-Lazuli-

The child whose name was not yet a number sat with half an orange crayon in her hand. Her eyes were narrowed as she used a razor blade she kept just in case to carefully cut a better point. Satisfied with her crayon's new sharpness, its point went to the paper as lazuli-colored eyes chased after it.

She paid little attention to the other children darting about the playground—her brother among them. Lapis had invited her out to play with the other seven or five or eight-year-olds, or however old everyone was. Lazuli didn't really care. She thought the other kids were all stupid.

They all hoped that they were actually getting out of here one day. Lapis agreed with her, though. They were all so stupid.

She spared a glance over her paper as she sat, her back against the brick wall facing the playground. Her eyes followed a single child, a boy whose face was stupid. Well...she guessed he wasn't so stupid. He'd been right to think he'd be adopted. A family had already basically confirmed they wanted him. They'd be taking him in a matter of days, she thought she'd overheard; something about stupid paperwork having to be filed.

...Of course the mom and dad would like him. Everyone likes him.

It was the truth. Everyone else in the orphanage really did like him. Even she...had...liked him. She'd decided she didn't anymore, since he was leaving her.

Lazuli frowned, tearing her gaze away from the running boy and back to her drawing. She didn't like that she was bothered by his leaving and their...staying.

"We're already eight, Lazuli. No one wants a kid who knows they ain't theirs."

She shut her eyes, ridding herself of the memory. She knew it was the truth. Lapis had explained it to her, and it made sense. Of course...that didn't stop Lazuli from trying. That was why this picture was so important! If she just finished coloring in the sun, and then she could take a smidgeon of her leftover black crayon to shade in the shoes to make them—

Her ideas were suddenly interrupted as the blaring of a fire alarm prompted many of the smaller children to scream in panic.

Lazuli rose to her feet, closing the notebook to protect its precious contents. She found most of the children running about randomly, frantically searching for an exit and crying that the gates were locked. Lazuli turned, finding that for some reason the room's normal lights had cut off, shading the play space in a slowly flashing crimson that somehow filled the room entirely. As her eyes began to adjust to the new darkness, she began to question why it wasn't day, and why the playground was indoors, rather than outside how it normally was. Had there always been these walls surrounding them?

Where's Lapis?

Lazuli knew she had to find her brother, wherever he'd wound up during all this chaos. She began to make her way through the crowd, her arms tightly wrapped around her notebook, pinning it to her chest protectively. She tried to be as nimble as she could, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but collide with fellow children frantically calling out that there was no exit. What did they mean that there is no exit? Why is there not an exit?

Her eyes squinted, struggling to see through the mass of running children and the inconsistent lighting. She began to feel a tightness in her stomach, a knot of worry that twisted as it churned inside her. Her shoulders began to tremble, overwhelmed by the weight of the situation. She wanted nothing more than to find a place under the playground and hide until this was all over. There were so many faces running past her as she remained stiff, standing with wide eyes staring out into the crowd terrified. Where was Lapis? Why was she alone? Shouldn't he be trying to find her, too?

Finally, she caught a glimpse of a face at the very top of the playground, just beside where the slides started. He was leaning out, his face scrunched up as his eyes searched. Lazuli smiled. He was looking for her, but she realized he couldn't find her amidst this sea of other children.

She began to slowly make her way towards the playground, working her way through the other kids, many of which didn't appear to be paying much attention as to where they were going as they continued to scream and run, sometimes catching her in the shoulder or stepping on her foot. Finally, she arrived at the steps of the jungle gym, breathing heavily. She was pretty sure she'd been scraped on the back of her ankle, but she'd deal with that later. Lapis had stolen a bottle of rubbing alcohol from one of the cupboards, so she could just use that later.

She winced as she took another step, testing her weight on the foot and finding pain, but not so much that she could not ignore it. She began to climb the steps to the very top, her head low and face masking hurt, when a frantic five-year-old came racing past suddenly , slamming into Lazuli's side and breaking her tired grip around the notebook.

Lazuli cried out, her face awash with fear. "No!"

Unfortunately, her plea was barely audible over the sea of screaming voices. The blonde dove immediately for the notebook, disregarding the still fleeing child as she wrapped herself around it. She suffered a banged knee, as well as having to roll down several steps and hitting her head against the side of the railing. She let out a whimper of pain as she saw the child who'd slammed into her dash off the playground, crying, "Sorry!" as he went.

She felt tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes as her hand went to rub the now tender bump on her head. She let a single tear fall down her cheek, her head low as she whimpered at the bottom of the steps, before wiping her eyes and forcing herself to stand, despite feeling dizzy. She could focus on resting later. She needed to make sure she found Lapis, first.

She restarted her march up the steps, finding her pain somewhat subdued. She could hear the cries of, "No escape!" being repeated over and over again, overlapping each other in a creepy, monotonous rhythm. Lazuli's focus was not on the noises, however. Instead, her focus was to her notebook as she moved up the steps, her eyes cast downwards as she examined it. She rather appreciated the curious lull in screams, allowing her to better find the page she'd been drawing upon only minutes ago and sigh in deep relief. It hadn't been scuffed. That was good. This picture was very important. It was her fourth picture to Ms. Hazel, one of the orphanage's teachers. Except, Ms. Hazel was Lazuli's favorite teacher. She was so pretty and nice and she really, really cared about her students—Lazuli, especially.

She always made sure to be the most polite and nice to Ms. Hazel. She was certain that if Ms. Hazel were to pick a favorite student, it would be her. Lazuli would always make her presents when she could, all of which the woman had accepted graciously. She had even managed to steal a whole apple for her one time! And this time? This time she would tell Ms. Hazel that she should put this drawing up on her fridge.

Then...she'll think of me when she sees it...and eventually...she'll want to adopt me...right?

Her feet found the final step, letting the small girl know it was time to put away the notebook. She did so before looking up, searching for Lapis and finding him almost immediately.

Well, she found him for a moment.

Her eyes grew wide with horror as she watched some...thing hunched over on all fours, its body long and spindly, with hard, green carapace coating it. Beetle-like wings jutted out of the back of its shoulder blades, reaching past its waist, where a hideous appendage sprouted, extending into a tail with a dangerous point.

Except, it wasn't a point, not in those crucial moments. Instead, it had expanded, opening much like how the jaws of a snake would to devour an especially large meal.

She'd barely got a glimpse of him, Lapis, her brother, before he disappeared, swallowed whole by the disgusting monster.

She'd met with her twin's eyes, and she'd found fear there. She could see his terrifying realization that she was there now too, in danger, and too late to help him. Lazuli found that fear was an emotion she could reflect as she stared, petrified at this horrifying creature who had just consumed her sibling, and was now glaring at her with all the sentiment of a predator who'd just found its new prey.

