Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or have any rights to it.


Eighteen stared down at the ruined cityscape. The twins had done a number on a once bustling metropolis, and now, there were few, if any survivors. They weren't competing for points, so there wasn't any fun in killing the few bedraggled survivors.

Seventeen had found himself a car and was now on a joy ride somewhere. It was a big city, and Eighteen could wander through the deserted streets without being disturbed by her brother's ruckus. It felt oddly peaceful, moving through the town without any noise pollution. However, that peace was eventually shattered by the sound of crying.

The cyborg wrinkled her nose in annoyance as she traced the sound to a nearby warehouse. Upon entering, she found a man weeping over the body of a little girl. Eighteen raised an eyebrow at his peculiar behavior.

What's that fool doing? He could easily escape…the girl's dead; she's of no further use to him? Why's he wasting his time crying over her? She extended her hand to the oblivious man. "Stupid human," she muttered before blasting him.

Walking up to the little girl's lifeless body, Eighteen eyed it with disgust. "What's so special about you anyway? Why was he so upset over you?" She knew that there would be no answer and kicked the body in frustration. "Stupid girl."

"Hey Eighteen, why don't we go home," said Seventeen as he walked into the warehouse. He then noticed the little girl and the charred remains of the man and raised an eyebrow. "Having fun I see."

"Nah, it's boring. I'm getting bored now. Let's go home." She walked past her brother without giving him a sideways glance. He was soon behind her as she took off and they headed for the mountains. However, she remembered that she had to check up on Gohan. "Hey Seventeen, why don't you just go home? I feel like spending some time alone for a while."

"I don't mind," replied Seventeen. "But what's up? You've been doing that a lot for the past few weeks since we killed Gohan." Then a light bulb went off in his mind as his lips curved into a sly grin. "Oh Eighteen, why didn't you tell me you had a crush on him?"

"What?" She stopped mid flight and turned to glare at him. "What the hell gave you that idea?"

Seventeen shrugged, but maintained his teasing grin. "What else would explain your different behavior? You want some alone time because you miss Gohan, don't you? You're just upset because we don't have our favorite toy to play with anymore, am I right?"

Eighteen smiled back at him. "Not even close Seventeen. Now that I don't need to babysit you anymore with Gohan running around, I think I can do what I want little brother." Besides, why would I miss him when I see him every day?

Seventeen made a pouting face. "Come on Eighteen, you know I killed Gohan on my own without your help. I was only holding back those other times." They both shared a quick laugh before Seventeen floated past her. "I'll just go home now, and you can go broad over 'Gohan'." He dashed off before she could retort.

Eighteen tucked her hair behind her left ear before heading towards Gohan's jail cell. She was looking forward to satisfying her curiosity over another human emotion, sadness. It was inconceivable to her why someone would waste time crying over a dead child. Crying wouldn't bring the person back, and it made the person vulnerable. What was the point of sadness? Hopefully, Gohan would have the answers.

Soon, she had arrived at the cave and once inside, she made her way to the kitchen and began fixing a meal. Gohan was sure to be hungry, and this would be his first breakfast in week. She wasn't particularly in to cooking, and she wasn't going to break her back to make him a special meal. Instead, she chose to prepare a simple bowl of cereal and a glass of water to keep him hydrated.

She placed the bowl and the glass on a tray and upon entering Gohan's cell, she saw him sprawled out on the mattress, sleeping soundly. He wasn't snoring, and looked so peaceful. Eighteen couldn't help but snickering at the thought of shattering his peace. Placing the tray on a bedside table to his left, she slowly crawled on the bed and grabbed his shoulders before shaking him awake, though she wasn't too hard on him.

Gohan's eyes slowly opened and just as he began to make out Eighteen's face, "boo!" His body stiffened up as he made a startled gasp, eyes wide as they stared into those of his captor. Eighteen was soon laughing as she got off him.

"Man, I never thought you'd be so easy to spook." She gave him an amused grin as he groaned before sitting up. "I brought you some breakfast." She motioned to the food on his bedside table. "Eat up."

Gohan could tell that she was pleased with herself for startling him. The cyborgs always enjoyed knocking the tough down a few pegs. Deciding not to dig himself in any deeper, Gohan began eating his cereal before downing the glass of water. It felt awkward to be eating in front of her, but he could get used to it. In all honesty, he felt that he should have died during that last battle.

After taking Gohan's plate away, Eighteen came back and sat down next to him, eyeing him intently. She smiled when he sat firmly under her gaze when anyone else would have squired. "So what can you tell me about sadness?"

Gohan shrugged. "It's the feeling of loss…only magnified. When people become close, they form a bond. When one of them dies, the bond is broken, and it feels painful."

"Is it damaging?" asked Eighteen, now more intrigued by the idea.

Gohan shook his head. "It can be…but only psychologically. It's a different kind of pain you'd feel though. Even if you do fell something physically, the pain will all just be here," he pointed at his head, but she knew he meant the mind. "Just imagine how it would feel if your brother was gone. That's probably what sadness would be."

