Age 766

Humans are disgusting.

It was humans who threw us on the streets as children.

It was humans who took advantage of those children, in every way.

It was a human who tore their insides out.

They might as well be the monsters they were made to be.

Humans will get what they deserve. And we will dance on their graves.

Age 780

The sun was setting and Gohan closed his eyes, enjoying the final moments of warmth it offered.

He was resting on the balcony of Capsule Corp, recovering after the loss of his arm. He heard the door open behind him and saw his apprentice, Trunks walk in with a tray of food. He sensed unease from his student and he knew why. Trunks blamed himself for what happened. Gohan would never blame him, though. He was just a thirteen year old boy. Gohan was a grown man at twenty-three, of course he'd put his life on the line to save a kid, especially when he had so much potential to become stronger. He was the little brother he never had.

Trunks walked up beside him with the tray, not being able to look at him. Everytime he tried all he would see is his arm, gone.

Trunks roughly placed the tray against a table. "I hate them."

Gohan continued to gaze into the sky. "I understand, but don't let that cloud your judgement and make rash decisions... I feel sorry for them."

Trunks balked at him. "Seriously?! But they killed all your friends!"

"I know, but think about it, why did they kill their creator?"

"Well- because they're evil!"

"Yeah, but Gero wasn't good, either. I'm betting that Seventeen and Eighteen had a real reason to hate him. Also… if they were teenagers when completed how old were they when Gero started working on them."

Trunks went silent.

Gohan poked him in the chest. "I'd say around your age. Children."

"I'm not a child…"

Gohan waved his hand dismissively. "Preteens- you get the idea. Being preyed upon at such a young age, it's no wonder they have so much anger to take out on the world."

Trunks growled and stood up. "So what? Who cares about their reasons for killing? They still deserve to die!"

"Of course they do. It's too late to give them another chance. I'm sorry... I'm just thinking what my dad would do. If he hadn't I know he would've beaten them in battle. But he wouldn't have killed them, he would've told them something to inspire them to live for good, not evil. Just like many of his own friends, including…"

"Including who?"

"Er- your mom is the person to tell you names. I don't want to get on her bad side. Anyway, my point is, if it wasn't for Gero and my dad dying, none of this would be happening…" Gohan turned to his student. "Don't blame yourself for any of this. It's not your fault this happened."

Tears formed at the corners of the boy's eyes. He hugged Gohan and cried. Gohan placed his hand on the boy's head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry…"

From outside the room, Trunks' mother, Bulma, had been listening in.

"If it wasn't for Gero…"

Age 783

Bulma had just shown Trunks her time machine. He was impressed, but doubt stretched across his face.

"Mom, what is it you're hoping to accomplish?"

Bulma grabbed a clipboard from her desk.

"It's simple, son. I want you to stop the Androids from ever being built in the first place."

Trunks stared at her.

"What?"

"You heard me. Of course, you'd have to make another trip to the past to give Goku the antidote for his illness, as well."

"But how will I even find Gero in the past?"

Bulma tapped the clipboard.

"It was hard to figure out, but I used a strand of Seventeen's hair from your jacket to run a DNA test. I got a match."

She gave Trunks some of her papers. The first was the results of the test and he skimmed over most of it, only registering the name 'Lapis'. The next was screen-captured footage of two kids who looked like the Androids, but younger. They were in a convenience store, holding the cashier at gunpoint. Bulma pointed at the date.

"This was the last known sighting of the twins before they disappeared, presumably to be turned into cyborgs. They were fifteen at the time, only a year younger than you are now."

Trunks turned to the next page. It was another picture of the twins from an article for missing children. The images used showed even younger children with smiles on their faces. It almost made him feel sorry for them.

"So what, you want me to kill them when they were human?"

Bulma looked horrified. "No! They were just kids, and they never killed anyone, at least, not on record. What I want is for you to travel to this city in the past and keep an eye on them. It's around this time that Gero interacted with them. When you see Gero, you kill him before he turns these orphans into genocidal monsters!"

"Wait… you want me to protect the Androids?" Trunks felt disgusted just saying that.

Bulma sighed.

"Homeless orphans. If you arrive a couple of weeks and find them before then, you might even convince them to help you."

"You mean make friends with them? Can't you just find a sighting for Gero so I can get it over with?"

Bulma shook her head.

"Gero was very good at erasing information about his past. I couldn't find anything on him."

Trunks stared at the kids in the article. The girl had blonde hair pulled back into twin ponytails and braces while the boy had short black hair. They looked innocent here compared to the other photo of them at fifteen. Their hair became longer and uneven, their eyes darkened and full of pain. Anyone would be curious about what happened to them.

"What will happen to the Androids here?"

"Nothing. The future you will change won't be ours."

Trunks gaped at her. "Then what is the point of all this?!"

"To give that version of Earth a bright future. One where Goku and your father live to keep it safe from bleak stories like ours."

"I could meet father?'

Bulma nodded nervously. "Of course!"

Trunks fell into silence, deep in thought.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Age 765

Lapis didn't know how much longer they could do this. Run, hide, steal. He just knows they couldn't be put into the system again. Not for fear of their crimes catching up, but for the people looking for them. They can't get found. They'd be killed.

But...

Lapis looked down at his sister, Lazuli resting against his leg. They usually took turns sleeping and keeping watch so that no one could get the jump on them. Lazuli was ill, and most of their money went to buying her medicine. Lapis wanted to take her to a hospital every time he saw her keel over in pain, but she always refused. She'd rather risk her own life than both of theirs. She always acted more mature than him, even though they were the same age, but she could be just as stubborn when it came to being protective. Lapis wished he could do more for her. They just needed more money.

And he will do anything to get it.