"Hello, Eighteen." its voice growled in a raspy, unnatural tone.

"M-my name i-isn't, E-eighteen." She managed to whimper out, wanting to turn and run, but feeling too terrified to move. She could feel warmth rushing down her cheeks, and was forced to blink rapidly as her vision grew blurry.

"Ooohh?" The monster said in a coy, sinister tone. It tilted its head to the side, its lips doing its best approximation of a smile, but appearing all the more disturbing for it. "Is that true?"

Lazuli nodded her head, still trembling, still crying as she hiccuped. Could she maybe talk her way out of this? "Y-yes, m-my name's, L-Lazuli." She sniffled.

"Lazuli." The creature repeated, drawing closer as hit did. It moved on all fours, crawling across the ground as if it were a spider on its web.

Lazuli was beginning to feel like a little fly.

"What a pretty name." It said coldly as it approached.

Lazuli screamed at herself to run, and finally, as it grew so close she could reach out and touch it, the petrification fled from her small form.

She took a step back, letting her drawing book fall to her side as her shoulder sagged, her eyes trembling as tears raced down her cheeks. She let the notebook fall to her side as the abomination began to approach her. She thought to run, but she knew she would be too slow with her injured ankle.

She sniffled, looking up at the monster as it loomed over her, its eyes narrowed to yellow slits. Lazuli summoned all the courage an eight-year-old could muster as she regarded the abomination before her. "I-I'm not th-this 'Eighteen' p-person you're l-looking for, so can I h-have my brother b-back?" She'd been forced to pause several times as her hiccups grew worse. She had to hope that maybe this was all just a misunderstanding, that Seventeen—no, Lapis—wasn't really gone. She wasn't Lazuli, she was Eighteen! Wait—no! She was Lazuli! Why had she gotten those mixed up? Either way, it was all the little girl could hope for that all of this could be reversed.

Even if a part of her already knew it couldn't be.

The monster did not respond as he continued to stare down at her small, trembling frame. It let out a hungry sound, something between a growl and a snarl, and she could see its tail beginning to shift.

The chants of the children all around her became clearer now. In them, she found her answer.

"No escape!"

"No escape!"

No escape…

She let out a quiet, trembling whimper, her small fingers tightening into fists as she prepared herself. She stole one last glance at the notebook that now lay at her feet. She never did get to finish her drawing…

She closed her eyes, letting her final tears fall. She knew it had never really mattered. Ms. Hazel would have never adopted her and her brother over some silly drawings, of course.

She felt something envelop her. She didn't try to resist. What was the point?

Despite herself, she couldn't help but wonder if Ms. Hazel would ever actually see the drawing she made. It wasn't done, but it was close. Maybe one of the other kids would bring it to her.

Maybe...she would have liked it.

Then, everything faded into nothingness. For an indiscernible amount of time, a stretch of seconds that felt both like an eternity and a blink of an eye, Lazuli found herself in darkness. Although, now, she knew her name was no longer Lazuli.

Now, she was android Eighteen.

Whether or not it had been her decision, she was no longer strictly a human. She had to live with that, because even a wish from a magic dragon could not undo the twisted work of Dr. Gero's madness. She found herself resigned to her fate, knowing she would spend an eternity here, trapped and alone. There was no going back, not to the life she'd once had, or even to being a normal human, again. She was trapped, both here, and in a body she could no longer feel fully belonged to her, because a part of her wasn't her, was it? In fact, she'd be willing to bet that a vast majority of her was no longer 'her'. How many of her squishy bits had Dr. Gero substituted for cold, metallic ones? How much of who she'd originally been remained?

Where did Lazuli end, and Eighteen start?

She did not know, but she also knew that it did not matter. She would be locked away here, forced to relive the horrific memory of watching her only family consumed before having herself suffer the same fate over and over again for all eternity. She wished she could pull her mind from the fresh memory, but after experiencing her final moments, it was hard for her to think about anything else.

She longed for a freedom that would never come. She knew that there was not a force powerful enough to break her from this prison, not in all the universe—

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

-Eighteen-

Her head lurched from the pillow, eyes snapping wide with panic before she took in her surroundings, and eased back into her covers with a sigh. Eighteen mentally switched off her internal alarm clock—a system meant to ensure that every one of Dr. Gero's 'projects' would be capable of booting themselves up at specific times, if need be.

Eighteen sighed as her head sunk into the fluffy pillow, her ocean blue eyes staring tiredly at the ceiling.

The same nightmare.

She really hated that one in particular, especially because nothing she ever did seemed to dismiss it. She'd tried therapy and self-help books, but being consumed by a giant, snake-like appendage after watching your own brother die before you wasn't the type of experience someone just shook off. She could only go a week at most without the nightmare's wretched visit, and it always changed just enough that she would be surprised when it finally revealed what it truly was.

She groaned, rolling over and burying her face into her sheets. She'd considered going without sleep, since she and Seventeen didn't technically need to sleep at all. Sleeping was more of an optional activity for two beings with infinitely replenishable energy. Unfortunately, fairly early on, she and Seventeen had noticed that prolonged time without sleep tended to make them a tad bit cranky. She remembered one time, after mistakenly staying up for four weeks straight, wanting to rip a woman's head off after she accidentally sneezed on her at the checkout line of a supermarket. Thankfully, she'd gotten ahold of herself before she'd done so, but the lady had gotten some very choice words from Eighteen, some of which the android very much regretted after a much needed nap.

After the experience, she'd presented it to Seventeen and found that he too had shared similar instances of abrupt annoyance. It appeared that if either of them stayed awake for more than a week's worth of time straight, impulse urges became harder and harder to resist. Eighteen and her brother had resolved to sleep at least every three to four days after discovering this fact.

She blinked, checking her internal clock for the time. It was just after 5:00 AM, giving her plenty of time to get dressed and ready to arrive at Orange Star High School by 7:00, and be ready in class by 8:00.

Today's the big day!

She internally chimed to herself, forcing herself to leave the comfortable sheets of her bed and disappear into her walk-in closet so that she could forget about her dream in starting her day. She began to get dressed, having already chosen her clothes for today the night before, in nervous preparation of her first day teaching. How things played out today was very important for Eighteen, and she didn't want to leave anything, not even a stray hair on her outfit, up to chance.

She breathed a cool sigh, examining herself the full length mirror at the end of the closet once she was dressed. She'd decided to wear a professional-looking white button up shirt under a leather jacket, tucked into a black straight skirt that fell to her knees and hugged the curves of her hips in a way she could not help. Underneath, she'd decided to wear appropriately colored pantyhose, and black pumps that she felt pushed her butt up nicely. Of course, she obviously wasn't trying to appear attractive to any of the students...but, if there was a cute gym teacher, she might stop by every once in a while.

