Disclaimer: Don't own these guys so don't sue as I barely even own the pc!
Warnings: Angst, Seventeen's POV
Rating: PG 13
Summary:We all know that 18 was regurgitated by Cell, but what of 17? Just how did he manage to return? And when he did, what did he do?
Android arc #3
'THE RETURN'
Debs-dragon Jan 2002
Chapter 2
An age seemed to have passed and my progress, while slow, was impeded more by the amount of vegetation that surrounded me than my lack of motion. I struggled as I continued to push my way forward. I had tried on a few occasions to gather together and fire off energy balls in an attempt to clear a pathway, but it was futile. I just couldn't concentrate enough power into the one spot to do the job. If I did use the energy for that then I would only have enough power left to keep my vital circuits running, which meant total shut down until such time as someone repaired me. I knew that Dr Gero had designed and built me so that my power was limitless; unfortunately at the time of my construction he hadn't counted on the android known as Cell being defeated.
I stopped dead in my tracks. That was it! That was what had happened to me. Now I could fit more of the puzzle together. There had been another android, one named Cell, and somehow I had become a part of him. I shuddered as the unwanted memories flooded my brain. I stared around. So what had happened? Somehow I had returned and with my return had come confusion. The absorption and joining followed by the release and return had done some major damage to my wiring... not to mention the effect it had had on my fuses! That must be why my core power system was malfunctioning, it hadn't been designed to suffer the effects of the return. Then the shock of realization hit me and sent me reeling.
I wasn't supposed to be 'alive'.
Dr Gero had no intention of letting me live other than as a part of that... that... creature. My legs gave out from underneath me and I sank to the ground. If my heart had been real then it had just been shattered into a million pieces. I tried in vain to collect my thoughts and slot in some more of the missing puzzle. The knowledge that my current existence was unplanned, that I had been destined all along to become a part of that other thing rocked me to my very foundations.
Another part of me 'died' that day.
I felt something wet slide from the corner of my eye and meander down my cheek. Brushing my fingers across I captured the trail of moisture and held my glistening fingers up for observation. I frowned as I studied the phenomena. Water mixed with a little salt... I scanned my memory banks.
Tears.
So that's what this stuff was. The data was limited but sufficient to ring distant bells, bells from a long time ago. A little boy crying. I frowned again as I failed to find any further trace of data on this. Tears... so this was another part of me a part that was human coming to the fore. This was strange. So many of these 'human' traits were beginning to make themselves known to me. I raised myself to my feet once more. I had to push on, the memories would have to wait till later. Right now my power level was on the wane and I didn't like the speed at which it was decreasing. Down to 50% now.
I groaned as the stiffness in joints unused for so long once more began their painful journey forward. I... once so graceful and confident was reduced to this ... a slow shuffling robot.
Yes robot!.
I sent a manic, blood curdling laugh towards the skies, to any that would hear that I, Juunanagou, once the strongest warrior to walk this planet, so fluid in motion, so strong was now reduced to nothing more than a pile of broken, twisted metal and fused, melted wiring.
I pushed my lank hair away from my face. Darkness was coming, dusk settling over the landscape. I shivered. Not from the cold but from my lack of progress. With my power level so low and continuing its descent, spending the night out here in this wilderness was to say the least.. not appealing. I continued to move forwards, stumbling from time to time as feet connected with the uneven surface of the woodland path. The sun had almost gone and along with it the warmth. Pretty soon an eerie twilight settled over the landscape - and still I pressed on.
The chill of the evening air began to penetrate my being. The moisture crept in through open wounds and settled upon exposed wires and circuits, slowly seeping in until I felt chilled to the proverbial bone. The dampness was a curse, a curse to my being. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but with my power so low and minimal function, the wounds I had suffered lay open, inviting the corrosive elements to attack my vulnerable innards. I felt the hiss and spark as a couple more circuits connected with the evenings dampness, fought vainly and then gave up the battle, admitting defeat with a small shower of sparks.
This was no good. I had to find shelter of some form, shelter from the evening air before my entire system seized up. Scanning the immediate area brought no result. The town was still some distance away and my chances of making it there were getting slimmer by the minute. There was nothing even remotely like a building anywhere close. I sighed.
48% power.
I scanned again. Wait. To my left there seemed to be some form of shelter. I zeroed in and stumbled my way through the vegetation towards my sanctuary.
At last I found it. A cave. Gratefully I crawled inside. At least it wasn't so cold and damp in here. As my eyes adjusted to the gloom I managed to gather together some pieces of wood and stacking them into a pile I spared enough of my precious energy to ignite them. The fire grew and crackled into life and I felt the warmth slowly spread through the cave. A check around the cave confirmed my thought that I was alone and so I let myself relax and curled up closer to the fire, enjoying the heat that radiated out from it. I may be mainly machine but that didn't mean that the human part of me was dead. On the contrary, it was very much alive and I was more than aware of its unity and part of my total being. Sometimes more painfully so than others.
tbc...