Here is part two of two for the Future story arc.
A Future Reborn
Trunks awoke then next day around 10 in the morning. He crawled out of bed, dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen where Eighteen and his mother were chatting it up. About what, he hadn't the slightest.
"Morning sleepy head," Bulma said happily.
"Morning mom, Eighteen. Or would you like to be called Kristle?" Trunks asked politely.
"No, I don't live that life anymore. I like Eighteen, even though it was a name given to me by that horrible man. It is unique." Trunks left it at that. Trunks looked at both women sitting at the table.
Bulma has on a professional work suit, a tan jacket over a blue blouse, with a tan skirt that ended just above her knees. Eighteen on the other hand wore a white t-shirt with a blue sweater over that, and baggy blue jeans. Baggy only because she was smaller than his mom, and she again was wearing her old clothes.
Trunks glanced a look at the day's paper. The headline read, "Android Saves Woman and Children". The sub caption read "Has the deadly android turned over a new leaf?"
"So are you two going shopping today?" Trunks asked.
"Yea, we need to get her some clothes that don't make her look anorexic," Bulma said with a laugh.
"Alright, I got a few things I need to take care of myself. I'll see you guys later." Trunks decided it was time to start looking for the monster known as Cell. He walked toward the door, again grabbed his sword and headed out into the wild blue.
"Well come on, let's go," Bulma said to the blonde beauty that sat across from her. The two women headed for the garage where Bulma had her hover-car. The two entered it and headed for the nearest store.
"Bulma, I just realized, when people see me they will probably get scared. Or maybe even try to attack me. Not that I couldn't take it, but I don't want to make people uncomfortable," Eighteen voiced her worried concerns.
"Don't worry about it. After what you did last night, some people may think differently. You remember you haven't been seen for a year. And people trust me, if you are with me, it shouldn't be too bad," Bulma had reassurance in her voice. This calmed down the android a little.
They approached the local clothing store and proceeded to enter. Some people stared in shock at the sight that beheld them. Some people were unsure. This android did just save an innocent life. But she had ruined so many. Bulma ignored the stares, she hoped soon everything would eventually be the way it was before any of this happened. The women had a pretty uneventful morning. There were some people staring, but most left them alone. Was it possible to forgive a monster? If Bulma felt safe with her, maybe they could trust her. She did save a life after all.
DBSS
What is this feeling I'm having? Trunks wondered to himself. Is it love? No, it couldn't be. But he felt sorrow for what that woman had to go through, he wanted to make her pain go away. This was weird. He didn't know how to approach it.Trunks lost in thought, was completely unaware that someone was rushing up to meet him. Not in a good way. Trunks took a blow to his abdomen, sending him soaring higher than he already was.
"What the hell was that," he said as he regained his composure. Trunks scanned the area and landed on a figure that made his blood run cold. Seventeen was still alive.
"How is this possible? I killed you," Trunks screamed.
"Well evidently you didn't do a very good job," the android said with a snear. He flew at Trunks who was ready for him this time. He powered up his Super Saiyan form as the android neared him. But just before he hit, the android disappeared and reappeared above him and sent him crashing into the Earth below.
DBSS
"What do you think of this outfit Bulma?" Eighteen asked as she modeled a pair of skin tight jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue jean jacket.
"Very fitting," she laghed.
"Don't like it?"
"No, I think it's great. Besides, it's what you like." Bulma watched as the face of Eighteen suddenly went from happiness to horror.
"What is it?
"Trunks…He's in trouble."
Without hesitation, Bulma yelled "GO, I'll pay for the clothes and I'll come find you." Eighteen was already halfway out the door. She knew who was there. Her brother had returned from the dead.
DBSS
Trunks looked up as the android came barreling down on him. Trunks dodged out of the way just before the last second, causing the android to fly into the ground missing his target.
"I've gotten stronger you know. I have been training. You will not beat me as easily this time," The dark haired android said with a grin.
"Then you must not understand how powerful I truly am. When I defeated you last time, I was not even using half of my true power," Trunks said flashing his own grin.
A brief look of fear passes over Seventeens face, but he quickly gathered himself. "We shall see," Seventeen spoke softly, his eyes flashing vengeance. Both warriors launched at the other driving hard and fast. A flurry of quick hits kicks sent the android back to the ground, hard. Trunks not wanting to give him anytime to recover began to charge up an attack.
"Trunks, wait please. Let me talk to him," Eighteens appearance caught the half Saiyan off guard.
"No, he can't be allowed to live!" Trunks said loudly.
"Please, he's my brother," Eighteen pleaded. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. Trunks saw this and decided to grant her wish. He lowered his hand and dissipated the energy in it.