Eighteen frowned as she regarded herself in the mirror, resting a hand on her hip as she leaned to one side. She shook her head, scoffing as she pulled out a set of mature looking glasses. They were sleek and black, with metal frames, and were slightly narrow across her eyes so that they would slip down her nose nicely when she wanted them to. She didn't actually need them, of course, but they made her look a few years older—years that she desperately needed. Despite the entire rest of her outfit, she couldn't help but see a youthful eighteen-year-old in the mirror before her. That was the thing, wasn't it? Despite being twenty-five in reality, she still wore the same face she'd had when she'd stepped into Dr. Gero's lab all those years ago. She hadn't aged a day since, nor did she suspect she ever would. A gift and a curse, she supposed. To never be able to grow old with her loved ones, but also to know eternal youth. More importantly, it made appearing like the mature teacher of a classroom seemingly impossible, since she looked like she could be as much of a student as the rest of them were!

She could only hope that she wasn't going to be regularly stopped in the hall by other faculty members. How embarrassing would it be if she were mistaken as a student going to or from her other tasks? Very, she imagined.

Finally clothed, and showered from the night before out of nervous anticipation, Eighteen made her way over to the door, before collecting her purse and other belongings. She made sure to double check that her lesson plans had made it into her bag. She'd already planned out a month in advance, although she knew that other teachers likely already had their lesson plans made until the end of the year, since they had their lessons from the previous one. That was one advantage Eighteen didn't have. This was her first day, and she couldn't tell if she felt more nervous now or when she'd first encountered Cell.

Get it together, Eighteen!

She made one last check about her person to ensure she hadn't forgotten anything. She had it all, thankfully. She let out one more anxious sigh, before wrapping her fingers around the front door's handle, and stepping outside.

-Orange Star High School-

The school was rather empty when she arrived. Of course, she'd expected as much, considering classes didn't start for another hour. Despite this, she did find some students milling about the large front large yard the teens would travel across to make it to the front doors. She made her way through the entrance easily enough, before making her way through the hallways, passing other teachers and faculty hurriedly preparing to start the new school year.

After several minutes of wandering semi-lost, Eighteen finally found her classroom number.

A18…

She smirked smugly. She hadn't believed her luck when she'd been told that she had some classrooms to choose from, and this room had been one of them. She'd taken it to be a sign that this really was what she was meant to do with her life.

She stepped inside, regarding the room with eyes full of excitement and wonder. Blue eyes slowly studied the desks that rose like steps one after another until it reached the back of the room where the tallest seats were. Each desk acted as a row that went almost as long as the room itself was, had it not been for the walkways on either side.

She tore her gaze from where her students would be and instead to her own personal desk, a standard looking metallic frame with a wood tabletop, situated in the corner of the room, just in front of a massive blackboard. Above that, she noticed a pull down screen for the projector.

She moved to her desk, before easing into the chair, a comfy looking, reclinable office chair, as if she were easing into the warm waters of a hot tub. It felt so wonderful to finally be here, to finally be about to actually teach.

A part of her still couldn't believe it was really happening, that she was really here. When she'd started down her road to become a teacher five years ago, her brother had given her a strange look. She supposed his skepticism was kinda merited. She'd never mentioned it to Seventeen before that she had any interest in teaching. Really, the inspiration for the decision had surprised her just as much as anyone else. Becoming a teacher had been little more than a little girl's dream all those years ago, back when she was still in that depressing orphanage. Back then, there had been very little for Eighteen to hope for. Almost nothing, in fact.

Despite this, Lazuli's appreciation of Ms. Hazel had never diminished. Even now, Eighteen wished she could find the woman and thank her for her kindness during her time there. The woman with a warm smile and a round, inviting face became, through her kindness, the inspiration for Eighteen to eventually become the teacher she was today. She wanted to feel like how she imagined Ms. Hazel had all those years back, teaching children and shaping them into people who would one day shape the world. Little had Ms. Hazel known, her actions had impacted two children who would one day hold the fate of the entire world in their hands, in a sense.

Eighteen grinned, proudly. "Good job, Ms. Hazel. Betcha never thought you'd do something like that in your life."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she checked the time. She only had twenty minutes before class started! Just as she scrambled to ensure that everything she needed was where it needed to be, she heard a knock at the door.

The new teacher almost panicked as she realized that her first ever student was about to walk in! She immediately found her feet, clearing her throat before she prepared to speak as a teacher for the first time.

"Come in!" She called out.

Nailed it.

The door swung open to reveal a young blonde girl wearing a green tube top and some hip-hugging jeans that appeared more purple than blue. Eighteen's first instinct upon seeing the student was to ask where she got them—even if she wouldn't.

"Morning, Teach!" The girl greeted brightly as she stepped inside, waving one hand.

"Thank you. Good morning to you as well." Eighteen attempted to smile warmly as she tried to make her voice sound as mature as possible. Despite this, it irritated the android to no end just how young she appeared when comparing herself to the teenager before her. That damn mad scientist! Couldn't he have made her look older, at the very least?!

"Eh, sorta." The girl let her head lean to one side, childishly. "I got the time wrong, so I'm here earlier than I thought…"

Eighteen raised an eyebrow. Twenty minutes was too early an arrival time for this girl?

Well...she is a teenager…

Eighteen blinked, realizing she had forgotten that, while these were kids on the brink of adulthood, that they were very much still kids. Most of them, she imagined, were still living with their parents. She supposed her looking young worked both ways.

"Well, find yourself a seat. I don't have a seating arrangement, so you get first pick." She smiled. "My name is Ms. Lazuli, and yours?"

"Sweet!" The girl cheered, raising one hand above her head in a cute fashion. She made her way to the second from the last back row before finding her seat. The blonde blinked absentmindedly before a flash of realization crossed her face. She turned on her heel back to Eighteen. "Right! Sorry! I space out sometimes, haha! Erasa. My name's Erasa."

The teacher shook her head, shooting the girl an amused smirk as she turned to meet the rest of her class.

It didn't take long for the rest of her students to start flooding in. Eighteen did her best to smile and greet each and every one of them as they entered. There was such a variety—so many that Eighteen imagined that the typical teacher would struggle to learn all of their names over the span of several weeks. Thankfully, this wasn't an issue for the android. She couldn't forget anything, even if she wanted to. Every memory, every experience that was hers was something Dr. Gero had made certain would be recorded so that it could be analyzed and understood when they returned from missions. At least, that was how it was supposed to work. Nowadays, it was just a helpful tool for remembering her grocery list—if she felt like eating, that is.

