A few months had passed since the last attack. Anxiety and fear could be felt throughout the air, even as the people of Earth tried to continue their normal lives. The destruction of Amenbo Island might have been a freak accident or some kind of fluke. But the attack on Gingertown so soon afterwards made it reality for many people. Their sudden disappearance only made things worse. Some thought that people were too anxious and that they shouldn't let fear run their lives - whether they were in denial or genuinely believed that would never be known. Others began preparing, stocking up on everything they'd need in case whatever it was came to them next.
Either way, no matter what they believed, the attacks were all that anyone could think of.
It had started as a normal morning in Nicky Town. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. Some went to work. Others were in leisure. Traffic was light, as usual. Everyone was settling in, getting ready to start their day. All was usual, in this small and quiet town.
And then, out of nowhere, there was a massive explosion. One of the buildings in town square was collapsing to the ground - destroyed by a bright energy beam. The people nearby ducked and covered, as debris went flying through the air. Before they had time to process it, another building was destroyed, cut in half by a laser beam. The top levels came crumbling down to the ground, and a cloud of dust bellowed into the air.
When some of the citizens turned around, everyone gasped in horror. 17 stood with his hand pointed outwards, while 18 sat on the ground next to him, leaning her cheek on her palm. Recognizing them as the attackers that destroyed the other cities, they immediately started running.
Before they could get far, they suddenly appeared in front of them. Then, without hesitation, they blasted them into oblivion. The town was in complete chaos, everyone trying to get away from the androids, as they continued their assault on the town.
A small group of civilians managed to hide in a ruined building. They were safe for now, but knew that they couldn't stay forever. Any moment, the androids would turn their attacks on them. They needed to get out of the town before it was too late. One of them was desperately trying to radio for help.
"If anyone can hear me," she said, "Nicky Town is under attack! It's those robots, those cyborgs, whatever the hell they are! If you're anywhere near here, then get away while you still can!" She turned the radio off.
"How are we going to get out of here," one of them desperately asked.
She looked out the window, before ducking her head back inside. "It looks like they're on the other side of town. If we move fast enough, we should be able to run down the hill and get out of here."
Together, the group stood up against the wall. After making sure the coast was clear, the leader pointed her finger to the left, telling them to run out and to the left. They all did so, running until they could duck behind the far side of the building. It was a clear shot - just run forward and they'd be out of the town.
Then, a red hovercar flew through the alleyway, nearly crashing into them. 17 was driving it, crashing it into buildings and civilians. While he was distracted, the group kept trying to run through the streets, ducking falling debris.
They only had one more street to cross until they were home free. Unfortunately, 18 was standing in the middle of it, watching the car as it flew around the town. Her arms were crossed and she had an annoyed look on her face. They huddled together, trying to slink backwards.
"He's like a child, sometimes," she muttered to herself, before shouting at him. "17, how long are you gonna play around?"
He jumped out of the car, letting it crash into a building. He landed next to her. "You're no fun."
"It's bad enough you destroyed that boutique I wanted to look at. Now there's nothing left for us to play with."
"Actually," he paused. Then, he turned around and looked straight at the group. Everyone froze. "I think there is."
As she looked over at them, a smile came onto her face. "Oh. What do you know?"
"Would you like to do the honors, 18?" They jumped, when they saw he had suddenly appeared behind them. The smile on his face only emphasized his dead, emotionless gaze.
18 walked up to them, leaving them completely surrounded. "So long as you don't hog all of the glory, I'm willing to share." The group huddled closer together, squeezing their eyes shut, waiting for the moment of impact. They had tried to escape, but they couldn't. 17 pointed their fingers towards them, ready to zap each of them one by one.
But before they could, there was an explosion. 18 had been hit by something. Then, a strong gust of wind blew past them, as 17 was hit with something, too.
"Go," someone shouted. "Run now!" The group quickly ran away, making it down the hill and out of the town. By the time 17 and 18 realized what had happened, they were gone. And in their place stood a young boy with lavender hair.
"You again," 18 said, frowning. "Didn't we warn you not to come fight us, again?"
Trunks crouched down into a fighting stance. "And I don't care. I'm here to stop you androids!"
She rolled her eyes. "17, you can handle this one. He's not worth my time." She sat down on the curb of a street, hunching forward and holding her hands underneath her chin.
17 grinned. "Sounds good to me. Let's see what this pipsqueak's made of." He stood with his hands out to the side, curled into fists. Trunks just glared at him, waiting for his next move. He could sense that the surviving civilians were starting to escape - he only needed to stall for a little while, so all of them could get out.
Trunks jumped into the air, as 17 lunged out towards him. The android pushed his palm into the air, trying to blast him. Trunks dodged it, flying forward to punch him in the gut. He threw punches his way, which he blocked and dodged. 17 raised his hands into the air, putting them together above him. He swiped them downwards to knock him in the head, but Trunks disappeared. Before he could react, Trunks reappeared and landed a punch right in his jaw.