Eighteen chuckled at his statement. "Do you think I'd become an emotional wreck if Seventeen went missing?" She shook her head. "I would never do something as weak as crying over him."

"If you care about him…and your bond is broken in some way, then you never know what you'd do until something like that happened." Gohan's face became serious. "You're probably wondering what the point of crying is."

"What possible use could such a ridiculous function have?" Eighteen gave him a cruel grin. "All it does is make unnecessary noise and make the crier seem weak and pathetic like a baby."

"That's the point," replied Gohan. "Like I said before, humans are social beings. We need the support of a group. Stress can kill, and that includes emotional stress. Crying is a way to express sadness to others, and a way to relieve that kind of emotional stress. It's not pleasant, but it has its place. Without it, people would just keep everything bottled up inside, and probably wouldn't be able to communicate the magnitude of their emotions."

"Hmph," Eighteen rolled her eyes at his little lecture. "Seems more like a waste of water to me. The humans seem like a bunch of needy weaklings." Her grin broadened when he sent her a death glare.

"I suppose you don't care about Seventeen then," replied Gohan bitterly.

"Off course I care about Seventeen," scoffed Eighteen. "We don't need anything else, just each other. That's how it will always be."

"Then how would you feel if he were taken away?" Moments later, he jerked forward as Eighteen grabbed a fist full of his shirt. Soon he was face to face with her.

"Are you insinuating that I'd be weak like the humans; that I'd cry if Seventeen died?' She glared back at him. "I care about my brother, but I'm not attached to him. If he dies, it'll be his problem, not mine."

"What about loneliness?" She raised a curious eyebrow, urging him to go on. "You'd feel lonely after he died, wouldn't you. He's the only one who's exactly like you. With him dead, there would only be one left."

Letting go of him, Eighteen turned away to stare at the ground with a pensive expression. He had a point. Without Seventeen…whom would I kill humans with? Am I capable of sadness too? She shook her head dismissively. "No…I don't think I can feel sadness anymore. Dr. Gero got rid of my weak human emotions."

"What about frustration whenever I managed to escape you?" Gohan gave her a cocky grin. He didn't care if he was putting his life on the line; his prospects were grim as it were. "You and your brother seem to have some emotions left."

"You've got a point," replied Eighteen in an indifferent tone. "We can feel unhappy when we don't get what we want, and happy when we do, but that's about it. We don't have any wasteful emotions like love, sadness, or fear."

"Those aren't wasteful emotions," replied Gohan as if he were a teacher repeating it for the tenth time to his students. "It's all to do with social bonds. Fear is useful because it motivates people to escape danger; lack of fear is not bravery, but stupidity. There are some things you should be afraid of."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Eighteen knew it was a rhetorical question, but she pressed further. "What do Seventeen and I have to be afraid of? Nobody can defeat us. We're unstoppable."

"All that means is that you two haven't encountered anything to fear so far. If something does pose a threat to you, it would be wise to fear it. Also, there's a difference between being afraid and panicking. All panicking does is make you more vulnerable, while fear itself could make you tougher to kill." Gohan took a deep breath as he finished that sentence.

"What about sadness and love? Aren't those useless? It's makes a person too attached to someone else. I don't like the idea of being so dependent."

"Love is, once again, a form of social bonding. Like fear, it can be a strong motivator, only this time; it promotes teamwork or helping someone in need. Sadness is a negative emotion and a state that people would rather avoid. You could say that the aversion to being sad is another strong social motivator. Also, sadness is a way to communicate that something is wrong."

"So what you're saying is that humans are all a bunch of dependant weaklings?" Eighteen snickered as she saw Gohan's face. He looked like he was ready to pull the hairs out of his head. "So what about you? If I remember correctly, you're not human. You're a saiyan-human hybrid. Where do you stand in all this?"

"I am still half human," replied Gohan, and I am capable of functioning normally in human society. I feel a kinship to the human race, and I grew up here among humans so I basically consider myself more human than saiyan. Even my father felt a greater affinity to Earth than to his own race." Gohan saw an opportunity for a verbal jab, and said, "you know, now that I think about it the only people who don't seem to fit in around here, are you and Seventeen. Maybe that's why you really kill people. You're jealous of the rest of us and our strong bonds to each other, and it makes you angry and want to shatter it."

Her eyes burned fiercely into his as she raised her hand to strike him. He stood his ground, not fearing what she was planning to do. It annoyed her. "Well?"

"Go ahead…do it. I don't care anymore. My ability to help others is nil as it is. There's no special reason for me to live anymore. So go ahead, I'm not scared."

Eighteen paused for a moment before lowering her hand. She gave him a genuine smile, though he wouldn't recognize it. "You intrigue me Gohan." She got up and walked out of the jail cell before closing the gate. "See you later," she said as she walked out of the cave.


Here's the second chapter, and I hope I've got them both in character. Since Eighteen isn't openly lusting after Gohan like in 'May I Use You' it might be a bit longer until sparks begin to fly.