Thankfully, her first exchange with her students appeared to have gone well, aside from that one boy in the tank top—Sharpner, he'd said—who'd tried to look her up and down subtly when walking in. She'd decided she didn't like that boy very much. Although, to be fair, she had noticed quite a few of the young men in the class stealing curious glances her way whenever they thought she wasn't looking.

Eighteen began to feel that perhaps she should have chosen pants for her first day, rather than the skirt she was currently wearing. It wasn't her fault she was built like a goddess! She had hips! It wasn't like she could just get rid of them! She let out a subtle sigh. Well, at the very least, she would have the full attention of most of the male half of the class whenever she was writing on the board.

Her face slowly fell into a hand as she begrudgingly accepted this reality.

Uuuuuuggghh.

So, one mistake. That was fine. She was learning.

She lifted her head, surveying the room. It appeared that almost all of the students had arrived. All the seats had been filled but one situated just next to that blonde girl—no, Erasa. She decided she would need to get better at referring to them by their names.

Eighteen checked the clock resting above the door and found that there were only two minutes before the start of class. She glanced out at the students, many of whom had begun to spark conversation providing a low but growing sound of discussion.

She decided to check her student list. Having memorized each name already, it wasn't hard to scan down to see just who was—

She paused, finding an empty spot on her paper where a name was meant to be, but instead it merely said 'transfer student'.

The new teacher cocked her head. A transfer student at the beginning of the school year? Wouldn't that just make them a normal student?

Unless that means that they only just transferred here, and their paperwork hasn't been completed.

The realization caused her to realise she might not see who her last student would be today. It might take several days even before they'd finally be fully processed. She knew there were a lot of tests involved.

Eighteen smirked to herself. How interesting, a mystery student to start off her very first class.

She wouldn't have it any other way.

Eighteen turned to address the class, presenting a warm smile as she set the clipboard down.

The teacher moved until she was standing just before her desk, leaning back on its edge. "I've already gotten to know your names and introduced myself to almost all of you, but, I might have missed some of you when you were all walking in. I'm only human, after all." She let out a soft laugh that she noticed made some of the students smile. Good start. She'd practiced this routine religiously over the past weeks.

"My name is Ms. Lazuli."

"No Mr. Lazuli?!" Called out the same boy who'd looked her up and down earlier. She noticed snickers from some of the other students as he did the same.

"Sharpner, was it?" She smiled up at him, folding her fingers against her lap. "No, there is no 'Mr.' in my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way." It was the truth. She didn't need some man messing up her life when she was just starting out in her new career!

His grin flickered for a moment, and she could tell that he was clearly surprised that she'd been able to recall his name so quickly. A moment later, it returned. "Whoa, you already know my name?" His tone turned suggestive as his shifted eyebrows to the other boys who'd been snickering at his earlier outburst.

"Yes, I do." Eighteen said in a polite tone, although she was feeling slightly annoyed. She hopped up onto the desk, resting her hands in her lap as her feet dangled off the ground. "In fact, I remember everything. I already know all of your names by heart, in fact."

The android saw a wave of curious and impressed looks from across the room. She smiled. This was going perfectly. She crossed her legs, letting her arms support her as she leaned back slightly. She wanted her students to feel that they were in a safe learning environment—somewhere comfortable to think and study. That was the whole point, wasn't it?

Eighteen noticed a hand shoot up on the left hand side of the class. A thin looking teen wearing a white tank top and sporking a mohawk.

"Yes, Folden?"

The boy's eyes grew wide with surprise, before he slowly lowered his hand with an amused grin, his question having already been answered.

Several other students raised their hands, eager to test her little trick.

Eighteen let out another soft, amused laugh, prompting some of the other students to chuckle as they noticed their classmates' engagement.

The blonde shifted, bouncing slightly as she pushed herself back on her desk so that she was more comfortable. She imagined she would be answering questions like this for a—

The new teacher paused, noticing something through her class. It was so subtle that she knew any teacher who did not have senses sharp enough to fight at the speed of sound would have missed it, but her cybernetically enhanced eyes missed very little.

For whatever reason, the gazes of several of the young men had suddenly glanced downward, before immediately shifting back so that they were looking at her face.

Oh, Kami damn it!

They'd been distracted by her legs again! Ugh! Teens and their hormones were so annoying. She decided to ignore it.

"So, I know many of you are eager to know if I have in fact memorized your name as well. So, I'm going to turn this into a little game for us, because my little trick does more than just make me good with remembering things, but also makes me incredibly good with numbers, too."

"But, isn't this an english class, Ms. Lazuli?" Asked a polite looking young woman in the center of the second row, her hair dark red and bouncy as she raised her hand.

Eighteen grinned as if she'd just been caught in a lie. "Yes, yes, I know it's probably sacrilege to some of the other english teachers to bring up something as vile as math," The Blond made herself cough the word out, as if the mere mention of its name made her sick, prompting a few laughs. "But, I think it would make for a nice game to serve as a sort of 'ice-breaker' to start off the new school year. We're gonna be spending a lot of time together, so I think it would be best to try and get to know each other. So, how this game will work is, when we start, I'll call on one of you to stand up, give us something unique about you just as I have, and then give me a math problem you think I can't solve." She paused, letting the class mumble amongst themselves what they planned to ask her, as well as what they wanted to reveal about themselves. "And I want you to make these questions as hard as you can. If you manage to stump me, I'll let you have the rest of the period free."

She immediately saw their faces lit up with excitement.

The android turned her attention back to the girl who'd commented earlier. "And don't think I forgot your name, Plana."

She watched as the girl grinned wide, impressed.

Seeing that the class had finally settled down, with some even opening their math textbooks for better problems, Eighteen pointed a finger out to a rather short looking young man with black hair in the back row. "Marker, first question!"

-Thirty Minutes Later-

This is working out so perfectly!

The entire class had started to work together, combining their collective knowledge to try and find a question for the remaining few students left to offer. The first couple of students had started out with pretty easy ones. They asked her to multiply 358 by 698, with their calculators out to check. Her response had been faster than they could input the numbers. 249,884. She'd earned some stunned 'oohh's and 'aahh's from that one, before naming the next student randomly to try and stump her.

Each time, the student she called upon seemed somewhat surprised she'd recalled their name so easily. From there, the questions had only grown harder, with each one adding a new complication to the equation that they hoped she wouldn't know. Of course, she did. Dr. Gero had turned her brain into a literal supercomputer—to think that he wouldn't have added a simple calculator feature to her repertoire would have been a grave oversight.

Eighteen couldn't be more happy with how the class was responding to their little game. Almost all of the students had jumped on board, obviously driven by the chance at having the next fifty minutes to themselves.

She rose to her feet, walking to one side of the room with a confident smile resting on her face. She noticed many of the young men as well a few women perk up in their seats as she did, seeming so diligently focused on their dear teacher, she was sure, and not appreciating her side profile at all!