"Thank you." Eighteen flew over to where her brother was sitting in the grove he had carved in the ground from his landing. Still cowering waiting for the blast to hit, Seventeen was too far away to hear the previous conversation. "Seventeen?" Seventeen removed his arms from his face and opened his eyes. An evil grin spread across his face.
"So you survived as well. Did you take him out?" Seventeen looked behind his sister to see an alive and well Trunks. "No matter, let's take him out together."
"No," Eighteen said simply.
"No, what do you mean no? He killed us, or tried anyway," he said to his sister, his voice rising.
"No, I don't kill the innocent anymore." Eighteen stated proudly. Seventeen looked at her unsure of what to say next.
"What do you mean 'anymore'," Seventeen asked curiously.
"It is wrong to kill for fun. I won't do it anymore. You don't have to either," Eighteen said as she stared down her brother. At this point there were bystanders as well as Bulma down on the ground. Seventeen noticed this. Knowing he could not beat the half Saiyan yet, as well as his sister, he needed a distraction.
"Have it your way then. Seventeen quickly launched two ki blasts one at the onlookers, the other at Bulma.
"NOOOO, MOTHER, Trunks disappeared and reappeared in front of his mother shielding her from the blast. It didn't affect Trunks in the least, but he had failed he knew that other blast would have hit the innocent bystanders. When the smoke subsided, Trunks looked to see the onlookers were unharmed. What the hell. He quickly scanned the area for Seventeen and noticed he was gone. The he realized that Eighteen was missing. Trunks returned his gaze to the onlookers. The followed their gaze to the ground. Eighteen was unconscious and was missing her left leg and right arm.
"EIGHTEEN," Trunks screamed. He ran over to her and picked up her battered body. At least her wounds had been cauterized by the blast.
"Did she just save us?" one of the onlookers asked.
"Yeah, I think she did," Another answered.
"Eighteen, Eighteen, wake up," Trunks eyes were starting to fill with tears. This android had just sacrificed her life to protect no one she knew. Why would she do it?
"Trunks come on," Bulma screamed through the open door of the hover-car. Trunks flew to the car and placed the unconscious android inside in the back. Then closed the door and climbed in the front. Bulma took off as fast as the car would carry them.
The next few days went by in a blur. Bulma used one of the saiyan healing tanks, and converted it to use Eighteen's blood. Trunks placed her inside and waited for her to heal…hopefully. Trunks spent every waking moment by her tube. He couldn't explain why, be he had started to take a liking to her in the short time that they had together. Even after all she did, it was the here and now that counted. She was willing to give her life for someone that meant nothing to her. She did it because she knew it was the right thing to do. She was trying to make up for past sins. Trunks admired her for that. There was still that nagging in the back of his mind. What did his mom know, what ad Gohan told her. He didn't know who he knew, but it was something grand, something large. Something that might make the last 13 years as if they never happened. But this was impossible. The only way for this was to summon the Eternal Dragon, but with Earth Guardian dead, this could not happen. But why can I not shake this feeling that-," Trunks discontinued his line of thought as he noticed the healing tube housing the blonde android start to empty. He walked over and watched as her eyes fluttered a little then opened up fully. Trunks opened the door, and stared into her eyes. These were no longer the eyes of a killer. There was emotion behind them, not the emptiness that they carried for so long. Trunks smiled as he removed the breather mask. It had worked. His mother was a genius. Then suddenly Eighteens eyes closed again, and she fell forward. Trunks caught her.
"Eighteen,are you all right. Eighteen," Trunks said worried. He checked for a pulse and found one. He noticed she was breathing. This was a good sign. Perhaps she was just tired. Trunks carried her into her room and laid her on the bed. Trunks brushed aside some hair from her face
and gazed into the angelic face of this beautiful woman. Eighteen stirred a bit, got into a more comfortable position and continued to sleep. Trunks left the room and made his way back to the kitchen where his mom was making some lunch.
"I see she healed nicely. Can't even tell she lost those limbs," Bulma said putting the finishing touches on her mid day meal. Trunks realized he was hungry as well and decided to make himself some lunch worthy of Saiyan.
"I still can't believe she did that. She put her life ahead of people she barely even knew," Trunks said as he continued to prepare his food.
"She really has changed, and so have you," Bulma said. This comment received a confused look from her son. "Your father is ever present in you Trunks. For you to forgive Eighteens previous transgressions proves that you can overcome some of your fathers shortcomings. I'm proud of you."
"She isn't who she used to be. She is trying to make right the wrongs she committed in her past. How could I not forgive her? I have made some dumb mistakes too. You always forgive me. I don't see her as she used to be anymore. It's hard to explain, but I think I am starting to grow fond of her. I know it's only been a day, but she is something like I have never seen before. Something...," Trunks trailed off.
"Special," Bulma said. She knew what her son was feeling. It was all the more evident by the fact that he couldn't put it into words.