17 staggered backwards, wiping the side of his mouth. He flew straight towards him, throwing more punches. Now, Trunks was the one to block his attacks. Empowered by how he managed to land a hit on him, he fought with a newfound confidence. Piccolo was wrong - he could defeat these androids on his own. Taking a leap of faith, he kicked towards him, aiming right for his chin.
But before he could make contact, 18 appeared in front of him and grabbed his foot. Trunks tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but it was like a vice.
"I thought you said he wasn't worth your time," 17 said, with a teasing smirk on his face.
She glanced back at him. "I had thought that. But now I'm not so sure." She narrowed her eyes at Trunks. "Does he seem familiar to you?"
17 tilted his head to the side. He circled Trunks, still kept in place by 18, as he tapped his finger on his chin. "Now that you mention it, yeah. There is something familiar about him." As they kept staring at him and doing nothing else, Trunks started to feel queasy. What were they thinking?
Then, 18's eyes widened slightly, lighting up with recognition. "Oh, now I know." She smirked. "You were the one that defeated Mercenary Tao." Trunks' whole body stiffened. So Gero did tell them about him.
"Did he?" 17 grabbed his arm and started moving it back and forth, as if he was inspecting it. Trunks' heart started racing, and he could feel sweat beading on his forehead. "Then you're a lot stronger than we suspected."
"We better finish him off, now. He might cause trouble for us later."
17 let go of his arm and smiled at 18. "I'm glad you agree."
Trunks was knocked off his feet, when 18 hit him in the ankles. Before he could react, 17 kicked him in the stomach, knocking all of the breath out of him, followed by an uppercut in the jaw from her. He staggered backwards, taking a deep breath. Still, he crouched back down into a fighting stance, ready to take them on.
He jumped into the air, the androids closely following him. They threw balls of energy towards him, which he deflected by flaring his ki. 18 kicked towards him, which he blocked with one arm. When 17 punched at him, he blocked him with this other arm. Trunks threw his arms out to the side and powered up, sending them both flying away. Not to be outdone, 17 quickly rebounded, kicking him in the back and stunning him. 18 slammed her fists down onto him, sending him crashing towards the Earth.
Trunks cried out, when his back slammed onto a pile of rubble. He winced as he tried to get back up, again. The androids quickly descended towards him. They blasted a piece of rubble in front of him, creating a cloud of dust and smoke. While he was disoriented, he was punched in the chin and kicked back to the ground.
17 kicked him onto his back, stomping his foot onto his gut. Trunks let out a strained cry. He tried to get up and move, but the pain was so severe he could barely move. Tears went down his face. He had tried to go against the androids, but he failed. If only he had listened.
"Well, it's been fun," 17 said, "but I think we're done here." He raised his hand into the air and it began to glow. "Enjoy Otherworld."
But then, right as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, 17 was kicked in the head and thrown into the rubble. 18 quickly followed, punched in the chest, sending her flying away. The fear and pain finally took their toll on Trunks, and he passed out.
When 17 and 18 emerged from the rubble, they saw who it was that attacked them - a woman with short blue hair and bright blue eyes that matched, looking mad as hell. Bulma stood in front of Trunks protectively, crouched down with her feet apart. Her hair was disheveled and windswept, but that didn't matter - her son had been in danger.
"Oh," 18 said, with a smile on her face. "If it isn't our long-lost sister. Nice to meet you, 16."
"Don't call me that," she yelled. "I am not like either of you!"
"No need to get offended," 17 said. "We simply didn't expect to see you here, like this." He pointed at Trunks. "Is he yours?"
"That's none of your business, so stop talking!"
He stepped closer to her. She reinforced her guarded stance, daring him to try something. He just smirked. "Whatever the case, 16, it's obvious he means a lot to you. Maybe you can talk him out of coming after us, again. If the first time we kicked his ass wasn't enough, then I don't think this one will be, either."
"Let's go," 18 said. "I've had my fill, for the day."
Bulma couldn't believe how callous they were. They had destroyed an entire city, killed lord knows how many people, and almost killed a child. These androids were even worse than she had feared. "Before you do, tell me: why is Gero making you do this?"
The androids looked at each other. Then, they started laughing. Her brows furrowed - what did they think was so funny?
"You really think that old geezer has anything to do with it," 18 asked, shaking her head. "Hardly. We just like messing with these humans."
"But why?!"
She shrugged. "Because we can. No one's stopped us, so why not?"
"Gero did have a mission for us," 17 explained. "He wanted us to just find you and bring you back to him. But we didn't agree on that." He looked her straight in the eyes. "So we killed him. After that, we just set out to do whatever we wanted."
Her whole body went rigid, not believing what she was hearing. Every villain she'd come across had some kind of logic behind their actions, as abhorrent as they were. But these two… there wasn't any logic. They were doing it for the sake of doing it.
How many innocents were going to suffer because of them?
Without another word, the androids took off into the sky and flew away, leaving them alone in the crumbling town.
Bulma rested her head and arms on a bedside table, watching her son as he laid unconscious. Some of his bones were broken and he had been bruised all over, but he was still alive. It was lucky that she had gotten to him when she did. Had she not… she shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. She didn't even want to think about that possibility.