I really shouldn't have worn this skirt today.

In hindsight, it really did accentuate her curves just a little too much. Although, in all reality she didn't know what exactly she could do to solve her dilemma. Eighteen knew she was hot, and that meant that most clothes would end up looking good on her, no matter how much or little she wore. She envisioned the only way she would be able to change that fact would be to sabotage her sense of fashion, which she was absolutely not willing to do. She would not force herself to wear some ugly sweater and sweatpants just because the round curves of her womanly frame drew eyes!

Besides, was it so bad to be known as the 'hot' teacher? That would just mean some of the students would focus better in class, right? She could use this to her advantage, she decided, just as long as she wasn't inappropriate in any fashion. She had no intentions to be.

"Michelle, I do believe you are up next."

The teen rose to her feet, a ginger girl with shoulder length hair, in the center row. Before she could speak, however, a knock came from the door.

Eighteen cocked a curious eyebrow, raising a finger for the girl to pause as she went to answer the door. Who could this be? She wasn't expecting anyone, was she?

She opened the door, wearing a polite smile as her sapphire eyes met with two onyx orbs.

She sucked in a sharp breath.

Son Gohan's eyes grew wide, his mouth widening as he pointed a finger at her. "Android—"

Eighteen acted immediately, pushing forward and cupping a hand on his lips before pushing harder and shoving him back out the door. She followed him out, moving swiftly and hoping her shove had been blocked from her students' line of sight by the door as she shut it behind her.

She breathed out a cool sigh before turning and glaring at Gohan. "What are you doing here?!" She snapped, angrily whispering as she continued. "Did something big happen? Shouldn't you and Vegeta be more than strong enough these days? Seriously, I can't believe you'd come to my work to find me!" She hissed, crossing her arms as she shot him a deep scowl. What the hell did Gohan think he was doing here?!

"Uh," He rubbed one arm awkwardly, looking away. "This...is my first period, Eighteen."

She blinked. What had he just said? Her mind went back to the empty seat up on the third row, and her attendance list.

The realization hit her like a freight train.

Son Gohan...is in high school…? This high school?!

For some reason, that fact had not registered when she'd seen him. He looked so...mature now, compared to the last time they'd met. He'd been no more than a boy then, despite the fact that he'd been quite literally saving the world at that time...as well as her life. She remembered never properly thanking him for doing that for her. Of course, she also remembered not thinking much of him back then except that he was a powerful fighter, not sparing a second glance in his direction since he'd been just a child then.

But now…

Eighteen couldn't help but notice just how lean and tall the young half-saiyan had become. His hair was a dark coal color, with spikes that all rose into the air aside, from a single defiant lock that fell before his forehead. She also noticed that, despite wearing a long, baggy white shirt under a black vest in an attempt to hide his physique—for reasons Eighteen predicted she had been personally relating to recently—she could still see a glimpse of his upper chest and neck, revealing the upper beginnings of a chiseled chest that she was curious—

No.

She sighed, forcing herself to close her eyes as she shook her head.

Wait, did I just face-shove one of my students?

Her eyes snapped open, panicked.

On my first day?!

She could lose her job over this! She could be fired for assaulting a student! How had she let herself mess up so tremendously on her very first day as a teacher!?

Immediately, Eighteen bowed, bending at the hips as she rigidly pinned her arms to her sides. "I am so, so sorry for shoving your face!" She said, as golden locks of hair fell before her eyes.

"Uh," He took a step back. "It's okay, really. I'm not taking it personally. I know you didn't know. I was just as surprised when I walked up and saw you open the door." He let out a laugh, shaking his head. Eighteen decided to straighten herself, feeling relieved that he wasn't making a big deal out of what just happened. She knew that any other student wouldn't have been so kind. Now, he'd both saved her life, and her career. She realized she was beginning to build up a debt to this young man.

"What a surprise. Are you…" he paused, frowning as he looked her up and down. Curiously, she didn't detect that same desire she'd noticed from the other boys. "The...teacher?"

Eighteen scoffed, shifting her weight to one side as she rested a hand on her hip. "What, you think I don't make for a good teacher?"

Gohan's face flashed panic, his hands suddenly waving out in front of him. "No, no, no! That's not what I meant at all, it's just…" he looked away, flashing a sheepish smile as he began to rub the back of his neck. "You...kinda look like another student, but just a really professional looking one."

Eighteen groaned as she let her face fall into her hand. "Yes, I know. I've been trying to solve that problem." She blinked, her face snapping alert as she realized—

"I just left them there. " She peeked into the window in the upper-center of the door, seeing that some of the students were starting to shoot questioning stares towards the entrance.

"I didn't mean to disrupt class, Ms. Eighteen."

She frowned at him, shaking her head. "No, don't call me that. It's Ms. Lazuli now. I don't want other students knowing that I go by a number, okay? They'll think it's weird."

Gohan nodded before his eyes flashed with understanding. "Oh! That's why you cupped my mouth!" he laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry, I was so shocked I didn't even think of that." He released a nervous laugh that Eighteen could tell was an attempt to cover up his embarrassment.

She nodded. "That's okay. I still actually go by Eighteen in private. Well then, are you ready for class?"

He grinned, confidently. He had a nice smile, she decided. Good for him. "After you, Ms. Lazuli."

She went to twist the handle, but paused, thinking. After a moment, she turned and looked over her shoulder. "Do you mind coming back here after classes are over?"

Gohan flashed a confused look. "Um, sure...but, why?"

"I...I just…" she sighed, shaking her head. She wanted to formally thank him for saving her life. She never had, and now that he was going to be one of her students, she felt it was likely he deserved at least that much. A formal thank you didn't feel like much for being the man responsible for her even getting the chance to teach, but at least it was something, right? "Just please stop by. I have a gift for you." She didn't, but she could come up with one. Maybe a muffin? No, that was stupid.

"Uh...okay?" He shrugged, seeming unbothered by her request.

"Good." She nodded before facing the door again. "Here we go."

She twisted the handle.

-The End Of The Day-

The rest of the day went by like a blur, with Eighteen going through her routine with each of her periods, and sometimes mixing it up when she thought up a new game on the fly. All but one of her classes failed to stump her with a question to test her memorization skills. Unfortunately, that had been in her first class, when Gohan, upon entering the class and continuing with the game they were playing, proceeded to write out the Hodge Conjecture up on the board!

Eighteen had been stunned by the sight. What type of highschooler knew about the Hodge Conjecture, let alone knew how to draw it on the board from scratch?!

She'd been forced to fold. Her internal calculator was impressive, but it wasn't going to solve a famously unsolvable equation. The class had cheered Gohan's name upon her crushing defeat, with her retreating to her desk as she was forced to adhere to her own rule. The rest of the day had gone smoothly enough, although she had heard about some sort of commotion over on the baseball field.