Eighteen woke up a few hours later. She was still in her clothes she wore in the tank, and they were still a little damp. She noticed Bulma had placed her new clothes on the table at the edge of the bed. She got up and began to change. She put on a pair of black jeans, with a light gray t-shirt. She went out to the living room and saw Trunks and Bulma sitting watching Television.
"Hey," Trunks immediately noticed her and stood up. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been beaten and maimed, other than that pretty good," Eighteen said with a smile. This got a laugh out of the other two in the room. Eighteen walked over to the couch and sat down. "Do you think my brother will reemerge?" she asked Trunks.
"It's hard to say. He must have realized that he could not beat us both. Maybe he will try to train and get stronger, but I am not sure," Trunks answered honestly as he sat down next to Eighteen. "So until the next time he shows his face, all we can do is wait." Eighteen nodded then laid her head on his shoulder.
SIX MONTHS LATER
Bulma watched as Trunks and Eighteen grew closer over the last few months. This caused her some pain as it reminder her of him, the man that had given her such a wonderful child. Hopefully soon Gohan's last vision would come to fruition. She could only hope. Most everyone
had come to accept that Eighteen had changed. She had saved some people a violent death at the hands of her brother. If that wasn't enough, Bulma didn't know what would make the people believe. She remembered the headline of the paper the day after Seventeen attacked. "Seventeen Returns, Eighteen Defends Innocent Bystanders." Seventeen had not surfaced since that meeting six months ago. This started to worry her. Was he planning something? Had he given up and gone into hiding. Or worse yet, had Cell found him? Bulma upon reaching that last question stopped herself. She didn't want to venture into that territory, it was depressing. She just hoped that her son and Eighteen would be able to defeat Cell when he showed up. She was working in her lab again today, perfect some new inventions while her son was out sparring with the only one on the planet who could come close to his abilities. Her son decided that he might as well train up while they wait for Cell and Seventeen to make their appearances. Always be ready, that's what her son told her. She knew it was a good philosophy.
DBSS
"You're going to have to be faster than that to beat me," Trunks said with a laugh as he appeared behind Eighteen. He grabbed her arms and pulled them into her chest denying her movement.
"No fair, you cheated, you transformed," Eighteen grinned at the golden haired warrior that had her in his clutches. He immediately powered down. He had forgotten that she still had her legs. She leapt up into the air and slammed back down into the ground. Trunks released his grip and watched as she flew above him. "Now what was that about needing to be faster?" she said with a smirk. Trunks continued to stare up at her with his smile full on. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. All of a sudden something started prickling the back of Trunks' mind. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but slowly it began to sink in. His smile faltered and to to a look of fear. Eighteen noticed this, but culdn't figure out what was going on. Then time began to slow. Trunks looked to his left and to his horror there stood cell. This was not how cell should have looked. The worst had happened. He had absorbed Seventeen. The green tyrant raised his hand and aimed it at the android floating above him. Cell knew the best way to absorb her would be to knock her out. Therefor no resistance. The energy in Cells hand began to grow as Eighteen finally saw what was going on. Cell fired, sending the blast directly at the flying android. Eighteen knew she was not fast enough to avoid the blast. She brought her hands up to block, but was hit from below and sent farther into the air. She opened her eyes in time to see Trunks take the blast full on. It carried him toward the ground and exploded on contact with the Earth.
"Trunks, NOOOO," the beautiful blonde yelled. She returned her gaze to the green being staring at her.
"Quite the foolish boy, wouldn't you say," Cell said with a grin. Eighteen remained in the sky, frozen in horror. The power emanating from this thing was more than she could handle. She looked back at the clearing dust, and noticed a golden glow breaking through. Trunks was alive, and pissed.
"So, take a cowardly potshot at her huh," Trunks said angrily as he spit blood from his mouth. Cell looked in amazement. That blast should have killed him. Never the less, this kid would still die by his hand.
"Nice trick boy, but try and survive this. Cell began to charge up a blast, but before he even started to release it the golden haired warrior disappeared. "Huh, what the-," Cell was cut off as Trunks kicked him hard in the back sending him up to Eighteen to two fisted him back to the ground. "Ugh, why you, I'll crush you," Cell said as he stared at Trunks. "Then I'll absorb her and destroy whats left of this world," he said as he looked up at the still flying android.
"I don't think so," Trunks lunged at Cell, who disappeared just before Trunks landed a punch. Trunks looked up to see him closing in on Eighteen, his tail at the ready. Trunks phased out and reappeared in front of the blonde beauty before Cell even had time to register what happened. Trunks unsheathed his sword brought it down on the green menaces tail severing his ability to absorb Eighteen.
"AHHHHH," Cell let out a loud scream. Trunks sank a kick to Cells abdomen sending him back down to Earth again. Trunks looked at Eighteen who nodded. They both began to charge up attacks intending to destroy the android menace.