It started as a regular day. She and Trunks had been working in the lab together. They had been testing out growth methods for the garden and they managed to make an accelerant so food would grow faster. For now, it would mean they could grow more food on the Lookout. But in the future, it could mean an end to food insecurity as they knew it. It was her son who had figured out the perfect percentage to cause growth and she couldn't have been prouder.
But then the radio announced that the androids were attacking another town. After making him promise not to get in over his head, she let him go out and help. In hindsight, it was naive of her to think that he wouldn't try and challenge the androids, himself. And even if he didn't, that was no guarantee that they would have left him alone. Nevertheless, she let him go. She had sat with Piccolo, who was keeping an eye on his energy after he left.
When he told her his energy was dropping, she flew as fast as she could to where he was. The pure anger she felt at seeing those androids hurting her son was unlike anything else she had felt before. At the androids and at herself for letting this happen.
She jumped, hearing the door shut behind her. Her shoulders relaxed, when she saw it was just Piccolo. "How is he," he asked.
She looked back at Trunks. "He should be okay. He won't be in any shape to train for a while, though. It depends on how fast he can heal." She put her hand on his forehead, pushing his hair back. "When I met the androids, I asked them why Gero was making them do all this. Because I was thinking - would he really go to all of this trouble just to capture me, again?"
"What did they say?"
"That's the thing: he didn't - the androids killed him. They're only doing this because they can." She sighed, as she put her hand down. "You know, everyone else we've fought, I can see why they did what they did: Gero, Tao, even Frieza. But these two - it doesn't make any sense."
"A lot of people out there don't need a reason to want to destroy everything. Acting on those desires depends on how much power they hold."
"I guess you're right," she whispered. He probably knew that better than anyone.
Bulma closed her eyes. They had been dealing with this for far too long. She had lost everything because of Gero and he had died before she could hold him accountable. She couldn't even feel catharsis from his demise because even worse monsters sprung in his place. Why were the fates so cruel to her? Why couldn't they just let her be happy? It wasn't fair.
Piccolo knelt down behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his torso tightly. He made no move to push her off - he never did, when she got like this. She'd just hold onto him until she collected herself. Then, she would move forward - the same way she had been for the past twelve years.
This time was different.
His arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly. She gasped. In all of the time she'd known him, he'd never done that. He always tried to keep distance between himself and others. But he had let that guard down for her. Something inside of her broke. She shut her eyes tightly and buried her face into her chest. All of the grief and sorrow she'd felt since this began came tumbling out at once. Unable to cry, her body shook and she screamed until her voice gave out. He said nothing, holding her and rubbing her back as she let it out.
"I can't do this," she cried weakly, as she shook her head. "I can't do this anymore. I'm not strong enough."
"You can and you are." He held her cheek in his hand, making sure she was looking him in the eyes. "Anyone else would have given up by now, but you haven't done that once. You'll get through this, Bulma. I know you can."
As she looked into his eyes, her apprehension and grief began to wane. And in its place, hope began to take hold. If Piccolo believed in her, then she really could do it. She embraced him once more, to which he responded in kind. They said nothing else, as they held each other. She hoped that he understood how grateful she was to him. Had he not helped them the way that he did, she might have given up long ago.
A sigh came from behind her. Bulma turned around and ran to the side of the bed. Trunks was starting to wake up. "Trunks," she called out, softly. "Trunks, can you hear me?"
Trunks slowly opened his eyes, turning his head towards her. "Mom?"
She smiled. "Yes, it's me. You're back at the Lookout - you're safe, now." He tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down. "Careful, careful: you took quite a beating back there - you need to rest." Trunks eventually settled back down, laying his head down on his pillow.
Piccolo walked up next to her. "How are you feeling," he asked.
He looked at him, before looking up at the ceiling. His eyebrows furrowed. "A lot hurts, but okay, I guess. Those androids are a lot tougher than I thought. I wasn't even trying to get in a serious fight with them, and they just started wailing on me."
"You can never afford to underestimate an opponent - especially ones as deadly as they are." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Once you're fully healed, you'll be training harder than you have, before."
He nodded. "Right. I will!"
Bulma's eyes widened at him. "You still want to fight?"
"Of course! Someone's gotta get strong and take down those androids and it's gonna be me!"
She couldn't believe it. She thought that he might be discouraged, after how harsh of a beat down he took. But he was still eager to fight.
"I know, sweetie," she said. "But you won't be able to, if you don't rest and heal up, first. Worry about that, before you run off and be a hero. Can you do that for me?"
Trunks carefully maneuvered himself up, until he was leaning against the headboard of the bed. "Okay," he said with a sigh. He looked back at Piccolo. "But then I'll train even harder, like you said!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Trunks," Piccolo replied. "It may take a while until you're strong enough to defeat the androids."
"I don't care! I'll do whatever it takes to beat them!"
Bulma smiled. He was so much like his father. Even in the face of such terrible circumstances, he still wanted to fight and take action.
If anyone could find a way to get through this, it was him.