The warm orange glow of the setting sun spread out through the square window panes and onto the empty classroom before her. She was leaning back in her chair, her eyes shut, heels kicked off. As a superhuman capable of destroying the planet, she'd never thought that heels would actually affect her, given enough time. She supposed some things were stronger than even the power of gods.

Her legs were crossed, her body relaxed as she enjoyed the breather. Her energy supply was infinite, but that didn't mean that so much social interaction wasn't tiring, not to mention her fright with Gohan in the morning. She wondered where—
There was a knock on the door.

Eighteen let one eye crack open as the door slowly pushed inward, revealing Gohan with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"You wanted to see me, Ms. Lazuli?"

"Oh, don't say it like that!" She swatted playfully at him. "Come in, take a seat. I just wanted to say something."

The young man made his way over before sitting at a desk across from her. Eighteen took this time to sit up in her chair, finding her shoes on the ground and slipping them back on.

She rose, stretching, before turning to regard Gohan. She smiled, wanting to relax the youth as she could see a worried look in his eye. She moved so that she was standing before her desk again before pushing herself onto it so that she was sitting directly across from him.

"I just wanted to give you a formal 'thank you' is all." She flashed a look of embarrassment. "I know it's sorta a late thank you, but I still never said it. I thought I should, especially with you being in my class, and all."

Gohan let out a laugh that was nice for his smile. He motioned with one hand that she needn't have apologized. "Really, it was no trouble. It's not like a simple push to my face actually hurt me. You and I both know I've been through worse."

Eighteen shot him an amused look, shaking her head. "No, that's not what I'm talking about." She sighed. "I guess I should be more specific. I meant that I'm thankful for what you did seven years ago. You know, with how you squashed the big bad bug and rescued me?"

Her brow creased when she noticed an odd expression dance across Gohan's eyes at the mention of Cell. A flicker of something troubling, something that didn't sit quite right. It was gone a moment later.

The young half-saiyan smiled brightly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, you're definitely welcome. I guess I should say thank you in advance for being my teacher for my senior year."

The new teacher studied the young man before her for several seconds longer, considering what that look might have meant before deciding to drop it. Instead, she decided to ask another question. "What school did you transfer from? You passed all our entry exams with perfect marks, so it must have been good. And also, why here?"

Gohan's eyes looked lost. "Transfer…? Oh!" He let out an enjoyable sounding laugh, shaking his head. "I didn't transfer from anywhere. My mom just made it seem like I came from a really prestigious, low student count 'school'. She just forgot to mention that this super special facility just happens to be our home."

Eighteen blinked. "Wait, so are you saying that you've been homeschooled up until now?"

Gohan flashed an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, this is actually my first day in a school." He made a point to look around. "It's actually pretty interesting, even if the classes are a bit simple."

Meanwhile, Eighteen's face had frozen stiff in shock.

This kid has never seen the inside of a school before, and now he's trying to do his senior year in high school?!

It was like throwing a child into the lion's den. Gohan didn't have the years of social skills learned through growing up in a school system, and now he had to somehow survive his senior year in high school, when all those things were the most necessary? What was his mother thinking?!

"Why now and not before?" she questioned.

"Oh, my mom thought that it would look better on a college application if I had a proper diploma from a highschool instead of the homeschool equivalent."

Eighteen's eyes fell shut, wincing as she envisioned what this poor child's senior experience was going to be like having had absolutely no time to learn.

They're going to chew him up and spit him out.

She couldn't help but pity the young man.

Eighteen's lips parted to give the young man some advice, but the sound of footsteps running down the hallway caused Gohan's head to snap towards it. His brow wrinkled as he studied the door, seeming to be focused on seeing through the center window.

Eighteen cocked an eyebrow, before she too decided to look.

The sound of running approached the door before a head of black hair and pigtails flashed past, dashing towards what Eighteen remembered as the stairs.

What the?

"Something's happening." The young man commented, wearing a serious expression as his fingers curled into fists.

"What was that?" Eighteen asked, curiously.

"Oh!" His eyes flashed wide, seemingly startled by her presence. Had he just forgotten that she'd been standing there? She smothered the urge to scoff. Here she was, being eyed by all the boys in her classes, and somehow, this one was able to forget she was sitting right next to him!

"Sorry," Gohan said sheepishly. "I was just mumbling to myself, is all." His gaze flickered nervously to the door. "However, I do think I need to get going, if that's alright."

Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head, studying the teen. "What's the rush? Have somewhere to be?"

"Um." She could see a bead of sweat running down his cheek, his anxious onyx eyes repeatedly shifting to look at the door. "W-well, I have some plans later that I don't want to miss. It's been nice talking to you, though" She watched him rise from his seat and slowly make his way towards the door.

She smirked, eyeing him with eyes that saw through his poorly veiled excuse. Regardless, she knew that it wasn't her business what the teen was up to these days, even if she was interested in finding out just what that was.

She waved a hand after him. "See ya."

-Twenty Minutes Later-

Eighteen had been soaring high above the cloud cover when she noticed it; a commotion in the middle of the road. Her flight came to an abrupt halt as she frowned, having to wait for a cloud to pass by in order to get a better view.

Her eyes widened when she finally realized what she was looking at. From the looks of it, it seemed that the police were in a shootout with whoever was inside the building. She decided to lower herself until she could just barely make out the name of the structure. She felt a bit nervous that someone would see her floating there in the air, but decided that most people were likely too focused on the gunfight to pay much attention to her.

Satan Banking…

She sighed. Sometimes she was certain that they weren't even trying to be clever with their names anymore.

The android crossed her arms, peering down at the scene unfolding before her. Normally, she wouldn't bother with involving herself in these matters. However, she's spotted a certain somebody down there that she was certain was absolutely not meant to be there.

She smirked, contemplating to herself on whether or not she wanted to investigate further. For a moment, her gaze stretched out towards the horizon, towards where she knew home to be. Then, a devious grin split her face as she turned back to the bank. She shrugged, "Fuck it."

-Gohan-

Golden flames wrapped around him as his shape blurred from the doorway, appearing beside a masked man clutching a pistol who startled once he appeared. The gunman tried to raise the weapon to take a shot, but Gohan's hand was there first, grabbing the weapon by its barrel before crushing it as if its metal components were simple glass.

He let the broken weapon go, allowing the terrified looking criminal to take several trembling steps back as Gohan's aura thrashed about him. He shot a teal, ice-cold stare into the gunman, one that evoked a pathetic whimper from the otherwise burly gunman. Gohan took a single step towards him that produced a cry that sounded as if it came from a child just before the man threw himself to the ground, tossing the useless weapon away as he put his hands behind his back.