"HAAAAA," both floating warriors screamed unleashing everything they had into a combined attack. It struck Cell dead on. He unleashed a scream worthy of death, and began to disintegrate. Cell knew it was over, his end was now, his dying thought, if only...-, then he was no more.
Bulma had raced outside upon hearing the first explosion and witness the scene unfold before her. When it was over she breathed a sigh of relief. The future was finally safe. No more androids, well evil androids anyway. Bulma brought her eyes to land on the new scene beginning above her. She watched as her son and the blonde beauty carried on an exchange.
"Why did you push me out of the way, the blast could have killed you. For a minute there, I thought it had," Eighteen said as she closed the gap between her and Trunks.
"Oh ye of little faith. I did worry that when Cell appeared that he might have Seventeen absorbed, and I might not be able to beat him. But it turns out that my training in the past was more than enough for me to beat him now. And to answer your question...I couldn't stand to see you get hurt Eighteen. I know it may seem odd, but I think I have fallen in-," Trunks was not able to finish his sentence as Eighteen had leapt at him and engaged him in a passionate kiss that answered Trunks future question of if she felt the same way.
On the ground, Bulma smiled at the happy couple, her son had finally found his mate. Gohan was right. Odds were likely that his next prediction would also come true. Bulma would await word for when she could start her search. Until then, she figured she had best fix up a bigger room for the new couple.
One Month Later
The tall green man approached the Capsule Corp building unsure of what to expect. He really wished Goku would have joined him instead of running off to find his wife, but whatever he thought From what Gohan had told him, Bulma knew what to expect. So at least he would not have to deal with too much excitement. Though he did expect a barrage of questions from
Trunks, hopefully he would not have to knock him out. The Namekain warrior approached the door and knocked. A moment later he was greeted by someone who he would have attacked on first glance had he not been following everything from otherworld.
"Eighteen," Piccolo said quietly.
"You...but how?" Eighteen said looking confused
"Who is it sweetie," Trunks said as he came around the corner from the living room. He saw the green warrior and stopped dead in his tracks. "Piccolo? How?"
"Long story short kid, Porunga is the reason I am back, as well as Kami, and Mr. Popo, as well as Goku. Now where is your mother?" Piccolo said in his gruff voice.
"Oh hey there Piccolo, it's about time you showed up. I was starting to wonder if Gohan was wrong."
"Bardock was never wrong," Piccolo said with a sly grin. "Anyway, get your radar, let's find those balls. We got a world to repair here."
With that the four of them spent the next few days rounding up the dragon balls that had returned on account of Kami's return. They brought them all up to the lookout so they could summon the Eternal Dragon, Shenron. Goku and ChiChi were already there with Kami and Mr. Popo as well as Videl and her children which ChiChi was all over of course. ChiChi nearly had a fit when Goku told her that Gohan had a family of his own and hadn't told her.
"Oh Goku, it's so good to see you again," Bulma said giving him a big hug.
"It's nice to see you too Bulma. Now what do you say we get everyone else back?" Bulma nodded wiping tears from her eyes. Kami proceeded to summon the dragon.
"You, who have gather the seven dragon balls, make your wish so that I may grant it," spoke the dragon.
"Oh mighty dragon, we wish that you bring all the people who have died due to the androids back to life. The dragons eyes glowed a hard red, then returned to normal.
"It is done," with that the dragon vanished and the balls flew from sight. The Z-Warriors that died were brought back to the Lookout, Kami suspected that was an added bonus from his dragon. Many tearful reunions occurred throughout the rest of the day. Trunks and Gohan had a talk. Gohan tried to apologize for keeping his family a secret, but Trunks would have none of it. He introduced Gohan to his future wife, pointing out the ring to make it obvious. Gohan was also starting to suspect that there may have more than just a ring added to that android. But he figured he would keep that to himself. It was good to be back. He finally got to see his kids, his twins. And the woman of his dreams had not changed a bit since his death. Still more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.
Bulma cried on Vegeta for what must have been a half hour, and the funny thing was even Vegeta shed a few tears, but only a few. He was a warrior prince after all. The festivities died down, and people began to leave. Most would wake up tomorrow to news Headlines regarding the miraculous reappearance of the Earths populace. People could start over and rebuild their lives, and that would be just the begging. The future was saved, thanks to two brave warriors, Son Gohan, and Trunks Briefs
So there you have it, the story behind it all. Yeah I know I broke a few DBZ rules, sorry. it had to be done. One last request, please review guys, i would love to hear what you think. No i'm not one of those sick bastards that will withhold chapters from you for no reviews, I want to get this story out. Again thanks to the killer00 and shiva the sarcastic for reviewing. You guys make it worth still writing. And now as well daisy.insane-angel. keep up the reviews. see you next update.
