and then we’ll get down to it.”

 

Android Twenty folded his arms across his chest and said, “Fine; hurry up before I lose my patience.”

 

They quickly paired off and quickly played. It was best two out of three and was quickly whittled down to Buffy, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Tien. Buffy squared off against Tien and had lost rather quickly. She had a feeling that Chiaotzu had given him a hand, but she knew it would be poor sportsmanship if she brought it up. Then she saw one of the strangest things, Vegeta deliberately lost; to someone paying attention, he had been going all out until Buffy lost, then his gaze lost some of his intensity and he lost to Tien. Piccolo gave her a small nudge to let her know he had noticed too, but, thankfully, he didn’t voice his opinion out loud. The last thing she needed was for the Namekian to voice what was going on in his head.

 

Tien squared off and began battering away at Android Nineteen. The android kept giggling this mad little giggle every time Tien hit him. After a few minutes of not making a dent in the android, Tien unleashed a ki attack. This time the android’s eyes widened and he put his hands up like he was going to block the blast, only to absorb it into the jewels in his hands.

 

Buffy could only shake her head in disbelief. It was one thing to fight seemingly unbreakable androids; it was another to fight seemingly unbreakable androids that were energy sucking as well. She turned her gaze to the other android and was unsurprised to see the smirk on his face. She motioned toward the one called Twenty and said, “I think Papa Smurf was expecting this.”

 

Goku turned to the look at Twenty and said, “I think you’re right, Buffy.” He turned back to Tien and yelled, “Tien, don’t use any ki blasts!”

 

Buffy looked at Goku and said, “Way to state the obvious.” She turned to Vegeta and asked, “Do you have any practical ideas?”

 

Vegeta just crossed his arms over his chest. “If he can’t figure it out on his own, then he deserves what he gets.”

 

Tired of all his antics and his bad attitude, Buffy had had enough. She glared at him and said, “If you aren’t going to help, then go back to Capsule Corp. Now.” Vegeta just stood there, staring at her blankly as if he had never heard someone talk to him that way before. Buffy huffed and started feeling her anger begin to boil over. She looked over at Tien and saw that he was starting to have a hard time. Nothing major, but she could tell that he was starting to tire out. She hollered at him, “Mind if I tag in, Tien?”

 

Since it hadn’t occurred to anyone else to step in while Tien was clearly tiring, he looked at her in surprise. He gave her a tired smile and said, “Sure, if you want a turn, be my guest.”

 

She walked up to where he was standing and said, “Thanks,” before she planted her right fist in the middle of Nineteen’s face. The android flew a few feet and managed to skid to a stop only a few feet from where Twenty stood. When he stood, there was an obvious dent in the middle of his face. He charged at Buffy and she stood her ground, ready to give him a surprise. Picking a spot in his abdomen, she slammed her wrists together.

 

“Buffy, no!”

 

Buffy didn’t pay any attention to Goku as she completed her Kamehameha Wave. Making sure to keep control on her energy output, she aimed for the area just below Nineteen’s outstretched hands. As fast as she had let the attack fly, she quickly snuffed her power and surveyed the damage. What was left of the android didn’t look very pretty.

 

The remaining android’s eyes were wide in horror. He pointed a finger at Buffy. “You should not have been able to cause this amount of damage. Your power level is lower than Yamcha’s!”

 

Knowing that her anger had caused her to go overboard, Buffy settled for glaring at him and said, “Apparently, you have never heard the saying, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Just because your sensors say I’m weaker than Yamcha, doesn’t mean that I’m weaker than Yamcha.” She turned away from him and looked at Goku. “I’m sorry I did that, but he was pissing me off.”

 

Goku gave her a smile and was about to say something when he noticed that Twenty had fired a blast in Buffy’s direction. He started moving in her direction, only to see that Vegeta had already tackled her to the ground. When he turned his attention back to where the android had been standing, Twenty was long gone.

 

As Buffy lay on the ground and struggled to catch her breath, she could feel Vegeta checking her over for any wounds. She could have sworn that she heard him murmuring to himself about how she had better not be hurt because he had plans for her. She finally managed to pull in a lungful of air and began coughing. She looked into Vegeta’s eyes and said, “Not so hard next time, okay?”

 

Vegeta’s eyes raised skyward, as if he was thanking some deity that she had been unharmed, before he grabbed fistfuls of hair on either side of her face and slammed his lips to hers. Buffy struggled for a moment, but relaxed against him as his hands loosened in her hair. It felt like a few minutes had passed, in truth it was only a few moments, before Vegeta pulled away. He scowled at her and said, “Don’t do that to me again,” before he let go of her and distanced himself by standing and moving a few feet away.

 

Buffy stayed where she was, completely confused as to what the hell was going on. She and Vegeta had never spent much time together and he had never given any inkling that he had any sort of positive feelings toward her.

 

 She just stared at Vegeta and while she tried to collect her thoughts, Trunks flew in from wherever he had been hiding and asked, “Where did that android go? He wasn’t one of the ones I warned you about.”