The Golden Warrior nodded before moving on, his eyes scanning the rest of the bank for the others. He'd told the police to hold off on firing for a time to let him investigate. They'd narrowly agreed to wait fifteen minutes before they sent guys in. Fifteen minutes until this would turn into a bloodbath. Gohan grimaced. He needed to hurry. He'd already neutralized the four gunmen by the door, and this one had been guarding the hallway leading to the vault, so he imagined that's where he needed to go to find the rest.

No one had died yet, although some police officers had suffered a rogue bullet to an arm or leg. Gohan wanted to keep it that way.

He made his way down the hallway slowly as he entered into the inner offices of the bank, only three in total, before arriving at what he assumed was the vault itself.

The Golden Warrior crept down the corridor, making his aura simmer until it was nothing. He stepped lightly, peering into each room and finding nothing, before he stopped short of entering the doorframe of the third office, when he heard the muffled sounds of whimpering followed by a distinct click.

Gunman inside, likely has hostages.

He had to do this smartly. If this man had his gun to someone's head, then it was possible charging in might cause the criminal to act irrationally, or even just flinch. He didn't want to be the one responsible for such an event.

…Not again…

He winced, clasping his eyes shut as he turned away for a moment. He recovered only a moment afterward. He needed to focus. He knew that much.

He studied the doorframe, the door left half open—likely on purpose so whoever wanted to enter would have to push it open the rest of the way to enter.

Instead, Gohan had an idea. He needed to get the gunman's weapon pointed away from their hostages, and he knew exactly where the criminal was looking.

Why not give him something to shoot at?

He grinned mischievously as he aimed an open palm at the door and produced a glowing ball of ki that radiated a golden light. His focus tightened as he willed the ki to slowly approach the doorway, waiting patiently for the light to cast its light on the otherwise pitch black room.

Gohan's face tightened, his brow furrowing as he waited patiently for the man to take the bait.

He cleared his throat. "Hello?" He called out, hoping it looked like the ki was the glow of a flashlight.

Immediately, the door erupted with gunfire, the explosive sound of automatic fire flooded the hallway as bullets ripped through the bright ball of light.

Gohan chose this moment to suddenly explode through the wall into the office—having already previously sensed behind it for any ki signatures and finding none. His eyes found the man with a black mask with a skull pattern on it. He could see that the criminal had been in the middle of reloading when the Golden Warrior had entered.

Gohan smirked at the man.

The criminal began frantically reloading his weapon before a golden glow suddenly fell upon him. Slowly, the man looked up and found the Golden Warrior's deep scowl inches away from his face. He let out a slow whimper before Gohan's hand found his throat. As a last ditch effort, the gunman's hand reached out frantically for the hostage he'd place just beside him—a middle-aged man who screamed when he saw the gloved hand reach for him.

Gohan let loose a roar as he slammed the man into the wall behind him, sending cracks up the wall as the criminal's head broke through it. Gohan watched as the bank robber's body went limp, his arm and the man's head still through the drywall. A second later, the Golden Warrior ripped his hand free of the wall, sending a cloud of dust into the air as fragments of drywall littered the floor. Clutched in his fist was the collar of the clearly unconscious robber, his eyes rolled back in his skull with drool messily running down the corner of his chin. Gohan briefly checked to make sure that he hadn't suffered something more serious, seeing the top of his head and nodding approvingly when he didn't see blood.

His eyes turned to two quivering bank employees, both huddled close to where the robber had been standing. He could see that they'd both been crying. One of them—a young blond woman in a navy blue dress suit—was clutching her hand under her chest, her wrist clearly broken.

He frowned. He could tell the other hadn't had it much any better. His teal eyes could see the man had a black eye..

I probably look pretty intimidating.

He eased his hardened stare immediately, forcing his lips into a warm smile as he slowly lowered himself to a crouch before them.

"You're safe, now. The path out is completely clear."He spoke in a calm, reassuring tone. He offered out a hand to the blonde woman whose wrist had been broken. "Are the two of you able to walk?"

The pair of coworkers looked to one another before looking back to him and nodding. Gohan helped each to their feet before resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Is your wrist okay?"

"I-I think it's broken." She admitted, wincing as she shifted.

Gohan nodded, before glancing over towards the man sporting his black eye and a few scrapes. None of his injuries seemed to compare to the woman's, which made choosing who needed to be healed that much easier. Digging into his pocket, Gohan retrieved something small. He presented it to her. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

She gave him a curious stare, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Resting in his hand was a small green bean.

"I promise." He smiled warmly. "It'll help."

Her blue eyes shifted from the bean and back to him a handful of times before she shrugged and plucked the bean from his fingers, plopping it into her mouth in the same motion.

A moment later, her eyes widened in surprise, and Gohan realized the lady had a striking resemblance to someone he knew, but he couldn't remember from where.

She worked her previously dangling wrist, messaging the joint with surprise.

She looked back at him. "What was that?"

He grinned. "I'd love to explain, but there's still more bad guys around, and I need to save the rest of your coworkers."

The woman blinked, startled before understanding and nodding. He swore he'd met someone like that recently…

Before he could give the familiarity any more thought, the two coworkers were rushing down the hallway, toward the exit.

The kindness in his eyes bled away, a serious scowl replacing it. He looked at the entrance to where he could sense were the last of the criminals, and likely hostages. He suspected they would have heard the commotion, and were ready.

The Golden Warrior sighed, and stepped into the vault.

Immediately, he heard the sounds of weapons being cocked back. He scanned the room, seeing three remaining robbers standing next to the largest drill Gohan had ever seen lying abandoned on the floor beside them. From the smoke rising out of its engine, Gohan deduced that it hadn't been enough to penetrate the vault's door.

"Don't move!" Called out a nervous looking man wearing a clown mask. Gohan grew stiff as he regarded the assailant.

He had a child gripped tightly in one hand, the other pushing the barrel of the pistol to the side of her head. One of the other robbers had his foot planted on the back of a crying woman, his weapon aimed down at her.

Gohan had never felt more disgusted by other human beings before.

He let his aura dwindle away until it was nothing. "Take it easy."

"No, you take it easy!" Another masked man shouted beside the first, his mask having a winding pattern of a snake. "What the hell did you do to our guys?!"

"I heard a wall collapse…" The final member of this heist said wearing a wolf mask. His was the foot digging into the back of who Gohan could only assume was the girl's mother.

"No one is dead." Gohan stated firmly, staring daggers into Clown.

The man's face grew more and more nervous the deeper his glare became, until Clown was jittering and looking to the others. "T-tell him to stop looking at me like that!"

"On your knees or the girl dies!" Snake shouted, producing a gun from his side and aiming it straight towards him.

The Golden Warrior eyed the three of them. Could he move fast enough to reach Clown before he flinched and pulled that trigger? He thought he should be able to, but it still felt like a dangerous risk. If he was just a fraction of a second too late, it might mean the end for the trembling child, tears and snot running down her face.

He stared at her. He did not want to be responsible for anymore death.

"On the ground!" Snake shouted a second time.

Gohan growled, lowering himself so that he was on his knees. He focused his attention on Clown, waiting for the moment he felt safe enough to aim that barrel anywhere but where it was pointed now. The moment it was, he would raise in and-

"...!"

Bang!

Gohan sucked in a sharp breath of air, rising to his feet in an instant. His eyes were large as he stared, dumbstruck.

Clown had pulled the trigger on the little girl.

But...somehow, that wasn't the shocking part to Gohan.

"Oh, my dear little clown." Said a sensual sounding voice now standing behind the robber. Android Eighteen had suddenly appeared, behind Clown, wrapping her hand around the barrel of the pistol just before it had fired.

The man slowly turned his head, his eyes registering sheer terror. Eighteen's smile was sweet, but her eyes were cold—colder than the iciest mountaintop Gohan could think of, he decided.

She slowly placed a hand on Clown's shoulder, her other hand crumpling the pistol until it cracked and shattered into the carpet.

No one moved, not even Gohan in his bafflement at seeing his teacher of all people suddenly here.

What in the world is going on right now?!

"Were you about to shoot a little girl in the head?" Eighteen said in a dangerous whisper.

Clown swallowed deeply, but did not answer.

Eighteen nodded, smiling sweetly before crunching her hand down on the robber's shoulder and violently jerking him so that he was flung across the room with so much force he dented the wall, before crumpling to the ground, limp.

The abruptness of her movement made the Golden Warrior snap out of his daze as he suddenly dashed forward, driving a chop straight to the back of Snake's neck before sweeping out Wolf's legs with a kick and delivering a restrained punch straight to his head as he fell.

Both men met the ground at the same movement, neither stirring.

Gohan let out a slow sigh, closing his eyes as he did to calm his nerves some. After feeling he'd calmed the thundering in his chest, he opened his eyes to regard Eighteen.

"What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, nonchalantly stepping over the unconscious form of Wolf. "I noticed the situation and was bored. Haven't had a reason to break out my powers in a long time."

She stretched, pushing out her chest in a way that drew Gohan's eyes, before he swiftly found a painting to focus his attention on instead, his cheeks burning slightly.

"Um, well, thank you, Eighteen. You definitely helped."

She smiled smugly, finding her way across the room and out into the hallway. His first period teacher eventually found herself leaning against the door to what appeared to be a simple janitor's closet, her eyes l staring at him expectantly. For a moment, he was held by her piercing blue look before realizing she was waiting for him to step out of the vault as well. He quickly shuffled forward as she turned to walk down the hallway back out. A part of him wanted to go and check on the hostages before he remembered that his disguise was literally just himself with blonde hair. He decided it would be better to follow Eighteen's lead. Soon, Gohan was moving alongside her.

"So, how long have you been doing this superhero—"

Gohan froze, he could hear the sound of glass being stepped on approaching quickly from a turn in the office space. He stretched out his senses immediately, and felt a ki signature; a very familiar ki signature.

Oh, no.

Gohan immediately darted forward before Eighteen could take another step, his arms spread in a tackle.

Sorry about this, Eighteen!

He caught the blonde's eyes flashing to him with wild surprise a second before he collided with her. The pair disappeared into the janitor's closet without another word.

-Videl-

Were those voices?

She rounded the corner at a sprint, her hands curled into tight fists as she readied herself for a fight. The Golden Warrior had only just entered ten minutes ago, so she doubted all the action was done already—

She came to a stumbling halt, her brow furrowed as she looked upon the scene before her.

"I guess...everything is already wrapped up." She tried not to feel disappointed that she hadn't gotten the chance to see the Golden Warrior in action. She'd only ever caught a glimpse of him before, always so fast and mysterious.

She sighed before hearing the sounds of a woman's voice further in. Videl immediately dashed across the space before finding a young woman and a little girl who looked remarkably similar in her arms.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why those despicable men had chosen these two in particular as their lifeline hostages. Who was a better body shield than a mother and her daughter?

Videl felt a vile disgust upon realizing this, having to avert her eyes to study more of the room to set her mind at ease. Her blue eyes flickered to each unconscious thug before eventually finding one that had been launched into a wall. Videl took a moment to think about just where he must have been flung from to have made that sort of imprint, and realized it would have been roughly near where the mother and child were. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted a pistol suspiciously close to where the pair were. Videl felt she had a strong idea what role that particular thug had in this encounter. Realizing it made her grin maliciously before transitioning it into a pleasant, friendly look. Slowly, and with enough noise that she wasn't sneaking up on them, she approached the mother and child.

She managed to kick away the weapon as she came to a crouch beside them, still wearing a friendly smile. "Hey, how are you guys doing? Are you both alright?"

The woman nodded, smiling with red, puffy eyes, her tears long since finished. "We're okay, Ma'am. Who are you?"

"I'm Videl Satan, Ma'am. I'm working with the police. They're currently clearing the rest of the building." She motioned towards the gang of passed out thugs. "What exactly happened here?"

"We were saved by the Golden Warrior, Ma'am." She answered, sounding reaffirmed, if still a little shaky.

"And the Golden Goddess!" Chimed an excited looking girl in the woman's arms.

The woman quickly hushed her. "Honey, no, we don't know if that's really her name or not."

"But it's a cool name!" Insisted the girl whose eyes were red and puffy as well, Videl noticed.

She frowned.

The Golden...Goddess?

-Author's note-

Thank you everyone who decided to take a chance on this story. Any and all attention for this story will both support me emotionally and financially because, for the very first time, I actually have a benefactor supporting my work.

That being said, while the original concept was not mine, the design and plot, and story is all coming from yours truly. Not only that, but I'm genuinely excited with where this story will go!

Updates will be roughly every 3 weeks. I really hope this story gets some support and attention, but only time will tell.

As for the chapter itself, I'm quite proud of how it turned out. The opening dream segment is very unique to this story and enforces some themes I'll be exploring later in the story. Infact, there were many themes of the story that I've established in this opening, such as the introduction of Videl Satan as a character, which is something I'm particularly excited to write, and I can imagine those of you who are fans of my other works, might understand why lol.

As always, Ben Thryss was excellent help in cleaning up this chapter as well as making some smart suggestions with the names I had given the students (Office supplies for the Toriyama feel). A big thanks to him for acception this project with me!
And, ofcourse, I will do my absolute best to respond to each and every review when I get the time for it, so make sure to log in!

Until next time!